#the way shona would lOVE HER

[fictionformed]

Zane couldn't sleep, granted he didn't sleep much, he couldn't eat, but he didn't do much of that either.. the nagging sensation of dread and feeling powerless had taken over. Usually when something weird went down in Evermore he consulted Dipper and Jack.. but now his friend was part of the building mystery and Zane was hellbent on solving it. Or at least.. trying to. His feet made light work of the forest he so frequently visited, as he continued looking for any signs of struggle or life nearby. He sighed approaching the person, he was shit out of luck or answers by this point. But maybe they could help each other.

"I mean I guess.. but that's assuming they even left town in the first place." Zane mused, laced with the hopelessness creeping over him. "There's got to be more to it.. I just can't figure out what that is."

LOCATION: the edge of town FOR: open !!! @evermorehqsstart

Staring at the line of trees, Wendy stood with one hand on her hip, a very large stick gripped in the other, hanging over her shoulder. They'd tried three times now to go through the woods, but at some point, they always ended up... on the other side of town, somehow, dazed and confused. Which was actually really kind of creepy, and no doubt something Dipper had already investigated. Which was why she was doing this, of course. She was lazy, but sometimes she cared enough to override the amotivation that was so deeply ingrained in her. Hearing footsteps, Wendy turned to their newfound company, bewilderment dancing across their features. "They had to get through this, right?"

[ktficworld]

Loving you is not easy, my dear

Pairing: Steve Rogers x desi!reader

Summary: America thinks Steve Rogers can do better and maybe, they are right.

Warning: heavy racism(seriously, I'm not using this word lightly), angst, hurt/comfort, trolling, protective!Steve, reader gets her revenge on the racist bastards 😈

A/n: posting after so long. Already know traction is going to be shit but I'd really appreciate if you reblog this. I'll try to keep it short(I failed💀)

Tags: @sunshine-on-my-mind @slutty-daddy-pedro

This wasn't supposed to happen.

You weren't ready to get dragged through the mud just yet.

You and Steve have been dating for a year. You were a regular software engineer. Wandering around on the internet, to help fellow programmers with their problems. Little did you know, that none other than Tony Stark was there for help under the disguise of 'toiletdistroyer'; frankly, you should have known by this username, but oh well.

So, you caught the billionaires eye and he offered you a job on the spot. And of course, you took it, much to your parents dismay and happiness. With tears filled in your eyes and aachar, parathe stuffed in your tiffin. Of you went to America.

You didn't meet the captain for a good month and honestly, even if you had. You wouldn't have given two fucks about him since you were stressed to the brim with work and moving in.

You slowly met every avenger. Tony was the first, of course. Then it was Bruce Wayne Banner as you worked on the technical part of a bio-tech project he was developing. He was good but was shy and mostly kept to himself. Afterwards followed, Natasha, she was sassy and perfect. You liked talking to her about girl shit and somehow, she took a liking to your weird ass and you befriended black widow.

Next up, was his best friend. Bucky. He caught you wandering outside the stark building because you came too early and so he joined you and the birds chirping. He was cute and funny, but not your type. Thankfully, he wasn't interested and quickly friend zoned him.

Then you met him.

You whistled as you sauntered into the lobby. Clocking out early from your shift and cherry on top, it was Friday. You were going to have a fun weekend. Talking with your parents, watching kdrama and being gleefully single.

Your whistle was disturbed by something squashy yet hard coming underneath your foot. You retreated your foot and glanced down with furrowed brows. It was a brown leather wallet. With a sigh, you bent down and picked up the lost wallet.

You opened the wallet to see the identity of the abandoned wallet's owner and your eyebrows disappeared into you hairline as the stupidly handsome face of the captain appeared in front of you. He must have dropped it in a hurry.

Your eyes darted around as you bit your bottom lip. The sane thing to do would be to go to the reception, hand her the wallet and go your merry way. But he might still be around and also, the receptionist looked too bitchy for you to deal with. So you went for the less sane option, of course.

You took a deep breath and glanced up at the ceiling. "Hey, Friday. Is Captain Rogers still in the compound?"

"Yes, miss. Shona. Captain Rogers is in the parking lot." The robotic voice of Friday said from above.

"Thank you, Friday." You said and deeply sighed. Yes, you could do it. No need to be nervous. What if he's Captain America? You ain't a criminal. With that peep talk, you rushed to the parking lot.

You almost tripped while trying to find Steve in the parking lot but in the end, you found him. He was swinging his leg to climb on his bike when you shouted to get his attention.

"Captain Rogers! Captain Rogers!" The man stopped mid-way, setting his foot back on the ground as he turned around and you almost died at the sight of him. He was wearing blue jeans, white T-shirt and blue jacket, making his sapphire eyes pop as some blonde hair strands falling over his forehead. Oh, girl. Get a grip on yourself!

He was startled by your incessant shouting as he looked at you with his doe yet alert eyes. "Yes, miss. How can I help you?" He asked, ever the gentleman and you internally sighed in relief that he didn't call you ma'am.

You waved his wallet and said. "Your wallet. I think you dropped in the lobby."

His eyes widened as he patted his pockets and a sheepish look appeared on his face. "Ah, I think I really dropped it. Sorry." He said and walked up to you.

You gave him his wallet with a smile and bit your lip when your hands touched. Fuck, were you on your pms?

You peered at him through your lashes as he checked the insides of the wallet and promptly shoved it in his jeans back pocket.

He glanced at you and with a shy smile, said. "Thank you, miss."

"Oh, no problem. You can call me shona." You didn't know what divine energy of confidence came over you as you extended your hand for Steve to shake.

Steve looked at you funnily but shook your hand nonetheless. "That's not your real name, is it?" He asked timidly after the handshake, his touch lingering on your hand as you unwittingly savoured the feeling.

You beamed at him and shook your head. "Nope."

"Then, what is it?"

You told him your name and the smile on his dashing face faded away as he looked down. You could not blame him, most people had the same reaction and that was why you gave your nickname, not actual name.

"I'll probably butcher that." He muttered sadly as he scratched the back of his neck.

You chuckled and waved off his concerns. "It's alright. Most people can't say my name. Only few special people have made it into a special group who can pronounce it outside India." And it was true. Only few people were able to say your name without getting their tongue twisted, including Natasha.

Steve raised an eyebrow. He bent down, close to your face and whispered, in a husky voice. "And what are the requirements?"

You hummed as you pretend to think with your finger on your chin and said, dramatically. "A lot of dedication and practice."

Now it was his turned to be amused as he leaned even closer and asked. "And what will I get if I get into this special club?"

You were caught off guard as you spluttered out. "Um, what do you want?" And you also had kdramas to binge for fuck sake.

"A dinner sounds good." He said with a lopsided grin.

You gave him a thumbs up and said. "Perfect! Now I need to go. I have a weekend to enjoy, bye." You said and rushed out without a second thought or glance at Steve.

When you sat down in the metro was the time when your dumb mind actually processed his words and you froze In your seat. Wait! Did he just ask you on a date?

He did, in fact, ask you on a date.

After he learned to say your name. You two went on a date and you knew you were doomed. Those blue eyes had effectively captured your heart as you slowly fell for him.

And who won't? He was so soft, affectionate, caring, supportive. He was perfect. You didn't know what he saw in you. You were so... Regular.

But whenever you would say this to him. He would look at you all offended and ask why not? You were beautiful, intelligent and his sunshine. And you melted everytime he said that.

You told your parents and you had to make your mother take an oath that she won't say anything about your relationship to any of your relatives as she just couldn't stop giggling. Thankfully, she kept her oath.

You also officially got introduced to the avengers. Bucky and Natasha already knew about it and everyone was happy for you and Steve. Yeah, Tony did throw a tantrum about how he didn't figure out your budding romance and how Rogers whisked you away from under his nose. His words, not yours. And he also earned a slap to the chest by Pepper for that.

You both decided to keep your relationship private. Steve did not want to make a circus of his relationship in the media and you also wanted to lay low. You wanted to take the Katrina Kaif route, one day you're single and the next day, poof! You are married.

But the Cosmos had another plan.

You didn't know who it was, a reporter or a fan. But someone captured you and Steve in a not so platonic way. You were sitting on his bike, one hand occupied with an ice cream and the other, draped over his board shoulder. He was holding you by the waist as you both kissed. Ice cream long forgotten as you both were smiling into the kiss. But someone had posted it on social media and overnight your very private relationship was in front of the entire world to judge ans comment about.

You woke up to a cold bed and your phone exploded with texts and calls, ranging from judgmental relatives to your friends from India and America to the entire avengers team.

You furrowed your brows at the slew of messages and calls and decided to call Steve but instead his phone blared in your shared room, making you sigh. What the fuck was going on?

You scrolled through your contacts and paused when Natasha's name appeared. You hovered over her number hesitantly before calling her. Just after two rings, she answered.

"Hello, Natasha. What is going on and where is Steve?" You asked her in a sleepy voice and scratched your head.

On the other side of the line, Natasha sucked in a sharp breath and replied with unusual franticness. "Shona, somebody leaked a photo of you two and now the world knows that you both are in a relationship. Steve's in the living room, come here quickly and don't open your social media!" Natasha cautioned.

"Wha-" You didn't even get a chance to comprehend her words before she hang up the call. You glance at your phone incredulously. You sat up straight when your brain finally processed the given information. Your relationship was public. Your Katrina Kaif moment was ruined even before it materialised, ugh! So unfair.

And telling you not to open your social medias? It was like telling a child not to eat the candies from the jar. You bit your lip and opened the hellhole called twitter. And the number one trending hastag was:

#CaptainAmericaisdatingwho?

You tapped on the hastag and was instantly greeted by the picture of you and Steve. Your eyes widened as you took in the picture, whoever clicked it had good photography skills as you looked decent in it. You scrolled down and made a decision you would later come to regret, started reading the reactions of the people.

He is dating an Indian? Why? Did he not find any good girl in here? Insane.

If they have a child, what would be their skin color?

She probably put him under a spell or something.

Wait! She works for Stark, meaning this is a work-place relationship. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.

Captain America is taken😭😭😭 why God! Now I need to find someone else to obsess over😭😭😭

Look how she's eating. Like, get some manners girl! 👇

You looked down to the image attached. You were eating rice with your hand and winking at the camera, granted it wasn't the neatest sight but eating food with hands made it taster(yeah, fight me on it!).

That was it, you could not take it anymore. You burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as you giggled at the comments, doubling down in your bed.

