#it's underdeveloped but i think about it fondly from time to time

[brick-a-doodle-do]

📓

MY ARCHEOLOGY AUUUU

i really want to start writing that too!! i've mentioned it a few times but basically it's where tommy's uncle, techno, is an archeologist and tommy has been wanting to go to a site for years, ever since he'd moved in with techno. but techno always declines. but, finally, tommy pushes him over the edge and he's finally getting to go! techno tries to explain the rules very carefully to him and make sure he doesn't disturb anything historic, meanwhile tommy kiiiind of bends those rules. just a little bit. but, hey, it led to the discovery of an old, underground, huge, tiny civilization. and even a living tiny!

send me a 📓 and i'll give you an au that i haven't written anything for but i daydream about!

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ok so like i get where ppl are coming from with the “the crew loves izzy” takes but also like. ok. i think that take involves a certain amount of reading very deeply into the text to a degree that is almost reading against the text at some points. it’s like when ppl pour all this energy into an underdeveloped and unportant side character—none of those layers ppl add to the character are strictly contradicted by the text, but it clearly wasn’t what the writer intended for anyone to really focus on. and yeah, death of the author, just bc the writers didn’t intend for ppl to think abt something that hard or care about it that much doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to do whatever the fuck we want. but bc i love analyzing the shit out of this show i do want to talk about WHY i think the textual support for this headcanon isn’t rlly there.

first of all. when archie is like “why are we trying so hard to save this guy, he’s kinda a dick” and jim’s like “yeah but he’s our dick.” rather than elaborate on what makes izzy special to them they’re like “it used to be that the crew all had each other’s backs no matter what and things were better back then” while reminiscing fondly about 1. olu and 2. that shot from season 1 where the whole crew is hanging out except for izzy who’s sulking in the background hating everyone. if this was supposed to be an “izzy’s a dick but we love him anyway” moment i would expect jim to talk about. yknow. izzy. instead to me ot comes across more like an “izzy’s a dick but crew is crew, we stick up for each other even if we don’t particularly like each other bc it’s us against the world” which isn’t as impactful from an izzy stanning perspective but i think makes for, like, an interesting allegory abt the queer community. we all gotta defend the rights of ppl in our community even if those specific ppl are dicks and we don’t get along with them.

second of all. after they save izzy’s life and get caught by ed they all leave the room and then a few minutes later a gun goes off. maybe someone saw ed leave the room before the shot was fired, but either way they think either ed just killed izzy or izzy just killed himself. and then they DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS. nobody checks on the body. they put all this effort into saving izzy’s life and then when their efforts are foiled they do not seem that bummed out about it. the next scene with any crew member in it is frenchie talking to ed on deck, and ed is like “go take the day off” and frenchie is like “oh nice!” and he’s like, confused and a little concerned about ed suddenly steering the ship rlly erratically, but he also seems pretty excited about getting some time off (after so many raids in a row i would be too lol). and THEN!!! in the next scene where we get the whole crew, they’re crowded in the hallway that leads out to the deck and the conversation they have isn’t “oh my god i can’t believe ed killed izzy after we cut off izzy’s leg” it’s “maybe ed’s better now? maybe killing izzy was all it took? he seems pretty cheerful for the first time in ages, maybe ed’s okay?” like literally they think ed just killed izzy and they are more worried about ed’s emotional state than they are grieving a beloved shipmate

then in 2.04 the crew B plot is so blatantly “the crew struggles to trust each other again but after seeing izzy be incredibly sad and pathetic they remember that a good crew has each other’s backs no matter what and so they extend izzy some unearned kindness and make him a new leg” that i’m amazed that other interpretations even exist. like literally they’re all drawn away from screaming at each other with weapons drawn by izzy making some dramatic announcement and then falling and then drunkenly crawling away and refusing their help rambling “youre born alone you die alone” over and over again or whatever melodramatic bullshit he said. like he’s muttering abt being miserable and alone and there’s a WHOLE ROOM OF PEOPLE!!! standing RIGHT THERE!!!! like “oh hey man do you need help standing up? no? no ur just gonna crawl away? um. ok.” and then they all go “well at least we’re not as fucked up as that guy. maybe we should do something nice for him?” like they are literally almost explicitly motivated by pity, not fondness. which yeah, it’s probably fucked up the way they use izzy’s new disability to sort of emphasize how pathetic he’s being, but i think the intention there is not that izzy’s pathetic bc he’s disabled, he’s pathetic bc he’s refusing to accept help. like the crew doesn’t go “yikes 😬 at least we don’t have his issues” abt izzy falling down when his makeshift prosthetic breaks, they go “yikes 😬” when he bats away their hands and goes on a weird mumbling tirade. definitely not the most sensitive way to depict izzy in this mental state, but that’s a different post probably. for the sake of THIS post tho: the takeaway i got from this scene is that the crew is remembering how to be there for each other again. it’s easier for them to let go of their paranoia and stop being so defensive and distrustful when izzy is there as an example of what happens when you’re TOO defensive and distrustful. “the crew makes a leg for izzy bc they care about him on a personal level” did not seem to be the focus of that story arc. to me.

in 2.05 we get our first ever instance of a character expressing appreciation for something izzy said or did or some trait he expressed (except for stede that time in 1.06 when izzy backed stede up on wanting to do a fuckery, which he only did specifically bc he wanted stede to fucking die and ed was taking too long), and it’s lucius saying he loves the shark izzy whittled. but during the entire episode leading up to that scene izzy is either in syede’s storyline where he’s not engaging with the crew or he’s getting snarked at by lucius, and not in a fun teasing way. like during that whole bit where izzy steals his cigarettes and calls him “twatty” lucius just looks so fucking annoyed and then uncomfortable. and then at the end of the episode izzy is sort of offering him advice and lucius is just sarcastically like “that sounds healthy.” and within this storyline, the point of these scenes isn’t rlly abt the developing and deepening relationship btwn izzy and lucius, it’s abt lucius individually coping w his trauma. izzy in this episode kinda exists in a weird place in the narrative, where he plays a supporting role in two different characters’ (lucius’s and stede’s) storylines without getting a central arc for himself. and both of those two storylines are only really about lucius and stede respectively, izzy is just there as this a static character who imparts wise advice. which is a very weird role for him to take, imo, but on top of that it doesn’t rlly contribute any sense of like, actual bonding btwn izzy and the other two.

and in 2.06 they just enjoy the show izzy puts on. they like listening to him sing. it’s all very cute! but also. i would not say that it shows the crew really cares about izzy?? i was in pit orchestra in high school and all the lead theater kids were always fucking assholes but they were also rlly good singers and it was fun to listen to them. i would mouth along to the words being sung by bitches who seemed to be trying to be sharpay evans irl for some bizarre fucking reason. like, cartoonishly mean girls. so like, the crew listening and dancing to izzy’s song doesn’t rlly sell “the crew loves izzy” to me. if anything, i would say that actually a stronger indicator of the crew loving izzy would be wee john sharing his makeup, and it’s a shame that we don’t get to see this happen. i mean that genuinely, i think that would’ve been a great moment to rlly strengthen izzy’s arc and it just. doesn’t exist on screen. and this isn’t like the finale where we know for a fact that they had to force a 40-minute episode into 30 minutes, Calypso’s Birthday has a runtime WELL under 30 minutes. it would’ve been SO easy to add another like 45 seconds of izzy and wee john getting ready together, but the only moment they show us is izzy walking in and discovering drag for the first time. it feels like the focus of this scene is less about a moment of connection between two characters and more about izzy individually having a gender breakthrough—and that carries on with the rest of the performance, too. bc it’s a performance, it’s everyone looking at izzy, it’s izzy a half step away from the crew as he puts on a show. the narrative framing of all this puts the focus entirely on izzy as a solo act, not on izzy as part of the crew. they like his performance, but we aren’t rlly shown evidence of the crew liking him as a person.

and that’s kinda it for izzy and the crew! up until he’s actively dying in ed’s arms and they’re all in the background silently weeping, at least (and btw, speaking from experience but uhhhh it’s pretty normal to cry when u watch someone die even if u have literally no connection to the person dying). even when they’re helping him back to the ship, ed is the one who notices he’s injured, nobody notices until he’s already giving izzy support. and i fully believe roach flips off izzy’s grave marker with fondness, but that’s also like. the only little personal moment any of them aside from ed has during the funeral. they do all laugh at his pinocchio joke earlier in the ep but idk if that one line can carry the entire weight of “the crew loves izzy” on its own. apparently there’s some shots during the zheng v stede fight where izzy can be seen in the background close to jim and archie??? but like, you can’t tell me a background shot of izzy standing near some crew members is strong textual support for the crew loving him. and i don’t think i need to argue abt any scenes in s1 bc literally every single crew member who was on that boat, ivan and fang included, was about to fucking drown him in the fucking ocean.

there is one single scene that gives actual strong evidence that anyone other than ed likes or cares about izzy. it’s the part at the end of impossible birds when fang is crying after ed shot izzy. so maybe fang specifically loves izzy, even tho izzy used to pull fang’s beard a lot and fang didn’t like it bc it hurt. idk.

here’s the thing tho. in 2.01 the writers use dialogue very effectively to tell us about the kraken era. the crew doesn’t say much, but what the do say tells us a lot: we know that archie thinks the kraken era is all normal pirating stuff, jim felt like the wedding raid (which seems like their only raid on a civilian ship and not a military one) was a step too far, frenchie is Not Okay but he’s doing a fantastic job repressing everything, izzy looks tired but the specific thing echoing in his head right before he starts crying in front of the crew is ed telling him “if you can’t do the job, someone else will.”

and we know fang, who’s known ed for decades, has never seen ed like this. and the specific thing he mentions as something he’s never seen from ed before is not batting an eye when ivan died. meaning that even before meeting stede, fang would’ve expected ed to have some sort of reaction to ivan dying.

