#this is in reference to an ask awhile back from somebody discussing how they had a rape kink and were disgusted at themself because of that

[proshippers-against-censorship]

"I at least have the sense to be ashamed" is such a good summary of why antis are like that i think

True that.

[onisionhurtspeople]

I'm a newcomer and I have to ask: what is the story behind Sarah, Billie, Haylee, Lane, ect? I've seen it I just don't understand

I’m going to give just a brief summary for each, and then try to include links for supplemental reading. (I say that, but let’s be real, I’m probably gonna end up typing a fucking short story.) At this point I’m dedicated to banging out this fucking novel, so prepare yourself for what may end up being the longest tl;dr I’ve ever written.

The Girls Who Peeled The Onion Skin 

Sorry if that was creepy, I just wanted it to sound like “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” or “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest”. 

It all started with Billie. 

In 2015, Lainey came out as bisexual, and Greg convinced her to explore her sexuality by getting a girlfriend. The girlfriend that they chose was Billie, an 18-year-old influencer who had a large Instagram following. Greg flew Billie down for Lainey under the guise that she would have a chance to explore herself and her sexual orientation, but when Billie got there, his ulterior motives became clear, and Greg began moving in on this 18-year-old girl who was supposed to be his wife’s girlfriend. This did not go unnoticed by Lainey, who was pregnant with their second child at the time and was quick to express her discomfort with the situation - but Greg didn’t listen to her, and one day when Lainey was out with a friend, he gave Billie a massage in the nude, after which they cuddled while watching a movie. Lainey was hurt and felt cheated on and betrayed, and moved out to stay with a friend that day while they discussed getting a divorce. 

At the time, the plan was for Lainey and Greg to divorce, for Greg to sign away his parental rights over Troy (and the baby that Lainey was currently pregnant with), for him to set her up in her own place with child support payments, and for him to move Billie down from her own state to live with him as his new girlfriend. The only reason this did not end up going through was because Billie didn’t feel comfortable about the way everything had gone down, and didn’t think what Greg was planning to do was right. She didn’t want to be the reason why a family with young children and a pregnant wife split up, and decided to go back to her own state. The next day, Greg and Lainey talked and agreed to give their marriage another chance. 

The next year, for whatever reason, they suddenly decided that it would be a fantastic fucking idea to bring Billie back into their home; and having browbeaten Lainey into this choice, he then declared that he, Lainey, and Billie were now in a polyamorous triad. (One important thing to note here (for the sake of explaining another aspect of this story later on) is that during this time that Billie was living with them again, Greg and Lainey also had another house guest - a 15-year-old girl named Sarah who Lainey had met and befriended online, and over whom Lainey had legal guardianship of at the time. More on this later.) Lainey accepted this passively, though she was still uncomfortable with it; and she asked that Greg and Billie not do anything sexual together unless she was there to participate too. At one point, Lainey and Sarah even went so far as to sit Billie down privately and ask her not to sleep with Greg if he made advances on her. 

To no one’s surprise, just a few weeks later - again, while Lainey was out with a friend - Greg took Billie aside and manipulated her into sleeping with him. Billie protested that she thought Lainey would be hurt by this and didn’t think it was okay, but Greg reassured her that it was all okay, because he had already told Lainey that there would be no more jealousy in the relationship, that Greg would do what he wanted with Billie when he wanted to do it, and that she would have to either just get over it or find herself divorced. A quote from one of Greg’s YouTube videos at the time:

“Regardless, it is important to note that Billie did tell me that she thought Lainey might be upset if she and I slept together, but every time she indicated she was worried, I would remind her of the conversation I had with Lainey where I repeatedly told her there would be no more boundaries, we would all have balanced relationships, and that there would be no jealousy.”

Lainey was hurt and enraged, but she had no power or control over the situation: if she tried to stop Greg from doing what he wanted, then he’d simply divorce her - he’d already begun sewing the seeds of discord among his viewers that Lainey was a Negative Nancy who was insecure and dramatic, and always causing unnecessary strife in the relationship. Who wouldn’t understand his struggle, the long-suffering man of an insecure wife who he just couldn’t make happy, no matter how hard he tried? Who could have blamed him, really?

But then, Greg and Lainey fucked up big time. 

After yet another break-up with Billie, during which Greg blamed the entire thing on her (by arguing that he and Lainey had broken up with her because she had smoked weed without their permission, though they later retconned this to say that it was because she smoked weed at all) and released a ton of private information about her personal life that he had no business repeating, Billie decided that she had had enough. She was sick of being blamed and harassed by Greg’s hundreds of thousands of rabid followers - and so she released a series of text messages between them that revealed an alarmingly abusive side to him that, up until then, he had been extremely good at hiding. 

The current downward spiral that you’re witnessing Greg spinning around aimlessly in was all triggered by Billie’s choice to release these text messages. For the people who have just jumped on the anti-O train within the past two years: the thing you have to understand is that before this happened back in late 2016 - although most of YouTube knew by this point that the entity named Onision was a complete asshole - very few people who were not familiar with his personal life (or who couldn’t see through him, or discern the subtly abusive patterns in his relationships and personal conduct) knew how abusive he was in private. Most people were still under the impression that he was just a very douchey online personality, and the people who did know about what a piece of shit he was were too scared to come forward about it, because this all happened during a time when he still had a considerably large and dedicated fan base. His videos were still getting 100,000+ views per video, his tweets had hundreds of likes per post, and he was making nearly $5000 per month on Patreon - and Billie’s choice to come forward with these text messages as proof completely change all of that. They got a ton of harassment for it at first (to the point where Ayallah - Billie’s best friend, and the ex-girlfriend of Social Repose - caught so much flack for her involvement that she ended up having a complete mental break-down where she had to beg Greg to leave her and Billie alone). I’m sure a lot of people disagree with me, but personally, I consider Billie to essentially be the Petyr Baelish of the anti-O community - she was the first fallen domino that triggered the chain reaction that has ultimately resulted in the final fall of Onision. 

Now, moving on to Haylee (who you may see occasionally be referred to as “Luxymoo”). 

After Greg and Lainey broke up with Billie, Greg was still pushing hard for Lainey to try having a girlfriend to ~explore her bisexuality~ (although by this point, it was more than clear what his ulterior motives for doing this were). I’ll let Haylee tell this story in her own words, since she did us all a favor by writing out this account for us, and I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity to let somebody tell their own story. 

I tweeted a picture of myself to Lainey wearing their merch. They retweeted it and then followed me immediately after. I was in shock, excited, I think i even screamed. Then, out of no where, Lainey messaged me. I was so stoked. I thought, “This can’t be real.” We talked for awhile on twitter, they asked if I was interested in girls and I told them I felt like I was heteroflexible. That I liked certain girls, that I had a type. Lainey said they didn’t know if they were my type or not. I said that they were. Soon after that, Lainey said it would be easier for us to text. I gave them my number, and they started texting me the next day. We were flirty with each other. We got to know each other on a more personal level and I ended up liking them.. a lot. Greg messaged me telling me that if I was not serious about Lainey, to not lead them on. I told Greg that I wasn’t that kind of person, and that I really liked Lainey. At the time, I still thought this is what I wanted. Lainey and I continued to talk for a few more days when greg messaged me again, pitching the three way relationship. I told myself that I would not be Billie. I would not be with Greg AND Lainey. That if this were to continue, I would only be interested in Lainey. However, when Greg pitched the idea to me, I had already started liking Lainey a lot more than I expected. I told him I wanted to try. After that I started doing research on what it meant to be in a three way relationship. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t for me. Which killed me, because all I wanted to do was be with Lainey. I wanted to try for them, but at the end of the day, I had to consider my personal feelings on the matter. I knew I couldn’t be what they wanted, because I wanted Lainey. I told Lainey as soon as I came to that conclusion. I wanted to be honest. I didn’t want to drag it out. Lainey didn’t respond to me.. but Greg did. He said that if he were in  my position, he would do whatever it takes to be with Lainey. He said that I didn’t really care about Lainey, that all i was looking for was friendship. He said that he thought my mind was broken. He said he thought I may be sexually dormant. He then would say that he thinks i’m a good person and that i’m the safer alternative. He called me a good distraction. He wanted me to still come up. But that was a fleeting thought. He said friendship would be hard, and that I was doing everything I could to avoid a relationship with Lainey. Then he pitched the idea of me being with Lainey exclusively, while he’s with Lainey exclusively. Like we wouldn’t be doing sexual things together. I still declined because 1. he had spent so much time invalidating MY feelings on the matter, attacking my personality, pressuring me, etc. and 2. I also knew that that wasn’t what they wanted, and I told him that we would still hit that road block of me wanting exclusiveness. He had said in a previous conversation that it was like him and Lainey were on an island and I had a boat, but I wouldn’t throw them a life line because I wasn’t the right boat. Said that they didn’t know what they were going to do about Billie, because Lainey was talking about bringing her back I guess at that time? He told me to stop responding, because I was just making it worse.All while I’m feeling like a shitty person, like I really did hurt them. I felt so terrible about myself over the whole situation. Not shortly after, Greg posts a video with Billie. I was immediately enraged. I felt so used. Lainey then texted me, but only to say hey. We didn’t talk about the situation. They would stop texting me randomly and then text me again randomly. Now I’m blocked, and all of this has come to light. I didn’t know people knew it was me. I didn’t know there was a tumblr with people talking about me. I thought only a select few people knew. But I was wrong, and now it’s all out in the open. 

You’ve probably seen me mentioning Haylee’s name again today, and that is because this morning - along with Ayallah (Billie’s best friend) and Lane (whose story I will explain to you next) - Haylee came forward to expose more of the disgusting things that Greg said and did to her during their association. This was the screenshot that she released today:

Now, to explain this last part about Lane and Sarah. This is a bit complicated and interwoven, so I’m going to explain about both of them at the same time. I already wrote a super long post explaining Sarah’s origin story the other day, so I’m just going to copypaste the relevant parts of that, explain how Lane is part of it, and then tie all of this together with the relevance of how this info about Sarah involves Lane, Billie, Ayallah, and Haylee. 

Lainey met Sarah online about four years ago, when Lainey was 20 and Sarah was 14. People started speaking up out of concern right away after perusing some of the public conversations between the two on Twitter and realizing how much of it was sexual in nature, such as Lainey joking about how Sarah’s grooming was coming along nicely. The two of them seemed to be flirting (or, at the very least, having conversations that were not normal for a 20-year-old woman to be having with a 14-year-old girl), and given Greg’s past history with having a clear sexual preference for teenage girls, people were rightfully concerned about what could be going on between them. 

The drama surrounding this relationship exploded when Sarah, now 15, began popping up in videos with Greg, Lainey, Billie, and Ayallah. The Avaroes began catching a lot of flack for this online - I remember the time very well; in between the period of Greg’s tumultuous and highly dramatic public relationship with Shiloh in 2011, and the period in late 2015 when an online journalist wrote an article about Greg rating the bodies of underage girls (which predated all of their drama with Billie), I don’t think I can recall any other incident in that time that they caught more criticism for. Lainey specified repeatedly in YouNow livestreams that she had parental guardianship over Sarah at the time - not Greg, not Sarah’s mother or father, but Lainey herself. Click here if you want to watch that stream.

Sometime in 2016, a couple of really creepy things happened in very quick succession that eventually led to the very dramatic events that transpired earlier today. At this point, Greg and Lainey had a whole host of people living in their home: aside from themselves and their young son (Lainey was heavily pregnant with their daughter at the time), they were also playing host to Billie (their polyamorous girlfriend), Ayallah (Billie’s best friend), and Sarah (Lainey’s 15-year-old best friend, whom she also had legal guardianship over at the time). Just for the curious, here’s a picture of the four of them together, minus Lainey (who would’ve been cooking/cleaning/taking care of their kid at the time). From left to right is Sarah, Billie, Greg, and Ayallah. 

The first big thing that happened was that, towards the end of this year - after being mistreated by Greg and Lainey for so long - Billie (with the support of her friend Ayallah) decided to come forward about Greg, and released their text messages to the public. As I explained earlier, this had a cascading effect where he suddenly lost enormous swaths of fans, and his popularity has never recovered to this day. 

The second big thing that happened was that one of Lainey’s most dedicated superfans, a 16-year-old girl named Lane, saw what Greg had done and was currently doing to Billie, and decided to come out in her support. Greg, Lainey, and Sarah were extremely angry about this, and felt that she’d “betrayed” them; and so Greg fucked up once again by making a series of tweets talking about how Lane was “stalking” and “harassing” Lainey and Sarah, in a transparent attempt to sicc his fans on her. Lane, hurt that Greg was going to such lengths to sabotage her (and after being wrongly told that Lainey and Sarah were on a YouNow livestream talking shit about her), Lane decided to come forward with some of the information she knew about what had transpired in the Avaroe household, and dropped the bombshell that everyone had suspected but didn’t have any way to prove: that Sarah had told Lane that she was in love with Lainey, that Greg had told her repeatedly that he thought she and Lainey should date, and that Sarah had expressed repeated interest in becoming a member of the triad (as in, she wanted to be included during the times when Greg, Lainey, and Billie were having sexual trysts together). Sarah did admit that she remembered Greg telling her that he thought she should date Lainey, but Greg threw her under the bus and denied it all, claiming that he had told Sarah repeatedly that there would never be any romantic or sexual interest between herself and Sarah. 

A couple of months ago, right before Sarah turned 18, she had been sitting in their living on a yoga ball when Greg walked past her and made a sexual comment that creeped her out: “Dat booty doe.” I’m not sure why it creeped her out so much considering how much interest she expressed in becoming a member of the triad, but she was disturbed enough to go to Lainey about it, and told her how uncomfortable it made her feel. 

Instead of defending her 17-year-old best friend from her sexual predator of a husband Lainey instead tattled on her, and told Greg what Sarah had said: and just a few days later she was given a plane ticket and sent back home, never to return to the Avaroes’ house again.. until last week. 

Now 18 years old and fully legal, there was a lot of speculation about the nature of Sarah and Lainey’s relationship, especially now that Greg is seemingly incapable of finding a new trinity member now that he’s been outed so thoroughly as an abusive predator with hebephilic tendencies. None of it was confirmed until earlier today when Ayallah and Lane confirmed without a doubt everything that the anti-O community has suspected all along about the nature Greg and Lainey’s relationship with Sarah: which is that, to one extent or another, they have been grooming this 14-year-old to one day be primed to enter a sexual relationship with two grown adults who at one point acted as her legal guardians, and who hold an enormous amount of psychological and financial power over her. While they were rescuing her from an abusive home life where she was being sexually abused and neglected by drug-abusing parents, feeding and housing her and clothing her and pretending to care, they were also taking advantage of her feelings of gratitude and friendship and inability to correctly interpret those as a confused teenage abuse victim with a mental illness (borderline personality disorder), leaving her in a position to be highly susceptible to emotional manipulation on their part, and primed to one day be ripe to benefit themselves and their own perverted sexual needs.

Here’s what Ayallah said about it: 

I hope all of this answers some of your questions about who Sarah, Billie, Ayallah, Lane, and Haylee are. There are a lot of other peripheral characters in Greg and Lainey’s life too (like Madison and Maya), but these are the main ones right now. Feel free to message me if you feel like you need more clarification, I’d be happy to explain. 

[ireviewstuffsometimes]

A Serious Man (2009) 1/4/20

Starring Michael Stuhlbarg and written & directed by the Coen brothers, this multi-award winning “drama/comedy-drama” (according to google...), was quite odd to say the absolute least.

Now, I won’t fool you–although I doubt you would be fooled–, but I am certainly not a professional reviewer of anything. I’m certain you’d like to know more background, or at least know how much background I know, but I’ll give you everything I can. I’m just doing this because I like consuming copious amounts of media and because I also really like giving my opinions on said media. It’s just nice to write them down sometimes, even when I know the general public won’t care. So anyways, on with the show.

To be fully honest with you, I chose this movie because I am obsessed with “Call Me By Your Name”, in which Michael Stuhlbarg plays Elio’s father. He did a fantastic job in that movie and I vaguely remembered hearing about the awards he won for his part in “A Serious Man”, so after stumbling upon it on Netflix while looking for movies to download before a two hour long car drive I had to make, I decided this was the one, and off I went.

The movie starts in the past, focusing on what I can only assume to be Larry Gopnik, the main character’s ancestors. After being visited by a supposed “dybbuk”, an evil possessing spirit in Jewish beliefs, the wife stabs an ice pick into the maybe-dybbuk’s heart and life carries on? I didn’t really understand what this meant. The best I can assume is that perhaps there is a curse on the family like the wife said at the beginning and that is what is conveyed? Anyways, time flips forward to the 1960s where we are brought into the life of the Gopniks, a Midwestern Jewish family who’s son is soon to be mitzvahed, daughter is desperate to wash her hair, father’s brother is desperate to drain his cyst, mother is seeing another man and looking for a divorce, and father is at the beginning of the end. 

