#which is why he and katherine work much better

[biichama]

Holy shit was The Tomb of Dragons a fucking ride. I read the entire book within twelve hours of it being deposited onto my e-reader app and the only reason it took that long was because I had to bathe and sleep in between. Like, it is going to be a massive disruption to the fandom and its shipping and it's jossed pretty much every fic written in the aftermath of Grief of Stones, but it is good and gripping and it manages to tie up loose ends that I hadn't really realized were loose. I really, really liked it.

I have additional spoilery thoughts on why I think certain things happened in the book, which I'll put after the read more.

So I ended up getting spoiled on a very certain plot point last week when I checked to see if there were any pre-release reviews from people who'd been given an ARC and like, while I definitely get how people are going to be upset that Cehelar and Pel-Thenhior did not, actually, get together, I was actually pleasantly surprised by their dynamic in the book? Like maybe it's just because I was already spoiled that the ship wasn't happening, so I had come to terms and was able to accept what Katherine Addison gave us, but it is exceedingly clear that just because they're not in romantic love doesn't mean they don't love each other because it is really fucking clear that they do. Iäna is Thara's truest goddamn friend in the world, even more than Anora, and their friendship burns clear and intense and bright. I really love all their scenes together. Forgive me for being Homestuck on main, but they're moirails, y'all.

Also, I really did enjoy Captain Olgarezh as a character and Thara's slow burn crush on him, culminating in the thee-ing, hand-holding, and given-naming in the last scene. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next for them, both in fanfic and (hopefully!) in further books to come, which it does seem like Katherine Addison has laid the groundwork for. And honestly, given the direction that it looks like she's taking Thara and the way it ends with Thara on the road again, making Hanu the love interest instead of Iäna makes a world of sense. Because we all love Iäna but he's not leaving Amalo, not when he has his opera house and his community, and it would strain credulity for the archprelate to be able to endlessly find new short term jobs in Amalo for Thara to do now that Tomasaran has his old one.

(Like it says in the acknowledgments that Tomb of Dragons was a hard book to write and I get that. In some ways Katherine Addison wrote herself into a corner with Grief of Stones in terms of being able to continue telling the kind of stories she wanted to with Thara and Tomb of Dragons was her way of writing him out of that corner. Like the way Grief of Stones ends, you can see the character arc she probably initially intended for Thara, where he mentors Tomasaran through her first cases and eventually comes to fully accept the loss of his gift and ends up retiring to stay in Amalo with Pel-Thenhior—but I suspect she had trouble making that actually work with Thara in a way that felt true to his character, probably because he would rather die than retire. Hence her making sure that he can't stay in Amalo or even go back to visit for now and creating Hanu as someone who can go on the road with him. And hence him being able to get his gift back.)

Anyway, apart from all that, I was so fucking pleased to see Maia and Csevet show up again and get all those little glimpses of him coming into his own as an emperor after a year on the throne. I hope that we do get another book where Thara and Hanu reach the Untheileneise Court and we see even more Maia and also hopefully Csethiro too. And that eventually all Thara's friends from Amalo show back up again, because they're all great and he really does need to get better at accepting people care about him. Get loved, idiot.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Practice Makes Perfect

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Actress!Reader

Word Count: ~1.7k

Warnings: none, nervous!jensen that's super cute

Request by anon: Hey, can i request a series or one shot with Jensen x actress/singer reader, where the reader is very famous actress and singer that work in Marvel as Black Widow, Game of Thrones, TVDU, etc and Jensen loved her and always are talking about her in set without knowing that she is Gen Padalecki best fiends and Jared Padalecki friends and Jared tell her all Jensen said about her so she was casted as a new character who is Dean love interest without him knowing and in the end they end together and have kids?

Summary: You're a famous actress that's been in lots of movies and TV shows. Jensen has a huge crush on you and doesn't know that the newest person to be hired onto Supernatural is none other than you.

Square Filled: what if (2022) for @spndeanbingo

Author’s Note: just pretend that each of the shows/movies she's been in took place one after the other instead of going on at the exact same time.

x

Jared and Jensen have a few minutes alone before their panel. Jared is snacking on whatever they provided them with while Jensen is sitting on the couch browsing on his phone. Jared has his wife on FaceTime as he is stuffing his face, and she laughs at the food dripping from his mouth.

“Baby, why can’t you eat normally?”

“What? I’m hungry,” he says, more food spewing from his mouth.

“Our kids eat better than you,” she chuckles.

“Jen, tell her I eat normally.” Jared turns to his friend but Jensen isn’t listening to a word he’s saying. He has one of his Airpods in watching a video. “Are you guys coming to the panel?”

“Yeah, we’re just exploring right now.”

“Hi, Daddy!” Odette smiles and jumps into the frame.

“Hey, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay. Say bye!”

All three of his kids say bye just before Gen hangs up on him. Jared finishes eating his snack before walking over to his friend. He takes a seat next to him to see what video he’s watching and smirks when he sees you on the screen.

“So, what do you want to do when the panel is over? What section of the convention do you want to visit?” Jared asks knowing Jensen isn’t listening.

He’s too invested in the video of you doing press for your new Marvel movie. You play the elusive Black Widow in all of the Marvel films, and you just got done filming your own solo movie. You’ve done some press for the movie even before it comes out to prepare people for what to expect and things of that nature.

“You’re obsessed with her,” Jared chuckles.

“Shut up, I’m not,” Jensen barks. “I’m just an admirer of her movies.”

“You have posters of her locked away in your collection.”

Jensen slaps his friend on the chest and continues watching the video. It’s true, Jensen has a major crush on you not only for Black Widow but for every role you’ve ever done. You’ve played Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, Katherine and Elena in The Vampire Diaries, and so much more. You’re such a talented person that acting is like second nature to you. You can do almost any role you’ve ever landed, and you’ve won a lot of awards for it which you’re proud of.

“Damn, look at her. She’s gorgeous,” Jensen says with metaphorical hearts in his eyes. Jared laughs and Jensen shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I have a major crush on this woman. What are you gonna do about it?”

“We’re about to do a panel. Come on.”

Jensen and Jared get ready to go out on stage. All their fans cheer for them when they make an appearance. Jared scans the audience to see his wife there with her phone pointed at him. He nods once and turns to Jensen knowing his wife is getting this on video.

“Alright, any questions?” Jared asks. A lot of hands go up in the air, and he points to the person whom Gen gestures. “What’s your name?”

“Elisa. I’m such a huge fan of both of you. My question is for Jensen. I watched a video you did talking about the actress Y/N. She just finished her movie Black Widow. Is it true you have a crush on her?”

Everyone cheers for this question but quiets down to give Jensen an opportunity to answer. His entire face reddens at the question and becomes extremely conscious of what he’s wearing, what he’s saying, and how he’s behaving as if you’re in the room.

“Wow, there’s a lot to unpack here. Look, she’s gorgeous, I’m not gonna lie. If she were standing in front of me now, I don’t think I’d form complete sentences. So, yes, I have a crush on her.”

Everyone laughs at how shy he’s becoming, and Gen looks at the person she’s on FaceTime with.

“He’s so cute,” you chuckle through the screen. “Very charming.”

You’re a really good friend of the Padalecki family. You met Gen through a non-profit organization she was funding a while back and became fast friends with her. She and Jared welcomed you into their family immediately but it was never known to Jensen that you knew them.

“Just wait until you meet him in person.”

“Isn’t it true that there is still an opening for that female character on their show?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m in between projects right now. I’d be happy to audition if you want to bring that to Jared.”

“I’ll have him hook you up,” Gen smirks.

“Is that Y/N?” Shep asks and forces his face into the frame.

“Hey, Shep,” you grin.

Supernatural is about to start filming its eleventh season which means the director is desperate to fill the role of Dean’s love interest. Jared brought you up as an option, the director had you audition, and you were offered the part before leaving the building to go home. Jensen still doesn’t know that you were the one who was offered the role, just that the position had been filled.

“Isn’t it a bit suspicious that we haven’t met this new person?” Jensen asks.

“Talk to the director, dude.” Jared gets a call from the director and answers it with a smile. “Hey. Are you here? … Perfect. I’ll be right there.”

“Whose that?”

“Gen is here. I gotta go. I’ll be right back.”

Jared leaves before Jensen can ask any other questions. He meets up with you and the director who is waiting for him on the other side of the set.

“Jared!” you grin and give him a friendly hug. “Working together is going to be so fun.”

You’re not sure how long you’ll be on the show, but you hope it’s going to last years.

“Is he ready?”

“He’s practicing his lines right now.”

Jared escorts you to the main set where Jensen is. He’s already in his Dean clothes since they are scheduled to film right now. His back is turned to you when you enter the room so you think this is the perfect opportunity to scare him. He is holding a prop gun and muttering his lines when you jump in front of him. He yelps and drops the gun as you let out an infectious laugh.

“What?” he stutters when he sees you.

“Hi, I’m Y/N,” you grin and hold out your hand for him. Jensen is a stuttering mess but shakes your hand nonetheless. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“She’s going to play your new love interest,” Jared says and slaps him on the back lightly.

“It’s going to be so much fun working with you.”

“Yeah, same here,” Jensen manages to get out. “Excuse me for a second.” He brings Jared off to the side to talk to him privately. “What the hell? Did you know about this?”

“Yeah, she’s a family friend.”

“How did I not know this?”

“I’m good at keeping secrets when I want to,” he chuckles.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be in the same room as her.”

“You’re welcome,” Jared smirks and pats his back.

Jared walks away just as you approach Jensen.

“I hope you’re okay with me being here.”

“More than okay,” he smiles shyly. I love your movies. You’re an amazing actress.”

“Thank you,” you smile. “I love this show. Dean just so happens to be my favorite character.”

That makes Jensen blush. Over the next couple of months, you’ve been filming with the boys as much as you can. It’s been nothing but fun especially when you participate in their pranks on Misha. You and Jensen are growing closer, more than you ever thought you would. He’s super nice, sweet, charming, and very sexy. He’s everything a girl would want in a man. This was inevitable, but you got to the part in your onscreen relationship where your characters share a kiss. He’s super nervous as are you since you both have feelings for one another.

“Dean, I don’t know why you’re bugging out. The hunt went exactly as planned,” your character says as you unpack your duffel bag.

“You got hurt. How is that exactly as planned?”

“We got the bad guy. Isn’t that what matters?”

“Not at the cost of your life! How could you think so little of it?”

“Dean, it’s just a scratch. I’ve gotten worse wounds than this.”

“God, you’re not getting it,” he scoffs.

“What? Please explain to me how you’re feeling.”

“It’s your life! No monster is worth that. You’re too important to me.” Jensen walks over to you and cups your jaw. The moment is so intense, so intimate. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t lose me. I’m right here,” you whisper.

You two stare into your eyes right before he smashes his lips on yours. He isn’t kissing you like how Dean would, he’s kissing you like how he would. The kiss is supposed to be short and sweet but Jensen keeps it going as long as he can. Your lips mold with his perfectly as if you were meant to be doing this your whole life.

The director yells CUT and Jensen pulls away from you slightly. He cheers at getting it on one take, and you step back from him with a nervous chuckle.

“Good job you two! Take ten everyone!”

“Listen, if you ever want to practice lines or… other things, you’re more than welcome to come to my trailer. You know, practice makes perfect.”

“I’ll make sure to take you up on that offer,” he smirks.

And practice did make perfect. After hearing the story of how you met Jenson yet again, both your daughters clap happily.

“Tell the story again!” your six-year-old giggles.

“Again!” your four-year-old laughs after her sister.

“Not tonight, girls,” you grin and kiss both their heads.

“Go to sleep. We’ll see you in the morning,” Jensen says.

You and Jensen leave their room and close the door gently. Jensen brings you into his arms and you wrap your arms around his neck.

“Landing that role has been the best thing to ever happen to me,” you whisper to him.

“You stole the words right out of my mouth,” Jensen smiles and kisses you.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[zmbiebrain]

Wayne and Kathy Harris

Wayne Nelson Harris was born in 1948, making him 77 years old in 2025, 51 years old in 1999, and 33 years old in 1981, when Eric was born.

He worked in the U.S Air Force in aircraft maintenance. Eric wrote about his family moving often, because of his father's job. They lived in Kansas, New York, Michigan, and Ohio before settling in Colorado in July of 1993. After he retired, he worked in civil aviation as a transport pilot for private companies.

