#yeah he's missing a bit of common sense and he's trust worthy and a bit of a goof but he's not braindead

[mezzomorendo]

What's their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

[ Weirdly Specific but Helpful Character Building Questions ]

What's their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

I think based on what we've seen, Zack tends to try and fawn. Which is honestly pretty fascinating. He tries to talk down Angeal, Genesis, even Sephiroth. I think if he's genuinely afraid - if he's scared and worried - he tries to talk himself out of it. He's trained himself to fight through the fear in most cases (fear of monsters, fear of death) but when it's something he can talk to, he will talk.

As a military guy, that sort of thing did take a while for him to train out. It's hard to change your instinct, and when your instinct is to try and talk to your enemy or appease them, that can get you killed on the battlefield.

What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

So I almost started typing out the opposite to this question (something he's expected to hate but actually loves which is learning new things) but to answer this one, I think people expect him to be a complete and utter musclehead? Like, no brains, no nothing, just pure brawn. And I think that does a disservice to him. Like he enjoys working out and being in shape, but it's not everything about him. He squats as a stim, and he loves to run, but he does get annoyed that people assume that's all he enjoys.

He also is expected to love killing and violence, but he kinda doesn't? He loves the thrill of a fight, loves challenging himself, loves reaching new physical heights, but he doesn't actually enjoy the violence of it. Aerith's comment to him long ago really got to him, because he thought he enjoyed it. But when he thought about it, it was just the thrill of the challenge, not the bloodshed itself.

[0nlythrowharrybeaux]

Angst 3, 10, 19, 22, 28 & 34 Famous H starts getting distant, cold and mean and everyone around them notices... while y/n is being attacked by the media and fans and he doesn't give af, she feels like everything is her fault and that kind of life ain't for her. Ps: Please make me cryyy, I need it, tysm

Hello friend! I'm not taking requests ATM so I'm not sure which prompt list you were looking at! But I hope it's this one I've just found through my old blurbs! But I truly hope you are feeling better soon! Sending you all the love and comfort <3 I hope this one shot hits the spot!

WC: 3.5k

Y/N just knew that there was more going with Harry than just stress from being busy, as he would tell her lately. Yes, he had a rather eventful year with tour and films and promos, but he was being absolutely frigid with her. Y/N had been with pretty awful partners in her past and they had wrecked her self-esteem and sense of worth. Harry had been someone who had started to make her feel worthy and strong and worth the effort and it was easy to fall in love with him and trust him, so seeing the way he was acting towards her now made her self-doubt and loathing far worse than before. The most painful part of it all was that even if the problem was on his end of things, which she knew it was, she felt completely culpable for it all. 

It made sense though. She was always the common denominator when it came the issues. She could never seem to get it right and after seeing things slowly start to go to shit with Harry no one couldn’t convince Y/N that the one who was at fault was her. She was damaged goods, she was broken, she was unworthy of someone so full of light. Maybe she deserved the way he was icing her out and the way that everyone seemed to be turning away from her. She felt her stomach twisting with hurt and a lump forming in her throat as she looked through the comment section on her Instagram.

Harry looks so miserable with Y/N! I hope he dumps her.

H looks so happy and free when she isn’t at his shows! Like he’s having way more fun and interacting with the fans.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again… Y/N is Harry’s ugliest girlfriend LOL Sorry not sorry!

You’re such a try-hard! You literally copy everything H does for attention. Get a fucking life.

Obviously Y/N & Harry are a PR stunt! He would never get with someone that ugly LMAO

She looks like a stuck up bitch. So much for TPWK

Nobody likes you Y/N! Maybe you should just kill yourself…

Her eyes were welling up as she read the cruel words. People could be so horrible for no apparent reason. She hadn’t been OK for a while now, her mental health was suffering as people just tore her apart. The fans and the media. She wasn’t sure at what point she became the focus of people’s attention in that capacity but she wanted it all to stop. It had gotten to the point where even Jeff had pulled her aside to see if she was OK and she had mustered up the coolest smile she could and confirmed that she was fine. He didn’t seem to buy it, but he also didn’t seem to push it either and after that he didn’t ask again. She heard some foot steps approaching the hotel room and she wiped at her eyes quickly and locked her phone before switching on the TV. Soon enough the door was opening and in stepped Harry, all sweaty from his work out as he removed his ear phones.

“How was it?” She asked genuinely.

“Fine. Kinda dingy, lots of the equipment was missing.” He mumbled as he turned away from her to strip off his shirt while toeing off his sneakers.

“Oh, bummer.”

“Yeah.” He responded, “Are you gonna come to the stadium with me today?” He asked and she bit her lip for a second. The words from the comments lighting up in her head and she felt unsure.

“Do you want me to come?” She asked another question in response to his question and he sighed audibly.

“That’s not…” he paused, “Just do what you want.” He said, clearly frustrated at her response and she felt a lump in her throat.

“Sorry for upsetting you. I just don’t want to get in the way or be handful or something.” She elaborated and he turned towards her and sighed.

“Then why did you come?” He asked her and that question was like a kick to her stomach. The hurt radiated from the depths of her chest to her fingertips.

“I-”

“You’re the one who asked if you were able to come on tour with me and for what? You don’t even come to the shows! You just sit here all day watching TV on your own!” He defended his statement and she frowned, “It costs money, you know?” He said and that made her heart lurch even more, “Every date you’re here for we pay for extra food for you and I get a bigger room and shit. You don’t have to come to tours if you’re just gonna make it a miserable time for yourself and everyone else.” He said and she felt a tear slip down her cheek as he said that and she glanced down at her hands folder in her lap. That’s all she was… wasted money? Wow. It’s not that she didn’t want to be there, she definitely wanted to but the horrible things people would post about her were breaking her down from the inside out and as much as she wanted to be there to support him physically she felt it was unfair to her, she had done absolutely nothing to deserve the treatment she received. Harry saw as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks silently and sighed before approaching her.

“Hey.” He said softly as he grabbed her hand, “Look at me.” He beckoned and she glanced up at him, “Sorry, that came out wrong.” He said and she sniffled and shook her head.

“S’fine.” She offered a half smile and that seemed to appease him enough. However, it wasn’t fine, not in the slightest.

“I do want you to come tonight, by the way.” He said to her.

“OK, I’ll start getting ready.�� She promised and he smiled before hurrying off to the shower. 

Everyone in the band seemed to be happy she had come along and greeted her with so much warmth and kindness. Harry had just disappeared from her, as she expected. And honestly, she was doing what she would’ve done at the hotel while they sound checked - just sat there for several hours watching TV in a general area wearing a big, fat frown. Harry was in his dressing room getting fitted, he didn’t bother inviting her over or anything. She was there for a while and then got this strange feeling that someone was watching her and when she turned around she saw one of the venue’s staff member’s sneaking a video of her and then turned quickly to pretend to be busy stocking up a fridge. She really wanted to let it go, but she could already see the headlines of how she was unsupportive and didn’t want to be there anyway. She bit her lip nervously before standing.

“Ummm, excuse me?” She said to the young woman who then turned, looking at her with this feigned innocent expression.

“Yes?”

“I don’t… mean to be…” she fumbled on her words, “I ummm, I saw you taking a video of me and I would really appreciate it if you could delete it. Backstage is supposed to be camera free apart from the tour photographer and videographer. You crossed a line and on top of that, I didn’t consent to be filmed by you.” She said nervously and the girl looked offended with her.

“I wasn’t filming you.” She said with a straight face and Y/N nibbled on her lip nervously.

“OK, sorry.” She nodded and shrugged, “Maybe I just saw wrong. But it looked like you were filming and if it were someone else who saw this you could get in a lot of trouble. So just be a little more mindful so that you don’t get in any kind of problems.” She warned with a polite smile. The girl was obviously lying and she didn’t plan on telling Jeff or anything, maybe Harry after the show, but she didn’t want to get the girl’s phone confiscated or anything.

“Sure.” She said curtly before offering a fake smile and walking off. Y/N sighed and headed back to the couch. 

She sat there for a couple hours until it was time for dinner and everyone was heading back to eat. She chatted with the girls and Mitch while Harry floated around. When it came time for Sarah to eat she grabbed the baby and played with him to allow her and Mitch the chance to settle down for a bit. She seemed very engrossed in that and trying to avoid Harry, it gave Sarah an odd feeling and she sat beside Y/N.

“It’s really nice to have you back.” Sarah said with a smile.

“Thanks, it’s nice to be here.” Y/N said and Sarah saw that her smile hardly even reached her eyes.

“Have you been doing OK?” She asked and Y/N nodded.

“Yeah, traveling really gets to me though.” She explained. It was odd for Sarah that Y/N was being so vague with her. They had a pretty good relationship, she just seemed so unlike herself and it was worrisome.

“You can tell me to bugger off if I’m being too nosy, but how are you and H doing?” She asked and Y/N focused her attention on the baby.

“S’alright… I mean he’s busy and tired from the touring and the traveling, and well you know how he sleeps for ages…” she said with a smile and Sarah giggled and nodded.

“It just… seems like you lot aren’t really seeing eye to eye.” She elaborated.

“Oh, definitely not today.” She huffed, “We had a bit of a tiff before heading out.” She explained and then proceeded to share with Sarah what had happened.

“Proper prick, he was.” Sarah scoffed and Y/N sighed, “I mean, yeah, but I have been a bit of a downer and just… yeah.” She accepted.

“Ummm, no. If anything that warrants him treating you far nicer than that.” Sarah expressed and she sighed, trying not to cry as Sarah validated everything she had felt deep inside, “Honestly, how’ve you been doing? I know that this can’t always be easy.” She expressed and Y/N sighed shakily.

“Honestly… it’s been rough.” She confessed, “I don’t know why, but all of a sudden the fans and the media just turned on me from one day to the next. They’re just being so cruel and making up rumors and telling me to die and I know that I should ignore it, but it just gets so loud sometimes.” She whispered painfully, tearing her attention from the baby to Sarah who was looking at her with soft eyes.

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

“People can be really cruel and it’s just been getting to me, I need to grow some thick skin or something…but lately I just… I can’t stop crying.” She disclosed sadly, “I don’t want to come around to the shows and bring gloom and doom, you know.” She sniffled.

“Oh, Y/N.” Sarah cooed and Y/N cleared her throat and blinked away the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, “Have you shared that with H?”

“Nah… we had that conversation at the start of things. He seems to get a bit frustrated when I willingly wade into it all so if you don’t mind, let's just keep that between us.” She said softly and Sarah nodded, but it made her feel uneasy to hear that. “Earlier today, when you guys were sound checking one of the venue staff was recording me back here… I asked her to delete it and she swore she wasn’t recording me, but I mean…”

“Yeah, we’re kind of trained to know these things.” Sarah said.

“Right. And I didn’t want to get her un trouble, so I apologized in case I had imagined it, but let her know to be cautious of bringing out her phone backstage because she could get I trouble. And now, I don’t doubt there’ll be some rumors about me being rude to fans or something in a few days…” she huffed in irritation.

“God…you should really tell Harry.”

“I don’t want to make waves and to get her in trouble. It’ll make things worse.” 

“Yeah, I get it.” Sarah said, “But if you ever feel unsafe or threatened like that again please say something. It’s not allowed for a reason. OK?” Y/N nodded.

As always, Harry had done a marvelous job at his show and Y/N couldn’t have been more proud of him. Despite how hurt she felt by him from earlier in the day she couldn’t help but smile and kiss his sweaty forehead as he scooched into the car waiting to zip them away from the venue right after he ran offstage. 

“You did so good, baby!”

“Don’t regret coming out, do you?” He chuckled and she shook her head and he grinned. They were pretty silent on the ride back after that little exchange and she pulled out her phone to kill a little time. 

But the first thing that greeted her were shared posts from some of her friends. She felt her stomach drop, she knew what this would be about. She looked at the screen shots of the story recounting how rude she had been to the staff member back stage. There was a picture of her looking miserable on her own on the couch with a caption of how everyone was hanging out in another room and no one wanted to interact with her. Then there was a bit about her threatening to get the girl fired for allegedly filming her and other completely made up things that made Y/N want to scream. She felt her eyes start to well up as the vehicle came to a stop in front of the hotel, there were already fans lined up at the entrance and Y/N took a deep breath, she didn’t want to cry in front of them. Harry slipped out first, resulting in a cheer erupting from the fans and screams of his name. He extended his hand to help her out and she grabbed it to plant her feet on the ground and he let go and hurried off, thinking she was right on his heels, but he was a few steps ahead of her. However, as soon as she was within the fans’ line of sight she heard a few boos. That started to encourage some heckles of names and other insults. And then she felt something hard hit her arm and she looked down to see a cracker of sorts and she frowned. 

“Ignore them.” He said to her, barely audible over the commotion.

“You’re a bitch!” Someone shouted and she felt her eyes start to well up.

“Harry deserves better!” Someone else heckled and she started to hurry towards him. She felt a few more things bouncing off of her and then suddenly she gasped as a far heavier object was making impact with the side of her head and the she just felt soaked. She glanced down to see a Starbucks drink all over her top and she felt it also dripping down the side of her face.

“Harry!” She shrieked and he turned back and gasped from the shock. She immediately started to cry upon the absolute humiliation of this. She expected him to at least say something, but he didn’t address it at all.

“Fuck, come on.” He mumbled to her and reached for her hand and pulled her inside swiftly. She only cried as they rode up to their hotel room and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. She felt worthless and stupid and she was completely speechless that he didn’t say anything to the fans out there about their abusive behavior. She was so disappointed in him and it seemed to complete break her as they stood there in silence. She moved her hand out of his as soon as the elevator opened and she rushed down the hall to their room.

“Y/N!” She didn’t respond as she keyed her way into the room, not bothering to hold the door open for him, causing him to rush in before it closed on him, “Hey, baby.” He said as she grabbed her toiletry bag from her suitcase and she didn’t respond, “Y/N!” He practically shouted at her only to be met with silence as hot tears continued to stream down her cheeks and then she hurried into the bathroom and slammed the door loudly. Harry hurried over to the door, about to knock on it when he heard the shower come on and then he heard the shower door shut after a few moments and then he just heard her start to sob. It made his insides twist up horribly as he heard her cries. 

