#well I mean. in the flashback he did quit over Nina

[fma03envy]

The plot thickens...

The thing here is, I'm almost certain that wasn't what Alphonse was going to say (I assume he wanted to say something about how trying to bring back Trisha wasn't comparable to this at all... I'm reminded of 12-year-old Ed with Tucker)

But a not unfair point is being made in the context of the military/Ed and Al's involvement with it. Thus far, the Elric brothers haven't liked the military, but as such have seemed to feel that their being tied to it (and appropriately disliked) for each other's sakes is a necessary sacrifice/a mature choice (as I've said before, they seem to view maturity/kindness as equivalent to ignoring your own wants or needs for someone else).

But I think when Lust equates sacrificing the prisoners with Ed being a state alchemist (and Al having wanted to be one), it puts things in a bit more perspective for Ed? Because Ed + Al are far from the only people at risk here... It's not just about their lives, it's about the people who the military is actually targeting-in this specific instance, these prisoners

So Ed refusing to follow orders with this in mind (even when Al was on the line) was probably the primary reason why Scar chose to help him escape (though ofc Scar seeing himself and his brother in Ed and Al was also part of it)

[catastrfy]

here is some odd stuff that i think may support loni's body swap theory let's start here. nina and maggie confront crowley, and his reaction? "but you were crying"

except it was aziraphale who saw maggie crying. he told crowley she had a "pash" for nina; would he have mentioned the crying? i don't know. but it's ODD.

but there's also this way crowley says "bla bla bla" to nina and maggie -- it's *ridiculously* overdone when compared to when he says it to muriel

and then later when later, the metatron asks crowley if he knows him and says he was a big floating giant head. except when crowley last see the metatron?

when he was in heaven with muriel, in the recording, as one of several enlarged heads on screens.

but somebody else DID see the metatron last as a big floating giant head just a few years ago....

well. ift hey swapped WHEN was it? i LOVE loni's fabulous theory where they posit at "no nightingales but could it have been earlier than that? so i've watched and watched and watched the last episode, and i'm thinking maybe it was when gabriel was having his flashbacks.

i am pretty certain the scene before this was them as themselves. here they are before beez gets the fly and gives it to jim. crowley's got his usual mobile face with his forehead creases and expressive mouth... and he talks to beelzebub the way he had earlier (vs how aziraphale had when he was facing hell in s1e6)

this is the first shot of them after gabriel's flashbacks conclude. look at crowley's face.

it stays blank for the time that gabriel recognises aziraphale, sees the angels, says "eesh" at the demons, brightens when he sees beez, and when beez tells him aziraphale took better care of him than they could've done.

we've seen his face with the closed lips and smoother forehead before:

also, this is subtle and it's entirely possible it only means that this scene was shot over multiple days, but check out the right edge (viewer's right, a's left) of aziraphale's bowtie in each picture here. he's been standing fairly still, yet his tie isn't tied quite the same before the fly and after. you can see an extra stripe at the far right edge in the pic that says "true love" the collar of his jacket has moved; more of the left (our left) side of his waistcoat is visible in the 2nd pic. and again, yes, this absolutely could be different takes, probably not immediately after one another if the bowtie had to be retied. except... didn't they use pre-tied bowties this time around? is this an "everything is meant"???

i had to look at crowley too, of course. pre-fly, immediate post fly, starting to look normal, then aziraphale gives him a shake and he looks up. there ARE subtle changes. the collar button of his shirt changes position and so does his neck noodle. it's hard to see his tattoo until he's outside (although it's clear before beez gives jim the fly), but that may just be lighting. or maybe it takes a moment to settle in? I DONT KNOW (also, beez keeps looking over at aziraphale & crowley and i want to know WHY/what they see!) and oh, have you noticed that the top of aziraphale's right ear SWIVELS when michael is threatening him with being erased fromthe book of life? it starts at teh end of 33:50 and goes into 33:51. and about 15 frames later, the metatron appears at the door. i don't have a way to make it into a gif, but here's the first and last of his ear moving. it's not him turning his head, because that wisp of hair doesn't move, nor does his lobe. just... the top. o.O

and ooho, just today i noticed THIS: here's aziraphale's bowtie when he's telling crowley about the offer to go to heaven. LOOK AT THE TARTAN ON HIS TIE.

previously looking at the tie as the viewer, the vertical stripe pattern of dark stripes is thin dark line, narrow gap, group of medium/dark/medium lines, widish gap, repeat. here it's med/dark/med lines, narrow gap, thin dark line, wider gap, repeat. the fabric is upside down from earlier. (and yes, again, this could be an error by costuming/continuity. but i'm hoping it means something bc everything is meant) if you haven't read loni's theory, go check it out!

[theskoomacat]

this was..... the entire season? he REALLY wants to continue THIS? a cannon is too soft of a punishment

like okay i will write down what i think here so i stop cluttering your dash with this nonsense.

edit: i have listened and i have learned. i refuse to defend the outright bad pieces of writing, but i am overall more chill about the situation

in the beginning it was... eh. you could see there was little to no actual plot, so they interspersed with. very long flashbacks. which is not bad per se but they provided little to no support for the main plot. most of the things we were shown were what we'd already known about the guys. i think in this regard the graverobbing flashback was the most novel, but i don't think Azi getting a lesson on the lesser of two evils had any impact on the plot later. coming back to the main plot, they presented it as some kind of mystery, but in actuality there was no mystery solving, it was just Azi bumbling around and then Crowley getting all the info directly in heaven. the places Azi went to actually held No clues and were just. places that G&B have visited together, that's it. kinda disappointing

speaking of G&B. excuse me..... what the actual fuck???? this was extremely out of the blue and unpleasant, and if they aimed to parallel A/C, it didn't work. and so Now they don't want an apocalypse?? what was the entire s1 about then? also the amount of times i went "these stuck-up angels would never do that" over the course of s2 is staggering, I feel like they've forgotten that not all of them are Azi. anyway...

speaking of parallels to A/C - Maggie and Nina! it was stupidly obvious that they were a device to hurry on A/C, and the characters themselves were 2.5-dimensional enough to not amount to much more than that. they just weren't written well imo. and it's funny that the story started off with the guys wanting to bring them together to cover their tracks (because THE POWER OF LOVE makes their miracles too strong~~), but like 2/3 of the season in it became irrelevant because everyone knew they were hiding Gabriel anyway! so they were just... there. playing the role of matchmakers🙄

speaking of A/C!!! i found it extremely funny that while s1 had a lot of charged romantically-tinted moments, they were mostly absent in 2 - their dynamic has evolved into that of an old married couple. and i realized that i was absolutely fine with it - in the absense of n*il constantly mocking them it stopped being a big problem to me. i mean, i don't have any problems with the kiss itself, it was cute and only a bit spoiled by the surrounding bad writing. it's just that its entire concept was marred by the wank and people living in the acorn house in n*il's ass.

i'm sorry, can we talk about how over the entire season Azi has had his moments of doubt in heaven, then he learned that freaking GABRIEL quit heaven to avoid carrying on with the apocalypse - and then Azi decided that waltzing back in there was an idea good enough to risk losing Crowley? that's just bullshit🤷‍♀️

um. i am probably missing something, but whatever. overall to me this season's vibe felt like a slightly weird D*ctor Wh* special. Michael and David absolutrly carried everything. it did have its funny moments, but overall i think it has been a disservice to the original work. if i am going to be honest, it seemed like it was made not to expand on it, but to showcase how big of an ally to everyone n*il is. well, I am NOT his ally and so i am beating him with hammers

[hakureiryuu]

part 1

episode 2, and I just noticed the episode titles that call the flashback b plots minisodes. what's that about?

not-quite-a-liveblog ahoy!

crowley looks so effing weird in this outfit?? maybe it's the glasses, they're so anachronistic, almost steampunk.

I actually thought he was talking about isaac or something here lol

birds flying away after crowley firebombs the goats lmao

saying that eve was the first human birth implies that she is adam's daughter???? which I guess makes about as much sense as a single breeding pair populating the planet, we all know how much inbreeding that would take.

(side note: I remember this Flood adaptation movie that had emma watson in it. noah wanted to kill off all the humans and just let the animals survive. he said while watson was pregnant that if her twin kids were boys, they could live and humans would just die out. but if they were girls who could grow up to be mothers, he would kill them. and I'm like, implying that their father/grandfather/uncles would be the ones impregnating them? nevermind the incest, what about the age gap??? but anyway)

ofc when gabriel claimed to be an expert in human birth I immediately thought of mary, but that hasn't happened yet. I mean it makes sense that this idiot would think eve counts, but couldn't he at least make it to cain??

there's something to be said about this story and elspeth's story connecting virtue with economic status. aziraphale appears to think about that when it's pointed out, but takes entirely the wrong lesson from it, as we see with elspeth later.

"but no one would ever find them- actually that's a great idea" it reads as aziraphale not wanting to deal with gabe's bullshit rather than agreeing with it, as though he hasn't done variations of the same thing for years. I still laughed tho XD

oh hey, "every day" was gonna be the original opening song for the first season! what a cute reference that will likely have little to no further relevance!

this was the point where I was like "why the hell is crowley just hanging out in that same alleyway all the time? wait a goddamn minute, did shax take his apartment?!"

it's so cute how maggie takes aziraphale's social cluelessness in stride.

the jukebox at the resurrectionist is just like the bently turning cds into queen, what a cute reference that will likely have little to no further relevance!

trumpets sound, archangels approach.

saraquel miraclling a ramp lmao

gabriel's attempts at flyswatting never work!!!!!!

I'm assuming all those newspaper clipping say "every day" etc? for some reason? someone correct me if I'm wrong, I would really love to know.

also why is he DRAWING gabriel? later he just needed it to show someone, but why not take a picture? I'm sure you have an ancient camera where you have to hide under a blanket lying around somewhere.

shooing motion miracle at the pub, hahaha

I was a good deal sus of this plan to ship nina and maggie when nina already has a partner, but that was before I realized lindsay is a piece of shit. still, it's not like they know that either! ineffable homewreckers, they are.

everyone's talked about how crowley's first thought re: romance is taking shelter from the rain 😊

but my asexual brain is somehow always teetering over the gutter, so when he said "get them wet" I blinked a bit XDD

JANE AUSTIN WHO???!?

"you think you know someone..." "she had balls!" "what?"

actually it wasn't a what, it was a well. as in "well that's not relevant to my point" like, sir, did you know this already? in what context??

meanwhile back in job's era they're having a bit of a tense discussion. this is explicitly after the flood so it makes sense that aziraphale absolutely does not believe that crowley wants to kill some kids. I wonder why lying is such a big theme in this episode? I haven't been able to really boil it down yet.

aziraphale's smug grin really breaks the tension though XDD

jemimah is adorable. the others are the product of rich parents.

these two are playing chicken with children's lives, but hey, it's about the trust 😌

"can I be a blue one?" I love her

aziraphale discovering food is so deliberately gross, why this?

so many complicated feelings from both of them about god actually talking to someone.

god's pronouns are she/they, approved.

crowley says see you in hell but the next day when sitis is about to flip god off he says actually let's walk this all back pfffft

"reach into his robes... no, higher."

when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, they share a very special hug...

aziraphale stating flat out with no equivocation that gabriel was awful is such a huge step forward for him 😊

(while pausing to write this I noticed that john hamm is credited simply as jim, love that for him)

this is the 2nd time aziraphale has insisted "our" in the face of crowley's "my" I'm sobbing

good omens inside good omens, gomensception

aziraphale really took that "see you in hell" seriously though huh.

the gentle, simple way he says "I don't think you'd like it" hurts me and heals me.

"you're not like me because you're a demon, you're like me because you don't want to toe the party line." y'know lining up their meetings - the wall of eden, the ark, and now this - must paint a very interesting picture of aziraphale for crowley. we always thought that crowley fell for this angel nigh immediately and spent the rest of time orbiting him. now I think aziraphale fell into crowley's orbit, and crowley gradually learned more and more contradictory (and therefore interesting) things about him. like the shelter of the wing, it's all reversed in this season.

[lehdenlaulu]

Okay, SaB S2. I'm groggy as hell and only have time for a couple of episodes, but here we go. Ep1.

Alina looks fantastic but I have to wonder where'd she find a curling iron in the middle of the sea. Unless the ship had a convenient tailor on board.

Aw, they cute.

I'm still impressed with the visual worldbuilding and production design so far.

Yeah, the Crows' brooding cello 'theme' still makes me immediately think of 'Vodka Inferno' by Diablo Swing Orchestra, if the overall vibe of the show didn't already.

Kaz backstory here we gooo.

Wow, very well-funded police force if they can afford purple uniforms. Assuming dyes work the same way they do in our world. Which I do, since that kind of thing has to be a conscious design choice.

Aw baby.

Hi Nikolai. I don't know you yet but I know who you are.

Huh, I thought Kaz had known all along and Jesper knew he knew. But I guess they needed to spell it out for the audience.

Damn, Mal. I'm not sure if that's just fancy editing or if we're supposed to believe he's Special somehow. (I know he's supposed to be but not like that I guess??)

And these would be the twins, yes? Hello there.

And here's the dude with the Finnish name and the Scottish accent. Hah.

And Wylan. Hi, Wylan!

Nina! Nice save, babe.

"Funny guns and angry hat." 😂 Perfect.

Poor Genya.

Nice acting from Dani on the 'love of my life'. The realization when she said that out loud.

Ep. 2

There's something about Nikolai I'm not buying. Maybe it's the acting, maybe the whole pirate angle is a little much and the balance of the vibes isn't quite right. Hmm. 🤔

Like, I get that the character is probably playing a part to a degree, but... yeah. Let's see how it unfolds.

Well done with the ship, though, it's actually properly cramped instead of absurdly spacious like in many films/shows.

I still really love the lighting of this show. Especially in comparison to so many other things recently.

I like that we're seeing Kirigan in human light as well, not just as the mustache-twirling villain cliché. The scenes with Genya are fascinating and disturbing. Great job Ben and Daisy.

Honestly I'm so glad they've aged these characters up. I would never believe they're teenagers. I mean, Wylan, maybe.

Huh, flashback or fantasy? I was under the impression they hadn't gotten to that part yet in the last season.

I wish the show had explained the amplifier thing a bit better, tbh. And did we even know about the Sea Whip and the Firebird last season, at all? And if she's been dreaming of them, shouldn't we have seen those dreams?

Ooh, an Alkemi! A cute one. Very... hmm. He might make a great Armand, actually.

Am I supposed to be feeling something between Alina and Nikolai? Because I'm not. At all.

And that would be a Tidemaker, I guess?

Well, that one definitely is one.

Wylan's acting a bit like jilted ex, which is weird and sort of funny. I suppose there's a reason.

Okay, no, everyone's apparently fighting like that now, not just Mal.

Ep. 3

Yeah, I doubt you'll take the Fold down in the third episode, my darling.

Okay, Nik, let's see if I buy you better now that the charade is over.

Aww babies.

Nadia! Hi! Wait, is that the same actress? I don't think it is.

Hi Zoya, good to see you.

Yeah, I thought it was something like that about the jilted ex behavior.

I guess Jesper is musiciansexual. 🤭

Kaz and Inej are better this season, I'm starting to buy it. Well, it helps that Kaz is starting to open up a bit, of course.

I love Nina and Inej, though. Inej needed someone like her around.

Well, everyone really is fighting like that, huh? It's getting sliiiightly unbelievable, but at least it looks awesome.

He's hot all bloody and disheveled I must say. 🤷‍♀️

Get it girl get it.

Listen, I love that Mal is supportive and they're very sweet but especially contrasting with the scene immediately after, I don't really care as much as the show probably wants me to. And that's not some shippy opinion, either, I don't really have a horse in this race.

Oh that's a very good shot of Kaz. Good job with the lighting and colors and blocking.

No, I honestly think Kaz is scarier than Kirigan.

Ooh, Tidemakers have green keftas? Yup, that's the one for me then.

Heh. I wrote this. Almost, anyway. Mine was slightly less creepy.

Well, that last scene felt familiar. Hah.

Okay, now some sleep, last four tomorrow night.

[1d-discourseoftheday]

Sat 9 Jan ‘21

LP Show Act 4, the Final show was today! Liam told us over and over it was gonna be a long event today but honestly it flew by? It was so good! The show opened right into an absolutely blistering 1D set and just kept going strong from there. The little commentary he had in the first part was to say again that he has a different understanding of the 1D songs then he did when younger and about how when he's doing those songs he gets flashbacks of being onstage with the band and where he'd be and stuff. Only You & I gets a different treatment, with a cute title card intro about the hard year, thanking us for providing a livlihood for his team by supporting the shows through the past year and saying “we can do this together... You & I”, plus it has footage of fans lip syncing along spliced in during the chorus. The highlight there though is when Liam hit that high note, and thanks to his recent comments I think we all know he was thinking about Zayn when he did; way TMI but that's Liam for ya! ANYWAY there's an intermission and then the hits just keep on coming, including Nina Nesbitt coming out to do Rita Ora's part in For You, plus an interlude where they chat and play some of her tiktok content (but with a lot of bleeping-- it WAS a family show!)

