#Lex definitely has his own phone service

[pseudo-hero]

Joker and Lex Have a Fun Chat

Probably stupid but I'm gonna go ahead and post it already haha:

(Extra) What I was inspired by:

(If anyone knows who made the directly above, let me know and I'll give credit.)

[wolfiemcwolferson]

Are you ready to start?

A little Galex drabble based on the Maggie Rogers song ‘Anywhere With You’

Alex remembers the phone call George made to him - every single word of it - even though he was talking too fast for Alex to really follow.

But, at the end, he had said the words, “Williams seat is a seat, Lex and you deserve it.” And Alex knew, because he had been talking to people about it, but he let George believe it had been him to break the news because The Thing about Alex is that he will be indulging George in all.

Which is how he finds himself re-arranging his life to get on a flight in the middle of the night. The text from Max burns heavy in his pocket. I have called the pilot, Alex, but can someone explain to me why I am running the driver’s dating service? Alex will deal with that (and ask follow-up questions) later.

Right now, he has to go and see George. Hollow-eyed George who hadn’t meant to answer that FaceTime call a couple of hours ago. Clearly meant to reject it, but tried to play it off.

Alex is kicking himself because he shouldn’t have let him go off by himself after testing ended four days ago. Another title fight lost between a Red Bull and a Mercedes, but this one was George. And it’s not like...it’s not like Alex let him go to nurse his own heart or some shit. He made peace with his faint the day Marko called and offered him that seat before they had even scraped Pierre’s name off the garage door.

It’s just...George had said he was fine. He had said that he was just going to go home and see him family and have a quiet Christmas, but Alex knew better and he still didn’t do anything about it because he wasn’t ready for them to...

He was a coward. A dirty coward who was staring at George on the podium in Brazil and knowing that it was finally time for the two of them and he had thought...He doesn’t know what he was thinking honestly. Just that George needed some space, and Alex was going to give it to him.

Stupid.

Be okay. Be okay.

Stupid stupid stupid.

.

George’s flat in London is stupid too.

Alex hated it when he moved into it and he hated it when he helped George unpack a load of dishes he bought to match the granite.

But, George had loved it and then he had pressed a key into Alex’s hand (and Alex is pretty sure that was about the time that the model broke up with him, actually).

Alex unlocks the door now and steps inside and like a ghost, George appears at the end of the hall, looking pale and thin and like the person Alex has (most definitely) been in love with for at least a decade. Probably longer, probably since that bike crash. Probably before that even.

He says the first thing he thinks of. 

“Hey, Georgie. Wanna go for a drive? I hear the beach is fucking freezing this time of year, but it’ll be a hell of a story.”

George crumples. Alex holds him.

And then they pack him a bag.

.

Hastings is probably the most ridiculous choice logistically, but he’s thinking about that time the two of them ended up there and not a single person stopped George to take a picture with him and he smiled so bright and big and dumb about it for two whole days and Alex wants him to smile like that again so they throw their bags into the nonexistent back seat of one of George’s Mercedes’ and Alex pulls out of the garage.

He flips off the radio immediately because he and George will just argue about it and he hates that - doesn’t want to do that right now.

Alex counts headlights as they pass as soon as they’re out of London proper. It’s the middle of the night and he thinks surely, he’ll start talking before we pass 200.

Be okay. Be okay.

Let me not have fucked this up before it starts.

“I’m in love with you, you know.” George says small and hesitant and Alex has to bite down on his tongue so he doesn’t shout.

“And I think probably that you are the person I’m going to be with forever.” George adds, talking quickly like he does when he gets going and Alex realizes he should have cut him off, but he’s reaching full steam now and there’s no turning back.

“I used to ask the universe for you, you know, but then you lost your seat and I got the Merc seat that was bad and you had - well,” George grimaces, “we both had people, and then I got a car that could drive and you didn’t and I thought best not fuck that up Georgie because what if he starts to resent you and you wouldn’t survive it, you great lump.” 

