#foxes that finally decide to path their own way while being supported by the people that surrounds them

[muyru-iru]

An earnest confession

some comfort in these heavy times.

[chaolie]

Fundy Week, Day 8 - Free Prompt

Here it is!!! Fashionably late as usual, the last thing I'm writing for @fundyfiles' Fundy Week!! I'm so glad I decided to join this, I can't remember the last time I wrote so much content in so little time, not to mention how proud I am of what I managed to create!!

Now, I wasn't too sure what to write for this one, but I happened across a story idea I saved in mid-November 2020 and it had two incredible things: FWT, and a lot of Angst! So what else could I even write at this point?? And as always, this is also on my Ao3!

Characters: Fundy, Dream, others mentioned

Words: 2.5k

Warnings: (Temporary) Character Death, Explosions

Summary: Not long before the big fight between Manburg and Pogtopia, Fundy finds an unsigned book with a warning directed at him. He brushes it off at first, but the thought keeps lingering at the back of his mind. Eventually, he decides to walk away from the main part of the nation and keep his distance for safety. Too bad that the person who sent the warning didn't notice that.

Fundy’s day was not going great. Schlatt was a complete mess in the morning, the people from Pogtopia basically rejected him and all the information he collected as a spy… At this point, which side should he even fight for? He figured, the people against Schlatt were a safer bet for him, but he still had no guarantee that they wouldn’t turn on him too. Still, it was a risk he was willing to take. A risk he had to take. And he would, but it didn’t make his doubts any less troublesome. That’s why when he spotted a book lying on his desk, for quite a while he considered just leaving it there and not looking inside.

The curiosity got the better of him, and he carefully approached the item, lifting it off the wooden surface and slowly opening it. As soon as he did, a quill slipped out from between the pages and fell to the ground. Great. So it wasn’t even signed. Dreading what he’d find, he started reading the first page.

“Dear Fundy,

This is a warning. Do not fight in the war.”

A confused frown appeared on his face. Who would write this? What did it mean? Hesitantly, he turned the page.

“It doesn’t matter which side you support, be it Manburg or Pogtopia. It doesn’t matter if you were just planning to watch the fight and side with whoever you’d deem more beneficial to support. You, and I can’t stress this enough, can NOT be anywhere near Manburg during the war. It would be best if you stayed away from it altogether, until you’re sure that the danger passed. Stay home, go mineing, take a walk, swim out into the sea… anything you can do away from this deathtrap.”

This was far more concerning than the 1st page. Whoever wrote this seemed very determined to keep him away from the war. And, somehow, they knew that he wasn’t loyal to Schlatt all the way. Nervously, he flipped the page.

“The entire nation is rigged with TNT. One wrong move during the war, or even after all, and everything could be gone in an instant. Including you, and anyone else caught in the blast. Please, DO NOT attend the battle. It doesn’t matter what your ‘allies’ will think of you, it’s better to be judged than dead. And please, don’t tell anyone else about this. If they tried to disarm the TNT, it would only end poorly. Please, make the right decision. Please.

-Signed: Someone who doesn’t want you hurt”

He stared at the page for a moment, re-reading the last part. “Someone who doesn’t want you hurt”, huh? With a sigh, he threw the book back down onto the desk and stepped back, rubbing his face and trying to collect himself. Of course they couldn’t even sign this letter right. No, they just had to leave it like that! How would he know if he could trust them? How would he know if this wasn’t a test, or a joke? How?

He leaned down and picked up the quill he dropped before walking back to the desk and turning the pages again until he reached an empty one. He gripped the feather tighter before angrily scribbling down his response, muttering it under his breath.

“Dear whoever-wrote-this, Fuck You. I don’t know you and I don’t trust you. I think you just want to keep me from fighting. Make sure you have fewer enemies to defeat. I’m not buying your stupid sob story, I’m joining the war and going down in history,” he finished.

He slammed the book shut and set the quill down by its side. This would surely show them that he can’t be threatened so easily. Then, he stepped back and headed towards his chests, the reason he originally came here. He had to collect his gear before the war. “TNT”, the letter claimed. As if that wouldn’t be found yet.

***

A day passed, and the war was already over. It felt weird, compared to how long it took to win independence for L’Manburg in the first place, but Fundy wasn’t complaining. Despite the dirty looks some of his allies shot at him, he didn’t end up in the crossfire or left for dead. That was… nice? And he wasn’t even too hurt, just a few slashes and cuts here and there, none of them seriously bleeding anymore. Emotionally, he wasn’t doing too sound, though.

As he sat on a small wooden chair by the stage, surrounded by friends and allies as some people were giving speeches, passing some official titles over between one another… he could barely focus on anything. He watched people get seriously hurt during the fight, he probably caught glimpses of their lives being taken from them even… not to mention witnessing Schlatt’s final death. That was… quite something. In a negative sense. He wasn’t sure what he expected from a war, though.

And on top of all that, the warning in the book still lingered in his mind. What if whoever left it wasn’t lying? What if all the explosives were just under his feet and would go off any moment now? What if he simply got lucky so far? The thought of dying that way was sickening. He hated it so much, oh so much. He didn’t want to die after all this…

He looked around the crowd. Maybe he’d spot someone who would help him calm down? Reassure him? He had someone specific on his mind, his fiance, but luck wasn’t on his side this time. No matter how long he searched for, he couldn’t catch even a glimpse of Dream’s mask between other people. He wasn’t too surprised, though, the man sided with the losing fraction, after all. Him deciding to leave prematurely was to be expected.

That’s when he made up his mind. Just to feel better, he’d take a walk. Get away from the stage and the loud noises and the stupid, cheap speeches. Get away from the probably nonexistent explosives. Take a stroll down the Prime Path and relax. Look for Dream out there and spend the rest of the day by his side. Who cared about some stupid celebrations, this was all he wanted to do now.

He got up and left, no one noticing his absence in time to stop him. Good, he thought, no need to explain to anyone that some empty threats are pushing me over the edge. He would get to calm himself down at his own pace, which would be quite ideal. He started climbing the path, on his way to Tommy’s house, from which he could head straight to Dream’s base. He would probably be there, and they could just talk there, hidden from anyone else.

Sudden screams of fear picked up behind him, and he never turned as fast in his life. He watched as all his allies and friends scattered in panic, but before he could question why, it happened. An explosion went off, and another one followed it. And another, and another, and- Fundy closed his eyes and covered his ears, the blasts were LOUD. When he opened them, he had already fallen back onto the path, and the place he called home just 5 minutes prior was now nothing but a smoking crater.

He saw some people dangerously close to the destroyed land, helping each other up and covering each other’s wounds. Not thinking twice, he ran back down the path and desperately tried to find the people he cared for. Niki was right there, Eret was pulling someone to their feet, Tommy and Tubbo were by each other’s sides, Quackity was leaning against a broken wall and catching his breath… that would only leave a person or two missing-

“Fundy?!” came a desperate call from the crater, making him stop in his tracks. “Fundy, where- can you hear me?! Fundy!”

“...Dream?!” he called back, forcing his feet to move again. What the hell was he doing down there?

“Fun-!”

Another explosion sounded out in the crater, followed by a scream cut shot with even more leftover TNT going off. And just like that, Fundy was frozen again. His mouth was open just as if he wanted to call out Dream's name, but no words could leave his throat. He simply stared at the edge of the crater and felt a sting of pain in his chest. No, no, no, no-

Suddenly, he was running again. Someone tried to grab him by his arm, someone called his name after him, but it didn’t matter, none of it did anymore. He reached the edge of the crater and to his horror saw someone lying face-down on the freshly blown up ground. He’d recognize that green hoodie anywhere, even if it was scorched and covered by some armor. Without a second thought, he tried to jump in. Something under his feet came loose and he tumbled down the steep wall of the crater until promptly hitting the ground on the very bottom, but not even the pain that ensued could keep him down.

“No, no, no- Dream! D-Dream!” he called out, scrambling to his feet and stumbling forward. This wasn’t happening, this couldn’t be happening, this wasn’t possible- “Dream! Please, Dream!”

He reached his fiance’s side and put a hand over his shoulder, carefully turning him onto his back. His mask was cracked, showing one of his eyes and a part of his cheek. If not the injuries, Fundy could assume that he was asleep, but… Oh, God.

“Dream?” he asked faintly. To his absolute surprise, he saw his fiance’s eye slowly open. His gaze seemed unfocused, and Fundy could only pray that he was still recognizable.

“...Fun… dy?” the man asked slowly, and the fox hybrid wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved just yet.

“I- I’m here, that’s- I’m here, Dream,” he assured as he looked his fiance over. That’s when he noticed a book the man was clutching tightly, pushing it against his chest. “W-what’s this…?” he asked, carefully reaching for it. Dream’s grip on the item seemed to loosen.

“...So you… listened?” he asked faintly as Fundy picked up the book and opened it on the first page only to be greeted by familiar words. Dear Fundy. This is a warning. “Y-you were- s-safe…”

“W-wait, that was you?!” the fox hybrid realized with a gasp. Oh, how come he hadn’t recognized the handwriting?! How come he hadn’t told his fiance about the 'threat'?! How come-

“I- I thought you-” Dream tried to answer, but ended up just laughing at the small misunderstanding that cost his life. His laughter, however, quickly turned into coughing.

“Oh sh- Okay, okay, keep breathing. I- I’ll get you a potion or something, and-” Fundy instructed, searching himself for anything he had with him that could help. Eventually, he turned his head towards the top of the crater. “H-helo?! Help! Please!” he called out.

“...Fundy…?” Dream asked faintly, getting his attention again. When he looked back, the man had somehow slipped his mask off his face and was now carefully putting it into the fox hybrid’s hands, leaving him baffled. “K-keep it.”

“Wh- Wait, no, no, no, Dream! Just- just hold on a moment longer, I’ll get you all the potions you could need and I- I’ll make sure that you’re okay, I promise! Please, just-” he stuttered, holding the mask close to his chest and taking his fiance’s hand.

“I… I don’t…” Dream tried to answer, but his voice seemed to fade with each second. Fundy felt tears slowly running down his cheeks as he squeezed his hand.

“...I love you, okay? I love you, please, just… I love you so much,” he reminded, and hoped that Dream would find it in himself to answer.

“...I lo… love y…”

“...Dream?”

It hurt. It hurt so much to see his fiance’s face numb and to feel his hand grow heavier in his own. The tears staining Fundy’s cheeks burned like acid and he just wished to turn back the time. The- the stupid answer he wrote in the book, why did he ever do that? Why did he think it was a good idea? Why did he let it literally kill the love of his life? Why-

Everything seemed blurry. He didn’t know if it was because of his own wounds or the heartache, but he barely processed what happened. He barely acknowledged someone near him, handing him a potion just minutes too late, barely realized when they led him out of the crater and sat him down on one of the chairs… He stared down at the mask in his hands, cracked by the explosion, and wondered… was this really the end?

Oh.

Wait.

No.

No, it wasn’t the end! He had no idea how he ever forgot, but… but this wasn’t Dream’s last life! No, if he recalled correctly, the man still had all three! What was he even doing here?! Why wasn’t he at spawn already?! He quickly asked for enderpearls and a swiftness potion, all he could think of, and immediately rushed off. Someone tried to stop him again, but it’s not like they managed the first time either. No one would be able to slow him down now.

Just 5 minutes later, he was climbing the wall around the spawn and frantically looking around. Was he here before Dream respawned? Or did he take too long and they missed each other? Should he wait, or go search for him somewhere else-

He suddenly spotted Dream, sitting in one of the corners of the spawn, with his back against the wall. He was curled up, and his hands seemed to remble as they traced the newfound scars on his face. It wasn’t too surprising to find him in that state, dying for the first time was always terrifying…

“Dream!” Fundy gasped, fully jumping the wall and rushing over to his fiance. The man looked up at him, but stayed frozen for a moment. But when the fox hybrid fell to his knees and pulled him into a hug, he returned the gesture. “O-oh, you scared me so much-”

“...I love you, too,” Dream answered quietly, and Fundy barely could stop himself from crying again.

It was such a relief to hear that. Better late, than never.

***

Haha, remember all those fics where Fundy dies in the explosion that were circling around after the Manburg vs Pogtopia war?? Yeah, so what if... yeah. What if for once it was Dream who died there??

Except, since this is the last prompt, I figured I wouldn't make it 100% Angst!

Ok and now some serious talk, thank you so much for reading!! I appreciate every single like, reblog, and all other kinds of interactions. These really mean a lot to me and I just want you all to know

[dascarecrow]

Hi, all. First post so please have patience and don’t judge too harshly. 

So I absolutely love and adore the hit web animation known as RWBY from Rooster Teeth. The first time I saw anything for it was the teaser at the end of the Season 10 finale of Red vs. Blue and I was instantly drawn in.  

So I’ve followed from the series from the beginning and decided to dedicate my first post ever to a topic regarding RWBY that I find quite fascinating. 

A recurrent idea I’ve seen throughout Tumblr is the idea of Oscar Pine’s Fairy Tale inspiration being that of the Little Prince. I quite like this idea and will go into depth about my thoughts and feelings about it in this post. Fair warning I haven’t read the actual story so if I get anything wrong or inaccurate I apologize. 

Just for those who don’t know, the story of The Little Prince is as follows. A pilot crash lands in the desert and meets a young boy who reveals he’s a prince from a different world entirely. The prince tells the pilot the story of how they reached the moment they’ve met. A major part of the backstory is how a rose grew on the Prince’s planet and the two fell in love. The rose was vain and demanding but truly cared for the Prince. The Prince loved her despite her demands but eventually felt he was being taken advantage of by her and set out to see the universe. During his travels he met many different adults who embodied different criticisms of society. The Prince eventually made his way to Earth and landed in a desert before finding rosebushes, which left the Prince heartbroken because he thought the rose he knew was unique but now he saw that she truly wasn’t. After finding the rosebushes the Prince met a fox who helped him come to a realization about his rose, in that the love and care he had for the rose did make her special after all. After the meeting with the pilot the Prince meets a snake who offers him a way to return to his home by biting him. The ending is essentially the Prince allowing himself to be bitten by the snake but it’s left deliberately ambiguous as to whether or not the Prince did return home or simply died. There’s more to be certain but these are the main points. 

Anyway, on to the main stuff. 

One of the main themes of RWBY is the usage of different Fairy Tale inspirations in their characters. I have seen several posts about how Oscar’s Fairy Tale inspiration is that of The Little Prince, particularly from MiraculousCoraZone and LittleMissSquiggles, who I would recommend looking up on Tumblr.  These posts lay out good talking points for how and why this is the case and I decided to throw my hat in the ring for it. 

I like this idea tremendously for a few reasons. The first is that the fairy tale itself is a more obscure one to the extent that I discovered it through the posts that presented the idea. Second is that it would be thematically resonant with Oscar’s personal journey of wanting to be his own person and helps to set him apart from Ozpin who is meant to be the Wizard of Oz. The final reason is that I am a hopeless shipper and this theory let’s me indulge in my personal favorite ship of the series, Rosegarden. 

One of the things that stands out about RWBY is that it doesn’t play the fairy tale inspirations straight. For example Weiss is based on Snow White but rather than a vain and cruel queen for her stepmother she actually does have a family that loves and cares for her but is too consumed by their own faults and failings to properly tell her this. Similarly Blake is based on Beauty from Beauty and The Beast but shows what happens when the Beast is completely rejected. So if Oscar is inspired by the Little Prince what would be the deviation for him? 

My belief? What if the Little Prince met the pilot before he met his rose? 

Now, let’s go into all of the characters who could tie into this and how. 

The Prince 

The Little Prince of course is seen to be Oscar himself. This is supported by Oscar’s personal journey. The Prince before he met his rose mainly tended to the soil of his little planet which is similar to Oscar being a farmhand. The Prince was prompted to go explore the universe through the actions of the rose he loved and while Oscar is similarly prompted it’s not by a rose but by the old pilot, who in this case would be Ozpin. Oscar is the newest incarnation of Ozpin’s eternal and reincarnating soul throughout the ages and inherits the role of uniting humanity and fighting Salem. Now Oscar isn’t like the Prince at this point, as the Prince was innocent and cheerful but also possessed of wisdom when he met the pilot. Oscar by contrast is more weary and reluctant to follow the role he’s been given, largely unwilling to abandon the life he has now despite dreams of being more than a farmhand. Ozpin is the more optimistic of them at this point and is the one who prompts Oscar to set forth on his journey. It isn’t until he meets his rose that Oscar starts showing true warmth instead of the resignation of following Ozpin. 

Cue Oscar’s first meeting with Ruby where the Young Prince finally meets his Rose. Oscar is taken by her right away, amazed and enamored with her Silver Eyes. The early interactions between the two can easily be read as those of a budding romance, at least on Oscar’s end. One of the biggest moments for the two is the scene in the dojo where Oscar breaks down, overwhelmed by everything, and Ruby reveals the pain she’s been holding inside of herself before noting that Oscar is greater than he thinks. 

Now this is where the pilot’s presence helps the Young Prince and turns the story from it’s path. Oscar gets into thinking of Ruby as a truly special Rose, the greatest Huntress at Beacon, an ephemeral being one might say. Ozpin is quick to curtail these thoughts, acknowledging that she was indeed gifted in some ways but also noting that Ruby is ultimately only human. Not a figure of some glorified ideal that she can never truly live up to. The pilot sells the idea that while Ruby is a special rose she isn’t special for being a rose.  

And this idea actually does resonate with Oscar. He cares for her a great deal and will even fight against Ozpin to help her but he doesn’t hold her to some elevated pedestal. When Ruby chooses to hide the truth from Ironwood he clearly disagrees with the course of action and speaks with her about his doubts. He’s respectful and doesn’t automatically treat her actions as inherently wrong and his own concerns as right by default. Oscar never gives any indication that he’s going to go against Ruby’s decisions despite his concerns because he trusts and respects her, in a sense he knows how to love his rose which was a lesson the Little Prince learned the hard way. 

A key part of the Prince’s journey is that he meets other adults on other planets and discovers them to be absurd, irrational and self absorbed to ridiculous extremes. Oscar, throughout his own journey, finds nearly every adult member involved in the battle against Salem to be highly dysfunctional at best or outright corrupt at worst. Leo, Raven, Ironwood, they all eventually wound up turning against Ozpin for their own selfish reasons. Even Qrow, otherwise the most loyal member of his Inner Circle, coped with his tragedies through alcoholism and violently turned against Ozpin when he discovered the truth. Oscar dismally discovers all of this through his own eyes, especially while Oz is absent.  

We’ll get to the fox and snake in a moment but for now let’s switch tracks to another character. 

The Pilot 

Ozpin takes the role of the pilot and at first seems to be a complete defiance of the pilot’s role in the story. The pilot’s journey in the original story was recognizing the inherent cynicism and pessimism in adults and coming to realize he was no better. Ozpin at first seems to outright reject these notions, seeing the best in humanity and believing they can triumph and overcome anything through working together. But as the story goes on it shows that he’s arguably more broken than any other character the battle against Salem. He knows all too well that full truth of what humanity faces could and more than likely would completely break anyone who discovers it so he hides the truth from his allies and allows them fight an impossible enemy that he knows can not die in war that will never end. 