and the thing about ivan is that we know next to nothing about him. he has very little dialogue in season one. we don’t even know how long he’s been working with ed—long enough to have at least heard about fang having to put his dog down bc “the love of a pet makes a man weak” when fang joined ed’s ship years ago, even if ivan wasn’t actually there yet at the time—but we do know that watching ed tell ghost stories was apparently the most open and available he’d ever seen ed get. so it doesn’t sound like ivan and ed were especially close. ivan was almost certainly less close to ed than izzy was.

if fang expected to see ed have some sort of reaction to the death of an ordinary crew member (who mightve been working for ed for decades, might’ve been working for him for months, we really can’t say) who wasn’t even that close to ed, seeing ed casually and unflinchingly inflict a life-threatening gunshot to his first mate must’ve been fucking earth-shattering. and interpretation is also supported by what fang actually says while he’s crying at the end of 2.01—it’s not “i can’t stop crying, izzy’s hurt” or “i can’t stop crying, izzy’s going to die.” its “i can’t stop crying, ed shot izzy.” more than the imminent demise of a crew member, fang is shaking and sobbing and traumatized because he can’t believe ed would do that.

and if that feels like a reach, just remember what happens after the leg is cut off, after the crew most likely believes ed shot izzy again, this time 100% fatally: the whole crew is crowded in the hallway, and fang asks “do we think he’s… better?”

fang is not sad about izzy. or if he is, it’s dwarfed by how much more sad fang is about ed.

in conclusion: have fun with ur headcanons i am not the boss of you but also there is less canonical textual evidence of the crew loving izzy than some of y’all seem to think k byeeeee

[r-2-peepoo]

BAD BATCH SPOILERS

Now that the episode is out, let’s talk about Cody’s personality.

Yes he has one. Yes he has always had one. You can argue that he is underdeveloped (and I will agree with you, he hasn’t had nearly as much screen time as he deserves) but he isn’t a blank slate. He has always had a personality and here is a core part of it:

Cody is fundamentally good. That is who he has always been. He is a very obedient soldier but he is similar to Obi Wan in that he is a good person who is just very strongly bound by his duties, hence why they were so close and presumably why they were assigned to work together so often. Obi Wan Kenobi would not trust, let alone be close with someone and have him as his second in command if Cody was not a good person. People forget that Cody was probably the person Obi Wan saw the most throughout the entire war, they were together so often. Obi Wan would not proclaim Cody as a good man who he remembers fondly years into the future, even after he ‘betrays’ if he didn’t think incredibly highly of him and if the Kenobi stamp of approval isn’t enough to convince you then I don’t know what is.

There’s a reason Cody has the rank he has but also that all of the clones trust him, including TBB who generally do not like regs. It’s one of the first things we learn about them as a group actually. The fans have done an insane amount of work in Cody’s personality but it is based on what was already there. You can easily believe Cody is a somewhat stern yet very compassionate person when you read fics about him because that is who he’s been from the beginning.

Absolutely no part of me ever believed that Cody would work for the Empire willingly or that Rex would have to fight/kill him. If that had happened, as much as I love how angsty and dramatic it is as a concept, it would’ve been a complete betrayal of Cody’s character and wouldn’t be a fitting ending for him. The fan theories did get to a lot of us and honestly I thought they were plausible only because a misrepresentation of a fairly minor character is always possible in media, however that is exactly what it would have been had that been the plot. A misrepresentation.

Character arcs need to have structure and Cody turning fascist out of absolutely nowhere would not have fit in with his character arc. The inhibitor chip would be the only way for it to work and even then it wouldn’t be fulfilling at all. It could happen, but it wouldn’t feel right if that makes sense. A death is also a huge mistake, at least in my opinion. He is such a vital character for exploring who the clones are after the war. We still have the rest of the season so maybe he will still die but I truly do not believe it anymore. If he does, I firmly think it will be the wrong creative decision and would waste his character.

TL/DR: Cody has always been a sweet boy and I’m never letting people make me think he isn’t ever again ;-;

[tritoch]

the witch of the cave: matoya, y'shtola, and the night's blessed

long rambly and extremely unedited post about y'shtola and matoya, two characters i really feel like we don't talk about or take seriously enough. i think the popular (and in many ways intended) perception of FFXIV as a game about dramatic high-tension moments and attendant emotional catharsis makes it easy to overlook the fact that there's plenty of subtext to mine from, especially for characters like these two who can come off as somewhat reserved and also have very little screen time together. i find the night's blessed very helpful for thinking about them both. spoilers through endwalker below. tl;dr version of the post can be found by reading the bolded text below.

on my first playthrough the whole rak'tika thing felt very underdeveloped, and i still think a lot of the story beats are weak. here's y'shtola she's your last member to rejoin she has a new village now(?) and OH she's dead again WAIT she's back and then we're off into "zodiark and hydaelyn are primals" land and there's no time to think anymore about the night's blessed. but on reflection i think this works out okay imo because the night's blessed are only just barely there for plot reasons. they serve instead, like the outfit redesign, to establish the game's new baseline concept for who y'shtola is going to be as a character going forward. the night's blessed let the writing shorthand a lot of y'shtola's off-screen development and set her up as a powerful and extremely self-actualized person, using matoya as her foil.

in brief: matoya is implied to have lived her life prior to the sharlayan exodus constantly at odds with the (imo obviously sexist and hide-bound) forum. as a result, she was pretty isolated from and in conflict with much of sharlayan society, to the point that while y'shtola leaves with everyone else in the exodus to presumably matriculate at the studium and earn her archon's marks, matoya stays behind, with no company but her familiars.

and this is agonizingly sad, i think. 15 years alone in a cave. dravania's isolation means she has no one to talk to but frogs she has magic'ed and trained into familiars. little to occupy her but her work and her memories, and her memories of y'shtola are so painful to her she locks them away. even when y'shtola returns to eorzea after ten years away she can't find the time to see her until the scion's issues demand it (to be fair to y'shtola, getting to matoya overland means traveling through ishgard and dravania, and prior to the calamity they're totally occupied with that and afterwards there's the whole dragon thing).

(hey also this whole thing is even SADDER when read in light of the encyclopedia eorzea text that "the day [Matoya] begins to remember her students fondly will be the day that her work ends." she won't let herself take these memories back until she retires!)

they barely talk at their reunion, and while there's some brief honest fondness from matoya early on they soon turn to their characteristic deflecting and sardonic back-and-forth for what little time they get to talk, before matoya delivers a poorly-translated and confusing warning on aethersight and exits the 3.0 story. even by the time of shadowbringers, y'shtola can't bring herself to admit that when alone in a foreign land, she took on her master's name, and neither will straightforwardly admit to missing the other. in a game full of effusive and warm relationships between master and pupil or guardian and ward, matoya and y'shtola's relationship is warm, but specifically characterized by distance and deflection, consistent with how matoya has rejected (and/or isolated herself from) others her whole life.

that's not to say there's not love there, obviously, and not all expressions of love look or the same. but this is not how y'shtola behaves elsewhere. when she visits you at the annex in endwalker, she's quite sincere and direct there, coming to you with her concerns and stating plainly that doesn't want to see you harmed, making it clear she was actively worried about how you were doing. she even pre-emptively apologizes when she fears she's inappropriately joked about your misfortunes. she's also obviously much more direct and deflects less with the night's blessed themselves, or runar, or urianger after rak'tika, or zero. she can be funny or glib or arch, but she makes no effort to conceal how much these relationships mean to her, or how she feels at any given point.

y'shtola can be sharp, she can be sarcastic, she can go for the throat or be dismissive and imperious, but she's generally not those things with people she cares about in private conversation. for a woman who makes it quite clear that she cares a lot about the image she projects to others, she is never ashamed of her own feelings or afraid to voice them, but neither is she harsh or cruel. the one time she does the matoya-style thing of being so honest and brusque it tips over to backbreakingly blunt, it's to thancred in rak'tika, over her concerns that as the sole guardian of an isolated young ward, he isn't doing enough to affirm her as her own person or to be emotionally honest and supportive of her. i have some thoughts as to why that might be; you may be able to guess what they are!

so shadowbringers sets up a parallel for the player: remember matoya in the cave, having spurned sharlayan politics, left to pursue her research and guard the antitower, a solitary hermit for fifteen years? well here's y'shtola as matoya, in a cave, having spurned the lies and half-truths of two specific sharlayan men. she initially comes off alternately distant and brusque, unable to recognize you and perhaps changed herself. the fact that y'shtola's not just the local cave witch to the night's blessed ends up being a sort of narrative reveal, and her characterization as a beloved and respected leader who feels a deep attachment to the community in turn shows how much she's grown and surpassed her mentor. (and note in turn urianger, over there in fairyland pretty much actually doing the matoya thing except, in accordance with his whole deal, in a way that is both slightly healthier and much weirder).

and there's narrative payoff for this: y'shtola, having been fairly closed-off and mission-focused up until now, flings herself into a fucking pit and casts "hope this doesn't kill me lmao" the very second she learns the night's blessed have been harmed and she has a chance to save them (and that's not a romance thing; she has no idea runar's been harmed. she only knows the villagers of slitherbough have been poisoned, and an antidote exists). and from her (annoyingly obviously fake) death you learn that she isn't just valued and respected by the community, but has formed close enough relationships for people to feel real and deep attachment to her.

y'shtola notes at several points that she and master matoya dedicated their lives to the pursuit of truth above all else. but in the end y'shtola was also a student of louisoix, a man who far valued compassion for the plight of others above all else (and, not for nothing, he's not exactly #1 parent/guardian/mentor of the astral era either). in rak'tika, all the finest qualities of y'shtola reach a kind of culmination. the relentless pursuit of what is true and what is right, but as part of a healthy, caring community, without the isolating and painful pride of her mentor. and she sacrifices nothing of herself to attain this. she is exactly who she was before rak'tika, if anything a little more brusque. she's even still a little withholding about herself, noting that she cultivated an "image of restraint" among the night's blessed. but none of this interferes with her ability to be a powerful and respected and admired leader of a close-knit community.

