#no offense to brooke i love her but the only ones in the top two s/b the birthday girl and the one person who didn't forget her | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mulletcal · 4 years ago

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be mine - a cake fluff fic

a/n: hello welcome to this single dad!luke x cal fic, i blame @blackbutterfliescal but also thank u brooke cause i never would have written it without the encouragement

words: 2.8k

warnings: mentions of pregnancy, food, heartbreak, lots of fluff, dad!sos, uncle!sos

Luke had never been sure how he would make it the first few months without Sophie’s mom around, let alone the first few years. Sophie’s mom had decided 6 months into her pregnancy that she didn’t want to raise the child - she felt no connection to her, nor did she believe she was going to. The idea hurt Luke, but he remained convinced that if she could just look into their baby girl’s eyes for the first time, she would realize; she would feel all the love Luke already felt just from hearing her tiny, rapid heartbeat. But she never did- Once she had been cleared from the hospital, she headed back to their place, packed her things and left.

It had been almost four years since that moment. Luke never thought he’d see the day where he could think of Sophie’s mother and not feel pain or anger, but he did. Sophie made it easier, as every part of her resembled Luke; her blonde curls, her bright, curious blue eyes, even down to the dimples, and her personality. The love Luke had for his daughter oozed out of him every single day, and you could tell how much Sophie loved him, too.

Something else that helped Luke through were his friends, or even more specifically, Calum. The day Sophie’s mom had left, Calum was already there with his bag packed, ready to help him however he could. Calum would stay up late into the night trying to soothe Sophie, while Luke tried to get some semblance of sleep. When Luke was feeding Sophie, Calum would be doing the laundry, knowing that if he didn’t, Luke would wear the same sweats for a week straight.

“No baby wants to smell you wearing those sweats another day,” Calum had argued.

“My baby loves me just fine!”

“I didn’t say she doesn’t love you, I said she wouldn’t want to smell you.”

As Sophie grew, Calum wasn’t around as often. He would come over whenever she or Luke asked, but he wanted to make sure that he gave them their space so that Sophie would learn to be social, branching out to make new friends instead of hiding in his or her dad’s leg when someone tried to talk to her.

One brisk February morning, his phone rang, indicating a FaceTime call. The screen read Luke, but he knew at that hour it had to have been Sophie. His suspicions were confirmed when he accepted the call, the top half of Sophie’s face appearing on the screen.

“Hi munchkin, what are you doin’ up so early?” Calum asked groggily, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed.

“I need your hewp,” She whispered into the phone, looking around the room with wide blue eyes.

Calum grew concerned at the word ‘help’, and automatically became more alert, “Is everything okay? Is your dad okay?”

“Yes, yes. I otay. Daddy’s otay. I want you to hewp me make him a Vawentine,” She whispered again.

Calum chuckled softly, running his hand over his face, “You called me at 5:30 to help you make a Valentine? Is this so I’ll get the supplies?” His question was met with a nod, which made him laugh again, “Okay bub, I’ll ask your dad if you can come over to have a playdate with me and Duke and we can make it then, yeah?”

Calum couldn’t see her smile with the way she was holding the phone, but the way her eyes lit up told him that she was smiling, “Okay! Wove you Uncle Cal!”

“Love you too angel, I’ll see you later.”

It truly wasn’t hard to convince Luke to let Sophie have a playdate at Calum’s place, citing he needed to go grocery shopping anyways and it was much easier and much cheaper when Sophie was otherwise occupied.

Calum kept the supplies hidden away until Luke was officially gone, just in case he came into the kitchen and saw the bag of red and pink materials. Everything started off good, Calum was mostly helping her cut shapes so she could make a bunch of hearts for Luke.

“Daddy aways say ask a grown up for hewp cutting,” Sophie explained, gesturing to Calum. He wasn’t sure exactly why she decided to bring that up, but he’d roll with it anyways.

“He’s absolutely right. You don’t want to accidentally cut your little finger, Daddy would need to put a bandage on it and kiss it better.”

Sophie was quiet for a moment, colouring in one of the hearts, “Why wouldn’t you kiss it?”

Calum laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair, “I could kiss it better, but did you know Daddy’s kisses have healing powers?”

Sophie’s eyes widened, looking over at Calum as if he revealed all of the magicians secrets.

“It’s true! Think about it, when you get a booboo, does your Dad kiss it better?” Calum asked, leaning forward with a smile on his face, only growing bigger when Sophie nodded, “And doesn’t it always feel better right after?”

Sophie’s giggle in response was Calum’s answer, going back to cutting the paper for her. The conversation between them was nonexistent for a few moments until Sophie piped up again.

“Does that mean you have to hewp me with the gwitter?”

Calum looked up, thinking for a moment, “Are you going to try and pick your nose with your hand covered in glitter again?”

Sophie placed a hand on her chest, feigning offense far too well for a three-and-a-half year old, “My nose was itchy!”

Calum laughed softly, grabbing the glitter from the bag so they could get to work finishing the Valentine before Luke got there.

Although Valentines Day was still a couple days away, the moment Luke walked through the door Sophie shoved the Valentine into his hands with a giddy smile on her face.

“What’s this my love?” Luke spoke softly, leaning down to Sophie’s height so he could read it. Calum could tell by the way Luke’s face shifted how much that card meant to him, watching as he hugged Sophie tightly, “Of course I’ll be your Valentine, only if you’ll be mine though.”

Sophie enthusiastically replied with a yes and Luke scooped her up, resting her on his hip.

“Hey Soph, I have a surprise for you back at home but I think Uncle Cal would like to see it too. Do you wanna ask him if he wants to come over for pizza?” Luke stage whispered to her, his eyes darting over to Calum.

The way he looked at Calum always made his heart stop, though he’d never admit it. Calum was likely reading too far into it, but there was always something more to the way Luke spoke to him, and the way he looked at him. A hint of softness, and a sprinkle of mischievous nature.

“Pizza?” Was all Sophie said, extending her hand to Calum as if that was his formal invitation.

“I’d love to join you. Let me just get Duke fed and let out and I’ll let Roy know I’m headed out.”

It wasn’t long before Calum arrived at Luke’s doorstep, ending up meeting the pizza delivery person at the door as well. Paying for the pizza, he stepped inside Luke’s house like he had done many times before.

“Oh honey, I’m home,” Calum teased, being met by a small shriek as Sophie ran towards him at the door, “Y’know Lu, if you wanted me to buy the pizza, you coulda just asked me to pick it up on the way.”

Luke narrowed his eyes at Calum, taking the pizza from him carefully and turning to head towards the kitchen, “You know I never let you pay for food.”

He was right and Calum knew it; Luke always felt like he owed Calum for all he’s done for them- the long nights, the tears (from both Sophie and Luke)- Calum had been there through it all, so now Luke felt one of his only options was to never let him pay for a meal they shared ever again, which Calum of course didn’t agree with.

Looking down, Calum saw silver glitter all in Sophie’s hair, giving her a puzzled look, “This glitter wasn’t there earlier, was it?”

“Don’t ask,” Luke huffed as he brought out three plates with pizza on them, “She decided arts n crafts time wasn’t over.”

Calum chuckled, scooping Sophie up so they could sit on the couch and eat their pizza together. Once dinner was over, Luke showed Calum and Sophie his surprise for her. It was a bookshelf that Luke had built, that was from floor to ceiling and Sophie was absolutely in love. Her love of reading outweighed any other passion she had developed growing up, and Luke slightly blamed (and thanked) Calum for it, as he had always read her to sleep, and as she got older that seemed to be the only thing to calm her. Even if Calum wasn’t there, if Sophie was having a rough night Luke would FaceTime Calum and he would read to her from the stack of childrens books he kept at his house; it never failed to make Sophie fall asleep, and Luke shortly after, leaving Calum to be the one to hang up the call after muttering a quiet ‘Love you’ to the two of them.

“When you’re older, I’ll give you a ladder in here so you can reach the top shelf. I don’t want you getting any bright ideas about trying to fly, ya hear me?” Luke said, pinching Sophie’s cheek as they stood near her new bookshelf.

“But what about the books up thewe,” Sophie argued back, swatting Luke’s hand away.

“Then me or Uncle Cal can reach up and get them for you cause we’re big and tall, yeah?” He scooped her up, lifting her as high as the tallest shelf so she could see, “No books up there right now right?”

“No books.”

“Guess Daddy is gonna have to get you more, huh?” Calum chimed in, tickling Sophie’s belly while Luke still had her held up. Her loud giggle echoed through her room, little legs kicking frantically as she asked him to stop. Calum listened, and once her fit of giggles calmed down, Luke set her down so she could explore the books on her new bookshelf.

“I’m sure she’ll ask you to stay and read to her tonight, just a heads up,” Luke nudged Calum, giving him a smirk, “Plan your escape now.”

“I would never,” Calum gasped, nudging him back, “It’s my favourite thing to do. Don’t know anyone else who cares to listen to me read to them.”

“I do,” Came Luke’s whisper, causing Calum’s heart to skip a beat, “When she’s having a rough night, it’s definitely hard on me too. Your voice is soothing.”

“Is that why you usually fall asleep too?”

“Honestly? Yeah, it feels safe so I just pass right out. Not the best for my neck cause her bed is so small,” Luke chuckled, shifting his gaze to meet Calum’s, “But I love listening to you talk.”

Calum was sure Luke could hear his heart beating rapidly now, and he may have kissed him if his daughter wasn’t standing right there; judging by the way Luke’s eyes darted to Calum’s lips, he may have returned the favor, but they were pulled from their world by a loud yawn falling from Sophie’s lips.

“Getting tired, my love?” Luke asked, turning his attention to his daughter. When she nodded, Luke cooed softly, wrapping his arms around her and letting her bury her face in his shoulder, “Let’s get your jammies on, okay?”

“Will Uncle Cal wead me stowy?” She asked in a quiet voice, big blue eyes looking up at Calum.

“You know the answer is always yes angel. I’ll be just outside, once you’re settled in your jammies you can pick a story.”

Sophie called Calum back in once she had gotten changed, and Luke made sure to tuck her in and give her a kiss, letting Calum take over with the storytime. Before Calum dove into the book, Sophie pulled a folded red piece of paper out of her pocket.

“What’s this, lovie?” He asked with a smile, taking it as she handed it to him.

“You give to Daddy,” She said, encouraging him to unfold it.

“Didn’t your Daddy already get a Valentine from you?” Calum chuckled, unfolding the paper to see it covered with silver glitter and shakily drawn hearts. The silver glitter in her hair makes sense now.

“You give to him,” She repeated, pointing at the ‘to:’ and ‘from:’ written in Luke’s handwriting left blank. Luke must have assumed Sophie wanted to give it to him, so he wrote on the card for her and was going to let her attempt to write Calum’s name.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead and setting it on her bedside table, “I promise I will.”

Calum proceeded to read to her until she fell asleep, which wasn’t very long after he started the book. He smiled down at her when he realized she was fully asleep, pressing one more gentle kiss to the top of her head before he slid off the bed, carefully placing the book on the shelf. Once he dimmed her light into the nightlight she liked, he picked up the Valentine and headed out of her room and down the hall to where Luke’s room was.

“Hey,” Calum called out softly, “She’s out, I dimmed her lights and left her door cracked just in case. I should head out before it gets too late.”

Luke said a small thank you, before calling out to Calum again, “Tell me a story.”

With a small smile on his lips, Calum leaned against the doorframe, “Sophie really is your twin huh.”

Luke pulled the covers back, patting the spot next to him so Calum could crawl in, “What’s so bad about that? Aren’t I a delight?”

“You’re somethin’ alright.”

Calum just barely caught the pillow that was thrown at him, bursting out in a fit of laughter as he did so. Crawling into the spot next to Luke, he laid on his side facing him and propped himself up on his elbow, “What kind of story do you wanna hear?”

“It’s almost Valentine’s Day, tell me a love story.”

Calum thought for a moment, an idea coming to mind as he chewed on his lower lip, “Once upon a time there were two boys… Well, four technically, but this story is about the two of them,” he began nervously. “They formed a band with two of their other friends, and got to tour the world, seeing the sights.”

“Sounds like a fun story.”

“Sh, Sophie never interrupts,” He scolded, poking his finger against Luke’s chest, “As they got older, and became men, they all began to find love. The two band members found forever love, while the two men in our story only found temporary love. That is, until an angel arrived, and she showed the men that forever love isn’t always romantic. Time went on, and the angel no longer needed one of the men as much, so he carried on with his life outside of them. But one thing he always thought about was the man caring for the angel, and how much he missed spending every waking hour with him, and the angel too. Slowly, he began to realize that his forever love was right there all along, they both were just caught up in protecting the angel that he was too blind to see it.”

Luke wasn’t breathing, and Calum was nervous that he was taking it the wrong way, until he met Luke’s eyes and saw them brimming with tears, then he really knew he fucked up. “I’m sorry, fuck Luke I’m sorry. I should have just told you, not like this-”

He was cut off by Luke’s lips meeting his in a sweet, delicate kiss, “Shut up. What happens next in the story,” he whispered against Calum’s lips.

“Once they admitted their feelings, they shared a kiss… and lived happily ever after,” Calum smiled, pressing another chaste kiss to Luke’s lips, “I love you. I think I always have, but I wanted to give you space to heal.”

“Both you and Sophie healed me. I’ve known for a long time I loved you, but I was scared that I was just in love with the idea of having someone else around. That’s not the case, though, because I want you, as well as want you to be around. And I’m sure Sophie wouldn’t complain about you being around longer.”

Pulling the folded Valentine out of his pocket, he handed it to Luke, “Wanna be my Valentine?”

Luke’s mouth fell open, a laugh escaping his lips, “I thought she wanted to give that to you!”

Calum shook his head, “Nope. She wanted me to give it to you.”

Luke shook his head, squeezing Calum closer, “I’ll be yours if you be mine.”

tag list: @talkfastromance4 @calmlftv @notinthesameguey @loveroflrh @mantlereid @irwinkitten @n-ctarinenga @ashtonlftv @blackbutterfliescal @monimickell @treatallwithkindness @castaway-cashton @tea4sykes @begluketostay @wheniminouterspace @another-lonely-heart @myfavfanficsever @xsongxbirdx @stardust-galaxies @karajaynetoday @bestyearssos @cheekysos @suchalonelysunflower @aquarius-hood1996 @wildflower-cth @youngblood199456 @uh-huhh-honey @myloverboyash @cakelftv @f-mu @thatscooibaby @hoodhoran @sexgodashton @wildflower-cth @becihadshawn

#luke hemmings #calum hood #cake fic #calum hood fic #luke hemmings fic #dad!sos #dad!luke #uncle!cal

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thelastspeecher · 4 years ago

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A Kiss From a Nixie

Here’s a follow-up to the ficlet I posted the other day, where, in a Mystery Trio-style AU, Stan meets a frog-lady and falls in love with her. In this ficlet, we learn about the origins of Stan’s frog-lady, as well as the proper term for her species. I’m very happy about this scenario and have been enjoying it a lot. Hopefully, y’all enjoy it, too~

——————————————————————————————

Stan and Angie stared silently at each other. Angie suddenly turned beet red.

“Stanley. I’m naked,” she whispered. Stan felt himself flush at the reminder. He spun around so that she could get dressed without him watching. “Thank you.”

“What- how-” Stan stammered, still with his back to Angie. He took a deep breath. “First question. Is Fiddlenerd a frog too?”

“No. He’s not.”

“Did the frog gene skip him?”

“I wasn’t born like this. It happened while I was at college.” A million more questions immediately formed on Stan’s tongue. “You can turn ‘round again.” Stan turned. Angie was now wearing a flannel top and some jeans. She pulled on a pair of boots. “And no, Fidds don’t know. Actually…” There was a beat. She looked up at Stan. “Yer the first person to know.”

“Wait. Really?” Stan asked. Angie nodded. “Geez.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I…I wasn’t expecting that. I mean, you and Fiddlenerd are annoyingly close.”

“You’ve known Fidds fer a lil while. How do ya think he would react to findin’ out his precious baby sister is sometimes a frog?” Angie asked dryly. Stan winced, already imagining the freakout. “That’s why.”

“Fair enough. How’d you turn into a…I dunno, merfrog?” Angie snorted.

“Merfrog. I like it.”

“I don’t know the real word for…” Stan gestured vaguely at Angie. “…whatever you are.”

“I don’t know it, either. The person what turned me didn’t exactly share that information.”

“Who turned you?”

“A full-time frog person what lived in the pond just off campus.” Angie scowled. “They befriended me, then offered to kiss me. That kiss was what did me in.”

“Why’d you agree to kiss a frog person?” Stan asked. Angie turned pink.

“I sometimes have poor impulse control,” she said quietly.

“Been there.” Stan frowned. “Hang on. A kiss from a frog person turned you into one?” Angie nodded. “I feel like it’s supposed to go the other way around. At least, according to fairy tales.”

“Well, I know the kiss was what did it, ‘cause immediately I started changin’, and the frog person told me that they were excited fer me to live with ‘em.” Angie sighed heavily. “I’ve been a frog ever since.”

“But you can turn human.”

“Yessir.”

“Huh.” Stan looked at Angie thoughtfully. “Y’know, Ford would have a field day with this.”

“Oh, hell no. I ain’t tellin’ yer weird brother. No offense.”

“None taken.” Stan walked over to Angie. “You got somethin’.” He pulled a clump of mud out of her hair. Angie turned bright red again. “Want me to give you a ride back to the house?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Stan headed back towards the Stanleymobile, Angie close behind. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

“I wasn’t expectin’ to be here very long. Certainly not long enough that I would have a reason to tell someone my secret. But, I don’t know, somethin’ ‘bout Gravity Falls makes me feel pretty content.” Stan glanced back. Angie was looking around, admiring the surrounding trees. “I might want to move up here, to be honest. I can do my research or even help Stanford with his. He was tellin’ me the other day that he wants to hire a biologist.”

“Gravity Falls is nicer than I expected,” Stan agreed. He cleared his throat. “Do you have to go to the pond every day or something?”

“Geez, yer full of questions, ain’t ya?”

“The frog-lady I’ve been chatting up for the last two weeks just turned into my brother’s partner’s little sister,” Stan said dryly. “Duh.” Angie chuckled softly.

“Fair enough.” They emerged from the trees and made a beeline for the Stanleymobile. “I have to shift into my frog form and submerge myself in water fer at least an hour every day. Ideally, I spend more time like that. That’s just the bare minimum to keep myself healthy.”

“Did the frog person who turned you tell you that?”

“Nope. Figured it out through trial and error. Since I got to Gravity Falls, I’ve been sneakin’ out of the house after everyone’s asleep and goin’ to the lake to sleep in there.” They came up to the car. Stan pulled out his key to unlock it. Angie got into the passenger seat, beaming. “I even made myself a nice little hole in the mud to sleep in.”

“You’re not worried about Fiddlenerd wondering where you are?” Stan asked, getting into the driver’s seat. Angie shook her head.

“I’m a deep sleeper with a specific sleep schedule. Fidds knows better ‘n to mess with that.”

“Makes sense.” Stan started the car. “So, you-” Angie sighed loudly.

“Look, I understand that ya have a lot of questions. I’ll answer all of ‘em at some point, but right now, I can only answer one more.”

“Fair.” Stan pulled out of the parking lot. He frowned thoughtfully. “Okay. I know what I wanna ask.”

“Hit me.”

“Did you eat my bait?” Stan asked. Angie looked away hurriedly, though Stan could see a flush spreading across her features, down to her neck. “When I opened my tacklebox after you returned it, the fresh bait was gone.” He held up a hand. “I’m not judging you for eating worms. You’re part frog. But I just wanna know if you ate them.” Angie stayed silent. “Come on, you said you’d answer my question.” After a long pause, she finally replied.

“No comment.”

-----

Angie giggled at Stan’s joke. He grinned proudly, warmth spreading across his cheeks. After spending the day moving Angie into her new house in Gravity Falls, he was happy to have quality time with his sort-of frog sort-of girlfriend. They were at the lake so that Angie could be in her frog form, though Fiddlenerd and Ford thought they were still at Angie’s house.

“Still can’t believe Stanford actually supported leaving us alone together,” Angie remarked. To Stan’s amusement, it wasn’t just the tone of her voice that changed in her frog form. Her thick southern accent was also nearly nonexistent. At first, he thought it was because she was disguising herself. But even after coming clean about who she was, she didn’t have an accent in frog form.

“Ford thinks that I’m more responsible and take better care of myself when I’m dating someone,” Stan said with a shrug. “I’m not surprised he’s encouraging me to ‘woo’ you.” Angie giggled again, a sound like a babbling brook. Stan dug around in the bag of snacks they’d picked up at the gas station on the way over. “Hungry?”

“Yes,” Angie said eagerly. Stan pulled out the container of live bait and set it on the wood of the dock. He lifted the lid. Angie reached out a webbed, frog-like hand and daintily grabbed one of the wriggling worms. Stan opened his bag of chips, smiling fondly at her.

A few days ago, Angie had finally confessed that, since becoming a merfrog, she had developed a taste for bugs and worms. Stan had already known, but he appreciated that Angie trusted him enough to tell him. After all, she was visibly embarrassed by her cravings for creepy-crawlies.

It’s probably ‘cause she was raised to be a proper southern lady or whatever. Angie popped a worm into her mouth. Good thing I don’t care about that.

“Stanley?” Stan looked over his shoulder. Ford was walking down the dock towards him. Angie gasped softly. There was a splash. Without looking, Stan knew she had gone underwater before Ford could see her up close. “What are you doing here, talking to a nixie? I thought you were helping Angie settle in.”

“Nixie?”

“Yes.” Ford sat next to Stan. “That was the creature you were speaking with.” His eyes widened. “Is she the frog-lady you were talking about a few months ago?”

“Duh.”

“I would have believed you if you told me she was a nixie!”

“Wh-” Stan scoffed. “Do I look like someone who knows what a nixie is?”

“Did she not tell you?”

“It’s racist to ask someone what they are, Sixer,” Stan said flatly. Ford let out a soft laugh. “Angie sent me out to grab some snacks, so I figured I stop by the lake to talk to Rana while I was out.”

“Her name is Rana?” Ford asked. Stan nodded. “Fascinating.” He stared at the spot where Angie had been. “Would you be willing to tell me more about her?”

“Nope.” Stan stood up. “You didn’t believe me when I first asked you, and now I’ve learned that she’s an actual person, not some weird ‘anomaly’ for you to study.” He pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “And Angie’s probably waiting for me at her place, so I better get going.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Ford said, pointing at the bait still sitting on the dock. A webbed hand quickly grabbed the bait and brought it underwater. Ford’s jaw dropped. “Remarkable.”

-----

It was yet another peaceful, misty morning at Lake Gravity Falls. Stan sighed.

“Enjoying the quiet?” Angie asked from her spot in the lake. Stan nodded. “Have the Fords been especially loud lately or something?”

“The Fords?”

“It’s shorter than saying their full names,” Angie said. Stan snorted in amusement.

“Nah, they’ve actually been quieter than usual. I don’t trust it. They’re up to something.” Angie snickered. “Have you finished the research Ford wanted you to do?”

“Oh, yeah.” Angie floated on her back, staring up at the dusty blue sky. “I finished it real quick. It’s pretty easy to get information from magical creatures when you’re one of ‘em.”

“Maybe you should give Ford a big smooch. Turn him into a frog. He’ll finish his research in record time,” Stan joked. The only response was a soft splash. Stan looked over. “Ang?” Angie was gone. “Something wrong?” Nothing happened. Stan sighed. “What did I say?” Angie slowly surfaced.

“I…” She took a shuddering breath. “I love you.” Stan’s heart stopped. “But I-” Angie covered her face with her large, webbed hands. “I can’t- I can’t act on any of my feelings.” Stan scooted closer, his legs dangling over the edge of the pier.

“What do you mean?” he asked quietly. Angie let out a sob.

“I want to kiss you more than- more than anything. But if I do, then you’ll- you’ll be like me. And I don’t want to turn you into a- into a frog!” she wailed.

“Hey.” Stan took one of Angie’s hands. She looked up at him. “That’s my decision to make, okay? If I wanna risk turning into a frog so that I can kiss you, I’ll do that.”

“R-really?” Angie asked in a tremulous voice.

“Remember how you said you kissed that nixie ‘cause you had poor impulse control?” Angie nodded. Stan grinned. “You’re not the only one.” He pulled Angie close. Just as his lips met Angie’s, there was a loud shout.

“Wait!”

-----

Further attempts to pry information out of Stan about the nixie he’d befriended had failed. So, Ford had to resort to collecting his own data. This translated into watching from afar as, every day at dawn, Stan sat on the dock and spoke with the nixie. Fortunately, Ford was skilled enough at camouflage by now that he wasn’t seen. Unfortunately, he was unable to get close without risking being spotted.

That morning, he wasn’t alone at the lake. He had dragged Fiddleford out of bed to come see the nixie for himself. Fiddleford wasn’t pleased.

“Stanford, yer lucky I ain’t the kind of sleeper my sister is,” Fiddleford groused as they hid in the bushes, watching Stan talk to the nixie. “Last time someone woke her up ‘fore she was ready, they got a broken nose fer their trouble.”

“Yes, yes, I’m very lucky,” Ford said. “Now, please, be quiet. It looks like they’re talking about something serious.”

“You won’t hear any of it, no matter how quiet I get. We’re too far away,” Fiddleford pointed out. Ford ignored the logical argument, focusing intently upon the conversation at the dock. The nixie seemed emotionally distraught over something. Stan leaned in, visibly affected by her distress. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Then, to Ford’s horror, Stan kissed the nixie.

