#over him which is literally the best thing a girl could do for herself. PLUS she throws molotovs and is generally awesome

[theereina]

Big Mama Pt. 3

Pairing: Terry Richmond x Plus Size Fem Black!OC

Wordcount: +4.7K

Warnings: MDNI (18+) mature content, such as cursing, teasing, no smut (alluding to sexual situations), heavily dialogue-centered, use of Daddy, Mama, and other pet names (lil' mama, pretty girl, good boy, etc.), fluff, angst, SA (touching, grabbing), mentions of dv & abuse, anxiety, trauma, physical fighting

A/N: I literally haven't written in years. I'm open to critiques. I am a little 🤏🏽 sensitive about my writing. Please, don't be too harsh.🥺 Feel free to bring my attention to any typos. Divider by @firefly-graphics. Also, this work is not to be plagiarized or reposted (on any site other than here on Tumblr). I do NOT give consent for any form of republishing or rewriting.

Big Mama Pt. 1 => 🦋

Big Mama Pt. 2 => 🦋

“Girl, what the fuck do you mean you haven't called this man back?” my best friend Monica snapped at me. “I just needed to let one off. I was horny and tired of going on pointless ass dates,” I said groaning back at her.

We were walking into a party her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Jordan, was hosting. There were cars everywhere, and people littered the front lawn of the small house. The music was blasting from the backyard, and the noise consumed the quaint neighborhood.

A cloud of smoke spilled from the rear of the house and engulfed the porch and lawn like a dense fog. The combined thickness of the smoke from the barbecue grill and the heat from the ocean of bodies added to the intensity of the sweltering Southern heat. I was beginning to regret my decision to wear all black.

“You need yo’ ass beat. How the fuck do you let a man dick you down like that and let him get away?” Monica asked cutting across the lawn to enter through the side gate. “I just didn't want anything else,” I said shrugging my shoulders and following her closely. She opened the gate so that we could both walk in. “Look, Monnie. I’m not ready to even entertain a man and his bullshit,” I continued as I closed the gate behind us. “You could have at least kept him as a fuck buddy, ‘Vana, like seriously. Come on. Here we are living in a world where women die never even coming close to experiencing what you did, and you just let him disappear. Are you fuckin' crazy, girl?” she turned to grab my hand.

Monica was trying her hardest to pull us through the swarm of people. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind me. “Where are we going?” I asked. “Over by the gate. Jordan's waitin’ with his friends,” she said. I used one of my hands to hold her body flush with mine while the other gently pushed people out of the way.

Once we made it to the other side of the backyard, Monnie spotted Jordan. She pulled herself from my grasp and went to talk to him. He looked down at her and smirked. He was crossfaded. I knew what this meant for me. I would have to hear them go at it like animals all night or get a hotel room. Now, I will NEVER be jealous of my girl getting hers. Don't get me wrong. It's just that Monnie sounds like a “palm-colored🖐🏻” pornstar when she moans, and I only watch Ebony for a reason.

“Ah, shit,” I said palming my face. “What?” Monnie asked with her eyes still locked on Jordan. “I know what that face means. Jordan finna turn you every which way but loose!” I laughed out loud. Monnie looked at me and burst into laughter. Jordan pulled his cup to his lips and peeked over the rim at me. “As long as Monnie baby knows,” he said peering back at her. “Oouu, shit. Don't start with me, J!” Monnie said pulling him by his collar. They were chest to chest now.

“Just go in the damn house already!” I said laughing at the two of them. They were like two feral dogs in heat. They couldn't look at each other without lust taking over. This is an everyday thing for them. “Fuck it. Bye. See ya’!” Monnie said grabbing Jordan and pulling him towards the house.

“Nasty dogs,” I said laughing to myself. I stood with my back to the fence and began scanning the party. I couldn't find anyone I knew. I saw a guy who looked slightly familiar, and I assumed he was one of Jordan's friends. I looked him over trying to see if that was the connection. He was standing in a smaller crowd of men.

His head turned slowly, and his eyes caught mine. They were deep-set and a warm dark brown. He turned his body to face me. He was tall and dark-skinned. This man's skin was ebony in every facet of the word — smooth and shiny. He bit his lip and winked at me while running his hands across his low-cut Caesar.

I smiled back at him and waved shyly. He nodded back towards me. He leaned in closer to the group of men saying something that caused them to turn around. I instantly became a little uncomfortable and self-conscious. I hated male attention when they were in groups. It made me feel objectified.

He began to walk towards me with a slow and deliberate gait. His stride was graceful yet steady. His large frame cast a large imposing shadow across the ground. His lean upper body was struggling to hide beneath the thin fabric of his white T-shirt. He appears to be at least 6 feet tall. I've never had a type, but this man was doing something to me.

I pushed my back from the tall wooden fence. “How you doin’?” he said leaning over me. His hands were in his pockets. He pulled his hands out slowly and grabbed mine. “Fine, and you?” I asked looking up at him. “Better,” he said licking his lips. They were plump and pink. My eyes followed the movement of his tongue across his lips. “That's cute, love. I kinda feel like I know you from somewhere,” I said looking away from him. “Nah, I'd remember you fa’ sure,” he said smiling.

He leaned in closer to my ear. His breath was warm against my skin. “You right about that,” I said cocking my head to the side. He leaned up to look me directly in the eyes. “You a cocky sumthin’, ain't you?” he said laughing. “I like that shit,” he continued while smiling at me. “Cocky? Me?! Never, baby. I'm just a professional shit-talker. That's all,” I said laughing into his chest. “A professional shit talker? So, you enjoy talking shit, huh? What comes with that?” he asked shifting his weight to gently push me back against the fence.

I paused for a second. I pulled my bottom lip in, biting it lightly. “Fuck around and find out,” I said barely above a whisper. I made sure I was looking him directly in his eyes before I spoke. “Oouu, you… Lord, woman!” he laughed out loud. “See. I already got you calling for the Lord, and I ain't even touched you yet,” I giggled into my hand. He used his hand to play with the frizzy hair at the nape of my neck. I chose to wear my hair in a wash-and-go, but it was being destroyed by the humidity.

“So, what would happen if you touched me?” he asked tracing small circles on my scalp. “It depends. You wanna hear God, or do you wanna see him? I can do both if I like you,” I said placing my hand on his bicep. “Damn! That's how you comin’?” he asked grunting. “And I thought I was doing sumthin' with the stars and the moon,” he said placing his hand on my hip. “Maybe you just need a little encouragement,” I said rubbing up and down his arm. “Hmm, encouragement?” he questioned while raising a single eyebrow. “You know… just a little talking to get you through it,” I said resting my hand on his shoulder.

“Talk me through it then,” he replied as he gestured for me to continue. His hands were now on both sides of my hips. “We're in public. You sure you can handle that,” he said tilting his head again. I leaned in as close as I could. “Before I continue, do you like Big Daddy or Good Boy? I need to know for my pleasure,” I asked snaking my hand to the side of his neck. I used my thumb to stroke his jawline. “What's the difference?” he asked. “Well, if I'm taking care of business, you're a good boy. However, if you're taking care of business, it's Big Daddy. Understand?” I asked gripping the side of his neck firmly. “Mmmm… shit. I think I do,” he grumbled dropping his head. “No, baby. It's either you do, or you don't. I don't like indecisiveness,” I said angling his head back up so that his eyes met mine.

“What's your name, mama?” he asked. “Havana, but you can call me “Big Mama”,” I said snickering into my hand. “I’m Xavier, so you're Big Mama, huh?” he asked sinking his teeth into his bottom lip. His eyes were narrowing in on my lips. “That's only if you're nasty,” I laughed again. “Hmm… How nasty we talking?” he asked snaking his hands around my hips. “How nasty can you get, love?” I asked locking in.

He looked up at me like he was stunned by that question. “Ok. I don't usually repeat myself, but…” I said while moving gently from his grasp. “I'll be as nasty as you need me to be. How nasty can you get?” he asked. “Well, love. It depends on your performance. Energy is matched around here,” I said watching his eyes linger on me again.

*15 minutes later

Xavier and I had been talking the entire time. He seemed like a decent guy, but I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. I honestly feel like with Terry it was a “right place, right time” situation. That's never been my forte. I was usually much more careful and selective when it came to choosing sexual partners. We both share our STD status and the current number of active sexual partners. Moreover, the condom situation was even more of a fuck up for me. I normally supply them myself, so that men can't say shit about not having one. So, when I dropped the ball as badly as I did with Terry, it shook me a little. How could I have been that fucking careless?

“Uh oh, don't let her get you in trouble,” Jordan said while approaching. “Nigga, I'm not worried about that. My shit straight. What that got to do with anything?” Xavier said turning to dap up Jordan. “Where's Monnie?” I asked Jordan. “Inside. She’ll be out in a minute,” he said giggling and shrugging his shoulders. “Ok,” I said looking back at Xavier because his response to J sounded like a red flag. What was he not worried about? What shit was “straight”? Then, why did Jordan shrug like he was saying “whatever”? Was this man hiding something?

I pulled out my phone and texted Monnie. I asked her if she knew anything about Xavier. She asked why immediately. I texted her and told her we had been outside talking this whole time. The text she sent said it all.

Monnie: RUN BITCH! GET IN THE HOUSE NOW!

I immediately thought of a lie I could quickly tell Xavier. I needed to get to Monnie now! “Shit, Monnie needs me!” I said placing my phone back into my purse. “You good?” he asked leaning in and grabbing my chin so that I could face him. “Yeah, baby. Mama's fine. Be safe alright?!” I said loudly as I walked away. “What about your number?” he called out after me. “If we see each other again, I say it was meant to be,” I said winking at him.

I quickly pushed my way towards the rear entrance of the house. The sliding glass door was slightly ajar so that people could go in and out. I entered the door and was met with a cloud of weed smoke. Fuck, I hated that smell. I walked through the house and searched for Monnie. I sent her a text asking where she was.

Monnie: upstairs bedroom

I walked through the crowded living room and crossed the space to get the stairs. I was at the bottom when I felt hands grab my waist from behind. “Where you going, fine ass?” said a man's voice from behind me. “Please, don't do that,” I said removing his hands. I continued up the stairs without looking back. “Fat bitch!” he yelled at me from below. I turned around to see who was speaking. All I could say was, “Ugh!”

I turned back around to continue up the stairs. I located the door to the room where Monnie should be. I lightly knocked on the door before entering. “Fuck are you knocking for? Bring yo’ ass in here!” Monnie yelled through the door. “First of all, fuck you. Now, spill it. Tea time, hoe!” I said laughing as I entered the room.

Monnie was sitting on the bed waiting. I closed the door and locked it. I sat on the bed beside her. I turned my body so that I was facing her. “Girl, he ain't shit. Please, tell me you didn't give him your number?” she asked shaking her head. “Fuck no! Why?” I asked removing my crossbody and placing it on the bed beside me. “Well, for starters, this nigga has a basketball team of kids. He has 4 baby mamas, and there may be a fifth!” Monnie said chuckling. “Damn, 4 baby mamas, and how many kids?” I asked leaning over to rest my head on my palms under my chin. “I think 8. We don't know a for sure number,” she said casually. “The fuck do you mean by that. Do y'all not know a for sure number, or does he not know a for sure number?” I asked eagerly. “He doesn't know himself. He be fuckin' anything that let him. That's why his ass was burnin’ last month,” Monnie said laughing and slapping my shoulder.

That's when it hit me. If I had met Xavier last month instead of Terry, I would be burnin', too. “Burnin' from what?” I asked Monnie. I was serious now. “I think Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. He apparently got it from one of his baby mamas. The only reason we found out is because he gave it to his “situation”, and she came to his house while we were there and cussed his ass out. Girl! She let him have it,” Monnie said hollering at this point. “That's so foul, bro. We were literally outside talking hot shit and getting spicy—,” I said. “Oh, he hot shit alright?” she laughed.

*2 hours later

I had left the party around midnight. As I was driving home, I remembered I needed eggs and almond milk for tomorrow. I knew there was only one store still open this late at night. I honestly didn't feel like getting out again, so I decided against it.

As I was driving, I started to see construction signs. They all read different things— “detour ahead”, “road work ahead”, and “road closed to thru traffic”. The detour sign pointed to the right. That would throw off my entire drive because that meant I couldn't use the nearest entrance to get on the highway with the next one being miles out.

I grew annoyed but turned anyway. What choice did I have? The road was dark and empty. It was way too late at night to be forced to take detours. I was growing uncomfortable with the fact that there were no streetlights, and the road narrowed towards the end before a sharp blind curve. People weren't as careful coming around. Most hugged the middle taking up both lanes in the process.

As I approached, I slowed down almost to a stop. I slowly rolled through the corner hugging my side of the bend. Once I could see straight ahead, I noticed a truck on the side of the road. The hazards were on, but I didn't see anyone inside. As I got closer, my headlights beamed against the outline of a figure at the side of the truck near the rear tire. I could tell it was a man by the way his physique looked leaning against the truck's bed.

Getting closer, I began to watch him out of curiosity. His body leaned up, and he seemed to be turning around to look in my direction. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of my headlights. That's when I saw it. The tattoo on the forearm looked like—— Terry's.

No, it couldn't be. There's no way a random detour put us in the same place at the same time again. The first time we met I wasn’t supposed to be at the store that day. I accidentally dropped all of the eggs I had and cracked them. I had a cake order to make, so I didn't have a choice but to go get more. Now, this.

I rolled down the passenger side window a little as I got closer. I cleared my throat while laughing to myself. I slowed to a stop as I got to the rear of the truck. He walked towards the car, but he didn't approach fully. “Need a ride, handsome. Don't want you out here stranded,” I said in the most country accent I could. The voice I used gave off backwoods barbie. “Nah, I'm good. Go on home,” he said trying to look through the crack of the window.

I could tell that the absence of streetlights and dark tints were working against him. He squinted a little more. “Oh, come on. I can't leave you out here with all these critters and weirdos. Might take advantage of ya’, hun,” I said trying not to laugh. “Your ol’ man let you pick up strangers this late at night?” he asked. I could sense he was becoming inquisitive. He was searching for any possible signs of this being a setup.

I rolled down the window all the way while hollering with laughter. “Who said we're strangers?” I asked him. His face displayed annoyance and relief. I saw his shoulders drop and his stance loosen. He approached the car fully leaning into the window. “Real funny,” he said smirking. “You looked scared for a second. I'm sorry. I realized it was you as I was coming up,” I replied with a smile.

“What you doin’ out so late, Mama?” he asked tilting his head. I scoffed and waited. He looked at me with a cold stare. He was waiting for an answer. I shrugged my shoulders casually. “Party with some friends,” I said hoping that he would stop staring at me so intensely. “Party, huh? I thought you didn't like parties,” he muttered under his breath. “I heard you, asshole. Yeah, a party. That's what I said, ain't it?” I said gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Watch that mouth,” he grunted lowly. His voice vibrated across the small space of the car. “Or what?” I asked looking over at him.

He stood up and pushed away from the car. He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his body weight to one side. “I would say I'd put somethin’ in it, but me and you both know you'd like that, ‘Vana. Wouldn't you?” he shot back.

Touché, Terry. Touché.

“Coming or not?” I asked and gestured towards the passenger seat. He shook his head yes and walked towards the driver's side of his truck. He opened the door and grabbed his keys and a backpack. He walked back to my car to get into the passenger side. He opened the backseat first to place his backpack in. I could see the confidence in his step.

My eyes started to wander a bit. He was dressed in a gray T-shirt and dark-wash blue jeans. Slightly wet from sweat, his shirt clung to the muscles underneath. Every detail is etched into my memory. The deep cut of his abs. The veins in his biceps that popped out when he made even the slightest movements. The slight jiggle in his pecs.

Not this again. Get it together, Havana.