and again none of this is really a critique of matoya, who i have enormous affection for as effectively the game's only representation (until endwalker) of an older woman in STEM. but she is a product of what her circumstances allowed: where matoya, as a sincere believer in truth, had only rivals in a deeply conservative and isolationist society, y'shtola, carrying forward the same principles, has friends and comrades in an increasingly open and free world. she turns her mentor's unflinching honesty from an alienating political weakness into a pillar of both slitherbough and the scions. matoya's self-imposed exile from sharlayan is, by her own acknowledgement, petty and in some ways goes against her own values. and listen you've gotten far enough in this rambling, we can all be real for a second: matoya is definitely kind of an asshole and went into self-imposed exile and sealed up her research because of a disagreement with the Forum over weapons development. y'shtola's leveraging the integrity and searing honesty she learned from matoya to far more altruistic ends!

i think a lot of players have a vision of y'shtola somewhere on a continuum from badass avatar of destruction to powerful and solitary archmage. and i agree that's cool as hell but i also think ffxiv is a game that believes, at its core, that community is one of the most important things in the world, both in terms of what it can do for a flourishing society and as a critical element for people to find value and fulfillment in their own lives. y'shtola developing her own close attachment to a community in shadowbringers is meant to serve as shorthand for how she has come into her own as a person and found a fulfilling and meaningful life in line with her ideals, living up to matoya's ideal of all knowledge existing to advance mankind. it is no coincidence that this happens at the same time as she goes from "a pretty good mage" to being consistently portrayed as one of the more powerful mages in the setting and the scions' magical powerhouse. the genre trappings and the character arc work in harmony.

i think what this means becomes a little clearer set against characters like thancred (who spends 5.0 getting to "can have a mostly emotionally honest conversation with his surrogate daughter and make her feel loved and valued") and estinien (who, after twenty years living in and dying for one walled city, had one of the worst months anyone has ever had and ever since can't be in the same place for more than two seconds). their permanent states as vagabonds reflect their lack of close ties (what with all the tragic death) and still-healing emotional wounds. by contrast, y'shtola has achieved the wisdom and grace to live life as part of a connected whole, and has found a way to bring her values to bear in all parts of her life and in her leadership of this community, in so doing improving the lives of herself and everyone around her. y'shtola doesn't settle down with the night's blessed as a natural progression of her life or as a precondition to her maturation, but instead is capable of forming this kind of attachment to the night's blessed precisely because she has developed the integrity and emotional honesty to live in accordance with her values. and she can cast LB3 meteor in cutscenes now.

and also, conveniently, this is done in a way that lets them shorthand/off-screen a lot of this arc and do the rest of it with very minimal screentime for y'shtola and it has an associated romance subplot and also conveniently she's immediately severed from this important community so she can stay footlose and fancy-free in the protagonist group and Isn't It Funny How Scion Women Settle Down Or Die While We Keep Accumulating Permanent Bachelors, I Just Think It's Funny. obviously none of this is above critique. but i think the narrative takes pretty seriously the idea that y'shtola is actually the team's most emotionally developed and mature member in a lot of ways and slitherbough is where a lot of that starts, and you can't understand all that without matoya.

[i-sveikata]

“I can’t even hug him?” Macau protests as Vegas keeps tugging him further away from Pete. “Shit, you’re possessive. Learn to share.”

“Learn how to stop breathing,” Vegas fires right back.

OHHHHHH MY GODDD😭 he’d jealous of macau??? even macau isn’t safe from possessive vegas ahaha i love it! as readers we love (i can’t emphasise this enough) possessive and jealous vegas but how does pete feel about this? does he like when vegas is being jealous? what would he do if vegas showed more “ownership” towards him? would he find it arousing or is it a turn off and uncomfortable for him? vegas liked being owned but what about pete🤔

Lmao first and foremost Vegas is a loser so jot that down. Lol but seriously he’s literally emotionally underdeveloped and the only times he’s had good things in his life they’ve been snatched away. This is the first real, genuinely good thing to happen to him in a very long while and he’s holding on selfishly and greedily - he doesn’t know how to be generous with Pete and other people. Not even if that other person is Macau.

I do think when they define their relationship and Pete tells Vegas he’s in love with him Vegas might not be as unhinged about it but I don’t think he’s ever going to truly overcome that fear of losing Pete/feeling overly possessive/protective of the connection they have.

Lol it’s very entertaining for me as well so I’m glad the readers are enjoying it too!! Tbh Pete’s kind of internally rolling his eyes when it happens most of the time but he’s not especially alarmed about it (yet). If it starts to get worse or more destructive to the point that Pete is actually concerned then he’s going to broach the topic with Vegas and try to get to the root of his anxiety. Pete generally doesn’t have a problem articulating when he’s uncomfortable about things to vegas- and even when he’s shy and unable to come right out and say certain things (usually sexual stuff) Vegas can usually figure out what he’s trying to dance around- or he’ll keep probing until he can figure out what he means. Vegas is pretty obsessed with trying to figure out what Pete is thinking and feeling at all times so I think he’d be able to put it together pretty quickly if pete was uncomfortable. Pete would just tell him to knock it off and he would (or at least he’d be less obvious about it in Pete’s presence- let’s be real he’s a sneak)

But tbh Pete does like it!! He likes how certain Vegas is about him even if it scares him a bit. I think Pete does get a little excited when Vegas is more violent and unruly with other people because Pete gets the chance to overpower him or exert his own control of the situation to prevent literal bloodshed haha and a lot of that ties in with Vegas never having had healthy relationships so he doesn’t know how to manage his feelings about potentially sharing Pete’s time with other people. He’s not a fully developed person because he’s never been treated like one!!!! Vegas is riddled with dysfunction!!! Pete is like 100% of his impulse control!!!

But yeah tie all that in with a potential sexual rival/ someone else being actually interested in Pete? His possessive behaviour takes on a whole different kind of batshit intensity- which Pete also discovers he’s into (the future scene in the bathroom with that stranger would not work otherwise because Vegas literally has a knife to the guy’s throat and Pete is into that threat of violence) so yeah Pete switches between fondly annoyed by Vegas’ behaviour/ constantly intervening on his behalf and also a little turned on and curious to see what Vegas would do if he did decide to let him loose one day. Don’t forget Pete’s a little freak too!! He’s just better at hiding it lmao

[kosmic-arts]

thinking about totk and how the plot sucked.... its the same shit where i feel depressed with kh because it has so much potential but botches it entirely at every turn. totk was such a disappointment plotwise. like, i enjoyed playing it a lot, but i couldn't shake this ever present feeling of bitterness every time anything plot related happened. they completely retcon any and all worldbuilding established in the first game, and replace it all with zonai shit that we're all just supposed to buy was always there. they are so underdeveloped, its mindboggling. i really do wish it had been link going back into the past rather than zelda. as link i feel like im doing chores the whole game while zelda is out there experiencing the actual plot and getting to make difficult choices. like?? i thought i was supposed to be playing the main character... i love zelda, just not botw/totk zelda. she sucks!! sorry 😬 her arc is cool and interesting, but i ultimately don't care because its all told in disjointed flashbacks where most of the actual character development happens without us seeing. zelda goes from hating link and being a petulant child, to being cool with him and chill. we never get to spend any substantial time with her, so all we get is the characters and the rest of the narrative constantly trying to convince you that zelda is so nice and perfect and youve gotta save her right?? and link totally cares about her even though he looks bored as hell 24/7 and seems only invested in this because its his job and hes gotta be home by 5. skyward sword was smart enough to give us like, an hour with zelda to establish link's friendship with her and just that alone does wonders. who doesn't love skyward sword zelda!! i was invested from start to finish trying to reunite with her. also do not talk me about the occasional silly dialogue options link has, or him clenching his fists sometime.. thats not good enough. i honestly dont like botw/totk link either; hes barebones asf. wind waker link is 1000x more alive than botw link; ocarina of time link too and all he does is scream, and TP link!! he ACTS impulsively and with rage when the kids from his village are taken- botw link doesnt have shit on any of his predecessors sorry!! ok. i got a little off topic. basically the totk plot had the minimal possible effort put into it, and it sucks and i hate it. even though the story in botw was very lightweight and straightforward, it was infinitely more riveting than totk, and for that reason i still think about and remember botw more fondly.

[bengiyo]

Stay by My Side Ep 10 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last week, these two worked out some of their issues about Jiang Chi prioritizing Bu Xia over himself, and they also checked in with the sister on a way to stop Bu Xia from hearing ghosts. Seems like marriage is involved. I felt like this show had run out of legs, so let’s finish this lap.

They have Bu Xia, boy who is terrified of ghosts, watching a horror flick.

I’m encouraged that Jiang Chi is working on projects away from Bu Xia again.

Now, I would have to kick both of my friends’ asses if they left a live stream on when they could see me getting hot and heavy with my dude. The lack of loyalty!!!

Episode 10: Because of you, I’m not afraid anymore.

Bu Xia’s instant rage at a fiancée showing up was way funnier than I think it was meant to be.

Girl, get out of here with this delusions of marriage.

This show has some silliness to it, but the emotional core is grounded. Bu Xia is totally valid to say that he won’t accept being a concubine.

Well it’s definitely the final episode of a Taiwanese BL. We’re building to a whole thing with the parents and marriage.

I’ve really enjoyed the dynamic between Jiang Chi and Gu Bu Tao. My sister is younger than me, but she’s similarly protective.

Wait, this is the end of the show? What the fuck??

Oh, post-credits. Jiang Chi took the burden on himself. Fascinating.

Final Verdict: 7, It’s Fun But Leaves a Lot Hanging. I had a lot of fun watching this as one of my lighter watches for the last two months. I like the core emotional dynamics between characters, and I think the leads grew on me over time. Still, I feel like a lot of the undergirding plot elements felt underdeveloped and hoped they’d do more with that. I also feel like the show ended abruptly as it was heading into some final territory. As such, I will remember this show fondly when I see a gifset or its name, but I don’t know that I’ll be returning to it on my own.

