#I think Ellie had more of a reason to win like I’m very worried about her bills

[mangora]

THEY MADE HIM A FUCKING COP

[montrealmadison]

t'étais réel parce qu'il t'aimait

or, “you were real because he loved you”

i work at a place that accepts children’s book donations, so when “the velveteen rabbit” came across my desk the other day, the beginnings of this popped into my head. then the lovely lau at @weneedtotalkaboutfic​ posted this and also this about ftm!bitty and my brain just took off! enjoy <3

“Has her fever gone down?”

Bitty blows out a long breath and twists around to look at the clock, on the off chance that it’ll give him a better answer than the truth—but all it tells him is that it’s 8:07, and he’s exhausted.

“No.” He pins the phone between his cheek and his shoulder so he can dry his hands. “Hasn’t budged all day.”

On the other end, his mama hums sympathetically. “It will, baby. Y’all are doin’ everything right.”

“Thanks,” he sighs, folding the dishtowel over the oven handle. “It’s just—I hate that she’s so uncomfortable.”

Bitty used to think that he’d made his peace with chaos. He’s moved schools, changed sports, reinvented himself half a hundred times. He’s come out on national television and transitioned publicly on the Internet. He’s written a book, is in the process of drafting another. He’s married to one of the most prominent NHL players in the league, for crying out loud.

But sick toddlers, Bitty is learning, are a whole other hockey game.

read more below or on ao3

Thankfully, at least the kitchen routine is muscle memory at this point: pots dried, dishwasher started, dog fed and watered for the night. The mess in here isn’t too bad, all things considered. He checks the lock on the back door and then lets himself sag against the counter, just a little. It’s been a day. A week, really. He's barely slept for the stress of it all.

“Dicky, honey, you sound like you need a break.” He can picture the frown on his mama’s face when she says it. Funny how her voice still feels like a hug from seven states away. “How’s Jack? Is he alright?”

“Mhm,” he says. “Upstairs puttin’ Ellie to bed, bless him.”

“Good. Well, listen, y’all call anytime if you need us, alright? Your daddy and I will be up, we’re goin’ to the Callahans’.”

“Ooh. Save the good gossip for me?”

“You know I will,” Mama promises with a laugh. “Now go on and sit down for me. I love you.”

“Yes, ma’am. Love you too,” Bitty says, almost absently, and flops onto the couch as the line clicks into silence.

He tries to relax—promise, he really does—but he only makes it about five minutes before the worry wins out and he has to get up again. He just can’t sit still today, especially when he hasn’t heard anything from upstairs in so long. He climbs the stairs and starts down the hall towards Giselle’s room, but pauses and peeks around the doorframe at the soft sound of Jack’s voice.

In the dim light, he can just make out Jack’s giant form carefully folded to fit into Ellie’s bed, one foot planted firmly on the floor to keep him balanced. Bitty presses a hand over his mouth, trying to resist the sudden urge to laugh at the sight of his husband trying to fit in a bed made for a toddler. Thankfully, it works, because neither Jack nor Giselle notice him—their daughter’s curled up next to her papa, tired and sleep-soft, with her flushed little face on Jack’s chest and her slow-blinking eyes fixed on the book in his hands.

The dog’s on the floor in here, too, tail thumping away against the carpet. He huffs, looks up at Bitty with big, understanding eyes as if to say: We got it in here.

Which is clearly the case—they’re already in the middle of a story. Jack is reading in soft, measured tones: “And when the Boy dropped off to sleep, the Rabbit would snuggle down close under his little warm chin and dream, with the Boy's hands clasped close round him all night long.”

It's the French translation, but Bitty feels himself melt almost immediately. He’d recognize The Velveteen Rabbit anywhere. It’d been his favorite as a baby, part of the reason his mama had come home one day with Señor Bun, and—well, the rest is Bittle family history. He leans in the doorway, closes his eyes and drifts while Jack reads.

He’s had a lot of time, now, to learn the differences between French Jack and English Jack, and why each language is important to him—especially where teaching his children is concerned. In French, his voice is softer, lilting, expressive in a way that transfixes Giselle and Bitty alike. Bitty himself has fallen asleep to the sound of that voice many times, and is mostly impressed that Ellie can still fight her own exhaustion just to listen a little longer.

Jack turns the page, and Bitty watches as his face and his voice soften with emotion at the next line: “And then, one day, the Boy was ill.”

Oh. Bitty remembers this part well, too—remembers the feeling of his own mama curled around him when he was sick as a kid. Remembers Coach’s shadow in the doorway, his quieter concern, his gentle hand on Bitty’s shoulder. Jack goes on: “But the Rabbit snuggled down patiently, and looked forward to the time when the Boy should be well again, and they would go out in the garden amongst the flowers and the butterflies and play splendid games in the raspberry thicket like they used to.”

Bitty remembers Señor Bun, equally patient, snuggled up under his chin, and has an idea. He backs quietly out of the room and retreats down the hall to their bedroom, where the bunny himself is propped on the pillows, waiting for them to come to bed. Bittly inhales the familiar scent of the fabric, looks into his bright embroidered eyes. He swears they look understanding somehow.

“You ready to work your magic, buddy?” he asks. “Let’s go.”

Jack does notice him this time, eyes crinkling in acknowledgment when he sees Bitty in the doorway. His voice is getting softer now, the words slowing in time with Giselle’s blinks, and Bitty crosses the room to lay Señor Bun in their daughter’s arms.

Neither of them move until they’re sure that Giselle is asleep at last; even then, Jack extracts himself from the bed as quietly as possible, smoothes the covers over her with a feather-light touch. When they meet in the hallway, Jack presses his face into Bitty’s neck. They stand there in the quiet, breathing together, for a long time.

“How is she?” Bitty finally asks.

“Hot,” Jack says, frowning. “I gave her another Tylenol.”

Bitty sighs deep, presses his forehead into Jack’s chest. “Mm, okay. Let’s hope she kicks this soon.”

“She will,” says Jack. “She’s our kid, that’s gotta count for something, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Despite himself, Bitty finds that a smile comes easily enough. It always does with Jack’s reassurance. “Gotta be tough in this family.”

Jack laughs lightly. “Yeah.”

They retreat to their bedroom, turning off lights as they go. Their nighttime routine, too, is as comfortable as breathing now. When Bitty comes back from brushing his teeth, he finds Jack in bed, reading glasses on, still flipping through The Velveteen Rabbit.

“I’m glad you picked that one for her,” says Bitty slowly. “That was my favorite book as a kid.”

Jack turns it over in his hands, looks up at Bitty with warmth in his eyes. “This one?” he asks, smiling. “That explains Señor Bun, eh?”

“Yeah.” Bitty has to swallow around a sudden lump in his throat, and almost immediately finds himself blinking back hot tears. He bites his lip. “Well, and I, um—no, it’s stupid.”

“Bits?” says Jack, concerned. He closes the book and sits up. “Hey, no it’s not. Why else was it important?”

Bitty looks down. “I used to want to be Real,” he says, all in a rush. “Just like the Rabbit. Used to wish there’d be a fairy that would see how unhappy I was, and come and—oh, Lord—”

It’s like a switch flips in his brain; all of a sudden he’s crying in earnest, days of pent-up stress and fear rushing past the floodgates at once. Jack makes a soft sound and holds Bitty close, letting him cry it out, rocking him just a little. His hands are big and warm on Bitty’s back.

“Shh, bud, hey,” he says. “That’s not stupid at all.”

Bitty sniffles and scrubs at his eyes, lets out a burst of slightly hysterical laughter. “I—God. I don’t know what it is, I was looking at you and Ellie and—I don't know, I just wish the person I was when I first read it could see me now. I wish that little kid hadn’t had to go through all the shit I did to get here.”

Jack doesn’t say anything at first, just pulls back a little. Bitty looks up, confused—but Jack’s just reaching behind him to grab the book off his nightstand, flipping through it until he finds the page he wants. Then he puts an arm back around Bitty’s shoulders and pulls him close, kisses his temple.

“Generally,” he reads, in English this time, “by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”

He fixes Bitty with those bottomless blue eyes. "I hope you'll let me keep telling you," he says slowly, "that it all meant something, bud. You made yourself real. You gave us our daughter."

Bitty laughs, watery. "I did."

"You did." Jack kisses him again, soft and full of meaning. "And I promise I'll never stop trying to understand."

[wonniesmile]

❥ playground! (ep. 2)

⤷ ellie’s moments in playground episode 2! (ft. txt <3)

⤷ bulletpoint format!

⤷ after a long wait, episode 2 is finally out! don’t forget to leave suggestions for new fics!!!

“HOW THE HECK DID YOU BEAT ME AGAIN.”

huening and ellie were once again playing on the nintendo, waiting on the others to finish getting ready for the next shoot.

“ellie please. please let me win. just this once...for my dignity.”

the boy gets on the floor and starts bowing.

ellie starts freaking out, obvi.

“NO PLEASE DON’T BOW!”

she’s in a very frantic state at this very moment, no clue why...but, i mean it’s ellie...right?

“what’re you guys playing?”, “oh- um- mario k-”

ellie looks up from her position, DUN DUN DUN.

that was like...really cringe, i’m so sorry.

it was none other than the choi beomgyu. standing. right. in. front. of. her.

“oh- oh my god- uh- h- he- hello!” she musters up a greeting and quickly bows.

“you don’t need to bow ellie! we’re friends!”

oh no, this poor girl’s heart.

if she dies from an early heart attack, it was bcs of choi beomgyu, just giving everyone a heads up! /j

anyways, her face was like BEET red.

from across the room, her members were watching her every move.

sunoo was laughing at how serious the rest of them were.

“can you guys like...idk...calm down? she’s literally fine.”

“i know, but...” (jake)

“but what?” (sunoo)

“oh you know...” (jungwon)

“can ya’ll finish the damn sentence?” (sunoo and jay)

“it’s nothing...” (sunghoon)

“jesus christ, you guys are insane.” (sunoo)

“five minutes!”

ellie’s head shoots up.

“darn it, i almost beat you.”

“not even close huening, ellie is the master.”

her cheeks, once again, burn up.

before she could thank beomgyu, ellie is pulled away by jungwon.

“what the heck wonie?”

“it’s time to go.”

she’s obviously very confused? what was getting into him?

choosing to ignore his attitude, ellie obliges and lets the boy drag her into the studio.

he spoke no words...very odd.

ellie started overthinking...did she do something subconsciously???

“places please!” she massages her temples and goes backstage to wait for her group’s cue.

the episode started with each group dancing on stage.

their instructions were to “have fun!”

she gave it her ALL, messing around...and even getting into a dance battle with riki.

she found it absolutely hilarious, but unfortunately, her face dropped at the sight of jungwon.

obviously, something was bothering him, but she didn’t have the courage to ask...at least not now when everyone seemed to be having fun.

jungwon was not one to show his emotions outwardly, so to a normal person, he seemed like his usual self.

but, ellie knows better, she can read jungwon like the back of her hand...something was up.

she made a mental note to herself to ask him if he was ok after the shoot.

the first game was an absolute BLAST.

they were competing to see which team they would have to play on.

since there was an odd number of people, ellie didn’t have to compete against anyone. instead, she got to choose which team she wanted to be on.

(she secretly enjoyed it)

she looked at the two teams in front of her.

her original plan was to go into the yellow team so both teams would have an equal amount of enhypen members, but she felt iffy about doing so because of jungwon...

she could possibly be overthinking things, but she didn’t want to take any risks.

making eye contact with him one last time, she looks over at the red team and points finger guns at them.

“yay ellie!” beomgyu seemed way more enthusiastic than everyone else.

of course, ellie’s heart rate quickens at the weird observation.

the team name choosing was absolutely wonderful.

beomgyu came up with ‘brave dummies’ and for some reason everyone went with it, not that ellie was complaining because it was REALLY funny.

this episode required a lot more physical activity than the last one, which she had no problem with.

she led her team to victory during the first game with the tubes and ping pong ball.

got picked up by beomgyu hai!

wait wait wait...let me set the scene for you guys because...it was something else.

after winning the race, the 7 teammates all did a group hug, ellie being shoved into the middle while the rest ferociously chanted “ellie! ellie! ellie!”

kinda scary...looked like a cult from the outside lol.

she was so confused.

all of a sudden, a figure picks her up from behind and starts cheering very loudly.

she looked absolutely terrified because she had no. clue. what. was. going. on.

and when this poor girl turns her head back to look at the person carrying her, all bodily organs in her shut down.

her eyes went blurry and suddenly she couldn’t see, her kidneys failed, her limbs detached from her body...it was insane.

jay and sunoo, being the teasers they were, laughed at the look of the flustered girl.

it was...so much.

when beomgyu put her down, she felt her life flash before her eyes.

she still couldn’t believe what just happened, placing a hand on her forehead to see if she was sick??? for some reason.

she literally could NOT think straight after that.

the rest of the episode felt like a blur.

during the flag game, she failed oh so miserably...

“you ok?” jay teasingly asks her.

“leave me alone.” *cue her side eye*

“hehe.” (jay)

she felt so bad for doing so badly during the game, she kept apologizing :’).

“ellie! its ok! none of us did good :)” thank god for yeonjun.

she had to lay her head down onto ni-ki’s shoulders because she felt so defeated.

ni-ki responded by hugging her by the waist.

“don’t worry, i did horrible too.”

she hummed and pouted.

the screaming from the others made her feel a lot better.

“there’s that smile!” sunoo squeezes her cheeks.

the other team won, obviously.

she examined jungwon, he seemed like he was doing a lot better, seeing him enjoy himself was all the reassurance ellie needed.

oh good god...the next game...hahahaha.

it was...hai!

they had a piece of paper in which they had to fit all their teammates on, it was...intense.

she tried standing in the middle of jake and ni-ki, but was pulled by kim sunoo to stand in between him and beomgyu.

she froze up, god...can’t you just act normally ellie? (this was to herself btw ;) )

she tried not to think about the close proximity between her and beomgyu, instead giving her all into the game.

“ellie, it’s alright, step on my foot.” yeonjun tells her.

“are you sure?”

“yes of course.”

she cautiously steps on his foot, making sure not to put too much weight into it.

they got past a good amount of rounds, the last one is where they REALLY struggled.

“i have an idea!”

ellie announces while clapping her hands.

“i think if we put our feet in this pattern...”

she shows what she means by using her own feet as an example.

“it would save space...we can hold onto each other for balance like all the other rounds and our other foot can come up. the foot on the ground will serve as a stabilizer.”

“that’s SUCH a smart idea!” yeonjun smiles at her.

“thanks!”

jake couldn’t resist it...it came as an automatic reflex. he moves his hand around to squeeze her cheeks.

“miss smarty pants saves us yet again!” (jake)

she glares at him and hits his arm.

(there was a slight smile on her face though)

with ellie’s strategy, their team wins yet again!!!

they huddled into a group hug while the other team groaned in defeat.

“ellie should’ve joined our team!” soobin yells.

she giggles.

the final game was a big round of yut nori, which ellie still had NO CLUE how to play.

“do you know how to play?” beomgyu asks her.

“not really?”

