#I''d like never properly seen it on a 'teen' show before

[takaraphoenix]

Ship game!! What about Nico and Will?? It’s pretty popular, but I don’t think I’ve seen you write much of it…

That's an interesting one in that I have vocalized my reasons for disliking it way back when it first became popular but instead of just linking that, it has been years so I think it's time for an updated version.

Firstly: This post is gonna be properly tagged and not crosstagged so if any shipper comes across it and feels the need to bitch about it, just don't; your lack of curating your own tumblr experience is not my problem! ;D

Now, there are three key factors that play into my dislike of this ship: How it was written, what it represents, how the fandom around it acts.

1. It’s rushed and uncomfortable

In BoO, it was incredibly rushed. They had literally five sentences of interactions before they walked into the literal sunset together. Five. It was just entirely born from Riordan's Noah's Ark Complex, where he just can't let people be single. The series was ending and he needed Nico to have an endgame so he rushed into some random romance with zero build-up.

The way their interactions went down was also severely uncomfortable for me. Will was acting so offended by Nico not wanting to go to camp and be friends in an entitled way that he had no right to be, he downright guilt-tripped Nico about how he had wanted to be friends. Nico has been just so severely traumatized at such a young age and his coping mechanism, as unhealthy as it was, was to run away and hide. Will acted like Nico not wanting to form attachments to people who could potentially leave him again was somehow just an Edgy Emo Decision and not a direct reaction to his trauma. His entire approach to Nico was basically all these hippie posts of "Don't have depression!! Just go out into the sun and stop being depressed!", which is already a bad take with non-medical people but he's supposed to be a doctor (and let's not get into the shadiness of him technically being Nico's doctor).

There is also an inherent "I can fix him" angle to this ship and to me, only few ship dynamics are more uncomfortable than that. If you want to fundamentally change a person's behavior and personality, you... don't actually want to be with this person.

Now, here's where my points overlap, because the following parts of their writing that bothers me also stand for what this ship fundamentally represents.

2. Solangelo is a queer ship written by and for straights

I'm a queer woman and as a queer woman, I want queer wish-fulfillment, not what straights want out of queerness. I'm kind of tired of that, I've been sitting through it for enough decades now. That's, of course, not to say that no straight writer can give proper queer representation, but far too often do straight writers - even the most well-meaning ones - project straight desires of queerness into their queer representation.

Let me explain that closer through this ship.

Nico's been in love with Percy for years and I'm going to do my best to not hijack this post with some Percico agenda; that's not what this his about, this isn't some "my ship is better than your ship" ship-war nonsense. It's simply a canonical fact that Nico has had romantic feelings for another character for years.

A character who, in this medium, is heterosexual. And if you're queer, you've been there. In love with your straight best friend. It's a cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason.

We have also all been well-meaningly rejected by said straight friend.

And here's the straight desires for you: The queer person who was in love with a straight person just immediately stops having those feelings and will then as quickly as possible fall in love with the next queer person they meet to be happy and no longer uncomfortably in love with a straight person, because that thought makes the straights uncomfortable.

Queer wish-fulfillment would be for Percy to return those feelings, for the queer character to get his first love, to not be rejected. That thing queer teens always dreamed about for themselves.

Aside from the wish-fulfillment angle, the pacing is another problem. Let me repeat, Nico was in love for years. But a five sentence conversation with Will once causes a crush on Will and we see him physically turn away from Percy and toward Will just immediately to rebound and actually fall out of love with Percy and in love with Will. Anyone who's ever been unlucky in love will attest to just how unrealistic and ridiculous the pacing here is.

It's also straight queerness in another respect; Nico has been the first ever queer character we meet in that world. He loves a straight guy - and to get over that, we introduce the second queer character. Because heaven forbid there are multiple queers to pick from. No, in straight-written queer romances, there is always that one main queer and then they introduce a second one and the two just immediately hit it off and develop a romance like all a queer person needs to form attraction to someone is the confirmation that the other person shares your sexuality.

Also the notable gay guy on gay guy ship here, whereas the more queer-wish-fulfillment option would have also included more nuance to the queer experience, because Percy doesn't have to be heterosexual just because he has only been with girls so far. It's a very old-fashioned - think 90s and early 2000s - kind of straight-written queerness that there are only exactly two homosexuals and that those two homosexuals then pair up.

And, listen, I'm not immune to these outdated straight-written queers entirely, I have many such ships that I grew up with that I am still fond of because they were groundbreaking at that time and they weren't outdated yet back when they happened in said 90s and early 2000s. I am however a grown woman now and just like I have grown, so has queer rep so I am not as easily baited into falling onto my knees in gratitude for canon rep. You have to go with the times. And this ship, by all that is given to us, is just entirely outdated straight-written rep.

Which, I mention earlier that even straight-written rep can be good. If the author tries. Riordan doesn't really try though; he does the bare minimum when he writes any of his rep - and there have been many, many more qualified voices being very vocal about his depiction of people of color and, as a woman, I've been vocal about his depiction of women. I don't want to derail this post with all of that, but I do think that it bears mentioning that Riordan doing rep but only doing a bare minimum and not putting in the necessary work to deepen the representation he wants to give is a repeating pattern that has been pointed out many times by now.

(I’d also like to point out that no, it is not just the ship and not just the listed instances that make it straight-written rep for straights. It’s Nico’s entire queer arc, starting with his forced coming out. A severely traumatizing event that is completely brushed over because the straight author doesn’t understand the impact this has on queer people. Not to mention the framework; Nico’s coming out isn’t Nico’s story, it happens in Jason’s POV, it is given to us through the POV of the straight bystander who gets to be Best Ally by assuring Nico that being gay is okay. This kind of coming out is not a queer wish-fulfillment, it’s a straight wish-fulfillment of getting to be the straight savior, the ally to show the gay the light of acceptance. And, additional to the ridiculous pacing of how fast Nico gets over his love for Percy, Nico also gets over years of internalized homophobia just because of, I don’t know, Jason’s few encouraging words and the fact that Will paid attention to him? For a gay kid who was in the closet all his life, the nonchalant way in which he publicly confessed his crush to Percy at the end made absolutely no sense and was written as basically a joke, finished off with Nico literally high-fiving Percy’s girlfriend despite those two never having seen eye to eye before but this is straight wish-fulfillment so all straights are Super Allies, because that’s the way straights want to see themselves, even though Annabeth has shown before just how jealous she can be and she most definitely wouldn’t go around high-fiving people who confess to her boyfriend. Nothing about Nico’s queer arc in HoO felt natural or queer or satisfying.)

Sure, Solangelo on a surface level is big because it's a canon queer couple in a YA book-series and kudos for that and yay for the kids who get to grow up seeing queers in YA books, but I actually do think that kids growing up with books written in the 2010s shouldn't grow up with 1990s levels of representation, because the 2010s overall are actually at a far more nuanced and better level of representation when it comes to queerness. And I do reserve the right to quit on too straight-written and too outdated queer rep in a landscape where I can get more satisfying representation elsewhere; we don’t live in times anymore where you necessarily have to love every bit of rep because it’s the only one you get.

Now that we've gone through my first two gripes, let's wrap this up with the final point, because it also directly ties into this.

3. The new wave of antis hiding behind this ship

A huge part of the fandom is so busy kissing Riordan's ass solely for giving them queer rep at all they think that both the author and the ship are beyond flawless and that kind of attitude is not good. Just because an author includes rep doesn't make either perfect. Absolutely no one is beyond critique - especially not when said critique comes from the very people the author is representing. And even beyond any "valid" critique on the ship, quite frankly, someone should also be allowed to just not like it, without any reasons given at all.

But there is a certain... protective obsessiveness about this ship that doesn't allow a not liking. Very similar to how PJO bore this mindset around Perc/abeth already. It's okay to have OTPs, even OTPs that you have a blindspot for and just don't want to see any flaws in. It is however not okay to then go around attacking people who don't like the thing and mind their own business.

Solangelo's bred a new generation of antis in this fandom. And, particularly with the fact that this post too receives an "anti" tag, I feel like there needs to be a clarification (because tumblr likes to forget what actually makes an anti). Not liking something doesn't make you an anti, venting in properly tagged posts doesn't either; it's the people who harass others, who seek out the content they dislike to then complain that it even exists and who actively try to make others stop creating for it - those are antis.

And with Solangelo's popularity, there was a high rise in Percico antis, who sought it out, were unnecessarily nasty about it, harrassed creators and tried to enforce some kind of "Solangelo supremacy" that won't allow other ships for the characters.

I've been in fandom long enough to be perfectly aware that not all Solangelo shippers count into this category and that there are completely normal and nice Solangelo shippers, but this is a Venn diagram where the overlap between Solangelo shippers and antis is too large to not widely associate the nasty people with the ship itself. (I've been there myself, shipping the very ship behind which a fandom's antis all hid. The second-hand embarrassment of having these people give the ship a bad name is horrendous and I do feel bad for all the normal Solangelo shippers.)

The more often I encountered these people, who made Percico bad (sometimes in wildly ridiculous manners that bent and deliberately misinterpreted canon) and who in the same breath praised Solangelo high, the more tired I grew of that ship. It's a simple game of association, really. You see that linked to the gross and nasty behavior and you start associating the ship itself with that gross and nasty behavior - and with all the things I said before that already weighed into my dislike of the ship, this just was the final tipping point, really.

And that's it. That sums up why I dislike Solangelo. It was hastily rushed, uncomfortable in its execution, it is outdated rep that very much feels as straight-written as it factually is and it does not feel aimed at me as a queer person but rather at the straight audience and it has gathered a cult following of quite uncomfortable people who on their own would be reason enough to avoid it so you can avoid them.

Send me a ship and I will explain why I do or don't ship it

[kiribakuhappiness]

Some notes for a KiriBaku AU that I would love to write one day but probably won’t ever find the time to, so here’s the barebones outline for it at least because I thought it was a fun idea! :,D

Lady & the Tramp

Gentleman and the Tramp

- Eijirou has always lived a comfortable lifestyle. He’s always had food in his belly and a roof over his head and a fireplace to huddle around during cold bitter nights. His parents’ marriage was filled with love and their house was filled with warmth and, with a new baby sister on the way, things were looking pretty good for him.

- Katsuki hasn’t known such comfort since he was a young boy, when his mom was arrested for something he didn’t even know what cause he was too young to have coherent thoughts yet and his father cracked under the pressure of being a single parent to an explosively rebellious child. The streets weren’t ideal, but Katsuki grew up tougher than his old man and more intelligent than what was for his own good, and so he made the most of it.

- Eijirou’s close friends are Denki /a local artist/ and Sero /a general store clerk/ who regularly visit with him at his house.

- Katsuki would say that he doesn’t have friends but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t begrudgingly accept the friendship of an overly zealous newspaper boy by the name of Deku, who mentions to him one day how the wealthy Kirishima family is expecting another child.

- Katsuki comments that he doesn’t see how that could possibly be news to anyone, until later that day when he overhears a rather disturbing conversation about how someone is planning on kidnapping the baby for ransom.

- “A yuppy family like that’ll no doubt pay extra-”

- “double,”

- “triple!”

- Intrigued by all the commotion, Katsuki visits the Kirishima Mansion, eyeing the picturesque Japanese gardens with some underlying prejudice and the perfectly manicured yards with barely contained disgust. A real run-of-the-mill, too fancy for their own good establishment; Katsuki’s finding it hard to gather any sort of sympathy for them.

- While observing the manor in all its glory, Katsuki overhears Eijirou speaking with Denki and Sero about the new baby and how excited they all are for its arrival. Unable to help himself from chiming in with his own opinion, Katsuki comments how bringing another child into the world when there are already so many on the streets that need homes could be seen as the utmost snobby act of privilege shown by the upper class. A real kick in the groin to those struggling to make ends meet out in the real world.

- Denki and Sero are immediately put off by Katsuki’s cynicism and tell him to slink back to the grimy part of the city where he came from, but something about his speech gave Eijirou pause. He’s never met a man as bold and bitter as Katsuki, and the abrupt change in perspective is baffling to him.

- Katsuki holds his chin up high following an ominous warning to “keep that spoiled little brat with the silver spoon you’ll shove in its mouth under close supervision” before he finally takes his leave.

- Eijirou soon forgets this strange encounter, as a few months later his new sister is born. Eijirou takes on a lot of the responsibility - feeding and changing and wholeheartedly enthusiastic to learn the ins-and-outs of parenting. He’s seen the amount of stress the pregnancy had on his mother, and he wants to help, so he offers that they go on a vacation and leave the baby with him.

- Unwilling to leave their infant with their teen son, the Kirishima’s hire a nanny service to help with the upkeep. Eijirou knows it’s rude not to like someone based on prejudice, but he’s got an uneasy feeling about Himiko Toga. He can’t pinpoint exactly what it is. She’s fairly sweet upon first introductions and seems capable enough, but Eijirou can’t really figure out that look in her eyes whenever she’s holding his sister, like she’s thinking about darting out the door and taking off with her or something just as silly.

- That dumb street boy must have really gotten in his head.

- Reluctant to leave his sister in the care of a stranger, but knowing that Eijirou has errands to run and that letting a random sitter take his parent’s credit cards probably wouldn’t be a very smart idea, he takes the plunge and sets off into town for the day to gather supplies and puts Himiko in charge.

- As he’s leaving the grocer, he stumbles across Katsuki again, who is being forcefully removed from a convenient shop down the street while a portly man reprimands him for stealing, barking out a stern “get a fucking job, street rat!” before slamming the door in his face. Katsuki flips the guy off and continues on his way with hardly a pause, and Eijirou knows that he’ll merely move onto the next place as his sharp red eyes are already searching for a new target.

- “Are you hungry?” Eijirou asks as he falls into step beside him. “I could get you something from the grocer!”

- “Don’t need your damn handouts, rich boy,” Katsuki is adamant to inform him that he doesn’t need any help.

- Eijirou is perplexed by this refusal. He’d just watched him get thrown out of a store and yet Katsuki’s confidence could have fooled the most common of men into believing he were the descent of some royal lineage.

- Still, Eijirou is just as stubborn as he is, maybe even more so. He can’t help but let it eat away at him; his family has lots of money to spare, he wouldn’t mind paying for some groceries, honest! But Katsuki is shrewd and proud... and yet oh-so very easily manipulated.

- Eijirou tells him that he’s looking a little on the skinny side, so he must not be very good at living on his own. Katsuki takes immediate offense to this statement and takes Eijirou around town as though to prove him wrong, showing him parts of the city that Eijirou has only heard about in books, taking him through the slums where a large portion of people greet Katsuki like family despite the cold shoulder he gives them in return.

- It’s clear that he’s done a lot for the community, in his own hot-headed ways. Teaching the young girls living in poverty how to properly defend themselves, sharing scarce food with whoever he comes across who looks like they haven’t gotten enough for themselves, standing up against the rich and the wretched who like to look their noses down on them for their misfortunes.

- Even with his hardened exterior, Eijirou is surprised to find just how warm a presence Katsuki can be. How freeing it is to wander the city and live without order or rules or a clock to keep track of time. It’s a liberating sensation to skinny-dip in the harbor despite all of the signs telling them that they weren’t allowed to, and to sneak into the junk yard to sit in an old muscle car listening to music, and to visit some wholesome family kitchens where they were treated to an array of new samples after it’s revealed that the owners knew Katsuki when he was just a baby - long before his mother was arrested and his father became the shell of the man he used to be - and they’ve always made it a priority to feed him whenever he happened to meander unknowingly into their neighborhood.

- Eijirou sees his beloved city through a brand new lens, and he likes what he sees. Musutafu has never looked more enticing and adventurous than it had been that night.

- Katsuki offers to walk Eijirou back to his ‘big ole mansion’ under the guise of added protection. “You’ll be fuckin’ mugged if you walk around lookin’ like that at this hour.”

- Eijirou thinks they might kiss once they reach the gate to his property, but he can sense the tension settling in Katsuki’s shoulders as they get closer to the abode, and a bitterness starts to grow on his face that chills the warmth they had begun to grow between them. Eijirou decides to ask him about what he meant when he said that they should keep a close eye on his sister after her birth, but Katsuki is evasive and avoids his gaze and doesn’t give him a straight answer.

- He’s hiding something, he knows more than he’s letting on.

- Eijirou tells him that there’s going to be a party at the Kirishima Mansion that weekend to celebrate the birth of his sister, and invites him to come for the food.

- Katsuki tells him not to hold his breath and leaves without another look back.

- Eijirou worries that he might have upset him somehow and goes back into town a few days later to try and find him, but even the family kitchen comments that they haven’t seen him around lately. He begins to think the worst until he meets Camie and Shouto, two teens from equally wealthy families who visit the Kirishima Mansion with their parents on the day of the party to meet the baby.

- As it turns out, both Camie and Shouto know Katsuki from school. Apparently, the Bakugous used to be pretty well-known and were fairly respected in the fashion industry before his mother’s very public meltdown and the destruction of the Bakugou legacy.

- Shouto explains how he used to attend lessons with Katsuki at the university, studying under their apprenticeship program, and how he has always had a raging temper, but that his dedication to his studies and resilience in his training were both very admirable traits. He’d dare even go as far to say that they were friends, at one point in time.

- Camie’s intel, on the other hand, is far more risqué and full of gossip.

- She tells Eijirou about how Katsuki was “a lone wolf who couldn’t tell you the definition of the word lonely,” hinting at a promiscuous past filled with midnight escapades of sneaking off campus to drink and roam around the city with whoever had fallen head-over-heels for his aloof charisma that month. She describes how he draws people in with the promise of mystery, and leaves them behind when his true aggressive nature is revealed after any amount of prolonged exposure.

- She should know, of course. She’s been there and done that before.

- ‘you can never tell when he’ll show up’ / ‘he gives you plenty of trouble’ / ‘I guess he’s just a no count pup’ / ‘but I wish that he were double’

- The overwhelming consensus is that Katsuki may have had a bright future at one point but, as Shouto comments, “Some are just luckier than others, and Bakugou’s luck ran out long ago.”

- Camie mentions Shouto’s older brother who went down a similar path, and Shouto’s only response to that is, “You can’t really save someone who doesn’t want to be saved...”

- As the party winds down and the guests start to leave, Eijirou can’t help but think about Katsuki. He’s a little put off to know that the day they had spent together in the city probably wasn’t the only round-trip adventure that Katsuki has gone on. He doesn’t even want to know how many others there have been, and he feels somewhat foolish for thinking that there was anything more between them than that.

- That night after all the guests are gone, Katsuki shows up in the back gardens.

- Eijirou doesn’t understand why he waited so long, and Katsuki explains how ‘those people’ wouldn’t want him there anyway and that it’s for the best. Eijirou is still a little jaded about everything he had learned from Shouto and Camie, and he tells Katsuki that he doesn’t have the time to be messing around with guys who don’t take him seriously and who don’t know how to take responsibility for themselves.

- Katsuki looks like he wants to say something, but instead he ends up leaving in a furious huff, and Eijirou believes that it’s the last time he’ll probably ever see him. He tries to remember Katsuki’s earlier words.

- It’s for the best.

- Even though it doesn’t really feel like it is.

- Unable to sleep in the middle of the night, Eijirou goes to check on his sister in her crib only to find that Himiko has invited two men over to the mansion; Dabi and Tomura. Eijirou catches them red-handed in the parlor as they’re attempting to steal valuable family heirlooms and making a plan to kidnap the baby for ransom later.

- Eijirou fights with everything he has in him to stop them, but it’s three against one and he never really stood a chance. Himiko disappears upstairs to grab the baby while Dabi and Tomura deal with Eijirou, brandishing knives without any intentions of holding back.

- Katsuki arrives after breaking in through the kitchen, having kept tabs on the growing rumors around the city that a group of assholes were planning on kidnapping the baby girl, and he helps Eijirou fight off Dabi and Tomura, who escape into the night with Himiko when it’s obvious that their attempt has failed.

