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buckevantommy · 1 year ago

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Red, White & Royal Blue: comprehensive watchnotes + review

i want to start by saying we need more queer rep across all genres, especially romcoms because they're lighthearted and fun and depict (queer) relationships in a positive way and the world (especially america) is in dire need of that right now.

as someone who hasn't read the book, i've been enjoying the general hype for this movie. i'd love to know how much the movie differs from the book but for now i'm just going to judge the movie based on its own merits.

in this post i will share my thoughts for key moments (edit: actually it's a bit of a play-by-play and gets a little long, sorry!) as the narrative unfolds and progresses, and then end by highlighting the main hits and misses of the production.

runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

amazon prime content rating: mature 13+ (australia) [link]

plot score out of 6: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

production score out of 6: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

overall score out of 6: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

is it worth watching? yes. is it worth rewatching? yes.

note: please read all the way through my watchnotes; my opinion changes as the movie progresses. these are first-impressions so i'm at the whim of the narrative as it plays out and my closing thoughts differ from my opening thoughts.

youtube

here we go! screencaps + thoughts below the cut..

we start with a reporter voiceover; it's a nice easy way to set the scene and introduce us to each character, i really like this simple but effective storytelling technique.

full disclosure: i didn't love the scene in the car; it's the first time we hear alex speak and see him up close and it reads as a little too camp for the vibe that's been set so far.

i'm surprised the lighting/filters/editing is so muted; i expected more vibrance and richness of colour to the royal setting, it all feels a bit flat.

the line greeting is a fun little scene: we get a decent intro into alex's personality and learn that he and henry aren't strangers but don't like each other - a classic trope, a fun take on enemies to lovers.

we get a peek into henry's character too: his viewpoint on royal weddings being ostentatious - soon to be echoed by alex - reflects very real concerns in present-day uk, the wasteful and luxurious lifestyles of royals while their people struggle to put food on the table.

the cake scene could've been more fun but it seems to kick off a more upbeat narrative; bad reputation is the perfect song choice and the overlay of newspaper headlines and social media snapshots in the intro credits relates well to the modern era; i'm curious whether social media posts were a significant plot-driver in the book.

president uma therman?! with a southern accent?! what a treat.

zahra and alex's dynamic is fun; shahi is perfect in this role.

as alex is sent back to the uk we're now moving away from the almost stuffy introduction scenes with more lively characters and better pacing.

the frenemies setup between alex and henry is great: we start off with them being at odds and will likely see them slowly but surely get to know and like each other (probably with a few bumps along the way). it's like watching a fanfic come to life bc these tropes and characterisations are the bread and butter of fic (and honestly media with hetero pairings don't know how to use them properly). i'm excited to watch their dynamic shift and their relationship grow.

the photo op handshake scene, the push-pull of it all, henry calling alex 'sweetheart' in jest: the snark between them is so much fun. and this kind of faux affectionate namecalling is actually quite common in hetero romcoms and i enjoy seeing moments like these bridge the gap between hetero and queer pairings; i think if people paid more attention to the common ground of characterisation and character development we would see less worry about showcasing queer relationships, or at least see less plots that focus too much on being queer instead of focusing more on fun plot.

the underhanded swipes and passive aggressive smiles during the interview should've been more fun than they were; i enjoyed the scene but i'm having trouble attuning to the score music - it sounds like it should be backing a fast-paced kitchen scene, it just doesn't match the vibe of what the story and the actors are trying to do and it feels like stock music (which is what you get in made-for-tv and hallmark movies, bland and interchangeable, without identity).

the children's hospital scene starts out kinda cute then jumps into a minor tense situation quite suddenly without much breathing room; they're shoved into a closet (ha) and proceed to have a heart2heart and clear the air; alex brings a little levity to the moment with his pouting, henry's eloquence is a bit stilted in the dialogue but it's helping to highlight the difference in their education/upbringing; the vulnerability they both exhibit with each other for the first time signifies a turning point in their relationship from squabbling to allies perhaps.

their parting scene (for now) hints at what's to come: a NYE party in the usa. henry gets a little flustered as he shakes alex's hand (the second show of possible attraction after the closet scene; i know nothing of their sexuality at this stage but i'm going to guess henry knows he's gay) - it's a little hard to see, and feels letdown by lack of a closeup shot (the cinematography in this movie isn't great; we should be getting lots of close-ups to get a better sense of their mindsets and to capture the emotional nuances between them; some movies do well without close-ups but this one definitely needs more of them).

we're 20mins in and I'm going to make a guess based on pacing so far: we'll see them hookup soon, then move from friends to love, or friends with benefits to love. personally i prefer stretching out the will-they-won't-they a bit, but this is a movie and a romcom not a 100k fic or a several seasons-long tv show. i'm excited to see their dynamic shift and their relationship develop no matter which route they take, and i'm pleased with the plot so far; i can see so many of these scenes on the pages of a book and being excited to see them brought to life on the big screen, i just hope fans of the book aren't disappointed by the movie. i'm looking forward to delving into their backstories a little more.

miguel is definitely flirting with alex and even hints they have a history which makes alex a little nervous; when it comes to sexuality this makes me think alex has at least experimented with guys even if he hasn't accepted that he's queer - but i don't know what his deal is yet and i appreciate the narrative leaving things open for now bc too many movies and tv shows hit their audience over the head with the (specific) queerness of their characters and reveal it too soon so there's no room to wonder or anticipate.

it's montage time: the use of a text-chain is relevant and fun (graphics) as we follow their correspondence inc. commentary on each others lives as viewed by the public. their (flirty) banter is so cute. i'm not a fan of them voicing their texts as it's mixed with voiceovers and feels a bit busy, but it is engaging; the scene melds are a little confusing at first but i appreciate the visual storytelling meant to bridge the distance between them by putting them in the same room - it's clever and feels fresh in an otherwise stale directional effort, and it means we get more scenes of our boys together despite physically being worlds apart.

it's partytime: no matter what side characters surround them, alex and henry steal every scene, as they should since we haven't established any side pairing or even friendship yet (this could be good or bad depending on how the plot progresses, but i prefer the focus to be on our boys so no complaints here). get low being the song of alex's childhood is hilarious especially as henry points out the explicit lyrics; the visual slow-mo of the crowd getting low leaving henry and alex to stare at each other is a great direction and editing choice! it's little moments like these peppered throughout a good romcom that make it memorable and worthwhile because it's not just going through the motions it's inviting you to enjoy every scene, and i'm so happy to see that in a mlm love story.

here comes the first kiss: i wasn't expecting it in this moment, i thought henry was going to storm off but this works too - unfortunately both covered angles of the kiss are obscured and once again i'm grabbing a megaphone to yell 'we need a closeup!' at the director. it's pretty disappointing to not get a better view and see their facial journeys but at least i know we'll be getting many more kisses - which is maybe why this one wasn't given Thee Big Kiss screen moment, i just hope the camera catches the next ones better.

30mins in and we're over with act 1: their dynamic has shifted.

with henry giving alex radio silence after their impromptu kiss at nye, alex confides in his friend nora - it's the first time we've seen them together in a conversation since the limo at the start and the first time we see them actually talk at length and get a sense of their dynamic and nora's personality; i like her, i want to see more of her and more of their friendship. i'd like to see more from the various supporting characters and i trust the plot can do that without taking focus off our boys, the question is: will it?

we also get more explicit talk, specifically reference to the dom/sub undertones of their kiss, and nora saying alex wants henry to 'dick him down' - outstanding; the same level of sexual chatter is seen often with hetero pairings but with queer pairings you seem to get either g-rated fluff or x-rated drama (that usually ends with them dying or breaking up). i wasn't expecting this kind of language and i'm so pleasantly surprised that they went there.

we get more info on alex's sexuality: he's cool with being 'low-level into guys' but is confounded by his apparent attraction to henry, and when nora enquires about how many male partners he's had the scene is conveniently interrupted - classic - but we get our answer: he's been with 2 guys including miguel. alex knows he's queer but is still hesitant about being with more guys and specifically what to do about henry.

things start happening: another kiss at a fancy party, another member of their inner circle finding out, sexual banter, their first time together (bj) - a cut-scene, as is appropriate and expected. alex tells henry he's bisexual - it seems like this is the first time he's saying it out loud, perhaps even settling on the term in the moment, and while it might be nice to get a little more insight i'm glad they don't dwell on it - so many queer love stories fixate on the label thing and provide you with a sort of queer identity origin story, and while that's fine for a coming-of-age flik or something with less plot or more angst it's simply not necessary for every queer love story; every flavour of queer rep is yummy but it's a good thing to see media moving away from characters having to explain themselves instead of just being.

henry reciprocates by saying he's gay. it's nicely done, poignant but not stealing focus from the various other plot pieces at play; it's rare to see a coming out that doesn't get heavy so kudos to the writers and the boys here.

we get another insight into their private lives: alex wears the key to his austin home around his neck - texas ie. the state up for grabs in the president's reelection, which may recieve help from alex's proposal (this has been a recurring mention and i look forward to seeing what unfolds); henry has never owned a key which is so telling of a controlled life where he doesn't really own anything.

the bittersweet note of henry regrettably marking their dalliance as 'casual'; you can see they both want more but alex was not expecting nora's words of the closeted prince to thwart this thing between them; they both agree to friends with benefits but ofc they're falling for each other. the little addition of henry nervously fiddling with his ring is a nice character detail.

i like that whenever they make plans to see each other again the plot doesn't dither with B-plots - i don't think we've had a single scene where one or both of them weren't present and they've always been centre-stage. plans for another date are followed immediately by that date: the scene switches between a fast-paced polo match and a rendezvous in an equipment shed. we're getting as many stolen moments - sexy or sweet - as the runtime can fit and again that's so remeniscent of fanfic.

paris: 'prince henry belongs to britain. henry fox has to belong to himself or else he'll vanish' this tugs at my heartstrings and the light angst of it paired with denying alex the chance to comfort him in semi-public is the kind of understated writing that makes an angsty emotional impact without being loud about it.

there hasn't been many good cinematography shots but the europe settings are giving the directors (or b-roll archives?) something pretty to insert with parisian cafes and palace gardens.

henry @ alex: don't fall in love with me, we can't be together but we can have fun. also henry @ alex: 'we should make love tonight, here in paris'. the discussion of who will be doing what is handled with nuance instead of stuffed dialogue; you can do it either way depending on the story but they found the best way to touch on the topic without overdoing it. learning alex has never fully been with a guy is another moment of vulnerability and it should be said they both play these moments well, but even in intimate moments like this we see them being themselves in some measure of levity, reminding each other that they were friends first and remain friends still, that they can be themselves, that there's care and familiarity between them, they're safe. the direction improves during this sequence with close-ups of bare skin - but that intimacy is undercut by switching to mid-shots; the softness of the scene is handled well enough but the lingering mid-shots would be better as short close-ups.

one visual reminds me of that Kill Your Darlings sex scene:

the sex scene is oddly slow, like the boys are moving in slow-motion, and the movements are a little awkward - an easy fix for this would've been to reduce the lighting in the room; it's very bright so we lose those intimate shadows and the mystery that goes with them.

the golden lit opulence is something that's been done before with gay sex scenes, notably Interview With The Vampire (2022) and True Blood. below you can see the similarities in composition and setting, and how rwrb could've used more shadow and less light for contrast to help heighten the intimacy (they could've still kept it bright if they took inspiration from the Cruel Intentions sex scene):

as they lay together in the afterglow the wide camera angle catches two condom wrappers on the floor by the bed - a small but mighty detail in both depicting safe sex and stating in no uncertain terms that these two guys had penetrative intercourse.

it's inferred that henry doesn't want to be a royal, doesn't want to live in the spotlight. on the flipside alex loves the opportunity to help people and to be a role model for people like him to look up to.

unfortunately there's a lot of dead air in their d+m pillowtalk scene and it's not the first time this has happened; it comes down to 1 of 4 things: direction, editing, music, acting. the boys play the scene well but their emotion and vulnerability is lost in the wide angle shots - moments like this highlight how poor the direction is, but even bad direction can be helped along by editing and music, but in this scene (and many more) that's simply not what happened; the easiest post-production fix would be to add a musical score to drown out the too-long silence that just reads as awkward; adding some rainsounds and distant thunder would've also worked. but even without a soundtrack this scene could've been improved during filming: it's begging for close-ups and better contrast lighting (everything is still too bright, it looks overly lit like a soundstage not a hotel room).

we end on a hopeful but very dark scene of alex flying home: shots like this need color or light; if i saw this scene out of context i wouldn't guess it was from a happy moment in a romcom (alex's black-gray wardrobe also does nothing to highlight the hope and love he's feeling).

we're just about at the 1hr mark: i want to take a moment to highlight some important plot points about the boys' separate storylines which i'm loving not just for the depth it adds to their characters but for the important subject matter in the present-day: alex's family history, background and ethnicity and what it means both to him and to his country, as well as his passion for wanting to be more involved in politics in order to help people is uplifting. we haven't seen henry's passion explained just yet but the childrens hospital visits and condemning exorbitant royal spending show that he has a heart, conscience and sense.

we're finally getting some politico plot: president uma, the sneaky flirty journalist miguel, alex's plan to help turn texan voters - yes this is a romcom but i've been hoping they would delve into political matters on both sides of the pond and now here we are; it doesn't come out of nowhere, these narrative threads have been woven in from the start, but it's taken an hour for us to get a dedicted scene (the partial scenes with miguel were overshadowed by his flirting and imho skeevy vibes so i'm glad we're getting other characters in on this plotline).

rather than draw out the drama of mother vs son the plot chooses to skip over the filler and go right to a resolution via mom believing in her son; alex is off to texas to implement his campaign strategy. adventures surely await.

1hr mark: we're halfway done and onto act 2 (3? we're in a new act).

points for the cinematography: the landscape shots are striking and gorgeous and they ground the visuals in a way that the fake snow (nye party), greenscreen DC skyline (white house balcony), and greenscreen paris skyline (through a hotel window) simply didn't. real locations, even pretty b-roll, have been lacking. the campaign office feels real not staged - it may seem like a small thing but it's actually crucial to aid believability, which is also helped along by a backing score and voiceovers from the boys reading their emails to each other (it's almost too busy but they forgo the graphic overlays so it works).

montage time: campaign office and real locations backed by a somewhat rousing musical score and email voiceovers - which seem to overlap towards the end but something is off with the sound layers because one is almost too soft to hear while the other one stays loud. we get a bunch more locations and scenes outside with real sky and sunshine which helps the believability; all the scenes in the white house feel fake so real locations are a win at every turn.

i don't like miguel. his first interaction with alex was kinda fun and intriguing but the more scenes he's in the more i wish screentime was being made for other characters; i don't know if it's the character or the actor or both but i'm just not digging his vibe. if he turns out to be a dbag then it works, but if the plot intends to turn him into a friend i hope his vibe is tweaked moving forward.

alex storms off and henry is suddenly there - the movie has so many shots that linger too long and feature dead air, but it also has a lot of these scenes that aren't given room to breathe; alex should've run into henry in an outer room instead of a prince walking into a crowded bar and claiming 'skullduggery' - it's poor planning and poor direction, but if it was like this in the book it definitely should've been altered slightly for believability, even if only to move them away from the main entrance and many prying eyes. alex basically whisper-shouts that he needs to get henry in his room 'right now' and whether it's sexually loaded or meant to conceal him it fails to be covert on both accounts.

another cut-off sex scene and more post-coital chatting; alex asks henry a bunch of personal things and we learn henry isn't allowed to vote - which relates to alex's campaigning and the fact he (somehow) got 1million voters to register (in an undetermined timeframe). their not-so-casual affair has reached the point of more people finding out: miguel obviously suspects, and now zahra finds herself in the know. we get a butt! and a frantic search by zahra for the 'rando girl'; fun subtext when she finds henry in the closet. there's mention of a percy and i have no idea who that is, and henry confesses he told his sister about them which gets an 'aww' from alex - which is at odds with the whole 'just casual' thing they agreed on earlier; ofc they're both developing feelings but to say them out loud (like in the emails as well) undercuts that nice little angsty moment of when the whole lust-not-love agreement was made after their first time together; did it play out this way in the book? bc right now their relationship reads like a secret romance instead of a secret fling which is fine but it contradicts what they said; pick a relationship and stick with it instead of saying one thing and doing the opposite.

oof, okay: while i love zahra's stresshead freakout i take issue with comments about who tops and bottoms - it's fine to discuss between the boys and anyone else who knows the specifics (maybe nora?) but to have a character with no proof state that she knows (by belittling alex, mind you) is not cool, not cool zahra. alex is quick to say he won't stop seeing henry and again it's playing like a romance not a fling - the least they could do here is focus on henry's reaction but we're not given the chance as the camera follows zahra as she leaves. kudos for zahra giving us 'little lord fuckleroy' and her witty rant but the scene misses several opportunities for close-ups once again.

the next scene takes place in the oval office: it feels like a scene or two are missing; alex comes out to his mom and ellen (literally just realised her name was ellen thanks to the subtitles; i thought the ellen on the posters in texas were for her representative since there were no visuals of her. she's not the only supporting character whose name i don't know) supporting alex. the couch cuddle is an awkward angle and looks more like a cougar cradling her boytoy but points for the president mentioning various queer identities as well as specific safe gay sex practice - has this ever been done? this feels groundbreaking.

it's getaway time: alex's dad, nora, henry, and henry's friend (who we met at nye and whose name i can't rememeber) make up the group. the roadtrip visuals are sad - the wideshot of the desert is drab and looks like greenscreen, there's no sunshine and no fun roadtrip vibes, then we get a road-level driving view of a dusty road with no car in sight (stock footage?) - it's mismatched especially with the greenery surrounding the modern minimalist house they arrive at. alex's email voiceovers are starting to annoy me: his tone is that of a highschool drama student or disney channel energy - it sounds fake. oh, percy is henry's friend from nye.

this is the first i'm hearing of ellen having published a book: fiction or non-fiction? autobiography? this is relevent since henry voiced wanting to be a writer so they may find some common ground when they get to know each other.

another montage: their first day inc. henry showing off his ball skills to alex's dad and them all playing volleyball - it's a pity the weather is drab because sunshine would help lift these scenes particularly bc the production crews haven't bothered adding any filters. we were robbed of alex talking henry through the family photos on display as he leans down to look and the scene cuts away - i wish we were give more of these moments. the club pop isn't what i would've chosen for the montage sequence; there's a difference between eclectic and giving a movie its own musical identity - rwrb doesn't have one, it's a bit of a mess. it is nice to see the boys sharing a hammock in their shorts with hairy legs on display - body hair is not common in young queer media.

the bar sequence has a few odd moments: their entrance vibes make them all look like vamps on the prowl and henry is the new baby vamp; alex's comment about henry being excited for karaoke has no reference point in the narrative so far - all we know is he named his dog after david bowie and now he proceeds to sing queen - and he can sing! and does alex catch a faux kiss from henry on stage? the audio fade as alex gets all mooney-eyed could do with more switches to henry, maybe with their eyes locking - there's just so many scenes that beg for better direction and editing. we get a bit of decent set dressing, blocking, lighting and symbolism - like the shot of henry singing onstage between an american flag and bull skull in blue [re:gay] lighting with shirt to match; bisexual lighting could also be argued with the pink-purple hue or it could be ascribed to love.