I have been a big fan of his chaotic format in the previous streams, with all the interaction and mixing it up with different parts- I feel like it both played to his strengths and was perfect for 2020 and I wouldn't have traded it- but this was very cool for the big last show and it felt like... more serious? It was straightfowardly just Liam and the music and the songs- TBH it felt very influenced by Louis' stream, with the format and also the lighting and set design. The sets were prerecorded, but aren't really edited; he's playing the songs live and back to back, just not TODAY. Plus with the prerecorded version we got Liam joining in with us (and his sisters) to also post about how great the songs were as they aired and interact with fans a bunch, so that was lovely. Anyway it's awesome to get these versions of Liam's songs (I would say the best ever version of some of his solo stuff honestly), especially as it seems like this will be the last time we hear some of them as he moves on to new things- as he says at the end of the stream, “I'm gonna take a little bit of time out right now but next time you see me I'll be singing some brand new music.” Fans hoping for new music TODAY were disappointed but he's gotta go write the songs first! Something to look forward to! He finishes it all on one last high note: “Thank you. Here's to the future.”

But that's not quite all the Liam! Before the big event, he did a live from home, with Maya and Winston the puppy present. He upset some by saying that Zayn wasn't in the 1D chat “because he isn't in 1D”, I mean...yes? He quit? It is what it is guys. Well, I'll also upset others by saying that Maya was very funny! I agree with Liam that her answer to his question- what kind of trend he should start about fans saying looks like Jesus- being “LPhasRisen” is, in fact, hilarious, and I also agree with Liam about Zayn's videos-- “he goes to town on the videos doesn't he?” (and that Vibez is lovely.)

Zayn meanwhile is doing Vibez promo and it continues to be a TREAT. Today we got late night instagram “answering” questions over a backdrop of Homer Simpson decked out in Nobody Is Listening gear, GOOD TIMES. Do you ride a horse often, “eh what?!” do you celebrate, “in general? or for specific reasons?” fave song “the next single” tell us more about it? “yeah it's me ft me” but does he really love yoga or was that just snark? The world may never know.

Also online, Louis! He tweeted during Liam's show “Hope everyone's doing alright! Stay safe”- but was he watching the stream? “Of course!!”

And the JHOlivia love triangle tabloid soap opera continues-- if they're trying to get people talking about Jason Sudeikis it's working (I had to bite the bullet and look up how to spell his name! It's that bad!); unfortunately for him despite the tabloid reports everywhere you look that suggest that he was the victim of H and O 'becoming close' before he and Olivia's breakup (which is weird given that until like yesterday we'd been told for months that O and J broke up at the beginning of 2020 and he never saw fit to correct that), what rumors are saying is that in fact he really did cheat (as opposed to her pretend thing). So why would Olivia sign on to this charade to make him look good at her expense? Who knows man but if the players' priority is publicity there's no denying that's working.

Anyway Niall posted from his bike ride, and Trump's deletion meant everyone went up a notch in the twitter “most followed” rankings, with Niall having most out of our five and the only account coming between Harry and Louis being Real Madrid (football club) which is all right I guess, I feel like they're probably good with that.

[bamon4bamily]

TVD 9x15 - Dream a little dream... (Part 1) Enjoy! =)

Cut to – the secret facility, around 3am. All the guests from the Thanksgiving dinner party have left. Augustus and Darius are having a little one on one before heading to bed.

 AUGUSTUS: So, how does it feel to be back from La-la land? You really had us worried for a while. Thought you were a goner.

DARIUS: How long was I out for?

AUGUSTUS: Almost a month… You’re lucky Veritas was able to use his psychic juju to break the illusion. I was about to give up.

DARIUS: Given our history, I’m surprised you even tried.

AUGUSTUS: Well, bygones. And, Pietro can be very persuasive, he insisted we get you back.

DARIUS: I’ll have to thank him for that. Listen, I know we don’t always see eye to eye, and I know I made some mistakes, but we need to find a way to get over our differences, and see this through to the end.

AUGUSTUS: I agree. That’s the only reason I accepted to do this. Also, I have to admit, you do have some irreplaceable talents.

DARIUS: As do you, from what I’ve been seeing… I could have sworn I saw Tamara at the dinner party. What are you, making clones now?

AUGUSTUS: (Smirks) Oh no, clones are of no real use. And, unlike you, I don’t like to tamper with nature. What you saw was technology at its best.

DARIUS: So, like robots, basically?

AUGUSTUS: Not exactly; more like artificial intelligence. Specifically, it’s called ASI, an artificial intelligence superior to human intelligence or ability. The superhuman, as we like to call it in the geek community.

DARIUS: And they call me the crazy one.

AUGUSTUS: Don’t confuse using technology in our advantage with a god complex, and a bad case of fatal attraction. You really lost it, Darius; almost sabotaged the order’s plan to cater to your fantasies. We can’t have that happen again, so, I hope you understand, some adjustments had to be made.

DARIUS: What are you talking about?

AUGUSTUS: Let’s just say, you didn’t get that scar on your head by accident…

DARIUS: What did you do to me?

AUGUSTUS: Don’t worry, nothing drastic. All I did was install a type of control button, to put it in a way. Just to make sure you don’t go rogue on us again. Can’t blame us for including an insurance policy after the mess you made. (Yawns) Well, I think it’s time I call it a night.

DARIUS: Question, did that “tweak” of yours involve some sort of weird programming with the movie Sunset Boulevard?

AUGUSTUS: The fifties noir film?  

DARIUS: Yes.

AUGUSTUS: Well, I am a big fan, but no; that’s all you, pal. Anyway, I need my rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.

DARIUS: Sweet dreams…

AUGUSTUS: (Somewhat confused) Uhm… okay. Make sure you get some sleep (he leaves).

DARIUS: I will, eventually…  (Darius dozes off in a daydream sort of state; the song Wicked Game by Hula-Hifi, lingering in his mind).

Cut to – The Salvatore mansion. Damon and Bonnie’s room, around 3 am. Damon wakes up suddenly, sweating and breathing heavily. He turns to Bonnie, she’s not in the bed. He gets up, knocks on the bathroom door, no answer. He opens the door, she’s not inside. Vamps downstairs, finds her watching T.V in the family room.

 DAMON: Hey, Bon-Bon; what are you doing?

BONNIE: Couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake you, so…

DAMON: (Peeks to see what she is watching) Sunset Boulevard, love this movie.

BONNIE: Come, join me.

DAMON: (Vamps speeds to cuddle with her) You okay?

BONNIE: Fine, just a bad case of insomnia.

DAMON: Want some popcorn?

BONNIE: Is the answer ever no when it comes to that question?

DAMON: (Smirks, gets up) One order of large popcorn coming right up (gives her a peck on the lips, and vamps to the kitchen. Bonnie continues to watch the movie; at some point she begins to feel sleepy and dazed, almost immediately, she falls into a deep sleep).

 Cut to – 1950, Hollywood, California. The cast and crew, of what promises to be the next Oscar winning film, are getting ready for another day of shooting on set. The lead actress, a true Hollywood diva, is in her dressing room rehearsing some lines. The lead actor walks in the room, hands her a cup of coffee.

 KAT: Every day I tell you I hate that…

IAN: And every day I do it anyway.

KAT: Can you just get out, before I have security take you out.

IAN: Is that any way to treat your co-star?

KAT: The only reason you got this job is because your daddy is the head of the studio, you are a horrible actor.  

IAN: Kitty Kat, that hurts my feelings. Not everyone can sleep their way to the top, if you know what I mean… Shall we do the count? Joseph, Chris, Michael… Oh, and let’s not forget your recent one, my lovely brother, Paul… I told you, everyone knows about you two, or almost everyone… Aw, poor Candice! Anyway, you can drop the act now.

KAT: And, I told you, who I choose or don’t choose to sleep with, is none of your business, or hers. So, butt out.

IAN: You know, you are quite cute when you get mad (smirks).

KAT: I actually look cuter when I’m kicking someone’s ass; want to see?

IAN: (Wiggles is eyebrows) Ooh, you are on fire today!

Keep it up, maybe you will finally nail at least one scene. (The film director walks in). 

MATT: You two are up. And please, stop with the bickering, it’s getting very annoying. Be professional for Christ’s sake!  Come on, chop, chop! You are on in five (leaves).

KAT: How dare he speak to me that way! Does he know who I am?!

IAN: Apparently, he doesn’t care; ouch! (Hands her the coffee cup) Here, have some, looks like you are going to need it.  

KAT: Shut up… (grabs the cup reluctantly, and takes a sip. Another actress comes barging in, venting).

CANDICE: I swear if I have to do another scene with that incompetent fool, I’m quitting!

KAT: What did Chris do this time?

CANDICE: He can’t tell his left foot from his right one. How on earth did he get the part!

IAN: (Looking at Kat, teasing) Gees, I wonder how…

KAT: (Rolls her eyes, turns to Candice) Come on, he’s not that bad.

CANDICE: Please, you only say that because you slept with him. Not that I’m judging, he’s very hot, but he definitely can’t dance!

KAT: Well, he makes up for it in other areas (smirks)…

CANDICE: (Grins) Naughty, naughty… Anyway, where is Paul?!

IAN: Missing someone? Don’t worry, Blondie, he should be here soon, he’s just running late. Think you can handle a few minutes without him?

CANDICE: God, I hate you…

KAT: That makes two of us.

IAN: (Looking at Kat) You know there’s a fine line between love and hate (smirks).

KAT: In your dreams.

IAN: Every night, at least twice.

KAT: You are disgusting.

IAN: I know (winks. The Assistant Director walks in).  

STEVEN: Miss. Graham, Mr. Somerhalder, we are ready for you.

KAT: Let’s go.

Cut to – LAPD Headquarters. The Chief of Police is in his office, smoking a cigarette, looking at a photo of a victim who was found brutally murdered the night before. The victim, an aspiring actress who had just landed her first role, a minor part in a high-profile production.

This town… A concrete monument of decay. From the outside it might seem glamourous, with its movie stars and divas, but it’s nothing more than a sewer filled with rats. Nights reek of booze, gun powder, and flesh blood, masked with a cheap imitation of expensive perfume.

Days are no better. The only difference between the two is that during the day, it’s harder for the predators to hide, or so they think. In reality, the true gangsters hide at plain sight. They mock us, thinking they are always one step ahead, always above the law.

But not this time… not this time… (Caresses the victim’s photo, a tear scrolling down his cheek) My sweet Nina… who could have possibly done this to you? And why?

(The song “The Two Of Us” by Mark Isham, plays in the background, as the Detective has flashbacks of the woman and the horrendous murder scene; tears keep rolling down his cheeks).

Cut to – the film set. Kat and Ian are shooting one of their scenes.

 IAN: Don’t go with him… you belong here, with me.

KAT: Please, don’t say those words. You know I want nothing more, but I can’t stay… He is my husband.

IAN: And I am the man you love.

KAT: Always and forever; no matter how far.

IAN: (Kisses her passionately. As she begins to walk away and the rain begins to pour, he runs after her, turns her around) I’m sorry, but I won’t let you go (kisses her again, the song Godot - The Fragrance of Dark Coffee + Rainymood, starts to play. 

The raindrops continue to fall as they hold each other, probably for the last time…)

MATT: And, cut! Beautiful! Now that’s what I call cinema! We are making history people!

KAT: (Ian is still holding on to her). Didn’t you hear cut?!

IAN: No, must have bad hearing… (he smiles; she tries to resist, yet can’t help but smile herself).

MATT: Okay, everyone, let’s take 30 while we prep for the next scene.

KAT: (To Ian) Did you hear that? (Pushes him away) Now, shoo, skedaddle! (She walks away, he follows behind, teasing her).

STEVEN: Mr. Davis, there is a Detective here to see you.

MATT: What? Why?

STEVEN: I think it has something to do with that actress that didn’t show up on set today.

MATT: Which actress, Steven, there are plenty of them around here.

STEVEN: Nina.

MEET: Nina, who? Doesn’t ring a bell.

STEVE: She’s the actress that is playing Miss. Graham’s handmaiden.

MATT: Oh, yes, I think I remember. What about her?

STEVEN: I don’t know. Why don’t you talk to the Detective.

MATT: Fine. Send him my way.

ZACH: (Shows him his badge) Detective Zach Roerig, LAPD, can I ask you some questions?

MATT: Sure, just don’t take too long, we need to keep shooting while we still have the proper lighting.

ZACH: (Takes a picture of Nina out of his pocket and shows it to him) Do you know this woman?

MATT: Barely, she is just an extra with a very small part, we don’t interact. I only work with the stars, so my assistant might be able to give you more insight on her.

ZACH: I’ll talk to him, that’s for sure. But you are the one in charge of this production, correct?

MATT: I am the Director, so yes.

ZACH: Maybe you should pay more attention to your “not so important” cast members as well. Miss. Dobrev was found brutally murdered last night; just one block from here.

MATT: Oh, lord, that is terrible. What happened?

ZACH: Was I not clear? She was murdered, decapitated to be exact. And, we suspect the one responsible for this heinous crime, is part of this little film of yours.

MATT: That’s absurd! No one here would ever do such a thing!

ZACH: You’d be surprised what people are capable of, especially in a town like this. It ain’t all lights and glamour. This is an official investigation, so we are shutting this production down until we get some answers.

MATT: You can’t do that! We are on a schedule.

ZACH: Well, it looks like you’re going to have to make some changes. I need you to call in everyone in the cast and crew, and I mean everyone. No one leaves, until we clear them.

MATT: Do you have any idea who you’re talking to? I don’t take orders from anyone.

ZACH: You Hollywood types and your sense of entitlement. You are in for a reality check, no one is above the law. Here is a warrant to search the premises and question every single one of you. So, make yourself comfortable, we might be here for a while. I’ll need your office for questioning, while my squad processes the area. I take it you don’t mind. And, to prove I’m not all that bad, I’ll start with you. Lead the way.

Cut to – the Director’s office.

 SUSPECT # 1 – THE DIRECTOR

ZACH: For the record, state your full name.

MATT: Matthew W. Davis.

ZACH: How did you know the victim?

MATT: I told you, I didn’t. Apart from directing the few scenes she has been in, I have never talked to or interacted with her at all.

ZACH: What were your whereabouts last night, from 11pm to 2am?

MATT: I was here, filming. Went home around 3am.

ZACH: (Shows him a note that reads: You were great last night. Keep it up, and you might become a real movie star someday…). Do you know what this is?

MATT: (Looking nervous) Where did you find that?

ZACH: I’m the one that will be asking the questions. Is this your handwriting?

MATT: It is.

ZACH: Can you explain how, and why, this was found in the victim’s purse the night she was murdered?

MATT: I have no idea. That note wasn’t for her.

ZACH: Oh, really? Who was it for, then? And why do you reckon Miss. Dobrev had it with her?

MATT: I can’t tell you who it was for. And, I have absolutely no idea why that woman would have that note.

ZACH: Oh, come on, try harder.

MATT: This is ridiculous, I want my lawyer.

ZACH: You are in your right to request one, but that would only make you more suspicious. So, I would advise otherwise.

MATT: What do you want from me? I already told you everything I know.

ZACH: Who was the note for?

MATT: Okay, okay… it was for Candice.

ZACH: Doesn’t make much sense though, she’s already a movie star…

MATT: She is, but not a diva, like Miss. Graham. That’s what every woman in Hollywood wants. And I am the only one that can give that to them.

ZACH: That’s a lot of power to be in one man’s hands.

MATT: I worked hard for it, trust me.

ZACH: Sure you did… Okay, I’m gonna let you go for now, while we verify your alibi; but trust me, we will talk again.

MATT: Whatever. Can I leave?

ZACH: Yes, and send your assistant in.

SUSPECT # 2 – THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

ZACH: For the record, state your full name.

STEVEN: Steven R. McQueen.

ZACH: How do you know Miss. Dobrev?

STEVEN: She is one of the actresses in the film.

ZACH: More like, was…

STEVEN: What?

ZACH: She was murdered last night, about a block from here. Know anything about that?

STEVEN: No, no, of course not. Oh, god, she’s dead?! This can’t be true… How, why?

ZACH: Well, that’s what I want to find out, pal. Think you can help me figure it out?

STEVEN: Whatever I can do to help, you can count on it. Miss. Dobrev was a lovely gal.

ZACH: Were you two close?

STEVEN: Not really. I met her when we started filming. We talked from time to time, but that was about it.

ZACH: Just talk, ha?

STEVEN: Yes, Detective, I swear.

ZACH: I believe you. Look, you seem like a decent guy. I’m sure, if anyone, you are the one that knows what really happens around this set. Help me out? Miss. Dobrev deserves some justice, don’t you think?

STEVEN: Of course. I will tell you everything I know.

ZACH: Good. Why don’t we start with Mr. Davis’s real relationship with the victim…

Cut to – Kat’s dressing room. Kat, Ian, Candice, Paul, and Chris are talking about the situation.

 CANDICE: With all due respect, but who is this Nina person?

KAT: She’s the actress playing my handmaiden.