Tears gathered in your eyes as you laughed your ass off on these racists misery. You knew damn well that you would face some form of racism whether you dated Steve or not and it was funny to see them whine like anyone gave a shit.

You scrolled some more laughing at the whiny racist and the memes people made along the way. However, one comment caught your attention as you halted to read it.

Why isn't Steve dating her?

You looked down at the photo and your heart dropped, all your happiness fading away. You stared at the woman's photo for what felt like ages as you observed her porcelain skin, her blonde hair and her perfect figure. She was the epitome of an American woman.

You looked at Sharon's perfect face and could not help but echo the poster's thought. Yeah, why wasn't he dating Sharon? Why was he dating you? A regular girl while he was captain fucking America! He could have anyone he wanted. A model, an actor anyone he wanted and he wanted you? Why?

Much to your detriment, you scroll past it and onto the next comment which said:

So, she's the ugly one in the relationship 🙈🙈🙈

The comment plunged into your soul like a rusted dagger as your breathing becomes a shallow pounding in your ears. You glanced forward, where the full length mirror was sitting and stared at your reflection with critical gaze.

You brought a hand to your face, it was so dull. Your eyes had dark circles and were puffy. Your lips weren't plump enough. Your eyes weren't big enough. Your body wasn't curvy enough. You only had brains. No, you didn't! You weren't special, anyone could do your job with enough practice. You were nothing out of the ordinary.

You were snapped out of your destructive thoughts as your phone was snatched out of your grip. You whipped your eyes to the perpetrator and a very furious Natasha glared back at you.

"What did I tell you about not checking your social media?" Natasha asked, enraged as she waved your phone in her hands.

You didn't want Natasha to be proven right so you scoffed and replied. "Telling someone not to do something will only make them do it more. Haven't you heard of reverse psychology, agent?" You snarked and Natasha shook her head in displeasure.

"You coming with me?" Natasha asked.

You paused to think and then shook your head. "Let me shower first. I feel dirty and sleepy."

Natasha nodded thoughtfully and said. "Okay, I'll stay here."

You whined in protest but quickly shut up after receiving a steely glare fron the black widow which would make even the toughest villians pee their pants. You showered, taking extra long as you got distracted by your thoughts yet again. And made your way to the living room with Natasha in toe.

And you heard it before you saw it. The annoying voice of one of the most famous conservative journalist as he said that Steve Rogers could do much better, that this relationship wasn't going to last and that he wished it won't last long.

The last part made your stomach churn in uncertainty.

The pattering of footsteps alerted the other avengers of your arrival. Tony and Steve were standing next to each other as they talked in hushed yet aggressive tone.

Tony looked annoyed than ever as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. While, Steve? Steve looked like just one poke and he would snap. His jaw was clenched, his eyes were ablaze as he stood taut.

Both of the man's gaze snapped towards you as Steve's face softened and he rushed towards you, blocking your view to the TV as Tony hastily turned it off.

"You finally done sleeping, sleepy head?" Steve asked affectionately as he caressed you cheek.

You hummed absentmindedly and forced a smile on your face. "Slept like a baby." You said and the air was so thick with tension that it was strangling you more than your own mind as no one dared to talk about the elephant in the room.

Eventually, Steve cleared his throat and said in a whisper. "You already know what happened but don't worry, I'm with you." And pulled you into his embrace. Yes, why are you with me, Steve? What do you like in having to deal with all this drama when you could date any white woman and keep the peace?

You tried to reciprocate his hug but it was a half hearted attempt as you were fixated onto something else.

"Yeah, don't do anything stupid." Sam said when you and Steve parted. His face was empathic and knowing and your heart broke at that. Still, you gave him a half smile.

"Hey! That's my line!" Bucky yelled in offence, making Sam scowl at him.

"You don't own a sentence, Buchanan." Sam countered.

"Don't call me that and I would copyright..." They kept bickering but you tuned them out as the seed of doubt started sprouting in your consciousness.

📷

But it only got worse. The hate just didn't stop and everyone was piling up on you. Indians did come to your defence, questioning the racism and the unrequited hate you were getting.

But some were also interrogating you. Why were you dating captain America? Why were you flying so high? That he may just be using you and would leave you for an American sooner or later. This sentiment was also shared by your relatives.

Your parents were on your side but you could sense that seeing you get attacked was upsetting them. You put up a brave face in front of the world but you were crumbling down from the depths of your being. You were falling down an abyss and no matter how hard you shouted for help, your mind didn't let up its torment.

You didn't tell the avengers or Steve because they was already so stressed out dealing with all this fiasco. He was so distraught that he didn't even notice you withdrawing from him. He didn't notice how you slept on the edge of the bed instead of in his arms. He didn't notice that you avoided mirror like a plague. He didn't notice how you were drowning in your minds stupid tricks.

That was until it boiled over.

It was a quiet evening. You were walking back to the compound after running some errands. Apparently, Indian species were hella expensive and hard to find in there so you shopped for them by yourself. And it was also because you liked these non-eventful and tranquil moments that you had reserved for yourself.

You were absentmindedly trudging forward as the compound just entered your peripheral when a shout jolted you out of your trance like state.

"Go back to your country!"

You whirled around, only to come face-to-face with a regular white man. Seriously, he didn't even look like a Kevin or intimidating, just run of the mil white guy, very easy to blend in the crowd.

You raised your eyebrows and exclaimed. "Excuse me?"

The man tutted and took a step forward, you taking a backward step. "Didn't you hear me? I said, go back to your country."

"This is getting old. Try something new." You said with a bored voice and crossed your arms on your chest.

"Seriously, first you take our jobs then resources and now our hero? Just because you don't have anything in your country, doesn't mean you should come running to us and mooch off of us." He ranted with a grunt.

"Why? You wanna date him?" You eyed him from head to toe. "To my knowledge, Steve is straight and even if he wasn't. I don't think he would date someone like you." You snided.

His jaw ticked as he took a step forward. "You don't deserve him!" He spat.

Yes, you don't deserve him. Your mind supplied as your grip around the shopping bag loosened.

"He deserves better." Yes, he deserved better.

"You are nothing." Yes, you were nothing.

You were so hypnotised by your minds scorching affirmations that you didn't see the approaching threat.

You yelped as your back hit an electric poll, grocery bag falling on the ground. The man lunging forward for an attack but before he could even lift his hand, a punch from his left side shoved him away and he landed on the ground with a pained grunt.

You let out a shuddery breath as you slowly glanced to your left, your whole body trembling with fear. Your eyes landed on Steve standing there, panting heavily as his knuckles were painted crimson, by whose blood? You didn't know. His eyes were ablaze and his face was murderous as he began charging towards the whimpering man on the pavement.

This snapped you from whatever demons were holding you as marched towards him and shrieked. "Steve, stop!"

You stopped in front of him and wrapped youur hands around his. He halted in his steps, his face instantly softening as he unclenched his fists and dropped his offensive stance. He cupped your right cheek and you spluttered out a sob.

You glanced down at his bloody knuckle and coked out. "Steve, let's go."

He glanced behind you at the whining man and then nodded. He tucked you in his embrace while your gaze never left his knuckles. This was all your fault. Because of you, he almost lost control of himself and if he would have done something then you would have also smeared his name. Maybe it was good to end things.

📷

The room was pin-drop silent, only the sniffling of you and Steve and the clinking of the first aid kit being shut closed reverberated through the walls. Steve had started to talk as soon as you left the man writhing on the cold sidewalk but one finger of yours on his lips and he shut up, accepting your silent plea of solace. But you couldn't push back the inevitable any longer.

You lifted up the first aid kit and set it inside one of the cabinets in the bathroom. When you came back, you sat down on the coffee table ahead of Steve and peered at him through your lashes, your heart breaking when your gaze landed at his pretty face. You would miss him.

It was Steve who spoke first. He intertwined his bandaged hand with yours and softly said. "I'm sorry, you are suffering so much because of me and I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you."

Swallowing, you looked down as tears beaded your eyelashes and muttered out. "I think we should break up, Steve. It's not working out." Saying those words was like stabbing yourself in the chest with a scorching knife.

Steve instantly stiffened and his grip on your hand grew tight as he refused to let you go. "Why?" He asked and before you could reply, his bitter laugh made your head snap upwards as he shook his head.

"Why am I asking this? This should be pretty obvious to me," He sniffled as few tears slid down his cheeks. He glanced at you and you had to bite your lip to hold back your own tears as his pained and misty eyes stared into yours. "Is there nothing I could do to change your mind? To make you give me a second chance? Do you not love me anymore?"

The last part was like a slap to your face as you furiously shook your head and yelled. "I love you with all my heart, body, mind and soul. I love you more than anything in this world, more than I could ever articulate."

"Then why are you leaving me?" He asked in a whisper.

And the flood burst gates open as you broke down. "BECAUSE I DON'T DESERVE YOU."

Steve immediately placed you in his lap as sons wrecked through your body. "Why would you say that? You deserve the world, doll."

"No Steve, no! You are Captain America and I'm nothing. You are gorgeous and I'm ugly. You are perfect and I'm not." You cried into his chest, selfishly seeking his warmth.

Steve jutted your chin upwards and gazed down at you with soft offense. "No, honey. I'm not perfect, I betrayed Tony, I have done so many things that I regret. I have cried in your arms multiple times and you have seen me vulnerable." He said through his own tears.

"But you are so pretty. You should be dating a model or an actress, not me."

"Who like me for being Captain America? No way and," He held your face in his palms and continued. "You are the most beautiful, most intelligent, most amazing woman I have ever met. I won't trade you for anyone."

"Then why I doesn't feel like it, Steve? You asked in a defeated whisper. "Why can't I see myself the way you see me?"

"I can help you look at yourself like I look at you. Please just, don't leave me. I can't live without you. We can survive this storm." He murmured softly kissed your sore eyes.

Your lips quivered as you brought your hands to Steve's face. "I want you, Steve. I want you so much but holding you feels like a sin."

"And holding you feels like a dream. A dream I thought I would never have," He said quietly and gently pressed his forehead with yours. "Just give me another chance. Give us another chance."

"Okay." You replied. Your sobs had ended and draped a heavy blanket of fatigue over you in their farewell as you melted into Steve's hold and Steve snuggled in you more. You didn't know when he placed you on your bed or when you fell asleep in his arms. You let yourself fall into his bliss as all the demons left you. Because in this moment , Steve was yours and you were his and that was all that mattered.