- The police arrive on the scene shortly after, and it’s Katsuki who takes the hit in the fallout of everything, arrested for petty theft and breaking & entering despite Eijirou’s adamant arguing against it.

- The police aren’t interested in hearing his side of the story, though.

- One act of kindness doesn’t expunge a man of several years worth of crime.

- Katsuki is taken into custody and shipped off to the station, and Eijirou is left behind to clean up the mess and tend to his sister.

- When his parents fly back into the city the next morning following the news of the attempted kidnapping, Eijirou recounts the events of the past week to them, and shortly after their arrival from the airport they go to the station together to pay off Katsuki’s bail.

- Katsuki is resistant at first, unfamiliar with this type of treatment and reluctant to accept it, but Eijirou tells him how grateful he is that he had been there that night, and believes that everyone deserves a second chance, even someone as jagged and prickly as Katsuki.

- The Kirishimas make a few sizeable donations to the city and the family kitchen from before in Katsuki’s honor, boasting about his heroicism and how their family is indebted to him, and Katsuki finds himself back in their neighborhood more often than not to attend cookouts and charity events.

- He still feels out of place in their fancy home, and he’s not so great with Eijirou’s sister, but he tries to make an effort, he works hard to make the most of it, and Eijirou would never ask anything more from him than that.

[oxiosa]

You’ve asked me this before but because of that post I will now uno reverse card and ask for more of YOUR hcs about trouble kid Martin and stepmom Chiara, pretty please 🙏

Your wish is my command~

I imagine the first time they met was completely accidental and very awkward on Chiara’s side. She had been dating Antonio for a few weeks when he invited her over to his place, and maybe they were getting a little too cosy on the couch when the front door opened and a fucking kid came in. Chiara was shocked, to put in mildly, but the kid barely spared them a look and an unimpressed “what’s up” before walking past them. Chiara turned to Antonio silently asking for an explanation. Oh yeah, Antonio had forgotten to mention! He has a son :D

As months went by and things with Antonio got serious, I think Chiara was the one to insist on properly meeting Martín. She had meet him by passing in a rather awkward situation but Antonio had never introduced them. So they decide to organise dinner at Antonio’s place.

Tincho was neither impressed or interested on meeting Chiara. She seem a little better than the young women his father usually went for, but he knew she wouldn’t last – none of the others had. So he pretty much didn’t bother. I imagine Chiara prepared a very nice dinner so they could start all over with the right foot, and Martín pretty much went “Nah, pass. I already have plans, I’m going to Sebas’ place” and ditched them. Which of course didn’t leave the best of impressions.

I think Chiara was surprised to learn how young Martín was. Tincho always was a tall kid which made him look a little older than he already was. Also, with the way Antonio had spoken of him and the freedom and independence he gave the kid she was expecting a teen.

When Antonio and Chiara got married, she moved in and the nightmare begun :)

She was the one to put order in the house. Antonio kinda had the life of a young bachelor; he spent most of his time at work, came home late, didn’t have much work for house work. Martincito, being a kid, wasn’t very helpful either (quite the opposite), so it was pretty messy. Not just in dirty, but also as in “there’s barely food in the fridge, no one is taking out the trash, no one did the dishes, there are piles and piles of dirty clothes by the washing machine, the junk mail keeps piling up, etc etc”. She was not living in a dump, so upon her arrival things had to change.

One of the many things that had to change was Martín’s lack of respect. She had a very harsh approach at first that didn’t work out at all. She was very aggressive and abrasive at first, which only pushed Martín further away; the more she pressed on him, the more he rebelled against her. She made it her mission to put some order and respect in this house, set a bunch of rules Martín didn’t follow nor appreciate. It kinda turned into a cold war in which Chiara set rules, Tincho broke them, and she took away his privileges. She went through his things, confiscated shit, locked the front door and windows. I even imagine she went as far as taking Tincho’s bedroom door’s key and handle so he couldn’t shut himself in. All sort of shit that only aggravated wild Martín. To him, she was the Evil Stepmother.

I think Chiara didn’t have the whole picture when she moved in and started handling Martín. She had Antonio’s side of the story in which there was no issue, so Martín seemed like a nightmare of a stepson for no reason whatsoever. Antonio was a nice sweet guy, she couldn’t imagine why his son was terrible except that maybe he was a spawn of the devil. But as time progressed, she got to see first-hand how Tincho was pretty much raising himself and she begun to understand the source of his anger. I think the realisation hit close to her heart; Chiara had lived something similar, she had been a lonely neglected child angry at the world as well. She knew how Martín felt, saw herself mirrored in him, so it became personal. At first it had been about teaching this brat about respect and authority, but now it was about making it right by this kid. She felt a need to show him love and care and to give him the attention he needed, to teach him in return there were rules and an authority he needed respect so he could grow to be a better person.

She became very invested on getting closer to Tincho. She tried a different approach, tried to be smarter about it. She was still stern and harsh, but instead of butting heads with Martín she decided to remain a wall; she didn’t actively push against him, but she didn’t bulge either. She didn’t force Martín back into his place like she had tried before, instead she let him figure out on his own that there was no way past her and her rules - even if that took him slamming his head into her wall a thousand times. It was about waiting until Tinchito tired himself out and learnt to listen. It was not easy, but it had better results. Whenever Martín did as was expected of him, she rewarded him returning the privileges she had taken one by one. The peak of the rewards was her trust: she basically challenged Tinchito not to let her down, to show her he could be a good boy and play by the rules.

Martín was far more receptive to this approach, if a little distrustful at first, as if he thought she was luring him into a trap. He was not used to an adult keeping tabs on him, least of an adult asking about his day, interest, etc. He was a little hard to win, but at the end of the day he craved the attention Chiara was offering.

As I said on the post that started all these, Chiara signed him into rugby. Tincho was very reluctant at first, and the only way to get him to go was by bribing him. Chiara watches the whole thing: she sat by the bleachers with the posture of a lady and calmly observed as her stepson got turned into mush. Once it was over and Tinchito returned to her, exhausted and in pain and covered in mud, she invited him some well-earned ice cream (it kinda became their thing). I think this was one of the main milestones for Tinchito’s taming. It gave him an outlet to his energy, it gave him a team and sense of belonging, and it also taught him values, as it happens with sports. This made him a lot easier to handle, which resulted in a smoother reception to the boundaries Chiara set.

I really like the hc that she taught him how to cook. I imagine one day she caught Tincho cooking some lunch and was very much unimpressed. She asked what he normally cooked when his dad wasn’t home (aka most of the time), and she basically had to sit down upon learning this kid has been living of frozen food re-heated in the oven and pasta and junk food and the sort of thing a kid would pick for dinner if left to their devices. She threw whatever shitty frozen thing Martín was making and cooked for him, demanding he paid careful attention.

Chiara is the only one who has ever seen Martín show his true feeling about Antonio, the only one who has seen him cry about it. Maybe it was during some event Antonio missed; Chiara was there, saw the way Martín’s eyes searched for his dad and how his face fell when she told him he couldn’t make it in time. Martín tried to shrug it off, told her it was ok, he was used to it and anyways Tincho liked Chiara better, the two of them had more fun together without Antonio, all of this while his eyes filled up with tears and his smile trembled. She hugged him, let him sob like a baby on her chest while she petted his hair and kissed his crown.

She was also the one who forced Antonio to be around for his son. When she married him, she wanted to make a home and that included having Antonio in the picture. She didn’t always succeeded, but she tried.

And well then there's the one we already said: she spotted right away Tinchito's eye trailed after other boys rather than girls, also was the one who installed some sense of fashion once he was over his awkward teenage phase.

And those are kinda the ones I have, I wouldn’t mind if anyone wanted to add some more :D

[martellthemandalor]

Fight or Flight - Part 2

Pairing: Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales x F!Reader

Warnings: langauge, guns, blood, violence, alcohol, angst

Rating: T (teen)

Word Count: 4.2K+

A/N: Part 2!! Here we are after two weeks, which I’m impressed with becuase uni has been kicking my ass lately. Just a PSA that I mildly hate myself for writing this becuase I hate hurting Frankie. Thank you to @mylifeliterally for beta reading this! As always likes are appreciated, reblogs encouraged and comments are adored :)

If you haven’t already, read part 1 here!

Masterlist

GIF credit: @conveniently-available

Staying away from Frankie was working so far, the atmosphere between the two of you softening as your anger faded slowly with the distance. Everyone was happy with this, the boys starting to properly relax again in your presence and your relief at that knew no bounds.

Things were starting to feel like normal again.

Benny’s fight had gone… well you weren’t entirely sure how it had gone, but he was insisting that he had won and that was a good enough cause for celebration in the group.

The old squad had retired to Benny’s favourite haunt, a small Irish themed pub a few streets from the gym. There you were now sat, favourite beverages in hand, talking as if the last god-knows how many years hadn’t passed at all.

Ben had insisted that you weren’t paying for own drinks tonight, overjoyed that your good luck kiss had worked its magic on him. You certainly weren’t complaining, even if you did start to feel a little guilty as the other boys insisted that they pay for a few too.

Fish didn’t say anything to you but you clocked him slip his own contribution into Will’s hand, muttering something to him. Next thing you knew another bottle had been handed to you by the blonde.

A tiny wave of guilt washed over your stomach as you stared at the drink, offering your thanks to Will who simply gave your shoulder a squeeze in return. He knew it wasn’t meant for him.

The feeling quickly washed away though, replaced with that warm fuzz alcohol provided.

While it was true you had planned to lightly flirt with Benny at the start of the evening, you hadn’t expected it to be as enticing as it was to just… keep going. So, you did.

“So Benny, since when I was your good luck charm, hmm?” You queried lightly, nudging him with your elbow.

“You always were Athena, though honestly you’re more of a good looking charm than anything else.” He winked at you. It caused you, Will and Santi to groan in response.

“Come on Ben that was awful, surely you have better lines that from your other good luck charms,” You said.

“Ain’t ever been any other charm but you Ath. You gave us all our luck on missions and it continued into the ring. Wouldn’t want anyone else,” Benny confessed, all the boys nodding their agreement.

The sincerity of his words sent heat flaring to your cheeks. The boys had often joked that you were some kind of blessed, always knowing the best route out of a sticky situation, knowing when shit was about to hit the fan, knowing how to get everyone to safety even if they weren’t with you. You always said it was just paranoia and a lot of experience, but they insisted it was no joking matter how many times it had saved all your skins. All except… once.

“He’s right you know,” A quiet voice caused your head to snap from where you had been staring at your drink. “I know you don’t always believe it, but he’s right. You saved all our asses more times than I can count.”

Frankie. You stared at him, the heat from your cheeks now shifting to blaze a firefight behind your eyes.

“And yet the one time I needed you to save mine, my luck ran out? Is that it?” You snapped.

Frankie shrank under your gaze, refusing to meet your eyes. You watched his hands fidget with his bottle, fingertip skimming the rim. Then, calmly, in a move that you’d never seen before, he placed his hands flat on the table, keeping them still.

“Do you want to do this now?” He asked, his voice low, level, considered. “It’s been killing the guys to find out what happened to us, so do you want to do this now?”

They all were watching you now, four pairs of highly trained eyes bearing into your soul.

“Is that true?” You asked the group. The blaze in you never softening, the bite in your words not held back.

The answering silence told you everything, very clearly.

“You guys want to know what happened, huh? Is your curiosity finally getting the better of you now that we’re both here?” You sniped. It was all of them avoiding your eyes now, heads ducked away from your firing line.

“Hermana, you don’t have to-” Santiago started, cut off abruptly when you threw up a closed fist.

“No, I think it’s time we got it out there. I’m ready to talk. Frankie, honey, do you want to tell them? Or should I?” Fish squared his shoulders somewhat, but still couldn’t look at you. One hand had closed around his bottle again, knuckles white, gripping it so tight it looked as though it could shatter at any moment.

“Fine. Fish left me to die.” You let the words hang. And for a moment, nothing happened. Like the grace period between releasing the trigger on a hand grenade and the moment of devastation. There was silence.

The once light atmosphere instantly thickened as the words hit each of the boys in turn. It felt like smoke had filled the air around your table, swirling around you and choking up the boys before any of them had even thought of a response.

You pushed through.

“It was my last mission, before I was forced out of our company. We were out in the Rainforest, targeting some base camp. Shit went sideways. We all scattered and that was my call. Me and Fish ended up together, you know we always did. I kne- I thought, that he would always have my back.”

It was true. Frankie had always watched your six, more vigilantly than any of the other boys combined. A natural response, you thought, to being hopelessly in love with someone. It had certainly been the case for you. Your usual sharp surveillance turned up to eleven whenever he was near you on a mission.

“But on that day? That day he didn’t. We were being pursued, shots taken on us at every opportunity. I took out three of the guys behind us. Nine shots. Clean kills. No struggle.” You took a breath.

The squad was hyper focused on you, practically unblinking as you conjured the past into their minds. Even Frankie was staring at you now, mouth pressed into a firm line as he forced himself to pay attention.

He owed you that much.

“We’d made it to the hillside, one of our landmarks for tracking the distance back to the rendezvous. Things got real quiet behind us and I thought, stupidly, that we had somehow out maneuvered them. And then the rock-fall happened.” Your eyes fluttered shut for a moment. The memory of the gut wrenching fear so vivid you could practically feel it again, twisting and writhing deep in your belly.

“There were too few and they were too close together to be anything natural. I looked up and there the bastards were. I didn’t even think, just pushed Frankie off the path, down the shallow slope into the undergrowth. I just, wasn’t fast enough for myself I guess.”

You pulled up the left side of your shirt, showing the very obvious bullet wound scar that resided under your ribs. Benny’s mouth fell open, his hand moving towards you, only to swiftly clench into a fist on his thigh.

“I fell. Fell back off the ledge and into the undergrowth with him. Initially it was scrambled calls for med-evac and checking me over and telling me to keep pressure on it. My hearing started to go. Things got distant, but I could make out muffled shouting from above us. Then Fish called into his comm and gave me a look, I had no clue of why he was looking at me that way. Until he left. Left me there, bleeding out on the ground. Dying on the cold, damp earth.”

You cracked then, no longer being able to just play narrator, retelling it from some unfeeling perspective. It was becoming too real, too sharp in your mind as you replayed the event in four-D. You tried to quell the aching urge in your chest to gasp for breath by taking a long swig of your drink.

“I don’t know how long I lay there, in pain and on the verge of giving up, before med-evac showed up and saved me.”

Tears were threatening to roll down your cheeks, your head starting to spin as you battled to keep them at bay.

“Excuse me,” You muttered quietly, flying from the table and into the restroom.

The glass of the mirror was a glacier against your forehead, the smooth edge of the sink below you gliding under your thumbs as you anxiously stroked them across the surface. Your breathing was starting to even out as you used the sensations to ground yourself.

You thought you had been ready to talk about this, especially with the boys. Maybe it was because you had gone about it in a rather hostile way.

That was probably it.

You leant back from the cool glass, watching as your reflection shook her head at you.

“Get yourself together,” You firmly told yourself, “Go out there, apologise and finish the night on a high. Okay?”

The table had gone back to its normally bubbly ambience, the boys talking animatedly amongst themselves.

Your gut did a somersault. They all looked so happy, so carefree, even Frankie was talking happily with them.

You couldn’t stop observing him. The way he smiled and how his shoulders shake slightly when he laughs. His hands were gesticulating wildly when he spoke, the alcohol freeing them from their usual firmly crossed position.

Something flipped in you. The simmering anger that had flowed through your veins at the sight of him evaporated into lingering guilt.

All the tension, everything that had been off about the evening, it had all been your fault.

You took a breath and checked that you still had your phone and wallet in your pocket. You were just going to leave, let the boys have the carefree reunion they deserve.

Shit. Your coat.

Your coat was hanging off the back of the chair that your really didn’t have the stomach to approach right now. You considered making a run for it, just walking past and nabbing it. The problem with that is the boys would instantly notice.

No. Easier to leave it, you can just drop a text to Pope and tell him to drop it at your hotel room later.

You exited the bar quickly, hoping none of the guys saw, and started walking back to your room.

“You left your coat you know.”

Fuck.

Of course Santiago had noticed you slipping away. You stilled, and took a deep breath.

“I- I’m sorry Pope, I just… had to go.”

“You don’t have to apologise, Athena,” Santi spoke softly as he approached you. His arm looped into yours, and as you started walking the two of you fell instantly in step. “It couldn’t have been easy for you to tell us that.”

“No, I do. Not just for unloading that onto you about Frankie, but for being an asshole all evening. I put so much tension-”

“Ath, I promise you that there has been very little tension, things have been great this evening. Anything between you and Fish is between you two alone,” Pope gently squeezed your arm. “Will, Benny and I all knew that things wouldn’t be easy for you two tonight, so I promise you that any ‘tension’ you think you’ve caused was fully anticipated and did not ruin the night.”

The glow of the hotel drew closer with every step and 5 minutes ago the warmth and comfort would’ve been calling to you. Instead, all the warmth and comfort you needed was radiating from your best friend, his words gentle and reassuring in their very nature.

You looked over at him, at the face that had always greeted you on your worse days, and smiled with genuine affection filling your features.

“Thank you, Santiago,” You gave his arm a gentle squeeze, returning the one he had given before. “You always know what to say to me don’t you?”

“I’ve had years of practice, hermana,” He responded kindly.

Pope walked you to the door of your hotel room, even after you insisted that you were more than fine, and left you with a firm hug and a gentle kiss on your cheek. You believed that would be the last you’d see of any of the boys until tomorrow.

Settling in for the night, you were moments away from turning on the TV when a soft rapping at the door was about to prove you wrong.

You padded over to the door and peered through the peephole.

Fuck.

The latch on the door clicked as you opened it for your ex.

“We need to talk.” The words rushed from Frankie’s mouth before you even had chance to take a breath.

Standing for a moment, you studied the man standing patiently in the hallway. His hands were shoved in his pockets, cap pulled low over his face. His stance told you he was nervous, but his eyes betrayed a confidence that you weren’t even sure he realised he had.

“Okay.” 

Standing aside, you held the door open and let him slip past you. You shut the door behind him, leaning against it as the lock engaged.

Fish stood in the centre of the room, smoothing down his shirt before taking off his cap and slowly rotating it in his hands. His eyes were steady on your face, waiting for you to make the first move.

The air between you was thick and heavy. The bed suddenly looked like the most inviting place in the room, so you moved to sit on it, positioning yourself at the headboard. You leant forward and patted the space of mattress at your feet, a quiet signal for Frankie to get comfortable.

There was no hesitation his part, swiftly moving to settle cross-legged at the foot of the mattress. Even now, when you both knew that this was going to bare more of your souls to each other than you ever had before, he was still giving you all the space he could.

“Where do you want to start?” You asked, your voice calm and almost, almost, soft.

“You first. Just, tell me everything, whatever you feel or have felt. Me and you, we were… we were never good at that, we repressed and tried to forget. Especially with this and it broke us. So please, please I want to know, I want to understand.” He was almost pleading with you.

Of everything Frankie had ever asked you, this was the most terrifying of them all.

He was patient. Sitting quietly while you gathered your thoughts, he gave no indication of wanting to rush you. He was right. The two of you had never been good at talking out your feelings. You both tended to bottle them up until they exploded in moments of anger or were thrown into sex.

After a few minutes of quiet searching, you finally formulated a script of your thoughts.

“I loved you with everything, Frankie,” You began, taking a deep breath before continuing. “My entire heart and soul, and do you know where it went? With every passing minute after you abandoned me, every second that I lost more and more hope of you circling back to get me, all my love for you bled out.”

Your hands curled into fists on your thighs, the gentle pinch of your nails digging at your palm grounding you from the rise of unbridled emotion. Frankie kept still, attentively listening to your every word.

“My heart shattered away, piece by piece, with every weakening beat and gushed from my wounds. Its out there, somewhere, Frankie. My love for you is stained blood red onto the jungle floor.” Your voice was starting to crack, the tremors in it impossible to ignore.