“no worries, leave it to us!”

ellie blushes...yk...the usual.

ellie didn’t do much through out the game, following whatever the others told her to do.

by the end of it, you’d think she’d know how to play, right? wrong!

she still, to this day, doesn’t know how to play yut nori :))).

she was sad as the shooting ended, knowing that they probably won’t be able to shoot together with txt for a LONG while.

it was so very fun getting to hang out with her seniors, though beomgyu was a bit too much.

after they said their goodbyes on camera, it was time to say goodbye off camera.

soobin suggested that they make a gc together, to which everyone happily agreed to!

beomgyu asked ellie for her number, which she shouldn’t have though much about considering he was the one making the groupchat for them, but a girl can dream right?

after hugging everyone goodbye, her group moved back into their dressing room.

“i’m exhausted.” sunghoon mentions.

ellie’s eyes did feel heavy.

the 8 of them have been shooting all day and they could all probably agree that what they needed now was a nice long nap.

she moved over to where sunghoon was laying down and tapped the boy to ask him to scoot over so she could lay down as well.

the girl cuddled into sunghoons warmth.

“sooo, you and beomgyu, huh.”

“why? are you jealous?”

“maybe...but you know who is Very jealous right now? and who you should probably talk to bcs he’s definitely upset?”

her eyes widen, finally realizing.

“oh my god, i gotta go.”

she climbs out of sunghoon’s embrace.

“i was comfortable ellie!”

“yeah yeah!”

she runs out the dressing room, frantically searching for jungwon.

she accidentally bumps into beomgyu.

“woah there, where are you going???”

“i’m so sorry! uh- i have to go talk to jungwon about something, i can’t really stay for long...”

beomgyu nods his head and motions for her to go.

she finally finds jungwon at a vending machine, grabbing two drinks.

“yang!”

she finally reaches him and drops her body down to catch her breath.

“i’m so sorry.”

“about what?”

“sunghoon said you were upset with me about something...and i wan- (deep breath) i wanted you to know that no one will ever replace you or any (deep breath) any of the other members (deep breath).”

jungwon stays silent for a bit before chuckling at the sight of the girl’s state.

“oh ellie...” he gently makes her look up by her chin, “don’t worry about it, i knew you would never do that...i just got jealous seeing you blush at beomgyu so much...”

the last part was barely audible, but ellie understood.

she giggles, “i didn’t know mr. yang was the jealous type!”

he glares at her, “whatever.”

she smiles and hugs him by the neck.

“let’s go back, we’re heading home soon.”

ellie pulls jungwon by the hands.

“wait,” he fishes for the two drinks still left in the vending machine, “this is for you.”

it was strawberry milk, her favorite.

“thank you, kind sir.”

the two walked back hand in hand.

“is wonie feeling better~” heeseung teased.

jungwon mocks his face.

“time to head back!” their manager calls out.

“god i cannot wait to sleep.” ellie groans.

“ellie~ can i sleep next to you tonight?” ni-ki pleads with his eyes.

“why not sunoo?”

“he wanted to switch it up today, apparently.” sunoo clings his arms with ellie’s.

“i mean of course you can riki, just promise me you’ll actually sleep and not watch videos all night.” ellie stares at him.

“promise.”

she smiles and hooks her free arm around his.

“now...let’s go home.”

[pcvensies]

Can I request a Leo Valdez imagine pls? Just something fluffy and cute, where he likes you and you like him but you're both too stubborn and clueless to admit to your feelings so you just kinda joke and flirt, nothing serious, meanwhile everyone is like 'omg just kiss already!!'

Thank you <3

Catch the flag.

in which you and Leo like each other, and during a catch the flag game, he gets hurt and you almost end Clarisse 😳

word count: 1420~

trigger warnings: none?? slight angst i guess, happy ending tho

for plot reasons, the reader is one of Persephone’s children (so cabin 40)

im in such a Leo mood lately send help my way ! ✌🏼😔 this is probably not what you wanted BUT i got carried away and i couldn’t stop myself from the angst with happy ending. i hope you like it babes 💙

Catch the flag was everyone’s favorite activity at Camp. You, Annie and Percy had been put on the same team, and your best friend, Leo, was on the other.

You looked at him, your arrow pointing to his chest as Annabeth jumped from the tree you both were hiding on.

“Is this all you’ve got, cielo?”.

Annabeth almost threw up when Leo called you by that petname, tired of this constant flirting you both had going on, but none of you seemed to notice.

It was not a secret for anyone, that you and the boy liked each other.

You, however, ignored his question. Your eyes searched for the flag around the brunette, who Percy had guessed would be around it, because of his fire abilities. If anyone could defend that flag, it had to be Leo. Also, he was way too noisy and giggly to try to make it to your team’s flag without being caught.

“Not here, if that’s what you’re here for”.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Valdez, I just wanted to see that pretty face of yours”, you replied, putting down your bow when Annabeth shook her head.

Leo chuckled, hands intertwined behind his head, and you rolled your eyes at him. But before you could turn around, you felt the pointy end of a sword against your lower back. Your eyes searched for Annabeth, and behind her, Clarisse held another sword.

“See? Told you little Y/n would come to Valdez. Jackson must be behind this, he knows we wouldn’t send Leo to get their flag”, she spoke, and Leo gasped, offended, “But I have an idea to find it”.

Clarisse kicked Annabeth’s leg, and when her knees hit the floor, you turned around, pointing your arrow at her.

“What are you doing, La Rue?”.

She ignored your question, her teammate, an Hermes daughter, looking as confused as you were.

Clarisse always took these activities too seriously, and you feared that she’d harm Annabeth to win, knowing Percy would come to find her.

“Valdez, the flag, is it safe?”, she ignored you, as her sword remained against the blonde’s back.

“Yeah— Yes, of course it is. And only I know where”.

The girl nodded, and she looked at the sky, like watching time pass. Her teammates were looking for the flag, and she had a new strategy to force your team to leave it unprotected.

Leo gave you a look, your bow still up, and you looked back at him, pouting slightly.

He shook his head, and you frowned, pouting again.

You didn’t need to speak to communicate with him, and something inside of his chest warmed at your soft face. He felt the urge to tell you were the flag was, but he knew better than to fuck up Clarisse’s plan.

“Annabeth, Y/n!”, Percy’s voice broke the silence, the dark haired boy followed by Ellis Wakefield, son of Ares.

You could swear Leo looked happy to see him near the flag and you two, even though it meant his team could lose.

“We have the whole team here, look at that!”, Clarisse said, her comment being a hidden attack to the rest of your teammates, “You’re so predictable, Jackson. You don’t see these two for more than two minutes and you forget about your mission… nothing new on you, though”.

Annabeth gave you a look, her eyebrows furrowed, and you turned to look at the son of Poseidon, his expression tense. Clarisse always knew how to piss him off.

“Ellis, find the flag, it’s near. Leo’s face says it all”.

You smiled at Percy, and he gave you a small grin, even though his eyes went back to his girlfriend a second later.

The daughter of Ares smirked, enjoying the fact that she knew how to find all of Percy’s buttons. She twisted a finger around a strand of Annabeth’s hair, yawning.

“It’s exhausting, Jackson, to see you fail at being a leader every single time”.

Leo frowned at her words, stepping closer to you, and you did the same, noticing how tense the situation was getting.

“Can’t even lead your girl to a damn fla—”.

Before Clarisse could finish her sentence, Percy had thrown himself against her, his very limited patience being finally over. Annabeth got up, and tried to pull him away from the girl, but they were throwing punches at each other like their lives depended on it.

“Perce, stop! That’s what she wants!”, you yelled, throwing your bow to a side and beginning to move towards them.

A hand grabbed your wrist, pulling you back, and Leo run to the fight, grabbing the blue eyed boy’s arm, pulling him from Clarisse, not without receiving the last punch and falling to the floor.

“Leo!”, your voice overlapped the girl’s and your friend’s arguing, as you dropped on the floor next to the curly haired boy.

His nose was dripping blood, and you looked at him with worry, before you felt your own start to boil under your skin.

You looked at Clarisse from the floor, the girl laughing at you two, and you got up, arms raising as you did.

You had an ability not all Persephone children had: geokinesis. Under the girl’s feet, the ground opened and closed again, trapping her from waist down.

Clarisse looked at you with anger, which soon turned into slight fear as the ground kept closing around her, squishing her a little at first, then starting to hurt.

But you didn’t care, she had hurt Leo. She had hurt him, right in front of your eyes.

“Y/n that’s enough!”, Annabeth’s voice filled your ears, but you ignored her, anger taking over you.

Clarisse let out a pained groan, as she tried to escape and free herself, but the more she moved, the tighter the ground trapped her.

“Hey, hey!”.

Something inside of you clicked at the sound of Leo’s voice, and the boy put his hand on your cheek, standing now between you and the Ares daughter.

“Y/n, let go of her. You’re hurting her, mi amor, come on”.

There was softness in his voice, and your arms dropped to your sides, a frown appearing in your face as you realised what you had done.

However, before you could apologise, Clarisse had already run away, followed by her brother and the Hermes child. Percy was a few meters away, checking on Annabeth, both of them looking at you with worry, but nodding at Leo and walking away to give you some space.

You groaned, shaking your head, and your eyes met Leo’s. He was still cupping your face, a worried expression on his face.

“Damn, mi amor… That was dark”, he gave you a small smile, whipping the blood from his upper lip with the back of his free hand.

“I— uh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt her, just—“, you struggled to explain it, “She hurt you”.

Leo was nothing but shocked when you said that, and his eyes filled with softness, as he run his thumb over your cheekbone.

“Thank you for defending my honor, cielo… But I am alright, really”.

You nodded slowly, your eyes going from his to his lips in just a second, the proximity of his body to yours, and the situation just lived making your heart beat faster than anytime before.

The brunette looked at your lips too, meeting your eyes once again, but leaning closer this time, and you started to close your eyes, your hands moving to the back of his head.

His breathing caressed your lips, and you got on your tiptoes…

“Y/n, Annabeth! Percy! We have it, we found the fla—“, Kayla Knowles’ voice interrupted you, the flag in her hand.

You pulled away from Leo, both of you nervously clearing your throats, and the daughter of Apollo gasped, her eyes then fixing on the couple behind you and Leo.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and Percy groaned, annoyed.

“Shit, Kayla, we’ve been waiting for this moment for months!”, he complained.

You laughed at his comment, and Leo scratched the back of his head nervously, turning around to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going, Valdez?”, this time it was Annabeth, and Leo grabbed your hand, starting to run away, “Come back here you two! I’ve waited enough already!”.

She seemed pissed off for real, Perce’s laughter muting her scolding. But with your hand in Leo’s, running through the forest, Annie’s anger was the last of your thoughts.

[lara635kookie]

Sweet Elite Main 10 Reaction to a Female Scholar having heterochromia:

Tadashi:

• He would be really fascinated about it

• Scholar's type of heterochromia was really rare

• Her eyes were both blue but her left eye was a really light blue and her right eye was a really dark blue

• He would love it

• But also ask a lot about it

• Because heterochromia can have a lot of reasons

• It can be part of a genetic disease, a tumor or other disorders

• So he would also be worried

• But he would be really relieved when Scholar said it was only genetic and a lot of people of her family had it

• He doesn't like when you use contact lenses

• But if that's really what you want he would respect your decision

• "Your natural eyes are much prettier but if that's what you want..."

• Not that good with feelings but would try to compliment not just your eyes but everything about you

Axel:

• When he discovered he was shocked

• Scholar left eye was green and her right eye was gray

• So he thought it was only green because of the lenses

• He discovered when they weren't dating

• So he had to play it cool

• But on the inside her eyes made his heart beat faster

• Wrote a lot of songs about not only this but everything about Scholar in general

• Songs that she would have to be very slow and very dumb to not realize that they were for her

• When Scholar and him started dating he would also discover that Scholar is really insecure about it

• So he would compliment her about it every single day

• But also would be a little jealous

• On a situation he would be like

• Put arms around Scholar shoulders

• "What's going on, Ax?"

• "Everyone is looking at us"

• "You're a super famous worldwide celebrity, what you expect them to do?"

• "They're looking at you and how pretty you are. I gotta make sure that everyone here knows that I'm yours and you're mine."

Tegan:

• I imagine him having a reaction very similar to Tadashi's

• Scholar left eye was brown and your right eye was blue

• Asks a lot about it

• But he would be more shy

• Always that she smiles he would blush

• Almost everything Scholar does would make him blush

• But he would also don't "care" much about it like

• "It's a part of you that I love but if it wasn't there it wouldn't matter because you would still be you and I would still love you just the way you are anyway"

• Not that good with compliments either but I think better than Tadashi

• But that wouldn't change nothing between you and him

• He doesn't treat you differently of anyone else

• But deep inside he would really love it

• He and Scholar were playing videogames

• And she started to distract him with her eyes and would make him lose

• Scholar would be a cheater but a cheater he loves

Tyler:

• Scholar eyes were also really rare on this one

• Her left eye was amber and her right eye was violet

• He went crazy when discovered it

• Millions of paintings and sculptures about you

• "Why do you always paint me, Ty?"

• "Because you're my Inspiring muse now be quiet"

• Everything Scholar wanted to do and he didn't she would just wink twice and he'd accept anything

• "Being cute it's cheating, it's not fair"

• "That's low blow"

• Would compliment you A LOT

• "You're the prettiest creature in the entire universe"

• "You're a wonder of mother nature"

Alistair:

• Wow

• Just wow

• He discovered it by an accident

• Scholar was also from the Department of Athletics

• Scholar and him were training together

• Then her contact lenses started to drop

• "What's going on?"

• She would take the brown lenses revealing a left black eye and a right pink eye

• Paralyzed with your beauty

• "What?"

• "Nothing I...Just don't feel like training anymore"

• "So what do you wanna do?"

• "That"

• He kisses her

• He already liked you with brown eyes but having discovered your secret and having seen the real you was the incentive he needed to declare himself to you

• Of course Scholar liked him too and then they started dating

Karolina:

• Karolina was always mean to Scholar

• But she always cared about her anyway

• Which always made her confused and eventually made her fall in love with Scholar

• But Karolina always said bad things about Scholar eyes

• So when they started dating Scholar thought Karolina didn't like her eyes at all and used contact lenses

• "What are you doing?"

• "Putting my contact lenses."

• "Why?"

• "Because you don't like my eyes like that"

• Scholar left eye was green and Scholar right eye was blue and Karolina absolutely loved it

• She would feel guilty for having made Scholar feel that way

• She would also be happy for Scholar considering what she says but

• "You shouldn't take what people say about you so easily. If you feel great about your eyes that's what matters."

• "I don't like them that much either so..."

• "I'm s-sorry Scholar. I really like your eyes. They make you just as pretty as me."

• "No one is prettier than Karolina Nováková."

• She would smile and maybe blush a little

• "You're right about that but you're the second prettiest. I mean we weren't named the hottest couple in Arlington for nothing."

• She would kiss her and Scholar would take off the lenses

Ellie:

• The girl would go crazy with Scholar left blue eye and Scholar right green eye

• "You look like an anime character."

• Would start putting references to the color of Scholar's eyes on her robots

• Compliments every five minutes

• "You are so pretty."

• "I'm lucky to have you."

• "I wish I could have eyes like yours."

