#obviously read with cation

[fearlesscomfort]

just got done with a sharpie cube and i wanted to post my top five favorite cards in my deck

5: Cation “create a token that’s a copy of target create five of those tokens.” this was involved in most of my turn one wins, this ranks fifth because i barely pushed this card to its limits, the way we were ruling this could copy spells and abilities but i only ever exiled it with Mo’s Ridge and created six copies of Mo’s Ridge.

4: Unto Nature “destroy target destroy target exile card.” removal was kind of dogshit because even though all creatures have haste (home rule) creatures usually do their shit on etb. our rulings were on the fly and terrible though so this could destroy cards on stack. cannot stress enough the importance of counter spells when a card that reads “glimpse hole” is the the draft. boring but also really funny to counter a turn one play and then remove two lands.”

3: D “you may have D etb as a copy of any card d.” very funny, when i made this my only thought was a one mana copy spell. @jodahpologist cracked this card wide open and cast 12,000 copies of her and won with Exodia + Venser, that shit really does say “any card.”

2: Mo’s Ridge “hideaway (this lands enters the battlefield when it does, look at your library and exile one face down and put the rest on the bottom of your library.) T: add G. you may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost.” i adore this card, obviously good however we had a home rule where you put a land from hand onto the battlefield turn zero so the second player could like counter a spell or something. as a result most of my wins involved Mo’s Ridge turn zero targeting Cation.

1: Worm “Create 3,366 9/9 blue kraken creature token.” god i love this card, i love Reef Worm as a regular magic card and drawing on her was the only time i had the “what am i doing i’m ruining such a beloved and wonderful card” thought during the whole cube. but my sacrifices paid off i have a big dumb grin looking at her while i write this.

[sleepy-achilles]

Keeping up with the Michaels- You Matter

Each of the kids struggles with mental health. So obviously read with cation

Tw- Mentions of ED, mentions of past alcohol abuse, mentions of depression. Its not really in detail. I'm just yk making you aware of the topics.

------------------------------------------------------------------

--John--

John hides his face in his arms. That was his best match this year and still the fans hated on him and put him down.

"You alright kid?" John looks up to see his Pa stood infront of him. "Tough night" John mutters. "Oh yeah, you really went for it tonight. Amazing match johnny" Shawn smiles squeezing his shoulder. John frowns. 'I wish they saw that' he thinks to himself. "Wish me luck, got a match against jericho again. Gonna be hard to up do your match" Shawn chuckles before walking out. "I wish" John whispers sinking down. He groans and taps his temple before forcing himself to move to the showers.

-----

Shawn joins taker in watching John's match. "Is he doing alright?" Taker asks as he spots a look in John's eyes. "I believe so why?" Shawn asks. "Nothin, he's just been acting differently lately." Taker states. "I know he's been working harder in the ring. I just hope he doesn't push himself too hard." Shawn huffs. "We won't let him. Don't worry" Taker promises. Shawn just nods and watches John.

Something was wrong with his boy. It hurt him.

-----

John rests his forehead against the punching bag as he tries to catch his breathe. He doesn't know what to do anymore. Why isn't he good enough for them? He tries so hard and they all still hate him. He pushes away from the bag and begins hitting it, hard and fast. He's gone bare knuckles for once.

In his mind he's trying to make himself feel something.

In his heart he knows he's punishing himself.

"Fuck!" He barks slamming his fist into the bag one more time before taking a step back. He looks down at his bleeding fists and sighs. He needs to get out of his head. He needs the fans and his coworkers to get out of his head. "Please..." he whimpers resting his head against the bag.

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--Leon--

Leon was always a skinny boy. His sister always went on about how she wishes she had a waist like his. He didn't mind being small until he was a full time wrestler.

The fans started getting on at him for being too small, so he ate more. Worked his muscles more.

Between us, not much changed, Leon was still small, but one bad camera angle and the fans changed to fat shaming him.

So Leon began missing meals. Trying to become small again.

He then hears that he doesn't work hard enough, that he was handed everything.

So he begins pushing himself, working harder than anyone else. Barely taking breaks.

Pushing himself too far even for a demon.

---

Drew stands next to Leon, like always during promos, and can't help but notice the way Leon's hands shake as he speaks. He wants to put it down to nerves but he knows Leon. Leon doesn't get nerves, he loses himself in character and it doesn't bother him.

He doesn't mentioned it.

He watches Leon closely from then on.

---

Leon's back hits the floor and he fights for breath. This can't be healthy. He's tired. Hungry. Him! Hungry! He used to eat for the taste, he's never really experienced hunger before, it was a benefit him and his dad had. But now? Now that he was depriving his body its all he wanted.

"Hey, you alright?" Sheamus asks walking over. "Yeah, just need a minute" Leon whispers. Sheamus looks at him concerned. "You know, I saw you shaking the other night..and now your out of breathe...are you sure everything's okay?" Sheamus asks. "Yes, I'm fine. Just some demon stuff" Leon huffs forcing himself to sit up. He hates the wince that comes from him as his lungs burn and scream at him. "Alright man. Just know I'm always he-" "yea yea I know. Now cmon, I need perfect that more." Leon mutters as sheamus helps him up.

Sheamus notes how thin he feels.

----

Drew smiles as he holds the tag belt high. He forces the smile when he sees how bad Leon shakes as he holds his up. The moment the lights begin to fade to end the show Leon begins to fall. Drew is quick to drop the belt and catch the other, helping to soften his fall.

"Leon!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------Cassidy---

Cassie was sober, but she was definitely not happy.

The fans loved her, the other stars loved her.

And yet she wasn't happy.

She wasn't good enough. She wasn't strong enough.

She wasn't John or Leon.

She didn't bring fear to her opponents.

She wasn't a man.

---

Cassie leans against the wall as vince goes over the plans. "What about me?" Cassie asks watching as the boys celebrate their big matches. "Ah you and another diva have a five minute match before the main event." Vince shrugs before walking off.

That hurts cassie.

She's not like Leon or John. She can't be accused of using her family for fame because she can't even get good treatment from them.

"Toughluck fire cracker" Charlotte smirks at her before walking away. Cassies heart sinks.

It wasn't fair. Both of them were nepo babies. And yet Charlotte was treated like royalty and cassie trash. The fans liked cassie more and yet vince didn't see that.

----

Cassie started to hate life. Or atleast herself.

Maybe that's why she said yes to Austin. God she wishes she said no.

"Cmon what's wrong?" Austin smirks. "Im not in the mood Austin." She whispers. "So what? You didn't get a big match, it's fine. Divas will get a shot soon" Austin shrugs. Cassie shoves him. "Im not a diva! I am a wreslter" she snaps. "Samething, no?" Austin asks. "I mean your brothers are stars. You? Your not a star yet"

The words cut into cassies heart.

She knew it was true but to hear it come from a loved one? That hurt more.

----

Austin wasn't a loved one for long. He got what he wanted, he got a stage. He didn't need cassie anymore.

Cassie was starting to get that deja vu feeling.

People didn't need her, atleast not for long.

She can't help but cry against uncle Scott's chest. "Its alright chica" Scott murmurs. No. No its not, is what she wanted to scream.

When would she be good enough?

When would she be appreciated?

---

"I think I need time off"

"Your a rising star cassie, you can't take time off now!"

"I think I need time off."

"Your doing better! You and drew have a big match tonight!"

"I need time off.."

"You are my top star John! Don't be silly, a break now will halt your glamorous career!"

------------------------------------------------------------------

Shawn could kick himself. He saw all the signs and it took to his own son to faint in the ring for him to pull them all aside.

Taker sits back confused as shawn places a beer in his hand. Their kids are sat at the table. "You three wanna tell me what's going on?" Shawn asks from next to taker. Taker looks at their kids. John's knuckles are bandaged up, Leon can barely sit up and cassie looks like she's been crying for days straight. "Just tired" Leon shrugs, his eyes staring at his plate in need. "Take a bite." Taker speaks up. "Not hungry." Leon mutters forcing his gaze to the wall. "Been busy, that's all" John mutters before eating some pasta. "Well, I was getting married and now I'm not. I'm allowed to be off" cassie mutters.

"You staying sober?" Shawn asks. Takers eyes widen in confusion and cassie glares at Leon. "Wasn't me.." Leon mutters. "You thought I couldn't tell? Trust me, I was you. I was all of you at one point. I can tell. I thought it was a teenage thing, kids drink, they do. But then you continued and I knew it was me." Shawn explains. Cassie looks down. "And you got injuried and got clean. And I'm proud of you." He adds. "Im still sober." Cassie whispers. "All of us?" John asks quietly.

"Not believing your enough, not doing enough." He nods at John. John shrinks. He looks at cassie. "Depressed." She just stares at him. And then he looks at Leon. Leon who's still staring at the wall. "Insecure" "im not Insecure." Leon grits. "When was the last time you ate three whole meals?" Shawn asks, finally having the mans attention. "When was the last time you took a break? Stopped training so hard?" Shawn pushes. "Enough" Leon warns. "I watched you faint in the ring! You shake during promos! You are weak" Shawn spits. Leon stands up, knocking his chairs back. Taker watches as Leon's eyes flash purple in warning. The issue he finds is, it's a weak purple. Not his normal deep purple.

John jolts up and catches Leon as he falls. "Dont" Leon growls planting his hands on the table. John steps back. "Dont.." Leon whispers lowering his head. "I don't think you understand the pressure we are under" Leon forces out, looking back at his parents. "We have eyes on us every hour of the day. John works harder than most of us just to be booed and harassed. Cassie is one of the best women in this company and yet she's still fighting matches as if she's a rookie!" Leon snaps. "And you?" Taker asks. Leon opens his mouth but nothing comes out. "The Internet called him too skinny. And then they told him he was too fat and that he didn't earn his place in this company. He got it because of his parents." John mutters sitting down.

Shawn sighs and watches how Leon wraps an arm around his own waist. "I wish you lot would of talked to us." Shawn states. "What can we do to help?" Taker asks. "Nothing." John mutters. "I just wanna be a star" cassie whimpers as tears rush down her face. Leon glances at her as she hides her face in her hands. "I just want to be appreciated" she muffles. Leon grabs his fork with a shakey hand and takes a piece of pasta before eating it. His fist clenches against the table as a moan leaves his mouth.

Shawn smiles slightly. "God I missed that" Leon groans having some more. "Take it slowly. Don't make yourself sick" Shawn tells him. John looks at him. "Who helped you with this?" John asks. Shawn smiles sadly. "No one. Which Is why I want to help you" shawn states. "How do you stop it? All the voices telling you that your not good enough? How do you stop the teasing comments from coworker from getting to you?" John asks, instinctively pulling Leon's chair closer as the younger sits. "Smile." Shawn states. The kids look at him. "Talk. Smile. Smile to their faces, talk to a loved one. Don't let it build up. You can't let it build up" Shawn tells him.

He looks at cassie who's calmed down slightly. "You? You just need to set vince straight. Stop letting him and the others walk over you. You grew up with Leon and John, I know for fact you can raise your voice to get your point across. Stop worrying what others will think. You are a strong woman and you need to let them see that" Shawn tells her. Cassie flushes slightly. He glances at Leon who's still eating.

"And for someone who doesn't care about the opinions of us stupid humans you've really dedicated yourself to pleasing us." Shawn comments. Leon slowly looks at him. "I just like my vessel to look good" Leon states. "It does. Ignore them. You can be the best in the business and people will still nitpick. They love to see legends fall. Its all a game to them." Shawn states. Leon looks down at the pasta.

He lowers his fork as he takes in the dinner table. Cassie has a glass of water. Him, John and dad have beers. Cassie and John have big bowls of pasta, he doesn't. "Leon?" Taker asks. "You knew..you just wanted to hear us admit it." Leon mutters. "Cassie can tell you that's the first step." Shawn states. Leon looks at his bowl. "I can eat all this without feeling ill. But I cannot eat his or hers" Leon states. "Yes." Shawn nods. Taker looks at shawn.

He wasn't there to help Shawn. And he'll never forgive himself for that. But he will help his kids. "Ill talk to vince tomorrow. Tell him I'm sick of him holding you back and pushing Charlotte forward." Taker states. Cassie looks at him. "You should also talk to rhea more. She really adores you." Shawn adds. "Ill try" cassie smiles as she eats. She watches as a number is placed infront of her. "Shes asked me to give you this" Shawn smiles. Cassie accepts it.

Taker glances at John. "Call me out on raw." Taker tells him. John pauses and looks at him. "What?" John asks. "Im gonna put you over. You waste it, that's on you. I won't make it easy for you though." Taker states. John smiles widely. "No infact, I'll call you out on Monday. You better turn up" Taker warns. "Yessir" John smiles. It's small steps but taker knows it can help rebuild his kids.

"What magic trick you got for me da?" Leon mutters as he reaches for cassies water. Taker moves his finger and it causes the glass to move from Leon's reach. He glares at taker. "You forgot, that used to be my life. Not having to eat and then suddenly having to? That really fucks with your mind and body. I put on so much weight that I hated myself and forced myself to work harder to get it down." Taker states. Leon lowers his gaze. "Ill help you. Keep you on track, make sure your eating. Take that phone away from you." Taker tells him. Leon nods. "Okay.." he whispers.

"You kids aren't us. You don't have to do this alone." Taker tells them. "Sorry" they all mutter. "Please..please just come to us next time." Shawn sighs. "We will" John nods. "Good." Shawn sits.

"This is really nice by the way" Leon admits. "Good, because your dad made it" Shawn smirks.

Taker chuckles as the kids slowly lower their forks, staring at him in shock. "What? I've been taking lessons" Taker shrugs. The kids look at each other. "No way" "it wasn't me. I've been out all day." Shawn states. "Wow...well its really nice dad" John huffs. "Thanks kiddos. Now eat" Taker smiles.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Notes---

You don't have to suffer alone btw. There will always be someone you can talk to.

Now the fic.

I feel like I've created this image that Leon is a very powerful demon. He is. But still. He seems to have no weakness and I do things like mention he's injuried but then state he can't get injuried.

Leon can heal damage done by humans. He cannot heal damage done by himself or magic things.

Accidents are included by damage done himself.

Also I hated the idea of both Shawn and taker being clueless to cassies drinking problems and well just felt like Shawn would know and was about to step in when cassie got herself help.

And John? Well John's still fairly knew to this fam so we have to sprinkle some trauma in for him.

[rosewoodpeachtree]

This is an original work of mine, so far nothing more than an idea I spent a few days writting about. The general plot I have for it is Scarlett, a former human, gets accidentally killed by some monsters who go to an elite school (which may or may not train monsters to fight against humans in a race war I really haven't decided, it's still very self-indulgent with no real plot and a bunch of twinks and switches who flirt) and the resident black/blood magic user resurrects her in an annual school only magic demonstration, and Scarlett becomes a succubus.

But Scarlett was previously a.. (whispers) slut

So she fits right in and really adjusts well to TAOATM, pronounced Totem, ooor...

The Academy Of All Things Magical

This story is more porn with plot that anything, and most of the plot will be added in around the fun sexy stuff. So basically I was bored and wanted fun succubus at monster school who flirts with everyone.

So enjoy. Tell me what you think, which parts are cringy, etc. And this is obviously not finished. This is more of a prequel to the story than anything, and it's not ment to be taken seriously. This isn't a book/erotica, it's just fun smut that I'd probably post on AO3, not publish. I'm not a professional in any sense of the word, I just like writting smut. So read with cation⚠️ mistakes, grammar errors, and run on sentences ahead (probably)

Waking up was harder than it should have been for Scarlett. She usually didnt try to wake up so hard, but the black, endless void of her dream gave her creepy vibes, so she wanted to get the hell out of there immediately. All she did was float, suspended on her back through the darkness, feeling like she was underwater and also feeling like she wasn't breathing, or more like she didn't need to breath in that moment.

A lot of nightmare like dreams ended with her becoming partly lucid in the dream, if she wasn't already. Lucid dreams were no stranger to her, she had them all the time but this time it really was different. She could feel the void around her, like a thick inky feeling. She could hear muffled voices that also sounded like they were coming from above her, above the liquid she was in.

Being semi-conscious, she half opened her eyes only to be met with pure darkness, and not her room. She couldn't feel the bed, the sheets, the blankets, or the 5 or so stuffies she usually slept with. She couldn't feel anything around her, but slowly, as she truly woke up she felt the weightlessness of being in water, but something was off. Being in water as she woke up, as the first wrong thing, and secondly the water was fairly warm, like a hot springs or hot tub.

There's no reason she should be underwater. Or under whatever liquid she was in, because there was no way whatever this was, was water.

She tried to pull herself upright, but the density of the liquid proved to be harder to move through. She pushed up with her hands as well, pushing outward with her legs to press against smooth walls of the tub she was in, realizing that as she felt the shape of the walls around her and under her.

She reached up, grabbing at the rounded, smooth edge of the tub to try and pull herself up. She felt the underside of the tubs rim, and tried to grab on, but she couldn't stay up long enough to grasp it. As she continued to struggle, panicking more and more as she couldn't get above the liquid, to breath, a clawed hand grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her into a sitting position.

She gasped, opening her mouth and letting the metallic-tasting liquid into her airways before she got fully above it.

"*Relax,*" An annoyed feminine voice came from her left side, presumably the voice belonging to person at the other end of the hand still holding her tight by her neck, but not painfully so. "Just sit still."

Scarlett spat out what got in her mouth, spitting out anything that driped down into her mouth as well. She blew air out of her nose, getting some of the viscous liquid out. She could feel it slowly spill down her face in thick globs, and it glued her hair to her scalp and neck. The liquid clung to her body, and while lots fell quickly in big splashes, it soon slowed down and still coated her in a thick layer all over.

She glanced over at the person holding her, and keeping her from slipping, and what she saw left her wide-eyed and breathless. A dragon. A pink-ish dragon. She looked around at her surroundings, and she was surrounded on all sides by what looked to be a school's worth of monsters. The room was huge, possibly the size of a theater. Looking up, there was a black crystal chandelier above her, in the shape of a pentagram, with red candles at each point. The body was made of a deep gold color, and the candles seemed in perfect condition.

Standing in front of her was a tall elf witch, in a flowy blue dress and a purple witch's hat. She had circular glasses and pure black eyes that unnerved her, and a purple cresent shape on her forehead, which encircled an also-purple crystal hanging from a head necklace, with two smaller blue crystals on either side. The woman sighed, tapping a wand on the side of her face while eyeing Scarlett, staring directly at her.

She averted her eyes, not wanting to stare back at her kidnappers. I mean, what else could this be? She took note of the dark colored liquid, and the gold coated inside of the freestanding tub, the same as the chandelier.

"Put her under again, hold her if you have to, Mercy, Venus." The elf spoke to the two monsters on either side of her, the pink-ish dragon who still held her neck and a deep purple Naga to her left she only just noticed. "The ritual isn't finished. She isn't even fully transformed." The elf pouted, and she seemed just a tad bit disappointed.

The two monsters on either side, Mercy and Venus, grabbed a hold of her shoulders and pushed her back under the liquid, which she didn't get a good glance at, only that it was a dark color and tasted metallic.

She wanted to fight, but it seemed almost futile. Any twitch of movement got the clawed hands of the dragon to dig threateningly in her shoulder, so, as long as she didn't drown in this liquid she stayed still. Until, the temperature started to rise from its already warm state. It started to really heat up, and that's when the panic started to truly settle in. The liquid got fairly hot, like make you hiss as you sink into a hot bath for relaxation hot. After heating up and staying hot, it started to burn.

The temperature of the water isn't what left a burning sensation on her skin, it was the liquid itself. She could feel it being absorbed into her skin and body, she could feel it change her. Her hands clung to the edge of the tub and she fought against the monsters holding her down, and her mouth opened in a scream, resulting in swallowing and tasting metal.

Slowly, as the liquid seeped into her pours and skin and muscles, she could feel it getting lower, and it continued to drain until her nose was free in the air, and she was pulled up into a sitting position again.

Scarlett coughed up everything she could, until it hurt more to cough than it did to breath normally. She panted heavily, shaking from the adrenaline, fear, and effort.

"And that, my lovely Totem students and professors, is how a resurrection is done!" The elf said, taking off her witch hat and giving them all a bow.

Suddenly the monsters who surrounded her all applauded like she was some sort of freak show. They were loud, yelling their congrats to the dragon and Naga, and how impressive "professors Jezzabell" was.

Thats when a tall woman, at least 6ft tall, crouched down next to her with a flashlight, a stethoscope, and a pair of gloves on her hands. "Cami, dear, if you will," She motioned to a pink fluffy monster, with a giant pink afro and small orange horns who scurried over with a tray on wheels and wiped her face with a towl she plucked off the bottom shelf.

"We'll take good care of you human, don't you worry." Cami said with a warm smile, snapping on her own pair of gloves then going on to wipe off her left arm and hand with the towel. She then tore an alcohol packet and cleaned the inside of her elbow, so just her red skin was left, and attatched the grey thing from the hospital to her finger, to check whatever it checked.