📷

You yawned as you got out of your slumber. The bed was cold again as Steve was nowhere to be found. Again.

Maybe he realised you were right and moved instead of kicking you out. You sniffed a little and turned around, so you were facing the front of your room. But your face instantly scrunched up in bewilderment as you took in the sight.

There were polaroid pictures hanging from the ceiling by a white thread, all facing away from you. You scratched your head as you tentatively got out of the bed. How the fuck did someone hang these and you didn't even stir? Was this from hydra?

The last thought made you gulp as you gingerly reached out for the first picture and pulled it close to read the text written on it with a marker.

Do you remember the time when you handled the toughest project alone?

-Tony

"Huh, what?" Now you were even more confused as you flipped the glossy paper and burst out into a fit of laughter.

It was a picture of you handing Tony a golden toilet trophy like you were handing an Oscar with a megavolt grin as he was rolling his eyes but still, he begrudgingly received the award.

You wiped off a tear from your eye and refocused back on his question. You hummed to yourself as you took a trip down the memory lane. It was a very important biotech project and there had come a point where the connection between the software and hardware had broken and no one could figure why because everything was normal and nothing seemed faculty. It turned out to be a software issue as the code had malfunctioned and needed to be rewritten in a more efficient manner.

You led the team who did that and boy were those days exhausting. Overtime, frustration, failure after failure and of course the moral of the team going down. But you managed to keep the team together and pulled through. Providing excellence.

You smiled a little at that memory. You weren't that useless.

Sighing, you stepped forward to the next picture and read the text on it.

Remember when you got hit on and Steve scowled?

-Natasha and Wanda

You turned the photo around, showing you, Wanda and Natasha. You and Wanda were eating a leftover cake while Natasha was drinking wine straight from the bottle.

You remembered that night. You were minding your own business and not touching alcohol since you didn't want to wake up with a pounding headache. when a guy suddenly materialised next to you and ordered a drink for you without even asking and began flirting.

You smoothly pulled yourself out of that situation and gave the drink to Natasha but Steve had witnessed the whole interaction and he looked like he wanted to sucker punch that poor dude. He was teased relentlessly about it for a month.

Now that you thought about it. You were hit on multiple times on multiple occasions. It was a game of sorts between you and Steve. Since your relationship was private, it was amusing to see people ask you or Steve on a date. You always relished in watching girls flirt with Steve because he would always get uncomfortable and nope out of there like his life depended on it. It was fun because no matter how much they flirted with him, you knew that the man was yours.

You chuckled and caught a glimpse of your reflection in the mirror. You weren't that bad looking.

You walked up to the next polaroid and snatched it closer.

Remember when you comforted me when everyone was sleeping?

-Bucky

Your eyes filled with tears as you flicked to see yours and Bucky's image, it was clicked during lockdown when everyone stressed a lot about cleaning everything. You were pretending to sing with a cleaner bottle in your hand as a microphone and Bucky was using a broom as his guitar.

With a reminiscent smile and you thought back to that one stormy night when Steve was out on a mission and everyone was sound asleep.

You being the insomniac that you were started trudging towards the kitchen for some late night snack but stopped mid-way when you heard whimpers coming from Bucky's room. You went inside without asking but saw him crying alone in his bed. He was so resistant to your comfort and even yelled at you for intruding on his privacy: but he was right about it. However, he caved in the end and cried his heart out while you held him. Then you both watched anime and ate chips. Sleep was nowhere to be found that night.

You bit your lips as you went to the last and final picture, that was dangling before the door.

Remember why I love you?

-Steve

You burst into tears as the realisation dawned on you that it was he, who did all of this. To make you see yourself through his eyes and everybody's eyes. And no, you didn't remember why he loved you because there were too many moments and reasons to remember all that once.

Warmth bloomed in your chest as you finally looked at the picture and it was just like your relationship. Sweet and simple. With you both in the bed, hair messy and lazy smiles on your faces. It was a morning selfie that you taken sporadically on his phone.

You loved him. You loved him so much and you wanted to be with him till the end of the line. Because even if you were just a regular jane, you loved him and he loved you and that was all that mattered.

In your whirlpool of emotions, you didn't register the the bedroom door clicking open and Steve walking inside. It was when his strong arms enveloped you, did you got out of your reverie and glanced at him, teary eyed.

You hugged him back and wept louder in his chest as he rubbed your head. "I love you. I'm sorry for telling everyone about what you were going through but I thought it would help, please stop crying."

You slapped a hand over his lips and cried out. "Shut up. You lovely little dork. I love you. You did nothing wrong in my eyes."

With hope twinkling in his eyes, he removed your palm and asked. "So, will you give us another chance?"

"Yes! This one incident won't make my problems go away in a snap but I want to be with you and learn to love myself like you love me." You said through a smile and leaned to kiss him when-

"What about the trolls?" Tony's voice made you shriek in surprise as Steve gave him an exasperated look.

"Really, Tony?" Steve said with displeasure.

"Yeah, really asshole?" Natasha said and slapped Tony on the head.

Tony scrunched up his face in indignation and said. "But I need to know. She's not used to the attention and hate. And she can't even deactivate her social media because she is one of our representatives from tech."

This made a bulb go off in your head as you held up your plam and said. "Don't worry, Tony. I'll have it handled. Plus, we didn't really publicly announced our relationship, did we?"

Steve narrowed his eyes at you but you just grinned at him devilishly. Time to troll the trolls.

📷

You softly closed the bathroom door as you stepped outside, your white saree grazing the floor. You looked ahead and your jaw went slack, Steve was his blue powder blue shirt and black pants and his blonde hair practically glowed in the golden light of the evening. He looked so gorgeous that you just couldn't tear your eyes away from him.

But then you realised his intense stare on you and you quickly looked down, heat raising to your cheeks. "Stop, staring, it's creepy."

Steve let out a throaty chuckle and said. "I can say the same thing about you."

You opened your mouth to reply but the Bucky's exasperated voice interjected with a grunt. "You both can do this later. Now, come on before the sunsets and the light is gone." And harshly thrusted his phone in the direction of the door.

You chuckled. "Alright, let's go." Steve held your hand as you both walked outside the compound and into the evening sun. After, finding a place where the background was greenery instead of a concrete jungle. You perched on his Harley. Your hand snaked around his neck as his came down to rest on your butt while he stood in the middle of your legs and both came forward to kiss each other.

Bucky clicked the picture but Steve didn't let you go until the need for oxygen became dire. You smiled bashfully and wiped your mouth as you finally got off his bike and went to the very unimpressed Bucky.

He shoved your phone into your hands and ran away before he had to endure any of your pda any further.

You shrugged it off and looked at the photo. Thankfully, it was good and you gave Steve a thumbs up before posting it with a caption:

I corrupted the golden boy and I'm not sorry 😈

Steve also posted the same picture but his caption was more modest:

My love ❤

And. It. Blew. Up, again.

The haters and racist started whining again. Sane people supported you both and laughed at the haters, going as far as making memes. You were trending again, many famous people also came out of the woodworks and congratulated you both which made you roll your eyes.

You didn't care about the public thought of you. You wanted to troll the haters and you successfully accompanied that.

However, it didn't end there. As your devil incarnate friends decided to add fuel to the fire by posting pictures of you and Steve being all over each other with a complimentary middle finger emoji. And apparently, everybody had one.

Either you two were pervs Or your friends were nosey as fuck. Natasha and Bucky agreed with the former assumption.

Bucky posted you both kissing on a picnic.

Natasha of you sitting in Steve's lap.

Sam posted a photo of your head resting in his lap.

Heck, even Peter posted a photo where Steve was kissing your temple.

There were many more but you that was enough for the day as you switched off your phone and tossed it on the bed side table.

"I just wish, no pray that my parents don't see any of these pictures or I will be having an interesting phone call with them. The relatives are still blasting my phone but I ignored them as always." You rambled to Steve as he slid under the covers.

Steve let out a raspy chuckle and said. "I don't think they haven't seen it yet as we're all over the, well everything."

You groaned and pouted at Steve because he didn't need to always tell the truth but as soon as you locked eyes with him you melted in his oceanic blue gaze. He pulled you into his comforting arms and you happily obliged.

"Steve, now that the whole mess is kinda resolved. What's next?" You asked as you gazed into his sapphire blue eyes.

He hummed and gazed back at you. "What's next? Good question, but I don't think you want to hear the answer to that. Would ruin the fun. " He whispered and leaned down to kiss you before you could question him further.

[justsomemusingsandthoughts]

Now about season 3 of Bridgerton....some thought from a Greys Anatomy fan of the first hour cause I need to get it off my chest :)

I was really excited to see Polins story unfold even though I didn't watch Bridgerton before or read the books but I was swept up by the excitement on tiktok and got invested in their story.

But as soon as I heard Shona was involved I was like okayyyyyy, I gotta keep my expectations in check cause the women is not one to write healthy and lasting relationships and reasonable men who communicate well😬

Looking at how the season played out, I completely understand why so many people are disappointed cause there was so much potential wasted, so many scenes that could have made clear to the viewer what was going on in Colins head. I think I filled in the gaps in my mind but there are still some moments, some things he said and did that were almost character destroying, specially the comment about the entrapment, cause dude, she didn't even know what sex was🙄 Also, not even trying to have a converation with her about why LW started and has such significance to her was not sth Colin would do.

And that's the crux of why I think for many die hard fans, the season was a let down. They didn't show any true discussions or enough moments of passion alongside the argument cause in truth, there was no time with all the unnecessary side plots and so few episodes. If you saw the season you know, I won't list them all but I will say they better put a proper Polin side story and spicy scene in Ben's season cause the amount of pointless threesomes I had to skip through is almost offensive, especially cause it should be clear people want intimate scenes of the main couple😮‍💨

But looking at all of it considering this show is part of Shondaland, I am not the least bit surprised. The number of downright character assasinations I watched on Grey's (and other shows of hers) after over a decade watching the development of some of them is kinda ridiculous. The number of ruined relationships and the horrible ways most of them were ruined (I almost cannot believe I'm saying this now but thank god they killed off Derek before completely undoing who he actually was and what Meredith meant to him😭).

Untimately, Shonda loves the drama and the angst and very clearly doesn't think there is much entertainment value in showing happy couples resolving their issues in a healthy way. If you watch a project she's involved in, you gotta be prepared for the couple to not make it and in that way, Bridgerton fans are rather lucky considering no matter how the seasons play out, it's gonna end with a happy couple that's not gonna split up again.