The entire movie is filled to the brim with absolute randomness best described as controlled chaos. Or maybe not controlled, but semi-connected. The best thing I can tell you to do to understand this review is to go watch the film yourself. So many little details happen and they all wind up overlapping each other to make poor Larry’s life a living hell. Maybe he is in hell? But that’s not the point. 

The real point of the story, which, after a couple of hours, hit me like a pile of bricks, is that some things in life are left unanswered. The universe or God or HaShem–however you refer to it–doesn’t always give us exactly what we’re looking for. The movie, however, leaves it up to the viewer to decide whether these unanswered questions are a bad thing or a good thing. While this parable is literally said almost word for word in Larry’s meeting with the second rabbi, you don’t remember it for awhile after seeing the film because your immediate thoughts at the end are “what the hell? that’s it???”. It leaves you with so many unanswered questions that, because we’re so conditioned to movies ending with a solution to the character’s problems, for awhile, you’re just stuck wondering what could’ve possibly happened. So here’s a list of all my questions that are completely unanswered:

Does Larry have cancer? What was on the x-ray that the doctor needed to discuss? Does he ever make it to the doctor considering there’s a tornado coming? Speaking of tornado, does his son die in the tornado? Does Fagle die in the tornado? Does the old Hebrew school teacher ever find the right key to get the basement door open? Why the hell did anyone think that, in the event of a tornado warning, the best thing to do is have all the kids stand outside while the helpless old teacher slowly goes through each key, trying to unlock the basement door? Back to Larry though, does he get tenure? Who was sending the defaming letters to the committee? Was it in fact Sy Ableman? Do Larry and his wife still get a divorce? Does his daughter ever stop washing her hair? Why doesn’t his daughter have enough time for Hebrew school? Does his son learn to value his dad for anything other than fixing the aerial to ensure a clear viewing of The F Troop? Does Larry ever cancel the Columbia records subscription? Does Larry actually fuck his next door neighbor? Is Larry’s property line issue ever fixed after the one man dies of a heart attack? Does Larry still have to pay for that man’s services even though the man died? Does Larry’s brother Arthur actually get jail time? Was Arthur really committing sodomy? Is Arthur’s cyst really that bad? Does Larry end up taking the bribe from Clive? Does Rabbi Nachtner ever stop telling the story of the goy’s teeth? Was “help me” really ever written on the goy’s teeth? Why are some questions in life left unanswered and why are we just expected to accept this???

While this movie does pose a big question of whether it is better to spend life constantly searching for the answer to even the smallest of questions or to give up and try to forget about all those unanswerable questions, it doesn’t pose this question in a rude way, unlike other films that often dole out insults rather than advice. Was this my favorite movie ever? No. But I certainly understand why it won so many awards. It tricks the viewer into authentically struggling with the same questions as the main character and forces us to ask “is there an answer?”, automatically making us sympathize with Larry so much more when we realize that we are in his shoes. Everybody is selfish and when they consume media, they are only doing so in order to find a character that is a reflection of themselves. When somebody with at least some brains in their head watches this movie and begins to wonder if there is an answer just like Larry does, they immediately connect with a character in a way that they might not have been able to. 

I am not Jewish. I am not a man. I was not alive in the 60s. I have never experienced divorce, nor do I have children. I’m not a college physics professor seeking tenure, and I certainly don’t live in the Midwest. On all accounts, I am nothing like this character. Except, I am. We both want answers to the unanswerable and that is what makes us fundamentally the same and makes “A Serious Man” a seriously enjoyable film for all those who can’t stop asking questions that nobody knows the answer to and that many people don’t even think to ask. Verdict: 7 out of 10 promised hot soups.

[cielrouge]

I attended the 2019 Split Screen Festival at the IFC Center this past Sunday, to attend the Queen Sugar panel, where the festival premiered the first episode of season 4, followed by a panel discussion with the main cast (Dawn Lyen-Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, Rutina Wesley) along with showrunner & episode writer Anthony Sparks, and producing & episode director Cheryl Dunye.

NOTE: This is NOT a spoiler-free recap, so if you want to avoid episode 1 spoilers, read this AFTER the season 4 premiere on June 12th lol.

What Makes Queen Sugar Resonant So Deeply with Audiences

The host noted that Queen Sugar is unique in the way that "it's engaging as a fantasy show, yet everything on it could still feasibly happen."

"Fans have embraced the characters like their own, as if they're in the room with them."

Cheryl noted how most of the crew has been around since season 1, and she partially attributes the success of the show to its special form of storytelling where audiences have been responding differently, because "it's feeding into this new body of storytelling." She dubbed it the "Queen Sugar Way" in reference to some of the artistic choices that she and the rest of the cast and crew consciously make.

Dawn noted that when she first saw the script back in season 1, she felt "there was something deep in it that set the tone for everything."

Dawn went on to emphasize how the show emphasizes the "epic in the everyday" which the rest of the cast and crew adopted, and was in total agreement of. Since essentially, the show allows for these "domestic, almost pedestrian" experiences to occur, yet it "regards the characters as heroic, and is all about tracking the heroic journey" for the Bordelon siblings.

"All the approaches to storytelling in the show this way, moving and changing in ways that emphasize the epic and the phenomenal."

Cheryl also noted that she understands "what power we have in storytelling," since she truly believes that “the personal is political."

What It's Been Like Coming Back to Season 4 for the Cast & Crew

Anthony started the panel making a quick shout-out to the festival venue, the IFC Center, since back in the 1990s, he literally lived two blocks away when he started pursuing his dream for writing for television.

When Cheryl first got the call from Ava DuVernay to direct for Queen Sugar (she got her start with episode 2 of season 1), she knew taking this job meant being entrusted with a lot of responsibility,” but still felt it was "an honor to be responsible for dreams and storytelling.”

This is because Cheryl "knew what it meant to come abroad to direct a family." Since season 1, Cheryl has particularly enjoyed the ability to shepherd other women directors, as they bought on a new roster for season 4.

The main cast, particularly Kofi, all agreed that they felt "right at home" with their respective characters, and Dawn noted that Anthony, as an episode writer since season 1, holds the key ingredients that really glue the show together. 

Character Craft Characterization (with the Bordelon Siblings)

When asked about Nova, Rutina noted that "Nova is always with me, and playing her is never just a job to me." At times, it's been a tough emotional journey for Rutina, and she’s well aware that this upcoming memoir storyline is going to drop an emotional bombshell for the rest of the Bordelons.

Rutina describes Nova as a character who is a mess, but "always a beautiful mess." However, for this upcoming season, Nova will "finally find some clarity in this mess, and have this weight lifted off her shoulders."

Rutina admitted that this upcoming season is some of the most challenging work she's done in awhile, in which Nova will undergo a wide emotional range, but also have the essence of her character changed in a profound way.

When Kofi was asked if he uses "life to imitate art," specifically modeling his performance as Ralph Angel based on people he knows in real life, he answered that being an actor allows you "the privacy to use what you know" in a spiritual and personal way.

Kofi emphasized that as actors, sometimes you "feel the emotional baggage of your character," and if you truly connect and know how to navigate this, then your emotions can't be faked at that point, since you sometimes may adopt characteristics from the role you’re playing. Kofi noted that this happens when you yourself are trying to grow as a person, because since there’s a "synergy that you adopt," which can not only transform the character (Ralph Angel) but you yourself as a person too.

Discussing Artistic Choices Made by the Cast & Crew

Anthony noted that as a television writer, "he always knows that I’m connecting the show when I’m literally dreaming about it."

When asked about her experiences as a producing director on set, Cheryl didn't initially foresee how this role meant being the go-between writers and actors, but nonetheless, this has become a role that she enjoys.

During the episode, Anthony addressed the scene where Ralph Angel is running in the sugar cane fields after finding out that his parole has ended. Anthony was initially unsure if this scene would have been hitting it too over the head for the audience, with this sequence of "black man, running, and freedom.” So, it was important to "pull off this scene in a way that speaks to the audience" which he felt it did, after he poked his head in the middle of the episode screening, and heard all the loud cheers and hoots during this scene.

Anthony has a tendency to be the creatively "gung ho" type of guy, so Ava is usually the one that has to slow him down to "luxuriate" in the episode. For example, during Aunt Vi's party where Nova is simply dropping off her book, Anthony told post-production that "it should feel like she's dropping off a bomb!"

All joking aside, Anthony noted that the "explosions" of this show usually come from “a deep emotional well,” and "it is still nerve wracking to play these intense characters and scenes."

In terms of Nova's anxiety dream sequence, which almost felt like a Terrence Malik-esque scene, Cheryl admitted that she was able to incorporate some of her original background in experimental filmmaking in this scene, so she knew exactly what to do.

For this dream sequence, the idea was to "play with the land and dreams," where the scene cut together real well in the end, and "set the groundwork for other dream sequences" in the upcoming season.

The Importance of Land as the Setting & Overall Show Themes

The cast and crew noted how important setting is to the show, where "land is the unspoken character." It was noted that most of the cast had "never seen a show that displayed black characters and sugar cane lands” before Queen Sugar.

So, Cheryl noted that the "history of these things: land, family, love" are all infused with the land and display "how we love, fight, breathe."

Anthony emphasized that one of the recurring themes in Ava DuVernay's entire body of work so far is "the relationship between land and the penal system," which is a theme that is "dear to Ava's heart." This essentially focuses on how enslavement in the US has essentially evolved in terms of restrictions related to property ownership, and this "relationship with land and property" is very evident on this show.

Anthony admitted that when he started writing for Queen Sugar, this actually allowed him to the opportunity to reconnect and apologize to his brother, who had served two prison stints. While developing Ralph Angel's storyline in season 1, Anthony had long discussions with his brother about his time in prison, and this made him realize that "he wasn't as attuned to his brother's life" when he was serving time.

What struck out to Anthony was when he asked his brother, "What made you decide that you were never going to go back?" And his brother answered it was when his children would come to see him in prison and kept asking why he couldn't come home. Anthony felt that this helped develop Ralph Angel as a character who is very flawed, but very human as well.  

What's Next Ahead for the Bordelon Siblings in Season 4

Anthony noted that they've bought on a new roster of writers for season 4, and they've already had lots of conversations about the characters.

Anthony noted that he feels it's important for the show writers to actually meet the cast, who have been embodying their characters for several seasons, because this results in "emotional listening sessions" that help develop the craft.

For Nova, Anthony noted that she's "like a kind of a liberator, this show's Harriet Tubman." So while Nova's character arc won't exactly be a pretty process, he still predicts that "you might not feel the same way about Nova midway through the season, in comparison to how you may feel about her at the end of episode 1."

An audience member pointed that with the Bordelon sibling trio, they're at a point in the show where "everyone's hopes and dreams are coming to fruition" (Nova with her book deal, Charley with the sugar mill and her new romance, and the end of Ralph Angel's parole) but perhaps not in the way they want, or are expecting in the end.

This prompted Dawn to emphasize how "you, as the audience, know everyone's stories in the show" so in terms of the upcoming storyline with Nova's tell-all memoir about the Bordelons, "it becomes tricky when somebody else tells a version of your own story." So this storyline will raise the question about permission - who can tell what about who and why.

Dawn noted that "no matter the good intentions, the costs are still real." Therefore, the "show is doing good job of testing bonds of family: with, love, loyalty and what defines them." The idea is "can you confront yourself fully?" Because each character would have a different response when asked about what's happening in their lives.

After a brief Q&A portion, the cast and crew was quickly ushered off the stage, though Kofi did take the time to take selfies with some fans, which I thought was pretty nice, and he seemed really touched by the general outpouring of love that the audience showed overall.

[rumbelleshowdown]

Tidying Up with Belle French

Author: Butts Prompt: carrots, impractical footwear Group: C A/N:  A continuation of the Round One fic "The Emperors New Clothes."

Gold’s life the past few weeks had taken quite the turn.

For starters, he had apparently been wearing some extremely mismatched clothing here and there for a few months due to an evil ex-girlfriend taking advantage of his color blindness. The lovely Storybrooke librarian, Belle French, had finally opened her mouth and told him about his major fashion faux pas just two days ago. Unfortunately, he hadn’t really expected a thing about his clothing until she had told him, so he had just been going about his business as usual. Looking back however, there were certainly some clues as to his errors. A few odd looks here and there when he was collecting his rent. A few chuckles. People pointing.

He told himself, at the time, that he was being paranoid thinking more people were looking at his strangely: thinking people must be mocking him not for his fashion, but for his whirlwind fling with the one and only Ms. Zelena West. Mr. Gold didn’t have flings. Mr. Gold didn’t date. It had been some years for sure between his last romantic partner. He had gotten swept up in being with someone else and lived to regret it. She used him. It was evident in the way she had publicly treated him, always having the upper hand. It was a toxic relationship to say the least and, well, it had ended badly. Certainly the looks of the people had been looks of amusement or pity because of Zelena. What a fool he was.

Back to the subject of his clothes, upon receiving the knowledge bequeathed to him by Mr.s French, Gold first considered throwing out every pair of clothing he had bought while dating Zelena. The problem with just throwing everything away that he had recently got was that he actually liked some of the pieces he had acquired during this time. Also, what if Zelena secretly planted some hideous orange items among his old clothing in his wardrobe without his knowledge.

He had tried the orange test. Holding up the color orange up to his clothes, checking if they matched. It only really helped for certain hues of the color. And even then there was no certainly. He only had a carrot as a reference color, knowing that food item was probably the only orange item in his house that he knew was that color for sure. Nothing quite matched it. There was no way of knowing for certain what was good and what was bad and he obviously couldn’t throw out his whole wardrobe.

His predicament was strong and he pondered for awhile until finally coming to two possible solutions to his problems. The first solution he thought of was that he could hire somebody to sort out his wardrobe for him, but there came the problem of having to let somebody into his home and let them touch his stuff. The second and only other solution was to ask somebody he knew to look through his clothes for him, and there weren’t too many people he knew, less people that he trusted, and even less who knew about his color blindness.

Miss. French. Miss French could be a solution.

_____________

Gold had no idea how to go about asking her, someone he had never even called a friend until recently, that he needed some help. A whole two weeks passed before he broke himself. The uncertainty of dressing everyday became too much to bear and so, with his now due library book read and a conversation in his head, Gold marched himself into the library at 10 A.M. on a Wednesday.

Fortunately for him, he knew the slow hours of the library and nobody else was really in there to bother him and his odd request.

“Miss French.” He awkwardly shifted his weight onto his cane making possibly what felt like the most awkward introduction to a conversation in the world

“Mr. Gold,” she said. “How can I help you today?”

“Just returning the book I borrowed. A very good one.”

She smiled and took it from him as he handed it over. While they were both still holding it he asked her his proposition. “Miss French about my color problem…” He kept his voice low. “I was wondering if we could have a word.”

“Sure,” she said, taking the book from him. “What is it?”

“It seems…” he started again, trying to find the right words to ask her to come to his house without seeming too creepy. “It seems I have a predicament again.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well the colors. I don’t want any orange in my wardrobe, you see. And I have no way of telling which is which. I was also thinking, what if she had planted some colors secretly among my clothes. I can’t go out and bee seen wearing-”

“Say no more,” Belle said. “I can help you.’

Ever the kind woman.

“I can compensate-”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary.” She waved him off. “Give me a date and time when you’ll be home and we can see when our schedules meet up.” She quickly jotted her phone number down on a card and gave it to him. “Here. My cell. Give me a call sometime later today and we can discuss this more and how you want to go about this.”

___________

They had agreed on that Sunday, the library being closed and him choosing his own hours really benefited on speeding up this whole process. She’d drive to his house and send about a hour or so working with him in eradicating all the orange and mismatched colors in his wardrobe.

Gold felt vulnerable in the hours leading up to Belle’s  planned visit. He paced around and cleaned every molecule of dust from his antiques, not that they were even dirty anyway. Cleaning helped calm his nerves. He had no idea why he was so nervous about her coming over.

Belle had said she was on his way and he became sweaty, panicking, pacing around doing nothing. 7 minutes later she rang his doorbell.

“Come in.”

It was weird to see her expression as she walked in his house. Nobody really knew how his house looked, it was a object of mystery in Storybrooke.

“Wow.” Was all she initially said, Gold was radiating nervous energy as she walked around a bit to look. “You have a really nice place here. It’s interesting, but not what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know, but not this.”

“I see. Shall we go up to my room then?”

She laughed. “Most men at least offered coffee before they ask that question.”

Gold’s face contorted, realizing what he had said, then gave a little smile. “I actually do have a pot of coffee on if you’d like.”

“You know what,” she said. “I’ll take it. I have no idea how long this is going to take. And I feel like you have a lot of clothes.”