Alex should really cut him off when he pauses to draw a breath, but he doesn’t.

“Like, what would you have done if I started to fall off and they offered you my seat? You wouldn’t take it from me, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I was the thing holding you back, but you’re too good Alex and you wouldn’t -” he gives a hearty sniff, “and then...I asked her to marry me and I was just so desperate to have something that would last forever, you know? Because I just knew that you would never want me forever? Not me. Not the person who has panic attacks on their couch, you know?”

Alex squeezes the steering wheel tighter. Thinking about the end of that engagement. The hotel room in Miami where George was drunk and miserable on the floor admitting to Alex that the most fun he had had all year was there in that room with him. George had shown up to the next race without her. Alex had felt like the worst friend in the world because he had been so selfishly happy.

George keeps going.

“I want you, Alex. I want you more than a title and more than a car that can drive and more than anything, I want you and I want you forever and I know it’s really a dickhead move for me to do this to you in a car, because you might not be ready for this, but if you are -” George’s voice cracks and Alex breaks too, reaching out for him blindly, wanting to comfort him, press his knuckles to his lips and let him know that he is ready, that he wants him.

George rips his hand away. 

“No, I need to -”

Alex pulls back. Respectful of George’s wants.

“I know I’m a mess and you’re only here because I was having a panic attack on my couch, but if you’re ready, I think we should start now.”

Alex has to breathe on that eight count his therapist makes him do. He has to really think about what he’s going to say because he gets one chance.

“You say that we’re forever, Georgie.” He reaches out, but not into George’s space. He’s going to let him reach out - meet him halfway. “Are you ready to start?”

The 200th set of headlights pass.

George takes his hand.

[chartedrights]

Golden Age AU Masterpost

For everyone lacking context, the Golden Age AU is just me riffing on every piece of comic book media I’ve ever consumed. Here are some single-paragraph rundowns I’ve made to keep track of things as I start to write!

The Board of Directors is analogous to the Justice League- they’re pretty much entirely people with superpowers (with the exception of Carol, at first), they’re very prestigious, and they come together to ward off larger threats like the impressive super powered task force they are. Or they used to. Membership’s sort of dropped, and people with powers are getting harder to find and recruit, and the big headliner who ran it left it in the hands of some nurse, which is like. So not sexy.

PEIP is PEIP- they fit right in where they were. In the shadows, in the dark, fighting the threats that the “special people” won’t, protecting people on a lower level than “oh god, the apocalypse,” because apparently the superheroes aren’t concerned with espionage or alien meteors anymore. The pricks. Mostly run by people without superpowers- as far as they know- and deeply concerned with keeping heroes responsible for their own actions. They would be oversight, if they were allowed to be.

CCRP Technical is an interesting place. Charlotte and Ted work there, for Sam, though neither of them is quite sure what it actually does. Paul was recruited in hopes he’d grow into upper management, but he didn’t have the ambition for it. Bill has been there for a decade or two now, ever since he started attending those meetings with Becky and Mrs. Davidson. Melissa... Melissa is their rising star. Mr. Davidson isn’t sure what they found in her, but he’s glad to see her succeed! Good for her! Four for you Melissa, you go Melissa!

Hatchetfield.... is Hatchetfield. It’s small, it’s insular, it’s full of gossip and weirdness and people with eccentric ideas of morality. It might be easier to admit that superheroes and supervillains exist, but let nobody say that the citizens of Hatchetfield ever took the easy road. They will walk uphill, in the snow, denying the supernatural both ways.

Paul is a real sweetheart. He’s autistic, he’s quiet, he likes his routine and the simple pleasures in life... and he just happens to be unkillable and he maybe possibly sort of has the ability to fly. He could be an excellent addition to either team, but he refuses to be a proper superhero, making him Hatchetfield’s most obvious target. Which in turn means that he often ends up acting like a proper superhero against his own will. He thinks Emma is perfectly lovely and still hasn’t noticed her committing crimes.