Scarlett watched as she did all of this with great speed and concentration, but new a wave of fear hit her as Cami pulled a needle out, and started searching for a good vein. On her red skin. Red? Red??

The older lady, presumably the head nurse, grabbed her by the chin and turned Scarlett to face her. "I'm nurse Nina. Resident nurse. Just look at my face." She clicked the flashlight on and shined it in her eyes, making her flinch and turn away.

"Reactions good." Nina said, still seeing what she needed. She put the stethoscopes earpiece in her pointed ears. She reached over Scarlett for the towel on Cami's knee, and used it to wipe a clear spot on her bare chest, then put the cold metal of the stethoscope on her bare, red skin- bare? Red? She was naked?!

"Loosen up love, I'm gonna prick you now, okay? You're gonna feel a little pinch." Cami said, sticking the needle in a vein in the crock of her elbow, and Scarlett could only watch as her blood filled the collection tube, and with great speed Cami pulled the tube free when it was full, but not the needle, and connected a second tube.

"Deep breaths for me." Nina said, and Scarlett felt like she was getting whiplash, the two working around her like a well oiled machine, getting this weird checkup done quick. She felt like she had no choice, being difficult for difficult's sake was pointless. So, she took in three deep breaths, and then Nina moved to her back, wiping the entire middle down and pressing the now-warmed-up metal against her bare back.

After the second tube was full, Cami pulled the needle out and dropped it in an orange bin that was nearby, and a gauze with a big bandaid was placed over the small wound. The two tubes filled with her blood were placed in a standing container with holes just bigger than the tubes, keeping them upright.

Nina grabbed her arm, moving it in circular motions. "Cami." She said again, motioning for the fluffy monster to do the same. The two moved her arms all around, testing out every joint. "Wiggle all your fingers, human." Nina said, bending her elbow back and forth as she did so, and Cami followed.

"Good. You didn't do a half bad job, Jezzabell." The doctor gave the witch a backhanded compliment, and the elf just rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile.

"Keep working on your compliments, Nina, you'll get there."

"Alright time to stand up human." Nina said, ignoring Jezzabell. She stood up, and grabbed Scarlett under her arm, lifting her up with the help of Cami.

Scarlett swayed on her feet, feeling like she's been in a coma, and in all honesty maybe she has been. She had zero idea how she got here, who these monsters were, and what she did yesterday. The two held her steady, though, and Nina held her upright while Cami patted her fully naked body down with a new towel. Fully naked.

Fully. Naked. She was completely naked, no clothes. But that wasn't even the weirdest thing. Her skin was RED. She was a new fucking skin color. "What.. what did you do to me?" She looked around at anyone who would meet her eye, but Jezzabell held her gaze.

"We resurrected you, hun. One of our students accidentally took your leg off and you kinda bled out and died, soo I did a big tiresome black magic ritual to bring you back." Jezzabell sat down on a dark thrown-looking chair. "Speaking of tiresome, I'm going to pass out any second now." She slumped down in the chair with a big huff, but here eyes were still open and still black.

"Died?" Scarlett asked aloud, looking around her once again. Cami had wrapped a towl around her for her own modesty, which she appreciated. Nina helped her step out, and her feet made a wet gloppy sound as she brought much of the mystery liquid with her.

"I'll take you to my office, get you a shower, human." Nina said, holding her hand as they started to walk out. Only 10 or so steps out of the room, Scarlett saw her reflection in a floor-to-ceiling mirror. She stopped, gawking at her appearance.

"Human, there will be time for that later, come." Nina tried to urge her on but she continued to approach the mirror.

She had curved horns atop her head, almost like a bulls that went out a little then curved back in and up. They were dark and light red striped, and her hair was now a deep brown and down to her knees. Her skin, again, was now a peachy-like red color, and her eyes were baby blue. As she walked even closer, she saw a deep red tail behind her, swaying with her movements, with a spade like tip. She grabbed it, tugging it towards the front her body and made herself yelp. So, it was indeed attached to her somewhere.

She turned so she could try and see her backside, and she saw her wings. Her WINGS. The boning was a deep, almost black red and the meat that made up most of it was a leathery red, the same color as her tail. She spread her wings out completely to look at where they attached to her back, and moving them almost came naturally to her.

Scarlett moved her wet, sticky hair out of the way to see her new extremities better, and she could see that they were indeed attached. Her breathes started coming in pants, and she turned to face the mirror fully.

Her tits. "My tits." She said, breathless, groping her new body and admiring her perfectly sculpted shape. "Jesus fuck. I'm hot." Scarlett exclaimed with a breathy laugh, turning this way and that to check out every curve on her body. "My ass is still fucking great." A smile spread across her face, her body twisted in a way that allowed her to look at her ass and grope the rounded fat. The tail she was still holding tightly in the other hand started moving of its own accord, and the spade tip cut her hand as it wriggled free, wagging behind her like a dog of its own accord.

Scarlett hissed when it cut her, pulling her wounded hand close and checking out the damage. It wasn't too bad, but the nature of her clawed nails stole her attention. She flicked her hands, trying to rid them of the clingy liquid from earlier, but it didn't do much. She stared at her hand more, wondering just what it was.

That's when she noticed the similarities between the blood freely flowing from her fresh wound, and the slightly dried liquid from the forced showy bath. No.. it couldn't..

Scarlett turned in a panic, looking at her red-ish foot prints she made just moments ago, the the black stained towel she dropped just before. She snatched up the towel, and speed walked down the red footprints, wrapping the towel around her for modesty. She marched up to the black tub, with its white spiral and skull patterns all around the bottom, and gold footholds.

"Its.. it's blood, isn't it?" She asked, turning around to face the witch with a panicked look.

"It's black magic, a resurrection ritual." The purple Naga from earlier said. "You should be thankful we saved your life at all, this isn't a human charity school. But luckily for you, *human*," Venus hissed, leaning down in her face. "We do a witchcraft presentation every year.

"I would like to note," The dragon, Mercy, interjected herself into the conversation, "I'm only here because it was partly my fault the human was killed. I'm not some kinda magical dragon."

"Girls, please. Leave the poor thing alone. She's died and resurrected, had a blood bath, and become a demon. She's no longer human. I expect you to treat her as such." The elf said, standing up from the chair with a bit of difficulty, draping herself over Venus's shoulder.

"I'm a demon?!" While that didn't surprise her considering her appearance, it was still a strange thing to hear.

"Succubus, technically." Venus said.

"Venus.." Jezzabell whispered, swaying on her feet. Her eyes went back to normal, with the black demonic color bleeding out of her eyes in an inky substance that clung to her face, and the whites of her eyes came back, her purple irises showing through. She finally fainted as the half-possesion was over, and the ritual was truly complete. Heading for the floor, Venus caught her with her snake body before that happened, however, cushioning the fall. Her wand fell from her hand, rolling on the floor towards Mercy, and the purple witch hat fell off her head as well, and Venus sighed as she caught it

"You should have stayed on the throne, Jezza, you know that." Venus whispered back to her mentor, picking up the tall elf bridal style and carrying her to the decorative throne, where she was laid down across the armrests. Venus set Jezzabell's hat on her face, and Mercy walked up to the two with the wand. Venus plucked it out of her hand, and put the wand under Jezzabells hand, arranging it like you would a bouquet for the dead.

"Honestly a succubus is perfect for me." Scarlett said suddenly, having been deep in thought while the dramatics went on. Everyone looked at her, half naked with nothing but a towel, and Nina came up to her side.

"You're gonna regret that, later on." Nina said with an annoyed sigh, pricking her in the arm with a needle.

"Hey! I thought you were done with the check-up." She complained, turning to face the tall woman.

"I am. That was a tranq shot." Scarlett's eyes went wide at the statement.

"Noah, if you will, big guy." Nina called out to a grey skinned werewolf leaning by the door, who made his way over at Nina's call.

Before she had a chance to fully pass out the werewolf picked her up, and tossed her his shoulder. "Cami bring the tray." The pink afro-having monster nodded, following every command the nurse gave her without question.

"Damn you don't have to be so rough with me." Scarlett said, already slurring her words as Noah made his way out the room.

Nina led the way, and Cami followed behind them periodically checking Scarlett's vital signs. By the time they got to the nurses office, she was barely conscious and ready to pass out, but Noah woke her up more by tossing her on one of the beds with a little bounce. The landing made her squeal, being thrown like that, landing on her back and being forced to look up at the Werewolf in that position.

"Damn. That was hot, wolfie." Scarlett said, words still heavily slurred.

Noah was taken aback, physically taking a step back from the newly-formed succubus, surprised at her boldness and the nature of what she said as well.

"You're a child," The werewolf said, eyebrows pinched and head tilted in almost-confusion. He couldn't tell if it was just the tranq shot Nina gave her, or if she was really that much of a slut that she'd flirt in a situation like this one.

"Pshh I'm like, almost 18. Besides you're like a werewolf anyways." Scarlett said, sitting up so she wasn't on her back. Seeing his tail lay motionless between his legs, she laid on her stomach and scooted closer to the edge to try and touch it.

Noah eyed her with curiosity, seeing her so obviously lock eyes on his tail, wondering if she normally acted like this. Maybe if she wasn't sky-high on monster-grade tranquilizer, she'd at least be more discreet about it. "That has nothing to do with you being underage, human."

"We aren't even the same species it like, barely doesn't count." Scarlett told him, like it was obvious, eyes still locked on the fluffy extremities of the werewolf, her own red tail swishing behind her. She wanted to touch it, his tail looked so soft.

He let out a deep sudden chuckle, still taken aback by her words but finding her reasoning hilarious. Nina scolded him for being so loud, and after apologizing and calming down he said, "That's not how that works even a little."

"Mmmmmmfffluufffyyyy." Scarlett said, making a swipe at the red fluff between his legs, causing Noah to take a step back out of her reach. He saw it coming from a mile away, as she lifted up her arm for a full five seconds before letting her arm fall in the relative direction of his legs. Her almost drunken like display made him laugh more.

"Noah!" Nina scolded, making her way over to them to tell him in his face, "Stop messing with the patient! Let her pass out, stop fueling her."

"Right right, sorry. She's just so funny tranqed up. Never thought the student that would be the first one brave enough to flirt with me, would be a human high as fuck."

Scarlett let out a tired groan, letting her head fall over the edge of the bed. Everything felt to heavy to hold up. She wanted to close her eyes so bad, but she also wanted to touch the fluff. But she held out, staring at the off-white tile floor while her limbs and body went still.

"First huh? I'm surprised. None of the werewolf pack have tried yet? You are their Alpha, after all." Nina asked, sitting at her desk and going over paperwork.

Noah turned his back to what he thought was the unconscious girl, facing the nurse instead and he crossed his arms. "No really, it's a surprise to me as well. But Kaine said a few pack members have come up to him before, trying."

"Kaine's your Delta right?"

Noah nodded to the red-eyed vamp. "He said a few asked about me, wanting to know what I like. Some of its normal pack behavior, they wanna know about their Alpha, so it's hard to say who might actually try an' come onto you unless they're hardcore flirting."

"How interesting. I'd think that you'd have multiple a year. I've been expecting a werewolf pregnancy any day now. It's a common problem, isn't it?" She asked, taking a pause in her paperwork to give him her full attention.

"I wouldn't say common, but it happens more often than other species. Sometimes it happens because of a dominance issue, but heats and ruts happen all the time on accident, and in some cases on purpose."

"Dad!" A familiar voice yelled from the doorway, just as it was being thrown open. Noah turned around, not having heard is 'daughter' walking up. He gave her a big toothy smile, walking up to her and giving her a hug.

"Hey there my little hatchling." He gave her a kiss on her forehead before looking in her pink eyes.

"I told you not to call me a hatchling, old man." She said with an eyeroll, pulling out of his strong grey arms.

"I'll still drop kick you on the floor, hatchling or not." He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Good luck catching me 50 feet in the air," She spread her wings out to their full extent, and motioned with them, "Drop kick that. I'd fly circles around your wolfie ass." Noah scoffed, rolling his eyes as well, and then he switched up quick, grabbed her before she could react and held her in a choke hold.

"See, ya gotta get away from me first Em. Might be old but I can still take you." Noah said with a laugh, tail wagging as he ruffled her hair between her two sets of horns.

"Congrats you can catch a child," She kept her voice as flat and monotone as possible, "What a man. Great achievement of Sargent Norvak."

"I will kick your ass kid. Don't test me, i aint above knocking my own kid out." The red haired werewolf threatened, and Nina cleared her throat loudly, making them both pause and look at her, Mercy still half-bent over in her father's grasp.

"Did you need something Mercy? If not take your daddy-daughter bonding wrestling outside the nurse's office, where a student is recovering."

Noah let the short red head go, and Mercy stood up, "Right. Dad they need you in Jezzabell's classroom, to calm the students down. It's looking like they might riot." She said as she faced her dad, who stood facing her as well with his back to the room, and Scarlett. His tail wagged just a little, excited at the idea of being able to put some of those disrespectful students in their place. He had a few in mind, who could use a good ego drop.

Scarlett watched as the red tail walked right past her viewpoint, and she swiped at it but missed by a long shot. Noah didn't keep still, moving and turning away from her, talking to a feminine voice she couldn't be bothered to look up at, her limbs still feeling heavy. Then, he turned in the right direction and stayed still, so she made her move at the grey-tipped tail, barely catching it by the tips of its fur.

Noah froze, having his tail tugged on just a little. Mercy saw his face contort in anger, but there was a quick second of fear from being taken by surprise, with such an vulnerable, defenseless part of him being grabbed. He whirled around, an angry growl rising out of his throat as he faced the barely conscious girl.

"Aaahh flluufffyyy~" Scarlett cooed, running her fingers through his tail-fur, and petting down his tail with a smile until he turned and it was pulled out of her hands.

Looking down at the succubus, who had the biggest pout, Noah growled in her face. "Why are you still up?!"

She pouted, baby blue eyes meeting his yellow ones before she looked back at his tail swishing angrily behind him now, stretching her whole body out after it. "Fluffyy!" She whined, swiping her hand in the air between them.

Noah could feel his anger rising. This fucking human had no clue what she was doing, and she had zero care or common sense.

He wanted to show this demon her place. He wanted to *dominate her* fully, completely, until she submitted. Hold her down on the ground and hover above her, bitting at the nape of her neck. He'd hold her down and show his dominance until she fully submitted without a trace of disobedience left in her newly formed body, and after he let her up, he'd growl and snap his fangs in her face just for good measure.

"Dad you ok?" Mercy asked, turning her adoptive father by his arm to make him look at her. He was in fact, not ok. His pupils were blown wide, and he growled at her when he met her eyes. His tail was also going, held up as high as possible in a show of dominance, and and showing his level of excitement, wagging behind him, but he was *angry*. Tons of people have the misconception that tail wagging equals happy, because of how media portrays canines, and werewolves.

But Mercy knew better, she was raised by a werewolf. The faster the tail, the more of the emotion the canine felt, weather it be anger or happiness. The rest of a dog's, or werewolfs' body language is how you tell what emotion that is.

Noah took in a deep rumbling breath with the hints of a growl, finding it harder than usual to deal with this demons lack of pack structure, and his yellow pupils narrowed on the red girl.

"Mercy. Get her. Dominate." He seathed, not even looking at his dragon daughter, not being able to look away from the succubus. Mercy got the memo quickly, her dad's patience as Alpha was being tested and it wasn't exactly ok for him to dominate non-werewolf students the way he could those in the pack. But she'd take care of it for him.

Nina sighed and shook her head, already getting the paperwork she'd need to fill out after this whole display was over. It wasn't exactly in her job description to break up dominance displays between students, and she was heavily discouraged from getting in the middle of fights and dominance displays between more powerful races, or those with heavy pack mentalities, like wolves and dragons

With a flutter of her wings for help, Mercy pounced on top of Scarlett, straddling her rather large ass. Body fully on top of the succubus, she grabbed her long brown hair and pulled her head up fully, ignoring the sticky blood coating her hair. Mercy leaned down so her mouth was right next to her ear, letting out a low warning growl as small puffs of pink smoke escaped her nose, huffing it in her face.

*"Submit, human."* Mecy said in a threatening tone, pulling the girls hair for emphasis. Noah watched on in awe at his daughter's perfectly executed dominance display, fitting for the pup of an Alpha, until Scarlett giggled in an excited manner under her.

"Hehe, harder Daddy." She said, followed by more uncontrollable giggles, until Mercy yanked her head back as far as it'd go without damage, making Scarlett shiver and gasp. Mercy wrapped her hand around the back of her neck just like when she lifted the girl out of the blood, and barred her teeth right next to Scarlett's face.

Scarlett, in turn, reached up with one hand and touched the tip of one of Mercy's fangs. "Mm shaarrp," the girl cooed again, trying to turn in the dragons hold and poke more of her sharp teeth.

Mercy spotted a light blush as the succubuses fingers brushed over her tounge as she tried to explore with her fingers. In response, she sat up quickly, falling all the way back on her calves with her legs perfectly caging the demons ass, pressed snuggly against it. Scarlett giggled with an airy tone, "Ooh I like it rough," As Mercy snatched her wrist up, pinning it to the girls back between her wings, and she leaned over both their hands.

"I will *bite you*," Mercy threatened, or at least tried to, because Scarlett's response was to tilt her head to the left, fully exposing the side of her neck for both dragon and werewolf to see.

"Mm please do~" She ended up purring, using her free hand to move any loose strands of hair off her neck. This whole display caused Mercy's breath to hitch for a moment, as she went through a whirlwind of emotions because of this complete strangers completely exposed neck, on purpose, *for* her. Mercy was experiencing a new type of submission from the peachy red girl, and it excited her.

"Mercy, wait, just let her be," Noah started to say, realizing what was going on between them, how quickly Scarlett has somehow switched it up and taken control of the situation, making things happen the way she wanted.

Mercy could feel the instant possession over the girl hit her like a wave, knowing that she could never let go of this feeling or give it up. She wanted it, and she wanted *her*.

*"Mine."* Mercy growled quietly, fangs bared to sink into the demons skin and seal the deal.

"Mercy stop!" Noah ordered, grabbing his daughter by the bigger pair of horns. Not the best idea with a frenzy-ing dragon, but she wouldn't attack him, would she?

Well, not exactly. Mercy growled at her adoptive father, and sat up out of his reach, higher than him, over him in fact, in a dominance display. Scarlett was hers, and dragons don't share loot. She let out a roar, pink whisps of smoke going in the air. This was her prey and she wasn't sharing.

"Ah, fuck, you're roaring now?" Noah cursed, "Nina, do you have any tranq shots left?"

Nina looked up at him, keeping her head tilted towards her work, then looked back down, "No, we don't."

"You wouldn't have anything in the back? Mercy is gonna mark this fucking sex demon if we don't do anything." Noah pleaded, walking up to the desk and using his hand to push the paper down onto the desk. "Please?"

Nina sighed, leaning back in her chair, and she looked over to Cami who perked up, ready to do whatever she was asked, but her mentor just looked back at Noah. "No. We don't. This is a nurses office, not a doctors office," She said, leaning forward and clasping her hands over the paper. "Look Noah, I don't have anything that could take out a dragon. The highest grade tranquilizer I have is for lesser demons, and you see how long it's taking for the succubus, a higher class of demon. "

[jadenoryuu]

Fic Writer Review

I held off answering the tag from @cleanlenins on this because I needed the PC to even attempt keeping track of each question and I'm just bad at social interaction anyway, but here's my stats!

(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Up until now (September 17th) 12, but in a few days it will be 13.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

The stats say 151'430... It's like, a lot. (But on FFnet M(S)M alone is 105'179, so I guess it's still not that much.)

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Counting crossovers and WiPs? Mmmmm... Danny Phantom, Pokémon, Ratchet & Clank, Dr. Stone, One Piece, My Hero Academia, Jak & Daxter, Scaler, Super Smash Bros, Hetalia, Legend of Zelda, Professor Layton, Miraculous, Rise of the Guardians...

14, I guess?

However, I'm probably forgetting something, my imagination is wild.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1_ Shivers

2_ Abbreviation

3_ Fly me to the Moon

4_ Odd Wish

5_ Into the Nexus_Prologue

5. Which of your fic do you want more attention for?

Definitely PMD: Mega (Shinka) Mix, it took a lot of worldbuilding (and it's still in progress), but the feedback I receive is little and it discourages me a bit.

(╥﹏╥)

6. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do! I love to interact with my readers, but I usually reply only after I post a new chapter of the same story or a continuation in the same Series. It's a habit I got from FFnet, where I would respond after the Author Notes at the end of the chapter.

7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't like angst endings. Things that come out of my finger have to have either a happy or at least hopeful ending. I don't feel comfortable with myself otherwise.

8. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you’ve written?

My whole writing career started in middle school with the most wild, out-of-mind and excessive SI crossover. I had even planned 5 to 7 whole books of it, one for each a narrative arc.