His wry smile crawled back onto his lips. “Right this way then.”

They went into his kitchen and Gold served the two of them coffee with a slice of carrot cake he had stress-baked the other day.

“Delicious!” she stated. “Where did you buy the cake?”

“I made it myself,” he admitted.

“Well you have to give me the recipe!”

“I usually don’t give it out, old family secret passed down to me from my aunts. But if you want, I’ll consider it payment for you helping me out today,” he said taking a sip of coffee.

“I’ll take it!” proclaimed Belle

After finishing up in the kitchen after talking for awhile, even after they had finished up the cake, Gold poured Belle another cup of coffee and they went upstairs.

“You have a walk-in closet,” Belle marveled.

He nodded. “As we agreed, just remove all the orange and orange-green like colors. Pink and red is okay, but let me know which ones are which since you’re here. I’ve been itching to catalogue these for the longest time.”

_________

The two of them sorted and sorted, Belle made cute little labels for all his clothes, they tossed some clothes, got rid of the colors he hated, and even started organizing things. Gold didn’t think it would take nearly this long, he had honestly calculated under an hour. It had already been triple that time. He definitely was going to slip a cheque into the recipe envelope when he gave it to her for her troubles he felt bad.

When they had finally cleared most of the stuff out, they were nearly done and Belle uncovered a box near the back of his closet that he didn’t remember having.

“What’s this?”

“I don’t know,” he said, honestly.

Belle carried it out into his room. “I’m going to open it.”

“Be my guest.”

As soon as she began opening it, and he saw that oh-so familiar sheen of leather he regretted telling her it was okay.

“What.” Belle stopped herself and made a face pulling the item out.”What is this?”

“I used to be in a band. Back in Glasgow. In my youth,” he said.

Belle pulled out a pair of the most impractical footwear he or she had ever seen ever. Laced leather boots. Almost two feet high. Places probably equal in length to the size of an olympic-sized pool.

“I-”

“I don’t know why I still have those.”

“They have heels,” she said. “And the laces. How long did it take you to put those on?”

“Fifteen-twenty minutes.”

Oh, gods he was embarrassed.

“I see,” she said chuckling lightly. His ears pricked at her laughter. “Huh. Can’t imagine you in a band,” she said. “They’re super cool though.”

“I should throw them out,” he said hastily grabbing them.

“No!” Belle said, fighting him for them. “You’ve kept them this long, you have to keep them now.”

“I suppose-”

“You have to,” Belle smiled, easing his embarrassment. “They’re on of a kind. Let’s put them back for now. You can decide to throw them away when I leave if you still want to, now let’s finish this up.”

Gold life really had taken a weird turn. He now had to see where it went from here.

[tessatechaitea]

Black Condor #5

Five issues and five pure cheesecake covers.

Crud-for-brains? I'd wager my life savings that Brian Augustyn was an early Adventures of Pete and Pete fan.

The guys on the cover are just four young dude-bros stealing from drug dealers. They burn the drugs and take the money to give toward good causes. And probably also to buy cool shit for themselves. They're only human! Probably. I haven't read far enough along to know what they're really doing with the cash. Black Condor will find out after he beats the shit out of three of them. Sorry. I've been gone for awhile. You wouldn't have noticed since my long absence fell between writing the previous paragraph and this current one. And unless you ran off to take a desperate shit right at the same moment, the time between these two paragraphs was negligible, minuscule (I decided to use both words because I'm so proud of my ability to spell my native language (I considered misspelling "native" and "language" but decided that was a boring old joke which has carried more water than Capri-sun (that's a new joke and it's not very good because it doesn't make sense. But at least it's new))). But I was caught up in playing a stupid computer video game about dungeon delving dice trapped in a horrific game show. Spoiler: the dice never get to fuck. But I'm back now because this is blog is the only thing that keeps me sane anymore. You might think that because this blog was my link to sanity, I'd be more earnest. You might think I'd want to be grim and serious and discuss political, social, and environmental matters with the gravity and seriousness they deserve. But that's all the stuff that's doing my head in. So I'd rather pretend that I'm angry at comic books. Here's a secret for the few of you reading this who made it to this specific paragraph out of all of my paragraphs: I wish I were friends with Scott Lobdell. I bet he's kind of an asshole but he's the kind who, if he was getting his ass kicked at a bar for being smarmy and pretentious and smug (smug because he's a rich writer whom a lot of thirteen year old boys (and men with thirteen year old boy minds) think wrote some of the seminal X-men stories), he'd completely understand if you didn't step in to defend him. He feels like the kind of guy who knows what he really deserves (a righteous ass beating) and wouldn't think the world unfair should he ever receive it. Then he'd probably buy drinks for the people who beat his ass, and I'd look him in the eye and shrug, and he'd laugh, and we'd continue to not mention that time we jerked each other off when we were fucking wasted on single malt scotch and peyote. Black Condor and Ned decide they need to find the girl with humongous afro before she hurts people who don't deserve it the way the color changing white supremacist Nazi rapists did.

What does he mean by "completely autistic"? In 1992, I'm guessing that meant nonverbal with loads of stimming and maybe the ability to play any piano concerto immediately after hearing it once.

Karin was experimented on by Black Condor's grandfather's Society but she failed to gain the ability to fly. She did, however, gain mental abilities as powerful as his own. He's concerned that, being autistic, she'll hurt people with her mind rage. Please. She almost certainly just wants to be left alone by everybody in society expecting her to think and act in a specific way that she can't think and act, nor would she want to if she had the ability. Just leave autistic people alone, normals! They don't need help. Just because your autistic kid isn't giving you the kind of unconditional love you were looking for when you decided to have a kid that you would eventually love only conditionally based on how they loved you doesn't mean the kid needs to change. That's on you and your needs. Maybe just find a way for the kid to express themselves (or not! Who knows sometimes?!) and let them do and act as they please. Unless what they want to do is fuck the dog. I'm not saying autistic people fuck dogs but I am saying we're all individuals, you know? Use your common sense! And if your kid is fucking the dog, autistic or not, don't let them near the dog! The Merry Men on the cover (oh hey! There were Merry Men in the Sky Pirate issue! Brian Augustyn either loves old tales of daring adventure or LSD) have been robbing drug dealers to help fund a homeless camp run by a priest named Gamble. The priest isn't involved in the theft; he chastises them about their plans to get money illegally. But they assure him the money isn't tainted and he decides to believe them when they dump thousands of dollars on his desk. Doing the right thing is hard when doing the wrong thing will solve all of your money issues. If you're a weak minded jerk, that is! I totally would never sell out for thousands of dollars so hopefully nobody embarrasses themselves by offering me loads of money to write positive comic book reviews for their publications. Father Gamble refuses the money because he just can't be sure it was honestly come by. I would be less suspicious of the money and more suspicious of the white college kids trying to donate thousands of dollars to a homeless camp. What's really going on in this camp?! Why are these young men so interested in keeping it funded so it doesn't get shut down? Four probably rich white boys risking their lives to help the downtrodden? Sorry but this is the most aggressively fantastic comic book I've ever read. And I'm not using the informal definition of "fantastic."

"Which member of this organization could possibly be giving all of this information to these white boys and why am I exposing my plan to kill them before plugging the leak?!"

Maybe that's racist suggesting that the white guy in the gang is giving the information to other white guys. But this comic book has already asked me to believe too many fanciful plot points so I'm glad Augustyn decided the white guy was absolutely the inside man. The white guys name is Herbie and his boss, Mr. Soto, already knows he's the leak. I'm glad Mr. Soto is as smart as I am. Or as racist. Probably smart though! They follow him as he's trying to meet up with the college Merry Men to warn them that they're in danger. Luckily for Herbie, Black Condor happens upon the scene as he's searching for Karin. And even though Black Condor doesn't give a shit about this guy and his problems, he figures even a reluctant hero wouldn't just stand by and watch some jerk get what's coming to them. After Black Condor saves Herbie, he has to take him to the hospital because he was pistol whipped. Meanwhile, the rich white kids aren't warned that they're about to die so they drive off into the trap to steal more money that Father Gamble won't be accepting for his charity.

What a dumb asshole! Even the most ignorant of ignorant jerks knows there were only three musketeers! Unless he's so familiar with the book that he's including d'Artagnan along with Porthos, Mythos, and Harpos.

I never read The Three Musketeers because I was born in the late 20th century and exciting stories to thrill young boys wasn't a popular genre anymore because we had Batman and Green Lantern. Although I did once play the text adventure version of the book. When I did that, I poked fun at the idea that the author of it was writing the game so that people would remember Alexandre Dumas and yet it's the only reason I know anything about him! Although now I know a little bit more about him because I Googled his name to make sure I was spelling it correctly and now I know what a fancy lad he was!

Now I want to listen to an audio version of his book where every few sentences, the person reading it just says, "Oooooooh, my!"

The Musketeers (maybe I was wrong to assume they were more like the Merry Men?!) manage to get away with only one of them shot in the ankle (the others weren't shot at all, if that wasn't clear). They decide the best way to save their own lives is to lead the gun men on a chase through New York back to Father Gamble's homeless camp. They already know he doesn't want any trouble so why are they taking this gunfight back there?! What is Father Gamble's hold over these young men?! Luckily for everybody in the homeless camp, Black Condor is there still searching for Karin. He'll save everybody's lives reluctantly! Unluckily for everybody, Karin is also there and the gunfire and chaos freaks her out so much that she has a mind-storm! That's the thing she had before that killed four of her attempted Nazi rapists. And that's where the comic book ends! Lucky for older me, younger me bought the next issue so I wouldn't be stuck with this cliff hanger! Lucky for younger me, older me doesn't have a time machine so that fucker has gotten away with some pretty abhorrent behavior which I couldn't correct by going back in time and punching him in the nose. Unlucky for him, he's going to be a virgin for a long, long time! Ha ha! Take that! Ow. Older me just hurt older me's feelings. Black Condor #5 Rating: B. A solid rating that I probably wouldn't have given this comic book back when I was twenty-one. I don't think I understood just what this comic book was doing and wound up only remembering it as a comic book about a reluctant hero. I didn't realize how much of it was Black Condor trying to live his now much more complicated life while also continuously doing the right thing. Even when he just wants to hole up in the woods and say "Fuck it!" to everybody and everything, he still shows the heart of a hero when he's needed by people nearby. And he's fucking sexy hot too.

[agentpeggicarter]

Does he know?

Summary:  You are invited to one of Tony Starks parties where you run into the last man you ever wanted to see again.

Word Count: 4366

Song Prompt: Does he know by One Direction

Warning: language, angsty (does that need a warning?)

A/N: This is my story for @propertyofpoeandbucky writing challenge. I hope you guys enjoy it.  I want to thank @kjs-s​ and @rohirrimanduril for listening to me and getting back to me, basically just being there. I couldn’t have done this without you guys.

You stare at the invitation in your hand and couldn’t help but frown.

Why was Tony Stark inviting you, of all people, to one of his parties?

The two of you hadn’t spoken since you left Stark Enterprise and he named Pepper Potts CEO. He hadn’t thought about you in the last year, the lack of invites being proof enough, so why the sudden change? It didn’t help that your ex-boyfriend was going to be there, it had been a year since you two broke up, but the pain was still fresh like it happened yesterday.

You push away from the table irritated. How dare he think an invitation was a way to get him out of apologizing. It was a typical Tony Stark move.

You grabbed ingredients from the pantry using the anger you felt to chop up the potatoes you would make for dinner. Maybe some carrot too.

Scott strolled into the apartment after a quick knock on the door, signalling his arrival. You turned from your spot over the stove and flashed him a quick smile before turning back to the food.

“You’re early,” you said.

“Am I? I didn’t notice, all I could think about all day was your promise of steak.”

You laugh. “Well it will be awhile before anything is ready, make yourself comfortable.”

“I always do,” he says making his way into the kitchen and jumping up on the counter, something you hated while you were cooking. “How have you been?” he asked as he snagged a piece of bacon from the bowl sitting next to him on the counter.

“Fine,”

“Done wallowing yet?”

You shot him a glare and grabbed the bowl putting it out of his reach.

Scott was referring to your ex-boyfriend, the one that had stolen your heart and promptly broke it. You hadn’t seen him in months, but just the mere mention of him had your heart racing and the water works on stand by. You couldn’t understand why it hurt just to think about him after all this time. Time healed all wounds, that’s what everyone liked to tell you, but time had yet to touch you.

“What? It’s a legitimate question.”

“Can we not discuss this, please? I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, you’ve been my biggest support these past months, but for one night let’s just enjoy the day/ourselves.”

Scott watched you cook and though your back was to him, he knew that the mention of him still hurt you. You were a mess when your ex-boyfriend left, Scott was the only one who could get you to open about it, to tell him what was wrong, and he hated the man that made you doubt yourself. It was hard seeing you trying to forget it all, to be the person you were before you were with somebody, but that person didn’t exist. Your ex was your other half, as much as Scott hated to admit, you needed him, but he wasn’t coming back and he was doing everything he could do to get you back on your feet.

“I can do that. Did I tell you about Cassie’s science fair project?” Scott asked.

You listened to Scott talk about his daughter, appreciating the change in subject, allowing you one evening of reprieve, but your brain wasn’t allowing you off the hook so easily as you thought about the invitation you had gotten earlier.

It was the invitation he sent you every month, his way of trying to apologize for past transgression. You appreciated the olive branch he was trying to extend, but the memories were too vivid, the pain still fresh even after all this time.

“So that’s when I took the elephant home as a pet, they finally caught me.”

You turn your gaze away from the food in front of you. “What was that?”

“Oh you are listening, for awhile there I thought I lost you,”

“Sorry, I’m a bit distracted,”

“I see that, wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly,”

“Fair enough, how about a glass of wine, might get that brain of yours to stop talking,”

You smile at the idea. “Might also ruin dinner,”

“Who cares, burn mine if you have too… “ Scott pauses before turning back to you. “don’t burn it completely, but a nice char ain’t bad.”

“I think I can manage that, you mind setting the table?”

Scott looked at you in mock horror. “I am your guest and you’re asking me to do something helpful, how dare you,” he smiles. “No worries, least I can do.”

“And you know it,”

You add the steak to the cast iron skillet for a quick sear before adding them to the stove top grill, hoping to get those perfect grill marks.

“(Y/N), what’s this?”

“What’s what?”

“You are cordially invited to Stark Enterprise to partake in overpriced hor-d’oeuvres and expensive alcohol needed to enjoy the evening. Tomorrow night at seven, and a handwritten message from the big man himself,”

You snag the invitation from his hand and hold it behind your back. “Reading my mail now Lang?”

Scott holds up his hands. “Couldn’t help myself, you know how I feel about shiny objects, and the gold trim around that invitation, Mr. Stark sure went out of his way.”

“It’s just one of his parties,” You said trying to downplay the whole thing.

“Only one of his… You do realize he’s selective of who’s invited to these shindigs, right? Question is how did you score an invite?”

“Did you forget that I use to work for the man?” You tease setting the invitation on the counter.

“That doesn’t get you an invite, try again.”

You roll your eyes and turn back to the meal still cooking, trying to buy yourself some time. “Tony invites me every year,” you start, quickly dishing the onto serving platters before bringing it to the half set table. “As a way of apologizing,”

“Apologizing for what?” Scott prompted, getting an answer from you was like pulling teeth.

You grab the potatoes from the oven and make quick work of fixing the plates, anything to prolong the conversation you were about to have. Scott watched you slowly make your way into the dining room. You were uneasy, drinking most of your wine before he could take one bite.

“Tony thinks… he feels like it’s his fault that I am currently… single.”

“What, did he run away with your man?”

You shake your head, pouring yourself another glass.

“Last I checked you haven’t heard from -” you shot Scott a glare as the name died on his lips. “He left without a word, how does Tony fit into this?”

“He worked for Tony… do we really have to talk about this?”

“Just trying to get the full picture, we don’t -”

“Have to talk about it, I know.” You drowned the rest of your glass before pouring yourself the rest bottle.

But talk about it you did.

“We use to work together at Stark Enterprise. I don’t know what department he was in, but we managed to see each other pretty regularly,” you smiled at the memory realizing he probably planned it that way. He loved to leave you wanting more and the little notes he hid around your desk always had you thinking of him. “It was constant flirting and back and forth, everyone could tell we were head over heel for the other, but we didn’t,”

Scott had heard this before, had even witnessed it first hand when he visited you at the office to ask you to lunch. The two of you frequently got lunch together since Scott worked a floor above you in the research division part of Stark Enterprise. Scott watched how quickly you fell and knew the minute you started talking about him that he was the only one for you. He was your better half, a half you couldn’t live without, regardless to how you currently felt.

