#tell me why some of the best ones will read you so thoroughly you almost feel violated

[girl4music]

Those last 2 episodes. Appropriately titled ‘Heart Part 1’ and ‘Heart Part 2’ because my heart is so full. I have so much to say and have no idea where to start with it.

So much happened. Every lead character’s individual arc was thoroughly concluded in a very satisfying way. Even some of the recurring ones got an endgame so there’s a lot to cover in this recap of a fantastic finale and I feel so fulfilled on great storytelling and great representation packed into a neatly tied up ending.

MAJOR SPOILERS: do not read this if you have not seen the finale of ‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’.

I guess I’ll start with Shadow Weaver because she had an endgame that I had predicted. Well, sort of. I said that Shadow Weaver’s arc can only go in 1 of 2 ways. I said it was either personal attainment (villainy) or personal sacrifice (heroism). So I wasn’t surprised when it was the latter. But I wasn’t able to trust in her going that way sincerely until she started attacking that monster, told Catra that she was proud of her, took off her mask and then told them both ‘you’re welcome’. I couldn’t trust that she was sincerely helping them to achieve releasing and channelling the Heart of Etheria’s magic… which by the way, is what almost brought them to the brink of destruction the first time they tried to do it. However, I understood that because She-Ra was the conduit for that, that it could have a different outcome. Still destructive but destructive only to the opposition. I think anyway. I might have to rewatch that part again because I don’t think I fully understood what was going on there. But yes, Shadow Weaver went out in a heroes death rather than was the cause of her own demise out of hunger for power and a desire to attain the magic of the Heart Of Etheria for selfish aim. I was happy with it.

Glimmer and Bow: I decided to talk about these 2 lead characters together since part of their arc involves each other. It was no surprise to me that they would declare their love for each other. I mean Glimmer has always had a crush on Bow and they’ve been the very best of friends since they were children. I wasn’t sure about Bow at first but I knew intense romantic feelings would develop and I’m glad it was Glimmer who said it first. I am a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a kiss on the lips but I think I understand why that was. I’ll get there. Be patient. There’s way too much to talk about first and I really want to save Catradora until the very last section because I’ll have the most to say about them as a lot of their arc informs well… pretty much the whole TV show.

Glimmer individually had more of an arc in the TV show than Bow did so a significant amount of my meta goes to her. It was mainly how she was fairing as Queen but also how useful she could be to the team because of it. Then of course there was Micah. Reuniting with him but having to battle with him because he was an unwilling agent of Horde Prime. I laughed with pure joy when the influence on him ended and he said “Hi, I’m your dad.” I really felt for Glimmer when she was desperately trying to heal him and she said “I won’t lose another parent!” So it was so satisfying for me to realize she healed him and that she poured all the love she could into that heal and when she succeeded, the proud smile that he wore must have made her feel like Queen of the world, never mind just her little town of Brightmoon. She deserves it.

Likewise it was wonderful to see how proud Bow’s dads were of him when he gave that rousing battle speech to the reawakened masses of Etherians, telling them to be their own warriors and fight for their home. It was right that it was Bow to do that rather than Adora or Glimmer because that is what he had trained himself to do from the beginning. He wants to be an archer battling on the side of the greater good and not a historian. So to see his dads holding each other, proudly watching him… it brought a tear to my eye, I have to admit. So beautiful!

Hordak and Entrapta: I had no idea that I would get a closure for Entrapta, let alone Hordak. I did and I’m so happy about it because even though she was only a recurring character, Entrapta buried her way into my science, tech and engineering loving heart (with a spanner and a blowtorch? You will never know 🤣) but I am glad that she got over her obsession enough to focus on what really mattered. Saving her friends.

The fact that what stopped Horde Prime wasn’t Adora or Glimmer or who you would expect, but Hordak and Entrapta? That hit so hard with me. To give THEM the hero moment of defeating the villain. I was like “Oh my god! That’s brilliant!” Because it is. Think about it. Who do you think Horde Prime tortured the most? His Little Brother! I still don’t know if that was literally or not. 🤷‍♀️ Was he actually related or was he just another clone because he did call Catra his “Little Sister” too? That’s still so creepy to me. But yeah, for Hordak to get that moment of retribution was absolutely delicious for me and then for Entrapta to reach him when Horde Prime tried to take over through the Hive Mind? So, so, good! That made total sense and it was brilliantly executed!

Scorpia and Mermista: The only reason to lump these 2 characters together is because they were chipped and controlled the longest that they caused significant damage to Etherians. There’s not really much to say about them other than that they’re going to have huge headaches now that this is all over due to how far gone they were. I mean I’m glad that they were able to save them but I just don’t know what the aftermath will be for them or whether they will be the same ever again.

From the way I watched and interpreted the TV show, I understood that one of the main narrative themes of it was psychological conditioning and I’ve been in awe that this children’s show was brave enough to tell that very dark story,… let alone see it right through until the end because it’s an ambitious, elaborate and difficult narrative undertaking. Especially to do it properly,… which they definitely did. To tell the darkness of… well… basically radicalization and genocide but to do so in such a way that it could teach and motivate kids to develop on their innate judgement and discernment so if - god forbid - they ever end up in that situation, they’ll know exactly what to do about it. With team She-Ra being their idols, they’ll be able to fight conditioning. I can imagine that’s what the creators intended with this and I cannot acknowledge and commend them on it high enough. I think that ND Stevenson and the entire creative team are incredibly courageous and amazing to make this a main thematic narrative all throughout this TV show and handle it with skill and compassion that it does not once come across as too much for PG.

Catradora: (Yes, I’m using the ship name because the way they tie up their individual character storyline arcs seamlessly also ties in with their romantic arc and you do not know how hard it is to find this with WLW ships.)

First off, I want to point out something that may or may not have been pointed out before with Catradora but this is just how it came across to me in the narrative given I interpret psychological conditioning as a main theme within it. To me, a lot of the reason why Catra is the way she is as a villainous character when it comes to receiving love and affection has do with this factor. She’s so closed off and repressed to the point that she cannot even see that she’s corrupting and sabotaging herself. She is a lot like Xena in this way. But a major striking difference for Catra is that she physically loses the one person in the world that stops her from doing this, whereas Xena physically gains that one person. Trust issues, abandonment issues, parental issues all tie in together - but that was all tolerable when Adora was around her. As soon as Adora leaves her behind in the Fright Zone and, furthermore, begins to oppose her as the hero of Etheria, she spirals so hard and so fast that all of those issues - which were always issues caused by the abusive treatment from Lord Hordak and Shadow Weaver - come crashing down one by one on top of her because she no longer has the person who makes those issues just inconveniences for her. Not only that but … it feels like personal betrayal for her that Adora fights her. She genuinely does think that Adora hates her. I mean who wouldn’t if they were in her shoes (paws?) and had the “upbringing” and “nurturing” backstory she’s had? So Catra has this preconceived notion that Adora never cared about her and left her because she thought she was better than her and was chasing after heroic glory and believes that she was too weak to go with her. In a way it’s a personal vendetta out of misunderstandings Catra has against Adora and those feelings are intense not just because the Horde brainwashing is that deep and severe but also because her love is that deep too and she can’t differentiate which feelings are which. So she becomes She-Ra’s mortal enemy because in her mind, She-Ra is what has taken Adora away from her.

But obviously, from Adora’s side, She-Ra was sprung on her, Etheria was sprung on her. In fact her entire world upended once she recognized her life for what it was. A lie. That she was the villain brutalizing innocent people. She couldn’t go back to them even if she had wanted to because everything she had ever knew was fraudulent and she had been coerced and deceived into being a weapon. And what I really like about Adora’s individual arc is that eventually this was revealed to be true on both sides of the war. She was a weapon for evil and for the greater good. But all she wanted - as all heroes do - was just to protect and defend her loved ones. That’s it. Catra could never see it that way though and it makes sense that she couldn’t given her conditioning was even worse as it involved one-on-one attacks from Shadow Weaver as well as whatever the treatment was with the entire group. Catra’s psychological conditioning was much more personal, intimate and isolated so what was ingrained into her had much deeper and stronger layers added on to it. Hers was a solid brick wall built trauma complex. Those are always much harder to recognize and escape from but with the right therapy,… it can be done. Given her issues weren’t so bad when Adora was around her but got much worse when Adora left her… it is clear that Adora represented a sort of therapy for her. Adora helped her keep all the crippling thoughts of self-doubt and self-contempt at bay. But they were on full volume when Adora left and kept attempting to kill her.

Okay, so let’s finally get on to their romantic arc and how the finale not only concluded their individual character representation and development arcs but also ended their ship slow burn. It wasn’t until the fantastic episode of ‘Save The Cat’ did I realize they were going there. See,… to start with, I knew that they were going to become a canon WLW couple at some point otherwise I would have never started watching it. That was the draw for me. That they were both lead characters in a canon WLW ship in a children’s TV show. That floored me. But I was not prepared at all for what I got to see in the finale. It was groundbreaking. It was phenomenal. In fact I’m sure it was life changing for many queer kids to see that kiss happen the way it did. Or… just happen on-screen at all. Look, I am so used to the “implied” and “assumed” and “disguised” when it comes to WLW physical intimacy that I just do not ever expect blatant leaves-absolutely-no-doubt-whatsoever kisses. I certainly don’t expect WLW kisses written and portrayed as “the power of love” kind. It’s extremely rare. To see it in a children’s show nailed me to the floor. But furthermore - added on to that astonishing feat - is that both lead characters overcome all their issues and obstacles through that very act like… a fairytale story. It’s like… when the Princess kisses the Princess, all is well… there’s no stopping either from that point on. It seems corny but it all just depends on how it’s done. But the fact is you don’t see it done between WLW at all. So to see it done WELL alongside seeing it done at all… I mean Indy knew that he had an assignment with this but the phrase “he understood the assignment” doesn’t cover or justify what was accomplished with this and I can’t believe it’s took me this long to see it.

Every TV art/entertainment creator should watch this TV show and regard this finale as the perfect example of what queer representation can and should provide in TV because this was just the epitome of what true love is. But the fact it was between 2 female lead characters.

I can’t even begin to explain how much it meant to me but I will spend the rest of my life trying to express it because this really was a groundbreaking achievement and I will be adding this WLW ship to my very short list of WLW ships that shape and satisfy every piece of me.

I have had the best fucking time watching this TV show and I will be doing reruns of it for god knows how long because I am sure there is so much more there for me just like there is with Xena, Buffy, Charmed, Dragon Ball Z, Wynonna Earp and Arcane. All these beloved shows are timeless to me for a reason and She-Ra is the same.

I hope you all enjoyed reading my recaps of my very first watch of ‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. 🎄

[pikslasrce]

rip sigmund freud you wouldve loved uquizzes

[panda-writes-kpop]

two's company, but three's a crowd?

a/n: happy birthday to my lovely friend across the pond @foolish-sparrow!!! hope you have the loveliest day ever because you deserve your love. also, happy pride month everyone! I have a special fic that's been rotting in my brain that I want to release for pride month, but I also want to work on requests this month, so we'll just have to see what happens :)

tw: 'madre' is used once because it's my nickname for Sparrow but the fic is gender-neutral otherwise, Paladin! Reader that reads like a self-insert character, reader gets wasted as do the love interests, hangover symptoms including nausea, this author hates love triangles so your love interests are love interests and we all live happily ever after in a poly relationship <3

related fics: gimme all your lovin' (all your hugs and kisses too!), look at me! look at me!, sorry for party rockin'!, we're never getting back together (like ever?)

summary: You wake up in a random hotel room with no idea where Yunjin or Kazuha are. Last night's memories are blurry, but with the help of those two girls, you manage to put the pieces back together of what exactly happened at that party.

♡ Masterlist ♡

On a scale from “crystal-clear” to “holy fuck how much did I drink”, you’d rate your memory of last night as a slightly blurry highlight reel of the best parts.

This, of course, couldn’t explain why you woke up in a strange hotel room with little to your name beside your phone and the clothes on your body.

Your phone. You should check that, maybe someone’s searching for you?

Not a single phone call. Were your friends not even slightly concerned about you?

A single text pops up on your phone.

Katie: Text me when you’re headed home! I’ll save some breakfast for you. <3

Well, at least the youngest Paladin cares for you. Considering that she’s sweet to anything that breathes, maybe you shouldn’t take it as too much of a compliment.

Your phone pings again.

Katie: Love you lots, mi madre! Hope you had fun with Yunjin and Kazuha last night after you left the party.

You certainly weren’t in the apartment that Yunjin and Kazuha shared with three other girls, and hell, you weren’t sure if you were in the same city that you started the night in.

Your phone has a mapping system of sorts, right? Maybe you can turn on the WiFi and get a signal to your phone.

You’re thoroughly disappointed, albeit not surprised at this point, that this hotel doesn’t have WiFi or any signal for your phone. It’s almost as if the world doesn’t want you to figure out where you’re going… 

The only tool you have is your memory at this point. It can’t hurt to go over everything, right?

~

“Yunjin, we have a guest!” Kazuha loudly announces as you knock on the door. “Can you get it? I’m busy putting on make-up.”

“Why do I always have to get the door?” Yunjin whines before opening the door. “Hey, you came over! Glad to see you here.”

Yunjin lets you in before closing the door. 

“None of the other girls are in right now. Sakura and Chaewon are having a girl’s night, and Eunchae mentioned something about a study date.” Yunjin laughs to herself. “Kids, they grow up so fast.”

“Tell me about it,” You laugh along with Yunjin, “Katie’s the one organizing the party. Luckily, since Ryujin invited everyone and their mother, I slipped an invitation in for you and Kazuha.”

“Katie won’t be mad?” 

“Not at all, since the party is a cover to get a few of her friends together with their crushes.” You roll your eyes at Katie’s schemes, which will unfortunately work because it’s Katie.