i like alex and his father's dynamic, i wish we'd seen more of them together before now. 'patron saint of gender-neutral bathrooms in austin' is another win for positive queer rep especially in america's political climate right now. i'm confused over his father's advice relating to his own relationship: alex hasn't told him about henry or his bisexuality yet(?) so the purpose of 'your mom and i were a stupid idea too' is unclear.

the shots of the wooden platform on the lake: reminds me of the queer coming of age movie jongens. i wonder if it's a nod:

the shot of henry escaping alex's love confession and finding solace in the lakewater is another rare, well done cinematography moment.

alex truly is smitten and it's adorable. henry is more reserved in his affections. we've seen a lot of alex's life and family and heard about his backstory and ambitions, meanwhile henry's side is all but unexplored: 'i can take you around to all the places i grew up and you can get to understand my life a little more' - two points here: 1) i think we've seen enough of alex's life and journey; i hope the narrative shifts to the uk for a bit so we can see henry's side of things but i get the feeling we're going to be focused on alex's journey and i'm worried bc atm the narrative feels unbalanced. 2) it's painfully clear that alex sees them as a couple and i think that's about to blow up in his face bc henry isn't ready for that (as he already stated).

henry cuts alex's love confession short and we finally get a moving backing score (even though it was a little late in the scene). i do love how the story has progressed: henry instigated things at nye, then told alex not to fall in love with him, and now alex is in love with henry and thinking henry loves him too. the next few scene progressions are odd bc we get henry sad alone in bed wallowing presumably about not being able to have a public relationship, then he's sneaking off with his bags in the night - alex's shirtless state suggests they were together one last time but that feels a little underhanded for alex's sake.

we're about 2/3 of the way through at 117mins: alex's personal story had a nice arc to it and now with the boys' separation we move onto henry's personal arc which will likely carry us through to the end of the movie or at least keep focus for a decent while.

we follow henry on the plane and to his home: he's trying to swallow down his pain and move on but still obviously pining for alex. i'm keen to see his side of things and his relationship with his family and royal duties. the soft bittersweet alt-folk lovesong playing in the background is a good choice for mood and lyrics and the plane is better lit than the earlier shot of alex - we even get a pretty sunset through the window; the two scenes stand in opposite: alex was in love but in the dark, and here henry is bathed in the light of riches and a setting sun and is miserable - if that was intentional then kudos bc i love visual meta, but it doesn't immediately read that way and alex's scene still deserves more lighting and colour.

more real locations and natural light: english gardens and sunshine as henry strolls and confides in his sister. alex is fun, but he's a very different vibe to henry and i prefer henry's emotional expression more. i'm glad we're finally getting henry's side, starting with not wanting to break alex's heart, not wanting the king to find out, and resenting the presence of royalty and doubting their need in the 21st century - again relating well to the times, and bringing things back to how alex has inspired him: henry doesn't believe the work royals do has meaningful impact on peoples' lives, whereas alex is out there making a real difference.

the bittersweet lovesong from before resumes over footage of henry playing the piano: missed opportunity to have henry's playing set the melancholy tone over the montage of royal meetings and tea while reading an online article about alex's bright future in politics.

we see nora comforting alex but not percy comforting henry despite mention of him; we didn't even get anything from percy during the getaway and i'm annoyed bc he's almost a non-character, a wasted supporting role.

alex flies to henry: instead of being a grand romantic gesture it's undercut by angst which is a nice change of mood - the storm outside and a rain-drenched alex are perfect.

the palace setting is opulent and looks real even if it isn't, so well done on the location scouts or set designers. the lighting is also really good here. the angsty emotional confrontation is well-scripted but again we lose so much visual impact as the camera just loiters on alex in a mid-shot instead of giving us close-ups of his face and switching over to henry's reception and back to alex. 'my life is the crown and yours is politics and i will not trade one prison for another' - this sounds like a book quote, i love it; we learn that not only does he not want to be a royal but he doesn't want to be with alex bc of the spotlight that he lives in. henry tells alex he doesn't know the real him - fitting for a narrative that has heavily favoured alex's story up til now, the audience doesn't really know henry either; we've seen glimpses but nothing substantial. this scene is a confession, confrontation, venting, resigned acceptance, and fight for love - once again a segment lifted right out of fanfic; it's a little cringey but it's heartfelt, delivered well, and for once the setting feels real - the colors are rich, the lighting contrast is spot-on, and there's a gentle hopeful musical score in the background. this is the sort of love confession scene usually reserved for near the end of movies but we have over 30mins left - i hope they fill that time with alex in henry's world.

sometimes a closeted prince sneaks off to a museum in the dead of night to take in all the naked male statues - am i the only one seeing this and trying not to laugh? it's supposed to be sombre and beautiful but they put two queer characters circling naked male statues and i can only take so much! also: does henry just have a key to the museum? they slowdance to a modern version of can't help falling in love with you - it should be melancholy and romantic but again the lighting fails the narrative, it's too well lit and lacks contrast. henry asks for patience and makes a promise to be brave - this feels like a goodbye (for now).

on the tarmac there's a trading of personal affects: we don't know what henry's ring means (maybe we'll learn?) but it's basically a promise ring in this moment and we've seen it be something of a comfort to his nerves, and we know alex's key is his home - which is where the heart is.

1hr 30mins: we're onto the final act.

the fade to black after the boys part ways is a very odd choice considering it doesn't happen at any other point in the movie; fades are usually reserved for final scenes so it's a weird fit as we have almost 30mins left.

henry wakes to a scandal: their emails have been hacked and shared with the media, photos of their museum haunt have leaked too but are not shown. who is to blame? a montage of news segments referencing their relationship inc. an interview with miguel which insinuates his involvement - confirming suspicions of him being a dbag.

alex's press conference becomes voiceover to henry facing the music while a gentle piano music track plays - scenes like this out of context could fool viewers into thinking the production quality is better than it is. his speech is overlain with unseen moments of their romance and ends on a hopeful note despite the interspersed scenes of henry looking miserable; this is noteworthy bc while alex is allowed to speak his truth at a press conference henry is shown with people at a table speaking for him and his brother berating him, he has no chance to speak for himself, no freedom.

zahra is supportive but still a comically semi-dramatic stresshead; she's a gem that we haven't seen enough of - and is apparently in a sexual relationship with henry's not-butler; she helps put alex in contact with henry calling them 'lovesick homosexuals' (affectionate). at last we get henry playing the piano and it seems to match the score recently played, but i have a new theory of why his music wasn't used as the backing track: bc not doing so plays into his story of living a controlled life not being allowed any expression of self beit in word or song. alex calls henry 'baby' for the first time on the phone and i wish we'd gotten it sooner.

alex flies to henry to comfort him, support him: the stairwell hug is a little awkward but sweet and one of few good direction choices. henry plays piano for alex, expressing himself freely in his own home - they even play a few notes together of my country tis of thee, expressing their love freely.

king stephen fry as i live and breathe! they cast an iconic, out and proud gay man to play the king and he plays the role so well. in fact this entire scene is so well done not just in how the plot plays out but in the direction: the room is opulent and real and suits wide-shots but we also get close-ups, and switches between the various characters in ways we haven't seen for the majority of the movie; perhaps such a turnaround is a visual choice: to see people individually and up close as henry is freed - but it's a flimsy excuse for the otherwise poor direction we've been subject to.

henry watches as alex fiddles nervously with henry's ring he now wears; it's a reminder of their shared promise and how close they are to being together no matter what happens.

crowds gather in the streets: queer identities have gained a lot of ground on equality in the past few decades but they still experience backlash and hate both in the uk and america. to see thousands of people turn out in support of their queer prince, rainbow flags flying, as the king himself tries to bumble through the indefensible claim that only traditional values will be welcome by the people.. what a sight to behold. 'starting today the world will know me for who i am, not who you want me to be'.

back to usa: texas is the turning state that ends up winning ellen reelection. in her victory speech she talks of representing everyone from 'auto workers to transgender students', another win for queer rep. the entire election sequence is directed well and edited well - with inserts of news footage and ellen's voiceover with nothing getting muddied; production is stepping up their game for the home stretch.

alex and henry visit alex's austin home using the key henry now wears; the camera shot of the street is striking and more proof that the crew can give us decent visuals when they try. 'we won' is the shared sentiment as they enter the house - tbh i'm not clear on why: do they plan to live there? is it a matter of sharing more of alex's roots, or the simple symbolism of home is where the heart is? the key ties it together but the meaning is lost, it feels like an odd place to end. the shooting star above the house is cliche but perhaps it has a simple meaning too: wishes do come true.

the end!

that's it for my watchnotes. below i'm going to talk a bit about plot and production highlights and drawbacks.

the trailer: i didn't watch the trailer before i watched the movie and i think doing so would've heightnened my expectations. it's really well made, sets the mood for a heartfelt romcom, and the song choice of lil nas x is perfect and the whole thing feels like a high quality fanvid - which honestly is what i want in queer trailers because it means the focus and tone is where we want it. but it does spoil a few key moments that i wish were omitted, so i'm glad they weren't ruined for me.

overall plot impressions: i've mentioned a few times that rwrb plays like a fanfic and i stand by that. i think most viewers will see the plot progression and know it's a book adaptation - it has a flow and a busyness that almost doesn't work but they handled the pacing really well. i enjoyed the story! the romance and cute humour balanced well and all the plot points were resolved. i particularly liked that the book didn't make alex a bitter politico baby but instead excited to use his platform to help people - and we see that wish reflected in henry's bitterness and misery over his royal standing bc he also wants to help people. their characterisations and relationship was engaging enough to want to know what happens next, and production failings aside, taking a step back from my messy scene-by scene commentary i think it's a story worth watching. it's not perfect (again, production issues) but it's worthwhile.

things i would change: i mention in my watchnotes that i like the focus being on the boys and not giving us filler scenes with other characters, but as the story progresses it feels like it's missing the inclusion of other characters to help round out the narrative; scenes like talking with friends and family - and not just about their relationship or sexuality but about their lives - i want to see more of the side characters bc they have potential for supportive and tangential plot and could've enriched the story a little more.

we get barely a taste of other interpersonal relationships with alex helping with the presidential campaign, but next to nothing on henry's side; i was expecting a conversation with someone about the royals' role in modern society instead of just venting to his sister - it feels like a missed opportunity. i also would've liked to see more of henry's life. i'm glad the narrative shifted to give us his side towards the end but i would've liked to see more of his journey.

there's so many elements of henry's story we could've known more about: the hospital visit was so sweet and he usually goes without cameras so it's a personal investment - might he be interested in doing more nonprofit work? we know he can sing, play piano, loves Byron, and wants to be a writer - he's a creative boy, explore that! and what about his relationship with his mother, and when his father was alive? the plot could've switched between the boys during their correspondance showing henry's royal duties and mindset and given more insight into his character instead of focusing solely on alex. alex's story is nicely fleshed out but henry remains something of a mystery and it leaves the story feeling lopsided - time may be the issue so again, perhaps a mini series would've been better, but if it was a choice to keep henry's side unexplored compared to alex's i get it but i wanted more of him.

i mentioned my confusion over alex's key and henry's ring. i would've liked them to be touched on a little more: is henry's ring of royal lineage significance or from his father? I think his brother was wearing the same one on his finger. on that note, i would've liked to learn more about henry's father: he was an actor, so why not tell us something about his films, have henry or alex rewatching one of his films together over the phone or at least show us a family photo.

for a minute i wished we'd gotten more international relations but that doesn't really suit for adolescent princes; if it was a king and a president or heir prince and president/senator it would've called for that. the political stuff we got was a nice enough amount and I'm glad it was part of the plot.

more overlay graphics and social media inserts would've been fun - relatable for the modern era. i'm guessing they weren't prevalent in the book otherwise we might have gotten more, or it could've been a budget thing. they weren't necessary for the plot but the styling reminded you this movie is a romcom.

the main characters: alex and henry are likeable in their respective senses, but it's interesting to note that while alex occupies the majority of screentime and plot, henry [nicholas] is the one who steals every scene; he's mysterious [re:reserved] and vulnerable leaving the viewer wanting to know more about him. alex is fun and charming and vibrant and he brings henry to life, while henry shines in the more tender intimate moments. the development of their relationship works for pacing and there's enough time spent together that the viewer can witness them falling in love.

from a technical standpoint: the movie is lacking. my main issue is with the direction: the lack of close-up shots makes it seem like they didn't have the equipment - but this is fucking amazon! they can afford it! so either they didn't want to spend the money on a queer romcom - which is insane considering the times we live in and how queer rep in media is gaining traction and speed - or the director was so unskilled that they didn't think to utilise close-ups. sadly, the direction is lazy and uninspired for much of the movie with far too many mid-shots when the scenes call for close-ups; it also needs more switching between characters to capture reactions rather than just focus on one person while they monolgue (this could also be a script issue).

note: when i was skimming through a second time for screencaps i didn't have any issue with the direction; from faraway or if you're not really paying attention the direction and soundtrack are fine. it's when you're hanging on every scene that you feel letdown by the repeated missteps.

the script was a little clunky. there's a lot of monolgues - fine for a book but they come off a little cliche on-screen and often feel like a stage production. but these instances were made worse by the poor direction and editing teams. however the boys' banter and conversations are always good.

the overlay of graphics, the scene meldings where they're in the same room, and inset scene segments, are all visually appealing - but aren't consistent throughout the movie. i was expecting more social media and correspondance visuals but they get replaced by voiceovers and montages which don't have as much impact (although the execution of this style is done well).

the lighting needs work: most of the night scenes feel overlit and fake, lacking shadows for intimacy and just feel all around uncaring and drab. i swear some scenes look like they didn't see the editing room - lots of dead air, which can also be attributed to a directing issue ie. not getting enough shots. high budget romcoms are brighter and have more contrast, use better lighting and filters - and sometimes are too bright and feel too fake - but the overlighting and lack of richness in rwrb leaves it feeling drab; the plot and characters are begging for more colour, more contrast! giving the story what it needs wouldn't have adversely altered the vibe, it would have elevated it to what it deserved to be.

there was a problem with the soundtrack: the score was messy when present, but absent more than present. sometimes the score was too fast or too slow and had no discernible vibe - honestly it sounds like stock music, and while i do understand that romcoms don't need a signature sound they do deserve their musical needs met. there was a lack of musical score in many scenes which resulted in dead air between dialogue; it feels like the music track is missing, and without that atmospheric element the characters are left hanging and the vibe is awkward and unfinished. and the chosen licensed songs are fine on their own but when you cobble them together you get a lack of cohesion, no unified vibe or atmospheres that compliment one another, it feels mismatched rather than eclectic.

when these seemingly small issues pile up and are recurring it affects the quality of the movie and can lower the overall reception; people can tell that it wasn't given the care or money it deserved and then they start to ask why - and you better hope you have a good answer.

the runtime is considerably long: 2hrs is long for a romcom. it makes sense given that it's a streamer debut and not in theatres, and they make good use of the time in progressing the plot and letting love bloom, but while the focus on the boys and their relationship is what audiences are tuning in for there could've been more room for the supporting characters. you don't need side characters to make a good romcom but when the production quality is lacking like it is for rwrb side characters can help add dimension and believability - it's the actors that make up for the failings of production.

i think they could've done a 3-part mini series instead: flesh out their personal arcs more - especially henry - and give the side characters more screentime - nora, percy, henry's sister, zahra, the not-butler, alex's parents; the plot calls for more of them but they're not given the chance which results in the boys feeling somewhat isolated no matter how supportive their family and friends are.

content rating: american content ratings are strange because it skips from pg-13 to 17yo with a guardian? but here in australia rwrb is rated m13+ on the amazon prime app. teens and young adults are the target audience and going by the language used and lack of nudity it makes sense it wasn't given a more mature rating because the content doesn't call for it. basically there's nothing to be censored - which is good in a way, bc it proves you can depict a queer romance with sex without it coming off like a porno. hopefully rwrb will motivate more queer productions and invite audiences to read the book and to seek out more queer fiction.

as for the actors: it's nice to see some fresh faces - i didn't recognise anyone except uma and fry. the diverse casting is also a win with most of the side characters being poc, and a biracial poc in the queer main pairing is a double win.

alex aka. taylor, is the charmer, the enigmatic one of the pair and real easy on the eyes. at times it felt like he was falling back on his good looks, and other times his line delivery was almost farcical and reads as over the top or awkward - but this is something that should've been mitigated by better directing, better editing; it takes a village, as they say. but taylor also gives more than he gets from everyone around him - with the exceptions of henry and nora - which is a shame. i can't help but think taylor would've been better suited to a brighter more energetic vibe for rwrb - the production around him falls flat including most of the side characters (with a few exceptions) who did nothing to brighten the atmosphere let alone elevate it to a standard that shows how much love and care should've gone into creating rwrb.

henry aka. nicholas, may play the more reserved character but he doesn't shy away from taking us on an emotional journey. he has greater emotional range and knows how to use his face and body to convey those emotions whether they be small and private or an outburst of passion. imho nicholas was the shining star of this movie despite getting less screentime; he brought his a-game to almost every scene and i'm sad this was a romcom not a dramedy or drama bc from what he shows us he would do wonders in genres with more angst.

other characters: hilson was great - we didn't get anywhere near enough of her and her friendship with alex; i would've loved to see her own character fleshed out a little if rwrb were a mini series, and i was actually hoping for a friendship or fling/romance between her and henry's sister. shahi's character was a well-placed addition and she tried so hard to nail the comedic timing and tone despite letdowns from the director - and again, we didn't get enough of her. uma was perfect casting in a power postion but she was a little stiff in the motherly role, namely the physical aspects - maybe she's like that in the book but for on-screen it was a little awkward. as for the other side characters we barely saw - percy, shauun, alex's bodyguard and henry's redheaded sister whose roles were so minimal i don't even remember their name - they all held potential for relationships with our boys and their own storylines and are another vote in favor of rwrb being better suited to a mini series.

overall closing thoughts: this one is a winner. is it a masterpiece? no. the biggest letdown is the production quality, but the story and leading men perservere well enough and deliver a decent, fun queer romcom. it plays out like a book in the sense that the narrative is layered and the plot is full, which makes it different to the average romcom which barely has plot let alone good plot. rwrb might not seem like groundbreaking content but a feature-length queer-focused romcom is, even in 2023 - you'd think we'd have more by now but maybe this is the start, maybe rwrb will prove to producers and streamers that the viewership is here and hungry for more. i know there are always issues with adapting books for the screen but with so many quality queer books out there we might be in for an era of queer reads making it onto the big screen and i for one am here for that, across all genres.

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #spoilers #watchnotes #review #queer characters #queer cinema #lgbtqia #mlm #gay characters #bisexual male characters #queer reads #long post

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ratjay · 7 months ago

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So I'm not all the way through (watch group paused for the day after ep3) but the boys s4 is exactly what I expected going into the Boys as a show. I've read my fair share of comics, with a majority of my print collection being 90s/00s. So when I heard the show was based on a comic from that period, published by a smaller company, I knew what the source material was like. Shocking for the sake of shocking schlock that maybe has an interesting idea in there if you REALLY squinted.