[amochi]

I finished The Elements Of Cadence duology and I’d give it overall a like 3.5/5

I typed out a longer review than I expected so I’m putting a cut. Read if you feel so inclined

I really liked Jack from the beginning, he’s by far my favorite character and Adaira definitely grew on me in the second book (overall I definitely liked the second book more than the first for that reason). And while I really liked Sidra and Torin’s development in the second book as characters, I wish the POV was centered on just Jack and Adaira. I understand the story the author wants to tell could not have been done without the other added POV’s but I just do not care nearly as much following Sidra and Torin. I think my biggest issue is the lack of believability in the story. Any character outside of our main four feels underdeveloped at best and cardboard standees at worst, they are basically just there to push the plot forward in the way that will best benefit our heroines. This stretches across the world building as well, we have no grasp of the cultures of our two clans, we barely see anything of the people living there that aren’t directly related to the main characters, and nothing that happens to the clans feels impactful at all. Every conflict is easily wrapped up and solved which makes the beats of the story really anti-climactic. I kept waiting for a death that would really push the story forward and actually matter, because for what it’s worth Rebecca Ross is really good at amping up the tension, but because no one we care about is ever seriously injured I am never worried about anything whenever the stakes are raised. It got to the point where I was cruising through the parts of the book that were clearly meant to be impactful just because I already knew it was all going to work out and be fine lol also Frae is the most annoying character I don’t know why she got as much POV time as she did.

But overall the vibes of these books are very nice. While the romance didn’t hit me hard it was still sweet to read and Rebecca Ross is definitely a good writer when it comes to her voice and prose. That was by far what carried the story for me. And while I was just ragging on how all of the high-stakes bits never hit hard, there were still a couple that had my eyes glued to the book just because I did want to know how the characters would get out of a situation (even if I already knew they would). And for what it’s worth, I did finish both books so there are still things I enjoyed. I think overall I’ll look back at these books more fondly the longer I let them sit in my brain, and I could still see myself re-reading in the future just for the Vibes if I’m in the right mood

[nikethestatue]

I'm new to your blog and would like to know your personal thoughts on ACOSF. When it first came out literally everyone on my Insta feed was raving about it and saying it was "Sjm's best book" but it's funny to me because now, the majority of readers think it was poorly written/developed.

Hello!

ACOSF is very polarising, even to me, in my own head.

As someone who identifies with Nesta, I needed her journey and I wanted to walk it with her.

As someone who loves Cassian above all other characters, I needed him to be part of that journey as well.

ACOSF came out at a tough time in my life and every time Nesta climbed one step, I climbed with her. Every time she made it through some obstacle, I was there too. She gave her hand and pulled me through the crap that I was experiencing.

Viscerally, the book made a very strong impression on me, from a psychological standpoint. But that's my own personal head space. Perhaps I identified with Nesta just like SJM did, when she was in her own funk.

But it's a bad book. It's not well-written, underdeveloped, with a weak plot.

Do I think fondly of ACOSF and do I go back and reread some parts? Absolutely.

But the book is still probably one of the weakest ones that SJM produced. It felt like a collection of thoughts and ideas and lacked cohesion. It left too many loose ends. It left numerous things unexplained--like what's Power of Death?

But it also has some of the best scenes that SJM ever put out. Nesta and Cassian in Prison, meeting Lanthys, will always remain as one of my all time faves. The Solstice ball was a great scene.

But ACOSF followed ACOFAS, which remains probably my favourite SJM book. That much shorter book managed to cram a lot more important and interesting stuff than the behemoth that was ACOSF. So longer isn't always better.

What can I say? ACOSF is a bad book that is dear to my heart.

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

For the fictional friends ask if you’re still doing. Since I really enjoyed your characterization in your Esteban/doña drabble, them for 1,3, 4,5, 7,8,13. If you don’t want to do them, maybe Gabe and Naomi.

Oh yes, I'm still taking them! And I could always use some more Esteban and Doña, cause my idea of them is majorly underdeveloped

1. When I think they became friends (if canon already hasn't showed how they became friends)

Hmm that's a difficult question, since are they really friends? Okay, I know they are, you know they are, even if they will never admit that XD

I think at first they met when Esteban had to make some big order for a palace or city event and the newly founded (or was it?) Emporium turned out to be the best supplier, so for some time their relationship was strictly professional and and not very personal.

A few years later as Doña proceda herself as a great merchant, businesswoman and became the Magister of trade, she became working more directly with Esteban, on things like the Friendship Festival and many more I imagine. And thanks to that, through the years they became closer, becoming acquittances and even unlikely friends. Obviously they aren't the closest in the world, but they still like working together, and through various occasions learned many things about each other and learned to trust each other.

3. A random headcanon I have of them

Esteban is one of the few people that know that Doña is from a rural area and knows her full name, but doesn't know the full story. In the same way Doña knows that Esteban wasn't exactly innocent with Shuriki taking over, but doesn't know the full story, and they'd both sometimes remininisce about their families. In a way they know more about each other than probably any other person in the Realm, but because they understand each other so well, they also never ask nor try to dig into the other's personal life.

4. My favorite thing about them

I'll go with a basic one and say their banter, but also those rare moments they're genuine with each other, and because of the first thing those are the more meaningful.

5. A scene I wish we had of them

Hmm there are a few I can think of, maybe one where they would memorize together? Or just talk/think fondly about something from the past? Though I'd also love to see what was Doña's reaction to Esteban's betrayal other than the obvious "yay more power for me now time to take his job" (he'd do the same for her btw I'm sure of that)

7. What makes me like their friendship

The fact how little we know about them and unique their relationship is. You could probably best describe it in the format of that tumblr meme of saying that "they're" and giving a ton of mostly contradicting things.

8. Who I think is the ”crazier” one

I'm actually not sure here XD But if say Doña, if only because Esteban usually would have more restrictions on him, but then again I think there would sometimes be situations where would be the more realistic one, since (at least pre-show) she'd have more to lose.

13. What I think would have happened if they never met

Avalor's economy would look much worse.

But in their personal sense, I think they'd both be even lonlier and more bitter. They might not want to admit it, but they really were each other's friends when they really needed that.

And that's it! Thank you for this ask, and I'd love to do Gabe and Naomi as well, so feel free to send another ask with numbers for them :>

Ask game

[totally-original-artist]

Middle

Day 9: Middle

Warnings: none

Characters: Barbatos, Diavolo

Summary: Barb likes MC but refuses to do anything about it so Diavolo takes matter into his own hands.

Word count: 483

Barbatos took his time with the teacup in his hand. He had no other tasks left for the day, and thus he was in the middle of maintaining some of the Lord’s tea sets. The cup he held was from a set that MC had given him. He looked at it fondly. Although the gift had not been for him he still felt an attachment to it. Dragging the cloth over its surface repeatedly he could only think of them. How excited they had been once Lord Diavolo opened his gift, how fondly they had smiled at the prince. Not me. No, he had to stop his train of thoughts, after all, he was to serve the future king. A relationship would be too distracting.

And yet, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be with them. To hold them in his arms. To have that smile directed at him. To have their lips on his own. The butler felt his face heating up at the thought. It would be a dream come true. Ever since they had stepped foot onto The Devildom, not a single day went by without him thinking about them. There was just something about them that was so endearing, he wanted nothing more than to just exist with them by his side. Although they’re mortal, he was sure the time they spent together would leave an impact on him for ages to come. Just as he lets out an affectionate sigh, an abrupt cough startles the demon.

“Barbatos…I think that cup’s clean enough…?” He chuckled at the butler. It was Lord Diavolo. Of course. He gently smiles at the prince and nods.

“It seems so, my apologies.” He carefully places it back on the shelf, adjusting its position to match the rest of the set. As he closes the door Diavolo speaks again.

“You appear to be quite attached to that set, if you wish to, you can keep it.” Barbatos shook his head at that.

“I cannot do that my Lord, it was a gift for you specifically. If MC wanted me to have it they would’ve given it to me themselves.” He said with a sad smile. Diavolo looked shocked, it was obvious that he had feelings for the exchange student, and yet they barely got any time together so it wasn’t a surprise to see their relationship so underdeveloped.

“You know, they would’ve, you simply haven’t had the chance to get to know them better.” Diavolo offers him a reassuring smile and claps his back. “How about you take tomorrow off? I’m sure the castle can go on for at least 24 hours without your presence.” He chuckled. Barbatos was taken back. A whole day? Just us. He could feel his heart start to flutter at the thought, a smile spreading across his face. 

“I…would love that. Thank you my Lord.”

Note: Prolly should’ve added a summary to all the other fics too...

[adorehs]

tryst

Hi! This is the first fic I fully completed and I wanted to post it even though I don’t like it much. I know the writing is underdeveloped and the ending is absolutely horrible (tried to expand but everything just seemed bad) but I tried my best. I haven’t written anything for fun in years so I thought I’d give this a try and post it so I can get feedback and improve!

This is my entry for @bfharry’s #boyfriendathon!

Summary: Y/N and Harry struggle to keep their new relationship hidden on a group trip to Ibiza. (3.3k words) 

Warnings: poorly written fluff and smut 

The four of you had been planning the trip for the past year, doing extensive research and saving up for the airfare and cost of living for your week trip in Ibiza, and you had finally arrived on the warm island after a day of travel. As excited as you all were and as much as you would like everything to be perfect, the trip had already started off with a few extra complications. 

For starters, your rental car didn’t have a large enough trunk to fit in all the suitcases everyone had brought along, so atop yours and your friend Tara’s lap you held a suitcase each and the gravel road made the thirty minute drive to the hotel practically unbearable. 

Along with that, you had arrived a few hours before your rooms were ready, so you and Tara stalled in the lobby as Harry and your other friend Niall went to a cafe to pick up a few essentials for everyone. 

When the boys had arrived with your coffees, the receptionist had informed you that your room would be ready in about fifteen minutes so you four sat down with your bags in a huddle around a small table, speaking in hushed voices as you waited for your keys. 

“Didn’t they say it would be ready by noon in the email?” you ask, pulling out your phone for proof. 