“Sounds like Katie, alright.” Yunjin lightly grabs your arm before leading you to the kitchen. “C’mon, I made some drinks for us.”

“Already? We’re not even at the party yet-” You try to protest, but Kazuha gasps when she spots the three red solo cups.

“I’m down for a couple drinks if you are.” Kazuha enters the room and slides to your left as Yunjin expectantly stares at you.

So much for your whole lecture towards Katie about avoiding peer pressure when it came to alcohol and other substances.

“As long as we get an Uber to the party, we can have a couple of drinks.” You say as the two girls happily cheer.

~

You didn’t get too drunk at their apartment, but you definitely weren’t comfortable driving. After calling a ride, nothing of note happened - except for the fact that you were squished between Yunjin and Kazuha in the backseat of the car. You were trying to hide your nervousness from the both of them, but neither of them could resist the urge to tease you a bit.

“Do we both make you nervous, or is it just one of us?” Yunjin smiles before scooting closer to you. “Come on, you can tell me~”

“Yunjin, knock it off, you’re making them nervous!” Kazuha reaches over and lightly slaps Yunjin.

Yunjin rubs her arm in pain as Kazuha’s hand returns to her, but not before lightly grazing your knee. 

When you look at Kazuha, she winks at you before softly laughing. 

You’re sure that your nerves are more apart than ever - maybe spontaneous combustion wasn’t such a bad fate, after all?

Speaking of, Kazuha enters the hotel room, causing you to sigh in relief.

“Kazuha, you have no idea how happy I am to see you-”

“-Where are we?” Kazuha looks at you in confusion. “I thought you’d know, but apparently you don’t.”

“What gave it away? The fact that I reek of booze?” You joke as she walks over and peeks out of the other side of the room. “Have you seen Yunjin?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you.” Kazuha slides into the single office chair in the middle of the room as you lay on the single king bed in the room. “What happened last night?”

“I’ve got bits and pieces from last night - maybe we can compare and see what we remember?”

~

Getting to the party was eventful, but the party itself was nothing to scoff at. You had arrived a bit late, something that Katie would normally scold you for, but the party seemed to be roaring out of control. 

To your left was the kitchen, where you see a nervous Katie running around with dishes and ingredients in her hands. Dami dutifully stands to the side, occasionally holding a dish and stirring something, while watching Katie work her magic. 

You can hear King and Neon talking with a group of friends in the living room - perhaps it was time for a Boomer reunion? Yet again, you’d probably start an argument with one of the boomers, which would probably put Katie more on edge than before. 

You couldn’t chat with Mala, who was currently studying at home with Tzuyu. Katie had invited them over, but you weren’t sure that they would make an appearance tonight.

“Hey, I’m going to grab something to eat. Are you guys hungry?” Yunjin asks as the three of you head towards the kitchen.

“I could eat.” You shrug as Kazuha nods. 

“Hey, Katie-” You call out as Katie rushes past you.

“Everything you can eat is on the kitchen island. Grab a plate and feel free to eat.” Katie says before mumbling to herself, “Chili powder, lemon juice, tomatoes, avocados-”

“Is she going to be okay?” Kazuha asks as Dami hands the three of you plates, silverware, and glasses. 

“I think so, but this may be her breaking point.” Dami looks over to the counter that is stacked with half-full and empty liquor bottles. “I still haven’t told her that Ryujin and her friends have finished off most of the bottled and canned drinks.”

“Have Neon and Siyeon find the drinks. I’m too stressed to do any sort of matchmaking, so that’ll work for now.” Katie rushes back towards the sink to grab a spoon. “Oh, and I’m not ignoring you three, I promise. I’m just a little bit out of it, and I hope you can understand why.”

“At least she’s honest about it.” Yunjin mutters as Kazuha rolls her eyes.

“Be nice to the girl, she’s obviously trying her best. Thank you for the food, Katie, I appreciate your efforts.” Kazuha compliments Katie, who instantly lights up.

“Really? Thank you!” She quickly side-hugs Kazuha before continuing to organize the kitchen and mix dishes together.

“You’re welcome.” She smiles before looking over to you and Yunjin, who look ready to devour her if she doesn’t move out of the way. “We should grab some food and get to the party.”

~

“Katie’s really something, huh?” Kazuha laughs to herself for a moment. “She’s a sweetheart - no wonder everyone gets along with her.”

“Yeah, she’s something, alright.” You smile softly. “But after that, we sat down and had food until Neon and Siyeon came back with drinks.”

“I’m surprised you remember that. You and King got into a bit of a drinking competition, and well… both of you were losers in the end.” Kazuha explains.

“I wasn’t that drunk.”

“You couldn’t answer a basic multiplication question.”

“Okay, maybe I was that drunk. What happened next? My memory’s kind of blurry-”

“We played a few party games, in which you got mad at King and then chased him outside. He fell into SuA’s flower garden, and you claimed your victory over him. Then there was the whole Spin the Bottle incident-”

“Spin the Bottle incident?” You tilt your head at Kazuha.

“-I think Mala’s the person to talk to about that.” Kazuha scoots her chair closer to you. “Your friends all had a pretty good night when it came to romance.”

You groan as a wave of nausea hits you - damn hangovers and their horrible timing!

“What about me?” You ask out of plain curiosity. 

“What about you…” Kazuha trails off with a playful look on her face.

~

You were chased outside by Katie… well, some of you were. Others were too drunk to function, so rides had to be arranged, and some were growing tired as the moon continued to rise into the sky. 

Yunjin and Kazuha were still there… among others, but none were as notable as them. 

In the moonlight, Kazuha’s skin glistened as someone set up a speaker in the backyard. Like a moon to its planet, you’re pulled into her orbit as you dance together to a song you can’t quite name. Your bodies flow together as if the cosmos deemed for you two to be together.

And, of course, nothing ends a perfect first dance like a perfect first kiss. Your lips move against hers in perfect harmony as you stop swaying to the music. 

You part from her, with both you and her shyly looking away from each other, when Yunjin pulls you close to her.

“You two can’t have all of the fun~” She teases before lightly kissing your cheek. 

You don’t have time to process what happened with Kazuha when Yunjin dances with you to a much faster-paced song. You find time to tease each other, to carefully expose your feelings without being too over-the-top. It’s a delicate dance, a high-intensity card game where you both wait to play your aces.

You play yours first - pulling her flush to you as the song comes to a close.

She plays her ace after yours - her hands pull your face close to hers, and her lips devour yours with a hunger that you’ve never known before.

Another partygoer has to pull the two of you away from each other, wanting you to “not cause a scene”. As if you haven’t done enough of that tonight.

You’re stuck between two worlds, a fork in the road that leads to two different good endings.

What do you do now?

~

“Then Yunjin and I ended up kissing, and we tried to call a ride back to the apartment. I don’t think the driver knew where we were going, since we ended up here.” Kazuha shows you a flier that she found on the desk - the hotel has a similar name to their apartment building, so the mix-up suddenly makes a lot more sense.

“I think we all drank too much,” You groan as you lay down on the bed. “But I don’t regret kissing you or Yunjin, not one bit.”

“So you remembered?” A hopeful glint appears in Kazuha’s eyes.

“I told you that I remembered bits and pieces, but as you were telling me what happened, it all started to click and my memories… sorted themselves out, I guess.” You place a hand over your eyes to prevent any sunlight or artificial light from entering your eyes. “Still doesn’t explain where Yunjin is though.”

The hotel door room is slammed open as someone stumbles into the room.

“Yunjin!” Kazuha explains as you carefully sit up and remove your hand from your eyes.

Yunjin’s hair is an absolute mess, sticking up in all sorts of directions and curling in places that it didn’t curl before.

“My head is killing me.” She grumbles before face planting on the bed. “The breakfast here sucks, by the way. Why don’t we go back home?”

“Do you remember much from last night?” You look over at Yunjin, who lifts her head and smirks at you.

“Which part - the party, the kissing, or the hotel room shenanigans?” 

Your eyes widen as you look over at Kazuha - she’s just as flabbergasted as you.

“I’ll tell you all when we’re not hungover, preferably over coffee.” She says before laying her head back on the bed.

“It sounds like you’re asking us on a date, Yunjin.” You tease as Yunjin sighs.

“I wanna sleep, can we talk about this later?”

“We’ll talk later. Goodnight, Yunjin-” Kazuha says before she hears soft snoring from the other bed. “That was fast.”

“Do you want to rest, or would you rather clean up and get ready?” You ask.

“I could use a nap. Once I was semi-sober, I was looking up and down the hotel for Yunjin. I wonder where she went…” Kazuha shrugs as you slide off of the bed. “You aren’t tired?”

“I have to let the other Paladins know where I’m at.” You check the clock - 8:35 a.m.

Neon and King are probably still hungover, so Katie and Mala are the only people you should call right now. You don’t really want anyone to call you since you’re hungover, so you’ll offer the other boomers that basic respect.

“Kazuha, is it okay if I-” You pause as you watch Kazuha’s chest rise and fall - she’s dead asleep, too.

You look over to Yunjin, then back to Kazuha, and then to your phone.

You’d figure everything out, over coffee and other hangover cures. And you had one hell of a story to tell the other Paladins when you got home.

[strxwberrybtch]

A Hellish Love Story // Pt. 3

Pairing: Vox x F!Reader

Warnings: Cursing, NSFW 18+, Oral (male receiving), Masturbation

A/N: This is the first time I have ever written anything remotely smutty... that should be a warning in itself. That being said I had so much fun writing this part and can't wait to see where my brain ends up taking this. Anyways, enough of me yappin. Enjoy :))

---

Vox couldn't help the smirk that crossed his screen as he watched your nervous form slowly approach his desk. Before he was able to speak again, he heard your tiny voice squeak out.

"M-Mr. Vox... Sir... I am so sorry for being late this morning. This is the first time that I've done this. I-It was an honest mistake and I promise that-" But before you could finish your sad excuse of an apology, Vox interrupted you by raising one of his hands.

"Y/N, it's quite alright! I know that you are always good about being on time," He said smoothly and laid back in his chair.

He watched as your anxious expression slowly turned into one of confusion.

"Oh... so you're not gonna feed me to your sharks?" You asked nervously, rubbing the back of your neck- trying your best to avoid any kind of eye contact. Vox must have thought you were joking by the way a small chuckle escaped his lips.

Did he not know that you were being dead serious??

"Oh quite the contrary! Please, have a seat," He said motioning towards one of the black, leather seats situated across from his desk.

You eyed him suspiciously before doing as you were told. Once situated in the chair, you got to take a good look at the TV demon in front of you.

You always thought that he looked good while passing him in the halls. But being up close, you were able to notice details about him that you didn't see before. One of those not so little details being that he was utterly handsome. How could a man with a TV for a face look so-

Vox caught you in your brief stare, causing a light blush to come across your cheeks. He sent a smirk your way and watched as you fidgeted in the seat.

Oh, he was loving every second of this.

"So if I'm not in trouble then... why am I here?" You asked quietly, not entirely sure you wanted to know the answer.

"I am so glad you asked! While going through some writing submissions, I came across the one that you submitted a while back-" At the mention of your work, your ears perked up- a mental victory for Vox, "- And I just wanted to start off by saying WOW! I am thoroughly impressed with what I read,"

You had to be dreaming.

No way this was actually happening.

"Are- Are you serious?" You asked with a beaming smile that made Vox's heart rate spike.

"Of course! You truly have a gift,"

The best part, he wasn't lying.

-- flashback to the previous night --

Upon arriving back at the VVV tower- Vox instantly went to look for your writing submissions.

He hired people specifically to go through and narrow down the best submissions of the month. The narrowed down bunch would then be sent to himself- for him to ultimately decide whether or not they're television worthy.

Sitting down at his desk, Vox quickly found your file. Much to his surprise, you had only submit one over the course of the years that you had worked for him. Regardless, he opened it and began reading.

Vox wasn't much of a reader but even he could tell that you were good at what you did. He wanted more.

He needed more.

Your words flowed beautifully into one another, captivating the overlord almost instantly. It was truly a sinister love story. A forbidden love between an angel and sinner. Oh and his favorite part?

Without a doubt- the smut.

But this wasn't your average porn script.

It was erotic yet, truly passionate. Vox didn't know how but, you were able to capture and convey the connection that the main characters had with each other. Hell, he felt it.

But like- actually felt it.

While reading the alluring words on one of his monitors, he began to palm himself through his tight dress pants. As he moved on, he found himself becoming more hot and bothered. Soon enough, he freed his stiff erection from the confines of his pants.

With a tight hand, he began a slow pace on himself. Vox felt truly immersed in the scene he was reading- maybe a little too immersed.

He imagined that it was you and him performing the scene- not the characters you had created.

"Her lips slowly wrapped around the tip, tasting the salty arousal that began to ooze out. She relished in the groan that her beloved ushered out above her. Ingrid's Y/N's lashes fluttered as she began to ease his my cock down into her throat. She pulled back fully- watching with seductive eyes as a string of spit connected the two of them us. Ingrid She placed both hands around Luca's my slobbery shaft and gave an oh so innocent look. Teasingly, she began to kitten lick at the tip. Before he I knew it, her mouth and hands began a delicious pace. Her head bobbed up and down with the added sinister twist and tug of her hands. She moaned quietly as Luca's my hands found a tight grip in her hair-"

Vox found himself panting slightly as his impending climax was about to release. He glanced down at the hand that was tugging at his rock hard cock. He groaned imagining you underneath his desk; looking up with fire in your eyes as your small hands moved along his length, a sweet smile playing on your lips.

He couldn't help but moan loudly as his orgasm crashed over him. His hips bucked furiously up into his hand- imagining it was your pretty mouth instead. He shuddered at the thought of you swallowing every last drop of his seed.

Vox felt himself blue screen before inevitably causing a blackout throughout the entire pride ring.

After coming down from what had to of been his most intense orgasm yet, Vox had all the information he needed.

