#neither of them are the first to do the ‘go to random places and film it’ genre but. yeah. yeah

[muirneach]

also when i was a kid basically the only tv i watched was the rick mercer report. so honestly it tracks that i would’ve become a tom scott fan

[finelinevogue]

he’s just harry

summary - a couple of fan interactions with harry on the streets of london

word count: +1.1k

pairing: boyfriend!harry x reader

Even though the media make it out that Harry hates being out in public on his days off, you know it is actually one of his favourite things to do.

Especially with you.

Harry is known for being a private man, but he can’t help what fans secretly record and post on the internet. He would do the same for Stevie Nicks and you would do the same for Taylor Swift, so neither of you are opposed to reporting anyone for secretly filming. 

A favourite pastime of yours and Harry’s is to actually watch back story-time videos of fans, from when they have met you and Harry. Which is what you were both currently doing, after having your dinner. 

Harry is laying on the bed in your shared hotel room. You lay against his back and are held tight to him by his arm wrapped around your waist. 

He leans down to look at you every few minutes and leaves a kiss on your forehead, just because he can. His fingers around your waist snake under your Pleasing sweatshirt - the one that is actually his - and stroke tiny circles on the skin of your tummy.

With some light jazz music playing in the background, you and Harry can’t feel anything but peace. 

He has your phone in his hand whilst he scrolls through the latest videos on TikTok with the tag # harrystyles.

The next video he scrolls to after and edit of himself on stage is from a meeting of a fan in London.

“I just met Harry Styles.” The girl screams from the inside of her car. The video pans around and her boyfriend is sat there with a grin, no doubt because his girlfriend is so happy.

“I get to say that every day.” You comment, making Harry pinch the skin at your waist. You laugh and carry on.

“Can I just say, first of all, I have been waiting for this moment for years. Always in my mysterious girl era, just in case. And the one day I am wearing slouchy clothes I stumble upon him on a random back road in London. Life clearly hates me.” She begins her story.

“She looked great, I thought.” You said and Harry made no comment. Most likely because he never paid attention to looking at anyone with interest anymore - not since he had found you.

“And Y/N. Oh my God! She’s fucking stunning. Like, I understand why Harry snatched her up.”

“I did find a pretty good egg.” Harry agreed.

“I am not an egg.” 

“Whatever you say, baby.”

“But they were both so lovely. Harry was really kind and thanked me for supporting him. I asked for a photo but they politely declined, which is a little frustrating, but maybe it was for the best since I looked so bad today!” The girl continues her story.

“Fuck sake.” Harry mumbles out and you pause the video, already knowing what thoughts were relaying through his mind. 

You turned your head so you could see his whole face before speaking to him.

“You’re not a bad person for not taking a photo with them. You shouldn’t make yourself feel bad either. You’re a person, just as they are. People are allowed to close off their privacy for the day if they want. Okay?” 

“Thank you.” Is all Harry responds with. Well, that and a minutes worth of kisses. 

You move onto another video, so not to upset Harry any more with the previous one. You couldn’t know whether she might say something else bad and you weren’t prepared to make Harry sad, so the next video it was.

This came from a girl in London airport.

“Oh fuck.” Harry instantly says when he sees the girl on the screen.

“What?” You asked, confused. You hadn’t even been aware this interaction had taken place and you were with him in the airport. Now you were just curious as to what had gone down.

“This is going to be so embarrassing for me.” He wines and tries to bury his face in your neck. You kiss the tip of his nose and push him away.

The video starts by the girl looking really nervous, before Harry pans into view on the other side of the screen. It was only their chins in the view, but it was still a very lovely view of your boyfriend.

“Hi.” The girl fumbles over her words.

“Hello.” He says, removing his sunglasses from his face since he had been found.

“I just saw you from over there and had to come and say hello. I know this is probably really annoying for you and I’m going to leave so as to not be a burden to you, but I really love your music and you are an amazing human being.” The girl rambles, but that might be the nicest of things you have heard a fan say to Harry.

Before the girl can leave, Harry asks that all important question.

“Thank you so much. Would you maybe like a photo?” He asks. 

“Aw Harry.” You pout and he pinches your waist again. “Quit that, will you?” You hit elbow him in his ribs gently.

“Yes please. Wow, thank you.” The video then tilts so Harry and this girl come onto the screen. Harry smiles a small smile and holds up his fingers in a peace sign. He looks very cute.

“Have a safe flight.” Harry says and goes to hold his hand out for the fan to shake, but instead knocks her phone out of her hand and it drops to the floor. 

“Harry!” You gasp and sit up a little more attentively.

“I know.” He cringes.

Luckily the phone was alright, but Harry had to prolong the conversation with the fan and even offered her a new one. She turned that down and thankfully he didn’t have to owe anything to anyone. You can tell at the end of the video he is embarrassed though.

“You dickhead.” You laugh at him. 

He puts the phone down and joins his other hand under your sweatshirt so they are both enjoying tracing over your skin. You hum in delight and breathe in the air that is scented by him.

“I’m tired.” He says, knocking his head against yours to rest.  It had been a long day of rehearsals and meetings for him today, but he didn’t mind because he knew that it would be worth it to spend an evening of peace with you. 

“I know, baby.”  You say, reaching a hand up behind your head to stroke over his curls. “We can go to bed now, if you want?” 

“Okay.”

You and Harry end up spending the next twenty minutes getting ready for bed and cuddle before you are both fast asleep, awaiting the first, last, ‘Love On Tour’ show tomorrow. 

[euovennia]

Okay hi hello I’ve just binged your platonic Simon x reader headcannons and as an aspec person I am absolutely EATING THIS SHIT UP - Simon deserves someone to lean on and seeing him be vulnerable and care for someone like that and who will do the same for him makes my heart melt.

however, I am also a hopeless romantic and an absolute sucker for pain and the thought of Ghost catching feelings and being completely unaware of them because he’s barely used to having a friend let alone a crush; only realising after y/n does something he’d usually find stupid only to find himself completely smitten over it and him just going “oh. oh nO” and queue the internal turmoil because he has no idea what tf to do with himself and god forbid if y/n actually likes him back-

This has been plaguing me all morning and I cannot act right so I had to share it :,)

this can be a read as part of the bff ghost series i have going on, but i see it more as a "what if" kinda thing bc i strongly believe this man just needs a good friend. thank you for requesting, and as always, i hope you enjoy <3

warnings: nothing comes to mind, but lmk if you see something that needs to be added and i'll do it asap!

summary: ghost panics when he realizes he likes you just a little too much.

anon you're so smart for this because i genuinely feel like friends to lovers is the the easiest way for simon to fall in love

like there's already a deep, established trust there (in terms of being on the battlefield)

i mean obviously because if there wasn't you wouldn't even be on the team in the first place

but the trust he places in you on the field paired with the trust he has in you off the field?

i think it's safe to say that while this man doesn't realize it yet, he's already a goner

the meals you share, the low-budget hollywood action films you hate watch, and the unbelievable amount of patience he has for your shenanigans

basically, you two have become two peas in a pod (despite him not wanting to be in the pod in the first place but who cares he's your friend and that's all that matters)

and i genuinely believe of he were to start falling for one of his friends (aka you) it would be a very slow process, one that neither of you realize is even taking place

it would be the little things like you willingly making making the same dish two days in a row for your little meal times because he just likes it that much

maybe even leaning your head on his shoulder while you two watch those bad action films because, deep down, he loves knowing you trust him enough to feel so comfortable with him (bonus points if you end up falling asleep)

ordering him his favorite brand of loose leaf tea that he can never seem to find anywhere on store shelves

god forbid you memorize the way he prepares his tea and randomly show up with a steaming mug of it at random times of the day

as i said before, it's the little things that do it for him

but imagine doing all of those things on the. same. day.

like

you know he woke up extra early to help price take care of some paperwork and while he's doing that you stroll in a mug of tea

then later on when you see him for lunch he finds you made two plates of bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes, it's a british thing apparently) despite having it the day before and when he asks why you just say something like, "yesterday you said you wished you could have more, figured i'd make more"

then later in the evening when everyone's retired to their rooms, you walk into his with the all too familiar box of loose-leaf tea in your hands along with a blanket

you just kinda set the box on the bedside table before dragging him to sit on the floor in front of the tv the two of you snuck into his room one night after price banned them after soap broke his and he was the one who had to clean up the mess

he totally saw you two sneak it in but never bothered to say anything because he trusts you

anyway

you flick on the tv and put on the third installment of that god awful 'sharknado' movie series you two had found out was a thing not too long ago

and all is well

until you lay your head on his shoulder and grab onto his arm as you look over his tattoos

he'll probably give you a little glance before turning his attention back to the movie, it's not uncommon for you to do things like this

but then he'll feel something cold press up against his skin and he'll look down again just to see you holding a colored marker and scribbling inside the lines of his tattoo

and as much as he wants to pull away and throw that marker to the other end of the room

he just can't bring himself to do it

not when you're pressed up against his side with your hands cradling his arm as if he was worthy of such care in the first place

obviously this night wouldn't be complete without you falling asleep against his shoulder, so that's exactly what you do

he lays you to sleep on his bed while he makes himself cozy on the floor :)

anyway cue him getting up early for his morning shower and the complete and utter shock that hits him like a truck when the marker you used the night prior to color in his tattoos doesn't wash off

he makes a bee line for his room and immediately picks up the marker you used only to find out it's sharpie

and while he knows that this would be a perfectly acceptable time for him to wake you up and chastise you for doing such a thing, he doesn't

because when he looks down at his arm he can practically feel his chest bloom with a warm, fuzzy feeling because you did that

and it's after he's stared at the colorful markings that now grace his skin does he realize he's got a small smile etched onto his face

then it hits him like a truck

he likes it because of you

he likes you

it cannot be overstated how quickly he grabs his stuff and leaves the room, not caring in the slightest that you're still wrapped up in his sheets

he doesn't do much work that day

just a lot of aimless walking around base as he tries to, in his words, get his shit together

because, in his mind, this is probably just about the stupidest thing he can do

and it's not even because he's technically your superior, that's a mess all on its own

it's the fact that either one of you could quite literally die at any given point while on a mission

and that's not even bringing up his own mountain of trust issues and insecurities

it's a mess

he's a mess

and how does he deal with this mess?

by avoiding you like the damn plague

you thought it was bad when he was trying to duck out of your pre-friendship interactions when you seemed to always be trying to find a way to bug him? think again.

he becomes practically invisible to you

his callsign isn't 'ghost' for no reason

i can honestly see it getting so bad to the point where you start to really only see him on group missions

which isn't too horrible admittedly because you always manage to squeeze in some small talk, but it's not enough

but one day, price calls the two of you into his office with laswell patiently sat waiting on a video chat over his laptop

and it's revealed that you two are being sent on a mission to gather some intel about some new terrorist group that's popped up on laswell's radar

and he just kinda sits there and accepts the fact he'll have to be paired up with you because what's he gonna do? tell laswell and price no? absolutely not

anyway

i imagine the mission going off without a hitch

i'm talking real simple, just a quick in and out before ghosts is on comms requesting an evac

that's where things go wrong

because you'll get some bullshit response like, "oh no, bad weather, can't fly like this, looks like you'll have to wait! get cozy!!"

and while you are a bit disappointed when he breaks the news, you can't help but feel a little happy because now you actually get to see and interact with simon for more than five minutes

but while you're over in your head having a small celebration over the unforeseen circumstances, simon is pretty much dreading it

he knows you know he's been avoiding you and he's 100% sure you're going to make him sit through an awkward conversation about it

and what's worse, he's certain you won't stop until he tells you why

well it's a good thing he knows how to keep his mouth shut!

at least he thought he did

because after having you ask him for the reason of his sudden avoidance of you for what he swears has to be the hundredth time, he just spits it out in a small fit of anger and annoyance

and i highly doubt he'll realize what he just said until he looks over to you after not getting a response and seeing you there with your eyes wide and jaw open

he'll definitely try to backtrack with something like, "forget what i said. you didn't hear anything."

and then your brain will finally kick in after going haywire for an unnecessarily long amount of time and you'll just kinda ask him in a small voice, "did you mean it?"

and as tempted as he is to brush you off and say no, he can't bring himself to do that

but remember, simon is still a very hurt man underneath that mask and heavy duty gear, so i can imagine him just letting out a small sigh before saying something along the lines of

"i'm sorry."

and your heart just breaks because you can practically feel the shame radiating from him as he turns himself away from you and averts his gaze to the floor

simon riley, perhaps one of the most hardened and strongest men you'll ever come to know, apologizing for the way he feels

you can't help but shuffle closer to him until you're sitting by his side

and you'll sit in silence this way for a while as he tries to ignore just how close you are while you try to find a gentle way to approach this

you're stumped

but eventually, your eyes will fall onto the floor and simon's gloved hand will come into your vision

and there's not a single thought in your mind before you're reaching out and putting your hand on top of his

the man practically malfunctions

he's sitting there, thoughts going a mile a minute as he tries to decipher what this means

but then you'll lean your head on his shoulder and he's almost startled at the way all of the noise in his head seems to just disappear

but still, he can't resist asking

"what now?"