“I think so,” Niall agreed, “Maybe one of ours isn’t ready so they're giving us both at the same time,” he suggested. 

Harry groaned in response, “Still, I want to take a fucking nap before we go to the beach.”

You all murmur an agreement as you heard your name being called by the receptionist. You glance at your friends before heading over to the young lady to retrieve the keys for everyone. 

The process was quite quick since you had attempted to check in earlier and had given her all your information then, and soon you had four sets of keys to two hotel rooms. 

“Harry and Niall in 1406, me and T in 1408,” you hand everyone their keys, “They’re adjoined but you still have a separate door.”

“Thank god,” Niall exclaims before hurriedly transporting himself and his bags to the elevator, “I’m exhausted,” he comments when you all join him a few moments later. 

//

A few hours later, you all head to the nearest beach to relax. Niall and Tara led the way as you and Harry walked slowly behind them, his hand resting on your lower back as he whispered in your ear telling you how good you look. 

“Harry,” you giggle softly when he grabs your hand, “Come on you know we can’t…” you trail off, looking up at your friends, making sure they haven’t seen Harry’s display of affection. 

“Yeah,” he agrees with a sigh, “I hate lying to them but they would freak out.”

You and Harry had recently started dating (after a few dates that you promised didn’t have to go anywhere). You both knew that if Niall and Tara found out, they would freak out with the presumption that the group could fall apart in an instant. 

You dropped his hand and sidestepped as you saw Niall peer over his shoulder looking for you both, “Hurry up!” he called out, making you speed walk to catch up with your friends. 

By the time you had caught up with them, you were practically on the beach, so you set down your towels under an umbrella someone had left there before and you strip yourselves of extraneous clothing. 

“I’m gonna go look for somewhere to rent a surfboard, you guys want one?” Tara asks. 

“I’ll just come with, I need one,” Niall decides as you and Harry shake your heads no.

“Okay we’ll be back,” Tara calls out as she begins roaming the beach with Niall. 

Harry smirks lightly and throws his arm over your shoulder as you reach for the sunscreen beside you, “Alone at last,” he sighs dramatically. 

“Shut up,” you shrug his arm off you and replace it with a palm full of sunscreen, “Get my back, please?”

Harry nods, taking the bottle from your hand and squirting some sunscreen onto his hand. He moves your bathing suit straps down your shoulders slightly and you shiver at his gentle touch. Beginning at your shoulders, he massages the sunscreen in, relieving you of hours of stress. You moan lightly at the way his hands work at the crook of your neck and he chuckles under his breath. 

His hands lower themselves across your back with a suitable amount of pressure with every movement, making goosebumps rise on your skin, contrasting with the hot air of the beach. He unhooks your bathing suit and you yelp, quickly holding onto the cups ensuring you wouldn’t flash anyone walking about. “Relax,” Harry advises, “It’s only sunscreen.”

You look over at him with an unimpressed look plastered across your face, “It’s only sunscreen,” you mock him, sticking your tongue out childishly, “This is where it starts, but watch, next time there will be no sunscreen,” you predict. 

“Okay, you got me,” he smiles at you, rehooking your bathing suit and helping you shrug the straps back onto your shoulder. Harry taps your shoulder when you’re situated and kisses you lightly on the nose and then fully on your lips, “Will you get my back?” 

You smile and nod fondly at your boyfriend before shuffling on your knees so you are behind him. Following a similar process to Harry, you massage the sunscreen into his shoulders and press lightly on his back, feather a few kisses on his shoulder blade when you’re done, but scrunch your face together in disgust at the sour sunscreen that found its way into your mouth. 

He laughs lightly and kisses you, holding onto your chin, careful not to transfer the sunscreen onto his tongue as well. “Have I told you how sexy you look in this?” he asks between kisses.

You smile, “A few times,” before breaking out of his hold and reaching for a book you had brought along with you.

He studies you as you open the book, watching how your mouth draws a straight line and your forehead creases slightly as you concentrate on the words. Just as he is about to bother you again, he hears Niall’s laugh. Harry’s head snaps in the direction and he sees Tara and Niall laughing and pointing at a seagull who keeps trying to run away from an inquisitive kid. In both their arms, they hold surfboards and they have changed into wet suits. 

“The stand is over there,” Tara points to a building lined with surfboards, “You can change there too, if you want to come later.”

Harry nods, and through his peripheral vision he can see you do the same, “I’m gonna try and read but I might come out there later,” you reply. 

Harry just shrugs, “I might tan or nap but I’ll go look for food in an hour.”

Niall nods in agreement, “Cool, we’ll try and be back by then.”

Niall and Tara begin walking towards the ocean, pulling their wet suits on completely and Harry glances at you once they are out of earshot.  “So now that they’re gone, wanna make this another date?” he asks shyly.

You set down your book and balance your body on your elbows, “Okay, you have my attention.”

“So, I’m thinking, we get food before they come back and have a picnic on the beach and once they go next time we can do something fun,” he wiggles his eyebrows. 

You look at him, eyes wide in shock, “Harry,” you gasp, “Not here! Maybe next time we’re left at the hotel, but not here!” 

“Fine,” he dramatically sighs, “We can just cuddle if that's what you’re comfortable with.”

“Yeah, that’s what i'm comfortable with, dumbass,” you playfully push him and he dramatically falls over. 

“Jesus, woman!” 

Harry stood up and held a hand out for you, “Let’s go find food m’lady.” He pulled you up and you both started walking towards the pier where there seemed to be a few restaurants. 

You found a restaurant without a line fairly quickly and ordered a few entrees you thought Niall and Tara would like, along with a wrap for Harry and a falafel sandwich for yourself. 

Sitting down with your stuff again, indulging in the food while staring at the ocean. The sun was beginning to set and there was a nice breeze in tow, causing you to shiver. Harry noticed and immediately handed you a sweatshirt he had brought along just in case. He scooted closer to you and circled his arm around your waist as you grasped onto the outerwear.

“Hey, is this the one you gave me on our first date?” you asked once you had pulled the black material over your body.

Harry squinted, turning his head to study the sweatshirt, “Yeah, I think it was.”

“That was so awkward,” you laugh, resting your head on his shoulder, “We tried so hard to not mess anything up, it just ended up silent, like, most the time.”

“Hey!” Harry whined, “That’s because we cared. We wanted this to work,” he shrugged, looking back at the ocean. “I think that’s Tara,” he said, untangling his arm from your body and scooting a few feet away from you. 

You whimper softly at the loss of warmth, wrapping your arms around your body to make up for Harry’s body. You see him exhale deeply and hide a smile as Tara approaches. 

“Oh thank goodness, I’m starving,” she says once she sees the food, “Think Niall’s coming in a few minutes, he’s talking to the lifeguard,” Tara points behind her carelessly. 

“Of course he is, always a flirt,” you glance at Niall who’s helping a girl in a red bathing suit down from the post. 

Harry laughs loudly, “She looks so confused, I think he’s trying to speak Spanish.” 

Tara snorts, “He knows, like, six words. He needs a lotta luck if he’s going to do… that.”

Niall arrives a few minutes later, laughing as he tells everyone about the girl and his limited Spanish vocabulary. You all share a few laughs and retell some old stories as the sun goes down and the temperature drops even more. 

Tara and Niall are shivering viciously because they were still wet from the ocean and they head back to the hotel, claiming they will let you and Harry in whenever you come back. You both bid them a goodbye and are left alone again. 

“Finally,” Harry says, sliding in behind you so your back is to his chest, and wrapping his arms around your front, “We can cuddle.”

“I’d hardly call this cuddling,” you glance back at him, “If this is what you consider cuddling, we’re gonna have a problem.”

“We’re spooning, no?” He smiles at you cheekily and you shake your head. 

“No,” you reply, and with a light push on Harry’s chest to speeden the process you carefully lower yourselves onto the towel beneath you, your toes tickled by a cool breeze as sand gets into your hair, “Now we’re spooning.” 

Harry flips you over in his arms so he is looking into your eyes. His left hand slowly caresses your face as his right traces your lips softly. “You’re so pretty,” he says softly. 

Your smile widens as you bring your hand up to his hair, “You’re prettier,” you counter. 

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he leans back slightly. You tug on his hair and push him back into you as he mumbles, “I think you’re blind. You’re out of my league.” 

“Are you joking? There’s no way you’re being serious.”

“I’m serious! You’re out of my league it’s just a fact.”

“No,” you look at him pointedly, “We are in the same league. Don’t get it twisted,” you crack a smile. 

Harry bursts out into laughter and you follow, falling into a fit of giggles. “Okay, same league,” he agrees. 

The two of you lay there in relative silence for the next twenty minutes, just relishing in each other and cherishing the time you have before the cold air becomes unbearable. 

Once it becomes too cold to think, Harry stands up slowly, wrapping himself in a towel and he holds out his arm for you before helping you up. You both gather all the towels and bags left over and head back to your hotel. 

//

The following day the four of you spent some time sight seeing and learning about Spanish culture. That night you ended up on the beach again, the four of you sitting around a bonfire. 

You weren’t doing much, just eating and talking whilst wrapped up in blankets. Harry found himself staring at your lips as you spoke about a party you went to your freshman year. Safe to say he had no idea what happened at the party. 

You wore a black dress with cherries on that you tied over your yellow bathing suit and Harry thought you couldn’t look better if you tried. A slight tan had made its way onto your body, your hair dry from the ocean water, and an effortless smile lying on your lips as you wrap yourself tighter in a towel you borrowed from the hotel. 

You looked up and made eye contact with Harry, smiling widely before looking down at your hands to not raise any suspicion. Harry frowned slightly and focused on Niall, asking him what he was going to do later that night. 

“Probably go to the pool,” he shrugs, “The ocean is way too cold now.”

Harry nodded, “I’m gonna go to bed in like an hour so I won’t join,” he looked up at you. You nodded slightly as Tara replied. 

“I’m gonna go to the gym, maybe I’ll meet up with you after.”

You looked up, “I’m going to go to bed. All the walking really got to me,” you informed. 

