#keep your hands OFF time travel rachel

[genericpuff]

STAY OFF MY TERRITORY - Time Travel in Lore Olympus (feat. Springlock, our resident time traveller)

AH YES. TIME TRAVEL. BUILDING COFFEE TABLES FROM IKEA. BOTH A MESS, BOTH SOMETHING YOU SHOULD NEVER ATTEMPT EVEN AS A GAG.

THERE WILL BE FASTPASS SPOILERS IN THIS ANALYTICAL DISSECTION OF LORE OLYMPUS' TIME TRAVEL !!!

Let's establish the "time travel" in LO first of all - it's briefly introduced by Hecate, who says that Hades isn't in a 'where' but a 'when' , hahahaha i so love time travel jokes /s THIS ISN'T A LAUGHING MATTER-

We had already covered this in the criticisms that Kronos' 'dream comas' would have been better allocated to his time travel abilities, and it seems now Rachel is trying to make that a reality at the last possible minute. I'm going to completely tear apart that reality to present to you why it doesn't work in LO.

Aw, Kronos' time abilities are finite? Get on my level, sir.

The caveat is the existential toll that time travel takes on the jumper, and the fact that in most cases, it's impossible to perform due to paradoxes. And Lore Olympus' time travel presents a lot of paradoxes. No wonder Kronos went crazy, I'm going crazy just thinking about everything that's wrong with this.

So Hades is trapped 'somewhere' in time. This isn't something I haven't seen before, but the issue it presents is getting someone back to their present time, as it presents the first paradox -

PARADOX #1 - There are no accidents. If someone is to jump into a timeline outside of their own, even if by 'accident', that would still have to be predestined by the timeline itself. This is in line with the grandfather paradox, which I will let the almighty Google define for us all to keep things brief:

You cannot travel back in time 'by accident'. If you were to travel back in time, it would have been written into the script of reality already, so any effects caused by your jumping would be purposeful, even if they seem like 'accidents' to you - such as becoming your own grandfather, Philip J Fry.

Moving on, in the most recent FastPass episode, Melinoe reveals that she was taken from her timeline by Kronos.

PARADOX #2 - Which version of Kronos took her? Was it the present version travelling into the future to take her from her timeline into his present? Or was it some future version of Kronos who has escaped yet again at some point in the future and then travelled back into the past to interfere with the events of the current present, possibly in an attempt to rewrite the script? If it's the latter, this means that Hera and Persephone can't feasibly stop Kronos indefinitely, as to stop Kronos would mean that he wouldn't exist in the future to take Melinoe from her future timeline and thus this present timeline of events would cease to exist. If we want to get even more granular with it, 'present' Kronos is still 'past' Kronos as it's the Kronos from ten years ago who got his hands on a deity to help him mess with people's dreams, and that deity has been revealed to be Melinoe, who would have had to be ripped from some point in their future timeline. This falls in line with a temporal paradox, or as most people know it, the 'kill baby Hitler' paradox, which designates that one cannot go back in time to kill baby Hitler, as killing baby Hitler would remove all the subsequent events that would lead up to you deciding to build a time machine and go back in time to kill baby Hitler.

Melinoe claims she's only been here a few days. That would be all well and good, as time is funny like that - I've done my fair share of jumps into the distant past only to return a few minutes later - but what doesn't line up is the present timeline of events that would only work unless she's actually been trapped for longer than a few days.

PARADOX #3 - So it's only been a few days, but Hades and Persephone have known about this child trapped in Tartarus for weeks, and we know Kronos has had her since the dream diving arc back near the end of S2. So unless Kronos is simply jumping to different points in time to cause shenanigans - which leads to even MORE paradoxes as you feasibly cannot travel to your own past to change it due to it creating a different future - then it can't have only been a 'few days' for Melinoe, it would have been at least a few weeks, giving some wiggle room to the past events of her appearing before Hades in his dreams due to her being the goddess of nightmares. Kronos escaping Tartarus after using Melinoe to put people to sleep and possess them was not something that happened in a pocket dimension, it was very real and very present.

Hades commits an even bigger sin, however, and the biggest issue with this 'time travel' plotline:

PARADOX #4 - I truly hope 'home' means 'home point in her timeline' and not their literal home. Hades and Persephone cannot take Melinoe, for two reasons: they haven't had their daughter yet, and the future timeline versions of Hades and Persephone need their daughter back. If Hades and Persephone were to adopt this version of Melinoe in their present timeline, it would create a clone paradox, as they would have a duplicate Melinoe from the future, OR it would create the grandfather paradox if they opted not to try for a child knowing they already have Melinoe which would erase the whole sequence of events that led to future Melinoe's birth in the first place.

Ultimately Lore Olympus' time travel suffers from the same issue many time travel stories suffer from - not having consistent rules. It is choosing now , near the finale of the series, to introduce time travel, rather than establishing it back in Season 1 when Kronos was first hinted at. It's also still not clear in what Hades' role is in this, as him being taken to a 'when' could still be read as a dream sequence rather than actual time travel. After all, Kronos supposedly "exhausted" his time travelling powers centuries ago - surely as a way for Rachel to have her cake and cover for the fact that she's had Kronos in the series since S1 and never actually had him do what he's known for - but now she's trying to eat it too by just giving him his time travel powers again for no reason besides rewriting the dream diving finale from S2 but with ambiguous time travel instead.

It's all a huge mess and the best thing I can do for myself is simply not let it keep me up at night. I have enough time travelling problems to worry about as it is. I will be sticking to the Austin Powers method -

(I am not enjoying myself.)

[rei-ismyname]

Avengers Vs X-Men and the demonisation of Cyclops

Part 1

Avengers Vs X-Men, or AvX, was a Summer crossover event in 2012. The title is pretty self explanatory, but there's a lot more to it than that. It was a bookend of sorts of the Extinction era and a coda for Wanda (and her terrible characterisation) calling back to House of M, narratively undoing the Decimation and exploring Hope's role as the Mutant Messiah.

I believe plenty of the dramatis personae played idiot ball hot potato and acted out of character, especially Steve Rogers. However, I'll primarily be looking at the event through a Watsonian lens, except for discussing the setup and aftermath. Scott Summers struggled against many forces during the Phoenix crisis but I propose the narrative was the most powerful force that opposed him.

Logan is describing himself here, ironically. Scott is quite happy with Emma. He talks a good one about 'keeping the kids out of the fighting' but he's perfectly willing to kill Hope and his students fight constantly.

Wolverine and the Schism

To do a proper analysis of AvX and the central conflict, we need to examine the previous instance of the narrative defeating Scott - the Schism. The salient dynamic to carry forward from it was Logan and Scott falling out - or Logan throwing a hypocritical tantrum - depending on your point of view. Whichever you believe, it's undeniable that Logan resented Scott and managed to enlist a lot of people to follow on his campaign of 'anti-Scott.' He left Utopia and restarted the Xavier School, renaming it The Jean Grey School - both creepy and petty, in my opinion. The narrative and Cyclops' team kept all the genocidal threats away from the school, an editorial hand strengthening Logan's argument. Realistically the school should have been destroyed several times over.

My editorialising aside, Scott and Logan's relationship was not in a good place. They'd mostly kept away from each other, but Logan used his Avengers membership to escalate the Phoenix dilemma and poison the well re: the Avengers' approach to Scott. Aside from vague and fragmented warnings from Nova, Logan was The Avengers only source of information on the Phoenix - and he was heavily biased and objectively wrong. The somewhat one-sided rivalry from Schism had turned into outright animosity - telling 'everyone who'd listen ... that he was crazy.'

Phoenix Rising

The X-Men and Avengers both received confirmation of the Phoenix's arrival, though mutants in general had varying degrees of faith that it would come for Hope Summers specifically. As mentioned, Logan positioned himself as an expert despite Rachel Summers, long time Phoenix host, teaching at his school. Scott absolutely had an agenda, but it was reactive and had good reason to believe that the Phoenix had good intentions. Though even if he didn't, he didn't call the Phoenix to Earth. The bird does as it pleases. He certainly could/should have treated Hope like an adult and asked what she wanted, but at the same time she was a 16 year old in his care.

Scott's approach was to prepare Hope as best he could for the trial to come, admittedly quite harshly. He knew there was no getting away from the Phoenix, it's simply too powerful to evade or fight head on. He also should have consulted Rachel, though he corrected that mistake swiftly once things kicked off. Not only was he married to the Phoenix for quite some time but he's aware it's spent a lot of time on earth at least 6 different hosts and the Earth is doing just fine. Importantly, his time-travelling son had been to many futures where Hope was denied the Phoenix and they were ashes, the Earth a desolate wasteland. In futures where she did host the Phoenix, mutants were reignited. His extensive time travelling had yielded very reliable information in the past, his claim that Hope was the Mutant Messiah is not one Scott just took on faith. Cable is an expert in such things AND he raised Hope from birth.

He also had a personal connection to the Phoenix.

The Avengers' strategy was twofold - taking Hope into protective custody while Iron Man 'worked on a science solution' - and sending their most powerful members to go punch the Phoenix before it got to Earth. Operating off Logan's dubious intel, they packed every Avenger they could find onto a Helicarrier and headed for the mutant island proto nation of Utopia. They also didn't really share that apparently the Phoenix is just a fickle cosmic troll now, allegedly just blowing up planets on a whim. Yes, Dark Phoenix ate a star and genocided a planet, but that was after immense psychological trauma and needless escalation. Even then, it was nearly talked down (by Scott) until Charles Xavier butted in and tried to overpower it. Hopefully he's not arrogant enough to try that again (he is.) Since then, many mutants had hosted the Phoenix and they're all doing fine.

The Avengers had nothing but bad intel, whereas the X-Men had empirical evidence and decades of experience dealing with the Phoenix.

We need to take Hope

Member of the Illuminati's finest diplomacy

Neither man does a great job communicating here, but the onus is on Cap to explain why he's coming to take your granddaughter based on advice from the Stabbing Guy. He presents no plan (they don't have one) and ignores the suggestion that his expert is not an expert. Scott and co were preparing for what has historically been an internal mutant matter when an army arrives on their doorstep telling them how it's going to be. After a failure to reach any sort of middle ground (not that Cap was offering any) Scott responded to Cap's refusal to leave by blasting him non-lethally.

I wasn't asking

All other X-Men are being oddly timid here. Nice title drop, Spider-Man.

'Wants us to look like bullies' says Tony AKA the military industrial complex and founder of the Illuminati. The Avengers get their mandate from the United States and answer to the President and SHIELD, but generally act as they please. Their sense of righteousness is a constant throughout this event and they absolutely act like bullies from start to finish.

Magneto launched Colossus at the Helicarrier (that thing launching at least 12 jets with ~30 powerful superhumans on it) to deny them a force multiplier and press their initiative, though once all Avengers deployed the best they could do was hold the line while Hope was kept safe. The Avengers wanted Hope and the X-Men were determined to protect her.

Remember, dipshit? Stabbing the Phoenix isn't effective. You should know this.

Showing he'd learnt nothing from Jean Grey, any other Phoenix experiences, House of M, decades of knowing Rachel Summers, etc - and in a stunning act of hypocrisy - Logan snuck away from the fight to kill Hope. She manifested Phoenix powers (way before it reached Earth) and burnt him to a crisp. Spooked by the situation and guilty people were fighting over her, Hope fled and successfully sent everyone on a wild goose chase trying to find her.

While both teams were scrambling and pummeling each other, Hope found Logan and proposed a bipartisan plan - they'd travel to the moon and Hope would accept the Phoenix. If she could handle it, great. If not, she'd willingly let Logan kill her. The agreement was to keep the others out of it - she wanted agency over her life and didn't want brawling superhumans ruining her zen. Logan betrayed her and told the Avengers, of course.

Iron Man's genius science solution

The X-Men and Avengers arrived and really ruined the mood. Logan was straight up trying to kill Scott. Just as Hope was about to host the Phoenix, Tony fucking Stark displayed the Avengers' complete lack of Phoenix experience and his own personal arrogance by activating that Transformers-looking thing up there. Everyone held their breath while he shot it with a big gun and something unexpected happened.

Out of Hope

Unsurprisingly this unexpected happening was an utter disaster, splitting the Phoenix into five pieces that ended up in Piotr, Emma Frost, Namor, Ilyana, Scott (or P.E.N.I.S if you're puerile like me.) The Phoenix Five were born against their consent and now The Avengers had 5 problems to deal with instead of one. In terms of culpability it's important to recognise that none of the P5 planned for this or wanted it - The Avengers and especially Tony bullied their way into this situation. Unfortunately, The Phoenix is kinda like the mafia - once you're in you can't leave, so the P5 are stuck with the results of the Avengers' non-plan. In fact, everyone is stuck with the fruit of their arrogance and The Avengers especially do not like the bitter taste. As they're still making demands of them, the X-Men regroup to process what happened. They eventually reach consensus on how to proceed, and the Avengers antagonise them every step of the way. They're convinced that this means the Earth is doomed, and blame the P5 and especially Scott for being there when Tony tried to kill a cosmic fundamental force of creation.

Sure, they're talking like lunatics, kinda. Maybe like people unexpectedly possessed by a godlike being? Completely ignoring who caused this and forgetting how possession works, Cap doubles down on 'we're right and you're wrong.' The P5 are villains now, you can tell because they want to take Hope to help her 🙄.

In part 2, The Phoenix Five explore benevolent uses of cosmic power and the Avengers keep acting like paranoid control freaks. The whole world has to decide how they feel about that, and opinions are mixed.

[nanowrimo]

10 Tips for Fast-Drafting

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Freewrite, a 2023 NaNo sponsor, is a dedicated distraction-free drafting device designed just for writers. Today, author Ashley Poston and the Freewrite team share some tips for completing a first draft of your novel quickly:

Hello from the Freewrite team! 👋 Here at Freewrite, we love a NaNoWriMo challenge, because we’re all about getting words on the page. We asked Author & Freewrite Ambassador Ashley Poston to share her best tips for fast-drafting and getting that first draft DONE!

No surprise, one of her secrets is her Freewrite. But what else does Ashley do to get those drafts done fast?

Here’s Ashley:

I have a confession to make: I hate drafting. It’s the bane of my existence. If I could reach into my brain and take out my story, fully-formed, and just work on the editing bit? I’d do it.

But, alas, that’s not how writing works. (Which is a real pity because I really do love editing. The way you go in with a fine-tooth comb and just torch the entire novel, then rewrite it for the third time. It’s truly majestic.)

Though after ten years, I’ve yet to figure out a way to pull a novel, fully-formed, out of my ears. So, instead, I like making the part of drafting as painless as possible… by doing the most painful, maddening, infuriating thing imaginable.

In other words: fast-drafting.

I’ve perfected the art. I can write a book in a week if I have enough caffeine and a death wish, and with these ten tips, so can you.

1. Find your characters.

Truly, the most important part of fast-drafting is knowing your characters from the outset. In a first draft, you usually find your characters in the middle of the second-to-last chapter. (Or is that just me?) So it often helps to know your characters inside and out from the start. Not only that, but know how they’d react in certain situations, know what would be on their Spotify playlist, know whether they’d have a repertoire of Your Mom jokes up their sleeve. How do they take their coffee? If faced with ten seconds to live, who would they call? Most of these questions you’ll never answer in the manuscript itself, but it’s important to know these people in your head on an intimate level.

2. Use your time(r) wisely.

Setting a timer can be a great way to increase your writing speed. Start with a short amount of time—maybe 15 minutes—and write like the wind, Bullseye! Then shake yourself out, set that timer to 15 again, and repeat. (This is SO easy on my Freewrite Traveler, because it has a feature that keeps time for you, making 15-minute sprints easy-peasy.)

3. Outline.

In addition to your characters, you really should get to know your plot, too, and a great way to do that is making an outline! There are a bunch of different tips and tricks to outlining—I personally use Susan Dennard’s 1-page Synopsis whenever I need to hash out a plot, and Rachel Aaron’s 2k to 10k Blogpost from Ye Olde 2011.

4. No distractions!

Writing is already hard enough, but it becomes almost impossible when you have a cat pronking on you every chance they get. Sometimes, life can just be that—distracting—and you can’t do anything about it. But minimize distractions wherever you can, especially if you’re sprinting. Turn off your phone! Disconnect the internet! And here is where I tell you my Freewrite has saved my butt countless times. I’m horrid at the whole “cut distractions!” bit, but with Freewrite, it’s easy as pie. It’s a lot like a typewriter, so internet? Never heard of her. iMessages? iThinkNot. It’s just you, your words, and the mounting existential dread of existence.  

5. Compression gloves. (No, seriously, especially if you write every day.)

This is gonna sound like one of those weird ones—and that’s because it is. But if you’re planning on writing every day for at least an hour, please do yourself (and your budding carpel tunnel) a favor and get some compression gloves. Learn some hand exercises. We don’t call writing fast “sprinting” for nothing.

6. Don’t look back.

It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to perfect the prologue, but this can absolutely hinder you. Take it from someone who loves to make the first chapter perfect—you never will. I promise. Instead, focus on getting your ideas down on paper and worry about editing later. I promise that sentence you didn’t like will be there when you come back to it. It’s not going anywhere. This is another area where my Freewrite helps me focus.

7. Use prompts!

Sometimes, your brain gets stuck. If you feel stuck, or in a corner, use a writing prompt to get the creative juices flowing again! Maybe you’ll never use the scene, but that’s OK. If it means you get going again? That’s what matters. 

8. Stuck? Hit the bricks! Real winners quit. But like… not forever.

Writing can be mentally draining, so it’s important to not push yourself too hard, and to take breaks when you need it. Take a walk, stretch, dance it out to ABBA—whatever helps you recharge. And then when you come back to the scene, you’re refreshed and rearing to go.

9. Chunk it up.

Breaking up your writing into smaller, manageable chunks can make drafting so much less daunting. Instead of making the goal finishing the novel, just finish the chapter. Finish this scene. Sometimes, it helps if people set a goal for a certain amount of words a day, but I find that this often just leads to burnout a lot faster. Instead of a word count, set a goal for a scene instead. Turn off the word counter. A first draft doesn’t have to hit a certain number of words—it’s called a first draft for a reason.