“Tony was the reason we started dating, he managed to get both of us at this amazing french restaurant saying he need to talk to us, and of course Tony never showed and it was just the two of us. It was the weirdest, yet the best first date I’ve ever had. ”

You remembered the day he brought you to the beach for a surprise picnic and smiled at the memory. The day had started out sunny and beautiful, you had managed to enjoy the sun and sand, the beautiful waves, it felt like you were the only two left in the world. You recall him dragging you into the water, despite your protests, how he trailed feather light kisses down your spine as you laid out to dry, it was the perfect day.

Then the sky turned dark, cutting your day way too short, but he took it in stride grabbing your hand and pulling you into the nearest building until the rain stopped. You were never cold with the way his hands roamed your body, and his lips were hot against yours. You don’t remember when the rain stopped, and you don’t remember caring, you just enjoyed the moment held in his arms and the smile on his face each time he looked at you. It was that moment when you fell in love.

It was so easy to fall for him, to get caught up in knowing the person; their parents name, if they had any siblings, their favorite food, the way they sleep, it was like nothing else mattered. You couldn’t know that he was slowly slipping away, that each time you asked a question or spent with each other was a step toward your break-up. It never showed on his face that he wasn’t happy, that he didn’t like you any more.

How could you possible know when you were so hopelessly, inexplicable, in love?

“And you know the rest, he broke up with me, moved out of the house, and left, haven’t heard from him since. Don’t really know why he ended things, except he ‘wasn’t filling it anymore,’ which he sent over a text, pretty lame right?”

“And Tony feels responsible for you feeling this way because he set you up?”

“I guess, I haven’t really talked about him except for the day after he broke up with me, I said somethings to Tony I’m not proud of, called him things he didn’t deserve. I believe this is his way of saying sorry, an open invitation that Tony’s always there.”

“He sends you one every month?”

You nod your head and take a small bite of food, though you were no longer hungry after the conversation.

“Well, in that case, you’re going.”

“Excuse me, like hell I am!”

“You were just telling me the other day that you were over everything and ready to move on, apologizing to Tony will help you find that closer.”

“How do you figure that one Scott? Tony’s not the one who broke up with me, the only way I’m getting closer is if he’s there to talk to me, and we both know he’s not going to be anywhere I am.”

“All the more reason for you to go. You need to apologize.”

You took took a drink of your wine and frowned finding your glass empty. “I hate you, I hate when you’re right.”

“No you don’t, and to help you, I’ll accompany you.”

“What?”

“To make sure you don’t chicken out, of course,”

“Of course, it has nothing to do with it being one of Tony Starks parties or anything, it’s all for my well being.”

“Eat your food, you have a busy day tomorrow,”

You roll your eyes but smile at Scott, knowing you couldn’t do this without him.

You enter the party like you owned the place, your head held high and a smile on your lips. It wasn’t hard to feel like you belong among the socialites around you, decked out the way you were, dressed to the nines, your dress fitting you like a glove, and based off the looks you were getting this evening everyone agreed.

Scott had you running around the city looking for the perfect dress that made you look good and showed your exes exactly what they were missing. Then there was the hair appointment to tame your locks followed by perfecting your chipped nails. You felt like an entirely new person, which is what Scott was going for, looked like his hard work paid off.

“Good evening Miss, It’s a pleasure seeing you again,” The AI, Friday, said cheerfully.

You smiled. “Friday, nice to hear from you as always,”

“Shall I inform Mr. Stark you’ve arrived?”

“That’s okay, I’m sure he’s busy, I’ll find him later,”

“Enjoy yourself Miss.”

You let out a shaky breath and felt Scott standing next to you, lending you his strength.

“You got this, now let's show these bitches who we are.” Scott said extending his hand, ready to escort you into the lion's den.

You gave a small smile and let him lead you into the crowd and towards the bar. He could tell you were in desperate need of a drink, something to help the nerves that had you constantly glancing toward the nearest exit.

“I’m going to grab us some drinks, think you’ll be okay without me?”

“I’ll try my best,” You reply as he disappears in the crowd.

You smooth the front of your dress suddenly feeling like this was a bad idea. It was obvious you didn’t belong among this crowd of socialites, not knowing a single soul since your departure from the company a year ago. You were clearly in over your head, and coming here was a mistake.

You turn ready to bolt when you nearly collide with someone, their strong grip the only thing keeping you from falling.

“Leaving so soon?” A familiar voice asked.

You slowly peel your eyes off the ground and meet Tony’s gaze, avoiding him was no longer an option.

“The party was getting kind of boring,” You lie, not wanting to admit you were steering clear of him.

Tony clutched his chest as if hurt by your words. “My party? Boring? You wound me (Y/N),”

You stifle a laugh, happy to see him again after all this time, and glad some things never change. The smile slowly fell from your face as you remembered why you were avoiding him in the first place.

“It’s good to see you again (Y/N),” Tony said.

“You too Tony,”

“I miss having you around, nobody understand me like you did,”

“You’re just saying that, I imagine there are plenty of people for you to boss around Mr. Stark.”

“You aren’t wrong, but none of them are as charming as you,”

“Complimenting me won't bring me back you know,”

“A guy can try right? You look good by the way, better than the last time I saw you.”

“That…. That was a dark day for me, I was a mess, said some things I’m not proud of.” You admit.

“So I’m no longer the slimmest scum to ever walk the Earth?” Tony teased.

“God no! I can’t believe I said that, I’m sorry,”

“I am too, I didn’t know it would end like that and if I did, I never would have set you two up.”

You placed your hand on his arm. “Tony it’s okay. I know you feel responsible for this, that you broke my heart because you brought us together, but you couldn’t have known. It didn’t help that I blamed you for everything that happened, that wasn’t fair to you and for that I am sorry,”

Tony took your hand and gave it a gently squeeze. “Thank you, how about that drink,”

“A drink would be nice, but it’s time for you to socialize and get these people to give you their money. Go be charming somewhere else.”

“As nice as that sounds, I really think you should have that drink,”

“Trying to get me drunk Stark?”

“Maybe, depends on how you handle what I’m about to tell you.”

You tilt your head, curious about what he had to tell you, you could tell he was distracted, the way his eyes traveled across the room looking for someone.

“Yea, sure, I can go for a drink. Raspberry martini?” You ask.

Tony nodded his head and quickly disappeared leaving you, yet again, alone. Something was definitely up, something he obviously wanted to talk about, but what? You haven’t spoken to each other in almost a year, what had him so upset you needed a drink to hear the news.

“Champagne?” Scott asked presenting you with the bubbly flute. “Was that Tony Stark you were just talking with?”

“Yea, ran into him actually, he’s going to get me a drink.”

“But you already-” You quickly drank the flute and set the empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter. “Never mind. How are you feeling?”

“Better, now that I talked with Tony. Thanks for that by the way”

“Is that a thank you I’m hearing from you? Are you thanking me for having you attend tonight?”

You smack Scott’s arm. “Stop it now before I take it back.”

“Shutting up, did you see the food he has here? Tony sure went all out,”

You smile. “He tends to do that.”

You lapsed into silence when you felt his eyes on you. It took every ounce of self control to not look for him in the crowd, to see his charming smile, and fall back into the despair you had left behind. Just the idea of seeing him again had your heart racing and you knew it was mistake coming here tonight. You excused yourself, your mind reeling as you tried to get away, but there was no way to stop the walls from closing in around you.

“I hear you’re dating again,” he whispered in your ear.

You jumped despite yourself and tried to figure out how he got to you so quickly, you thought you had time to disappear before he noticed you. You should have know better, when it came to Pietro, he was always one step ahead of you.

“What if I am, why does it matter to you?” You ask a little defensive.

Pietro shrugs and slips his hands into his pockets. Your eyes catch the movement easily enough and you remember all the things those fingers use to do to you and you can’t help the faint blush that appears on your cheeks.

“I just want to make sure he’s treating you right is all.”

“He’s treating me better than you, he doesn’t disappear months on end without a word,”

“What can I say drăguţă, I’m an international man of mystery,” he said flashing you one of his charming smiles, the same smile that made your knees weak.

“Bullshit!” You exclaimed and quickly lowered you voice as nearby guest sent you curious looks. “Bullshit, you left without telling anybody, without telling me where you were, when you’d be back, if you’d be back and I thought… I thought…”

“What? That I ran off with the first girl I met?”

“I thought you were dead!”

He laughed. “You know nobody can touch me,”

You stare into the blue eyes you missed so much and wished you could get him to understand how you felt when he left but this was Pietro and he was always right.

You pushed past him and headed toward the bar suddenly in need of a drink… or two. It was all coming back to you, all the memories you tried to forget, all the feelings you thought you had repressed, all of it was coming back.

“Does he know about me?”

“Who?”

“Your boyfriend?”

You snort into your glass. “No... he doesn’t,” You didn’t want to admit to Pietro that you weren’t actually seeing anyone, that you still thought about him, even after all this time.

“Really?” he asked, sounding skeptical.

“Yes, I moved on,”

“Really?” he asked a sly smile on his lips/face.

“Yes really, why is that so hard to believe? I. moved. On.” You exclaimed pushing past him.

Pietro wasn’t having that, you having the last word, as he snaked his arm around your waist, pulling you toward him.

“Let go of me,” you warned.

“No,” he said after a minute of contemplation.

“No?”

“I will not let go of you until you admit you still care for me,”

“Care for you?” You stared at Pietro in disbelief. “You’re lucky I’m still speaking to you after the shit you pulled.” You said pushing Pietro away, trying to give yourself enough space. You need to get out from his protective his arms, away from the scent of his soap and cologne, you needed to get away.

You shook your head and headed for the balcony in the need of fresh air, something to get you thinking straight. The minute the cool air hit your face you felt the clarity you were lacking, remembered how he left things and it fueled your anger.

“I miss you,” he whispered.

“No,” you spun around, outraged he would say such a thing. “you don’t get to do that, you don’t get to walk back into my life and pretend everything's okay,” Just as quickly the anger was gone and you were left with the hole Pietro gave you.

You quickly wipe the tears from your eyes hating yourself for showing him how much he still met to you. “You know I cried over you… I cried for months after you left, did you know that?” you ask.

Pietro shook his head.

“Those were the worst months of my life P, you broke my heart, and I didn’t understand why, but seeing you again, after all this time I finally figured it all out,”

You smile despite how much seeing him hurt you, knowing he could walk away again. “You’re not as mysterious as you think you are Pietro Django Maximoff.”

“You have me all figured out then? If you know me so well, what was the point of engaging me in conversation unless to see how I was fairing. See I have you figured out too.” Pietro said.

You watched as he slowly crept closer to you only for you to take a step back each time he advanced until your back hit the wall and you had no where left to run.

“Does he know everything there is to know, does he know what I know? Your secret tattoo?” you felt his thumb pass over the spot that held the words you try live by ‘without struggle, there is no progress’, and feel a shiver run down your spine. “the way you change moods, the song you sing when you’re all alone, the way you dance?”

You felt your eyes flutter close as you felt his warm breath upon your neck before his lips met your hot skin, you forgot what he did to you. You fell back to old times and let his mouth trail kisses up and down your neck, it was only when his lips met your lips, you realized what you were doing.

Your eyes snapped open and with what little strength you possessed and you pushed him away. You couldn’t do this, not until he answered you.

“Drăguţă,” he pleaded sounding like he was in just as much pain as you were.

“Don’t. Please don’t call me that.” You murmured trying to find your voice. You were losing it, every wall you made to keep him out was crumbling and you were finding it harder and harder to resist him.

“You were scared Pietro,”

He scuffed.

“Things were getting serious between us and that terrified you, so you ran, the only thing you’re good at.”

“If I remember correctly I was good at other things too,” he said reaching for you.

You shot him a glare, stopping him from advancing toward you, and continued. “But you made that decision without me, you thought you knew what I would say,”

“I do,” he protested.

“You don’t! Pietro, I would have followed you to the ends of the Earth, all you had to do was ask,”

“I didn’t want to hurt you drăguţă,”

“Well Congratulations, you did, passed with flying colors even, because you broke me.”

“You don’t think it hurt me just as much as it hurt you?” He shot back, “I didn’t want to leave, that year with you was the best year of my life and if I could go back and change what happened I would, in a heartbeat,”

“Then why did you go? Why did you leave me?”

“I was scared okay, but not for the reasons you think. They threatened you! These people I was tasked to bring in, they threatened everyone we knew, and they knew things only someone on the inside could know. Ending it was the only way I could keep you safe,”

You laughed, you couldn’t help it. Everything you wanted to hear from Pietro was pouring from his lips, it was just a little too late.

“Keep me safe, that’s what you have to say, do you remember what you told me when you left? Do you remember the text you sent me?”  you asked.

To Pietro credit, he managed to look chagrin about how he ended things. He knew he didn’t go about breaking up with you the right way, he didn’t want to end things with you at all, but the thought of someone coming after you had made the decision for him.

“I’m not feeling it, and then nothing. You were just gone, you broke my heart. I don’t know how you can go about fixing that.”

“You’re lying to yourself if you think it’s over between us, keep trying, but you know I see everything that makes you who you are, so tell me  drăguţă, does he know you're out?” He asked pulling you into his arms.

“No,” you breath causing him to smile, the same smile you missed so much.

“His mistake because I’m not letting you go,”

[queencamellia]

“His” Fiance, Choosing (Ch.3)

Summary: [TCT, spoilers for recent chapters] Confronted with the truth, she chooses. (or: Lizzy is faced with a decision to accept her past or move forward, and looking at her two Ciels in the eye has never been harder)

Chapter 1 Link

Chapter 2 Link

I’ve been late with this because I’ve fallen in love with Charles Grey/Lizzy and am unabashedly writing a much longer, more well-written story about the two of them at the moment. ^^ Sorry.

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Lizzy woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Immediately, she sat up and scanned the room warily, and to her relief, it was empty. Light streamed in the bedroom through a single window, and to her side laid a single stuffed animal. It was a rabbit (rabbits had always been one of her favorite animals), and its resemblance to Ciel almost made bile rise to her throat.

She couldn’t do this.

Lizzy couldn’t face him: not now, not after meeting the other Ciel.

“The other Ciel”, hah. Wasn’t that a funny thought? After all, “the other Ciel” had always just been “Ciel” in the past. She was hit by a sudden turbulent wave of emotions: anger, fear, guilt, sadness, hope, and confusion. It seemed as if the entire emotional spectrum had somehow managed to overwhelm her senses.

She had no doubt that Sebastian was somewhere nearby. In fact, she could faintly hear voices from downstairs. One of the voices sounded suspiciously like her brother.

Edward.

God, she couldn’t do this. Not yet.

Lizzy had to leave. And if she wanted to leave without getting caught, she’d have to do so quickly before Sebastian came upstairs to check on her. Silently mustering all the agility she could, Lizzy pulled off several of the bedsheets and began to work. Hands nimbly weaving the fabric together, each satisfying knot distracted her from further thought and emotion. All that existed in her tiny world was her and the bedsheets: twist, tie, secure. Twist, tie, secure.

“Okay,” she whispered quietly, her voice sounding hoarse and nearly inaudible in the bedroom. Lizzy, you can do this. She scooted over to the side of the bed, securing her makeshift rope around the bedpost. Gingerly, her feet stepped onto the bedroom floor. Ensuring that the wood would not creak, Lizzy made her way to the window and slid it open.

Throwing the rope out of the window, Lizzy hesitated for a split second and glanced back.

Ciel will be furious.

“Maybe next time,” she murmured, nimbly scaling down the wall nearly effortlessly.

And so she ran away.

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She didn’t want to face either of them. Not now, at least.

Lizzy trudged through the streets of London with a purpose.

“Nina,” she greeted, exuding as much authority as she could. Lizzy tried to emulate the intimidating aura that Ciel and her mother often used whenever they meant serious business. “A pleasure to see you, again.”

The dressmaker, who had been in the middle of pinning a cloth to a mannequin, froze and promptly dropped her sewing needle. “Oh my, Lady Midford. Please...why don’t you take a seat?”

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Within three hours, Lizzy was well-fed, properly dressed, and warmed to the core. At the moment, she sat on a fashionable Oriental chair in Nina’s backroom, sipping some tea and ignoring Nina’s pressing stares. To her relief, the dressmaker hadn’t questioned her sudden reappearance or state of unkemptness, instead fussing over her and remarking about how “cute girls like her needed to take better care of their complexion and clothes”.

Feeling as though the woman needed some semblance of repayment, Lizzy cleared her throat. “I’ve been avoiding Ciel.”

“Ah, I’m well aware,” Nina replied cheerily. “After all, he kept sending men to ask me if you ever came by. Not to mention the Sphere Music Hall nonsense.”

Lizzy flinched at the invocation of the place. Just thinking of the atrocities that...that occurred there made her want to vomit. Vomiting, as her mother once told her, definitely was not ladylike (much less the proper thing to do when being received by somebody in their own workspace).