Katherine "Kathy" Ann Harris (neé Poole) was born in 1950, making her 75 years old in 2025, 49 years old in 1999, and 31 years old in 1981, when Eric was born.

She worked as a homemaker for much of Eric's childhood, though in later years she worked in a food and catering service. She was described as social, organized and involved in her son's schooling.

Eric's older brother, Kevin Harris, was born in 1978, making him 47 years old in 2025, 21 years old in 1999, and 3 years old in 1981, when Eric was born.

Unlike Dylan's older brother, Byron Klebold, Kevin has never made public statements regarding Columbine. There are no known accounts or interviews from people who knew him personally.

The Harris family seems to have been structured and partly strict, likely influenced by Wayne's background. Wayne seemed to have been involved in the upbringing of his sons, spending time with them often. His mother was seen as relaxed, more emotional than his father.

In elementary school, his parents would show for parent-teacher conferences, and Kathy would help the class with events.

Kris Otten, a childhood friend of Eric's, would sleep over at their house, saying, "It was a real comforting house. Everything was neat and organized."

In April of 1993, while living in Plattsburgh, Eric was drafted for a little league team, and his coach thought he was talented. Wayne and Kathy would attend both games and practices.

Wayne was aware of Eric's troubled behaviour, having kept notes on him, most likely regarding his rebellious behaviour. Eric went to Ken Caryl Middle School, where he would later meet Dylan Klebold in the 7th grade.

During his early adolescence, he was prescribed a mood stabilizer called Luvox. He may have taken this for better management of thoughts and emotions. Before he was prescribed Luvox, he took Zoloft for a brief time period. Eric's medical records indicate, "possible depression, minimal depressive symptoms."

Luvox and Zoloft (Fluvoxamine and Sertraline) are both SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. After his first prescription in April 1998, it was upped just a month later, and upped again a month after that, in early July of the same year.

He stated in one of the tapes, "When I don't take my medication, it makes me angry. It's working."

Eric's entry on 4/21/98:

"My doctor wants to put me on medication to stop thinking about so many things and to stop getting angry. well, I think that anyone who doesn't think like me is just bullshitting themselves. try it sometime if you think you are worthy, which you probably will you little shits, drop all your beliefs and views and ideas that have been burned into your head and try to think about why your here. but I bet most of you fuckers cant even think that deep, so that is why you must die. how dare you think that I and you are part of the same species when we are sooooooo different. you aren't human you are a Robot. you don't take advantage of your capabilities given to you at birth. you just drop them and hop onto the boat and head down the stream of life with all the other fuckers of your type. well god damnit I wont be a part of it! I have thought to much, realized to much, found out to much, and I am to self aware to just stop what am thinking and go back to society because what I do and think isn't "right" or "morally accepted" NO, NO, NO, God Fucking damnit NO! I will sooner die than betray my own thoughts. but before I leave this worthless place, I will kill who ever I deem unfit."

Kathy Harris made a 9-1-1 call on the day of the shooting, the call is sealed and has never been released. Wayne and Kathy were sued by multiple families of the victims, but settled in 2003 under confidential terms.

[wekiaam]

2D NEWSIES: What I would change

I just realised I've been making fake concept art for a nonexistent animated Newsies adaptation for four years now. Over time, I've been getting so many ideas for this adaptation if it ever became real, I thought I would share them with you guys! This includes story changes, cut and additional songs and ideas for characters and style. I would love to know your thoughts on these!

When I started making concept art for "2dsies" as I came to be called, I intended for it to be based on the Broadway version and the Broadway version only. However, stories on stage differ a lot from stories told on screen, it just doesn't work the same way. I do still prefer the storyline of Broadway Newsies, but I think the best version would be a combination of the best parts of all different versions, plus some necessary changes. I would want Newsies to be a love letter to every production we've had, to everyone who made happen and every theatre kid who's been geeking out over it since 1992, while also being its own standalone movie that can be enjoyed by anybody. I am in no way an adequate screenwriter, these are just a few suggestions I have for a better story!

Story

Like I said, the story will be based mainly on the Broadway storyline, meaning we still have Artist Jack, Katherine, and most elements from the show that aren't in the movie. It will, however, be quite different from the show and the movie, and maybe add some more of the real events from the newsboy strike. There are still some details and scenes I would like to add and some I would remove completely.

- I like the history lesson opening from the movie, it gives people just enough background information on the real historical events the story is based on. I don't know if it should be Racetrack or Jack narrating, though.

- In Santa Fe (prologue), Crutchie mentions he's afraid the other boys will find out about his bad leg, even though they all literally know him as Crutchie, and it seems to be the first time Jack tells him about his dream of going to Santa Fe, even though they've clearly been best friends for a long time. It feels off, UNLESS they only just met, which is why I love @raggedy-albert 's theory so much. I would have the scene start off with them as kids, and have them grow up throughout the song.

- I want to add a scene in the beginning of Katherine at the New York Sun to establish her character and motivations, and possibly a little foreshadowing. Just an idea for a scene; she goes to the editor to let him read her story covering the trolley strike, but he reminds her of "her place" and that she's lucky enough to be in the position she's in and that she should go review a vaudeville or something. This would not only give her a similar motivation to the newsies, but also, if we're gonna bring the women's rights movement into the story let's do it right!

- Of course I'd also like to add more romantic interactions between Jack and Katherine, to make their relationship more believable. However, I don't think they should be a couple immediately after the finale, I was more thinking of an open ending to their relationship where Jack takes his first step to staying in New York by finally asking her out.

- Maybe add the actual scene where Jack and Davey visit Brooklyn instead of having them tell the other newsies what Spot said right before Seize the Day. Show don't tell, you know?

- A scene where Jack visits Crutchie at the refuge, similar to the one in the movie, but with the sadness Jack describes it with in the show. Again, show, don't tell. Show me how Jack visits the place of his nightmares again only to find his best friend in a worse state than ever and being unable to save him.

- Katherine punches Jack after the rally. Give it to me.

- Additional scene after Jack and Katherine's song after the rally where Jack formally apologizes to the newsies. Because in the show it just cuts from "omg he's a sellout *spits on the floor*" to "yay captain Jack is back" and it just doesn't sit right with me.

Songs

- There should be an entirely new Pulitzer song. The Bottom Line is good but by far the most skippable song on the cast recording, and The News Is Getting Better (the off broadway cut song) is a little Better but not quite the evil capitalist song we need.

- Swap Something to Believe In for When I See You Again. It's such a sweet song and I think it suits Jack and Katherine a lot better. It's much more "Neither of us know what tomorrow brings but when I'm with you I know we can change things for the better, even if it's scary but for now let's be here together and forget the world for a bit" instead of "I love you but I'm still gonna chase my cowboy dreams"

- Cut Letter From The Refuge, since my idea was to have this be a scene instead.

- Some lyric changes!

In Santa Fe: "Crutchie's callin' me, he's fine, just too damn slow"

In Once And For All: add this lyric from the movie, "Better to die than to crawl".

In Seize the Day: "Friends of the friendless seize the day, raise up the torch and light the way", not in the song but in the reprise where all the working children of the city gather before the finale.

Additional: "Still it seems like the dream of a boy, not a man", from The Truth About The Moon, a cut song from the movie that was supposed to be sung by Sarah. I don't know where I would put this lyric, but it could be said or sung by Jack as he realises what he's really looking for is not actually Santa Fe.

Characters:

- I want to add more girls to the background newsies, first of all.

- Sarah still won't do anything for the plot, but Davey and Les could mention that they have a sister. She's still canon to me.

- Speaking of Les, let's make him more likeable and also more helpful.

- Snyder has two scary dogs with him at all times.

- Just and idea, maybe Denton could still be a character if we replace Darcy with him, or maybe combine the two. Have him be Katherine's chaperone and friend formally, but also her reporter bestie. They could be a fun journalist duo!

Style

- The movie will still include the iconic choreography, which means it couldn't be fully 2D, but rather a mix between hand drawn and CGI.

-I would love for the backgrounds in the movie to be similar to impressionist and romantic art styles from the 19th century, to really sell how it's a story told from Jack's perspective. Especially his dream-like imaginations of Santa Fe would be brilliant in this style.

- I want to include a lot of weather foreshadowing. Rain right before Seize The Day and the sun breaking through when Davey starts singing. Mist surrounding Snyder and sudden darkness whenever he's near. A beautiful sunset when Jack and Katherine are alone on the rooftop. And of course, partly cloudy, clear by evening. It's such a cool way of visual storytelling when you have a plot that has no magic involved, like in most Disney movies.

- The real people characters' designs (Pulitzer, Hearst, Roosevelt) can be based on political cartoon caricature versions of themselves.

And lastly, quotes from the movie I liked that could be inspiring for the animated movie:

-"When I created the World..." "🙄" and "Where was I?" "You created the World, chief?"

- "No, we'll be just a bunch of angry kids with no money"

-"What, you couldn't stay away?" "Well I guess I can't be something I ain't." "A scab?" "No, smart."

Many of these ideas are still in development. Some might work, some may not, but I will be basing any future work I'll post on here on these ideas. I would love to see you guys  discuss and add on to these!

[blicketdabest33]

Y'all remember that MCYT PJO au I asked for help with awhile ago? WELL HERE'S THE CABINS AND MY EXPLINATIONS BEHIND THEM!!

#1 Zeus Cabin: Jimmy, Joel Jimmy: He's a Zeus kid, but everyone somehow forgets about it. Joel: He's competitive and strong. Also, because Jimmy is his half brother through godly parent, i get to make a fun bit about him dating Lizzie. And one of his origins in Afterlife SMP was a thunderborn

#2 Hera Cabin: Scott Scott: Scott's whole thing is loyalty. Hera is the goddess of marriage and is insanely loyal to Zeus. However, I feel like Hera should get at least one affair. So now Scott can use peacocks as weapons.

#3 Poseidon Cabin: Skizz Skizz: Poseidon kids tend to be really, really loyal to a fault and heroic, both qualities I think Skizz possesses.

#4 Demeter Cabin: Sausage, Shelby, Bdubs, Stress Sausage: This man built Sanctuary in a jungle and has flowers in his hair. He sells wood. There is no other place to put him. Shelby: Mushroom gnome, spooky mangrove witch, powerful storm witch, i need not continue. Bdubs: Moss man. Stress: SHE HAS FLOWERS

#5 Ares Cabin: Martyn, False Martyn: His planet is Mars, which is the roman version of Ares. He ended Limited Life in such a violent way, i can't help it. He was also red for the majority of Secret Life. False: I just feel like False should get to kill people more often.

#6 Athena Cabin: Grian, Pix, Owen, Xisuma Grian: This sums it up pretty well

Pix: Smart man. Archeologist and definitely a nerd. I wanna see him skipping out on training just so he can read history books. Owen: He likes to explore and discover new things in Pirates. In Rats, he's a tinkerer. In New Life, he's an explorer who wants to study hybrids. In Empires, he's a Llama who's curious about how humans work. Just a very curious character overall. Xisuma: Admin. I'm not elaborating.

#7 Apollo Cabin: Gem, Oli, Lyarrah Gem: She is an Apollo kid because of her Empire in S2. She's the sunlight princess. Apollo kid. Oli: MUSIC. MAN. Lyarrah: She writes the captions for the hermitcraft recap.

#8 Artemis Cabin: Pearl Pearl: Y'know, Artemis could've just like... had a kid, even though she took that oath. It wouldn't even have to be with a guy. Gods can change to whatever gender they want. Anyway, Pearl gets to be an Artemis kid because her symbolism is moon, she loves dogs, and will commit murder and hunt at night.

#9 Hephaestus Cabin: Doc, Mumbo, Tango, Impulse, Cub, Zedaph, Fwhip, Iskall Doc: Redstone Mumbo: Redstone Tango: Redstone Impulse: Redstone Cub: Redstone Zedaph: Redstone Fwhip: Redstone AND has a red scarf (don't ask me how that's relevant) Iskall: Redstone

#10 Aphrodite Cabin: Keralis Keralis: Okay, I don't know why, but Keralis gives me the vibes of a very charming person. His voice is nice to listen to, so imagine how useful it'd be if I gave him charm speak.

