#marcia would find out anyway but. They tried

[glennquackmire]

My hunger games au lore that im acting so odd over because I keep getting flashbacks to the other post

Ik i said I would make this into a video but it was getting to like 10 minutes long 😭 so here's a really shortened version of some of it OK SO

-The curtis brothers live in DISTRICT 7 instead because I like the idea of them being lumberjacks it's funny and also because the Curtises knowing alot about plants and trees and stuff is kind of relevant

-Their parents died in an altercation with some peacekeepers. Is that still lazy?? Yea but hopefully not as lazy

-Ponyboy still genuinely believes Darry sees him as a burden and despises him so he is under the impression that Darry is going to try and kill him the second they get into that arena so naturally he tries to get as far away from him as possible for most of the games.

-instead dally and johnny are from district 12 which I THINK fits better for them??? Johnny still has the same kind of schtick as in the original post where he believe he doesn't have a shot at winning which he's not really coping well with, but dally I kind of changed its not that he thinks he can or can't win its more that he doesn't want to. He's super mad the two of them have been put into this situation and doesn't want to conform to the opressive system the capitol has put in place to keep the district peoples lives being used as entertainment I guess. But I don't really know if it's in a "i want to start a revolution" way or not I guess.

-Tim I mostly added because I like him.I'm a tim stan. He's from district 8 for the same reason the curtis brothers are from district 7, I like the idea of him being really good at sewing. I'm still on the fence on whether I wanna add Angela or Curly as tributes too but as it stands tim is the only one that has been reaped out if the three of them. He's really desperate to get back for this reason because he knows without him his siblings would be left on their own. He's also really really smart in this au so he makes it super far into the games.

-The socs respectively are from Districts 1, 2 and 4 because them being the careers makes sense to me. Like the advantages that the careers have in the games just kind of aligns with the advantages the socs have in LIFE. Does that make sense????? Idk I might be talking out of my ass here 😭. The combinations of the socs have changed around alot but I keep going back to Randy and Marcia in 1, Cherry and Bob in 2 and Paul and Beverly (from the musical !! Its so good go listen to it) in 4.

-Steve and Twobit I added because I think they're a funny duo and they're from district 6 (get it cause it's the transportation district). I really don't have much to say about them honestly I have a little bit so if u wanna hear about them let me know !! Originally it was gonna be sodapop and Steve but I couldn't find a way for it to make sense. Maybe I'll add him in and say he's not related to darry and ponyboy or something I don't know. I hate leaving him out though ily soda.

-Scout is still here (hi scout) but she's used as a bit of a plot device now lol

-the arena is a huge forest, but its also got some really mountainous areas

-there IS mutts now but they're let loose about 2 thirds of the way through and aren't around for very long. The fire is still there as well because mostly i just enjoy drawing fire.

-I think (?) That's everything, I'll keep the deaths and the other stuff that happens in the arena for another post because this is already kind of long I think

-if you want to hear more you can totally message me !! I love talking to people or u can use the ask box I would literally love either of these but obviously no pressure 😭

-I have a BUNCH of drawings done for this au like so many

Anyway I think the moral of the story is not being a good writer and 3 days of being awake are not a good combo lol

[wambsgansshoelaces]

Turmoil; Chapter 7

Roman Roy x Reader

a/n: catch the easter egg hehe

Word Count: 2.60k

Just one day, you tell yourself. One day to forget about all the bullshit in your life and just enjoy yourself. It is a party in your name, after all.

After some moaning and groaning from Roman, you manage to drag him out of bed and get him ready. You stand, hips touching, as he messes with his cologne and you put in your earrings.

“You know some shit is going to happen today,” he mutters.

“Why would you say that?” you chide. “We should be relaxed. It’s our last night here.”

“Murphy’s Law, Y/N.”

“I didn’t know you were smart enough to know what that is.” He smacks your shoulder lightly. “What? I’m being honest,” you tease, smoothing out the wrinkles in the dress you’d picked out a few days before.

“I’m extremely intelligent, just so you know.”

“Sure, Roman.” You laugh.

“I’m the one who got Connor’s watch. And…,” he says conspiratorially, winding an arm around your waist and pulling you flush against him. “I got someone’s personal bank records.”

“I love it when a man commits federal crimes for me,” you say faux-dreamily, smiling at him.

“Y/N, it’s not illegal, if I, er, found them.”

“We’ll talk about it later. I want a stress-free night.”

“Murphy’s Law,” he repeats. “What can go wrong will go wrong.”

“Is it too much to ask of your father to keep his opinions to himself for one night?” you ask, sighing. You perfect your look in the mirror before stepping away form Roman.

He follows you out the door, his fingers subtly intertwined with yours. He’s warmed up to your touch- not that he’s ever not liked it. Kissing, apparently, is still out of the question. You’d realized when you tried giving him a peck good night before bed the other day.

You can’t even begin to count all the people in attendance tonight. You don’t know most of them, as you’d expected, which makes your job more difficult. You have to make yourself look good- and Logan.

You mill about, doing what Roman refers to as ‘standing there and looking so damn pretty’, watching the crowd. He’d scuttled off in the name of finding desserts, leaving you to yourself and your thoughts. Logan had spared no expense for his son- chandeliers were lit, servers were flitting here and there, tables upon tables of food were laid out.

While your situation is less than ideal, you’re able to appreciate nice things when they come.

You idly sip from your glass, letting your gaze rake over the crowd. Logan is sitting by himself off to a corner, seemingly trying to gather his strength to even get up. You wonder where Marcia is, and you briefly feel a pang of sympathy. Only briefly.

Shiv is more than likely flirting with some random guy, you tell yourself, Kendall probably asleep in a separate room. Connor is entertaining his own circle of guests, in his element. He makes weird flapping motions with his arms, and you’re thankful you weren’t pulled into that conversation. Greg is happily munching on an assortment of treats. You’re delighted he’s gotten a break. He’s a good man; he deserves it.

Your gaze snags on a strangely already-balding young man. Before you’d left for this party, Roman had shown you a headshot of the accountant Connor was working with. He seemed freshly out of college, but both his face and certain records you’re sure you’ll be able to dig up say otherwise. If anything, he was suspicious.

To your dismay, he makes his way over to you. You hope this won’t be a repeat of the charity gala- you don’t think you’ll be able to control yourself this time. This guy has a punchable face, anyway.

“The future Mrs. Roy,” he says heartily. You lazily raise your glass to him. “I’ve been keen to meet you.” He talks like an old man, too. “I’m the one who directed my client to you when his things got stolen at the hotel.”

You straighten slightly. “Were you, now? I thought it just came with our… familial ties.” You flash your engagement ring at him.

“I mean, of course that’d be the natural course of thought. Regardless, I had to make sure he went with the best, and you’re the best.”

You’re certain he’s trying to kiss your ass. The question is why. You fold one of your arms over your torso and regard him. “Who are you, again?”

He straightens his blazer and extends his hand out to the one you currently have holding your glass. Jerkily, he puts it back down by his side and says, “Peirce Thompson. Thompson & Thompson Accounting and Banking.”

“What a firm name,” you say blandly.

“My brother and I started the thing up from our bedroom way back when, and the name’s just stuck.”

“So you’ve been around a while, then?”

“Oh, ages, absolute ages.” He dusts off an imaginary bit of lint from his shoulder. You press your lips together.

“Why haven’t I heard of you, then?” you ask carefully.

“Psh, your type of law and my finance rarely collide,” he says condescendingly. “We’re in two different worlds, sweetheart.”

Trying not to recede into yourself, you give him a strange look. What he’s saying is bullshit- you know your way around economics, and you run your own firm. Clearly, you have a handle on finance. “If you say so.”

As if Connor’s shenanigans couldn’t get more confusing. This accountant banker bitch reeks of fish- both figuratively and literally, unfortunately.

“I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you ever personally taken care of many fraud cases?”

“Depends on the kind of fraud we’re talking about.” You manage to catch Kendall’s eyes over Peirce’s shoulder. You subtly widen and release your eyelids, trying to get him to come over.

“Er, tax fraud.”

”Sure I have. Why do you ask?” You turn your gaze back to his.

“Only wondering. Some issues are arising with… clients.”

“Clients, huh?”

Thankfully, before he can say anything, Kendall claps his hand over Peirce’s shoulder. “I didn’t think you’d be here today,” Kendall says stiffly. “Funny you’d show your face after raking up the interest for my dad by ‘forgetting’ to pay his taxes.” You have to keep yourself from laughing. Kendall continues. “You’ve met my sister? Trying to weasel your way into her finances, too?” He shifts to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Your heart warms when he refers to you as family.

Peirce grits his teeth. “Lies don’t look good on you, Mr. Roy.”

Kendall snorts before pressing a hand to your back and guiding you away. “Thanks,” you murmur to him as you both slip away.

“He makes me want to rip my hair out. I’ve got you.”

You both make your way to a table, taking seats. You’d been standing for so long your feet were aching. Roman finds you and pulls a chair up right next to yours, and when he sits, he makes sure his leg is touching yours.

Kendall takes note, his eyes flickering from you to Roman. “What happened to ‘I’m going to kill her before I let her near me?’”

You laugh. “You said that?”

“I say lots of things I don’t remember.” Roman pushes a plate piled high with sweets towards you. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got you everything.”

You give his knee a pat. “I appreciate you trying, Roman, but that’s way too much.”

“We’ll all share,” he insists. Kendall smiles, taking the miniature slice of German chocolate cake and setting it on his place.

“My wife catered,” he says simply. “She owns that bakery you like, Y/N. The one always open on the holidays.”

You smile softly at him. You’re happy that he’s happy. You and Roman pig out on the sweets, chattering comfortably until his eyes catch someone as they cross the room.

He somehow manages to smack Kendall’s chest from across the table and stares back into the crowd.

You and Kendall both follow Roman’s gaze. You just barely catch Marcia as she slips out of the main atrium, a man in tow.

Kendall must see something you don’t. “Give me your fucking phone,” he says quickly. Without thinking, you hand it to him and he power walks after her. You and Roman follow, albeit much slower because Kendall already looks crazy.

Kendall’s leagues ahead of you at this point, but he’s slow enough that you and Roman can tail him. You wind through the corridors until the three of you have stopped in an eerily empty hallway. Kendall is peeping into the sitting area that dead-ends the hall, and almost immediately doubles back, seemingly sick. He steels himself, then takes your phone and sticks it through the doorway and starts filming.