Frankie’s mouth fell open a little at that. You could see in his face that he was desperate to say something, but he chose to draw himself back, to keep listening to you.

“I thought getting shot hurt, but it was nothing, nothing, compared to the pain of you leaving me to die alone,” You croaked, your throat constricted with the effort of holding back the rolling tears. Tears which were starting to drip down your face regardless.

“You broke me, Frankie. I can’t date, can’t connect with anyone else. Even if I want to I can’t, because I have this constant fear that they will get up and leave me in the dark,” Your breath hitched as the script changed, a dangerous realisation fighting its way to the front line of your thoughts. “And I can’t date them because none of them are you.”

The reaction in Frankie was instant. Choking on air, his eyes frantically searched your face for any sign of a lie. When he found none, you watched as he forced himself to relax, a shaky breath leaving his lungs.

Your own body slumped against the headboard, the admission winding you completely. All your composure was gone. The puppet string that you forced yourself to follow had been severed. There was no room for acting alright anymore. Not tonight. Not with him.

“My turn.”

Frankie shifted on the bed, looking as though he was going to crawl up to you. Instead, he merely turned a little in order to face you head on.

“You deserve to know the truth. I deserve for you to let me do that. Okay?” He was coaxing you, gently.

Even now, after everything, he was still asking your consent.

Your consent to let him talk. Your consent to let him change your memories. Your consent to finally let yourself feel.

“Okay,” You said quietly, a nod accompanying the small sound.

“When you fell beside me, your clothes slowly darkening before my eyes, my first instinct was to call for Med-Evac. I followed our training, trying to stop the bleeding and giving our location over the comms. But, I… they…” Frankie paused for a second, an unsteady hand dragging down his face.

You leant forward, closing the chasm that lay between you and the man you loved just a fraction.

“I heard them shouting above us. Kill all survivors. It wasn’t good enough that they’d shot you, they wanted us, you, dead. I just knew, that if I stayed there, if I called in Medics, if I showed even one sign that either you or I were still alive down there,” He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight for a moment. His fists were closed too, scrunched up in the sheets that lay beneath the two of you.

You shuffled forward. Just a little.

“Dios. (“God”) They would have killed both of us. In those seconds between hearing them and calling off Med-Evac, my mind ran through every single possibility of how I could get you out there alive. I couldn’t lose you. I couldn’t ever lose you, mi petardo.” (“My firecracker”)

You tried to speak, but Frankie cut you off with a shake of his head.

“I made the only decision that I thought could possibly save you. Let them think you were dead. Leave you and make you seem like a lost cause and maybe, just maybe, you would survive this. It was the hardest decision of my entire life. I tried to tell you what I was doing, but I think shock had set in and you couldn’t hear me at all.”

The tears were escaping down his face now, all attempts at staying stoic failing as the tell-tale droplets fell. Your heart constricted at the sight, the urge to fly to him and wipe them away blooming deep in your chest.

“The look in your eyes broke my heart. You were so afraid and I knew you were about to become infinitely more so. Leaving you there was the worst thing I have ever done, in the whole of my life. If I could ever reverse it, if I could ever switch places. I would do in a heartbeat.”

Frankie’s face was glistening, but he made no attempts to wipe away the continuous stream of tears. It drew your attention to the fact that you too were still crying, unregistered droplets falling down your own cheeks.

Fuck. You wanted to reach for him. To pull him safely into your arms and apologise a million times over for how fucking selfish you had been.

The silence was becoming deafening, echoing in the cavern between you, ricocheting back and forth in a plight to be broken.

Then it was like the gaping space between you vanished. A lifeline was strung across, attached to both your hearts as you both opened your mouths and…

“I’m sorry.”

The words were spoken in complete unison. So much more than just an apology, it was an acknowledgment. Of what, you weren’t quite sure yet.

You tried to speak again, but Frankie spoke over you.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth earlier. I should’ve fought harder to see you when you were so set on not seeing me. Not talking to me. I didn’t want to force myself onto you, into your space. I wanted to give you time to heal. But I- I left it too long. It wasn’t much later that I decided the best thing for both of us was to just let you go.”

Frankie’s silent sobbing was becoming more and more physical, deep, shaking breaths starting to wrack his speech. You found your heart starting to shatter all over again.

Fuck giving each other space.

You practically pounced on him, arms and legs wrapping round him as you buried your head in his shoulder. You told yourself it was because you were trying to hide your own tears. In reality you knew it was because right there is where you felt safest.

It was where you always were safest.

It took a moment for Frankie. It was like his brain stopped working for a few seconds. But once it fully registered that it was you in his lap, his arms circled your body, holding you tight to him.

You felt his face nuzzle into your hair, his tears beginning to dampen the soft strands.

“I was wrong, I was so, so wrong,” Frankie sobbed against you.

“No, shhh, no you weren’t,” You hushed, your hand coming up to smooth over his unruly curls. “I was. I was stubborn and hurting and unwilling to listen to anyone.”

“You were hurting because of me,” He murmured.

“No Frankie, I was hurting because of me. It was my decision to push you first, my decision to not let you see me.”

You pulled back from his neck, moving to rest your forehead against his. Your hands cupped his face, thumbs sweeping over the rosy apples of his cheeks.

“We… we both made mistakes. We both fucked us up. It’s like you said, neither of us were any good at talking out our feelings. This was just the culmination of that,” You breathed it out, the words fanning over his lips that hovered mere inches away.

“I still love you.”

The words were whispered. Barely audible if not for how close you were. A confession so short, yet still held the weight of a thousand bullets.

“I still love you too.”

The parroted words broke down every single one of the walls that you and he had built up over the years. All the heartache, the hating, the yearning, the supressed loving, it all disintegrated in a moment. None of it mattered right now, not now you both knew you had felt it all together.

“Can I kiss you?” Frankie asked. His now words bolder and more assured.

You nodded, momentarily biting you lip before pressing them to the familiar shape of Frankie.

Everything melted away, the room, the world, the past, all with the gentle brush of his lips against your own. It was unhurried, long presses of lips that slowly turned to languid passing of tongues. Relearning what the other felt like, tasted like.

When you finally broke apart, you spent a few minutes in comfortable silence. Your hands glided over each other’s body in the quiet, using feather-light and comforting touch.

“Can we try again?” You spoke the question with firmly shut eyes, afraid that his answer wouldn’t match the one you were longer for.

You felt his hand your chin, gently tilting your head up and encouraging you to open your eyes.

When you did, you found yourself looking into his dark chocolate orbs. The corners of his eyes crinkled just slightly in a way that let you know the smile he wore was genuine.

“Cariño, I want nothing more. But,” Frankie paused, the smiling falling from his face. He pressed his forehead to yours, rocking his head to the side slightly as he did. “We need to be better. Better for each other. We… we need to learn to talk shit out.”

You brought your hands up to move his head, bringing it down to rest in the crook of your neck, cradling it there.

“We will,” You promised. “We’ll be better. We’ll work this out.”

And as you sat there, holding your world in your arms, you knew that you and he finally had the second chance you didn’t know you had been craving.

-

TAGLIST

@din-damn-djarin​

@phoenixhalliwell​

@legili-mens

@jeeperky

@autumnleaves1991-blog

@arabellathorne

[knittingdreams]

Fireheart - Chapter 18

Short and sweet today because I’m drowning in work! I will update the Masterlist later, I promise! But if you jump down like 2 posts, the link will be there (I know, I’m so lazy, it would have been faster to copy the link rather than type all of this, oops! xD) I’m a weirdo, I know!

Btw, if anyone wants to be tagged when I upload a new chapter, please just say so! I’d be more than happy too! And as promise, here’s my first tag: @tillyrubes10 I hope you love this new chapter! :D

CHAPTER 18

Sidetracking

Sunday was a blurred mix of images in Celaena’s mind, and she wasn’t sure what had been real, and what had been a dream. Waking up in a stranger’s room, she started piecing all the bits of information together, trying to collect as many facts as she could about her situation.

She got up from the bed and had a drink of water from the bedside table. There were a couple of blisters with painkillers, and she decided to take just one more to blur the pain and help her focus. She was done with feeling weak and useless. Her phone was also on the night table, connected to a charger on the wall that wasn’t her own; she was surprised to find it there as she couldn’t remember asking for one. 

Looking down at herself, she laughed; she was wearing a pair of male pajama pants with drawings of dinosaurs in all colors and shapes. After checking her phone, she started rushing around and picking up the few belongings that were scattered around the room, and throwing them back into her duffle bag. If she wanted to make it in time to go to school, she’d have to go back to the hotel to get her uniform, shower, get changed, and apply a ton of makeup. Probably too much makeup. Time was barely on her side. 

She looked around the room until she finally found a small mirror on the inside of the closet’s door. She looked pale, and the cut on her brow was still swollen, the skin around it was a mixture of green, yellow and purple. She rolled her sore shoulders and then lifted her top to look at the long cut on top of her hip bone; the skin around it felt a little tight, but the redness had almost disappeared and the stitches looked good.

As she heard voices outside the room, she hurried to her bag, grabbed her contacts, and put them on using the small mirror again. Her eyes were still sore from wearing the contacts for way longer than she was supposed to and sleeping with them the night before, but she added some eye drops and hoped it’d do for the moment. She barely remembered taking them off on Sunday and hoped she hadn’t been stupid enough to let any of the guys see her eyes. 

Not like they could make anything out of it anyway. 

A knock sounded at her door, and it slid open slowly almost as soon as she reached the handle.

“You’re up early,” Fenrys said, sounding surprised.

“Yes, I’m feeling way better.” 

“You’re leaving,” he said as his eyes darted around the room and focused on her bag. It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway.

“I am, I need to head to school.” She bit her tongue as soon as the words were out of her mouth. The pain was certainly still messing with her mind, she normally wouldn’t have been so stupid to let such a big piece of information slip out of her mouth.

Fenrys’ eyes didn’t give much away, but his smirk did. “School, huh? Why don’t you join us for breakfast before you go? Connall’s making eggs, and he’s a fine cook.”

“I don’t really have time for-”

“I insist,” Fenrys hooked an arm around her and ushered her out of the room. “What kind of host would I be if I didn’t feed you, right? You haven’t eaten pretty much anything in two days, you need your strength back.” He might have noticed her body going tense at the contact because he let go of her almost as fast as he had grabbed her. “Please?” He added with pleading eyes.

Begrudgingly, she walked with him down the hall and towards the kitchen. It was probably a good idea to gather some information on these people before leaving anyway, and she was famished. 

The open plan lounge was small but practical. To her left, there was a couch in front of a small TV that had some blankets and a pillow on top, and two small armchairs. And to the right, a small kitchen and a table with four chairs around it. Connall was cooking on the stove, his back to them, and he barely looked over his shoulder as they walked into the room. 

“Morning, brother!” Fenrys chanted happily.

“Hm, morning,” Celaena said, feeling slightly uncomfortable but slowly slipping into the character she had to play. 

“Come on, let’s grab a seat,” Fenrys pointed to a chair, and she took a seat, looking around the room discreetly.

“So, it’s just the three of you living here?” She asked, pretending to make small talk.

“Yes, it is. So glad to see that you’re off your defensive horse.”

Celaena glared at him and then softened her look. “I apologize if I caused you any inconveniences or if I was rude. If I’m honest, my memories from what’s happened in the last day and a half are a bit hazy, but I know I owe you one; the stitches look great.”

Fenrys’ smile spread wide on his face as he looked at her up and down as if trying to check how well she was feeling. 

“You’re welcome, I’m glad you're feeling better. You have some color back on your cheeks... If you wanted to pay me back, you could always stay for a while longer, so I can make sure you’re properly healed.”

“I do feel almost back to my normal self,” Celaena shook her head, and Fenrys sighed as he smiled warmly at her.

“You are so much stronger than what meets the eyes, you know that, right? I think you might be the bravest teen I have ever encountered, you almost had those guys back at the alley.” He said encouragingly. 

Connall came over with two plates full of scrambled eggs and toast then, and put one in front of each of them, then returned to the stove and came back a moment later with his own plate, and a tray full of crispy bacon. Celaena was glad for the interruption as everybody looked at the food in awe.

“Bon appétit," Fenrys lifted a glass of orange juice as if doing a toast.

“Thanks, Connall, and thank you too, Fenrys.”

“Eat up,” Fenrys grabbed a forkful of eggs, and Celaena followed suit.

The eggs were delicious, and considering how hungry she was, she ate her whole plate without paying much attention to anything going on around her. Once she was done, she looked up, only to find both Fenrys and Connall staring at her.

“Do you want some more?” Connall asked jokingly, a half-smile showing on his face for the first time.

“Is there any more?” She asked softly, making both brothers laugh. Connall went over to the counter and returned with a new plate full of eggs and fresh bread.

“It was meant to be for Rowan, but he’s taking too long on the 24/7, so you can have it. I’ll make him more later.” He slid the plate in front of her, and Celaena grabbed a mouthful of egg, aware of Fenrys’ eyes still on her.

“So, school, huh?”

She looked up at him through her lashes and shook her head.

“I think you’re smart enough to know I won't tell you anything about it.”

Fenrys’ laughed out loud while Connall collected the empty plates and headed towards the sink. There were only a bunch of schools in the city, but they were enough for them to have to actively search if they wanted to find out which one she attended. 

“Girl, I don’t even know your name.”

“And that’s how it’s meant to remain. I need to leave, and you should forget any of this ever happened.”

“Are you sure you're feeling good enough to leave? I honestly don’t think you should be going to school, you need to rest and take care of those stitches. Do I need to remind you that you lost a lot of blood?”

“Trust me, I remember.”

Her eyes dropped back down to her plate as she ate slower now, the memories of everything that had happened catching back with her. She had been careless and stupid, she should have never allowed Cain to get so close to her, to make her so vulnerable. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was lucky Fenrys had seen them and stepped in; she didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if he didn’t.

When they heard the front door open, they both turned around and found Rowan standing under the threshold, his hands full of grocery bags.

“What the fuck is this?” He dropped the bags to the floor and slammed the door shut behind him.

Celaena jumped to her feet on instinct, and Fenrys walked forward, standing almost in front of her. “What’s wrong, Rowan?”

“What’s wrong?” Rowan yelled back. He stormed towards them and pushed Fenrys with a palm against his chest. “Couldn’t you have given her any other fucking seat?”

Celaena watched them confused as Fenrys’ expression changed, his eyes dropping and his palms raising. “I’m sorry mate, I didn’t… didn’t think about it.”

Rowan’s cheeks were bright red, one fist clenched by his side, and the other grabbing a fistful of Fenrys’ shirt. Celaena cleared her throat lightly, and Rowan turned to her as if remembering she was standing there. His eyes traveled down to the pajama pants she was wearing, and if she didn’t know the guy better, she would have thought his eyes were filling up with tears. He let go of Fenrys and, pushing him to the side, stormed towards the hallway.

“Fuck.” Fenrys ran after him, leaving Celaena standing on the spot, speechless and confused. He disappeared down the hall, and then she heard the knocking on a door, a door opening and closing, and muffled yelling as Fenrys and Rowan argued behind closed doors, possibly in Rowan’s bedroom. 

Connall showed up by her side, and she looked at him questioningly. “What was that about?” He shook his head and pointed to the bags by the door.

“Help me with the groceries.”

She followed him as they picked up the bags, took them to the kitchen counter, and started unpacking all the food. They worked in silence for a while, the muffled argument in the distance going quieter and quieter until Connall sighed and looked at her. 

“You were sitting on her seat,” he said, as if that explained everything.

“Who’s seat?”

“Rowan’s ex.”

“Oh, okay.” Confused, Celaena got a bunch of bananas out of a bag and passed them over to Connall, who set them on a fruit bowl and turned around to get some cans out of another bag. 

“So, what’s the deal? Is the seat sacred or something?” She grabbed the last of the apples from the bag and set them on the fruit bowl. Connall poked his head out of the pantry, looking at her with his characteristic nonchalant expression.

“She’s dead.”

Celaena’s jaw dropped, Connall’s head disappeared back behind the pantry’s door, and as if on queue, Rowan walked into the room. There was an awkward silence as Celaena held an empty bag in her hands, and Rowan just stood there in front of the hallway door, looking at her. As she opened her mouth to say something, anything, Fenrys showed up behind Rowan and set a hand hard on his shoulder.

“My mate here wanted to apologize for overreacting,” he said, a huge smile on his face. Rowan scoffed and rolled his eyes, but then looked at her, nodding lightly.

“I’m sorry for overreacting,” Rowan said, nonchalant.

“And… for being a moody prick?” Fenrys spur him on, making Rowan roll his eyes again.

“And for being a moody prick.” Rowan’s right corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly.

“Apology accepted.” Celaena had to admit, she almost liked Fenrys and his way of dealing with things. But her time was over, and she needed to hurry and head to the hotel if she wanted to have enough time to do her makeup. There was probably no useful information within the apartment, nothing worth her time. “Now, it’s my time to head out.”

“Don’t forget to return Rowan his pajamas before you go.” Fenrys winked at her, and Celaena darted out of the kitchen, pushing the guys to the side as she passed the door and headed back to the bedroom. Rowan’s pajamas? She remembered then, barely, how Rowan had given her some of his clothes the day before. Had he been in the bathroom with her? She shook her head dismissing the crazy memory of Rowan helping her, that part surely must have been a dream. 

Celaena got her bag, and as she was about to head out of the room, her phone rang. It was Sam’s name on the screen.

“Cortland.”

“Hey, you’ve been MIA this weekend, I expected to hear more about the fight. Should I pop into the hotel before school?”

“I don’t think so, I’m running late and will be just in time for class.”

“Oh, okay. Any new developments I should hear about? I’ve heard from Arobynn, he’ll be out of town all week again, I think he’s headed over to Terrasen.”

“Not much, really. Look, can’t talk right now, gotta go.” She hung up, fixed her bag over her shoulder, and walked towards the lounge. 

All three flatmates were sitting on the couches as she approached. “Okay, thanks for your hospitality, but I guess this is goodbye.”

As Fenrys stood up, a loud knock sounded on the front door. Fenrys’ eyes widened, Rowan jumped to his feet, and Connall raised his eyebrows.

“You,” Fenrys mouthed to Rowan as he pointed at her. 

Rowan walked quickly to her side and pushed her gently with a hand in the small of her back. He led her towards the room on the back of the hall as she heard Fenrys calling ‘coming’ while he walked loudly around the lounge.

Rowan left the door ajar as he leaned in, his ear against the gap. 

“Hey, how can I help you?” Fenrys’ voice reached them from the entrance.

“I have a message for you all,” an unknown male voice replied. It sounded deep but young.

“What is Lorcan Salvaterre doing here?” Rowan murmured to himself, and Celaena stepped back, the school database popping in her head as the name rang a bell.

[enigma-im]

More Than Just a Line of Code Pt.1

Robot x Female Character. Tracey Romero recieves a bot from her Auntie Carol. Little does she know that he isnt just some everyday house bot.

Rating: Teen Relationship: Robot X Female!Human Warning: fluff, exposure of genitals, pg13 at most, robot and human relationships

Word Count: 3835

Part 2

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I walk up the steps to my two-story bungalow. Juggling the keys in one hand while adjusting the phone against my ear.

"Two weeks, tops! You can’t expect me to give you quality when you take away my clock," I chided. I unlock the door and head inside. The voice on the other end rants out some excuses and reprimands. It was idle threats, just some big dog talk. I throw the keys onto the side table, missing the bowl I bought for them.

I roll my eyes as I toe my shoes off," Let me explain how this will work if I do what you are asking. First, I will be rushed, I’ll work late with a fishbowl of coffee beside me at all times. Then after about three nights of this, I'm going to get sloppy. Which for me is still really good work but it’s not the best. I always promise my best but only if you work with me on this. So I ask you, do you want it done or do you want it done perfect?". I waited in the foyer for his answer. I already knew what he was going to say. No one wants subpar work, it’s understandable. He is paying big money for my expertise and it would be foolish of him to deny me now.