This ties into how Ozpin subverts the pilots role. The original story had the pilot as a passive figure, someone who is told a story and reacts to that which occurs to what is right in front of him. But Ozpin is different, he tries to be a mentor to the Young Prince that is Oscar. He is the one that pushes Oscar forward and encourages him to go forward. But eventually Oscar starts to push back against him and tries to choose his own path rather than follow and defer to Ozpin. In these times, such as the battle at Haven or when the truth was revealed to the others, Ozpin tries to overpower Oscar and assert his own authority. Contrasting how the pilot in the story came to see his own faults and failings and sought to regain some of the lost cheer and light that goes with childhood innocence by seeking the Little Prince once more, Ozpin is so consumed by the notion that people simply can not rise above the darkest truths of the world that resolves to never share anything that isn’t needed.  

This is where Oscar as the Prince enters his journey. Oscar is able to return to Ozpin some of the faith and hope for humanity that he had long since forgotten, much as the Little Prince did for The Pilot. Ozpin begins to defer to Oscar and help him along, acknowledging the truth that Oscar shows him. 

This is ultimately the purpose of the bond between the two. The God of Light set Ozma’s reincarnations to make it so he was never truly alone but with Oscar there is a wall that stems from Oscar’s worries for his own identity and Ozpin’s cynical outlook on humanity’s virtue. The two souls are meant to merge, with neither claiming dominance as Oscar fears but to work in harmony. Ozpin fails to do this but he does impart an important lesson to Oscar regardless of his other failings. 

The dojo scene. As mentioned above Oscar begins to see Ruby is greater than she truly is, that she is a special and ephemeral Rose. Ozpin, who has the benefit of the ages he’s lived, dissuades Oscar from this belief. Not only because Oscar’s belief is patently untrue but because Ozpin has seen first hand countless others like Ruby. Fairytales of Remnant all but confirms that Ozpin has lived lives where he met other Warriors with Silver Eyes and possibly other Roses. Ozpin knows that while Ruby is a special Rose she is not special for being a Rose or for having Silver Eyes. Ozpin extols that Ruby is indeed a fine Huntress and has traits that raise her high but she also is lacking in other ways and imparts this to Oscar who can see her as the Rose that he will know in this life and no other. 

The Rose 

Ruby is the Rose that the Young Prince falls in love with, as we’ve already covered. The story of Ruby as the Rose the Prince comes to love differs in that The Prince has already met the Pilot by the time he meets her. Ruby is quite joyful to meet Oscar personally, even before she meets Ozpin yet again. This highlights a key difference between Ruby and The Rose. The Rose was vain and demanding, wanting the Prince’s care and attention however she could get it. Ruby freely offers of herself a comfort that Oscar desperately searches for throughout the series, that he is his own person and not simply another life that Ozma has to suffer through. In this way Ruby subverts the Rose’s role. 

Another subversion happens in the dojo scene when Oscar breaks down and questions how Ruby can possibly be okay with what has happened. The Little Prince felt his Rose took him for granted, choosing to look at her harsher words instead of her kinder actions. Ruby goes against and openly reveals another side of herself, showing how overwhelmed and hurt she feels by everything that has happened. Oscar, the Young Prince, sees the side of his Rose that the Little Prince wasn’t able to and he comes to know her far better. The tragedy of the Little Prince and his Rose was that they loved each other but were too young to know how to be in love. That is not the case here as Ozpin’s advice to Oscar leads him to temper his own enamored beliefs. So when they time comes and they do come to love each other, if they ever do, then they will know how to be in love. 

The final aspect of Ruby’s role as the Rose is her hiding the truth from Ironwood. Oscar is not pleased with her doing so and speaks his mind to her about how he sees it as a hypocrisy given Ozpin’s own actions. The Rose chooses to put her own desires ahead of the Prince’s freely given support but instead of wallowing in his own grief about it Oscar actually speaks to her as an equal. He has his concerns but never for a second does he consider going against her for what she’s done. He fervently believes in Ruby and isn’t going to let one moment of self concern change that. Ruby and Oscar excitedly speaking with another about finally revealing the truth shows how much they honestly care for each other. Ruby made the choice to hide the truth but she won’t make the choice to reveal it if Oscar won’t agree with her. The two are utterly joyous at being on the same page with each other. 

The Snake 

This one is about the only character I can’t solidly determine a counterpart for. If you go with the interpretation of the snake as killing the Prince then Salem would take the role. If you go with the idea that the Snake kept its word and returned the Prince to his world then the role would go to either Hazel or Emerald. Hazel would be fitting as it subverts the Snake’s intention of freeing the Prince’s soul from his body because Hazel is well aware of Ozpin’s ability to reincarnate and it would be thematically fitting for him to begin his redemption by freeing his current life from Salem. Emerald would be fitting as the Snake’s actions, if altruistic, would be a Samaritan’s act and Emerald could begin her redemption by helping to free Oscar. 

The Adults 

On his journey the Little Prince met several adults who embody criticisms of society. Oscar actually encounters counterpoints for these adults on his own journey. 

Ironwood embodies both the King With No Subjects and The Narcissist. The King gives orders but they are only orders that can be followed and he adjusts his commands to fit the situation. Ironwood similarly demands everyone follow his orders but doesn’t recognize others refusing to follow them as anything other than them being enemies. He also refuses to adjust his methods even after they have failed him countless times before. This ties into his role as The Narcissist as it’s shown that Ironwood is motivated by the desire for personal validation and a refusal to admit his own flaws. Ironwood countless times has acted with the conceit that he is the one people should follow for no other reason than that he says so. Oscar comments on this, noting he does believe in Ironwood when the General asks him for validation “But not only you”. Oscar refuses to see Ironwood as the only one with answers the need or the only one fighting against Salem.  

The Drunk is embodied by Qrow. Oscar first met him in a bar and their first interaction consisted of Oscar getting Qrow home after he got drunk. The Drunk drinks to forget his shame at being a drunkard. Qrow goes into a destructive spiral after discovering the truth, claiming that meeting Ozpin was the worst luck of his life. Qrow is actually able to break through his own pessimism and give up on drinking. 

The Businessman is embodied by Jacques. The Businessman endlessly counts and catalogues the stars so he can own them all, unable to see their beauty. Jacques made the Schnee Dust Company the most powerful in Remnant but at the cost of the traits that initially made it so great to begin with, such as integrity and honor. Jacques opposition to Ironwood’s increasingly drastic methods isn’t motivated by altruism or how the General is hurting people but because of the profits he losing because of the General’s actions. Jacques can not see value in anything other than the company he stole away from it’s rightful inheritors. 

The Lamplighter is embodied by the Atlesian Military. The Lamplighter blindly follows orders to put out and relight a lamppost for his whole life because a whole day is only a minute on the planet he lives so he has to do one of the other every thirty seconds, rather than just leave the lamppost lit. The Atlesian Military, and especially the Ace-Ops, are blindly obedient to every order Ironwood gives them regardless of their personal feelings or morality on the matter. They actually break away from the mold in that every order they are given, every justification they come up with to try and explain why they are in the right, is just slowly pushing them further and further towards breaking away entirely. 

The Geographer is embodied by the Happy Huntresses. In the story the Geographer is meant to be a diatribe on how pointless it is specialize in something in a contemporary world. The Huntresses are seen to be as going against the grain in Atlas, choosing to help Mantle rather ignore it and left the military to do so. This unquestionably shown as a good thing, as the right thing to do. May especially sees it as more important to protect Mantle as Atlas has always had the means to protect and support itself while Mantle struggles to get by.  

With all of that said there is one final character to cover and they could be the most important one in Oscar’s journey as the Young Prince. 

The Fox 

Yes Ren is the character I feel could be the Fox. In many ways Ren is the most composed character of the main heroes, generally being far calmer and trying to have his head on straighter. I say trying because in many ways he is far more emotional than the rest, trying to bury things down until they boil over. The other members of RWBY and JNPR have had meltdowns and blowups but they are especially notable with Ren because he’s normally more composed. He and Jaune are the only ones who gotten suicidal in their reckless meltdowns but where Jaune cooled down after getting overpowered in his Ren stubbornly insisted on fighting even if he got himself killed. So why does Ren fit the role of the Fox? 

Because my belief is that he’s growing into that role still. 

In “Fault” Ren has a meltdown and posits that RWBY and JNPR are just kids in over their heads and that the adults involved are better suited to handle the problems they are dealing with. This patently shown as false as Ironwood and the Ace-Ops barely know what they are doing any more the heroes do. One of the themes of the Little Prince is how adults try to pass themselves off as mature and reasonable but ultimately are little better than children because of how far they take their flaws.  

Ren witnesses this in “War” where the Ace-Ops argue with JRY about allowing them to try and rescue Oscar from Salem. He comes to realize that the adults who should be able to get a handle on things are better at it than the children that are being condemned. This leads to two moments that are resonant with the Fox’s role in the story. 

When Ren declares that “No One Is Replaceable!” 

In the Little Prince the Fox is able to help the Prince come to terms with his heartbreak over his Rose not being as special as he thought. The Fox claims that you are responsible for what you tame. The Prince tamed his Rose, he cared for her and loved her, and so she was special because she was his. Special not because she was a rose but because she was his Rose. 

Ren’s declaration carries similar sentiments. Oscar is important to them because he’s their friend. They need no other reason to work to save him. The Ace-Ops don’t see this, they refuse to see it, and they condemn JRY for believing it. Which leads to the second moment. 

Ren’s Semblance evolving and letting him see the true emotions of the Ace-Ops.  

One of the most powerful lines in the story, something that sticks with me personally, is the Fox declaring “It it only with the heart that we can see rightly.” The Fox states that it is only by looking with our heart, by choosing to do what is right, that we are able to anything of true importance. 

Ren can see the Ace-Ops deepest, most well hidden feelings. He sees their hearts and he beseeches them to listen to what they are trying to ignore, trying to fight against. Because it is the only way they will be able to grow and evolve to their full potential. 

And when Ren reunites with Oscar he will be able to see the heart of the Young Prince. And the heart of the Rose that The Young Prince loves. And he’ll be there to guide them so they know how to be in love. 

Okay that was a doozy. But hey I hope it’s one heck of an opening act and the beginning of many posts to arrive. 

[grimsleyxwillsupremacy]

I let an AI write Will and Grimsley's love story. It went wrong.

I let an AI write Will and Grimsley's tragic story (title included). It wasn't supposed to be tragic, but oh well. I used my headcanon family btw. This is the horrifying result. Enjoy:

WHISPERS OF MY DESTINY

Grimsley had been trying to confess his love to Will for three weeks, but it wasn't until that day that he decided to tell him how he felt.

"I love you."

Will responded by telling him he loved him, and then Grimsley asked, "But don't you have a wife?"

Grimsley was talking about Lily, and Will ran to the room and began crying, recalling Lily's death.

Will turned away from his headmaster and sat against the wall with his head in his hands, crying.

Grimsley tried to get him up and to continue their lesson, but Will couldn't even look at him.

Grimsley understood what was happening. Suddenly, however, a stray thought occurred to Grimsley: maybe he would have some sort of ulterior motive.

Maybe he was being his usual jerkly self in order to test Will.

The next morning, Grimsley entered his house and proposed to Will.

Will was befuddled, so Grimsley explained that he would win the election with the students' support if he promised to leave Will alone.

Grimsley told him that Lily would still be in love with him, but Will wanted to start a new life with Grimsley.

Will finally agreed, and it seemed like things had gone smoothly.

Little did they know, they were about to hit a major snag.

The first place Grimsley visited was his home.

He found Will's wife Lily, or rather her corpse. He smiled because he knew it was because of his own misdeeds.

Everything had gone according to plan.

Just as he thought, Will's heart wasn't broken, but dead.

Of course, Grimsley was shocked by what he had done, and he couldn't stop crying for the longest time, but he continued pretending to be happy and innocent.

Grimsley wanted Will to be happy again, so he tried to cheer him up and pushed him to continue on with his life.

Will cried for him when he left. Sometime later, Will attended his first date with Grimsley, whom he thought was a real doctor.

Years later, once they were already married, Grimsley confessed his crime to Will. He had killed Lily, Will's wife.

Will was in shock.

"You're the murderer?!"

Will started to cry, but Grimsley told him to stop.

"That's just part of the reason I love you."

Will didn't believe him at first, but soon he did and decided that he would find a way to put Grimsley away.

But he wasn't able to, because Will still loved Grimsley.

Years passed by, and Grimsley continued to woo Will and beg him for his forgiveness.

Will eventually forgave Grimsley. They ended up having four children. The oldest was a boy named Tom, followed by a girl named Reyna, another girl named Hannah, and the youngest child, a boy named Akashi.

Unfortunately, their happiness was about to be marred again. The sons decided to go into politics, and they were given the same office as their father.

One day, they all went to the beach and a terrible accident happened.

The lifeguards dove in after Tom and Reyna fell into the water, but only Tom was found, and he was killed.

Reyna managed to survive, but she was badly scarred.

Reyna could never forgive Grimsley for not saving his brother's life.

Will and Grimsley were devastated at their son's death, so they stayed to look after Hannah and Akashi.

Will managed to sell their house to a wealthy family who lived in Huddington.

One night, Will started thinking about his daughter Reyna, who had become a recluse ever since Tom's death.

He realized that the whole time he had been blaming Grimsley for not helping Tom, instead of himself.

After Reyna finally died, Grimsley decided to move to California, and Will followed him there.

There they met two girls by the name of Amy and April, who had a black fox named Edward.

Amy is very fond of animals, but she never told Will and Grimsley what kind of animal she really had.

Will and Grimsley had been oppressed by Amy and April for the past few months for being gay.

They couldn't even visit Lily or Tom's grave without people calling them perverts or killers.

One day, Will decided to visit Lily and Tom's grave.

It was under construction and the family was devastated because the mayor had decided to build a building where the graveyard had been, and now Will and Grimsley's son's corpse, as well as Lily's, were lost.

Will felt guilty and distraught.

He returned to Amy and April's apartment only to see that they were engaged to be married.

He asked Amy how she was going to marry April when they had been oppressing Will and Grimsley for being gay before!

Amy screamed at Will and told him that she was so sorry, and that she had told April everything about them.

But when she told April, April was not in the mood to talk to her at all.

Will giggled and forgave her.

A few months later, Will tragically and very painfully lost his right leg when a Sharpedo attacked him while Will was trying to protect Grimsley.

He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he learned that the loss of his leg was fatal and that he only had a week to live.

Grimsley did everything he could to save his husband's life, but... Would Will su rvive?

Was that week enough for him to forget that he had loved his evil brother?

If Will didn't survive, Grimsley was going to be alone again.

A week passed, and Will miraculously survived, after having lost his leg to the hospital.

He was going to leave that hospital, with very few things.

Grimsley and the rest of his family were shocked and worried, but he wanted to see the pokémon that his youngest son had caught for him, which was a Fearow named Blaze.

After Will left the hospital, he decided to leave for Sinnoh, where he had made a promise to Lily's brother, Max.

Max was evil. He was afraid to be in a marriage with his soon - to - be - wife, Chelsea, and didn't want to take responsibility for the family when she died.

So he decided to run away and join Team Rocket, leaving his friends and family behind.

Meanwhile, Grimsley temporarily left his job to take care of his husband, Will, and their two remaining children.

Will's leg was still recovering, so he could only use a wheelchair.

Grimsley tried to work from home, but the accident made it impossible for him to do that.

He was going crazy, and so was everyone.

The children were traumatized. Blaze the Fearow was the only sane creature remaining now. Luckily for Will, his family and husband (and Fearow) were there for him.

Grimsley heard rumors that Team Rocket was looking for new recruits.

He quickly told the children that he would train them to be strong, so they can go to their mother's grave and set her free.

Then Grimsley remembered that the kids didn't have a mother because Will and himself were their gay parents.

The children were horrified at the mere thought of having a dead mother somewhere, so Grimsley and the children went for a walk.

They all talked about Grimsley's sudden decision and how hurt they were.

The Fearow and the children decided to sing a song, which they wrote while looking for their apparently dead biological mother.

The song was... interesting. It said: "Only a mother can sing a lullaby". They soon heard a voice.

It said, "Will, Blaze, Hannah, Akashi, Grimsley, thank you for coming here.

Don't be sad, or be happy!

When you get to the pokémon center, a nurse will take a look at Will's leg... or what 's left of it."

The voice was very mean.

All three asked what the voice meant, and it said, "Fearow, it means we're on the right path."

The children and Fearow were amazed.

They decided to set out to catch their own Xatus, because they were also traumatized beings.

Akashi caught a Xatu. He looked into his Xatu's eyes and saw the deepest darkness, which frightened him.

Grimsley caught a Xatu as well. But couldn't bear the pain that the vision of his child's death was bringing him.

Eventually, Grimsley decided to do something morally gray and he forced the Xatu to grow wings on its back.

Then Grimsley instructed it to fly him to Lily's grave, so he could set his mother free.

Fearow didn't like this idea, because it reminded him of his dear Spearow, which was waiting for it back in its nest.

Grimsley finally decided to stay with Will, who was still traumatized at the loss of his right leg.

Grimsley gave him a wheelchair to use and became the parents of Will's kids, Hannah and Akashi. The girls soon evolved into Pansage.

And that is the ending of this amazing story.

You made this for your friend, but he didn't want you to post it.

So I decided to post it.

By the way, I have no idea who the f*ck Lily is, but apparently she's Will's ex-wife now 😂

[lamalefix]

Okay so, a couple of weeks ago started my new journey.

I've been reorienting a bit in the past few years.

As much as I loved and will always love psychology, developmental and learning psychology specifically, brain (to be read exclusively with zombie-like voice) and its physiology, disorders and rehabilitation and so on, I found that Human Resources was a field so interconnected with what I studied and caught my interest. It didn’t always have my interest, I thought at first that this kind of organizational, managerial thing wasn’t fit for me but...

... Sometimes life treats you good when you least expect it, sometimes the things you do, the tiny choices you make on the road, change your life, your journey completely.

And it's quite a long story so sit down, take a cup of tea and let me tell you this story...

Please note that I’d use nicknames for the story, not because I want to add privacy at the matter but because I usually use those names with my friends (I’m weird, I know)

We live in a pretty chill, green area in Rome. 

For some reason beyond my knowledge, when we bought our apartment, back in 1998, we ended up to live near my godmother. 

She had a couple of dogs, and has a lot of dog-friends and dog-owners-friends. 

A lot of you know I have a dog (Zelda, that beautiful silly golden retriever who loves to snuggle with my shoes), and when this story started, due to my internships and different jobs around the city, was usually my ma the one who took her on her strolls. 

Before we decided to get a dog, right after my master's degree graduation ceremony my godfather (my godmother's husband) died. 

It hit hard. At five in the morning on a cold day at the end of january my godmother called and told us the news. He had a heart attack and died on the spot, while working. 

I clearly remember the last conversation I had with him, a couple of days before he died. He was walking his dog and I was waiting the bus under our homes. He was always so funny, he made a joke, and if I close my eyes everytime I step near that bus stop, I still hear him laugh and huff something along the lines of “Urgh going to the gym at this god-awful hour by bus, you really want to suffer”, and I smile everytime. But aside of my weird choices about my fitness life, this isn’t the story I want to tell you about.