and you'll let out a small, wistful sigh as you nuzzle your head further into his shoulder

"whatever we want."

he'll look down at you with an almost shy gaze, "and if i want you?"

and you'll interlace your fingers and punctuate it with a squeeze, "then you can have me."

and that's good enough for the both of you

at least until you get back to base

:)

[moonsanoverthinker]

Some more TMA headcanons because I’ve thought of some more. Also apologies if this list is a little more chaotic than the other one x (Here’s the first list I make incase anyone’s interested)

Also if people have their own that they’d want to add feel free to because I love reading other people’s x

There’s probably going to be some spoilers for but I’ve tried to keep it as broad as possible :) x

Tim used to steal Jon’s pens - Not because he needed them he did it to annoy Jon

Tim once hid a plastic spider in Jon’s desk then pinned it on Martin

Gerry liked to make puns, Gertrude didn’t like Gerry’s puns - Or at least she pretended not too

Peters changed the locks multiple times but Elias just keeps finding his was back in

Georgie has that really nice kind of swoopy writing - I kind of feel Sasha did as well

Distortion Micheal likes the animated Alice in Wonderland film - Can’t think why… (If I had any artistic talent I’d draw him as the Cheshire Cat but I sadly I don’t have any)

Melanie used to make loom band bracelets - She never gave them to anyone but she’d use specific colours with specific people in mind

Elias likes to shout peoples names then not answer them when they shouted back asking what he wanted

Jon owns a few packs of some nice playing cards (Like the ones with cool pictures and stuff) but no one’s allowed to use them - He let Tim use them once but after he slightly bent the corner of one they became off limits to them all

Jon drinks black coffee because it seems like the mature thing to do

Tim drinks the super sweet coffees because they taste nicer and look pretty

Elias has one of them big spinning office chairs - He’s definitely done the James Bond villain spin

Daisy once told Martin she knew a great place to hide his body - She then proceeded to leave notes around the archives to remind him - Jon would also take the notes down

Not necessarily a headcanon but I just imagine series 5 Jared Hopworth in the garden with a necklace of various body parts and bones

Occasionally Basira would just look out to the fourth wall - I’m imagining it like fleabag style

During their travelling Gerry brought Gertrude a mug from a tourist shop - She kept saying she didn’t like it but once she was back in the archives she would use it all the time

Just Jon wearing some sparkly green nail polish

On the topic of Jon’s nails imagine him with those pointy acrylics - He’d either be in his element or he’d have the same vibe as a dog trying to walk in shoes

Both Micheal and Helen just pinging rubber bands at the backs of peoples head (I’ve got no real explanation for why they do it but then again neither have they)

Jon appreciates badgers - He got a little desk calendar with different pictures of them every month

When Martin was staying in the institute Jon gave him a blanket. He took the blanket with him when he started living at home again and started using it

Tim kept every card Sasha ever gave him

Sasha has a little pot of fake flowers on her desk

Jon pretends to he surprised every time Martin gives him a present - Especially if it’s an out of the blue ‘I saw this and thought of you’ present

Sasha and Tim went ice skating together one Christmas - They claimed it was as friends but Tim did give her flowers

Also some random side notes - Slight spoilers for series 4/5

Listened to 170 and immediately started crying at the end / The descriptions in 172 made me feel physically ill as someone who really doesn’t like spiders / Also I saw a thing on TikTok where someone took Gerry asking to be called Gerry and paired it with I Bet On Losing Dogs by Mitski and it was more upsetting than I was expecting xx

[maestro04yayyy]

https://www.tumblr.com/maestro04yayyy/762341715456688128/random-dialogue-exchange-idea-for-like-1-year?source=share

Expansion on the "Drip Fed Poison" exchange/idea; just assume that Lila never found the butterfly or what have you so there can be focused family drama lol.

Its been a little over a year since the resolution of the Hawk Moth 'incidents' and Zoe would like to think her life had been going great. She finally had a parent who loved her and was invested in her, she was a burgeoning actress, she had friends she didn't need to compromise her values for. & hey, being rich was still ya know, nice.

Unfortunately there's been a blooming undercurrent of wrongness she's not quite able to put a name too. Its a lot of different little things.

She's found herself a bit more inclined to how around Andre's money & name to get things (but for nice reasons & her friends) But also sporadically had this blow up in her face. Usually not long after she had some kind of disagreement with Andre about a picture or event, or shot in a film.

She's also found her schedule often conflicting with her friends unless she obscures it from Andre or lies to him, almost like he doesn't want her hanging out with them. & he's very twitchy about her possibly dating, though he says its just to avoid paparazzo.

She briefly floats the concern t Jean who has become an increasingly ever present confidant and enabler of her sneaking out. But he's monosyllabic. Merely saying, he cannot speak poorly of his employer and continue to do good work, while subtly hinting helping Zoe dip out on an event to see her friends is the good work.

Things, don't quite come to ahead so much as she quietly floats the concern at a small friend hang out and Sabrina looks distinctly... Panicked. Made worse, when in trying to encourage her to say anything Adrien get roped in and is also suddenly super uncomfortable.

At first they treat it like its cos discussing Chloe is uncomfortable and it is, but...

Neither one has the full picture, and both are a little uncomfortable as they feel like it may come off as advocating for her, or smearing Andre, and they had both kind of convinced themselves they'd read too much into the relationship and clearly Chloe had to be at fault, right?

Adrien obliquely explains Chloe regarded a lot of wat she did with or for her father as a form of work. He did too. She plays the role of darling, devoted daughter, babysits visiting rich kids and helps out with events and fundraisers and Andre covers for her expenditures and misbehavior. Not that odd... Right? Really the issue is that he enabled her being mean, right?

Sabrina's read is a bit different, with her noting the instances Chloe tended to come over to her place, or be extra foul usually coincided with Andre being particularly clingy or omnipresent. & that he could and would withdraw his patronage of Chloe if he felt she was not acting as her name befit. IE, he is the source of her classism and Audrey impersonation, but it was a mistake, right?

He's better and learned now right?

Well, maybe not, especially if him currently blowing up Zoe's phone with guilt tripping messages is anything to go by, but the only other person who might be helpful is Madame Bustier, who Sabrina says Chloe sometimes spoke with alone.

Zoe is hopeful that a trustworthy adult will help her put all this to rest.

So the fact Caline looks like she might throw up when Zoe broaches the topic and clearly both wants to offer a hug and is trying to make her not panic by getting to close does not fill her with confidence.

As it is,

Chloe only ever really broached things with her once, after a breakdown (Not meltdown, breakdown) in class that involved flipped tables and broken glass after a particularly 'stressful' few weeks.

She'd been oblique over it, names and issues and expectations oscillating wildly and even Mr Agreste somehow got worked in but al of it painted an unflattering picture. One that likely informed her decisions as an Akuma to "Take Andre out" in one form or another.

But ultimately, the only person who can give her any insight into what Andre is like with a daughter besides Zoe herself... Is Chloe.

Ohhhhh i love this!!!!! Well I hate how andre is to zoe!!! But I love her slowly getting more concerned and worried about the situation!!!!! And yeah that would be a really good set up to reintroduce chloe(so I am basically considering this an au now because it's awesome) maybe not phisically because she is in london i think? I remeber it being the usa but the changed it last minute i don't know i haven watched the last season but still as a voice on the phone and talk to zoe and maybe just maybe connect as sisters!!!!! I honestly just love zoe and chloe being good sisters!!!!

[writingforfishes]

(context:

*sees silly pictures of a lil bird on my dash*

braincell one: aw

braincell two: that face radiates otto energy

braincell one: wut)

atty doesn't seem the type to willingly go into nature (and, like, same) but like. silly birds. literary inspiration. etc

ottocus birdwatching just feels right for some reason. whether this is the most random concept or another accidental prediction. thought i should let u know. like as the seasons are changing and migration patterns are patterning, atty takes notice & after using birds n leaves n shi as a muse they drag their husband out to look at how pretty the scenery is. obligatory otto hiccuping n scaring the birds away lol

-🪱

Ask circa September 16.

Little ficlet (aka "hiclet")

A month after Atticus moved in, they were watching a bird nature film and got a sudden burst of inspiration.

"Hey, are there any good places for birdwatching around here that you know of?" they asked loudly to catch the ear of their partner who was hunched over a watch, eye loupe pulled down over one lens of his reading glasses.

"Uh..." Otto uttered, head poking up with a faraway look on his face while thinking. "I think there's a look out on a hiking trail that's fairly close by. Why?"

"You wanna go hiking? I want to see some birds," Atticus said matter-of-factly.

Otto considered it and shrugged, "Sure! I can dig out my grandma's picnic basket. Maybe we can have lunch there, too?"

"Cool," Atticus said. "Also...which grandma?"

"Oh, dad's side," Otto said with a meaningful nod.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Atticus said.

The maternal side of Otto's family were uptight prudes who wouldn't be caught dead on a patch of grass that wasn't imported and trimmed on a golf course.

Otto's dad's family, on the other hand, was from "the old country". Germany. At least part of them. That's where the whole clock thing came from. That was an abbreviated version of what Otto had told Atticus, at least.

The next day Otto, Atticus, a picnic basket full of vintage cutlery and food, and a backpack full of whatever Atty thought one would need on a hike made their way up the winding trail to the look out that promised a view of birds.

Atticus had hiked a few times. They enjoyed it for the most part. Despite their natural inclination to be inside and sedentary while writing, they did have a soft spot for brief jaunts in nature.

Otto had been a pretty physical person his entire life. It was only in the last few years that he'd settled down with his sobriety and settling into his profession of clock repair more.

But neither one of them were quite prepared for the "hard" rated trail that wound up and through the wooded mountain side over tree roots and rocks.

"Why...is this...so hard?!" Atticus exclaimed as they shifted the backpack of water, bug spray, first aid equipment, and medicines on their back. They panted a little as they stretched their legs to hoist over yet another upwards path of tree branches cut around to serve as natural stairsteps.

"I dunno," Otto said with a sniff. He realized now that he should've taken allergy medication before they started. He'd been sniffing for the last few miles, and he could feel the itchiness in his throat and eyes. He rubbed his nose aggressively with the back of his wrist.

"Do you want me to take the backpack for a little bit?" he asked.

"No!" Atticus said stubbornly. "I got this. I'm good. Just a little further. Point five miles. That's what the last little...little wooden sign said...right?"

"Yeah..." Otto said and then coughed a little. "Hey...what meds did you bring again?"

"Pretty much everything in the cabinet, why?"

"Did you get the...the Allegra and Flonase?" he asked, hopefully.

"Oh yeah. Totally did. Cause I'm awesome! The outside starting to try and murder you?" Atticus asked.

"Vehemently," he said and paused to grab a tree as he let loose three powerful sneezes into the crook of his arm.

Atticus watched as they wiped a sheen of oily sweat from their forehead.

"These birds better be the best birds ever," they lamented watching their boyfriend pull out a handkerchief and clear his sinuses into it before tucking it into his pants.

Otto laughed lightly, exhaustedly, in their direction.

If the birds weren't worth it, the clearing certainly was. It was more a field with picnic tables with the edge overlooking the mountain's edge than a traditional look out with a single location to stand and hope to see birds from.

Huffing and puffing the couple put their supplies down on one of the tables and sat heavily next to each other for a moment.

Atticus wordlessly slid the bottle of Allegra and spray bottle of Flonase over to Otto with the reusable water bottle they'd kept in the backpack. Otto took them gratefully.

When the clock maker started to spray the Flonase though Atticus grabbed his arm and pointed to a particularly pretty bird that had landed on the wooden rail beside them.

"Ooh look! It's a-a-a bird!" Atticus finished a little lamely. They suddenly realized that despite having watched an entire documentary about birds they had no idea how to identify the birds they were seeking out.

Otto sniffed the Flonase a little too powerfully and some ended up in his throat as he turned to look, suppressing coughs from the bitter fluid hitting the back of his throat.

His gift for the effort of looking was a...well it was a bird. And for all of the random facts, trivia, and history Otto had stashed in his noggin over the years he suddenly realized that, aside from a few clock specific birds (namely the Cuckoo), he possessed very little knowledge on taxonomy and identification of birds.

"Oh *koff* yeah it's *kuf kuf* pretty..." Otto said emitting more soft coughs as Atticus rubbed his back until, "HUP!-HUCK! Oh! HU'UCK!-HMK! Uh!"

The bird, which had been lingering for them to ogle a little while, flustered and took off at the sudden sounds.

Atticus would've been more flustered themselves if they hadn't already been treated by Otto's hiccups that morning. But they still felt the buzz of excitement at the loud interruptions and feelings of his body jolting next to them.

"Well, so much for the birds," Atticus teased as they widened their eyes at Otto pointedly.

Otto had his hand over his mouth in response, his body jumping with the barely muffled spasms, the bottom of his throat pulling in sharply as the hiccups kept volleying through him.

"I'm MMK'M! so-HMP!-sorry! I didn't HM'MMP!-didn't know I HMP!MK! waUHs gonna get HIMP! get them again to--today!" he said.

Atticus laughed giving him another rub to his back at his endearing apology.

"It's okay!" they assured him. "I'd rather have you and your diaphragm's loud opinions than birds any day!"

