#the globe was my dads from his childhood

[russilton]

Finally doing the room meme bc I’m finally in my room long enough to look at stuff.

Edit: why am I reposting this? Don’t worry about it.

Tagged by @argentinagp @femmegeorge @fabian-vettel and possibly more I’m sorry guys I was so busy

Tagging - no one bc it’s been too long and I don’t remember who’s done what

[memescomicswriting]

It's Nice to Have a Friend

Chapter 1: I Got Waisted Like All My Potential

Summary: Fate is cruel on how it goes about obtaining its desires. It must be fate, because there is no other explanation for how perfectly molded Y/N and Helaena are to one another. They complement one another like opposite sides of a coin. Where Helaena is shy, Y/N is outgoing. Helaena has a photographic memory. Y/N has emotional inteligence. They have the right temperament to be the missing piece in one another’s lives. Ying and Yang. Then there are the boys. Love them or hate them, they’re there. Even the adults cannot escape the Targaryen chaos, and the fallout doesn’t spare the minors simply because they’re adolescents. Follow how Y/N and those around her carve out lives for themselves amongst the weight of the Targaryen legacy in a modern Westeros.

Word Count 3.3k

Pairings: Aegon x Y/N, Aemond xY/N, hints of Jace x Y/N, Platonic! Helaena x Y/N, Father Figure! Harwin x Y/N, Mother Figure! Rhaneyra x Y/N, Mother Figure! Alicent x Y/N

Warnings: 18+ you’ve been warned

Lots of profanity, sexual innuendos, drug and alcohol use, boys being stupid jerks, infidelity, divorce, eventual smut

A/N: Chapters drop on Thursdays. Please, please, please, please share your thoughts. I wanna hear them. I don't bite, promise!

Sereies Masterlist

Thinking back on her adolescence, Y/N divided it into two parts: the quiet time and the time she never had a moment alone. The first ten years of her life were spent as a privileged vagabond. She learned how to read airport terminal maps before she mastered her multiplication tables. It was a unique childhood, but she knew what it meant to be loved and understood that she was cared for. 

Her mother was of Valyrian descent, old money, the old country. Her father’s family accumulated wealth as members of the merchant class. They weren’t nuevo riche as their status elevated  almost two centuries prior, yet nothing could compare to the ancient sway of Old Valeryian wealth. Though the empire came and went, those who could trace their ancestry back to the old lords were in the stratosphere of high society.

Her parents met as most wealthy couples do, through mutual friends. They attended the same college and shared a similar spark. Neither enjoyed the formalities of the elite. They preferred the country to the city, gardening to garden parties, but their lifestyle could never be described as rustic. Oh how the rich love to play pretend poor. Through her mother’s side, she inherited vast real estate holdings across the globe. Through her father, she inherited large shares in corporations the family had a hand in founding. Not to mention a comfortable lump sum in the bank. Yes, she was an heiress and for the large part of her minority she never fully grasped that.

Harwin did the best he could. When you agree to be the godfather of your best friend’s kid, you don’t expect to take on the role as it originally meant. He went from a semi bachelor to a girl dad and an orphan within a few hours. The fire marshal could never say with certainty what caused the Harrenhal Estate fire. His brother Larys escaped by being out for the night. Harwin escaped because he had caught Y/N up and out of bed. Back then he was just the fun uncle. He was the gentle giant that would flip her in the air and sneak her sweats. If he hadn’t woken up to her rustling and escorted her to the kitchens in the opposite wing, then they would have perished as well. Harwin tried to go back for his Father and Y/N’s parents, but when the flames reached the bar and all that old barrel booze there was no chance. Floors were caving in and beams falling.

When the CPS officer asked who Y/N’s next of kin were, the answer was Harwin. It was the summer holiday before her first year of middle school. She was left with her belongings from her parent’s penthouse and the guest room at Harwin’s apartment. It wasn’t an easy transition in the least. Y/N didn’t know what sedentary meant. She hadn’t stayed in one location longer than six months. Harwin, though very paternal, didn’t know how to parent a child 24/7. So he went to the one person who did, Rhaenyra.

Y/N had met Rhaenyra several times throughout her prior life. She’d introduced Y/N’s parents and Harwin. Y/N even joined in the family fun of one or two holiday seasons. Her reintroduction to Rhaenyra and her family marked the end of the quiet times. Going from the luxuries of an only child to one of eight adjacent children was an adjustment for sure. She never knew what it meant to share toys and games, to have someone walk into your space at any given moment on a whim, or not have everyone’s full attention by merely being present. Later, she’d come to appreciate how it forced personal growth on her. In the moment, she reacted by being a bit of a brat.

Over time she became accustomed to common space, sharing the spotlight, the fights, always making extra snacks, and the freedom that sedentary life brought. She could bike all over, something she hadn’t done before. Those whom she met the day prior she could continue to see for months, years on end. She learned what it meant to be amongst peers and the wondrous secrets of sisterhood. It certainly made high school bearable.

Another night, another summer party Helaena didn’t want to attend. That was fine with Y/N. She hated seeing Helaena uncomfortable and Helaena’s absence didn’t mean she’d be alone. She had many friends, many more acquaintances. She wasn’t the kind of popular person that climbed their way up the social ladder by having the right clothes, posting the right things, or the viciousness to pull others beneath her. No, she just was. She was kind and good humored. It didn’t hurt that she had Valyrian money and beauty.

Helaena didn’t want to go. If she brought Jace and Rhaenyra or Harwin suspected anything, he’d cave into their questioning. Aemond wasn’t an avid party goer. And Aegon, Aegon was grounded, again. His mother had been harsher on him as of late. The stress of her failing marriage manifested in a need to tightly control her kids- despite her eldest going into college, two in high school, and the youngest in middle school. Better caught by Alicent who’d never assumed Y/N was up to no good than another episode of awkward parenting by Rhaenyra.

The party was across the lake from the patriarch Targaryen residence. It wasn’t a secret that the children of the elite enjoyed a party now and again in the woods that made estate borders indistinguishable. So long as they weren’t too loud or too rambunctious, no one went looking for them. However, someone, probably a Baratheon or Florent, didn’t realize that you couldn’t replace your parent’s two-hundred dollar bottle of imported vodka with water. It would freeze. So this go around, some estate security guards were dispatched to break up the party. After all, calling law enforcement could mean a charge of underage drinking. Either way, the partiers saw flashlights and scrammed in every direction like cockroaches when you turn on overhead lights.

The path to Y/N’s house took her right past the guards. The scenic route was too far and it was too late. She was also tipsy. Who’s residence happened to be a shoreline walk away? Conveniently, her best friend’s. She’d snuck into the Targaryen house countless times. She practically lived there throughout Rhaenyra and Laenor’s divorce. Rhaenyra’s half siblings were just as guilty for sneaking into her house. Early on an agreement was made. Only one household could be in turmoil at a time. The kids needed some place to escape.

So there she was, Y/N, once again using a column to climb to the roof of the porch. From the porch roof she could reach a lower balcony. Sometimes, she could sneak in that route. If it was a calm night and everyone was where she expected them to be, she could enter into the second floor den and sneak up the stairs to Helaena’s room. This wasn’t one of those nights. Light peered through the door blinds. Either Alicent or Viserys was up nursing a drink after yet another fight. Y/N had to quickly and quietly dart across that balcony to reach another. A great thing about being rich and owning gated property; you needn’t worry about how someone could scale your house and break in.

On the balcony roof, in one direction was Helaena’s room. In the other, Aegon’s. Normally, Y/N had no problem making it to her destination, However, tonight she had been drinking and her balance was off. The thought that she shouldn’t be climbing roofs had crossed her mind, but in her state, the cost benefit analysis seemed reasonable. Her foot shifted under a loose shingle and slipped down to catch on a gutter rail. She froze, eyes wide, wondering if the noise was loud enough to arouse suspicion. After all, a means of entrance was also a means of escape. That was more of Alicent’s priority. Quickly, at the realization that the music stopped, Y/N reached out an arm and hoisted herself up to the nearest window. It was unlocked, thank the gods, and she scurried in before the balcony doors could open.

She wasn’t exactly graceful. She was in a rush and intoxicated. She came tumbling into the room like a child at their first gymnastics lesson. She snorted laughter at her grand entrance. Her head threw back as her laughter grew. She’d definitely bruise, but that was a problem for later. Her laughter came to a sudden end when she was admonishingly hissed at.

“What the hells are you doing?” Aegon exclaimed as much as he could in a whisper. He was in bed, under the covers shirtless. His hair was in a wild state and his eyes were rimmed like he had just seen a ghost or had a heart attack. Y/N began giggling at the sight and situation. “My mother’s going to kill me thinking I’m trying to sneak out while grounded!”

“Don’t worry,” Y/N reassured while wiping tears of laughter. “There was music downstairs so it was probably Viserys. Alicent’s probably on the other end of the building sulking in her room.”

Aegon ran his hands down his face stretching his skin. “They’re fighting again.”

“I know.” She confirmed with a hum. There she was on the ground, legs out in front of her, back against the wall. She was a sight to behold in only her sandals and a barely covering bathing suit cover. A fantasy that definitely came across Aegon’s teenage male mind. No matter how much she got under his skin. Maybe because of it.

“Well go on then. You’ve gotten in, now get out.” He waved to the door.

Y/N tilted her head and examined him as he was. A Cheshire cat's smile beamed across her face. Under the covers, no shirt, hands sneaking back under the fabric. As if reading her mind, Aegon began to protest. “No, Y/n I swear to the gods!”

Too late. Y/N had hopped onto the bed like a predator would its prey. “Whatcha doing there, Aegon.” She hummed out with emphasis on his name. She tried to snatch the covers, but he beat her to it. Trying to catch the other compromised. A long running pastime for the pair.

“Praying.” He deadpanned.

“Bullshit.”

“Trying to sleep.”

“Nah, try again.”

“Would you just take your dumbass out of here?” He was getting pissy. She liked him pissy. If she wasn’t making him pissy then he was making her pissy.

She grinned that feline grin once more as she shook her head.

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” He sounded exasperated by her presence.

“Nuh uh.” She shook her head fervently.

“Yeah huh.” He retorted.

“Fine,” She blew out an exhale. “I may have had a drink or two out by the lake.”

“The party Dane junior organized?”

“The very one you sadly missed.”

“That’s such bullshit.” He crossed his arms with a disagreeable pout. “I get grounded for taking the car out on a midnight snack run. Meanwhile, Harwin and Rhaenyra probably think you’re off in bed. Even if they catch you missing they’ll just assume you’re with Helaena.”

“Sucks to suck.” She said with a teasing shrug.

“Fuck you.” He scoffed back.

“That’s probably what you were just dreaming of.” There began another laugh of giggles.

“I fucking hate you.” He grumbled, very annoyed.

Y/N rolled her eyes dramatically. “Hate to love me. Love to hate me. Now come on.” With that, a bag of gummies magically appeared from between her breasts. How she hid them, he did not know but for sure wanted to find out.

“Get dressed and eat an edible with me.” She offered up the bag.

“How in the seven hells did a devil like you end up best friends with my Septa of a sister?” His gaze was wildly aggressive.

“Fine, fine. I’ll turn around and give you privacy.” She mocked.

Aegon took the opportunity and slipped his joggers back on. He knew if he protested she’d only retaliate and he’d be fighting her off.

“And your sister isn’t a Septa. She’s just not interested in being a whore like you. If you’d been there I’d be the only female you haven’t defiled in one form or another.”

He scooted up to the end of the bed next to her. “Huh, you’d be so lucky.” He plucked a gummy out of the bag and tossed it into his mouth. She might annoy him, but he wasn’t going to pass up free drugs.

“Where’d you get these anyway?”

“The Martell’s just got back from Lys.” She hummed.

“Of course they did. So I should’ve taken half.”

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” With a shrug, she took one herself.

There they laid. Two semi-delinquent teenagers entertained by the ceiling fan. Aegon’s head was laying on Y/N’s stomach while she played with his hair. It was comforting. No one was this gentle with him anymore. His mother stopped long ago. Helaena was never interested in physical contact, even that of familiar or platonic. Aegon never stayed around long enough for one of his many hook ups to be tender. He’d get a hug from his older sister every now and again, but it was more of one of those pat on the back half hugs. No, it was only on rare occasions when he and Y/N were getting along. She allowed him to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close. She’d run her delicate fingers over his scalp and trace patterns on his chest and cheek.

They’d stay like that for hours; until they heard someone approaching or one needed to sneak off into a respectable bedroom. There was a rarely spoken of companionship between them. Each made to grow up before they were ready. Smacked by the world. Both had ruined a marriage.

They had been silent for quite a while. Aegon was fiddling with the fingers of her free hand. A crease formed between his brows in curiosity. “Why didn’t you bring Jace or Aemond?”

Y/N tutted with humor. It was a common question between the two. If not Helaena, why not trust someone else? “Jace can’t have any fun without getting caught or ratting on himself. And Aemond wouldn’t have gone.”

Aegon turned his head to give her that questioning look. “Oh yes he would’ve.”

“Aemond? Our Aemond? Who only tolerates the majority of our peers and turns back into a pumpkin after midnight? We must not be thinking of the same Aemond.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

“But I’m not wrong.”

“You are. I know you are because I know he has a crush on you. Everyone knows he has a thing for you. He and Jace both. You’re just the only one in denial about it. Well, and them.” He shrugs against her.

She lifted her head to glare at him. “Shut up.”

“I’m just saying, if you wanted to, you could have two guys waiting on your every whim.”

“Not my fantasy.” Rather than continue to go back and forth about the validity of his claim, she shot down any thought that she’d want it. That was enough for Aegon to drop it.

They fell back into comfortable silence. It was peaceful. For a moment the world stopped spinning and they were the only two conscious of it. They shared similar weights.

“Are you sure these are fresh? They don’t feel that strong.” Aegon broke the silence again. Though Y/N was normally the chatty one, when they were high or drunk they switched roles.

“Mhm.” She nodded. “Higher CBD to THC ratio. It’s what they had on hand.”

“Oh.” He breathed out, understanding the state they were in. “Who are you going to get high with when I’m gone for college come September?”

He extended his neck to watch her response. Selfishly, he wanted her to say no one because no one could fill his place in these moments. He wanted to be the only one in the whole wide world that she’d be this soft and vulnerable with. He knew that wasn’t true. She annoyed him. She got under his skin and could drive him mad. But he wanted these tender moments to be as sacred to her as they were to him.

“Helaena doesn’t mind edibles.” She answered simply. As if it were nothing. “And Jace is fine so long as he’s away from his mom until he’s sober again.”

Aegon propped himself up and over her. He frowned.

“What?” And this time, her innocence was truthful.

He tilted his head and his frown grew deeper. Y/N sighed. “Do you want me to stockpile all the edibles for when you get back? Is that it?”

Aegon shook his head and kept the frown. Y/N continued. “You won’t be gone that long. The school isn’t that far away and there’s like a dozen holidays in fall semester. Spring has the family trip and summer is right after. You’ll be back. Besides, Helaena and I will probably follow you there next year anyway. We’ll have endless time to take edibles and drool into covers.” She chuckled as it wasn’t as important to her.

He wants to fight her on it. He so desperately wants to make her say this is something special between the two of them. He rolls his eyes and lets it go. He sinks back down onto her stomach and nuzzles into the soft flesh there. “You’re going to be so bored without me.”

Y/N lets out an amused puff of air. “Bored. At peace. Same thing I guess. Hey, maybe Helaena and I will finally have tea without you stealing our cakes.”

A pang of jealousy struck a nerve in Aegon. “You, Helaena, and your tea. I’m surprised any boy is interested in you when you act like an old, married, lesbian couple.” 

He continued in a mocking tone. “Oh Helaena love, you look so beautiful in this light. Helaena, you’re so smart. You’re the smartest person I know. Helaena, I’d do anything for you. I’m surprised someone hasn’t walked in on the two of you scissoring.”

Y/N gave him a shove at that. It didn’t move him much. “You’re gross.”

“And you and my sister are gay for eachother.”

“Helaena doesn’t like girls.” She mumbled. “She doesn’t even like guys like that.”

Confusion flashed across Aegon’s face before it was replaced with stark realization. “No way she doesn’t like anyone. Asexuality is just an excuse you claim when you can’t get laid.”

Y/N went to shove him again but he caught her hands. Aegon was fully invested now. “One, you’re an ass. And two, don’t go around tormenting her with it or I will castrate you and you’ll be a nosexual. Besides, I don’t even think she knows yet. And there’d be no coming back from being the jerk that spoils that for her.”

“I’m an ass.” He clarifies. “Not an asshole.”

“Better be.” Y/N gives him one last threatening look.

Needing to switch topics away from his sister’s sexuality, regretting that he even brought it up as a joke, he asks. “Are you going to spend the night here?”

“I don’t know. Can you keep your hands to yourself?” Before he can make a snide remark, she looked at the clock. “It’s three in the morning. I’d have to be out before the others start to wake at seven.”

Aegon hums in agreement. “Set an alarm.”

It’s an unspoken arrangement. From all the years they spent fighting, wrestling over one insult or another, they became comfortable with being in close proximity to one another. It was almost nostalgic. Like the shared touch brought back fleeting ease; like they were twelve and thirteen and the biggest worry was who could make the other eat dirt first.