But the show surprised me. I could still TELL where some weird things had to be changed (Kimiko is the big example) but it was enjoyable. I liked The Boys Season 1-3, even if there were some writing choices I thought were questionable. And then I watched season 4 and I have thoughts.

Like big one is that it's weird as hell we have 7 major black characters (counting MM's family) and 4/7 are villains. A-Train and both Noirs might be getting/got a redemption (or as close as the show gets) but it is noticeable that this keeps happening. Especially when they added Sage, a completely original character, to the cast. They can't fall back on its remnant from the original because Sage is from them. They added a new major black character and she's a villain. (No shade to any of these actors though- all of them are great even if I don't like the roles)

Second, the sex and gore feels turned up even more than it was in earlier seasons. There's a full hour for each episode and it feels like so much of it is just wasted on Nothing. I've always felt a lot of it was pointless shock value but at least I had a plot that was moving along with it. And side note- someone pointed it out to me and now I can't stop noticing how sexuality (and often kink/fetish) is almost always tied to our villains. Like if a new supe shows up and they oppose the Boys in any way, expect a sex scene with them. Only one I haven't seen it for is Firecracker but we still got 5 episodes for that to change...

And the story. So much of the writing is just the trump election again. We all lived through it. I heard 99% of the talking points before and they're given the slightest spin possible. The boys hasn't ever been subtle with its political commentary but it never felt like I'm just watching a Boys AU of the news cycle. It's not fun or interesting most of the time. Wild guess- we're gonna see the homelanders try to do jan 6 before the season's over.

Finally rapid fire not fully thought out:

What the fuck is up with starlight this season? The mean girl thing with firecracker feels out of nowhere (though that could be on me since it's been awhile since I watched 1-3) and in general it feels like they don't know what to do with her...

I'm begging people to stop writing all people with a southern accent as racist idiots who believe/spread conspiracy theories. It's not hard.

I hope this show drags on for 11 more seasons and ends in such a way that the party city wig in the supernatural finale looks like high end special effects.

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newmangroup · 8 months ago

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It’s OK to Have an Accent as Long as You’re Not Faking It

America is a melting pot of people from just about every country in the world. Most newcomers learn English when they get here and, if they’re already adults, will almost always speak with an accent. There is nothing wrong with having an accent. It’s important to articulate your words correctly, but an accent can actually make a speaker sound more interesting. Have you ever noticed that people with a British accent are often taken more seriously? Their accent gives them an air of authority and superior intelligence. Don’t Fake It On the other hand, some executives and politicians will fake an accent because they think it makes them sound more “down home” and their audience will identify with them. It didn’t work for Hillary Clinton on this campaign stop. Ms. Clinton is from Chicago, and while she spent much of her life in Arkansas as the wife of then Governor Bill Clinton, she never picked up a Southern accent – until now. If her attempt at a Southern accent was to make her audience feel like they were part of her team, it didn’t work. Her accent wasn’t authentic and distracted from her message. It isn’t polite to mimic the accent of your audience. It’s offensive and people will think you’re making fun of them or talking down to them. Often people from other parts of the country discount Southerners because of their accents and think they are slow on the uptake. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth as Southern politicians increasingly dominate the national scene. Show Your Respect New immigrants work hard to assimilate into a new culture. My father was Dutch but he only spoke Dutch with his mother and brother as well as a few Dutch cousins. As a child, I didn’t realize my father had an accent because the way he spoke was perfectly natural to me. It’s hurtful to make fun of people with accents and tell jokes at their expense. It isn’t easy to master a crisp “R” or pronounce an “S” correctly. And let’s not forget the “L” sound, another tongue twister for many different nationalities. Imagine yourself being relocated to Japan, Scandinavia or Greece. It certainly wouldn’t be easy. When working with clients who have a problem with particular sounds, we use a thesaurus to find substitute words that have the same meaning but are easier for them to pronounce. When you’re having a conversation with someone with an accent who is groping for the correct word, you shouldn’t finish his sentence for him. Give him time to think of the word and don’t offer to help unless requested to do so. Take your cue from the speaker who may finally ask, “I can’t quite think of the word I want. Can you help me out?” Then politely ask, “Is this the word you want?” Certainly don’t laugh and embarrass someone when you see her struggling. How would you feel if you were on the receiving end of a smirk? Why Do People Fake an Accent? People fake accents because they think it makes them sound smarter, richer, more cultured, and more memorable. But it can have the opposite effect. A colleague once worked with the director of advertising in the U.S. for a British publication. She had a thick British accent. But it was clearly fake as the director was actually an American. Her staff laughed at her behind her back because her accent was so phony. Always be yourself. That’s more than good enough to demonstrate your capabilities and be perceived as the authentic person that you are. You don’t need to adopt a fake accent to be perceived as a leader who is smart, competent and an engaging communicator. Read the full article

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babyjakes · 3 years ago

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right up nice, where you belong.

〈 disclaimer: this blog posts content not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. minors are strictly prohibited from viewing, sharing, or interacting with this blog. for more information on this blog's commitment to protecting minors, read our full statement here. 〉

summary | lee’s got you tied up sitting pretty on his thigh, and you’re in for a wild ride, whether you want it or not.

pairing | soft!dark!daddy!lee bodecker x innocent!little!reader

warnings | you gotta read at least lee’s dialogue in that delicious southern accent!! otherwise it’s not gonna have the same effect, ddlg (daddy!lee little!reader), dub/non-con (lee is pretty dark, reader probably definitely doesn’t want what’s being done to her), thigh riding, abuse of power/authority (just inherently ig), mocking/degredation, praise kink, fingering, forced orgasm w/ squirting, overstim, crying & begging to stop, handcuffs, choking, pussy slapping

word count | 1,235

an | alright friends,, here it is :’-) i am so scared to post this lol, this is my first time ever writing for lee and i really wanted to do him justice so i hope you all enjoy! i wasn’t quite sure how to categorize this one; it has very dark vibes and i feel the dub/non-con warnings are definitely warranted but i’m also not sure if it’s completely a dark!lee situation or just very heavy roleplaying. i’m leaving that up to you to decide!

“P-please…” your crackling voice breaks through the quiet of the poorly-lit living room, the only other sound filling your ears being the soft labored breathing of the large man behind you. Though your glossy stare is focused on the old-fashioned television set in front of you, you can feel the sheriff’s predatory gaze running its hungry hands all along you as you quiver in fear, the slightest whimper rising in your throat triggering the man to jolt you gently against him once more, only worsening the terrible burning between your legs.

With a hand on either side of your spasming waist, Lee holds you upright atop his thick stump of a thigh, the warm muscle of his leg straining beneath his dark-grey work pants and rubbing up in all the worst ways possible against the thin cotton strip of your pastel strawberry print underwear. Agonizingly slow, yet forceful, the man works your hips in a gentle rolling motion, the expansion of your wet patch inevitable as you do everything in your power to keep from submitting fully to his vile tactics.

“Please,” you plead again, earning a sustained hush from the sheriff as he wraps one arm a bit further around you, pressing a hand over your quaking tummy.

“Come on now, angel. Don’t gotta make this any more difficult than it has to be,” Lee’s low voice hums against the back of your neck, the gentle presence of his lips against your tender flesh sending shivers down your spine. “Jus’ wanna take care of you, sweetha’t, you gonna let me do that? Hmm?” At the feeling of his hand trailing down from your belly button to hovering over the crumpled fabric of your skirt, your breath hitches in your throat, a pathetic sob forming in the pit of your stomach.

“N-no, Sheriff Bod-decker,” you hiccup, cheeks burning in humiliation as salty tears begin escaping from the corners of your eyes.

“Oh suga’ pie, you poor thing,” the sturdy man croons, leaning his head over to the side of yours to get a better look at your face, now glistening with fresh tears. “Haven’t even touched you yet, and you’s already cryin’? Must be such a sensitive little doll,” Lee frowns in mock sympathy, dragging his hand down further to cup over your barely-clothed mound, a smug smile forming on his face. “Oh, but looks here like someone might be enjoyin’ thems'selves- look at how wet you’re gettin’ for me, angel. Daddy really gettin’ you that worked up?”

As he works his strong fingers over the wet patch forming at your core, you let out a distressed squeal, your wrists clanking helplessly behind your back in the tight pair of metal cuffs you’ve been tied up with. “Now, now, little one. Don’t be gettin’ too fussy on me,” the sheriff warns, tightening his grip on you with one arm as the other continues rubbing over your ruined panties, your cunt releasing an obscene amount of fluid as the man’s thigh and fingers are worked up against you just right. “Wouldn’t wanna have to tie you down on the bed, show you how fast I can really make you come undone,” he threatens, “no, that wouldn’t be nearly as fun. Love havin’ you just like this, babydoll. Right up nice on Daddy’s leg, hmm? Exactly where you belong.”

When you feel the thin cotton layer of protection being gently moved to the side by his wandering fingers, you can’t keep your voice from erupting from within you, “N-no, please! Please, Sheriff Bod-”

“Uh-uh uh,” Lee’s harsh voice cuts you off, his arm flying up to clamp over your chest as his hand closes in around your throat. “Now I’ve had just about enough of you disrespectin’ me, little girl,” the man seethes, his restriction of your airflow making your head begin to spin. In the blink of an eye, he’s slapped his hand down against your uncovered pussy, a terrified yelp catching in your closed-off throat as your cunt stings bright red. “Now I’m gonna let go of you, sweeth'at, gonna let those pretty little lips of yours take in some air, and you’re gonna be a good girl for me now; d'you understand me?”

With panic building in your chest, you can only think to nod, heaving greedily when he releases slightly on your throat, gulping in air like a fish out of water. “Now what do we say, suga’ pie?” Lee tests, surprising you by grabbing the soaked cloth of your panties and ripping them clean off of you, eliciting a defeated cry of horror as you slump your head against the man’s strong hand still holding your neck, your voice coming out in a pathetic mumble.

“Y-yes Daddy.”

Beaming, Lee coos at you, his fingers returning to your folds for a second time, now much gentler than before, running along in smooth motions against the tender flesh instead of the harsh slapping of just a few moments ago. “That’s my good girl, such a peach for Daddy, aren’t ya?” he praises as he begins bumping his leg underneath you, his pointer and mid fingers sliding down to surround your swollen clit, barely pulling up on the skin to allow just the right exposure to his bouncing thigh. A muffled whimper rises in your throat as more tears pool in your eyes, the terrible sensation of your poor nub rubbing up against the slick fabric of the sheriff’s pants sending tingles bursting throughout every inch of your body, a dangerous sense of warmth forming in the pit of your belly.

“P-please- D-Daddy,” you implore as you’re held up by nothing but your neck, the wicked smile on Lee’s face only widening as he senses your building arousal.

“That’s it, little one. Ride Daddy’s thigh, grind that pretty little pussy ‘gainst it like a good little slut. You like that?” he spits, beginning to work his fingers surrounding your bundle of nerves in gentle jerking motions, “you like it when Daddy holds you down on his thigh and rubs that pretty little pussy raw?”

“Please, D-Daddy- stop,” you sob, squeezing your eyes shut as your teeth grind together, your toes beginning to curl as a familiar feeling of pressure begins building in your chest, your head throbbing as you do all you can to fight off your impending climax.

“C'mon now, angel. No use in fightin’ it,” Lee sings right up against your ear as he moves the pads of his fingers over your nub to rub in frantic circles, sighing out in victory as he feels you squirting out against him. “Theere, that’s it, babydoll. Cum on Daddy’s leg, sweeth'aht,” he encourages as you wail inconsolably in his grasp, your entire body contracting painfully as your orgasm is forced out of you. “Just like that, so good for me, peach,” the sheriff continues to praise as you finally begin to wind down, drool and tears dribbling down your chin as you struggle to catch your breath, your entire body now coated in sweat from your terrible high.

“Such a good little doll,” Lee hums, pressing a kiss into the side of your head as he runs his fingers in slow circles over your throbbing clit, causing you to jerk back from the overwhelming sensations. “So pink and puffy for me now, dah'lin. Bet you’re so sensitive, aren’t you? And we’re just barely gettin’ started.”

#eun's writing #right up nice where you belong #lee bodecker #lee bodecker smut #daddy!lee bodecker #dark!lee bodecker #the devil all the time #the devil all the time fanfiction #lee bodecker fanfiction #lee bodecker x reader #lee bodecker x y/n #lee bodecker one shot #lee bodecker imagine #lee bodecker headcanon #lee bodecker blurb #lee bodecker drabble

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spockshocked · 4 years ago

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On “This Side of Paradise”

Watching the original Star Trek many decades after it aired, I cannot help but feel as though the conclusions I draw from certain lines, scenes, and even entire episodes must not be exactly as initially intended. Despite the caginess, both in canon and in external commentary, that Roddenberry and others employ in their discussions of the nature of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock’s relationship, and the subtext often burgeoning on text especially to a gay viewer, Spock’s perceived gayness extends beyond his ambiguous relationship with his Captain. Many of the cues that might cause a gay viewer to feel reflected by Spock come via the quirks of his Vulcan nature.

One episode which deals particularly with Spock’s internal conflict vis a vis his mixed heritage is “This Side of Paradise,” the 24th episode of the first season. Spock falls under the influence of alien spores that cause him to break down in what appears to be immense pain, before he confesses his love to a woman named Leila Kalomi, whose love for him had been unrequited for six years. Spock spends the majority of the episode under the influence of these spores, canoodling with Kalomi and giggling while hanging from a tree branch, until Kirk roughly snaps him out of it and the stoic science officer returns to himself. The spores appear to render their hosts relaxed, blissful, and dazed, an effect which can be undone through displays of strong negative emotion.

The most striking result of his time spent under the influence is the melancholy that seems to overtake him once the effect is broken. Once he has his bearings and realizes that Kirk has intentionally riled him so that the spores lose their hold, the first thing he says is:

SPOCK: The spores. They're gone. I don't belong anymore.

In the context of the episode, “belonging” is the eerie, almost cult-like description for one under the influence of the spores. Taken at face value, Spock’s comment is merely an observation that he is no longer being affected by them; Spock often makes somewhat banal comments seemingly for the benefit of the audience’s comprehension. However, this one seems to carry a double meaning. Consider Spock’s heritage: half-human and half-Vulcan, Spock constantly finds himself torn between two clashing cultures, truly “belonging” to neither. A substance that enables his full emotionality, effectively tipping the delicately balanced scales of his identity, provides a sort of relief. With the negation of its effects comes a return to the inner turmoil he experiences every moment of every day.

Spock felt like he belonged when he was able to feel and express romantic love for a woman. A simple reading of this might be that the ability to process emotion gave Spock a sense of belonging, but there is once again another, deeper analysis to be made. The assumption that gay couples would likely be commonplace by the 23rd century aside, the fact remains that the show was produced in the 1960s and there are no canon gay couples to be found. Therefore, it is possible to work within a metric where one might have a reason to remain closeted. If we approach Spock as a closeted gay man, then the female object of his affections becomes a key element in his feeling of “belonging.”

In typical Star Trek fashion, the exact effect produced by the spores is never elucidated. The implication seems to be that it provides some lowering of inhibitions and propensity for leisure. However, the spores could also be seen as pushing their hosts to pursue their ideal lives. Doctor McCoy gets notably more Southern, his accent thickening as he walks around singing the praises of the mint julep. It seems as though, while under the influence, he pursues things that remind him of the comforts of home.

Spock, however, has no such comforts. Instead, he becomes something he could never be: able to reciprocate the feelings of a beautiful young woman who has pined after him for years. Once the effect of the spores is broken, he must then break the news to her:

LEILA: I love you. I said that six years ago, and I can't seem to stop repeating myself. On Earth, you couldn't give anything of yourself. You couldn't even put your arms around me. We couldn't have anything together there. We couldn't have anything together anyplace else. We're happy here. [crying] I can't lose you now, Mister Spock. I can't.

SPOCK: I have a responsibility to this ship, to that man on the Bridge. I am what I am, Leila, and if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else's.

Spock’s response is cool, as we have come to expect from him, but notably more candid that most of his observations about his own experiences. He starts by claiming a responsibility to not only the Enterprise, but to Kirk himself. This could be a simple declaration of loyalty to his captain, as it would almost certainly appear to Kalomi, or an allusion to some repressed feelings that would only register to him. His next line, however, carries some serious weight. “I am what I am” refers to his Vulcan heritage, but as is often the case, it could also easily be in reference to his own homosexuality. Either way, he is explaining why he is incapable of loving Kalomi; the difference is whether he is incapable of love at all, or of love for a woman. His “self-made purgatory” is both his entrapment between his Vulcan and human halves, and his repression of his sexuality.

Spock rarely speaks about his mixed heritage and the internal conflict it causes him, just as he rarely speaks of his own emotions at all, but it takes its toll on him. Briefly finding relief from this conflict only makes the return to it that much more difficult, causing him to be even more terse than usual. Kirk even points out that Spock has been quiet about the experience:

KIRK: We haven't heard much from you about Omicron Ceti III, Mr. Spock.

SPOCK: I have little to say about it, Captain, except that for the first time in my life I was happy.

Spock has spent his entire life trying and failing to completely repress his human emotions in an attempt to become fully Vulcan. When he finally has the chance to experience them in full, he breaks down in pain at the wave of repressed emotions before he finally experiences untainted joy “for the first time.” However, that is not his authentic self either. Neither a logical Vulcan nor an emotional human, he is eternally trapped between worlds, and was only able to find joy in a brief and unattainable fantasy. He is so discontent with his own nature that he cannot be happy as he is.

To a closeted viewer, this final line of the episode, delivered as dryly as always, is heartbreaking. The first time in Spock’s life that he was happy was when he ignored an integral part of himself that brought him pain in order to live a moment of a life that he could never have. To those who have repressed their sexuality, convincing themselves that they felt attraction to those of another sex because it was what would make them belong, watching Spock find joy in this fantasy only to be crushed when he must return to reality is painfully familiar.

Analysis of Spock and Kirk’s relationship is generally sufficient to read them as a gay couple. When Spock is viewed in isolation, however, he still comes across as gay to many viewers. Spock’s innate perceived gayness relies not on his attraction to men, but on his repression of his true self and of the emotions that he cannot bring himself to face. While chalked up by the show to his half-Vulcan heritage, it still strikes a chord in a very human gay viewer.

#star trek #tos #this side of paradise #analysis #spock #gay spock #spirk #mine #yes this is a paper i wrote for fun

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agentnico · 3 years ago

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Death on the Nile (2022) Review

More like the breath of the erotophonophile, since this movie is all about the lust for murder and there is a celebrity cannibal bang in the middle of the cast, the one and only Armie Hammer! But don’t mention his name, Disney’s really trying not to...

Plot: Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.

I really am happy that the murder mystery genre is coming back to our modern screens in full swing. With Kenneth Branagh adapting Agatha Christie’s novels of Poirot’s adventures to Rian Johnson bringing us James Bond with a Southern accent in Knives Out (with a sequel on the way this year!), there’s a lot of detective sleuthing happening. Heck, even on AppleTV+ I’m currently watching a murder mystery comedy TV show called The Afterparty where Tiffany Haddish interrogates a bunch of classmates at a high school reunion following the death of Dave Franco. I wonder who killed him? Was it his brother James? Regardless, we now how a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express that came out a few years back which gave us Kenneth Branagh’s take on the famous detective character of Poirot, where he both directed and starred as the main moustachioed sleuth! I thought that movie was okay. I felt like it somehow managed to turn an addictive and engaging book into a boring set of interviews. There was a lack of urgency to it all and so, like, okay, I didn’t really like it. Now we have Death on the Nile, of which I read the original Agatha Christie book and I also watched the 1978 film version starring Peter Ustinov which I think was an awesome adaptation, though a bit dated.