10. Practice makes more practice.

Like anything else you do, writing takes practice. I know I can easily hit 5k a day, but that’s because I’ve been writing professionally for a decade now. If you’re just starting out, don’t compare yourself to anyone else. (In fact, this is a great rule of thumb regardless.) Everyone writes differently, and everyone writes in their own time. No one ever asked Van Gogh how long it took him to paint sunflowers, did they? No one told Monet he was taking too long on his water lilies. Writing is an art, so let yourself enjoy it.

I hope this helps you, at least a little, write your next sexy dragon-shifter book! (Or whatever you’re working on.) Godspeed, and just remember: only you can write the idea in your head. Different writers can be given the same exact prompt, and every single story will turn out differently. Keep your eyes on your own paper, your heart full of joy, and chase that story only you can tell.

It’ll be worth it, I promise.

—Ashley

Reminder: Camp NaNoWriMo 2023 participants are eligible for a special Freewrite offer. Find all the details here. 

Ashley Poston is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Dead Romantics. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s in English, she spent the last decade working in the publishing industry before deciding to pursue writing full-time. When not writing, she likes trying various arts and crafts (she’s currently addicted to building miniature rooms) and taking long walks as an excuse to listen to Dungeons & Dragons podcasts. She bides her time between South Carolina and New York, and all the bookstores between.

Top photo by Djim Loic on Unsplash  

[talismns]

𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴:/// 𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗛. 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜: alive.

(  kathryn newton  .  cis woman  .  she/her  )  .    ⸻  wendy walsh  ,  a  twenty-six  year  old  ,  has  survived  another  day  in  red  creek  where  they  have  lived  for  her entire life, until college  .  the  gregarious  is  known  for  being  energetic  and  dramatic  and  is  often  associated  with  smiling at strangers, pink lipstick kisses on a napkin with your phone number, and wild, unruly hair  .  in  a  small  town  where  they  work  as  a volunteer at red creek library,  word  travels  fast  .  it’s  hard  to  keep  a  secret  ,  and  it  looks  like  the  boogeyman  knows  that  [SIRENS BLARING].

𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦.

full name. wendy lillian walsh age & birthday. 26 & september 28 astrology. libra sun, leo moon, aquarius rising sexuality. bisexual hometown. red creek, mi current residence. san francisco, ca traits. charming, energetic, sharp, dramatic, apprehensive, sensitive mbti. enfj-a, the protagonist alignment. neutral good temperament. sanguine references. erin quinn ( derry girls ), rachel green ( friends ), sutton brady ( the bold type ), andie anderson ( how to lose a guy in 10 days )

𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬.

finn’s intro did a good job summarizing some of this stuff but if you want the long-winded version, then you came to the right place <3

wendy and finn are the luckiest mfers on the planet with the parents they got. henry and thea are kind, patient, generous, supportive, and about every other adjective you could think of when you’re trying to describe the world’s most perfect parents. like must be nice 😐 naturally, wendy grows up pretty fearless. she’s not afraid to ask questions, not afraid of laughing too loud — not afraid of being annoying, i mean. you can imagine what happens when she starts school :/

kids are mean! and wendy’s teeth are a little too big for her mouth, and her hair’s a little too big for her head, and she wants the gold star in every lesson every day forever, so she’s an easy target if i’ve ever seen one :/ the bullying is pretty severe, and wendy doesn’t have thick skin the way finn does. it doesn’t slide off of her. for most of her elementary school years, she comes home crying at least once a week. her parents try their best to console her, and even offer to speak to her teachers for her, but wendy knows that it’ll just be more ammunition to be used against her. so she just deals. she can fight her own battles! ( she cried on the grass every day during recess </3 )

middle school is probably the seventh circle of hell, and wendy is no exception. to make things worse, she got braces 😐 all this to say, despite the bullying, and despite how much of it wendy took to heart, she still never really backs down from being herself. she’s still the most eager student in every class, still the first to raise their hand at a question. and you bet your ass people hated her for reminding the teacher about the project presentations everyone was supposed to do. she spent all weekend researching her topic and making models! of course she wants to present! her room can’t have looked like a glitter bomb exploded in there for nothing

and now we get to high school where we really start cooking with gas. it’s a classic summer transformation. wendy hits puberty, her braces come off, she figures out how to manage her curly hair— it’s still curly, it just doesn’t look like a rat’s nest anymore. the teasing stops almost instantaneously. she gets asked on a date for the first time and wendy is so surprised, she says no. after the initial shock though, wendy begins to lean into it. she joins the cheerleading team, and begins to run around with that crowd. it isn’t her only focus though. she’s still her. so she’s in a million extracurriculars on top of juggling her now flourishing social life. her calendar’s a nightmare of sticky notes and color coded events. even her naps are planned. once she said “pencil you in” to finn and he flipped her off

all of it pays off though because she graduates with a near flawless gpa and is accepted into the university of san francisco with a full ride <3 she’s been in sf ever since because a year after graduating, she was offered her dream job with her dream company yay <3

( cancer tw ) wendy comes back to red creek frequently enough, usually at least the holidays and then she tends to try and make a few trips throughout the year but only for a week at a time. with her mom sick though, wendy’s taken a leave of absence at her job to be with her family and her beloved apartment is currently being subleased. so that’s why she’s back womp womp

terrible timing too because even though finn is happy to use the murders as a distraction, wendy is absolutely not like that. she LIKES her boring small town where nothing happens. she wants nothing to happen everywhere forever!!!!

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬.

wendy’s full of a lot of life. she’s charming and bright and eager; one could argue that as a first impression, it can be a bit much. despite how extroverted she is though, she’s not too quick to trust people. she rarely trusts her first impression, having been all too familiar with a kind gesture or a smile being used as bait for something more sinister. she’ll trust her second though, and wendy doesn’t do anything without putting her whole heart into it. still, she’s the type who puts her career first— who lets everything fall to second position in her pursuit for success. she’s not really a #girlboss by any means, it’s just her favorite type of validation.

i think wendy tries as hard as she can to be kind to people and most of the time she does succeed! my sweet girl <3 she does have a bit of a superiority complex though and can think of herself as better than others and sometimes it rly shows :/ but for the most part wendy is never really mean spirited, she can just come off a bit arrogant sometimes. which, can you blame her. she tries harder than anyone else and literally always busts her ass

𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗦.

songs. rock with you ( michael jackson ), you're so vain ( carly simon ), vintage ( niki ) movie. notting hill show. sex and the city book. black swan, eve babitz season. summer color. pink

she has a little beagle named blue ☹️ and she brought her with him to red creek. he is not well behaved <3

funny combination of incredibly high standards but also desperate for love. she'll go on a date with anyone who gives her even the slightest bit of validation but it takes her soooo much to actually commit bc she's too picky lmao

very much an article girly 🫶 she has a subscription to the ny times, and i’m not joking she starts her day off with matcha and an article she’s also always sending articles to people, it’s her love language!!!

terrible terrible lightweight. will be under the table two shots in. but also an aggressive drunk who wants to fight everyone even though she's tiny and HAS gotten kicked out of bars for her behavior. also very prone to getting hurt while drinking. because she’s aggressive while drunk

sorority girl 😭 she joined during her second year of college and it’s where she met a lot of her closest college friends. the connections she made in it also helped her secure her current job !!

gets white coat syndrome. she’s still pretty good about getting a check up once a year but she dreads doing it and cannot stand the sight of blood or gore. it makes her queasy

wendy’s all time favorite show is sex and the city!!! she loves the girls, and she always tells people she can’t wait for her thirties when she can be in her satc era. and carrie bradshaw is the one who inspired her to embrace her natural curls <3

𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦.

playlist. / pinterest.

[cow-boy-caviar]

NIGHTBITCH by RACHEL YODER

This book. This damn book.

I want every single person to read this book. I want everyone to feel seen by it, finally, at long last. If nothing in this book resonates with you then you deserve to be hit over the head with it one (1) time.

A 30-something stay-at-home mom thinks she may be turning into a dog. She’s growing fur, her teeth are sharper, her sense of smell is heightened, she craves raw meat. Meanwhile, her husband travels for work every week, leaving her at home alone with all of the responsibility of raising their two-year-old son. She is isolated from all her previous support systems; she is overwhelmed with the momentous undertaking that is raising a child largely on your own; she longs to be happy and fulfilled by this work (because even though she’s no longer a “working mom” she’s still working) but instead is filled with rage. And then a pack of dogs shows up in her yard. Maybe the mother turns into one of these dogs and maybe it’s a metaphor, but after this transformation she feels liberated.

So many moments in this book made me go “UGH! YES! THIS!” Parenthood is one of the most terrifying things I can imagine, and not just because of the horrifying miracle that is childbirth (although that’s a big part of it). So much of the work that goes into parenthood is devalued, largely because it is “women’s work” and therefore assumed to be something both easy and innate, rather than difficult and learned through trial and error while hoping that any miniscule error doesn’t permanently damage the life you’re shepherding through its most vulnerable stages. Because mommy-ing is assumed to be easy, any complaints or difficulties a mother has about the process are socially suppressed or glossed over. The normative narrative is “Childbirth is difficult, but worth it for the love and life you bring into the world,” not “childbirth is incredibly dangerous and its complications are wildly under-researched and any pain pregnancy creates is largely written off as normal or just hormones until it’s too late.” Being a stay-at-home parent is viewed as an easy life because it isn’t “productive” in a capitalist way. The mother notes this at one point; she’s actually a drain on the family’s resources because she isn’t “working,” in spite of all the work she puts in to figuring out how to get her son to sleep.

At times, the mother’s rage and the husband’s indifference seemed obvious. Of course he scrolls on his phone and asks her to undertake so much labor even when he’s home to help her; of course this enrages her, duh. But I think I only read it as obvious now because of how much the discourse around child-rearing and childbirth has increased and opened up since this book was published / since the COVID-19 pandemic began and suddenly almost everyone was a stay-at-home parent for a time. To have it articulated so directly and bluntly was a relief. It’s not Betty Draper’s mysterious shaking hands and unproductive therapy sessions. It’s a woman at the end of her leash and running away from library story time and yelling and causing a scene in the middle of a crowded restaurant and killing small fluffy animals—all because her husband will not thank her for the work she does. More women should be able to express that rage.

I get it! I feel it so much! I recognize these patterns of behavior in my dad and my uncles and my parents’ friends and my former boyfriends. I wanted to be able to pull Nightbitch aside and tell her she isn’t alone, no one else has a life of perfection and ease either, you can ask for help I promise, you can talk it all out, you can fix this but you can’t keep trying to do it alone. My college lit mag had a short piece formatted like dialogue, in which the two women roommates ranted about how their two guy roommates wouldn’t clean the shared apartment and couldn’t conceive that they had done anything wrong. This feeling of rage is present and recognizable and yet untapped, or at least not tapped into to this explosive-yet-domesticated degree.

We have our Gone Girl and our Medea, each satisfying in their own ways and providing women characters who go to great lengths because of what their culture/society/husbands have put them through. Nightbitch shows that there is hope to overcoming the patriarchal muzzle and that the relationships we have with people we love deeply, in spite of their flaws, can be fixed. When Nightbitch asks for help and support from her husband, she does receive it. There is a happy ending and a way forward together underneath all the dirt and fur and blood. I was expecting something far more bleak, but this ending made me hopeful without feeling like the issues in their marriage were being erased. These two people have a lot of work to do to make sure their relationship continues to work for them and for their son, but they love each other so much that they’re willing to put in that work. It won’t be like that for everyone.

Is it all a metaphor? Yeah, maybe. Is it all real? God, how goddamn cool would that be. Run free, Nightbitch.

[deathsweetblossoms]

Flower Face: an Elain Archeron playlist

This is my love letter to Elain Archeron, my interpretation of what she sounds like were she to exist as music. Consider this more as an experience and less a list of songs with lyrics that relate to Elain. @elainarcheronweek

My Elain is made up in part of deeply personal headcanons, plus versions of her in works by @bloomingdarkgarden (What Bloomed in the Dark Garden) and @thefangirlofhp (sillage). She is Danielle De Barbarac, a quiet girl with a rich internal world and a heart capable of feeling every emotion ten fold. She has one foot in The Dreaming world of the mystics, and one foot in her rapidly evolving life in Velaris. She wants to be seen for who she is and loved for who she is, gardening-scarred hands and all. She quietly yearns for someone she can't have, never once sharing her woes with any of her sisters. She brings things to life and values learning, creation, travel. This is a musical journey that represents my interpretation of Elain's soul, her internal world, her life in Velaris, her hopes for the future. (It is Elriel leaning, as a disclaimer, because ... I simply cannot help it.) I started off the journey with nature sounds, because Elain is so deeply tied to the land in my mind, and with lush, atmospheric music representing how she presents to the world. As the list goes on, we go deeper and more secrets are revealed until the songs become almost entirely instrumental (moody and brooding in nature to represent an emotional landscape). There are songs in different languages or without words entirely, to represent her displacement into an unfamiliar land, in a changed body, and the uprooting of her ingrained beliefs about that land and the creatures living there; about her integration into the Night Court and her insistence that she belongs. It ends with her prayer to The Mother.

SONGLIST

(Sometimes I will include my decisions for including certain pieces. Other times, I hope you can glean your own meaning &lt;;3) PART I

(nature sounds)

I often imagine Elain waking up at sunrise, before the rest of the city, and just imbibing the land, the birds, the flowers. Noticing things other's don't notice. Seeking solace among nature.

James Newton Howard - A Hidden Life (instrumental)

Mariee Sioux - Wild Eyes tiny darling ghost holder you our soft spirit breather... you plant your burderns way deep down in

Wickerbird - Llewellyn sleep, interred within old Avalon

A song that evokes visions, dreams, prophecy, distant lands

AURORA - Under the Water under the water, we can't breathe we can't breathe under the water, we die hearts will dream again lungs will breathe in feet won't fail you now arms won't let you down

This song has been on my Elain playlist since the start. I always reminds me of her journey into the cauldron, the terror and grief that befell her afterward, and learning how to keep going despite everything.

Flower Face - Cornflower Blue i wanna lay on the kitchen floor with you i wanna do all the things that lovers do bruised on your face like a watercolour bloom moonlight paints your skin cornflower blue

Elain develops feelings for a quiet Shadowsinger...

Steven Price - Ophelia (instrumental) Jean Luc Lenoir - The Mermaid's Croon (instrumental)

"The quiet dreamer"

Ane Brun - Joga (live version) all that no one sees, you see what's inside of me every nerve that hurts, you heal deep inside of me you don't have to speak i feel emotional landscapes

This is a quintessential Elriel song for me, so perfectly capturing how I believe she feels about him (how they feel about each other, honestly).

AURORA - Exist for Love and then you take me in and everything in me begins to feel like I belong

Joe Hisaishi - Heartbroken Kiki (instrumental)

Rachel Portman - Three Women (instrumental)

Elain, Nuala, and Cerridwen's blossoming friendship. Them in the kitchen learning how to make bread, them teaching Elain how to slyfoot, them whispering secrets about lovers and childhood to each other.

PART II (Powers Awakening, Hidden Secrets of the Magic of Velaris, Witches and Mystics)

AURORA - The Forbidden Fruits of Eden (an interlude)

Powers brimming just below the surface, unseen, but felt by Elain.

(nature sounds)

Elain starts visiting the Sidra more and more as her powers develop stronger. I just imagine her sitting by the water, with a scarf around her head, and a small picnic basket, just enjoying the quiet and thinking about her visions and dreams.

Thomas Newman - Starlit (instrumental)

Night-blooming Jasmine, Elain discovers her place in the shadows of Velaris

Karliene - The Fields of Ard Skellig

Elain digs her fingers into the soil of Velaris and night-blooming flowers blossom all around her. She learns the secrets of the mystics and how to control her powers. Our Lady Kingslayer comes into her own and surprises everyone with her strength of spirit.

The Naked and the Famous - Teardrop night, night of matter black flowers blossom fearless on my breath Runah - Witch how she bathes in it she never had a lover that said her name before the way it drops from his lips it's like she's never heard her name sound like a song and she craves it oh she has woken the witch she's becoming Kati Ran - Vinda slowly the journey goes like the walk of an old man seeking in waves and seeking in sand hear the psalm of the wind, its being sung over the mountain and you, will you listen to the melody in the evening Mykur - Nordlys (instrumental) Thomas Newman - Luthien Tinuviel (instrumental) Agnes Obel - Rosian (instrumental) Helisir - Brisingamen (instrumental) Johannes Bornlof - Wolfpack (instrumental) Honey Gentry - Aphrodite Aphrodite, hear my pain I want to fall in love again Not in love with a man of this world Fall in love with life itself

Elain's prayer to the mother

[spaceorphan18]

Ok if you were going to write one of these Glee/Bridgerton AUs, which would you pick: (1) It takes place in the Bridgerton world, but Blaine replaces Colin and Kurt replaces Penelope (2) it takes place in the Glee world, but Colin replaces Blaine and Penelope replaces Kurt.

Elaborations and tangents most appreciated!

Sorry, Nonny, I couldn't help it. It's been kind of hilarious as of late to realize just how much all of my favorite ships/stories have similar dynamics in them. And I'm not even trying!!

This is a fascinating question though...

Option 1: I still feel like I can write Klaine in my sleep, so this would probably be the easier one to write. However - this historical romance thing with them has done a lot, and I feel like I've read it a lot. Most notably, a fic I really enjoyed back in the day was The Gilded Cage which takes place in the late 19th century opposed to the early 19th century, but it's a really good exploration of what their dynamics might be like in a much earlier period of time.

Option 2: I don't feel comfortable enough with Pen and Colin to write them, but a modern day interpretation of their story would be fascinating. I probably wouldn't put them in the Glee world, though. Those poor characters do not deserve the Ryan Murphy treatment. (Though having Rachel Berry interact with anyone outside her own universe is always hilarious.)

You could do a rom-com thing with them though set in modern day that'd be a lot of fun. Their story would translate pretty easily and be a lot of fun to reinterpret. Like, they could have been friends growing up, and she had a crush on him in high school, and they go off to college in different places, and then end up back in, like, New York City or LA or something. And she'd work for some kind of tabloid and he'd be a travel writer and they kind of rediscover each other and there's professional jealousy and longing and Eloise and Cressida Cowper blackmailing them and omg, I almost want to write this now....