They shifted back to the top of the bed. Y/N got under the covers as she was cold. Aegon chased her touch. There they resided, limbs tangled in one another like they were lovers.

And as soon as they found peace the alarm rang.

Next Chapter

[cameronspecial]

Hiii I love your writing so much! I was wondering if you could maybe write something where Drew and the reader moms have been friends since college only causing for the reader, Drew and his siblings to be close due to growing up side by side in Drew’s hometown.

Drew and the reader have been together for a while and they have a little girl together (around 3 or 4 years old) They return to their hometown to celebrate Christmas with their families all together opening gifts, eating Christmas lunch and things like that just loads of fluff between Drew and his daughter the reader and the family.

I would really appreciate if you could do this thank you!!!

Magic Snow Globe

Pairing: Dad!Drew Starkey x Reader

Warnings: N/A

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 0.8K

A/N: Surprise! This wasn't on the schedule so it is my Christmas gift to you guys. This is separate from my dad!Drew series.

Masterlist

Drew watches as Grace examines her father’s childhood bedroom. This isn’t the first time she has been in it, but it feels like the first time because her consciousness is now able to form memories. Her eyes catch the snow globe sitting on the desk and she runs to it. She glances at her father for approval and he nods for her to pick it up. Once the trinket is in her hands, Drew picks the small girl up and places her on his lap as he sits on the bed. “Do you want to know where Daddy got this from?” he asks the three-year-old. Her head vigorously moves up and down. He takes the orb into his hands, turning it over to wind the key at the bottom. The melody of “Silent Night” plays as he begins his story. “Your mommy gave it to me. When we were in middle school…” 

———

Drew loved Christmas time. It meant that he got to spend the Winter break with the Y/L/Ns. This year, they were exploring a little Christmas village that Y/N’s mom found. The hour and a half drive was long, yet worth it once they saw the picture-esque shops covered in snow. Y/N and Drew were old enough to be allowed to go off by themselves and it was exciting for the pair. Drew’s eyes drank in everything and he adored everything about this town. The Christmas music. The small town architecture. The smell of gingerbread cookies in the air. It all brought the holiday to life for him. “God, I wish I could stay in this place forever,” he thought to himself out loud. She caught his words and wanted to make that dream come true. She excused herself for a minute, remembering something she saw inside of a store. She came running back with her hand behind her back and a wide grin on her face. 

“Close your eyes and hold your hands out,” she ordered. He was confused but obeyed her words. His eyebrows met at a point when he heard the familiar tune of “Silent Night”. A weight fell into his hands and his eyelids pulled apart. In his hands was a snow globe. Inside the glass, there was a red-bricked house with a green wreath on the black door. The roof was covered in glittery white snow and more sparkles floated through the water as he moved the orb around in his hands. “Why are you giving me this?” he questioned. She shrugged with a smile, “We can’t exactly stay here forever, so I thought that being able to bring a little piece of it with you would be just as good.” Drew didn’t feel like he needed his jacket anymore because her gesture warmed him up to be burning hot. He knew this was the moment he realized he had fallen in love with the girl who would do anything to make his dreams come true.

———

“And Mommy really did do everything she could to make my dreams come true. She’s the reason why I have an amazing wife, a successful career as an actor, and the most spectacular baby girl in the world,” he recounts. He lifts his daughter into the air and attacks her with kisses. She giggles at the feeling of his lips on her cheeks. He sits back down with her in his lap. He notices she is clinging to the snow globe like her life depends on it. “Auntie Brooke just got in. Come say hello, you two,” Y/N instructs her family. Grace nods and hops off of her father’s lap. She carefully places the symbol of her parents' love on the desk and runs downstairs to greet her aunt.

———

Christmas day, Y/N’s head rests on her husband's chest as everyone watches Grace and her cousins unwrap gifts. The adults love to drink in the Christmas magic coming to life for the kids. Y/N’s nephew places Grace’s next gift onto her lap and her parents watch as she tears apart the paper. Her face lights up at the snow globe she finds. She wobbles a little as her feet plant on the ground and she stands up. She makes her way to Y/N and Drew. Her mother pulls her into the adults’ hold. “Thank you for the snow globe, Daddy,” she says, kissing his cheek. Drew smoothes back her hair, “You’re welcome, Gracie. This is a promise that Daddy is going to do everything he can to help you achieve your dreams.” Grace snuggles into her father’s chest at the promise before going back to opening presents. Drew notices his wife’s gaze and kisses her on the lips. “I guess I’m going to need to get you another snow globe. We wouldn’t want our other baby to feel like their dreams aren’t going to come true,” she whispers to her husband. Drew’s eyebrows furrow for a second and then he fully comprehends her words.

A giant grin crosses his face as he rests a warm hand on her stomach. “I can’t wait for our little family to grow. I can’t believe that I keep having my dreams come true because of you. Having an amazing family with you will always be my biggest dream.” Drew should thank that snow globe because it must have some dream-giving magic. 

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @nonbullshit-toleratingkindagirl

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Everyone’s gone UFO crazy. Maybe The X-Files should come back

Chrissy Iley

MARCH 2, 2024

Starring in a poignant new film adapted from his own novel, David Duchovny reveals the heartache of almost losing his daughter... and why his most famous show could yet return

No wonder David Duchovny has written, directed and stars in his latest movie Bucky F***ing Dent... it’s based on his own bestselling 2016 novel of the same name. Poignant and funny, it examines a father-son relationship via baseball, with X-Files star David playing Marty the dad, who’s dying of lung cancer, and Logan Marshall-Green from Spider-Man: Homecoming as his estranged son Ted.

The real Bucky Dent went down in history for scoring an unlikely home run for the New York Yankees in a 1978 tie-breaker against arch rivals the Boston Red Sox, and the film’s title is how generations of Boston fans have referred to him ever since, a metaphor for heartbreak. Set in that same year, the film follows struggling writer Ted as he moves back into his childhood home when he hears his father is dying, prompting a whirlwind of dark revelations from the past. Meanwhile, Boston fan Marty’s health dips whenever his beloved Red Sox lose, so New York fan Ted orchestrates the illusion of a Boston winning streak...

Marty has transferred his feelings for an old flame (the secret love of his life, not his wife) to the Red Sox. ‘The intensity of fandom has always puzzled me,’ says David. ‘It has to be a kind of sublimation. My father and I liked playing baseball; my best childhood memory is playing it with him and enjoying the simple communication you can have through a game, but we didn’t share the fandom thing.

‘Marty’s transposed his feelings for this woman to the Red Sox, and the movie is really about the idea of losing. In America there’s a sick addiction to winning and winners, but most of us have to lose every day. Suffering makes us human - it unites us all.’

There’s a moment in the film when Marty is talking about a chest infection that almost killed Ted as a child. Marty says he begged God or whoever to take his lungs instead and let Ted live. ‘One thing I’ve never told anyone is that when my daughter was nine months old she got really ill,’ reveals David. ‘Her mother [actress Tea Leoni] and I had to face the fact we might lose her and I remember feeling so devastated, I didn’t think I could love anything again if she died.’

His daughter West, now 24, has since become a successful actress who seems to have inherited her mother’s stunning blonde looks and her father’s charisma. ‘I think she has a greater passion for acting than either of her parents ever did,’ he says. They also have a son Kyd, 21, and David says the hardest moment of his life was telling them he and Tea were divorcing ten years ago, as his own parents had done when he was 12. ‘It was far worse telling them than actually experiencing it. When you’re a child you just try to get through it, you don’t feel responsible. As a parent I felt at least 50 per cent responsible.’

Tall and thin with good skin and an easy charm, David seems untouched by the ageing process, although this role is a huge shift from the Lotharios he usually plays, such as bed-hopping writer Hank in comedy-drama series Californication. Does getting older bother him? ‘Of course, and as an actor you have to think of the different roles you’ll be offered. When I was writing this script I was thinking I’d play Ted, the son. We tried to make it four or five years ago and I was still going to play Ted, but then when it came to doing it I realised it just wouldn’t work, so I thought I’d play Marty. And that was exciting because it was very different.’

Californication won two Emmys and a Golden Globe, but was notorious for its portrayal of LA’s seedier side. Does he think it could be made now? ‘Certainly they would insist on intimacy coaches, but I don’t think it would be made now, for the wrong reasons. There was a misunderstanding about what it was about. It was meant to be funny, and it was meant to be about family and love. But what everybody got excited about was not that,’ he says, referring to the furore over the sex scenes. ‘In my mind the show was misperceived.’

Another of David’s roles that would spark a row today was a transgender FBI agent in Twin Peaks in the early 90s, when almost no transgender women were on TV. Again it was groundbreaking. ‘But if you’re playing a murderer no one asks you, “Have you murdered people?”’ he says. ‘It was just being an actor.’

David is, of course, best known for The X-Files, in which he played UFO-obsessed FBI agent Mulder opposite Gillian Anderson’s sceptical Scully. The series finally bowed out in 2018 after 11 series, but could there ever be another? ‘Maybe - it might even be more current now,’ he says, referring to the recent release of top-secret UFO files in the US. ‘I’m not personally interested in UFOs so it doesn’t make it more exciting for me to revisit The X-Files. It was a role I played but I wasn’t passionate about the subject. Maybe I’m the only one who isn’t.’

There was a brouhaha at the time about the huge pay discrepancy between David and Gillian, and I wonder if it would be difficult for him to work with her again. ‘As far as I know, by the end there was no difference at all between us, but Hollywood salaries are very weird,’ he says. ‘I’m going to London soon and I’ll see Gillian because she lives there now. I saw her in the West End doing All About Eve and I enjoyed it. She wished me luck with Bucky too.’

In recent years David has explored his passion for music, releasing a couple of folk-rock albums. So does he see himself as an actor, a director or a musician? ‘All of them, I’m an artist,’ he says. ‘I can filter stuff through a song, a novel, a performance or through directing. There are all kinds of ways of being an artist. I write best about dramatic things. There’s a way to deal with suffering to create art.’

Bucky F***ing Dent, Glasgow Film Festival, Wednesday. Visit glasgowfilm.org

[anaconamor]

miami night's - christian pulisic x reader.

a sum of the story! : growing up to your parent's expectations, you were told what to do, how you were going to live your life. what happens when one night you break the rules for a man you just met?

warning this contains smut... so if you're a minor step away. it's my first time writing smut and genuinely something like this so please be kind! I'd also appreciate some feedback. enjoy! ❣❣

WC: 5.4K (18+ content)

Masterlist

Miami. Miami held a special place in you. You had been going there since childhood, all the way to now during your senior year in Uni. You enjoyed taking long walks by the shore, picking up small shells that you've gradually collected over the years, and taking pictures of the blue water and the to-die-for sunsets. It is where you've had a near-death experience by almost drowning, but also special memories like going for boat rides and surfing.

You had stayed in the States for your first two years of Uni studying to become a fine architect like your dad. It wasn't up to you, you had to follow his footsteps or you'd be a dishonor to the family. Your family went decades upon decades as architects, building and making some fine homes, buildings, and businesses. You didn't want to do that though, you wished and prayed that one day they’d realize how hard the pressure was to live up to the last name.

You had two older brothers, they have their families and are known quite around for making their work be known, but you, you weren't near their level. Mostly because part of you loved to make things harder for them. You just wanted to go out and live life how you dreamed. Due to your family’s name and reputation, you became such an introverted person. No matter how hard you tried to be “different”, they wouldn't find it professional of you.

You wanted the late-night drives with friends, travel around the globe, the skiing trip in Aspen, read books on a cold night as you felt the heat of a bonfire, and become a different person than the one they set you to be. You wanted freedom.

You had your group of friends that stuck with you since day one, two are engaged and going to start law school in the fall, your other girlfriend was going to begin her years in medical school in December, and one was going to become a professional dancer, and you well a said to be an architect. You wanted to become a journalist and have the world know of your passion to write a novel one day. No one knew of this, of course just your friends, if your family knew they freak.

During your third year of Uni, it took some convincing but you made the move to study abroad in the UK. Promising that you went for school, and school only. You loved it, the experiences of going out, looking at the different historical monuments, and taking holidays to Germany and Spain. You were living the life of the party, you could get used to that, but the States held a special place in your heart.

While in school in London, you made the decision to design and build out your dream home by the beach in Miami, a plan and idea only you knew. A house that you could visit and escape reality from. The dream home where you could wake up to smell the ocean breeze, tie up the beachy waves in your hair, and walk to shore to write your novel. It's what you had set to finish before working with your dad’s firm. A home one day you may take your kids to, for them to enjoy their time off. You invested and it was built secretly to your name, no one knew besides you. Receiving the keys shortly after arriving back.

Graduation was a true and humbling experience. But the feeling of relief of not having to take finals, go out with your dad on the weekends, and overall stay at your small dorm of yours was so soothing. You had promised your mom you’d stay the summer with her in their house in Miami. Before moving out to an apartment in Downtown Miami. It was the first couple weeks in which you realized you hated living with them. You were constantly asked what you were doing, where you were going, and why you were being so lazy instead of helping out. You never argued back, but your mom was always there to hold and hug you while you silently friend.

“Y/n? Your dad wants you in his study,” you heard your older brother Ryan say, knowing on your bedroom door. You rolled your eyes, and stood up, quickly throwing on an oversized t-shirt. You roamed through the kitchen to find a bottle of water, quickly taking a sip before knocking on the door of your dad’s study. “Come in.”

You stood by the door, crossing your arms behind you, waiting for him to speak. “Sit. I’d like to discuss something with you.” You knew that meant trouble, trouble for you, but a marvelous plan for him. You’d get used to the disappointment over time, but it never did get easier. You walked over and sat on the leather chair that faced him over his desk. Your dad's glasses hung low on his nose, looking at your choice of outfit. “Could’ve made yourself more presentable. It's almost one pm.”

“Dad!” you groaned, quickly becoming irritated, but he just shrugs it off. “I was discussing with Ryan, and Luke about our opening party for the new hotel in Downtown. Your mother will be assisting you, but you're in charge of decorating, and planning out the event. I just forwarded the invite list. Please don’t waste any time and get to work quickly. I hate being disappointed,” he urged.

Your jaw clenched, eyes wanting to pop out of their sockets. “You have a week, and I mean when I say I don’t want to be disappointed.” you wanted to refuse, to tell him to find someone else, that you're tired of working for him, but instead you brushed back the angry tears and nodded, standing up to walk out. “Anything else I should know?” you quietly said, afraid of your voice breaking.

“You're dismissed.”

You sighed and walked over to your mom’s office, where she gave you a sympathizing smile when opening the door. “I'm sorry sweetie. I just found out today as well. Let’s just help each other out. Maybe you can invite your friends over to help us too. I already did the catering, you can start off by making the invitations and forwarding them over to Luke so he can send them out.” And so you do.

Over the next few days, your mom grows worried when you're just sitting there quietly, not making any conversation or noticing her at all. You look unhappy. You are unhappy. But you knew if you told her, she’d rat you off to your dad, and that's the last thing you needed. She’d take notice of how shy and fragile you look. But you continued to work to make your dad satisfied. “Are you okay Y/n?” your mom asked, but you shrugged it off, “I'm fine. Let's quickly finish here, yeah?”

She did just that. After finishing decorating the tables by securing the silk fabric, placing the glasses, plates, and utensils, and positioning name cards on every table, you went to the mall and picked out a gown for the evening, having a self-care day after the week you had. You treated yourself well, happy with your purchases before heading off home for the day that was held for you tomorrow.

Your black gown was staring at you after you finished your hair and makeup. A smokey eye look and false lashes made you look sexy. You felt sexy and empowering. You went over and picked up the silk material before sliding it over your body. The dress hugged your curves, and the heels elongated your legs giving you the model look. Your family waited for you, your heels clicking against the floor as you placed your gold watch on, a gift from your friends. “You look beautiful Y/n!” your mom gasped, kissing your cheek before guiding you to the car.

You greeted the different guests, hugging old friends of your parents, helping them find their assigned seating, and assuring food would be out quickly. Putting them first over you. You were chatting with your friends, discussing going out after the event tonight, which was needed. You wanted to have drinks and wake up with the most raging hangover.

You shut your eyes annoyed when you heard your dad call you over, “Y/n! Come here for a second sweetie.” He only called you sweetie when it was a client he was interested in having, wanting them to believe in the perfect family title. You excused yourself from your friends, feeling their eyes as you walked over to your family. “Yes Dad?” you asked respectfully, shaking the hands of a blonde woman, and her husband, and then finally a young man close to your age.

You could've sworn you felt butterflies as you stared at his brown eyes. He was attractive, making you feel insecure and intimate with his gaze. “I’m Christian, a pleasure to finally meet you,” instead of shaking your hand, he placed a small kiss on the back of your hands, making your cheeks burn crimson. You smiled at him, shifting your weight from one leg to another, “Likewise Christian, I’m Y/n.”

You stood there quietly hearing your family talk about how they started their business, how they built the new place, and your dad’s career mostly, but what got you intrigued is when he mentioned your name. Christian voice was filled with curiosity, wanting to hear you speak again, “Your dad mentioned you recently graduated. Will you work with him, or what are your plans?”

