#like i fully believed that i should make some savings for my retirement. i signed a contract and pay a bit

[tchaikovskym]

I think late 20s are for people to figure out that the world they knew 10 years ago doesn't exist anymore, and you have to accept that your understanding of the world you made when you were younger will not be true in the changing world

[lunnybunny12]

Prof Lupin x Werewolf Reader

A/N not the best but i wanted so see if the idea could work. 

Master list 

It was a full moon the night before and buy the way you felt... it was definitely a bad one. You woke up that morning in the dungeons of Hogwarts with a pounding headache and 3 new scratches on your arm.

The walls were littered with deep claw marks and a light layer of brown fur, dusted the stone cell. You hated it. You hated being in that cell once a month. It was your second year doing the routine and it was driving you up the tiny walls. All you wanted to do at that moment was ease the pain on your arm.

TIME SKIP> LATER THAT DAY

Your classroom door creaked open, pulling your attention away from the charm you were casting.

In walked a lady in long, emerald green robes and a large pointy hat. She was on the older side and had her silver hair tied up in a bun that was hidden under her hat.

"Good afternoon Professor Mcgonagall" You chimed. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I apologise, Professor but I must borrow you for the remainder of the class," She said, smiling at you with an apologetic look. There was no sense of urgency in her voice. She had a kind and respectable air around her that always made you feel at ease.

"Well children" you began, swishing your wand and muttering a spell that made the room rain blue slips of paper. "Looks like you have an hour to kill. Please take a paper to ensure that you don't get detention and Professor McGonagall will sign them on your way out."

One by one, your students filed out of the classroom and had their slips signed.

"Have a good afternoon, children," McGonagall said closing the door behind the pair of you.

As you entered the hall, you saw Professor Lupin waiting outside your door. This seemed a tad bit strange to you. For one, he was supposed to be teaching DADA to 3rd years at that time and second, he had been outside of your classroom before. A few times actually. The first time, you were in a rush and unable to talk. The second time, he managed to get out a polite greeting before a students spell blew up a statue.

Each time you mentally kicked yourself because over the few months he had been at Hogwarts... you had become a tad bit smitten.

Seeing that the two of you had exited the classroom, Lupin made his way towards you.

"Are you alright (Y/N), you look awful."

You sent your friend an amused look. McGonagall was fully aware of what you were but it never bothered her, Snape or Dumbledore.

"Professor Lupin." you said failing to hide your embarrassment." To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I assure you, Professor (Last Name), the pleasure is all mine." He replied. He held eye contact with you for a second. It looked like he was about to say something before Minnie cut him short.

"Right. You two follow me. We mustn't keep dumbledore waiting."

McGonagall stopped in front of a huge door. With a strong push, the professor opened the heavy door enough that the 3 of you could get into her classroom.

"In you go"

"Minnie may I ask what this is about?" you asked only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"We will discuss that when we are in the classroom."

She let out a slight laugh "The pair of you look like scared children. There's no need to worry you're not in trouble, we just need to talk to you." The Professor asked guiding you both to the front of the room.

" Yes professor I'm fine" Remus answered her with a sigh.

Before you could answer her, the door opened, revealing the headmaster. He had the same calm air around him that McGonagall did but he also radiated power (In both magical and un-magical ways).

"Good morning Professor McGonagall, Lupin..." Dumbledore greeted. " (Y/N) ... any new injuries today?"

You fiddled with your shirt sleeve. "Nothing I cant take care of"

Dumbledore turned to Remus and asked the same question. The man took a quick glance at you before his eyes cemented themselves to the floor.

"I assume you are curious as to why you are here (Y/N)."

"To put it mildly professor" you joked.

McGonagall was amused but didn't show it.

"We're both Werewolves. You and I" Remus said trying to be confident as he planted his hands in his pockets.

The pair of you looked at each other for a moment in silence. You were both Werewolfs. No wonder you felt something when he was neer you. He was a lycan. Like you.

During the silence, McGonagall went to hold your hand in a supportive way.

"I'm sorry what?" you asked looking at Lupin.

"(Y/N) don't get upset. We were only doing what we.." It was your turn to cut Professor McGonagall off but you started awquadly laughing.

"What? why would I be upset?"

At the corner of your eye, you saw Lupin shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Is this why you've been trying to talk to me outside my classroom, Remus?"

The teacher paused for a second with panic before he scratched the back of his head. "y-yes. That's what I... wanted to talk about." He answered, the last bit of his sentence drifting off into nothingness.

You weren't convinced.

Time skip

Later that evening after making sure the students were in their houses, you retired to your chambers. You were in the middle of getting into your nightclothes when you heard a knock at your door.

"One moment!" You said scrambling to tie your robe.

It was too late for a student and it wasn't any supernatural being ether, it was Lupin. He had that same charming smile he hid when he first arrived and his hands still firmly cemented into his pockets.

"Remus!" you smiled, adjusting your dressing gown to shield yourself from the cold. " Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes everything's fine... may I come in?" He asked chewing his thumbnail. "It's about what we discussed today."

That's when it clicked. Obviously he'd have questions about how to keep things quiet and how to avoid detection in a place like this.

"Oh yes, of course, come in," you said, opening the door to allow him in. "Take a seat anywhere."

The second he did so you thought of something else. Didn't he go to Hogwarts as a boy? He should already know how to do all of that.... right?

You closed the door and shuffled on your feet for a second. You had never had anyone in your chambers before so you weren't exactly prepared for guests.

"Sorry about the mess I'm not much for company. I'm sure you have a few questions. In all honesty, I do too. Do you want some tea? I'll go make some tea."

WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU SAYING??? TEA? WHY WOULD HE WANT TEA AT 11 PM?? words were spilling out of your mouth quicker than you could think of them.

"Are you alright, Professor?" He asked, snapping you back to your senses. With a sigh, you took a seat across from him, rubbed your face and took a minute to calm down.

"Forgive me Lupin I've been... feeling a lot of things, today."

You saw Remus sink into his seat a little.

"Good things all good things but you're not here to hear me talk about my stuff," you said shifting in your seat. "What can I help you with?"

He was fiddling with his nails. It took him a second before composing himself to look at you.

"All good things?" he asked.

You were taken back buy the question and paused for a second before answering him " ...Mostly good things."

He sank in the chair again. "And what was the bad thing?"

"... I was... a little disappointed." you said with a small sigh.

The cheeky smile wasn't on his face anymore. He looked upset.

"Remus what's this about?" when you didn't get a response you tilted your body to look him in the eye.

"Disappointed in what?"

"Honestly?" you asked. He gave you a nod and with a sigh, you gave him your honest answer.

"I was disappointed that the only reason you were waiting outside my classroom, was to tell me what we were. What we become. I was disappointed that, of all things we COULD have in common... to get us to talk... was that."

He turned his head to look at you and was greeted with kind eyes and s content smile.

"Other than that? ALL good things"

After hearing you say this, he sat up straight in his seat. You Practically saw the gears turning in his head.

"T-that.." he begun, picking his fingers again "That wasn't the reason."

Your eyebrows knotted together in confusion. Whatever he wanted to say made him nervous.  

"That wasn't the reason I was outside your classroom. I just said that to avoid telling you the real reason."

This was getting interesting now. Why was he really there then?

"Then why?"

He paused and looked at you.

"Because I ... wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me."

You just got more confused. "Me?"

"Yes (Y/N), You."

He got off his seat to kneel in front of you and loosely held your hands in his own.

"And it's not because of what you are, It's because of WHO you are. You're this beautifully talented women who puts passion into everything she puts her mind to. Someone who isn't scared to be who she is."

You were shocked. You heard every word that came from his lips and you couldn't believe what he thought about you.

With a smile, you leant down and placed a kiss on his forehead. His head shot up to look at you.

"Thank you, Remus. Those are the nicest things anyone has ever said to me." You squeezed his hands.

"So is that a yes on the date to Hogsmeade?"  He asked a smile slowly finding its way to his lips.

With a wide smile, you leant down to give him another kiss on the forehead but instead he caught you in a real kiss. It was accidental on both ends but neither of you pulled away at first. When he did he was filled with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean for that to happen"

You laughed and kissed his cheek. "let's save the proper ones for Hogsmeade shall we?"

[reginaofdoctorwho]

ok so i started this as a draft days ago and barely remember where i was going with this idea but i tried to fill it out a little more. basically it’s just that anytime Curt says he misses being a spy he misses being a spy with Owen or the spy he was with Owen. so probably everything is what everyone knows already

Curt ties being a spy with Owen. completely, intrinsically, whatever, okay?? in Spy Again Curt says “Owen would want me to do this”, and lists

hop in a jet and fly again

grow a spine again

do my best not to cry again

wear a suit and tie again

drink martinis and drive again

get by again

feel like a real important guy again

as what he’s going to do as a spy. let’s check off what happens before Owen’s reveal (i’m trying to include some)

hop in a jet and fly again

grow a spine again

do my best not to cry again (i’m trying to be nice here he’s probably doing his best despite what happens)

wear a suit and tie again (literally part of the mission)

drink martinis and drive again (he’s sobering up)

get by again (barely my dude)

feel like a real important guy again

which, decent, but our dude is also having gay flashbacks, messing up a very simple and clear mission, and mistakes flirting for fighting (to quote my friend “Amelie” “he’s,,, so bad at pretending to be straight”) this all being with him having been one of the greatest spies, to the point of recognition years after he retired.

and post Owen’s reveal

hop in a jet and fly again (we’re going to count whatever that in

grow a spine again

do my best not to cry again

wear a suit and tie again (i mean he doesn’t need it??)

drink martinis and drive again (ok i don’t know maybe?? he does shots before and THEN chases Owen and then he’s drinking whiskey when he meets with Tatiana)

get by again

feel like a real important guy again (look at him at the end

more below the cut because this is already long and it’s going to be even longer

Okay, to be more in depth, (this’ll sound like a lot of my other posts) at the beginning Curt Mega is truly a great spy. yes, he was captured by Oleg, but the entire interaction with him Curt is still in control. he mocks Oleg, breaks his fingers, hits the bat back at him, all while holding a conversation (and flirting) with Owen. he’s confident the entire time, he’s willing to go against plans and is overconfident to a fault. While Cynthia is somewhat rude and pays more attention to Owen in the beginning (”finally someone who knows what the hell they’re doing!”) but i think she’d treat him the same as Curt if he ever did decide to work for her. it’s partially a “bring in new talent” and partially a “keep the old talent from being overconfident” thing. i don’t think it’s an actual mark on what pre-fall Curt was like as an agent. but either way, their record was six minutes to get out of a building presumably set to explode (or implode. fuck if i know) and they were still both confident and eager to lower the time even more. and they would have accomplished it, if not for Owen falling. what i’m saying is pre-canon Curt was a very effective agent, was good at his job, and was likely almost never out of his depth.

in Spy Again, he’s talking about becoming a spy again, but he links this to Owen, believing that being a spy again would enable him to work past Owen’s death (”but maybe this time’ll be different, it might be what I need”). he’s haunted by the “memories” not “memory”, which could be taken as any time he and Owen worked together, not just when he died. he wants to be a spy, but even stating that and the things he misses about being a spy (above lists) starts to remind him of Owen (”and i know just where i’m goin’, me and my partner Owen!”). he sees himself post-fall, with his beard, alcoholism, and trying and failing to improve (”i do what i can, try to make a plan, to be a better man, but nothing seems to stick”) and again relates it to Owen (”Owen please, if you could see what’s become of me, what would you think?”). Curt decides Owen would want him to be a spy again (”i once was a spy. i think you’d want me to spy again”) and repeats it to make it stick (”Owen would want me to do this”), and that is what truly starts him off again. or so it would seem.

in his first mission back, Curt can’t start again. he has to talk himself into doing his job again (”looks like that someone has to be me. you came here to do this, so do the job, stop acting like a little pussy”), and then mostly rides along on what Tatiana does anyway (”i second that motion!) a far cry from the beginning Curt who did his job eagerly. and we are again reminded that Curt was a great spy when Sergio recognizes Curt on sight and says “is that Agent Curt Mega? ... i can’t believe this, the most famous spy in the world busting my arms deal. hey, would you mind signing something...” followed by DMA immediately being able to disarm Curt with ease, showing the contrast. Curt does recognize the baked goods are the way to hurt Sergio, but also loses the bomb to Tatiana

Curt is, at this point, still waiting [in a way] for a partner. it is not implied in the beginning that he and Owen worked together every mission, rather the opposite in fact (“MI6 didn’t tell me you were on this mission”), but he still seems to almost expect a partner, and goes off what Tatiana says even though they’re not working together, and they both train their weapons on the baked goods.

Cynthia points out that he’s been on an early retirement for four years, which Curt is very quick to correct as a grieving period. his hands shake during Cynthia’s drill, he fumbles the gun, and he has none of the grace or style of the beginning. when Cynthia mentions Owen and Curt’s alcoholism (”i remember when i got the call that Owen died and you lived, i screamed into Susan’s neck for fifteen seconds, then i locked it up and moved on. you on the other hand, you drank yourself to rock bottom...”) Curt doesn’t even look at her. when she poisons him, he’s still able to repeat back (in essence) what she said, showing that the spy of the past is still there, deep down.

Eyes on the Prize II is the (i think) first time we see Gay Flashback-Owen. he is notably not slipping and dying, as would likely be going through Curt’s head if he were haunted by that specific memory alone (going back to the “haunted by any memory of Owen”) thing i mentioned, but is instead also saying “keep your eyes on the prize” with the ensemble, again lining up Owen with Curt’s idea of being a spy.

during the casino scene Curt is clumsy with his acting, and is trying to get information from Tatiana (it’s all very awkward. “make it a white russian, hold the vodka, please, thank you so much” “excellent choice. one vodka martini bone dry, and one glass of cream”), but as soon as another person joins it (Dick Big), the relationship between them turns from enemies trying to get information from the other to an uneasy team (”i’m hardly alone, the woman and i were just about to-”), with Curt even giving a russian toast, and although Tatiana definitely notices when Curt is given a gun by the dealer, she politely declines to mention it, and when Curt offers her his arm while Dick is off finding a waiter, she smiles. and while it could be argued that it is just them working undercover, this did feel more genuine than when they are alone and back in their assumed positions (”besides, without that horrible face fungus, what will i have to yank?” “we are talking about fighting, right?”) Tatiana also recognizes that Curt is alone in more ways than one, both without backup and without anyone he can trust fully. in the short time they’ve been together, they already are close enough to friends that Tati apologizes for bringing him to DMA

despite the two of them being on opposite sides during this encounter, they are already beginning to act as partners/friends, and Curt takes her betrayal more personally than he should have

i’d also like to take this moment to point out that DMA almost instinctively stabs the Nazi henchman for saying “seems his noggin’s a bit dense!” of Curt

during Torture Tango, it seems like he’s having a natural reaction to getting tortured. Curt is nervous, he’s afraid, he’s ready to die (”you sick bastard, why don’t you just kill me already?”/”i can’t deny that i’m gonna die”). but this is NOT how the torture scene at the beginning went, even before he knew Owen was there. at the beginning scene Curt is arrogant, throwing Oleg’s words back at him, breaking his fingers, keeping a cool tone and staying in control the whole time. this time he barely talks to the DMA, he doesn’t fight back, he just accepts it. also, he sings “i once was a spy but i won’t be a spy again” and “thought i could say goodbye, but i can’t lie i wanna be a spy again” despite the fact that he is a spy again. he says he wants to be a spy again, but he already is a spy again, what he’s missing is Owen. he was once a spy with a partner he loved and could trust completely, and the partner felt the same way about him. that is what i believe enabled him to be such a good spy, he had someone who knew everything about him, being gay included, and he was able to act more confidently as a result. what he misses is less of the “go get the girl and go save the world” and more seeing his partner even for short periods and having the confidence that comes from being known. also, curt is on the verge of death and is still thinking of Owen (”doesn’t even matter if i killed my best friend”)

back to Tatiana, who’s having her own crisis. “is Mega my enemy do i let him die? i’ve got to think about my family ‘cause no one’s looking out for me...” she, at this point, has not interacted with Curt beyond the arms deal, the casino, and betraying him to von Nazi and DMA. despite this she still sees him as a possible ally, and ultimately does decide to betray von Nazi and DMA for him (to his understandable confusion). when she unties him, he only calms down when she holds her arm out to him, but he becomes so distracted by it and Gay Flashback-Owen that he doesn’t notice DMA is waking up until he’s already been shot.  i’d also like to point out that Gay Flashback-Owen is doing the same arm out pose Tatiana is doing while holding Curt’s arm

end of act 1. can i get a wahoo?

when Curt is with Barb, he acknowledges that he’s fucked things up, but still catches himself on saying he is a [great] spy again ”i was, i am, supposed to be the best”

i think during the gala he is trying to be the Curt from the past while ignoring why he was that way. he insists on going rogue, he confidently (and foolishly) announces that he is a spy, the prince will be assassinated, and that the Russians and Americans know, despite the fact that it doesn’t seem like a good idea if thought about at all. With blowing up the facility at the beginning there was some merit to it. they had been seen, they stole the plans and possibly wished to muddle why they were there, the facility might have had more plans they didn’t know about and they were already on a time limit. they also had a limit on the tech items they had (no rocket shoes :’( ).

when Tatiana rescues him again and takes him to his mother’s safe house, who mentions a “constant parade of drinking buddies, for poker or wrestling or whatever you boys do in the rumpus room” and while we could make an argument about Curt trying to move on after the fall, i think this youtube comment on the video is a fucking treasure and i will forever remember it.

i’d also like to point out now that Tatiana is truly the only character that i believe could “replace” Owen for Curt. he needs someone in his life who can know even the parts he hides from those closest to him, someone on equal footing with him, someone who doesn’t idolize him, and someone who works well with him. he can’t tell his mother, because she wants grandchildren, she wants a daughter-in-law, she wants to plan a wedding. it can’t be Cynthia, she’s his boss, it’s set during the Lavender Scare when he could lose his job for being gay. it can’t be Barb, who has an intense crush on him, and even when she does act in a platonic way, she is willing to risk her job based on the fact that it’s him (in an almost awestruck way). Tatiana is unimpressed with Curt when they first meet, they become friends quickly, work together to stop von Nazi and DMA, they are both spies at the top of the field, and she accepts him (”you’re cool with me?” “till the end!” “cool :)”). also, i think it’s interesting that Tatiana believes she is saving someone (her family) by leaving them behind, while Curt believed he killed someone (Owen his lover) by leaving them behind. just kinda parallels i think

before Doing This, Curt says he is is afraid that “[he’ll] never be the spy [he] once was” and that he believes he shouldn’t need anyone else. when Tatiana says he’ll get everyone who cares about him killed with his line of thinking he says the line “i already have.” explains about Owen, and adds “and that was back when I was the old Curt��.

during One More Shot, Curt acknowledges that he tried to get past missing Owen by trying not to need anyone else, which was wrong (“i used to think i could do this by myself i was fine, i didn't need any help“). this is him starting to take his friendship with Tati and being able to use it to see that while he cannot work alone, he doesn’t need one specific person to make him the man he is.

this of course promptly goes out the window when DMA is revealed to be Owen

however, Curt still calls Tatiana “partner” before going after Owen.

when he does go after Owen (One Step Ahead), he still thinks of Owen as the man from 1957 (”what happened to the man i knew?”). when Owen begins to explain, Curt tries to remind him of what they did “together. two of the greatest spies to ever live”. once again associating him and Owen together with being a spy

also, once Owen is dead (idk if i hope for real or not) again, Curt does make a change for the better. he’s able to be fairly confident around Cynthia, he tries to be enthusiastic about Barb’s tech/data analysis merge, he is able to talk about his “ex lover returned from the grave” with Tatiana. i do find it interesting though that he does not tell her about the other facilities, again taking it upon himself to fix it, and only telling her “give me a ring if you’re ever stateside”.

in a final moment, Curt is able to move on from Owen, and acknowledge “i once was a spy, i’ll always be a spy” with or without Owen.