Peeking over his shoulder, you wince.

Marcia has a fuck buddy, and it isn’t Logan Roy.

As desperately as you want to get rid of the image of Marcia having sex from your brain, you can’t. It simultaneously makes you want to puke but also, disgustingly, elated that you now have something over her- and by proxy, Logan.

After an excruciating five minutes, the three of you had gone back to the party. You and Roman had danced a bit, and he’d admittedly embarrassed you with his extremely out-of-date moves. Despite it all, you’d found yourself laughing and having more fun than you’d had in ages.

Now, you’re struggling to unzip the back of your dress. Roman’s stooped over the sink, aggressively washing his face.

“Rome, you’re going to rip it off. Calm down,” you manage, tongue between your teeth as you continue to attempt to pull down the zipper.

He pats his face dry with a towel. “I’m being thorough.” Without being asked,he comes over to you and tugs the zipper open. “You should wear that more often.”

“I literally just got it.”

“Yeah. Keep wearing it.” His hands go to sit on your hips, gently rubbing.

“What’s with the affection all of the sudden?” He settles his face into your shoulder as you move to put your hair up. “Not that I’m complaining.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “Getting more comfortable,” he says into your skin. “I don’t… I’ve never had a relationship like this. Where we genuinely liked each other.” You stay silent, letting him gather his thoughts. “I’m just scared. But we’ve been over that before.”

”You can always tell me how you’re feeling,” you say softly.

“I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t think I’ll physically be able to handle it.” Roman pulls away from you, padding into the bedroom. You quickly change into your pajamas before following him, slipping under the covers by his side. “I also don’t want to hurt you,” he says quietly.

“What makes you think you’ll hurt me?”

“I don’t exactly have the greatest track record with relationships, do I? Behind all that hoity toity lawyer stuff, you’re so horribly kind. It makes me sick, honestly.” He’s facing you, pain flickering across his face. “People have never really liked me for me, you know? It’s always just for my money, or my brother, or Dad. It’s like… it’s like I’m not even here.”

You take a moment before responding. “I see you. You work hard, Roman. I should express my appreciation more.”

You’re right. Despite your consistent bickering in the beginning, Roman was dedicated to what you were trying to do together. Like clockwork, he’d have paperwork on your desk or news articles sent or even a mug of coffee. Recently, too- he’d helped you confirm Connor was lying, and now he apparently has dirt on his finances- and financier.

“Even though you’re honestly a jerk, I think deep down under all of that clownery you’re a good guy,” you murmur.

“You’re so backhanded,” he complains, reaching across you to pull you into him. His arm wraps around your back, the other sitting on the back of your thigh as he shifts you on top of him. You set your cheek on his chest.

“Really, Roman. I think you’re too hard on yourself.” His fingers trace circles into your skin.

“I don’t even know what I’m talking about.” You catch your eyes drooping as he speaks. “I want to try this. Seriously. Actually.”

“You can,” you murmur back. “We can.”

“I want to start acting like a real couple. I want you to trust me, to feel safe with me.”

You sigh happily as his fingers continue their ministrations. “I already do.”

“That makes you kind of stupid, really.” Roman presses a hesitant kiss to your head. “Like you said, I’m a jerk, and on top of that, I’m vain, self absorbed, wickedly good looking…”

“Oh, shut up.” You laugh lightly into his chest.

He does, for a few moments. “Y/N?”

“Hm?”

He gently takes your chin, tilting it up enough so he can look at you. You can tell he’s fighting with himself in his mind. Shakily, he presses his lips to yours.

It’s a stiff, awkward kiss, and he pulls away quickly.

“Good night, Y/N.”

☾𖤓

The next morning, you’re leaning against the wall, fighting off sleep. Your flight is bright and early, and therefore so are you. Roman insisted to carry all of your luggage out to the car, so you stand in the foyer, avoiding the outside chill of the morning. You and Greg talk about nothing while Kendall stares into his empty coffee cup, Shiv on his other side, teeth chattering.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell you- I’ve gotten a few bank statements I want you to take a look at. Don’t worry about them now, though. I don’t want you stressing until we get back. I mean, I don’t want you stressing at all, and I’m just trying to preserve the peace until we get back to the States. I mean- I don’t know what I mean.”

You give his arm an affectionate squeeze, and he rubs the grogginess from his eyes.

Roman shuffles back in, his breath clouding out in front of him before he steps back into the heat. “Santa took a fat shit outside.”

“How poetic,” you mutter in response. “You have such a way with words.”

He waits for the other three to file out of the foyer before pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Just for you.”

The flight back is lethargic. Nobody wants to get back to work, least of all you. Roman’s sprawled across your lap, and you idly scratch at his scalp. Kendall sits on your other side, slumped against you with his blanket pulled over his head. Shiv once again sits across from you, her legs once again propped up on the side of your lap Roman isn’t occupying. Greg has a sofa all to himself, his legs sticking off the end as he snores lightly.

Logan, again, had elected to take a different flight. It’s for the better, anyway.

“You think I can hire a hit man without getting arrested?” Shiv asks you nonchalantly.

“I want to see you try.” You give her ankle a pat. “You’ll do great,” you tell her sarcastically. “I’ll be so excited to come see you during prison visiting hours. If you get any.”

“Oh, be quiet. I’d execute it perfectly.”

“I really do hope you’re joking. Do you know how stupid people who hire ‘hit men’ are?” you ask, making air quotes with your free hand.

“What? It’d be fun, I think.”

“Stop thinking, then, Shiv.”

The rest of the long flight goes by slowly. When you step off the stairway and onto the asphalt, you take a breath of the smoke-infused air. It’s disgusting compared to the crisp, Norwegian air. Your nose scrunches.

“Fuckin’ gross…,” Kendall mutters as he gently pushes past you, his face mirroring yours. After everyone goes their separate ways, you and Roman are left to each other in the backseat of the car taking you back to your apartment.

The rest of the day is lazy. You spend it curled together on the couch.

[alittlebitofloveliness]

It's Sept. 4th which is basically Oct. 31st so here's my thoughts:

Two-Bit is the only Greaser (at 18 that is) to 100% believe that there are people out there putting razors and weed in kid's candy bags. (Nevermind Darry or Pony trying to tell him that idea is stupid, why would "bad people" take one day out of the year to give dangerous materials/substances that they sell for money on the street to kids FOR FREE???) And every Halloween he hopes to be "one of the lucky ones" to get something like that in his bag when he goes trick-or-treating with his little sister and every year he's upset on November 1st.

poor poor Susie matthews got dragged out trick or treating YEARS after she lost interest because two-bit could NOT grow up fr I know he’s the most annoying older brother ever

Two-bit did not ever find any drugs, weapons or otherwise in Susie’s candy bag however he doesn’t mind too much because Susie doesn’t like chocolate and gave them all to him so hey he won anyway

I just know the first year Susie decided to go to a friend’s Halloween party instead of trick or treating with him two-bit was DISTRAUGHT he probably tried to drag pony out instead and got swiftly rebuffed and ended up sulking on the Curtis’ couch all night. The gang didn’t really know what to do. Darry tried to give him a slice of chocolate cake and two-bit almost burst into tears I’m telling you the gang was STRESSED

the year after Two-bit threw a hissy fit after seeing Susie’s Halloween costume until their mom intervened and then two bit spent the night threatening every boy in Susie’s grade not to even glance at his sister which Susie did NOT appreciate. she ended up making out with a guy two years older than her to prove a point and Two-bit nearly committed a felony. Susie Mathew’s (rightfully) told him to fuck off and worry about his own relationships instead of trying to get in the way of hers and two-bit slunk off to the Curtis’ place for the rest of the night ranting barely coherently to a VERY confused and concerned Darry Curtis

the next year Susie and Two-but avoided each other for all of Halloween. Mrs. Mathews and Darry Curtis BOTH thanked their lucky stars that night

halloween the year after saw Susie dragging Two-bit home after he nearly passed out drunk in a ditch. She never got the full story of why he went on a bender worse than he’d ever had before but she knows it had something to do with that soc girl Marcia. (November first saw Susie Mathews in detention for the first time ever, and Marcia Valentine mysteriously absent for the second half of the school day)

Susie and Two-bit avoided each other for the next few Halloweens until Susie moved out, and then two didn’t need to worry about running into her because she was away at college. But years later Uncle Two always takes his nieces and nephews trick or treating, and he always checks their candy to make sure it’s safe. If he steals a few chocolates and Susie laughs at him even as she swats him for it and reassures her daughter she still has plenty of candy even if her uncle is a dirty dirty thief, well, that’s his right

thanks for the ask xx

[fefesoutsiderstuff]

More Autistic Cherry Stuff

Started masking around the age of five when she noticed her classmates didn't seem to like her as much as they did her other classmates, connected it to behaviors that were perceived as odd/abnormal.

"Kids my age don't like me because I'm weird" eventually led to: "How much interest, as an average, would you say your peers have in Medieval European geopolitics?" "I don't know what that is." "Oh." *frantically writes in little notebook: delete all evidence of interest in/knowledge of the Middle Ages, Europe, and geopolitics* "Why?" "I just heard those words on the TV last night." "And you decided to... do that?" "...Yes."

Perpetually struggles to copy others while not being super obvious and maintaining enough honesty that she seems interesting

Tries to be more outgoing -> joining random conversations she has nothing to do with

"Should I answer this homework question wrong intentionally so I don't seem like a dork?"

Gets overstimulated at a party and tells the host her mom called and wants her home so she has an excuse to leave

Also lied about what time the party would end so she wouldn't be questioned as to why she was home early

Party ends at 12, tell mom it ends at 10 because she knows she won't be able to function past then and her weekend bedtime is 11, starts goodbye procedures at 9:30

All this effort goes out the window once she's tired/burnt out. School is a horror show for her because it's simultaneously a bunch of loud noises and social conventions. The infamous drive-in double date happened after school. It was also very loud and she was already stressed about getting in a fight with Bob.

Literally just wanted a hand squeeze and felt safe taking the mask off with Ponyboy and only Ponyboy. There was nothing but friendship. She was on the brink of a panic attack.

This, on top of yet another fight with Bob, which ended in a breakup, and then finding out he died, and then getting blamed/yelled at lead to the events of the fic I submitted for Soc September: a complete lack of ability to maintain any semblance of the mask.