After his funeral, for the next months before my internship started, I practically only slept at my house but lived at my godmother's to help out. So there I met two beautiful men (in both the inner and outer sense), that we’ll call Grey Fox and Tall-n-young, that lived across the road. They had dogs, Grey Fox had two adorable sausages dachshounds and Tall-n-young a chubby half-beagle. My ma just fit in, like a clockwork, rolled around them, every evening walked with them without a dog, but with them and my godmother, her sister and their dogs. (The story of how my godmother found her new stray dog on her husband's grave and he looked at her when she called him with her husband's nickname is for another time but... You know). 

Meanwhile, my dad at work meets a new coworker whose wife is a pet trainer. And everything clicks in the right place. 

I went to met Zelda (fishing my hand into the litter and she chose me by licking and snuggling against me - and my shoe) only a few months later.

But this isn't the story of how I met my dog either. This is the story of how I met my boss and how I decided I wanted the HR Management field to be something to pursue.

I met my boss, mentor and friend in a very weird moment of my life. I was finishing two contemporary internships at a Private Centre and a University Centre that offered help to families with kids with developmental and learning disorders. Up til that moment I knew my job would have been in that field, developmental psychology and rehabilitation, even if it was a stressful place to be at some point. I wanted to be a psychologist since age 5, not a princess, never a princess, who cares for princesses? I worked, without being paid (because that's how internships work for psychologists in Italy) more than 40 hours a week, from monday to saturday 8 am to 8/9 pm, and I hat to take a lot of work, papers and so on home, for over two years... And you'd say, "Why Giulia did you like it so much?".

One of my friend urged me to quit because I was so tired, couldn’t find time for myself and I just found out I couldn't enter the PhD I wanted, but I needed my abilitation at least, be a psychologist.

Meanwhile my ma was always around with the dogs and her new friends. She met Lovely, another dog owner who took a liking in me. A beautiful lovely girl, who sadly had a very aggressive cancer, that took her away three years ago.

One day Grey Fox who shared his birthday with Lovely invites me over along with my ma and my dog, because Lovely wanted me there. I never met Grey Fox’s partner up til that moment, everyone said he worked a lot, everyone said he did weird hours and travelled a lot, and he was doing something very similiar to what I studied, he worked as something like a therapist. (Something you’d call a life coach, in hindsight),

So, when I get there I finally met him, we will call him Nose-y (because you know, he has a pretty big nose), my boss, my mentor. He was sitting on that beige sofa in Grey Fox’s house, one of the dachshunds licking the back of his head, the other snuggling on his lap. And we start to talk. About tv series, about psychology, therapy, schoo, learning processes, about work and career paths. He said he was about to quit is job and move forward to get something done by his own hands, and open up what you'd call a start-up in coaching and HR management. 

He wants me on his boat, he wants me to help him.

And that's how it started.

But not when I decided I wanted to go in this direction. As I said HR management and coaching per se, are like very close and interconnected with psychology, but I always sat on another corner, walking another path. Preferring underlying brain processes and biology more than production and management. 

That decision was took sometime later. 

After he quit his job as a top manager and Lovely died, after i got my abilitation and started to help out as a volunteer with elders, homeless and people with social and financial difficulties.

One day Nose-y asks if I want to join him and an actress and acting teacher, a beautiful woman that we’ll call Blondie, in one of their workshops. 

We end up in the centre of Rome, in a theatre right behind Piazza Navona. The participants were members of a high performing team of a big org, I don’t remember the names, and I wouldn’t even if I tried. 

They enter at some point in the theatre, and it doesn't need a psychologist to know that they are broken. Blondie makes me sit behind the light and sound effect technic table, and instructs me how to help out with that. Music, lights, enable their (our?) method to be even more effective. 

The theatre is a underground thing, like a cavern-ish, basement in the centre of Rome, a typical thing you’d call a cellar that you’d find in old buildings. 

I didn't know when I went there that morning, at the end of june, that I'd make some final decision by sunset.

The team, I was saying, was a tiny super-high performing team. But with high performance comes high stress level. And one of them killed himself. And they found him in the morning, in their office. And in that dark theatre they were blaming each other, and Luigi and Marta's job was to accompany them through grief and acceptance and restore their team work. By the end of the day, they were all more able to communicate, to listen, to help each other.

That was the moment. When I saw them leave, Nose-y and Blondie all tired and all wilt on a couch, but satisfied that I decided. I wanted to change, to be a better person, maybe a better manager, for a better future. I wanted to be one of the many people who work in HR Management that can be a support for emplyees, I wanted to be the change, to be there to help managing that work/life balance. 

I don't know where this journey will lead me, I don’t know if I’d make it, if I’d get to be the better version of myself, the better version of what i wanted to be when this thing first started but... 

I’m on my way and the only thing I can say is, it’s never too late to change direction, to pursue another dream, to have a new vision of that future you want to build. 

It’s never too late. You can always grow up.

[goldenworldsabound]

Doused In Water

After Golden tells Kabu she’s leaving Motostoke the next morning, Kabu has some realizations about how he feels about her. He decides to talk to a friend and fellow gym leader about it. Content warning: SO MUCH PINING none. Word count: 2876.

By the time Kabu got back to his home, he was starting to realize what these feelings that were now threatening to bubble over actually meant. He put a hand on his chest as he leaned against the door he'd closed behind him. He had always had fans supporting him, even when he'd dropped to the minor leagues. Even now, though he'd been in this state for a bit, the stadium was far from empty. But it hadn't mattered until she had showed up.

Because she was his friend? Because he didn't want to look bad in front of her?

Or because he...

Forcing himself to stand up straight, he meandered over to the couch, sitting down and putting his head in his hands. The last time he had even thought about feelings like this...

Ninetales popped out of her Poke'ball, padding over to sit in front of him, putting her head in his lap, eyes locked onto him. Kabu peered between his fingers at her, before taking one of his hands and scratching behind her ears. He rested his other elbow on his leg, his head leaning against that hand as he sighed.

He had stopped being concerned with romance years ago. He was passionate about Poke'mon, and he supposed that was all that he needed. He wasn't lonely either. He had a wide assortment of friends, and that number only continued to grow over the years. That ticked the human companionship box easily. He didn't need romance to be happy.

But her arrival into his life was inarguable. It had been easy for him to see that she was attracted to him, after the period they'd spent getting to know each other in the wild area. He had felt fond of her, but he didn't see it as more than that. He was a little bit used to noticing people finding him attractive, and not finding himself wanting to do anything with that knowledge.

At some point he'd started to feel something more though, and that had spiraled into a number of other emotions.

But it was all spurred on by the fact that she was leaving Motostoke tomorrow morning, and later she would be leaving Galar entirely. It was significant, to realize that his time with her was finite. To realize that her leaving left him feeling like someone had doused him in ice water.

He laughed quietly, and Ninetales made a questioning noise.

"I didn't expect to feel this way, that's all." Kabu replied back, using both his hands now to scratch Ninetales' chin as the fox Poke'mon tilted it's head up, tails wagging. "I know you take a long time to warm up to people, Ninetales, but Golden...she's done quite a number on me."

Ninetales whined a little, lowering her head back onto Kabu's lap. Kabu was right. While Ninetales had nothing against the woman, Ninetales was generally apathetic. Golden hadn't been around long to earn Ninetales trust or affection. Ninetales wasn't sure what it meant that Kabu liked her so much. That she'd, "done a number on him".

"She's leaving Motostoke tomorrow. Selfishly, I don't want her to leave." Kabu explained, smiling sadly. "She'll be back, but...I already miss her, it seems." Saying it out loud, even just to Ninetales, made his heart ache. What was he going to do with these feelings, he wondered.

Ninetales lifted her head up, putting her paws on his lap to raise herself up, and began licking his face. Kabu laughed, gently pushing her away, but she persisted, enjoying the way her favorite human laughed at her antics even as he tried to get her to stop. Finally, she felt he'd had enough, and she paused, her face still close to his.

"Thank you, Ninetales." Kabu said, still laughing a little. He put a hand on her head to pet and scratch her again. "I'll be alright."

It was too late tonight, but he thought that talking to a human friend might be in order.

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

It took a surprising amount of strength for Kabu to stop himself from going to see Golden off. He didn't even know when she was leaving, just where he would have to go to eventually see her pass by. On his morning run he'd been hopeful that he'd see her. But he didn't, and part of him felt that might be for the best while he sorted out his feelings.

He pushed his team and himself extra hard in training that day.

After an hour or two training, when they took a quick break, he decided to call up a friend for advice. Melony, the ice type gym leader from Circhester. It would be some time still before Golden made it to Circhester, since she was traveling a path similar to the gym challenge and camping along the way, so Melony wouldn't meet her for a bit. Of course, he knew that if he talked to Melony about her now, Melony would go out of her way to meet Golden when she visited.

His leg shook with anticipation as he dialed.

"Hey Kabu!" Came Melony's bubbly voice. Melony was smiling wide as she answered the phone. It had been a while since they'd seen each other.

"Melony." He couldn't but smile a bit at seeing her cheery face on the screen.

"What's up? It's been a little bit."

"It has. I was out in the wild area for almost two weeks before my last exhibition match, so things were a bit crazy."

"Oh my, that sounds quite nice. Some sort of intense new training you came up with?"

He shook his head. "While it wasn't bad for training, I met a trainer from Johto here. She's a very talented trainer, and she was very interested in capturing a strong Sizzlipede."

Melony nodded along. Kabu did tend to help other people, so this wasn't incredibly odd.

"And did she?"

"Yes, very near the date of the exhibition match we finally found a Sizzlipede den. She was very excited about it, named the little thing June."

Melony noticed that Kabu's expression had softened a bit more than she was used to seeing. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but some thoughts were turning in her mind.

"And then, I won my exhibition match." Kabu commented calmly, a spark of fire appearing in his eyes.

Melony gasped. "Well congratulations! I knew you'd break that losing streak of yours!" Melony grinned, truly thrilled for her friend. He'd been in the pits for too long, she'd thought. "Losing doesn't suit you."

"Hm, thank you." Kabu's lips had curved up a bit in a smile, a rare sight for Melony, but she thought he still looked distracted.

"You don't seem as happy as I thought you'd be." Melony chided, tapping her cheek and pouting at him.

He raised a hand defensively. "I am, I promise. I was over the moon. I feel that my passion is rekindled tenfold." His held up hand became a fist, which he pressed against his chest, expression going serious before softening a degree again. "She treated me to Slateport Sushi to celebrate last night."

"The trainer from Johto? Oh, did she watch your match?" Melony asked, surprised to hear Kabu bringing the conversation back to her again.

Kabu nodded. "Yes. She did." He looked away for a moment. "It's just that she's...leaving Motostoke, today. She might already be gone. She came to visit Galar, so she's traveling the region by way of the challenger's route. So it'll be a bit still before she's up in Circhester."

Melony thought for a moment. Kabu seemed...unusually focused on this trainer. Of course he liked to help others, but he didn't usually have a problem letting go. He was usually proud to see the folks he'd helped head out on their own journeys. But at the moment, he looked a bit troubled, a bit put out, she thought.

"What's her name? Want me to show her around?" Melony asked, still mulling over what this meant.

Kabu brightened. "Her name is Golden. She doesn't have her full team with her, but she and her Togekiss are quite a force on their own. I'm sure you'd enjoy a battle with her. And I'm sure she'd be appreciative of your offer."

Melony laughed a bit at that. "You know I wasn't going to be able to resist challenging her anyway. To have you say she's a talented trainer intrigued me already." She tilted her head. "How'd you meet her?"

"Oh, well, she was trying to get into the gym. You know in Johto, and Hoenn too actually, the gym challenge is always open." Kabu explained.

Melony couldn't help a small, knowing smile even as she tried to fight it down. "The way you talked about her, I got the impression you knew her from somewhere else." She said slyly, feeling like she was catching on to what was going on here. Her suspicions were confirmed as Kabu blushed a bit.

"No, just the two weeks she's been in Galar." He corrected, clearing his throat nervously.

"Hm." Melony let her smile grow wider. "She must be something real special then. I can't remember the last time I saw you blush."

"The last- I'm blushing?!" Kabu asked, the call out only making his cheeks pinker. Melony nodded. Kabu frowned for a moment. "The fact that she's leaving Motostoke today has made me...far more than sad than I anticipated." He admitted. "I don't think I can pretend that's not the case."

"Is she going to come back to Motostoke at all?" Melony asked. She certainly felt for Kabu. Falling for someone who was merely visiting struck her as painful.

"Yes, although I don't know for how long."

"..." Melony went quiet for a moment again. Kabu was a very serious person. If it was something that was simply a crush, she had no doubt he would quash it and move on, and not let it impact him so much. That was just how he was, so she had to assume these were quite serious feelings. And he was usually decisive. What was holding him back from asking her out? The fact that she'd be moving away? She couldn't blame him for that-

"Oh!" Kabu looked at his phone in surprise. "Golden's calling me, I- I should take this, she's probably gotten herself lost." His mind buzzed. Was she still here? Had something bad happened? Did she need help?

Melony gave a knowing smile again. So she has your number, huh? "I'll let you go then. Let me know when to expect her in Circhester. Bye bye~"

"Have a good one." Kabu ended the call, answering Golden's phonecall with a breathless, "Hello?" He felt his heart pounding. Everything felt different now that he knew his own feelings.

"Kabu?" Golden asked. "Did I interrupt your training? I mean, sorry, it's just..."

"Is something wrong?" He asked, already getting to his feet.

"No! No, I'm just...leaving now. So I thought, if you weren't busy, you could see me off? Um but it's okay if you are busy, of course!" Golden sounded as nervous as he felt. But his heart felt fit to burst at her request.

"Of course. Are you at the Budew Drop Inn? I've been training at the Stadium so it'll be just a minute for me to pop over and meet you."

"Really?! Yeah, I am. Okay, I'll be outside, then. Thanks." She smiled shyly. "See you soon."

"See you." He hung up, slipping his phone into his pocket. He slapped both his hands onto his cheeks, feeling how warm they were. He sighed in exasperation with himself for being so damn nervous just to say good bye to her, but shook his head of those thoughts. Nothing to do for it, at the moment. And she seemed just as nervous as he was, after all. He motioned at Centiskorch to follow him, and off they went.

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

Golden waited outside, everything shoved into the large backpack she wore, holding Tak in one arm while he held onto her shoulder. June, her new Sizzlipede, was sitting on top of her head, chittering back and forth with Tak happily. Golden was glad there was a breeze today, as having two fire types in such close proximity was making her a bit warm.

"Hey!" She waved at Kabu's approach, noting that he was in his gym uniform. She hadn't seen him up close in it, and she found herself dazzled by the combination of his usual serious expression and the sharp uniform, particularly the way it fit his form more closely than his typical clothes. Kabu waved back, jogging to close the distance between them quicker.

"I figured you'd already left." Kabu admitted. "But I'm glad I get to see you off."

"Y-yeah, I forgot to set my alarm..." Golden looked sheepish. She brightened at his second remark. "I'm glad too. Tak would've probably cried if he hadn't gotten to see you, after all."

Tak made a disgruntled chirp, but accepted Kabu's head pats happily nonetheless.

"That would have been a shame." Kabu agreed, smiling a little. Golden found herself staring as he gazed up at the Sizzlipede perched on her head, his body much closer as he reached up to pet the small fire type. Her heart was pounding. He smelled a bit of sweat, and fire. She looked away as he lowered his arm, his gaze settling back to her face. She stared at her feet for a moment, willing herself not to blush even as she felt his gaze on her.

"Lead the way." She stammered out after a moment, gesturing dramatically with her arms.

"Were you actually just worried you'd get lost without me?" Kabu joked, though his voice and face remained deadpan as he started walking.

"... it's just a straight shot down this street, isn't it?" Golden asked, voice not fully confident.

"Is it?" Kabu shot back, giving nothing away as he met her uncertain gaze.

"Y...yeah?!" She had a feeling he was just teasing her. Kabu nodded. She sighed in relief.

He couldn't help but smile a bit, putting his hands behind his back and closing his eyes for a moment.

"You really ought to be more confident in that answer." Kabu commented, opening his eyes again to look at her, trying to push down his bemused smile.

"Yeah, well, I was until you questioned me like that..." Golden grumbled, flushing a bit. "A-anyway, thanks for walking me out, I just...wanted to say goodbye and see you again before I left." She bit her lip.

Kabu's expression softened. "I wanted to see you too." He replied, the hands behind his back gripping each other tightly with nervousness, even as he otherwise exuded calm. Golden looked surprised, before grinning back widely.

It was all too soon that they reached the entrance to Route 3.

"Thanks, again, for everything." Golden said shyly, awkwardly looking away.

"It was my pleasure." Kabu replied, feeling his own face warm a bit as he turned his gaze to his feet. "I hope you enjoy everything else that Galar has to offer. But, I must admit," He forced himself to look at her, heart pounding. She was looking back at him in suspense, hanging on to his words. "I'm looking forward to having you back in Motostoke."

Golden's eyes widened again, before her smile spread across her face. "Yeah! I, I mean, I definitely wanna come back here and...see you again." She clasped her hands in front of herself, squeezing gently as she looked away for a moment to collect herself, ignoring the warmth on her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she went in for a hug.

Kabu accepted happily, wrapping his arms around her tighty, breathing in her scent as they stood together for a length of time that was probably too long for a pair of friends. Goodness, he would miss her.

"Let me know when you get to Turrfield." Kabu said as they pulled apart. "And what you think, of course."

"Yeah! I will! I'll send you some dorky selfies." Golden replied, even as her heart pounded at the idea of being so bold.

"I'll look forward to those. Ah, and also, I've got a friend in Circhester who can show you around, so let me know when you get there and I'll put you two in touch."

"Oh? Gosh, thanks, that's kind of you. I will." Golden tugged on their backpack straps, breathing in deeply. "Alright. Bye for now, Kabu." She smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in it Kabu couldn't help but notice. He felt the same thing in his own expression. Tak and June chirped and chittered at him as Golden turned to go. His own Centiskorch chittered back with a happy expression.

"Good bye, Golden. Travel safe." Kabu put a hand on Centiskorch's head, watching Golden begin her walk down Route 3 for a long moment. She looked back over her shoulder at him, surprised to see him still looking. They both blushed, but she waved, and he waved back, and then he finally turned to head back to the stadium.

Yes, he was indeed in deep...

[mchalowitz]

the process by which time passes

REPOST. you guys. @lilydalexf is the true mvp of this saga. she happened to have the story still open and was kind enough to send it to me. i owe her so much gratitude (as well as the other amazing xf bloggers that reached out to me). although i don’t interact much socially around here, it is amazing to be a part of a fandom that is so kind and supportive! writing xf fic is a creative outlet i enjoy so much and i love sharing it. now back to our regularly scheduled reading. (also if you guys wouldn’t mind boosting this new version so i can see the feedback, i would be so grateful.)

this is something i’ve been writing (at this point) for probably almost a year, which is one reason i’ve been pretty quiet on the fic-posting front. i’m so excited for everyone to finally see it but terrified at the idea that it’s not just an idea that only i know about anymore. it was originally the back half of a wip i abandoned but i couldn’t let this part go. enjoy!!

Mulder gives her a tight hug on the side of a desert highway. Scully presses her forehead to his chest, hoping her thoughts might leave her mind, reach his heart, and convince him to stay. He still gets in the SUV and she never sees him again.

In true Fox Mulder fashion, his physical presence isn’t needed to be a constant reminder. Government officials that she once exchanged pleasantries with at the coffee machine bang down her door and rip apart the life he abandoned.