You see, I was quite bullied for my interests during middle and high school, so this 4-way crossover was my only escape from reality.

Ratchet, Clank, Ash Ketchum's OC daughter, Jak Daxter and Bobby/Scaler (it came from a PS2 videogame) were my sole companions that kept up with my bullshish. I still have the plots of each book and when nostalgia hits, I go back to read them again. (I cringe at some choices now, but I was a teenager, so it's excusable. (≧∇≦))

But back to the topic, every time I'm distracted enough, a crossover idea could hit me and I would probably obsess on it to make sure every piece of each fandom fits without too much strain.

~(‾▿‾)~

9. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not exactly hate, but criticism on my use of "‒" for dialogues, yes. It's a habit I have from my Italian education, so obviously it was implemented in my writing style.

10. Do you write smut? if so what kind?

NNNNNNNNoooooooPPPPPPeeeeeeeeee!!!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

By others? Not in my knowledge. Technically all my fics are translations of the "Italian version" I have in my head, given that English is not my first language, sooo.... (≧∇≦)

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I'm not familiar enough with other writers on internet to even attempt a cooperation. (Besides, I would fear to disappoint whoever I collab with because of my irregular writing schedule, so yeah...)

But a couple of times I made suggestions in my reviews in other fics that were liked enough to be implemented, however I think that this doesn't count... `(*>﹏<*)′

13. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Tough question, do platonic count as well? Because right now the Dad Might-Izuku and Dadzawa-Izuku (as in a father-son healthy relationship!!) is on top 1.

(*cough*TodoDeku & GaloLio*cough*)

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

My OC-insert Rise of the Guardian fic. I already 3k+ words written, but I don't think I'm brave enough to continue it. I would have posted a snipped here, but it would be too long, boring and cringe for y'all, so I'll avoid it.

There's also my SI-insert as the SSB Ultimate Mii Gunner, but perhaps I'll be stubborn and shameless enough for that in the future. ꒰(@｀꒳´)꒱

15. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogues, I think?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes. I desperately want to describe fluidly the movements, but I'm afraid that I'm too schematic for that.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If you don't want the reader to know immediately the meaning (if the language is made up, but you want to show off a bit like I did in Into the Nexus_Prologue) you should transcribe it as it is.

Otherwise, a direct translation in italics without showing the original language is better. (i.e. I usually encounter this issue in Pokémon fanfics: the authors sometimes type down both the "Pika"s and the meaning behind them continuously and on the long run it's a bit annoying.)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Pokémon. The adventures of Ash Ketchum's daughter were a blast.

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Hard to say. Since I started writing and fantasizing for my own amusement, they are all my precioussssss...

But if the ask is about "which one I would re-read more frequently", it would probably be Abbreviation. It's short-ish, has angsty feels and comfort in equal parts without forgetting the humor, so yeah.

20. What fic are you most proud of?

Mmmmmmh... Probably the Shivers & the Aftermath Series, along with PMD: Mega (Shinka) Mix.

They are among my oldest published fics and I worked hard on them, so, yeah, they're my babies!

So, this little introspection has been fun, @floralflowerpower unfortunately I didn't tag you last time because there hadn't been one, but thank you anyway for the mention! I don't know who to tag for this, but feel free to join the fun!

Hope I didn't bore y'all, type ya soon!

[galaxxyboy]

gimmie gimmie s’more

summary: Shane somehow convinces Ryan to go on a weekend long, technology free sex-cation in the middle of the woods, with nothing more than a tent and a blanket to protect them from the elements.

or a weekend full of sex and feelings dump in the woods word count: 4,469 warnings: trans character, trans!ryan, explicit smut (vaginal penetration, unsafe sex, safe sane and consensual) 

“Ryan. Ryaaaan. Ryan. Ry-guy. Baby. Love of my life. Boogara. B boy. Berryga-“

“Holy shit.” Ryan doesn’t look up from his phone where he’s playing mobile sudoku like an old man, but he does tilt his chin in Shane’s direction.

“Look at me,” Shane says. Ryan complies as best as he can, (Shane is lying on his chest, after all, which is an awkward angle), but at least he’s done with mobile sudoku. Shane casts his eyes up at Ryan, fucking gorgeous and open, and then he claps his hands together and says, “camping.”

“Nope,” Ryan replies, and he’s back to mobile sudoku before Shane can even finish his sentence.

“Ry,” Shane says. He makes grabby hands at Ryan and Ryan finally puts his phone down to lace their fingers together. “It’ll be fun.”

The thing is, Ryan, in spite of Shane’s relentless teasing, isn’t some kind of Californian flower. He’s been camping before with his family as a kid, and actually enjoyed it. That kind of camping, though, involved a rented RV with an actual bedroom and a place to cook food. He figures Shane, a wild midwesterner, has something different in mind. Some kind of rustic camping experience where they’ll both be mauled by a bear in the middle of fucking, or something.

And besides, Ryan would rather take his rare time off from worrying about Watcher fucking Shane in their bed, in their house, and not in the bear infested woods, thank you very much.

“The last time you said something would be fun, I had to bring you to a Vegas ER to have a dragon dildo surgically removed,” Ryan points out.

Shane shudders at the memory. “It wasn’t exactly surgical,” he argues.

“Dude, they knocked you out for a good twenty minutes.”

Shane waves a hand as if he can get rid of that memory. “Well anyway,” he says. He rests his hands on Ryan’s stomach, under his shirt, and looks up at him through big brown eyes. Dirty pool . “Just imagine it, Ry,” he says, his voice soft. “Just me and you. No one around for miles. The sun on our skin.” He moves his hand lower. “ All our skin.”

“I fucking hate you,” Ryan answers, his voice a bit rough. Shane doesn’t answer, and Ryan raises an eyebrow at him. “No more dragon dildos?”

Shane holds his other hand, the one not currently attempting a break into Ryan’s pants, up in the air. “I do solemnly swear.”

Ryan sighs. “Fine!” he answers, and Shane rewards him with a rather mind blowing orgasm, so Ryan can’t be totally to blame for his Pavlonian response to Shane’s puppy dog eyes.

FRIDAY

Ryan isn’t sure if he should feel vindicated or scared that apparently apprehensive was the right word to describe how one should feel about Shane’s camping plans. As Shane unloads his car, it’s brought to Ryan’s sharp attention that Shane has packed very lightly: a cooler full of cheap beer, a small tent, an inflatable mattress (which, like, okay), a single blanket and multiple bags of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars. It seems that he’s brought no real food for a three day camping trip. Ryan’s not entirely convinced that they’ll be able to live off this diet, but Shane, taking off to their location with a tent and cooler in hand, seems non-pulsed.

“Hey Shane?” Ryan asks. Shane turns to look at him and Ryan holds up the cooler and one of the bags. “The fuck?”

“S’mores,” Shane answers, which does not answer Ryan’s question but okay. “Come on. Grab the rest of it. We’re burning daylight, baby!”

Ryan grabs the rest of the stuff, grumbling under his breath as he follows Shane. Shane arrives at the camping site first, true to his word, there are no people around, and pulls out the instructions for the tent. A smirk spreads over Ryan’s face as he watches Shane, furrowed brow and all, reading fucking instructions on how to put up a tent. “Need help, bud?”

Shane looks up at Ryan and rolls his eyes at the cocky face staring back at him. “Nah,” he answers. “I got this. Just sit right there and look pretty, baby. Leave the hard work to me.”

Ryan sits on the edge of the cooler and watches Shane struggle for the next ten minutes, grumbling under his breath. Eventually, Ryan decides to stop torturing the guy and gets up, helps him set up the tent. It takes all of two minutes, and Ryan smiles at Shane when it’s done. “Fuck you,” Shane says. “I totally had that in the bag.”

Ryan laughs. “You’re such a liar.” He puckers his lips at Shane and says, mockingly, “say thank you, baby.”

“Thank you, baby,” Shane replies as he presses his lips to Ryan’s. “Now come on,” he says. “Let’s get this air mattress going.”

Unfortunately, the two of them don’t have as much luck with the air mattress as they did with the tent. “I see,” Shane says, kneeling on the floor. “It needs batteries.”

Ryan rolls his eyes at Shane. “You didn’t think to replace them?”

“It’s not my fault,” Shane defends. He flops the end of the air mattress on the floor. “It’s Steven’s air mattress.”

Ryan is kind of morbidly curious how Shane talked Steven into giving them his air mattress, or why Steven even has an air mattress in the first place, but he doesn’t ask. Instead, he says, “well I’ll just take the car and go get some more batteries.”

Ryan reaches for the keys, but Shane shakes his head. “Immersion, baby,” he responds, tapping either side of Ryan’s chest. And that’s how Ryan ends up that night laying on the cold, damp floor with only a blanket and Shane to keep him warm. Comfortable.

Ryan, trying and failing to sleep while staring at the ceiling, says “I hate you,” into the silence. When Shane doesn’t respond, Ryan looks down at him. Shane’s got his head on Ryan’s chest, long legs bracketing Ryan’s, arms around his waist, dead asleep. He looks so peaceful like this, no worry on his face, and Ryan, despite himself, brushes Shane’s hair and thinks about how fucking lucky he is to have someone like Shane.

SATURDAY

Ryan wakes up to Shane sneaking out from their blanket. “No,” he whines, groggy, reaching his arms in Shane’s general direction. When there’s no reply, Ryan squints his eyes open.

Shane isn’t in their tent at all. Ryan thinks Shane may have been mauled by bears which, while obviously traumatizing, would kind of serve him right for not listening to Ryan in the first place.

“Shane?” Ryan calls. He reluctantly leaves the safety of their tent to hunt for Shane’s dead body, which is how he finds Shane sitting over the edge of a cliff, watching the sunrise. The fact that the sun is rising cements in Ryan’s mind that they definitely should be sleeping, but he finds it’s hard to be grumpy at being woken up so early when Shane looks fucking etheral, brilliant yellow and orange rays coating his skin, reflecting off the water, rising heat covering Ryan like a blanket.

Ryan sits next to Shane and laces their fingers together. Neither of them speak for a while, watching the sunrise until the sun has fully risen, and the heat is a little more present. Shane turns to kiss Ryan, whispers, “love you, baby,” like a secret for the two of them to share, and then promptly stands, quickly shreds his clothes (Ryan gives him an incredulous look for that one), and jumps into the water.

“What the fuck?” Ryan shouts down at his boyfriend when he emerges from the water, hair a mess and laughing.

“Skinny dipping!” Shane answers. Ryan feels like he has god damn whiplash from the complete 180 his morning has taken. “Join me, Ry!”

Ryan, as with most things, feels drawn in like a moth to a flame to one of Shane’s crazy schemes. Despite himself, he shrugs off his clothes and jumps in the water next to Shane, making sure to thoroughly soak the asshole to teach him a lesson.

“Hey!” Shane shouts when Ryan resurfaces from the water. He splashes Ryan, and Ryan splashes back, and eventually they’re in a full out splash war like children. It ends when Shane holds his hands up as Ryan splashes a particularly big splash in his face. “You win, you win.”

Ryan’s giggles die out as he takes Shane in. His skin is glowing in the morning sun, his hair a mess on top of his head, his eyes sparkly. Ryan moves closer so that he can pull Shane towards him until their skin is touching. He brushes a piece of Shane’s hair out of his face and says, “you’re fucking beautiful.”

Shane goes red. “You’re fucking beautiful,” he answers, and then pulls Ryan into a kiss. He tastes like seawater and s’mores and something so undeniably Shane that Ryan kind of never wants to stop kissing him, like, ever.

When Shane pulls back, he fixes Ryan with a devious smile. “You know,” he says conversationally, “back in the day, I held the record amongst my friends for the longest any of us could hold our breaths underwater.”

Sounds like a boastful lie, but to be fair, so does most of Shane’s crazy midwestern childhood. “Yeah?” Ryan asks.

“Yeah,” Shane replies. He skirts his fingers up Ryan’s thigh, almost touching him but not quite, and says against Ryan’s ear, all husky in a way that makes Ryan fucking melt, “you wanna see?”

When Ryan nods, Shane backs him up against the cliff and uses the momentum of the water to lift Ryan onto the cliff. Ryan wants to argue that this is really no testament to his breath-holding abilities, but then Shane pulls Ryan close by his ass and attaches his mouth to Ryan’s clit and Ryan really loses the ability to argue anything.

Shane pushes two fingers into Ryan’s hole and moves slowly, languidly, as if he has all the time in the world to make Ryan come apart. He lets up on Ryan’s clit to kiss just above, his thighs, everywhere but where Ryan needs him. Ryan locks his legs around Shane’s head, drawing him in closer. Shane pulls his fingers out just enough to spread Ryan’s lips, and he licks a broad stripe over them.

“Shane, Shane,” Ryan chants, his hands everywhere: Shane’s hair, his shoulders, his arms, wrapped around Ryan’s thighs. “You gotta-you-please-”

Thankfully, Shane has had training in understanding Ryan’s babbling and, perhaps more thankfully, he has a heart today. He pushes his fingers back deep into Ryan, gives him something to clench around, and sucks Ryan’s clit into his mouth again, hard. Ryan feels his eyes roll into the back of his head, and he’s pretty sure he would faint into the water if it wasn’t for Shane’s ridiculously big hands on his thighs. Ryan’s soaked and he’s not sure if it’s the lake or him.

When Ryan starts breathing hard around whines, Shane lets up on his clit and instead lets Ryan grind against the bridge of his nose, thrusting two fingers into him in a way that has Ryan gasping and pushing back against his hand. “Yeah,” Shane says. “Yeah, give it to me,” and then he curls his fingers against Ryan’s g-spot and Ryan sees stars.

Ryan comes hard and Shane follows him through it, thrusting his fingers hard, following the manic thrust of Ryan’s hips with his tongue fucking everywhere until Ryan comes down from it and pushes Shane’s head away. Shane pulls his fingers out of Ryan and says, through heavy breaths, “see? What did I tell you? I could hold my breath for hours .”

He’s so fucking full of himself but he’s also so gorgeous, red lips and wet face, that Ryan kind of has to pull him into a deep kiss.

They spend the rest of the day lazing around, laying in the grass in the afternoon sun, Ryan curled into Shane’s side, both of them naked as the day they were born, with no fear of people coming to find them and seeing them like this. No one around for miles. The sun on their skin. Ryan is a little loath to admit Shane was right.

He must fall asleep for a while, because he wakes up to Shane tending to a campfire. He has a pair of Ryan’s basketball shorts slung low around his waist and not much else, and Ryan just wants to look at him for a while. Unfortunately, Shane has supersonic Ryan detectors. “Hey,” he greets. He turns to Ryan with a goofy smile. “Steven called.”

Ryan reaches out for Shane and Shane complies, letting Ryan pull him into a grass-centric cuddle. “I thought we were having a technology free weekend,” Ryan says, a lazy hand coming up to rub circles on Shane’s bare hip.

Shane laughs a little scary against Ryan’s skin. Ryan pulls back to look at Shane. “What did you do to Steven Lim?”

“Nothing,” Shane answers, though his smile gives away the fact that he’s a liar. “He asked where you were and I informed him you were sleeping and thoroughly immersed in our weekend long sex trip. To which he spluttered and hung up the phone.”

Ryan laughs and tucks his face into the crook of Shane’s neck. “You’re horrible.”

Shane chuckles softly, his voice syrupy, as he dances his fingers along Ryan’s thigh. “You know,” he starts.

Ryan sighs softly and spreads his legs as Shane rubs his fingertips against Ryan’s opening. “I’m technically a liar.”

Ryan tries to push back on Shane’s fingers but he’s trapped by Shane’s arm holding his hips in place. “Oh yeah?” he says as he decides to relax into the feeling. “Why’s that?”

Shane presses a finger into Ryan and fucks him with it slowly. He leans down to whisper into Ryan’s ear. “We haven’t even had sex yet.”

Ryan spreads his legs to give Shane a better angle. “We haven’t?” he asks, his voice breathy. “Wasn’t it you that ate me out until I thought you were going to drown? I was really afraid that I was going to have to call Steven and be like: ‘sorry, bro. He died eating pussy.’”

Shane laughs at that. “Steven would die too, and then you would be down to one CEO.” He rubs Ryan’s clit slowly and Ryan groans softly. “You know what I mean though, asshole. Penetration. Some good ole P in V.”

Ryan huffs out a laugh. “You are such a fucking cis guy.” Despite himself, he presses into Shane’s touch. “Go for it, man. P in V.”

Shane picks up his efforts then, pressing a second finger in beside his first. He stretches Ryan out on them, listens to the subtle changes in breathing. “You’re fucking beautiful,” Shane says, and then, just to be a dick, he presses another in and starts fucking Ryan in earnest.

Ryan puts a hand on Shane’s arm and can feel the muscles contracting beneath the skin. “Shane,” he says, all breathy. “Shane, you gotta stop, man. I’m gonna come.”

Shane’s smile is kind of loopy when he replies, “yeah, that’s the point.” He crooks his fingers and leans down to whisper in Ryan’s ear. “I wanna watch it happen, baby. Wanna watch you get my fingers soaking wet. Wanna make sure you’re nice and sticky inside so I have somewhere nice to put my dick.”

That’s it for Ryan, he comes clinging onto Shane’s arms, rides it out with his hips pressed to Shane’s hand, sucks Shane’s fingers into him as far as they’ll go. When he’s done, Shane pulls his fingers out just barely, just enough for Ryan to see how sticky he is. “God, what a fucking mess,” Shane says.

Ryan gives him a challenging look. “Why don’t you clean it up?”

Shane, as always, takes the challenge. He ducks his head between Ryan’s legs. He laps up the come there, but refuses to touch Ryan’s clit, which just drives Ryan crazy. He sucks Ryan’s labia hard and Ryan very nearly passes out. “Oh my god,” he gripes, a hand in Shane’s hair. “Please, please fuck me.”

Shane gives one last suck to Ryan’s labia before pulling his head back. His face is fucking soaked and he might just be the most beautiful person Ryan’s ever seen. “Well,” Shane says, a hand on Ryan’s thigh, a little breathy. “Since you asked nicely and all.”

Shane hovers over Ryan with his hands on the floor, like some kind of poor intimation of a sex pushup. He uses one hand to push Ryan’s leg up so that it’s bent next to his chest, and uses this new angle to rub at Ryan’s opening with two of his fingers. Ryan whines at the feeling. “Stop being a tease,” he says, but he can’t quite catch his breath enough to sound angry.

Shane rolls his eyes but lines his cock up with Ryan’s entrance anyway. He pushes in slowly, and despite the fact that they’ve done this more times than Ryan could count to in this lifetime, it still takes his breath away every time. Once Shane is all the way in, pressing gentle kisses to Ryan’s face, Ryan feels so full that he might split in half.

“Shane,” Ryan says. He gets his hands on the nape of Shane’s neck. He’s sweating, which should be gross, but Ryan can’t find it in himself to care. He’s getting fucked in the middle of the woods, is probably gonna find grass in horrible places for weeks to come, and all he can think about is how he wants more .

Shane gives Ryan one shallow thrust that has Ryan crying out and canting his hips up. “You good?” Shane asks.

Ryan resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, Shane, A+ dick game. Please fuck me .”

Shane huffs out a laugh but starts giving it to Ryan in earnest, thrusting hard and fast, filling Ryan up and leaving him empty and filling him up again in a pattern that has Ryan dizzy with it. All he can do is hold on, his fingernails probably leaving indents in Shane’s shoulders, and get lost in the feeling of getting fucked right.

Shane pants over him, right in his ear, which Ryan suspects should probably also be gross but is currently just hot as fuck. “God, you’re so beautiful,” Shane says, because even during sex, he can’t shut up. “So wet for me. So tight. Look at you. You’re fucking glowing, Ryan. You’re ethereal.”

Ryan isn’t sure if he wants more to come or to cry. Shane, however, makes the executive decision for him. He rubs the pad of his thumb over Ryan’s clit in nice circular motions and whispers, right in his ear, “you gonna come for me?”

Ryan nods quickly. “Yes, yes, Shane, man, come on,” he pants senselessly, his nails digging so hard into Shane’s shoulders that Shane actually cringes a little.

That doesn’t stop his attack on Ryan’s clit, though. “Come on,” he breathes into Ryan’s ear, presses a kiss against the skin of his neck. “Come for me, Ryan.”

Shane has some kind of sex superpower that makes Ryan helpless to do anything other than what Shane says. He comes around Shane’s cock like he’s possessed, white light gathered behind his eyes, pussy clenching hard around Shane’s cock, keeping him there, his hands fucking anywhere on Shane’s body that they can reach. Shane rubs him through it, only stops rubbing Ryan’s clit when Ryan pushes his hand away, just on the bad side of oversensitive.