Cited John Locke when she dumped Bob. "I'm done." "Did you just break up with me? You can't do that!" "John Locke said that if the government isn't protecting the rights and welfare of the governed, the governed have a right to revolt. When you agreed to be my boyfriend, you agreed to love, respect, and remain loyal to me. You agreed to make me feel safe and comfortable. I agreed to do the same. You are scaring me. I heard the "I got my best girl and some others too" line. Therefore, I have the right to leave." "Cherry, what the fuck?"

Anyway...

Marcia was her biggest cheerleader for demasking once Cherry could finally communicate what was happening.

Cherry did a bit of thinking after the events of the story and sort of started suspecting that she was autistic.

Her cousin was diagnosed with autism and had much higher support needs, but very similar traits to Cherry, just, for lack of better term, on higher levels.

"Hold on. Autism affects the brain. Your sex doesn't determine whether or not you have a brain. So that means girls can be autistic too. But I'm not... wait, what if there are different amounts?"

I'm aware that there's no such thing as less/more autistic. I just didn't know how else to word it and this is Cherry's thought process. This is how she connected the dots.

Her routines are so specific. She always knows what she's supposed to be doing based on the time and date. Things that mess up her routine such as dates/football games stress her out, but she does them anyway.

Does barrel racing and cheer for fun, actually not that good at it, has the proprioception of a box of crayons.

When I say she doesn't want to be a flyer, I mean her internal reaction is to ask the coach how big the curve on their IQ test was when they suggest it, but she sucks it up and does it anyway.

Gets caught, back to ground level, starts crying, they never threw her again.

[coolcherrycream]

The other night, I was watching The Marx Brothers movie At the Circus (1939). There’s a scene where a character named Mrs. Dukesbury is throwing a party. As she enters the room, there’s some music playing (about 1:08:30 into the movie), and it sounded awfully familiar. I soon realized it was the same song that plays in Head when the Italian army surrenders to Micky (about 21:35 into the movie, or at 5:01 in this video).

I always kind of figured this song was Italy’s national anthem, but after listening to it, I now know it is not. Unfortunately, IMDb didn’t have a credit for that song in either At the Circus or Head, so I started looking through my Monkees resources to find out what it was.

SOTCAA contains an analysis of Head’s original script, but the script didn’t seem to mention the music in that scene. The analysis mentions the song:

A delightful patriotic march from Ken Thorne - which sounds like he was channeling some kind of John Wayne movie score - accompanies their collective surrender.

The Monkees, Head, and the ’60s had this to say about the scene:

...while the deeper meaning of this little interlude may be lost on a contemporary audience, the point isn’t - lest we miss it, a slice of faux-Italianate opera sings out over the scene until the last soldier lopes by. (pg. 176-177)

I couldn’t find any reference to the song in The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story (although, to be fair, I didn’t look through all 739 pages), The Monkees Film & TV Vault’s Head page, or the Monkee Magic Head review. So it would seem the identity of this song isn’t currently well-known in the Monkees community.

Next, I tried using some websites that claimed to be able to identify songs by uploading a snippet, and after a few sites failed to identify it, one gave me the answer:

Triumphal March (Marcia trionfale) from the opera Aida by Giuseppe Verdi

Coincidentally, Micky appeared in the musical Aida from 2000-2004.

The only other online reference I found to this song and the Monkees was a comment on Reddit from a few months ago. Anyway, IMDb’s Head soundtrack page has now been updated, so the identity of this song shouldn’t be such a mystery any more.

[anitalianfrie]

Always happy to talk about it so ... what are we thinking for girl Vale? 👀

So. To me girl vale is very much one of the boys™. Girl who likes to race on motorbikes? Especially when she's young, like in elementary and middle school, all her friends are boys. I know that uccio/vale codependency really reminds middle school gay girl friendship, but I think that uccio would still be a boy. Because otherwise they would be they're own unit, and vale had loads of friends when he was young. So. I think they would have been those kids who like in kindergarten wanted to get married and then simply grew into a brother/sister (codependent) relationship. Uccio aside.

When vale is younger like, in 125cc and before, she's often confused with a boy because she's really tomboyish. She is naturally but also being in a male dominated field she kinda puts on a performance both in the paddock and at home (again. All her friends are boys. She tries to fit in). At this point everybody knows she's a lesbian. Not really, because she doesn't advertise it, but everybody knows she isn't interested in boys (they don't know she's interest in girls per se, but still).

Then she starts to win, smashing everyone and everything in her way, but of course everybody still underestimates her because she's a girl, of course she will never get to 500cc. (cue to vale reaching 500cc in two years). I don't know how her parents would take her having to leave school to race, she would probably have to argue a lot more that vale actually did, because 1) she's a woman 2) not even her parents believe completely she will make it.

But anyway once she gets to 500cc she's very much under the spotlight and she can't really do the same things she did before. She's expected to be masculine, hard racing and knowing the engines and the bike and being rough, but also feminine, a proper woman, dresses and makeup and mannerism, and she doesn't really know how to do that because she never did it before. Also on the sexuality side, on one hand she's expected to be a lesbian because woman in racing=lesbian, but on the other hand everybody asks her about boyfriends (even more than racing) because that's all a woman gets reduced to.

At first in 500cc everybody still underestimates her and while she fights with biaggi she's often openly hated by the media. But she's still charming and funny and enough masculine (and sexy, she has to start selling herself like that) to find support and a dedicated following. After she starts winning, it's over for everyone else. She's the new coming of jesus christ for Italy.

People start calling for her retirement when she goes to ducati (not everyone, but men often do. Fucking men) but she doesn't give a shit.

And then. Cue to Marc (Mar? Marcia? I haven't decided yet) entering the grid. After vale getting to motogp girls started to take interest more into racing, but the majority of them is too young to be competing yet at high level (cue to bez and cele). Marc is the second girl to ever get to motogp. She's the second coming of valentina. They get closer because they're always paired together etc etc and of course two raging lesbian in close proximity? They fuck. A lot. Marc is in love with vale. It's horrible and messy. Sepang it's 1000 times worse because vale thinks that Marc helping Jorge goes against the sacred pact of girls in motor racing and says so in the press conference and everybody hates her (especially women bc they call her a fake feminist (yay misogyny)).

Vale probably comes out after retirement and in my heart there's a rosquez reconciliation.

[lady-assnali]

for the anarcia au, which one of them would be reading comments? both of them? do they watch each other’s videos?

Ooo yes here’s the tea

Marcia finds Anetra’s videos because she has popular Instagram reels of her workouts and Marcia’s like 👀 wait I know her. And then she has a lil deep dive moment, and that’s when she develops her lil crush. Because Anetra’s choreo to Nicki Minaj?? Yup. Sold.

Anetra asks Marcia for her Instagram. She tries to do it super casually and it works even though she feels like she fumbles it. Because Marcia’s friendly and a bit rambling and mentions Anetra’s videos (“honestly, I did one of your live streams last week and it kicked my butt. But I didn’t want to follow you and make it awkward. Even though I might have anyway.”) so she just is like “oh! No, that’s totally fine, I’ll follow you back!”

I see Anetra reading comments within the first hour the video is up, watching people react to them, and smiling and shaking her head and letting it go because “ok yeah sure”

But then Marcia’s the one who goes back to the comments a bunch and reads into them and gets it in her head because of course, she’s just a romantic and she’s wondering if what they see is actually true because after they’ve hung out to film this video outside of Marcia visiting the café it just feels different, and she’s happy, but she’s very much afraid she’s going to fall too quickly and romanticize everything too hard and get her heart broken again.

[violaobanion]

Hello, Succession Anon again with my last message til I can watch more in the who-knows-when future! Ah, the family cycle of abuse pit. A trope I shall never tire of watching!

LMAO yeah, not everyone has had a chance to be terrible yet, so currently I have some characters I only feel sorry for. I imagine that will change very easily (except for the dog I saw for like 5 seconds in this ep; BEST PUPPER, 100/10, NO DRAMA FOR THEM).

Anyway, here is my liveblog! May you enjoy my ridiculous amount of rambling, and also a light scattering of screaming. And a silly amount of em-dashes to separate scenes.

———

Kendall: [lights a cig, has one puff, then stomps it out to drama walk into a building] Arresting him for littering and for being wasteful. Jail for 50 years!

(After everything else I watched in the first ep, though, this is so far down on the 'people saying/doing bad stuff' things that it'd be a footnote on Santa's naughty list.)

———

Kendall: Does anyone want to talk to their dad?

My headcanon here is that Logan sneezed and instantly went 'Hmm, sounds like I need to call one of the little shits'.

———

Logan: [says he's excited full of an emotion that expresses he'd rather watch paint dry]

I'm beginning to see why these kids have daddy issues.

———

RIP Greg in the mascot dogsuit. It must not have been pretty or smelled good in there.

Also, I completely spaced out from what Greg was saying the moment I saw a dog. PUPPY!

———

Roman: 'Hey hey, motherfuckers!' Refuses to elaborate ANYTHING except mockery. Leaves.

I don't know whether to like him or not, but I would steal his last french fry.

———

I have no idea how to comment on Logan not only knowing about his 'surprise' party but also trying to have a say in it.

Like, relatable on the part of not wanting people in my face because anxiety. But it isn't abt anxiety for Logan, it's abt control, right? Sir, a surprise party is meant to have surprises!

———

WHAT THE FUCK IS A PREEKEND?! Why can't they say Friday; Shiv, I'm with you on this.

———

Kendall casually saying he'd give a bj without knowing his dad is in the room OH GOSH THAT POOR MAN it'd be like my fam finding my smut list. I'd jump out the window instantly.

———

Tom/Connor: casually tells a kid that he's got water pumping rights and people are gonna kill each other for said water some day

SIR, WHAT THE ACTUAL F

I can't believe 'hey motherfuckers' Roman was the sane man there, but THANK FUCK HE SHUT TOM/CONNOR UP. Well, tried to.

(Edit for Clarification: Roman called Connor 'Tom' for some reason, so I got confused and just put Tom/Connor here. RIP Connor.)

———

Shiv: What's that; Date R*pe by Calvin Klein? Roman: You wish. Shiv: …'You wish'???

SHIV, WTF. 2. ROMAN, DOUBLE WTF. 3. FORGET WHAT I SAID; JAIL FOR ROMAN FOR 100 YEARS.

———

RIP Greg, gets slammed into a door the moment he meets Logan.

Currently feeling the most sorry for Greg here; if he gets pushed out of a window at any point, I'm not even gonna be surprised.