“Have you heard anything?”

Skinner rifles through papers until the door clicks shut. Her badge feels heavy on her lapel. It feels wrong to be here.

“Only the official warrant,” Skinner answers. That was weeks ago. She has to frequently remind herself that he is doing the best he can. He can’t make it too obvious he’s interested in the hunt. She certainly can’t go digging herself.

“They’re closing the X-files,” he informs her. “There is an appeal process…”

“That’s not necessary,” Scully interrupts. “My assignment was to assess the validity of Mulder’s investigations. There is nothing to assess.”

“You believe in the work.”

“I’m a scientist,” she reminds him, offering nothing else.

Her final report is a jumble of words that states, no matter what she believed, the X-Files should never be reopened.

–

Scully spends idle days breathing in wet air on her mother’s porch. She hopes the sea might soothe her.

A week later, as she plans her return to Washington, she decides emphatically that it did not.

She discovers heart medication in her mother’s bathroom cabinet. Maggie attempts to downplay the circumstances, “It was a blip on a screen, Dana. The doctor said it was just precautionary,” but to Scully, it’s a call to action.

It isn’t difficult to resign. It seemed like it should, after giving the FBI almost a decade of herself, and much, much more than that.

She cries silently in her car after handing over the keys to her dream apartment and saying goodbye to her meticulously curated life.

She reminds herself starting over is the only way to move on. But she isn’t sure she believes it.

–

Scully is a seasoned Special Agent of the FBI, an instructor of pathology, but she struggles to call herself a doctor. After an onslaught of rejected resumes, she begins to believe the medical community of Maryland agrees.

A small hospital outside Baltimore is wowed by her determination alone. At the bottom of the ladder, no one knows the reputation of Agent Scully. She showed promise and expertise in her role, even if her partner was a kook. Dr. Scully has never formally practiced medicine and her bedside manner leaves something to be desired.

Scully hopes for an opening in pathology, where she might be more understood. John From Human Resources hums along with her plight. “I’ll keep an eye out,” he promises.

She begins noticing him behind her in the cafeteria line. On a fall day, she is trying to decide on the best fruit cup when he sides up to her. He is whisper-quiet, conspiratorial in tone when he says, “I wanted to give you a heads up that Dr. Harris may be retiring at the end of the year.”

The may sounds more like an is. A weight inside her lifts.

John assures her she is the first choice when the position officially becomes available. When he leads her to her new office in January, he asks her out to drinks to celebrate, and Scully is surprised, because she forgot people could see her that way.

John is completely unlike anyone else she’s been with. He is endlessly dependable. She never has to worry about where he is because he calls when he’ll be late. He thrives on a fastidious routine and makes safe, informed decisions.

Scully finally moves out of her mother’s house and into a modern three-bedroom she purchases with John. She leads an entirely new life. She climbs the ranks in pathology and is still able to go on real dates, and eat home cooked meals while they’re still hot, and sit in the pew every Sunday. She goes on weekend hikes and uninterrupted trips to the coast and has fine, but not life changing, sex. She accepts John’s proposal on the beach with a beautiful ring.

They have a small wedding. She doesn’t take his last name.

John tries so hard, never asks about her time in the FBI, even tries to adopt a child with her. When it falls through at the last minute, they decide on a dog instead. They get divorced after two years.

In her office one late morning, the phone on her desk lights up. “Dr. Scully, there’s a man on line one asking for you.”

“Thank you,” she says into the speaker. She picks up the receiver with the assumption of a request for a consult. “This is Dr. Scully.”

“Hey, Scully, it’s me.”

She drops the phone.

–

Scully’s stomach is in knots. She is too nervous to order any food. Mulder sits across from her at a diner, looking older and scruffier, and she wonders if this is all a cruel hallucination.

“Where have you been?”

His fingers tap nervously on the table. “Farrs Corner.”

After exploring little towns in the far reaches of nowhere, she remembers that’s Virginia. When she presses for how long, she discovers he’s been within driving distance almost this entire time. Her fingers clench. She wants to strangle him.

“It’s been six years, Mulder. Why now?”

“The FBI dropped the charges against me. I helped them with a case, they wiped the slate clean. I can start my life again, Scully, come back.”

Forget strangle, Scully wants to kill him. He thinks he can just come back? His ignorance to the domino effect of his actions has to be purposeful.

There was a life they wanted to live together that never had the chance to become a reality. She has spent six years trying to fill her life with meaning. Her marriage failed, her career path faltered. They have a child that is no longer theirs.

Scully stands from the booth. She stares down at him, asserts her power.

“I thought you were dead.”

He just nods. He suggests she give him a call, now that she has his number.

She doesn’t.

–

Scully always forgave Mulder too quickly; it was their fatal flaw. She frequently ignored this piece of common knowledge by justifying his more unsavory behavior as residual childhood trauma, or a severe lack of social skills, or plainly being obtuse.

She never found a way to justify him leaving her when she needed him without looking like an emotionally manipulated moron. How could she possibly forgive the embarrassment and isolation she felt after giving up her own child for ostensibly no reason?

Scully bared her soul to him, her body, and gave him everything she had, and she still took a backseat to his quest. There was a brief time where she thought something finally switched in him and the quest would take a backseat to her. In the earliest days of the millenium, working their way up from something undefined to something real.

A month passes. She speaks to no one about her meeting with Mulder, but when she has idle moments, it fills her mind. She tries to remain hot when she begins wondering what Mulder’s life is like now. She attempts to imagine how he filled six years worth of time, because he was never a picture of duality, never able to separate his life from his work, and what can he do after leaving it behind?

It’s a slow burning curiosity. Weeks long. She begins to think he didn’t push during their last meeting because he knew it would happen like this.

She scrolls through recent calls to find the number he left on her office phone. Scully hears the hello in that familiar voice and doesn’t hesitate to respond, “Mulder, it’s me.”

–

Scully sees a dream realized when she pulls up to a little house with a spacious porch on sprawling land. Mulder never liked the city.

He is clearly thrilled to finally present his vegetable garden and his paintings while giving her the grand tour. He recounts putting in the new water heater himself and his plans to replace the roof next spring.

Mulder makes her pasta and gives her the “good chair.” When her stomach is full, they talk about old times. She hasn’t talked about these things in years because she knew there was no one else that can laugh about what she saw instead of instantly recoiling except for the man sitting across from her.

“I have to get back,” she realizes when she sees the sun beginning to set out the window. They spent almost the whole day together. He nods in understanding.

“You see I’m not living in squalor,” he jokes as he walks her to her car.

“It certainly wasn’t the dilapidated hut I was expecting,” she teases. Her tone shifts from silly to serious. “You know, Mulder, after our last meeting, I really didn’t want to come here. I thought…I think you know what I thought. But I’m glad I came.”

“I appreciate any chance you’ll give me, Scully,” he replies.

–

Farrs Corner becomes a regular destination.

Mulder easily becomes the companion she was lacking, the return of the best friend she lost. Even with the passage of time, he still knows her better than anyone else.

She stops offering up her free Friday nights for on-call autopsies and tox screens to watch movies with take-out picked up just before civilization ends.

Without a Saturday shift to spoil their fun, they indulge in the full six pack of their favorite beer. His feet are propped on the coffee table next to their abandoned pizza box, as she folds her legs underneath her on the cushion beside him. She is full-bellied and warm.

“I can’t believe you were married,” he says in disbelief, taking a swig from his bottle. “Considering how many of my proposals you turned down.”

“Maybe I would’ve accepted if any of them had been serious.”

“So you’re saying there was a chance?”

She laughs and nudges his shoulder with the side of her bottle.

When she catches his eye, she sees a person that, yes, she thought she might marry someday. When she was younger, less hard, and had never seen the face of a child that was half him, half her.

She leans forward and presses her lips to his, jerking back as soon as he begins to respond. She tries to find something to say, a reasoning, but she finds his curious gaze, and can’t think of anything to say.

He closes the distance between them and starts where she left off. His kiss is wonderful. It’s hopeful and sexy as all hell.

He nudges her jaw aside with his chin, his mouth seeking out her neck. Her fingers tangle in his hair. “Let’s go upstairs,” he suggests.

–

Standing at the foot of his bed, Scully realizes she’s never been in Mulder’s bedroom before. He has simple furnishings; dark wood and soft blues. His belt clunks when it hits the floor. His bare chest warms her back.

She remembers his warmth, his proclivity to be so tender and gentle, and to let her lead the way. She turns and guides him onto the bed.

Modest kisses quickly turn unrestrained. He breaths in long pants as he shoves her panties down her thighs, letting her kick them over her ankle before hooking them over his hips.

He slips in so easily. Scully explores his changed body; the shifting muscles in his back, his thinner, sweat dampened hair against her hands, his ass clenching as he rocks into her.

Electricity runs through her when his fingers drift to her clit, taking her right to the edge. “Fuck,” he groans, his lips at her ear. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”

She moans in utter bliss, deliriously overtaken. When she comes, she shatters. Mulder thrusts two, three times more, before following behind. He spurts hotly into her with growls of satisfaction.

Breathing heavily, they lay bonelessly on their backs. She feels the sweat cooling at her hairline. Her lips break into a big smile and a laugh leaves her lips. His follows and he raises her hand to his lips, feeling his joyous puffs of air against her skin.

“We are still very good at that,” she decides, turning her head toward him.

“You did always bring out the best in me,” he agrees.

Scully finds his boyish nerves when he mentions spending the night charmingly endearing. She wordlessly moves to press herself into his side, clinging to him in answer.

–

Mulder calls their connection cosmic, though Scully doesn’t believe in cosmicity. An otherworldly connect would trivialize their effort so far in their new era.

She worried how they would assimilate into each other’s worlds without the commonality of what easily linked them before. While their forced separation may never be seen as a positive in her eyes, it did allow for the growth to be content in domesticity.

Scully adores the version of Mulder she met over two decades ago. With his unwavering desire for truth and his absolutely brilliant mind. The hours they can spend talking remind her of that man often. They spar as they always did, laugh like no time has passed.

She delights in the side of him that is at peace with the mundane. He likes filling her drawers with clean scrubs, and working in the yard until he returns smelling like freshly cut grass, and giving her drafts of his paranormal mystery novel.

Uncensored honesty is their biggest challenge. It would be so easy to never discuss what plagued them in the past. They finally get to air their fear, their guilt, and their grief. Scully thinks she and Mulder come out better on the other side.

Mulder leads her to the quiet corners of the world, using his freedom to finally venture off his little property. They luxuriate in the Bahamas shortly after their first night together and they start stopping at all the roadside attractions they used to skip. He plans to finally take her to England and show her all the off beaten paths from his youth. She would go anywhere with him.

A beach house in Maine is this weekend’s activity. Scully accidentally leaves her stack of reading on the desk in her office. “I’ll grab them quick and we’ll go,” she promises him, hanging onto the open passenger side window.

“Don’t leave the coast waiting too long,” he teases. “I’m starting to lose my island glow.” She rolls her eyes at him and pushes up on her toes to kiss him briefly.

Though she promises to be quick, Scully still signs into her computer. She printed out the newest articles hastily before an autopsy and notices now that the first ten pages of the article on top are missing. She finds herself drawn to begin reading when she goes to reprint. She pulls out her chair with blind arms, sitting down absently.

She doesn’t realize how long she’s been gone until she sees Mulder enter. “I was starting to think you’d fallen in,” he jokes.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. He brushes off her apology with a wave of his hand, rounding the desk to brace his hand on the back of her chair.

“What are you reading?” he asks.

Case 43-2009. 8-year-old with Brain Scan Abnormalities Presents Potentially Unseen Neurological Disorder.

She breaks her gaze at the screen to bring her eyes up to Mulder.

“We need to find our son.”

[dana-sculy]

Vive Ut Vivas - Chapter Three

Chapter Two / Chapter One

This was so far my favorite chapter to write! Let's just say it has a really cute msr moment, it has Melissa being really up to help Scully get some fun, and it’s based on both Mulder and Scully’s perceptions of the story. Feel free to tell me anything, hope you guys enjoy!

tagging @today-in-fic   (To read it in AO3, come here)

Fox

I check my watch for the millionth time today. It’s been forty minutes. Were these things supposed to last this long? Is she going to come here after it all or is she just going to flee to her sister’s home and leave me here alone?

I check my pencils inside the top drawer of the table. There are two left. The others now decorate the dusty grey ceiling. I turn to my shells at the end of the room, but everything’s cautiously organized in there now. Scully would be so proud. She mocked me for months, after we were assigned, for having such a lack of organization with my stuff.

Call it boredom, but I had to do something, anything, to fill my mind with other than Scully. Since yesterday, when Skinner told me she would be evaluated today, I couldn’t think of much else. I tried to find cases to work on, but they only made me think of crackpot theories I wanted to tell her, so I could see those beautiful blue eyes roll to the top or her head. So I cleaned my stuff, and it helped me get distracted for a while, but then I thought about how I would feel triumphant over her reaction to it, how she would pretend it was nothing but wouldn’t be able to hide her proud smile in the corners of her mouth.

It’s useless, it seems, to try to forget Scully. She’s in every little thing I do or think, and sometimes it drives me nuts. Going to Skinner’s office could be an option, but I don’t want to make her any more famous than she already is right now, after everything that’s happened. People already talk about her abduction, how it was as strange as our job, about how we probably sleep together, and I don’t want to give them more reason to spread these rumors about her. I decide to wait a little more.

After four, as I return from the bathroom, I feel a tiny pair of hands cover my eyes from behind, and even if it wasn’t for the size of her hands, or for the fact that nobody else would do that or even come down here, I’d still be perfectly aware that it was Scully. My body senses her presence like a magnet, like an invisible line that connects us, a telephone signal.

“So, what do I have here, a visitor? Isn’t it nice to be suddenly so highly regarded?” – I say that as I turn to face her, holding her hands with mine.

“Nice to see you too, Mulder.” – She gives me a wry smile, walking towards our office room.

She stops at the door, clearly noticing the place is cleaner than before. Then, she sits on the edge of the desk, legs crossed, slowly thumping her fingers at the table. There’s a triumphant look in her eyes, as she directs them to me.

“What happened here, Mulder? Did you get visited by your cleaning fairy godmother?”

“Well, Scully, as a friend once told me, this place needed some care.” – I tease her with a wink.

“Smart friend you have, Mulder.” – She stares directly into my eyes – “I wonder if she used to kick your crazy ass a lot.”

God help me, because how much I missed sassy Scully. I know she is just joking with me, but the truth is, she did had my back more times than I can count on our partnership, not to mention that she helped me keep our department going with her down-to-earth reports. I may not always agree with her theories, but in all honesty, she keeps me on the right track.

I come closer to the desk and bow my head to whisper in her ear.

“It’s not out of the realm of extreme possibility, Scully.”

There’s a brief moment of silence between us after that. My partner seems immersed in thought but, judging by the way she’s chewing the inside of her cheek, and how she doesn’t dare look into my eyes, I know she’s nervous too. She’s holding back something, and I wonder if it has something to do with her evaluation today. I was so excited by her arrival that it didn’t even cross my mind how maybe they didn’t allow her to go back to work yet.

As a profiler, the prospect of reading people’s behavior surges with quite frequency to me. It’s almost natural, their actions end up being noticed by my mind and then it follows its own path. With Scully, though, I never dared to do that. Despite the fact that I always suspected the reasons she was sent to me in the first place, as to debunk me – and her behavior was fitting quite well in that – it all changed when she entered my motel room in barely a robe that night on our first case.

She had just met me, and yet she allowed herself to be entirely vulnerable with me that night. It was an act of fear, of course, but she decided to trust me, and after that, I decided I was willing to do the same with her. At the time, I made a decision. I was never going to profile Scully. I would listen to what she had to say, and I would limit my watch to the signals she was willingly showing me.

We became incredibly good at that kind of communication, ironically. Sometimes we don’t even need to verbalize what we are thinking before the other gets the message. Sometimes our bodies show more than we could with a speech too.

Therefore, I know better than anyone that pushing Scully to tell me right now what’s wrong won’t do any good. Finding it out myself before her decision to tell me wouldn’t be right, either. It has to be in her time. For now, I just lift her face with my thumb and wait, looking into her eyes, asking for permission to know whatever there is to know.

“I, hum… I just came back from Skinner’s office. He’s approved my return to work any time from now.” – She finally speaks, keeping our eye contact.

“That’s the best thing I heard today so far, Scully. Do you agree with Skinner? I mean, do you feel alright to be back to duty?” – I cup her face with my hand and caress it softly. She trembles a little, but doesn’t stop me.

“I’m fine, Mulder.” – She rests her right hand on top of mine, which’s still cupping her face, and holds it. There’s a strange sense of déjà-vu in the air. Months ago, when her father died, we stood here in a very similar conversation. I suppose she’s thinking the same thing.

“I need to work” – her eyes plead me to understand, and that only makes me feel more worried.

If only I could go back in time and protect Scully from the all the damage I caused her. I never gave much thought about the costs of my pursuit of the truth: I had already lost my sister, my family; there was nothing to lose before. But after Scully, that was not true anymore. They’ve put her in the middle of our crusade because of me, because of what she meant to me.

What did we become?

Sometimes that question keeps me awake in the middle of the night. Partners. We are that, for sure, but partners would never be willing to go as far as we would for each other. Friends. Our friendship was built in a solid ground of trust, of mutual care, but is that just as far as it goes? Assuming we’re friends doesn’t seem to cover the deep depths of our relationship either. We’re deeply connected: by heart, by mind, we have a bond that irradiates into our entire lives. I know Scully’s favorite perfume, her favorite type of flower, how she loves the spring and how she was never afraid of the dark. I’ve held her in my arms multiple times, in life and death situations, whenever she needed support. She takes care of me so often; she’s always stood by my side.

That intimacy seems to trespass the territory of friendship in all aspects, except the physical one. That’s a line we never dared to cross, but it doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the sensuality Scully exudes, or how beautiful she is. I keep that effect she has on me inside elaborated mental boxes wrapped up with yellow tape written “do not cross”. Even so, sometimes it’s arduous to keep myself unaffected by it. It’s a dangerous path, to try to define us, and an even more dangerous one, to wonder what I’d wish us to be.

“Mulder, I can hear you thinking.” – She says, bringing me back from my thoughts. – “I’ve already spoken to Skinner, my sister is taking good care of me, and, most importantly, I'm alive. But Mulder, I don’t want to come back to a life where people treat me like I’m broken. I need to feel capable again, to feel strong. I need you to support me on that, please.” – The last word comes above a whisper; her eyes watered yet steadfast.

“Scully, are you familiar with the sea anemone and clownfish?” – She’s taken aback by my question, but decides to go along with it.

“Well, as far as my biology classes in school would allow me. Why?”

“Did you know that only select pairs of anemone and clownfish are compatible to each other? At first, the possibility of a fit between the two of them, not to mention a beneficial one, would be highly improbable. The anemone is protective, using nematocyst strikes to scare every kind of threat. It was up to the clownfish to adjust to that, in an act of not trying to eat her tentacles, like most fish do. In return, the anemone has evolved to not strike the clownfish. You see, they both had to move further from their natural behavior in order to create their relationship, and despite the risks, they work better together than alone.”

“Mulder, are you saying you and I are like fish?” – She muses with a smile.