Otto gave his partner a soft smile, still muffling the hiccups as his body jerked dramatically every second or two. Hopefully they wouldn't last too long. However, he had started to be much more patient with them after learning of Atticus' reaction.

In the past, Otto felt anywhere from mildly annoyed with his hiccups to begrudging patience to apathy depending on the situation and how bad the case was. This new emotion, excitement and warmth, was something he'd never felt for the occasionally inconvenient bodily function he was prone to having. It was oddly comforting, in some ways, to know someone was not only patient with them but also appreciative of them.

Being this was before either of them had discovered a way to cure Otto's hiccups effectively, they both resolved to wait them out as Atticus started to unpack the basket.

"Shit, this thing is heavy! What...are these actual plates?" Atticus exclaimed as they slid the basket over from where Otto had put it.

They weren't able to keep their eyes off of Otto for long. They could see the side of his abdomen from beside them and feel the spasms if they leaned in a bit. The shirt he'd unbuttoned lower as they'd both continued to exert more energy in climbing showed his chest's movements in addition to the reflexive pooch that pushed out his stomach and expanded his ribs.

"Yeah the--they're part of HMP!HMK! the-HUP! the set!" he said and patted his chest a couple of times. "Ugh. HU'UCK! It was--It was very he-HIP!-heavy. Not exactly HM'MP! meant for h--hiking I don't think. HULMP'K!"

That last hiccup caught his throat, and he set off a chain of coughing and hiccuping, one right after the other, until he downed some water from his bottle to quell the coughing at least.

Atticus watched him in sympathy, hand becoming a constant present on his shoulder or back as the hiccups continued to jolt his body roughly even after the coughing fit.

"Those things are kinda owning your ass right now. You okay?" Atticus asked.

Otto nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, they HUCK! they'll go awa--y eventually. H'MUCK!-uh," he said rubbing his chest again. "You--you okay? HOCK! You're not HNK! not over sti-HUCK'NK! stimulated are UCK! are you?"

Atticus chuckled shyly ducking their head as they pushed their mustache up a little from their top lip in both preparation to eat as well as from nervousness.

"No, I--"

"CAAAW!"

"The fuck?!" Atticus exclaimed, that noise definitely not having come from Otto.

Otto startled as well and looked to the side of the table to see a large, black-feathered bird. In the sun the bird's inky black body sheened with purples, greens, and blues.

"HU'OCK!" Otto let slip in his shock.

"CAAAAAW!" said the bird.

Atticus and Otto exchanged wide-eyed looks to each other and back to the bird who was slowly stepping close, head bobbing with each step of its feet.

"What is HUUUCK! happening?" Otto asked, nervousness strengthening his hiccups a little.

"CAAAAW!!" the crow answered excitedly, its head turned a little to inspect the area and the source of the sound.

"I think you're communicating with it?" Atty hazarded a guess which seemed to be confirmed with the next double-hiccup from Otto followed by two caws from the crow.

The picnic became all the more amusing when Atty decided to throw the bird a little ham from one of the sandwiches. The crow gladly took it and within five minutes two more crows had arrived. All three of them chorused Otto when he hiccuped loudly.

The couple couldn't help but laugh. The distraction of the crows' antics was enough to keep Atticus' arousal from overwhelming them and also to ease Otto from feeling like he had to suppress his hiccups in order to not frighten away birds.

Much more ham was dispersed to the growing murder, a thought which still seemed wholly ridiculous despite it being an accurate word to define a collection of crows.

Atticus noticed and questioned why Otto had only eaten the inside of his sandwich, discarding the bread back into the basket.

"Bread makes the-NRK! them worse. They're already HUP!-uh, already kind of hu--URting a little! HOCK! HUCK!" he said.

His crow chorus echoed the hiccups discordantly. He chuckled.

"That is wi--ild!" he said, grinning around his bite of food.

Atticus looked out into the field which was now littered with the black birds.

"What're you gonna do with your new army?" Atticus asked with a grin as they popped a grape in their mouth.

"Well crows are pre-H'ULP! pretty good with tools. HMK! I think I cou--could teach them HMLK! how to wind cl-HUP'K! clocks!" he said.

"Well...I guess that would save you...time," Atticus said with a waggle of their eyebrows.

"Mmm. I see hmp!hmk! I see what you di-hip! did there!" Otto said waggling his finger at them.

"They finally calming down, now?" Atty asked, gesturing toward Otto.

"I thingk! so," he said. He splayed his hand chest and rode out another silent hiccup, chin tucking and shoulders jolting back. He sighed. "Didn't know Flo--Flonase could be s-hup! so dangerous."

"Never use while distracted, apparently," Atticus said.

Otto laughed silently with a shake of is head.

"Appare-hip!-ntly! Sorry about the hup! the other bird," Otto said.

"Are you kidding? This is so much better," Atticus said, grinning. "You, um, you want me to give you a chest and belly massage when we get home?"

The habit was still new, but Otto had warmed up to the physical touch and when they brought it up he smiled.

"Yeah that'd ngk---uh! That'd be nice, actual--ly!" he said.

Atty kissed him on the temple.

"Love you, Crow Mother," Atticus cooed.

This caused Otto and laugh out loud causing a "HUCK'A!" to echo out and a refrain of caws from his admirers.

"I'm glad you're here," he said, kissing Atticus' head in return as another hiccup shook him into their body.

"Me too," they replied and fed him a grape which he took with a smile as they leaned into his chest.

[magnorious]

Review: ‘We Take a Zebra to Vegas’, Percy Jackson Episode 6

***Spoilers Ahead for all books and show. TL;DR at the bottom***

After episode 5 I was starting to wonder if episode 3 was a fluke. Here we have the potential for the only non-book reference I wanted in the entire show: Would Nico cameo in the Lotus Casino?

Small, I know, but book fans were robbed of ever seeing him on screen once already when Titan’s Curse was never adapted and with his massive popularity, I was almost certain he’d be here. The closer we got to the Lotus Casino, however, the more I wanted to be wrong. Almost none of the characters look like they’re supposed to, many of them with inconsistent personalities to match. I went from hoping for a blink-and-you’ll miss it reference with a little scruffy 10-year-old that book fans would be able to tell is Nico by his appearance alone to hoping they’d not touch the matter with a 10-foot pole.

After the absurdly dramatic and angsty episode 5 that was supposed to be semi-dangerous and funny, there was a chance to have both the whimsy and wonder of the Lotus Casino, and the rather chilling escape. Before that, the conversation about conservation in the back of the zoo trafficking truck. There was a lot of opportunity for more quiet character moments as well as the adventure and absolutely no need for more nonsense filler.

Onto the episode and given that Hermes is in the thumbnail, are we all in agreement that he only exists here because he’s played by Lin Manuel Miranda? That’s the reason, right? He barely exists in the first book otherwise.

We start right off the bat with more interesting changes. Instead of IM-ing Luke in some random car wash, they do so in the zoo truck. The scene in the book was funnier, because it existed in the place that it did to be funny and the pay-to-pump water gave a clear time limit. But more importantly – they decided to scapegoat Clarisse… for reasons.

Why? Just why? In the book they spend 99% of their quest accusing the wrong person, Hades, and don’t realize they’re wrong until it’s too late. Everyone in the book was like “it’s Hades, it’s gotta be, his kids were Nazis” (a detail I still can’t believe exists, wow). Chiron said it was Hades, everyone said it was Hades, based on ancient biases that Hades spends the entire series proving wrong. He is the best godly parent by a country mile by the end of Book 5 and all of that groundwork started here, when Hades was just as much a victim of the Master Bolt nonsense as everyone else.

Clarisse is neither here nor there, because the writers didn’t have the foresight to script or film any scenes at camp of this random arrest that’s supposed to be important now. The jump cut from ‘the animals have a plan’ to them stopping traffic on the Vegas strip was funny, but it robbed the scene of the seriousness it should have had. More powers Percy doesn’t get: His ability to talk to horses and horse-adjacent animals.

Once they make it to the Lotus Casino, the script does this incredibly irritating thing where it removes the tension of the unknown from every hurdle they meet. Percy’s trapped alone against a mysterious monster in the book and has no idea how to beat it? Nope, Annabeth exposits all over it. They enter a seemingly-abandoned, mortal waterpark and only get suspicious once it’s too late? Nope, Annabeth figures out immediately that it’s a godly amusement park and they must be careful. Two twelve year olds and a satyr are immediately charmed by the glitz and glam of the lotus casino and get trapped for almost the rest of their time limit for the quest? Nope, Grover exposits all over that, too, ruining the mystery and any danger or threat.

Why?

The show also does the irritating thing where it creates problems just to solve them later and before you go “that’s the point of conflict” I mean it creates meaningless problems through meaningless contrivances, like every horror movie cliche that forces its characters to make illogical choices so they don’t just run away from the horror.

And another irritating thing! Spoiling bigger mysteries before their time: We didn’t learn about May Castellan until book 5. Why is this here? What purpose does this serve? Percy realizing he didn’t even know Luke’s last name for five whole years meant something to him. Seeing Luke’s tragic, mortal mother, after hating him for five years *means something* to Percy and to the readers. The gods damned Lotus Casino was absolutely not the place to discover any of this. Why did they do this?

Also, who tf is Augustus? He’s fine. Grover’s random side quest is fine. Every consecutive episode leaves me more and more annoyed with him, but it’s *fine*.

They do actually forget their purpose in the casino, thank the gods. Or, Grover does. Annabeth continues to give away May Castellan exposition like Halloween candy, smack-talking Hermes in a way that she’d never dare at 12 years old. Hermes is still only here because he’s played by Mr. Miranda. He’s fine, he’s just not Hermes. His “woe is me, loving mortals is so damn hard” speech exists. The sentiment is four books early, but it exists.

I understand why it’s here. They’re trying desperately to capture Percy’s internal conflict over whether or not the gods and his dad care about him, if he should let himself be disappointed presuming that they don’t. Problem is– in the book, Poseidon didn’t send a naiad to give him false promises of a clandestine meeting. In the book, the naiad told Percy there’d be a vague “gift” in Santa Monica, and Percy was never naive enough to think that gift would be his dad.

The entire season so far has tried to give nuance to both sides of the “do the gods care and should they be expected to” argument and it’s just not a very well written attempt. Why? Because it had five entire books to give both sides, and they’re shoving as much of it as they can here like they’re afraid they won’t get renewed for season 2. In doing so, they’ve made a tonal mess.

Once Hermes is gone and done randomly and spitefully sabotaging their quest, Percy, unseen, figures out that they’ve lost time and lost Grover. Also, Annabeth pick-pocketed the God of Thieves? Funny, but no. The script has its weird Mitichlorian moment sciencing lore by adding in the detail that lotus nectar or whatever is pumped in through the air, a question no one had and a plot hole that didn’t exist.

They do manage to keep the fear and unsettling realization that they’ve lost time, but their amnesia is inconsistent and confusing, considering that they overexplained how the casino works. Then they’re gone using a God of Thieves’ Car gimmick.

No Nico, thank the gods, unless he was one of the VR kids in the background. It would have been wonderful to see him in a better script.

In the book, they get instantly dazzled by the food, the video games, the nice clothes, nice suite, all things Percy could never dream about growing up poor. There is no Hermes and he only figures out something’s wrong when he meets other kids displaced from time and has to shake Annabeth and Grover from the illusion. They use their casino cash cards with infinite money to hail a cab all the way to LA and it’s funny.

They create more problems that didn’t need to exist by forcing Percy to drive a taxi and okay, that was genuinely funny. I am shocked, though, that Annabeth’s pride let him drive.

The episode comes to an end with them supposedly by the Santa Monica Pier… in a thunderstorm. In southern California. Odd choice, but okay. I'd say the storm exists because Poseidon's pissed but I really think it's there beacuse "dark and stormy night" fit their new vibe better than bright sunlight.

Maybe in live action it was tricky trying to make him both dry underwater and still plausibly underwater and not just rotoscoped in with a hazy green filter. For all their love of exposition, they never actually told non-book watchers about that, or that he can breathe underwater and control some currents. It’s also supposed to be night time, and yet he’s lit as if it’s high noon far above on the surface – they could have just written the beach scene at noon.

Then the naiad he was supposed to talk to in St Louis drops the bomb that the Summer Solstice deadline already passed, Poseidon got too impatient to wait for Percy after the casino delay, and the gods are now at war.

What the fu…..?

Percy resolves to keep going despite armageddon already happening apparently. She gives him exactly the right amount of pearls that he needs, not three, which would force him to choose, and then cut to black.

—

How is the best part of this episode Annabeth’s completely deadpan and exasperated Dude when Percy asks her not to make fun of him? That, and Percy driving the taxi.

Once again, to all the set designers and VFX artists and costumes and makeup and foley and music and score and everyone in between – you’re amazing, keep up the great work. To the actors, you were given a bad script and bad direction and you did the best you could.

Having just come off watching Game of Thrones for the first time and seeing little Arya, Bran, and Rickon Stark’s actors doing donuts around these three just goes to show that it’s not that child actors’ lack of experience that’s the problem. Heck even Baby Percy is better than these three. It’s how much or how little help they get in conveying what they’re supposed to. These kids were thrown to the wolves.