Everyone murmured their ‘okay’s and a few minutes later you had all packed up and headed back to your hotel rooms. 

You and Harry walked slightly behind everyone, Harry’s lips on your ear as they tell you how he’s going to have you tonight. 

Tara and Niall changed and headed back down to the shared lobby and you rushed to knock on the shared door between the two rooms. Harry hastily helped you inside and within seconds his lips were on yours and his shirt was thrown across the room and his shorts were directly beneath him. 

Clad in only his briefs allowed for the outline of his cock to show through the thin, black fabric and you glanced down at it when your lips parted, losing your train of thought for a moment. 

Your eyes widen slightly and your head rolls back as Harry begins kissing along your jawline and down to your neck. He leads you onto his bed, that he had laid a towel on, and helps you get rid of your shirt and shorts. 

He groans at the sight of the white lace set you had put on for him and you smile up at him, laying down on the bed, as he steps out of his briefs. 

“We gotta be quick, babe,” He reminds you, “God you look so beautiful. Quick won’t be a problem.”

You chuckle and lean up and grasp his arms, pulling him down onto you, “Thank you,” you whisper. He giggles lightly as his lips find yours. You pull him closer into your body as he deepens the kiss, immediately asserting his dominance. 

You moan lightly into the kiss as Harry’s hand finds its way down to your panties, pressing light pressure onto your core and moving his hand slightly as you arch your back urging for more. 

Harry’s lips detach from yours and find their way to your chest, his free hand skillfully unclasping your bra and you lean up slightly to help take it off your body. Your bra is thrown across the room and one of Harry’s hands finds your right breast, massaging it, as his mouth attaches itself with your left nipple. 

His tongue works skillfully, circling your nipple and flicking it harshly, hardening it instantly. He playfully nips at it, making you groan in pleasure, before he switches breasts and does a similar routine on the other. 

He kisses his way down to your body and to your core, placing a kiss directly on the wet patch that has formed on your panties. You groan at the feeling and he looks up at you, “You good?” You nod quickly, unable to speak, “I need to hear you say it,” he reminds you. 

“Yes, fuck, yes. Keep going, please,” you chant, closing your eyes and pushing your body towards Harry’s mouth. 

He groans at the contact and moves your panties to the side, attaching his tongue to your clit. He gently bites on it, teasing you further, and you grab his hair pulling lightly. 

He moans into your core, making you arch your back in ecstasy. “Harry, please,” you beg for his attention, causing him to smirk at your desperation. 

He sucks harshly on your clit making you practically scream in anticipation. In a rhythmic motion, you move your hips as he laps his tongue along your lips, making your legs shake with pleasure. He adds a finger unexpectedly and you moan loudly, pulling at his hair aggressively, this time. Your eyes close and your head rolls back, hitting the mattress, as you come unexpectedly onto Harry’s tongue. 

He smiles slightly and stands after cleaning you up quickly. Rolling on a condom, he watches as you rid your panties, sitting up to throw them where your bra lays on the floor. Making eye contact with you, he gets the sudden urge to kiss you. “You look so flawless,” he mutters. 

“You look perfect,” you reply, giving into his gaze. 

He smiles at you and kisses you softly, assaulting your lips, making sure you know you are loved by the man before you. 

He stands and regains his full height again, allowing you to adjust your body as you wish before lining up his cock with your entrance. 

Harry slides halfway into you with a wrangled moan, looking at you to make sure you’re okay. He lets out an exaggerated “Fuck,” seeing your innocent eyes looking up at him through your eyelashes before bottoming out, his hips coming in contact with your feet as you push him back slightly, nonverbally signaling him to move. 

He thrusts into you at a slow pace, making you whimper for more. You look at him with pleading eyes, in which he responds by slightly increasing his pace. “Please,” you whine, looking into Harry’s eyes. 

He smiles at you and pulls out before sliding back in with more force and speed then before. You moan with delight as he groans with pleasure and you allow him to continue his pattern of strokes before he comes, you following slightly after. 

He pulls out, heading to the bathroom to dispose of his condom before coming back and helping you off the bed so you could use the restroom and clean up while he puts the towel under a table in the room so nobody uses it. 

Walking back into the bedroom, you take in the sight before you of Harry putting his shorts back on. His eyes meet yours and he smiles as you continue to stare at him as he gathers your clothes for you. He hands them to you with a kiss and you change quickly into them before sitting back down on the bed to cuddle for a few minutes. 

You face each other and your legs intertwine as you admire each other and whisper sweet nothings at each other. “I love you,” He tells you. 

“I love you,” you reply.

[tibby]

hello dearest tubular tibby. this is a big question but when do you think glee went wrong? like, what was the point of no return? and what would glee have been like if it was written by you? i would pay a lot of money to see glee: a tibby production and i dont have a lot of money. Sending you lots of love!

a year ago, i probably would have told you that it went downhill after season one, but revisiting season two has made me a lot of fonder of it than i was ten years ago. i still prefer s1, but i do think s2 - for the most part - does manage to keep the campy charm of season one, while balancing it out nicely with more serious topics. most of the musical numbers are good (rocky horror is one of their best, if not THE best theme episode they did), it has some of the standout episodes of the show (the substitute, furt, the sue sylvester shuffle, silly love songs, blame it on the alcohol, sexy), the cast were solid all around, and ryan murphy’s favouritism towards lea and darren had yet to impact the show too much. i think some plots weren’t handled as well as they should have (as a quinn stan, i have a lot of feelings about how all of her storylines could have been written so much better, but the lucy stuff would have been such a good way to delve more into her insecurities/body issues/obsession with perfection - instead, it was just a weird fatphobic mess), but i think stuff like santana’s sexuality and burt’s heart attack were pretty decent for glee. like, yeah, burt’s near death is intercut with finn singing losing my religion over a sandwich, but the weird mix of heart and humour is what made glee work, and you can’t expect more from a show that often covered hot topics with all the subtlety of a hand grenade.

and i’m an unapologetic riverdale stan, i love that show because it’s ridiculous and dramatic and over the top and illogical. because riverdale is self aware about that. and glee, for all its many flaws, was pretty self aware about that too in the beginning.

the problem started when the show got too caught up in its own fame.

season three continued to bring us ridiculous plots mixed in with serious ways, but it was no longer a perfect balancing act. it no longer felt as if it was fun but also touching, it just felt....messy. i’m not sure if i could pinpoint the exact moment it fell apart, because s3 was just a disaster that i erased from my memory as much as i could...but, i don’t know, maybe on my way? shoving regionals, karofsky’s suicide attempt (intercut with blaine singing cough syrup), finn and rachel’s near wedding, and quinn getting hit by a truck into 42 minutes was just...Bad. and it’s the kind of thing glee s1 might have just managed to pull off, but in s3, it just meant all the plots fell flat and lacked the emotional punch they could have otherwise delivered. no longer did glee have that spark that made us willing to overlook stupid plots and contrived relationships. it suddenly just became an overly complicated disaster that tried to shove as many social issues as it could into every episode to get people talking. also, if you didn’t care much for blaine/klaine and rachel, then every episode started to feel like a marathon. characters who had been there since the start were pushed aside, and boring/tacky/underdeveloped characters like sugar, the irish guy, and the christian guy were shoved in.

but i STILL think glee would be looked back on fondly had s3 been it. it absolutely was beginning to fall apart, and a lot of us fell out of love around this time, but their final few episodes made us love it again. paradise by the dashboard light is hands down the best new directions performance, and their overall nationals performance gave everyone a chance to shine. plots were wrapped up, the glee club won, and we were treated to an adorable montage set to tongue tied by grouplove. everyone was happy, they had their futures ahead of them, and people were teary eyed at the thought of saying goodbye to our kids. curtain call, fade to black, play them out. a ridiculous teen drama that existed in the only years were it really could have to make the kind of impact it made and get away with the stuff they did. nothing else like it, let us cherish the memories we made.

but then it continued. and nearly every new character felt like cheap replacements of the original cast, and plots were handled with less care than ever before but things were more serious, they ran out of songs to cover, there were constant and needless guest stars...it was no longer a show about a group of underdogs triumphing over adversity by singing avril lavigne songs. it was a shoddily stuck together mess of recycled storylines, unhealthy relationships, increasingly bad song choices, and matthew morrison’s greasy hair. glee, put simply, was no longer fun. and it didn’t have enough heart to redeem the lack of entertainment. we stopped tuning in, and those who kept up only did because of characters they had fallen in love with during season one. it had become exhausting, and we decided to cut our losses from one of our first big show betrayals and leave.

(sidebar: i do think that the quarterback might be the best episode of the entire show, but i think it’s an outlier and really...can’t be counted with the rest. it exists solely because of a real life tragedy, and real life emotions were going to make it entire something else entirely. it can’t really be included in the chart of “good glee” and “bad glee,” because it wasn’t about the show. it was about cory, and i don’t think it should be included in my overall opinion of when the show jumped the shark.)

i’ve tried watching some of the “better” episodes of the later seasons to see how i felt, but that charm was long gone. no matter which characters they brought back, or what plots took place, there was just no more enjoyment in glee. the spark that made season one shine despite everything had completely gone out. it had dimmed a bit over season two and three, but could still shine through sometimes. not anymore.

all that said, i don’t think i could ever write a show like glee, let alone glee itself. glee was not a show that could have been made before 2009, and it isn’t a show that could be made now. RIB’s insanity and jackassery might have brought about the show’s eventual downfall, but it’s also what made it work at the start. too much of a good thing - or rather, just enough of a bad thing. glee influenced riverdale and riverdale influences me (SPRINGFIELD, coming soon!) but that show was one of a kind. if i were in charge, but the general tone and vibes of the show got to remain the same, i guess my biggest thing would be less of blaine and rachel and brittany and kurt, more of quinn and mercedes and tina and santana. both as characters and their various dynamics. but that’s also just my personal character/ship preferences at work, as opposed to anything constructive. glee: a tibby production, would just be a lot of quinn character study (because she will always be my number one) in which her family, body image, religious guilt, relationship to motherhood both as a mother and child, sexuality, view of sex, etc were all properly explored.

but that’s a whole other thing.

