#our personal alice and wendy (finally)

[icanbeyourgenie]

— AND I SWALLOW // d.s  (via dangeress)

[internetgiraffekid1673]

Milo Johnson Through the Ages:

This is post number 6 for The Cross Roads, and the last of our main characters! The Cross Roads is my little pet project of a crossover between Milo and the Phantom Tollbooth, the Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland. It focuses on all the main kids from those stories going to the same high school and going on whacky adventures through their various Magical Otherworlds.

More info about the AU, additional notes, and non-formatted drawings under the cut. Here are the posts for Alice, Wendy, John, Michael, and Dorothy.

Chicken Scratch Translation (in the order the boxes should be read):

[The Lands Beyond Era. Age: 10. Source: MS Paint pieces by Alice Lidell & Dorothy Gale]

[Notes: While he was quite apathetic and malcontent at this age, his adventure would open him to the possibilities of the world and permanently change his personality.]

[Lovable Outcast Era. Age: 16. Source: Sophomore year back-to-school selfie]

[Notes: Liked by just about everyone, but he has some quirks that keep people from getting close, like his extreme enthusiasm, occasional depressive episodes, and habit of talking about magic like it's real.]

[Insane Teacher Era. Age: 27. Source: School Staff Photo]

[Notes: He's a kind and competent elementary school teacher who is also so enthusiastic that most students are convinced he's nuts. He's basically a male Valerie Frizzle.]

AU info:

The source materials I am drawing from for this AU are: the book for Milo and the Phantom Tollbooth; the 1939 Warner Bros movie for The Wizard of Oz; both the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass books; mostly the Disney movie for Peter Pan, but with elements of the stageplay and the book as I see fit. This is mostly due to my familiarity with these source materials, but there are a few other canon-welding/writing reasons too.

This is a modern AU taking place sometime between the 90's and the 2010's.

The story will be just about evenly split between slice-of-life high school adventures and a fantastical plot that will take them through all the Magical Otherworlds seen in the original stories.

The school is 7-12. At the time of the main plot, Alice and Michael are 8th graders, Milo and John are sophomores, and Dorothy and Wendy are seniors.

The story takes place in rural Kansas, U.S.A., somewhere around Dodge City (as you may have guessed from Milo's T-shirts). While the original events of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan still took place in England, both families moved to the same area in Kansas sometime after the events of canon. Milo, was initially from some random suburban town in a different U.S. state. This decision was made for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that I am not British, I'm American, and writing in America will be much easier for me. Secondly, it had to be Kansas because my characterization of Dorothy has her very attached to her home and farm, and they'd literally never move unless they were forced to. Third, the original events of at the very least Alice in Wonderland had to still take place in England, because. . . well, if you've never read the books, let's just say Alice is very British and Wonderland is her creation, and we'll leave it at that.

There will be ships in this AU: Dorothy x Wendy and John x Milo (what were you expecting something straight? This is tumblr!). Dorothy and Wendy are both sapphic, although they're still figuring out where they are under that umbrella. John is gay and Milo is aspec. Since this is the Milo post, I finally did my deep diving into his character, and decided he is asexual and demiromantic. These identities will be respected in his ship. Alice and Michael will not be actively shipped with anyone, but Alice is pan and Michael is the token straight.

These information files exist in universe! Who assembled them? Great question, hopefully I end out writing the damn thing so ya'll can find out. >:')

Additional Notes:

Thanks so much for sticking with me through this art series. It's not the last of The Cross Roads by any stretch of the imagination, but any art I post for them will now be a bit less organized and a bit more "I had brainrot and doodled the kids."

On the ages: So. I based all their ages and the relative time they had their adventures on the Darling's ages, because they're siblings and are spaced out in canon. I decided that the initial events of Peter Pan took place 5 years before The Cross Roads main plot, when Wendy had recently turned 12 and John and Michael were just shy of 10 and 8 respectively. 5 years later puts them at recently 17 and about to start senior year, recently 15 and about to start sophomore year, and recently 13, about to start 8th grade. I do believe Michael's age is incorrect on his post, since I hadn't done all the proper math quite yet.

Anyway, I slotted the other 3 in between them. Alice actually had her first adventure a little earlier than everyone else to account for the fact that Looking Glass is already Time-Skipped from Wonderland. She went to Wonderland when she was 7 (a solid 6 years before the plot), and went to Looking Glass Land when she was 9 (4 years before the plot). Everybody else had their adventures in the year in between those two. Milo had his adventure while he was 10. Dorothy was 13 when she went to Oz, and is one of the oldest kids in her grade.

Other time events include Milo moving to Kansas about a year after his adventure (4 years before the story), the Darlings moving a year after that (3 years before the story), and Alice moving a year after that (2 years before the story). I do have plans to explore the intermediate stages as their group forms, and how they ended out clocking each other as fellow magical interdimensional travelers.

I made up Milo's last name because he doesn't have one in his original book or movie. That's why it's so boring and unassuming. I didn't want to get too crazy with it.

Dodge City Kansas' mascot is actually the Conquistadors, but this is my universe, and if I say it's the Twisters for comedic reasons, then it's the Twisters. Also, Milo is specifically wearing a shirt bought from their baseball team.

I have also updated all previous posts in the series to have links to all other posts. Let me know if I need to make a masterpost.

Unformatted Drawings:

[betagrove]

This isn't Reddit, this is my personal blog 💙 I will shit on KH2 without elaborating all I please. Anyways, I was playing KH2 because KH1 and CoM ruled. Didn't know it was gonna suck yet 💙

KH1 and Chain of Memories both manage to have disney worlds that either directly interact with the original and Final Fantasy character plots, or build on the themes the game is tossing around in explorative ways.

For KH1, you have the whole Princesses of Heart plotline, the disney villain council's cohesiveness as opposed to unrelated disney world plots, interacting with Riku in the Disney worlds, Geppetto interacting with the FF crew in Traverse Town, gleaning KH lore from Disney Worlds (The Hollow Bastion slide in Deep Jungle, Triton's feelings about keybearers, etc.), and the presentation generally tying worlds in more to our main quest than later entries (most notably with the keyholes being far more prominent and integrated than KH2's world-end cutscenes)

Chain of Memories notably has less connected plotlines in a direct sense, but makes a deliberate point to tie the events in its disney worlds to its overarching narrative about memory, truth, and friendship. Alice's manipulation of the Red Queen, who has lost her memory, Ariel no longer longing for the surface but rather seeking to rescue Flounder (as Sora is chasing Kairi & Riku / Naminé), Peter Pan being worried about Wendy forgetting their friendship, Oogie Boogie taking a potion to awaken his "true memories", etc. Etc.

All these moments in CoM serve to put oomph behind the game's main plot. When Sora makes the choice to remember who his life before Castle Oblivion and forget Naminé, the moment is informed by these themes throughout the game. Similarly, while short & sweet with regards to synopsis, Reverse:Rebirth does a good (not great lol) job of using Riku's ascent through Castle Oblivion to show his overcoming of his struggles in KH1, including his quest to destroy all the disney villains on his way.

I love disney worlds in KH. It's just that KH2's mostly have boring stories unrelated to the main plot, with a few exceptions. Land of Dragons is just a handful of moments from Mulan, but SDG are there. Atlantica is just a handful of moments from The Little Mermaid, but SDG are there (though the bad rhythm game is funny so I don't mind as much). Halloween Town's plot is mostly an excuse to check out Christmas Town, ft. "He's back because we needed him to be" moment for Oogie Boogie. Port Royal similarly leans heavily on preexisting plot from PotC. Olympus Coliseum plot is the same thing as KH1's in a different color with a new FF guy (and doesn't even bother linking Auron to Wakka and Tidus).

I'll give points to Beast's Castle, Timeless River, and Space Paranoids, for having an Org member actually well-integrated in the story, fun time travel shenanigans / one of two only well-done uses of Maleficent & Pete in the game (the other being Maleficent @ battle of 1000 heartless), and connections to the Hollow Bastion & Ansem the Wise plot, respectively.

KH2's main plot is also just extremely underwhelming because very little of note actually happens. As I noted, Roxas' prologue is a highlight for the game, but his inclusion throughout the rest of the plot was bland references to his existence by bland Org members & an admittedly great moment with Axel later. His showdown with Sora wasn't even added until the Final Mix, almost 12 years later in the US.

Past the prologue, things just kind of happen so we can get to the stuff the plot needs to. SDG goes to meet Yen Sid, who basically goes "Actually the heartless weren't the big deal we thought they were, there's Nobodies now ! You should go stop... whatever they're doing." Sora keeps insisting he's still on his quest to find Kairi and Riku, but this basically amounts to him doing the same aimless wandering he was going to do anyways. Org members & hooded Riku show up briefly, just to spout a few lines of dialogue, have an underwhelming boss fight, and leave. The gang stumbles into Space Paranoids with some exposition about how Ansem SoD wasn't who they thought he was & there's actually a bigger badder dude out there. Then, when they stumble into the Battle of 1000 Heartless, we finally get some real info on Xemnas, the Org, and the new Kingdom Hearts, learning that Sora releasing hearts is building it up. That would be cool & all, except the game immediately presses pause on this concept to force Sora to go back to Disney worlds and kill way more heartless with plots even emptier than the first visits. For a series that frequently makes direct ties between its gameplay and plot presentation, it's disappointing that they drop the ball on the big third act reveal like this. Data Twilight Town through TWTNW is where the plot really picks up, and I'm mostly fine with it through there (though I personally find Roxas & Naminé's fates here ridiculous, and wish Maleficent got more spotlight).

Overall, I think a lack of dialogue between members of the main cast really hurt the game here. KH1 constantly has SDG talking about what's going on and what to do next, CoM has a plethora of conversations between the main cast and with the Org members, BBS has interpersonal drama between TVA who are constantly bumping into eachother. Sora sometimes references vaguely looking for Riku in KH2, but it's all very shallow. I also just find KH2's strategy of blocking off worlds (and rooms within worlds) somewhat arbitrarily to be annoying. The plot overall feels meandering and disconnected from the actual gameplay loop.

Regarding Heartless and the Seeker of Darkness, the game goes out of its way to put the antagonists of KH1 down as a way to make Sora & the Org look stronger by comparison. Yen Sid explicitly says that the Nobodies are more powerful, the stronger heartless from previous games are absent, heartless are referenced moreso as a tool that Maleficent / the Org could use than a real force (i.e. turning Beast / Santa into heartless to control them), the game sets Ansem SoD as somehow inherently less threatening than Xemnas (without any real reason given for that), and strips the KH1 secret reports lore of him, giving it to DiZ / Ansem TW instead, a character that is pretty chronically underutilized. This is all to be expected of the anime-style powerscaling that KH2 is running off of (i.e. "Frieza is WAY stronger than Vegeta or Raditz was!"), but it's not something I particularly enjoy in the context of Kingdom Hearts. It feels weird to devalue the series' most iconic set of creatures to set up another faction mostly relevant just to KH2 and Days. BBS' Unversed are an example of a separate creature set that are similarly threatening to Heartless in KH1 without needing to retroactively lower the stakes of previous games. DDD is far worse about ruining Ansem SoD, though.

If you can play through KH and get all the messages about the nature of hearts, how they can be created, how they connect, how memories work, etc. and come to the conclusion that Data-Sora was intended to be completely unrelated to Meat-Sora, I don't really know what to tell you. They may not be the same entity, but Data-Sora still impacts our understanding of Sora as a whole. If you can understand the connection between Xehanort, Terranort, Ansem SoD, and Xemnas, it's not too hard to understand that D-Sora and D-Riku are further character reflection on their physical counterparts. KH2 even draws immediate connection between Data Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and the ones in physical Twilight Town.

Sora is not the same in CoM as KH2. In CoM, Sora is manipulated, sure, but the plot & character drama revolves around his personality and emotions. It's built on him reacting to the changes in his memory throughout Castle Oblivion, in an interesting and well-explored way. His goals change throughout the game, and he actively makes decisions based on what he thinks is best. The Org members and Naminé also make intentional & sometimes surprising decisions throughout the game, and how different characters' goals bounce off eachother from multiple angles brings tension to the plot, keeping it interesting throughout.

KH2 likes to pay some small mind to this concept of clashing desires (Maleficent's enemy-of-my-enemy moment, Axel's betrayal of the Org, Riku sparing Naminé all being great moments), but it's usually in very short bits, not something pervading the plot. As for Sora, he doesn't really make any decisions at all. The entire game, he follows what Yen Sid or some other guiding hand tells him to do. He finds Kairi and Riku by complete happenstance, not because he actually did anything to reach them. His goals and methodology never change. You start the game wandering from place to place to hopefully stop the Organization, and you end it the same way. None of the information Sora gets along the way affects his decision making. Even when he finds out that the villain's plan relies on him doing exactly what he was doing before, he goes right back to doing it until he ends up waltzing into TWTNW, taking out some bad guys he still knows practically nothing about, and finally taking down Xemnas. Because it's what he was supposed to do. Even afterwards, when he and Riku are in the Realm of Darkness, the Door to Light just randomly opens because, uh, we didn't feel like having to write Sora & Riku finding a way out of there.

tl;dr: I'm not gonna play KH2 again because there's not too much left there to engage with. And the magic system sucks 💙

How do you even possibly vote KH2 here. How is it in second place. The only good parts of KH2 are the prologue and Sora meeting Riku again. Everything else is genuinely bad. Especially in Disney worlds. KH1, CoM, and BBS beat it by lightyears because they have actual stories going on. KH2 only exists as an excuse to make reaction commands happen

[one-shot-plus-size]

From Sons of Anarchy to Mayans MC

Jax's sister must hide from the revenge of SAMCRO enemies, goes to Mayans MC Santo Padre. And he catches the eye of a la presidente.

Chapters 14/20

Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language. They will accept any attention and criticism :)

Part 13

Pov Olivia As soon as I got in the car I turned off the phone, I didn't want to be found. I did not want to talk to anyone. We remained silent all the way, I felt tears flowing down my cheeks. Only now did all this reach me, only now did I realize that I was left alone. I no longer had a brother or mother, nothing kept me in Charming. Alice stopped by the motel, turned off the engine and looked at me.

- I am sorry about everything that happened in Charming - she touched my knee.

- Thanks - I nodded my head slightly. 

- I know now is not a good time but Jackson left something for you - she grabbed the briefcase from the back seat.

She opened it and took out the briefcase and a large envelope. She handed me these things, the envelope was convex, I grabbed them and looked at them for a long time. 

- What is this?

- Jackson asked me to hand it to you - she overdid it. 

- Thanks - I opened the door and looked at it - thanks for everything, go back to Charming and don't say anything to anyone. 

- I am a lawyer, I will remain silent. 

She nodded her head and left when I went to the reception. I rented myself a room for a few days paying in cash, not with a card. I didn't want my Sons and Mayan's to find me, I needed space. I locked myself in the room and only then did I really allow myself to break down. I went down the door and cried like a small child. I was now alone, the only Teller alive. My heart broke and this time not in half, but in small pieces. I was angry with my brother when he sent me to Santo Padre but I could never really be angry with him. He always cared about his family, I did not hold back tears. I really needed a lot of courage to open the file. Inside there were property acts, I looked through each paper one by one. All Gemma and Jackson's property was now mine. 

- What the fuck are you doing, brother? - I've lost my hair.  

I put the briefcase and the documents away and for a long time I was mingling the envelope in my hand. I finally ripped it apart, the first thing that came out of it was the keys. I immediately knew what they were from, I recognized the pendant. The blue rabbit paw I gave my older brother when he bought his first motorcycle. Luckily, to keep it always on and to keep it safe. As you can see it did not help him, I squeezed it in my hand. Two more rings fell out of the envelope, one bigger and one smaller. Apparently my brother had to marry a woman. And I think I even knew with which one, Tara. She returned to his life and dragged him to the altar. Of course I didn't know that either, I wasn't part of his life. I twisted my head and laughed under my nose. I missed so much, everything was happening outside of me. As if I was no longer a part of this life, as if I did not exist. I leaned my head against the door and closed my eyes, they threw me out of my own family. Only after a while I was able to open the card that was in the envelope.

Sister, You know I've never been good at saying all this. But you deserve an explanation, I should tell you everything personally but so many things happened. I did so much wrong, so many people died. It started with Kip, then Kozik and Piney. They did not deserve such a death, but you can only blame Clay for that. It was him who led to their deaths, and it was through his actions that the three of them passed away. Opie's death was a blow to all of us, Lyla was broken down but had to take care of the children. She had no time to mourn him, and suddenly she had to be responsible. I never forgave Clay for having led the club one way or the other, maybe all of this would not have happened then. That's why I admit that I killed him, I killed him in front of Gemma. But you know that he was responsible for our father's death, although he never admitted it. And I have no reason not to believe Maureen Asba's list, I believe her. I hope you won't be angry with me for sending you back to Santo Padre. But I knew what I had to do and I just wanted to protect you. As soon as you left, everything went wrong. I know that I should call you and give you a report. But I didn't want to worry you because even if I told you not to do it, you would still do it. You were always resisting my requests, my bad younger sister :). I know that now is not the time for such smiles but I know how you love them. When she writes this letter I sit on the roof of our new club and stare at the stars in the dark sky. I remember taking you to the roof so that our mom would not know about it. We could sit there for hours just talking. We were so carefree then, I regret that when I joined the club we stopped doing that. Now I appreciate the silence but I miss you, I miss your wise texts. And constant biting back when something was going wrong.

I tried to control the tears, but it was so hard to read this letter, so hard to believe that we will never be together again. That we would never sit on the roof and just not be ourselves again. A few drops fell on a piece of paper, I rubbed them with my hand.