He also needed to get rid of those damn submission reviewers.

-- back to the present --

"Wow Mr. Vox, that's very kind of you. Thank you sir, it truly means the world," You replied, trying your best to contain the excitement bubbling inside you.

"You deserve all the praise in the world Y/N," Vox said with a small smile. You felt yourself blushing again, not used to all this praise.

You also didn't fail to notice the tiny heart beat that occurred between your crossed legs, one that you hadn't felt in a long time.

You tell yourself it's because of how much your work matters to you. Definitely not the fact that your sexy ass boss is staring at you with a panty-dropping smile.

Yeah, definitely not that.

"I want to make that little script of yours into something more. It has all the potential to become a hit movie! That is of course, if you were interested," As soon as the words left Vox's lips, you shot up eagerly.

"YES! I- I mean yes. That would be a great opportunity for me sir," You down played how excited you were but deep down, you knew he could see right through you.

Vox couldn't help but think of how adorable you looked when excited. He wanted to make all your dreams come true if it meant he got to see you like this more often. Who was he kidding?

He already planned on making it happen.

"I am so glad to hear that," Vox rose to his feet and slowly walked around his desk to where you now stood.

You gulped lightly as he towered over your tiny frame. He examined your features briefly before extending his hand out.

"I can't wait to start working with you"

---

A/N: Sorry for this being short but the next few parts are in the works ;)

[toindeedbeapoet]

What do you think of Meeks and Todd’s friendship???? Do you have any headcanons for them?

first of all, i’m sorry for responding to this so late but! i love their friendship and have many thoughts on it so here goes:

~~~

- i think they would thoroughly enjoy each others company. meeks would enjoy the solitude todd’s presence brings and todd would appreciate that meeks let’s him be quiet and is happy to sit together in their own little world without speaking

- don’t get me wrong, they both love the poets with everything in them but they can be.. a lot (said with love) so i think they would seek each other out as a brief respite from the chaos

- i know a lot of people hc meeks as a huge comic book nerd (me too!) and i think todd would love poetry books and classic literature

- i think meeks would want todd to get more into comics and todd would feel bad borrowing one without offering something in return so he would give meeks a book and then suddenly they kind of just have their own little book club??

-neil and pitts being very confused as to why their respective roommates reading habits have changed so suddenly

-once when meeks came over to lend todd a new issue he had just read neil made a joke like

-“trying to steal him from me, meeks?”

-cue blushing like a tomato

-meeks has a pretty good feeling that he knows what’s going on between them, he’s so subtle with it though

-youd never know that he suspects a thing

-eventually todd opens up about his feelings for neil (not knowing that meeks has known almost the whole time)

-obviously todd and neil have a very special bond, but i think in some ways meeks would almost feel to todd like the friend younger him always wanted?

-someone who he can chill with and doesn’t judge

-he likes knowing he can talk about his feelings about neil with someone who will never tell

-overall i think they’d be best buds

~~~

these were my first headcanons so i hope they were alright? let me know if you want a part two or any other headcanons!

[sheawritesstuff]

Summertime Sleepover

[Teen!David and Asher]

[Fluff - 778 words]

“David,” Asher cracked his best friend's door open and whispered. “David, are you still awake?”

“Mhmm,” David replied, not even looking up from his book. “What's up?”

“I can't sleep. Can I come hang out with you?”

“What's wrong with the guest room? You sleep in there more than your own house these days.”

“Nothing's wrong with it, I just don't wanna be by myself right now.”

“Come on, then.” David patted the space next to him expectantly. He finally glanced up as his visitor crawled into bed with him. “Dude, are you still wearing skinny jeans?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Who the hell wears jeans to bed? Go change.”

“But I didn't bring any night clothes…”

“I see that, dumbass. Go grab a pair of my sweatpants or something.” He pointed toward the dresser against the wall. It was wholly unnecessary, seeing as Ash had been stealing his clothes since they were old enough to dress themselves, but he wanted to emphasize his point.

“But-”

“No buts! I'm not sleeping next to someone in denim.”

Asher groaned and climbed right back out of bed. He shuffled through the drawer, searching for a good pair to wear. After thoroughly studying all his options, he picked a thin pair of dark blue pajama pants. He aggressively tugged the pants off, desperately trying to escape the denim prison he trapped his lower half in. Slipping into the new pair was significantly easier.

Once dressed, he turned his back to David and glanced over his shoulder. “You like what you see, big boy?” He bent forward and ran his hands up his thighs slowly. He bit his lip dramatically and raised his eyebrows.

David stared at him blankly. “Are you done yet?”

“You're no fun.” Ash returned to the bed and climbed under the blanket. “Whatcha readin’ anyway?”

“This,” David motioned dramatically to the object in his hand. “Is what most people call a book. You should pick one up sometime, they're pretty cool.”

Ash glared at him and groaned. “That's not what I meant and you know it.”

“Yeah, but it was funny.”

“Daveyy,” Asher whined. “Just tell me! I'm nosy. ”

“David,” he corrected sternly. “Say my name right and maybe I'll think about it.”

“Fine! David.” He made a point of over annunciating the last syllable. “Now will you please tell me what book is keeping you up this late?”

“A Separate Peace. It's one of my favorites.” David closed the book around his finger, showing off the cover but keeping his spot. “It's also a classic.”

“You're so boring,” he sighed.

“Sorry I have taste.” David reopened the book and continued reading.

“You sound like Milo,” Ash giggled.

David ignored him, letting the quiet laughter fade out on its own. There was a long silence, broken only by the occasional page turn. Asher fidgeted with the drawstrings of his borrowed pants and looked around the bedroom that might as well be his own with feigned interest.

“It's getting really late. You should at least try to get some sleep,” he said finally.

“I'm not tired.”

“That's bull. You look exhausted, man.”

“I'll fall asleep when I'm ready. ‘Til then, I'm just fine where I am.”

“You need sleep, David. It's important so you can be the best possible alpha when you're older.”

“You're not my dad,” he retorted.

“Well, yea, but he'd say the same thing if I went and got him.”

“You wouldn't dare.” David shifted his attention to the other boy in his bed, almost offended by the audacity of his threat.

“Oh yes I would.”

David stared him dead in the eyes, challenging him to back down. Ash stared right back, a mischievous grin pulling at his lips.

“God, fine, I'll lay down.” David slid his bookmark between the pages and set the novel on his nightstand. “But I’m still not tired.”

“Come on, buddy. Once you get all comfy and cozy you'll be asleep in no time.” Asher cuddled up to his side and peered up at him with his signature puppy dog eyes. “Don't you wanna snuggle with me?”

David sneered. “No.” He flicked his bedside lamp off and turned back to his late night visitor. “This is purely for your benefit.”

David laid flat on his back, arms folded across his chest. Asher laid on his side, legs wrapped around one of David's and arm flung haphazardly across his middle. He squeezed gently and settled comfortably into his side of the bed.

“I love you, Davey,” Asher mumbled, barely conscious. He nestled his head against his best friend's shoulder and hummed contentedly.

David rolled his eyes and smiled. “Love you too, Ash. Good night.”

[liveforjeongin]

can i request lee!know with ler!felix

i js love minlix😭

How To Cheer Your Minho Up (3/7)

I honestly love Minlix too, they're so cute and there isn't enough tickle content of them😭

So I was really happy to write this, and, casually, the next member in my series of ler!Felix was going to be Lino, so I kinda mixed it

Thank you for the request anon, I hope you like it<3

-tickle fic, if you don't like that you can keep scrolling

requested by: anon

warnings: Minho is conflicted at the beginning, crying, soft tickling, pinning, kinda short

Read 'How To Cheer Your Jeongin Up (2/7)' (the previous part) here in case you haven't yet!

taglist: @itzsana-kiddingmenow @channieissocute125

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Minho had been feeling bad.

That was it.

He didn't understand what was happening to him and why he was feeling like nothing really mattered. He didn't understand his own feelings, and was confused about what he wanted and what he didn't.

He had tried hardly to hide this from the members, knowing they would get worried, and he didn't want that.

But he also knew they could help him.

After some time, maybe months, feeling like this, Minho couldn't stand it by himself anymore... He needed comfort and support, and he knew it. So, he took the decision of telling just one member, with that it should be enough, right?

He knew he could trust in really any member, and that they all would care, but his final choice was his sunshine boy, Felix.

Felix was peacefully playing LoL in his room, in his own world, when Lino came "Lix" he called out to him.

Yongbok immediately turned around to see his hyung, the older's tone of voice anticipating that there was something going on "Yes, hyung?"

"Do you have a second?"

"Sure, hyungie" Lixie answered from his chair.

Minho sat in the sunshine boy's bed, and, after thinking how he should say it, he finally let it all out. Lix just stayed there in his chair, listening attentively to all of his hyung's words, ready to console him and help him once he was done.

The second Lino finished venting, Bokkie basically jumped onto him, giving him a warm hug.

Lee Know hated to show his 'negative' feelings, specially to his members, but this time, he couldn't contain himself, and started crying in his dongsaeng's comforting embrace.

The two guys kept hugging each other for a while, until the older finally stopped crying.

Gosh... He felt way much better now.

"You feel alright now, hyung? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Felix asked; as always, his sunshine nature and his love for his members made him have this urgue of helping them the best he could.

"I mean... I don't know what else you could do to cheer me up... But if you have something, then do it" Minho answered his question, completely oblivious of what he was accepting.

Lixie had the perfect idea and smirked a little, while he tackled the older in the bed, making sure to lift his arms above his head to immobilize him.

It all happened so suddenly that Lino couldn't even react, and before he could say even a word, he found himself shivering at the gentle but extremely tickly sensations caused by Felix.

"W-Wahahait! I didn't mean thihihihis!" Lee Know talked through his giggling.

"But you're feeling better now, aren't you?" Yongbok teased a little, tickling thoroughly around his hyung's torso, making sure to be gentle, so he wouldn't get him back so bad-

The older couldn't help the slight blush on his cheeks "ihihihi'm not! That's a lihihihihie!"

Lixie could just smirk "Are you sure about that, hyungie?" The younger increased the pace and intensity of the tickles, Minho's laughter growing louder as well.

"A-AHAHAHAHAHA! OKAY OKAY! I AM FEELING BEHEHEHEHHEEHHETTER! NOW COULD YOHOHOHOHOU PLEASE GO BAHAHAHAHACK TO GENTLE?!"

Lino's request surprised the younger a lot. Was he really letting him go on? And here he was! Torturing him instead of giving him some gentle, soft treatment like he deserved!

Almost immediately after Minho spoke, Lix made the tickles gentle again, even setting his arms free.

Bokkie really thought that he wouldn't try to fight the ticklish feeling.

Of course he was wrong.

The moment he allowed his hyung to move freely, he started squirming around in the younger's bed, and trying to push away his hands, whether it was intentionally or just an automatic reaction. The cutest giggles ever were coming out of the older's mouth as well.

"Lihihihihix! That's really bahahahahad!"

Lix just smiled affectionately at him "I know, hyungie, I know, but you're doing great~"

Lino could just take it for a few more minutes. The feeling was indeed gentle and soft, but just as unbearable as some rough tickles would be.

"L-Lihihihihix! S-Stop nohohohow! Please!"

"Mmmmmm... Are you sure you're feeling better now?" Lixie teased him a little, not stopping yet.

"Yehehehehes! I promise!"

Felix smiled softly before stopping, and, almost immediately after doing so, he jumped onto the older, cuddling him tightly.

Minho was panting a little, with a big smile on his face now. He wrapped his arms around Lix back, holding him close to his chest.

He spoke up after some seconds "Thank you so much, Lix"

The younger smiled up at his hyung, glad for having helped him "Whenever you need, hyung"

They fell asleep some time after just cuddling there

They were too comfortable in each other's embrace to not to.