[mansions-maiden]

Hiiii I'm your new follower xD

I love your writing esp mc birthday and that pool scenario 😂😂😂

May i ask something hilarious or whatever you can write ? xD my hubby is arthur. Maybe some funny scenario like mc and arthur switch body or something xD but it up to you hehehe

Btw nice to meet you ❤️❤️❤️

 here you go! Thank you so much for requesting this! it’s so precious and I had to admit , it was both hard and rewarding at the same time!  Hope it fits you imagination! nice to meet you too! ❤✨

 Arthur switching bodies with MC

the day before:

Arthur was there , with his big grin on his face as he invited his frenemy Theo and mc to the bar. “ what is the big deal? Why are you inviting me with you? “ mc asked Arthur as she gazed suspiciously at Arthur. “ I just want to treat you for helping me solve the cases! is it too much to ask? “ he asked with a confident grin. Mc sighed and they went to the bar. They drank to their heart’s content that night and went back to mansion and retired in their rooms

the next day:

[note: “Arthur(she) ‘ means that Arthur is in MC’s body and MC( he) means MC is in Arthur’s body. But the pronouns he and she refer to their original gender only throughout the story.   IF their normal names i.e. Arthur and mc are present, they are in their own bodies. ]

MC(he) woke up as soon as the morning rays spilt into the bedroom.  She  went to the bathroom to freshen up when suddenly her heart stopped beating for a second as soon as she looked at the mirror. Her eyes widened up as she saw her reflection in the mirror ! “ h- how ? wait- what is this!? “ she ran out of the bathroom in bewildered state.  Voila!  she was in Arthur’s room! She dashed out of the room and opened the doors of her room violently, only to find her physical body  sleeping there.  she  began to wake  ‘herself’  up violently. “Arthur ! Arthur! wake up ! “  

“ mmm.. who is mimicking my voice? And why am I standing there?? “ the voice  mumbled half asleep. but the drowsiness was gone as soon as they realized that their voice  was a  female voice.. “ wait! Why am I speaking like a girl?! I AM ARTHUR ! this is a dream right? “ Arthur spoke in MC’s voice , jolting up.

“thank goodness ! my speculation is right! you are Arthur!  it seem as if  our bodies have been switched ! “ MC spoke in Arthur’s voice . Arthur(she) and mc(he) looked at each other for a second to wrap their heads around the situation.

Then Arthur(she) showed a mischievous grin. “ Oh! If that’s the condition, now I am in your body!  Oh well, it’s gonna be a fun day! “ Arthur(she)  spoke as he sprang out of the bed and rushed out of the room. MC(he) ran after him to stop him .  “wait! we need to find a solution to this! we can’t be like this forever! “ she exclaimed.

“ oh c’mon MC! Can’t we have fun while we still can? It’s a now or never chance! “ Arthur(she) exclaimed while giving a wide grin. “ And I also wanna have a little fun with the residents” he continued.  

“ no- no. DON’T DO ANYTHING MISCHIEVOUS!  “  mc (he) exclaimed loudly. But alas! It was too late  for he was already running in the hallways.

Arthur(she) barged into comte’s room where he was talking with Leonardo.

Comte and Leonardo were visibly bewildered as they saw Arthur(she) in comte’s room. “ hey comte and Leo! Do you know who I am?”   “ MC? “ both leo and comte asked. “ voila! I’m here to greet you ! “  Arthur(she) chirped as he showed his tongue  out to them and went out of his room.  Comte and Leonardo looked at each other feeling confused.

“ Is she okay? Do you think she collided with the table or something? “ Leonardo asked  as he looked at comte. Comte couldn’t do anything but shrug his shoulders as he looked at the door Arthur(she) barged in from.

MC(he)  was there watching the craziness unfold in the mansion and facepalmed knowing there’s nothing she can do to stop Arthur(she) today..

MC(he) began walking down the hallways and that’s when Sebastian called out for her.  “ Sir Arthur! “ she didn’t respond.. “Arthur! Wait! This time you can’t escape from le comte! “ ‘wait what? why is he coming towards me?’ MC(he) thought as she looked around and then a gasp of realization escaped from her mouth “ Ahh! I am Arthur..” she sighed in resignation in turned around. “ Why is he calling for me ? “ MC(he) asked in a curious tone.  “ Did you forget?. I saw the blood stain on your shirt yesterday. you were drinking from the town women again. Weren’t you? “ Sebastian asked as he tapped his shoes against the wooden floor. ‘ oh right.. Now I gotta deal with this..’ MC(he) sighed again as she started heading towards comte’s room.  

She rapped the door promptly before getting a quiet “come in” voice from behind the door.  Comte stood up and came towards MC(he) and asked “ I refrained you from drinking from the townspeople frequently , didn’t I ? “ he asked as he studied mc(he) .

She opened her mouth and say that she wasn’t the one who did it. But then comte wouldn’t believe it. Unable to come up with an answer and embarrassment that  surfaced due to ‘his ‘ actions, mc(he)’s cheeks flushed a bright red.

“ Why are your cheeks red? Do you fever or anything? “ comte asked and stretched out his hand to check MC(he)'s temperature.  Feeling flustered, MC(he) quickly turned her head to the side.  

“ oh- it it’s nothing. Well then, I’ll tell Arthur not to drink from women again. “ she said unconsciously. “ wait what? “ comte asked again.

“ oh nothing. I said I would refrain myself from drinking from town people again.. “ she laughed nervously and dashed out of the room.

‘oh damn.. he’s been nothing but trouble since morning.. ‘ she mumbled leaning against the wall when she saw Theodorus coming towards her. “ oh yeah! Arthur drew sketches on Theo’s face when Theo passed out from drinking yesterday.. “ she clicked her tongue when Theodorus saw her.  mc(he) was about to turn back and run away when Theo exclaimed .

“ Arthur wait! I gotta teach you a lesson for messing with me! “  ‘ oh shoot! here goes nothing!’ mc(he)  began dashing off at the speed of light as Theo began running towards mc(he). Arthur(she) saw what was happening in the hallway and began laughing so hard he fell onto the ground. MC(he) glared at Arthur(she) as she was running and motioned her hand across her throat, a sign intended directly to Arthur(she). (sign showing that she’s gonna kill him)  But MC(he) was saved thanks to Vincent. She thanked Vincent as if her life has been granted again to live.

Later, Arthur (she) was searching the mansion for Mozart and Isaac. He found them both together in the library.  “ Hey Wolfie! And Newty! fancy meeting you both here. “  Mozart and Isaac were visibly displeased on hearing those names. “ MC? did you get hit by something? Or did Arthur tell you to call us with those names? “ both of them asked from the couch they were sitting on. “ C’mon now ! I wanted to call you both with those names for quite a time now, but today seems to be that day ! “ Arthur(she) said as he sat himself onto the sofa. 

 MC(he) was searching for Arthur(she) so that he doesn’t make things difficult for her further.  That’s when she found Leo and comte discussing something. she heard her name in the discussion. she got curious and asked what happened . comte said that mc was acting strange today and that mc was being mischievous. But they did love that side of her.  

MC, while listening to this, also decided to have some fun while she’s there in Arthur’s body.

Mc(he) began searching for Theodorus . When she found him, she went to him and said,  " Hey Theo, I wanna tell your brother how I drink from women tomorrow practically. He looked at the stain on my shirt curiously when I came back from my outing yesterday. What do you say? Should I teach him? " while winking at Theo.

Theo growled as he said, " don't you dare! " . " Aww c'mon buddy! Don't be so overprotective. I will tell him anytime tomorrow. " Mc(he) said as she patted Theo's shoulder and went away at the speed of light.

(Theo wanting to protect Vincent from world is cute and hilarious).

Meanwhile with Arthur(she):

Arthur never got a chance to tease Theo fully as he was always cautious around Arthur. So he decided to take advantage of the situation.

Arthur(she) took Leo's cat Lumiére along with him and went to find Theo.

" Theo! Look here! " Arthur (she) shouted as he found Theo in garden. As soon as Theo looked around, Arthur (she) released Lumiére onto Theo and Theo was on 'fight or flight mode' all of a sudden when Lumiére landed on him. He ended up crashing into the flower pots and got yeeted into the fountain. " Hondje! What the hell! Just wait there! " Theo exclaimed as he rose from the fountain, wet with the fountain water.

Arthur (she) was there on the grass rolling with laughter. But he started running off in mansion 's direction, still clutching his stomach and laughing hysterically when Theo started running towards him.

He stopped by comte’s room and told to comte, “ C- Comte. I wanted to tell you this for a long time..” he said as he fidgeted. “ What is it Cherie? “ comte asked with a curious gaze. “ I -I  have liked you since the day I saw you . But I didn’t know what to do with my feelings. I have tried so hard to deny, but I can’t deny it anymore. “ Arthur(she) said, trying to hide his laughter.

Comte was astounded by the confession.  “you’re kidding me right? “ comte asked as he stared at Arthur(she) .  “ No comte. I’m telling the truth. And now, I’m so embarrassed. I will go ! “ Arthur(she) came out of comte’s room and began laughing while mumbling, “ good luck dealing with comte tomorrow mc”.  still laughing, He went away.

The morning turned into afternoon as the weird atmosphere in the mansion can be felt by every resident. During lunch, every vampire was given rouge as usual. But today, everyone was looking at Arthur(she) as if he had grown horns on his head.

Arthur(she) , not giving a care, poured rouge into his glass up to the brim and began drinking it. Mc(he) was visibly cringing at the sight .

"Are you alright MC? Why are you drinking rouge despite being human? " Napoleon and Jean asked with concern. Arthur(she) then came to know what he had done and clicked his tongue.

"o-oh! I just wanted to taste it! Don't mind it at all. !" Arthur(she) exclaimed . Everyone shrugged and began eating. Vincent saw that MC(he) was looking a little uncomfortable. "Is everything alright Arthur? You look uncomfortable.." he asked.

" yeah I'm alright. It's just that I'm not feeling too good. " MC (he) told.

"something's definitely wrong with cherié and Arthur today. They're acting weird" Comte said.

“yeah, I can’t believe that she’s got guts to trick me” Theo scowled at Arthur(she) as he was eating.

"Today morning, MC came into Comte's room and showed tongue to us telling that it's her way of greeting us." Leonardo told and MC(he)'s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.  ( ‘I’m gonna make him pay’ ) MC (he) smiled to herself mischievously as she exactly knew what to do.

the day had passed by in a blink of an eye and all of them were retiring for sleep.

once back in Arthur’s room, MC(he) took out the rouge bottle that she had bought from the kitchen and smiled to herself  dangerously before falling into the bed and wandering off to dreamland.  (don’t worry. It’s not dangerous literally. But yeah, it is dangerous for  Arthur :P)

Next day:

Both of them woke up and found that they were back in their own bodies.

When Arthur came out, comte, while coming across him, saw Arthur and told, “ I see that you didn’t listen to me yet again. Now you don’t have permission to go out for the week. Only then you can stop drinking from people” Comte smiled a little and went away.

“ wait...What? But I didn’t go out yesterday at all! “ he said to himself and looked down. Then he found the blood stains on his shirt. “ Oh this little vixen! It seems as if she had spilt the rouge on purpose! “ he exclaimed with bewilderment.  Theo came to Arthur at that instant hearing his voice and shouted. “ hey Arthur! If  I found you were teaching such things to Vincent, I’m gonna throw you out  “ and went away. Arthur was still surprised by the things done by MC. 

MC was woken up by the gentle rapping of her room door. “ mm.. who is it? “ she asked in sleepy voice as she got the answer. “ It’s me comte. Can you open the door? “  she immediately straightened up her clothes and went to open the door. “  MC, I want to ask you something. “ comte asked with a hesitant voice.

MC: “what is it comte? “

comte:  “ Are you sure about the words you told yesterday? “

MC: “ what did I say? “

comte: “ what? you said that you had loved me right from the moment you me. didn’t you? “

Mc was astonished and she began blushing deep red.

MC: “ n-no comte. It wasn’t me.. It was Arthur. “   mc began explaining yesterday’s details to comte, from the moment they realized they had switched their bodies to  the night. Comte was relieved knowing nothing had happened.

comte: “ oh. That’s why you- I mean your apparent self was acting weird. Not that I dislike it though..” comte said as he laughed wholeheartedly and ruffled her  hair. 

And that’s how another mysterious day had passed at mansion.

[ryujin-zanba]

i realise given the notes that some of y'all are actually interested in reading what the newspaper articles say in this post so here they all are under the cut (please keep in mind that a lot of them contain personal headcanons and some hints at certain pairings which i will tag. it's okay if you disagree with/dislike the thoughts i have ab some characters' futures but if you find that's the case just keep it to yourself and dni please) ʕ•ᴥ•ʔง

[Poster which says: Vote for Froppy 🐸]

(Not so subtle Napoleon Dynamite reference from me)

 Hero Red Riot Saves the Day an Hour Before His Wedding!    As expected of our favourite man in red, but what did the groom have to say about this? (The groom is Bakugou and he was proud of Kiri ❤)

 Pro Weekly Deku takes title of Japan’s number one hero third year running! Following in the shadow of the longest reigning number one hero, newcomer Deku has a lot to live up to, but he is already breaking records and impressing critics with his heroism, and fans just can’t get enough of him.  In only his third year as a licensed pro, Deku has managed some incredible feats and is shaping up to give the former number one quite a run for his legacy. The retired pro recently shared in an interview that he could not be more proud of his junior and that he is cheering for our new number one the whole way.

 A New Ingenium Takes the Mantle But what can we expect of our dashing (pun intended) new pro? The youngest son of the Iida family is following in his brother’s footsteps as he officially takes on the name and the legacy of beloved hero Ingenium.

 Lemillion Saves One Million Golden hero Lemillion reclaims his position among the top five pros in only his first week back. After participating in the saving of a suspected one million lives involved in an international hostage crisis, Lemillion saw a 100% popularity increase in the polls and has been recognised by several world leaders for his incredible display of heroism. Lemillion has recently returned to hero work after taking a year off for paternity leave last Summer. A brief interview with the pro revealed that husband and baby are both doing well and their little one is already starting to show signs of developing a strong quirk.

(Mirio’s husband is Tamaki ❤)

 Former U.A Students Pay Tribute to Late Mentor Yagi Toshinori How the world is mourning a great hero and the people closest to him are upholding his legacy.

[Accompanying image of Toshi in his pinstripe suit, tired but smiling]

 Not All Heroes Wear Capes U.A high graduate goes on to make major advances in the field of restorative medical science.  Eri, formerly of U.A high school, is currently completing her doctorate at Tokyo University and is expecting to graduate this year with her first PHD. Her influence in the field, however, has already sparked plans for the implementation of several quirk-specialised branches in every major hospital across the country, a system speculated to be fully functioning as soon as next Spring. Having already successfully treated several prominent heroes throughout her blossoming career, we can expect many great things from Eri in the future and wish her all the best with her final exams.

 [Crude cat drawing next to the text 1-A]

(Reference to Aizawa’s cat drawing that he put on a banner for his class during the sports festival in Smash, which he then hid from them)

 [Magazine cover of Yaoyorozu with the top text ‘Women in Business’ and the bottom text ‘Creati’]

 Shouto-Out Former pro hero Shouto retires at age twenty five in order to pursue a career in nursing. After the new data that came to light last month showed an incline in children born to forced quirk marriages, the ex-pro expressed his interest in becoming involved with caring for and counselling the startling number of those taken into care every year as a result. His partner had this to say, “Shouto has had a lot of difficulty finding a path in life that he believes he truly chose for himself, but I think this is his way of being the hero he wants to be and he has my full support.”

(If you guessed Midoriya as Todoroki’s partner being quoted in this, you guessed right!)

 Hero affectionately dubbed ‘Pikachu’ by residents of local children’s hospital

(Kaminari, of course ⚡)

 Present Jack Pro hero and musical talent Earphone Jack has officially joined the Put Your Hands Up Radio team. Rumours that she is set to succeed Japan’s favourite radio personality have already started circulating, but we’re pretty sure the nation’s sweetheart, Present Mic, has got many years yet before we’ll see him retire.

 [Magazine cover featuring Midoriya with the top text ‘Deku’]

 Uravity Saves US Space Shuttle First person in history to be awarded a knighthood by NASA and her achievements haven’t stopped there. The hero known as Uravity is a staunch advocate for the proposed universal income scheme and her support for the bill has garnered such enthusiasm from fans that it is likely to pass in court this February.

(In the image I accidentally called her Uraravity instead of Uravity, sorry girl!)

 He’s Still Got It! Present Mic wins lifetime achievement award for Put Your Hands Up Radio, the show he has been proudly presenting since his debut as a hero. Maintaining a huge following and unwavering popularity, his nighttime slot every Friday from 1am to 5am has also earned him a place in the hall of fame for highest number of consecutive awards in radio hosting history, congrats man!