She also was never gonna just take books and keep to the narrative cause I don't believe that would be any fun to her. Especially this season, since she has said that Pen is her favorite character. I was immediately thinking Colin will be taking a back seat and have moments viewers will hate him for to have Pen in the forefront individually.

I guess I'm gonna take away and rewatch the beautiful moments, even some of the angsty ones and wait for what little side plots Polin will have in future seasons. I don't believe I will watch the entirety of future seasons cause I'm not interested to be disappointed by Shonda Rhimes' story telling anymore. Been there done that😂

But my little obsession with Polin was still worth it cause they're just an amazing fictional couple and I might just read their book now☺️

And I have definitely found a new actress to follow along for her future roles cause Nicola is just amazing as an actress and as a person🥰

(Also find it deeply offensive to make an audience wait for 2 years (!!!) for 8 episodes but that's for another day😅)

[madwolfxiii]

Season 3 of Bridgerton. Holy shit. I loved it. As a fan of not just the show, but also the books, I am excited with some of the changes they are throwing in. But everyone on the Bridgerton fb group I am in are not. Should I be shocked since it's people on fb??? But I just had to share my little rant review that I posted in the group for all of the people being salty. Spoilers below!

What can I say about those final 4 seasons of Bridgerton except WOW. And it's a good wow. I was upset that it was split up but the season was still amazing. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton has been my favorite of the books (so far). And I feel like they really did it justice. They had the main story beats while still doing something different.

Moving onto the Francesca stuff. You know what. I am actually excited about the change to Michaela. At first when people were spoiling it I was just like, why do they have to do that? I feel like genderbending an established character is just lazy. But I can forgive it because I think it would definitely make their story interesting! Now I could be saying this because I haven't finished her book. I started it before watching season 3 and just got to where John died and Francesca had her miscarriage. So I am not so invested in her and Michael as people who have read the book and may consider it their favorite. But I can see why people would be bummed with a major change to their favorite couple.

But I HIGHLY disagree with everyone saying that the show will be unwatchable now. It's still the same story. Just Michael is Michaela and that will just present more obstacles for them. I do realize a big part of Francesca's storyline is her infertility and wanting children. That really doesn't need to change just because she falls in love with a woman. She can still have that struggle. They can show it during her marriage with John before he dies. Maybe they really struggle to get pregnant then they do and he dies and she loses the baby. Michaela can help her through that and they fall in love and maybe adopt!

But before I hear the "well their relationship can't be public because it wasn't allowed back then." Are you really looking for historical accuracy with Bridgerton? Mixed couples were DEFINITELY not allowed back then but the Queen is poc. Bridgerton is presented as like an alternate timeline to history. The real Queen Charlotte was not of color. None of the couples in the books are mixed. But Shona created this world where it is accepted in earlier times then real life. Not without scrutiny and struggle, obviously, as we see in Queen Charlotte when skin color is commented on throughout the season. But some people are okay with that inaccuracy but put their foot down with a main couple being a gay one? On the topic of them being accepted and being able to be public, well that may be part of the storyline and maybe the Queen helps them out. In the novelization of Queen Charlotte, her and George knew about Brimsley and Reynolds and they were okay with it. I'm sure the Queen would have found a way to let them be together if the story wanted to go that direction. Sadly we never found out what happened to Reynolds.

Also people are saying that Michael is supposed to be one of the hottest love interests and their book is the steamiest. Uh it still can be. Michaela looks pretty hot to me and I am as straight as they come. If seeing two girls be intimate on screen makes you uncomfortable then that's your problem. I am ready to see Franny get down and dirty with her lady love.

Also I totally saw Benedict as bi since season 1. He always came off as a little bi curious and I was so happy that he finally accepted it. Good for him for having a threesome. The only complaint I had about that particular storyline was how we would be watching some Whistledown drama then it would suddenly cut to the threesome. It was sort of jarring, as hot as the threesome was. But I thought it was cool seeing Benedict explore his sexuality because like I said, in actual history that was not allowed. But Bridgerton isn't following actual history to a T. It's paving its own way and I am fine with that. With the mention of the masquerade ball next season, Benedict will FINALLY get his love story. Maybe Sophie would be down for a threesome. Who knows.

Also to all the people STILL saying Polin was unconvincing...you need your vision checked because their love and their happy ending had me in tears. I was really happy with how well it did follow the book while also changing it up enough to make it interesting. Because if I want the beat by beat story of the book, I will just read that again. That's the thing people. WE STILL HAVE THE BOOKS. They are not going anywhere. This show will not "ruin" them.

[wildshona]

Girly Night Out

So Tammy and I went to Ku-Bar and met up with Bai and Yina. Bai means Purity apparently and Yina means Joy. Lots of joy in Yina but not a lot ofpurity in Bai hehe, I guess Bai is in her mid twenties, lovely long Chinese blue-black hair and brown eues with multiple ear piercings and a tattoo of a tiger of a spirit of some sor on her back - her whole back. Yina was a little younger maybe the same age as Tammy who is 22. So I was the youngest as usual. Yina has a septum ring and her tonguw was pierced.

So we had about three cocktails at Ku-Bar and lots of snogging which i guess you American followers were called making out. Then Bai said it was time to go - she knew somewhere. I would really like to tell you guys wheerabouts we went but once we were in the taxi I was concentrating on Bai's hand which had found its way up my dress and past my thong.

So anyway we arrive at an alleyway off a High Street of some sort and we go down some steps into a basement. There is a bar and a seating area all alcoved - i guess it had been a storage cellar at some point cos then it went into another cellar that had low lighting - well, lower than the seating area that had futons on the floor. I didnt get much chance for a look cos Bai had me by the hand and pulled me into the toilets. Well thats quick i thought. She had both hands up my dress and pulled my thong off

you don't need these and threw them into a toilet stall. o well easy come easy go and then we were back into the seating area where Yina and Tammy had got the drinks in.

this place was far more of a happy contact place that a bar or night club, happy contact place was what a giggling Yina called it. so we had a couple more drinks and then Bai led us back into the other room where we managed to get a large futon cos some girlz were just leavin - did i mention this was all girlz. anyway Bai was on me and i had my dress up and down round my waist while she pulled me down on her. it wasnt long before i discovered the pierced nips and the pierced clit and fuck did she taste good. it seemed that i was to be Bai's partner and Tammy was for Yina although afetr a while it became a bit all in and it was difficult to follow after a while whose tongue and whos e fingers were quite going where especially when the girlz from the next futon seemed to just join in.

I was definately getting hazy with all the cum but there was certainly a very big titted black girl and a another girl who was about my size in height - or length as were all lying down but had even less tit than me. So u could say there were 6 of us except it was very difficult to follow and girlz came and went. I had almost lost my self in the amount of times i had cum when Bai pulled me to my feet. we were in the alley before i had even got my dress pulled up/down but the mini cab driver seemed used to it - she was a woman so i guess there was an arrangement with the happy contact place. There was just me and Bai. Yina was taking Tammy to her place, i had assumed bai and Yina lived together but obs not.

Bai lived in a small flat somewhere. and i mean small, a studio that had a big double bed taking up most of the space and i was on my back again and then face down and there were toys and it was so fucking amazing.

eventually i fell asleep or passed out whatever and eventually we were up and there was fesh coffee abd some sort of Chinese breakfast dim sum things, the doorbell rang and Bai kissed me and said she would see me again and there was the same minicab driver who Bai paid to take me to Waterloo.

Now ive showeerd and naked and my fingers would do some work but i am so sensitive i think i am going to give my cunt a rest today. my jaw is sore too. hehe.

Chris has made me a cup of tea and will no doubt fuck me tonight while i tell him the details.

hope youve enjoyed the latest adventure of fucked up Shona.

[cjbolan]

 Just finished Chapter 1 of Emily Windsnap and the Tides of Time. My thoughts so far...

I feel you, Emily. I’m sad too that your adventures are probably over.

Liz Kessler throws MAJOR shade at teachers XD. Perhaps she’s writing from personal experience. I literally laughed at some of the descriptions of Emily’s teacher. Particularly this line:

“’Succinctly as always, Aiden,’ Mrs. Porter said, in that special sarcastic way that teachers must learn at college, as they all do it.”

As a former student teacher, I can confirm she’s absolutely right.

This opening is like a clever inverse version of the first book’s opening. Both open with Emily at home in Brightport having a conversation with her mom, before going to school.Except where the first book opened with them having an argument, this last book opens with them being much friendlier with each other. Shows how far their relationship has come. I love that!

There’s also shades of Book 3 that I liked. It again opens with Emily going to school, and Emily afraid of a relationship ending. In Book 3 it was her parents’ marriage, here it’s her renewed friendship with Mandy. I do like the idea that for once, maybe it’s Emily’s own fault that she feels alone, for not being a good listener to her friend. 

I love the emphasis that being yourself is much easier said than done. IRL people say all the time that they don’t care what people think or that they’ll do whatever they want, then quickly give up doing exactly that. This isn’t always a bad thing, and heavily dependent on your situation. It makes perfect sense in Emily’s case where she now has 0 friends in school and possible enemies.  (SIDE NOTE: I do relate hard to Emily in this case. At her age, for a time I had only 1 real friend. We’re still friends now ^_^. )

YAAAAAY MORE RETCONNING *sarcasm*. Seems like Emily is attending only human school. What happened to her splitting her time between human and mermaid school? Wasn’t her school situation a huge looming conflict for about half the series? It was a huge point of conflict for her parents who fought each other about where she should spend more time, to the point it made Emily fear they would split up. If she were still attending Shiprock School, she probably  wouldn’t miss the sea and Shona so much because she could still enjoy those every day. I know Emily's feeling lonely because of Aaron and Mandy, but still...either Emily’s being overdramatic, or she really did quit mermaid school for some reason.

Jake again raises so many questions. We know he eats human food, so can all merpeople eat human food? Or is Jake the only one because he’s lived with humans and got used to it? What do you think his first time tasting human food would’ve been like? That breakfast table is way above water level so... does her ever eat with his family?  It’d be really sad if he couldn’t. Does he have a floating pool table? Does he eat off the floor? Would his family ever eat off the floor with him? Is there any way he could have a wheelchair or kiddie pool for him at the table?  For a mixed human-merperson family who actively brought together the two species, how on earth would they host both species in a place designed by and for humans only? Trap door aside, the merpeople who do visit are just trapped in that tiny bit of water, and the humans make 0 attempt to bring their activities closer to the water for merpeople to join them. And Jake is often described looking upward at people in that boat...he must have the worst neck pain ever. He deserves a nice neck pillow. Or maybe a neck massage XD.