“Fuck,” Shane says, his open-mouthed breathing against Ryan’s neck. He sounds absolutely destroyed and Ryan can relate. He presses a hand to the back of Shane’s head and just cradles him to his body. “Can I-” Shane mutters. His hips thrust forward on their own accord and Ryan gasps. “Can I come inside you, Ryan? Please, please, I have to-”

Ryan cuts him off with an enthusiastic nod. “Yes, please, Shane.”

With permission, Shane thrusts his hips forward fast and deep, like he can’t bear to have his cock any further out of Ryan than absolutely necessary. He must have been holding back for Ryan’s sake, because it only takes a handful of thrusts before Ryan feels his cock throb inside him. Shane gets himself as far in as possible and comes, filling Ryan up so much he can hardly stand it. Ryan doesn’t get to see his face, but he can feel the puffs of hot air against his body, hears the way Shane says “Ry, Ry,” over and over, and that’s a treat in itself.

Shane stays shuddering on top of Ryan for a second, shaking with the sheer force of holding himself up for that long and fucking someone into the grass. Ryan would be kind of proud of if there was any more room in his head for thoughts. As it is, he just holds Shane close, enjoys the feeling of Shane’s cock inside him, keeping his come trapped deep inside Ryan.

Once Shane gets his brain back online, he rolls off of Ryan and lands on the grass with a hard thud . Ryan can feel Shane’s come dripping out of him, which he always finds kind of gross, but makes Shane go blurry-eyed. Shane collects the come that’s dripped out and pushes it back into Ryan, to which Ryan whimpers from oversensitivity.

“Do you want me to clean you out?” Shane whispers into Ryan’s ear, his voice deep and rough, and Ryan’s clit gives a weak jump that honestly kind of hurts.

“My guy, are you trying to kill me?” Ryan asks. He pulls Shane to his chest and kisses the top of his head. He likes being able to do that, horizontally, pretty much the only time he and Shane can be the same height. “Time to nap.”

Shane huffs out a laugh against Ryan’s collarbone. “Is that all you frat boys care about?” he asks. “Beer and naps?”

“And sex,” Ryan adds, already well on his way to sleep. “You made me come, like, three times today, dude. My body is begging for a nap.”

Ryan’s eyes are closed, but he can almost hear Shane’s cocky smirk as he says, “yeah. I’m kind of a god, aren’t I?” Ryan slips into unconsciousness, vaguely aware of Shane pressing a kiss to Ryan’s neck and saying, “I love you, baby.”

Ryan wakes up to a dark forest, Shane nowhere to be found. Ryan’s mind immediately goes to bears again, but when he sits up, he finds Shane tending to a campfire, sweats hanging low against his hips, a t-shirt hanging haphazardly from his shoulders, his glasses sideways and his hair a fucking mess as he digs through the utter shit pile of things Shane packed for their trip.

“Shane,” Ryan says. Shane comically drops a backpack, and Ryan sends up a silent prayer to whatever deity is willing to listen to a bisexual trans man that his boyfriend hasn’t broken anything important. “What the fuck is happening?”

“You’re gonna kill me,” Shane says, which is never a good way to start a sentence. Ryan sits up and Shane tosses him a sweatshirt and some pants. Ryan pulls the pants on and stands to put on the sweatshirt when Shane says, “it’s possible that s’mores are the only form of substance I’ve brought.”

Ryan stops with one arm in his sweatshirt and glares at Shane. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish,” Shane says. Ryan pulls his sweatshirt on finally and sits on the ground near the campfire. Shane rips open bags of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate in quick succession and hands them off to Ryan. He has sticks too, somehow, which makes Ryan a little wary of the fact that Shane ‘forgot’ real food. Maybe his midwestern ass thought they could pillage or something.

“Come on,” Shane says, breaking Ryan out of his thoughts. He already has his marshmallow over the fire, and Ryan does the same. “I’m not telling Steven Lim you died naked in the woods from malnutrition.”

With his free hand, Ryan mimes picking up a phone. “Uhhh,” he starts in a pretty bad Shane impression. “So Ryan died.”

Shane mimes being on the other end of the phone and pitches his voice up in an equally bad impression of Steven. “Oh gosh!” he says, which makes Ryan giggle. “Did he at least die peacefully?”

“Nah,” Ryan answers. He gives an exaggerated sigh and adds, “he was naked and really fucking pissed at me.”

“Oh!” Shane fake laments. “I have to go eat some gold to feel better about this!” He sighs.

Ryan laughs again and pushes Shane’s shoulder. “Man, shut the fuck up.”

They put together their s’mores and eat in relative silence. Ryan can’t help stealing glances at Shane’s face as they eat. He looks gorgeous like this, lit up by the fire, chocolate running down his fingertips. Shane catches him staring when they finish eating and gives him a goofy smile. “What?”

“Nothing,” Ryan answers. “Just,” he shrugs. “Thank you for convincing me to do this. It really was fun.”

Shane’s smile gets bigger then, somehow. “You’re welcome.” He reaches over and touches his sticky fingers to Ryan’s. “I told you it would be better than Vegas.”

Ryan breaks into a comically big smile of his own. “Shut up, Shane.”

SUNDAY

Shane pulls up to Ryan’s house around midday and parks outside. “I’m glad you had a good time,” he says. He leans over and connects their lips in a gentle kiss. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“See you,” Ryan says softly. He gets out and takes the stairs up to his apartment, where Roland is eating cold pizza in some kind of trance. Ryan guesses he probably hasn’t slept since Ryan left on Friday.

Ryan joins him for a slice of pizza, finally, some real food, and gets a few bites in before there’s a knock at his door. “You gonna get that?” he asks Roland. Roland just shrugs, pretty fucking out of it, so Ryan sighs and, with one last bite of his pizza, goes to answer the door.

“What?” he asks, and is surprised when Shane backs him into the room, pushes him against the wall and kisses him senseless.

“I was wrong,” Shane says when he pulls back for air. “I don’t want to see you Monday. I want to see you right now. And tomorrow and the day after and every second of every day.”

From the kitchen table, Roland says, “ew?”

Ryan doesn’t look away from Shane’s eyes. “Shut it, Roland.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE

this fic is a rewrite of a supernatural fic i wrote when i was 16. i wanted to do this cute camping idea some justice and i hope you enjoyed it! it’s a behemoth and also the longest thing i’ve written in two years. i guess i just really like camping.

disclaimer: this fic dealt with a trans character. i myself an nonbinary afab and i used the language i myself would feel comfortable using and i write from my own experiences.

please please consider a reblog if you liked this!! it really helps! i also post bfu/watcher stuff on the reg and aes stuff so if you like that consider a follow? maybe?

thank you so much for reading and for your support.

- is

[theastrophilearchitect]

WandaVision series review part 3.

You'd think I'd have learnt my lesson now--save the damn draft before you switch tabs to find the tags you want to add. But I haven't. Clearly.

The last two weeks I've posted parts 1 and 2 of my WandaVision review, because, even though by the time this goes up, WandaVision will have ended nearly a month ago, it's still all I can think about. Part 1 contained my initial thoughts and episodes 1-3 breakdown; part 2 contained episodes 4-6 breakdown, and this part will contain my episodes 6-9 breakdown and my final thoughts.

Episode Seven: ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’ This episode was released on February 19th, with a runtime of still 37 minutes, following a 2000s-style sitcom format heavily influenced by Modern Family. 

Cue the recap, and we open to Wanda waking up in an empty bed. We then cut to an interview-style scene which I assume is based off Modern Family or another sitcom, like the interviews intermingled with reality TV, but there’s nothing to really pick apart; it’s just entertaining. The twins then run into Wanda’s bedroom and tell her their ‘game is freaking out’, and we see their controllers change over and over with that scarlet-TV texture. Billy comments that his head is noisy, an echo of the power shown in episode six, similar to Wanda’s own.

Interview-Wanda then says as punishment for expanding the borders, she plans on taking ‘a quarantine-style stay-cation’, which, written probably in 2019, did not age well. She goes downstairs to make milk, and it transforms between a carton and a bottle. These object shifts may be implying as Wanda expands the borders, she loses more and more control of even the things right beside her--the Hex is falling apart.

Cut to Hayward and SWORD setting up a new camp beside the new border of the Hex, but further back than before, likely to give them more time to move if it happens again.

Vision then wakes up in the circus the original SWORD camp was turned into, and, looking like his synthezoid self, is assumed to be a clown. He then sees Darcy, dressed as an escape artist, but she doesn’t remember him, clearly under Wanda’s control.

Wanda asks the twins if they’ve seen Vision, they ask if she wants them to look for him, and she replies, ‘If he doesn’t want to be here, there’s nothing I can do about it.’ It seems like she’s trying to defer her guilt at what she’s down to the townspeople. The twins then ask about Pietro--’Do not believe anything that man said. He is not your uncle.’ We saw Wanda blast him into a haystack towards the end of the last episode, but now he’s simply vanished. Wanda then laughs that she has none of the answers they expect her to, and makes some nihilistic comments. She uses her magic to open the door to a knock, and enter Agnes, who takes the kids next door to give Wanda some alone time. The furniture then begins to shift into pieces from the other decades, but Wanda fixes it.

Cut to Jimmy and Monica in a military vehicle they stole in the last episode, and Jimmy explains in Darcy’s hacking, she found a secret project called Cataract, to bring Vision back online--to fix the Vision. But it failed, until Wanda brought him back, which was why Hayward was so focused on Vision over Wanda in the Hex. They then meet some non-SWORD military people, who unveil a higher-grade vehicle, presumably for Monica to attempt to safely re-enter the Hex.

God, I love seeing Darcy in this show. She was the only good thing about the first two Thor movies. So Vision zaps Darcy, and she wakes up. They steal a circus vehicle--a transformed SWORD vehicle--and Vision asks her some questions about the Hex she doesn’t actually know the answers to.

The tension really builds in this episode, simply as it cuts between characters in much shorter intervals than in previous ones. We watch a montage of things in Wanda’s house shifting, then cut to an interview, where she explains that she doesn’t know what’s happening. Then, the person behind the camera asks, ‘Do you think maybe this is what you deserve?’ The voice doesn’t sound familiar, but knowing who the interviewer is, I can hear it. Wanda questions this because the interviewer isn’t supposed to talk, then cut to this episode’s advert.

This is for a drug called Nexus--’A unique anti-depressant that works to anchor you back to your reality. Or the reality of your choice.’ ‘Nexus. Because the world doesn’t revolve around you. Or does it?’ As someone who hasn’t actually read any comics, this information is very second-hand, but a Nexus Being in the comics is a powerful being with the power to alter reality and time--essentially in possession of the Infinity Stones’ powers without possessing the Stones themselves. This brings with it the implication that is what Wanda is--more than just a girl who got powers from the Mind Stone, but Nexus Beings aren’t elaborated on in the rest of the show.

Cut to Agnes and the twins; Billy says he likes it there, because Agnes’s mind is quiet, which is compared to Wanda. I want to explain the implications of this, but I’ve been trying to only spoil things as I get to them, so I’m going to keep my mouth shut, or rather... what’s the keyboard equivalent? God knows. Anyway, Agnes tells them not to worry about Wanda, because ‘she’s supermom’, which, you know, is a fun superhero thing.

Cut back to Monica, who prepares some kind of suit to re-enter the Hex. She gets in, and drives toward the barrier, but when the wheels meet it, they fail to pass, and begin to drive up the barrier, flipping Monica onto her back. The vehicle begins to rewrite itself and break apart; Monica manages to clamber out of a trapdoor in the roof. Jimmy prepares a medical thing, and the barrier spits out the vehicle. Monica turns back, drops her helmet, and plunges into the barrier, and presses through. Her body warps, we hear echoes of Captain Marvel, we hear Carol’s quote about Maria being given the toughest kid, and her body reforms, her eyes light up blue, and she passes all the way through, eyes still glowing, and we see a shots of her warped vision, almost as though she can see energy or EM radiation.

Darcy tries to explain why Wanda killed Vision to him, and though the road is empty, a traffic light is red. As it turns green, roadworkers approach, impeding them and preventing Vision from returning to central Westview. 

Monica enters Wanda’s house, who threatens her, and lifts her telekinetically out onto the street, where she is watched by the neighbours. Wanda drops Monica to the ground, but she pulls a superhero landing, with blue lights for effect--her DNA has been rewritten by the Hex’s borders for the third time, and it’s clearly unlocked something. Wanda continues to threaten her, and Monica says to do it--’Don’t let [Hayward] make you the villain,’ to which Wanda replies, ‘Maybe I already am.’ Which is fair, but then villains never think they’re the bad guys.

Agnes watches them from a window. Monica tries to talk Wanda down, then Agnes comes outside, tells Monica to leave, and takes her inside. The people haven’t questioned Wanda’s magic, or Monica’s apparent new powers, which merely shows the extent of Wanda’s control. It’s also interesting that Monica didn’t fall under her control again when she re-entered the Hex.

Cut to Vision and Darcy, the roadworks clear away, but someone with a stop sign and a queue of crossing children continue to block their way. Vision phases through the van’s roof, and flies away.

Wanda notices the kids’ show on Agnes’s TV, and the half-eaten food on the coffee table, and realises the twins are missing. She asks, and Agnes tells her they’re probably in the basement, where Wanda then obviously goes. The basement walls are covered in branches, made of stone, and there is no reply when Wanda calls for the twins. She then enters an ancient chamber, walls engraved with runes, and a spellbook on the side.

Agnes comes downstairs, stroking Senor Scratchy, the rabbit Wanda and Vision used in their magic act way back in episode two, and says, ‘You didn’t think you were the only magical girl in town, did you?’ Agnes shuts the door with a twist of her hand and some purple sparks.

‘The name’s Agatha Harkness. Lovely to finally meet you, dear.’

Purple fogs Wanda’s eyes, and cue the best moment in the entire series: Agatha All Along. This musical number essentially shows that Agatha has been behind everything that’s gone wrong for Wanda, aside from SWORD, obviously, and is such a good song. Go listen to it. Now. Immediately. Go. 

We see her screw up the magic show, send Pietro to the door, and we see her sitting behind the interview camera.

‘And I killed Sparky, too.’ Insert maniacal laughter, and cue the credits.

We sit through to the split between the animated credits and typical black and white scrolling ones, and this episode has an mid-credits scene. I checked for one the first few episodes, then gave up, and I can’t remember what it was that made me find this one, if it was just letting the credits play, or feeling the odd urge to check, or what.

We watch Monica try to find a way into Agatha’s house. She pulls open basement doors, then--’Snooper’s gonna snoop.’ Fake Pietro stands behind her, dressed in a beanie, hair no longer mostly white as per Quicksilver’s design.

This is my second-favourite episode overall, first being episode 8, and contains the biggest switch since episode 4. We meet the big bad, since Marvel is literally incapable of writing a story in which the climax isn’t between the hero and a villain with their exact same powers. (WandaVision takes this to the extreme, but that would be a spoiler.)

Episode Eight: ‘Previously On’ Released February 26th, Marvel blessed us with an episode 46 minutes long! At last! This was the second episode to completely break the sitcom format (first being episode 4, obviously), which leaves us in 2000s-themed Westview, but without a laugh track or any other sitcom elements.

We open with a recap, including Jimmy Woo’s explanation of Wanda and Pietro’s origins pre-Avengers from what I believe was episode 5. Or was it 4? Probably 4, because it was really soon after Hayward was introduced, in episode 4. Yes. Let’s go with that. 

This episode opens in Salem, Massachusetts, 1693, and we watch Agatha dragged to and magically tied to a stake, to be killed for betraying her coven of witches, by practising dark magic, but she denies it. She then relents and admits it, begs for help to control it, but the witches blast some kind of blue magic at her, which Agatha turns violet, and absorbs, killing the witches wielding it. The witch she calls mother, who also seems to be the leader of the coven, blasts her with magic after the others are dead, and as she does so, a kind of crown of the same blue light glows around her head (something I would neither notice nor question if I had not yet watched the series the whole way through). Agatha absorbs her magic and kills her, too. She steals a necklace from her mother, flies away, and we cut back to present.

Wanda tries to penetrate Agatha’s mind, but she tells her her thoughts were never available--a repeat of Billy calling her mind ‘quiet’ in episode 7, but I’m not actually sure the point of this, aside from limiting information available to both Wanda and the audience. Wanda’s Sokovian accent also returns in this scene. She tries to use her magic, but Agnes puts her in magical binds and explains that the runes in the walls mean ‘only the witch who cast the runes can use her magic’. Agatha also explains how she possessed fake Pietro--Fietro--not so she could control his mind, but so she could see through his eyes and ears.

Agatha questions how Wanda cast so many spells to control so many people, so many objects and locations all at once, when she had no magical training, which confuses Wanda because she doesn’t use incantations the way Agatha does; her magic is more through willpower and intention. 

Agatha then brings Wanda through a door, in an attempt to comprehend how she did it, and it leads them to an old, one-room living space in Sokovia--Wanda’s childhood, before her parents died. They prepare for a TV night, and their father invites young Wanda to pick, showing her a box containing various sitcoms--Bewitched, Malcolm in the Middle, I love Lucy, Who’s the Boss?, The Addams Family etc.--many of which acted as the basis for episodes of WandaVision, but she chooses The Dick Van Dyke Show. This love of sitcoms, the ideation in comparison to the Cold War outside, is where Wanda’s subconscious choice of making Westview into one--her version of a paradise for herself and Vision.

Then a bomb goes off outside, killing their parents and leaving Wanda and Pietro in rubble. A bomb lands before them, Stark Industries written on the side, but their television is behind it, and Dick Van Dyke still plays. 

Cut back to present Wanda and Agatha; Wanda says the bomb was defective, but they were trapped for two days, and Agatha implies it not going off was Wanda’s doing, believing her to be a witch like herself.

They move onto a HYDRA testing chamber, where teenage volunteer-Wanda stands near the sceptre from The Avengers, the one Thanos gave to Loki, the one containing the Mind Stone. She moves toward it, and the sceptre’s blue orb breaks from the handle; floats towards her. She touches it, and it bursts, revealing the yellow Mind Stone inside, and letting out a kind of wind blast. In the light, Wanda sees a silhouette reminiscent of the original Scarlet Witch design.

They take Wanda to isolation, and we watch some scientist replay the tape from the testing chamber, but in the footage, the orb doesn’t move; she moves to the room’s centre, then it cuts to her lying on the ground.

Agatha concludes that the Mind Stone amplified a dormant power, and they move to a memory of the Avengers compound post-Avengers: Age of Ultron. Past-Wanda is grieving for Pietro, Vision enters her room, and she invites him to sit. They discuss the comedy on her TV, then he asks if she wants to talk about her grief, and she describes it as ‘this wave washing over [her], again and again. It knocks [her] down, and when [she tries] to stand up, it just comes for [her] again.’ Vision tries to reassure her, then says the thing that everyone’s been quoting but hit me hard: ‘But what is grief, if not love persevering?’

Agatha asks present-Wanda what happened when there was no-one there to pull her back from the dark, and when Wanda refuses, she presses. They shift into the SWORD compound, where past-Wanda approaches the desk demanding to be given Vision’s body post-Avengers: Endgame. This is the point from the CCTV Hayward showed Monica, Darcy, and Jimmy, claiming Wanda stole Vision’s body.

The receptionist calls somebody, and sends her down the hall, and I can’t help but notice that in her grief, in her hoodie and jeans, her hair is perfectly curled. She goes to Hayward’s office, who takes her into a windowed chamber, beneath which she can see mechanics/engineers doing something to Vision’s body, colour faded and parts broken up. The eyes in his severed head are white, and Wanda is upset, but Hayward questions why she wants to bury him, when she has the power to ‘bring [her] soulmate back online.’ But Wanda says she can’t do it, like when she refused to bring back Sparky, and Hayward tells her his materials are too valuable to just be buried, but offers her the chance to say goodbye. He tells her Vision isn’t hers, and she shatters the glass; lowers herself into the room.

Hayward calls off the guards who raise their guns at her. She lifts her power to his head, where the mind stone was: ‘I can’t feel you,’ reminiscent of the I just feel you, in Avengers: Infinity War, when the Stone bothered him in the night in Scotland. And she leaves, without the body, proving to the audience that Hayward is a liar.

Wanda drives to Westview, real Westview, where she watches the people go about their regular lives, but they seem sad. They all seem sad. She drives to a plot, the outline of a house marked by a concrete foundation, holding a piece of paper from an envelope in the car. She unfolds it to find a plan for the house: To grow old in. -V. Wanda breaks down in what is presumably the plot she turned into their house in the Hex, and her power explodes from her, in huge gusts we’ve never seen. The house forms itself, then it goes further, transforming the town and turning it to monochrome in preparation for WandaVision episode one.

Streams of power turn gold in the air, and form the silhouette of a body, which solidifies into Vision, black and white Vision, dressed in 50s clothes. Wanda remains in colour, in her regular clothes, then she turns to monochrome, to her 50s outfit, and Vision greets her. And despite the seriousness of this scene I can’t get over the damn bullet bra. 