(Mic might not be one of Aizawa’s students, but he is just as proud of his husband’s achievements ❤)

 Tsukuyomi Gets His Wings Tsukuyomi and his quirk, Dark Shadow, have officially taken over at Hawks’ agency after the young hero retired from the field to pour everything into his successor. As it stands, Hawks will continue on to support Tsukuyomi and we wish them both the best with any future plans from here on.

(Possible spoiler for latest manga chapters... but I think the bird man might be taking a leaf from All Might’s book and finding someone to carry on his legacy 😅)

 Kacchan’s Kitchen Newly opened in the most up and coming area of the city, the restaurant will join several others on the renewed marina-front, though its owner and head chef are what really set the place apart. Already it has received great reviews from critics. 

(Personal HC alert! Bakugou decides the hero life isn’t what he wants anymore and invests in his culinary skills instead, making Kiri a very well-fed man lol)

 Dance ‘Til You’re Pink! Pro hero Pinky opens a second dance studio that offers new prospects for passionate kids who are unable to attend paid classes. Children from low-income families are invited to choose from a variety of options when it comes to which discipline they wish to pursue and all equipment, performance outfits and other costs are covered by the studio.

 The Modern Batman Or should we say Catman? Illusive hero known only by his mind-control ability is spotted petting a local cat during his evening patrol.

[Accompanying image of Shinsou petting a black cat and looking almost identical to Aizawa in his attire]

[olmecconsulting]

When Do You Need To Start Treating Your Side Gig Like A Real Business?

Even before the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many people used their free time to engage in their passions. Whether knitting scarves and selling them on Etsy or doing home repair work for neighbors, side gigs are becoming more common for people with standard, 9-to-5 day jobs. Side hustles are great options for many people for a few reasons — they serve as an extra source of income, help you make ends meet or build savings for retirement. The money you bring in from a side gig can be used for various purposes, depending on your financial situation and future goals. Aside from financial gains, side hustles allow you to do what you enjoy and are passionate about, something your day job might lack. It’s common for professionals in the corporate world to switch paths and take on a new business endeavor that’s more tailored to their passions.

Why Are Side Hustles Booming Right Now?

The pandemic has prompted many professionals to reflect on their careers. Some decided to leave their jobs entirely and fully invest time and money into their side hustle. This contributes to what’s being coined as “The Great Resignation.” It’s a period where an unprecedented amount of the American workforce is resigning for many reasons. According to U.S. Census data, U.S. Business formations rose by 47% in 2020. This highlights the slew of professionals taking advantage of the opportunity to create companies. However, it can be challenging to know if your side hustle is capable of scaling. You’re likely flooded with questions: Will this work? When do I quit my day job? Is this realistic for my financial situation? Signs Your Side Hustle Could Be a Viable Business Here are some telltale signs that your side hustle is ready to be taken to the next level: •  You’ve identified a need in the marketplace, and you can meet customer demands •  Your side hustle has taken on a life of its own •  You are already profiting from your side hustle •  You need a change from your day-to-day routine •  You’re an authoritative force in your industry •  You’ve built a reputation among your competitors Of course, you could spend hours contemplating every small detail when deciding if your side hustle could be transformed into a real business. It’s also worth noting that how you speak about your gig can impact your perception of if it will be successful or not. For example, if you continue to call it a side gig, that’s what it will be. If you truly believe in the products or services you offer, you should consider calling it what it is: a business. Dreams only work if you do. Here are some signs that your side project may not be viable as a business: •  It cuts time into your day job without being profitable •  You create emotional reasons to justify why you have this side hustle •  You lack consistency when working on your side gig •  You’re not ready to put yourself out there •  You’re not meeting an existing customer demand The decision ultimately comes down to you and your financial situation. It’s best to have six to 12 months of saved income before you decide to take your side hustle to the next level. It may take that amount of time to earn profits from your business, and the last thing you want is to drain your savings. Financial security should always be a top priority for anyone entering the entrepreneurial landscape. Entrepreneurs need to be wise in their saving strategies to stay afloat if they experience any emergencies. How to Transform a Side Gig Into a Business If you’ve decided to elevate your side hustle, you must take steps to ensure you set your business up for success. This way, your company is more likely to survive and thrive in a competitive market. 1. Draft a Business Plan Without putting your business ideas onto paper, it’ll be challenging to know if this is something worth fighting for. If you do not already have a drafted business plan, make sure you write down all the details you’ll need to know in advance. For example, you should start with your mission statement and the overall goal you want to achieve. It should be followed by an executive summary, company description, organizational structure and a breakdown of finances. Planning is crucial when launching your business, so taking extra time out of your day to draft a thorough business plan will give you the best start. 2. Perform Thorough Market Research Market research will play a significant role in determining your target market and help you operate your business as it scales. It also enables you to determine how viable your business plan is. Suppose your side hustle is selling handmade jewelry to local friends or family members. While this is certainly a good side gig, you may not be tuned into customer needs. Your ultimate goal in market research is to see what your customers do or do not like about your products or services. This will minimize the risks associated with launching a new business. 3. Establish a Legal Business It’s critical to take the right steps to separate your business and personal finances. Your side hustle may have given you some disposable income, maybe through a payment app like Venmo, CashApp or Zelle. This won’t be sustainable if you’re ready to take your side gig to the next level. Choose how you want to incorporate your business and whether you want to establish a sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC) or partnership. Incorporation may seem daunting, but it’s quite easy as long as you have a couple of hundred dollars to cover fees. You’ll also need to register your business with the state and receive an employer identification number (EIN). 4. Consider Purchasing Business Insurance Business insurance is a necessity. It would offer protection if your company were to experience an emergency, such as fires, floods or property damage. While the state you’re in will determine what type of coverage you need, it’s worth investigating and investing in. There are many benefits to having small business insurance: •  It attracts new clients to your business •  It enables you to find and keep new employees •  It protects your business from lawsuits and claims •  It keeps your company profitable year-over-year •  It helps you conform to legal requirements5. Invest in Marketing and Advertising Every business needs to have a hand in the marketing and advertising landscape. Without these crucial components, how would you attract potential customers? You need to have a viable strategy and choose an appropriate advertising approach when launching your business. Consider placing ads in your local newspaper or online news source. As your business scales, you may want to think about hiring dedicated advertising or marketing professionals to help you with this part of your business. There are plenty of ways you can use marketing to your advantage, so be sure to prioritize this as you get ready to launch. 6. Decide When to Quit Your Day Job Now that you’ve taken some crucial steps in forming your business, it’s time to think about when your day job is no longer needed. It may be a couple of months before you can quit, and much of it will come down to how profitable your new operation is. Remember that earning enough profit to quit may take longer than you expect. Some say to ballpark how much you’ll need to make before you leave and then triple that number because it’s better to be safe and financially stable before you resign. This decision will boil down to your specific circumstances, and if you need to consult a financial adviser, then be sure to do so. Your future self will thank you for taking into account your long-term financial stability. As you prepare to bring your side gig to the forefront, you’ll need to remember these steps. Launching a business should be a fun, enjoyable experience, but it will come with obstacles you’ll need to overcome. Many entrepreneurs will use new technologies to streamline their operations, so be willing to adopt new tech to make starting your new company a breeze.

Own Your Side Hustle and Call It What It Is: A Business

Side hustles are becoming more common in today’s economy. They come with pros and cons, and it’s critical to remember that not every one will work as an established business. However, many new companies can be viable if you follow the right steps before launching. Becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone, but if you have enough drive, determination and passion for the products or services you provide, you can make it happen. Start calling your side gig a business and take the required steps to set yourself up for success. If you follow your heart and keep a cool head, you’ll be ready to start earning a profit doing something you love. The post When Do You Need to Start Treating Your Side Gig Like a Real Business? Appeared first on Due.

[luzarya]

Performance

Summary: It's just another day for Yuu and Engel at the Mostro Lounge.

ao3 link: here

warnings: none

songs: this

part: 3/3

-> 1 (first)

-> 2 (previous)

word count: 1,950

--

Lively.

That is what one would describe the lounge as. Lively.

There was a singer on stage, singing ever hypnotically. They had captured most of the customer’s attention, drawing them in with their voice.

I'm gonna wear blue

And find a pair of flat black leather shoes

But shine more than a diamond, mine could do

And add something new

Engel took an order from a table, their footsteps unheard as they yelled out the order to those preparing it. In a matter of minutes, the drinks came out, Engel quickly swiped the drinks, already walking back to the table.

They set down the drinks to the Savanaclaw students, who only glanced at the drinks in acknowledgement.

To another table they go.

I drop a hint and then my keys

And then I cast a net

To catch someone who's even searchin, night he won't forget

The night continued on like that, taking orders and serving them. Many more people came in by the sheer number, enraptured by the voice that sang.

Engel was one of the few waiters out there- the other being Octanivelle students, who were inherently less affected by the voice. After all, a siren cannot enchant a fellow mer like they do with non-mer.

Engel stole a glance at the singer- their beloved Yuu. It was near the end of the song, and Engel knew that as soon as Yuu would finish their song, there would be an influx of orders for a proper meal.

Gonna drop the yellow pages

Finally then she had a thrill

To dress me up and make me look like someone else instead

It's time for my rehearsal, the ultimate reversal

You see, I've got it planned

I'm coming back as a man

With the last of the notes of the song, there was an audible increase of chatter, customers talking amongst themselves. Engel didn’t bother to listen to the chatter. They had to focus on their job, otherwise they knew they would make a mistake should they listen in on the gossip.

“How’s the night going, Engel?”

The question broke Engel’s concentration, as they turned to the owner of the new voice. It was Jade, who was manning the counter- it looked like everyone had a drink or a meal, so the vice dorm-head had free time, it seemed.

“Oh! Everything is going well, Jade,” Engel enthusiastically replied, as they gathered another batch of orders, “Is Yuu taking a break right now?”

“Yes,” Jade smiled, “Although, if you wish to catch them before the next song, I suggest you do so in the next few minutes. They have another song coming up, though I suppose you know that already.”

“I see, thanks for the heads up! I’ll see you in a bit, Jade!” Engel nodded as a means of farewell, their hands occupied. They left just as Jade their own farewell, their feet quick to take them to their destination.

After setting down the plates to a group of Scarabia students, Engel then speedily walked to the employee break room. Upon opening the door, Engel squealed in delight, running up to an exhausted Yuu, who readily accepted the unexpected hug.

“Well, hello to you too, my love,” Yuu chuckled, “Careful with the suit. I don’t want your efforts going to waste, aight?”

“Ahhhhh, Yuu!” Engel only squeezed them tighter, “You did wonderfully! You never cease to amaze me with your voice!”

“Thanks?”

“It’s a compliment, silly goose!”

Engel released Yuu from their suffocating hug, eyeing Yuu up and down. They wore a suit- one that Engel had created with their own two hands. It was a tux, but with extended tails (the rear end of the fabric, from what Engel had learned). It suited Yuu well, giving them a slightly more feminine appearance with how long and ruffled the tails were.

“Ah, your makeup is a bit smudged,” Engel noticed. “Let me get the kit Vil gave us…” Engel left Yuu’s side for a moment, retrieving the item, then returning. Utilizing what they had learned from Vil, Engel managed to fix up Yuu’s make up. It was put on in a way that it made Yuu’s face look more masucline than usual. It was enough that no one would recognize Yuu bare-face, allowing them to evade others from recognizing them as the hypnotic voice from the Mostro lounge.

“Thanks, love,” Yuu quietly replied.

“Anything for you, my dear.”

An alarm rang out, disrupting whatever moment Engel and Yuu had. Yuu gave an apologetic look to Engel, who, in turn, only shook their head. Engel pulled Yuu up from their chair, and led them to the door. Before opening the door, Engel raised Yuu’s hand and kissed it softly, watching Yuu’s face become flushed from the small action.

“Good luck!” Engel teased, as they opened the door and left, leaving Yuu a moment to their thoughts. Yuu shook their head after fully processing it, and then left the silence of the room, entering the lounge.

It was time for another performance.

----

It was quiet.

No one would have thought that this was the same lively lounge from a few hours prior. It was empty, save for a few souls that needed to stay behind, and clean. Azul sat at one of the booths, Engel and Yuu in front of him, Jade standing at the end of the table. Unseen, Floyd was elsewhere, the sound of food sizzling distantly heard.

“Thanks to Yuu’s performance, we earned the same amount of profit as last week.” Azul looked over the papers, quick to do the math of how much was earned. He was evidently pleased with the turn of events- a smile staining his beautiful face.

“That’s great,” Engel softly replied. Yuu quietly sat next to them, unable to speak. The performance had left Yuu drained of all energy. It took too much energy to even speak.

“The number of people asking about Yuu increased,” Jade casually commented. Engel raised a brow, slinging an arm around Yuu.

“Is that so?”

Jade noticed the interaction, and chuckled, “Fufu, worry not, I do not believe they were asking for malicious reasons, Engel.”

“If you say so,” Engel happily chirped, though there was an edge to their words. Azul briefly glanced at them, but didn’t comment on it.

A slam grabbed their attention, as everyone turned to look at the source of the noise. In very typical fashion, it was Floyd- who kicked the door open, a large plate of some sort of pasta in his grasp.

The eel mer sauntered over, placing the large plate right besides the papers.

“Floyd, careful with that.” Azul moved his papers, scooting over to the end of the table and moving the papers, so that they wouldn’t be any stains. Jade took a seat, as did his brother, although Floyd sat next to Engel.

“So,” Floyd began, giving some utensils to his brother- who graciously took them without a second thought. “How long will the contract with Shachi-chan and Selkie-chan last?”

Yuu didn’t say a word.

“Hmm,” Engel pondered, “I think it’s for life?” They had signed the contract, although they had forgotten most of the details already- it’s been about a month or so since they did.

“Correct. It’s for life,” Azul paused his reading, “Yuu will be under my employment until retirement, since I’ll be providing them a means to live once they graduate from here.”

“Oh?” Floyd smiled as he took another bite of his meal. Engel eyed the plate- it was large. And the twins already ate a good small portion of it.

“What about when we’re fourth years, and the year after?” Jade questioned, wiping his mouth. It was a valid question, considering the fact that fourth years would have to leave the school on internships, then there was the fact that Engel and Yuu were technically a grade below them.

“Who do you take me for, Jade?” Azul grinned, propping his arms onto the table, “I have a plan to ensure that the business continues when we’re in our fourth year. After Engel and Yuu have finished their fourth years, I’ll make sure that they’ll live comfortably down in the deep blue sea.”

“Really?” Engel’s eyes sparkled with hope, “Thank you!”

“No, no need. I have to thank you,” Azul corrected, “The two of you brought in more profit than I would have by myself. Truly, Yuu’s voice is astounding- it’s quite the good thing that their voice is almost useless against mer. And you Engel, you brought in a few customers yourself, if a bit fewer than Yuu had brought in. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Yuu glared at Azul, but they remained silent. Engel wondered how they brought in customers, but they had a suspicion it had to do with the fact they were a selkie- Engel didn’t quite like the implication of it, but they too, remained silent.

Azul continued, “With the profits, it’s more than enough to pay for your living expenses, now and in the future.”

“Oh? So Shachi-chan and Selkie-chan are gonna stay with us forever?~” Floyd appeared to brighten up at the idea, turning to look at Engel.

“It does seem that way, fufu.” Jade smiled. Engel felt unease by it, although they couldn’t pinpoint as to why.

“Nonetheless, we’re doing well, financially.” Azul sighed, picking up the papers and organizing them into a folder. He glanced at the clock on the distant wall, “We should finish this up and head to bed.”

With that, they cleared the table.

----

Ramshackle dorm was quiet, not a sound heard, save for the subtle footsteps. Engel and Yuu made their way up to their dorm room that they shared. Engel clutched onto their pelt, which was large enough for Engel and Yuu to fit inside as they had came from the Octanivelle dorm in the cold.

Engel never had their pelt more than 20 feet away from them.

They entered their room- spotting a snoring Grim on the bed. On performance days, Grim was left alone to his own devices. The two mer quickly shifted out of their work clothing, donning comfortable clothing. They gently moved Grim, laying themselves down. They faced one another, Engel’s pelt laid over them, with Grin right at top.

“Today was nice.”

“Yea. It was.” Yuu lazily smiled, their eyes droopy.

“Sleep well, my darling.”

“G’night, love.”

Yuu quickly fell asleep, but Engel didn’t. Sure, they were tired, but they remained up to look at Yuu’s sleeping facial features.

They recalled the time when Yuu was introduced to them, after their mother was taken away. They recalled when Yuu had become their friend, and consequently, their beloved. They recalled the painful moment when Yuu was taken by the carriage after the two of them were drawn into the forest. They recalled how they searched for Yuu for months. They recalled when they, too, were finally brought to this world, better than the old, and thus reuniting with their beloved. They recalled Yuu’s first performance, and many more moments.

It was hard, no doubt. It was one plight after another, but they stood together through it all, even when they were separated for a good amount of time. Engel touched their bracelet- its warmth brought a smile to their face.

Sure, they’re practically bound to Azul via contract for the rest of their lives, but that didn’t matter. They no longer resided in the old, barbaric world. No longer did Engel have to fear the worst, and no longer did they have to worry.

After all, didn’t they promise to stay together, even through hell itself?

Engel fell asleep with that last thought on their mind.

[365days365movies]

March 4, 2021: Spirited Away (2001) (Part One)

Having not seen this already is one of my great shames.

Yeah, I should’ve seen this by now, right? I mean, this is the only foreign language and 2D-animated film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film, considered by most to be the greatest animated movie of all time, and it was the highest grossing film in Japanese box office history, until something else came along this year.

I should also watch Demon Slayer at some point, huh? Well, anyway, yeah, this movie has been on my list for years, but I’d never gotten around to it...until today! Now that I’ve watched Kiki’s, finally, I can get to the almost universally considered Miyazaki’s best. Will I like it as much, though? Well, we’ll see, huh?

And I probably should have some big preamble here, right? I mean, most of my other recaps start with a few paragraphs worth of content, dotted with pictures in order to break up the text monotony; that’s my typical formula. But, uh...I dunno. I got nothin’. Mostly because I don’t know anything about this movie going in.