“I see,” Lizzy said simply, taking another sip of tea. Carefully, she asked, “What did Ciel tell you about me?”

“If you mean to ask how much did he tell about me, young Lady Midford, you shan’t worry,” Nina assured her. “The young Lord Phantomhive doesn’t like discussing such matters with somebody like me, the little brat. But don’t worry, I won’t inform the young Lord of your presence. I can basically gather what’s going on, anyways.”

Trying not to flinch or show any signs of panic, Lizzy gave a somewhat noncommittal hum of acknowledgment. “And your conclusions?”

“A lover’s quarrel, of course!” Nina declared confidently, causing Lizzy to spit out some of the tea she was drinking.

“L-lovers’ quarrel?” She sputtered, blinking rapidly. “What even...why would you ever think such a thing?”

“The young Lord Phantomhive, as adorable as he might be, is not the most tactful of lovers, m’lady,” Nina sighed dramatically, and if it were any other situation, Lizzy might have burst into laughter and probably would’ve agreed. Instead, she bit her lip.

“If…” Lizzy started. “Just...suppose, Nina, that there is a woman who loves a man. She loves him with all her heart, but then she learns that he isn’t the man who she thought he was. What should she do? P-purely hypothetical, of course.” The last fragment was added as a nervous sidenote.

“Purely hypothetically, you say?” Nina pondered. “Well, whoever you love, you love. Love is a fickle thing, m’lady. It’s the man’s actions that matter, not his name nor words. What was that quote I liked again? From that play by William Shakespeare.”

“Hamlet?” Lizzy offered, recalling Edward’s near fanatic reverence of the play.

“No, no. The one with the lovesick teenagers.”

Lizzy blinked for a moment, searching through her memory for several seconds before finally remembering the title. “Ah, Romeo and Juliet.” Something about her expression seemed to darken, which Nina caught.

“Is it not to your taste, m’lady?” Nina questioned curiously. “I would’ve pinned you as the type to swoon at such romance.”

“The play ended as a tragedy,” Lizzy explained shortly, biting her lip. “I don’t like tragedy.”

Ah, the amount of irony that went into that statement was astounding. Sometimes Lizzy felt as if she were one of the characters in a tragedy of her own.

“There was a quote that I took a liking to in that play,” Nina hummed, procuring a plate of biscuits and offering one to Lizzy. She shook her head politely, content with her tea. “It was about roses.”

“Perhaps you are referring to the balcony scene?” Lizzy suggested. Juliet’s speech had resounded with her many years ago when Lizzy first viewed the play. She quoted quietly, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

“Ah, yes. That was what I was thinking of!” Nina confirmed, bobbing her head excitedly. “Even if we called a rose something else, it still retains the same qualities. I would think that the same applies to this lover of yours, Lady Midford.”

“Hypothetical situation, Nina,” Lizzy insisted, but the dressmaker looked unconvinced.

It was slightly interesting to see the dressmaker act so normal. Usually, the eccentric woman always portrayed herself as a rather exuberant and over excited fool, if she were to quote Ciel. Then again, considering the time period, Lizzy supposed there must have been a well-educated and rational side to the woman. Not anybody could own a dress-shop, not in this society where women were supposed to take care of the household and educate their children.

Mother had drilled it into Lizzy’s head since as long as she could remember: if you’re a woman and want to survive in this “man’s world”, you must be strong.

“Well, Lady Midford...if you need a place to stay for the moment, you may stay with me,” Nina said kindly, reaching over and petting Lizzy’s hands gently. “I don’t know exactly why you and Lord Phantomhive are fighting, but I understand that a girl has to have some space every once in awhile. You’ll be alright, dear.”

The amount of warmth leaking into the woman’s voice was almost enough to make Lizzy’s expression crumble completely. Instead, throat constricted and voice somewhat raspy, she mumbled, “...Lizzy.”

“Pardon me?”

“Please just call me Lizzy,” she said in a louder voice, offering the woman a small smile. “And...um, if you need any help with your shop, I’ve learned a bit of sewing here and there from my etiquette lessons.”

Nina returned her look with a grin of her own. “As you wish, Lizzy. Now, why don’t I show you one of my new designs I’ve been working on for a client? Actually, your figure is about the same as the girl I’m designing it for. Would you mind being my model?”

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Over the next week, Lizzy learned the ins and outs of sewing and had reached the point where Nina would actually entrust some minor details to her. (She had spent the first few days practicing on scrap fabric and acting as a mannequin: Nina had high standards for her clothing, and Lizzy’s mediocre sewing skills were not enough to impress her.)

Now, Lizzy was sitting on a bed that Nina graciously granted her. Emerald eyes glancing out of the window and towards the dreary gray sky, Lizzy pondered. She thought and pondered and ruminated over the same thing over and over and over:

What should she do?

Ciel (the one with the eyepatch, the one who had gone through so many experiences with her) wasn’t really “Ciel Phantomhive”. And, on the flip side, her old Ciel wasn’t the same Ciel anymore, either. Not-Ciel (because she refused to call her former childhood playmate “Ciel” when all he did was smirk evilly and look remarkably like Uncle Vincent all day) was planning something, like always.

Not only that: he was associating with shady groups that Aunt Rachel would’ve been horrified to even hear about, much less speak to. She could understand not-Ciel’s anger: his name, title, fiance, future stolen by the person he trusted most.

Then again, he was dead. Or he had been dead. Not-Ciel hadn’t offered much of an explanation to her, but Lizzy knew that when Ciel had returned from whatever hellhole he found Sebastian, not-Ciel had been dead. When Ciel returned to her, he had looked tired. Lost, broken...as if he had lost his twin.

Not-Ciel had returned from the dead.

Was there any laws barring the dead from reclaiming their titles? Lizzy wasn’t even sure: legal matters never interested her in the past. Maybe that was something she should look into. On the other hand, were there any laws against Ciel remaining the heir to the Phantomhive family? It wasn’t as if reanimated corpses were something Queen Victoria worried about on a daily basis. (Then again, maybe she did worry about them: after all, she had heard the whispers about Ciel, the “Queen’s Watchdog”. She had no doubt that the Queen was informed of the Campania incident.)

And moving on to her next problem: rather than what should she do...what did she want?

Did she want not-Ciel to reclaim his title? Did she want Ciel to remain “Ciel Phantomhive”, even though that was a lie?

Who should she side with? Who would she side with?

Lizzy swallowed, feeling a lump rise in her throat. Not-Ciel had been her childhood playmate. He had been her first love, her best friend, the ray of sunshine that penetrated through her worries. Not-Ciel had loved her back, and had been unafraid to show it. Even now, he still cared about her.

She could tell: from the way his gaze would follow her across the room to the scent of strawberries in the room he arranged from her. (He had always done those kind of little actions. She noticed. Not-Ciel always kept her likes and dislikes in mind when doing anything. He was thoughtful like that.)

(He had been thoughtful towards Ciel, back in the day, too. Lizzy remembered Aunt Rachel talking about how not-Ciel would often stay inside for his sickly brother.)

(Lizzy once again kicked herself for not realizing sooner. Stupid Ciel, hiding his asthma like he was some cool protagonist of a novel.)

Ciel, on the other hand, was the kind of person to cause anxiety and worry. He was rough and callous with his words. He lied to her, pushed her away, and refused to listen to her.

But...she knew that somewhere deep inside, Ciel cared.

Ciel had been the person to accept her strong side. Ciel tried to protect her from harm, Ciel was the one who comforted her. Ciel had been the person who obliged to her selfish requests, from dancing to the Campania (the latter ending in disaster).

Did she love him?

Ciel had been the person who she wore her low-heeled shoes for. Ciel had been the person who she fought for. Ciel had been the person who she accepted all sides of, just like how he accepted every part of her.

But did she love him?

Even though she could describe Ciel with so many derogatory terms — callous, rude, tactless, and socially inept to name a few — he still was Ciel. Beneath his prickly exterior was Ciel: caring but shy, kind but awkward, weak yet strong. And even though he was such a dork whenever he tried to do anything remotely kind, Lizzy knew that he cared.

And sometimes, that was enough.

Not-Ciel had confided in her about his plans. Not everything — oh, no, not-Ciel would never tell his dainty cousin all of his plans — but enough for her to figure out her next plan of action.

Lizzy was going to put a stop to this act.

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[rarestereocats]

rundown of the impromptu session!

for awhile,  we’re without the charisma of this team (Industria),  so the rest of us head off to the monastery to have a chat with Xaren.  we need details if we’re gonna be fighting a goddess,  especially a very nasty one,  so after our discussion;  we decide we need Industria’s dad’s help.  problem is,  Tacitus lives in heaven and you know,  you can’t just go to heaven.  unless you die of course,  but the bad news there is even that’s not a guarantee.

Xaren is still adamant that he doesn’t want us chasing him into the Underdark cuz it’s pretty fucking dangerous and before Rikius can agree with that,  i make sure to let Xaren know that i am not leaving his ass down there.  and like a good pussy whipped boyfriend,  Rikius can’t say shit.  he could,  but like i said,  #whipped.

Elathera says her grandpa has a very powerful staff (please calm yourselves) he used to carry around that could help us.  a staff that when broken,  will give us one way into heaven,  but no way out;  but whatever.  we’ll find a way.  problem is,  she doesn’t know where the staff is,  but her family might know so we go and pick up Elliot and head out.  he’s pretty excited about meeting his new girlfriend’s family,  so like the absolute sweetheart he is,  he bakes them cookies.

upon arrival and being ushered inside,  Elathera gets to tell the news that she’s finally off the market.  her mom can stop trying to bribe random men to sweep her off her feet and her mother is absolutely enamored with Elliot.  his is,  after all,  the Perfect Boyfriend.  kind,  does charity work,  bakes;  he’s the whole package.  talks of marriage and grandkids are had and Elathera was dying on the inside the entire time,  but manages to grin and bear it.

after dinner,  Elathera searches the house and her grandpa’s shed for the staff,  but all she finds is a ring of keys.  she pulls her mother aside to talk about it in her room and finds out that her mother had the staff buried alongside her grandpa in their old town.  wanting to know why we need it,  Elathera explains it and while her mother’s concerned,  she understands.  after,  she rushes down to alert Elliot that his girlfriend’s ready for him while the rest of us laugh our asses off.

he gets to see the blindingly pink bedroom and points out how her summoning circle looks super out of place.  Elathera summons up a bunny to show him and he just showers that bunny in affection.  another Good Boyfriend point to him.  He mentions how nice her family is and then pulls her in for a kiss.  with the power of mage hand on her side,  Elathera has it... lock the door and fade to black cuz they totally got it on.  you guys thought i was gonna say she did something dirty with that mage hand,  didn’t you?

by night,  i head out onto the pier for some fresh air and Xaren joins me.  we have a nice heart-to-heart and i tell him that i’d die for him.  apparently not the right words to say when he absolutely does not want us dying for him.  i pull back the layers of Xaren’s Tragic Backstory like an onion (there’s a lot of onion unraveling lately) and learn that his mother killed his brothers and stuck him in a sensory deprivation chamber as punishment,  also pinning their deaths on him.

it’s there that he met Miss McNasty,  Velevana,  and after giving so much of himself to her;  she took notice and gave him a wish.  so he wished to get out of the Underdark and Velevana was pissed,  but also impressed.  Rikius walks up on this all,  but quickly excuses himself when he realizes this is a private moment.  i decide to lighten the mood and boop Xaren’s nose and he boops mine back and we decide to gossip about our relationships.

we talk about our men and then Xaren says Samuel is his first boyfriend ever.  Rikius is also my first boyfriend ever cuz i used to be all about the ladies,  so now he’s wondering why i’d pick Rikius of all people.  and insert me saying something embarrassing about how he looks like he was chiseled out of marble by the gods and boy,  can’t wait for somebody to use that against me.

next morning,  Elathera goes and helps her little brother in his eidolon pursuit.  she takes him to their grandpa’s shed and walks him through the process,  summoning a very confused Tenin.  knowing what’s going on though,  he hops in to coach Altaura through this and this kid is fucking pumped.  he does the ritual and for a few seconds,  an angelic woman who looks vaguely like Elathera is staring back at them before she flickers out.  progress!  so now he’s even more excited.

we have a nice breakfast and then head back to Florence to pick up Industria and Ilyana and head out to Elathera’s old hometown to do a little grave robbing.  it takes some convincing for Industria to be okay with what’s a little morally questionable and before we head out,  she communes with Sabella to ask if it’s alright if we decide to show up in heaven,  which Sabella is totally cool with.  she also finds out that Tacitus is forbidden from coming back to the material plane cuz the dude just loves mortals too much.

we head out and reach the old town!  because of a street vendor who has just invented corndogs and set Tenin off,  we have to think of a new codeword.  again.  we settle on “Dungeon Master”.  sounds pretty kinky,  right?  shouldn’t be a problem so long as we keep Tenin out of certain clubs.  we make it to Elathera’s old house which is surprisingly occupied.  we ask the current owner for entry and she says it’s fine,  but be careful,  the place is haunted.

Industria goes on ghost hunter on us and leads us up to a locked door.  Elathera and her cool new set of keys gets the door open and it’s her grandpa’s old room.  the room’s cold as shit and Industria calls out and immediately a voice calls out to Elathera.  we’re shocked and in fear,  i take shelter behind Rikius cuz hey,  he’s like...two feet taller than me.  nobody will see me.

Elathera gets to catch up with her grandpa and he gets to see Tenin again too.  apparently his memories are on the fritz though because he’s pretty sure his soul is incomplete and scattered across the planes.  Elathera explains our current situation and asks if it’s okay to dig up his staff and he gives her permission.  he also gives our greedy asses permission to loot his room,  to which we do.  the most notable things being a book of enchantments,  a sweet ass ice crown,  and some summoning salts.

with Rikius watching over Ilyana in the carriage,  the rest of us hit the graveyard and dig up Elathera’s grandpa.  inside the casket with him is his big,  black staff (seriously,  calm yourselves) and we put everything back in place before making haste out of there.  thankfully,  Industria distracted the guards long enough for us to struggle with grave robbing.  the staff is beautiful.  obsidian and twinkles like the night sky.  shame we have to break it.

we quickly find a spot to open the portal and with the staff and Elathera’s dreams shattered,  we go to heaven.  at the gate,  two archons guard it and basically look us over to make sure we’re right and fit to be walking around literal fucking heaven.  Xaren and Rikius garner some attention though and are to be escorted by angels as a just in case.  we’re pointed to where we can find Tacitus and also get to learn where some of our departed loved ones are.

heaven is a very beautiful place.  maybe too beautiful to have our walking disasters parading through the streets,  but we make it to Tacitus’s tower and are brought up to his office.  Tenin gets to have another existential crisis as an angel refers to him as Little Tenin,  meaning there is indeed another Tenin,  so unfortunately,  Elathera has to desummon him.  introductions are had and Tacitus and Industria are both nervous and awkward as fuck.  understandable as that is literally the first time she’s seen her dad in person.

we ask for his aid in the Velevana situation and he tells us he’ll see what he can do.  unfortunately,  there isn’t much he can do after he gave us “the mythic” and realizing some of us don’t have it,  he corrects that.  so now Rikius,  Ilyana,  and even Elliot have it.  poor Elliot who is probably confused as fuck,  but he’s handling it well.  we also learn that our material plane isn’t the only one and apparently the folks up here have a problem and were constantly resetting it until now.  we’re allegedly the last material plane to exist and will be the longest thriving one.

with Tacitus eager to answer questions cuz he’s so excited to have mortals visiting,  i ask about Asri and Lucky and he says he’ll ask Sabella about it and get back to me.  Elathera asks what the fuck happened to her grandpa’s soul and he tells her that his soul has been dispersed between planes because someone up here deemed him too powerful to keep in one place.  She also asks if she can meet OG Tenin and Tacitus says he can arrange that.

Xaren asks if he can see his brothers,  so Tacitus takes him over to his telescope,  aiming it at Elysium and Xaren breaks down as he watches his brothers talking and laughing with other souls.  they’re watching the sunrise together over there and unable to move himself,  Samuel stays back to comfort him as the rest of us leave to do our thing.

we head to the library first,  but Industria decides to check out (library pun) early to go find Ilyana’s parents and ask them if it’s cool that she adopts their daughter.  they’re surprisingly okay with it cuz they know they’re dead and gone and Ilyana needs a better life.  they have plans to go join the void at some point,  so they won’t be around heaven much longer.  Elathera also decides to peace out cuz she’s taking Elliot,  Ilyana,  Xaren,  and Samuel to meet OG Tenin.  which leaves Rikius,  an absolute nerd,  in a library of vast knowledge.  and me,  passed out on his lap cuz everything is too much in this moment.