You looked over to your dad who held almost a frustrated face, your brothers sending you a “don't fuck this up for us” look. “I just graduated! I will be working with him after the summer ends. We have some definite plans of wanting to design and convert something together. I just want to enjoy a bit of time for myself before reality kicks in,” you joked, making them laugh. “Enjoy it, sweetie, because once you become an adult there is no going back,” Christian’s mom said.

You noticed new people were arriving, so you took the time to excuse yourself from the fierce setting. You locked eyes with Chrisitan one more time, feeling goosebumps as you observed his freckled skin and curly hair, god he was sexy. Especially with the suit he was wearing. “If you'd excuse me, I’m going to greet some people that came in. Make sure they settle in okay.”

You didn't look back, just making sure one of your dad's old clients was taken care of. After sharing a few laughs and conversations with your friends you went to take a quick breather outside. You didn’t tell anyone, just wanting some space and peace. You hated these types of events, acting like the perfect daughter to please them. You were shy and reserved, only speaking when the attention was advertised to you. It's what you were taught.

“You okay?” you let out a small gasp, turning over to see Christian again. This time his coat was off, his white button-up undone from the top, and his sleeves giving you a first-hand look at his tattoos. You swallowed and became nervous all over again. “I'm okay. Just needed some time before going back in there,” you said, offering a reassuring smile. He chuckled and joined you, standing dangerously close to you.

“In that case, I'll join you. Events like this aren't my cup of tea,” you gave him a small laugh, “Believe me, I'm on the same page.”

“You look beautiful. Nearly tripped when I saw you…” Christian admitted, watching how your eyes slightly widen at his words, the small blush creeping against your cheeks despite wearing blush already. “Thank you, Christian,” you were speechless, should you say he looked handsome?

“Back there I asked you if you were planning to work with your dad. But I sensed a small hesitation. So I’ll ask you again, what are your plans? Not his, but yours…” you let out a nervous chuckle. Christian read your cards right, and he wanted to know more about you, what you liked and disliked. He wanted to spend the evening with you, break the rules and let you loose.

Was this a test your dad had sent him to you? Or was he genuinely interested in you? You’ve had your share of men wanting to know about you, spend a night with you. You’ve had sex once, never had a boyfriend, who would be interested in you? Why was he interested in you? You overthinking thoughts crossed.

“I want to become a writer. Write my novel, and travel to see the world. I had the chance to go abroad last year, and I miss it. Got to visit places I dreamed of going to as a kid. I don’t want to work with my dad. Or his firm at all. I want to make a name for myself, not the one they’re trying to produce,” you confessed, watching as his hand interlocked with your shaky one. His thumb delicately brushed against your knuckles, assuring you he was right there. How could this handsome, well sexy, stranger make you feel this way? Hot and bothered?

“Tell me more about you Y/n. I want to hear all of it.”

And so you did. You told him about your dream to become an author, explaining how Miami was home to you for so long. You told him about your group of friends, sharing jokes that made him let out deep chuckles, you even went on to tell him about the house you built not too long ago. He told you about his career, his life here in the States, and how he admires his family and friends over anything. Not once spilling out a single lie. You trusted him, as much as he trusted you.

“Take me there, I’d love to see the house. Let's get out of here and continue the night together,” he whispered, nodding his head back to the party inside, “It’s not that easy. They’ll be mad if I do…” you say, turning away from him. Reality set in. Realizing how just as long you’d been out here for. But no one came looking for you. “Can I be honest with you?” Christian said you averted your eyes back to him, his hand brushed against your cheek, tucking a curl behind your ear, his touch sending shivers down your spine.

“I haven’t had this much fun in so long. I needed to have this night, like this. I confide in you, and I want to be near you. You intrigue me a lot Y/n… I just hope you feel the same way, or else I just made a fool out of myself,” he revealed. You let out a shaky breath, feeling his forehead rest against yours. Despite meeting just a couple of hours before, you felt a sense of comfort and safety in his arms. “Wait for me outside. I'll be there in ten minutes okay?” you whispered against his lips, you tested the waters and kissed the corner of his mouth before standing up.

He watched with dark and intrigued eyes as you returned to the party. You made up a lie about not feeling well to your parents. Feeling like you were going to throw up and wanting rest. Of course, your dad caught on but he was with friends, so there was nothing he could say. You told your friends, wanting someone to at least know where you’d be, and they couldn't help but tease you, ushering on to go get your “man”. “Don’t worry about us! Go and enjoy yourself Y/n! Don’t look back.”

Your heels clicked against the concrete, hearing Christian footsteps following you up the stairs of your beach home. “This is it,” you unlocked the door and faced yourself with a family feeling of home. You watched how he silently stared at your home, the long and tall ceilings, the many windows on the wall, the antique furniture, the picture frame of your favorite memories, and the bookshelf near the TV mount. “You designed all this?” he couldn’t help but ask.

He stared at you, watching you nod, and walk over to the kitchen where his jaw drops open, “Holy shit. This is so beautiful Y/n,” you silently patted yourself on the back proudly. He was the first few people that came in here. The only people coming here first were your friends and the construction crew. “You're one of the few people that have seen this place. Not even my family knows about this.”

“I feel honored. Truly, this is amazing work love.” The word love made you almost fold. The way it rolled off his tongue to you. It had you wanting to hear more because you knew he was capable of doing so. “Do you want a drink? I have some beers and other beverages?” you offered, he nodded and settled with a Corona, you having the same. You showed him different parts of the house but upstairs was still unknown to him. You were sitting outside just having meaningful and deep conversations. He told you more of him, even admitting some of the things he said he didn’t tell anyone. You were falling for this man already? Is this what it felt like to like someone? The feeling of security with him didn't leave you, but now there was an elephant in the room that was being discussed. “How did you handle relationships like that? You know, with having a dad like that?”

“I've never been in love. I’ve never had a boyfriend,” you sadly smiled. “I've spent my whole life just living up to their expectations. Having a boyfriend to them was a sign that you were ready to settle down and began your family. Which I’m not prepared for. There is still so much I want to encounter, and having that commitment right now scares me…” you confessed. “This is all new to me Chris… I never bring people here, let alone have talks like I have with you… I have trust issues…” you continued.

Despite sitting outside on the steps that faced the beach, he moved closer to you, grabbing your chin gently facing towards him. “We might've just met. But this feels so, so, so right. Being here with you. If you’d let me I’d prove to you how much you’re worth. Because the woman I see in front of me is beautiful, a pure soul, with talent, and smart. You already have set with what you want to do with your life, and you should. A little love never hurts anyone, and I want to earn your trust,” Christian hummed at the end, now grabbing your cheek, and wiping a small tear that let out.

“I trust you, Christian,” was all you said before crashing your lips against his. His hand now rests on the back of your head, while yours is placed flat on his chest. You kissed him fervently, his soft lips molding against yours. He tasted sweet despite having some beers, and when your tongues began to fight for dominance, he let out a soft groan that made you want to clench your thighs together. “So sweet Y/n…” he whispered.

The sexual tension grew, now feeling as his big hands went behind you to unzip your dress, he kissed along your jaw, leaving a wet trail that made you throw your head back in pleasure. Chrisitan continued kissing down to your bare collarbone, biting the skin and leaving a small mark behind. “You feel perfect against me,” his voice deep. He gripped your waist and felt your clothed nipples as you kissed him back passionately. His hands traveled close to your ass, where he gripped it gently which made you let out a small moan against his mouth. “God the way you sound,” Christian groaned before diving back and kissing you.

You wanted more, you needed more. His touch and taste were addicting. “Christian…” you panted, your small hands making their way up to grab his face. You swallowed before interlocking eyes with him. “Yes, baby? Tell me what you need…” he replied, one of his hands delicately drawing shapes on your spine. “I want you to kiss me…” you say.

He listens. Tasting your cherry-coated lips, his tongue finding its way back inside your mouth, hearing as you whimper as he devoured you. “What else…” Instead of replying you took off his shirt, watching over the small moles that decorated against his skin. You looked up as you kissed over them, watching him throw his head back. You place a small trail of kisses up to his throat where you see him gulp deeply, awaiting your next move. Your thumbs brushed against his nipples, “God your hands are like silk, Y/n. Already can't get enough,” you smiled innocently before unbuckling his belt. You felt his cock harden against his black Calvin Klein boxers. “Now we're even…” you refer to being only in your black lacy bra and thong.

He picked you up, your arms wrapping around his upper shoulders as you let out a small giggle. He placed you on your bed, watching you with hungry eyes at your almost naked figure, Christian felt lucky. “You have such a beautiful body. One I’m going to take my time to kiss and mark on. Will you let me do that? Hm?” he asked you while dipping his head into the crook of your neck, feeling as you let out a breath. All you could do was nod, but he wasn't taking silence as an answer. “I have to hear you say it. I won't touch you unless I hear you say it.”

“Touch me, Christian. Kiss me. Mark me. Just do something please,” you begged. Christian nodded and went between your legs, feeling your legs wrapped around his, your clothed pussy brushing against his clothed cock. His hands went behind you to unclasp your bra, where he slowly kissed around your shoulder, before diving his mouth to your nipple. You let out a shaky moan, feeling his tongue flatly pressed against the sensitive nub before flicking it and sucking with his teeth and lips. His hand comes up to play with your other breast, giving the same undivided attention.

He looked at you, having you under his mercy. He kissed along your ribcage before licking his way down to your navel. Your attention quickly returned to him. You sat up on your elbows, awaiting his next moves, now feeling nervous and shy. “Don’t… whatever is racing through your head isn't true…” he kissed your hip bone. “No one has ever done it… What you're about to do…” you admitted.

“Then I’ll be the first. I need to taste you, baby. I can feel you dripping… I'll be gentle,” Christian reassured you, kissing your lips again, before diving back in between your legs. You felt his stubble kiss along your inner thighs, teasing you, you moaned when his face came close to your heated area. “Kiss me..” you let out a breath, just wanting to feel his tongue against you. “Kiss you where baby? Here?” he went back to kiss your thighs, where you groaned. You shook your head, growing tired of his teasing. “Here, baby…” you pointed at your clothed pussy.

You felt his shoulder flex against the back of your things, watching how he placed your thong to the side before kissing your clit gently. Your lips trembled, biting your bottom lip as you felt place his tongue against you. He pulled you closer and began to eat you out. You moaned, grabbing and tugging his curls, wanting to pull on something as you felt his warm tongue against you. Your back arched as he began to gently flick the bundle of nerves, feeling wetter as you felt him groan. “You're so incredibly sweet, I need more…” he said.

He gave your clit so much attention, that your back arched once again when you felt him place his tongue inside you, his brown eyes watching you as you do so, your nipples completely erect. “Chris… You feel so good… how are you so good at this?” you wailed, your fingers circling your nipple to enhance the pleasure even more. “That’s it baby… play with your nipple and watch me eat this pussy…” he dove back in, feeling your thighs close around him. He spread your legs and began to dig his head deeper into you. You felt the sudden intrusion of his two long and thick fingers inside you, “Fuck. Oh god… Keep going, don’t stop,” you moaned.

“I want you to come for me. I want to watch you come around my fingers, Y/n. Can you do that?” you nodded quickly, feeling his tongue begin flicking your clit again. He pumped and worked his fingers inside you quicker now, feeling how tight you were. “So tight baby, I wonder how my cock will feel inside you…”

He continued the same momentum, bringing you to your high where you cry out his name. He continues to suck and pump his fingers inside you after cumming, beginning to feel a bit overstimulated… “Chris… I want you to fuck me now…” He stops what he’s doing, stands up, and kisses you. The taste of yourself is present, your hands remove his boxers watching his cock spring out. Your eyes widen at his size, feeling smaller than before. “Look so innocent baby. Are you sure you want me to fuck you?” he asks. “Yes. Please fuck me,” you beg.

He smirks and lays you back down, fully removing his boxers, he looks down at your wet cunt, your cum seeping through, he groans and picks up some of your wetness before pumping his dick with it, using it as lube. The sight had you going over and playing with yourself, your fingers drawing small circles to relieve the agony. He removes your fingers, licking over them before resting your hands with one hand above your head.

Both of you watch his cock seep inside you. You let out a small breath… before looking at Christian's face that has pleasure over. His brows pulled together, biting his lip. “So tight and so wet Y/n…” he moans, “Can I keep going?”

“Keep going?” you look back down and notice only half of his cock was in, he smirks before looking at your innocent face all over again. You nod and give him consent, and he slowly begins to drill deep inside you. Your walls clench around him, where he sizzles in almost pain, he notices you frown concerned, “I’m okay baby, just feels so good. I knew your pussy would feel this good around me… Taking me like a good girl you are” Christian praises you.

“You can move…” you say and he lets go of your wrists, watching as your small palms rest against his strong biceps, which you dig your nails into. He begins to slowly thrust out and then go back in, the sight of his abs clenching has you moaning. He finds a correct wave of pleasure for both of you, quickly finding the spot inside you that makes you turn your head to the side and cry out in pleasure. “Eyes on me baby… I need to see your face while I make you come…”

“You're so big, Christian… I can feel you right here…” You place your palm against your abdomen, where he moans in pleasure. “That deep baby?”

You moan out as he picks up his pace, feeling his long and thick cock guided against your wet walls. He leans down and kisses you, wanting to taste your sweet lips. “So perfect baby, doing so good for me…”

“Are you going to come for me Y/n? Gonna come on this cock,” you moan out a yes, kissing his stubbled jaw that tickles you. He grabs your hips, watching as your hands tug on the white sheets below you. He feels in heaven, your warm walls swallowing his cock just like he imagined, the noises you let out reassuring him it wasn’t a dream and it was real. His thrusts were more quicker but still gentle like he had said, your eyes shut, “I'm going to cum Christian… I need to. You're making me feel so fucking good…”

You're at the rim of the glass at how close you were to cumming but you whined when he warned you to wait for him, “Wait for me… I'm almost there baby… Want to cum with you…” You leaned up and kissed him, letting his weight drop against you, your sweaty bodies now closer than ever. The small beads of sweat gilded against his freckled skin, his curls messed up at the way you tugged at them. He stared at your plump and swollen lips, picturing how they would look around his cock.

Chrisitan leaned his head down to your ear, thrusting harder inside you that had you moaning loud, “Cum for me love… Cum all over for me….” He felt you clench against him, his orgasm running with yours. You could've sworn you felt his warm ropes of cum inside you, as his thrust began to falter. He kissed you, smiling when you smiled against his lips, “You okay?”

You hummed muttering out, “Im okay… Feeling tired though…”

“Don’t fall asleep on me now… I have to care for you. Make sure you're nice and clean before we go to bed…” Christian said. He let you know he was going to pull out, and you suddenly felt empty. He picked you up and pulled you into the steamy hot shower, where he washed your hair and body. You return the favor, the loofa gliding against his skin, you drawing small shapes on his tattoos, and him watching you with the biggest grin on his face.

You decide to sleep naked… Not having many clothes here just yet. You told him to sleep in the guest room together, feeling lazy and tired to change the sheets. He held you close, your head on his chest, feeling his nails rake against your arm. But during the night, he somehow ended up on top of you. His curls are messy against your shoulder, and his tattooed arm is around your waist. You felt at home again.

You stir quietly, still feeling the weight on top of you. You don’t know how you manage but you get up and use the restroom. Drawing your hair up in a messy bun and washing your face and teeth. You put on a bra and underwear, going back into the room where Chrisitan continues to sleep. You grab his shirt from last night and button a few buttons. It’s early, maybe six in the morning? But you stare at the man who you now want to spend the rest of your life with.

You kiss his forehead, knowing he can’t hear you but you whisper, “I'm going to make up some breakfast… Come join me when you wake up…” You quietly hop down the stairs into the kitchen you designed from scratch. You make some coffee and rest on the small island that faced the windows outside to the beach. Watching the first lights of morning awakening, you feel his hands wrap around you… “I saw you washed my clothes, and I had wondered where my shirt went…”

He kisses you and says good morning… he pours a cup of coffee and nudges you to go outside to watch the sunrise together. “Give me a second, just going to grab my phone,” he kisses your forehead and walks outside. You pick up your purse and grab your phone. You carry your mug in your left hand while you unlock the phone with your right, only to be met with a message from your father. Your heart sinks, and the feeling of being uncovered overcomes you. Christian notices and asks if you're okay, seeing as you become pale. He looks at the message in your hand, his eyes widening just a bit.

From Dad:

I hope you have a good explanation as to why you’re not home and “resting”, Y/n. You lied to me and your mom. When the fuck were you going to tell me about this home you built here? Why was I not aware of this plan?

tag list! if you'd like to be included just send me a dm or reply below! ❣

@swimmingismywholelife

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Richard Madden born June 18th 1986 in Elderslie.

Richard was raised by his mother, Pat, a classroom assistant and his father, Richard, who worked for the fire service. He also has two sisters, Cara and Lauren.

His parents were “hippies”, he says, and their house was pretty open, with friends always piling in for big vegetarian meals. Madden spent a lot of time outside, in the woods behind their house. He has several injuries: he shows me where he shot his dad’s old air pistol and blew off part of his finger, then managed to wreck the same finger when he nailed a wooden plank to his skateboard, then crashed it, so apart from the Hippie parents it was much like most of our own days as bairns.

Despite growing up wanting to be an actor, Richard was very shy during his childhood. To overcome this, at age 11, he joined Paisley Arts Centre’s youth theatre program. In 1999 he was given the lead role as Sebastian Simpkins in BBC1’s children’s TV comedy series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, that’s him aged 12 in the first pic with co-star Toyah Wilcox.. By 2000, he’d made his feature film debut in the Iain Banks adaptation, Complicity.