The happiest day I can call the one where Tara gave me another son, Thomas, I hope you will have a chance to meet him. After all, he is your nephew, the second great day was when Tara became my wife. Sorry, you should be at my wedding. You should attend the ceremony, be able to see the smile on my face. I know you didn't really like her but she was my first and true love. And I'm really glad she died as Tara Teller to this day, I mean I'm not glad she died. Jizas, you know what I mean, I'm glad that her name was Teller. We didn't have a long time to be together because only three months. Now probably the hardest part of the whole story, everything that has happened since the day of our wedding was my fault. I am the only one responsible for that, the things I have to confess to you are not pleasant. You know that the club was my whole life? That I knew since I was a child that I wanted to go there? I know you know that, Tara, seeing all the bad things that happened to the club, decided to take the kids away from me. She wanted to take them to another state so that they would be safe, I didn't understand her then, but over time I know that she wanted well. She wanted well, she wanted to protect them from evil, but Gemma could not understand it. She was angry that Tara cut her off from her grandchildren and killed her in an act of desperation.

I noticed a few dry spots on the sheet of paper, Jackson cried when he was writing these words, he was hurt by his wife's death. He was hurt by the fact that our mother had gone to such an act. I moved my finger over the words and almost felt the pain she caused him.

Yes, you have read well, Gemma killed my wife, but it took me almost a week to get to the truth and that is why Juice died. He was a rat working for my mom, not for the club. He proved that the club meant nothing to him, I had to do so. I hope you understand? Surely you understand, you always found a logical explanation for my actions.

- Unfortunately, Jackson, I try to understand but I can't.

I couldn't give it to her. I could not forgive her, I could not look into her eyes. I am a bad son, I put the club above our blood, above the woman who gave birth to me but also gave you life. I do not want you to hate your mother for what she did. But she took away the only person I really loved who gave my life meaning. It was Mom who killed Tara, brutally and irrevocably. I couldn't forgive her for that, I couldn't live with that. I had to kill her, even though it made me a monster. I love you so much, and I destroyed your life so much. I destroyed you to protect you. Remember what you promised me, I want you to be happy. Don't be angry with Chibs, he was looking for another solution but I had to pay for my actions. There was no time to come up with another solution. Nobody from the club will mind if you don't want to go back to Charming. I wouldn't want you to stay with the Sons myself. Maybe now Santo Padre will be your place, maybe you will find your place in the world there. Maybe someone from Mayan's will become your greatest love. I know that their club is different, I know that they will provide you with security that I could not give to my family. So many things could have gone differently, so many things should never have happened. We were supposed to be a happy family and I ruined it all. I know you're probably sitting there crying now, but I know it will be better. If you want to hide, go to Wendy's, she takes care of the boys now. She will give you asylum for as long as you need it for. Just call her, visit the boys sometimes. They must have the aunt, the aunt they deserve. I know that the situation seems hopeless to you but I know it will be better.  

I love you, sister, I love you so much.

Your little brother Jackson. 

P.S. 

Everything that was mine is now yours. The workshop, my house, our mom's house and my motorcycle. Do with everything you want, be safe and happy. I love you.

I bent the card in half and let the tear flow. Now I understood everything, I felt bad for what I said to Chibs. I got up from the ground, went to the shower, stood under water until the water became icy. After that, I simply slipped into bed. I had no strength to think straightforwardly. 

Pov Bishop

I was staring at the phone that was lying on the table. I stared at it all the time, tried to call it a few times, sent several messages. However, her phone has been silent since yesterday and was switched off. I rubbed my hands on her face and looked at the boys, each of them was silent. I looked at Angel, he was also staring at the phone. He blew up her phone in the morning, with no effect. He lifted up his head and looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and returned to the device with a look. As promised to Chibs, we appeared at the funeral of Jackson and Gemma. We took part in a parade leading the mother and son through the last road. We placed our motorcycles in one row by the curb, I was looking at my Sons, each of them looked depressed. I could have sworn that I saw tears in Chibs' eyes. 

- Just behave yourself - I was growling at the young ones. 

Everyone nodded, I watched the cars parked. When the door of one of them opened and when I saw a person getting off, I got up from the motorcycle. She looked like she wasn't, I hadn't seen her for 4 days but that's not how I remember her. Her hair was pinned up in a sloppy chignon, her skin did not shine as usual. Under her eyes she had big dark marks, her eyes were swollen from crying. Just behind her another woman got off, she put her hand on her shoulder. Olivia lifted up, looked at her and shrugged her shoulders lowering her head back. She did not look at anyone, she went with the woman to her place. This is what the man who lost everything looked like, the man they broke. The son stood behind her back and we were on the other side. Tig's hand was on her shoulder, Olivia breathed and raised her eyes. She stopped it the moment she saw me. I smiled insecurely, she nodded her head slightly and returned to the coffins with her gaze. A weeping sound came out of her mouth when the priest started the ceremony. It was the worst 45 minutes of my life, I wanted to approach her and take all the pain away from her. Olivia got up from her seat, approached her brother's coffin, put two rings on her age. She leaned over and kissed the closure and whispered something. She put a rose on her mother's coffin, kissed the lid and headed for the car. Taza pushed me slightly with his arm, I looked at him. He nodded his head in her direction, I breathed and followed her. 

- Hey - I whispered when I caught up with her.

She turned to me with tears in her eyes. She bit her lower lip trying not to cry, I drew her to myself. Her fists clenched on my wick, I leaned my chin on her head.  

- I know it hurts, but eventually it will stop - I whispered. 

- I'll get over it, I promise.

- Calm down, no one is rushing you. You must be sick, I just want to say that the Mayans club door is open for you. 

- I'll come back - she broke away from me slightly - if I can, she doesn't want to impose herself. 

- Querida, you never impose yourself. We'll take you in with open arms, someone has to control Angela - I laughed quietly. 

- Thanks - she leaned her head against my torso. 

- You'll be fine, you'll be fine. 

She nodded her head slightly, she broke away from me completely. She smoothed out my wrinkled skin with her hands, returned to my eyes with a look.  

- Thanks - she breathed away

- You are welcome - I smiled a little. 

I smoothed her chin with my thumb, kissed her forehead. I held my lips on her skin a few seconds longer than I should have. 

- Whenever you are ready, I invite you.

She nodded her head slightly, smiled almost imperceptibly. The blonde came up to us, put her hand on her shoulder. 

- Come on - she whispered. 

Olivia patted her hands and nodded her head.  

- Thanks, Bish. 

- You are welcome - I nodded my head slightly. 

I was staring at her when she walked to the car, rubbed my hair with my hand. - Will she come back? - Angel materialized next to me.

- I have no idea, he seems to say yes, but Charming is her home. 

- I would like to have her close - he breathed and lit a cigarette. 

- Are you two together? - I frowned my eyebrows looking at him.

- She is my friend, she understands me like no one else-he took a cigarette- she loves someone else.

- Mhm - I purr.

Part 15

[letterboxd]

Under the Stars.

On the UK release of Harry Macqueen’s tender Supernova, the writer-director talks to Ella Kemp about timeless love stories, his favorite screen lovers and working with best buds Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci.

Love is patient and love is kind in Supernova, Harry Macqueen’s tender story of marriage, memory and maps. It’s an autumnal study of a mature, rock-solid love and the unfair illness that threatens to undo it. We’ve seen stories about gay lovers that end in tragedy before, but this one is different: a sense of security and trust infuses the final holiday of husbands Sam and Tusker, as they come to terms with Tusker’s recent diagnosis of early-onset dementia.

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci play the couple—a pairing written in the stars, since the actors have been best friends for twenty years—who are traveling England in an RV, visiting places and people they have loved. Sam is a pianist, Tusker a star-gazing novelist. Together, they mine emotions that manifest in everyday care rather than grand, theatrical gestures. Julien describes Supernova as “a marvel of tiny moments that feel so real they register like bullet wounds,” while Lola feels the destabilizing power of these lovers. “I love love,” she writes, “but love is painful, beautiful, heart wrenching, frightening and forever.”

Supernova is the second feature from Macqueen as a writer and director after 2015’s Hinterland, in which he starred opposite Lori Campbell in a contemporary, rural tale of a companionship that spans decades. A London-trained actor, he made his debut in the under-seen Richard Linklater film, Me and Orson Welles. On Supernova, however, Macqueen remains firmly behind the camera.

The filmmaker opened up about the stars in the sky, the ones on our screens, intimacy, pride and more for his Life in Film questionnaire.

Harry Macqueen on location with Colin Firth for ‘Supernova’.

What do you think the connection is between stars—the celestial kind—and lovers? Harry Macqueen: Historically, we’ve always found the cosmos to be both perplexing and inspiring. I suppose there’s a kind of infinite beauty in space that is definitely related to love, and especially for a character like Tusker, who is contemplating his mortality. He’s looking up at the stars and thinking about what they mean, and what he means in that context, and it seemed like something that would be a natural thing to do if you were in that situation.

In terms of the other kind of stars—your incredible actors Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci—how did you find the right people to bring Sam and Tusker’s love to life? I think that what they do in the film is very surprising, in a way that’s beautiful and delicate. But it was also one of the easiest casting processes of any film, ever. Stanley was the first person we sent the script to and he read it very quickly and responded to it in the way that you hope that people will. We were really interested in one of the characters being not British—we felt there was something potentially quite stuffy about having two Brits bumbling around the countryside, so another culture would add a bit of a different energy to it.

Stanley loved the script and we got on really well. I really wanted, hopefully, to get two actors who knew each other and had a shared history for these intimate roles. And he said, “I don’t know whether you know, but my best mate is Colin, and I could get the script to him.” I obviously said yes and he said, “Okay, well, I already have, and he loves it and he wants to meet you.” So it was all a bit of a dream!

Let’s talk about the inception of the script. Supernova is obviously a story about love, but it’s about illness and death and mortality and all of these things, which feels significant in terms of it being a gay love story. A lot of queer love stories in cinema are tragic, but also are often very specifically reckless and youthful, and don’t really linger on this later chapter in life. How early did you know, then, that this film would be about two men? If you’re talking about early-onset dementia, you’re naturally talking about people in their fifties or sixties, so I knew that I was always going to tell a story about romantic love of some kind in that part of your life. I had done a lot of research around that, and I realized I had never worked with a same-sex couple. All the couples and families that I’d worked with, the central relationship had been a heterosexual one. So my initial reaction was to write that story, but then I countered that really quickly and wanted to challenge why that was my initial inkling.

I just thought, I’m writing about really universal themes—love and death and life and trust and companionship—and it seems to me that no one sexual orientation or gender has a monopoly on those things.

And you’re right, LGBTQ+ cinema over the years, quite often for very, very important and understandable reasons, has been about that period of flux, transitioning or coming out, the moment of becoming your true self at a certain time of life, when you’re usually quite young. And that is quite fraught, frantic and a bit grimy sometimes. So I was aware that there was a gap in cinema to present a love story about two people of the same sex who were in this stage of life. That romantic, mature love we don’t talk about very often.

The film also aspires to be the type of story in this type of community that I hope that I live in, even if perhaps I don’t—to tell a story in which the sexuality of the characters isn’t mentioned. It’s just accepted, embraced and loved. The sexuality of the characters doesn’t impact the story or inform anything, it’s just their lived experience in the world. I’m really proud that we did that, because I genuinely think, in its own tiny way, it’s a revelation.

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci navigate love and illness in the Lake District.

This film, materially and aesthetically, is beautiful. The landscapes, the actors, Sam and Tusker’s knitwear. How did you navigate the balance between creating this very cozy world that also understands heartbreak and decay as potent things? What I want to try and do in films generally is wrap an audience up in an intimate world between two people, and hopefully allow the audience to fall in love with those people. That shared history they have meant that all of these things felt quite organic. They’ve got some money, but they’re in a camper van, they’re not loaded. They’re reasonably creatively successful, but they’re not famous, necessarily. They’re just two guys trying to live under quite extreme conditions.

The intimacy in the film is really, really important to me. What degree of romantic intimacy these characters have, how you film that, and how you plonk an audience in there. Because you don’t want to make a dirge—the film is life-affirming because they love each other so much, and because of that, it’s also devastating.

So that informs every choice you make stylistically. It’s quiet, and it’s patient, and it felt like exactly the right way to tell this story, to not intrude on this beautiful relationship, to not impose anything on it, to be very simple, really—which, as I’m sure you know, it’s not simple!

I know that kind of filmmaking is not to everyone’s taste, that avoidance of melodrama, that lightness of touch. I find it beautiful, but others probably don’t.

Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ (1985).

Now, a few Life in Film questions. Who are your favorite gay lovers on-screen? Carol and Therese in Carol, Russell and Glen in Weekend, Marianne and Héloïse in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Johnny and Omar in My Beautiful Laundrette.

What is your favorite timeless love story? This is so difficult! Maybe Alice in the Cities, Wendy and Lucy or the Before... trilogy.

What is the best film about pride, the definition of which is very much open to interpretation? Jiro Dreams of Sushi—a brilliant film about having pride in your craft.

What should we watch after Supernova? I tend to be a bit controversial and say the couple from Amour by Michael Haneke. Or maybe Life of Brian, or a Studio Ghibli film—but definitely not Grave of the Fireflies.

What was the film that made you want to be a filmmaker? I’m not certain there is a specific one, but there are films you encounter all the time that make you want to be a filmmaker all over again. The two films that made me think it might actually be possible were Old Joy and Katalin Varga—they inspired me before I had any budget or experience. But it could also be any Yasujirō Ozu film, or Taste of Cherry by Abbas Kiarostami. All very inspiring in their own way.

Related content

Queer Love and Desire: a list by the Criterion Channel

The Pride of Sundance: 400 LGBTQ+ films to watch this June, curated by the Sundance Film Festival

101 Must-See Movies for Lesbians: Jenni Olson’s list (including Carol)

Follow Ella on Letterboxd

‘Supernova’ is in UK theaters now, and available to stream on Hulu, or rent/buy from other VOD services in the US.

[searchingwardrobes]

Start of Time: 3/?

In this chapter, Emma (going by Wendy) meets another character in a surprising way. I really hope Emma’s amnesia and her going by “Wendy” isn’t too confusing. I keep writing “Emma” by accident, then having to change it!

Summary: Killian and his son are driving through a bad snow storm when they find a disoriented woman walking down the road. The question is, how can they help her get home when she has no idea who she is? Written for @teamhook​​ on her birthday.

Rating: T

Words: About 2,000 in this chapter

Also on Ao3

Tagging: @snowbellewells​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @kmomof4​ @thislassishooked​​ @teamhook​​ @bethacaciakay​​ @xhookswenchx​​ @let-it-raines​​ @shireness-says​​ @spartanguard​​ @scientificapricot​​ @sherlockianwhovian​​ @superchocovian​​ @ekr032-blog-blog​​ @kday426​​ @tiganasummertree​​ @jennjenn615​​ @welllpthisishappening​​ @wellhellotragic​​ @optomisticgirl​​ @distant-rose​ @stahlop​​ @resident-of-storybrooke​​ @nikkiemms​​ @vvbooklady1256​​ @profdanglaisstuff​​ @branlovestowrite​​ @hollyethecurious​​ @ultraluckycatnd​​ @snidgetsafan​​ @delirious-latenight-laughs​​  @winterbaby89​​

Come tomorrow I’ll be in the ocean, I’ll be rising with the morning tide

Wendy awoke the next morning when the sun was just beginning to tinge the edges of the darkness. She felt warm and comfortable in her bed, her bumps and bruises slight aches now instead of sharp pains. Even her headache had finally subsided. She lay there in Alice’s narrow twin bed, however, staring at the ceiling. It was painted a dark blue, and glow in the dark stickers of planets and stars dotted its surface. She squinted as she studied them. She didn’t know her constellations very well, but even she could identify the big dipper. Whoever had decorated the ceiling, it wasn’t Alice. Her father perhaps?

She ran her fingers through her still damp hair. She probably shouldn’t have gone to bed with it still wet, but the shower had sapped her energy, and she had been unable to resist the call of the soft pillow and mattress. It had felt absolutely luxurious to slip beneath the sheets clean and fresh. Wendy continued to stare at the simulated night sky above her, trying to remember something other than this house and endless snow, but it was useless.

Wendy knew she wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep, so she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She gathered the fleece lined leggings and the purple sweater one of the kids had dropped off in her room the night before. At least, she assumed it was one of the kids, judging how they had been tossed haphazardly on the bed while she was in the shower. Wendy slipped into them, the sharp scent of cedar filling her nostrils. These had obviously been in storage for a while. Had they belonged to the children’s mother? Where was she?

Since her hair was a tangled mess of wild curls from sleeping on it wet, Wendy grabbed a hair elastic from one of the drawers in the bathroom. It was small, and clearly belonged to Alice, so it would only go around her hair twice. Wendy twisted her hair in a messy bun instead, and it held. It would have to do.

She slipped into a pair of thick socks that had also been left for her, then padded softly out of her room, down the hall, and down the stairs. The house was quiet except for the hum of the central heating. It looked like she was the only one up. She crossed the living room and sat down at a desk that sat against the far wall. A laptop sat on its surface. Killian said it was the kids’, and that they were only allowed to use it here in the living room (to which Henry had groused which defeats the purpose of having a laptop). He also said Wendy was welcome to it as soon as the wifi was back on. The laptop’s password and the wifi password were both scrawled on a sticky note affixed to the screen with the message “In case you need it - Killian.” She smiled as she peeled it off.

As she booted up the laptop, she thought about the man himself. He seemed like a wonderful father, even in the short time Wendy had observed him. He was affectionate with the children, and he spoke to them with respect and seemed to value their opinions, yet he was also clearly protective as evidenced by his rules with the laptop. Not that she was judging him for that - the internet could be a scary place, especially for kids. She typed in the password and leaned back in her chair. Alice also had a menagerie of pets, and both children were obviously well read. Wendy smiled. Yes, they clearly had a good father.