So, yeah, fuckit. Let’s just get started here, I’m pumped! Been pumped for years. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Chihiro (Daveigh Chase) and her parents have just moved from their home to a new pace, and Chihiro’s not super happy about it. I get it, Chihiro, we moved a lot as a kid. On the way there, they get lost, and end up entering a forest with shrines at the entrance. Chihiro’s dad is a...reckless-as-FUCK driver.

They finally end up at a building with an open doorway. Chihiro’s a bit creeped out by the whole thing, especially as there are shrines all over the place that make her uncomfortable. Chihiro’s folks go through the archway and enter an old decrepit train station.

They exit through another door, and see a vast green field, dotted with shrines and broken down buildings. Chihiro’s father believes that it’s an abandoned theme park, which seems...wrong. Chihiro stays behind for a second and hears the building moaning. Chihiro’s parents continue to make their way through the park, as they smell food, and find themselves hungry. 

But the park is still completely abandoned, with not one person in sight. And yet, somebody’s making food, and it’s fresh. So, they do what anybody in their position would do: they eat the SHIT out of it. Chihiro doesn’t, but her parents go ham on it. Seriously, they pig out on this shit. Frustrated, Chihiro walks away and continues to explore the park.

A giant ornamented pagoda-style bathhouse stands tall above the rest, seemingly new and running. This is where she encounters both the train and a small boy, around her age. He warns her to leave, and get back across the river near the entrance.

Chihiro runs away, and goes to get her parents, who are still pigging out.

Ah. Well. Chihiro doesn’t realize that these pigs are her parents, and runs away in fear. She stops by a full river, and sees a vast glittering city in the distance. Meanwhile, spirits gather in the formerly decrepit park. Chihiro, believing this to be a dream, tries to wake herself up. In her chanting, she ends up becoming somewhat invisible.

Meanwhile, a riverboat comes closer, carrying spirits whose bodies materialize as the touch the shore and enter the park. Chihiro runs away, scared and disappearing. Soon, the boy from before catches up to her. This is Haku (Jason Marsden), and he brings Chihiro food from this world, which she must eat or risk disappearing. Very mythological, I like it.

By this point, Chihiro has realized that the pigs were her parents, and asks Haku if she can see them. He says that he will eventually, but they must run away quickly, as a mysterious bird with the face of an old woman is hovering above, potentially looking for Chihiro.

Haku takes Chihiro to the bathhouse, and instructs her not to breathe, as the creatures around them will see her is she even slightly breathes. They cross the bridge, and Chihiro is almost spotted. Haku takes her into hiding, as the word of a human’s presence breaks out. Haku instructs her to make her way to the boiler room to find Kamaji, the Boiler Man, and insist on getting a job or risk being turned into an animal by the owner of the bathhouse, Yubaba.

Haku wishes her good luck by name, which she questions. He says that he’s known her since she was very small. My girlfriend begins laughing maniacally, which probably means nothing. Chihiro, still quite afraid, makes her way to the boiler room.

There, we meet Kamaji (David Ogden Stiers), a multi-armed man that runs the boiler for the bathhouse, and commands dozens of spider-like soot spirits to do his bidding. This dude is a cross between Eggman and Doctor Octopus, and I love him. The soot ball spirits, too, while we’re at it. I recognize these guys from My Neighbor Totoro! Or their relatives, anyway. They’re cute, no matter what.

Chihiro saves one from being crushed, and is told to “finish what she’s started”. She carries the rock, which is seemingly super-fucking-heavy, and throws it into the boiler. Once she does this, all of the soot balls begin dropping the rocks onto themselves to get Chihiro to do it for them. I love them.

Kamaji tries to stop Chihiro from working, which is when his granddaughter, Lin (Susan Egan), shows up with lunch for Kamaji and the soot balls, and sees Chihiro. She notes that his is big trouble, but Kamaji tells her to take Chihiro to the owner, Yubaba, to properly inquire for a job with his recommendation. Reluctantly, she takes her to the top floor of the bathhouse via elevator.

We see the various spirits in the bathhouse, which is a great time to note the fact that this movie looks fucking FANTASTIC, and the art direction already gets a 10/10 from me, without any argument. This would be even better if I were fully beefed-up on my knowledge of the various Japanese spirits. 

On the way up, a Radish Spirit (Jack Angel) follows them to another elevator, and Chihiro ends up stuck with him in an elevator going up. He helps her get to the top floor, where Yubaba’s quarters are. And it’s here that we finally meet Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), a powerful spirit in her own right.

Yubaba is definitely not warmed to the presence of a human here, as humans have long abused the world that the spirits reside in. This includes her parents, who ate the food of the spirits like, well...pigs. She zips Chihiro’s mouth shut as she rants, but once she unzips it again, she repeatedly asks her for a job.

Yubaba isn’t pleased with this, and lemme say, she’s fucking TERRIFYING. As she goes after Chihiro more directly, the assault is interrupted by Yubaba’s baby waking up, and Yubaba hastily accepts her offer to work for her. Chihiro signs her name away, and Yubaba quite literally takes it, giving her the name “Sen” in exchange.

She summons Haku, who takes her away and pretends not to know her. He also tells her not to talk to him as they go down to find her a job. Nobody’s willing to work with a human, and Haku eventually assigns her to work as Lin’s assistant. Chihiro doesn’t feel very good, and that’s not helped by the fact that Haku was rather mean to her in the elevator.

The morning comes, and the spirits each retire to their domains, with Yubaba using her cloak to turn into a bird-like creature and fly away. Which I totally love, by the way. Chihiro, however, has not slept, and has in fact been crying and shaking with fear the entire night. Haku finds her like this, and tells her to meet him at the bridge, where he’ll take her to her parents.

With a new pink outfit in tow (and shoes protected by the soot spirits), she takes off to the bridge to meet Haku. But also lingering on the bridge is a mysterious spirit whom I already know as No-Face (Bob Bergen). He’s a pretty recognizable character from the film. When she crosses the bridge, No-Face disappears, and Haku is waiting on the other side.

Haku takes her to the pigsty, where her parents are. They no longer remember their identity as humans, and astonishingly, Chihiro refers to herself as “Sen,” the name that Yubaba gave her. Yeah, she doesn’t remember her own name, until Haku gives her back her old clothes to hide. In them is a goodbye card from one of her friends, with her name written in it. Yubaba controls people by taking their names, which is some old-school mythology shit, boy!

Chihiro thanks him, and he gives her food to help her regain her strength. This causes her to sob while stuffing rice into her face, which the girlfriend has referred to as a big mood. Chihiro goes back, and sees that Haku (not his real name, as Yubaba has taken it) is flying away, as a white dragon.

From there, she goes to work cleaning the bathhouse with Lin and the other workers in her department. In the process, she also lets No-Face into the building. He later repays the favor by helping her get a needed wash token from the human-hating foreman. Yubaba, meanwhile, senses that something is coming, slinking about in the rain. She refers to it as useless scum, and it is indeed a big pile of scum, and an intruder to the bathhouse.

The other attendants of the bathhouse seem to think that it’s a stink spirit, although Yubaba isn’t sure. She commands Chihiro to attend to it, and it is...gross as SHIT. It apparently smells EXTREMELY bad, and this entire sequence is...viscerally gross. Dude is DISGUSTING.

However, through all of that shit (literally), Chihiro manages not only to attend to the spirit, but also finds some kind of thorn in his side Yubaba then realizes that something is wrong, and gets everyone else to help. They tie a rope to the object, and they pull it out together, with Chihiro at the head.

They pull it out, only to reveal a MASSIVE pile of human garbage. Once it’s all out, the spirit reveals itself to be not a stink spirit, but a polluted River Spirit (Jim Ward), who thanks Chihiro for her assistance. He pays the place a HELL of a lot of money, and Yubaba congratulates Chihiro directly for her good work.

THAT is a good place to pause! See you in Round Two!

[athingthatwantsvirginia]

A Patti Smith Envelope

PART THIRTY-FOUR OF THE DO YOU SEE HER FACE? SERIES

Pairing: Jess Mariano x Original Character (Ella Stevens)

Warnings: anxiety about future, plentiful pop culture references

Word Count: 4.1K

Summary: Ella and Jess move into their new apartment.

A newspaper ad circled in red ink had led them to the cozy one-bedroom four blocks over from Truncheon and six blocks from campus. It was only late April, earlier than Ella was expecting for them to find something. But she had finished finals, had booked gigs working at the art camps at the college over the summer. She had a few weeks off to make art, and hopefully help out in Truncheon. After touring the place, it felt right. An excited tightness in her stomach. Jess, too, had squeezed her hand in elation as soon as they walked through the door. The place had built-in bookshelves on the far wall, the bedroom on the other side. Ella didn’t believe in signs, but even she could agree it was as close to perfect as they were going to get.

Luke had offered to help without even being asked. Chris, Matthew, Leo, and Mabel were all participants to different degrees of willingness, and they hardly needed any more bodies. But Luke insisted the minute Jess had told him the moving date over the phone. It was likely he needed some sort of distraction since April had moved to New Mexico anyway. She wasn’t going to be back until the summer. And it seemed neither Luke nor Lorelai had come to their senses about each other yet.

He rolled up to Philadelphia in his truck two hours before they expected him. He claimed moving wasn’t moving if there wasn’t a truck to help out. Packing up all the stuff in the apartment was easier than Ella expected, just as it had been when she moved out of her childhood home. Jess could be cluttered sometimes, but nowhere near the level of Chris, and most of Jess’s belongings consisted of old band t-shirts and marked up books anyway. Ella, likewise, had most of her records stuffed in the back of her car. The dresser fit in Chris’s SUV after a fair amount of squeezing stuff in. The bed was the real challenge. It turned out Luke’s truck wasn’t such a frivolous vehicle, after all.

A drizzle was just beginning to fall from the gray, cloudy sky as they finished moving all the boxes inside. The apartment, on the second floor of some ancient building, was not exactly up to twenty-first century standards. The pipes were old and cobwebs gathered in the corners. A splinter or two jutted out from the worn down wood floors, golden brown under the dim lights. But the bohemian rug and many lamps they’d scouted out from the thrift shop a week earlier were already proving helpful. Boxes, labeled with mostly Jess’s scrawled, cramped handwriting, were stacked high in the corner of the living room, others gathered on the cracked tile of the kitchen counter.

Ella blew the stray hairs away from her eyes, otherwise pulled back in her black bandana. Her bangs were growing longer, and she was just becoming able to fully tuck them behind her ears. Roses of flushed color bloomed on her cheeks, her skin hot and sticky. Chris had already sprawled out on the dark gray couch, Leo on the arm. The couch, too, was secondhand, bought for ten bucks at the ReStore off the interstate.

“You really should be paying us,” Chris huffed, throwing his arm across his eyes.

Ella scoffed from where she was helping Matthew and Mabel unpack the kitchen. There was actually not much to be done, as Jess and Ella were planning on getting most of their supplies in the following days. There were a few mugs, bowls, spoons. “Consider it payback for the amount of times I’ve made you pie.”

“I was under the impression those were ‘no strings attached’ pies,” Matthew chimed in.

“Or, at most, ‘friends with benefits’ pies,” Mabel added.

Ella rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’m taking advantage of all of you. I’m eternally in your debt. But I think we got everything, if you guys wanna get outta here.”

The four of them exchanged glances, eventually coming to a consensus they were exhausted enough to leave and retire to the cold pizza in the fridge at Truncheon. Ella suspected they were excited to have their own rooms for the first night in forever, as Chris had already made work of moving his stuff into Jess and Ella’s old room, before they had even finished moving out. She gave them sweaty hugs and salutes goodbye, finishing with unloading the meager contents of the new fridge.

“Hey, Jess, we’re outta here!” Leo called.

Jess’s head appeared from the doorway to the bedroom. “Good. Better to save yourselves now before World War III breaks out in here.”

From beyond the bedroom door, Luke could be heard grumbling obscenities and fighting with the new bed frame he was struggling to put together.

“See you on the other side, then,” Matthew said, smiling. “Also known as Monday.”

“We’ll see if I make it until then,” Jess shrugged, offering them a small wave. “Thanks, guys.”

“You are not welcome,” Chris grunted, trudging out the door.

Mabel gave Ella one last hug before exiting the apartment, shutting the door softly behind her. A grin broke out on Ella’s face. She and Mabel had gone on more than one lunch together, had even gone shopping once. It was new and Ella was still a bit worried the timid woman would be scared away from a friendship with her, but they were slowly getting to know each other.

As Jess continued grappling with Luke, who went on grappling with the bed frame, Ella finished with their groceries. The kitchenware was more or less unpacked to a decent level. The books were next on her list, followed by the records. Rounding the corner of the counter into the living room, she stopped short of the book boxes.

She put her hands to the hips of her jeans. There were a few water spots on the popcorn ceiling, reminding her of Truncheon. The air smelled cozy, but more of lemon Pledge than anything else. Someone had dusted the built-in bookshelves in the initial flurry of unpacking. During the walk-through of the place, Jess had pointed out the corner next to the couch as the perfect spot for an easel. Looking over it, with familiar furniture moved in, the place seemed more real. Less like a dream for the two of them. The terrace past the small sliding glass door was empty, but she thought maybe they could fit a few chairs. It wasn’t as though the view was spectacular, just a vision of the city street below and the other apartment building opposite. But it was more than enough for two people who had both lived out of their cars for extended periods of time.

An odd sense came over her, one of total novelty. Never before had she had a real say in her home. Her parents lived in the blue house in Stars Hollow before she was born, Lane had moved into her house with Zach and Bryan long before Ella started sleeping on the couch, the apartment above Truncheon had been a simple convenience to everyone involved. But she and Jess had chosen the apartment together. They had admired the cheap price, the proximity to work, the odd seashell tiles in the bathroom. The place seemed to have been built before the contemporary requirements of architectural uniformity. It had a mind of its own inside: a leaky sink and a brick exterior and shag carpet in the bedroom. Not altogether a surprise, considering it was in the artsy housing district near the campus.

“Dammit!” she heard once more from the bedroom.

Heaving a tired but cheerful sigh, she crossed her arms over her Clash t-shirt (borrowed from Jess) and entered the bedroom, to the left of the living room and kitchen, opposite from the tiny bathroom. Luke and Jess were both hunched over the metal frame, trying to hold both the headboard and the footboard up and attach the middle section. Their faces were angry and red, frustration radiating off of them.

“Hey, so, it’s past seven,” she announced, eyebrows raised at their trouble.

Jess jumped slightly, his back to her, at the sound of his voice. The footboard slipped out of his grip.

“Oh, for the love of-” Luke began.

“It’s fine,” Ella interjected calmly, going over and placing a hand on Jess’s upper back. He panted but said nothing as his uncle continued fussing.

“Where did you even get this? There’s no damn instructions!” Luke said, readjusting the hat on his head.

“The discount store,” Jess answered, glaring down at the frame and over at the mattress, which stood leaning against the wall near the dresser. “Not all of us have diner money to fall back on.”

“Anyway,” Ella continued, “I bet we could all use some food. Jess, maybe you could drive Luke down to that place on Birch and get some sandwiches? I can finish with the bed.”

Luke shook his head. “Ella, I don’t think-”

“She probably can,” Jess interrupted dejectedly. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s those sculpture classes. But she can fix anything. Not just showerheads and cash registers.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Luke said, raising his hands in surrender and leaving the room. He went to grab his coat from the messy pile by the front door.

Ella stifled a laugh. “My god, he’ll never change.”

“Why is he coming with me to get the food?” Jess asked under his breath.

“Because I think he’ll have a stroke if he doesn’t stop with this bed. And he doesn’t know where the place on Birch is. You do,” she explained, giving him a peck on the cheek before going to try her hand at the bed.

Shoulders sagging with fatigue, Jess gave a begrudging nod, then glanced back over his shoulder. “Fine. Hopefully he’ll be less Vesuvius and more Mauna Loa by the time we get back.”

“Not everyday you hear a good volcano metaphor,” she quipped, assessing the middle section of the bedframe and deciding to take it apart altogether.

“I know. Imagine how dull your life would be without me,” Jess shot back, a small smirk tugging at his lips despite his frazzled state. “Turkey?”

She nodded. “You know me too well, James Dean.”

“Agreed,” he said with a teasing laugh.

“Fuck off,” she replied through a chuckle.

Jess’s smirk grew as he turned on his heel to leave. “Love you back, Stevens.”

.   .   .

The windshield wipers of Jess’s rust bucket screeched against the glass as he rolled down Birch Street, away from the sandwich shop. A white paper bag full of subs sat in the passenger seat atop Luke’s lap. In one hand, Luke held a bouquet of deep red tulips. Jess hadn’t remembered the florist shop where Ella had worked the previous summer was right down the road from the sandwich place. He’d stopped in for the bunch of blooms as they waited for their order to be filled. The plastic wrapper around the bouquet crinkled in Luke’s fist as he braced himself, Jess rounding a damp corner.

“I told you we should’ve taken my truck,” Luke grumbled.

Sighing, Jess fought to keep his jaw untensed. “My car’s fine. It’s driven us across the country more than once.”

“Before or after it broke down on the highway and Coop had to have it towed back to Stars Hollow?” Luke asked, his voice tired and strained.

“Not sure. I know for a fact it was after you stole my car, though,” Jess retorted, eyes on the slick roads. He wished the radio was on, but the memories of Luke whining about his album choices were still too recent in his mind.

Heaving a large sigh, Luke gave a shake of his head. “Fine. I give up.”

“Thank you,” Jess muttered.

“You’re welcome,” Luke shot back irritably.

But then he looked over at Jess. His hair was no longer greased, his clothes fit better, his eyes were clearer. Most of the time, his brow was no longer drawn in anger or his face a scowl. Even his posture was different; straighter, brighter, more self-assured. And then he thought of Ella. She looked much the same as she had during her last few weeks at work, with her wide smile and loud laugh. The smiles were more frequent, though, and she seemed so relaxed around her friends. Even around Rory she had sometimes seemed a bit nervous to Luke, as though she were worried over a misstep.

Luke couldn’t contain the small grin on his grizzled face. “I’m really proud of you, Jess.”

Snorting a laugh, Jess spared Luke a quick glance before turning back to the road. They were only a few minutes away from the new home, but Philly traffic was never reliable, even on a Saturday. “Let’s put away the pom-poms for now.”

“I’m just sayin,’” Luke began with a shrug, “got your own company, your own apartment with Ella. You really seem to be doin’ great.”

Jess gave a short, humble nod, but took a long pause before he spoke another word. “Lorelai proposed to you, right?”

Luke’s brow crinkled. “Yeah?”