After high school he was accepted to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland and in 2007, he graduated.

Less than two years later, Richard had a recurring role as Dean McKenzie on the 2009 BBC series Hope Springs. Soon after, he landed the role of Ripley in the 2010 movie Chatroom, a film about a group of teenagers who encourage each other’s bad behaviours after meeting online. In the same year, Richard played punk band Theatre of Hate singer Kirk Brandon in Worried About the Boy, a TV film about the life of British singer-songwriter Boy George.

In 2011 Richard landed his breakthrough role as Robb Stark in the HBO fantasy-drama series Game of Thrones. Also in 2011, he played gay paramedic Ashley Greenwick on the short-lived British comedy-drama Sirens. During hiatus from filming Game of Thrones in 2013, Richard was cast to star as Prince Charming in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella.

Richard won his first Screen Actors Guild award in 2014 for the Discovery Channel mini-series, Klondike. He played Bill Haskell, one of two adventurers who travel to Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. He further enhanced his reputation as a good actor when he appeared in the BBC drama Bodyguard in 2018, the following year he played Lieutenant Joseph Blake in the film 2017 and was Elton John’s manager/lover in the biop of the star Rocketman.

In January 2019 Madden won a prestigious Golden Globe for his role as war veteran David Budd in the BBC show Bodyguard. He also appeared in the 2019 war movie 1917.

We last saw Richard in the movie, Eternals, which was okay, but nothing great, he is one of several actors being touted as the next James Bond,

Last year Richard starred in the Amazon Prime series Citadel, I've watcheit and was not really impressed with it,I think he does pull of the American accent well, but I noticed there have been people saying he doesnt, Madden revealed he spoke in the accent for two years straight to prepare for the series. The show has been earmarked for a second series. Richard is set to appear in the feature film Killer Heat next, it is in post production.

In July 2019, Madden received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. When asked about his personal life during a New York Times interview following speculation about his relationships and sexuality, Madden stated: “I just keep my personal life personal.”

Madden was recently named one of ‘Scotland’s Sexiest Men' following a new study that identifies the most attractive features for men, he has competition though, also in the running are Bathgate’s David Tennant and Glasgow’s James McAvoy,

Richard, quizzed on what he would like to do next he sad “I’d like to do something in comedy. It’s nice to not… I mean we go to work every day and we’re like, ‘You’re gonna die today,’” he said, adding that he wanted to “do something fun for a minute.”

[smoooothoperator]

Beautiful Stranger

Daphne's first love and heartbreak

a/n: Hello loves! As you may (or may not) know, my characters will be on @elisysd new story Gold Rush! They won't me important, but on the prologue she talked about Daphne and I wanted to do her point of view of that part of the story! I hope everyone likes this!

Summer of 2042

Greece was a place she always loved.

Every summer since they met, her parents went to that country to spend their summer holidays, making it a family tradition. All the Norris rented a house in Parga and then a boat to go around the coast.

On a shelf of her house there's an album of photos from all those vacations. She always opened those albums when she was a kid, watching how her parents used to be, how her mom used to look like. 

There are pictures of the first time they met, both of them on a camper traveling together. Then there is a picture of them hugging, her mom with a beautiful engagement ring on her finger. Then pictures of their wedding, and their honeymoon.

And then the first time she was in Greece: inside the womb of her mother.

One of the reasons she loved going to Greece was because she felt like she belonged to that place. She never met her mom's family, only an old woman she considers her grandma.

When the old woman started to get sick, Lando and Lily decided to be with her on her last moments.

Lando was now retired, and Lily was a well known artist in Europe. But, even if he had three championship titles and she had her paintings in important art galleries all over the globe, luck and fortune weren't always by their side.

In 2039, the Norris family moved into Parga, wanting to spend the time and make memories with the woman that welcomed them as her own kids the first time they stepped in the town. 

But unfortunately, Nora Makris died in January of 2041. Leaving the family with a hole on their hearts 

Now, in the summer of 2042, after the death of the beloved woman, they were on a blanket with snacks and drinks in front of them, sitting in front of the grave of the woman.

"So… we wanted to tell you something, Nora" Lando smiled weakly, hugging his son on his lap. "Will you say it, buddy?"

"I am on a karting team" the eight years old boy said, hugging his dad. 

Daphne smiled weakly looking at her brother Percy. He's the exact copy of her father, with the same smile and same curly hair.

Otherwise, Daphne is the reflection of her mother, but with her father's eyes. She loves art, she loves Greece. Some of her parents' friends joked around saying that she saw her mother painting while she was in her womb, because since she was little she already showed her will to make art.

"I miss you, Nora" her mom sighed, making her dad hold her hand and kiss her head. "We all miss you, mom"

Daphne sighed and left a flower in front of the grave, tracking the name and numbers with her fingers.

R.I.P. 

Nora Makris

Your family will always remember you

"Come on, kids" Lando sighed, helping his son get up and then he did it. "It's time to go"

Daphne looked at her family. Her brother held her hand tightly, hugging her while they walked away from the cemetery. She looked back, how her dad hugged her mom's shoulders kissing her temple.

Since she was little she always dreamed of having someone that could love her how her dad loves her mom. 

"Are we going to Santorini?" Percy asked his dad, holding his hand. "Will Louis be there?"

"Yeah" he smiled, picking him up. "Come on, the rest of the group is already on the boat"

That summer, the Norris family boat will be full with the Leclercs, the Gaslys and the Vestappens. The four families will spend their summer together, going by boat to Santorini and staying in a house together.

"Julia!" Daphne smiled, hugging her childhood friend.

"Dane!" she smiled, hugging her back.

The Gaslys had twins, but she never got along with them a lot, they were always with Ethan, the Verstappens' son. 

Julia Leclerc is her best friend. Even if they live in different countries and study in different places, all the time they went to the races to support their fathers, they spent time together. She's like the old sister she never had, and she loves her as a sister.

"How are you?" Julia asked with a weak smile.

"Yeah… well… I mean, I miss her" she smiled weakly. "It is hard. She was there since I was born, but now she's not…"

"I get it, Dane" she sighed. "She was part of your family. I miss her too, but I totally get it that you feel this low now"

"Yeah" she sighed.

In previous summers, Nora liked to have the kids with her when their parents went out to have fun as adults. Julia and Daphne always sat on the floor in front of her learning about Greece and the history of it. Thanks to that woman they know and love this place.

"Come on, I bought some things to spend time here" the older girl said, walking in front of her.

The yacht wasn't big enough for the four families to sleep there, so they had to share rooms to make sure there wasn't a problem.

"How is Louis going?" Daphne smiled weakly, watching the little Leclerc sitting next to her mother, wearing noise canceling headphones. 

"Nice… he goes to therapy and they are trying to find a way of communicating with him" Julia sighed. 

Daphne nodded and walked with her friend, looking around. She saw the Gasly twins and Ethan, looking carefully at Julia to see her reaction. Since she was little she remembers the arguments the two kids had, how Ethan tried to make her angry and how upset she reacted.

"I hate that he's here" she heard Julia groan, making her chuckle softly.

After they got changed into their bikinis, they went to the living room together, sitting on one of the couches.

"Sometimes it makes me sad to look at your brother trying to get closer to Louis" Julia sighed, watching how Daphne's brother was sitting meters away from Louis.

"He brought a book about insects, you know?" Daphne said, smiling softly. "And he even bought some small plushies of bugs for him"

"Really? That's so sweet" Julia smiled weakly. "Do you want me to ask him if he wants me to give them to him?"

"Would you do that for him?" she smiled softly. 

"Sure" Julia nodded, nudging her side.

Julia is a wonderful person. Daphne knows she suffered from bullying, she saw how her friend changed. One week she was friendly with her and the next one she tried everything to keep a distance with her. But she tried to keep contact with her, until she discovered what happened.

She saw how Julia got up and sat next to Percy, hugging him and playing with him to make him laugh. If there's something true about the older Leclerc is that no matter what, she will always love and protect her family and loved ones. And because she has known the Norris since she was born, she feels they are part of her family too.

"A bird told me you have a gift for my brother, hm?" Julia chucked, tickling Percy.

"Oh, yeah" he laughed. "Is a plushy of his favorite bug"

"Yeah? Do you want me to give it to him?" she asked. "I'm sure he will like it, you know he likes the gifts you give him"

"But he doesn't know those are mine…" he sighed. 

"Percy, he knows you want to be his friend" she smiled weakly. "But you know how he is… it's hard for him, yeah? But you are doing an amazing job"

Daphne smiled looking at them. She's grateful for her father, because thanks to him she has a big family. Charles and Lyanna are her godparents, and Louis her parents' godson. She's happy to be part of the Leclerc family.

Spending the day on the yacht was borning, because they couldn't go to the water since the boat was moving. 

"Hey" Daphne heard him sit next to her. 

"Oh, hey" she nodded at him, the Verstappen sitting next to her made her blush.

"So… are you having a good time?" Ethan asked, showing interest in her.

"Well, you know how it is. We can't go to the water" she shrugged. "And you just interrupted an interesting book"

"Oh, sorry" he laughed. "What were you reading?"

"Oh, one of my mom's favorite fictional books" she said, showing him the book. "Lore. Did you hear about The Hunger Games?"

"Eh… no" he laughed. "What's that? Guys being hungry?"

Daphne wanted to hit him with the book. How can someone be so stupid?

"No, idiot" she laughed. "Is like a dystopia where a country had a rebellion and the president of that country decided to make every year something like a show that made two people, called tributes, from all the twelve districts fight in a random place until one of them is alive"

"Oh… I never imagined you would like something as bloody as that" he laughed. 

"Yeah well, it's a classic" she said, rolling her eyes. "The thing is that in this book the author mix that with the Greek mythology"

"Ah yeah, I get it" he nodded. 

She doesn't use to talk with Ethan. Julia always tries to keep her away from him, but it's inevitable to not look at him. She always thought he was good looking, like one of those illustrations of her mythology books.

Something inside of her, like little tickles on her stomach, made her blush every time she found Ethan looking at her while the twins talked with him.

During the days on the beach in Santorini, she could feel his eyes on her. He talked with her when they were alone, and she casually started to feel things for him.

"I swear, I really think he likes me, Juls" Daphne sighed, laying on her friend's bed. "Sometimes I catch him looking at me"

"He's disgusting, Dane" Julia sighed. "Come on, I'm sure he's having dirty thoughts while he looks at you"

"I don't think he's like that" she frowned. "He's sweet with me… maybe I can make him be a good guy"

Oh, she really believed that. She heard all the things Julia said about him, how bad he is since he was born. But, as the teen she is, she really thought that she could change the bad guy and make him a good guy. 

Some days he would flirt with her, talk till late and then walk with her to the door of her bedroom. Somehow, she started to fall for him.

Is he her first love? Would he be her first kiss? First boyfriend?

Then, that night came.

They went to have dinner, and since none of the kids, except Louis and Percy, wanted to stay in the restaurant, all of them decided to leave and go to the house.

In that moment, Ethan was with her, walking next to her on the beach. She thought it was romantic, being alone with him under the stars.

"It's a beautiful night, right?" She smiled, looking up at the stars.

"Mhm" he nodded, standing in front of her.

Then he did what she was dreaming about for the last few days. He pressed his lips on hers.

It was a messy kiss. Sure, he knows how to kiss, he did it tons of times with random girls at school. But she never kissed someone like that, so she just let him lead the kiss. It was something she never expected, to feel his tongue and his hands on her ass.

But she didn't care. Ethan Verstappen was kissing her.

She went back to the house with a silly smile, going immediately to Julia's room and telling her everything.

But of course, not everything is perfect.

Even if he spent the next day with her on the beach, kissing her sometimes when she noticed no one was watching, the next day things changed.

He was distant, not looking at her and ignoring her. 

Somehow, that hurt her.

But what hurt the most was going to the beach at night, hoping to find him there and ask him what was wrong and why he was ignoring her. 

Dane couldn't believe what her eyes were watching. She really didn't want to believe that was real.

Ethan kissing a random girl.

"Ethan?!" she gasped, making the boy pull away from the kiss and look at her. "What the hell is this?"

"Oh, you" he laughed, holding the waist of the girl. 

"Why are you kissing her?! After everything you said to me?" she exclaimed.

"Ah… come on! It was just to have fun!" he laughed. "Nothing serious. You really should calm down. I would never be with someone like you"

She could hear her own heart breaking. It was so cruel, she was one of the many girls he played with. She was part of that long list he likes to brag about with the Gasly twins. 

When she went to the house, she ran inside Julia's room, jumping in her bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"He… he just said that he would never be with someone like me" she mumbled, hugging her friend. "What does it mean? Why?"

"Don't listen to him, Dane…" Julia sighed, running her back and brushing her hair. "You are better, too good for him, okay? You deserve to be with someone that makes you happy"

"It hurts… I thought he liked me" she mumbled.

"Look, I'm going to tell you something and I really want you to listen carefully" Julia sighed. "Ethan Verstappen is not good news. Now you know what happens… don't look at him, okay? Ignore him"

Since that day, Ethan Verstappen was a man she never wanted to talk to ever again. She was dead for her.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights @livster8 @kakorrhaphiphobia @starkeyellow @celestialpierre @ophcelia @msliz @lorarri @ironmaiden1313 @imsorare @mycenterfold @im-an-overthinker @soosheee @karmabyfernando @landoyesrizz @sticksdoesart @beatricemiruna @nonameishere @flwr-stella @lordperceval-16 @arisainz

[kickingitwithkirk]

Snow Globes and Forgiveness

Summary: Even though Chucks no longer creating the narrative, it’s not a Winchester Christmas till something goes wrong.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Sam Winchester

Word Count: 3194

Warnings: wincest, cursing, m/m kissing, frottage, my attempt at flangst

For: @thepromiscuousduck @spnfanficpond Secret Santa exchange 2023

A/N: set after 15.19 & in this AU 15.20 doesn’t happen

A/N II: Apologies to all other participants for taking so long. Between a last minute switch, couldn’t rewrite until after new year & had a rebound of a bad respiratory virus that’s keep me mostly offline last few weeks.

A/N III: once again, brevity doesn’t exist in my vocabulary

*no beta-all mistakes are mine

*divider by @firefly-graphics

*gif credit to creator

Sam Winchester has never been big on the holidays.

Let’s start with a specific Halloween party and his disastrous bobbing for apples incident involving a girl he liked. Then there was that one Thanksgiving he’d been invited to by another girl who turned out to have hands like an octopus and spent the whole dinner, as his brother so eloquently put it, playing footsie with brace-face, not three feet from her dad.

Not to mention, others celebrated, or not, Winchester style; his dad either missed it entirely or showed up with a bucket of extra crispy from the colonel and passed out on a couch. The best was that one Christmas before Dean went to hell a few months later.

But this year was going to be different.

They’d been adjusting to normality reasonably well. Okay, so Dean is the one adjusting better in some respects and said since it’s the brothers' first non-Chuck Christmas, they had to make it extra special. Sam knows this was Dean’s way of trying to make up for all the shitty holidays during their childhood. And knowing his brother, he’s envisioning emulating Mrs. Butters, the wood nymph they accidentally released in the bunker, Jam Packed holiday extravaganza she’d done those few weeks before leaving.

While Dean was getting the tree (Sam would’ve bet more likely grabbing the first one he saw before hitting the liquor store), he sent Sam to pick out ornaments. Sam was trying to make an effort and found himself standing in the middle of a smaller retail chain store's Christmas section, overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices and feeling like a freak for not knowing what to get outside lights and colorful balls.

“First Christmas together?”

Sam’s head swiveled around, “Umm, I’m sorry?” The person who spoke said, “You’ve got that whole I’ve got no freaking idea what I’m doing look, so I took a guess it’s your first Christmas with your girlfriend…wife?”

“Uh, no, no girlfriend or wife.”

“Ahh, boyfriend.” Sam was about to correct their assumption when they continued, “That can be trickery,” and gave him the once over. “I’m guessing he’s not into frills and bows. You should head to the Christmas Market two blocks south of here. There are always booths selling unique or vintage items for the Holiday. Probably find something more appealing than this mass-produced crap.”

After one more glance, Sam thanked them and texted Dean where to meet up with him later, then headed out of the storefront and strolled down the street. He soon hears jolly holiday music and smells enticing scents wafting before entering the colorfully illuminated European style Market and is hit with the sense he’d been here before.

Sam shook his head, feeling ridiculous. Of course, he’d never been here before, but something about this place kept nagging at his memories of familiarity when the irresistible scent of hot, minty chocolate beckoned. After indulging in a creamy, decadent drink decorated with a soft peppermint stick, he walked around, taking in the wares for sale.

At one booth, he found strands of original bubble lights and instantly knew they’d appeal to Dean and his oft-denied inner child; another yielded hand-strung garlands and got popcorn and cranberry ones with instructions on storing them for future use. Sometime later, Sam is laden with so many packages and bags that even his long arms are having trouble juggling them when he sees an elderly woman seated by a table with a simple stand of lights.