He knew she’d been having a rough time, but so had he. He didn’t feel like he needed to defend his relationship or justify it to people who really had no idea what he was truly like. He felt that if he talked about what had been happening he would just be fueling the fire and that was the last thing he wanted to do. And so he waited, but once her shower hit the 30 minute mark he was dozing off. Harry woke up to Y/N pulling on a crewneck over her wet hair. He squinted in the light of the room and groaned groggily before stretching a bit. 

“Baby.” He mumbled and when she didn’t answer he sat up and he felt his insides sink uncomfortably when he saw that she was fully dressed and packed up, “Baby, where are you going?” He shot up and she sniffled and shook her head.

“I can’t do this anymore, Harry.” She whispered painfully.

“Tour?” He asked and she whimpered through her tears and shook her head.

“Us. I can’t do it anymore.” 

“Baby, don’t say that! It’s just some stupid fans!”

“It’s not though! They all fucking hate me and it seems like you do too! You didn’t even defend me after they fucking hurt me!” She accused, “You just sit there and let it happen! I can’t believe you did this to me!” She cried and he pouted.

“What do you want me to say? What could I have even done to fix that after it had been done already?!” He questioned defensively.

“Your lack of involvement led up to this moment, Harry. You’ve been icing me out for months and I don’t buy the stressed and tired excuse anymore! We’re all stressed and we’re all tired! Especially me! For months now I have been cyber-bullied and threatened and harassed and told to kill myself! I am falling apart and you don’t even seem to give a shit and it fucking hurts! It hurts when the person you love couldn’t even be arsed with defending you!”

“It just makes it worse if I say something, Y/N!”

“Maybe, but it reassures me that you care about me and my feelings! You know what I’ve been through and you know that I like to feel reassured! This, whatever the fuck we are, I never wanted this.” She hiccuped through her tears, “It’s over.” She wept and Harry frowned.

“Y/N-”

“I can’t anymore, H. I can’t.” She gasped through her tears, “I hate how I feel when I’m with you. I hate it so much!” She admitted and that just about tore him apart. He felt absolutely gutted as the words replayed over and over in his mind.

“You’re ending this over some stupid fans?” He asked incredulously and completely overcome with hurt.

“Yes, so please get out of my way, I want to go.” She persisted and his face morphed from one of disappointment and disbelief to one of anger.

“You’re fucking someone else, aren’t you?” He questioned.

“No, what the fuck?”

“Oh please, why else would you just dump me this way? You’re incredible, didn’t take you long to move on from me, huh?” He asked and she scoffed.

“Harry, no! This isn’t about any other man! It’s about you and the fans and their attitude towards me.”

“Sure fucking thing, Y/N… sure fucking thing.” He countered and she shook her head through her tears. 

“You are absolutely unbelievable and I can’t believe I ever fell for you.” She cried as she pushed past him to the hotel room door. He rushed after her as she wheeled her suitcase down the corridor and to the elevator and pressing the down arrow.

“Y/N, you can’t seriously be ending our relationship over this fucking prank! Please.” He begged, grabbing her hand and she frowned.

“Please let me go, Harry.” She whispered shakily.

“Baby, no.” he whimpered and she sighed.

“Let me the fuck out of your hold or I will scream.” She warned and he sniffled as he reluctantly let her go.

“You’re coming back, right?”

“No, save yourself some fucking money without me here anyway.” She threw back what he had said to her earlier.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I wasn’t-”

“Stay the fuck away from me, Harry. I mean it.” She warned as the doors slid open.

“Y/N, baby, please-” he whimpered and she sighed sadly.

“Goodbye, Harry.”

Read Part 2 here!

[forever-rogue]

Of Princes & Berries - Part 1

A/N: Yeah, so I have like zero self control, and I’m so deep in my Pedro feels and Oberyn is one of my og loves. In this family we throw canon out the window. Canon? I don’t know her. Anyways, this will probably be like 2-3 parts, y’all will get some sexy times, so hold tight. As always, feedback and comments are welcome, and if you’d like to be tagged, let me know! xx

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: slight language

PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7 | PART 8

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

Popping a few of the fresh, succulent berries into your mouth, you received a tut and playful glare from the chef that was busy preparing various foods for feasts throughout the day. You gave him an innocent smile before putting a finger to your lips.

"Those are for the prince," he reminded you playfully, passing a jug of wine towards you, "those were imported just for him, best not eat them all."

"Oh relax," you gently bumped him with your hip as you loaded everything onto your serving tray, "our esteemed guest won't be missing a few of them. Besides, these are so much mode delicious than the ones we have here. Ours are so lackluster and have no flavor. These are practically bursting with juice and flavor. Maybe the best I’ve ever had!”

"Why do you think he specifically asked for them?" he turned back to the pot he was stirring, giving you a little sigh.

"Because he's the fucking prince of Dorne?" you started to lift the tray up to carry it to the gardens where he was no doubt waiting, "and he's got impeccable taste. Looks, taste, people throwing themselves at him left and right? What a life he leads.”

"Just make sure this gets out to him," he insisted and you gave him a small salute as you headed out of the dim kitchens, “and no detours to eat more berries!”

A small sigh escaped your lips as you stepped into the daylight and felt the sun's rays hit you and instantly warm you up. Everything felt lighter already. Most days in King's Landing were overcast and not this beautiful, at least not during this time of year, and you planned on taking full advantage of it. Perhaps later, when you were done with morning duties, you’d go and set by the sea for a while. It always relaxed something deep within you.

As soon as you spied the prince, staring out into sea, a smile grew on your face. You'd spoken to him a few times here and there, mostly in passing, since his arrival at King's Landing. He was a bright spot, a welcome interruption in our normally monotonous and drool days.

He always spoke to you in a kind manner, taking the time to ask your name, how you were doing, small things. But unlike most people in the court, he seemed genuine in his actions, kind even. He truly listened when you spoke, rather than just blowing you off.

As you approached him, a smile stretched across his handsome features when he realized it was you, causing a small flutter in your heart.

"Good morning, Y/N," he stood and offered you a small bow as you set the tray down on the table in front of him. It was a sign of respect; reverence. Proprietary would have you bowing to him, but he never was one for rules, "how are you on this fair day?"

"Your highness," you beamed at him, pushing a plate of berries at him, "I dare say my day has been much improved. What good luck it was that they sent me to serve you."

"Good fortune, even a wonderful twist of fate," he sat back and watched you intently, "or perhaps I made a simple request."

"A request," you raised an eyebrow as you sneaked a berry, which just made him chuckle at you. Normally, with almost anyone else, you'd never be so bold. But with Oberyn...it felt normal, right even, "you asked for me?"

"You sound surprised," he mused as you leaned against the table, trying to soak up as much sun as possible, "why does it surprise you so?"

"I don't know," you said quietly, "I just never thought I'd make that much of an impression on anyone. I prefer to pass by quietly, generally."

"You've made quite the impression on me, sweet girl," he said softly. You caught your bottom lip in between your teeth as his words fell over you, "I'll take every opportunity I can to look at that lovely face."

"You flatter me," but a content sigh escaped your lips nonetheless, "it is I who am in awe of your beauty, your highness. Surely."

“Now you’re just flattering me, fanning my ego like everyone else,” he waved his hand at you laughed at him, “I didn’t specifically ask for you just because you fall in line like everyone else.”

“I’m sorry then,” you playfully stuck your tongue out at him, “I shall never flatter you again. Nothing but complete honesty.”

“A simple request, no?” he teased, letting his fingers linger near yours. You studied his hands, the few scars that had marred the warm, tan skin. He was really was beautiful, such a sight to behold in your otherwise dreary life, “can I ask you something...perhaps too forward?”

“Yes,” permission was given without hesitation, and worry. Nothing about him worried in you in that sense. Sure, he was the Red Viper, deadly, feared, and brutal in his own way, but you saw past that...he was also kind, gentle, surprisingly soft spot and quick as a whip, “anything.”

“Have you been with a prince before?” 

“I’ve been with many men who call themselves all sort of things,” you shrugged your shoulders as you poured more wine into his goblet, “kings, princes, knights, lords. You name it and I’ve been with one.”

“And have they lived up to your expectations?”

“Hardly,” you grabbed a berry and popped into your mouth, and raising an eyebrow at him, “the only time I’ve experienced true pleasure, it has certainly not been at the hands of a man.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” you sat down across from him, far overstepping any boundaries that remained. But Oberyn was different; he wasn’t like all the other princes and lords who spoke down to you like you were some sort of mere peasant. He treated you like an actual person. That in itself was enough to keep you intrigued; his delicious, warm accent didn’t hurt either. It was like music to your ears, sweet like the wine that flowed freely throughout the court, and much more pleasant than the harsh accents of the King’s Landing that you’d have grown accustomed to.

“You prefer the company of women?”

“I do enjoy the company of women,” you gave him a lazy half smile, “very much so. They’re beautiful creatures, soft, and warm, kind. Unlike men, they know how to touch other women, how to make love and make it a pleasurable experience, not just spend five minutes pounding into you until they’ve found release like a common barnyard animal. And then again, if all else fails, there is also the undeniable pleasure you can give yourself.”

“Very valid points,” he eat a few of the fresh berries, his dark eyes never leaving yours. A smile played on his features as relaxed in his seat, letting the sun warm him, “clearly you haven’t been with the right men.”

“Do you think you’re different?”

“I know I’m different.”

“Hmm,” you mused, “you’re very sure of yourself, my prince. Is your reputation well deserved? Are you as good of a lover as they all say?”

“I am,” a small smirk played on his lips as he crossed his legs, gauging your every reaction closely. He was curious, almost deathly curious to see what you hid under your cool exterior. You acted like you belonged in the court, under the direction of the Lannisters, but he could see through right through you. He knew you weren’t fully invested in your job or life here; hells, anyone that spared you more than a passing glance could see that much, “do you care to find out?”

“I appreciate the forwardness,” you gave him a wicked little smile of your own, “but surely you’ve got better things, and individuals, to shower in your worship. I am a simple servant, not worthy of anyone’s time, something I am made sure never to forget.”

You didn’t wait for a response before standing up and brushing your skirts off as you turned to head back inside. You’d been gone for some time now, surely you’d be attracting some unwanted attention any minute. You’d only been meant to serve the prince, not converse as though you were fast friends, shamelessly flirting in the open where anyone could stumble upon the two of you.

Oberyn was a welcome change to the cold atmosphere of the court you were used to. He brought a certain liveliness, warmth, and you swore more sunlight, with him. You could only imagine how wonderful it must be back in Dorne, where he got to spread that same radiance day in and day out. 

“Where are you from?” he asked as you turned to leave. You paused and tensed up, surprised by the sudden question. He didn’t move as he waited for answer; part of you was tempted to pretend that you hadn’t heard him, but you knew better than to defy the prince.

“I’m just a servant, your highness,” you gave him a saccharine smile as you watched his expression falter slightly. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting, “I am from wherever I am situated. My job isn’t to have a personality, it’s to serve others.”

“That’s not what I asked,” he grabbed a particularly plump looking strawberry, took a bite before standing up and striding over to you. His caramel gaze was focused on yours as he gently grabbed your jaw with one hand raised the berry to your lips. It was a question of sorts, to see if you trusted him. Without hesitation, you parted your lips slightly, letting him pop the berry into your mouth. You let the juices coat your mouth before swallowing, your eyes never leaving his. Oberyn traced his thumb delicately along your bottom lip, wiping away the small bit of lingering juice, “where are you from, my sweet girl?”

“Your highness-”

“It’s a simple question,” he let go of your jaw, his face moving into a softer expression as his eyes slowly raked over you. If it had been almost any other man, you would have been disgusted, but there was some gentle about when it was Oberyn. 

“Honeyholt,” the name of your birthplace fell off your lips almost like a whisper, and your eyes darted around to make sure no one had heard. When you worked for the Lannisters, personal matters as such were best left unsaid; they paid you, albeit barely, for your service, not to moan about your previous life. 

“That’s rather far from here,” he mused and you shrugged lightly. You were a a child, a mere young thing the last time you had visited your place of origin. You didn’t remember enough of it to truly miss. King’s Landing had been your home since, “what brings you here, to the harsh life of the court?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” you bit your lip, unsure of how far he wanted you to go into detail, “I...was brought here by parents. They needed the money, and I was their only source of commodity. For them it was an easy decision. I haven’t seen them since.”

“I could tell you were not from this forsaken place,” you wondered what he meant, how easily he could tell you were different. You’d spent most of your life trying to blend and not stick out, you’d thought you’d been doing a fairly decent job. Most people didn’t spare you a passing glance, unless they desired something from you.

“And just how is that, if you don’t my asking?”

“You’re much too beautiful to be from here,” he answered and your entire body suddenly felt like it was on fire. You turned your head, gaze intently trained on the cracked ground of the aging palace as you avoided his inquisitive looks. He reached over and with a few gentle fingers tilted your chin up to face him, “do not shy away from your beauty.”

“I do not,” your voice was but a whisper, “people do not usually show me such...reverence.”

“You have kind eyes,” he carried on, “the sweetest smile, hair fair more beautiful than the Lannister gold they love so much here. Your accent gives you away, it is very slight, but anyone with a keen ear will be able to pick up on it. These barbarians here no doubt have come to ignore it.”

“You...” no one had pointed out that fact that you have a slight lilt to your voice in years. You’d lost the majority of any accent as a child, having come to court as such a young one, and being surrounded by nothing but the gruff voices of the crownlands.

“And if you don’t mind my saying so,” he took a step closer and ran a gentle hand down your body, fingers grazing down your side and sending a shiver down your spine, “a figure that any man or woman would be blessed by the gods to know. Beautiful breasts, a round bottom, lovely thighs, I can only imagine how exquisite everything I’m not seeing is.”

His large hand gave your ass a firm squeeze, and a small sound escaped your lips; a mixture of surprise and pleasure. He was forward, there was no doubt about that, but nothing about it felt...wrong, or unwelcome. You could tell he was making sure every touch and word off of his lips that he was making sure you were okay with it. And you were. Everywhere he went, women, and men, fawned over him, dying for even a bit of affection and attention from the prince. Here you were, having down nothing and you were the object of his desire. 

“You flatter me far more than I deserve, your highness,” your cheeks were on fire as he smiled at you, trying to reassure you that his affection was well deserved.

“Please,” he insisted, bringing a hand back up to your face, “enough with the formalities. Oberyn.”

“Oberyn,” you repeated, enjoying how it felt on your tongue, so sweet and foreign, much more interesting than anyone you encountered through your daily duties.