“But you proposed to Nicole?”

“Yeah.”

Humming under his breath, Jess gave another nod. Red brake lights glowed in the rainy evening darkness. “When did you know...how you wanted to propose?”

“Jess, are you gonna propose to Ella?” Luke asked, eyes going wide and smile growing.

“Never said that,” Jess answered nonchalantly, shaking his head. “Just never really delved into that part of your personal history. Figured I’d ask. Maybe I wanna get to know you better, uncle dearest.”

Rolling his eyes at Jess’s old patterns of behavior, Luke didn’t let his smile waver. He looked down at the bouquet in his hand. “Well, considering it was an impulse cruise ship marriage, not a lot of thought went into it. It just sort of happened. If you’re asking me how to propose to Ella-”

“Which I’m not.”

“-then I’d say she loves you and she’ll say ‘yes’ no matter what. And I’d say that you know her better than anyone in the world, and you shouldn’t...second-guess yourself. Do what feels right.”

“And did an Elvis impersonator marry you two on that cruise?” Jess continued.

Luke bit back another sigh. “No, wiseass. It was a regular minister.”

“Huh,” Jess chirped wryly. “You learn something new everyday.”

.   .   .

Patti Smith spun on the record player as the rain grew stronger outside. Though it was a pain in the ass to unpack the record player, Ella decided it just wouldn’t truly be home without the grace of music on the first night. Luke had left about an hour earlier, though they insisted he could stay over. He said he was nervous enough leaving Lane and Caesar in charge of the diner for one day, and he didn’t want to be late for the morning shift the next day. It made Ella roll her eyes, but eventually she gave up trying to convince him. It wasn’t as though she expected Luke to change his ways. The tulips sat in a mug of water on the kitchen counter, to be placed in something fancier and on something fancier once they actually had a makeshift dining area. For the moment, only the big pieces from the old place and the bed were filling up the small apartment. Ella had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Luke’s face when he saw she had put the bed together all by herself, finished before they got back with the sandwiches. An expression of extreme frustration had slowly melted into pride. Both were memorable.

Between Jess and Ella, who sat cross-legged on the floor on either side of the coffee table in the living room, was a half-eaten pie. One of the few leftovers from Truncheon they had lugged over to put in the fridge before an actual grocery run. The apple crust was a bit soggy, but the filling was surprisingly good cold. She found herself so wholly content as they sat together: eating pie, listening to records, in the dim lamplight of the first place which was solely theirs. It all struck her with a force she wasn’t expecting. She chuckled to herself as she grabbed another forkful, eating away at the half they had not even bothered to cut but just dug into instead.

“What?” Jess asked through a sweet mouthful, furrowing his brows at her.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Doesn’t this all seem a little...surreal to you?”

“Does what seem surreal?”

“Just...we have an apartment together. And you own a business. And I only have a year left of grad school. I just...sometimes I can’t believe it’s happening. I can’t believe it turned out the way it did. You don’t feel that?” she asked, lowering her eyes sheepishly.

He cracked a small, crooked smirk. “I don’t know. I always just sort of thought I’d end up where I’d end up. And here I am. With you. Not a bad place to be.”

She rolled her eyes, a blush coloring her cheeks. “I know about your Kerouac philosophy. But just...when you first met me, did you ever think in a million years this is where we’d be now?”

“I didn’t know exactly where we’d be. But, I knew I’d land somewhere. I didn’t know if I’d land with you, but I wanted to. Maybe it’s a little surreal, but it doesn’t surprise me,” he explained, leaning his elbows onto the scratched wooden surface of the table with arms crossed.

Snorting a laugh at his insouciance, Ella finally locked eyes with him again. “It just feels a little too good to be true, I guess. I mean, you go to school your whole life, you work towards something your whole life. Once it happens, once you’re near the end...I just never thought it would actually happen. I don’t know what’s next.”

She tugged at her earring with her right hand. Jess noticed the chipped blue polish on her nails, though they weren’t bitten down. He couldn’t quite decipher her mood. Not that she seemed sad or distant, but he could tell she was having a hard time articulating herself. And he could tell she was letting an old worry creep up on her; she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He allowed his smirk to grow into a full smile and dropped his fork into the pie tin. “C’mon, you’re gonna figure it out. You know you are. I’m the directionless one. You’ve always been able to do anything. You’re plan girl.”

Ella gave a mirthful scoff. “You’re not directionless, Jess. And I’m not plan girl. Rory was always plan girl. I was try-to-make-it-to-the-finish-line-without-tripping girl.”

Jess hummed thoughtfully, about to reply. But she spoke again before he had a chance to.

“I thought you had a thing for her, y’know,” she said, taking another bite of pie.

“Who?”

“Rory.”

“Really?” Jess asked, and he couldn’t hide the bewildered amusement in his tone. “When was this?”

She shrugged and narrowed her eyes for a moment in memory. “Just when you first got to Stars Hollow. I mean, you hated Dean, and you like a lot of the same things, and you seemed to get along with her.”

“No. It was pretty much always just you,” Jess said, shaking his head slightly. “Maybe we liked a lot of the same stuff, but...I didn’t ever feel like she...got me like you do.”

“Oh, she didn’t, Kurt Cobain?” she teased, raising her eyebrows. She put her fork down in the tin next to his, her stomach full. Her eyes were beginning to get tired, her body starting to ache from the day of moving. She was glad the bed was put together.

He raised his hands in joking defense. “Hey, I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Remember that night she was tutoring me?”

“The night you crashed her car? Yeah, it rings a bell,” she replied.

“Yes, that one,” Jess continued, smiling sardonically at her. “We were talking about the future. And she kept getting on me about how I had to do better and I had to go to college, just like she did, or else I would have no life.”

The smile which tugged at Ella’s lips was slightly bitter but mostly fond. “Sounds like Rory.”

“Everyone in Stars Hollow thought I was the antichrist. Maybe Rory didn’t, and maybe we were friends, but she definitely wasn’t okay with who I was then. Maybe she thought, with enough Schoolhouse Rock videos, she could get me to shape up,” Jess continued, taking small glances out the sliding glass door as he spoke. He could see a sliver of the city lights past another building on the right side. It was better than the bland brick wall and the dumpster which served as his view from the room in Truncheon.

“Hey, she is an amazing tutor. If there was anyone who could’ve converted you to the Ivy League conveyor belt, it was her,” Ella said.

“Yeah, but you and I both know school was never the way I was supposed to go. It was the way you were supposed to go, but you didn’t try to get me to be anything other than what I was,” he told her, voice light but eyes sincere.

Ella felt her heart skip a beat, but shrugged again. “I don’t know. I definitely tried to get you to ditch those CDs.”

“The exception that proves the rule,” he replied.

“Speaking of, I figured out how I’m gonna organize the books,” she said, tossing a look past his shoulder at the empty shelves.

“How is that a ‘speaking of’?” he asked, a confused smirk coming over his face.

“I’m doing genre, then alphabetical order by author. The way you used to do your CDs when we were in high school,” she explained.

“Oh.” Jess had his eyes trained on her, watching as she undid her bandana and ran her fingers through her mess of blonde hair. He chewed on his bottom lip. Then, after a pause filled only with Patti Smith’s poetry, he blurted out: “Y’know, you were the first person I ever said ‘I love you’ to. The only person.”

Her gaze softened and she nodded. “Me too.”

“No, Stevens, I mean anyone. Not just Nora Ephron kind of love. Not family either,” he said, most insistent, though he did his best to keep his tone nonchalant. As though it were just a run-of-the-mill fact about his past.

She stopped for a moment, brow crinkling. “Your mom never said it to you? Not even hippie dippie Liz?”

“No. We weren’t that kind of family. She wasn’t that kind of mom.”

A crease of concern deepened between her brows. Every time it had come up before, she assumed both of them meant romantic love. Familial was a different beast. But she had to remind herself never to assume with Liz, no matter how she seemed. Jess had arrived when Liz was a binge-drinking nineteen-year-old.

Before her brief interlude in the ‘love doesn’t exist’ frame of mind, before her mother’s death, Ella’s world had been filled with ‘I love you’s. Mostly from her mother, in her soft voice, with her delicate perfume. Some from her grandmother, and even from her father. And after, Lorelai had sometimes said them in passing. Rory, too. The three words, no matter how commonplace they could sound, were important, she knew. Especially when they weren’t uttered, or stopped being uttered.

She opened her mouth to say something, then bit the inside of her cheek and hesitated. Rising from her place, she rounded the corner of the coffee table and went over to him. Jess tilted his head at her in askance, but she only answered him by sitting down in his lap, straddling him as their noses drew only inches apart. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and simply hugged him. For a moment, he sat motionless, his muscles tense. It wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting, if he’d been expecting one at all. But then, he circled his own arms around her waist. They sat there, breathing slow and clinging to each other, for a long time. Patti Smith droned on around them, enveloping them.

Eventually, she pulled away and ran her fingers affectionately through his hair. He looked up at her, unsure of what to say. Fortunately, she took the lead, gaze unwavering as she spoke in her quiet, husky voice.

“Jess, you’re the fucking best. You’re my favorite person. And you’re gonna be hearing ‘I love you’ every day for the rest of our life,” she assured him, matter-of-fact. “So, I suggest you get used to it.”

“Right back at ya,” he replied after an awestruck pause, just before their lips met.

In spite of the fuss over the bed frame, Jess and Ella ended up spending the night on the worn rug in the living room, nearly naked underneath the first throw blanket they could find in the boxes around them.

[pendragyn]

First Line Tag

I was tagged by @gaslightgallows​

Rules: Post the first lines of your last ten fics read or written and then tag others to do the same.

Tagging: @raevenlywrites​ @froglesbianwriting​ @mperialscribe​ @teaflint​ @writingamongthecoloredroses​ @moniquill @napoleonscat and I know I am forgetting people, please join in on the fun and tag me if you do!

So.. Er, haven’t read much of anything but my own stuff on AO3, trying to get back into writing because everything sucks rn.  It’s Good Omens with a dash of Discworld all the way down, below the cut.

In The Garden; pre-fall, pre-canon fic of them in the Garden of Eden.

BEFORE THE BEGINNING...

…Was darkness. That’s what happens when the sun isn’t up, and as it was almost the middle of the night —the first night, leading into the first day in the Garden of Eden— darkness was only to be expected.

The Great Plan was being set in motion. The countdown to start the countdown to the end of the world had begun. Things were getting down to the wire and the Heavens were in a tizzy to make sure everything went off without a hitch during the official launch.

Down in the Garden of Eden, all was peaceful. This was also to be expected. The only living beings in the entire Garden were two corporeal but unconscious angels reposing among the roots of the Tree. They’d been held in stasis since their incorporation a number of days earlier and weren’t due to wake until things were officially under way. Ostensibly this was to allow them to acclimate to corporeality, but in reality it was to keep them out of everyone’s metaphorical hair.

Of course, even the best laid plans never do go quite as planned, do they?

There was no Heavenly fanfare heralding the occasion, no Celestial sign except the eternal march of the stars across the sky, nothing at all to indicate that something was being set into motion as midnight of the day in question rolled around.

But down in their resting spots, the angels awoke.

Serpents And Ladders; what happens after the end of In The Garden.

After the fall of the Garden, for the first time that any could remember, change came rapidly to Heaven in the form of the instant adoption of corporeal forms amongst most of the archangels, much to the bafflement of some of the oldest Celestials who were gently prodded to a quiet retirement out among the stars. Heaven itself shifted to accommodate their altered forms, which forced the rest of the Celestials and the Elementals who did most of the day to day operations to adopt similar seemings.

Of course, Aziraphale and Crawly knew why it caught on, not that anyone ever thought to ask them. The reasoning was simple enough, if multi-faceted. Firstly, corporeality is a surprisingly potent antidote to knurd[1], with built in buffers against the harshness of reality. Really no surprise that it was popular.

Secondly, Celestial beings come in a great many shapes and sizes and types and having them all conform to one generally accepted shape was much more convenient, especially when it came to paperwork. (No one knew where paperwork had come from, since paper was technically not a thing yet, but there you go. It’s ineffable.)

Thirdly, with the increasing tensions between certain factions within the Host, having your firmament safely ensconced inside of flesh and bone made it that much harder to be spied on, making secrets that much easier to keep, especially once they discovered how to hide their wings.

And last but not least, though it took Aziraphale and Crawly a long while to fully comprehend the ramifications of it, it was because the humans began to believe, in great enough numbers, that that was how Heaven and the Host looked.

1. Being knurd is to be unintoxicated to such an extent that all comfort stories are stripped away from the mind. This makes you see the world in a way 'nobody ever should', in all its harsh reality.

Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls (It Tolls For They); the church in ‘41 and what happens, and doesn’t happen, after. (total tearjerker)

Crowley ran, ran and ran, heart pounding, almost blind with panic, hissing with pain as their foot hit the edge of consecrated ground, but it didn’t matter, because they were in time and like a snake shedding their skin the panic slipped away as they yanked open the door and hot-footed their way into the church under the confused eyes of a trio of nazis and an angel moments away from a fate worse than death.

A church, for fuck’s sake? Can’t the angel see it’s a setup? A trap? Dealing with nazis on holy ground, giving them holy books, even if it’s supposed to be a double-cross, a double double-cross. “Sorry, consecrated ground. Ugh, like being on the beach in bare feet.” Crowley fervently kept that thought in mind, because in reality, it was far far worse than that. Crowley was very good at imagining not being on fire, and that belief was all that was keeping them from falling to ash inside that church.

Aziraphale continued to stare at Crowley in shock, for a moment wondering if they were actually hallucinating the way humans could during moments of high stress. Because consecrated ground discorporates demons, and yet. And yet, Crowley was somehow really here. Why the he heaven is Crowley here? “What are you doing here?” Aziraphale hissed, the nazis and the gun momentarily forgotten.

“Stopping you from getting in trouble,” Crowley hissed back, dancing from foot to foot just an arm’s length away from Aziraphale. Play it cool, play it cool, play it cool, if you panic you’re both done for.

Stacking The Deck;

Harriet wanted to be asleep. She’d just had a baby a few hours earlier, and all she really wanted was sleep. They had given her something for the pain, but it didn’t stop her having to use the restroom, which was NOT FUN right now, and it took a while for things to settle back down and she just. wanted. sleep.

What she got, was voices.

A few she recognized, distant and muzzy, as the nuns who’d helped deliver the baby. There was also the one not-nun who’d shuffled in during the chaos, wrinkly as an old apple with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, who had actually delivered the baby before quickly shuffling back out again. The nuns had treated her with deep respect, whispering to each other about ‘a touch of the Old Adam’ she carried about her.

There was now a lot more raucous laughter coming from down the hallway, and some singing of what were definitely not religious hymns. Mingled in were the voices of men, which some deep part of her brain realized were from her supposed security detail, who’d abandoned her the minute the live feed with her husband had ended.

But under those voices was another voice, one that she’d learned to listen to when it whispered a little too loudly to ignore. And it was telling her to check on the baby, to check on Warlock. Right Now.

With a muffled groan Harriet slid her legs over the side of the bed and eased herself to her feet. With the dimmed lights and muddled by whatever they had given her, it took her a moment to realize that the bassinet wasn’t there. No Warlock. And no guards. And no nuns.

The coolness of the linoleum felt good against the bottoms of her feet and she shuffled dreamily out of the room into the empty hallway, too well medicated to feel panic, but the little voice was getting louder. And it was talking with an odd accent, which was weird. And it was calling her by her full name now, which was even more unusual. Find your baby, Harriet Sibyl Dowling. Find him now or lose him forever.

Nature vs Nurture; raising the antichrist

After the handshake, Crowley left in a hurry to set some of their plans into motion, with promises of talking soon and a casual ciao tossed over their shoulder before slipping out of the shop and roaring off down the road. What Aziraphale didn’t see was the demon pulled over a few blocks later, pressing their forehead against the steering wheel of the Bentley and letting out a shuddering sigh of relief that the angel had finally, finally, agreed to help them save the world. And wondered, briefly, if God hadn’t been right to kick Crowley out, because how much of a right proper bastard did you have to be to knowingly ask your best friend to do the most dangerous thing they could ever possibly do?

Aziraphale’s first course of action was to make sure the shop door was locked before retreating into the back room to think, away from the demon’s so very temping influence. It didn’t take the angel long to convince themself that it had to be the right thing to do, because otherwise it wouldn’t be hell starting the war, but heaven, and surely heaven didn’t want a war. Once that was settled, Aziraphale began to really set their mind to finding the solutions to the multitude of problems their scheme would surely entail. The second course of action was to retrieve the ancient tome of magic they kept safely secured in a secret room on the second floor of the shop and settling it reverently on to the desk to start their research.

Setting Things To Rights; Adam Young gets a visit from Agnes Nutter after the world doesn’t end.

“Come back. Please.”

Adam stared down at his best friends in the whole universe, sure his heart was breaking as they turned and ran away. He knew then he’d messed up bad, maybe beyond fixing. He tried to call them back, to beg even, but no sound would come and he closed his eyes against the sting of tears. Come back! Please! he wanted to say, pressing his hands to his tear-dampened face. I’m sorry!

  You don’t need them. You can have new friends. Better friends. All you have to do is show us the way.

A low growl and a familiar waft of doggy breath as a wet tongue lapped at his cheek had Adam opening his eyes, and he hugged Dog tightly in relief. “Oh Dog! I’m so glad you’re here,” he whispered hoarsely, smiling when Dog licked him again. “I am sorry, you know that, don’t you?”

Dog whined and licked him again in answer.

“Thanks boy.” Adam let out a much heavier sigh and rubbed at his eyes when tears threatened again. The dream had been so real, too real, more memory than dream, and frightening in ways he didn’t want to think about. It hurt, knowing he’d hurt his friends so bad they’d stopped being his friends. And even though they’d forgiven him in the end, would they ever really trust him again? Especially when he could still do what he’d done? Would he trust someone who had done that to him?

In the silence there were two faint but distinct knocks that Adam heard clear as a bell. Dog’s ears perked up and Adam blinked and they both looked around the room for a source of the noise. There wasn’t much light but it was more than enough to show that nothing was out of place.

Still, Adam found himself saying, “Who’s there?”

A faint glimmering form stepped through the door. It was an old woman, dressed in really old clothes. “I have waited a long while for this meeting, Adam Young.” She bowed at him, a faint smile on her lips. “I be Agnes Nutter, witch. And ghost.”