Emma is Hidgens’ Lab Assistant, which is code for “committing crimes for college credit,” and she does a lot of the footwork for him. Being a henchman definitely tops food service, lets put it that way. She also gets to follow in the family business- a long line of Perkins supervillains ended when Jane broke free and became a real hero for Tom’s sake. She always wanted to be a good person, but Emma is not as opposed to violence. She also cannot wait for Hidgens to level Hatchetfield, which is made complicated by the fact that she likes Paul rather a lot, and he likes Hatchetfield.

Hidgens is a supervillain. He never leaves his house, orchestrates incidents of immense damage to the civic infrastructure, and refuses to acknowledge that just maybe putting children into the path of radioactive chemicals is not a valid scientific experiment. He’s not necessarily a bad person, it’s just that his morals refute even the idea of black and white. More like blue and red. Orange and green. He is of the opinion that world peace can only be achieved by world domination, and therefore has begun a track to world domination. He and Sam have a blood feud of indeterminate origin.

Becky Barnes, low-level healer and walking anesthetic, somehow ended up in charge of the Board of Directors. The last leader disappeared three days after handing off control, and Becky is still looking for them. Becky is very conspicuously not looking for her ex-husband, however. It makes some people suspicious, and nobody more than Sam, who is Stanley’s most obnoxious cousin. Apparently, ruining Becky’s life runs in the family. Despite these troubling events, Becky does her best to keep the city standing and the world turning- she and Bill manage what they can, Carol and PEIP manage what they can’t. She’s still in a precarious place, however, and she’s looking for help.

Frank Pricely supplies everyone with gadgets. Hero and villain alike, everyone pays. Not always the same price, but everyone pays. He’s a neutral party, and he acts the part, but everybody likes to debate his loyalties. There’s no such thing as truly neutral, right? Everyone has their price- even him. It’s just a matter of what that price is.

Lex is his cashier, which means that she learned early on in her career in retail that the panic button is not half as good a first resort as the paralysis darts Frank keeps in the cash drawer. She has the ability to manifest objects, as long as she knows where they are. She needs a concrete location to pull them away from, which means that she snoops in every house she visits, checks the staff rooms of every store she enters. She can, on command, find you just about anything you need. For a price. She’s learning a lot lately, though, and what she learns about her powers might put her at risk.

Bill is one of the few members of the Board of Directors still standing. He and Becky get coffee all the time, and commiserate about the lack of help in Hatchetfield. He has telepathy, and certain illusionary abilities, which come in especially handy when he’s talking people down or trying to sneak hostages out of hostage situations. A gentle, well-intentioned man, Bill is not outwardly very intimidating, but he’s strong. Much stronger than most people would like to think. Becky keeps trying to hand off leadership to him, and he gently hands it back every time- he’s got other problems to deal with right now.

Formerly married to the infamous Perkins family heiress, Tom tries to live a nice, quiet life. He used to be a hero- and a damn good one- but Jane defected for him, and then died for it, and he carries more guilt than he probably should. Tom never thought of himself as special, really, and he still doesn’t. He can warp matter- twist it into shape, turn it from one thing to another, and he’s a fine craftsman when he wants to be. But it’s a dangerous thing to have on hand when you’re angry or frightened, and Tom still has an awful case of PTSD hanging around his neck. He’s doing his best to wrangle with it, but he’s going to need some help.

Ethan is just a teenager. Really, he promises. He absolutely swears. Nothing special about him! He’s just real intuitive! He and Lex have been looking into that whole “experimentation” thing they did at CCRP back when they were babies and it wasn’t even interesting! He’s just a mechanic, honestly. He’s a straight C student! He hasn’t even joined the cult off the coast on that houseboat!! He’s a good kid. No reason to be concerned at all.