[buffster]

Primeval (BTVS 4.21)

 This is part of my ongoing Buffyverse Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the shows. You can find the BTVS list here and the ATS list here. Gifs are not mine.

Restless may technically be the season finale of season four, but it feels more like a special than what we’re used to seeing at the end of the season. For that we have Primeval. I consider a great season finale to be the culmination of season-long arcs and themes, so how did this one play out?

Season four was about the struggle to grow up and figure out who you are and what your place in the world is. The divergent paths of adulthood also left our core group feeling a little disconnected from one another. It could have been a relatively light season that was remembered fondly. Instead it stands out as a hiccup between two superior seasons, and we all know why: The Initiative arc was a dud.

It actually took some thought before I realized Adam was set up to provide an evil metaphor for this time of adulthood. He really is that bad in the role. He gives a couple of speeches about trying to figure out his identity and purpose. And perhaps his biggest sin is that he’s boring. But I consider this season to be one of the worst Buffy has to offer, better perhaps than season one but without the excuse of being the first.

Here’s my pitch for the season: we have a newly turned vampire decide he wants to unite the vampires into a greater purpose. It provides a nice metaphor as the new vampire tries to figure out his place in the world while our newly-graduated heroines do the same. They start to fall apart just as he unites demons in a terrible purpose. There’s more emphasis on tension between our core group and the struggle to find their way back to each other. I don’t think this would have been the most epic villain or season, but it would have matched the lighter tone and themes the writers were going for better.

Instead we got the government.

Humans finally getting involved in the supernatural could be a major antagonist (like end-of-the-series level antagonist). They become species-ist and discriminate against every single creature and our heroes struggle to find their place in a war between humans and supernatural creatures. Instead that entire issue gets shoved aside and never revisited and we’re left with Adam, who felt like a mere soldier in an entire war we needed to fight. 

Adam was so boring, and that feels especially sad because the concept of combining everything Willow, Xander, and Giles brings to the table into Buffy was very cool. I loved that we were finally placing some value on our non-Buffy Scooby Gang members (especially after the “at the end of the day it’s always just Buffy” messages) but teaming up to take down Adam was a lame way to execute the idea. Adam was made using technology and it felt odd that the Scoobies had to use this spiritual connection to take down a soldier. He just didn’t feel worthy of the honor. 

So I didn’t love the Big Bad arc of the season and I wish it had gone differently. Now that I’ve spent half a post on that, let’s move on to the season finale itself. 

Spike: So it's chips all 'round, is it? Someone must've bought the party-pak.

The episode opens on Riley and Adam in another moment of Buffy subverting our expectations. We expected Riley to run off and take on Adam in his grief even though he had no chance (like Giles in season two) but Riley was actually forced there.

In another off moment, the writers change direction and decide Adam doesn’t want to unite the demons. They’re unworthy and he wants Riley instead. We see that Professor Walsh and Forrest have been reanimated. It wasn’t clear whether Forrest was being altered by Adam or was just genuinely cool with his “upgrade”. His character was really underdeveloped. My fix for that is to have him really in to Riley (who’s just a normal guy) and get turned by the aforementioned vampire. Then he’s on a mission to get Riley turned as well. 

Buffy: That's where it all came from. The stuff we said the other night.

Giles: Of course. Let's move on.

Xander: I'm moving.

Willow: Me too.

Buffy: Good. Great.

Despite the later exchange in the Initiative, this is kind of where they leave things with the Scooby tension. They give hugs but don’t really get into their feelings, which Buffy is not about. There’s no deeper discussion of Giles feeling useless, Xander feeling unworthy, Willow feeling weird, or Buffy feeling alone.

So Adam’s big plan is to bring a bunch of demons into the Initiative, get Buffy down there, and basically kill as many demons he can to use as parts for his new super race. Riley is to be his second-in-command.  

Xander says something that inspires Giles to come up with a plan to combine Willow (spirit), Xander (heart), Giles (mind), and Buffy (hand) to take down Adam. I think if I remember correctly next episode is our explanation for why this can never be used again. It works. Adam is defeated, unfortunately for Spike before he can ditch his chip.

Ward: This was an experiment. The Initiative represented the government's interest in not only controlling the Otherworldly Menace, but in harnessing its power for our own military purposes. It is the considered opinion of this council that the experiment has failed.

They decide to burn down the Initiative and all attempts to get involved with the supernatural (for now). 

Well, that was...ok, I guess.

Character Notes:

Anya Jenkins: She admits her love for Xander but he barely reacts.

Tara Maclay: Tara calls Willow’s computer skills “a different kind of magic” which is so sweet watching post-season six. She always saw Willow as magical. 

[jovialyouthmusic]

The Many Lives of Drake Walker

6a Visiting Friends

Drake and I go to visit some mutual friends, @katedrakeohd‘s @onehandsomedevil-trr Drake and Kate, check her work out here

The next day was pleasant, the weather mild and sunny and taken up by work, shopping, cooking and some ‘personal time’ with my partner, which I found worked very well, as I had my virtual lover in mind as inspiration. Before writing I logged into the site where I interacted with other writers who shared my passion. I chatted to another writer, and came up with an idea before I did a little writing, then minimised. Drake was there of course, a smile on his face.

‘Les, good to see you’

‘Likewise, Drake’ I smiled

‘Coming over?’

‘How could I resist?’

‘Where do you want to meet? I’m back at the waiting room, the firewood ran out at the beach’

‘The waiting room sounds good, and I have a destination in mind tonight’

‘Come on over and tell me about it’ I reached out, closed my eyes and went through the screen again. Drake was there to support me and gave me a peck on the cheek.

‘Oh, that’s a rather brotherly kiss’ I teased. He grinned

‘You want more? Who am I to refuse a lady’ He swung me round to face him and planted his lips on mine. We carried on kissing until we ran out of breath, and I felt like my bones were turning to water. He pulled back and gave me a searching look, his expression changing to a knowing one.

‘Oh hell, you got laid’ he chuckled, and I found myself blushing.

‘How can you possibly tell?’ I protested.

‘Oh believe me, it’s easy to tell when a woman’s had sex’ he said, giving my arm a squeeze ‘You have a sort of glow’ I cleared my throat.

‘That’s as maybe’ I retorted ‘I was chatting to a writer friend, and she invited me to go over and check her work out. It has a nice feel and I’d like to go as Charlotte.’

‘Oh, I’m intrigued’ he said ‘Are you going to tell me, or am I going in cold?’

‘I think I’ll keep you guessing’ I replied. ‘Now, how do I play the part of Charlotte – physically that is, I’m all psyched up to act like her’

‘Just have that strong intention to be her, have her face in mind and it will follow’ Drake instructed me, and led me over to a mirror. I closed my eyes and made my best effort to conjure up Charlotte’s face, and when I opened my eyes, I gasped

‘Wow, it worked’ I exclaimed

‘You have a strong sense of who she is’ Drake said. ‘And it’s easy for me to be that particular Drake – what part of our relationship do you want to play – am I your Consort?’

‘Hmm, let me think’ I pondered ‘As we haven’t actually done anything but kiss so far – and the Drake I’m thinking of visiting is pretty active – it might be fun…’ Drake raised his eyebrows ‘Let’s keep things simple – I’m appearing and acting as Princess Charlotte but otherwise – well we haven’t done anything more than kiss. Lets see what the other Drake makes of that, presuming he’s self aware.’

‘Oh, every Drake is self aware’ he assured me ‘Just some characters are underdeveloped if the writer is just beginning’

‘I would think the one we’ll be seeing is pretty much sure of himself – now, shall we go?’

‘Wait – what faceclaim does he use?’ Drake asked as he took my hand

‘Oh, don’t worry about that, you’re fine as you are’ I grinned. Drake looked at me curiously

‘That sounds ominous’

‘Trust me’ I said as I closed my eyes and imagined us to another place.

‘Oh’ said Drake ‘We’re at the Palace. It’s not one I’ve played’ We were in the library, and it was darker than my version – the wood panelling was dark and so was the rest of the décor, rich and sumptuous. It was night and the dark red drapes were drawn, the lighting subdued. We were alone but Drake turned at the sound of the door opening. Another Drake entered, and my version swore under his breath

‘Motherf… Les, what are you playing at?’ I stifled a giggle as he realised the Drake we were visiting had the same faceclaim, that of Daniel Di Tomasso. The other man looked up sharply and flipped on the main light.

‘What the…?’ he said under his breath. I stepped forward and held out my hand.

‘Nice to meet you Drake – I’m Charlotte’ He looked briefly at me, but his gaze fell on my companion, who gave him an embarrassed wave. He frowned

‘Hey man, not cool’ he growled, and I caught at his arm.

‘I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I didn’t ask him to change. There is method behind my madness, I just want to play a little trick on my friend’ He looked down at my hand as if he hadn’t registered my presence at all. He looked up at me, puzzled – then burst into laughter.

‘Oh man, is she going to be confused’ He walked over to my companion and they gripped each other’s forearms in greeting, Dan slapping my Drake on the back ‘Sorry I wasn’t very welcoming bro – Kate will be in shortly.’ He rubbed the back of his neck ‘Our writer did tell me you’d be along, but perhaps she’ll still fall for it’ He came back to me and gave me a bear hug.

‘You must be Les – though our writer has told me about Charlotte.’ I felt my token hot and heavy as he came close ‘This is going to be fun. I’ll put the main light off and you can watch from the shadows, then she’ll get a surprise – a big one’

‘My pleasure’ I said, and went to stand by the curtains in a dark spot. The two Drakes stood a few feet apart and it wasn’t long before I heard the door rattle and open. A young woman with long dark hair entered, and smiled broadly, throwing herself into the arms of ‘my’ Drake.

‘Honey I missed you’ she cried, and he tentatively patted her on the back, taken by surprise at her enthusiasm. Puzzled, she drew back ‘Drake – what’s up…’ and looking over at Daniel she did a double take, letting go of my Drake with a little cry and stepping back in confusion. He glowered at her, drumming his fingers on his forearm. She looked back and forth between the two men, one looking sheepish, the other feigning annoyance.