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I'm not really proud of this one, but I can kind of relate with Minho, and I do think I did kind of good with it, so I hope you all like it<3

[tojiscrack]

is it weird that i wish y/n existed in the actual jjk verse. like her personality fits so well with almost every single character, and the chemistry between megumi and y/n is THE BEST ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

her personality is so real and unlike any other reader i’ve come across in other reader x [insert character] fics. the chemistry between her and other characters doesn’t feel forced, if you understand what i mean? i thoroughly enjoy reading EVERY scene because of that! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

you said to look out for foreshadowing which is what i have been trying to do but perhaps i’m being a little silly looking way too early, considering other chapters have not been released yet. but one thing i have noticed is that megumi only really has shown CLEAR signs of liking her more than just a friend when he is about to leave her (not the scene where he’s silently fighting over sitting next to her at yuji’s place because that could arguably be seen as platonic too despite me seeing it as him liking her) - for example; when he’s going on vacation without her. now i understand that this is only one example but i have a feeling that this may become a reoccurring theme - what was it, absence makes the heart grow fonder? i have a feeling he’ll only ever understand his feelings for her when he is away from her. and given the angst hashtag, it wouldn’t exactly be surprising if for any reason they moved away from each other, whether figuratively or physically.

i could be completely wrong though and if that’s the case, then this is embarrassing ( ᵒ̴̶̷᷄◡̶͂ᵒ̴̶̷᷅ )و

but regardless, i’m so happy i stumbled across this fic. seriously, the way u write is awesome and i can only wish to be as good as you when it comes to writing! the dialogue, the chemistry between the characters is so cute and feels like a coming of age sitcom. i love it i love it i love it and i love you!! (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)

please keep up the good work, soldier. i salut you for your hard work keeping us all sane after gege shattered our souls (stay alive, don’t let him find you) ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

liar, liar masterlist here

oh. my. GOSH. a long message? AJSJWKSJWJSJ STOPPP I’M SO EXCITED TO ANSWER THIS

it is not weird at ALL. i created this y/n with the sole thought that there should be a character as wild as her (i love goofy characters sm you have no idea). like my fav character from aot? connie. fav from jjk? gojo. fav from haikyuu? tanaka and hinata. fav from death note? L (don’t lie, that man was funny af).

read that entire sentence about her chemistry with megumi and the relationship she has with the other characters not being forced with a FAT smile on my face 🙂‍↕️ an author knows they’ve won once someone points this out using their own free will. thank you for that 😭💞

the second i saw the word ‘foreshadowing’ in ur message, JAISJWISJWJSJ. YES, YOU HAVE A PREDICTION? TELL ME MORE (i feel like a mastermind rn muahahahaha) 😋 you are nawt silly for looking for it earlier. i’ve dropped so many hints and no one’s picked it apart yet (surprisingly). some are more obvious than others, but let me tell you now, once you’ve noticed it, you’re gonna smack ur forehead and think ‘why didn’t i see this before?’.

i LOVE how you’re playing devil’s advocate for yourself (you’re so smart omg). like you’ve mentioned how the only in-your-face type of thing we’ve seen so far is the airport scene (i mean, if gojo pointing it out wasn’t so obvious, dk what is, really, lolol). and i also like how you’ve made it so that the arguing in yuji’s room can be easily seen as platonic despite what you might think (we need smart people like you so pls don’t die tyvm).

and OOH, IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU WITHOUT SPOILING IT. distance makes the heart grow fonder… yeah, can’t reveal whether this trope is for them or not. i can, however, confuse you a little and say that you’re half right. maybe, like, forty five percent right if i have to slap a number on it. yeah. but there is something that occurs later on (you guessed it, with the angst hashtag) that makes me want to say that you’re actually fifty five percent right. idk, you’ll see what i mean once the main story’s out 😭

this would NOT be embarrassing for you if you’re wrong, let me tell you that much. this fic’s been out since the end of december (beginning of january?) and no one’s come to a prediction as well thought out as yours. for that, i will NOT forget you when i write out the half-correct prediction of yours in the coming chapters.

i’m so happy you stumbled across my fic too! 😭 i’m having sm fun writing this out and laughing to myself (not at you babe, just as the evil mastermind that i am). i’ll be responsible for your complaints once the angst chapters get out (plural because there’s a LOT of them planned). tysm for ur kind message, i’m so flattered my writing pleases you 😭 dialogue is hard to write, trying to match it with the characters ofc, so i appreciate your support on that 💘

girl, gege will never find me. after what he did to my satoru, i will find him. don’t get it twisted.

on the contrary, i’m so upset you wrote all of this anonymously but i respect it, there might be a gazillion reasons why you’d like to remain anonymous. so if you ever send a message again, just lmk it’s you. call yourself the ‘big brain anon’ (😤) because you’re so smart and ily and don’t be humble about it, you are SO smart <3

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 12 thoughts

oh, from the very beginning of this episode, from reading the little plot summary when you click on it, i was seated. and then i was even more seated through all of its twists and turns. a thoroughly enjoyable episode, if outlandish, but that's what we come here for!

so here we are. in a town called aubrey. there's a dog at a police station and the officers are talking about a murder.

we see this guy that looks like j jonah jameson- introduced as brian tillman- and a woman who works there is sad he didn't come home for dinner last night. BUT we also had a very conspicuous pan over his desk to see that there is a photo of his wife, who is NOT the woman he is talking to. affair....???

oh shoot, she's writing something. "i'm pregnant" the note says while he's on the phone with a coroner. AFFAIR BABY!

she's going to meet him at a motel but she can't see straight and is like. moaning in pain. now chat, i don't know much about pregnancy, but to me this is seeming... unusual. so i was confused until she started having a vision, and then she goes to that place where the vision was set, and starts digging up bones. notably, they are bones, so the murder is an old one.

title sequence. back to our agents, who are staring at xrays of teeth. very thoughtfully, mulder announces "i brush after every meal" thank you king of dental hygiene

so this woman- her name is B.J.- is a detective and found remains that match those of an FBI agent that went missing over 50 years ago. that's juicy. but mulder's like, why the hell was she in a field at night? she's lying and we need to go down there.

and also, "i've always been intrigued by women named B.J." <- mulder have you ever tried shutting the fuck up? it could be good for you.

ugh. a man. disgusting. you should be groveling.

so they're at the scene of the exhumation, which i had honestly forgotten the word for, and i almost typed "the bone unboxing", but it came to me in the nick of time. and it's clear she's lying about how she came across this whole thing.

the affair parner to B.J.- brian- is getting really protective while mulder asks if she's a psychic. he should have been a bit more protective a while ago but that's a different story.

autopsy date!!! what if i looked at some bones while you read me the poetic writings on the nature of evil from a long dead FBI agent... well that is what we see scully and mulder doing at this very moment!

scully puts on her glasses as she tries to figure out if the marks on the rib bones have any meaning, and shares this wisdom:

"it's obvious B.J. and tillman are having an affair"

mulder is GAGGED by this revelation. she read the situation for filth. good for her. "a woman knows these things" okaaayyy please use your intuition at parties and figure out everyone's complicated love situations scully it'll be soooo fun!!!

B.J. walks in and starts experiencing visions. typical! she leaves and says she doesn't feel good and scully sighs and follows her. she knows her duty.

allow me to copy verbatim from my notes here, because i was losing my mind:

"OH NO, SCULLY STARTS TALKING ABOUT HAVING FEELINGS FOR PEOPLE SHE'S WORKED WITH.... i'm not unpacking that right now but this B.J. CHARACTER MUST BE MORTIFIED. SCULLY'S DOING HER BEST STOOOOOOP. "you're pregnant aren't you" OH SCULLY PSYCHIC REVEAL?"

now. i was experiencing about a million emotions in a second at this scene, one for scully reading the situation and immediately jumping in to try and comfort B.J., two on the confession that she's had feelings for someone she worked with before, but i skipped all over that to focus on three, B.J. must be sooooo embarrassed she was so easy to read.

but now that i know what happens in the rest of the episode... scully, tell us more about having feelings for someone you are working with. how recently would you say this affliction has plagued you? please feel free to elaborate. i'm imagining like a silly summer job where she's 16 and navigating a crush and at the same time i'm imagining straight up pining over mulder. don't be shy. please share more. no? you just wanted to try and make a stranger in an uncomfortable situation feel better by relating to your personal experience, because you are a deeply empathetic individual? okay that's Fine.

by this point i was cackling, because damn. again. she just got straight to the point about the whole thing. B.J. is like "he'd kill me if anyone knew" and scully proceeds to IMMEDIATELY walk back into the room with mulder and spill the tea. and my laughter increased tenfold at this point. he looked shocked!!!!! she does not give a fuck she is going to tell him the drama!!! and i get it!!!!

anyway poor B.J. seems to know that the markings on the bones spell out "brother" and somehow that's true

this brian tillman fellow seems awful. he's picking up the evidence our agents brought with them from the 1940's crime scene and yelling at B.J. asking why she has sealed evidence from 3 days ago with her. this is because he cannot read that the files are literally from 1942 and that this seems to be some sort of copycat killing.

so our agents meet B.J. at a nice little secret picnic table rendezvous, where mulder drops the line "i've often felt that dreams are answers to questions we haven't figured out how to ask" okayyyy poet!!!

she draws a picture of what she sees in her dreams, and mulder immediately identifies it from a postcard in NYC, and announces it is the symbol of the 1939 world's fair... "NERD", i proclaimed to the screen, because it was so strong i needed to verbalize that feeling

brian tillman is back to being the worst, pressuring B.J. to "go through with the appointment", saying that it's not HER choice, it's OUR choice, which it famously isn't. reproductive coercion is NOT gonna slide you hillbilly spiderman hater looking freak.

she's looking at a bunch of criminals from 1940 to try and see if the murderer from her dreams is in there... and she identifies him... it's a man who looks kinda like elvis... elvis from SHEIN... his name is cokely, and he carved "sister" into somebody's chest in 1942... why was he not serving in the war at this time...

so mulder thinks the dude is their number one suspect for the new sister carving murders even though he's 77 now, and his reasoning is that "george foreman won the heavyweight crown at 45". which is so funny. mulder is such a walking encyclopedia but also the writers need to make him seem sort of cool so he just spits out sports facts and it doesn't make him any cooler.

scully's like, well her dad was a cop, maybe he knew about the case and she heard about it as a kid, and the copycat cases are bringing repressed memories back. which gives us this lovely exchange:

"i seem to recall you having some pretty extreme hunches" "i have NEVER!" (mutual smiling)

awwwww.

anyway. to the old man murderer's house.

he has an oxygen tank and he is smoking which i thought wasn't allowed but he probably doesn't care tbh. and he kinda talks like SHEIN elvis as well. he keeps calling scully "little sister" which is sus as hell because the victim carved brother or sister into all the people... but he denies and denies

at this point in my notes i imagined myself in the shoes of B.J.: "imagine if having an affair baby made you the conduit for solving 50 year old murders... girl i'd lose my damn mind"

she wakes up COVERED IN BLOOD with "sister" CARVED INTO HER CHEST and at first it was so horrific- and also, how could someone sleep through such a thing- that i thought it was another hallucination. but no, it is in fact real, and she doesn't worry about the blood, instead running to someone's house and lifting up the floorboards that she saw in another vision. and when brian comes to escort her to the hospital, our intrepid duo lifts up the boards to reveal some bones.

it would really suck to live in a house for a long time and then find some bones, wouldn't it?

scully further solidifies her stance as a real one by bringing what i think is some clothes in a paper bag to B.J., who insists that it was cokely the old murder man/elvis dupe who attacked her... but she insists she saw him as a young man, and he is now, of course, 77, so that's weird

but the blood found at the scene matches some of the genetic markers of cokely's blood, so they go visit his other victim who survived. and oooHHHH mulder sees that symbol from the world's fair on the wall!

mulder knows the victim, now an elderly woman, left the hospital the night of the attack, and returned 9 months later... she says it was complications but he goes for the jugular and asks "what happened to the child?"

now the roles are reversed, and it is scully who is gagged by a pregnancy reveal! the woman says that the child was evil, and he was sent to an adoption agency

new theory time: mulder says what if it was cokely's GRANDSON that did all this? it could explain the resemblance in her report AND that it was a younger suspect AND the blood types

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! he used to wake up in the middle of the night from terrible nightmares where he was the only person left in the world, until he heard his father cracking sunflowers seeds in his study and realized he wasn't alone

we can and will analyze that. the boy who lost his sister being terrified everyone else in the world will leave too, and it'll be just him left behind, trying to find answers. the man who almost lost scully feeling even more alone than he knew was possible, pulling at any sort of thread to bring her back.

and this is deeply touching, but they frame it as a genetic debate on if he was predisposed to liking sunflower seeds, and then it turns into a nature vs nurture argument with scully, and they're interrupted from discussing the finer points of the theory of genetic memory when they have to call the adoption agency

ULTIMATE GAG REVEAL: the son of cokely is... B.J.'S FATHER!!! SO is SHE DOING THE MURDERS? mulder seems certain, and that she even carved her own chest. scully is like wtf. and i'm like, i don't know if grandpa being a murderer makes you one too, but i don't know anything about genetics

NOOOO. we see the old lady we have previously visited- cokely's victim, now revealed to be B.J.'S grandmother- with an unwelcome visitor in the house!!! AND IT IS A DERANGED B.J.! i was shocked at this point because i did not think she was going to be the killer. but we see her closing in on her, and poor old lady says "you're my grandchild", and then a knife, and then yelling....

she's looking for someone to blame, just like her grandfather did all those years ago....

so she's in cokely's house, doing some slashing, when mulder rolls up, and the score is going sicko mode. the composers were popping off.

she SMACKS mulder in the head (yowch!) and has him pinned down, with the razor to his throat, and he's begging for his life. and scully BURSTS in, her finger about to pull the trigger on B.J., when....

BRIAN bursts in??? affair baby father has entered the chat. he's like "B.J. what is going ON" and he gets her to stop attacking

and then mulder is still laying on the floor, so scully comes over, and CRADLES HIS HEAD. yes you heard me she GENTLY holds his head, looks for any marks, and we fade to the case report

scully's theory is that pregnancy activated the dormant serial killer urges/genetic memories in B.J. and all i'm saying it it's a wild place out there.... if y'all are gonna have affairs, please be safe, perhaps this was a cautionary tale....

this episode was WILDDDD. twist and turn and twist and turn and i was seated! they definitely turned the concept of "someone receiving information on unsolved crimes from beyond the grave" on its head, and i certainly did not see poor B.J. as the killer. was it realistic? NO! but did i enjoy it! YES!

various highlights: scully being kind enough to confess to having feelings for a coworker to make someone she just met feel better, scully clocking the affair and pregnancy, scully immediately spilling the tea to mulder, who looked shocked, mulder nightmare reveal, scully also bringing B.J. clothes in the hospital because she is too good for this world even if she is a little gossipy with the bestie, and mulder nerd evidence- why do you know about the world's fair anyway?

[pseudowho]

Hey Haitch, what's up ? I need help and since you're : 1. One of the most prolific writers on here 2. You seem to be organised 3. I assume you have written a dissertation before What advice can you share for someone who has to write their master thesis pronto ? I have a terrible case of ADHD and just a mild interest in my subject, but I need to pump out 40 pages in 2 weeks so any advice is welcome Also you're the best, I loved your very clinical approach to analysing the JJK men's little swimmers

Heeeeeyyyy

I am NOT PROLIFIC, shut up.

I am organised you're right, thank goodness for ✨anxiety✨

I've written a couple, taught dissertation classes on a University level, and bullied Mr.Haitch through a PhD too.

So I've not lived with ADHD sadly. I can only tell you what I'd do.

Get over yourself. I don't give a fuck if you don't like your subject and I don't give a fuck if you find it hard to concentrate. Pull your grown-up pants up, give yourself a slap, and recognise that you either do it and do it well, or you fail. Once you decide that knuckling down is infinitely more palatable than failure, it helps. So, be your own drill sergeant for two weeks now.