#11 Hermes Cabin: Scar, Etho, Joe Scar: Trader Scar, scammer extraordinar. Etho: All i must say is Shady-E's. I get "jack-of-all-trades, master of none, often better than master of one" vibes from him. He's funny, he's mischievous, it just works. Joe: Comedy man. Excellent delivery. And, yet again, i look at this man and go "That right there is a multi-talented man with a habit for mischief."

#12 Dionysus Cabin: Joey, Beef Joey: *points at his season one empires theme* i need not say more Beef: Idk, food. I don't really have a reason. I don't know too much about Beef.

#13 Hades Cabin: Zloy Zloy: Zombie man. He writes the Hermitcraft recaps in the dark at 2am with nothing but pure spite.

#14 Iris Cabin: Katherine Katherine: SHE. HAS. COLORS. and also I couldn't put her in Demeter cabin because Shelby is already there and i am NOT excluding Nature Wives from this au

#15 Hypnos Cabin: Bigb, XB, Wels Bigb: Sleepy stuff, right? WRONG. Gaslight. Go in everyones dreams, make fake prophecies, peace out, and cause chaos. XB: I look at his fanon design, I see an alien, and I go "aha he sleeps" Wels: This guy (@dingdinghq) said so and i completely agree. Something about sleeping in S6.

#16 Nemesis Cabin: Edit: wels not here no more

#17 Nike Cabin: Ren Ren: VICTORY. I don't know much about Ren's story in the Life Series, but I look at this man and see someone who has won a lot.

#18 Hebe Cabin: 

#19 Tyche Cabin: TFC TFC: Man goes mining and gets really lucky. That's it.

#20 Hecate Cabin: Lizzie, Cleo, Jevin Lizzie: Witchy vibes. Also, Arson. Cleo: Arson. She uses her magic for Arson. Jevin: He's a magic slime. Also, Arson. All Hecate kids love Arson.

[rei-ismyname]

Cyclops and Corsair go camping

Cyclops is taking some time for himself to deal with being possessed and the sacrifice of Colossus. As usual he's got a lot of doubts and angst, though he does have a cool motorbike. He invited his deadbeat dad along but he's not sure if he's coming. He's not sure if he wants him to.

Corsair arrives late and makes as little effort as possible to build any kind of relationship with his son. I feel like he sees him as a friend and not as the kid he didn't come back for. He makes a token effort to propose a hug but gives up on that pretty easily. He's hungry!

After Scott catches the fish while Corsair sits back and tells crappy space jokes and stories the old man tries to light a fire. He asks Scott to use his heat vision but it doesn't work like that. He doesn't really know Scott and his jocularity isn't going down very well. Scott likes purposefully creating good memories and Corsair is not able to provide that.

This is the only time I'll say that Corsair is right - when he calls himself the biggest moron in the universe. Scott is not really interested in compromising further to make Corsair feel better. He quite bluntly points out that he doesn't know much about Scott and he's obviously pissed that the dude isn't trying.

After a bit of awkwardness, the old man just decides fuck it, this is too hard. 'Why?' Scott calls after him, he wants an explanation for why he never came back.

His initial excuse is ... pissweak - that he is a Starjammer and people rely on him. Not only is that a very rosy picture of reality, it doesn't answer the obvious question. Scott explodes at him and while his alien abduction sucks he's really not trying to understand what Scott's been through. He asks a rhetorical question that's not at all obvious. Yeah, motherfucker, your abandoned son does think that. Why wouldn't he?

Corsair gets closer to being honest by sharing how he felt when Katherine Summers was murdered. He's still being evasive though, so Scott grabs him by the collar and shouts that he had plenty of opportunities to check in. He accuses him of not caring which is pretty fair IMO. Corsair backhands him to the ground.

Scott doesn't even bother getting violent, he just insinuates that it's pathetic. He spells out how his trauma affects him and his relationships, then circles back to demanding an explanation. Corsair could have come back but didn't. Dude starts crying and admits he was ashamed.

His reasons and explanation are pretty poor. They're all about him and his pride, though he does apologise. As he admits, it's fifteen years too late but Scott isn't going to get much more out of him.

My reading of this is that Scott accepts his dad sucks and that he's not capable of the kind of relationship he craves. He decides he can live with those lowered expectations and falls asleep in his lap. Corsair is not a positive model for anything really, and while it irks me that Scott has to do the emotional labour to build any kind of connection, dude craves family. Corsair sucks but he still loves him. I would and have made a different choice in a similar situation but Scott's is valid. He meets him on his level as a buddy and builds his own family.

The circumstances of their separation and Katherine's death are tragic, but Corsair abdicated any responsibility for his children. Dude definitely sucks and that doesn't change at any point but Scott is usually happy to see him every now and then.

[simkhira]

rainy school mornings 🌧️

You may have noticed that Kendra and Stephen are continuing to work on their relationship. Things are much better between the two of them. After being laid off (twice), Stephen decided to freelance as a programmer. Honestly, I don't know why we didn't do it sooner. It has awarded the family so much financial freedom... which in turn, saved their marriage.

The children are thriving as Copperdale Cubs! Chase is sporty and loves the outdoors, but he also has a slight obsession with Henry Pufferhead. He loves fishing with Stephen (fun fact: Stephen is great at fishing) and riding his "birthday bike" from Meme Katherine and Papa Kendall.

Lauren is an outgoing social butterfly who loves the color blue and playing with Barbie's. When she's not at little league cheer or scouts, she enjoys relaxing lakeside with her mom, Kendra. Aside from Meme Kat (of course), Lauren's favorite person is her Aunt Kacey. Everyone says they act just alike, which is Lauren's favorite compliment.

[asmutwriter]

Just A Woman (Part 1 Section 4)

DESCRIPTION: Inviting Benedict back to your place so he can get a taste of your lifestyle

A/N - I have condensed partr 1 (which you can find here) into 4 smaller chunks so that you can have a better reader experience

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

WORD COUNT: 5121

From beginning / Previous / Next / Master List

WARNINGS: Swearing, mentions of prostitution, time period sexism, mentions of sex work, smut, dom Benedict, sub reader,

DISCLAIMERS

- I wrote this in my knowledge of sex workers and I am truly sorry if I got it wrong and/or is offensive, that is not what I wanted to do and I’m sorry if that is the case

-  This is fiction. Please always talk to your partner before doing anything and make sure they are ok with what you are doing beforehand

“Welcome to my home” you go over and open the door ���I’m back! I brought a friend with me as well” you say as you see the 3 oldest in the living room. Benedict walks in behind you, looking round the room. Daisy looks at you and then the man. Raising her eyebrow at you as he looks around. You look at her “what?”

“Oh nothing” he smiles at the girls.

“Where are your sisters?”

“Outside” you go out and call for them. They all run in and hug you within seconds. You hug them back and smile. You motion 

“This is Benedict Bridgerton. These are my friends. Daisy who’s the oldest. She’s 15. Jasmine who is 14. Sofia is 12. The twins, Rebecca and Heather who are both 9 and then Katherine who is 3″

“I want to show him” Sofia announces, taking his hand. Dragging him to the kitchen. Jasmine goes and holds his other arm. You go to say something but he shakes his head at you slightly

“It’s alright” he says softly to you as the two middle children show him your small home. The twins following behind them. You feel a small body hug at your leg, looking down you see the youngest. You pick her up and kiss her head. 

“Tours done. Now what?” 

“Games!”

“Oh yes!”

“Isa please?”

“I want to play games!”

“Oh yes a game would be fun!”

“Wow you guys calm down. Let’s let our guest decide what he wants to do shall we?” you calm them all, as Daisy announces loudly

“We could always show him our play we’ve been practicing”

“Oh no he won’t want to see that” you say as you’re interrupted by people again

“Yes we can get a boys opinion on it”

“Oh please can we show him the play?”

“It’s such a fun thing as well”

“Please, please, please!” they all exclaim loudly as you shush them again. He chuckles as he sits down. 

“A play sounds wonderful” you look at him

“Why did you have to say that...? Ok play it is then” all the girls squeal as they start running around happily. “You are going to regret saying that so much. It’s embarrassing” he laughs 

“It makes them happy though” you nod and smile slightly as he smiles at you. 

“It’s short as well, just so you’re warned”

“Isa stop chatting and get in position!” Rebecca almost yells at you. You chuckle as you all get into position. He smiles and watches, interest sparking in his eyes. Sofia goes out onto the ‘stage’, bowing as he watches

“Welcome one and all to this year’s finest show. Today we embark on the circus. A tale of heartbreak and love awaits” she dramatically says as he claps as she exits the stage. They all go on, saying various lines. Some of the younger ones forgetting so you having to speak for them. Others speaking to early so needing to repeat lines. But overall it is (an intentionally) comedic and fun experience for you all. He claps as you all go out and bow on the stage. 

“We hope you enjoyed that, sir” says one of the twins. He nods

“I enjoyed it thoroughly” she giggles at his words and hides in your leg “I’m especially impressed that Isabella managed to hold the child the whole time. Even during the dramatic dancing part” you laugh as you hug the youngest child close to you. 

“Goodness it’s late. I should prepare some dinner. Can you guys entertain yourselves for a short while?” they all nod and go into the kitchen to grab plates “What time do you have to leave today?”

“I told my family I had some things to do outside the house so they won’t mind me going back later”

“Do you care to join us for food?” he smiles

“I’d be honoured” you nod and go prepare some food, him coming in and joining you as he watches the kids running and playing with each other “How long have you lived here?”

“It used to be their mothers house” he nods and looks at you, a smile forming as you cook some food. Heather comes over

“Can I help cook?” you nod

“Yes you can my sweet” you grab a stool for her to stand on, “cut the potatoes for me” you smile as she carefully peals them and places them into a pot. About an hour goes past and you all sit down. Food given to each of them. Eating them all you see Daisy look at Benedict

“What’s it like?”

“What is what like?”

“Living in such luxury”

“It has its ups and downs”

“Leave our guest alone. I’m sure he doesn’t wish to be bombarded with questions” she nods 

“Did you get to dance Isa?” Jasmine asks you and you nod “did all the girls looks like princesses and the boys look like princes?” you nod again as she smiles

“It looked like straight out of a fairy-tale. It was almost magical” she giggles

“Can you teach me how to dance?” Sofia asks.

“I can try. I’m sure Mr Bridgerton can agree when I say I’m not very good at it” he chuckles slightly

“I don’t know. Considering you’ve never been to a ball before I’d say you did pretty well”

“You flatter me” Daisy looks at you 

“I’ve been reading more of my book today”

“Oh yeah?” she nods and smiles “what’s it about?”

“Two people who don’t realise they are made for each other until he goes off to war and she realises she can’t live without him”

“Sounds depressing”

“Oh it’s wonderful. The end of the book is her travelling to where he’s posted and she runs to him and kisses him. Saying just the nicest line”

“Let me guess. ‘Oh my love I could never live without you. You are the air that I breath and without you I feel like I’m suffocating’“

“No. Ok maybe slightly like that. But when you say it it just sounds obnoxious” you laugh at her words 

“I just say it how it is meant to be read”

“You weren’t joking when you said you disliked them, huh?” the man laughs as you all continue eating and chatting. As night begins to fall you put all the children to bed. Going into the living room to see Benedict looking at a drawing that’s placed on the wall. 

“Sofia drew that” you go over to him

“She’s very good”

“I know. She refuses to believe it though. Claiming she can never get hands right. I told her to just draw the characters with their hands hidden beneath clothing or behind their backs but she said it looked unauthentic that way” you go and sit down. Seeing the book that Daisy spoke about earlier. You pick it up and open it. “‘When I think of thee my palms sweat and my knees go heavy. I fear to be in your presence may be the death of me for I love thee so’. Yep, it’s as bad as I thought it would be” he laughs and goes over to you, sitting by your side and taking the book from your hands. Flicking to a new page he reads

“’I know truly I am in love as my heart skips and butterflies fly when I see you standing in the sunrise. I love you and all your imperfections, though there are few to count. My heart yearns for you as I cannot imagine my life without you by my side’” you watch him reading. 

“How do you make it not sound like absolute shit?”

“I read it the way it’s meant to be read” you glare at him as he flicks through the pages “looks quite good” you nod and watch his eyes scan the words. You take in a sharp breath and look away as he looks towards you.

“Can I help?”