I turned to look away as he entered the car. Closing the door, he sank into the seat and sighed. “I’ve been out there for a while. Was about to walk back towards Miller to get closer to my place,” he said. I could feel his eyes on me. “Where were you going?” I asked eyes locked forward. “Randall's,” he said leaning over so that his arm was overtaking the center console. “Really?!” I asked loudly. “You'll live. Where you want me to put my hands? In my lap?” he asked his voice surging through the small space. “Or would you rather I put them in yours?” he chuckled. “Whatever!” I said pushing his chest and rolling my eyes. I put the car into gear and began to drive.

“Do you mind if I stop at Dixie? I needed to pick up some stuff for tomorrow,” I asked looking at him. “Nah. I mean it is where we first met,” he said smiling back at me. I rolled my eyes and continued to drive.

*15 minutes later

We walked through the store side-by-side. He was right on my ass. This man had no regard for personal space. “Do you have to be so close?” I asked pushing him away. “Oh, now you got a problem with it?!” he laughed throwing his head back. “Fuck you, Terry,” I said in a whisper low enough for only him to hear. “You sure you want that? You sure you can take it this time?” he questioned while getting closer to me. “You got jokes, huh? Remember this, sir. You may beat me when I'm on my back, but I can make you cry when I'm on my knees,” I said turning away from him. I heard him grunt and scoff. I peeked over my shoulder to see him smiling at me.

He walked away in the opposite direction. That was fine with me. I needed a small breather. Everything about Terry had me on edge, and the flashbacks from that night weren't helping.

I walked to the rear of the store where the dairy and produce were. I walked towards the coolers that contained the eggs. I picked up an 18-count for now and checked the crate for broken eggs. Finding none, I placed the eggs securely under my arm. I moved to the fridges right beside them to look for almond milk— unsweetened and vanilla. They were out. I moved to the next fridge and spotted regular unsweetened almond milk. Fine, that would have to do.

I opened the door to the fridge. A cold, crisp air whipped across my face. The milk rested on the bottom shelf. I leaned over to get it. As soon as I reached for the milk, I felt hands on my hips. “Hands off, Terry,” I said through gritted teeth. “Who's Terry?” asked a familiar voice. “Xavier!” I yelled almost dropping the eggs.

I whipped around and removed his hands from my hips. “Here we are again. You remember what you said? I think you owe me somethin’,” he said moving closer to me. “That was before I knew you lied to me,” I said pushing him back gently. I wanted to be assertive but not piss him off. As he got closer again, I could smell the alcohol on his breath. It was much stronger than it was before.

“The fuck did Monnie stupid ass tell you?” he yelled smacking his lips. “Look. She didn't say anything, love. Just…,” I said trying to push him away from me. His hands came up to my hips again. He gripped the tighter than the first time. “Hey, let me go!” I yelled. “Oh, come on. You one teasin’ ass bitch,” he yelled again slapping the eggs from under my arms. They hit the ground with a thud. The crate cracked open and egg yolks shot up all over the bottom of my skirt and all over my feet.

I tried to move again and sidestep away from his grasp but to no avail. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me back towards him. My body collided with his. He grabbed my arms and slammed me up against the cold glass of the fridge. My body bounced off from the impact.

His hand reached up as if he were going to hit me. I flinched in fear and closed my eyes. It's as if I stopped breathing while waiting for the hit to land. It never did. I opened my eyes to see Terry grabbing Xavier by his collar. They were close in height but Xavier appeared slightly bigger.

Terry pushed Xavier away from me. Terry threw the first punch immediately after. His hand collided precisely with Xavier's jaw. X’s head snapped sideways and his body flew backward. Terry watched him as he stumbled. “Don't you ever touch her again!” Terry growled closing in on Xavier as if he was going to hit him again. Xavier cowered and retreated without a word.

Terry turns back to look at me. His scowl sent shivers down my spine. “I didn't…,” I said struggling to breathe. “Hey, you okay? Mama, look at me!” Terry said grabbing the sides of my face. He angled my head so that I was looking up at him. I was trying not to cry, but I couldn't hold back the tears. “I'm sorry I froze,” I said gasping for air. “Ay, c’mere. Don't do that? Havana, breathe!” he said pulling me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me hugging me tightly. I wasn't aware of anything around me at the moment.

My thoughts were all over the place. My mind was racing, and I couldn't form a complete thought. “Let’s go,” Terry said holding my hand. He placed the other on my lower back and guided me out of the store. “Keys,” he said into my ear while leaning over me from behind. “Huh?” I said being pulled from my daze. “I need your keys, baby girl,” he said placing his hands on my shoulder.

I reached into my purse and handed Terry my keys. “I know it's late, but I don't want you driving home like this. Do you feel comfortable going with me until you feel better?” Terry said walking around me so that he was now looking down at me. He placed his hands gently on the side of my face again. “’Vana, baby. Listen. You gotta answer me, mama. I need somethin' here,” he asked stroking my cheeks. I nodded as I began to cry again.

He placed his hand on my lower back and guided me to the passenger side door. He opened the door for me to get in. I slid past Terry and sat down in the seat.

The memories I had tried to forget came flooding back — my ex. I spaced out for a second. Terry opened the door and climbed in. He adjusted the seat to fit more comfortably to his height. He leaned over one final time and kissed my forehead. “Just promise me that you're okay?” he asked softly. “Yeah, I'm… I'm okay,” I said sniffling.

*20 minutes later

I stood in Terry's bathroom waiting for the shower to warm up. I was leaned back against the sink while fighting to remain consciously present. I hated it when things triggered me and brought me back to that place. I had worked so hard to never deal with this again. All those years of therapy, and for what? How could what this man did still take such a toll on me? Tonight, I felt like I regressed tremendously.

I stood up and walked to the glass shower door. I slid it open and reached in to feel the water. It was more than ready. I just wanted to get in and wash away all of tonight—all of the egg yolks, all of the fear, all of the anxiety, all of it.

Taglist (asked and assumed):

@avoidthings @brattyfics @5headsupremacist @creartivefairy @miyuhpapayuh

@megamindsecretlair @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @nayaxwrites

@jimmybutlrr @lovey-3 @curvyambitions

@deja-r @hoouno06 @insidefeelingofanadult @slutsareteacherstoo

@ariiijestertheklown @armandosbabymama @gg-trini @skyesthebomb

@blowmymbackout @blackerthings @mymindisneverhere

@iburias @androgynousgaz @becauseimswagman1

@geee3bayyybeee3 @gwenda-fav @poektiou624 @keyaho

@pocketsizedpanther @sageispunk @charismablu @4ftwonder

@ineedmyaccountback @rebelrel0987 @4pfsukuna @writingsbytee @nayaesworld

@blyffe @helloncrocs @amyhennessyhouse @beenathembo @thiccc-c @babybratzmaraj

@qtmkenedy03 @pinkpantheris @skyesthebomb @honeytoffee @talkswithdesi

*If you want to be added or removed, let me know by commenting.

[thewertsearch]

Anonymous asked: youve finally gotten to the section of the comic that makes me tear up everytime i read it! vriska is such a polarizing character but i have nothing but empathy for her. i do think she cares about her friends, even if shes awful at showing it and her attempts do more harm than good. Specifically i DO think she cares about karkat- she shows a begrudging respect for him throughout the comic and even says he maybe is the most human of them, which is something she is starting to admire herself even if she wont admit it. I think if vriska didnt care about the others in her sad, warped-by-child-abuse way, things would be much different. Jack bringing the bodies back and her being visibly enraged by it- i think thats grief. more than that i just find her quest to kill jack so sad. It really reveals to me how fucked up she is- she repeats so many times that she knows survival is unlikely, that she knows her immortality wont save her, but that its something she needs to do anyways. Vriska isnt actively suicidal- but shes passively okay with dying if its in a way where she can accomplish her goals. She wanted to be absolved of all the bad things shed done (even if thats not how it works). And- just as much- she wanted to save her friends. and terezi. The person who wants to not be a killer anymore but goes down the path anyway because the timeline says she must, because her own lack of a future is breathing down her neck. Who was the person vriska cares about most on that meteor, even if she is horrible at showing it. Terezi is the one to kill her. They were best friends! They were both thirteen years old! And its narrated by the man who literally groomed vriska and who she views as being a predator to her!!!! Most heartbreaking death she couldve gotten. Fly high in those dream bubbles queen

Maybe I spoke too soon, when I asserted that Vriska probably didn't give a shit about Karkat. They might not have had many on-panel interactions, but they were co-players for over six hundred hours. We can't say definitively that they didn't bond at all.

I guess the issue here is that the trolls' social group consists of sixty-six unique relationships, and we simply don't have time to explore them all. We know that each troll isn't necessarily buddies with every other troll in the group, and I could list plenty of pairs that almost certainly aren't friends. I can't imagine that Nepeta was particularly pally with Eridan, for example, and I don't think Aradia and Gamzee were hanging out offscreen.

All that said - if any troll is friends with the entire group, it's probably Karkat. His only real conversation with Vriska was that argument about quadrants on LOPAH, but there was a moment in one of the walkarounds where she agreed to put her plans on hold for his sake, which was a surprisingly kind gesture for her. Plus, you're right, she does think he'd cut it better as a human - and that statement hits differently when you remember she's low-key jealous of humanity.

As for Scratch... yeah, his treatment of Vriska, specifically, is nothing short of disturbing. She clearly hated it whenever he showed up to text her...

...and, uh, now that I'm actually thinking about it, the guy only ever seems to manipulate girls. The only male Player he's even spoken to was Karkat, and that was only three sentences. This guy was born from a nightmare - and he certainly acts like it, the creep.

[seahagart]

What are Drifa's first opinions of the companions before she gets to know them?

Lae'zel: First companion she would meet, immediately understands she's very brave and 'knows what she's doing', respects. As time goes on, I think Drífa's indifference towards her comments/insults would wane, she would ignore it/not understand what she's saying, or would just think she's making a comment like 'you have an ugly large nose' and drifa is like 'you have no nose, see drífa have eyes', then would probably get tired of it, poking the bear, but remain stoic which i think would bother lae'zel more than getting a reaction lolol. Lae'zel hates Drífa... or does she.... :)

Shadowheart: Second companion, small elf girl, anytime shadowheart is like 'i don't wanna talk about it' drífa's like 'aight' and leaves, which is why shadowheart likes her now. Drífa is concerned, a small elf all alone. Feels shes quite small and fragile to be into the things shes talking about, but whatever. literally has no idea who shar is so is like 'cool goddess, i respect your faith' because drifa also follows a rather fierce goddess. Drifa prefers to listen over talking, so they get along well. shadowheart is desperately trying to smash rn

Gale: Pulled this weirdo out of a rock, a malnourished human, appears sickly. Drífa is confused by most of what he says, but he is rather poetic so she enjoys the 'nonsense' he talks about. Now she has 3 main landers to take care of. Gale talks way too much, but it is entertaining to her. She does not like that he believes he could compete with a goddess.... the gods are gods for a reason, to think you could understand their meaning, or be equal to one is conceited to her. She understands it's because of 'love', but she is weary. Gale is trying to smash now in my play through.

Astarion: weird little malnourished elf man. He also talks to much. Drífa has two talkative dramatic tiny boys and two ladies that hate each other so she's kinda remembering why she lived in isolation for 35 years. Astarion she probably views like a cat, like seeks attention when he wants it, eats what he wants, believes he's the best one here. She is not afraid of him being a vampire because she simply would never let an elf fell her, that would be a true dishonor. he's mildly offended. She doesn't tolerate his dislike of children, but typically doesn't really care what he does.

Wyll: Another little guy with sad eyes. Another human. Drifa likes him, he's polite, seems to know what he's doing, seems 'the most normal' plus has seen his share of battle (like lae'zel) so she's glad to have him along. Obviously when things go down she's like 'wow... yet another guy with baggage with a blue lady...' side eying gale. She likes his stories, listens intently to his deeds of good and protecting the sword coast, overall likes him but is still like 'here is another small human- oops small devil for my collection'

Karlach: Finally someone who looks like they're a warrior. Likes her, feels like she doesn't need to protect/take care of, which is good so she can focus her energies on the softies of the party. Drífa would like Karlach, she's a bit blunt and a bit more energetic than Drífa is used to, but probably likes that. Karlach's dancing, lust for life, and fire would be highly approved. I think Drífa wouldn't really get why she's sad about not being touched

Halsin: another gd ELF, but this ones big and can turn into a bear so thats ok. I think they'd have a lot in common but Drífa views him more as a tree hugger. She appreciates nature, so i think they could get along well.... though she finds him confusing... she doesn't feel like she needs to worry about him, and he's pretty forward and upfront so it works out well.

There are all first impressions. Drífa was raised to take care of herself and herself only, keep to her own, and that strength = power, because her lifestyle is very physically demanding. Being big and strong is important, being fat and strong is more important to survive frozen winters etc. She is a loner suddenly surrounded by people for the first time in her life, and is doing her best to keep them alive because obviously they need her help and this is a mission given to her by her goddess, why else would she have sent the ship to take her, to bring her to these people...

[radiance1]

Adam was sitting on a couch, idly strumming the strings of his guitar which, to be perfectly honest he didn’t need to because it was already fucking perfect, but still. It was one of the few things that calmed him so whoever tried to give him shit for it would get a fuck you.

“Adam! I’m back~” Came the singsong voice of Lucifer, King of Hell himself and the bitch who made him fall.

Fucking asshole.

“Fucking finally” Adam glanced up from his guitar, turning his head to properly have the man in his sighs “You and those dumbs cunts left me alone for the whole fucking day.” 

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “You know, you could also come visit the hotel with us instead of sitting on your ass all day?”

“Fuck no.” Adam was quick to disagree. “I literally tried to destroy that shitty hotel why the fuck would I even want to go back?” Not to mention the fact that the residents, most likely, wouldn’t be thrilled by his general presence.

Lucifer shrugged. “Fine then, be a mopey sack of shit.” Lucifer walked around the couch and flicked his hand, the bag disappearing with a bit of magic and being replaced with a plate of ribs that he placed on the table. “Eve though I should give you these since you’ve been rather pissy as of late.” Lucifer stepped back and straightened out his coat, causing what looked like strands of hair to fall off-

Hair?

Adam sat up a bit straighter and sniffed the air.

Oh this fucking-

Lucifer yelped as he suddenly pulled into Adam’s lap, guitar disappearing in a flash of light to make room. Adam wrapped his hands around the devil’s torso and started to rub his cheek against Lucifer’s own. “Adam?” Lucifer chuckled. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Shut the fuck up, stay quiet, and don’t fucking move.” Adam pulled his lips back into a snarl and Lucifer, wisely, decided to stay still.

***

“Oh come on Lil, I’m sure nothing bad happened!” Eve said, walking hand in hand with the first woman. “Adam is a really big softy when you get to know him!”

Lilith glanced at Eve and sighed, bringing a hand up to rub at her face. “Look, Eve, I trust you but respectfully you haven’t seen him for hundreds of thousands of years. Plus, he and Lucifer don't have the best history with each other.”

“I know,” Eve’s smile turned melancholic. “It hurt to see how much he changed, he was so sweet and kind, he wasn’t perfect but he was my husband.” Eve’s smile dropped as she took a breath and let it go, before a small, genuine smile reappeared. “But that’s behind us now, and now that he’s no longer in Heaven, we have eternity to rebuild, don’t we?”

Lilith stared down at what many believed to be the first woman, an indecipherable emotion in her eyes. She questioned how such a kind and pure woman managed to come from Adam of all people, before shaking her head. “Fine.” She sighed. “But if he does something to Lucifer I’m punting him.”

Eve giggled. “Of course, I never said you couldn’t.”

When they got home, they paused. Eve blinked, a hand reaching up to cover her lips as she stared in gleeful surprise while a confused scowl appeared on Lilith’s face.