Ted is also Hidgens’ henchman, but definitely the lower-ranked of the two. He applied hoping he’d make some friends, but thus far all he’s managed to do is fall in love with Charlotte, who is Sam’s henchman. It’s not going badly for him, but it’s not going well, either. He and Paul still work together. Every time Hidgens asks, Ted is like “Paul? Nah. He’s totally normal.”

Gary is a mob lawyer. He used to work for Emma’s family, but now he works for Sherman and Linda. They’re technically competition, and if they ever find out that he’s playing both sides he’ll absolutely die, but in the meantime he is racking up that cash. He is so rich. He is capable of great evil, and occasionally does terrible things, but overall he’s an affable guy. He and Charlotte had an unfortunate tryst once that ended with her tying him to the Welcome to Hatchetfield sign with his own scarf, but he still pines for her. She’s the one that got away. And continues to get away. cops hate her: local woman refuses to go to jail.

MacNamara still works for PEIP, which is only slightly a different job, on account of there being very public superheroes in this world. He and Xander have been married for ten years, but they are both under the (mistaken) impression that it wasn’t a real marriage because it was done undercover. He thinks about that and is very sad about it sometimes. But they’re partners, and that’s good enough that he can be content with it. For now. He has the ability to intensify or nullify other people’s superpowers, and he does his best to keep it quiet. He thinks there’s something noble about living without superpowers, and vaguely wishes that he and Chad’s roles were swapped- until he remembers that Chad has one (1) brain cell to his name.

Xander has the ability to speak to computers. It’s not flashy, at first glance. It doesn’t have the pizzazz of Paul’s gifts or the subtle mind fuckery of John and Bill’s. But he can know whatever he wants, can hear anything, tap any phone call, look through any webcam. He doesn’t, because he’s not a fucking creep, but he can. PEIP was lucky to find him before CCRP- and so was everyone else in the world. Xander’s not flashy in general- he keeps a lot to himself. He and John have been partners for a long time, and they still haven’t said they love each other. He still hasn’t told John that he’s a member of the Board. He still hasn’t told John that he and Paul are in the same book club.

Schaffer doesn’t need powers. You think she needs powers? Her power is that she breathes and death turns away. PEIP was built by good people like Schaffer, people with principles and strong hearts and ice cold spines of steel. Normal, human people, unremarkable except that they chose to be better. She’s fourth-generation PEIP, born and raised to believe in the service they do, the protection they provide. Some of the more bitter agents will say that Schaffer benefitted from nepotism. They will never say this in front of her, because deep down they know she did not and they know that she will prove it by kicking their asses. She and Carol used to date, but the strain of crossing enemy lines in what was, essentially, a Cold War between PEIP and the Board got to them both. Schaffer is the person Hidgens called after he got struck by lightning.

Charlotte is Sam’s henchman and quietly in the running for longest con ever pulled. One day she is going to off him and take his place as the leading supervillain in Hatchetfield, but that day is not today. She likes Ted, but Sam keeps telling her to kill him, so their relationship amounts to “the inherent eroticism of trying to murder each other”. Nobody is entirely certain how she does what she does, but she’s very, very good at her job. Emma looks up to her just a little. She had a therapist once. He tried to sleep with her. She no longer has a therapist. She does have a very lovely goldfish, however.

Mr. Davidson is MacNamara’s twin brother and Hidgens’ ex. His wife is a genuine bona fide Batman-level hero in a bigger city, so he occasionally gets kidnapped or tortured. Hidgens still writes him bitter and mildly threatening love ballads that he genuinely treasures and sends very heartfelt thank you notes for. His life is so messy. There’s so much drama. He’s also completely powerless and cheerful about it. (Re: the Working Boys.... he’s Chad. Chad MacNamara Davidson.)

Alice is developing absolutely no superpowers and she’s really really annoyed about it. She used to take this out on Lex, as teenagers will, but after Lex dropped out she began to regret that. Too little and much too late, but regret is regret. She keeps trying to mend that bridge, but it’s not working. Unfortunately for her, she’s still been seen with Lex and Ethan, and that’s enough. Imminent danger perceives no difference between friend and foe. Alice is full of a very different kind of potential, however, and sooner or later all that bottled-up anger and stress will lash out.