'Yeah, that's Greg, bad shit happens to him a lot. You get used to it.'

———

Logan: Where's Tom? Shiv: He's right here. Logan: Oh, well, nevermind.

Logan, you can't just murder a man like that.

———

Kendall's ex(?): I'm just hoping [her date] doesn't leave coke smeared all over the kids' iPads.

EXCUSE ME WHAT?!

Oh, that was a dig at Kendall. Uh, I'm sad for everyone now, wow.

———

Logan: In the event of my demise (hi s4), I'm adding Marcia and leaving her my seat.

WELP. THAT'S A BOMBSHELL.

Shiv: Uh, I'm gonna need my lawyers to look at this. Logan: Sure. By 4:00, ok? Logan: Also, I discussed this with Kendall, but I'm staying in power as CEO. Kendall: Wh-what? Logan: Let's eat!

I see where Roman got his 'go in, throw shit at the wall, then leave' tendencies from.

'Fuck this shit I'm out' started playing in my head as Connor left too.

———

The longer Logan is on screen, the more I start… losing emotions. He just called rehab 'the nuthouse', and is generally insulting his son.

Logan: Is that why you're paying a billion dollars for a gay little website? Kendall: It's a portfolio of online brands and digital video content.

So Logan is Succession's Elon Musk, and Kendall is his son buying Instagram.

Now Logan's egging Kendall into punching him/mocking him for nearly crying, and poor Kendall is having a breakdown in the bathroom. Good lord, I want to hug him.

———

The past few moments they've mentioned a game, drove off in SUVs, and now there are helicopters. I have no idea what is going on.

OH, IT'S A BASEBALL FIELD. Now I know what's going on. There are so many shots of Tom holding a box, and I think that's the gift he's been trying to give to Logan. I feel sorry for the dude, and I get the feeling that's gonna sum up the show: me feeling sorry for characters.

Yep, it was a gift. Logan doesn't care. Continuing to feel sorry for Tom.

———

Tom: You need any help, any advice, just don't fucking bother, ok? Just kidding! [later] I'm a terrible, terrible prick. Just kidding!

Greg: [confused and clearly has no idea wtf is going on]

Don't worry, bro, me too.

Tom: Would you kiss me?

SIR, ARE YOU TRYING TO SPEEDRUN ANY% STRANGERS TO ENEMIES TO LOVERS?!

———

Ooh, did Kendall just go straight to the media about his family? 👀👀

———

Roman: Can you hit a ball? Kid: Yeah… Roman: Great, I will give you $1mil if you hit a home run.

WELL, THAT'S NOT GONNA PUT PRESSURE ON THE KID! But dang that is a lot of money, good on you, Roman.

———

Roman: [tears up the check right in the kids face, then gives him the torn pieces]

Roman, every time I say something nice about you, you fuck it up. I'm getting a spray bottle full of water, just for you.

EVEN LOGAN WAS NICE TO THE KID! You know you fucked up when Logan was (temporarily) nicer than you.

———

Kendall: I'm gonna stuff your mouth with so much money you're gonna shit gold figurines.

So Midas kink?

Kendall: [goes into graphic detail abt gold cages and silver d*ldos]

WHEN I SAID KINK I DIDN'T MEAN I WANTED A WHOLE ASS SUMMARY ABOUT YOUR FANTASIES, KENDALL

———

…I don't even know what to say about Logan making the kid and his family sign an NDA. Like, at least maybe the kid is getting money after all, but W O W.

I should probably get multiple water spray bottles.

———

Logan: Do we have a deal? His kids: No Logan: [instantly collapses from insubordination]

WELP. EVERYTHING WENT STRAIGHT TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET, AND THIS IS ONLY S1 E1.

———

Everyone else: [chaos, drama, and depression] Frank: [resting on a chair after getting fired]

Be free, Frank. Get away from this! …OH, THE KID AND HIS FAMILY GOT TOM'S GIFT FOR LOGAN! Like, kinda happy for the kid/family 'cause they could sell that or whatever, but rip Tom. Logan loves hurting his family more than your Brand watch.

———

That's everything from my liveblog of ep 1! Sorry for only one ep liveblog, but hopefully it was an amusing read. This is gossipy hen/Succession Anon, signing off! salutes

Hi my dear anon!

Haha I love to see your liveblogging, this was a very amusing read indeed. You're observations are pretty spot on and hilarious, and it made almost nostalgic thinking about the time when I watched the shitshow (affectionately) for the first time 😌

A few comments:

Tom and/or Greg: There's a fine line between feeling sorry for and being annoyed by these two fellas. I think you're gonna cross it many times (and hopefully soon). Still love them both btw. But god. UGH!

*sigh* What would this show be without daddy issues, amarite or amarite? 😏

I would steal Roman's last french fry too 🤣

Fun fact: Roman's "you wish" at Shiv's perfume comment was unscripted, and so Shiv's reaction is actually Sarah's reaction. For a split second she falls out of character and looks at the crew. But when you don't know, it just looks like Shiv fucking baffled. I love that for her and I love Kieran's improv. It's not the last time he does that (but sadly not all his attempts make it. One of them was even too good???)

"SIR,WHAT THE ACTUAL F" is one the most accurate descriptions of Connor I've ever heard. That man is so out of touch. Send help.

Logan is the male equivalent of a Karen 🙂🔪

Frank is love, Frank is life. That man? *chef's kiss* right there

I remember last time I rewatched this (right before s4) thinking "LOGAN COULD'VE DIED IN THE FIRST EPISODE??" and then thinking what dream scenario that would have been. But oh well!

[probably-bad-fandom-ideas]

Beetle, sitting in a jail cell with Septimus: so who are you gonna call to get us out of here?

Septimus: I should probably call Marcia, but I feel safer in prison

[septimus-heap]

Sep heap soulmates au

[dearviper]

When You Wake Up, Will You Walk Out? Chapter 7

Eddie Munson x Cheerleader!Reader (note: reader is over the age of 18)

WARNINGS: 18+ (minors dni!)

Table of Contents | My Masterlist | AO3 Link

Eddie didn’t show up to school the next day. A twisting, sinking feeling settled in your stomach at the realization that it was probably because of you.

You broke his heart, hissed the vindictive voice in your head. And for what?

For what, indeed.

Just as Eddie was likely avoiding you, so too were you avoiding Jason.

He had told you to take as long as you needed, but you knew better. Jason wasn’t a patient man, and he’d probably track you down by the end of the day looking for an answer.

You skipped your final class of the day and trekked out to the woods behind the school, hoping to find Eddie there.

Though you tried to calm your turbulent mind, your dilemma had you reeling to the point where you were unaware of your surroundings.

When you finally arrived at the secluded picnic table, you were startled to find someone already sitting there.

Chrissy jumped out of her seat, her doe eyes wide as if caught in the headlights of a car.

“Christ!” she shrieked, clasping a hand to her chest and laughing a little. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry,” you muttered, wincing apologetically.

“Are you here to see Eddie too?”

You froze at her words as Eddie’s bounced around in your head once more.

“Maybe I’ll ask Chrissy Cunningham to be my date instead. I’ve heard she’s a lot more pleasant to be around.”

Maybe he really had meant it.

In your stunned silence, Chrissy shuffled back and forth uncomfortably, glancing down to the ground and back up to you.

“I didn’t- I’m not like a pothead or anything, okay? I’m just picking some up as a favor for Patrick.”

Chrissy had mistakenly assumed your agape expression was one of judgment rather than one of jealousy.

You gave her a quick grin and threw up your hands to show you came in peace. “No judgment here either way. Is Eddie around? I was thinking about buying too.”

The lie fell easily off your lips. Chrissy visibly relaxed and shook her head.

“I’ve been waiting here since the end of last period, but no such luck. He’s normally out here after 2:00 — from what I’ve heard, anyway,” she quickly qualified. “Although there is that Battle of the Bands thing tonight, maybe he’s practicing for that?”

It was Friday. Of course. He wasn’t missing school for you.

You’re not worth missing school for, hissed the voice in your head again.

“Ah, okay,” you replied awkwardly. “I’ll just… go then.”

You turned to leave.

“Wait!” she called out a little too loudly.

Turning back around, you furrowed your brows at her in confusion.

“I, um…” she stammered, looking bashfully at the ground. “I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you. I haven’t been able to get a moment with you at cheer practice, and… well, honestly, I chickened out a few times.”

Walking back, you sat across from her at the table.

“Uh, okay. Sure. What did you want to talk about?”

Chrissy shifted in her seat, and for a moment you thought she would change her mind again.

“I’m sorry about Jason,” she blurted out, eyes wide like even she was surprised at her words.

“Um, it’s-”

“Don’t say it’s okay because it’s not.” Surprised by her boldness, you closed your mouth. “I just wanted to explain because it’s not what you think.”

You bit your lip with chagrin, but stayed silent.

“The night of Andy’s party Jason was hitting on me, but I knew the two of you were together and I told him that. But he told me that you had broken up weeks before that because you cheated on him.”

Your jaw dropped. “That bastard!”

“Right?!” she agreed, nodding encouragingly. “And I believed him, and truthfully I was more than a little drunk that night, and one thing led to another…”

She trailed off with a wince before continuing. “Anyway, I didn’t know what had really happened, but then Marcia told me you ran off crying at Andy’s party. And when I asked Jason about it, he told me what actually happened and I broke things off with him.”

You were stupefied. As you floundered, she reached across the table and grabbed your hand.

“All this to say, I’m really sorry and I wouldn’t have dated him if I knew what really happened. I hope you can forgive me.”

Finally, you managed a slow nod and a smile. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

Chrissy beamed back at you — a blinding, beautiful smile — and in that moment you could forgive Jason for wanting her. Looking at her was like looking at the sun.

“Thank you. Maybe we can hang out sometime after practice? See a movie or something?” she suggested, standing up and slinging her backpack over her shoulders.

Nodding, you smiled warmly back at her. “I’d really like that.”

After she walked away, you stayed on the bench for a few minutes. You knew what you had to do — what you wanted to do. The conversation with Chrissy hadn’t changed your decision, but rather revealed it to you.

Gathering your things, you set off back toward the school.

By the time you returned, the final bell had already rung. You should have been in the locker room getting ready for cheer practice, but you were planning on skipping today.

Instead, you stalked over to the basketball courts where Jason and his teammates were currently scrimmaging.