I don’t watch the teasers and I stay away from all marketing for the show. I don’t know who’s been cast to play any characters we haven’t already seen so what Hades and Poseidon look like are a complete mystery that I do hope pays off.

With two episodes to go they have the following left from the book to adapt: Crusty’s water beds, the DOA studios, the entire trip to the underworld and Cerberus and Hades that took two hefty chapters, the Ares fight, Percy’s trip to Olympus, Luke's betrayal and reveal, and the return home to find Hades had paid his debt.

Suddenly the mini series with an episode to burn in St Louis has to sprint to the finish line.

Maybe if they hadn’t spent ten minutes expositing with Hermes they could have at least crammed in Crusty and the DOA, but it looks like armageddon is already upon us so who knows? They might’ve just tossed out the rest of the book to write their own ending.

TL;DR This show is a mess and this episode actually has me nostalgic for the brevity of the horrible movie because they didn’t even try and it’s fun to make fun of. This is just disappointment stretched out across seven hours instead of speedrun in 90 minutes. The skeleton of the book (mostly) remains intact and to all those who keep saying “at least it’s not the movie,” you’re right. Enjoy.

[rallentando1011]

Risetober 2023: Day 19 - Scary Movie

Watching a scary movie, in essence, was a simple task. Put on the movie, sit down, allow yourself to have a good scare, and continue on with your life.

In the turtles’ home, however, the process was not so convenient.

Firstly, the brothers had to find themselves all in the lair with free time all at the same time. With Donnie constantly tinkering in his lab, Raph venturing out on solo missions, Mikey experimenting culinarily, and Leo doing… whatever Leo did in his spare time(mostly read comics, or practice with his swords, or portal to random locations, or do whatever thought came to his mind on a particular day), getting all of them together was not an easy feat.

Then came the issue of coming to a consensus of what to watch. The typical, go-to was Jupiter Jim or Lou Jitsu films, but even the most basic options sparked debate. When the brothers would talk about which movie to watch, it would raise the issue of which movie of the respective franchises was the best. This yielded one of two outcomes: A, Mikey, Leo, Raph, and Donnie got so invested in defending the movies they enjoyed that the projector was used for a thorough, powerpoint analysis of the movies instead of playing the actual movies, or B, the brothers could not decide on one movie to watch and engaged in a day’s long marathon instead. Neither option was ideal.

Although, occasionally during the spooky, autumn time of the year, the brothers switched up their agenda and turned to the steadfast medium of horror. 

Well, not quite horror. They mostly partook in campy slasher films with little to no blood or gore, but they were horrified every time nonetheless.

After taking about thirty minutes for everyone to settle, the brothers would start the film.

Donnie’s preferred seat was one of the bean bag chairs nestled in the projector room, where he would not even wait past the opening credits to get on his phone.

Leo and Mikey placed themselves on the couch, both resolving to not get scared and go to their oldest brother this time. Each of them had their own blanket to cozy up in.

Raph sat himself down on the floor, both to have space and to view the movie better.

As the suspense of the cold open started to build, Raph soon didn’t have much space.

Mikey had slunk down from the couch first, feeling frightened at the first dissonant chord from the score.

Raph put a comforting arm around his little brother and, before he knew it, he put his other arm around Leo, who had also joined him on the floor.

Leo chalked it up to just not wanting to sit alone. He definitely was not frightened.

Just as Leo joined them, the killer appeared on the screen and scared all of them out of their wits. All of the brothers let out a yelp and held onto each other.

Except Donnie, who was half-asleep and still disinterestedly on his phone.

Raph felt the urge to cover up the eyes of his teddy bears, who were sitting on his lap, but he just held onto his brothers and held back fearful tears.

Mikey couldn’t even watch it. His hands covered his eyes and stayed firmly planted there. Except for when he peeked at the projection.

It took a lot of resolve for the brothers to even get to watching scary movies, not to mention getting through them. But the most strenuous part of the scary movie experience was the paranoia each of them felt following the film. So, every time after watching movies of such intense degrees, all four turtles found themselves sleeping in the eldest’s room.

(@sariphantom)

[givehimthemedicine]

Henry and one-way mirrors

(not really a theory or anything here, just some observations that perhaps a larger brained Henry theorist would care to chew on)

so I was thinking how gates sorta work like holes that are mirrors.

take Chrissy's gate: the UD kids and the RU kids both go to Eddie's trailer and look through the gate in the ceiling, and they see each other in the same room they themselves are in, just the other dimension's version of it.

(there aren't matching shots in one scene which is annoying but just to illustrate like you didn't already know:)

neither group is seeing the sky above the trailer, as they would be if that gate was a hole that worked how holes usually work.

if you go to the spot in either dimension where that hole would lead if it worked how holes work, it's not there.

when Eddie and Dustin go up to the roof to play Master of Puppets, we see the place where Chrissy's gate would come out, and there's nothing.

so gates are mirror-holes that can only be seen from one side of that surface but not the other. it's not a perfect analogy, but this makes me think of a one-way mirror.

which has been on my mind because baby El throws Henry through a one-way mirror where the first gate opens.

they could've had Henry get zapped against any of the walls of the rainbow room, in fact it would've been easier to film that I'm sure, but instead they went to the trouble of hurling his ass through a one-way mirror into an observation room, and set design isn't random and meaningless.

so I thought some more about one way mirrors. how do they work?

it's a sheet of sorta reflective glass, and to make it do the thing, one room has to be light and the other dark. in the brightly lit room, the subject will see their own reflection. but from the dark room, the observer will see straight through to the subject.

dark vs light is way too broad a theme on ST to begin listing examples, not that I need to, but this made me want to dig around with a focus on mirrors and light/dark mentions as it could maybe be applied to the mirror idea.

some observations in no particular order:

nodding. okay. Henry as the dark observer

of course, hiding in the light means focusing on happy memories and love and yatta yatta which is the way to defeat darkness which is what Henry uses to prey on people.

but in keeping with the mirror thing, does Max "hiding in the light" actually benefit her? because the brighter you are, in this analogy, the more clearly observable you are to the dark viewer.

just saying, this plan ultimately didn't work for her and he literally could not have emphasized the "I see you" thing more

Henry fed El this plan, I'm not sure whether he specified what to tell the orderly or if she came up with that on her own because of her recent concussion, but I lean towards Henry. the plan leads the two of them down to the lab's boiler room or whatever, the only dark place we've ever seen in the building.

I've lost track of whether light is good or bad in this post

idek what this is but intensely bright light emanates from Henry's body and disintegrates him into dark ash or whatever. also you can see the shards around El reflecting the observation room, because it's now the brighter one.

it's another one-way mirror that baby El throws Two against, cracking it all foreshadowingly.

and another one-way mirror that we observe El through as she's questioned by Lenora police.

have to go to season 1 for a clear view of a lab mirror as far as I can remember. Brenner watches El's experiments through one-way mirrors from observation rooms, although with lighting that allows them both to see each other.

one-way mirrors are so heavily featured in 4 when both of the likeliest viewers (Brenner and Henry) are usually in the room with the kids. who's watching 👀

Joyce and jancy detained in what I would swear is the same room but it's not. this isn't the point of this post but why. the mirror is narrower. did they scrap and then 99.9% recreate the same set? Nancy chooses to say "hey asshole" to the camera instead of the mirror, which I trust she's aware of.

Nancy why did you say this in the same episode where Henry talks about mirrors

oh btw, if the lighting is equalish on both sides of a one-way mirror, it just becomes a window, and both people see each other.

Victor saw himself, but Virginia saw Henry.

my melatonin is kicking in so somebody take this from here

[zyana-wyvern]

School trauma is really something else and this year I have been in constant awe at how my brain secretly hoarded it for almost twenty years, but I didn't even know. No one saw it, understood it or revealed it to me. Not me, my parents, husband, friends, nor the couple of therapists I went to.

I guess it is a trauma within a trauma, maybe too shameful to look at it in the face for some. A proof we have failed, in this society that is so so overly focused on academia and professional success.

School traumatized you, cut off your wings and actually made you hate what you loved doing? There must be something wrong with you. Others have adjusted and succeeded, others have a career and are respected, though they went through the same system. Yes, it is you who are broken. Maybe you never were good at [insert random talent/aptitude]. Maybe you sucked all along. The educational system is never wrong, so you must be!

So on and so forth until you get smaller and smaller. A vicious circle of circumstance.

All this to say that I am going on a short holiday to Istanbul, and I cannot take my art supplies with me, neither will I have time to work there anyway, and for the first time in my life this is painful for me because I cannot imagine not creating for five full days anymore.

Hard to put into words what a breakthrough this is for me... I am someone who has been through art schools since eleven, and from birth I was around a grandfather who painted, while I painted with him.

Listening to Bowie's 'Heroes' and kinda tearing up because this intense feeling of relief is something I never even knew I needed. Like releasing a long held breath, dropping heavy chains, or tossing a heavy weight you've held until your knees bowed.

And its not even as if I found my ultimate raison d'etre. I love doing other things along with art. I love writing, I love filming, I love studying herbs and trees and mushrooms. Its just that this thing that has defined me since I was just a little girl was also my biggest fear and what I constantly tried running away from. Yet, I couldn't run away from myself, I couldn't indefinitely hate myself and somehow expect things to be okay and not catch up with me.

They caught up with me in the most beautiful and right way. Through other expressions of art, through the creation of others, and particularly through how it all intertwined with my own imagination, how my vision interacted with them in such a perfect and magical way. Through a video game, of all places. I almost feel like laughing hysterically.

There are people who sneer and laugh at those who choose to immerse fully in a book, or a game, and I would love for them to finally accept that stories were and always will be a pillar of our civilization. We are here because of stories, whether written, drawn, scribbled, painted, filmed, rendered, sang, recited or acted...

Anyway, here's to an open heart and no fear, nor shame to be ourselves!:)

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Friedrich Bhaer (Little Women)

Tagged by anonymous

Favorite thing about them: He's a likable character all around. Kind, warm, sentimental, good with children, highly intelligent, firm in his moral values, funny in his absentmindedness, and of course loving. He's a good friend to Jo before they fall in love and an ideal match for her as a husband. I couldn't care less about the fact that he's not conventionally handsome or "romantic": neither is Jo. He might not be the dream man whom most girl readers who use Jo as a self-insert would want for themselves, but he's just right for her.

Least favorite thing about them: While I don't find fault with him for criticizing Jo's sensation stories the way other people do, I'll admit that his inner thoughts about the situation are a little condescending, as if Jo were a child in need of guidance. And I especially don't care for how satisfied he is when she gives up her writing altogether rather than write any more sensation stories. Yes, she's taken his moral advice to heart very nicely, but should he really be so happy to see her abandon her dream career altogether? If I could rewrite it, I'd change the order of events to have him give her the Shakespeare volume after her career stalls, to make it clear that he doesn't want her to give up her literary ambitions.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I love books.

*I like to play with children.

*I'm heavyset.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not a professor.

*I don't have any nephews.

*I'm not German.

Favorite line:

"Heart's dearest, why do you cry?"

And when Jo replies "Because you are going away," his love confession and proposal:

“Ach, mein Gott, that is so good! Jo, I haf nothing but much love to gif you. I came to see if you could care for it, and I waited to be sure that I was something more than a friend. Am I? Can you make a little place in your heart for old Fritz?”

brOTP: All his friends and family members.

OTP: Jo.

nOTP: His sons, his nephews, or little Tina in New York.

Random headcanon: It was his idea, not Jo's, to name their son "Theodore" after Laurie, because Laurie was a close friend to them both by the time young Teddy was born. Not that there's anything wrong with the idea that Jo picked the name, but I don't like seeing people use it for a baseless argument that she and Laurie really do love each other more than they love their spouses.

Unpopular opinion: I don't think it's unforgivable of him to criticize Jo's sensation stories. In the first place, unlike in the adaptations, he never criticizes Jo's actual stories: he only criticizes the genre. But more importantly, what his haters seem to forget is that the sensation stories aren't Jo's passion. She writes them purely for money and is always a little ashamed of them. They're her equivalent of Amy's almost marrying Fred Vaughn for his wealth. Now, we could argue that a 19th century man had no right to judge how a woman earned her living when she had so few choices, and I'll admit I don't fully like his attitude about it (see "Least favorite thing..." above). But whenever I see the fandom chorus of "How can she marry a man who disliked her writing?" I think it's nonsense. He never criticizes the projects she truly cares about and writes from her heart. What he does is gently dissuade her from selling out her real creative genius and her values for money.

Song I associate with them:

Goethe's "Kennst du das Land." Here's Mark Adamo's setting of it from his 1998 Little Women opera.

"Small Umbrella in the Rain," his love duet with Jo in the final scene of the 2005 musical. (It's not the most accurate portrayal of their relationship... they don't really always argue and "disagree on everything" in the book... but it's still a sweet and pretty duet.)

Favorite pictures of them:

This illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith.

This illustration of the same scene by Norman Rockwell (although it's a better picture of Jo than of Friedrich).

Paul Lukas in the 1933 film.

Rossano Brazzi in the 1949 film.