The hunter in him was always looking for anything unusual which fit the bill. Smiling politely at the woman when approaching, Sam studied the few antique-looking items and decided they seemed innocuous and relaxed. He spotted an old snow globe, picked it up, and sardonically smiled at how it looked diminutive in his large hand and began examining it.

Sam took time to appreciate its craftsmanship. Its base was silver with hand-worked engravings and an inscription in a language he didn’t recognize. Giving it a shake, Sam watched the artificial snow gently drift over a scene of a log cabin snugly ensconced among evergreens and bare-limbed trees. He got that feeling again. Impulsively, he asked how much he was surprised not to have to haggle over the price.

Carefully taking the globe in her gnarled hands, the woman told Sam that it was crafted in the country of her birth but didn’t specify where. She carefully inserted it into an equally old wooden box, telling him it was explicitly constructed to house the globe to keep it safe during its travels. Sam hears rumbling and glances around, spotting an old pickup parking not far off, and turns back to find the woman has disappeared.

Frowning, he placed the box in a bag, gathered up the rest of his purchases, walked to the waiting vehicle, deposited the items in the crowded truck bed, and then climbed in noticed Dean peering through the cab's back window, “Couldn’t find any more stuff, Sam?” “Couldn’t find a bigger tree, Dean?” His brother says nothing while backing the truck up, “Good thing I got all that to decorate it with then.”

Dean grunted as he set his end into the tree stand and, catching his breath, huffed out, “This would’ve been the time to use some of those witchy tricks, Sam.”

“Or maybe a good time to start working out more and cut back on the burgers and pie?” Sam shot back. “Wadda you talking about?” Dean snapped defensively, “I’m in great shape!” Sam gives him bitchface and says, “Keep telling yourself that Dean.“

Squatting down to affix the supports to the tree, Sam continues. ”You got winded just carrying this down the stairs. We have to face it: neither of us is getting any younger. We had this conversation not long after dealing with Chuck. Yes, we’ll enjoy the everyday things we couldn’t before. But if we’re doing something or on a hunt and get seriously injured, Cas isn’t here to help. And you know Jack is hands-off, so we’ve ….”

“Whatever, Sam.” Dean interrupted, unsuccessfully tamping down his that hurt but not gonna acknowledge it look. “I’m going to take my out-of-shape self and get the rest of the stuff from the car. Unless you’re worried I might, I don’t know, fall and break a hip.”

“Dean, that’s not what I,” but his brother just left, and Sam sighed, knowing he’d put his foot in it again, trying not to express his true feelings. Since they got their freedom from the manipulations of heaven, hell, and all the other things that went bump in the night, the feelings he’d buried and thought were over had come back.

Before he said yes to Lucifer, Dean acknowledged Sam was an adult, and he needed to stop being overprotective. But there is a part, deep down, in both Winchesters that is psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent. That part in Sam is one hundred percent positive that if Dean found out, he’d be so disgusted by what a perverted freak he indeed was forcing Dean would cut him out of his life forever.

The bunker's door banged shut, and at the bottom of the stairs, Sam paused on the last tread, watching the scene playing out before him in the war room.

“Oh, come on,” Dean grumbles at an ornament, refusing to stay on a branch of the mostly decorated tree. He lets it go, and it begins coming off again. “That’s it, I’m getting my gun.”

Sam couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice. “Maybe I should’ve gotten some floaters and air fresheners instead?” He can see Dean mulling over that memory, “They were great.” Peering over at his brother, he asks, “Where did you disappear to? Thought you were going to help.”

Sam held up a grocery bag, “A peace offering? I know you aren’t going to change your habits, but I'm hoping we can compromise, at least when we’re not hunting. It’s 90% lean beef, and the pie,” Dean's whole face lit up, “Is made with almond flour and natural sourced sugar.”

Trading the wayward ornament for the bag, Dean states, “You deal with this,” Sam shakes his head when he hears, “Meatman coming to town” and sets about finishing the tree.

After cleaning up, the brothers sit in the library, drinking beer and watching an old Christmas movie playing on a laptop, when Dean casually inquires, “So what’s with the box?” Sam frowned before realizing he meant and remembered leaving the item sitting by the displayed swords. “It’s ahh, well,” Sam stammers as he retrieves the box, sets it on the table, and lifts the wooden lid. Dean raised an eyebrow at the contents, “Something you need to tell me, Samantha?” he snarks, removing the snow globe.

“I’m not sure why, but I'm drawn to it.” Dean frowned at his brothers' words and took a closer look. “What’s the saying?” He asked, pointing to an inscription on the base. “Not sure. I think it's a form of an older Germanic dialect. I was going to translate it later.”

Since nothing is screaming cursed object, Dean shakes it, making the snow swirl before setting it on the table, picking up his beer, and resuming watching the movie. He could feel Sam suspiciously eyeballing him asks, “What, Sam?” But Sam simply sighed, knowing his brother wouldn’t let it go. And sure enough…

“Did Santa ask if you were a good boy this year?”

Sam glances around trying to figure out where he’s at since a moment ago he was in the laundry and now starting at his decades younger self reclining against a headboard reading he hears his, their, name and watches himself huff in displeasure and getting up proceeds to trip over his own feet.

Following himself down a wood-paneled hallway, they enter a shabbily furnished living room, and spots his brother watching his younger self standing by a wood-burning kitchen stove. “Dean?” Turning, green eyes boggle, seeing Sam standing next to his own younger visage.

“What the hell you’d do, Sam?” Dean’s gravelly voice snapped and got Sam’s back up. “What makes you think I had anything to do with this?!” Dean looks at their younger doppelgängers arguing about something when young Sam stomps to a rickety kitchen table, plopping down on an equally rickety chair, crossing his arms, and glaring at its sacred top.

“Man, I forgot how bad your emoing could get,” Dean offhandedly commented, returning his attention to his brother, eyes hooded. “You were working in the library, so it's not hard to deduce you deciphered some curse cause now,” chucking his thumb toward the window, “We’re in the damn snow globe!”

Sam shot off bitchface #37, “It’s not a curse! I determined the words are an idiom. Слова не воробьи, как только они улетели, их уже не поймать.”

“Can you put that in English for those who don’t speak geek?”

“Words are not sparrows; once they have flown they cannot be recaptured.”

Dean got his running it over in my brain expression, “Yeah, I got nothing.” Sam concurred, “It didn’t make sense to me at first. But then I found a maker's mark hidden in the engravings. The records said they were a tradesman and spiritual alchemist.”

“What do idiot words have to do with Nicolas Flamel?” Sam's lips pursed, “Idiom Dean. And you know who Nicholas Flamel was?”

“Yeah, college boy, he created the philosopher's stone, turning metal into gold and some immortality elixir.” Sam waited. “He was in that Harry Potter movie, alright? What does that have to do with why we were here?”

“Okay, hear me out. Spiritual alchemy believers follow various paths to achieve the same goal, believing that, like metal, one’s soul can be transformed through stages of purification.” Sam began explaining the stages, and by the third, Dean heard enough.

“You're saying all the crap we’ve dealt with from heaven to hell has done some kinda colonic on our souls.” Sam began to speak, “Shut up, I’m on a role here. And if we take that idiom literally, one or both of us said something wrong and the idiom-alchy-snow globe Ghost of Christmas Past us to complete this whatever stage with an apology?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Great! Let’s figure out where here is, get to apologizing and the hell outta this glass ball.” Spying a discarded newspaper Dean tries picking up found he isn’t corporal. “Seriously?” Tipping his head sideways, he says, “Okay, December 22, 1999. We’re in Michigan..or Wisconsin?”

“Dean, what if it's something so bad there’s no way we can ask for forgiveness?”

That response made Dean's eyes narrow. “Sam, you need to tell me something?” His brother shook his head, but every warning signal in Dean was blaring like the bunker klaxon. He’d bet his entire collection of Busty Asian Beauties that Sam knew why that damn snow globe sent them here, but he was keeping it to himself for reasons.

Dean decided to hold his cards and play ignorant for a while longer. “Dude, what haven’t we done and forgiven each other for?”

Turning his attention to their younger selves made Dean feel a sense of nostalgia, missing how less complicated their lives seemed, even with the daily dose of Sam Winchester teen angst, which he always made up for.

Like now, offering to buy hot chocolate and giant pretzels triggered a memory, and the next moment, Dean was among a crowd wandering through the lighted tunnel entrance, following the loop by the salute to the armed forces towards the live reindeer exhibit.

“I remember this!” Dean exclaimed, “Dad left us in Somerset, Wisconsin, and were you all pissy ‘cause I kept giving you crap about this place’s name- Sam’s Christmas Village.”

“What else do you remember, Dean?”

They make a pit stop at the concessions, and while Sam is paying, Dean pulls out his flask, adding a double dollop to Sam’s. The kid needed to loosen up, then exchanged the cup for a pretzel with a smirk.

“This was the first time we got drunk together. Man, you were hilarious! Kept bugging me to go sledding,” Deans said, “And you fell off halfway down and laid there trying to catch snowflakes on your tongue.” Surrounded by softly falling snow tinted in hues of blues, greens, and reds, the brothers experience a memory trace of what happened that night.

Laughter fills the air as Dean staggers over, flopping on his back next to Sam, smiling at him when Sam’s expression changes and Sam leans over, his eyes' kaleidoscope colors disappearing into thin rings around dilated dark pupils as his fingertips caress the smooth, cinnamon-freckled skin and plush lips he was aching for when Dean pulled him tightly against him, noticing an unmistakable hard bulge pressing into his upper thigh as Sam instinctively started rocking his hips, seeking friction for his growing hard-on.

Dean feels his cock straining inside his jeans, slides one arm around Sam’s waist, another reaching behind him to cradle the back of his skull, angles his mouth up so he can drive his tongue into Sam’s mouth, feeling him suck on it with a sharp pull that shoots straight to his cock when wolf whistles from sledders passing by startled them caused Dean to bolt upright and dump Sam onto his butt.

Abruptly getting up, Dean grabbed the ropes of both sleds and dragged them downhill, leaving his brother perplexed. Scrambling to his feet, Sam rushes after, inquiring what happened, but Dean only responds that they need to head out before the roads ice over too much. The silent intensity of the drive back is broken only by music playing through the Impala’s speakers. Sam initially thinks Dean is concentrating on the road due to his intoxication. But Dean’s chewing his bottom lip signals he’s upset, and the knot in Sam’s stomach tells him to stay quiet.

Shutting the cabin door, Sam opens his mouth to speak, but Dean beats him to it, saying he overstepped boundaries that shouldn’t have been and won’t let it happen again. In a panic, Sam blurts out how his strange feelings for years were crystal clear.

“I love you, Dean, and want us to be together…like together together.” Dean shakes his head, “It’s the whiskey making you talk nonsense.” Sam’s stubborn streak surfaces, infuriating Dean, who shoves him back against the door and shouts in his face.

“Stop acting like a freak and go sleep it off!”

Sam feels like an ice pick is entering the base of his skull, and his stomach twists, knowing he’s the reason the person he cares most about in the entire world; he cares about more than himself is reacting like this, watching Dean disappear down the hallway, slamming his bedroom door shut. He fucked up royally, and suddenly his life was a mess when it seemed all was about to align an hour ago, making Sam wants to scream, to throw up.

Moving on autopilot, Sam shuts his room door, grabs his duffel, and haphazardly throws his belongings into it. Then, opening the window, he slips out and trudges back to town, heading for the bus station. By the time he arrives, his feet are so numb he shuffles across the linoleum flooring to the counter, setting most of his hoarded money down asked for the furthest distinction it’ll take him.

A short time later, the bus pulls out onto the main highway heading west as Sam leans against his window, wondering how everything outside seems so normal when his world has imploded. Dean turns his attention from the younger visage before him to the mature man beside him.

“This is why you ran away to Flagstaff.”

“You were right about me being a freak all along.”

Dean shakes his head, “No, Sam, it was my fault. I tried so hard to keep what I felt hidden, but that night..,” Sam's burst of laughter made Dean bark, “You think that’s funny?”

Eyes that never settled their color, hardened by the decades of horrors they’d lived through, were now gazing at him with unworldliness a thirteen-year-old Dean, after confirming everything in their dad’s journal was true, helplessly watched flame out like dying embers.

“No, Dean. The snow globe brought us back for the dissolution stage, dissolving false beliefs. We’ve been at cross purposes all these years for the same reason, each of us thinking we are the problem and the only way out is to no longer deny our feelings.”

Lifting his hand, Sam hesitated to let his fingertips explore the older, but still, so much loved, freckled skin again when Dean shifted, reaching his still-strong hand to cradle the back of his brother’s skull, angling his mouth up and breathed out against his lips.

“Sammy, we’re good.”

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx @lyarr24 @flamencodiva @lassie-bird @nancymcl @spnbaby-67 @leigh70

Sam/Jared: @idreamofplaid

Dean/Jensen: @thoughts-and-funnies @stoneyggirl2 @akshi8278 @beabutterfly987 @smoothdogsgirl

[iknowshocker]

you’re querying a bonkai inspired book? AHHH i hope it finds an agent and gets published because ive been looking for their dynamic in trad pubbed work + other media. hmm basic question but what was it about the ship that made you want to write original work inspired by it?

hii!! yes, it's called The Forgotten Legacy (or maybe The Unwanted Heir, that's TBD lol). I'm pitching it as a Witch-coded Bridgerton inspired 8 book series (Witcherton, if you will), and I'm so unbelievably obsessed. I've had such a fun time injecting it with true to life witch lore and specifics on covens/pantheons/and practices across the globe.

Each book will focus on one of the Attwood siblings - starting with a childhood friends to rivals to lovers new adult story.

I run a yt channel where I recap fantasy media and the stars aligned for me creatively this time when I reached tvd s6. I had just finished a project and was ready for something new, and Kai is like the closest thing I have to a muse. He sneaks his way into all the MMC's I write, but this time I just went all in.

I've always been drawn to the secrets of the gemini coven/the flashbacks from their childhood we don't get to see. So I decided to build my own magical family/world where I could figure all of those things out, add to them, and do what I wanted with the all the intersecting arcs.

The biggest thing I changed is that only the dad is cruel, so my MMC grows up with a mom/siblings/and specifically a twin that truly love him. The family is still majorly screwed up, don't get me wrong, but they have this drive to take care of each other that makes my heart ache. I liiiiive for sibling angst, so figuring out the individual dynamics between the siblings has been ridiculously fun. Close sibling friendships might be my true weakness ?? so it was really important to me to develop that relationship between my MMC/his twin sister and explore what it looks like for them to go into my version of the merge loving each other the entire time.

imo if you boil Kai down to one core emotion its Desperate with an underscore of Rage, and my MMC is Desperate with an underscore of Sorrow. He's living with the knowledge that he could single handedly destroy his entire family, or save everyone with his death at his sister's hands. He gives up basically everything to be a good big brother and protect them, sacrificing his own happiness in the process. (don't worry tho he still has the inherent darkness, sarcasm/the wit we all know and love - he's an emotional mess and i adore him!!)

As for why I find Bonkai inspiring, again I think it's all the possibilities of the ship itself. I was so excited for Bonnie to have someone who was 100% obsessed with her, and I think if given the chance she would have been that person for Kai, too. He's never had someone love him/protect him, and if they'd been a couple I think Bonnie 100% would have stood between him and the rest of the geminis.

I wanted to finally see a badass (mostly healthy) witch couple, and bonkai would have just ?? decimated everyone else on the board. So with my writing I explored the dynamics of them being willing to do anything to keep each other safe/plus the complexities of their individual power/what it would be like if they could work together.

I focused a lot on the opposing personalities/undeniable understanding that bonkai has. So they still fight but there's that element of ...uh, do you guys need a room or ?? They remind me of magnets - you can never tell if they're going to make out or try to kill each other or both. I added the elements of a childhood friendship between my FMC and the twins, so there's some fun friendship dynamics there, too.

thank you so much for asking, anon! I hope I answered this okay, lol. I have so many thoughts bouncing around about the series as a whole it's hard to condense them.

xx

[lostloveletters]

Bruised Fruit Chapter 3 (Michael Corleone x OC)

Summary: An engagement party only sinks Gloria's roots deeper into the Corleone family and gives her a glimpse of what her future may hold.

Note: I plan to have chapter 4 posted next weekend! This fic has been so fun to write, and I appreciate the support on here and AO3 for it🖤

Warnings: Angst, canonical major character death, discussions of infidelity, emotional manipulation. Sexually explicit content which includes masochism.

Do not interact if you are under 18 or post thinspo/ED content. I will block you.

Chapter 2 | AO3 Link | Masterlist

“Looks like Senator Kennedy might run for president next year. They’re saying just because he’s Catholic, he’d probably lose the primaries in the South,” Gloria said, scanning the copy of the Boston Globe that room service had brought up with breakfast, along with that day’s editions of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Post. “Can you believe that?”

Michael nodded from his spot next to her on the loveseat, using his toast to mop up the yolk from his poached egg. “I can believe it.”

She glanced at the photo of Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy printed on the Globe’s article. “He sure is easy on the eyes. Almost got my vote already.”

“Would you really vote for a candidate just because you thought he was attractive?”

Gloria shielded her face behind the newspaper, hiding her grin. “It sure helps. You’d win by a landslide.” She started giggling when she heard him scoff. 