Wendy clicked on the wifi and entered the password, but frowned when the words “no connection” blinked on the screen. She let out a breath of frustration as she closed out of the computer and rose from the desk. She paused in front of the fireplace, staring into the cold hearth as she chewed on her lower lip. She had calmed her fears last night by telling herself she could search the internet for missing persons in Maine. Now what?

She knew what Killian and Mary Margaret would both say - “be patient, the snow will get cleared soon.” It was easy for them to say, though! She wondered how Mary Margaret could be so calm being snowed in away from her husband and young son. Of course, she’d called them on her cell multiple times, and Mary Margaret had explained that she could get back to the farm on her snowmobile long before the roads cleared up. Killian said the sheriff and the doctor could get out here the same way. How far north was she? Even though she couldn’t remember her life, she got the distinct impression that she wasn’t a small town girl. Remote cabins, horse farms, and snowmobiles all felt foreign to her.

Of course, that wasn’t saying much. A lot felt foreign right now.

Wendy let out a sigh and headed for the kitchen. If she couldn’t search for her identity, she had to occupy herself some other way. Killian had cooked three amazing meals yesterday, and she felt maybe she could return the favor. She did remember one thing about herself - she couldn’t cook anything but breakfast. She didn’t know her real name, but she knew she could make some awesome pancakes. Bizarre.

She opened the pantry and smiled to find a box of pancake mix. (Hey, she never said her awesome pancakes were homemade.) She set the box next to the stove, then went to pull milk and eggs out of the fridge. It took her a few tries to find the right cabinet, but eventually she located the frying pan and bent down to pull it out.

“Who the bloody hell are you?”

Wendy screamed and dropped the frying pan when she saw a strange man in the middle of the Jones family kitchen. The sound of metal hitting the tile floor was painfully loud in the still house. Above her, she heard feet pound and a door slam. The man before her was tall and broad, with curly, light brown hair. His arms were crossed over his chest as he glared at her.

“Who the hell are you?” she yelled back, coming to her senses enough to snatch up the frying pan and hold it up like a weapon.

“Me? You’re the one standing in the middle of my brother’s kitchen wearing his dead wife’s clothes.”

“Liam!” Killian’s sharp voice came from over Wendy’s shoulder.

She relaxed slightly and lowered the frying pan. “Brother?”

“Aye, brother,” the man - Liam, apparently - moved his hands to his hips, his scowl just as intense despite Killian’s sudden presence. “I live in the apartment over the barn. Where the hell did you come from?”

“Liam, for the love of God, would you stop yelling at her? How’d you get over here anyway?”

“The snow’s melted just enough for me to shovel out a little. Then I walked over here on my snowshoes. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, little brother, who is this woman?”

“Younger brother, and Henry and I came across her on our way home when the storm hit. She’d been in an accident -”

“She is standing right here and can speak for herself!” Wendy snapped.

“Okay,” said Liam smugly, “fill me in. What happened? Who are you?”

“Don’t grill her like that!”

“I’m asking her a simple question!”

“Stop!” Wendy shouted, dropping the frying pan again and pressing her hands to her head. Her headache was back, and it felt as if it were splitting her skull in two. She couldn’t keep back a groan of pain.

“Wendy!” Killian cried as he rushed to her side. “Is it your head?”

“Uh huh,” she bit out. She couldn’t even open her eyes. The lights in the kitchen were too bright. Killian put his arm around her and made to help her out of the room. When she stumbled, he scooped her up into his arms. It was only then she realized he was shirtless. His skin was warm, and when she rested her hand on his chest she found it covered in thick, soft hair. Her temple rested against a strong collar bone, and the arm around her waist flexed with muscle. If not for the splitting pain in her head, it would have been . . . nice.

Okay, nice was an understatement, but she was currently trying not to puke all over the man. She could daydream about his strong arms, solid chest, and masculine scent later.

He deposited her gently onto Alice’s bed, then went to fetch her a cool rag. She murmured her thanks when he pressed it to her throbbing temple.

“I’m so sorry about my brother,” he apologized. “He can be a bit overprotective, even more so since my Milah passed.”

“Was she your wife?” she managed to choke out.

“Aye.”

“So I am wearing her clothes.”

“Don’t worry about that right now. Stress can aggravate your head injury. Just rest, okay?”

“I was trying . . . “

“Shhh,” he admonished gently, brushing her hair back. It had somehow fallen out of Alice’s hair elastic.

“I was trying,” she continued stubbornly, “to make pancakes. For you. All of you.”

Her eyes were still shut tight, but she felt him take her hand and squeeze it. “That was a lovely thought.” He lifted her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “But let us take care of you. We don’t mind. I promise.”

Something about his voice was soothing, and Wendy felt sleep pulling her under.

**********************************************

Killian stopped in his bedroom to grab a tshirt, and chuckled to find Alice flung across his bed, still fast asleep despite all the noise downstairs. He hadn’t heard Henry stirring either when he’d fetched the cloth for Wendy, so he hurried downstairs to confront his brother before the children woke. He knew this wasn’t going to be pretty.

When he saw his brother still standing in his kitchen, his hand in a box of Cap’ n Crunch, his anger returned in full force.

“What is your bloody problem!” Killian roared, bending to pick up the frying pan.

Liam’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. “I think the proper question is what the bloody hell are you thinking?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You brought home a strange woman? With your kids here?”

“She was wandering around without a proper coat with a gash on her head! What was I supposed to do? Leave her out there to freeze to death?”

“So you thought dressing her up in Milah’s clothes and giving her free range of the house was a good idea? What will the kids think?”

Killian rolled his eyes. “They think exactly the same thing I do - that she’s in trouble and we’re helping her. And as for Milah’s clothes, they were the only women’s things I had. They’re not doing anyone any good sitting in a chest in the back of the closet.”

“Do you even know anything about here?”

“No, actually,” Killian mumbled running a hand through his hair. “She has amnesia.”

“Oh, that’s convenient.”

“It’s true!”

“You need to call the cops!”

“Of course I’ve done that,” Killian snapped. God, sometimes Liam acted like he was still a boy. “They’re just as paralyzed by the storm as everyone else. Graham said he’d get out here to talk to her as soon as a snowmobile could make it through. Vincent will do the same and check her injuries. In the meantime, we’re just trying to make her as comfortable as we can.”

Liam deflated somewhat and tossed another handful of cereal into his mouth. “Well, I guess all that makes sense,” he conceded after chewing and swallowing.

“I don’t need your approval,” Killian ground out.

Liam sighed and set the cereal box down on the counter. “I’m sorry if I freaked out. I just worry about you, that’s all. I’ll never forget the shell of a person you were after you lost Milah.”

“You never approved of her.”

“I didn’t approve of how it began, but once you adopted the kids . . . “ Liam shook his head. “She loved you, that was always clear, and I never would have wished cancer on her. Surely you know that.”

Killian ran a hand wearily over his face. They had talked this subject to death, and he was sick of it. “Look, can we just leave Milah out of this?”

“Okay, but be careful.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Liam tilted his head. “The way you carried her up the stairs? I’ve seen that look on your face before.”

“I just met her!”

Liam stepped closer and put a hand gently on Killian’s shoulder. “You’ve been alone for a long time. So like I said, be careful.”

Henry burst into the room then, excited to see his uncle and pestering Killian about possibly going outside. Killian was glad for the reprieve as he turned to the stove to get breakfast started. Liam was off the mark on everything, clearly.

I’ve seen that look on your face before.

Killian massaged his brow and suppressed a groan. Yes, his brother was clearly off the mark.

[moniire]

All the classic author asks pls!!!

Okay, I didn’t imagine that someone would reply so quickly, but I suppose I have the time.

Mary Shelley: Were you a goth, prep, nerd, or jock in school?

I’m a nerd, as far as I’m aware. I have a little bit of goth in me, I suppose, but that part rarely rears its head in public.

Zora Neale Hurston: Do you write in your free time? If so, then what do you write?

I don’t write a lot as I’m incredibly fussy and I find it hard to come up with plots or make my writing flow. I do write some drabble occasionally, in the form of very short stories, but they rarely have an actual plot. It would be my dream to actually be able to finish a proper short story.

J.D. Salinger: What was the last movie you watched?

I’m pretty sure it was North by Northwest, but I don’t remember exactly.

Alice Walker: What was the first “adult” book you ever read?

The first properly graphic book I read was, I believe, A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. I was 13 at the time.

Bram Stoker: Do you prefer suspenseful horror movies, gore, or jump scares?

I absolutely hate jumpscares. If you send me anything with jumpscares I will probably cry. But I immensely enjoy suspense and gore has never really phased me (apart from stuff with eyes). Many of my favourite shows and movies have a good mix of them. 

Oscar Wilde: What book have you read more than once?

Oh, hundreds of them. My favourite re-reads are probably the Howl series by Diana Wynne Jones. Childhood classics!

Beatrix Potter: Do you like reading inside or outside?

I’d say inside usually, but it honestly depends on the weather and location. A sunny bench in a quiet park? Sure, I’d go for it. But a rainy, crowded street? Perhaps not.

Ann Radcliffe: What’s something you’re known for among your friends or family?

There are a few things. Firstly, I’d say my height is a big one, at least on my mother’s side of the family. I’m really tall for my age - 6’ or thereabouts - and taller than everyone on my mother’s side. My grandparents on my father’s side have actually been measuring the family’s heights against a wall since the early 2000s. Seeing the progression is pretty cool.

Among my friends, I’d say either my speech patterns or my ability to remember little tidbits of information that I’ve been told years ago. Despite coming from an area with a very distinct, “non-posh” accent, I speak a lot of the time with an enunciated, stereotypically British accent. When I get angry or excited, I tend to speak with a slight Irish accent, and the list goes on. No idea where I picked this up, but it’s apparently very humorous. The latter is a bit of an inside joke, as normally my memory is quite bad. However, I occasionally come out with bits of information that people have no memory of telling me. There have luckily been only a few awkward situations due to this.

Lord Byron: What’s a negative quality that you can admit to having?

I’m very insensitive at times and have had multiple friends call me out on statements that I meant as jokes or constructive criticism, but they found incredibly hurtful. 

Edna St. Vincent Millay: Do you have a favourite poem or one you can recite?

La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Keats, The Orange by Wendy Cope, How Do I Love Thee (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Browning and When You Are Old by Yeats are the ones that spring to mind.

The ones I can recite are La Belle Dame, Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy and most of the Relationships Anthology for GCSE English Lit. 

Jane Austen: Have you ever fallen in love?

That one’s difficult. I fall in love every day with places and things and experiences. With books and artworks and music. 

But I presume this means people. And honestly, I don’t know. I thought I was in love once, with a boy whom I met through a friend. He was beautiful and talented, but what stood out was that he could talk. I was sick of people who seemed to have no wider perspective or opinions, or, if they did, kept it firmly under lock and key. But he would always find a new topic to talk about, without me even needing to start a conversation. Art installations at our local gallery, religious ideology, politics, music. And it was wonderful. 

I spoke with him for maybe 30 minutes a month at most, with the rare exception of protests or marches, but they were bright and intriguing and he made me feel like I’d swallowed a star every time I saw him.

But alas, it came to an end as all good things do. We drifted and, since he didn’t seem to text, we stopped speaking almost altogether.

But was I in love? I still don’t know

Langston Hughes: If you could be part of a literary era, which one?

I feel like this is predictable but the Romantic/Gothic era (1780s - 1830s) because, whilst I’ll admit that women’s rights most definitely were non-existent, it has to be my favourite one literary-wise

Emily Dickinson: What’s the last book you were reading?

Blackhearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken. I wanted something quick and nostalgic for a change.

John William Polidori: What was the last book you finished?

See above answer

Stendhal: Have you ever hid a book you were reading because you were embarrassed? 

When I originally read the ASOIAF series, I, of course, had to read it in school as well, because I wasn’t switching books for school and for home and I obviously needed something to read at lunch. Scared of getting judged by peers or getting the book confiscated by teachers, I hid it in the dust jacket of another book. I can’t remember which, but, surprisingly, it worked.

Charles Dickens: What book are you currently reading?

E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World. Again, written for children, but one I immensely enjoy and very informative on a wide variety of countries. 

Thomas Hardy: Are you a city or country person?

I want to say a mix of both. I love the city I live in and its bustle and shops and life, but I also love the countryside with its greenery and cosy intimacy. I do hate the insects though.

Virginia Woolf: What book has been on your TBR longer than a year?

Pride & Prejudice. I just haven’t gotten around to it, though I’m sure I will soon.

And finally…

Edith Wharton: What’s your favourite season for reading?

Winter, easily. Curling up to read is hard if you’re all sweaty and can’t concentrate on the words because of it. Winter gives me an excuse to pile on the jumpers and blankets, heat up the hot chocolate and just read. Plus, winter often means visits to Ireland to see my grandparents, who have the cosiest living room ever, which doubles as my all-time favourite reading environment. 

That was quite a task. I might have gone off on one in some of these, but I hope this answers it all nicely.

[kaito-yuki]

Shout Out Thank Yous!

Alrighty I can already tell that this is going to be a long ass post, so I’m just going to say general things here first. I will then address each mun under the Read More (there’s 20+ of you!), so search for your blog mentioned to find my message to you! 

This Fairy Tail OC blog is my 3rd most popular blog by follower count, just under my Vegeta (DBZ) blog which is popular because of the muse itself over the RPing. Kaito is the opposite, which is why I especially find it important to address and thank each and every mun who’s interacted with me through this blog. For actual posts made it is only second to my personal, which just affirms  that this blog has earned its popularity (and bronze medal) here in my opinion. 

I put in my all and beyond to this blog especially, how it’s navigated, organizing the threads and tags as much as I can so me (and you) can read back on things whenever we want, will use it as a template for my other muses/blogs too haha. Kaito (and my other OCs) have grown as characters thanks to the interactions here, especially when it comes to ships! I also have done the most mun/muse vs muse posts here (Shiro has his own tag FFS lmao), which I’m pleased that many of you are a fan of (the posts, not Shiro!) 

To all my followers, thank you for following and sticking with me, esp those from the beginning! To the other RP blogs I haven’t interacted with yet, I’d love to, especially you OCs! I want to also use this blog to advocate for other similar (OC) blogs, that they can also be great and relevant as canon ones with enough hard work!  Now onto the special thanks!

@crystaldragonslayer: Oh looks like the Queen Pixie has returned, the timing couldn’t have been better with your RP comeback! You are just one of the best RP partners out there, I am very grateful for the time and effort we combined together on our RPs/ships. Vivienne is just awesome and probably the main reason why Kaito is too, creating a OTP that deserves it’s own paragraph gdi!

+KaiVi: Kaito & Vivienne have a total of 69 threads by my count atm (I hope I miscounted lmao). I just love this OTP of ours to bits, it is a pleasure and honour working with you on them so far. I can’t wait to start exploring the next stage of their lives and beyond! You know what they say, ’First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes-”-mouth gets frozen by Kaito coz spoilers!- I’m so happy that KaVi has got at least a couple of fans too! Then there’s the AUs, and interactions with them with/and our other muses, so much to look forward to! It’s just really fun to just crossover this ship with others, with other muses ours and our RP partners! Highlights: Battle of Fairy Tail (Thread) | Song | Promo | Wedding (Art)

@starlightxveins​: I usually ship Kaito with Lucy romantically, I never would have thought they’d be the BrOTP too! Your Lucy is a delight and fun to interact with, crossing over the KaiVi, ShiroAqua, GraLu, JerZa and WendyCookies ships is just fabulous and I look forward to more of them (crack) [group] interactions lmao. Can’t wait to start on the other ships we discussed as well!

@celestial-weirdo-lucy: We may only have one thread on here, but I love it! Your Lucy is great, and it’s awesome I get to make a spin on KaiLu by having Kaito have a crush on her already lmao. Then there’s our other ships that I’m excited to develop too! Our KaiLu bodyguard AU is probably my favorite AUs which I look forward to sharing, I’m excited for our other  AUs too (like Gods and Bleach) and ships with our other muses, damn there’s lots to RP!

@celestial-keys-princess​: The Lucy that started it all, Ava you are first mun I approached in the FT RP community and became my guide to others. KaiLu is awesome and I thank you for going through plots and headcanons with me for them! Look forward to continuing their interactions when we do! 

I appreciate you also helping me expand Kaito’s Sabertooth verse with Minerva. Kaito’s ship verse with Tori is still the only one where it’s Shiro and the female teaming up against Kaito, which is so hilarious that I will keep it there lmao. Then there’s our other interactions/ships I’d be happy to get into again like Rukia/Aizen, Laxus/Tori, GraLu (with modern band AU) and Lucy/Jackal, who is atm growling at Lucy behind me because of and/or for her ear rubs lmao Highlights:  A Prayer in the Rain (Thread) | Song | KaiLu (Art/Promo)

@pitchblacksteel: Akira I just love your Gajeel, especially your ships with Lucy and Mira! I look forward to more interactions with him and muses on your multi (like Natsu and Erza!) Kaito still feels bad over the crap Shiro has dragged Gajeel (and Natsu) into lmao.

@poisonouslightslayer: Your Sting is the Sting me (and Kaito) think of whenever Sting is mentioned, you portray him with such depth, it’s really nice to read the posts I see from you! Our interactions also helped inspire me to add a Guild Master addon/verse for Kaito, would love to explore that too!

@itashiro-hitsuchiha​: Thank you for helping me expand Kaito’s Sabertooth and Kingdom Hearts verses, I look forward to continuing our threads with Harumi and Perix!