When Jason caught sight of you he smiled, but it quickly fell as he took in the stormy look on your face.

“Chrissy just told me something really interesting,” you started, baring your teeth into a manic grin. “Apparently I cheated on you, and we broke up weeks before Andy’s party! I wonder where she got that idea?”

Sensing your impending rage, Jason put up his hands in both surrender and defense.

“Honey…”

“Yes, sweetie pie?” you responded acerbically. The rest of the team had stopped playing and was now watching the spectacle.

Noticing this, Jason lowered his voice.

“Why don’t we go somewhere private and talk-”

“Oh, no no no,” you laughed darkly. “You’re not talking your way out of this one, asshole. I just wanted to stop by to say that, from the bottom of my heart, I hope you and your tiny dick rot in hell.”

You flipped him off to a chorus of oohs from the basketball team. Turning on your heel, you strode out of the gym without giving him another thought.

You had a concert to attend.

previous chapter | next chapter

[magyke]

I have this headcanon that Marcia was really mad at Alther once she stopped grieving his death (I have another hc that she and Alice lived together at Wizard Tower for the first months after his death because they were the only ones that really understood each other's grief and that Marcia insisted for Alice to sleep in "Alther's" bedroom... but that's a different story 😅)

Anyways I think that Marcia must have been really mad once she at least kind of accepted his death because surely one (1) dark wizard that has been banished for decades and that was so afraid of his own apprentice that he potentially jumped of the golden pyramid would not have been able to return all on his own, build the Young Army, take over the Palace, plan a double assassination... He must have had some help from the inside of Wizard Tower, like I think there was a secret plot to overthrow the EOW and kill the queen, a group of people that must have been planning this for years and it was probably just really good timing to kill her when she just had a child and everybody was celebrating and not really paying attention

I think maybe these traitors just used DomDaniel as a pretence/show to distract from what was secretely happening inside Wizard Tower. They were pissed because the EOW was expected to sacrifice their life for the Queen. In their mind Wizards were better people and shouldn't have to obey the Queen. Also I feel like there might have been tensions between "normal" people and wizards long before the queen got murdered. Why else did no queen ever in the entire history of the Castle marry a wizard? It must have seemed weird to people that the queens on one hand were insisting to be protected by the EOW and on the other hand they refused (?) to have wizards in their family. So I guess in that sense it was really helpful that Jenna was raised by wizards because she was the first Queen to have a real understanding of magic and wizard culture.

Anyways once Marcia is EOW she finds out about all this and how long these secret things have been planned and that actually Alther wasn't really in control of Wizard Tower for at least the last two decades. And he couldn't really afford all of the parties he threw, Wizard Tower is in a lot of debt and people are starting to want their money back now that he is dead.

And she can't make any of this public information because she's scared that the situation will escalate even more and the general public will turn against all wizards and of course she still loves Alther, she's not going to ruin a dead man's reputation

But also now she is the one responsible for everything and everyone blames her for all the things that are going wrong in the Castle when none of it is actually her fault

and she's really mad at Alther because he never properly prepared her for the job, she just finished her apprenticeship, she doesn't even now where to start or what to do

but when he comes back after one year and one day she can't get herself to complain to him because she missed him so much and he died shielding her from a bullet and how an earth is she ever going to be able to criticise anything he does, she owes him her life

and at first she tries to explain some of the things that are going on, basically an entire secret war but he just thinks she's exaggerating because it's Marcia and she always does, right? and maybe he knows deep down that he made mistakes but he would never admit it because then he'd have to admit the he put Marcia in an impossible situation

so she ends up spending the first ten years being EOW fixing Alther's mistakes and right before she gets thrown into Dungeon Number One she kills the leader of the secret enemies but then DomDaniel sees his chance and he becomes the problem...

And one day she's going to tell Jenna the whole story, because she deserves to know why her mother died and because she needs to know about the tensions between non magic and magic folk to keep herself save.

And Jenna is also the only one she ever tells what really happened in Dungeon Number One (I imagine there is a special anti mind reading spell that only EOWs and their apprentices know that makes it impossible to read their minds even when they can't use magic, but if DomDaniel couldn't use magic to find out where the Princess is - what did he do instead?)

so yeah, I think Alther must have fucked up really badly for things to escalate this much in the Castle und Marcia had a really hard time accepting that her master that she always looked up to was capable of doing so many things so badly and she struggles for a long time to reconcile all this with her anger and her grief...

[lovelyisadora]

Oh and septimus and his parents also!! (feel free to make this marcia + septimus if u want bc u know she's his second mum andjdndjnd)

septimus and his parents coming right up!

· the first few months of having her son back, whenever he isn’t in the wizard tower (which is often because marcia isn’t heartless and he deserves a chance to get to know the rest of his family) sarah is near smothering him. at first he loves every second of it. he’s never had a mother before and he’s so relieved that she does everything he thinks mothers are supposed to do, but it does eventually become too much. he’s too scared to tell her and it’s silas who notices, who carefully reminds sarah that he is ten, not three.

· If septimus wants to try out a spell that marcia has strongly suggested he not do, silas is his go to every time. to give credit to silas, he does try to tell him that perhaps he shouldn’t do the things marcia tells him not to do, but septimus always has a very good argument for why he should do the things marcia tells him not to do, and silas falls for it every single time. it gets him into trouble with marcia (and sarah) more times than he can count, but it makes septimus laugh and there’s no greater sound in the world.

· personally sarah does not like aunt zelda’s concoctions, but unlike marcia, she is willing to make them for septimus. silas likes to complain because the entire time they’ve been married sarah has never made him eel and cabbage sandwiches. he also tries to steal the extra sandwiches but sarah fends him off with a wooden spoon, and that’s why silas isn’t allowed to take the care packages to septimus alone.

· sometimes sarah doesn’t think she’s doing the whole mother thing right where septimus is concerned. she knows it’s not fair, but sometimes he seems to prefer marcia over them and them. it’s hard for her to stop being so envious of marcia those first few months, and sarah is secretly pleased the first time septimus is sick because she is the first person he asks for, and not marcia.

· septimus does not understand it when marcia teaches him to cook. “she doesn’t use recipes, mum. how am I supposed to know how much salt to use?” he’s so distressed about it that it’s all sarah can do not to laugh. she doesn’t use recipes either, but she suspects that her way may help septimus understand it more, and so they spend an entire afternoon baking. the pie is hardly edible but they eat it anyway, and after that they start baking together every weekend.

· silas will do anything for any of his kids, but that is especially true for septimus. at the same time, he knows it’s very important for him to let him be independent. all of his children are growing up so fast, sometimes he just wishes they would all stay small forever.

· septimus forgets to mention to his dad that he’s met his grandfather, not knowing that silas doesn’t know where his father is. he’s learned to accept a lot of things since he became a heap—like aunt zelda’s cat that isn’t a cat—that his grandfather being a tree didn’t register as odd to him. it doesn’t come up until years later until silas is talking about his father and septimus is like, right, the tree, i’ve met him, and silas is like. you what. for decades he’s been unable to locate his father, but septimus manages to find him that very afternoon, and silas gets to have a long overdue conversation with him. later that night, silas thanks septimus and hugs him very tightly.

· the morning septimus leaves to spend a few months in the marram marshes with marwick, he expects the worrying and mothering from sarah, but he isn’t expecting it from marcia. he says as much to her and she immediately scowls. he laughs. “there, that’s better.” and then he kisses both their cheeks, waves to his father, and he’s off

[battle-of-roses]

When Rome Burns : Part 1

TW : Logan Roy's A+ Parenting, Manipulative Logan

By @your-gay-cousin-clover

---

With a certain hint of trepidation, Tom starts dressing himself to meet up with Shiv in downtown New York. The plan was pretty simple for the day: meet up with Shiv, find a gift for her father, put on his best Midwest honourable fellow personality and charm the pants of all her family. He stopped for a moment in the middle of his bedroom, standing there in his white button up, boxers and black socks, biting his lip on whether to take the gold ring, he’d picked out a week ago, to the party. After all this time he had spent with her, ever since their whirlwind romance in Hong Kong, he was sure that she was the one for him. His soulmate, the-one-who-he-got, his loml. The question was of when?

The party would be a good place to propose. Lavish surroundings, her entire family, and a pretty pricey ring to show his commitment to her. All eggs in your basket, he’d say if- when she said yes. And it would all be fine and okay. He starts to daydream for a moment, his dreams flying higher than just becoming Logan Roy’s son-in-law, maybe he’d join in the business himself. He would swoop in, take over one of the main branches of Royco, maybe ATN and continue the family business until he had his own billionaire kids à la Shiv.

Beep! Beep!

His fantasies suddenly dashed down into the floor. He jerks and reaches to the phone on the table to receive the call. It’s Shiv.

“Hey honeybee,” he says in a sweet-syrupy tone that he hoped conveyed his affections accordingly.

“Where are you?”

He immediately frowns. Her tone is clipped sharp, a razor’s edge, threatening him to not speak a word off their usual script.

“I’m … ahh… just getting dressed. Oh, oh, how formal is the even supposed to be? Do you think I could sneak in a tartan tie pattern to impress your Dad?” He tries to detract from her irritation.

“The fuck, Tom? Don’t be silly. Just wear whatever you want, you’re not a pre-schooler. It’s a formal event, but don’t wear anything weird or embarrassing.” Her words just kick up a latent anger in him that he press down as per usual. It’s alright, maybe it’s her job that’s got her stressed.

He tries another jovial voice for a size. “Ok, love-,” he continues, but there’s no Shiv on the other side of the call. Just him and the dial tone mocking him.

Right.

Nothing weird or embarrassing.

He drops the ring into a drawer of his bedside table and shuts it close.

—

The day goes in its own pace and Shiv makes a hasty apology about her signal getting dropped in the elevator. He waves it off, he always goes. There’s no use holding on a grudge with his future-wife-to-be, on silly things like one too many passive aggressive words and brushed off endearments. And so, here he is now. Standing in the middle of an opulent penthouse living room, chatting pleasantries with Marcia, hands sweaty as he tightens his grasp on the gilded box with the watch.

It had been pretty expensive to purchase on his own. He and Shiv were comfortable, sure. But they - no, he wasn’t Olympus rich like the Roys, America’s number one conservative messiah. He hopes it’s enough. Enough for a job at ATN, enough for Shiv, above all, enough for Logan.

His fucking future hung on a balance because of a little ticking metal machine.

Ding!