She knew the Senate hearings were still a sore spot for him, his family business being speculated about on the national stage. Throughout the hearings, she’d naturally kept an eye on the papers, amused by the various asides about Michael’s appearance. Intimidating, they called him, a powerful presence who commanded the attention of the room. She especially liked the article in a gossip magazine she indulged in that described him as handsome in a dark and dangerous way that almost inspires something primal in a woman. 

“You’re funny.”

“I’m not allowed to give you a compliment?”

He acquiesced with the slightest smile on his face. “Thank you.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re welcome,” she said as she flipped to the next page of the article. “My mom’s already chomping at the bit to volunteer for his campaign.”

Gloria’s mother, Julia, was especially active in the Queens branch of the New York Democratic Party, volunteering for every one of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential campaigns. Gloria could remember canvassing with her mother during election years. After he was elected president a third time, Julia received a thank you letter in the mail from Eleanor Roosevelt. She had the letter framed, and as far as Gloria knew, it was still displayed in the living room of her childhood home.

“Have you heard from your parents about the engagement party?”

“They’re not coming. Dad can’t take the time off of work,” Gloria said. 

When he had told her such, she knew it wasn’t entirely true, but she wasn’t about to tell Michael that she could hear her father pour himself a drink over the phone when she informed him that she would be marrying a gangster.

He nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’d like to speak with your father soon.”

Gloria hummed noncommittally. “How many people are going to be there?”

“Just family, around thirty or so.”

“Thirty? Michael, you said it was going to be a small gathering.”

He grinned. “In my family it is.” He brushed some of her long black hair from her face. “You’ll know everyone soon enough.”

“Well, I already know your siblings. They’re going to be there, right?”

“Fredo can’t make it.”

“That’s a shame. He introduced us, after all.”

“It can’t be helped,” he said dismissively. “Connie will be there. I know you haven’t seen her in a while.”

Gloria liked all of Michael’s siblings, but she considered Connie a friend. Whenever Connie was in Vegas, which was quite often when she wasn’t jet-setting with her latest beau, Michael would ask Gloria to keep an eye on her. Of course, this would turn into nights of drinking, partying, and watching Connie win or lose astonishing amounts of money in the casino. 

“You have nothing to worry about. They’re friendlier than I am,” he said, earning a soft laugh from her.

By the end of the week, she wasn’t so sure, but Michael had been the one who insisted on the engagement party, telling her that his family had never been involved in his wedding preparations in the past. They hadn’t even attended the ceremony. With his mother’s health declining, it was important to him. 

If Gloria had been nervous to meet Michael’s children, meeting the rest of his family had her stomach in knots. She poured herself a drink to calm down before the car arrived to pick her up from her hotel. While Anthony and Mary could be shielded from the truth of Michael and Gloria’s relationship by virtue of their youth, she figured the rest of his family already considered her a homewrecker. Not entirely untrue, but she wondered how what tale had been woven prior to her arrival. Undoubtedly something to make her more palatable to his extended family.

As she crossed the threshold of his home for the first time, she felt a different warmth in his house than the kind that engulfed her in her childhood home when she had visited for Thanksgiving a few months prior. That warmth had given way to a love that wrapped around her like a blanket, a love she could dream in. The love that permeated the air in Michael’s home clung to her skin like summer sweat. Nevertheless, she supposed a sweltering love was better than none at all.

Though, when he squeezed her hand, his smile betrayed his fondness for her, and she couldn’t help but smile back. It almost made her wish that they were alone again, but there were introductions to be made. Namely, his mother Carmela, who was clearly being polite to Gloria for Michael’s sake and to set a good example for Anthony and Mary. Michael’s children barely left their grandmother’s side but seemed happy to see Gloria again. Taking the hint, Michael kept the conversation short. 

“I have some business to go over with Tom. It won’t take long, but I think my sister’s about to steal you anyway,” Michael said softly, giving Gloria a gentle kiss on her cheek. 

As he retreated into his office, Connie rushed over to Gloria. 

Connie beamed, pulling her in for a hug. “Gloria! God, how long has it been?”

“Hi, Connie,” she said, returning her future sister-in-law’s embrace. “It’s great to see you again.”

“Congratulations! Now let me see that ring!”

Gloria moved back, holding out her hand so Connie could inspect the engagement ring Michael gave her. The night had been quiet, unceremonious if not for his presenting her with the ring, beautiful yet understated. After he slid it onto her finger, her hand burned, and she thought she was having some kind of allergic reaction to the metal until she noticed no redness or hives on her skin—psychosomatic, merely branded in her mind’s eye.

“Gorgeous, oh my god,” Connie gasped. “It suits you.”

Before Gloria could say anything more to Connie, a gaggle of younger relatives walked over to introduce themselves. All nieces and nephews, some older with their spouses and fiances of their own. Despite Connie reminding Gloria who was who, she felt her head spin at the amount of new names and faces she would be expected to know. It didn’t help that Michael’s late brother Sonny had twin girls, who were the spitting image of their mother, Sandra. While both of Gloria’s parents had a handful of siblings themselves, her extended family wasn’t nearly as close-knit as the Corleones were.

The line between business and family was almost nonexistent for them. Each son fated to take up some role in the volatile business, a Greek tragedy enacted by mostly Sicilian players–Sonny, the eldest son, dead by enemies taking advantage of his anger and hubris; Tom, the adopted son, a trusted advisor, though his heritage always left him the outsider; Fredo, the forgotten son, good-natured yet quietly resentful; Michael, the youngest son, who tried to escape his destiny but was instead doomed by a narrative greater than himself and even further corrupted by it. The chorus raged on with its warnings of the ruthless pursuit of power ignored, and Gloria shuddered to think what lay ahead for Anthony and the son Michael wanted her to carry.

Going forward, her life would be nothing short of a whirlwind of people. She wondered how Michael’s children could stand it, how he could stand it. For a family so guarded and secretive, they didn’t have much privacy. Everyone knew everything about each other. Corleone family associates filtered in and out of his house day and night. 

“Why don’t you all give the woman a break so she can get something to eat?” Sandra finally said, putting her arm around Gloria’s shoulders and leading her into the kitchen.

“Thank you. I couldn’t eat before I got here. My nerves were all over the place,” Gloria said, taking a plate and helping herself to the antipasto that was set out on the table. She popped a few olives in her mouth as she piled the various meats and cheeses onto her plate.

Sandra stood next to her, taking a slice of prosciutto for herself. “No, I understand. We’re insular, guess it’s just easier that way.” 

Gloria silently wondered how easy it really could be. Sandra had been a widow for at least a decade, with Sonny having been brutally murdered on the Long Beach causeway during the Corleones’ war with rival families. The details were all over the papers at the time, but none showed the photos of Sonny’s body, apparently too gruesome to be printed as he was riddled with bullets to the point where he was nearly unrecognizable. Still, Sandra was taken care of, her marriage all but secured that even after her husband’s death, an Old World life insurance policy. 

“I don’t know what I expected. Everyone seems so…normal,” Gloria said, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “Ah, that’s not the right word. I mean—“

“This thing’s been going on longer than you and me,” Sandra said, gesturing vaguely. “I stopped trying to understand it a long time ago. It’ll drive you crazy.”

“I don’t even bother,” Gloria said through a mouthful of mozzarella. “He keeps me too busy to even think about it, anyway.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Sandra said, a sly smile on her face that Gloria couldn’t help but snicker in response to. “Believe me honey, I get mine.”

Tom appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

She noticed the look Sandra and Tom shared as he walked over, albeit brief, it was all too familiar. The desire, the longing, the silent promise of later, despite Tom’s wife Theresa being just a room away. Interesting. Gloria had more in common with the Corleone women than she thought.

“Gloria, congratulations,” Tom said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. 

“Thank you, Tom. I appreciate it.”

“Could you come with me to Michael’s office? I just need to go over a few things with you.”

Gloria nodded, following him out of the kitchen and through the labyrinth of people in the living room. 

As soon as she stepped into Michael’s office, she nearly felt the urge to genuflect before taking a seat next to him on the leather upholstered couch, as if sliding into a pew during mass. His face lit up ever so slightly when he saw her, and he took her hand in his. 

“It’s good news, darling. Don’t worry,” Michael said, reading her hesitation.

She gave him a weak smile before bringing her attention to Tom.

“The divorce is almost finalized, but I’ve sent Michael’s petition to the Vatican to have his marriage to Kay annulled,” Tom said. “Between our connections to the Holy See and the severity of what she committed, I don’t anticipate this taking more than two or three months.”

All Gloria could manage in response was a quiet, “Wow.”

Michael smiled, patting Gloria’s hand. The gesture meant to be reassuring, as if Gloria had asked for it, like she was the one who wanted Kay’s sin repaid pound for pound if not in blood, then in excommunication and eternal damnation. Kay’s decision was her own, but Gloria wasn’t without sin, and neither was Michael, yet he was more than willing to have his soon to be ex-wife formally damned. Knowing Michael, the most he believed in was the hierarchy, the institution. God was merely an irritating obstacle at best and outright competition at worst.

The revelation of Kay’s mortal sin to the Vatican would almost guarantee Michael an annulment. With that in place, there’d be nothing to stop them from having a formal wedding mass despite his being divorced from a consummated marriage. An otherwise long and tedious process to convince the Catholic Church to invalidate the eternal, holy bond of matrimony would be taken care of in a matter of months. 

“Once that’s all sorted out, the two of you will be able to set a date. Obviously the situation isn’t ideal, but—“

“Thank you, Tom. I appreciate the effort,” Gloria said awkwardly. 

He nodded, his tight-lipped smile slightly strained. He lacked the pleasure that his brother had in the situation at hand, but there was little else he could do as consigliere. 

“I have one more thing to discuss with Tom, but I’ll join you again soon,” Michael said, walking her over to the door. “Won’t leave you with the sharks too long.”

He kissed the top of her hand before she made her exit. As soon as the door shut behind her, Gloria searched out Connie, who was helping herself to a glass of wine. 

“Always business with them, huh?” Connie quipped.

“Something like that,” Gloria said. “Hey, did Michael tell you why Fredo couldn’t make it? You’d think he’d be here. He introduced Michael and me.”

“You know, I’m not sure myself,” Connie said, though her tone wasn’t entirely convincing. “Hard to keep track of everyone. I mean, Francesca and her fiance are god knows where, and Ma just went off to take a walk.”

Gloria sighed. “I don’t think your mother likes me very much.”

“Ma’s old fashioned, is all,” Connie assured her. “She hasn’t liked anyone I married.”

“Gee, thanks, Connie.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t let this keep you from being excited.”

“I’m excited, absolutely,” Gloria said, feeling that anxious was more appropriate. “The relationship feels so different now compared to when me and Michael were just fooling around.”

Connie’s laugh caught the attention of just about everyone within a few feet of them, turning to see what the commotion was about. “Gloria, you know as well as I do that my brother does not fool around,” she whispered.

That much was true. Michael had a sense of humor, it was one of Gloria’s favorite things about him, but even that was guarded, doled out sparingly to a select few. Nothing half-assed or left to chance, he was meticulous and calculated, necessary traits to earn wartime promotions and later lead the Corleone family. She should have realized sooner that his maintaining their relationship for so long would serve a greater purpose.

Conversely, Gloria never considered herself the marrying type, not finding the trappings of domesticity appealing compared to the independence she enjoyed as a single woman. None of her other dalliances ever lasted longer than a few weeks. While she never considered herself quite the party girl that her Las Vegas peers were, she was never one to deny herself pleasure, throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of a good time if she felt so inclined.

Perhaps her appeal as a wife to Michael was two-fold, what she could offer him as potential mother of his child, and an ego boost in conquering her, a woman half-feral whose worldliness coursed through her veins. A much needed triumph after the domestication of his sophisticated New Englandite ex-wife had regressed until she destroyed her cage, blood and iron reflected in her wild green eyes. 

She looked at Mary and Anthony, playing with their cousins, seemingly unaware of the significance of the occasion. After the dinner a few weeks prior, Michael said that he had told them Kay had done something very bad, and so she left and wasn’t coming back, and they weren’t to ask him any more questions about it. She wondered if they actually believed him.

“I need some air,” Gloria said abruptly.

She rushed over to the sliding glass door that led outside, shoving a cigarette between her lips as she made her way onto the deck that overlooked Lake Tahoe. Lighting the cigarette with shaky hands, she almost didn’t notice her future mother-in-law standing just a few feet away from her.

“Mrs. Corleone—uh, hi,” Gloria said.

The matriarch was silent, save for a brief nod of acknowledgement. 

“How are you liking the party?”

“It’s fine.”

“That’s good. Michael will be glad to hear it.”

Silence once again hung in the air. Gloria brought her cigarette to her lips, watching the smoke rise above them.

“I don’t approve of the way you and Michael conducted your relationship, contributing to his marital strife,” Carmela said, pausing briefly. “Maybe it would have ended up this way without you in the picture.”

Carmela and Kay were close, she knew as much. Connie had told her that the two would often go to Mass together. For all intents and purposes, Carmela had taken Kay under her wing. It made sense, Kay had taken up the mantle previously held by Carmela, and it helped that she was a nice, college-educated woman while still being a devoted wife and mother—until she couldn’t take it anymore. Gloria being Michael’s mistress was enough for her future mother-in-law to have already made up her mind about her.

“I understand.”

“What Kay did was desperate, a horrible thing after her cries for help weren’t heeded by my son.” Carmela side-eyed Gloria. “How often was he preoccupied with you?”

“Whenever he was in Vegas on business,” Gloria answered honestly. “We went to Los Angeles together twice, too.”

“My husband, God rest his soul, always used to tell our sons, ‘A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.’”

It was Gloria’s turn to be silent. She didn’t know the late Don Vito Corleone. Didn’t know whether or not he was a hypocrite. Michael admired him. The whole family spoke fondly of their dearly deceased patriarch. As far as Gloria was concerned, Vito was a myth, a superstition that existed in the whispers of every mafioso, spinning taller tales about their former Don with each passing year. For all she knew, people misquoted him the way they did Abraham Lincoln. 

“I’m not going to pretend I haven’t been selfish and made a lot of questionable choices. I’m not exactly sorry for them, either. For some reason, Michael loves me in spite of all of that, and I do love him.”

“That’s all that matters now, isn’t it? The only thing that can keep the family together…what’s left of it, anyway.” She gave Gloria a wistful smile. “Michael looked happy when he walked in with you. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.”

Gloria took a long drag on her cigarette, knowing Carmela would rather that happiness be with Kay, his wife, rather than with her. 

“Am I interrupting something?” Michael asked, startling Gloria a bit. She hadn’t heard him open the glass door to go outside.

“No, I’m going to head back inside now,” his mother said. “Chilly out.”

Michael nodded. “Alright, Ma. Don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Michael and Gloria were silent as the Corleone matriarch made her exit. Gloria leaned against the railing, her back pressing against the hard wood as she took one last inhale of her cigarette before flicking it aside. She watched the ember glow faintly in the wet pile of spring leaves on the ground before going out.

“I didn’t see you inside. Connie told me you needed some air,” Michael said, standing in front of her.

“Just felt a little overwhelmed. So many people,” she said, as if that hadn’t been her job for five years. Except those were all strangers. Every person in that house was related to or worked for Michael, and soon she’d be part of it. “You really didn’t have to do all of this.”

“I wanted to,” he said. 

“Like how you want to marry me?” she asked. “The way it all happened, I just—“

“You just what?”

Her attention drifted to her hands, playing with her engagement ring as she withered beneath his intense gaze. “I just wonder if you thought this through.”

“I’ve done the thinking for both of us. I know you’re nervous, darling, but this is what’s best for you,” Michael said, with all the conviction of a man who still believed she was formed of his rib. Silly woman, head full of glittering diamonds, champagne bubbles, and red lipstick. He placed a firm hand over her fidgeting one. “I won’t be as careless as I have been in the past.”

Gloria stared at him for a moment, thinking she liked him better careless, at least more so than the front he put on for everyone, including her. For how important he claimed his family was, there was always distance, if not emotional then physical. At the very least, she closed the few inches between them, kissing him with the ferocity of a woman who was still resisting the trappings of domesticity. 

It didn’t matter to him. His hands found her hips as they always did, fingers pressing deep to claim her flesh as his own. His own instinct had momentarily clouded his reason, as he pulled away from her, albeit reluctantly. His eyes were trained on hers, pupils dilated when he finally glanced behind him, as if to make sure his family hadn’t seen this temporary lapse of control from their Don.

And they hadn’t. At least none of them indicated such as the night went on, and they slowly dispersed back to their respective homes on the vast Lake Tahoe compound or in the surrounding city, giving their congratulations and well-wishes to Gloria and Michael. 

She was grateful he’d at least arranged for his children to stay over at his mother’s, though she could tell he was growing tired of her insisting they be given time to adjust to Kay’s absence and Gloria’s sudden intrusion into their life. They’d undoubtedly have questions about Gloria staying the night, in their father’s bedroom, no less.

All traces of Kay ever being there were long gone, but Gloria glanced at the bed, Michael’s initials embroidered on the linens, wondering how many nights Kay had lain awake in that very bed, knowing her husband was with her. Maybe it was a relief after a while, seeing as Kay’s tolerance for Michael only dwindled as time went on.

Gloria liked it better when those things were separate, when she could be the other woman without having to think too hard about the implications. But she hadn’t driven Kay away. Michael had. And that same man was dragging her in, his desperation not quite as raw as the night he made his proposal, but still evident, if only to her.