And the pair sit down to watch the television, then the surroundings shift, and we see present-Wanda in her 2000s living room, but in a set, with empty seats for a live audience before her. Agatha claps from them, then vanishes. We hear the twins yell, and Wanda comes outside to find Agatha magically garrotting them, dressed in full-witchy attire.

Agatha describes Wanda as ‘a being capable of spontaneous creation’, calls it chaos magic--’And that makes you the Scarlet Witch.’ I feel like I ought to say roll credits, only that’s not even the name of the show. Before WandaVision’s title was officially announced, I remember seeing speculation that it would simply be called Vision and the Scarlet Witch, like Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

The credits roll, and, halfway through, we cut to Hayward and SWORD outside the Hex. Hayward goes into a tent, describes all their hard work at something, ‘but all we needed was a little energy directly from the source;’ and we’re shown the missile Wanda dragged out of the Hex in episode 5, glowing red. Someone flips a switch, and we watch lights turn on in a glass chamber, containing Vision, rendered in pure white, who wakes up. Another Vision, made from the original, and yet before this episode, due to the constant thing about twins, people were speculating there were two Wandas. Wrong character, right idea.

This is my favourite episode in the show: it’s magical, and it makes everything make so much more sense. We see that the Hex’s creation was an accident, but Wanda was ‘making it up as [she went] along,’ like the theme song in, I believe, episode 5. I just love origin stories.

Episode Nine: ‘The Series Finale’ This finale was released on March 5th, with a grand total of 49 minutes of runtime, and, epic as it was, I found it to be rather disappointing, following a fairly typical Marvel formula, compared to the originality of the rest of the series. Granted, parts of this episode in particular were shot in 2020, so they didn’t quite go as planned, but still. The CGI is excellent though.

We open to exactly where we left off; Wanda frees the twins and sends them inside, then sends a blast at Agatha, who absorbs it-- ‘I take power from the undeserving. It’s kinda my thing’--and Wanda’s hand begins to blacken. Agatha offers her Westview in return for her magic, which Wanda obviously doesn’t accept. White Vision lands behind her, and she goes to him, confused. He places his hands on her face, but presses, trying to crack her skull, and it becomes clear he is doing Hayward’s bidding.

In sweeps Wanda’s Westview-Vision (who we’ll call Red Vision) and blasts White Vision away. The two swoop off together for their own fight, Wanda flies after Agatha, and we see Monica locked in a messy living room with Fietro, where she has presumably been since the end of episode 7.

The Visions fight each other, in that classic Marvel way of pitting the hero against a villain with an identical skillset (I’m looking at you, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and basically every other movie. Seriously, Marvel needs to make more villains like Loki, instead of introducing them at the start of a film and having them somehow taken out of the equation by the end). It’s a cool sequence, as they phase through each other and plummet up and down. I love flying sequences.

At SWORD, Jimmy calls out Hayward, saying he won’t be able to cover this out, but Hayward says Wanda stopped her show, so there’s no evidence, and there’ll only be one Vision by the end, who people will assume Wanda resurrected. But Jimmy says he has called some friends from Quantico--whatever that is--to expose Hayward, who handcuffs him, but Jimmy is a magician, so he frees himself and actually calls somebody to apprehend Hayward.

Wanda arrives in the town square, to no sign of Agatha, and is then blasted to the ground by her from behind. Agatha summons a book we saw in her basement: ‘The Scarlet Witch is not born, she is formed. She has no coven, no need for incantation. [Her] power exceeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme’--Doctor Strange--’It’s [her] destiny to destroy the world.’ But Wanda denies that she is a witch. Agatha casts a spell on Dottie from episode 2, apparently bringing her back to consciousness. She tells Wanda her name is Sarah, and begs her to let her bring her daughter out of her room. Wanda accuses Agatha, who replies, ‘She’s your meat puppet. I just cut her strings.’ I just love that line, for some reason.

Agatha casts another spell, and everyone in the square returns to their senses, approaches and surrounds Wanda. 

Monica finds a document in the room with Fietro, that says his name is Ralph Bohner. This was incredibly unsatisfying to me--it’s interesting that Fietro is actually the Ralph Agnes constantly mentioned, but nothing else comes of this, and, as of the end of the series, Pietro and his changed face are simply an elaborate boner joke. I wish his face had some kind of relevance as of now, but it may become relevant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, because that’s obviously where we’re really going to delve into the multiverse, and it features Wanda, so it would make sense.

Monica pins down Ralph and tears a string of beads from his neck, which glowed purple; the thing allowing Agatha to control him.

In the twins’ room, Billy has a vision (heh) of what is happening with Wanda, and they run outside.

The people around Wanda bombard her with their real stories, their real problems. ‘When you let us sleep, we have your nightmares.’ She yells that she’s kept these people safe, but they beg to be freed, and the noise builds, until Wanda screams, with a burst of power that toes ropes around their necks, suffocating them, but she stops it. Mrs Hart begs her, ‘If you won’t let us go, just let us die.’ Agatha taunts her that heroes don’t torture people, and she sends out a blast of power, that highlights the Hex’s border crimson, and it begins to break apart. She tells them all to leave now.

His white counterpart blasts Red vision to the ground, near Wanda but he begins to break apart. The twins arrive, and begin to break apart, tied to the Hex. It looks weirdly like a LEGO advert, but Wanda recloses to Hex to save them. You know, what? I’m still not sure why it’s hexagonal. I wouldn’t question it being round, or quadrilateral, but hexagonal seems too intentional.

Agatha blasts the family with magic, and Wanda shields them, but Agatha absorbs the power. SWORD vehicles roll into the square, hayward in one, having apparently managed to cross the border before Wanda closed it again. White Vision rolls into the scene and slams Red Vision through the walls of and into a library, and Red stops White attacking him by explaining that he is not the true Vision, because he’s just Wanda’s version.

Wanda flies up, again after Agatha, while the twins use their powers to take away SWORD’s guns, and Hayward comes out with a pistol, which he fires at them, but Monica, having freed herself from Ralph, blocks the bullets. They ripple through her body, and pass through, but fall to the ground as her eyes glow orange. As Hayward drives back, then revs up to apparently run them over, Darcy, in the circus van, slams his vehicle into the side of a building.

We cut to the Vision’s pondering the Ship of Theseus--a philosophical thought experiment. If the Ship of Theseus has one of its planks replaced, it remains the Ship of Theseus. But, if all the planks are replaced over time, is it still the same ship? And what if the old planks are reassembled into another ship; which is then the true ship? This is a metaphor for the two Vision’s--White being the reassembly of the old planks, and Red being the replaced.

Red Vision proposes that the true ship is the one touched by Theseus himself, with the wear and tear, suggesting White Vision is the true one, because he has the memories Red doesn’t; the one touched by Wanda. White Vision claims he does not have the memories, but Red tells him his data banks are not so easily wiped--they’re there, just withheld. White allows Red to do his zappy thing, and the memories of everything Vision went through pre-WandaVision comes back to him. White says he is the true Vision, and flies away through the roof.

Meanwhile, Wanda sneaks up behind Agnes and does the nightmare-mind thing she did to the Avengers at the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron, sending her mind to the stake at the opening of episode 8. The desiccated witches rise, but instead turn on Wanda, calling her a witch, again, and again. The witches wrest Wanda onto the stake instead, but a red crown, like the blue on Agatha’s mother in episode 8, materialises on her head, formed of the same light as her magic. It’s really jarring at this point that she’s still in a hoodie and sweatpants.

Wanda blasts away the other witches, and they emerge from the nightmare, back to Westview. She and Agatha rise, blast magic at one another, and Wanda’s hands blacken further as Agatha absorbs more and more. She sends a blast at one of Westview’s walls, and a spot ripples in the middle of each. 

Wanda’s face seems to age, like the witches of Agatha’s coven, and Agatha absorbs streams of magic, until Wanda has none left. She gives her some depressing lecture, then tries to blast Wanda out of the sky, but it doesn’t work. Her hands begin to blacken, and Wanda’s face youthens, then the camera pans to reveal runes on Westview’s walls, like those in the basement, now disabling Agatha’s magic. Little confused how Wanda stayed flying when Agatha took her power, and how Agatha now stays flying.

The red crown reappears on Wanda’s head, her eyes glow, she reabsorbs her power from Agatha, and, as she does, she changes. Her hair comes down, and she becomes the silhouette she saw in the Mind Stone at HYDRA, finally getting a Scarlet Witch costume, and it is epic. 

They return to the ground, and Wanda uses her powers to put Agatha under the control she had the other residents under, to turn her into the Nosy Neighbour once and for all. Wanda leaves Agatha alive, so she could return in future instalments,.

Wanda, Red Vision, and the twins return to their home, and the Hex’s border contracts, until it covers only their street. They put the boys to bed, and Vision begins, ‘Your mother and I...’, and, when I first watched this, I really thought he was going to say ‘...are getting a divorce,’ but he simply finishes, ‘...are very proud of you both.’

Wanda says that ‘a family is forever,’ clearly already in mourning for the children she’s about to lose. They finish up, the border continues contracting, and Wanda turns off the lamps in the living room, though Vision turns one on, to say goodbye. As the border progresses towards them, Vision asks what he is, and says some literal and romantic crap; they kiss, talk a little, and he breaks apart as the border reaches them, and the house returns to the empty plot it once was.

Wanda is left standing exactly how she was before she formed the Hex, same hair, same clothes, puts up her hood, and walks into town. where the people glare as she approaches Monica, who says, ‘They’ll never know what you sacrificed for them.’  They have a classic series-wrap-up conversation, then Wanda shifts into her Scarlet Witch outfit, and flies away.

Mid-credits scene; we see Jimmy just after the debrief, Hayward is put in handcuffs, and Monica is called into the theatre, where she meets someone wearing a police badge, who shifts into a skrull. The skrull says a friend of Monica’s mother’s would like to meet with her, presumably Talos, and when Monica asks where, she just points up. 

And an end-credits scene opens in a pan shot, zooming to a cabin by a lake in the woods, where Wanda, dressed in sweats, sits on the porch with a mug. We follow her inside as the kettle whistles, but the camera continues into the bedroom, where her astral form sits, dressed as the Scarlet Witch, with the Darkhold, the book Agatha had. When we see Doctor Strange astral-project, his body falls unconscious, and this truly proves the Scarlet Witch is more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme, as aforementioned.

This series really solidified my love for Wanda and Vision--Wanda, who I liked before, but mostly because of her powers than her character, which lacked development, and Vision, who I kinda hated because of his moral-high-ground bullshit, but who I now love--brought back fan favourites Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo, and set up Monica’s future plotlines. In truth, I liked Agatha better before she went full-witch mode, but she was an enjoyable villain. Hayward, on the other hand, was someone easy to hate, but not to such a level it was fun to hate him.

Every episode kept me on my feet, and every week I screamed I couldn’t wait for another. Part of my love for this was because we’d had no MCU content since July 2019, with Spider-Man: Far From Home, but it was just such excellent storytelling. Though the climax was a little disappointing, it was still more entertaining than most action sequences, where things happen so quickly I just zone out, and the visuals were incredible. I loved the sitcoms, and the differentiation at the end. Episode 4 was the perfect time to finally give us some form of explanation.

Basically, watch this damn show. Though I’d be surprised if you got this far without watching it. Watch it, make everyone else watch it, and, writers, take notes. The best stories are the ones with excellent characters and an excellent plot, and WandaVision mastered it.

[titovgro]

Hi! This is Michael from hopedaemon. I was super curious how you and Amynta settled as a black panther, if you don’t mind my asking!

Hi there Michael, thanks for the question, we are glad to answer! (And are also glad to finally informally meet another dæmian.) But Aramyntas and I settled on the form in the more classical “Pullman Symbolic Approach”. We did a lot of self meditating, introspection, and we took a few looks at the various aspects of my personalities.

I took the more classical approach to the form finding because of my personality which is a lot of “by the books”, kind of personality. Of course not everyone has to do this, but it’s just how I took my approach.

First we looked at a specific side of my being. My more introverted side, which I haven’t necessarily “grown out of”, but more have just been able to navigate away from. It is still there obviously, one can’t just decide to pick up and be an extrovert, but we found that I am very much an Introverted-extrovert, in that I draw and recharge my energy from being alone, but I can still be out and about in a profession (like healthcare as a nurse assistant) where I can openly be around people.

So we took a look at my more introverted side, being that it is a side of myself that I keep to myself for when I’m home and need to recharge, and we realized that we would need a form that is somewhat reclusive.

We also noticed that a big part of my attitudes are very “regal”, much in the same way that I like to be “by the books” in a lot of things, such as my prior example of the Pullman method, but I also like to be by the books in my work while at the hospital, and even in my own mannerisms. Of course I cut loose and have my fun, but my drawback to who I have always been as a person is very much like a by the books kind of person.

So in general I took these two traits of my my fallback personality, being reclusive and regal and realized that these traits were Aramyntas. I also was able to differentiate that the forefront of my personality is very much a social butterfly, and quick to make decisions and an impulsive kind of person, and so I was able to see the lines where I ended and Aramyntas started to begin. We realized that all through my life she was the more passive one urging cation, soothing me when I cried, reminding me of the rules, or even just being my ferocious courage when I needed it the most.

So before I get to how we landed on a Black Panther (melanated Jaguar), I’ll definitely say that we “tried on” a few forms. We realized that these forms were completely separate from a dæmon’s form, and this was somewhat of a hard pill to swallow for myself. But what I had tried to envision as Amy’s form was symbolically different from say, a spirit animal/guide or even a Harry Potter patronus. We went through several forms such as a lioness, a horse, we even sometimes played with the ideas of a swan. But none of these fit, and it all felt wrong and in the end she reminded me stick to the basics of my personality traits, and even to just narrow down (because omg there are just way too many animals out there to choose from), we narrowed down animals from where I would have come from in HDM.

So with reclusiveness, and a regal attitude, we also took a look at my heritage, because I figured that if I were to be in “Lyra’s world” of His Dark Materials, Amynta would most likely take the form of an animal from where I’m from (or in this case my dad is from). My dad is from Central America, and so we took a look at animals that matched my descriptions, and it was funny because Amy’s form was always there staring me in the face!

Short story Segway, but when I was little I had wanted to get a plush from the “Rainforest Café”, which is a restaurant that is in our local mall here in south Florida. Basically it has animatronics and lights and steam and the ambiance of a rainforest but in a dining experience. And I remember that I wanted this one animal plush in particular. And, looking back, there she was! That was Aramyntas the whole time! I didn’t know it, but my dæmon, even when I was young and, even she probably had no idea what for that she’d take, was with me in my room the whole time. My dæmon, a black panther.

The jaguar is native to Central America, and so I figured that because my father is from Central America, and that black panthers are reclusive, as well as them being regraded culturally as noble as well as them being the biggest of the “big cat breeds” in Central America, Aramyntas and I took one look at that plush, did a little research on the difference between Jaguars and the African Leopards. And there you have it, one Black Panther dæmon.

When it comes to Aramyntas’ gender, we felt that almost immediately. We read that in HDM that there was a man that had a same sex dæmon, but that Pullman never explained why this happened. So I tried to make Amy masculine in nature in my head, but she rejected that rather quickly, even as formless as she was early on. We thought about a genderless feel, but she was rather persistent on her gender early on, and when the dæmon knows what they want then they know what they want. Like, she is my soul, but separate from me, and even then has a voice of her own, and boy did she use it to tell me what she wanted.

When it comes to her name, it is Aramyntas in the full form, and short form being Amynta or even Amy if I’m feeling particularly lazy.

Interestingly enough, we found out her name earlier on before we found her form. We both looked at all of the dæmons in HDM, and we did a bit of study on their names, meanings, and etymology. We read that dæmons are named by their human-parents’ dæmons, to which we then had to consider what my parents’ dæmons would have named her.

As we both looked for her name, we “tried on” different sounding names, some even including the feminine version of my own, and we even tried the name of what my parents would have named me if I had been female, “Ana”. We liked Ana for a while, and it stuck maybe for a few months but other it soon wore thin, and she didn’t feel like it was working for us.

So we took to searching again, and we noticed that that there was honestly no consistency between the names of the dæmons in HDM besides that they were very extraordinary in terms that they were uncommon and aren’t heard of all the time in conversation. For example, some names were in completely different languages, and none seemed to solely come from one human’s native country over another. So we kept that in the back of our minds as we searched.

But when it comes to names, there’s honestly no easier way than to go to baby-naming-websites. I had found this out when I was looking up names for some books that I myself am writing, so I perused a few of these that I like personally. These can generate random names for you sometimes, and other times you can search specifically by gender, in different languages, or by country of origin.

So we just looked up girl names in all languages, and lightly browsed from A to Z, seeing which names stuck in our minds and wiring them down as we went. “Amynta” is actually a name in-of-itself, and we tried going with just that for a while, which felt the most comfortable out of all the rest. So we did more research on the name, and we found that there were variations of the same name. We saw the long form - Aramyntas, and it clicked for us. That was her. We held onto Amynta as a nickname of sorts, and then let it devolve into Amy (Ah-mee) as time went on. As for the meaning behind Aramyntas, and why we went with it, it is English in origin, and it means “Defender” just like a Lioness. We looked back in all of our soul searching and we realized that growing up Amy, as much as she was one to warn me to be cautious, to hold my tongue, or to follow the rules; she was also the one to light the fire under my butt when things were unfair or if I needed to be protected in someway or the other.

[nightwingblues]

adhd study/classroom tips (from an actual adhd person)

((this is what works for me!))

●take notes!!!!!!!!! i know it can be hard but writing it down helps with remembering it!!!!

●that said, do NOT just copy notes from the board. unless it's a definition ot something your teacher says you need to know exactly the way they have it, put it in your own words.

●also, 👏 make 👏 your 👏 notes 👏 funny 👏

not only does this help me remember things, it also makes it more bearable for me to go back and re-read my notes (i.e. study)

examples from my notes:

○"joint stock companies were collective sugar daddies"

○"indentured servants had one sugar daddy"

○"the ohio river valley is for the navive americans -> people still go there anyway -> 'what's the king gonna do? not shit'"

○"england be broke (in debt)"

○"cherokee sue for removal acts -> supreme court rules in their favor -> AJ tells sc to suck it"

○"henry motherfucking clay -> daddy compromiser"

○"leads to the mexican-american war -> proves we're willing to throw hands over land"

○"kansas + nebraska act -> yeets the missouri compromise"

○"john brown - abolitionist - chaotic good"

○"1860 election - lincoln won -> south was triggered"

○"andrew johnson - daddy veto"

○"they crave beef"

○"CATions are PAWsitive"

○"glucagon -> glucose gone"

○"repolarization -> yeets potassium (k+)"

there's more but!!!! you get it!!!!!!!

●find a shorthand that works for you!!! if ik i'm going to be using a phrase a lot, i'll make an acronym/shorthand for it and put it in parentheses next to it like the first time i write it. (in my notes, "ohio river valley" became "orv", "photosynthesis" became "psynth" or "photosyn", and "constitution" became "cons't")

●find a bullet system that works for you!!!!!! i use a dash for the main thing, a full circle for a sub-thing that's important, an open circle to expand on the sub-thing, an asterisk to expand on the expansion, and then i repeat if needed

●color!!!!! very important!!!!! but, you don't necessarily have to take your notes in color. sometimes i do, but other times i go back to my notes and underline or circle connected or important ideas in different color. i also tend to go through with and underline especially important vocabulary in one color.

●if your teacher posts their powerpoints online, write down especially important slides!!!!

●if you know sitting by your friends will lead to you being distracted, don't sit by them!!!!!!!!! or make it clear what you need them to do so you can focus!!!!!

●trying to study or do homework but can't focus for more than a few minutes at a time? try changing your location. for example, on the rare occasion that i actually do homework, i tend to do it on my bed. but when i can't focus, i'll move downstairs to the dining room table. or one time i moved to my roof bc it was a nice day. if that's not an option for you, try laying on your floor and doing it!! just change it up somehow because obviously where ever you are isn't working!!!!!!

●i swear by listening to music while working. ik a lot of posts say it's okay as long as it's instrumental but i personally have never had a problem listening to music with lyrics and focusing because i don't even really listen to it, it just blocks out every other possible distraction

●try to sit either near the teacher's desk or near the board in class

●before you start working on homework or studying or whatever, make sure you have everything you need to get it done. i'm really bad about starting things and then having to get up every 5 minutes to get my pencil, or extra paper, and oh yeah i need my calculator, and then i need that one specific note sheet, and oh shit now it's too late to start, oh well guess i'll try again tomorrow.

●this includes everything you need to be comfortable!!!! wear comfy clothes and warm socks and have your preferred drink and/or snack nearby!!!!

●👏 explain 👏 your 👏 situation 👏 to 👏 your 👏 teachers 👏. one of my now-favorite teachers and i didn't get along for a bit because she believed that i was smart but that i didn't do my work out of laziness, as opposed to not doing my work because of my executive dysfunction. when i explained to her that i was adhd, she understood me better and she was able to work with me better than before.