“What was your name?”

“It doesn’t matter,” you insisted, but he was not fooled by your attempts at deflection. Instead, he leaned against the carved marble pillar, arms crossing his chest as he analyzed you, “you know my name.”

“My dear, sweet little one,” you sighed lightly at the sound of his voice, so rich and warm, hitting each last nerve within you, “everyone has a name. It means something, even if that of a bastard.”

“What if I don’t want to have a name? What if I want to be no one?” you shrugged as you leaned against the column facing him, “what if I want to hide in the shadows?”

“Y/N,” your name had never sounded more lovely or magical than when it came off of his lips. It sounded pretty, beautiful almost, “it matters. You should be proud of who you are...unless you are some sort of monster, which I already know you are not.”

“You already know my name.”

“And you know exactly what I’m referring to you. I am a prince, sweet one, not a fool.”

“Flowers,” you gave him a soft smile, “just like all bastards of the Reach.”

“But you’re not a bastard,” he pointed out as you nodded, “so why do you claim the name?”

“So I can be no one.”

“You, my sweet girl,” he was by your side again in no time, leaning only mere inches between the two of you. He smelled warm and sweet, likes spices and exotic fruit. Enchanting. Lovely, “are destined to be so much more than no one.”

“I assure you, it doesn’t matter,” you said after a few beats of silence, “my family was once one of the many great houses, just like so many others. But they fell and were broken apart over the years. The remainder of them are common merchants now. It’s easier to claim the name of a bastard than to receive pity for your family’s misfortunes from the likes of Lannisters and Starks and whomever else.”

“I am sure you far outshine them in every way,” he pushed a few locks of your hair out of your face, “your kindness is fair greater.”

“I...I know why you’re here, your hi- Oberyn,” you were scared that you had overstepped your boundaries, but weren’t able to hold back your tongue. He was so forward and open with you, surely he wouldn’t mind if you did the same. 

“And why is that?” his curiosity was piqued as he tried to read your expression.

“Your sister,” you answered softly and he shifted on his feet, shoulders tensing slightly, “I used to work for her...when I was just a child...before. She was the kindest woman I had ever met, gentle and sweet to everyone she ever encountered. Beautiful to no ends and her smile could light up the entire kingdom. Her babes were just as sweet, they would grown up to be the kindest people.”

“You knew Elia?” he was quieter now, and had a soft pang to his voice. He still missed and longed for his sister. Even though she had been gone for some time now, he still mourned for her and her children every day.

“She’s probably the reason I’m still alive,” you admitted, “she took me under her wing when I was brought here. I miss her too. I cannot imagine the sadness and burden it must have placed upon you and I would not dare to imagine. But I know how hard it was on someone like me, just a servant.”

“I think of her every day,” he admitted, “I know I cannot get her back, but it doesn’t dull the pain; Dorne has mourned her loss every day. Instead we must honor the memory of those we’ve lost, instead of letting grief consume us, no?”

“Yes,” you agreed, placing a small smile back on your face. You hadn’t meant to bring the mood down, but you wanted to let him know where you stood, that you were on his side, “I...I blame myself some days. When they attacked...I just ran and hide. I ran and ran and ran until it felt like I couldn’t breathe and then I hid and waited, waited till the smoke had cleared and it was safe to come out. I didn’t even try to help her or her babies. I just wonder if...I had stayed if I could have done something.”

“You were a child,” he could imagine the horrors you had seen, all the thoughts and emotions that had stayed with you throughout the years, “it was not your place to do anything. You protected yourself; it is our instinct to flee and hide, especially as children.”

“I was a coward.”

“You were a child,” he repeated firmly, “you were not a coward and it was not your duty to protect anyone. They should have protected you.”

You weren’t even aware of the fact that a few tears had rolled down your cheeks, but Oberyn was quick to wipe them away. He brushed a thumb over your cheeks, in such a soft and intimate gesture, offering you a small, reassuring smile in return. You put your hand on his wrist and gave it a firm squeeze, “thank you.”

“Y/N,” you almost jumped out of skin at the sound of Cersei’s grating voice. Swiftly wiping the rest of your tears away with the back of your hand, you took a step back from the prince, who seemed completely nonplussed, “surely you’ve got other duties to attend to. I’m sure the prince’s wine and berry need has been satiated for now. We know where to find you if we want more. Go on and apologize to his highness for your folly and distraction.”

Your eyes widened in surprise as you let out a shaky breath and gave her a nod. She had her trademark smirk on her face and you wished you could slap it off of her pinched features. She really was cruel down to her core, and you often wondered when the last bits of humanity had left her. You wondered how much she had seen or heard. Hopefully not enough to warrant any sort of punishment. 

Instead, you gave her a nod and small bow before turning back to Oberyn, “I apologize for my indiscretions, your highness. Please let me know if I can be of service at any time.”

“What did I tell you, my sweet girl, call me Oberyn,” he was not bothered by Cersei in the slightest and her jaw dropped in surprise. You couldn’t hide the small smile that crept onto your face, “and do not apologize for a conversation I have initiated. Surely even the lovely Cersei can understand that people enjoy conversation.”

“I...yes,” you returned his warm smile, unable to contain yourself and enjoying the little thrill that defying Cersei had placed in your bones. He reached for your hand and placed a kiss, chaste kiss to the back of it. You knew Cersei must have been dying on the inside at the exchange, frankly, so were you, “thank you, Oberyn.”

“I’ll see you soon,” he promised, making it a point to look directly at Cersei, who was fuming silently. If she had been a kettle, steam would have been exploding out of her ears, “I’ll find you.”

Just before you could turn to return to the kitchen and go about the rest of your daily duties, Oberyn trailed his fingers over your face, letting his gaze linger on your lips, “until later, dear Y/N.”

You turned to go back inside without another word, a bounce in your step at what had just happened. But just before you got inside, you heard him call after you, “I’m glad you enjoyed my berries, sweet girl!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

Permanent Taglist: @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @yourealegendroger  @thesecondlastjedi  @bitemerog  @rogernroll  @secretsweetscollectionblog  @sheridans-dynamos  @dinkiplier @starrystarrybabe  @onexlittlespark  @benhardyseyes  @marvelstuck  @whenthe-smokeisinyoureyes  @wonderwich  @a-kind-of-magik  @lv7867  @itissnowingandimstuckinside  @dessert-hardy  @rogertaylors-lipgloss  @rogerfxckingtaylor  @queenbbarnes  @drowseoftaylor  @persephonesnebula  @mamaskillerqueen  @theimpossiblehologramtree  @loveandbeloved29 @meddows-rose @onceitbubbles @wonderwoman292 @moondustmemories @spacedustmazzello  @queenlover05  @ah-callie  @blushingwueen  @thisis-theway @el-lizzie  

Oberyn Taglist: @rosetophighlander​  @someplace-darker​  @hystericalmedicine​  @fioccodineveautunnale​  @huliabitch​

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

When Dana Terrace did her AMA on Reddit, a fan asked what we could expect for the new season. To which she replied by listing five things:

Parental conflict

A lot of emotions

Island exploration

New characters

...There's a fifth thing in there. You just got to look closely.

Now, when Dana mentioned parental conflict, dozens of fans assumed she was talking about Alador and Odalia, which, I mean...valid. They were the only two parental figures who presented any real conflict, and the idea of Camila being involved seemed implausible due to Luz being cut off from the human world. But no matter how you perceived that line, one thing’s for sure: No one expected Eda and Lilith's mother to be a source of conflict!

Yup. Today we met the woman who created two of the (former) greatest witches in all of the Isles. Was her introduction welcomed? Or did she give the Blights a run for their money for the "Worst Parent(s) of the Year" award? Only spoilers can answer those questions, so keep that in mind as we go in-depth with "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances."

Let's review, shall we!

WHAT I LIKED

The Flashback: Already, this episode comes out swinging by giving us so much information! We get an explanation of what Eda goes through when cursed (which is horrifying), the reasoning behind her gem, the revelation that Eda ran away from home, and the reveal of how she got the portal door. The best part is, none of it feels rushed or forced. Eda's curse and the portal are integral threads to this story, both in this episode and in future ones. Tying them together sets up Gwendolyn's determination to cure her daughter while showing Eda's determination to escape her mother by skipping town into another dimension. There's also a sense of mystery in how and why the portal was in their backyard. And judging by how we got all of this incredible information in episode FOUR of the new season, something tells me we'll get answers to those questions sooner than we might think. This was such a strong opening to the episode. Despite giving so much information, it makes fans like me want even more. Which is an A+ in my book.

Gwendolyn: Yeah, might as well step out the gate in saying that I like Gwen...but I can already see how others won't. Immediately, she sets herself up as a mother who would do anything and everything to cure her daughter. That aspect of her character is perfect, and it quickly won points from me in terms of liking her. It's just that Gwendolyn's disregard of what Eda wants and the complete dismissal of Lilith are aspects of Gwen that are certainly going to rub some people the wrong way. Especially if those kids come from households where their parents are a lot like Gwendolyn. I was in the same boat of hating her too for a while, but thankfully, the last act saved her.

First, there's that scene where Gwendolyn threatened the lives of the demons for not only screwing her over but making things worse for Eda. It's one of those "Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned" moments that I always love to see.

Then there's the fact that Gwendolyn learns her lesson and, more importantly, apologizes. Not many actual abusive mothers would do that (Looking at you, Odalia), so it's nice to see that she makes an effort to make amends. Oh, and by the way, since I mentioned it, don't go around calling Gwendolyn abusive. She isn't. Or, at least, not to my eyes. If anything, she's a lot like Sara Fitzgerald from My Sister's Keeper (The book. Not the movie. The movie sucked).

In that story, Sara makes controversial choices that result in her youngest daughter Anna getting the short end of the stick due to putting all attention towards her eldest Kate. But here's the thing: KATE HAS CANCER! So while Sara's choices are beyond questionable, you can understand her point. And if you don't, well, I'd see how you would react when in her shoes. Trust me when I say that situations like this aren't always cut and dry. It's the same with Gwendolyn. She's far from "Mom of the year," but you understand where she's coming from. She wants to do what she can to help Eda, even if her methods could have been better. But that's just how I feel, and I can't speak for everyone who dealt with mothers far worse than her. If you refuse to forgive her, I'll understand. But to me, I consider Gwendolyn a worthy addition to the series.

(Plus, she just radiates Grandma energy when interacting with Luz. It's cute, and therefore I must love it!)

Luz: This season is on FIRE when presenting Luz!

I adore that the first thing we see her doing in this episode is sleeping after, most likely, another all-nighter to find a new portal. It proves that she has a determination made of iron and an intense dedication to getting back to Camila. In fact, it's that dedication that works as a perfect way to build a connection between Luz and Gwendolyn. They both want to reconnect with their families and are willing to do whatever it takes to do so.

Regardless, despite so desperately wanting to see Camila again, I'm glad that Luz still has common sense when it comes to helping Eda. She quickly sees that Gwen's cures are doing more harm than good, and it's great that Luz is the one to call malarky on the whole thing. No one had to spell things out for her because she's smart enough to notice that everything Professor Warlop is marketing feels a lot more like the fake medicine real people sell in the human world. It's a testament that despite having a big heart and the best intentions, Luz still has the intelligence to know when something is up and put a stop to it. And, again, let's hope that more people pick up on that.

Lilith: ...who would have expected Lilith of all characters to have most of the emotional moments in this episode?! I sure didn't!

But...Yeah. Lilith is the best thing in "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances." On top of her seeking Gwendolyn's approval being relatable for some viewers, it's also really heartbreaking. I mean, listen to the shocked and hurt tone in her voice after finding out Gwen visited Eda regularly. That alone should give away how much Gwendolyn is important to Lilith and says so much about how strained their relationship became after the curse. Then there's that scene where she just breaks down, feeling both scared and torn apart by the fact that she experienced the curse in its full form and could do nothing to stop herself. It...stung. That's the best way to describe it. It stung seeing a character who is (mostly) cool and collective to become so vulnerable and broken. And, you know what? It's because of this that Lilith has won me over. I still don't think she should have been as forgiven as quickly as she was, but after learning what Lilith went through and what she's currently going through, I'm more than willing to be ok with her. And--I can't believe I'm saying this--I'm going to miss her being a part of the Owl House. She earned her place, in my opinion, creating entertaining dynamics with everyone. Sure, she'll make appearances every now and again, but I wouldn't mind a few more episodes with her being with the main group. But I'm positive the writers will have plans for her in the future and seeing how well she was written in this, I can't wait to see what they do next.

King Hoping to see his Dad Again: This was just a cute tidbit that ties nicely into last week's episode. Bonus points for that scene where King and Lilith get drunk off of Night Market ice cream. It got a good chuckle out of me, especially when Hooty was the one who ended up being the voice of reason.

Cursed Lilith: ...How does she look worse and more terrifying than Eda?

How Beast Keeping Magic Works: Not much I can say about this. It's neat to be given a visual explanation of how Beast Keeping magic works and how it's more than just controlling animals. Judging by the roof shingles, it can also be making objects more animal-like. It's pretty cool, and I hope to see more of how the rest of the magic from the prominent covens work.

Luz wasn’t the only human: To tell you the truth, this doesn't surprise me. Eda did say that every myth humans have is a bit of the Boiling Isles leaking into the human world, so why can't the opposite be true? However, the reveal of there being a famous human around many years ago presents many more questions, and possible theories, that deserve to be discussed in a future post. For now, I'll just say that it's awesome how this reveal perfectly transitions us to next week's episode, "Through the Looking Glass Ruins." We already know Luz is going to the library. But, seeing how Gus is going to be a prominent character in that episode as well, he probably wanted to tag along with Luz to study about the first human in the Boiling Isles. Only to then get sidetracked by some cool kids from Glandis. It's in the realm of possibility, thus proving how more serialized this season compared to Season One while still being somewhat episodic. Because even if "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" presents a lot for the overall story, it's still its own tale about family relationships and knowing how to truly be there for the people you love. Resulting in a necessary and cute episode that ends on a wholesome note without any major surprises like--

Creepy Clone Luz: ...

...Dana Terrace, you lying--YOU SAID CREEPY LUZ WAS A FARCE! IN THE SAME AMA, TOO! CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU AND YOUR SNAKE TONGUE, GOSH DANGIT!

