#that said she does NOT like it going to the point of flipping the script

[rxttencaviar]

...... sits here and thinks about how, specifically, one of miranda's biggest turn ons is... well, resistance. like, i mean that in the sense of when she gets up onto her dom shit and her sadist shit, and really enjoys yanking someone around and putting them in their place, she likes it when they fight back, you know? brats, i suppose, or attempted power bottoms. attempted, because she gets a lot of enjoyment out of specifically breaking that down, wearing down that resistance, finding new and interesting ways to worm her way into their psyche and play around inside of it. if they're too open about how much they enjoy this and letting her in without making her work for it, then it's not as interesting, they're just like countless others who have come before, who want them before, who aren't doing anything for her other than confirming what she already knew. its like enrichment, you know? she likes it more when she has to work for it. she likes it when they fight back, when they try to stand up against her, when they act like they dont know how this is going to end.

[gnomewithalaptop]

Y'know, it's so funny to me when people make out like Tim Drake would keep files on how to take down his friends when Tim has explicitly said he disagrees with Batman on this:

[Young Justice (1998) #36]

Like, yes, during his Red Robin tenure he does make a Hit List full of contingency plans for known heroes. But if you go and read that, you'll notice that, while the Justice League and Damian may be on there, Tim's own friends are decidedly absent:

[Red Robin (2009) #14]

In fact, a lot of these heroes are people that have either (a) attacked Tim specifically, (b) have a track record that includes turning evil/getting mind controlled, or (c) are on the JLA (meaning Batman probably already had those files compiled and Tim just stole them).

So yeah: Tim's not down with contingency-planning for his friends. You know which one of the YJ crew DID agree with Batman though? My favorite blorbina Anita Fite, aka Empress:

[Young Justice (1998) #36]

But yeah, this contrast is honestly fascinating to me. Because while both Anita and Tim have been shown to be incredibly loyal individuals, this exchange really highlights the fact that, between the two of them, Anita is far more likely to engage in this kind of pragmatism when she thinks it's necessary to get the job done

The whole Our Worlds at War arc actually does a really good job of illustrating how both of them react to betrayal from within. It's not just the Batman Files conflict either -- I'm thinking specifically about the hallucination-based torture Granny Goodness put them through, which showed them their worst fears. Most of the team ended up having to watch their loved ones die, but what's super interesting to me is that we really only see Anita and Tim hallucinate that their loved ones blame them for their deaths:

[Young Justice (1998) #37]

Like. It's not the same as a teammate turning evil at all. But it does give us a good idea of how they'd both react when faced with a friend or teammate doing harmful things, albeit on a smaller scale. Because where Tim kind of just accepts Superboy yelling at him and moves straight into bargaining for Kon's life, Anita actually flips the script, gets angry, and defends herself against her father:

[Young Justice (1998) #37]

(she actually gets so righteously pissed off that she manages to break out of the VR simulation Granny Goodness had her trapped in, but that's another point)

But yeah, it's super interesting, because by this point, both Anita and Tim have been set up to be very similar characters. They both can be a little bit obsessive, they both have some issues with boundaries and stalking (Tim with Nightwing and Batman, Anita with Cissie), and of the team, they're both portrayed as the "normal" members (Anita does technically have mind control powers but she barely ever uses them, and in a fight, she's basically just a very good, human-level fighter)

But at the end of the day, though Batman forces Robin to put on a cool front of objectivity, Tim (at least in his pre-grief-spiral era) ultimately wants to see the best in his team. When the people he cares about screw up, he wants to give them second chances. And when that trust gets broken, his first instinct is to try to use diplomacy, or, failing that, simply remove himself from the situation (as we see at the end of the Our Worlds at War arc when he quits the team)

Anita, on the other hand, while still incredibly loyal, does not hand out that loyalty unconditionally. We see this when she tries to keep her identity secret from the YJ squad, we see it when she gets pissed in Granny Goodness's hallucination when her father blames her for her mother's death, and we see it when she later blames Secret for her perceived role in Anita's father's death

Anita also happens to sit right smack dab in the middle of the YJ morality scale; while she's generally pretty chill and willing to abide by typical superhero codes of ethics (unlike Slobo and Secret), she's also been shown to bend those rules when she believes it's necessary (as seen here when she tortures and threatens to kill a man for trying to hurt Cissie). Ultimately, what this means is, between Tim and Anita, it's honestly Anita who'd probably be the most willing to put her personal qualms aside, buckle down, and go against her loved ones if it was the only reasonable option

Anyway. This is a really long-winded way of saying I think Gun Batman's biggest nemesis should be Empress

[cameronspecial]

Idk if you still take requests but if you do I would love to see a drew x reader where they have to do a sex scene (like in hellraiser) it’s so hot

Just Acting

Pairing: Drew Starkey x Reader

Warnings: SMUT

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.0K

Masterlist

Sometimes when as an actor, the lines between what is real and fake can get blurred. The worst is when that happens during an intimate scene, especially if that scene is so primal with the coworker she has a crush on.

Drew’s grip pulls her head back so that his face is next to hers. His barely covered dick hits against her bum. She lets out pants as instructed and does her best to focus on acting instead of the numerous people behind the camera. “I knew you were a little Slut. Look at you taking it so good,” Drew growls in her ear in character as Alex Tanner, a professional escort. Her character, Stacy Morris, moans out and looks him in the eye with a small nod. “So good. Harder,” she asks in a babble. He chuckles, his hand going to grip her breast only covered in a skin-coloured nipple cover. He gives it the script squeeze before faking pulling out of her and flipping her on her back. He pulls her onto his lap so she is straddling him and the make believe thrusting continues. She bounces with him and struggles to conceal her real moans as his hard length slams against her protected pussy. “YES, ALEX. KEEP GOING,” she screams, running her fingers through his hair to yank on it. Her hands fall to his back and tear down it, which creates beautiful red steaks. 

She presses her lips against him and their mouths move in tandem. This is just acting. This isn’t real. She reminds herself, over and over again. “Cut,” the director calls out and it takes the actors a second to process the command. They begin to slow down and their breaths can be heard throughout the stage. Sweat runs down their faces and they look at each other with embarrassed smiles. She hates to admit that she got caught up in the moment and by the look on his face, he might have too. The director comes over to inform them that they got the shot and that they are moving to the next scene. 

———

Y/N is moving around her hotel room getting ready for bed when a knock comes at her door. She slips a strand of hair behind her ear and goes to get it. “Hey, Drew. Is everything okay?” she greets, steeping back to let him into the room. He looks nervous as he bites the corner of his lip. “Yeah, I was just wondering if we can run through the scene we did this morning. I know Wayne said we got it but…umm… I don’t feel like we did.” Her heart skips a beat at the reference of the scene. Her cheeks feel like an inferno. She nods, “Uh…yeah, of course. Anything to get the scene right.” He smiles shyly at her. “Cool. We don’t have our modesty wear; however, we are both adults so are you okay with being naked? We can practise fully clothed, if you prefer though.”

The gurgle in her stomach begins to grow. “I think we can do it naked. We are professionals after all.” He nods and they both awkwardly get stripped down. She isn’t surprised by the size of his length and she knows it isn’t going to be actually inside her, yet it doesn’t stop her from squeezing her thighs together in need. His heart stops when he notices the movement. 

She gets on the bed on all fours and looks back at him when she feels his hesitation. “It’s okay. We are just acting, right? This is for our job,” she reassures. His head bobs and he gets settled behind her as he is supposed to be for the scene. They go through the scene and everything feels like acting until she is straddling him. This new position means that their genitals are in direct contact and he shifts under her. He can feel how wet she is and he yarns to be buried deep within her. He notices her expression turning to uncertainty, so he pulls away. “Are you okay? We can stop if you feel uncomfortable,” he says. She shakes her head, “No. No. I’m fine. I can keep going.” To make her point clear, she does as she is scripted to do and rises to pretend to sink down on his cock; however, as she goes to pretend to ride him, she feels his tip fall at her entrance.

Their eyes meet and they stare at each other for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the other is thinking. Since nothing is said, she continues to allow his length inside of her. Her moans fall on his ear and this encourages Drew to begin bucking up inside of her. She bounces with the help of his hands on her ass to meet his movement. The two of them fall into pleasure and it starts to go off-script. His eyes lock on her breasts bouncing in front of him and he can’t help but lean forward to take one into his mouth.

She squeals in delight at the feeling and laces her fingers through his hair so that he stays in place. “Drew,” she calls out. They both freeze. The utterance of his name breaks the spell over them and it is time to admit what they are truly doing. “This isn’t just acting anymore,” he murmurs against her neck. “I want this to be real and if you don’t, then tell me now and I’ll leave.” She pulls his head away so she can crash their lips together, “This is very real to me. I want that too.” He smirks at her and his movements slow down. He flips them so that she is on her back and he is on top of him. His thrusts may have slowed down but they still reach every part inside of her that she needs. They are both brought to their orgasm and his movements stop while they recover. He slips out of her, dropping to her side on the bed. She looks up at him with doe eyes and snuggles himself into his side. He kisses the sweaty border of her hairline. “Please tell me this is real. That this isn’t us just acting or a dream,” she whispers. He lets out a low chuckle, “I promise. This is real and it definitely won’t be the last time we do that. I love you, Y/N.” She sighs in his hold. “I love you too, Drew.”

Taglist: @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @thepatriarchykeychain @drewsmusee @starkowswife @maybankslover @forstarkey @loving-and-dreaming @magicalyoura @rubixgsworld

[thefanficmonster]

Piss off your parents pt.3 (finale)

PART 1

PART 2

Colby Brock x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing

Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Time wasted can only be compensated with time well spent.

"You wasted us so much time."

Y/N's reply is so far from anything he could've expected, he nearly sprains his neck when his head snaps up. To find a small smile on her face, of all things.

"What?"

There's a note of deep-rooted anger in the laugh that deflates her lungs, "How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you felt that way?" She doubles down, her gaze now stiffened into a glare piercing right through him.

"Since we fucking met, ok?!" He'd be less nervous answering questions in front of the FBI. He doesn't know how the script flipped to her being the angry one but it's clear she's gonna let him have it. And he's gonna have to take it, he owes it to her.

"I can't fucking believe you." She shakes her head, shifting to back further away from him and lean her back against the cold mirror behind her. She'd rather hop off the counter and run off - that's what sober her would do, anyway. But, for one, her drunk alter ego is a lot more confrontational, and for two - she physically can't do that. Somewhere along the past ten minutes, Colby somehow ended up standing between her parted legs, blocking her the ability to run away without even meaning to. "You've kept me at arm's length for a whole fucking decade! Treating me like a child, a porcelain doll you feel obligated to look out for! You broke my heart so ignorantly by sleeping around with half the damn town and bragged to me about it! You pushed me into brainwashing myself in love with someone else, led me to believe he felt the same way and now you have the gull to say you were in love with me all along! Bullshit!"

Hellfire, she's showering him with utter hellfire. Each thing she listed got worse than the previous just when he expected it couldn't. It unlocked so many memories he made a vow to never again visit. That was such a low point in his life he didn't notice he had dragged one of his best friends into it as well. Well she's spelling it out for him right here, right now. Loud and fucking clear.

"And to think I was in love with you throughout all of that...fuck, I'm stupid..." She adds in a whisper, highly contrasting the rain of bullets she unleashed seconds prior. It was meant more for herself than him yet it was the final blow for him. His heart is officially down for the count.

"Was? Past tense?" Colby's eyes widen immediately. He didn't hear the words in his brain, they were as news to his ears as they were to hers. He doesn't know where the audacity came from. It's as if he's asking to get smacked. At this point, he'd prefer that to whatever venom she might spew at him. All well within her right.

To his luck, Y/N's gotten tired. Physically and emotionally. And she can't keep the grudge flame alive. Not with Colby at least. She can't help the soft spot on her heart for him. A spot so bruised and sore she can't believe it hasn't turned stiff as stone. It can't, not when her heart starts racing within his proximity every damn time. Not when a smile spreads across her face every time she looks at him. It hurts, yeah, but she doubts it'll ever go away.

"Like it fucking matters." She whispers, again with the same bitterness from earlier.

"Yes it fucking does, Y/N." It's like his brain has been shut off, all rationality has gone out the window. "You said I wasted us so much time. Don't waste more just because you're angry."

She's quick to bite back, "How can I not be? You deserve it, Colby!"

"I know that!" He might not be rational, bordering on desperate, but he's still self aware enough to see and admit to the error of his ways. But he'll be damned if he lets go of this last string of hope. He's clinging onto it like a twig in a flood. "I know I deserve it. But we don't. What we could be, that doesn't deserve more time down the drain, Y/N."

Sudden banging on the door startles them both, reminding them they're in a very peculiar location. A public bathroom. The ladies' bathroom on top of all.

"One second!" Contrasting the deer-in-headlights panic on Colby's face, Y/N takes it upon herself to handle the situation. The sound has scared him into backing away from her, giving her the required space to hop down. She turns to him, poking a finger to his chest, "Act normal. Nothing happened."

With that said, she leads the way out, unlocking the door and slipping out, giving the two girls waiting outside an apologetic smile. They return two knowing smirks when they see Colby emerge from the bathroom right behind her.

"Sorry, girl. Didn't mean to interrupt." The brunette slurs, winking at them both before following after her friend.

"You're good." Y/N replies politely, muttering after the door closed, "You helped."

The pang in Colby's chest cannot be put into words. Before he's had time to recalibrate, she's already gone, having made her way back into the party, disappearing into the crowd.

And just like that, he feels that last string of hope break.

* * * * *

"Hey, I'm so sorry about what I said earlier." Nate shakes the strands of hair away from his eyes so can properly look down at his semi-sober companion who's currently carrying him towards the elevator.

Y/N can't help but smile at him. It hurts like hell but at this point it's like the twentieth blow to the heart tonight. She's become used to it.

"It's ok, Nate. Thanks for being honest and not leading me on." She's aware she's thanking him for the bare minimum but that little conversation with Colby earlier proved to her she should be grateful for that even. Hey, he could've lied. He could've stringed her along, had his fun and then pulled the 'nothing serious' card.

But that's not Nate. He could never.

You thought Colby would never lie to you either. Now here we are

"No, that's not what I mean. I got scared, you know? Friend groups don't survive romance. But I don't care now that I think about it. We should give it a shot. It could be great. Fuck what they think." His words are slurred and his eyes are glazed over, but each syllable is drowning in sincerity. Drunk words are sober thoughts and all that but she'd rather take it as complete nonsense right now.

"Nate, sweetie..." She readjusts the hold she has on her heels so she can grab hold of his hand, "I doubt you know what you're thinking right now. Let's talk in the morning, ok? Get some sleep, sober up, and then we'll figure it out. Sounds good?" She says gently, as if explaining to a three-year-old that Santa isn't real.

He gives her one of those smiles that were the initial reason she (thought she) fell for him, "Yeah." They stop at the door to his shared hotel room with Sam and Colby. Before she can reach for the doorknob, Nate turns to her, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. She momentarily lets herself play along and leans into his touch, knowing how wrong it actually is. "You're the best, Y/N." Their faces, almost instinctively, inch closer and she doesn't do anything to stop it. Fuck all rationality. This night can't get much worse, how bad could a kiss shared between friends be?