Straight up, I think Kenneth Branagh does a better job here compared to the one about the train. He seems to have a better idea of what he’s trying to tell with this story. We even get some backstory on Poirot himself and the origin of his moustache, and his past lost love, and that there is Branagh’s focus - this is a movie about love, and how love can be great yet also it can destroy. Hence why the Valentine’s release is fairly accurate, even though this movie does rake up the murdered body count. And I think this is a perfectly apt adaptation of the source material, with some creative touches and additions that I think worked quite well, and overall I think this movie is quite enjoyable.

In terms of the cast, it’s not as A-list as Murder on the Orient Express which had big names such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp and Dame Judi Dench, but hey, at least it was nice to see the Vicar of Dibley herself Dawn French show up. Russell Brand plays a surprisingly straight faced serious role as opposed to his usual comedic roles and Sophie Okonedo spends most of her time here either profusely flirting or endlessly singing the blues. Overall though I’d say the cast here was quite bland. The likes of Gal Gadot and Annette Bening leave a forgettable impression, with the only real memorable performances coming from Branagh’s Poirot, who nails the French accent and also paints the detective as an innocently adorable old man who is obnoxious in a sweet endearing way, but also one that sees himself as a tragic Shakespearean character (Branagh’s experience with Shakespeare adaptations really shows here), as well as newcomer Emma Mackey who’s crazy revenge-filled eyes do all the work here.

I must also question that with a Disney backed budget, the CGI in this movie is ridiculously obvious. All the wide shots of Egypt and the Nile are so evidently green screened, and what’s worse Branagh tries to show off his visual effects here by having fake crocodiles eat fake seagulls and characters playing with kites on evidently unreal pyramids. But otherwise Death on the Nile is a harmless cinemagoing affair, and one that should bring enjoyment to those that have not read the original novel, however even connoisseurs of the source material will find things to enjoy here. Again though, we don’t mention Armie Hammer’s presence, that is now classed as taboo. So shhh!!!

Overall score: 5/10

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yelenasdog · 4 years ago

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heavy is the head that wears the crown (mob!arvin russell x fem! pastor’s daughter! reader)

genre: angst+fluff

summary: arvin had always heard the saying “heavy is the head that wears the crown” but never truly understood what it meant. not until now

words: 4.06k

warnings: since this is based off of a tdatt, family death, mentions of death, mentions of mobs, kissing, marriage, murder, smoking, suicide, cancer and i think that’s it. it’s also kinda melodramatic, and i haven’t watched tdalt in a while so a lot could be plot inaccurate also idk anything abt the mob or mafia so like dont k*ll me thx i just like joe pesci

a/n: first, i owe the amazing concept of mob!arv to @kelieah ! so go follow her for more mob!arvin goodness!! basically i’m obsessed w 90s mob movies and watched goodfellas and casino and few too many times lately and oops here we r! i tried to write this from the narrator in tdatt’s view, so if u wanna read it like that then cool! btw the pic w the dress is just an idea of the dress reader is wearing not what she looks like! ok enjoy i’ll stop rambling

·。·。·。

“So, Arvin. I was told you paint houses? That true?”

Arvin hesitated, opening his mouth and closing it again. He wasn’t a painter, no, he killed people. For a price, that is.

But rather than saying no, the jab in his side from his uncle told him to answer otherwise.

“Yes, sir. It is.”

The Pastor nodded, taking a drag from his cigar, imported all the way from Cuba. He then placed what was left of the long stick in the crystal tray in front of him, the tapping of it on the reflective surface seeming almost deafening.

“Can all your family be traced down to one place, son?”

Arvin gulped, avoiding his eyes, darting his own around the heavily decorated room. Another jab to his side. He winced, meeting the older man’s eyes. He may not know much about the life he was about to enter, but he knew enough about what that meant.

“Yes, sir. They can be, minus my father and my mother. They’re gone.”

Not even a full beat of silence later, the Pastor spoke.

“How’d he die?”

Arvin was taken aback, though he knew that question was coming. His jaw clenched, as did his fist by his side. If the Pastor noticed, he didn’t speak on it, barely lifting his eyes from the document resting on his desk.

“Suicide, after the war.”

“And your mother?”

He took his lip in between his teeth, feeling the skin break, the tears well in his eyes for reasons he would excuse as the pain he was inflicting.

“Cancer. It happened when I was young, I didn’t barely even know her.”

The pastor looked up, slimming his eyes. This time he did notice the glimmering droplets, welling up in his chestnut colored eyes, threatening to fall. He appreciated the boy’s attempt to keep his emotions in check in front of his would be superior, leaning back into his chair.

“It’s alright, boy. You’re allowed to cry, it was your mother.” His southern accent was thick like molasses, his words drawing out. Arvin still felt that it wasn’t acceptable, though, so he only sniffled and directed his chin further up towards the ceiling. He stood there for a while, nerves running through his every cell. It was electric, like white lighting making its way through his veins at a painstakingly slow pace.

“Right then.”

The pastor stood, walking towards Arvin and his uncle. His expensive loafers tapped along the cold floor as he went, the sound pestering to the ears of Arvin, taunting him. He reached a soft hand out, which the boy standing opposite to him gladly took. He observed how the Pastor’s hand was without scars, calluses. Anything that would point to evidence of him being a killer, doing his own dirty work (or “the Lord’s work” as he liked to put it).

“Welcome to the family, son.”

And as Arvin smiled widely and shook his hand with an iron grip, he began to wonder what his new life would entail doing the “Lord’s work”.

He thought he had a pretty good idea, but boy, was he wrong.

“So, how’d it go?”

It was later, and Arvin was sitting with one his most favorite people, Y/n. The pair were resting in an open field, the wildflowers around her just almost competing with the beauty she held. He bashfully looked to the dirt under his shoes, noticing how only inches away, her hands picked at the damp grass.

“Went well, I think. He told me I’m ‘part of the family now’.”

She smiled at him, and in that moment with her hair so widely astray, and wearing that pale blue dress he adored so much, Arvin’s heart felt a certain emotion he hadn’t necessarily felt for someone at this multitude before. He had felt it for Lenora, his mother, his aunt and uncle. But it was different, then. Because now as he sat with her by his side, his love for her was realized at its full potential.

She began to ramble on, congratulating him on becoming a member of her father’s so called “family”, telling him how proud she was. He couldn’t keep focused on the sweet words that were falling from her lips like honey, though, as he was too caught up in his own head, his own thoughts.

“Arv?” She asked, voice laced with slight concern, but mostly with curiosity.

“Sorry, darlin’. Just thinking.”

She blushes, it’s the first time he’s called her that before. She tries to carry on conversation, though with her heart beating through that pretty dress of her’s, it was a bit difficult.

“About what?” She questioned, doing her very best not to pry too far, to be invasive in the very reserved Arvin’s mind.

Truthfully? He was promising himself that he would marry her one day, make her his wife. But telling her that he was only thinking “‘bout the future” would have to do. I mean, truthfully, he really was!

So he answered her, and she was content with said answer, abandoning the subject and returning to many praises for Arv. The standards for the “family” were high, and though she believed in him fiercely, she knew that at his core Arvin was the sweetest soul she’d ever met, and she was skeptical he could put that aside to do whatever the job would require.

“Arvin?”

He looked up, and she nearly lost her breath. It was Arvin’s sunkissed skin, tanned from working under the hot sun, the beams beating down on him. Or perhaps it was the freckles that lightly dusted his crooked nose, like a constellation from the cosmos above. Maybe even it was the mop that sat on his head, the color all the same of those sweet brown eyes of his. Whatever it was, she felt it could only mean one thing.

Y/n Y/l/n was confident she loved Arvin Russell.

“Hmm?” He asked, tilting his head like a confused canine. Adorably endearing, she thought.

And though she had much to say, she was afraid that if he were the dog in question, then the puppy had got her tongue, so to say.

“Y/n/n?” The boy said, nudging her with his elbow, making a melodious giggle erupt from her chest. “What, cat got your tongue?” Arvin teased, and she only shook her head and smiled, as he had no idea how correct he really was.

“You could say that.”

The two shared laughs over the exchange, and at some point (neither of them are quite sure when, how, or who leaned in first), their lips connected in a short and sweet kiss. It seemed that it only lasted for a moment, and as soon as they pulled apart, Arvin and Y/n both were dying for more.

But they resisted, Arvin reaching out a cautious hand to entangle with hers. She bashfully grinned, as did he (though he did his best to resist).

“Y/n, I really like you.” He had said, his thumb running small circles upon her skin. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you like me too.” He laughed, nervous notes to the sound.

“And well, I was wondering if you’d like to be my girlfr-”

And with a light groan, Y/n had wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing both of them to the ground. She connected their lips, the kiss so oddly blunt, an attack on his lips that he had no plan of fighting off. His hands found her hair, and her’s moved to the sides of his face, holding him so tightly, as if she was afraid he would let go.

“Yes.” She pulled away panting, her lips swollen, his flushed. “Yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend, Arvin.”

They smiled as bright as the setting sun above them, and Arvin pulled her close as she buried her face in the warm crook of his neck. They stayed like that ‘till the sun went down and the stars came out of hiding, the cool summer breeze blowing around them. They both still felt it, then, the love they had only just began to realize was there. And they would continue to feel it for years to come.

Like when Arvin would get back from a job, sometimes with blood splattered on his crisp white shirts, his dirty work getting, well, dirty. She would slowly peel it from his body, taking care to make sure he wasn’t hurt. She would do her best to wash the crimson stains from the fabric, sighing if it was seeming to be of no use. Arvin would come up behind her where she was working at the sink, wrapping his strong arms around her middle and resting his head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Arv,” she would start, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, “damn thing won’t budge.” Arvin would just chuckle, reaching up a gentle hand, gentle only for her, to tuck the hair behind her ear, quietly speaking.

“Well I think it looks pretty good, darlin’. It’ll do just fine.” He would spin her around to face him, and pepper small kisses on her skin, smiling at her reaction. And if he was hurt, she would take care to use a warm washcloth, wiping the scarlet splatters from his creamy complexion.

The juxtaposition of the shades was always bewildering for her, oddly beautiful in a way. She never said so, though, only muttering praises of how proud she was, how strong he is, things like that. And Arvin would watch her, honey colored eyes following her as she moved about to fix him right up. No pain would have any real effect on him, not when she was there to reassure him, make him whole again.

As Arvin moved up in their small town world, in the “family”, he remained just as kind, just as gentle. Nothing really changed, no, only the lines on his forehead deepening and the crows feet becoming darker when he smiled; And Y/n’s role, as well. She stopped cleaning him up, stopped trying to rid his shirts of bloody reminders of his living. Arvin seemed to no longer be “painting walls’, but rather making sure jobs were done, everyone was staying in their places.

And things led to another, and all of a sudden Y/n and Arvin were moving into a big house, bigger than Arvin had ever even been in before. Deals and arrangements were made, settlements too.

One regular Tuesday, Arvin came home from what Y/n could tell had been a long, long, day. He was exhausted, but had this unmistakable look of excitement and joy plastered to his face. He had come in bursting through the door, not even taking off his hat or overcoat before making his way over to Y/n and kissing her silly.

“Well hello to you, too, Arv.” She laughed, amusement and curiosity both equally swirling around in her brain, wondering what could possibly have inspired this behavior.

“Things are happening, sweetheart, good, good things.” He took her hands in his, briefly shaking them before planting a kiss to them and walking away, a big smile on his face. And truth be told, not that she would admit it, it scared the Hell outta her. She wasn’t quite sure as to why, but something was itching at her brain, warning her that whatever was brewing wasn't a good thing. But nevertheless, she maintained her grin, painted lips never faltering.

The next day, when the “good things” were supposed to be happening, Arvin was seriously wondering why on God’s green Earth he had expected this to be easy.

“Come again, son?”

Arvin swallowed, shifting on his feet. He mentally scolded himself for ending up in this position again, standing in front of the Pastor’s desk, all kinds of confused. But it had to be this way, it was for the best, he knew. The sun shone through the window above the desk in front of him, right into his eyes, nearly blinding him. The Pastor didn’t really care, though.

“I’m asking for your blessing to ask Y/n’s hand in marriage, sir.”

The older man slowly nodded in understanding, taking a long drag from the expensive cigar between his fat fingers, the gold ring on his pinky also shining brightly under the harsh sun’s light.

“I just thought that after our arrangement-”

“Arvin, I don’t regret making you an heir, I don’t.” He stated, blowing out a long stream of smoke. “Hell, I can feel something big and bad coming, boy, you understand? I know God’s will is holding out on us, on this family. But it’s running thin.”

The young man clenched his jaw, internally cringing on what that might mean to the family, for the family, what it meant for Y/n. He bit his tongue, feeling the iron seep onto his taste buds.

“And I know those damn Teagardins are plotting, they’re plotting for our downfall. Making you next in line is something they won’t see coming, and I trust it’ll stay that way. But I don’t quite understand

“Well I love your daughter, I love her so much that it hurts. And if worst comes to worst…” he stopped, his bottom lip wavering for a moment, trying to carefully dance around the different outcomes of this conversation. “I feel I’ll be better able to protect her if we’re married, if she’s truly mine.” That part might have been a lie. Y/n has never been his, never would be. She was her own person, outside Arvin, outside the family. It was what he loved about her above all else.

The Pastor was quiet for a moment contemplating his response, calculating it.

“Would you die for her?”

“Yes.” The answer came without thought, it was automatic for Arvin.

The Pastor smiled widely, lifting his arms.

“So, when’s the wedding, Arv?

Turns out, it was exactly a year, a month, and 6 days until Y/n and Arvin would tie the knot. Arvin had spent time, waiting to find the perfect moment to ask her the big question. He had decided on a night where the moon was bright and the sky was clear. They sat together in what they had donned “their” field, the greenery around them rustling in the wind. Though he was nervous, he had delivered a stunning speech that had taken poor Y/n’s heart by force. It ended up with both of them crying like babies and a shiny ring on Y/n’s finger.

The wedding itself had taken place on a beautiful summer’s day, and Y/n had worn a pretty white dress that had made Arvin almost faint when he saw her, standing there on her father’s arm. She was all decked out in the most expensive diamonds and pearls, courtesy of her father, making her shine like a crystal of sorts.

It was the best night of her life, Arv’s too. But the joy they had felt must have an inevitable end, as the worst night (Arvin’s too) was soon to follow.

It had been an ambush, the death of the Y/l/n family. The death toll had managed to wrack up every member immediate member of the esteemed mob family, including the Pastor, his wife, and their two sons. A bomb planted in the trunk of their Cadillac that had gone off, placed there by who knows.

When Arvin had heard, his immediate reaction was to thank God that Y/n had decided to stay with him that day, to go lay in the fields just the two of them. Immediately after she had been told, she had fallen into Arvin, her entire body weight being put into his arms. Sobs wracked through her frame, her tears dampening Arvin’s yellow button up.

Once she had “come to”, Y/n had grown to be furious rather than sad. As when you look at the lineage of her family, look at the ranks of the mob and who’s to rise to power when the one in front of them dies, well Arvin was right after Y/n’s big brother, Jamie.

And Y/n had loved her big brother, she had loved him very much and would like to believe that Arvin, her sweet, sweet Arvin, would never do anything of that multitude just to satiate his hunger and appetite for power. The hunger for power she wasn’t even aware he possessed. But how in the Hell was she even supposed to be sure?

“I want to believe you, Arv, I do. But I can’t! It don’t make any damn sense, Arvin!”

“You really think that low of me, Y/n/n?”

Y/n had been shouting, trying to confront him for a crime he hadn’t committed. But Arvin was calm as he spoke, his eyes only watering and his voice only bordering on wavering. Y/n reached a trembling hand to her scalp, pulling lightly on her roots. The tears slipping down her face were hot and salty and she hated it so much.

“What else am I supposed to think?” She lifted an arm, sniffling before putting her other one on her waist, the blue of her dress, the same dress Arvin adored so much, just barely matching what was to become of her mood. She was started to regress, the red hot anger from before transforming to a stormy blue of unsure waters.

“My whole family is dead, and it just so happened that you asked me to stay with you the day they died! My whole family is dead!” She screamed, her voice a crescendo of sorts. “And everyone is clean, Arv, except you. You got the motive, you got the alibi, I’ll give you that much.” She paused, briefly wiping her nose and looking to the blank wall to the left of her father’s office. “It’s funny;” she dryly chuckled, and Arvin looked up.

“You went from doing my daddy’s dirty work to gettin’ some poor bastard to do your own. Ironic isn’t it?”

Arvin stepped towards her, pain twisting his insides up to see his best girl afraid of him, cowering away from his touch.

“You still have me, Y/n. I’m your family.”

She looked to her feet and back to him, shaking her head.

“No, Arv. You’re not. And you will be sorry for what you did to him, to all of them. You will be.” She said, walking away with her heels clicking heavily on the wooden floors. Arvin stood still for a while, not quite sure where to go next. But it dawned on him as the stained glass shone down on his feet in the most poetic manner, that he was already there.

So he dragged his feet along with him, breaths ragged and short, his head slowly tilting up towards the glorious light. He only had to go a few feet, before he sat down in the old leather chair, the only emotions he felt being those of an imposter. He thought back to all the nervous conversations he’d had with the pastor while he was sitting in that chair, a trembling Arvin usually standing opposite, awaiting instruction.

He darted his eyes across the mahogany surface in front of him, looking at all the various things that he only could associate with Y/n’s father. His valued cigar box, the crystalline tray that rested next to it. (He swore he could still smell the fresh smoke, wafting from the little dish.) He opened it, the latch clinking before his hand reached in and his fingers clasped around one of the thick rolls of tobacco. Before he could light it, he felt overwhelmed all of a sudden, and dropped it back into the box, slamming the lid.

He laid back, resting his weary head. Arvin took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling through his mouth, before falling into a not so peaceful slumber.

He was only woken minutes later, Joseph, Y/n’s uncle, wanting to know if Arvin had seen her lately. He shook his head, muttering an annoyed “No”. Joseph got the idea relatively quickly, exiting the room. He heard the chapel’s doors close, taking that as his queue to leave once he saw the time. So he grabbed his hat and his coat, leaving the office and making his way through the dimly lit space. His attention was caught, though, by the cross by the front pews, so beautifully shining. Arvin put down his things, and walked over to the pew, sitting down on the uncomfortable hardwood. He bowed his head, putting his interlocked fingers utop the surface in front of him.

He hadn’t done this in awhile, this whole praying thing. It seemed naive in his way of life, with the things that happened around him, the people lost. But nonetheless, if ever, now was a good time to try.

“Heavenly Father, I, I, uh, I need to talk to you. To, uh, set the record straight.” His hands were sweaty, tears welling in his eyes.