Examine your thesis question/hypothesis. Imagine teaching this subject to a class; what questions are they going to ask? You're going to want to answer those. They're going to highlight some key themes to explore. These themes can be grouped into your thesis subheadings.

What does the evidence show? There's almost certainly a theme there; do sources wildly disagree? Is there a general lean towards one answer? What gaping holes are there in the research? Assess the provenance; what limitations are placed upon pieces of evidence based on their provenance? How reliable are they? What are the sample sizes of the studies, if this is relevant to your thesis?

ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY EXPLORED THE FULL EVIDENCE...what do you think, and why? What do you think lends strength to your argument?

Remember, a Masters Thesis is a DISCUSSION, an ARGUMENT-- it's frustrating arguing with someone who clearly doesn't know what they're talking about, so get reading babe.

Do your References and Bibliography AS 👏 YOU 👏 WRITE 👏👏 ...as SOON as you mention it in the main body of the text, reference it properly. You are on limited time so tidy up as you go along. The devil is in the detail. I advise the Harvard referencing system, it's the nearest and simplest.

Good luck. This won't be easy. I'm a glutton for punishment and I love a challenge so this is a bit of me.

If you have a moment of "waahhhh this is hard I hate it I feel sorry for myself", let it be just that-- a moment. Pick yourself up and get back to it. Do not spiral. Now is not the time. Spiral after, if you like.

Please note: I'm not that much of a drill sergeant with other people. The above is how I bully myself, and I do bully myself. I would never judge you for a breakdown.

Love,

-- Haitch xxx

[zoeykallus]

the last request with the domination/pegging headcanons kinda gave me this idea: the bad batch with a fem s/o who prefers to always be dominant in bed when they’re not doing vanilla stuff and who feels really uncomfy with being submissive?

Aloha!

Hmm, okay, interesting question. I'm gonna give you my honest opinion on this one. Hope that's alright. Let's see...

The Bad Batch x DominantFem!Reader HCs - Who's In Control?

Warnings: Suggestive/Mention Of Sexual Themes/Sub-Dom Topic/Dom Reader/18+

_________

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

_________

Hunter

He is not very accessible right from the start as far as that is concerned. Submitting so intimately frightens him a little at the very first moment. Hunter is passionate, but also a cautious personality. His first reaction is rather skeptical when you first try to take the reins into your hands all by yourself.

As cautious and skeptical as Hunter may be at first, he is not stuck. Communication is the key here. Tell him honestly what you want, why you want it, how you feel. Hunter will adapt to you as best he can.

He won't always be able to be submissive, doing so would make him feel as if his passionate side is being suppressed. Every now and then he will have to let his masculinity hang out a bit, but you will soon find a rhythm with which you both feel comfortable and satisfied. He would never even try to force dominance on you if he knows that you are uncomfortable with it.

Echo

He often seems strict and very straightforward. In a romantic relationship, however, he can be a total softie. In fact, he adapts to you the quickest and easiest of all. Echo doesn't feel smaller or less masculine, he's absorbed in the fact that you're giving him all this attention.

As stubborn and unbending as he can be as a soldier, he can be just as understanding and adaptable in a relationship. However, he will want to get to the bottom of it, so be prepared for some curious questions.

"Where is this coming from, anyway? Aren't you even interested in how it feels the other way around?"

Harmless curiosity with no evil ulterior motives, you'll have to forgive him for that. Be sure that if you feel the need, you can always communicate absolutely openly with Echo.

Wrecker

He is a switch. Generally, he's up for almost any fun, but he also wants variety. Wrecker likes to read your every wish from your lips, but it could happen that if you keep your intimacies too one-sided, he will lose the fun at some point.

But basically, you can do anything you want with him, he is always curious anyway. The more you try, the better.

"Sweetheart, you know I can easily get out of these shackles?"

You roll your eyes but grin.

"It's all about the illusion, just do me a favor and play along, okay?"

He smirks at you.

"Okay, pretty, you're the boss."

Tech

Theoretically he knows a lot, but practically he has a lot of inhibitions, especially at the beginning. No matter how much he is attracted to you, physical contact is difficult at first, takes some getting used to for him. Tech finds his, very passionate core with time and above all he is extremely curious.

He is not a dominant type, at least not in principle, but it is also very uncomfortable for him to give the control completely out of his hands. So dominating him is a very lengthy, bumpy endeavor in the beginning that he has to get into.

Be patient, Tech has to explore almost everything that has to do with physical contact and interpersonal relationships very thoroughly first and needs to feel his way towards being able to let himself fall. However, once you have overcome the initial obstacles, Tech can develop into a very willing sub with a loving hand. Patience and honest communication are the key here.

Crosshair

Here we have Captain Complicated. Crosshair is very dominant, at least he thinks he is. He generally doesn't like to adapt to others too much unless he absolutely has to. In a relationship, that can change over time and what may come to your rescue, despite his now and then toxic masculinity, is his curiosity and basically, if buried under layers of stubbornness, gentle disposition.

Grumpy, stubborn, always on top - Crosshair, is actually more the shell, inside sits a guy who doesn't really know what he wants, so possibly at least partially still a little shapable.

Don't expect too much though, the shell Crosshair has taken on makes up quite a bit of his personality by now. He will make it very difficult for you to subdue him, he will be bitchy and maybe a bit belligerent.

But as I said, there's a gentle soul in this grumpy guy somewhere, a good listener. Open directness will get you pretty far with him. Telling him everything you feel in this context may make you vulnerable, but he would never take advantage of that, you can be sure. It is definitely worth a try. No matter how stubborn he is sometimes, he certainly doesn't want you to feel uncomfortable exchanging intimacies with him, quite the opposite.

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@antishadow2021

@sleepycreativewriter

@projectdreamwalker

@1vlouds

[thenwethrowitonthefire]

hello [walks in here holding four balls] two of it is for 🟡🟢 hope it makes things a little better (p.s I write what I need the most on balls while I'm having them) it took me a while to write back because(writing doesn't come easy these days). I went and watched all the videos Ron was reading lyrics (I'm glad it was recorded b&w, it's more soothing to watch), through those videos he made me realize I don't need to own singer energy/voice to read my fav lyrics or song( by that i don't mean he doesn't have good voice, personally I love his voice) as a person who never finds their voice good I always shy away to sing anything feeling I embrace myself so it helped me a lot to focus on what I like there rather ponder on what I hate. I owe this Ron Mael, he is cool and has sensei vibe (thank you sir)

can I go further and say one more thing I learned from him? it was his birthday recently so I let myself a go. we all know how Ron has this aloof face and unshifting glare(I never met Ron in person, so I take this is his face), first time I heard about sparks and searched first thing that got me was his face, I didn't say 'why he is so serious? why he isn't smiling' instead my reaction was 'so cool!' before it changes to deep sadness because once I owned a face like this. when I was younger people always would tell me cheer up, to not look serious or glare at them. I didn't know what they meant, I wasn't unhappy or angry it was just my face(I didn't know I have autism then, later realized how some autistic people struggling to show emotions) but eventually their words got me. I thought I have to change it or I'm wrong then without I know I was smiling because that's what I supposed to or mimicking others facial expressions to know how to react. I became good at it tbh, people liked me more but I felt a big lie inside, when pandemic happened I noticed even away from others I couldn't have 'my face', this shattered me. till I saw photos of Ron, and thought if he can live his life fully and be successful by being who he is and everything turn fine then why can't I? there is no wrong in him or me. (insert not that well defined here :) (if this got personal, or irrelevant I apologize. I tried to not mention yet I wanted to share how they helped me in certain way)

Russell workout videos are such mood booster, it makes me feel when I get to that age I can still live good life, I won't be as old as society tells me I will be, by sparks measure we never are too old for anything, are we? there will be still time to live, to do things I love and have more. it always amazes me how they doing what they love when they almost 80 and there is still a lot for them to go(as it should). this reminded me of 'beat the clock' actually. no one should get PhD by afternoon.

I low-key know about sparkstember but not enough, would love to know more about it. maybe I take part as well. where will they share prompt? on their official page? (loved the music video. nice work)

THE RON ESSAY IS HERE AND I AM SO HERE FOR IT!! You get it. 💖 Woo! Two balls! Thank you!

(This will get long. Very long. A million tangents. I saw this ask before going to sleep last night and so I laid awake smiling thinking about Sparks to 3am. (Don't worry, it's a common occurrence among Sparks fans.) Btw you may find the "secret password" among Sparks fans is sensing another person gets it. It's a shortcut to immediate adoption into the family because we know we understand each other, we're wired in similar ways.)

I am thoroughly impressed you already watched all of the lyric reads! Ron *is* cool and has sensei vibes and his voice is amazing! *nods to all of that*! I can't sing for shit myself and Ron is critical of his singing voice as well (maybe because his brother is the best singer in the universe) but yeah I love it on the rare occasion he does sing. I love it when he speaks, he delivers his words very well. (My favourite word for Ron to say is "sensibility".) Every once in a while someone tries to compile a list of all the tracks Ron has vocals on (and then it gets lost again haha). Some honourable mentions though: he's got some backing vocals on Pineapple (they may be hard to notice), he sings on the songs Limo Driver and En Route To The Beverly Hills Hotel (from The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman, he's done more vocals on it but those I love the utmost), there's a version of Suburban Homeboy that features a spoken word section by Ron (they performed the song live that way in 2022), The Shopping Mall Of Love is mostly all Ron (which they also performed live in 2022 and 2023), there's a song called "What Was That?" from the unreleased soundtrack for Mai The Psychic Girl (in the late 80's and early 90's they worked really hard for this to become a film but despite all their efforts, it didn't happen). What I think you'll *really* like as well though is the promotional video for Strange Animal, which keeps disappearing from the internet. (I guess I'm going to have to put it on Tumblr because a lot of people these days may not have seen it???)

Look at me go "blablablablabla" haha. Well, you asked for it, and Sparks fans have zero chill 😂 Anyway I'm mentioning all of these because I love that he's making you think differently about your own voice, so that's some more stuff that may be really nice :)

...Btw, don't think Russell minds if we can't sing well, he just loves it when we do. He will affectionately roast us for not reaching the notes though (performance of Equator in 2014 you will always be famous) but the only really disappointing thing would be if we *didn't* sing along. Proof:

(Quick note: great song critiquing American imperialism, while also being a metaphor for Something Else.) I love how Ron at some point is trying to talk, but you know, Russell exists, so... Good luck with that 😂

If you want to see the roasting though, start around 5:55 in the next video (though the whole thing is tremendously beautiful):

Before that time Russell keeps waiting for the audience to start singing and they just... Don't seem to want to start?? And then once he's outright said it out loud, "sing it from here!", and we start singing he soon realises why we didn't start earlier, poor man is *so* disappointed - you can see it in his entire body language, just deflated. (It must suck at times to have a voice no one can match 😅💕) But we keep at it in full force, and he's smiling that big smile of his again! Continuing to tell us off for not singing it right though, which had everyone in stitches 😂 I was at this show and it was the best! (There's more videos of it out there where you may be able to see his face better, this show was performed only a handful of times but to experience the roast from different viewpoints you want Equator from the Barbican show in London from 19 December 2014.)

Okay back to Ron (see, I got so sidetracked 😂). Everything you've said about facial expressions and the effect Ron's face has on you is so relatable. Ron being who he is gave me permission to also go back to being myself again. I've always felt that I was forced to be a certain way, and it meant I was never good enough because I'm just... Not like that. I don't want to smile if I don't mean it and at the same time if I don't smile it doesn't mean I'm not happy. Also I love that he found what he liked and just... Stuck with it. Suit, tie, moustache. And Ron went, okay that's me sorted for my entire life. It's just who he is. And it's so inspiring. It's like seeing him exist made me relax for the first time in my life. (Going to my first Sparks show was the first time in my life I ever felt at home. I'm not going on this tangent but I feel it's important to point out I learned about Sparks before I knew I was autistic and that kind of saved my life.) Back to the face thing though. The pandemic actually helped me to get my own face back. Wearing a mask all the time meant I didn't have to do all the expected facial emotions, no one was going to see them! So in putting on a mask, I dropped the autistic masking. It was a real struggle for me with my face when people expected me to take the mask of again because suddenly my face "existed" again to the outside world. It's been a struggle but I chose to try to let my face just be and my life is so much better now because of that. (It turns out that apart from my family, no one actually comments or minds my face. It's fine:)) (It's not that I never smile, it's just that when I do smile it's because it just happens and I really just feel happy. When I'm among the people who I feel really at ease with and happy around, it turns out I'm actually a lot like Russell and I'm smiling all the time!)

I love that Ron has this set in stone image, and that at the same time he can be "unexpected" - his love for air Jordan shoes, sports, snow globes, rap music, his shuffle, ...I Predict. Just because he's the Boss Accountant (badass term coined by @/archeolatry that I love SO MUCH) doesn't mean he's defined in only one dimension. (I mean we know that, he writes most of the songs and all these albums and songs are different and there's so much humour in it all. Also, see Not That Well Defined.) It's just nice as hell and so freeing.

And indeed we never are too old for anything! Russell is like the real life Peter Pan, and he's also sunshine personified - having a bad day? Not anymore, Russell exists! But anyway, back to what you said about never being too old for anything. Society is so set on telling us we need to have it all figured out at a certain age. Or that our live is over at a certain age. And it's just such a lie! (It Doesn't Have To Be That Way :)) When I was younger I felt so shitty all the time, everything about me seemed wrong and I know I'd never be what society deemed successful. What helped me so much is the constant reminder that at my age, Sparks hadn't even made so many of my favourite albums yet! Nothing is bound to age. And I have every intention to be a late bloomer, continuing to bloom throughout life. I think I'm going to be really happy when I'm 55. (Though I'm not going to be as fit as Russell is haha, it's like he eats batteries for breakfast. (He doesn't. He may have a lot of energy but also he works really hard to keep it that way and to keep his voice in shape, they don't want to perform their songs in a different key. He wants to reach the notes, and he does! I think his voice only has gotten better and better with the years, which is really not the case for any other band that's been around as long as they have.))