CANDICE: Oh, her? Well, you can’t really refer to her as an actress, I mean...

CHRIS: She’s a nobody, so who cares.

PAUL: Judging from the Police take-over, something big is going on.  

CANDICE: Why do you care?

PAUL: I’m just saying, it doesn’t look good.

IAN: Well, I agree with Mr. slippery shoes and Cinderella, who cares! We should be shooting, don’t want to lose the good lighting.

KAT: Of course you wouldn’t dare to care about anyone but yourself….

IAN: Really, Kitty Kat? This coming from little Miss me, myself, and I. We all know who you are.

KAT: No you don’t, so stop pretending you do.

PAUL: (Sarcastically) Ouch, bro.

CHRIS: (To Kat and Ian, sounding quite bitter) Can you two stop bickering, for like a second! Gees, just get married already! So freaking obvious…

KAT: Please, he wishes!

IAN: I might like a little pain here and there, but I’m no masochist… unless you ask nicely, of course (winks; the Director walks in). Matt, can you please tell us what the hell is going on!

MATT: We’ve been shut down, until further notice. Oh, and no one can leave either, so make yourselves comfortable.

IAN: What! Why?!

MATT: Well, that wannabe actress playing Kat’s handmaiden was murdered last night. Ruined our entire schedule! The Police think one of us did it… ridiculous!

KAT: Wait, what!? She was murdered? No, no… that can’t be… Oh my god!

CHRIS: And I’ll say it again, why do we care? She is a nobody! Or was, whatever!

KAT: Don’t say that! You have no idea who she was…

CHRIS: Neither do you, Kitty Kat.

IAN: (Pushes Chris away from her)  First, no one calls her that, but me. Second, back off…

CHRIS: (Sarcastic smirk) Oh, please. Don’t you get it? She will never love you. Once she gets what she wants from you, she’ll throw you out like a piece of trash. So stop trying so hard.

IAN: (Grabs him by the neck) Listen, psycho boy…

PAUL: Stop, both of you. Is it too much to ask for you to act like adults, for once? We really don’t need your little pissing contest drama right now.

KAT: Nor any of this… Everyone get out, I need some space.

IAN: (Looking concerned) Kat...

KAT: I said, get out! All of you! (They leave).

Cut to – the Director’s office.

 ZACH: Thank you for your cooperation, this information is critical to our investigation.

STEVEN: (Looking scared) Please, Detective, promise me you won’t tell them you heard those things from me, I would be completely ruined.

ZACH: Don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me, trust me. Now, be a sport and send Miss. Accola my way, will you?

STEVEN: Will do, Detective.

ZACH: Thank you, we will talk again soon.

SUSPECT # 3 – THE ACTRESS

ZACH: For the record, state your full name.

CANDICE: (Flirtatious) Detective, you don’t believe I had anything to do with this, do you? I mean, look at me… do you really think I would be capable of such a thing?  

ZACH: Perhaps you didn’t hear me. I said, state your full name.

CANDICE: Fine… Candice Rene Accola. But I swear, Detective, I never even crossed a word with that woman.

ZACH: Funny, that’s not what I’ve heard…

CANDICE: From who? Whoever said that is obviously lying! I have a reputation to protect, I don’t mingle with the extras.

ZACH: Oh, I’m sure you don’t, but I wonder if you get jealous of them?

CANDICE: (Laughs) That’s absurd! Why on earth would I be jealous of her!? She’s a nobody.

ZACH: Maybe she had something you wanted…

CANDICE: What could she possibly have had that I don’t? If anything, she was the one jealous of me.

ZACH: I hear you are quite smitten with an ex of hers.

CANDICE: An ex? What are you talking about?

ZACH: Just cut the bullshit Miss. Accola. I know for a fact that Mr. Wesley and Miss. Dobrev where previously engaged, that is until you came into the picture…

CANDICE: (Nervously) Please, Detective, let me explain…

ZACH: Please, do.

CANDICE: It’s not what you think. I mean, yes, I knew they had a thing in the past, but that was a long time ago. They went to the same Highschool, in this godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere, or something along those lines. But, I swear, I never even spoke to her, nor did he, after that. No disrespect for the deceased, but she was weird, she didn’t belong in the same circle as us. There are levels, and she is, well, was, way below ours. If you are looking for a real suspect, I suggest you talk to Mr. Wood, I know there was something going on between those two.

ZACH: Really, why would you say that?

CANDICE: They are both whack jobs. They would get together after shooting; hang out at this weirdo trash bar down the block called “The Grill”, where all the other city looneys hang out. Trust me, they were into some really creepy stuff.

ZACH: What kind of creepy stuff?

CANDICE: Some obscure vampire nonsense. I’m telling you, totally cuckoo.

ZACH: Vampires?

CANDICE: Yes, I swear! If you ask me, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris turned out to be one… I mean, if they were real, of course. Only a crazy person would believe those things.

ZACH: I agree. So, you are saying Miss. Dobrev had a dark side?

CANDICE: Oh, for sure! No one ever bought her little “Mary Sue” act.

ZACH: Well, that’s quite specific information for someone who claims not to know anything about her.

CANDICE: I’m just telling you what I’ve heard from others, specifically, from Mr. Wood.

ZACH: Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on that, for the moment. Now, (hands her the same note he handed the Director) can you explain what this is about?

CANDICE: (Looking genuinely clueless) I have never seen that before, I promise.

ZACH: Fair enough. Moving on, what where your whereabouts last night, from 11pm to 2am?

CANDICE: I was here shooting, until about 3am, I think. I went straight home after that.

ZACH: 3 am? Doesn’t seem like a safe hour for a lady to be driving home alone…

CANDICE: Oh, of course not. I had my driver take me home.

ZACH: What’s your driver’s name?

CANDICE: Mr. Trevino, you can ask him if you don’t believe me. He’s right outside my dressing room.  

ZACH: No need, just yet. You are free to go, for now. Let Mr. Wood know I’m expecting him next.

CANDICE: Sure thing. (As she is walking out) Detective, one more thing… I probably shouldn’t say, since she is my best friend, but I feel obligated to mention this, it’s in my duty to do so. You should know Miss. Graham and Miss. Dobrev used to be very close friends, best friends actually. She doesn’t know I know that, but I do. In fact, Kat is the reason Nina got this job in the first place; and the reason why Nina moved from that Mystic place to LA. Just thought you should know… Hope it’s useful information (flirtatious smirk).  

ZACH: (Flirting back) Very useful, Miss. Accola; thank you for sharing.

Cut to –  Kat’s dressing room. She is looking at herself in the mirror; she seems somewhat sad, but a lot more worried. Ian knocks.

IAN: Kat, please, let me in… I’m sorry… (Kat opens the door, he walks inside, she looks around to make sure there is no one else there; shuts the door after him).

KAT: What do you want? I thought I made myself clear when I said I wanted to be left alone.

IAN: I needed to make sure you were okay (looks around the room) … I didn’t know you knew her outside of the film, I’m sorry if I was insensitive.

KAT: (Goes to her mini bar, serves and hands him a glass of bourbon) It’s just you and me, look for yourself. You can stop pretending now.

IAN: (Relieved) Okay, good… I don’t know how much longer I would be able to keep up with the act.

KAT: As long as it takes; we can’t risk them finding out.

IAN: I know, Kitty Kat, but I’m freaking out here! This place is infested with cops. What the hell are we going to do...?!

KAT: Calm down, we will think about that later… (kisses him passionately, and throws him on to her dressing room bed…)

*Not my art, loads of credit to the creator, this ilustration is awsome!  

TVD 9x15 (part 2) coming soon! Hope you stop by, read, and enjoy! =)

[astrarche-x]

Six of Crows (+ Crooked Kingdom)

If somebody gave a penny for my thoughts on books, I’d have zero pennies, but here are my thoughts anyway!

It’s not a very spoiler-heavy note.

I know I’m super late to the party, but it’s only a month left to read the book before the show is released and that was a motivation to finally read it. (That and the fact that I have 3 written assignments due the end of the week). 

- I haven’t read the Grisha trilogy, but Six of Crows was perfectly understandable without it, so that’s an asset. I wouldn’t mind knowing more about the war in Ravka, but generally it was ok.

- Found family in a juvenile delinquents gang is one of my favorite tropes in fiction and this book is all about that, so I was absolutely delighted. I liked how it wasn’t very obviously sugar-coated - obviously it wasn’t horribly realistic (I guess), but it avoided the Robin Hood or “criminal with a heart of gold” trope and that was nice, because it would reek of moralism.

- I liked the descriptions of the architecture etc. and could almost feel myself walking through the streets of Ketterdam. But the descriptions of Fjerda were very inconsistent to me in regard to the rest of the novel - I kinda felt like I was thrown from historical fiction to sci-fi (all that laboratory stuff) and that was weird.

- The action was very well-paced - without unneccessary delays and plot detours, but at the same time giving the characters and the reader time to breathe and bond. The only aspect I wasn’t satisfied with was the ending - it was too easy to predict the plot twist and it drained away the suspense and the sense of high stakes. And while some could say that it means that the writer set it up well, I think it would be better if it was unexpected, especially given that it’s not the kind of plot twist that changes the reader’s perception of the whole book, it just marked the turn in the action.

- post-CK addition: in Crooked Kingdom I felt that the action was moving a lot faster and left me quite exhausted at times. The moments to catch a breath were a bit too rare, but at least exuisite every time.

- While I’m rather glad that the “multiple POV” trend is dying, it was pulled off well in “Six of Crows”, because the narrative was in 3rd person. That allowed readers to switch rather effortlessly between the chapters while still directing their focus to a particular character.

- the characters, aka the best thing in this book: they are all lovable in their own ways and honestly I can’t decide who’s my favourite (jk jk it’s Matthias and Inej). I think that the number of characters is just right, not too big and confusing, but allowing for diversity in narratives. I only had an impression that characterization of Wylan was dropped halfway through the book and he’s been a plot device for solving technical problems most of the time, which is kinda sad. Also his change in personality was a bit unexpected. 

- post-CK addition: ok, Wylan got his POV & his development, but I still feel like 75% of his character are family problems. I hope that maybe a reread in a few months will make me appreciate him more. 

- Nina and Matthias: my absolutely favourite subplot (and ship in this book). It’s been a while since I’ve read so well executed enemies to lovers. The emotional and sexual tension between them! The desire to love vs the memory of past wrongdoings! The wish to trust and be vulnerable again vs the fear of betrayal! Them disagreeing on fundamental issues but finding points of mutual understanding nevertheless! Them caring for each other more than they care about their causes, even though the causes are everything! The banter! I just... can’t. Their story is such a good blend of cuteness and dark themes. I found it extremely interesting when the first chapter from Matthias’ POV showed how he was kinda deranged by his stay in prison and his desire for revenge and for love that were knit together so thight. Whereas he more or less regained his sanity as the book progressed (I wish it was more developed) he was still very much not in the best mental state and that made him a wild card, so the plot twists involving him were convincing. I also think that his disillusionment with his religious militia was quite well-written (as for an adventure novel, that is, where it was not the main plot). I liked how Matthias was trying to play 4D chess with the rest of the crew with his schemes and Nina joined him in part. Also the scene when the Crows try to get back to their ship in Fjerda and Nina gets shot, but heals herself so fast... Damn, that was some king shit. I love their dynamic, even though it’s the epitome of problematic(tm) by tumblr, but oh well, I’m all in for eros/thanatos motives and some good chemistry. One thing I feel their relationship lacked were the sex scenes - this is probably due to the book being technically YA (and that’s another reason why writing it for a bit older audiences would be ok), but both Nina and Matthias are so horny for each other that I find it impossible that they’ve never had sex. 

- post-CK addition: my heart is broken but Matthias’ character arc? Pure gold. I was so proud when he started questioning his religious beliefs and tried to reconcile them with his love for Nina. Love one redempted magic fascist. Also poor Nina... I still kinda don’t understand why their subplot had to end like this - and it’s really tempting me to read King of Scars.

- Inej’s moral/religious dilemmas were so good and I identified with them a lot (not that I’ve killed someone, but still). Also I found her characterization to be top notch, because she clearly isn’t an extrovert, but is not reduced to “i have no social skills” stereotype. I love her. 

- Kaz was a briliant character and his plans were so well written... But I have one issue with them: especially in Crooked Kingdom, when there’s a plot twist, it’s usually revealed to be just another layer of Kaz’s plan. When does he have the time to set it all up? I know he barely sleeps, but still, it feels like it kinda gets out of nowhere. But generally I’m all for scheming, ass-kicking gang boss. I also like the fact that he was still a very skilled fighter despite his disability, which allowed the author to escape the “disabled body means he can only use his mind” trope (which is justified sometimes, but still). And his trauma was so well-written... Honestly, the first full flashback with Kaz clutching to Jordie’s decaying body was one of the two most disturbing scenes in the novel (the other being Kaz ripping Oomen’s eye off) and I kinda wasn’t prepared for this. On the other hand, the bathroom scene in Crooked Kingdom with Inej? It was so beautiful, so well-crafted, so intimate; I felt the world stand still for a while. 

- me looking at Jesper: adhd

 I found him very relatable in terms of escaping his problems and felt sorry for his gambling addiction. But I wish his struggle over his powers was more expanded - he is shown being in two minds about this, but we as readers don’t really get full insight into the pros & cons of both option. But maybe it’s just the character’s specific way of going more by gut feeling and I’m being picky.

- a pet peeve of mine: if the author was really going so hard for the tzarist Russia vibe for Ravka, why did she name her character “Zoya Nazyalensky” and not “Zoya NazyalenskA” or, even better, “NazyalenskAYA” as it should be? C’mon, names ending in -sky have their female counterparts and it’s not hard to understand. 

- what was a bit of obstacle to immerse myself fully in the Six of Crows was the fact that the whole novel was so well-planned and logical that I sometimes felt like watching the author’s creative process unveil - and while it would be helpful if I was looking for writing tips, I was there to have good fun and forget about my assignments, so it kinda got in the way. It was like “ok, I want them to get inside the prison... but how they’re going to do it? Ha, I know: the jailers’ carriage. Next: what happens next in prisons? Oh right, they will be searched and... probably put in new clothes. So no clothing and no weapons means it’s time for Jesper’s big reveal. This is where I pepper in his crush on Kaz. I can cross this off the list of his character development now”. The Crooked Kingdom was better in this aspect - as the characters’ subplots were more separated and the chronology was going in loops (character A’s POV ends with all people parting ways --> character B’s chapter describes their mission --> character C’s chapter starts again at the end of character A’s POV), it was more natural and captivating read. 

- Kuwei was... very forgettable. I actually for most of the time totally forgot he was a character. I know he wasn’t a main character, but I feel like I know more about Specht and Rotty, some totally secondary gang members, than him. 

[writing-of-a-british-bitch]

As it began

Fandom: Xmen: Apocalypse (with mentions of Xmen: Days Of Future Past)

Specified gender: Female

Pairing: Warren Worthington III x reader/ Platonic!Charles Xavier x reader

TW: language, death, mentions of suicide, a lot of angst

Genre: ANGST 

Word Count: 9.4K

Requests: OPEN

Masterlist

A/n: THE GERMAN AND POLISH IN THIS PROBABLY ISN’T ACCURATE (There are translations) italics means flashback! The second gif will make sense when you read the fic ;)  This is a Warren x reader, but it HUGELY focuses on Charles and the reader's relationship.  And Bitch. I’ve been working on this fic for well over a month and I’ve been so hyped for it. I’m so incredibly happy that I get to post it. I got the title idea from White Queen by the way. Enjoy you guys! I’m so proud of this fic!!!!! Also, this is the longest fic I’ve ever written by FAR! Massive thanks to  @writingfortoomanyfandoms for listening to my constant bullshit and proofreading certain parts. Ily wifey.

When Charles had taken her in as his own, it'd changed both of their lives. She'd been abandoned on the steps of his mansion when she was just two years of age, causing a large amount of panic to be instilled in the mutant. He and Hank had gone over any and every possible scenario, including making the decision on whether or not to keep her. Eventually, after a long, and quite heated discussion, Charles settled on the decision of keeping her. To raise her as his own. (Y/N) Xavier had her father wrapped around her little finger. There wasn't a thing he wouldn't do for her. That was until he began taking that evil serum that gave him his legs but took his powers. At that stage in life, she had been residing in the mansion for four years, meaning she had been there since 1968, six years after Charles losing any use of his legs. And for some reason, that thought agitated Charles. But he never yelled at her. His anger was always at Hank or anyone who tried to visit. However, even after he'd stopped taking the serum and reopened the school, he'd sent her away to Erik, knowing she would be safe in his protection. 1975 became (Y/N)'s worst year for that one reason. It was a little too much for the nine-year-old to understand. And no matter how many times Erik attempted to explain it to the young girl, she would never understand. She couldn't understand why mutants were exiles and reject, seeing as the only ones she'd yet to come into contact with were all beyond kind to her. Of course, she didn't understand.