She never gets to find out though because the door to the room is thrown open, forcing them apart in an instant. The person standing on the doorstep makes it ten time worse - because of-fucking-course it's Colby.

Y/N immediately starts regretting what almost just happened, semi-glad it didn't. She shouldn't have let it get that far. She's doing to Nate what she was thankful he didn't do to her - stringing him along. She can barely recognize herself - almost kissing one of her best friends while being completely in love with another.

"Oh, um....sorry. I wanted to come help carry Nate up but.....guess you got that covered." He speaks up, trying to cut the awkwardness him and Y/N are currently drowning in. Nate is none the wiser, waving off his friend's apology with a quick 'don't worry about it'. He gives one last squeeze to her hand before going inside, leaving the two staring at each other.

"Is Sam ok?" Y/N asks, cocking her head to the side to take a peek inside the room where she can see Sam's shoes at the foot of the bed. "That fall was pretty bad."

"Yeah, he's fine." Colby sighs heavily, looking over his shoulder at the blonde in question, "Should've stopped climbing on tables like he has nine lives long ago. This might be the lesson he needed."

"Hey!" She frowns at him, "Have some compassion!"

He chuckles, opening his mouth to respond when a sudden yell cuts him off.

"Y/N? That you? Come in!" It's Sam, his voice conveying the pain he's currently in.

She knows she should be heading back down to the front desk to grab her key and go to her own room. But she can't just leave her friend on 'read' in real life and at such a dire time.

So, despite her better judgement, she goes inside to find Nate already out like a light and Sam laying flat on his bed with an arm over his eyes.

"Hi Sammy. Partied a little too hard there, dude." Y/N smiles softly at him, sitting on the edge of his bed.

Sam removes his arm from his face, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes, "Am I gonna die?"

Simultaneously both her and Colby snort out a laugh, sharing a look of mutual understanding and amusement before she returns her attention to the wounded soldier, "You won't. I promise. Just go to sleep." She replies reassuringly, readjusting the ice pack Colby had placed on his knee, causing him to hiss but still nod.

"Stay here for the night?" He asks, almost pleadingly. This interaction is a good insight on the siblingship they have. Colby and Nate have always been variables to her, but luckily she has Sam to be her constant.

"Where am I gonna sleep, Sam?" She asks lightheartedly, looking around the room at the two already occupied beds and the couch by the window.

"There." Sam points at said couch where Y/N can see some trademark Colby clothes splayed around. That's his little nook, clearly.

"And where's Colby gonna sleep?" She laughs, shooting Colby a soft look to find him already staring at her with the same gentleness she's always felt emanating from his eyes.

"The floor." Sam says with no hesitation, causing you both to laugh.

Colby is quick to flip him off, "Fuck you, man."

All he gets in response is a soft snore, alerting them that Sam too has drifted off. Probably for the best cause that scrape on his knee doesn't look pleasant.

And suddenly, they feel like they're alone. Sure, there are two other people present but a canon firing wouldn't be efficient in waking them up. So, they're practically alone.

Neither of them is happy about it.

"Really though, you should stay. What are you gonna do alone in your room?" Colby breaks the brief silence as he awkwardly struts across the room to subtly clean up the mess he's made on the couch.

Y/N shrugs, "Watch TV, drink some more, snack on something, pass out. The usual." She shrugs, carefully getting up so she doesn't nudge Sam out of his slumber.

"You can do all that here....with some company." He offers, cautious about every word that comes out of his mouth. "We don't have to talk about anything. Just raid the minibar and snack tray."

They should talk, they both know it. They're aware that they're at an age where they are considered adults. And adults talk about difficult shit even when they don't want to. They do what should be done.

Not Y/N and Colby, though.

They've cracked open a bottle of rosé and a bag of Cheetos and are currently sitting in silence. A comfortable one, for a change. They've quietly agreed to have this moment be outside the realm of everything else that occurred tonight. Like an island in a stormy sea. There will come a time when they'll have to talk about it, but most definitely not tonight.

Unless...

"Remember the first time we got drunk together?" She asks, watching the pink liquid splashing around in her glass.

Colby snorts at the memory, or whatever he can recall of it. "Barely."

"Yeah, same." She laughs, downing the rest of her wine, "I remember you disappearing for a good portion of the night. Sam and I found you bruised and bloodied hours later."

He joins her in the reminiscing, "That rose bush really did a number on me."

She takes a moment to look him in the eyes. She stays quiet, analyzing him in a way that heats up his skin as though her gaze were a physical force, "You didn't actually fall in a rose bush, did you?"

Ah, there's another lie. A small one in comparison to the first but still a lie. And since it's a night of confessions..."Remember Austin?"

He just unlocked a forgotten part of her brain, "Oh shit yeah! Whatever happened to that guy?"

A dry chuckle rattles his chest, his hand coming up to rub his face, "Well, in short, he liked you a little too much for my liking. So he found out what happens when I'm jealous and drunk."

Y/N can't help but smile. She's a simple girl, of course she finds it hot. But she'll be damned if she lets him notice. She quickly masks it with a joke, "Oh my God, you killed him!"

He laughs, shaking his head before leaning towards her a bit as if he's about to spill some government secrets, "Full disclosure, between you and me..." His eyebrows lift, waiting for her to nod a vow of silence before continuing, "I got my ass kicked."

She busts out laughing, undermining all concern for her two sleeping friends, "I'm not surprised." She teases him, reaching for the bottle for a refill.

Colby doesn't let that happen though. He quickly snatches the bottle, keeping it out of her reach, "Excuse you?!"

"You can't be salty after admitting it yourself." For caution purposes, she sets down the glass before getting up on her knees, extending her arm in a futile attempt at retrieving the stolen item. To her dismay, he just stretches his arm further, making it that much harder. "Oh, fuck you..." she mutters, hovering herself over his lap precariously, putting them in a pretty compromising position.

Colby kicks it into high gear, freeing his hand by setting the bottle down so he can sit her in his lap with a slight tug, earning him a small gasp from her. She settles into him just perfectly, like this is far from the first time they've found each other in such predicament.

Their faces are inches apart. His hands are on her sides, hers are on his shoulders. The proximity is more intoxicating than the alcohol they've consumed throughout the night. They are high on each other and are just now realizing it. Or just now admitting it.

"I thought we weren't gonna talk about it." She whispers, afraid of breaking the thin veil of tranquility currently surrounding them.

"We're not talking about it." His tone mimics hers as though he's afraid he'll scare her off. His grip on her is gentle but firm. It'll physically hurt if he tries to force himself to let go of her.

Luckily he doesn't have to because, before either of them know it, their lips collide.

The innocence of the kiss is brief and gone within seconds. Hands start roaming, breaths are shared, lines are crossed. And, technically, they aren't talking about it. But still, plenty is being said. A decade of pent up emotion is coming to fruition. It's nothing short of passionate, desperate almost.

Right on-brand for them.

* * * * *

"Hi."

"Hi."

They're fully clothed, cuddled up on the couch and alone in the room. Not all lines were crossed last night of fear they might regret it in the morning. However, if their smiles are anything to go by, nothing is being regretted.

Neither of them attempts to move from their comfortable little bubble. Neither of them cares that Nate and Sam probably witnessed this sight when they woke up. Neither of them tries checking the time. It's their way of trying to make the moment last longer into infinity.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Colby breaks the silence, threading his fingers through her hair.

Her ear is directly over his heart, listening to its steady rhythm she finds so much comfort in, "Just that I can't even lie right. I tell my mom one lie and it ends up becoming true."

Laughter vibrates throughout his chest, sending waves through her body as well, "Is this you asking me out?"

"Do you want it to be?" Y/N shrugs, tilting her head to look up at him.

He smirks down at her, "So much for rebelling, huh?"

"Shut up."

Knowing he won't do so on his own, she tends to the matter herself by pressing her lips to his, effectively shutting him up.

Tagging: @benbarnesprettygurl @beanredacted @m1tsk1l0v3er

[jurassicshields]

Part of my Camp Cretaceous season 4 and 5 AU. Here Darius and Brooklyn find a photo on the yacht, showing Mitch, Tiff, Daniel, and Mila. It was dated for one month before the campers went to Isla Nublar, and that Mr. Kon was in touch with the poachers for an unknown job. The two also soon discover that Mila is Kenji's mother who he claimed died a few years ago. But what is the truth?

*Mitch Lang and Tiff Lang are running some operation for Mr. Kon. They are to begin once they get the go from Mr. Kon. *Photo taken somewhere inland by Kash Lang(most likely their son?) *Mila is Daniel's wife. She is said to have died at least 4 years ago after a car accident that Daniel managed to survive.  *Mila was known to collect various cultural outfits and objects, her style varying on her mood. 

AU OVERVIEW- The Campers have finally escaped Isla Nublar and are heading toward what they believe to be Costa Rica. But an unexpected turn of events leaves the six shipwrecked on an island full of secrets, mysteries, and threats they have never encountered before. 

SCENE SCRIPT-

Darius: What’s that?

Brooklyn jumps slightly and pulls back. Darius can now see the image that they found below, with its edge now folded. 

Darius: Do you know who they are?

Brooklyn: No, but you said he looks like Kenji’s father. Maybe there’s some relation?

She points to the man holding onto a woman, his face stone cold but looking like a person you respect. His hair was graying and an ebony tablet was in his other hand.

Brooklyn: Wonder what he was doing? Did our poachers know him at some point?

Darius goes closer, looking over all the details, then takes the photo and flips it over. On the back, he sees a small text written in the top left. It is barely noticeable and written in scratchy handwriting.

Brooklyn: I must have missed that.

Darius: November 8, 2015. Taken at-- I can’t read that part, their handwriting is too messed up. 

Brooklyn: The 8th was about a month before Jurassic World fell. So this is very recent and they all met not too long ago.

Darius(reading): Mitch Lang, Tiff Lang, Daniel Kon, Mila Kon, and the image is taken by Kash Lang.

Brooklyn quietly breathes in surprise.

Brooklyn: That is Kenji’s father! We called it! Wait! Is that his mother too? 

Brooklyn stares down at the photo, taking in the woman.

Brooklyn: She looks like him. They have the same facial expression when being forced to do something. Mrs. Kon must not like to stand for pictures.

Brooklyn says a few more things, but Darius doesn’t seem to hear them. Brooklyn shakes his arm and he looks at her.

Brooklyn: That’s Kenji’s mother! Ha! Not what I- What’s wrong?

Darius: Kenji… he… he told me that--

Darius: -his mother is dead.

Brooklyn takes a moment to register what he said, but once it does she looks sick. She glances back down at the photo, then back up.

Brooklyn: His parents wouldn’t lie to him? No one could do that to their kid.

Darius: Kenji said back when we first met that his mother died a few years ago. I think it was from a car wreck. He told me-

Kenji: (cuts in with a tired voice and a yawn) I told you what?

READ THE (NOT COMPLETED) STORY/SCRIPT HERE: https://www.wattpad.com/1340465160-camp-cretaceous-season-4-rewrite-rewrite

[ihopesocomic]

You said that I Hope So is not a "My Pride but better", it's an original story of yours. Fair. I don't disagree. But do you really think you're SUCH a better writer than tribble? 😭 Because every time someone PMs you in a way that isn't negative, you start to completely shit on it, and compare it to how you decided to do it differently in your own story and how it's so much better. Hold on there. I just think artists/writers should be careful when they worship and praise their own works too much while shitting on others works that often were born from a similar idea. But I'm not hating, it's just funny tho.

It's not about us "thinking we're SUCH better writers than Tribble", it's more that's your interpretation of what we're saying. I'm willing to bet that if we didn't have this comic, the argument would be more along the lines of 'well, I'd like to see you do better!' instead. This is just the flip side of the coin, I feel.

I say this because you seem to have this idea that she and her writing are untouchable to criticism vs. something like Warrior Cats, (which is where a lot of MP's narrative structure is inspired from), which even the self-admitted fans can find fault in. Still doesn't mean they can't find the potential in those books and make their own AUs or w/e without also suggesting they're better writers than the Erins. (Either way, certain expectations come with being a professional writer.)

Even without the badly-handled topics, her show just isn't written well. Dialogue is clunky and non-conversational, things get mentioned but never get followed through on, character motivations are all over the place. We have a whole three hour video talking about this if you'd care to watch it. But there are other things that I feel make Tribble an objectively bad writer. This isn't us "shitting on her". These are just fundamental factors that go against How to be a Good Writer 101:

Tribble never listened to criticism and she used serious issues as entertainment value. No one can argue that even highly-rated writers can produce incredibly sloppy work when 1) they feel they don't have to listen to criticism and 2) they feel they don't have to do proper research with a topic they want to cover in their work while knowing next to nothing about it.

As well as being a professional in her field, Tribble also had resources at her disposal that most indie creators cannot access. She had an editor and beta script readers helping her. In short, she had plenty of opportunities and guidance to stop and look back on what she had produced and make improvements. She did not and, what's more: she put on a show of doing so via asking for criticism but not taking it on board.

We know this because I tried to give her advice on several occasions, only to be shot down. For example, Tribble was very much aware of some of the underlying issues within the show (i.e. how bad it looked that Hover allowed Nothing to be assaulted by Quickmane in Episode 5 with zero reaction) because we brought it to her attention, she proceeded to not take our suggestions on how to improve things on board for one reason or another.

And I don't think I need to go into how it feels very backhanded that an able-bodied creator is producing a "pro-disability" show and yet refused to take on criticism by disabled viewers. (I would say that thinking so highly of oneself to the point where advice goes ignored even when asked for does not a good writer make.)

I also don't know if you're under the impression that we're tearing into some hobbyist's passion project but that's not what this is. My Pride was a professional production, made by a team and it had a budget of around 140-150k CAD, which was funded by Canadian taxpayers. We've had to repeatedly point this out because Tribble has failed to gone out of her way to make this clear. Presumably so people like you feel bad for her.

So, I'm sorry but it's perfectly fair game to criticise MP and how Tribble went about producing it. She had plenty of opportunities to improve what many deemed to be shortcomings. She did not. She thought she knew better, even better than those who have experienced the actual oppression she sought to depict in an edgy, disrespectful manner.

And that's why we feel she's bad writer. Her fans are free to disagree with us, but I've yet to come across any real argument outside of 'y'all r just mean!', even though we've been courteous enough to not get personal when criticizing her as a writer/director.

Our writing isn't perfect. We've always consistently made that clear. We have had several instances throughout the process of making this comic where readers have made good points that we have brought on to improve the writing. Hell, I've discovered things I didn't even know about my own conditions via some of the readers of this comic. The overreaching lesson is that you should listen to your readers, because they just want you to produce a better narrative. Unfortunately, I feel Tribble did not feel the same way about her audience, and I'm also getting the same vibes from you, anon. Purely by your notion that criticism of a show or not scolding our fans when they say they have a preference like the MP fans do = "shitting on MP". Which is fine but I'm going to have to say I disagree. It's not mean or problematic for me or any of my disabled readers to have strong opinions about a show that misappropriates our oppression.