... It's just all so beautiful, isn't it? :) They both inspire me so much.

Which brings us to: Sparkstember :)

Sparkstember was created by our very own fellow fan @/newwaveworm (new-wave-worm on Instagram). (I'm not tagging people directly in this post because I don't want to be invasive, but they're all really nice people :)) The first Sparkstember was in 2021, and in 2022 it seemed to have caught on on a bigger scale. Sparks shared the prompts list and shared so much of everyone's stuff! They were loving it. Same in 2023. (If you've seen what Instagram and tumblr looked like on Ron's birthday - that's a preview of how it gets on there during Sparkstember, but then it goes on for the full month!) Sparks have at some point sent newwaveworm a parcel with gifts and signed stuff to say thank you for coming up with Sparkstember, it's really sweet. They've even spoken about Sparkstember in an interview last year! You can read it here. (Both of the art pieces Russell and Ron mentioned in the article were made by @/nedison, who's day was obviously made when they saw this - it was so cool!)

I don't know the prompts list yet for this year as so far they usually get posted close to the last week of August, but here's the one for 2022 and the one for 2023 to give you an idea. I'm personally assuming it'll be similar this year (I don't really know that for sure though!) so I've started working on the early albums.

Sparkstember to me is just a really lovely time and people interact with each other a lot, I've shared almost all the pieces people made in 2023 and 2022 on my Instagram page (pineapplefulfillseveryneed) and put them in highlights so if you want, you can see what Sparkstember is like. (Don't worry, I can't see who looks at my Instagram story highlights, so your anonymous cover won't be blown :)) Honestly, to me Sparkstember is near the same level of exciting as a Sparks tour or the release of new material. The entire fandom comes together to tell Sparks how much we love them and it's just a joy to feel so connected to everyone, see so much cool art and make new friends. In a lot of ways it truly feels similar to when there's a tour and people travel from all over the world just to see Sparks. (Sometimes art made by fans ends up in the fanclub newsletter later on as well so that's another exciting thing! I've never made it in though, and it would be a huge honour if at some point I did. So if you do end up making stuff, there's always a small chance that that may happen :))

Don't feel pressured to create something for every day if you partake though, any and all participation is super cool and super appreciated! Picking the days you like best is what I'd recommend because it's supposed to be fun and not stressful :) I consistently truly have a lot more time than most people (because I've been unable to function in society in a normal way) and it's still incredibly challenging to the point it almost makes me ill at times. (I don't sleep well at all for the entire month, both because I'm so excited and because I'm very audhd which means I suck at planning and end up not having anything ready for the next day so then I still have to come up with something. It takes up literally all my time and my brain can't catch a break 😅) ... You've had a little taste of what Sparks fans are like though, so yeah we're just a little bit mad like that because we love them so much. (Sparks is a little bit mad as well though, in 2008 they played 21 concerts over 21 days, playing a different full album every day. I didn't get to witness that but it's one of my favourite things they've ever done, there's quite a bit of footage of it on YouTube and they're some of my favourite concerts! I always think about that during Sparkstember, because who but Sparks and who but Sparks fans would do something like that.)

[whateverisbeautiful]

Hello, I love your "Ranking Richonne" series and all your writings on your blog. I thoroughly enjoy everything!

Since you write that the sparks where there between Rick and Michonne from the very beginning and the development of their relationship (which you've brilliantly explained) slowly healed their, for lack of a better term, "demons", I would like your take on that "Jessie thing". Richonne seemed like a family and then..BAM!.. Here's Jessie!

I've read PTSD and all that. I get it, but it's still bothers me! There is a good explanation for that I suppose, but the show never really approached it. I read a few fanfics that delved into it which gave me maybe 80% satisfaction.

I'm curious on how you feel about it and what you believe happened to Rick and what got him to that crazy mode. THank you.

Thanks so much 💖 And thank you for this question! You know my extra self had to elaborate on this one. (also I loved reading “here’s jessie!” like “here’s johnny!” 😋)

For me, I’ve always viewed the Jessie situation solely as a device to push Rick to finally confront his past and the lack of closure with Lori.

Everything in Season 5 leading up to tf’s arrival at Alexandria showed that Rick and Michonne were slowly but surely growing more aware that they’d fallen for each other. But then they get to Alexandria and it’s this jarringly ‘normal’ environment and a reminder of the world before - which forces all the characters to need a moment to individually wrestle between who they are now and who they were before. 

And the Rick from before was a man in a marriage that was not the healthiest and who felt guilt that he wasn’t able to be there for Lori like he feels he should have. Like when Rick tells Daryl how Lori always wanted to live in a community like ASZ - so much about Alexandria is a trigger for Rick to finally face the very sore Lori wound of his past and finally “make it right” although not in the best ways since he’s not in the best headspace. Where before he could bury the Lori-pain a bit, ASZ and the similarities between Lori and this woman, Jessie, who needs saving from a toxic marriage of her own, won’t let him run from those ‘demons’ anymore.

As Rick wrestles with who he is now and who he was before, I think part of what sent him into crazy mode is becoming an unhealthy hybrid of both. He’s the man of his past trying to protect a woman to make up for feeling like he couldn’t protect Lori, but he’s also the man he is now who is still in that "terminus train car" mindset and can be real feral if it means protecting people.

(Plus, I think the show wanted to explore a scenario where Rick has the potential to be the “Shane” in the situation by intervening in a marriage and wrestling with if there are parts of Shane he should adopt, only for Rick to ultimately realize he should return to himself.)

Basically, while overall PTSD absolutely plays a huge part in why Rick behaved the way he did during that arc, I think an added and important layer to why that Jessie situation went the way it did is because Rick was triggered by how much ASZ and Jessie reminded him of Lori and the collapse of his past marriage. I notice that in almost every Jessie-related scene, Lori is in some way alluded to, whether it be a shot focusing on Rick’s wedding ring or Lori being brought up directly, etc, just to further make Jessie's purpose in the show clear.

The way I see it, Rick was never actually pursuing Jessie - he was pursuing closure. And as much as I don't like Jessie, no one deserves to just be a surface-level stand-in which is what she was. So that whole dynamic would have just been bad for everyone involved. Also imo the Jessie arc continuing in 6A was where it got more forced because after Richonne’s season 5 arc, it was more than clear that Rick’s heart belonged to Michonne.

Even as he was understandably losing it in 5B and on edge in 6A, anytime Rick was with Michonne and not hiding things from her it was like he was experiencing clarity and one of the few times he could think straight because she’s always been able to center him. And once Rick regained clarity and found a more healthy balance of who he was and who he is, he was fully ready to be with Michonne, the one his heart was always leading him to. 🙌🏽

[the-mountain-flower]

The Exiled and The Outcast

Chapter Three: You Must Forgive First Impressions

The stranger did leave the next day.

Then they came back.

Falst was once again watching carefully from the shadows, as the stranger began what appeared to be the same routine as the night before.

Why are you still here?! Falst nearly growled in frustration.

On the bright side, maybe he could snag some more food tonight. His attempts at grabbing something earlier today hadn’t been successful, and this was a pretty easy target. He was also pretty sure what he took yesterday was meant to be travel-friendly, so if he could get some more this time to save for later, that might hold him over for a little while.

‘If you need food, you can just ask.’ It was possible they wouldn’t mind Falst nabbing some more, maybe he wouldn’t even have to sneak around to get at it.

He shook his head. Too risky.

Deciding it was best to avoid trying the same thing as had nearly gotten him caught before, Falst snuck close behind the stranger while they were seemingly distracted holding a piece over the fire. He reached for the bag-

The stranger turned around.

Falst froze, ready to flee.

Then, they placed something in Falst’s still-outstretched hand. It was two pieces of food that looked sort of like small, closed-edge sandwiches.

“I don’t know what you like, but I made a couple extras. I’m not very familiar with the ingredients, so I’m not sure how good it’ll taste, but I added some seasoning from home.”

Okay, that was something Falst never would have expected.

“Sorry for coming unannounced, I didn’t realize you live here. I hope you don’t mind me staying for a bit.”

It took a moment for Falst to say anything in return. “Not my place, don’t care.”

Without further response, Falst took the offering and ran away.

He waited until he was sure that he was safely alone, then sniffed the food thoroughly. He didn’t smell any poison. He took a tentative bite.

It actually was pretty good. The flavor wasn’t bad, albeit spicier than he would’ve preferred, and surprisingly filling for its size.

Why? Falst risked a glance back into the sitting room, this time taking extra caution to make sure he made absolutely no sound, since this person was clearly more perceptive than most. They were eating their own food, as weirdly un-suspicious looking as before. Why give it to me?

Falst ate the rest of his gift, then wandered away.

Were they trying to gain his trust, only to kick him while down? No, they were well-armed, and could’ve tried to get rid of him much more efficiently. Plus, they genuinely seemed well-intentioned, not that Falst was really any good at reading people.

‘I hope you don’t mind me staying for a bit.’

Falst groaned. So they weren’t leaving anytime soon.

Great. Just great.

This castle had been a good hiding spot for Falst longer than any others, despite the people living nearby. It was decent shelter from dangerous wildlife, and big enough for him to hide whenever someone came near. Until now, he’d never really been caught.

But… he’d never been able to stay anywhere for long. Maybe his time here needed to end.

Fine, then. The second this stranger gave the slightest hint of posing a danger, Falst was out of there.

Dainix felt a little bad, giving away his first attempt at something new without knowing if it was any good. He was relieved when he ate his own, and found out it tasted okay.

He wasn’t familiar with almost any of the ingredients he’d gotten, although he’d been lucky enough to find a couple things that he’d tried before when traders had brought it through his village, so at least there was that.

Several of the villagers were surprised that he was alive. Apparently rumors had spread after he never came out of the castle; and even after he did his best to explain what actually happened, almost no one believed that there wasn’t actually a monster in there.

He didn’t tell anyone about the person living in the castle- they didn’t really seem like they wanted to be known, or would be appreciative of Dainix telling anyone about it.

He’d heard a few stories about most people’s views toward ferin. He’d never met any himself- the guy in the castle was the first- and had no way of really knowing what it was really like. Still, what he did know was enough to identify the stranger as a ferin, and enough to raise suspicion.

The villagers acted like there wasn’t anyone living there except the monster. He couldn’t dismiss the possibility that they somehow thought the ferin was the monster, but that brought up even more questions. If he- someone living as isolated from the rest of the world as his village was- knew about their existence, surely it couldn’t be uncommon knowledge, right? Dainix had quickly identified the stranger in the castle as not a threat, but he also probably had a lot more experience dealing with actual monsters than anyone here.

Was this a horrible misunderstanding? Or was the stranger somehow more dangerous than Dainix thought? Thinking back to what he’d seen of them… he didn’t think it was the latter, and he was fairly good at reading people.

Dainix resolved to continue paying closer attention to the situation, so he could try and understand it better. Maybe he could help, somehow.

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

I hope you like Remember to drink water, eat food, take your meds (if applicable), and get enough sleep. Love you all, and have a great [insert time here]! <3

[dearhargrove]

hi! it's me again 🦄 i was just listening to lost in the fire by the weeknd and i couldn't help thinking about billy hargrove. so if it gives you inspiration or you want to write something about it i won't be mad 🫶🏻

You're the only one I got my sights on

summary Billy has always been known to never be with a girl for more than one night. When whatever it was between you and him evolves into more he reassures you he only wants you - no matter his reputation.

word count 1342

tags swearing, Billy being soft, he's scareddd but doesn't wanna admit

a/n Uhm, hi..! I disappeared for like 4 months lol. Hello to everyone that's still here <3 so, @descendiente-de-la-luna I know you requested this tons of months ago, and I'm SO SORRY. I always thought the song was more about sex but I read the lyrics more thoroughly today and realized that they actually fit with Billy!!! So, thank you for this genius request and I'm super sorry it took me so long. I hope you enjoy this at least 💓

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You sighed, Heather kept repeating herself. Ever since you started your… thing with Billy she's been going on and on about how he isn't good for you because he's an asshole and because he will leave you soon.

You guessed she had reasoning to think so; after all that's exactly what he wanted everyone to see and think. He wanted to show that he could have anyone, so why would he settle for only one person?

All that may have been true, but then you came along. Sure, you guessed it was a little cliché: the bad boy falling for someone like you. Someone like you, that wasn't popular, neither disliked but at the same time no one really knew you.

"Heather," you interrupt and she stops with her rant, eyes locking on you. "What's between him and me stays between just him and me. Stop telling me what to do, it's none of your business." You weren't even really friends, you both worked at the pool and your shifts overlapped. That ended with you talking, though it was usually more of a one-sided conversation for her.

You liked the peace and quiet this job would have usually brought. The kids coming here we're either intimidated by you or generally didn't care enough to cause trouble. At first your shifts were shared with Billy.

You caught his attention when he came here the first time to see you tell off some kid because he kept running along the edges of the pool. To him, it was hilarious. The boy had probably almost wet himself from fear and embarrassment, just for you to go back to your magazine with an annoyed sigh immediately after.

He'd tried flirting with you after, making his usual crude comments and flirty remarks. But you didn't give him the reaction he wanted. You either ignored him or only answered shortly or insulted him.

But even then, it wasn't long until you slept together the first time. Two months after seeing each other almost every day your resolve broke and you slept with him after closing the pool up together. It had been a long and tiring day and when he offered you gave in.

It was probably the best lay you've had, though you'd never tell him. After that you got reassigned with Heather which you thought would be the end of your and Billy's acquaintance.