This time, he initiated the kiss, his lips claiming hers, payback for her daring public display of affection earlier. He sunk his teeth into her lower lip, fresh blood blending with the red lipstick she wore, no doubt smeared across her mouth as the traces of it were on his. Though his intensity scared her at times, she found it thrilling, perhaps addicted to the adrenaline that came with riling him up, the one time she felt like she had the upper hand on him.

She kissed his neck, knowing better than to leave a mark, but at least temporarily leaving a streak of crimson in her wake. Reaching between them, she rubbed his cock through his pants, feeling it harden beneath her until his hips just barely bucked.

“Jesus—fuck, Gloria,” he groaned.

She gently protested his attempt to guide her back onto the bed. “Missionary, missionary,” she teased against his lips. “You know I’m the type of woman who likes variety.”

His nostrils flared, eyes widened at her words, and she resisted the urge to smirk until he’d turned her around, forcing her ass-up on the edge of his marital bed. Only in her black satin slip and panties, the latter were quickly discarded. She licked her bruised lip when she heard him unbuckling his belt, the rustling of fabric preceding his hand slipping between her folds, his fingers feeling the slick that already coated her pussy. 

She shuddered at the sensation of him rubbing her clit, and as she gripped the comforter she lay on, she silently determined that if she couldn’t get her pleasure from anyone but him going forward, she’d make sure it was on her terms. She loved sex, which was acceptable for mistresses but apparently not for wives, as the act was then relegated for procreation rather than pleasure. She didn’t see why they couldn't have both.

Michael grabbed Gloria’s hips, and she steeled herself as he pushed his cock inside her, his thrusts deep and slow until she growled, “Harder. I’m not gonna break.”

Her nails dug into the soft fabric beneath her, clawing at it as her back arched, cat-like as she took him deeper, his pace unforgiving, her cries of pleasure filling the room. He had jokingly accused her of being a masochist in the past. She never outright denied it.

“Is this what you wanted all night?” he forced out through gritted teeth.

Her moan wasn’t a good enough response, as he slapped her ass, sending a jolt through her.

“Answer me.”

“I always want you.”

“Only me.”

“Only you.”

With that, he came inside of her, and she humped the bed for that extra bit of friction on her clit, feeling her own orgasm achingly close as she felt his seed filling her. Biting her barely healed lip finally sent her over the edge, and she buried her face in the comforter, lifting it a few moments after riding out her orgasm on Michael’s cock to see a stain of blood, spit, and mascara. 

She whimpered when he pulled out of her, her pussy still throbbing from her climax. With aching muscles, she crawled up the mattress, leaning against the neatly made pillows. He undressed, his gaze fixed on her he joined her on the bed, pulling her against his chest, still slightly heaving from the exertion.

“What got into you?” he asked, amusement in his eyes.

“Besides you?” she joked before speaking her next words carefully, ever so manipulatively, “I know we’ve been trying for the baby, but can’t it at least be fun?”

He smiled, kissing the crown of her head. “I don’t see why not.”

After that night, she increasingly split her time between the hotel and his house, slowly getting to know his family better. Carmela was still icy to Gloria when she was able to make it over to the house. Those instances became more scarce, until she could only take so many visitors at her home until one evening in late spring, she passed away.

Melancholy swept over the family at the loss of their beloved mother and grandmother. Gloria regretted not having the time to build a better relationship with the woman, but the more selfish part of her lamented that she would be expected to take up the matriarchal mantle so soon, something she neither desired nor felt prepared for.

“You look beautiful, darling,” Michael murmured, helping her clasp the gold necklace her grandmother had given her for her confirmation, the pendant of the Blessed Mother resting just above her collarbone.

They stood in his bedroom, preparing for the funeral mass and wake that were sure to bring in dozens of people to the cemetery and Corleone compound.

She turned around, forehead wrinkled in concern. “This is about you and your family. I’m not sure if I should even be there.”

“Enough of this, Gloria. You’re going to be my wife, that makes you part of this too,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of people here today, some very important. I need you with me. We need to show strength and solidarity right now.”

“Alright, I—you’re right, Michael,” she said. 

Gloria grabbed her black, lace gloves off the dresser, carefully sliding them onto her hands, though she hadn’t noticed until later at the funeral mass that her engagement ring had torn through the delicate fabric.

[candygalaxyyy]

Sand using Ray and Mew to get revenge on Top is both so genius and evil. To me, Sand is the most grounded character with the most logic/common sense (after chuem/April/p’yo). So to see him taking advantage of Ray’s feelings for Mew and passively sparking this anger in Ray, leading him to tell Mew for his personal gain is conflicting. But that’s the beauty of this show, it forces us to accept that these characters are grey, not black and white. They have both good and evil (some more than others), but they are so complex that you do them a disservice by viewing them with one lens.

Like as much as i fucking hate Top, his birthday gift for Mew is very thoughtful and beautiful. If my partner gave me a sketchbook of hand drawings of me i would be touched and feel so loved. But Top is a manipulative fuck boy, who’s addicted to drugs and very narcissistic.

I fucking loathe Boston, but after hearing his family dynamic I can see why he has trouble committing to relationships. His parents are separated and his mum even lives in another country, how bad was the divorce for her to move across the globe? His dad even seems to encourage his behaviour. Still doesn’t negate that he’s an attention seeking ass with a trash mouth

Ray is so self-destructive and he knows it. He may be sensible when sober but the alcohol and drugs hinder him from making any real connections with people (Sand and him are toxic if he keeps up with this). he has such tragic childhood trauma that he needs to heal from.

Mew is a total control freak. He cares for others yes, but usually only to the extent where he benefits. Like he lets everyone else’s dirty laundry get aired by Ray, but interjects only when his part is coming? He knew that whole time about what Top had done but only addresses it when he has control over Top’s mental and physical state?? CRAZY.

[duckyfruitbat]

Retro Review: War of the Monsters

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday from me

Ducky you feeling good, you're kinda singing to yourself? Please don't cry again.

That's right friends and lovers, my birthday is coming up! Instead of just eating a whole cake by myself, I decided to do a review of a game from my childhood, while eating said cake by myself. Now what to play what to play? Well if you read the title you'd know I'm looking at a brawler released for the PS2 by Incognito Entertainment back in 2003, War of the Monsters.

You see one day my dad got a PS2 demo disc with said game on it. It had one map and two playable characters, but my brother and I constantly played that game until the disc broke. We loved seeing the monsters, the destruction physics, and just the atmosphere of an old monster movie. Obviously our parents swiped up the full game when they saw a copy in the store. It was the first game I ever completed, and I played it constantly. With the preamble out of the way, it's time to actually play the damn thing.

Everything about this game, from the intro video, the box art, to even the instruction manual is just one big loving homage to the old giant monster movies of the fifties and sixties. The box art is very reminiscent of the hand painted movie posters, and the manual is presented as a news magazine with the same name as the in game newspaper that is shown in the intro video.

The story is that in the fifties Earth is being invaded by an alien race known as the Zorgulons. Things are looking grim until the top scientist of the world develop a series EMP devices referred to as the secret weapons. They are placed all throughout the world and when they are activated the invading fleet is crippled and saucers are crashing down all around the globe. Victory is nearly declared when there is an unexpected side effect to the saucers leaking fuel tanks. The fuel has a mutagen effect turning all sorts of animals, people, and even stone into giant rampaging monsters. That's all established in the intro video, it's full of old movie tropes too.

Heading into the main menu, it's in a drive in movie theater with most things displayed on a screen. I have to say, this old movie thing really does give it a nice charm. There's even black and white footage of gameplay on the screen. Now time to select a character for the story campaign.

There are ten playable monsters, two are unlockable and each one has four alternate skins, with number four usually being the most out there design. Here's a list of said monsters.

(Fake name (Real Name))

Walmart brand Godzilla (Togera)

Beeg bug (Preytor)

Royalty free King Kong (Congar)

Liberty Prime (Robo-47)

Murder Tiki (Agamo)

Voltron (Ultra V)

Four Arms but Lava (Magmo)

Zappy Bitch (Kineticlops)

Dragon (Raptros)

Yip-yip With a Gun (Zorgulon)

I decided to go with Kineticlops because it was one of the two monsters available on the demo, so why not relive that? Also I had this image of one guy in a studio wearing a mo-cap suit with an eye painted on his chest while surrounded by people in rubber monster suits, and that made me giggle.

First level is against Congar in Mid-Town Park. I think it's based on New York, a bit hard to tell. Any way, the opening shot gives you an idea of the monsters story being a massive territorial dispute against each other along with their constant encounters with the military trying to either capture or kill each monster. Here we begin the battles!

Congar was the easiest one, and here I noticed that there are little health pick-ups across the map. You can pick them up at any point, but so can the other monsters. I also noticed that instead of an invisible wall, or weirdly indestructible buildings, the boundaries are marked by the secret weapon emitting a force field around the map. Nice little touch, and is used in all but one level. Now fighting Congar was just laying into him until he kicks the bucket. As we're battling the destruction physics come into play as buildings get caught up in the mayhem. As they crumble, all sorts of debris falls to the ground and becomes a usable item to either throw or use as a club, same for any vehicles around. I also found a truck that explodes on impact, so I threw that at Harambe in order to curse humanity for another hundred years as he burns alive. First level done!

Second level is Gambler Gulch, a legally distinct Vegas. Here I have to fight Togera, after he handles some military vehicles. I just start laying into him like before, but here is when I notice that these monsters have a self preservation instinct. If they get low enough health they start making a b-line towards any health nearby. Lucky for me there was some rubble that I could throw at him and I managed to take him out that way. This is where the military starts inserting itself into the players campaign. Once Togera is defeated, a Platoon of tanks and attack helicopters come through the map barrier and are followed by Robo-47. Yeah the robots are all military meant to defend humanity against the monsters and the aliens as seen later on. This one was a bit harder to get through because of the military taking shots at me, but I managed and the warranty won't be covering this.

The third level also has the first boss in Rosdale Canyon. An obvious homage to Roswell and area 51. First thing to get through is a barrage of mutant ants which are actually one of the alternate skins of Preytor. Their health is lower than other monsters, so the only real challenge is their numbers. With the ants out of the way we see the first boss landing atop the military base, Goliath Prime.

He starts the fight by lobbing bombs at you from behind a forcefield, the coward! The way to bring him down is to throw those bombs back at him. Eventually he falls off his pedestal and you must fight him in hand to hand combat. This is where you realize that he hits Hard. He has two pistols that he fires at you but he also has a charge attack and a spinning attack that knocked me across the map. This bot really spanked me, but I eventually came out on top as the dom I am.

Fourth level is in Metro City, the other New York level. This one is against Preytor and a resurrected Congar. The military has rebuilt him and are now having him do their bidding. This is where the difficulty starts climbing. Whenever going against two or more monsters they will team up against you, and often one will keep you busy while the other tries to get you. In these cases I had to start focusing on one and ignore the other. This also left me vulnerable to attack. Managed to defeat them and became the ruler of Metrocity!

Fifth level is Century Airfield where two Raptros are terrorizing the planes trying to leave. They are a pain to deal with, the previous issue with teams applies, but with the added issue of them flying around me. Managed to get them with one life left.

Level six is Atomic Island, a nuclear power plant that looks like it can power half the country. This one starts as another barrage of Kineticlops. I am now forced to fight my own kin. Here is where the environment starts giving options beyond throwing rubble and cars. There's a button I was able to ground bound that released hot, radio active liquid into the lower area. As I sat there watching my brothers melt into the sludge I wonder to myself how it came to this. I looked over the pile of corpses in mo-cap suits rotting away in the radioactive lake and hang on what's with that alarm? My thoughts were cut short as a meltdown happened and the environment changed to the next boss arena in a crater.

The boss is a three headed carnivorous plant named Vegon. This one is pretty simple, it will spit venom at you followed by trying to eat you. As its jaws are gearing up for a good bite you have to use the debris around you and throw it down its throat. As you do each head will retract back into the bulb until the final one falls dead. I like this boss, plant monsters have my favorite designs, but this one was pretty easy.

Level seven was Baytown, which was just San Francisco. Here we see a couple Robo-47's fighting off some UFO's before turning their attention towards my mocap suit. Ah yes, the thing that kicked off the plot. This team kept giving me the slip, I'd wail on one, the other would tag in letting his friend find all the health pick-ups. Cheeky little shits. Don't worry, I disciplined them thoroughly and moved on to the next level.

Level eight is Club Caldera, which is just Hawaii. Here we see Magmo and Agamo duking it out before they locked eyes with my singular eye painted on my mo-cap chest and decide that I was begging for a wedgie. Just like junior high. They both hit real hard, and I had to be the one who slinked away to get some health pick-ups. The whole time the UFO's start asserting their presence more, taking shots at me as I run around screaming with my underwear over my head. I somehow won against the two jocks of the roster and was able to move on.

Level nine is Tsunopolis, or just Tokyo. Here two Ultra V's backflip into the camera and challenge me to a Gundam fight, just like high school. Unfortunately I remembered the environmental trigger that causes a tsunami that will wash them away. Threw a car at a giant UFO and it created the tsunami and then I picked them off with a couple of lightning chains. With the mechs down I was abducted by the UFO and taken into space.

For level ten the UFO takes me to the Zorgulon mother ship. A citadel and base of operations orbiting between the Earth and the Moon. Here I am faced with a council of three Zorgulon, all appalled by my mo-cap suit. I tried to explain to them that my character design was impossible with practical effects and it can be fixed in post, but they weren't having it and they attacked, just like college.

There weren't many environmental hazards beyond a couple mounted turrets. Despite being in space, this level is one of the more boring ones. At least the canyon had a giant rock to throw around. Anyway, I decided the councils fate with my fists and the mother ship was evacuated. I was warped back into the saucer and as it was flying away it was hit by the ensuing explosion leading to the saucer crash landing on Earth. Thus setting up the final boss fight.

The final level is called capital. I read somewhere that it's supposed to be D.C, but it looks more like the Vatican to me. Anyway, the scene is set when the dome of the recently crashed saucer opens up revealing a brain in a four legged saucer mech. It jet boots its way out of the saucer and destroys the Washington monument before setting up a force field and beginning the battle. This is Cerebulon, the leader of the Zorgulon's and this thing can absolutely wreck my run. I remember having to start this battle over many times as a kid. There are three phases to this monster.

The saucer mech is the first one and it is invulnerable until after it does its main attack, being a laser that eats at your health like me at a sushi bar. You have to hide behind the obelisks around the pool Cerebulon is staying put in. After the laser is done Cerebulon needs to take a moment to recharge and the shield goes down. I took this opportunity to use the lighting chain to zap the brain jar. After I did that enough times the mech explodes into giant pieces and Cerebulon emerges from the wreckage in its second form, being an obvious homage to the tri-pods from war of the worlds. Also the brain can apparently twitch, which was just weird.

Anyway, this form still has a laser but will also use its tentacles to attack. The way to beat this form is to take the giant pieces of the mech suit and just yeet them at the glass brain jar in order to shatter it. After the off brand tri-pod collapses, Cerebulon decides to burst out of the dome in a scene that might be a homage to Alien. It howls and gurgles as it stands up on its tentacles and points towards me with its scythe hands to challenge me head on. Oh now the flashbacks are starting.

This is the most devastating monster in the campaign. It has a ten hit combo move that just deletes health. It does not take a break for health either, in order to heal up you have to make a run for it. If you stop moving it will just spank you over and over again until you beg for more, just like a Saturday night. I decided to just pick off its health with my light ranged attack and my beloved lightning chain. Yeah I took the cowards option here, cut me some slack! The naked dalek was after my lack of buns!

In its death throws Cerebulon's head exploded all over the square, and a smaller version emerged from that completing the Alien homage. Kineticlops declares victory, and the scene fades to black. Before the credits roll I am treated to the origin story of my chosen monster.

That was War of the Monsters. My god this thing just oozes with absolute love for the old monster movies. It is just so charming, from the music, the sound effects, all those posters above are the loading screens. The campaign itself is only a couple hours long and perfectly serviceable. The monsters having a sense of self preservation was a pleasant surprise and helped balance out the battles. The environmental hazards added some strategy to the stages when they were there. I only had issues with the camera, which was the style at the time. I absolutely recommend taking a look at this game, it's available on the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Hasn't been made available for the PS5 yet, but as I've said before the PS5 doesn't exist. If you like a good arcade brawler, and you're a fan of monsters like Godzilla, this is your game.

[marlasomething]

Thought Runner 2049 (Bugborg Week - June 14)

Summary: Former gun for hire, re-invented into white-collar criminal Nebula is being interviewed after being offered a job by Yondu's Criminal Family by Mantis...maybe they get along better than expected.

Relationships: Nebula/Mantis

A/N: Written for day 3 of @bugborgweek2023

Prompt: Love languages

Word count: 1626

CW: parental abuse, memories of body modification and abuse, childhood trauma

Also on AO3!

Nebula didn’t like human contact. Usually, it was something that she could easily avoid. After all, his father had been one of the most influential politicians in the History of the United States and, even these days, after having been proved how many terrible things he had done, plenty of people defended him and his shadow grew as larger as it had always done.