Or that I think my writing is amazing when it's more that I'm improving what I personally feel needs to be improved. Such as how the disabled are always depicted in mainstream media. And I'll continue to do so. You can come at me with the reductive gatekeeping that is that I - as a disabled person - do not have the right to have an opinion on an able-bodied creator writing ableism badly and how it can be improved all you want, but I think that's ultimately more of a commentary on you than me. c: - RJ

[toreii]

Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Review

Let me just preface this post by saying I’m still on the fence about sharing my thoughts. Like many, I am highly disappointed with the direction this DLC went. I would have never imagined this was in store for me last year during the summer when I first watched the Lin Kuei trailer. Khaos Reigns provoked two days of awful headaches followed by days of disillusion. Yes, NRS played me for a fool (thank god I did not purchase this). I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and it came to bite me in the ass. If I had a physical copy of the game, I’d chuck it in the trash. I’m finding it difficult to proceed forward which is hard because I like to see things through even if it sucks. All I can do is protect my vision of Bi-Han and staying true to the old lore as I try and move on.

That being said, to address my take on this expansion:

To begin, the elephant in the freaking room--Sektor and Cyrax.

I am a Lin Kuei fan overall. Not a big fan of him in general, but there has been appreciation for him and Cyrax throughout the years. When I learned that both were going to be genderbent, I had a little bit of misgivings suddenly changing things drastically. But, again, I gave NRS the benefit of the doubt. Since this is a new era, I was on board with it until the rumors started circulating about both being love interests for the brothers. I was like "That makes no sense whatsoever." To me, the Lin Kuei has always been like a brotherhood. In no given time, has there ever been any indication of personal relationships outside of camaraderie. For example, Cyrax and Smoke being vehemently upset over Bi-Han's death in MK9, and not just Kuai Liang.

The argument can be constantly made that this is a new timeline, and it's Liu Kang's creation over and over. But, when you have that man (Dominic) constantly saying the timelines are canon, but not really. But, still are. It's incredibly hard to take anything seriously right now especially with the constant flip flopping that man does for the sake of the current script. Which is another point, but back to the bastardization of our two Lin Kuei girls.

I wanted to believe in a strong, female Sektor, who has her own ideals which we can all clearly see. Like her past iterations, she lives, breathes, and bleeds Lin Kuei. I wanted to see a Sektor who slowly, but surely descended into her own madness of corruption as she pursued her goals for the Cyber Initiative. Sektor has always been known for his technological genius, and she would be no different. To see her potential constantly get staunched for her adulation and obsession for Bi-Han was hard to witness. I can understand that this may be a flaw for her, but it is a very shitty flaw. Because this one trait absolutely negates everything she stands for. I can see that both she and Bi-Han use each other to a certain extent where it seems fit. I know her horrible romance is the center of focus right now, but if you listen to her intros with Bi-Han, it seems to be all business between them. There is barely any indication that their relationship goes beyond the realm of the clan and into a personal tryst. Sektor calls it love, but it's not quite there. I mean, there's love for the grandmaster, but the love that seems to be implied between the two is not quite there. At least, in my view.

I don't know about Sektor yet, but I already deduced that Bi-Han isn't someone who's desperate to correct anyone on the spot. He doesn't have to. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, so of course he runs with whatever people say about him. He's unbothered by anyone's opinions of him. When Kuai Liang told Cyrax the truth about Bi-Han letting their father die, Bi-Han could have stepped in at any given moment and contradicted Kuai Liang. Instead, he chose to own every word Kuai said. I've had this feeling since the end of the base campaign that Kuai Liang simply took pieces of what Bi-Han said, and spun them to fit his own narrative. (Killing your father and letting him die because of an accident are two completely different things.)

Anyways, going back to Sektor, that scene where Bi-Han's mind was being restored seems to be the only shoehorned indication that there is more to them than meets the eye. But, again, it was badly placed, badly presented as well. First of all, Sektor really should not have been there in that room at all. From a storytelling perspective, I'm supposed to believe that both Sektor and Bi-Han have this obsessive romance and codependency between each other in a few seconds of frames, than the brotherhood between Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and Tomas??? And this was my worst fear for Bi-Han too. I did not want him to be "saved" by romance. I wanted his salvation to come from within himself as he reflected on his poor decisions and the tragedy of his downfall which sadly we were robbed and negated from. If the scene only involved Liu Kang, Bi-Han, and Kuai Liang, it would have been more poignant. There has always been that story between the two brothers. I understand, this is not the same Kuai of two timelines ago. But, why is MK: Onslaught's ScorpKuai a lot more wholesome than our MK1 iteration??? He was absolutely horrified meeting MK11 Noob. He couldn't understand why Bi-Han became Noob (and how). But, Kuai's first instinct in the DLC is to be absolutely pissed and disgusted? "Your new attire suits you. It is as black as your heart." Darling, no. I would have been more pleased seeing Kuai approach the table and have this conflicting expression. The hatred can still be there, but the concern and sorrow for whom was once family to him, and his eldest brother needed to be portrayed. I mean, we sort of got it with the whole coffin scene at the end. But, in that scene, in that moment, that more than Bi-Han reaching for Sektor and touching foreheads with her is a lot more powerful in terms of storytelling. I don't know why NRS is so against these two hashing it out and resolving their issues.

Now to Cyrax...oh my god...

According to Kuai Liang in the main story, Cyrax and Sektor were supposed to be absolutely loyal to Bi-Han and would abet his corruption than follow him. We obviously see that in Sektor, but what the hell happened to Cyrax? It leads me to believe that Dominic and others suddenly decided to change the script. Mind you, I firmly believe that they did so. Sektor and Cyrax being women in this game must've been a decision that came after everything was said and done for the base campaign. I'm a bit skeptical on Bi-Han suddenly turning on Cyrax because I do recall some time ago listening to some leaked audio in which Bi-Han says "Kuai Liang was supposed to give Cyrax back." It made me think "Oh shit. Does Cyrax get held hostage or something?" Like, what the hell happened? And, I'm realizing, are we missing dialogue now? There is so much that does not make sense!!! Why would they turn on her all of a sudden?!

She's supposed to be close to Bi-Han just as much as Sektor. And suddenly, Cyrax is presented as a free thinking individual who abides by her own ideals and tradition. The moment that is threatened, she feels like she can no longer follow Bi-Han and his ambitions. To make it worse, she feels so much remorse with Kuai Liang that she's ready to give up her life in penance to make up for it. It just makes no sense. And to make it worse, she spends the rest of the DLC following Kuai Liang like a little puppy ready to serve her new grandmaster. Why was she even presented as a strong individual when all she wants is Kuai Liang's adoration as well? Not to mention, it was a really gross line to include in the intros where Noob threatens to spill her relationship with Kuai Liang to Harumi. We're seriously cheapening these two women to typical high school romance tropes? Like others have expressed, this is fanfiction levels of madness.

Kuai Liang is all levels of messed up too. I am so sick and tired of him prancing around like he does no wrong, and everyone believes every word he says. Suddenly, he's the self appointed grand hero of the story when you have Liu Kang's champions sitting around and twiddling their thumbs? Why not place faith in them and send them with Kuai to resolve the current threat. I understand Kuai's Shirai Ryu is now the new protectors, but you also have these other people and beings who are preparing themselves as well for these upcoming threats. I hate that they just suddenly bled into the background, and disappeared completely. Somebody needs to not only knock Bi-Han but Kuai Liang as well a few pegs down. He too is not without his own flaws and they need to be addressed. And Liu Kang's line "Trust your wife. Avail yourself of her wisdom." The same thing with Sektor and Bi-Han. Here too. This fucking trope cannot be it. Love cannot only be the thing that saves the day. His anger, his vengeance, is no where near the levels of Hanzo. Hanzo legit had a reason to be like that. Kuai is literally throwing a bitch fit at Bi-Han, and pointing fingers anywhere but himself. Seriously, his anger and disgust against Cyrax was so unwarranted. And every time she was flustered and tried to explain, he barely gave her time to say a word. Always cutting her off, and rejecting her apologies until the end because it is implied Harumi stepped in. And he seems to just completely simmer down a bit in the presence of Noob. Where was the you who tried to take him on earlier in Chaosrealm? Suddenly, you don't feel like butting heads with your brother? Kuai Liang is such a hypocrite, and I'm tired of seeing it.

Liu Kang was also another that just got dragged through the mud. A lot of his words and actions did not make sense. He's content with disposing of Titan Shang Sung and Titan Quan Chi, but he won't let Bi-Han finish off Titan Havik because he isn't sure how he's tied to his timeline, and doesn't want to kill innocent lives? What about the timelines tied to the other two? Liu Kang had no problem ending those. Why is Titan Havik's timeline any different? Bi-Han is right. Why does that timeline matter when the most important one is theirs, Liu Kang's timeline? He tells Raiden and Kung Lao to do their best and pray they make it out alive, when Liu Kang could have better prepared them. Gets his ass handed to him, can't even go save Geras himself. Sends Kuai, Cyrax, and Sektor to Chaosrealm in blindly. And, snaps at Bi-Han for the most part towards the end instead of having a meaningful talk with him. Not just simply telling him "This is what you are meant to do. Defend Earthrealm." Well, geez, why not elaborate on that, Liu Kang? Can't you give Bi-Han a few minutes of your time to air out grievances and come to a consensus?

And what the hell happened to Titan Havik? Is he dead? Does he still live? Trapped in the void? The Kamidogu were briefly mentioned, and then dropped. They were hyped to be of importance in this DLC. I'm certain they'll make their return eventually if NRS continues the story involving Onaga when the time comes. But, Havik had plans for them as well. And we only see him fusing with the Kamidogu. That final fight with him felt pretty lackluster. Just a regular match like any other.

We are definitely missing script, and scenes. We were supposed to have gotten a whole lot more. Ed Boon said this was their project for the next few years. I suppose they felt compelled not just to omit certain things, but cut out others for future DLCs. This was setup to be more than what we got. The bar absolutely fell short of what the end product was. To charge full price is absolutely heinous. I'm sorry, but I do not have $50 on hand for each DLC that they plan to release. They charged full price for the main game, and now they plan to do so for every little story line that comes after? I can't in good conscious support this kind of marketing. I'm devastated with the story. Like, I could work and make sense and justify every decision made with the main story to a degree. I can't do the same with Khaos Reigns.

I know I was making gifs of Bi-Han last week, but after KR...my heart right now really isn't in MK1. Every time I come across posts and remotely start thinking about it, I get headaches. They are not as bad as they initially were, but this is how horribly this DLC affects me. It keeps giving me headaches. I know I probably regurgitated the same sentiments and ideas as many others have already. But, a friend told me it would be cathartic to do this. So, instead of my journal, I am here expunging these thoughts and emotions. I don't know what my future with the brand will entail, but godspeed NRS. I wish you well on your future endeavors, and that's really saying a lot on my end. I can't even hope anymore. They massacred my heart and left me to die just like papa Lin Kuei (I wish we had a name for him).

[violetasteracademic]

Hello!! I absolutely adore your posts and how well you've researched and thought everything out. I am curious what you think about Mor being Azriel's mate. I go back and forth on the question - it's a lot to tackle with Mor's sexuality and how mates are chosen etc. I feel like there's some language that could indicate they're mates, but I know it's not a popular theory in the Elriel bubble and ACOTAR fandom as a whole. It would also solve the question of "what would Azriel do if him and Elain aren't mates, but he found his mate later on?" Just curious if you have any thoughts on the matter. :)

Hello my love! First of all, I want to genuinely thank you for your kind words. I have quite a few days in this fandom where I wonder if I fit in here, but my deep enjoyment for writing theory posts and fanfics keeps me going! You caught me on a day I was sort of in my feels about it, so it was really lovely to see a kind word attached to the ask!

I am 100% a Morrigan and Azriel are Cauldron breeding mates just like L/ucien and Elain truther, and I have soooo much to get into about it and am bringing my usual receipts. I'm pretty convinced that even if she ultimately opts not to go that direction, she for sure was thinking heavily about it.

This post is EXCEPTIONALLY long (as usual) because I think Morrigan is a character that receives unjust hate in every microcosm of the fandom and some things need to be noted, and I hope you all will give it a chance even if you dislike Mor or hate this theory!

It is important to remember that every character is in fact *not* a real person, but the author. And sometimes character flaws are not intentionally curated for arcs and development, but they are author flaws. I believe this is partly the case with Morrigan. I don't spend a lot of time critiquing SJM. This is not because she is above reproach, it's simply because there are plenty of people out there doing it and there are valid spaces for that. That being said, I cannot address the Morrigan situation without addressing the very real issue of SJM and her blind spots when it comes to representation. This is something that SJM and Bloomsbury have addressed and made necessary steps to improve:

Time article published January 30th 2024, found here.

SJM has fallen into a lot of bad tropes and stereotypes when it comes to her BIPOC and LGBTQ representation, to the point where she has hired sensitivity readers to ensure she does not continue to so do. This is a great thing, and personally I think sensitivity readers should be the bare minimum and the absolute norm and not solely employed in response to criticism. Alas, it is a new addition and her past mistakes live on.

Sexuality is a spectrum, and while some people might identify with the way SJM has represented it, she had a pattern that she did not break until recently: Tokenizing sexual representation as bi characters interested in having sex with all genders and orientations without experiencing emotional attraction outside of their preferred gender.

*TOG spoiler* The Aedion bi reveal in the second to last book served literally no purpose other than- look! More representation! He had no romantic or emotionally intimate experiences with men throughout the series, but very suddenly and randomly reveals he has sex with men. It is mentioned once, then never again, because he is pursuing a heterosexual relationship. That is a valid experience with sexuality but in the context of ToG it was a brow-raising and unearned attempt to throw in an extra queer character because she was being criticized. That's a hey you tried but maybe do better next time.

But then it happened again with Helion- freely having sex and experiencing physical attraction with both men and women but only suggestions of having fallen in love with a woman, and will likely only persue a hetero relationship.

Then it happened again with Morrigan (with a slightly flipped script), who only experiences love and romance with women but freely has sex with men. Now we see a *pattern* and at this point its like, mmkay, skill issue. Even if it does feel authentic and representative to *some* readers, it is also a reflection of the authors limitations exploring emotional intimacy with her bi characters and just treating them as wanting/willing to have sex with anyone while only like liking just boys or just girls.

I bring all of this up because I am going to bring in my usual methods of comparisons, themes, development, ect- but I am typically talking about things SJM did exceptionally well. When it comes to Morrigan, I don't necessarily think she has done things all that well. But the threads are still there, and my love for Morrigan and experience with her themes live beyond an irritating skill issue on the authors part. Lets get into it.

I've made quite a few posts about the usage of the mating bond as a plot device and the development of theme. The best one to catch up on if you'd like is probably this one here.

The biggest indicators to me that Morrigan is Azriel's corrupted Cauldron (aka breeding) mate are twofold: parallel behavior between Mor and Lucien as well as the development of Morrigan's theme of her value being tied to her breeding in ACOWAR alongside the introduction of the mating bond being nothing less than a tool for powerful breeding, also for the first time in ACOWAR.

With the confirmation that the Asteri corrupted the Cauldron, along with the conversation regarding the Asteri forcing mated pairs outside of sexual orientations and not caring (*HOSAB), SJM doubled down on all of this. The Asteri need powerful offspring. They will force queer women to mate with men to do it.