“Heeey girls!” Lucifer waved at the two, before quickly dropping that back to his side to pacify Adam. The mentioned First Man was busy rubbing his face into the crook of Lucifer’s neck with a plate of (surprisingly) untouched ribs left in front of the two.

“Eve what the fuck is he doing-”

“He’s marking his territory!” Eve squealed and ran forward, letting go of Lilith’s hands and jumped onto the crouch and onto both Lucifer and Adam in the process. Adam lifted his head as Eve shifted herself into his lap and he sniffed her once then scowled, extending a wing before closing it over her.

Lilith stood off to the side, arms crossed and thoroughly perplexed at what she’s seeing. “Adam.” She called, causing the fallen to glance towards her for a brief second. “Do you have any plans to release my husband anytime soon?”

She sighed when Adam didn’t respond, before the pleading eyes of Eve stared at her from over the edge of Adam’s wing. 

She scowled.

Eve made her eyes bigger.

She stood there for a moment, thoroughly determined to not involve herself. Which ultimately failed as her walls crumbled and she sighed, walking around the cough and standing in front of the only part of Adam’s lap currently unoccupied she considered if she was really about to do this.

She sat down.

Adam freezed under her weight, before wrapping a wing around her as well.

That was the day that they discovered Adam, First Man and most recent fallen, was apparently incredibly territorial when it involved who smelled like who.

[egg-emperor]

Is it just me or is eggman kinda chill woth amy? I was playing frontiers as amy, when i noticed that all the dialogue between her and eggman is kinda chill, especially when compared to the other characters.

Plus, then there's his egglog about her, where he's kinda, sort of proud of her? I dont think pride is the right term for it, but its the best i can use to describe it.

I mean sure, he did hold a gun to her head at one point, but it feels less out of malice, and more useing her as a bargening chip. Which ultimetly, he would do to any character regardless if it benefited him. Even sage if pushed to it.

Im not too framilar with sonic games though, so i could be wrong about this, but thats the general vibe ive got from them. Deffinetly not freinds, but not as at eachothers throats as i thought they'd be.

Im curiouse to hear your take on this though, since you seem very knowledgable on eggman lol.

Eggman does have an interesting attitude towards Amy in Frontiers. There's definitely been development in the way he feels about her over time, the most significant aspect being he's literally even thinking about her as her own person at all- with his own admission that he used to just see her merely as a pawn to ensnare Sonic in the memo

However now he's seeing her as her own person and calling her clever and tenacious, so clearly something changed. It seems she's proven herself to be more than that in his eyes, likely as he's seen/heard more of her doing things on her own and showing her strengths, independence and determination to work towards her goals

But also not without him saying that he feles she had trouble finding herself, so it seems he thought nothing more of her than just being a pawn to use as bait for Sonic to come along and thought of her as an obsessed fan who's life completely revolved around Sonic. So now she seems more than that to him, he feels it's something to commend her for

He's glad her life doesn't seem to completely revolve around his loathsome arch nemesis lol. It's funny how he says Sonic has an ego too, he's the exact type of guy to groan about someone having an ego or accusing them of such even when they don't because nobody should have an ego or even anywhere near as much as regular confidence like him XD

He's never really seemed that antagonistic towards Amy herself beyond the times he's kidnapped her and that was only with luring Sonic in in mind. He hasn't insulted her in the same ways/as often as with most of the other characters beyond calling her "that kid" condescendingly in Adventure and I think that says a lot about how he used to feel too

He probably saw her as just a little fan girl that wasn't any serious threat for a while and was just a pawn to lure in the ones he was actually interested in fighting so he didn't put that energy into it. However like all the rest, if she causes him trouble and gets in the way he will absolutely become immediately hostile and violent towards them, of course

But it's like he never really considered her an adversary and really just another common enemy just for being on Sonic's side. He couldn't see an identity in her besides chasing after Sonic, just like how he looks down on Tails living in Sonic's shadow. In his eyes nobody should center their lives around Sonic regardless of how true that is lol

Because be probably thought lowly of her in that sense but otherwise just didn't really think of her at all besides that, it probably made it easier to respect any accomplishment she made. When she proves herself to be a worthy opponent he will praise that, we know he's even willing to give credit where it's due with Sonic and Tails too

He seems to like to recognize and commend his enemies on their skills and I feel it's because praising them for their skill and strengths proves his own for being able to hold up against them in battle. Because if they have respectable skills and strengths, what does that say about him for being their absolute biggest recurring threat?

He praises both Sonic and Amy for their tenacity, which is something he of course has a limitless amount of himself, which supports that. Also for the cleverness he praises in Amy. It's like he can see himself in them in a sense and with that it makes even more sense, praising them praises himself, it makes him even more tenacious to be so in the face of their own tenacity

With that it makes sense he projects having an ego onto Sonic too lol. He has confidence but not in the immense egotistical way Eggman does- but because he doesn't believe Sonic's confidence is anywhere near as deserved as his own with the most inflated ego in the world, he thinks anyone else being confident in themselves is egotistical :P He's glad Amy isn't fuelling it

But yeah he's come a long way from thinking a bunch of Sonic's friends were just insignificant common enemies. He'll always become directly hostile the second they directly cause him problems/significantly aid Sonic in doing so but besides that he didn't think much of them, either lowly or not much at all. In Amy's case especially he seemed to hardly see her as enemy but now she's proven herself to be a worthy opponent now that he can see that she's her own person

He's not one to downplay their skills- well except for when he's trying to knock down their confidence in battle lol- when he recognizes them for how they can prove his own. They give him a challenge and he can prove himself and his own strengths even in his failures for still being able to hold up against them and the way that he still manages to keep coming back to try again, also proving his tenacity

In the Egg Memos, it seems he's thought deeper about all of Team Sonic as individuals, who they are, and what they can do rather than just being Sonic's insignificant friends over time. He shares little thoughts on Amy, Knuckles, and Tails in the memos like Sonic in the actual cutscenes. But it's interesting how it seems he has the least bad to say about Amy while he's at it

Their convos in Final Horizon with Amy do seem to be some of the most chill. Eggman acts passively annoyed at being approaching like "what do you want, if you're looking for Sonic he's not here" still acting like her life does revolve around Sonic to her face despite the contrary of what he says about her finding herself in the memos lol, and Amy saying things he doesn't like and sassing him and him getting defensive and correcting her which is funny

But there's not the same immediate hostility between them than say, Sonic and Knuckles. And he seems willing to discuss his knowledge with her, I mean he loves showing it off to all of them but something feels a bit different in his way of going about it, seems a little less condescending than with some of the other characters. They're more casual despite still bickering a bit but they can tolerate each other to get the job done

Eggman isn't the type to hold back on anyone if they get in his way though, so he immediately becomes extremely hostile and violent if she gets in his way, like when she interferes in SA2 and he tries to deal with her and Tails jumps in to save her. He was also willing to kill her the times he kidnapped her, with the way he says if she values her life she'll do as he says when he held her hostage with the gun to her head and threatened that "she WILL die" in Crazy Gadget in SA2

So there's definitely malice towards her in certain situations but yeah when he kidnaps her it's mostly just him seeing her as a pawn to get what he's really after with Sonic, rather than specifically as an enemy to take down, aside from when she specifically gets in his way. But he also seems to think more highly of her as a worthy opponent now, which could potentially lead to that actually changing and he sees her as more of a formidable adversary to fight! I'm interested to see where it goes

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

So you've mentioned before that Zuko doesn't show any sexist behaviors but I'd like to point out a few scene just to see how you feel about them.

"You have quite the appitite for a girl." A very tropey sexist statement (which, yes, is played for laughs and I don't think he meant it as an insult but it does show that he has an idea of how girls either should be or usually are)

"Nice try Avatar, but these little girls can't save you." I can't really recall him ever saying anything similar about male warriors? I know there aren't really a lot of examples of male warriors that Zuko fights, but it still feels very,,, pointed and focused on the girls part.

"I'll save you from the pirates." "Looks like somebody found herself a master." These are both very patronizing lines that he says toward Katara, but he never says anything similar to Sokka or Aang (Aang I can dismiss bc he's just a prize, not an 'enemy', plus, Zuko tends to go for racist comments instead) or like, any other male, ever?

"I thought girls liked these kinds of things." Once again, is played for laughs at social ineptitude but again, shows a 'all girls are the same' mindset

Him picking at Ty Lee also felt very misogynistic to me? Like he was looking down of feminine behavior.

"What is with you?" As he is frusterated that Katara hasn't automatically forgiven him, yet to Aang he is very humble and genuinely tries to prove himself as well as accepting the lack of forgiveness as just due and offering himself as prisoner. Again, he just doesn't show the same amount of respect to Katara as he does to Aang or Sokka.

Like, any of these on their own, I could dismiss for one reason or another, but when the examples pile up it shows itself as a pattern of viewing women as intrinsically different from men, expectant of 'womanly behavior', dismissive of feminimity, and dismissive of female threats.

I love Zuko, but I definitely see this as one of his flaws and something he's got to get over along with the rest of the bullshit he was indoctrinated with. (Which is one reason I love his and Katara's friendship because like, if there was anyone who's Not Gonna Stand For That Shit, it's Katara ksbdjdnd)

Let me split the difference here

Not sexist, just an asshole

Zuko picked on Ty Lee because, much like IROH, she was a cheery person that was trying to get Zuko to lighten up or at least stop with all the unnecessary rage, angst and aggressiveness. We also see him get pissed at ALL OF HIS FRIENDS and physically attacking Aang in the finale because they're goofing around instead worrying about the war like he is.

When Zuko thinks happiness is not acceptable, he lashes out at any living thing. Boy literally snapped at a frog for not indulging in his angst to confront his current/former enemies and apologize to them. It's really not fair to act like he was picking on Ty Lee in particular, and that the ONLY reason for it was "girly girl" - especially when "The Beach" literally has Zuko himself reach the conclusion that he is lashing out at everyone else to deal with the fact that he's angry at HIMSELF, HIS actions, HIS doubts, HIS conflicting feelings. This is not about Ty Lee at all.

The same can be said about his entitlement to Katara's forgiveness. He offered to be the prisoner of ALL OF THEM when he was trying to make amends, and when they all rejected him, Katara very much included, he accept it.

Then Toph, Aang and Sokka all came around, forgived and befriended him. Everyone was chill with him. Everyone, except Katara. She was the odd one out, the constant reminder that it was not gonna be that easy to let the past stay in the past.

Zuko was trying his best to be a better person, but old habits die hard, and there was a person not doing what was more convenient for him, so he threw a tantrum. There is nothing special about that person being Katara, or any girl.

"Looks like somebody found herself a master" was also not at all about gender. Zuko mocked Aang for being "just a child" and for not having a father. He also humiliated Sokka in the first episode. OF COURSE he'd try to taunt Katara during fights.

And she DID get a master. We saw it happen. Aang was already a master of air (the element he used the most in fights), Sokka only got one in book 3. Their power-level remained the same, Katara's changed, right after she reached the North Pole, specifically to look for a waterbending master - for Aang, sure, but it's her element too, and Zuko KNOWS that she stole a scroll and used to teach herself. Zuko connecting the dots is not him assuming that a woman can only improve if she has the help of a man, it's just him having a brain.

He isn't mocking her for being a girl that needed to be taught by a man, he is mocking her for thinking she could defeat him, even after a power up - typical battle taunt, that Zuko engages in ALL the time, with basically every foe he goes up against.

And that also ties into:

Not sexist, just "Villain Talk"

Taunts like calling the Kyoshi Warriors "little girls" that can't protect the Avatar, or mocking Katara for finding herself in a situation of "damsel in distress" with the pirates, COULD reveal that Zuko is sexist and, much like Sokka and Pakku, didn't believe women could be competent fighters... if we didn't know him.

Zuko literally grew up with AZULA, someone who, in his own words, is a prodigy that is good at everything, does stuff with ease, and can be compared to the freaking Avatar. He and Iroh literally agree that it's less dangerous to risk it all traveling through the Earth Kingdom than risking being captured by her.

He never has any issue or doubt regarding Azula, Mai and Ty Lee as fighters. He doesn't throw a tantrum over needing June's help with his new plan to capture Aang. He SAYS he doesn't respect Katara as a fighter, but he's constantly in battle mode whenever he's around the any member of the Gaang, yes, even Katara, by herself.

Zuko, as a villain, says shit he doesn't mean ALL THE TIME. We see him use Ozai's line of "I'll teach you respect" against a member of his own crew, and say that the safety of said crew doesn't matter - and then go and save the guy's life. He says he'll give Zhao a scar, and doesn't do it even after Zhao tells him to AND calls him a coward.

Zuko thinks he needs to be aggressive, piss people off, and even be downright cruel, because that's what he was taught - but deep down that's not what he wants to be, nor what he already is. The same applies to his lines that imply he doesn't think women can be competent fighters. He knows that's not true, but he thinks he needs to act like that, to "play that role" because he literally was disfigured for NOT being cruel, for NOT treating people as disposable, for NOT wanting to fight, for NOT posturing as "macho", for NOT acting like he was better than everyone.

Sexist VS Sixteen/Clueless

"You have quite the appitite for a girl" and "I thought girls liked these kinds of things" feel, to me, like more of a result of Zuko being VERY clueless about social interactions and kind of relying on "tried and tested" stuff that most people around him tend to say/expect.

If you want to count that as being sexist instead of just said something sexist without meaning to, fine - but then it's time to revoke Katara's crown of "feminist queen." She was super happy when Toph joined the Gaang because she wanted someone to agree with her that some of Sokka and Aang's jokes/behaviors were immature and/or gross. TOPH. The character that is very clearly not all that feminine when she has a say on the matter and is the time to literally spit during a fight to show her disdain for the oponent, something Katara was already supposed to have learned two episoddes before.

And while you didn't mention that line, in the finale, when Zuko asks Katara to help him "put Azula in her place", Katara doesn't snap at him for supposedly being sexist (and I personally don't think this was about gender, just about their bitter rivalry and that idea that he can only truly succeed if she fails, and vice-versa) but a lot of the "Zuko is sexist" uses that as evidence, yet they never seem to care that, according to that interpretation of the scene, Katara is being complicit in Zuko's sexism towards his sister.

Oh, and Sokka, who was supposed to have unlearned sexism after the Kyoshi episode, told Aang not to answer to "twikle toes" because it wasn't manly. He also told him that, to win a girl over, you can't be too nice. It's played off for jokes and meant to make him look clueless, just like Zuko's scene with Jin.

If we're gonna call Zuko sexist for passing comments that are nowhere near as relevant as the way he is shown to consistently not treat women differently than he treats men, we're gonna have to do the same to every character - and reach the conclusion that even Katara is sexist.

Now, onto the inevitable question of:

"Does that mean the show itself is sexist?"

As some of you might have noticed, I tend to place "said something that can be taken as sexist" in a different category to "legitimately has sexist beliefs/behaviors on a very constant basis." I know that's not how everyone looks at these things, but I genuinely think it's the most accurate way to describe the nuances of it all.

I'd say Avatar is a show that has MOMENTS that could be seen as a little sexist, but overall it very clearly, and proudly, took the stance of "women deserve as much respect as men", and fully expected the audience to see the characters as equals, with the things like their genders not mattering to how one thinks of them. For that, I'd say it's unfair to label it as sexist just because of the odd questionable scene. It's taking the exceptions and trying to pass them off as the rule.

And I think the same logic applies to Zuko as a character. He has moments in which he might demonstrate some light sexism (or even intentionally fake sexism to piss someone off), but if you look at the real context and pattern, it's clear that even as a villain he never actually seem to treat women differently from men - it just so happens that when he was a bad guy he, naturally, wasn't used to treat people well. He was a jerk, but he was a jerk to EVERYBODY, all the time, no distinction made.