There. The elevator’s number stuck still on their current floor and his breathing picks up. Everyone else collects around the door to waiting as the metal door open, but he stands back, alone. For a split second, he’s swallowed up in all the gold, gild and glamour around him and he simply can’t breathe.

He sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of all this. No matter how brave, how much of a fucking asshole he pretends to be. He does not deserve to be here. He’s what? Got a few hundred thousand in his savings, while collectively in front of him stands the 3rd richest family in America. He just wants to bolt and never come back.

And in the same fleeting moment, the doubt hastily vaporises as Logan Roy himself steps into the view amidst loud yells of “Happy Birthday!”.

The moment he sees Logan, it’s something of oh, that echoes in his head. Like oh, he’s just an old man. And he indeed looks frazzled, startled by the sudden cheers. But he whispers something to Marcia, who takes his coat and hands it off to one of the numerous maids hurrying around the house.

And then he straightens up to face the crowd. There’s something in his eyes that makes Tom want to shrink back against the patterned wallpaper. Something fierce, something very calculating. He watches as Logan makes his way through the crowd of his children and nods absent-mindedly at everyone’s greetings.

“Shiv,” Logan says, turning to Shiv, his back to Tom “Where’s Wambsgans? I thought we invited him.”

Shiv’s expression falters for a second, perhaps debating whether her father’s joking or not. It’s clear, he’s not, when the beat of silence extends between them. She smiles back again, radiant. And gosh, Tom loves her so much.

“He’s behind you, Dad!”

Tom didn’t have much time to be mortified as Logan turned to him and stuck his hand out to shake. Awkwardly balancing his watch box on one hand, Tom tries to make grip firm and solid. Logan gives him two shakes and quickly removes his hand.

“Wambsgans, you’ve got a strong grip. Trying to break an old man’s hand, eh?”

Fuck. Of course, Logan Roy would be above all masculine handshaking bullshit that the Wall Street posers were really into. Logan knew he was the king of the world, didn’t need to prove it to any Tom-Dick-Harry on the street.

Logan’s already turning away from him, but Tom tries to swallow his foot down the throat trying not to make his first impression even worst. He lets out a laugh, but winces internally. Too braying, too harsh, too corny.

“Well, you’re not that weak, Mr Roy-“ He tries. He does. But Shiv already looks disappointed and Logan’s barely listening to him. His time to prove himself is running out.

Ding!

Everyone turns to look at the elevator again. Kendall Roy steps out the lift with his ex-wife and children in tow. He’s wearing that same black blue outfit combo, just like the one on Forbes, proudly declaring him as the HEIR WITH THE FLAIR. Tom has read Kendall’s entire wikipedia enough times to know that the stress marks and the lack of the photogenic smile was simply because of his age.

Drugs - Divorce - Demotion.

Yet like every American hero billionaire, Kendall got the second chance that could only be afforded to the rich and now, most probably, he was going to the Successor to the entire media conglomerate. Even then, Tom wouldn’t say that he exactly envies the other man.

“Ken!” Logan’s voice somehow sounds surprised as well as disappointed. “I didn’t think you’d come. Did we close the Vaulter deal?”

Kendall’s stance becomes a bit wooden as he reaches down to accept his father’s embrace. His ex turns to Marcia and hands off a wrapped box with a pleasant smile. The kids run off with Grace’s kid and Kendall stands there looking a bit unsettled as he answers “oh, no, no Dad. They’re still hammering out the details. I took a break to wish you on your birthday. Not sure how many more there might be.” The conversation mills a bit around the two, everyone leans in a bit to hear.

“You did?” Logan repeats with furrowed brows. “Well, where’s your cousin? I thought he’d rather come than you.”

Kendall looks taken aback for a moment. Everyone tries another round of conversation, but Tom simply nods along to other’s words as he tries to figure out information about the cousin. A cousin? Shiv’s never mentioned a cousin being involved in … well, anything.

“Greg?” Kendall asks, his voice uncertain. Logan looks him in the eye and shares a sardonic grin. “Yes, Greg. Unless Marianne happened to suddenly stop by. What’s he doing? Wasn’t he with you this morning?”

Kendall seems to shrink into himself under his father’s gaze. “Greg’s..” he starts and stops for a moment. “Greg’s with the team in the building. He wanted to finish the deal before joining the party.”

“Shame.” Logan says, “But good for him, as soon as we wrap up this deal the better. Anyway, kids, can I talk to you alone for a moment? I just want you to sign something.”

All of them exchange glances with each other, the meaning of which Tom is too novel to understand. All of them quietly follow in the steps of their father. The rest of them stare.

“So,” Marcia says, clapping her hands together. The sound echoes in the eerie silence devoid of birthday wishes. “Let’s get started on lunch shall we?”

—

On the way to the “game” which was highly requested in a cult-like chanting, Tom abruptly turns to Shiv and asks “I didn’t know you had cousin working at Waystar?”

She ceases typing on her phone and looks up with pinched brows, seemingly in thought. Tom watches the city go by in a blur from Shiv’s side of the window and waits. “

“Oh,” She says “You mean Greg? Yeah, he’s like my second cousin. Uncle Ewan’s only grandson, although I don’t think he’s seen them since he was ten? He’s chief strategist at Royco. You’ll see him soon enough when you join.”

A when, not an if. And immediately, Tom’s heart lifts. He fights a grin on his face and catches Shiv’s eye. She smiles a bit, the stress from her face falling away for a second and turns back to her phone.

All was well.

—

All was not well.

Tom kind of looks like an idiot. At least in his own head, he’s been lugging around the watch box the entire evening. Right now, he’s standing behind Logan and Shiv like an obedient puppy waiting for Shiv to call upon him. The rest of the family is setting up the baseball game while the groundskeepers looking on fascinated.

Tom pretty much feels like them.

“So, about Tom,” Shiv says and Logan seems to be considering her words. Tom’s ears pick up, his hands turn sweaty again and he fidgets with the box in his hands. He imagines he can hear the watch tick inside like a time bomb.

“Hmm…” Logan replies, peering out into the distance. Kendall’s already gone into the wind, about half-an-hour ago, his ear glued to the phone talking to “Greg”. Tom waits for that syllable to end and simply waits.

“What do you think about putting him under Greg?”

Despite the short distance between him and the duo, he hears an undercurrent of something sinister his way. Something almost amusingly cruel.

“Wh-why Greg? Isn’t that - like isn’t he already busy with the buyings and everything else? And surely you don’t expect Tom to be his assistant? He’s much more experienced in business.” Shiv’s protest add a bit of tension to his mind.

What was the deal with this Greg? It was almost as if he was some kind of a boogeyman to Shiv and her siblings. But someone that Logan clearly approved of, but there was something very odd about the whole missing cousin.

It was as if being put under the cousin would somehow be bad for him. Geez, was he some kind of a hardass?

“No, no. I’m sure Greg’s not to busy to welcome your boyfriend into the family business. He can help guide Tom and put him in a fitting department. Not to busy to help family.”

Tom expects Shiv to say something. To put off Logan’s plan and for a moment, she does. But instead, she stops and frowns.

A beat.

Tom takes it as his cue to step in with the box.

This better work.

—

[wonder-womans-ex]

And The Song Keeps Playing

Part 2

The days drag on. Then they turn into weeks, and months, and those drag on, too. The whirlwind that was Sirius has disappeared from Remus’s life, and he is left drifting aimlessly from decision to decision, not quite sure what to do. 

There is no determination in Remus’s life, There is no passion. There isn’t much of anything, really, if you don’t count the empty space on the other side of the bed and the late nights spent at the bar down the street. The only thing he truly has to live for are memories, because his past with Sirius is the most important thing in the world—someone has to remember it, and he knows that somewhere, Sirius is trying his hardest not to. 

It’s funny, really, that he didn’t realize just how large a part of his life Sirius was until Sirius was gone. He has no one to go to, no shoulder to cry on, because it was always supposed to be Sirius’s shoulder. Before they were lovers, they were friends, and it never really occurred to either of them that they could ever be nothing at all. 

Well, it probably occurred to Sirius. But he’s not going to think about that. 

In any case, Remus has only four contacts in his phone. One is Sirius’s cell, one is Sirius’s old work number, and the other two… well, he’s not about to call his mother or his Great Aunt Caroline and tell them that his first real relationship—with a man, no less—has reached its—in hindsight, somewhat inevitable—end. 

All of which means he’s left, heartbroken, in an apartment he can’t afford on his own with nothing but photo albums he should really throw out but can’t bring himself to and an engagement ring that never got to see the light of day to keep him company. Remus has a gaping hole in his heart that can’t be filled with anything but Sirius, and since Sirius is no longer there, he has no choice but to not try to fill it at all. 

He writes. 

He writes because that’s all he knows how to do. He puts pencil to paper and spins stories of completely fictional people who are, in no way, shape, or form, anything like anyone who happens to be named Sirius Orion Black. No, his characters are blond and red-haired; his characters have spring-green and ocean blue eyes; his characters have skin like cream or terra cotta or freshly churned soil. Not one of them is pale bronze with thick dark hair and grey eyes that darken with anger or fear or sadness or lust. Not one of them loves like it’s all he was born to do. 

Marcia at the bookstore still smiles at him when he arrives for his shift. She still rolls her eyes and pretends not to notice when she catches him reading on the job. But Marcia, the only person he ever used to willingly make conversation with—other than Sirius, obviously—has no idea that every time he catches a whiff of one of the cigarettes she smokes on her break, he has to fight back tears. 

It only takes three months—which is longer than he had expected, actually—for him to look at what he has and know, with sickening surety, that there’s no way he can make rent. Barely a week later, he’s locking his apartment door for the final time and handing over the key to the lady (Janine, her name says) behind the front desk. 

He’s got a duffel bag in one hand, full of as many clothes as he could fit. In the other—or, technically, balanced against his hip—is the huge blue tupperware bin full of vinyl records—mostly Sirius’s, but six of them are his own, and that’s the excuse he gives himself for keeping them. Everything else is on the moving van: the turntable and the toaster and the sofa he almost put up for sale on eBay but eventually decided against. He and Sirius bought that sofa together, which of course has nothing to do with it. Nothing at all. 

There’s only one thing Remus can’t excuse; there’s only one thing that makes his carefully woven story of not missing Sirius begin to crumble: that ugly old bird paperweight that Sirius had loved so much. It’s funny, in a morbid sort of way, because Remus used to spend so much time trying to convince him to get rid of it, but now, strangely, bitterly, it’s all he truly has left of him. 