After a moment I heard the beautiful sound of his begrudging approval. I fist pump, "Two weeks and you will have the best software on this side of the Mississippi. The Tracey Romero guarantee.". With a few words, I hang up. I smirk down at my phone before shoving it into my pocket and walking to the kitchen.

I shimmy around the kitchen, dancing to my own music." I got the extend, I got the extend," I sing. I grab some bread and make myself a sandwich while still patting myself on the back.

I didn’t need the extend, his software was mostly done already. His team did a great job. It just needed some touching up then to be properly tested. Take about two afternoons at the most. I just wanted to go on break and get paid for it. Call me a con, it’s just a living.

-

As I sat at my computer, I heard the chimes of my security system. Then the quick thuds from the front door. I huffed as I pulled up my front door camera. I saw my front porch and a man walking away from the steps to a van.

"Someone has a package," I quirked to no one. I hopped off the chair and headed to the front door. Once I opened the door, I looked down at a huge box crate. It was as generic as they came, even had the large text of the word 'Fragile" on every side.

"Well, I have no idea how to move this," I mumbled as I tried to push it with my foot. It was heavy for sure. I bent over to try to pick it up, but it mostly just hurt my back. Rubbing my spine I pondered how to get this thing inside.

I would consider myself smart, maybe even a genius. I was a straight-A student, graduated top of my class at CMU in Pittsburgh. So using my beautiful mind I came up with a way to move the box. I pushed it inside.

Using a pry bar in my foyer to open the crate. The nails were removed smoothly, and the lid slid to the floor. Looking inside I first noticed a large black dome near my knees. Looking down from there I saw a large trapezoid shape then the rest was submerged in the shredded bits of cardboard. After a few moments of observing I figured out what it was.

"Of hell yea, it’s a robot," I shouted with giddy. I dropped to my knees and shoved my hands around the head. In most standard bipedal robots the on switch was near the neck. Right towards the faceplate. "Come on, momma wants to play with her new toy," I chuckle. With a flick, the faceplate turned on in a blinding light. It switched off quickly but still left me seeing stars. I jerk back when it jolted forward. It sat up straight then the soft sound of buzzing echoed in the room. I waited patiently for their system to boot up.

I got off my knees and walked around to watch it. Its face was blank, it just had the reflection of light. Showing off the dust and pieces of cardboard it laid in. getting bored I looked over at the lid to see who sent me a full robot. Even though robots are common it didn’t mean they were inexpensive. I make good money; I live very comfortably. Still buying a robot would set me back and make me eat nothing but microwave dinners for a month.

As I found that it is my aunt who sent it, I noticed the bot was staring at me. I turned at looked up at them and still, their faceplate showed nothing. I waved at them as I sat up. To my amusement, they waved back, but more jerky motions.

"Do you talk," I ask.

It dropped its hand, "Yes."

"Then mind introducing yourself," I smile. Its head tilted to the side for a second then back to normal. It faces plate lit up with a standard face. It was cartoony but it was most likely meant to be comforting. No one wants a robot with a mean-looking face. It smiled wide at me then dropped it to neutral. I quirked an eyebrow and they copied me. "You copying me," I chuckle.

"imitating, but yes," he answers. His voice isn't obstructed like in most bots. It sounds basically human, normal even.

"semantics, either way, I'm Tracey. Who might you be,” I greet. I try to coax them into introducing themselves.

"You are very appealing," they look me up and down.

I snap my fingers catching their attention," Getting off track, doll. Name please."

"Yes, I am D-4N1-3L," they finally introduce. I mumble out their text to myself.

"Daniel," I offer. They nod. "Alright, Daniel, do you mind if I call you a he?"

"He," he cocks his head.

"Give ya male pronouns. Or would you rather them/they," I clarify.

"He," they repeat, "I'm a man."

"Alright then Daniel, shall we get you out of that box," I stand and offer a hand. He looks at it before cautiously grabbing it. I don’t need to offer actual help because he stands on his own. He steps out of the crate and I get a good look at him. His build is standard if not a bit retro. Most robots I've seen are completely covered in their shielding plastic. Hiding all of their technical bits. Yet he has his joints exposed and everything else covered. His neck showed his wiring and the air cylinder that limits his neck movement. To anyone else, he would look like junk, some outdated pieces of hardware. But to me, oh to me he looks terrific.

-

I leaned against the island in the kitchen, watching as he wanders around. He snoops through my cabinets, investigating everything he finds. I look down at my phone that's ringing near my arm. I have set out to call my aunt about Daniel. I placed it on speakerphone so Daniel could listen if he felt inclined to.

After the fifth ring, she picks up. "Whose got three thumbs and is excited you called? This aunt," there was a confused pause," This would be funnier if you saw me, I'm holding a thumb right now. Either way what's up Chica?"

"If I didn’t know you were a mechanic id assume the worst about that severed thumb you are presumably holding," I eye Daniel as I answer. He was currently messing with the microwave. Pressing buttons and jumping when he turned it on.

"besides my possible dismemberment what do I owe this pleasure," She asks. In the background, I could hear some loud tinging noises. Probably in her workshop, or she does in fact have a human finger. Then probably a different workshop if that were the case.

"Well, I’ll give you a hint," I lean on my elbow.

"Oh goodie, I love games. Three hints," she chuckles.

I can’t help but chuckle as well, "alright three hints. Its long, hard, and came in a box."

"Tracey," She scolds, " I don’t believe you should talk about that kind of thing with your aunt. It seems more like a mother conversation."

"I don’t know, mom would be upset that I have him in the house," I answer vaguely.

"Oh, batteries not included? Who needed powered boyfriends when you can get the real thing," She jokes.

I shake my head," we both know battery-operated is better. Humans don’t tend to vibrate.". This caught Daniel's attention.

"I can vibrate," He informs pointing to his face.

"I'm sure you can, doll," I look up at him.

"And who is that," my aunt asks.

"My new boyfriend, best model out there. Even has same-day delivery," I joke. Daniel cocks his head and his electronic eyebrows furrow.

"A robot," she asks before it clicks," Right! The robot, god I'm a terrible creator. How could I forget my baby boy."

"Terrible mother indeed," I click my tongue," tsk, tsk. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him.". I look up at Daniel again and give him a wink. He turns his head as a pink color shines from his screen. "Aw, he blushes," I coo.

"Of course he blushes, he has a full range of emotions. My best work if I do say so myself," she pats herself on the back," Practically human."

"So it’s an A.I.," I ask," here I thought I was getting a butler. But I shouldn’t be so disappointed, I got a new friend instead."

Daniel turns his head to look at me," friend? I thought I was your boyfriend."

"We can talk about that later, doll," I answer.

"Aw, breaking up already. Poor Daniel, only been alive for a year and now he has his first broken heart," My aunt coos.

"We are talking about its later Carol, I'm sure it will be fine," Daniel says to the phone.

"You have me on speaker," My aunt asks, "Hi Daniel darling, how do you like Tracey's place?"

"It is cozy, living here would be most joyous," He answers.

"that’s a great sweetie. be nice to Tracey, ok?"

Daniel cocks his head," Why wouldn’t I be anything but?"

"No reason, sorry I doubted you," She apologizes.

"Well, I'm going to get off. Just making sure that you did indeed send me a bot. you can never be too sure," I call out.

"Oh absolutely. Love you baby, take good care of him. He is a sensitive bot, you may forget that he is more than a robot sometimes," She warns.

"Goodbye Carol," Daniel calls out. With that I press end. I cross my arms and lean forward. We both look each other over, observing in the silence.

"Do we need to talk," He asks with an adorable head tilt.

"About what," I answer with a question.

"Us. Are you breaking up with me?" I can’t help but laugh. This only confused him more.

"We aren't together, Daniel. That was just a joke I made with aunt Carol," I answer. I step away from the table and walk around to the fridge.

Daniel stepped away from the table as well and laces his fingers together. It was interesting, robots generally don’t have nervous ticks or idiosyncrasies. Auntie did a good job with him.

"Well, that I won’t lie and say that I'm unfavorable to that," He dropped his head. I was a bit confused about his reaction. He is a strange robot.

"You want to date," I ask. What did she program into this guy? It got my brain moving, how could anyone get a robot to seem so human. Most had applications built in to pretend to empathize with someone, but this was too detailed.

He looked up with a wide expression," Yes."

"Why?"

Daniel looks me up and down before walking over. He takes a hold of my hands and intertwines them.

"You are very appealing," He mimics his earlier words. I pull my hands from his and stare up at him confused. A strange robot indeed.

-

I sit at my computer with my legs crossed. I hunch over my keyboard and stare with my mouth partially opened. I'm working on pulling up Daniel's code and programs. He is currently hooked up to my tower with a bunch of cables. He is sitting patiently, if not happily, against the wall. His 'eyes' were darting around the room, taking in all the area has to offer.

"What is a battery-operated boyfriend," He cuts the silence. I jerk away from the computer, not use to having someone around in my office.

"what? Why do you ask," I blush.

His eyes focus on me, "you said it earlier, I was curious. Technically I'm a battery-operated boyfriend but I'm assuming it isn't me you were referencing."

I can’t help but smile," I guess you are a battery-operated boyfriend. But you are correct, I wasn’t referring to you."

"Then what is it," he asks again.

I look back to my computer, "I'm not going to answer that." I glance over at him for a second and see him pouting. Another curious attribute.

-

I stare amazed at the lines and lines of text. His code was so long, even too long. There were programs for such minor things like when to twitch his finger or raise an eyebrow. Looking further I found a curious program label 'Surprise'. Of course, I clicked on it, I'm only human. Looking it over I was nosy to turn the function on.

"Oh, this is new," Daniel mumbles to himself. I look over as he raises his hands from his lap. Looking down I see a protrusion.

"Oh indeed," I say shocked. He was majority matte black with traces of blue deep in his wiring. The protrusion was more on the blue side and had the lining of matte black. It was definitely an eye-catcher.

-

"Why does he have a cock," I nearly shout into the phone.

"Cutting to the chase, I guess. No foreplay, but I'm going to guess there was some if you found this out," My aunt jokes.

"Not funny, I looked through his programs. Also seriously, you named it surprise," I sneer. This was extremely uncalled for. Auntie has always been a mischievous person. Last year she spiked the punch at the family reunion to 'spice up the party'.  But this was too much. "Seriously, you sent me a sex robot? Not to steal your joke from earlier but I feel this would be a better present for mom," I scold. Mom divorced dad about five years ago, this seemed like a better gift to a lonely mother than a 25 y/o.

"First off, ew. I don’t want to think about my sister's sex life a-"

I interrupt her, "And you want to think about mine?"

"Do not use that tone with me. You haven't had a boyfriend since high school, you bury yourself in work. You convinced yourself that it’s enough, fulfilling even. Excuse me for thinking of you. Also, I will make this clear, I made his A.I. as a little side project. He was not for you till after he was made. His personality seemed perfect for you, so sue me for being kind," Carol snapped. I grabbed the bridge of my nose and sighed.

"Fine, I'm sorry. It was kind of you to think of me but It's a bit much that you added such a personal feature," I say calmer.

"I know you will find some use for it, till then please don’t treat him differently for it. I'm sure he doesn’t know what it’s even for," she pleads. I sigh again, this is just weird.

"Alright, I will still take good care of him," I relent. He is but a vessel for my aunt's ignorant kindness.

"I'm sure you will," she laughs.

"Goodbye carol," I hang up. I drop my phone onto the kitchen counter and exhale. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Daniel peaking his head out from my office.

"Are you angry with me," he asks. I look up at him and can’t help but smile.

"Of course not, just surprised," I answer. It was honest, I can’t be mad at him. I've known him for a few hours and I already adore him. He has such wonder for everything around him that makes my jaded self feel humble.

-

A few weeks with Daniel have been both tiring and rejuvenating. He asks so many questions that I gave up answering them and just introduced him to the internet. I got curious one day and checked his history, he goes on a lot of tangents. Now that he can answer his own questions online, he has moved on to asking about myself. He would ask about my interest or my job. Even comment on things he likes about me. For a robot, he was a bit of a flirt. His favorite thing about me was my hands. He said they were 'gentle and talented'.

We currently stood in the kitchen. He watched me as I cooked, he says he enjoys watching my human rituals. He can’t eat so he just likes watching me eat.

I stir the pot of food as I call out to my home bot," Home, play 90's hits." There was a chime then the music began to play softly from the speakers. Daniel looks around the room a bit confused.

"what was that," he asks her.

"My home bot, it controls some electronics around the house like lights or locks," I explain. He nods his head.

I get into the music and shimmy a bit as I finish off my meal. I slide towards my cabinet and pull out a bowl. With a twirl, I slide the bowl to the stove. Shaking my hips I pour a large helping of soup. Another twirl and I turn to Daniel. His face had its pink cheeks and wide-eyed expression. I set my food down and stare curiously. Why was he blushing?

Before I could ask, I caught sight of his blue swelling. I raised my eyebrows in shock and acknowledgment.

"I'm sorry," he stepped closer to the island to hide himself from view.

"N-No needs to be sorry," I stutter," I'm just curious why it decided to make itself known."

He turned his head as he continued blushing," Y-you."

I point to myself," Me?"

He nods, "You w-were dancing around. You have a firm r-rear."

"O-Oh, thank you," I blush. For the time he has been here I have never witnessed his, um, member. Since the first day it has never come up, pun intended, it’s never been noted again.

"Have you ever, um. Have you ever had this happen before," I ask a bit nervous. We have flirted a bit but I'm still off-put of using him. To have a boyfriend was simple, but to fuck him felt wrong. It was a bit taboo to keep a fully functioning robot around as a sex toy. Even if he seemed human, he wasn’t.

"Yes," He answered short.

"When," I look up at him.

"Depends. Sometimes when you bend over, other times when your shirt drops a bit too low. Most the time is when we sit together on the couch," He answers calmer than earlier.

"When we watch movies," I ask. We watch movies every weekend, I never noticed anything. Not that I would be looking at his crotch.

"Yes," He steps around the island and stops on the side. His crotch still blocked but he was in arms reach. "when u start to daze off and you rest your head on my shoulder. I feel the tingle and I want nothing more than to touch you," he smiles. He places his hands on the counter, not moving them but keeping them where they are. Daniel was leaving me to decide.

Daniel is very smart, never doubted it. Yet he still surprises me with his emotional intelligence. It’s easy to program a robot to see patterns or understand words on a paper. To explain an abstract concept like emotions was hard. You can fake it, but it always comes across as wrong, almost psychopathic. In Daniel, it came off as authentic. It felt real, like he honestly felt those things.

I bounce my finger on the counter as I stare at his hands. He still waited on me.

"You want to touch me," I ask softly. I look down at his fingers. One hand was stretched a bit farther than the other. His hand was sideways, his fingers were slightly splayed.

"more than anything," He murmured. His index twitched a bit.

I skidded my fingers across the table and let our fingers tap against each other. He didn’t move more than his fingers, leaving me with the choice still. Daniel was really smart indeed. I moved closer and grasped his hand, intertwining our fingers. I could hear his body make a low buzzing noise and his chest expand slightly.

My other hand grabs his free one. I pulled him around the table and towards me. Releasing my grip, and him reluctantly doing the same, I reach forward and hug him. I rest my hands on his lower back and my head on his chest. He does his form of a sigh again before wrapping his arms around me. He rests his head on mine and we just stand there.

This feels nice. I can’t remember the last I hugged someone. It had to be over seven years ago when I dated that saxophone player in high school. This felt better though, Daniel was warmer. I ran my hands up his back along the cylinders that controlled his back. I leaned back and looked up at him. I reached for his neck and pulled him down. I kiss him where his lips were on the screen. The whirling in his chest became a bit louder and his hold on my back gets a bit tighter.

I pull back with a shy smile. It felt silly to kiss a screen, but his reaction made it less so. He smiled at me too, even had his adorable blush on his screen.

Daniel led his head down and tapped his screen to my forehead. He pulled back after a moment and looked down at me.

"You look pretty when you blush," He mumbles.

"I could say the same thing about you," I smile.

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There is a part two. Also i did a lot of unnecessary research on this. even the name of the main character is shared with a famous programmer John Romero. He designed games like Doom or Wolfenstein. But check out my Archive page.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Silent VII

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Angst Characters: Jeff Tracy, Scott Tracy, Grandma Tracy, Alan Tracy

Seventh and final part of my response to @gumnut-logic‘s SensorySunday: Taste challenge. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

This fic’s been a bit of an experiment, perhaps more so than the others, but I’ve still greatly enjoyed writing it and I hope you’re enjoyed reading it, too.  I’ll be back with the fifth and final sense tomorrow, so see you then!

His return to Earth was nothing like the previous times.  Triumph, shared laughter and in jokes with his best friend in the universe (barring the one he had married, of course) were barely a distant memory as the space shuttle docked and Jeff stumbled out of it with all the grace of a fawn on ice.

There was no-one to greet him.  Another first, and for his final return from space, it was by far his worst. Lucille always knew when he was going to be home, and always made sure to be there – with their sons in tow if she could wrangle it.  She wasn’t here this time, but he already knew that.  His time on Alfie had been slashed short by a message trickled through the cosmos until it reached him.

Your wife’s dead.

Three words.  Three horrible, horrible words.  It was lucky that Lee had been there with him, for once the voice of reason that held him back from trying to space walk the whole way back to Earth himself.  Most likely without his helmet, a forgotten piece of necessary equipment in the shock. Jeff had ended up sobbing in his friend’s arms for hours when it had properly sunk in.

Lucille was dead.  His beautiful wife, the mother of his five precious sons, the most brilliant star he’d ever seen.  Avalanche.  Messages from Earth to the Moon tended to be direct and to the point.  Less to get lost in translation that way, although Jeff wished it was just a mistranslation.

Your wife’s dead. Avalanche.  Sons alive.

It was the last two words that had stopped him from walking outside without his helmet, regardless of Lee’s attempts to stop him.  His boys, his five wonderful boys, had had their mother torn from them.  Who was with them?  Who was stopping Scott from playing parent more than he already did while their father was off gallivanting around in space?  He’d promised Lucille this was the last time, that he was ready to settle down on Earth so that Alan, at least, could grow up with both his parents always around.  She’d never begrudged him his adventures, but one son, she’d demanded.  One son, he would watch grow up day by day, and not a couple of months a year.

So much for any of their sons growing up with both parents.  At the sign that he’d be home indefinitely, the world had decided to strip their mother from them, instead.  His poor, poor boys.

Were they injured?  Alive left so much potential.  Had they been caught in the avalanche as well?  Swept down the mountainside and jumbled all the way into a hospital?

When had it happened? There was no date, no way of knowing how quickly he’d been informed – and it had been three weeks since the message got through before they could launch a shuttle to bring him home.

Thankfully, his superiors didn’t bother with the usual tedium of a debrief when he staggered into Earth and one G gravity again.  They held him back only long enough for the mandatory physical assessment – “don’t terrify your kids by collapsing on them, Tracy,” – and hacked through all of the red tape until he was free to go, and then personally ensured he made it to his front door.

His mother’s car was on the drive.  An old thing he was sure had been ancient when she’d first acquired it, long before Jeff had ever met Lucille, it gave him the breath of air he needed. Mom was here.  His boys were alright.  They had to be – she’d never leave any of them alone in a hospital. Whatever had happened, his sons hadn’t been abandoned.

What was the etiquette for arriving home after months away?  Did he open the door and stroll straight in, or should he knock and announce his presence?  It had never been a concern for him before, with Lucille always by his side when he came home, gripping his elbow as though he’d fall over if she didn’t personally hold him up.

Then again, he had, the first time.

He felt like he might again, and it was that thought that had him pushing the door open and stumbling through.