But she understood now. A whole eight years later had brought equal amounts of good and bad knowledge of mutants to her vulnerable mind. Erik's family had become her own, though Erik would tell her stories of her own father at her times of need and fear. It comforted her, though she hadn't seen him in a long time, the memories she held of him were fond and brought a smile to her face. (Y/N) had been sitting on the couch reading a book and Erik's wife, Magda, was folding some clothes. It was peaceful. Magda was like a mother to her, as Erik was a second father, and Nina was like her sister. Suddenly, Erik rushed through the door, causing the teen to jump at the noise of the door bouncing against the wall. He was speaking through hurried words about how they all had to leave.

"You did a good thing; you saved that man!" Magda argued, putting a hand on Erik's arm as he began collecting belongings, dashing through the rooms, his wife hot on his heels. She watched from the couch, unsure of what to do, feeling helpless and lost.

"That's not the point. If I'm exposed, we're all exposed," Erik stopped, moving to stand before his wife, resting a hand on her cheek, "We have to go."

"This is our home. This is our two daughters home," She shot back, gesturing blindly towards (Y/N) and she felt her heart warm, despite the tense and fearful situation.

"We are their home. I told you who I was the first night I met you. I trusted you then. I need you to trust me now. We can't stay here anymore," A sigh escaped his wife's lips and she glanced at the girl, still sat frozen on the couch, though she was on the edge of her seat now. (Y/N) knew very well how dangerous it was for Erik's cover to be blown, despite being young at the time of his most recent incident. She was young and naive. But she wasn't completely stupid.

"I'll go get Nina," Magda stated before darting upstairs. Erik's eyes fell to the girl. Practically his other daughter. He could see the panic in her eyes. The fear she felt. He felt guilty. Slowly, Erik made his way over and pulled her into a hug. (Y/N) breathed him in, feeling safe in his arms. Her real father wanted nothing to do with her, she hadn't seen her adoptive father in years, so being held by a father figure was one of the nicest feelings she'd experienced.

"I know you're scared, but you've no reason to be. I made a promise to protect you and I will keep that promise to you, my wife and my daughter, even if it kills me," (Y/N) had never known sentimentality in his voice before Magda. It was almost like a breath of fresh air when you heard it for the first time. But the moment was broken by Magda, rushing back downstairs.

"She's not in her room," Magda's voice held trepidation and that made the teen incredibly anxious like never before. Instantaneously, she broke the hug and bolted to the window, seeing Nina's common spot barren.

"I don't see her out back," (Y/n) added, feeling her heart drop to her toes. Quickly, just as Erik and Magda began running around the house, she pulled on her shoes. Before she could get outside, Erik had already beaten her too it and the trio was sprinting to the forest, calling out the child's name. All of them felt their blood run cold at the sight of a group of police officers gathered in an opening, the front officer holding Nina in a tight grip, unrelenting even as she squirmed and struggled.

"Are you okay?" Erik called to his daughter, eyeing the police officers with narrowed eyes, anger spiking through him as they tightened their hold.

"Nic jej nie jest( she's fine), "The officer reassured coldly and Magda took a step forward, despite Erik's warning glance.

"Then let her go!" She yelled and (Y/N) carefully took Magda’s hand in hers to settle her despite the rage coursing through her.

"Zrobimy to. Chcieliśmy tylko porozmawiać (We will. We just wanted to talk)" Another officer added. The teen could spy Erik shooting Nina a reassuring look, and she calmed slightly.

"Nie nosisz odznaki. Żadnego metalu( You aren't wearing your badges. No metal)," Erik remarked quietly, watching as the officers shifted uncomfortably. It was clear they feared him despite their tough exterior. Their twitching. Their nervous habit. The things that made them so painfully human. The things that made them so weak.

"Niektórzy ludzie z fabryki powiedzieli, że coś dzisiaj widzieli. Coś, co nie miało sensu. Byłeś dobrym obywatelem, Henryk. Dobry sąsiad, dobry pracownik. Chciałbym w to uwierzyć. ( Some men from the factory said they saw something today. Something that made no sense. You have been a good citizen Henryk. A good neighbour, a good worker. I would like to believe that)" Magda took another step forward at that comment. Erik was a good man. (Y/N) thought so anyway.

"On jest (He is!)" She yelled, the hand that wasn't linked with (Y/N)'s clenched. However, th police simply ignored the woman, continuing on. (Y/N) was desperate to say something. But she knew better. She'd been taught, both by Charles and Erik, that in a moment of potentially life-threatening conflict, let adults talk, until she was one herself.

"Ale nikt w mieście tak naprawdę nie wie, kim jesteś (But no one in town really knows who you are)," The man raised his eyebrows a little, prompting Erik for a response.

"Wszyscy wiedzą. Jestem Henryk Gurzsky! Jacob, nawet zjadłem u niego obiad ( Everybody knows. I am Henry Gurzsky. Jacob, I even had dinner at your place)" Erik sounded panicked. Something she hadn't heard in a long time. He was scared. Terrified even. Jacob's eyes turned venomous, eyebrows turning down into a glare.

"A ty cały czas kłamałeś. Wpuściłem mordercę do domu (And you were lying all the time. I let a murderer into my house)."Jacob growled, but the family tensed in unison as the front police officer, the one holding Nina, produced a newspaper. It had a black and white picture of Magneto on the front, back in Washington, "Czy to pan nazywa się, Magneto? (Are you the one called Magneto?)" Erik's eyes turned desperate. He spared a glance at the women behind him. He couldn't do this to them. But he had to.

"Poddaję się. Proszę. Pozwólcie mojej córce odejść.( i surrender. please. Let my daughter go)" He begged, taking a cautious step forward, eying the archers with distrust evident in his blue hues. Tentatively, the officer released Nina, the girl instantly sprinting into her father's arms. Erik returned the hug tightly, wishing he could stay with her forever.

"Idź z matką. (Go with your mother)" Erik murmured to his daughter, tenderly pushing her so Magda could pull her into a protective embrace, tight against her body. (Y/N) wanted to intervene, offer herself instead, pull Erik back. Anything. She had been taught better to act on her emotions. Nina fought against Magda, trying to break free of her arms, screaming out.

"Proszę! Nie zostawiaj mnie. Nie pozwolę im cię zabrać! (Please! Don't leave me. I won't let them take you!)"Birds flocked in, seemingly, out of nowhere, aiming their sharp beaks and beady eyes at the officers. Their claws scratched and their beaks pecked, all of the officers ducking and flailing their arms in surprise. Magda speedily twisted Nina around, trying to stop her. But in all the commotion, everyone failed to notice a singular arrow shooting through the air.

(Y/N) let out a short scream as the arrow struck Nina, eyes widening and tears filling her eyes, hand covering a mouth as a sob escaped her throat. Erik's eyes were glossy and he sprinted over, collecting his wife and child in his arms. His nose was buried in his daughter's hair, tears leaking down his cheeks. She couldn't believe it. They were gone. A part of her wished it had been her instead of them. After all the hardship Erik had faced, he deserved happiness. And he'd found it. And in a second he'd lost it again. (Y/N) wished the arrow hit her. Erik barely glanced up as Nina's locket began floating before suddenly raced through the air. The metal glided through the men's necks, each of them falling one by one. He caught the bloodied locket in his hand, clutching it tightly, before letting out a sob into his girls' shoulders. (Y/n) felt terrified. She'd never felt that way before. Not around him. Never around him. Erik knew that without even looking. Why wouldn't she be?

"You should leave. You're no longer safe with me. Germany is the safest place for you right now. Away from me.

Only a few days later, (Y/N) had found herself in Germany, finally using the language Erik had taught her so many years ago. She was alone. Vulnerable. No one to guide her. No one to call a friend. Or a father. Her place of residence, given that she had no money, had become an abandoned bungalow. The bricks were disintegrating with every day that passed, rain pelting through the gaps in the roof whenever the weather called of it. Most of the doors had been knocked down, but the few that remained were slowly rotting away. It was always freezing and made her curl into herself and shiver, but it was the closest thing she had at home. Half of her brain was screaming at her to go back home to Charles, but she had no way of returning to her dad. So there she stayed, avoiding anyone she could, only leaving when she really needed to. Somehow, she fell into some sort of a schedule, giving her some peace of mind, Until they came. She'd been hurt. She was unprotected. She was a perfect target.

A large crash distracted (Y/N) from her task, instantly placing her on high alert. Erik's words swam around her head 'Don't let them corner you' ' Don't let them overpower you.' Carefully, and as silently as possible, she lifted herself onto a low hung piece of wood. The seventeen-year-old hoisted herself through a gap in the roof, head peeking over the side just as a small group barged into the room she was previously positioned in. There were two females, both held themselves defensively. One of them had pure white hair and the other had dark hair. Complete opposites but nothing particularly interesting to (Y/N). When her eyes shifted over to the two males, her opinion quickly changed. All of a sudden, the group had piqued her interest. The man, if she could call him that, was tall with a strong physique, easily towering over the others, His face was a light blue, dark navy etching decorating his face. Then she saw him. Blond curls sprouted from his head, making him look angelic as light filtered through the broken windows, huge opposition to the leather jacket he wore. He had gorgeous green orbs and (Y/N) felt her heart stutter. She watched as the group looked around, mumbling hushed words between them. She couldn't help but wonder if they were looking for her. But, surely, that was impossible. Why would they be looking for her?

"There's no one here. You were wrong," The woman with white hair stated, and the three younger followers turned their harsh stares to the man stood in front of them. The blue-faced man remained still, almost frozen until his eyes suddenly snapped to (Y/n). Her eyes widened in shock, her heart pounding, and she launched herself off of the short roof. As soon as she hit the floor, her legs were moving as fast as they could carry her, They may not have been a risk, but she didn't want to take that chance. She sped through the empty field that isolated the bungalow, desperately trying to reach the forest before they got too close. She prayed for luck. She didn't receive it. A loud clinking sounded from behind her, strong arms wrapping around her waist and pulled her backwards, letting go the moment before her body made contact with the hard floor. A groan broke from her cracked lips and she sat up slowly, shielding her eyes from the sun. A figure blocked the sun a second later. Then two. Then three. Then four. Her eyes opened, fear glistening in them.

'Don't show fear' the words, though spoken to her so long ago, snapped her back to reality. (Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows, glaring at the group.

"Wer seid ihr?( Who are you?" She demanded, using an arm to support her body. When she received no response, she could feel resentment rising in her.

"Ich sagte, wer Zum Teufel bist du? (I said, who the fuck are you?)" It was then she noticed that the curly haired boy had two silver, metal wings growing from his back. An angel in sense of the word.

"Wir Sind Hier um Ihnen etwas anzubieten ( we are here to offer you something), "The angel responded and (Y/N) stood up, finding amusement as the three younger people tensed, folding her arms over her chest.

"Oh? Und was wäre das? (Oh? And what would that be?)"Every second that passed made her feel more on edge, wishing Erik or Charles were there.

"A way to show your true potential. Your mutation is your greatest strength," The blue-faced man's voice was low, breathy. It sounded almost like he was choking.

"Verpiss dich ( Fuck off). I don't have a mutation. So thanks, but no thanks. You wasted your time," After living in Poland for so long, a slight accent tinted her voice, intriguing Warren greatly. Yet, it almost made her cringe, memories of Magda and Nina clouding her thoughts. Just as she had turned her back to the group, she fell to her knees, a scream of agony tearing through her mouth. Millions of thousands of voices filtered into her brain, all overlapping and shouting. Her ears rung and she brought her hands to cover her ears, nails digging into her scalp. For some unknown reason, the sight bothered Warren immensively and he had to turn his head away. Her screams made him want to vomit. In her moment of weakness, (Y/N) failed to notice the ice gathering around her knees and her fingertips. Frost patterned her hand and arms and the ice gradually slithered down to her elbow. But just as the voices had begun, they were cut off once more. Chest heaving, she looked over her shoulder, fearfully taking her hands from her ears.

"What did you do to me?" She breathed it. She'd never heard herself sound so defenceless. She hated it.

"I showed you your true ability. If you come with me, I can train you to your full potential," A voice deep down was telling her to run. But in that moment of unguarded emotion, she accepted.

When (Y/N) was brought back to Poland with Storm, Psylocke, Warren and Apocalypse, Warren could feel the uneasiness radiating from her. The assembly arrived outside a factory, a man she knew far too well stood in front of the entrance. She hid behind Warren and, despite only knowing her for a few hours, he felt like he had to protect her. The longing glances didn't go unnoticed by Psylocke, who narrowed her eyes in warning. Warren swiftly outstretched his wings just enough to cover the newly discovered mutants. He didn't know what had come over him. All he knew was that he would die for her, should it come to it.

"Who the fuck are you?" Erik turned to face them, flinching when Apocalypse took a step closer "Stay back. Whoever you are, don't try to stop me from killing these men," (Y/N) shuddered. Never before had she heard him speak like that. She knew what he'd done in the past. Who didn't? But hearing those words from his mouth unsettled her.

Their fingers were locked together as Apocalypse ran a hand down Warren's temple and cheek, leaving a black tattoo in his wake. It'd been days since he'd first met her, but something had clicked between the pair. An angel, who never allowed himself to trust anyone, had become attached in such a short amount of time. That alone made him anxious. And he wasn't the only one. Erik had nearly fought her trying to make her stay away. He wanted to protect one of the last family members he had left. Both himself and (Y/n) knew that he couldn't do that if she went through with it.

"You can't do this," Erik stated, watching as she patched up a hole in Storm's outfit. Something Charles and Magda had taught her.

"I can. And I'm going to," She replied, eyes still fixed on the needle and thread, pulling a piece of thread between her teeth.

"I won't let you" He shot back, and though his voice was calm, she could tell he was perturbed. Before he was discovered in Poland, he'd never been so firm with her. Upon her thirteenth birthday, she had been granted free will and trust. She never dared cross him. Always the perfect child. Erik not once failed to see Charles in her, though she wasn't biologically his. His characteristics had rubbed off on her. And Erik didn't know if he could bear to see her fall.

"Erik, don't try and stop me. I've made my decision," (Y/N)'s voice turned harsher, taking the thread from her teeth as she finished working on the outfit. Despite the tense atmosphere, she still gracefully folded the outfit. Something Charles used to do, Erik recalled.

"I promised Charles-" Alarm bells rang in Erik's head when she stood up, an ice blast shooting from her hand, narrowly missing his ear.

"Fuck what you promised Charles! He decided to give me away to you, so I couldn't care less what he says," She seemed surprised as he was. Not at any time had she said a bad word of Charles. She'd admired him for forever. She was already losing her way. It hurt to see. Though at that moment, Erik's emotions took charge, causing him to snap. Something he swore he'd never do in front of her. Yet it had happened twice.

"You're not putting yourself in danger! I won't lose you too!" In his rage, a stray piece of metal flew at her, knocking her into the wall. Her head made contact with the wall before she fell down onto her hands and knees. A shaky hand came to graze the back of her head, pulling back only to see a bit of blood staining her frosted fingers. Upon seeing the blood, Erik took a few steps back. No. He had hurt her. He was supposed to be her protector. How could he? With all the commotion, Warren had run in, instantly rushing to her side, a hand on her shoulder and another on her waist. He was glaring daggers at Erik as he carefully helped her out. Expletives escaped Erik's lips as he threw the nearest object at the wall, making it shatter on impact.

"Ow, fuck," (Y/N) hissed, flinching away from Warren's delicate touch. The angel narrowed his eyes, pulling her back to his chest.

"Hold still," His words were harsh, trying to hide the rising concern in his body, accidentally pressing a bit too hard on her head. She turned in his lap, now straddling him, slapping his shoulder sharply.

"Careful!" That tone frightened her. Since she was young, her words were soft spoken. Charles had instilled it into her. The coldness of her voice was icier than her mutation could ever be. It was like a shard of glass, impaling whoever it was directed at.

"Can't you see that I'm trying? I could just leave you here to sort your own shit out, "Warren grumbled, glaring at her. She let out a sigh, resting her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry. Thank you for taking care of me, Warren," (Y/N) was exhausted. He could see it in her eyes. She'd been pushed to the limit by Apocalypse when training. Never giving her a chance to catch her breath. It wasn't fair. But she needed to learn. Warren released a frustrated huff, linking his hands behind her back. Why couldn't he stay mad at her? He'd been notorious for holding grudges against people for years over the smallest things, yet he couldn't seem to bring himself to be angry at her. Somehow, that irked him more.

"Warren, did you hear me?" She repeated, causing Warren to snap out of his trance and look down into her sparkling (E/C) orbs. He didn't expect what he did next. He didn't know why he did it or quite how it happened, but before they both knew it, their lips were locked in a searing kiss. (Y/N)'s fingers tangled in his hair and Warren gripped her hips, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Her lips were perfectly moulded for his and he felt like he'd died and gone to heaven. Fitting for him, really. The moment felt amazing but Warren broke the kiss, placing his forehead on hers. He resisted the temptation to touch his lips, still tingling from the hard but oh so wonderful kiss.

"(Y/N), you know we can't do this," he mumbled, his hot breath fanning over her lips. The warmth of his lips was teasing her. But she knew that he was right.

"I know," She responded sadly, not yet daring to open her eyes. Because if she opened her eyes, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back.