****

I can sketch you out a short little hybrid, though, of Kurt and Blaine's reactions to the show (because it was in my head)...

Season 1 :

Kurt: Oh my god these costumes are amazing! *claps hands* But why the fuck do they keep putting Penelope in yellow? Those dresses are hideous on her - don't they know Nicola Coughlin is a queen?

Blaine: I don't really understand how Simon would rather die than admit he's in love Daphne. Like, what even is that??

Season 2:

Kurt: Do you think I could buy one of the Queen's wigs on ebay when the show finally wraps?

Blaine: Why is Anthony even bothering with the sister? He clearly loves Kate. Why doesn't he just declare it and marry her instead?

Season 3:

Kurt: Cressida Cowper you conniving bitch I do love you, but what the fuck is on your head?

Blaine: I may be having an existential crisis - I think that when they wrote Colin they looked into my soul.

[blinkaftermidnight]

Leatin Bangs Without (Then With) Feelings

Read on AO3.

This is a good time to remind you that I'm not altering what I wrote or doing any editing at all. I do reread them, and I am cringing at how often I used the word "sharply" here, and also at some of my old writing style that I've refined and/or eliminated over time. Same goes for some characterization decisions. But nonetheless, this was written very early 2022, and it's a lot of words to let go to waste. I left my notes at the very end to give an idea of where this may have gone.

Also I think this one takes the cake for worst placeholder title, but I have no shame anymore I think.

Every muscle, every bone, in Leah’s body aches. Shit, her whole fucking soul aches. Her head pounds. (And her mind won’t stop. It never does.) She knows the others keep glancing her way, don’t trust her not to do anything stupid. She sits at the edge of the woods, legs pulled to her chest, digging her fingernails into her knees to try to keep herself here. (In the moment.)

The sun has been down for at least an hour. Nora has been in the ground for at least five. Rachel’s unconscious, being tended to by Dot, Shelby, and Martha. (They’re on a rotation. Toni and Fatin get a pass because they stayed by Nora’s side as she died. And so did Leah, but Leah thinks she gets a pass because no one trusts her to watch after Rachel. She can barely watch after herself.) It’s been the longest day on the island. So far. Leah supposes she shouldn’t have any high hopes for whatever’s in store for them here on out. Two people have died. Leah almost drowned. Martha murdered a goat and hasn’t been the same since. Toni and Shelby are, like, a thing, but it’s been lowkey so far. (Considering they didn’t hold back after Nora died.) Rachel lost a hand. Nora is dead, died with Leah (and Fatin and Toni) at her side while Rachel screamed (until she lost consciousness) as Dot (and Shelby and Martha) tried to help her. Nothing is okay. Something is wrong with this place. And they’re all going to fucking die before they ever find out, probably.

“She’s going off the deep end over there,” Leah hears Dot say. (They aren’t that far away from her. It’s dead fucking silent out here. Voices fucking travel.)

“I’ll go check on her,” Fatin replies. “The rest of you can sleep.” Leah looks over at camp right as Fatin gets to her feet, brushes sand off her ass and the backs of her legs. Leah doesn’t give Fatin the satisfaction of watching her walk over. She stares out at the ocean instead, and even as Fatin drops herself to the ground beside Leah, Leah doesn’t look at her. “Hey,” Fatin says.

“Hey.”

“I’m not gonna ask if you’re okay,” Fatin tells her. “You obviously aren’t.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

Fatin makes a sound that’s almost a chuckle then rubs at her temples. “Come on,” Fatin says. She stands again, holds her hands out. “Let’s take a walk.”

“Why?” Leah mumbles.

“You’ve been sitting in the same spot for hours,” Fatin replies. “It’s not good for your back or your ass, probably. So come on. Come with me.”

“Where?” Leah asks. (But she’s already taking Fatin’s hands, letting Fatin pull her up.)

“To the water,” Fatin says casually. “I feel gross.”

Leah winces. (They don’t talk about it. They don’t talk about how just a few hours ago, they were in the ocean – but only a few feet into it, too afraid to go farther – splashing water onto themselves, trying to rid themselves of all the blood. But Leah’s pretty sure they’re both thinking about it.) Leah follows after Fatin even though her muscles and joints are stiff, even though her neck and her back and, yeah, her ass all kind of ache. (Everything hurts. Physically. Emotionally. Leah is drained.)

“Fatin,” Leah says, eyes widening as Fatin strips off her (blood soaked) jeans. “You shouldn’t –”

“Calm your tits. I know,” Fatin dismisses. “I’m just going up to my ankles. Besides, I should probably ditch these things anyway.” (And she does. Throws the jeans straight into the ocean.) “Come on,” Fatin encourages. “I mean, you don’t have to take your pants off, but I won’t mind it if you do.” Fatin grins, but it slides when Leah’s expression remains impassive. “Or you could just roll ‘em up,” Fatin adds. “Unless you don’t care about getting your pants wet. But I mean, you’re with me, so. Your pants are probably wet anyway.”

Fatin smirks, winks, and Leah caves, allows a small smile to flicker on her face as she rolls her eyes. “You’re unbelievable,” Leah says. (Her voice cracks, but to be fair, she’s done a good amount of screaming today, just like everyone else. And she’s only cried once, actually. Figures there’ll be more to come later, when she’s trying to sleep. If her mind will even shut off. Probably won’t.) Leah throws her shoes behind them, cuffs her jeans so she can take a few steps into the ocean without getting them wet.

“What?” Fatin questions. “You want me to be, like, all depressed all the time now?”

“You could at least act like you care about what happened to Rachel and – and Nora,” Leah replies.

“Okay, Leah, look at me and honestly tell me you think I don’t care about them,” Fatin says sharply. She snaps her fingers when Leah doesn’t lift her eyes from the ocean, and Leah forces herself to look Fatin in the eye. (Of course she cares. Leah was right there, with Fatin and Toni, trying to comfort Nora.)

“I know you care,” Leah concedes.

“Thank you,” Fatin says.

“I just don’t think I can laugh at sex jokes right now.”

“You don’t have to laugh,” Fatin says. “But I’m not going to stop making them.”

Leah nods wearily, bends down to scoop up some of the saltwater, rubs it against her face. She’d scrubbed the shit out of her hands earlier, desperate to wash away any remnants of blood. Did the same with her arms. Her neck. (Almost drowning didn’t make her afraid of the ocean. But what happened to Rachel and Nora? Yeah, Leah’s never going out there again.)

“You’re going dark on me,” Fatin says, so quietly that Leah almost thinks she imagined it. “I know you won’t look me in the eye for longer than, like, two seconds, but I can still see it.”

Leah straightens her back out, flicks saltwater off her hands as Fatin shifts into her space. Leah can feel Fatin’s eyes on her even as she stares out at the endless fucking water. Leah’s teeth sink into her lower lip, and she has to remind herself not to bite down too hard, not to draw blood. Her hands curl into fists, because Leah can’t put up with them trembling, can’t put up with the idea of Fatin noticing the way her body shakes.

“Tell me how to help you,” Fatin murmurs. (She lingers in Leah’s space but doesn’t touch her. Her eyes never once leave Leah’s face, even if Leah refuses to look at her.)

“You can’t.”

“Then tell me what’s wrong,” Fatin amends.

“God, I’m just so tired, Fatin,” Leah whispers. “I’m so fucking exhausted. I just want to be done. I want this to be over.”

“Hey,” Fatin says sharply. She takes Leah’s face in her hands, (gently) forces her to stop staring at the water, gets Leah to meet her gaze instead. “It’ll be okay. We will be okay,” Fatin insists. (Her thumbs stroke against Leah’s jaw, softly. Too softly.)

“I can’t – just, everything fucking hurts,” Leah says. “Like, I mean, all my muscles ache or whatever and have for days, but this – Nora – and Rachel – I can’t handle the – the fucking pain. I don’t know how to –” Leah stops, inhales sharply, but Fatin nods, lips pressing together. (Like maybe she gets exactly what Leah’s trying to say. Like maybe Fatin can read it straight out of Leah’s eyes, no words necessary.) “She died,” Leah says, and her voice breaks, lip quivers. “Right in front of us, Fatin. We watched her – how are you supposed to, like, fucking process that? How do you not just – feel it all, like, building up in your chest with no way out?”

Leah shoves her fist against the center of Fatin’s chest, but she doesn’t have the energy, just ends up pressing her palm flat against Fatin’s chest instead, fingers splaying out against Fatin’s bare skin. (Fatin’s shirt – the floral patterned one that Leah actually thinks is really cute, with the low cut neckline – was somehow spared from being covered in blood. Fatin’s jeans took the brunt of that. So Fatin’s still wearing the same shirt from earlier, over the same shimmery gold bra. So Leah’s hand presses right against warm, bare skin, but also against the soft material of Fatin’s shirt, just a little.)

“You’ll work through it,” Fatin tells her. (Her hands haven’t left Leah’s face. She won’t let Leah look away.)

“How?”

“I’ll help you,” Fatin says.

“You can’t.”

“I’ll try.”

Leah inhales sharply. Her eyes hone in on something just below Fatin’s lower lip. Maybe it’s a speck of sand. Or maybe it’s a fleck of blood. Leah isn’t sure, and it’s hard to tell in the dark, but either way, Leah lifts her hand from Fatin’s chest, drags the pad of her thumb through the speck. (Not sand. Probably blood.) Leah doesn’t get it in one sweep, brings her thumb back to try again, succeeds. (Leah only just notices her fingers are resting against Fatin’s cheek when her thumb stalls against the center of Fatin’s lips, and Fatin still refuses to look away. Except now, so does Leah.)

Leah doesn’t remember how their faces got so close together, how their noses are almost touching. Fatin’s hands fall from Leah’s face, slip down to her neck as Leah shifts her thumb out of the way. Leah isn’t sure if she leans in first or if Fatin commits to it first, but Fatin doesn’t seem surprised to be kissing her. (Not at all.) Leah pushes her hand from Fatin’s face to the back of Fatin’s neck (wishes that Fatin would let her fucking hair down once in a while), catches Fatin’s lower lip between her teeth. (Because she’s not going to let Fatin get away with trying to kiss her, like, all soft and shit. Leah may be five seconds away from mentally snapping at any given moment, but that doesn’t mean she needs to be treated like she’s fragile. And Leah knows Fatin’s only trying to take this slowly because she thinks Leah’s breakable.)

At least Fatin takes the hint. She picks up the pace, drops her hands to Leah’s hips and pulls her closer. Fatin’s tongue glides past Leah’s lips as Leah’s fingers knot into Fatin’s hair, beneath her bun (and Fatin’s fingers dig into Leah’s hips now). Leah moans, disregarding the fact that they’re not nearly far enough away from camp (but no one’s said anything yet, so they’re probably all asleep), lets her other hand slide from Fatin’s shoulder toward her chest, but Fatin releases Leah’s hip, catches Leah’s hand in her own, shifts back.

“Leah,” Fatin warns. (Breathlessly. Fatin is fucking breathless after, like, ten seconds of kissing Leah.)

“What?” Leah says. She looks Fatin in the eye (and she still looks fucking worried, but also kind of confused, but there’s an undeniable hunger buried beneath the surface). “Don’t you think twenty three days without an orgasm is enough?” Leah asks.

“So you think that I shouldn’t be making sex jokes after someone dies, but somehow it’s okay for us to fuck?” Fatin questions (still sounds breathless).

“Shut up.”

Fatin grabs Leah by the bicep, pushes her in the direction of the woods. (They slip past camp easily. Leah’s suspicions were right. Everyone’s asleep.) They can’t go far. Can’t risk getting lost in the dark. They can still see the beach from their spot, and Leah knows before Fatin ever says, “We’re gonna have to be quiet,” that yeah, they can’t fucking risk waking anyone up. Fatin’s fingers tug at Leah’s belt before they’ve even come to a stop somewhere, and somehow she manages to get it undone quickly. As Fatin’s fingers pop the button of Leah’s jeans, drag the zipper down, Leah grabs her by the shoulders and turns Fatin until her back hits the tree behind her.

Before Fatin can ask, Leah says, “You’re getting your orgasm in first, so you can really focus when it comes to mine, yeah?”

Fatin smirks. (As if she’s gonna complain about that.) “Fine,” Fatin agrees. “But it’s gonna take more than that one kiss to get me going.”

“Please,” Leah scoffs. “As if you aren’t so tightly-wound after twenty three days –”

“Okay, fine, shut up,” Fatin cuts in.

“I bet just the promise of an orgasm is making you wet.”

“Shut up. And still. Be polite and take something off for me.”

Fatin has already hiked Leah’s tank top up halfway, hasn’t even given Leah a chance to shed the shirt she has over it. (And Leah all but rips the no longer white button down off of her, drops it to the dirt. It’s seen better days anyway.) Leah lifts her arms, lets Fatin pull her tank top off of her. (Actually pays attention to where it drops, because she’s gonna need that later.) She recaptures Fatin’s lips as Fatin’s hands slip around Leah’s back, and Fatin unclasps Leah’s bra in one fucking move. (Like shit, Leah would take the time to be impressed if she wasn’t so fucking turned on.)

“Shit, hurry up,” Fatin hisses against Leah’s mouth. “I think I’ve waited long enough for this, Rilke.” Leah rolls her eyes even though she knows Fatin can’t see it, kisses her way down Fatin’s jaw to her neck, hands braced against Fatin’s hips, resisting Fatin’s efforts to move them. As Leah’s teeth scrape against Fatin’s neck, Fatin inhales sharply then breathes out, “Don’t you fucking dare try to leave any marks on me.”

Leah hums in acknowledgement, backs off of Fatin’s neck, but that’s mostly because Fatin grabs her by the chin, pulls Leah back in to kiss her. (That sneaky bitch. The kiss distracts Leah just enough to get her to ease up on Fatin’s hip, gives Fatin just enough time to guide Leah’s hand into her panties before Leah registers what’s happening.) Fatin moans too loudly (and fuck, Leah barely contains her own; Fatin’s fucking soaked), and Leah pauses to say, “Be quiet.”

“Don’t fucking stop.”

“Don’t wake everyone else up.”

Fatin nods, makes a blind grab at Leah’s sides to have some kind of leverage in the moments before Leah pushes two fingers into her. (And the cry Fatin lets out surely just woke their entire fucking camp; Leah braces herself given that there’s, like, a zero percent chance they won’t be discovered, but no one shows up.)

“Shut up,” Leah snaps, but no one comes looking. And Leah’s right. It doesn’t take long at all before Fatin’s clenching around her fingers, teeth sinking into Leah’s shoulder in a desperate attempt to be quiet. Leah lets Fatin ride through it, waits until Fatin grabs her wrist and pulls her hand out of her panties herself, exhaling against Leah’s shoulder. (Leah’s pretty sure she’s the only thing keeping Fatin on her feet right now.)

“Shit, okay,” Fatin breathes, bracing her hands against Leah’s shoulders. “Give me a second. That was my first orgasm in –”

“At least twenty three days. We all know.”

Fatin laughs breathlessly, lets her head fall back against the tree behind her. “Well, don’t just stand there,” Fatin says. “Get your fucking pants off.” Leah bites down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying something snarky, chooses to oblige instead. (She has no idea what Fatin has planned, and she wants to find out sooner rather than later.) Fatin recovers quickly enough, says, “Alright, switch with me. Unless you wanna do it on the ground. I don’t really give a fuck.”

(Leah runs through those two options real quickly. Maybe she’ll get dirt in her ass if they’re on the ground, but she’ll have to keep herself on her feet if they go against the tree. And she’s kind of tired from holding Fatin up. She comes up with a solution, though, gets the button down that she’s never gonna wear again under her ass, so at least there’s that.)

Fatin’s face hovers over Leah’s, and she seems unbothered by the way Leah’s hips press up into hers. “So do I have to even bother with foreplay?” Fatin questions (and she’s got this infuriating smirk on her face). “Because I kinda feel like I should be able to just go for it, right?”

(And if Leah wasn’t about to get in her first orgasm– well, her first orgasm from someone other than herself – in the last six months or so, that’s a fight she’d totally pick.) Leah grabs Fatin by the shoulders, catches the grin on Fatin’s face in the moments before Leah pushes her down and says, “You better make fucking you worth my while.”

“Oh, baby,” Fatin hums, pressing her lips to the center of Leah’s chest. “I guarantee it’ll be worth your while.”

Leah stops Fatin, just long enough to pull the hair tie from Fatin’s hair (and she waits for Fatin to make a comment about how it’d be easier if Leah just left it up, but she doesn’t say anything, doesn’t complain as Leah knots her fingers in her hair). And Leah really can’t help but to wonder if Fatin’s a fast learner or if she just never bothered to mention that she fucks women. Leah’s staring up at, like, actual stars, but Fatin kinda makes her see metaphorical stars. (Not that Leah would ever admit that to her; it probably doesn’t matter though. She knows Fatin’s looking up at her as she pushes herself against Fatin’s tongue, as she bites down on her own arm to silence herself.)

And you know, there’s nothing quite like coming on someone’s face to remind you that you’re still alive.

*

Leah’s tank top lands on her chest, and she lets out a grunt as she snaps back into full consciousness. “Sorry,” Fatin says. “But I don’t sleep with the people I fuck, so get your clothes on. We gotta head back before the others notice we’re gone.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t hoping that you would stick around to sleep with me,” Leah retorts. “I had a bra, too.”

It hits her in the chest, and Fatin smiles as she ties her hair back up. “I was hoping you’d let me keep it,” Fatin quips. “You know. As a souvenir.”

“Fuck you.”

“Already did,” Fatin says. She shamelessly watches Leah get her clothes back on, seems to hesitate. “Seriously though,” Fatin says. “Are you alright?”

Leah rolls her eyes. “No, but I’m better than I was, like, two hours ago.”

“Yeah, I could tell. That doesn’t mean –”

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Leah cuts in. She secures her belt around her waist. “I’m not gonna run into the ocean, so there’s no reason for you to worry about my sanity right now.”

“Well, I did just fuck you,” Fatin replies. “And you wanted me to, so. Maybe I should be worrying about your sanity.”

“Go back to camp, Fatin,” Leah insists. “I’ll be right behind you.”