Deb, on the other hand, is an intern at the Board of Directors’ headquarters, which is now St. Damien’s given that Becky is in charge. Interns for heroes are much less common than henchmen working for villains, but Deb has a keen interest in coordination and overseeing operations. Bill hates having her on comms for missions, but she’s just... so good at her job. She can brew a pot of Red Bull twice-steeped coffee, arrange a date with Alice, avoid an international incident, redirect PEIP and talk Bill through defusing a bomb in the same ten-minute stretch. Lesbians can do anything. This is a fact. They are the backbone of our society.

Hot Chocolate Boy is full of secrets. And hot chocolate.

And speaking of St. Damien’s, do you recall poor Bridgette, who lost her eyesight in a horrible accident? I’m not saying Hatchetfield is going to have it’s very own Matt Murdock expy, but I am saying that. She’s blind, she’s Catholic, and she’s coming for your kneecaps.

Linda is a very low-level villain who operates out of her husband’s office and sics her Boating Club on people. Gerald should technically be a threat, given that it’s the Monroe family prerogative to slaughter rising heroes with an alacrity that distinguished them from all the other families in Hatchetfield. He is not. He’s barely even a henchman. Linda got all the bloodlust between the two of them, and she is out for blood from the start. Though initially quickly defeated, she grows in seriousness over the course of time and ends up a formidable threat with a weighty grudge against Becky and Lex. She’s not much in a physical fight, Linda, but she is deeply, deeply vindictive, and she’s willing to make any deals she has to to bring Becky down. Any deals. With anyone. Anything.

Sherman Young is a mob boss, and you know it. He’s a real creep and he’s got some sick hobbies, even for a man in his line of work, but somehow the 80s jacket and the comb-over mullet make it all worse. He’s the richest man in town, and that’s saying something, but if Linda has a say in things he won’t be for long. The Youngs, the Monroes, and the Perkins have been at war since the founding of the town, and Sherman is cutting down his competition. He might have even arranged for Jane’s accident to happen, but nobody is sure. Nobody living, anyway.

Sam is a villain. He’s not super or anything. He’s just a villain. He’s top-tier Joker-level normie, but he still goes toe-to-toe with all kinds of heroes. Notable for being pretty much exactly the same as his show counterpart in regards to his proclivity for threats and violence. He once told Paul to “talk to his fucking gun” only to find that Paul is, despite all outward appearances, fucking immortal. He is still very embarrassed about it. He’s up and coming in the Hatchetfield Villain circuit, but he’s definitely a threat. To who? Who can say. Somebody, somewhere.

Papa Ed is a PEIP informant, and he has the ability to speak to animals. He’s raising Peanuts to be a very small, very enthusiastic little squirrel spy.

Man in a Hurry is a former speedster who lost his powers and compensates for it by Being In A Hurry at all times.

Homeless Man is a CCRP agent. He specializes in camouflage and compassion. He doesn’t remember what came before, but he knows something did, and finding out what it was is all he has left to hope for.

Howard Goodman does not have superpowers, but he’s got gumption. Okay, I lied. He doesn’t have gumption. But he’s a very nice man.

[blvirz]

Living Life Through A Lens: Chapter Two

Chapter 2: Adjusting

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: None

[3:12 AM EST]

32 missed calls from Irene (Cellphone)

20 missed calls from Irene (Work)

14 missed calls from Home

104 messages from Irene (Cellphone)

You read on your phone before putting it faced down on the counter. It was the early morning and you were set to leave for the airport in an hour. It had been two days since you found out Irene had been cheating on you. You were in the kitchen of your own apartment surrounded by boxes filled with your belongings that you were going to need in Korea. Every time you were booked for a job you learned what to pack and what not to pack, you were a seasoned pro at moving by now. As a force of habit, you found yourself making four boiled eggs, only after peeling and plating them did you realize your mistake. You're in every single thing I do Irene, fuck. Already in a depressed mood you put two aside and took yours to the living room and switched on the TV for the early morning news.