[spacedlexi]

I totally get your point about the kenny/Jane thing. In my opinion the best outcome is letting Kenny kill Jane (honestly Jane brought that to herself, all of them knew that if he lost someone else he would finally go ballistic and she deliberately put him on that spot to prove "a point") and then staying in Wellington, because Kenny acknowledges that he's not fit enough to care for her and AJ anymore, so he begs Clem to stay. He's aware that he's not right for the job, and he accomplished his mission, he stayed loyal to Lee and left. It also gives the opportunity to speculate whether he finally found peace after all his suffering. (Even if the original idea was him offing himself in the Virginia lake after that)

i always find myself struggling to talk about S2 because i know the writers changed direction (multiple times?) as the season was releasing??? which means character arcs and motivations were altered to fit this new direction and its like painfully obvious sometimes especially when it comes to kenny and jane and luke

i hate when writers cant commit to the bit. and that kind of happens with kenny. which is weird because even tho they decided against him literally being carvers character (which wouldve worked perfectly for a luke v kenny ending), they still try to give him that carver storyline. like.. i could see kenny easily being in carvers position at howes. just like lilly in S4 with the delta. these two characters wanted leadership and never liked any pushback from the people around them. i can also see the kenny we knew from S1 turning into a man like carver in S2 (a dude who has lost a lot and whose methods are becoming more extreme to keep people safe) and i think kenny being carver instead wouldve made carver a much deeper and more interesting antagonist. like carver is fine. he works although his beef with this 11yo is weird. but we dont buy it when bonnie tells us he used to be a cool guy. we've only ever seen carver as a murderer. but if it was kenny in this role then immediately we add a lot of baggage to this character and his relationship with clem and her new relationship with the howes group. like we know kenny and we know what hes capable of but we also understand his motivations and we do believe that deep down kenny does want whats best to keep his people safe. and clem reappearing in the life of THIS kenny wouldve been Huge as he wouldve already begun his descent and clem is the only one who can really get through to him (like they still try to do when all the adults are like "uuuh clem you go talk to the angry man theres no way he'll listen to US"). i think they were afraid of making kenny an outright antagonist though and instead tried to have their cake and eat it too which just kinda...leads to mess... commit to your characters dark spirals and downfalls i hate this wishy washy bullshit. plus having kenny as carver instead wouldve centered clem in the howes discussion more. as it stands she just kinda gets swept up in everyone elses bullshit and just has to go along with it. classic child experience tho

jane pretending that aj was dead to intentionally push kenny over the edge just to "prove" to clem that hes dangerous was SOOOOO unnecessary jane!!! like we know girl!! we know!!! and when he tries to kill her for it its like...i know you saw this coming jane so how did you expect this to end?? was she just hoping she'd win the fight? she even tells clem to stay out of whatever was about to happen (plus she does genuinely put ajs life in real danger by leaving him in that car where they were lucky to hear his cries). but i think this problem stems from them changing it out from being a luke v kenny showdown. i think that ending wouldve culminated more naturally as their beef was slowly building since they first met. disagreement in leadership styles. that silly little middle school "choose who to sit with at dinner" thing felt like foreshadowing of a luke v kenny fight that just never happened. they needed to create a reason for kenny to attack jane as jane doesnt care about leadership she cares about keeping herself safe so the whole aj thing just....feels forced. like... jane why....Why........ where did your self preservation go...its like your whole character...

so...yeah.... i have a lot of conflicting feelings about S2 and its ending. on my recent playthrough i had clem tell kenny that maybe lee Shouldnt have come to save her in S1, trying to be all "boo hoo im so sad i get everyone i love killed boo hoo" and kenny responds by saying he should SMACK her for that???? i was so shocked that i missed taking the screenshot of it. i gasped audibly... turned into a "matter of time" situation for me (even tho things seem fine enough in the S3 flashbacks hes weirdly normal again and still talking about boats). kenny is definitely a broken man hanging on by a Singular Thread by the end of S2 and jane snaps it. this is why i like leaving kenny behind at wellington. clem and aj are definitely the light of his life at this point and he wants whats best for them. leaving them at wellington is really the best thing he can do for them both and its very sad because we know he Needs them. and clem would want to hold onto whoever she has left so its hard for her too. throughout all the seasons clem and aj are seen as the light in the darkness the hope for the future yadda yadda and kenny losing that? yeah i can see why the virginia lake idea was a thing. but thats ALSO why i like the clem shoots kenny ending. this man just wants it to be over he misses his family so much he cant take this shit anymore. staying with kenny into S3 really feels like we're stretching out his character as far as possible. it kinda feels like they hit the reset button on him and hes back to talking about boats. i feel like post S2 they just didnt really know what to do with him or jane. i feel like their endings in S2 are the most narratively fulfilling for their characters and i want clem to enter S3 on her own

[gale-gentlepenguin]

hello I quite literally need you to finish your Lila and Alya swap arrival times AU

Going insane over the Lila side so far!!!

(Previous)

(What if Lila and Alya swapped arrival times) Part 3

-All things considered, Marinette's Hero life is not in as much jeopardy, in fact in season one its arguable that Alya made things harder.

-Ladybug is popular, but info about ladybug outside of Paris is limited, there is no consolidated place for information on whats what. Probably a few pockets on the internet, but no official blogs.

-Marinette's personal life is a bit more rocky. She never told her supposed best friend Lila she's Ladybug. In fact, Lila seems more envious of Ladybug than liking her. She cant tell Lila that SHE like Adrien, because Lila likes adrien.

-Thats when we get into Volpina,

-Adrien finds the book like in Canon, and takes it with him. Meanwhile things are relatively calm. Adrien isnt helping lila since she has been in school since the beginning of the year.

-Marinette finds herself helping the new girl around, Alya Cesaire. She is joining the class, and since Marinette is class rep, it would make sense she had that responsibility. Alya shows herself as quite a nice person and Marinette and her get along really well. Alya complimenting her style.

-Chloé tried to mess with them, but Alya showed she stands her ground just like in canon, with a heroine analogy as well. So thats a plus. They bond pretty quick.

-Of course Lila is calling marinette for something, which Alya notices the strained look on Marinette's face.

-"You okay?"

-"Yea, its just my friend needs something. I should get it to her."

-Alya asks if this is a common trend, but Marinette denies it... it is. It was after a bit that Marinette realizes that she is acting more like an underling than a friend.

-Marinette decides to ignore the call, she is having a fun time with the new girl, if its important than Lila can call again.

-Lila had been rocking a new look, something Marinette had made, and wanted Marinette's help to put the finishing touches. She was planning on asking adrien out.

-Of course, she notices Adrien is absentmindedly looking through a book.

-She sneaks a peek and notices that the pictures look very similar to a certain heroine of Paris.

-But before Lila could go forward asking adrien out. In his rush to get to fencing he agreed to meet her after school... he left the book.

-Marinette managed to finish showing Alya around, right as Lila arrived, focused on her own idea she ignored Alya to tell Marinette what she needed.

-"You want a necklace like that... what is this book?"

-Alya also took a look and noticed some similarities between the book and heroes of paris she heard of.

-Lila managed to shoot some lie about being super close with Ladybug halfhazardly, and Alya thought that was cool, but Marinette knew was a lie but was focused on the book.

-"So can you make it or not?"

-Tikki was watching, and whispered to Marinette to say yes. Surprised by tikki's insistance she went with it.

-Lila asked how long it would take, and Marinette said she wasnt sure, but that she needed the book as reference.

-Lila smiled and left, telling her to try and finish before end of school day.

-After leaving Alya told Marinette that Lila may know Ladybug but she didnt seem that nice.

-"What do you mean?" Marinette more focused on the book, didnt notice Lila's usual harshness.

-Alya told Marinette the honest truth, which Marinette did sort of understand but with her mind focused on leaving to see what tikki wanted with the book. Said that they could talk later.

-Alya decided that SHE would confront Lila about her treatment of Marinette.

______________________________________________________________

-Marinette takes the book to Fu immediately as per Tikki's instruction. Missing school. But Lila covered for her since she believed Marinette was making her necklace.

-Marinette learns about Fu's backstory and Helps him make copies of the book. Because she needs to get it back to Lila. Though she did wonder how she got the book.

-After school, Lila realizes there is no Marinette in sight and she is ignoring her calls. So she grumbles and Buys a necklace thats... Close enough for her plan.

-Alya investigating Lila after the odd behavior. She is the one that confronts Lila before her interaction with Adrien.

-Lila tries to spin it but Alya knows whats up, she is trying to pretend to be a heroine. And Lila decides okay, enough nice girl.

-Lila threatens to destroy Alya's school life. Turn everyone against her. She would be alone, the weird hero obsessed new girl.

-Alya felt stunned and hurt. And in her frustration Yanked the fox necklace away from Lila, telling her that she isnt letting her have her way.

-Hawkmoth notices and finds he has an interesting new victim.

[wayfaringtrainers]

So I constantly joke about how Robin's cooking skills are comedically terrible, but this has always been exaggeration for comedic effect. It got me to thinking: "how capable is Robin in the kitchen? and it kinda snowballed to thinking about all my muses and their culinary capability, sooo, from worst to best:

Worst: Robin

Yeah no, he's a terrible chef, let's not get ahead of ourselves. But not as bad as we've made him out to be. Robin did spend 6-7 years alone on the road, and at least half of them were a hermetic, loner lifestyle so he had to be capable enough to cook for himself.

For the most part, Robin is fine with really basic things. He can butter some bread and slap meat between it, he can fling something into the oven for half an hour. Robin's main issue is impatience; he cannot stand hovering in the kitchen for an hour or two, doing all the prep-work required, his instinct is to just throw it all in at once, no matter how bad an idea that is: if the vegetables needs half an hour at 200 degrees to cook, but the meat takes two hours at 150? He throws them both in at 200 and walks away for 2 hours. It's probably why curries are the only thing he can reasonably cook (being very much a "throw everything in and cook it" kind of food), but even they are just... Mediocre.

Bad: Katrina

Anybody is a master chef in comparison to Robin, but that doesn't mean Katrina is a good chef, she just isn't a disaster. Unlike Robin, who is impatient, Katrina is inexperienced: she's never really done a lot of cooking, because it's never held her interest. She'll cook if she has to, but she doesn't really want to: so her cooking tends to be somewhat plain, bland and uninteresting.

Katrina is strictly a "follow the cooking guide" girl and if she's asked to cook something that doesn't have instructions? She's not even gonna try. What's more, while Robin and Amber will go out to eat because they travel a lot, Katrina will go out to eat regardless, even if she has access to cooking facilities. It just isn't something she cares for.

Average: Amber

Amber's only ahead of Katrina by necessity. Before she met Robin, Amber had a theoretical knowledge of how to cook, but due to her childhood illness, she was rarely allowed to cook for herself (her father and brother were obsessively over-protective). Plus, being Robin's travel companion means she can't rely on him to cook for them, so she has a better handle on it.

Good: Samantha

Being a single mother of two on a budget means Samantha had to be pretty good with her utensils to keep her kids well fed. Prior to her kids, she was already pretty good at campfire culinary, on account of her ranger training.

When times were tough and money short, she may have taken to some of her old-school foraging knowhow to keep food on the table, but Samantha has had years to get comfortable with the kitchen. Her only fault though, is her reluctance to get creative; like everybody else, cooking is a chore for Samantha and while she does it well and takes pride in her skills, she doesn't do it for pleasure, only because she has to.

Best: Dante

Dante is the only one on this blog who actually likes cooking. Dante always had a stressful life, being the favourite child of a perfectionist mother, he was always expected to excel, excel, excel and anything in his life that didn't contribute to accolades, achievements and ambition was something he was discouraged from.

(Yeah, neither of the Richards siblings had a good childhood, go figure)

Cooking was effectively an escape for Dante, it was something practical that his mother couldn't dismiss as a waste of time, but also something he could enjoy doing. He likes the whole process of forming a meal, considering it significantly less stressful than literally every other moment of his life (which includes: work as a nuclear physicist, being Amber's guardian during her sickly days, his whole grief-induced mad scientist arc and having to literally work with criminals). Even the most complex meal is a breeze compared to all that.

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Azulaang - Azula joins the gaang early

Azulaang week @ly0nstea

Sokka: Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future.

Aang: Okay, we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table! Oh, you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!

Toph: I think that'll have to wait.

Toph points behind herself, and the camera zooms out to show Team Avatar looking at her quizzically. Appa moves out of the way to reveal four sets of shadows, and as the camera pans up, it is revealed to belong to Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. Cut to a close-up of the team as they look at them with shocked expressions, which subsequently turn into anger.

Ty Lee: (In a German accent) Hello, the fearsome foursome here. (Bows)

The gang get ready to attack. Appa growls at him and licks him twice. Cut to a surprised Momo and Aang as he lowers his staff slightly.

Zuko: Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so, I just thought I'd wait for you here. I know you must be surprised to see us here.

Sokka: You, Not really, since you've followed us all over the world. but you three? Sort of since we don't see you that often.

Ty Lee: (Normal voice) Good to see you again too...

Sokka: Don't even think about trying to seduce me again lady, Suki is still my girl.

Ty Lee: So I've heard, but not to worry, no seduction needed, we offer our alliance to you.

Azula: And it's about time you learned some firebending.

Toph: Excuse me?!

Katara: You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?!

Sokka: Yeah! (Points to Zuko) all you've ever done is hunt us down and try to capture Aang! (Points to Azula) And you! You straight-up MURDERED Aang! Plus, you used Suki against me!

Zuko: We've done some good things too. I've done some good things! I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something! Isn't it?

Toph: (To Azula) Why would you want a join us after literally just foiling our day of black sun plans. Why would you go against the person you've worked hard to protect?

Azula: One last job he had me do before defecting. Nothing personal. The reason for that is, that we four have found out some...disturbing...truths about our father.

Mai: Let's just say that he never had the fire nation's best interests at heart.

Sokka: Your genocidal race war not turning out like you hoped? What a surprise.

Ty Lee: You wouldn't believe us if we told you. We do realize that everything we've ever taught was a lie...

Katara: And what? We should feel sorry for you?

Ty Lee: I knew there was something wrong with our nation, with all the dark and corrupt auras everywhere, and at the center of it all was the fire lord, but I was too scared to speak of it. Not anymore. Everything will revert into chaos and we need to set it all straight.

Zuko: Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know we have good in us.

Azula: You seem uneasy. Not just because of our presence but at the thought of you learning firebending, is that right? You've tried it before and it back fired. You burned someone you cared for.

Aang's fist were clutching.

Sokka: Don't listen to her Aang, she just trying to get a rise out you!

Azula: No. I'm not. I'm just informing you that we get it. Fire can be very destructive and chaotic. You do need a teacher so that your accident doesn't occur again. Whether you want to admit this or not, you do need all the help you can get. The fire lord taught us everything we know, if you thought we were formidable opponents, you haven't seen anything yet. We are not going anywhere, so if you wanna kill us all, go ahead.