After Fatin walks off, Leah accidentally snaps herself with her bra strap as she’s adjusting it, and she hisses when she realizes it hurts. Maybe she’s sunburned worse than she thought. It isn’t until Leah steps on the beach, while she’s prodding at her shoulder, that it dawns on her that she isn’t sunburned. She has to wait until she’s back at camp, near the fire, to see it for herself. (And Fatin has already thrown herself down next to Dot.) Leah stares in disbelief at the mark on her shoulder then leans over and slaps Fatin on the back of the thigh. (Fatin yelps, thankfully not loud enough to disturb anyone.)

“Dude, what the fuck?” Leah exclaims.

Fatin shushes her, glaring. “What?” Fatin says. “Don’t tell me you’re having, like, buyer’s remorse.”

“Look at my shoulder.”

Confusion flickers on Fatin’s face, and she leans closer to squint at Leah’s shoulder. “Oh, shit,” Fatin laughs. (If she didn’t clamp a hand over her own mouth to stifle the sound, Leah would’ve done it herself.) Fatin cuts her laughter off abruptly, lets her hand fall as her eyes widen at the, like, super pissed off look on Leah’s face.

“You really made a whole thing about me not leaving a mark on you and turned around and did this shit?” Leah snaps.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Fatin says. Fatin glances around, double checks that everyone else is still out. “I was trying to stay quiet, and I didn’t think I was biting that hard,” Fatin says defensively.

“Get me a new shirt,” Leah tells her. “Something to cover this.”

“Relax,” Fatin dismisses. She drags her suitcase over, digs through it until she comes up with a shirt for Leah to wear over her tank top. “Here,” Fatin says, tossing the purple camo jacket that Martha’s made a habit of wearing into Leah’s lap. Leah bites down her lip, shoves her arms into the jacket then fixes the collar. Fatin lies back in the sand behind Dot. Leah shifts herself farther away from Fatin, closer toward Martha now that Martha isn’t sleeping next to Toni. (Leah doesn’t think anyone has the details on the Toni-and-Shelby situation. Not even Martha. But Toni and Shelby have been glued to each other since Nora died, are sleeping with their limbs tangled together.)

Leah can’t sleep. (That’s not exactly surprising.) She’s still physically – and mentally – exhausted, but her thoughts demand her attention. (And she has plenty to think about.) Even though her muscles ache, even though she’s emotionally drained, Leah stays awake. She may have spent the hours in the wake of Nora’s death analyzing what happened, trying to reconcile how Nora trapped her in a pit then fucking died, trying to figure out how they’re going to keep Rachel alive. And Leah can still analyze those things, over and over, except now she can also analyze what the fuck is going on between her and Fatin.

And the answer to that question is: nothing. They fucked. Leah knows for a fact Fatin doesn’t think anything of it. (And neither does Leah, honestly. Maybe fucking someone who’s her closest thing to a friend out in this hellhole just hours after the death of another one of their own is fucked up, but it’s kind of what Leah needed to stop herself from totally losing it. And frankly, it worked.) No, Leah’s not worried about some misunderstanding over feelings between her and Fatin.

She’s worried about Fatin not keeping her mouth shut. Leah can hear Dot’s mouth breathing from all the way over here. Leah has no idea how long it’ll take before Fatin tells Dot that they went off and fucked in the woods, and once Dot knows, everyone else might as well know, too. Nothing stays secret around here for very long. Not even Shelby and Toni kept their shit secret that long. (Whatever developed between them happened over the course of just twenty three days. But maybe Nora dying put some shit into perspective.) But Leah doesn’t need her business becoming the talk of the camp, because whatever feelings Toni and Shelby might be having for each other can’t outshine the fact that Fatin finally got some, and she got some from Leah, and Leah knows Fatin will want to flaunt that and rub it into Toni’s face.

They should’ve talked about that before they left the woods. And now it’s too late, because Fatin’s definitely asleep. So Leah’s probably going to wake up to a whole ass shit show, less than twenty four hours after Nora died and Rachel lost a hand. (At least Rachel probably won’t be conscious for that. Dot gave her the strong shit. Leah and Rachel may not be on amazing terms, but Leah knows she’ll take a ton of shit from Rachel for fucking Fatin. Not just Rachel. Leah will probably take shit from everyone. Even if it’s no one’s business who Leah fucks or doesn’t fuck.)

Once Leah’s mind works its way through the whole Fatin’s totally going to wake up and tell everyone we fucked, her mind shifts to the fact that she really just fucked someone without, like, feeling anything. (Well, emotionally. Leah sure as hell felt a lot while they were fucking, but it wasn’t, like, love or some shit. She only even likes Fatin half the time, tolerates her the other half. And okay, even emotionally she felt something. Like serious irritation.) Obviously the last person she fucked was him (and sometimes just thinking of his name leaves a bad taste in Leah’s mouth), though now she’s starting to wonder if that can even count as having sex. (That son of a bitch really only did care about himself, huh?) Leah always thought love would equal good sex, but apparently good sex comes after getting stranded on an island for three weeks with a girl you barely tolerated for the first week and only sort of like as a person even now.

(Fatin doesn’t know the name of Leah’s parents. The name of her dog. The name of her best friend. Fatin doesn’t know all the dirty details of what went down between Leah and her ex-whatever-he-was. Fatin doesn’t know the extent of the emotional devastation Leah experienced when he left her to pick up the pieces of what used to be her life. Shit, Fatin probably couldn’t name Leah’s favorite color. Fatin doesn’t know shit about Leah – and Leah really doesn’t know shit about Fatin – but she knows what Leah tastes like. Knows what she looks like when Leah comes. And Fatin knows somehow when shit gets dark for Leah, when she can’t pull herself out of her own mind. Leah isn’t sure how that information settles with her.)

Oh God. The others are gonna judge Leah so hard.

Sometime shortly after that thought, Leah’s body shuts down. She only knows because she’s woken up sometime after sunrise by Toni kicking her foot until Leah grunts, squints against the sunlight.

“Hey. Get up,” Toni says. “You’ve way overslept, and you’re on water duty, so get moving.”

“Leah!” Dot calls. Leah’s eyes pop back open. Dot crouches down next to her, and Leah expects to see a smug-ass look on Dot’s face, but she looks dead serious. “We needed to rearrange the schedule, obviously,” Dot informs. “Water’s still a two person job, but we need someone to look after Rachel, and we’re down a woman, so. We’re all gonna have to pick up some slack.”

Leah’s eyebrows pull together. “Yeah, right,” she agrees. She waits for Dot to say something about how Leah stooped so low as to fuck Fatin, but Dot just stands and walks off, saying she’s got the first Rachel duty. Leah gets to her feet, brushing sand off the purple camo jacket and off her jeans. (Her shoulder is sore, and she probably slept wrong, because her neck feels extra fucked up this morning.) Leah checks out the board, suppresses a groan when she sees she’s on water duty with Fatin. (Rachel duty goes hand in hand with fire duty now. Martha’s on wood gathering and cleaning up. Toni and Shelby are on food. Figures.) Leah could probably get Martha to swap with her, but as far as everyone knows, Leah and Fatin are, like, sorta friends, so it’d be suspicious if Leah asked. And holy shit, Leah realizes Fatin hasn’t said a damn word to anyone.

No one knows they fucked, except her and Fatin. Everyone’s acting way too goddamn normal for Leah to draw any other conclusion. Even Dot didn’t betray that she knows anything, and Dot wouldn’t have been able to resist giving Leah at least some shit for providing Fatin with her first orgasm in twenty three days. Toni for sure would’ve said something. But nope. Everyone goes about like nothing’s unusual – except the mood is still extra somber because of, well, yeah.

Hands land on each of Leah’s shoulders, and Leah hisses in both surprise and pain. Leah twists her neck back (big mistake) to see that it’s Fatin grabbing onto her, and Fatin’s got this big-ass grin on her face. (And her big-ass hoops in her ears.) “Hey-oh,” Fatin greets, but as Leah winces as something in her neck tweaks, Fatin’s grin slides. “You okay?” Fatin asks, squeezing Leah’s shoulder. (Over that fucking bite mark she’d left Leah with, and Leah winces again.)

“I fucked my neck up in my sleep or something,” Leah mutters. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Oh, no,” Fatin scoffs. “Honey. I am amazing at massages. Sit your ass down. I’ll fix that problem right up for you.”

(Leah screams on the inside, because everyone else is too close for her to give any kind of abnormal reaction to Fatin’s antics. And besides, her neck really is fucking her up.)

“Don’t do anything weird,” Leah warns.

Fatin rolls her eyes, but Toni’s the one that calls, “When is Fatin not doing something weird?”

“You mind your own business, Shalifoe,” Fatin replies. She pushes on Leah’s shoulders, ignores the way Leah grimaces, and Leah resigns herself to taking a seat on the sand as Fatin kneels behind her, prodding around at her neck. (Her fingers, thankfully, stay clear of the bruised patch on Leah’s shoulder.)

“I can’t believe you’re gonna let Fatin rub you,” Toni says.

(Leah flinches, bracing herself for the inevitable oh, we’ve done way more than just rub each other comment from Fatin.)

“Oh, fuck you,” Fatin laughs. “Leah would be lucky to have me rub her.”

“Careful, Leah,” Toni warns. “Don’t want to catch HPV or something.”

“Please. I’m responsible. I get tested after every partner,” Fatin says. “I know I’m clean.” Fatin’s thumb digs right into the spot that hurts the most, and Leah inhales sharply, exhaling as she realizes what Fatin’s doing is actually helping. She could do without Fatin leaning into her, though, to whisper right next to her ear, “Is that better?”

“Yeah,” Leah grumbles.

Fatin pulls back, shrugs. “Told you I knew what I was doing.”

“You should see if you can fix my back,” Toni challenges. “I think Shelby did something to fuck it up when we – ow! Don’t pinch me.”

Fatin laughs, and Leah lets her eyes close as Fatin’s fingers continue to rub into her neck. Leah actually can feel some of the tension in her muscles melting away.

“Seriously, though,” Toni says. “This might be Fatin’s way of trying to convince you to sleep with her.”

(Yeah, Leah didn’t really need much convincing, did she? She kinda sorta almost made the first move.)

“Please,” Fatin snorts. “I mean, if Leah wants to repay me for fixing her neck by giving me an orgasm, I won’t complain. It’s been twenty four days. I’m desperate enough.”

Toni snickers. “Yeah, we all know you’re desperate.”

Leah’s eyes flick over to where Dot’s seated beside Rachel (even though Rachel hasn’t been conscious in at least sixteen hours). Dot jabs at the fire, looks at Rachel, jabs at the fire, looks over at Fatin, but Dot’s expression is hard to read. Fatin’s hands tighten on Leah’s shoulders, and she leans in again, resting her chin against the back of her hand, right next to Leah’s face.

“Better?” Fatin questions. “Or do I need to keep going?”

“I think I’m good, thanks.”

Fatin smirks. “Good.” With the hand she isn’t leaning on, she pats Leah on the side of the face then pulls back, letting her other hand slide with her. “We should get going,” Fatin says. “Water duty is always a pain in the ass.” She holds her hands out to Leah, wiggles her fingers as she waits. (And Leah just stares. She really shouldn’t. She shouldn’t be staring at Fatin’s fingers.) Leah slaps her hands into Fatin’s, lets Fatin haul her up. Fatin grabs the bag filled with their empty water containers, hands it off to Leah, then puts her hand against the top of Dot’s head, waits for Dot to look up. “And I’ll be back for you later, Dorothy,” Fatin says, winking.

“Jesus. What’s got you in such a good mood today?” Dot mutters. “Did you somehow forget what happened yesterday?”

Fatin’s smile slides. “No. Of course not. It’s kind of hard to forget when Rachel is right here, buried beneath a mountain of my clothes, with the end of her arm wrapped in most of the bandages we’ve got because she doesn’t have a hand. I didn’t forget.”

“Then what’re you so fucking happy about?” Dot asks. (She sounds more curious than harsh.)

Fatin shrugs. “We can’t all fall into a depression as deep as Leah’s. No offense. Someone’s gotta make sure shit keeps running, right? And that’s always you, so I figured maybe I’d pull my weight today.”

“No, that’s not what this is. You’re lying to me,” Dot says.

“Am not.”

“Oh my God,” Dot says, catching Fatin’s wrist before she can walk away. “You had an orgasm.”

“Wait, what?” Toni says, perking up at the word orgasm. “How?” Toni demands. “I thought you couldn’t do it with your hands or whatever.”

“What can I say?” Fatin says. (Leah inhales deeply, holds it, because here it comes. The moment everyone else finds out they fucked overnight in the woods, like, hours after Nora died as if that’s not sort of fucked up.) “I didn’t want to admit it, but my toothbrush finally saw some action,” Fatin says.

As Toni busts out laughing, falling into Shelby, Dot’s eyes narrow. “I killed your toothbrush,” she reminds. “So you’re fucking lying.”

Fatin smirks. “I took your advice and used it manually, so I accept your apology for calling me a liar,” she says. She pries Dot’s hand off her wrist, pats Dot on the shoulder. “I’ll see you soon, Dorothy. Leah! Come on. It’s a long fucking hike, and I’m already tired.”

*

Fatin leads the way, following the markers on the trail. It’s shaping up to be a blistering kind of day. Leah ties her hair back before long, sheds the purple camo jacket (and tries not to think about how she’ll have to put it back on, as suspicious as that’ll be, if she wants to cover the very obviously not-innocent bruising on her shoulder). Leah finally gets a good look at it in full daylight, grimacing. Fatin didn’t break the skin anywhere, but it’s a fairly decent bruise nonetheless. And yeah, it could’ve only been left behind by a set of teeth. No debating about that. If anyone sees this, it’s over.

Up ahead, Fatin pulls the floral patterned shirt over her head, ties it around her waist. (She’s wearing shorts today, since she threw her blood soaked jeans to the ocean last night.) Fatin pauses as she notices the jacket flung over Leah’s shoulder and waits until Leah comes to a stop right in front of her.

“What?” Leah says.

“Let me see that.”

Fatin grabs Leah by the arm, turns her to get a better look at the mark she left. “Shit,” Fatin laughs. “I really didn’t mean to do that, honey.” Fatin grazes her fingertips against the bruising, watches the way Leah cringes. “Does it hurt?”

“What do you think?” Leah retorts. “Yeah, it fucking hurts.”

Fatin shrugs, pulls her hand away. She doesn’t keep walking, though. Doesn’t turn around. She pokes her tongue between her lips, holds it there for a few moments as she smiles at Leah, as her eyes study Leah's expression. (And Leah fights so hard to keep her expression neutral if not slightly pissed off, but it’s so hard when she’s looking at Fatin’s lips, at her tongue. Like, Leah can’t not see Fatin’s face between her legs, will probably see that every time she looks at Fatin until they get off this island. And maybe Fatin looks so fucking smug because somehow she knows this. God, it probably hasn’t even been twelve hours since they –)

“Are you gonna say something?” Leah prompts. “Or are you just going to stare at me?”

“I mean, you have really gorgeous eyes, so I wouldn’t mind continuing to stare at you,” Fatin replies easily.

“Fuck off.”

Fatin shrugs, as fucking nonchalant as ever, and turns to keep heading for the waterfall. Leah follows her, doesn’t really have any other options. She keeps her eyes on the center of Fatin’s (mostly bare) back, at the straps of Fatin’s gold bra. (She’s not going to stare at Fatin’s ass. She’s not going to stare at Fatin’s legs, either. Probably shouldn’t even stare at her back.)

“You didn’t tell Dot,” Leah says.

Fatin stops walking again, forcing Leah to stop, too. Fatin turns back again, eyebrows raising. “Hmm?” she says. “I didn’t tell her what?”

“Don’t play stupid,” Leah replies. (She doesn’t miss the way Fatin’s eyes start at her face, drag down to her chest, flick back up. And Fatin gets that infuriating smug look on her face, like she knows what Leah looks like naked, because she does. Leah never should’ve given Fatin permission to take her shirt off, at least.) “You didn’t tell Dot we fucked.”

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Fatin corrects. She crosses her arms over her chest. “Why would I? That’s none of their business.”

“You’ve made your lack of orgasms everyone’s business.”

“Yeah, because it’s a goddamn tragedy,” Fatin says. “And if I turned around and blabbed about my orgasm to everyone, I wouldn’t get any more.”

Leah’s eyebrows shoot upward. “You’re assuming there’ll be more?”

“Can you blame me? Honey, I know I gave you the best orgasm of your life. Of course you’d come back for more.”

“No,” Leah blurts.

“No? Come on, you can’t even try to lie about that –”

“No, I mean, it was a one-time thing,” Leah says. “Some, like, really bad shit happened yesterday, and I was like –”

Leah pauses, unsure of how to put it, but Fatin chimes in with, “Going dark?”

“Yeah. Whatever. Anyway, totally a one-time thing.”

“So, what?” Fatin questions. “Are you saying you were just using me to make yourself feel better?”

Leah hesitates, can’t get a good read on the look on Fatin’s face until Fatin starts laughing. “I mean,” Leah says, “weren’t you doing the same exact thing?”

“Obviously!” Fatin says. She reaches out and hits her hand against Leah’s shoulder, exclaims, “Sorry!” when she realizes it’s the one she (accidentally) marked. “Jesus, Leah,” Fatin says. “Loosen up. It’s not that big a deal.”

“It’s not a big deal, but you haven’t told anyone.”

Fatin rolls her eyes. “We went over this. If I tell them, you’ll get pissed, and I want more orgasms. So you can say this was a one-time thing, but we’ll see about that.” Fatin winks at her but pauses to gauge Leah’s reaction again. “You’ll have to step it up, though,” Fatin warns. “I was, like, super ready to go because of the whole lack of recent orgasms thing, but it’s only gonna get harder to please me as we –”

“What don’t you understand about one-time thing?” Leah asks. “One. Time.”

Fatin knocks her hand against Leah’s stomach this time, choosing to avoid her shoulder. “Leah. Leah. If our camp hadn’t been so close, I would’ve made you scream. You’re gonna come back for more, and I won’t hold it against you when you do.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s the idea, baby.”