Spoiler alert: Celestina does *not* prefer males. And the Asteri do not care.

CC also, in my opinion, cemented the two-bond theory. The Mother Bond (also known as Urd or Wyrd) the true soul-mated pairs, and Breeding Bond- created at the behest of the Asteri.

With breeding bonds, you can experience a sense of ownership and possessiveness over someone you are not even remotely romantically interested in:

Both Mor and L/ucien go stiff during representations of their *alleged mates interacting romantically with someone else even when there is no attraction or emotional intimacy. For L/ucien, he doesn't even know Elain. He doesn't automatically assume they will even be together, because he wants to know more about her personality and decide if they are a good fit. Honestly? Super healthy and valid.

Morrigan is having her moment during ACOFAS. She is very much out as queer (again, with some confusion of whether or not she is bi due to a skill issue on the author's end, but 100% confirmed to not be romantically interested in men) so why is she going tense at the sight of Azriel acting like a BDE husband to Elain? The unjustified and unsympathetic take (imo) is that she is being weird and jealous and wants Azriel's attention even though she doesn't want him. This makes no sense. She has actually only ever acted positively towards Elain, and before this dinner mused on Azriel giving Elain truth-teller without a shred of jealousy. But then to see them together, even though she does not want Azriel and only wishes for his happiness, she tenses, then recovers quickly. To me, both of these moments indicate a jerk reaction to the breeding bond at work.

There is also this idea of feel a pull to explore their *alleged mate just once:

L/ucien actually has already seen Elain, and although he had some immediate instinctive reactions, it didn't leave him immediately feeling like this was the woman he was supposed to be with. Alternatively, Morrigan deeply loves Azriel, just not in that way. She loves him so much that sometimes she wonders if she should try, just once, just to know for sure, even though she is not capable of falling in love with men. Both of these scenes are from ACOWAR, and tie into the way mating bonds are finally described, and how most mates feel like they should try:

Even though neither Mor or L/ucien experience romantic feelings for their mates, they feel a pull to try. They think about giving things a chance just to be sure. This is not something any of our other mates have experienced.

This passage also leads me to another important note- which is the severity of mating bond rejections. Again, all of this is in ACOWAR and thematically connects. Both Elain and Mor have very good reason to be afraid of a mating bond rejection. It can drive a male mad and make them go violently insane. We can criticize both women all day long about how they should just reject their mates and have the conversation so everyone can move on, but when this is what is on the table for them? A man possibly killing because of the power of the mating bond? That is no joke.

The only reason Morrigan slept with Helion is because she was sick and terrified over Azriel handing Eris his ass because he called her a slut. Mor has already seen Azriel act in an uncontrolled and violent manner that could not easily be stopped on her behalf. If she is afraid of what a mating bond rejection will do to Azriel, the depth and complexity of her decision, and her behavior to try to distance and avoid the conversation is a lot more sympathetic. I also believe that Morrigan, Azriel, and Elain will be doing some work together in Vallahan, and the issue of the Cauldron being wrong for both Azriel and Elain will resolve during that storyline. You can read more about that here.

And then of course, there is this:

Rhys only brings up Mor when Azriel brings up the Cauldron. That feels extremely intentional to me. I think Rhys either knows or assumes that Azriel and Mor have a mating bond. I think both Az and Mor know (I also think Azriel absolutely knows Mor is queer, and their weirdness and his constant confusion and staring at her has more to do with that than being in love with her, because he doesn't understand why she is sleeping with men at all.) Crack theory, but I think Eris knows. What happened between Mor and Eris isn't a secret, it was all revealed in ACOFAS. But I think somehow, for some reason, Eris is also aware of the mating bond between Az and Mor, which is why Morrigan gets so pissed when Eris needles her about not telling the whole truth. She isn't trying to hide what Eris did to make herself look better (he didn't do much, really, still left her to die even though he did her a solid by not accepting her as his wife) but he also knew that a Blood Duel could be called by Az over her.

Here's the thing: ACOWAR states that some courts allow men to kill each other over their mate choosing or having other partners. The bonus chapter clarifies that violence as the Blood Duel. I do not believe the Blood Duel can be called over anyone over any situation- it is specific to mates. I could be wrong, but it seems strange that Rhys would talk about outlawed violent practices that is not allowed in his court but is in others, and then we would see the Blood Duel brought up as the Autumn Court tradition, and not see them as one in the same:

Ultimately, all of these characters are grappling with their choices being affected by deeply held cultural beliefs about the mating bond.

If Azriel and Mor are breeding mates, she is struggling with genuine love for him but being unable to love him romantically. She thematically is dealing with hiding her sexuality because there is no greater dishonor to the culture of her family than a woman not being used for sale and breeding. If Azriel and Mor are mates, so much of her behavior and her themes and experiences make so much more sense. Rhysand's response to Azriel thinking the Cauldron was wrong when he has a mate in the Inner Circle whom he already loves makes more sense. Azriel knowing Mor is queer and not understanding why she sleeps with men but also not pushing her to have a conversation about their bond makes more sense.

Everything makes more sense if Az and Mor are mates.

If they are not, well, skill issue, I guess.

Either way, I truly hope Mor gets her HEA and SJM's employed sensitivity writers will help her do it justice.

How did we do? Did anyone stick with me on this one? Have I won you over? I can't wait to see what happens, however it pans out! And I'm grateful for the addition of sensitivity readers to Sarah's work. I hope she does her best to represent as well as she can!

[backjustforberena]

i will join you in your corlys thoughts!

the scene in the last ep reminded me of the scene when laena died, though there was no arguing, it was them both trying to make the other see things from their pov, and when it got hard, corlys pulled away, yet again.

which has always been his way.

corlys loves rhaenys, there’s no doubt about that - it’s clear in the way he looks at her, in the way he speaks to her - but it seems he is a bit self-absorbed in the sense that he can’t be there for her when he’s shaken. how can you be someone’s rock when the ground you’re one is shaken? and obviously he can’t be vulnerable with her. he must carry his house on his back. and if he can’t, he might as well be dead, according to the deleted scripts from 1x10.

i think that scene is the most vulnerable that we have seen corlys be, and it’s by no choice of his own - he’s physically weak, injured, and still he tries to make her laugh. still he tries to comfort her by telling her all the things he thinks she’s been wanting to hear. and when rhaenys sheds a tear, his face, you see him look concerned, can basically hear the “oh shit, oh no, how do i fix this!?”

I think one of the very things that attracted rhaenys to corlys (according to the actress at least) - his masculinity, his macho-ness, his the very thing that is pretty detrimental to their relationship.

(sorry for rambling in your ask box!)

YOU CAN RAMBLE IN MY INBOX AT ANY TIME. Because I think you're right.

I don't think Corlys pulls away because things are hard. Bear with me. I think he's absolutely fine when things get hard because if that weren't the case then they wouldn't be such a unit. It would be a fatal flaw in their relationship if whenever things got hard, he just shut down or ran away. If there are external forces threatening them, then he's in it. If there are people who are messing with them or she needs him to be there by her side, then he will, provided he isn't compromised himself. And we do have examples and instances and a general vibe of them being able to have very difficult conversations with each other and being able to argue fairly and come to a settlement.

However, as I alluded to, these are able to happen when he isn't compromised himself. When they can both come at it as pillars of strength, as robust in their own opinion, when it's fire meeting fire, if you like. The biggest example of that is, as you say, 1x07, and alongside 2x03, they both end with Corlys letting go of Rhaenys's hand when she wants him to stay. It's easy to say that both are also conversations concerning succession, but I think it's more to do with mortality, legacy and, something else important to me, Corlys's emotional vulnerabilities. In both cases, he's wounded emotionally. In 1x07, Rhaenys artfully and bluntly deconstructs his heroic notions and his illusions about the boys and his motivations. In 2x03, the circumstances are far less dramatic but he's facing mounting pressure to step up but also to move on: pick a new heir, come to the council meetings, the Queen needs you etc etc. For all he professes not to be an invalid, I think there's a lot to be said by the fact that he feels he needs to point that out. But he's not processed everything, he's still grieving, he can't shut it away, he doesn't want to consider these things.

But both those episode conversation end in Corlys being shaken. Of him not having the answer, not wanting the answer, not wanting to hurt his wife. "History does not remember blood, it remembers names" and "Then we must hope to…see our way forward, in time. [...] Then… it is well that I am a good sailor" are, I'm sorry to say, absolutely flipping insubstantial things to say. They don't MEAN anything except 'I don't want to talk about it, here is a sticking plaster" because he doesn't know what to do! Does he truly believe blood doesn't matter? Or does he hope and pray that it's true because that's the path they are on? Does he truly think his skills will let him survive this war? Or that they'll have the rational discussion about it all later? Or is he just trying to make her smile and not worry for a second because that's all he can offer her?

He's doing what he can. And he's self-aware. The last thing he wants to do his hurt his wife. It's like he has a physical reaction to her pain. He hates it. And it hurts him when he can't ease it, especially if that's linked up to his own failings or simply he's just not feeling able to. Steve said in press for S1 that Corlys doesn't forget about Rhaenys being passed over and that it looked like he cares more than she does. That can be applied to all of this. He cares that she's hurt. He FEELS her hurt.

To me, two things make him unstuck: one is when his wife is hurting, and the other is when he doesn't know what to do. And when those two combine, so that his wife is hurting and he doesn't know what to do (usually specifically to address that hurt), then it's lethal.

At the moment, he does do so much. He is happy to see her, he spends time with her, he's holding her, loving her, listening to her, they're having sex, they're comforting one another, they're connecting. But what she is asking, however indirectly, from him... He can't do. Because those conversations are going to hurt him and he can't take that pain on. He can't risk failing. He can't risk hurting her. He wants to have those talks. He knows he'll have to. But just a bit longer... if Rhaenys holds on a little longer then he'll be that man again.

I also think that seeing Rhaenys being vulnerable scares him and shocks him. As it is two ways: she's his rock. He's not just hers. So if she's feeling the loss of him... He's also feeling the loss of her. The vulnerability is mirrored.

Which is tragic because YOU GUYS ARE LITERALLY HAVING A LUNCH DATE WITH MUCH PDA.

Anyways, this probably went in circles or I've just regurgitated a lot of ideas from this morning.

[beevean]

It took me a lot of time to put into words that Isaac, simply, wants to feel important.

On one hand, there's his wanting to be the perfect weapon for Dracula. He is subservient to a T, he changes his body for him, he refuses to think about what they're doing, in pursue of surpassing Hector and becoming the Lord's favorite. He never accomplished that. It eats him up inside, and drives him to do illogical actions, like insisting on fighting Hector on fair terms to prove himself.

"I'm not as thoughtful as you, Hector... If you have a good weapon, you use it, don't you?"

"Good for you that you can judge our Lord’s deeds… It’s not bad for my position. But I will not tolerate any disservice and betrayal towards Him."

"I will not deny your loyalty..."

On the other, there's Hector. Isaac isn't going to submit to Hector, of course, not when Dracula indirectly forced him in that position already. At first, he wants to be at least his equal: he respects him but as I mentioned he wants to prove himself against him in a fight. Again, he doesn't accomplish that, and in fact Hector defeats him when wounded - and, in a last spit to his face, leaves him alive, unworthy of being finished off.

"Take a look at this pathetic sight, my Lord, my broken sword used as a cane. My body is the proof of Your expectations for him. Please ridicule me, scold me, next time I will do whatever it takes."

But then, he chooses another way. For three years, Hector dominates Isaac's every thought, as he rots away, hidden, a waste, a failure, while Hector gets everything he ever wanted.

"Mhh... You make that kind of face too… I've gotten a lot better too... How many times has the moon waxed and waned, I wonder?

"That’s a nice expression… I'm happy. Good pain is proof of life. I won't afford you the peace of death easily: live, spit blood, and then…"

He writes Hector's name under his boot, which can be interpreted in many ways, but I personally see it as a symbol of how thoroughly Hector owns him, like a toy.

So, then, Isaac flips the script on him.

I have spent words already on the significance of Isaac killing Rosaly. I also mentioned how repaying Hector with the same trauma he had inflicted on Isaac, albeit unwittingly, puts Hector in the position of the one being "owned" like a toy. Now it's Hector the one who is obsessed with Isaac, ruled by his anger and hatred. Isaac can play with him as he pleases. He can move him around like his puppet, and Hector will obey, not because he's stupid, but because Isaac has seized control of his emotions and thoughts. Isaac went from being dead in Hector's eyes to being his only reason left to live. At last, for a short while, Isaac was the most important person in Hector's life - and you bet he was relishing in that power, he who was made to feel worthless by the same man.

Hurts even more than even in his death, he was being as second best, as faulty material for his Lord's resurrection, his body left to be crushed under the castle.

It contrasts with Hector, who wants mostly to feel safe.

"The ability to rebel and blaspheme against the Divine Providence is accepted without blame. A place where we are allowed to exist."

When he talks in the MF manga that he sought power for the sake of remaining human, he was most likely referring to the power to live in peace, unthreatened, not feeling weak or vulnerable. He didn't care at all about being important to Dracula, something that Isaac envied instead.

It's yet another tragic parallel that Hector ended up being important to many people. To Dracula, as I said, as his best Devil Forgemaster. But to Rosaly as well, as someone she could live with and love, and to Julia, as someone who could help her and support her in her grief. Hector clings to people much like Isaac does, but not to the point of destruction, whether to himself or others.

[joysmercer]

okay I’m so curious about the short fic you posted yesterday

can I ask how in this universe nina dies? And does eddie too?

(it’s mask of anubis on main btw)

ooh fun questions!! i was hoping someone would ask cuz i couldn't figure out how to work it in. also i added way too much info that you didnt ask for so now it's under the cut :D

first of all, this au is a much darker take on how i think nina's life "actually" played out – I think she'll always have random spirits coming up to her etc, but in this au, it's pretty constant and can get very dangerous very quickly. on the flip side, she sees a lot more fame for her "irl" work than she does "in canon" (see below).

somewhat ironically (given how guarded nina becomes from the constant barrage of gods forcing her to do things), she makes her living off of writing movies about her experiences. i think she does this in canon too, but here she really throws herself into it, almost like a form of therapy since there isn't really any professional she can process things with, you know? she eats, sleeps, breathes her craft – whenever she has downtime, she's writing, editing, networking to get her words out there. she's so fast and so talented with it that she graduates university in three years with honors, by which time the chosen one (season 1) has already been picked up by a major company and has started filming; she wins her first oscar two years later, and the next two each year after that.