“Y/n, she’s- well she’s the love of my life, God, and I don’t think she loves me anymore. Hell, she wants me dead. But I don’t blame her, I couldn’t ever. Not after...” he paused, his bottom lip shaking, “Not if she thinks I killed her family. But I didn’t, Father, I didn’t and I could never. But she don’t see that. I need her to see that.” He raised his voice, the bitter droplets rolling down his reddened cheeks, hitting his shoes.

“I can’t live without her, I won’t. So I guess I’m askin’ you a favor, Lord. Just… let her know I didn’t do it, that I would never hurt her.” His voice cracked, his words barely audible, not that whoever was listening cared.

“That I love her so much.”

Arvin muttered something of an “Amen”, and then just sat there for he wasn’t sure how long. His silence was interrupted by a mellow and raw voice, cutting through the silence like the sharpest dagger.

“It was the Teagardin family. I just found out.”

Arvin stood and turned so fast he dizzied himself, having to hold onto the back of the pew for stability. His bottom lip quivered, his flushed features gaining a confused look.

“Y/n/n? How long you been there?” He questioned, not bothering to wipe his eyes. She shifted from one foot to the other, fumbling with her hands.

“Long enough.”

There was a mutual understanding at her few words from the two of them, and an apology within them all the same. Her eyes were bloodshot, her nose runny and her overall appearance disheveled. Despite that, just the fact that she was there, to him, made her the most beautiful girl in the world.

Arvin could tell she was holding herself back, her emotions, too, as she started to speak, barely able to get through a sentence as she rambled about how she shouldn’t have assumed things, and that it wasn’t right of her to accuse her beloved of something so dire. But none of it mattered to Arvin as he strode towards her, her words only ceasing when he finally wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m so sorry, Arv.” She sobbed, gripping onto him for dear life. That was all she said, repeating it over and over again with the exception of “I love you” also being reiterated.

Her husband spoke over her hushed tone, saying “It’s alright, doll, I know. You were right to think that, it’s not your fault. It was never your fault.” They continued that way for some time until they both regained their bearings, Arvin wrapping an arm around her shoulders and walking down the front stairs of the chapel.

“Let’s go home, sweet girl.” He had said, so they did. Arvin kissed the side of her head, regarding once more how he loved her, before starting the ride home, his hand on her thigh the whole time, not wanting to let her go for even a second.

His mind was plagued with thoughts of the past, and he remembered an old saying he had heard long ago. What was it? Ah, you know what they say.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

·。·。·。

how we feeling folks did we like? gimme feedback if u wanna! mwah love u, take care of urself

xx hj

136 notes · View notes

kleptonancydrew · 3 years ago

Text

Nancy Drew and Education

So apparently the Clue Crew is full of teachers? Who knew. Well, as a former homeschooled student, current teacher, and (hopefully) future homeschooling parent/teacher I have been planning on integrating the games into lessons for a long time. Below the cut I have just a few of my many ideas (some more fleshed out than others). Feel free to use, adapt, or add your own!

SCK:

- Braille

o How blind/vision impaired people navigate the world

§ How we can make it more accessible for them

o How do braille books and printers work

- ASL

o Memorizing the alphabet and basic signs

§ Build up fluency

o How HOH/deaf people navigate the world

§ How we can make it more accessible for them

o Connections of ASL to other signed languages

§ French Sign Language versus British Sign Language

- Dangers of gas leaks

o What to do if you smell or hear gas

- Inequalities between mens and womens sporting opportunities

o See Women’s Soccer

- What are performance enhancing drugs

o What is the difference between #steroids and the steroids your doctor might prescribe

- How drug running is a gateway crime

- Why blackmailing people isn’t good

- More reasons to never move to Florida

- Why you shouldn’t go to an actual high school part one

STFD:

- Television in NYC

o Soap Operas

o How television sets work

o Role of director

o Teleprompters

o Props

o Agents

- Theatre in NY

o Broadway

§ Learn a show

o Carnegie Hall

- Dangers in the ways we obsess over celebrities

o Paparazzi

o Stalkers

o Respecting privacy

- NY taxi system

- NY regional accents

- NY as a center for immigration – salad bowl

o Ellis Island

- History of NYC

o Geography of NYC

- Typewriters

- Towers of Hanoi

- Encoding

- How to make chocolates (with or without poison)

- Read along:

o New York the Novel (Edward Rutherford)

o The Power Broker

o All of a Kind Family

MHM:

- San Francisco Gold Rush

- Earthquake and Fires in San Fran

- Golden Gate Bridge

- Angel Island

o Asian (Chinese) Immigration to the USA

- Chinese Zodiac

- Fortune telling (and why it’s not okay)

- Bed and Breakfasts

- San Francisco today

o Technology boom

o Overpriced everything

§ How this hurts established residents

§ Homelessness in San Fran

- Bandits in the American West

- Hauntings in American buildings

- How to remove and install tile

- Renovations – refurbish something

- Antiques

o Visit an antique shop

- Importance of fire safety

- How to install lighting fixtures properly

- How to fix a dumbwaiter

o How not to be a dumb waiter

- Tangrams

- What is the Victorian period

o Significance of Queen Victoria

- Read Along:

o Little Brother

o Paper Son: Lee’s Journey to America

o Angel Island Gateway to Golden Mountain

TRT:

- The French Revolution

o Marie Antoinette

o Women and the French Revolution

o Worldwide effects of the Revolution

o Historians of the French Revolution

- Writing history

o How we can focus on different events in history, how we can be sympathetic to certain people, how we can fulfill different spaces in the historical narrative, criticism of history as a field, entering history as a field

- Wisconsin Dairy industry

- Alarm systems and how they work

- Fingerprinting

- Elevator safety

- Ski lifts

o Skiing

- Vandalism

- Taking care of libraries

- Latitude and longitude

- Keeping records of good events and bad events

o Nothing you do will ever stop me from loving you

- Some people keep different sleep schedules

- Journalism

- Making translations

- Why France has different holidays – to keep the ski lodges from getting too full

FIN:

- History of theatre spaces

- Use of film at theatres

- Magicians

o Houdini

o Learn a ‘magic’ trick

- Library of Congress

- Demolition – wrecking balls

o What’s involved

- Plaster casts

- Historic register of buildings

o Visit a local historic building

- Price of concessions and movie tickets today

- Nickelodeons

- Celebrity stunts for attention from press

o Celebrity endorsements

- Jazz music

o Dancing

- Kidnapping stories

o What to do if someone tries to grab you

- Rubber vs. electricity

- Art/artists of the 20s

SSH:

- Numbering systems (particularly ones not based on 10)

- Cultures of South America

o Maya

§ Cultural understandings

§ Connections to what appears at Beech Hill

o Aztec

o Inca

- Myths of lesser civilizations because of European preconceptions

- Why do countries have consulates/embassies in other countries

- What is amnesia and other medical memory issues

- Provenance and why its important part one

- Roles and responsibilities within a museum

o Visit a museum

o How to be critical of a museum and how knowledge is presented to you

- Modern art

o Make your own

o Visit a modern art museum

- Periodic Table of Elements

- Positive and negative molds for casting

DOG:

- Prohibition

o Speakeasys

o Amendments to constitution

o Drinking age restrictions

§ Comparison of USA to European countries

o Connections to modern drug policies

- Recognizing and photographing local birds

- Dangers in the forest – ticks and other pests

- Why water sources are important

o Flint water crisis

- Visit a state park

o Importance of maintaining public land

- Alcatraz

- How to care for dogs

- Noise pollution

o Light pollution

CAR:

- History of carousels

o Visit a carousel

- Lathes

- Harmonicas

- Band organs

- Writing messages with lemon juice and other hidden inks

- How to iron

o How not to iron

- How to make a sundae

- How amusement park rides are designed

- Soldering

- What is parole

o Welcoming those who have been in prison back to society

o Problems with the American prison system

§ How it disproportionately affects minority groups

o What can be done in prison reform

o Abuses in prison

o Making mental and spiritual help and guidance more available

o Making sanitary products available

o Prison for profit hurts everybody except the prison owner

o Educational opportunities for those in prison

o More half-way help

o Juvenile sentencing reform – more out of system help

o Respecting humanity of prisoners

o Ending the death penalty

- Depression

o How to get help

o How to help others

o Dealing with loss

DDI:

- Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest

- Orcas and other whales

o Whaling industry in Northwest and Northeast

o Things whale products were used for

o Visit natural history museum with whale exhibition

- Visit an aquarium with a good reputation

o Problems with places that do not take care of their sea life – particularly large sea life like whales

- What is a chowder and how is it made

o Try or make chowder

- Crabs

o Restrictions on different types of crabs – what type is local

o Try a crab dish

- Importance of different knots

o Get some rope and learn how to tie different knots

- Know the NATO alphabet and letter flags

- Boating knowledge

o Go on a boating trip – know the port and starboard sides

- Learn how to kayak

- Try to learn how to skip rocks

- Visit a lighthouse

o Importance and histories of lighthouses

- Smuggling – what is it and why does it happen

- Shanghaiing

- Chess

SHA:

- The continuous oppression and mistreatment of Native Americans

o From Mayflower to Pocahontas to Trail of Tears to Dakota to DAPL to Reservations to food deserts to voting rights to much much more

§ How to support current Native voices and concerns

o Why Native Americans are not a costume

o “Possession” of Native American objects and land

§ Arrowheads and native jewelry

o Broad overview of regional Native American groups – using their own voices

§ Special focus on local Native American groups

· Is there a local museum/educational resource that is either Native created or known for respecting Native voices

o Current Native Americans of note (ex: politicians, activists, artists)

o While the previous focuses on Native Americans in the modern day USA – also discuss First Nations from Canada and Native Groups from more southern areas

- Why temperature and pan matters when baking (show what happens in the oven when it goes wrong)

- Magnets and how different metals react differently to magnets

- How to take care of a horse and other farm animals

o Visit a local farm

o Try horse-riding

- Dangers of rattle snakes and scorpions

- Lassos and how to use them

- Legends of outlaws in the American West

- Ghost towns

- Flower stitches when knitting/crocheting

- Petrified wood

- How to make a campfire

- Picking fruits and veggies when they are ready

- Flower language

- Read Along:

o Native American folk tales

o Motorcycles and Sweetgrass

o Gone Away Lake

o Black Beauty?

CUR:

- Where are the moors

- Different regional accents within the United Kingdom

- British foods

- Latin

o Learn fun phrases and prayers

- Ancestry and genealogy

o Map your own family tree and recognize family crests

o How adoption has historically been a binding and irrefutable concept for lineage

o Find places your family lived

o Leaving a history for your descendants

§ Write a story book for them

o British Royal Family

§ Why incest is bad

- Parrots and their intelligence

- Secret passages in old buildings

- Alchemy

o Connections to modern understandings of science

o Historical understandings of elements

- Astrological signs

- Witch trials

- Legends of lycanthropy and other monsters

- Importance of not taking other peoples medicines

- Runic alphabet

- Feeding your pets a healthy diet

- Typing practice

- How to embrace the idea that home taught students are evil geniuses

- Forges and melting points of different metals

- Carnivorous plants

- Succulents

- Constellations in different places

- Read Along:

o The Secret Garden

o The London Eye Mystery

o Beastly

CLK:

- Great Depression

o Causes and effects

o Who was hurt

o Who was not hurt

o Areas of America

§ Dust bowl

o Famous people and literature

o Homelessness and poverty

§ Bread lines

§ Soup kitchens

§ Anti-homelessness architecture

§ Connections to mental illness and veterans

§ How we can help those who do not have homes today

- Early Telephones

- Shakespeare

- History of Nancy Drew

o Mildred Wirt Benson

o Edward Stratemeyer

- Fishing – why different fish respond to different bait

- Orphanages in the early 20th century

- Gas prices and accessibility of cars through time

- How to make pie

- What is jurisdiction and what is significant about crossing state lines

- How do banks work

o Safety deposit boxes

- Identify theft

- How to use a sewing machine

o Sew an item of clothing

- Mini golf – why and what

- Mirrors and their usefulness

- Stamp collections

- Radios and call signs

o Comparison to modern internet forms

- Telegrams

- Read along:

o Shakespeare

§ Midsummer Night’s Dream

§ Others

o Pollyanna

o Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

o The Grapes of Wrath

TRN:

- Trains

o Steam trains

o Visit a train museum

o Take a train ride (if not a normal event)

o Importance of transcontinental railway

o Trains around the USA today

o Trains around the world (TGV, bullet train)

- Abraham Lincoln

- Mark Twain

- How to make a good burger (you leave off the PB&J)

- Slugs

- Periodic Table of Elements – abbreviations

- Gemstones

- History of Mining

o England (Newcastle upon Tyne)

o American West

o Appalachia

o Company Store

o Health issues for miners

o Danger of mines

o Current issues for mining

- Dancing the Hurley Burley

- People who collect creepy dolls

o History of porcelain dolls

- Embroidery

o How to

o Patterns/symbols

- General Stores in the American West

o Sears

- How to make taffy

- Find a well maintained and beautiful tomb and research who is entombed

- Focusing light through a magnifying glass can start a fire

- Read Along:

o Murder on the Orient Express

o Mark Twain books

DAN:

- All lessons in French

- How using different ingredients and different amounts of ingredients can affect the outcome of your cookies

- Paris métro

o History

o How to read/follow a métro map

o RER

- Montmartre and other Parisian neighbourhoods

- History of Île de la France and Square de Vert Galant Parc and Pont Neuf

- WWII and the French Resistance

o Cross of Lorraine

o Vichy France

o Abuses of the French gov’t in this period

- Paris and the fashion world

- Beauty standards and the rejection of natural beauty by society

o Dangers of weight and figure standards

o You are beautiful as you are

- Catacombs of Paris

- Famous French Dishes (from this region)

o Or Bretagne since I know and like them better

- The French Café

- Moulin in France

- Tea and how hot leaf water can taste so bad but still be good for you

- Buildings of Baron Haussmann

- Paris History

- Decoders

- Importance of vitraux historically, culturally, and religiously

- Read Along:

o Little Kids

§ Madeline

§ Babar

§ Petit Ours

§ Plume

o High School

§ Hunchback of Notre Dame

§ Les Mis

§ Dale Van Kley

CRE:

- History of Hawai’i and her native people

o How the USA screwed them over and continues to do so

§ Land colonizing today

o Listen to voices from Native Peoples

- Pearl Harbor

o USS Arizona

- Native myths and legends

- Local flora and fauna

- Surfing

- How to make bead necklaces

- Snorkeling

- Entomology

o Find some local bugs and identify and observe them

- Horticulture

o See if you can graft something

o Watch a carnation placed in water with food dye

o Regrow a fruit or veggie from the leftovers

- Go looking for seashells – see how many complete shells you can find

- Be aware of pesticides and the dangers they offer

o Dangers of organic food too

- Make something with pineapple in it

- Fishing – different kinds of native fish

- Volcanos

- Hula

ICE:

- Wolf sanctuaries – respecting wildlife and their place in the wild and not the domestic

o What to do if you see a wolf in the real world

- Fur trapping in Canada history

- Regions and Capitols of Canada

o Visit Canada?

- How the Canadian government works

- Use of French language in Canada

o Unique features of Canadian French

- Ice fishing

- How to cook omelets, salmon, etc.

o How to not add paprika cause like ew

- Fossils

- Radiation

o Marie Curie

- How to be a good maid

- Snowballs/ice balls

- Ice skating

- Winter weather safety

- Avalanches

- Saunas

- Birthmarks

- Fax machines

- How to not lie about bird watching

- Frozen water safety

- Modern offenses against First Nations by Canadian Government

CRY:

- Culture of the Arawak and Caraïbe

o Voodoo

- Mardi Gras in New Orleans

- Hurricane Katrina and aftermath

- French Influence

- Eyes and their parts and functions

- Teeth and their parts and functions

- Alligators in the Southern USA and how they are dangerous pests

- Graveyards/cemeteries and how to be comfortable in them

o Modern burial practices

o Why are they above ground in Louisiana?

o Places where they are running out of space for the dead

o Historic violations of final resting places

- Ventriloquism

- Lizards and how to care for them

- Rube Goldberg machines

- Curio shops

- Crystal Skulls

VEN:

- International crime

- Organized crime

- Scopa

- Italian basics

o Learn an Italian aria

- Italian food

o Not just spaghetti

- History of Venice

o Current issues in Venice

- Carrier pigeons

- Micro-dots

- “Observing the architecture”

- Try to make gelato (or just get gelato, either way you get gelato)

- Disguising yourself – put on an outfit and try to get me to not recognize you

- Picking locks

- Secret codes

- Solfege

o With hand signs

o Learn a song in solfege

- Carnivale

- Learn how the sausage gets made

o How to deal with food poisoning

- How to secure your living space against burglars

o Glass breaks, motion sensors, keypads, magnets, and more

- Read Along:

o Heist Society

o The Prince

o Merchant of Venice

HAU:

- Irish lessons (as much of this in Irish as possible)

o Why the Irish language is important

- Geography of Ireland

o Provinces and counties

- Irish names

- Why Ireland has disliked and should dislike the UK

o Historically

o Famine

§ Emmigration

o Easter Rising

o Troubles

o Present-Day

- Importance of alcohol in Ireland

o Uisce beatha

o Guinness

§ Guinness world records

- Irish music

o Irish instruments

o Learn some Rebel songs

- Ogham runes

- Irish foods

o Something with lamb, who cares what

- Don’t use friends for land development

- Bogs

- Chemical Reactions

- Rockets

- Inventions and secrecy during WWII

- Religion in Ireland

o Pagan traditions

o Christianity

o Catholic/Protestant tensions

- Irish wedding traditions

- How printing presses work

- Irish castles

- Sheep sheering/raising sheep

- Irish legends

o Fae

o Leprechauns

- Don’t drive and talk on the phone

RAN:

- Why blackface is problematic? (the fact that this needs to be said is problematic in and of itself)

- Scuba diving

- Sailing

- Bermuda Triangle

- Bats

- Primates and their intelligence

o Problems with animal research

o Koko

o Jane Goodall

- Island resort culture

- Metal detectors

- Pirates

o And the Caribbean

o Their abuses

o Different kinds

o Modern day pirates

- How do walkie-talkies work

- US mistreatment of island territories

- Read Along:

o Bloody Jack (Meyer)

WAC:

- Edgar Allan Poe

o Stories

o Baltimore

- Piano

- Victorian Dining traditions

o How to set a place for fancy dining

o How to fold napkins

o Table manners

o How to serve someone at a fancy dinner

o How courses might work

o How to use your silverware

- Why you shouldn’t go to an actual high school part two

o Just fyi – that’s not how uniforms work

§ Have a school inspired dress code for a week

- Bullying and why you absolutely will not be a bully

o How to respond to bullying

o Importance of talking to adults and counseling

- Logic puzzles

- Research the founding of a local school

- Stringed Instruments

- Plagiarism

o Turnitin

- Making sandwiches – like a good deli style sandwich

- Photography scavenger hunt – make a digital (or physical) yearbook

- Squirrels

- Orthographic projection

- DNA/RNA

- Saving every major project on three different thumb drives

- Getting along with roommates

- States and Capitals

o Countries and capitals of the world

TOT:

- Tornados

o Technology used to observe tornados

- Meteorology

- Prairie dogs

- Life on the great plains

- Great Plains Native Americans

- Small towns in the Midwest honestly be like that

- Defensive driving

- Make a disaster kit

- Know what to do in various natural emergency situations

o What is the local alert protocol

o What do local authorities recommend

- How to maintain and fix a car

- How to fix a broken device

- What is tenure

- How to budget

o Go to the grocery store on a strict budget (however much you come in under budget is your candy budget)

- Read Along:

o Little House

SAW:

- Basic Japanese phrases

o Learn to count

o Writing in Japanese

- Sudoku, nonograms, renograms

- Japanese ghost legends

- Japanese culture

o Tourism

§ Ryokans

o Space – everything small

o Politeness/formalities

o Hot springs/baths

o Tatami and paper walls

- Japanese cultural dress

o Kimonos

o Lolita? Fashion

- Japanese names

o Last name first

o How to address others in Japan

- Martial Arts

o Ninjutsu

§ Traditional tools

- Japanese tea ceremony

- Schools in Japan

- Teaching English as a foreign language

- Japanese subway/train system

- Pachinko and Japanese gaming

- Japanese vending machines

- Robotic animals

- Bento

- Japanese foods

- Origami

- How to fake a haunting

CAP:

- Basic German phrases

o How to make a German word

o Connections of German to English

- German food favourites

o Especially cakes

- Storytelling as a cultural entity

o How memory has worked differently in different times

- Glass blowing

- How castles provided for the local community

- Bavaria in Germany

o Cultural dress

- Glockenspiel

- How to make board games

- Monster stories of central Europe

- How to monitor security camera remotely

- Read Along:

o Heidi

ASH:

- Arson

o Watching how different accelerants burn a piece of paper

- All politicians are at least somewhat self-serving

o But write a letter to a local politician anyway

§ Different ways to contact elected officials, and why some don’t work

- How to make ice cream

- How a police investigation works

o Problems with police departments around the world – specifically USA

o Ways that police work unfairly targets minorities

§ If Nancy is innocent how many others are

- How to use matches and lighters safely

- Why you should not return to the scene of a crime – particularly a fire

- Making sure smoke detectors work properly and the system is connected

o We might not go to school but fire drills are still important

- What is a mass spectrometer

- Who to call if you’ve been arrested

- What to do if you get pulled over

- How the media can skew the truth and make their own narratives

- Sound mixing

- Be careful with what you say/post/record

o Keep receipts and clarify when possible

TMB:

- What not to do at an archaeological site

- Ancient Egyptian History

o Pantheon, notable figures, relevant events

o Pyramids, sphinx

o Pharaohs

- Modern Egypt

o Arabic alphabet

- History of archaeological digs in Egypt

o Why they’ve been problematic

- Dangers of the tombs

- Mummys

o How they are put together

- Tomb raiders

- Importance of water in the desert

- How to piece together a broken artifact

- How to gently brush off an artifact

- There is no such thing as a dictionary for ancient Egyptian

- Aliens did not build the pyramids

- Senet

- Desert life safety

- How mirrors can be used to light a room

- Read Along

o Rick Riordan

DED:

- Nikola Tesla

o All his fun stuff

o Tesla Coils

- 3-D printing

- Gummy fingerprints

- Faraday Cage

- Basic electric concepts

o How to build a circuit board

- Chemical safety

- How a lab might work

- Valuing different skills within academia

- Ultraviolet light

- How motorcycles work

- Freelance photography

- How to use academic databases

GTH:

- Slavery in the United States

o Origins

o ‘End’

o Civil War

o The connection to “southern culture”

o Continued abuses of Black people in America

§ Importance of recognizing Black voices and what they are saying

§ Listening even when it’s uncomfortable

§ Checking privilege when you have it

o Jim Crow Laws

- Plantations

- Gone With the Wind

o The good and the bad

- Civil War spies – female

- Carbon monoxide poisoning

- Burned out houses are not a safe space

- Do not go digging through people’s coffins – rest in PEACE

- Understanding that your family can be flawed

- If you don’t want to get married, if you’re not happy in a relationship, end it

- When a member of your family is sick you take care of them

- Make a will, just in case your cousin kills you

- Bachelor and bachelorette parties should feature activities that everyone is comfortable with

- Read Along:

o My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier

SPY:

- Scotland and their identity

o Celtic Nations

o Independent Scotland

o Call a Scottish person

- Unicorns and other mythical creatures in Scotland

- Scottish food

o The appetizing parts

- History of spies

- Biowarfare

o Code Orange

o Other teenage stories dealing with anthrax

o Current events and concerns

o Historical biowarfare (smallpox blankets)

- Ziplining

- Archery

- How to bug someone

- Tartans and plaids

o Kilts

- Augmented Reality Glasses

- Record players

- How to reset a circuit breaker

- Read Along:

o Gallagher Girls

o Code Orange

o Little House (Martha)

o Little Brother (Doctorow)

MED:

- Don’t meet your heroes

- New Zealand

o Maori culture

- Survivor style game shows and realism

- I’m not saying Aliens can’t exist, I’m saying they def aren’t involved here

- Kayaking

- Submarines and what they can do

- Turtles

- Earthquakes

- Be careful with rope bridges

LIE:

- Provenance and why it’s important part two

- Greek art and how it was originally painted vibrantly

o Abuses of Greek art through the ages

- The British Museum and the issues with that

- Greek pantheon

o Legends and notable figures

o Religious traditions

- Iliad and Odyssey

- Art forgery

- How to fire clay pots and pottery

- Memorizing lines for a play

o Staging for a play

o Role of a director

- Theatre

o Lights

o Curtains

o Fly system

o Sound

- Greek alphabet

- Historical importance of the Greek language and culture

o Alexander the Great and Hellenization

- Olympics

o Historic and modern

- Greece and the European Union

- Make something with pomegranates

- Read Along:

o Iliad

o Odyssey

o The Thief

o Percy Jackson

SEA:

- Iceland

o Culture

§ Naming traditions

o Language

o Music

o Food

- Shipbuilding

o Historic and modern ships

- Ice caving

- Northern Lights

- Tides

- Snowmobiling

- Poetry

- What is xenophobia

MID:

- Some games just shouldn’t be made

- American witch trials

o What actually went down

o Misconceptions

- Treating people with albinism as real people

- Arson is bad

- Herbal remedies and how they can interfere with modern medicine

- Witchcraft and how not to

- Salem MA

- Ignorance promotes fear and hatred so we do our best to learn about others

#Nancy Drew Games #Clue Crew #Teaching #Education #Nancy Drew

37 notes · View notes

notyourdayrdream · 4 years ago

Text

Tan Hands and Tan Lines

Day Three, Side A: Ubiquitous

(read it here on AO3)

Nobody wants to spend their summer vacation working. But spending it with your two best friends wasn’t too bad. So when Mercedes told Rachel and Kurt that there were two openings at the retro fifties diner in downtown Lima, they jumped on the opportunity.

Diner in the Sky started out as a relatively slow job. It had just opened a few months ago and the word hadn’t gotten out to much of the city that it even existed. In those early days, Kurt and his friends spent the afternoons and nights singing through the empty store, twirling on black and white checkered floors. Finn and some of the other New Directions would stop by before the sunset and order milkshakes with fries. He and Rachel would not-so-mysteriously disappear for five or so minutes, and Kurt noticed the way Mercedes and Sam giggled around each other. He eventually cornered her during a graveyard shift, and she admitted that they had been dating in secret since prom. It took two days for Mercedes to win Kurt back, after buying him the new Marc Jacobs piece he had been dreaming about.

It was a cute job with even cuter outfits. Until July fourth came around.

The mayor of Lima stopped by that night and made a big show of it all, forever putting the little diner on the map. The appearance knocked out every ubiquitous fast food joint in town. It’s been packed every night since.

“I need a number five without onions!” Kurt hears Rachel scream into the kitchen, followed by the clanging of a few plates. She storms out a minute later, hair sticking to the sweat on her face.

“I hate this job,” she grumbles to him as she makes her way to another table of hungry customers.

Kurt leans his body weight against the counter. The metal is cool against his skin, a nice distraction from the oppressive summer heat. The bar isn’t nearly as packed tonight as the rest of the restaurant, mostly just little kids ordering heart attack inducing malts and ice cream cones. He’s adjusting the stupid rectangle shaped hat on his hat when he hears the door jingle at nine o’clock on the dot.

Blaine Anderson strolls into the diner with his little private smile, pulling his usual denim jacket off as he goes. He’s humming again, a pop song Kurt notices. Probably Katy Perry. He overheard Blaine tell Rachel she was his most listened to artist last week. Not that he was listening to hear if his name came up in conversation or anything like that. That would be crazy.

They meet eyes for a brief second, hazel to blue. Blaine grins before sliding onto one of the red leather barstools. “Hell again?” His cheeks are flushed pink, but Kurt blames it on the heat.

“Yeah,” Kurt replies, sounding breathier than usual. Blaine has a way of doing that to him. With his funny quirks and ability to make restaurant issued bowties sexy, the Dalton Academy junior has snuck his way into Kurt’s heart from the second he started working with him.

There’s a particularly loud crash in the corner of the building, followed by a baby screaming. Blaine takes a moment to sober himself, eyelashes fanning out on the apple of his cheeks. “I better get to work. I mean, I should get to work.” He’s flailing, adorably so. “I mean, I should check that out.” Blaine stumbles. The back of his neck is red as he walks away.

“Remind me again why you won’t ask him out?” Mercedes says with a poke to Kurt’s shoulder. Her hair is still intact, textured curls bouncing at her shoulders. The only way you’d know she had been working was the ketchup colored stains on her baby blue dress and apron. “He’s obviously into you.”

Kurt’s thought about it so many times, and the answer is that he doesn’t know. Competing schools wasn’t an excuse, it was summer. Besides, the Warblers had been so gracious in their loss at Regionals that they invited the New Directions over for coffee at the Lima Bean.

Truth is, he was scared. He’s never had a boyfriend, let alone asked a boy out or even told one they were handsome. This is still Ohio, and being out and proud has its consequences. He knows Blaine is gay at least, so his crushing isn’t creepy.

It sort of terrifies him to care about someone so deeply. When Blaine came in with red rimmed eyes after his fifteen minute break one night in the middle of June, Kurt sat with him as he ranted about how awful his dad was. He’s the only friend Kurt has that likes to watch old black and white movies for fun. Blaine makes him laugh so hard he cries, and everytime he brushes past Kurt during the busy nights, the spot tingles for until he gets home.

Kurt sighs. “I don’t know.” He rests his head against the edge of the soda machine. “Crushes are so damned difficult.” Mercedes hums in sympathy.

“It’ll work out, boo. Even if Rachel and I have to force the two of you to close together like last time.” He can feel her laugh beside him, and soon he’s laughing too. That was a good night.

“Kurt! ‘Cedes!” Rachel all but screams, turning a few heads. After knowing the girl for two years, he’s convinced she only has two settings: Loud and Louder.

Her face is bright pink and there’s a deep crease between her brows. She’s got her Business Face on. “What’re you two doing? This large party just came in, and you guys are just sitting here! A little help would be appreciated!” She huffs, pumps tapping against the floor as she walks to the back at a dizzying speed.

Kurt and Mercedes share an eye roll before going opposite ways. The party Rachel was talking about is huge, five adults and three kids under ten years old. After finding a table large enough so they’d all be comfortable, he pulls out a notepad and asks what drinks he can get them started with.

An older woman starts speaking in rapid fire Italian, gesturing to the rest of the group, who nod in return. Kurt instantly regrets taking up French instead of literally any other language.

“I’m so sorry,” he says, hoping they could understand. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

A younger man with a beard cocks his head and speaks in an incredibly thick accent. How a family of Italians decided to spend a summer in boring Ohio confuses him. “Could we get another waiter?” He stutters through the sentence, and Kurt feels bad to inconvenience them.

There’s a familiar tingle on his left shoulder. “I can help them,” Blaine whispers, side-stepping him to get closer to the table. He says something to the family, who grin back at him. He has that effect on people.

“You speak Italian?” Kurt hisses. This guy is just full of surprises.

Blaine puts his head down and smiles. He shrugs like everyone in America is fluent in the romantic language. “I spent a few summers in southern Italy with my grandmother when I was younger.” Because of course he did.

“Oh,” Kurt offers lamely. “Okay, well tell them I’m really sorry for any inconvenience.”

Blaine smirks at him and turns to the table. He says something to them, laughing afterwards. Kurt watches behind him, amazed at the way Blaine can make anyone feel so important. Not to mention Italian is such a hot language to hear coming out of his mouth.

A kid who can’t be above twelve pipes up, pointing back to Kurt. The rest of the family looks back at him too.

Kurt pulls at the edge of his crisp button down. They’re looking back and forth between him and Blaine, unnerving him beyond belief. He feels called out and exposed even though he has no idea what’s being said about him. So he just returns a wavering smile and turns to leave and prepares to never show his face again when he hears it.

Amore.

That stops him in his tracks. Love? Kurt’s no language expert, but the word is pretty universal in every one of them. He turns around to ask Blaine for a translation, but to his surprise he’s gone uncharacteristically silent.

Blaine eventually stammers through a reply, hands stuck stiffly at his sides. Kurt hears him murmur, “I’ll be back with your drinks,” before walking into the kitchen as fast as he can. He won’t make eye contact with Kurt the rest of the night.

Diner in the Sky closes at eleven every night, and it takes another thirty minutes on a good day to scrub stains from the tabletops and lock everything up. It’s Kurt’s night to close up. Usually either Rachel or Mercedes is on schedule to help him, but since his luck is just absolute shit, he has to clean up the place with Blaine.

Closing up is usually an intimate job. Just two people, the nostalgia of an old diner, and a jukebox. Depending on who you’re with, it’s either heaven or hell. Kurt’s not sure which one he’ll get tonight. The other two times he’s had to suffer through it with Blaine, it’s been fun. They dirtied dishes making vanilla shakes and doo-wopping along to the jukebox tunes.

Tonight feels like purgatory. Blaine avoids him at any cost. If Kurt goes to mop the kitchen floors, he goes to the front room, and vice versa. He won’t speak to him, or even acknowledge him when he accidentally sweeps Kurt’s feet. It’s fine at first, Kurt can handle the awkwardness. But eventually, it simmers to anger.

“Can I talk to you?” He calls after Blaine. He stops like a kid caught in the cookie jar, hand freezing on the light switch. He turns slowly, eyes as big as saucers.

“Yeah?”

Kurt glares at him for a moment before speaking. “Look, I don’t know what that family said to you, but it gives you no right to be so absolutely rude—”

“They said I looked like I loved you.” It comes out as if it pains him to say.

That sentence makes any anger Kurt has, flow out of him and into a pond on the floor. Love?

He scraps up any dignity he has left and smiles to himself. “Well, do you?”

“Do I what?” Blaine snaps, coming to sit on the stool next to him. His leg trembles on the floor. Kurt can recognize now the little tells he didn’t know he ever noticed; how Blaine presses his thumb and ring finger together when he’s especially nervous, the way his eyes seem to light up when he looks at him.

“Love me?” Kurt continues, heart threatening to beat out of his chest. He wants to hear him say it.

Blaine doesn’t answer, instead opting to bury his head into his hands. Kurt hears him mumble to himself. Something about not the right time and tan messed everything up. His stomach flip flops.

“So,” Kurt drags, tapping the edge of the metal counter. “Love, huh?”

“Shut up,” Blaine mutters. They sit in comfortable silence for a little, until the hum of Ella Fitzgerald fizzles off the record. Then, Kurt feels a warm, almost clammy hand on top of his. It’s enough of an answer for him.

#spaceorphan’s sophisticated challenge: ubiquitous #glee #writing #klaine fic #klaine fanfiction #kurt hummel #blaine anderson #tan lines and tan hands

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newmangroup · 8 months ago

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It’s OK to Have an Accent as Long as You’re Not Faking It

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beatriceeagle · 5 years ago

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I'm more of a fantasy than sci-fi person, but consider my interest piqued. Why should I watch farscape?

Okay, the thing is, every Farscape fan’s pitch on Why You, Yes You, Should Watch Farscape ends up sounding very similar, and that’s because Farscape is a black hole that sucks you in and does things to your brain, and after you’ve watched it you are never, ever the same, which incidentally is basically the plot of Farscape.

I would summarize the basic plot for you, but that’s work, and luckily, the show’s credits sequence includes a handy summary that I will provide instead of doing that work: “My name is John Crichton, an astronaut. A radiation wave hit, and I got shot through a wormhole. Now I’m lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship, a living ship, full of strange alien life forms. Help me. Listen, please. Is there anybody out there who can hear me? I’m being hunted by an insane military commander. Doing everything I can. I’m just looking for a way home.“

So let me break down that monologue into its component reasons you should watch Farscape.

1) Some of the strange alien life forms are Muppets.

Farscape a co-production with the Jim Henson Company, and while there are many aliens played by humans in make-up, there are also a considerable number (including two of the regular crew) who are Muppets. By which I do not mean Kermit. I mean really gorgeous, elaborate works of art.

Also, even a lot of the humans-in-makeup aliens just look cool, and incredibly weird. Here’s an alien who appears in a single episode of season 1:

Not that there aren’t, you know, occasional Star Trek-style “these guys are just humans with weird hair,” or whatever, but in general, the aliens on Farscape look really alien. And that’s more than an aesthetic choice; it’s Farscape’s driving narrative principle. The aliens look alien, they act alien, they have alien values.

You know how a lot of sci-fi shows will have a stand-in for “fuck,” like Battlestar Galactica has “frak”? Well, Farscape has “frell.” And also “dren.” And yotz, hezmana, mivonks, loomas, tralk, snurch, eema, drannit, dench, biznak, arn, drad, fahrbot, narl. Some of those are swear words, but some of them are just words, never explicitly translated, that the alien characters will pepper into their speech, because, well, why should translator microbes be able to completely translate all the nuances of an alien culture? You’ll pick it up from context. One time, in passing, a character mentions that he’s familiar with the concept of suicide, but there’s no word for it in his language. I cannot emphasize to you enough how fleeting this moment is; the episode is not about suicide, we’re not having a great exchange of cultural ideas—at the time, the characters are running down a corridor in a crisis, as they are about 70 percent of the time—it’s just that the subject got brought up, and this character needed to talk around the fact that he literally didn’t have a word, in that moment. Things like that happen all the time, on Farscape.

Because more than anything else, Farscape is a show about culture shock. John Crichton is this straight, white Southern guy, at the top of his game—he’s an astronaut! he’s incredibly high status!—and then he ends up on the other side of the galaxy, where none of his cultural markers of privilege hold any meaning, where he doesn’t know the rules, where he literally can’t even open the doors. And he has to unlearn the idea that humanity is central, that he is the norm.

2) John Crichton, an astronaut, is pretty great.

A show that’s about a straight white guy with high status having to learn that he’s not the center of the universe could easily be centered around a really insufferable person, but one of the subtle things that makes Farscape so wonderful is that Crichton is, for the most part, pretty excellent. He has a lot of presumptions to unlearn because almost anyone in his cultural position would, but he’s also just a stand-up guy: compassionate, intelligent, open-minded, decent, forgiving, brave, hopeful.

And the galaxy tries to kick a whole lot of that out of him. It doesn’t succeed, mostly, but if Farscape is about anything other than culture shock, it’s about the lasting effects of trauma. How you can go through a wormhole one person, and experience things that turn you into someone you don’t recognize.