[clovercow8228]

gillion and chip as hadestown!orpheus and eurydice

ok so i was listening to hadestown again because i love it dearly and i am still desperately trying to cope with ep 101 and i was like haha. chip and gillion as orpheus and eurydice. because yknow in the context of the actual myth you could compare it to the whole feywild arc and whatnot.

but then i listened to it more (more than halfway through the first song) and i realized it’s way better (worse) if you have it the other way around with chip as hadestown eurydice and gillion as hadestown orpheus. (there’s another way to read it too but we’ll get to that because it’s a bit more convoluted since. well it’s basically a game theory atp)

i’m going through this song by song because i have never felt happiness or peace ever

Road to Hell: ok so ignoring the gods for now. road to hell does eurydice a little dirty so for this song it’s just orpheus i’m talking about, but hermes describes him as a muse’s son and touched by the gods themselves. ok cool whatever so what Any Way the Wind Blows: “eurydice was a hungry young girl / a runaway from everywhere she’d ever been”? like yeah ok sure cool (side note? “ain’t nobody gonna stick around when the dark clouds roll” and  for chip, mr. constantly both afraid his crew will stay and will leave anytime something bad happens and who literally lost his family in the hole in the sea? silly.) plus for orpheus, “and this poor boy wore his heart on his sleeve / you might say he was naive to the ways of the world / but he had a way with words”. that’s my boy right there

Come Home with Me: most of this is just very funny (”oh, a liar and a player too?”) but “why would i become his wife?” “because he’ll make you feel alive” kinda got me a little tbh. and there’s also the ongoing theme of orpheus working on something to fix the balance of the world, which he can do because he’s touched by the gods.

Livin’ it Up on Top: most of this i’ll talk about when i talk about the gods because woo boy that should be a post of its own with how much psychological damage it caused me. but “there was a girl who had always run away / you might say it was in spite of herself / that this young girl decided to stay” for chip?

All I’ve Ever Known: yeahhhhhhhh nothing real metaphorical about this one. fnc shippers come get yalls juice ig idk that’s really all for that one

A Gathering Storm: title aside, the whole thing is eurydice being concerned about the practical way they will survive the winter while orpheus works on his song to make the world right again.

When the Chips are Down: hand to god i did not think about that pun until now. but yeah this whole song really sold it for me. “help yourself (to hell with the rest), even the one who loves you best / take if you can (give if you must), ain’t nobody but yourself to trust / aim for the heart (shoot to kill), if you don’t do it then the other one will” are interesting enough to think about with chip because basically his whole thing is not turning out like that but there are still some times (mainly early on) that he gets a little closer to those ideas. finally, “cast your eyes to heaven / you get a knife in the back”. put your life in the hands of anything but yourself and you get fucked over.

Wait for Me intro: alright one god i can pitch right now. hermes with the “so, just how far would you go for her? you got a ticket? yeah, i didn’t think so. course there is another way, but nah, i ain’t supposed to say.” being as mean as possible rn? hermes as niklaus would work as absolutely unfortunate as that is. which also makes the “ain’t no compass, brother, ain’t no map” line in the actual song even funnier since it’s hermes describing how to get to the underworld to save eurydice.

Wait for Me: the fates hit orpheus with the self doubt and worry that essentially he’s not the chosen one, part one. don’t really need to explain that one

Way Down Hadestown (Reprise): now hear me out on this. because hades’ whole bit is deals for people’s souls. eurydice signs a deal to give him her soul in exchange for not starving to death, and this song is her realizing what that really means and trying to defend it. which i will admit, makes it seem like it would work for niklaus too. but we’ll come back to that

If it’s True: “is this how the world is? to be beaten and betrayed and then be told that nothing changes?” now this one got me a little, between gillion’s ‘my last sin’ speech and what he said to jay in the block.

Intro to Wait for Me (Reprise): “it’s a trap?” “it’s a trial.” hermes explaining to orpheus and eurydice the conditions of them being allowed to leave. at the end of the day, according to hermes, their success rides on whether they trust each other and themselves. arguably the most recurring theme of riptide.

Doubt Comes In: orpheus doubting that he actually has the power to bring her back, thinking he has been tricked or is too weak to do it. in gillion’s own mind, his fatal flaw is not knowing if he believes he can be the chosen one or protect his friends. and for orpheus, he couldn’t.

a good amount of the songs are missing because i haven’t talked about hades and persephone yet. they’re. a separate issue

[flamewisher]

Hi-Fi Rush down No Straight Roads: Fanfic Drabble: Guitar Lessons

So I really like the idea of the crossover of NSR and HFR (As seen from my last post). I wanted to post a quick little fanfic idea for it! So here it is!

Summary: Chai (Post Game) looks up guitar lessons online, so he could be able to practice more professionally. Every lesson he goes to though, each instructor cannot stand listening to his awful tuning and talkative attitude. Feeling hopeless, Chai feels like he’s never going to learn to play. That is, until Peppermint tells him that someone she knows might be able to keep up with his chaos.

“That’s it, that was the 5th one.” 

Chai throws himself onto the couch next to 808, who immediately jumps on his chest and lays down purring. Peppermint, whose in the middle of modifying her leg, looks up at him from her desk.

“Another one bailed on you?”

“Geeh, what gave it away this time?”

“You proclaiming ‘that was the 5th one’ to the world and looking like you got hit by a wave of criticism and ridicule. I dunno, I’m just guessing.”

Chai sat up and pouted at her.

“You don’t understand Pep, I’ve now been through five different instructors at this point and all of them say the same thing, it’s-”

“It’s not you, but I feel like we’re on different musical levels here, and I feel like it’d be best for you to find a new instructor.”

She made direct eye contact with him and sighed

“Am I right, or am I right?”

He groaned in frustration and slummed back down into the couch. 808 had to readjust herself once again to be able to lay down properly.

“It’s the same thing over and over, it’s either I’m tone deaf, my tuning isn’t right, I played the wrong note seven times in a row, I’m not shutting up, or I’m not feeling the music correctly. Which, how is that even possible when I literally have a music player in my freaking chest!?”

He groaned again, but then sighed sadly

“Maybe I should give up trying to learn how to play professionally, if this is all I’m gonna hear...”

Peppermint shot him a confused glace

“You? Chai? Giving up?”

“At this point, yeah. What else am I going to do?”

Peppermint got up and made her way over to Chai and grabbed him by the scarf.

“Hey, what are you- WAHH-”

She pulled him up from the couch, causing 808 to fly off him and jump back down on the floor.

“You literally took down a corporate overlord and his goonies from using a mind control program on the public just a few months ago. And now I’m hearing you give up because some music instructors said some mean things to you?”

He looked at her nervously

“I-I umm, not...exactly...M-Maybe I shouldn’t have worded it like that. I’m just being dramatic.”

He awkwardly chuckled, trying to brush off her comment. She looked at him for a second but then quickly let go of his scarf and made her way back to her desk and turned on her computer and quickly starts typing away.

“Umm...what are you doing?”

“I’m gonna help you with this myself. The Chai I know never gives up on something as miniscule as this. Plus, you moping around the hideout for the past 2 weeks is starting to get on my nerves.”

“Y-Yeah? What are you doing exactly? And....why are you pulling up your messages?”

She continued typing

“I’ll tell you in a second. I gotta see if she responds first.”

“Who are you messaging-”

“I said I’ll tell you in a second, hold on.”

Chai sighs and crosses his arms impatiently.

A few minutes later, Peppermint is getting a video call on her computer and she quickly turns on her webcam as she accepts the call. The caller from the other side hasn’t turned on their camera yet, but quickly says

“Oh! Give me a minute to turn on my camera Pep Pep!”

Chai, looking over from the side was very confused

“Pep Pep?”

He then snorts a little and whispers to Peppermint

“You let them call you Pep Pep?”

“I’m about two seconds away from ripping off your arm, then I’ll give you something to cry about.”

“O-Okay...”

The person then turns on their camera, and Chai is met face to face with a girl with blonde hair, tied up in three separate ponytails, two braids on the sides of her head, vibrant purple and violet eyes, and orangish skin.

“Pep Pep!! It’s been so long since we’ve last talked! How’s everything been? How’s your mom doing? How’s the company doing?”

Peppermint laughed a little

“Everything’s fine Mayday. Mom’s doing good too. I’m sorry it took so long to reach back out to you, been working on a bunch of different projects.”

Mayday laughed

“You were always one to throw yourself into your projects, Pep Pep.”

“Same can be said about your music, May. Speaking of which, how’s that going for you?”

“Still decent, me and Zuke just did a gig a few nights back and it went pretty well!”

Mayday then directed her attention to Chai

“By the way, whose that? He’s just kinda standing there.”

Peppermint sighed

“Oh, sorry. This is my friend, Chai. He’s a idiot who can’t introduce himself properly.”

Chai whipped his head towards her

“Rude much!!”

Mayday giggled

“He seems fun! A little awkward, but fun!”

Peppermint sighed

“Yeah, he’s actually the reason why I wanted to call you in the first place.”

“Yeah? Why?”

Mayday then quickly gasped

“Is he your boyfriend, Pep Pep!?!”

Peppermint and Chai gagged and yelled

“NO! HE’S NOT!!”

“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!”

Mayday laughed

“I’m kidding! He’s not your type anyways, so if you said he was I would’ve been surprised!”

Peppermint laughed awkwardly

“Yeah, if I ever dated someone like him, I must’ve been desperate.”

“HEY!! I’VE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH TODAY!!”

Mayday then leaned back in her chair

“So, what’s this all gotta do with him?”

Peppermint sighed and looked back up at her

“I need you to teach him to play guitar May.”

Mayday and Chai both looked up at her

“What.”

There u go, idk if I’ll do this again but this is what I got. Hope you all enjoyed!

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

In Your Dreams

Moodboard by @softhecreator

Epilogue

AO3 info one two three four five six seven epilogue

All my work is 18+.

He says, “Ooh, baby girl, you know we’re gonna be legends. I’m the king and you’re the queen and we will stumble through heaven.”- Halsey, Young Gods

“No way,” Lea’s younger sister, Ari, screeched over the phone. “I’m getting on a plane to New York right now—”

“You’ll do no such thing,” their older sister, Lina, cut in firmly. “You’ll stay in California. Your semester is starting soon.”

“I figured he was an Otherworlder,” Ari continued as if Lina hadn’t spoken, “like, obviously, look at his face, but an incubus, oh my god—”

“It’s really not as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be,” Lea said into the phone, which was currently on the dining room table of Lina’s apartment, with Sam, her best friend since childhood, and Lina—who liked to think of herself as the family’s voice of reason—seated around it.

“It sure sounds like a big deal,” Sam countered. “I didn’t know incubuses had mates that they, like, had to feed from or they’d die.”

“I didn’t, either,” Lea said.

At the same time, Lina interjected with, “It’s incubi, not incubuses.”

Ari groaned. “Don’t be such a know-it-all, Lina. Now is so not the time.”

“Yeah, Lina,” Sam snarked playfully, sticking her tongue out at the older girl.

“Are you guys not freaking out?” Ari demanded shrilly. “How are you guys not freaking out? Lea is the mate of a movie star who is also apparently a fuckin’ sex demon, and he will literally die without her, and oh yeah, let’s not forget, she’s also pregnant with his demon spawn!”

Lea groaned miserably, burying her face in her arms. “Don’t call it demon spawn,” she pleaded.

“Why not?” Ari demanded. “That’s what it is! He’s a demon, you’re carrying his spawn—“

“You’re embarrassing her,” Lina scolded.

“Maybe you should be at least a little embarrassed,” Sam pointed out. “Not about who you’re dating, ‘cause that’s dope and you’ve got bragging rights—“

“I don’t have bragging rights,” Lea muttered. “That would be weird, plus it’d draw attention to us both.”

Sam, however, continued on as if Lea hadn’t spoken at all. “—But ‘cause you’re pregnant at twenty years old, Lea, for fuck’s sake—“

“I didn’t exactly plan it,” Lea snapped. “I figured my birth control would work just fine!”

“Shoulda had him pull out, girl,” Ari chimes in. “Always have the dude pull out.”

“How is it fair that you lost your virginity before I did?” Sam whined. “He must be, like, so good, too—”

“Oooooo, yeah!” Ari exclaimed, clearly excited. “Tell us how he was! Spill, bitch!”

“I do not want to hear this,” Lina said, grimacing in distaste.

“Two against one,” Sam declared without hesitation, raising her eyebrows at Lea expectantly.

Lea fidgeted awkwardly. “He was, uh… good, yeah. Very good.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Ari said dryly. “I could’ve told you that. What else?”

“Like… intense, y’know?”

Sam’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean by intense?”

“He’s, uh…” Lea gulped anxiously. “He’s very grabby. And, like, rough or whatever.”

Lina frowned. “Rough? Does he hurt you?”

“Chill, Lina,” Ari told her flatly. “Good rough or bad rough? Did you like it?”

“I did, yeah,” Lea said quietly, flushing and twisting her hands in her lap.

“Good rough, then,” Ari decided.

Sam stared, perfectly manicured brows furrowed in confusion. “How is there such a thing as rough being good?”

“I’m not explaining sex to you, virgin,” Ari said, and Lea could practically hear her nose in the air.

“Hey—”

“Oh my god, who cares?” Lina groaned. “Lea is pregnant, she’s gonna live forever, don’t you guys wanna talk about that instead of whether or not you’ve had a dick up you?”

“Wait,” Ari cut in, “what’s his dick like?”

“Big, I’m guessing, ‘cause he’s a freakin’ sex demon,” theorized Sam.

“Well, yes,” Lea admitted, examining her hands and trying her best not to picture the barbels along the length of her boyfriend’s shaft.

“I know that voice,” Sam said suspiciously. “What else is there?”

“W— well, um…”

Even Lina looked interested now, leaning forward. “What is it?”

“He, uh… he has, like. Piercings.”

Sam blanched. “He has piercings on his—”

“No way!” Ari screeched for the second time that afternoon. “Timothée Chalamet has a pierced dick?! For real?!”

“Yeah,” Lea squeaked out, blushing to the roots of her hair.

“What kind?” Ari demanded. “Is it a Prince Albert or something else?”

“What the fuck is that—” Sam squawked, aghast.

“I dunno what they’re called,” Lea admitted, squirming in her seat. “He’s got these, like, metal bar… things… in there.”

“More than one?” Ari gasped. It took a lot to shock Ari.

“Uh. Yeah. There’s a few. Like, three.”

“What does that even feel like?” her younger sister wanted to know.

Lea frowned, pursing her lips. “Normal, I guess?”

“You don’t know what normal is,” Ari insisted impatiently. “Can you feel it?”

“Uh… yeah?”

“Okay,” Lina finally said, “I’m gonna need you guys to stop right there before I throw up.”

“It’s not our fault you’re a prude—“ Sam whined, displeased at having her eavesdropping interrupted.

“Some of us actually like dick and wanna hear about this—“ Ari was saying.

“Too bad,” Lina said firmly. “Have your dick discussion in earshot of someone who isn’t me.”

After several beats of silence, Ari decided, “Okay. Lea, your homework is to draw a picture of what it looks like. I want detailed photorealism here.”

“W— what—?!” Lea sputtered out in horrified shock. Sam was nodding with a determined expression on her face while Lina looked like she had smelled something particularly distasteful.

“It’s important,” Ari insisted.

“Uh, no,” Lea said firmly. “Not gonna be doing that. Nope.” 

“Oh, come on,” Ari whined.

Just then, a text came in.

Tim

When will you be home again ? I miss you so much and I really really need to be inside you, if you come home I’ll make you cum at least four times before I even fuck you and then…

Sam squealed with delight, grabbing for Lea’s phone. Thankfully, Lea was fairly used to this sort of thing and intercepted the movement, to which her friend pouted.

“What, what happened?” Ari demanded.

“Timothée sent an obscene text to your sister,” Lina declared as if the three of them didn’t have the same parents.

“Ooooo, what’s it say?”

“I dunno, she won’t let me see!”

“Okay,” Lea cut in, “I’m gonna go home.”

“Yeah, so your demon boyfriend can bang you again, like you aren’t already pregnant—”

Lea’s face flamed. “Shut up, Sam, oh my god.”

“Lea,” Ari cut in, her voice sounding halfway between excited and desperate, “do the drawing! Send it to me! It’s for science!”

“No!“

“I missed you so much,” Tim groaned against her neck, having pinned her against the entryway wall as soon as she locked the door to the apartment.

“That doesn’t warrant essentially sexting me while I’m meeting with my sister and best friend!”