“No” He chuckles slightly and goes back to read the book. You turn to look at him again as he reads out loud

“‘I asked for your name but when you spoke I didn’t hear the words. My body was too bewitched by your beauty to focus on the sweet softness of your voice’” you shift slightly in your seat, his voice sending waves straight down to your core. You bite the nail of your thumb as he notices your slight irritated nature. “Are you ok? You seem... unwell” you shake your head and look away

“I am very well thank you” he places the book down and turns to you. Scanning your body to see if you are lying. He meets your eyes as you look at his lips quickly before meeting his gaze again. He smiles slightly. You bite your lip, leaning towards him and placing your hand by his leg as you lean slowly closer. His eyes watching you. You take his non retreat as a sign for you to carry on as you place your lips to his. Embracing each other in a soft kiss. You pull away and go to sit back up straight “sorry I-” he shakes his head and places a hand either side of your face, pulling you in for a kiss once again.

You still remain balanced on one hand, the other going and placing it over his. You feel him lightly push you with his body so your back is on the sofa. You wrap your legs around his waist as you keep kissing, a hand going to his hair and the other going onto his upper arm. With his hands on the arm of the sofa either side of your head, he pulls away, smiling at you before he kisses your jawline, then your neck, lightly tugging at the top of your dress so he can place light kisses to the tops of your chest. You rut your hips slightly into his as one of his hands trails down the side of your body. He pushes your dress up slightly, lips still attacking your chest as he strokes your thighs with his hands. Just as you feel his hand start to move higher you both hear a noise from the bedroom. You both pause. Waiting for any other noises to happen. You hear footsteps start to walk towards the door as you feel him get off of you as you sit up and pull your dress down. Jasmine walks out. “Hey my dear” you smile at her, trying to be as innocent as you can. She smiles and tiredly waves at you

“I wanted some water” you nod and stand up, going to the kitchen to fetch the young girl a glass. You give it to her as she smiles

“Go back to bed my dear” she nods and hugs you quickly before walking back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. You stand in the middle of the room as he sits. You hear him let out a slight chuckle as you glare at him but smile. “It’s not funny. We almost just ruined a poor girl’s innocence” he nods and puts on a serious face, but you can see the humour still dancing in his eyes. You smile at him and playfully hit his knee. He laughs as he stands up, making you catch your breath as he stands closer to you then you thought he would. “It’s late” you say as you look at him. Eyes meeting yours. 

“It is”

“You should be getting home to your family. They will worry otherwise” your voice no more than a whisper. He nods and takes a step closer to you. Taking one of your hands in his he kisses it, still holding it when he stands up straight again. You smile as he makes eye contact the whole time. “I am happy for you to stay the night if you wish?”

“You are right I should be getting back” sadness fills you slightly as he drops your hand, missing his touch already. 

“You could always say that it got too late for you to walk back so you stayed in an inn or friends house?” he nods slightly, he takes hold of your chin with his thumb and finger, placing a kiss to your lips again. You feel yourself practically melting into him. He pulls away and looks at you, thumb lightly tracing your bottom lip as he smiles

“I could get lost if I left at this hour” you nod

“I will walk you back tomorrow. I know where the house is but in this light I fear we may not find the way” he nods as he removes his hand. 

“Where will I sleep though?”

“Shit...” you trace a hand through your hair as you laugh slightly. “I would say you could sleep in my bed and I’ll take the sofa but I don’t think the girls would appreciate you staying in there with them”

“I’ll take the sofa then” he smiles at you as he goes over to the sofa, placing a cushion at one end. 

“Give me a second” you go into the bedroom and quietly grab the blanket from your bed. Handing it to him as you shut the door again. “To keep you warm” he nods and takes the item. You go into your room to grab your nightdress, taking off your day clothes and placing the softer material on your body. You then go back into the living room, shutting the door behind you as you see he has taken off his top half, lying them down on the chair near him. “Good night Mr Bridgerton”

“If you’d like-” he speaks up before you leave “you could keep me company out here. An extra person might be good for body heat. Especially as you don’t have a blanket on your bed anymore” he looks at you. Your eyes scan his chest as you look at his face. “You can say no” you shake your head

“So long as you’re sure you want me out here” he nods and smiles at you. You nod then and go over to the sofa. He lies down, taking your hand and lying next to him. He places the blanket over your bodies. You face each other as you feel one of his arms go around your torso. 

“Come closer. Otherwise you may fall off” he pulls you towards him, chests becoming flush with each other. You shyly look away from him, eyes going to see his broad chest. Your hand lightly tracing over where his heart is. You feel his free hand move to your chin again, making you look at him before you kisses you. Moving the hand to behind your head as he pulls away, smiling at you “good night, miss” you nod as you watch him shut his eyes. You place your head near his collarbone, shutting your eyes as you take in his scent. Slowly drifting off to sleep.

Considering you were sleeping on a sofa you stay sleeping until you feel a light tap on your shoulder. Waking up you see Katherine looking at you. She smiles at you and lightly pokes your nose causing her to giggle. You chuckle slightly, feeling the arm around your waist tighten. You must’ve turned in the night as Benedict is now spooning you. You put your finger to you lips in a shushing motion at the young girl. Carefully getting off the sofa, covering the man with the blanket as you go into the bedroom to have a quick wash and dress into your everyday clothes. You and the young girl are the only ones awake, seeing as its 6am. You whisper to her “What do you want to do until the others wake up?” she smiles and strokes her hair

"Princess hair” you nod and chuckle, starting to French braid her hair. Tying the ends with 2 pieces of pink ribbon. You kiss the top of her head as she starts to dance around the room. Sitting on the floor by the sofa as she dances. The man on the sofa mumbles in his sleep causing the young girl to stop, looking at him. She walks over, you can see evil (well evil for a 3 year old) in her eyes as she goes to wake him. You grab her 

“Let’s get you dressed shall we you little terror?” she nods and smiles, giggling into your shoulder as you carry her to the bedroom, quietly getting some clothes and then taking her into the living room again. Checking to make sure your guest was still asleep, you help her get dressed. “Why don’t you go out and get me 2 eggs” she nods slightly and holds up 2 fingers. You nod and smile “Clever girl” she giggles and runs off. You figure that’ll give you 5 minutes. You rub your eyes, just wanting to curl up and go back to sleep. 

“Good morning” you hear a voice behind you

“Jesus you scared me” he laughs as he sits up, blanket falling onto his lap. 

“How long have you been awake?” he asks, stretching as he looks at you

“About half an hour. You should get some more rest” you motion at him to lie back down “If Katherine sees you’re awake she’ll keep terrorising you until her sisters wake up” he laughs and shrugs 

“I’m ok with that” he moves his feet to the floor, grabbing his shirt and placing it over himself. 

“I hope we didn’t wake you” he shakes his head

“No, you are fine” he smiles and looks at you “About last night”

“I apologise. It was entirely my fault. I know it is not proper for you and I’m very sorry if I caused you any sort of hardships” he nods slightly, watching your eyes dart away from him.

“None at all. I was going to say the same things to you” you both laugh slightly. You hear movement from the bedroom, Daisy walking out. She waves at you as she yawns

“I thought I heard voices”

“Sorry dear, did we wake you?” she shakes her head

“No, Sofia and the twins were sad because you didn’t come to bed last night so we all cuddled up. But it meant I was very uncomfortable all night” she looks at you, then at Benedict. Giving you a knowing look before she smiles at him “I’m glad to see you stayed last night. I feared you might go home and get lost”

“Yes. Your friend is a great host and offered me to stay here”

“Yeah I bet she did” you hit her leg slightly

“Bloody cheek!” she smiles at you and then goes over and picks up her book. She sits down on the sofa next to the man, opening to the page she last left off and starts reading. Just as the youngest runs in holding two eggs. You take them from her “thank you. Why don’t you sit and let Daisy read to you for a while? Just until the others wake up. Then I will make us all something to eat” she nods and climbs onto the sofa, sitting by her eldest sister as she begins to read aloud. You go into the kitchen, cleaning up the bowls from last night’s feast. Your guest joins you, leaning against the counter tops as he watches you scrub the bowls and plates. You feel him come next to you

“Let me help”

“Oh no don’t feel like you have to help”

“I insist” he takes the wet bowls and grabs a clean cloth, beginning to dry them. You carry on washing, handing them to him to dry. You accidently splash some of the water onto him.

“Did you just?”

“Oh god sorry” you cover your mouth in an effort not to laugh. He chuckles

“I think you did that on purpose” you shake your head

“I didn’t I promise” he puts his fingers into the bowl of water and flicks his wet fingers at you. Causing you to get water on your face. You pretend to look offended

“It was an accident I promise” he laughs as he continues drying. You glare at him before washing again. Finishing up, you both go back to the living room. You notice the twins have now both woken up and are sitting and listening to their sister who is still reading.

“I will go and start preparing breakfast soon” you say, the children all nodding and muttering various yeses at you. Daisy stops reading for a second

“Are you working today?” you pause for a moment before nodding. 

“Yes. Although we got some money from John I still need to keep up working there. Hopefully we can get some more farm animals and start selling their produce though” she nods and continues reading. You turn back to the kitchen. Benedict grabbing your arm before you leave.

“I can help you if you’d like” you shake your head and go into the kitchen, him following as you now prepare small meals on the now clean plates.

“How would you help me?”

“I could give you money”

“No thank you. I’m perfectly ok working there”

“But don’t you want to leave. Do something else with your life?”

“Yes. I’d love to. But I want to do it on my own. I don’t want to borrow money from you as I’d still need to work there to be able to give you the money back”

“And what if I just gave it to you? What if I don’t want to be payed back?”

“I don’t need pity money”

“It wouldn’t be pity money”

“Then why?” you stop what you’re doing and look at him “Why would you do that? If it’s not for pity, if it’s not a loan. Why else would you do it?”

“Because I’m your friend” you look shocked at his words, avoiding his eyes you speak quietly

“If you want to have sex with me you don’t need to pay off my house...” he shakes his head

“I want to give you money because I’ve come to know you. I want to help you because I care for you. I’ve seen you with my sisters and brothers. Plus your friends. You seem so happy and truly content with life but as soon as money or work is brought up you retreat emotionally from the situation. You are my friend and friends help each other out. I don’t want anything else from you, only to know you’re happy” you look at him, you feel tears start to prick at your eyes

“I can’t allow you to do that. Imagine if it got out that you were paying a random prostitute. It could ruin you and your family’s name. I couldn’t do that to you” he nods as you serve breakfast onto plates, taking them out for the children. “Would you all be ok if I walk this gentlemen back to his house?” they all look at you, then him, then you again and nod. 

“You’re coming back after, right?” you nod

“I work later tonight so you have me until after dinner” she smiles as you grab a jacket, waving goodbye to them as you and the man start to walk back to the rented house. A comfortable silence settling between the two of you. You walk down a path and then some woods, stopping when you get to a field. “The house is just over this field. It isn’t far”

“Are you not going to walk me all the way home?”

“Possibility of being seen with me alone? Defiantly not” you smile at him as he looks across the field. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you Mr Bridgerton. I’ve enjoyed every second of it” you bow to him slightly. He looks at you, eyes scanning your body. You can’t tell what emotion he’s feeling. It almost seems like a mixture of sadness and lust. He meets your eyes with his, smiling softly at you. 

“Yes I suppose we will be unlikely to see each other again” you nod, for some reason you feel sad about him leaving. He walks over to you, placing a hand either side of your face, just like had done the night before. You look at him, eyes meeting yours as you just look at each other. You place your hands over his wrists, squeezing them slightly as you smile at him. He kisses you, gently. So very gently. You feel yourself melt into him. All your sense are focused on him. Just him.

He kisses you harder, pushing you against a tree. You move your hands, holding onto the wood as your lips stay entangled with his. His hands still hold your face as he goes closer to you. Your hand goes to his waistband, pulling onto it as a means to bring him closer to you. With how close he is to you it would not be surprise you to see an imprint of yourself on the tree behind you. He pulls away, resting his forehead on your shoulder. One of the hands from your face going to your waist. You take the hand by your head and kiss the palm. 

“You need to go back to your family” he lifts his head and nods, eyes once again meeting yours. “Or...” you wrap both your hands around his, making all the fingers go down but the pointer as you kiss the tip of the digit. His eyes eating you up as you watch him “You could stay here for a few minutes more...?” you put the finger in your mouth. Sucking on it as you release it with a slight pop. The distance between you hasn’t moved at all and you feel him start to grow in his trousers.