“We don’t live in the bottom of the ocean, Scully, but that doesn’t mean we can’t relate to that somehow.” – She laughs a little, making me feel better for lighting up the mood.

“We also need to adjust sometimes, Scully, to make ‘us’ work. If you want me to adjust, I will. I just want you to be willing to do the same for me. You scared me to death, you know, I thought I’d lose you.”

“You’ll still have to put up with me for a long time, Mulder.” – She smiles. – “I’ll be your anemone, Fox Mulder.”

“Then I’ll be your clownfish, Dana Scully.”

—

Dana

The sun was lowering slowly in the sky, leaving threads of light lingered in it, mingling with the rolling clouds in a beautiful gradient of colors that stood upon its original blue, now mixed with orange, purple and yellow. Absorbed in this welcoming view, my thoughts drift away by their own will, far from everything.

I feel the soothing breeze that flows in the park, which is still crowded with kids in school uniforms that play nearby. Some other people pass through the bench I’m seated in, some jogging, others riding their bikes. It feels peaceful, to be around this kind of normalcy once again.

“Lost in thought, sis? – Melissa taps my shoulder before sitting next to me. She’s smoking one of her herbs.

“You know I’m a federal agent, right?”

“Sister’s don’t put each other in jail, Danes.” – she turns to me with a teasing smile. – “Want some?”

“Maybe I could use some of that.” – I give her a small laugh, but it ends up sounding more like a sigh.

“Oh, having problems with the man candy? You know, I could really help you with that if you’d let me, Dana.”

“Enough with this idea, Melissa. I’ve already told you, Mulder and I are just partners and friends if you want to know.” – I give her a serious look, and it only makes her smile more broadly.

“Are you saying he doesn’t make you weak to the knees, sis? You can’t tell me you don’t think he’s hot. That would make me consider taking you back to the hospital, because there would be definitely something wrong with your head.”

“Okay, okay. I’m not blind, Melissa. Mulder is handsome and very sensual at times, but it would be highly inappropriate to get myself involved with him, even if I wanted to.”

“You should try to have fun sometimes, you know? You’re too boring.” – She laughs and takes my hand, standing up.

“What are you doing?” – She pulls me out of the bench, walking towards the avenue and out of the park.

“It’s time for us to go do some mundane, silly stuff, Miss Federal Agent.”

Two hours later and I see myself being guided through the glowing streets of a crowded Friday night. I have no idea where Melissa is going to take me. It reminds me of our early days in San Diego: she could always find the best places for us to hang out, even when dad was on our back. That was something I used to love about her, the fact that she would always include me in her plans, either if it was a party she was invited to, or just a ride to the beach or the mall. She would never leave me behind.

Street lamps flicker on our way. There’s no wind, but is not too warm; the fresh air is perfect and the stars are a beautiful sight I’m not used to pay attention to. It’s funny how my mind seems to be noticing these things more nowadays: the stars, the quiet laughter from the couple on the other side of the street, the smell of candy coming from somewhere near. It’s interesting how things in the universe can be perfectly standing while your life has just come from its way upside down.

Melissa makes a turn four blocks away from her place, and she seems to find the pub she’s been looking for. From the outside, it looks pleasantly rustic. Its construction rises through time-worn bricks, and it's difficult to see through the windows, but the cheerful sounds from within can be felt outside. She rests her hand on the rough paintwork that coats the door and push.

The ambient is crowded, but comfortable enough. Aside from a set of tables and a large booth on the back of the pub, the space is composed by a long mahogany bar and a number of tall bar stools arranged to accommodate any drinker who didn’t want to be seated at one of the tables. The ceiling height is pleasantly commodious, and I notice stairs leading to somewhere worth further explorations later.

“Well, sis, I must admit that you still have your touch for picking up these things.”

“Not so bad to stay with your sister, uh?” – Melissa takes the free reminiscent table for us, and makes a sign for the waiter. – “Plus, you really needed some fun in your life, Dana. Let’s forget men and worries for a little while.”

The waiter approaches us with a charming look in his eyes. He seems nonchalant about it, though; as if it was something automatic that he’s quite used to do. His bronzed skin and green eyes only add to the view.

“What can I do for the ladies tonight?” – He asks us with a foreign accent.

“Well, my sister here has just come back to life, so to speak, so what do you suggest?” – Melissa winks at me.

“Well, Ma'am, it should be something with a strong taste, yet soft, remarkable; something that reminds you how life is worth living, don’t you think?” – The answer is directed to my sister, but despite that, his eyes direct to mine as he speaks.

“I totally agree.”

“How about you? A lady with such fierce eyes must have an opinion of her own.” –  At this point, both the waiter and my sister look at me expectantly, waiting for a response.

“For now, I’ll just have a cold beer, please.” – The waiter nods at me and turns to Melissa, waiting for her turn to order.

“Bring me some tequila, would you?”

“Sure. And my name is Adam, by the way. Just call me if you need anything.” - As he storms out to get our drinks, she turns to me.

“So much for having fun, Dana. You should be the big sister, you know.” – Melissa points a disappointed look at my direction.

“I’m not looking so forward to having a massive headache in the morning, Missy. Plus, someone will have to be sober enough to take care of the both of us.” – She laughs at that.

“You should really live the moment more, instead of worrying that much about the future, sis. After what happened to you, I thought you’d get better at that.”

I remember the hospital nights and the complete sense of soreness I felt on my body for a moment. It makes me tremble a little, and Melissa notices it instantly. There’s no breeze of air coming at our direction, so I’m pretty sure she guessed it was no weather that caused that.

“Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you feel bad, Dana.” – She reaches her hand out and places it on top of mine.

“I’m fine, Missy. Can we just… not bring that up just yet? It’s too soon, please.”

“Sure. Let’s talk about something else.”

We talk for several minutes and the conversation becomes lighter. We talk mostly about my sister’s recent life: how he’s just broken up with a boyfriend I never got to meet, how she’s been really enjoying her new job, how mom still thinks she should go back to church. I realize there’s a lot about her that I’ve lost, not exactly just because of my disappearing, but because, with the busy routine I was living before that, I ended up not being very present in her life.

I wonder if Missy noticed that through the years. She’s done so much for me in the past months, in the hospital, and now opening space in her daily life to take care of me… I was so worried about the FBI, about my own personal issues that I didn’t stop to think maybe Melissa only wanted something I’ve been neglecting her in a long time: to be with me.

Maybe she was right about living the moment, after all. All I’ve done was to worry about myself, while she was just trying to enjoy spending time with her sister. Maybe it’s time for me to give her what she wants.

“You know what, Missy, I think maybe you were right.”

“Wow, the alcohol must be working well, because I can’t believe you just said that.” – She mocks me, contented. – “About what, specifically?”

“Well, about me not living my best life lately. I see how much yours changed, and I wasn’t even there to be part of it. I’m sorry, I haven’t been exactly the dream family lately, have I?” – I give her a sorry look and a sad smile.

“Well, you’ve been distant. I wondered why for quite some time. We used to talk about everything, even when we were apart. I guess changing is part of life but… can we come back to that? I miss you a lot.”

“I miss you too. I was so involved with my career, with… things I can’t explain to you. I suppose I tend to close myself off to the people I love.” – She returns my smile, staring at me.

“That you definitely do. I’ll tell you this: I don’t care how you live your life, as long as you are happy. And as long as you trust me to be part of it. Deal?”

“Deal.” – I say, squeezing her hand.

At this point, our glasses are barely empty. I scan the pub until my eyes find what I was searching for.

“Adam!” - I shout for the waiter, who’s carrying an empty bottle that was left on the bar.

He notices me from the crowd and approaches our table pleased.

“Here I am. Would you like some more beer?”

“In fact, I think it’s time for that drink you suggested me. Bring me your best, and fill a glass for my sister here too.” – I give him a teasing wink that only improves his delight. – “It’s Dana, by the way.”

[battlersexual]

Board Game Showcase #4: Root

Hey! It’s been a while since I did one of these: Six months, to be exact. In that time, I’ve been playing a lot of board games. The old college club moved online for the pandemic, so we’ve had plenty of opportunities. So, I have a new one for today. This is actually going to be a wargame, which means I have to talk a bit about wargame mechanics. I’ll do a more in-depth discussion of them at some point, but for now I’ll just leave space for a link here and mention the basics.

So, Root. This game came out of absolutely nowhere and won a bunch of awards back around 2017-18. It certainly flew under my radar at first - I was more interested in a different wargame, which I will be making a showcase of very soon - but the moment I started playing in earnest, I realized how brilliant it really was. So let me tell you why Root is so great.

Story:

Root’s story is typical of wargames - more about factions and empires than individuals. You and up to three other players - five in the expansion - play as different groups vying for control of a thriving forest. The forces of the Marquise de Cat, an imperialist hailing from tamer lands, have seized control of almost the entire forest and are gearing up to industrialize the place. The forest’s old masters, the proud Eyrie Dynasty and their squabbling bureaucracy, have united under a new leader and are gathering their forces for reconquista. The citizens of the forest, the mice, foxes, and rabbits of the underbrush, have decided to throw off the yoke of oppression and band together as the Woodland Alliance, engaging in sabotage and guerrilla warfare to take the forest for the people. And in the midst of it all is the Vagabond, a traveler seeking to find a place in this new status quo taking shape, with the potential to play kingmaker or even seize power for himself.

Also, they’re all cute animals.

Mechanics and more under the cut. 

Mechanics:

Oh boy, this is gonna be a big one. In fact, for the first time in Board Game Showcase history, I have to split up the mechanics section. See, Root is an asymmetrical game, much like Cosmic Encounter was, but unlike Cosmic, Root’s factions have differences that go far beyond a single ability. So instead, I’ll summarize the major mechanics here and go into detail on the factions in their own section.

Root is played on a board representing an autumn forest, with twelve “clearings” connected by paths and separated by thick forested areas.

Each clearing has a suit, represented by the color of the trees as well as a small symbol (you can see it on the prior image: this one is just the art) next to the clearing. The suits are Fox, Mouse, and Rabbit. Each clearing also has small white squares, which represent building slots: different clearings support different levels of infrastructure.

The denizens of the forest are represented by a 54-card deck with four suits: the aforementioned fox, mouse, and rabbit, as well as a bird suit that acts as a wild card for the board: any bird card can represent any clearing.

Cards are mainly used for their suit, but can also be crafted: if the cost on the bottom of the card is paid (using crafting pieces, which are different for each faction but all in some way represent infrastructure in clearings), you get the benefit. Sometimes this is an upgrade, sometimes it’s points and an item, but it;s usually worth considering, and some effects can make certain factions exceedingly powerful. There are also “ambush” cards, which are played from the hand directly in battle, and “dominance” cards, which unlock alternate victory conditions.

Most factions have three kinds of piece they can place on the board: Warriors, Buildings, and Tokens. Buildings are always square, and tokens are circular.

Moving warriors around is highly dependent on who rules each clearing, which is determined by how many pieces a faction has there. Ties default to nobody ruling the clearing.

Battle is simple: When a battle is initiated, the attacker rolls two dice numbered 0-3. Once rolled, the attacker takes the higher number and the defender takes the lower one. The number is dealt to the opposing side as hits, each of which removes a warrior. If there are no warriors left, buildings and tokens start being removed. You can only deal as many hits as you have warriors.

The goal of the game is to reach 30 victory points. You earn points by crafting item cards, destroying buildings and tokens, and completing your faction’s goals. Each turn consists of three phases: Birdsong, Daylight, and Evening.

And that’s the end of the basic rules. If it seems like there’s a lot missing, that’s because...

Factions:

Each of the four factions in Root has completely different rules for how they play. I’ll have to present each one individually. I’ll be leaving some things out: each faction has a LOT going on, and I’ll try to convey what they do at the core.

The Marquise de Cat starts out controlling almost the entire forest, and gets points from building sawmills, workshops, and recruiters. She plays the most like a traditional 4x game, taking territory, building, and using resources. Sawmills make wood, which make more buildings. Workshops are used as crafting pieces, and recruiters make more soldiers and let her draw more cards each turn. She takes three actions each daylight, plus more for each bird card she discards, and can both pump out troops quickly and move across the map at a good pace. She starts with a heavily defended keep, and can spend cards to either overwork her sawmills or save troops from death with field hospitals.

The Eyrie Dynasties start stuck in the opposite corner from the Marquise’s keep, but with a good army and a Roost, which acts as a combination crafting piece, recruitment area, and point generator. They have a choice of four different Leaders:

All of the leaders have different abilities and affect the Decree. The Decree is the Eyrie’s political system: It’s got four columns (Recruit, Move, Battle, and Build), and each turn, the Eyrie player adds a card to the decree, then resolves it from left to right. For each card, the player must perform the corresponding action in a clearing of the same suit. This means the number of actions the Eyrie can take ramps up each turn, but the catch is that if any action can’t be fulfilled, the government falls into turmoil, the leader is replaced with a new leader, the decree is reset, and the player loses points for every bird card in the decree.

The Woodland Alliance don’t start on the board at all, but rely on sympathy tokens and supporters. Supporters are cards in a special supporter zone that can be used to spread sympathy or revolt. Sympathy tokens represent popular support for the alliance: it’s used to craft, it scores them points, and if another faction takes aggressive actions in sympathetic clearings, they make even more supporters of the cause from the general outrage. With enough support, they can revolt, setting up a base on the map and gaining warriors and officers, which allow them to take military action at night. They have fewer troops, but are much stronger: their guerrilla warfare means they always take the higher number in all conflicts.

The Vagabond isn’t a faction, but an individual. While the rest of the players are busy warring, this guy is over here playing D&D, complete with character classes.

The Vagabond wanders around the map with his pawn (not a warrior), searching ruins for items, trading with the other factions, questing, and building up a relationship meter with the other players. He doesn’t take territory, and he can leave the clearings and hang out in the forests. His items determine his capabilities, and everything he does helps or hinders the other players, directly or indirectly. He can ally with a faction by giving them cards, which earns him points, or he can go hostile and earn a point for each warrior of another faction he kills.

The expansion introduces two more factions, but we’ll go over them in that section.

Flavor:

Amazing. The different playstyles really get to the heart of the political game here, where you often can’t easily predict what other players will do and how the forest will change in a single turn. The art on the cards and board is also gorgeous, and really brings this little forest to life.

Replayability:

It’s a wargame, there’s almost infinite replayability by definition, but Leder Games went above and beyond. On the back of the board is another board, this one depicting a winter forest.

The clearings on the winter board don’t have fixed suits: instead, you place suit markers in whatever configuration you like. This is admittedly more for advanced players, but it’s nice that it was included in the base game at all, and adds even more replayability out of the box.

Expansions:

There are several expansions coming out, but only two finalized for release: The Riverfolk expansion, and the Clockwork expansion.

Riverfolk adds several things, including a board and rules for a second Vagabond player, and two new factions: The Lizard Cult and the Riverfolk Company.

The Lizard Cult is a dragon-worshiping cult that cares about the outcasts of the forest, and by that I mean the discard pile. Each turn, the most common suit in the discards is marked as the “outcast”, and the lizards perform conspiracies in the clearings matching the outcast suit. They don’t discard cards themselves to use them, instead only revealing them from their hand each turn, but to compensate, they have to radicalize their followers into acolytes before actually performing their conspiracies.

The Riverfolk Company are riverfaring merchants and mercenaries. Their goal is to set up trading posts in the forest and make a tidy profit. They act as merchants in-game as well: everything is for sale. Their hand is always visible, and other players can buy cards from them. They can sell their warriors as mercenaries, and ferry other factions along the rivers connecting some clearings, and they set the prices of all their services turn-by-turn, so they can react to the market. In exchange, they get more things they can do on their turn the more people buy from them, and if the other players aren’t careful they can become a terrifying force.

The Clockwork Expansion is very different from Riverfolk. It doesn’t add any new factions: instead, it compensates for players not having a large enough gaming group by making automated versions of all the base game factions. I can’t give much more detail, as I don’t actually own this expansion at the moment, but I love the idea.

There are a lot more expansions in the works, including new boards, a new deck, new vagabonds, and a new riverfolk-style expansion featuring two new factions, the Corvid Conspiracy and the Underground Duchy, but those aren’t fully released yet.

Criticisms:

Root can be a difficult game to learn, since you have to keep track of everyone’s different playstyles and rules to really play well. It can also be a bit snowball-y, with the winner often being very obvious several turns in advance. In terms of actual defects, the Lizard Cult have a special rule that isn’t listed on their faction board and only exists in the rulebook, which is frustrating. It’s also not a great two-player game, only really shining with three or more players.

Availability: 

Root is pretty easily available, since it’s still in the process of release to this day. You shouldn’t have issues finding a copy. It’s also got some good mods on Tabletop Simulator.

Conclusion:

When I first played Root, it was two-player, and I got stomped. I thought that would be the end of it, and I decided I probably wouldn’t like the game. Then, a week passed, and I wasn’t able to stop thinking about it. I tried it again, and again. I played it against myself to refine my strategy. I bought my copy and taught it to people.

It’s been months since then, and Root has become one of my favorite games. So don’t be discouraged if it’s hard to get started with. Give it some time, and some thought, and you’ll see the appeal. There’s a lot of great design here, and I thoroughly recommend Root.

[thankyougotham]

Here’s an article that Film Daily wrote about Nygmobblepot. If you’d like to see them write articles about other relationships, you can contact them on Twitter and make a request. They’ve been very supportive of Gotham in general, so follow them if you’re on Twitter.

“Gotham is an innovative show based on DC Comics characters and produced by Warner Bros.  The Batman origin narrative helped us rapt viewers understand how our favorite heroes (Batman) and villains (The Joker, Penguin) came to be. It also cast a light on just how Gotham City became the wretched crime-filled cesspool we all know & love.

As the fandom knows, we’re so behind the mission to Save Gothamthat it hurts, but today we’ve decided to take a break from all the activism and talk about love. Here’s why we and the Gotham fandom ship hard for Nygmobblepot, and why these fantastic felons are anyone’s perfect gateway into Gotham for people on the fence about the show.”

Sample Quotes from fans: 

Mr. Millicent Cordelia

Both Ed & Oswald were transformed by love. They made sacrifices for each other & always ended up back together. They deserve, and the fans deserve to see this relationship respected as a romance on a server that understands it’s the 21st century.

Merc

Honestly because they’re both idiots and they really deserve each other.

Zoe Tomorrow

They’re two individuals who’ve spent their lives mistreated and misunderstood. They are the only ones who accept one another wholeheartedly. Together they’ve learned about trust, sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. And no matter what they always find a way back to each other.

#PenguinSpinOff

Excellent chemistry between them, and a fun, fresh take on these old, iconic characters. They’re like peanut butter and jelly: fine on their own, but especially delightful together.

Rachel

For one, they “really are meant for each other”! They’ve been through so much and have hurt each other so many times but they’ve managed to overcome it. They have a strong bond, would do anything for each other, and somehow they always come back together!

𝕫𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒

These two men grew up misunderstood and overlooked, and learned to use that to grow. they have risen together, and make an excellent team. they have both admitted to being stronger together, and their fates always become intertwined. they’re destined to be together.

Angela

While I’m not the biggest shipper of Nygmobblepot, I do care for their happiness and for the fans who do ship them. My ship is Batcat. They are best friends as kids & love each other deeply. They always want to protect each other. They are family.