(actually, all four scripts got picked up at the same time, which is why the turnaround was so quick – but they didn't announce the sequels until after the oscars because at that point she was a relatively unknown person)

(also i know this isn't how these things work irl but just work with me here. maybe she called in a favor from a random god and had things sped along idk)

anyway, the point im trying to make is that she spends her whole life balancing what she wants to do (her work) with what she has to do (paragon shit) and has a weird sense of self-worth as a result (she knows she's good at what she does, but wants to hide it from the world at the same time (out of fear). she hates that she needs others to keep her safe and refuses to believe they're doing it out of kindness, even though she also knows that they genuinely love her. it's weird) (also she and fabian make up sometime during their uni years so all is good there)

anyway, they (amber + KT) set up a rota of all ex-sibuna members (+ willow as she learns about it pretty quickly post-grad) to spend time in the states for a couple months out of the year each. this essentially made sure there was always 1 other person on the mission with her and 2 people nearby who knew where they were going, should things go wrong and they need rescuing or something. but for small/random tasks, nina would just do those alone.

her last mission (that fabian alludes to) had taken months to complete: three formerly-benign ghosts had been "turned" by a magician up in canada, released from the underworld, and, driven mad by the magic (and confusion of being back in the real world), had started a series of freak thunderstorms across the american midwest. together with jerome, she had to figure out how they got released, stop the magician, construct the device necessary to trap the spirits and send them back, and use said device to stop the storms. the effort had completely exhausted her (so much so that she – making headlines – decided to take a step back on touchstone production, instead of hanging out on set like she did for the other three)

(that's why tor is the way it is. with her dropping off of the face of the earth, someone decided – while she couldn't argue against it – to absolutely slash the budget, which lead to a mess of a story (screenplay is the only oscar it wins)

nina's death (as alluded to in the article) really seemed out-of-the-blue. basically, she was on a mission – alone – that suddenly and very unexpectedly turned dangerous. but when she was found (by KT and amber together) it looked like she just collapsed at home – there was no indication of any foul play or anything, really, of how she died.

also alluded to in the article, but a lot (but not all) of KT's "investigative journaling" was her covering up the consequences of nina's missions with theories that would make sense to the general public. nina's last request of her was to halt any investigation into her death prematurely as she knew things would unravel pretty quickly otherwise

joy's role in nina's life was mainly to book her for enough public-facing events/etc so that people wouldn't question where she was when she "disappeared" for a month or two, as well as act as her social media manager/"source close to her" to tabloids during extended absences so people continue to think she's okay. this was especially important given nina's monumental rise to fame (and as a screenplay writer, at that! usually it's the actors/directors who get most of it!) and her relatively young age, which meant she got herself a fandom very quickly…and we all know what the rumor-spreading capabilities of stan twitter are like. there were quite a few times nina came back from a mission to find several "new" pics on her instagram or that shes going viral for something she doesn't "remember" saying lskdjf

amber's role was to media-train the hell out of nina so she never gives any indication that a) there's an element of truth in her work; b) she lives a double life; and c) weird things keep happening in the cities she happens to frequent (eg random buildings falling, artifacts disappearing, etc). we all know this girl can't lie to save her life…amber is nothing but a miracle-worker in that regard lol

as for eddie – his death is basically the reason things are so awful, now. he actually dies at the end of tor, and not only does osiris himself blame nina for it (using "logic" that can rival senkhara's in s2), but it also leaves nina terrified since she no longer has a protector – something all the other gods/spirits quickly take advantage of (threats/blackmail/etc) for the first few years, by which time word of her willingness to do anything spreads and she can't get rid of the constant requests. it doesn't help that his death also proved to them that nina (like her counterpart) can, and will, sacrifice herself to save the world, if it came down to it, making her the perfect pawn in a lot of schemes.

[criticallyobs]

Pimfah the mastermind

I think Pimfah doesn't actually have feelings for Sailom. I know, why would anyone NOT fall for Sailom? (I love him with all my heart) Maybe that's what happens in the novel (I haven't read it and I don't want to know, because I'm watching the series and judging it as a separate entity). Even though I might be proven wrong this friday, here's my take on why this is a scam:

When we find out in episode 2 that she's the one who told Kanghan's grandma the truth about the video, she tells her that "as a friend, she doesn't want to see Kanghan go astray any further". Now that she said she likes Sailom, this looks like a lie and an attempt to protect Sailom, but I think she was being truthful here.

I was wondering why a person like her would hang out and be friends with a bully and the only explanation is that she used to know him when they were smaller and he was that kind kid who would lend his umbrella to a stranger. She remembers that kid and sticks to this image, trying to hold onto it and hoping he would come back.

If we were to believe she actually did it to stop him from being a dick, it's obvious that she doesn't mind manipulating him or going behind his back if she thinks it's for his own benefit.

There has been no scene where we'd see her longing for Sailom. The only thing that she did that could be reasonably used as a pro argument is that she wondered if he was with a friend or a boyfriend when she saw him escorting.

However, in the rest of that scene, we only see her being focused on Kanghan, trying to get him to stop judging or trying to get his attention. The look she gave him when he wouldn't take his eyes off Sailom points to the fact that she might be the first one who understands what's going on between them.

She's too smart to get between two boys who are clearly in love (insert a hair flip). She's going to have her own story and it's not going to involve guys.

I saw her asking Sailom to tutor her as her being a very sweet and kind person who wanted to help a classmate.

When we meet her for the first time in episode 5 she sees Kanghan being cute with Sailom and says “I lost my tutor and now I see him being all sweet with his student. It really hurts" while looking at Kanghan. She asks "are you BOTH coming to the open house?" (this might be a translation thing, though).

The framing of the story so far did not point at her having a crush on Sailom and unless they introduce some explanatory flashbacks at the beginning of episode 6, it just feels like something that happened out of the blue in a story had had a very nice flow up until now. They might do it the same way they revealed Kang's grandma already knew Kang was the bully.

So why would she tell Kanghan that she likes Sailom?

I believe Pimfah is another character (just like the grandma) who's watching over Kang and knows more about him than he thinks she does. She sees that Kang is becoming a better person because of Sailom (we hear her say it in the trailer). She saw the way Kang acted during the open house, trying to get her to be another character in his scripted story and she was trying to get him to snap out of it.

Finally, she got Sailom to be her tutor and Kanghan BASICALLY STOLE HIM FROM HER.

She knows what he's going to do now.

[gemini-sensei]

Poly!Boypussy!Binary Boyfriends x Girlcock!Reader

Shy!Chubby!Reader ○ NSFW with fluff Headcanons

A/N: Eli hasn't flipped the script yet, but this is older au! as is all the things I write but I hate having to say that because OFC IT IS. Plus all the characters I write for, their actors are of age; I'm the same age as Jacob who plays Hawk. What else do I need to say. That's my disclaimer or whatever.

Tumblr actually fucking hates me even tho I've been on this site for ten fucking years and never had an issue before, but I have to split this into two parts, so if I have to make a part two, I'm gonna make it fucking worth it. Expect that at some point, possibly soon if I don't lose my goddamn mind first.

✨️Binary boyfriends✨️ who first explored their own and each other's bodies before they realized they had feelings for each other. Demetri was on top when they scissored for the first time and Eli whimpered the whole time, even when he came. His legs were quivering as they laid in bed and didn't know what to do from there. Clueless boys; they eventually figured it all out.

It wasn't until later that they realized their feelings for one another and started dating. Secret kisses in the corridors and in dark corners. Their relationship is no secret, everyone knows, but Eli doesn't like a lot of PDA, but demetri does. Demetri wants everyone to know that he has a boyfriend. So they do small affections like holding hands and cheek kisses in public. (For Dem, it's not so much a showing off thing, either. It's a big middle finger to everyone who bullied him and said he'd never find love🖕Well he found it, motherfucker.)

They met their shy, cute n' chubby girlfriend at the arcade. She was with a group of her friends, her tickets in hand as they wandered around. She was in a cute oversized sweater, a skirt and cute maryjanes (sorry if that's not your style, I'm in a mood lol). They were accidentally staring the whole night, not meaning to follow her around either.

One of her friends noticed and got in their faces about it, super protective. Miguel and another one of her friends had to de-escalate the situation. Miguel and Sam had to explain that their friends are extremely awkward and probably didn't know how to approach her. (They were on a double date.)

Things calm down and Eli gets a word in that he likes her sweater. She blushes and compliments him back. Demetri's heart flutters at this simple little interaction and he knows immediately that it can work out between them. They start out as friends with her first though.

When they asked her to join their relationship, they couldn't hold it in anymore. It was only a few months after meeting her that they asked her and were so happy when she said yes. She was relieved because she liked them both and being in their relationship took some stress and anxiety off her shoulders.

The beginning of the relationship is sweet, filled with lots of dates, outings and nights in; watching movies, having picnics and going to the comic store. They find a table in the back of a café or a shady tree to sit under to enjoy themselves. They take turns kissing and making out with each other. Eli will quietly watch her and Demetri make out until they pull away and one of them pulls him in gently to press their lips to his.

It's takes a little while for sex to factor in. Demetri and Eli didn't want it to happen spontaneously and she be shocked by their boypussies. So they talked amongst themselves before sitting her down one day to tell her.

She feels nervous when they bring up sex because she knows they're expecting her to have a pussy. When she learns about their pussies, it makes her more anxious because they obviously like pussy. They can see it and think that she's nervous because she's not ready to have sex with them yet, so they begin to assure her that they're not trying to pressure her into it or anything like that. She doesn't have to be ready now or ever.

She tears up and tells them, "That's not it at all!" because she'd love to get intimate with them. She loves them after all.

They're reasonably confused but let her take her time to explain what she means. When she calms down and tells them about her girlcock, they're a little shocked, but not disappointed like she feared they'd be.

They don't have sex that night because it was too emotional for them all. It felt too raw to jump right into sex at that moment in time, so they waited.

When they do get intimate for the first time, it started in the living room after a movie. Demetri and Eli had already gotten a little handsy with each other and their girlfriend noticed throughout the movie. While the credits rolled, they were all making out with each other slowly and sensually, taking their time to ease into everything.

Usually Dem takes the lead, but Eli found his courage to slip his hand down his boyfriend's pants first. He started rubbing him over his panties (yes, boypussy!Demetri wears panties) and making him moan whilst making out with their girlfriend. Eventually Demetri has to pull away from her because it's too much teasing and all it is, is Eli cuddled up to his side rubbing his pussy lips.

He asks, needy and whiney, "D'you wanna go upstairs?"

When they get into the bedroom, the boyfriends notice that their girlfriend's skirt has a nice bulge in it - she's trying to hold down her skirt to hide herself, creating the bulge effect. Demetri assures her that it's okay, she doesn't have to be shy, all while palming her clothed cock.

Finally she lefts go of the fabric with a moan and it lifts, held up by her rock hard cock. She's so hard, her cock slipped out of her panties. The guys are so enchanted by her and love the sight of her skirt being held up by nothing but her dick.

They all eventually end up naked and they get to see her dick for the first time. She has a big fat cock to go with her curves, rolls and big fat tits. She's blushing and trying to hide, but her hands do nothing to hide the near monstrous cock she has. Eli worries if it'll fit...

Their first time together is a lot of asking who wants to do what and checking for comfort. A three way is new to all of them and with her and Eli being so shy and quiet, communication is key.

They decide on some things to try, starting with Demetri sucking her dick. He's tall and lanky, so she lays on the bed and he lays between her legs. He uses her thighs as pillows when he needs a lil break before he takes her in his mouth again. Eli is at the side, watching, waiting for his turn. He gets wetter when he sees her cock throb and twitch, whining because he wants it so bad. Knowing this, Dem stops and pulls away to lay Eli down and eat him out. He prepares them both so well.

Then she gets on top of Eli and pushes into him slowly, easing herself into him inch my inch. He's never felt so full in his life, which isn't saying a lot because hers is the first dick he's ever taken. When she's fully seated in him, her tits are in his face and he's getting used to her stretching him out. He whimpers the whole time and starts wiggling under her, ready for her to move. She takes things slow and steady, searching for a nice pace. She's so gentle with him and herself, but as she finds her pace and rhythm, she leans into him and smothers him with her tits.

Eli loves it and wraps his arms around her, grabbing onto her rolls. He doesn't know if she knows she's even doing it, but he doesn't care. He's getting a mouthful of soft, fat titty. Meanwhile, Demetri is watching, playing with his pussy while listening to the squelching sounds of Eli's pussy getting fucked by a thick girlcock.

Their girlfriend starts rutting into Eli when she gets close; her short, hard thrusts into him driving her toward her orgasm. She barely has time to warn him before she's blowing a fat load into his tight little pussy, whining. He comes at the same time and his voice raises a pitch as he cries out. She pours copious amounts of cum into him before pulling out, a nice stream of it leaking out of him and onto the bedsheets.

Demetri comes over and eats a nice creampie out of Eli's sensitive cunt. He's slurping and moaning as he's eating their mixed orgasm out of Eli and the whole time his boyfriend it whining and whimpering, clutching onto his hair tightly. He gets off to it, rubbing his clit until he comes.

When they're done, they turn to their flushed girlfriend. Her flaccid cock is laying on her thick thighs and she looks so pretty sitting there. They scramble to either side of her to cuddle up and kiss her. One kisses her passionately while the other kisses her neck, leaving hickeys in his wake.

[steven1123x]

Behind The Scenes -Chapter 31: New Life and Career

🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬

November 3, 2013

Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems were going into costume, Steven got a trailer, as same as everyone else. The makeup artists in Steven's trailer were making Steven like the character he portrays, The artists fit him with a fat suit, and They cut a hole for his gem.

Greg and Rose were both sitting on the couch as the men continued doing their work on Steven. His wardrobe consisted of his star t-shirt — but it was not bright red, it was a light pink. Cuffed jeans and salmon pink flip-flops.

Steven put the shirt on, which fit him just right, he put his jeans and flip-flops on. Greg takes a picture and Steven rubs his eyes. "Dad!"

"We're so proud of you, Steven!" Rose said, kneeing to his level and putting her hands on his shoulders. Steven smiled and blushed in embarrassment.

Someone knocked on the trailer's door. "Steven!" The muffled voice of Pearl was heard. "Where starting in ten minutes!" she said. Steven smiles. He saw that his iPhone was in the charger, and he had a text from Clarence, Jeff, and Sumo telling him good luck with filming.

Steven smiled, he was so glad that he had such supportive friends on his side, and parents also.

Steven ran out and saw Pearl in her costume, she hadn't changed at all, just her clothes.

She wore an aqua-blue tunic with a small yellow star on the center of her chest and a lighter satin sash ribbon around her upper waist. Her leggings were amber-colored. She also wore pink socks, and her slip-on ballet flats were colored a slightly lighter blue.

"I like your outfit, Pearl," he said, flashing a smile.

"Thank you, Steven." Pearl smiles. "It does look good on me, doesn't it?"

"It does!" Steven put a thumbs up.

They both went to the soundstage where they were filming the first scene. Steven was amazed. He looked at the set as he was starry-eyed. It was no different than the Regular Show set that he'd been on a few weeks ago.

Sadie and Lars were studying their lines. Lars was sitting on the counter and Sadie was standing to the side, with her script open. The overhead lights shined brightly down onto the set.

Steven walks in further, Amethyst is at the snack table. Steven walked over to her. "Hey, dude."She said, looking. She was shocked as she saw Steven.

"Woah, bro! your different now, heavy makeup can do that, dude," she said. Steven chuckled and smiled. Steven looked at her.

Amethyst wore a mauve, oversized, off-shoulder tank top with a black bra underneath. She also wore black leggings with star-shaped cutouts on the knees, with a tear above the left star, and small, pointed, white boots.

"So… What do you think, man?"