You smile at him and interlock your hand with his. “What do you say, sir?” he lets out almost a growl at the last word. Kissing you again but harder. A lot harder. He grips your waist with his hand, the other rests against the tree behind you, your hands still firmly clasped in its grips. Essentially pinning you. You feel his hand pull up the skirt of your dress, just enough for him to get his knee under the fabric and place between your legs. He pushes your waist down as he puts his knee up. Causing you to moan when his leg touches your clothed core. He leans close to your ear, you shiver when you feel his breath on you neck.

“I want you to fuck yourself on my leg...” he pulls away and smiles at you as you look at him in slight shock “Do I have to repeat myself?” you shake your head, starting to grind onto his leg. You start to moan as you feel your clit being rubbed. You cover your mouth with your hand. He shakes his head and takes it in his, putting both your hands into one of his and pinning them above your head. You continue to ride his thigh, moans leaving your mouth. He notices your hips start to lose their rhythm slightly as you near your high, your legs starting to close together as well. “You need my permission to cum. If you cum without it you’ll be in trouble” you nod, continuing to grind against him you feel your high coming.

“Pl-please”

“Please what?”

“Wanna cum...”

“Hmm I don’t know”

“Please let me cum. Please. F-fuck” you say as you feel it getting closer. His dominance turning you on more and more. He shakes his head and stills your thighs “Please!” you practically cry out, trying move your hips in hopes to reach your high again. You look at his eyes. He smiles as you feel him move his hand, undoing his trousers and pushing them down he smiles at you

“I want to feel you cum on my cock” he kisses you, a reassurance to you that he will allow you to reach a climax but not yet. You feel his knee move, being shortly replaced by his tip. You moan as he brushes over your clit and then your hole. Slowly pushing in, he watches your face as it scrunches up with joy. 

“You feel s-so good sir” you moan out, loving the way he fills you up. He kisses your neck, using his free hand to lift one of your legs so its bent, making his cock go deeper into you. You let out a sinful moan as he starts to thrust. Softly at first but becoming more aggressive within minutes. You want to wrap around him and kiss him as he pounds into you but he has a firm grip on your hands still so you are unable to move virtually at all, making you only be able to moan and put your head back. He takes this opportunity and starts kissing your neck, causing you to moan louder as you feel him kissing, sucking and biting the soft skin. You feel your high approach once again. “I’m gon- please can I cum?” you feel him smile into his skin

“Hold it a little longer” he removes his hand from your wrists as he takes a hold of your hips, allowing him to go harder and deeper into you. You moan and wrap your arms around his neck, a hand entangling in his hair as you pull him in for a passionate kiss. “Please. Sir please. Let me cum” you beg him

“Cum for me” he watches as you let go, hand gripping his hair tightly, the other his shoulder as he groans as your pussy tightens around him. He continues to pound into you, chasing his own high. Not long after yours he pulls out, releasing himself onto your leg. You let out a slight moan as you come down from your climax. 

He rests his forehead against yours, shutting his eyes as you both control your breathing. Your eyes flutter shut, enjoying the noise of your now heavy breathing filling the once quiet woods. You feel him move, cleaning up you and then himself as best as he can, pulling your dress down and his trousers up before kissing you. You wrap your arms around him, holding him close to you. “I need to go” you nod and kiss him once more. Pulling away and letting your arms go to your sides

“I’m going to miss you, Mr Bridgerton”

“And I you” he smiles at you before walking towards the house. Leaving you on your own.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[ncisladaily]

Easily the best show of the year already, The Pitt packs a lot into its Season 1 finale (an hour, perfect for the real-time format, with each episode that length of time of this season-long shift).

The shift ends, and Robby (Noah Wyle) heads home, but not before everything — the anniversary of his mentor’s death, losing his stepson’s girlfriend and him subsequently blaming him and pushing him away, all the losses of the day — drives him up to the roof, where it’s Abbot (Shawn Hatosy) who pulls him back from the edge, in a reversal of the premiere. Langdon (Patrick Ball) refuses to accept the consequences of his addiction, even when Robby details what he needs to do to return to work. We learn Abbot has a prosthetic leg. McKay (Fiona Dourif), thanks to Robby’s intervention and the lives she saved, including a cop’s, avoids being arrested for drilling a hole into her ankle monitor to stop the beeping in the middle of the mass casualty event. Dana (Katherine LaNasa), after being punched by a patient, feels like she’s done. And so much more.

Below, executive producers R. Scott Gemmill and John Wells, who, respectively, wrote and directed the finale, unpack all its major moments. (Plus, get insight and watch a breakdown of the finale from Wyle, Ball, LaNasa, Hatosy, and Dourif here.)

John, talk about directing Robby’s speech and then the rooftop scene with Robby and Abbot.

John Wells: The rooftop scene with Robby and Abbot and the final scene were shot months before we actually finished the show. Scott’s got a great story about it, which is in the rooftop scene with Abbot, he says, “Great speech,” but there was no speech. How many times did Noah ask you about it?

Max

R. Scott Gemmill: “I can’t wait to see this speech.” And I was like, “You and me both, man. Maybe you should write it. I have no idea what it’s going to be.”

Wells: It was our running joke for months, great speech. And then when we got to it, it was the last thing we shot on the series for this first season, and everybody wanted to get desperately emotional. The set is a bit of a submarine. We’re all there and it’s all day long and it’s for months, and everybody was saying goodbye, and so people were really emotional. The hardest thing about it was everybody kept crying. I was like, “You guys are going home after a long shift, everybody stopped crying.” So if you look around, you’ll still see that people are crying because I couldn’t get them to clean up. They were just crying and crying. We tried not to put everybody on there, but it was kind of a wonderful way to end what he was talking about it.

And this is going to sound strange, but it’s not really a great speech. And that’s sort of what’s great about it, is it’s not polished, it actually feels like somebody who’s had a long day, what they would actually say. And I think that’s part of why it’s so emotional. It’s not fully connected, and Noah played it that way. And so the joke that Noah and I were talking about on the set is it’s the emotion of what he’s saying and what they’ve all been through that comes, not this sort of fantastic oratory. That’s what made it really powerful, and I think it was brilliantly written for that reason because you could have written that as if it was some extraordinarily polished end of a Hollywood film and it’s just a man who’s tired, trying to thank everybody for getting through a tough day

You take Robby so close to the edge, in general and in the finale. How would you say Robby is doing at the end there? Because he seems to be slightly better after that conversation with Abbot, but it’s very much a process and it feels like he can easily end up where he was the next time there’s a shift like this.

Gemmill: Yeah, I think the meltdown for Robby at the end of [Episode] 13 in some ways might’ve been the best thing that’s ever happened to him in a long time because it was basically the pressure valve got released and all that stuff that was building up came out. Now it’s really about, what does Robby do with this? He’s gotten a reset, and does he act upon it the way he should, which is how he would advise others to do so, by seeking help, finding someone to talk to, have conversations? Or does he go back to, well, now that I’m done with that, I can just start pushing stuff back into the dumpster? Hopefully, he will do the former.

Langdon spends the episode fighting for his job, but refuses to do what Robby suggests in order to keep it. What did you want to do with that Robby and Langdon fight, and what was Robby seeing in Langdon in that moment? Because it feels like Langdon went really far with what he said.

Wells: He’s an addict who’s desperately cycling through his anger, his fear, his denial, and he’s trying to not drown. When we were out there, we talked about it as a drowning scene where Langdon is desperate to survive and he is going to try anything and that Robby is hugely disappointed, but more than that, he feels foolish for not seeing it. He feels as if he has missed something. So it’s an attack upon him. Then, of course, when Langdon tries to make the experience of what Robby’s been going through similar somehow to what Langdon’s done, then we get to see Robby blow up, which I’d been waiting for the entire 15 episodes. It showed him to be really human.

Was Langdon high when he returned in 112?

Gemmill: His argument is he’s never high, he’s using it at a maintenance level so he doesn’t get the shakes and stuff like that. I would say he wasn’t high, but he was using, and in the eyes of the law, I’m not sure it makes a difference.

Wells: Yeah, he’s not going to pass a drug test. But is he functioning? Yes. Is he kind of at a level? But you can’t stay at that level for months and months and months or years.

Warrick Page / Max

What does his future look like?

Wells: That’s all up to Langdon. As anyone who’s struggled with any kind of addiction, first, you got to admit that you got a problem. Then you got to start through the process of acknowledging that you need help, acknowledging that this is bigger than you, and then you have to start going through the steps and the process and stick with it. In his case, it’s not just a personal thing that he could do on his own. He has to do it professionally in order to maintain his medical license. So it’s no joke. It’s not like him going through the process on his own. And that’s where Robby leaves it. He says, “This is your second chance, and it’s basically his only chance.” And if he really wants to be a doctor again, he’s going to have to go through this process.

Talk about figuring out how and when you would reveal Abbot’s prosthetic. That was done so well.

Gemmill: That was from the get-go. We knew we were going to do it in the final scene, and we did. Some of the things that you see were planned out well, well in advance. Even some of the more dramatic scenes were actually audition scenes because we knew we had to hire these people so early on, and in some cases, they weren’t having their big moment until 10, 11, 12, 13 episodes down. So some of those scenes were written ahead of time. And the same with the Abbot thing. We wanted him to be a vet. We thought it’d be really interesting if he was an amputee, and it didn’t seem to be any reason to reveal it until he needed to take a little break at the end and give his stump a little bit of a rest. It was important to us.

There’s this question of whether Dana is coming back to work because the way she looks around the ED when she’s leaving, but then there’s a little moment when Robby says, “See you on Monday,” as she’s walking out the door. How does she feel about returning to work? What’s different this time than the other times she’s been in a similar position?

Gemmill: What made it different today is also what she’s said at the one time, that she’s had people spit on her and bite her and kick her and punch her. But most of the time they were someone who was having a mental health episode or they were on drugs or they were drunk or altered in some other way, shape or fashion. But this case was just a guy who was angry. For her, it’s just the civility is gone. People just don’t have the respect for each other, let alone people in the medical field. It’s a federal offense to, I think, assault a bus driver in New York, but it’s not a federal offense to attack a nurse or a doctor or someone in the medical field. So there’s a disconnect there. She’s kind of reached the end of her rope.

Wells: We’re living in an angry time, and it’s connected, too, to what happened in Covid. The show is about, we can’t forget. We can’t forget what people did for us through Covid. We all want to forget Covid because it was a very complicated and difficult time and many of us lost people, but that’s a permanent thing for everybody who lived through it and worked through it and saved lives and lost friends in the hospitals. But what’s happened is just everybody is at a stress level now in the country where we’re seeing more — just driving around town, you see an extraordinary amount of aggression. There’s just more aggression, there’s more just lack of respect. That’s what we’re really trying to get at.

But she’s going to be back, right?

Gemmill: Let’s put it this way: I guarantee you that Dana didn’t show up on Monday like she was supposed to, but I think she takes a great pride in her ER family and will always be a den mother to that flock and will eventually return at some point.

Would Robby have brought Flynn’s father into the makeshift morgue like he did if not for everything else about that day for him personally?

Gemmill: No. I think that was served two purposes. One is to show Robby’s frustration, but also to show that he’s no longer in control of his full capacity because he never would’ve done that on a regular day.

Did you ever consider actually showing the conversation that Robby had with Leah’s parents versus just seeing him go in the room and then leave?

Gemmill: No. To me, it was more powerful. We know what that’s going to be like. What we don’t know is — we know how it’s going to affect him. Alan Parker did a scene like that, a shot like that, in Mississippi Burning [with] Gene Hackman, and he shot it from outside and you never got to hear what they’re talking about. And when I saw that, I was like, f**k, that’s so smart. So I just ripped it off. I thought we didn’t need to hear anymore sadness. It was more about seeing Robby, knowing he has to go in that room, knowing he’s going to have to deliver this bad news. And then just hearing the grief that comes out of it. There was no reason. I couldn’t have done it as much justice as the way John shot it, which was as simple and painful as it was.

John: And we’d seen already during the course of this day Robby have to do versions of that before. So we already knew exactly what was going to get said, as Scott is saying. So I think filling it in, allowing the audience, the respect of the audience, to fill it in, their intelligence, their visual literacy [worked].