That’s kind of grim-sounding, but ultimately, what I’m trying to say is that Farscape is almost fanatically devoted to character work. Crichton is not the only character who sounds like he should be one thing and ends up being another. All of the characters—all of them, all of them, even the annoying ones—are complicated wonders. And you don’t have to wonder whether the events of the episode you’re watching are going to matter. They will. Everything that happens to the characters leaves a mark. Everything leaves them forever changed. Whether it’s mentioned explicitly or not—and often enough, it’s not explicit—the characters remember what has happened to them.

3) The living ship houses a lot of excellent women, among them the ship itself.

Ah, the women of Farscape, thou art the loves of my fucking life.

There’s Aeryn Sun, former Peacekeeper (that’s the military that the “insane military commander” hails from) now fugitive, currently learning the meaning of the word “compassion” (literally). She will break your fingers and also your heart. John/Aeryn is the main canon romantic ship.

There’s Pa’u Zhoto Zhaan, a priestess of the ninth level, current pacifist, former anarchist. Sorry, leading anarchist. She orgasms in bright light! (Oh my god, Farscape.)

There’s Chiana, my fucking bestie, a teenage(ish? ages in Farscape are weird) fugitive on the run from a repressive authoritarian state. Chiana is like a seductress con artist grifter thief who mostly just wants to survive so that she can have fun, damn it. Characters on Farscape do not really discuss sexualities (sex, yes, sexualities, no) and it would be fair to say that several of them do not fall along human sexuality lines generally, but I’m gonna go ahead and say that Chiana is canonically not straight.

Then there’s Moya, the ship herself, and it’s hard to get a straight read on Moya’s personality, since she mostly can’t speak. But she definitely has opinions, and things and people she cares about. And she moves the plot, though that gets into spoiler territory.

Past first season, further excellent women show up: Jool (controversial, but I like her), Sikozu (I once saw a Tumblr meme where someone had marked down that Sikozu would lose her shit when someone pronounced “gif” wrong, and that’s absolutely correct, and it’s why I love her), and Noranti (who is incredibly weird, and incredibly hard to summarize, but man, you gotta love her willingness to just show up and do her thing). Plus, there’s a recurring female villain, Grayza, who I could write probably multiple essays about. (I don’t know how you will feel about Grayza, as not everyone loves her, but I think she’s fucking fascinating, especially because she’s not actually the only recurring female villain. We also get Ahkna!)

(Side note: I should mention, here, that the cast of Farscape is really, really white. There is one cast member of color, Lani Tupu, but he pretty much represents the entirety of even, like, incidental diversity in casting for the series.)

Anyway, Farscape is full of awesome women, and also awesome and unexpected men, and it really enjoys playing with audience expectations of gender roles, generally. Literal entire books have been written about the way that Farscape fucks around with sex, sexuality, and gender. It’s a little weird because it was the late 90s/early 2000s, and sometimes that does come through, but Farscape’s guiding principle was always to try not to present American culture of the time as the norm, so like. It is not.

(An aside on Farscape and sex: Literally every character on Farscape has sexual tension with every other character. If you are a shipper, this is a Good Show, because no matter who you ship, there will not only be subtext, you will get a Moment of some kind. Multiple characters kiss the Muppet. Farscape is dedicated to getting into the nitty-gritty of the galaxy—I like to think of it as showing the guts of the universe—so a lot of the show is kind of squishy. They live on a biomechanoid ship, instead of androids there are “bioloids,” there’s a lot of focus on strange alien biologies, and lots of weird glowing fluids and things. I think the sex thing is kind of part and parcel of the larger biology focus: Farscape is really fascinated with how we all eat and evolve and live and die and, well, fuck. Which is in turn, kind of part of its focus on making everything really alien.)

4) Other stuff you should know.

Farscape as a whole is excellent, but it was kind of the product of creative anarchy—an Australian/American coproduction (oh yeah, everyone except Crichton speaks with an Australian accent) that was also partnered with the Henson company, whose showrunners were based in America but whose actual production all took place in Australia, and who was just constantly trying new things. So individual episodes can vary wildly in quality. It really takes off in the back half of season one, but no season is without a few off episodes.

It is extraordinarily funny, and I really think I haven’t stressed that enough. It’s one of the shows I want to quote the most in my daily life, but almost all of its humor is really context-dependent, and if you just wander around going, “Hey Stark? What’s black and white, and black and white, and black and white?” people look at you really funny.

It’s very conversant with pop culture generally (although obviously sci-fi specifically, and Star Trek most specifically of all) and really enjoys deconstructing tropes, often to the effect of, “Well, Crichton really does not know what to do here, does he?” but sometimes just to be interesting.

There are also a lot of themes about science, and its uses and misuses.

The whole thing is fucking epic, and if you get invested at all, will take you on an emotional ride.

This show is weird. I know that that’s probably come across by now, but I think it’s worth reiterating as its own point: Farscape is so weird. Like, proudly, unabashedly, trying its hardest, weird. An amazing kind of weird.

If you’re into fantasy, you should know that there’s a recurring villain who’s just a wizard. Like, they don’t bother to explain it any more than that, he’s just a fucking wizard.

In summary: You should watch Farscape because it is a weird, wild, emotional, epic romance/drama/action/allegory full of Muppets and leather and one-liners and emotional gut punches and love, and if you let it, it will worm its way into you and never let go, which, now that I think of it, is another Farscape plot.

Send me meta prompts to distract me from my migraine!

#farscape #meta

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sleepdeprivedheretic · 4 years ago

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Bonds (FatGum x Reader)

Notes: self indulgent trash with a kinda angsty Fatgum mafia au with abo elements and smut. There is heavy violence with kinda dark (but not really) Fatgum who cusses too much and who’s the leader of the mafia. The story gets fluffier and Reader be like: oh well he’s hot, though

Warnings: Triggering elements such as abducting, black markets, dark thoughts, heavy violence, strong language, and mentions of non-con. All characters are over the age of twenty, and the nsfw is fluffy and consensual. Read at your own risk.

…………

You remembered vaguely how you got there. You had a bag over your head, then. Kicking and screaming out your lungs, and to no avail. Your abductors had enough, it seemed, and next thing you knew, you had a cloth shoved into your mouth, and then your world faded to black.

You woke up not too long ago. You were wearing a thin tunic that barely covered your thighs as you sat in a cage within a dark room. Your hands were cuffed together, for whatever reason, you couldn’t tell. The faint smell of omegas in distress such as yourself lingered in the cold and empty room. It was a while before a door had opened, letting light from the other room hit yours. You could tell now that it was a basement, with the stairs and a tiny window.

“So, you’re awake?” A rough voice asked you. You turned your head towards the voice. A beta, you thought as his scent was hardly there. He walked down the stairs, towards you with a nasty smirk.

“Yes.” You answered. It was best to play it safe.

“Good. Let’s get one thing clear, Sweetheart, you’re nobody, now. Your birth certificate, I.D, and anything that ties you to society? Gone.” The beta said all too bluntly moved towards the cage, sitting on a stool in front of it. He looked like your average CEO, dressed in a suit and tie. He stared at you with a cocky expression as fear and agony washed over you.

Everything? You couldn’t help but feel your chest clench with tightness. He grinned at your discomfort, seeming to feed on your distressed pheromones.

“You know what the real kicker is? Your own fuckin’ parents sold you out. Said that you weren’t the alpha they wanted to continue their company’s legacy. Blech. Now that I know that you’re awake, I’ll make sure the boss knows.”

He finally exclaimed as he patted the bars with mock sympathy, and then got up. He walked up the stairs and opened the door, slamming it as he left.

Your own parents? Sure you weren’t on good terms with them, and hell, you had your own life. You had your own job, your own apartment, your pets…the thoughts dropped as sadness washed over you.

You couldn’t help but sniffle as fat tears dropped onto your tunic and hands. Everything was gone. You had nobody, now. You were devastated, hurt, and fully alone. You were still in bit of a shock, so the effects of what was happening didn’t fully hit you, yet, but you knew that you were going to mentally break. You felt robbed because of your biology, and you hated the feeling. Darkness crept up on you.

You’re going to be sold. You were going to be sold, fucked, and bred full of unwanted cubs in a dangerous organization with nobody to turn to.

Light returned to the room as the beta walked down the stairs, holding a tray of food. The smell was delicious, despite it’s origins.

“Now, here’s what’s going to happen. We have had too many vigilantes throwing food, refusing to eat, and being just a stupid mess. I’m going to unlock your handcuffs, but you gotta play nice. Fuck up, and I’ll make you eat this on the floor, got it?” The beta growled. You found yourself nodding. Truthfully, you didn’t care.

Your appetite wasn’t great, but you didn’t want to starve to death. He unlocked the cage, and then your cuffs as he eyed you with the scrutiny of a hawk. Handing you your meal, you took it gingerly as he locked the cage back up.

The chicken and vegetables did look delicious, and despite lacking an appetite, it crawled back to you with the mere smell of the food. You took the fork and ate it with no fuss. You weren’t happy with the world right now, but that didn’t mean that you couldn’t enjoy what little pleasures were offered to you. This might be the nicest meal that you’ll have in a while, after all.

The beta looked relieved as he watched you.

“That’s it, Sweetheart. It’s a shame, really.” He admitted. Between bites you asked him what happened to your apartment and pets. He gave you a dirty look, but relented.

“All your stuff was burned, for we don’t need any evidence that you had existed. Your pets went to the pound, and all that your landlady and few friends know is that you’re across seas.”

“How?” You asked, finishing your meal rather quickly. The beta chuckled.

“We’re the dark underbelly. The black market. We have ways.”

He unlocked the cage, put the handcuffs on you again, took your finished tray, and then locked the cage again. It was bleak, cold, and a dark future. You didn’t know how or what to feel. It was like a numbness washing over you. Of course you wanted to fight, and be stubborn, and tell the beta to shove off, but you didn’t.

“I can’t waste my breath on you too long. You’re being auctioned off, tomorrow, and when you wake up, more than likely you’ll be getting fucked.” He shrugged as he left. You tried your best to ignore his words. It made you close to hyperventilating, and you knew that wasn’t good. There wasn’t much you could do, really. So you held onto some sort of hope that you’ll be fine within the dark.

Although it wasn’t your nest, your head was feeling dizzy and sleepy. You wondered if they spiked the food. You weren’t surprised. On the bright side, at least it’ll help you sleep.

………..

Gunshots and screams made you jump awake. At first, you were confused by your surroundings, but then it all came flooding back. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. As well, right now, you hoped that you weren’t going to get murdered. It might have been more merciful, you thought darkly. The screams had gotten louder, and you pressed yourself against the cage in fear.

The sounds of gunshots were muffled from where you were sitting, but you could tell that they were getting closer. Your tail was twitching like crazy as your ears were pinned back. Your eyes dilated with fear and you felt your heartbeat quickened. Was this it? Were you about to die? With nobody knowing or caring about your whereabouts? You could smell the faint scent of blood from the other room, wondering vaguely on how many people were murdered. It didn’t suit well with you, but all you could do was wait.

The door slowly clicked open, letting light flood the room. A moment passed before a dark southern accent filled the room.

“So that’s where they’ve been hidin’ you.” A man’s voice. You shuddered, not looking up. You wanted to, though. You wanted to know who had that sandalwood scent mixed in with vanilla and of course, the fresh smell of blood.

The footsteps gotten louder as they neared your cage. Honestly, you could feel as if your heartbeat was going to jump out of your throat. Shiny black shoes were right in front of you through the bars. You could see blood splattered across them as well as the pants.

“You gonna look up, Princess?” The voice joked. Fearing for your life, you did that.

The handsome tiger alpha was smirking at you with cockiness and mirth shown within his amber eyes, hair disheveled and blood was splattered onto his face, as well.

“So, we’ve gotten to ya before they could sell you, huh?” He squatted down, making sure that you could see him better.

“I guess.” Was all you could say. It sucked on how fearful you were. Of course your pheromones were screaming that you were in distress at this point. He frowned, as he calculated you.

“So more than likely they got rid of your social identity, huh? Let me guess, somebody close to you sold you off?” He pondered. You didn’t know how to respond to that, but you nodded. He sighed aloud, as if contemplating something. He looked at you thoroughly and you tried to keep your shame to yourself. You didn’t like it.

“So, what are your plans when you get outta here?” He questioned, and you did a double-take. You? Leave? Where would you go? You had no clothes, no job, no identity, and no family to support you.

“I don’t know.” You admitted. It was strange. Here you were, talking to a blood-soaked stranger who was eyeing you with a little bit of sympathy and annoyance, not at you, but probably with the situation.

“Did you kill all of them?” You then asked suddenly. His eyes were trained on yours with a serious expression when he answered.

“Yeah. Do you have a problem with it? A stranger blowin’ off heads, covering their own floors with blood and guts? Hearing their screams as they watch their Family get torn to bits by bullets?” He leered. If he was trying to scare you, it only half worked. To be honest, you’re still in shock from everything, and now you were cold and hungry and were at loss on what you were suppose to do.

“No. I don’t know what to really feel, to be honest.” You answered truthfully. For a moment he seemed to lack expression as if thinking about something when he looked at you. Then sighed for the umpteenth time, rather loudly.

“Fuck. Fine.” He reached into his pocket and for a second, you thought that it was his gun. No, it was the keys to your cage and handcuffs.

“You’re in too deep, you know that? Not only being a witness to several murders, but getting involved with the mafia and black market. No identity, no background, nothing. Getting back to society is gonna be a pain in the ass for you. So, I’ll offer you this once, and only once,” He gave you a stern look full of importance, causing your eyes to lock onto his.

He unlocked your cage, and then your handcuffs. You rubbed your wrists as he eyed the redness to them with a look of disdain.

“unlike today, we rarely kill. The organization that we’ve busted has been targeting young women and omegas, and sellin’ them to whoever. This is my city, and I don’t like that. What I also don’t like, is innocent bystanders or witnesses, and you fit the bills. Now, I’m not going to threaten you, but it’s obvious that you have nothing and nobody. So you should just join me and my family.” He said all too bluntly.

You knew that he had a point, but to just join the mafia? It wasn’t a rational decision, or your first choice, but the both of you knew that you couldn’t really afford to be rational.

“Alright.” You found yourself saying, because honestly, what else could you do? He smiled and patted your cheek.

“Your duties might be bland, but we need extra hands in dealing with paperwork and things like that. It wouldn’t hurt for you to work for your clothes and food. As for your living arrangements, we’ll figure it out. I won’t force ya to do anything you wouldn’t like, but just so you know,” His voice darkened a little, and you blanched a little at it.

“I know that this is way off topic, and probably improper, but I’ll say it anyway. You’re going to be on suppressants. We can’t have some of my boys losing their shit in order to pop a knot.” He finished. You felt blood rush to your cheeks with his forward statement, but hastily agreed. You didn’t want to go into heat, soon. Not after the trauma you were still going through.

He lead you out of the basement, and suddenly the smell of blood hit you fully, this time. You didn’t want to look, but you knew that there were bodies laying across the floor with bullet wounds through their heads. Everything instantly made you feel sick to your stomach. Was this the life you’ll be joining? Granted he said that killing didn’t happen, often, but could you believe that?

“Don’t look so sullen. This will no longer concern you, Omega.” He said, noticing your scent and body language of distress.

“It’s a lot to take in.” You admitted. It was as if it was too much, but you were somehow in the twilight zone of shock. You wanted to come to your senses and feel everything at once. You wanted to cry and scream with anguish at how life was rough and unfair. However, you knew that it was futile. Your new life is in the mafia now.

“I know.” For once, his voice was almost soft, and it caught you off guard. The two of you walked past the bodies, overstepping the blood and other parts that were probably guts, as another scent had hit you.

It was another alpha. You kept looking at your savior, but he didn’t seem too bothered. It was probably his men. Sure enough, there was a red-haired man with dog appendages in his early twenties standing at the door. He grinned when he seen the two of you. Standing beside him must have been a beta, sullenly looking around with slight disgust as his sharp canine ears twitched.

“Eijirou, Tamaki. This is your newest co-worker. Omega, these are my top two men. Now, let’s get out of here.” Your newest boss acknowledged the two guarding the door.

“She looks cold.” Tamaki, the shorter man with jet black hair observed quietly.

“Taishiro, you’re so mean! You can’t leave a lady like that, it’s unmanly!” Eijirou, the younger man with wild red hair explained. Taishiro, huh? He huffed as his tail twitched with annoyance.

“Mind your businesses, brats. We’ll get her suited up and comfortable in no time.” He griped. As the four of you were walking outside towards getaway car, you jumped when you felt his jacket being draped over you.

“Shoulda said somethin’ if you were cold.” He grunted.

“My mind was occupied.” You shrugged, replaying the awful events that lead you here. He didn’t say anything, but you could tell that he probably understood.

The car ride wasn’t really silent. Eijirou was a hyper alpha, and he kept asking you weird questions, such as your name, date of birth, and what your favorite color was. Taishiro and Tamaki mainly stayed silent as Tamaki drove, but they were listening in to your voice.

“How did you know that somebody close to me sold me out?” You bravely asked your new boss. He sniffed a little uncomfortably, but indulged you.

“It’s always been like that. Families who didn’t want an omega, fake friends who are jealous, stuff like that. I use to work for the police force, and you see the same stuff. If we’re askin’ personal questions, Princess, I gotta few.” He then looked at you. You nodded, giving him permission.

“Who in their right fuckin’ minds sold you? I can see that your dynamic is rare. Snow leopard?” He asked bluntly.

“You’re correct. My family didn’t want an omega. They already have my brother, an alpha, and so they saw me as a burden. I had my own job and place, so it wasn’t like they could marry me off.” You admitted. It felt good to get this off of your chest, and you were a little surprised on how much the weight had lifted.

“Bastards. So, you had a job and shit? You, minding your own business, got fuckin’ kidnapped and almost sold because they had issues?” His tone lowered with anger, and to be honest, you couldn’t help but find it nice that somebody seemed to care about you once.

“I started working a job behind their backs at the age of sixteen, moved out legally by seventeen, and at the age of eighteen, I was finally free. They wanted to marry me off at an early age, but couldn’t dig their claws into me. For the next seven years, I’ve been almost no contact with them and just worked hard. I went through college and got a high paying job. I just graduated, recently, unlike my brother.” You rambled on, but he was listening.

“They must’ve heard about your graduation, and then snapped.” He said, putting the pieces together. His tail was swishing with anger, now, and you felt bad that you made him upset for you.

“Don’t worry about it, Boss. They can’t touch me anymore, right?” You asked, and he nodded.

“I’ll skin them alive, Omega, if they try to touch a hair on your head.” He growled out, and you felt inner warmth for the first time in a while envelop you. Although kind of scary, your boss had been nothing but nice and protective over you. The early horrors of you being scared and alone in the cage, as well as the blood still laid there, but they dwindled a little.

“Taishiro, where is she gonna live? She needs clothes, you know?” Eijirou piped up.

“As well as food. She must be starving, knowing how they treat their omegas.” Tamaki added silently.