But seriously, this is one reason Jake is one of my favorite characters. He  raises so many fascinating questions about the worldbuilding.

Funny I have a rock that looks just like Emily’s! Minus 2 stripes...

Well, gonna keep on reading!

[orithereticent]

Since we’d been talking about Emily Windsnap AUs…what about an AU where Emily was raised in Shiprock as a mermaid , and later found out she’s part human?

Emily Windsnap was a perfectly ordinary mergirl, at least that is what she had always assumed. She had never had any reason to think otherwise, after all. She had never met her mother, but her father loved her all the same, so it didn't bother her all that much. It only became obious that something was overall, not right, when she swam to close to the shore on a dare.

Emily found herself at the surface with a group of her classmates, and her best friend Shona, one night.

"You didn't!"

"Did too!"

"What are you guys fighting about now?" asked one of the girls.

"Nerites is saying that he's swam all the way to the shore before!"

"You have not," said Ariadni, crossing her arms, "what does it even look like?"

"It's really bright! And... I've been there I swear!"

They argued for a few more minutes, about specifics. Until one of the older boys said that someone should swim to shore right then to verify Nerites claim. They quickly played a choosing game, which ended with Emily being selected to swim to shore. Emily paused. She knew her Dad wouldn't like this, and that he'd be really upset if he found out. But on the other hand, if she did, maybe her classmates would be more willing to be her friend. So she agreed.

What Emily could not have possibly known, was that in the bay, there was a strong current that would push her onto shore. She found this out quickly, as she stayed low in the water, but was rapidly pushed into the waves, pushing her closer and closer to shore, until she was on the beach. Emily laid there for a second, panicked. When she felt a shooting pain as her tail felt as if it had turned to stone. She struggled to try and move it, but was unable, when she felt as if her tail were being split. as the pain subsided, she was finally able to move her... She realized, as she sat up, that she didn't have a tail any longer. She wriggled her feet, her eyes wide.

"Hey! Little girl? Are you okay?" cried a voice, Emily turned to see a human woman running down the beach, "it's nearly 1 AM, honey," the woman said, kneeling in front of Emily, "what are you doing out here so late?"

[cynthiastan]

closed starter @samhainmade​ location: moonlight casino

Angelica was not someone who gambled often. Sure, she liked to lie and cheat about as much as the next person but she loved money too much to part with it because of a bad hand or some underhanded cheating. Still, Shona worked at the casino and when Shona was working, then Angelica was more likely to get off her ass and go gamble while she snuck conversation in-between. She had made her way through several games of black jack without losing too much when she finally spotted the girl and she quickly made her way over (or as fast as her heels permitted it).

“Finally found you! I feel like you are impossible to see here. Are you almost done? Or can you sneak a smoke break? I am getting so bored and there is no one hot here to flirt with.” She could have added except you, but she didn’t need that going to Shona’s head. She was hot, that was obvious. “I have no idea how you do this. I would get fired so fast for mouthing back to some dude who didn’t have a lucky bone in him.”

[lolbeech]

Emily Windsnap characters’ favorite Katy Perry songs

Emily - Part Of Me - Being a semi mer is a special part of Emily that she loves

Shona - Teenage Dream - This song has a girly vibe and romanticizes love just like Shona.

Aaron - The One That Got Away - Emily dumped Aaron at the end of book 8 and he always seemed more invested in their relationship than Emily did.

Mandy - Choose Your Battles - While this song does have a romantic theme, it represents how Mandy spent so much energy on picking fights with and bullying Emily

Mary Penelope - One Of The Boys - She participates in some traditionally masculine activities and does not like Emily getting a feminine focused education in book 3

Jake - Resilient / Daisies - Both songs represent how he had to push through his time in prison and and stay hopeful

Millie - Chained To The Rhythm - The song has an eccentric and obliviously happy vibe just like Millie’s personality

Mr. Beeston - Tucked - He has feelings for Mary but keeps them tucked away because she is married

Neptune - Ghost - Lyrics represent how it felt for him when Aurora died

Aurora - Legendary Lovers / Double Rainbow - Legendary Lovers represents how Neptune and Aurora’s relationship went down in history for several reasons. Double Rainbow describes how Aurora did not marry Neptune for money but love and it also mentions northern lights.

Njord - Rise - This song has an epic feel and represents how Njord momentarily gained power after being unfrozen

Archie - Roar - This song represents how Archie set his and Njord’s plan into motion and betrayed Neptune after working for him for so many years.

Seth - This Moment - Seth and Shona didn’t know how long their time together would last because she and Emily needed to escape from Njord

Jeras - Only Love - This song talks about regret and represents how Jeras felt after Aurora and Fortuna’s deaths and how his character evolved from a depressed bad guy into a hopeful hero

Fortuna - Who Am I Living For? - She struggled after Aurora died and eventually ended up succumbing to her pain and loss of trust in Jeras

Terra - Dark Horse - This song has a goddess vibe and represents how she treated Jeras when making a deal with him and afterwards

Ella - Hey Hey Hey - This song represents Ella’s potential to lead but her inability to do so because she is a woman

Joel - It Takes Two - This song represents how Joel, and everyone else on Forgotten Island, realizes they need to work together to stop the earthquake’s damage

Saul - Not The End Of The World - This song represents Saul’s belief in the Prophecy and how Emily and Aaron would come to save Forgotten Island

Jakob - Waking Up In Vegas - This song talks about money, which Jakob loves, and it represents his arrogant attitude when it comes to his treasure

Michele - Pearl - She chose not to start again with Sam and stay with her husband. From the way Jakob acts, he probably held her back throughout her life and she hasn’t been able to be true to herself or her sons

Sam - Lost - He felt very lost in his childhood due to being part of a pirate family with morals opposite to his

Noah - Swish Swish - This song represents how cocky Noah gets by bullying Sam and winning rounds of the competition to get the Trident’s Treasure

[thereinafter]

AO3 First Lines Tag Game

@ripplesofaqua tagged me, so: Rules: post the first lines of your 10 most recent fanfics.

1. The remains of the Valley of Sacred Ashes surround them, amid the sickly lights of red lyrium and reopened Breach: the battleground Corypheus has chosen, desecrated yet again. 

things of might and wonder, Dragon Age, Morrigan/Cassandra, or possible hints thereof, T

2. Glare stabs around the edges of her scavenged, cracked sunglasses. She gropes for the tube on her pack and sucks warm, stale water, lightening her load by a mouthful.

The Lethean Halls, Piranesi, OFC / OFC, OFC/The House, T

3.  Ash stings the eyes of Piety LeCornus and tracks down her body in runnels of sweat and condensation.

and fearless minds climb soonest, Arsène Lupin/Carnival Row, Joséphine Balsamo/Piety Breakspear, M

4.  Last year Shona’s established life broke down, and then a lot of the world outside, while she canceled a wedding and cried on her sister’s bed and moved everything she owned twice, masked and distanced and scared.

what happens at the beach, This Way Up, Charlotte/Shona, M

5.  The late afternoon sun warms Cassandra’s shoulders, making her feel loose, serene, and dozy as she works through her practice routine. 

forte à forte, Dragon Age, Cassandra/Leliana, E

6. The horses and mules picked their way two by two down the path, red rocks rising all around. The air swam hot over dunes in the distance.

The Place of All Fears, Dragon Age, Cassandra/Leliana, T (man I want/need to write more of this, I have most of another chapter of it and I know where it’s going)

7.  The spring at the edge of the wilds was a place out of time, a green jewel in a dry and broken land.

the shape(s) of water, OW, Water Spirit Who Loves Knights/Knight Who Loves Baths, E

8. Dagna hefted a medium-sized keg of Antivan brandy onto her shoulder and maneuvered it out of the Herald’s Rest storage room.

jumping right in, Dragon Age, Dagna/Sera, T

9. Dressing a queen, even for a pilgrimage, takes at least six hands, though Sabran wishes for only two.

for saints have hands, Priory of the Orange Tree, Ead/Sabran, T

10.  Aveline grinds her boot toe into the sand beside the coast gate. She asked for Hawke’s company on this job, took it herself instead of sending a guard detail, because she wants to talk to her. Alone.

like shelter from the rain, Dragon Age, Hawke/Aveline, T

... sooo, don’t know if I have a pattern in my fic openings aside from “person in situation” but do know I haven’t written enough fic lately.

tagging: anyone who would like to do this :D

[evermorehqs]

CATCHING MY BREATH, STARING OUT AN OPEN WINDOW

Woodrow ‘Woody’ Pride is based on the Woody from Toy Story. He is a 32 year old imaginary friend, police officer, and uses he/him pronouns. He has no powers. Woody is portrayed by Glen Powell and he is open.

CATCHING MY DEATH, AND I COULDN’T BE SURE

Looking into the eyes of their creator just to see horror reflected in them does something to a toy. A semblance of life for Woody had begun with the imagination, laughter and joy of Andy’s childhood but it hadn’t been until one particular story Andy told to Molly that Woody had truly come to life. And not in a figurative way either. Suddenly he was a part of the population of Evermore, living and breathing, no longer wanted and needing a crash course on what being alive meant. He had no guidance and all he felt was bitter. What else was there for Woody to do but end up with the wrong crowd, at the wrong time. Some nights it was at underground fight clubs where he tried to feel something other than an immense loss in the punches of others, other nights it was in bars to flirt just to end up disappearing by the morning. Most of his days were spent staring at the police station with a yearning expression on his face, looking for some kind of identity and purpose.

When a new wave of people appeared in Evermore, Woody became curious about the appearances and lost memories. Searching for answers somehow led him to the the police station once more, asking questions and poking around where he shouldn’t - the officers didn’t love it, to say the least. Until one day the chief slapped an application for the academy into his hand without a word, leaving him to gasp in disbelief. Somebody actually wanted him when not even Andy had? Flourishing under the academy, Woody left behind the world of fight clubs and gained a reputation for being a little extra hard on the bad criminals. Just the bad ones though, he was still soft on kids and those few people that did crimes because they knew nothing else or had no other choice. Instead of punishing them, he chose to help them. Finding shelter for those that needed it, and food for those going hungry. Still the burgeoning question about the new residents and lost memories remained. How did they get there? Why? And most of all, who was the one responsible?