LongLiveGotham #Gotham | #SaveGotham

Nygmobblepot has a long, complex history that reveals both the best and worst of these 2 characters. They have grown and learned much from the relationship. They deserve to be on a server that allows them the freedom to be a romantic couple.

Jenny i love my girlfriend

they are two men who have been abused and undermined their entire lives, but see each other as equals. they have certainly had their ups and down, but they always come back, better and stronger than ever. they understand each other more than anyone else ever has.

(not to mention how groundbreaking it would be to have two characters who have been historically heterosexual be in a romantic relationship)

Hale | 45 Days Till Neo

I’m down for anything with dear Oswald- his chaotic energy is a joy to watch, especially when it’s messing with other character such as Edward and Jim.

Scheming Minor

I am going to say something different in lieu of semantics. Technically in a sense when you get to the details they really are one of the few villain pairings portrayed in a “healthy” relationship in the Batman fandom. They progress, accept and move on; never stagnating. I included the healthy relationship chart to prove a point. Each one of those slices can be seen over the course of Riddler and Penguin’s relationship in Gotham– more so when we reach season 5. Their entire journey is about respect. Adding one more thing – Riddler has traditionally been coded as queer and flits with tentative bisexuality, meanwhile Penguin is known as a womanizer but has rare moments of ’what if’ regarding men. Gothamis one of the few Batman shows that follows through with M/M content.

kebu loves Oswald

They are both extreme individuals, but they fit together perfectly. Both are complex characters that went through life unaccepted by everyone which shaped their desire for more and their paths to becoming supervillains, so when they met it was the first time they found their equal and were accepted by someone. Their paths have been intertwined ever since, and whether they’re together or at odds, they’re always the most significant person in each other’s lives. But even though they ended up appearing together, we didn’t actually see them get “officially” together. Their story has yet to come to a close.

Riz || Professional Mr.Penn promoter

A very complex relationship that cannot be concluded in a spawn of a cut off season like it was. They have had a long journey and a perhaps even longer one before them. Their lowest and best have been shared together and they’re the one person who understand the other fully.

M/M relationships in media and tvshows especially is a rare breed. Even more is the concept of the big chance to make two comic characters and made an entirely new spin on them by being brave enough to make them queer, Oswald perhaps within the asexual spectrum at that. Ed as a tormented, abused soul who struggles with his own identiy and perhaps sexuality.

There is really so much to say, which is exactly why there need to be more to tell the rest of the story.

Vero

While Ed fights with the dichotomy within himself, he’s always felt the most whole when he’s been all-encompassed by Oswald’s world and care. Oswald found compassion and acceptance for all the parts that Ed thought were not loved. They are twin souls that deserve a longer story.There’s always been a complexity to both of them, and they understand the extremes that have made them into the people they are. There is no desire to change the other, only bring out the best in one another and a comfort shared that’s so important.

madi

I feel as though they have stories that extend beyond what Gothamwas able to show through their 5 seasons. Especially with the 5th season being half of its normal length. They mean so much to me, and so many others, and I would love to see even more of them (1/2)

(2/2) and to be able to see Gotham’s depiction of Ed’s backstory, an explanation for the whole Isabella fiasco (like how is she even possible) and a plot line where Ed saves Oswald. We haven’t had any of those since s2/early s3 and I need that in my life. I miss them so much.

Evan

Not only off the charts chemistry, but near similar backgrounds also. Both Ed & Oswald were abandoned by their parents, and had to fight the world their whole lives. Then brought them together and they’ve been unstoppable ever since.

Suzy Dakroub

Because they have the best character development and bond I’ve ever seen on a show! They both truly have no one but eachother. For villains where it’s rare to see compassion and love, these two have it for each other and it’s so wholesome and sweet.

Frothy

it’s the first LGBT representation in such a major franchise on TV! it was taken from us once, twice, but there won’t be a third. i will produce season 6 in my basement with tze and my best friend if i must

Warrior_Of_Loyalty

REPRESENTATION!!! Seriously, there’s nothing quite like it. Oswald and Edward deserve a wedding and a musical episode to go with it. Because, if Arthur’s teacher can get married on TV why not The Penguin and The Riddler!? Please!! Make it happen!

𝕻𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖎𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 ||

Because they are two characters who have been physically and emotionally abused most of their lives, and even after all of their hardships and turmoil, found love and trust and safety in one another

Azura Lynn Paulin

Because they never got to become a real couple on screen and they deserve to have that chance at happiness

MamaDev

Their chemistry, specifically between Robin Lord Taylor & Cory Michael Smith, is incredibly entertaining and heart warming to watch. It makes my whole day, of not, week better when I see them interacting on screen. FOX did not do them justice by keeping them in the closet.

Queen C

Because their story is FAR from over. Cory and Robin’s skills and chemistry shouldn’t be squandered. We had 5 years of their story buildup and got crapped on in the final episode, and I deserve my #BisexualRiddler!!!

Bandi [Gotham/Good Omens Spoilers] #SaveGotham

Nygmobblepot truly is such an interesting ship. As singular characters they are great, but together, they shine. They’re complex, damaged characters and take comfort in each other. Their journey is a long, painful one, but they deserve and compliment each other. It makes sense.

Anders

They are truly self confident with each other, anything becomes possible. They don’t need any cane.

They have each other.

Mae

they just have such strong chemistry and are so much better together than apart. their relationship constantly evolved throughout Gotham, becoming the main driving force for their individual developments too and… they were just made for each other okay

Tam Loves Kris @ Resting in Home

I see a lot of myself and my partner@MisterPenguinin the#Nygmobblepotship and I feel that their relationship is very well developed with lots of ups and downs and it’s fate that they are both meant for each other.

Kat Shade

With all of the characters that had amazing chemistry on Gotham, the main three had to be nygmobblepot, wayleska, and babitha. Nygmobblepot have been through so much together, and besides how revolutionary and amazing it would be for a show based on two previously heterosexual characters in a homosexual relationship, they simply work amazingly together.

[glamrockmonarch]

ok official request for u to tell us all the history or timeline u have in ur head of what goes down w current bri n rog that leaves them single like I'd rly like to kno what happened to sarina n anita n how the taylors n May's react to their dads having young new wives or gfs n them having kids (I'm sorry I dont mean to hound) but mostly about sarina n anita I'd be fascinated by what storyline u have about what happens to them,, I lov ur work btw adore ur blog take ur time tho tysm 4 ur work!!!

Alright, so I have already done this for Roger and for Brian with their respective so’s.

But since you wanna know about their families I will do it again and it might be a bit different (cause I want to make it that way): 

ROGER: 

You getting together with Rog was a big deal only in your heads, Roger was concerned because he had ended things with Sarina after meeting you and it was no secret among his children that you two had great chemistry - Lola went as far as to point out to her sisters and brothers that you did not even need money or attention, so your relationship with their father could not be something out of interest. 

When you and Roger finally happened it was a bit chaotic, you had not intended on going fast with him, the two of you tried to keep things on the down low and you would never be each other’s date at events - even if you were attending the same party. It was difficult for you to let people know you were together because of the age gap and the fact that Roger did divorce his wife because of you - Sarina was not happy to be pushed away by a man she trusted and loved so much, although since they did not have children together it was somewhat an easier separation for the drummer from his previous ones. For his children, it was too, even though the British press had the time of their lives destroying you on the regular, Roger’s kids were supportive of their father no matter what. Which meant that they had your back.

It was great having this kind of support, and since you worked on PR you would always lend them a hand where needed, of course, Roger loved to see how you had a more normal job and still remained relatable to his kids. Especially helping out Rufus and Lily with their social media accounts. 

It took you about three months to be living together and after that only a year to be married. Undoubtedly, you were going at quite fast, not wanting to spend any time, you got to know each other to perfection, Roger taught you about cars and music, he challenged you intellectually, which most people would not know: he was well informed of the political issues worldwide and you sometimes found yourself having arguments about something you read on the newspaper earlier. 

Having children was not exactly on the plans, you did not intend on getting pregnant during your second year together...this scared you as much as telling his children about the relationship had scared you before, with the difference that now Roger seemed to go pale at the sound of the words that came out of your mouth. 

“Pregnant!” Roger’s eyes were blown wide as he stared at you, half-hoping it was a joke. 

“Due in March, love!” You tried to give him an honest smile, but it did not reach the corners of your eyes as it should have. 

The thing was, this baby was not planned...still, Roger was not mad, how could he be? You were young, smart and gorgeous! But most of all, you were scared - he could tell. Roger was scared too, but at least he had already taken care of his other children, he knew how to do to at least half-ass the parenthood thing. You did not. Then came the topic of the press. God, they would judge him so badly for having a child at his age... and what about his grown-up children? 

Rufus was pissed. Not pissed at you, he was simply mad knowing that Roger told him last. The first to hear the news was Rory because Roger needed to vent to someone, this happened to be his eldest daughter, who listened and then shot her father back with a simple “so what?” She showed her father support and comfort, encouraging him by telling him what a great father he had always been, even through his separations all of his children always knew that things would be alright because Roger remained close to all of them, never leaving them and never turning his back on them. Rog felt a lot better, which translated into you feeling a lot less scared since your husband was so positive and supportive. When you decided on telling his children about your pregnancy half of them already knew, and they were all happy for their father, enthused by the thought of a new family member to have fun with in the future. 

BRIAN:

THE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END THE DAY BRIAN AND ANITA SPLIT UP. Anita was simply not into Brian’s self-doubt, she was old, yeah...but she was also so full of energy! She just wanted to keep performing and her husband obviously craved for his wife to be home with him when the days were rough and the nights rough. So, yeah...Brian was left single again. And the man does not know how to be alone, he is bad at it. He needs someone to rely on, someone to share his busy thoughts with and someone to listen to when he is being too stubborn to make sense of anything but his own patronizing ideas. 

Lucky for Brian, you were in town. You met at the studio while he was working on the guitar version of 20th Century Fox Fanfare, he was on the studio for not too long but while he was there you were told to remain in the mixing booth in case the musician needed anything. Of course, working the job of an assistant was not what you intended for when you took the internship at Universal Music, but it paid some money you needed and it also got you a chance at learning a little bit more about music production. 

Brian was a gentle giant, you learnt that first time you met, and while you did not expect much more than that first time meeting you were pleased to see him again after the highly publicized separation from his wife. You did not intend on being flirty, though Brian was no twelve-year-old boy and he caught on to your hair flipping and nervous laughter. He took his chance as he saw it approach with every step he took towards the exit door at Universal, and you were pleased to hear him say he would love to have you drink tea with him sometime. The rest was history. 

You became an item, although not too fast as Roger had done with his girlfriend... no, no, no. You went at it slow and methodically, as one would do when one follows the scientific method. 

Observation. You were possibly opposites in many areas, personality wise the two of you got along, curious and creative, you hated to be proved wrong but loved to hear good reasoning. You had scientific training too, but you pursued a different career path than originally intended. With a degree in Chemistry, you were a good rival to Brian’s rhetoric. 

Hypothesis. Brian was falling in love with you at the same exact rate you were falling for him, even as you probably should not you would always try to follow him in his adventures into the farms when he worked on his environmental projects. Saving badgers was nothing that concerned you too badly, but you took interest in it after watching Brian and Anne take care of a couple of them. Animals seemed to become something you loved. 

Experiment. Telling his children about you. Uh...that was one of the ugliest diners you have ever attended. There was yelling, there was crying and sadly some of it came from you too. His daughters were not having it when you told them about your relationship, and it got worse when Ruth saw the ring already lying on your finger. 

Things were tense with his children for the whole of six months while you planned your wedding, the only moment when it softened was after the actual event when it was more than clear to everyone around that your and Brian were meant to be, each of you giving equally dorky and adorable speeches at the beginning of the reception.

It was also hard for Brian’s kids to come to grips with the fact that they were going to have a little half-brother or sister soon once you announced your pregnancy plans to them. Brian was aware that you wanted children from the moment you got together, and who was he to keep you from having them? Of course, compromises were made and you agreed on having a single baby together was only for the best. Ruth, Jimmy, and Louisa were reluctant to accept this new addition to their family, but once your baby boy was born, the storm seemed to clear off. The May children were astounded at the sight of the little man, all of them looking incredulous as the baby shared a huge resemblance to Brian - therefore to them. 

“Is that a curl?” Ruth wondered, glancing down at her own curls while Brian laughed. 

Of course, the boy had the darkest scarce hair on his head, but there did seem to be some waves already twisting whatever few hairs there were...

[visionofnoxus]

☠

// And here you go. Last but not least. I hope it pleases you. Decided to do something of an origin story. Please let me know what you thought of it.

“Secure the perimeter. Two guards on every patrol. And no open fire” Swain commanded, walking through the improvised camp. The soldiers all around him nodded, but did not respond, beginning their preparations for the night immediately. “And should any of the guards get any funny feelings, alert others. I’ll have the first “independent investigator” flogged once the Placidium is ours” he reminded his men, leaving the perimeter patrol and heading deeper into the noxians’ camp area. This was one of the several hidden camps in the surrounding valleys, all of these camps containing seasoned veterans in many hundreds. Together, they’d be thousands. And not one ionian knew they even were here. Leaning down as he climbed inside his tent, general Swain sat down on the bedroll. Putting aside the officer’s sword and the hand crossbow he carried on field missions like this. Making sure the flap of the tent was truly closed, he lit a candle, rolling open a map of the surrounding area, going through his plan once more. 

The islanders were finally beginning to find their fighting spirit, monastic orders starting to offer assistance to the village militias. These monks, assassins and martial artists were strengthening the opposition greatly. Looking at the city of Placidium on the map, the Master Tactician nodded to himself. The noxians were overreaching, advancing too quickly, not fortifying the ground taken and reinforcements that were promised from mainland kept being redirected to chase all kinds of wild rumor. If the Noxians would somehow suffer some catastrophic loss somewhere, the islanders might very well be able to just drive them back all the way to the southwestern coast with ease. An irritated sigh left the ambitious commander. Sometimes he felt like the very land itself was fighting their invasion.

They needed to take bridges, break strongholds and capture the population centers before the entire nation would unite against them. Instead they were raiding country side. Raping, pillaging and terrorizing population, running field tests with zaunite weaponry because Darkwill was curious about the results. Terror was an excellent tool of control and a way to break morale, but this… Frankly speaking genocide was not serving the empire. Once the island nation was theirs, who’d work the fields? Assuming that the soil had not been corrupted by some chemical “test”. Who would produce trade goods? Who would the noxians have digging ore in the mines they’d start here? And that was if they managed to secure the nation. He looked once more at the map. 

Taking Placidium, Swain intended to draw out the ionians from their guerrilla warfare tactics into an open battle for survival. And then he’d crush them there, crippling the defenders. With the capitol of Navori under control, Noxians could start fortifying their holdings, focus their efforts to a single location at a time instead of running about everywhere, burning and destroying yet achieving precious little. Tomorrow, his hidden legions would emerge and assault Placidium in blizkrieg style, and they’d take the city intact. The buildings, the riches, the people. He’d turn the entire city into a hostage and a bait so irresistible that Ionians would march to their own doom to save it. 

“Sir. There has been an issue” Came the muffled voice of his lieutenant from outside the tent. A frown rose on Swain’s face. Since he did not hear any ruckus suggesting they’d been had… “A patrol missing?” The Tactician made an educated guess, one which his officer confirmed moments later. “Get me 6 good men. I’ll be out momentarily”. Taking a gulp from his waterskin, Swain fastened his sword on his hip again and grabbed the crossbow. “What is another sleepless night, when I already have so many?” He let out a dry chuckle, blowing the candle and leaving the tent.

The patrol had gone missing on the eastern side of the camp, the side which was covered with more dense forest leading up to the mountains. It offered plenty of cover for would be assassins, but something in the night air gave the noxian commander the gut feeling this wasn’t one of those “ninjas”. Glancing at the tiny flowers glowing in the otherwise dark forest, he scoffed. “Magic everywhere. And somehow I have hunch this is one of those creatures again” He said quietly, gripping the shaft of a spear. Were this once again some oversized animal with wings, he’d rather keep it a shaft’s distance away from himself rather than try his luck with a sword. “Lieutenant, you have your orders about the main mission. And send a second troop five minutes after us”. “Sir”. With that, the seven noxians began moving, four moving us scouts at front while Swain and two others waited for the first sign of trouble.

Half an hour later they had found the lost patrol. Stepping next to the soldier inspecting the two corpses, Swain frowned, kneeling down as well. “They… This is odd” The scout muttered, motioning at the two dead men laying on their backs. Both had similar situation. Their weapons had been drawn, but no signs of combat were evident. It was like something had pushed them down and they’d just… Stopped breathing. No injuries. Though curiously… Swain brought his hand to hover above one’s chest. “The armor… It’s radiating warmth” The man observed, the scout confirming same on the other victim. “Something hit them in the chest and they died… But not of injury”. Magic. Everything on these cursed islands had to do with magic. A femine chuckle caught the general’s ear and he blinked in disbelief, cautiously standing up. “Sir did you…”. “Yes. I heard it as well. Weapons ready!”. All the noxians readied their weapons, peering into the darkness. 

A second chuckle reverberated through air. What a beautiful, sensual voice. It stirred something in him. Something very primal. “I’d like to give this vixen a shafting of different sort…” One of the soldiers crudely remarked, shifting his grip on his halberd, few others snorting nervously. Swain took that as a confirmation. The spike of sudden lust had not been his imagination. “There” one of the soldiers hissed, pointing ahead. And indeed, on the path lighted by the small glowing flowers stood a young woman, dressed in some kind of very simple and hazy dress. But what a woman… The dress did very little to cover her feminine charms, barely concealing the crucials but those few furs wrapped around her waist did their best to cover her. Her hair was dark and a bit messy, unkempt, but shone like most well kept fur only could. And then there was the face. Slightly alien, yet distinctively human, she was gorgeous. And then there were those cute fox ears. “It’s a demon. Kill it!” Swain snapped the instant his mind connected the dots. Unfortunately her men weren’t quite as strong of mind. A bright orb of light shot out of the woman’s hand while she dashed to the side. The ball struck one of the noxians, man flying on his back lifelessly, the something shifting in the orb, a sliver of some new colour being added as the ball grew ever so slightly.

So that is what happened, Swain thought grimly, observing how two of his men leveled their crossbows at the seductress but missed. She dashed and leaped around with grace of a cat, showcasing no issues in switching between running and occasional dash on all fours for a pounce off a tree. Attempting to get in melee, two noxians charged shouting at her, and Swain saw the golden eyes flash, flames appearing on the tips of her nails moments before those flames set the men alight. The armor resisted the burn, but did precious little to save their owners’ lives, the men falling on the ground while screaming in agony. it might be possible to save their lives, but Swain already scratched them out of the roster. He had no time to care about two wounded. “Watch the magic! It’s eyes glow when it casts” He shouted, the fox-woman’s head snapping in his direction and as her golden irises met with his, Swain felt himself swallowing nervously. The full lips formed words. There was no sound, but somehow the noxian heard her in his head. “You are the alpha then..?”. 