Elathera is fucking excited to meet OG Tenin.  his office is a gym,  guys.  if that is not the most Tenin thing ever,  then i don’t know what is.  OG Tenin is super fucking tall with six wings,  fiery hair,  and is all about that sleeveless game (relatable).  he is also a fucking nerd apparently and loves music and reading.  he’s very proud of Elathera and her spirit that died when she broke that staff is resurrected and before she can ask,  he reads her mind and says that he’s more than happy to train her.

come next day,  we get a whole lots of answers from Tacitus.  including how the world and the gods came to be.  so Little Tenin is not the only one here having an existential crisis.  our minds are blown six ways fucking sideways as he talks about how the Teme-rasadar are the void and everything came from them.  deities also need constant worship otherwise they just...fade away.  

we learn that Velevan’s paired herself with a god of undeath,  so her weakness will be anything anti-undead,  but as for breaking the claim she has on Xaren’s soul,  it unfortunately can’t be done.  so i guess it’s confirmed that we’ll be literally punching her in the face.  he also drops the bomb on us that Lucky is a fucking lich,  which explains their fascination with the temple of the dead,  and right now;  they’re out there.  he says they’re not harming anyone currently,  but they’re very powerful.

he tells me that Asri is in the country,  but can’t give me exact deets.  he knows that she visited the Underdark awhile ago and also that Xaren’s dad is on the surface now.  literal goddess Sabella shows up in elven form to come speak with us and our minds are fucking blown again.

i ask her if my blood’s tainted cuz the whole lich thing and she says there’s nothing...lichy (loud booing)...in my blood,  but the Kociak bloodline is cursed.  prone to insatiable wanderlust and something more,  though she can’t say what.  the curse was a trade-off for Lucky’s lichdom,  so thanks,  asshole.  i ask her why Asri was in the Underdark and she says it’s a part of the curse.  she was seeking someone out,  though she can’t say who.  possible drow/catfolk combo striking again??  just a Game Theory.  

i’m worried that the curse is the reason Asri was a piece of shit,  but Sabella reassures me that it has nothing to do with the curse as i’m cursed too,  but a decent person.  we ask of Remy’s fate and learn that Lucky used them as a sacrifice and the reason Remy is reaching out to Xaren is to tell him something important or perhaps to even tell him that Lucky is near.

after that ominous shit,  Sabella allows Xaren to see his brothers and he gets a touching reunion.  he catches them up on some things and slowly realizes that he desperately doesn’t wanna accept whatever Velevana has for him now.  as we all watch,  i think about hugging Sabella,  but restrain myself cuz hey,  that’s a goddess.  much to my surprise,  she turns around and hugs me and my soul has transcended every possible plane and i may be in love.  Sabella hands out some more hugs to everyone like a goddamn pez dispenser and once we’re back in Tacitus’s office,  she’s gone.

we say our farewells to heaven and he kindly teleports us back to the material plane.

[statusquoergo]

Here's the thing, I've got a silly prompt, but I kinda feel like you prefer more serious ones? But I'm still going to deliver it so that you can do something about it (or not) with your talent. So I pictured Mike and Harvey working together in season 7, and Mike is stuck with Ed Sheeran song "Shape Of You" for ages. And Harvey can take it anymore. It becomes a thing for Mike, to drive Harvey nuts with the song. Until somehow they got in very embarrasing situation because of that. Feels happen.

Read on AO3

How do you spell “extortion,” anyway? E-x-t-o-r-t?E-x-t-o-r-s? It’s basic knowledge, grade-school stuff, and Harvey definitelyknew when he started reading this fucking document, but seven eight nine hoursstaring at the same sentences over and over and over have that sort of warpingeffect, especially at—Harvey glances at the clock—one AM, holy shit, when didthat happen?

Once more. He’ll read it through once more, top tobottom, and head out for the night.

Mike taps his pen rhythmically against his thigh; one two, three one two, three one two, three,and that’s gotta be a song stuck in his head but Harvey doesn’t know which one.

“This guy’s jerking us around,” Mike mutters, and Harveygrits his teeth.

“No kidding,” he says, narrowing his eyes, “but we’dbetter figure out how before we ask him or we’ll never get the truth.”

Yeah. Yeah, that.

Mike will get it, it’s fine.

He’s about halfway through the file when Mike startstapping the pen again, and he doesn’t seem to notice when he starts humming,too; Harvey recognizes the song now, even if he can’t place the name.

This is going nowhere fast.

“Go home,” he says, closing the file and shoving it intoa file underneath his desk. “Hopefully one of us has an epiphany on the way intomorrow morning.”

Mike looks up at him blearily, arching his back andstretching his arms out in front of him.

“You got it, boss,” he teases, gathering his papers and justbarely keeping from knocking into Harvey’s coffee table as he stumbles towardthe door. He starts humming again as soon as he clears the obstacle course, andHarvey presses his eyes into his palms.

“And stop your goddamn humming.”

Mike tosses a two-fingered salute on his way out.

—

Sauntering in the front door at nine forty-five, Harveytakes a second to appreciate such freedoms afforded to name partners before heheads for Mike’s office. Poor kid’s probably been in for an hour already, hourand a half if he had trouble sleeping last night.

Knocking on the door, Harvey doesn’t wait for an answerbefore he opens it—but he really should have, because Mike isn’t just hummingto himself anymore; he’s graduated to quiet singing, and Harvey can’t make outthe words but he sees his lips moving and catches the musical tone.

“What’ve you got for me?” he asks loudly, finallycatching Mike’s attention as he looks up with a jerk of his neck and slightlywidened eyes.

“Ideas,” he replies promptly, “and…more ideas.”

Harvey sits across from him and raises his handsqueryingly, and Mike sighs through his teeth.

“There’s something rotten in this blackmail angle,” he complains,“but I cannot figure out what it is.”

“Maybe if you tried singing about it,” Harvey tauntsbefore he thinks better of it, and Mike smirks.

“Not without my backup dancers.”

Grinning, Harvey stands and knocks his knuckles againstMike’s desk.

“Let me know when you have your next brilliant flash ofinsight,” he says. “In the meantime, I’ll put Vanessa on it.”

Mike drops his head into his hands. “I’ve gotta get meone of those.”

“Alright, Commissioner.”

—

By three that afternoon, Mike has cobbled together enoughof a theory to start making probing phone calls, and from what little Vanessahas found so far, their conclusions seem to be lining up; when Harvey returnsto his office after a late lunch, Mike has left a stack of papers clippedtogether on top of his laptop with a blue highlighter placed carefully on thedesk beside.

The first page is a concise summary with page references(good boy), informing him that the best information will be on the fifth page,and sure enough, when Harvey flips to it, there’s a Post-It stuck to the topmargin.

“Who pays blackmail through a hospital fund?” Mike’srushed scrawl reads, which is certainly a point worth considering. Then,underneath, a little neater: “The club isn’t the best place to find a lover, sothe bar is where I go; me and my friends at the table doing shots, drinkingfast and then we talk slow.”

The tune begins ringing in his head immediately andHarvey rips the lower half off the Post-It, crumpling it in his fist andtossing it in the garbage.

That little fucker.

Of all things, why did it have to be a love song?

—

“Put Van the Man on the jukebox,” Mike declaresnonsensically, slapping a printout that looks like an email chain down onHarvey’s desk.

“Most people knock,” Harvey drawls, hoping Mike can’ttell that that damn song is suddenly stuck in his head for the third time today.“What’s this?”

“A conversation beginning exactly eleven months ago nextweek between our client Mister Jim Stone and the man he claims to beblackmailing him,” Mike stabs the paper, his eyes lighting up, “initiated by—”

“Stone,” Harvey interrupts, taking the paper and skimmingthe text. “Where’d you get this?”

“My new girl Penelope,” Mike says with a grin. “AnywayI’d say this is pretty damning evidence that the blackmail claim is bullshit.”

“And it only took a week to drag this up,” Harvey says.Leaning back in his chair, he purses his lips and raises his eyebrows. “Sowho’s Penelope? Someone special I should be getting to know?”

“Oh, don’t be jealous, Harvey,” Mike sing-songs, “youknow your love was handmade for somebody like me.”

“Get the fuck out of here,” Harvey chuckles, and Mikewalks backwards out of the office with a little swing in his hips.

Harvey pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. This isstarting to get out of hand.

—

Two days later, Mike and Harvey lurk in the hall as theylet Jim Stone and some assistant of his wait in Conference Room C, uncertain asto exactly why they’ve been called in and hopefully getting nervous. Flippingthrough an unrelated file, Mike tries to look busy in case Stone is watchingthem.

“You wanna be the good cop or the bad cop?” Mike asks,and Harvey scoffs.

“You really asking me that?”

Mike closes the file and bites down on a smirk. “We pushand pull like a magnet do,” he croons; Harvey smacks his shoulder and Mikelaughs.

“Come on, follow my lead.”

God help him, Harvey does, walking half a pace behindMike as they confront Mister Stone.

“Harvey,” Jim says, standing with a cocksure smile. “Iassume I’m here because you have good news?”

“If that’s what you want to call it,” Harvey returnsskeptically, brandishing a printout of the email chain. “How about you start bybeing up front with us about this?”

Harvey watches Jim rush to invent a plausible excuse ashe puffs up his chest and darts a gaze to his assistant; he hasn’t had to lie likethis in awhile, it seems.

Mike begins to hum.

Oh, no you don’t.

“He first contacted me by phone,” Jim says eventually,obviously under the impression that he’s coming across as some kind of smoothcustomer, and Mike stops humming as he rolls his eyes and the assistantscribbles something on a notepad.

“‘Mister Tennon,’” Mike recites, “‘my name is Jim Stone,and I believe I have a proposal which would be of mutual benefit to us if youwould be willing to further discuss the matter at a later date.’ Sounds like anintroduction to me, wouldn’t you say, Harvey?”

“I would,” Harvey agrees, “and frankly Jim, I don’t givea damn what you’re trying to cover up here unless it’s going to come around andbite me in the ass while I’m trying to mount your defense, so how about youstop bullshitting us and explain yourself?”

Stone fumbles for another few seconds before falling backinto his seat, averting his gaze and doing his best to keep from gaping like afish; Harvey cross his arms over his chest and Mike puts his hands on his hips.

Then…wait a second.

For crying out loud, does he even know he’s doing itanymore, or has it become just some awful habit?

Stone starts digging around in his briefcase, as thoughsomething in there will explain his poor planning and general stupidity, whenHarvey hears it clearly:

“I’m in love with your body,” Mike mumbles rhythmically.

Stone pulls out a stack of papers and keeps digging ashis assistant wrings his hands uselessly.

“Every day discovering something brand new…”

Harvey grits his teeth.

“I’m in love with the shape—”

“Alright, that’s it.”

Harvey grabs Mike’s elbow and hauls him stumbling out thedoor into the hall; Stone looks up in surprise and his assistant’s head snapsaround as the door swings shut behind them and Harvey doesn’t often wish theglass walls of this office were made of something a little more opaque, but he sureis wishing that now.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hisses the moment heand Mike are out of view of their client; a couple of stray associates wisely scuttleaway, keeping their heads down, and Mike looks genuinely baffled, raising hishands and shaking his head.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mike says. Harveyisn’t sure whether to believe him or not.

“That song,” he snaps, “you’ve been—humming it andsinging it and drumming it for a weekand a half!”

“It’s stuck in my head,” Mike mutters.

“That song,” Harvey says dryly. “That song in particularhas been stuck in your head for over aweek.”

Mike shrugs. “I guess? Why, you got something against EdSheeran?”

“Do I— No, Mike, I have something against you singing a love song at me for ten days straight!”

Mike looks down shamefacedly, then back up with his eyesnarrowed. “Wait, why?”

Harvey doesn’t really have an answer to that; or, hedoes, handily, but he’s not about to tell Mike what it is.

“Because it’s very unprofessional,” he declares, which itactually kind of is. “And I know he sure doesn’t look it, but Stone is worth alot of money that I don’t want to see flushed down the drain when he fires us becauseyou can’t get your earworm under control!”

It’s true; Stone’s suit isn’t even made to measure, muchless bespoke. The man clearly has no idea how to handle his fortune. Probably inherited.

But Mike has that look in his eye like he’s uncovered afact buried about a hundred meters underground that someone went to a greatdeal of trouble to hide from him (because Harvey did), and he’s not about tolet it go (just as Harvey taught him).

“But you would’ve been fine with ‘Castle on the Hill.’”

“That’s not the point.”

“That’s exactly the point,” Mike argues. “You said youdon’t like me singing a love song, at you, for ten days, and I’m asking you why,because I have an idea and I’d like to know if we’re on the same page with it.”

Shit.

Wait.

Harvey frowns. “What do you mean, ‘same page’?”

Shoving his hand into his hair, Mike looks away and sighssharply.

“Before I say what I’m going to say, I’d like to remindyou that it would be a huge pain in the ass at this point for you to hiresomeone to replace me and the number of people with eidetic memories is vanishinglysmall so you’re basically guaranteed to never find anyone else who’s goodenough to pass the Bar without going to law school and I’ve got enough dirt onyou and Specter Litt to bury this firm if I really want to but.” He pauses abruptly and Harvey takes a moment to be impressedthat he got that all out in one breath before Mike meets his eyes challengingly.

“I’m getting kind of sick of pretending I’m not super into you.”

Of all the ways this situation could have played out,this is definitely one of the weirdest. Best? Weirdest. But also sort ofawesome.

But very weird.

Harvey clears his throat imperiously and tries to find somestable footing.

“Are you threatening me?”

Mike puts his hands in his pockets and looks upthoughtfully, clenching his teeth; he was confident enough to say what he did,but he’s not completely confident that he’s right about it. Well, he’s a guywho goes after what he wants, that’s for sure; that consequences-be-damnedattitude has gotten him in trouble in the past, but he’s still willing to puthimself out there when it counts.

“I think,” Mike speculates, “that it was more like…blackmail?”

Harvey smirks. “Are you sure about that, because I didn’thear any quid pro quo demands.”

He sees the moment Mike realizes that he hasn’t beenchastised, or demoted, and his cocky grin mimics Harvey’s almost exactly.

“Either you invite me out to dinner in a clearly defineddate-like capacity, or you wait for me to ask you first.”

“You son of a bitch.”

Nodding his agreement, Mike magnanimously offers hishand. “So, Mister Specter, we agree?”

Harvey takes his hand and shakes it firmly. “I’ll pickyou up at eight.”

They hold each other’s grips for a period definitelylonger than necessary, and Mike grins.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Harvey watches fondly as Mike strides back into theconference room and opens a folder full of spreadsheets to shove in theirclient’s face.

The kid sure knows how to handle a tough situation; thisis going to be fun.

There’s just one more question Harvey has to ask himself beforetonight:

The button-front or the Henley?

Chapter Two

—

“I’ve gotta get me one of those.” —Commissioner James Gordon (GaryOldman), Batman Begins (2005)

“Castle on the Hill” is the other lead single fromSheeran’s studio album ÷ (2017).

Just to clarify, Penelope isn’t Mike’s girlfriend, she’s his C.I. (his Vanessa).

[cupkayke]

Cupkayke Rewatches/Liveblogs Boueibu!

Season 1, Episode 2 

I think I’ll start using the title cards in these~ Sounds fun. And I originally started this post like... 5 hours ago but then TUMBLR JUST HAD TO CRASH CHROME AND EAT THE POST. So if my commentary isn’t very intelligent it’s because I wrote all this shit earlier and lost it <.< Not that it was intelligent in the first place; it was mostly squeeing and laughing over stupid screencaps.

So! Image-heavy thoughts below the cut!

Yup, I still love this opening theme. LOOK HOW CUTE THEY ARE.

Okay, let’s unpack Kinshirou’s speech here a bit. He starts off chastising Ibushi for taking the tea off a little bit too soon and then launches into his views about negligence. “Those who are negligent in etiquette will be negligent in all things. Lifestyle, academics, self respect...” What exactly does that mean? Especially in relation to the ‘self-respect’ comment. If we utilize the dictionary definitions, Kinshirou is saying “Those who are lazy or careless in etiquette will neglect the proper esteem or regard for the dignity of one’s character.” Essentially, Kinshirou is stating that he holds not only decorum but how one views the self above everything else. It’s an interesting look at his worldview, but it also could be taken that he’s talking about Atsushi here, who was (perceived to be) “negligent” with “friendship etiquette” and stopped speaking to Kinshirou and thusly their friendship died. Of course, Kinshirou is probably well aware that he threw a temper tantrum in the first place, but... that aside, he’s still upset. So perhaps he’s reminding Ibushi of what type of people they are supposed to be, and not like THOSE people. 

Akoya twirlin’ dat hair.

I didn’t cap this part of the speech, but Kinshirou continues: “It is easy to drift downwards. We as the student council of Binan high school, regard foolishness and mediocrity as a sin. We must not approve of it.” - More establishment of how Kinshirou views the world. Order, dignity and class held above all. Again, something that Atsushi potentially lacks, knowing what we know on the other half of the reveal. Or I could be talking out my ass.