“In Canadian celebrity news! Universal’s Youngest Director Y/N known for her recent documentary on the Jonas Brothers has good news business wise, but we can’t say the same for her personal life! You’ve got to be kidding me. Out of all celebrities you’re the star of today’s segment? To humour yourself you listen to your segment on the news.

“Universal’s Youngest Director Y/N has recently made big moves within her company. The 23 year-old landed the Jonas Brothers as her first gig in the Hollywood movie industry. Yesterday her company along with YG Entertainment both made a statement regarding the documentary Y/N plans to film featuring the South Korean girl group Blackpink. If this is true, Y/N is on track to making the most anticipated documentary this year considering the large and dedicated fanbase Blackpink is known to have. This is all good news for Y/N, but with good news comes bad news. Y/N and her high school sweetheart are rumored to have broken up. There’s more to come after break.” Not wanting to hear any more you shut off the TV, but before you could start looking for something to distract yourself you hear your phone ring. Please be Lex.

Turns out it was Lex. You two didn’t talk much on the way to the airport, just the simple hello and good morning. One thing you appreciated about Lex was that she gave you your space when you needed it. She didn’t push until you were ready to open up and when you were ready, she simply listened. As you neared the airport entrance, Lex broke the silence in the car, “there’s going to be a lot of press on the way in.”

You sigh while also getting ready to put in your earbuds and glasses, “I know. Just hold my hand?”

“Of course. Let’s go.” Lex replies as she puts her hand in yours giving it a slight squeeze as to comfort you before opening up the door.

You never had this much paparazzi show up for you before. At red carpets it was a given and even after your press releases you expected a few, but not like this. Because of the overwhelming amount of people with cameras and microphones being shoved in your face, you very slowly made your way to the airport entrance.

“Y/N!” “Y/N! How are you doing? How excited are you to work with Blackpink?” “How’s the single life? Are you going to get back together with your ex?” “Y/N!­–”

Even with your earphones blaring in your ears you could hear their questions. You should be used to it by now, but on days like today you just weren’t having it. Seconds later you feel the closing space around you open up a bit and then all at once. You turn and see your manager Scott along with your security. Now moving a lot quicker you make your way into the airport.

“Sorry we got caught up at the lights, and then by the time we got out of the SUV you guys were already surrounded,” Scott explained. You nodded and told him it was okay.

You and your team then made your way to the Air Canada booth to check-in. From there it took a while but eventually you got to the security checkpoints. Like clockwork you put all your belongings in the bucket which would eventually make its way through the x-ray. The security attendant on the other side of the full-body scanner then signaled for you to pass through. Passing through there was no beep, but before you could collect your things from the bin the attendant stopped you. Odd. There was no beep?

“Sorry ma’am you forgot something,” she said.

Looking at her up and down you couldn’t see what you had forgotten. “I’m sorry, I’m a little slow today. Was there something I missed?”

“You forgot your smile,” she laughs.

You smile at her and tell her “oh,” although you and Irene were most definitely broken up you felt guilty for smiling back at her for some reason.

“I guess that line wasn’t smooth enough to get your number?”

“No, it was good but I’m afraid I’m in a much more complicated situation. Tell you what, the next time we meet. And that’s how we’ll know we’re meant to be– I’ll give it to you.”

With a disappointed look on her face but hint of hope in her eyes she lets you pass, moving onto search the next person in line.

After what seemed like hours you and your team were seated at the gate waiting for your flight to be announced. Everything the past three days just seemed to be a blur. You were running on autopilot just doing what needed to be done. Normally it would take days to pack and say goodbye to your friends and family, but this time around it took you a day to do all that. You wanted to cry but something inside you wouldn’t let you. Lost in your thoughts you felt an arm around your shoulder pulling you in, it was Scott.