...Alright, now that I got my overreaction out of the way, this was an amazingly well-written surprise!

Tricking fans into thinking that Camila is crying over the realization that Luz is gone, only to then reveal this...thing, is the best shock to the system that this series has done so far. Even better, it results in all the right questions:

Who is it?

What is it?

Where did it come from?

When did it get there?

How did it get there?

How does it know about Camila?

And why? Just, why?

To me, a series that presents all of these questions, and makes me excited for whatever answers are given, is a series that's doing something right. Because if I'm still reeling over something that lasts for a second, despite seeing the episode hours ago, that is a testament to how good a surprise really is.

WHAT I DISLIKED

Trust me, I want to give this episode the A+ just for that ending alone. But, there are some issues I have that are worth discussing.

Eda’s Outfit Change: I know. It's the nitpickiest of all nitpicks I could present. Particularly because Eda doesn't even look bad (although that's no surprise). The issue is that it feels weird that Eda's having this permanent outfit change in the fourth episode of Season Two. Or, to me it is, at least. Because I think that if you're going to give a small yet constant change to the look of a character, it should be done right away. Like, in the first episode of a new season. I highly doubt fans would question why Eda is wearing different clothes by then, so it wouldn't be too bad if the first time we see her, she’s sporting a new outfit. Again, this is just me, and I have no problems with the outfit itself. It just seems odd they would do this later rather than sooner.

Screwing with Eda: I...did not like this. At all. It was funny at first to see Luz and Gwendolyn lure Eda with Apple Blood like how Wile E. Coyote would bait the Road Runner with birdseed, but it quickly took a turn. Because I don't want to see Eda meet inconvenience after inconvenience from her mother and surrogate daughter. I like Eda, and seeing her happy makes me happy. If I wanted to laugh at a character's suffering, I would have picked Boscha, Mattholomule, Alador, and/or Odalia. This? This was just unnecessary cruelness to a character who doesn't deserve it. And it takes up a good chunk of this episode, making me question whether or not this would be the stinker I was fearing. Fortunately, the ending increased my enjoyment by several notches, but that doesn't change how this was the low point of "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances."

IN CONCLUSION

Despite the road being rocky in the middle, I still consider "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" to be another solid A episode. The first and last few minutes have some quality writing that adds more to the characters, ongoing plot, and mystery that the series is building up. It's one of those important episodes you can't skip when watching a series, but given how it's keeping the new season's impeccable track record, I fail to see how that's a problem.

(Although, I am scared. We haven't gotten a stinker yet, and I really don't want it to be next week's episode. It's a Gus episode with sweet Lumity content on the side! That cannot fail!)

[noknockingonmydoor]

Headcanon

Semi-related tidbits on Heaven’s Door, Rohan’s isolation, obsession with reality, Pink Dark Boy, Koichi, interpersonal relationships. (warning: this is long)

You know how, at first, Araki said Rohan got his Stand after being pierced with the arrow during DiU, but then later on in Rohan at the Louvre he’s shown being adamant on not using his power to read people on Nanase back when he was 17? Yeah... lemme expand on how I see it.

He developed the power way before the events of DiU, but he had no idea what it was, or how to use it properly. Back then, it wasn’t even a Stand as we know them, just a latent power gradually getting developed in his subconsciousness, as his passion for using art as a form of authentic self-expression grew. He had no control on when and how to use it--it would just... sort of happen, mostly whenever he was really interested in someone/something--kind of like with Nanase, since, at that point, he was starting to get really interested in women and growing aware of his sexuality. (Also, she showed him kindness and genuine interest, which he craved back then--more on that at some other point, probs.) He legit thought he was insane and hallucinating the first time his powers happened and he never told anyone about it, because he didn’t want to be ostracised even more than he already was. Eventually, he accepted it as proof that he was special, meant for great things, and superior to all those who undermined him.

Oh, wait-- what’s that? People undermining, ostracising the great Rohan Kishibe? That was a thing? It’s more likely than you think.

Prior to getting famous, Rohan didn’t have a lot of life experience. For one, his childhood is an ominous big black hole in his memories, and he was homeschooled for the majority of it--by some very strict tutors, chosen by his parents... until he drove off every single one of them. The little time he spent in a more public, yet respectable educational environment as a teenager, he didn’t seem to fit in, as he didn’t know how to behave, what to talk about, how to react to things happening, what was acceptable, what was not. Not that he had anyone to talk about these things with, since his parents were always too busy, and he didn’t feel like talking about it with some unhelpful therapist. He was so sick of those. Many of his peers were quick to brand him a weirdo and avoid him, if they didn’t outright mock him about his shut-in lifestyle, his appearance, his interests--anything at all, really. Admittedly, it stung to be treated that way, but he didn’t want it to be obvious, so he shielded himself with displays of arrogance and lack of care for their opinions, which later escalated into an impressive amount of narcissism. It only made those same people resent him more, but they mostly left him alone... save for the few who saw through it and kept on provoking him. Once he’d finally had enough, he went off on them so hard that he almost got punched in the face and caused an incident that almost got him expelled, if it weren’t for his parents meddling in to pull some strings. (Ironically, Rohan would later on drop out in his final year, and cut out all contact with his parents. Whoops. More on his relationship with his parents at some other point)

He showed no remorse at all for his actions, which earned him both fear and respect from various individuals. He was sent to some more psychologists who didn’t help (always telling him what to think, believe, feel, as if his way of perceiving, existing wasn’t valid--which prompted his own interest and interpretation of various psychological phenomenoms), made to do extra work that only further goaded him to misbehave--nobody ever seemed to listen to him, or put an effort to understand where he was coming from. All they seemed to care about was shaping him to fit into a mold he never even wanted to fill, so he grew very resentful and mistrustful of people trying to butt in on his damn business. Feeling helpless in escaping this constricting reality, he’d often escape to his own, alternate reality, which kept him same throughout all these life’s trials. The world of Pink Dark Boy. He didn’t remember when he first came up with the character, or the world, or the story, but he had a feeling it had always been a huge part of him... and, at some point, he decided he wanted it published, revealed, shared with the world. And when Rohan Kishibe decides he really wants something... he doesn’t falter.

The earliest chapters of his work are very grimdark and edgy, because that’s how he felt while making them. Very authentic, and gut-wrenching, and believable, and terrifying and intriguing--was how the critics described it later on. Yet... there was only so much inspiration he could draw from his own experience, and retain this flattering reputation without circling around the same subjects, themes he was familiar with over and over again. At that point, he went off the rails a bit, and let his curiosity, need to know, to learn, loose far more than was wise, because he wanted to rapidly, almost forcefully, gain experience, knowledge, skill just so he could keep up with his work, and the supposed demands of his new fans (actually, his own impossible standards and demands). It worked, for a time, before he was burned out to the point of nearly losing his mind--which brings us to the events of DiU, when on a fateful whim he decided to move to Morioh, in an attempt to reconnect with his unknown childhood self, find peace, regain his mind in a town much smaller than Tokyo, where he’d lived most of his life... only to be stabbed by an arrow (possibly at his own request... lmao), and fully awaken Heaven’s Door. 

It felt so, so validating to finally have a name, and an explanation for this power, however vague it was. And when he realised that he could control it, and the possibilities that such a power opened? He completely fucking lost whatever common sense he had in his euphoria, which explains his extreme behaviour when he first met Koichi (willingness to alter his memories, kidnap him, kill him, also licking that fucking spider and punching himself in the face and JUST. EVERYTHING). If he couldn’t use his own limited knowledge of reality, he would steal it from whoever he deemed worthy, interesting, moving, etc--and Koichi’s pure, unrelenting kindness and courage and willpower was so, so wonderful, beautiful, worthy, inspiring to Rohan, which is why he latched onto the other so intensely. I believe this weird, weird friendship was very unhealthy at the beginning because of how needy and demanding Rohan can be and how much of a pushover Koichi can be, but later on Koichi figures out how Rohan works and how to put him in his place. It’s simple--once you have Rohan’s respect, he’ll submit and own up to his behaviour if you call him out on it. Kind of like at the end of DiU, when Rohan made fun of Reimi and acted all tsundere during their goodbyes, until Koichi gave him That Look and Rohan confessed his true feelings. He just... he really admires, respects, trusts Koichi. He feels it in his guts it’s safe, right to do so. He relies a lot on his gut feelings, because they rarely fail him.   

Koichi was probably Rohan’s first actual friend--not that he never had any meaningful relationships before, they just never stuck around long enough because Rohan never felt the need to invest himself too much into maintaining anything with anyone. He’s just very picky. In the rare event that he did try, it wasn’t reciprocated, or he just lost interest after finding one (1) flaw he didn’t like. He was just fine being on his own, doing his own thing, before hanging out with Koichi, stalking him observing his interactions with others and the world around him awoke inside of Rohan the wistful need to connect with someone on a deeper level. The need to experience genuine friendship, understanding, trust, giving something away without demanding something in return, looking past one’s flaws and accepting them, and allowing himself the vulnerability of it going both ways. All very, very foreign things, ones he’d convinced himself he was above experiencing, but a necessary part of being happy, fulfilled, real--something Rohan had missed out on in his life-long state of self-absorbed isolation--both forced and self-imposed.

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE thoughts I have on all of these subjects and I’ll probs elaborate at some point but I think this is enough for now lmfao bye. To end things, allow me to present one of my fave Rohan panels which kind of inspired all this

Rohan in love? Did you mean: yet another thing I’ll probs write about at some point 

[lokilickedme]

Because of "The Department", I am starting to become interested in Hozier. Are there any songs you would recommend for new listeners? Does he have anything romantic and sad?

Ohhhh my goodness.  Does he have anything romantic and sad…DOES HE HAVE ANYTHING ROMANTIC AND SAD?!  (sorry, I’m hyperventilating with excitement here)

Sit down honeypants, have I got a playlist for your listening pleasure.

First, you’re fortunate that he’s only got two officially released albums, two EPs, and a handful of covers and film tracks - because frankly the world couldn’t handle much more than what he’s given us so far.  We need time, we need to acclimate, we need to be strong enough to take it.  And for what he has given us thus far, we are thankful.  *amen*

I don’t even know where to start categorizing his songs individually, but since you specifically asked for “romantic” and “sad”, I’ll begin there:

ROMANTIC AND/OR SAD HOZIER SONGS TO PINE AND/OR YEARN TO:

Work Song - Gotta start here, for reasons.  This song is what I would call the epitome of romance.  It’s a nod to the field hymnals of the deep south, with the religious solemnity replaced by a mournful sort of romantic adoration for a lover who somehow saved him from a past he had all but lost himself to.  Sweet and gentle and worshipful, it fairly reeks of bad man redeemed by the love of a good woman.  He thanks the higher powers every day for the gift of his lover, whether the gods are listening or not, whether he is worthy of their attention or not - he no longer cares about that, because if there’s no eternal heaven for him, this moment on earth with his love is more than enough.  You are his deity now, his redeemer, his savior…and he’s at peace with his past because he knows you love him as much as he loves you.  Beautiful and hopeful, and almost painfully romantic.

Like Real People Do - Gah, I don’t even know where to start with this one.  It was inspired by Seamus Heaney’s series of poetic odes to the bog bodies discovered in the wilds of Ireland, which in itself doesn’t seem like a very ripe field to plow for romantic sentiment.  However, let me direct you to the following verse:

I will not ask you where you came fromI will not ask, and neither should youHoney just put your sweet lips on my lipsWe should just kiss like real people do

Yeah, we’re done here.  Basically it’s a vague fairy tale whose implications you’re free to ascertain for yourself.  Is it grave robbing?  Murder?  Some dark fae magic resurrecting an ancient being for some dark purpose he can’t recall? A lonely woman enlisting a disreputable spell to conjure a lover for herself from the long-dead bones of a forgotten victim?  Or was he simply buried by his grief/pain/sadness and “dug up” by the love and care of a stranger?  Whatever it is, it’s lovely.

To Be Alone -  Howling and intense, feral and wild, this is a tune to fuck to.  Romantically, of course.  The Celtic drums, the yowling chorus, the stomping that brings to mind a tribal Druid ceremony, untamed and darkly sexual in all its heathen glory…

Honey, when you kill the lightsAnd kiss my eyesI feel like a person for a moment of my life

Need I say more?  How about this:

To feel your weight in arms I’d never useIt’s the god that heroin prays to

Powerful, right?  And any song that has Feels good, god it feels good as a repetitive chorus can’t be anything but babymaking tunes.  Trust me.

Better Love - This is a film soundtrack song that appears on the ending credits of The Legend Of Tarzan.  Lush and frantically heartfelt and literally gushing with a profound romance that rises and rises until it hits a crescendo that you just gotta listen to on headphones with your eyes closed.  It’s a religious experience, the kind that’s easy to imagine yourself screaming OH GOD!! in the middle of.  Yeah, that kind.  The rising fury of the music, the piano, the horn section, his voice, is all very reminiscent of that kind of love.  Just beautiful, urgent, and will have you imagining yourself in a Victorian dress standing on the bank of a river somewhere waiting for your love to return from some distant place.

Dinner And Diatribes - Speaking of that kind of love, here we have a song that uses those very words to describe what loverboy wants and is asking for from you, his passionate yet momentarily bored significant other.  The two of you are stuck at some hideously stale social engagement and his soul is dying slowly with each dull conversation he has to participate in; his only reprieve is in staring at you from across the room and sending you subliminal messages about what he would very much like for you to do to him as soon as he gets you out of there.  Let there be hotel complaints and grievances raised, yeah that kind of love.  Romantic?  Not strictly, no, not on the face of it.  But really, what’s more romantic than knowing your partner well enough to know that one look from you across a crowded room will have them searching for a way to excuse themselves from the party so they can go home and absolutely rail you?

Scarcely can speak for my thinkingWhat you’d do to me tonightNow that the evening is slowingNow that the end is in sightHoney, it’s easier knowingWhat you’d do to me tonight 

 And we’re not even going to discuss the pounding Celtic tribal drums that set up a rhythm through the entire song that subtly mimics a headboard banging against the wall.  Rowdy loud romance at its pulse pounding best.

In A Week - Nothing says romance like two lovers decomposing in a field together, scaring the cows and slowly turning into food for the foxes and crows.  A beautiful tune, gorgeously sung as a duet with Karen Crowley.  He claims this was meant to be very tongue-in-cheek, and god I hope he’s not lying because I worry about the boy sometimes.