"I don't want us to get involved. We're going to war in a few days. And if we carried this on when that happens, there's no guarantee we'll return to each other. I can't hurt you like that," His words were barely audible like he was terrified of the thought. And honestly, he was. Silently, she nodded, climbing off of him, beginning to walk the door. He swore he could hear both his and her hearts breaking as she stopped at the door.

"Thanks for fixing up my head. I appreciate you more than you think."

Erik was mumbling to himself as Apocalypse decorated (Y/N)'s back with a dark tattoo, a long-dead language imprinting her skin in barely legible writing, just about visual through the sheer costume she wore. Her (H/C) locks had been tainted a dark blue at the ends, closely matching the shade of her fingertips. The subtle changes made her look different. Erik wasn't quite sure he liked it at all. All of a sudden, Apocalypse turned abruptly, staring directly at Erik. His head turned up to the ceiling after an almost silent statement she couldn't hear.

"It's always the same. And now this. No more stones; no more spears, no more slings; no more swords! No more weapons! No more systems! No more!" The god's voice raised with each item, bouncing off the cold stone walls and reverberating through the ears of the mutants. (Y/n) clung to Warren's hand. And at first, Erik thought her to be scared. But to his great dismay, he saw a grin rise on her cheeks at Apocalpyse's declaration "No more superpowers." Erik couldn't bear to see her change of character. The evil glint in her eyes. The darkness that tinted her innocent smile. He barely noticed a portal being opened until Psylocke aggressively pulled him inside. The group reappeared in a hallway that was pain-wrenchingly familiar to Erik and (Y/n). She tried to ignore the ache in her heart when she noticed the shock and sadness that crossed Hank's face upon seeing her. Then there was her father, leant over, unconscious in his wheelchair.

"Erik," Raven began softly, only to be interrupted when Erik speedily extended his arm, Charles' chair being dragged to him, his body limp and lifeless. It hurt to see him but she rapidly turned with Psylocke and Storm and walked back through the portal. A violent cough escaped her lips as she inhaled some sand on the other side. Warm gusts of air blew her hair and a drift in the wind brought out a desperate scream.

"CHARLES!"

She couldn't bring herself to look at her father. Despite the change of views and perspectives being brought to light, she couldn't watch him in pain. Warren had noted it. Of course, he had. (Y/n)'s tense uncomfortableness had not been lost on him. It was a dead giveaway. He wanted to guide her. Help her. But he couldn't risk it. In such a life-threatening time, he couldn't let himself get attached. A thought tickled the back of his mind. Because he knew it was too late and he was absolutely, positively sewn to her. Anyone could suspect it, given how close in proximity they remained at any provided moment together. Erik could see it. And he knew the look they both gave each other. The look he used to give to his wife.

A groan rose from Charles' mouth as he slowly regained consciousness. Warren knew little of (Y/N)'s backstory, though, from the way she shifted beside him, he could perceive that she and the professor had some sort of history, as clearly strained as it was. Charles reached up, pinching the bridge of his nose. Something she remembered him doing when everyone's thoughts were particularly loud.

"You're blocking me. How?" He asked, annoyance and confusion concocted together in his voice. Hearing his voice after so many years almost made his daughter flinch and question herself. What was she doing? She didn't stand by Apocalypse's values. Yes, she did. Of course, she did. Why would she be here otherwise? Apocalypse leant down slightly before taking a seat before him. Charles' eyes were squinting from the almost blinding sunlight beating down on the group.

"I can shield their minds from your powers. One of the many gifts I've acquired over the millennia. But to see inside the mind... to control it. That's your gift," Apocalypse got closer, his voice lowering in volume. Menacing. Almost. "You saw it, didn't you? The glory of what's to come," Charles wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response and jerked his head to Erik instead.

"You're going to take part in all this killing? The destruction?" Erik's eyes narrowed at the question.

"It's all I've ever known," He replied and Charles let out a weak, quiet scoff.

"No, it's not. You've just forgotten," Charles responded instantly, propping his arms against the floor so he could sit up. (Y/n) could remember being picked up by him and being driven around the mansion with him in his wheelchair, everything passing in a blur. She could remember, when he started taking the serum, chasing her around in circles, laughter echoing through the entire house before the mood swings kicked in. That was her father. And she was siding against him.

"No Charles, I remember. Your way doesn't work," As Charles tilted his head to look back at Apocalypse, a gleam of metal in the sun caught his eye. His heart almost shattered at that moment. She was there. His daughter. (Y/n) was stood right there, hand locked with Warren's, eyes glued to the floor. He'd watched her grow with Cerebro. But it was nothing like seeing her in person. He only wished it had been under better circumstances.

"(Y/N)," Charles called out softly. He observed helplessly when her face shifted before his view was obstructed by shining wings as Warren turned her around, arm around her shoulder, wings extended

The clinking of wings was the only way (Y/N) knew Charles had been placed down. Until there was a gentle request of her name.

"(Y/N), he's using you. You know that. This group aren't good for you. You don't stand for their beliefs," She didn't. She knew that. No. She did stand for them. She had to. Both desperation and disappointment were present in his voice. She narrowed her eyes, turning sharply on her heel.

"How would you know what morals I stand for? You haven't seen me since you gave me away," She snarled and Warren eyed the exchange curiously, watching sadness fill Charles' features. He was looking at her like he'd never seen her before. It took everything in her to not crack under Charles' gaze. And Charles could see it. In her eyes. But he also saw something darker. A force. A state of mind that he'd taught her to fight. And she'd succumbed to it. He couldn't see her fighting it once more.

"I gave you to Erik to protect you," He shot back, pushing himself up slightly.

"Well, look how that turned out," A loud crash outside distracted the two teens and Apocalypse made an entrance, his thundering footsteps slowly making their way closer.

"Enough," His voice, though hushed and lowered in volume, seemed to load the expanse of the room vibrate through every crevice."My children, you have done me well. Guard this place. Let not a soul disturb us."

"You're just another false god. Whoever's left to follow you and when this is all over they will betray you again, "Warren shoved Charles back against the stone slab, a grunt escaping his lips at the contacts. Charles had to keep his eyes on Apocalypse, for if he looked at (Y/n) he knew he'd see something he'd always feared. Seeing her lose to herself.

"(Y/N), go find Storm and Psylocke. I'll deal with the disappearing bastard," Warren did a tester spin, sharp feather-shaped knives firing from his wings. Perfect shot.

"Keep yourself safe," (Y/N) replied, adjusting her outfit. Warren gave her a smirk, disguising his concern with his bad-boy demeanour.

"No promises," With that, Warren launched himself into the air, flying to the peak of the building, positioned in the darkness. (Y/n) let out a sigh before sprinting out into the light, scrubbing her eyes as they adapted to the beating sun. In that second, however, a flash of silver knocked her over, a punch instantly being landed on her cheek. Another punch was placed in her ribs before someone pulled on her legs, tugging her so her head made contact with a stray stone, reopening the wound previously left by Erik. Peter attempted to strike the girl once more but ice swarmed around his ankles, pinning his feet to the ground. With a growl, a blue blast exploded from her hand, knocking Peter back. She was gone before he had the chance to get up. Loud snarls came from behind her, Hank gaining up on her. As he went to attack, she turned to face him and his eyes widened. The shock caused him to come to a harsh halt, his heels digging into the sand. She was here. A sharp pain tore through his body before he could contemplate the thought, ripping an agonised scream from his body, barely able to see Storm hover over to (Y/n) and pick her up to place her on a building top. It gave the mutant better aim. Storm hovered in the air, situated in the large gap between (Y/N) and Psylocke. Psylocke looked over at the two.

"Split them up!"She called, nodding at Scott, Hank and Jean. Storm's eyes transformed into a bright white, electrical sparks dancing between her fingertips. (Y/N) and Storm shared a look as (Y/N) sent ice in a line between the mutants, Storm using the solidified water to turn the ice deadly. The three x-men jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the skin-frying river between them. Just as (Y/N) went to assault them again, a flash of light distracted her, watching in horror as she saw Warren and Kurt disappearing and reappearing every few seconds.

"(Y/N)! No distractions!" Psylocke hissed, but she had already taken off, using the ice to quicken the place. That was until a red beam fired right beside her leg, singeing part of her outfit as she was sent to the side. She let out a pained moan, rubbing her ribs to ease the pain of landing on some metal. Suddenly, that same gust of wind returned picked the girl up and threw her in a pile of rubble, half of it collapsing on top of her. (Y/N)'s arms were pinned to her sides. She could barely breathe, only able to let out an almost silent call for help. She was going to die. No. She couldn't die. She'd never been so petrified in her life. Storm rushed over, earning a furious glare from Psylocke

"Leave her! She put herself in danger!" She exclaimed, using her neon pink rope-like whip to attack Hank, curling around his neck. Storm paid little mind, floating over to the pile (Y/N) was buried under. She began clawing at the rocks, tossing them behind her. All of a sudden, another pair of hands joined Storm in her quest to free the younger mutant and she looked up to see Erik pulling at the rubble. After a few seconds, though it felt like years, a hand poked through and the pair helped pull (Y/N) out. She coughed violently, holding her throat tenderly, rubbing her eyes to rid them of the dust that had fallen into them upon impact. Erik gestured for Storm to leave and (Y/N) attempted to silently ger up, only to be pushed back down by Erik.

"What are you doing? I need to get back out there!" She stated weakly, though the ambition in her eyes was undeniable.

"I think you've done enough for one day," Erik barely finished his sentence before he was sent backwards bt an ice blast. (Y/n) stood up, jumping onto a neighbouring rooftop, looking back ar Erik.

"Good thing I don't need your permission," she remarked and sprinted off. 

Warren noticed her on the roof as he soared through the air, risking a glance between the plane full of mutants and the girl. He yelled out her name and the duo shared a gaze as she leapt off the edge of the building. There were few people she trusted with her life. For some reason, Warren was one of them. Similarly to a few days ago, Warren's arms worked their way around her waist, but instead of tugging her to the ground, they elevated her instead. The winged boy landed on the plane, still keeping a tight grip on (Y/N), using his razor-blade feathers to cut a hole. (Y/N) and Warren dropped through the hole, facing the X-Men. She caught the group, each of them latching onto a different part of Kurt. She could barely look at Charles when an odd sense of guilt began climbing through her but she tried shoving aside as Warren began advancing. She quickly followed behind, watching with panicked eyes as the group started to flicker. But just as Warren went to pounce on the group, Hank jerked the plane so its nose was directed to the ground. The horsemen were sent backwards and (Y/N) let out a pained scream as Warren's wings lacerated her right arm. With an almost impossible strength and swiftness, Warren spun himself and the girl around. Tears had filled her eyes as the cut in her arm began throbbing and Warren's face contorted to one of sadness. No. She knew that look. He couldn't. He wouldn't. But he did. His wing sliced through the wall beside her and she latched onto him before he could get to the other side of her.

"No. Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare, Warren," Warren closed his eyes at her plea, resting his forehead on her own.

"I'm sorry," He whispered before he jolted her backwards and cut the other wall. Her body was sent flying through the air, terrified shrieks tearing from her throat. Two arms caught her before she got too close to the ground and she looked up to see Storm giving her a worried look. She placed her down but as she went to speak, a yell broke from (Y/n) as the plane made contact with the floor with a near-deafening crack.

"WARREN!" Her feet couldn't seem to carry her fast enough. X-men kept trying to hit her but she dodged their attempts. Warren was the only thing on her mind. The wreckage was being swallowed by flames, her arm was stinging and her head pounding. She had to get to him, Casting snow over the fire, she looked around frantically until she spied his sweetcorn- blonde locks. Desperately, she began shoving metal and rubble out of the way, finally reaching him. Cuts and bruises bloomed on his face and neck and she dreaded to think what wounds lingered beneath his clothes. Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she cupped his face. (Y/N) was almost too scared to check his pulse. She didn't want him to be...he wouldn't be. He'd be fine. He had to ber. The x-men watched in shock at the interaction. They'd almost forgotten that most of the group were still kids. Just like them. Erik eyed the pair. He knew there had been something going on between them. She was like a daughter to him. And he knew he had to help her. Slowly, he extended his hand, face twisting in concentration, focusing on the plane. Shakily, the remnants of the plane began rising, lifting from the trapped boy and Erik placed it down a few metres away, Reluctantly, (Y/N) put her fingers on his pulse point, almost releasing a sob of relief when she felt a pulse, as erratic as it was. One of her tinted blue hands ran through his hair, lips wobbling slightly. Hank couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Erik had saved Warren's life purely because (Y/N) cared for him. He'd never seen that much sentimentality in Erik. It gave him hope. For both Erik and (Y/N).

But now, there was a rage bubbling inside her like never before. Apocalypse had tricked them. Offered protection for his army in their most vulnerable moments and nearly gotten Warren killed. He had to be stopped. For Warren. She stood up on trembling legs. Her body language screamed weak, especially considering the blood that leaked down her arm, playing an acrobat act on her fingertips before dropping the ground. But the fire in her eyes was bone-chilling. Wiping away the last of her tears, she looked over to where Apocalypse was stood. Raven's throat was gripped between his strong fingers. (Y/N) could see the fear on her face. On everyone's face. But she couldn't see Erik. Where could he have gone? She froze, hiding behind a wall.

"The great hero. You are feeble. Just like the others," (Y/N) saw Storm's face, shock plastered on it. She could faintly recall Storm telling her that Mystique was her idol. And she was being strangled right in front of her. She couldn't imagine what that was like. She didn't want to "CHARLES! Come rescue your weaklings! Give your life for theirs!" It was then that her eyes latched onto silver strands. Peter's leg was crooked at a weird angle and an expression of pain was painted onto his face. "CHARLES! Will you do nothing?!" There was a pregnant pause, suffocating everyone in suspense. (Y/N) had no idea where her father was. She could only pray that he was safe. Swiftly, she spared a glance at Warren almost as if she was trying to build up her confidence. She had to do this. For him. He had to be safe. And if Apocalypse won, he wouldn't be.  A loud thud pulled her eyes back to the group. Raven had been discarded on the floor, gasping for air, and Apocalypse had fallen to one knee. His eyes were squeezed shut and he kept wincing as if he was being abused by an imaginary force. Until he suddenly opened his eyes, a  dark glare flooding to his features. His hand rose above his head as he stood once more, the wall to one of the few buildings scattered around Cairo being resorted to dust. (Y/N)'s mouth fell open and a small gasp escaped her lips when she saw who had been revealed. All the x-men (minus Peter and Raven) were crowded around Charles. Menacingly, Apocalypse began advancing, a sly smirk crossing his lips and as (Y/N) moved to step out, a large chunk of metal landed directly in front of Apocalypse, then another, creating an X. Apocalypse turned, as did (Y/N), and scowled. She grinned in parallel. Erik hovered over them, stone-faced.

"You betrayed me," Apocalypse stated, a glare taking his eyes captive.

"No. I betrayed them," Erik's voice was sharp before thousands of pieces of metal came shooting at Apocalypse's form. Carefully, (Y/N) adjusted the arm of her outfit covering the wound on her arm. She had more important things to worry about. Hank and Scott leapt from the building, Hank racing to Raven and moving her out of the war zone. Scott yanked his glasses from his eyes, a red laser beam coming from his orbs. (Y/N) looked between them before outstretching her arms ice blasts repetitively being discharged from her hands. Everything was going...well. Too well. As soon as that thought swam into her brain, Hank attempted to pounce on Apocalypse, only to be deflected and knocked unconscious upon hitting the wall. Erik was struggling and almost stopped when (Y/N) was sent flipping through the air, landing on her arm. She cried out when her arm with the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks in pain. Only two noticed Jean stepping out onto thin air. A loud scream was released into the atmosphere followed by an almost blinding orange light. With squinted eyes, she looked up, gripping her arm tightly. Upon the scream, Hank jumped awake, quickly punching Scott out of the wall. A purple force field began surrounding Apocalypse as everyone except (Y/N), unleashing their powers.

"He's getting away!" Hank growled. He'd barely finished his sentence when a crash of lightning struck the force-field sending a deafening crack into the air. (Y/N) watched with clouded vision, a tiny smile coming to her face in relief as Apocalypse began flaking away, his eery words lingering in the breeze.

"All is revealed," With a quiet sigh, (Y/N) let her head fall back against the grainy floor, allowing the gathering of black dots control her sight. The last thing she heard was two desperate cries of her names.

Warren had never been so worried his entire life. He couldn't sleep, he could barely eat. Charles had practically forced him to leave the infirmary. He was an outcast. He wished he could say he wasn't used to it. When she was there, he felt wanted and needed.  But she was still unconscious a week after the battle. Charles had almost been sick when Erik had come to him with (Y/n), a deep gash implanted into her arm. And when she had woken up, he wanted to be the first one to see her. Unfortunately, she didn't want the same thing. Warren had given her the biggest smile she'd ever seen and, despite being high, on what felt like, nine different types of painkillers, (Y/N) smiled right back before, pulling him into a deep kiss. This time, Warren didn't push away. Though her father was ecstatic that they were happy, another part of him wanted to cry. Since she got to school, she'd avoided him like the plague. If he taught any of her classes, she took off the second he dismissed his students. She refused to accept the telepathic training he'd offered and never came to his office when asked to do so. After a lot of hesitation from the others, she soon made friends with Kurt and Peter but even then, she stayed with Warren. Hank had tried his best to talk to the girl, but only ever got curt responses. Warren and (Y/N) had been given a room together and it was filled with happy memories, despite her attitude outside of it. She'd never loved anyone the way she loved Warren and he could safely say the same.