"It looks good on you."

"Thanks, Steven!" Steven looks at Garnet, she is talking to Greg and Rose.

She was wearing a black and crimson bodysuit, with cubic shoulder pads (the right one being brink pink, the left one being crimson), and a pale pink star with a brink pink outline on her chest. Steven looks at her longer. He had noticed that her eyes were covered in a large sunshade, he guessed that it would be from the future.

"Garnet," Steven said, she looked at him and picked the boy up.

"Steven!" she said excitedly. He laughed happily as she held him in the air.

"Lion King!" Steven laughs.

"Alright!" Garnet said, smiling. Then lifts him higher.

"Nants ingonyama bagithi baba

Sithi uhm ingonyama

Nants ingonyama bagithi baba

Sithi uhhmm ingonyama

Ingonyama

Siyo Nqoba

Ingonyama!"

Steven and Garnet both laugh at that. The boy smiles as his friend sets him down.

"We're starting in a few minutes guys!" Rebecca said, walking into the set. Steven nodded and went over to another part of the set.

"Quiet on set!" Rebecca said, sitting on her director's chair. She grabs an extra script so she could follow along with the episode.

"And… Action." The director said.

"Steven Universe Gem Glow, Scene one, take one."The clapper leader announced as he clapped the clapperboard.

In the vibrant and quirky Beach City, the morning sun bathed everything in a warm glow, and the air was filled with the tantalizing scent of freshly baked goods. But for Steven Universe, today was not a day for celebration.

He bolted into the Big Donut, his eyes wide with disbelief as he approached the ice cream freezer. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he cried, his voice echoing through the shop. The sight before him was devastating: an empty freezer where Cookie Cats once resided. His heart sank. "This can't be happening! This has to be a dream! Lars! Lars! Please tell me I'm dreaming!"

Lars, busy restocking shelves, shook off Steven's frantic grasp. "Get off me, man! I'm stocking here!"

Sadie, the shop's cashier, looked at Steven apologetically. "I'm sorry, Steven. I guess they stopped making them."

"Stopped making them?!" Steven exclaimed, his voice rising in horror. "Why in the world would they stop making Cookie Cats?! They're only the most scrumptious and delicious ice cream sandwich ever made! Don't they have laws for this?!"

Lars shrugged, kneeling to restock another cabinet. "Tough bits, man. Nobody buys them anymore. I guess they couldn't compete with 'Lion Lickers.'"

Steven groaned, marching over to the offending freezer of "Lion Lickers."

"Not 'Lion Lickers'! Nobody likes them! They don't even look like lions! Kids these days—I'll tell ya what!"

Lars chuckled, mocking him. "Well, if you miss your wimpy ice cream so much, why don't you make some with your 'magic belly button'?" He laughed as he walked away.

"That's not how it works, Lars!… Right?" Steven pondered, revealing a gem at his navel and jiggling his belly. "Oh, sweet Cookie Cats, with your crunchy cookie outside and your icy creamy insides... You were too good for this world." He drew a sad cookie cat on the freezer with his finger and gave it a gentle kiss.

Sadie raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Steven?"

He didn't respond, lost in his sorrowful embrace with the freezer.

"Do you want to take the freezer with you?" she asked, glancing at Lars, who leaned in with a confused expression. Steven nodded vigorously.

"And, cut! That was great, let's prepare for the next scene," she said, as they changed location. Rebecca sat at her director's chair again, in front of a beach house and a large temple that took them a year to build out of real stone.

"Steven Univers Gem Glow, Scene two, take one."The clapper leader announced as he clapped the clapperboard. There were cameras inside the beach house too so, they could keep the show rolling when Rebecca was outside of the house. She could see what was happening through a little screen.

With the empty Cookie Cat freezer hoisted on his back, he hummed the nostalgic "Cookie Cat" jingle as he made his way home.

Once inside the Beach House, Steven burst through the door, excitement bubbling up inside him. "Hey, guys, you won't believe this!" But before he could finish, a Centipeetle lunged at him, roaring ferociously. Steven screamed, but then, in a flash, Amethyst appeared, yanking the creature away with her whip.

"'Sup, Steven?" she grinned, tossing the Centipeetle aside.

In the corner, Pearl was busy lifting another Centipeetle off the Warp Pad, while Garnet dealt with one in the kitchen.

"Awesome! What are these things?" Steven asked, still catching his breath.

Pearl groaned, her expression tense. "Ugh! Sorry, Steven. We'll get these Centipeetles out of your room. We think they were trying to get into the temple."

"Aw. You don't have to get rid of them. They're really cool," he replied, eyes twinkling with curiosity.

Just then, the Centipeetle Pearl was holding spat acid onto the floor, dissolving it into a gaping hole. Steven and Pearl recoiled in disgust.

Amethyst, unfazed, poofed another Centipeetle away. "Um, you guys? These things don't have gems."

"That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby," Garnet stated, her voice steady as she expertly knocked a sneaky Centipeetle away.

Pearl nodded. "We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt."

"I can come, right? Can I?! Can I?!" Steven's eyes sparkled with eagerness.

"Steven, until you learn to control the powers in your gem, we'll take care of protecting humanity, okay?" Pearl replied, snapping the neck of the Centipeetle she was holding with a swift motion.

"Aw, man," Steven sighed, noticing a Centipeetle raiding his fridge. "Hey! Get out of there! Go on! Shoo! Shoo! Aw! They got into everything! Not cool!"

The chaos unfolded around him, but amidst the urgency, Steven's thoughts drifted back to Cookie Cats. With a wild imagination and a little determination, he knew that somehow, he would find a way to bring his beloved ice cream sandwiches back to life — after he helped his friends with the Centipeetle crisis, of course.

For in Beach City, adventure was never far away, and sometimes, it was the simplest things that held the greatest magic.

Once upon a time in Beach City, the Crystal Gems were busy in their home, a vibrant place brimming with energy and magic. One day, Garnet, ever the protector, decided it was time for a little surprise for Steven. With a swift punch, she poofed away an old, dusty box in the corner. When the dust settled, Steven's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No way! I-it can't be! Wha-where did you get these?!" he exclaimed as he rushed to the fridge, which was inexplicably full of his favorite treat—Cookie Cats!

Pearl, with a smirk, closed the fridge door behind him. "Well, we heard that, too, and since they're your favorite..."

"We went out and stole a bunch!" Amethyst interrupted, her mischievous grin revealing her playful nature.

Pearl shot Amethyst a disapproving look. "I went back and paid for them," she huffed, maintaining her dignity.

Garnet, arms crossed, declared confidently, "The whole thing was my idea." Her gauntlets retracted back to her gems, showcasing her readiness for whatever came next.

"Not really," Amethyst chimed in, throwing a playful glare at Garnet.

"All that matters is that Steven is happy," Pearl reminded them, her heart warming at the sight of Steven's excitement.

As if on cue, Steven burst into the catchy jingle of his beloved treat.

"Oohhh

He's a frozen treat with an all-new taste

'Cause he came to this planet from outer space

A refugee of an interstellar war

But now he's at your local grocery store

Cookie Cat!

He's a pet for your tummy

Cookie Cat!

He's super duper yummy

Cookie Cat!

He left his family behind

Cookie Caaaaat!"

He then speaks "Now available at Gurgens off Route 109!"

The Gems exchanged amused glances, chuckling as Steven continued his ode to Cookie Cat, his enthusiasm infectious. They applauded and laughed, basking in the joy of the moment.

"I can't believe you did this! I'm gonna save these forever!... right after I eat this one," he said, eagerly tearing open a wrapper. "Hello, old friend," he grinned, sinking his teeth into the cookie, bliss washing over his face. But as he savored the first bite, something unexpected happened — his gem began to glow with an intensity he had never seen before.

And this was the first time I'm getting my powers, finally!Steven thought to himself

"Uh, Steven..." Amethyst said, her voice tinged with concern.

"What?!" he exclaimed, lifting his shirt to reveal the glowing gem. Panic surged within him. "My gem!"

"Quick, try and summon your weapon!" Amethyst urged, her usual sarcasm replaced by urgency.

"I don't know how!" Steven cried, his voice rising in panic. "Aaaah, it's fading! How do I make it come back?!"

"Calm down, Steven. Breathe, don't force it," Pearl instructed, her voice steady and soothing.

"Yeah, and try not to poop yourself either," Amethyst added with a cheeky grin, trying to lighten the mood.

"Please, don't," Garnet interjected, her tone serious.

As Steven's gem's glow faded, a collective sigh escaped the group. "Ah, I was really close that time!" he said, frustration mingling with determination. "Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?"

The Gems exchanged looks, their hearts full of affection for their young friend. They knew that together, they would find a way to help him harness his powers, and in the meantime, there were plenty of Cookie Cats waiting to be enjoyed.

Rebecca thought that they were going to do this in post. So GarnetAmeythest and Pearl don't have to travel back and forth through sets.

"Oh, I'll go first!" she declared, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. She gestured elegantly toward the falling petals, which danced whimsically in the air. "Pay attention to these petals, Steven. Their dance may seem improvised, but it's calculated in real-time based on the physical properties of this planet. With hard work and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem and perform your own dance!"

With a swift motion, Pearl summoned her spear from her gem, demonstrating a flawless, graceful movement that left Steven in awe. His eyes widened as he watched the petals swirl and twirl around him, each flutter an invitation to join in the beauty of the moment.

"And Cut. That was great Pearl. Let's go back to the original location!" Rebecca said. They walked to the Big Doughnut set and set up there again.

"And… Action!" Rebecca said.

"Steven Univers Gem Glow, Scene three, take one."The clapper leader announced as he clapped the clapperboard.

Later, at the familiar hangout spot known as the Big Donut, Steven felt inspired. He tossed a handful of petals into the air, watching them float. "Wuh!" he exclaimed, his excitement palpable.

Amethyst, lounging nearby, smirked. "Did Pearl tell you the petal thing?" she asked, half-laughing.

"Yeah, I need to practice really hard so I can dance like a tree... I think," Steven replied, scratching his head in confusion.

"Listen, Steven," Amethyst said, rolling her eyes. "All that practice stuff is no fun. Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens." With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her whip and effortlessly broke a nearby garbage container in two. "See? Didn't try at all!"

Just then, Lars burst outside, dropping a trash bag in exasperation. "Aaah! Again?!"

Perplexed but determined, Steven pondered his next steps. "So I'm supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time?" he asked, seeking clarity.

"And, action!"

"Yes," Garnet replied, her expression stoic yet reassuring.

Steven stood in silence, contemplating the paradox. Garnet continued, "Or... you could link your mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem." With a flourish, she summoned her gauntlets, demonstrating her strength and focus.

"Steven Univers Gem Glow, Scene four, take one."The clapper leader announced as he clapped the clapperboard.

In the cozy kitchen of the Beach House, Steven felt a spark of inspiration. "I think my best bet is to recreate what happened the last time my gem glowed," he said, motioning for the Gems to join him. "So... Garnet and Amethyst were here, Pearl was next to the fridge... Hmm. Amethyst, I think your arms were crossed?"

"Okay, Your Majesty," Amethyst teased, crossing her arms with a grin.

"And Pearl, your foot was like this." Steven tilted one of her feet slightly, trying to mimic the moment.

"I don't think it works this way, Steven," Pearl said, her voice laced with gentle concern.

"And Garnet, uh..." He squished and moved her face upward, then turned to the fridge and retrieved a half-eaten Cookie Cat. "Oh, wait! I sang the song first!" he exclaimed, bursting into an off-key rap about the delicious frozen treat.

But as he rapped, nothing happened.

"Awww, it was funnier last time," he sighed, lifting his shirt to see his gem, disappointment washing over him. "Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem."

Pearl knelt beside him, her eyes warm and reassuring. "Don't be silly, Steven. Of course, you are."

"And you're fun to have around, even if your gem is useless," Amethyst chimed in, only to be met with a glare from Pearl. "I mean... you're one of us, Steven. We're not the Crystal Gems without you!"

Garnet nodded in agreement, her presence a steady anchor in the storm of emotions.

"Yeah, even if I don't have powers, I've still got... Cookie Cat!" Steven declared, taking a triumphant bite. Just then, his gem began to glow, and to everyone's astonishment, a shield materialized in front of him.

"Steven, it's a shield!" Pearl exclaimed, her amazement evident.

"... Whoa, what?! I get a shield?! Oh... YEAH!" Steven shouted, bursting with excitement.

Steven was trying to break character and tell his mother and father that he had gotten his powers, maybe when they were done, he could surprise Clarence, Jeff, and Sumo. Then Mordecai and Rigby.

Steven then went back into character.

In his exuberance, he accidentally launched the shield, which ricocheted around the room with a life of its own, crashing into Steven's TV with a loud smash. Amethyst burst out laughing, while Pearl groaned in disappointment, her dreams of graceful petal dances momentarily dashed.

But amidst the chaos, laughter filled the air, binding the Crystal Gems and Steven together in a moment of joyous camaraderie. And in that moment, he realized that perhaps the true dance wasn't just about mastering powers but about the connections they shared, laughter echoing like petals in the wind.

It was a calm, sunny day at the Crystal Temple. Steven was lounging on the couch, enjoying his favorite treat, a Cookie Cat ice cream sandwich. As he took a big bite, a familiar pink shield materialized in his hand. Steven grinned, his mouth still full of ice cream. "Huh? Cookie Cat! I summon my weapon by eating ice cream!" he exclaimed, amazed at how his powers seemed to be linked to his favorite snack.

Pearl, who had been tidying up nearby, noticed the discarded ice cream wrapper on the floor and picked it up. "What's in these things?" she asked, examining the packaging with curiosity.

Before anyone could answer, the entire house began to rumble. The walls shook, and the windows rattled violently. Outside, through the vibrating glass, the shadows of enormous creatures loomed. Steven's shield suddenly vanished, leaving a noticeable dent in the TV.

"What was that?" Steven asked, his voice quivering with a mix of fear and excitement.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Crystal Gems burst out of the house to investigate. The sun was still shining, but a sense of impending danger hung thick in the air. Crawling up the side of the Crystal Temple was the biggest Centipeetle any of them had ever seen.

"It's the Mother!" Garnet shouted, her voice strong and unwavering as she leapt into action, aiming straight for the monstrous creature.

Pearl turned to Steven, her eyes wide with concern. "Stay in the house, Steven!" she ordered, her tone leaving no room for arguments

But Steven was never one to back down. "No way! I'm coming, too!" he declared, running back inside the house. He grabbed as many Cookie Cats as he could carry, along with the entire Cookie Cat freezer, and raced back outside. He knew he had to help the Gems somehow.

"And, cut. take five guys!" Rebecca said. Steven was giddy with excitement as he Ran up to his mother.

"Mom! I got a shield!" the boy hugged her and smiled. Rose and Greg both smile, Rose puts a hand in his hair and Greg kisses his forehead.

"We love you so much, Schtu-ball!" Greg ruffles his son's hair. Rose hugged him, putting him close to her gem, He could hear the hum of it and feel the warmth.

"I am so proud of you, honey! your starting to get your gem powers." Rose said, trying not to tear up in front of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Rebecca smiles and watches the three of them.

"And…Action!"