Gabriel Byrne in the 1994 film.

Mark Stanley in the 2017 miniseries.

Louis Garrel in the 2019 film.

@littlewomenpodcast, @joandfriedrich, @thatscarletflycatcher

[vanikolya]

finally....a New person to take my space boyfriend requests! May i request space boyfriend as a friend? Thanks!

cw: none

reader info: they/them, no gendered terms used

notes: cutely takes over tumblr as the new space boyfriend writer fear me!! also i'm kind of like basing this a little off an oc i have who has been long time childhood friends with him so it's kinda more like best friends here tbf

PLATONIC SPACE BOYFRIEND / HALKENNA FAIRWAY HEADCANONS

he's giving that he'd be the type of friend who just shows up at your house with some random plan to go hang out and do

you also better get used to him talking a lot about his current partner if he has one, he gets carried away about them fr

if he's going through a breakup and he's all mopey about it he'll get up and out of bed to see you but only if you've shown up at his house (i love him but he mopes hard he wouldn't get up of his own accord to visit you 😭)

he loses to you a lot whilst playing competitive games and insists you both keep tallies of how many wins the both of you have because he's definetely 100% going to have more than you some day totally. likes he's good at games but against a real person? well

"i wrote a song about my partner can you listen to it and check it's okay? 🥺🥺" and it's like the 4th song that month

it's one of those "neither of you remember how you met, so you just know its a great friendship" cases (this is definetely a thing people say right 😃)

partners in crime except the crime is like one time when you were younger you took 5 sweets from "take one" halloween candy bowl

gave you a permanent invite to join his crew as like his first mate perhaps because he likes spending time with you (nepotism in my tumblr headcanons ig 😭😭😭)

nah i imagine the invite is just more of a "you're my friend and i would let you on if you were properly qualified" he's not that unprofessional in his work (this is still nepotism but lets not talk about it again SJSKFKS)

he tries his best to comfort you whenever your sad since you do the same for him when he's upset about (usually relationship) stuff, and it usually consists of taking you places (like to get snow cones) or giving you things you like

the two of you used to have sleepovers as kids where you'd try to stay up all night watching the entirety of a film franchise only to then fall asleep after an hour of the first film

[twistedtummies2]

Top 15 Disney Love Songs

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! I sadly don’t have a story ready for the occasion, but I still wanted to do something in the holiday’s honor. At first, I considered making a countdown or list of some kind of my favorite fandom ships, but I think I need more time to figure out such a concept. Thankfully, I then remembered this is the Centennial of Disney itself! So...how about we look at something romantic related to Disney for the occasion? And when I think “Disney” and “Romance,” the first thing I think of are Disney Love Songs. Yes, for as often as we like to make fun of them and call them cheesy, sappy, and so on and so forth, some of the most famous love ballads in our universal musical roster have come from the Happiest Place on Earth. Whether they tell the tales of princes and princesses, talking animals, or something else entirely, you’d be hard-pressed to find a popular Disney movie that DOESN’T involve some romantic subplot, and a heartfelt, crooning piece of music to accompany it. So, since I’m not COMPLETELY opposed to l’amour, I have prepared this lovely list of lovely songs to put your iPods (or cell phones, or…whatever you prefer to listen to music with) into a romantic, starry-eyed mood. Now, keep in mind that I’m only counting ROMANTIC songs here, so tunes like “When She Loved Me” or “You’ll Be in My Heart,” while truly spectacular songs in their own right, will not be counted here. Also, keep in mind that there are TONS of these songs, and I can’t include all of them; one EXTREMELY popular song that you WON’T find on this list is “Love is an Open Door.” If your opinions differ from mine, I will neither be surprised nor upset, and I ask that you all extend the same courtesy with your own feelings; please don’t hate me for liking some songs more than others. Also, I will provide links to each song featured, so you can check them out yourselves. ;) With that said, I hope you’ve practiced your best waltz, because it’s time to take a peek at My Top 15 Favorite Disney Love Songs.

15. I’m Wishing/One Song, from Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs.

This was the original Disney Love Ballad...or, if you prefer, THESE WERE the original love BALLADS, since it’s technically two songs. But they basically come back to back and are connected to each other, so I really do count them as one sequence. The song begins with the fair Snow White singing into a wishing well, daydreaming about how nice it would be to fall in love with someone. Right on cue, the Prince - who hears her singing - interrupts the scene, and while Snow White is spooked and shy, the two - in typical fairy-tale fashion - fall in love at first sight. Yeah, the logic of the scene makes no sense, and “love at first sight” is a concept we often love to mock, but the moment is still a classic, in my mind.

14. Candle on the Water, from Pete’s Dragon.

One of the lesser-known Disney songs, and the only live-action film to make it on the list. “Candle on the Water” is performed by the film’s female lead, Nora (played by Helen Reddy), who has long been awaiting the return of her fiance, Paul. For some time now, Paul has been away overseas, and many believe he’s never coming back - lost to the ocean blue - but Nora believes it’s only a matter of time till he returns. Reminiscing about her beloved, she sings this song - a sort of cross between a prayer and a promise - as she stands on the balcony of the lighthouse where she and her father work. The song was actually quite popular in its day, and in fact, the song is entirely to blame for why Pete’s Dragon is the way it is: initially, the song was going to be the ONLY song in the movie, but it was received so well, they decided to make the film a musical. This was probably for the best, since just the one random song would have been particularly weird in an already VERY weird movie...but I digress.

13. Katrina, from The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad.

Okay, so, in a way, this song is not really a love song, but an ANTI-love song. This makes since, since the titular character of the tune, Katrina Van Tassel, is essentially an anti-Disney Princess, so to speak. For those unfamiliar with the tale of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Katrina Van Tassel is the daughter of the richest farmer in the county, Baltus Van Tassel, and is considered to be the most beautiful young lady in Sleepy Hollow. The problem is that she KNOWS that. Katrina, as the song points out, is a coquette; she loves to toy with men and play with their emotions, gaining suitors and then dropping them again every chance she gets. Why does she do this? Just for laughs. She, very frankly, is not a nice person. Extra frankly, NOBODY in the story of Sleepy Hollow is really a nice person, when you think about it, which is perhaps why Disney’s version is so admirable. It sticks VERY closely to the story, and doesn’t shy away from how freaking TERRIBLE these people are – from the money-grubbing Ichabod to the bullying Brom Bones – but I digress. The song here is short and sweet – a simple little character theme for Katrina – and it is instrumentally reprised several times throughout the Sleepy Hollow segment of this movie. I still find myself humming it from time to time, without even realizing it…but what really makes the song work is that it is performed by BING. FREAKING. CROSBY. Yeah; when The Crooner himself is at the helm, you really can’t go wrong!

12. Ma Belle Evangeline, from Princess & the Frog.

This is essentially a double love song, so to speak. The piece is performed by Ray the Firefly, as he sings of his love for “Evangeline”: the brightest star in the sky, whom he believes to be the most beautiful and elusive firefly in the world. But though he cannot touch her, the love he feels for his Evangeline is pure and neverending. The song is already touching and, as you’d imagine, a little funny…but what I think makes it work all the more is the presentation. You see, while Ray is singing this song, the two leading characters – Tiana and Naveen – are starting to fall in love as well. And, during the instrumental interlude in this tune, the pair dance together for the first time. This is why I call it a “double love song,” since we’re not only getting Ray’s heartfelt ballad of impossible love that remains steadfast, but also getting a peek into the blossoming relationship of our primary protagonists, and their own romantic explorations. It’s pretty clever, in my opinion, and definitely deserves a spot on this list.

11. Kiss the Girl, from The Little Mermaid.

Oh, how could I not include this song? It would be criminal of me not to! Having lost her voice in a deal with the Sea Witch, Ursula, Ariel – our titular character – has to get her beloved Prince Eric to give her the Kiss of True Love before three days end. One night, the two are out boating, and Eric tries to learn more about the mute Ariel. Since Ariel can’t speak, her friend Sebastian decides to take up the vocal reins, and sings a quiet, crooning calypso tune to apparently try and get Eric to subliminally prepare himself, in the hopes of secretly manipulating him into admitting his love for Ariel…and sealing it with a kiss. It is desperate, hypnotic, and beyond beautiful in every way. Many people have covered this song over the years, but no one – and I DO mean NO ONE – has been able to top the original. The sumptuous visuals may be part of it, of course…but in my opinion, it’s the singer in question, Samuel Wright, who gives it so much of its power and presence. Once you hear the original Sebastian sing it, you can never hear it the same way again.

10. Heaven’s Light, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Though very short, Quasimodo's soulful, prayer-like musings on his feelings for Esmeralda are still incredibly powerful, and the gently rising orchestrals leading up to the ringing of the bells for the midnight mass just make it all the more so. I actually really like the stage version, as sung by Michael Arden, too...almost more so, in fact, since the notes he sings rise with the music, going from a quiet, thoughtful piece to a strong, powerful belt. Whichever way your prefer it, though, it's still a very nice, simple, but sweet and touching song...it's only sin is that it is IMMEDIATELY followed by the contrasting number "Hellfire," infamously sung by Judge Claude Frollo. In a way, though, that's ALSO a strength; what better way to follow up a song of loving devotion than one of damnation and madness? Ultimately, the only reason this doesn’t get higher in the ranks simply IS that it’s quite short, and ultimately serves as a contrast and prelude to a much bigger song.

9. Dos Oruguitas, from Encanto.

The reason this song doesn’t get any higher is simply because it’s one that I think works best when you see it accompanied by the film’s visuals. Which is not to say this song is bad at all: FAR from it. It’s absolutely beautiful, and the sentiment describe in its Spanish lyrics are equally so. But without the accompanying visuals, I think the song loses some of its punch. On that note: this song plays in the background to a flashback sequence in a pivotal moment of the film. It’s the scene where we learn the backstory of how the Madrigal Family got their magic, and explains the motivations of the up-till-now slightly villainous matriarch of the family, Abuelita Alma. It’s also the moment where Alma and her granddaughter - the main protagonist, Mirabel - finally make amends, and thus are able to start working to help their family and community in a new way. The song itself - which lyrically tells a fairy-tale about two butterflies - is an analogy for both the love shared between Mirabel and her grandmother, and also the love shared between Alma and her long-gone husband. The tragic yet beautiful tale of their romance is the crux of this song’s storytelling. The song is lovely on its own, but once you see what goes along with it, it becomes truly breathtaking.

8. I See the Light, from Tangled.

I may not have “Frozen’s” big hit on here (…well…actually, aside from two songs no one even remembers, I think ALL of that film’s songs are big hits, in terms of popularity, but that’s beside the point), but that doesn’t mean THIS song won’t get a spot. At this point in the story, Rapunzel and her companion, Flynn Rider, have made it all the way from the depths of the forest back to the capital of the kingdom, in time for the Ceremony of the Floating Lights. During this time, hundreds of floating paper lanterns are released from the docks of the kingdom into the sky, in the hopes of the king and queen’s long-lost daughter seeing them and returning home. (Spoiler Alert: the long-lost daughter is Rapunzel…but she doesn’t know that yet.) All her life, Rapunzel has seen the lights from miles and miles away, from her lonely tower…but now, with Flynn’s help, she gets to see the ceremony up-close. Over the course of their journey, the two have also developed a love for each other, and as they marvel at the light show around them, they reflect on how each has changed the other’s life, and admit how much they care for one another. The result is arguably the best song in the movie. (pauses) Yes, even more than “Mother Knows Best;” coming from a villain-loving nutcase and mild cynic like yours truly, THAT is quite a compliment.

7. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? from The Lion King.

I actually don’t want to go too into detail about this one, for personal reasons. Suffice to say, I actually have some very personal memories related to this particular song, and as a result, it holds a very special place in my heart. That’s really all it takes for it to get as high as it does. Whether you listen to the Elton John version, the one from the film, or even some rendition from the stage show, it’s hard to go wrong with this classic. ‘Nuff said.

6. Bella Notte, from Lady and the Tramp.

“Lady and the Tramp” is sort of an odd Disney film, in that it’s somehow both a classic and a VERY underrated picture at the same time. Which is to say, I don’t know anybody who dislikes this film, and it’s one I see referenced and spoken of quite a bit...but I don’t know ANYBODY who would call it one of their absolute favorite Disney films, myself included. However, I think we can all agree that this scene and this song are iconic and beloved for a reason. A classic, operetta-esque accordion tune sung by a pair of stereotypical Italian chefs while a pair of awkward pooches eat and accidentally kiss via overly long spaghetti noodle…doesn’t seem like the most romantic of songs at first glance, does it? I suppose it’s adorable and classical enough to worm its way through our heartstrings, though, since you’d be hard pressed to find a single person who doesn’t at least know about this song and this scene; it’s one of the most famous moments from any Disney film, and even people who have never seen the movie know about it. Much like “Heaven’s Light,” it’s not very long, but it’s solid gold. “Bella Notte’s” old-timey style and sheer iconography gain it more points than anything else, but that still means it gets a lot of points…just not QUITE enough to make it into the top five.