🌸 feel free to add your own 🌸

[mypinkchapter]

Recovery & Laughs.

One of the biggest ventures in this journey can now be checked off -- surgery!

Disclaimer: my thoughts for this week on the blog won't have any really great insights, but you might have some laughs with me along the way... embarrassing for me to say because I want Jesus to shine above all & this to fully glorify Him, but I also want to be human with those reading these words & for one day when I look back & share this with Elly, so let me fill in some truths from my last week & let you see how cool Jesus was throughout.

Truth #1: I thought in this time of rest & recovery I would fill my moments in the recliner with lots of reading -- reading my Bible, reading my new Lysa TerKeurst book, reading the novel I checked out from my the library that's been at the top of my "to-read" list... but you know what? I haven't read a single page. It makes me laugh honestly because what I pictured as recovery for myself, basically consisting of lots of leisurely & encouraging reading, has actually been filled with me on medication that has made me so groggy that I've napped, napped, & napped some more. Like drool-worthy, crazy dream naps! Just one more reason the Lord has placed some of the best folks in my path, to share scripture & encouragement with me when I haven't had the ability of sorts to do that for myself. Thank you, sweet Lord, for letting those stand in the gap for me these last several days -- to feed me with truths & encouragement of Your love, mercies, & hope.

Truth #2: I've never had surgery before. Wisdom teeth removal doesn't count to medical professionals, just FYI. So, this girl was an amateur! I remember looking at the sweet anesthesiologist & said, "Are you giving me the good stuff?" & that was all she wrote. Out! I was terrified I would wake up & act like those viral videos you see of folks talking out of their minds, but nope... I woke up feeling refreshed & like I'd had a great nap! Obviously there was soreness, but the surgery itself, should anyone ever have to endure the same kind, it's for sure do-able. Thank you, sweet Lord, for every set of hands that played a part in this. You gifted me with probably two of the kindest surgeons/people I've ever met & their nurses have been nothing short of incredible.

Truth #3: I'll leave this one to be only a short story, which I know won't be short because I don't know how to be short, but it's been comical looking back on... so, when surgery wrapped up & the initial recovery for me upstairs was over, rather than heading to a lovely hospital room to be greeted by my precious husband, parents, & Gran, who would tend to my every tiny need & get me whatever snack, drink, or dinner my heart desired from the greater Jonesboro area, I was wheeled to the basement of the hospital. Y'all, the basement. It makes me crack up all over to remember them telling me they were taking me to the basement; here's why -- the hospital was full. The basement was not a bad area by any means, but it was me & well, like 15 other hospital beds with patients all coming out of surgery. Lined up, side by side, no curtains. Just all of us recovering together, some recovering better than others. So, how you wait on a table at a full restaurant, in your order of arrival, I waited for a hospital room. Now let me say, I was wheeled by the waiting room to see my sweet group of cheerleaders really quickly & them to tell me my preliminary lymph node results were CLEAR (ahhhh! THANK YOU, JESUS!), but that was it -- a 7 second greeting & cheer! Then an over 5 hour wait. No cell phone, no TV, no family. Just me very coherently hanging out with nurses, unable to nap because it was Grand Central Station with folks coming in from surgery constantly, while lying on a very flat ER bed for five hours after undergoing a pretty massive surgery. It was not funny in the moment. Not funny, not funny, not funny! But now, it sort of is... One of our sweet pastors that stayed updated on me throughout the day from Ryan, called him late afternoon while I was still of course in the basement, & he said, "Ahhh, there's no room in the inn." Haha! Thank you, sweet Lord, for the precious ladies that watched over me that afternoon, that stayed hours & hours over their shifts to take care of me & those other patients. Thank you for teaching me patience & humility, even when I wasn't in the most receptive mood. And thank you, Jesus, that I was eventually joined back to my family & had a big, comfy, end room, five hours later.

Truth #4: What should be truth #1, but my husband. Oh my heavens, my husband. I fully believe Ryan Gibson was crafted for me by the Lord himself. He has loved me so good for nine years now, six in marriage, but let me just say: when a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, so is her husband, her children, her parents, her family, & her friends. My husband in this past month though has been the model man that every woman could ever deserve. I do not deserve him & the love that he has demonstrated; it is purely the love of Jesus in him. Yes, he has cheered me on, encouraged me with truths, shared medical knowledge from his background with me, entertained Elly when I wasn't able to, sat with me while tears fell, & distracted me with lots of laughs, but y'all, until you have been in a similar situation of literally becoming helpless -- my upper body post-surgery has pretty well been useless up until the last day or so -- it has opened up a new realm of love I didn't know existed in marriage. Sure, I've been sick before. I'm pretty positive living through food poisoning with me about did him a few years ago, but cancer & surgery... bless him. I am probably one of the most modest women I've ever known, but that has had to fly out the window with this & that's been really hard for me. Ryan has met that with complete humor & keeping things so light-hearted. So many moments this past week that would bring tears otherwise, tears of pain, tears of embarrassment, tears of unknown, Ryan has met with only the charm he has that is perfectly perfect for me & keeps my tears at bay. Quite simply, thank you, sweet Lord, for your gift of marriage & my precious, selfless helpmate, Ryan.

Truth #5: I have the world's best parents. Elly had a stay-cation with Nana & Pop. She ruled the roost & kept those two busy, busy, busy! They stepped in to love on & 100% take care of our child for the past week. Elly’s world stayed as normal as functionally possible & that was such a relief. We had a FaceTime session every night but she was usually too occupied with Nana & Pop to care much for us. We had to beg for sugars & a “night night” every night! What a blessing that was to be such a seamless process. Thank you, sweet Lord, for demonstrating Your perfect love through my dear parents. Thank you for blessing me with two of the greatest individuals I have ever known, to learn from.

Truth #6: Dr. Dicocco, my surgeon, yesterday at my follow-up appointment asked me, "Do you know everyone in & around Jonesboro?" I laughed & said I didn't think so. She told in the past week she has had countless people tell her thank you for taking such good care of Erin Gibson. Y'all... I've said it so many times & I'll say again, Jesus has purposefully planted every person in & around my path, preparing me for this. I know it, without a shadow of doubt. People to most importantly pray & I would swear that I have some of the most solid prayer warriors that ever were, but people again to encourage us & love on us in very practical ways. We have been fed every single night & even many days at lunchtime. That has meant the world to us & truth be known, there have been days I was living for the yummy food I had coming that night! We have started to receive financial help from fundraisers to make such a huge dent in our medical expenses and that is something we can't thank anyone enough for. We have been so honored in seeing people physically showing their support by wearing pink or Team Erin. We just don't even know how to process it all & it will probably take a long time to do just that, but I will never forget the love shown to us. Thank you, sweet Lord, that you have been so purposeful in my life to create a support system like I could have never dreamed. Thank you, Lord, that so many of those in our lives love You & have demonstrated Your love toward us. I pray that I could love in the same way we have been shown.

I'll end on the the fact that I received the best "grade" & smiley face that I've gotten ever gotten on a report: we learned yesterday that I am officially Stage I! A huge answered prayer! Treatment will continue as planned - 4 tough rounds of chemo for 2 months & 12 lighter rounds of chemo for 3 months - but we are ready for every step to come. I know, because I have asked lots of questions of many knowledgeable folks, that there are some hard & ugly days ahead with chemo, but you know what? There are going to be some great & really fun days ahead too, and I'd bet more of those than the bad or ugly! May Jesus be glorified in every day that is to come for us.

All my love from my pink chapter,  Erin

[longwindedbore]

Today in “OMG Ariel in the live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” is

<gasp, clutch pearls>

NOT white!

The White race is being CANCELLED!”

A position of outrage mirroring the hysteria that arose because of a Celtically red haired Ariel in the prior cartoon version rather than depicting a Nordic-Anglo-Saxon. Y’know the colonizers who invaded the Celtic British Isles from 500 AD to 1066.

An example from 30 years ago:

‘According to Cinemablend, the Tyco Toys company was…

terrified of a redheaded Disney princess…

The company tried to argue with Disney that its research had shown redheaded dolls didn't sell. When filmmakers wouldn't budge, Tyco still went ahead and made a first batch of Ariel dolls with strawberry-blonde hair. Needless to say, they didn't exactly fly off shelves. People wanted dolls with Ariel's signature hair color, so Tyco Toys had to remake them with her vibrant red hair.’

https://www.cbr.com/disney-the-little-mermaid-ariel-red-hair-explainer/

Some takeaways.

1. A lot of protestors unironically fail to realize that the Ariel of the cartoon was colored…pinkish. Or that everyone in the real world falls in a spectrum of pink/beige/dark brown unless they have a skin condition.

White people are those with albinism, yellow people are those with jaundice, red people are those with rosacea. The blackest peoples are obviously seen to be only very dark brown in their skin creases and wrinkles.

“White” is really a political label. “European-American would have been divisive since there are more European wars in the last 3,000 years than in 6,000 years of written Asian history.

2. A lot of protestors unironically are people too old to have had their happy childhood memories ruined by this 21st Century casting ‘abomination.

Or whose faces are too pinched and sour for us to imagine they ever took children to see the original.

Especially not if the heroine were red headed and thus potentially (Roman Catholic) Irish - “Popist drunkards all!” It was only 28 years since Catholic JFK - the “Pope’s Puppet” had been sworn in.

3. ALL the protestors then and now unironically miss that the theme of a half green fish/half brownish (either version) human seeking love with a full human is an INTERRACIAL love story.

A thematic metaphor amplified insofar as all of Ariel’s undersea cation world was filled with calypso singing fish and crustaceans with Caribbean accents.

4. ALL the protestors then or now never read bed time stories to their children nor had bed time stories read to them as children: They didn’t/don’t know that Disney changed the moral of Andersen’s story. In the original the mermaid comes to a tragic end.

[justoneday-namjoonii]

Midnight Circus

☾pairing: Jungkook ♡→  reader ☾genre: Angst. Fluff. Mature content. badboy summer fling au ☾summary: "You're ten times hotter this summer, you know that?"

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | coming soon

There was always that rush of excitement when summer came—that feeling of freedom and the urge to run wild bursting at the seems. That's how it was for most people, not you. When the sun shines with no end was something entirely different for you. Summer meant no school, known of those fellow classmates or teachers on your back. Your lively classmates bubbled in anticipation of the bell, the one thing that would free them from this white tiled prison for months. Just one last ring and I'm outta here, you thought. When it finally came you giggled at the students who jumped out of their seats, mostly guys, they huddled together as if they'd just won the state championship. The teacher attempted to calm them but eventually gave up, who could blame them?

“Come on, Y/N!”

Your friends beckoned you to hurry up and follow them out the door, that was currently being bombarded with the whole class. There was no point in rushing, so you told them to go ahead with you. They only shook their heads. You were the resident ‘good girl’ of your group of friends—as good as a high school senior could get at least. As quickly as you could look up you were left in the empty classroom, you looked at the reminder the suddenly came up on your phone. You hadn't received your grade for a year yet so you waited around at the main office for them. Sitting on the bench outside, you waited patiently, looking through your phone until your teacher came out. 

“Ms. Y/L/N, here you go.” You stood up and grabbed the thin folder from her, flipping through it really quick to make sure it was yours. “Enjoy your summer- Oh and congratulations on your graduation.” 

“Thank you.” You two exchanged smiles before she scurried back to her office, anxious to leave this place. She was probably happier to be on summer break than the students in this school. If you had to deal with these terrors in a few months you would too, you had to sit in a classroom with them but she has to teach them. 

Striding down the hall, you looked over the paper, looking over your grades for the past year. One C out of a list of A’s. You glared down at the letter, one project with that delinquent nearly depleted your grade point average—you never forgave him for that and you weren't planning on it. A few steps and you were at your car, fumbling with your keys to open the car door. You dropped them on the pavement. Just as quickly as they fell you bent down to get it but you were stopped as an all too familiar black boot kicked it away. 

Jeon Jungkook. He quickly had your keys in his hands. You tried to snatch them back but he only gave you a smug grin as your cheeks were already reddening in frustration.

“What do you want.” You spat crossing your arms, eliciting a snort from him. 

Jungkook was what some would call a fuck-boy, a bad boy, a heartthrob; just to name a few. But you had other names for him, a waste of a good looking human being; in short. He did what he wanted and could care less if his stupid decisions affected you or anyone else—he loves himself with no shame whatsoever. His charming glances and charismatic ways of talking may have had everyone at his mercy but he wasn't fooling you—not for a second.

“Chill, I just wanted to wish you a good summer, what's the harm in that?” He said

Oh please, you wanted to wipe that grin right off of his face.

“Anytime you try to talk to me, you mean harm. Jungkook, I don't have time for this.” You attempted to snatch the keys once again but he blocked your attempts by putting his hands far from your reach. “Give me my keys back!” You crossed your arms, waiting for him to stop being childish and hand them over.

“Come on, are you serious?” He laughed. “Your panties are still in a bunch about that-...what was it again?” He tilted his head in thought, “'Collaborative project.” He signed quotation marks with his fingers.

“Since you obviously don’t have the best of memory, I'll remind you of what you did to me. While we were supposed to be finishing the project the night before. I had to finish it by myself. While you decided you'd go roof topping with your friends, on the school, during an open house—which, by the way, has to be one of the stupidest ideas you've ever had. You could've been arrested, not that I would care.” You huffed, already feeling yourself getting heated by the combination of the pounding sun and your rising anger. He was sporadic and impulsive, he said what he was thinking and went with the moment—all the time, and it was annoying. 

“But did I get caught? No, I didn't- And you were a doll for keeping your lips shut about it, babe.” He tapped the bottom of your chin and you jerked back, smacking his hand away. You hated when he'd call you that, it was a nickname he came to like because of one incident. There was a tornado warning in the area, when it touched down you sat in the corner of the room, you closed your ears he could've sworn he saw tears.

The day before the due date you got hit with a bad virus and couldn't take in the project so you gave the responsibility to him—bad idea, a horrifyingly bad idea. He never came to your house to pick it up—he didn't even go to school that day, your teacher was convinced that Jungkook got you to skip school until you explained to her that you were bedridden. To this day, you still don't know where he went, and you really don't care anymore.

“I kept my lips shut because I wasn't going through that for you. When I texted you to tell you I was sick, and politely asked you to pick up the project and turn it in you left me on read! And never freaking showed up. Honestly, how rude can someone be...” 

“Ok, and? You stress over every fucking little thing, it was one project.” He retorted, those distinct eyebrows taunting you with every little facial quirk. You snatched the keys from his hand, getting into your car and slamming the door. 

He knocked on the window—your stupid self actually lets it down. 

“What.” Your hands firmly on the wheel as you were getting ready to pull out.

“You never gave me back my headphones, the ones I left at your place. I need them back.” You had to laugh, you know he doesn't think your just gonna hand over his stuff after all the things he's put you through. He's not entitled to anything that has to do with you.

You had something he wanted. You smirked, the tables have finally turned. 

“Ah, you mean the black ones with the blue on the sides?” He nodded, “Yeah, no, I don't know what you're talking about, you must be thinking about another girls house, I know you probably lose count.” You cooed, close-lipped grinning like the petty person you were.

“I know you have them, quit being petty and hand them over.” His attempt to push you into a corner was working to him but in reality, it was failing miserably.

“Now I’m definitely not giving them to you, even if I did have them, which I don’t, you won’t be seeing them anytime soon.” You could tell by the way his tongue protruded against his cheek, he wasn’t happy with you. You assumed he would escalate the argument but he only laughed, you frowned. “Why are you laughing?”

“None of your damn business.” With that, he walked back to where he left from and you willed yourself not to pay him any mind. You get a whole three months free of him, annoying classmates and the school in general. 

Life is looking pretty good right about now.

| 1 Month later |

You sat on the back porch, phone in your hand and a glass of flavored sparkling water at arms reach. So far you've proclaimed your own stay-cation, your parents are going on a cruise soon and you'll be joining them. Some of your friends went off on vacation to Fuji or some tropical paradises, you'd be out of this place in time. Your thumb moved up to read the long work of fiction—you were deep, feeling as if you were living everything described around the heroine. Screech.

 The sound of the sliding glass door prompted you to change the tabs and look back at whoever interrupted your peace and quiet. 

“Y/N, what are you doing?” Jennie strolled her way over to you and sat in the chair across from you.

“Enjoying my relaxation.” You sipped your drink slouching back with a heavy sigh of content.

“Well,” Her hands on her hips as she stood tall, “go pack your bags, you're going with me tomorrow.” 

“What? Going with you where?”

“Do you remember me telling you my aunt and uncle own a huge campground?” You nodded with a suspicious eye. 

“They're letting me bring a few friends to stay for a couple of weeks, you're parents said it was ok if you came.” The smile on her face was one you knew all too well—she really, really wanted you to go, no was the last thing she wanted to hear.

“Thank you for thinking of me but I really don't think-”

“Don't worry sweetheart,” Your mother stood at the door and at the sight of her you realized your chances of getting out of this were demolished, “she'll be there, I know you guys will have a great time.” You cut your gaze to her, glaring at her like she had the plague.

“Perfect! We'll come to pick you up tomorrow evening!” Jennie jumped in excitement, giving your mother a quick hug before skipping out the front door in a singsong hum. There was nothing she wanted more this summer but you in the other hand—have a few choice words for a certain someone for getting you into this. 

“I don't want to go. I'll stay home if you guys don't want me to go on the cruise...” You brought your phone back up to your face. “I'm not going.”

“Don't give me that Y/N, you need to have fun with people your age. You're going and I don't wanna hear anything else about it.” She walked into the house, closing the sliding doors like she's won something.

You couldn't help be sulk—you packed while muttering to yourself. How could she do this? She knew you were excited to be going on a cruise and getting away for a while and now she's sending you off to some camp she doesn't even know anything about. There was nothing fun about being forced to have fun, going to some campground with a bunch of people doesn't sound that great to you. There was one bright side to going to this place, you'd be far away from Jeon Jungkook. You managed to avoid him this long and now you get to flee the city without him harassing you every chance he gets.

Searching through the towel closet you finally found your traveling toiletries bag at the very top with several over travel items. You ran to get your phone as it rang obnoxiously loud—you left the dang ringer on.

“Hello?” 

“Hey! Are you packing?” It was Jennie.

“Uh, yeah what's up?” If you were honest, since it was so late you weren't really even that interested.

“You know Beah’s acting partner?”

You sat at your drawers, pulling out every swimsuit you own and shoving them in your bag. “Not personally...but yeah, I know of him.” 

“Well I told him, him and some of the friends could come since there's so much room at our unit and do you know who he invited?” By the sound of her voice, this could be really good or really bad.

“Who?...” Don't let it be Jungkook, don't let it be Jungkook, don't let it be Jungkook...

“Jimin, Park Jimin, can you believe it? I don't know if I can do it, Y/N. He's just so perfect, you know?” Park Jimin, he was every girl’s crush at least once; you were a little excited to know Jimin was coming too—even though he was friends with Jungkook he was always so nice to you, he was nice to everyone actually. Come to think of it, all of his friends were nice to you—it was him that had issues.

“Wow, do you know who else?” You pressed, wondering if any other heartthrob would be surrounding you this summer.

“Yeah, I think-” You could hear her mothers muffled voice calling her from over the phone. “Sorry, I gotta go but I'll see you tomorrow, bye.” And she hung up. Way to leave you on a cliffhanger.

“This won't be all bad...” You thought aloud, zipping your suitcase case and setting near your room door. Jennie knew you weren't as easy to just get up and go, especially if you've never even been to this place so you knew she was happy you were coming and deep down inside you were kind of happy to go—deep down.

They decided to leave early, just to rub it in my face. 

“Call us when Jennie comes to get you, we'll tell you when the boat leaves.” Your mother started up the car as your dad filled the trunk with luggage. You stood at the front door, waving goodbye as the car took them away. 

You had nothing to do but wait, so you went back inside kicked up your feet and turned on the tv. A few minutes went by and you were out, you stayed up for a few hours to pack and the lack of sleep is getting to you. Your eyelids were heavy, your head rested on the head of the couch and just as you were about to sleep your phone buzzed.

Don't answer—I wonder who I gave that contact name.

You looked at it, when Jungkook tries to reach you it's either for one of your friend's numbers(which you never give him) or you never really know what he wants. But for some reason, you assumed out of boredom, you answered it.

“Hello?”

“Who is this?”

“What the heck? You called me-”

“Just kidding, are you home?”

You sneered, “Um, if I was I wouldn't tell you.”

“You're literally always home.” He snorted.

“I don't know why I even answered, bye.” You were about to hang up but he stopped you.

“No, wait, I wanted to tell you how much of a shitty person you are for stealing my personal property. My brother is pissed too, they're actually his.” He lied straight through his teeth, grinning on the other end of the phone. “I had to tell him they were being held hostage by you, so if the cops show up at your-”

“You're a terrible liar, goodbye Jungkook.” You hung up, he was unbelievable.