“Mom?” he called.  The door was unlocked – she was definitely in. What day was it?  It was early afternoon, but were the boys at school or was it a weekend?

“Dad?”

Well, that answered that question.  He stumbled into the sitting room to meet startled blue eyes, inherited from the boy’s grandmother.  Scott was sat on the couch, somewhat stiffly, with his laptop on his lap and headphones discarded carelessly on the cushions.

“Scott!”  Unsteady on his feet, it was more of a controlled collapse than anything else onto the couch beside him, pulling his eldest into his arms.  There was no protest, no squawk that he was too old for that – or even that his laptop had been dislodged by the sudden embrace.  All the signs of a rebellious teenager starting to find his own place in the world that had been showing just before he’d left were gone, leaving behind a child.

“Dad,” Scott gasped into his crumpled shirt, hands balling into fists against his back as he returned the embrace almost as fiercely.  “D-Dad.”

“I’m here,” he mumbled, resting his cheek on top of his son’s head and clutching him tightly, hearing quiet, desperate gasps.  “Dad’s home.” There were tears in his eyes, prickling uncomfortably and spilling down his cheeks.  He would have been embarrassed, normally, but Scott was sobbing into his chest as well, and they’d both lost someone they loved more than life itself.

He couldn’t help but notice, however, that the commotion they were making failed to draw any more young boys – or their grandmother – to the room.  His mother hadn’t responded to his call, either.

“Where are your brothers?” he asked Scott after a moment.  “And your grandmother?”

Scott drew back slowly, and Jeff loosened his hold enough that they could face each other properly, but didn’t let go entirely.  His eldest didn’t fight for his freedom, and indeed still had his shirt in his fists.

“School,” he said.  “It’s Wednesday, Dad.  Grandma’s collecting Alan from playgroup.”

“I see,” he sighed, moving to pull him closer again before a thought struck him.

“If it’s a Wednesday, why aren’t you at school?”

Scott promptly buried his head in his shirt again, clinging to him with a fervour that unmistakably said I don’t want to talk about it.

Jeff let him keep his silence, instead shifting around until he had his eldest son firmly situated in his lap.  Fourteen or not, he was still his son, and if he was out of school – no doubt his grandmother’s call – then there was something very wrong.  Jeff only hoped it was the obvious, and not something else on top of Lucille’s death.  For his part, Scott didn’t protest to being treated like a much younger child; if anything he clung even tighter.

The door opened and he turned his head to see his mother walking in, a small blond toddler with blue eyes at her heels.  Little Alan had grown up so fast, just like all of his brothers before him.

“Jeff!”  Gentle hands cupped his face, before pulling him – and consequently, the son on his lap – into an embrace.  “Oh, Jeff.”

“Mom,” he choked out, vaguely noticing Scott wriggling free and slipping away.  “Mom, I-”

She hushed him, stroking his hair as he tried and failed to stop more tears.  He didn’t want to break down in front of two of his sons, but the dam had been once again breached and much like Scott had been sobbing into his chest minutes earlier, he sobbed into his mother’s shoulder.

There were no platitudes she could offer him, nor did she try.  The relief at seeing two of his sons, and the implication that the other three were also unharmed, only went so far in easing the pain at Lucille’s loss.

Knowing that two of his sons were in the room helped him to regain control, if not composure, however.  They needed him to be strong for them, so with some effort he pulled away from his mother and turned around to find that Scott had sat down on the floor next to Alan and was distracting him with a toy car.

“Scott didn’t say why he’s not at school,” he commented quietly, watching the pair of them.  “Did something happen?”

His mother gave an unhappy sigh that immediately concerned him.

“I pulled him from campus classes for the time being,” she said.  “He’s been enrolled in the online classes instead.”  Jeff glanced over at the ignored laptop, tilted on its side, and saw something that looked like math.

“Why?”

“It took me five days to get here,” she confessed quietly, and Jeff swallowed.  His boys had been alone for five days.  He knew them well enough to know that Scott would have stepped up as parent, but he shouldn’t have had to.  Not at fourteen.  “A severe snow storm had me trapped, and when I finally got here I found out that Scott’s so-called friends-” she all but sneered the word “-had taken offence to him quitting the basketball team and instead of bothering to find out why, decided the mature thing to do was to take the aggressive approach.”

“What?”  The word got strangled in his throat and came out as an enraged hoarse whisper rather than the shout it meant to be.  It was still enough to catch Scott’s attention, although when the teenager realised they were looking at him he quickly turned his gaze back to Alan, who was making rocket noises to accompany his car.  “He was being bullied?  Straight after Luci-”

His voice choked up completely.

“I took the matter up with the principle,” she assured him.  “All four boys responsible have been suspended and put on community service for a month.  Mr Atkins made it clear that he takes bullying very seriously.”  She sighed again, but there was an angry glint behind her purple glasses.  “Scott is also housebound on doctor’s orders for at least another month.”

Jeff’s eyes widened and he focused on his son again, still distracting Alan even though it was clear he was listening to their conversation.  He’d thought his sons had escaped injury, but was that not the case? How about the other three?

He asked as such, and got a sad smile.

“None of them were hurt in the avalanche,” she promised him.  “They all walked away from that physically fine, if very shaken.  No, it’s the fault of those horrible boys.  Most of the bruising has faded, but he still has cracked ribs and mild internal bruising from their attacks.”

Jeff couldn’t listen to anything more, not then.  He left his mother on the couch and stumbled down to the floor with his sons.  Alan regarded him with wide eyes before scrambling into his lap, rocket-noise car abandoned, in search of a big hug, which Jeff was more than happy to provide.

Next to him, Scott was rigid again, and Jeff remembered enough of his own adventures with broken ribs to recognise the accompanying discomfort.  He remembered the crushing hug he’d given the boy when he’d first seen him, and winced. Scott hadn’t made any attempt to stop him – had seemed desperate for the physical contact – but he must have been hurting.

“I’m proud of you,” he said, freeing one arm from Alan to carefully loop it around his eldest’s shoulders.  “I’m sure you can call school a wrap for today.”  Scott still didn’t meet his eyes, but leaned into his touch again.

“Thanks, Dad,” he mumbled.

“Dad!” Alan echoed, all toothy grin.

“Dad!” was the same call he got two hours later, when his final three boys came home and wasted no time in demanding a group hug, all of them noticeably mindful of Scott.

Dad.  He still had that.  His wife might be gone from the mortal plane – although he had no doubts that she’d be watching them from the stars – but he still had his sons, and he tightened his hold on all five of them.

As long as he had them, he could keep going.

Fin

[not-a-christmas-tree]

i just watched the dallas theatre company les mis here are my observations

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THIS PRODUCTION I SUGGEST YOU DO! DON’T READ THIS IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS THOUGH!

so, in case you didn’t know: in 2014, Dallas Theatre Company did a modern interpretation of les mis. i just watched it on youtube (i will link it later, i promise) and took SO MANY GODDAMN NOTES so here they are!

ACT ONE 

(Look Down-WHID)

starting out strong! we got some HARSH TRUTHS ABOUT THE JAIL SYSTEM!! blatant police brutality happening BASICALLY the entire first part of the song. it hurts me. 

note on the cops costumes: they legitimately terrify me and they are dressed in like. full riot gear.

okay so,,,valjean wraps the rope from his bag around his neck at the end of WHID. this is interesting bc, a) he’s trying to find a solution as to what he should do after the Bishop and that’s a direction I’ve surprisingly seen no one take, but b) this part has the same melody as javert’s suicide, when javert is ALSO trying to figure out what he should do after his perception on life is altered. for a moment there, they both are on the same page, the page being suicide. however, only one of them takes that choice.

the above makes the lines (in both songs) “i’ll escape now from that world / from the world of valjean” ESPECIALLY interesting because. in two different ways, they did escape, but they ALMOST had the same conclusion for a brief second.

(At The End Of The Day)

in ATEOTD fantine ends up being the last one working, causing everyone to look at her with varying degrees of annoyance or frustration. She do be hardworking doe

OH SHIT KIDS IN THE FACTORY!! three little kids run up to the foreman when he’s giving daily stipends to the ladies!! (they’re also the last to be paid, giving significant sass to foreman who also sasses back)

Girl #5 mockingly calling fantine “innocent sister” when 5 is white and fantine is a WOC...that’s kind of interesting given that that can be read as SERIOUS racial profiling on 5’s part

foreman looks like bob’s boss in the incredibles but like. tall lmao

(I Dreamed A Dream)

her look of like,,shock-but-not when everyone from the factory exits and she takes off her bandana,,,that. that is good acting

her transitions from chest to head voice are so good

i’m kinda sad she isn’t younger?? or just. doesn’t look super young bc fantine is supposed to be like. early twenties. she’s not 45 and had a decently long life before she died, no, she’s young. she was taken advantage of. that’s the whole point. but that’s sUPER little like this lady is way too good

she has the perfect mix of sadness and regret plus anger and shameless hope. like. kudos to you allison blackwell you’re a dope fantine 

the cry on “killed the dream i dreamed” brb sobbing

(The Dock Scenes)

MALE PROSTITUTES I REPEAT!! MALE PROSTITUTES!! (no idea what wig he’s wearing tho. he was done dirty in the wig department) 

oh male prostitute is prostitute #1! 

oh damn there is. lady def on some bad drugs with her kid passing behind fantine on the bench. ouch.

hoo okay they did n o t censor lovely ladies!! (mini note: camera person has the camera down an AWFUL LOT on these docks scenes lmao)

there are cops on the docks. gross.

(Who Am I-Confrontation)

OH SHIT THEY HAVE A FALSE JVJ IN THE BACKGROUND OF WHO AM I 

jvj comforts not-jvj for a second!! (money note was FANTASTIC btw)

fantine being WOC and DYING in a modern hospital also is,,yeesh because. you know. racist doctors. 

jvj cries after fantine dies JUST STAB ME NOW OKAY—

confrontation is really funny when u see that javert has a GUN and jvj has A CHAIR

JVJ DID THE LIL RUN ON “live within my care” YAAAAY

(COAC-Master Of The House)

oh boy baby cosette,,so small,,so pure plus classic baby head shake when she sings I STAN

MADAME T LOOKS—OH GOOD GOD

DID SHE SPIT ON MY BABY--

cosette: “please do not send me out alone—“ madame t: “oooooh my gOOOOOD” omg 

what the fuck is thenardiers hair i—

WHAT THE FUCK IS THENARDIER IN G E N E R A L

random idea regarding thenardier’s prison tattoo: he has the same number on his chest that jvj has. Meaning he was in jail too. so why isn’t he as messed up as jvj? i wanna say maybe he was in for less time, but like. I doubt it. However, he has a whole ass gang. did the thenardier gang break their boss out of jail? please say yes 

him listing things for baby éponine to charge i love it

OH MY GOD THENARDIER FLAUNTS HIS NUMBER WHILE JVJ DOESNT!! jvj hides his past because he believes it will get him into better places (it does, he becomes mayor for god’s sake) while thenardier shows off his past with stubborn pride. while thenardier cheats his way to success, jvj lives an almost honest life where he ultimately suffers due to the stress all the hiding he does gives him

i love that éponine looks like neither of her parents,,,madame t got around huh? 

(The Bargain)

I JUST REALIZED THE STAGE HAS A CATWALK DOWN THE CENTER INTO THE AUDIENCE THAT IS THE COOLEST OMG

Instead of madame correcting thenardier on cosette’s name he asks cosette herself which prompts the CUTEST ANGRY YELL OF “it’s cosette!” I HAVE EVER SEEN

also thenardier fuckin MANHANDLING cosette i’m DYING

JVJ LOVES HER SM I AM SOFTTT

(The Beggars)

omg marius is so ADORABLE i love him

gavroche is a style icon

kid holding sign saying “my mom got laid off” POOR BB

i love éponine

that’s it that’s the note

wait a sec was that montparnasse with the prostitute earlier in beggars??

ALSO I SEE AZELMA AND OTHER THENARDIER KIDS PRESENT FOR “turn on the tears!!” THANK YOU FOR UTILIZING THAT LINE PROPERLY

why does enj have a bat?? If it;s not a bat then,,,what is it? someone please help me

marius saves cosette from bad guy gang!! 🥰🥰

bruh javert misses jvj running by like,,,MAYBE two seconds that is hilarious 

jav looks so done when thenardier is trying to get out of this lmao i love it

javert looks so cop-like it scares me

(Stars)

the line “safe behind bars” in stars kind of kills me here because as the audience you SEE the cruelty that the convicts face. you see the guy on the ground getting beaten you SEE the chains around their throats and yet. yet javert still somehow thinks that putting jvj in jail is safe? i think the thing to focus on here is not whether it’s safe, because it obviously isn’t. the focus is who it’s safer for, jean valjean or javert?

has it always been “your father” rather than “her father” when marius asks éponine to find where cosette lives?? if they changed it that is SMART because yk. jvj would be ALARMED if he found out he’d been found by éponine but he wouldn’t hurt her. he’s not the guy she has to worry about, it’s her own father. thenardier gave her a job and she’s straying from it, he’s what would endanger her.

THE PLAYFUL BOOP AND SHOVE FROM MARIUS 🥺🥺🥺

(The ABC Café)

“note-ruh daym”

hee hee pretty enjolras

pretty enjolras in skinny jeans even better

OOH we have,,,angry enjolras in this version o k a y

grantaire raises his hand before agog/aghast part omg

“i’ve never heard him ooOOOOh and aAAAAh *excited squeal*

“dan joo-wan” i love texas

bossuet spotted :)

longing gay looks NOT spotted :(

i love enjolras okay but this one is just,,,a little too aggressive. enjolras isn’t just angry all the time, he’s not that one dimensional. of course, there is more of the show to see and i hope he changes a little bit, but so far red and black isn’t doing much for me. enjolras is hopeful, not just angry.

A CAPELLA SECTION IN RED AND BLACK?? I think YES

the amis finding out lamarque is dead has “fuck trump just won the election” energy

okay i was hoping that enj would change his aggression thing when they find out lamarque is dead (bc that’s when most enjolrai figure out what may happen and kinda sober up yk) but. it doesn’t look like he did. there is hope for barricade scenes

OMG LIL NOTE ON COMBEFERRE GIVING OUT FLYERS TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS: that is fucking pERFECT and yk why?? because it’s a call to action!! it’s less obvious in DYHTPS because they’re mostly singing to each other but later in epilogue when the words and melody is repeated, it’s meant as a call to action! “will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?” is a cALL TO ACTION AND THEY ARE HANDING FLYERS TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS—that’s officially the only way to break the fourth wall THANK YOU 

hey fantine doubles as a student i think!!

HARMONIES ARE C L E A N OOOOH

(In My Life-Heart Full Of Love)

okay yes i already love cosette because she plays awkward-teen-in-love-for-the-first-time PERFECTLY. 

book-ish cosette hell yes a cutie

father-daughter forehead kisses 🥺

awkward mARIUS TIMEEEEE

placing marius, éponine, and cosette in a triangle is a MARVELOUS decision thank u for that symbolism

marius checking if he looks good and ép giving him a thumbs up omg

*aggressively tries to sit normally* same cosette

*awkward curtsy* also same cosette 

(Attack On Rue Plumet)

robbery time let’s see how they do this

ooh marius and cosette run off but i can’t tell if they notice gang before running

thenardier fuckin SLICES éponine after her scream

NOOOO HER LIL WHIMPER AFTER BEING THREATENED AGAIN

(One Day More)

this lil part between robbery and one day more is interesting bc i legit have NO idea what jvj is thinking here. he keeps looking between his watch (i think it’s a watch idk) and cosette after she runs off to pack so like. what. is he doing here bc he looks like he’s choosing between two things but i don’t,,know,,what things

red berets on the amis are dope btw

i think marius is discussing what to do with éponine here, which is FUN because we all know why she goes to the barricade in the brick :’) éponine might be convincing marius to go to the barricade knowing this is her chance to die with him like in the book

omg

OMG

OMG

that stomp bit with the students was the coolest fucking thing i’ve ever seen

END OF ACT ONE

act two will be posted shortly :D

[oldsilverblood5]

Childhood

Thankfully, the Fentons ghost hunting tech was less advanced in the past and sneaking into their home was easier than it had ever been. Without their modified warning system or ghost shield, Phantom was able to sneak in using all the blind spots they hadn’t discovered yet.

He only hoped he wasn’t so far in the past that they didn’t have a working ghost portal yet. That would really throw a wrench into his plans to get back to his own time. Still though, he had to wonder why he had to find Clockwork on his own. Surely if he weren’t meant to be here, the time ghost would have already intervened. Right?

There was no one in the main floor of the house, so Phantom headed straight for the basement. Once inside, he froze at the sound of an unearthly screech. It sounded primal, and hurt, and Phantom knew it had to be a ghost.

Phantom ground his teeth together. Normally, he would rush in to save whatever poor ghost had been captured by the Fentons, but he couldn’t risk any changes to the past. He tried to tell himself that this had already happened, and there was nothing he could do, but before he could work up the courage to go in and look for the ghost portal, he heard another scream.

This one sounding like a human child.

“Don’t let your fear control you, Danny. That’s what it wants.” Maddie’s stern voice spoke up.

Phantom’s core thrummed in confusion and fear, and he turned the corner to investigate the lab before he knew what he was doing.

In the middle of the lab was a large glass cage, it was long and took up a huge amount of space. Maddie and Jack stood to the side and observed the cage like the cold scientists they were. Inside was the screeching ghost, back facing Phantom and looking at something on the other side of the long box that was out of his vision.

The ghost lunged with the same animalistic screech that sounded very wrong to Phantom’s ears, and a small figure slid under the floating form. Phantom immediately recognised the other person in the cage as a child, and a moment later, he realised who the child was.

“Danny?” He whispered to himself in disbelief. Phantom watched the pre-teen version of his rival stand and fire a blast from his gun that just barely grazed the ghost’s shoulder. The ghost ignored the blast, and several more that did a better job of hitting it, as it quickly lunged back at the younger Danny.

Now with a better view of the ghost, Phantom almost gasped at the sight of them. Mottled green and grey skin, flaming wisps of red hair, solid black eyes and foaming mouth open in a snarl, showing off too big fangs. There was something wrong with this ghost. Something so very wrong.

They pounced on the child, holding him down with clawed hands, and proceeded to screech in his face. They leaned in to possibly bite into Danny’s face, but the young hunter reached up with an ecto-laced knife to slash into the ghost’s abdomen. The pain from the wound made them rear back and howl and Danny was able to kick them off. He was tackled again as he tried to stand, this time from behind as he was facing away when he stood, and he hit the ground with a groan. The scream that the child made when the ghost clawed deep into his back had Phantom struggling to hold himself back as he darted his eyes between the younger Danny and his parents.

Why weren’t they doing anything to stop this!?

Why were they just watching it? What was wrong with this ghost? And why was Danny in the cage with them?

All of a sudden, the ghost started shaking and screaming, a light on the metal collar they wore turned on. Normally, Phantom would have been horrified to see someone get electrocuted, but at that moment he was only glad they were no longer hurting the kid.

Jack stepped into the cage and the ghost disappeared in a whirl of the containment device he held. With the fight over, Maddie stepped in and crouched to observe her son’s back. The shirt was well and truly ruined, and several long lines of red peeked through, already dripping blood freely.

“It doesn’t look infected, but we can’t be too sure.” She stood without helping Danny up in any way. “Get into the safety shower. We need to scrub you down.” Danny looked up at her with wide eyes at the order.

“D-do I have to? You said it didn’t look infected.” He asked hopefully as he slowly stood, wincing the whole way.

“Even so, it’s safer to clean it before we bandage it. I know you don’t like the process, but you won’t be able to reach your back properly. Though, if it makes you feel more comfortable, you can keep your pants on.”

Going by the expression on Danny’s face, that would make him feel more comfortable, though it quickly fell into a chastised frown when his mother spoke again.