(And Leah seethes, but she has no comeback ready. Fatin’s lips twist into a smile, and Leah’s mind so graciously reminds her that she’s kissed Fatin, that the last time she kissed Fatin was after she came on Fatin’s face. Except no, technically Fatin kissed her, and what was Leah going to do? Turn her down? That’d just be fucking rude. And in the moment, while Leah was still struggling to catch her breath while Fatin decided to push her tongue into Leah’s mouth, Leah assumed it was some kind of fucking power move on Fatin’s part. And maybe it was. Like a you just came on my face and here’s the proof kind of thing. But Fatin didn’t have to make out with her afterwards. She could’ve easily just pulled away. Definitely a fucking power move.)

“I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted,” Leah finally says. “You know. All three minutes of it. Since it won’t be happening again.”

“I went twenty three days without an orgasm! Of course it was gonna happen fast! Jesus.”

And for whatever reason, that has them both cracking up. They start walking again, but this time, side-by-side. “Seriously, Fatin, I don’t even think I really did anything,” Leah teases.

“Twenty three days, Leah! That’s, like, a fucking record!” Fatin shoves at Leah’s arm as Leah snickers, and Fatin grins at her. “Do not shame me for coming fast.”

“Oh, no shame,” Leah replies. “I made Fatin Jadmani come in under three minutes. So that’s some kind of a record for me, huh?” Leah points at her shoulder. “Sadly, I paid for it, but still.” When Fatin just rolls her eyes, Leah says, “Wait. Oh my God. No one’s ever made you come faster than that.”

“I told you,” Fatin says. “Special circumstances. It barely counts.”

“No, don’t even. It fucking counts.”

They reach the waterfall, and Fatin grabs the bag off Leah’s shoulder, a faint smile still on Fatin’s face. “What do you want me to say?” Fatin asks. “Thank you?”

“Might be nice. I kinda did you a massive favor.”

“You mean that I did you a massive favor,” Fatin points out. “I let you come on my face. That’s not a privilege that everyone gets, you know.”

Leah rolls her eyes. “God, I just feel so fucking special now,” she says sarcastically. “I came on the Fatin Jadmani’s face, and she immediately let me know it by shoving her tongue into my mouth.”

Fatin smirks. “Don’t even. I know you liked that.” (Leah can’t fight off her fucking smile.) “Yeah, exactly,” Fatin says. She heads to the water to start filling their containers. They work in silence, which is fine with Leah. (It’s so hard not to stare at Fatin’s hands. So hard, especially as she passes the full containers of water back to Leah, as their fingers brush together.) As Leah slings the full bag of water over her (good) shoulder, Fatin stops to study her.

“What?” Leah says.

Fatin hums. “You look good.”

“I’m sorry?”

Fatin waves her hand dismissively. “Like, it doesn’t look like shit’s getting dark for you. Right?”

Leah blinks, hesitates. “I’m fine,” she says.

“It was the orgasm.”

Leah sighs. “I mean, that was the point of us fucking, wasn’t it? You’re, like, addicted to orgasms and went a record-breaking twenty three days without one. And I…”

“Needed to be pulled out of your own mind,” Fatin finishes for her. She flashes Leah a smile. (A real one. Not that smug kind of shit she was giving Leah earlier.) “I get it,” Fatin says, shrugging. (She’s still smiling.) “I’m glad I found a way to actually help you.”

And with that, Fatin leads the way back.

*

They hear her long before they can see the beach. Leah’s eyes widen, and she hands the bag of water off to Fatin. (Almost doesn’t remember to fight her way back into the purple camo jacket, is still pulling it on as she crashes onto the beach with Fatin on her heels.)

Rachel’s awake.

Dot’s kneeling on one side of her, Shelby on the other. Dot’s struggling to hold Rachel down by the shoulders, but Rachel has a surprising amount of strength considering she lost a hand yesterday. (Cauterizing that wound was horrific, but they should all just be grateful it was a complete amputation rather than a partial one that they would’ve had to handle.) Rachel’s screaming drowns out whatever Dot and Shelby try to say to her. Rachel’s halfway to sitting fully upright, even with Dot and Shelby attempting to force her down.

Leah skids to a stop, almost falling to the sand beside Shelby. “What’s happening?” Leah asks breathlessly.

“She’s awake, that’s what’s happening!” Dot shouts.

“Well, she’s in pain! Give her something,” Leah insists.

“She’s on so many drugs, Leah,” Dot replies. “I don’t know how she’s feeling anything.”

Rachel’s hand shoots out, grasps a fistful of the front of Leah’s jacket, yanks her forward. Leah’s eyes widen, and Shelby grabs onto Rachel’s wrist, tries to pry her hand off of Leah as Rachel hisses, “How could you? How could you let her die instead of me?”

“Rachel, we –”

“I don’t want to hear it! You made the wrong choice!”

“Rachel,” Shelby says. (She’s still trying to break Rachel’s grasp on Leah.) “Rachel, let her go,” Shelby tells her. “This isn’t Leah’s fault. It isn’t anyone’s fault. Please.”

“You didn’t get to her fast enough!” Rachel yells, tugging at the jacket. (Leah flinches.) “You didn’t even try!”

“Hey!” Toni shouts, emerging from around the bend. She runs over, slides down on the other side of Shelby. It doesn’t take Toni long to break Rachel’s grasp on the jacket. “Hey,” Toni says, softer this time, holding onto Rachel’s hand. “Don’t take this out on Leah, man,” Toni says. “Lay back down, okay? You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

Rachel breathes heavily, eyes flicking between Leah, Shelby, and Toni. (Leah’s eyes lock with Dot’s before Dot looks off to the side, to where Fatin’s preparing to boil the water, as if nothing’s happening.) Rachel drops back down, and Dot turns her attention to bandaging the wound around Rachel’s arm. Toni helps Shelby to her feet, leads her away while watching Rachel warily. (But Rachel’s eyes close.) Leah doesn’t move.

“You should go,” Dot says.

“I can help.”

“You shouldn’t,” Dot replies.

“You’re gonna blame me for what happened?” Leah accuses. “I ran into the ocean while there was a fucking shark out there to pull them in, and – I told you what I saw Nora doing, and I still went out there. Her injuries were too –”

“Leah, I know,” Dot cuts in. “You did everything you could. But this is about what’s best for Rachel, and it’s probably best that you just stay away.”

Leah gets to her feet, shaking her head. (She got to them first. She hauled both Rachel and Nora half the way back to shore before Dot, Fatin, and Toni got to them. She tried to stop the bleeding until the very end, even though it was futile, even though there was too much, even though Toni and Fatin had already given up. Leah did everything she possibly could’ve, even after Nora trapped her in a pit and spoke to a camera in a tree. Nora died in spite of Leah’s efforts to keep her alive.)

“Just walk it off,” Martha advises, causing Leah to jump. Martha shakes her head. “She isn’t thinking right. She’s all drugged up, and she’s experiencing a kind of pain none of us can understand. It’s not your fault.”

“Thanks, Martha,” Leah mutters.

Martha presses her lips together, nods. “I know you tried,” she says. “For what it’s worth.”

Leah tries to take Martha’s words to heart. She knows Rachel just needs someone to blame for a situation none of them could control. (But it still nags at her. All day. Rachel blames her. Leah’s the only reason Rachel and Nora made it back to shore at all, but Rachel blames her for Nora’s death anyway. And Leah knows that Rachel doesn’t really know what went down once they reached shore. Leah knows Rachel was unconscious for most of what happened, doesn’t know how hard they tried to save her, doesn’t know the breakdowns they all collectively went through once Rachel’s injury was tended to. But Rachel still blames her.)

Rachel stays conscious long enough for Dot to get her to drink some water (and then she passes out for the rest of the day again). Leah spends most of the rest of the day sitting beside the fire, picking at her eyebrow. She goes over it. (Over and over.) Running straight into the ocean toward a shark. It disappeared, sure, but still, it was out there. Somehow managing to haul both Rachel and Nora back toward shore while they both bled into the water, Rachel from her arm and Nora from fucking everywhere. And Leah could only think of the shark coming back to finish them off as she inhaled (bloody) water with each gasping breath, choking but still attempting to reach land. (Toni reached them first, dragged Nora in as Dot went for Rachel. And Fatin grabbed onto Leah, pulled her in until Leah could feel the sand beneath her body again, and then Leah was back up, trying to help Nora.) And Leah did everything she could think of.

As the sun starts to set, Leah stops fucking with her eyebrow, pushes herself to her feet. All eyes go to her, but Leah ignores them all. She kicks her shoes off, strips off her jeans. (Toni’s eyebrows raise, but no one else reacts. This isn’t really anything too new for Leah.) It isn’t until Leah starts walking toward the ocean that Dot calls, “Hey! Not too far.”

“I know,” Leah mumbles. She just goes to the edge, takes a seat in the shallow water, lets it rush over her legs, doesn’t let it go higher than her ass. (Crazy how two days ago, Leah tried to escape this way. It could’ve been her ass getting eaten by a shark, if she’d been so unlucky. And Rachel had saved her. But yesterday, they couldn’t save Nora, and they might’ve barely saved Rachel. The jury’s still out on that. If she develops an infection…Leah doesn’t know what they’re going to do.) Leah’s thoughts shift from the shark to the pit, to the camera in the tree. (They’re being watched. She knew they were being watched. And if there’s one camera, there’s probably more. But where? And who’s watching them?)

“Hey.”

Leah suppresses a sigh. (Fatin doesn’t sit; she stands beside Leah in the ankle deep water.) “You don’t have to keep checking up on me,” Leah tells her. “I know the others always send you, but you don’t have to –”

“No one sent me.”

(Somehow, that’s almost worse.)

“You can’t help me,” Leah says. “So you should just go.”

She glances up in time to see Fatin shrug, then Fatin takes a seat in the water next to her. Fatin stretches her legs out, leans back against her hands. (She’s too close. Her leg rests against Leah’s.) “It’s kinda nice here,” Fatin comments.

“Stop.”

Fatin smiles; the look on her face, in her eyes, is too soft. “The others can’t hear us, you know,” Fatin informs. “And they kinda think we’re friends anyway, since I was the one who got you to willingly take that pill, so. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not worried.”

“Sweetheart, all you do is worry.” Fatin sits up, reaches over and puts her palm against Leah’s (bare) thigh. Leah’s eyes drop down, lock onto Fatin’s hand. (The gesture is innocent enough, maybe. If they hadn’t fucked last night.)

Leah brushes Fatin’s hand off of her, mutters, “I’m not worried about the others thinking something’s going on between us.”

“Oh.”

“Toni and Shelby should deflect any attention off of us, right?” Leah says.

Fatin cracks a smile. “Probably.” She pauses. “Then what are you thinking about?”

“Rachel.”

Fatin scoffs. “Don’t let that bitch get under your skin.”

“And Nora.”

“Oh.”

“And the camera,” Leah whispers.

“You can’t let that drive you insane,” Fatin says. She lays her hand on Leah’s thigh again, and this time, Leah grabs it with her own, holds on.

“We’re being watched.”

“So?” Fatin scoffs. “Wait until we get out of here. We’ll sue whoever’s doing this for all they’ve got. We’ll be fucking set for life.”

Leah nods. Fatin’s eyes are on her face, scrutinizing Leah, but Leah stares out at the setting sun, tightens her grasp on Fatin’s hand. (Fatin squeezes back.)

“Leah, look at me,” Fatin says. Leah tears her eyes away from the sky, meets Fatin’s gaze. “We’re stuck here,” Fatin says firmly. “Whatever else is going on – we can’t know that shit. But we know we’re stuck. We know we have to try to stay alive. Just hold onto that, okay? We’ll get out of here. And if someone is watching us, we’ll definitely get out eventually. We just have to –”

“Stay alive,” Leah says.

“Exactly.” Fatin leans over, and with the hand not clasped in Leah’s, swipes the one tear from Leah’s cheek. “You’ll be alright,” Fatin tells her. (And how is this the same woman Leah fucked last night? Or even the same woman that Leah went to get water with, when all they fucking did was argue? How does Fatin know when to push Leah’s buttons and when to just be there?) Leah’s lips part as she searches Fatin’s eyes for…well, she isn’t really sure what she’s looking for. (But Fatin’s expression is still so soft, so understanding, and if the others weren’t all making noise at camp behind them, maybe Leah would consider leaning over and kissing her. Why she wants to do that – Leah draws a blank on an answer to that question, but she kind of doesn’t care.)

Fatin suddenly smirks. “You really thought we were only gonna fuck once,” she says.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“What makes you think –?”

Fatin shrugs, releases Leah’s hand in order to reach up and swipe a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “You keep staring at my lips,” Fatin says. “Which means you’re thinking about kissing me. Which means we’re gonna fuck again.”

Leah falters. “No, we aren’t.”

Fatin laughs. “Oh, I’d put money on it.”

“You’d lose that bet.”

“Come on,” Fatin whispers, knocking her shoulder into Leah’s. “You can’t honestly tell me you don’t want to.”

“You just want another orgasm. You can’t even make it twenty four hours.”

“You should’ve known if I had one, I’d want more,” Fatin dismisses. “So it’s kind of your fault.” Fatin pauses. “And I’m worried about you.”

“So you want to have sex because you’re worried about me?”

Fatin blinks. “I mean, if I say yes, will that make you wanna fuck me?”

Leah laughs against her own will, and Fatin grins at her. “You’re unbelievable,” Leah says. “Seriously.”

“I got you to laugh,” Fatin points out. “And the last time you told me I was unbelievable was last night, right before we fucked, so. But you probably should’ve also said it afterwards. Because I know that the orgasm I gave you was unbelievable.”

Leah laughs again. “You weren’t bad,” she concedes.

“Please. I wasn’t anywhere near bad. I was fucking amazing.”

“You’ve got quite an ego for a woman who came in under three minutes with very little –”

“Twenty three days!” Fatin exclaims, and they both dissolve into laughter. Leah leans her shoulder into Fatin’s, feels Fatin’s hand press against her thigh again in order to keep herself up.

“Get a room!” Toni shouts.

“Fuck off!” Fatin yells right back, still laughing. As they pull it together, Fatin pats Leah’s thigh, asks, “You good?”

“Fine.”

“Alright, let’s get out of the water then,” Fatin says. She gets to her feet, offers Leah her hands. “Get your wet ass back to camp,” Fatin teases.

“You guys are gross,” Toni says as they both drop down in front of the fire.

“You and Shelby are way grosser,” Fatin scoffs. “We all know you’re sneaking off to fuck.”

Shelby’s face burns bright red, and Martha chokes on her mouthful of water. Leah, though, joins in on Fatin’s laughter. (Surprisingly, so does Dot.)

“Alright, guys, maybe we need to lay down some ground rules then,” Dot jokes.

“Yeah, no, we don’t want to hear it,” Toni says. “But don’t worry. We’ll be discreet.”

Leah’s eyes drift over to Rachel. She’s asleep. Or maybe blacked out? Leah doesn’t know if Rachel’s unconsciousness is due to the drugs or what. But Leah swallows hard, draws her knees to her chest. (Rachel blames me.)

“No fucking near camp,” Fatin says, pointing at Toni. “Or anywhere we can hear you.”

“Mind your own business, Fatin,” Toni retorts. “You’re just jealous that we’re getting some and you aren’t.”

Fatin rolls her eyes. “Oh, please, I found a way.”

“Yeah, your toothbrush doesn’t count,” Toni says.

“You know, you do what you have to, okay?” Fatin says. “I’m trying to stay sane here.”

They keep going back and forth, with Dot occasionally interjecting with her thoughts, but Leah watches Rachel. They just have to stay alive, but that’s, like, way easier said than done. Two of them are dead already. Rachel might be on the fucking brink for all they know. They’re probably past the point of Rachel dying from a loss of blood, but she could develop an infection that they can’t treat. And who knows what could happen to any of the rest of them?

“You’re all ridiculous,” Dot snorts. “I’m going to bed.”

“You’re on Rachel slash fire duty,” Toni says. “You have to stay up until everyone else goes to sleep.”

“I’ve got it,” Leah volunteers. “I’ll take care of the fire.”

“Are you sure?” Dot asks warily.

“If Rachel wakes up, I’ll just wake you up,” Leah promises. “Unless she wakes you all up first.”

“True,” Dot agrees. “Well…thanks for taking over. Goodnight.”

Shortly after Dot lies down, Martha drags Marcus over and settles in. Then Toni and Shelby snuggle up. Fatin removes her hoops from her ears, tucks them safely in her suitcase. She unites the floral patterned shirt from around her waist, lays it out for her to put her head on. And Leah, for the first time since rejoining the group, sheds the purple camo jacket and tosses it aside.

“How’s your shoulder?” Fatin asks.

Leah startles, looks over at where Fatin’s lying on her back with her hands clasped on her (bare) stomach. (She’s only a few feet to Leah’s left.) “Fine,” Leah mutters. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Seriously, I didn’t do that on purpose.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry.”

Leah hesitates. “For what?”

Fatin smiles thinly. “I don’t know. For whatever you might want an apology for.”

Leah shakes her head, rubs at her temples. “I don’t want an apology for anything. You didn’t do anything wrong. Except this.” Leah points at the bruise on her shoulder. “But it’s fine. Better than waking everyone up instead, so. Forget about it.”

Fatin props herself up on her elbows, staring over at Leah. “You know, you’re a lot more, like, chill about this than I expected,” Fatin admits.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Leah questions.

“I don’t know. You don’t seem like the type that would be chill about casual sex.”

Leah shrugs. “I mean, we’ve seen very clearly that we could die at any minute, right? From fucking insane things. Like sharks. It’d be a tragedy if you didn’t get at least one last orgasm in before we all bite the dust.”

A smile flickers on Fatin’s face. “The fastest orgasm of my life, at that.”

Leah rolls her eyes. “Yeah, well, what did you expect after you were forced to wait twenty three days for it?”

Fatin grins, body shakes with silent laughter, and Leah’s teeth sink into her lower lip. “Yeah, well, last night kinda wasn’t meant to be about me,” Fatin replies.

“Oh, please. When is anything ever not about you?”

“Hey. Rude,” Fatin laughs. “But you know, if I’m remembering right, you propositioned me for sex.”

“And you came in three minutes. It’s not my fault you couldn’t drag it out longer.”