• Would wear contact lenses to match Scholar

• Maybe she would even paint her hair with Scholar's eye colors

• Colorful Couple

Claire:

• I see Claire being like Tegan and Tadashi

• Worried if it was a health problem

• Once she discovers it isn't she gets relieved

• And also looks into her eyes a lot

• She is shy but always when she compliments Scholar her compliments are the sweetest

• She would blush if you and your eyes and you would blush with her cuteness

• Blushing hard

• Double blushing

• Blushing everywhere

• The two always spend time in Arlington Academy's garden looking for flowers that match Scholar's eyes

• One of Scholar eyes were red and the other one was amber

• So most of the time Scholar chose red roses and yellow roses

• But Claire was going to introduce Scholar to several other red and yellow flowers that she said matched much better

Neha:

• Once she discovered she gave Scholar a small smile

• Her left eye was green and her right eye was blue with a little brown spot

• Because of that was hard to wear clothes that matched her eyes

• Neha took that as a professional challange

• Her designs always matched both of Scholar's eyes and they were awesome

• "You're so talented, Neha."

• "Your beauty gives me inspiration."

• Doesn't compliment much but when she does Scholar always gets happy because she knows her compliments are real

Raquel:

• She would be surprised by your right blue eye and your amber(orange amber) left eye

• "I have the prettiest girlfriend in the world."

• Thinking about Scholar's eyes and her in general always makes her play soccer better

• "My girl is on the audience. I gotta win to show her how amazing I am."

• Wins for Scholar

• Dedicate her best kick of the game to you

• Always looks into your eyes and can't get enough of it

• "Party on my room to celebrate my victory, princess."

• With your eyes color there would be another thousand nicknames like that for you

• But the party was only you and her

• Interpret it however you want

[saeyoungs606]

RFA + Vanderwood, Saeran at the Carnival

This headcanon was written by my dear friend Aimi (@m00nsthet1c) and I hope that you go check out his work after reading this! <3

~

ok but I imagine yoosung being the one to eat heavy food at the foodcourt and throw up afterwards

Jumin would reserve the entire carnival because seven wouldn't stop pleading him for it

zen would be the type of guy to be persistent in winning those target games because he would miss the shot despite him putting so much force into throwing the ball

seven would bring vanderwood to carry all the cotton candy he bought

which was the entire stock

"why the hell would you even need this many?"

"they'll be useful in making my job more efficient ms. vanderwood ^-^"

Jumin would take you onto the ferris wheel because he doesn't like most of the intense rides

rika and V would even join in with you

double dates with rika and v :D

he sadly couldn't bring Elizabeth the 3rd because of V

"I don't think Elizabeth would enjoy a carnival, she might get lost jumin"

"I cannot risk losing Elizabeth the 3rd. Very well then"

takes like 30 mins to say goodbye

and takes another 30 to pry seven off of her

"my precious elly! nooooo!"

even saeran tagged along! He enjoyed the bumpy cars a ton!

he was a bit embarrassed because it was pretty childish for an adult to like the bumpy cars or the teacup rides, but his brother had no shame and went to the rides he enjoyed with no hesitation. Sometimes even bringing you alongside it!

the reason his brother bought all the cotton candy was because he saw saeran staring at the blueberry flavored one

the two of them even bought matching accessories together!

saeyoung wanted his brother to have a remembrance of this time, because they never got to experience it in their childhood days

and seeing his brother eating the cotton candy with a hidden but noticeable smile made his carnival experience more enjoyable

"uhm.. saeyoung, you know I don't need this much-"

"don't worry about it! we can eat it together once we get home :D"

"but.. I don't want diabetes"

"there's always tomorrow!"

there's also one game saeran enjoyed and it was the water gun fight!

he asked you if you'd be willing to join while saeyoung asked yoosung, since it was a 4 player game

you were glad that v recommended you to get spare clothing

yoosung being yoosung forgot and he had to walk with sulked clothes

rika chuckled a bit at yoosung's forgetfulness

and being the best cousin ever she asked jumin to buy him some clothes so he doesn't catch a cold

now yoosung has new comfy clothes!

"aw I want new clothes too!"

seven complained a bit but yoosung being petty just ignored him

rika and v went on more calming rides together! V occasionally taking pictures, but it wasn't just the scenery he was taking a picture of

they had their little personal date out of the others and often walked around the large place, admiring the different booths and occasionally playing some of the games

Jumin tagged along from time to time with them

but he focused more on getting a little gift for his precious Elizabeth 3rd

he got a cute little kitty plushie that looked really similar to elizabeth!

he took awhile to get it from those crane games though-

but he's got the spirit and doesn't mind wasting money only for his precious cat

Zen, and yoosung would be on intense rides like the rollercoasters and the dropper rides (the ones where it suddenly drops you at a random time)

yoosung would be mortified 99% of the time, but would act like it didn't affect him afterwards

some of the rides were too much for him though so he couldn't sugarcoat most of it-

"oh man! you should've seen the look on your face with-"

"shut up you narcissist!"

"HEY! you just can't handle rides that aren't made for little kids!"

"I AM NOT A KID!! I'M A GROWN UP NOW!"

"your scared ass face said otherwise"

"YOU GOT SCARED AS WELL! I SAW IT"

"NO I DID NOT-"

Jaehee is really good at target games and often wins some for zen and even for you because you got impatient with missing the targets

and you or zen try to impress her but inaudibly fail

yoosung would go with rika and v onto those little boat rides :D

vanderwood would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, and he'll definitely never admit to it

despite having to carry a huge bag of cotton candy all around, he enjoyed the rides a ton, especially the rollercoasters

He never really had time or ought to think about being at a carnival, so the experience was very new to him. And he'd definitely try it again in secret so he wouldn't be an outsider maid for the redhead

V would take so many pictures of the sceneries, just everything really

he also took one big photo of all of you in front of the entrance gate

and it's up on rika and v's shared home!

the experience was really amazing! getting to go on a little break all together with the rfa is a good stress relief from party planning

but yoosung throughout most of it just kept puking his guts out, rika holding his hair so it won't get on the way and just rubbing circles onto his back for comfort

meanwhile seven is just laughing with an annoyed vanderwood and a chuckling saeran, eating cotton candy together

the ride home was really chill. kind of

you guys fought over what music to listen to and jumin just concluded to not listening to any at all

saeran kept admiring the little matching keychain his brother got him, only tensing up and hiding it once saeyoung mentioned it out

"you're smiling! aww!!"

when you all got home you guys were exhausted. Especially zen who went on the intense rides the most

vanderwood was forced to stay in by seven, and a little pleading from you as well. And due to being too tired he ended up agreeing just because he didn't wanna drop off the cotton candy at saeyoung's place

tired state? night time? movie night!

you all discussed on one movie that you can all agree in watching, and you all fell asleep like a daylight

everyone except for saeran

he refreshes his memories in the carnival, the amount of joy he had with his brother, and how lucky he was to have such a caring old brother like saeyoung. He wouldn't replace him for anyone

he just wished he could've experienced it at a younger age

[pixieungerstories]

The Captive - 11

George wasn’t used to being surrounded by humans who were smart.  No, that was unkind.  He wasn’t used to humans who were knowledgeable.  He didn’t have any trouble guessing what the augur was doing or what it was they were looking for.  There were a lot of stories about dragon blood having life giving properties.  George sighed, being careful not to steam his tunnel any more than he had to.

The stories were all false, of course.  Or maybe not.  He took care of his treasures and for hundreds of years they had all lived significantly longer than was usual.  He could see how the uneducated could reach that understanding.  This new one, though.  She was not uneducated.  He would need some time to get to know her.

All the more reason he should be keeping her close.  He would have to decide what to do about the boy.  The lad wasn’t one of George’s treasures, but he was starting to feel like it.

That night, after Ben left, George followed Elly upstairs to her apartment.  She glared at him for a moment, but didn’t actually tell him no.  This was progress.

“Do you care for the - for Ben?”

She hesitated on her way to the kitchen.  “Yeah, I mean I guess.”

“Do you desire him?”

“Whoa!  That’s inappropriate.  Ben works for me!  Well, at least with me.  Um, dating would be messy when we broke up and he was still in my space everyday.”

George hummed for a moment, thinking that over.  “You didn’t actually answer the question, treasure.”

Elly turned and snarled at him.  “It doesn’t matter!  Whether I feel nothing or I spend six hours a day with a vibrator between my legs, it doesn’t matter.  I’m going to live here the rest of my life and die another old maid sacrificed to you.”

George stared at her in shock.  Elly felt the anger drain away.  “I’m -” she started to apologize.

“What’s a vibrator?” George asked, curious.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

George tilted his head slightly, eyes still watching her.

“Really?”

“I honestly don’t understand, Elly.  There are many things I don’t want to tell you that I have nonetheless explained so that you can understand.”

Elly muttered to herself. George watched as she gave herself a pep talk under her breath.  “A vibrator is a machine designed to give sexual pleasure.  Usually for women, but sex toys have equal opportunity designers these days.”

“Huh.  Does it hum?  I couldn’t figure out where the humming was coming from up here but -”

“Can we stop talking about this?  Please!”

George shrugged.  “I don’t think Ina had -” he looked at Elly’s face and stopped.  “This is really very uncomfortable for you, isn’t it?”

Groaning Elly, flopped onto one of the sofas.  Then snorted as she realized it was a conveniently placed fainting couch.  “I’m not a virgin.  I had been dating a guy for three years when Ina died. I like sex.  He was good at sex.  He didn’t want to marry me and now I have here.  Discussing my lack of sex life with a dragon.  How is that my life?”

George was frowning at her.  “I am condemned to live out my days hiding in a basement.  How is that my life?”  

Elly stopped to stare at him again.  “I didn’t ever ... But dragons … I don’t know a tactful way to say this but we are way past that now.  What’s your sex life like, George?”

“Nonexistent.  The idea behind this arrangement was that the women I was sent would keep me company.  Ina was content to lock me in the basement.  You are having sex with a machine and have Ben as a back up -”

“Hey!  I didn’t say -”

“And I am facing another fifty years alone hoping that the next one of you who turns up will be able to spend more than a few hours with me before she has to leave.”

“Wait.  You are being hunted by an augur.  How did we end up talking about our lack of sex lives?”

George sat back on his hind legs, and watched her for a while.  “Because I desire you.  And I don’t hate Ben.  It would be safer for him to stay here, but I’m not happy dividing your attention even further.  I am trying not to be completely selfish here, but I am not happy being celibate.  Except that if you desire him, then I don’t have a chance to win your affection.”

“Jesus Christ, you are serious!”

George narrowed his eyes and growled, “Yes.”

“How would that even work?”

Now he smirked, “Would you like me to demonstrate?  I too am very good at sex.”

Elly narrowed her eyes and glared at him.  “Lizard sex is very different from mammal sex.”

George was still watching her.  “I’m not a lizard, and I can do things with my tongue,” he said, flicking it at her.  He was pleased when that made her blush.  “You have nothing to fear from me, treasure.  I am not going to do anything to hurt you.  I learned better than that a thousand years ago.”

----

Elly was dreaming about Jeremey.  He had her knees up to her chest and was thrusting hard and deep in the way that was going to make her legs start shaking at any moment.

Then the pressure on her chest started to purr and she woke up to realize it was the cat.

“Fuck.”  Elly moved the cat off the bed and leaned over to open the drawer on her night stand.  She froze as she remembered George could hear her.  The kitten jumped up on the nightstand to strop against her outstretched hand.  Elly flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

She could feel the presence in the room.

Then something George had said came back to her.  She jumped out of bed and stormed down the stairs, kitten trailing after her.  She threw open the door to the cellar and shouted, “What do you mean he would be safer here?”

She could see George’s eyes glowing faintly in the dark.  She would have turned back but the kitten half ran, half tumbled down the stairs.

“You smell delicious, Elly.”

“Just answer the question, damn it!”

George yawned, and lit the tiny lamp on the table.  “If someone is trying to get to me, the only people close enough to me are you and the boy.  Easiest way to me, is through you.”

“Oh.”

“Off to play with your toys now?  It’s a shame, I am certainly better at post coital cuddles that a machine.”

“George?  It feels like there is someone watching me when I’m alone in my apartment.”

“Don’t worry about that.  This house may not be old, but the property is.  It has more than a few ghosts.  None of them are malicious, merely curious.”

Elly stared into the basement at the dragon who was watching her.  She didn’t believe in ghosts, but most people didn’t believe in dragons so she had to admit there was a chance she could be wrong.

Nyx had climbed onto George’s shoulder and was purring madly.  It was hard to look at that and see him as threatening.

“Tell me about the women who lived here before Ina.”

“Come downstairs and listen.”

Elly curled up in the leather armchair and listened as George told her about his first love, Silene. 

[tvandenneagram]

Grey’s Anatomy: Meredith Grey - Type 9w1

Meredith is compassionate, detached and introverted. She has spent her life living in the shadow of her mother’s medical legacy and wants to become an extraordinary surgeon in her own right.

At her best, Meredith becomes more content and positive in her identity as a surgeon and personal life. She starts to believe she is worthy of happiness and success and pushes herself to have these things. She accepts that she can have a stable relationship with Derek and they start their own family while she is still becoming a prominent surgeon.

At her worst, Meredith becomes very closed off and thinks of the worst case scenario. She starts to have doubt and thinks that she is not important or worthy. However, she doesn’t want to burden others and pushes away her friends and Derek. This can be seen when she interacts with Ellis and she feels like a small child again, even acting out in depressive ways that Derek becomes concerned about.

Meredith finally feels like she has found a person who understands her and what she wants in life, when she meets Cristina. The two become inseparable and are each other’s “person”. It is with Cristina that Meredith truly acts like herself and shares her worries and successes. Generally Meredith is very private and reluctant to share her feelings which is similar to how Cristina is, but together they sense a kindred spirit and are able to be real towards each other and supportive no matter what. When Meredith’s old friend Sadie returns it can be seen that she took many of the traits that she exhibited and was more fun loving and reckless when interacting with Sadie at a young age. However, it is clear that she has outgrown that period of her life and her friendship with Yang is more true to her character and she is able to show her real personality.

Meredith grows a lot in her relationship with Derek and two end up married. They begin as a one night stand and Meredith is reluctant to go any deeper but as they spend time together she starts to see that they are soulmates. She has a tendency of feeling inadequate and wants to find a way to be truly seen as she feels overlooked by Ellis and her grand reputation. With Derek she feels special, and like he accepts her for all her good and bad traits. She sees that he is willing to stand by her and even when she is depressed and unhappy wants to be her partner and support her. Finally she becomes secure and comfortable in a relationship to express herself as she is rather than what she thinks people want her to be.

Meredith has a wing 1 as she is very detached from her emotions and more reserved than a wing 8 would tend to be.

Tri-type: 9w1 - 4w3 - 6w5

Some quotes to describe Meredith’s motivations:

"I wore a lot of black. Had the whole angry pink hair thing going on. Wouldn't have been caught dead at prom."

“Derek is the love of my life, but you're my soulmate.”

“The Game. They say a person either has what it takes to play, or they don't. My mother was one of the greats. Me on the other hand... I'm kinda screwed. I can't think of any one reason why I'd want to be a surgeon. But I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose. There are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game. And you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit, but here's the thing … I love the playing field.”

“Okay, here it is, your choice … it's simple. Her or me, and I'm sure she is really great. But Derek, I love you, in a really, really big pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me.”