Ineffable Bastards; the one I’m stuck on. :/

Groaning brakes pulled Crowley from their thoughts and they led Aziraphale off the bus, waiting until it had pulled away to turn towards their building. There was a sharp twinge in their stomach when they looked to the empty spot where the Bentley was usually parked. They felt another twinge when they looked at Aziraphale, who was staring up at the building with a distant blankness of expression that Crowley understood all too well. “C’mon, angel, I think we could both use a drink.”

No sound came at first, but Aziraphale managed to croak out, “Yes,” after a moment. They felt strangely distant from their feelings in the odd silence and they trailed behind the demon into the flat, which was both nothing like and exactly like what Aziraphale would expect from Crowley. The art got a few blinks but there was no energy to consider what they might mean after the day week decade they’d had.

Unlike the bare concrete walls in the other rooms, the kitchen was slick with creamy white marble and terrazzo tiles, ebony cabinets that gleamed and stainless steel appliances that had never been used or even plugged in, though they were well stocked with food and drink. Crowley grabbed a bottle at random and a couple of glasses, bringing them over to the chrome and glass table with a small collection of colorful orchids in the center. “Salute.”

The angel lifted their glass to toast before downing the drink and holding it out for a refill. Crowley obliged and they sat in silence for a while before Aziraphale asked, “Now what?”

“Eh, now I fall down and sleep for a while and you…” Crowley pulled off their glasses and gave the angel a long look. “You don’t really sleep do you? You should try it, great for getting away from your thoughts.”

“Rarely. Doesn’t seem to work that way for me, I’m afraid.” Aziraphale sighed and shook their head. “I just keep thinking about Agnes’ prophecy. Face the fire.” They shuddered a little. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

Rubbing at their tired eyes, and the sting of unsheddable tears, Crowley nodded. “You’re in big trouble, angel.”

“You know full well we’re both, as they say, in for it,” Aziraphale corrected, smiling a little when Crowley gave them a look. “I’ve toed the line for a long time, but you, my dear, have danced around it to the point that I’m not sure they even know where they drew the line to begin with. If Heaven is going to ‘fire’ me, what’s Hell going to do to you?” Saying it aloud had tears burning in their eyes and they wiped at them hastily.

Wilde Card; my take on why Aziraphale had a set of Oscar Wilde’s works.

“Aziraphale?”

“Hmm?”

Crowley tried to find a subtle way to ask, but curiosity had been eating at them to the point of distraction since the former angel had let slip that humans could have preternatural ancestry. “When you said, you’d never… with a human.”

Aziraphale gave them a confused look that melted into amused understanding when they realized Crowley was blushing. “My dear, are you asking me about my experiences?”

“Uh… Just, I seem to recall you mentioning a lot of gentleman’s clubs...” Crowley let their head drop back against the couch and covered their face when Aziraphale chuckled. “Ugh, angel!”

“I won’t judge you, you know,” Aziraphale murmured, smiling tenderly when Crowley looked at them. “If you, uh, found human companionship-”

“No! Ugh, no, it’d be like… no, I can’t help but think of them as children,” Crowley admitted. “Even Nanny Ogg, which tells you something about me I suppose,” they said, making Aziraphale laugh.

“I am in complete agreement with that sentiment,” said Aziraphale. “And it wasn’t just gentleman's clubs I frequented, there were quite a few for women if you knew where to look and who to talk to. You do know a lot more went on in the clubs than just sexual intercourse, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah, I should’ve known better, just, uh...” Crowley reached over and took Aziraphale’s hand. “There must have been quite a few poor smitten fools vying for your attention.”

Apple Of My Eye; complete fluff I wrote because of a pic I saw on tumblr

Crowley looked up from their mobile, barely able to contain their grin. “Hey, angel-”

“No.” Aziraphale didn’t even have to look up from the book they were reading to know the former demon was up to no good.

“I haven’t even said anything yet!” Crowley protested, still grinning at seeing the amusement crinkling around the reformed angel's eyes.

Aziraphale looked over at them with a feigned put-upon sigh. One look at Crowley’s grin had them asking, “Oh somebody, do I even want to know?”

If anything, that only made Crowley’s grin grow. “So I’m thinking maybe it’s time I branch out, try some different styles of shades. Whaddya think?”

Aziraphale spluttered into startled laughter when Crowley turned the mobile around, revealing a pair of spectacles where the rose tinted lenses had been shaped into breasts. “Why in the world-”

“Ain’t humans grand?” Crowley said, grinning down at the picture before sliding a sly look at Aziraphale and raising a hand, fingers poised to snap. “I could just…”

“You would too, wouldn’t you,” Aziraphale said with a shake of their head, pretending to go back to reading but watching Crowley sidelong. “Well I would rather you didn’t but I can’t stop you from going around looking, looking like a right proper tit if you want to,” they said with feigned primness, barely hiding their smile when Crowley laughed. “I wouldn’t want you to make a spectacle of yourself.”

“Alright angel, alright, you’ve convinced me. Wouldn’t want to put you off being seen with me.” It was a joke, mostly, and Crowley was still grinning as they said it, but inwardly that age old doubt still lingered.

Aziraphale knew it was there of course, having many of the same insidious worries about their new togetherness, and gave them a fond smile. “I assure you my dear, that having adored you in spite of that dreadful hairstyle you had in Paris, I would barely blink to see you in a pair of breastacles.”

Crowley blushed at the mention of adoration, sneered at mention of the hair and burst into raucous laughter at the name. “Only you’d think up a proper sounding name for it. Breastacles. Brilliant.” They darted in and grinningly kissed them. “And here I thought you’d appreciate me seeing the world through rose-titted glasses. But, as you wish.”

Aziraphale laughed and beamed at the phrase, taking their hand and lacing their fingers together. “Thank you, dearest. For everything. And especially for sparing everyone that.”

[godlymvmi]

rate each chelsea players seasons so far?

oh dear lord okay

- werner: 7.5/10. werner gets so much shit for no reason, he’s actually not had as bad of a start as rival fans love to preach on twitter/on here. even when he’s not scoring, 9 times out of 10 he’s THERE, he’s trying, hes pressing, he’s passing, he’s active. he’s so fucking fit as well, played the second most minutes for us so far and he’s bossing it. and i fully rate that, love him, we’re gonna see great things from him.

- havertz: 8/8.5/10. i cant give him a nine just yet i reckon. but bloody hell, he’s been so good. even when he makes errors, he’s tracking back to fix them, he’s intercepting, his fluidity on the ball is incredible to watch. at the same time, thats also the biggest probkem so far, he’s almost too graceful with it sometimes and he’s not the most bulky lad so he sometimes does struggle with the physical side of the prem, but that’ll come

- abraham: 8/10. he’s solidly impressed me. he’s come off the bench, now he’s starting, he’s seen his chance to show what he’s worth and he’s done it for me, he’s improved in every aspect we wanted him to. he looks so much more confident, hes still a bit clumsy with it sometimes but my god, he’s playing deeper, getting assists and goals, chefs kiss from me.

- ziyech: 9/10. and i refuse to say i’m jumping the gun. the mans passing is orgasmic to watch, his left foot makes me horny, like the man is such a fucking baller, i fully can’t believe we’ve bagged him. his corners as well, i could cry. the willian upgrade we needed, nothing more to be said, hes here and he’s perfect

- pulisic: 7/10. this is purely cos he’s now on injury again and he didn’t exactly hit the ground running right after he came back (which is to be expected) but he’s so so good. truly such a danger on that left side, i canr way for him to be back

- hudson odoi: 6.5/10. this is purely cos he’s barely played, but when he has he’s been a solid 7, he’s improved so much, he looks far more confident. he’s not perfect, he’s got a good way to go but he deserves so much better than to constantly be benched, he really should get more minutes for us and i hope it happens soon.

- giroud: 6/10. again, he’s barely played. i love him mate, i have so much love for oli and i think it’s unfair he’s being benched and coming on for a measly 10 minutes cos it’s not fair on him, whack him on with 30- 20 minutes to go. eden hazard said he’s the best target man in the world, he was one of the only reasons we made it to top four last season. deserves more

- kante: 6.5-7/10. irs hard to say, he’s not lived up to what we know he can do, he’s not been amazing and he’s had some matches where i’ve been begging for him to be subbed off, but lately it seems like we’ve found a way to go, i thought he looked so much better yesterday alongside kovacic, it’s too early to say but i don’t think he’s dusted just yet. i love him

- mount: 7.5/10. it’s hard with mason cos he’s had some absolute fucking nightmares but that’s down to poor management, no rest and being played on the wing. but look how much better he looks as a number 8, he’s a different player. i only want to see him as a number 8, i love to see it.

- jorginho: 6.5/10. i love jojo but he’s so wishy washy at times, but i truly love what he brings to the team. playing wise, sometimes i wonder what he’s thinking but generally i love him, every day i think about his “chin up” gesture to the younger lads and want to cry, he brings so much in so many ways. teaching silva english he needs to use on the pitch, telling lampard “i just want to win” when he was told werner was going to be out penalty taker. i could cry.

- barkely/rlc: didn’t play enough to rate but i hope rlc thrives on loan this season and i hope we recall barkely in january.

- chilwell: 9/10. insane. looks like he’s played for us for years mate, he doesn’t look like a signing we made this summer. absolutely insane. i hope he never leaves, he already seems to love this club and team so much, truly hope he’s our next ashley cole without rhe arsehole stuff <3

- james: 9/10. again, our fullbacks mate. reece has had at least one game i can think of where he wasn’t amazing but generally this man is everywhere, he’s attacking, he’s defending, he’s intercepting, he’s a stunner mate. his linkup with ziyech mate OOF. right back sorted forever

- silva: 9/10 and no i don’t care about that one mistake in his forst match, i don’t care. mans has changed our entire defensive look on the pitch. he’s made zouma a better player, he’s shouting directions at everyone, he’s just scored a goal for us, he already seems to love this club dearly. mate i hope he gets a contract extension, i fucjing love the man. so calm in the ball, for once i’m not pissing myself every time someone attacks. love him. love him.

- zouma: 8/10. underrated. but this man fucking works for us, every match. yeah, he’s had some nightmares and sometimes he very clearly panics whike in the ball, but he’s getting better every match imo and he’s learning from the best rught next to him. i love him, he’s always so happy as well, makes me smile. hope him and silva keep up this partnership

- christensen: 4/10 he’s just not good enough. i will die on the hill that there’s a good player inside of him, that there’s truly a good player there and sometimes we see it. but he’s not for the prem, watch him go somewhere else in europe and he’ll thrive. however, he’s my fourth choice cb, i trust him over rudiger any day.

- azpilicueta. 8/10 and ni i don’t care about your opinion. i miss him on the pitch, i cant even lie. i absolutely adore azpi. i truly love him so much and the work he does for this club, the heart and dedication he has for us. time and time again he’s saved us, i nearly sobbed at his celebration against ajax before they disallowed his goal. he’s so gracious and humble, made way for reece, and the man is still a good player. hope he stays forever and retires with us. and yes. he is a club legend.

- alonso: 3/10. man is abysmal. man is terrible. get him out of my club now. his attitude is horrid, he can’t do anything on the ball that chilwell can’t do better and truthfully, his time has come to leave. feel so uncertain anytime he plays, thank god he hasn’t in bare time

- tomori. 100/10. shut up. i love fikayo man. turning down a loan to west ham last minute to fight for his place, head down and attitude right. even now, franks said he’s part of the plans and i hope so cos i see a fucking class cb in him as long as he gets time, minutes and good coaching. i really see him as our third choice centre back, when we rest silva fikayo should be on the pitch. we’ve seen him and zouma link up before, we can see him again.

- emerson: 5/10. i don’t hate emerson, he’s just eh. he doesn’t do much for me, he doesn’t really stick out, he kind of blends in and is almost a bit invisible during most matches he’s played. he’s just eh. i don’t hate him but i certainly don’t want him starting every match ever and wouldn’t mind a new backup lb.

- rudiger: 3/10. i can respect this mans agent work to get havertz and werner to us but now it’s time to go rudi pal. i just don’t trust him on the ball ever, man terrifies me every time. he’s so shaky. i’m so glad we’ve not seen him pkay much recently, cos it baffles me that he’s being subbed on in the first place.

- kepa: 1/10. no. there’s nothing to say

- caba: 5/10. does the job, he’s not great and he’s deffo not my first choice but if mendy can’t start, he’s mt third choice.

- cech. pls play him frank. 1000000/10 <3

- mendy: 9/10. dont care about last night, he’s amazing. i wasn’t expecting him to come and perform the way he has but he’s been so so good. cant remember what it feels like to trust a goalie i just love himmmmmmm. such a good attitude and work rate as well

[preppymayhem]

1 + 66 + 74 (any ship/series you want)

Historical AU + It’s Not You, It’s My Enemies + Huddling for Warmth

Gundam Wing, 1xR (Vaguely set in 16th century reminiscent Europe, but honestly the historical accuracy is that of CW’s Reign so that’s that on that)

I dont know how much I captured the second two tropes but I think I got the spirit. This will never be a fully realized fic so I went overboard because  this is all that I can manage

Relena bent over the desk and quickly scribbled hurried words across the page, only fainting hearing the howls of the blizzard outside.. This was not official correspondence, it wasn’t even personal correspondence. No, she was writing a letter that no one would ever read. Once it was complete she would cast it into the fire burning brightly in her rooms as she had done so many times before.

She’d written hundreds and hundreds of letters over the course of the last five years and she had burned every single one of them in a futile effort to exorcise feelings that she by virtue of her position and her birth could not afford to feel. But unlike the fires and piles of ash, she was finding her emotions and longings were not so easily put out.

Relena thought of the preceding months and her conversation with Quatre earlier. He had the audacity to question her motives.

“I can understand,” Quatre said, “Your position.”

“Hardly,” she replied, “I am a woman and a Queen. You are merely the only of son of a highly successful merchant. We are quite different.”

She doesn’t think she hurt him by that remark, surely he must understand what was at stake for everyone.

“Is that why you have not yet made a match?” he asked.

She stared out at the setting sun over the hills, if this was Sanq, she would watch the sun disappear over the ocean. Relena wished she was there now.

“I have not made a match because as a woman and a queen my only power and indeed my only leverage is my ability to refuse,” she said, “I cannot act rashly and just marry for the sake of producing an heir. I must be sure that my marriage will secure the sovereignty of my nation and….”

She sucked in a breath.

“And to insure that I will still have the control I seek, because regardless of who I marry, I am still the sovereign Queen of Sanq.”

“Is that the only reason?” Quatre asked, “because I am not sure that is quite right.”

She turned to him and almost put a hand to her cheek as if he had slapped her.

“What do you mean?”

He looked at her gravely.

“I meant what I said earlier,” he said, “because I too am not free to act on my desires. To…choose the person I would give my heart too…”

Relena was pulled from her thoughts when the papers on the desk began to shuffle. She scrambled to catch them before they scatted and only managed to knock the inkwell over the unfinished letter in front of her. Oh well, spilt ink was probably just as effective as the fire for obliterating unwanted feelings.

She turned to see where the gusts were coming from when the fire in the hearth flittered for a moment. There was an open window at the corner of the bedchamber. She lept from her seat and rushed over and shut the window, and tightened the bolt. She inspected the latch because she could have sworn that Hilde had secured the room before retiring for the night. Nothing was amiss, maybe Hilde had not tightened the bold enough thought that seemed very unlike her handmaiden.

She went back to her desk and surveyed the mess of ink and paper and sighed. She began gathering the papers in order toss the whole lot  in the fire when she heard a grunt come from behind her.

“Are you really going to discard all that?”

Relena didn’t turn at the voice as she didn’t need to. She should’ve known, she’d been waiting all night for him to give her some sign he was coming.

“Is that you Heero?” she asked, still not turning around while making sure that everything was in order, though she stopped when something occurred to her. She turned instinctively.

“Did you come through my window? You scaled the walls during that blizzard outside?”

Heero had come into the light from the dark corner by the heavy wooden wardrobe  towards the front of the room.  He looked cold as he only wore what seemed to be a light coat over his shirt sleeves. She quickly guided him to a seat by the fire.

“You better have some vitally important information for me, otherwise I will be most displeased,” she said, “that climb in this weather would have killed most any other man.”

“I am sorry for your displeasure than,” his voice is so soft and slightly chattering, “but there is nothing I can disclose at the moment for fear of compromising you.”

She wants to chide him for his discretion, but she knew it was necessary. As the Queen of Sanq it was of the utmost importance of that she be seen as above reproach and free of any sinister entanglements. Still, he shouldn’t have risked it, he was too important. She told him that in no uncertain terms.

He shivered, and she grabbed the loose blanket hanging on the footboard and wrapped it around him, trying to not linger too much. They were alone, no fear of being discovered, but still it was best to maintain the appropriate boundaries.

Those boundaries hadn’t always been in place. There had been a time when it had been as if they were almost equals. But that was an illusion, there were few people who were equal or even her superior. She could still see him kneeling at her feet, swearing his fealty. He was her right hand, her sword, her shield and her tool.

And she had accepted it because the alternative was that she would have had to let him go entirely. It was shameful.  She pushed those thoughts aside, he’d chosen his course freely it had not been her doing. 

“Well you will spend the night, I can’t let you out in that blizzard.”

“I can’t—“

She held a hand up to quiet his protest.

“We blocked off the passage due to the assassination attempt,” she said quieting what he had been about to say, “Noin insisted on it. And there are plenty of hiding places if we are to be disturbed but I’ll dare say the storm should let up before there is any worry of that.”

He nodded.

“I’d call for a hot bath but I am afraid I already bathed today and I insisted that Hilde retire. I’ve really asked too much of her.”

“You’re fond of her,” his voice is still hoarse but some of the color was returning to his skin so she felt better that he hadn’t suffered any lasting effects from the exposure. She both did and didn’t want to look at his hands though.

“I guess I am,” she said, “she is one of the few people here who I can trust. Not completely of course but…Have you discovered anything more? About the murder of Lord Septum, I mean.”

“Not really,” Heero said, “the rumors among the staff and the lower rungs is that it was either myself—“

“Was it you?” she didn’t really think it was, but she had been meaning to ask. She had not forbidden him from taking any action that might be in her or her country’s favor and that could possibly include murder, “and if it was, I would think you would hide your tracks better than that.”