Fatin throws a handful of sand in Leah’s direction. “You asshole,” Fatin says, shaking her head. “You know, I made out with you after you came on my face – in case you forgot – because I thought maybe we’d go another round.”

“And I was tired,” Leah replies.

“Yeah, I could tell.”

“Sue me. We had a long fucking day.”

“So?” Fatin says. “Are you seriously gonna stick to the it’s just one time bullshit?”

“Are you trying to ask me something, Fatin?” Leah teases.

“Yeah. Am I gonna have to wait however many days it takes to get out of here in order to have another orgasm?” Fatin asks. Leah hesitates. (And that’s enough of an answer for Fatin, and she grins widely.) “Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought.”

“We’re not gonna be the next Shelby and Toni,” Leah warns. “We aren’t sneaking off in the middle of the day to fuck, and we aren’t doing – whatever that is.” Leah motions over to where Toni and Shelby are all tangled up with each other.

“Oh, God, no,” Fatin says. “I already told you. I don’t sleep with the people I fuck. Like, you’re lucky I’m still talking to you right now. So yeah. None of that feelings bullshit that Toni and Shelby have going on. Way too messy, and never worth the effort.”

“Good. We’re on the same page.”

“So, Leah Rilke,” Fatin says, sitting fully upright. “Are you saying you’re going to let me use you for sex while we’re stranded out here?”

Leah rolls her eyes. “It sounds wrong when you put it like that.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Only if you swear to keep it between us,” Leah says. “You can’t even tell Dot.”

“Done.”

“And you can’t hint at it, either. No dropping clues to lead Toni or Dot to the conclusion that we’re –”

“Deal,” Fatin interrupts. “Anything else?”

“Don’t fucking mark me where anyone can easily see it.”

“Got it.” Fatin gets to her feet, kicks sand onto the fire until it’s out. “Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no fire anymore, so there’s no reason for you to put it out when the last person goes to sleep. So let’s go.”

“You want to fuck,” Leah says slowly, staring at Fatin’s outstretched hands. “Right now?”

“What’s stopping us? We did it last night.”

“You can’t go more than twenty four hours –”

“I don’t want to,” Fatin corrects. “Especially now that I know I don’t have to.” Fatin pauses. “I’ll take care of you first,” she offers. “That way you can really focus, because it’s going to take more than three minutes and some clumsy movements to get me off this time.”

“That was so embarrassing for you,” Leah says.

“I know. Shit.” Fatin wiggles her fingers, waiting. “Come on. Either take my hands now or tell me no so I can go to sleep.”

Leah stares at Fatin’s hands (at her fingers, really) for a few moments. It’s a simple choice. Yes or no. And they’ve already proven they can just laugh shit off, so. Maybe it’s not such a terrible idea. (And Leah’s only just had a small taste of what Fatin can do.)

Leah takes her hands.

*

Fatin’s fingers dig into the bruise on Leah’s shoulder, and if Leah didn’t know any better, she would think that Fatin’s doing it on purpose. (But it’s dark, and Leah knows Fatin just grabs on, just happens to be pressing her fingers into the exact spot.) Leah’s hiss of pain is immediately drowned out by Fatin’s moan, and Leah scrambles to clamp her free hand over Fatin’s mouth.

“Stop,” Leah hisses. “And, fuck, ease up on my shoulder.”

“Just let me have this,” Fatin says into Leah’s palm.

“No. They’ll hear us.”

“We need to get a better spot.”

*

“Hey, so Shelby and I had an idea.”

“Oh, this should be good,” Dot mutters. She finishes wrapping Rachel’s arm in fresh bandages. (Rachel was conscious long enough to drink water and eat something today, which Dot said is a win. Leah takes her word for it.) “Please, share your idea with us, Toni,” Dot invites. “We’re all ears.”

“We were thinking since Rachel’s out of the rotation indefinitely, and everyone hates food duty anyway, that we could just have, like permanent jobs?” Toni pitches. “At least for now. Shelby and I will be on food –”

“So you can take your time fucking in the woods?” Fatin pipes up. “Right. Got it, got it. But actually, I agree with you.”

Toni startles. “Wait. You do?”

“Yeah,” Fatin says. “I mean, unless anyone hates the job they’ve been doing the last couple days.”

Dot and Martha exchange a look, and they both shrug. “I don’t mind,” Martha says. “Unless you really hate water duty, Leah.”

Leah can feel Fatin’s eyes boring into the back of her skull. “No,” Leah mumbles. “I’m fine on water.”

“Okay, it’s settled then,” Fatin announces. “We’re all keeping our jobs. Great idea, Toni.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t even have to fight you on that,” Toni laughs. “We all know water is the worst job.”

Fatin shrugs. “I don’t mind being reminded of my biggest accomplishment on this island,” she says. “I’m the only reason we all didn’t die of dehydration, like, after the first week.”

“Yeah, and we’ll never be able to thank you enough, Fatin,” Dot sneers.

“I know,” Fatin says, and she exchanges a grin with Dot. Leah resists the urge to rub at her inner thigh, at the one spot she knows is sore thanks to Fatin sucking way too hard. (Leah hasn’t been able to check if there’s a mark yet, but she doesn’t need to look. She knows it’s there.) “Alright, time to go,” Fatin announces.

“What?” Leah says.

“Yeah, come on. Might as well get a head start.”

So then they’re walking to the waterfall.

“Now we don’t have to sneak off in the middle of the night anymore,” Fatin says, knocking her hand into Leah’s arm.

“Hmm?”

Fatin sends her a seriously? kind of look. “We’re on water duty together. Every day, we’re going to be at the waterfall, alone, where the others can’t hear us.”

“Fatin, I’m not really, like, the fuck every day type,” Leah says. “And we just fucked last night.”

“Yeah, I remember. And you’re walking a little funny.” (Fatin smacks Leah’s ass, busts out laughing as Leah glares at her.) “Come on. You’ve never wanted to fuck in a body of water?”

“No. And I don’t want to fuck in our water supply. That’s gross.”

“We boil it before we drink it,” Fatin replies. “It’s not that big a deal.”

“Still, it’s weird.”

“You see, this is why I usually don’t fuck women,” Fatin says.

“Okay, I shouldn’t be offended by that, but it feels like a personal attack,” Leah says.

“Women are just…so fucking high maintenance,” Fatin complains.

“You know you’re a woman,” Leah replies. “And if we accept the sexist low and high maintenance standards for a minute, you aren’t exactly a low maintenance kind of girl.”

Fatin smiles. “I know.”

“So what’s the point you’re trying to make?”

“My point is, stop being high maintenance. Fuck me in the water. Come on.”

“We’re taking care of our job first.”

(Fatin gets all the containers filled with water faster than ever.) The moment after Leah secures the lid on the last bottle, Fatin grabs her hand and yanks her into the water. (Fully clothed. So Leah’s going to have wet clothes to wear back to the beach.) Leah surfaces, pushes her wet hair out of her face, and she takes one look at Fatin and busts out laughing.

“This is such a bad idea,” Leah says.

“Yeah, now that I’m, like, in the water, I’m kinda not feeling it,” Fatin agrees.

“You? Not feeling it?” Leah teases. “That’s something new.” Before Fatin can respond, Leah splashes her.

“Hey!” Fatin splutters. “You fucking dickhead!” (She splashes Leah right back before Leah swims off.) “Get over here! I’m gonna drown you!” Fatin threatens, and Leah would be a little more concerned if Fatin wasn’t laughing so hard.

XX

Day 25

They all commit to specific jobs – Leah and Fatin on water; Toni and Shelby on food; Dot on Rachel and fire; Martha on cleaning and wood gathering

The line starts to blur; Leah catches feelings first; Fatin marks Leah intentionally next time and Leah pretends to be pissed but secretly doesn’t mind; Leah and Fatin end up sleeping right up on each other

Dot gets suspicious; Toni knows it’s happening but thinks it’s funny (she sees the mark Fatin left on Leah’s shoulder); Leah gets jealous of Dotin as her feelings for Fatin develop; after a while, Leah confides in Shelby and Shelby tells her to just tell Fatin and Fatin straight up is like “it was just sex” and Leah is crushed but moves forward and then Fatin catches feelings

Dot thinks Fatin is cheating with Toni or Shelby

[teenageread]

Review: People We Meet on Vacation

Initial Thoughts:

This is a classic summertime read! Emily Henry held nothing back as this novel contained romance, adventure, traveling trips, and a lot of sun. What I loved most about this book was all the summer adventures Henry put on characters through, and how we actually got chapters dedicated to the previous summer. Alex and Poppy, friends from freshman year of university, had twelve beautiful summer adventures with each other, in which Henry starts the novel off with them not talking due to what happened two summers ago. This was the best part, and especially how these trips were realistic based on their age and what was happening in their life. There was no jetting off to Mexico fresh out of college, but a realistic mid-America adventure with cheap hotels and even cheaper meals. Henry wrote this novel moving between the present-day Palm Spring trips, past summer vacations marked by their year number, and slowly getting closer from summer 12 to summer 2 which is what ended our dynamic duo before the present day. This added suspense to this novel, as while you were having fun learning about the previous trips and current adventures, you were itching to know what happened during that summer, which made this novel fly through your hands.

Characters:

Henry wrote Poppy and Alex to be complete opposites in style and manner, yet kindred spirits in their hearts. When told from Poppy’s perspective, Henry gave us insight into our loud and colorful girl, who was looking for love in all the wrong places. Her cheery personality made the story shine, and you wanted what was best for Poppy, and supported her as she tried to make this disaster of a trip into the “good old days” despite being too old to go without A/C in July. Unfortunately Poppy is too stuck in the past to see what is happening in front of her, as she tries to make something that is clearly not working work, to hold onto Alex and get their friendship - or relationship - back on track. As we explore previous summers Poppy admits to herself when she first fell in love with Alex, and you can tell he was in love with her from the beginning. After all, how could Alex, our dressed coded, agenda planned, ruler follower of a human, agree to go on a trip that they definitely cannot afford, yet through the sketchy deals and Facebook groups, managed to get there on the cheap. Alex, despite his strictness to life and routines, is someone you can also easily fall for, and I loved that throughout the novel he is consistently nice and gentle in every situation. Side characters in this novel also really pop off, making this story enjoyable for all of Poppy and Alex’s relationships. I love Poppy’s best friend, Rachel, she was a delight every time I heard about her, and I loved how she brought out another side of Poppy that Alex did not. Poppy’s boss, Swpna, was also a delight who added more to Poppy’s idea of the future in a career, which this novel needed. Not many side characters stuck out from Alex’s point of view, besides his ex-girlfriend, who was only a character to give Poppy someone to hate and blame for Alex and her break up. Henry had a knack for characters, and I just loved the connections they built with them throughout the novel through great conversations, and plotlines that make sense, as this slow burn of a romance was built off of years of anticipation. 

Plot / Writing:

Again, I absolutely love the plot of this novel, the focus of two friends and their yearly summer adventures, that Henry actually gave us in every other chapter split from the present day (Palm Springs Trip), to previous summers, as we make our way to the end of the novel, where Henry finally tells us what happened that second summer, and we complete the romance of Poppy and Alex of if our two best friends are meant to be more than friends. With the switching between present days and summer pasts, Henry keeps the plot moving quickly, leaving you wanting to know what their next summer adventure is, and figure out if the tension will ever cool it in Palm Springs. With great banter between Poppy and Alex, the characters felt real, and thus the decisions they made mattered to you as a reader. Where there was a bit of sex in the novel, I felt it was fine enough and late enough in the novel to make sense, and where graphic, Henry made it appropriately timed to really add more flair to the story. With some unexpected twists happening throughout, this book reads and feels like a rom-com and is the perfect read for any summer vacation. 

Conclusion: 

Emily Henry wrote the perfect summer story of sunny beaches, adventures, misadventures, and a whole lot of romance and missed opportunities and Poppy and Alex, two summer best friends, finally open up about their feelings in the best possible way. Truly a summer rom-com in a novel, and I cannot wait for the movie to come out! 

[jrhughes]

Fear and Deliverance

Genesis 32:1-32

Sunday, January28, 2024

Golden Text:       And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. - Genesis 32:13-15

Introduction: Today we are going to study Jacob’s return to the promised land of Canaan to his father Isaac. Jacob originally left his family 20 years earlier after he and his mother had deceived Isaac and received a blessing for Jacob which Isaac intended for Esau. Esau was extremely upset and said that as soon as his father died he was going to kill Jacob.

It is interesting to note that this contest between the brothers started when the two of them were in the womb of their mother Rebekah.  There, there was a great struggle within her womb and when she asked the Lord what it meant, she was told that two nations were in her womb and she was told that the elder would serve the younger. It is interesting to note that God spoke to the family, in this case, though Rebekah the wife and mother, which was a bit unusual because God usually spoke through the father/husband.

Once the two young men grew, one time Esau was out hunting and Jacob was home with his mother as usual and was preparing pottage. Esau came out from hunting and was famished and Jacob, who is a deceiver and supplanter, took full advantage of the situation and said to the very hungry Esau, Sell me your birthright. Esau had been born first, only by a few minutes, but the firstborn was going to either get all of the father’s wealth or a large portion of it. Esau succumbed to his hunger and said to Jacob what good is the birthright, feed me that pottage, lest I die, in exchange for his birthright position as number one.

Although Isaac knew of these events, and that God had said the elder shall serve the younger, Isaac intended to go against the will of God and give the blessing that Esau would have had by being firstborn back to Esau even though God had clearly told them the elder would serve the younger. Rebekah and Jacob devised plans to deceive an older Isaac who had trouble seeing and may have had trouble in his tasting ability because when Rebekah made savory meat, she took the meat from the goats and made it taste like venison. Anyway they convinced Isaac that Jacob was Esau and Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessings of the firstborn.

Shortly after this encounter Esau came in and was told that the blessing that Isaac was going to gice to Esau was already given to Jacob and Jacob would indeed get that blessing. Esau was very, very angry. He literally cried and asked his father for another blessing. The father told him that he would give him a blessing but Jacob had received the firstborn blessing. That is when Esau became so angry that he threatened to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac their father had died.

Rebekah heard this and about that same time Esau had married another Canaanite woman as his wife. Knowing these two facts, Rebekah convinced Isaac to join her in telling Jacob to go to the land of her brother Laban and there to find a wife, who was not Canaanite.

Off to Haran: Jacob traveled some 500 miles and early on in the travels he laid down his head on a stone and that night saw angels going up and down a ladder from heaven to earth. Furthermore, Jacob had seen the Lord at the top of the ladder. And Jacob had made a promise that if God would keep him when he would come back, he would then serve Him as God.

Jacob went to Laban. The first meeting was with the daughter of Laban, Rachel, when Rachel came to water her sheep. Jacob told Rachel who he was. Jacob was very interested in the very beautiful well favored Rachel and had worked out a deal with his uncle Laban to serve 7 years to marry Rachel as agreed upon between Laban and Jacob. However, on the wedding night, Laban substituted Leah.

Apparently in the dark and with the bridal coverings and the veil Jacob did not know it was Leah that night, but discovered it the next morning. Jacob went to Laban very upset, incensed, But Laban had a deal for him. After Leah gets her week (honeymoon?) Jacob could serve Laban seven more years and after only 1 week Laban would give Jacob Rachel, also to be the wife of Jacob. Jacob had no other alternative but to agree and started working now for Rachel.

After the 14 years were up, Jacob asked Laban to send him away. In the meantime God had prospered the efforts of Jacob and Laban had gained much wealth and prosperity. Laban wanted to continue this so he told Jacob basically you name your price and I will agree to it.

Flocks and herds of sheep and goats were generally speaking white, without any other color in their coats at all. The ones with color in them were not highly regarded so Jacob said you give me those with color in them and I will serve you for them. And so he made the agreement. Ten times Laban changed the “deal” but each time he did so God countered it by having the stronger animals mate and come up with the better offspring.

After 6 more years of service the sons of Laban (who stood to inherit their fathers wealth) decided that all that he, Jacob, had earned through his labors really belonged to their father and they convinced their father who also began to believe perhaps the sons were correct and Jacob realized that he was (perhaps) about to lose everything that he had earned in the last 6 years.

Jacob then talked to his 2 wives out in the field where he was keeping his own animals and asked them if they wanted to return back to the land of promise with him. Jacob informed them that God had told him it was time to go home. The two daughters of Laban agreed that all that had been accomplished by their husband Jacob belonged to him and to them and their families. Laban shortly thereafter went to shear his sheep and was gone for a week.

During that time when Laban was gone, Jacob Leah and Rachel and the two handmaids and all the company and all the livestock that he had acquired left and went with him on the way back to the Promised Land.

Laban pursues Jacob: When Laban returned from shearing sheep he was told what had happened and he and his men went after Jacob and his company. Seven days later Laban overtook them. God spoke to Laban in a dream and told him not to be harsh with Jacob. Apparently Laban realized that he was not only going to have to battle with Jacob and his people, but God would be on the side of Jacob. Rather than take them all on he made a covenant with Jacob. They set up a pillar and neither one was to pass that pillar to do any harm to the other. Then Laban kissed his daughters and left and went back to his land.

Message Text: Genesis 32:1-32

1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

The angels of God met him After God has told him to return to his home and his wives had agreed, Jacob went on his way. And to confirm that he was in the will of God, the angels of God met him. And when he realized these were the angels of God, he exclaimed this is God’s host. He called the name of that place Mahanaim. Mahanaim means “two camps.”

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

Verse 3 tells us Jacob sent messengers to Esau. As you will recall, Esau is the older twin brother of Jacob. Esau had vowed to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac their father died. This was part of the reason that Jacob fled from Canaan in the first place.

We find out that after the return to Canaan, the two discovered that they had too much livestock to dwell together. Thus Esau (brother of Jacob) left the land of Canaan and then moved to the land of Seir in the country of Edom.

Seir means "hairy" or "shaggy" and Edom means “red.” The reason that is important is because that describes Esau. He was a hairy man who also had some redness about him. As you will recall, in the eyes of Esau, Jacob has stolen his blessing from his father and therefore had stolen the inheritance or goods that would flow to the firstborn.

4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

Speak unto my lord Esau As you can see, he speaks humbly and in deference to Esau, calling him lord. It seems to indicate that he considers him above himself.