“Wait!” Ford shouted, bursting out of the bushes. Stan and the nixie jumped. Ford sprinted over to his brother and the magical creature, his heart pounding in his chest, his mind racing.

No. No. This isn’t good. Ford hadn’t had the chance to study a nixie properly yet, but he had read enough about them and other water sprites to know that even touching one could have serious consequences. Stanley, you idiot! Aren’t you dating Angie, anyways? I didn’t think you were the kind of person to cheat! Still frozen in shock, the nixie and Stan hadn’t moved by the time Ford arrived.

“Stanley, what was that about?” Ford demanded. “You shouldn’t just kiss random magical creatures!”

“She’s not random,” Stan said. His articulation was sloppier than usual, almost like he was slurring a bit. The nixie looked at him with sudden concern. “I know her.”

“Yes, but-” Ford ran his hands through his hair. “Kissing a nixie can have unforeseen side effects!”

“I know!” Stan’s speech was definitely slurred. He gestured drunkenly to the nixie. “That’s how she got stuck in this situation!” Ford looked at the nixie. His fingers itched for a pen and paper. Up close, she was just as eerily beautiful as she’d seemed from a distance. Her green, mottled skin glistened from lake water. Large, webbed ears poked out from her short, black hair. But most distinctive were her kind eyes, a soft shade of blue that Ford immediately recognized. He saw those eyes every time he looked at Fiddleford.

Everything clicked into place.

I was right. Stan would never cheat on Angie, even for a magical creature.

“Angie?” Ford croaked. Angie, for he was certain that the nixie was Angie, ignored him. She pulled herself onto the pier, revealing the same hourglass shape she had as a human, but lacking any mammalian features.

That makes me feel much more comfortable with the fact she’s unclothed.

“Stanley, are you all right?” she asked. Stan grinned at her. His eyes were unfocused.

“Yeah, babe.” He leaned closer to her. “I liked that kiss. Go ahead and give me another one, okay?”

“Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What?” Stan seemed blindsided. “Why not?”

“You’re acting either stoned or plastered and I’m not sure which one,” Angie said. Ford’s eyes widened.

“Your accent is gone!”

“I- yes- it- I don’t know why, maybe it’s ‘cause when I first turned frog, I was hiding my accent a lot. But that’s not important right now!” Angie snapped. “Something happened to Stan!”

“Well, you kissed him while in nixie form,” Ford pointed out. “If you’d kissed him in human form, I doubt there would have been any reaction at all.” Angie stared at him. “I’ve never heard of a nixie being able to switch between their native form and a human one.”

“I- my native form is human, you dingus! I wasn’t always part frog!”

“Fascinating,” Ford breathed. Angie groaned loudly. She took Stan’s hand.

“Stanley, sit down for me, okay?” she said. Stan sat down heavily. He grinned at her. “Oof. Uh. Your eyes are dilated something fierce, darling.”

“You’re fierce,” Stan slurred. He winked. Angie grimaced. Footsteps sounded on the deck. “Ang, you’re the prettiest frog in the world.” The footsteps stopped.

“Angie?!” Fiddleford shrieked. Angie immediately dove into the lake, disappearing into the depths. Stan leaned over the edge of the pier.

“Come back, Angie!” he called.

“I have to agree,” Fiddleford said, quickly catching up to Stan and Ford. “Banjolina Quinn McGucket, get back here!”

“Heh.” Stan giggled. “Banjo.” He leaned further. “Banjo!” He fell forward. Before Ford or Fiddleford could grab him, a webbed hand shot out of the water to nudge him back onto the pier. Angie emerged from the lake. Fiddleford fell to his knees.

“Oh, Lord,” he breathed. “I’d recognize that face anywhere. Angie, what happened? How did you become this?”

“I…” Angie swallowed. “Stan can tell you.” Stan leaned over the edge of the pier again.

“I heard my name,” he purred. Angie surfaced further until she and Stan were face-to-face. She stroked his cheek. “Hey, gorgeous.”

“I’m- I’m sorry I did this to you. Rest up.” She looked at Fiddleford. “Take care of him.”

“Angie, you can’t just leave without explainin’ anything!” Fiddleford protested. Angie closed her eyes.

“I need- I need a minute.” She sunk underwater.

“Angie, no!” Stan cried out. Ford and Fiddleford grabbed him before he could jump into the lake. “No!” Stan slumped back and began to sob. “She’s gone. Forever.”

“Stanley, once she’s had some time to collect herself, she’ll be back,” Ford said calmly. “Now, we should probably find some sort of antitoxin to counteract that kiss.” He pulled Stan to his feet. Stan immediately leaned against him. “Fiddleford, a little help?” Fiddleford was still staring at the lake. “Fiddleford?”

“Oh, yes.” Fiddleford came over. He looped one of Stan’s arms over his shoulders. “Don’t worry, Stan, Ford’s right. Angie will be back.” He scowled. “If I have to drain this whole godforsaken lake to find her.”

#there's a lot more developed for this Scenario #so.....if anyone is curious about it and has Questions....my inbox is open c:#Mystery Trio AU #Stanley Pines #Angie McGucket #Stanford Pines #Fiddleford McGucket #Stangie #ficlet #my writing #my stuff #speecher speaks #Nixie AU

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bbrandy2002 · 4 years ago

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Fools Rush In

Part 4

Series: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Liam x OC (Riley)

Previous chapters can be found here.

Series Premise: With two weeks until Liam is to marry Madeleine, the guys throw him a bachelor party in Vegas. As a drunken night, he finds himself with way more than he bargained for.

MC did not exist in Liam’s social season. OC Riley Brooks lives in Las Vegas.

A/N: No wacky drabble for this one. Went a wee bit over and couldn’t cut. Oh well...there’s always next time. This is an 18+ series.

A/N: The lyrics to the song Maxwell sings comes from a Tik Tok video that was shared with me and the idea to include it in this is not my own hahahaha I will post the link to the video in comments to give the maker proper credit and just in case anyone wants to actually watch it. I thought it was funny..

Thanks @burnsoslow for beta reading and all of my lovely pre-readers.

Warning: Mention of STD’s

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Be Kind: Hit the heart button, leave a comment or reblog. It makes a writer so so happy.

____________

All Riley wanted to do was go home, take a hot shower, snuggle up in a blanket on the couch with a Lifetime movie, and carry on with the rest of her life.

She'd had this crazy but exciting night out with a fantastic guy. They had a little too much to drink and woke up the next morning to find they were married to each other.

And she wasn't just married to anyone. No, it had to be the King of a small European country she'd never heard of before.

That's not something that just happened to everyone.

Depending on how one viewed her circumstances she was either the luckiest or unluckiest woman in all of Vegas.

If she were a betting person, she'd place money on the latter.

Riley stood at the penthouse door, engaged in a stare down with the blonde-haired obstacle blocking the exit.

In front of her was a woman wearing a black and white fur coat, a strand of pearls that hung loosely around her neck, and an impudent scowl.

If evil were a lady, Riley surmised she was looking at her.

Madeleine's green eyes bore agitation and scorn as she studied the petite figure she recognized from the dozens of photos that bombarded her text messages.

"You must be the bimbo who thinks she will steal my crown and title."

"Excuse me?" Riley's eyes narrowed, not knowing who she was speaking to, but could already tell she didn’t care to know.

Leo stepped up protectively behind Riley and growled at the countess. "Go away, Madeleine! How many times do we have to tell you the dalmatians aren't for sale?"

"You wish I were here for dalmatians," Madeleine sneered. "Now, out of my way, heathens."

She pushed her way past the two and stalked inside while Mara shuffled behind. She removed her cashmere gloves and took notice of her fiance with his back pressed against the bar top, one legs crossed over the other, and sipping casually on his scotch.

Liam tipped the glass to his lips as if he didn't have a care in the world and swallowed. "Can I offer you a glass of wine, dear? Or a cronut? Perhaps a ride to the middle of the desert to be left for dead?"

"That's quite alright," Madeleine quipped as she ripped the glass out of Liam's hand and slammed it down on the bar. "But maybe you'd like to first explain why I have been inundated with one message after the next telling me you were married to this ..." She motioned her hand toward Riley with derision. "This ... bitch?"

Liam paused as if he were thinking about it, then shook his head. "No. Not really." She's not a bitch ... she's amazing. He wondered why he couldn't say that out loud.

Stunned, Riley looked up at Leo in disbelief. "Did she really just call me a bitch? She doesn't even know me."

Leo nodded with a compassionate smile on his face, then pulled her further inside and shut the door.

He wasn't about to let her go now.

Liam grabbed his drink, pushed himself off the bar, and strolled to the center of the room. He could feel Madeleine's icy glare following his every movement. The King hoped his flippant attitude was enough to penetrate deep into her frozen exterior and piss her off even more. "I thought you were in New York, Mads. 8 million people in that city for you to torment, and you still make time to hop on your broomstick and find me. I have to say … I'm touched."

Madeleine shot him a dirty look. "Do you have any idea what I've been through because of what you did last night?"

He shrugged. "Nope, and I don't care."

"Well, you're going to care when I tell you everything that happened." She disregarded the audible groan and eye roll from him as she began her diatribe of offenses. "I had just settled in for the night when I get a message from that simpleton, Penelope, telling me what you did. I tried to call you, but apparently, you and the rest of your entourage of losers blocked my number. So I had this incompetent boob of a guard you hired for me book the first flight out here.

“When I got to JFK, I was detained and strip-searched because someone falsely alerted authorities claiming I was a Colombian drug lord, only in the U.S. to sell cocaine and hypodermic needles to children --"

Leo snorted.

Liam curled his lips into a devilish grin, knowing exactly who did it. He glanced subtly to Mara, who winked back at him.

"Are you even listening to me, Liam? As if that nightmare wasn't horrid enough, I find out Mara booked coach class … COACH! Coach is so beneath someone like me. There were babies and old people and sodas. But the worst was when we finally arrived here; they strip-searched me again. I had to get my own baggage and ride in one of those god-awful smelly shuttle vans to this hotel. And do you know why I had to do all of that? Because you're a complete moron, Liam. The people of Cordonia are laughing at you; you know that, right? I always knew you would be a total embarrassment and fuck up, but this is beyond anything I imagined."

A downcast expression was plastered on Liam's face as he stared down at the drink in his shaky hand. Those words stung -- “a total embarrassment and fuck up.” In his mind, he felt she was right. He had let down even his own expectation of himself and the reputation of the monarchy.

There was nothing to do but stand there and stew in silence.

But Riley wouldn’t.

She shrugged Leo's hand from her shoulder and spun Madeleine around by the arm to face her. "Is this what you do? You go around insulting everyone and being a first-class bitch? I will have you know, Liam is not any of those things. He's the kindest, sweetest man I've ever met. And it's no wonder he looked so miserable last night at the club. I couldn't understand why at first, but now ... now it all makes sense. Did you ever stop to think that maybe if you weren't such a fucking cunt, he wouldn't have been drinking so much and been so willing to accept the company of another woman?"

Liam felt his heart twinge. Riley had every right to be upset with him, and he felt guilty for putting her in this situation. But there she was, defending him. God, she was hot.

Madeleine guffawed. "How cute. You've got your little whore taking up for you now."

"That's enough!" Liam's eyes landed sharply on her. Before he could stop himself, the next few words sprang from his lips as naturally as his breath. "You will not speak to my wife -- your Queen -- like that again, or so help me I will charge you where you stand for treason against the Crown. Do I make myself clear?"

Riley's eyes rounded, unsure of what to say or do at that moment.

Leo loudly cheered and pumped his fist in the air.

Liam stood his ground as he glowered back at his slack-jawed, now ex-fiancee.

Madeleine couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You can't be serious? We are getting married in two weeks. I'm going to be the Queen!" Her tone was one of anger and desperation.

He laughed wryly in her face. "Not anymore."

He looked past a stunned Madeleine to the heedless guard smirking behind her. "Mara, please see to it that the countess returns to the airport and doesn't disturb us again."

She agreed and led a vociferously-protesting Madeleine toward the doorway.

"You'll regret this, Liam. You'll both pay for this travesty!"

"Use the taser on her, Mara!" Leo bounced with excitement as he followed them and opened the door. He handed the guard a $100 bill as she walked by and whispered, "Make sure they strip search her again. A bonus if they need double gloves and lube."

"You got it, boss."

Leo slammed the door and clapped. "Ding-dong, the witch is gone! So. Do you need help packing, sis? We still have a couple of hours before we go back to Cordonia. That should be enough time to gather some things."

Riley stammered, looking between the two men, completely dumbfounded by what just took place.

Liam noticed. He knew what he said to Madeleine about her being his wife and Queen was most likely awkward for her.

They didn't know each other; it was a fact, he continued to remind himself.

Liam rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say. "Uh, Riley ... I just want you to know ... I only said that stuff because of Madeleine ..."

"Oh, yes. Of course. I knew that." She chuckled nervously and waved her hand. "But what about your engagement?"

"Yeah, Liam. You gotta have a queen." Leo clapped the back of one hand against the palm of the other and exclaimed, "Dem's da rules."

Liam shook his head and carried his empty glass to the open kitchen. "I know that, Leo. But I will not ask Riley to give up her life here just to help me clean up my mess. She deserves better than that."

Riley crossed her arms on the counter that looked into the kitchen, watching Liam get a bottled water from the fridge. "What happens if you don't have a Queen?"

Liam twisted the cap and gave a half-shrug. "I don't have a choice. I'll have to marry Madeleine." The words stung his lips.

"But she's so pissed at you right now."

He chuckled. "That won't stop her. She wants the crown, and that's it."

Riley could see the sadness in his eyes, the same sadness she saw last night in the club where they first met. "You'll be miserable with her, though," she muttered wistfully.

He nodded, regret written on his face. "Yeah."

Riley stood silent; she weighed the pros and cons of such a massive uprooting. Her life had been slightly stalled and bland for the last few years. Las Vegas was her getaway to a new life from New York, where she left behind both regrets and failed relationships. And yet ... this new place wasn't everything she told herself it would be.

She looked at Liam and felt her heart break. She understood him more than he realized.

But ... to be a Queen?

Riley inhaled deeply and prepared to speak up when Liam's phone rang.

He placed the cap on his water, sat it on the counter, and lifted his phone from the pocket of his shorts. "It's Maxwell," he called out.

Leo rushed to him. "Put it on speaker, Li!"

"Maxwell, I have you on speaker. Leo and Riley are with me. How's Drake?"

"He's in the pharmacy, and I'm standing outside getting air. It's going to take a while to amass all the medication and creams he needs."

The brothers looked at each other with wide eyes. Riley covered her mouth to prevent the chuckle that threatened to escape. "I think I'll give you guys some privacy. I'll just be in the bathroom."

Liam nodded and turned his attention back to the call. "Is it really that bad, Max? I mean, I think we know what he has."

"Dudes, I don't think you can even begin to guess half the shit Drake's got."

"You gotta tell us what the Drakester has, Max."

"I'm not really supposed to say."

They could hear the hesitation in his voice. It was almost like he wanted to tell them, but needed a little more coaxing.

"Maxwell," Liam spoke. "If Drake doesn't want us to know, then you should probably keep it to yourself ... for now."

"I did kind of write a song about everything he was diagnosed with for a TikTok video. Drake only said not to tell anyone. He never said I couldn't sing about it."

Leo nodded his head. "Agreed. Sing that song, Beaumont."

They could hear Maxwell shuffle further away from what sounded like a crowded street.

"Okay, the coast is clear," Maxwell said as he took a deep breath. The boys hugged their ears against Liam's cell phone.

"Drake just left the clinic, and I'm afraid its bad news.

So now I'm singing this song about it hoping it gets views.

Don't know how he's still alive.

Or how he survived.

The doctor said he's got five ... nasty STIs.

He's got some in his balls … got some in his ass.

And what's worse is his curly pubes are crawling with crabs.

He's got herpes! From a booty call!

He's got syphilis …now his dick is raw.

He's got chlamydia … And it's so sore.

And he doesn't even know where he got genital warts."

Liam pressed two fingers into both sides of his temples while he stared blankly at his phone. "Un - believable."

Leo swiped the tears from his eyes and made no attempts to hide the giant smile curling his lips or his overwhelming giddiness. "I've never been more proud of the Drakester than I am at this moment. He actually beat me out on this one. Gotta say ... I don't mind losing to him this time."

“Liam. Leo. I gotta go; Drake’s on his way out. See ya back at the hotel.”

Leo went to the refrigerator to search for a snack, pulling out a leftover pizza. “Ya know, we should probably warn the maid she may need to get a haz-mat team before cleaning Drake’s room.”

Riley rounded the corner. “I hope everything is okay with your friend.”

Liam smiled. “That’s very kind of you say. He’ll be fine … I think.”

She fidgeted with her bracelet and glanced over at Leo placing a slice of cold pizza on top of another slice and taking a large bite. “Leo, I hate to ask while you’re eating … again. But would you mind if I spoke to your brother for a moment? Privately.”

Leo chewed quickly while shaking his head. He swallowed hard. “Sure. I needed to use the shitter, anyway. Pinquee Kittee’s casserole isn’t sitting too well in the Leo tummy.” He grabbed the pizza box and headed for the bathroom.

Liam looked curiously at Riley, not able to read her expression or have any clue what she would want to talk about. “You needed to speak with me?”

She nodded. “Yeah. About our marriage ...”

#the royal romance #king liam #choices liam x mc #king Liam x mc #liam x mc #choices fanfiction #trr #trr au fanfic #choices trr #Fools Rush In #bbrandy2002 #tw: std #a lot of stds

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ace-pervert · 4 years ago

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Ive finished watching eleven seasons of rupauls drag race and now feel I am ready to briefly review each season

S1: A good start though it must be said, ONGINA WAS ROBBED! Also there was favoritism.

S2: Not a bad season but at least somewhat ruined by Rupauls rather overt favoritism towards Tyra and dislike of Pandora. While I didnt like Tyra on the show his callout of the entire drag community after leaving drag has given me massive respect for him and feels like karma for RuPauls rather blatant self promotion and attempts to turn himself into some kind of rolemodel. But aside from the callout and Jujube, and Pandora the season is unmemorable.

S3: The top three were all highly skilled and the winner seemed to deserve it though that was later put into doubt after it came to light that Raja had worked with RuPaul before the show aired, and lets be honest Manilla Luzon was much more talented.

S4: One of the best seasons in drag race history, has the best music video, and Sharron Needles is hands down the most influential and versatile queen in drag race history. The only bad part, aside from the editing against phi phi, is Latrice Royal, who, and I feel this needs to be said, wouldnt have been in the top four had Willam stayed, and certainly wouldnt have made top five if Alaska had been allowed to join, mostly because she kept showing a similar outfit, her not being a particularly good actor, being thrown off really easily, and quickly relying on a shtick.

S5: Good season, but I feel that Roxxxy really did end up in the top three only because Visage and Ru love drama and the Jersey Shore look that was at the time Roxxxy Andrews trademark look, and the Coco Alyssa drama was really dull, neither deserved to be as high as ended up, and ultimately both queens are unmemorable.

S6: Not a bad season but i'm not a fan of Courtney Act or miss Lake, mostly because I think they both get away with looks that really they shouldnt have gotten away with, though arguable so did Bendelacreme. Though it was nice that there wasnt any drama, and Bianca del Rio is really funny.

S7: Ive tried to come up with words to describe this season, I cant, its just that bad. No not bad just dull, really dull and awkward, and the worst part is that its not the queens who drag the season down, the queens themselves are fine and Pearl stands out as being a particularly interresting person when not on drag race, its RuPaul being a tool off camera and coming up with challenges that play to the queens weaknesses rather strengths.

S8: Unfortunately I found Bob the Drag Queen so attractive out of drag that I stopped caring about what he looked like in drag with the end result being that I have no idea if hes a good drag queen. But ignoring the moments where I was drooling over Bob it was a good season with some truly great outfits,and a good Snatch Game, that wether for good or bad did very quickly become the Bob the drag queen and Kim Chi show, making it in hindsight the second most plann

S9: The season started off with an appearance by Lady Gaga , whose reviews of the outfits consisted of little more than name dropping and not much else, unintentionally setting the tone for a dull and awkward season with a cheerleading challenge that causes one person to crack a rib and another to almost permanently lose their ability to dance, a Reality Star Rusical that is well just dull, painfully bad lipsinks, uninterresting outfits, and perhaps the blandest wierd drag queen in the history of the competition. Its also in this season that introduced the lipsink for the crown format that I personally despise as it takes the power away from the viewers and puts it back in Rupauls hand.

S10: Solid season, mostly focused on returning contestant Eureka but the other contestants are given enough focus that it feels natural. The challenges are interresting to watch, the snatchgame is funny, and the dresses are well made. The top four are all stars in their right and the winner of that season could have easily been any of them, making this the only season where a lipsink for the crown made sense.

S11: Starts off strong with people like Miss Vanjie, Brooke Lynne Hytes, Nina West and Yvie Oddly revealing a high degree of skill both as actors and as dress makers. Unfortunately the blatant favoritism of Rupaul, the judges, and the producers towards Silky Nutmeg Ganache (honestly they seem like a nice person in real life, but on the show they just seem like a tool), unimaginative challenges, distracting and irritating cameos by former drag race contestants including by Bianca whos dull and unentertaining appearance shows exactly why contestants shouldnt return at all, a rusical so god cringeworthy you'll pray for death (Trump the Rusical), the worst snatch game in drag race history, and painfully predictable twists result in a terrible season, with the only interresting things being the romance between Vanjie and Brooke (they broke up four months after the last episode before the reunion due to conflicting schedules), Miss Vanjie being well himself, Nina Wests acting, and Yvie Oddly's outfits .

S12: Havent seen it, but lets be honest this season is the one where the star is a sex offender. By now many fans have analysed the season and its become clear that the person who was intended to be the focal point and possible winner was Sherry Pie, which means that editing them out for very well known reasons also makes them the focal point just in a different way than intended. Hell it wouldnt surprise me if this season becomes known as the one with Sherry Pie, not the one where the winner won. Though it might also be the last season that RuPauls on, as there are rumors that hes stopping with drag race.

The Christmass Special: To short for a christmass special, to much like the other episodes to be special, to blatantly commercial to be Christmass, and to scripted, even by drag race standards, to be drag race.

And now for a review of the Judges themselves

RuPaul: On the outside a warm, outspoken, well meaning person whose done things which are truly groundbreaking. But beneath that warm exterior beats the stone cold heart of a businessman. He's calculating, manipulative, greedy, has no qualms about setting queens up for failure, and ultimately hasnt done much that could be seen as groundbreaking. Perhaps the worst part is that its clear that in terms of humor , mentality and fashion hes never left the 70s, which combined with his callous way of treating the enviroment (as shown by his fracking empire) and his history of transpobia, makes him a liability to the show. Even if you manage to ignore all of that, the show is ultimately about the drag queens, not about Rupaul, and Rupauls attemps to make it about him really drag the show down

Michelle Visage: Shes a mother of two teenagers with a stay at home husband pretending to be a bitchy whore on a tv show about drag queens, yeah thats her career. Now in truth thats not the biggest issue, the biggest issue is that shes got hangups and makes the same jokes over over again and that after being on the show for ten years she hasnt developed as a judge so the routine, to paphrase miss Visage herself, has been done to death. In truth the show needs something other than the same damn shtick and same damn comments all the time, and if she cant do it then she should quite so someone else can do it for her. Ok maybe thats the second biggest issue, the biggest is that she kisses RuPaul's ass untill it shines brighter than a mirror.

Valentino Rice: Good judge, and had great chemistry with the other judges.

Ross Mathews: Cute guy, wierdly charming, and interacts well with the others.

Carson Kressley: He comes across as a very tired, very frail, very gay but very very very dull ninety year old man, which makes sense given the fact that his entire career is based on being gay, and hes, well old. Ok hes not really old, hes 50, but on camera he looks and acts closer to 150. And the issue isnt that hes gay, its that hes doing a shtick, a very dull and fairly offensive shtick. Possibly the worst choice for a judge, and the show jumps in quality whenever hes not there.

Now for a few things that just bug me.

Favoritism: Unfortunately one of the biggest issues of the show is that seasons tend to be structured around Queens who are intended to be the winner, or at least the hero, from the get go, which has the advantage of allowing the creators of the show to change the structure and challenges from season to season, but also makes it hard to watch if the season is blatant in its favoritism, if the intended winner isnt that good, or if the winner gets eliminated for one reason or another.

Cameos by former contestants: Cameos are a great way to get people to say "I know that person" which is great in a tv show because you know that the cast wont change in the next episode, but not great in a competition where all it does is take away screentime from competitors and giving it to competitors who most likely did not do well enough to win in their own drag race, and even if they did, the show is not about them, but about the current contestants. As such if Ru wants them to return he should put them in All Stars.

Cameos by celebrities: Add nothing. Its drag race not the red carpet, i'm watching for the up and coming drag queens not famous people trying to boost their careers.

Adding politics to the show: No, just no. Dont do things like Trump the Rusical, dont have steven colbert do a voiceover, theres no way that can go well and it comes accross as virtue signaling. If Ru wants to do something good he should double the prize money and have half of the money go to a charity of the winners choosing, or stop fracking.