Also, the way that Noah plays the weight on Robby the entire time, you don’t need to see it, you know all of it.

Gemmill: I don’t have to write it. I just tell him, go act it. And he does. It makes me look way better than I could ever be.

Of course, the season ends like it began with Robby walking. How early on in the planning of the season did you know you’d be doing that?

Gemmill: Day one. Yeah, we knew we were going to end with — hopefully it was going to be end with him walking away, putting his headphones on, going right back to the same song [“Baby” by Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise] at the same place, and just seeing him walk off into the night and ostensibly get ready for another day.

Wells: We knew it so early that we actually negotiated two uses over two episodes of the song.

Doug (Drew Powell) was arrested. Did you ever consider leaving that up in the air? 

Gemmill: We probably did think about not even addressing it. I’m not sure why we chose to, I don’t remember. It might’ve been just to try and wrap a few things up so we didn’t go out with a whole bunch of loose ends, but it just seemed like if the police were doing their job, they should have [found him] because we knew who he was, we had all his information. It just added a little bit of closure, and then it was about, is Dana going to press charges? And she just wants it all to go away, whereas Robby’s pushing her to do the right thing just, if nothing else, so he doesn’t do it again to somewhere else.

Something that has stood out is that there’s no romance and this show doesn’t need it either because we hear about some relationships, but it’s all offscreen and that’s really it. Did you set out to do that? Was that just what happened and is that the plan to continue that?

Gemmill: Well, if you’ve ever been in an ER, it’s not maybe the most romantic place you’d go for a hookup. You’d have to be in a real certain state, I think. No, it was a byproduct of what the show is, essentially. It’s all set in the ER and it takes place over 15 hours. So how much can you do within that 15 hours in terms of say, Javadi meeting somebody or somebody new? It takes usually more than a 15-hour workday to create a relationship. So we may hint at things moving forward, but we’re not going to find anyone having sex in a broom closet any time soon.

We’ve seen that Robby is terrible at keeping a relationship. Is there anything that you’re thinking about exploring when it comes to that with him going forward?

Gemmill: That’s exactly what we talked about today. We are talking about Robby and his past relationships and what that means moving forward and where he is in his life. And that’s an ongoing discussion, and it’s an interesting one because we do want to explore that more and take him to a place and find out what he wants. What does Robby want? Where does he want to be at the end of this year in his life? When is he going to settle down or what is he looking for? So that’s all the questions that we’re asking ourselves right now.

Yeah, because there’s the Robby and Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) of it. Yes, they had a past, but what could the future possibly be?

Gemmill: Yep, yep. All of that. That’s the great thing about having a show like this. You create these characters and then you just wind ’em up and let ’em go and try and keep up with them.

So that is a possibility?

Gemmill: Anything’s possible. I mean, especially at the beginning of the year. As we get along, move along, certain things fall into place. But right now we are just the fun exploratory phase.

[scaryspears]

Finn and Sage's Wasted Potential

Am I the only one that was peeved that Finn was killed because I did find him pretty interesting. Like, his younger siblings are all fine being evil masterminds and stuff, but not him. It doesn't mean he's better, but he does have standards. He had potential, even more so with the fact that he had a relationship with Sage of all people. The same woman who taught Damon to use people as play things and not just food. It makes you wonder.

You'd think that Damon would see Sage as some kind of teacher figure, or that Sage was his Lexi in a way. I'm not saying Damon would have loyalty to her, but be more reluctant when it comes to killing Finn because it means going against Sage.

It could also address the fact that Damon was once like Finn, in a way. I don't remember a lot because it's been years, so bear with me. If I remember correctly, it's Damon that didn't want to turn and was fine with dying, pretty much loathing his own existence, but Stefan forced him to drink blood. Damon's only reason for turning was to be with Katherine, and Katherine not only preferred Stefan, but got Damon on some kind of wild goose chase.

Fast forward to Augustine, and turning off his emotions, leading to the Damon we have today. Granted, the writers probably didn't come up with Augustine during the 3rd season, but it's a thought.

Sure, Damon has had enjoyable banter with a lot of the Mikaelsons, but Finn could've been the one that actually posed a threat to Damon. Emotionally and psychologically. Elijah is the calm and composed one, but Finn is all no nonsense and full of rage. Finn cannot be reasoned with, but does have sense. He isn't the fear mongering Klaus, the reserved Elijah, the invading and reshaping Rebekah, or the chaotic Kol, but Finn is a force of his own. No matter how obvious he seems, he's a mystery.

If they couldn't make Finn interesting on his own, then they could've given him something to work with by giving him a history with another character.

What could've made it better is that Finn isn't like the others. If anyone says something out of pocket or offensive, he doesn't act violently, nor does he threaten them. It could show just how mature he actually is. I didn't fully watch the Originals, so maybe his already existing character contradicts this.

Back to my Damon ramble, Finn could've been something new for him. Unpredictable. He doesn't operate on self-importance like his siblings (and other vampires), but self loathing. You never really know what's going to trigger him, and you don't know if he's going to be an enemy or ally. Finn could've been a catalyst to Damon questioning his own morals and stuff. He keeps giving himself to people who don't appreciate it, and it was seen right in Dangerous Liasons. Damon goes out of his way to protect and fight for people who don't see that, which sort of puts him on the Bonnie boat. What I mean is that Damon almost became like his abusers. Using people, or letting himself be used. Usually the latter. Why does Damon do this to people? Why does Damon do this for people? Why is Damon willing to die for these people? That kind of thing.

Finn doesn't let himself be used (unless it's his mother), nor does he use people. He finds no purpose in it. Damon would be going against a man that would find no enjoyment in 'teaching him a lesson'. Damon wouldn't be sure what to do against a man that barely reacts to his jabs.

Also, Finn seemed to be the only one that didn't care that Kol got his arse handed to him, just curious. The other Mikaelsons looked mildly offended at the blatant disrespect, yet Finn wasn't the least bit bothered.

It just makes me wonder what kind of person he is, and what could've been. Why he fell in love with Sage, a person that taught Damon to be disregarding of human life. I've got many questions.

[crazyk-imagine]

Finding their Mate

A/N: There's a few characters I wasn't expecting to write for but it's hilarious and I couldn't think of any other villains with a heart other than the icons (Kai, Katherine, and Enzo). There were a few I debated on adding and then decided not to. I feel like there might be slight yandere vibes in here but I'm also like ... *crickets chirping*

If anyone wants a villain they like and want it written, be sure to send in a request and I'll see what magic I can work

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enzo

He always thought Maggie was his girl, never gave any other woman a thought (before and after his time being locked up at Whitemore). Then he found Damon and the rag tag crew who are always in trouble, which is when he met you (after trying to kill Damon, of course). And after coming back from supernatural purgatory one time too many times, he stopped acting like a jackass and decided it was time to live his life. He felt something in his undead beating heart for the first time and had no idea what to do. Finding out you two are mates was even better than he could have thought, more so after you sacrificed yourself to stay with him during that fire to show him that you weren't going to leave him, whether he had his humanity on or not, really sold him

Kai

With him having no emotions, merging with his younger brother, and then getting them was terrifying but he'd never admit that out loud. Being told that the reason his heart beats faster around you are because of the feelings for you and is fated to you, he nearly pissed his pants. Then he approaches the Salvatore's for dating advice, and they nearly die because Kai is asking the two guys who have been nothing but mean and are actively trying to keep you two apart for help (the way his mind works is fascinating). When they couldn't offer too much help and nothing was working, he decided it was time to talk to you, confusing you when he had no real motive behind it. It worked though, you two would not be where you are without him chickening out/ manning up

Katherine

With her being on the run for most of her life, she never planned on tying herself down somewhere, more specifically to anyone. Honestly, after her family took away her little girl, she didn't want to be tied down; she was afraid they'd be taken from her. But then you fell into her life, literally. She was almost taken to Klaus (for the billionth time and you fell in front of her). If she were to find herself truly in love, and not what she feels she had with Stefan, a clumsy person like yourself does not make it onto her roster but you've changed her life for the better. Even when she runs back to Mystic Falls to terrorize everyone, she makes sure your safety is her top priority first and foremost

Silas

He always thought Amara was his special someone but then his ex got in the way and messed all that up (big rip for him). Anyway, when he decided to play the role of Saint Stefan, he found himself fascinated by you. The littlest things you did drove him wild, and it took him a while before he realized why he felt this way. He was always told to believe that mates didn't exist, but people still liked to pretend as if they did. You proved him and everyone from his youth wrong because here you two are. Don't forget that he will try and kidnap you to ensure you don't get hurt when everyone tries to gang up on him and to make sure he can "help" you because you are his most favorite thing person

Qetsiyah

She always thought her true love was Silas and always would be, but then he decided she wasn't enough and only used her. The bitterness in her heart grew after that and ruined her thoughts on romance and love. Then she kidnaps Stefan and fries his brain while also finding you amongst his friend group. She knew she had to meet you. Her being in the same places as you, not a coincidence. She slowly found her way into your life and started off as a friend. Then she figured out why she was so invested in your life and slowly backed away until you decided to do something about it. There's no way in hell you're losing someone else in your life especially when you know she means more to you than any of your friends could ever know

The heretics

This was an interesting development for everyone, not just you. But in this case, you could choose whether you wanted a romantic relationship or more of a friendship with the group. Lily and Julain weren't so much involved in the fated bonds thing which annoyed the man from time to time. The Salvatore's mother was just happy her family found someone special (reminding her of her Julian). This whole bond made things harder at times, but they were all happy to have someone else to care for and you’re the one who stopped any arguments from happening and/ or things from getting worse. None of your friends were happy to hear about you deciding to leave with them but if it meant you could save their lives, you're going to take the chance whether they like it or not

[kaihuntrr]

part four: memento.

Martyn talks to Shelby about Katherine.

ACCIDENTALLY FORGOR TO POST WHOOPSIES

Martyn’s eyes slowly blinked open as morning light filtered through the port windows of the ship. Despite being home, Martyn just didn’t feel right sleeping on a regular bed again. Although maybe that was just an excuse to stare out at the waters instead of the town, letting his thoughts get lost in the push and pull of the waves. 

Besides, it wasn’t like he’d forgotten about yesterday.

Martyn hoped Lizzie was feeling better than he was after a night of rest. He really wasn’t. He hoped he wouldn’t be pressured to do much of anything for the next few days. Grian and Joel had gone to speak with the king by themselves, and Mumbo had presumably given Grian the letter. The only thing Martyn really needed to do besides his chores was wait for Scott, but he wasn’t sure when the man would be back home. 

Martyn shifted in his hammock, looking up at the cramped ceiling. There were short curtains that gave Martyn some sort of privacy while he slept, like being in his own room wasn’t private enough. There was a small nightstand next to the hammock, holding all sorts of little trinkets with an oil lamp hanging on the wall beside it, still emitting light. The light of the lamp glinted on the strange blade Martyn received from the stranger.

…Right. That knife.

Martyn rolled out of his hammock and stretched his arms, throwing on a dark blue coat on top of his usual attire, then picked the knife up.

“You’re strange…,” Martyn said to himself, examining the knife from all sides as he leaned against the post the hammock was strung from. He knew that some hunters loved to personalize their weapons, and while Martyn saw the appeal of it, he never really brought himself to doing something quite so committal. But the way the knife was shaped, all the little detailed etches in the blade to the handle being etched in what looked to be coral, it was definitely customized, and very expensive. Martyn narrowed his eyes. “Very strange….”

What intrigued Martyn the most was the scale attached to the butt of the blade, acting as its pommel.

The scale itself was about half the size of Martyn’s palm, and looked like it had been cut from a larger scale. Martyn knew that some fish, especially the monstrous ones, could have rather large scales, but he couldn’t recognize which one this scale came from. He rubbed his thumb against it, feeling the smooth surface of the scale as thoughts began to surface in his mind.

Typically, when hunters personalized their weapons, they would decorate it with pieces from the beasts they’d slain. But Martyn had never seen a beast with iridescent scales before, and certainly not something so pearly white. He racked his brain for any beast with white scales, maybe a bonecruncher or a great icetooth, but a bonecruncher’s scales weren’t iridescent, and great icetooth scales were more likely to shatter than cut. Martyn tried to think of what kind of beast would match this scale, but… he just couldn’t. 

Unless….