Jacob tells Esau that he had been gone for these twenty years working with Laban and stayed there until now. He had been gone for 20 years where he had worked 14 years for his two wives Leah and Rachel and another 6 years during which time, Jacob had acquired animals and wealth. Jacob said when he sent to Esau, “I now own or have oxen and donkeys, flocks of animals, menservants, maidservants. I have been prospered greatly and I said to tell this to you Esau it is my purpose to find grace in thy sight.”

Certainly the motivation for Jacob was fear. He feared for his life. He remembered how badly Esau had been hurt and felt betrayed by what he had done to take the blessing from Isaac unto himself. He knew that Esau was angry enough to carry out his threat to kill Jacob and to kill him as soon as their father died. Another thing we can surmise is Jacob was not sure as to whether or not Isaac was living or dead and if he had died, certainly Esau would be wanting to carry out his threat against Jacob.

The messengers of Jacob returned and told him more frightening news. When they met Esau, he wasn’t coming alone or with a small group to meet him. Esau had with him 400 men and we assume that the messengers meant 400 men of war willing to do the bidding of Esau. Jacob (falsely) realized at this moment that Esau was still intent on taking his life. If he hadn’t been afraid before now Jacob was certain, Esau had come with his men intending to kill Jacob and take all that he had.

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; 8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

Jacob was greatly afraid It was clear to all that Jacob was greatly afraid. Jacob decided he would try to save at least some of his people. Jacob divided the people that were with him and all that they had into two separate bands of people. The one thing that puzzles me is if Jacob had all that he claimed to have he must have had a substantial group of men himself that could have fought in defense against Esau’s 400 men but Jacob wasn’t thinking.

Fear struck his heart. Jacob was distressed, upset, worried. Jacob believed Esau had only ill will toward him and Jacob expected the worst.

Jacob spoke to the two companies and said if Esau strikes one of the two companies the other should run for their lives and escape. That way at least half of the people would be saved.

9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11 Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. 12 And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Deliver me I pray Thee Jacob must have recalled that he had heard form God and it was God that told him to return to the promised land so Jacob finally does something wise. He prays and asks God to intervene. He wants to make certain that he is talking to the right God, the one true living God, the God of his father Abraham and Isaac. He reminds God that it was God who told him to return to his country and to his kindred. Then he thanks God and reminds himself how he is unworthy and that when he passed over Jordan to go to Haran all that Jacob had with him was his staff. Jacob came back blessed of God, prospered and there were two bands of people.

Then he again reverts back to fear and asks God deliver me I pray Thee from the hand of my brother Esau for I fear him. The fear was total. The fear was complete. It was controlling Jacob his life and his thoughts.

Then Jacob ends the prayer, interestingly enough, reminding himself that God was going to do him good and make his seed as the sand of the sea, perhaps reminding God that as a dead person that would not be possible. And then his prayer is ended.

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. 16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. 17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? 18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. 19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

Now Jacob devises a plan. We don’t see any direction from God but he decides he is going to give a gift to Esau his brother and hopes to satisfy him so he will not take his vengeance out upon him as promised to do after Jacob had convinced Isaac that he was Esau so Isaac would give the blessing he intended for Esau to Jacob.

One only has to look at what Jacob offered to his brother to realize how God had blessed him. He gave him 450 goats and rams, 30 camels with their colts, 40 head of cattle, 10 bulls, 20 donkeys half of them having foals. This great number of animals was but a fraction of the wealth he had obtained and prosperity he had been given by God. It seems like he should have at least advised God of his plan to offer these to Esau, but we don’t see any evidence of that here.

Furthermore Jacob delivered them to his servants and commanded them to pass over before Jacob and put a space between those things he was giving away to Esau. Certainly his fear had driven him to the point of seeing if he could buy off his brothers anger.

He then tells them when you meet Esau my brother and he asks about these animals, you are instructed to say these were all acquired by and belonged to Jacob. They are a present sent to Esau, it’s for Esau. Then they were to say Jacob is behind us. Apparently there were three droves, I do not know if this was the number of animals in each drove or the total number in three droves. Whichever way it is you can see how blessed Jacob was by the hand of God.

Jacob tells his servants the purpose: Jacob wanted to appease Esau. Jacob hoped that Esau would forgive him and accept him and not carry out his plan to kill Jacob.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. 22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

Jacob had sent the present on before him and he spent the night with his company of people. But apparently he could not sleep. He rose up that night, took his wives and servants (concubines) eleven sons and they all passed over the ford of Jabbok. He sent them over the brook probably for their own safety but we are not sure what was his purpose. Except Jacob wanted to be left alone or left alone with God.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a Man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when He saw that He prevailed not against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.

After Jacob sent them over, Jacob was left alone. He wrestled there a Man but if one looks forward to verse 30, Jacob says for I have seen God face to Face. Therefore it is apparent to this writer that this was nothing less than a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Jacob wrestled with that Man until the breaking of the day and then suddenly the Man touched the hollow of the thigh of Jacob and threw it out of place, perhaps indicating that really Jacob was no match for Him; and He could have stopped the wrestling at any point in time but He did not. The pre-incarnate Christ said to Jacob let Me go because the sun is coming up. Jacob protested no, I will not let You go unless You bless me.

27 And He said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And He said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy Name. And He said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after My Name? And He blessed him there.

And the One wrestling with Jacob asked him what is your name. Jacob replied Jacob. He was told you are not going to be called Jacob anymore but Israel because I have now made you a prince and given you power with God and with men. In other words, God had touched Jacob in such a way his life was totally and completely changed. Have you received this touch from God?

Now Jacob asks the Person with whom he is wrestling tell me Your Name. And He said to him why do you ask after My Name? I believe that meant you know Who I AM. If we look at the next verse we see he did know Who it was. And the Wrestler (Jesus) blessed him (Jacob). Now we have an encounter with God by a man who is in fear for his life and has forgotten it was God who told him to come back to the land and we know that God will not send us into a dangerous situation unless we are so forewarned. He was not longer fully trusting in God because of his fear.

The Bible says fear hath torment but perfect love casteth out all fear. Who is the Author of perfect love? The Lord Jesus Christ.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

I have seen God face to face Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. Peniel means "facing God." Here Jacob had come face to face with God the Son and he knew the Scripture which said no one has seen God face to face and lived. That obviously does not apply to the Lord Jesus Christ but God the Father only. God the Holy Spirit is the Spirit that is not readily seen. Jacob passed over Penuel which means "facing God," a derivation of the word Peniel. And the sun rose bringing him a new day. When Jacob walked he walked with a limp because his thigh was out of joint. Does your encounter with Jesus change the way you walk?

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because He touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

Verse 32 talks about a custom that had risen up in Israel. Because Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint and he walked with a limp, the people decided not to eat of the sinew (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone.)

We will find out in the next chapter what happens when Esau and Jacob meet. Were Jacob’s fears well founded? Tune in next week and find out!

Prayer Heavenly Father we thank You that You love each and very one of us. We ask You to cleanse us of all of our sin so that You may hear and answer our prayer. We learned to day how Jacob was gripped with fear believing the worst was going to happen by his brother who had vowed to kill him after Isaac their father died. Apparently he had forgotten it was God Who told him to go back to his family and Lord You are clear that You’re with us always, protecting us when we don’t even know it. Help us not to fear. As Your word says fear hath torment but Your Word also says perfect love casteth out all fear. That perfect love is the Body of God the Son the Messiah of Israel and Savior of all mankind who came to earth in the form of man. He lived a sinless life. He became the sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. So now those who trust and believe in Him and what He has done on the cross for them will one day rule and reign with Him in Heaven. God You are so good to us. We don’t deserve any of what You have given us. We certainly don’t deserve the death of God the Son in our place. We thank You and praise You and worship You. God the Holy Spirit thank You for bringing us into all truth teaching us Your ways. These things we pray in the Name of Jesus Christ God the Son Amen and Amen.

[unhingedexperimenter]

Hyde waited for the right moment to take advantage of Henry's state. As soon as the teacher entered the bedroom, the villain wannabe began to put his plan into action. He gathered enough of his energy and strength to take over their shared body. Henry's lovestruck expression was soon replaced with a mischievous one. It took a couple of seconds for Henry to realize what had happened. That he was no longer in control, but Hyde was. Hyde already had a vial of HJ7 in hand. "Hyde! No! They could still be out looking for you! What if they find you? You don't want to be put on trial. Right?" Hyde didn't pay attention to his counterpart's words. Instead, he brought the vial to his lips while able to. Chugging down the disgusting liquid they both had gotten used to. "HYDE!" All signs of the lovestruck expression on Henry's face disappeared. Now, he looked worried and unimpressed with Hyde's impulsive actions. "What? I told you I was tired of being cooped up. Besides, I'm going to prove to them all that I'm capable of being a villain. That I'm innocent of what they think I did. I'll show them all!” While he wanted to be serious, that just caused Henry to burst out into laughter. Even snorting a little bit. This made Hyde look very offended at that. “Oi! What are you laughing’ at! I'm the one who tricked you!” Henry shook his head. “You said you want to be a villain. Well you certainly sound like one. Or one of those mad scientists out to show everyone else that they're wrong about them. Seriously, Edward. You shouldn't go out tonight. I still need to do paperwork and grade papers.” Hyde rolled his eyes at his counterpart. “You got to have your fun, let me have mine!” Not that Henry would admit it, if he did Hyde would never let him live it down, Henry did find enjoyment in the blonds debauchery. In his crimes. He just didn't like the idea of being caught and potentially having their secret out in the open. Right now, the teacher didn't want Hyde to be caught by the EVA or the heroes. Yet here Hyde was, going right to them on his own free will. As much as he tried to talk the criminal out of it, he just hurriedly dressed himself up. Heading right out the window. It was his favorite way of leaving the apartment. He loved the feeling of sneaking out, especially when Rachel tended to keep an eye on him. “It's my night now, Jekyll. Get over it.” That earned him a defeated sigh. The teacher gave up. Deciding to let Hyde learn his lesson about not being careful. Hyde began to move from building roof to roof. Unaware that on his first night out, there were eyes watching out for him. The one to have spotted Hyde was Archie. “Holy moly, guys it's him. Edward Hyde is finally out in the open.” He spoke into a walkie talkie provided to him by Patricia. While they could have just called each other, the paranormal expert insisted on using walkie talkies. “Where is he?” Patricia spoke up first. After a moment Archie responded. “He's traveling by rooftop. I just happened to be looking at the right place at the right time. He seems to be…” Archie paused, confused. “He's heading right to the EVA. I think we should take care of this ourselves for now.” The others immediately agreed. “Dr.Two-Brains just had a date with Dr. Jekyll. I don't want to make him upset by bringing up Mr. Hyde so soon.” They were all happy for the villain. To have found someone who made him act like a teenager in love. “I'll cut him off before he gets too far. Hugh, stay at the warehouse. We'll be there. Everyone else just follow after me. Just in case he gets any funny ideas.” With that said, Patricia and Jenkins made their way to where Archie had spotted Hyde. Patricia managed to catch up with Archie right behind her. Jenkins was ahead of them and Hyde. Jenkins was in a high tech suit made by Dr.Two-Brains and himself. Before the accident had taken place. He had become fond of using the suit in situations like these. By the time Hyde noticed he was being tailed, it was far too late as the three surrounded him on all sides. “What the bloody hell is this? I have to go!”

@thecountoflondonfansite

(You can tag me on my tgs side blog. I also apologize but I know a few Scottish words. So to anyone reading this I apologize for the inaccuracy.) Becky Boxleitner noticed a change in the atmosphere as she and her pet monkey Bob walked into the sixth grade classroom. All of the students were excitedly chatting with one another. Becky and Bob exchanged confused looks at the scene. 'What is going on?' They both thought. Becky walked to where her friends Violet Heaslip, Rose Franklin, and Todd Scoops Ming were sitting, also joining in the excited yet low volume chattering. "Hey guys what's going on?" Becky asked her friends. They each turned their heads to greet their friend. "Hey Becky guess what, we're getting a new teacher for our class!" Scoops exclaimed. Becky looked surprised at the announcement. Bob also mimicked her facial expression. "Wait really? What happened to Miss Davis?" Becky asked, wondering what happened to their old teacher. It was just a week only into the new school year so a sudden teacher exchange was a complete shock to Becky especially since there were no announcements about it beforehand. "Miss Davis had to move back home because of a family emergency." Rose Franklin answered. "The principal had to scramble to find a new teacher to fill in for our class. It was all last minute stuff." Becky nodded in understanding of her friends' answers. It was a nice perk to be friends who were upcoming reporters. Soon the final bell rang which indicated for every student to take their seats. Becky took her place beside her best friend Violet and Bob plopped down next to her. Soon a man who looked to be in his mid 30s walked in and towards the desk. He had curly brown air, an arched nose, and reddish brown eyes. He wore a tan button-down shirt with a red vest as well as brown slacks and dark suede shoes. The man gave a pleasant and warm smile to all the students there. "Hello my name is Dr. Henry Jekyll and I will be your teacher for the school year." Becky and the other kids ears perked up as they took note of the man's accent. Even Tobey became slightly interested in his new teacher. None of them were sure where their new teacher was from. Dr. Jekyll gave a light chuckle as if he could sense their growing curiosity about him. He lightly clapped his hands together to gain their undivided attention and focus. "Well since this is my first time teaching here, why don't we all play a little game so we can all get better acquainted with each other. Here's what to do. One at a time, say your name and share a wee bit about yourself. Likes, family, interests and all that. I'll go first to show ya what ah mean. Again. My name is Dr. Henry Jekyll. I was born in Glasgow but ah moved to London where I attended university. I have a five year old wee lassie or daughter named Amber. I enjoy chemistry and reading on occasions. Now who would like to go next?" @unhingedexperimenter

Of course Tobey had taken the opportunity to place attention on himself and to have a reason to boast about himself. “My name is Tobey McCallister the third and I will be the most intelligent student you'll meet here.” The others had rolled their eyes, used to this kind of behavior from their peers. Becky seemed to be the most annoyed by it. Having been forced to put up with his destructive tantrums in the past. Henry smiled just as warmly as before. Unbothered by the obnoxious behavior that the boy had been displaying. Tobey had been going on about himself for a good few minutes before the teacher finally spoke up. “Ahem, yes. Thank you for that Mr. McCallister. Would anyone else like to tell me a bit about themselves as well?” No one could tell that behind the facade, Dr. Henry Jekyll was becoming more irritated by the moment. Not by the child but by the pest that refused to leave him be. Scoffing within his head at what they just heard. He didn't share the disembodied voice's opinion but wanted to give the other children a chance to introduce themselves as well. To the others' shock, Tobey seemed to have taken this well. Quickly going back to his desk with no issues. Becky was relieved at that. Soon the other children had started to introduce themselves to their new teacher with little to no issues. He seemed genuinely nice enough to her. This new teacher didn't seem like most of the adults within this city. Some she had to define words repeatedly for. Dr. Jekyll knew what he was teaching and knew his vocabulary. It was Violet who had brought Becky out from her own thoughts, calling her name. Waving a hand in front of her face. “Becky?” The girl smiled in an embarrassed manner. “Huh? Yes?” Violet smiled, patient with her best friend. “Why don't you introduce yourself now? Nearly everybody else already did.” She had given a surprised expression. Becky hadn't realized that she was so lost within her thoughts until then. She stood up and began speaking. “My name is Becky Boxleitner and I also like libraries,reading and Pretty Princess.” The presence that was grating at the teacher's nerves had deemed this too dull to enjoy. Leaving Dr. Jekyll be to his teaching. Well, getting to know his students. He was happy to see that they were engaged in these activities that were meant to break the ice. Though one student in particular had caught his attention the most. Becky. While she did seem rather bright, there was something strange about her behavior at times. Pausing whatever she was doing at the time to listen in on something. Thinking it went unnoticed. Even once looking alarmed and she made an excuse to go to the bathroom. He had allowed it. Feeling that it would've been better to have let her. It seemed…oddly familiar. As if he had seen that behavior somewhere before but couldn't figure out exactly where from. When the school day was finally over, Becky had gone to go home like the others. Dr. Jekyll had of course stayed behind to set more things up within his new classroom. Making a plan on exactly what he'll actually start teaching the next day. Though, the grating voice had returned to be a thorn in his side. “Come on. Leave this boring stuff alone. Leave it until tomorrow. I've been pent up for far too long. Let's have some fun.” This had earned an eye roll and a loud huff from the teacher. “No, I've got to get this done now. You will have enough time tonight. Just be patient until then.” A shadowy figure formed in front of Dr. Jekyll. A frown on its face. “But this is so extremely dull. I want to stretch my legs. I want to make myself known already.” Dr. Jekyll glared. “And that is precisely why I'm so hesitant to let you out so soon. At least let us get acclimated to our surroundings first.” The figure let out an annoyed groan. “You know you want this as much as I do. Otherwise you'd never have any actual fun in the sad and pathetic life you call yours.”

@thecountoflondonfansite

[not-so-mundane-after-all]

It's new year and Mundi is back to writing Titans!

I'm kicking off 2023 by going back to work on a big project of the current working title "Acrida" and it's an idea that's been living rent free in my head probably since season 1 but only recently took real shape. We have all my favorite things and tropes in it - there's time travel, Dad Grayson, his BFF Donna, a tiny, fussing baby with as much personally as her teenager self 👀, loads of humor and loads of angst! I've teased it before already, but since it's going to be a while before I actually start posting chapters (I want to have it finished before I post), I decided I'm going to promote it by dropping a fairly spoiler-free sneak peek whenever I write something I'm particularly happy about! And this nugget here is a result of today's writing session. Enjoy!

Donna rolled her eyes with a laugh, "You're silly. You know that?"

He was about to respond, though with what exactly he wasn’t sure, but then he noticed she was fiddling with something in her hands. When Donna saw his curious look, she flipped the item over so he could examine it from a different angle; he soon realized it was a cheap, disposable camera.

"I got this at a gas station,” she told him, spinning the camera in her hands. It was a standard black rectangle with the Kodak logo printed on it; she had one just like this when they were teenagers — their silly photos are still buried somewhere in a box deep in his walk-in closet at The Wayne Manor. 