Whatever that meant, Swain did not intend to find out. Another burst of fire shot out, the soldiers it was targeting dodging, but one of them got caught by the glowing orb instead, his cruelly taken and added to the orb’s beauty. “Harrowing take you!” Swain cursed out loud, tossing his spear with a trained and drilled practice. Not his chosen weapon, but the fox appeared to had been briefly distracted by the orb’s growth, Swain landing almost landing a hit, earning him an angry stare and a hiss showcasing the sharp fangs of the foxlady. Drawing his sword and bringing up the crossbow, Swain shouted: “Pull back! Focus on avoiding it’s spells” He shot two of the three bolts towards the fox, her attention now completely on him. Oh no… Throwing her arm forward, Swain saw the orb accelerate towards him, stepping hastily to the side and behind a tree. Supporting his arm, he took aim, letting loose the third bolt and discarding the weapon. Time to run. “Retreat!” He barked, dashing away from the creature, not bothering to check if he’d landed anything. The few remaining soldiers did not question the order, discarding their heavy weapons and opting for speed instead, following their commander. To their great relief, the she-devil did not pursue, instead disappearing into the forest and the morning mist slowly rolling in as the night began to fade.

Hissing in pain, Ahri limped herself to safety higher on the forest-covered slopes. Reaching one of the pristine ponds offering clean water that flowed downwards alongside a tiny river, she crouched down, hissing and staring at her thigh. A crude human made stick had pierced the skin, sinking into her leg. A cruel move by the alpha of the Noxian pack. She wondered why they’d chosen to run, for with her injury, her greatest defense, her speed and agility, had been taken. Knowing what must be done, having witnessed the villagers nearby do similar things after fighting with the noxian packs, she gripped the shaft. Gritting her teeth, the vixen yanked the bolt out, her eyes tearing with pain. Why was it, that humans started leaking water from their eyes when they hurt, she wondered as she ditched the offending stick to a nearby bush. Wiping her tears, annoyed at them, she limped closer to the pond. Ahri would have to wash the wound and rest a few days before she could hunt more foreigners.

[fairlywonderful]

GOT7 Fan-fic. Rec.

 So, since I’ve read like 80% of fics in the Got7 fandom, I though I’d do a fic rec, to help you (potential reader) and so that I finally can have a list of my favorite fics. These are not all the fics I’ve read, just the first ones that came to my mind. Also most of it consist of JJP, but I will add more pairings as I go! This list is not yet complete, I’m working on completing it, it just takes a lot of time to search for these fics. None of these fics are mine, all credits go to the amazing authors! The only things that are mine, are the little reviews after each fic! Good read! :)

M = Mature / Explicit W = Trigger Warning ♡ = fave

                                           !still under editing!

Jaebum / Jinyoung

* M - Anteroom by minhyukie

Summary: How do you act around your ex with your child in the other room? It’s been almost a year and a half, and Jinyoung has yet to figure it out.

Review: soooo goood!! It’s extremely angsty but its so worth it! The growth of the character is portrayed really well, the side characters are awesome and such an important part of everything, I loved it so much! Also kid!yugyeom is always a plus! ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

*M - Jaebum’s Color Theory by pepijr

Summary: Jinyoung is a film studies professor trying to get promoted and Jaebum does his best to help.

Review: Alright, in this one Jaebum is the cutest but dumbest human being. Like he’s really dense but it’s so on point and it’s so lovable it’s unreal. Everything is perfect about this one.♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ 

*M - Meet The Parents by pepijr

Summary: Jinyoung loves Jaebum, and Jaebum loves him back, but a single note makes him question everything.

Review: It’s a continuation of Jaebum’s Color Theory, thank god the author has decided to bless us with more of this universe! It’s still ongoing but it’s just as good as the first one if not better! ♡♡♡♡♡♡

*M - The Park Family Recipe by pepijr

Summary: Jaebum and Jinyoung meet after six years with a lot more baggage than they remember.

Review: Another single dad!Jinyoung au (well kinda, Hyunjin is his little brother but he takes care of him). Jinyoung has a lot of problems but orphan!Jaebum is ready to fight for the family he choose. 

*M - bdsm quiz by okjb

Summary: jjp take a bdsm quiz and come to some interesting self-discoveries

Review: this one is pure smut lol

*M - Nora’s Dairies by pepijr

Summary: In which Nora makes sure that Jinyoung and Jaebum meet in every life.

Review: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

*M - Take All Of Me by fishcake

Summary: It has bothered Jaebum since the day he could comprehend it.

Review: We need more omega!Jaebum in our life. ♡♡

* M - bloom by subsequence

Summary: Jaebum may have learned to accept his role as future king, but accepting this new role — the thought makes him sick to his stomach.If he could have, Jaebum would have chosen any other way to present as an omega.(Or: Omegaverse Arranged Marriage AU featuring Princes!JJP and a cast of loudmouth extras.)

Review: So good???? Like this one is right up my ally, I just fucking love everything about this one. Seriously, do yourself a favor and read it. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* M - Playboy by comingbacktoyou

Summary: Jaebum's intentions are obvious. Jinyoung doesn't get the hint.

Review: HOLY HOLY OH MY. Jaebum is a producer who's desperate for dick, Jinyoung is a new artist acting all prude bUT JUST WAIT FOR IT. Cute Markson in the bg. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* M - The Tiger and the Duke by foxxing

Summary: Im Jaebum is the richest man in the country under forty, content to mess around and skirt the headlines as a cutthroat businessman and casual playboy. Park Jinyoung is a graduated English Literature major, content with (in Jackson's words) his boring life working at a restaurant and writing poetry. When their worlds collide over a spilled cup of coffee, Jinyoung learns there's a lot more to life than the secrets of his past and the safety of library books.

Review: This one is literally a JJP classic. Long af but sooo worth the read. The characters really just grow on you, even if they are dumb af sometimes :( also GREAT SMUT

* M - Wilder by Sugarbowl

Summary: Newly graduated, Jinyoung is determined to try new things. New parties, new boys, and when Mark asks for a favor, even volunteering as a counselor at summer camp. But new experiences can get complicated, and he quickly finds himself a little out of his depth.

Review: Another classic. I live for the sex scene in at the end. Jaebum is confused and doesn't know how to stand up for himself and Jinyoung is jealous af but also kind of insecure. But they make a great pair together :'). ALSO great smut (!), awesome Markson and cute af Yugbam plus a bunch of great Kpop cross overs (!!).

* M - Charade by Sugarbowl

Summary: Jaebum and Jinyoung walk parallel paths in many ways, but Jaebum isn't interested in their intersection. Jaebum struggles to support his young son on his own, while everything seems to come easy for wealthy, charming Jinyoung. But when they're forced to partner for a project, Jaebum finds himself a bit more willing, and much more in need.

Review: Another great fic by Sugarbowl. It's still ongoing but this fic is so beautiful. Both Jaebum's and Jinyoung's feelings are portrayed extremely well and the way they come together is beautiful. Plus kid!Yugyeom is adorable. ♡♡

* M - Citation by KingJackson

Summary: When the one book he needs for an important term paper has to remain in the campus library, Jinyoung catches the eye of Jaebum, a library assistant.

Review: Another classic. Jinyoung is dumb af in this fic, I literally was on the verge of screaming while reading this. But luckily Jaebum is soft af, so everything works out in the end :DD Great smut is always a plus! ♡

* M - Flux by foxxing

Summary: Jinyoung doesn't love him back.

an AU where jaebum and jinyoung have been best friends for their entire lives, and where jaebum has always been irrevocably in love with him but somehow, jinyoung just doesn't seem to get it.

Review: Another fic that makes me scream. LIKE SERIOUSlY WTF. My heart ached so much during this fic :( But as always everything works out but man, this was an emotional ride for me. ♡

* M - Compas Calling by Sugarbowl

Summary: Prince Jinyoung is destined for a lifetime of luxury, until he's shoved in a trunk and accidentally abducted. Im Jaebum clawed his way out of poverty to captain a pirate ship and... not much else, actually. Jinyoung could be his first real treasure, if Jaebum could just figure out how holding someone for ransom actually works.

Review: BEST FUCKING FIC OF THE CENTURY DO YOU HEAR ME I'VE RE-READ THIS ONE SO MANY TIMES IT'S THE BEST OMG ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* M - A certain Romance by foxxing

Summary: By day, he's a top-rated babysitter. By weekends he's an x-rated escort. These things are generally kept separate, until the day his weekend regular gets his phone number by recommendation and calls for an emergency babysitter. The problem is that Jaebum doesn't know that Junior the escort is also Jinyoung the babysitter.

In which Jaebum and Jinyoung know each other in the biblical sense but maybe want to get to know each other, too.

Review: okay this fic is like really hot and kid!yugyeom is back at it with being adorable :')♡♡

* Unless by gotchick

Summary: jaebum had always been mark's best friend, while jinyoung was mark's kid brother. (high school au)

Review: Really cute au, the progress of growing up is portrayed well and realistically. (Spoiler! Honestly I live for the scene where JB throws a pillow on Jinyoung's surprise boner to save him :'DD )

* M - Wildcat by foxxing

Summary: No one really talks about it, but it's a well known secret that Jaebum’s real vice is racing cars. Dangerous and incredibly illegal, street racing is the one thing Jaebum is good at (besides being the nation’s first pain in the ass) and has never been caught for. How he does it, nobody knows: Jaebum's been caught for drugs, for stealing, for fighting, but it seems like the one thing the police can never pin him down for is the one thing he loves the most.

He represents everything that Jinyoung can't stand, and Jinyoung hates him.

Review: this is some A+++++ smut right here. ♡

* W - the grandfather paradox by symmetrophobic

Summary: Jaebum locks himself in a cyclic normalcy of work, home, life, and the two people he now loves most in the world- his husband Jinyoung and six-year-old son Yugyeom. So when a mysterious teenager shows up in his life and messes all that up, to say that he's just a little displeased by the change would be an understatement. But Jaebum soon discovers there's more to this quiet, truthful boy than meets the eye, and knows that he has just about four days to find out why.

Review: Amazing fic, but my heart hurts so bad :(((((((((

* M - Prove it by Got7hearts

Summary: For as long as he can remember Jaebum has always been there, protecting him and taking care of him like the big brother he never had so what happens when Jaebum is pronounced an alpha and Jinyoung an omega and the air between the two suddenly shifts.

Review: Great A/B/O fic and hot af smut!

* Of duchebags and pretty boys by schoetheisrealaf

Summary:  "Dear Dog Biscuit, Since you seem unable to understand the sign that clearly indicates that this parking space is to be exclusively used by the staff of this facility, I’ll kindly explain it to you again: Until you’re an employee of the state who works his ass off for society only to get shit wages and the worst working hours you CAN’T USE THIS PARKING LOT, SO FUCK OFF! Apart from that, have a nice day. PS.: I hope you don’t have sex for a year. :)"

OR

You steal my parking spot all the time and I was just heading out to leave a strongly worded note under your windshield wiper but oh no you're hot AU Starring Jinyoung the kindergarten teacher and Jaebum the (arrogant yet dorky) business man

Review: I JUST LOVE THIS FIC IT'S SO CUTE OK?!?♡♡♡♡♡♡

* M - lagoon by gotchick

Summary: in elegant terms, jaebum is jinyoung's sponsor. in inelegant terms, he's jinyoung's sugar daddy.

* M - Walls of Glass by hakka is_shadow, katamari

Summary: The city's social structure is firm and unyielding--Alphas at the top, Betas in the middle, and Omegas as pliant, broken servants to the Alphas. When Im Jaebum, the heir of an old Alpha family suddenly finds his social position flipped, he's thrown into a world of intrigue, deceit, and as the very unwilling servant to an even more unwilling Park Jinyoung.

Review: OK SO THIS IS LIKE ONE OF THE BEST WRITTEN FIC IN THIS FANDOM. LIKE THE UNIVERSE IS SO WELL MADE AND THE PROGRESS OF JJP RELATIONSHIP MAKES MY HEART SWELL UP WITH LOVE ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* Come Soflty (to Me)  by Sugarbowl

Summary: Jinyoung is new in town, and Jaebum is trouble. 50's AU

* M - Spoor by maledict

Summary: It wasn’t odd, to present so late, but that wasn’t the problem.

Review: I don't like to read canon fics, but this one was a great one.

* an apple a day by moonlikeyou

Summary: Doctor Park Jinyoung, star of Seoul Medical Centre's paediatric department, is used to being treated by nothing less than starry-eyed adoration and respect. So, its no surprise that when Im Jaebum, a surgeon with maddeningly pretty twin moles, kicks him out of "his" operating room, Jinyoung gets a little mad.

Okay, maybe more than a little mad. But it's all Im Jaebum's fault anyway.

Review: DOCTOR!AU. CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* M - Taint Me by Got7hearts

Summary: Jinyoung is seventeen when he falls in love with Jaebum, who is eight years older than him.

Review: Jaebum with piercing. That's it. ♡♡

*M - This Christmas (I'll give you my heart) by schoetheisrealaf

Summary: Jaebum and Jinyoung have a fight at the supermarket in the morning. Jaebum and Jinyoung find out they're arranged to be married in the evening. Jaebum and Jinyoung fall in love, but only in time.

OR

Shouting match over the last Christmas goose at the grocery store AU

Review: This is super cute. Best while listening to Confession. :'3

* M - Smoke and Mirrors by hakkais_shadow

Summary: This was not the birthday present that Im Jaebum was expecting...

Review: Mafia au and hot af smut... ♡♡

* M - I Don't Fucking Care (At All) by wonwoozi

Summary: “Your boyfriend’s hot when he plays.” Jackson mumbles to him as he slips an arm behind Jinyoung, hand finding purchase on the edge of the wooden bartop, his fingers gripping the ribbed edge.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Jinyoung replies instinctively and gives Jackson a routine jab to the ribs. “And that’s my line, by the way.” He adds as his eyes trail over to Mark, sat behind the drumkit with his face trained into a concentrated smirk, smashing every beat perfectly, hair positively dripping with sweat.

“Not my boyfriend either.”

* M - keep me warm by subsequence

Summary: The problem is that Jaebum...isn't a cat. At least, not entirely. God, sometimes Jinyoung wishes it were that easy, wishes he could just leave out a bowl of food and water and maybe get his laptop keyboard used as a napping spot when he was supposed to be working and have a simple owner-pet relationship.Instead, Jinyoung has a romantic entanglement bordering on codependency and the worst case of blue balls he’s ever had.And Mark had said that getting a cat hybrid would be good for his blood pressure. What a joke.

Review: Another amazing work from subsequence. Every time I read the part where Jaebum swats at Jinyoung’s dick, I just can't stop laughing. :’DD♡♡♡♡

*M - Human Nature by cutiepiemarkeu

Summary: Jaebum accidentally summons an incubus and his boyfriend Jinyoung walks in on the two of them almost getting their freak on. Arguments ensue and JJProject are stuck with an incubus they can’t get rid of - but how do they deal with his attractiveness and the overwhelming urge to have sex with him?

Review: This is a 3-some featuring Mark. But the smut is so good, honestly. Really worth the read. ♡♡♡♡♡

Mark / Jackson

* The Prince Who Never Laughed by seitsemannen

Summary: Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, lived a beautiful and kind prince named Mark, who after his mother's loss never laughed again. That was until he met the brightly smiling apprentice of a glassblower, Jackson Wang.

Review: Such a great and quality fic! Honestly, this was such a good read I can only recommend it! ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* Twist by KingJackson

Summary: Mark knows Jinyoung. Jinyoung knows Jackson. Jackson hooks up with Jinyoung who also hooks up with Mark. Mark goes to hook up with Jinyoung and ends up also sleeping with Jackson. Jackson sometimes hooks up with Jaebum, but that isn’t important right now.

And they say romance is dead.

Review: All right so this fic is one hell of a mess, but a mess sent straight from heaven! The main pairing is Markson and Markjin (it's complicated) but there's end game Markson and JJP, plus Jackson is an angel sent from heaven in this one! Don't let the pairing discourage from reading this gem! ♡

* Private Show by Got7hearts

Summary: Mark likes to put on a show and Jackson loves to watch until he's been caught.

Review: A+ smut.

* M - lapis lazuli by gotchick

Summary: in which mark is a businessman and jackson is a fencer.

Review: great fic with rich kinda arrogant but kinda insecure mark plus lots of smut!

* M - Playhouse by seitsemannen

Summary: All sorts of rumours surround the handsome Wang heir and the good-looking servants of his household, but no one seemed to know for sure, as no matter the price, the members were not willing to give the secrets of their Master up.

Mark doesn't care for celebrities or rumours, except the one that says the Wang household pays several times more than the usual servant's salary, so when there's a job opening at the House, he goes for it. In the days and weeks spent at the House, Mark gets to know the members and finds out what of the ludicrous rumours were true and what weren’t. What he did not know to expect, however, is how good friends he would become with the other members of the House, and what’s worse, that he would fall in love with Jackson Wang.

Review: THE BEST. Multiple pairing but mostly Markson. Still ongoing but sooooo worth the read. also, long af. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

* never felt clean, your timing was perfect by jflawless

Summary: i. jackson is five years old when he’s convinced he’s discovered the secret to love. it’s not much of a secret, he thinks, watching his parents exchange blatant “i love you”s only to quietly prove it later in subtle actions.

you like someone. you’re nice to them. they like you too. it’s the simplest thing he’ll ever do, he thinks, falling in love. a lot easier than tying his shoes or adding double digits or reading without his mom there to pronounce the really long words.

Jaebum / Jackson

* Just Smile Again by riots

Summary: Jackson's been lowkey nursing this crush for years, but he never meant for Jaebum to ever find out. Mark and Jinyoung have other ideas. Also, they're terrible friends.

* Face by jibootyjimin

Summary: @defsoul has started following @jiaerwang

--

(or an Instagram au in which famous Chinese rapper Jackson Wang acts like a complete fanboy over idol singer Im Jaebum)

Review: ♡♡

*Secret Little Rendezvous by seikou

Summary: "It's all fun and games until your favorite idol notices you."

(or: Im Jaebum is an Idol and Jackson Wang is a Fanboy.)

Review: ♡♡

* Fluffy Tales by wildandsexy

Summary: Jackson Wang’s Definitive List of Things Im Jaebum, Roommate, Cat Hybrid and Grump Extraordinaire Does and Does Not Like:

DOES LIKE: • Hoodies • The one table on the library’s second floor by the big window (direct sunlight all morning) (it’s basically heaven on Earth) • Nap time (usually at 11am) (and 12pm) (and 1pm) (and 2pm) (and 3pm)…

DOES NOT LIKE: • Waking up • Being awake in general • Not being asleep • Jackson Wang

Jackson Wang's new roommate doesn't even hate him. He 'nothings' him. And that's just something that Jackson can't live with.

Review: SO GOOD SO CUTE JAEBOM IS ADORABLE BUT GRUMPY AND JACKSON IS TRYING HIS BEST ♡♡♡♡♡♡

[alliebruns-blog]

To Live A Life Less Ordinary.....

So here’s something a little bit different. This week there was discussion in the Bad Boy Running group on Facebook about adventures. My pal Lorna posed the following question “On a scale of 1 to 10 how much do the adventure podcasts such as Sean Conway, Anna Mcnuff etc make you feel inadequate?! 10 for me! If you had no responsibilities and could just up and leave for an epic adventure what would you do?” Much discussion ensued over this - head over to the Facebook post to take a look, but something about it really got to me. 

That post.....

For some time now, there has been something not right about how I am living. I haven’t been running as much as I would like - down to a little bit of my mojo being sapped by the Thames Path, the arrival of Pickle the very nervous but totally wonderful rescue dog, and my crippling anxiety about the thing that enables me to run. My job. 