“Even now I believe for the most part, love is about choices. It's about putting down the poison and the dagger and making your own happy ending, most of the time, and that sometimes despite all your best choices and all your best intentions, fate wins anyway.”

“Just like we need food and water, humans need each other. A brain study revealed that when placed in an MRI, a patient's reward center lit up when another person sat in the room. Neurons fire when talk to someone, think about someone, and they go haywire when we hold someone's hand. Our brains and bodies are actually programmed to seek each other out and connect. So then why do so many people prefer being alone? Why do we often run for the hills when we feel the slightest connection? Why we do we feel compelled to fight what we're hardwired to do? Maybe it's because when we find someone or something to hold on to, that feeling becomes like air. And we're terrified we're going to lose it. And trust me, you can get pretty good at the alone thing. But most things are better when they're shared with someone else.”

“At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That's how we're made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines … that are way too dangerous to cross.”

[trissmarrygoals]

the train room

Here is my secret Santa gift for @knightryder24!  I hope you like it, my mom is a librarian so of course I had to jump on that idea.  This was written for @thewitchersecretsanta, thank you so much for getting this together.  This will be posted on AO3 at some point, so check it out there as well

Warnings: None

The library is quiet at this time of day.  If Geralt is being honest, the library is quiet most times of the day, but he chooses not to dwell on that.  Sure, they have some of the lowest patronage in the system, but they’re also in a dying town with no open businesses aside from the bank.

The quiet seeps into every part of the building, seeming to infect his staff and volunteers.  He’s put Dara, his daughter Ciri’s friend and a reliable volunteer despite being fourteen, to work pulling holds, and Priscilla and Triss are busy at their computers, probably not doing work.  He doesn’t blame them.  He isn’t really doing anything either, just watching over his little library.

He’s been director here for five months, and it hasn’t been easy.  To survive, the library needs to change, and this small Kaedweni town is nothing if not reluctant to change.  He’s the only one of his staff who currently has a masters, although Triss is putting herself through library school. “Someone should be coming about the train room today.”

He spins around.  He’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed Triss leave her desk and come up behind him.  “Hmm.”

The train room is one of his projects - or it’s going to be, once he’s buttered the board up enough.  Which might take a while, considering he’s socially awkward and prone to underspeaking, but he’ll make it work.  He suspects Calanthe, the frankly terrifying head of the board, thinks of him as crazy in an amusing way, which is a start.

“You won’t have to do anything besides unlocking the back for them,” Triss assures him.  “It’ll probably be Letho, you’ve met him before.”

He appreciates Triss - saying that she keeps him mostly sane at this job wouldn’t be an exaggeration - but he hates the feeling of being handled.  “It’ll be fine, whoever it is.”  She just grins in response.

“Do you know where the key is?”

He doesn’t.

--

He’s not sure what he’s expecting from a firefighter, but it’s definitely not a man his own age in a blue cable knit sweater that brings out his eyes.  The kid looks like all of Geralt’s friends from library school, mashed into one.  Geralt always felt out of place at library school.

He introduces himself as Jaskier.  He’s bright and bubbly and Geralt isn’t sure entirely how to handle him.  Because he doesn’t just take the key from Geralt, oh no.  He clearly wants to talk.

“I heard you’re trying to move our train room!” He says cheerily.  Geralt’s stomach sinks.  He didn’t realize the firefighters had heard about that.  He can’t afford to alienate them.  Jaskier must realize, because he laughs.  “Don’t worry, I think it’s a good idea.  Don’t tell the other firefighters I said that, though.” Geralt relaxes a little, but not all the way.  He rarely relaxes all the way these days.  Or maybe ever.

“Do you want to come in?” Jaskier asks with a bright smile that makes something in Geralt do a flip.  “I can give you the official tour.”

“I’ve been in there.”  Geralt pointedly doesn’t bring up the time he was in there alone and one of the train whistles went off because it was definitely nothing and hadn’t scared him at all.  He does watch Jaskier go in, though.  Not like that, the way people joke about watching people walk away, because Geralt is wildly asexual and doesn’t really get the whole butt thing.  But he appreciates the silhouette of Jaskier in the dark room, the way he moves, the lines of his body.  He’s a beautiful thing.

And suddenly, Geralt knows he’s fucked.

--

The train room opens after Thanksgiving.  Suddenly, Geralt’s little library is flooded with people, none of whom are here for books.  He tries not to be bitter, but as much as he worries about their circulation numbers, he finds he prefers the library quiet.  He likes having it to himself.

There are always firefighters watching the door, welcoming people in.  Geralt’s pretty sure they bro around in the back - the previous director told him tales of them using a grill in the train room, but he’s not sure if there’s truth to it.

He definitely doesn’t hang around to see if he can see Jaskier.  Not at all, not even a little bit, even though Triss definitely notices.  She keeps giving him Looks, which Geralt ignores because nothing is going on.

Except every time Jaskier is there, he always seems to make a point to talk to Geralt.  He’s happy and chipper, but Geralt tries not to read anything into it.  Why would someone like Jaskier be interested in a dour library director?

"You have a daughter, right?" Jaskier asks one day.  "You should bring her by!"

Geralt almost points out that Ciri is fourteen and likely to consider a train room little kid stuff (not to mention that she's heard Geralt ranting about it for the past few months) when Jaskier says, "I'd love to meet her!"

It would, Geralt thinks, probably be good for the library director to be seen engaging in a town tradition, especially since most residents seem to consider him very much an outsider.  Yeah.  He'll drag Ciri along, and maybe Yennefer, for the image.  Or maybe not Yennefer - when they go out in public people tend to make assumptions, and he doesn't want - he doesn't want <i>the town</i> getting the wrong idea.

"We'll be there," he says gruffly, before returning to the shelter of the circulation desk.

--

They go the next weekend.  Ciri is less resistant than expected, mostly because she sees it as an opportunity to engage in her favorite holiday pastime, forcing her dad to engage in "festive" activities and then laughing at him.  In a stunning display of hypocrisy, she also mocks him for the rare times he gets too into the season's spirit (he and his brothers admittedly get intense about tree selection).  Teenagers.  You can't win.

They pull up at the library in Yennefer’s Prius (Geralt’s truck has, yet again, broken down) and Ciri doesn’t wait for him before throwing open the car door and running for the library steps.  The line of people has snaked out the door, and Geralt shudders at how much heating is going to cost this month.

Standing in line is never pleasant, but Geralt and Ciri have a time honored tradition of games to play while doing so - quietly deciding which of their linemates are secretly monsters.  Before long, they’re through the big glass doors, standing in the warm lobby.  Ciri takes her mittens off and shoves them in her coat pocket.

There’s hot chocolate set up in the corner, and Geralt is surprised to see a few people looking through the permanent book sale as they wait.  Without really meaning to, he strains to see Jaskier, but the hallway is blocked with people in bulky coats.

Ciri sees him looking.  “Expecting someone?  Scoping out the competition?”  She’s been thoroughly filled in on Geralt’s plans of conquest.

“Yeah, sure.” He tells her, distracted.  One of the mittens is falling out of her coat pocket, so he takes it out and puts it in the opposite pocket.  She pouts.

“Don’t dad at me in public!”

“But we’re in public, and I’m your dad,” he tells her, deadpan, and she groans.

There’s a soft chuckle from behind them, and Geralt turns to see Jaskier.  He’s wearing a jauntily bent santa hat and a cable sweater with trains on the front, and Geralt gets the sudden and deep urge to hug him.

“Hi, Geralt,” he says, sounding strangely breathless.  “I wasn’t sure you’d show up.”

“It’s uh.  It’s good for the library,” Geralt says, and fuck.  If he’s falling over his words like this that means it’s worse than he thought.  Luckily, Jaskier doesn’t call him out on it and turns to Ciri instead.

“You must be Cirilla.”

“Ciri,” she says, sticking out her hand for a firm handshake, the way Yennefer taught her.

“Ciri,” he agrees.  “Thanks for coming with your dad today.”

“Oh, I couldn’t let him go on his own,” Ciri says with a sly grin.  “He gets lonely.”

“I’m right here,” Geralt grumbles, but they ignore him, moving towards the train room and chatting like they’re old friends.

The train room, Geralt will admit, is a lot more impressive when it’s all set up and the lights are on.  All the firefighters he sees give him cheery smiles, so he must not be too on their bad side.  That or they’re all very good actors.

--

Christmas comes and goes.  Geralt and Ciri spend the morning together, before heading to Vesemir and his husband Ellis’ house for dinner.  Yennefer joins them, and at Geralt’s invitation, Triss drops in.  Geralt has a sneaking suspicion the two of them hit it off.

It doesn’t snow on Christmas, but it snows the day Geralt goes back to the library.  As a part time employee, he got a slightly better holiday deal than most of his employees.  To his surprise, the little building seems to echo without the throngs of people.

It doesn’t change his mind about wanting that space, though.

But he does miss something, and it doesn’t take him a long time to realize it’s Jaskier.  As he shovels yet more snow off the library stairs and ramp, he finds himself thinking about their talks when the train room had been open.  As he weeds in the stacks, he thinks about the easy way he’d conversed with Ciri.  As he searches desperately in the circ desk for the book drop key, he thinks of how Jaskier would smile at the story.

Triss and Yennefer go to see a movie together.  Triss, for reasons Geralt doesn’t want to think about, avoids telling him the details, but Yennefer suddenly starts volunteering at the library.

The thing is that Geralt could find Jaskier.  If he wanted to be wildly unethical, he could look up his phone number in the system, but that thought barely crosses his mind before he dismisses it.  But he could ask around.  He doesn’t think Jaskier would mind if he asked the fire chief to pass along a message.  He doesn’t, though, for a multitude of reasons, all of which boil down to the fact that Jaskier deserves a better relationship than Geralt can give him.

When it comes down to it, Geralt’s good at people, but he’s not good at relationships.  He’s not even really good at friendships outside of Yenn (and Borch, and Zoltan, and Milva, and maybe Triss).  When he’s hurt, he emotionally pillbugs - pulls all the soft parts inside, leaving only the shell.  He’s working on it, but it’s still his go to reaction.

So he doesn’t do anything, and when he lets himself daydream at all, he thinks about next Christmas.

--

Jaskier shows up on a Wednesday.  It’s late January, and the snow has all melted except for dirty gray lumps where the plows piled it up.  Geralt is in his office, head full of book orders, and Triss knocks on the door.  “Someone’s here to see you,” She says.

Jaskier is standing behind her, looking nervous.  “Is it okay if I come in the office?”

“Yeah,” Geralt says, slightly stunned.

“So I was thinking,” Jaskier says.  “About your idea about the train room.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  And I want to help you with it.”

Geralt looks at him, taking him all in.  Then he says, “I think.  I think we should go to the Poppy for lunch this weekend.  To talk about the train room.”

Jaskier grins.  “Just to talk about the train room?”

“Maybe not just that,” Geralt says, smiling back.

[the-sword-lesbian]

This War of Mine

Kate sat on the couch in the living room gently thumbing through a new book she’d picked up today. One of the joys of working on her own schedule was that she had plenty of free time to check out a tea shop or a new bookstore if she wanted. This one had caught her eye on the discount shelf, some sort of alternate retelling of Alice in Wonderland. She had to admit, she was enjoying it so far. She heard the garage door close and looked up to see her wife walking in looking tired.

She smiled at Victoria, “Hey Tori. Long day?” 

Instead of answering, the tall woman just dropped her purse and coat on the floor before kicking off her heels and crawling onto the couch to rest her head in Kate’s lap.

Kate started to sense something was wrong so she closed her book and started carding her fingers through her wife’s hair. “Honey are you okay? Rough day at work?”

Victoria just sighed “I haven't been at work.”

“Well then whe-”

“I just spent the last five hours at my lawyer’s office.” she interrupted.

“Wait what?” Kate was now very concerned. “Tori what’s wrong? What happened?”

She didn’t respond for a moment then after a while she exhaled a long sigh and said, “My parents are suing me.”

“WHAT?!” Kate already deeply disliked her inlaws, for numerous justifiable reasons. But the fact that they were still trying to control their daughter's life even at the age of forty-two just made her blood boil. “Why?? For what possible rea-” a terrifying thought struck her and she turned her wife’s head to look her in the eyes. “Tori… it's not…”

“It’s not about the girls.” she said, beleaguered green eyes staring up at her.

Kate breathed a sigh of relief, thinking back to the heart-wrenching six weeks they spent five years ago when Victoria’s parents tried to take custody of her children under some deeply misguided notion of ‘protecting their legacy’. That she and Victoria were somehow corrupting their children by supporting Maddie and letting her be her truest self. She looked back down at her wife. “So then… what do they want?”

Victoria looked up at Kate staring deep into those loving hazel eyes. “They’re trying to sue me for licensing of the name ‘Chase’… Because of the galleries.”

Kate just stared down at her wife in disbelief. “That’s… completely ridiculous.”

“I know”

“Then why are they doing it?” Kate asked, still stunned at the absolute shamelessness of Victoria’s parents that they would try to take her to court over her name of all things. “They can’t seriously think they’ll win can they?”

The taller woman closed her eyes and curled further into her wife’s lap. “Jealousy probably? I've been doing leagues better than them for a while now.” Victoria sighed again as Kate continued running her fingers through her wife's short blonde hair. “And as far as if they think they can win? At this point I think they’re just grasping at straws.”

“Are you worried?” Kate asked

“A little. I think.” her voice came out so small, none of that haughty self-assuredness that she wore like armor everyday. “But John and the others assure me they can’t win. That their entire campaign boils down to baseless attacks and money-grubbing. He said any judge will see right through them.”

Kate opened her mouth to respond but Victoria continued.

“Still though…” She paused for a bit in thought and Kate could tell she was nearing tears. “I thought I was done with them. After last time and the restraining order, I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore.”

“Shhh Tori.” She reached down and wrapped her arms around her wife despite the awkward angle. “We’ll keep fighting them as long as we have to. And I’ll be there to support you every step of the way.”

Victoria squeezed her eyes shut to fight back the tears and wrapped her arms around the shorter woman’s waist. “I love you so much Katie.”

Kate pressed a kiss to Victoria’s head. “I love you too Tori.”

After a while Victoria reached up to wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater “Sorry for missing dinner.”

Kate chuckled. “You didn’t miss much. It was just me and Ellie. She’s out in the hammock doing some reading for school.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow and snickered. “She’s outside? It’s raining.”

She shrugged. “She’s under the porch, plus she likes the rain.”

“I guess.” Victoria conceded, then after a moment. “But then wait, where’s Maddie?”

Kate grinned conspiratorially, like she was reveling in a secret she wanted to hide. “She’s on a date.”

Victoria narrowed her eyes. “What’s his name? Where did she meet him?”

“Her name is Ameera.” She tried not to laugh at the deer in the headlights look her wife was giving to her. “And she’s on the soccer team with Ellie.”

The taller woman just laid there stunned looking up at her wife, blinking occasionally. “O-kay…” after a bit more blinking she spoke again. “Katie you’re going to have to clarify for me how our daughter Madeline, the most boy-crazy person I have ever met, is on a date, with a girl.”

This time Kate did laugh. “Apparently she made a very compelling case for herself, or so I’m told.”

“...and?”