Donna handed it to him and shrugged. “Not much compared to my stuff, but it will still do the job.”

“What job?”

Her face softened. “I figured you’d love to have some baby pictures of her. So your memories can be more than just, you know, memories."

Dick weighed the camera in his hand. He didn’t think of that at first, but now that Donna has mentioned it, he did want to have something that would keep the memory of baby Rachel alive. Back home, they didn’t have any baby pictures of either her or Gar, and it was never something any of them particularly cared about until Kory got pregnant and they came back home with their first ultrasound pictures of Mar’i. Kory got very upset that there were no pictures of Gar and Rachel when they were babies that she could add this one to. Dick remembered finding her curled up on the couch with them both with tears in her eyes as she asked them question after question about what they knew about themselves at that time, if they remembered any pictures ever existing, or what their parents had told them in the past. 

He blamed her emotional state on hormones then. But the thought of having to return home without tangible proof that he had held his adopted daughter in his arms when she was just a tiny, fussing baby was unimaginable to him. Now he understood Kory’s grief a little more.

He whispered a quiet "thank you" to Donna as his anger and embarrassment faded and turned into warmth. The silence was broken by an eruption of a sweet baby laugh coming from the other room, and Dick felt himself smiling.

If you want to see more, I'll be posting the sneak peeks under the "Acrida Fic" tag. And if you want to be tagged in sneak peeks and chapters when they come out, let me know! In the meantime, I have one more His Dark Materials sweet one-shot I'll be working on and some Dickkory spice coming your way 👀🥵 my besties put out VDay prompts and gears started turning 😏

[taleasnewastime]

Hello rachel! I hope it's okay for me to request these two quotes with jin : ❛ is that my shirt? ❜ ❛ i’m not wearing any underwear. thought you’d like to know. ❜. Thank you ❤️

Hello! Thanks for requesting, hoping you enjoy :) 

Warnings: swearing, smut, oral, blowjob. 

“Hey,” you give a gentle knock on Seokjin’s door before opening it. “What time are you finishing up?”

“Not for another few hours,” he replies, not looking up at you.

“You need a break, Seokjin.”

“I’m alright.”

“When was the last time you ate?” You ask, already knowing the answer but it seems he doesn’t, that or he chooses to ignore you. “Just take ten minutes. Even if it’s just to stretch.”

He’s been in there all day and you would be lying if you said you weren’t a little worried. You know his work is important, that he has a lot of important stuff on his plate, but that doesn’t mean he should practice self-care.

You push open the door enough to step inside. Seokjin still doesn’t look at you.

“Baby,” you plead, walking slowly towards him. “I might have to start insisting soon.”

“Y/N, I said I’m ok.”

“What about a small break in here?”

He doesn’t reply to that. You see his eyebrows draw together, confused. Finally as you near the end of his desk, he looks up at you.

“Is that my shirt?”

“Yep,” you smile at him as you round his desk. “I’m also not wearing any underwear, if you’d like to know.”

His eyes are firmly on you know, you have his fully attention. Standing beside him you push on his chair enough to get him to swing to face you. Placing your hands on his thighs, you spread them wide as you kneel down in front of him.

“You’re stress baby. I just want to help.”

He’s silent like before, only this time it’s a good silent. He watches as you run your hands up his thighs. Unbuckle his belt and unzip his trousers. You pull them all down enough to get his cock out. It’s not hard yet, but you’ll change that soon enough.

You spit on your hand, create some lubrication as you look up at him through your lashes.

“Relax baby,” you say as you take his cock and slowly start to pump up and down.

He sighs. The chair creaks as his weight falls backwards. His hands are clutching onto the arms of the chair, and you smile at the scene before you concentrate on his now hard cock.

You lick a strip up the underside of his cock before swirling the tip in your mouth. Keeping your lips there, one of your hands travels down to his balls, lightly fondling them as you lick along the slit of his cock.

He hisses above you, one of his hands going to your head. He doesn’t force you down, but the pressure on your head grows enough to show you he’s enjoying it. You smile to yourself before you take more of him in your mouth.

You start slow, take as much of him as you can. But before long he wants more.

“Use me,” you say when you take him out of your mouth.

Bracing your hands on his thighs you open your mouth and try to loosen your jaw as much as possible.

You hear a shuddering breath as you lower yourself down on to him. And then he lets loose. You gag as the tip of his cock hits the back of your throat. Feel your breath restricted as he holds you down. But you gain so much pleasure from it all. Love the way he starts to thrust into your mouth. Enjoy the way he grips your hair to keep you on him. Love hearing the chair groaning and creaking coupled with all of Seokjin’s moans.

Hot, salty liquid goes down your throat without much warning and Seokjin’s apologising when he pulls you off him. His head to the ceiling, the apologises come out more like prays.

You kiss his thigh. “Now will you leave your office for five minutes?” You smile when he nods. 

[weiisz]

cate-eblanchett·:

     well, honey, i fear to tell you that i am actually terribly old. the 90′s and early 00′s good old times. i was pretty savage back then, i still am but now i am more careful to don’t get home too drunk when the kids are there. so if you’d been waiting for a reunion it means there’s not a feud in your head against me or the other way round.  kidding!, i know there’s never been grudge feelings between us, funny how just life and work has kept us in different places during all this time, but i am aware about your extraordinary career.  you’ve decided that your fifties was the perfect timing to bring up to life the most alluring, scariest, seductive and complicated characters ever. i can’t  even imagine the hard work it was for you. oh, stop! my ego is being burst, i am going to tell the academy what you said about Lydia. thank you, i really appreciate it, rach. i miss her, weird, but i miss her. were you able to shake off your characters at the end of the day, rachel? i am still shook by them and i’ve seen only two episodes. trying to catch up with it but edith, my youngest one has decided that spending the night in my bed is much better than in her own room. i am still in England with the kids, yes, i spent most of the time here but i travel constantly to NYC and i am trying to spend more time there as well. Henry is sixteen already? wow!! he is a young man already! I have the image of him as an adorable toddler, I don’t know grace yet but i already know she must be adorable and surely gives you a lot of work, isn’t she? —so, there’s no a husband in the equation anymore? that’s quiet surprising, i did not have idea but i am sure it was the best for both of you, right? —i did the same a couple of years ago, andrew and i did not work as couple anymore, we were more like best friends and decided to part ways a while ago and since then, life has been pretty interesting and different to say the least. @weiisz·

                           Oh  pipe  down’  we’re  the  same  age’  unless  you’ve  been  lying,  and  encountered  such  youthful  secrets.  I  like  to  say  the  beast  was  ‘tamed’  the  second  i  had  my  son,  but  what  a  time,  less  we  forget  that  savage  side  of  our  youth  was  rather  thrilling  .  was  it  a  premiere  or  some  actor’s  event  we  met  at,  by  chance  ?    cause  my  mind  seems  to  be  betraying  me  with  fuzzy  details  lately.  Woman  can  remain  civil  after  all  these  years  ?  who  knew.  As  exhilarating  as  a  feud  would  be  to  the  media,  i’m  much  more  pleased  there’s  no  bad  blood.  Path’s  cross  back  around  eventually,  and  here  we  are.  Yet  rather  amusing  how  similar  those  paths  have  been,  you’ve  just  beaten  by  one  extra  academy  award,  blanchett.  I  don’t  think  i  can  catch  up.    wow,  I  may  have  to  quote  you  for  the  our  emmy  campaign,  that’s  incredibly  kind  of  you,  alway’s  had  such  a  master  play  with  words.  My  pleasure...  send  along  the  message  before  i  do  !    plus  nobody  really  understand’s  that  ‘longing’  for  certain  characters  until  you  lay  them  to  rest,  but  they’re  still  nagging  you.  I  get  it.  I’d  drink  several  cups  of  tea  to  wash  them  away,  like  a  mini  ritual,  especially  regarding  some  more  intense  days  on  set,  but  i’ll  keep  my  mouth  zipped  until  the  little  one  isn’t  ambushing  you.  How  old  is  she  now,  or  more  how  old  is  your  eldest  ?!  i  very  much  remember  him  being  so  incredibly  tiny’  so  i  know  the  feeling  how  strange  it  is  to  even  imagine  them  anything  other.    She  keeps  the  balance’  a  hand  full,  but  what  five  year  old  isn’t  ?  it’s  just  imaginations  24/7    ---  it’s  scarily  accurate  how  you’ve  easily  described  my  own  situation.  Myself  and  Daniel  still  co-parent,  still  very  much  confide,  as  if  nothing’s  changed  beside  the  ‘marriage’  title.  It’s  just  a  modern  day  way  of  life,  especially in this career path.  ‘Interesting’  as  in  another  suitor  in  the  equation,  or  is  “savage”  cate  back  on  the  town.. @cate-eblanchett

[saturnville]

so my darling.

pairing: tom!peter parker x black!oc(leo)

warning: MAJOR nwh spoilers under the cut.

content: can’t disclose ;) but very pg and my own spin on one of the scenes in the movie.

note: i saw nwh last night and my inner child is screaming so a couple of andrew!peter parker and tom!peter parker fics are going thru my head. hope y’all don’t mind. :)

song: so my darling by rachel chinouriri

divider by @firefly-graphics

The time stone had long been destroyed. At the snap of a metallic finger and thumb, the magic of the universe crystallized, was returned back to the core of the earth. Yet, it seemed to still have active control over time. It had slowed and moved slower than molasses. Everything around them blurred and sunk into a whole of nothingness. Not a thing mattered, save the few moments he had with her left.

His feet landed in front of hers and a sorrowful cry fell from his bruised lips when he looked into her tearful brown eyes.

“My baby,” she whimpered, gentle hands caressing his battered face. His porcelain skin no longer clear and fear from any worry or blemish, rather scratched, cut, and sunken in. Her hands traveled down his shoulders, exposed from the tearing of his suit. Blood puddled at the surface, causing her eyes to widen. She tore off her flannel and pressed it into his damaged skin. Peter winced.

“I…I have to—you have to forget about me.” The words tasted like sour milk in his mouth. He felt the need to vomit just at the forcing of them out of his mouth.

He watched as her face dropped and her lips quivered. The shirt fell from her hands. “W-w-what do you mean forget you? How does—“

“Everyone has to forget me so there can be some kind of normal here. Peter Parker caused this and Peter Parker has to disappear for it to go away.”

“Peter, please don’t do this, there’s got to be another way.”

His suit clad hand covered his mouth as he watched her breakdown in front of him. Her fingers tugged at the roots of her messy locs then scratched her tear stained face. Her lips were cracked and dry, and a string of spit dripped down the side of her mouth as she struggled to keep it together.

“You’re all I have, P, please don’t, please.”

“Leo, I am so sorry. I am so sorry.” The tightness in his throat worsened by the second and he struggled to make out any words. “You may forget me, but…I’ll find you, okay? I will find you and we’ll fall in love all over again, like nothing ever happened. I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine and everything will be okay, do you understand me, Leora? I will always be yours no matter what universe and no matter what happens.”

“Peter…”

“There’s not much time left, kid.” Peter turned at the voice of the sorcerer himself. “I’m sorry.”

Peter turned to Leo once more and took her face in his hands. She grabbed onto his wrists and squeezed tightly, not wanting to ever have to let go. “My darling, you are my best friend, you know that?”

Leo nodded.

“My baby, I will always love you. There’s always gonna be something pulling you back to me, I know it. Don’t ignore it, please, don’t ignore it.”

“I won’t,” she sobbed. “I could never forget you.” He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. He shuddered as he tasted the salt from her tears fall down his lips. She broke away with a cry and pressed her forehead against his own.

“I love you, Peter Parker. For the rest of my days.”

“I love you—“

A shift in the atmosphere erupted. The split between universes had been mended, and no longer the chaos ensued. Rather, a calmness fell over the universe. Order had been restored.

An anxious Peter sped into the local bookstore where Leo spent most of her days working to save for university. With a racing heart and clammy hands, he opened the door. A small bell rang to announce his entrance, and he saw her head peak from behind the rusted counter.

“I’ll be right with you! One second, please.”

His heart fluttered. She sounded so airy and bright, like she was floating atop a cloud. “Sorry about that. Had to restock a new case. Anything you searching for today?”

She’d gotten more beautiful, if that was even possible. Her locs lay at her shoulders and they were now a ginger color. Her skin had cleared, but there were still small spots of discoloration littered around her beautiful canvas. How much she’d changed in all of two weeks.

“I-it’s fine. A friend of mine had a book she read often called Circe. I was wondering if you had it.” Peter rubbed his clammy hands against his pants.

“I do, actually. I have one copy left. It’s one of my favorite books; your friends has good taste.”

“Y-yeah she does.” Peter watched as she shuffled behind the counter and noticed a bandage around her wrist. She was cut on the wrist when she fell. “What happened, are you alright?”

“Oh,” Leo laughed. “just took a tumble. Doesn’t hurt much anymore.” She slid the book across the counter. “Is this all for you?”

Peter looked into her eyes and felt a jab within his innermost being. His brown eyes flooded with tears. “Yes, that’s all.”

Leo eyed him subtly but shook it off as she took the payment from his hand. When their fingertips brushed together, a small gasp fell from her lips and she pulled away. “God, I’m sorry. You just…you remind me of someone I can’t quite remember clearly. It’s been a nagging feeling.”

There’s always gonna be something pulling you back to me. Don’t ignore it.

Peter’s heart raced. She handed him the book and his change. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, no. It’s okay, it happens. But, um, thank you for the book.”

Please, don’t ignore it.

Peter turned on his feet and took a step toward the door but stopped in his tracks when she called out, “Whenever you finish that book, let me know what you think. I’m here everyday around the same time.”

He smiled and turned to face her. “I will.”

Leo waved, “See you soon.”

Quietly, he replied, “see you soon, my darling.”

[lokilickedme]

So if you dropped all of your OCs onto a deserted island (and then handwave that they can’t get off of it for some reason), how would they do there? Would they survive? Make a little mini society? Who would be top (Tom) Dog if anyone?

I've been looking forward to having time to answer this ever since it arrived - I apologize for the delay, it's been a stupid busy couple of days :/

*rubs hands together and giggles gleefully*

Okay - so excluding the Lokis because they're technically not my OCs (which makes this easier because I don't have to sort out a reason why their magic isn't working on the island and they can't just *poof* themselves out) - the answer to the first part is:

How would they do there?

They would do...pretty good I think. We're talking about a bunch of highly capable people here, both the males and the females, and seeing as "they can't get off it for some reason" I'm assuming this means they'll be there forever, or at least for a considerable amount of time before the Lokis realize they're missing and come looking.

Would they survive?

You betcha. Look at who we've got on this island:

Chem!Tom (and Anja) King McClary (and Molly) Thomas Dowd (and Carly) Darcy Kendall (and Dougan Flannery and Bard and Candy) The Elementals (The Traveler, The Rockstar, and The Concierge) Jack Montague (minus Loki, whether this is good or bad is up for debate) Chief and the entire Department gang (plus Greta) Taliesin and Lealieh (gods! We have gods!) Pete, Jake, and Tatertot Tommy and Chloe Bragneire and Princess Anja (minus their Loki) Pasha and Kiran Dave MacDale the gang from Chemical Aleks and Cara (LOKI LEVEL MAGIC RIGHT HERE FOLKS!!) Rachel and Lani from The Puma Club (and Christian, who undoubtedly is wondering how in the fuck he got here lol) and TWO STRADA!! (and Holly)

So...counting out all the OCs in The Carmichael Addendum (because I'm assuming we're going by my AO3 stuff here?) I feel like we're doing pretty good. In that list up there are no fewer than NINE characters with powers of some kind. Since none of them can use them to escape the island (going by the rule you imposed) then I'm going to operate on the premise that maybe the island has something around it, and isn't actually nullifying their powers. We cool with this?

Okay, so provided the powers thing stands as-is, we've got:

Aleks Laufeyson, who can apparate, manifest items out of nothing, and make fire (usually on accident, but fire is fire and they gotta cook and keep warm, right?) He'll also be able to *poof* things for them, though he's not very good at it so they're likely to end up with stuff they didn't quite ask for, but he tries, give him a break. He can also take people from one side of the island to the other in a blink, though they're likely to be on fire when they reappear at their destination. Also there's a high risk of reapparating at the bottom of the ocean.

The Three Elementals, who don't actually have powers per se, but are immortal - and since they personify The Arts, The Human Spirit, and Mother Nature, the island inhabitants are going to A) be able to entertain themselves, B) never give up, and C) have direct access to the person in control of the weather and their gardens. Excellent temps and abundant crops as long as she stays happy, so get on that, folks. She likes threesomes.

Taliesin and Lealieh - gods from the Celtic pantheon, one in charge of song, the other a glorified babysitter but hey, it can't hurt to have a guardian angel in the village, especially with Dave MacDale wandering around.

The Strada - okay, Baltho and Keene being there is a big problem, because A) Keene doesn't like humans, and B) Baltho is batshit insane and easily bored. But they can fly, they're super strong, and Baltho can do that cool thing where he reaches into The In-Between to retrieve weapons. Which isn't really a bonus here because that's all he keeps there. A sword stolen off an 18th century Samurai isn't going to do them much good on the island, except maybe for clearing brush or cutting branches for shelters, but he's easy to look at and has some great stories so just stay out of his way and everything should be okay. Maybe.

Jack Montague - she's strong, but...she's half vampire, which means she can see in the dark (handy at night) but also needs blood on a regular basis (terrifying). She can also do the mental visitation thing, which would be super nice because she can place head-calls to everybody's places of employment to let their bosses know they're not coming to work ever.

And then of course there's King McClary, who may or may not have weird deities in his lineage way back, but whether he does or not doesn't really matter because the man's been living wild his entire life, nothing's gonna be different for him here except there's no sheep.

And finally,

Who would be top dog?

Easy. Rachel and Lani. They're middle aged moms, they know how to do literally everything, are skilled at getting people to do what they're told by simply raising their voices, and can organize, delegate chores, give instructions until they're hoarse, make dinner out of pretty much whatever the guys haul onto the beach, and probably scare Baltho and Dave enough to get them to behave with a single look.

Did you think I was gonna elect Chem!Tom? lol - he's too busy making booze out of bananas and coconuts, he doesn't want the job :P