A sudden knock on your door signaled that it was time to leave the comfort of your home. You opened the door to be greeted by a smiling face. “Are you excited?” Jennie asked, helping you with your bags, tossing them in the trunk with her own luggage.

“Uh, sure.” That wasn't very convincing, but Jennie knew you didn't want to go originally so she only giggled at your response. You hopped in the passenger's seat, tossing your purse to the floor and automatically reclining. “How far away is this place?”

“About 2 hours.” Lifting a red bull to her lips she sipped momentarily before focusing on the road. Two hours was the perfect amount of time for a nap, she continued to talk about what activities were at the campground and you tried to listen but before you knew it you were knocked out.

“We're here.” She announced. You groggily rubbed your eyes sleepily, looking out your window to see a beautiful spring and little cabins along the side. Your hand went to your sore neck and you stretched, you could already tell you liked it here. It was 20 minutes until sunset—the sun sat just right atop the water.

“Ah, I use to come here every summer when I was a kid, the sleeping bags, the campfire, the hikes, the off campground field trips, I loved it.” She smiled at the thought, pulling into the parking space as you saw a car still unpacking. Beah, Naeun, and her sister Nayeon were arguing over which cabin was ours.

“It's cabin 127!” Nayeon persisted, pointing to the cabin.

“I don't think so.” Naeun sat on the curb eating from a bag of pretzels as Beah continued to drag the luggage out of the trunk.

“Can you guys get your stuff? I need to lock the car- Y/N! You came.” Beah ran over to you and gave you a big hug. 

“Yep, I did.” You nodded as she finally let you go, going back to the car to grab her bags. “I see you guys packed light.” You sarcastically laughed, you saw at least 3 extra bags in the backseat and you could only assume they were Naeun’s.

“You have to be prepared.” Naeun adjusted her shorts as she stood up from the curve, going to grab her luggage. “Which cabin are we in Jen?”

“127, right next to 117 where the boys are staying.” At the remembrance of who else would be joining us all of them erupted in giddy laughter. “Oh my gosh I forgot about them, I think they're lost, they should've been here an hour ago they left before us. Here's the key, you guys can unpack while I wait for them.” She reached into her pocket to toss you the key and to get her phone out, she pressed a contact before placing it up to her ear.

“Where are you guys?” 

“We had to make a rest stop but we just pulled in the campgrounds, where we supposed to go?” 

“Tell the woman at the front desk you're here with Jennie at cabin 127 and 117, she's my aunt so she'll know who you're talking about.”

With your bags in hand, you unlocked the door to the spacious unit, there was one set of bunk beds, two single beds In the large space and the living room had a pullout sofa. You didn't want the sofa but you would consider it for the view of the water since the unit was a bit elevated you could see all the lights of the other cabins switch on.

“I call dibs on the couch,” Nayeon announced, tossing her sleeping bag towards the couch.

“Beah, we'll take the single beds. That leaves you and Jennie with the bunks unless you guys want it the other way around.” Naeun continued to make her way towards the room and you opted for the bottom bunk. You sat your luggage next near the nightstand and threw yourself back on the bed, immediately trying to find the wifi server—no bars.

You sighed, jumping out of bed so you could go ask Jennie how to get wifi out here but when you walked on the side she was at the other cabin giving Jin the keys. You timidly walked over past the fire pit to see Jin and Namjoon. 

“Jin, Joonie!” Nayeon ran up to both of them giving them both a hug, they were like the big brothers of the group. Yoongi was on vacation with his family and so was Hoseok, so they couldn’t come.

“Y/N, I didn’t know you were coming.” Namjoon pulled out his and Jin's luggage, smiling at you showing those beautiful dimples.

You smiled, “Yeah, I decided last minute.” 

“Decided? Your mom literally forced you.” Jennie giggled, pushing at your shoulder teasingly. You frowned, crossing your arms and muttering a whatever. The rest of them picked up a conversation as you saw another car in the distance. 

“Y/N can you grab my purse from the nightstand then we can grab dinner at the burger place down the road, we'll have campfire dinner tomorrow.” You nodded, going back inside to grab both hers and yours.

When you walked back outside you were met with a car full of boys. 3 to be precise.

Time stopped, when you saw Jimin step out of the car and you could see he hasn't changed a bit. His angelic face, his breathtaking figure, it made your heart skip a beat, he was always so perfect to you.

“Hey everyone, sorry we're late we had to stop by the convenience store for snacks.” He laughed, pushing his hair from his face and closing his door.

“That's okay,” Naeun smiled, “We're about to grab dinner so you guys are just in time.” Naeun was an open book, you could tell she had some plans involving him already.

“Sweet,” Taehyung ran to the trunk to grab his suitcase, “we’ll put our stuff in the cabin really quick. Jungkook gets your stuff.” 

Jungkook? He lazily slung those stupidly toned legs (that looked illegal in the jeans he was wearing) out of the back seat and you were the first person he made eye contact with—you mirrored each other with equally confused expression.

You walked closer, just to ensure that it was really him and you couldn't believe it—you're eyes weren't deceiving you.

“You?” He didn't know what else to say, stretching his arms to get the sleep off of them.

Happiness wasn't the first emotion thought of when you saw him either, “This is great.” There was sarcasm in your tone as the rest of the girls couldn't help but glancest the scene between you and Jungkook. “Here I thought I'd have a relaxing vacation.” I might as well forget any chances with Jimin if he was in the way.

“Trust me, you weren't the only one.” He easily lifted his luggage out of the trunk, him being the only one of the three still outside. “I thought you were on your way to the islands with your folks.” He chuckled, knowing your mother told him the other night and that's how he acquired the information.

“I had a change of plans- wait, how'd you know about the cruise?” You questioned. Before you could get a response he went inside with his bags, still rude as hell, you thought.

The night continued like that, you were trying to get over the fact that you'd be spending multiple days on the same land with him. Everybody else was having a good time though, Taehyung and Jimin were having a lively conversation about who has better ping pong skills with Naeun and Nayeon. They were really similar to each other. Namjoon, Jin, Beah, and Jennie were laughing over a hilarious story Jin was telling. But there were two people eating their burgers and fries like an angry couple.

“Ow!” You winced, someone kicked your ankle with enough force to make your leg jerk up. You glared at him—why'd you have to sit across from him... 

“You're hogging the ketchup.” Your eyes went to the bottle of ketchup and you frowned—he was so childish.

“No, I'm not,” You tilted the bottle to get some on the side of your plate, “I just picked it up.” When you sat it down he took it. The red substance dripped onto his plate, clashing with a few his fries left on his plate. You watched as he piled the sauce onto his fries and a little bit of his burger, and shoved it into his mouth. You took your time finishing your food all while trying to join in the others conversation.

“Yeah, I had to stop for a few months because of my back injury but I'm better now.” Jimin gave an explanation for his absence at Naeun’s dance studio. You use to dance at the same studio when you were younger but when you moved you changed hobbies a little. Jungkook was observing the way you looked at Jimin, you'd blush and stammer when he'd talk to you and he grimaced at the sight. He scoffed to himself as the salt and pepper were right next to you, you were so stingy with condiments. 

“Pass the pepper.” Another kick to your ankle and you had enough.

“What is your problem? Its right there just grabs it.” You hissed, kicking him back for once, causing Tae to look at you guys weird.

“Other than the fact that you’re being a bitch, nothing, I don’t have a problem.” He muttered, shaking the pepper onto his ketchup.

“Excuse me? You're the one kicking me like a 5-year-old and asking me for stuff that's right in front of you, you're doing this on purpose.” You groaned, sitting back with crossed arms.

“It's not right in front of me, and being the gentleman I am I wasn't gonna reach over your food.” By the way, he eyed you it was obvious he was asking for a fight but it was the first day, you weren't giving into to him.

“Oh please, you don't care about reaching over my food, you just want to annoy me.” This time I'm not gonna listen to anything he has to say, I'm the bigger person here. Ignore him.

“There were only two of the shirts but Naeun insisted we needed another one so she and Y/N-”

“Shut up Nayeon!” All Nayeon could do was laugh at her sister's immediate defensiveness, everyone at the table especially Jungkook was curious about how you were involved in getting this shirt.

“How'd you get the shirt?” Taehyung asked causing her to glare at him.

“Yeah, I'm a little curious myself,” Jimin added, and the rest of the boys looked at Naeun for her part on the story.

“Come on Naeun, It was months ago, I'll tell them.” Jennie cleared her throat, leaning in to tell the story, “So, our favorite band was in town and they had limited edition shirts it the concert. When we tried to order them they were all sold out, but my brother knew someone who sold the leftover shirts really cheap. So I asked Naeun and Y/N to ride out to get them, by the way, he lived in the straight up wilderness so it took forever to find him- but anyway, when we pulled up I told Naeun and Y/N to go get the shirt just in case we needed a quick getaway-”

“Let me tell the rest!” Naeun butted in, eager to continue the story from her perspective. “When the guy came out he told us to come in inside while he gets the ‘stuff’, so we're waiting inside right and Y/N was like, ‘it smells like weed in here’-” She started to laugh as she approached the height of the story and you saw Jungkook found this story rather amusing.

“That's when you grabbed the shirt, put the money on his coffee table and next thing I know you're dragging me out the door, he's running after us and you tell Jennie he's got a gun.” 

“Which freaked the hell out of me so I broke the speed limit by at least 20 miles to get out of there!” Giggling like everyone else at the table. “Later we found out that he thought we were the middleman for one of his new ‘clients’. Basically, he thought we were there for weed.” You remember that like it was yesterday, the three of you had never feared for your lives more that day than ever. Everyone laughed gleefully, having a good time comparing similarly weird circumstances as you all walked out of the diner. Jungkook began to get in on the conversation, cracking jokes and fooling around with the guys so you were free from that.

As you all went back to the cabins, a certain someone came to walk beside you. 

“It's a beautiful night, isn't it?” You had never seen anyone walk with such charisma, his hands rested comfortably in his pockets.

“Yeah, it's nice...” You nodded, enjoying every second of this short conversation.

“I'm gonna hit the sack, goodnight guys...” Taehyung sleepily went into the cabin and sadly Jimin followed behind him, wishing everyone else a goodnight. Soon everyone trickled into the cabins but how waited for Jennie to get the extra blankets from her aunt. The sky was full of stars tonight, it was something you don't see in the city every day, it was stunning. If you weren't so sleepy you'd stay out longer so you could stare up at the sky, that would be a perfect way to end an evening. 

“Huh, a good girl like you knowing what weed smells like,” Jungkook walked over to you, his hands in his pockets, “you learn something new every day I guess.” 

You shifted your weight on your feet, crossing your arms instinctively from that. “What do you want Jungkook.”

“It's not about what I want.” He quirked his brow, hinting at what he meant. 

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Clearing his throat momentarily he couldn't resist the urge to tease you. “I saw the way you were looking at Jimin earlier, you can't hide it can you?” 

Suddenly you stopped breathing, you glared at him hard, your cheeks flushed but luckily they were hidden by the darkness. “I don't know what you're talking about, Jimin is just a friend...”

“No? Well, you were practically fucking drooling over him.” He snickered.

“I was not...” He over exaggerates everything.“Shouldn't you be in your cabin?” You quipped. 

“Oh Y/N,” He tried to pat your shoulder but you swatted his hand away, “you're secret is safe with me babe, I won't tell him, not now at least.” He bid you farewell with the wave of his hand and without a word you left him, deciding you didn't have to listen to his crap any further. 

The girls were finishing up the shower process when you entered the cabin. How could someone be some bothersome, he literally couldn't stand seeing you mind your own business. He was like that since preschool, he ruined anything good for you. You slipped on your pajama shirt and pantsuit after your shower and threw yourself on the bed.

“Y/N? You left me outside.” Jennie walked in with an arm full of blankets, tossing it on the couch for Nayeon.

“Jungkook was out there...” You rolled your eyes and she got the message.

“Oh,” She drew out the oh, “I saw you guys had a little argument at the dinner, what was that about?”

“You know we don't get along.”

“Yeah, but you guys can set your differences aside for the sake of everyone else for once. I'll be honest, Jungkook is hot, you guys might find out you really don't hate each other that much and hook up or something-”

“Not in this lifetime.” You got into your covers and yawned. "Goodnight."

You and Jungkook were like fire and water, polar opposites. It would take a miracle to change that.

[sleepy-achilles]

The Family Of Destruction- Leon's first death.

Its in the title, so obviously read with cation

------------------------------------------------------------------

Taker didn't think Leon's life could get any worse. He was the youngest active wrestler at fifteen after he tag teamed with his father. He was a face shown on TV since he was born. He got his first belt at 19, his first scar at 16, has been seening ghosts since he was 5 and now at 20? He's about to have his first of many deaths.

Taker didn't know what to think when he saw Paul with kane again. He knew it'd bring trouble but he didn't think it'd be this bad.

"Daddy whats going to happen?" Cassie asks. "Nothing baby girl, because we are gonna get there and save the day before anything can" taker promises. Shawn, John and Leon are home whilst cassie and taker were at the arena. Cassie was a lot luckier than Leon, she wasn't put on TV until she became a active wrestler and leons manager years later, but she still loved to help backstage.

Taker wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to them. He should of warned Shawn that Paul was back. He should of done something. Taker grabbed cassie and raced home the moment Paul sent him a text with the simple phrase deja vu. Taker wasn't stupid, the moment kane returned from the dead it became clear what happened that day in his youth. The day his family was ripped away from him. He wasn't going to let that happen again. His eyes lock with cassie who's face is full of worried. He wouldn't let his kids suffer the same fate he did.

"Oh god" cassie gasps. Taker looks forward and his heart stops. He slams his foot down on the pedal as the flames burn higher.

-

"Shawn!" "Papa!" John and Leon call. "Im stuck!" Shawn's voice echos down the hall. Leon presses the wet flannel to John's mouth. "What about you?" John muffles as they make their way deeper into the burning house. "Ill never die, I'm invincible" Leon smirks. John rolls his eyes as they reach shawns room. "Stand back!" Leon yells.

Shawns eyes widen, his face covered by the crook of his arm. The room burns away him as he steps back as far as he can. "Go!" He chokes out. The door flies off its hinges to reveal Leon and John. Leon throws the wet flannel at shawn. Shawn catches it and places it over his mouth. "Get outside and phone for help. I'll get charlie" Leon orders before running off. "Leon!" Shawn cries. John grabs Shawn and forces him outside.

Both men fall to the grass and begin choking for air. John looks back at the burning house and his eyes widen as Charlie trots around the house towards them. "Leon" he gasps. "John no!" Shawn cries reaching for the younger as he suddenly darts in. Shawn goes to follow but the doorway collapses. His eyes widen in fear as he suddenly pulls his phone out and calls for help. It's also when he hears takers truck turn up.

"Shawn!" "Papa!" Taker and cassie both gasp as they tackle him into a hug. "John and Leon are still inside!" Shawn cries. Taker stares at the house. A sudden panic filling him. He can't breathe, can't hear. Is this a panic attack? Is this how Shawn feels? Taker clutches at his chest and hunches over, tears building in his eyes. "Dad? Dad!" Cassie gasps. Shawn looks at him and it hits him. "Oh god..Paul.. " Shawn whispers. Paul took his family once with fire and now he's trying to do it again. The same house and everything. Takers suffering from ptsd. Shawn hands the phone to cassie. "Speak to the woman. Tell her what's going on and that they need to hurry" Shawn orders. Cassie nods and moves back.

Shawn cups takers face, forcing him to look at him. "Breathe. I-john and Leon need you to breathe" Shawn tells him gently. Taker grasps his wrists with shakey hands. "I-i ca-cant not-not again" he whimpers. "I know" Shawn whispers looking back at the house. 'Cmon boys' Shawn prays to himself.

-

"Leon!" John yells before covering his mouth. John pauses as the house crumbles and groans. John's eyes widen as it starts to fall apart. As debris falls John is pushed out of the way. He grunts as he hits the floor. "And who said I couldn't take on the champ?" Leon teases. "Not funny. Let's go, Charlie's outside" John grits. Leon helps him up with a wince. "You good?" John asks. "Fine. Let's go" Leon smiles leading John towards one of the windows. "Found it clear as day. Cmon" Leon tells him. "God aren't we lucky?" John sighs as Leon opens the window. John winces as his skin hisses. John goes first and once he lands he hears a crash.

"Leon!" John yells looking back at the window. He doesn't wait long until Leon's jumping out. "Thank god" John sighs squeezing Leon's shoulder before turning towards the front. "We should tell the others we're fine-leon?" John turns back to see Leon looking down. "Lee?" John asks moving closer. Leon looks up, tears staining his face as he opens his cupped hands. John's eyes widen at the metal pole sticking through Leon's chest. "W-wh-how? Leon!" John yells rushing forward, catching him as he falls. "No no no, HELP! I NEED HELP!" John yells as he lowers them both to the ground.

"P-paul" Leon whispers. John looks back in time to see the shadowy figure disappearing into the woods. "It'll be okay. You'll never die, your invincible" John whispers looking back at Leon. He doesn't know what to do. Leon just smiles at him. "Leon? HELP! SHAWN! HELP PLEASE!" John screams as tears rush down his face.

-

"-HELP! SHAWN! HELP PLEASE!" Shawn looks towards the house. "John? John!" Shawn calls. The pure fear in John's voice seems to snap taker out of it. "John?" Taker gasps. Charlie growls and runs towards the side of the house. "Cassie stay here and wait for the firefighters" Shawn orders as Taker runs after the dog. Cassie nods quickly as shawn follows.

He runs straight into takers back. "Taker?" Shawn begins. "Shawn..go back" Taker whispers. "What? Taker-" Shawn tries to move past him but Taker won't let him. Taker turns and grabs Shawn's shoulders. "Go back, please." Taker orders. Shawn stares at him before shoving past him. Taker hunches over, defeated as shawn let's out a scream of pure fear and pain. "LEON!"

John squeezes his eyes shut as shawn cries. Leon's head limp against his chest.

Shawn grabs at Leon with shakey hands. "Leon? Leon! Please! B-baby please!" Shawn cries. He looks at the pole and the blood caking Leon's shirt. "No..no..NO!" Shawn cries. He rests his head against Leon's as he closes his eyes.

Taker suddenly fills with anger as he watches the trio. Paul had just fucked with him for the last time. Paul would regret the day he even decided to paint a target on his family. He glances at Charlie who's growling and barking at the woods. "A battle for another day." Taker tells him quietly. Charlie looks at him and huffs.

"A war has begun."

------------------------------------------------------------------Notes

If you couldn't tell, I'm ill. I make them suffer when I'm ill. I also got let go from work. Which i knew was happening as the company was closing, I just didn't know it'd be after working a week and three days. So yeah. Fuck me I guess.

I will do a Leon's revival fic even if people don't want it because he's a lil shit who'd just turn up like nothing happened.

Also ptsd taker? Yes please. We all know he'd be against fire but the moment he sees his family home on fire? Again? With his family inside? Oh please.

I normally torture Shawn and Leon this bad, time taker had some.

Also sorry John.

This whole fic was a dream I had last night and well John was the main guy in it.

[luciensfox]

Opinion on Az/Elain vs Elain/Lucien in ACOWAR? I'm the latter - I did a post about it on my wall you can check out. I just thought it was more brotherly affectionate for Az...

Oh boy. Here we go.

For starters, I’m a huge Elucien shipper.

I have been ever since the whole “you’re my mate” slip up by our dear fox prince. All of the HCs and meta I’ve seen about these two has created a massive Elucien monster out of me… so the fact that we were essentially teased with this little idea of the two of them together, only for it to be practically nonexistent in ACOWAR has me really annoyed. 

Love triangles suck in general. I really dislike them and find them to be reflective of poor writing and lack of plot. But in this instance, I didn’t really see it as a love triangle? Rather it was more complex, almost like a love quadrilateral. Or whatever the hell that shape is lol.

I wanted Lucien and Elain to happen almost as badly as I wanted to read the Feysand reunion, and both of those fell flat to me. (But I’ll talk about Feysand some other time.) When I started reading about how Elain was uncomfortable in her skin and near platonic, only going so far as to mumble incoherent phrases and barely eat anything for days, I knew my priorities shifted. Sure, Lucien could have been the one to help bring her out of the cationic stage she was in. But it went deeper than anything a person, even her mate, could fix. This was something she had to face on her own, and come to realize that she had the power to overcome something tragic that happened to her. I wanted Elain to face that on her own terms, and with the quick recovery she pulled during the end… I guess she did? Honestly, it really wasn’t touched upon as much as it should have been. 

I ship Elain with health and happiness before anything else, but the same could be said for Lucien.