"Steven Univers Gem Glow, Scene five, take one."The clapper leader announced as he claps the clapperboard.

On the beach below, the battle was already in full swing. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst had taken up defensive positions, dodging the Centipeetle Mother's vicious attacks. The beast unleashed a torrent of acidic spit, which the Gems barely managed to avoid. They took cover behind a broken hand statue from the temple, but the acid was quickly eating away at the stone.

"We could really use Steven's shield right about now!" Amethyst shouted, her voice strained as she watched the statue begin to dissolve under the relentless assault.

Suddenly, Steven appeared on the beach, clutching a pebble in one hand and the Cookie Cat freezer in the other. With all the courage he could muster, he threw the pebble at the Centipeetle Mother. "Hey!" he yelled, his voice cracking slightly. He slammed the freezer into the ground. "Leave them alone!"

The Crystal Gems gasped in unison. "Steven, no!" they cried, horrified by the sight of him standing in the open, unprotected.

But Steven wasn't about to back down. He took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. "Cookie Cat Crystal combo powers, activate!" he shouted, stuffing a Cookie Cat into his mouth and lifting his shirt, hoping his shield would reappear.

For a moment, there was nothing. The Centipeetle Mother stared at Steven with a menacing grin, seemingly amused by his futile attempt.

"Uh-oh," Steven muttered, realizing that his plan hadn't worked. "Aaaah!" He quickly retreated, dragging the freezer along with him as he dashed for cover, joining the Gems behind the rapidly melting statue.

The battle was far from over, and the Gems knew they had to act fast if they were going to stop the Centipeetle Mother. Steven watched as Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst prepared for another round, their determination evident despite the overwhelming odds.

With the Cookie Cats in hand, Steven knew he had to find a way to unlock his powers again. The safety of his friends and the fate of the Crystal Temple depended on it. As the Centipeetle Mother loomed ever closer, Steven steeled himself for whatever came next, determined to protect the ones he loved, no matter the cost.

In the heart of a dense, mystical forest, a battle was raging. The air crackled with tension as the Crystal Gems fought desperately to defend their youngest member, Steven, from the terrifying Centipeetle Mother.

"Steven, we need to save you!" Pearl shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos as she narrowly dodged the centipede-like monster's snapping tail pincers.

"Can we save ourselves first?!" Amethyst quipped, her voice tinged with the usual humor, though the worry was evident in her eyes.

Steven, standing a short distance away, clutched his stomach in distress. Tears welled up in his eyes as he shoveled Cookie Cats, his favorite ice cream sandwich, into his mouth. The magic within him needed to be awakened, and he believed these frozen treats might be the key. But as his stomach rumbled ominously, he felt nothing—no surge of power, no miraculous transformation.

"Goodbye, my friends," Steven whispered, his voice trembling with emotion. He took another bite of a Cookie Cat, but nothing happened. Desperation took hold. "Why isn't it working?" he cried, just as a spray of acid narrowly missed him, splattering against a nearby rock.

"Steven!" Garnet's voice boomed as she intercepted the Centipeetle Mother's attack, her gauntleted fists grabbing hold of the creature's pincers. With a mighty heave, she redirected the monster's focus away from Steven.

In that moment of reprieve, Steven's gaze fell upon the scene before him—a smoking, ruined Cookie Cat freezer, destroyed in the midst of battle. His heart sank in horror.

"No… Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Steven's voice broke as he began to softly sing, "Cookie Cat, he's a pet for your tummy. Cookie Cat, he's super duper yummy…" With a sudden burst of determination, he seized the wrecked freezer, his grip tightening. "Cookie Cat, he left his family behind! COOKIE CAAAT!"

With all his strength, Steven hurled the freezer at the Centipeetle Mother. The metal box collided with the creature's back, unleashing a burst of electricity.

In the heart of Beach City, a moment hung in the air, charged with anticipation. Steven stood at the ready, his eyes gleaming with determination, though he felt a twinge of uncertainty. "Now available... nowhere," he declared, a hint of playful irony escaping his lips.

"YES!" Amethyst cheered, her excitement electrifying the atmosphere.

Rebecca watched as the scene played out. She leans back in her chair.

Garnet, ever the steadfast leader, rallied her team. "Gems, weapons!" With that command, the three Gems summoned their weapons in unison, each one a dazzling display of their unique abilities. They burst forth from behind the hand statue, a bold and united front against the looming threat.

"Let's do it," Garnet said, her voice steady and resolute. The trio charged forward, their hearts pounding as they launched a coordinated attack on the monstrous Centipeetle Mother. Together, they unleashed a torrent of strength and skill, and with one final, fierce blow, they vanquished the beast for good. As it crumbled, a shimmering gem fell from its form, and Garnet swiftly bubbled it away, ensuring it would be safe.

Steven took a moment to catch his breath, his mind drifting to memories of simpler times. "Farewell, sweet Cookie Cats," he murmured, gently burying a crumpled wrapper in the ground as if laying to rest an old friend. "I'll always remember the time we spent together." His stomach rumbled, breaking the solemnity of the moment. "Shh... Hush now," he whispered to his belly, trying to silence the betraying sound.

Amethyst eyed him with a smirk. "Are you crying?"

"Only a little!" Steven replied defensively, wiping at his eyes but unable to hide his smile.

"Well, I guess your powers don't come from ice cream," she teased, a playful glint in her eyes.

Pearl chimed in, her tone soothing. "Of course, they don't come from ice cream. Don't worry, Steven, I'm sure someday you'll figure out how to activate your gem."

"Yes, in your own Steven-y way," Garnet added, her tone encouraging.

"I'm okay, guys. I just—" Steven's stomach growled again, louder this time. "Ugh, I think I ate too many Cookie Cats."

Laughter erupted among the Gems, filling the air with warmth and camaraderie. Steven joined in, his laughter tinged with a hint of anxiousness.

But then, as the laughter echoed, Steven bent over, the inevitable culmination of his Cookie Cat indulgence taking hold.

"And… Cut! That's a wrap. excellent work everyone!" Rebecca said, rising from the director's chair. Steven still felt a little bit sick.

"I need to lie down…" he said, taking a seat on the sand. Greg walks to him and then picks him up.

"I'll carry you to your trailer." he smiled Steven wrapped his arms around his father and he took him.

Rose was proud of him — She had two in one, She saw his acting career lift off, and he had gotten his powers. She wiped a tear from her eye, then Pearl walked up.

"Filming was so much fun!" Pearl said looking at her friend. Rose smiles at her.

Garnet and Amethyst walk up to the two women standing and staring at the temple.

🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬🎥 🎬

A\N: They JUST started filming, and I am SO HAPPY for them! This is a day before so, they are going to work on the next episode the day after. I can't wait to write more of this! it was so much fun to make!

[heckyeahponyscans]

The Jinxie Games

Thoughts on G5 MLP Make Your Mark Ch. 4, Episode 3

This episode has three subplots: Hitch competing in the Forest Critter Field Day event, Pipp and Zipp discovering their mom is dating Alphabittle, and Misty attempting to find something in the Brighthouse that she can take home to appease Opaline.

The latter two plotlines are pretty good, the first one drags and I think they should've moved it into the background more. Maybe have Pipp and Zipp find out about Queen Haven's date earlier and try to scuttle it, but then see that their mom is truly happy and have a change of heart?

Anyway, I feel very vindicated in having shipped Queen Haven and Alphabittle as far back as the original G5 movie. They just had that vibe.

Even though Misty spent most of the episode in one place, rifling through the Mane 5's belongings, this was a really good episode for her, first exhibiting her bitterness and jealousy at the main cast ("Ohhh, we're so HAPPY, we all have cutie marks and we get to live with our best friends!"), which helps the audience understand why a fundamentally nice pony keeps spying on / trying to steal from the other ponies, and then coming to a turning point when Misty finds that Sunny has included a picture of her, Misty, in her journal.

Misty's VA is so good; the gasp she gives when Misty finds the picture tells you everything you need to know. The foundations of her world have been shaken.

Later, Misty has a chance to kidnap Sparky--Opaline's main objective--and instead she leaves him at the Brighthouse, purposely disobeying Opaline's orders even though she knows she'll be in trouble.

Here's Misty, nervous because Opaline just called bellowed for her, metaphorically stuck between the two pictures: a childhood picture of Opaline and the photo of herself with the Mane 5.

Even though I do think this episode, and some others, have parts that drag, I do think Misty's story being spread out across the entire season is genius. It lets us really see what Misty's going through, the toxic push-and-pull of serving Opaline. There's no way her story would be as impactful if it was condensed into one or two episodes; we would get an info-dump of facts, but we wouldn't feel the weight of her burden

Random notes on this episode:

Queen Haven sending Zipp a text that just said "Don't" was extremely funny

the Forest Critter Field Day occurs every 4th purple moon

there's reference to bits as currency (Hitch mentions "flipping a bit" to see who goes first in a game)

When Hitch and Izzy initially explain what Forest Critter Field Day is, Pipp is zoning out on her phone

Queen Haven postponing brunch to "a time that's more inconvenient to you both" is the funniest bit of the episode

"Unicorns didn't have access to their magic for many thousands of moons." As previously noted, a moon seems to be the equivalent of a year. How many thousands is "many"? It's got to be 3000 minimum, right? Assuming Skye Silver is correct about this information, that is.

Speaking of Sky Silver and Dazzle (the reporters), one thing G5 does much better than G4 is parody. G4 is leaning towards Looney Tunes in its style of humor (slapstick, pianos dropping on people, Pinkie Pie leaping out of mirrors, etc) and whenever they tried to do parody on top of that already exaggerated humor it was juuust terrible. With Sky and Dazzle, they don't do anything specifically "comedic" but their performances are just over-the-top enough to be funny. Like the way they do scripted lines to "each other", but they're turned towards the camera because it's actually for the TV audience's benefit . . . Man, that is the kind of humor G5 should harness more.

I assume this ZBS special is based on a real life show about the British Royal family or something, because the ponies look so dour . . . lmk if this is the case, I don't watch TV anymore except cartoons based on Hasbro properties.

literally a wedding ring chilling in the background there, nice touch

Nice to see Hitch isn't the only non-unicorn contestant, Windy is there too. The purple unicorn, Elderflower, was mentioned in a previous episode as being the oldest and wisest unicorn in Bridlewood.

Once again Sparky shows some kind of earth or plant magic

"This is what every sport looks like to me." Same Pipp, same.

[crashdevlin]

Losses and Gains 6- Reunited

Author’s Note: This is the sixth chapter of Losses and Gains, the second part of To Have it All. This is Something More...from Jensen's side!

Summary: Jensen gets Y/n back in his trailer, and back in his arms, but does that mean everything's going to be okay?