@dxvilishgrin: Our Kaiio/Mira ship started on Discord, so I’m happy we could also expand upon on it on Tumblr too! Also enjoyed the interactions with your other muses, canons and OCs alike!

@stellcrblossom: Rin I appreciate you and your OCs so much, you gave Kaito a [adoptive] daughter (Ember) and sister (Kamui), and pretty much helped extend his family and my OCs too. Also this helped me branch into going through the next generation of FT, got me working on my other ship’s children too which is appreciated! Can’t wait to RP as Issei (KaiVi’s son) when I’m done with his info! +SakuEm: Sakurai x Ember is one of my favourites and is awesome to see them upgraded to an OTP, and that we created a whole plot/saga/arc/war around Ember’s kidnapping. Can’t wait to continue that and crossover it with my other ships, it’s going to be awesome! Don’t get me started on our AUs, excited for them too! Highlights: Ember Fading (Thread) | Asterius Arc Promo & Graphic

@gureixfurubasuta: Your Gray is great, and I just love their brotherly (gay according to Shiro lmao) bond esp with their shared ties to Ul. Thank you for inspiring me to start my own Gray blog, even though it’s just so I don’t force anyone (like you) to RP Gray for Kaito, and look how that turned out haha. Your Gray (and Juvia) will always by my main for Kaito, and my Gray’s more angsty twin lmao. I’d be happy to interact more through our other muses too!

@sky-dragon-slayer-wendy: Your Wendy is so precious (and a rebel GDI lmao), I loved our thread together and would be happy to continue interactions when you’re free enough again! 

@broken-memories-and-silent-tears: Alice is great and I’m happy to crossover this with our Gralice ship, Kaito and Alice have a great sibling bond with my Gray (and Shiro) between them haha. I’d be happy to add Alice into my fan game as we discussed before way back too, esp now things are better on my end!

@imaginaryserver: Me and (my muses) miss you and your Mavis! Our Cards Against Humanity game is still a memorable time for me from way back, I’m still waiting for an artist to draw it!

@shrimps-variety-garden: I just adore your Levy and her ship with Kaito, the modern AU is especially interesting since it’s based on song lyrics haha. Looking forward to us RPing though to the endgame! Our ship also has helped me develop a more antagonistic version of my Gajeel which is awesome too.

@scythe-rps: Hiroshi is a better guy (and muse) thanks to his best friend Gyrain! it’s good that we can bring more focus onto the usually underappreciated Blue Pegasus! I look forward to when Lyon & Gyrain finally clear the air about their relationship lmao, and thanks for helping me develop Masaru more through their interactions! 

@sunaarashii: Thank you for interacting with Hiroshi, his ship with Cari is just precious with the thread we have currently, can’t wait to RP out what comes next!

@bunnysmultimuse: The thread with Sorano was fun, so I’d like to continue interactions (esp with the headcanons discussed) if you’re still up for it! That goes for Jellal with Meredy too!

@ultecr: Still have your post in my drafts, I know you said to take my time but even I know taking months is ridiculous lmao. I look forward to starting the Kaito/Ultear ship once I do reply, love your portrayal of Mavis too!

@herhorns:  I love seeing your Mira on my dash, especially her ships with Gajeel and Gray! Looking forward to interacting with Ravyn when we get to it, your art is awesome too!

@angelsoffiore: Welcome back man! Mizumi is a great OC and is why I approached you in the first place, so appreciate you still continuing our thread after so long. Hope to interact more with Mizumi, your other OCs, and your Laxus too!

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

So it’s been a while, huh?

I don’t know how many people are actually still following this blog/are interested in it but...hi again! I already wrote a post sort of explaining where I disappeared to and why (long story short: it was tumblr staff’s fault) but I also want to talk to you guys properly and update you all on what’s been going on since.

I don’t want to abandon this blog but I have another blog that I’m using now -> it’s @alwaysahiccupandastrid. It’s not as Beasts oriented as this one was, I’m afraid, but still feel free to follow it and chat to me! It’s much like this blog was when I used it in that I don’t really post exclusively for one fandom, it’s just a mix of whatever I like!

Anyway, updating! I already told you guys that I graduated university in July, finished my degree...that was stressful! A lot went down at university but it sorted itself out in the end and I survived! Our final assessment was at the end of May, and we performed a show that we created four times, three nights and one matinee. I’m very proud of what we achieved all things considered! But yes...I am no longer a university student!

What else has changed?

I no longer work for the cinema anymore - I quit a few weeks ago after getting a job at a fancy hotel that was supposedly better...I quit the day after my first shift because I had a “me too” experience with another employee...without too much detail, he touched and started kissing me, and I left. I struggled for a couple of weeks trying urgently to get a new job, and I’m now working for Superdrug! My first shift was Wednesday afternoon/evening and I’m excited to start properly! It’s not permanent: I’m also hoping to hear back from Nikon soon about an admin position that’s closer to home and pays extremely well!

I no longer see that therapist who likes Harry Potter - I think I talked a little bit on here about my counsellor who was also a Harry Potter fan and who I liked? Yeah...turns out not so much? I stopped going to her because she a) screamed at me for waiting in the waiting room until my bus was due to arrive down the road and b) she got pissed because I couldn’t do a few certain weeks due to show rehearsals. I’m honestly all the better for it frankly.

More tattoos! - Okay so it’s not a super important thing but it’s a change so...! I think when I was last on his blog I had 3 tattoos - I now have 8! So in addition to the wand, the “worrying means you suffer twice”, and the Deathly Hallows symbol, I now have a tattoo of Leta’s flower from the Lestrange family tree (with her name and the words “beautiful. Separate.”; a tiny tattoo of Harry’s scar/glasses; a Night Fury/Toothless tattoo with the words “heart of a chief” and “soul of a dragon”; the Chief symbol from HTTYD 2; and the words “Night Fury” in Viking runes.

My hair?! - Again, not important but hey! Let’s celebrate! My hair finally grew back and is now blonde! It’s not too long, just about to my shoulders, and my roots are dark blonde whilst the bottom is more bright blonde from dying it in March. It’s silly but hooray!

I met Kevin Guthrie in March! - I met Mr Abernathy himself at Comic Con in London and he was LOVELY. He was such a wonderful man, so cheerful and amazing with the fans. I had some pretty interesting conversations with him about Fantastic Beasts and whether he’ll be in the next one...we shall see! He also told us that Poppy Corby-Tuech (Vinda Rosier) is “all about the cosplay”! And ofc I got some photos with him :)

I’m now 21 - my birthday was obviously in January and I’m old(er) 😂😭 I didn’t do anything too special, just saw CoG with the family and then a few days later went to the WB Studio Tour again (which was amazing because my sister has a friend who works there and was showing us props lots of people won’t ever see!)

Mental Health crap - Obviously I’m not “cured” or anything. I’m still on Sertraline for my depression (haven’t taken the anxiety one for a while but that is a whole other kettle of fish!) and I still have problems but I’m not as low as I have been these past few years on this blog. I’m proud to say that I have been self-harm free since about March or April (it’s hard to remember since the months blur together), and I’m genuinely all the better for it! Part of it is because I didn’t want to damage my tattoos on my arms but it’s also because I’ve managed to resist the urge as well!

^ Having said that, I’m on the waiting list to see a doctor/specialist because my GP said there was a possibility I could have autism/Aspergers/be on the spectrum. It’s a LONG waiting list in the UK so it could be a while until I see a specialist, but there’s that. It’s not a bad thing necessarily since it might be a step closer to making sure I get the exact treatment/help I need.

Fandom junk - I already mentioned in my earlier posts that since late February/early March, I’ve gotten REALLY into How To Train Your Dragon. It’s now my main fandom, in fact, which is sad because the last film has come out and there’s just a half an hour Christmas special left to be released this winter 😭 but HTTYD has had such an impact on my life and my mental state, like it has genuinely made me so much happier and (in my opinion) a better person. I still love Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter (I even went to King’s Cross at the beginning of the month for Back to Hogwarts Day!) but it’s not my main fandom right now; I had to take a breather from Beasts and the Beasts fandom because it’s really not a great place to be at times. But I’m still into it and I’m waiting for the third film to come out in 2021!

Other random/rather unimportant stuff:

My bed is now overrun with Build a Bear dragons (and the odd baby Niffler)

My sister turned 18 and I’m so...old? I feel so old now omg

I’ve been trying to help the environment by taking little steps like going out litter picking (both on my own and with my dad) whenever I can, and I’ve been using the Ecosia search app as much as possible (for every 45 searches, they’ll plant a new tree!)

I went to Disneyland Paris again in June and it was a lot of fun, I met Peter/Wendy/Alice/Mad Hatter again, there was a false alarm because some twat left their bag at the meet and greet so they had to get the sniffer dog and everything, and I also met Donald Duck, Stitch, Tiana/Naveen AND Rapunzel (Rapunzel is my sister’s absolute favourite, so I’m happy she got to meet her!)

This may be super lame but I got so happy because I got noticed on Twitter several times by Jay Baruchel (the guy who plays Hiccup in How To Train Your Dragon - he’s so awesome and loves the character btw), his fiancée who’s a model keeps liking some of my posts on Instagram, and Cressida Cowell, who wrote the original How To Train Your Dragon books (which are vastly different to the movies but omg they’re so amazing?!), liked a tweet I sent her about my Toothless tattoo and she loved it?! I’m having a good year celebrity/famous people wise for some reason?! 😂❤️

I dont know if my blog was still in use when this happened but I’ll mention it anyway... I SAW EZRA AGAIN IN DECEMBER!! I went to watch Sons of an Illustrious Father play in London and it was GLORIOUS. Ezra Miller is GLORIOUS.

(I won’t post pictures of all the stuff here but... soon maybe?)

So that’s all I can think of...it’s been so long since I used this blog and I felt bad just abandoning it, so here we are.

I don’t know how much I’ll still use this blog, but as I said, I definitely don’t want to just abandon it. At the moment, I’m logged into this account on my iPod and onto my account on my phone, and I think I’ll keep it that way. I don’t know how much posting I’ll do here but I’ll still be around, and I’ll try to see if I can keep this blog alive alongside my current one, if people want me to!

I hope you guys are doing well, and I’m glad to have this blog back. Even if you follow my new blog and have been for the last few months, it’s still awesome to be talking to guys again on this account!

If you guys want to chat or say anything, feel free! Like I said, if people still want me to be active on here then just let me know and I’ll do my best! ☺️

[khtrinityftw]

The Good, The Bad, and the Cards - A Brief Look Back at KH: Chain of Memories

It’s been 15 years since Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released, and while I adore this game, I want to look back and highlight 7 specific elements worthy of praise that still hold up to this day and 7 specific elements that aren’t so good and helped derail the KH franchise going forward, the “Franchise Original Sins” as it were. So without further ado, here they are:

Positive: The Card Map System - I really love the usage of cards when it comes to exploring each world. Through the different cards, you get to create your own customized dungeon to crawl through, and the incentive to battle in order to collect cards you need to progress further in the level is a good one.

Negative: The Card Battle System - Unfortunately, using cards in combat isn’t done nearly as smoothly, and they complicate battles way more than they should. This is especially bad in the original GBA version of the game, where the cards are hard to make out on the small screen and the tiny, cramped arenas that you fight in make it all too easy to get backed into a corner while trying to shuffle through or reload your deck. This game could’ve done better.

Positive: Sora’s Story - The main scenario of the game is superbly written by Daisuke Watanabe. Like I said in my video review, he took what he was given, which was virtually nothing, and turned it into something. Sora’s character has never been explored in as much depth as it is here, with all of his raw strengths and weaknesses on full display. His bond of friendship with Donald and Goofy, his strong romantic interest in Kairi, his tortured clashing with “Riku”, his animosity toward Organization XIII, and the interactions he has with Namine toward the end are all handled perfectly. It really reminds you of just why you love this guy.

Negative: Riku’s Story - Reverse/Rebirth, otoh, doesn’t hold up so well. It tries its best to give Riku good character development, but too much of it is focused on practically everyone but Riku, the lack of anything occurring in the Disney worlds means that the story feels too light on content, and the conclusion Riku’s character is ultimately brought to contradicts what was established in the original KH and only creates further problems down the line. What’s more, this was the start of forcing Riku down our throats as the deuteragonist of the series, which is a role he was never suited for and that he only gets worse in overtime. So yeah, not a fan.

Positive: Organization XIII - Primarily the members introduced in Sora’s story; Lexaeus and Zexion are more useful as plot devices than as characters. Not only are Axel, Larxene, Vexen and Marluxia all excellent villains in their own ways, but the villainous arc they are part of is the best-written one in any KH game. Watching them work off each other and against each other in this dark but easy to follow political intrigue plot is one of the game’s highest points.

Negative: The Riku Replica - Don’t get me wrong, this was a decent character with a decent arc, but the execution was way too over-the-top and overstayed its welcome. Between Sora and Riku’s story, you have to fight this asshole six times! That’s just ridiculous for any boss in any game! And then there’s what the whole “replica” concept he introduced was used for in subsequent games, since Nomura just loves taking the simple and making it convoluted.

Positive: The GBA Graphics - This is one of the best-looking GBA games ever, hands-down. The fact that full cutscenes with PS2-style graphics were actually able to fit on the cartridge is simply incredible, and Square should really be commended for pushing the system to its absolute limits.

Negative: Console Spread - COM marked the first time that a KH game was put on an entirely different console than before, being a GBA game released and set in between two PS2 games. This wasn’t too much of a problem back then, since COM was only needed to fully understand the purposefully confusing prologue of KH2 and it ended up getting a PS2 remake anyway. But after a while, the sheer amount of consoles that KH spin-off games that are necessary to understand KH3′s story with became ridiculous. At this point, the only way you can actually get the full KH series is to own a PS4. If you don’t, then you’re out of luck.

Positive: Disney Expansion - Because this game re-uses Disney characters and worlds from the original KH, Daisuke Watanabe got to expand on things that weren’t really delved into in that game. We get more on Aladdin’s character, more on Alice’s character, more on Peter Pan and Wendy’s characters, more on Belle and the Beast’s characters and relationship…and perhaps most notable of all, more on Jiminy Cricket’s character. The Disney worlds and characters that we saw in KH are all enriched by their memory-based appearances.

Negative: An Influx of OCs - The original KH only had four original characters: Sora, Riku, Kairi and Ansem (five if you are counting Xemnas from Final Mix). COM introduced nine new ones: Namine, Axel, Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Riku Replica, and DiZ. Again, this wasn’t a problem with the game back then, especially seeing as two-thirds of those characters get axed before the game is through. But it started the trend of Nomura introducing way too much OCs that come to overshadow all the Disney and FF characters. Worse still, he refuses to truly let any of them go, as all six of those dead characters end up coming back to life later on, as do the two who went on to perish in KH2. This results in an overly cluttered canvas by KH3, to the point where no FF characters can appear.

Positive: Set-up for KH2 - This game’s existence did for KH2 what the later Dream Drop Distance should have done for KH3 but didn’t: it effectively set the stage for the following game. It gave all of the necessary foreshadowing for things like Nobodies, the Organization’s true goal, Xemnas, Roxas, Twilight Town, Namine being Kairi’s Nobody, and DiZ being the true Ansem while the Ansem we knew being an impostor. It also removed five members of the Organization from the board, with the sixth slated for removal in KH2′s prologue, which left the villain roster at a much more manageable number for the game’s main scenario. COM truly feels like the middle installment of a trilogy: the shit that happens in it actually matters.

Negative: Too Much Rehash from KH1 - There is so much from the original KH that is on repeat in COM. Beyond the same Disney worlds and characters being re-used, the stories in those worlds and with those characters match the original KH’s beat for beat, except with themes of memory inserted in and all context to the larger narrative removed so that they feel like filler. Both recycling from the first KH and Disney world visits being filler were not so bad in this game, but when it kept happening throughout the rest of the series, players grew sick of it. Furthermore, beats from the first KH still transpire in the main storyline of the game: Namine is in a role like Kairi’s, the Riku Replica is in a role like Riku’s, Marlxuia is in a role like both Maleficent and Ansem while Ansem himself comes back for more fun darkness times in Riku’s story, and we get sequences of Sora being separated from Donald and Goofy (this time it’s flipped and he’s the one who turns on them), the trio making an “All for One, One for All” promise as they put their hands on one another, and Sora making a promise with Namine that has Kairi’s good luck charm at the center of it. It’s all a little too much familiarity.

Positive: Atmosphere - As much as this game rehashes the previous one, it has a markedly different tone. It’s darker, more foreboding, more eerie, more psychological and uncertain. The white walls of Castle Oblivion and the creepy music playing as you go through them floor by floor really helps to sell this, as does a lot of the dialogue, memory-based insights into the characters’ hearts, and twisted machinations of the villains. It makes COM, well, memorable.

Negative: Convoluted Writing - That’s right, it all starts here. The writing for the original KH was smart enough to not actively dwell on the more ponderous elements of its story, keeping the narrative to a simple presentation while leaving the deeper lore as stuff for the player to think and speculate about it on their own. But in this game, it starts getting pushed to the forefront. Memory and darkness are the central themes of Sora and Riku’s story respectively, and yet neither of them quite make sense the way they’re explored. Memory is repeatedly said to be an aspect of the heart, to the point where removing it altogether would shatter a person’s heart completely. Except that this is not only confusing to basic logic that says memory is an aspect of the mind, but it gets contradicted by the following game, KH2, where it states that Nobodies that have no hearts act upon the memories of when they had hearts. Then we have Namine’s powers and how it relates to memories, which is nebulously defined here and ends up ballooning to ludicrous godlike degrees in order to make certain plot turns happen in later games, and you end up retroactively questioning why she didn’t just fuck with the Organization’s memories and shatter them in order to escape captivity all by herself.