As some of you know I have worked for many years in the music industry, marketing bands and making you buy music you don’t want. Living the glamorous life that you all read about. Parties and festivals and famous people. I am partially responsible for Ed Sheeran. But please don’t hate me (I love him, he’s great). I am so lucky. Or so I was constantly told. 

When we were young - in the years PR (Pre Running)

Two years ago I decided that I didn’t want to do it anymore. Or I thought I didn’t. I was fucked, to be frank. Tired out, abused, taken for granted, under paid, miserable, on the receiving end of some pretty #metoo behaviour.  So I went and started my own business as a freelance marketing consultant. To the music industry. And it’s gone well. I had good clients and the money was coming in. I was making a profit. I was doing things on my terms most of the time and I had time for the running adventures and the money to pay for them. Then I lost my biggest client. My bread and butter. And I haven't been able to replace them as yet. And I don't think I want to. And I have had a lot of time to think and worry. When Lorna posed this question in the group, it came at a time when I had agreed to take part in a reccee of a race across Namibia and then one across Panama in November/December of this year. A reccee that was not only going to cost me about five thousand pounds, but was also going to put me out of work action for 3 weeks. It was OK though - I had my big client and I had money coming in. And then I lost them. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? 

That’s there to be run......the Namib desert

So is that - The Panamanian jungle 

I read through people arguments on Lorna’s post, looking for some answers. Should I cancel the trip? How was I going to afford it? Was I being spectacularly stupid? How was I going to get a client when I had 3 weeks of ‘holiday’? There were a lot of people saying if it wasn't for job/kids/partner etc they would do something epic. Some people even said they wished they could go back in time and get these things done before they had “settled”. I have never settled. I did for a while (the married years pre running) but I never really settled. 

People like to tell you how to live or how you ought to live, especially on the internet. Good education, stable career, pension, husband, wife, children, save, mortgage, sensible, safety, plan. Saving it all up for a rainy day. But what if every day is a rainy day? What if it’s raining from day one and it only stops occasionally to allow a glimpse of sunlight into the otherwise black room of your brain? What if everything that you have been told you want is wrong? What if the things YOU thought you wanted are wrong? What if the thing you love starts to destroy you? Was that part of the plan?

Losing my biggest client was not part of the plan. The plan was long term. I want to make a living from my running. Something that is NOT the done thing. I am told by people that I am inspiring and clever and engaging and funny. I do not necessarily believe this, but the proof is in the pudding and I do know people that have gone out and done their first 10k, marathon, ultra because I have talked them into it - whether that is inspiring or whether I am a good sales person, I don’t know but there it is. I have done some pretty great adventure runs and I love to talk about them, I love to see people finish their first marathon or ultra and I love to be able to help with advice that I believe is contrary to most of the stuff you get from magazines or online. The CEO of The National Running Show recently referred to me as the first of the “Rock and Roll runners” - a description I totally love. Running is my passion. It has changed my life. Even if I don't get out and do it every day like the shiny people on instagram, I am always thinking about it. What sort of races I could do, where I could go and how I can help other people make their races and race companies great. How to makes things accessible and brilliant. how to make people glorious. 

Before I lost my client, I was branching out and doing all the extra curricular I could around running - going out to Mongolia with Rat Race - the ultimate adventure, becoming their only female ambassador, doing the various bits of press etc. Running all the White Star Races, bringing the White Star community into the Bad Boy Running community to make it the most glorious and dangerous group of all time. Working with the National Running Show to secure a partnership with Bad Boy Running, becoming and ambassador for them and being lucky enough to be asked to speak at their event. I was running races most weekend - winning some of them - and triumphing in all my A game races for the year which I am very proud of (SDW100 sub 24 hour, winner  and now course record holder of the TP184 and winning the Ox Epic 2018). Everything I wanted to do with regards to running this year I have achieved, and that to me is amazing. So why have I managed to achieve these things but NOT managed to secure another music client? Maybe it’s because I don't actually want to. Music and me, I think we are finally done. The long drawn out process of splitting up and getting back together is over. 

From when I did a win. 

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, petrified and afraid. I cannot afford Namibia and Panama. I can’t afford the flights or the time off. I have very little money coming in and no savings. I have no 9-5 bread and butter money. I am fucked. So, so fucked. I am going to have to cancel it. And then I thought of Lorna’s post again. I thought about the people that I admire and look up to - the Sean Conway’s and the Anna McNuff’s. I thought about Mongolia and how much that experience can NEVER be taken away from me. I think about my own mantras - see the world through your eyes not your phone. Relentless forward progress. You have more in you. I think about being old and the regrets I may have. I can’t go - I have a dog and I need to make money. I need to be sensible and grown up. I am going to have to email Jim and cancel it. I am going to have to do what society tells me I should do. 

I think about when I am most happy. I think about the Crafty Fox marathon at the weekend and how much I am looking forward to seeing the White Star lot and how much I am looking forward to running. I think about how kind Jim and Rat Race have been to me. I think about how happy I am when I give a talk to a bunch of people that think they could never run a marathon or a 10k or an ultra and how, when some of them email me months later to tell me they have done it, I feel like doing a little cry. I think about my breakdown. I think about the death of my dear friend Scott. I think about my future. I can’t see further than tomorrow. I call my sister, my most wonderful sister, and talk to her. And I make a decision. Based entirely on gut. Based on my sister being spectacularly supportive and kind and talking to me from her heart.

Fuck it. Fuck it all. I know what I want to do. I want to inspire people, I want to live a positive life, and give back the joy running has given me to people. I want to make people believe in themselves. I want to show people they are capable of so much more than they think. I want to write a book. I want to run all over the world. I want to be an extraordinary, ordinary person. And I want to be happy doing it. I don't want to be rich, or famous or the best or the fastest. I want to be the kindest and the most honest and the most accessable. I need money to live, but there has to be a better way. I don't have children. I have Pickle the dog, but she will be well looked after. I have nothing left to lose, and even the tiny bits I do have to lose mean nothing. I want to live a life less ordinary. 

So I am going. I am going to run 300km across the Namib Desert to the Skeleton coast. Then I am going to run 200km across Panama from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast. I will be poor. I will have to move out of London. I want to move out of London, so this is not a problem. I will have to work hard to secure talks and part time work. I will have to scale back my whole life. But I will do it. And I will do it fucking well. 

Normal service will be resumed next week after the inaugural Crafty Fox marathon. Now go and sign up for something extraordinary. 

[acsversace-news]

Pasadena, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/7/18 – THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY, one of the new TV season’s must-sees, was discussed at length by a distinguished panel of executives and talents at the 2018 FX TCA Winter Press Tour taking place on Saturday, January 6th, 2018 at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena.  The nine-episode limited series is set to premiere on Wednesday, January 17th.

Present on the panel were award-winning executive producers Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson along with executive producer Tom Rob Smith, who wrote the series episodes.  Talent included Edgar Ramirez, who plays the starring role of Gianni Versace; Ricky Martin, who plays his long-time lover Antonio D’Amico; and Darren Criss, who plays his killer Andrew Cunanan.  Maureen Orth, author of the book VULGAR FAVORS upon which the series was based, rounded out the panel.

We questioned the term “assassination” since the crime against Versace did not appear to be political in nature or committed for profit, suggesting that “Even though he’s prominent, he’s just one of the people who was unfortunate enough to cross paths with a psychopath.”

Nina Jacobson responded that the rationale for the term had been to contrast killer Andrew Cunanan and victim Gianni Versace as destroyer and creator.  In this analysis, Versace had the talent and work ethic to create from the inside out while Cunanan was an outside in person who wanted fame and fortune without having to work for it.  Versace was authentic and honest whereas Cunanan wasn’t aware of even his own truth and became different people depending upon whom he was with.

Versace’s status as a gay man makes his murder more political.  The way the police handled the crime is testament to this.

Ryan Murphy agreed with Jacobson’s assessment, saying of Cunanan, “This was someone who targeted people specifically to shame them and to out them and to have a form of payback for a life that he felt he could not live.”  Tom Rob Smith added, “Once he [Cunanan] crossed a line and became a killer, he then started to kill to pursue ideas.”

What would we learn about Gianni Versace from the series that they didn’t we didn’t already know?  Edgar Ramirez said that Versace’s intimate family orientation might surprise people who knew of him only from his high-style House of Versace image.  By all accounts, Versace was a rather shy individual who went to bed and woke up rather early!  His demeanor was much more that of a craftsman than a larger-than-life celebrity.

Edgar Ramirez knew series co-stars Ricky Martin and Penelope Cruz, who plays Versace’s flamboyant sister Donatella, before the show was cast.  Martin and Ramirez actually met at an Armani dinner!

All three actors were Ryan Murphy’s first choices and he did not even know they were already friends.  So the Versace “family” was already in place even before the series was filmed!

Why did it seem as if more time was devoted to Cunanan than Versace in the series?  Brad Simpson said that this was because Cunanan was actually a spree killer with a total body count of five.  He killed the people closest to him and then targeted Versace, the most famous fashion designer in America.  The series creators wanted the whole story to be told and Cunanan and his crimes were obviously the common link.

Brad Simpson pointed out that the previous AMERICAN CRIME STORY series about the O.J. Simpson trial had also been an ensemble with O.J. as a supporting actor.  FX decided NOT to use Cunanan’s name in the title of the Versace series so as not to elevate him to a place they didn’t want to put him.

The goals of the Gianni Versace show were very different than the ones for the O.J. Simpson show.  The Versace series focuses much more upon the victims and what was taken from the world when all of them were killed.

Ryan Murphy appreciated that each of the ACS shows would have a different tonality (courtroom potboiler, manhunt thriller, etc.)  He loved that the Versace show did not glamorize the subject matter, but instead revealed the ugliness of the homophobia underlying the murder the way the O.J. series had revealed the ugliness of sexism and racism.

What was the extent of the interaction between Cunanan and Versace prior to the murder?  Maureen Orth said they had met around the time when Versace was designing some costumes for the San Francisco Opera.  Andrew was seen riding around in a white convertible with Gianni and Antonio at least once.  The extent of the relationship, at this point, was not precisely known.

Tom Rob Smith insightfully pointed out that Versace was not just a person, but “looms over the series as a symbol of success.”  Both he and Cunanan were gay and dealt with this in very different ways.

Versace tried to protect himself with his huge fashion empire and all its wealth and power.  He also had the genuinely loving long-term relationship with D’Amico, a much younger mega-handsome model.  All these signs of success unfortunately made him a target for envious and unstable people like Cunanan.

And what about fact vs. fiction in the Versace series?  Of course many of the events had to be reconstructed both in the book VULGAR FAVORS and the television script based upon it.

Darren Criss talked about what it had been like to play a man like Andrew Cunanan.  Criss replied, “Well, it either makes me a good actor or a shitty one!  I can’t decide.”  Criss, best known for his 180-degree different role as Blaine Anderson in FOX’S GLEE, was tapped by Ryan Murphy to play Cunanan after seeing Criss perform on Broadway in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.

Like Cunanan, Criss tried to disassociate himself from certain things while still empathizing to some extent with his subject.  Criss feels sorrow for Versace’s family and friends now that the tragic events of 20 years ago are being brought up again in a “pop cultural affair.”

Maureen Orth added that Andrew Cunanan was often able to charm even people who knew he was an inveterate liar.  He was quite erudite and could capture the interest of older and more sophisticated gay men he wanted as patrons because of it.

Even a killer like Andrew Cunanan, he could not help but become humanized because the viewers spent so much time with him, unlike O.J. Simpson in the previous ACS series.  Brad Simpson said that this was emblematic of a bigger rift in American culture and its fascination with true crime stories.

Tom Rob Smith emphasized that Cunanan had been handsome, brilliant, and very witty and could have had the world at his feet like Versace.  He thought Andrew’s pathology was closer to that of a terrorist than a serial killer.  Not able to create or accept anonymity in society, he chose to rip something down.  In such cases we as a society really need to ask ourselves, “What has gone wrong?”

Maureen Orth and Tom Rob Smith talked about whether anything had come to light since the publication of Maureen’s book about the Andrew Cunanan murders to change their perceptions of this rather enigmatic killer.  Maureen said that her perception basically stayed the same.  Tom said that Andrew “refused to be invisible” by going after an extremely visible person like Versace–and this is still of interest.

Many on the TCA panel were glad that Versace had finally gotten his due as a cultural pioneer.  Better late than never!  Though this is the largest failed manhunt of all time, it remains difficult to find material about it.

There is a sad irony in the fact that Versace had already beaten death once right before he was gunned down.  He built his own brand into a billion-dollar enterprise with style and flair before the age of 50.  To know him is to love him, and viewers will have their chance to do just that for nine weeks after the series launches on January 17th!

[drpaulmacdonaldrnma]

Things You Didn’t Know About Samson

Dr Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl

Samson’s Father Had Major Doubt Issues

In Judges 13, we read of the angel of the Lord who came and visited Samson’s mother, informing her that she would bear a son, despite her barren womb. The angel went on to give her specific instructions for how to raise her son as a Nazirite.

Her husband had such a hard time hearing this news from her that he prayed to God and asked Him to send the an-gel again so he could hear these instructions for himself.

God actually did send the angel again and after the angel re-fused to eat any food they offered; Samson’s parents offered a burnt offering to the Yahweh—as an alternative to preparing a meal for the angel.

After the angel left them by ascending into heaven in the rising flames, Samson’s father thought they had seen God and were therefore “doomed to die.” His wife had to talk some sense back into him, saying “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”

God Actually Condoned Samson’s First Marriage to a Philistine Woman

In Judges 14, Samson declares his desire to take a young Philistine girl as his wife. Despite his parents urging him to reconsider and marry within his own people, he insisted on marrying this Philistine. The Bible actually goes on to say that “His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.”

Samson Took Riddles Way Too Seriously

We’ve all told riddles to people who didn’t understand them. Normally, when asked to explain the riddle, most people will eventually just do it. No big deal, right? Well, not Samson. He took his riddles very seriously. Take this example. One day, on his way to visit the girl he was courting, he was approached by a roaring lion. God allowed him to easily kill this lion, which he tossed aside and went on his merry way.

However, when he was making this journey again, this time on his way to marry the Philistine girl, he noticed the dead lion’s carcass filled with beehives and honey. A normal person would have kept walking at this point, but not Sam-son. He took a bunch of honey, ate some, and gave some to his parents.

At the customary feast with the Philistines later that evening, he proposed a riddle-based bet with them: “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

They agreed and Samson went on: “Out of the eater, some-thing to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”

His new bride’s friends, after being unsuccessful in deciphering Samson’s riddle for several days, approached her and asked her to get the answer from Samson. After begging him for seven, he finally told her, and she in turn, told her Philistine friends. When Samson learned this, he went and “struck down” (which we can assume means killed) 30 Philistines, stripped them, and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle.

So, he didn’t even strike down the people who cheated to learn the answer to his riddle, he struck down 30 OTHER Philistines and actually honored the bet. Even more interesting to consider, the Bible says that “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him” as he went down to strike down these people. It would appear that even though Samson was killing them for seemingly trivial reasons, God gave him the strength to do it.

Samson Took Wedding Drama to a Whole New Level

To make the wedding riddle story even crazier, after all of this was said and done, the Bible says, “Samson’s wife was given [by her father] to one of his companions who had at-tended him at the feast.” When Samson went to visit his wife (apparently, he remained in Israel and she remained with the Philistine’s even after their wedding), her father informed him that he had given her in marriage to somebody else be-cause he assumed Samson hated her by now (see Judges 15:2).

Her father then tries to convince Samson to take her younger sister instead. He even throws Samson’s original wife under the bus by saying her sister is more attractive anyway. “Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

Samson gets so mad at this point that he goes out and catch-es 300 (yes, 300) foxes and ties their tails together in pairs, secures burning torches to their tails, and sets them free to run for their lives in the Philistine’s fields. They took down everything in their path, including vineyards and olive groves.

It’s interesting to note that, unlike in earlier moments of extreme behavior in Samson’s life, nowhere in scripture does it say that the Spirit of God came upon Samson during this time. He did this completely out of his own power and free will.

Not to be outdone, when the Philistines learned that Samson was responsible for their burnt fields, they went and burned his father-in-law and his wife to death.

It’s no surprise that the same person who killed 30 people for cheating to answer a riddle wouldn’t take very well to his wife being killed. Samson vowed at this point, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear I won’t stop until I get my revenge.”

Samson then slaughtered many of them. Remember, all this stemmed from wedding drama. Basically, you won’t like Samson when he’s angry.

The Tribe of Judah Betrayed Samson

Everybody remembers Delilah and how she betrayed Sam-son, but did you realize that it was Samson’s own people who first betrayed him? And after only a brief conversation they had with the Philistines at that.

After the wedding drama, you could say that tensions were pretty high between Judah and Philistia.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that neither group of people were too supportive of Samson at this point in time.

After the Philistines confronted the armies of Judah because of Samson (Judges 15:9), the people of Judah decided to give in to their demands and hand over Samson. Three thousand of the men from Judah went and politely asked Samson if they could capture him and turn him over to the Philistines. Instead of resisting the idea, Samson was ok with it under one condition—that they wouldn’t kill him themselves. After they agreed, he let them tie him up and they delivered him to the Philistines.

So essentially, Samson was the original “Trojan Horse” and the men inside it – all as one person. He ripped through the ropes, grabbed the jawbone of a donkey, and slaughtered a thousand Philistines. One. Thousand. Philistines.

Keep in mind, the men of Judah who delivered Samson to the Philistines weren’t in on this. They thought they were re-ally turning him over to his execution. They probably didn’t expect him to be back home in time for dinner.

Between His Tragic Marriage and His Time With Delilah, Samson Went to a Prostitute

We all remember how at one point in Samson’s story, he tore the doors off the gate of the city of Gaza, but did you know why he was in Gaza in the first place?

According to Judges 16:1, the Bible just says that he went there, but whatever his initial intentions were, he ended up seeing a prostitute instead. You don’t really hear about that part of the story, but usually skip right to the next part of his story.

After the Gazites realized he was there, they planned to kill him at daybreak. Instead, Samson “took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron” (see Judges 16).

Samson’s Patience With Riddles Didn’t Carry Over to More Important Secrets

The Bible says that when Samson started seeing a Philistine woman named Delilah, the Philistines convinced her to try to get him to reveal the secret to his incredible strength. We all know this part of the story. He tells her fake reasons over and over, and over and over she tells the Philistines, who proceed to try to overtake him each time using their newly dis-covered information.

According to Judges 16:16, Delilah prodded Samson with nagging “day after day until he was sick to death of it.” The Bible doesn’t say how long “day after day” was, but if you remember from earlier in the story, Samson was able to withhold the answer to a silly riddle for an entire week. While we don’t know exactly how long he was able to keep this secret from Delilah, “day after day” seems a little short for a life and death matter such as his strength. “Month after month” or even “year after year” might have been more understandable.

Sadly, he eventually gave in, Delilah had his head shaved, and the Philistines captured him. In the end, God gives him his strength back one last time, allowing Samson to topple a large Philistine temple onto three thousand Philistines, a feat that took the life of Samson himself. But as the Bible says, “Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.”

Dr Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl ©

Israel Institute of Biblical Studies