Adding politics outside of the Show: Drag queens are celebrities and entertainers, as such are constantly in the public eye and dependent on being in it for their income which means that anything they say in public, wether its gossiping, or discussing politics, needs to be viewed as being some form of self promotion. Now this might make things difficult for them, but it is a well known part of being an entertainer so it can be assumed that they were well aware of this before they joined Drag Race. If they do want to talk about politics without being viewed as self promoting, they are free to make an anonymous account on one of the many sites, like tumblr, where its assumed that no one knows who the other people are.

Family Friendly Drag: Lets be honest its men shoving their cocks up their own asses while dressing up as women, and naking refferences to sex, for the sake of entertainment. Thers nothing family friendly about it. Nor should there be as part of the appeal of drag is that its something that is restricted to adults. Likewise they arent heroes, they are entertainers, not doctors, not construction workers, entertainers no more worthy of praise then a person on a sitcom.

Drama outside of Drag Race: While drama on the show is to be expected and is part of what makes it entertaining, drama outside of the show is different its more personal and something that in truth should not be shared. However by presenting it as gossip on various shows they are saying its part of the show, which is unhealthy at best.

Final note.

While I am critising the Drag Race, I am not doing it because I dislike the show, I am infact a big fan of the show but at the same time I want to get my thoughts out there see how others view these topics.

#drag race #rupaul

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kryptsune · 5 years ago

Photo

🌼Good afternoon! So I wanted to post this yesterday but classes really wore me out so here it is today. I know that out of all my AU that Wonderfell is one that is probably the most popular. I have a reason for not writing it till now. I wanted to wait for WTU to conclude before writing this because they are tied together. I recommend that if you have not read through Welcome to the Underworld that you do. It is not a necessity but because of their ties, it will be easier to understand and find easter eggs that way. You can read that story below.

Welcome to the Underworld

This story will progress as long as it can up to a point. As I stated WTU does need to reach its conclusion before the majority of this story can continue. That said I wanted to give you all a taste of it! So many ask about Chesh and Hatter so this is my way to give you a little sneak peek. I will announce when I will be taking that Wonderfell pause. Hope you all enjoy!

DO NOT REPOST MY WORK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION IT IS NOT FOR YOUR USE. IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE REBLOG INSTEAD! It helps me so much! It makes such a difference.💙If you want more of these just let me know! It’s the only way I can gauge interest!

Wonderfell CH. {1}: A Cat, A Rabbit, and A Cake

Kidnap me

From my reality

And crushed pieces

In my soul,

Color me

Outside the lines

Until my shattered

Heart is whole.

~Perry Poetry~

The soft breeze of a warm Spring day lifted the branches of the trees gently, shaking some of their sunset-colored leaves from their home in the canopy. They drifted lazily to the ground where she had taken a rest. The mahogany bark almost black in color was cool to the touch, twisted from years of age. It shaded her from the rays that began to beat down on all underneath it this time of year. It was a place that one could go to collect their thoughts. This was the most ideal spot in all the garden. At least it was for her.

Here an aroma of sweet grasses tickled the nose. Somewhere the bees were busy at work helping the flowers bloom amongst their lush hedges. It was a beautiful bouquet of blues and pinks and yellows speckled here and there. The brook that rested at her feet bubbled quietly as little fish struggled to swim upstream. One could call it a slice of paradise but these little slices all set under a bright blue sky were not what she wanted. Against this setting of pastel and emerald the tree she so loved stood out from the setting of the spectacular spring garden. It was something one would find more fitting of the Fall season yet it continued to remain. An anomaly among the rest but beautiful nonetheless.

Her mother had tried to remove it calling at an offense to her eyesight. It had seen so much, heard so much, felt so much. A quiet observer. She begged her mother to leave it be and after so much quarreling on the subject finally, she conceded. The season would pass and the tree would continue to remain. It felt so important to her. Perhaps it was as a symbol of something far more important. For now, it watched over her as her reading companion.

These were all just passing thoughts for the girl that now turned her eyes toward the sky with a soft sigh slipping past red lips. Long strands of auburn hair tumbled down on either side of her face, bangs just brushing her forehead. The back of her hair was cut at an angled bob where a bright white bow sat between the locks. Mother had always called her style unconventional. Not that she cared for any convention at all.

It was a compromise that she was subjected to wear the bustling fashion of the era like her sister did. Charoline was always mother's favorite but then again she did as she was told. Always wearing and doing all that was proper. She much preferred the more simplistic styles just like the dress she was wearing now. It was white, almost purely so, with red accents here and there. A garment one would never wear in the garden for fear of mess or stain.

The only pop of color was within its details, ruby red ribbon laced through the top of her bodice, and made up her corset strings. It had an almost ethereal quality to it. ‘As white and pure as snow’, her mother would reply just as her rebellious daughter snatched a small tart from the silver tray that always accompanied tea time. It was no fun at all. Was it so wrong to want more color in life? Surely not?

Glittering sapphire eyes fluttered closed letting the sun just rest on her skin with its warm kiss. Yes, everything here was so perfect. In that perfection, however, she found unhappiness. Her love for her mother and sister never prevented her from longing for something else. It was a hole that she feared would never be filled. One that grew by the day.

Her train of thought was derailed when something soft brushed past her hand only to feel a weight in her lap. Of course. She cracked an eye open to see the little fluffy face that was staring up at her with blue eyes. He had always been such a handsome cat. His bright white fur nearly disappeared among the dress she was wearing. All she could make out was that pink button nose and those wild blue eyes.

A soft paw fell on her cheek as the fluffy Manx tried to garner her attention. He mewed in protest as she set her fluffy friend on the ground next to her, “Good morning you silly kitten. How many times do I have to tell you that coming here is dangerous? Do you have any idea what my sister or mother would do to you if they caught you?” The fluffy cat just hopped up on her lap once more meowing for attention not seemingly caring about her distress.

She sighed as she hoisted him up into her arms, “Alright just for a little bit.” It was nice to have a friend when you only felt alone all the time. He was so soft against her face as that gentle rumble came from his chest. His habits always leaned toward the needy as his muzzle came up to rub at her cheek, “You are so affectionate today you silly cat. I still have not named you yet but that’s ok. I enjoy your company whenever you appear.”

Her mother and sister hated cats which is why she was so worried the poor thing would be found by them. Who could hate something that gave you so much love? It made no sense to her. The garden was really the only place she felt safe with him near her. He had to be protected and the fluffy stray meant so much to her very quickly. Her only friend.

A wet nose landed on her own as he sat down staring up at her as if expecting something. All she could do was smile, “Yes? Is there something you would like?” He poofed up on her lap when a shout came from the opposite side of the garden forcing her attention toward it. It was her mother, “It is time to come inside!” She sounded more cross than usual. Her tone grew more insistent as the seconds went by. Mother’s voice boomed in frustration, “THIS INSTANT YOUNG LADY!”

Her fluffy companion jumped off her lap and began to paw at her leg only to pause mid paw. His head was turned toward the back of the garden, ears pinned back, staring straight ahead as if he were a statue. That was strange considering that there was nothing behind her. The tree marked the edge of the garden. So what was he staring at?

She brushed herself off turning to follow his line of sight only for her eyes to fall on a fluffy white rabbit staring at them both with bright green eyes. His one ear had flopped over. What a cutie! She had never seen a rabbit in this garden before. Nor did she see the giant arch that framed a series of hedges beyond? That had not always been there before? Right?

A dainty hand came up to scratch at her head gently. There was nothing beyond this garden that much she was certain. She was only pulled from her confusion when her fluffy friend began to bound after the rabbit that had stayed perfectly still. It skittered off toward the archway disappearing behind the hedges as a white cat tail followed suit, “No wait… come back kitty! Leave that poor rabbit alone!”

Even her mother's shouts to return to the house faded away as she followed the chase of the two passing the boundary of the garden. If she did not keep up then she would lose the two and something told her that she didn’t want that to happen.

The area beyond was a series of giant hedge mazes, far too tall for her to see over the top but at the very least she was keeping up with the two. Slowly the emerald leaves began to lose their color bleeding into purples and reds. Turn after turn only brought more hedges where white roses rested. Their thorns encroached where she was running through, snagging on her dress and tearing at her pale skin, adding more ruby accents to the white fabric.

She huffed softly still chasing the two only to find crimson markings appearing on that fluffy white cat. He was hurt, bleeding. It was probably from the thorns but he kept going determined to catch that rabbit. As was she, biting through that soft sting from the thorns, “Kitty please!” She nearly grabbed a hold him before he turned the corner putting an end to the maze.

Where she stood was the same tree in the garden surrounded by stunning golden flowers. They nearly glittered in the sunlight, glowing softly from the lack of sun. There was nowhere else to go as the tree stood before her shading the garden. A small hole rested within the bark, hidden from view behind the shade the tree provided. The same spot that her little floppy-eared troublemaker disappeared into. All she wanted to do was to grab her kitty companion and return home but as she spun around the maze from which she had exited had vanished.

All around her rose tall hedges boxing her in. The sky began to darken as the sun hid behind the clouds and she could feel a chill nipping at her exposed arms. Only when the once lush grasses began to frost did she look upward as snowflakes fell from the clouds overhead. It was snowing? In SPRING?! That clearly made no sense.

A soft meow ripped her attention from the odd weather pattern only to land on her fluffy white cat. He was no longer determined to chase after the rabbit it would seem as his tail curled back and forth, “Why are you looking at me like that? We need to get inside. It is far too cold out here.”

He just pawed his way over to her, weaving his body around her ankles. She picked him up examining those crimson marks that she had seen before as she tiredly ran after him. They were gone and thank goodness, “I thought you were hurt. Never do that to me again.” Her head was starting to throb gently as she took a step forward only to realize that the tree was once again in front of her. How did that happen?

Her boot failed to land on solid ground as the hole that had once been confined to the trunk expanded to nearly engulf the entire garden. There was no escape as she clutched her stray to her chest. She was falling into a deep black pit. Why? Her feeling of weightlessness had her in a panic, shutting her eyes tightly, clutching to the only thing she could. Who digs a hole in the middle of a garden anyway?

A distressed mew caused her to open her eyes. She was holding him too tight, “I...I’m so sorry.” The sky grew smaller and smaller as she fell. It wasn’t long before it disappeared altogether. All she had was him as the light receded leaving them in the darkness.

How deep exactly was this hole? It felt like an eternity as she just felt herself falling. The fear had disappeared only leaving her confused. She felt the cat in her arms squirm before he broke free of her grip presumably floating in the darkness like she was. A pair of glowing red eyes stared back at her. Red? What had red eyes? They disappeared when the light suddenly began to return forcing her to realize that it was not just an ordinary fall.

There were things taking shape that were falling along with her. It was completely random. Even the walls around her had transformed into a black and white checkered tile. What on earth? She grabbed for a floating teacup and cookie when she was able. Her stomach would thank her for it later as she bit into the shortbread causing the crumbs to slowly drift upward.

Falling

Down

She lost her hold on the teacup when a whole bunch of golden petals swirled from below to meet her falling form. A giant soft bed cushioned her fall as a fluffy body landed on top of her. Well, at least she still had him for company. Her hand rested on his head gently rubbing his ears feeling that soft purr once more. His face met hers only to receive a kitty lick of a kiss on her lips. What a little rascal.

He was a comfort to her and she didn’t want to be without him especially in this strange place. His fluffy tail brushed over her chin as he hopped off the bed and padded his way down the only direction available, forward, “H ...hey where are going you, crazy cat? You are the one that got me into this mess! Come back here. Don’t leave… please.” Her shouts were clearly lost on him as he continued his journey.

Alright, fine. Rising from the bed scattered with golden flower petals was easier said than done. It nearly swallowed her being 3 times larger than any bed she had ever seen. It was like trying to climb a mountain of goose down pillows and comforters. Everything was so blinding white that a pair of rabbit ears nearly caused her to scream in shock.

It was the rabbit from before whose emerald eyes nearly matched her own blue ones in vibrancy. The fluffy creature jumped to the floor only to scamper off once more and just as before, so did her rambunctious cat companion. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she nearly fell off the bed following after the two.

The hallway was strange, to say the least. Its floors were covered in that same checkered black and white tile from before. A series of doors in various colors lined the walls. Some were more ornate than others while some were plain. She noticed that pieces of heart patterned wallpaper were torn to shreds. The further she made her way down the hall the more in disarray it seemed to become. The scratch marks on the door were notably an unnerving detail.

The center of the room where other hallways appeared to branch off, had a marble-topped table which sat her fluffy companion. As she came closer she noticed his eyes were no longer a deep blue but rather a ruby-colored red. She swore she saw a glimmer of something shiny in his mouth too as his tail swayed back and forth. It was curious. Her mind must be playing tricks on her.

Her eyes scanned the room ignoring the impossible swinging crystal chandeliers and odd M.C. Escher madness that was going on above her. It was like a maze with thousands of doors and hallways. Just the thought caused her head to spin as a paw batted at the key sitting on the marble table, causing it to hit the floor with a soft ring.

Ok, so he wanted her to use the key. It must open a door around here? Right? That was her first task but as she tried every door in her line of sight none of them worked. A soft snicker came from the table as she turned to see the same rabbit from earlier disappear down one of the hallways and through a heart-shaped door.

Once at the end of the hallway, the door was up to her ankle. How in stars was she supposed to get through there? Alright. Back to square one as she returned to the center of the room. Now along with the key sat a crystal bottle. A tag was wrapped around its ruby heart-shaped stopper. The writing was in a scrawling font with a little cat paw mark that looked as though it had been dipped in some kind of metallic gold ink. She read the writing out loud on the one side, “Been waitin for ya kitten~.” It sounded flirty in tone which only lent to her confusion as one can't hear text. She read the second part aloud like the first only to flip the tag over, “Drink me.”

Drink me? Did it mean to drink the contents from the bottle? Who logically does that? It could be poison or some kind of intoxicant. She re-read the writing over and over before setting the bottle down. That flighty feline was nowhere to be seen. Great now she was all alone. Don’t give up.

She did not really have any choice in the matter as she pocketed the mysterious key and pulled the stopper with a soft pop. It is always a good idea to try and discern the taste of strange glowing red liquids by smelling the contents first. The flavor that wafted from the bottle was sweet like melted down pure hard candy. Well, at least it didn’t smell strange. A bonus?

Her lips rested on the rim of the bottle before downing the contents. The taste of cherries, hit her tongue as she set the bottle back on the table. She only heard the clack of her heels as she looked around. Nothing? Ok, well what was she expecting? Her headache only grew forcing her hands to grip on to the table in front of her before she collapsed to the ground.

Everything around her was in a haze as she stared dazedly upward trying to keep her eyes from falling closed. The effort was in vain as the room began to stretch and warp leaving her there on the ground for a while. When the splitting headache eased she looked around. To her surprise, she was now the size of a small mouse staring up at the skyscraper of a table.

She could attempt to climb up the golden metal work that made up the legs but that was a disaster waiting to happen. Instead, she headed for that heart-shaped door. The key slid into the lock easily with a soft click. It rose higher and higher until it grew to a size she could never reach. Why? With a huff of frustration, she returned to the center of the room only to spy a box resting next to one of the chair legs.

It was a glass box decorated with golden filigree flowers and vines. They twisted to frame the lid as a golden symbol stood out above the rest. She traced it with a gentle finger over and over. The wings of an angel. A rune of great power and of great tragedy.

Her fingers reached for the latch undoing it gently and flipping the box lid open. Inside, resting upon a plush ruby silk fabric was a cake. It was square in shape with little scallops along the edges. The frosting was white in color with little metallic detailing. In the same scrawling, font script was Eat me. Another treat for her to have? Some would have found it uncomfortable but that lettering was a comfort for some reason? Familiar.

She stared at the little cake before picking it daintily up and slipping a portion of it past her lips. Her carmine red lipstick made a mark on the white frosting. When she pulled away, she noticed it was a little layer cake. It was red velvet with a bright white cream cheese icing in between. The craftsmanship was impeccable but not as inspiring as the flavor. She nearly ate the entire thing not even realizing that the once-massive room grew smaller in size until she was back to her normal height from before.

What a strange series of events. Regardless of a wave of sudden dizziness she was forced to grip the table. The crystal bottle from before slipped from the marble and fell to the floor only to smash into a million pieces. What she remembered was a bright red crystalline stopper now morphed into a deep cobalt blue. The same hue that was now emitting from her chest in the outline of a heart.

Color began to leech away from the space she was in leaving everything in values of black, white, and grey. The only color that remained was the heart outline. What was happening to her? The pain that followed caused her to double over, knocking over the table, and collapsing to the floor. It felt like someone had plunged a dagger into her chest and was letting her bleed out. Her shortness of breath eventually subsided as did the pain, unscrewing her eyes shut from it all.

That blue glow remained as the color of the world flooded back into being. Now, just resting above her collarbone was a heart. A white heart to be exact. She barely even realized the wardrobe change either. Her once white dress was now sky blue. A white lace collar brushed against her cheek as she continued to look at the new threads. It now had puff sleeves where the hem displayed a row of card suits and from that, thinner white sleeves tapered to her wrists.

Her corset now didn’t feel so constricting, bodice lined with the same oddly specific heart lace detailing. An apron rested just over the top of her skirt now poofed up from layers of crinoline. On the hem of her dress more lace and card imagery wrapped around her. Her stockings where pure white with black striping and her boots tied the whole dress together as a combination of blue, black, white, and red.

A large bow rested in her hair, the same color as her gem-like eyes. It even sparkled and shimmered with the same brilliance. Strands of little decorative hearts in white and red swayed back and forth when she moved to examine the piece. The only thing that seemed to remain the same was her hair.

It was so strange as she continued to lift up the dress gently and watch it sway as she did a little twirl. Weren’t there more pressing issues at hand right now? Sure there must be. Ah right, the door. The key. The sudden transformation had caught her off guard not even questioning how she had returned to her natural height. She could only assume that the cake had something to do with it, “Liquid that makes you small and cake that makes you grow. Huh… that sounds... familiar.”

Now thoroughly impressed with her new wardrobe change she made her way to the heart-shaped door from before, swinging it open, and stepping inside. Or would that be outside? As she did she found herself overseeing a stunning view of a garden down below. She just watched as the waterfall cascaded down off the edge of the world into a bright azure sky.

What she was standing on were sets of playing cards. All of them were lined up in a row leading her down toward the scene below. They acted as a kind of staircase as she made her way closer to the ground. Her heels sunk into the lush grass at her feet once she made her way down.

The flowers around her glowed vibrantly in shades of gold and blue, swaying in the wind as if they were dancing to some kind of unspoken tune. Various objects lay embedded within the rocky surface nearest the falls. The alabaster columns of some ancient city lay at her feet as she continued forward trying to take in every sight, sound, and smell. This place was stunning in its own whimsical way.

Closer to the rocky path leading upward and deeper into this strange landscape she found a creature sitting amongst a bed of golden flowers. He seemed to be preoccupied with the timepiece grasped in his white paws. A claw tapped at the glass as if he was entranced by the time. It was odd considering he had another pocket watch around his neck.

She wanted to get a closer look at him before she tried to get his attention. His appearance was not entirely one animal or the other. He had a facial structure of that of a goat and the muzzle of a lion. Charcoal horns twisted on top of his head and a set of floppy ears framed his face. At the top of his forehead, his fur stuck up in places as if he had combed it back. The rest of his body was anthropomorphic with more human-like paws and rabbit-like feet.

His left ear had two golden hoop earrings and he wore a cute little vest. On the sides, it had a distinct black and white checker pattern while the rest of it was a deep crimson. A white undershirt tapered at the cuffs to his wrists and his shorts were being held up by a set of suspenders. On his feet rested a pair of spats. The kind that a stereotypical mobster would wear. All the color stood out against his pure white fur.

He had the most vibrant green eyes she had ever witnessed before as she slowly approached him, “H...hello. I was wondering if you could tell me how to get home?” Her voice sounded small since it had hardly been in use lately. Either way, he looked up from his timepiece only for those emerald eyes to widen in a sea of white.

The creature skittered to his feet still gripping the piece in his hand and causing a shower of golden petals to fall from his clothing, “Oh dear…. No no no you can’t be here! She will be so cross… very cross!” He tapped his foot on the ground as if he was ready to bolt away, ears flopping back and forth with a gentle sway.

She immediately put her hands up defensively, “What… oh. Why ever not? It is a curious place but it is a fine one. Could I trouble you for some directions or even your name? I am terribly lost.” Half of her was focused on the task at hand and the other half wanted to explore this strange world, “Who will be-” His sudden panicked rambling had her question cut short.

He patted at his vest gently before placing the broken pocket watch into the fabric, “You are very lost I can tell but the only way to find a solution is to get lost! Don’t you know? I must tell her of your arrival and I am horribly late as is. Oh, I did wish you wouldn’t follow me. Please… you must get lost soon for all our sakes. Broken… broken… everything is broken. You can fix it! You must fix it…” He bounded off up the cliff and into the forest beyond.

A few moments passed until she realized he was completely gone. She could just make out some of his rambling before he was engulfed by a series of oddly colored trees, “Broken?” What kind of madness was he going on about? She couldn’t deny that he clearly had some recollection of her. He hopped off so quickly she wasn’t even able to get his name.

Her encounter with the goat monster had her even more confused than before. He clearly was more worried about telling someone about her than anything else and what did he mean by she could fix it for all their sakes? What and who was he referring to? All she could do now was turned her sights in the direction he had run off. The forest, “To find the solution one must get lost?”

One stone after the other she made her way up the same path her strange monster had run off to. His eyes reminded her of the little rabbit that she tried to prevent her kitty from catching. Was that rabbit him? From what she was witnessing it would not be a stretch. Where did that blasted cat go anyway? He just left her alone.

The journey into the woods felt as though it stretched for hours. It must have been the trees that flanked her on either side, purple and black bark twisting up into a canopy of red heart-shaped leaves. She noticed that veins within the bark glowed a bright ruby almost as if it had been carved into the bark. The more she glanced to either side of her the darker it appeared, stretching on into an abyss she dare not tread.

Eventually, her eyes fell closed walking along the path only to begin to feel her teeth chattering softly. The temperature was decreasing and only when her eyes fluttered open did she understand why. The deeper she journeyed into this forest the more snow littered the ground. It was not long before the entire path was engulfed by it.

Long branches frosted over being decorated by icicles. Some had even encased around some of the leaves leaving ghostly impressions in the ice. It was beautiful in a strange pallet of purple, black, red, and white. Her outfit, however, was not conducive for this kind of weather. That icy bite left her rubbing her hands together in an effort to stay warm.

Of course, this did not prevent her from getting this nagging feeling of deja vu especially when she felt like she was being watched. Out of the corner of her eye, something glowing appeared and disappeared behind the trees. It was too fast to catch with the naked eye.

Her stride stopped as she closed her eyes trying to muster up the courage to turn around behind her. She had this feeling that someone or something would be there. She spun on her heel facing the direction she had come but no one was there. Was her mind truly playing tricks on her? Even the path she had used to get this far had vanished.

She turned slowly to face forward where there was once a snow-dusted path was a giant tree. It resembled the rest that surrounded his strange forest but this one had specific heart patterns scrawled along the trunk. It had to be an elder tree of some kind. That did, however, leave her in quite the predicament. She was now completely... and utterly... lost.

A shadow moved in the tree line out of the corner of her eye until she felt a presence right behind her. It was so close in fact that she could feel it’s warm breath tickled her ear. Her legs tried to force themselves to turn but the weight of a pair of hands stopped her. She was frozen solid and not from the cold. A soft chuckle rested right at her ear.

This caused fear to spike within her. A stranger coming up behind her, sneaking around dark wintry forests. She did not know why but it twisted her stomach. Another shock of deja vu hit her just as she was about to say something, it spoke in her stead.

“Looks like ya got all ma love notes. Didn’ ya kitten?~”

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popwasabi · 5 years ago

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“Jojo Rabbit” Review: Reich in the Feels

Directed by Taika Waititi

Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Taika Waititi, Thomasin McKenzie, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson

At first glance, “Jojo Rabbit” looks like a supremely, over the top, hilarious romp through one of history’s darkest times and societies with only a light spattering of sincere thematic story-telling.

In the end though, Taika Waititi’s latest comedic romp may not have as many laughs as expected but it more than makes up for it with its quirky tone, genuine charm and a wholesome coming of age film that will warm even the coldest of hearts.

(I wasn’t ready...)

It’s a testament to Waititi’s nuanced directorial finesse that he is able to walk such a fine line between the truly terrible and, unfortunately, all too real circumstances of the time while creating a genuinely great and often humorous coming of age film for audiences of kind can enjoy.

“Jojo Rabbit” takes place toward the tail end of World War II where a young German boy named Jojo, in hopes of earning the praise of his Fuhrer, who takes the form of an imaginary friend, joins a Hitler Youth camp to make a name for himself. He wants to fit in with belligerent, Jew-hating older members of the camp but finds he just doesn’t have what it takes. After a freak accident he finds himself even more ostracized from his peers but when he discovers an older Jewish girl hiding upstairs in his home Jojo see’s an opportunity to prove himself to Hitler.

One of the most common retorts I hear and read these days on “cancel culture” is that a film like “Blazing Saddles” could never be made today.

Conservatives, centrists, and bull shit reactionaries like to drone on and on about the offensive language displayed in the film being too much for today’s hypersensitive “woke” crowd and say these folks would dissolve into mush if they heard such words muttered across the screen today.

Never mind it is a popular movie among people of this ilk and never mind the fact that interpreting the Mel Brooks classic as just a western with some offensive language is a fundamental and gross misreading of the film.

youtube

(Mel Brooks is laughing at you, not with you, assholes...)