Lucien was obviously more invested in their bond than she was, but with reasonable hope. He’d known about the bond for centuries and has mentioned before that every Fae wishes secretly to find their mate, the one person who can be their equal. Lucien has suffered so much that I think the prospect of finding someone to share his emotions with was so overwhelming that even though his initial response was self depreciating because he didn’t think he deserved her (or at least that’s what the fans came up with, because Maas was really off her character development game in this book and I can barely tell you what went down with each character) he also understood that Elain might not reciprocate the bond because she was newly turned and frazzle by it all. He didn’t want to frighten her or push her to do something, which only made my poor Elucien heart more heavy.

Grayson can choke. That’s all I have to say on his matter.

In regards to Azriel and Elain? Maas really knows how to screw with my emotions because even though I’m crazy for the other ship… I’ve secretly started to imagine the two of them together. And honestly it’s not as bad as I once thought it might be, and that’s not to do with the whole Moriel thing never going to happen. Mor aside, I just didn’t ship Azriel with anyone because he, like Lucien AND Elain, needed time to “be in a relationship with himself” first before he could give himself to someone else. All three of them are very similar, which is why the prospect of who to couple up who with seems so strenuous. You don’t want to see the odd one out hurt. Frankly, if Maas put Lucien and Azriel together and made Elain happy with her gardening and her new seer abilities, I’d be over the moon.

But alas, the cute scenes between Az and Elain did things to my heart that I didn’t think were possible. I ship them. But not as much as I ship Elucien. It’s like a 30 to 70 ratio for me. 

And while I’m crying my eyes out over the fact that Elucien is likely not going to happen, I also can’t wait for a Lucien centered novella and perhaps some Elain x Az fluff later on in their own stories. 

[seven-faders]

THE TIE WTF JUMIN Who the hell is this imposter !! My husband has been abducted and this imposter in a diagonally striped tie has replaced him!!?!!?

Also just look at that FAKE??!!? fucking smile!?

HEADCANNON ACTIVATE::SPOILERS AHEAD

Ok so Jumin's Valentine's episode has been my least favorite MysMe segment yet. It just feels so forced and I feel like Jumin's character has taken a couple of stumbling steps back from the good end of his main story (which I adored BTW). Like, all of the focus is on the stuff in the apartment rather than how your relationship has deepened. Which I think might have been needed since his after story takes place so soon after the RFA party. It's a shit ton of narration and the only thing that really seems to have changed in Jumin's life is his apartment decor. I don't get the same sense that MC is supporting him and plays an active role in his life like I do with the other characters.

BUT what if-now hear me out-what if the Valentine's episode is actually a snippet of some really bad shit going down.

The most important thing to Jumin in his relationship with MC seems to be alone time (not like that you pervs-although probably that too). He obviously likes getting her things too because he can and he believes she deserves only the best. But gifts, even a mountain of gifts, I don't think would be what Jumin would opt for during a special occasion like Valentine's day. He's more the couple's retreat or even the stay-cation, breakfast in bed type. And what if that's what they had planned and MC knew this.

But, suddenly, two days before they planned to get away, Jumin starts acting strangely. Almost reverting to his pre-MC days. That afternoon he received a cryptic threat from sources unknown to leave MC...Or else. MC is not safe.

Luciel does some digging and for once in his gotdamn life, Jumin can't fix it. Even the pent house isn't safe. He can't hire body guards to protect her. They could be anywhere. He can't sue them. Can't buy them. Can't stop them.

He can only leave.

So he does. "My business trip has been extended. I'll be gone at least four days."

"But that means-"

"I know. I'm sorry, my love. There's nothing I can do about it this time. I have to go."

MC feels the wrongness of it all. Something in his eyes-the heart she had so carefully cherished and coxed into life...felt cold and sickly. "I'll miss you."

His near eternal habit if fidgeting with his cuff links stills abruptly. He swallowes thickly and clenches his fist in a rare display of...what?

Frustration? Anger? Fear?

"I'll miss you too. So much." He clears his throat crisply as he gathers the last of his things. "Don't strain yourself in the gym downstairs. Driver Kim will be ready anytime you need to go anywhere. And please tell someone where you are if you leave." He's out the door in moments.

MC finds the memo later. There's something off about it. The pen strokes are erratic. The words aren't aligned. A couple of words are misspelled. It's almost hard to read. That can't be right.

Jumin has pristine handwriting.

On impulse she snaps a picture of it and sends it to V. Someone who she knew would see what she was seeing, and hopefully more.

"What do you make of this?" She doesn't receive a response.

Jumin left her a voice mail that night long after she had surrendered to sleep. It wasn't from a number she recognized. It was almost heartbreaking to listen to. He sounded so tired. So sad when he said her name. He reminisced for a bit about a stop at a vineyard they made on their honeymoon earlier that year. But he kept recounting things wrong. The cabin they stayed in... The names of the four cats the husbandman kept on the property...

She tried several times that day to call him. Her soul ached to do anything to lift his spirits. Each time her calls went to voicemail. And she was left with another equally painful, equally confusing voicemail when dawn broke on February 14.

When Zen called late into the afternoon it was impossible to hide her negative emotions. Zen misread her pain for disappointment about a simple holiday, but she was glad for the comfort nonetheless.

When the door to the penthouse finally opened MC's heart lept so fiercely her legs might have followed suit and launched her into her husband's arms were they not already occupied. How many boxes could one man possibly carry?!

Jumin dropped the gifts carelessly onto the nearest surface, which so happened to be the sofa, and enveloped MC in a crushing embrace. One she melted into as much as she could considering the thick coat he was wearing. An odd wardrobe choice, to be certain. It had been unseasonably warm for weeks.

Jumin whispered his words of love and explained away his early return before his focus shifted to the many boxes scattered in the sofa next to the two of you. He apologized for the mess but didn't move them. Opting instead to lower MC and himself to the floor between the furniture.

As the boxes were opened one by one MC's feeling of foreboding began to swell once again. She already had that color of lipstick. It was identical to one he brought home for her last week. Where those shoes? Jumin never personally bought her shoes. It was one of the few things he was superstitious about. And that hairpin. MC never said she liked it. In fact the two of them had a laugh when they first saw it, agreeing it was strangely tacky for the high class shop it was in.

MC’s gaze landed on his necktie. It wasn't one she had packed for him. He loved it when she chose his ties. And she NEVER would have chosen this one. Jumin hated diagonal stripes. Diagonals made him anxious. MC looked into his eyes. But the look there stilled the question teetering on her tongue. The strain in his smile. The barely-there crease between his brows.

"I never stopped thinking about you. I kept fidgeting with my wedding ring because of how much I missed you." His fingers entwined with MC's and gripped tight.

He wasn't wearing his ring.

Something was very, very wrong.

[breekiana-blog]

Because Emma Obviously Hates Me

(And I suck at reading my emails)

@emmalone2012

1. Describe your dream vacation.

I’m more of a stay-cationer now, but I guess getting lost in a foreign (read: NZ or UK) city with one other person (or a small group) and discovering all these cool off-the-grid kind of shops and hidey-holes. Maybe go back to Edinburgh Fringe.

2. We’re stuck in a remote cabin in the woods for a few weeks. What do you bring and what events do you plan to keep us happy?

HA! You want me to plan? That’s hilarious

well, books and a source of wifi are obvious...and snack foods...otherwise, I think we’re good?

3. If you could marry any fictional character, who would it be and why?

Oh, so many good ones.....but I’m gonna go with my bestie Jem (TID) or Rhys (ACOTAR) ....because they’re one of the few I could see myself not getting tired of/strangling them in their sleep. haha

4. What is your favorite quote from a book or poem? Explain why.

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite”- Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I dunno. There’s a lot of good memories that come to mind whenever I hear it. It just feels like home and calms me.

5. You have to get a tattoo of a single song lyric. Which lyric do you choose and why?

Well, I’m part Aquarius, so I have commitment issues and will probably NEVER get a tattoo, especially a lyric/phrase, but I guess...“I don’t love you like I did yesterday”- MCR. Simply because my love for my friends and family is never stagnant. It’s either growing or waning. So hence, not the same as the day before or the day after.

6. What is your favorite item of clothing that you own?

I’m pretty attached to my fandom merch, especially my Slytherin Quidditch Raglan

7. Imagine someone drops a puppy off at your front door tomorrow. What would you name it?

Depends on breed/gender/and personality

8. Who do you want to see in concert that you haven’t seen yet?

Oh, I hate people/ large crowds now. We’re going to see Ed Sheeran, so there’s one.

I’ll just stick to watching MTV LIVE for now. haha

9. Describe your ideal Friday evening. 

Red wine and a book

10. Which superhero do you think is most like you? Explain.

Oooooohhhhh, I really hate you right now. First gut was to go with anti-heroes, ala Jessica Jones, but she’s way too bad ass....Buzfeed says I’m Wonder Woman but I’m gonna stop that train wreck before we even get moving....

So, I’m gonna go with Bruce Banner simply because working in Customer Service forces me to always be angry, but put on a smiling face....and I’ve always been where if you step over my bullshit threshold, I will explode on you and put your ass in the ground.

[marvelandponder]

Ready, Class?

Our favourite purple pony princess has come a long way, hasn’t she?

... Or, has she?

Some number of fans in MLP community would tell you yes, of course she has, but then go onto say they still greatly prefer the old Twilight Sparkle. You know, the adorkable book-smart cynic with an insatiable curiosity and the impeccable intellect to back it up. Also, typically the one without wings.

They could tell you she’s grown and changed a great deal since the beginning of the show, yes, but counter-intuitively, perhaps too much. That she’s too calm, too collected, too powerful, and just too... in control.

We as an audience love to see characters work and strive to overcome their shortcomings, and especially in a show like this, where we crave that kind of continuity. It makes the episodes that came before feel like they matter more, since they have a real impact on stories moving forward.

But, some fans feel she’s just overcome too many faults. To the point that she may have even developed past what made her Twilight Sparkle!

And has she? Have they done everything that can be done with her character? 

Not yet. 

At least, I think so. But, to tell you where I think she’s headed, we’ve got to take a look back at where she’s been (it’s how this works). 

And, again, I realize that in a slice-of-life show, it’s sort of debatable whether or not you can really say any of the characters have definite character arcs throughout the series. But, the pursuit of knowledge stops for no inconsistencies!

From Anti-Social Beginnings

Ah, there she is! The Twi we all know and love, right?

Seasons 1-3 were a golden time for our favourite egghead. She conquered her oblivious loner tendencies with only a moderate amount of eye-rolling and freaking out. That adorkable charm is sort of irresistible, and it’s mostly because despite the fact that she’s a know-it-all, she’s so unpretentious.

She used to be a borderline misanthrope, sure, but even in the first episode when she’s trying her absolute best to just do her job and ignore the crazy ponies trying to befriend her, she’s still kind and sweet to them. She’s always had a good heart, and part of that is because she doesn’t assume she’s better than other ponies just because of her abilities or her status.

Which is a double-edged sword. She’s a (mostly) humble pony, which has lead her to making friends with all sorts or ponies and never looking down on anyone (even when they’re complete screw-ups *cough* Sunset and Starlight *cough*), but it also sometimes means she doesn’t value herself nearly as much as she should.

And, because of that, I’ll say this: What Art of the Dress is for Rarity, the Smile song is for Pinkie, and I’ll Fly is for Rainbow Dash, The Failure Song is for Twilight. Does it capture everything about her character? No, but these character themes usually only embody the most important part.

Having a some kind of Ode to Science might better capture the sheer adorkable (I’ve already used that word 3 times, this is a great post) enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge that really nails who Twilight is. And maybe the ballad style doesn’t sell you on the Twiness of it all, I get it. But what that song does do is outline Twilight’s insecurity. Her doubt, her humility to a fault, her anxious tendency to imagine the worst.

And (obviously) her fear of failing her teacher. 

Princess of Co-Dependency

How many times have I used that picture of Twilight crying over Celestia? Not enough, never enough.

I think this is absolutely one of the most underrated moments in the series. At the time, people talked about it, but nowhere near as much as I think it warrants. 

Twilight just became a princess. She’s just barely gotten used to her new limbs in EQG 1, and still she has absolutely no idea how to be a princess of Equestria — and that’s what this whole two-parter is about, right? 

Twilight’s been thrust into this new position she has no idea how to fill and the weight of it is crashing down on her. On top of that, she now has to face all these new questions about the future. Will she be a good princess? What’s her purpose? Will she and her friends grow apart? 

She’s never been more lost. There isn’t a book on being a princess she could read. And you know what happens? You know what happens to the one pony she’s always looked to for guidance during the time when she needs it most?

She dies in front of her. 

We as the audience know she’s going to get up, but Twilight has to face the death of her mentor alone. Effectively, in that moment, she has to face her future as a princess alone, too, without Celestia’s guidance. Twilight’s even wearing her crown in this shot, it’s absolutely symbolic.

There’s even a line she says that you can interpret two ways. When Twilight flies down and sees Celestia laying there on the floor, she says:

“No ... Why would Luna do this? Why now?”

You know what I mean, right? It fits in its original, probably intended context, as in Why would Luna do this now? But, given what doubts Twilight’s gone through in the entire first half of this two-parter, it also means Why now, when I’ve never needed her more?

Do I think this two-parter could’ve been executed better to get some of these ideas to really hit home? I don’t know, maybe, I’m not a professional writer, what do I know? But, my point is, those ideas are still at the core of this story, and in turn, at the core of how Twilight defines herself moving forward.

When all else failed, and she couldn’t turn to her mentor when she needed her most, she had to depend on her friends just like they depend on her. And, it makes sense. She’s the Princess of Friendship, after all!

As Celestia even later says, when the girls get their thrones, “What’s the Princess of Friendship without her friends?”

Rarity says something to the effect of ‘We’re simply lost without you,’ but what’s clear to me from this whole two-parter is that Twilight’s just as lost without them.

Unlike Celestia and Luna, who rule in tandem but ultimately each stand on their own (in Celestia’s case, to an extreme, since she ruled Equestria by herself for a thousand years), Twilight needs her friends to be Princess. She’s not a goddess-like matriarch, and even her magical prowess will never make her more important than her friends because she needs them to fulfill her destiny. 

She’s both the leader of the group and nothing without them. It’s neat.

And especially so, because for the following 2 seasons, Twilight fails. Like, a lot. She even started a war for a few hours, that was a fun one.

After being a career student since she was like five years old, Twilight’s suddenly thrust into a new role-- the Princess of Friendship! But there’s absolutely no precedent for what that means, and because of it, her season 4 character arc is entirely about her coming to grips with the fact that there are no instructions anymore. 

She has to define what it means herself-- and most of the time she’s struggling to find purpose, choosing to focus her efforts on solving the mystery of the chest (which honestly makes sense, that’s at least a clear goal she can attack with logic).

And after that? After that long season of just not knowing her purpose? She and her friends get a map! That sends them on friendship-related quests! Finally! Something she can work towards in her new role!

... Until her friends keep getting called without her.

And the whole arc of season 5 is pretty awesome (feels more involved than season 4′s to me), because Twilight is getting more and more tired of stagnating — and what’s worse, she has to face who she used to be and times she’s failed as a friend.

I wrote an actual university essay on Amending Fences (she said, surprising no one), so I’ll just leave it at:

“I’ve faced magical creatures, the end of Equestria, all sorts of things. But seeing how my actions affected you? That was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had.”

- Twilight ‘I’m sorry I was an oblivious jerk’ Sparkle

Really quick aside here, I feel like among other things What About Discord? was missing one line that would’ve made it a continuation of Amending Fences. It doesn’t have to be exactly like this, but something to the effect of:

“But I wasn’t there. I wasn’t included. Maybe it’s my own fault for staying in and having a bort-sort-cation when I could’ve been making jokes and memories and having a great time with my friends! But I didn’t do that, did I? You all did! You were all there but ... I wasn’t there.”

“And, now I’m scared that I’m still making the same mistakes I used to make before I met you. What kind of Princess of Friendship still chooses books over her friends?”

I mean, that’s what that episode is about, anyway. Given that it probably takes place after Amending Fences, it’s not a stretch to imagine that’s what she’s feeling. Twilight’s built up her own lofty expectations for what the Princess of Friendship should be, not anyone else.

And its in part because of Princess Celestia.

The Student Becomes the Teacher?

It’s no secret that Twilight idolizes Princess Celestia. Like a lot. Out of all the lessons she’s learned, not putting her on a pedestal isn’t one of them.

In fact, if you watch The Best Night Ever and Make New Friends but Keep Discord, you’ll see just how much she hasn’t changed from early seasons. She still goes to the Gala with the exact same intentions, spending a night by Celestia’s side, and is even still surprised Celestia likes to cut loose. And the thing is, in the latter of the two episodes, Twilight and Celestia are supposed to be equals.

Back at the beginning of season 4, Celestia told Twilight there’s no need to bow to her anymore. Yet Twilight’s still driven to impress and please her old teacher because, well, she still looks up to her.

And that’s been constant all throughout the show. From her unrealistic expectations in A Bird in the Hoof, to her iconic freak-out at the idea of letting down her teacher in Lesson Zero, all the way to her insatiable desire to make things perfect for Celestia’s visit in No Second Prances. Twilight may have studied directly under her, but somehow after all these years she’s still the filly who was inspired to study magic after first witnessing the Summer Sun celebration.

But, if there’s a problem with Twilight’s character nowadays, it’s that she’s trying too hard to be like her mentor. Don’t believe me? Good, it’s always smart to wait for the proof before believing a claim! 

See, Twilight kinda failed at her first attempt at being a teacher. Understandably so, since her niece had just been born and an entire empire was about to freeze to death, but the point is, in the end, she wasn’t there for Starlight.

And Spike, being the sweetheart that he is, told Twilight the one thing that would make her feel better: that this is exactly what Princess Celestia would’ve done with her.

So, let me just say that being able to step back and let her students learn for themselves is a good lesson. Especially for someone like Twilight, who’s more likely to plan every step along the way and not really let her students make the mistakes they need to make to learn for themselves. And this lesson even came in handy at the end of the season, when Twi was kidnapped and had to depend on her student to figure out the problem on her own.

But the thing is, Twi’s more than happy to be exactly like her mentor, and it’s hurting her in the long run.

Not because Celestia’s a bad teacher or even a bad character, but because Twilight can’t live up to the pedestal she puts her old teacher on.

Think about it. Let’s go back to What About Discord? Why does Twilight expect herself to be perfect? The Princess of Friendship can’t get jealous, apparently. The thing is, we know Twilight doesn’t have that much of an ego, she’s always been pretty humble (about most things — I can buy her being a little proud of her organizing skills every now and then).

You can even see it a little again in The Times They are a Changeling-- that whole ‘I may be the Princess of Friendship, but today — ’ thing. She’s got some expectations for herself, and I think you know why.

It’s because now that she’s a princess, and especially now that she’s a teacher to boot, Princess Celestia is her role model now more than ever. And not just Celestia how she really is — flawed, with a long history of mistakes and regrets — but Celestia as Twilight sees her. As that filly at the Summer Sun celebration saw her.

So, Twi’s trying to be a calm, level-headed leader and mentor, and sometimes she even succeeds. But even after learning breathing techniques to keep from panicking, she’s still prone to anxiety, and on the flip side, adorkable nerd-outs (four times!). A calm, wise guru she ain’t.

And more importantly, she ain’t a guru that’s perfect. She still makes mistakes, and this expectation that she can’t make any if she wants to be a good teacher is just plain wrong.

So, where is all this going? In Twilight’s search for meaning, she may have found the wrong answer in the short-run, but is there a better answer waiting for her in the long-run?

Yeah. Learning with her students.

That quote from The Times They are a Changeling I used earlier is kind of a step in the right direction. Even if right now she still seems to have high expectations for herself, she’s still more than willing to learn from others and stay humble enough to admit when she’s wrong. 

Which is good, because the way Twilight sees Celestia — it’s just unattainable. Twi’s not an immortal, perfect goddess and she never will be. She’ll always be learning new lessons about life, love, and friendship.

But she still can use those lessons she’s learned to teach her students, friends, and potential allies. She doesn’t have to be perfect, or done learning about friendship. Because the one thing that makes Twilight Sparkle who she is?

A love of learning. You boil down Twilight’s character to one single, all-defining trait, to me, that’s what you get. 

And to learn, you have to make mistakes and fail sometimes. Princess Celestia had the advantage of thousands of years of experience (and, by the way, only got it right with Twilight), which worked great for her. But Twilight can be a different kind of teacher: herself.

A more wise, adaptable, nuanced version, maybe, but above all, still the adorkable (five!) Twilight we all know and love.

Like this kind of thing? Well, good, ‘cause there’s more! Here’s a post with links to all the MLP editorials I’ve done! Not in the clicking mood? Don’t worry, I’ve got the last three right here:

Sunset’s, Applejack’s, and the Seasonal Rot Editorials

Year of the Pony

Header Image Only Possible Because of ...

Twilight Sparkle-Eyes Vector by Comeha

Starswirl the Bearded Wing Background Vector by Hourglass-Vectors

Enjoy some awesome vectors by two awesome vector artists! You’ve got two talented vector artists here who make stuff you can use for your projects (with credit)!

Never stop learning.