“They don’t know it’s me exactly,” he said, “I am the shadow here, but no, I didn’t murder the man as godawful as he was. I wanted to after—“

She stopped him again, this time she shuddered. That was a memory she did not want to forget.

“They also think it’s Treize’s dog,” he said, Heero never used titles in private company save for hers, another signal of the divide that laid between them.

“His dog?”

“Lady Une,” Heero said, “there are too many enemies here.”

“It couldn’t possibly be His Excellency,” she said, “this castle is housing some of the most powerful people in the realm. The death of any one of them would launch a global conflict.

Relena nodded.

“How about you?” he asked, “are your plans going smoothly.”

She turned to the fire and tried not recall the botched letter she had been writing prior to his arrival.

“There are prospects,” she said.

“I like Quatre,” he said.

“Sir Winner?” she asked and she instinctively recalled their earlier conversation, “I like him too, but I think I can do better.”

Heero appraised her for a moment.

“A wealthy son of a merchant? He’s rich, you’d retain power, and the Winner mines are vital for a countries security,” he said, listing the benefits of the match.

“Yes, but he doesn’t have men nor land, and I don’t marriage in order to secure a treaty with Winner,” she said, “It would not be completely disadvantageous but I shouldn’t settle yet.”

He doesn’t speak so she goes on.

“I don’t trust Barton’s son, though I know their armies are great.”

“Dekim Barton is merciless, How is his son?”

“Aloof,” Relena said, “but I don’t see the resemblance, but there is the connection with the Chang Clan. That would be a vital trading partner.”

“I thought the representatives were married?” Heero asked.

“They are, his wife, Meiran is serving as one of my ladies in waiting,” she said and shrugged sheepishly, “I am afraid my Court isn’t deeply stocked. She is more supportive than Dorothy however.”

Heero said, nothing, they didn’t speak of the fact that it was likely that one of the member’s of Relena’s court was most likely a spy for the enemy. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said, “I don’t believe that either Meiran or Dorothy are against me. They may not be loyal, but they are not traitors.”

“I think it would be Leila,” he said, “she is connected to the Bartons.”

“She’s so meek though,” Relena said, “I think she would break.”

He’s too cold to argue.

“I still think you should consider Quatre,” he said, “I think he could make you happy.”

Relena debated whether she should disabuse him of that notion. Quatre had all but admitted that he had a lover, which peeved Relena because of course a man was forgiven any dalliance while she had to struggle to maintain her propriety. She doubted he could make her happy because she knew she could not make him happy. His words spoke to an affair that wasn’t just or even primarily physical. But it was still a matter of fact that Quatre could conceivably marry and maintain the affair.

The resentment burns. She was not expecting faithfulness in marriage, that was a vain hope for a woman marrying for political advantage, but still the idea that her husband could maintain a love on the side while she could not was a hard pill to swallow.

“It’s not about my happiness,” she said, “it’s about what is best for my country. I will do what is needed. That is all.”

She couldn’t look at him when she said that, she couldn’t betray the pain that she knew must be written on her face.

She schooled herself back to a calm cool demeanor.

“Regardless, you will be with me?” The question is meek, but she stuck with it. She could bear the course of her life if he was her ally. Her friend.

He slid off his chair and leaned his forehead to her knee, it was not a bow nor a show of subjugation, but a promise.

“To the end my queen,” he said, “my life is yours.”

She stroked a hand through the mess of tangles on his hair before lifting him up so she could slide down to be on his level. She only leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead. Chaste. Pure. And full of all the wishes and hopes that she had had to foresake when the crown had been placed on her head.

She pulled his head down to lean against her chest and wrapped her arms around him, trying to will the heat of her body to his.

And for a moment they both forgot the constraints that laid outside that room. He was hers, and even though it could never be realized in the light of day. She was always and forever his.

[virtualfindingsdocumented]

u asked for it. top 5 wack fandom takes on vfd politics and what u think is actually right

I was almost falling asleep in a class I can't afford to miss when I saw this and it woke me up faster than any energetic drink would.

All respect to people who think differently, of course.

1- VFD always kills the parents of the recruited children, and always has

I think everyone and their mothers (well, my mother at least) finished TUA and TPP thinking this is the case, but when you think about it it doesn't make a lot of sense on the long term for an organization to work like this, when we consider most parents seem to be volunteers too. While there is an argument that getting three children for the "price" of two parents could be a good deal, those children are untrained, and have to go through a whole process before they can even start the training (as described in the meeting in TUA).

Plus, the executions would have to be carried by volunteers too, and I can't imagine this working long term either. Eventually, someone would have to have been tasked to kill a volunteer that they couldn't. Eventually someone would have to have spilled the secret. Eventually someone in charge of this would want to do something differently.

So, even if killing the parents is something that is done, I believe this would have started around Schism time because at that specific point there must have been volunteers wanting to leave and take their children with them, together with the disagreements between volunteers. Because it was not something that was done, the parents who died were ones that would never expect their fellow volunteers to turn on them like this.

But my main theory about this is that the high number of orphans with weirdly similar backstories is actually a freaky coincidence, in a way. It was totally VFD's fault, but it wasn't executions. More like:

- A number of volunteers had enemies who would love to kill them with fire at any point, so them dying this way isn't particularly weird. Their job put them in this risk.

- Some of the deaths are so close to the children being recruited because sending their children to VFD's care was a way to protect them from these enemies. You are an adult volunteer and you realize you pissed more people off this month, so you send the children away so they will not get caught in the fight. (Check next theory)

- Specific families were targeted by not so well intentioned volunteers for money/revenge/whatever. Those not so well intentioned volunteers arranged to kill the parents and maybe even get their hands on their children ala Olaf and the Baudelaires but it was an individual thing, not a VFD thing or even a Firestarter thing.

- Problematic volunteers who had children may have been targeted by VFD as an organization rather than by individuals as it was seen they were a "lost cause" but the children could still "be saved". It was still an exception and not a rule.

Like I said, all is still VFD's fault, but not a planned mass execution plot.*

(*Maybe in the case of non-volunteer parents it is planned execution though, but how common these even are.)

2- They don't ask permission first

The whole recruitment thing described in that FAQ in TUA is so detailed and specific that it is a waste to think it is just a lie. Also, it isn't like real life parents don't send their children to bad places all the time, if only you say the right words to them.

I believe the parents, specially volunteer parents, are in to the whole thing, more or less.

They are asked permission, but to reasonable things like taking their children to receive top level education, visit incredible places around the world, learn skills they wouldn't learn anywhere, so on... As they metaphorically sign the contract they are probably not aware of the paragraphs in small print there.

Hiding the specifics is enough for non volunteer parents, and volunteer parents are for most times already so used to that life style that they don't need a lot of convincing.

Likewise, the children are aware to some point of what is going on. What would be the point of a FAQ like that if potential new volunteers are not going to read it? Again, they don't know the whole story, just the fun and exciting parts!

As a last note on the recruitment subject, my reading of the story in The Little Snicket Lad and Lemony's notes on it is that Jacob was on board on the thing (since he seemed to be there the whole time and did nothing to stop it) while E seems like she didn't know the recruitment would be on that specific night (or else she would be home to say goodbye) but she knew it was a thing that would happen at some time. Considering this likely happened very near the Schism, I think something made it not go as it should, and that's why E didn't know.

3- Kit is a "brainwashed volunteer"/extremely pro-VFD

Every time I see a post like this I am amazed at how differently we can interpret the same things. For me, Kit seems to be aligned to Lemony when it comes to VFD, and Lemony is consistently shown to be the most anti-VFD volunteer on the firefighting side.

Lemony and Kit work together in whatever rebel plot they had in ATWQ, and while we don't know the aftermath of that, they are working together again by TPP time as is canonically confirmed from the mentions of her in TSS and TGG, and that not counting the theories of L being JS and/or the taxi driver and being directly involved with the sugar bowl plot (which, if he was, may not even be VFD approved).

Also, when Dewey speaks of his hopes for the Thursday meeting, he says that it will change VFD's smoke and mirrors thing.

(Of course, since it is all so vague, it opens room for more complicated and messy possibilities, but still.)

And the way Widdershins spoke of the Snicket siblings... I don't think they would get to that status if they always played by VFD's rules.

4- Beatrice II was kidnapped by VFD

Don't underestimate her.

Beatrice was getting out of options, failing to get in touch with Lemony, so she went to VFD fully knowing who they were, as a last attempt to find out more. It's no coincidence she got in the same class as he did so many years previously.

She used VFD to get the information she wanted. Whether that was a good or a bad idea, that's another matter.

5- VFD's leadership and leaving VFD ("VFD is a cult")

I have posted about this before, but I must insist I don't think such a thing exists. And whatever once existed was already weakened by ATWQ time (a 13 years old and his sister did mess up a big fragmented plot on their own).

VFD is most likely a bunch of people who think they are the smartest ones around doing whatever they feel like and messing up what others are doing.

There are factions and alignments but no hierarchy.

This brings dark conclusions, such as no one would have given the order for B and B to kill Olaf's parents.

So we lack the characteristic leader figure a cult would have, like Ishmael is for the islanders.

Also, there is the whole "you can't leave" idea and I like the drama it brings, but it isn't a "you can't leave, if you do we will kill you" and more a "you can't truly leave because you can't erase what you've done and the memories you have and the consequences that will one day catch up to you".

No one went after Josephine or Hector to try bringing them back, for example, and Olaf only got to them because of the Baudelaire children. Beatrice and Bertrand lived in luxury and peace and their children grew up unharmed until their deaths. And you don't see active volunteers insulting "retired" volunteers and vice versa. Which also breaks another main cult trait.

[alcttass-blog]

 Is that KYLIE JENNER?! No it’s just ALETTA ANTOUN. From our interview we have heard that the TANTALIZING is apparently a SOCIALITE AND INFLUENCER who’s been living a lavish lifestyle in LAS VEGAS with 67.1 M followers! Now that they’ve signed a contact to pricelesshqs fans will be ecstatic to see them on screen. But rumor has it they are hard to deal with as they’re FINICKY, IMPETUOUS, OBSTREPEROUS. Fortunately for us we’ve heard they’re actually EFFULGENT, COMPASSIONATE, VEHEMENT.  Let’s see how they survive our show while they arrive in the luxurious life of pricelesshqs!

hi hello !! im gianna and this is my angel love aletta !! i kind of rearranged her bio to fit so ?? if things dont make sense its my stupid ass fault asdfgh . on another note im super excited to jump into this and if you want to plot give this a heart or message me !! 

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓬𝓼

full name  : aletta josephine antoun. nickname : aj, alet, letty. age : twenty one. birthday  : february sixteenth, nineteen ninety eight thus making her an aquarius. gender / pronouns : cisfemale / she and her. sexual orientation : heterosexual. romantic orientation : heteroromantic. spoken languages : english, italian, spanish. hometown  : las vegas, nevada. parents  : carmine gwyar and natalia antoun  . carmine  is  the founder of karma ( casino ) and carmine hotel , two million dollar businesses that are spread throughout not only las vegas, but the rest of the states. her mother is an retired model who happens to be an author that just published the third book to her series ‘the others’, an dystopian novel. siblings  : apollo bennett gwyar,  claudio emanuel antoun, atlas james gwyar, natasha maeve gwyar, angelo cyrus antoun, julius sebastian antoun.  goals  : to live fully. tropes  /  personality  :  the effervescent  ,  the rich party girl  ,   the globetrotter  ,  should of been business mogul , the icarian , the lover of all things beauty. 

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂

gwyar , means “gore” or “spilled blood, bloodshed” in old welsh ; a definition that runs deeper than words written on faded pages , and instead carved themselves in human flesh. the name spreads silent fear across the streets of las vegas .. entangles itself within the eyes of the locals while being drowned out by the drunken happiness of tourists . spilling blood is what the gwyar’s have done for generations , from the moment diego gwyar’s foot landed on the broken sidewalks of las vegas it was said blood washed over the city like a storm . the family , they are tied into an lifestyle that screamed of violence , drugs , but most importantly power . no matter who’s face it stared at, it always had a habit of filling your lungs and causing you to drown in it .

aletta josephine was birthed to swim in the danger , to succeed . her father’s business was her legacy , his ties were her responsibilities . she was to fall in line , to make her daddy proud . and for a while , she did . she played the part, did her part . watched from the sidelines , included herself when she had to , she did it all . aletta drowned in the sensation of having such a power that it made those around her drop to their knees and beg . at sixteen she felt holy , at eighteen she felt sick to her stomach.  

the lifestyle was a high , sent her emotions playing  a game of how far can you drop once you hit your high . she should of felt blessed , protected , privilege , mighty . but all she wanted to do was run .. her brother use to tell her, “ letty, you cant have the highs without the lows .. especially with this.” it took a long time for her to understand that the diamonds that sat on her neck , the cars that sat in her driveway , the clothes that mountain her closest came with the blood , tears , the pain. she could not be the mob bosses daughter , without the mob boss.

at seventeen , she broke away from her fathers grasp . decided to chase her passion with hope that the darkness from her father would not follow . her family should her mixed reactions , splitting into two directions ; her mother spilled of happiness. excited to think of an future for her child where she was alive , healthy , living her life the way she wanted to .. and her father ? decided that if you did not stand with the business, his choices, that you did not stand with him. he made her choose, and so she did. she jumped into the influencing industry before launching aletta beauty , a dream that turned into an empire ..

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓼

crazed oceans swimming under neath sun kissed skies , the soft smell of vanilla dancing across exposed skin , gentle nudes blending into hard oranges,  peach vodka lingering on plump lips , warm orbs drowning in dark features , acrylic nails tapping anxiously , gold jewelry sitting on long fingers ,  cursive tattoos carved into ribs , quiet cries drowning in a dark sky , thunder distracting worried minds , affectionate touches , losing yourself in others for the sensation of warmth , loud music drowning out sorrows , happiness banging on brick walls for freedom , light giggles in the dead of the night , smooth lips pressed to bare skin , fingers interlocked with another , a constant craving to be loved dipping into skin , blood dripping down like water drops, soft lips on faceless bodies, sun kissed skin becoming on with sandy beaches, bold moans in the backseat of her car, simple shaped necklaces siting between collar bones, blunts between glossy lips, tired hands editing for hours on hours, stamped passports, white toes in clear ocean waters.

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂

to lurking eyes , the brunette tends to catch ditzy vibes and shallow tendencies . labels as such usually tend to hold some kind of truth, but when it comes to aletta? there’s more that meets the eye than assumptions from afar. her feet run on carelessness, blood intertwined with impulsiveness ; her wands wrap around your throat and for odd reason you cannot help but fall in love with the sensation. ebullient in human form , a crazed ocean that pulls you in. you want to lose yourself in her : her boisterous chatter in the sea of friends in an melody to your ears , and when the sun lowers and the bass of music dances in the air her giggles laced with vodka lingers. it’s said that the sound itself is intoxicating. like, for some reason, whether its her light in your lungs or her darkness around your throat, you cant let her go. she strives to be good, to be kind . but she is a child who was induced with happiness and then slowly picked at , lost innocence , witnessed monsters with human faces and so she comes to understand she will not always be good nor kind. she will be hard to read at times, hard to please. some nights, she may tell you about all the way she loves you and the next? she’ll turn away. and despite it all, she’ll still want you to be there for her in the morning. she needs meaningful bonds with others, needs to feel like if one day she disappeared people would miss her. wouldnt be able to live without her. she wants to feel important. she believes in loving yourself, being kind to yourself. and so, she tries not to drown for everyone. its a hard task though, considering she gets attached easily . she wants you , she needs you , and then she gets scared. she’s passionate, feels the world around her on a level that most do not understand. and it makes her scattered? she can ride the highs, but sometimes she has to ride the lows to. she is a lover, will give you her all. put in the time and the effort. it makes her affectionate ; affectionate touches are what she lives for. not just romantically, but platonically too. she likes to goof around, wants to fill everyone around her with light. wants to save everyone. is an hard worker, ambitious, likes having something she can put her energy into and conquer. sometimes her work ethic gets a little out of hand. but at the end of the day, she is her fathers daughter ; and it bleeds through. she an be stubborn, jealous . she can be hurtful, even selfish. but she is constantly trying to overcome it.

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼

she a few of her other siblings have took her mothers last name instead, making it easier for them to stand in the media without the prying. but regardless, she is a gwyar no matter if she changes her name or not. 

she had been a daddy’s girl, from the moment she opened her eyes she was drawn to him. her mom would tease that she loved him more, and though that was never true her father was without an doubt her favorite parent.

when she parted ways, he decided that she no longer deserved the connection they once shared ; he cut her off. not financially, she was and still is gifted all of her luxuries. her part in the company still transferred into her account, she could still reach out to her mother for cash if needed. but the tenderness? the warmness? it disappeared. he refused to even look at her in her eyes.

she is highly protected , constantly has her siblings and what they call ‘bodyguards ‘checking in on her since she moved from their family house ; and even now you will see strange men whom seem like they were pulled out of the secret service drop in on her.

her eldest brother apollo, in more ways than one took on that father figure roll for aletta. being opposed to his fathers treatment, he stepped in. she has an appreciation for him that runs deep.

despite her being insanely close to apollo, aletta and her twin have a bond that no one can touch. with them, it has always been us against the world. she would die for any of her siblings, but for her twin? she’d kill for them without hesitation.

her want to live to the fullest point, has come from seeing the life being drained from others. she does not ever want to see herself in that position. so she promised herself she would never.. she’d live impulsively, foolishly, carelessly .. but regardless, she’ll live.

traveling is the one thing she knows will fill her heart, to see the world and capture all the things that it has to offer will not be an opportunity she misses. it’s why she found herself really enjoying the life of touring .

one important thing about her is that she craves meaningful bonds with others, she likes to feel like if one day she disappeared that people would miss her? would be lost without? she just wants to feel important.

she spent a lot of her summers in italy with her brother, which is why she is fond of the language.

aletta beauty is much so kylie cosmetics asdj how original ? i know.

i see her being kind of an ?? rihanna in the beauty industry and a david dobrik in the youtube ! sitting on the line of sis really did that with her beauty line and i love that bitch when it comes with being an influencer. 

despite being the youngest , her father swore she was going to be the one to take over his business  . his plan was to always allow the twins to take over . which is why it hit him so hard when she refused to.

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼

♡ wanted connections page ! 

and in case none of those catches your eyes, a list of generic plots !!!