Martyn examined the knife as a whole. The intricate, delicate details, the etches in both the blade and the handle, and he noticed how the shape of the knife’s guard looked akin to a four-pointed star. And he remembered Blue’s eyes, his pupils shaped like four-pointed stars.

It couldn’t be a sea prince’s scale, could it?

He remembered how Katherine reacted to it.

“Take care of that. The someone who gave it to you must care about you a whole lot.”

He remembered how much Katherine hesitated when she saw it. How she stared blankly at it, even muttering something to herself. Her eerie silence as soon as she told Martyn to take care of it. And the way she stood up to Pearl for his sake….

…Did she know?

Was that why she wanted to make sure Martyn escaped?

“You were made from a sea prince’s scale…,” Martyn said in awe, his eyes growing wide, “But how…?”

Who would be able to get a piece of a sea prince’s scale? And if Katherine knew how special they were… had she gotten one of those knives before? Were there other weapons made with bits of sea prince scales?! Martyn sheathed the knife and stashed it in his satchel as he put it on, trying to remember what exactly he was supposed to be doing today before the knife had consumed his thoughts entirely.

Nothing really came to mind as he climbed topside, smelling the fresh air and the salty seas. Another slow day, but that should be good. It’d be for the best to talk about his realizations with either Mumbo or Cleo, hopefully both. Mumbo would definitely want to take a good look at it, but Martyn wanted to pick Cleo’s brain a little more. Both Mumbo and Cleo had been Herons before, but Cleo was the weapons expert. 

Martyn looked up at the sky. It was a baby blue with sparse clouds, but the winds were getting colder. He must’ve slept in today.

“Hey Martyn,” Joel’s sudden voice from the shadow of the mast startled Martyn. Joel leaned against the huge mast, one foot on the wood while his hands were curled around a warm cup of coffee. Martyn could faintly smell the fresh brew from where he was standing. “Sleep well?”

Martyn smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I did,” he lied. “Good morning.” Joel was still staring at Martyn, the captain’s eyes staring straight into his soul. It was like Joel was expecting Martyn to say something. After what happened yesterday, of course Joel would find out, and it wasn’t like Martyn was going to shy away from it. “Is Lizzie…?”

“She’s fine,” Joel raised his eyebrows, taking a sip out of his coffee. “But she told me that she doesn’t want to talk for a while.”

“...I understand,” Martyn forced his smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Martyn,” Joel said, his tone laced in disappointment and… hurt, almost. He pinched his eyebrows together, “Let’s just… drop all the sea prince talk around her, okay? Not even a word. Not until she’s….” He grew quiet.

Better? Martyn supplied internally. What was even the right word to use? Would she get better? Maybe it’ll be better for her to stay on land, Martyn thought. Maybe she was happier back on land in the first place….

She’d be safe with Scott, at the very least.

“Right.” Martyn said quickly. Joel nodded back in response. Martyn cleared his throat, attempting to shift the conversation into a lighter tone. “Have you seen Mumbo or Cleo around…?”

Joel hummed. His eyes darted around the deck before he eventually shrugged, “Mumbo should be in the engine room, still finnicking with those corals. He’s been shooing Grian and I out of the place every time we try to help,” he snickered at the last bit, rolling his eyes. “And I think Cleo should be in town.”

Oh Mumbo… always caught up in your gadgets, Martyn lightly chuckled. Though, Martyn could imagine how much confusion Mumbo must be having to get the corals out of the engine, sifting through weird ocean vegetation and machinery. Would it die if it got removed from the engine? What was sustaining it? Did Grian and Joel show it to the king? 

Probably. It was the only evidence they had. 

“I’ll be heading out then,” Martyn said, getting himself on the gangplank as he shot a glance at Joel. “I assume the others are still asleep?”

Joel grunted affirmation as he took a sip out of his coffee again, quietly complaining about it growing a little colder. His eyes suddenly shot open. “Oh, one thing before you go!”

Martyn cocked his head to the side. Joel raised his eyebrows. “The prince and princess would like to see you soon.” he said with a teasing little grin. “They missed their storyteller.”

“You and Grian can’t tell any good ones?” Martyn cracked a smile. Joel made a rude gesture at him and rolled his eyes, shaking his head, but Marytn could see a faint smile on his lips, despite the shadow from the mast. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“Anytime,” Joel waved him off.

“See you later, Joel!”

Joel grunted, going back to his coffee.

Alright, just a talk with Cleo, then I’ll plan a visit to the prince and princess after. That shouldn’t be hard.

—————

Apparently, finding someone was hard when no one knew where they were last seen.

Well– that was obvious!

Martyn figured it wouldn’t be too hard for him to find Cleo. There weren’t exactly a lot of gingers with stitches across their face! Besides, if he couldn’t find her here and now, there was always tomorrow.

“I’ll get this!” a voice called out from Martyn’s left.

Martyn wasn’t sure why he heard that voice more distinctly than the others, considering the many conversations passing by him as he walked through the busy streets, but he turned his head towards the sound.

And immediately froze as his stomach dropped.

He saw Shelby standing at some kind of jewelry stall, cluttered by an exorbitant amount of silver and bronze necklaces that hung on display. Shelby was holding something in her hands.

“A young lady like you, interested in such an old thing?” the shopkeeper, a grisly middle aged man, asked with a curious smile that just dripped salesman charm. 

“I sure am, plus I think my girlfriend will love it,” Shelby said as she reached for her pocket to pull out a bag of gold coins. “I gotta give her something after all the gifts she gives me!”

“Ah, young love, always so sweet,” the shopkeeper said with a nod, opening his palm to Shelby as she gave him a few coins. His eyes widened as he looked down, “Oh, Miss, you’ve overpaid–”

Shelby waved her hand away dismissively. “Keep it. Consider it a tip.” She smiled politely as she left. Her eyes locked on Martyn, who had been staring at her during the whole exchange. “Hey Martyn!” she called out, waving to him. Martyn didn’t have any other choice but to walk over to her, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. 

“H- Hello to you too, Shelby,” Martyn said with a forced grin, attempting to find his words. It’d be bad to start a conversation with just telling her outright that Katherine…. He focused on the item in her hand, a metallic shine glinting from the sunlight. “What do you have there?”

“Oh! This?” Shelby opened her palm, revealing an iron and brass bracelet, carvings of leaves and vines wrapped around its shape, the delicate form of a butterfly perched in the center. “Katherine usually brings home a gift for me whenever she comes back from her trips. She’s not too fond of the stuff made in the kingdom, but she’s been eyeing this one for a while, so this is something special,” she chuckled. “I’m planning to give this to her during the festival, so I’ll need to find something to put this in. Nothing too fancy. A nice box, maybe a printed paper wrap, or oh- an embroidered handkerchief!”

Ah.

Well… that’d just made it harder to talk about Katherine, huh?

“You’re very sweet,” Martyn said, shuffling his feet. “I’m sure she would appreciate it.”

Shelby looked down at the bracelet and rubbed her thumb against the metal. “Yeah, she would,” she said fondly, lovingly. Then she raised her eyebrows as her eyes snapped to Martyn, almost glaring. “But I’d guess the bracelet isn’t what you want to talk about, right?”

Martyn balked, suddenly feeling like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “How did you know?”

Shelby’s face was a mix of confused and dumbfounded. “Martyn, I could feel you staring at me while I was buying it,” she crossed her arms together, tilting her head to the side. “And if you were actually interested in the bracelet you would’ve said more about it.” 

“Right, right….” Martyn sighed, scratching his head. “Can we move this conversation to a more… quiet place?” His voice grew quiet as he clenched his free hand, biting his lip.

Shelby was silent for a moment, looking at Martyn from head to toe. Her eyes narrowed, then she nodded. “We can go to the western part of town,” she gestured to her right. “Scott showed me all the rundown buildings that side had. I doubt that a lot of people gather there unless it's like a planned murder or something along those lines.”

Unless he had planned to walk all the way out of town to talk about it, Martyn figured that was also the best place to go. He could barely remember the last time he had gone there, back when he couldn’t sleep and stared at the stars above the town wall.

That felt like forever ago.

Martyn nodded, immediately turning around. “...Yeah. Let’s go.” He turned, with every step hoping that his courage would grow.

—————

“So,” Shelby started slowly, her head tilting to the side as she stood in front of one of the old buildings, a shadow falling over her and Martyn. “What’s with all the secrecy?”

Maybe the western part of town wasn’t the best place to talk about what happened on Crescent Bay. With the old buildings towering around them, the chilled breeze running down Martyn’s spine, the looming shadows…, it was an almost cruel reminder of Katherine’s untimely demise. The only thing that made it feel any different was a faint hint of the sun’s warmth on Martyn’s skin. It gave him some reassurance. 

But it was a quiet place. There wouldn’t be anyone bothering them. Just Martyn, Shelby, and the looming feeling of death.

Martyn took in a breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. “It’s about Katherine….” he started, spacing his words out evenly to hide the fact that his voice was trembling. “I… I never managed to tell you what happened to her yesterday….”

“Go on,” Shelby nodded, deciding to sit on an old wooden patio behind her, “What is it?” 

Gods, Martyn thought as he clenched his fists, how do I do this…?

He made himself look at Shelby. She gave him a small smile, though it looked to be laced with some confusion as her eyebrows furrowed.

“When my crew and I stumbled upon the Kites, they had just been attacked by a beast,” Martyn said, feeling his heartbeat out of his chest. It was best to lie about Katherine’s cause of death, he told himself. But still, almost every fiber of his being was on edge. “We tried to bring them home, but….” 

Martyn had to look away from Shelby. “...I’m sorry. Katherine- Kathrine didn’t make it home with us.”

It was quiet.

Martyn could hear the wind gently brushing past him, the distant creaks of old wood, and the lack of birds in the air.

It was deafening.

“...What?” 

Shelby’s voice was nothing but a whisper, but Martyn could hear her loud and clear.

“Katherine… she….” Martyn hung his head low, “she was a fearless hunter.” That was all he managed to say. He quickly glanced at Shelby, noting her furrowed eyebrows and tense body, and looked away. The initial shock seemed to be getting to her. At least Martyn would be there if she cried, though they were still pretty much strangers. “Her will for hunting made her a fearsome opponent.”

Martyn saw Shelby shift uncomfortably, her face twisting into all sorts of confused looks before muttering something under her breath. He took a step closer, but she raised her hand at him. “...What else…?”

Martyn blinked, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘what else’...?”

Shelby glared at Martyn, her eyes seemingly piercing into his soul. “...There’s something you’re not telling me, right?” She sounded cold and distant, but there was still that faint tone of confusion. Something inside of Martyn thought that voice sounded like… heartbreak, almost. “Katherine wouldn’t go down to just some beast. Tell me the truth.”

“That’s-,” Martyn started, but Shelby cut him off.

“The truth.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I said we’d been terrorized by a witch on a haunted island….” Martyn muttered, but Shelby raised an eyebrow.

“A witch?” she asked, sounding utterly baffled. “Katherine wouldn’t let herself be killed by a witch of all things.”

But she was, Martyn bit his tongue. He wasn’t sure if saying that would make the situation worse. Then again… Martyn remembered being in denial for a while after he was given the news of Ren’s death, so it was wise to just… not say anything. It was better to let her go through the grieving process.

So what was left to tell her? 

An idea jumped into his head.

…Maybe he could ask her about the knife.

He could recall Katherine’s reactions to it being haunted. Her skin had gone pale as if she’d seen a ghost. If Katherine had known something about this knife, maybe Shelby did too.

Martyn scratched the back of his head, avoiding Shelby’s stare. “There’s… there’s one thing I wanted to ask her about, but…,” he said, his voice low, “now that she’s…. I thought you might know something, maybe….”

“Oh?” Shelby tilted her head, her gaze softening. “What is it?”

“It’s- this,” Martyn pulled out the knife from his satchel, then pulled it out of its black leather sheath to show the blade to Shelby. The tip of the blade glinted in the sunlight. Martyn could see Shelby’s eyes widen as she took in the details of the blade. “Katherine told me to take care of it, and she made it feel so important. I just…,” he swallowed, holding back a sigh, “I want to know if you might know something about it too.”

Martyn saw Shelby reach out, her hand hovering in the air one moment, almost afraid to touch it, then snatched back the next. Her eyes went wide in shock then turned into a narrow glare, her face twisting into a sneer. Martyn thought she looked as angry as Pearl had back on Crescent Bay.