“Couldn’t help it,” he muttered. “I don’t even have any naked pictures of you, y’know. I must compensate by seeing you naked in person as much as physically possible.”

He was kissing her neck and fondling her breasts, and, well. When he was doing that, she couldn’t exactly argue with him, now could she?

“Where do you want me?” Lea breathed.

“That’s my good girl,” he growled. “Right here, baby. Gonna fuck you against the wall. Would you like that?”

Nodding eagerly, she wrapped her legs around his waist when he hoisted her up.

“So greedy,” he chuckled. “Gotta get your panties off first, don’t I?”

“I want it now,” she whined.

“Patience, sweetheart,” Tim scolded gently. “I promised you four orgasms before I fucked you.”

“I want your dick in me way more than I want orgasms,” she insisted with a rapid shake of her head.

He laughed outright at that. “Fuck, I love you. Okay. Whatever you want, baby. Let’s get your panties off.”

It felt like an eternity before he was sliding into her, but when he finally did, only then did it feel like she was home.

“You didn’t know you’d get pregnant?” Nicole asked, shocked.

Lea was sitting at a table in Tim’s parents’ house—the one he’d bought them fairly recently—with Sam and Lina for moral support in a discussion with her boyfriend’s—should she call him that when they were literally destined to be together for the rest of time?—mother and sister. Not that either woman was unpleasant, it was more that the topic was stressful.

It was weird being around Nicole, because she looked like she wasn’t any older than Lea herself was.

“Uh… no.”

Pauline stared at her in disbelief. “How did you not know?”

“Well,” Lea hedged, “there’s a lot of stuff about incubi that’s not really… common knowledge, so…”

“But he didn’t tell you?” Nicole persisted.

At this, Lina frowned and turned her gaze on her sister. “Yeah, why wouldn’t he tell you?” she asked, suspicion etched clearly onto her face.

“We didn’t discuss actually…” She wrung her hands anxiously. “When he told me what he was, he didn’t explain too much about what would happen if we— if I agreed. And then when he woke up, I didn’t think to ask.”

“And you didn’t know that hormonal birth control doesn’t work with Otherworlders?” Pauline clarified, eyebrows raised.

Lea shook her head, embarrassed. “I… I guess I never thought about it. Before I met Tim, I’d never known any others, really. Not well, anyway. Just kinda in passing, y’know?”

“What about Grace Robertson?” Sam asked, referencing a girl they’d gone to high school with. “Everybody said she was fae.”

“She wasn’t,” Lina said, her tone flat.

“How do you know?” Sam demanded, annoyed at being corrected.

Lina shrugged. “I dated her the summer after I graduated. Not a fae, she’s just like that.”

“There must’ve been some secretive ones, at the very least,” Nicole mused thoughtfully.

“No clue,” Sam admitted. “There’s not exactly a huge Otherworlder population on the North Carolina coast.”

“So…” Pauline began thoughtfully, but her mother cut her off.

“Where are you wanting to raise the baby?” Nicole asked.

Lea blinked, startled. “I… don’t know?”

“You should consider getting a few different houses,” Nicole explained. “Children need a great deal of space, and Timothée’s traveling constantly.” She waved a hand dismissively, as if this was somewhat of an annoyance to her. “With regard to what you should expect, he doesn’t know, as pregnancies aren’t terribly common, but it’s important you’re aware.” She fixed Lea with a look that was somewhere between amusement and sympathy. “He will be an absolute nightmare the entire time.”

Lea’s eyes widened. “W— what? Why? How?”

“He’ll enjoy that you are carrying his child,” Nicole began, the other four women listening with wife-eyed fascination—and mild disgust on the part of Lina and Pauline—as she explained. “He will want to feed off of you almost constantly—“ Lea choked at this, unused to such a pragmatic discussion of sex, but Nicole didn’t seem to notice, continuing, “—and then he will feel terribly guilty for making you tired as a result of feeding off of you. He will be ridiculously overprotective and will not want you to do anything at all, which I found particularly annoying.” She rolled her eyes at what Lea presumed was a memory. “For your sake, I hope he’s not having to do any work over the course of your pregnancy. He’ll be even worse then.”

Lea frowned. “Should I just… stay with my mom during it?”

Nicole’s eyes widened and she shook her head firmly. “No. He’d lose his mind if you did that.”

Sighing, Lea wrung her hands in her lap. “It sounds like he’ll be awful to be around,” she admitted.

“There are some upsides,” Nicole told her. “He’ll go out of his way to make you happy—even more so than normal—and will want to do things for you. He’ll be very excited for the baby, as well. It’s not so bad, overall. Neither of my pregnancies were particularly difficult; it generally isn’t too bad for the human mate.”

“Is there any, uh…” Lea gulped anxiously. “Weird demon-y stuff I should expect?”

Nicole shook her head. “The baby will be a normal human until they come into their inheritance in early adulthood. That usually happens around seventeen to eighteen.” After a moment, Nicole clapped brightly. “Now then! Let’s discuss what sort of house you’d like here in New York.”

Nicole, as it turned out, was correct.

Tim was a total nightmare.

“Lea, sweetheart,” he was attempting to placate, “we need a minimum of six houses.”

“We do not!” she insisted shrilly.

“I’m in Europe all the time,” he explained gently, “and I want you and our daughter to have a stable home no matter where we are—“

“You don’t even know if it’s a girl,” she groaned for the bazillionth time.

“I want a girl that looks just like you,” he reminded her. “And don’t change the subject. We need multiple houses.”

“It’s excessive,” Lea informed him. “It’s an unnecessary expense.”

“It’s completely necessary,” he corrected her, “and it’s not like I can’t afford it. What’s the big deal?”

Lea threw her hands up in exasperation. “Alright, alright!” She grabbed her purse and made to leave the apartment.

“Where are you going?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

“To get some coffee.”

“W— what?” he sputtered. “Lea, sweetheart, you’re pregnant, you can’t have caffeine!”

“I can have a small amount a day.”

“Says who?!” he demanded.

“The doctor, Tim!” she finally snapped. “God, you’re driving me crazy!”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, sounding sheepish. “I just… I love you so much, and I worry about you.”

Lea sighed, turning to face him with her arms crossed. “I know. I love you, too. Just… just try and let up a little bit, okay? I know you just wanna help and take care of me and stuff, but stressing me out isn’t gonna help me or the baby.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “How can I help you de-stress?” Then he perked up, a thought occurring to him. “I can think of a few ways, actually.”

She snorted. “I’m sure you can. Why don’t you come with me to get coffee instead?”

Tim grinned brightly at that, taking her hand and leading her out the door.

She was surprised when he took her hand, threading their fingers together.

“Aren’t you worried about people seeing?”

He shrugged. “You’re my mate and the mother of my child. They’re gonna find out at some point. I don’t see any reason to hide it, really.”

Lea frowned as they made their way out of his building. “You haven’t even told anyone what you are.”

“No one’s ever asked, to be fair,” he pointed out.

“Well, it’s rude to ask someone you don’t know,” she reminded him, “and anyone who does know you wouldn’t say anything.”

He hummed. “Lots of Otherworlders have mates, though. And I think most people kinda assume I’m something, anyway.”

“That’s certainly true,” she agreed.

“Our usual place?” he asked as they made their way out onto the sidewalk, the breeze ruffling the hemline of her pink Ciao Lucia sundress. When Lea nodded, he changed the subject with a smile. “Have you decided on a name yet?”

She laughed. “I’m only a few weeks along!”

He grinned down at her. “So? It’s best we decide these things as soon as possible; I’m planning on getting a house for us not too far outside the city as soon as I can—I considered doing it while you were out for winter break, but you’d be five months along, and I don’t want you going through a move when you’re that far along—so we’ll be fine on that. The sooner you make decisions about the baby, though, the better.”

They went into the coffee shop and got in line. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close to his side. She leaned her head against him, inhaling his scent.

The cashier stuttered throughout the process of taking their order, looking at Tim as if he were a ghost.

Once they’d ordered, they stepped back to stand against the walls of the coffee shop, nestling in close together. 

“Excuse me,” came a tentative voice to their side.

They both turned to look at the girl who’d spoken. Lea blinked. “Uh… hi?”

The girl’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t noticed Lea was there. “H— hi,” she stuttered out before looking back at Tim. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but if it’s not too much trouble, could I have a picture?”

Tim smiled politely. “Of course!” He pulled his arm away from Lea. “Can you take it, sweetheart?”

When she heard the endearment, the girl’s eyes got even wider, if that were possible. She didn’t say anything about it, though, giving her phone to Lea with a small smile.

Lea smiled back, snapping a picture of Tim with the girl, who thanked him profusely before leaving.

As it turned out, paparazzi had managed to get a bunch of pictures of them. They hadn’t even been out that long, but Tim had kissed her on the way back. Even if he hadn’t, though, the arm he had around her waist was telling enough.

There was what amounted to an online manhunt for Lea’s identity, and it didn’t take long at all for her to be located. She privated all her accounts, but she’d gotten plenty of hate already.

Tim flew them down for Thanksgiving. She knew she had to tell her mom about the situation during their visit. There was no way around it.

The house Lea had grown up in was a yellow coastal style home with five bedrooms and a large porch. The front door was, technically speaking, on the second floor, but this was not uncommon for houses built right on the beach. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were all on the third floor, as was the small guest bedroom. 

Directly to the left of the front door was the master bedroom, which was occupied by the only full-time resident of the house: Lea’s mother, Rosalie. Ahead of the front door, on either side, were two bedrooms connected by a shared bathroom. Each one was decently sized and had access to the balcony, so Ari and Lina were quite content with the rooms. To the right of the front door were the stairs to the third floor, and next to the stairs were a door that, if opened, led downstairs to Lea’s bedroom.

Lea liked it because she had an entire floor to herself, complete with her own bathroom and a private entrance. Her room may not be as big as her sisters’, but the privacy more than made up for it.

This privacy, she knew, would be absolutely essential with Tim there. He’d offered to get them a hotel suite, but Lea had insisted that for his first visit as her boyfriend and father of her child, it was important they stay with her mom.

Lea had told her mom she was bringing a guest. She knew Rosalie was assuming that the guest was Sam, who would, of course, stay in the guest room.

Lea was not looking forward to telling her mom about Tim. Rosalie did not like or trust men, and she would be very upset indeed about Lea getting knocked up by an incubus.

“Mom?” Lea called as she shut the door behind her. Tim had just popped up behind her in his customary black smoke, suitcases in tow.

“Upstairs!” called Rosalie.

Lea stepped inside hesitantly, gesturing for Tim to leave their luggage in the entryway. She didn’t think her mom would disallow them from staying, but she wasn’t sure how welcome they’d be after Lea broke the news to her.

Neither of her sisters had gotten there yet, so it was just her and Tim. “My room is down there,” she told him quietly, pointing at the door to the right of the stairs. “C’mon. If she explodes, she explodes.”

“Do you really think she’ll be mad?” he asked. She could hear the frown in his voice.

Lea snorted derisively. “Oh, yeah. Definitely. More at you than me, most likely.”

“At least there’s that,” he hummed. “None of this is your fault, after all.”

“In the kitchen, honey,” her mother called out as they reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner towards the kitchen. “I figured you and your guest would like something to dri— oh!” she cut herself off with a gasp when she saw who Lea was with.

Rosalie Blanchard was nearly fifty. Like her daughters, she had brown eyes and curly red hair, though it was graying at her temples now. She wore it in a bun at the base of her neck.

“Who’s your guest?” she asked, her voice as tight as the curls she kept pinned to her scalp.

“Mom,” Lea began, “this is Tim. He’s my boyfriend.”

Rosalie’s lips pursed. “Your boyfriend.”

Lea nodded, and Tim stepped forward with a somewhat sheepish smile. “Hi, Mrs. Blanchard. I’m Timothée. Or Tim, whatever.”

“Hello,” she greeted stiffly.

“Tim,” Lea said brightly, “would you go take our bags to my room, please?”

“The door next to the stairs, right?” he clarified.

Lea nodded, and he squeezed her hand encouragingly as he went back down the stairs. She knew he’d give her and her mom space as she explained the situation.

“You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend.”

Lea winced. “I wanted to tell you in person.”

“Is he good to you?”

“He’s wonderful, Mom,” Lea said quietly. “I love him very much.”

Rosalie’s eyes widened. “You love him?”

Lea nodded. “We should sit down.”

Rosalie looked scared now, swiftly crossing towards the living room and settling into a chair. Lea sat on the couch kitty corner from her.

“What’s going on?” her mom demanded in a voice that indicated she really, really didn’t want to know the answer.

“What do you know about incubi?” Lea asked after several tense heats of silence.

Rosalie’s eyes widened further. “Is… is that boy one?”

Lea nodded. “Yes. I’m his mate.”

Her mom shook her head rapidly. “No, you’re not. You can’t be.”

“That was my initial reaction, too,” she agreed, nodding. “I am, though. That birthmark I have, the one of the eight pointed star? It’s a symbol of a mate.”

Rosalie shook her head more. “It can’t be. Your sisters have the same one.”

“I know, yeah. I’m trying to figure out how to break that news to them,” Lea admitted with a wince. “But that doesn’t matter right now. I need to tell you about Tim.”

“Is he gonna come back up?”

Lea shook her head. “Not until I call him.”

“How long have you been with him?”

Lea twisted her hands in her lap anxiously. “Remember when I had to cancel my last visit during the summer?” When her mom nodded, she went on, “It was because I’d found out what I am to him. He was… he was very sick. He needed me.”

“Sick? I didn’t even know Otherworlders got sick.”

“Well…” Lea grimaced, trying to think of how to word what she needed to say. “You know what incubi feed off of, I’m sure.”

Rosalie made a face like she’d smelled something especially unpleasant. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

Lea looked down at her hands, still twisting anxiously in her lap. “Well… we met, you see, and we became friends. I didn’t want to have feelings for him, so when they developed, I just ignored them. But then…” She took a deep breath. “He wasn’t going to tell me. He just wanted to see me beforehand. One last time, he said. But he looked so sick, Mom.” She looked up at Rosalie then, trying to convey how strongly she felt about Tim, how scared she’d been. “I made him tell me what was going on.”

“What, exactly, was going on?” her mom asked slowly.

“He can’t feed from anyone but me now that we’ve met,” she murmured, looking away and flushing to the roots of her hair. “He was going to starve. He almost did.”

“And he never told you?”

Lea shook her head. “He knew I didn’t want a relationship with anyone, so he didn’t tell me. He said he didn’t want me to feel like it was my fault.”

Her mom hummed thoughtfully at this. “That was good of him.”

“I know.” Tears came to her eyes at the memory of how close to death he’d been. “He almost died because of me, Mom. He would’ve died if I hadn’t accepted him.”

“But you did,” Rosalie observed.

Lea nodded. “I did, yeah. I love him. I’m happy with him.”

“Aren’t incubi immortal?” Rosalie asked shakily.

Lea nodded. 

“How old is he, then? He looked to be not much older than you, but if he’s immortal…”

“We don’t know how old he is,” Lea admitted quietly. “He mentioned the Fall of Troy at one point.”

“So he’s over three thousand years old, then?!”

Lea shrugged. “At least that, yeah. Probably more.”

“You aren’t even twenty-one yet!” her mother snapped. “Besides, isn’t he sucking your life force away?”

She shook her head at that. “No, Mom. He lengthens my life, actually. If I’m with him, I could potentially just… never die.”

Her mother blinked at her. “Oh.”

Lea wrung her hands. “There’s something else.”

Rosalie tensed. “What else could there possibly be?”

“Well,” Lea began hesitantly, “there was a bit of a miscommunication, you see. When we… y’know…” Her mom winced, but she continued, “he had reason to believe I knew that hormonal birth control doesn’t work on Otherworlders. So we weren’t using anything other than that, and as a result…”

“You’re pregnant.” It was a statement of fact rather than a question.