Kate laughed again. “Oh I don’t know Tori, I found out second hand from Ellie. Something about she thought Maddie was very pretty and talented, and she new she’d only ever dated boys but she wanted to ask her anyway to see what Maddie thought, and if at the end of it she decided she wasn’t interested then no hard feelings and they could be friends instead.”

Victoria sat there for a minute, processing all that. “Huh… Well, I have to admire the girl for trying. I wonder how it’s going.”

“Well I don’t think you’ll have to wait long to ask.” Kate said, looking up. “I see headlights in the driveway.”

Victoria joined her wife in staring at the front door. While they watched a pair of silhouettes walk up the stairs, stand there for a second, lean in together, and then one leave and the headlights drive away before the front door unlocked and their daughter walked in with a smile on and noticed the both of them staring.

“Uhh…” She started after a second. “Hi moms?”

They both responded at once.

“Soooo?” “How was your date?”

The teen giggled. “Nosey much?”

Victoria scoffed, “We’re your mothers, it’s our job.” 

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Well if you haaaaaaave to know. It was a perfectly nice date, we walked in the park for a bit until it started raining and then she took me to dinner at this greek place then drove me home.”

Kate replied. “So? What do you think? Potential for a second date?”

The young girl sat on the seat across from them, eyes in her lap, and thought to herself for a moment before responding. “I don’t think so. It was a good time, and she’s really sweet, but I don’t think I’m interested in girls in that way.”

Victoria narrowed her eyes and grinned, “But you did kiss her...”

Maddie looked up at her mother, wide-eyed with a blush cascading down her cheeks. “Oh my gosh. Mama!”

Victoria snickered at that. “That isn’t a ‘no’ Madeline Chase. Plus the front door is glass, kind of hard to miss that.”

The teen was well and truly flustered, stuttering out a reply. “I-I gave her a goodnight kiss. On the CHEEK. Because she deserved it for taking me out on a wonderful date.”

Her mother smiled at her. “I’m sorry Maddie, I’m just teasing you. I’m glad you had a nice night.”

Maddie crossed her arms and turned her head away in a faux pout before seeing Victoria’s coat and bag on the floor and not hung up and put away as she was normally so fastidious about doing. “Mama?” She looked back towards her mother with concern. “Is everything okay?

Victoria gave her a soft smile. “Everything’s fine honey. Just a long day at work.” She hoped it sounded more convincing than it felt.

“Okay.” she said seemingly appeased. “Is Ellie home?”

Kate nodded towards the porch. “She’s out back.”

Maddie smiled at her mothers before she hopped up and practically skipped over to the back door, going to join her sister in the oversized hammock.

Kate looked down at her wife. “You’re not going to tell her?”

Victoria exhaled a long breath. “No. My parents have caused her enough stress to last a lifetime. I can handle this without her or Ellie having to worry.” She reached her hand up to softly touch Kate’s cheek. “Plus… I know I can lean on you when things get hard.”

Kate smiled at her before leaning down to press their lips together. “Always.”

[askaceattorney]

Dear askrikkaiandhyotei,

The...entire cast!?

Well, Turnabout Time Traveler happens to be favorite case anyway, so why not?

Our first guest is the crooked head servant, Mr. Dumas Gloomsbury.  (Might as well get him out of the way first.)

Of course he isn’t.  He’s just a disgruntled servant of the Sprocket family who secretly hates them all for what they’ve done to his reputation, even to the point of being willing to murder someone who would become the newest addition to the family, as well as destroying a prized possession designed by her groom-to-be.

So..........yeah.  Very likable guy.  Thankfully, he’s only on the scene for a brief moment before the titular “time travel” occurs.

That brings us to our next guest, Ms. Ellen Wyatt, soon to be Mrs. Ellen Sprocket, except for the fact that she’s been accused of murder.  Like most defendants, she doesn’t seem like the type to kill someone -- she’s calm, mild-mannered, and well put together.  Well...usually.

You didn’t expect 100% normalcy in a new character, did you?  Heck, we’re lucky to get 50% in this series.  Thankfully, the emotional Ms. Wyatt knows how to pull herself together in an instant.

Quite the enviable skill to have, isn’t it?

This beautiful bride-to-be wants nothing more than to be proven innocent so that she can be married to the one and only Sorin Sprocket of Sprocket Aviation.  Instead of seeking help from the Wright Anything Agency on her own, however, she’s brought to them by someone else.

That brings us to an unexpected guest from yesteryear (and an uninvited one):

Before getting to know Ellen, we’re abruptly introduced to a brand new Larry Butz with a brand new look!  ...And the same old smell, unfortunately.

He introduces “Elly” as his brand new fiance, much to Phoenix’s surprise (and everyone in the known universe’s), but it turns out to be another one of his usual romantic escapades.  What is true is that he helped his beloved Elly escape the room she was confined in, and even shook off the police for her.  Some might call this heroic...if they don’t know the Butz.  As someone who does know him, Phoenix delivers a line from his former mentor:

On the plus side, Larry’s been doing more than chasing women since we last saw him -- he held onto the name he borrowed from his late mentor and became a picture book author.

Not exactly what I’d expect someone in that field to look like, but progress is progress, I guess.

Moving back to “Elly,” she claims to be as clean and pure as her pure-white dress, as well as something else -- something that’s a bit harder to believe.

Like I said, normalcy doesn’t seem to come naturally to new Ace Attorney characters, but her explanation of how she was almost killed, traveled back in time, and saw history rewritten takes the abnormal cake, especially coming from someone as sound-minded as Ellen.  Or is she really as sound-minded as she looks?

We can only hope.

I love how she keeps everything she needs for housekeeping in one place, by the way, almost Mary Poppins-style.

Fast forwarding (no pun intended) through some re-introductions to Maya as our co-council and Edgeworth as the case’s prosecutor (something us long-time Ace Attorney fans can’t help but love), we’re eventually introduced to the master himself, Mr. Sorin Sprocket, who has his own personality quirks...or rather, a severe lack of personality.

Like many genius inventors, he isn’t very social (his preferred method of communication being the paper airplane message), and always seems to be lost in his thoughts until someone pulls him back into reality.  Even stranger than that, he doesn’t seem the least bit worried about his fiance’s trial.  In Phoenix’s his words, he isn’t the easiest guy to wrap your head around.

On top of that, he has his own thing to say about time travel:

He and Ellen apparently both believe in time travel, but apart from that, they don’t seem to have much in common.  In fact, having met the two of them, one might think they’re polar opposites of each other, and...well, they’d be right, but as we learn later on, there’s more to Sorin’s silence than just an obsession with his work.

And speaking of obsession...

Our next guest, while also quite abnormal, is a bit more level-headed than the previous new characters.  He’s well-mannered, detail-oriented, shrewd, and takes the utmost care of Sorin.  Not to mention he's tech-savvy enough to fix a broken radio in a matter of seconds.

I’m surprised Phoenix and Maya didn’t consider the possibility of him being a machine himself, like they did with Lisa Basil.

He happens to have one of my favorite pun names, by the way.  Besides being clever and describing him perfectly, it almost sounds like it could be a real person’s name.

While Mr. Nichody does a good job of being the least interesting character thus far, it turns out that he and his “expensive good luck charm” play one of the most important roles in this case.  Not to mention he gives the biggest piece of foreshadowing in the episode:

Funny he should say that when there’s a spirit medium right in front of him, but I guess he doesn’t have time for unimportant details like that.

As the story goes on and the revelations start pouring in, we learn about Sorin’s older sister Selena, who was originally going to be the next president of Sprocket Aviation.  This, unfortunately, was not to be...

The sudden loss of his sister provides an explanation for his closed-off attitude and interest in time machines, but the mysteries surrounding that tragic day are only beginning.

We also learn that Mr. Nichody believes Ellen is guilty of her alleged crime, and for that reason, he’s strongly opposed to letting her marry Sorin.  Could he be right in doubting her, or is there something else behind is disapproval?  Ellen doesn’t seem that bad, after all.  Just a little...what’s the term?

There you go.

Then comes one of the bigger twists -- it turns out Sorin and his in-laws were responsible for Ellen’s supposed trip through time, which turned out to be an elaborate scheme to make her believe her near-death experience with Gloomsbury was only a dream.  Or so says Nichody, at least.

But once again, this is only the beginning.

Even with the possibility of time travel ruled out, Ellen’s guilt hasn’t been disproved just yet.  The only hope Phoenix has is the person she claims she saw attacking Gloombury before losing consciousness.  Unfortunately, the only suspect he can come up with so far is her fiance, thus introducing the possibility of him having to take her place in prison.

Considering every case up until now has had some form of happy ending, it’d be quite the unusual turn of events for this happy couple to have to be separated whether we win or lose the case...but is it impossible?

As tragic as that possibility might be, it sets up a scene that happens to be one of my favorite kinds -- one where someone is compelled to give up something, even if it’s his or her own life, purely out of love for someone else.

Her words are touching, but soon after saying them, she’s forced to prove just how steadfast her love is for Sorin, even in a cruel twist of fate -- namely, his pointing the blame for Gloomsbury’s death in her direction.

That face alone is enough to break anyone’s heart, but thankfully, that’s where the plot twists just begin.  The first one reveals that Sorin went to rescue his bride-to-be in the most bizarre way possible.

Then it turns out he really didn’t, or so he says.  Then it turns out he was attacked by Gloomsbury along with Ellen.  Then comes one that turns everything he’s said so far upside-down:

It turns out time travel is possible, but not in the way everyone was hoping, or in a way anyone would want -- due to his anterograde amnesia, Sorin “goes back in time” whenever he goes to sleep.  This revelation sheds a lot of light on his personality, his compulsive note-taking, and his feelings toward Ellen.  Not to mention, it turns out (sheesh, I keep saying that) he was responsible for the car crash that took his sister’s life.  But luckily, that's not all his condition reveals.

Someone decided to take advantage of Sorin’s memory being dependent on what he writes in his notebook in order to paint him as Gloomsbury’s murder.  Who might that someone be?  Well, for anyone who’s read the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (or enough murder mysteries involving rich families), it should be pretty obvious -- the butler did it!

But what motive could a close friend and servant have for manipulating Sorin’s memories?  Well, like many an Ace Attorney culprit, he’s not as level-headed as he appears to be.

The rogue butler in this case turns out to be the once-fiance of Sorin’s sister, as well as the one who operated on her after the car accident occurred...or, rather, who almost did.

After some impromptu x-rays and the testimony that wasn’t there, we finally learn the whole truth about Nichody, Gloomsbury, and the plot to exact their revenge on Sorin and his bride.  It turns out Sorin wasn’t the only one stuck in the past.

In a beautiful yet tragic symbolism, Selena’s pocket watch stopped ticking on the same day her heart stopped beating, which, for Nichody, was the day time stopped.

This brings us to our final guest, one who could only be here in spirit -- Ms. Selena Sprocket.  In Ellen’s words, Selena would’ve said, “Leave this ill will behind.  Your time is yours to live.”  To an inconsolable time traveler, these words hold no meaning, but just then...

Whether it’s a coincidence or a message from Selena from beyond (which might actually be believable in the Ace Attorney universe), Pierce is reminded that, sooner or later, time moves on.

And on that note, Ellen and Sorin are finally able to move on from this rough patch in their lives and experience their “First Startup of Love.”

Speaking of the happy couple, the one thing that stuck with me about this episode more than Nichody’s epiphany is how devoted Ellen is to Sorin from beginning to end.

With the knowledge that he might forget everything about her, himself, their wedding, and any other experiences they might share together, her devotion to him is ultimately proven to be the real deal.  His willingness to risk his life for her also proves that this devotion goes both ways.  In the end, there’s nothing, past, present, or future, that can keep them apart.  Why, you ask?

And hey, even Larry found it in himself to move on!  How about that?

Thus ends a beautiful story, a beautiful reunion of the original characters, and a beautiful finale(?) to the Ace Attorney series.  Sure, there was tragedy along the way, but after an ending like that, I’d like to see each of these characters, new and old, take a bow.

Just...don’t throw them any flowers.

-The Co-Mod

[darkspellmaster]

My worry about Hector in the Upcoming Castlevania Season 3 and the possibility we’re going to see him be used in a Sexual way that will really screw a lot up.

So as many know Hector is right now trapped in Carmilla’s castle, and a part of me is wanting to bang my head against the wall because of this. 

Spoilers for Curse of Darkness and some theories for Season 3 Castlevania.  You have been warned. 

Curse of Darkness has to be the game that has the most when it comes to story regarding Love, loss and finding yourself. I won’t go into Isaac's story because Netflix Isaac seems to be vastly different than game Isaac, and with good reason, I’m guessing. 

However, I’m going to focus for a bit on Hector. Now Hector from the show and Hector from the game are in two different places, and this is important going forward. In the game and the manga that came before, we got to know a more defeated Hector who, for at that time he’d just defected from Dracula and left. He was wounded and hurt and unsure of himself, and Rosaly was the one that helped him out and “Healed” him. 

Hector in Curse is more intent on destroying Isaac for what he does and far angrier and deeply into his own world at points. His anger fuels a lot of his need to get revenge. And the thing is he becomes more like Dracula in regard to his need to destroy things rather than accept and fix a situation, that is until Trevor, Julia and St. Germain all help get him off the path of destruction. 

This is what I’m worried about. In the show, we know, from the Trailer, that Lenore clearly has taken a liking to Hector. She’s toying with him, and, more than likely given how he’s easy to manipulate, she’ll be promising him help and possibly screwing him to make him think she loves and cares for him. 

This, I fear, is going to screw up the situation later (if we get there which I hope we do) with Isaac and Hector, and their fight. See one of the main reasons why Hector is so royally pissed at Isaac is that, while Isaac is mad at Hector’s defection, Hector is mad that Isaac had his wife killed. 

Here’s the issue about Hector having sex with Lenore and then seeing him with Rosaly. It would be very hard for anyone, who has been used in the way I think Hector will be used in, to be trusting of anyone. Rosaly plays a large part in what helped heal Hector and his issues, and she became the Lisa to his Dracula, getting him to walk away fully from the darkness. 

In the manga it’s shown that she was a former nun who wanted to heal others, like Lisa, using herbs and may have been an admirer of Lisa’s. During their time together they became husband and wife and had a very close relationship that actually helps him forge a new one with Julia. 

Curse of Darkness is Hector’s story and by extension Julia and Isaacs. Julia is supposed to be a lot like Rosaly in personality but still her own person and her kindness and understanding of the situation with Hector is what leads him to fall for her and realize that he can have those feelings again and is allowed to be happy and not feel trapped. 

The problem with Lenore probably playing up the Rosaly part, if they go there, or even using him, leads me to wonder if they’re going to make Hector into a Jochaim where he loses himself to the darkness. That would be totally wrong for this character as Hector’s main goal has always been to be a good person, to be loyal and gentle. If they give Curse over to Trevor and make it a Belmont Story than a lot of what makes Hector is gone and his part in letting Trevor see that it is good in darker beings gets swept away. 

I also don’t want to see this character used like this since I really don’t want people thinking that the idea of sex as some lust act is actually the big part of Castlevania when it’s the opposite, it’s Love that technically wins the day, over and over. 