“But this wouldn’t be necessary had you been able to follow your basic training. Honestly, Danny, you should know better by now to not turn your back on a ghost.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Mom, I wasn’t thinking.” Danny lifted his hand as if he were going to rub the back of his neck, something Phantom knew his older self often did when he was uncomfortable, but winced and lowered the hand before it got there.

Seeing the action, his mother finally remembered the injury and led the way to the safety shower in the corner. “You’re quick on your feet Danny, but you let your fear control you way too much.”

Phantom could only stare, still in shock over the events. Getting over fear in a fight like that was easier said than done. Even Phantom was afraid of that ghost. They were tainted and twisted and wrong. He wondered what happened to them to make them that way. Though considering the Fenton’s were involved that was probably half the answer already.

Now that things were calmer, Phantom started paying a bit more attention to what was being said. He didn’t know that his rival had been afraid of ghosts when he was younger. Though with an experience like that, he couldn’t say he blamed the kid. This was his training?

“You want to protect people, don’t you?” Maddie asked as Danny tried to remove his ruined shirt. He couldn’t do it, so she grabbed a pair of latex gloves and some scissors. “To protect them from ghosts?”

“Of course, I do.” Danny stopped moving as his mother cut the shirt off. “I want to be a ghost hunter so I can keep people safe from ghosts.”

Phantom stared at the younger version of his rival. Danny Fenton had been a ghost hunter for longer than Phantom had been in Amity Park. But he had always been one of the best, a constant thorn in Phantom’s side. He was a Fenton, raised a ghost hunter, and just as much of a monster as his parents. But Phantom had never thought to wonder why.

“Well, you can’t protect anyone if you’re afraid.” Maddie continued, breaking Phantom’s thought process. “You’ll make mistakes like this if you aren’t thinking clearly, and only put yourself in danger. We won’t always be there to protect you if a ghost gets the upper hand. That’s why you need to train more. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mom, I understand.” Danny stepped into the shower.

“But don’t worry too much about it, kiddo.” Jack piped in cheerfully, “We’ll work more on your techniques before you fight a ghost again. Your aim could use a little work.”

If Danny was going to say anything in response, he lost his chance when the shower started up. Maddie had an extra hose she had turned up to a high pressure and was washing down Danny’s back. Phantom only watched Danny’s muscles clench at the pressure on his fresh open wounds for a moment before he decided he’d seen enough. He flew intangibly through the blast doors that hadn’t been ghost proofed yet, and he was in GZ open air.

He sighed and started the flight to the Clocktower. For once, he was glad it was so far away, it gave him plenty of time to think about what he had just witnessed.

First, there was the ghost. They were twisted beyond any form of recognition and Phantom knew that the Fentons had to have done something to them. But this was several years in the past, and Phantom had never seen anything like this before. It worried him that they could away with something like this for so long.

And then there was Danny. Who couldn’t have been more than 12 years old, locked in a cage with a feral ghost while his parents watched and gave minimal advice. And the severe lack of worry from them when Danny was hurt had Phantom seething. They behaved so clinically in response to his injury, worrying more about a possible infection than if he was alright. The proper treatment of his wounds aside, it was as if they didn’t care at all. There was no asking if he were okay, no apologies for putting him in that situation in the first place, no reassurances that it would be okay other than no visible signs of infection. They didn’t try to help him up, didn’t express worry or concern, they didn’t even save the lectures until after they’d patched him up! Maddie just went straight into scolding him for turning his back on the ghost, and Jack was already talking about the next time he would be put in the cage with a twisted being who clearly wanted to kill him.

Despite not being able to, Phantom felt as though he might throw up. This was Danny’s training. The training his parents were putting him through so that he would one day be a ghost hunter like them. A ghost hunter that he wanted to be so he could protect people from the ghosts like the one they made him fight.

A sudden memory resurfaced in Phantom’s mind, one shortly after he’d met the youngest Fenton for the first time.

‘Stop it with the act already! I know what you are!’

If that corrupted facsimile was Danny’s first and only impression of a ghost before being allowed in the field, was it any wonder that he thought all ghosts were evil and monstrous beings?

This was wrong. It was all so wrong, and Phantom needed answers now. He never liked Danny, and he’d never seen the family interact outside of working together to take down some innocent ghost, but this was not what he expected. He needed to get back to his time and talk to Danny, now.

[multimetaverse]

there is dumb josh drama on Twitter @enbyriley has compiled a whole google doc on things they’re angry at him for. This is of little interest to us, but there are DM screenshots in there that strongly suggest Gary Marsh was in the way of andi mack. docs doot google doot com/document/d/1-qh1c5y7y2TglXQIKcNpTqISWmDZRoW3V472oU1wkRQ

Yeah it’s the most honest we’ve seen anyone from Andi Mack be about the censorship and restrictions they faced and those ultimately came from Gary Marsh. I really don’t care about this rehashed drama, some of it is serious stuff that I hope Josh has properly atoned for but a lot of it is pretty minor and some of these accusations seem very flimsy and don’t have any evidence to back them up. Obviously Josh should never have been so involved with the fandom across so many different platforms and I think to an extent he was failed by the adults in his life, I get that some of these instagram and discord group chats would have been private and hidden but his tumblr and twitter were public and open for everyone to see and someone whether his parents, his team, someone from the show, or someone from Disney should have intervened a long time ago. I think a lot of it has to do with not having the social network that an average kid would have which is part of a broader question of whether we as a society should be putting child actors into an adult world of working that denies them a normal childhood and forces them to grow up too fast.

It was always clear that Gary Marsh was hurting the show; the censorship was right there in front of our eyes and only got worse as the show went on. I am surprised that Josh would so openly admit it and that it didn’t leak until now. A lot of people in the fandom had a misconception that the show was cancelled because of canon Tyrus but in reality the show was cancelled before the writing of 3x10 while permission for canon Tyrus was only given during the writing of 3x21. 3x10 was filmed in August while 3x21 was filmed in December so for Disney the question wasn’t whether to cancel the show because they didn’t want to deal with a gay relationship but whether they were going to let the show end without a canon gay relationship. 

I don’t blame Josh for being frustrated and also not for wanting to work for Disney Channel again; after all it was his characters story line that was being hurt. With the exception of Bex’s aborted Gabriel story line in 2a, Gary pretty much let Terri and the writers do what they wanted: Bex’s teen pregnancy, Andi not knowing her who father was, racism, sexism, bullying, panic attacks, learning disabilities, arrests, a funeral, and financial issues. Terri wants a Jandi, Jamber, and Muffy kiss? Sure no problem. Cyrus kissing Iris twice? Go for it! Hell they had no problem doing a gun safety plot line, we got the word gun said on Disney Channel before the word gay. And there was a reason that Cyrus and TJ could talk about the gun but not about their own feelings. 

That’s not to say that our boy Gary is a virulent homophobe because he wouldn’t have let there be a gay character in the first place or let Cyrus come out but clearly he views two boys having feelings for each other as something far more controversial and risque than literally everything else the show tackled up to and including a gun plot line which Disney was happy to promote. Andi Mack was an important step forward for rep but there is no other rep on Disney Channel right now, not even brief Good Luck Charlie style rep, and again that’s all on Gary. 

Josh blames Gary Marsh for there not being a Tyrus kiss which is obviously correct. A lot of people swallowed Terri’s spin in her post finale Paste magazine interview but of course she was lying about her ability to have a Tyrus kiss approved and wasn’t going to bad mouth Disney in anyway and jeopardize her Lizzie McGuire reboot. We had three conversations between Cyrus and Buffy in 3x13, 3x15, and 3x21 where Cyrus talked about his feelings for TJ in a coded way that doesn’t make any sense in universe since he was able to talk about his crush on Jonah with Buffy in S2 and in 3x11 he used the word gay. Was it a creative choice to have Cyrus never openly discuss his feelings for TJ? Of course not, Terri just couldn’t get it approved and if she couldn’t even get an open discussion of feelings approved then she was never going to get a kiss.

There’s a lot that Terri and the writers can and should be blamed for in regards to the Tyrus story line especially in S3 but if they had foreseen the restrictions they’d face then they wouldn’t have had Cyrus kiss Iris twice, or go on group and individual dates with Iris, or come up with a mashup name for them, or have Cyrus introduce Iris as his girlfriend to Andi and Buffy. The bench scene was the best ending we were going to get for Tyrus with Gary’s restrictions and Terri’s writing but it wasn’t an ending that will age well. 

When I was talking about Seblos and Tyrus in my HSMTMTS 1x05 review I shared a snippet of an interview Gary Marsh did in 2008 regarding Ryan’s character being coded as gay in the HSM movies but not alowed to actually be gay:

Regarding the fact that there are boyfriend-girlfriend relationships in the HSM movies, Marsh interjected, “Yeah, but that’s not about sex,” as though having two boyfriends equals full-tilt boogie. And as to why there can be boyfriend and girlfriends but not two boyfriends, he could only note, “It’s just not something that we’ve ever had the opportunity to portray. It hasn’t been a place we’ve gone.”

Again I don’t think he’s personally homophobic and I don’t think he’d publicly make such a statement today but when the man in charge of Disney Channel equates a same sex relationship with sex then that’s not something he views as appropriate for children or for Disney Channel. It explains why it would be until 2014 until there was lgbtq rep on Disney with the lesbian moms on Good Luck Charlie, why there wouldn’t be an openly gay character until 2017 when Cyrus came out to Buffy, and why there wouldn’t a gay relationship until 2019 when Cyrus and TJ held hands and it explains why there’s no other rep on Disney Channel. It’s deeper issue than just one executive and it’s likely that Gary Marsh’s successor will hold somewhat similar views which means that Tyrus could be the only rep on Disney Channel and the only rep anywhere on Disney with younger kids played by actual kids for a while.

[papipopsicle]

AFTERTASTE PART FOUR

Pairing: Archie Andrews X Short!Reader

Genre: fluff, smut

Summary: In which two best friends since childhood test whether friendship and can co-exist without causing conflict. Including my OC's Flick & Cherry, a lesbian couple and best friends of Y/N. Set Pre-Veronica.

Song: Feeling Good by Sofi Tukker

Warnings: Dom!Archie, Oral (fem receiving), swearing (probably)

Words: 3K

MASTERLIST

feedback is always appreciated

!PING!

Y/N giggled as soon as she saw the picture Archie had posted, it had been taken a few hours ago at lunch. She hadn't even realised he had taken one, off guard beaming up at Moose as he told the group how the Andrews boy had face planted the turf during football practice. The caption read ‘when you're having a lousy day, i'll try my best to make you smile like an idiot’ and her face lit up at the kind gesture.

Today had been utter shit; Michelangelo had gotten into a fight with one of the neighbourhood cats and lost very badly, Josie picked a fight for no reason in Maths and called her a ‘brain dead bimbo’ in front of everyone, and to top it off she'd overheard Chuck sharing very private, personal details with his friends like they were nothing.

She felt miserable and hopeless, wanting nothing more than for this day to be over already. While the boy wasn't there with her when any of these events happened, he knew as soon as he saw her saddened expression that it was his duty to turn her frown upside down. After an hour of cheesy jokes bad enough to make her father proud, Y/N felt a little bit lighter.

Now, the two sixteen year olds were being blackmailed into making dinner for themselves, Y/N's family and of course Fred too. It wasn't uncommon for this to happen though, since Y/S followed in her mother's footsteps when it came to cooking abilities, and they felt bad for always making Y/D cook. So the blonde had rolled up the sleeves of her grey sweatshirt and pulled her hair into a messy bun, while Archie gathered all the ingredients for the perfect steak dinner.

"Okay," Y/N huffed out, putting her arms up and looking over the boy's broad shoulders to see the recipe, "what's the first step, Nigella?"

Two frustrating and hilariously messy hours later, the two teens were serving their masterpieces. Y/N showered while waiting for the steak to cook, her hair now in damp ringlets as she wore a black concert t-shirt and a burgundy pair of gym shorts.

She carefully placed the piping hot plates in her mother and sisters respective places, returning for her own and Archie's as the boy brought out ones for their fathers. Y/D and Fred sat at the heads of the table, with Y/S and Y/M on one side and Archie and Y/N on the other. It had been that way since the very beginning, the teen's chairs always closer than necessary.

The radio played hits from the eighties and nineties in the background; the atmosphere warm and cozy as the group began tucking into their gourmet meals happily. Conversation flowed easily as usual, soft smiles mirrored around the room in the amicable scene.

"How's school been today?" Y/D asked casually as he piled food onto his fork dangerously high, it disappearing into his mouth seconds later.

"Shit." Y/N answered with a shrug and a wry smile as she copied her dad's actions and stuffed her face. Her eyes closed for a moment to fully appreciate the perfection of her cooking, but in that moment she missed the sad look the redhead threw her way. Everyone at the table was aware her high school experience wasn't rose tinted, and she was never able to lie to her family about it.

"McCoy's girl again?" Y/S asked defensively, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she even brought up said name.

"It's no biggie, honestly. She's just holding a grudge against me for something that literally happened over a year ago. She'll have to let go of it sooner or later." The y/h/c girl ended the conversation, continuing to fill her mouth with copious amounts of food. While her parents had moved on to talk about another subject, Archie kept his eye on her and she knew it.

Y/N didn't hate being pitted per se, but she couldn't stand to be watched by loving eyes when the person those eyes belong to wishes to fix her problems for her. Knowing that's what his mind was preoccupied with, the girl turned to Archie sharply and began chewing with her mouth wide open, sticking her tongue out for emphasis.

The redhead gagged and couldn't stop himself from snorting in laughter and Y/N took this as her queue to close her mouth. Not truly phased by the grotesque sight, Archie returned it for just a second, leaving them both giggling. Finishing the mouthful, she bumped shoulders with the boy, keeping her head resting there for a few moments as she spoke with a grin, "You've already done enough, stop making my issues yours. We do everything together anyway, leave me this little slither of sardonic sanity, okay?"

She sat up straight again and sent Fred a wink upon finding his knowing grin slung in their direction. Looking around the table, three other faces have the exact same looks, and Y/N only rolled her eyes, "Can we have just one family dinner without planning our wedding? For all you guys know we could both be gay and just use each other for style advice."

Y/D scoffed, eyeing up his daughter with amusement, "You're not gay."

"What?!" The blonde's cutlery clanged against her plate as she threw her arms up in exasperation, "I could be!"

Y/M cackled her usual laugh and rolled her eyes, chiming in, "Darling, have you seen your wardrobe?"

"Cherry and I share clothes!" Y/N defended herself, only halfheartedly as she knew the conversation was completely false, but still stood her ground.

"Yeah, well, she has a blue-haired girlfriend and you only share dresses when you're going out because you're the same size. I'm pretty sure she'd rather be dead than wear a pair of your heels." Y/S interjected and received her sister's glare with a smug grin.

Archie silently ate his food, but soon his best friend turned to him, "I could be bi, right? Like Elizabeth Olsen and Sebastian Stan both own my life."

"You can be whatever you want to be, Tiger." Taking a sip of his drink, the boy continued, "But, to be fair, have you seen The Bronze? Like if there's someone I'd turn for, it'd be Sebastian Stan."

"See!" Y/N raised her arms in the way Will Smith had when showing the world his beautiful wife, "This is why he's my best friend!"

They high-fived with matching grins and the bubbly atmosphere carried on until Fred left for the night, Archie staying over in lieu of helping with unfinished homework. After washing up, the three teenagers headed up to bed.

But before the elder Y/L/N daughter fully entered her room, she swung back on the doorframe and locked eyes with her younger sister in a deadpan manner, "I haven't slept properly in three days, please have the decency to wait until I'm asleep before you start boning, thanks."

Y/N swivelled in the direction of her room, cheeks dusted pink at the insinuation. She closed her curtains and headed straight for bed, exhausted by everything the day forced upon her shoulders. Finding her phone, she sent a round of goodnight streaks and scrolled through Instagram before the bed dipped and a tuft of red hair came into view.

"It's only just gone ten, you lightweight." He bumped her shoulder with his bare one, soon copying her actions with his own phone but not finding anything nearly as interesting.

"Well, I fancy wasting time on my phone instead of doing anything productive, problem?" The blonde hummed, not turning away from the device holding her attention. A few moments of silence and mindless scrolling passed before Y/N's phone was ripped from her grasp and set down on the bedside table.

"Yeah, I do have a problem with that, Tiger." Archie grinned at her clueless expression, climbing on top of her, either elbow caging her face in his hold. A light pressure appeared between her thighs with a small twitch, forcing a giggle from the girls lips. She hooked her thighs around his waist and linked her feet together, pulling his entire being closer to her own.

"Oh," Y/N forgot all about whatever had been on her phone screen moments ago, hands now brushing through Archie's fiery locks, "and what would that be."

The boy dipped his head without warning, lightly pushing her jaw to the left to expose her soft neck. His tongue slowly ran from her collar bone to the bottom of her ear, kissing small pecks along her jawline until their lips met. Y/N smiled into the kiss, lifting herself up while pulling his torso closer into her own. Her hips moved on their own accord, needing more friction to scratch an itch only his mouth could fix.

Archie broke the kiss, looking down at the petite girl with lustful eyes as his hand found her neck once more, "There's so many better ways for us to waste time than on our phones. But I'm going to need you to stay quiet for me, Tiger. Can you do that for me?"

As the words left his lips, his index finger lifted from her neck and pressed against her own. Y/N couldn't help licking a stripe down the back of it, taking the digit into her mouth and letting it drop with a popping sound. She nodded her head in agreement with an innocent smile and wide expectant eyes.

Archie watched her for a moment in awe, giving her throat a small squeeze before moving down her body. He lifted her ‘All Time Low’ t shirt up, planting wet kisses from her bra line to the waistband of her lycra shorts.

“You okay?” The boys soft voice sounded through the room, any dominance dropped from his tone but ready to be picked up if he got the right answer. Y/N sat up, planting each hand on either side of his face and pressed her lips to his nose lightly.

She grinned down at him, “I’m sure.” Her excited tone couldn’t be missed, and without hesitation she hooked her fingers into the shorts and pulled them away from her velvety skin, flinging them to the floor carelessly. Archie felt another grin filled kiss skim his forehead, a small hand carding through his hair as the girl relaxed back into the plush bedding.

Y/N closed her eyes in content as hot breath traced her thighs, up and down in a slow rhythm, leaving goosebumps of anticipation in its wake. Her hips rutted upwards needing some kind of contact, but Archie’s firm hand pushed her back into the mattress and held her in place. He settled with his legs hanging off the edge of the double bed, pushing her legs to rest open. The girl resisted the urge to squeeze her legs together, desire overcoming her body but submission overpowering her mind.

Archie’s lips left trails down her silky thighs, plotting temporary marks by nipping and sucking at the delicate skin. He enjoyed feeling her squirm under his touch, showing how much she needed his touch. This was more than just helping each other get off, there was a raw urgency and need within them for only one another. He licked around the edge of her pink thong, another unintentional jut from her hips pushing him closer to her heat as a whine escaped her lips.

The redhead’s hand moved from her stomach to her neck while he forced her to look down at him, “No noise, kitten. Okay?” He warned and Y/N’s bottom lip curled under her teeth as she sent him another nod. With that, her underwear, if it could be even called that, was pulled from her body and joined her shorts on the cool wooden floor moments later.

Archie carried on teasing the girl, licking down her inner thighs and getting dangerously close to what her body was pleading for, but he enjoyed watching her struggle to stay silent and it was far too easy to bring her to the edge by barely doing anything.

“Please.” Y/N’s voice begged with a shaky moan she’d tried so hard to keep in. The boy smirked up at her before giving her exactly what she wanted, feeling her fingers tighten in his hair as he latched onto her clit. But as soon as the pleasure started, it ceased once more.

“You want me to carry on, little girl?” Archie asked in a low tone, watching his best friend panting in want from the smallest of actions. “Want me to make you feel good?”

“Yes, please, Arch. Please.” The girl nodded again, never needing a release so badly in her life before.