You see, Brooks never tried to make the N-word about the black people in the film but more about how it’s used against black folk instead and how white people will consistently go against their best interests if it means the “right people” get hurt. You see, Brooks was always about punching up when it came to comedy, lampooning those in power for the little guys such as Jews like himself or as “Blazing Saddles” did for African Americans.

For all the praise douchebag, anti-“PC” folks give Brooks for making that film the director himself is on record as stating that there are lines even he would never cross because comedy can be a force for good and if misinterpreted or intentionally written with malice it can be used for bad.

(Hmmm I wonder who this reminds me of...)

So in comes Taika Waititi to show reactionaries once again that these films are 100 percent relevant to the world we live in today because it’s not about “offensive words,” it’s about context and whether your humor punches up or punches down and “Jojo” definitely does the former.

“Jojo Rabbit” doesn’t want us to just laugh at Hitler saying silly things like giving life advice to a little boy about killing Jews, blaming Winston Churchhill for his problems, or offering cigarettes to Jojo every minute. The film wants us to really confront how impressionable young children are often warped by the hate society has around them and how adults create this environment to foster this resentment of those who are different.

(The closest we’ll ever get to “Springtime for Hitler” though)

The film paints a brilliant picture of how hatred can grow into disillusionment among many of the film’s characters particularly Sam Rockwell’s who turns in a brilliantly understated performance as a grizzled German army officer who has decided he’s seen enough from this war and no fucks left to give. Scarlett Johansson’s puts in an equally powerful performance as Jojo’s mother who is just trying to do her small part to make the world a better place in the bitter landscape of Germany’s hate-filled society. Both of them pair brilliantly alongside Roman Griffin Davis’s Jojo who, for such a young actor, is equally impressive powering the light yet somber soul of the film.

(Sam Rockwell clearly enjoyed playing a Nazi as much as Taika did apparently.)

Of course, Taika Waititi is great as the aforementioned imaginary Hitler playing a child-like caricature of the monster in the best way a film like this can do. Between him and Davis the two create a joyous duo that powers the film’s poignant message, deconstructing hate and learning in the end to choose love.

The film stylistically bares a lot of resemblance to Wes Anderson films with its use of European music and pop tracks and pastel color palette for its cinematography and fans will likely be most reminded of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” while watching this film. Its message is often very similar lampooning hate-filled fanaticism while giving plenty of time for more touching moments for its lead characters. If you enjoyed those films you are likely to enjoy the stylistic and narrative choices of this one.

If there was one critique, I might have of the film is that it perhaps over simplifies hate. People often think that short of Klan hoods, slavery and gas chambers hatred really has one face and its only overt. The film seems to paint a picture of a world that believes this is so, maybe not entirely, but yet still see’s this kind of hatred in the simplest of terms. Yes, the movie is told mostly through the eyes of a young boy but if the last three years is any indication hatred is a lot more nefarious and complicated than over the top caricatures of evil.

(Pictured: An over the top caricature of evil)

But this isn’t enough to truly take away from the film’s majesty which in its epic climax will lmove most to the tears. It’s a harrowing journey from learned hatred to loving acceptance of the other and the film, given its premise, is rather brilliant because of it. By the film’s climax it’ll be hard not to be moved by Jojo’s transformation and the triumph of humanity and its absolutely worth seeing.

“Jojo Rabbit” is the rare kind of film that perfectly balances a dark theme with often youthful charm and sincerity and the result might be one of the best feel good films of the last few years.

The world is a pretty shitty place and society often teaches us to hate without reproach but if we can learn to be more self-aware of how we are being manipulated and learn to love the “other” maybe we can all eventually arrive in a society we all want to live in.

Maybe…

VERDICT:

5 out of 5

Take a bow, Taika.

#Jojo Rabbit #taika waititi #Hitler #Nazis #world war II #war #movie #review #movie review #film #Jojo Rabbit Review #Scarlett Johannson #Sam Rockwell #Pop Wasabi

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artificialqueens · 5 years ago

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what doesn't kill me makes me want you more (branjie) - holtzmanns

read on ao3 | tumblr

“I did mean it, you know.” Brooke looks at her with such an intensity in her eyes, such conviction that Vanessa doesn’t even feel her ADD ass getting distracted by anything at all this time.

“Mean what?” Vanessa’s gonna play dumb. Gonna make Brooke say it again, ‘cause she’s never gonna tire of hearing it.

“That I love you.”

AN: In which Holtzmanns hears ‘Cruel Summer’ by Taylor Swift and has to write something because she has no self control whatsoever. Whoops? Poppedthep and Writ are absolute stars and the BEST for editing this and making it better.

“I did mean it, you know.” Brooke looks at her with such an intensity in her eyes, such conviction that Vanessa doesn’t even feel her ADD ass getting distracted by anything at all this time.

“Mean what?” Vanessa’s gonna play dumb. Gonna make Brooke say it again, ‘cause she’s never gonna tire of hearing it.

“That I love you.”

Even though it fucking hurts every time.

“Good. You better.” She deflects, shoves Brooke’s side to make her laugh, ‘cause what else is she supposed to do?

It’s not like Brooke’s words actually mean anything. Not in the way Vanessa wants them to, needs them to.

They’re empty. Empty promises, a bandage wrapped around an amicable breakup that sure as hell ain’t been easy to get over.

Because no matter how much Brooke says them, no matter the way she had to snap her fingers in front of Vanessa’s face earlier to get her to focus, to pay attention so that she could say ‘I love you’, Vanessa knows they don’t matter.

‘Cause Vanessa knows that Brooke doesn’t love her enough.

Brooke still goes after every hoe, every hot piece of trade that she wants to take back to her hotel room, going home with them. She knows she’s the shit. She doesn’t care that Vanessa sees, ‘cause why would it matter to her now?

They’re not together.

Brooke doesn’t love her like that. Enough to stop herself from sleeping around, enough to commit.

Vanessa’s fine with it, she is. Mostly ‘cause she has to be. How else is she gonna survive touring with her ex?

It beats the fighting, the nasty words. The cruel barbs she regrets the second they leave her mouth when she sees the way that Brooke’s eyes falter. Brooke can get away with causing Vanessa pain, fucking around, not giving a shit. But Vanessa’s unable to come for Brooke in any way that would leave a permanent mark on her pale skin.

It’s not Brooke’s fault. She doesn’t say anything. It’s Vanessa’s own inner voice, tutting in her head, Chile…don’t do that. Don’t stay stooping low.

Now that she thinks about it, her inner voice sounds a lot like A’keria.

They share an Uber back to the Gladstone Hotel with Jason and Steve ‘cause it’s cost efficient, not that either of them have to worry about money anymore. They’re still in drag and Vanessa’s feet are killing her, pinching in her heeled boots but at least she looks fucking good in them. Brooke still towers over her and Vanessa has to speed up her pace to keep up as they walk through the lobby.

Jason and Steve get off at their respective floors. They leave Vanessa in the elevator with Brooke, ‘cause she’s on the seventh floor and Brooke’s pressed the 6 button for herself. Vanessa doesn’t have to look up to know that Brooke’s eyes are on her, trailing up her dress and lingering on the highlight on her shoulders and the hand that she runs through her hair. Her gaze feels like it lights a flame across her body, burning and burning. It never burns bright enough to bring Vanessa down for good, make her fully fall apart. She always manages to survive it, albeit a little worse for wear.

The elevator dings when it reaches the sixth floor, and Brooke takes a step as the doors open. She doesn’t leave fully, though, one foot still in the elevator. She turns around, gives Vanessa those eyes. The ones that Vanessa can never fucking say no to ‘cause something about Brooke makes her weak.

“You coming?”

Vanessa rolls her eyes, huffs, as if she’s not clamoring to follow her. “Fine, bitch. You better have extra makeup wipes.”

Vanessa sits cross legged on Brooke’s bathroom counter in her underwear, stripping her face of the makeup and glitter that acts like an extra set of armour, though one not thick enough to protect her from what she so desperately needs it to. She’s still here, de-dragging with Brooke whom she’s as hung up over they way she is over Brock.

Rinsing off his face and washing off the remnants of the Branjie gig isn’t cleansing enough for Jose to bring him a sense of peace or closure. How can it, when Brock is shaking out the mess of curls on top of his head and looking at Jose like he’s a piece of meat or something?

Jose really ought to become a vegetarian. It would save him from being hung up over someone that don’t want him back. At least, not like that.

Brock puts his hands on either side of the counter where Jose is sitting, effectively boxing him in while he’s facing the mirror. It fills Jose’s nose with a mix of Brock’s shampoo from the morning, aftershave, and a spritz or two of perfume that he sprays on when he’s Brooke. A concoction that never fails to twist Jose’s heart in excitement and longing alike.

How is it possible to long for someone who’s standing right in front of you? Jose doesn’t know. What he does know is that it’s not good for him, aging him too fast and soon he’s gonna look older than his mother, though it ain’t that much of a challenge ‘cause no one believes she’s his mom, anyway. Brock feels like sand that’s slipping through his fingers, an emptying hourglass that’ll never fill itself up again. Brock and him are gonna separate as they always do and Jose’s gonna be left empty and turned upside down on his head with nothing to fill his heart back up.

He’s tried. Tried to fit other guys into the hole that Brock’s left in his chest, but they never fit, never feel right. Brock’s ruined all other trade for him, which in Jose’s rulebook should be considered a capital offense. It doesn’t matter how much they look like Ryan Gosling or how sweet they treat him, taking care of him the way he deserves but doesn’t want from people who ain’t Brock.

Brock buries his face into Jose’s neck, and Jose can feel the scrunch of his eyes shut against his skin. Brock does this sometimes, holding him extra tight or closer than usual and Jose doesn’t want to complain, ‘cause really, he wishes he’d be important enough to Brock for him to never let go.

Jose lets Brock grab his shoulders, turn him around so his back is to the mirror and his legs dangle off the counter. He melts into the kiss that Brock presses to his lips ‘cause Brock always makes him feel so warm from the inside out. He lets Brock push him onto the bed, eagerly pulls Brock closer. If he’s only gonna get Brock occasionally, when they’re in the same cities and maybe a little bit tipsy and their inhibitions and common senses are down for the count, he may as well enjoy it, right?

It’s gonna hurt later. When he has to leave Brock’s hotel suite in the morning for his own and go back to pretending that he’s fine, that their arrangement is fine and that he’s not a second away from breaking down over it again, like he always tends to do when he’s had one too many tequila shots and listened to too many sad songs and the only word that his brain can think is Brock Brock Brock.

But that ain’t now. Right now Jose has Brock on top of him, pressing kisses everywhere like he’s the most precious thing in the world, and it’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter that Brock won’t keep believing it after they both come.

It’s not ‘til it’s four a.m. and neither of them are sleeping that Jose says something. He’s resting his head on top of Brock’s chest, and can feel Brock trace patterns along his shoulder blades, the base of his spine, the curve of his ribs.

“We could go back to this. All the time. It wouldn’t be hard to do.”

Brock’s fingers stop moving. Jose can feel the way that Brock stiffens underneath him, the way that his heartbeat quickens.

“We can’t.”

It’s a conversation that they’ve had before. Too many times before.

“We could. Me and you. Not for the fans or for anyone else or nothing. Just us. I know you miss it, Toes.” As if the nickname is going to make Brock bend. It nearly does, ‘cause Jose catches Brock’s fingers twitching.

“You know what will happen if we do.” Brock’s voice is tired and worn and Jose almost hates that he’s the one who’s caused it. Almost. ‘Cause Brock’s gone and fucked him up, too.

The two of them cancel each other out. Yin and yang, molten and ice.

“What? What’s gonna happen?” Jose makes Brock say it every time. He’s not gonna stop asking, as if Brock’s logic will suddenly not be as airtight anymore.

Jose wants them to work so badly. He wants it, his heart wants it, hell, his entire body wants it and never wants to let Brock go whenever they’re like this, all intertwined as if they’re just two regular people that are together.

And yet, they always have to drift apart. Brock takes a piece of him each time he goes, and Jose knows he does ‘cause what else could explain the hole in his chest that seems to grow every time that he walks away?

“We’re always flying to different places, we’re never in the same time zones anymore. Our schedules are ridiculous right now. Adding that extra pressure would make things worse, you know that.” Brock’s voice is quiet, and Jose almost doesn’t hear it over the hum of the ceiling fan, the sounds of driving cars outside of the hotel window.

“We’d make it work, if we wanted.” Jose wants to. He really, really, wants to. More than anything he’s wanted his whole life.

“We already tried.” Brock sounds defeated. “You know what happened with that.”

Jose getting jealous of every hoe that Brock talked to, hugged, interacted with. Brock pulling away from him, as far as he could to give himself some space, as if being around literally anyone else was a better option.

Jose had felt like he was chasing a ghost, whispers of Brock because he was never truly there, not in the way that Jose needed. Jose gets it. He’s a lot, he’s a handful. But he wants the best, goes after the best, because he deserves it.

Brock’s the best, in his eyes. So soft and sweet and shady and Jose fits in the crook of his arm like he belongs there, even though he knows that he can’t stay there forever.

Jose wishes he could, though. That getting back together wouldn’t immediately mean destruction for the both of them.

“Doesn’t mean you should go, though.” Brock wraps an arm around his waist, pulls him closer. Jose wants to lift his face up and scream at him for being so flippy floppy but he also wants to scream at himself, ‘cause of course he’s not going to leave, not when his heart never wants to leave Brock in the first place.

“Stay.” Brock’s voice is all soft in his ear and Jose’s resolve is already on the ground when Brock’s hands start to trail up his sides.

He’s too weak for it.

“Can’t go. I know you’d cry yourself to sleep if I did.” Jose grins up at Brock, trying not to think about the fact that Brock probably wouldn’t even care. Would he?

Jose hates it. As sweet as he’s being right now, he knows Brock’s gonna be ignoring him by next week. Not responding to his calls, his texts, unless he wants something ‘cause they always play by Brock’s rules and it’s giving Jose whiplash.

Brock’s all warm right now, and being in his arms is making Jose feel like he never frosted over in the first place. As if this were a year ago, and they were newly together and everything was fresh and exciting and new and not marred by scars that both of them carved with dull knives into their intertwined hearts. If he closes his eyes, they could be back there. All new and tentative and exciting.

But they’re not. They’ll never go back to that. Brock’s made it clear.

It’s fine. Jose’s fine with it.

He is.

Jose still has a piece of Brock, anyway, even though nights like these cause burns upon his skin in the aftermath. Like he’s never gonna heal from the effect that Brock has on him. Like it doesn’t even matter, ‘cause he doesn’t want to.

Brock’s always gonna tug on his belt loops, pull him into an empty rooms, hallways, each others’ hotel rooms. ‘Cause this is what they do now.

It’s better.

Jose has to accept it, go with it, even though it burns.

#rpdr fanfiction #branjie #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #canon compliant #post branjie show #holtzmanns #what doesn't kill me makes me want you more #tour fic

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leelee10898 · 5 years ago

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Party in the USA

Hey guys, It's @leelee10898.Ive been MIA from CGW for a while, I miss it so much.. In light of the 4th of July, ive thrown together some squad shenanigans for ya!! I tried my damndest to get this finished yesterday, but no luck... I did a super fast edit, so im sorry, but this shit is gonna be flawed lol.. enjoy.

The Royal Jett touched down in Dulles international airport as the girls squealed in their seats. It was 4th of July weekend and they were excited to share it with their men, since not one of them had ever celebrated the extremely patriotic American Holiday. "Nothing says 4th of July like celebrating in our nation's capital." Anitah beamed as she stepped off the plane, joining the group who already exited. "Well, you're the queen of Cordonia now, she is your Nation now Love." Liam grinned as he kissed her cheek. "Um no offense Liam, but this will always be our nation." Alicia butted in. "Yeah, 'Merica!" Genevieve pumped her fist. "Merica?" Liam whispered to Drake "yeah. Short for America. Just, go with it Li." Drake shook his head. Pam laughed at her friends "ok Ladies, how about we get settled and go find something to get into."

They opted to rent a house instead of a hotel so they could grill and chill the proper way. "Oh shit, there's a pool, I can't even wait to jump in that later." Alicia smirked as she winked at Leo. "Clothing optional love?" He smirked as Liam rolled his eyes. "Why are you two always naked every trip we take?" Liam huffed as the two shrugged. "Well, we could just start right now." Leo began tugging at his shorts. "NO!" the group resounded. "Hey guys, I seen a huge fireworks tent down the street. We should go check it out." Maxwell walked outside where the group had converged, a glass of purple liquid in hand. "Maxwell, what do you have there?" Drake eyed him suspiciously. "Just some punch." He shrugged, giving the girls a look.

One by one the girls made their way inside sneaking drinks of maxwell's punch. Once they reached a nice buzz they decided to venture off into DC. They watched a parade, sampled some summertime staples including funnel cake and deep fried oreos. There was a carnival being held and they would have a fireworks display at night fall. "Oh! The zipper. I loved that ride." They eyed the caged ride "how's your tummy feeling Gen?" Pam gave her a look. "It's good, let's do this shit!"

"Are you sure darling? This doesn't look safe." Rashad voiced his concern. "Psh, safe shamafe. This shit is indestructible,it's probably like 40 years old." Anitah snorted.

"Yeah because everyone wants to ride a 40 year old death trap. No thanks Brooks." Drake held up his hands and shook his head. "Its ok Drake, I think the ferris wheel is calling our names." Pam winked at her husband, who then adjusted his pants.

Rashad looked at Genevieve, and then to the zipper swallowing audibly she took his hand and led him towards the ride. "It's gonna be ok Rashad. Do it for America." She smiled at him.

Maxwell had already been strapped in the seat and moved up Liam and Anitah also already on the ride in a cart halfway up. "Ok this doesn't seem to bad love." Liam leaned back as they slowly made their way up letting others on. "Oh it's great. Just wait until we really get going." She smirked. Liam arched his brow "what does that mean,my queen?"

"So how does this work exactly?" Leo asked Alicia. "Well, we basically go around in a circle, and flip upside down, a lot. You don't have a weak stomach do you Leo?"

"No. I can handle it. Liam on the other hand, he's going to puke or scream. Maybe both." He chuckled. "My money's on both. Anitah is going to laugh at him." Alicia giggled.

"You know Love, thing we haven't done yet." He gave her the signature Rhys smirk "oh. Shit. Leo." She jerked as she felt his long fingers slip between her legs.

"Gen, love. I'm not so sure about this. Why does it move like that?" Rashad began to panic. "It's supposed to move like that. Just calm down, it's gonna be so much fun." She patted his leg. "It's supposed to sound like it needs 4 quarts of oil on the rickety old Metal?" Genevieve let out a high pitched squeal. "This is going to be so much fun. If you piss your pants, I will laugh at you." Suddenly the ride jerked and picked up speed, their cart reached the top as it flipped over. Rashad let out a long girlish scream as they plummeted upside down towards the ground.

"Oh my god. Oh my god im gonna diiiiie." Liam screamed as Anitah laughed uncontrollably. She wasn't sure if it was the thrill of the ride, or Liam's girlish screams but she was definitely enjoying herself. "Oh god. Noooooo. Help me!" He screamed again, joining Rashad in fear stricken symphony.

The ride came to an end Liam ran to the nearest trash can, head inside as he puked. "Told you he would puke." Leo laughed as Anitah stood next to her husband, giving him a sympathetic pat on the back as the other hand gave him bunny ears for a photo.

A dizzy Rashad stumbled off the ride "see baby. That wasn't so bad." Genevieve looked at Rashad who was pale faced. "That was." He retched "I just…" His hand flew over his face as he bolted towards the trash can next to Liam.

"Looks like those two couldn't handle the ride huh?" Drake snorted as he and Pam approached the group. "Nope. Hey how come you two didn't ride? Scared Drake?" Alicia teased. "He wasn't scared. We just, had other plans." Pam blushed as Drake pulled her into his side. "Why are your pants unbuttoned?" Anitah questioned, before going wide eyed in realization. "How about we go back to the house, and get this party started." Leo Spoke up.

"For once, I agree with my brother. I've had enough of this." Liam spit into the trash can. "Wait. Where's Maxwell?"

"Maxwell. Max." They called, and he didn't come. "He will find his way back. Lets just go." Drake took Pam's hand "Drake, were in Washington, not Cordonia how's he going to find his way?" Anitah folded her hands across her chest. "He's like a damn puppy brooks. He will find his way home, now come on." Drake grunted as Anitah finally gave in.

Back at the house Drake and Leo ran to the store, returning a short while later with a few cases of beer and some liquor and wine. Still no sign of Maxwell. "I'm gonna call him." Alicia pulled her phone out and dialed his number, they heard it ringing inside. "Looks like he left his phone behind." Rashad lifted the phone off the counter. "I hope he is ok. Maybe we should call the police?" Pam worried, it wasn't like Maxwell to stray so far from the group.

Finally Maxwell came sauntering in, hands full of bags. "Maxwell!" Anitah shouted as she wrapped him in a hug "where the hell have you been?" She slapped his arm. "Ouch, hey little blossom that hurt!" He rubbed his arm "I went to the fireworks tent. Look at all the cool stuff I got. "I'll be taking these." Drake reached out to grab the bags, Maxwell recoiled defensively, clutching the explosives to his chest. "No, these are mine. Don't take my toys away Drake."

"Maxwell, let me see what you have." Leo walked over sorting through the bag. "Um Maxwell, most of these are illegal in DC. Where did you even get these?" Maxwell smiled, oh I took an Uber to Virginia. "Ok Maxwell. You can have these and these." Liam held him out a box of sparklers and some fountains. "The rest, were putting up." He handed the bags to Bastian.

"Yeah, can you imagine Maxwell with a damn mortar? He would blow up the damn shed over there." Drake chuckled, and then shook his head.

The night went on, the group getting drunker by the minute. Liam sat perched up on the steps of the pool, wearing American flag swim trunks and a stars and stripes bandana around his head. "Woooooo 'Merica!" He hollered as the group around him screamed " 'MERICA" back. Genevieve and Anitah danced on the picnic table in their skimpy bikinis, beers in hand. Alicia and Leo were busy in the corner. hands all over each other while Rashad and Maxwell played a game of washers.

"Hey, look what fell out of the bag." Pam beamed as she walked over with a small box. "The singing lotus?" Drake looked at it. "Huh. Looks like it plays the star spangled banner, when you light it." He pulled the content from the box and sat it on the patio next to the pool, carefully lighting the fuse and backing away.

The fireworks began to spin, sparks of red, gold and blue shot from the center while it played a very distorted version of the star spangled banner. "Oh my god. My ears, make it stop." Genevieve shouted as she held her hands over her ears.

Alicia stood up, momentarily stepping away from Leo and began to belt out the song.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

Gen and Anitah stopped dancing, and began to sing along. Pam joining in as well.

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

"Play ball!" Anitah and Alicia said in unison. They looked at the burned out dilapidated flower. "Man that was a sad excuse for a firework. " drake mumbled "Just look at it." The group looked down at the melted heap of plastic and soot.

As the night went on and the sun went down, the group were pretty drunk. Pam and Drake disappeared into the pool shed, Anitah and Genevieve continued to dance and sing on the picnic table while Rashad and Liam looked on. Leo and Alicia ended up in the pool together, while nobody noticed Maxwell had snuck off again. Anitah had convinced Liam to let her paint his face in the American Flag, so he just sat there arm slung over the chair, red white and blue face with a Budweiser in hand.

Rashad started to babble, staring straight ahead. He made no sense whatsoever and the only thing he could do was point. "Rashad, what the hell are you trying to say. Spit it out." Genevieve snapped. Finally climbing down from the picnic table she stood in front of him waving her hands in front of his face "helllooooo?" "Shiminag hemmeinah. Ah ma tha…" he babbled.

Suddenly a firework whizzed past Liam's head and exploded against the pool shed. "Run for cover." Liam screamed as he dove into the pool. Rashad still standing there dumbfounded Genevieve tried with all her might to pull him away, but he wouldn't budge. "I love you, but I don't feel like getting blown up." She yelled taking Anita's hand and jumping into the pool.

"What the fuck is going on out here?" Pam snapped as she and a Drake stumbled out of the shed. Another firework crashed into the shed, pam screamed and ran into the pool. Drakes pants fell around his ankles as he tried to run, he kicked them off and joined his wife in the pool.

Fireworks were flying dangerously low, explosions everywhere as Maxwell sensed the sudden danger and ran for cover under the porch. Alicia and Leo obvious to the Chao ensuing around them, continued to have sex in the corner of the pool. Alicia opened her eyes looking above her. "Leo. I see fireworks." She gasped. "I know baby. I have that effect. " she smirked as he thrust into her. "No, you ass. The fucking back yards a war zone." She tapped his shoulder, and pointed to the disaster area. Leo loomed around the pool, their friends and family screaming. Bastien on the phone with the fire company, deftly ducked under a bottle rocket headed straight for his head. "Beaumont, when I get my hands on you." Bastien shouted. "Im sorry bas. I didn't mean to light all the fuses." Maxwell shouted back.

Dark smoke plummeted from the pool shed where Pam was giving Drake a blow job, just moments prior. "Hope they got insurance " Leo joked as he and Alicia swam up to the group. Liam rolled his eyes taking not of their nude forms. "Where the hell are your clothes?" He held back a snicker. He wasn't three sheets to the wind drunk, he would have been more annoyed at the situation at hand.

"Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave…" Alicia began to sing. "This again?" Drake rolled his eyes. "Just sing along Walker." Pam kissed his lips.

"O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!" The group sang along, just as the fire company rushed in putting the shed out.

The following Monday Liam walked into the council meeting, shoulders back, head held high. The hushed whispers began to circulate the room as Liam cleared his throat. "Shall we begin?" After the meeting a young council member approached him. "Your majesty, please may I speak freely?" Liam nodded "of course Lord Nicholas. And its Liam."

"Liam. Why Is there a faded Flag on your face?" Liam hung his head and shook it, recalling the past weekend's antics. Sighing loudly, he lifted his head. "Nick. Have you ever been to America on the 4th of July?"

Tag List: @annekebbphotography @carabeth @moneyfordiamonds @give-me-ernest-sinclaire @3pawandme @indiacater @ooo-barff-ooo @ownworldresident @tornbetween2loves @perfectprofessorherokid @stopforamoment @editboutique @wannabemc2 @zaffrenotes @enmchoices @lauradowning29 @lodberg @smalltalk88 @laniquelove-blog @gibbles82 @heatherfilliez @drakesensworld @nikkis1983 @sweetest-marbear @classylady1234 @daniv2278 @rainbowsinthestorm @jared2612 @liamxs-world @notoriouscs @blubutterflyy @captain-kingliamsqueen @whenyourheartskipsabeat @lynne1993 @coldcollectornight08 @be-still-my-aching-heart @kennaxval @the-soot-sprite @hopefulmoonobject @emichelle @cgd03 @kate-mckenzie @mfackenthal @crookedslimecreatorpasta @jemrmax2love @sashatrr @ao719 @cocomaxley @speedyoperarascalparty @riseandshinelittleblossom

#cgw trr au #cgw trr #cgw squad #cordonians gone wild #liam x anitah #Leo x Alicia #rashad x genevieve #drake x pam #drake walker #liam rhys #leo rhys #maxwell beaumont #rashad domvallier #bastien lykel

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kazashiniwielder · 6 years ago

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944

So while I am in awe of what happened with Killer I gotta say, I loved this chapter. Because it showed so much. This chapter clearly focused on two people, ironically enough it was mostly about Zoro and Killer, the two non captains and non devil fruit users of the Worst Generation.

So this isn’t going to be in order, and is actually going to be a little over the place but please bear with me. So we have Queen’s ‘game’. This is intense as shit because Queen intends to put Luffy in a situation where he would have to watch two people he considers rivals die or die himself but already flat out admits that none of them will leave alive. Like no matter what a combatant picks, it is pure torture. They would have to watch someone they know die and live with the guilt for the rest of their short life OR die knowing that they couldn’t even save those people and knowing that all they did was just die first so they wouldn’t have to watch. Like that is seriously f*cked up! Thank god it’s Luffy that is in that ring, but just imagine the people before him put through that!

Then we have Kid and Killer. So Killer is the guy who fought and wounded Zoro. I guess that explains a lot, especially now that we know that Killer was fed a SMILE devil fruit (ignoring the fact that Zoro is now the ONLY member of the Worst Generation who has not eaten a devil fruit). Now Kid was a character that I suspected had a soft side to him. Obviously not to civilians, and not to the marines, but he did say back in Sabody that the innocent people they killed were the people who laughed at them and their dreams. Now I’m not saying that excuses it, because it sure as hell doesn’t, but it does tell us that Kid is so passionate about those he cares about, that he will kill someone for laughing at those he cares for. Then we learn Killer is a person who hated his laugh and hated his face, so he stopped laughing and he hid his face. After he was fed the SMILE fruit though, the mask came off and he was always smiling. Whatever they did to Killer was horrible and Kidd is pissed! He is ready to murder them all, and his anger was so much that he was willing to charge in there, despite having cuffs that weakened him, to get some kind of payback for his loyal partner.

Then we have Zoro in the Capital. Before I focus on him I do want to draw attention to the panel of Hiyori after her former boss stopped Zoro’s attack. That will probably come back in the future, but we’ll ignore it now. Anyway, Zoro is furious. He genuinely liked his new friend and is furious at his death. He’s furious that everyone is laughing at it, and he’s furious that another friend is put in danger. So he does what he always does and charges in, right along side Sanji. Now this is the first time the two have seen each other since the market place in Dressrosa, a long ass time ago! Obviously they didn’t address what happened because they are a little busy, something Zoro even says. That will probably come later too, but I want to talk about what did happen.

Zoro still trusts Sanji. He trusted Sanji enough to give him the kid, Toko, that he was trying to protect in order to go on the offensive. And Sanji still cares for Zoro, at least a little bit. Sanji is trying to keep the plan in tact and get everyone out of there in one piece. Meanwhile the rest of the crew are surprised to see Zoro, but also glad. After all when a fight breaks out, Zoro and Sanji are the first two behind Luffy that you want to have around. They are also ready to all jump into the fight with them. And Zoro, you see how much he trusts the crew. He handed Sanji Toko and told one of the crew members to cover his back then he prepared to attack and never once looked back, trusting them to do as he asked before they even responded (of course Franky responded almost immediately in voice and action). And Luffy, I gotta say I love him. He’s watching the whole thing on the t.v., cheering Zoro on!

And to top it all off, while everything is coming to a head, with Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Nami, Franky, Usopp, and Brook causing a ruckus with the samurai in challenging the shogun himself in the center of the capital and getting attacked by his ‘lap dog’ and men, and while Luffy is facing Queen’s rage and trying to find a way to save a drowning Killer and Kidd, what else could happen besides Big Mom with Chopper and Carrot come literally crashing in! I mean, I never was happier to see her in my life.

I can’t wait for next week! I can’t wait to see where this goes! I really wanted to use that joke about how it’s not over until the fat lady sings since she came crashing into the party, but the end of Whole Cake Island already took that one from me, so for now I guess I’ll just say that I cant wait to watch Big Mom wreck Queen’s shit!

#one piece 944 #killer #roronoa zoro #big mom

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hazyheel · 6 years ago

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Monday Night Raw 4/8/19 Review

We started the night with our new Universal Champion, Seth Rollins, who got just about the loudest burn it down I’ve ever heard. He was showered with you deserve it chants, answering that the WWE in general deserves it. Rollins said that he feels like crap today from the beatdown. He referenced his low blow as questionable tactics, but said that Lesnar would’ve done the same. But then Kofi Kingston and the new Day came out. They all joked around for a while, until Kofi challenged Rollins to a winner take all match tonight. Seth accepted, and the match was booked for the main event.

Grade: B. A simple promo segment, and everyone in it had good chemistry and were quite funny. And it was an exciting main event to book, especially right after Wrestlemania.

Then we had a Raw Tag Team Championship match, a repeat from Wrestlemania, Zack Ryder and Kurt Hawkins vs. The Revival. It was similar to their match on the pre show, even with Hawkins feigning a leg injury to grab a roll up for a near fall. The Revival continued their hard hitting strategy, even hitting a sort of knee drop and burning hammer combo for a near fall. In the finish, Hawkins got a blind tag, and the Revival nailed Ryder with a shatter machine, only for Hawkins to roll up Dawson for the win once again.

Grade: C-. The commercial break really hurt this match, as it immensly disrupted the flow of the match. Without the fun idea of Hawkins getting his first win, this match suffered, especially for its lack of time. These teams can put on a good match, but not with this little time. Love Ryder and Hawkins, and I hope that they end up as good champions.

Baron Corbin was out next for a promo about his match with Angle last night. He basically dueled with the crowd through the entire promo, before saying that he deserved a medal. Kurt Angle then came out, kinda ruining the fact that I cried at his retirement last night. Angle acted like he was gonna wish him luck, but quickly hit an angle slam, locked in an ankle lock, to a huge pop. However, Lars Sullivan then finally made his debut, hitting Angle with the freak accident in an awesome debut.

Grade: B-. I was a lot more critical of this segment until Lars Sullivan came out. I was into that debut, we got Angle to put over two up and comers as he left

Now I don’t know what happened to set up this match, other than the vague idea that Alexa Bliss made fun of Bayley for losing last night, but the two had an interesting match. Bayley showed a much more vicious side, attempting to cheat at one point and also nailed a sunset flip powerbomb into the corner. However, Bliss quickly won with a DDT.

Grade: B-. Pretty good match, nothing more to say about that.

Next up, Becky Lynch came out to address her win from last night, looking very happy with her two belts. She received you deserve it chants. She couldn’t even get a word in as the crowd drowned her out with various cheers. She said that she will always find a way to win, no matter what the odds are, prompting “your the man,” from the crowd. She said that she would take down any challengers that came for her, prompting a Lacey Evans to do a catwalk. Except this time, she took a look at Lynch’s belts. Evans then finally did a wrestle, hitting her straight in the face, before the two brawl. It was a wild fight up the ramp, with Lynch coming out on top, probably because Evans was fighting in heels and a dress.

Grade: B+. This was going to get a worse grade if it had just been the promo, because Lynch’s scripting has gone downhill since she was actually written as a face. But Lacey’s attack was actually great, and the brawl was very very fun. I am into Evans being the next challenger for the belts, whatever capacity that may be in. Hell, if they are willing to slow burn this, then Lacy could even beat Lynch for them. As along as they build her up first.

Backstage, Charly asked Rollins why he accepted the champion vs. champion challenge. Rollins said that while he is into the challenge, it was disrespectful for Kofi to invade Raw like that. This is his show, and he will defend its honor. He then said that B+ wouldn’t get the job done, so Kingston has to bring his A game. Awesome promo.

Then we had a tag match, Ricochet and Aleister Black vs. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable. Unfortunately, Black’s bored thing that picks him up didn’t work, but he waited for a good music cue to actually stand. The teams had a fast paced match, with each team understanding their rolls very well. While the teams clearly weren’t attempting to have a classic in the ring, they still did quite well. The fans were very hot for this match as well. Towards the end of the match, Gable bent the rules a bit as the ref was distracted and he pushed Ricochet off the top rope in an odd heel move. Roode and Gable then hit the moonsualt neckbreaker combo, before Black broke it up. Roode and Black fought outside the ring as Ricochet nailed a codebreaker for the win. It seemed like that would be in, but Roode landed a cheapshot to Ricochet. Seems like that was a heel turn, or possibly just teasing it for later on.

Grade: B-. Good match, but a very odd finish. I get having Black and Ricochet win, but when Roode and Gable attacked, I got confused. Black and Ricochet attacked the Revival after their matches all the time, but got no booing. So is that a heel move, or isn’t it? Just odd. Very good match though.

Backstage, Elias played guitar in a dressing room, before addressing the crowd about Cena’s burial last night. He said that he has a musical number for the night, which is fun. But he said that he would murder anyone who tried to interrupt him. I’m exaggerating, but if I got interrupted as much as him, then I’d probably kill someone too. After a commercial break, there was the weirdest promo for a debut ever, with a small bird thing in a box either laughing or coughing or some combination of both. The only thing I think it could be is the Gobbledegooker’s kid or something. I have no clue.

Then, Dean Ambrose had his final WWE match. It was him against Bobby Lashley, who said that he would take care of Renee while Ambrose was gone. Ambrose then attacked him all over ringside, even hitting a Dirty Deeds on the stage. He then destroyed the announce table, without even looking at Renee so that was weird. He then ate a spear from Lashley before being thrown through the table. Renee sat at his side while doctors ran over. The crowd chanted thank you ambrose, as he lie in pain.

Grade: C-. Underwhelming segment, but they have been burying the guy for months, so I understand. But I liked having Renee actually involved in a story. Fun times, and I wish Ambrose the best in his career. Wherever you go, ROH, AEW, CZW or elsewhere, you will always be special in our hearts. Thank you Dean, hope to see you or Jon Moxley soon.

Mojo Rawley continued his weird promos, now with odd blue veins coming from his eye. Don’t know what that is about, but I don’t really care.

Out came Sami Zayn, returning from injury and immediately tripped. It was endearing. I love him, glad to see him get a face reaction upon his return. They even did the Ole chants, which was a fun throwback. He cut a promo, just being happy and so fun. I was smiling ear to ear. I really really like face Sami. Sami asked for a match, and new Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor responded. He made this a title match, and the crowd was thrilled to hear that. In the match, Zayn was not taking the match too seriously, but he did get some good offense in. As the match wore on, Zayn began to take the match more and more seriously, hitting some pretty violent strikes while Balor was in the ropes. Finn nearly hit Coup de Gras, but Zayn dodged and got a rollup. He hit the exploder suplex into the corner, but missed the helluva kick and ate a coup de gras in his return. After the match, Zayn soaked up some applause, and cut another promo. He was pretty gassed, and he made a very odd heel turn. He ripped into the crowd, saying that they made the WWE toxic. He then said that we only get enjoyment out of being critics, which felt oddly personal. It was really weird to be called out for being too judgmental as I reviewed his heel turn. But anyway, he took shots a the crowd, and told everyone to go to hell.

Grade: B. Pretty good match. Loved to see Sami back in the ring, and even though he lost, I am sure he will get back on track sooner rather than later. I am looking forward to seeing what they do with him in the coming weeks, and I hope that he wins a belt. Although, I think that he should be a babyface before he gets it. He is a much better face, and I was bummed when he turned heel. And he hurt my feelings, so that sucked :(. Leave me alone, Sami. Let me wallow in my self pity, and judge you for being a asshole without any repercussions. I hide behind a keyboard for a reason, dick. It’s because I am scared of the truth that I don’t have any real talent. This grade got away from me a bit. Good match, upsetting turn.

Backstage, a new interviewer named Sarah talked to Dana Brooke, who said that she was in the running to fight Becky, sooner rather than later. Very clunky promo, but I love her so it is okay.

Then Elias’ concert, where he immediately fired back at John Cena, saying that he is garbage and riding Elias’ coattails. He then tried to rap, which was funny. He was very bland when delivering not great lines, and it was enjoyable. He then said that he would kill anyone who interrupted him, and Undertaker came out! This was a surprise, I assumed that he had retired for good this time. But he got a big pop. Elias tried to stand up to the deadman. but he got beat up with a chokeslam and tombstone.

Grade: B-. I have softened on these types of segments happening to Elias, because his role is not one that can really be damaged with losses. He will eventually get a midcard title, and getting beat up by the Undertaker isn’t going to hurt that. And it was fun to see him again.

And in the main event, Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston faced off in a winner take all match. The two squared off with various holds and armbars and such, just feeling each other out in the beginning. After coming back from commercial, the two champions began heavy chops against one another. At one point, Kofi had thrown Rollins off the top rope to the outside, and was about to go for some sort of flying move, but the Bar attacked instead. So, the match changed to a tag match, and I was much less excited. So was the crowd, who chanted bullshit. The Bar destroyed both champions, beating them down until Kingston got the hot tag. The Bar still got a lot of offense in, but Kingston and Rollins stood tall after a Curb stomp to Cesaro.

Grade: C+. This match was supposed to be epic, but quickly became just another tag match. So it begs the question, why advertise the first match? Just book this one and be done with it. If you don’t get our hopes up, we won’t boo as much.

Overall Grade: C+. Even though there was nothing particularly terrible, there wasn’t a lot of surprises for a post mania raw. So that makes it suffer a bit.

Pros: Lars Sullivan Debut; Lacey Evans finally did something; Black and Ricochet vs. Roode and Gable; Sami Zayn return; Undertaker beatdown

Cons: Sami Zayn heel turn; straight up lied about the main event; underwhelming matches;

And before I stop the review, I am going to give one last goodbye to Dean Ambrose. You will be missed.

#hazyheel #wwe #wwe review #raw #raw review #wwe raw #wwe raw review #monday night raw #monday night raw review #pro wrestling #pro wrestling debut #wwe monday night raw #wwe monday night raw review

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rauliskafan · 7 years ago

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Mouthpiece or Otherwise

Author’s Note: Here is my entry for the Historical AU Challenge courtesy of the amazing @yourtropegirl!!! Imagine the SVU crew inside a 1920s speakeasy... and the reader has her sights set on a certain ADA nursing a drink in the corner. This was so different for me but also tons of fun!!! Enjoy!!!

“Looking good, Lovely.”

His name was Sonny. A tall, lanky gent from the other side of the tracks. He wore vests that fit his frame and pomade that belied his age. Were the few silver streaks real or part of the show he put on as he decided who came and went at your club?

"So speaks the spiffy sheik," you said. Passing him a few bills and patting his cheek, you gained entrance with ease.

The place... your place was a palace of archways where ice cold whiskey flowed, and saxophones sizzled from the stage. A dark man in white tails forgot to wail for a few seconds when he met your eyes and sauntered to the footlights.

“There's the best set of gams this side of the Hudson!” he said.

“Sweet, Fin,” you said. “Don’t stop on my account.”

“Had to see if there’s something else you want to hear,” he said. “Got any requests?”

You started to speak when you spotted the man of your hour for the first time that night. You’d seen him before. The Brooklyn lawyer by way of Manhattan. Never too proud to pop in for a drink. Word on the street was that he’d been by a lot as of late. And while the two of you had never exchanged a single word, you wanted to know more.

To know why.

“What’s it gonna be?” Fin asked.

“Let’s have a little I May Be Wrong.”

Naturally you hoped that you weren’t and showed Fin a smile when the song started. Listening to the notes that seemed to paint a path towards the farthest corner, you smoothed your hands down the sides of your beaded gown, your sights fixed on the man who downed another drink, his bow tie and vest askew while he listened to the music... and seemed sadder still. Wondering what had shifted in his section of the world, you inhaled a deep breath and---

"Care to be my luck charm tonight, Lovely?"

Your head snapped back, and you found yourself face to face with the brassy blonde in the short black fringe, sporting a feather in her hair.

"Amanda!" you cried, greeting her with a quick hug and peeking over her shoulder to see the chips on the table stacked in her favor. "Doesn't look like you need it. Someone hit a hot streak all on her own."

"Can never have too much of a good thing," she smirked back. "You in?" Tossing the dice between her fingers, you laughed and softly shook your head.

"Another time," you promised.

"I'll be here," she said, blowing on the cubes and tossing the game pieces to the felt.

"Another natural winner!" the dealer said when she rolled a seven even as no one spoke the word aloud. Amanda blew you a kiss, and you set back on your intended course...

...only to meet another interruption.

"How long you going to let that Dumb Dora keep it up?" Liv narrowed her eyes, and you rolled yours... as Amanda tossed the dice again to another wave of rapturous applause. The music grew louder, and the dance floor filled with swaying customers, drinks still in hand.

"How long are you going to play the bluenose, Liv?" you asked. "She's not hurting anyone."

"Tonight," Liv countered. "When it goes South, it's no easy task getting her to scram."

"Which is why I leave my joint in your more than capable hands," you said, touching her shoulder, your breath starting to catch in your throat when you saw your crush in the corner starting to shift in his seat. What was this? Was he getting ready to mooch?

"Last thing we need is another copper here," she said.

"Another?" you curiously asked.

"The sad sack," she said, pointing the man in the rumpled suit who seemed certain to fade if you didn't move fast.

"He's no copper," you said. "Call Sonny if you need help."

"If he's not chatting up a chippy when he should be watching the door," Liv frowned.

"Olivia!" you said, raising your voice as she took a step back. You patted her arms and forced a smile. "Have a drink. Cool it with the heebie jeebies."

"I don't drink on the job," she said.

"Which makes you the right dame for some things and a flat tire for others."

Taking the hint, she finally let you pass, and you raced forward just in time to see the man on his feet.

And you quickly reached for his arm.

"Hey! Going somewhere?"

He seemed stunned by your touch, and you thought you saw the smallest of smiles before his face fell and his shoulders sagged.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said, his speech slightly slurred. Which sent a rush of blood from the tips of your toes to the top of your head.

"Well it is my gin mill," you said. "And someone seems to like the scenery.”

"Someone needed a drink," he said.

"Makes sense," you said, easing him back to his seat and heaving a sigh of relief when he sat even as he hung his head. “Man in your line of work.”

"I'm on the lam," he said.

"Oh?" you asked, your curiosity piqued as he scrubbed a single hand over his face, tapping his other set of fingers on the tabletop. Fin switched to another song as the dance changed to rocking feet and swinging arms.

"Yes, I..." He stopped short, shaking his head and looking like he wanted to leave again.

"It'd bore you," he said.

"Try me," you challenged, daring to reach for his hand, liking the feel of his long fingers lacing with yours as he slowly lifted his head to meet your eyes.

"What do you think you know about me?" he asked.

"The basics," you replied. "You're a mouthpiece. You like your hooch."

"The two aren't mutually exclusive," he said.

"Thank God for that or the place wouldn't be packed every night."

You felt his palm relax a little in yours, but you waited and watched him, strands of swirling smoke from every lit gasper making him look like a man born in the mist, trying to break free from the haze...

...or possibly fall back into it?

"So what's the scoop?" you asked. "Some gumshoe crumb the play? Or a canary didn't sing?"

"No," he continued. "Can't lay this at anyone else's feet. This... this is all on me."

For a fleeting second, you wondered what he might have done? Was he a fakeloo or something far worse? All you had to do was whistle once, and Liv would make her way to your side. No need for Sonny; she could toss him out on her own if the man had dirt or something deeper, redder embedded about his soul.

"Do... do you know what happens to a man in my line of work when he drops the dime?"

"Isn't that the kind of thing you want?" you carefully asked. "Someone to inform on the bad eggs?"

"Not what happened here," he said. You could sense him wanting to say so much more when he clammed up and said he needed to drift.

"Rafael?"

It was the first time that you uttered his name aloud, having spoken it in your sleep, waking with the syllables and a smile still on your lips.

"You know my name," he said.

"Gotta keep the clientele straight," you said. "Something you want to talk about?"

Again, he looked like he wanted to spill, but you could sense his hesitation as the crowd grew, and Amanda roared after she rolled a Hard 10 for another point. He would be a goner if you didn't...

"Come with me."

Keeping a firm hold on his hand, you led him away from the song and the smoke until you hit the first available backroom. He hesitated when you patted the space beside you on the plush velvet couch, and you held your breath until he finally sat.

"Better?" you asked.

"A little," he said. "But... I mean I could use another---"

"I always carry a spare," you smiled. Reaching for your garter belt, you unveiled a flask and saw his green eyes grow wide when you took a sip before passing the bottle his way.

"Share and share alike," you said.

"You keep the prime merchandise for yourself?" he asked.

"I drink the same as my customers," you said, wanting to take offense. But in a different light he seemed so earnest, miles away from all wet. And playing the high hat was far from your style.

"Imbibe, Mr. ADA," you urged.

"Not for much longer," he said with a swift sip.

"Seriously?”

“I shouldn’t---”

“Come on. You going to get a wiggle on or what?"

You punctuated each word with one hand stroking his thigh and bit your lower lip until he took a deep breath.

And the words poured out.

"There was this kid," he started. "Skinny as a rail. Not a match to strike. And he... he robbed a place very much like this."

"Really," you carefully said. "Why would that be a bad thing? Thought it might help your sort out."

"Not when the fella running that joint is in the DA's back pocket," he said. "So they want to make this kid the fall guy for a whole lot of things that he played no part in. Makes the medicine go down easier for everyone."

"But not sitting right with you," you said.

"Sticks right in my craw," he confessed. "They gave me a choice; play the pushover or be put out to pasture."

"And someone selected the latter," you knowingly said, realizing that it was more than the way he looked with a glass in hand. You were nothing if not a good judge of character, and this man, mouthpiece or otherwise, was the cat's meow because he was a darb in a world of double-crosses.

"I'm sorry," you said, taking his hand again. "But it's just ducky that you came here to get fried."

"Not quite half seas over yet," he said. "Getting there."

"Gives us more time to talk," you said.

"What about?"

Where to start? He'd hit your heart on all sixes the second you laid eyes on him. Joe Brooks with It and so much more in your juice joint. The man knew his onions, the Real McCoy when it came to conscience and compassion. You wanted that in your life. To see where it led. To taste a different flavor than the swells who might take you for a ride, the torpedoes you had to dodge more often than not. But first things first; let him see that you were on the level, that this was a chance for something special. And if the middle aisle was in the cards down the line...?

"Rafael, how'd you like to work for me?" you asked.

"You?" he echoed.

"Could use someone hip to the jive. And before you object, know this; I've had an earful of the cats you described. On both sides of the cooler. Wouldn't you love to find a way to beat them all at their own game?"

You watched him mull over the proposition. Would he take the bait? Or give you the bum's rush?

"They... they call you Lovely, right?"

"My friends do. Are we friends, Rafael?"

Finishing the flask, he passed it back into your free hand and finally flashed a full smile.

"Yes, Lovely. And I'm listening."

#raúl esparza #rafael barba #rafael barba x reader #historicalauchallenge #1920s #speakeasy #dominick sonny carisi #fin tutuola #amanda rollins #olivia benson #law & order: svu #svu fanfiction

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placetobenation · 5 years ago

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If nothing else, the times are busy in the WWE these days. Two PPV’s within a week of each other with NXT TakeOver: In Your House and Backlash bookending our Sundays, a change in the creative of RAW and of course, the three shows themselves. Never a dull moment indeed.

First, let’s take a look at the NXT PPV.