I HAD A FEELING SO PECULIAR

❀ Theodore Holms: To put it simply, Woody didn’t appreciate Theo’s strategy in getting answer as a detective but there was something to be said for Tramps’ ability to get answers, something that had earned his quiet respect

❀ Celia Mae: A classy lady he’d seen around town one too many times, turning his head whenever she was near. Something about the way she holds herself, speaks and moves is magnetic but he’d never approach her

❀ Shona Samhain: One of those god damn Boogie Boys that Woody constantly has to be aware of. He knows they’re always up to no good but catching any of them at it has been impossible - especially Shona

THAT THIS PAIN WOULD BE FOR EVERMORE

[pluralzalpha]

This sort of thing happens on most shows but Doctor Who does seem to have an unusually large amount of these problems which affect its stories long-term.

If Paul Abbott had been able to write his S1 proposal then Rose's character arc would have been vastly different.

Twice Upon a Time has no reason to exist in retrospect but I'm so glad it does.

I think "RTD wanted Kylie to focus on her music career" is an odd way to put it. It's more that she was an internationally successful popstar who cost an absolute fortune to hire and they were never likely to get her back again, so he might as well kill her off to get the most drama out of it.

I never knew Oxygen was going to be a prequel to Mummy, that's cool. There are some others like this - The Lodger was at one point going to be a sequel to the bizarre classic series story Meglos, with an evil shape-shifting cactus as the villain.

Actor availability often changes the way stories go. They wanted Timothy Dalton back as Rassilon in Hell Bent but he wasn't available, so they regenerated him into Donald Sumpter, which totally changes the dynamic with the Doctor. John Barrowman's fall from grace meant he didn't reappear after Revolution of the Daleks - it's rumoured Captain Jack was meant to have a big part in Flux.

I love Jenna Coleman but I do wish she'd stuck to her guns and left after Last Christmas. The rewrite ruins a wonderful ending and we were robbed of Shona as a companion.

How Behind-the Scenes Issues Affected the Writing of Doctor Who (Both Good and Bad)

Doctor Who is such a fascinating show to look at from a Watsonian v. Doylist perspective. Like, entirely just from an episode writing point of view:

Twice Upon A Time feels so slow and meandering and even boring in places because Chris Chibnall didn't want to start his run as showrunner and Steven Moffat didn't want the show to lose the coveted Christmas timeslot (ironic, I know) so he bumped the Twelfth Doctor's regeneration from the end of The Doctor Falls (where it makes sense) to the end of the Christmas special

Boom Town (my beloved) only exists because originally there was going to be an episode in its spot explaining that Rose had been molded to be the Doctor's perfect companion (by the Doctor, gross) and the writer didn't have the time to commit to the show

The ending of Last Christmas feels like one inside-a-dream too many because originally Jenna Coleman was questioning whether she was going to leave the show or not and the ending was rewritten after the first readthrough when she decided she wanted to stay for another season

The first five episodes of Season 7 feel like each one takes place in a different genre because that's literally how Steven Moffat pitched it to the writers; for example, A Town Called Mercy was literally pitched as "Doctor Who does a Western"

Not so much a weird one but one I find cool: Eleven's first words and Thirteen's first words were literally written by Moffat and Chibnall respectively, as they were brought in to write the first words of the first Doctors of their runs so as to make it cohesive

The reason why Fourteen isn't wearing Thirteen's clothes when he regenerates is because Jodie Whittaker is much shorter than David Tennant and Russell T. Davies didn't want it to look like he was making fun of the genderfluidity of the Doctor (still think he made the wrong decision, but eh)

Wilfred Mott isn't in the Runaway Bride and Donna's father isn't in Partners in Crime because the actor who played Donna's father, Howard Attfield, died after filming several scenes for Partners In Crime, leading to the character of "Stan Mott" from Voyage of the Damned being written into Partners In Crime as Donna's grandfather

Astrid Peth doesn't die in the original drafts of Voyage of the Damned, but Russell T. Davies wrote what is generally considered one of the most emotional deaths in Doctor Who just because he wanted Kylie Minogue to be able to focus on her music career

Originally Oxygen was written as a prequel to Mummy on the Orient Express, where a corporate representative appeared on a monitor. Said representative was fired for his fumbling of the station and would later live on as the company computer, Gus

During Season 11, Chris Chibnall had to do some major rewrites for many of the one-off episodes, therefore The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos ended up being a first draft that made it to screen. He later admitted it was his least favorite episode of the series

And this is only a fraction of what I found in terms of major behind-the-scenes writing reasons. Though I am still totally willing to critique the product that made it to our screens, finding out the reasons behind some of the more badly written episodes of the show really made me feel sympathy for every showrunner of the show as well as appreciate a lot of the good episodes that ended up here despite the short production schedule/unexpected problems (once again, Boom Town my beloved AND everyone's favorite companion Wilfred Mott only exist because of unforseen problems). Absolutely bonkers, isn't it?

[rangamberi]

Of carrot cake and grief

Hey there Big Sis,

If you were here, you’d do that thing of laughing at me until your tummy aches. But tell you what; this thing you made me experience – this thing called grief – is not funny at all. I swear if you laugh, I’m telling!

First of all, no, you don’t “get over it”. No. You just learn to live with grief. It’s always there, like Dexter’s “Dark Passenger”, always in the shadows.

It’s been a year since we lost you. What I find strangest, sis, is how it pops up in the most funny and unexpected moments. The small triggers that bring it up, making me grieve again. Let me tell you.

I know you would laugh at me for the small things that remind me of you. These little things that make me weep again and laugh at the same damn time! Funny thing that.

Sis, the other time, I bought myself a slice of carrot cake. I opened the box and took a bite. Then I wept again, sitting in the car, the same way I had that morning when the news came. Why? Because this was ALWAYS your gift to me. When did I ever tell you I was coming to your house and you didn’t bake one of these for me?

Who knew cake would make me cry? That time you laughed at me saying, “ah, little brother, you are eating my business literally”?

And that’s the other thing; this odd sense of humour you had. There are jokes that I knew only you would find funny. I’d send it, and you’d reply with a voice note, laughing hysterically – even when you were in pain. These days, I come across that sort of joke. I glance at my phone. I know just the person who would laugh at this. Then I cry again. Then laugh.

Oh, and as for Shona and English homework! My kids here knew Tete always had the answers to school English riddles and Shona tsumo nemadimikira homework. Always! They didn’t even bother to ask me. “You wouldn’t know,” my daughter says. “But Tete does. Not you”. And there you’d go again – laughing hysterically at me for this. How they miss you, these treacherous minions you left!

And, Sis, remember that Christmas Day two years ago? We put up a “scintillating performance” – yes, you liked laughing about newspaper cliches like that one. We sang to Matavire’s Chando Chinouraya, with shades on? These days, it’s hard to hear that song and not think of you.

It wasn’t our first “scintillating performance”. Remember when I was a kid and you were a teen, and we’d pretend-perform Yvonne Chaka Chaka, pretending we were in a stadium? I’d be on guitar and you on the mic. In fact, I always told you that you looked a bit like her, back when you had that afro! How you’d laugh and tell me you’d one day be her backup singer! The other day, the radio played Yvonne’s “Take My Love Is Free” and I laughed so hard, with a tear in my eye. You won’t believe this; I met Yvonne in Harare and took pics. You’dve been so super jealous. If only I could send the pics and hear your laugh.

I miss you, every single day.

Oh, by the way: that cake shop’s carrot cake? Meh! Not half as good as yours. “Too grainy”, you’d say. Obviously, it misses that one key ingredient; your warm heart, your smile, your undying love for people. Your charity, rikave zita rako, dear sis.

Rest.

[barnulv23]

Look what I found !

Story :   After this altercation, Shona needed to get some fresh air; she headed towards the countryside, passing a large arch which adorned the town and marked the separation between hard, cold concrete, and the return to nature, with plains covered with flowers of all colors. Treeless fields, sometimes with them, but Shona decided to go in a direction where nothing would stop her on her way, if she fell into a storm of thought, and she would have difficulty getting out of it... except if she were to hit a tree in the face. She remained silent, inhaling the scent of the flowers that she could smell further away. The smell came from a field of bright red roses, dressed in long thorns that they had learned to use to defend themselves from any predator... But this was not without expectation of Carter, who seeing his friend leaving, followed her discreetly, noticing her eyes heading towards the field of roses without setting foot there ; Carter decided to go there himself. Maybe a few flowers would please her? Far from the fear of being pricked by a hundred thousand thorns, he knew that Shona loved flowers, so he wanted to give them to her. Not without courage to go there and walk on the thorns, one by one. He felt the pain, but he figured that the psychological pain his friend felt was more than enough, so he could allow himself to suffer a little in return. Shortly afterwards, as Shona was preparing to return to town to join the group, she saw a figure hopping in the grass, up to her. A silhouette that scattered rose petals on its path, with a big smile on its lips, full of thorns. -Look at what I found ! Carter screamed, a handful of roses in his mouth. They are for you. Shona blushed and looked down, before seeing some thorns in his crimson fur. -Oh, Carter, you shouldn't have...did you get hurt? -No, Shona. I felt nothing, only the breath of the wind which carried your sweet scent and motivated me to continue finding the most beautiful specimens of this magnificent field. He placed the roses at her paws, scattered with small red spots of blood on his lips, which really didn't seem to bother him, before adding: -Happy Valentine's day.

Commentary :   So that was this years Valentine's day couple :D I should make more decision like that for drawings, it's really nice for events to let u chose some of my OCs :3

Character (c) : BarnUlv23 ​Art (c) : BarnUlv23 © copyright BarnUlv23. You may NOT use, post, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my explicit written consent.   

Tumblr : Youtube : ToyHouse : Alternate ToyHouse : Selling Account : ​Interested in a commission ?

[wildshona]

Finding Amelia

One day in August last year (2023) Chris could see i was looking sad andd he doesnt like to see that so he put his arme round me and asked what the matter was. i told him it was my sisters birthday and i love her and missed and her and i didnt know where she was.

he looked thoughtful 4 a while kissed me and got me out of my moodiness by putting his hand up my skirt and well basically took my mind of things 4 a couple of hours.

as so happens wen a problem needs solving and it is beyond Chris he called Richard in so the next day im sitting with richard with a glass of wine in my hand and answering questions.

whays her full name - Amelia Mhairi W.....

date of birth: I told him

when did they go to the states - 21st August 2020

there was other stuff description i said she had just found out she was pregnant wen she left.

there was just her and dad, don't know which airport they went to, i thought dad was going to work in Virginia.