This fear didn’t only come from the fact that everybody knew that he seemed to believe he was the only one within the right to harm his step-children, though. It also came from the fact that, even though she had stopped being his hitman many years ago already, but people still knew about her handy-work from that time.

Since then, she had become one of the most successful criminals in the white-globe criminal underground. She had sworn not to kill unless strictly necessary. Not because she cared much about other people’s lives, but because she simply wanted to show Thanos he hadn’t irremediable turned her into a monster.

Of course, that didn’t mean that she didn’t occasionally end some people’s existence if it was absolutely necessary. Alas, her reputation was, somehow, intact in what toughness was referred.

Right now, she was wondering whether it might become even stronger in the violent department, as the contact from Yondu’s Ravangers kept being nice to her.

“Nepo-bug” she grunted, piercing her with her mechanically altered eyes. The other woman, who had some physical alterations done as well (making her shorta kinda similar to the animal she had chosen to name herself after, presumably once she had been adopted by her actual boss), blinked at her, offended.

“That was unnecessary . I’ve proved myself quite capable when it comes to read emotions and reach out to other… Illegal firms . It has nothing to do with who my family is. Also, it is really rude to pray upon another person’s body. Maybe I have good reasons for looking like… this ” after saying that, she made an unconscious gesture, grapping her very own wrist as it hurt.

Nebula understood that language.

  “Dad, why does it hurt so much?”

“Don’t worry Nebula. You will be better once you get used to it. After all, wasn’t your meaty right arm a bother most of the time…?”

 “Fuck, I knew that Ego guy was pretty terrible. I mean, he liked Thanos; but…I won’t say I am sorry, because your current dad still wants to buy my services for far too less than they are worth, but…I get it. What did he do in your head?”

Mantis composed an unreadable expression, completely alien for Nebula, before answering.

“Just sensors to get people better. That is how I know you are trying to get extra money just to prove to your sister that she got payed less because she fancies my brother in the Biblical sense . Also, the money part of business is held by my mom, not dad. Meredith is the best with money, even if not choosing partners, some might say” she smile, and it was genuine. Then, she clicked her fingers and an angry male voice could be heard from behind a wall as all the cameras shut down.

“Lylla! The blue-tattooed lady is going to kill our Mantis if we left them alone. And, then, Drax is going to kill ME !”

“Oh, Rocket, pretty please, shut up or you are sleeping on the couch. I think those two deserve a bit of intimacy…you are alone, honey! Right, Rocket ?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, but you go next time Floor’s teacher calls, alright?”

A door opened and closed and Nebula didn’t hear the end of the conversation (not that she cared).

“So….terrible early childhood dad, uh?”

“Biological, in my case. He cheated on Meredith with a…I don’t even know who my mother was, or is. Just that I was one of those kids that were already born with an inclination to be genetically modified and, since Peter is too old-fashioned human for it…my existence healed his disappointment . What he didn’t expect was, well…”

“…your mother taking his two children and running away with the criminal he had paid to murder his older yet useless son? I mean, that story is kind of famous in our circles”. It had also been the beginning of the end of Ego’s reign in the underground.

“Yes, that. However, the Bad has already been done. I…I might be receptive to artificial modifications, but, what I am not receptive to is to read people as most people do. So…it was…challenging, also, the whole not-fitting-with-my-name-thing” Nebula bit her tongue there; the only thing Thanos had done for her was giving her a name she felt matched more than Pompeii (the one her parents had given her, a bit too much for her taste). “I hear feelings, sometimes even thoughts; when the person is emotionally too vulnerable; but I just burst them out loud, I didn’t get that that made people uncomfortable for quite a while. Then, when I chose to be called Mantis, I asked for the modifications so the ones Ego did remained hidden, especially from me”.

“So, you knew what I was thinking so…am I emotionally vulnerable?” Mantis smiled even more (fuck, how much could this woman made her feel comfortable?).

“That is not bad; I think is a kind of language, an especial one. Just as you got what was going on with me because of how I gestured. I think these are ways that made us communicate in ways that nobody else could” all of the sudden, Nebula felt herself blush.

“Woah, bug, that your brother and my sister are doing grown up things doesn’t mean that you and I…”

At this, Mantis blushed even more.

“Oh, no. No . Of course…I didn’t…just friends”.

“ Friendly acquaintances ” Mantis shrugged.

“Well, at least you dropped the nepo bit already. A beginning is a beginning”.

 Nebula stopped the recording and eyed her partner, who was relaxing over her legs. Mantis laughed at her face.

“I know the pain Lylla went through as a teen, but I swear, it will be nothing compared to the one she is going to feel when I catch her. She said they had stopped recording!”

“She didn’t specify …”

“She did!”

“You know she didn’t!”

“Oh, it’s been a while since my mind has been that easy to read” it was true. Apparently, the only thing she had needed to stop being so emotionally vulnerable was…to stop being so close within herself.

Figured.

“ Oi! It is not the only way I have now to understand you” Mantis hit her with delicacy, but certain strength.

She was right, though. They had been together for longer than Nebula had been not only in a relationship, but it good terms in general with anyone (except for Gamora, of course; but shared abuse would do that to you), and every day she realised she could understood Mantis without having to exchange traditional words.

In small gestures, in shared silences, in how she poured water into a glass…even the silliest of gestures could mean a world. And Mantis was catching up, too; for the first time, she was getting someone from the beginning without her unnatural abilities put into use.

They were just perfectly similar, yet not equal enough, for it. Nebula couldn’t have been luckier to have met her.

She would still call her Bug , though; that was something Mantis would never be able to avoid.

(Not that she actually wanted to).

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Born in New York City in 1960, David Duchovny graduated from Princeton with an AB in English Literature before earning a Master of Arts in the same subject from Yale. Following a small role in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks he won the starring role of Fox Mulder in 1993 on the global smash hit UFO series The X-Files opposite Gillian Anderson. From 2007 to 2014 – a period which coincided with treatment for sex addiction – he played troubled womaniser Hank Moody in Californication. He’s also written five novels and released three music albums. He has two children, 24-year-old actress West and 21-year-old son Kyd with his ex-wife Téa Leoni.

Best childhood memory?

I think it’s probably just being in the park playing football or baseball with my dad, in New York City, 21st Street and Second Avenue where I grew up. It conjures up memories of being with my dad and enjoying the sort of simple communication that you can have through a game. I did the same sort of thing with my own son, who was good at playing baseball for a while.

Best day of your life?

There’s no one specific day but in my mind’s eye I can see a beach and my kids. I don’t know if it’s a particular day I’m thinking of; it’s just one of those summer days. It could be on holiday, or it could be in the States; it’s really just that feeling of no structure, summertime and no school for the kids; being in the water and feeling the waves and having to protect them a little and teach them about the water.

Best moment on a TV set?

About two or three years after I started on The X-Files, I did the Larry Sanders Show with my friend Garry Shandling although he wasn’t my friend at the time. He didn’t know me, but I loved his show. The producers told me, “Oh, Gary loves you.” Then I got there and it was clear that he didn’t have any idea who I was, which was fine. We did this scene – half written, half improvised, maybe – and Gary said, “How old are you?” I said, “32” and he said, “What took you so long?” and that felt like a blessing as to me he was the king of a certain kind of comedic performance.

Best Hollywood party?

I didn’t really go to many, especially at the peak of the X-Files years. For five years the show was shot in Vancouver and in many ways, it was a blessing to be out of that world, but I had some interesting, if nerve-racking moments at awards ceremonies. I remember going to the Golden Globes and being sat on the same table as a really good friend of mine, director Bart Freundlich and his wife Julianne Moore. My ex-wife Téa was sitting there, and Téa went to the bathroom, and she came back and said, “Did I miss anything?” I said, “Yeh, they announced my award. I won and you missed the whole thing.” Which was not true at all. I only kept her in the dark for a couple of seconds as it became rapidly apparent that I had no statue.

Best moment of self-realisation?

In many ways we remain children no matter how old we get and in many ways a lot of my reactions were based on childhood stuff; not necessarily something that I am ever going to change, but something to be aware of and keep an eye on. It’s the fine line between realising that a lot of your personality was constructed a long time ago, before you were really smart about these things, or knew about these things. And that that’s the same for everybody – but that’s not an excuse to continue reacting like a child. So, for me, life is this balancing act between honouring that kid and also not letting him drive the bus.

Best personal characteristic?

Perseverance. There have been many occasions when I’ve felt like giving up on everything, but I didn’t. I don’t give up. I guess I gave up trying to be a professional athlete at some point. I loved baseball and basketball and before getting to college I still had secret dreams of going pro.

Best decision?

This is going to sound negative towards education, but to leave graduate school and try to find out what else I wanted to do aside from being an academic. Not to denigrate academics but, for me, that was a hard and good decision although a scary one. I was a dissertation away from my PhD. I had done four years as an undergraduate, nearly four years of graduate work. Eight years towards a certain life; a good third of my life pointing towards a certain goal and then saying, “You know what, I’m gonna go do this thing, where none of that matters.” At the time it felt a little like I was throwing it all away. But in the end I think I’ve honoured those academic years and they also fed me.

Worst childhood memory?

My parents’ divorce. I was 12, which wasn’t a good age – but it’s never a good age. It’s hard to say exactly what the impact was on me, but it was profound. And I think having gone through it, as a parent as well, it’s taught me what I might not have been able to process at the time: it really pulls the rug out of a kid’s life. You can sugar-coat it all you want but it’s a traumatic experience. It’s not the end of anything and it’s not like you can’t recover from it but you do have to acknowledge that the world turned upside down. It’s hard to say how my life would have turned out had it not happened but I think I’m thankful for being hurt. I’m thankful for the wound because that’s what makes you human and makes you an artist. If you can survive it and remain empathetic it makes you aware of other people’s hurt. And without that, I don’t think I’d have anything.

Worst moment of your life?

Telling my kids about getting divorced. I still can’t think about it without feeling terrible. It’s actually a memory that I push out if it comes up. I don’t want to think about it. It happened nearly 10 years ago now, so the wound has healed a little but it’s not my wound; it’s theirs. And that’s why I push it away. I’ll never know it.

Worst moment on a TV or film set?

I wouldn’t want to name the project because I wouldn’t want to hurt the people involved. Probably my feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was more about me than it was about the project or them. But, yeah, and that’s just a terrible, terrible feeling. I’ve certainly had periods of self-doubt and I very nearly got fired on an early job. They gave me dailies to take home to see how bad I was. I wasn’t great but I think I was just young and green. I just needed some more gentle direction.

Worst moment of self-realisation?

I guess I have two self-conceptions. One is that I’m really talented and can do a lot of stuff easily. The other is that I’m not very talented at all and I have to work, work, work hard to do anything. And I believe I’m both of those things. It’s a fight when I’m not working. When I’m working, and I have something to work on; to put my perseverance and hard work into, then I’m healthy and I’m good. When I’m not working, I can be a little on edge. And I know this sounds like a humble brag, but it’s my reality. Obviously, I do a lot of stuff, but I feel lazy. I always feel like I’m not doing enough or working hard enough. Whether it’s in work or life, I always feel like I want to go and rest, to switch off and tune out. I also want to give up half the time, which is why that tendency in myself of perseverance is my greatest trait. 

Worst thing anyone has ever said about you?

It would have to be something that I thought was untrue – and there have certainly been plenty of untrue stories written about me. But then, I’m willing to entertain anything. Whatever you say to me, I’ll entertain it for a minute, and I feel like that’s a strong point for me. It’s a painful thing to be that open but whatever is said I’ll consider the source then come up with my own opinion.

Worst decision?

I think even some of my worst decisions have been beneficial. When I took the X-Files job I’d also accepted a small part on a TV movie, and I had to let the director of that project down because the dates of the two projects conflicted. I told my agents and obviously they said, ‘Take the X-Files’, which meant breaking my word, which I wasn’t comfortable with. But, clearly, ultimately my agents’ decision was absolutely correct. If it had been left to me, I would have made the wrong decision.

[fukuokadivision1]

Tasuku's Thoughts on Katsushika Division

Akihisa Mashiro

"I've heard of this guy. Apparently, he's some hotshot assassin, or hitman, or something. Apparently, his work has taken him all across the globe, believe it or not. ...You know, I'm kinda surprised my parents never hired this guy. Back when my mom was alive, my dad didn't believe in assassinations and stuff like that. He felt that methods like that were underhanded and wrong. He preferred dealing with problems face-to-face. He would always tell me, 'Deal with problems head-on. Leave ambushes and sneaking around for gutter rats and cowards.' It's one of the few pieces of advice I've ever taken to heart."

"But after he married my stepmom, she somehow managed to convince him to start doing assassinations and stuff. When I asked him 'why', he refused to answer. He just said, 'Sometimes, we have to do things we don't want to do.' It really hurt me, ya' know? Finding out that my father was a fucking hypocrite..."

Touya Kisaragi

"...Honestly, I can kinda understand where Sanyu was coming from when she spoke about this guy. I mean, I can't imagine being used as a sex toy by perverted men and women for your whole childhood. And then to have your genitals cut off on top of all that?! Damn, that's harsh. I don't know if Heaven exists, but if it does, his mother and those sicko adults aren't going anywhere near it."

"...That reminds me of a guy here in Fukuoka who used to be a pedophile. When everyone here found out, we made sure he would never touch or harm another child again. We didn't kill him, if that's what you're thinking. But... well, let's just say there are some things that are far, far worse than death."

Rintaro Himura

"Ugh, this guy... I've met a lot of sickos in my time. And trust me, there's no shortage of those here in Fukuoka. But it takes a real sick bastard to commit arson. And an even sicker bastard to bomb buildings with people still inside. I mean, I know terrorists exist and that they live to spread a message. But you shouldn't be involving innocent people to get your fucking point across. I like looking at fire too, but I'd sooner set myself on fire than burn another person. That's just sick and depraved!"

Death Row Block

"Like Sanyu said, if the Prime Minister actually thinks she can keep these three lunatics on a leash just putting a bomb collar around their necks, she's in for a rude awakening someday. I mean, Japan is chock full of smart individuals. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to remove a fucking collar. So, yeah, I hope the Prime Minister has a 'Plan B' involved somewhere. Because if these guys figure out how to break free of their bonds, its going to be 'open season' for them. And the blame will fall right on the Prime Minister's little head."

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Richard Madden born June 18th 1986 in Elderslie.

Richard was raised by his mother, Pat, a classroom assistant and his father, Richard, who worked for the fire service. He also has two sisters, Cara and Lauren.

His parents were “hippies”, he says, and their house was pretty open, with friends always piling in for big vegetarian meals. Madden spent a lot of time outside, in the woods behind their house. He has several injuries: he shows me where he shot his dad’s old air pistol and blew off part of his finger, then managed to wreck the same finger when he nailed a wooden plank to his skateboard, then crashed it, so apart from the Hippie parents it was much like most of our own days as bairns.

Despite growing up wanting to be an actor, Richard was very shy during his childhood. To overcome this, at age 11, he joined Paisley Arts Centre’s youth theatre program. In 1999 he was given the lead role as Sebastian Simpkins in BBC1’s children’s TV comedy series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, that’s him aged 12 in the first pic with co-star Toyah Wilcox.. By 2000, he’d made his feature film debut in the Iain Banks adaptation, Complicity.

After high school he was accepted to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland and in 2007, he graduated.

Less than two years later, Richard had a recurring role as Dean McKenzie on the 2009 BBC series Hope Springs. Soon after, he landed the role of Ripley in the 2010 movie Chatroom, a film about a group of teenagers who encourage each other’s bad behaviours after meeting online. In the same year, Richard played punk band Theatre of Hate singer Kirk Brandon in Worried About the Boy, a TV film about the life of British singer-songwriter Boy George.

In 2011 Richard landed his breakthrough role as Robb Stark in the HBO fantasy-drama series Game of Thrones. Also in 2011, he played gay paramedic Ashley Greenwick on the short-lived British comedy-drama Sirens. During hiatus from filming Game of Thrones in 2013, Richard was cast to star as Prince Charming in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella.

Richard won his first Screen Actors Guild award in 2014 for the Discovery Channel mini-series, Klondike. He played Bill Haskell, one of two adventurers who travel to Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. He further enhanced his reputation as a good actor when he appeared in the BBC drama Bodyguard in 2018, the following year he played Lieutenant Joseph Blake in the film 2017 and was Elton John’s manager/lover in the biop of the star Rocketman.

In January 2019 Madden won  a prestigious Golden Globe for his role as war veteran David Budd in the BBC show Bodyguard. He also appeared in the 2019 war movie 1917.

We last saw Richard in the movie,  Eternals, which was okay, but nothing great, he is one of several actors being touted as the next James Bond,

James is currently in the Amazon Prime series Citadel, I've watched the first three episodes and am not really impressed with it,I think he does pull of the American accent well, but I noticed there have been people saying he doesn't pull it off, Madden revealed he spoke in the accent for two years straight to prepare for the series. The show has been earmarked for a second series. Richard is set to appear in the feature film Killer Heat next.

In July 2019, Madden received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. When asked about his personal life during a New York Times interview following speculation about his relationships and sexuality, Madden stated: “I just keep my personal life personal.”

Madden was recently named one of ‘Scotland’s Sexiest Men'  following a new study that identifies the most attractive features for men, he has competition though,  also in the running are Bathgate’s David Tennant  and Glasgow’s James McAvoy,