Lea nodded. “I’m keeping it.”

“How in the hell do you plan on affording a baby, Amelie Juliana?” Rosalie demanded, using Lea’s full name the way she did when she was especially angry.

Lea hesitated. “Well… Tim can afford it.”

“He can, can he?” Rosalie scoffed.

“I know you’re not big into pop culture, Mom,” Lea began, “but Tim is an actor.”

Rosalie rolled her eyes. “Actors are just another brand of starving artists.”

Lea shook her head. “He’s not a small-time actor. He’s been in major blockbusters. He has plenty of money for us. He refuses to let me work, actually. Not that I’d want to anyway, but still.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Rosalie griped. “Alright.” She sighed. “Bring this boy of yours up.”

Lea nodded. “Tim!” she called.

He appeared in a puff of black smoke. Rosalie jolted.

“You told her, I take it?”

Lea nodded. “I explained everything.”

Rosalie stood then, striding over to Tim and completely ignoring the fact that he towered over her. “You got my daughter pregnant,” she accused, her voice sharp.

“I did,” he confirmed.

“Are you going to take care of her and the baby?”

“She’s my mate,” he explained. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

Rosalie pursed her lips, looking Tim up and down. She took a step closer to him, and he blinked down at her. “I don’t care who you are or what you are. If you hurt Lea, you’ll never see the light of day again.”

“Mom,” Lea groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I won’t hurt her,” Tim promised gently, glancing back at Lea.

Rosalie nodded, finally taking a step back. “Well then. I’m going to the store. Hopefully they’re not out of turkeys yet.”

Ten minutes later, he had her pressed up against the wall of her childhood bedroom as he kissed her neck and hiked her blue Burberry miniskirt up her thighs.

“This is a nice room,” he muttered against her skin. “Can I fuck you in it?”

Lea giggled mindlessly, snaking her hands up around his neck.

“I’d be insulted if you didn’t, actually.”

An hour and a half later, Lea was passed out—naked, which was how he preferred her—in his arms. It would be at least another hour or two before she’d rested enough to wake up.

Then, he heard the front door open from the floor above them.

“Lea!” a voice he didn’t recognize called, though it was slightly muffled. “Where’s your boytoy?”

Tim extracted himself from Lea’s embrace and quickly pulled a pair of sweatpants out of his suitcase and yanking his t-shirt from before over his head.

He gave Lea a swift kiss on the forehead and left the room as quietly as he could. Taking the stairs two at a time, he smiled at the pair of women. One he recognized as Lea’s older sister, Lina, and the other, he figured was her younger sister, Ari, whom he hadn’t met.

“Hello,” he greeted politely. Both girls looked so much like Lea—and her mother, too, if he were honest—that it was startling. They had the same curly red hair, the same dark eyes. They were even of a similar stature. “Nice to see you again, Lina.” Then he turned to the younger of the two. “You’re Ari, right? I’m Timothée.”

Ari stared up at him with wide eyes. Lina merely pursed her lips, unimpressed and asked, “Where’s Lea?”

“Taking a nap,” Tim explained. “She’s very worn out.”

“From an hour long flight?” Lina asked skeptically, an eyebrow raised.

“Errrrrr…” Tim grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

Finally snapping out of her trance, Ari rolled her eyes and stepped forward, hand outstretched. “Nice to meet you, Timothée. Lea’s told me a lot about you.”

“All good things, I hope,” he remarked with a good-natured smile.

Both girls opened their mouths to respond, but whatever they would’ve said was preempted by the front door opening again. Rosalie stepped through, carrying several bags of groceries.

Tim immediately rushed over to take them from her. “Here, let me get those. Are there more?”

The woman nodded once, then said, “Girls, unpack these, if you would.”

When Lea woke up a couple of hours later, she was surprised to find that Tim had successfully charmed her mother and sisters.

“I dunno how you did that,” she admitted that evening as he climbed into the shower behind her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my mom smile at a guy before. She doesn’t even let Ari bring home anyone.”

“Dunno,” Tim said with a shrug, leaning his head forward to wet his hair. “All I did was help with the groceries and cooking and whatnot.”

She leaned back against his chest with a grin. “Maybe they just could tell how much I love you and decided to give you a chance.”

He hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist, one hand on her barely protruding stomach.

“They kept asking about the baby, y’know.”

Lea smiled. “And what did you tell them?”

“That you’re fifteen weeks along and refuse to accept that it’s a girl.”

Laughing, she turned slightly so as to kiss him. “We don’t know what it is yet. It could be a girl.”

He hummed. “We’ll have more either way.”

“Yeah?” She leaned up to kiss him again.

“Mhm,” he confirmed. “Ideally, you’ll be pregnant a fair amount of the time.” He trailed his hands up her torso to cup her breasts, teasing her sensitive nipples.

“Tim,” she said breathlessly, arching into his touch, “can I suck your dick? Please?”

“Fuck,” he groaned, squeezing her breasts roughly. “Anything for you, baby. Anything you want.”

She turned around and sank to her knees without hesitation, completely disregarding the shower beating down on her. She was unable to resist him long enough to even tease him before she took him into her mouth. His hand found her hair, and he guided her up and down his length, the barbels catching on her lower lip.

“Such a good girl,” he moaned. “Suck me so well, baby. Make me feel so good.” He was watching her, and she knew from the red in his eyes that he was feeding from her, too. Excited by the thought of this, she reached between her legs and started rubbing her clit. “Oh, fuck, Lea,” he said hoarsely. “Are you touching yourself, sweetheart?”

“Mhm,” she hummed around him, moaning softly.

“Like sucking my cock that much, huh?”

She moaned again, eager for more of him.

“Like that, baby,” he groaned, the hand in her hair clenching. “Suck it like that, fuck. Good girl. Such a good little slut, all for me.”

She rubbed her clit faster, loving how he talked to her.

“You gonna make yourself cum for me, baby?” he demanded. “You gonna cum with my cock in that pretty little mouth of yours?”

She moaned mindlessly around him, wishing he’d pin her down and fuck her, right there in the bathtub with the shower running.

“That’s it,” Tim encouraged. “Make yourself cum, sweetheart. Such a good little slut for me, aren’t you? Getting off on sucking my cock.” When she did nothing but moan, her hips rocking into her hand, he continued, “C’mon, baby. Cum for me.”

She moaned again, this time long and loud, and the vibrations must’ve been too much, because he spilled into her mouth.

She was dazed as he pulled her up, kissing her slowly, leisurely. She kisses him back, leaning into him as she did.

“C’mon, love,” he told her gently, “let’s get you clean and into bed, okay?”

“Mmkay,” she mumbled sleepily, her eyes drooping.

He washed her hair and body, keeping it surprisingly nonsexual—for the most part, anyway; he hadn’t been able to stop himself from squeezing her breasts as he lathered them with soap—before quickly bathing himself, too, and then drying them both off. He settled her into bed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her naked body close against his own.

“Wait,” she mumbled against his chest. “Did’ya lock the doors?”

“‘Course I did, baby,” he told her with a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Top of the stairs, back door, and bedroom?” she clarified.

“Mhm,” he confirmed. “Sleep, Lea.”

“Mkay,” she mumbled, nestling in closer to him. “Love you.”

He tightened his arms around her. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

“You mad it turned out to be a boy?” Lea asked, glancing up at Tim from where she was bottle feeding their newborn son in their bed.

He settled down beside her. “No,” he promised with a smile. “I’d’ve been happy with anything. You know that.” After a pause, he added, “Besides, it’s not like we can’t have more.”

“Lea,” Tim said one day after she had put Theo down for a nap in the nursery they’d set up at their French estate, “why haven’t we gotten married?”

Lea froze in her tracks, blinking up at him in disbelief. “Uh… because you haven’t asked me?”

He stared down at her. “Oh. Alright, then.”

Approximately a month later, Tim took her out to dinner at Guy Savoy in Paris. He had rented out a private dining room for them, the way he usually did, and when he got down on one knee and told her that if he could’ve crafted the perfect mate for himself, he would’ve made her just as she was, she teared up. When he told her that as far as he was concerned, she already was his wife and that they just needed to make it official in the eyes of the law, she cried, nodding eagerly.

He slid the ring on her finger, and then he’d insisted upon finding a bathroom to fuck her in.

She’d needed some coffee after that.

As it turned out, Tim had several cousins. Shockingly, Ari and Lina turned out to be the mates of two of them.

Lina in particular was skeptical of this, concerned that her Mark indicated that she’d end up bound to a man, an incubus, but it turned out to be a succubus.

Ari, on the other hand, had zero issues with the whole thing.

Sam fell in love with a fae who was friends with Tim, who regularly gave her nectar to keep her from aging, and Lea’s mom insisted upon being turned into a vampire, refusing to leave her daughters behind.

It eventually got out that Tim was an incubus. He hid it for a very long time, but nothing remains a secret forever. By that point, however, it was quite clear that he wasn’t human; humans aren’t in the public eye for several hundred years without aging, after all. Still, he generally didn’t discuss his personal life, and that suited Lea just fine. No matter how long things went on, no matter how many lifetimes she lived, she never really got used to the idea of publicly being the wife of a celebrity.

Not that people weren’t aware, of course. She attended events with him and everything, he just wouldn’t discuss their relationship.

They had a lot of kids. Not all at once, or course. Their first five were in rather quick succession—over the course of eighteen years, if one could count that as quick—and then they waited a good long while to have more. But after awhile, when all five children were grown with lives of their own, he convinced her to let him get her pregnant again.

Family reunions were very hectic indeed. Eventually, Tim had to purchase what Lea insisted was a palace. To be fair, a house—though referring to such a large estate as a house was more than a bit of a stretch—of that size was a necessity if they were to house their entire family—their children, descendants, and relatives—at once.

“Oh, goddammit,” she muttered as she stared at the results of the pregnancy test.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” came Tim’s voice. He’d only just strode into the room.

Irritated by his apparent inability to control his jizz, she tossed the test at him.

He caught it without thinking, fumbling with it for a moment before examining what she’d thrown at him. He looked up at her with wide, shocked eyes, a grin slowly splitting his face. “Again?”

“Yes, Timothée,” she snapped. “Again. Learn to control yourself, for fuck’s sake! We have great-great grandchildren!”

He pouted, almost whining when he said, “It’s not my fault! You’re just so sexy, you don’t look nearly old enough to warrant adult children, after all, let alone anything beyond that—“

“No,” she told him slowly, “the issue is you’re a glutton.”

He frowned outright then. “Do you… do you not want it…?”

She pursed her lips, turning around and going towards her closet. “I didn’t say that.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head. “I’m sorry. I honestly don’t mean to. I just… I love you so much, y’know?”

Lea put her hand over his, lacing their fingers together. “Yeah, Tim. I know.” She sighed. “I love you, too.”

“Does that mean you’re keeping it?”

Lea snorted softly. “Of course I’m keeping it, stupid. It’s ours; yours and mine.”

“You’re mine,” he murmured, tilting her head up so as to kiss her.

She smiled against his lips, threading her fingers through his hair. “And you’re mine.”

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[shzmluvrs]

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVENT SEEN SHAZAM 2

Can you do poly Anne and Freddy with reader? Like how they got together and how the relationship would work

*cries in I get to write my own representation*

🩷💚🩵

For one, I definitely believe in the fact that Greek gods did not have the same societal things/"rules" as we do in modern days. Like man, they're above human morals, love is love to them, no matter what form that takes. They're literal gods, so they'd be damned if anyone told them different. Including how much love there is to go around. And certainly, Anthea wasn't raised any differently.

Plus, Freddy gives me vibes he's down for whatever as long as he likes you, so...

Perfect grounds for a throuple, the way I see it🤷🏽‍♀️🤭.

~ Star✨️

The Magic Number

Prompt: Why have one when you could have two? Especially when those two are Freddy "Captain Everypower" "I-Will-Read-You-Comics-To-Sleep" Freeman and Anthea "Anne" "I-Will-Rearrange-Organs-For-You" Goddess/Daughter of Atlas. They don't say three is the magic number for nothing.

Timeline: Post S!:FOTG

TW/Content: Mutual Pining⚡️Mentions of doubt/insecurity⚡️Anne and Freddy being so, so lovely⚡️Polycule! Throuple content!!⚡️Billy pops in for a solid 0.4 seconds🤧

Reader: Fem! She/Her/Hers Pronouns! Polyamorous!

Requested By: Anon

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I definitely feel like this all started with a classic case of miscommunication. Like, you were already #besties4theresties with Freddy, and when Anthea showed up, he got to know her and etcetcetc, insert the events of the second movie...

But then, at some point (after the events of the movie), you ended up meeting her yourself, and you two become the ultimate girl duo for a while, like, everybody knows that if Anthea is around, you're not far behind. And vice versa.

But everyone also assumed Anthea and Freddy were a thing, so now everyone's confused until one day...

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"(Y/N)! Hey...!" Freddy came rushing up to you, as fast as he could move with a crutch in hand, with a familiar brunette following in suite. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw you, readying herself to greet you before Freddy cut her off with his insistent rambles.

"Okay, so, I've been meaning to tell you this forever, and I didn't exactly- Mm... I didn't really know how to go about it, but I kinda' just figured 'fuck it', so... (Y/N), this is-!"

"Anne!" You squealed, opening your arms for the girl to come rushing into. This act stunned Freddy completely, any words about to leave his throat dwindling out into a tiny croak. With his mouth agape and his eyes wide, he watched as you two practically fell over each other in your scramble to be as close as possible, which quickly shifted into catching-up-gossip before you finally realized your figures were still being gawked at.

"Close your mouth, babe, you'll catch flies." Anthea joked, and of course, you laughed. But it didn't take long for you to take quick notice of the term of endearment.

'Babe...'

It was now your turn for your lips to part, your pointer finger hurriedly pointing back and forth between your best friends in shock.

"Oh my god, you two are a thing?!"

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Freddy exclaimed with a laugh. "I didn't know you two already knew each other!"

"Yeah, man!" You nodded. "I met her, like, the second week of school. We've been hanging out together ever since. Anne, I didn't know Freddy was the boyfriend...!"

Anthea nodded swiftly, as if all of her little stories, rants, and raves had been obviously about him the whole time.

"I've been friends with him since I was in, like, kindergarten!"

"(N/N), that's so cute!" Anthea cooed with a nickname for you, poking at your sides lightly before adding teasing words right after. "But, I feel like I've known you even longer, so~...!"

In a sudden flurry of emotion, Freddy's world's had collided. His best girl and his girlfriend, the two of them a daring duo he had been so excited to create, only to learn that they had become so on their own. And now, the three of you would form the ultimate trio. Because what could possibly go wrong there?

"I mean, can you believe we're so close that people actually thought we were dating?"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

Sure, what Anthea had said was meant to be a harmless joke. And, don't get me wrong, both you and Freddy laughed.

But it was a notion that never really left Freddy's mind, a little bubble constantly floating around in the back of his brain.

'Dating?' He thought. And not in a crude way, of course. He had no qualms with the idea of your sexuality ranging from anything other than straight, same went for Anthea's. It was just that the thought of you two together somehow made perfect sense. Clear sense. Which... was odd at first. Because... well... him and Anthea made clear, perfect sense, too.

Didn't it?

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"How do you feel about (Y/N)?"

It was a sudden question, seemingly out of the blue, especially right now. In the middle of their date.

"(Y/N)?"

And though it was a curveball, Anthea nevertheless seemed to perk up at just the mention of you. Her eyes twinkling, her smile broadening, the girl even going as far as to fix her posture. As if the subject of you were to be approached with the utmost clarity and sincerity.