♡ protective friendship, friends with benefits, close friends, old friends, distant friends, ex friends, ex friends with benefits, cousins, hardly related cousins, family friends, childhood friends, friendly competition, rivals, models who model for her line, artist she collabs with a lot, artist who have wrote a song for her, artist she has wrote for, frenemies, one night stands, summer flings, friends with lingering feelings, one sided friendships, one sided relationships, people who have used her, pr friendships, pr relationships.

[zrtranscripts]

Season 8, Mission 17: Red Right Hand

Worth Dyeing For?

~

AMELIA SPENS: Janine, you do look dreadful.

JANINE DE LUCA: I'm perfectly able to participate in this mission, Miss Spens. The nanite control box was smashed, and the scientists on Dearg aren't answering our messages. But in the absence of a cure, I refuse to surrender to my illness.

AMELIA SPENS: Oh goodness, I wasn't suggesting you retire to bed. We need you on this mission. I was merely suggesting a little concealer might be in order? No one suits that "just climbed out of my death bed" pallor.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: For goodness sake, lass, have a little tact!

JANINE DE LUCA: You needn't concern yourself with Miss Spens' manner, Chief Macallan. Five and I are quite used to it.

AMELIA SPENS: And it's not lass, if you don't mind. It's Prime Minister.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: We don't recognize the authority of the British government here!

AMELIA SPENS: But I'm sure you recognize the authority of a fully-armed nuclear submarine parked off your coast. Besides, you lot are in no position to complain after the mess you've made of the mainland. There are red fungus infestations on beaches all down the west coast.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: That's got nae to do with us.

AMELIA SPENS: The fungal seed pods were carried on currents from this island and they left here on the day your people arrived, Janine. We burned most of them out before they could get a foothold, but Bangor was swamped before we knew it. [sighs] If I hadn't kept a burn cube aside for a special occasion, we could have lost the whole of Wales! And you lost the Edda, the only thing that might help us understand how to fight the fungus.

JANINE DE LUCA: We believe Jones may have had some help from someone on the island. That may be who has the Edda now.

AMELIA SPENS: And tracking down that someone will be my next priority. But first, we must discover the source of the red fungus. My sub has released a dye north of Mor Island into the same current that carried the seed pods to the mainland. If we follow the dye on the tide, we can locate the origin.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: I can see it. A bright green stain on the waves.

AMELIA SPENS: What are we waiting for? Let's go.

~

DUNCAN MACALLAN: The green dye doesn't seem to be putting into land. It's following the curve of the shore. This could be a long run.

AMELIA SPENS: I'm sorry, are we inconveniencing you, Chief? Did you have something better to do with your day than save the entire United Kingdom? Maybe there's some minor theft or trespass that needs investigating?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: You were the one who wanted me to come on this run, if you remember.

AMELIA SPENS: For your local knowledge, not your stimulating conversation. You should take a leaf out of Five's book. Never a wasted word.

JANINE DE LUCA: Chief Macallan, did you tell anyone else where we were going?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: No. Uh, why would I?

JANINE DE LUCA: Because there's a figure on the moorland to our left, watching us. Miss Spens, my eyesight is not what it was. Can you describe what you see?

AMELIA SPENS: I can't make out much. The gray of their coat blends into the sky and the rocks behind them. I can see a broad purple stripe down the front. They have their hood pulled up to cover their face.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Oh my Lord. A skincoat!

AMELIA SPENS: I beg your pardon?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: That's what they call the coat they're wearing. I haven't seen them for a long time. They were fishermen's coats originally, oiled with caraway to keep out the water. That's what gives them that pale green color.

JANINE DE LUCA: And the purple stripe?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Aye, well, that's something else. The skincoat came to be a badge of office, you see, for those chosen to guard the island and its ways, the role of the coats passed down through families. It was all done away with when we appointed a modern police force.

AMELIA SPENS: Modern-ish.

JANINE DE LUCA: So what does it mean that someone's wearing one today, and watching us?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Ach, I'd hoped it was just talk. Every since your torpedo uncovered the old sculpture, Prime Minister, some people have been saying it's a sign, a calling back to the old ways.

AMELIA SPENS: Why do the old ways always sound so sinister?

JANINE DE LUCA: It needn't necessarily be – oh. The person in the skincoat, they're gone. I didn't see them leave. Did you, Five?

AMELIA SPENS: Well, if they want to dress up in silly clothes and lurk about looking spooky, that's all very well. But we've got more important things to worry about. The leading edge of the dye is drawing ahead of us. We can't let it out of sight. Chop chop!

~

AMELIA SPENS: The dye's leading us around another dreary, rock-strewn headland. How delightful. It escapes me why anyone would choose to live here.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: This place is in our blood. We've tended it for centuries and it's kept us safe. At least until you outsiders came along. No offense, Janine. But we did fine when we kept to ourselves and our old ways.

AMELIA SPENS: You kept yourself safe by sending your murderers off to kill people on the mainland.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Aye, well, Jones never fitted in here.

AMELIA SPENS: And yet he seems obsessed with the island and its traditions.

JANINE DE LUCA: He was quite fixated on this king of the rocks ceremony of yours.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: "When gale blows and the moon shines, then gather at the silver pools. Swing around the rocks that stand. Give fruit to the sea to bless the land."

AMELIA SPENS: What?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: It's a rhyme about the king of the rocks. Bairns here learn it at their mother's breast. It explains how to do the ceremony. Gather at the rock pools on the night of the full moon. Pull the three standing stones upright if they've toppled, and dance around them. Then throw fruit from the cliffs into the ocean. In some ways, the king of the rocks is Mor Island. It's no wonder Jones was obsessed. It was the only piece of home he could keep with him.

JANINE DE LUCA: That, and the Edda.

AMELIA SPENS: I've had a team of the very best Norse scholars searching for sources on the missing fragment that Jones stole. We found a line drawing of the outside of the document. It's bound in white lamb leather embedded with rubies. Not the sort of thing that someone could hide in plain sight.

JANINE DE LUCA: I gather your men are conducting house to house searches?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Which isnae going down too well.

AMELIA SPENS: I'm supremely uninterested in the islanders' delicate sensibilities. The Edda and the fungus, these are the only things that matter.

JANINE DE LUCA: We're one step closer to locating the fungus. The stream of dye is moving shoreward at last. Quick, we mustn't lose sight of it.

~

AMELIA SPENS: You were right, Janine. The dye-stained waters are near to making landfall. We're very close to the source of the red fungus, and once my men have located the Edda, I can leave you people in peace. Not to say tedium.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: What about Janine's cure? I thought she was a friend of yours.

AMELIA SPENS: Oh, Janine will be just fine. The scientists will find a way to fix that nanite machine for her, or Five here will perform some last-minute death-defying rescue. You don't know the residents of Abel the way I do, Chief. They're annoyingly resilient.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Is that a note of respect I hear?

AMELIA SPENS: Heaven forfend.

JANINE DE LUCA: Look! The dye is heading for that cave mouth.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: There's a disturbance in the water near the shore, can you see? It's churning like crazy!

[water splashes, zombies growl]

JANINE DE LUCA: Zombies, two of them. Probably stragglers from Jones' invasion force.

AMELIA SPENS: We can't let them cut us off from the cave mouth. It will be a month before we can conduct this experiment again.

JANINE DE LUCA: Then we will need to run.

~

[zombies growl]

DUNCAN MACALLAN: The zoms are still on our tail.

AMELIA SPENS: Can't you do something about them, Five? Lead them off down a side tunnel or something?

JANINE DE LUCA: These caves are a maze, Miss Spens. Five could become entirely lost.

AMELIA SPENS: But on the plus side, so could the zoms. Oh, they look awful covered in that green dye, as if someone's toy soldiers came to life and then started rotting.

JANINE DE LUCA: Look up on that ledge. It's very high, but isn't that a skincoat, Chief Macallan?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Aye.

AMELIA SPENS: Just standing there watching us. You! What do you think you're doing?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Gone again. Just faded back into the wall. Oh, this is troubling. The skincoats did keep justice here, but their idea of justice was often rough. Torture, and hunting men across the islands. I dinna like that someone wants to bring those traditions back.

JANINE DE LUCA: How did they get here before us? Ours was the most direct route, and we've been keeping a good pace!

DUNCAN MACALLAN: There could be more than one. Traditionally, there were nine skincoats. Nine guardians for the island.

JANINE DE LUCA: We've bigger things to worry about. The dye-filled stream is heading westward into that side tunnel. We must follow before we lose it.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: And before the zoms catch us!

~

AMELIA SPENS: I can't hear the zombies. Have we lost them?

JANINE DE LUCA: Perhaps they find these caverns as confusing as we do. Wait. I do recognize this cave. It's where you located Jones' original camp, Five.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: And look, we've reached our destination. The green dye is sinking into a borehole in the center, but I don't see any signs of your red fungus, Prime Minister.

JANINE DE LUCA: Five, help me to quarter the area. We must conduct a thorough search.

AMELIA SPENS: No need. Look up!

DUNCAN MACALLAN: At the cave roof? There's nothing up there but island pomegranates.

AMELIA SPENS: Those aren't pomegranates, they're seed pods. Can't you see the way the four leaves are folded open?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Aye, I suppose. So what?

AMELIA SPENS: So that is the source of the fungal infection, you moron. There were pictures of those things in the Edda. The fungal spores were held inside.

JANINE DE LUCA: Five, didn't you say that Jones had a fire burning here when you found him? Perhaps the heat caused the pods to ripen.

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Oh. I suppose that explains why the Dearg scientists were so interested in them. They took some away for study years ago. I remember it because we all laughed at them in their hazmat suits, acting like the wee small things were dangerous when we'd had them on the island as long as anyone could remember.

JANINE DE LUCA: Do you mean to say these fungal pods are found in more than one location on the island?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: They're scattered about in the caves. No one paid them any mind.

AMELIA SPENS: And the scientists from Dearg were studying them years ago, before the zombie apocalypse?

DUNCAN MACALLAN: Aye, I think so.

AMELIA SPENS: Janine, your cure has become a lot more of a priority. Or should I say cover story. You need to go to Dearg immediately.

JANINE DE LUCA: They may not let us in. They've been refusing to respond to our comms requests.

AMELIA SPENS: Then you'll just have to find a way in without their help. We need to know what they're doing with the pods and why, and we must find out where the rest are located! [sighs] I suppose I'll be staying on this godforsaken rock longer than anticipated, or at least in my stateroom on the Undaunted. If we can't find and eradicate all the red fungus, the mainland will never be safe.

~

[littlemissrainhoe]

It’s finally here! Here’s my piece for the BNHA Flash Bang. It’s an Asylum AU where UA is an asylum and BNHA Canon is just Izuku’s hallucination. Needless to say, this is pretty dark so please take heed of the warnings carefully. Read at AO3 for some story notes.

Many thanks to @bnhaflashbang for organizing this bang and to @creativebluegalaxy for working on the wonderful art for this fic! ^^

-

Title: corrupted lens; [AO3 link]

Summary: Midoriya Izuku’s life changes when the Number One Hero tells him he can be a hero. Taken as his protégé, Izuku trains under All Might and manages to get into UA—the best hero school in the world! But that is just the beginning, for a big evil is rising from the shadows, threatening the world of heroes.

(Aizawa Shouta is tired. Of all his current patients at Ulysses Asylum, no one gives him more sleepless nights than Midoriya Izuku, the boy who was kidnapped and tortured by the infamous serial killer All Might—the boy who went missing for ten months and never came back.)

Rating: Teen and Up

Ship: None

Warnings: Mentions of Rape/Non-Con, Underage, Injury, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Stockholm Syndrome and Mentally Ill Characters

-

When Izuku wakes up, he doesn’t expect to be greeted by the familiar white walls of the infirmary.

He could only blink sluggishly, disoriented as he is, trying to remember what happened before he fell asleep. Did he get injured in another battle simulation? Izuku winces at the thought. If that is indeed the case, then that means he broke his promise again. Didn’t Recovery Girl say she won’t use her quirk on him if he injured himself again? All Might must be so disappoi—

(A body destroyed by a fierce fight, sickly and emaciated, yet still standing tall.)

All… Might…

(An arm stretching outwards, worn from battle but never wavering.)

All Might?

(An ever-present grin, somehow embodying both encouragement and promise.)

Where are you—?

(“You’re next.”)

“All Might!” Izuku screamed.

The sudden influx of memories is nothing short of torturous. Not only do they remind him of the heavy weight of the mantle his mentor has left him to carry, but the fact that the reign of All Might has ended fills him with despair.

One by one and all at once, Izuku can’t tell which emotions emerge and where they end. Anger, sadness, heartbreak—fear like no other. All Might is gone. His hero may not be dead, but already the world feels bleaker; Izuku can feel the gaping hole the Symbol of Peace has left behind deep in his bones.

Izuku can only cry and cry, grieving the loss of his hero. He mourns the man who saved his life, who encouraged his dreams when no one else did, who believed in him no matter what, and who taught him how to live for other’s sake—how to be a hero.

His mom, his teachers, his classmates—not a single one of them believed he could achieve his dreams, that Izuku could be special. One by one, they broke him down, until only a sliver of hope remained.

But All Might gave him a chance, and as hard as his training was, All Might had given him more hope than anyone else has. Now that he’s passing on the baton, Izuku shouldn’t cower—he should bravely answer his call.

Now more than ever, the people need a hero to look up to, to keep them safe; they need a Symbol of Peace. Determined, he bats away the fear and loneliness that restrains him from moving forward.

With All Might’s power residing in me, I can’t lose.

-

“… to break curfew but Kacchan was in danger, Sensei. We had to save him, and it was the only way…”

“We managed to put him under.”

Shouta looks up at Shuuzenji-san’s entrance, pausing the video. Her usually immaculate hairdo’s in disarray, probably from rushing to Midoriya’s room. Shouta was just watching the recording of yesterday’s session when Midoriya, who was asleep, suddenly started screaming.

“Hopefully, this doesn’t happen again,” she continues, “but if he wakes up this violently once more, we’d have no choice but to restrain him in his sleep too.”

“Did he hurt himself?”

“No, but he did manage to punch the orderlies holding him down and wake the other residents.” She eyes him sternly. “Speaking of sleep, when was the last time you had some, young man?”

Shouta sighs, fully aware of what she sees. The panda eyes, the scruffy face, the littered coffee cups and strewn out sleeping bag—the room has all the evidence for a typical Aizawa Overnighter. He’s been up for almost 57 hours, but she doesn’t have to know that. He just has to last a few more hours before he can finally pass out.

“Had no choice,” he grunts, resolutely turning back to the computer. “Someone has to keep an eye on Ward 1A before the patients try to break out again.”

He hears her sigh behind him but she doesn’t argue further as she sits next to him. It’s hard to put up too much fuss when this is already the second incident this week. Patients escaping is already a cause for alarm, but a mentally-unstable criminal breaking into their facility? Even worse. No one even realized he was in the building until the guards were alerted that someone unauthorized was attempting to access Midoriya’s room.

Shouta clenches his fist, immediate anger springing up at the thought of the vile man. Hasn’t he destroyed that boy’s life enough?

When Shouta first took Midoriya Izuku as his patient, he never thought it would be easy—but he never expected it to be this hard.

Shouta first heard about Midoriya in the news, whose case had blown up in the media. A fourteen-year-old boy who vanished on his way home from school, the police were notified of his disappearance a full week after he went missing—and only because Midoriya’s teacher called his mother to inquire about his absence. By then, it was assumed the boy committed suicide after evidence of bullying and domestic violence (to which Midoriya Inko is currently serving jail time for) came to light. But when investigators found no body, the missing boy’s estranged father Midoriya Hisashi insisted on continuing the search.

That’s when the letters started to appear.

Signed by All Might—the serial killer most known for the Musutafu Massacre where he videotaped himself laughing as he set off multiple bombs placed under a commercial district, killing hundreds and injuring more—the case got more notorious. For the first time since his apparent “retirement” five years ago, the criminal once again resurfaced like the boogeyman. He sent pictures and videos of him “training” Midoriya to become his “successor”, laughing menacingly as he repeatedly abused the boy, both physically and sexually, until he passed out.

It took ten months before they found him, and even then All Might was already long gone. Evidence of malnutrition, incorrectly-healed bones, head trauma, multiple lacerations, and fresh traces of semen were found on Midoriya. After his brief stint at Musutafu General Hospital, he was immediately placed in Ulysses Asylum (better known as ‘UA’) by his father, in the hopes of his son’s recovery.

Shouta immediately knew something was strange during their first session. Midoriya’s eyes were slightly unfocused, despite the sedatives having already left his system. He spoke of “quirks” as special abilities instead of behavioral habits, of becoming a “hero” and defeating “villains”—concepts that Shouta knew to be fantasy but Midoriya believed as truth. It’s like his brain has been completely rewritten to view the world as a superpowered society—like a corrupted lens that obscures his eyes from the full truth.

Though he’s aware of his surroundings to a point, his brain filters any fact that doesn’t align with its version of reality. Midoriya would talk fondly about his abusive mother making him his favorite food, gush about his kidnapper helping him make his dreams come true, about the patients in Ward 1A and how they’re all training to become heroes.

Midoriya Izuku views the world like a comic book where he is its protagonist—the once powerless boy who will become the greatest hero. After the abuse and trauma he experienced, it’s the only way his brain could cope.

Aside from that and a self-sacrificing streak that borders on self-harm, there’s technically nothing wrong with him. During his stay, he’s managed to demonstrate his high IQ, make friends, and encourage a few tight-lipped patients to open up more. Though there’s been little progress in realigning Midoriya’s “worldview”, the fact that he’s responding well to his stay here is already a big leap forward.

That is until five days ago, when All Might broke into UA. More than ten people in the staff were injured driving that lunatic away from Midoriya, including Yamada, who Shouta usually switches shifts with. Hence, the ridiculous overtime.

At least the bastard’s finally in police custody, Shouta thinks, recalling the reveal of the man’s identity on the news. As unbiased as he should be, seeing Yagi Toshinori in cuffs brings both relief and vicious satisfaction. It’s a big cause for celebration everywhere—to finally have the monster responsible for many murders right where he belongs.

But that doesn’t mean all is well.

Seeing Yagi must have triggered something in Midoriya; why else would he have tried to escape after months of clean behavior? And now it seems like he’s beginning to act out even more. The only question is why.

Shouta sighs. The Midoriya on the screen just looks at him beseechingly, wrapped up in the straitjacket they put him in after leading an escape attempt with some of the other patients.

This problem child will be the death of him.