5. I Won’t Say I’m In Love, from Hercules.

If there’s one thing I like more than a love song, it’s a “resistance to love” song. You know the sort: songs by people who don’t want to fall in love with someone, for one reason or another, perhaps even several, but who just can’t bloody help themselves. This song – arguably the best from “Hercules” – is such a song. It’s sung by Megara (Meg for short), a snarky, smarmy lady who has had some bad fortune with men in the past; when the man she thought was her true love was dying, she sold her soul to Hades himself to save his life…only for said man to cheat on her and leave her for another woman. (It’s implied, though not openly stated, that Hades MIGHT have had a hand in this happening…the unspeakable cad. How I love him. But I digress!) As a result, she now serves Hades as a spy, using her good lucks and her wit to gain recruits for his evil army, and information on his enemies…particularly Hercules. In this song, as Meg falls harder and harder for the big lug who’s everyone’s hero – the man she’s supposed to be helping Hades destroy, no less – she tries to scold herself and stop herself, reminding herself of what happened the last time she felt for a man to help reinforce the point…but no matter what she tries, she can’t deny it. The Muses singing backup and taunting her, urging her Sebastian-style, probably don’t help, either. Bua ha ha.

4. A Whole New World, from Aladdin.

When people talk about the greatest Disney songs of all time, you can be darn sure that this song is going to be somewhere near the top of the list. I think that, in some ways, this is the song that helps define what makes Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship so good; the song is great on its own, but, once again, the context makes it all the more stunning. Before the song, Aladdin has been trying to play the “stereotypical prince,” as he imagines them…and this does nothing but INFURIATE Jasmine, who is tired of people seeing her as a prize to be won, and has had quite enough of the pompous attitude her other suitors have presented. So, Aladdin finally gives in and decides to be himself…and, with this, realizes what Jasmine really wants: forget riches or fancy words, she just wants to see things she’s never seen before! So, he takes the princess on a ride upon his Magic Carpet, flying miles and miles above the Earth, roller-coasting through the clouds, past Egyptian pyramids, and through Chinese New Year festivals. (Perhaps they’ll get a chance to say hello to Mulan while there.) But all the while, as Aladdin tries to charm Jasmine, Jasmine – though taken in, undeniably – studies the young man she knows as “Prince Ali” closely, noting how certain gestures, words, and so forth seem to remind her of another young man she met in a marketplace. With stunning visuals, contextual subtext, and the power to just stand on its own as a truly beautiful, appropriately soaring and swelling song, I once again declare that no one – and I mean NO ONE – has been able to top the original version, for all these reasons AND for its singers, Lea Salonga as Jasmine and Brad Kane as Aladdin. But, to be fair, no matter who sings it, it’s hard to ruin a song like this.

3. Sally’s Song, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Not all love songs are happy songs, even in the land of Disney. “Sally’s Song” is not your traditional love ballad in any way; most love songs are affirmative, so to speak. Whether you are convincing yourself you don’t need to love somebody, trying to persuade someone to do something with words of love, or just declaring to your partner and/or the world just how much in love you really are, there’s almost always a sense of going-forward with them, a sense of grandeur, and a sense of certainty or urgency. This song is completely the opposite; it is quiet, plaintive, decidedly uncertain, and downright heartbreaking. As Sally, the shy Frankenstein-Monster-esque ragdoll being who serves as the secondary protagonist of the film, watches her love – Jack Skellington – fly away, she goes somewhere private to sing and to worry. Throughout the film, Sally is a determined character, it must be noted; she’s a go-getter who isn’t afraid to risk life and limb to help people she cares about and take care of what she wants…except when it comes to directly confronting Jack. She can deal with her creator, Dr. Finklestein, and she has no problem with trying to save Santa Claus from the gruesome Oogie Boogie, but she just can’t bring up the courage to talk to Jack…and when she DOES find the courage, he’s far too enthused with Christmas to listen! The two manage to find a way to work things out by the end of the movie (singing a more upbeat reprise of this same song, no less, when they do)…but at this point, Sally – concerned for Jack’s well-being and wondering what she really means to him – can’t help but pine and sigh. It’s a touching and subtle song that truly goes into the mind of a character who will do anything to help the one she loves…but isn’t sure she’s getting the love she so craves and deserves in return. Eponine, eat your heart out.

2. Once Upon a Dream, from Sleeping Beauty.

Not only is this song popular, but it is also the song that changed Sleeping Beauty…or, at least, changed its soundtrack. You see, the sequence in which this song appears was one of the first scenes made for the film, and, at the time, the intention was to create wholly original tunes and songs in a style not unlike that of Snow White. HOWEVER, when Disney saw how this sequence was going, and heard the Tchaikovsky underscoring for this song, he decided to change things totally: from that point on, it was decided that the film would use the Tchaikovsky score as its soundtrack, with most of its songs based around pieces from the ballet composition. This was the only one of those early, original songs to remain, as a result, and it is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best and most well-known song from Sleeping Beauty. (Also, if there is ONE good thing that “Maleficent” gave us, it was the “creepy-style” cover of this that accompanied the movie and its trailers…but that’s another story. And a very bad one.) The lyrics are admittedly rather simple, some may even argue TOO simple, but in my opinion, that’s a big part of its charm. As far as old fashioned love duets go, this one is definitely among the greats.

1. Beauty and the Beast, from...well...Beauty and the Beast.

Oh, dear Lord. What can I say about this song that hasn’t been said before? This song is a love letter (no pun intended) to unlikely romance. It works in context, of course, essentially recapping what has happened leading up to Belle and the Beast’s magnificent, iconic ballroom dance. But even out of context, it’s the anthem so many lovers can sympathize with. Because, in a way, it tells the tale of love itself; a tale as old as time. Most cases of true love do start off rocky, in some way, shape, or form, and not all matches are made in heaven. Opposites can attract. As a result, this becomes perhaps not just A love song, but THE love song; it not only fits the story and characters of the film, but just about anybody who has been or is in love can relate to it. It is lush and grandiose, yet has a simple sort of element as well...and, once again, the original version SELLS it. Many fine actresses and singers have covered it, and between stage productions and the recent live-action remake, the imagery has been imitated...but the end result in both cases has never been duplicated. Angela Lansbury’s grandmotherly yet soaring voice and the glorious animation create a scene that, like the song itself, and the themes that it adheres to, is truly timeless. It is for all these reasons and more that I can shamelessly call “Beauty & the Beast” My Favorite Disney Love Song.

[thehotgrandparent]

Ngl, this was my first fic ever made that I made October of last year. My fics aren’t the best, but they’re fun to make when I get the motivation.

Flying

Green didn’t know what to do for a moment. It was a lot to take in from Purple. So he was only trying to impress his father? He almost yells, but it’s clear that wouldn’t help anyone. At first, Green thought that Purple was a selfish guy and was just overall using them. Though he didn’t think about why he was doing it, Green could understand the reason, but he still didn’t fully trust him. Green squints before he decides to give him his wings back, since it is his and it’s iconic to him.

Purple looks at it and takes it, though they grunt a thanks. Green nods, and took notice that he was stressed. As if he didn’t know if he should choose to be on the good side or the other with King. But he knows that Purple is Purple, not good or evil. The others would accept him, maybe. Purple rubs off a tear as he listens, and Green walks over to him. Perhaps Purple needed a little push. He holds out his hand to Purple and he hesitates before accepting, and drags him to the top of the mountain. Purple almost says something about whatever, but Green wasn’t hearing it.

Green gives him a hug, as it always helped him feel better whenever he did it to the others. Purple was stunned for a moment before returning the hug. He was crying a bit, but refuses to acknowledge it. Green almost wants to hunt down his parent and end him then and there. He pats Green on the back a few times and they break the hug. They stare at each other before looking down at the bottom of the mountain. There was a halo over his head, but Green waves it away and puts an arm around Purple because he doesn’t see him as an “angel”. Purple was always a bit too neutral to Green, as he did both good and bad things. He was thinking of going against the King, and they look at each other and then nodding. Purple gives him a look, but shrugs before taking off.

As they fly, they began to talk about random things. He learned why Purple was so weird about when he said that the others were “family” to him. His mother had died on the mountain and his dad left, plus his godparent, which turned out to be King (Green always wondered how the two met, so now he knows), and had turned into who he was now. When he found him and the others, he was jealous of them. The other stick figure didn’t have the best home, and it always felt… odd.

When he was in the boat in place they took he and Blue, Purple had found the Elytra, as he calls it, and so it was the first thing that he considered to be his when he found it and not something that was either given to him just so he would survive and not a gift from his parent or King. Purple was talented in using it, easily having it used in battles that he knew of before. One of the battles was when they were fighting against a couple of zombies when he needed to get some phantom membranes in case he had to fix it.

His favorite flowers were Blue Orchids, which was one of his mother’s favorites as well. So that was why he was picking flowers before when he had kidnapped us before. It was most likely to either keep or to be placed on their mom’s grave. When Green mentioned that they could live with them and the others, he was a bit nervous due to what he had done. While they were flying, they waved at the village Green was at before and the animals Green had met when he first entered the universe.

They could see the portal as the night went on. King was putting the two icons together, they could see it. It morphed into one. Purple helps Green land on the ground, and King starts to blast the Neither’s roof with the power. And just like that, Purple punched him so that he dropped the staff as well, and King goes to the ground. Purple now had the staff. The other four look to Purple as he punched King unexpectedly. Green somehow doubts that King expected it, but after all that happened, he deserves it.In the back of Green’s mind, he hopes that Purple doesn’t backstab them again, seeing as he now has the power to do so. Though he was rooting that he would be on their side.

[mayasdeluca]

Hey there, I just wanted to send a quick response to you and the Anon who wondered if Danielle was pressured into posting the Safari video because of the paparazzi photos or something else and I don't think she was. If you look on Kevin's page he does a lot of these "sponsored" trips with this celebrity travel agency where they plan the trip and then he'll post about it and it's free publicity for them. I'm sure Danielle knew this and was on board. And considering that she has her own SM "team" with Maddie, she knows how to play the game of when to post, what to post, etc.

I also wanted to note that I am finding old interviews of Danielle (hey anything to get through this hiatus) and she used to talk about her boyfriend all the time. They were together for like 6 years and even moved to Chicago (for his job because she didn't need to be based in LA when her roles filmed everywhere) but about a year later she booked Station 19. She went back and forth during the 1st season but then whatever long distance happened and they broke up.

I think as with many celebrities that get looked at closer under the microscope they become more private; as a bit unrelated/related example, when Lin-Manuel Miranda was just some Broadway guy he used to share pictures of his older son on SM all the time but when he blew up with Hamilton and more eyes were on him, he stopped showing his face and never showed his other son who was born after Hamilton made him a household name. So Danielle probably hasn't been serious with anyone since that breakup (even asking Stefania on an IG live to teach her how to flirt and be her wing-woman) and especially not with anyone else in the public eye.

Danielle's ex was a random guy and to my knowledge neither of Kevin's ex-wives are in the business (in front of the camera anyway) so this might be the first "celebrity" relationship either of them have been in and so navigating that because they are both so public but also semi-private might take some getting used to. I mean Kevin did PEOPLE magazine photoshoots for his wedding and baby announcements but that was sharing private stuff on his terms and this was the same. They probably went public now since his divorce was finalized last week and it was on their own terms. It seems like Kevin only posts milestones for his kids (birthdays and holidays) and Danielle uses IG to self promote so it will be interesting to see if they do start posting their relationship or if they're just not hiding it anymore but also not flaunting it either.

Thanks for the info! I hadn't really noticed that Kevin did those kinds of post in the past since I never paid attention to him much but it makes sense since a lot of celebs do that now, post the hotels/places they stay at for sponsors and whatever else. Stefania has been doing it during the hiatuses lately too which...good for them, able to travel the world and get paid to sponsor the hotels they stay at 😂 And you're right that it's definitely a different relationship now since both of them are in the spotlight so I'm sure they have to figure out how to navigate that and what to make public and what not...it seems like a lot of stuff Kevin does is picked up by People Mag so that must be his choice and the place he goes to to get stuff out there...I just wish that Danielle wasn't already getting degraded as just his girlfriend since she's obviously much more than that. He's not the only 'star' in the relationship but I guess tabloids are gonna do what they do. I feel like now they're just not hiding it anymore and will just post when they want to like after trips they go on or milestones and stuff but I guess we'll see. I just hope it doesn't end up being this whole big dramatic thing every time they do and this fandom just leaves it alone. Some people really need to realize that they don't need to have an input/opinion on every single thing and make it public good or bad. Things just end up spiraling out of control that way one way or the other.

[purplemoonabove]

I don't know what is going on. My girlfriend has been acting... Well, odd was one word to put it. Along with secretive. Vigilant. Cautious. Alert.

In other words, she's acting as though about to get caught and wonders how much longer until she was in deep water.

She must be already sinking, or on the verge to drown because she called me. Normally it wasn't an unusual thing to do, especially when we started dating two weeks ago and we were meeting at the cafe where we first met, me being a cashier one night shift and her a customer exhausted from the college hell of work. But... you can't help but be concerned, you know? Especially when she called with a strict urgency in her voice, the kind of tone when in a desperate situation.

I wished it was over a school project, same class or not.