Nobody - My personal favorite, this one is a road song chronicling a love through comparison.  He tells his sweetheart how much he misses her, not with the actual words I miss you, but through a series of either/ors:

If I had the choice between hearing either noiseThe excitement of a thousand, or the soothing of your voiceAt first chance I’d take the bed warmed by the bodyI once warmed my hands over a burnin’ MaseratiStill I’ve had no love like your love

A cute love song full of playful devotion to an absent lover.  Just perfect.

Shrike -  I should have put this higher up on the list, I know.  You’ll understand what I mean when you listen to it.  A Shrike is a murderbird, btw.  Yeah, he’s comparing his powerful desire to express his love (after having tragically/stupidly missed a prior opportunity to do so) to a Shrike (him) impaling food on a thornbush (her).  Again, it’ll make sense when you listen to it.  A beautiful, haunting, lushly lyrical song about wistful longing.

Wasteland Baby -  This song, geezus.  The world is ending, it’s here, it’s happening, and he’s watching it all come down while sitting next to you, holding your hand, waiting for it to reach the pair of you as the flames lick the sky.  Neither of you are scared, just at peace, together, waiting for the end of it all to take you.  Oddly beautiful, and his voice - god, his voice.  Wasteland baby, I’m in love, I’m in love with you.

Movement - A love song to all the things you see in your lover that are lacking in yourself.  Poetic and poignant, coming from a towering giant with a tendency to trip over his own feet, singing about his lover being graceful and feeling moved by the way she moves.

NFWMB - Yes, it means what it looks like.  Nothing Fucks With My Baby, and yes he says that word every other line.  But the way he utters it with such dreamy conviction is just…ugh, it’s a horny song okay?  Just unabashedly horny.  And romantic, because he’s not making a bar room threat as in NOTHING fucks with my baby!!, he’s issuing a laid back warning that if you DO fuck with his baby, she will straight up fuck you up and he will sit back and watch, shaking his head in an I told you so sort of sympathy.  His baby is so terrifying that the goddamn apocalypse willingly averted itself when it saw she was in the vicinity.  An ode to a strong lover that he respects with every fiber of his being and by god you should too.

From Eden - Basically a love song from the devil’s point of view.  I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door.  That’s romantic, folks.

Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue) - My second favorite song in, like, the entire history of music.  Remember when I said NFWMB was unabashedly horny?  Well, this is a song about oral sex.  No qualms, no masking in flowery terms, and a whole lot of borderline blasphemous comparisons to religious verbiage to boot.  And it’s one hell of a banger, with Hoz howling like his baby just put her mouth on him (which is the chorus, more or less).  A no-apologies hard driving ballad devoted to fellatio, which I find oddly romantic in the simple fact that he speaks of it as a holy act of devotion.  He worships his lover, who is, ironically, the one on her knees in the holy posture of prayer in front of him.  And god does he love her for it.

Jackie And Wilson - This one is tricky, because it’s a rousing catchy tune flowing around a set of words that, once you listen carefully to them, become a whole lot of not what I thought.  He speaks of love, and of being saved, and of the attentive care that his lover gives him.  Only later do we hear the truth behind those words - that the love was obsessive and immature, that the savior casually abandoned him without even saying goodbye, that her care was no more than an amused tolerance to his childish adoration.  She knew all along that she wasn’t in it for the long haul, while he was making plans for forever.  But all hope isn’t lost - he’s not irreparably damaged, he isn’t ruined for life.  He simply goes and digs up the version of himself that he buried at the beginning, and starts again.  A little more experienced, a bit more jaded, but ready to do it all over again because maybe it’ll be right next time.  A hopefully romantic little cautionary tale that somehow doesn’t lose its playfulness, even as he’s putting out his cigarette and noticing that she’s gone.

Do I Wanna Know - this is a cover/retool of the song of the same name by Arctic Monkeys, and it is sublime in its sad yearning.  While the original is a driving, dark, sexy ode to obsessive love, Hozier’s version is a gentle, tender, hauntingly heart-tugging song about longing and uncertainty.  It’s a slow game of she loves me, she loves me not being played by a lover who is unsure if it’s worth the bother to try to fall in love with someone else if the current object of his laconic affections is no longer interested in him, or if he should just keep trying to win her back and keep the status quo as is.  And his voice…god, the way he caresses words is like he’s making love to your ears without the messy cleanup afterward.

There are more - but I’m going to draw the line here and say ENOUGH FOR NOW, YOU’RE NEW, YOU’RE NOT PREPARED FOR THE REST.  I mean…Angel of Small Death?  Sedated?  Arsonist’s Lullaby?  The hardcore underlying symbolism of his flagship ballad Take Me To Church?  It Will Come Back, for god’s sake??  No, not yet.  Go, dip your toe into the waters, and then come back when you’re ready for more…because everything this man has ever done is brilliant and beautiful and profound, and oh boy do I look forward to ruining another innocent with it all :)

[emma-nation]

The Gathering - July Challenge Day #15 (Friendship)

Characters: Kamilah Sayeed, Lily Spencer, MC feat. Bloodbound crew (Bloodbound/ Nightbound Crossover)

Pairing: KamilahxMC

Rating: T

Summary: A sequel of my previous fic, Stay. Before leaving to Prague, the Bloodbound girls get to meet the Nightbound crew.

KamilahxMC Tag List: @begging-for-kamilah , @ilovekamilahsayeed , @zoe6111 , @kennaxval , @honorablebicycle, @kinda-iconic, @choicesjulychallenge, @riyalovestaylor, @kinda-iconic, @gavryllo, @iam-the-fuckin-queen (If you want to be tagged in future chapters/fics of this pairing let me know!)

Notes:

- It’s MC bonding time! And time to do a decent crossover PB failed to make.

- As Cal mentioned at the Lady Smoke club, Nightbound events take place 2 weeks after the events of Bloodbound. So I assume Priya was visiting New Orleans by the time the gang left to Europe.

“I spoke to Adrian,” Kamilah announced. “He and Jax already have the Book Of Blood. It’s time for us to leave to Prague for the next item. The Eye Of Bathory is in Dracula’s possession.”

Her last words made Lily spit her coffee all over the table.

“What?!” Amy asked in disbelief.

“Oh man,” Katherine rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad to be done with you.”

“I suppose you’ve had the experience of meeting Vlad yourself?”

“Unfortunatelly. One of his precious artifacts went missing and he hired me to track it. The payment was… nevermind.”

“Guys…” Amy interrupted the conversation. “You’re joking, right? Dracula can’t be real.”

“Amy, when have I ever told a joke?“ Kamilah said, seriously.

"She’s right, Amy,” Lily told. “You’ve seen how many times I tried. This woman has no sense of humor.”

“But… Dracula is a legend, h-he…”

“There’s no legend, dear,” Katherine attempted to tell her. “Vlad Tepes lives in a fancy castle in Prague, in flesh and blood. And he’s not afraid about showing the ’flesh’ part.”

After over an hour listening to stories about Dracula and his seductive personality, Amy was only a little bit convinced about his existance. The group started packing their bags to fly to Prague that night. They’d be attending Dracula’s ball in a couple of days.

“Amy, are you alright?” Katherine joined her in the bedroom. “Is there anything else I can help you, before you leave?”

“I’m okay, no more memories for now. But, thank you. It’s very kind of you.”

“No problem. I just want to make sure my services were worth the paycheck Kamilah gave me.”

“Oh.”

“Still, I was wondering if you’d like to do something tonight. A goodbye party to you and your friends, what do you say?”

“I never say no to a party!”

———-

“Graveyard Shift,” Lily read. “I like the name!”

“It’s the hottest spot in town for both worlds,” Katherine explained, guiding them inside, “humans and supernaturals.”

Amy looked around and everyone inside the bar seemed normal. There was the slim, handsome male bartender, a muscular man that seemed to be very fond of him and a upbeat young woman.

“These are: Ivy, who helped me to find the location of the items. She’s an… undead human.”

“Like a… vampire?”

“Or a zombie?!” Lily’s eyes were wide in surprise. “You’re definitely a zombie!”

“Wait, can you see her?!”

“Neither,” Ivy told, after being thoughtful for a moment. “I like to think of myself as mostly dead.”

“And these are Garrus and Krom,” Katherine proceeded with the introductions. “The newest couple around.”

“A fae and a stone troll!” Lily shouted in excitement.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Kamilah greeted the trio. “I had never met any of your kind before.”

“A polite vampire,” Ivy joked. “From New York, I assume?”

“That’s correct.”

After sitting at a table with Katherine’s group of friends, Amy was distant in her thoughts.

“How come you guys can see them how they truly are and I can’t?” Amy was fairly disappointed.

“Only supernaturals can see behind the magic, Amy,” Nik Ryder, a Nighthunter like Katherine, explained.

“I see.”

Moments later, Lily was at the bar, doing shots with Cal, while he answered all her darkest questions about werewolves. Kamilah was chatting to the Nighthunters about their problem with Gaius, hoping they’d be giving them options to weaken him before putting a stake at his heart.

Amy started walking around, feeling bored and even a little bit lonely. Being just a mortal, made her feel excluded from the group and their important matters. A young man joined her.

“I assume you’re new to this crazy supernatural world too, huh?”

“A little bit,” she told. “Like seven months ago, I thought vampires only existed in fiction. Now I’m working, dating and being best friends with them.”

Alex let out a laugh.

“At least you’re not being chased by a lethal creature, that won’t stop until it kills you.”

“A maniac vampire, that thinks of himself as a king, does it count?”

“Pretty much, I guess.”

Talking to Alex, Amy learned they had much in common. He went to New Orleans to celebrate his birthday with his best friend, now he was caught in a world he never imagined being real. He also had visions about the supernaturals’ past and heard voices that seemed to be guiding him in his journey.

“I’m a Bloodkeeper. I was supposed to have access to the memories of every vampire that ever lived, but somehow I can’t. Katherine has been helping me but… I can’t help feeling like a burden to my friends, when I need their protection all the time.”

“To be honest, me too,” Alex sighed, “But I also think we have our own purpose in their world. For a reason, we’re part of their lives now. And something tells me there’s a greater reason behind all of this mess. Something we can’t even imagine yet.”

“You’re probably right,” Amy smiled. As she noticed Alex glances in Katherine’s direction, she raised an eyebrow suggestively. “So… I’ve heard a lot about you in the last few days.”

“Really?!” He looked surprised. “Katherine told you about me?!”

“Yeah, a little too much if you ask me.”

“I-It can’t be… I mean, she’s always acting so distant and closed. I… I don’t know how to proceed.”

“Oh,” Amy pointed to Kamilah, “I totally understand. After six months, I’m still getting in there. But trust me, it’ll be worthy in the end.”

Amy gave Alex a few tips about how he could slowly make his way behind Katherine’s walls, pointing out how much she and Kamilah had in common.

Minutes later, the female vampire joined them.

“Amy, it’s about time for us to leave. We can’t risk taking any longer. Somebody reported Priya was seen coming to New Orleans.”

“Priya Lacroix?!” Alex asked. “The fashion designer?!”

“Do yourself a favor, mortal,” Kamilah advised. “Stay away from kinds like her. It never ends well. You’ve been warned.”

“Noted.”

Katherine drove the group to the airport, where a private jet was waiting for them. Before getting on board, Kamilah extended her hand to Katherine.

“Thank you for everything. We couldn’t have done it without your help. Good luck dealing with your Bloodwraith.”

“Thank you, Kamilah,” Katherine shook her hand. “Good luck defeating Gaius and… facing your own demons.”

Then, the Nighthunter turned to Amy.

“You, take care. If you need any help with the Bloodkeeper thing, you have my number.”

“Thank you, Katherine,” Amy grinned and whispered in her ear. “Take care of yourself and… Alex too.”

“I-I don’t know what you mean,” she blushed a little bit. “Ryder is looking after him. I’m only supporting them in the mission.”

“You definitely know what I mean.”

Taking Kamilah’s hand, they walked together into the airplane. Amy rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Are you ready? I know this isn’t being any easy for you.”

“I am, having you by my side gives me the strength I need. Whatever comes next, Amy, we’ll be facing together.”

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 3: Alya’s Test!

Marinette woke up. “G’morning Tikki” she said. She checked her phone. “AH!” she screamed. “I’m going to be late!” She quickly got dressed, and ate breakfast, and left. She ran to school as fast as she could.

“You know Marinette,” said Tikki, “we have to discuss what happened with Master Fu.”

“Of course Tikki” said Marinette. “But that can wait. I just have to get to school on ti-” Marinette bumped into someone, and fell over. “Sorry” she said.

“Don’t be” said Vlad, giving her a hand.

Marinette was confused. She took his hand and he helped lift her up. “Oh, uh, thank you” she said.

“Rough night?” Vlad asked.

“Uh, yeah, something like that” said Marinette.

“Yeah, I feel the same,” said Vlad. “Something came up so suddenly.”

Marinette was familiar with that sentiment. He and Adrien were both models. He must lead a busy life. “I’m sorry” she said.

“It’s OK, really” said Vlad. “I met someone interesting, and that made it all worth it.”

“Really? Who is this person?” Marinette asked.

“It’s a secret,” said Vlad, as they were heading up the stairs.

Vlad and Marinette entered the classroom just as the bell rang. As Vlad sat down, Lila looked at him and remembered the conversation she and Adrien had yesterday after she was DeAkumatized.

“Look, I’m sorry” said Adrien. “I talk to Vlad about all my classmates. It feels great. I like having friends to talk about. But Vlad himself is a tough cookie. He’s very distrusting, and rather selective about who he socializes with outside of work. No matter how much I talk someone up, he always has to test them. It’s not just you.”

“Odd, isn’t it?” said Lila. “You don’t have trouble trusting people, and yet you claim this guy is your friend.”

“He is my friend Lila” said Adrien, sternly. “I’m sorry. It’s just Vlad and I rarely had the chance to see each other until now. When people see us, they often ask why we’re friends. I don’t like people questioning my friendships, and I get defensive.”

Lila smiled. She couldn’t stay mad at Adrien. “So, how did you two become friends?”

“Well…” said Adrien. “It’s a long story. But the gist of it is Vlad noticed I was sad. Thinking I was just playing it up, he intimidated me. I explained to him why I was feeling down, he apologized. We had a back and forth, and he helped me get over my issue.”