Meanwhile, darkness is completely rewritten so that it can be a good thing if Riku isn’t afraid of it and uses it for a good cause...except that this is literally what he did in the first KH and it corrupted him. Darkness was unambiguously bad and something that should not be used in that game, but now it’s being revamped just to make Riku into a special snowflake with uber-awesome darkness powers. Future games continue going back and forth on darkness on whether it’s good, bad or neutral, whether it’s a natural force that needs to co-exist with light or whether it’s the source of all evil in the universe. And I again must remind you that this is only the start of how convoluted the series gets with its stories! By KH3, the series has become an absolute clusterfuck where nothing really makes sense or amounts to anything. There’s no real depth anymore, just pretentious nonsense that Nomura confuses for depth.

[patronusofthepugs]

We Have Our Champions

Imagine this

There is Dorothy, emerald empress of Oz. 

There is Peter, brash general of a feral army

There is Alice, Wonderland’s truest knight.

Three children of immortality, the guardians of mystical lands that demands sacrifice. 

Oz, Wonderland, and Neverland, three hungry, writhing lands of magic and blood. They howl at their guardians to fight. Every century, one land emerges from the fog. The portal opens to the other world and then it can feed. But there can only be one. Dorothy, Peter and Alice have all paid the price long ago for their adventures. Now they act as ambassadors for their hungry lands and gather their champions. Three kids will fight for the honor of each land. 

Dorothy who’s regal air and soft hands are a far cry from the farm girl she used to be. She gathers her emerald gown and emerges from a corn field in Kansas. There she sees her champion.

 Ruth Ann, the eldest of ten is weary. Her life is grey, working on the farm, taking care of the babies. Her Pa made her drop out of high school and every time she closes her eyes, all she can see is endless diapers and rough callouses. Her future stretches out before her, flat and steady like a strip of road. 

Until one night, winged monkeys sneak into her room and carry her away. They fly into a tornado carrying the screaming Ruth Ann in their hairy arms. When she wakes up All she can see is green. Shining green glass that stains her skin, her world explodes with color. She drinks in the nut brown hair of Dorothy, her ruby smile, and green eyes. Bewitched by a promise that life can be so much more, she pledges to fight for Oz. The emerald Land roars its approval of Ruth Ann and gifts her brawny strength along with a long scythe so she may cut down her enemies like fields of wheat. 

Peter Pan has no problem with picking his champion. Ever since he had bewitched Wendy all those years ago, she had devoted her entire lineage to him. Every daughter in the Darling family is raised with stories of Peter. Of how brave he is, how cunning, of how his black eyes shimmer in the moonlight. Each daughter dons that frayed blue dress and wait by the windowsill, dreaming of the day where Peter will  come for them. He goes through generations of Darling girls, taking them on adventures and promising to come back for them. Slipping in hints that he likes girls who fight. Girls who have a blood lust to match that pretty face. 

The latest Darling girl is a product of generation manipulation and Peter couldn’t be more pleased. Moira Darling is a pale thing with scowl that could frighten a thunderstorm. She is a trained warrior who plans to usurp Peter as the immortal child. She plays the game well enough, simpering and curling her platinum blonde hair. But when Peter flies her to Neverland, she smears mud on her face and howls from the trees. She demands to be the champion and Neverland accepts. She crushes a handful of fairies in her small hands. She gobbles their flesh and drinks their blood. There’s no need to think of happy thoughts, not when she has flight imbued in her. Her weapon is a long jagged tooth that she tore from the mouth  of the crocodile.

Wonderland’s champion was found in the sewers. He was rummaging for treasure in the  tunnels below the city when he saw a blonde girl smile at him from inside a grimy puddle. He leaned in closer and was dragged in. 

His name is Grub and he’s no hero. Just a smelly New Yorker who lived under a bridge and occasionally in an abandoned ice cream truck. However, Grub’s personal motto in life are Nope and Fuck it. It serves him well in Wonderland as he just decides to go along with the batshit insanity that he encounters. Unlike proper Alice all those years ago, he doesn’t question anything. Talking Flowers? Sure why not, let’s get into a Yo Mamma fight with them. A Mad Tea Party? Fuck yeah, it’s his unbirthday, pass the tea. Grub takes to life in Wonderland and agrees to be Wonderland’s champion because why not?

 Alice grows fond of the smelly boy who wears flowers in his hair and debates with possums. She trains with him so he can have a fighting chance. She reminds him to paint the roses red with blood. No matter what, just keep swinging that ax and snicker snack those heads will be rolling. Grub is gifted with many weapons from the citizens of Underland. He arrives to the battle with the Mad Hatter’s Hat, the Cheshire Cat’s Smile, and the Queen’s Ax. 

First the champions must survive in each other’s land before the final battle.Then they will fight in Avalon, a magical land of neutrality. The waves will foam with blood and the sky will be filled with screams as the champions battle. Neverland. Oz. Wonderland. There can only be one. Who will it be? 

[hitchell-mope]

Dark curse season three episode titles

The Cult of Alice. Now that she’s got control of the Vorpal sword, Dizzy is the figurehead of a cult dedicated to Alice Liddell. Alice herself (Catherine Zeta-Jones) teaches her the history of the cult. Needless to say Devie doesn’t take to kindly to it. But dizzy shoots them down asking how different or more dangerous could it be than being the queen of witches (Evie) or the saviour (Doug). The flashbacks take place five months ago when Hadie lands in Arendelle and seeks out the help of queen Eloise, Elsa’s niece, (Liz Gillies) in taking his father and brother down

The Lord of Hell. Harry ends up in the fields of Asphodel after his demise. He wills himself to Persephone’s palace and demands his spot on the throne. Hadie’s immortality was stripped by hades and given to Harry making the first mate his mother’s heir. Therefore. Harry is the rightful lot of hell (hence the title). Persephone can do nothing but reluctantly let him sit on the throne. Flashback. Rene (Stefanie Scott) faces her mother Rosemary (Jennifer Morrison) for the first time in years

The tinkers. Tinker bell centered. She (Leven Rambin) finally meets Terence (Lucas Till) for the first time since the curse happened. Both present day Auradon and the flashbacks cover their story. At the end of the episode just before the smoke engulfs him Terence tells her to “keep the boy safe”. The boy in question is Peter Pan. Who is currently in care because of Uma’s old revenge plan

The Lost Boys. This episode recounts Peter Pan’s history before the curse. No Wendy here though. It’s mostly his run ins with hook and his adventures with Harriet Harry and Cj (who here take the place of Wendy John and Michael) each time he and the Captain fight one more of the Hook siblings join their fathers side until only Harry is left. And eventually even he leaves Neverland with Uma

Hellfire. Harry’s return to Auradon. With his sister stepmother and Charon in tow. He’s pleasantly surprised to find that Hadie is nowhere to be found. But he’s heartbroken to see that Uma is now friends with Mal

The return. Hadie comes back to Auradon with Eloise (Liz Gillies) who offers her help in taking out Wilhelmina (Victoria Justice) and Rosemary (Jennifer Morrison). The ice queen and the white tyrant immediately dislike each other. Wilhelmina sees her as weak and ineffectual. Eloise sees her as needlessly bitchy and cranky. Rosemary tries to diffuse the tension (read: tries to kill Eloise) but the ice queen escapes. Meanwhile Hadie and Harry duke it out to the tune of this is Halloween by Marilyn Manson

The nanny. Uma makes Mal and Ben reprimand Hadie. So now he’s the nanny for all children in Auradon. Dizzy Squeaky Squirmy and Nimue (Millie Bobby Brown). In flashbacks Hadie first meets Harry and Mal. By discovering the reason hades left him and his mother Danae (Anne Hathaway)

The dwarven vanguard. Doug and his cousins are the focus of this episode. Auradon parts have Sadie’s wedding to CJ Hook. The flashbacks focus on Doug’s attempt to plan his own wedding to Evie over a decade ago in la bete.

Poor sweet child. Peter Pan (Jacob Tremblay) is still in care. He can feel himself aging with every passing day and he hates it. The flashbacks follow how James lost his hand.

Cousins. This episode follows the childhood of Rene (Stefanie Scott) and Wilhelmina (Victoria Justice). Their mothers are constantly at odds with Rosemary (Jennifer Morrison) threatening to expose Willow’s (Lana Parrilla) affair with the mad hatter. Which resulted in Taran Hightopp (Charlie Rowe)

Celia. Uma’s half sister (via Facillier) arrives having used a hatters hat to dimension hop into our world. This reveal sends Jane off on a tirade demanding to know if anyone else has secret siblings who could cause trouble. Celia has a way to defeat Wilhelmina. But it’ll take the combined powers of Hadie Harry and Mal to do so. Mid season finale

Tarot. This mostly focuses on Celia bonding with Dizzy the twins and Nimue. When she’s not sending the adults into a panic with her voodoo fortune telling

Arachne. A “what do they fear” episode for Harry. Turns out one of the undead he releases for his underworld army was Arachne the spider goddess. And she’s pissed off at being disturbed from her eternity of boredom. In flashback it’s shown why Harry’s scared of spiders. The boo box, how James punished him, was filled with spiders (non venomous) but the enclosed space and the sheer number of them scarred him for life

Nottingham. This focuses on Silas of Nottingham (David Mazouz). In Auradon he’s interrogated for information by Ben Evie and Carlos. In flashback his father (David Harbour) teaches him that only the gentry are worth his time. If they’re poor. Make sure they know they don’t matter. Then the sheriff loses his life in a duel to Robin Hood (Ben Barnes). And Silas vows revenge

Family. Celia trains Mal Hadie and Harry to work together to defeat Wilhelmina. Hadie’s necromancy. Harry’s pyromania. Mal’s chlorokinesis. Celia notes that if all else fails Mal can always send Wilhelmina into a death sleep. In flashback Celia learns voodoo at her fathers knee. He promised her that when the time came she would be the new dark one. Keep it in the family so to speak.

Wilhelmina. Death in the limelight for the white tyrant. Flashbacks show her drawn to her aunts vileness. Her death sees her wrapped in thorny vines (Mal) dunked in Lethe and Cocytus water (Harry) and finally dragged down to hell my zombies (Hadie).

Blood for blood. Rosemary vows revenge on the children of hades for doing away with Wilhelmina. By targeting the two things they all care about. The Smee twins. Flashbacks show how gilumarry adopted the twins

Safe house. Evie’s on babysitting duty. Squeaky and Squirmy just want to know why their mother is crying all the time. And why their papa is angry at uncle Hadie and aunt Mal. Meanwhile Ben tries to play mediator between his wife and her brothers. Rosemary has gone full on child catcher in her attempts to get the twins. The episode ends with Hadie yet again crossing the line where Harry’s concerned. And he wakes up in his fathers palace with his teeth kicked in

Imprisoned. Two hander this time. No flashbacks. Just Harry torturing his older brother they also get in a good talk. That goes absolutely nowhere because they’re both stubborn mules. It ends with Harry getting a panicked call from Uma saying the twins beds are empty

Showdown. Carlos has had enough of being on the sidelines. He knows his pack was brought over in the curse cause he can hear the midnight bark. So he assembles them. And assures Uma they’ll get the twins back. He personally carries them out of the warehouse on his back before his subjects tear Rosemary limb from limb. When asked why he saved them by Uma he replies that they’re his nephews as well. Flashbacks take place just after Smee’s death and just before Harry’s decision to take the twins in

Break the slumber. Hades reveals that one of Mal’s longest running spells is coming to an end. Adam is awake in la bete. And he’s pissed. The flashbacks show how belle and Adam reacted to Ben becoming the dark one. It’s not pretty

Home again. Bal leave Auradon to face Adam (Guy Pearce). He’s still in his castle. Obsessing over plans to as he puts it “make the worlds safe for mortals all over”. He plans to round up every single magical creature good and bad. And place them on an island of his own creation. Cut off from food. From magic. From basic human decency. Until only regular humans are left. Ben points out the absurdity of this plan of course. But his father is too far gone. In th morning Ben finds the dagger gone and Mal wrapped in iron chains with her wings slashed. Adam’s gone to Auradon. And he’s putting his plan into affect

[crashdevlin]

Fate’s Fool: Part One

Summary: Reader is an Omega who spends most of her time alone in an effort to avoid Alphas. She only leaves her apartment one night a week to play pub trivia at her local bar. What happens when her friends talk two transient Alphas into joining their trivia team?

Pairing: Alpha Dean x Omega Reader

Warnings: A/B/O dynamics, smut.

Author’s Note: This is my first A/B/O fic. So, please be gentle.There will be two parts. Part two is gonna have the smut. The trivia rounds are legit Geeks Who Drink Trivia rounds that I have played and yes, it is awkward when your teammates think you’re vanilla and then you know all the answers to the Marquis de Sade round. Just sayin’.

You'd been going to Thursday night Geeks Who Drink Trivia at your local bar for almost two years. Your friends told you that you needed to get out of the house and suggested the game, which relied more heavily on pop culture knowledge than general knowledge. You'd started on Saturdays, but eventually you moved to Thursday's quiz specifically to avoid people. Most people out on a Thursday night weren't gonna bother with you. It's not that you were antisocial or agoraphobic, you simply preferred to stay home because more people meant a higher probability of meeting some knothead Alpha who thought it was his place in life to make you his and you didn't want or need that macho BS in your life.

You were always small, short and petite-framed, so you'd known you were going to be an Omega just like your mom, but you'd presented late. You were 24 when that first heat hit, so you'd already learned to live your life as a Beta. You weren't going to bow to your genetics just because that's what society said you should do. Against your mother's advice and insistence, you had your doctor put you on the strongest suppressants legal to America and you determined not to change a thing about your life.

Fate, of course, had other plans.

Your fiancé, a Beta who knew your likely presentation before he got down on one knee, couldn't take it when you finally did present. As he left you crying in the park where he'd proposed to you, he made it out like he was doing it for you. "You're always going to be craving something I could never give you. You need an Alpha, someone to give you what you need."

That was the same tactic your boss used when he fired you 'for your safety'. "Too many Alphas shop here. It wouldn't be safe for an unmated Omega. You can reapply once you've got an Alpha... if he lets you." The discrimination you suddenly started having to deal with on a day-to-day basis drove you home. You got a job as a freelance transcriptionist and started to spend all of your time in your apartment. You doubled down on your suppressants, burned all sorts of incense to keep any Omega scent occluded, and you became a hermit, existing only as an online presence.

That is, until your friend and former colleague, Wendy, wore you down about trivia. Your six-person team was originally four Betas, an Alpha and you. The Alpha was fine with you for several Saturdays in a row and you were getting comfortable around him, until he scented you as an Omega. That started a confrontation that the whole bar seemed to weigh in on, about what you were doing with your life as a 26 year old unmated.

You switched to Thursdays after that. Wendy and one of the other Betas switched days with you but the Alpha and the other two did not, so you were left with half a team and the solution your friends came up with was to 'pick up strays' in the bar to fill out the team.

Wendy and Alice tried to avoid picking up stray Alphas for the team, but sometimes they were so attracted to a man, they'd invite one to join you for the night. You'd always end up quiet and reserved, in the corner, barely contributing.

When you walked into the bar you claimed your table in the corner, with your back to the wall so no one could sneak up on you, and let your eyes scan the bar. Wendy and Alice were flanking two men, both tall and broad-shouldered. Alphas. Obvious Alphas. Huge, hot, you thought you might be able to smell them from across the bar and one or both of them smelled amazing.

You sighed and pulled a pill bottle out of your purse. Emergency suppressants of a dubious nature. Highly experimental, illegal in the States, carrying warnings like 'MAY CAUSING LOSS OF REPRODUCTING ORGAN'; you bought them online and prayed you wouldn't have to use them. Tonight, you were going to have to use them. If Alice and Wendy were going to be picking up those two strays, you were gonna need them. The men followed your teammates over to the table as you were swallowing the pill down dry.

"Y/n, this is Sam and his brother, Dean." Alice said, smiling down at you.

Normally, you'd give a tentative smile and wave from your corner but something about the way the brothers both smiled at you, it filled you with warmth instead of fear. You stood, taking Sam's hand and nodding. "Nice to meet you. I need to go get a beer. Anybody else?"

"I could go for another. Probably gonna need it to get through this ridiculous-" Dean started, but Sam scoffed as he took a seat next to Alice.

"You're gonna like it, Dean. It's pop culture trivia." Sam argued.

"Did she just-" Wendy was obviously as shocked as you were that you'd been so welcoming to the Alphas.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Well, she's just... usually a little more... uneasy around new people." Alice explained without explaining.

"Well, maybe she's just a good judge of character. I mean, these guys might be Alphas but look at 'em! They wouldn't hurt a fly." Wendy exclaimed.

You weren't sure about that assessment. You were obviously a poor judge of character or you wouldn't have an ex-fiancé. And those men... those Alphas who were sitting at your table as Wendy filled out the booklet with your team name, they were definitely dangerous, but they didn't feel like they were a danger to you.

Mark, the Beta behind the bar, smiled at you as you ordered yourself a fruity craft beer and ordered Dean a lager. "You good?" He asked, as he set the mugs down in front of you. You nodded. "They're cute. I mean, if I thought they batted my way, I'd-"

"I'm sure you would... and you never know 'til you try, Mark."

"Oh, come on. You know how straight guys are when they get hit on by another man... almost as violent as you are when you get hit on."

"Violent? I'm not violent. That would be most un-'mega-like." You smiled. Mark was good people. "I'll be back for more of these." You picked up the beers and headed back to the table. You set the lager down on the table in front of Dean and sat in your corner.

"So, what's the team name?" Sam asked.