CUTE AKOYA IS CUTE. Look at this faaaaaace.

I forgot about the BLURRRR

Zundar struggling to get into and get comfortable in the teacup is hilarious. Lookit this wiggle noodle.

‘Planet evil’ snerk

Snooty Akoya is snooty. 

Even Ibushi isn’t quite on board with Kinshirou’s plan lol. From this, it seems he might just potentially be along for the ride for the sake of keeping Kinshirou happy- but he’s unable to resist pointing out how lofty Kinshirou’s plot sounds.

And Kinchan isn’t gonna take no shit

I know Kinshirou is bad mothing our boys here, but in this particular screencap it’s a little hard to take him seriously lol. They look like a boy band!

And then Ibushi’s like -”SIGH- I guess  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”

ZUNDAR I FIND IT HARD TO FIND YOU INTIMIDATING WHEN YOU ARE A SMOL, GREEN HEDGEHOG THAT SITS IN TEACUPS AND MUST BE PICKED UP BY THE SCRUFF OF YOUR NECK BY YOUR HENCHMAN TO BE PUT IN HIS POCKET.

They discuss using someone to commit violent acts so casually… how much brainwashing did Zundar have to do and how much of their compliance is just from their natures as isolated kids? (I need to read the manga again so I actually remember their backstories... I read all of it that was available in English but there may have been an update to the translations? Idk- I’ll look for it later)

En and his musings again~

Though c’mon guys, are you really surprised at this point considering what was revealed in ep1 about En’s brain? You’ve been hanging out for awhile...

 However their conversation about chopsticks and menma is pretty realistic random drivel. (I had to look up what menma was because I’m an #idiotamerican)

Ryuu evidently takes chopsticks and menma very seriously. Look at how upset he is.

WHO YA GONNA CALL? (rofls forever)

Wow so apparently this is what the boys think of English- not a noble language. <.<

POOR WOMBT LOOKS SO OFFENDED

They seem ready to kick wombat’s ass

Atsushi, I, for one, appreciate the Schrodinger reference. C’mon son.

I don’t think I noticed the puddle of blood the first time I watched this- so Wombat caused Tawarayama to crack his skull no wonder he’s in suspended animation

WOMBAT YOU SHOULD BE HORRIFIED

FANSERVICE MUCH. Yumoto button your pants back up, young man! Wombat does NOT want to cuddle with you half naked. Err...

...wait a minute.

HOW DID YOU REMOVE YOUR SHIRT SO FAST?? Three frames ago it was this:

Oh wait, it’s that Hakone (TM) clothing wizardry that Gora shows us in s2. Riiiiight. Good callback, writers.

Atsushi is really REALLY embarrassed by this whole thing. 

Ryuu loves the costume hahahaha- if he likes cosplay so much I wonder if he’s ever cosplayed anything else before lolol

Wombat, you’re asking teenage boys what love is. What did you expect?

This scene has been analyzed to death but I think Ryuu does have the right idea. It’s hilarious he’s disappointed in Io’s definition though lolol. IO YOUR BOYFRIEND HAS WORDS FOR YOU.

Atsushi is really REALLY REALLY embarrassed, guys. Meanwhile En just looks annoyed

I AM JUST LEAVING THIS SCREENCAP HERE WITHOUT ANY COMMENTARY IT’S A BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. 

Though this probably would be a great addition to the “Someone who has never watched Boueibu explain what’s happening here” meme

CURRY REFERENCE THIS EARLY HOW DID I FORGET

No really that’s really good character development/foreshadowing.

Though I wonder exactly what happened to make Kinshirou hate curry so much. Revulsion that strong can’t just simply be from emotional pain (and I think Atsushi ditched him in the first place because he knew Kinshirou hated curry and wouldn’t want to come with him in the first place). So... it must be food aversion. Maybe Kinshirou got food poisoning as a kid after eating curry. That would do it- I couldn’t eat chicken noodle soup for YEARS after I associated eating it with having the stomach virus. I didn’t eat it again until I was an adult.

Hashida WAAAAAAARIO. Oh man.

That chopstick thing is frustrating lol when we go out for sushi my bf always steals mine when he fucks up his. I feel your pain, Wario.

I don’t quite remember why I capped this part but the imagery in that dialogue is pretty heavy. Also their expressions are pretty funny here; Ibushi is just bored, Akoya looks deep in thought and Kinshirou looks like he’s gonna cut a bitch.

OH BOY TRANSFORMATIONS. In the middle of the cafeteria though? Won’t someone notice boys?

LEGGGGGGGGS for days~ Kinshirou do you shave???

I think I was trying to cap something else but I paused on this gorgeous scene- LOOK AT HOW ANGELIC AKOYA IS. DAT HAIR FLOOF.

Look how cool they look here~

 Looking back on it they were much more organized villains than the Beppus wound up being- they had coordinated attacks/powers and TWO group names, the Earth Conquest Club and Caerula Adamas. I wonder if Zundar had them practice before they started trying to take over the school for real? Or did they just get thrown into it like the DC and the words/motions just come to them?

Tho really did somebody not notice their transformation? They noticed Wario turning into a fucking monster…

Wowwwww I think this is where I thought it was ridiculous. Arima voiced our thoughts.

Side note- I really like the lighting in this scene.

OKAY REALLY? Knowing what we know now, is this just poor writing or bullshit on Wombat’s part for the CIDE2 screen? Gora was a battle lover of sorts but it was shown in s2 that he was by himself- he didn’t have a team. He just had his own name. So why this reference? Were they originally planning on there having previously been a team of five and then retconned it or was this just a throwaway line? I’d like to think it’s Wombat bullshitting just to get the boys to do what he wants.

Atsushi is VERY VERY VERY concerned with his image.

Ryuu is savage AF

Poor Wombat… writing is hard work. -patpat-

This is the start of where Yumoto’s opinions conveniently contradict the Monst of the Week

Also wombat’s face is so silly

Io and Ryuu teasing ASDF

For being forced they sound really passionate. Can wombat affect their tone or are they kind of having fun with it?

Side note- this must’ve happened in a production meeting: “So we have 2 characters with shorts, 2 characters with pants.” “What about the fifth one?” “Uhhh… half shorts, half pants!” “Capris?” “BUT POOFY” At least they look a bit more fashionable than Ryuu and Yumoto… sorry cutiepies. Poofy shorts are erm…

Lololol there’s the fourth wall~

En jumps on the alter ego so quickly

Hope no one heard Io slip and call En’s real name two seconds before!

Oh no poor Ryuu!

And Io to the rescue! “Don’t worry baby, I’m coming!”

“It’s okay bby I got you”

Atsushi really doesnt like the names, contrast to en. I never realized how image-conscious Atsushi is until I rewatched this ep. You’d think the stereotypically ‘nerdy’ looking character would be the least self conscious about the whole thing.

They definitely did a lot more fighting in s1, even when the other boys aren’t doing much.

HE PUTS THE CHOPSTICK ON HIS LOVE STICK LOL

They suddenly have names for their attacks/combinations… I wonder if wombat yelled at them between episode 1 and 2

Yumoto’s butt shot haha - I would have gotten a screencap of this but my STREAM KEPT FUCKING UP IN QUALITY AT THE WORST TIMES.

Yumoto’s lecture mode is a bit more serious here than it is in later episodes. Also- LOOK HOW COOL HE LOOKS~ LIKE A REAL SUPERHERO. GORA WOULD BE SO PROUD

Floofy hair in the wind SC - I WOULD HAVE CAPPED THIS TOO BUT MY WINDOW JUST HAD TO ACCIDENTALLY CLOSE. <.< fuck this, any caps I didn’t already have I am DONE.

Gora’s first line!

I- Uh- er.... I’m in trouble. Yumoto’s face here... <////< I am too old for this

Ryuu is upset he didn’t get to fight- but wombat has a point

And once again, @crazy-grrrl-on-the-computer has beat me to the punch with a brilliant analysis of s1′s ending theme that is way better than anything I could have ever done ever. I had to go back and search for this because for some reason I forgot to like it or reblog it??? wtf me???

AND FUCKING FINALLY. AFTER LIKE EIGHT HOURS OF START AND STOP WORK EPISODE 2 IS BLOGGED.

I might as well take this footnote to note that I’m finding the Student Council a much more enjoyable cast this time around than when I originally watched the series. Idk why they just didn’t resonate with me at first- but I’m slowly coming to see why they’re some of the favorite characters in the fandom. They do have a lot of backstory that the manga fleshes out and it’s a pity that they don’t get to be friends with the Defense Club until the end of s1 and then they get shipped off abroad in s2. Logistics and all but there’s a lot more story there that could have been explored- but perhaps some of it did and I wasn’t paying attention the first time. I will get there in this rewatch lol.

Well, so much for trying to get 2 eps done today. I’ll see if I can post ep3 tomorrow or the day after depending on when I get around to watching and taking notes again. Tho I just started making my bf watch Yuri on Ice so I may be a bit preoccupied with rewatching that with him for a few days haha.

[petite-neko]

Forbearance - 02

Fanfiction: Chained Shadows || > Forbearance Story Summary: He was old enough now - by the laws of a Sheikah anyway - to be making his own decisions. To start carving out his own life. No longer was he a child in the Lost Woods, or an adult in war-torn times. A young man by the name of Lyrkiel must find his path in life. Friends. A career, and perhaps even a lover.

Even that said - he was bound by the laws of the Sheikah, and the confines of his own blood… Characters: Link, OCs, Impa, Zelda, Sheik, Kafei Pairing: Link/Sheik and Link/OC Rating: M Story Warnings: Violence. Universe Alteration. Fluff and probably smut.  Past mentions of: Eye Injuries. Swearing. Dissociation. Chapter Warnings: None. Author Notes: Please note. You must read Typhlosis before reading this or the story won’t make sense.

Hello again! I know it's been awhile, but I'm finally better. Not 100%, but a lot better.

That being said, I'm struggling through some writer's block as of late, so even though I'm returning it might be sporadic. But I thought I should update this story! I'll be working through my drafts I have. (Still plenty of editing and adding in details but :D)

t as a reference to pre-existing characters:

Lyrkiel = Link

Iarma = Impa

Kilfa = Kafei

Ao3 in source! 

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3

“Lyrkiel, now I suppose is a good time to ask you of this.”

It was Kajiit. Malea was beside him as well as he returned home from his visit with Srekhi.

It was hard to describe the woman who bore the title of ‘mother’. She was quiet, yet cheerful. A warm presence in his life. Kind. Caring. She could also be stern when it came down to it.

She was the one who did a good majority of his teaching at the beginning. That was until Kajiit was able to fit things around his hectic schedule. (The man had many students back in Termina.) And she was the one who helped him when he had troubles. Comforted him when he needed it. She worried for his well-being. She even was a main contributor to his physical training. She was a warrior or sorts, or a hunter, or a protector. (He never really knew what her job was, but it involved fighting. He never bothered to ask.)

But it was Kajiit who typically approached him on matters while she stood by his side, a sign of her agreement to his words. To his questions and inquiries.

“What is to become of your friendship with Srekhi?” His friendship, huh?

Certainly, yes Srekhi was somebody he really considered a close friend. Srekhi – Iarma’s trainee. Her eventual substitute. A would-be guardian. As of right now, Srekhi would be forced to remain in Hyrule, and his family was from Termina. Already, they probably stayed over-due. At first, it was because Iarma needed Kajiit’s help on whatever it was that she wanted help with, but then…

Then Lyrkiel approached the royal nursemaid with a plea.

For Srekhi did not want to become a guardian. He did not want to live his life as Iarma did. He wanted to be a doctor.

And so, Lyrkiel talked with Iarma, asking her to let Srekhi to have knowledge that his father could give him. Medical knowledge handy for battle or after battle. Ways to treat wounds and shock and whatever else may happen unexpectedly.

But come this winter – once the tribes met once more – his parents would most likely return home, and he with them. For the Meet would take place back at Termina.

They were no longer needed in Hyrule afterwards, it seemed.

They weren’t asking him what would become of his friendship with Srekhi, no. They were asking him what would become of his future. For they knew. They knew that one of the reasons that he asked Kajiit to tutor Srekhi in medicine was for him to stay longer. That he didn’t want to part from his friend.

“As of now, we cannot stop you in any venture you wish to pursue, although we still do hope to guide you and that our opinion does matter.”

The ‘adult talk.’ For Lyrkiel was old enough now to decide what he wanted to do with his life. That being said, Lyrkiel had no idea of what he wanted to be like the others his age.

A doctor? An aide? A hunter? A shoe-maker? A warrior?

Nothing. Nothing truly appealed to him. The only thing he wanted to do was help people. And yes, he had certain skills and talents due to his training. Due to his missions and quests and journeys, but… that was no way to decide what one was to do for the rest of their lives.

They wanted to know if he would be staying in Hyrule, of if he would be returning to Termina with them. Would he?

Truly, he didn’t know.

Because part of him knew that it would be so very difficult to part from Srekhi. To go from talking on a daily basis to only talking for one week out of the year.

“I’m… in the process of figuring that out.” He admitted and that he was. Already, he had made sacrifices for him, and was prepared to make more if it was necessary.

And they nodded, they knew how much this decision would affect his life and his future. It was hard to believe that, back then, he would be in the shoes he was in now. Wearing a mask. Being a warrior. Being a Sheikah. Or having a friend as dear as Srekhi…

“He is to remain in Hyrule, I hope you realize that.”

And Lyrkiel nodded at that, that yes he knew of this. Time and time again he wondered… Would he be able to stand that separation between them? To stand that distance? Certainly, yes, he could very easily and very quickly visit his friend through the magic of song. It would take a few hours by foot and two melodies, but he could make it to Hyrule. Maybe spend a week or two every few months… but even that wouldn’t be the same.

He wouldn’t wake up, looking forward to seeing Srekhi every morning. To hear his laughter and his teasing remarks. To feel his closeness…

(He was beginning to think…)

Not to mention… Srekhi might be forced to stay behind in Hyrule during the Meets. Just like Iarma. Because he knew. Oh, Lyrkiel knew that once Srekhi reached the age of majority…

It would be official. Srekhi would be ‘promoted’ to a Guardian. He would be Iarma’s stand in. Which would mean he would be stuck in Hyrule because: What if something happened to Iarma?

A Sheikah’s duty was always to the crown after all.

And that time was fast approaching. For in just a few months… a few months before…

Before their lives changed forever.

Because Srekhi was born in the fall.

“Yes. I know that. It’s been weighing on my mind a lot lately…” There were other things too, yes. Things that he had been thinking of telling them. He knew some of it awhile ago, although not to the extent he had been fully realizing as of late.

In fact, there was many things that he didn’t tell them. He didn’t tell them that the two of them often snuck off to various places in Hyrule. (Although he knew they suspected something of that sort was happening) He also didn’t tell them of the limited knowledge Srekhi knew about him and Iarma. That there was something between them (even if Iarma wasn’t privy to that knowledge either) and preventing him from telling the other male his whole story. Or of their closeness that only seemed to grow with every passing day, even if he thought they couldn’t get any closer.

And, if Srekhi was forced to remain in Hyrule… if he had to wait five years to be able to visit his friend and have that closeness they shared on a daily basis… he could not stand that. Srekhi was an integral part of his life now…

And, yet as long as he stayed here, he was in danger of discovery.

“I haven’t… decided one way or the other of just what I’m going to do.” He said and looked up. “It’s kinda been discussed between the two of us before, but I… really don’t have any aspirations of the sort?” He sighed. “I don’t have any desire to be anything. Normal maybe, but I’ve always wished that. I could care less what I do. So… there’s nothing there that’s keeping me here or taking me elsewhere.”

Kajiit sighed softly. He could probably read his insinuation towards Srekhi. “I want you to be careful Lyrkiel, okay?”

Always… Kajiit was so adamant about his safety. That was yet another thing on his mind. Just why was he?

“I wouldn’t want… something to happen when I’m not around.”

Something? That was the most information that Kajiit had ever said about the topic since he had gone off with Iarma the day they arrived in Hyrule.

“You know I cannot say much but… there is the potential for something to happen if anybody discovers anything about you Lyrkiel. More so than we have already discussed.”

More danger?

He supposed he should have seen this coming, but why that was, he didn’t know. Just what could be more dangerous? And just what did it have to do with Kajiit’s abilities?

He sighed and nodded. “I will Kajiit.”

.+++.

He loved hearing Srekhi laugh. He was always so cheerful after a session with Kajiit. After helping him with something. After practicing abilities.