The scent of my need for life now capturing my attention, a cappuccino has been kindly placed in front of me and immediately calmed my nerves. A fellow co-worker brought it outside where I sat, off duty, under the shading umbrella. I was also the only one outside, the plaza environment vacant on a slow weekday morning and could give off a setting for less stress. Or maybe add it on. Her cautious behavior would have her believe she was vulnerable, exposed outside from the sanctuary of the cafe's walls. But what if she couldn't deal with the space, being claustrophobic despite being in the establishment more than once?

I groaned.

Man I am so hooked on her.

"Trouble in La La Land?"

Eyes opened, my attention went up to the curious blues, a red eyebrow raising. Tyler is my good friend, not just a fellow employee whose presence I'm used to around. He's aware of my relationship as he was one of the firsts to know about it – as well a common source for relationship advice.

It's corny to say that she's "not like other girls", but I can't help it being true.

She's literally the only one I had a crush on, and surprisingly returned the feelings.

"You can say that," I answered, picking up my order. I can catch the whipped foam as it melts by the coffee's heat. Blowing and a sip, the hot liquid calmed me down for continuation. "Something's going on, and... I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Is she cheating on you?"

I glared instantly. I trust her. She would never cheat.

Right?

"No." My voice felt final, for both of us. "She's not." My glare dimmed, the worry deflating its pride. "But there is something wrong with her. She's been acting strange lately: been looking over her shoulders, acting as though someone was about to jump her whenever someone passed by, acting all alert like an owl in the night."

Tyler hummed. "You saw any horror films lately?"

I shook my head. "Wouldn't be the cause anyway. She loves horror, it makes her laugh. I think it's either on bad acting, or dumb decisions characters make before reaching their deaths," I answered his questioning eyebrow. He met her before. I knew the same thought when I met her properly, too: she didn't seem like the type.

But then again, neither was I. My thought personally until we started going on, proving myself wrong.

He then shrugged, agreeing to the logic. "What about some bad confrontations. Like, some clashes against friends? Family?"

"Her friends are fine, as far as I know, and she doesn't talk about her family."

A sensation had us blinking. I totally forgot about that detail.

I told her about my family in the past. My mom, my dad, my irritable but still bearable younger siblings of five years. How my parents were strict but with reason. How they had to think it over before accepting me as a lesbian — something I am most grateful on knowing that they were listening to me. How they liked and admired my girlfriend, wanting to get to know more about her. Acting as though she was a new daughter to have in the family... But she never brought up her family. Not in random conversation, not in return of when I brought up the subject, not even in a request to actually meet them for the first time.

I don't know if her parents are even okay with her dating a girl. Or maybe they aren't.

Or maybe they were dead.

I really know nothing about her past. Just what she does in the present.

"Well," Tyler interrupted my thoughts. "I got nothing else other than she's a great girl – and is coming this way."

I perked up. Up ahead, I watched a woman in black skinny jeans and her favorite pink blouse rush down the sidewalk in her black heels. I always did admire how she was capable to run down in such accident-doers without possibilities of future trips to the hospital. I'm a sneaker girl; eighth grade graduation was the first and last time I wore heels, an inch high in comparison to her four. And even in an inch heel, I would stumble to close falls just to look nicely feminine. Not worth a repeat, even in a dare.

"I'll leave you be."

A part of me was glad for the departure. Not my fault because... I really can't believe this woman is dating me. Is letting me fall in love with her. Hold hands with her. Admire her beauty right at her conscious notice. Kiss, oh man kiss, those sweet pink lips whether smothered in gloss, painting by lip stick, or natural with chapped nature. I didn't care. Her pink lips were addicting to taste, and I enjoy it as much as my cappocino.

She was a sight. Skin a flawless beige with a growing tan. Auburn strands of flowing straightness that ended at her waist. Eyes a green that were of tinted emeralds under the sunlight's gaze. A matched height of five foot six with mine, sometimes of a few inches taller by her chosen heels. I didn't mind. A natural hourglass shape with equally natural proportions of bust and butt – not that I had noticed. (Side note: I am really grateful that she isn't one to do plastic surgery. Such a turn-off.)

She was just perfect. Gorgeous. Hot than any model from Victoria's Secrets.

She was a living goddess right before my eyes.

And my love was daily given at her temple.

I got up just as she slowed down, her whipping hair finally at a stop. "Hi," she greeted breathlessly. A shine of thin sweat came at her forehead.

She was beautiful.

I gently pulled her into a kiss, one she sighed despite her breathing. It was quick, not wanting to make her more breathless. Who knows how far and long she was running to come here? She also wore her mango-scented perfume. It was her favorite. Became mine, too, the more we were together.

"Sorry I'm late," she continued, smiling by the kiss.

"No worries. Came a few minutes early anyway," I assured, us sitting opposite of each other on the small, squared table. Perfect timing, as Tyler returned with a new cup: mint tea with three sugar packets, her chosen regular when arriving in the morning. And not forcing herself to lack on sleep.

"Thank you." She smiled to Tyler. He nodded in return before heading back, but not before tapping his knuckles against my bicep, acting as an unconscious brushing. That got me out of my love phase.

Right. Got to talk now.

My worries returned as she ripped all three and dump them in one hold. Despite the focus, her tension was obvious while trying not to spill when stirring.

Oh, man. She's definitely on edge.

What is going on?

Picking up the cup by the handle, she took a long intake. My eyebrows touched my hairline. Pretty sure I saw steam still at rest from the surface, and yet when placing the cup down the hot liquid was now half done. As if the drink was more lukewarm. I looked at her in shock and awe. She never ceased to amaze me.

Despite of it, a part of my mind was analyzing her features – not her beauty, this time. Face stressed on confliction. Hands cupping the still hot cup. Shoulders trying to not touch her ears. Breathing was normal, but at the same time, it may not be.

I didn't know what to say. Poor girl looked as though about to blow up, and the timing will speed up if I say the wrong thing. Should I ask her anyway? Communication is key, something I always heard. It would be best just to let it all out. Who knows how long she was holding it in, before it became obvious to a blind man?

Not to mention, I was worried about her. She never, ever looked this stressed out over anything but school work. Was it because of school work? Nah. None of the teachers seemed appropriate to have students look over their shoulders, checking to see if none of them were watching from afar. Heck, some of them looked ready for retirement. Why cause an overload of stress that you already do with homework and future exams?

Not school work. Not her friends. I'm pretty certain on that as they didn't look at her negatively, nor talked behind her back. In fact, one of them even requested me to look after her as they noticed something was wrong and didn't know, too.

They knew something was up, just like I did. We were all close to her, but she wouldn't let anyone know about what is going on inside her head (no movie reference intended).

I exhaled through my nose silently, determined.

I can't let this extend any longer.

Reaching over, I grazed a touch at her knuckles. She jumped, breaking out of her own thoughts as she stared in surprise, almost forgetting that I was still here and was silent, too. Gently, I moved her hand from the cup, which she allowed or didn't function yet to notice. She did, however, when my fingers touched at hers. Her fingers were hot, but thankfully – and surprisingly – left no burning effects.

Adjusting greens kept contact with my concern browns. My hand was loose in her grasp, allowing her to what she wanted. I didn't want to force her on anything she would feel uncomfortable about, but I also didn't want her to believe she was alone in whatever she was thinking about.

"Hera."

My voice made her fingers twitch but made no other movement.

"You... You have been acting strange lately." I wanted to sugar coat this, but I couldn't. Honest and direct. Rip the bandage off instead of inching the sticky texture, extending the frustration. Let it out and hopefully she'll follow. "You've been looking over your shoulders a lot. Sometimes freak out when someone walks past you. You become quiet very often, not even when you're studying...

"I'm worried about you, Hera. You have been on edge for days, weeks now. Please don't tell me 'I'm fine' because—"

"I'm not."

I blinked. I wasn't expecting that. Denial, forced assurance, and avoidance on the topic all together are what I expected, making herself suffer and me suffer as she won't let me do anything about it. But, no. She agreed, no hesitation.

Her hand then returned the grip. I ignored my heart's common race at our contact when also feeling the trembling from her.

I forced myself to keep it neutral.

She was tired from holding it for so long, but was still scared about it.

Her other hand wrapped over mine, the fading heat in contact to the back.

"Alexandra." Her head then angled down, breaking eye contact by staring at the table surface. In such angle, her voice was at a close murmur, "I know we have been together for a short while now..."

I immediately stiffened. My mind couldn't stop the thought if it wanted to.

Is she breaking up with me?

My heart pounded at my rib cage, and I felt my own trembles beginning to form.

I can't lose her. I literally just started dating her! I want to get to know her more. This situation, hopefully not a breakup, was something I chose myself to be a part of – because that's what supportive girlfriends do! I want to help her, be there for her, be the shoulder she could lay or cry on when she needed it.

I don't want to lose what are starting to have together.

Hera must have noticed, maybe caught on to my own little jolt when I stiffened. She looked up, and horror immediately got into her eyes when seeing my obvious expression. Her hands tightened around mine.

"And they have been wonderful!" She blurted, a quick smile to add on the assurance. "So amazing! What we have is the most lovely experience I ever had in forever. So lucky to started – and still am – dating you."

With the finishing touch of a kiss to the knuckles, that sappy romantic gesture a prince would do for his princess, got my body to relax again, a soft blush forming in replace.

Thank goodness... God, why did I assume that when there is a bigger issue here? One that I didn't even let her finish because I gave myself a heart attack? Acting as though I'm losing a wife I had for decades?

Either I am really hooked for the girl, or I really don't want to be single again. Not for a long time.

"All the more reason to ask of you..."

I blinked, catching her hesitation. I then squeezed my hand in return, hoping it would give some grounding.

It must have worked. An inhale was done...

Was held.

Then she looked directly at me. Her words spoke with a determination.

"May I stay at your place for a while?"

I froze. Eyes widened. Eyebrows touching hairline again.

My brain shut down.

...

Then rebooted a second later.

The words kicked in – then my blush kicked in, hard. My face had to be hot than the now lukewarm cups.

She again noticed my expression. I swear I'm a circus act without the circus. Her head dropped, but her auburn hair didn't entirely shield the red from the tip of her ears. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to blurt this out! I know that living together is a bit of a stretch, seeing that we've been together for a short period of time. But it's only a temporary choice! That's alright, isn't it?"

I was gaping like a fish, opening and closing without any words to spill out.

The idea was a little bit of a stretch, not going to deny that. We have been together for two weeks now. It wasn't like some Disney movie where our happily ever after was done in a matter of three days, a week if any longer. This was the last thing I expected to hear of. A year from now, us being together for that long? Oh, hell yeah! But now, even when temporarily?

On the other hand, this was exciting. Interesting. Amazing to share a roof with my own girlfriend over our heads. I know we hung out in our own places, her dorm across the street and a few blocks down from my apartment. But that was only for a few hours, an overnight sometimes. This is for more than a day. More than a week. Two weeks, possibly. A month if going to be that long!

My grinning smile then stiffened.

How long was she going to stay with me? And why did she needed to stay with me? Why did she need to stay with anyone?

My confusion took away my smile, and I brought my spare hand up to soothe by fingering through her hair. She always liked that. Almost becomes of pudding in my hands when I was gentle to her hair. Her grip on my covered hand was loosening, but not letting go.

My hand then trailed over from her head to her revealed cheek as she brought her face back up. Her blush was still visible, but so was her uncertainty. It wasn't just embarrassing; it was difficult for her to handle this.

"I wouldn't mind."

Hope began to radiate in Hera's eyes.

"But... why though?"

The hope began to diminish. She attempted to look away, but I wasn't having it. She was letting me be part of what was going on, and I was not going to let her shut me out now. I made sure her face was centered across from me again.

She didn't look at me back.

I didn't force her. Just waited, my thumb gently rubbing her cheek.

Then, in a whisper that had my ears straining a bit.

"I just don't want to be alone."

I hated how my heart ached on her words. How I knew what they actually meant. Something was going on, and I didn't force her to tell me, but she was letting me in. Hera hid this issue for so long. Now, she didn't want to through with it any longer, and by herself.

Her being alone wasn't why I hated the words.

Because I knew her words had a deeper message: this wasn't her first time going through it. Not by a long shot.

.

.

.

I would say she's better. Not entirely but was getting there.

I can't say I could judge her, either. Not like I would, Hera being my amazing girlfriend who suddenly asked to move in with me - temporarily. I got to remember that more. All because she didn't want to be alone. I get that. For sure. Understood that concept entirely. But that deep information that led to its existence...? That I'm still unaware of.

It has been three days, the starting fourth like the past years of my life with a cup of coffee. The only difference was within these four days, Hera was brewing before I could. She was getting better - or has been "handsy" in a new environment outside of her dorm: been doing chores, getting errands done - and surprisingly fast than me, doing her college assignments, and when we're both free just chill and watch some Amazon Prime. (Personally, I'm more of a Netflix girl, but I respect my girlfriend's hatred; I too can relate to the frustration and heartbreak of a cancelled show.) She was slowly becoming herself again. No longer did she constantly look over her shoulders, nor became tensed up whenever someone past by her.

Although, on the second day together, around the afternoon came a thunderstorm.