"Warren, are you listening to me?" Charles asked, alerting the attention of his love-struck angel. Warren's eyes snapped back to the professor, a small smile still glued to his lips. (Y/N) had come outside with Kurt and the pair had sat together on the grass, sipping tea that Kurt had brought out with him. No words were exchanged between the two, just silence as their eyes both skimmed over their books. She looked so peaceful and content. Recently, she'd been beyond stressed because of Warren regrowing his old wings. She cleaned his wings every night and massaged his back when it got sore. Never did she complain. Never had he been touched so tenderly by another person since he was a child. it almost made his heartache for how much love she had to give. But when his eyes fell to her arm, a shiver ran down his spine. He did that. He hurt you. The guilt he felt seemed to triple every time his eyes grazed over the scar. However, he had his old wings back. Soft and fluffy and so much safer for her.

"Sorry professor, I got distracted," His head turned back to (Y/n), a grin forming. Charles sighed, heart, stinging, but forced a smile on.

"Go to her. We'll continue this another day," Not even a second after he'd finished, Warren had already flown halfway across the garden to (Y/N) and Kurt's picnic blanket, nearly knocking over the teapot. Kurt let out a playful grown that earned a laugh from Warren before he pecked her lips, beaming into the kiss. Charles watched with a heavy heart, only to freeze when your eyes locked with his. He gave her a small wave accompanied by a sad-smile, only to be disheartened further when she looked away. Warren's arm wrapped around her shoulder as Kurt babbled away.

"Everything alright, frosty?" He mumbled, eyes scanning her face from any discrepancies.

"I'm fine," She quickly turned back to Kurt, distracting herself with his excited explanation of a movie Scott took him to see.

"Professor?" A young voice called. Charles turned his head to glance to his doorway. Alexander stood there, red locks glittering in the light of Charles' fire, blue eyes shining in fear. The clock on the professor's desk read long past midnight. He shouldn't be awake, let alone other students.

"Alexander? It's late, what are you doing awake?" Charles placed his pen down, wheeling over to the eight-year-old.

"They're arguing again. And it's really cold," He had barely noticed that Alexander was shivering. No one had to who 'they' were. The past three nights, Warren and (Y/N) had been arguing, waking up other students with their yelling or (Y/N)'s lack of control over her mutations. However, in the past three days, Hank had dealt with it but Hank had gone to another country to collect a student. So it was time for Charles to face the music. With a miniscule shake of his head, Charles lead the boy back to his room, directing other students who'd left their room back into them. Kurt suddenly appeared in front of Charles.

"It's getting worse. I think that it's serious this time," Kurt said, concern filling his heavily-accented voice, his hair ruffled and eyes still crusted over with sleep.

"Alright, Kurt. Don't worry. I'll sort it out. Go back to bed, please," Charles reassured the mutants and Kurt gave him an awkward but grateful smile before disappearing once more. When Charles reached the door to (Y/N) and Warren's room, he could hear their conversation clearly through the door, shooing students who continuously exited their rooms.

"Babe, we both need fucking help! You can't keep being so selfish!" Warren boomed, his wings folding behind him as he circled the room anxiously.

"I never said you couldn't talk to him! I just don't want to myself!" She snapped back, a hand running through her hair. She was sick of having the same quarrel over and over again.

"Why not? He's your father! You said you were close!" Charles felt his heart stop. They were arguing about him. because of him.

"Yeah! We were! But how could I face him after what I did?" Her voice lowered, so Charles could only hear the beginning of her statement. A few more words were murmured behind the door before Charles turned the handle, both pairs of eyes snapping to him like deers caught in headlights.

"(Y/N), my office. Now. It's not a request this time, either," Charles commanded, though his voice was soft and kind. He made his way back to his office, waiting for his daughter. He daren't read her thoughts. He couldn't invade her privacy like that. After a few minutes, the quiet creak of his office door made Charles look up from the papers before him, watching (Y/N) sheepishly making her way into the room. Her eyes were fixated on her fingers, eyeing how small fragments of frost danced around them. From the moment she stepped in, a chill filtered into the air, making Charles pull his blazer closer to his body.

"(Y/N), you are aware of what you've done, aren't you?" His voice remained soft and gentle. A part of (Y/n) wished that she could open up to him. Be like they used to be.

"Of course I am. Just don't understand why Warren isn't here too. I wasn't the only one," She grumbled, picking at the old worn chair she sat in. That chair used to be in the living room when she was a little girl. Bought back fond memories that she'd rather not think about.

"Because I've needed to talk to you for a while but you've never come to my office," Charles responded pointedly, raising his eyebrows. (Y/N) looked to the burning fire to distract herself.

"I'm only here now because Warren made me," Charles remained silent for a moment, looking at the picture on his desk. It was an old picture, taken when (Y/n) was only three, of her in his lap. He was tickling her as she tried to read a book, her mouth open in laughter and a huge smile on his face. His girl. Sat right in front of him. And yet, it felt like he was talking to a stranger.

"You should know better than to disrupt other students so late at night. It's not fair to them. I know it's not the first time it's happened this week as well," He continued, folding his hands on the desk, gaze intense.

"Alright, I'm sorry. Can I go now?" She huffed, crossing her legs.

"Not just yet. Why won't you talk to me?" Charles sighed. He couldn't keep hiding from this. And he wouldn't let her either. Not anymore.

"I am talking to you," Charles scoffed, shaking his head.

"No, you're not. You're only giving me responses," (Y/N) looked beyond uncomfortable, shifting in her seat awkwardly.

"You really want to know why I'm not talking to you?" She looked up briefly, fire and fear in her eyes. Charles leant forwards, kindness glistening in his eyes. He was getting to her, slowly.

"Of course, I do," There was a pause, tension filling the space between them.

"Because I'm a disappointment. To you. I turned my back on the one person I loved more than life itself. If Warren wasn't here, I'd have probably killed myself by now," She didn't dare look at him. She couldn't. Charles features softened at her confession.

"(Y/N),  I-I could never be disappointed in you. You're my daughter. My little girl. no matter what you do, I'd never be disappointed. I was scared that I was going to lose you," The professor reached over and took her hand, sadness flooding into his blue orbs "Why won't you talk to me?"

"I won't let myself. I don't deserve your love and affection," A small crack in her voice seemed to tear his heart from his chest. How could she think that?

"What about Warren?" Charles inquired, though nothing in his voice was demanding, hurt or judgemental.

"Neither of us believes we deserve each other, so being together reassures us both. We're both a little broke," (Y/N) attempted to joke but it only made her sound more troubled by the second.

"You don't have to be. I want to be here for you (Y/N). If you'll let me," She pulled away. No. She was closing off again.

"I can't let you, I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm a monster. I betrayed you. I joined Apocalypse and when you tried to reach out for me, I turned a blind eye," The room continued to grow colder with every moment that passed.

"You were lost and hurt. You did what anyone would've. You found a way to survive," He shot back, watching as the fire was extinguished due to the icy conditions.

"I could've found another way. You always told me that there's always another way," (Y/N) hissed, yanking her hands from him, fearful that the frost of her hands would hurt him. How hadn't she thought of that? She knew her dad would never admit if she was hurting him. She could've been hurting him this whole time and he'd never say a word. How could she be so stupid to let him hold her hand?

"And I've learnt in my time that that's not always true. Even so, sometimes it feels like we have no other option, especially if our minds are clouded. If we judged people by their darkest hour, we'd all be monsters. I mean, you've seen me in mine,"

'Who the fuck allowed him to be that wise at his age?' She thought before averting her eyes to the door. "But I hurt you."

"And I forgive you. Please, come over here," Charles signalled for her to come closer. With a truckload of reluctance, she slowly tiptoed around his desk, balancing on her knees so she wasn't towering over him, elbows placed on his legs. He rested a hand on her face, thumb running over her cold cheek. That's when the walls cracked and the dam burst. Salty tears made their way down her cheeks, her lip trembling. A  sob cracked from her throat as more tears streamed down, dripping from her nose an chin. Charles carefully wiped them away, resisting a sad smile when she leant into his touch. After a moment, and a lot of internal debating, (Y/N) clumsily clambered into his lap, wrapping her arms around him, face buried in his neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," She couldn't form any other words and Charles reciprocated the hug, running a hand through her hair to calm her. Like he used to when she was just a young child. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"It's alright. You're safe now. I'll never ket anyone hurt you ever again.”

Those words alone made her know everything would be okay. Maybe not now. maybe not tomorrow. But eventually, everything would be as it should be.

 Tags: @writingfortoomanyfandoms @metaphorical-love-for-a-car@queens-n-roses @freaky-dcaky @yourealegendfred@fierce-bab@dusthas-beenbitten   @bensroger @strangeandwonderfulconcepts @babebenhardy@benhardyjones @silvver-rose  

[arrthurpendragon]

So I might have accidentally started writing a bit of Holy Mother Forking Shirtballs This is the Vampire Diaries

I walked over to the mirror and saw my reflection.  My eyes widened in horror. I blinked my eyes several times and rubbed them to clear them before I looked back.  Oh god, the reflection hadn’t changed.  Why the fork did I look like Anna Kendrick? My eyes widened again.  Oh no, if I was Anna Kendrick, did that mean Anna Kendrick was me?  If that was the case then I felt terrible for her.  My acne was severely out of control and there was definitely more of me to love than her.  Not that that was a bad thing.  You should love yourself no matter what.  But still, I felt bad for her because she was in for the shock of a lifetime.

Then again this could be a dream.  Like in Ant-Man and the Wasp.  When Scott Lang was in that dream but he looked in the mirror and saw Janet Van Dyne. My eyes widened in horror again.  Did I somehow end up in the Quantum Realm?  God, this made my head hurt.  I really needed to stop with all the pop culture stuff.  I probably should have spent more time studying or doing something useful with my life, rather than all the time I spent on the internet.  With the amount of time I spent on that blue hell site alone, I probably could have solved world hunger or cancer by now.

I took a deep breath.  The way I saw it, I had two options.  Option one: freak out.  While this option seemed very appropriate, it wasn’t in my best interest.  If I really had been Freaky Friday-ed with Anna, then her people would burst through those doors and realize that I was a fraud.  I would be arrested and sent to prison for the rest of my life.  I didn’t need that.  If I was dreaming, I would probably give myself a heart attack and die in my sleep.  I didn’t need that either.   That left option two: enjoy the lemons life had given me and make some lemonade.  Go with the flow.  Anna Kendrick was like my superhero.  What could possibly go wrong?

As I examined my reflection once more, I realized I looked a little more Twilight Anna than Pitch Perfect or Into the Woods Anna.  Not that it really mattered.  I looked like Anna Kendrick.

I walked over to the bedside table and turned the boom box on.  Kinda retro.  Who had a CD/FM radio boom box anymore?  Everyone used their phones for music these days.  But even if I could find her phone, I wouldn’t even know where to begin to crack her password.  So, I settled for an old-fashioned radio station.  Taylor Swift’s Love Story came sounding out of the speakers.  I had a love-hate relationship with that song.  Usually more hate, but I couldn’t help but grab the hairbrush on the dresser and sing along with Taylor.

I close my eyes and the flashback starts I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air

I was interrupted by a knock at the door.  Apparently, Anna didn’t live alone.  And while it really shouldn’t have mattered, I was dying to see who was at the door.  I threw the hairbrush on the bed and rushed over to the door, mentally trying to guess what celebrity would be behind the door.  I was hoping it was Chris Pine.  

I exhaled a breath slowly before I flung the door open.  Definitely not who I was expecting.  Nina Dobrev?  I mean, sure, I had seen them in a few pictures together, but definitely not the person I expected Anna to be living with.  Although, Nina looked younger than I had last seen her. Seen her, I mentally chuckled.  Like, on the internet.  I had never personally met Nina before.  But she wasn’t quite giving me happy-to-see-me friend vibe.  No, her arms were folded across her chest and she looked somewhat annoyed with me.

“Are you coming to breakfast?” she asked me. “We’re waiting on you.”

“Oh--uh, sure,” I responded.  Again, I was really curious as to who else was waiting on me...well, Anna, technically speaking.

[heka-write]

Six of Crows Thoughts and Discussion

Just finished this book a week ago. 

Not doing a review because I find that boring. The book was amazing. That’s all you need to know. Definitely recommend for buying if you can. 

A solid 4.5/5. 

I thought I’d do my thoughts on the book and story as a whole, since that’s more fun and would love to open it to discussion. 

(Spoilers are a given)  

Again, I loved this book. It reminded me a lot of The Lunar Chronicles in the sense that this book was a archetypical revenge/heist plot set in a fantasy world and The Lunar Chronicles was a traditional fairy tale plot in a fantasy/sci-fi world. 

I also did not read the original Grisha Trilogy but was still able to read the book and understand the story completely. There was plenty of world-building that intertwined seamlessly into the story, and while a few details went over my head, I was still able to have a decent understanding of the environment and politics and enjoy the story. You don’t have to read the original series to understand the spin off, and that’s another reason I would recommend the book. 

(Though, now that I have read this I am quite interested in going back and reading the original series. )

I especially loved the cast. The morally grey, chaotic neutral characters are my favorites. The ones that are victims of society and rebel against it to survive, but still have heart and care about each other. They are Bad and ruthless but sympathetic and forgivable. They are the type of Bad that you wanna be. #SquadGoals. 

They remind me a lot of Team Taka from Naruto, a team of people that were also victims of their societies and taken in by a bad crew, but learned to care for each other. Unfortunately, the author dropped the ball on those characters so the “good” characters could have their happy endings, but I’m glad I get to experience that dynamic in this book. 

I loved all the characters, but I think my favorites would be Kaz, Inej and Nina. Nina was great throughout the novel but her ending was so hardcore. I’m hoping we will get to see her struggle in the next book, and she won’t be out of commission for too long. She’s sassy and her relationship with Matthias reminds me a lot of Anastasia and Will from Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (another spin-off series! Much better than the original imo). Both these relationships are about a couple who loved each other making mistakes and working to forgive one another. The tension between them sliced through the page and I really felt their struggle. They have a great reason to love each other too; each taught the other about the common humanity among people. Matthias showed Nina kindness that she didn’t receive from her oppressors, and Nina showed Matthias friendship that he didn’t see in the propaganda he was taught. The flashbacks and progression really helped solidify them as a believable couple. I think what works the most about fictional couples like them is that you are shown how much they care despite being mad at each other. That’s how real relationships should be like. 

I was also pleasantly surprised by Jesper and Wylan as a couple. Growing up it was pretty much impossible to see gay relationships in mainstream books (only in the LGBT genre could you really find them), so I was pleasantly surprised. At first I saw Wylan as very young (for some reason) and probably a little brother figure to Jesper, but I’m glad I was proven wrong. They are hilarious together, and it was really heartwarming to see someone care for Wylan after witnessing his father reject him. 

Even though I did like these two couples I wasn’t a fan of the need of having everyone paired off. I mean seriously? Can no one be single in fiction? 

I feel this was especially since I did not see Inej and Kaz as a strong couple. I love them both as characters. Inej is a tough girl who had to work through her insecurities and heal from her past. Not to mention her cool skills. Kaz is the intelligent boy prodigy who is dark and out for revenge. They are both badass with tragic pasts, but I don’t think that’s a good enough reason for them to be together. Kaz is the bad boy type character that I usually would rather see stay a loner than have a romantic interest. If he has troubles keeping friends, how would he be ready for a romantic partner? I’m glad the author addressed that in the book, when Kaz asked her to stay and she said she needed commitment and he was too cold to give it to her. Bardugo did a good job of addressing that at least. 

But the flashbacks and longing looks didn’t really convince me for this couple as they did for NinaXMatt. They both have tragic pasts, and can sympathize with one another, but nothing of what I saw gave me reason to believe that Kaz would bond with her more than Jesper or any of the other characters. 

What really annoyed me about their relationship was that it seemed that all the moments used to show how much they cared about one another required Inej getting kidnapped or hurt. Kaz shows how much he cares for her by torturing the person who hurt her. The author shows how much Kaz cares by having a villain kidnap Inej and making Kaz go to his worst enemy for help. I’m not against female characters ever getting hurt or needing help but Inej didn’t even get a chapter in her POV after getting kidnapped. It doesn’t sit well with me. I know another book is coming, so I’ll reserve my final judgement for then. 

Again, I liked seeing Inej overcome her fears and achieve her goals. The chapter where she was able to climb up the chimney was the most empowering to read, personally. Even though I’m glad she got her revenge on Tante Heleen, I’m annoyed that we had to repeat the trope where women have to sexually please men to survive. I know the author was trying to do a subversion, because Nina and Inej were working undercover (and seductresses are staple in the Heist/Revenge plot storyline) but men are never put in this position in fiction unless it’s a joke (if anyone can come up with serious examples I’d still stand by that women are subjected to it more). Yes, I’m glad that this plot point was brought up in the issue of poverty (the author is very cutthroat about the dark aspects of the book, which I like), but I don’t understand the need to put females in this position after they escaped it. 