“Sounds like a great story,” said Lila. “Can’t wait to hear the full version.”

Lila was walking away, when Adrien said “One more thing...Try not to get on Vlad’s bad side. I don’t want what happened yesterday to become a daily occurrence. Whether it's you getting Akumatized, or him.”

“I understand” said Lila.

In the present, Lila turned her attention to Ms. Bustier, who was pairing people up for a project. “Our next pair will be Vlad and Alya” she said.

“Um, could I be paired with Adrien or Marinette instead?” said Vlad.

“Sorry Vlad, all selections are final” said Ms. Bustier. “Besides, it’ll be a good chance for you to get to know Alya. She’s the assistant class rep, you know.”

“Great” said Vlad.

Lila smirked. “Our next pair will be Marinette and Adrien” said Ms. Bustier. Marinette was so shocked she fell out of her chair. “Are you alright Marinette?”

“Yup” said Marinette. “He’s fine. I mean I’m fine” she said.

“That girl’s an open book” said Lila, hoping to break the ice properly with Adrien’s friend.

“Don’t you buy books to open them?” Vlad retorted. Lila was not amused.

“Lila, you will be paired with Nino” Ms. Bustier said. Lila looked at him, and smirked. Ms. Bustier continued to list off pairs.

During the free period Vlad approached Alya while she was talking with Marinette. “Hey” he said. “You wanna start working on that project now, or after school?”

Alya sighed. “I should do it now. I gotta babysit the twins as soon as school is over.”

“Sounds great” said Vlad. He and Alya left.

“Pst” said Beyyo. Marinette noticed him in the corner of her eye and approached him cautiously. Tikki popped out and glared at him. “You have a good Ladybug in Marinette” he said. “Don’t lose that over our history. I’ve changed since then. And this new person is also different. Don’t judge him based on the previous holder.” Beyyo flew off.

Tikki was still mad. “What happened last time?” Marinette asked her.

Before she could answer, Adrien came up to Marinette. Tikki hid. Adrien said “Marinette. Do you want to work on the project?”

“Anything for you. AH! I mean, yes of course” said Marinette.

Beyyo re-entered Vlad’s pocket without alerting Alya. “So Alya, Marinette tells me you two are close” Vlad said.

“Are you in love with Marinette or something?” Alya said. “Ever since you got here, your focus has been on her.”

“No no” said Vlad. “Nothing like that. It’s just right now, she and Adrien are the only people here I trust.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?!” Alya said, incensed.

“Yeah” said Vlad.

“How rude” said Alya, turning her back toward him.

“It’s not just you” said Vlad. “I don’t trust anyone I don’t know that well. Adrien and I met a while ago, so I trust him, and I learned to trust Marinette yesterday.”

Alya turned around “Like, during that meeting you had with her?” she asked.

“Yup” said Vlad.

“Well, if all it takes is a meeting, then let’s have this meeting,” she said, dragging Vlad.

“Oooo. You’re feisty” said Vlad. “I like that.”

Marinette and Adrien were in the library studying for the project. Marinette thought to ask him about Vlad, and what he said this morning. “Um, Adrien?” she said. “Do you know what Vlad was doing last night?”

“I think he had a photo-shoot at the Arc de Triomphe” said Adrien. “What’s this about? Do I have competition now?”

Marinette was shocked. “Competition, what?”

“For fashion inspiration” said Adrien.

“Oh. No” said Marinette. “I just ran into him this morning. Literally. He seemed like he had a rough night.”

“Yeah” said Adrien. “He enjoys modeling, but he doesn’t always enjoy what comes with it.”

“Is that why you two are close?” Marinette asked. Adrien stood, mouth agape. She realized what she had just asked. “AH! I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s cool” said Adrien. “I never really thought about it like that before. But that totally makes sense. So, what is he doing now?”

“Oh, he and Alya are also working on the project together,” said Marinette. A look of concern hung over on Adrien’s face. “Is something wrong?” Marinette asked.

“It’s just, Vlad is unique. He doesn’t trust people easily” said Adrien. “He likes to gauge a person’s character before he decides to trust them. I’m worried that depending on how it goes, he might learn to hate Alya.”

Marinette was now concerned. “Why?”

“It’s not just Alya” said Adrien. “I’m worried about all of the class. Vlad has a tepid relationship with people. He gets along with them fine, but Vlad has a high bar when it comes to forming bonds. I’m just worried that the bar might be too high for everyone. Especially if they don’t know him too well.”

“Well, I’m sure everything will work out” said Marinette.

“You trust him that much already?” said Adrien.

“I trust our class” said Marinette.

“Spoken like a true class representative” said Adrien. Marinette blushed.

Meanwhile, Alya and Vlad were facing each other. “So, what do you need to know?” Alya demanded.

Vlad scoffed. “I just need to see what kind of person you are,” he said.

“Well, what did Marinette tell you?” Alya asked.

“Hey now, trying to figure me out like that is cheating” said Vlad. “But, since Marinette is a commonality between us, why don’t you tell me how you two met?”

Alya sighed. “Fine. It was the first day of school. I was new, and Chloe was giving Marinette a hard time. I couldn’t let that stand, so I talked to Marinette to help give her the confidence she needed to confront her.”

“So, you’re friends out of pity?” Vlad asked.

“NO! Of course not!” Alya shouted at him. “I mean, yes, Marinette was a bit timid when I first met her, but I didn’t pity her. I don’t think Ladybug would pity people she is rescuing from an Akuma attack. It felt like that.”

Vlad smiled. “I see.”

“To be honest, I’ve always been a fan of super heroes. And when Ladybug and Cat Noir showed up, I was ecstatic. But I can get a little overzealous sometimes, and at those times Marinette rescues me as well.”

Vlad put his arms on her shoulders. “I’ve heard enough. You’ve earned my trust, Miss Cesaire.”

“HEY!” said Nino, charging in.

“Nino?” Alya said, surprised.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Nino asked.

“What’s the matter?” Vlad asked.

“Lila told me the reason you didn’t want to be paired with Alya is because you’ve got a crush on her and didn’t want to reveal it!” said Nino. “Well too bad! Alya and I are dating.”

“Wait, WHAT?!” said Alya. “As much as I like seeing how seriously you take this relationship, I don’t think that Vlad is into me whatsoever. At least not like that.”

“Are you sure?” Nino said.

“He told me to my face that he doesn’t trust me” Alya said.

“Yeah, that’s not a good way to pick up girls” said Vlad. “Or, you know, whatever you’re into. Who told Lila that anyway?”

Nino was confused. “Lila said you told her,” he said. “Just as we were beginning to work on the project together.”

Vlad sighed. “Of course she did. Look, I know you all like her, but you know she’s a liar, right?” he asked.

“Did Marinette tell you that?” Alya asked.

“What? No” said Vlad. “Adrien did.” Alya and Nino looked at each other, confused. “Look, Adrien has told me a lot about you guys. He told me that Lila lies constantly, but maybe if we set a good example, she might feel the need to stop lying so much. Adrien sees people through these rose-tinted glasses. So, when he tells me about you all, he is so enthusiastic about you. To hear him say something negative about someone, even if it’s the slightest thing, is odd.”

Alya and Nino were stunned by this realization. “I had no idea” Alya said.

“And hey, if you wanna give your boyfriend here an advantage on this, ask Adrien what he told me about him. I’m looking to see if what he said is the real deal, or if it’s just Adrien being too kind for his own good” said Vlad. “Now, do you want to work on the project?”

“Sure” said Alya. “Nino, are you going to be OK?”

“Of course” said Nino. “I trust you completely.” Alya and Vlad walked off to start their project.

Nino turned back around and rejoined Lila. “So, how did it go?” Lila asked.

Nino realized that Lila was indeed a liar. At least, about this. But he didn’t want to set her off. What if she got Akumatized again? Or worse? “It was just a misunderstanding” Nino told Lila, who was shocked. “Yeah, uh, it turns out that Vlad is a little weird. So, whatever he said to you, he might have meant it differently.” Nino wasn’t lying, exactly. Vlad was weird.”I got all mad for nothing.”

“That’s not true” Lila said. “You got worked up for the woman you love. I find that to be very noble.” Nino was surprised by this. He blushed and said “Thanks.” Lila began working, and Nino looked at her. That wasn’t a lie. He had to ask Adrien about this. After all, maybe that was her just changing her behavior to be more positive, like his bro said.

After school, Marinette and Alya said goodbye as Alya left to look after her sisters. “She off to babysit?” Vlad said, approaching Marinette.

“Uh, yeah” said Marinette. “How was working with her?” Marinette was anxious about the answer.

“It was delightful” Vlad said. Marinette sighed a sigh of relief. “What’s that about?” Vlad asked.

“I just told her you might not trust her best friend” said Adrien, joining the scene.

“Come on Adrien, give me some credit” said Vlad.

“Adrien did say you have trouble trusting people” said Marinette.

“I guess that’s true” said Vlad. “But I gotta say, you were right about Alya.”

“Maybe you’d be better off if you trusted what I said more” Adrien said.

“Yeah, we’ll see” said Vlad. “By the way, that Nino guy is next.” Adrien giggled. “I thought you would take that harder” Vlad said, confused. “Considering you said he’s your best friend and all.”

“Well, I would be,” said Adrien, “but Marinette told me she trusts our friends, and it’ll all be OK. And I believe her.”

Vlad smiled. “You never cease to amaze me, Marintte” he said. “Hey, I’m stopping by Adrien’s house this afternoon. Wanna come?”

Marinette was surprised. “Thanks, but I’ve got another matter to attend to. Seeya!” she said, as she rushed off.

“Looks like it’s just you and me” Vlad said. From Vlad’s pocket, a sniffing noise could be heard.

“Yeah” said Adrien. Adrien’s limo pulls up. “Ready to go?”

“Of course” said Vlad. The two boys walked to the car.

[coffeedrivenfiction]

Recuperation (a Teen Titans story) Summary: After a gigantic battle, the Teen Titans are completely worn out and the only capable of picking them up again is... coffee!

It was the third time he had slipped into that beckoning darkness, the one that loomed so invitingly just behind his eyelids, and damn did it feel good. With each blink, he could feel his aching limbs growing lighter; with each blink, he felt the strain over his chest, so much like a stubborn brick, ease off just a bit; with each blink, all the purpling bruises that gleamed that badges of honor just underneath his clothes seemed to lose their sting.

Never, in all his life, had Beast Boy wanted to pass out so badly before.

Alas, every time he blinked for a second too long, the blasted order bell rang, along with an accompanying shout from the barista behind the counter, and he was jolted back into consciousness.

"C'mon, man, can I just… five minutes, that's all I need," he grumbled, holding his cheek in his hand, "just… five… measly... minutes…."

When he started to fade for the fourth time, it wasn't the order bell that woke him up, it was when his head bobbed a little too hard, slid out of his palm, and collided with the table. He jumped up like someone had zapped him with a cattle prod, hastily wiping drool from his bottom lip. After a quick glance around, he saw that nothing had changed… the cafe was still packed to the gills with customers who, just like him, were having their nostrils tickled by the scent of energy-fueling coffee. The line at the front counter was crazy long and Beast Boy sighed. Knowing the popularity of this place, he had planned to get here as early as possible, like crack of dawn early, and while it was technically still early morning, his battered body hadn't been up to the task of holding onto a transformation long enough to secure a safe, quick flight. So he took the bus, then fell asleep by accident, missed his stop—twice, stopped to help get this old woman's cat out of a tree—it was like some twisted 'everything can go wrong' montage from a cartoon, and the primary reason why he was still waiting thirty minutes later for his ticket to get called.

"This is nuts," he whined. "How long does it take to make five stupid cups of—"

DING-DING!

"Ticket twelve! Order twelve is up for a Misterrrr… Garfield?"

"Oh, finally!" Beast Boy exclaimed, and he pushed his way to the front, eagerly holding out both hands to the familiar server. "Man, I thought you guys were picking the beans back there yourselves!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite green looney toon," the barista said with a smile that was just as sarcastic as it was friendly. "How ya' holding up, eh?"

"Like a rickety bridge.

"You look it, sugar."

"Oh, gee, thanks," he snorted. "And you?"

"Fairly meddling, fairly meddling," she replied blithely, grinning as she handed over one cup at a time. "Saw the news this morning, though. You guys had quite the battle yesterday from the looks of it. Felt the shockwaves all the way across town where I live!"

Unsurprisingly, even mentally dwelling on the what he and the others had barely managed to survive caused Beast Boy's body to give an unholy throb in protest and he grunted, nearly dropping his drinks. "Yeah, the, uh… the villain contingency decided to throw us a little party. You know how it goes…."

"Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure." She drummed a couple fingers over the marble surface before finally asking what he knew she had been inching toward: "Did you win?"

"You're still alive, right?" There was an unmistakable edge to Beast Boy's tone as he grabbed a four-pronged drink holder. When she nodded at him, he hunched a shoulder. "Then, yeah, we won. You're welcome, by the way."

"Much appreciated, green one, I do so enjoy living," she responded evenly, the snark in her tone easily heard even over the store's commotion. "So," she casually glanced side to side, "where's the rest of the squad? Robin and them?"

"Back at the tower, where I wish I was."

"Tired, eh?"

"What, me? Tired? Psssh, nope. Beast Boy never gets tired, not when the city needs him," he boasted, yet even as he said that, the exuberance he tried to puff his chest out with quickly deflated leaving him looking more exhausted than ever. "I'm not tired, I'm just… just—"

"Sporting fifty-pound bags under your eyes because of all the effort you put into leading your team through that battle," the barista supplied, her eyeteeth showing with the smirk she flashed him. "Obviously, right?"

"I'm glad you know," he said with a weary laugh, struggling to fit each cup into place. "Ain't easy being so awesome, lemme tell ya."

"Oh, I'm sure," she agreed genially, and without a word she spun the container in a full circle, effortlessly fitting a cup into every hole. "There you go, Mr. Hero," and she lifted her hand.

A very grateful smile grew over Beast Boy's worn face and he slapped her a congratulatory high-five. "Thanks, Jules."

The barista, whose badge read Julian Spears, snapped into the most casual salute Beast Boy had ever seen. "Hey, just doing my civic duty, hun." Then she made a shooing motion. "And you should be off getting intimate with a bed right about now, might be needing you later for round two with those villains."