Lament has it where you have the conflicting Mathias and Leon, and how they take the loss of their loved ones (Elisabetha and Sara) vastly differently and that Leon’s and Sara’s love for one another produces the most powerful weapon in the Belmont inventory. Whereas Mathias rejects love entirely to forsake his humanity and become immortal after the death of his beloved wife. 

This same sort of love and devotion leads into Rondo of Blood and how Richter Belmont goes to save Annette from being turned by Dracula and ends up in a situation that leads into Symphony of the night. 

Sex in Castlevania is more like temptation or the idea of the use of Lust to control someone. Visiting this on Hector isn’t really the best of choices if they’re going that route. Will it help define him more for the next season? It’s up in the air if they’re going to write out Curse of Darkness. I”m hoping that we see Hector grow into a strong character that can take out characters on his own and maybe come face to face with Trevor with a deeper understanding of what the Belmont’s do. But given the situation, I’m a bit worried. It’s not that I don’t trust Warren Ellis, it’s that given the way the game plays out, and Hector, being one of the few non-Morris or Belmont members to fight off Dracula, yeah making him too weak makes it hard for future stories where he’s going to need to be able to deal directly with it. 

And honestly, I just want Hector to have someone decently care for him. Is that too much to ask? 

[unabashedrebel]

Top 10 Characters

In no particular order

1) Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) Can I just say that I love how the reboots, both the movie and the new trilogy of games were phenomenal as a long time fan of this character? They did her right. They focused on her origins, how she came to be this mythic Tomb Raider who delves into the greatest mysteries of the world while fighting against an evil Illuminati type organization.

But she always has tenacity. She always has grit. She’s not always sure of herself, or her abilities, but still continues to do it anyways because it’s the right thing to do. Not to mention I love the whole cultured rich girl who gets her hands dirty literally all the time. I’ve loved everything about her characterization in the last few years.

2) Really the entire FF7 cast but; Tifa Lockhart (FF7) Is anyone actually surprised by this one? Look at my blog. It’s pretty Tifa-rific lately. Honestly I have no good excuse for this, I can’t actually trace back what the reason was that started me on really liking her character. Basically because she’s been my video game wife since I was about 10 years old.

I guess, if I really thought about it, I enjoy her realness. She’s an optimist but not fully in your face about it, she promotes kindness, she’s the mom friend. Always looking out for everyone else at the expense of herself. They’re traits that I really admire in people, and you know what? It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that maybe those feelings were in part brought on by a video game character from my childhood. Not only that but I’ve always loved the story thread with her about the conflict she faces in doing what she believes is the right thing, and the fallout that ensues.

Not only that but she’s a fucking badass.

3) Spider-Man (Peter Parker, Marvel) Shout to to the most relatable super-hero ever created. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Spider-man is a staple of New York, even if he’s fictional. He’s just... boiled down to that essence of a Queens kid. It’s amazing as someone from around this area.

But seriously, I think I like Peter the most because he really is relatable. He really does worry about the same things I find myself worrying about. He really does shoot out quips like that’s his super power. He really does try and do whats right regardless of what others think. He’s conflicted, he’s unsure of himself, he’s been granted this great power and feels the need to go out and help people with it, and again at great personal expense. He’s, to me? What a hero should be.

I guess I like him so much because I see a lot of myself in him. I can relate and put myself in those shoes. I can relate my experiences to his, and i’m not talking about getting bit by a radioactive spider. I’m talking about the human side to Peter Parker. His stresses when he’s out of the tights.

4) Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher, and again I love all the characters Geralts just tops. Ciri was a close second.) Yeah, yeah call me out and say ‘someone just binged’. YOU KNOW WHAT MAYBE I DID FOR THE SECOND TIME YOU CANT STOP ME.

Seriously though. For a character who does not like being social? Geralt is so beautifully written for. Fun fact, I haven’t actually played the games save for the half way through 2 and the intro to 3. But I read the first novel and I’m working my way through the second, and Geralt? He’s a man of few words. But when he does speak? Everybody fucking listens.

5) Kassandra (AC: Odyssey) Uhhhh, first women to win the wrestling Olympics? How could I not.

As a long time fan of Assassins Creed and the wonderfully written characters that I have been lucky enough to get to know as protagonists? Kassandra takes the cake. She was blunt, sassy, smart, and took nobodies shit. Forever has she branded the word Misthios in my head with that Greek twang. To the point where I get excited when I hear it.

Maybe it was a mix of being in the Ancient Greek world with her, another one of my favorites. But there was just something about her character that stuck out to me. Something I haven’t seen in their writing since Ezio.

6) Joel (The Last of Us) How the fuck could I not love the gruff and sad dad?

Dude the characters in this game were so insanely well done. Like you could literally tell that, besides the fact that it was an amazingly fun game? The dev team TRULY cared about the story, the reception, and the buildup.

Lets be real. That first scene with him when everything starts is about as heartbreaking as it comes. It sets you up to really accept that this man has lost everything, that he no longer cares about anything but survival, because he’s already learned that when you care? Those things can be easily taken away.

He’s cold. He’s quick. He’s capable. He’s ignorant to everyone else. Right up until he meets Ellie and that little girl begins to peel back the layers and show that Joel, under it all, is actually a pretty good guy who has been dealing with his trauma by building up walls.

All and all? I would recommend anyone playing this game just to see the transition of Joel. Ellie, as well, by no small measure. But Joel’s growth was one of my favorite things to ever watch unfold in a game.

7) Revan (Star Wars) Okay so I know this ones a bit obscure. He was actually featured as a protagonist of one of Star War, in my opinion, best roleplaying games. 

Basically I love this character because I think he actually GETS the whole thing. The cults. He doesn’t really subscribe to either of them, rather he’s used them to further his own goals. Which you know, as an RPG you get to chose, usually I like to chose he did what he did for the right reasons. Because the Jedi were failing the people they had to protect. Because he couldn’t stand by and watch a war be fought while they deliberated what to do. He never fully reasoned with the Sith, and as far as I knew didn’t quite care to share their extremist values. Frankly, he’s by far been the best representation to what I feel is a very opinionated debate in Star Wars: Why chose either side? They both suck in their own ways.

He saw passed all that, started a movement, started a war of ideologies when the universe was still young enough to hear those kinds of debates play out.

His story will forever be one of my absolute favorites in Star Wars.

8) Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars) If you haven’t watched the Clone Wars animated series and you’re a fan of Star Wars? What the fuck are you doing. This character alone is enough to justify the 7 season watch.

The Padawan of Anakin Skywalker. How can that go wrong, right? Actually, Ahsoka is one of the reasons I began to like Anakin in the first place. The whole series shows a different side to characters we love, honestly, you got to see Anakin be the best Jedi general anyone had ever seen. You got to see him train this young woman into an incredible Jedi, and honestly? The younger sister relationship that Ahsoka has with Anakin is just so well done.

But beyond that there’s so much to love about Ahsoka. If you haven’t caught the theme, I really do love strong characters who still have flaws. Who still have a lot to learn. Who make mistakes. But even after she had, never once did Ahsoka give up on what she believed in. Her values, in the end, proving to be stronger to her then the values instilled by the Jedi, even if they aligned.

My favorite thing is that you got to see her journey, literally from a learning padawan to a fully fledged Jedi badass. 

If we don’t get an Ahsoka series on Disney+ I’m gonna be pissed.

9) Nathan Drake (Uncharted) Cheeky rogue with a heart of gold that often gets by on sheer luck alone.

Need I say more?

10) Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer) Okay, so don’t really expect many people to know this one.This character is the main protagonist in an anime that has literally taken all my attention. From the animation, to the story, to the undeniable ways in inspires me to write Sori.

Tanjiro, perhaps, is the driving force behind this. I just love this kid okay? He started out as NOTHING. Literally, nothing. He fought against overwhelming odds, knowing full well he would die, to save his sister. And in that moment? The person he was fighting let him go. He then sent him down the path of becoming a demon slayer.

This kid, who as far as I know was part of a large family of commoners gave everything he had to training his body to fight demons. Every time he stumbled, he found the strength to continue. He never gives up. He learns, he thinks, he’s a smart kid with this absolute bottomless well of determination.

I don’t want to ruin the plot of the anime too much because honestly this has been my favorite thing since Dragonball Super. You should go watch it. I promise you will understand right off the bat why I love this character so much.

I was tagged by: @serelia-evensong​ @safrona-shadowsun

Gonna tag: @draenei-tales​ @wildname​ @zeehva​ @ravensteel​ @fair-fae​ @monster-of-master​ @palaceofthedeadmemes​ @zariasilverleaf​ @starforger​ @asharinhun​ 

I’m also not sorry this is a long post. How dare you ask me to talk about shit I love.

[ohallows]

oh bri... what abt..... Azu/Sasha hockey...... for that prompt list...

ellie!!!! absolutely!!! i hope u enjoyed it also this is potentially very americanised if U.K. hockey is any different than the american one 

[request prompts]

—

The sound of sticks slapping the ground and skates sliding against the ice echoes around the rink, along with some cheers and gentle jeers from some of the women on the ice.

Azu leans back against the boards and closes her eyes, tilting her head up as she takes a deep breath. The col, icy air sweeps through her, and she feels at home.

It’s funny, really, how someone from Kenya who’s always relished the feeling of the sun on her skin can love being in the rink this much. But she does; loves how smooth her skates glide over the ice, loves the way her heart pounds and how the adrenaline courses through her veins.

She’s all kitted up, pads and gloves and facemask, and she knows she cuts an intimidating figure. She’s one of the larger women on the ice, but that only serves to make her look more awesome - plus, people always underestimate how quick she can be, even if Azu isn’t the most skilled puck handler out there. The point is, she can see the way some of the other players are looking at her and sizing her up, and she can’t help but preen a little bit.

(Off the ice, Azu thinks she might make them all brownies, just for being so welcoming on her first day. They all seem very nice, and she wants to be their friends even if she doesn’t make the team. Plus, there’s always local leagues she can play in. But on the ice, well. It’s a different story.)

Azu’s been waiting for this moment for a while.

Tryouts.

She knows she’s a good player, knows that she has the skill necessary to get chosen for the team. Everyone else is impressive to watch; Azu’s worked hard to get where she is, and she thinks she has a real shot at being at least second line. Kenya only had a few teams around, but she was easily the best player in the league, and won a number of awards in her town. So, it stands to reason that she’s excited to show what they can do.

It’s only the first day of tryouts, and they’ve already done the fitness test (which Azu passed), the strength test (which Azu passed with flying colors), and then the accuracy and speed test (which, honestly, Azu did a passable job on). Tomorrow, they’ll be doing more intricate handling tests for the coaches to see what everyone can do, which Azu is slightly worried about. It’s why she needs to do well in this scrimmage - to show them that she would be a valuable member of the team.

The coaches call for everyone to get lined up, and separate out the girls into two different squads. Azu follows her team, holding tightly onto the stick in her hands.

“Nice to meet you all,” their assigned captain says, pulling her mouthguard out and smiling at them. “I’m Cleo, and I’ve been on the team for two years. I’ll be stepping in as goalie so that you all can show what you can do. Quick round of introductions before we get started?” She points to the woman on her left and gestures for her to go first.

They all go around quickly - there are about 15 of them on each squad for the scrimmage, and after introductions Cleo gets right to assigning lines. Azu gets picked to be on the second line, and skates off to the bench with the rest of the girls who will be hopping in in about two minutes. One of the coaches dons a ref’s jersey and skates onto the ice while the other waits in the stands, clipboard at the ready.

The puck drops and they’re off as the two forwards battle for possession. Azu’s team wins it and it shoots back to a defenseman, who drives it forward, and then everyone’s off, skating hard as they make their way to the goal. One of the forwards loses it and the other team counters, but the defense puts on a strong show and then the puck is being sent back into the middle as players battle for it.

It mostly goes on like this, a quick back-and-forth as the players call for the puck and sticks slap against the ice and the boards, as everyone strives to send the puck into the back of the net. Azu gets into it, calling encouragement from the bench, and even directing a few chirps at the other team anytime they come too close to their bench.

Time moves fast in hockey, and scrimmages are no exception. They call for a line change, and Azu hops over the wall with the others, thankfully not faceplanting, and skates into position, crouching down as she evaluates the game. Her team has the puck, so she skates up, trying to find an open passing lane and successfully losing her defender. She calls for the puck, but it goes off to another teammate who loses it. The adrenaline is already coursing through her veins as she skates back, angling herself off the teammate who challenges the forward coming at them, blocking off the other forward who’s almost scarily speedy as she comes up on Azu’s left.

The puck is sent by Azu, only just out of her reach as the forward nabs it. Azu chases her down and slams into the forward’s side and knocks her into the boards as a crashing sound reverberates around the ring. The puck slips loose again, luckily sliding along to one of Azu’s teammates, who starts to skate down the ice, eyes on the goal. Azu’s not paying too much attention, though, focused on the player who she just hit and who hasn’t skated off yet.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” Azu says, clapping her hands over her mouth. “I hit a bit harder than I intended, are you alright?

The player she hit gets up with the help of the boards, and Azu can see her sweat-slick forehead even through the face mask. “I’m fine,” she says, sounding only a bit winded, so Azu’s certain that the pads cushioned most of the blow. She does look fine, and then skates off to go help her team, but Azu can’t help feeling bad still, even though checks are part of the game. But she can’t focus on that now - they have a game to win.

She marks the forward for nearly the rest of her shift, and they seem to be pretty even head-to-head. The other woman is quick and agile, but Azu has an easier time reading her than others, and can get her stick in the way of enough shots that she’s right pleased with herself. She also doesn’t check her again, even when the opportunity presents itself.

When the line changes again, Azu and the woman both head off around the same time, and find themselves both on the end of the bench with the penalty box in between them. Azu still feels a little bad for the hit, but she knows that that will be something she needs to get over if she wants to make it onto the team. She doesn’t like checking people, is the thing - unless they’ve hurt one of her teammates, and even then she doesn’t want to go too far.

She gets a few more shifts on the ice, sometimes playing against the woman and sometimes not, but they seem to always be evenly matched. Azu does her best to shut off the parts of her brain which overthink things, and focuses on showing the coaches how skilled she is. She blocks shots,

sends the puck up the ice to give her team time to change, plays with it behind the net to kill time, and thinks she does a good job on the ice.

Azu’s team ends up losing, but only by a point, and both of the coaches look a mix of surprised and impressed as they speak to each other on the opposite side of the rink. Cleo comes by and claps Azu on the shoulder, giving her a reassuring and proud grin.

“You did amazing out there,” she compliments, and Azu can’t help the shy smile that takes over her face.

“Really?” she asks.

“It was incredible. You stopped a lot of shots on us, Azu,” she says, and then takes a step back. “I’ll see you in the locker room.”

Azu watches her go, and then the rest of the women begin filing off as well. Azu ends up all the way in the back, which is just as good, since she proceeds to have a mini freak out about Cleo’s praise the second no one is looking directly at her. She’ll have to call Emeka when she’s back - he’s been after her for days to actually try out for the team, and he’s always been in her corner from the moment she decided to start playing.

Her parents will want to know too - her mama has been texting her little heart emojis every day since Azu has been gone, and seeing them when she wakes up in the morning has been the best part of Azu’s time here. Maybe she can convince Emeka to go over to their parents house and set up a video call when he’s free; their parents still aren’t the best at figuring out technology, so this would probably be easier than Azu trying to explain via phone.