"We change it every week. Keeps the Quizmaster on his toes. Last week, we were 'The Slaughterhouse Five', this week we're 'Pulp Friction'." You answered.

"I think my favorite was 'Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'." Wendy said, letting her eyes drop to Sam's lap.

Sam laughed, a bit uncomfortably, as Dean took a drink of his beer. "At least they got good beer here."

"Yeah, they do. I used to hate beer, 'til I started coming here." You said. Wendy, again, looked completely baffled that you were being social with the Alphas. "You're not into trivia?"

"Generally, I got more important things to do with my time, but we're at a lull and our motel is paid up for the night, so my brother thought trivia would be a good way to pass our time 'til we leave tomorrow."

"Well, it's a lot of fun. This is literally the only thing I do outside of my apartment, so it's fun enough to get a complete recluse to come out once a week." You said taking a drink of your own beer.

"I'm willing to give it a shot... and I'm glad that you left the house, sweetheart." He gave a quick wink that temporarily short-circuited your brain. You looked away and contemplated taking another one of your dangerous suppressant pills.

The Quizmaster started going down the rules. "Number one: No Cheating. Please put away your phones for the purposes of looking shit up. Facebook is fine. Number two: Six people to a team. If you have more than five other people with you, you are far too popular to be at Geeks Who Drink Trivia, break into two teams and reevaluate your life. Number three: No shouting out the answers. If you're right, you don't want the other teams to know, but you're probably wrong and you're definitely disrespectful, so keep your mouths shut. You will notice there is a jester in the corner of each page. You can circle that little dude once and that will double your points for that round so use it wisely... and away we go. Round One is called 'Recently In Stuff', it's our current events round."

The quiz moved by easily. You and your friends knew all the questions for the current events. Sam was really smart about history and geography questions, but you and Dean carried the team through round two: an audio round of songs about sex and subservience which included Britney Spears' Slave 4 U, Salt N Peppa's What A Man, The Velvet Underground's Venus In Furs, and Joan Jett's Fetish and made you blush like crazy no matter what you did to make it stop.

It dawned on you, as you got up to get another beer, that Fate was fucking with you again.

According to the tracking app on your phone, if you weren't on suppressants you'd be on the second day of a heat, two amazingly hot Alphas have been inserted into your life and the quiz is playing songs about sex and subservience because even the assholes at Geeks Who Drink corporate have to remind you that a 28 year old Omega is supposed to get on her hands and knees for an Alpha.

"You all right? You look a bit flushed." Mark asked, filling your glass back up. "That doesn't usually happen 'til your third beer."

"Fine. It's just... a little warm in here. Can you tap the thermostat for me?"

Mark gave you an uncertain look. "Honey, it's 70 degrees in here. You sure you're okay?"

You shook your head. "I don't know. I'm sure I'll be fine, though." You added at his worried look.

He handed the beer across the bar. "Hey. Take care of yourself."

"Always." You smiled at him, but you could tell that it was weak. You felt a bit terrible, if you were being honest with yourself. You were starting to get angry little cramps along your lower belly and your head was starting to pound. You were a little worried that it was a side effect of the suppressant; that you might be suffering from 'LOSS OF REPRODUCTING ORGAN'.

You sat in your corner with your beer as the Quizmaster read the standings. "In third, we have 'Suck it, Trebek'. In second, we have 'E=mcHammer', and in first place by just a few points, we have 'Pulp Friction'. Round six is titled '120 Days of Justine': a round about the Marquis de Sade."

You groaned. "Really? Really, Todd?!" You shouted across the bar at the Quizmaster.

"What?" Alice and Dean both asked.

Sam cleared his throat as you resolved not to explain your outburst, too focused on the stabbing pains going through you. "Marquis de Sade is where S&M gets its name from. He wrote some... provocative stuff."

"Understatement." You mumbled as you took a drink.

You knew every answer, quietly writing each into the booklet and avoiding looking at your friends. "How'd you know all that?" Dean asked as Alice took the answers up.

You groaned. His voice made your stomach hurt more. "There's this movie called 'Quills' with Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis. It was the first rated R movie I watched at 2am while my parents were asleep. It left a mark. God bless HBO." You were breathing heavily, and had to take a deep breath to slow your heart rate.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Wendy asked.

"No." You answered, honestly. "I think I'm sick."

"Yeah, you look like you've got a fever." Dean reached across the empty chair between you and pressed his hand to your cheek. A cramp tore through you as soon as your skin touched. Dean immediately pulled his hand away. "She's an Omega?"

Wendy rushed around the table, sitting in the empty chair between you and Dean. "You need some ibuprofen. You're burning up."

"I just need to go home. It's a bad reaction to those Brazilian suppressants, that's all." You moved to stand, but your legs were too weak. "It'll wear off." You assured her.

"Mark!" Wendy shouted at the bartender. "Call a cab for y/n!"

"She should go to a hospital." Sam suggested, seriously, as half of the bar turned to look at you.

"I really don't need all this fuss." You whispered, but you didn't actually mean it. The smell of the two Alphas had grown so overwhelming that you thought you might vomit and your mind was having a battle with your body because half of you wanted to get as far away from their scent as you could and the other half wanted to wrap it around you like a blanket.

"How long have you been on suppressants?" Dean asked, his voice tight.

"Since she presented." Alice answered for you, kneeling next to you. "Sweetie, what's happening?"

"She's in heat." Sam and Dean said, simultaneously.

"No. No, I've... I've been on suppressants for four years. I've only ever had one... My suppressants-"

"Don't work forever. Didn't anybody tell you that?" Dean growled, and it made you want to curl into a ball.

"We need to get her out of here." Sam demanded.

"Excuse me. You boys seem sweet and all, but she's in no condition to be around a couple Alphas she don't know. If you'll excuse me..." Mark leaned down and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Come on, honey. You've got an Uber on the way."

"And what if the Uber driver's an Alpha?" Alice asked.

"Someone should ride with her, make sure she gets home safe." Wendy said.

"Oh, fuck this." Dean growled, standing. He pointed to Mark, suddenly in 'Take Charge Alpha' mode. "You, get back behind the bar. You've got a job to do. You." He pointed to Wendy. "You're gonna come with me. We're taking y/n home."

"N-no." You whimpered. "You can't-"

"Shut up." He demanded and you immediately closed your mouth. He wrenched your hands from Mark's neck and moved them to his own. He dropped a set of keys to the table in front of his brother and grabbed your keys from the front pocket of your purse. "Grab her stuff, Wendy. Sammy, let me know how well we do in Final Jeopardy."

Dean pulled you away from the table and out into the parking lot. The hot humidity hit you like a brick wall but you shivered in response to it. "Which one's hers?" Dean asked Wendy.

"Grey Ford Focus." She pointed down the lane and Dean made a beeline. "What are you gonna do?"

"We're gonna take her home. You're gonna strip her down and put her in an ice bath and I'm gonna leave."

"Really?!" Dean turned to Wendy after he'd secured your seat belt and closed the passenger door of your car. She wilted a little under his gaze. "I just thought- she's, you know, an Omega in heat..."

"Look, I would love to fix this for her, I really would, but even I can tell she doesn't want some stranger coming in and breeding her. You don't take suppressants for years and avoid leaving your apartment if you want an Alpha. Also, my brother and I are leaving tomorrow, so..."

You could barely keep your eyes open as Wendy gave directions from the back of your car. You were in too much pain. You didn't understand. Suppressants were not supposed to dramatically fail all at once like this. They were supposed to taper off, become less efficient. There's supposed to be some sort of warning before your insides betray you. "God, it hurts."

"It's okay, sweetheart." Dean reached over and ran his fingers through your hair, which was wet with sweat. "We're gonna get you cooled down. You're gonna be just fine."

"Hnnn.... hate it." You whined, grabbing his hand and pulling it in front of your face so you could scent his wrist. Dean smelled amazing, better than any Alpha you'd ever met. Most Alphas seemed to smell like bad BO and mud, but Dean... Dean smelled like pine trees and good steak and vanilla and... sex. Dean smelled like sex. Warmth pooled between your legs at the smell.

He jerked as your tongue snaked between your lips to lick at his pulse point. "Hey, do not lick me, woman."

"Well, can you lick me, then?" You asked. You weren't sure where that question came from, you weren't sure why you'd licked him. He did taste so good, though.

"Wendy, control your girl." Dean demanded, pulling his hand away from you, reluctantly.

"Hey. Sweetie... we're almost home." Wendy put her hand on your shoulder and you groaned. "It's just up here on the right. Park in space 57."

You clung to Dean as he pulled you out of your car. "Put your feet down. Come on. You gotta walk, y/n." You tried, but your legs didn't want to cooperate. He took a deep breath and picked you up. "All right, fine, but you keep your hands to yourself." You nodded and nuzzled into his chest. He smelled so fucking good.

"She's not usually like this. She usually distances herself from Alphas." Wendy explained, walking into the elevator and pressing 5.

"Yeah, figured. That's why I'm trying to distance myself." Dean grunted out and somewhere in the back of your heat-rattled brain you realized he was breathing very shallow breaths, only through his mouth. Trying not to smell you. "She's only ever had one heat. Doesn't know how to keep herself from making a huge mistake."

"No, I mean, she's always been kind anti-Alpha. She didn't think she should have to be someone's just because she presented how she did. She usually fights when Alphas find out what she is."

"Yeah, cause she's usually on suppressants and has a clear head. Not like now. She should avoid Alphas. We're assholes."

"I just think... maybe she's having this kind of reaction for a reason. Like maybe her body knows it's time or maybe you're her true-"

"Shut it! Truemates ain't a thing... and as for her body: are you a doctor or a biologist?" Dean growled as the elevator dinged and the door opened.

"No, but my parents weren't Beta, Dean, so I'm not as ignorant at some." Wendy followed Dean as he carried you toward your apartment door. "And they were truemates. As soon as Dad saw Mom, he knew he had to have her. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and she smelled like every good smell he had ever loved. Mom said she could scent him across the food court. They were mated with twins on the way before my mom was 20."

"That doesn't sound like true love. That sounds like your dad was a fuckin' knothead and decided she was his and used the Truemates Myth to make it seem like it was out of his control."

"Hey!"

"Whatever, Wendy. Open her door so I can drop her and get out of here." Dean said, shaking the keys at your friend.

"Don't go, Alpha." You whimpered, clutching his shirt and burying your face in the crook of his neck.

"Fuck." Dean breathed out. "No. Nope. Not doin' it. You're not thinkin' straight, y/n. You just need to go calm down, cool down and... wait for it to pass, sweetheart."

"Don't wanna. Want you, Dean. Want my Alpha." You started to kiss his neck. There weren't any thoughts in your head. You were just doing and saying exactly what your body told you to do and say.

"Bet you'd like that, huh? Pretty little Omega wants my knot?" He whispered as he walked through your door.

"Yes." You whispered into his neck.

"Yeah, you want that right now, but you'd hate yourself in the morning. I'd rather you hate me right now, sweetheart." Dean dropped you to your sofa and pried your hands off of his shirt. "Get her in a cold bath, take her to the hospital if her fever doesn't break, and text me with updates." Wendy nodded, expecting the Alpha to walk away, but he looked down at you, instead. "And she's gonna be dehydrated when she wakes up. Water and Gatorade, get her some protein bars if the suppressants don't kick back in. Grab her some pillows, make her comfortable, and turn the ceiling fan on."

"Okay."

Dean stared down at you for a few long seconds before taking two large steps backward toward the door. "Above all else, keep her safe. Comfortable and safe. Once she comes out the other side of this, she'll need that peace of mind."

"Okay."

~~~~

You woke up the next morning, on your couch, with what felt like the worst hangover you'd ever had. Your head was pounding, your skin sticky from sweat and your stomach felt like the aftermath of crunches day at the gym... and you were more thirsty than you could ever remember being.

Luckily, Wendy thought of that, setting out a large glass of water on the coffee table for you. Your loud gulps woke her from her sleep on the recliner across the room. "Hey. How you feelin'?"

"Like I did several keg stands last night. Wh-how'd we get here?" The night was fuzzy. You remembered the bar, spontaneously going into heat, but everything after was vague.

"Dean drove us."

Heat flooded your body at the mention of the Alpha, followed by mortification as you remembered the rest of the night. "Oh, my god. I can't believe I threw myself at him like that." You cried, covering your face with your hands.

"He was completely understanding, y/n, and a total gentleman. Any other Alpha, you'd have been knotted, but Dean took you home, made sure you were safe."

"Oh, great. So, I embarrassed myself in front of one of the only good Alphas I've ever met. Great." You took another drink of water and started to look around. "Where's my phone? I need to call Dr. Whitaker."

"Don't worry. I called the Omega Whisperer as soon as I was sure I wasn't gonna have to call an ambulance. She'll be here in..." She looked at her watch. "About thirty minutes."

"Ugh. Don't call her that. Whitaker went to med school. She's a doctor."

"Well, you heard Bravo is after her for a TV show about her practice, right? That's probably what they'll call it."

You shook your head. "Whatever. Just as long as she can tell me why the fuck my suppressants just stopped working last night."

"Maybe because your truemate was sitting two feet away?"

"Oh, come on!"

"Look at what he did to take care of you! He doesn't know you, but he wouldn't let us put you in a cab. He drove us here, ran down a list of ways to make this better for you, then demanded I text him with updates. Y/n, he feels the connection, just like you. Even if you're both denying it."

You rolled your eyes. "Let's just wait to hear what the doctor has to say."

Dr. Whitaker, however, nodded when Wendy brought up her theory. "Makes sense."

"I'm sorry, what?" You exclaimed. "Don't tell me you believe this 'truemates' shit, Doc."

"If by 'truemates' you mean the one or two people of opposite presentation whose pheromones work with your own and amplify each other, then yes, but it's not soulmates... it's science."

"Well, hear that? It's science."

You ignored Wendy's teasing and leaned forward. "Wait, could this pheromone boost have negated my suppressants?"

"Oh, totally. Even if you hadn't been on day two of your cycle, you probably would have gone into heat last night, suppressants be damned. The shot I gave you should work to shorten this heat for you, take the edge off." Dr. Whitaker shook the bottle of Brazilian suppressants as she stood. "I'm confiscating these. Not because they had anything to do with last night, but because they are dangerous and if you want to lose your ability to ever have pups, I'd rather set up a hysterectomy and do it right."

You looked down at your lap. "Now, if you want my advice, y/n, and I'm sure you'll just ignore me because have for as long as you've been my patient... when you've got a chance, text that Alpha. He's yours, and he's good. He respected you in a way that's rare... especially for an Alpha who wouldn't have to deal with the consequences since he was leaving."

"He gave me his number so that I could update him on your condition." Wendy offered. "Which I should do." She continued, pulling out her phone.

"Get to know him. Maybe you'll surprise yourself." Doctor Whitaker said, tossing the pills in her bag and zipping it up. "And just a reminder, this hermit lifestyle ends once you've got an Alpha. Another reminder, you haven't had sex in four years."

"Thanks, Doc." You said, sarcastically.

"I have your best interest in mind, y/n."

"Yeah. I know."

~~~~

Wendy insisted on giving you Dean's number, but you didn't use it. Dean and his brother didn't hide that they were transient. They said they spent weeks at a time on the road and when they were home, home was in Kansas. You'd seen The Wizard of Oz enough times to know that Kansas was no fun. You were certain you'd never see him again and once again determined nothing about your life was going to change.

If Fate had a face, you would punch it.

Part Two

[anonymouswriter2311]

My Robin, Chapter 15

Just a little warning, this chapter deals with some homophobia, apart from that it’s mainly just mad archer fluff and Neverland adventures! 

The birds had just begun their morning sing-song high in the trees, the winds carried the soft hum of the river and crunching sounds of nuts being nibbled on by the small creatures above. The sun was low in the sky, not quite ready to say goodbye to the moon and take up their duties of the day, much like the two lovers who lay cuddled under their cloaks, arms tangled, faces pressed together, lips red and swollen from events of the night before. The archer was the first to stir, being used to early morning hunts she had seen the skies like these many times, but this time was more special, because this time she was seeing it with her true love, tucked safely in her arms snoring silently. Robin still couldn’t believe that she had managed to find someone like Alice, someone so kind and pure. Especially with all the things that life had thrown at her, she was still the most good-hearted person, that Robin had ever met -and she used to live in the same town as Snow White and Prince Charming- Alice was so much more than any words could describe, and Robin had tried, but none of them seemed to do her justice, she was just simply Alice. Not the girl from the stories that falls down a rabbit hole, -although Robin thought that she would probably end up doing that eventually on one of her travels no doubt- she was not just the girl who was forced to spend her life trapped in a tower, and she was just not the Guardian, the one to finally put the Dark One curse to rest. Yes, she had parts of those things in her, but that wasn’t who she was…she was Alice, Robin’s true love, Captain Hook’s daughter, the Wicked Witch’s future daughter in law, maybe. But right now, when Robin looked down at the peaceful blonde in her arms, she was just Alice, her Alice.

“Morning sunshine,” Robin whispered as she gently leaned down to kiss her lover sweetly, making the blonde stir slightly in her arms.

“Mmm…Morning.” Alice mumbled against Robin’s lips, gripping onto the archer undershirt tightly, trying to do the impossible and pull them closer together. “How early is it?” The blonde muttered as they pulled apart, prompting the blonde girl to cuddle up against the brunette once again.

“Pretty early, the sun isn’t even up properly yet.” The brunette spoke sweetly as she ran her fingers through the tattered blonde hair. “Do we have to get going? Or can we stay like this for a while?”

“We can stay like this forever…” Alice smiled as she moved to straddle the brunette, kissing her hungrily.

“Sounds good to me.” Robin moaned as Alice moved from her lips to her neck.