Now, from what I learned from her about them is that she doesn't give a damn about them. If she looked up to a window and a flash of lightning illuminated the dark clouds for a second, following the trembles of incoming thunder, she hardly blinked an eye. In fact, she looked at thunderstorms like a college student trying to make it through a boring class they were required to attend without falling asleep. A total nuisance to her.

And yet, that afternoon, she somehow got a panic attack.

I never seen her this panicked before; the other times were of a child's temperate fear of a monster in the closet in comparison. Unfortunately, expertise on managing a panic attack was never learned for my understanding. I blame Health class; CPRs weren't the right use in this situation. But what I did for her somehow was the right reaction after it was over: talking to her; distracting her; help her on her breathing until she was calm enough to accept my earbuds and listen to a playlist of music I love, most songs she also knew and loved, before falling asleep with her cheek on my shoulder. It freaked me out, too, being unaware of what to do in that moment.

I never asked about the reason about it. It felt too insensitive, and she didn't mention on it. Just gave a 'thank you' and a goodbye kiss before heading off to class, the moment forgotten. At least, to her.

I felt it was my business to know the moment I was in this situation. As much as I loved having her around, it wasn't on a good term. I wanted to know the reason why she got that panic attack. Why she didn't want to be by herself when asking to move in. Why she was still holding back on this secret that was slowly killing herself inside, my apartment making it settle for a short while.

I sighed. Three hours since attending her first period, and I'm just here at home, trying to distract myself with an old cartoon poorly. My mind was too clustered with this to feel any relief right now.

Slouching back on my wheeled chair, eyes wandered from my macbook to the balcony. Glass sliding doors at a locked close displayed the other apartments, a few trees and grass patches like decorations, and the sky now blanketed by gray again. It didn't look dark enough to cause another bad thunderstorm, not as bad as the one that caused the panic attack. Maybe. Possibly a light showering will come today.

"I hope you're alright, Hera," my lips muttered the concern.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Blinked. Attention went to the front hallway, having me leave my seat. I don't remember buying anything from Amazon lately. Hera didn't tell me anything about an order. Then again, my mind redirected. When have they ever knocked anymore? Probably was a neighbor, or an annoying salesman.

Three more knocks came after to confirm: not Amazon.

Just a stranger, present and persistent with held patience.

"I'm coming!" I called, letting their patience be soothed a bit. I can understand the growing frustration that can overcome patience if not done soon enough. Three steps in from my call, and I reached out to the knob--

"Ow!"

I jolted, stepping back and looked at my hand. Not a burn grew at my fingertip where I felt this sudden... shock before I could touch the cool metal.

Weird.

Letting it go, I reached out again. No shock - not physically. Because when I opened the door...

"Yes...?"

Any word to say after died out. My entire body was frozen as though accidentally stepping into an environment that will entirely paralyze you from head to toe. My eyes widened just beforehand, as well as my breathing hitched. In such a stance, I had become a military soldier: body in place, arms at the side, hardly showed breathing, and made sure eye contact was to never be given by the passing higher rank that is my officer.

But I wasn't in the military. There was no higher rank to overpower the no-rank position I bear. I was standing in shock at the front entrance of my apartment, standing opposite to a man that looked too gorgeous to be real. I may be a lesbian, but that doesn't mean I don't understand good taste.

He was buff, whether a body builder or in the process of becoming a world time wrestler. Bore of a beard that laid as a hairy blanket at his jawline, connected to his mustache and blending with locks of hair that sat at his shoulders, all of it in a sweet auburn. Green eyes held of a flame that can easily engulf me, but also would turn me into instant ash. Such eyes cause a shiver to voluntarily run down my spine. Skin was sun-kissed, slightly darker than my girlfriend's.

He could be Chris Hemsworth, but with brown hair and in a modern wear than his Thor costume. He got the navy trousers and buffed brown pointed shoes, but the white buttoned-down was left without a blazer or those long ties. In fact, three of his top buttons were free, letting air to touch the peaking-out chest hair, and the long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. No tattoos, no scars, no nothing. Just flawless skin with arms twice as thick as my arm, and three times as strong to snap my neck with one of those beefy hands.

The reality slowly brought me back. Was he a businessman who left work, or worked at home? Or got lost from a meeting and needed some help...?

Why could to a stranger's house though?

This was getting weird. My mind was acting weird.

"Afternoon."

Blinked. There was low thunder from afar at my right. His voice was so deep it was close to match the sound. A close echo.

"Uh." It took a few seconds before my mouth restarted to use properly. "Afternoon," I returned. "May I help you?"

"Yes." He straightened up with arms at his back. Now he looked like a soldier at ease, while also showing off a thin waistline. He was close to a hourglass figure. I don't care, but still. Not something you can't miss. "I was wondering if you happened to know of a brunette woman that goes by the name of Hera."

Thoughts of his thin waist were wiped cleaner than a whiteboard. My heart slammed at my chest that I was sure that it was visible under my anime-themed shirt. I wished I kept face, but I knew my eyebrows jumped at the mention of my girlfriend's name. Not to mention the rapidity of thoughts that came to mind.

How does he know her? Who was this guy? Should I tell him? But she never mentioned anything about him. What did he want with Hera?

Flashes as lightning were of faces of Hera. Her distress. Her concern. Her panic. Her poorly-executed expression of calmness. Her panic attack...

My own panic calmed, grounded to look directly at the man. I don't know who he was or what he wanted. But I won't let him get to Hera.

"Peculiar name," I lied. I find it quite cute and suiting. "Not every day you hear about someone whose name matches the woman in that cartoon film. You know, the one with the pink skin and orange hair? Heck, she could be related to Persephone." I chuckled at my joke. The skin colors on the cartoon goddesses could almost match, I think. I leaned upon my doorframe, "But sorry, I don't seem to know anyone named Hera, but I'll let you know when the pink goddess comes around here."

He then chuckled. Another thunder joined, also afar. My eyebrows narrowed at the odd timing before shoving the thought aside. "You speak of a lie and a truth. And, oh, such poor representation on that child's play."

My arms crossed and an eyebrow rose.

What the hell was he talking about?

"Listen." His position stayed the same as he continued, not even popping a hip for comfort. "I am aware that you know exactly who I am talking about."

I stayed silent. Stoic.

"I assure you, no problems will arise. But I will say that her presence is most important on the matter at hand."

Damn my mind for bringing in curiosity, letting it hop around like a kangaroo while its pouch carelessly dropped thought after thought. Kindly enough, there was only a few I took main focus on -- what did he mean by "important"? What matter? Why was it necessary for her to be a part of it? And again, how does he know her?

So many questions. Hardly any given answers.

Might as well return the favor.

"Okay, let's say I do know this Hera. What's in it for you, a complete stranger to me that could do nothing but harm like, say kidnapping or forced marriages or even send her off into an area where slavery's a thing?"

What should sound condescending was an odd joke to this guy. He actually bellowed, a hand holding his stomach with his head thrown back. At the same time, thunder came a third time. Closer and echoing his laughter, at precise timing.

I straightened up. Instincts were telling me to shut the door and not to speak to this man anymore.

This was getting not just weird, but freaky too. It feels like something from a horror movie, anticipating the invisible audience from my view on the incoming danger that will come right before me.

Eventually, there was no sudden attack in confirming my words. Instead, he simply calmed down and wiped a tear that hung from his eye. "You humans come up with the most ridiculous of things, and make them into a reality. I haven't laugh in so long that it was nice to have another go at it."

He took an inhale then exhale, satisfaction voicing. Then he looked at me, with a smirk on his face.

I blinked. My hand was urging to reach for something behind when there was nothing but the door.

"On account of her brother."

My hand stopped. My eyebrows touched my hairline.

He kept talking. His smirk stayed.

"And her husband."

Silence from him was on purpose. He was making me sink into the bottomless pit of his words, slowly consuming a fill in my lungs to suffocate me.

I just couldn't believe it.

She was married. Hera, my Hera, my girlfriend was married... To a man!

I don't think she ever told me she was bi before!

Wait. Her brother.

She had a...

Luckily unharmed by the filling, my mind got me back to the smirking man. I hate that smirk immediately now. He must know of our relationship if he was going to relish in my distress while I notice his auburn hair, and his tanned skin, and his green eyes...

I know those eyes. I see them everyday, the first in the morning and the last to bed for these past three days.

It didn't even occur to me on the similiarities.

They were both equally gorgeous. Coming from the same line.

My hand finally gripped something: the other side of the doorframe, keeping me at balance as I stared at a second Hera, but male.

"You're... You're her brother."

He gave a nod, reminding me of a bow a royal man would do. As though his presence was of royalty, and I was the lucky girl to have met him before anyone else would notice. "How unfortunate that she was not affectionate to express her sisterly love about me, but better late than never, right?"

I almost didn't catch on to his words, my hearing going mute as my voice. Hera had family she never mentioned about. She had a brother she never told me about. She has a husband that she never, ever brought up about.

It's one thing to cut ties with family, considering how both resourceful and rude this guy of a brother is. But to hide the detail of being a married woman...? Is she even still married, or is divorced but the husband refuses to accept that? I don't know whether to be ashamed and hurt by this reveal, or be protective and defensive to make sure that she would never go back to him again.

My head was aching. I resisted to touch my forehead, feeling the pulsing as it would hit at my cupping palm.

She either abandoned the relationship like it was nothing. Or left without a second thought to be free.

Both ideas, and only one will confirm the truth. But will he be telling me the truth though?

I can sense the growing pounds at the side of my head. Knock, knock, knock on frustrating thoughts worse to deal with than college work.

"Alright!" I blurted out, mostly to myself. I clear my thought and repeated carefully. "Alright... I..."

I can't reveal her. Not until I learn the truth from her. She can't hide it now; I'm in way too deep involved in this now.

"I know Hera."

He perked.

"But she's not here. And I refuse to let her brother see her when her husband is the main issue between them."

A quick glance of his disappointment through his eyes was nothing in comparison to the burn at my heart and the sourness at my tongue. Thinking of the word 'husband' was better than saying, but it was equally unsettling. It was worse when speaking it, almost feeling natural about my girlfriend's husband mention.

"Ah. So she didn't inform you. Interesting..."

Attention went back to the man. He no longer was of a soldier and more of a man intrigued on information that can be used for blackmail. Such a thought brought an unsettling in my stomach, making me almost want to puke if I didn't ate breakfast hours ago. The way he turned away, his hand grasping his chin while a finger tapped at his lips, didn't feel right. The noticing of quick shakes at his shoulders that would be unseen if I didn't spotted made me either want to hit or shout at him to get out. Before I could do either one, he continued.

"Tell me, dearest child." My eyes glowered. I'm not that young. If anything this guy's only a few years older. Yet he continued without noticing the annoyance. "Just to be sure: you didn't know I was her brother."

"No."

"Right. And you don't know of her husband."

My teeth gritted behind closed lips. He looked back at me, as if already knowing that, too, and was enjoying it. "No," I forced myself.

"And you say the only Hera you knew earlier as a lie and a truth was the one from that child's cartoon? Was that right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. What's your point?"

He then straightened. And his head leaned forward.

Instincts were allowed to lean my head back. Any closer and he was going to kiss my door. But luckily he stopped. The green in his eyes were brightened by his inner flame. But this time, of mischief.

"Then answer this, child. Who is Hera married to?"

I opened my mouth.

Not a word was out.

My annoyance slowly morphed into shock. Confusion. Understanding. Shock with fear.

It just occurred to me that there was more thunder now. Booming with a closeness at every release. Like they were of feet, walking or running. Straight to a destination. Getting closer to their reach.

He stepped back, but I was frozen in place.

My heart was trying to join the thunder. Or was mimicking the rapidity of a percussion's performance but in following one rhythm. My throat was clenching. My breathing was hard to get out.

"Simple-minded you are," he mocked. His tongue licked underneath his upper lip before grinning. It reminded me of a small version to the Cheshire Cat's. Only the feline's was more welcoming and assuring of safety and sanity.

"It's not everyday a child's show displays such love with a beautiful son, despite the following circumstances in the end. But then again..."

His arms were brought out from his sides.

A thunder boomed low, just a feet or two from him.

"You mortals never saw an actual god's true looks, haven't you?"

Lightning flashes across the sky like a freed arrow from Artemis or Athena. Or even going through his head without killing him, seeing how his green pools flashed the existence of polished gold. Remaining as the last thunder boomed loud as its own powerful halo.

The closeness and strength of the release shook the ground, shook my balance in reinstating reality before myself. My mind was still rebooting and when doing so, very little words were brought. Simple, yet true.

Zeus.

God.

Goddess.

Hera...

Gods.

Real.

My mouth somehow opened. A statement so numbly released it can be whispered.

"...Oh, God..."

Zeus grinned mischievously.

"Yes?" He teased.

My stomach dropped. My heart dropped. My thoughts followed. And eventually so did my body, backwards with eyes rolling up inside my head. Before hitting the ground, darkness became my new bed of security.

To be continued…

“I’m sorry I’m dating, who?!” You say in shock. You just found out your girlfriend was the greek goddess Hera, how? By her ex husband Zeus arriving at your door and threatening you to give her back. This is going to be a long day…