Pairing:  Jensen x Reader, background Reader x Tom Hiddleston

Word count: 4378

Story Warnings: open marriage, mentions of depression and heartbreak, bad things, alcohol as a crutch, anger, fighting, divorce, anxiety, panic attack

~~~

“She’s okay.” That’s all Jared had to say after he got back from lunch with Y/n on Sunday. I raised my eyebrows at him and silently demanded more information. “What?”

“That’s all? She’s okay? That’s all you have to say?”

“That’s all I feel comfortable sharing.”

I scoffed and shook my head at him. “What the fuck, dude? She’s not okay! We talked about this yesterday!”

“She’s okay enough…and even if I was willing to share, you don’t want to know what she told me.”

“Of course, I-”

Jared shook his head and patted my shoulder. “No. Listen, I talked things out with her. If things are the way she says they are, then it’s a simple fix. If it’s worse than that, then she knows what she needs to do. It’s going to be okay, either way.”

“You’re really not gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s not mine to tell. If you want to know, then make friends with her again, and maybe she’ll be okay to tell you eventually.”

I rolled my eyes and let it go. He wouldn’t tell me, so I moved on. “I don’t think I could be friends with her again. I love her, man. I don’t think I’d be able to ignore that.”

“Yeah. I understand that. You gonna be able to work with her?”

It was a valid question and I wasn’t sure of the answer, even as I responded, “Yeah, of course.”

When I got back to Vancouver, I knew I had to put on a brave face. I had to act like I had everything together…which was really fucking hard when the writers sent me the script for the episode Y/n did Second Unit shooting for a couple weeks before.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." I was in awe. I couldn’t even be mad about it because I was shocked…and a little bit excited that I was gonna get to kiss Y/n again, even if it was gonna be in front of a dozen people on set.

"Not just kissing, Ackles. This is a real sex scene. You haven’t done one of these since the Born Again episode." Jared flipped through the pages and sighed. "This is bad. This is gonna set you back weeks and-"

"Are you kidding me? I'm a professional, Jared. I think I can draw the line between-"

"Who do you think you're talking to right now?" He tossed the pages on the coffee table and pointed at the fresh beer in my hand. "That's your second beer and it's not even 10am and you're at work. You're a consummate professional." I set the beer next to the script and started to tell him to shut up but he kept going. "I know that you're excited about this and you're happy to pantomime getting her back in your arms but you have to end that shit right now. You have to approach this like a sex scene with any other actor, completely detached and looking out for their emotional welfare. She's gonna be in agony over this."

That took me aback for a minute. "Agony?"

"First off, this is gonna be her first sex scene…and it's with an ex. Not just any ex, but the one she can't tell people is an ex. So she has no one but me and Tom to complain to. Beyond that, she's still in love with you and she remembers exactly how you really are in the sack and she's probably missing that about now and she can't have it because she's with the gentleman bastard. And you think you should come in and act like everything is good?"

"Since when have I been acting like everything is good?" I snapped. "Like you said, it's not even 10 and I'm on my second beer. I'm not expecting everything to be magically better since Tara and Dean are gonna fuck, but maybe, just maybe Y/n will talk to me since we have to work together. Maybe we can start making things better. And in the very least, I get to kiss her again. I get to hold her again. I get to feel just a bit like things are going to be okay…and that’s all I want."

“Dude, detach. Things are not going to be better. Not now, not in a few months. You need to act like everything is over because it is. Move on. Don’t make this harder for her than it already is.”

Why was it about her and not me? Why did I have to tippy-toe around her emotions when I was feeling shit, too? Why did I have to fucking detach?!

I seethed a bit as Jared left, knowing that he was ultimately right, but still hating to hear it. I needed to be calm and cold and not show how I was feeling. It was better that way. It was better for both of us.

So when she knocked on my trailer door and came in, looking shaky and nervous, I locked my emotions away as best I could and welcomed her back.

“Did you get Wednesday’s pages?” she asked, looking around the trailer.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

She leaned against my counter, careful to keep her eyes anywhere but my face. “So, how, uh…how do we-”

“We follow the script,” I interrupted. “Just like every other scene we’ve ever done. You’ll be Tara and I’m gonna be Dean and they’re gonna share a messy first kiss and then Dean is gonna fuck Tara on one of the tables in the Men of Letter Library and then I’ll come back here and you’ll probably go back to your hotel and call up your boyfriend.”

Well, cold and detached didn’t last long.

Her eyes glistened as she looked up at me and she started to say my name but I cut her off again. “Y/n, look, I know this probably isn’t any easier for you than it is for me, but I…I really fuckin’ miss you and the fact that you are standing right there in front of me and I can’t-” I convinced myself to shut up, reminding myself that my emotions were not important in this moment. “At least he treats you well. That grand declaration of love on Facebook…something I could never do.”

“I didn’t want him to,” she asserted weakly. “I told him not to do that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, that’s fuckin’ nice. The man ignores simple requests.”

“Come on, Jay, don’t be-”

I put my hand up, a finger raised to get her quiet. “Don’t call me that. We’re just coworkers now. I’m fighting calling you ‘Baby Girl’ so you’re gonna respect my efforts and call me ‘Jensen’.”

Fuck, I didn’t mean to make her cry. I didn’t mean to snap like that. “Jensen, please. You can’t tell me that you don’t understand,” she begged.

“I understand. I understand just fine.” And I did. I completely understood exactly how I managed to get to that moment in time. “But it doesn’t make any of it hurt less. It doesn’t matter that you saw the end of my marriage rapidly approaching because I couldn’t get you out of my head and you distanced yourself for my family’s good. It doesn’t matter that Tom capitalized on that distance the moment you created it.”

I don’t know what came over me, just trying to get the honesty out, maybe. Maybe I was just trying to rail against Jared’s decree about detachment. “What matters is that I haven’t talked to you in months, but I still pick up my phone to call you after we wrap every night. What matters is that you left that bottle of your perfume in the bathroom and I can’t bring myself to throw it away because the pillows on your side of the bed don’t smell right if they don’t smell like CK Eternity. What matters is that I’m so in love with you that it hurts and you saw that, saw how I feel, and you left so that I wouldn’t fuck up my life over you…”

I could see the pain in her eyes as I reached out to cup her cheek. “All of that just makes me love you more.”

She closed her eyes but she didn’t move away. She leaned just a little closer. “You can’t,” she whispered.

I pulled her closer to me, hand on the back of her neck. “Shit, that doesn’t change a thing. Baby Girl, your protests don’t change a goddamn thing.”

She gave a full-body shiver but then she pulled away. It was like she didn’t really want to pull away but she felt like she had to, so I put my hand on her hip and pulled her back again. Gently, not aggressively, not in a bad way, just in a ‘please don’t leave me’ kinda way. Her eyes snapped open and she looked me dead in mine as she pushed me away just enough to get her point across. “Jensen…I can’t. I’m not that woman.”

I knew exactly what she meant. She couldn’t cheat on Tom…and she didn’t want to hurt me, either. So I let her go and stepped away from her. “I know. It’s part of why I love you. You’re too damn good for me. But you’re also too good for fuckin’ Loki.”

She wiped her tears away and shrugged, sniffling. “I don’t know about that. There’s a lot of people on Twitter who seem to think I’m not good enough for him…if the death threats are any indication. I mean, Tom’s got some rabid fans…but I’m sure they’re not as bad as our fans would be if they found out-”

“That Danneel is divorcing me?” I finished…even though I know that’s not what she was planning to say. I couldn’t help but laugh at the shock and confusion on her face. I picked up my warm beer from earlier in the day and took a drink. “Yeah. It’s not official, but Gino said she’s talking to lawyers.”

“No!” she shouted and slammed her fist down on the counter. My eyebrows went up as she grabbed her wrist. “No, you have to fix it! I did not walk away so that you could still fuck it up!” Seriously?! She’s blaming it all on me? “You love her! You love her and you love your kids and you just have to get over this stupid other feeling-”

“My feelings are stupid, now?” I demanded, offended to my bones but somehow…excited to be having an honest conversation with her about everything.

“That feeling is! You feeling like you think you’re in love with me is stupid! You…” She looked lost and frustrated as she threw her hands in the air. “Go to counseling! Go see a fucking shrink! Go fucking fix it! Fix! It!” she demanded.

“We fucking were! We’ve spent months talking to a shrink. Ever since you left, we’ve been trying. It hasn’t worked!”

“Try harder!” She scoffed at me and I could see it. She wasn’t mad at me. She was regretting it. She was regretting leaving because it didn’t stop the end that she was trying to stop. “Three months isn’t enough! Between the show and the cons and everything, it’s not enough time. Try to-”

“I don’t want to!” I admitted, tossing my beer at the floor. I didn’t want to drink anymore. The desire was fucking gone in that moment. I just wanted Y/n. “I’m tired of trying to not love you. I tried! I really did. Everyone told me to stop and I tried but I’m fucking exhausted and I can’t fuckin’ do it. It fucked my family, but I can’t stop how I feel.”

Everything stopped. We were both breathing heavy. My heart was pounding, I’m sure hers was too. But neither of us moved for a few moments. We just stared at each other, shoes and legs covered in beer…and something in the air said this was one of those pivotal moments. This was a moment where literally everything could change if we let it.

Finally, she broke the moment. “Fuck, Jay,” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and looking away from me.

“I know…” I started, but I bit my bottom lip to give myself a minute to think. I had one chance. I had one opportunity to make this work. “I know that you’re with Tom. I know he loves you. I’ve spent…months wanting you to not love him, but I saw you on Colbert and you looked so happy, but when you talk to Jared…”

She stepped closer to me, regret etched across her face, and she wrapped me in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Jay.”

I wrapped my arms around her, excited that she initiated the embrace. “You got nothing to be sorry for, Baby Girl.”

“No. I do. If I’d never come here, you wouldn’t be in this situation. Everything would-”

“No, no, hey. Never say that. If you hadn’t come here, you’d be in a worse-”

“I’d be depressed, but you wouldn’t be. It’d just be me sad and you’d still be happily-”

I kissed her before she could finish that thought. She was regretting everything, which meant she was regretting Tom. She was back in my arms. It seemed like the right way to move forward. It seemed like the best way to get both of us happy. Her hands went to my hair. Mine went to the back of her thighs. I hauled her up so her legs wrapped around my waist and I held her close as we kissed. My hands roamed her body as I walked her to the bedroom. It was almost like I was on autopilot. She was making these breathy little noises and she was grabbing at me and it was like things were the way they used to be.

We found the bed and dropped to it, still kissing. I wasn’t going to waste any opportunity, and I was gonna go as far as she’d let me…and as fast as possible before she realized we might be making a mistake. I didn’t want either of us to focus on the mistake. I wanted to focus on the way her skin tasted, the way she whimpered when I started inching my hand up under her shirt, and the feel of her lace bra under my fingertips. God, and I wanted to feel the matching lace underwear I knew she was hiding in her jeans, but she stopped me as soon as I went to unzip them. I can’t even lie and say I wasn’t disappointed at her cockblocking, but I understood.

“I’m sorry. I swear I’m not trying to be a tease, Jay, but I can’t.”

“I get it. You don’t wanna do to Tom what Nate did to you.” I rolled off of her, staring at the ceiling and willing the discomfort in my pants to go away. More than that, I was willing for this to be the start of a new chapter of us. I had her back. She was literally lying in my arms. She was nestling in close to me. As long as she didn’t go back to Tom, everything was going to be okay.

“I’m sorry that everything is so messy,” she whispered, half into my chest.

I kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay. I can handle it. I can handle any mess, as long as I’ve got you.”

She hugged me a little bit tighter and sighed, the adrenaline falling and exhaustion taking over.

As long as I had her…

~~~

My trailer door opened about fifteen minutes later and I slowly extracted myself from Y/n’s embrace. She looked so peaceful and I was happy that I could get up without waking her. The bedroom door opened up and Jared’s eyes zipped from me to Y/n. I didn’t want him waking her up, either, so I put a finger to my lips and pointed toward the living room. He took the hint and I followed him, closing the door as softly as possible and turning to him.

“What did you do?” he whispered, pointing at the door.

“Nothing! I didn’t do anything!”

“Bullshit! What the fuck, Ackles?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t give me that. She came here of her own accord, she talked to me of her own accord. I tried the detached and cold thing but it didn’t fucking work.”

“And how’d she end up in your fucking bed?”

“We didn’t do anything. She’s not a cheater.”

“That doesn’t answer the damn question. How did she-”

“It just happened. We were talking and we both admitted to some regrets. I told her that Dee was divorcing me. She said she never wanted to cause anybody any harm and…we kissed and we ended up in the bedroom but nothing happened and she fell asleep, okay?”

“It’s asking for fucking trouble.”

“Jesus, Padalecki, Danneel’s already leaving me. What more trouble could she give me?”

“She could take everything. She could take the house, the kids, the brewery; she could take your good fuckin’ clubs, Jensen, just for spite.”

“She can have ‘em!” I snapped in a whisper before processing all of what he said. “Well, not the kids, but anything else she wants to use against me? She can have it. I lost Y/n once already. I’m not letting it happen again.”

He sighed. “What about Tom?” I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to respond with a well-thought-out “Fuck Tom” but Jared continued. “Hey, we may not like the guy, but she has a boyfriend.”

“And that’s the only reason why she’s still got clothes on right now; because she wanted it just as much as me, dude, and as soon as she breaks up with him and it’s not cheating anymore, I’m gonna make her scream and I do not give a damn who hears it.”

“You idiot. Danneel hasn’t even filed yet. You can’t start fucking another woman when she hasn’t filed, because then she can list infidelity as the reason for filing.”

“You say that like I give a fuck about the money. I don’t.”

“You should,” Y/n said as she stepped out of the bedroom.

I smiled at her, hoping she’d smile back, but she didn’t. “Hey, Baby Girl. How was your nap?”

“You should care about the money, Jay. Because even if she doesn’t hit you for everything, the judge is probably going to-”

I shook my head. Already back to worrying about me. “You don’t need to worry about any-”

“Jensen, of the three of us in this room, only one of us has been through a divorce. I have specific, sad expertise about this, so let me help you see things correctly.” Jared smirked as she walked over to the fridge a grabbed a bottle of water. “She’s gonna get a shitload of child support out of you, whether she asks for it or not. The judge is just going to give it to her, for the kids’ benefit. I mean, you’ve got three young children, two of whom are still in diapers. You’ve gotta pay for daycare, private school, the nanny, it’s going to be a lot. If she wants, Danneel can definitely come at you for alimony, since she hasn’t done much acting since One Tree Hill, except the Harold and Kumar movies, but I can’t really imagine that those made bank for anyone except John Cho, Kal Penn, and NPH-” She stopped her lesson to take a drink of water from the bottle she pulled out of the fridge and cleared her throat. “If she files with infidelity as the reason, the judge is going to hand her your life on a silver platter.”

“I feel like she’s gonna do that anyway. I mean, she’s leaving because I couldn’t stop loving you.”

“That was different. The old agreement wasn’t infidelity. You had her express permission to have a relationship with me. Hell, she apparently suggested me, and if you’ve still got the phone you had in January of last year, then you’ve got proof of that. I did a screen recording of the Skype call between me and Danneel.”

I pulled my phone out and looked at it, a bit shocked. “No shit?”

She nodded and opened up my videos folder. “Yeah. I figured that if the media found out, it’d be a good idea to have proof that I wasn’t a homewrecker.”

I bit my bottom lip as I watched the beginning of the conversation that led into it all. “You thought of doing this in the few seconds after I handed my phone over to you?” I asked, looking over at her.

“My dad taught me to cover my ass. As soon as I knew we weren’t doing anything wrong, I wanted to have some sort of proof that it wasn’t a bad thing. Back then, it wasn’t infidelity, but anything we do now…it would be, because that relationship is over. I left, she withdrew her permissions…and then there’s Tom.”

“Tom’s a dick,” Jared said, obviously pulling on the knowledge he didn’t feel he needed to share with me.

“No, he’s not,” she disputed, running her hand from her forehead backward. “He’s a good man and he was so fucking worried that he was going to lose me and that’s why he was so controlling and-”

“Controlling?” My eyes went wide. I knew it. I knew that there was something wrong there. I schooled my expression into something serious. “Tom’s controlling?”

She looked down at her feet and bit her lip. “It doesn’t matter.”

Yes, it fuckin’ did. It definitely mattered. “It does fucking matter, Y/n. What did he do?”

“Tom thinks she belongs to him,” Jared said, and Y/n flinched. He didn’t think to tell me that before all this?! He didn’t think I should know? She wasn’t fucking happy and he made it seem like I was making it up because I didn’t want her happy and that was fucking horrible.

“No, I talked to him about it. It wasn’t that big of deal anymore. He stopped.” She looked down at her phone and sighed. “I will tell you about it later, okay? Right now, we need to get to work.” She started to walk out.

The way she turned suddenly so cold and was still defending him, it worried me. “You are gonna dump him, right?”

She threw her hands up in the air and shook her head. Her voice took on a high-pitched sound as she shouted, “I don’t fucking know! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know what the right thing is here!”

I smiled and reached for her, attempting to calm her down and soothe her. “Y/n/n, you just need to-”

“No, shut up!” she cut me off and I could see the panic welling up in her eyes. “Don’t tell me to calm down. Don’t tell me that everything is going to be fine, because nothing feels fine right now!” She started tugging lightly at her hair and looked at the ceiling. “You’re getting divorced, Jensen. Your beautiful and amazing family is going to be broken in half a-and that’s not fine, and Tom told the world about me and him and if I break up with him for my not-even-divorced-yet coworker, what kind of whore am I? What kind of bitch am I?”

I hadn’t even processed my shock over the way she was talking about herself before Jared had rushed over to her. “You’re having a panic attack, aren’t you?” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Do you have any PRN anxiety meds?”

“No. I haven’t needed them. I…I can’t breathe,” she rushed to say as she sat on the steps of the trailer and Jared followed. “I can’t breathe.”

“Hey, Jensen, go tell Rich that Y/n and I are gonna be late,” Jared demanded.

My jaw dropped a little as I debated staying and trying to help. But as Jared rubbed his hand up and down her spine, I knew that I was part of the problem. She needed someone who could help her calm down, and it wasn’t me in that moment, so I left.

I took a moment to calm down myself before heading to the set and cleared my throat as I approached Rich at the director’s chair. “Hey, uh, we’re gonna be runnin’ a little behind. Maybe we should switch some scenes around or something, ‘cause Y/n is having a bit of a panic attack and she’s not going to be able to-”

Rich’s eyes went wide. “Shit, is she okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, Jared's in my trailer with her and he’s talking her down, but it’s gonna put us off schedule. I know that we’ll make it work and we won’t make a big deal about it.”

"Of course not, but she's going to be okay, though, right?"

"Yeah. Definitely. She just needs a little time to breathe."

Rich nodded and sighed. "We'll wait for her. It's a Tara-heavy episode so we can't do much without her. But, hey, at least you two aren't fighting anymore."

My eyebrows came together and I cocked my head to the side a bit. "What do you mean? We weren't fighting."

He scoffed and grinned up at me. "Come on, man. I may not be a genius but I have eyes. Your little breakup was killing the con scene." I opened my mouth to argue, my brain telling me to keep to the rules despite the fact that the rules weren't going to matter much longer, but he reached out and patted my shoulder as he walked toward the set. "When you lost your con cooch to Hiddleston, everything went sour. I'm glad you guys are getting over that. Tomorrow would be very awkward otherwise."

I chuckled and watched him sit in his director's chair. Con cooch. At least he hadn't put it all together. He didn't know we were in love…and I’m sure he didn’t know we were going to end up together for real.