He proved differently when he came every evening to pick you up in his car after your shifts.

It made you feel more than what you usually felt; instead of dreading his presence because of the annoying flirting you anticipated it.

The car rides were filled with his loud music and at least one near accident because of his speeding. Sometimes you talked but most of the time he let you nap as he drove you home, the way to your house ingrained into his memories.

You started thanking him with cheek kisses three weeks in and he made poor attempts to cover up the blush on his cheeks. It was cute and you were falling for it. Falling for him and all of his harsh persona.

"That's right, piss off," someone drawls from behind you and seconds later an arm wraps around your hips loosely. Heather pales and leaves quickly, making you sigh in relief.

"Thanks, she's been on my ass about us for days." Billy chuckles and flicks his cigarette away, mindful of your distaste concerning his habit. "Yeah? What's this 'us'?" There's a smirk on his face and you wrap your arms around his neck with a matching one. "I don't know. You tell me?"

He laughs breathily and rests his head against your shoulder putting well-placed kisses on your neck. You sigh and let your head fall back, enjoying his gentle teasing. This either meant he was in a good mood or he just wanted to sleep with you.

You guessed the second when he cups your cheek with his big hand and looks up. "Let me stay at yours tonight, babygirl." He huskily demands - though there's question in his eyes as well.

You pretend to dwell over it but nod ultimately and drop your hands to play with the hair at the base of his neck, the curls damp with some sweat. "You're lucky you're cute."

He laughs cheekily and winks, "I'll make it worth your time?" He smirks and you laugh, hitting his chest weakly and stepping back. "Help me close this up and I'll think about it."

-

When you're home later he's laying next to you, jeans discarded and leaving him in his underwear and muscle shirt.

There was a lollipop between his lips; courtesy of your strict rule against smoking whenever he was close to you. He had to busy himself otherwise, so this was your solution.

You were snoozing against his shoulder, hair pulled away from your face and neck because it was so unbearably hot. Your window was open and left some of the cooler night air in, causing a pleasant shiver when you wake up.

"You up, sleeping beauty?" He jokes and rubs his thumb over your hip bone, his arm once again around your waist.

Scoffing you yawn and stretch, your shirt riding up a little and revealing a sliver of your stomach. Alone that sight nearly made him feral, the influence you had on him was abnormal.

You lean your head against the wall behind you and sigh again, closing your eyes. "What's on your mind, pretty?" He asks, genuine concern hidden beneath his flirtatious tone.

You decide to leave your eyes closed and take his hand in yours, playing with it to distract yourself. "It's, uh… it's about whatever this," you lift your head and open your eyes gesturing between you and him with your other hand, "is. I- Jesus, you're gonna leave me for this." You chuckle sadly and move away a little, letting his hand fall back into his lap, rubbing both of yours up and down your face.

"Don't think anything is gonna make me leave you. I'm already wasting that much gas on you, as long as you haven't been fucking someone behind my back you won't get rid of me now that I have you, sweetheart." It was jokingly said but he was serious at the same time, hand back on your thigh.

"No, don't- you're making this really hard, y'know?" He grins lazily and cocks his head to the side, looking irresistibly cute with his eyes trained onto yours, waiting for you to explain.

"I…" you're trailing off, nervousness seeping off of you in waves. He calls your name and reaches to lift your head up with a hand on your chin, "I'm serious, just tell me. I promise I won't react badly."

He holds up a hand and stretches out his pinky, "What's that thing you taught me? The special promise thing?" He asks curiously and you chuckle weakly, "Pinky promise." He nods and wraps his pinky around yours, making you giggle.

"Alright, now tell me."

"Uhm, I like you. I know that's not why you're spending time with me and stuff, but I want more. I want to hold your hand and I want to go on actual dates. I want to-"

"-be a couple?" He finishes for you. You gulp and nod hesitantly. He sighs and silence stretches over you for at least a minute until he speaks up. "I'm really bad at this. You know my whole thing is not sticking with someone. I'm not good at commitment. But… I'm ready to try for you. I wouldn't have spent this much time on you if I wouldn't see myself taking you on dates, darling."

You don't really believe him so he assures you again, "Be mine. Be my girlfriend," he pulls you on top of his thighs and with a dreamy grin you lean in to kiss him, enjoying the closeness of your new found boyfriend.

"So, boyfriend. Wanna get your reward for helping me close up the pool?"

[celestiall0tus]

Tales of Bloody Bug and Chat Noir - Chapter 15 - Felix

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            Adrien sat in the garden as he stared up at the statue of his mother, Emilie Agreste. He sighed and glanced back to see Nathalie and Gabriel looking at him from the window. He smiled and waved, but only Nathalie returned it. He turned away back to the statue.

            “Little kitty on a roof. All alone without his…,” Adrien started to sing.

            “Adrien,” Gabriel said.

            “Father?”

            Gabriel moved down the steps and sat beside Adrien. “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.”

            Adrien tilted his head as he looked at Gabriel, noticing the bags under his father’s eyes. “Father, are you ok?”

            “It’s nothing. Just nightmares and stress. But I need you to listen. There is something I need to tell you. Something I’ve thought about telling you every day, but I don’t know how to find the words.”

            Adrien gasped. “Father, it’s ok. I understand. I loved Mom too, but it’s ok that she’s gone. I accepted and I’m here for you.”

            “What? How could you think such a thing?”

            “But… I don’t understand. She’s gone. She died. I thought you were ready to grieve. It’s All Saints’ Day, Father. Shouldn’t we be honoring and celebrating her, as well as grieving?”

            Gabriel stood and glared down at Adrien. “As long as she’s in our hearts, she lives on! She’ll never be just a memory, Adrien.”

            Adrien frowned and looked away.

            Gabriel sighed and turned his back. “We’re expecting guests. Be ready.”

            Adrien watched Gabriel disappear back inside. He looked back at the statue when Plagg peeked out from his jacket.

            “Wow, your father’s like a piece of Tomme cheese. A rind so thick that it’s almost impossible to get inside.”

            “Don’t be hard on him, Plagg. It’s been a year since Mom died, and it can’t be easy with All Saints’ Day today. A day we’re supposed to honor those that have passed, like Mom.”

            “And what about you?”

            “I don’t know. I wish we could honor her together, but I guess I’ll be doing that alone too, as usual now. C’mon, let’s get ready for company.”

~~

            Alix circled her mother’s tombstone as she washed it thoroughly. Alim and Jalil watched her as she scoured the stone, washing away all impurities.

            “Alix, honey, you’ve washed the tombstone five times now. It’s clean,” Alim said.

            “Just one more rinse. I just need to make sure it’s spotless.”

            Alim knelt and touched Alix’s shoulder, giving her pause. “The tombstone looks lovely, Alix, but now it’s time to rest. We have a big night tonight and I know you’ll want to have your energy for that.”

            “I know, but I just want to make up for almost losing her body. After what happened with Chat Noire, that guilt remained with me. We almost lost her completely because of me. If I hadn’t fixed everything, we’d have nothing to honor today.”

            “Now, Alix, I know you know better. We both do.”

            “But where would we celebrate her if not here on this day? It’s supposed to be here like it always is.”

            “It doesn’t matter where we celebrate, so long as it’s together and for her. On the days when the veil is thinnest, and she gets to see us. And why we need to be at our best tonight when we make our offerings and prayers. We need to show her that,” Jalil said.

            Alix raised her brow as she looked at Alim.

            “Right, but all that aside. It’s more than just honoring her, but the family we made and the legacy she left behind. So, let’s head home and prepare for tonight, ok?”

            “Fine.”

            “Oh, Alix, your friends have been asking for you,” Jalil butted in.

            “Have you been reading my messages?”

            “Occasionally when your screen lights up and I see some of the message. They want to do something nice for Adrien today.”

            “Why?”

            “Something about his mother I think?”

            Alix looked away.

            “Alix?”

            “It’s… it’s just I… I may know who he is.”

            “Oh? Oh! I see. Do you want to help him?”

            “Yes? No? Maybe? I mean, I understand, but at the same time, I don’t know. I want to help, but am I really the best one to help him? I’m… me!”

            “You seem to help him as him,” Tikki squeaked from under Alix’s cap.

            “That’s… it’s different. When the world doesn’t know it’s you, it’s easier to share. I mean, why should I care what strangers think opposed to… to….”

            “Friends?” Alim asked.

            Alix nodded.

            “Well, that’s part of it. You will learn to open up and share more of yourself. Taking that first step with strangers is a big step. The next will be with your friends. So, why don’t you go help him in your way?”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Go on. I know she would approve as well.”

            Alix smiled. She hugged Alim and headed to the Agreste mansion.

~~

            Adrien sat at his desk and stared at his monitors’ background. He smiled seeing him with Emilie until he heard his door open. He turned to see Nathalie enter his room.

            “Your father is waiting for you downstairs, Adrien.”

            Adrien nodded. He followed Nathalie downstairs to the parlor. He stood with Gabriel by the front doors. He watched as Nathalie opened the door for a woman that looked identical to Emilie. He gasped as his heart leapt, the faintest hope that it was her. The hope extinguished as the woman stepped forward to reveal his aunt, Amelie.

            “My, my! Look at how much you’ve grown!” Amelie cooed.

            Amelie approached Adrien and kissed his cheek. He smiled before she turned to Gabriel.

            “Gabriel, isn’t he just the absolute cutest?”

            Gabriel grunted. “I’m sure Adrien is glad to have such a timely visit from his aunt today of all days.”

            “Of course! It’s All Saints’ Day. I thought it’d be better if we were all together on a day like this. Don’t you agree?”

            Adrien nodded while Gabriel rolled his eyes. Adrien gulped and looked back at Amelie. His eyes widened seeing a boy that looked exactly like him. He grinned as his eyes lit up.

            “Felix?”

            Felix walked up to Adrien and held out his hand. Adrien looked at it, then hugged Felix.

            “It’s so good to see you again!”

            “Aw! You two still look so much like twins! Oh, remember when you two would have so much fun pretending to be each other. I still remember when they had you and Emilie fooled for a whole weekend!” Amelie reminisced.

            Gabriel growled. “I won’t be fooled a second time.”

            Adrien stepped back. Felix turned to Gabriel and offered a hand.

            “Hello, Uncle.”

            Gabriel didn’t move. He glared down at Felix’s hand, then Felix.

            “Now, Felix, you know your uncle’s never been the physical sort.”

            Felix rolled his eyes but lowered his hand.

            “Now, Gabriel, while I am here for the holiday, I do have important business to discuss with you about the Graham de Vanily twin rings,” Amelie reminded.

            “We’ll discuss it later. It must have been a long trip from London. Rest a little. Nathalie?”

            Nathalie moved from the door and escorted Amelie away.

            “Adrien, take Felix to your room.”

            “Yes, Father. Come on, Felix!”

            Adrien ran up with Felix walking behind him. He headed into his room and grabbed a basketball as Felix stood in the middle of the room.

            “Hey, remember our shooting contests?”

            Adrien passed the basketball to Felix. Felix caught it but tossed it aside. Adrien tapped his hands on his legs as Felix glared at him.

            “Hey, so, uh, I’m sorry I never went to your dad’s funeral. Father thought it would be too hard on me considering everything that happened this year. You’ve got every right to be angry with me.”

            “That’s not what bothered me until you brought it up. It annoys me more seeing you always do what Gabriel tells you.”

            “I mean… he’s very protective of me, but I don’t always do what he says. Well, now a days. Not since he changed. Not since Mom died.”

            Felix raised a brow, then smiled. He hugged Adrien. Adrien gasped, then returned the hug.

            “Say, do you have that chessboard? Would you like to play a round of chess?” Felix asked.

            “I do! I’ll go get it!”

            Adrien ran up the spiral stairs in his room to the second level. He searched his shelves until he found the chessboard and pieces.

            “Found it!”

            “Grab some cards, while you’re up there!” Felix called.

            Adrien smiled as he searched for a deck of cards. “You still doing magic?”

            “Now more than ever. You’ll see!”

            “How about karate? Still practicing?”

            “Of course!”

            Adrien grinned until Plagg phased through the floor up to him.

            “We need to talk, Adrien,” Plagg said.

            “What are you doing here? Hide!”

            “Mind if I take a shower?” Felix asked.

            “Not at all. Make yourself at home!” Adrien answered.

            “What’s up with that cousin of yours? First, he searches through your things, and then, unforgivably, he squashes my hunk of goat’s cheese under your pillow! I’ve been maturing that baby for two weeks, do you realize? Two whole weeks!”

            “Listen, Plagg. Felix lost his dad not so long ago. He’s probably not himself.”

            “I’m sorry, but that’s no excuse. You never touched my cheese and yet you lost your mother not so long ago.”

            Adrien grimaced and looked away.

            Plagg flinched. “Oh, Adrien, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that. I just… your situations are similar, but you’re so different.”

            “I know. I’m sorry about your cheese, but, please, be patient with Felix.”

            Adrien grabbed the chessboard and cards and headed down to the first level. He put them on the coffee table when he heard a clattering noise. He looked around when he heard it again near the window. He approached it as he saw a pebble hit the glass. He ran up to it, looked out, and saw Alix standing in the backyard. He gasped and opened the window.

            “Alix? How did you get in?”

            “Uh, climbed the wall and fence?”

            Adrien’s jaw dropped, then he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Alix, but you can’t be here.”

            “Well, if I listened to the rules, I wouldn’t do half the crap that I do anyway. Sound familiar?”

            Adrien’s eyes widened. “It… it is you, isn’t it? How did you know it was me?”

            “Your little stunt a few days ago with Silencer. You weren’t exactly subtle, nor was your kwami.”

            Adrien grimaced. “Are you… angry at me for that?”

            “No, but I can’t exactly praise you either. That was a real shit move. At least when that crap happens to me, I don’t purposely make it happen. It just… it just happens because of who I am.”