It was an especially frustrating point in the book because Inej spent so much of her dialogue talking about how girls were trafficked into the pleasure houses, how much abuse she suffered there, and how she left for the Dregs because it was so awful, and then says something about someone “choosing” to do it. I think the author was trying to paint that she hoped someone would choose it so it was less horrible (this is a real tactic that women in these positions use in order to cope with abuse, btw), but the fact is women in these lines of work in third-world countries rarely choose it.

 (Speaking of Inej, here’s a fun fact: My friend rented the book from the library and someone was kind enough to leave their artwork of Inej, I’ll post it if I ever get permission to). 

I think those are my most solid opinions just based on the first book. Kaz turning to Rollins for help was interesting...to say the least. I think I’ll need to see what happens next to really understand if he has given up his Revenge for Inej or if he does intend on coming back to fry that evil man’s ass. 

Let me know your thoughts ~ 

[virmillion]

As Above, So Below - Part 7

Part 1 // Part 6 // Part 8

yikes here we go let’s pretend i know how to write four people together in one scene i don’t but i mean i tried anyway so hopefully it’s not too awkward

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, OCD, let me know if there’s any more

    Virgil slouches in the pristine white carriage, letting his hair fall over his eyes. Patton, on the other hand, is bouncing off the walls, pressing his nose against the windows and drawing a face in the fog left from his breath. With a scowl, Virgil recalls the absolutely ridiculous scenario that got him here. That stupid flashback out of nowhere, the Nina lady rolling up with feigned disappointment, a carriage that might well have been pulled out of her butt, Patton’s demand to accompany Virgil. Mix it all together and you know that it’s the worst of both worlds.

    “Look, there’s the gardens!” Patton gasps, his cheek against the window to see further ahead. “All these rose bushes! Look at that fountain! Wow, check out the—” He stops mid-sentence, flailing a hand behind him in Virgil’s general direction. “Virgil. Virgil. Virgilient. Viridian. Virgil. Verge. Virgil. Virgil.” Forcing back a sigh, Virgil takes Patton’s outstretched hand to join him at the window. “The gates,” Patton breathes. The carriage and boys are instantly dwarfed by the towering silver gates, bedecked with diamonds and rubies. Their shadow stretches across the road, casting the carriage into a moment of darkness. Virgil remains stoutly unimpressed, but forces a smile to feign shock for Patton’ sake. Ahead of the gates, which part on their arrival, stands an impossibly massive palace, looming over the entirety of the entrance gardens and their fountains.

    Virgil leans back on the seat, fighting the urge to jump through the window and bolt for the city of convicts. Patton, not noticing his friend’s disdain, continues to take in the sights, ooh-ing and ah-ing at every last detail. Even the pavement isn’t safe from his admiration, given how clean it is. With his eyes fixated on his ratty shoes, Virgil ambles along from the carriage into the palace, guards flanking either side of him and Patton. Virgil ignores the marble tile floors—five square steps each—he ignores the lines between rooms—a centered step with each foot on the tile seam—and he ignores the cathedral windows—seven panels tall by two panels wide with a rounded triangle at the top.

    All too soon, the guards deposit the boys in some giant room that Virgil readily blocks out—he doesn’t count the eight tile wide entryway, he doesn’t count the twenty one jewels embedded in the only throne in the room, and he certainly doesn’t count the thirty seven tiles separating him and Patton from the two guys in front of them. Most of all, he doesn’t watch that white-clad arm wave a hand to dismiss the guards out the door. If anything, he might deign to notice the kick from a guard to his knees, forcing him to kneel as Patton goes down voluntarily beside him.

    “So, you’re the Virgil in question, I presume?” Gritting his teeth, Virgil lifts his eyes to see some guy in a tie looking unimpressed, probably the one who posed the question. He takes Virgil’s silence for confirmation before continuing, “who’s the other one?”

    Virgil winces as Patton rises next to him, mentally kicking himself for not giving Patton a rundown on court etiquette earlier. Typical Virgil, he thinks, assuming everything will already be taken care of. Tie boy makes no comment at Patton standing without consent, merely waiting for his response. “If someone tries to take my best friend somewhere he doesn’t want to be, there’s no way I’m letting them take him alone.”

    “Love the monologue. Still doesn’t tell me who you are,” Tie boy replies drily. Princey dude next to him lets a giggle escape before clapping a hand over his mouth.

    “Right, right, so sorry. My name’s Patton.”

    “Thank you. Virgil, up.” Mentally, Virgil pulls off some cool stunt where he jumps from his knees to his feet with his hands still shoved in his pockets, but in reality, he just uses the freezing marble floor as leverage to get up like a normal person. Immediately, he wrenches his hand back as if it’d been burned, the floor so perfect and sterile that is leaves his fingers quivering. Princey dude locks eyes with Virgil, a look that he returns with a vengeance, daring the royal to look away first. Roman, he thinks, but no, Princey dude is better, less personal, less of a giveaway. Regardless, Princey dude breaks the stare, a question lingering in his eyes.

    “As we’ve heard, you passed your boundary line twice now, which has led to your current presence in this room today.” Tie boy takes a step forward.

    “Redundant much?” Virgil mutters.

    “Excuse me?”

    “Redundant,” Virgil repeats. “Current and today, you don’t need to say both words in the same sentence.” Tie boy stiffens, a weird expression crossing his face for a split second.

    “Right. Anyway. Evidently, Prince Roman pardoned you from execution, so he’s responsible for your situation now, despite his lack of memory regarding doing so.” Shit, Virgil thinks, he might still know.

    “Yeah,” Princey dude confirms, finally speaking up. Patton’s eyes sparkle at the utter composure of this boy garbed in white and red. “Care to enlighten us on the circumstances surrounding your earlier pardoning and release?” At Virgil’s silence, Princey dude nods. “Got it. Moving on, your consequences for violating the restrictions of your exile.” The words, formal and boring, sound out of place in Princey dude’s mouth, as if he’d eaten a dictionary for breakfast.

    “Before you are posed two choices,” Tie boy continues, taking over again. “Execution, or constant surveillance by Prince Roman and myself, intermittently.”

    “Oxymoron,” Virgil comments, neglecting to joke about the vague connection between surveillance and vigilance.

    “Come again?” A muscle feathers in Tie boy’s jaw.

    “Intermittent means not continuous, or at unsteady intervals, and while you use it to imply that different people will be keeping watch over me, so to speak, it lies in direct contrast with you saying ‘constant surveillance,’ thereby making it an oxymoron.” Tie boy looks remarkably close to slapping Virgil.

    “As I said, execution is also an option,” he spits.

    “Sure, but given that your guards went to the trouble of bringing a street rat like me all the way here, with a plus one no less, I’m gonna go ahead and assume Princey dude over there isn’t intent on that course of action.” Virgil isn’t quite sure where this sass is coming from, but he won’t deny enjoying the reactions it’s getting. Especially from Patton, who’s forcing back a laugh at each remark.

    “Did you just call me Princey dude?” Princey dude asks, incredulous. Virgil gives him a shit-eating grin. “Well, you’re right, we weren’t really interested in execution, but I would like to know the terms of your previous endeavors that got you sent to the city of convicts in the first place. All in due time, I suppose.” Princey dude and Tie boy cross the thirty seven and thirty six tiles, respectively, to reach Virgil and Patton,

    “I’m Logan, Prince Roman’s royal advisor,” Tie boy says. He extends a hand to shake, which Patton does, while Virgil pretends not to notice it.

    “And I’m His Royal Highness, Prince Roman. But you already knew that.” Princey dude winks at Patton with a handshake, taking his awe in stride, before turning to Virgil. “I guess we’ll be palace mates, then? Or just really distant roommates.” Virgil glances down at the extended hand, then back at the prince. He knows that hand, its past, its doings, and its relationship to his own. The hand shifts closer, insistent. Virgil hesitates, recalling when that hand was directed toward him, filled with pleading and regret and condemnation and goodbyes.

    Virgil does not shake it.

Tag List:

@reality-isfor-muggles @artistictaurean @adfandertime @virgils-old-sweater @karaidemon @dudapoconeh @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @fallingamor @ghostdorkphil @tinysidestrashcaptain @punch-you-with-friendship @pattykrabbies @virgils-hoodie @twettypuff @justanotherpurplebutterfly @lizethemotherlycat @skyshade48 @tree4life25 @andromeda-galaxsander @sombraplayslazertag @lemonpepperpizza @erlenmeyertrash @raincloudverge @potatoes-and-depression @milomeepit @coffeestudylive @sakurahayasaki @leesacrakon

[itslovewithyouthings]

5 Times Static Shock Got Real I didn't want to put these in a list alongside… https://ift.tt/2FAAFHT

5 Times Static Shock Got Real I didn't want to put these in a list alongside the best episodes. In reality these could also be considered the best episodes because they hit home with kids and maybe adults too. I wanted to call them sad but they're more cautionary tales and stories about how our actions shape those around us. Sure they're dark but sometimes there's a happy ending.. Here's the 5 times Static Shock got real: 5. Power Play Richie eventually becomes a hero in the end. It wasn't always that way. In this episode Virgil finds Richie pretending to be a hero and makes fun of him. It wasn't to be mean people just make fun of their friends. But if you're friends with that person and you find the thing that bothers them you never do it again. To Virgil's credit he never did it again. However the damage was done in this case and Richie runs off. He meets and old man named Ragtag that gives him powers in a chance meeting. Richie discovers when he saves a dog. He rushes to tell Virgil and they go out to the junk yard. They practice Richie's new powers. Richie barely avoids injury and rushes off to find Ragtag paying him for more power to be a hero. He quickly becomes a more popular hero than static. Richie runs out if money and realizes he'll have to join Ragtags goons Run and Jump in stealing to get the money. This was the plan all along. Get Richie hooked similar to how some drug dealers will get people to hooked so that they keep coming back to buy more drugs. In fact it's 100% an analogy for drugs. Richie refuses to steal saying he doesn't need the powers to be a hero. Run an Jump attack before Static arrives to save Richie and take down Ragtag's scheme. Richie admits he missed the powers but he's okay being average. 4. Flashback Virgil and Richie are a dedication for rescue workers that died during the Dakota Riots years ago. Front and center is Jean Hawkins Virgil's mother. If you've seen some earlier episodes Virgil avoids talking about his mother. At one point he avoided going to a tribute for her because he wasn't over her death. This is no different as Virgil and Richie duck out to save a girl from Ebon. She uses her powers to rewind time so they save her again. She goes back with them to their base and reveals she wants to be a hero too. Gear makes her a remote so she can control her powers better. Ebon attacks and during the fight Static shocks Ebon and the remote causing everyone to travel back in time to the night of the riots. Gear looks for Nina and Ebon who wants to create a 2nd Big Bang in this time period. Virgil however goes looking for his mother. He finds her and saves her from a building falling on her. He places her on a rooftop and begs her not to leave. She asks who he is and he explains he's Virgil her son and a superhero. She says she won't leave but she does as soon as he's gone. They stop Ebon and group up to leave. Static looks over and sees his mother saving lives. When they return to their time he rushes home to see if his mom is still alive. She's not and he embraces his dad in years. He finally starts to accept her death when his dad reveals before she died his mother just kept talking about being proud of Virgil for being a superhero. 3. Frozen Out It's the holiday season for this one. I say Holiday because there are some characters celebrating Christmas some Hanukkah and even Kwanzaa. Virgil is late to Frieda's party and leaves early after a power outage to check what's going on at the power station where everything has been frozen. He's attacked from nowhere with ice powers. He never finds the attacker. He's leaving and an homeless girl asks him for change only to be told he has better stuff to do. Static is lame I've told you this. Later they're at the mall and the homeless girl is looking at a statue when security tells her to get out and attacks her. This causes her to freak out and freeze the whole mall. Static saves everyone but she vanishes again he misses seeing her. Later Static abandons Richie at the church where they were prepping care packages for homeless and the less fortunate so he can go to another party. He didn't even invite his best friend to come along. Richie calls and tells him the highway is under attack. This time Static meets the girl and she introduces herself as Permafrost. Static says he can help her and she sees him as a CPS worker and runs away. He follows her footsteps to a homeless shelter where he finds a picture of her with her mother. He goes back to the church not to help but to ask about the girl. The preacher explains her name is Maureen and her mother died causing her to end up on the streets. The preacher also gives Virgil a lesson on how homeless people are also people and he should treat them that way. Like I said Virgil is lame. She tracks down Static wanting the picture of her mother back and instead of just giving it to her he taunts her like he usually does villains. Eventually he just talks to her and gives her a hug. She gives up and she joins the church's homeless care program. 2. Jimmy This episode is done entirely as a flashback told by Virgil who sits with a greif counselor. The episode entirely follows a random kid named Jimmy. Jimmy gets bullied a lot. Virgil and Richie try to be his friend but he's bullied so hard he shuts himself out from the world. While everyone is preparing for the school dance things were already out of line. Jimmy's bully decided to cross even more lines and shove him into a locker. Jimmy doesn't show up for the dance or school for the next week and rumors start to swirl. Other students speak out but by this time it's far too late and Jimmy had been bullied for way too long. When we next see Jimmy he shows up at school looking disheveled. Virgil convinces his dad to take him to Jimny' s house so he can check on Jimmy. Once there they learn he isn't there and that he has a journal planning a school shooting. By the time they find Jimmy he's at the community center and has his main bully Nick at gunpoint. Richie talks Jimmy out of it reminding him he does have friends and he starts to put the gun down. Kevin's friends attack Jimmy anyway causing him to panic and fire the gun hitting Richie. Jimmy falls to the ground crying thinking he killed Richie and the bullies play innocent. Jimmy gets some psych treatment and the bullies are expelled and forced to do community service. Richie wears a cast and it is never talked about again. 1. Sons of The Fathers There's not a lot that happens in this episode but what does happen shakes you to your core if you're anything like me. Virgil and Richie are hanging out and Virgil asks why they never hang out at Richie's and Richie does everything he can to dodge the question. Eventually he caves and invites Virgil for a sleepover when his dad would be out of town for work. Things go great Richie's mom is great and and Virgil wonders why he never got invited. Then Richei's dad comes home and has the slickest of racist things to say about Virgil and black people in general. Everyone kind of hates him but they keep quite. Later Virgil is brushing his teeth and hears Richie's mom and dad argue. Richie's dad goes on a tirade about black people taking all the jobs and how sick he is they'd let one in his house. Virgil apologizes to Richie and heads home. Richie and his dad get into an argument about how Virgil is basically his only friend and he scared him off. The actual quote is "Well His dad doesn't back down and Richie runs away. Richie's dad goes crawling to Virgil and his dad for help. The three go looking for Richie. Static finds him and tells him they'll always be friends. Richie heads home and Ebon snatches him. The dad squad find Ebon and Talon before attempting to fight them. They almost did it. Static eventually comes in and makes the save. Richie's dad promises he'll try not to be racist. But they never did go back to Richie's house so he probably lied. You should buyDarrell's Book watch him on the Blerds OnlineYouTube Channelor TheCP TimeandPowerbomb Jutsupodcasts. Follow @OriginalKingD

[

5 Times Static Shock Got Real I didn't want to put these in a list alongside… https://ift.tt/2FAAFHT

[azheirloom]

Literary Fragments of the Rain

Episode 24.5

Translation by a kind /a/non. (user 262661 on pastebin) Raws: http://privatter.net/p/859854 http://privatter.net/p/860118 Reminder, these are unofficial transcriptions.

–The Penultimate Truth–

June, 2017

(Rain pouring, the sound of a car engine) Calm: “So much rain! Wipers aren’t gonna help much…” Inaho: “Do drive with care.” Calm: “I know that! Don’t act all important when you’re the one getting a ride.” Inaho: “You’re the one who said you wanted to take the car out for a ride because you were skipping classes, Calm.” Calm: “Well, yeah, that’s right, but…” Inaho: “What about your credits?” Calm: “I’m telling you, that’s fine. I calculated those. More importantly, what about you, Inaho?” Inaho: “Me?” Calm: “Isn’t it tough at the, huh, what was it called… Si…cy, cybernetics lab, was it?” Inaho: “Not as tough as being your math teacher, Calm.” Calm: “Too far…” Inaho: “Nina said she was going to travel during summer holidays, right?” Calm: “Oh, yeah, with Rayet. She said they were going down south or something.” Inaho: “Inko was envious.” Calm: “But she was invited, right?” Inaho: “She said she was going to be helping out with the diner instead.” Calm: “Ohh. I’m really glad they were able to re-open, though. Hey, we’re here.” Inaho: “Thanks for the ride, Calm. Later.” Calm: “Okay, see you later!” (Door shuts close) Calm: “…This rain… It just won’t stop.”