Once the sun was up, the concept of rest didn't exist for Beast Boy, or any of the other Titans, really. Hence the coffee. Without any prior sleep, it was going to be a very long, very arduous day ahead, and God help them if the alarm went off for any reason, but she didn't need to know that. A big part of superheroism was putting on a brave front even when the urge to fall over was nigh unbearable.

Picking up the fifth drink, Beast Boy gave her a two-fingered salute then forced an enervated grin.

"You can count on me."

"I knew we couldn't count on him," Robin slurred, lying slumped over the kitchen counter. He had only gotten as far as pulling on his pants and his mask askew with one shoe on and one shoe off. Looking at him you wouldn't be able to tell if he was trying to get dressed or undressed. He pointed a feeble yet very accusatory finger at Cyborg. "I… blame… you."

"What, me?" The look of shock that flashed over Cyborg's face only lasted for a blink until it subsided into the pain that raged all throughout his circuitry and he sank back into the chair he had unknowingly risen from. "It wasn't my idea to send BB—it was Star's."

"That is the lie," Starfire replied groggily, and unlike the others, she was half-hanging off the back of the common room couch. Through sheer force of will, she managed to lift her head and fixed Cyborg with a bleary-eyed scowl between her curtain of red hair. "I did not suggest Beast Boy to go because I was taking a short coma."

Robin snorted against the countertop while Cyborg actively chuckled. "That was the quickest coma I've ever seen anyone fall into and get out of," he remarked with subdued awe. "You Tamaraneans are something else."

"What is this else you speak of? Am I not the flesh and blood?" Starfire wondered with sincere confusion, her head falling limp before she could finish.

"No, no, that's just—" Cyborg caught himself mid-sentence, deciding it wasn't worth the energy to explain the phrase and just nodded. "You sure are."

It was rare that Raven ventured anywhere without her hood and cape combo, mostly because how else was she going to bathe her face in the calming darkness that kept her emotions in check, so to see her now, seated at the kitchen table alongside Cyborg with half her face resting in her palm, sans her concealing garment, was almost picture worthy. Like the others, she hadn't slept a wink since last night and, also like the others, her body pulsed with an agony that made sleep a moot point anyway.

"Robin," she called in that droning monotone, "this coffee of yours… I hope it has the effects you so heartily claimed it does."

Somehow, after placing his palms flush against the counter, Robin found the strength to push himself up, showing them a self-assured grin even while his arms wobbled like jell-o. "Trust me, Raven. You don't even know what it feels like to wake up fully refreshed until you've had this."

"Whenever BB decides to come home, you mean," interjected Cyborg, reclining so heavily in his chair that it audibly began to strain. "Oh, don't you wimp out on me now, chair. Dig deep, push through, c'mon now."

Starfire lifted a thumbs up but otherwise said nothing, leaving her haggard wheezing to fill the silence of actual words. Not that anyone could blame the alien girl; each of them was struggling at the moment, whether with injuries, the fatigue, or just trying to fully wrap their heads around what had transpired. Because it really made no sense. No one could have predicted a full-frontal attack of such magnitude to kick off like it did, without warning or time to prepare—and that had instilled a very disturbing spark of anxiety within the Teen Titans. This time they were lucky, one of Cyborg's alarms had gone off only minutes prior, which gave them just enough time to get their gear together.

After that… it was chaos, a bitter struggle that lasted the better portion of three hours. Robin led to the best of his capabilities, and some onlookers might saw it was due to his leadership that they didn't get completely overwhelmed, but it became a team effort around the two hour mark with everyone splitting off to handle different objectives. The cohesion they exhibited during the entire fight was something that exceeded even their best test runs and practice simulations: orders were relayed with a single glance, team-attacks flowed as easy as breathing, where one fell short another was there to pick up the slack—they were, for lack of a better word, flawless. Erratic, but flawless.

When it was all over, when the last of the foot soldiers had either been beaten back or else was in the process of being thrown into a patrol car, the last thing Robin felt like doing was standing tall for the the influx of paparazzi or entertaining the several questions the police chief had. But he did it anyway, with his team behind him.

Because being a superhero meant working well into overtime.

"You ever think about just… I dunno…." Robin grunted as he shambled his way around the counter toward the table. "What it'd be like to be… normal? For like a day?"

In unison, Raven and Cyborg stared at Robin with varying degrees of disdain; even Starfire tilted her head so as to get a really good look at her teammate, because there was no way their leader had just asked such a stupid question.

"Riiiight," said Robin with a light chuckle, easing himself tenderly into an empty chair, "because what's normal about a trans-dimensional cross-breed, a bright-blue cyborg, a girl from another planet—"

The front door suddenly began to open and everyone seized up—Robin's hand shot to his unbuckled utility belt, a hostile green glow sparked to life around Starfire's eyes, Raven lifted a very flexed hand that swam with a miasmic black aura, and Cyborg's entire left arm made the shift into his sonic cannon—but the tension bled away just as quickly as it came when Beast Boy stumbled through, beaming triumphantly.

"—or a green-skinned shapeshifter," he finished lethargically, lurching his was over to the table and bypassing the fact that the rest of his teammates had been seconds away from flaying the skin off his hide. "I mean, we just have so many choices for normal up in here I'm surprised we picked superhero as a career path."

You can find the rest at: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13206109/1/Recuperation

[sorryforbeingcrazy]

PART 2 “Two do not connect if...” (Reylo short story)

Hello people!!! Here I am with the second part of my new Reylo short story. If you haven´t read the first part here it is: 

Part1

http://sorryforbeingcrazy.tumblr.com/post/172732756657/visions-and-feelings

I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

ENJOY!

The burial ceremony was one worthy of royalty. But not the one she deserved. There were no honors or words that could make justice for Leia´s military trajectory and life. She had been way too important and indispensable for so many people that it was almost unfair that she had to die.

The news of her death had been like a gunshot for every single one of the members of the Resistance. All of them had felt Leia´s death as if she was their mother. She had marked them all forever with her courage, understanding and endless wisdom. Leia was one for the history books. Her legacy must be passed from generation to generation and beyond.

Poe´s speech had been beautiful and full of respect and admiration for her. He was one of those fortunates who had been very close to Leia for a very long period of time. At least longer than Reyn and Finn´s. His voice had cracked more than once while delivering his words, above all when he had finally said Leia´s famous “May the Force be with you”.

A very long round of applause had taken place right after that line to be followed by a deep and dead silence the moment they had set Leia´s remains on fire. It had been fast. Way faster than Rey had expected. The wind had helped the flames to spread all over the pile within seconds and soon enough Leia´s body had been reduce to ashes.

Everyone had already left the place heading back to the buildings except from four people and three droids. Chewie, Poe, Rey, Finn, R2, C3PO and BB-8 stood for a while staring at what was left of their beloved friend.

Poe was the first one to leave their petit group.

Now that Leia was gone and there were no other high ranked leaders in the Resistance Poe had accepted the burden of being the new leader of the Resistance. And with that burden came new responsibilities.

“I have to go back, guys. We´ve started to send messages to our allies and I need to be there in case we make any contact”. Poe said. His eyes never leaving the burnt pile.

“Do you think they will hear us? Even when Leia has…” Finn couldn´t say the word.

Nobody could. It was way too painful and real to say it out loud. It made it definitive.

“Let´s hope that her memory is strong enough to sustain our cause”. Poe said turning to face his friends. “I´ll see you later, guys”.

“See you, Poe”. Finn nodded. “If it was difficult to get help for the Resistance before imagine now that Leia is not here anymore”.

Cherie murmured something and Rey laughed a little. “Yeah, I definitely believe that”.

“What? What he said?”. Finn asked curiously.

“He said that if they don´t help us her ghost probably will go around their planets haunting them all”. She said looking first at Finn and then at Chewie.

Finn smirked. “I hope she does”.

All of them stood in place but this time with a small smile on their faces.

It was a nice day. The sun was shinning and it was a little bit windy. The soft breeze of the forest felt cool and comforting on their skins and it smell like wood and flowers. The location was definitely stunning. “She would have liked it”. Rey thought looking at her surroundings.

Suddenly, she felt something behind her. Like a presence. She felt her body react, straightening and tensing in alert.

Discretely, she turned her head a bit to her left, trying to have a glance where she had felt the shadow. Then she sensed movement. Scared now of the presence of a foreigner she turned completely around with her hand prepared to reach for Finn´s gun that he was wearing on his holster.

But the silhouette that appeared from between two trees a few meters away was no utter stranger. On the contrary. She was very familiar.

Rey felt the urge to cry and laugh and run and scream all at the same time. There she was. Standing with an understanding smile and signaling her to be hushed and to follow her. Rey looked at Finn and the droids who were completely unaware of Leia´s presence or at least of her spirit.

“I´m…I´m going to have a walk”. She said facing them again.

“Do you want me to come with you?”. Finn asked looking at her and moving a few steps towards her position. “We can talk if you want…”

“No! No. I mean…” She had answered way to fast. She closed her eyes for a second and raised her hand trying to find the right words to excuse herself. “ I…I want to be alone”. She explained looking at him. “I need to…meditate…you know? Jedi stuff”. She had know idea was she was saying. She just hoped it´d work.

Finn nodded in understanding. But something in his eyes told her that he felt rejected in some way. She approached him and embraced him lovingly. “I really need to be alone right now, Finn. You know that I don´t mind at all being with you. But I have a lot of things in my mind and I need to put them in order”. She felt Finn´s arms tightening around her and she also felt what he was trying to show, to express.

She closed her eyes and tried to block Finn´s emotions from herself. Her abilities and knowledge of the Force possibilities grew everyday and not very long ago she discovered that she could feel other people´s emotions and intentions. This was an advantage in some ways but also a problem. Now she knew what Finn´s true feelings for her were and it broke her heart because the only love she felt for him was fraternal.

She smiled at him after breaking the embrace and then she started walking heading were she had seen Leia.

After 10 minutes of wandering around the forest there was no signal from Leia. Rey started wondering if maybe she had seen another of her illusions. Maybe she had imagined Leia calling for her because of how much she missed and needed her. Maybe…

“Maybe I was just waiting for you to get far away enough to be sure that no one could hear you”.

She looked left and sure enough there she was. Sitting on a rock a couple of meters away. Rey smiled and felt tears of joy building up on her eyes. “Leia…”. She whispered. She ran to her and the moment she was close enough she threw her arms around her and embraced her.

To her utter relief her arms did not go through her as she had expected. She was solid, like if she was actually there yet she wasn´t.

“Oh, Leia. I´m so happy to see you”. Rey smiled at her, crying of pure happiness. She was there. She was not forever gone.

“It´s only been two days, sweetheart”. The general laughed while embracing Rey with her arms. She was wearing the blue dress she had been buried with. And she looked as alive as always.

“It´s been an eternity”. Rey smiled leaning a bit back so she could look at Leia´s eyes. “You can´t imagine how we all miss you…”. Rey´s smile trembled a bit. She could see her and talk to her because of her sensitiveness towards the Force, but nobody in the Resistance could. For all of them, their legendary General was completely gone.

Leia nodded sadly. She knew how all of them missed her. She could sense them all. She could see them all.

“I know. But I´m sure that the Resistance will last”. Leia spoke convinced. “Poe has become a great leader. He had a great teacher”. Leia smirked jokingly making Rey smile again. It felt like she had not smiled, like truly smile in years.”Everything will be fine. I trust you all and I believe in you all”. She said with a warmth that only she could transfer with her words. Even from the “other side” she could make you feel empowered by her words.

“I just hope other people listen to us and believe in our cause as you did…I mean do!”.

Leia smiled and stood up. “Let´s have a walk, shall we?”. She took Rey´s left arm in hers and they started walking with no final destination.

Rey still could not believe was she was seeing. She knew that the Force could bridge minds and show you people that were thousands of kilometers away from you, but she could not fully grasp her mind around the fact that she was walking around with someone who was…dead.

“I know. It´s weird. But the Force truly is something magical”. Leia answered Rey´s unspoken thoughts.

She looked at her shocked. “Can you read my mind?”. She asked awed.

Leia laughed. “I can perceive just small pieces of what you are thinking but it´s enough to figure out the whole idea”. Leia said shrugging her shoulders. As if it was the most common thing in the world. “That´s why I know that you have been having very vivid visions of my son”.

Rey stopped abruptly and she felt like face palming herself. “Of course she can see that”.

Leia nodded at her like if it was very obvious. “Apparently my son is the owner of the 90% of your daily thoughts”. Leia grinned mischievously.

Rey felt how the blush covered her cheeks and felt like hiding herself behind the nearest tree. Yet she looked up to her and somehow spoke her mind. “And can you blame me??”. She said placing her hands on her hips. “First, he captures me and enters my mind to get information from me letting me, in the process, to enter his”. She started moving her hands, numbering with her fingers her different points in the matter. “Afterwards the Force, for a reason still unknown to me, starts connecting our minds letting us see each other at very random times and very inappropriate others. And NOW…” She was now yelling with exasperation. With her arms moving in the air frenetically. “ ..I see him. EVERYWHERE! At any given time! He doesn´t talk to me. He doesn´t move. He just stands there. Looking sad or lost or whatever at me, and making me feel nervous, stressed, sad and anxious”. She felt like if some pressure had been released from her chest. It felt great to speak those things out loud. It felt great to talk to her.

Leia laughed and she looked at Rey as if she know something that she didn´t. “What?” Rey asked frustrated.

“It´s funny”. She said simply. As if that explained everything.

“What? How me going insane can be funny?”. Rey asked crossing her arms looking like a sulking child.

“The fact that you think that the Force was the one who connected you both or that it is the one showing you my Ben”.

Rey frowned. “I…I don´t understand”.

Leia raised an eyebrow at her. “You don´t understand or you just don´t want to?”.

Rey let her arms fall to her sides and then she stared at Leia concerned. Then she diverted her eyes to the ground and her brain immersed itself in deep thought. One part of herself knew the truth, but the other one, the emotional one did not want to admit it. Yet she knew that it was pointless to lie to herself. She had proved that method before, with her parents, and it hadn´t helped at all. So she just simply said it.

“I am the one connecting myself to him”. She murmured feeling a little bit ashamed.

Leia walked to her and she took Rey´s chin with her right hand. “Both of you”. She said softly.

“What do you mean?”. She asked confused.