Richard took notes and said he knew some people and he would see what he would so. considering how he had dealt with Michael and Stevie i trusted that miracles wud happen.

it was about ten days later wen i am sitting with richard in his flat and he tells me that he has found Amelia and my dad. They lived near Langley in Virginia and there were now three of then because there was a child called Zoe.

His friend had found the immigration easily and the rest had followed in fact they had the information within 24 hours of him asking. they didnt know what the set up would be at the house so they had watched my dad's routines before approaching my sister when he was going to be away for a while because she didnt go out much unless she was doing soem shopping and only seemed to go out with my father with her. sounds about right i thought. he would be wary after i had run away.

anyway the man knocked on her door and said he had called because Shona wanted to know if she was alright. She burst into tears looked around and invited him in. she was really pleased to hear i was alright, obviously the man didnt know how close to not being alright i had been but still.

he learned that all her post was opened by my dad and that she didnt own a phone or have access to the internet, she was only given enough money for shopping for the house so she had no money of her own not even a bank account and her passport was locked in a safe.

if there was a way would she want me to be in touch

oh yes please.

we'll b in touch.

so Richard was now filling me in. he could arrange a post office box and for her to have a phone and my numbers if i wanted.

of course i wanted how soon

couple of days a week at most. but best if Amelia did the calling on the phone cos she wud know when it was safe.

but she has no money - Richard and his friends would sort that out. and if amelia wanted they could get her a passport for her and Zoe, which was the daughter's name.

i was so emotional it took me an hour to calm down wnough to really thank him they way he deserved.

[cjbolan]

How I Would Rewrite Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret

Inspired by @aquaheartgirl and @deepestphotoshopwonderwomanpaper 's E.W. rewrites. I have a love-hate relationship with this book. Re-reading it years later, and knowing it might get adapted into a movie, I can think of a million ways it could be better. My biggest issue is all its inconsistencies with the previous books, so for each issue I proposed several solutions...

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Sirens made the story way too unfocused. They are the title characters and should've gotten way more focus. They should have been introduced much earlier in the story. The first half of this book kept switching conflicts and adding subplot upon subplot, and the Sirens don't come in until Chapter 9. Up to that point they are briefly mentioned here and there, but the Sirens really should have been the main focus. This story had so many conflicts happening at the same time, I really don't know what the main conflict is. My proposed solutions are...

A) Have all the Sirens appear in the prologue instead of just one. That way their appearance in Chapter 9 doesn't feel completely out of nowhere.

B) Have the Sirens actually try to help Emily save Shiprock while she's trying to rescue them at the same time. Maybe they could each have different solutions and differing opinions about humans. The moment the Sirens arrived, I feel like we suddenly started a completely different story. It's quite jarring.

C) Have Emily's parents be extremely worried about her disappearance when she comes back from saving them. That would make the story much more coherent. The Sirens subplot and "unite two worlds" subplot would better fit together. Mary especially would notice Emily is missing longer than usual (she doesn't do much in this story), she'd panic, maybe even start regretting how harsh she'd been with Emily (more on that later).

2. The Windsnaps being homesick for Brightport then being sent on a mission there feels like a contrived coincidence. Again this contradicts the Book 3 ending of Neptune giving the Windsnaps freedom to go where they please. My proposed solutions are either...

A) Have the Windsnaps decide to move back to Brightport themselves (seriously what is stopping them?). Then Neptune gets word that they're in Brightport and gives them his mission.

B) The Windsnaps instead are just on vacation to Brightport. Being on vacation means there's no reason for that pointless retconning of Emily's school situation. In this scenario, Emily would sneak into Shiprock School to see Shona because Shona is too busy to come see her. So you could still have that whole scene where Emily is kicked out for being half human. By the end of the story, with everyone getting along and realizing how much they are missed in Brightport, the Windsnaps would decide to stay in Brightport.

C) Mr. Beeston enlists the Windsnaps' help instead of Archie and Neptune. It would demonstrate his fragile friendship with Emily's parents and effort to make amends with them. It would also be in character with Emily and Jake's rule-breaking tendencies, by doing something they weren't assigned to do. It could even demonstrate Mary's kindness and proactiveness, by going out of her way to help hundreds of innocent people when she didn't need to. Even if that means having to work with an old enemy.

3. This book completely undoes the ending of the previous books. Book 3 ended with Emily's parents declaring they'll travel wherever they please and started actively planning a balanced human-mermaid school curriculum for Emily. But in Book 4 they’re completely back to where they started. Back to staying in Allpoints Island, Emily's back in mermaid school school only, Mary's back to being miserable on Allpoints Island, Jake is back to wanting only mermaid school, Mary is back to wanting only human school. For some reason this book brings back a bunch of conflicts that were solved earlier and should've stayed solved. My proposed solutions...

A) Have it open with the Windsnaps actually sailing all the seas...you know, like they said they would! They're so focused on spending quality time as a family that they're not even thinking about school, so nothing they do is actually contradicting everything. This would be a prime moment for Mary and Jake to repair their relationship, Mary could be momentarily happy with the family's newfound freedom granted by King Neptune, and then later realizes she misses Brightport so the Windsnaps decide to go home and that's where the story picks up.

B) Have it open with the Windsnaps coming back to Allpoints Island from a long vacation across the seas.

C) Have it open with the Windsnaps back at Allpoints Island actually planning a vacation.

D) Have it open with Emily's parents still discussing and trying to figure out Emily's school situation.

E) Have it open with Emily actually being homeschooled. Maybe homeschooling doesn't work for Emily or maybe her parents become too busy with Neptune's mission to homeschool, which could justify them wanting to send her to either Brightport High or Shiprock High.

F) Have Emily in Chapter 3 fight with Jake instead of Mary. Imagine Jake saying he wants Emily in Brightport school instead of Shiprock school. No doubt it'd be a hard choice for him to make. But it's consistent with his Book 3 arc of deciding to balance her human life and mermaid life, and trying to be a stricter parent, and trying to listen to his wife. Especially if his wife is there watching him and he's trying to show he can be a firm parent when needed. Book 2 showed Jake being stern/firm with Emily several times, and losing his temper near the end, so them fighting wouldn't be that out of character. Neither of them would want Brightport High, but only Jake is mature enough to understand it might be best for Emily. And when Emily rants about her being bullied and shunned in Brightport school, it makes more sense for Jake to be dumbfounded because he was gone for most of Emily's life. Because I REFUSE to believe Mary would be dumbfounded at learning this. This woman, who could always tell when something's bothering Emily...wouldn't know her daughter is being bullied at school?! And by her daughter's former best friend, whom Mary often saw and would surely have noticed Emily and her ex-friend not hanging out anymore?! Also the "we're your parents" line feels super out of character for Mary, who was always able to establish her authority without ever having to pull the "I"M YOUR MOTHER/PARENT" card. That's the kind of parenting mistake a new parent like Jake would make. Honestly everything Mary says during that argument is more in character for Jake.

I don't normally rewrite stories, but since this rewrite is just changing and adding some words, here's what I would have written. Swap out Mary for Jake, add Mr. Beeston (Beeston is Jake's only real friend and I think the only person Jake would say all this to), and you have the following:

"'Well, Mary wants her to go to Brightport High of course. Normally I think she should go to Shiprock School, but for once I agree with Mary.' Dad was pouring cups of tea for himself, Mr. Beeston, and Aaron's mom..."

"'Of course you'll have some say," Dad replied a bit sharply. "But we're the ones who will have to make the final decision.'

'Why?" I asked. I bet Mom made him say all this.

'Because we're your parents!' Dad snapped. Maybe I was embarrassing him by arguing with him in front of everyone, but I didn't care...'

"Dad looked at me. 'We'll have to see what your mom says first.' I sighed in relief. I can't believe Dad just said I should go to Brightport High..."

4. Emily kind of forgot the Rainbow Rocks can restore people’s memories. Instead she went through so many complicated loopholes to restore her grandparents' memories and reunite with them. My proposed solutions when she learns they got their memories wiped...

A) Have Emily bring her grandparents to Rainbow Rocks. After the failed first attempt to reunite them with Mary, this would've been a much quicker solution and they wouldn't have to walk on eggshells around Mary. I think the moment the grandparents regained their memories, they'd immediately go to Mary and reconcile with her without Emily having to arrange this whole elaborate meeting for them.

B) Have Emily TRY bringing her grandparents to Rainbow Rocks, but a bigger problem stops her. In the books all it took to stop her was just seeing her picture in the newspaper. Are you fucking kidding me, Emily?! You've been in far worse situations than this and just a photo is gonna stop you from saving everyone? Maybe Rainbow Rocks gets destroyed. Maybe Mary P. overhears Emily discussing plans to bring the grandparents back and stops her because she's still mad at the grandparents. Maybe Mary P. overhears Emily's plans and, realizing she's been way too proud and stubborn just as Emily said, decides to contact the grandparents herself. Maybe Emily is about to bring them to Rainbow Rocks but gets sucked in by that whirlpool to where the lost Sirens are.

5. Jake turned into a cowardly Henpecked Husband. Jake seems strangely afraid of his wife. Which is pretty out of character for him. Up to this point they were always very direct with each other. Here he's suddenly a spineless doormat to Mary letting her harshly berate both him and Emily. When Mary very firmly lectures Emily for wanting to contact the grandparents, I would’ve liked to see him intervene in some way. But nope. Instead he just keeps his mouth shut until after the ordeal has blown over , and quietly mumbles to Emily : “You know what your mom is like…”. I REALLY lost all respect for him in that moment. Like he’s Emily’s scared little brother instead of her dad.

This guy who…

unapologetically tells his wife exactly when she’s being unreasonable,

bravely defied Neptune’s laws for a long time,

angrily grabbed and screamed at Neptune’s enforcers,

screamed demands at King Neptune in a fit of both rage and grief.

…is suddenly too scared to stop a family squabble inside his own house. Also in Chapter 4 he's WAAAY too calm/indecisive. Jake suddenly lost his protective parental instincts here. Hard to believe the guy who viciously assaulted Beeston to save Emily and snapped at Mary for disliking Emily’s mermaid school, would be that calm when Emily’s being bullied BY A TEACHER. I get Jake not wanting to confront the school because he always tries to avoid conflict, but…the fact he didn’t have any other ideas just pissed me off. Even a bad idea would be better than no idea, because it would’ve shown he ultimately cares for Emily. Jake SAYS he won't let Shiprock make an example of Emily, but his delivery is way too calm and makes his words seem false. Even worse Jake's inaction leads to positive outcomes. I think this sends a terrible message to kids that it's OK to let your romantic partner treat you like crap. My proposed solutions are...