(Sound of footsteps, a rusty door opening, a chair being pulled out, sitting down) Inaho: “How are you feeling?” Slaine: “…You again?” Inaho: “…You don’t play chess?” Slaine: “…” Inaho: “If it’s because you don’t know the rules–” Slaine: “I know the rules but I won’t play. I’m not interested.” Inaho: “…” Slaine: “What did you come here for, Kaizuka Inaho?” Inaho: “To play chess. I told you I would be back, didn’t I?” Slaine: “Pff… Faithful to your word, huh? Or is it that you have too much time on your hands?” Inaho: “Look at me. Can’t you think of anything?” Slaine: “What are you talking about?” Inaho: “I’m DRIPPING wet. I’d expect you to at least ask if it was raining outside.” Slaine: “I left the part of me that used to care about others on the Moon.” Inaho: “If that’s the case, what you’re saying is that the “you” that’s in here is not the real “you”.” Slaine: “I wonder if it’s not the opposite. Perhaps this is how I really am.” Inaho: “Quite philosophic.” Slaine: “Philosophy…? (disgusted) Not interested.” Inaho: “You should try it out. It would definitely suit you.” Slaine: “What would I accomplish by learning anything now?” Inaho: “It would be a good way to spend your free time.” Slaine: “”Free time”… There’s no way I could ever think of it that way!” Inaho: “Such integrity.” Slaine: “What about you, Kaizuka Inaho? Don’t you have too much “free time”? What did you even come here for? Don’t tell me you came here just to argue with me…” Inaho: “I came here just to argue with you.” Slaine (shouting): “Do I look like an idiot to you?!” Inaho: “Technically, you are indeed an idiot.” Slaine: “Stop messing with me!” Inaho: “I’m not messing with you.” Slaine: “You ARE messing with me…!!” Inaho: “…” Slaine: (sigh) “Just leave me alone already.” Inaho: “I can’t do that.” Slaine: “Because the princess asked you to, right? In that case tell her this on my behalf: “please forget about me”.” Inaho: “I can’t do that. Slaine: “Why not?!” Inaho: “The last time I had a proper conversation with Seylum-san was at the base in Russia. After that we met on the Moon, but she spoke to the Analytical Engine, my left eye. I removed it already, though.” Slaine: “…You haven’t met with princess Asseylum after that, not even once?” Inaho: “Yeah. Seylum-san has been traveling around the world to try to dissuade the Knights that ignored her ceasefire orders and are still offering resistance. I saw it on the news this morning.” Slaine: “I see…” Inaho: “She really reminds me of a bird.” Slaine: “A bird? What do you mean?” Inaho: “It’s because she’s “flying” all over the world.” Slaine: “…” Inaho: “…I’m leaving, I’ll see you later.” (Door opens, Inaho leaves)

(Flashback) [Side A (Day) exclusive scene] Lemrina: “A real bird?” Slaine: “Yes, from Earth. I will bring it here and show it to you. Arrangements are being made as we speak.” Lemrina: “Do you think it will land and stay on my hand?” Slaine: “I’m sure it will. It is a species used to humans.” Lemrina: “A caged bird… Lord Marylcian might have been a fool, but some of the things he taught me were accurate. He said I was a caged bird. Even if the door of my cage were to open, I wouldn’t be able to go far with these legs. …Rather, I wouldn’t leave at all.” Slaine: “Princess… Please don’t say something like that, that isn’t true. You are, after all, the future queen that will rule over Earth and Vers one day.” Lemrina: “But it is true, Slaine. I can’t go anywhere, I won’t go anywhere. I’m fine in my cage.”

(Flashback) [Side Z (Night) exclusive scene] Harklight: “Birds…, my lord?” Slaine: “Yes. I would like you to bring me living birds from Earth.” Harklight: “Surely, that can be done… However, it might prove difficult for them to breed and survive as they would on Earth… “ Slaine: “That’s all right. Just bring back more from Earth when they die.” Harklight: “Certainly, my lord.” Slaine: “Princess Lemrina… She told me she sees herself as a caged bird.” Harklight: “That’s not true. You are only doing what is best for the princesses, you are protecting them, Sir Slaine!” Slaine: “Locking them up inside a cage, their will disregarded… How exactly am I protecting them by doing that?” Harklight: “Sir Slaine…” Slaine: “However… There are indeed beasts outside of that cage. Horrible monsters that act solely based on self-interest…” Harklight: “…” Slaine: “I myself am nothing but a beast, too. A bat born on Earth.” Harklight: “Even so, my lord… I shall follow this honorable beast, no matter what happens, no matter where it goes.”

(Feet going down the stairs, a rusty door opening) Slaine: “You’re here again, Kaizuka Inaho.” Inaho: “I did say I would be back, Slaine Troyard. You look pale. Did you catch a cold?” Slaine: “No. You’re drenched. Is it still raining today?” Inaho: “Yeah.” Slaine: “…Aren’t you going to call me “Bat” anymore?” Inaho: “You’re not calling me “Orange” either, are you? Besides, you’re no longer a bat or umineko.” Slaine: “Umineko?” Inaho: “It’s a bird, a black-tailed gull. Not to be confused with a cat.” Slaine: “You really think I’m an idiot, don’t you…?” Inaho: “I heard you haven’t been eating your meals properly lately. Why is that?” Slaine: “I don’t move much, so I don’t feel hungry. That’s all.” Inaho: “Then move. That’s not healthy.” Slaine: “You don’t have to order me around.” Inaho: “At least use your head. How about—“ Slaine: “I already told you I’m not going to study philosophy.” Inaho: “You’re pretty stubborn, Slaine Troyard. I’ll choose a couple of books for you next time.” Slaine: “And you don’t listen to what people say, Kaizuka Inaho.” Inaho: ”How about a quiz instead, then?” Slaine: “A quiz?” Inaho: “Why do birds fly in the sky?” Slaine: “What…?” Inaho: “You have until my next visit to think about the answer.” (Inaho leaves) Slaine (laughing): “…This is ridiculous…”

(Flashback) (Sounds of the explosions at the Moonbase) Lemrina: “No!! Slaine! Slaine! Please, no! Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t go anywhere?! I don’t mind being a bird in a cage!” Slaine: “Princess Lemrina… I’m doing this for you, to protect you. Please…” Lemrina: “I don’t need protection! Slaine! Slaine! I want to be the one protecting… I want to protect you, Slaine…!”

(Feet going down the stairs, a rusty door opening) Slaine: “Drenched again? Still raining, huh?” Inaho: “Yeah. It rains a lot during this time of the year.” Slaine: “…I heard this country goes through four seasons.” Inaho: “Six seasons, to be exact. There’s the plum rain season between spring and summer, and the typhoon season between summer and fall.” Slaine: “And right now is…?” Inaho: “The plum rain season. It rains almost every day throughout a month and a half.” Slaine: “I see… There was this time when the princess asked me if birds could still fly if it rained, if their wings wouldn’t become heavy from being wet.” Inaho: “And what did you say?” Slaine: “I don’t remember… I probably said they would be able to fly again if they rested their wings until they were dry, or something like that.” Inaho: “Birds secrete an oil from the base of their feathers, it helps repelling and protecting them from water. Even if they get a little wet under the rain, they can still fly for a while.” Slaine: “It looks like you know everything.” Inaho: “Which reminds me, do you have the answer to that quiz? Why do birds fly?” Slaine: “…To protect themselves and run away from possible threats, to prey upon insects… And also, to survey.” Inaho: “Survey?” Slaine: “I thought that if they flew high in the sky, they would be able to see the whole world, they would be able to understand anything and everything. But I was wrong. If they fly so high there’s not even a single tree branch to rest on, they will get tired, and end up falling instead. …No, I wasn’t even a bird. I wasn’t a gull or a beast. In the end I was nothing but a bat.” Inaho: “And even so, you’re alive”. Slaine: “…Why did I survive?” Inaho: “Why indeed.” Slaine: “Will I find the answer if I keep on flying?” Inaho: “You won’t. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop looking for it, right?” Slaine: “I’m going to pass out just thinking about it.” (chuckle) Inaho: “It’s getting late, I’ll be leaving now.” Slaine: “Knight to F6.” Inaho: “…?!” Slaine (softly): “Your turn, Kaizuka Inaho.” Inaho (still surprised): “…Bishop to G5.“ Slaine: “Knight to E4.“ Inaho: “Bishop to F4. You’re too abstract when speaking. It’s difficult to understand what you’re trying to say, you should be more specific.” Slaine: “Wha—…! I speak normally! You’re the one who’s too boring, how about you do something about that instead?” Inaho: “A conversation is about objectively presenting the facts.” Slaine: “But that’s not very interesting to the listener, you know… Don’t tell me that’s how you used to talk to the princess…” Inaho: “…? Uh, yeah.” Slaine: “Unbelievable… I get the feeling we’re never going to understand each other.” Inaho: “Seems that way.”

Asseylum: “It has been a while, Eddelrittuo.” Eddelrittuo: “It, It has been a while, my la—… I mean, Your Majesty the Queen Asseylum!” Asseylum: “I apologize for such a simple reunion. I was summoned to Earth last minute.” Eddelrittuo: “Not at all… To be able to see someone such as my lad—, Your Majesty is already an honor! I’m glad you seem to be faring well even though you have been so busy.” Asseylum: “What about you, Eddelrittuo, how have you been?” Eddelrittuo: “Aside from my mother pressing me to do my homemaking training, I have been doing fine, thank you...” Asseylum: “I am sure you will soon become a wonderful bride, Eddelrittuo.” Eddelrittuo: “Ah, no, haha… Oh, that’s right, that potted plant that Your Majesty sent has bloomed!” Asseylum: “Oh my! I’m glad to hear that.” Eddelrittuo: “It is a beautiful flower, just like Your Majesty.” Asseylum (smiling): “That reminds me… It is the season of the rain on that country of Earth, is it not? I heard that this is the time a flower called “hortensia” is in full bloom. I will send you a picture if I come across it.” Eddelrittuo: “Thank you very much!” Asseylum: “I wonder if around this time of the year, the bird with the drenched wings is resting, too…?” Eddelrittuo: “Your Majesty…?” Asseylum: “Once the feathers are dry, one day, for sure, it will be able to…”

[Side A (Day) exclusive scene] (Climbing up the stairs, then the sound of a car engine) Inaho: “…It stopped raining…” Voice: “Over here, Nao-kun!” Inaho: “Yuki-nee! Why are you here? You have your day off, shouldn’t you be at home, sleeping?” Yuki: “I was, but I got tired of sleeping.” Inaho (smiling): “That does sound like you.” (Driving for a while) Inaho: “Hey, Yuki-nee, do you want to go to the beach?” Yuki: “…Nao-kun…?” Inaho: “We went to the beach to watch the birds back then, right?” Yuki (about to cry): “You still remember…!” Inaho: “Yeah.” Yuki: “It all went so bad, we never got to see them that day.” Inaho: “Yeah. That’s why I really want to see them this time…” (At the beach) Yuki: “That bird is flying awfully low… Is it because its feathers are wet from the rain, I wonder?” Inaho: “Even so, it’s still flying.”

[Side Z (Night) exclusive scene] (Climbing up the stairs, then the sound of a car engine) Inaho: “…It stopped raining…” Voice: “Hey, Inaho~! I came to pick you up!” Inaho: “Calm! Don’t tell me you’re skipping classes again…” Calm: “Nope! I don’t have classes today, for real this time! Ahh, I’m hungry… Wanna grab something to eat on our way back?” Inaho: “Going to Inko’s diner would be great.” Calm: “You got it! Inko’s diner. I want katsudon!” Inaho: “Their katsu curry is great.” Calm: “Oh?! Okay, katsu curry it is!” Inaho: “I’ll have the katsudon, then.” Calm: “What’s that even supposed to mean?!” (Driving for a while) Calm: “Look, a bird. Is that because of the rain? It’s flying really low.” Inaho: “But it’s flying.”

[Video clip from episode 8]

[booksbakingandblogging]

It’s almost getting boring saying this each month, but I had yet another great reading month in June! I participated in the Make Your MythTaker readathon, so if you want to know more about that, I recommend watching my TBR video (click here). I ended up reading five books for the readathon and then two additional ones besides those – and all but one of them were four- or five-star reads! Let’s get into the nitty gritty…

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno ★★★★⭑ (4.5)

This was such a wonderful book! I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did, but it’s been over a month now and I’m still thinking about it almost daily. Maybe I should bump my rating up to five stars… Don’t Date Rosa Santos is a contemporary YA novel and it has everything I love in a book: a small-town seaside setting featuring a tight-knit community, a family of strong female characters, a hint of magic, lots of food, and a cute romance. It’s also a story about immigrants: Rosa feels stuck between Florida, where she was born and raised, and Cuba, the home her grandmother still dreams of. Rosa is a wonderful main character and I got very invested in her story as she tries to navigate the past and the present and find out what’s best for her future. I kind of already want to reread it!

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden ★★★★★

This might just be the best graphic novel I have ever read, and I’ve read some pretty great ones already. On a Sunbeam is a sci-fi novel that takes place in space and follows main character Mia as she becomes part of a crew that rebuilds broken-down and abandoned structures, moving from job to job in their spaceship. Through flashbacks, we also get to know about Mia’s time at a boarding school (also in space), where she fell in love with a mysterious girl. I had to find my footing within this story a little bit as it started quite abruptly, but when I did, I loved it. I love the theme of found family that plays a big role as Mia becomes close to the rest of the crew. The story itself is beautiful as well, and Walden slowly builds to a crescendo in a wonderful way. And then there’s the art… That alone would almost be enough for me to give this five stars!

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle ★★★⭑☆ (3.5)

A children’s classic! I knew very little about A Wrinkle in Time before going in – I’m pretty sure I picked it up in a bookstore in London right around the time the film came out, but I ended up not reading it and not seeing the film either. It was such a fun story, though! It’s about these kids who go in search of their missing father and travel through time and space with three funny, old, all-powerful ladies to do so. I thought the mystery at the heart of the story was pretty interesting, but ultimately the good versus evil dichotomy (and by extension the God versus Satan one) was a bit too heavily present for me. In spite of that, though, it did feel quite modern, which I was surprised by.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Edo-Lodge ★★★★★

I always find it a little difficult to rate non-fiction books, but with this one there was no hesitation before I gave it five stars. With everything going on in the world – the Black Lives Matter protests, the rampant police brutality, and the deeply embedded institutionalised racism – I wanted to educate myself more on the topic, so I decided to pick up this book, which had been on my radar for a while already anyway. Reni Edo-Lodge provides both much-needed history lessons and sharp social analyses of the current state of racism in Britain. Even though I don’t live in Britain, this was still an eye-opener, since much of it probably also applies to Dutch society (but I’m going to read up on that specifically as well). I think that, as a white person, it is important to be aware of your white privilege and to acknowledge that black people (and other people of colour) face (institutionalised) racism and discrimination on a daily basis. This book is a great gateway to learning more. I’d highly recommend it!

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender ★★★★☆

This is a YA contemporary novel that tells the story of Felix, a black, gay transgender boy living in New York. Felix has never been in love but desperately wants to be. In the meantime, though, he has other stuff to deal with as well, such as trying to get into Brown University, a father who still calls him his daughter sometimes, and an anonymous bully sending him transphobic messages and hanging up old pictures of him around the school. This was a really beautiful novel about finding your identity and learning to love both yourself and others. Throughout the book, Felix made some dumb decisions that had me pretty frustrated, but they also kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved Felix and his friends, and I especially loved all of the honest, open conversations about identity, sexuality, and love.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende ★★★★⭑ (4.5)

I’d been meaning to read something by Isabel Allende for quite some time, so when this book fitted one of the prompts for the Make Your MythTaker readathon quite perfectly, I was very happy! This is Allende’s first novel and it’s a family saga about three generations of women living in Chile. It features love, tragedy, and lots of subtle magic. I loved how complex the characters were and how none of them were entirely likable. I loved the way the story was told, with the references to what was still to come and the constant sense of impending doom. I loved the beautiful writing and the political undertones that taught me a lot about Chilean history. I loved it all, and now I can’t wait to read more of Allende’s work!

This Coven Won’t Break by Isabel Sterling ★★★★☆

This is the sequel to These Witches Don’t Burn, which I read earlier this year, and absolutely loved. I didn’t know it when I started reading, but This Coven Won’t Break is actually the finale of the series, and it picks up a few weeks (or maybe months) after the end of the first book. This series tells the story of Hannah, who is part of a coven of Elemental witches living in Salem, Massachusetts. They have to keep their identities as witches as a secret, but then their safety gets threatened. Both books are very action-packed and they completely drew me in. There’s an adorable female-female romance, there are great friendships and family dynamics, and there’s an exciting plot. What’s not to love?

And that’s it for all of the books I read in June! I have no idea what I’ll be reading in July, because, for the first time in months, I don’t have a set TBR, so it will be exciting to see what my July Mini Reviews post will look like! Now, tell me about your reading month: what did you read in June? Did you like it? Let’s chat in the comments!

In June, I read seven books and I really liked all of them! Here are my thoughts... It's almost getting boring saying this each month, but I had yet another great reading month in June!