NXT TAKEOVER: In Your House PPV Results

NXT Championship Backlot Brawl Match: Adam Cole defeated The Velveteen Dream

NXT Women’s Championship: Io Shirai defeated Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley to win title

NXT North American Title Match: Keith Lee defeated Johnny Gargano to retain title

Karrion Kross defeated Tommaso Ciampa

Finn Balor defeated Damien Priest

Mia Yim, Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart defeated Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez

Another solid night as Adam Cole not only survived seeing his two teammates from The Undisputed Era, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish kidnapped by Dexter Lumis, but triumphed over The Velveteen Dream, cementing his final shot at Cole’s NXT Championship. I thought the Backlot Brawl was well done as I had reservations, they were using the whole cinematic match genre too much lately. But the use of the cars as weapons worked and it brought Lumis into the feud too. Most thought, unlike me in my predictions, that TVD would come out on top, but I like the fact Cole remains on top for his next challenge.

Plus, Io Shirai stole the night and stole a sneaky pin to win Charlotte Flair’s NXT Women’s Championship, flying off the top rope to pin Rhea Ripley while Ripley was in the figure 8 from Flair. Keeps Flair strong and unpinned and brings the NXT Championship back full-time to Wednesday nights.

Karrion Kross destroyed Tommaso Ciampa. A strong performance to solidify Kross’ dominance in his debut on TakeOver.

Surprised that Keith Lee beat Johnny Gargano, but as we saw on Wednesday night, there’s still more to be done in this feud. And yes, while Damian Priest brought a good fight to Finn Balor, Balor needed the win as he sets his sights a bit higher in the future.

As for the creative change, I was hopeful when Paul Heyman was put in charge of RAW but still thought that it was handcuffing a genius. Heyman is awesome with guiding the edgy storylines and pushing some superstars that need it. We saw that in the rise of Andrade, Angel Garza, Austin Theory, The Authors of Pain and Dana Brooke. But it just seemed like some of the details were missing and we had a lot of 50-50 booking on RAW. With Bruce Pritchard now overseeing both RAW and SmackDown, let’s see if the ideas are still split or if there’s more of an umbrella type booking for the time being. Needless to say, no crowds have hurt and that could be changing with more things opening up around the Country as we try to get back to normal, whatever that is, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few words of advice for Pritchard move forward – think out-of-the-box, have common sense and don’t forget the details, they matter.

Star of the Week:

Couldn’t fathom talking about anything else. Today’s #NewDayPod with @AndreasHale. pic.twitter.com/gIXQbJ0z0R

— Florida Man (@WWEBigE) June 8, 2020

The New Day – Kudos to Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods! Not only are they the SmackDown tag team champions, but they are leading the way in the WWE with their leadership and voices they’re leading to the Black Lives Matter movement. Symbolically, Big E and Kofi kneeled with one hand raised during their ring entrance on Friday night. But before then, on their podcast, there were powerful words. I just wish the WWE would put this kind of content on their shows to bring to a wider, mainstream audience than just what’s on social media. Like CM Punk’s opinion last week on WWE Backstage, it would bring a whole new dynamic to the type of change we as a Community are looking and hoping for.

BACKLASH PPV – UPDATED CARD

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley

Universal Championship Handicap Match: Braun Strowman vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Greatest Wrestling Match Ever: Edge vs. Randy Orton

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Nia Jax

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Women’s Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews vs. Andrade

Predictions are below….after we take a look at the Week that Was for RAW, NXT and SmackDown.

RAW

RESULTS

Asuka & Charlotte Flair defeated The Iconics and Sasha Banks & Bayley

Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo defeated Buddy Murphy & Austin Theory

United States Championship #! Contender’s Match: Andrade defeated Angel Garza & Kevin Owens

Bobby Lashley & MVP defeated The Viking Raiders

Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka

Loved it:

THE QUEEN DOES IT AGAIN.@MsCharlotteWWE defeats #WWERaw #WomensChampion @WWEAsuka with the assist from @NiaJaxWWE! pic.twitter.com/hn5qA3coXN

— WWE (@WWE) June 9, 2020

Asuka & Charlotte – Anytime you can get Asuka & Charlotte in the same ring twice in one night, it’s a good thing. Plus, we get the Women’s Tag Team Champions in on the fun as Bayley & Sasha Banks come to RAW for a night. The only downside of the night, and yes, we know it was a predictable one, was Nia Jax interfering in the main event costing Asuka a win over Flair. I don’t love the fact that the RAW’s Womens Champion loses on the go-home show before a PPV, but I understand why they did it.

Peep Show – Christian was spot on putting Edge in his place before pumping him back up for his Greatest Wrestling Match Ever against Randy Orton this Sunday. There’s no substitute for chemistry my friends.

Drew vs. Bobby – Nice build up to their title match Sunday with both looking strong all night. Lashley gets a win with MVP over The Viking Raiders while Drew makes the save after the match. Can’t wait for the physicality Sunday night!

Meh:

Your eyes didn't deceive you.@AndradeCienWWE just pinned @AngelGarzaWwe to earn himself a #USTitle opportunity against @WWEApollo at #WWEBacklash! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/dnCvA1GhTg

— WWE (@WWE) June 9, 2020

Triple A: Apollo vs. Andrade again – Do we really need to see this match again? I’d rather see Crews vs. Kevin Owens get some more time than they did on RAW a few weeks back. Plus, I think we can all see Angel Garza getting a little payback on his faction brother, right?

Just for grins and giggles:

Charly and Angel – Can we just get these back together on the love train already? It was fun with the flirting but it’s kind of been put to the side the past few weeks. Charly Caruso needs her love and so do we! And oh by the way, not enough Zelina Vega this week. The Ariana Grande look rocked, but she was oddly quiet after being “injured” by Andrade.

NXT

RESULTS

Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae defeated Keith Lee & Mia Yim

Indus Sher defeated Mikey Delbrey & Mike Reed

Finn Balor defeated Cameron Grimes

Dakota Kai defeated Kacy Catanzaro

NXT Championship Non-Title Match: Adam Cole defeated Dexter Lumis

Loved it:

TICK TOCK.

#WWENXT @AdamColePro @Lady_Scarlett13 @WWEKarrionKross pic.twitter.com/WF98AASFSX

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2020

Tick. Tock. Challenger – That was a seriously special moment to end NXT as Scarlett brings the hourglass to the ring after Adam Cole’s successful NXT Championship Title defense against Dexter Lumis. The look on Cole’s face of fear not that Karrion Kross is in his crosshairs was awesome. This should take the title picture on Wednesday nights to a whole new level.

Kacy gets a shot – Yes, I’m biased since I’ve watched Kacy Catanzaro since her American Ninja Warrior days, but I loved that they gave her some time in the ring against Dakota Kai and actually got some good offense in too. Kacy’s better than just being used as a person in the crowd, so I’m glad they saw that. I hope it continues.

WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!?!

#WWENXT @hijodelfantasma @RaulMendozaWWE @joaquinwilde_ pic.twitter.com/jrGVxwkf5J

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2020

Hello Mr. Escobar – El Hijo del Fantasma is not only the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion, but now he’s the new Santos Escobar and is the leader of the Mexican Masked Mafia. With an unmasking and a beatdown of Drake Maverick, it’s a whole new chapter for Mr. Escobar.

Can’t wait –

"@RealKeithLee, when you're done playing house, come see me." @FinnBalor has his eyes on the #WWENXT #NorthAmericanTitle. pic.twitter.com/6Y85J0cWCM

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2020

Balor vs. Lee – So, Finn Balor wants a shot at the NXT Title he hasn’t won yet – the North American Title. I’ll take it. I wonder what Johnny Gargano thinks of all this as I don’t quite think he’s done with Mr. Lee just yet.

Thank you:

Rhea Ripley – Thank you Rhea for making quick work of Robert Stone! The tough days continue for the Robert Stone Brand.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

SmackDown Tag Team Non-Title Match: Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The New Day

Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals: AJ Styles defeated Daniel Bryan to win title

Braun Strowman, Otis & Tucker defeated Dolph Ziggler, The Miz & John Morrison

Loved it:

After an INSTANT CLASSIC, @AJStylesOrg is the NEW Intercontinental Champion!#ICTitle #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/qmfaRCJgbq

— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2020

Simply Phenomenal – I think we can all agree that if there were to be a Greatest Wrestling Match Ever this weekend, it would not be Edge vs. Randy Orton, but the one Friday night between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. Anytime these two hook up, it’s good, but with the I-C Title on the line, this one was top notch. I’m hoping it’s not just a one-off either. Give these guys an Iron Man Match or a best of three series.

The New Day @WWEBigE & @TrueKofi make their entrance on #SmackDown. (via @wwe) pic.twitter.com/HH7dCJtezi

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) June 13, 2020

The New Day – While we didn’t love the champs losing again on TV, something the WWE is seemingly in love with these days with their champions, we applaud The New Day’s tribute to the Black Lives Matters cause as we said above, making them the stars of the week.

Confused:

Well … that’s gonna leave a stench.@JEFFHARDYBRAND turns the table on @WWESheamus’ impromptu urine test. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/xyiU52DSZQ

— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2020

You’re In – See what we did there?! The Jeff Hardy/Sheamus drug test to start SmackDown was just silly. Shades of the Attitude Era silliness with not enough edge. Plus, you can say “pissed off” but you can’t say “pissed on” on broadcast TV? Well, that just makes no sense. At least the backstage brawling was better to put the spotlight on Sunday’s PPV match.

Didn’t love:

Main event – If the 6-man tag team match with Braun Strowman joining Heavy Machinery to face The Miz, John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler was supposed to make me want to see the Universal Championship Handicap Match at the PPV, it didn’t. There was more of a spotlight on Otis/King Corbin and Mandy Rose than the champion, the Miz or Morrison. A total miss right there.

Quick Pick Predictions for Backlash PPV:

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre defeats Bobby Lashley

Universal Championship Handicap Match: Braun Strowman defeats The Miz & John Morrison

Greatest Wrestling Match Ever: Randy Orton defeats Edge

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka defeats Nia Jax

Sheamus defeats Jeff Hardy

Women’s Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: Bayley & Sasha Banks defeats Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews defeats Andrade

Overall: I don’t see much changing on Backlash as far as titles go. Drew is too strong right now on RAW, but expect the feud with Lashley to continue. It would be foolish for Strowman to lose again in another handicap match. Look for Randy Orton to get some revenge on Edge for WrestleMania. There’s no way Nia Jax is beating Asuka – same can be said for the Women’s Tag Team Titles as the new champs shouldn’t lose their first title defense. Apollo Crews’ push should continue as well.

Parting shots:

Don’t forget, part 4 of The Undertaker series is back Sunday night after the Backlash PPV on the WWE Network.

I’d love to see someone ask Bret Hart about appearing on AEW on this week’s WWE Backstage. Now, THAT would truly make some noise, but I know it would never happen. Kind of surprised Hart is doing the show.

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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thesportssoundoff · 7 years ago

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“If you’re reading this, you’re going to watch this show anyways” A preview for the UFC’s return to Australia

Joey

November 12th, 2017

Oh boy. Well it's not always going to be loaded, is it? The UFC came into this show basically with two fights to build around which in the modern era is really all you need. If fans only care about the main event and the co-main event then sure! All you need is two fights, am I right? The problem, as if often times the case, is that these things fall apart easier than a Jenga tower. Mark Hunt was pulled due to concerns about his mental health and in his place came Fabricio Werdum. That's a more interesting fight FOR me but for Aussie fans, I'm willing to bet they were 1,000,000 times more interested in Hunt/Tybura than Werdum/Tybura. No big deal because the co-main event was pretty solid am I right? Well then Joanne Calderwood pulls out and our co-main is Bec Rawlings vs Jessie Rose Clark. Even though I believe Jessy Rose-Clark is UFC caliber (she's got that Val Letourneau record where she fought a lot of badasses early in her career), that's still not a co-main event caliber fight. Beyond that you have fights ranging in quality from decent action fights to Australian filler to "look we need at least 10 fights!" type stuff. It's really no different from last year's November Australia card which was ALSO ruined by injury. Sorry Aussies!

Fights: 13

Debuts: 4 (Shane Young, Nadia Kassem, Jessy Rose- Clark, Tai Tuivasa)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Mark Hunt OUT, Fabricio Werdum IN vs Marcin Tybura/Joanna Calderwood OUT, Jessy Rose-Clark IN vs Bec Rawlings/Jeremy Kennedy OUT, Shane Young IN vs Alexander Volkanovski/Jesse Taylor OUT, Tim Means IN vs Belal Muhammad)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 6 (Fabricio Werdum, Marcin Tybura, Jake Matthews, Dan Kelly, Will Brooks, Anthony Hamilton)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 5 (Will Brooks, Jake Matthews, Bec Rawlings, Anthony Hamilton, Eric Shelton)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 3 (Belal Muhammad, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkanovski)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 34-29)- Shane Young, Nadia Kassem, Jessy Rose- Clark, Tai Tuivasa, Adam Wieczrowek

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 20-31-1)- Fabricio Werdum, Shane Young, Jessy Rose-Clark, Tim Means

Second Fight (Current number: 24-35)- Ashkan Mokhtarian, Frank Camacho, Rashad Coultier

Cage Corrosion (18-11-1)- Alex Chambers, Bec Rawlings

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Perhaps NO single relationship in the UFC is as tortured as the relationship between Dana White and Fabricio Werdum. Werdum was the guy who was supposed to lose to "the guy" but he's just kept winning and winning and winning and so on so forth. I wonder if Dana grew to like Werdum due to the fact that he's well spoken (more on that later) and ultra reliable to make it to fight night. They gave Werdum main events in Brazil, they hired him to be their lead Spanish color commentator, had a reality show with he and Cain etc etc. At the same time it feels like the two never really ever liked one another with Dana on two-three separate occasions giving Werdum the "That's nice but you should've finished the fight" speech to Werdum's Reebok comments which got him yanked off commentary duties. They built a stadium show around the legends of Brazil and Werdum was the one guy who came up short in humiliating fashion. Werdum's use of "maricon" is the sort of thing that is simply unacceptable for a major org. There are TWO major instances of Werdum being selective about his next fight (He turned down Stipe Miocic in a short notice fight and turned down Overeem similarly last year). Beyond all that though, Werdum's still a quality capable HW which the UFC needs. He's a proud Brazilian who can headline events which the UFC are in short supply of. What's more is dude stays busy. Last year he fought in May (after bowing out in February), September and was scheduled to fight in December. This year he's fought in July, October and now a month later in November. Dude STAYS active and that matters in today's UFC. They sort of need one another---and that's a pretty good way to describe this pairing at this point.

2- I wonder if Marcin Tybura is going to be a guy who is as valuable as a pseudo Russian (M-1 ties) than he will be as a Polish born HW.

3- I wonder if the move to 170 lbs is the equivalent of do or die for Jake Matthews. The Aussie is very young, talnted and he came into the UFC with a bevy of hype as potentially the BIG star from Australia. It has been an uneven ride thus far for Jake Matthews affter two submission wins over limited opposition. A loss to James Vick followed and since then? It's been uneven. He looked FANTASTIC vs Johnny Case but against Akhbar Arreola, Kevin Lee and Andrew Holbrook he just hasn't looked the same. He's powerful but when he's met by somebody who isn't going to be bullied, Matthews wilts. His striking has long been a problem and I don't think it's gotten any better recently. He has this propensity to duck and flail for a takedown when hurt which cost him vs Kevin Lee and James Vick. He's moving up in weight which might be a better move since perhaps cutting too much weight for his muscular frame could be a problem. Bojan Velickovic is a big burly welterweight who hits hard but has a propensity to getting taken down. It's fair matchmaking; pitting strength vs weakness for both fighters.

4- Jessy Rose-Clark has a 7-4 record which on paper makes you think she's probably not going to be something of another. I won't begrudge anybody for feeling that way BUT Pannie Kianzad was a top regional prospect when they faced off. She gave some problems to Sarah Kaufman and Pam Sorenson in decision losses and has wins over some undefeated prospects like Janay Harding. Her last time out she beat Carina Damm on like a week's notice which is a no joke type of win. I don't know if she'll beat Bec Rawlings BUT I think some people are going to be surprised.

5- No matter the country, Tim Means vs Belal Muhammad is a pretty solid fight. Means has a well earned reputation as a poor man's Matt Brown with his love of knees and elbows in all different types of set ups. Means has a well known reputation as a kill or be killed type of fighter but he showcased some restraint and poise in his last fight. On the other hand, Belal Muhammad has been a bit TOO poised in his more recent days. His offensive output tends to wane and he's gone away from some of the weapons which made him a promising prospect. That said, he's still tremendously gifted and both he and Means could create for some magic.

6- I think it speaks to the decline of Will Brooks that he's probably the best fighter on this card but he's sandwiched on the FS1 prelims between Ryan Benoit/Askhan Mokhtarian and Adam Wierowczek/Anthony Hamilton. Brooks' losses have been frustrating as he got outathlete'd vs Charles Oliveira and his fight vs Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira was a catchweight after Cowboy just showed up all kinds of out of shape. He SHOULD be able to run right through Nik Lentz but Brooks seems so hit or miss these days that you simply can't bet on anything anymore.

7- Reminder that Ryan Benoit iced Sergio Pettis and gave Brandon Moreno trouble in a close loss. The problem is that in a sea of about 10 flyweights resting outside the top 5 (Mighty Mouse, Benavidez, Cejudo, Pettis and Formiga), you have a bunch of guys just not fighting frequently enough or just fighting in nowhere's land on the card.

8- Dan Kelly vs Elias Thorodorou is your smoke break. Adjust your schedule accordingly. Two similar like minded fighters except one is 58 years old.

9- I'm glad to see Eric Shelton getting a third chance after two tough split decision losses vs established competition. There's nothing wrong with facing Alejandre Pantoja and Jarred Brooks and walking out with split decision losses. Jenel Lausa is a step backwards in reputation BUT his talent level can challenge Shelton.

10- I now I mention this all the time but I'm always happy when multiple flyweight fights are on the same card. I want this division to survive and thrive.

11- I don't know if Tai Tuivasa is going to be any good as a fighter but any under 25 year old heavyweight has my attention immediately.

12- It's not gonna win any beauty contests but Damien Brown vs Fran Camacho is a lock to be one of the wildest wackiest fights of the night. Slopfest of all slopfests right here, man.

Must Win

1- Tai Tuivasa

The UFC is bound to go to Australia at least once a year if not more so. Mark Hunt will be out of this organization sooner rather than later. A new Australian monster HW would almost immediately slot in #3 behind Robert Whittaker and Meagan Anderson as potential Australian drawing cards. Tuivasa could have a long time future in the UFC if he's even MODERATELY decent.

2- Jake Matthews

The clock is ticking on WHAT Jake Matthews is going to be in the UFC. What was a promising debut has slowly eroded into becoming just another guy in a crowded 155 to 185 lb universe. He's changing weight classes and getting a truly dangerous opponent in Bojan Velickovic. This could be a really interesting challenge for him.

3- Marcin Tybura

Until he decides not to, Fabricio Werdum will be in the UFC. He's too valuable. Now as it pertains to Tybura, this is the highest profile fight of his career. This isn't slumming it up on a UFC prelim slate, this is headlining in a much tougher fight than his original assignment. A win here and he becomes a major player in a division seeking younger big bodied dudes to take up spots.

You Should Watch These Fights

(Cuz ain't nothin' here must see)

1- Fabricio Werdum vs Marcin Tybura

2- Jake Matthews vs Bojan Velickovic

3- Rashad Coultier vs Tai Tuivasa

4- Ryan Benoit vs Askhan Mokhtari

5- Damien Brown vs Frank Camacho

#MMA #UFC #Australia #Fight Night #Tybura #Werdum

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spoopercorp · 7 years ago

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In my opinion, the majority of the Supergirl cast at SDCC was being more ignorant and insensitive rather than homophobic.

You have to be open to the possibility that maybe you’re misconstruing the situation, that what you see from the other side may not be an accurate representation of what actually happened, but yes, there is always the possibility that you are right.

Jeremy Jordan released two public apologies via Instagram that received backlash.

The first:

This one, I believe, received the most backlash for a formatting that is closer to that of a non-apology, of which I can see to an extent. It may be messy and imperfect, but he is human and can only learn from his mistakes. Many people did not like the fact that he said, “My track record for years has proven my love and utter devotion to the LGBTQ community.” because some people believe it is the equivalent of, “I have gay family/friends, I can’t be homophobic.”

But he is, I think, absolutely genuine with his intention in the apology, and the second part is more sincere, if you will.

He admitted his mistake, promised he would be better, and I personally have no doubt that he will try to do so in the future.

I said before that when you are attacked or criticized or hated, you are more likely to defend yourself. That is how humans work. If someone you knew was generally a kind and sweet person, but made a huge mistake, you are more likely to blame it on the person’s character. If it was the other way around and you made the mistake, you are more likely to blame it on external circumstances.

Mehcad Brooks’ apology is similar.

Yes, he made a comment similar to Jeremy Jordan’s “my track record” comment, and said something equivalent to “I cannot be homophobic, I am black”. And maybe he did not mean it to come out that way.

That is also another thing to address, because people who are gay can be racist/sexist and people who are black can be homophobic/sexist and people who are feminists can be homophobic/sexist. Most people know that being oppressed does not mean you cannot be the oppressor.

This is not trying to excuse what they did, but acknowledge that there are absolutely many variables within the situation at hand.

In the musical recap, they were having fun.

Okay, not a great reason, but everyone knows that when you are having fun, in the spur of each moment, you will not know if you are spouting anything out that is rude and offensive. They were not targeting the LGBT+ community, but maybe the actions they partook in are considered homophobic, but they are likely not themselves. They were being silly, having fun with each other, and laughing is scientifically proven to be contagious - it is a social thing whether or not you enjoy it, because most humans thrive off of it, and therefore, desire to be accepted. But, again, I know it does not excuse what they did.

Their intent was not to invalidate the LGBT+ community, but it did regardless, and you have every right to be upset. But think, just for a few seconds, to consider all sides. If you create something as an artist that you are so proud of and put so much time in and it is overlooked towards something you unintentionally created, you will likely feel upset. That one thing that you did not mean to do and put as much work in is being praised rather than the actual thing you are so proud of and want compliments for. Imagine that it is what the majority only talk about, it can get annoying.

Then there was the unnecessary interjection Chris Wood made about sexuality only being about perception of others. Again, ignorant and insensitive, but to his defense, he did say he was being sarcastic right after. I personally believe that was a homophobic comment. It is unfortunate for him that he is receiving a ton of hate attacking his personal life (because his character, Mon-El, is nothing like the comic counterpart and portrays someone who seems abusive), and when you shout at someone, you are likely to be shouted back at with the same force. Again, not excusing him, but more trying to develop an understanding of all sides.

To reiterate, I create art, whether it is in written or visual form, and I will likely be proud of my feat. There will be blatant haters, but when a fan articulately and professionally comments on how my work is portraying something unhealthy, it is a red flag. It is my job to at least take a second for myself to contemplate their words and the possibility without bias and acknowledge that though I did not intend to make it that way, it still had that affect.

They were also tired.

Okay, perhaps also not the greatest excuse for most.

SDCC panels are stressful for everyone, and I also believe it is very much so for celebrities attending. David Harewood makes a point that people may be “unfair” and “over the top” and blasting the situation out of proportion. My only qualm with his tweet is that he refers this outburst only originating from shippers when it is the entire LGBT+ community that has been affected. They might not be homophobic, but their actions could be read that way and will be used in the future to hurt the LGBT+ community and they are responsible for that.

They are also celebrities, they are constrained and choked in a suffocating environment that many fans burden their shoulders with.

Expectations. Ideals. Presumptions. Many unrealistic.

They are stuck within a tiny box of those specifications and the moment they resist or reach past it in any way, they receive hate. They are people, and like many other people, they may be agreeable on some matters and disagreeable on others; they have their own views. Those perfect ideas of humans people have, not just idols nor icons, are bad and unfair for both sides.

There are so many things that infuriated people at Supergirl’s SDCC.

From the announcement of The Ray and how it made Jewish coded characters like Supergirl and the Flash actual Nazis.

Which I personally loathe, so I cannot be as impartial on that matter.

To Melissa Benoist’s statements that Kara Danvers “lost her first ever boyfriend” as well as comparing it to her “losing her entire world”. She completely omitted a great black man in the first season that the latter was so head over heels with and seems to have compared a loss of a boyfriend to her losing her entire world - by extension forgetting that Kara Danvers still has Eliza, Lena, James, J’onn, Winn, and her sister Alex (I believe the Danvers sisters’ relationship is the most powerful in the show).

To the questions and panels circling around Mon-El constantly with barely any input on the Danvers sisters and the involvements of other important lead characters.

To the lack of addressing the problem with Mon-El’s character, which has been a huge controversy in numerous articles as well as plot holes with the rushed and messier writing.

To the theorizing and speculation people are making by watching videos, like the musical recap.

They are videos, you cannot really determine emotion nor intent and all they will ever be is speculation, because people are sharing statements that there is now cast drama (which I hope not) due to this incident. Katie McGrath and Odette Annable are receiving the least hate out of everyone (I am referring to cast members who were present, so I am leaving Chyler Leigh and Floriana Lima out) because (and some of these are fan speculations and may or may not be ridiculous to you)...

- Katie McGrath repeated that fans could take anything they wanted from the show and apparently Mehcad Brooks told her to “shut up” in Italian (zitta).

Honestly, the audio is not great and neither are human ears and it is just speculation. I do not know.

- Katie McGrath “dragged” the rest of the cast members by stating, “I brought it back to reality, you wanna go back to singing again?” as in referring to the musical recap in the video as well as leaning away and apparently tackling Chris Wood’s comment earlier about sexuality only being about perception and Odette Annable showing her support.