“...Who gave this to you?”

Her words were sharp, causing Martyn to swallow involuntarily. The way Shelby looked at Martyn almost felt like a predator preparing to pounce on its prey. 

“A stranger did,” Martyn quickly replied, gripping the blade tighter. “They helped me esc– they helped me out when I was in a tough spot.” 

“No, who gave this to you?” Shelby snapped, standing up immediately. She stepped up towards him, putting them nearly chest to chest, bristling with… some kind of  intensity. Martyn took a cautious step back. “Did Katherine give it to you? Or did he do it himself? Did you see him? Did he say anything to you?” Martyn tried to stammer a response, but nothing came out of his mouth. “What did he tell you?”

“All I saw was a stranger, Shelby!” Martyn shouted, gripping the knife tighter. “He didn’t say anything. I just saw a stranger with one blue glowing eye—! I- I don’t know if he was a person or a ghost or some other kind of witch-! He just gave me this and it helped me get off that damned island!” 

His heart beat out of his chest as he tried to steady himself. “If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve been– I would’ve–....” Died. Died like Katherine. But he didn’t have the heart to say it out loud. “How do you-? ...Why is it so important to you how I got it, anyway?” Why was this knife suddenly so much more important than Katherine’s life?

“...It doesn’t matter,” Shelby replied quickly, “I need to know what you’re not telling me–!”

“And I need you to answer me!” Martyn shouted. He gripped the knife tight. “I don’t… I understand why this is more important than Katherine’s life! She loved you! A lot! And it’s a damn shame her girlfriend would care less about that than a knife.” Martyn sheathed the knife and stuffed it into his bag, Shelby’s eyes following it and resting on his satchel.

“You don’t get to tell me how to feel, monster hunter,” Shelby spat, anger washing over her like a giant wave crashing down.

A long moment of silence passed, and Martyn could only focus on how intense Shelby’s stare was. He wanted to say something, to ask her something to get her to stop staring, or to calm her down.

But Martyn didn’t need to do any of that.

After a moment, Shelby sighed and relaxed her shoulders. “...He must really like you.” She said, keeping her head low. “I’ll see you later Martyn. Tell Scott I said hi if I miss him.” With that, she walked out of the desolate town, not bothering to look back.

Martyn stared after Shelby, his hand tightening on the strap of his satchel.

He was missing something, something big.

[ruthwritesalot]

I decided to reread all of my John Green books at the beginning of the month, because (to say this in the style of John Green) 1. I haven't read them in at least five years even though I used to reread them all the time when I was a teenager, 2. it's been a while since I read fiction and I wanted to read something non-demanding and 3. now is the perfect time because I'm on vacation. So I started with An Abundance of Katherines because it was my favorite towards the end of my John Green phase, and I still really like it. Then I started Looking for Alaska, which was my favorite book for a really long time and which I've probably read the most out of all of them, and I realized that while I completely understand why I loved it so much when I was fourteen, it doesn't hold up as well in my early twenties. That doesn't mean it's bad or anything, it just means I'm not the target audience anymore. I also realized that I thought every character was interesting but I found Pudge to be incredibly annoying a lot of the time (and I get that's kind of the point because he's a teen), and I realized how much I loved Alaska as a character and how much I thought she deserved better and how much I would love the book if it was from her POV. So anyway I started writing a fic that's basically the story but from her POV, I don't know if I'm gonna finish it but I wrote what is essentially the books first chapter and I really like it (I still can't decide if the title is clever or horrible but I suck a titles anyway and just want other people to name my things for me)

[shootforthestars-28]

How we are with this season finale of Chicago pd...

What the future hold??

I have *so* many feelings post-finale! 😅

My thoughts are below the cut so, for those of you who haven't seen it yet, there are spoilers below.

Firstly, I'm truly gutted that we're losing Tracy from the cast but at least she got a better, more believable send-off than Jesse did. I still can't get my head around how they thought it was appropriate to have Jay simply up and leave Hailey after everything they had been through up until that point. It really just doesn't sit right with me!

Secondly, why the fuck was Chapman the one to sidle up to his gurney before he got loaded into the back of the ambulance?! I swear to God, if she becomes his love interest in Season 12, I'm rioting! 😅 While I do agree that perhaps the events of the finale might be the start of Hank opening up to someone, I really don't think it can be her. The dynamic of him being in a meaningful relationship with someone who, professionally, would go over his head at the drop of a hat, I don't think would work. He values trust and loyalty too much to let that happen.

Speaking of trust and loyalty...Alvin!! 🥹 How I loved seeing those to share the screen once more. Watching that scene, I found myself feeling really nostalgic for the older seasons when we got to see a more comedic Hank... mainly because it was Alvin with whom he shared those moments with. But this was an excellent little addition to the episode that was well written, well directed and superbly portrayed.

I thought the father/daughter arc was a sweet angle to take on Hailey's departure, albeit very similar to that of Erin's. I'm pleased to see that the door for both Jay and Hailey is very much open but it was evident to see that it wasn't Hank and Hailey on screen in the last few moments of the episode - that was very much Jason and Tracy.

Upton fans have been really vocal on socials this year on how afraid Tracy is of Jason and how intimidating he is on set when the evidence to the contrary is so overwhelming it's almost amusing! There is clearly a lot of love, respect and affection between all of the cast members which is seen in the plethora of behind the scenes photos and videos we get from the cast and crew. Having visited the set a few times myself, I can verify that first hand.

I have watched and re-watched the video posted on social media of Jason 'yelling' and 'swearing' at Director Jesse on set when, in actual fact, they were running through a scene and Jason asks Jesse "why are all the fucking cameras over here?". Jesse replies and Jason says "oh, okay" and runs the scene again. Anyone who knows even the smallest amount about Jason knows that he's a swearer. I'm not saying that's the right or wrong way to behave but after spending nigh-on a decade around him, from what I can see, neither Tracy nor Jesse seem to be phased at all.

Overall, I think it was a fitting way to end the season.

In terms of what's next, well the unit is now down to four so I suspect we're going to need to more hands on deck! Whether Petrovic will decide to stay or not, I'm not sure but one thing we definitely need is more Detectives! Hopefully the time has finally come for Officers Burgess, Ruzek and Atwater to finally pass their Detectives exams!

We're also due a Burzek wedding which I'm hoping to God Trudy Platt is heavily involved in!

And I'd love to see a happier Hank. With all the loss he's experienced, I'm hoping he can find something/ someone that makes fighting to live in the finale worthwhile... just as long as it's not Chapman 😂 He needs a Det. Katherine Meadows in his life 😉

I could go on forever but thank you for asking my opinion 💛

[nyx-thedragon]

Town High School's Newsies Production Update (April 16, 2025)

ok if you read my last post, you'll have expected this. here's the update.

1- Opening day is next Friday (April 25th; next week is hell tech week) and they are finally going to learn the rest of "Seize the Day" after school today. because the director hasn't been doing a very good job of making sure the coreographer can be at rehearsals or something so they can learn everything in time, i guess. (side note: the coreographer is the mom of two cast members (twins) who are seniors this year and are playing Medda and Katherine and they are going to fucking kill it i'm so excited to see them perform)

2- "Santa Fe" is still Bad. according to my brother Bird, via texts he sent me yesterday during rehearsal when he had some downtime i guess: "[B] claims hes been practicing like a lot; didn't know half the words; flat on every single high note; yknow how MY OLD FRIEND is high up; he did it the same as the SANTA FE right before; [he then sent me a voice note of him singing it as a demonstration]; [B] does this thing where he is flat on a note and he will drop off it immediately" (all of these were sent as separate messages, which is why there's a semicolon after all of them)

y'all. i'm getting mad second-hand embarassment for B right now. it's gonna be sooo bad for him oh my gods

3- as of yesterday, Bird's outfit is finished - all the pieces needed have been acquired, so that means that a week out from the first performance, last minute costume pieces are still being acquired. not the best thing.

4- one of the actors, the girl who was cast as Buttons, has not shown up to any rehearsals since before spring break, which was March 17-22. at this point, i think she quit the musical and just forgot to tell the director, which is not good bc it messes stuff up bc according to Bird, Buttons has a good amount of lines that now have to be given to other background characters i guess.

idk, man. the whole thing sounds like a big old fucking mess, which is gonna look really bad on the director if the show crashes and burns (which i'm hoping does Not happen). it's her first year at the school and she decided to spend like $3,000 on the rights to Newsies, a very famous musical that people love and will go to watch with at least a little bit of an expectation of what they're going to see, without knowing the students she was going to be working with well enough to make good casting decisions (as shown by her choice for Jack). also according to my coworker, who happens to be another cast member, the director claims to have directed Newsies before, which i think is bullshit because of everything that's happened/been going on.

i just really want the cast to feel good about the performances they did at the end of the weekend - especially the seniors, because i was in a production with some of them before, and they're all very talented and i would hate to see them not be happy with their final performance before they graduate, y'know?

anyway, this is only part of the stuff that i've heard and there's definitely more that i've been told, and more that has happened that i haven't been told about. i just wish that everything had been done way better at the beginning, and that the director had started everything a lot earlier than she did. idk. i've not been hearing very good things about the director; Bird does not like her all that much.

anyway. this post is long enough. all of these update posts on the production have mainly just been for me to get the stuff off my chest/out of my brain to other people without having to yap to my friends (who aren't as crazy about newsies as i am) about it.

that's all for this update. gonna go work on school stuff now because i'm very behind on my work. have a good day/night

[practically-an-x-man]

I'm having a scatterbrained day, so for talk shop Tue, can I get a commentary reel/directors cut style talk about how WWFA came about? How you got the idea, how Kat was developed and how you decided to insert your plot into the movie canon?

Oooh man, great question!! Thank you!!

So first things first... there were absolutely elements of Katherine and her story that were logically chosen for a specific position, and as with all of my stories, I did have the plot in place before I started writing, but there was a lot of this story in particular that evolved as I wrote it.

So WWFA? first came about after I went through a huge NATM hyperfixation in late 2021. The movies have always been really comforting and close to my heart, especially as a history and mythology buff, but there was something about that time rewatching it that just sent me headfirst into it. I don't remember how specifically I came up with Katherine as a character, but the first little inkling of plot came from the idea of an artist leaving sketches for the night guards and janitors to discover, not knowing that it was the exhibits themselves who ended up appreciating them.

So that's where I started the story: Katherine, leaving her drawings, simple and sweet. I had my point A (her leaving the drawings), my point B (following the third movie, the tablet dying and being restored), and my point C (hush now, we haven't gotten to that yet), but hadn't quite gotten all the details of how I was going to work Katherine into the story. I always had her coming along for the ride, but it's safe to say that the original concept did not have her nearly as deeply woven into the story as her final version does. She brought her drawings to life, building off the idea of the tablet bringing museum artworks and exhibits to life, but at that point I didn't have much of an explanation as to why her.

And then I started college. I'd always been a history nerd and had a good base of knowledge to start the story, but then I was a history nerd taking various college-level anthropology, history, and archaeology classes, and it took my knowledge to a whole new level. I've said this before, but I nearly wrote a paper on how I believed the Egyptian god Tutu was borrowed from the Babylonian god of the same name (though that fizzled when the Egyptologist I tried to contact never emailed me back, and he was the only expert in that particular god I could find). I love that sort of thing, and if college had been a better fit for me it might've ended up being my lasting career. My knowledge skyrocketed, so did my inspiration, and that's what springboarded the fic into its present mythology-heavy form.

As for how Kat was developed... it was a lot of those more spur-of-the-moment decisions. She became descended from Bastet on a whim, and that ended up being a driving force that worked so well for the rest of the story. Her name, Katherine Johnson, is a reference to the NASA scientist who contributed to the moon landing, but that reference itself was just sparked from the fact that I couldn't decide on a name at first. Her physical appearance, her backstory, whatever else? I just wanted to create a fun, dynamic character, someone who really felt like a real person rather than a plot device - and part of how I do that is just to stop thinking too hard about it and let things just flow.

Idk, it's kind of hard to describe. I don't want to say I was flying blind at any point, but there were a lot of areas in which the story just fell together as I wrote it. Most of my work came from creating Katherine and establishing her within the first few chapters - after that, she just seemed to fall into the story.