‘What’s going on, why are there two of you?’ she said, puzzled, and then it dawned on her. ‘Oh my God’ She put her hand to her forehead and gave Drake a little push – then marched over to Dan and put both hands onto his chest, slapping hard and pushing him back. He absorbed the blow, staggering back to the bookcase .

‘You Jackass, you really had me going’ she cried as Dan’s expression changed to an embarrassed smirk, then he started to laugh. He drew her into his arms and hugged her as I stepped out of the shadows to stand by my companion. They turned to me as I affectionately grabbed onto my man’s arm, envious of their easy physicality.

‘Kate, our writer arranged this – say hi to Les – or is it Charlotte?’ he asked. He let go of my arm and Kate turned to me, wide eyed. I drew myself into a regal pose and walked into the centre of the room.

‘Princess Charlotte to you’ I said with a formal air. Kate looked puzzled and dropped a little curtsy. She looked back at her man. He smiled back affectionately. I wasn’t sure how self aware Kate was and how much she understood her world, but her partner obviously did. He rubbed her arm apologetically.

‘I’m sorry Kate – I’ve told you how there are other versions of me about from alternate stories. This is one of them, and Charlotte is also from another place. It’s a bit complicated, but there’s nothing to be afraid of, they’ve just come to say hi. Think of it as a double date.’ Kate looked at me, still wide eyed. My companion walked over beside me and we held hands. Kate looked from one Drake to the other.

‘Princess Charlotte? Are you from another country?’ I shook my head

‘No, I’m from an alternate Cordonia, I’m the sole heir. I’ve known Drake since we were children – kind of like Liam – oh, he’s Nicholas here, isn’t he?’ Dan/Drake nodded

‘That’s right, his love interest here is Hana’ Kate still looked puzzled, and Drake put his arm round her waist. ‘Charlotte is kind of special – her writer can come over from her world to play and change who she is. Her real name is Les, but we’ll play with her as Charlotte.’ He smiled fondly ‘Perhaps I’ll get our writer to come through some time, who knows?’ Kate shook her head in disbelief.

‘That’s all gobbledegook to me but what the heck – lets double date and have some fun’ He went over to a bookcase by the fireplace and triggered the lever that opened the panel to a passage behind.

‘We need to drag a couple more chairs in’ he said, and my companion nodded, picking up a straight backed chair.

‘Hold on’ I said ‘If our host doesn’t mind, I can change things a little, no need to move stuff’ Drake put the chair down, frowning slightly.

‘But I was going to show off my muscles, you’re no fun Charlotte’

‘I’m not stopping you giving me a show, but we need something more substantial than that’ I pointed out.

‘No way you girls are missing out on a testosterone packed show of strength’ said Dan/Drake ‘Here, help me with this bench’ The two men went over to a low backed leather padded bench and rolled their sleeves up before taking one end each, straining to pick it up and grunting theatrically with the effort. I leaned on the mantlepiece and turned my head to Kate.

‘Adorable isn’t it – all that brawn and so few brain cells’ She grinned in reply, and whispered back.

‘How long before they work out it won’t fit through the gap?’ she said conspiratorially. I chuckled and we watched them wrestle the bench over to the opening, grunting and puffing. They put it down and scratched their heads.

‘How do you tell them apart?’ asked Kate ‘I’m afraid if I take my eyes off them they’ll swap places’

‘Oh they behave slightly differently – mine isn’t as handsy, and you saw he wasn’t comfortable when you hugged him’

‘I can’t go on hugging them to find out who’s who’ she said as the two men tried to work out their puzzle, tipping the bench over and trying again – and failing. I took my token out to show her.

‘My Drake gave me this – when another Drake gets close enough, it gets heavy and feels hot’

‘Oh neat’ she said ‘could you let me know if I’m about to make a big mistake please’ I smiled and took her hand in mine to give it a squeeze.

‘Of course – sisters before misters, I’m sorry I tricked you before’ I replied, and she grinned.

‘It was funny, don’t worry about it, my face must have been a picture. Shall we tell them?’ she nodded toward the two men, who were now a little breathless and had paused in their efforts to get the bench into the secret passage.

‘Nope, they’ll be taking their shirts off any minute now’ Dan/Drake looked up at us

‘What the ladies want, the ladies get’ He stood up and started to unbutton his shirt, and I heard Kate’s breath hitch a little as he gave a crooked grin and looked straight into her eyes. I looked questioningly at my man, and he coloured very slightly before he followed suit, but his eye contact was nowhere near as confident. Dan/Drake cast him a glance.

‘I’m sensing you two aren’t as intimate as we are’ he said ‘I’ll have to give you some tips, man.’

‘What? No – that’s not – I’ve had plenty of experience’ he stammered. ‘We’re just – not at that stage just yet – if ever’ He looked at me pleadingly. ‘Charlotte – that is, Les has a partner on the other side’ Dan/Drake shrugged, but I stayed silent, enjoying the sight of two well toned bellies and sparsely haired chest, the dark trail leading down below their waistbands…

‘So does my writer’ said DD, breaking the spell. My man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

‘But your Kate is still just virtual. I’ve – done things with Charlotte – but before Les came over, if that makes sense’ DD nodded. I nudged Kate.

‘While those two are bonding, I think we girls deserve a little pick me up, don’t you? I have the idea they’ll be drinking whiskey when we’re settled.’

‘Oh, I like white wine but how will we get hold of it? The kitchens have closed down for the night’

‘When I’m around, we don’t need the kitchens’ I smiled, and closed my eyes. Kate gasped as a bottle and two glasses appeared on the mantlepiece. ‘You don’t even have to specify what type, I can conjure up anything’ She clapped her hands in delight and looked over at the two men, who were now sitting on the bench, slightly dejected.

‘Do you think we should put them out of their misery?’

‘I think they’ve sweated enough’ I said, and closed my eyes again. There was soft thud and a couple of grunts of surprise, and when I opened them again the men were sitting on the floor, the bench gone. I picked up the bottle and glasses and we went through the gap, the two men getting up sheepishly and following.  

@ao719 @agent-bossypants @andy-loves-corgis @sleepwalkingelite @boneandfur @blackcatkita @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicescommunity @darley1101 @drakewalkerrosenberg @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @goirishsunshine @gardeningourmet @livingthroughchoices @likethetailofacomet @mrs-nazario @mind-reader1 @ooo-barff-ooo@silviasutton1989 @speedyoperarascalparty @zaffrenotes @missevabean @mrsdrakewalkerblog @cora-nova @missameliep @tanelle83 @endlessly-searching-for-you @jlouise88 @drakenazario @tabithacarlisle @furiousherringoperatortoad @notoriouscs @classylady1234 @wickedgypsymoon @carabeth @choices-fangirl @indiana-jr @indiacater @noey718-blog @katedrakeohd @bobasheebaby @annekebbphotography @kennaxval @sirbeepsalot @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @aworldoffandoms @iplaydrake @drakesensworld @drakewalkerisreal @samcpossum @melodyofgraves @khakie4 @museofbooks @be-still-my-aching-heart

[captainninnin]

Can S-Class and Wonder Woman beat all the hybrids? Here is a sample of Marvel Love chapter 15.

(This work in its whole is nsfw.)

Wonder Woman Arrives Part 3

“Are you sure it was a good idea to turn down Captain America’s help?” I asked Diana. After he had told us about this Dr. Deborah “Debbie’ Domaine he said he wanted to help us take her down. But she told him no and insisted that she and I go alone. “This is supposed to be MY enemy I want to take this one down myself,” Diana said. “If that were the case why did you want me here?” I asked.

“I don’t know why, but when I’m with you I feel that I’ve finally found something that I’ve been looking for, for a very long time. I don’t even know when I started looking for you. But now that I’ve finally found you I’m not going to let you out of my sight.” she said with a loving smile.

We entered the facility as quietly and as quickly as we could. It was the dead of night so no one saw us. “Because who would notice a woman in a red, blue and gold bikini and giant man made up of living metal.” I joked when we came up with this plan to sneak into the facility to see what was going on. If we were caught Steve said that he would pull the Avengers card to get us out, but we hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it.

We found Dr. Domaine’s lab pretty easy enough. We then went to work on what connection she could have to the cat creature. We found all the equipment that was needed to create a creature like that but that wouldn’t be enough to call the local cops. Diana looked through some of her papers that she had lying around. “S-Class what does all this mean?” she asked handing me the paperwork. We had discussed this before we left she would call me S-Class and I would call her Wonder Woman when we were in the field.

I looked over the papers. “Oh my god,” I said reading what it says. “What does it mean?” she asked again. “I can understand why you couldn’t understand it. I can barely understand it myself. It essentially says that she is trying to make the perfect super soldier combining the DNA of cats and humans. But there was always a problem.” I said. “What was that?” she asked.

“Their brains were underdeveloped.” this female voice said. We turned around and there stood Dr. Debbie Domaine. “So here before me stands S-Class and his lady love Wonder Woman. How...unimpressive,” she said taking several steps to the wall and flicking a switch and the lights popped on. And around us were cages and cages of cat/human hybrids.

“Why would you do all of this?” Wonder Woman asked as they started to lash out from their cages. “The Avengers are ‘Earths Mightiest Heroes’. Well, I think that the Earth can do so much better. And with my work, we can replace these ‘HEROES’. Replace them with something better.” she said fondly. “Better?!? Going by these reports 90% of these creatures die a painful death!” I yelled.

“They were weak. But my work WILL produce the ultimate super soldier.” Dr. Domaine said. “Who would’ve funded something like this?” Wonder Woman asked. “My guess no one. That’s why you’re using your own DNA isn’t it?” I asked. “People have yet to see the error of their ways. But one day this program will be the thing that saves the world. It’s a pity that neither of you will be able to see it.” she said as she flicked another switch. And about twenty cages opened and the hybrids came out after us.