Again, speculation as I analyze with a neutral lens. Katie McGrath could be comfortable in that position. Or maybe she was actually uncomfortable with the situation. And the cast was singing shortly beforehand, it was probably not meant as shade. I do not know.

- Odette Annable did not laugh at the musical recap nor when the cast sang again about Daxam I think.

Maybe she does not find singing to be amusing? Or maybe she really thought the cast members were being rude about the musical recap. I do not know.

- There is a photo of Katie McGrath and it looks as if there are tears and people speculate it was due to her statement during the musical recap that allegedly went ignored by other cast members or something and now she is being ostracized.

More speculation, maybe she was so happy with fans she teared up, maybe the lights were too bright and her eyes were too dry. I do not know.

I do not know. No one knows for sure what is going on and hopefully everyone’s speculations above are wrong because the idea of supposed discourse and schisms within a cast of grown adults is honestly sad (someone said that cast members for a show were arguing before an interview, I do not know how reliable that information is).

If you have a problem with what happened, give your statements.

Don’t attack the actors’ and/or writers’ personal lives.

Most people will not pay attention to something that sounds aggressive or hateful. Educate them on the consequences of their actions in a professional manner, and if they shoot back with something immature or block you, then you are wasting your time and theirs. You are the consumer, you can move on and invest your emotions, money, and time on something that you consider is more worth your while.

#supergirl #sdcc #sdcc2017 #sdcc17 #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt+#katie mcgrath #odette annable #melissa benoist #jeremy jordan #mehcad brooks #david harewood #chris wood

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darkwing-katy · 8 years ago

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Second Chance - Part Seven

Well hello everyone! It’s been quite some time since I updated, but as I’ve said before, I have no intention of not finishing this. I doubt I’ll be able to update every week, especially since I’m moving to Florida in a month and I’m slowly packing/applying for jobs/trying to spend time with all my Missouri peeps. I will finish this fic, though. It’ll happen. (Probably not for a bit since I’ve apparently chosen to go with a slow burn. Way to go, Kate.) Thank you to everyone who’s been commenting and liking and messaging me! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in upcoming chapters!

Special thanks go to @sannvers for beta-ing and my housemate Anna, who doesn’t have a tumblr but still deserves to be recognized (she’s the one who sat me down and made me draw a plot map for this story so I’d know exactly where I need to go when I write each chunk).

Title: Second Chance

Pairing: Eventual Gaston x Fem!Reader

Rating: T

Words: 10,378 (holy guacamole that’s a lot)

Summary: You try to stop Gaston from shooting the Beast and falling to his death, but you arrive too late to save him. As you sit there, sobbing, the Enchantress offers you a second chance to save him.

Tagging: @i-wished-upon-a-star-one-night @with-a-hint-of-pesto-aioli @hobbithorse19@leah5684 @princessbelgoof @captainskyline @theoncergames @geeky-girl-394@were-allstoriesinthe-end084 @brooke-supernatural16 @certainasthesvn@jordyhaley @superlokidwholock @smilesnjh @prongspower @bitchingqueenoferebor@scarletdarkholme @hemmingbaes @bae-kage @areuslow @lovelylpevensie@uknwwhttheysayboutthecrzy1s @moonbeams-and-pie @17gnomes-in-a-trenchcoat@superwholockedrosx @panda-reads-stuff @ultimatetrashlord @elenawrit@the7thsilence @blackxthexbeast @rainwing-galaxy @arkhamsnight @imoyu-trashblog @martapetrovic @ciaprincess @juggernaut-jones @admerxin13@fangirlx26 @epicfallenismine @izzymaria1994 @loveablelulu13 @malfoy-milkovich-royalty @kylorenlover15 @banana-cat @withouthannah @stone0502 @shiroyuki18 @thestrugglesofateenagedirtbag @lainris @withouthannah @banana-cat @samaxraph99 @honey-badger-dont-give-a @daisiesflower @afairytaledream @flufycorn384

Previous Chapter

The next morning saw you awake just as the sun was beginning its ascent. You watched the sky change from navy to a pale yellow to a gold that matched the accents of your room. As the gold deepened into an orange that formed around the blinding sun, you rose from your position at the window and dressed for the day. You pulled your hair up into a messy bun and tied it tightly. Then you rummaged through your satchel until you’d found the recipes that you’d discovered yesterday.

Today is a day to cook.

It was odd—you never truly liked to cook, though you didn’t complain about it. Yet here you were, looking forward to it. It was amazing how living in a castle had changed your outlook on chores.

You glanced back at the sun, which had fully risen above the horizon. With a contented sigh at the sight, you turned and left your room and made your way to the kitchen. As you made your way through the hall to the stairs, you kept stumbling over nothing. Then, when you reached the staircase, you bumped into the bannister.

Obviously, you were not quite awake yet.

Once you reached the surprisingly empty kitchen, you examined the recipes. One was for a delicious meat pastie (you loved those handheld pies), another for a stew, and the third for a pastry dessert. You tucked the recipe for the stew into your pocket; you wouldn’t need that one today.

Okay, so first off, I need to make the puff paste. Fun.

Your eyes scanned the kitchen, searching for any obvious ingredients. You found flour and salt easily. It took a little longer to find a jar of fat. Once you’d gathered those ingredients together, you grabbed a bucket and began to search for a pump of some sort. You found it (apparently princes could have pumps built into their castles if they so chose) and filled the bucket with fresh water. You set the bucket down next to the other ingredients and stood for a moment, hands on your hips, staring at them.

It’s been so long since I’ve made a pastie…

“Alright. Let’s get started.”

You grabbed a bowl and mixed water, salt, and flour together until they made a sticky dough, which you then kneaded on a countertop that you sprinkled with flour. Slowly but firmly, you pressed your knuckles into the dough, working the flour into it and getting it less sticky. As you worked, the servants of the castle began to file in. You smiled at them before returning to your kneading.

After the dough was done, you set it aside and began rolling out the fat. A strand of hair fell from the messy bun into your eyes.

“What are you doing, dearie?” you heard Mrs. Potts ask from somewhere behind you.

“Making a pastie and possibly a dessert,” you replied, shaking your head to clear the hair. It worked for a moment before it fell right back over your eyes, prompting a ‘hmmph’ from you.

Mrs. Potts chuckled. “I imagine it’s quite odd to have other people doing all your work for you, especially if you’re used to working in the village.”

You allowed yourself a short pause to look at her while you replied. “Yeah, no offense, but it’s a little boring.”

Mrs. Potts gave a full laugh at your words, which made you smile. “None taken, dear. You just do what you want. Don’t let an old woman like me stop you.” She gave you a wink before turning to go to a cupboard, which she opened to reveal dozens and dozens of teacups.

You used the back of your hand to push your hair back up and resumed rolling, soon adding the dough underneath the fat and folding and rolling them together. It took a little over an hour to make your first batch of puff paste, after which you took a short break to drink some tea. Then it was back to work, which meant chopping meat and vegetables to add to the pastie. As you sliced your way through vegetables and mutton alike, you found yourself indulging in a familiar habit: daydreaming.

It was easy to imagine yourself doing this exact same thing in a small home. Right now, you pictured your own cottage, although there were subtle changes: a bearskin decorated the wooden floor, a new quilt rested upon a finely crafted (and also new) wooden chair in a corner, and there was a set of small antlers adorning the fireplace mantel. You could almost smell the fire that was burning, filling your home with the delicious scent of burning wood.

In your fantasy, you were wearing the same dress, but you had in an apron of your own rather than one you’d borrowed from one of the servants. You sprinkled salt and pepper onto the chopped meat and veggies and set them aside, returning to the dough, which you cut into a wide circle.

Two strong arms wrapped themselves around your waist as you began lining a ceramic pot with the dough. “That looks absolutely delicious.”

You grinned, both in the fictional setting and in reality. “Is that what you think? Feel free to have some. You know, before it’s actually baked and everything.”

Gaston (because of course that’s who you were married to in this) chuckled. “Don’t tempt me. I’m starving.” You felt him rest his head against the top of yours. “Since I’ve been out hunting and doing all the hard work.”

You scoffed and turned to face him, your bodies now separated by a few centimeters. “You think cooking isn’t hard? Is that what I’m hearing?”

He smirked. “I cooked for myself in the war all the time. It’s not that difficult.”

You stepped out of his grasp, maneuvering around him and giving him a push forwards. He bumped into the counter and gave you a perplexed look. “Fine. You can make the pie, then, and I’ll go hunting.”

Gaston leaned against the counter, his hands getting covered with flour. “And if I can successfully make a pie, what do I get?”

You began to walk away, taking care to sway your hips. “My undying amazement that the great hunter is a master chef as well.”

“What is the meaning of this?!”

The abrupt and loud voice made you jump, shattering your fictional bliss. You felt heat shoot up your face as you placed a hand on your chest and worked on catching your breath.

“Mademoiselle, this is entirely inappropriate! You are a guest here; you should not be working in the kitchen!”

You spun around to see an older man decked out in elaborate gold clothing that established his superiority over the other servants—the majordomo of the castle. He was staring at you, hands on his waist which made him look as if he was puffing up to scare you into obedience.

“I’m sorry, Monsieur…?”

“Cogsworth, at your service.” He gave a small bow, but he was still obviously angered at your presence.

“Ah. Well, good morning, Monsieur Cogsworth.” You gave him a little curtsy. “I woke up this morning and wanted to make a few treats for today.” You gave him your most winning smile. “I’ve been spending a lot of time doing nothing, you see, and I’m not used to that. I wanted to do something.”

“Ahhh, Cogsworth, let the girl do as she wants!”

Both you and the majordomo turned to see that several other servants had gathered around the kitchen to watch the scene. You spotted Mrs. Potts’s face amongst them, and she smiled at you. The servant who had spoken sauntered through the kitchen and threw an arm around Cogsworth’s shoulders. He glanced at you and winked. “She is a guest! We should not be stopping her from doing whatever it is she enjoys doing.”

“But-but-but it’s not customary for a guest to spend time in the kitchen!” Cogsworth spluttered, shoving the man’s arm off and glaring at him.

The other man shrugged. “Would you stop her if she was Belle?”

Cogsworth’s face turned a deep pink. “Well, no, but that's—”

“Then why must you dissuade her friend, who is not only a guest, but an honored guest?” He gestured towards you. “Forgive me, I seem to have forgotten you name, mademoiselle.” He grinned at you.

You couldn’t help but be charmed by his easygoing demeanor. “(Y/N),” you replied with a smile.

He gave you another wink. “What a lovely name! I am Lumière, maître d of this castle. Please forgive my friend here.” He nodded his head towards Cogsworth, who’s face was growing more and more red by the second. “He tends to get angry when the normal routines are interrupted, but he’ll get over it.” Lumière spun away from Cogsworth and towards you, peering over your shoulder to see what you were making. “Why, mademoiselle, is that a pastie I see?”

“Yes, it is!” you replied, suddenly wondering if the cooks were also in the crowd of servants and were spotting all the flaws in your meager meal. Oh well. I’m not a professional by any means, you thought, giving yourself a mental shrug. “It’s my grandmama’s recipe. I woke up this morning and I really wanted to try cooking for the first time in a while.”

“I think that’s wonderful, dearie,” Mrs. Potts said, walking up to your side. You smiled at her. She smiled gently back, then glanced back at the other servants who were still watching. “Alright, what’s everybody standing about for? We’ve all got work to do!” She nodded at you as well, giving you the sign to continue with what you were doing.

Right away, everyone began to bustle about, and the kitchen was soon filled with the sounds of people chattering, pots clanging, and stoves being fired up. Lumière nudged your shoulder with his elbow, grinning cheekily.

“See, mademoiselle? All is well! You are a guest here, and you may do whatever you please. Don’t worry about that old spoilsport!”

“A-hem. That old spoilsport is still right behind you, you charismatic buffoon.”

You stifled a laugh. The old man was actually pouting at Lumière. You’d never expected to see such an expression on his aged and mustached face, but there it was. Lumière took a step back and threw his arm around Cogsworth’s shoulder once more. “Ahh, Cogsworth, learn to have a little fun. Not everything has to go as normal.” He turned the majordomo around and started leading him away. “Why, Belle interrupted our daily routine when she came to the castle, did she not? And did you complain?”

“Yes, yes I did—,”

“Oh, hush now, we needn’t get into all the details…”

You snorted before returning to your pastie, only to notice Chip was now standing by you, staring at the uncooked veggies and meat resting on the dough. “Good morning, Chip,” you said with a smile.

He gave you the largest grin you’d seen from him yet. “Good morning, (Y/N)! I was wondering…” His smile faded and he leaned in close, as if suddenly struck with shyness. You thought it was adorable the way his eyes darted around and how he’d gone from acting like a child to being more respectful. “I asked Mama but she said I needed to ask you…would I be okay if I helped you cook for a while?” His voice grew softer as he added, “Please? I really, really don’t wanna do laundry today.”

The desperation in his eyes only added to his cuteness. How could you refuse such a sweet boy? “Of course you can, Chip!”

Upon receiving the answer he’d hoped for, Chip immediately returned to his normal, upbeat self, beaming at you. “Yes! Thank you so much, (Y/N)!” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them before looking back at the food. “So…what do we do now?”

You laughed. It looked like you were going to have an entertaining morning for sure.

You were a little later than usual with your breakfast for Gaston, but you managed to make an excuse for Chip to leave your side while you did so. You were still smiling as you walked up the stairs—he was a sweet boy, filled to the brim with curiosity about your cooking as well as other aspects of your life. He’d asked non-stop questions about Villenueve, which you’d gladly answered to the best of your abilities, and at one point there’d been a flour explosion, so you were covered in the stuff.

“Someone’s had a busy morning,” Gaston commented when you arrived at the door.

“You could say that,” you replied, opening the door and stepping in. “I can’t stay for too long now—we’ve got a couple pasties in the oven and I’m not sure how much attention Chip is giving to them.”

Gaston rose slowly from his seated position and stretched before taking the tray from you. “I don’t suppose I can request one of those for lunch?” he asked while examining the food. He grabbed a few grapes and, while balancing the tray on one hand, began to toss them into his mouth.

Show-off, you thought. He saw you watching him, which earned a smirk, then he held up a grape.

“Want one?”

Giddy from the morning’s fun, you gave a playful shrug and nodded. Gaston popped the grape into his mouth and set the tray down, this time picking up the bunch of grapes rather than a mere handful. However, instead of simply offering another grape to you, he took a few steps back. “Catch,” was all he said.

You barely registered the single word before a grape was thrown at you, bouncing off your forehead. “What?” you asked, more to give yourself time to process what he was doing than because you hadn’t heard him.

“Catch!” he repeated, still with that stupidly handsome smirk plastered on his face. He threw another grape.

This time you were better prepared. Your hand reached up and snagged the small fruit from the air, earning a tut-tut from the imprisoned man. “What?” you demanded, this time out of confusion.

“Don’t use your hands.” His green eyes glittered with mischief. “Anyone can catch things with their hands. Impress me.”

Alright, then. You felt a smirk emerging on your face at his challenging (and slightly commanding) tone. Challenge accepted.

He threw another grape, which you tried to catch with your mouth but failed. Three more followed, and Gaston was getting more and more amused at your failures while you got more and more frustrated.

“Oh, come on, (Y/N). I expected better of you. You’re making me waste precious grapes here.” He chucked another, which landed on your head and fell to the ground.

You were seriously tempted to just pick up all the dirtied fruits and start hurling them at him. You were fairly certain he was throwing them all in a way so they’d hit different parts of your face, purposefully embarrassing you. Not this time, you mentally snarled.

He threw the fruit, and this time, your eyes managed to stay on it. You took a step backwards, tipped your head back, and the small grape actually landed in your mouth. Your eyes widened at your unexpected triumph, and you threw your arms up in the air, lifting your head back up so Gaston could see that you’d succeeded.

“Ahh, took you long enough,” he said, grinning.

A flare of annoyance surged in you. That’s it? That’s all he has to say? “What!” you exclaimed through your teeth. He shrugged in response. You ate the grape quickly so you could continue expressing your annoyance. “That’s all you have to say? No, ‘You did it’, no ‘Good job’?” You bent down to gather the fallen grapes. “Not even a ‘I knew you could do it if you tried hard enough’?” You began pelting him with them, stepping closer and closer as you spoke. “What. A. Rude. Thing. To. Say!” Each word was punctuated with a grape. Gaston managed to duck the first two, but as you got closer he had no choice but to let the grapes hit him. You threw the final grape at his face, which he avoided by tipping his head down so that it hit his hair instead. Your ammunition now spent, he started to laugh, a deep belly laugh, one you’d never heard from him, even prior to his imprisonment.

You couldn’t help but be pulled along with a laugh of your own. This entire situation was ridiculous! Never in all of your life had you imagined you’d be standing in a prison cell, throwing grapes at a handsome but boorish war captain!

Gaston’s face, flushed with humor, was suddenly quite close to yours. While the rest of his body radiated laughter, his eyes, now boring into yours, had something else in them. You couldn’t help but stare, even as you felt your own humor start to die down. He was standing so close to you, close enough that he could easily pull you into an embrace if he wanted. And to be quite honest, you weren’t sure if you’d resist that much.

In fact, now that you were aware of it, you wanted him to do just that. You wanted to feel his strong arms wrapped around you, the warmth of his body pressed firmly against yours. You wanted to place your arms around him, to feel that muscular back again. You could even go so far as to say you wanted him to press his lips to your own, to tangle his hands in your (h/c) hair while you tangled yours in his.

He’s getting closer! you realized with a small burst of panic. As much as you wanted all of that to happen, you were terrified of following through. What if he was using you? What if this was all an act? What if LeFou had been wrong in his assumption that Gaston might actually care for you?

You took a step back. “I-I have to go. The food. Burned. I have—” You took another step back, breaking eye contact, “—it could be burning. Chip. Uhm, right.” Your face was burning, but you couldn’t do anything about that. You turned around, trying very hard not to sprint as you rushed to the door. “I’ll be—I’ll be back later. After burning. I mean, after the food burns. After the food is not burned. I’ll be back.”

Why are you still talking? you screamed at yourself. Just stop already! You passed through the door and it slammed shut, making you jump. “Sorry!” you practically shouted before fleeing down the stairs.

Once you’d reached the bottom, you leaned against the wall to give yourself time to calm. It wouldn’t do to be returning to the kitchen with a face as red as a ripe tomato. As you took deep, calming breaths, you mentally berated yourself.

Well, that went smoothly, (Y/N). Surely he knows of your affections now, if he didn’t already! Why do you have to be so obvious? Why can’t you just act normal for once? As your heart rate slowed, your thoughts sped up. He’s probably going to mention this when I bring lunch. Or tonight. Or even tomorrow—he could bring this up at anytime and I’ll just get flustered again and, oh, damn, what have I done? Why did I think this was a good idea?

“(Y/N)?” you heard Chip call, startling you from your internal monologue. You sucked in a breath and exhaled.

Okay, (Y/N). Chip is looking for you. You have to remain calm. The last thing you need is an inquisitive 10-year-old noticing that you’re acting odd. You closed your eyes and repeated your breathing exercise a few more times. Your face felt like it was cooling, so you deemed yourself ready. Just act normal. Go finish cooking. It will be okay.

“(Y/N)!” It sounded like Chip was getting farther away.

You opened your eyes and stepped out of the doorway. “I’m coming!” you called back as you walked down the grand staircase.

I can do this.

Two more flour wars (and their subsequent clean-ups) later, you and Chip had finished for the day. You were content with what the two of you had created—even the head chef had offered to show you how to make other pasties and desserts. You’d agreed to the idea, but only if Chip could be your sous-chef. He’d brightened so much at that declaration and ran off to tell his mother, leaving you to bring lunch to Gaston. You were dreading it, but it had to be done.

You grabbed two of the three pasties you’d made, leaving the third for Chip to enjoy later. You didn’t get grapes this time, but instead grabbed a few oranges along with bread and cheese.

When you finally got to the cell, Gaston was sitting in the open doorway, his back against the wall on your right and his left leg tapping the opened wall across from him. His right leg was bent up, with his arm resting on it as he turned the page of Hamlet.

You were struck by the sight of him sitting there, reading, the summer sunlight basking him in a warm glow. Seeing him doing something so unlike him was more attractive than you’d imagined (and you’d imagined something similar to this quite a lot).

He didn’t act as if he’d heard you, although he must have. You tried to be quiet as you entered the cell, wanting to prolong the sight of the great hunter actually reading. Oh, wait until I tell Belle about this.

“Is Hamlet mad?” Gaston asked after a few minutes of silence.

You shook your head. “No. He’s pretending to be mad in order to hide his plots for vengeance.”

“I cannot deny the brilliance of his actions.”

It’s happening. Gaston is having a conversation about a book. Belle’s not going to believe this. “What’s happening now?” you asked, slowly walking over to him. He set the book aside, folding his hands over his stomach and looking up at you.

“I believe he’s at a funeral of some sort?” His eyebrows lifted slightly, as if asking for confirmation.

You wracked your brain to figure out whose funeral it must be. “Oh, Ophelia’s?”

He frowned as he thought, then gave a small nod. “She’s the one who was in love with him, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes. Her brother…” he chuckled lowly. “Her brother is not happy at the moment.”

You shrugged. “Most people aren’t after someone drives their sibling to suicide.”

Gaston pulled his leg back and turned so that both legs were now dangling over the edge of the open door. He looked over his shoulder at you and motioned for you to join him. “Come, come sit.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

He snorted, insulted. “And why not?” You gave no answer. He glanced down at the stairs below and grinned. Damn that smile. “I won’t push you, I promise.”

“Oh, and I’m supposed to just believe you?” you replied, setting the tray down and placing your hands on your hips.

He laughed at your sardonic words. “You don’t trust me? Still?”

“And why should I, after everything?”

Gaston scooted himself back around, facing you fully. “Really? You want to know why you can trust my word?”

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? You stood firm despite the sudden butterflies that erupted in your stomach. He was still staring at you, that familiar cockiness radiating from him. He knew the answer, and he wanted you to figure it out. You thought about it for a moment before waving a hand vaguely towards the door. “Is it because you haven’t tried to escape?”

He scoffed. “No, although that is a good reason.” He rose from his seated position and dusted his pants off. “Haven’t you noticed anything about me?” He gestured to himself.

Your eyes scanned his body for some sort of clue, but while you appreciated the excuse he’d given you to examine him (those pants were very form-fitting, indeed), you had no idea what he was talking about. Even the bruise on his face was fading. “Besides your overconfident attitude and the lack of poof in your hair?” you replied sarcastically.

His hand automatically went to his hair, earning a smirk from you and a frown from him. He shook it off, though, and took a few steps towards you. “Look closer.” His grin was almost mocking now. “I don’t mind.”

You refused to give in to his bait. “Gaston, just tell me,” you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest.

His sneer grew, and he leaned in close. “You’re not as observant as you think, (Y/N),” he whispered, his warm breath making you shiver. You had no doubt that he noticed, but you kept your expression stoic. With an air of disappointment at your refusal to play along with his flirtations, he stepped back. “Stubble,” he replied, giving a brisk wave to his chin.

Your eyes looked to his face before widening in realization. How could I have been so stupid? “You have stubble,” you said softly.

Gaston slowly bent down and reached into his boot. You watched as he pulled out a slim knife, protected from his calf by a leather sheath.

He could’ve used that at anytime to threaten me into letting him out—and then he could’ve used that as a means to escape the castle. Your eyes wandered from the knife to his face and back to the knife. So why didn’t he?

“I have to say, I’m surprised at you, (Y/N). I’ve been in here for what, four, five days now?” Gaston slid the knife out of the sheath as he spoke, and you couldn’t help the minnow of nervousness that swam into your stomach at the sight. “You’ve spent some time with me each day, and you never once noticed that I didn’t have a beard beginning to grow.” He began to swing the knife around in his hand. The sunlight glinted off the edge, making you flinch. He noticed your uncomfortableness and stopped swinging it. “Normally, I wouldn’t care that much. But I wanted to see if you’d notice.”

“Obviously I don’t pay that much attention,” you muttered, more to yourself than him. He heard you, though, and frowned.

“Obviously not.” He studied the knife for a moment, then returned his gaze to you. Something in his green eyes gave you a bad feeling. “Hold up that orange.”

You blinked. “What?” you asked dumbly.

He grinned. “The orange. Hold it up for me.”

The bad feeling expanded. “Why?” you asked, drawing out the word.

“Please?” The look he gave you shifted from mischievous to childlike.

“Well, since you said ‘please’…” You had a sneaking suspicion of why he was asking, but you so rarely heard him say ‘please’ that you were willing to play along. If he’s doing what I think he’s doing…then who’s more of a fool—him for doing it or me for letting him? You grabbed the orange and tossed it up in the air a few times.

“Excellent. Now go to that way.” He pointed, and you sighed but walked to the opposite end of the cell as directed. “Put the orange on your head.”

“WHAT?” you shrieked. “I am not letting you throw a dagger at my head!”

Gaston scoffed. “I won’t hit you.”

You imitated his scoff mockingly. “Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” you hissed.

“Oh, come on, (Y/N). Consider it an example of trust.” The knife was spinning lazily again. He was clearly an expert when it came to weapons, but that didn’t mean he could throw a damned knife at you!

You glared at him in the hopes that he’d back down, but he simply continued to play with the knife and watch you. You both stood that way, neither backing down. Finally—

“Why not?”