“I love you Nobin.” Alice stopped suddenly to say, still not over the fact that she could say those three words.

“Not as much as I love you.” The brunette coed, sweetly before flipping them over so that she was now on top.

“Cheater…” The blonde giggled as the archer attacked her neck with

“You love it!” Robin smirked, as she pinned the blonde’s hands above her head, as she stared hungrily at her love.

“Maybe I do…” Alice whispered as she wrapped her legs around the archer’s waist, pulling her closer. “Maybe I’m tired of waiting.” The blonde whispered against the brunette’s lips, before kissing her fiercely.

“Are you sure?” Robin’s eyes lit up as she pulled back, she needed to be sure before she ruined everything.

“I need you Robin…I’m sure.” Alice purred before she was attacked by Robin’s lips, all the pent-up frustration being poured into every kiss. Alice’s hand found there under the archer’s shirt, scraping her fingernails down the brunette’s bare back as she pulled them closer, melting together, both willing and ready to take this next step…that was until an arrow flew by, just missing Robin’s head.

In a flash, Robin threw herself off the blonde and reached for her bow and quiver, only to find that both seemed to be missing, “What the heck?” Robin cursed, as she finally turned to come face to face with their attackers.

“Looking for this?” Both girls gasped in surprise, as they looked up at the man that haunted Alice’s nightmares sometimes. Standing tall, with Robin’s bow in hand and a giant smirk plastered on his face. “Miss me?”

“You! Give me my bow back!” Robin hissed through gritted teeth, at the man who had led the angry mob of villagers after them, the man who had locked them up and chased them through the forest, a few months ago.

“I knew you were a bunch of troll lovers…but this!” The man spat, as Robin helped Alice to her feet. “This is just disgusting…”

“And what’s it to you?!” Robin moved to walk towards the man but was quickly stopped by Alice’s hand on her arm.

“Robin don’t…giving into bullies never achieves anything.” The blonde whispered.

“That may be true, but punching this jerk in the face will make me feel a whole lot better!” The brunette violently whispered back, before taking a deep breath and smiling gently at the blonde. “Sorry, I’ll leave the punching to my mind and not his face,” Robin mumbled calmly as she shrugged out of Alice’s hold and stepped towards the man. “Give me what’s mine and then leave.”

“You kind of people make me sick! I thought we had run you lot out of town, seems I was wrong.” The man spat, ignoring every word that Robin said.

“Seems like this realm missed the pride memo.” Robin mumbled sarcastically to herself, “Look, I’m not interested in fighting with you again, you have your beliefs, I have mine. So can you just gave me my stuff back so we can all get on our way and hopefully never see each other again?”

“People like you don’t deserve to walk these realms freely. If it was up to me, I’d lock you all up in a tower and throw away the key!” The man spat, pushing Robin violently.

“What the hell is your problem? Is your life that lonely and pathetic, that you spend your time trying hurt people?” Alice spoke up, shocking the pair.

“And the crazy speaks. Thought you were going to stay hiding behind your pretty little girlfriend here.” The vile man winked at Robin, only angering the blonde woman more and more.

“Don’t you dare even look at her! People like you don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as someone like her!” Alice moved to run at the man, but she was thankfully stopped by Robin quickly grabbing her waist and lifting her to stand behind her.

“What is a pretty girl like you doing wasting your life with a crazy bitch like her?!” He spat taking a step towards Robin, who clenched her fists in anger. “Come with me and I’ll show you how a real man could make you feel.”

“Really? You could help cure me?” Robin played dumb as she stepped closer to the man, swallowing the disgust as she allowed him to take her hand.

“And this will all be some nightmare left in the past. What do you say?” He smiled to himself, actually believing that he had won Robin over.

“Well, how could I possibly say no to such an amazing offer.” Robin coed, as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “Maybe like this.” The brunette whispered, before bringing her knee up violently, smashing it into his privates.

“You bitch!” He cried out as he fell to his knees in pain, allowing Robin the chance to grab her bow and quiver from his hold.

“I suggest that you walk away before I do something else you’ll regret!” The brunette spat at the shivering man, who nodded weakly. “Coming Tower Girl? I believe we have a date to get underway.” Robin winked as she extended her hand to the now calm blonde.

“Can’t wait!” Alice chirped before placing a small peck on Robin’s lips, taking great pleasure in the moan of disgust that came from the injured man.

“You two will regret this!” The man shouted as the two girls jumped onto their horse.

“We’re shivering in our gay boots! Have fun icing your balls!” Robin shouted as she took off on the horse, Alice happily tucked behind the archer this time.

***

The cave where Wendy brought them to was dark, wet and smelt like a mermaid’s toilet. The magic that Regina and Zelena possessed was ripped from them and Hook’s ability to fight dampened. The three prisoners stood huddled together, Hook holding them both protectively as the effect’s of their loss of magic took its toll on their bodies.

“It won’t last forever. Only until you leave my home.” The young girl appeared in a puff of yellow smoke, sitting on a throne of rocks.

“This wasn’t part of the deal!” The pirate spat, as Zelena pushed herself out of the man’s hold, able to regain control over her body, considering this wasn’t the first time she had been drained of her magic.

“I swear if you do anything to hurt us…”

“Silence…I brought you here because the trees can’t be trusted.” Wendy shouted as she jumped down from her throne to face the trio. “The Lost Boys, they never accepted me as their ruler, not really anyway.”

“I don’t care if you can’t seem to keep a bunch of children under control, tell us what you need from us!” Regina snapped, still holding onto Hook’s arm as she took a step towards the girl.

“I need to show them who the real ruler is…and for me to do that, I need you to find this,” Wendy smirked as she pulled out a tattered piece of parchment paper, with a badly drawn stone scribbled on it.

“A rock? You essentially kidnapped us, because you want us to find a bloody rock!” Zelena snapped, having to hold herself back before she did something she would regret.

“You have not been kidnapped by me…you are all welcome to leave whenever you want!” The honey blonde girl smirked as a doorway appeared in front of Zelena. “But, then you won’t know what Gothel has planned for Alice Jones and Robin Mills…”

“We get this rock, and you tell us everything?” Hook questioned, his face dropping at the mere mention of his daughter.

“That’s the plan, but if you think this task too…mundane for you, I’ll happily just take this little potion. Erasing the encounter with dear Gothel from my mind entirely.” Wendy giggled as she played with the small vile in her hand. “So, do we have a deal or not?”

“Aye, we have a deal.” Hook answered before any of the women he was traveling with had a chance to speak. “Where can we find this rock of yours?”

***

The two girls rode in silence down the deserted road, neither knowing what to say about the events of their morning. They had come so close to finally being together, there was so much want and desperation in their kisses, so much love and lust in their touches and so much promise and hunger in their breathless words. But all that was crushed, when that pig-headed idiot appeared. It wasn’t the first time Robin had been a victim of that kind of bullying, Storybrooke wasn’t exactly a very accepting place, but she had thought things would be different here. This was supposed to be the place where true love wins, and magic exists, so what was so wrong with two girls loving each other?

“You okay?” Alice mumbled against Robin’s back, pulling the brunette from her horrible daydream filled with all the heartache and homophobia that she assumed was waiting for them at every corner.

“Yeah…just thinky,” Robin replied quietly with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” The blonde whispered, just loud enough for the brunette in front of her to hear, prompting her to stop the horse in its tracks and jump off.

“What could you possibly need to be sorry for?” Robin paced as she waited for the blonde to get off the horse, both of them wanting to get this conversation out of the way before they reached their destination.

“I’m sorry that…” Alice looked down, embarrassed for causing a scene in the middle of the forest. “I’m sorry that I’m not a man!” The blonde shouted before hiding her face in her hands.

“What? Why would you think that I wanted you to be a man?” Robin couldn’t help but let out a small giggle, as she forced the girl to remove her hands from her face. “Is this because of what happened with that jerkwad?” Alice gave her a watery smile, before nodding slightly.

“Things like that would never have happened if one of us were a man.” Alice kicked the ground, she didn’t understand why people like him didn’t accept her, why she had been afraid to tell her own Papa that she was into girl’s and not guy’s. She wasn’t stupid, she knew what a being a lesbian meant in the enchanted forest, it meant strangers staring at you, it meant being alone. But she thought she had gotten past all that when she met Robin when she kissed Robin. She knew that she wouldn’t be alone anymore, she just thought that they could be just like any other couple.

“If one of us were a man, then we wouldn’t be us,” Robin replied simply, reaching out to touch the smaller woman’s hand gently. “I could have dated a guy if I wanted to…but I didn’t, because I don’t care about what other people say. I like girls, it’s part of who I am and if people don’t like it then screw them!” The brunette pulled the blonde into her arms abruptly, causing her to let out a squeak.

“You really don’t care about the looks we’ll get when we hold hands in public, or the whispers when we share a small kiss?” Alice mumbled as she relaxed into her archer’s arms, allowing the taller girl to sway gently with her.

“Nope!” Robin said with a pop. “None of that matters to me, as long as I’ve got you by my side.”

“You really mean that?”

“With all my heart.” Robin winked, “We are probably going to come across people like him our whole lives, but as long as we are happy together, they can’t do anything to hurt us.” The brunette promised, before dipping her head to capture the blonde’s lips with her own.

“I just wish that we didn’t have to fight to be happy…” Alice mumbled as she cradled her head in Robin’s chest.

“Me too, Tower Girl…and one day, maybe we won’t.” Robin kissed blonde hair as they stayed holding each other for a little while longer.

***

“This is the last time you get to make a decision for the group pirate!” Zelena hissed through gritted teeth, her skin green with sickness as the small rowboat rocked against the frightening waves.

“It was for our daughters! And I’d happily do it again if it meant they stayed safe.” The one-handed man spat back, as the rowed carefully.

“Will you two quit it! We’ve come this far, we can’t let a child come between us! Let’s just get what she wants, find out what she knows and then get off this horrible island!” Regina snapped, thoroughly annoyed with her two traveling companions bickering.

“Fine.” “Aye okay.” The two said in unison.

“Are we nearly at Skull Island? The sooner we retrieve the stupid stone the better!” Zelena moaned, thinking back to the conversation they had just been forced to have with Wendy.

“I think we’re here,” Regina spoke quietly, nodding towards the large skull-shaped rock floating on the sea.

“Just as I remember it…” Hook muttered to himself, as the little rowboat neared the shore of the rock island. “Keep your wits about you, nothing good has ever come from this place and I’ve got a feeling that’s why that little missy sent us here instead of her.”

“Always the brains of the operation, aren’t ya Hook.” Regina rolled her eyes as she accepted his help to step out of the boat.

“If you don’t want my expertise, just say the word.” The pirate shot back playfully, knowing that Regina was only messing with him.

“Now, why would I do that? We wouldn’t want our favorite pirate to feel left out, would we?” The brunette teased right back, as Zelena looked on smugly. She couldn’t believe how easily her sister had gotten along with this version of Hook, considering how much she disliked the other one.

“If you two are quite finished. Let’s find this Power Stone or whatever it’s called.” The redhead proclaimed before strutting off into the dark cave. “So pirate, where is this little stone hidden?”

 “It says here, it’s hidden in the eye of the heart.” Hook spoke as he pulled out the tattered piece of parchment.

 “The eye of the heart? What can’t you pirates be straightforward?” Regina moaned, as she used her magic to light up the cave.

 “Why don’t we split up?” Zelena suggested, mimicking her sister's actions.

 “Like that’s gone so well for us in the past,” Hook muttered, earning a scowl from the redhead.

 “And to think I was just starting to like you!” Zelena spat playfully, knowing that all of them were running on nothing, completely exhausted and frustrated with their current situation. “What do you suggest then pirate?”

 “Why don’t we follow these?” The pirate mumbled as he held the torch up to strange markings that littered the walls, leading up to a small corner just below the right eye of the skull.

 “Always the smart arse, aren’t you Captain!” The one-handed Captain scowled at the familiar voice of his former nemesis filled the cave.

 “Pan…”

 “Nice to see you too, Hook.” The young boy smirked as he came into the light. “Now, what brings you to my humble little home?” Pan asked, taking a step towards the group, only to be stopped by the sharp blade cold against his neck.

 “I haven’t forgotten our last encounter, or what I said would happen if I ever saw your smug face ever again!” The pirate spat, putting pressure on the boy’s neck.

 “Seems only fitting that you’d be the one to end me, once and for all.” Pan smiled sadly at his old enemy. “Get it over with Captain!”

 “Wait!” Zelena shouted before Hook delivered the final blow, prompting the pirate to stop before hitting his target. “We need him!”

 “Aye…” Hook muttered, lowering his sword. “What do you know of this?” He asked, pulling out the parchment paper for the young boy.

 “What use would a man like you, have with a stone like that?” The boy’s eyes lit up as he snatched the paper off the pirate.

 “Do you know where it is or not?!” Hook snapped, raising his sword once again.

 “Temper, temper Captain!” Pan laughed, as he circled the man. “I can give you what you desire,” The boy smirked, with a flick of his wrist a dark stone appeared, replacing his right eye with a glowing hole.

 “How do we know it’s not just one of your little tricks?” Regina questioned as the boy held out the stone for Hook to take.

 “What could I possibly gain from this? That bitch has me trapped he! Forced to watch as she runs my island into the ground!” The boy grew frustrated.

 “Wendy? She’s the one who trapped you?” Hook asked, stepping closer to the two women behind him, just in case Pan was to try and strike.

 “She’s one of them! Her and that monster Gothel, they imprisoned me! But not before they could get their hands on this!”

 “The stone...it’s the key!” Zelena reached out, quickly plucking the stone from the boy’s hand.

 “She sent you here, didn’t she?” Pan asked rhetorically, smirking at the trio. “Whatever you do, you have to swear that you’ll take the stone and leave! Gothel can never get her hands on this!”

 “Why should we trust you! You’ve only ever led me astray before!” Hook shouted, as they cave began to glow, light bouncing off of every surface.

 “If there was one thing I was loyal to, it was the stone! Find the rest, that is the key to stopping her!” Pan shouted as the light began to engulf him. “Goodbye, old friend...find them!”

 “Where did he…” Zelena was the first to speak when the lights finally settled. “Is he?”

 “Dead? Aye...and we need to get off this bloody island before that witch gets us!” Hook shouted as they clung to each other allowing Regina’s magic to teleport them to the Jolly Roger.

 ***

“Okay, so what it lacked in candy apples, it definitely made up for in festival games!” Robin smiled happily, as she handed the small plush fox over to the blonde.

 “For me? But you won it!” The blonde asked in confusion, as she tried to hand the small fox back.

 “I won it for you silly!” The brunette laughed, before pulling the blonde into her arms and placing a small peck on her wanting lips, blissfully ignoring any strange looks they received from passersby.

 “Thank you, I love it!” Alice cuddled into Robin, as they walked through the small streets filled with vendors and market stalls. “What do you want to do next?”

 “Honestly? I saw a little inn a few streets back…” Robin teased, thinking back to their morning together.

 “Oh really? And what would we want with an inn? When we’ve got the whole forest at our disposal.” Alice played coy, as she snuggled closer.

 “Alice, I love you...but I don’t think my back could survive another night sleeping on the ground!” Robin moaned, pulling Alice into a nearby alleyway. “And I don’t feel like being interrupted again.” The brunette purred as she hungrily attacked the blonde's lips, pinning her against the wall.

 “About that…” Alice mumbled, afraid to look Robin in the eye.

 “Hey, talk to me.” The brunette placed a gentle finger under the blondes chin, gripping it slightly as she tilted her head upwards.

 “I...I’m kind of glad that we got interrupted. I know that I said that I was ready, but…”

 “Alice, my love. I told you, you don’t ever have to worry about telling me stuff like that! If you're not ready yet, I’m perfectly content with just spending the night with you in my arms.” Robin smiled the brightest of smiles at her red-faced lover, before kissing her passionately. “I love you, with every piece of me and I will wait as long as you need me to.”

 “I love you too My Robin.” Alice beamed, as she stole a kiss from her archer. “Now, about that inn?”

AO3

FanFiction.net

[miserere-mei-deus]

“Oh, this school is great! The teachers are very helpful and the students are quite friendly, if you know where to look of course. You’ll love it here, trust me!”

It’s been almost two months since I posted an edit. In this timeframe, I finally finished high school, got everything ready for college, and witnessed the death of a childhood virtual world (Fantage - see my other blog, awesomevirtualworlds for more details if you’re interested). I just couldn’t decide what the subject of my next edit should be until I revisited several OCs (Original Characters) that my real life friend and I have.  Remember Bella and Arietta, our dynamic duo of the Disney world? Bet ya don’t. The posts featuring them were made months ago.

The duo above are a bit similar to the Disney girls, though there are some differences. The reddish-brown-haired girl is my friend’s OC, Rosabelle. The dark-haired girl to the right of her is my own character, Liliane. They are princesses hailing from two of the most powerful kingdoms in the world of Majestica (does that name ring a bell? - see my previous posts): Rosabelle (nicknamed Rosie) is from Winterfall (HAHA SHAMELESS GAME OF THRONES RIPOFF) whereas Liliane (nicknamed Lily) is from Leggenda. 

While Bella is an impoverished but strong-willed and optimistic orphan, Rosie - although a wealthy princess - is quite timid and it takes a while for her to warm up to people. On the other end, Arietta is stoic and somewhat haughty (though she eventually loosens up with the help of Bella) while Lily is friendly and, although proud of her rich family background, is humble and willing to help those in need.

Rosie and Lily go to a boarding school for royal children located in the central township region of Majestica (you can tell by their cute little uniforms, lol). At the beginning of the schooling year (which begins when the students are around 3-4 years old), Rosie is ignored and - even worse - shunned by the other children due to her reserved personality. It isn’t until she’s put in the same class as Lily when her attempts to communicate with her peers are received. Lily is the first student to actually start a conversation with Rosie and successfully befriend her. As such, the two become “kindred spirits” and remain close friends though their schooling years.