In truth, he’s not sure how he does anything anymore. His head is still a storm of fresh heartbreak and poisoned Cupid’s arrows and the all-consuming need that is Sirius—or, rather, the lack of him. Sirius isn’t there, which means love isn’t, either, and the truth is that time passes a lot more painfully quickly without those two vitally connected things there to make everything real and meaningful and worth remembering. 

So he finds himself standing in the middle of an empty apartment, staring up at the water stains on the ceiling, not knowing what truly happened to get him here, except for that it is in every way Sirius’s fault. 

It feels strange when he thinks about it, but this is the first time he’s ever lived alone. He and Sirius, when they made the inevitable change from friends to more at age fifteen—after three years of lingering gazes and hugs that lasted just a few seconds longer than necessary—had immediately known, deep inside, that somewhere out there, there was a one-bedroom apartment and a life together waiting for them. It’s common knowledge that teenage romances never go far, but that was never supposed to apply to them. 

He wonders how long Sirius had been planning his escape to greatness, and then he decides that knowing the answer to that question would be what undoes him completely. 

So Remus waits. He goes to the bookstore and waits for customers; he lies awake in bed at night and waits for sleep to come to him; he reads the newspaper every morning and waits for Sirius’s name. His heart breaks a little more as first September, then October comes to a close and the possibility that Sirius left him for nothing becomes more and more real. It’s been almost a year, and Sirius’s promise of I’m going to be famous doesn’t look like it’s going to stop being broken anytime soon. 

Them just as quickly, it has been a year—November sixth will forever be etched into his memory; he knows that as sure as anything—and Remus Lupin finds himself in a dimly lit bar nursing a whiskey that tastes like crying himself to sleep. Or, at least, he thinks it’s whiskey. He wasn’t really paying attention when he ordered. As long as it does its job of erasing tonight from his memory, it’s good enough for him. 

Over in one corner of the bar, there’s one of those Coca-Cola ads—the retro ones with old-fashioned teenagers in old-fashioned clothing. This one shows a redhead girl and a dark-haired boy on a picnic blanket, and the happy smiles on their faces seem to Remus to be taunting him. At the bottom, it’s captioned ‘make it a date — share a coke!’ and he tries to think of something witty and wry to say about it, but all his mind provides is the way Sirius’s eyes used to crinkle when he laughed. Hell, maybe they still do, and Remus has to squeeze his eyes closed to stop himself from crying when he wonders who the cause of Sirius’s laughter—his happiness—is nowadays. It isn’t him, that’s for sure. 

Under the sign is a piano. There’s a man sitting there; his fingers dance along the keys to create a melody Remus hasn’t let himself notice until now. 

He takes first one step, then another in that direction, and before he knows it—before he’s truly ready—he’s meeting a pair of dark hazel eyes from just a few feet away. The man smiles when he sees him. 

“Got any requests?”

As soon as he says it, Remus will wish he hadn’t, but he has to anyway. He owes it to himself. “Play us a song; you’re the piano man,” he whispers, and his voice carries well in the far-too-silent bar. 

A grin. “I’d been hoping someone would ask.”

It’s fine, at first. He lets the music wash over him; he takes in the story of a man with not quite enough to live for. But then the barely-there ache begins to consume him. This is, in a way, his story—his and Sirius’s—and with every word, he feels as if his heart is being laid bare. Before, he was hurting because Sirius left him, but now he’s just hurting because Sirius is gone. 

It’s the last epiphany he wants to have while he’s here, in a bar at the end of nowhere street, listening to this fucking song and trying for the life of him not to cry. 

He can’t do this. 

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out, stepping away from the piano before he can see the expression on the man’s face. A woman by the door turns around indignantly when he shoulders past her, but he barely notices. He’s outside, and he can breathe again, and he stands in the red glow of the neon sign and presses the heels of his hands into his eyes and sobs. 

[lapinmiel]

[Backstory] Felix, the Volturi Guard.

Felix was always a background character. We know his name, his power, how Jane uses her power on him and his position in the Guard.

Have you ever wondered what more he had to offer? Because I did, and here is how Felix’s life was like before becoming a Volturi Guard. 

Note: This post is long.

• Felix was born in the Byzantine Empire under Heraclian Dynasty. The year was 674 and the whole Empire was being succumbed to war. His native town, a little place called Gerolimenas, was in the south of what is now known as Greece. It was a stormy day outside and his older sisters were helping their mother give birth. It was such a hard birth that his mother couldn’t even get up for six days, his father thought that she would die — for this hard birth, he started to detest his son.

• He wasn’t given a name until his mother completely recovered. For the reasons that he “almost killed” his mother, his father left him with his sister for the days when his mother was recovering. After she, named Argentea, held him in her arms for the first, she whispered his name with a melancholic smile on her lips: Felix. For he was the lucky one to be born after seven miscarriages.

• Argentea tried to get his husband, Castinus, to get used to Felix and love him as a son. But Castinus was resistant, he didn’t even want another baby anyway. He was already happy with his three daughters. Even though townsfolk considered their seeds damned for not being able to conceive a boy, he loved his daughters more than his own self.

• Due to his relationship being broken with his father even before he was the age to realize it, Felix never felt at ease when his father was around. He learned walking when he was around nine months old and he would avoid walking to his father. His sisters and mother were so broken by their baby’s behaviour, how could a father be so cruel that his son, who didn’t even know his name, wouldn’t walk to him with excitement and a smile?

• His oldest sister Dominica was really stressed about the whole situation because she felt like if Felix didn’t have a good relationship with their father, he was up to bad luck. So she, the daughter who Castinus admittedly adored the most, started trying to get him and Felix close. She started by putting him into his father’s arms with a lie that she had to get work done. Castinus tried to repel her but Felix was already in his arms. This made him realize that the child, Felix, was just a human baby like they all once were and not a baby-shaped devil. Of course, baby Felix started crying but Castinus managed to calm him down. Still, when Donica came into the room again, he put on a frown and gave Felix away to her. But he wanted to hold him in his arms again so badly.

• Slowly, the sisters started to co-operate and create bonding time for Felix and their father. Dominica would leave Felix with him when she had to go and wash the clothes, Eulali, the middle sister, would ask her father to hold Felix while she cleaned the floors and Marcia would ask her father to help out when she washed Felix. The three worked so hard for them to bond, and their effort materialized when one night Castinus asked Argentea to give Felix to him, he wanted to hug him while they slept together. In the morning, when the sisters found out what happened, Eulali shed a couple of tears as the most emotional one. Finally, their family was free of unnecessary tension.

• Deep down Castinus knew that Felix wasn’t the cause of his wife’s hard labour. But he felt bad for trying six times to conceive a boy only for him to almost kill his mother. Castinus felt responsible for it didn’t know how to deal with the agony. As a result, he directed his anger to Felix. Fortunately, their relationship normalized before Felix was two.

• Their family was a warm and intimate one. They would often go on picnics. Castinus always made sure to make flower crowns for his gorgeous wife and beautiful girls when he returned home from work. They weren’t low class either, as a result, they could spend a lot of time together. Felix learned how to identify certain herbs and flowers, fish, cook and sing from his family. His oldest sister Dominica was particularly fond of her little brother and she would always try and steal others’ times with Felix. She would try and teach him how to talk and make people laugh.

• Felix was already by the time he was one, he was a very energetic child. He would run around the house for the whole day. Eulalia liked to play games with him but would get exhausted quickly. She would sit in the middle of the wheat fields they had in the back garden of their house and watch Felix rum through the wheat. Every few minutes, Felix would smile widely and kiss his sister on her cheeks. He loved his family dearly. Even as a child, he was genuinely good at showing his emotions.

• While his energy was never-ending, he had trouble talking. He didn’t say a single word until he was seven. The family thought that something was wrong with him. Castinus even had a couple of physicians check if something was going on but everything was alright. Five days after turning seven, he said his first words in a more than perfect way: he wanted his family to make him a flower crown.

• Somehow, Castinus never made him a crown and he was more than sad about it. Right after his words, Castinus went out, picked the flowers and placed a pink and blue flower crown on his little head. Felix, of course, started to run around happily.

• Even as a human child, Felix was extraordinarily strong and big. Other children who were around his age were more than seven inches shorter than him. He could pick up a large sack of wheat from their little barn and bring them to their kitchen. The first time he did it, Argantea was in the garden with her friend Cervella. The women’s eyes sparkled so brightly that Argantea knew someone was coming. Shortly after while she was leaving, Cervella suggested her to send Felix to Antiocheia so that he could become a noble fighter. Argantea kindly smiled and thanked her for finding her son so strong to advise her on such a matter like this, and said that she would think about it.

• She never did. She wasn’t sending her son over the sea to become a warrior. A gladiator. But Felix had already heard what Argantea was talking about and that night, demanded his father to make a sword for him so that he could be like noble warriors. Castinus couldn’t understand where that sudden request came from, but after Argantea told her about what happened with Cervella, and unexpectedly he thought that it was a good idea.

Cervella’s words made little Felix dream about going overseas and having adventures. This dream eventually died when his mother had an argument with his father about his education but Felix never stopped dreaming.

• It took an excessive amount of using persıave skills for Argantea to dissuade her husband of the idea of sending their son to Antiocheia. He seemed to drop the matter since he didn’t want to make his beloved wife sad but had another plan.

• A month later, a relative arrived from the other side of the sea. He was a strong, mountain-like man with muscles so big that Felix’s eyes almost came out of their sockets out of astonishment with them when he first saw him. He was the self-claimed mighty Theophanes, a gladiator and a distant relative of Castinus.

• The family didn’t know but Castinus had bribed him to come to Gerolimenas and teach the young and eager Felix the art of fighting. He, being a failed warrior who was seen as inferior by his peers, gladly accepted the offer and made his way to the town quickly. Castinus thought that he was a good warrior that took down hundreds but in reality, Theophanes was nothing more than a low-middle class warrior who was despised.

• Argantea was more than relieved to welcome Theophanes into their home. She was happy that her son wasn’t going away. At the same time, Felix’s wish was coming true. He was going to learn how to fight and be liked by the big guys. His frame and physical abilities were already superior to other children, it was just a matter of time before he was scouted by palace guards and taken away to get educated. Argantea knew it already.