A) Have some chapters written from Jake's POV. Like how Book 2 was from both Emily and Mandy's POVs. If we can go into his inner mind, we can better understand why he's acting so out of character.

B) When he sees Mary tell off Emily, he backs up Mary by telling Emily “listen to your mom/your mom is right”.

C) OR when he sees Mary tell off Emily, he interrupts Mary telling her to go calm down and let him talk to Emily.

D) Have Jake be completely absent during Mary and Emily's fight in Chapter 5. Because why would Jake seriously just back and watch his daughter keep antagonizing his wife by bringing up painful memories?? He should've been trying to stop Emily when she kept pushing the subject. And Jake KNOWS that HE'S the reason Mary's parents cut her off, he really should've expressed some opinion about those parents!! You could easily write him out of that scene and have him be busy working with Mr. Beeston.

E) Have Jake act/sound much more angry when Mary berates him during Chapter 4.. It would show how much Jake fiercely cares for his daughter's well-being and normally would raise hell, but is also frustrated at the supposed restrictions of his new job. At this point Mary really doesn't deserve his patience. Here's how I would rewritten his response:

"'Look, I understand what you are saying,' Dad said, trying and utterly failing to stay calm. "But we're going to have to tread carefully. I'm NOT going to sit doing nothing while Shiprock makes an example of Emily...I'll do something. But I want to make sure that whatever we do, it's the right thing! IF WE GO CHARGING IN THERE SHOUTING OUR GILLS OFF NOW, HOW'S THAT GOING TO HELP OUR CAUSE?!" Mom turned away. Dad took a deep breath and tried again..."

6. Mary P. became a bitch. I HATE her in the 4th Emily Windsnap book . I used to admire her stubbornness and perseverance. But here it’s made her really bitchy to everyone: her daughter, her husband, her daughter’s school(though that’s completely justified), her friend, basically everyone she cares about, for all sorts of reasons. Literally all the characters walk on eggshells around her, because she’s that difficult to reason and be honest with. And seeing how much Mary’s parents actually missed her, her going no-contact seems like a big overreaction…

I think to justify her refusal , we’d need to SEE Mary’s parents being awful to her — without Mr. Beeston’s intervention— and not just hear about it . Like how we saw Mandy’s parents being awful, to better understand Mandy’s awful attitude. Even worse Mary never learns or grows from her stubbornness. There’s no moment where she decides to change her behavior, no moment where she realizes she made a mistake. Everyone else seems to learn from their mistakes , except her.

In fact, Mary is rewarded for her stubborn attitude! By forcing Emily and friends to bring Mary’s parents to her.

Even after she’s told contacting her parents could save Shiprock, she STILL won’t do it. She’d rather let that entire town get blown to smithereens. She essentially said “LET THEM DIE 🧨 🧜‍♂️🧜‍♀️ 💀 ☠️ “

I get why she cut contact, but seriously Mary? You’ll let innocent people die just to avoid your parents? Damn gurl that’s cold. Also kinda weird we don’t see Mary apologize later for her stubbornness. That felt out-of-character to me. Yes she’s stubborn, but never too stubborn to apologize. Until now. And like the complete bitch she is, Mary P. is only nice to Emily after immediately getting something she wants (her old job,returning to Brightport, reconciling with her estranged parents).

I think another reason this angers me so much is , after reading the book… let’s just say I had some Book 4 Mary Penelopes in my life. People who are absolute saints to strangers, yet horrible to the people closest to them, and who conveniently bring up their personal drama as an excuse for their bad behavior, instead of just admitting they were wrong. So I guess rereading it years later brought back all those unpleasant memories. Even after Mystic Millie eventually calls her out, there’s no visible sign of Mary showing remorse or realizing her mistakes.

Yet somehow she forgives Mr. Beeston for doing far worse to her than what her parents did.

Oh and unlike the other characters, she did absolutely nothing to save Shiprock. Except hold hands in a group for a few seconds. I swear everything in this book was resolved by just holding hands 😆.

Also she’s a lot more gullible than ever. Somehow she believes all of Emily’s lies, and not once does she ever suspect Emily is hiding something. Again unlike the previous books. Where she’s still gullible, but not stupid. Earlier she often realized something was off about Emily, and would come pretty close to discovering the truth.

Worst of all is her interactions with her daughter Emily. She’s just suddenly much more impatient and snappy with her than usual. Mary P., this woman who…

hugged and comforted Emily when caught stealing their houseboat and driving it through dangerous waters, without ever acting angry.

comforted and gently assured Emily “I understand” when caught forging Mary P.’s signature to skip swim lessons at school.

calmly and gently asks Emily what’s going on, right after Emily angrily yelled at her out of nowhere and accused her of keeping secrets about her dad.

would always try reasoning with her daughter first for at least several pages, only getting firm with her as an absolute last resort.

would always calm down to reassure and be gentler with Emily , IMMEDIATELY after the few times she was firm with her.

…is now snapping at Emily for interrupting a conversation and for bringing up uncomfortable topics.

All this makes her both a nuisance and possible threat to Shiprock.

If Liz Kessler wants me to hate Mary P. Windsnap, congratulations she succeeded.

My proposed solutions are...

A) Add some scenes of Mary P. apologizing and admitting her mistakes to the people she was mean to (mainly Jake and Emily). One of my favorite things about Mary P. was that she always owned her mistakes.

B) Write some scenes from Mary P.'s POV. That way we could understand why she's acting so out-of-character. Even if she never says sorry, we could see her clearly feeling sorry via some internal monologue.

C) Have a subplot of Mary P. trying to find and apologize to Emily. Kinda like The Little Mermaid 2 when after their first fight, Ariel feels really guilty and goes searching for Melody so she can make amends with her.

D) Have Mary P. tell Emily all about her grandpa, instead of Mr. Beeston telling her. There was a good scene of Mary about to answer all of Emily's questions about her grandparents, until Mr. Beeston arrives and she tells everything to him instead. I think if Mary was the one telling Emily about her grandparents, it would show more of her positive traits as a patient mother with open communication skills, and it could be Mary's way of making peace with Emily after their tense conversation in Chapter 5.

E) During Chapter 5, have Mary finally snap at Millie instead of Emily. Mary has shut Emily down before. But this was WAY harsher than she normally does it, without even consoling or comforting Emily afterwards like in previous books. Also it was Millie who brought up and kept pushing the subject (contacting estranged parents)...so shouldn't Mary be mad at Millie instead of Emily? Emily only pitched in because of Millie. Here's how I would've rewritten the scene:

"'No buts,' Mom said firmly. Then she turned to face Millie. 'I'm not putting myself through that again. It took me long enough to over what they did. I don't intend to give them the chance to do it all over again. Subject closed. Now let's have some breakfast.' And with that she got some bread out of the cupboard and started to slice it. I opened my mouth to say something else, but Dad shook his head at me.

'Best leave it,' Millie said softly. 'You know what your mom's like when she's made up her mind.'"

(I think that mean-spirited "You know what your mom's like..." comment sounds way more in-character coming from Millie rather than Jake. Millie was always very blunt.)

F) Have JAKE say the angry “No buts…” to Emily instead. Imagine the dramatic potential of Jake, in a misguided effort to help his wife, lose his temper at their child, immediately regret it, and then try comforting his child with his much gentler “Best leave it…” line.

7. Mary P. kind of forgot she can scuba dive. Seriously her scuba diving skills would've helped avoid a lot of conflict. My proposed solutions...

A) Have Mary P. scuba dive to Shiprock School. She could've just dove to Shiprock School herself to give them a piece of her mind, instead of bitching at Jake to do it for her. Maybe Mary and Jake would argue not because of Jake's inaction, but because Mary went ahead and confronted Shiprock School without him. Jake is a guy who tries to avoid conflict, so he would be upset at Mary causing a huge confrontation.

B) Have Mary P. scuba dive with Jake and the other merfolk. She could've gone with Jake to meet with various merfolk and they would've found solutions much more quickly. It'd be a great chance for Mary to show how much she really loves and supports Jake, and care about Neptune's mission to unite the 2 worlds. Also it'd be a great test for the merfolk to see how well they can really get along with humans, when they meet one face to face. Because in this book only Jake is doing most of the hard work and giving any support for Mary.

C) Have Mary P. scuba dive searching for Emily. Remember when I suggested Mary having a subplot of searching for Emily? What if after not seeing Emily for a while, she realizes Emily is out somewhere at sea and decides to scuba dive to find her? Then in the end Emily and Mary could reunite at sea, with Emily seeing her mom in full scuba gear then realizing how much Mary goes through to keep Emily safe? It would be a great way for Emily and Mary to reconcile.

8. Too many subplots. The subplots about the mermaid hunt, Millie initially staying behind in Allpoints, didn't add much to the plot IMO. My proposed solutions...

A) Cut these subplots out entirely.

B) Have Millie still try helping the Windsnaps even from Allpoints Island. She could've easily borrowed a shellphone.

C) Have the mermaid hunt be for JAKE OR SHONA, instead of Emily. That way Emily has no excuse to completely abandon her mission and run away from Brightport. Imagine Emily's horror at seeing Jake or Shona's picture in a newspaper article placing a bounty on their heads for their capture. She'd have to swallow her own fears of exposure, to save someone she loves from a similar fate. Seeing a bounty on her loved one's head should make Emily even more determined to unite the two worlds.

9. Jake sabotages Emily's speech in the end. I do love Jake's big speech to Brightport, I just don't like that he interrupted Emily to give it. Especially since Emily was supposed to give that speech. This is yet another BIG retcon, completely undoing Jake's Book 2 arc of learning not to treat Emily like a baby. I know old habits die hard, but then shouldn't Jake give Emily room to talk after he interrupts her? He doesn't just interrupt his daughter, he completely takes over her speech and ruins her moment to shine. It reminded me of Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift. Here are my proposed rewrites...

A) Have it be planned for Jake to give the speech instead. That way he can have his moment without ruining his daughter's. MAYBE Mr. Beeston tries to find Jake but Jake is running late, so he makes Emily fill in and stall for time until Jake shows up.

B) Have Jake and Emily take turns giving the speech together.

C) Have Jake secretly help Emily give the entire speech herself. Like how Elinor helped with Merida's speech in Brave.

That's all I got for now. If you have any other ideas, disagreements, etc. feel free to share.