Archie’s tongue lapped small circles around the bundle of nerves, pausing again to elicit a small noise of bliss, “I need you to stay quiet for me though, Tiger. Don’t want Y/S finding out what a slut her little sister is.”

In any other circumstance, Y/N would slap someone for calling her something like that, and Archie would never let the word slip from his lips. But in this moment, with his tongue skilfully taunting her clit and a finger dipping inside her wet pussy, it sent a wave of pleasure and praise through her entire body.

He was her drug, one touch and Y/N was completely intoxicated, whatever he wanted is what she wanted and there wasn’t a single thing she would say no to.

It didn’t take long for Y/N to reach the edge of release, with Archie’s fingers pulsing inside her while switching from licking at her clit and sucking on it with his tongue swirling her into a trance of ecstasy. He wanted to play with her more, keep her tilting on the edge until she couldn’t handle it any longer.

But Y/N had a difficult day, he could tease her any time he wanted, for now he just wanted to give her one reason for this day to be good. With that, he tactfully curled his fingers bringing them in and out of her hot core, not stopping his mouth from all but assaulting her over stimulated clit. Her hips buckled once again and this time Archie didn’t stop her, then they began rutting back and forth riding his face until her body couldn’t take any more

“Oh god.” Y/N whined in a hushed tone, her body convulsing in euphoria she finally toppled over the edge of her climax. Archie pressed a final kiss to her clit, resting his head on her spread thighs for a few moments as they both caught their breath.

The girl giggled as Archie appeared back at her side, pressing her lips to his not caring about the taste of her lingering in the air.

“You okay?” He whispered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her under the duvet with him. Her head rest in the crook of his neck, leg over is stomach and hand lightly tracing patterns over his muscular chest.

“More than okay, pretty boy.” Y/N hummed into the dark room with a bright smile adoring her features. “Arch?”

He mumbled an agreeable response, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Archie’s hand found her thigh and he gave it a small squeeze, keeping his hand there to hold her close.

“Can we play a game?” The girl sounded apprehensive yet excited with her words.

She felt him nod, “What kind of game do you want to play, Tiger?”

Y/N couldn’t help but smirk at her idea as the words left her lips, “I’m proposing a little bet.

Clearly were both attracted to each other, and it ends there, yes? Nothing romantic, just two horny best friends who need an outlet. So, why don't we have a little fun with this? We tease the other to breaking point, bring them to their fucking knees begging for it, and the first one to cave, loses. Nothings off limits, but you can't kiss the other, otherwise you lose."

At this, Archie lifted his head wearing a matching smirk, though it couldn’t be seen as the street lamp sending orange hues into the bedroom only lit up their silhouettes, "What does the winner get?"

"Whatever the fuck they want.” Y/N’s hand made its way to the boy’s neck and she tilted her head upwards to whisper into his ear, “And, when I win the first thing I'm going to have you do is eat me out again."

The boy chuckled dryly and shook his head, "Tiger, I'll be doing that when I win anyway."

Y/N giggled, tempted to throw the bet immediately if the consequence was his head between her legs once more. “Game on, Andrews.”

Archie couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of this situation, though he had to admit he couldn’t wait to see what his best friend would do to try and make him lose.

“Okay little girl, it’s time to sleep I think.” His voice felt more authoritative this time, and Y/N loved that about him, he wasn’t afraid to tell her what to do.

“Goodnight, Arch.” The girl said with a smile in her tone, anxious to see what Archie would do to her over the coming weeks. She felt his head shake once more, knowing a grin was etched into his lips. Y/N rolled onto her side, the boy’s arm tightly wrapped around her still as she drifted off into a fairytale land where this was all real. Not just two friends messing around.

PART FIVE

[upslapmeal]

I have been tagged by @brilliantfantasticgeronimo​ and thus I am returned to tumblr

I should come back more often, I never really meant to go away in the first place (I meant to do some regularish Classic Who watches didn’t I...)

❤️ Three ships:

listen I don’t really do ships etc etc HOWEVER I’m p sure you all know that JtV managed to get past that and so Jane and Michael? the Good Stuff. shame the show ended a few minutes before the end of Chapter 54. and that there was absolutely definitely no fifth season.

Ian and Barbara. they’re just Good Eggs.

.....genuinely trying and failing to think of media I have consumed recently that I have been Invested In enough to give a third ship and I am...failing. although I have just watched Spaced for the first time and really enjoyed the dynamic between Daisy and Tim

🎶 Last song:

it’s almost 10 years since Flags (aka my all-time favourite album) came out so I’ve been relistening and it’s still <3 <3 

so anyway I think my most recent song was the song Flags

📺 Last movie:

lol I’m p sure the last film I watched was Amercan Pie bc my housemates realised I’d never seen it and thought it was a Formative Teen Movie that I missed out on and needed to experience, if a decade late

📚 Currently reading:

I’m not like. actively reading a book at the moment bc I finished one recently and bc masks make my glasses fog up so I can’t read on the tube going to work in the morning, but I have been dipping in and out of The Crucible of Language by Vyvyan Evans for oh.. well over a year now. man I really need to properly get into another book.

anyway in my absence I have absolutely no idea who’s done this already so if you’re reading this then consider yourself tagged :D

[purplesurveys]

721

Have you ever disliked someone just because a friend disliked them? Yessssss. That’s my job as a best friend hahahaha half kidding. No but seriously though, I have. I mean I’d still be objective and tell my friend if their enemy is making sense in some aspects, but at the end of the day I’ll give them the extra support by disliking that person anyway. Which would you rather own: A camera or a video camera. Why? Video camera, because I’ve always wanted to start vlogging and my phone’s camera is already quite decent, so I’m not really needing a camera right now. Have you ever won a lot of money in a slot machine? How much? Nah, I’ve never even played in a casino. I’ve been in one but I was only 18 then, so I couldn’t really do anything except to walk through the casino and stare at all the machines and booths that I couldn’t play at haha. Do you watch sports on TV even though you aren't a sporty person yourself? I will sometimes watch a tennis or MMA match if I catch them on, but that’s about it. I wouldn’t know who to root for either, or know who’s the better player; I just watch for the action. Do you eat / drink at your computer? Yes but I try to avoid it more these days because I hate greasing up my trackpad or leaving bits of food on my keyboard. If I really have to eat at my laptop I’ll put on a show or a video to watch so that I don’t have to actually be using my laptop.

How much do you overeat at special occasions? (Birthdays, Christmas, etc) I don’t think I have the capacity to overeat haha. My room for food is small so when I get full I simply stop eating, or I no longer get up to get a second serving. Generally I try to get a piece of every meal though, no matter how little; I always want to have a taste of everything so that I don’t miss out. The music you listen to: Is it mostly sung by female or male vocalists? I think it’s an equal amount but when it comes to frequency I think I’ve been listening to female vocalists more often – Beyoncé, Paramore, The Japanese House, Banks, etc. My playlists generally have both female and male artists though cause I also listen to Hozier, alt-J, Coldplay, Rhye, Joji, and other male dudes. Do you think it's important to enjoy your job or do you just work for money? As much as possible people should always aim to end up somewhere where they love what they do for a living, but given that I’m quite materialistic but mostly grew up in a household with a mom who was very frugal and often reiterated the joys of a simple life (aka a life I hated lmao), I think I’d have no problem having a job that pays handsomely but wasn’t necessarily viewed as fun. I wanna be able to spoil and reward myself after all the work I do. Do you require glasses / contacts to see properly? If so, which do you use? Yeah, I have glasses. Tell me an embarrassing thing that happened to you recently: I shared a serious-toned Facebook post earlier tonight and Gabie’s dad gave it a like. I’ve mostly forgotten he was my Facebook friend and so I started feeling embarrassed because normally I would shitpost and share stupid memes and if he liked my post, it must mean he sees everything I share jkfhjkfhjkf. When you hear your voice back on a recording, do you think it sounds awful? No. I don’t usually cringe when I hear it; I think it sounds okay. When was the last time you got the hiccups? Aaaaaaaaages ago. I can’t even tell you when. If you had to, which record would you go into Guinness World Records for? I saw a video on Facebook of this woman getting into Guinness for finishing the most jars of mayonnaise in a certain amount of time (I wanna say 5 minutes?) and I was so thrilled to see such a record cause I can honestly see myself breaking it HAHAHAHAHA mayonnaise is <3 The last sweet thing you ate: What was it? A chocolate chip cookie, except we don’t have chocolate chips so my dad had to improvise and chopped up Flat Tops instead. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? I’d toy with my second name and probably go with Belle or Bella. Do you have a middle name? Do you find it embarrassing? Yeah I think all Filipinos come with a legal second name. I don’t find mine embarrassing it all; it’s a source of great pride since I have a lot of relatives etched in Philippine history with that name. I don’t ever want to lose it and I’ll probably continue to keep it even after I’m married. What would you choose to be famous for? It’d be nice to be known for a blog. If I had the time, resources, and tbh the connections it would be amazing to write about anything under the sun for an audience. What is your current occupation? Do you enjoy it? I don’t have any at the moment, but I’m about to start looking for one. Do / Did you enjoy school? Why (not)? There are some parts I enjoy/ed (the friends I made for high school, the overwhelming independence I gained in college) and some parts I hate/d (some classes I was forced to take in high school, my inability to adjust during my first year of college). I don’t regret either periods though, and I can never say I completely hated them. If you have a webcam, are you ever paranoid people can see you? Yes hahaha. I never got around to buying a webcam protector either. Do you find it difficult to sleep at night? Any reason(s) why? Only when there’s something unresolved, like a deadline that’s bugging me or if Gab and I have been arguing. Otherwise I’m knocked out in like 10 minutes. If you had to go on a game show, which would you choose? Family Feud or Jeopardy. What about if you had to go on a reality show? Which would you choose then? QUEER EYE. Talk about wholesome. Tell me about your favourite TV show: Blue meth, New Mexico, lots of chemistry, objectively one of the greatest pieces of television ever. Have you ever wished you were born the opposite gender? Why? I probably wished this a few times when I was a pre-teen and liking girly things was still seen as lame. How the hell did we not question mindsets like that before, damn. If you had dental braces, which colour would you make them? I did have braces and I always picked a different color for every trip to the dentist, so it’s very possible I had tried out the entire rainbow. Does any part of your body hurt right now? Where and why? My back hurts rn, understandably, because my posture is shitty. Why were you last irritated? Slow internet. What time did you get up this morning? I think that was already 11 in the morning. The last city you were in: Where was it and do you like it there? Other than my own it was in Pasig. It’s okay but I definitely prefer other cities. It’s a little too crowded and congested for me and also too expensive to stay at, eugh. If I had the choice I’d rather hang in Makati or QC. Do you like the countryside? They’re nice spots for a short vacation, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’ve grown used to the hustle and bustle of cities. If you see someone yawn, do you often yawn as well? Sure. Recommend me a good movie: Good Will Hunting, Requiem for a Dream (but sad), Roman Holiday, Gone with the Wind, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Do you think you'd make a good model? Would you ever want to be one? I don’t work out or do anything to maintain a certain figure so I don’t have the the ideal body for modeling; if anything the only factor I have going for me is the fact that I’m quite skinny. I did want to be a model when I was a teenager though; that was around the time VS Angels were extremely popular, so I’m not surprised I used to want to be like them. How often do you change your hairstyle? What does it look like now? I only change it up once a year. Right now I have a bit of a bob with bangs. Truth or Dare? Truth. I never have a problem saying the truth lmao. Do you have a favourite day of the week? Which is it? This semester it was Tuesday, because it had my lightest schedule. Nowadays every week is just a blur to me and I stopped having a favorite day.

[spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia]

SpongeGuy Reviews Every Disney Sitcom Ever!: Lizzie McGuire (1.1): “Rumors”

A TEEN GIRL SHOW WITH NO LAUGH TRACK, RELATABLE CHARACTERS, THAT SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH (MINUS THE MAGIC) VIBE I ALWAYS LOVE, GOOD HUMOR AND DARE I SAY NO CRINGE?

...I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!

Ok so first of all, again, sorry for the lack and delay of the reviews recently. In the last 4 days I have been barely progressing. But don’t worry, I’m fixing it! Today I have two shows to watch and I’m gonna get em done!

Moving on, “Lizzie McGuire” was THE first big disney channel hit. Not that Even Stevens wasn’t big, but Lizzie McGuire is sort of historic, as it proved that these things could become big enough to have merch, video games, even movies! I don’t know much about the history, but it wouldn’t shock me if Lizzie McGuire is a big reason why we have all these sitcoms after all these years.

And like many genres, the first is as times the best. So let me explain why!

SUMMERY:  When Lizzie accidentally starts a mean rumor about Kate in a fit of jealousy after Kate makes the cheerleading squad and Lizzie doesn't, Miranda stands up for her best friend and takes the blame. Unfortunately, she has to deal with the fallout of hurting Kate's feelings. Meanwhile, Matt gets a lizard for school and names it Lizzie. When Lizzie the Lizard gets lost and turns up dead Matt gets upset. It turns out that she's just hibernating.

COMEDY: 4 Out of 5

Not a perfect set of jokes, again, this IS a teen sitcom. But there was a lot of charm to the humor here and some really decent gags. But I’m not here to talk about comedy, as much as I’m here to talk about presentation, and how sometimes little touches and fun details make what could have been average a lot of fun.

Most teen sitcoms are shot the way adult sitcoms are: Scenes feel more like they’re on a stage than they are in real life, everything is super slow, and jokes can be predicted from the moment they start. Now, that’s not a BAD thing; In fact, Drake and Josh is one of my all time favorite shows and it’s EXACTLY like that.

But it DOES mean that a fast paced show with quick editing, interesting ways of presenting scenes and a literally cartoonish feel (WITH animated Lizzie) feels a lot fresher and... More interesting, shall we say, than your regular disney sitcom.

In other words: The jokes were fun, and they took a normally pretty generic teen plot and made it fun and funny!

CHARACTERS: 4 Out of 5

So here there was a small donwgrade, in the fact that I am not TOO invested in the rest of the cast. Not that they are BAD, mind you, and this is only the first episode, but I wasn’t too invested in our bully, or in the best friends, or the family (though they were a lot more interesting than most sitcom families).

But of course, sometimes you only need one character to show up, and Lizzie does that more than enough! Again, I love me a teen girl character done right (I relate to them a lot for some reason) and Lizzie is perfect as your average girl. She’s not a girly girl or a tomboy, she’s not famous or trying to be (more or less). She’s just a regular girl trying to figure her life out. And what makes her so great?

She’s flawed but still likable.

This is a trap many of these shows fall into: On the one had, I applaud the writers for not going for goody two shoes characters and giving them decent flaws! However, many of these character flaws are there for comedy more than anything, and are never solved properly, thus making even the most likable of characters stale and repetative by the end.

Not Lizzie, though! Our MC’s flaw in this episode is a lack of bravery, shall we say. We understand why she is afraid of telling the truth (after all, look at the lengths Kate goes to ruin Miranda), but at the same time we don’t look down on her but hope she learns her lesson.

Best thing: Lizzie NEVER takes advantage of this or enjoys the lack of “chaos” in her life. She is guilty the entire time, and constantly tries to find ways to solve the conflict, but never comes off as selfish or cruel. She is just confused and afraid, and I think we can all get that.

It’s the effort in her character that makes her likable that wins this show 4 points, and that’s with a lacking side cast!

STORY AND HEART: 5 Out of 5

I’ll make this one quick: This is a pretty cliche and normal set up. Character fucks up, character lies in one way or another, or gets covered by a different character, and now character must live with the guilt or face the music.

We have seen this COUNTLESS times.

But, as I have said before, old tropes are not the problem, the execution can fix ALL. And it happens here! Lizzie, as I said, never comes off as callus, and instead we are treated to a fast paced funny story about facing your mistakes. If this was a differnent show you’d probably hear me complain about how long and slow it all was.

But thanks to the magic of editing and pacing the story was like a breeze of fresh air!

And so, I look forwards to the next episode!

FINAL SCORE: 13 Out of 15

It might not be AS highly rated as Stuck In The Middle but I found this to be the second best sitcom yet (no offence Good Luck Charlie, you’re still the best quality). A lot of fun, and a lot of heart!

Next time we have K.C Undercover! I understood this one is a bit of a letdown, but I LOVE Zendaya and I like the idea, I’m open minded!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/100qHOP9aQ1AmKbrYuc--CQAP3LQnHfsS/edit#heading=h.pylavuz6yu8i

[mcrmadness]

I was tagged by @cupcakecurl, thank you so much! I’ll try to remember to tag you whenever I am tagged the next time!

It’s a long post so I put it under the “keep reading” link.

1. Do you ever make your bed? No. I have a loft bed so no one can see to there (unless someone is like 2m tall but I barely have visitors and especially not that tall people lol. Or maybe bit shorter people too but since I’m very short, I can’t see there :D) so there’s no point in making the bed. Plus I tend to sweat a lot during some nights so I like to leave the bed “open” so it can dry properly.

2. What’s your favorite number? 13. But also 23 and 123.

3. What’s your job? Currently I’m on a sick leave but my “profession” is horse groom.

4. If you could go back to school, would you? Ummm, I’ve been to plenty of schools but with a bit bad success... I actually love studying and learning but I don’t like schools nor going to schools. So I’m constantly wanting to learn and study but every time I’ve been accepted into a school, I have asked myself "why tf did you have to do this again when you know you hate this all???” as every time I face the same concentration problems with essays etc.

5. Can you parallel park? Yes, but I prefer not to do that on a busy road since I start fucking up things when I feel like I have to hurry because I’m bothering other people. So only when there’s not other cars going everywhere I will do that, otherwise I’ll find another spot to park.

6.  A job you had that would surprise People? I haven’t really had that weird jobs, all of them have been about horses tbh. And I haven’t done a real job ever anyway, just work trainings and school related trainings. But I might say here that before I figured I want to work with horses, I was trying to study animal caretaking and that certain branch was focusing on farm animals. So I have actually been to a cowhouse with milk cows and I have been milking them and worked with cows and calves there a lot as it was a huge part of my school. I also know how to drive a tractor and how to reverse with a trailer attached because we did this A LOT at school and we had to do this again when I was studying in the horse school and it was one of the tests to reverse a tractor and the trailer had to go into an imagined “barn”.

7. Do you believe aliens are real? Yes. I mean, this universe is such a huge place, why the fuck not??? I actually had this thought from a very early on that there must be life out there somewhere and I’m pretty sure they are aware of us all but let’s be honest, if you was from an another galaxy and found out there’s a this small planet with some puny people on it, would you want to get to know us? No, I don’t think so. If we have to kill each other for stupid reasons, do you really think humans would suddenly agree being friends with aliens too? So I still believe they are out there and are aware of us but don’t really bother meeting us nor even letting us know about them because humans are the most idiotic animal on this planet. If you look at all these scifi movies already (witch a few exceptions) and how we always imagine the aliens: if they are hostile, they are unintelligent, can’t talk and will make monster noises and they will look like monsters. If they are friendly, they are super intelligent, can talk or use even telepathy to talk to us and they are humanoids, never monsters. I guess we’re just so scared of them we’re obsessed with this idea and we’re scared they would be more intelligent and still hostile at the same time...

8. Can you drive a manual car? Yup, I have only ever had a manual car and I actually have never driven an automatic car. I’ve no clue how they work :D In Finland you can choose between a driver’s licence to manual or automatic car and with manual you can drive them both, with automatic you can only drive automatic cars. (Do people say automatic car or should it be “with automatic gears”?)

9. What’s your guilty pleasure? I was thinking about this a lot and I think I will agree with the person who tagged me and also say male/male pairings and shipping. But I don’t want to give the same answer (I think there was a really good points!) so I think I’ll go with an easier one: this doesn’t happen that often anymore but when I was still studying and working 4-5 days/week.