“Do you think you can just simply connect with someone because you want to?”. Leia asked sarcastically. Rey still looked clueless. “A Force connection cannot happen if both parts are not willing to have it”.

Rey´s eyes opened wide in shocked. “You…you are saying…that…”.

Leia nodded. “You can see my son because he´s also thinking about you”.

And it´s over...for today. I hope to keep updating daily. It´snot for sure so if I don´t post the next part tomorrow do not be afraid, I´ll post it later.

Lots of love and hugs my dear Reylo fam.

Xx

[holylangdon]

About A Girl (Tate Langdon x Reader)

Request: “If it's not too much trouble, could you write a post-death Tate oneshot/headcanon (whichever) about a "preppy" girl that moves into the murder house and Tate doesn't really like her at first because she reminds him of the popular kids at his school but then one night he hears her blasting nirvana and starts to fall in love? Sorry if this is really long! 😳 thanks!”

Warnings: Plaid (it deserves its own warning, okay? I think I meant checkered though originally), small cliffhanger, poking fun at preppy kids, I went a little off-request

Word Count: 1,018

A/N: I actually really love this request, thank you. I’m a lil’ nirvana stan have no idea why, though. And when I wrote this, I typed a whole, like, 300 words but they’re missing? RIP? It was about 1.2k but I totally forgot what the hell I used to fill it in, so like I said, RIP.

BY THE WAY: I’ll make a more informative post on this later, but one of my kitties is heavily pregnant. If I go missing for a while, it’s because she’s had her babies. Don’t worry. I will probably take a hiatus and/or close requests when they arrive, since kittens are a lot of work, but I can assure you that I’ll be back.

Tate had always liked girls that were more on the “grunge” side of the spectrum. Girls that reminded him of the 90′s, when he was alive. He had never gone for preppy girls (which is what he classified Y/N as), in fact, he often made fun of them. Never out loud though, he was only that much of an ass to his mother. At least she gave him those morals. Though, that might just be his common sense.

“I’ll finish that box later.” You say, scooting the box containing your clothing out of the bedroom doorway. Tate watched from the opposite door, silently laughing at your plaid skirt. Who wore plaid these days?  He knew a few girls that wore, like, plaid dresses in his days, but it wasn’t quite in-trend in the 2010′s, in his opinion, at least.

And you seemed a little... Off. Kind of like the vibe he got from Kyle Greenwell. He was a football player who came from a rich family, everything he could’ve asked for served to him on a silver platter. Tate knew he probably wasn’t as bad as he had made it out to be in his head, but Kyle was still bad. You came off as a little... Well, preppy. And as we said earlier, Tate never liked preppy. 

Your mom mumbles an agreement, hunched over the stairs. Her attention was focused on some kind of legal papers that you didn’t understand. Taxes, maybe? Or was it something to do with buying the house? Either way, it was holding her attention and looked heavily confusing.

Deciding to avoid whatever those paper were, you walk back to you room. Tate quietly follows you. As you push the bedroom door shut, Tate sneaks through. Perks of being a ghost, right? You start to un-zip your skirt, letting it pool at the floor. He watches you as you undress. He knew it was weird and pervy, but he was Tate Langdon for God’s sake.

Once you’re changed into some comfortable clothes, you hear a knock at your door. Sighing, you open it to reveal the blonde haired boy. He walks in, looking at your bedroom.

“It’s not unpacked yet, sorry.” You stand awkwardly at the door as he picks up several of your possessions, examining them. “Who are you?”

“Tate.” He simply says. “I live next door.”

“Oh! Are you, uh...” You trail off, almost expecting him to read your mind. “That blonde woman’s son?”

“Constance?” He snorts. “Yeah.” 

Tate fiddles with the small radio perched on your nightstand, and soon enough, some band starts playing at full volume. He doesn’t bother to turn it down, instead making funny faces as he listened to the lyrics. He obviously didn’t care for modern music.

You rush over to the device, twisting the volume knob down before your parents could hear. “Look. You seem nice, but I think you need to go.” Shrugging, he flips through the preset stations, twisting the knob back up. You shoo him away from the bed, and soon out of the bedroom. “I trust you can find your way back out?” He nods, and when you look away, he’s vanished.

That was the first night Tate visited you. Well, that you were aware of. He had mainly stayed away when you were home, not liking you very much, but when you were gone, he snooped in your belongings. He didn’t find many things that seemed important or deemed you worthy of his liking (unlike his previous flings, of which he found these things quickly. That’s where a lifetime of sneaking around came in handy). That was until he found your stash of mixtapes and whatnot. 

He wasn’t able to play them very long before you came home and forced him out again, but from what he heard, nothing changed. He still disliked you, if not a little bit more. 

A few days later, you hear a knock on your bedroom door. “Come in.” You groan, expecting a member of your family. “Oh my God, not you again...”

“I came to apologize.” Tate sighs, walking in. “It was rude of me to come in that last time and go through your stuff.”

Damn right it was wrong. Didn’t he know about personal space? Or personal belongings? Surely Constance taught him better than that...

“Just that last time?” You ask. He shrugs, half-nodding. “Fine, come on.” Putting down your book, you watch him like a hawk watches prey. He sits down in the rug in front of your bed, looking around. You somehow know exactly what he’s thinking. “Go for it.”

His face lights up, and he crawls quickly to the radio. For some reason, that was always the reason why he had snuck and your room. 

“You can tell a lot about a person by their music.” He says, flipping through the preset stations again. He knew all (well, most) of them, but still liked to see what was on. You nod, picking the book back up. Opening the cover, you notice something. The library slip had several names written in it, the most recent being from November of 1994. Tate Langdon, the neat, yet messy, cursive read.

“Tate Langdon?” You question, staring at him. He shakes his head, seemingly ignoring your wait for an answer. As he presses the CD button, the first track of Nirvana’s Nevermind album blares at what seemed like the loudest setting. 

“Huh.” He smirks. “Mixtape or album?”

You turn the volume down once more, frustrated that he always turned it up. Nothing seemed to get into this boy’s head. “Album.” To confirm, he turns it to the next song, In Bloom. Tate flips it once more so it’s on Come As You Are. 

“This one was always a favorite.” The boy smiles, leaned over the nightstand. You nod. 

Somehow, the two of you ended up spending the night talking about Nirvana, music, the 90′s, and school. You never asked him 1994 was stamped next to his name. In fact, you forgot about it for the most part. You forgot about it until it happened. 

[ascendingdevillived456-blog]

Am I pessimistic or just real?

Most of the time I feel like I'm accidentally surviving my own life. Not to sound like I'm bitching, but I don't have any idea why I'm alive. I've been trying to keep my life simple, but found out that is a very complicated and arduous task. I, physically, am 30some years old, and deeply know my spirit or soul or life force or whatever you want to label it as is old as fuck. I'm a little odd, I've been told, but when you realize early in life that nobody anywhere knows what in the bluest bowels of Hell they are doing, you start making decisions that TRULY matter on a high, VERY HIGH, level of deep understanding. Not to sound like a preachy zealous god-freak, but preeeeetty fucking sure we live in and on the garden of eden as mentioned in that book written 2000ish years ago. You know the one, oh... it has that bearded guy in the middle east who was the Christian God's son, but was a Jewish king, a rabbi, a carpenter, and who led a gang of misfit trouble making hooligans that wanted to make life better for everyone and ended up dead and martyred for it and is currently the nearly-nude mascot for countless kitchens and bedrooms in thousands of American homes. Jesus, what is that guy's name.... anyways... that book. I'm not great with names, nor hiding sarcastic remarks or, OR blatant disregard for that which really does not matter.... uh, uh, uh, oh well. Back on topic now. Ready? On this "bestowed paradise" of Ours, there are a few shitty things that I just WILL NOT turn a blind eye to. I got this list, you see, that has the WORST possible inventions on it that the world could have done without. Number 1 is people... People are needy, greedy, dumb, panicky, self-centered, talking alien-ape hybrids that ruin and destroy almost every thing they put their grubby little peter-beaters on. We kill for thrill and pleasure alone or in packs and have this problem understanding what compassion and sharing equally are. I did two years of kindergarten, consecutively I will add, I know you are supposed to share and be nice or something like, oh I don't know, your behavior is checked, and you learn to play with others. And now number 2 (insert low-brow sophomoric butt-mud poop-shit-fart he he he coment here. I did, but think up your own.) my list. Borders. "We look different in skin color or you talk funny, uh oh, I no longer have trust other human being, stay away from my personal comfort zone. We'll be fair though and draw a line in the dirt in case you get the same vibe from me. Ok?" "Ok, good idea. Me and my family will kill you otherwise maybe, yeah, no, yeah. Stay away. Good job." Are you shitting literally me out of your dumb asses? Where is the logic and practicality in that. We let famine happen daily because, what? Noone knows what to do? Help your fucking human brothers and sisters, and the little ones if your heart has room, you apathy ridden bag of severed dicks. This is everyone's home right now, teach people who have no knowledge. There is no such thing as unteachable. Read between the lines here guys and dolls. Break time. Let me tell you that I'm not being a rude loud obnoxious Internet troll here, some of my rants and tangent ramblings have a twisted sense of humor and are meant to make you take a minute and chuckle at its finest absurdities. Oh my, but we can also be multitasking manimals and take some inventory of ourselves and the other manimals in our lives and have conversations with each other like we're meant to. Anyone over 27 will remember a time before everyone had a fucking idiot screen in their face at all times. (Heh, jokes to come.) What separated us from beasts is our ability to develope and utilize language. To any younger folks reading this: we used to sit at the same parties you all do now, and used our minds and speaking abilities to have a blast. I'm talking some wicked-awesome fucking ideas and fun times were had before the wedding of man and technology. Put the phone down, and step away from the screens. Please. Number thwee, sorry had, food in my...nevermind. money is next on my little list of things I see as wrong. If a person has a lot of money, they generally have a lot of stuff to make sure they're happy beyond worry. On the other end of the spectrum you have... anybody? Class! goddamn kids pay a-fucking-tention! You have a person with little to no money. I will spell this out for you and you know who: that person can't be happy beyond worry because, huh? Some people have been going ape shit on their own happy. Hmmm. Opposite of happy? Right, thanks Julien, smart guy you are, UNhappy. I hope I just made a Julien's mind blow apart. Lol. Now, monetary wealth is referred to as worth. If you gots like soooooo much worth like it's bananas and stuff, then your like totally worthwhile or worthy. Julien, let someone else try now, get your tongue out of my ass you brown-noser. If you ever want to be heart broken ask the poor kid at an elementary school how he feels after the first recess after Christmas break. I bet the word worthless crosses both your minds and you purse your lips and them real big empathy tears well up in your eyes. That kid is programed to think money and worth are the same thing, and will do what he or she can to make sure they ALWAYS HAVE money when they grow up otherwise everyone else will know they are worthless. Made myself cry a little bit there. Guns guns guns are 4 on this list which may make you laugh or at best pissed. In case you missed I'd be remissed if I didn't say you need to come up with your own rhymes and eloquence. Guns though are made for one thing; ending lives. Plain and simple, keep reading you left wingers and right wingers both. The eagle that is the U.S. of A needs you both to work together in order to soar. I have really upset myself with saying that, but it's out there now, ain't it? I feel everyone should have gun training and own a minimum of three guns open carry on a daily basis (we've already got them and they've seemed to dug their heels in so we might as well adapt with the fucking things.) A semi-auto rifle for hunting food, a shotgun for food/eminent defenses, and a pistol for protection of family and home. Common knowledge for everyone should be stated from an early age: IF YOU DRAW A FIREARM ON A FELLOW HUMAN BEING, BE SURE THAT YOU CAN MAKE THE CONCESSION THAT YOUR LIFE HOLDS MORE VALUE THAN THEIR'S THEIR POSSIBLE DEPENDENTS. DO NOT SHOOT TO MAIM. IF YOU DRAW, SHOOT, AND SHOOT TO KILL. REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS TOO, AND IF YOU KILL THEM. YOU MUST LIVE WITH THE MEMORY OF YOU NEEDLESSLY TAKING A HUMAN LIFE BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOUR LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN THEIR'S. guns huh? 5. Prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies are not your friends. Especially in the world of psychological medication and pain management. I take aspirin on occasion, in my younger days I was always told I "needed something to help me." Help me do what? From the age of 11 until I was into my mid twenties I've been on damn near everything besides Haledol and Geodon. Thanks for being good dealers...I mean doctors and pharmacists. If you want to ask my diagnosis I will share, but let me say that I haven't taken nor would I recommend any person to give a child DRUGS. They are not safe because they are prescribed. Ritalin is molecularly identical to cocaine. No bullshit. They are training kids to be druggies later in life and parents and insurance companies pay for it. Act now and for $799.00 a month you won't k ow who you are, have bleeding of the teeth, lazy finger syndrome, backward stools, brain bleeding episodes, coma and death, but wait there's more. If that pill doesn't work simply tell us and we will give you some other stuff that will make sure your little boy grows tits like a woman and may have a compulsive gambling and or masturbatory addiction with possible suicidal ideation. At least he'll do better on his homework. Fast forward to early adulthood... "oh mummsy? Daddykins? Whatever do you mean I'm no longer on your insurance plans? I simply must have all these pills to be completely the best I can be." "Gee you can just acquisition the local the scumbags who clandestinely make and distribute the bad version of the same drug you've been on for your whole life, my golden child." And don't forget the ssri's. Google this shit kids: ssri's long-term effects on the mind and body. And finally number 6. Social networking. I've never had a Facebook, MySpace, twitter, or anything else. This site I found accidentally while bored and this is my first time posting anything anywhere. The negatively charged part of social media is shit like; omg I 8 a waffle cone with chokl8 chip cookie dough ice cream scoops. Kill yourself you fat cow. Oh boo hoo sad face.... So long cruelty of this place, I have been wearing my life inappropriately I've been informed. Good bye 14 years. Wrapping up at this point as I've said enough for now. I'll be that eccentric and hilariously unfiltered buddy of you get my styles here. Just need to vent sometimes. Help me with Tumblr if you're interested in that... I guess. Looking forward to seeing responses. It should be noted that I have the utmost respect for any religion but abhor the use of faith as a means to control and not gain a better relationship with divinity. I'm not a doctor or political ass hat. I'm a song writing free-spirited music loving real deal motherfucker. "And I didn't even graduate FROM fucking highschool." I.Q. is up a bit above above average. No, that is not a typo.