With rough plans made, Azu follows the rest of the girls into the locker room. Before practice started, everyone had claimed a random spot, apart from the seniors, who already had small name badges above the locker they’re using. A few of the newbies start to change, but some of the veteran players shake their head, and then there’s a knock on the door as the coaches file in, clipboards gone.

They’re not in there for long, trading off with each other and each gives them a quick spiel about how well they played, how impressive some of the plays were, and then explains what will be going on tomorrow before thanking them and heading out. The locker room explodes into a cacophony of noise the second they leave, with women complimenting each other on their skills and some veterans on the team laughing (good-naturedly, of course) at how the newbies are scared of the coaches.

Azu finds herself standing next to the woman she checked earlier, who’s busy fiddling with the laces on her gloves as she starts to pull off her gear.

“Oh, hello!” Azu says, and the woman turns to give her a slightly confused look, which fades the second she recognizes Azu.

“Hey,” she greets, and then continues pulling her gear off.

“You’re an incredible player,” Azu says, unable to keep the admiration out of her voice.

The other woman nods. “Cheers. You, er - you’re good yourself. Haven’t had - well, it’s been a while since I had as much trouble getting past a defenseman as I had with you today.”

Azu can feel herself blushing, and redirects her attention to getting out of her pads so that she can go take a shower and get rid of all the sweat.

“Plus,” the other woman says, casual as anything, “no one’s knocked me down like that recently.”

Azu can’t help but start sputtering, trying to find the words. ��I - I am very sorry,” she says, but the other woman shakes her head.

“It was a good hit, mate,” she says, with a bit of a crooked smile that’s gone nearly before Azu can even see it. “No need to apologize again.”

Azu still feels a bit abashed, but she’s not one to beat a dead horse when it’s asked you to stop, so instead she just sticks out her hand to the other woman. “I’m Azu. It’s my first year here.”

“Sasha,” she gets back, and then Sasha shakes her hand, albeit seeming a little hesitant. “And me as well. Just got dropped off by my cousin last night.”

She pulls her helmet off, and Azu can feel the warmth rising in her cheeks. She’s got close-cropped black hair, and a bit of a crooked nose where it’s clearly been broken in the past. There’s a strange scar stretching down her neck from her jaw, nearly faded against her pale skin. She has almost an ethereal quality about her, something hard and tough that’s tempered with… Azu isn’t sure, and she isn’t the best at metaphors anyway. Regardless, she’s very pretty, and Azu can’t help that her heart skips a beat when she looks at her.

“Er - I’m gonna go shower?” Sasha says, raising an eyebrow, and Azu nods, averting her eyes as she realises she’s been staring.

“Good! Er - good idea, yes, that sounds… ideal. I should - I will do the same,” Azu says, and then closes her eyes and sighs. “Not - my apologies, that… came out wrong.”

“... All right,” Sasha says, seeming more confused that offended or… well, weirded out, which Azu takes as a good sign. “Er. I’ll just. Go.”

“Right,” Azu says, and then Sasha takes a few steps away, giving one look behind her before heading off to the showers. Azu leans her head against her locker, cold metal pressing in to her forehead. “Gods, you’re hopeless,” she mutters, and then stands up straight again, tossing a few more things into her locker before she heads off to the showers as well, eager to get the sweat off her skin.

When Azu gets out of the shower, feeling clean and fresh and dressed in a loose skirt with a button-down tank top, Sasha is sitting on the bench and finishing toweling off her hair, but she looks up when Azu approaches. They’re the only two left in the locker room, nearly everyone else having opted to take showers back at their flats.

“Oh! Hello, again,” Azu says, and Sasha nods.

“Hey,” she says, and Azu rocks back and forth on her feet, silence in the air between them.

“What dorm are you staying in?” Azu asks, mostly just for something to say, and Sasha pulls the towel away from her head, tossing it into the nearby laundry bin.

“Langley,” Sasha says, and grabs her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. “You?”

“I’m right next door! Harrison for me,” Azu says. “Would you like to walk back together?”

Sasha considers it for a moment and then nods, gesturing for Azu to follow her. Azu grabs her bags and heads out, jogging for a bit to catch up with her as they step out of the field house.

It’s a nice walk back; it’s still warm outside, one of the last nice days, and the leaves are just starting to turn a burnished gold. A cool breeze sweeps across the quad, stirring up the grass and the edges of blankets where students are sitting and studying before exams.

“What are you going for?” Sasha asks eventually, and Azu preens.

“Medicine. I want to become a doctor someday. I’ve always wanted to be able to help people,” she says, and Sasha laughs. “Don’t laugh, it’s true!”

“Azu, I’m not laughing at you, mate,” Sasha says, and smiles. “Just… haven’t known you for very long, but somehow that’s - dunno, the exact answer I expected. It’s good. Suits you.”

“Oh,” Azu says, feeling her cheeks flush again. She shakes her head slightly to clear it and bites her lip. “What about you? What are you going for?”

“History. Not really sure what I’m going to do with it yet,” Sasha says, shoving her hands into her pockets and turning her face up toward the sun. “Think I might go into antiques. Always been a fan of them.”

They spend the rest of the walk talking about nothing of particular importance; Azu learns that Sasha’s cousin is a few years younger than her. although she doesn’t get a name. She tells Sasha about her own brother, Emeka, and then they discuss what feels like everything, from their classes to favourite professors to best campus food to… well, everything. Azu gets so lost in the moment that she doesn’t even realise when they get to the fork in the path that separates their two dorms, not until Sasha speaks up.

“This is me,” she says when they get back to the residence area, pulling up to a stop outside an older looking building and glancing back at Azu.

It doesn’t take long for Azu to realize that she doesn’t want to have to say goodbye.

“Er - would you like to get some coffee, sometime?” Azu asks in a rush, heart in her throat. Sasha doesn’t say anything back for a moment, just staring at Azu with her head tilted slightly to the side. “I - if you don’t -“

“Yeah, sure,” Sasha says finally, cutting her off, and it must be the exercise that’s left a dull flush on Sasha’s cheeks. “Er, let me -“ She pulls out her phone and hands it over to Azu with the contact page open. “I’ll… text you?”

Azu keys in her information quickly, adding a smiley face next to her name, and then hands the phone back to Sasha. “I’d like that,” she says with a soft grin, and Sasha tucks her phone away so quickly that Azu can’t even track which pocket it’s ended up in.

She gives Azu a small wave as she walks backward toward her dorm, and Azu waves back, watching her leave. Her hand stays up long after Sasha’s gone, finally falling back to her side. Her cheeks feel like they’re on fire, and she can’t hide the smile on her face. The phone in her hand buzzes, and she fumbles to unlock it, staring down at a message from Sasha asking what time.

She does a little fist bump in the air. If the people around her look at her a little strangely, she doesn’t much mind. She even almost doesn’t care if she makes the team, now, not when she’s got a coffee… date? Outing? Hangout? with a very pretty freshman who Azu really thinks she’ll get on with. (Honestly, she will be devastated if she doesn’t make the team, but right not, everything seems so… distant.) She nearly skips off to her dorm after that, sending a quick message off to Sasha to plan for something in the evening, after their classes are up.

There’s so much for her to tell Emeka about.

[bobasheebaby]

Costume Face-off (NSFW)

Pairing: Bastien x Olivia; Liam x Ellie

Word count: 3,284

Warnings: smut, Bastien’s abs

Summary: Beaumont Bash Halloween party and a couples costume bet...

A/N: @stopforamoment sent me the bottom center picture last year and said Baslivia, I promised her and a year later I have fulfilled said promise. I played around with the “prompt” a little. Thanks to @sirbeepsalot for graping and prereading. This is set in the future, 15 months from the beginning, 11 months from opening up about their relationship. Pic # 3 belongs to @metalslimer and @sintwisted, all pictures found on google.

“Ohmygod, look at that one!” Ellie exclaimed as she scrolled through Pinterest with Olivia.

Olivia rolled her emerald eyes. “That’s nothing.”

“Yea, Okay Liv, but we both know we’d never get the guys to agree to something like this. She kept scrolling through. “I mean they are fun, Mario and Princess Peach, Oh. My. God! Look at Jessica and Roger Rabbit!” She scrolled down further, blue eyes going wide. “I take it back! This Roger Rabbit and Jessica, look at her she’s freaking ripped! How the hell did these women talk these men into their costumes?!” Olivia arched her brow knowingly. “Ummm yea, that, but really that won’t here.” She pointed at a picture of seven guys all dressed as different Disney Princesses. “I mean…”

“You underestimate yourself if you don’t think you could get Liam in one of these.”

“Okay Liv, you really could get Bastien to agree to something like this.”

“I could, and I guarantee it would blow anything you and Liam came up with out of the water.”

“Of course you would make it a bet.”

“Does that mean you don’t accept the challenge?”

“Oh no, you’re on, best gender swap costume wins, the loser has to wear the losing costume to brunch the next morning and pay.”

“You’re on, and so going down. A Nevrakis never loses.”

*

Olivia pulled her long crimson hair back into a low bun, her eyes trailing down the rest of her costume in the bathroom mirror. Perfect. She smirked at her reflection, as she gently brushed her hand over the small bump visible in her tight white v neck. She turned to look at the shirt she discarded, still hanging on the hanger. No more crop tops for now. She grabbed her belt, adding the final touch. “You might want to cover your ears, Papa isn’t gonna be thrilled when he sees his costume.” As if on cue she heard the door to their suite open and shut. Even retired, he refused to give up on security, always double checking to ensure everything was secure. “Your costume is on the bed.” She gave herself one last cursory glance, straightening her black vest, before exiting the en-suite.

She stifled a chuckle as she saw him standing at the end of the bed holding the thin maroon material in his hand. She knew this wasn’t what he was expecting when she suggested they go as Han Solo and Slave Leia, she was certain of that by the way he had said yes before the entire suggestion left her lips. She was sure he had visions of her dressed in the barely there bikini, while he was a dashing Han Solo. Think again, I have a bet to win.

Bastien turned, a perplexed look on his face. “What’s this?”

“Your costume, like I said.”

“Livvy, you can’t actually expect me to wear this.” He looked up, eyes slowly trailing up her body. He took in her black knee high boots, skin tight blue jeans, white v neck, black vest. She isn’t kidding. “I can’t wear this.” He shook his head in dismay. There isn’t enough fabric to cover me.

She smirked as she crossed the room to him. “Sure you can.” She unbuttoned his dress shirt. “You certainly have the body for it.” She traced her hands down his firm chest and impressive twelve pack for emphasis.

He shivered under her touch. Don’t give in. “This won’t conceal much, if anything.” He held up the sheer maroon loin cloth.

“Relax, I got you a banana hammock.” She gestured to the small flesh colored material on the bed, sitting next to his collar and chain.

He looked at the barely there undergarment that more resembled dental floss than actual underwear with a grimace. Banana hammock? It’s a g-string! He knew she was only calling the flesh colored scrap of fabric by that name as a means to tease him for his dislike of bananas.

She teased her finger along the waistband of his pants, smiling as he sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t beg...” Her fingers undid his buckle. “...but I’d be willing to get on my knees.” She winked, pulling down his zipper. She sank to the floor, settling on her knees before she pulled his pants and boxer briefs down, releasing his half hard cock.

He groaned as she wrapped her hand around his length, pumping it in slow, smooth strokes. She smiled as she watched him react to her ministrations, his cock becoming fully hard in a matter of seconds.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be the hottest Leia they’ve ever seen.” She continued to slide her slender hand up and down his thick shaft, feeling heat pool in her core. Later. “You have such a spectacular body; it would be a shame to not show it off.”

“You’re just saying that to get me to…” His words trailed off as she wrapped her plush red lips around his swollen head. His hand gripped the back of her head, steely eyes locked on emerald as he gently bucked into her mouth. “Fuck Livvy.”

She bobbed her head up and down his length, her tongue swirling around his shaft. She gripped his firm buttock with her other hand, giving it a hard squeeze.

He moaned, one of the things he fell in love with was her ability to take charge. He watched as his thick length disappeared into her mouth again and again. His mind swirled; he knew the second he saw his costume he didn’t really have a choice. She doesn’t play fair.

God she’s a goddess with her mouth. He felt his balls tighten and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. “Livvy.”

She nodded her head, her hand cupping his balls, rolling them in her hand. She hollowed her cheeks, creating suction as she increased her pace.

He fisted her bun as he bucked into her mouth. His eyes remained locked on hers as he came with a groan, spilling down her throat. He softened the hold on her hair as he watched her swallow every drop.

Olivia eased up her pace, gently licking his softening cock clean before releasing it from her mouth. She rose to her feet, wiping the corners of her mouth. “I still think you can pull it off.”

“It was never a question of could… it was more should.”

“You should always show off your impressive physique.”

Bastien laughed shaking his head. God I love this woman.

“So you’ll wear it?”

He looked at the costume in question, knowing it was too late to change costumes. “It’s not like I have another option.”

“Very true.”

“You know you didn’t have to…”

“I know.” She smiled trailing her hand down his bare chest. “I could help you make sure everything is put away.” She licked her lips suggestively.

He forced himself to focus on anything other than her soft hands ‘helping’ him conceal himself in the small undergarment. He knew what would happen the instant her hands were on his body again. God she’s more insatiable than ever. “Thank you for the offer, but we both know that we’ll never leave the room if you do.”

She bit her lip as she hummed her agreement. “You’re absolutely correct.” Her heated gaze scanned his chest, taking in the toned tanned muscle covered in dark chest hair. She felt the heat in her grow. “Go get dressed before I change my mind about going to the party.”

He chuckled as he picked up the small pieces of his costume. He’d much rather stay in the room all night wrapped in her arms, but if he knew one thing about his wife, it was she chose this costume for a reason, one he wouldn’t find out if they were a tangle of sweaty limbs all night. I’ll just have to persuade her to come back early.

*

Olivia nervously toyed with her rings with the pad of her thumb. Large cushion cut emerald and simple platinum band, the perfect mix of him and her, past and present. She smiled as he squeezed her right hand in his, his ability to understand her only growing over the course of their relationship.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“I’m a Nevrakis, we don’t get nervous.” Her voice falling flat, belying her feelings. She turned to look at him. “So few know…” Her hand grazed her visible bump.

“No one will notice, they will be stunned speechless by my costume.”

Olivia chuckled. “Blinded by your impressive abs.” She’d picked the costume before finding out, now she was even more glad she went so extreme to show Ellie and Liam up. Her emerald eyes scanned the front room as they descended the grand staircase. Now where are Ellie and Liam so we can win this bet?

She slipped her hand from his, sliding it around to his backside giving it a hard squeeze as they weaved through the crowd. He removed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “If you keep that up, we will have a wardrobe malfunction on our hands.”

“I’d rather not make Adelaide’s night, I’ll behave.” For now.

*

Adelaide bit her lip as Bastien caught her eye. She allowed her gaze to shamelessly roam his exposed form, her eyes slowly raked down his sculpted chest and abs. What I wouldn’t give to lick them. She shivered slightly as she allowed herself to imagine his chest hair brushing against her erect nipples as she ravished him. Why do all the young men of Cordonia believe a woman wants a smooth chest? A real woman wants a real man; rugged, buff, with hair on his chest. She tilted her head slightly to the side as she reached the sheer maroon fabric. Covered, what a pity. She licked her thin lips as she allowed her mind to wander. She could tell by the barely concealed bulge that he would be a sight to behold. Is it all length or does he have girth too? A shiver ran down her spine as she allowed herself to imagine his large hands manhandling her. She shook her head sadly before draining her glass of champagne. Another opportunity missed. She turned going off in search of another glass of champagne, there was no point in trying to speak to him, she knew Olivia had her claws in far too deep to let him venture off alone looking like that.