Taishiro seemed to realize his error, and turned towards you again. “Omega, do you wanna stay with me? I have extra rooms and security gates from strangers, also that way I can keep a closer eye on ya so your parents can’t touch you. If that makes you uncomfortable, our headquarters has a lobby with a couch. It won’t be as much privacy, but if you don’t wanna share a house with an alpha, that’s understandable.” He finished.

You noticed that Eijirou and Tamaki looked a little shocked, but as well as relieved.

“Boss’s house is the safest. No doubt he’ll be looking in on information about your parents, and so you’ll be able to breathe freely in no time.” Tamaki added in shyly. Eijirou nodded.

“It’s so manly!” He choked up and to your small amusement, Taishiro rolled his eyes a bit playfully.

“Alright. I’ll move in with you.” You admitted. Truthfully, you didn’t find yourself minding. If he wanted to take advantage of you, he would have already, and plus, this was the first light at the end of the tunnel you’ve seen in a while. Taishiro smiled.

“Hey, Tamaki, do you mind dropping us off at my residence? She can take a shower there and wear my clothes. Later today we’ll go shopping for new ones, eh?” He grinned at you, and Tamaki sighed.

“Already you’re treating her like your omega.” He murmured so lowly, but you heard it.

“Eh? I couldn’t hear you.” Taishiro’s ear twitched at the mostly silent man.

“Nothing. We’ll be there soon, Boss.” He declared.

On the way, you couldn’t help but think that he was treating you as such. It was scary on how much you didn’t mind. You wanted to tell yourself that this was the leader of the mafia, for crying out loud. You wanted to argue with yourself, but you knew that you had nothing really to argue against, except of course that he was your gunslinger boss, but that’s about it. The car pulled up to a very nice looking place before it stopped. It was a decent sized house with security gates and cameras, and already you could tell that it was safe.

“We’re here. Thanks, boys. We’ll regroup later today. Eijirou, could you bring Midoriya with us later when we shop for clothes? You know I don’t know much about omega shit.” Taishiro grumbled out. Eijirou’s tail wagged.

“Sure! I’m sure my babe will be thrilled to have another omega friend! Just call us when you need us, Tai-chan!” He waved. Taishiro laughed a little.

“Cheeky brat. Anyways, let’s get you cleaned up and into some clothes. Don’t want the neighborhood starin’ at a blood-soaked man and a half-naked woman.” He was grinning, but there was a dark glint in his eyes. You didn’t hesitate to agree, although you couldn’t help but feel shame and a little embarrassed by your lack of dress. He unlocked the gates with a password, unlocked his front door, and the both of you were now inside his house.

It was decently large, furnished, clean, and smelled strongly like his scent. You already liked being here, it was very comforting.

“Here, follow me. I’ll get you some of my clothes, and then you can take a shower.” He offered, and you did. Of course the only spare clothes he had was his, but you didn’t mind. They were better than the tunic. He left you to your own devices as you locked the door, shedding off your tunic and stepping into the tub.

Tears of relief had hit you when you felt the warm spray hit your cold skin. You weren’t being sold or used against your will. You had a caring boss and your future co-workers were friendly and welcoming. True, it was the mafia, but those men deserved it, didn’t they? A life was precious, yes, but they were willing to throw yours under the bus. Then your boss saved you. He didn’t even hesitate to take care of you. You continued on with your shower, trying not to take too long.

The only shampoo and body wash was of course his, but you really wanted to wash away the smell of blood and the icky surroundings that surrounded the supposedly abandoned house that you were caged in. You didn’t mind smelling like your savior, truth be told. Blood rushed to your cheeks as you remembered what Tamaki had said.

Was he treating you like his omega? Sure you were going to get new clothes, but right now, you were going to smell like him and wear his clothes, that he was more than willing to provide. You just got out of emotional trauma, and already you were feeling this way? No. You decided that you must have been going crazy from all the stress.

He left you an over-sized shirt with socks and loose jeans with a belt, and you slipped them on after drying yourself and brushing your hair. You hoped that it wouldn’t be too awkward. The house, although large, wasn’t too hard to navigate. Especially when the smell of bacon and eggs hit you from the kitchen. He was standing there, in a white tank top, a towel over his wet hair, and shorts, attending to the skillet.

It took a lot of willpower to not admire him too much. Without the suit, you could see his body more clearly; he had a bulky build, his muscles could have been mistaken for fat, and you approved. Sensing your presence, he turned around and the two of you stared at each other.

“Oh, so the pretty lil’ thing’s outta the shower? Here, you must be starvin’.” He broke the silence as he handed you a plate. The smiley face made with bacon and eggs did it. You couldn’t help but snort at the silly gesture as you felt a warm, joyous feeling, and his attention immediately snapped to your smiling face.

“You look good smilin’, Sweetheart.” As soon as he admitted it, he changed the subject with a cough.

“Anyways, after breakfast, I’ll show you to your room and you can get some proper rest. Eijirou and his mate, Izuku will be here, later and we’ll get you some new clothes, alright?” You agreed.

After finishing your meal, he led you to an almost empty bedroom that only had a twin bed and a spare dresser. You didn’t care, you liked it and didn’t hesitate to let the softness of the bed envelop you. Your muscles were still a little sore from sleeping on the cold hard ground, and sleep just came to you easily.

Your eyes fluttered as something poked your nose. Another poke. When you finally opened your eyes, you were greeted by a green haired stranger. His dwarf rabbit ears flicked with amusement.

“Hello, my name is Izuku! About time you awoke! You and I are going shopping!” He piped up. Eijirou’s mate, you recalled.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You answered truthfully, and he beamed.

“Thank you! I know you don’t have much clothes, less any shoes, so Eiji and I piled up clothes that I think you’d like, so shopping wouldn’t take too long and Tai-chan can rest easy.” Izuku giggled. He was an adorable little omega who like Eijirou, was a chatterbox, you decided. You thanked him sincerely, and it was so cute that his little tail wagged with joy.

In your old life, you didn’t have any omega friends, since they were so rare and you were so occupied with work, so it was nice, for once. As you told him this, he squealed and hugged you.

……………..

To be honest, you were use to working as a secretary, so you had knowledge of blazers, skirts, stockings, and even dress suits. After sorting out the clothes Izuku had brought, you neatly folded them in the dresser. It didn’t take that long for everybody to get into the car and drive to the nearest mall.

You told Taishiro that you wanted the clothes to come out of your future paychecks, in to which he looked a little surprised, but agreed to your conditions. In your mind, he had done so much already, and although you couldn’t pay it back right now, you were going to at least try to earn your things.

Izuku would giggle and point at such cute clothing, and you’d let him be distracted as you focused on office wear. Taishiro and Eijirou were following from behind, calculating on each omega’s interest. Your eyes lingered on a comfortable looking dark orange hoodie for a little too, long, and then berated yourself mentally for getting distracted.

Although you were aiming for work clothes, Izuku would try to get you to look at the dresses and cute omega wear, and you couldn’t hep but blush in embarrassment, stating that you had home clothes, already thanks to him and he rolled his eyes. “You’d look soooo cute with that, though!” He huffed, but let you do your thing.

While Izuku wasn’t with you while you were looking at prices, he’d give Taishiro and Eijirou a small piece of his mind.

“You know she needs underwear.” Or “You know that she’d look so cute in that.”. He knew that he was being a little over-bearing, but you barely had anything, for Kami’s sake.

When the time to shop was over, you realized that the alphas had already bought their stuff, and Taishiro paid your stuff with his card, and handed you the receipt so that you can pay him back later. You were forever grateful, and you weren’t short on words telling your boss and new friends that. You did feel a little inferior, letting your boss pay for your stuff, and so it made you strengthen your resolve to pay him back and work extra hard.

When you got home, he dumped some bags into your bedroom, and your heart had leapt with such warmth as you spotted the hoodie that you had wanted, earlier. Maybe you didn’t mind if he someday became your alpha, a voice inside you admitted, and you tried to brush it off.

………………………………………..

A year has passed, since then. True to his word, you were on suppressants, and true to your words and resolve, you worked very hard. Your relationship had strengthened with everybody, especially “Tai-chan”, your beloved boss. You began to learn more things about him, how he actually hated killing, and how he saw the injustice of the prison and jail systems, so he decided to fix things, himself. He wanted to quit, however, but he didn’t know what the right time to do so.

He did so much for you, you couldn’t believe it. Although you weren’t really into society, anymore, he did help you recover your hard-earned degree, and after a long talk, you wanted to work someplace else, but you still wanted to live with him. He was like a safety net to you and your omega instincts were tickled with delight.

Nothing helped your growing feelings for him, that was for sure. You also took scent blockers, so he couldn’t smell your scent of approval, or at late nights when he was at work, your arousal. You wanted him, and you swore that to your chagrin, everybody but him knew it. Izuku would wink, Eijirou would give you finger guns, and Tamaki would softly say that you should admit your feelings, or somebody else would snatch him up when he was out of earshot.

You didn’t really have your heats, anymore, but you found yourself wanting to spend one with him, and that thought made you decide that you were done waiting. You were a little shy, but you weren’t getting any younger, and you knew that suppressants weren’t really that good for you. When he was just sitting on the couch, you sat beside him. It was your chance.

“I want to talk to you.” You said with such seriousness, he turned off the television, and looked at you, giving you his full attention.

“What is it, Sweetheart?” He asked. You bit your lip, glancing at his piercing attentive gaze as you tried to find the right words.

“If you wanna move out, you can.” His blunt voice echoed through the air. The hurt tone in his voice made your attention snap to him fully. Although he looked tough, you could see that his eyebrows were furrowed, and it looked as if he was trying to keep the look of hurt under control.

“That’s not it, at all, Taishiro.” You answered truthfully, calling out his name. It seemed to work, for his tail relaxed as he then looked at you with a concerned, and dare you say it, hopeful look.

“I love you.” You felt it spill out so naturally, that you didn’t even blanch with confusion or regret. A weight that you haven’t seemed to notice, was lifted off of your shoulders as he then gave you a look of pure shock.

“What?”

“I love you.” You repeated unabashed. Taking in his silence, you let yourself continue.

“Love is a very powerful emotion, but I had never felt it, before. When you took me in, and took care of me, and helped me take care of myself without wanting anything in return, my feelings were already in too deep. I understand if this makes you uncomfortable, or if you never want to reciprocate them-”

You were cut off with surprise as strong arms enveloped you, pushing your back onto the couch, and his hot mouth was onto yours in an instant. He was holding and kissing you, you realized. Your heart melted into a fiery warmth, and joy spread all over you. Words weren’t really spoken, as he licked your bottom lip, and you opened your mouth, granting him entrance as he delved his tongue in.

New. It was your first kiss, but you couldn’t have felt more hotter or eager as he licked the roof of your mouth, your molars, sucked on your tongue, and you tried your best as you moaned into it, threading your fingers through his hair as he bit your bottom lip in retaliation. He pulled away, the both of you panting as he gazed into your glossy eyes.

“Oh, you didn’t know how long I wanted to do that, Sweetheart.” He growled out as he pecked you on the nose. You couldn’t help but giggle a little.

“How long?” You asked.

“When I seen your fine ass half-naked. It wasn’t the best situation, but you’re a very beautiful omega, and I’m a selfish man. I did those things to genuinely help you, though. Yet, I couldn’t help my instincts screaming at me to take care of ya. I was forever battling myself, Darlin’, because I didn’t want your feelings to be akin Stockholme syndrome, although you have free reign to do what you want. Since you’ve decided to live with me willingly, and confessed your feelings,” His eyes glistened dangerously.

“now that I know your feelings for me are genuine, and not some Stockholme syndrome bullshit, I’m going to mark you up prettily. If you don’t want to bear my mark, say something, now, or else I’m going to make you mine.” He growled out, and you couldn’t help but feel a little bit of slick leak out.

“I love you, genuinely. I didn’t know where I stood, seeing that you were my boss and the leader of the mafia. If you’ll have me as your mate, I’ll gladly bear your mark.” You answered truthfully, breaking the dominant atmosphere as his eyes softened and he relaxed a little.

“I love you, too. So damned much, that it hurts. You don’t make it easy on me, bein’ sweet enough to eat, and sticking by me despite who I am and what I go through. There’s nobody else for me but you, Darlin.” He admitted, kissing you a lot more softly, this time as your heart thundered within you chest and you caressed his cheek as you returned it.

The two of you broke away as the glint returned in his eyes again.

“You wanna christian our bedroom?”

……………...(Smut!)

Your back was against the massive pillows, stark naked with your legs opened and waiting as he eyed you with such a hunger, you were already leaking slick from your entrance. He made you so comfortable, your inner omega crooned as he, naked as you, decided that he had enough waiting.

You kept from yelping as his hot mouth was on you in an instant. Your fingers turned white as they gripped the bed-sheets in a death grip as he suckled on your clit. It was new, and you would have been writhing, if it weren’t for his grip holding you down. You whined as you felt his chuckle reverberate your entrance.

“We’ll take this slow, alright, Sweetheart? I just wanna eat you up~” He purred, ears flicking at your thighs and you jumped a little. He fat tongue licked a strip upwards at your sopping entrance, and decided that he really liked the taste, because he kept tasting it, licking up your juices as he sometimes swirled his tongue around your sensitive bud, giving it a harsh suck as you whimpered and kept writhing. The sheer noises of the act itself wasn’t helping, either, nor was his loud slurping sounds. It made you feel things that you didn’t know that you were capable of feeling.

“I want to taste you, -ah! Too!” You admitted aloud. He groaned as he pulled away. Your juices were on his chin, and he was looking at you with such a feral look, you wondered if he was close to a rut.

“As you wish.” Was all he said before he maneuvered your bodies to which you were on top of him, facing his dick and you were all but sitting on his face. His hands gripped your legs as he began licking you again, and you wanted to do the same.

It was big and thick, swollen with red and it looked as if it hurt and you felt a little sorry for it. Your mouth watered at the possibility of tasting it, and you wasted no time in your exploration. He groaned when you touched it, wrapping your hands around it gently as you leaned down and tentatively gave an experiential lick. It tasted salty and a little bitter, but at the same time, there was a flavor of sweetness to it. You liked this taste, you decided. It twitched a little, but that didn’t deter you.

All your life you have been ignoring this, and now you wanted it. He was going to be your mate, and you couldn’t wait to be properly fucked. But first. You kept giving it experiential licks, eventually wrapping your mouth around the tip, and sucked. He jumped a little and cursed, and your own entrance was aching, but you wanted to taste more of him.

You felt one of his hands release the grip on one of your thighs, and felt him entering a thick digit into you as you tried to take more of him within your mouth. You couldn’t help but moan around him as he was pushing his fingers within you, stretching you slowly as the lewd sounds echoed within your shared bedroom. You had never been more turned on more than your entire life, and all of this experience was going to be burnt into your brain. You almost choked on him when he was four fingers deep in you, still licking at your slick and clit and your brain was getting fuzzy. Your jaw started to hurt, and he seemed to understand.

“It’s okay, Sweetheart. Just enjoy yourself, alright? We’ll get to the main event, soon.” He said softly as he kissed the back of your thigh tenderly, and your heart melted a little at the warmth. Soon was sooner than you expected, for the next thing you knew, you were straddling his lap, feeling the heat of his dick against the folds of your labia, and you just wanted to sit on it.

He was kissing you again, more slowly and gently, and you felt yourself purring as you gripped onto him. He broke away, grinning but with more softness than his usual cockiness.

“Look at you. So fucking pretty. All mine. I’m going to fuck you on my lap, yeah? When you come, there better be a mark on me, okay, Sweetheart? I’ll do the same.” You agreed as he grinned, gripping your hips, and leading your aching core to his dick. He stopped dead when you stilled a little. You couldn’t help it, though.

“Somethin’ the matter, Dearest?” He asked softly. You shook your head, but then sighed and relented.

“I’ve...never…” You let the sentence drop and his eyes widened a little with surprise, and then a heated look overcame his features.

“So, that was your first time tastin’ a dick, huh?” He pondered as he rubbed himself against your clit. You whimpered and nodded.

“That...this is a little irrelevant, but that was my first kiss, as well.” You stammered and he stilled. He held you close as he then nuzzled your neck, scenting you.

“You need to speak up about these things, alright? I could have just rammed my dick into you and wouldn’t know better.” He murmured, and then pulled away.

“You still want this?” He asked. You nodded. He kissed you, and then gripped your waist with one hand, and his member with the other. He watched your expression closely as he guided himself within you. You felt a pinch, but the way he began to fill you, began to feel like a delicious friction that you had been wanting for a long time. Your walls squeezed around him, and you could feel his hot member pulsing inside you as it stretched you.

He stilled when he finally bottomed out, you sitting on his dick and balls and you opened your eyes to see him watching you intently. You offered a sweet smile and kissed him in reassurance.

“It doesn’t hurt. The stretch is new, but you’re so good to me.” You admitted, and he groaned as he returned your affections.

“I’m going to take really good care of you, Sweetheart. You might not walk for a week, though.” He grinned, and you smiled as you rolled your hips, experiencing the new friction. It was delicious, and you wanted the feeling to last.

He pulled you tight against him as he slowly began to roll his hips gently, kissing your face and squeezing your breasts as he looked at you with a such a soft look, it made you keen with approval. He was your gentle alpha. You knew that he was fighting his dominant side, and he was holding himself back. You wanted him to go a little faster, and tried to move your hips to increase the pace, but he held you still, making you whine as he chuckled.

“Sorry, Baby, but I wanna savor you like Takoyaki.” He purred and you keened with approval and arousal. You were panting and sighing as your climax was nearing, and he was just eating it up.

“You want pups?” He asked randomly, hand gripping your ass. You couldn’t say much, but you let out a whine of approval. His breathing was getting labored as he rutted a little faster into you.

“’Cause I’ll give up everything to see you swollen and fat with my pups. Fuck the mafia and fuck getting-ah! Shot. I’ve made up my mind. We’re gonna settle down, and we’re gonna look after our kids. Sound good?” He panted out and you nodded.

“Yes!” You hiccuped and he groaned as he felt your walls tighten as you were getting nearer.

“You’re gonna keep your job, of course, and I’ll find somethin’. White picket fence and everything for us, Baby.” He couldn’t help but speed up, his dick was hitting your cervix and balls against your ass with fervor. He tilted his head, pulling you towards his scent gland, waiting to be bit. Your walls tightened around him as your teeth sank into him as your orgasm hit you like a freight train. You pulsed around him and he faltered and cursed as he returned your favor, biting you.

It was official, the both of you belonged to one another, now, and you couldn’t have been happier. Yet, you were so dizzy and tired, your world faded to black.

When you came to, he was looking at you with such a gentle expression as he wiped you down with a clean washcloth.

“I love you, Sweetheart. You did so well for me. You doin’ alright?” You nodded.

“I love you too, Taishiro.” You admitted softly, and he kissed you slowly for the umpteenth time.

“I meant it, you know. We can go somewhere else, have a bunch of kids, a white picket fence, and hell, maybe a dog. Only if you want it.” He offered rather shyly. Your hand caressed his cheek, making him look at you as you smiled.

“Of course.”

………………….

End. Geezus. Will I stop with the kinks and smut? Probably not. This fic took longer bc of my new job, but I loved writing it. Purely for self indulgence, but everybody is free to like or reblog it <3

#Taishiro Toyomitsu #Fatgum #Fatgum x reader

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