💙 Characters shown above belong to me and my friend 💙 Edited with Pixlr 💙 Bases used (from animationscreencaps.com): - Rosabelle’s hair: combination of Alice (Alice in Wonderland) and a young Ariel (The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning) - Rosabelle’s head and body: Alice (Alice in Wonderland - Liliane’s hair: combination of Jane (Return to Never Land), Wendy (Peter Pan), Alice (Alice in Wonderland), and Athena (The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning) - Liilane’s bow: from a young Drizella (Cinderella) - Liliane’s head: Wendy (Peter Pan) - Liliane’s body: Alice (Alice in Wonderland) - Background: Cinderella

[abdicatedarchive]

give and take || cody x alexandra

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: throwback //  2017.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: cody x alexandra.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: rudeness.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: a look into cody and alexandra’s relationship

After spending the whole day with a group of her friends, it was finally time for Alexandra and Cody to leave. She promised him that she was meeting up with them just to pick up her cardigan, but then they checked out the nearest boutique and suddenly it turned into hours of shopping. It's not like he could complain, his last football practice went over 26 minutes than planned. Now they were even in her eyes and she loved balance in her life. She gave a little bit, and it was only natural for her to receive something afterwards. Balance was essential for a healthy life. "Thank you so much for taking us here, babe. You're the sweetest." she looked up at Cody with a sweet smile. "I'm so lucky to have you in my life." Alexandra always loved to play up how happy she was in her relationship when she was around her friends. She wanted them to think she had to best guy in town. "But we gotta go, Cody said he had a surprise for me. I'll text you girlies later, bye!" she linked her arm around her boyfriend's as she waved her friends goodbye. There was no surprise he had, she was just putting on her little act for the other girls. Once they turned away and got into her car, she slammed her door shut and immediately went on her phone. "How absolutely draining, how could they all be so ridiculously stupid? They talk about the same shit all the time." Alexandra usually made it a habit to not curse around her friends, she was lady, but she was so fed up. "Can't they ever talk about something real? Something meaningful? Wendy looked so trashy too. Disgusting." Alexandra looked over at Cody with a straight face, "Get me something to eat? My headache is really getting to me and you know I can't think straight when I have a headache."

To say Cody was absolutely whipped in his relationship was an understatement. He hadn't spent quality time with his friends in about a year, his relationship had been all consuming. They were coming up on a year now and he needed to think of something that was both instagram worthy for her, but also made her feel special. Having someone two years older dating him was somewhat intimidating, but nothing was more intimidating than the age old tales of Charlie permeating through the halls. Of course, fucking Charlie had to go above and beyond for his girlfriend in high school and then go off to college with her and have one of those legendary high school relationships that last a lifetime. Charlie was only a freshman in college right now ... but they had already made it past thanksgiving break, Christmas break, and spring break ups. The two were locked and loaded for the long hall, which put the pressure on. AP was graduating in the spring. Cody needed to make sure that he was worthy of her. Cody started up the car, he had just gotten his license and never let her drive anymore, it made him feel more grown up. "Your friends could listen better, you're so much more interesting than them" Cody agreed. He didn't really have too much of a problem with her friends, they were your basic Hastings girls. But Alex viewed them as accessories, so Cody did too. He thought that Wendy looked nice but knew better than to say anything. "I already mobile ordered your favorite, I'll run in and pick it up" said the boy as he drove across the town square and parked, running in to pick up their food and heading back to the car "for you." Cody was getting good at predicting her needs, even down to the fact that she wanted a healthy lunch but would want his fries so he got extra. He also pretended to want a cookie, and he knew she would eat it and pretend to be cute about it.

If there was one thing Cody could do, it was say the right thing, at least most of the time. Alexandra wouldn't be wasting her time with someone if she didn't think he could provide something for her. He was already two years younger, but he was a Summers, that was automatic brownie points in this town. "I just care about what really matters. People need to tap into their spirituality a little more. It literally transforms your life. I'm thriving in all areas." She couldn't go ten minutes without talking about herself, it was a nasty habit. But a habit she wasn't going to break anytime soon. It's not like people were calling her out for it, they wouldn't want to cross her like that. She huffed and puffed like a brat throughout the whole drive to get her food, but once she got it, her eyes lit up. That was the thing with Alex, she'd do a complete 180 when she got what she wanted. She knew how to play up the whole grateful girlfriend act. "You're the best baby, you know that?" she leaned over to Cody and gave him a quick kiss before taking her food and checking to see what he got her. They've been together for almost a year, he should know what she would want. "My favorite. This is why we work so well." Alexandra eyes went straight to the cookie and without asking, she took it and bit into it. "I can have a piece, right?" she asked after the fact, putting on a sweet innocent face. How could he say no this face? "I'm so excited for our anniversary. I have something so nice planned out for you, but we both know you're the better gift giver." She had absolutely no plans yet, it was just her way to make sure Cody was going above and beyond for her. "I bet you've had everything ready for weeks now. It's just such an important milestone in our relationship, the most important. I wouldn't be surprised if you did something before the day and on it. A nice two part gift. You're just so giving like that."

Cody forgot how huffy and annoyed she had been the second he brought her her food, seeing her eyes light up was more than enough for him. Before he could even say yes, she had already taken a bite, "only because you are so beautiful" he said with a smile as he mixed up his salad. The pressure was definitely on, and what he had planned did not seem big enough. Fuck, he was going to have to talk to Charlie about this. How embarrassing. Maybe he should just ask his mom, or maybe his dad. Or maybe both. Maybe he should ask everybody. This needed to be perfect and huge if she was going to stay with him next year. He had planted the seeds to encourage her to go to Brindleton or Prence, keep her near by. He couldn't imagine being far from her. He looked old enough to get into college parties as a freshman, he could be with her every step of the way. Then she added the two day thing, "You're reading my mind" he said as he made a mental note that he most definitely needed to bring out the big guns and ask for help. Cody absolutely hated asking for help, he liked everything to be fair and even. If he got anything from someone, he had to give back. The only person that was mildly an exception was Alex, and when she looked at him it was more than enough to make him do anything. She'd taken his virginity and his heart, and he was never going to let her go. "I have a family dinner with the Langstons tonight, Nathaniel got hired through a college connection from Dad so we're celebrating. But I was thinking maybe we could hang out now and then hangout later? I was thinking you might want to help me get these clothes off?" he suggested as he put his lunch in the back seat and started to drive.

Alexandra gave Cody a pleased smile, whether he had something already planned or not, she knew she'd be getting something really good now. Sometimes you just had to take matters into your own hands to get what you want, and she didn't mind putting in that kind of work. It was to benefit herself and her life, and the most important person in someone's life should always be themselves. She continued to eat the cookie until there was enough for one bite left, and decided to leave that for Cody. Just another selfless act. The mention of a family dinner with the Langston's made Alex furrow her brows in confusion. Hang out and now and ... after? Didn't he want her there for the dinner? Why wouldn't he want her to go with him? "Are their daughters going? Or the cousins? That's a lot of pretty girls, and who know's how sneaky they are. I don't want them trying anything with you. Why do you even need to go? You can just stay with me at my house, and we could do whatever you want." she smirked. That was a bold face lie, but she'll say anything to get her way. When it came to sex, it was about her needs most of the time. "Or I could tag along, you know how much I love seeing your parents." she put on her signature smile, hoping Cody wouldn't disappoint her. She even gave him options, she was being more than reasonable here.

Cody took the last bite of the cookie, happy that he got any. "It's just Nathaniel's family. I think it's kind of a thank you to Dad. It's: me, Charlie, Channing, Courtney, and Claire plus Nathaniel, Veronica, Fiona, and Bella. Then my parents, their parents, and the Windsors. Very full table, so they said no girlfriends or boyfriends. Cordelia isn't even invited and they're basically engaged, same with Alice" Cody explained. If he had been able to have her there, he would have. Especially if Bella was bringing the little man. He didn't understand why Landon disliked him so much, they were in the same grade after all. When Alexandra said they could do whatever he liked, Cody immediately hatched a plan. "I'll take care of it" he said as he pulled into her driveway and called his mom, "Hey Mom, some guys on the football team copied my homework answers and got us all in trouble for plagarizing. I didn't do anything wrong, it was my work" he said, pausing for his mother to give him a little grief, "I know I told her that. It's not my fault they didn't do their work. It was peer pressure" he said, coaxing her a little. "But I argued my way into doing some extra credit, and it's way harder than the original assignment. I don't think I can make it to the Langston dinner" he said as he moved his hand to Alex's knee, moving it up her thigh a little. "I will be at home, and yes I will feed Archer. So sorry I'm going to miss it. Gives a little extra room for everybody at the kids table" he said with a laugh. His mother would enjoy the joke, "Bye, Love you" Cody said as he hung up the phone. "I am all yours" said Cody with a smile to his girlfriend. He was pretty excited that she wanted to do whatever he wanted for a change, that never happened. Not that he wasn't very invested in what they did do.

If there was no girlfriend and boyfriend rule for this dinner, than Cody wasn't going. It seemed simple enough to Alexandra. But she did make a mental note to ask Landon if he went to this dinner or not. Cody never gave her a reason not to trust him, he did everything she wanted, he always did what he was supposed to do, but everyone needed to be tested every now and then. If Cody was telling the truth, then Landon would tell her that he wasn't going to this dinner, and for her boyfriend's sake, that better be the case. She could definitely see Landon somehow squeezing his way into that dinner, but Alexandra would see it more as Cody lying to her and not wanting her there. She would just be so devastated and he'd have to do quite a bit to get her trust back. But out of the kindness of her heart, she was willing to see Cody put in that kind of effort. She wanted to see just how much he loved her. She waited for her boyfriend to finish up her call, placing her hand on top of his as he talked to his mother. "You're all mine, just the way I like it." she said with a big smile, tapping his nose lightly with her finger. "But are you sure you want to miss this dinner? I don't want to make anything difficult for you and your family. I just love spending time with you, I can't get enough of you." Alexandra was already making sure this decision of his didn't fall on her. Sure she kind of backed him into a corner, but she didn't want the dirt on her hands.

"Anything for you" he reassured her. It felt so good that she was so into him, Cody felt really confident in this relationship. He didn't always feel that way, but she was with him for a reason. "It's not going to be a problem, they wouldn't notice even if I was there. The nights about Nathaniel, and I'm sure Claire will make it about her" said the boy, "I didn't want to go anyways." Which wasn't particularly a lie. He liked being with the Langstons it was just a lot with everyone together all at once. It was the closest thing they had to family time though: when they went presenting around to other families. It wasn't like they were eating family dinners at home, everyone just ate in their rooms. Each individual relationship was okay, but it was when they were a group that things were tough. That's why it was best to add other people into that. "I am so lucky to have you" said Cody giving her a quick kiss before turning off the car and getting out.

"Perfect." Alexandra dropped the little considerate act she was pulling and smiled big at her boyfriend, "I can make up for that and give you all my attention." It was a nasty way of thinking, but in her head, if Cody's family gave him less attention, he would always be searching for it through her. That would mean he'd want to keep her attention by doing and giving her everything she wants, and that was perfect for Alex. "Aw you're so sweet." she answered back. Alex didn't think she was necessarily lucky to have Cody in her life. She could easily find someone to fill his role, but she was happy about snatching up someone from the Summers family. It's not like she would try and date Channing, she did have standards. "I wanna eat my food first though. I don't want all your money to go to waste." This was a plan she'd pull out every once in a while. Make him wait long enough before the sex to then act like she's oh so tired so she could ask if he could just put in all the work this time. She had no problem sleeping with Cody, but if there was a way for her to get the same end result without her having to do all that extra work just to please him, she would do it. Being with her should be enough pleasure for him anyways.

Cody definitely get that much attention at home. Everything was always about the girls, and Charlie shirked any and all attention he got. Sometimes Charlie got "man talks" with Dad, which made Cody a little jealous. Charlie was also the favorite, but then the girls got extra attention so they wouldn't feel left out. Not that anyone noticed Cody was still out there. "Yeah of course babe" said Cody with a smile, he didn't know what was less desirable ... her being hangry or the way she always got too tired after she ate. It was a routine at this point, not that he minded. Some of his friends weren't even having sex yet, so it was exciting that he got to do that. Especially with someone as pretty and smart and caring as her. She was just so worldly and interesting, and Cody had passed up on going abroad for a semester like Charlie did. He saw how much it weighed on his parents for Charlie to leave, and for Courtney to leave. When they came back it was harder to be at school too, which he didn't really want. He also didn't want to leave Alex, so he decided not to go.

Alexandra was already walking over to the dining room when he was speaking, it didn't matter whether he wanted to eat now or later, they were going to eat now. She sat down at the table and took out her food, "You're not doing anything next Friday, right?" Alex didn't really take Cody's plans into consideration. He could hang out with his friends whenever he wanted, as long as it didn't interfere with the plans she'd make for the two of them. "You have to come to our family dinner. Landon's brining his weird girlfriend and I don't want to be alone with the two. I get massive headaches when she starts yapping." she rolled her eyes. It seemed pretty rude that she basically prevented him from going to a dinner with his family, but was making him go to a family dinner for her. Alexandra wasn't thinking about that though, it was all about herself. "Fries, please." she basically demanded as she looked over at his food.

"I mean sure" said Cody, "I'd love to." He really meant it, he would do anything for her. "Not that I really want to be eating with BJ either" Cody added. Bella was maybe the weirdest person he had ever met, not that he noticed her that much until Alex started complaining about her. To be honest, he hadn't really had a problem with her until she entered Alex's life by dating her brother. Cody unpacked his food and put the fries out, moving them over to Alexandra's side of the table, knowing perfectly well that he wasn't going to get any fries. He was well trained at this point to put her needs above his, because that's what love is. "Only because I love you" said Cody with a smirk as he opened up his salad.

"Just ignore her, that's what I try to do. I'm sure she's used to that anyways." Alexandra shrugged her shoulders carelessly. All she really cared about was seeming like she had the better relationship in the family. She wanted everyone in town to look at her and think she was the best. Alexandra smiled back at Cody once he said he loved her and began to eat his fries, not realizing along the way that she had pretty much eaten all of them. Once they were done with all their food, she asked Cody to clean everything up before walking over to him and tugging on his arm. "We still have some time before everyone else gets home, and I just want you so bad right now." she smirked up at her boyfriend.

Cody suddenly felt almost bad for her, being ignored. Being ignored really hit home sometimes. He shrugged it off best as he could as he was cleaning up the dishes and throwing everything away. As he was standing in the kitchen alone, he realized how lonely he still was. Alex was the only thing that felt like home. She appeared and tugged on his arm, and he smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Yeah baby? Let's make the most of the time we have" said the boy as he led her upstairs. It felt so good to be loved, to be seen, to be heard. She understood him, and she loved him. It was good, they were good.

As they reached her bedroom, Alexandra got on her toes as she placed her hands on Cody's shoulders, pushing down on them a bit so she could kiss him deeply. Her hands travelled down to his chest to grab onto his shirt and pull him closer as she moved back onto her bed. "You're so amazing, I don't know what I'd do without you." she spoke sweetly. Alex usually only talked like this to him when she was around other people or when she wanted something from him. She had to make him good for a minute to make sure she got her way with her boyfriend.

Cody was pretty used to be crouched for Alex. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm all yours. I love you so much" said Cody between kissing down her neck. He was obsessed with her, she was the most amazing person he had ever met. He was never going to feel this strongly about anyone ever again. This is what everyone was talking about, this feeling right here. "We're going to be in college together before you know it" he said with a big smile. He was so excited to spend time with her for the rest of their lives, Charlie had found it. Why couldn't he? Lightning can strike twice in the same place.

Alexandra knew she had Cody right where she wanted him, she could tell in the way he spoke to her. He'd practically do anything for her, and that's mainly why she stuck around for this long, but she knew it wouldn't last. This relationship was temporary for her, so when he started talking about college and how they'd be together by then, she almost rolled her eyes. He was talking too much at this point, and she wanted him to shut up. "Baby, I'm just like so tired and my headache's coming back and I don't want waste this beautiful moment we're having." she started to whine. "You think you could just go down on me this time, and I promise next time it'll be all about you." she lied, yet again. She only cared about her needs and wants, never his.

He knew it was too good to be true when she said that it would be all about him today, or even that they were going to have actual sex. But he loved her, and he wanted her to feel better. "Of course, anything for you" said Cody in a soft voice as he pushed some of her hair back before kissing her again. -Fade to black, he really put that effort in because he's a summers man- Cody laid down on the bed, catching his breath a little. "So, do you want to hang out for the rest of the night? Maybe I can sleep over? My parents aren't going to be back until late and they're not going to check my room." He wanted to stay, the nights she let him sleep over were always the best. Cody loved just being next to her, it felt more comfortable than his house.

Alexandra, yet again, got what she wanted, so there wasn't much need for him to be here anymore. She put on a sad smile as she turned over to kiss him quickly, "I don't want to get you in trouble with your parents, you already missed out on that dinner." she tried to sound as sincere as possible, as if she really cared. "Maybe you still have time to go to that, or maybe you should already just be at the house before they get there. Act like you're doing that extra credit you lied about. I wouldn't want you to get caught for lying."

"Yeah, you're right" said Cody, it was redundant to say because she was always right. "You are so smart, I love you and I will see you soon" said the boy giving her a kiss on the forehead, "don't miss me too much." He was going to miss her a bunch, "I'll text you when I'm home safe" the boy added before he headed out, "love you." //END