*

Drake’s chestnut eyes went wide and he quickly averted his gaze as Bastien and Olivia joined them. He nervously cleared his throat as he struggled to erase the image of Bastien from his mind. “I love you Bas, but I didn’t need to see so much of you.”

“Admit it Walker, you're just jealous you won't look this good in a decade.” Olivia looked Drake up and down, fighting back a chortle at his stay puff marshmallow costume. “Or ever.”

Drake went to run his hand through his hair forgetting the ridiculous hat on his head. Stupid costume! Next time I’m not letting Ellie pick what I dress as.

"Drake, it's no different than when we do laps."

"Really Bas? It’s a huge difference. I mean that's a speedo. This is…” His words trailed off as he reluctantly looked over Bastien’s costume. “I don't know what it is, but it’s not a speedo!"

“Drake, it really is no different.” Ellie stated. “I’m impressed Liv, getting Bas to show off his impressive form, he will be the talk of court for weeks to come.”

“Excuse me my queen?” Liam asked looping his arm around her waist.

“Relax Li, I’m just saying he has an impressive body and I’ve noticed several party goers checking him out as well.”

Olivia smiled, Ellie and Liam’s costume was so perfectly them, but she and Bastien had clearly won. Ellie wore a royal blue waistcoat, cut low almost like a corset and trimmed in gold. Her black locks were mostly down with two pigtails at the front of her head twisted to form horns, she wore minimal face paint, just a nose and a bit of lines to give the appearance of fur, but not too much as to conceal her identity. She nearly laughed at Liam’s long wavy wig. Instead of a dress he’d opted for a gold tailcoat and matching pants, complete with ruffles at the sleeves and collar. Both costumes were well made, clearly professionally made just for the royal couple, yet the idea wasn’t inventive enough. “Liam, I assure you, you have nothing to worry about, your queen only has eyes for you. But I just need to know, what do you think of Bastien’s costume?”

Liam easily slipped into his kingly persona. “Your concept is certainly... forward thinking”

Ellie and Olivia snorted at his polite answer. Even among friends he found it hard to be harsh.

Maxwell danced up to his friends, Olivia lost it at the sight of his gold lamé parachute pants, airbrushed tee and red, white, and blue jacket, topped off with thick gold chain. “Dare I ask who you’re supposed to be Maxwell?”

Maxwell clutched his hand to his chest as he feigned hurt. “Olivia, how could you not recognize Vanilla Ice?” She raised her brow in question. “He’s a rapper, you know ‘ice ice baby. He’s from the nineties...” He trailed off as his brilliant blue eyes fell on Bastien. “Be honest, do you think I could pull that off? I think I could pull it off.” Maxwell rambled to himself. “OMG WE CAN BE TWINS NEXT TIME!" He screamed excitedly.

The group erupted in laughter.

“It’s not that funny guys.” Maxwell pouted deflating ever so slightly.

“Lord Maxwell, I wanted to thank you for implementing the no mask or full face paint rule for costumes.” Bastien said, glancing at the nearby faces.

Maxwell nodded, he’d originally been upset by Bastien suggestion. He soon remembered how badly he’d taken finding out Justin wasn’t who he thought, especially after getting in trouble with Ellie for the cronut incident.

“Bas, you no longer have to use formalities, we are all friends here.” Liam stated.

“Sorry sir, force of habit.” Bastien replied to a chorus of new laughter.

*

Savannah rolled her eyes as Bastien and Olivia joined their group. Could she have picked a tackier costume? “Olivia, for a woman who was born into nobility and raised in the palace, you sure lack taste.” She wrinkled her nose at Bastien’s costume. “As Duke and Duchess shouldn’t you have less revealing costumes?” If you could call it that. I’ve seen more fabric on Penelope’s poodles.

“I have more taste in my pinky finger than you have in your entire body. You’re just jealous that your husband couldn’t pull this costume off in a hundred years.”

Savannah eyed Olivia up and down, eyes widening slightly as she opened her mouth to speak.

Oh no bitch, you don’t get to announce it. “You want to talk about taste and class, yet we both know you have none. Why else would you run off to another country when the father of your child turned you down?”

Savannah gaped at Olivia, stunned speechless by her words.

“You may have married a Duke and gained a title, but I assure you, you’ll never be worthy of the title you bear. I mean, all it took was a ring and you forgot everyone who was there for you.”

Savannah felt steam leave her ears. “What is that supposed to mean?!”

“It means your guest list seemed to be missing a key person in your life growing up. But I guess since you take after your mother that’s to be expected.”

“I seem to remember your own guest list forgetting a house.”

Olivia feigned a frown. She didn’t forget, maybe it was petty but she knew Savannah would feel slighted the way Bastien had. “I distinctly remember extending an invitation to every house. I even believe I sent two separate invitations to Ramsford.”

Savannah seethed, her hands curled into fists. “Lord and Duke of Ramsford, what about the Duchess?”

“Oh dear, must have slipped my mind like a certain invitation slipped yours. Not that it stopped you from showing. Bertrand really does need to revisit etiquette lessons with you; it’s very rude to show up to an event uninvited.”

“It’s not like you didn’t have enough food.”

“That’s because a good hostess is always prepared, even for the uninvited guest that may show up.” Olivia smirked at Savannah’s obvious anger. “But really I’m not sure what Bertrand was thinking when he married you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Savannah growled, she was sick of Olivia’s attitude towards her, she’d put up with it all her life, not anymore.

“I mean, after the stunt you pulled leaving the country with his child, taking money from his house, that the last thing he should have given you was a ring and a title. If it had been me I would have taken custody of the child.”

Savannah took a step forward. She’d spent her entire life trying to live up to the other nobles, now she was one, she refused to allow Olivia to disrespect her in her own house.

“Savannah!” Bertrand grabbed Savannah by the wrist, pulling her back to his side. “You will not attack a member of one of the oldest houses and tarnish the House of Beaumont.”

Savannah let out an annoyed scream. Of course he’s more worried about the status of the family than his own wife. “Fine.” She straightened, hands brushing the sides of her plain blue regency inspired costume. She spun before she stalked off, steam leaving her ears.

*

Neville felt his face grow hot with rage. The indignity! He straightened the jacket of his perfect recreation of his ancestral costume, the very first Earl of Cormery Isle, a man to be feared and respected. He’d stood idly by long enough watching nobles of so called higher houses make a mockery of his country by choosing so called love over duty to country and picking commoners.

He stalked up to the small group, his dark eyes alight with anger. “Duchess Olivia.” He sneered. “You and your husband,” the word fell from his tongue like acid, “are making a mockery of this party.”

Of course he would find himself important enough to interrupt his betters. “There are horses inside, I guarantee you this party was a ‘mockery’ well before it started.” Olivia turned her back towards Neville, signifying she was done speaking to him.

Bastien wrapped his arm around her back. “She means no offense Maxwell.”

Maxwell bounced on the balls of his feet like a small excitable child. “It wouldn’t be a Beaumont Bash if it weren’t a mockery.” He turned to the party, raising his hands in the air. “Let the revelry continue!”

Olivia rolled her eyes as Maxwell danced away being swallowed into the screaming crowd. She turned to Bastien, standing on her tiptoes to reach his ear, she ran her hand up and down his arm, her hot breath fanning against his neck as she spoke. “We’ve been thoroughly seen and you’ve been ogled by more than half the people here. Let’s get back to our room.”

He took her hand in his, eager to  get out of the costume. He still had one question, one that he had hoped to have had answered over the course of the night. “Why this costume?”

“There may have been a bet but, don’t worry, we won.”

A bet?! His eyes went wide at her admission. “You soo owe me.”

“Don’t worry, there might be a small gold bikini waiting for you in Lythikos…”

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Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, I’m just borrowing them from PB.

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment or reblog to let me know how much you like it. I can handle the screams, so scream away.

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[oodlyenough]

aight... here’s a pretty long yet tip-of-the-iceberg collection on my overall thoughts on bl3 now that i’ve finished the damn thing, every main mission & every sidequest (dynasty dash don’t interact). 

obviously mega spoilers

the good

aside from that one infuriating difficulty spike when i arrived on promethea, i had a lot of fun playing. i found the gameplay a lot smoother than the others in the series (as it should be), i liked being able to climb stuff, i liked having an easy mode tbh!!

i really liked playing amara and i like the flexibility of action skills and being able to swap on the go without having to respec. the brawl tree ended up being very well suited to my type of play, it hindered me only during boss fights and even then at least i could switch to phasecast y’know

i had a lot of big fears about what this game would do and it managed to not do anything that makes me want to, like, burn and salt the earth, so that’s a win

i thought it was pretty funny! or at least on par with the other main games, which always kind of ride the line between funny and obnoxious and sometimes misstep

i enjoyed a lot of the cast, both new characters and characters who were returning but who i had no particular feelings about before, hammerlock, zer0 and ellie as particular examples

hammerlock and wainwright were cute af and it’s nice to see a gay couple in a triple-a game 

thought the twins were fun and funny af i liked them. because fandom is Like That i was a little exhausted by troy before he even showed up but even then, like, idk i liked them as a duo and i liked the break from jack honestly 

a lot of the new gun quirks were fun. i’m not like a big... gun person... but i found some cool ones i enjoyed playing with. 

loved getting to see different planets, it was a nice break from pandora all the time. and skywell was super fun! love the low-grav playfulness from TPS without the infuriating oz kit nonsense

the little quality of life improvements from previous games were great, like fast travel from anywhere, auto-refilling ammo, etc

some of the side quests were really fun. i liked the ratch quest for rhys, the birthday party quest for mordecai, the claptrap dancing quest was sweet, the buff movie buff quest was fun, the quest where i killed grandpappy 2 seconds in and got a reward was funny as hell esp because i drove off a cliff by accident, etc

lots of people had really bad glitches and stuff but... honestly can’t relate the game ran very well for me. advantages to not marathoning it before they’ve released their first couple patches, i guess, lol 

the less good

i played a solo amara and there are some bosses that seem like they would’ve been pure hell to do alone... i was lucky and able to phone a friend for a lifeline in those scenarios (shoutout to @heavybreathingcatt and @valoscope) but if i couldn’t do that idk i would’ve just broken my controller in rage i guess lmao 

why is resurrecting each other so hard? i don’t think i’ve ever done it successfully, because it takes too long and more importantly bc while i’m doing it some enemy will just toss a grenade or punch me and i get knocked away from the ally, rendering it useless

rest in peace maya, the best res AI in the whole damn game, got me through the rampager fight her damn self

there were a lot of characters and themes and ideas that i liked in theory more than in practice... because in practice they felt like a first draft. very often i felt like i liked a thing, and then on reflection thought about nine hundred ways it could’ve been better, deeper, more emotionally resonant, more developed, whatever. 

the angel stuff was kinda nice but... also... my longest deepest sigh ever @ Poor Sad Jack Some People Terrorize Entire Planets And Abuse Their Daughters To Cope With Their Fridged Wife

like the siren lore... wish i coulda heard it without having to backtrack across every map post-game

while i found the game generally pretty funny,  almost all the emotional scenes fell completely flat for me and there were a number of scenes that SHOULD have been emotional that just were not 

for eg i am actually not upset about maya or lilith dying (or turning into the moon as it were) -- i am ok with those beats for those characters, especially lilith getting a heroic sendoff. however... both of those scenes could’ve been more impactful than they were. maya’s i think was better than lilith’s, but both of them felt flatter, either in the moment or in the aftermath, than those characters deserved. 

related: NPCs reacting to major events is fun. i liked to do the tour and check in with all my buds to get their couple custom lines after a big plot thing happened. HOWEVER... those lines are obviously timed which is *mostly* fine but in some cases really, really weird? the lines about maya should stay in rotation for a lot longer. ava shouldn’t go back to LOL LET’S STEAL two seconds after maya’s gone. i missed zer0′s maya lines entirely bc i didn’t track down zer0 on time lol. stuff like that 

the bad

i miss my girls :( we really did keep only the white men huh

the last act felt severely underbaked. i have to wonder how many rewrites this game went through, and how much the back end was slapped together last minute, or cobbled together from various drafts. a lot of this felt very first or second draft, where the characters and themes are *there* but not refined at all, or they contradict each other. the family theme that goes basically nowhere and says nothing. the way the story handles atlas vs the way the story handles jakobs vs the way the story handles corporations writ large. 

for the twins -- lack of proper emotional resonance or development for them is one of the biggest failures imo, because i think they WERE very enjoyable villains and the core concept of like... evil video game streamers is honestly on-brand and funny af for the franchise... but as soon as troy died everything went downhill? tyreen’s non-reaction to her brother dying isn’t even a reaction, it’s not even “tyreen doesn’t care she’s evil lol” which would’ve been a boring direction to take anyway) it’s just.... “we barely wrote a response don’t worry about it”. her endgame is to be a big monster because... she’s ... fame hungry? huh? her motivation fell apart.w whether they went with “troy and tyreen are shitty people who get caught up in a power struggle but ultimately love each other” OR “troy and tyreen are shitty people who turn against each other in individual bids for power” could both have been interesting stories but they did neither. 

i’m def missing some echos on the twins which brings me to another thing i hate although it’s endemic to the series and not to bl3 specifically -- hiding important lore and characterization in random echos in random places on the map without even an indication of how many there are total, how many you’ve collected, where to find them... frustrating as hell. a lot of those echos are some of my favourite material in the game! at LEAST tell me “1 of 5 echos on this map” if you don’t wanna tell me where they are! why is major lore like the twins’ backstories hidden?????? 

and bc i haven’t heard them i don’t know if it’s fandom doing what fandom always does, or if it really is the game implying tyreen is The Evil Mastermind and troy is poor manipulated brother, but either way fuck that entire noise lmao of course the women of colour in the series are just Born Evil but jack and troy and whoever else are just Sad :( fuck off actually 

typhon... sucks... what an irritating character. irritating to retcon him in as The First Vault Hunter, irritating to have him talk about shit and sex all the time, irritating to have every established NPC be like oh wow my HERO typhon deleon what a HERO i LOVE him, irritating that we skate over his parenting failures, irritating that he has a fridged beloved wife, ESPECIALLY irritating he gets a memorial sidequest and maya didn’t . just. bad.

aurelia is evil now cause reasons... bad... 

vaughn also bad lmao i can’t believe they made amara yell “blood feud”... disgusting... 

the playable had no role in the story. they’re just a fly on the wall in every cut scene. this is whack in general, and a crit i can apply to all of the main borderlands games, however it is extremely jarring to play amara in a siren-heavy game and have no one acknowledge it. 

OVERALL... I guess like a B-? Maybe a B. I had fun playing it and I’m still having fun running around in Mayhem Mode and I am def looking forward to the DLCs. Gameplay is great. But while I had hoped this installment would take the storytelling of the main games a step further, it actually felt like a step back in virtually every respect.