We were always listening to radio at work and we usually used channels with music from the 70s and 80s, maybe also 90s and sometimes even older than that. Once one of the workers left the place, we all started using other channels cos everyone was so done with that one particular radio channel :D Anyway, my guilty pleasure was that some songs sometimes stuck in my head, often from old and really popular bands that I couldn’t even link to the band itself. And I really hate earworms when they are not music I normally like to listen to, so I often get really frustrated with them and I start my hunt for the songs so I can listen to them and maybe finally remove it from my head. And here comes my guilty pleasure: reading the youtube comments to some really old songs’ music videos. They are often just so damn hilarious I was often dying from laughter when I did that! And it’s bit sad too because I would have loved to share with them other people but either they would have not understood the youtube comment humour or if I brought it up to someone who actually liked the music, they would just get offended. So I actually realize only now how often this was happening with the songs and I’ve found some really hilarious comments from there too!

I also had several songs I kinda liked to listen to when they were playing. That is something fun too because I wouldn’t say they are guilty pleasure songs but more like... just something for myself you know? I’m often really open but sometimes I like it more when I can keep things only to myself. And it somehow cheered me up when I was driving my car or working in the stable and then heard one of those “guilty pleasure” songs that I could enjoy and at the same time enjoy of the fact no one knew I was enjoying them! I guess I like it because I’m often feeling like being way too visible and I’m afraid that I give away opinions and feels without saying them aloud and what I really want to keep to myself, so that makes me feel REALLY good when I know no one can read me!

10. Tattoos? No. And not gonna have either. I have a fear of needles and pain, I used to have one pair of earrings and even that was terrible enough. And painful.

11. Favorite color? Orange, almost like the neon orange; electric blue, and black.

12. Things people do that piss you off? Ohhh are we talking about pet peeves now? I usually am very calm and it’s hard to make me angry but I’d say that what REALLY pisses me off is when someone/people don’t listen to me. And I mean when they literally tell to my face they don’t care, they don’t want to hear, and that I should shut up. That is what makes me really furious even. One of those rare things that make me really feel like I need to start smashing things. Also people talking over and not listening overall is something a bit annoying but I can take it, but not when it’s intentional. Also I’m very stubborn and sometimes not getting what I want makes me angry too since I kinda got used to that as the oldest siblings, but at the same time I am aware of this and I don’t think I’m surperior or anything. Just some things I need to pay more attention to about myself.

13. Any phobias? Fire (pyrophobia), needles and sharp objects (aichmophobia) and social anxiety (social phobia), for the starters.

14. Favorite childhood sport? I had none. I liked badminton tho but just like... a few times in a summer and then I forgot about it again. And as a pre-teen I actually was horseback riding regularly for about half a year. Then a pony threw me down and it was my first time falling of a horse and of course I had to break my arm. Since that I have fallen just once but I don’t really like riding that much, driving is more of a my thing now.

15. Do you ever talk to yourself? Not really, I laugh aloud more often but I don’t really talk to myself. I don’t like hearing my voice when I’m alone, it triggers my depersonalization/dissociation.

16. What movie do you adore? Oh what movie I wouldn’t adore??? I watch so many movies and it’s almost impossible to say just one... I guess I’m gonna say my favorite one of them all: Beetlejuice by Tim Burton. I have always been really interested in all kinds of different imagines of death because I have always been a bit afraid of death and I just don’t like the thought of everything ending on that. I can basically imagine that emptiness and it’s really scary and something I don’t want to have. So I have always been really into anything that will show death as something else than emptiness or permanent. And I really love it what Burton did with Beetlejuice and I just love all the details in there! I have seen this movie millions of times and still I feel like whenever I watch it, I find something I did not see the last time because there’s just so much to see! And it’s also really funny and full of dark humour which is 110% my thing and I think that movie is a perfect example of Burton’s twisted, dark sense of humour. I feel like I understand his humour so well that every time I go to see a Burton movie in the theaters, I’m usually the only one to laugh at things I get as these weird jokes he likes to put there and everyone else is laughing at things that weren’t always even meant as that funny. It’s kinda weird, but it just shows that he’s my favorite move director for a reason :D And back to Beetlejuice (was that now the third time saying the name..?), Danny Elfman made the music to this one too and the theme is probably my favorite Danny Elfman score as well.

17. Do you like doing puzzles? Yeah! I like both types: jigsaw puzzles and the other puzzles and I really love when video games have lots of puzzles to solve as idk, somehow I just love that :D

18. What’s your favorite kind of music? Uh, this is gonna take a while to explain. Because it’s not that simple... I mean, in a way it is but it isn’t? :D I tend to like bands that basically are of the newer punk rock but don’t necessarily be punk itself, but they all either have roots in punk or their influences were mainly punk bands. And a while back I actually realized that most bands I listen to, actually have lots of the same bands behind there as their influences but all these bands (that I listen to) are all totally different from each other. So I like music that is based on punk rock but with a lot of new stuff added to them and I like music that is very diverse and offers a lot for the ears to hear, lots of layers and instruments etc. but so that on an album there isn’t 10 songs that are hard to tell apart ebcause they sound so alike, but more like 10 songs that are all different enough from each other but still similar enough that they sound like they belong into the same album. I’m very picky with music but the more I look back into what my music taste has been over the years, I still seem to always like the same things, and one of the things I like a lot with music is when there’s violins and/or pianos, I also like brass, but only when it’s there every now and there and not in every song. When not getting too much of something, it stays interesting, otherwise I’ll become very bored and start to look for “new” stuff to have enough stimuli.

So, many probably are already aware that my favorite band is Die Ärzte. And others, from the US: MCR, The Killers and Yellowcard. Rammstein from Germany and there’s some other German bands I might listen to too. From Finland I like bands like: Apulanta, Tehosekoitin, Klamydia, Häiriköt... And have to say here that as weird as it sounds, DÄ, MCR and Apulanta are quite different but all of them have lots of the same bands that influenced them! :D And Rammstein is probably the most different but hey, they also have punk roots! (And I like Feeling B too, btw. It’s very rare to me because I normally don’t like THAT regular punk but I really love the drums, escpecially when Schneider joined the band, and all the other instruments and the synth just made them to stand out!) And even The Killers share some influence bands with DÄ and MCR which is super interesting as there’s nothing punk in their style, but they’re still one of the most important bands from my teenage years. I was about 14 when I heard of them for the first time at school and since there was no Youtube yet, the hunt for the song, “Somebody Told Me”, was quite intense because only way to find it was to one day hear someone mention the song and band name on radio, but fortunately I did catch it! The album I found only 1-2 years later tho, when their 2nd album was released and I found both albums from a record store (R.I.P. record stores...) here.

So, that’s my favorite kind of music. Fast, interesting, lots of layers and instruments, good singing and it has to have lots of melody too. I live from songs with lots of melody.

19. Tea or coffee? Tea, and actually the only tea I drink is Earl Greay and I drink that on a daily basis. Usually just 1 cup/day but sometimes even 2. 3 starts to have bit too much caffeine already. And from here we get to the reason I don’t drink coffee: my head can’t stand caffeine and the only time I do drink coffee is because I need caffeine aka when I drive longer distances with a car, but it causes me exessive sweating and I need to pee 24/7 and increses my panic symptoms and worsens my concentration skills so I try to avoid caffeine as much as I can. Besides, coffee tastes bad. It’s one of the best smells in the world and I HATE how it does not taste like that!!! So whenever I drink coffee, it’s not really coffee, it’s milk and sugar with a little bit of coffee in it. And ice coffee tastes better than normal coffee and I usually buy these readymade ice coffees you get in Finland cos they don’t taste like coffee. More like... milk and sugar with coffee taste lol.

20. First thing you remember wanting to be when you grow up? Oh I think what I said was “I don’t know, probably something to do with animals.” I also am not exactly sure if I was one of those kids being like “I want to be a veterinatian!” or if I did NOT want to be a vet, and so when people would ask about being a vet then, I’d answer no, but more like just taking care of the animals. And I was not wrong, I am a qualified horse groom now.

I want to tag (what? me? tagging people? uncanny!) @stufenlosregelbar and hmmmm... @bleibimmerduselbst, since I haven’t seen this one on your blogs yet. Or at least not lately, not sure if you have already done this before and if so, I’m sorry, I normally do remember things I see but now for some reason I can’t remember that! And of course if someone out there wants to do this but hasn’t got tagged (I’d but I can’t read minds so idk who wants to be tagged I’m sorry!), then I’m also gonna tag YOU so please, steal this and tag yourself :D

[secretshinigami]

What’s in a Snake’s Ale?

Author: @thequietonesarethedarkestones For: @misora-massacre Pairings/Characters: Beyond Birthday, Naomi Misora, and L Lawliet Rating/Warnings: Teen and up for mild drinking and language Prompt: D&D AU Author’s notes: It just so happened that I already had headcanons for this, so it was really exciting to finally write about!! I hope you like it~

        Wolfmaw was an unfortunate name for a town. According to the locals, the name sprung from pointed rock formations that ringed the area; sharp stones the size of trees arranging a pattern that anyone who’s stared into a wolf’s jaws would recognize.

        Lately, though, the symbolism became uncomfortably tangible. Townsfolk often spotted wolves at the edge of their vision, trotting about the outskirts. They never approached close enough to be anything more than ominous. Their presence was threatening nonetheless. The population kept their doors locked with unease, but the animals never gave any real cause for alarm.

        It was common to see a pack passing through an area at the turn of the season. The deciduous nature of the region’s forests coupled with wild weather changes throughout the year scared away most animals looking to spend their entire lives there. Wolves came and went often, but rarely bothered a town, and never stayed for more than a week. Even so, the mind often strays to imagination (for it really knows nothing else), and paranoia painted glowing red eyes and silver fangs into the hearts of many. At least, this is what the Naomi Misora’s deity had told her.

        The Fairwit Watcher was certainly an interesting patron to serve. He sent her wherever her reason was needed most, wherever mystery held logical tongue hostage. She traveled across the empire on his wishes, solving what she could and earning a reputation.

        Misora Massacre, they called her. A human paladin with a razor mind and a roaring heart. It was a grisly name at its core, but it caught all the right attention.

        Because of her reputation, the locals of Wolfmaw welcomed Naomi with open relief. They added to the Fairwit Watcher’s intel, telling varying stretched claims about unusual beasts slinking about unchallenged (None were so bold as to claim damage done—they would have done so without evidence).

        The wolves were entirely normal. She didn’t have to get up close to see that—none of them looked scrawny or sick, so there was no reason for them to enter the village in the first place. The townsfolk insisted on keeping Naomi close by, however, to ease their nerves. They pretended that she had something to do with the pack’s departure the next morning. She would leave them with a nice sum of coin to guide her.

        Through it all Naomi never saw a red eye or silver tooth—it was misguided paranoia after all. After assuring everyone of their safety, Naomi retired to her inn to privately report the results to her patron.

        “Very good, Ms. Misora. You said there were eight of them?” His rather deadpan voice jumped from pitch to pitch and layered over itself. Thus, it was easy for his paladin to recognize. The myths said that justice crystallized when he spoke, and that the unjust always heard grating anger in his words. Regardless, Naomi never felt the urge to act particularly valiant when they conversed. His appearance didn’t persuade her to chivalrousness either, on the occasion that he showed himself—his figure barely held it’s form. The body was a loose shadow of blue-black mist that demonstrated little physical acknowledgment to Naomi’s words. Even so, he had her highest respect.

        “Yes, the group wasn’t overly large or small—the wolves themselves were unremarkable, really. It was paranoia. I’m guessing they had a rough winter or something.”

        “I’m glad to hear it.”

        “Do you have anything else for me to do here?” 

         “Wolfmaw is an interesting place with interesting people—I saw some particularly strange patrons in the bar below, in fact. Enjoy yourself.” As he dissolved away, Naomi decided that these words had been as much of an order as his ‘suggestion’ to investigate the town. That sort of sucked the joy out of relaxing, didn’t it? 

        The wooden staircase protested noisily under her footfalls, but the band playing below overran the groans with sweet singing of lutes and violas. It wasn’t an exquisite venue, but the town was small. There was a decent crowd of folks who had no other option. A heavy scent of alcohol choked the air, and boisterous laughter mingled easily with the music. Naomi opted for a stool by the bar to watch the chaos from a comfortable distance, and through one way or another ended up with a watery mead.

        “Did you do it for justice, or the coin?” The voice came out of nowhere. It was a cobra scraping across rock—rough, uninviting, and hinting at its owner’s danger. However, it had addressed her, so she turned.

         “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” She responded before even looking at him properly. He had certainly snuck up on her, which was admirable considering his conspicuous appearance and Naomi’s adept perception. Most of his look raised no sort of alarm—his bronze skin glittered in the low torchlight, and thick black curls pulled into a short tumbling ponytail gleamed in duet. His clothes were not foreign or even expensive.

        What set him apart were startlingly ruby-like scales that patterned his cheekbones, forehead, and bridge of his nose. Naomi recognized him as of partial Yuan-ti lineage.

        He had a flask instead of a tankard, and after he took a sip, his lips were lined with the same cherry shade his scales. Naomi could smell the dark drink without leaning in or focusing. It was nauseatingly sweet. 

        “At least let me introduce myself,” he said, smiling at her like she wasn’t glowering in silence. “Rue Ryuzaki, at your service.” He punctuated this addition with another long drink. Whatever it was, it was certainly alcoholic, but by no means a good or healthy substance. Naomi pulled her glass closer to herself, suddenly grateful for the mead’s weakness.

        “At my service for what?” She asked, keeping her name locked close. His personality type wasn’t enigmatic, and she had dealt with it before. It was sometimes best not to give them what they wanted. Ryuzaki did not take long to stitch together a reply even in rather rudely obvious disappointment.

        “Anything you’d like. My time is yours,” He said, without much of his previous enthusiasm. 

        “…”

        “Come on, pity me.” At least that wasn’t something that she’d heard before. Naomi cursed herself for letting it hook her interest. She’d just give him a chance to speak. “You could at least answer my question—I’ll even answer one of yours in return.” He wasn’t giving up. Naomi gathered her patience. Ryuzaki was suspiciously suspicious—it was obvious that he was the reason the Fairwit Watcher had ordered her to have fun. This was a work call. It was a responsibility.

        “I did it because it was required of me.” She hoped the vague answer would piss him off enough to leave her alone. It was only dry kindling to flame.

        “So justice and coin. Sounds like a fun job, then.” Ryuzaki tapped his fingernails against his flask, and Naomi noticed that portions of his hands were also armored with scales. Normal fingernails, though.

        “Well, I’m a man of my word. Ask me something,” Ryuzaki said. She figured that if he was being so cooperative (overeager is probably the better word), then she might as well take advantage of it.

        “What brought you here?”

        “To Wolfmaw? My job. Same as you.” He seemed undaunted by the suggestion that perhaps she had not meant the question on a larger scale, for Yuan-ti were rarely seen in the empire. Most often they chose to settle in the warm marshes that lay outside of the western borders. Naomi had read about them before, and she was familiar with the rude whispers that often followed their name.

        They were called abominations, children of chaos. She wondered if Ryuzaki was even aware of this. He was persistent at being ignorant to any insult issued to him, so it was possible that he was only aware of what was starkly presented to him. Naomi already hated him.

        At the end of the day, though, she didn’t know him. Anything could be going through his head. If he was good enough at hiding it, she would never be aware.

        “Your job,” She repeated with doubt. It wasn’t that she didn’t think he could have one. It was that it had allegedly brought him to Wolfmaw. They didn’t order many commissions. What business could he have if it wasn’t connected to the recent paranoia?

        “Yes. I was told to take care of a few things.”

        “By who?” Naomi leaned closer despite her instincts screaming not to. She scrutinized his expression with eyes of steel. This town could only barely serve as a tourist attraction, so an aristocrat having interest was doubtful. The fact that the Fairwit Watcher wanted her involved made Naomi wonder if Ryuzaki had been hired by a crime lord of sorts. But what could they want in the area…?

        Ryuzaki seemed unalarmed, which was kind of disappointing. He gave her a snake-like grin. When he refused to pull away, Naomi realized in the proximity that his eyes reflected his scales and the stain on his lips—red like nothing she’d ever seen, and with ringed patterns like you’d find on rocks by a lake’s shore. Staring into them was like teetering on the edge of the Infernal plane. It was dizzying, but she didn’t look away. Looking away meant losing.

        “Private contractor,” he said, leaning away an inch, “You wouldn’t know her.” Every word he spoke raised another red flag.

        “If you tell me, I’ll answer another one of your questions.” That was precisely the opposite of what Naomi wanted to do, but sometimes you had to suck it up for the sake of your patron.

        “I don’t have any more questions.” He spread his palms. Naomi gritted her teeth. When had he decided to be difficult?

        “You had questions before, are you telling me you aren’t interested in them anymore?”

        “Oh? I suppose I am.” He grinned. Naomi had broken her rule, she gave him what he wanted. She was going to pay.

        “Here’s a question: who’s your employer? You must have one—I believe in fate, but you’re far too good at your job to have stumbled upon this little mystery by accident.” Naomi’s mead suddenly tasted sour in her mouth. His words glaringly demonstrated that he had kept an eye on her. Was he just going to keep getting more suspicious?

        The Fairwit Watcher didn’t request total secrecy. After all, one has to be at least marginally known to gain a following. Still, his name wasn’t one that you were careless with.

        Naomi remembered that she was getting shady information in exchange for this, so Ryuzaki would be a hypocrite to scold her.

        “The Fairwit Watcher,” she took a sip of her mead to seem nonchalant, “I doubt you’ve heard of him either.” Ryuzaki leaned forward with such force onto the bar that the wood shrieked.

        “The Fairwit Watcher? Of course I know him. He’s a total asshole!” Despite his venomous words, Ryuzaki was smiling again, that wide and toothy smile that was so serpentine it made Naomi wonder why he didn’t have fangs or a forked tongue.

        “Excuse me?” 

        “Oh, come on, you agree.” She did, but she couldn’t say that. 

        “How do you…is he your patron?”

        “Was. Does he not treat you like garbage?”

        “No?”

        “Unbelievable.” He laughed, then drowned it in whatever awful sludge he was drinking. 

        “Is your new employer your new patron?”

        “Excellent work, she is!” The praise made Naomi want to gag. “Her name is Nu.” She indeed had not heard of this deity before. Perhaps she was particular to Yuan-ti?

        “She’s a death goddess. Doesn’t attract much attention, though.”

        “Does she speak to you?”

        “I get vague suggestions. No voices.” 

        “And she told you to come here.” 

        “Vaguely.”

        “…” Naomi figured that to give someone the name and location of a town, she’d have to be pretty precise. Maybe Ryuzaki didn’t know what vague meant at all.

        “Are you sure that’s the work of a deity?” She asked, speaking somewhat slowly.

        “Oh, yes. She’s given me what you would call ‘otherworldly powers.’” It sounded like a brag. Naomi almost wanted to list of what the Fairwit Watcher had done for her in rebuttal. She held her tongue.

        “Huh…that’s interesting,” Naomi said, mostly as a way to fill the silence that followed the easy flow of questions. Ryuzaki had his eyes glued on her, and she found it difficult to look away. His gaze flitted above her head, then back again.

        “Well, I should get going.” He buckled his flask to his belt and pushed his stool back. Naomi felt like she should stop him (you know, out of duty), but really couldn’t bring herself to. Ryuzaki was weird, but he wasn’t malicious. If pressed, Naomi would probably describe him as a social outcast with a disturbingly outgoing attitude. Maybe the Fairwit Watcher was just messing with her.

        “No other questions?” Naomi forced herself to ask.

        “No. I hope to see you around, Ms. Misora.” He flashed another reptilian smile. She stood up at once, balking at him like he had just told her (very calmly) that he was a banana slug. He waved at her as he sped through the crowd with unabashed cheer, and she had a feeling that she would see him again. The very fact was unsettling.

        Mostly because she’d never mentioned her name.