• They started training right away. Felix was, as expected, unusually talented with anything that required physical force. He would handle the sword Theophanes gave to him so strongly that it wouldn’t even move a half an inch without his will. He would yield the shield he was given so well that Theophanes’s sword strikes couldn’t stand a chance. He wouldn’t even slip. It was when Castinus and the whole family realized that Felix was born to be a warrior. How he moved, how he held the sword, how he threw spears and how self-confident he was while doing all these things mesmerized everyone. Slowly, Argantea warmed against the idea of him going away.

• There was no need. It hadn’t even been a year before Felix started to out-performance Theophanes. He wouldn’t lose, he wouldn’t fall. Theophanes was more than angry about this. He hadn’t thought about teaching a child only for him to be better than him. He was irritated but as he was being paid, he stayed silent.

• People would see Felix and his teacher practicing in the fields. Townsfolk slowly started to show interest in them. They were a big, muscular man and a little child who won against him, the situation created a natural attraction. Day after day, more people would come and watch them. Naturally, Theophanes started being harsher on Felix to prove that he was still the better one. It was a childish fight and he couldn’t even dominate over Felix.

• Until the day when he abruptly unshielded him, kicking him and making him fall to the ground. He drew his swords to the air as if he was going to strike Felix, who was more than scared about what was happening. It was only when Theophanes realized how pitiful of him to kill a child. He stopped. Felix got off the ground. He didn’t run away but he had fury in his eyes.

• That night, Castinus forbid Felix to ever combat with Theophanes ever again when he heard the news. He was quick to tell Theophanes to leave the city too but of course, he didn’t leave.

• After that night, he started practicing alone in their garden. His father would allow him to use sacks of wheat or sand as targets. Regardless of having a real competitor or not, he was still showing progress.

• So much that when he reached age twelve, his fame had reached the other towns around his own and warriors come to offer fights. He would never accept because his mother didn’t allow him to fight. He was already a known warrior by then but never did anything that her mother said no to. He was still a child anyway.

• Up until seventeen, his days revolved around practicing, reading, helping his mother and sisters. Knowing that one day he would become a soldier or something similar, his father didn’t allow him to find a job so that he could spend more time with his family before going away. Felix was growing up rather peaceful beside his hobby. He and his sisters were still helping squirrels that fell from the trees, they would still feed stray cats. Felix was taking care of a stray cat that he named Magnilis, which was a mixture of words “big” and “eyes”. The cat would sleep under the tree where Felix would practice with a wheat sack. Unbothered, she would only wake up when she smelled food.

Growing up with four women, he wasn’t the typical “manly man” of his time. The men were expected to be tough, agressive and leading during his human life. Of course, he had those qualities and would easily show how he had all the qualities of a future warrior but regardless, he preferred to be as calm as his sisters. He was aware that even as a child, he had ambitions, but at the same time, liked spending time in the nature and living smoothly.

• He was good at singing too. He was so good that when Dominica married, he sang a song for her when she was leaving the house. She would never return to her home again, but they weren’t aware of that yet.

• Dominica got pregnant right after her wedding. It was good news, a two-day celebration took place in the household. Six months later, Dominica died during birth. The child, who was a little baby girl, was early and took her mom with her to the other side. It wasn’t an uncommon thing to happen during that time but even though they were ready for bad things, they couldn’t handle it well. It took months for the remaining sisters and Felix to stop sleeping in her old bed in their house. The sound of cries echoed through their home and no one would say a thing about anything.

• Months later, something got revealed that made the whole family furious. As confessed by the maid in Dominica’s home, a lover of her husband had poisoned her, resulting in her death. The family was quicky to find the lover and made her confess. Later, without giving her away to the local judge, they got rid of her. It was the first time Felix had ever shown serious rage. If he wasn’t holding himself, he would’ve ripped the woman’s head off with his bare hands. It was the price she would pay for murdering an innocent woman.

• He didn't realize what he had done was a horrible act. He didn't even feel pity for the maid, he felt absolutely nothing while killing her except the sweet sense of revenge. His mother, however, felt scared. The acts of her son scared him for the first time. 

That was when she realized that Felix was more than just a calm, light-hearted, witty, energetic child of hers — he had wrath in him that waited to combust at any given time. 

• Weeks later, two soldiers came to their house. Argantea realized what was about to happen, but it was his fate anyway and no effort could stop it. The soldiers announced that Felix was to come with them to Constantinople, to be trained as a royal guard for his Majesty.

• It wasn’t what Argantea sensed at all. As a result, she got honestly happy for her son because they weren’t taking him away to punish him but to reward him as a royal guard. He was already eighteen and it was unusual to be taken into the palace that old but Felix was exceptional, and the royal guards had no reason to not recruit such a talented warrior.

• As it was the lesser good, but good anyway. He joined the soldier right away, leaving his family with tears and long hugs. It wasn’t the last time he would see them, but the last time he would see them alive.

• Felix joined the royal guard after being examined. As expected, he was exceptional: he performed so well that the juries didn’t even put him in education for a day. The night before he was a boy, and in the morning, he was a guard, protecting his Majesty. Felix had never seen a royal before, he had a lot of reasons to be excited. He couldn’t sleep the night before being officially recruited. He kept turning in his bed to the point that the men with who he shared the room woke up. He pretended to be asleep, and it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep due to staying as still as a stone. That night, he saw a glorious armour being made, with golden and silver, it had blood on it.

He got used to the guard life easily. Unbeknownst to him, he had a talent for blending in co-operating. He started to rise ranks quickly, most of the guard admired and envied him at the same time.

• Years passed by like a flooded river. He couldn’t catch up with days, and eventually, he started to miss home. How his life contrasted the one he lived now, how he spent time with his sisters, his mother would cook for them and how they would go on hunting with his dad. Those days seemed so old. Even though he loved performing his abilities as a job, he missed living in silence. The feelings and thoughts kept haunting him for months. However, these feelings weren’t coming out of nowhere. He missed his family, yes, but the feelings were enhanced.

• One day, bad news arrived. His hometown had been attacked by foreign raiders. When he heard the news, he prepared for the night and ran away with a horse. He had to kill two other guards to get out. The act of killing would’ve been a night are for him if he was a child but he was grown now and he would kill anybody who messed with anything regarding his family.

• The journey home took weeks. He wouldn’t stop even for a single minute if the horse didn’t need to rest. He was restless. Bad ideas wouldn’t leave his mind. What if his father was killed? What if his sisters were taken away? What about his mother? He couldn’t sleep. He could only believe and those breaths were fueled by pure rage. The rage he would carry to his other life.

• When he arrived at his home’s doorstep, what happened was already obvious: the door was broken and the walls were covered with black soot.

• For one time in his life, he didn’t cry even though his whole body shook with anguish: he directed it outside as an embodiment of another feeling that he was already familiar with — wrath. He drove his sword and stroke anywhere he could see. The walls, torn pillows, vases, glasses... He couldn’t see. He couldn’t feel. His heart was beating to burn his body from inside to outside, to kill the feeling of being lost and having lost everything. No one was left now. No one was breathing. They couldn’t see happy days anymore, they couldn’t go out to pick flowers anymore. They couldn’t live anymore.

• He found their burnt bodies in their little barb. Without understanding why he sensed that they’d tried to hide in there hoping that they wouldn’t be found. But now they were there’ burned to death.

• He laid on the entrance of the barn for two days. He cried, screamed, punched the ground. No one would answer. Almost everyone in the city was dead anyway. Then he got angry with the king for not protecting the city. He hated that he was serving him. He hated that he’d willingly went to protect the king. He hated that he’d started as a child which eventually led him to go away from his family.

• When he got up to leave, without having a route to follow, a man approached him. It was a chilly evening when Felix saw the man, he felt a nervous feeling go down his spine.

• The man had an indulgent expression on his face. Wearing a light grey cloak, he seemed like he knew what he was doing.

• He asked Felix how he was doing. When he tried to answer that he was leaving, he asked again, what he was doing.

• Then it dawned on Felix. He wasn’t doing anything anymore. He wouldn’t return to the palace. He didn’t have a home. He didn’t know anyone. He didn’t have a job to do. He was lost and alone in the whole world.

• Right then, the man asked him to join him. He didn’t say much but made it obvious that he was a powerful man with a large following and an established system of community.

• Felix’s thought about it for a couple of minutes. Then he realized that if his family weren’t alive, there was no point in living a happy life. He was just so, so badly loved his family that his whole will to live disappeared. His breaths felt as if he was inhaling fire. Indeed, he was breathing the smell of his burnt family and home.

• He declined the offer. But the man, determined to persuade him into joining his family, asked him again. This time, demanding him to think thoroughly.

• With a sudden but deep change in his feeling that felt like rising of the seas and swallowing the coasts, he felt his feelings of refusal changed slowly, but irreversibly. Suddenly, the feeling of living for a cause filled him.

• He looked at the face of the man. With eyes black as the night, the man had a sly smile on his face. The answer of acceptance came out of Felix’s mouth with a raucous tone.

It was Charmion, but yet to know about the realities of a world existing without regular people knowing, he couldn’t question his feelings. The change seemed natural to him.

• Then, without being able to tell what’d happened, he felt a burning sensation in his neck. Then, he felt it on his wrist. Suddenly he felt like his eyes went blind and he couldn’t feel anything other than the horrible, horrid feeling of being burned alive. He lost all his senses except pain.

• After the days that felt like an eternity to him, he woke up. He didn’t rise up from his bed with a peaceful mind, he went feral. He literally jumped out of his bed and as he didn’t know how to control his newly gained powers, he accidentally slammed himself to the wall beside the bed he was laying on. Suddenly, he felt like his body was chained onto the wall. It was the power of another guard, Malte, that paralyzed him right there and then to stop him from damaging himself or the things around him.

• He was then taken to the presence of three men. They introduced themselves as Aro, Marcus and Caius. Informing Felix of what he was now and what he was assigned to do, they dismissed him to be taught of the history and laws of Volturi and vampires, the species that he now belonged to.

They’d chosen him for the strength they’ve never seen in anyone before that he possessed.

• He had never seen, heard or imagined such a thing before. The things he was told sounded like fairy tales. Somehow, he couldn’t believe that he now had the eternity to live. He couldn’t understand how he stayed calm and content either because the last emotion he experienced as a human was grief. He was confused. Nevertheless, he felt happiness. Because at least, he was assigned to do what he loved doing and he wouldn’t have to worry about dying or losing anyone anymore. He was staying for the eternity.