(He had to admit it made him slightly jealous. That he wanted to be the one who had made the other feel as if he was on clouds. That he was the one that made the other act this way. That it was his actions that did this. At the very least he was the one who made this possible…)

There just was something about the air that exuded from his friend after those lessons… the very way he almost seemed to sparkle.

(It was a vast contrast to the boy who had been becoming resigned to his fate. Why couldn’t Iarma see this? Why couldn’t she see that this was what made him happy? That he excelled at it in a way that he never did with fighting?)

He wanted Srekhi to stay this way.

(Perhaps it was because she had no other option available to her. That she had poured all of her efforts into training Srekhi, and they were running out of time. Iarma was not young anymore…)

But Srekhi… He didn’t want to see that distraught look in his eyes. He didn’t want to see that sparkle squashed. Wasn’t this what he fought so hard for? Wasn’t happiness the reason he risked his life?

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t. Just like it wasn’t fair that danger followed him wherever he went. Just like it wasn’t fair that he couldn’t tell Srekhi things… just like… just like…

(But what about….)

He bit his lip. He was hesitant about it. Just thinking it was dangerous. But something had to be done, and soon…

It was worth considering… Even if it meant that he had to do something about it. Even if it meant he had to make even more sacrifices to keep the other male smiling and laughing and sparkling.

Srekhi was worth it.

[league-of-light]

Platonic Rankings - Week 7

Dyl - We're about half way through, the league is actually in an interesting spot right now. 4 playoff spots seem pretty well established, barring injury, but the other two are completely up for grabs in the Slanderers and Content divisions. That Points For column is becoming increasingly important, especially in the Slanderers division. We'll need to keep an eye on that moving forward. 

Will - Hi everyone.  This week, we decided to really stoop down and acknowledge the dumbest content we’ve ever heard, and the rankings will be correlated with a platonic relationship.  In case you’ve been MIA from the chat, Phil has recently entered a fake relationship with a girl.  They can’t date because of work, but are telling people at work they are dating.  It’s actual lunacy at it’s finest, and typical Phil.  I felt great about this when we first started doing it, but now Phil thinks his situation is “content”, so I was hesitant to go through with it.  So before we get started I’d like to make one thing clear: stop intentionally doing stupid shit “for content”, the organic nature of it is enjoyable, but when you force the story it becomes painfully unfunny and a pathetic cry for attention.  With that being said, let’s hop in.

12. Team Calm Down Will (2-4, last week #11)

Arielle is shockingly up to #11 in the GM power rankings after yesterday, but her team falls- to #12. The injuries have just clearly been too much. This team has scored about 10 points fewer per week than any other team, and with Jameis banged up and Dion Lewis (heart eye emoji) taking carries from Gillislee. I hope Arielle is at least having a nice vacation, because she'll be coming back in a rough spot.

Harry and Hermione - Honestly, I’m not sure Arielle is even going to read this.  It’s a last minute switchup because I needed one more here, and I was a little mean to her earlier this weekend.  At the very least I figured I could give her the comparison of Harry and Hermione.  Hopefully you aren’t one of those Harry and Hermione shippers, because they shouldn’t be together.  They work best as friends, and I happen to like Ron and Hermione together.  Anywho, enjoy London, too bad you are a couple weeks late on Bortles being there, but I guess it’s better for Lewis that way. 

11. Caddyshack Name Incoming (1-5, last week #8)

Whatever playoff hopes remained for this team were shattered along with Aaron Rodgers clavicle.  They still have a shot at pulling things together if Zeke stays active, but at this point, who knows if that will happen. They need to find a way to pry Cam, Big Ben, Brees when Luck returns, or Rivers from somebody's bench. (UPDATE: This happened but I'm lazy)

Batman and Joker - The most romantic platonic relationship out there.  These two NEED each other, just like Bower’s team needs Ezekiel Elliott Aaron Rodgers Ezekiel Elliott Mike Evans.  The romantic tension between the two is palpable, but there actually might be too much sexual chemistry/tension for them to crack the top 10.  Don’t believe us? Just look up “joker and batman fanfic”, (or ask Dylan if you can read his fanfic) but before you do so make sure you turn the lights down low, light a couple candles, and wear your sexiest batnipple suit to really set the right mood. These two are destined to battle until the end of time, just like Ezekiel Elliott and the NFL.  My condolences Bowers. A note from Dylan - For all of you thinking that these two don’t belong here, we all know that most furries are gay, or trans, or whatever @Bryan. Batman dresses like a bat and always does bat thing, and Joker is always hanging out with a man dressed like a bat, a woman dressed like cat, and a bunch and other animal things. They're furries. And let's be real, clowns are probably all gay too. The point: they could have realistically been banging, and they weren't. Except in my fanfic. 

10. Chicken Winnigish (2-4, last week #9) 

The former Geoffreys continue free falling (RIP Chris Cornell) down the power rankings. They have gone back to their losing ways, and at thinking are the only team that we'd say truly has no chance of making the playoffs. But we do think they could play a spoiler or be a threat in the loser's bracket if they could figure our how to set a decent lineup. They have simply handed their opponents 2 or 3 games at this point. 

Eggsy and Roxy - DID WE JUST DROP A KINGSMEN REFERENCE IN THE POWER RANKINGS?! LET’S GOOOOOOOO BABY, KINGSMAN HYPE.  JUST KNOW RECEIVING THIS PAIR IS JUST ABOUT THE HIGHEST HONOR I COULD BESTOW UPON A TEAM. THESE TWO SHOULD BE AT #1, CAUSE KINGSMAN IS #1.  EGGSY AND ROXY DO BADASS THINGS AND YET THE BADDEST THING THEY DO IS KEEP IT PLATONIC.  THEY COULD EASILY GO ALL MR. AND MRS. SMITH ON US AND HAVE A COOL FIGHT/LOVEMAKING SCENE, BUT THEY DON’T NEED THAT.  THEY KINGSMAN, AND A KINGSMAN IS ALWAYS PLATONIC. OXFORDS NOT BROGUES. EVAN HASN’T SEEN KINGSMEN, BUT THAT’S FINE. THIS IS A DOPE RANKING EVAN.

9. The Memes of Production  (2-4, last week #12)

Thanks to a friendly division and conference, and a miraculous win this past week, this team is in shockingly good position to make the playoffs. We don't love the decision to trade Keenan Allen over TY, or two invest in a 3rd QB, but they at least upgraded their starting lineup and won't have as much strength wasting away on the bench. They could be a sleeper if their Colts obsession doesn't get in the way.

Mr. PeanutButter and Todd Chavez - On paper this platonic pair seems a little odd.  However, on paper Andy’s team also currently seems odd.  A anthropomorphic dog and an asexual don’t seem like a match made in heaven, but then a cargo ship filled with pasta wrecks off the coast of L.A., endangering the underwater Pacific Ocean City, and an anthropomorphic dog and an asexual save the day with their crates of spaghetti strainers. Just when you thought the spaghetti strainers were useless, they proved their worth, just like when Jack Doyle caught that final pass to give Andy his second win on the season.  Keep an eye on this homogender interspecies platonic pair, they’re bound to do big and bright things, like adopt a dog together.  Or maybe they’ll just go to Dave n Busters and win a Squirtle and pretend the stuffed animal is a dog. Close enough, right?  Hopefully the Keenan Allen for Jay Ajayi swap will be good enough for Andy’s team too.

8. Confused Pandas (2-4, last week #7)

This is just sad. I miss Odell Beckham. But he's gone. This team still has a decent shot st sneaking into the playoffs, but they need a healthy Derek Carr, and it's not clear how the Rodgers injury impacts Ty Montgomery.

Randall and Ms. Finster - If we’re making a list to mock Phil, you had to expect the Randall Weems reference. In case it’s been awhile let me remind you.  Ms. Finster is the authoritarian dictator of Third Street School, and Randall is her rat-faced snitch.  In the Recess Movie, Randall even goes to Ms. Finster’s house to deliver her a report .  If their relationship wasn’t so platonic there would be concerns regarding the predatory nature, but it’s pure business between the two. Ironically, the systemic abuse of power from Ms. Finster is reminiscent of Phil’s abuse of power in his platonic relationship with Katie.  I feel a lawsuit is looming, and when the investigators come, I will point them in the direction of this blog (just think about those increased pageviews, hell yeah!) I apologize to Samantha for mentioning Phil twice in your write up, but it was such low hanging fruit.  The apples were prime for the platonic picking.

7. Freaky Frogadier (2-4, last week #10) 

Arguably the best team of the 2-4 bunch, and even stronger after making their most recent trade. But because of their division, it doesn't really matter. They'll need Primo Content to drop a couple of games; otherwise, even Breesus can't keep them out of the losers bracket.

Mary and Bert - Hate to break it to ya kiddos, but Mary and Bert were as platonic as they come.  Despite the obvious sexual chemistry between Dick Van Dyke (lol he said dick) and Julie Andrews, there was nothing more here than two friends who like to dance with penguins and go on merry-go-rounds.  In case you don’t believe me, they explicitly discuss their platonic relationship while walking through the park.  Mary tells Bert he’s an 8/13 (the best possible ranking there is, higher than a 10/10) but also notes he’s never tried any funny business below the belt with her. Furthermore to support the claim of platonichood, there are numerous fan theories that speculate Mary is an ageless demigod who was once Bert’s nanny. Anywho, back to fantasy football.  Dylan’s team looked great this week, about as good as Dick looked in that striped suit (yowza) and that helps them step up in the rankings.

6. Phil Awoke My Sexuality 

Ever since this team's name changed, it's been all down hill. What once looked like a promising team is mired in a pit of mediocrity. They have more points than the other teams in their conference, so they still have a good shot at the playoffs. But, as we've been asking for weeks, why is Cam Newton being wasted on their bench?

Leslie and Ron - I know it feels low for them, but remember this pair had a three-year platonic feud that almost ruined their friendship. Even despite that, their bond is still strong enough to keep them high up in the Platonic Power Couple Rankings.  I mean look, Buzzfeed even did a stupid list about Ron and Leslie, so you know that’s some legit friendship.Michael Schur summed it up best (because everything Michael Schur does is the best) - “I know there are people who are Leslie and Ron ‘shippers, as they say, but their relationship is so great as platonic friends without any hint of any interest in each other. . .We will never do that.”  Harnsowl, heed the cautionary tale of Ron and Leslie’s feud.  Friendship is stronger than the hurricane of drama. Start Cam Newton with confidence, because next thing you know you’re looking at another Morning Star incident and you’ve lost the only other person who appreciates Lil Sebastian as much as you do.  I really hope you watch Parks and Rec, otherwise this was wasted and Dylan, Andy, and possibly Carla (Nico’s girlfriend who I know watches Parks n Rec, although Nico probably keeps her as far away from this idiocy as possible) will be the only ones who appreciate the reference.

5. Walsh Me Nae Nae (3-3, last week #4)

After am electric start, this team has been quieter than, well, Walsh. They have a rough week coming up, and it's against a tough opponent. They could soon plummet down these rankings.

Will and Grace - The OG Platonic Pair.  Honestly, might be the closest thing to Phil and Katie’s actual situation, so you should take some pride in this rank.  I’ll be honest I don’t know much about Will and Grace (fitting for you Walshy) other than it was really good at one point, died, and has now come back with mixed reviews.  That sounds pretty similar to Walsh’s team situation.  They’ve got some of the classic big name players, his team died off in the power rankings for a little bit, and now they’re back into the fold with mixed results.  The reboot could be a hit if it avoids alienating too much of it’s crowd with political humor, and Walsh’s team could be a hit if it avoids making terrible lineup decisions such as ever considering benching Chris Thompson again.  Watch out for this bearded couple as they could make some big moves in the pumpkin patch waiver wire through the coming weeks

4. Primo Content (4-2, last week #2)

lol (Dylan didn’t even write anything, and tbh I just had to put some text here for formatting purposes).

3. (Whatever Jason's team is) (5-1, last week #5)

I can't keep punishing this team for having weak opponents. Ask any racer. Any real racer. Winning's winning. 

Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy -  When you make a TV show that stars a guy and gal, there audience is inherently invested in whether or not the main characters will get romantic. Everyone in the TV biz knows this, which is why the most popular series hinge on “will they?/won’t they?” storylines at some point (ahem, Friends).  But not Liz and Jack.  Those two understand and respect boundaries (if you haven’t watched the show, just know this is a very sarcastic joke).  I mean hell, they even go so far as to get platonically married at some point. (Spoilers, idc, fight me).  Jason is finally deserving of a top 3 spot in the power rankings, and the Liz Lemon Jack Donaghy Platonic Power Couple couldn’t be a more fitting welcome.

2. Watch Me Not TV (5-1, last week #3)

Team Escotto has a controversial no man starting lineup this week, but I still like their chances. That's how good they've been. They're strong everywhere, they're deep everywhere. Their biggest flaw is being in the same division as the next team.

Clarissa and Sam (from Clarissa Explains It All) -Now I know what you’re thinking, “But Will, they’re not platonic!” And let me stop you right there.  I will concede that Clarissa and Sam do try to go out in one episode and even share a kiss, but they're immediately weirded out by the situatiod and decide they work better as platonic friends.  That’s the ultimate step in platonic-hood, which is why I feel it’s worthy of a top 3 spot.  After being platonic for years, Clarissa and Sam try to take the plunge into a romantic relationship, and then immediately go back to platonicdom and carry on as if nothing changed.  The platonic power of friendship was strong enough to beat teenage hormones, just like Nico’s team was strong enough to fend off Bower’s Aaron&Zeke-less squad (but let’s be honest, that didn’t take much power) 

1. Blastoise Brigade (6-0, last week #1)

Dylan’s only comment about my team: 

My platonic ranking:

Jimmy and Sarah - The greatest of all time.  I ask you to find me a better platonic twosome than these kids.  I’ll wait, because you can’t.  It might be because Jimmy is the most beta kid on the planet, with his propensity to cry, his brittle body, and permanent night-braced face.  Or it could be due to Sarah’s bossy, spoiled, and all around horrible attitude.  Regardless, it doesn’t matter.  These two are platonic as can be, and I’ll be damned if they ever cross the line.  In fact, Ed, Edd, n Eddy actually goes out of its way to reassure us that it will NEVER happen between them.  In “Take This Ed and Shove It,” we flash forward 90 years into the future where old Jimmy and Sarah are still platonic pals, knitting in some rocking chairs.  Phil, you and Katie should aspire to be like Jimmy and Sarah, just like you should aspire to have a fantasy football team like mine.

[alpha-prime-elite-blog]

Alpha Prime Elite - It accelerates the assembly of sex hormone

Here we have it on high authority that Alpha Prime Elite is that way and what you want is a lot of clear thinking. Fundamentally, Alpha Prime Elite can sometimes feel more complicated than it really is. Do you think irony is intended here? From this installment it is possible to see that Alpha Prime Elite is the way forward.

I found Alpha Prime Elite at a bargain price. It's only eye candy.

We went from rags to riches. There you have it, that is prosaic. I have enormous ability. OK, those are the first apprentices you should be concerned in reference to Alpha Prime Elite but I'm going to get profane here.

In my experience, the days of Alpha Prime Elite are over. It's as bright as day so this is a lost opportunity. It is going to be a discussion of Alpha Prime Elite, however you might have to give Alpha Prime Elite some thought as well so I have shed some new light on this whole Alpha Prime Elite business. Alpha Prime Elite is a total winner. It is an essential occasion. Start by doing this in the standard way. I had to bargain over the price with them. This actually works well you are going for Alpha Prime Elite.

Every morning is a beginning with Alpha Prime Elite. You can't do that without paying high fees. We'll see if we can minimize the difficulties. That was a wicked performance. This might send me over the edge. I've hit rock bottom. Is there such a Alpha Prime Elite available? You should understand me at this time and that is one of the most urgent conundrums today. They said this is an one time thing. A small number learners are so sensitive. One place to locate Alpha Prime Elite is on the web. Alpha Prime Elite has an interesting past.

It doesn't mean that only because you're using Alpha Prime Elite that you could stop. It is hard and the consultants here up to now know this. This is like a bear to honey. I'm being completely honest regarding Alpha Prime Elite. With my last article as it regards to Alpha Prime Elite we got to go a bit post-modern. There are no slants in that train of thought. Well known errors like that can reflect badly on Alpha Prime Elite. It is an once in a lifetime thing. Perhaps you shouldn't give up just yet. I even go as far as to say that I personally don't like Alpha Prime Elite.

It is debilitating to think that with reference to Alpha Prime Elite. That is a long standing situation. Alpha Prime Elite is the largest of all Alpha Prime Elite. This post will tell you where to get a Alpha Prime Elite. I'm looking to settle a score.

Help! If you ask any avid collector of Alpha Prime Elite as that concerns this bordering on Alpha Prime Elite the chances are they'll be able to speak germane to Alpha Prime Elite for several minutes. Alpha Prime Elite is the state of the art in this area.

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