            “I know. I wish I could apologize, but Juleka isn’t letting me near Luka. Though I don’t blame her. Anyway, what brings you here? Is there an Akuma?”

            Alix didn’t answer. She took several deep breaths before she parkoured up to the open window. Adrien watched in awe as she slipped into his room. He flinched when she smacked into the ground.

            “Made it.”

            “How do you do that?”

            “It’s all in the legs, and the arms. Anyway, let’s ditch this place and go have fun.”

            “I can’t. My cousin is here, and I can’t leave him.”

            “Why not?”

            “I just… it’s been forever since I’ve seen him. That and he and Aunt Amelie came for All Saints’ Day, even if I’m sure Father won’t really let us celebrate it.”

            “That’s why we celebrate it. Let us honor our mothers together.”

            “I want to, but Father wouldn’t ever let me.”

            “Hey, there’s a saying I’ve grown to live by that my mother did. It’s better to ask forgiveness, than permission. So, let’s go!”

            “But-.”

            “Adrien! Can you lend me some clean clothes? I left my suitcase downstairs!” Felix yelled.

            “Huh? Oh! Yeah! Take what you need!”

            “C’mon, Adrien. Don’t you want to do what you want? Don’t you want to honor your mother? Don’t you want to live?” Alix pushed.

            “I do, but-.”

            “No buts. Let’s go. Your cousin seems to be doing fine.”

            “Why doesn’t he come with us? I mean, he lost his father recently.”

            Alix considered, then sighed. “Fine. He’s in the bathroom, right?”

            “Yeah. He should be-.”

            Alix pushed past Adrien to the bathroom door. She rolled her shoulders before she kicked the door open. Felix shouted and dropped Adrien’s phone.

            “What’s wrong with you? I could have been-!” Felix started.

            Alix whistled. “Damn, you look so much alike. Even more in Adrien’s clothes. Oh, and what do we got here?”

            Felix reached for Adrien’s phone, but Alix grabbed it. She smiled and tossed Adrien his phone.

            “Alright, boys, get ready. We’re heading out on the city.”

            “What? I’m not going anywhere with the likes of you.”

            “Good! I didn’t want you to come. Your soft-hearted cousin did. Anyway, let’s go, Adrien!”

            “Hold up! Your father wouldn’t approve of you going out, Adrien.

            “Uh, what’s that thing you said? If you listened to the rules, you wouldn’t do half the stuff you do?” Adrien asked.

            “Atta boy! Let’s go!”

            “Wait! You can’t just leave me here,” Felix argued.

            “Then you can either come along and do something against the rules for once, or you can stay here like a good little boy who always listens to mommy.”

            Felix grumbled. “Fine. Give me a minute to change.”

            “Excellent, but first.”

            Alix pulled Adrien and Felix in. She pulled out her camera and took a photo with them. She pushed Felix away as she headed out of the bathroom.

            “What was that for?”

            “Letting the girls know you, well Adrien, is in good hands. Now get changed. We have a city to terrorize.”

            Alix and Adrien left Felix to change. Alix sent the photo to the girl group chat before she approached the window. Adrien followed behind her before Felix joined them. She nodded and hopped out the window and rolled onto the grass.

            “Let’s go boys. We don’t have all day.”

            Adrien and Felix exchanged glances before they followed Alix. They tumbled onto the grass and brushed themselves off as they stood. They looked around, uncertain of what to do next when Alix ran for a small tree. They watched her climb up it, hop onto the wall, and then climb over the fence atop the wall. Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

            “Move it! Don’t want the adults to catch us.”

            Felix and Adrien nodded before they followed Alix. They struggled up the wall and fence but made it over. They jumped down to the sidewalk, landing less than gracefully.

            “Well, look at that. Congratulations, boys, you committed your first acts of rebellion. How’s it feel?”

            “Technically not my first one, but that was the hardest. How do you make climbing all that look so easy?”

            “I mean, you gotta learn otherwise the cops catch you.”

            “This is wrong. We weren’t given permission to go out. We should go back,” Felix fussed.

            “You go back. We’re heading out,” Adrien said.

            “But Father will be-!”

            Felix cut himself off as he covered his mouth. Alix’s eyes widened as she saw fear in Felix’s eyes. She reached out and took his head, surprising him.

            “Today is typically about honoring the dead. They also say those that have passed are watching us on these days when the veil is thinnest. So, if that’s true, let’s give your father’s spirit a healthy dose of disrespect. What do you say?”

            Felix didn’t answer, but the fear faded from his eyes and was replaced with hope. Alix grinned, tightened her hold on Felix, and ran.

            “Move it, boys! The city is ours this day. Let us live for the day, and in the memory of what was and shall never be again!”

            Adrien cheered as he and Alix ran side-by-side while she dragged Felix behind them. They explored the city at their leisure as they took Felix to each of the sights. She gathered mementos along the way she planned to offer to her mother’s grave. She didn’t want to put much stock in Jalil’s theories in front of him, but a part of her began to believe her mother was watching. If it was true, she wanted to show her mother how much how changed and the joy she now found in companionship.

            Alix lingered on the notion as they reached the Pont des Arts and stumbled on Andre’s ice cream stall. Felix and Adrien smiled and enjoyed each other’s company, a far cry from what she had seen earlier when Felix was moody. A lot of Felix reminded her of herself. Seeing him now as he was, it felt another reflection of herself. One where she’d let people in. Is this what she was becoming with these boys and even the girls? If it was, she loved it. She loved seeing what she could be. Even if she didn’t overcome her anger completely, she could still be so much more. She could finally learn how to really be like her mother. To make those connections she never knew she wanted until she met Tikki.

            “Alix! Come get some ice cream!” Adrien called.

            Alix snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. She trotted over when her phone rang. She took it out when the screen lit up pink. She panicked and threw it to the ground. She stepped back as Lady Wifi, Reflekta, Princess Fragrance, and a fourth villain emerged from the phone. She tilted her head as she took in the new villainess.

            The fourth villainess was an atrocious high fashion, heart-themed dress with leggings, platform pumps, and sunglasses. Her hair was pulled up in a puffed-up swirl that looked like cotton candy. She held up a sketchbook with a pencil in hand.

            “What’s going on here?” Alix demanded.

            “We’re here to punish Adrien and you,” Reflekta answered.

            “What? What for?”

            “We sent Adrien super nice messages, but he responded to them with a super mean message!” Princess Fragrance whined.

            “And then we see you all happy with not just one Adrien, but two! Keeping them all to yourself,” the villainess screeched.

            “We should have known you’d turn on us eventually, but never with Adrien. Now it’s time to make you both pay,” Lady WiFi sneered.

            Alix felt her heart drop into her stomach. She glanced at Adrien and Felix, who had genuine fear and concern in their faces as they looked at her. She could still save them. She could give Adrien time to transform, or she could reason with them to get them to release the Akuma like Nathaniel and Luka had. She’d rather punch them for this, but she’d give them one last chance.

            “Is this really why you were akumatized? Is this really why you accepted an offer to become monsters?”

            “It is. Do you think we’re so stupid to face you without some assistance? You’re a raging monster without an Akuma,” Lady WiFi said.

            “A little monster we gave a chance. We thought you cared, but it was all a lie, wasn’t it? You helped Adrien make that message, didn’t you?” Princess Fragranced demanded.

            “You likely corrupted poor, sweet Adrien, didn’t you? Turned him against us for your evil, nefarious reasons,” the villainess added.

            Alix clutched her fists. She took a deep breath as she let the tears that burned her fall. “Oh yeah? Well, let me just start this by saying… fuck you!”

            The four girls’ eyes widened as they exchanged glances.

            “You honestly assume that of me? What in your right fucking minds would make you think such fucking, utter nonsense? Why would I care to ‘corrupt’ Adrien? Why would I help him make a mean message when I have no issue telling you to your faces how much you piss me off or annoy me? Do you honestly think so little of me?”

            Reflekta and Princess Fragrance hesitated as they looked at each other, but Lady WiFi and the villainess stepped forward.

            “What should we even expect of you? You’re just a little monster like Chloe,” Lady WiFi hissed.

            “Yeah, I fucking am, but not for the reasons you think. And you know what? You fucking bitches were lucky I even listened to my dad in the first place. If I didn’t, if I just continued to shut everyone out of my life except my family, I wouldn’t be in this fucking situation! I wouldn’t be screaming and crying over some foolish bitches I thought I could trust. I thought I finally found people who would accept me for me, but I was wrong. And you know what else? Go-!”

            “Wait!” Reflekta and Princess Fragrance yelled.

            Everyone watched as Reflekta and Princess Fragrance pushed past Lady WiFi and the villainess as they reverted to Juleka and Rose. They looked around in confusion before they turned to Alix. They gasped and ran up to her.

            “Alix, what did we say? What did we do? Please, tell us,” Juleka begged.

            “Yeah! We’ll make it up. Please, just tell us what happened!” Rose added.

            “You thought I helped Adrien make a mean message for you guys,” Alix whispered.

            “What? No! I mean, we were raw after that message. Then we saw your photo with the two Adriens and then Marinette-!” Rose blurted.

            Alix narrowed her eyes as she glared at the villainess. She let out a small gasp when she saw the panja bracelet on the villainess’s left hand.

            “Marinette! You fucking little-!” Alix roared.

            “Marinette’s gone. I’m Heart’s Design and you will surrender to me.”

            Heart’s Design opened her sketchbook. She held her pencil to the page when Chat Noir snuck up and smacked them with his staff. Alix took a sharp breath as she looked around.

            “Everyone! Get to safety! Juleka, Rose, take Felix and get to safety,” Alix ordered.

            “What about you?” Juleka asked.

            “Yeah! Come with us!” Rose begged.

            “No. You’re safer away from me. They’re after me, remember?”

            “She’s right. C’mon, let’s go,” Juleka said.

            Rose nodded and turned to Chat Noir. “Chat Noir! The Akuma is in the tablet Lady WiFi has!”

            Chat Noir gave a thumbs up and went back to fighting Lady WiFi and Heart’s Design. Juleka and Rose glanced at Alix before they grabbed Felix and ran. Alix sighed and retreated to a nearby alleyway and transformed. She headed back as Chat Noir disarmed Heart’s Design and tossed her sketchbook into the Seine.

            “No! How could you? Now how am I supposed to make Adrien mine?” Heart’s Design cried.

            Chat Noir recoiled. “What?”

            “That book would allow me to make Adrien love only me and no one else. We’d be together and he’d have all he ever needed… me!”

            Bloody Bug ran in and punched Heart’s Design in the jaw, sending her flying. Lady WiFi gasped and moved to freeze Bloody Bug. Bloody Bug juked Lady WiFi and tore the tablet from her. Bloody Bug snapped it in half, released the Akuma, caught it, and purified it. Heart’s Design and Lady WiFi reverted when she released the butterfly.

            Alya gasped. “What happened? Where am I?”

            “Alya, I’m disappointed,” Bloody Bug said.

            “Bloody Bug! Please, you must understand, this girl, she-!”

            “A hero doesn’t make excuses for their actions. We take ownership. What I’ve seen here is the making of a villain, not a hero.”

            “What? No! I was helping my friend! That counts as being heroic, doesn’t it?”

            “Not when you attack civilians after accepting to become a monster. Alya, I see your true colors now. I see the real you. You’re not a hero. You’re a bully masquerading as a hero.”

            “No. No! Please, Bloody Bug, let me explain.”

            “I’m done listening to your lies, Alya. Chat Noir, you may if you wish, but I’m done.”

            Bloody Bug turned away and headed towards Marinette. Chat Noir glanced at Alya before he followed Bloody Bug. She grabbed Marinette’s left hand and pulled on it, causing Marinette to cry out.

            “You have a lot to answer for, Marinette. What ailed you?”

            “I… I’m sorry, please. I just… I… We made messages for our friend Adrien because it’s All Saint’s Day and he was surely honoring his mother since she died in the past year. We wanted to cheer him up and let him know we were here, but he sent us a mean message in response. And… and I told him I loved him. I was devastated, then I saw Alix happy with two Adriens and… and… I saw red. How could she betray me like that? I’m the one that loves Adrien, not her.”

            “How dare you,” Chat Noir hissed.

            “Chat Noir?” Bloody Bug whispered.

            Tears streamed from Chat Noir’s eyes with pinned back ears and his pupils narrowed into slits. “You claim you love him, but this isn’t love! And Alix didn’t betray you. You betrayed Alix! You hurt someone that dared to call you a friend all because of an obsession! Not love!”

            “It is! It’s true love! From the moment he gave me his umbrella, thunder rolled. It was love at first sight! We’re meant to be!” Marinette screamed.

            “Enough! Marinette, you and Alya have disappointed and betrayed me. I trusted you both, and this is how you repay that trust.”

            “What? No! I swear, it isn’t! I’m good. I promise!”

            “Actions speak louder than words, and your actions here drown out your words. I expected better of you.”

            Marinette’s jaw dropped as Bloody Bug grabbed the panja bracelet and tore it off.

            “Like I told another, prove to me you can be better. When you do, I’ll consider you both again. As of now, consider my trust in you both destroyed. Chat Noir, let’s go.”

            Bloody Bug and Chat Noir shot Marinette and Alya a final look before they headed off. They traveled along the rooftops until they were far enough away from Pont des Art.

            “Bug?”

            “What’s up?”

            “Are you ok?”

            “No. And, I’m sorry about Marinette, Lady Tigress, whatever.”

            “It’s… it hurts. I… don’t know how to take this.”

            “Yeah. Me either.”

            “What now?”

            “I’m going to return the tiger miraculous, probably head home until this evening.”

            “What’re you doing this evening?”

            “I’ll be going to the graveyard my mom’s buried at and paying my respects.”

            “Would you… would you mind a couple extra people?”

            “Not… not at all. See you around seven?”

            “Yeah. See you at seven.”