“Are you whining about this?” You held the orange out in your hand, away from your body. “This is an orange. It’s small and round and you want me to put it on my head so you can throw a knife at it in the pretense of a crazy trust exercise that is, in actuality, just an attempt to prove your masculinity and arrogance and I, for one, am not—”

Faster than your eye could see, Gaston flicked his wrist, and the weight of the orange disappeared from your hand. You heard a thump! as the fruit hit the wall and another as it fell to the floor. You gaped at your now-empty hand for a few seconds, long enough to allow your disbelief and shock to turn into fury. When you turned your glare back to Gaston, he was smirking…until you rushed at him, fully intending to kick him in the shin and maybe punch him again. At the sight of you racing towards him with murder in your eyes, he dropped the sheath and held up his hands in a defensive position.

“Now, (Y/N), remember what happened the last time you hit me—ow!”

One shin kicked, one more to go. You started hitting his shoulder repeatedly, knowing it wasn’t doing any damage but making you feel better nonetheless. Gaston flinched and took a step back, which made you step forward. He took two more steps away from you, but you followed suit, and a full-on chase began.

Of course, it wasn’t like there was a lot of running space in the cell, and Gaston didn’t seem to be concerned about your desire for vengeance. In fact, he seemed more amused than annoyed. He was laughing at you as you continued to attack his shoulder. “(Y/N)—(Y/N), there’s no need for tha—(Y/N), it was funny, I don’t see why you’re so—ow, that actually hurt!—there’s no reason to be so angry at me!”

You finally ceased, crossing your arms over your chest with a huff. Gaston took one look at you and began to full-on laugh again, which almost made you start hitting him again. You spun around and prepared to stalk out, but your eyes landed on the orange that was on the ground, the knife solidly embedded in it. You picked it up and slid the knife out. For a moment, you contemplated throwing it at Gaston. Bet he wouldn’t think it’s funny if it was him. However, knowing your luck, you’d probably just miss and he’d make fun of you for it.

Which was why you simply dropped the knife into your skirt pocket and continued on your way out, leaving both meat pasties for Gaston to eat. You heard Gaston move behind you.

“(Y/N), where are you going? And that’s my knife; you can’t just take it.”

You exited the cell and slammed the door shut before Gaston could stop you. He frowned at your coldness. “(Y/N), I don’t understand,” he whined, placing both hands on the barred door and leaning his forehead on against it.

Don’t answer him. If he can’t figure out what he did wrong, that’s his problem, you thought, turning away from him.

“Can I at least have my knife back?”

You ignored him as you stomped back down the stairs.

Contrary to your outside actions, you weren’t truly as mad as you wanted Gaston to think you were. Yes, you hoped he’d realize that it was not appropriate in any way to randomly throw a knife at anyone, but you were impressed with his skill level. Impressed and intrigued and a little aroused, if you were being completely honest with yourself. You found yourself wondering—could he teach you to do that?

Now that would be interesting.

“(Y/N), just the woman I was looking for!” Adam announced, running up from a hallway and clasping your shoulder. You looked at the prince. He was wearing a green vest over his white shirt, but had on no overcoat, which seemed a little unusual for the regal man. An air of jitteriness hovered around him, but his grip on you was as warm as ever.

“Is everything alright?” you asked tentatively.

He smiled at you, but the corners of his mouth twitched several times, as if he was having a difficult time keeping calm. “Yes. Quite so. Perhaps as good as it could ever be.” He removed his hand and clapped both hands behind his back. “Would you mind walking with me for a moment?”

You raised an eyebrow but nodded.

Together, the two of you made your way outside. “How are you today?” Adam asked as you exited the castle and walked down the steps.

“I’m well. Made a couple of pasties this morning.”

“Yes, I recall Cogsworth mentioning something along the lines of that when he gave me a report on the castle this morning.” Adam grinned. “He was rather petulant about the whole situation.”

You gave a sheepish shrug. “Sorry?”

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize!” You passed the first group of hedges and waved at a servant who was trimming them. “Cogsworth is a wonderful man. He just gets a bit…”

“Cantankerous? Persnickety? Grumpy?” you supplied with a smile.

Adam laughed. “All of those and more,” he agreed. “But I’m told Lumière jumped to your rescue.”

“More like danced, but yes, something like that.” You tried to keep your gaze on the prince, feeling like it would be rude not to look at him while speaking, but you hadn’t walked the castle grounds before. You’d ridden through it on horseback multiple times, but this was the first chance you’d had to really examine it.

Whether Adam noticed or not, he didn’t seem to find your lack of attention offensive. “And how is our friend?”

It took you a moment to realize he meant Gaston. “Oh, he’s…as well as can be, I suppose.” You thought back to the dagger incident and suddenly remembered it was still in your pocket. Whoops.

“Not giving you any trouble, I hope?”

“What? Oh, no, not aside from neverending flirtatious remarks.”

“Good, good.” You walked in silence for a little bit. You enjoyed the silence, using it to breathe in the fresh summer air and to marvel at how green the topiary was. And the castle grounds were simply huge! There so many fountains everywhere!

You both went to the left, towards the nearest fountain. “Where’s Belle?” you asked, abruptly realizing that your best friend and Adam’s other half was nowhere to be seen.

Adam looked up to the castle behind him. “She’s in the library, doing research for an invention idea she has.” He returned his gaze to you, and once again, you sensed the air of nervousness that hovered around him. “She’ll be in there for another couple of hours, I warrant. Which is just enough time to discuss something of utmost importance with you.”

You pointed to yourself. “Me?” you repeated, confused.

He nodded. “Yes, you.” His eyes darted around, as if ensuring that nobody else was within earshot, before he lowered his voice. “You see, today I finally received a very important package.”

You leaned closer to him, playing along with his secretiveness. “And that was?”

He put a finger to his lips, then reached into his pants pocket and procured a small wooden box. He opened it slowly, and the sight of the ring inside made you gasp. It was beautiful—the gold band was made to look like a flower stem that blossomed into a rose. Within the rose petals was a diamond, small and sparkling in the sunlight.

You looked at the prince, eyes big and mouth wide open. “Is that—” you whispered before stopping, the joy of what this meant working its way through you.

Adam nodded happily, reminding you of Chip’s reaction that morning to being allowed to help you cook. You covered your mouth in an attempt to hold back a squeal of excitement. “When?” you managed to squeak.

Adam glanced back at the castle. “This evening, I hope.” He closed the box and returned it to his pocket. “I had it commissioned almost immediately after becoming human again. It was just today finished and delivered here.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m happy for you both.” You looked towards the castle before sitting on the marble ledge of the fountain. “I’m assuming you’ve already talked with Maurice about it?”

Adam sat next to you and folded his hands together. “Yes. We spoke when he came to the castle a few days ago. I honestly expected him to refuse after what I did to him, but he gave me his blessing eagerly. ‘You make her happy,’ were his exact words.” He sighed, and you noticed that his foot had begun tapping the ground. “Do you think she’ll say yes?” he asked softly.

For a moment, you saw how truly worried he was that Belle might refuse his proposal. Not only was his foot tapping, but his eyes kept going back and forth between the ground and the castle, and the longer you went without responding, the more his thumbs began to fiddle. On the outside, he looked like a prince, but he was just a man. A man who was in love and feared that he might lose it.

You placed your hand on his shoulder, hoping that it was okay to touch him so casually. He stilled at your touch. “Do you know how worried she was for you when the mob was coming here?” You spoke quietly, hoping that whatever you were about to say would be what he needed to hear. “She was terrified, and that made her determined. She left me behind because she wanted—no, she needed—to get to you and make sure you were safe. And then she saw you get shot, and it broke her heart.” You tried to recall the way she’d explained her tale to you all those days ago, when you were both in the ballroom. “She loves you, Adam. It’s in her eyes when she looks at you, in her smile when she sees you, in the way she talks and laughs and playfully bickers with you.” You smiled. “She’ll say yes.”

Adam’s entire demeanor changed at your words, with him seeming to light up from the inside. His foot stopped tapping and he sat up straight. You withdrew your hand, knowing you’d said the right thing. “I made her a book,” he said.

“Oh?”

“Yes. I’ve been keeping a sort of diary since the day we were saved, and I turned it into a book for her.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” You dipped your fingers into the fountain water and swirled them around, relishing the coolness against your skin. Your bruises were almost gone by now. “But why are you telling me all this? It’s not as if you need my approval to marry her or anything.”

“You’re Belle’s friend. You’re important to her, and that makes you important to me.” You could hear the sincerity in his tone, giving you a rush of warmth. “I don’t need your approval, but I would like it nonetheless.”

You lifted your hand out of the water and flicked them to get stray droplets off. “Well, not that you need it or anything, but I can say with complete certainty that you have my approval.” You grinned at the man, who jumped up and extended a hand to you.

“Excellent! Can you be by the roses by 7 o’clock?”

You accepted his hand and allowed him to pull you up. “Of course!”

While his nervousness was gone, he still had a frantic energy about him. “Excellent!” he repeated. “I’ll have to tell Lumière to prepare a special dinner for tonight, and I need the rose petals, and (Y/N), I need you to keep Belle occupied until I come for her. Can you do that?”

You gave him a mock salute. “You can count on me!” He released your hand, which you then punched forward triumphantly. “To the library!” you declared, running that direction. Adam snorted (a rather un-princely sound) at your enthusiasm.

“Don’t tell her!” he called after you.

“I won’t!” you shouted back.

Belle’s getting married! She’s actually getting married! Well, she has to say ‘yes’ first, but she will. And then she’s getting married! But I can’t tell her. I have to be calm.

“(Y/N)? Why are you skipping up the stairs? What are you so happy about?”

You froze at the sight of Belle, a large book in hand. “Oh, Belle! I didn’t see you there!” You grabbed her arm and started to lead her back towards the library. “Come on, let’s get you a book.”

“I already have one.” She held up the thick novel.

“Oh, that thing? You’ll have it done in an hour. You need a thicker book!”

“It’s over a thousand pages long…”

Oh, this was going to be a challenge.

You managed to keep Belle occupied, though you’d been correct in your thoughts that it would prove to be difficult. You’d caught her up on Gaston (with the exception of telling her about the knife incident—more for Gaston’s protection than hers; she wouldn’t take too kindly to the news that he’d thrown a knife at her best friend, after all), including his apparent reading of Hamlet. Then she’d helped you pick out another book (Macbeth) that you could subtly leave in the cell in case he was bored enough to keep reading.

Mrs. Potts had brought some tea and toast at one point while you were both reading, and given you the news that Mr. Potts had arrived at the castle and asked to move in with them. The two of you were overjoyed at this announcement and hugged the older woman, who left to go help him unpack. Belle offered to help, but both you and Mrs. Potts insisted that she needn’t.

Then Belle had wanted to grab something from her room, but you convinced her she didn’t need it. She’d also asked where Adam was and tried to go searching for him, but you managed to bring up the subject of her latest inventions and successfully distracted her.

Was Belle suspicious of your obvious attempts to keep her in the library? Probably. But you had a job and by God, you were going to do it.

Finally, finally, around quarter-past six, Adam came to the library, arms clasped behind his back. You let out a sigh of relief, which he noticed. He raised a blonde eyebrow towards you, and you tilted your head towards Belle and scrunched your face to convey just how appreciative he’d better be of keeping his soon-to-be fiancé confined without revealing anything. His eyes twinkled at your exasperation, which earned an eye-roll from you.

“Belle, I have something for you,” Adam began. Belle uncrossed her legs in order to stand from her chair, but he handed her a package.

You started sneaking your way out of the library, using Belle’s curiosity as a distraction. You heard the paper crinkle and Belle’s gasp when she saw it was a book. “It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. “But why?”

“Turn the page and read it,” Adam encouraged her.

There was a soft rustle as Belle turned a page. “Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France, a handsome young prince lived in a beautiful castle. Is that you?”

Adam chuckled. “Keep reading.”

You slowed your walking, curious to hear the rest of the book.

“Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was selfish and unkind. He taxed the village to fill his castle with the most beautiful objects, and his parties with the most beautiful people. Then, one night, an unexpected intruder arrived at the castle, seeking shelter from the bitter storm. As a gift, she offered the prince a single rose.” She paused, then laughed, “Is that supposed to be a rose?”

As Adam muttered something about how being a prince doesn’t mean you’re an artist, you had an epiphany. This must be how he got turned into a Beast. It’s Adam’s story.

Evidently, Belle realized that too. Her laughter stopped, and her reading slowed, though her voice was steady. “Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince turned the woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again, the old woman’s outward appearance melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress.” She paused, giving you time to imagine Agathe appearing before Adam the way she’d appeared before you.

“The prince begged her for forgiveness. But it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who loved there.”

You slipped out of the library then, feeling like staying any longer was intruding. So that’s what happened, you thought with a frown. I’ve always wondered exactly how he got cursed. And why did Agathe punish the servants as well? It wasn’t their fault if he was selfish.

You were so lost in thought that it seemed like mere minutes before you’d reached the roses. No one else was there, so you sat down on a stone bench next to a tree and allowed yourself a moment to breathe in the evening air. The smell of roses mixed in with the occasional scent of the water from the nearby fountain every time the wind blew. The world is quiet here, you found yourself thinking as you examined your surroundings. Your eyes wandered from the stone archways that resided around you to the castle, and you found yourself looking at the bridge where you’d rescued Gaston. You stared at the bridge, then allowed your eyes to move to the tower that he was currently being held in. Can he see me? you wondered, squinting. You could see nothing through the open doors and windows—it was too far.

You began humming to yourself as you continued to watch the tower. It was a song your mother had taught you when describing a ball she’d gone to and showing you how to dance. “Nous n’irons plus a bois, les lauriers sont coupés. La belle que voila, la laiss’rons nous danser?” You pulled your legs up and wrapped your arms around them. “Entrez dans la danse, voyez comme on danse. Sautez, dansz, embrassez qui vous voudrez…”

You sang your way through quite a few lullabies as you waited. Finally, you heard someone running towards you. You jumped off the bench and tried to find a place to hide, assuming it was Belle. Before you could, however, Adam emerged. You had enough time to notice he was now wearing the matching jacket to his vest, which made him look quite handsome.

“(Y/N)! You’re here!”

“Yes?” you replied uncertainly, suddenly wondering if you’d misheard his instructions.

He grinned, his face one of boyish delight. “She should be on her way in about ten minutes.” He pulled the ring box out of his jacket pocket and examined it, as if to make sure he hadn’t lost it. “How have you been? Was it difficult keeping her occupied?”

“Yes. Yes, it was. I’m certain she knew something was up. She’s quite clever, you know.”

“It’s one of my favorite things about her,” he replied in a loving tone. You smiled.

“So is the book you gave her your story?”

“Yes, essentially. I attempted to illustrate it as well, but…” he gave a sheepish shrug, “I’m not as talented in drawing as Belle or her father, I’m afraid.”

You laughed. “How bad is it?”

He gave you an embarrassed look. “Fairly horrendous,” was his response.

You laughed again. Adam’s cheeks flushed, but he maintained his princely atmosphere. “I’ll have to examine them later, then.”

“I’m sure you will,” he grumbled, but you could tell he was joking.

You decided to spare him further teasing (for now, at least) and pointed to an archway that was behind you. “I’m going to hide, then.”

“Yes, please do.”

You rolled your eyes and went behind the smaller stone wall. It was just big enough for you to hide behind if you crouched; it was too thin for you to stand behind. You kept your ears peeled for the sound of Belle’s approach, occasionally peering at Adam. As you both waited for Belle, Adam plucked a rose from a bush near him. He pulled out the ring and, after a moment of hesitation, pulled the navy ribbon holding his hair back out, which he then used to tie the ring to the rose.

That’s beautiful, you thought. And to think, this all happened because of a flower.

“Adam?” Belle called, snapping you and Adam to attention. You ducked, but covertly peeked at the prince. She entered the small clearing, the book still in hand.

“Belle.” He took a few steps towards her, his hair falling forwards to frame his face. She watched him, curious, but you saw the realization occurring in her brown eyes. She knew what was happening.

Adam continued. “So now you know what happened to me. How I was the one who had it all. How I was cursed. How I fell into despair and became reclusive, bitter.” He indicated the roses around them, glowing in the orange of the now-setting sun. “A rose served as my damnation…and as my salvation.” He took another step towards her, nearly close enough to embrace her.

You felt yourself blushing at the intimacy of this moment. You knew neither of them minded, but still…it felt like you were intruding.

“You stood up to me. You saved my life.”

When did that happen? You wondered.

“You showed me how to be better, and you made me want to change. I wanted to change for you because…” he swallowed thickly. “Because I love you. And I don’t want to be without you. Your wit, your stubbornness, your compassion and warmth—I love everything about you. I love you, Belle, and I know you don’t need a man to take care of you. You’re quite capable of doing that yourself.”

You covered your mouth to stifle your laugh. He’s got that right.

“But if you’d let me, I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you’ve made me.” Adam held out the rose, kneeling as he offered it to her. “Belle…will you marry me?”

Belle didn’t even take the rose before she threw the book aside and jumped on him, effectively knocking him to the ground, and kissed him. You felt your face grow redder at the passion in her actions. When they finally broke apart, she was repeating one word tearfully over and over again. “Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes!”

You turned away as they began kissing again, but stopped when you heard Adam call your name.

“(Y/N), you can come out now!”

Belle made a sound of surprise. “(Y/N)?” she exclaimed, turning towards you as you emerged from behind the wall. Her eyebrows creased in thought, then, “You were in on this! That’s why you were keeping me in the library!”

You grinned at her. “Yeeep,” you drawled, popping the ‘p’. She shook her head at you, but the huge smile on her face let you know she wasn’t mad in any way. She rushed to you and enveloped you in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“I didn’t do anything,” you whispered back, feeling your own tears start to fall. “It was all Adam. I just helped a little.”

The two of you broke apart with a giggle, which gave Adam the chance to offer Belle the rose once more. She took the flower and untied the blue ribbon that wrapped around it, which allowed her to take the ring off the stem and slip it onto her finger. “It’s perfect,” she declared, looking from her hand to her fiancé and you. Happy tears trickled down her face.

You threw your arms up. “My best friend is getting married!” you announced jubilantly, your voice cracking a little.

“Yes, yes, I am!” Belle agreed, once again wrapping you in a hug. You saw Adam grinning at the sight of you two and motioned for him to join in. He did so, which, for some reason, made both you and Belle start laughing again. He started laughing as well, and by the time the three of you separated, your cheeks were pink from laughing so hard. Belle wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning to you. “(Y/N), will you be my maid of honor?” she asked.

You thought your face was going to split in half from how huge your grin was. “Yes! Of course! Definitely!” Apparently one word wasn’t enough to express your agreement to such a crucial role. “Absolutely! Positively! Unequivocally! Yes!” You and Belle hugged for the third time in less than fifteen minutes.

When you’d finally pulled apart, Adam held out both of his arms to you. “Well then, shall we eat? I’ve a special meal planned for tonight.”

You and Belle made eye contact and started giggling again, earning an eyeroll from Adam. You took Adam’s right arm (making sure to grab the dropped book) while she took his left, and together, the three of you made your way back to the castle, the sunset behind you lighting your path with gold.

Indeed, it was a special meal, at least, for you and Belle. There was lamb and roasted chicken and beef ragout and cheese soufflé and by God, were you full by the time you’d all finished eating. Lumière had opened a few of their best bottles of champagne, and Adam had invited the whole castle in a toast to his and Belle’s engagement. To both your and Belle’s pleasant surprise, Maurice had been there at the table, waiting when you all returned. It seemed that Adam had planned this moment out far more than you’d been aware.

There had been much discussion in regards to the upcoming nuptials, which meant that you weren’t able to bring Gaston his dinner until later than usual. You tried to hurry up the stairs whilst keeping all the food on the tray, knowing that he was probably fairly hungry by now.

When you reached the cell, you saw that he was sitting down at the open door, his legs dangling over the edge. For a brief and panicked moment, you thought he might jump as you entered the cell, that he’d been waiting specifically for your return in order to maximize the emotional damage that would surely follow.

He didn’t, though. He simply sat there, staring out the open window, and waited for you to join him. You were tentative about sitting down next to him, but after an internal debate, you slowly sat down next to him and let your legs dangle over the edge.

You genuinely expected him to make some sort of comment regarding your lateness. At the very least, you thought he’d immediately grab the tray and start eating. He did neither, earning a mental frown from you. You decided to be the one to incite conversation rather than wait for him.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” you said, watching him carefully for any acknowledgment. He gave none, prompting you to try again. “We had a long dinner, but I managed to get you some variety this time. There’s lamb, ragout, even a few pastries.”

Still nothing.

Starting to get a little bit concerned now, you thought.

“Gaston? Are you okay?” You lifted one hand to set on his shoulder, then pulled it back when you saw his lack of reaction. Instead, you placed your hand on the floor next to the tray. Yes, now I’m a little more concerned.

You followed his unwavering gaze to the darkened courtyard. Your eyes adapted soon enough, and you could pinpoint the location of the earlier proposal. You stared at that spot. It was so tiny from here, yet that didn’t make it unidentifiable. Your eyes moved from there to the fountains, the water shimmering in the pale moonlight. The stars shone bright above the castle, and you could make out a few familiar constellations. It’s beautiful, you thought, a temporary peace coming over you.

“I thought I could make her happy,” came a soft mutter from the man on your right, drawing your attention.

“Hmm?”

Gaston continued to look outside as he spoke. “Belle. I did everything in my power to make her mine. But instead, she falls for another man.” His shoulders slumped as he let loose a sigh. “She wouldn’t marry me, but she’ll marry him.”

You felt your eyebrows crease in confusion. How on earth did he know about the proposal? Surely he couldn’t have seen what was happening from this far away!

“I saw it, (Y/N). I saw it all.”

So much for that. “But you can barely see where it happened from here!”

He scoffed, but it felt half-hearted. “I’m the greatest hunter around for a reason.” He nodded his head slightly towards the courtyard. “I recognized your dress when you went out, and then I saw the prince and Belle. I didn’t need to hear to know why she was reacting like that.” As he spoke, his tone grew bitter. “Not to mention I heard the whole castle cheering downstairs.”

You bit your lip, unsure of how to respond to this. It was clear that he was upset, and while you sympathized, you also felt like he was seeking pity, which you had no intention of granting.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” he added, lifting his chin to see the stars. “Of course the woman I love would choose someone else.”

Alright, that’s enough of that. “You didn’t love her,” you replied with a hint of frustration. Gaston finally deigned to look at you, his green eyes duller than you’d ever seen them. “She was a challenge, the only woman who dared to say ‘no’ to you. That’s the only reason you wanted her.” You locked eyes with him, willing him to realize you were speaking the truth. He opened his mouth, but you cut him off. “Admit it, Gaston. Belle was nothing more than a prize to be won, something you could use to stroke your ego with if you succeeded.” You crossed your arms and twisted so that you were leaning against the wall, although your legs still hung over the edge.

He didn’t even have to decency to act offended by your harsh words; he just continued to stare at you with that blank look in his eyes.

“Perhaps,” was his only reply.

You raised an eyebrow, daring him to say more.

With a deep sigh that turned into a yawn, he mimicked your position. There was silence between the two of you as you sat there, watching each other. You were still confused by his lack of appetite and made a mental resolution to just leave the food there when you left for the night. Which needed to be rather soon—you’d gotten up early today and were feeling drowsy after all the excitement. We need to let Villenueve know tomorrow, and that’ll be loads of fun. And then there’s officially inviting people, planning the decorations, the dresses, the jackets and the meals. Oh, maybe I can see how LeFou’s doing with asking everyone how they feel about Gaston. Yes, I need to make time for that somehow…

“Not the only girl.”

“What?” you asked, your mind still caught up in listing everything that needed to be done tomorrow.

“Belle’s not the only girl with the gall to stand up to me,” he repeated, giving you a pointed look. “You interrupted me nearly every time I was with her.”

The corner of your mouth twitched when you saw a spark of something returning to his eyes. He seemed to be waking up from whatever self-pitying mood he’d been in. Good. I wasn’t planning on putting up with that for long.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” You tilted your head at him, thinking back on all the various times you’d intervened. Remembering them made you smile to yourself. “It’s the duty of a best friend to prevent unsolicited romantic advances.”

“Is it?” His voice had faded back to the melancholy tone that you were unused to.

Somehow you sensed that any further conversation would continue in this stilted manner, and you, tired as you were, felt no need to remain there when you could be getting rested for the coming day. You rose and dusted yourself off before turning to leave.

“Must you?”

Is he asking me to stay again? You hesitated. Why would he ask me to stay if he wasn’t planning on talking?

Maybe he just wants company, the other voice, the one that usually encouraged your darker thoughts, reasoned. He’s lonely. And there are lots of things you can do in each other’s company…

Yet when you looked at him, you felt no flirtatious overtures coming from him. It was a stark contrast to the cocky Gaston you’d grown used to, and whether it was due to his loss of Belle or to tiredness, it was unsettling. You were surprised to find that you actually missed his bold attitude. You missed the banter, the sly comments, the intense looks you shared. In such a short period of time, he’d changed so much from the man who’d thrown a knife at you that afternoon.

“Get some sleep,” you encouraged quietly as you walked away. You took a moment to set down Macbeth on the stool by the door in case he wanted to read. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He didn’t reply but resumed staring outside, looking up at the stars. You frowned at his back. Maybe LeFou will know how to cheer him up. I’ll ask him tomorrow.

Now you just had to wait until then.

#second chance #gaston #gaston x reader #gaston imagine #kate writes #beauty and the beast #batb

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