"I mean, where do I even start? She's really the most amazing friend anyone could have. I mean, besides you and your family, of course! But, I just mean... like, it's nice when I'm with her. Don't you ever feel...burdened by the weight being a hero comes with?"

"Sometimes." Freddy admitted with a nod. "When I'm with (Y/N), I... it's like being free from it all. Just for a little while. Normal. She's... caring, and-and smart, and she just... gets me, y'know?"

"I know exactly what you mean." Anthea agreed with an eager nod to his words. "I feel this... this warmth. Kind of like with you. When we first met. Inviting, welcoming-"

"Judgment free."

"Yes. She's got something I just can't place. Something that's hard to find in most people. She's..."

"She's perfect."

And while Freddy hadn't shyed away into filling in the blanks, he caught himself the moment he had admitted his thoughts. It wasn't to say he was discrediting you of those earlier stated qualities, but he also in no way wanted to disrespect or disregard what him and Anthea had. Because that was special too. She was special, too.

"And so are you! Obviously- Duh, like-"

"Yes, yeah, of course!" Anthea stumbled, failing at hiding the blush clouding up her own cheeks. "I mean, I think you're special too. You're very special, Freddy."

She placed a comforting hand atop of his own.

"You and (Y/N) are very special to me."

Freddy smiled. He agreed.

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

He wasn't the only one with such confusing, maybe even contradictory thoughts running through his mind, though. But, unlike him, you really didn't have anyone to confide in.

No one to properly convey such thoughts to, no one who wouldn't shun or shame you for thinking such ways about two separate people. People you called your closest friends, no less!

...Well... actually...

You had Billy, but since when does he ever know what he's talking about?

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"...And, ugh... I don't know, dude. It's all just... weird."

Billy nodded, trying his best and hardest to both understand and formulate a solution to what you had let him know was a problem.

But, then again...

"It doesn't have to be."

You perked up at his words, uncovering your face with your hands and shooting him a confused glance towards his spot on the couch. He had even paused his video game for you, looking towards you with green eyes that screamed, 'Isn't the answer obvious?'.

"Weird, I mean. It doesn't have to be weird if you don't want it to be."

"How can it not be weird?" You deadpanned, throwing your arms and letting them harshly fall back into your lap. "I've-... I'm finally admitting to myself that I've had a crush on Freddy since...forever. And boom, just like that, my best friend comes in and sweeps him off of his feet. And I didn't even know about it 'til months later!"

"You're making yourself sound hopeless."

"Gee, thanks, Billy." You hummed sarcastically. "Real encouraging."

He shrugged. You went on.

"Look, all I'm saying is... it's just...weird to suddenly feel all of these different things at once, okay? Because then, sometimes I think it's not Freddy that I really like. And that I'm mixing up these feelings. That it's... that it's Anne who I really like. And that maybe-"

"-It's okay to love them both, you know..."

A pause lingered in the air at his words, Billy casually unpausing his game while your eyes narrowed in his direction.

"...Did you just quote 'The Vampire Diaries'?"

"Mary has been watching it on repeat for months, I literally can't get the actor's faces out of my head!"

With the shake of your own head in dismay, you couldn't help but entertain Katherine Pierce's words. They were sudden, yet, actually kind of wise. Extra shocking coming from Billy Batson, of all people, but...

"Do... do you actually believe that? Would they...would they even...?"

You couldn't even finish your own question, too flushed with embrassment at just the mere thought.

"Go find out. They should be home any second now, anyway." Billy shrugged once more, mouth stuffed with half of a pizza roll.

"You are zero help." You scoffed, storming out of the house as he called after you.

"But you're going, aren't you?!"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

As much as it vexed you to admit it, maybe Billy actually knew what he was talking about. Just this once, though.

And while yes, you did jog all the way home in search of your phone (because that fear of rejection had you NOT wanting to physically face that at all💀) and began to type away in Anthea's inbox, it didn't seem to matter.

Because Freddy had already reached out to you first...

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

Over time and conversation, it had become apparent to all three of you that a mutual crush circled all around. No way to shield or avoid it, no way to subdue it. And, with only a leap of faith to determine your actions, the three of you simply decided to embrace it.

It was through sheer willpower and an overabundance of both love and fear that caused Freddy to make it official, bringing the two of you together for a date that ended with him asking the both of you if you would take him as your boyfriend. Naturally, agreeance swiftly followed, along with the consent to being each other's girlfriend. A throuple was born, not only iconic, but a loving one that lasted as long as the three of you lived...

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

It was a little awkward and unknowing at first, hard to get used. Especially for Freddy, who couldn't even fathom the idea of a girlfriend in the past, now blessed with two. But he hardly spared a moment, making sure that the two of you knew he would be there with plenty of love to go around.

As a matter of fact, I feel like (as a whole, as a throuple) your guy's main love language would be words of affirmation. The three of you constantly reminding, affirming, and simply just speaking into existence of how much you all truly care and love each other. It helps to wound any moments of jealousy or spurs of needed attention.

Not to mention the constant hand-holding/playing between y'all🤧😻. I feel like Freddy is constantly playing with you or Anthea's hands.

Anthea definitely isn't hesitant to show either one of you off. Both of you at once! Girly is used to seeing/being around relationships like this (like I said in my little note at the beginning, Greek gods definitely have different societal "standards" than humans do) so don't be surprised when she's happily showering you both with kisses 'hello' and 'goodbye' one moment, and glaring at passerbys who even just THINK to give a weird look/comment the next.

Freddy, kind of like Anthea, is super flirty and cocky about it up front. Like, hello, two girlfriends that love a cherish him. Who tf wouldn't want that? But, it's his doubts that lie on the inside, rumors sometimes getting to him or his own insecurities of the two of you leaving him weighing heavy in his heart and mind.

Not that he doesn't trust y'all for even a second. He's just... not so used to being seen for him. Really him, not just his little Captain Everypower persona, yk?

But, he gets over it pretty quick when you guys are right there to give him ample amounts of reassurance and love.

And that's all just the beginning...!!

I'm definitely making a part two to this at some point!! This is just too good, I have more thoughts in the tank (such as: more cutesy little couple stuff, coming out a throuple to the family, and a bonus, a short story/imagine at the end of a how a date would go) so yeah!

Be on the lookout for that! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it🥲🫶🏽!

~ Star✨️

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[sansaurora9904]

RELATIONSHIP WITH '99 LINERS!

JEONG YUNHO!

🐶 The puppy/energizer ship but also main dancer ship???

🐶 Yunho won't hesitate to go crazy for a bit to make her laugh or smile, it just makes his heart warm when she does

🐶 They both give off dance leader vibes (Heyoon's more stricter as she focuses on multiple details while Yunho assists her)

🐶 Her standing next to him is like Seonghwa standing next to him - plus she wears heels constantly so they look the same height

🐶 The two of them shared a room with San until Heyoon got her own room in January 2019

🐶 That didn't stop the members from coming into her room anyway

🐶 Anyways, they're cute as hell

KANG YEOSANG!

🐕 The savage duo ship

🐕 They're the ones that roast everyone (Heyoon is the best out of all of them as she has the most brutal responses ever)

🐕 The other members may slip and curse but Heyoon just does it casually, not caring what others think (her members just find it funny and are slightly worried)

🐕 The two of them skateboard in their free time as well. Yeosang taught her all he knew and they have competitions often to see who's better (other members are always present and recording with their phones)

🐕 These two are more on the shy side so they bonded quite well on their own terms. Sometimes they just sit in the same room and listen to each other just breathe which they find comforting

CHOI SAN!

⛰️ The satan/duality ship, the only romantic ship in ATEEZ

⛰️ They're the parents of Shiber (San's Shiba Inu plushie) and Byeol (San's Siamese cat)

⛰️ Hundreds, upon hundreds, even thousands, of selcas of each other in their phones

⛰️ They even made albums that are reserved for public eye (Twitter, Instagram) and for themselves only

⛰️ They used to room with Yunho until Heyoon got her own room in January 2019

⛰️ In between 2020 and 2021, Heyoon bought herself a apartment in Gangnam that was sold over 2 billion won

⛰️ As soon as she could, she renovated the place to her and San's liking as he moved in towards the end of 2021

⛰️ Despite living in a apartment that was in South Korea's most richest neighborhood, San and Heyoon share a room in ATEEZ's dorm

⛰️ Now, backstory time!

⛰️ San and Heyoon actually were introduced thanks to Yunho's social puppy energy. Despite San not being the amazing dancer as he is in the present, Heyoon still completed his dancing and offered to teach him. Pretty much, Heyoon was his role model for a bit until he realized that he was in love with his fellow band member

⛰️ Confused with sudden romantic feelings, he spoke to Hongjoong and Seonghwa one night about it. The two oldest males comforted him and asked him a lot of questions, giving him advice and options but mostly importantly, the two men told him that it's up to him and Heyoon. Whatever they choose to do they will happily support them

⛰️ So, after their Answer promotions ended and their world tour was around the corner, San decided to man up and take the girl out one evening. He made sure that they went to places where fans couldn't recognize them and reserved a romantic dinner in a nice hotel. Of course, he told the company beforehand and they made sure that the hotel didn't release any information to the public

⛰️ Thus the man ended up confessing his feelings and to his luck, Heyoon accepted! The girl literally told him she did the same thing as he did --- she freaked out, talked to Hwa and Joong about it and got their advice and told the company that she'll confess soon to him

⛰️ And thus they ended up sleeping together after having some glasses of wine (all consented!!!). The next morning when they woke up, they just smiled happily and kissed before getting up, showering and calling the members to let them know

⛰️ Of course since they're ATEEZ, they threw a huge party in their dorms and celebrated by going out to play games, it was the best 48 hours of their lives

⛰️ ANYWAYS, ship edits! San and Heyoon are constantly looking out for them on any platform and saving them under false account names, even sending them to their families, close friends and members! Even their dancers, staff and company ship them!

⛰️ They were spotted on a date on San's birthday on July 10, 2020 where Allkpop, Koreaboo, Dispatch and other sites had pictures of their date. Thankfully they caught on pretty quickly and kept their distance from each other a bit until they were away from prying eyes

⛰️ On July 12, 2020, KQ released a statement and confirmed that they are dating with San's and Heyoon's own written statements. Most fans were happy about it while the shippers were mad about it, sad that their ships aren't real like they thought (Woosan shippers were the worst so San and Heyoon held a live together and explained everything, even warning the fans to not cross the boundaries between an idol and a fan)

⛰️ The moment went viral everywhere and earned them more fans

⛰️ The shippers backed off but they still posted about their ships. If they crossed a boundary, they were warned and documented in case it gets worse and a court was needed to be held

⛰️ ANYWAY, they're cute as fuck and hot as hell, lots of cute and adorable moments and even some moments where sexual tension could be felt by anyone

SONG MINGI!

🐺 As fans calls it, Heyoon is like his mom

🐺 They're quite a unique ship but they don't have that many on-screen interactions compared to off-screen

🐺 This may be related to the fact that San and Wooyoung are constantly around her (feat Seongjoong being background parents)

🐺 Anyways, Heyoon has a lot of plushies that remind her of Mingi so she always gives him one, in return he does the same (although her's are more bigger and almost the same size as her)

🐺 When they did the health check thing on Wanteez, Heyoon could hear the nurse and Wooyoung telling him to lay down. Thus, the girl got up from her position (she was snuggled into San's side) and went to check what was happening. She was unable to stop him and just gave up, returning to her previous position and sulking like a baby

🐺 She got a lot of kisses and cuddles from San who babied her the entire episode (it went viral on Atiny stan twitter)

JUNG WOOYOUNG!

🦊 The sexy duo ship

🦊 If fans call Wooyoung's laugh a hyena laugh, Heyoon calls it the witch laugh

🦊 Besides Yunho, she's the best at imitating his laugh just out of nowhere (sometimes the members think that it's Wooyoung laughing but instead they find Heyoon imitating him)

🦊 Her, San and him are a inseparable trio that just can't be stopped

🦊 Heyoon and San will kick him out if they feel like they need privacy for themselves (this counts for the dates too). Wooyoung will leave them alone cause he understands that the couple need some time together despite being with each other 24/7

🦊 K-Drama lovers

🦊 Heyoon has introduced him to c-dramas and they watch them together anywhere in the dorms or in her and San's apartment

🦊 Wooyoung's mom loves the absolute shit out of Heyoon and has replaced Wooyoung with her, thus Heyoon ended up as Kyunmin's favorite aunt

🦊 Speaking of Kyungmin, she absolutely adores the little boy with her entire heart

🦊 She spoils him a lot with toys, games and food whenever she visits with San and Wooyoung

🦊 Fans used to think they had beef during their trainee days but the two immediately responded and said that it wasn't true

🦊 They just weren't as close as they are now

[catboytwelve]

Ok, rambling about S14 let's gooooo

At the end of the day i really had fun with this season of Doctor Who and think that they got the most important thing (the doctor) right and that's what matters But.

Overall, I think the season is kinda undercooked, specifically in regards to what I hold as my primary focus for the show, which is the Doctor-Companion dynamic

15 is a delight, but his dynamic with Ruby is way too straightforward and without conflict; if you think back to ten and donna, yeah they would bicker like friends but she would also push back against him if he was doing something she thought was wrong, what propells them to an iconic Doctor-Companion duo is not their lovely friendship but them challenging each other to be better. The Donna and the Tenth Doctor that we see at the beginning of S4 are not the same Donna and Doctor that we see at the end of S4 and that. Just doesn't happen to Ruby and Fifteen. And you could argue that not every dynamic has to be like that, if not for the fact that they said it was like that.

They outright say that the Doctor was changed bc of Ruby in... how he talks about family? Which happened when? He literally witnessed a family coming together and be happy and he locks himself in the tardis and doesn't even say hi to Ruby's biological mother,,,, How is that him being changed? Was he lying?

Even Ruby herself I think is just kinda there sadly, Millie Gibson is a pleasure on screen and she clearly gave her 200% in her performance plus her chemistry with Gatwa is really good but who is Ruby beyond her mysterious normal mother? A really caring and lovely girl and that's it? No flaws no dreams or objectives in life outside her mother's identity? I feel like the best we got was when she played the piano in the devil's chord but outside of that I don't see much more (which is so strange bc we have a whole episode with her alone and... we don't get to know her more?)

Also, I love the hugs (and 15's tears!!!), it's refreshing to see the Doctor being so open towards acts of affection again but while that's lovely to see, there's not much more to it than a really healthy friendship.

I realise this could very well be a Me problem, given I am a conflict enjoyer, but I keep thinking that if 15ruby went through moments where they doubted each other or fought over doing or not doing something, their acts of affection would make me care for them so much more, which is a shame. :c

As for the episodes alone, it really does feel like RTD1 again lol

The opening ep is kinda meh but not horrible, the finale is uninspired but with nice scenes here and there, the highlight of the season are the eps not written by him (which this time around are way too few...) and the others are ok but nothing incredible. This is a huge improvement over flux, which is my least favourite chibnall season, but it's not a stellar season of dw, which is fine (again, I still had fun with it) and maybe my opinion on it will change with time!!!

if I had to rank the eps I'd go:

Boom

Rogue

73 yards

The devil's chord

Dot and Bubble

Empire of the dead

Space babies

The legend of Ruby Sunday

On a closing note this season also proved that we really, really need someone new to run the show. I know finding someone to take on a show this huge is really difficult (even chibnall had to be persuaded to take the job, and he had written tons of eps and even run torchwood for a while....) but I do feel like it's that or the show will stagnate, and that's the worst case scenario for dw.

Sorry if I was a little bit too negative here sjcjsjxj I may be influenced by the finale, which I didn't like lmao, but this Is what I wanted to get out of my system. Just to say something positive, my thoughts on gatwa and 15 haven't changed in the slightest I LOVE HIM AND I THINK HE'S FANTASTIC <33333