“As your friend and not your manager I have to ask. Are you doing ok?” His voice was soft and calming, his eyes scanning your face for an honest answer.

“Yeah I’m just thinking. You don’t have to worry, I’ll do a good job with the film.” You say.

“It’s not the film I’m worried about, Y/N. You are one of the happiest people I know and today it’s like you have a dark storm cloud hanging over you now. You're not smiling, laughing or even drinking your coffee.” He says as he points at your hands fiddling with a cup.

Blurting out, “I walked in on Irene cheating on me. The day I got the offer to work with Blackpink. Remember how I told you I was going to tell Universal I wanted a break to spend more time with her and my family? Could you believe I almost made that mistake?”

You could feel Scott freeze in the seat next to you, he was hearing the Irene news for the first time. In fact, besides Lex you hadn’t told anyone the news.

“I wish I could tell you that things will get easier, but even as the world’s best manager I can’t make you that promise… Ugh my love. She was your first love, but the world has so much more in store for you. If there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s just that.”

Resting your head on his shoulder you ask Scott, “can’t your girl just have what you and Jamie have? Is that so much to ask?”

Scott laughs, “You do not want what my husband and I have. I can assure you that. Did I tell you what he did this morning? He used almond milk in my coffee. Almond milk! What does that even mean?”

You laugh for the first time in what seems like years. Talking to Scott never failed to make you feel better. He was the best for advice whether it was professionally or personally; there was something about him that made it comforting no matter the situation. Scott was your first ever manager and he was a constant in both your professional life and personal life. You trusted him with everything. From your relationship down to styling advice you knew you could rely on him.

The flight to Korea was a long one, maybe it was because you had trouble sleeping. The thoughts in your head just kept running. You imagined what your life would be like if you hadn’t walked in on Irene that day. Or if you had rejected the offer right away. Endless scenarios with every single one ending in heartbreak. Eventually after a few hours you were able to fall asleep, even in your dreams you thought of what could’ve been.

[6:34 AM KST]

After landing in Korea you were met with press only this time your security was more prepared. From there you and your team went straight to the hotel as it was the early morning and all businesses were still closed. Once at the hotel you guys took advantage of the 24-hour room service and ordered all your cravings. After stuffing your faces with food and alcohol you guys fell asleep on the same bed. Lex and Scott had their own rooms, but you could tell they wanted to stay with you for moral support.

You hear your alarm go off on the table next to you, if it weren’t for Lex sleeping in the bed next to you or Scott sleeping at your feet you would have let it ring. Quickly you turn over and shut it off before either of them could wake up. Unable to get back to sleep you get up quietly and head for the bathroom. A shower will make me feel better right?

You let the hot water soak your hair and make its way down the rest of your body. Not starting your shower routine, you just stand there gathering your thoughts. You decide that you don’t want to be sad anymore and that you’ll try to get back to normal, whatever your new normal would be. You can’t keep moping around; besides you want to be in the right headspace for your big meeting at YG tomorrow. You're going to meet Blackpink! The voice in your head screams. For the first time in a while you smile.

[10:00 AM KST]

“My head hurts so bad. How much did we drink last night?” Lex says as she rubs her temples. Scott doesn’t say anything, but you know he feels the same way because he too is rubbing his temples.

“I don’t know about you guys but after the second bottle I tapped out. It was almost as if you guys went through the breakup and not me,” you say and laugh.

All three of you were out to breakfast at the restaurant within the hotel, each of you had just finished ordering. You weren’t hungover so you were enjoying the sun coming through the window while enjoying the street view you had of South Korea. Even though your view consisted of your hungover manager and assistant, you still found it beautiful. It was like Toronto in that you were surrounded by tall buildings and concrete, but there was something different about it. It was new and you were excited to learn what is was. Excited that this would be your home for the next year or so.

There was nothing on your schedule for the rest of the day, but because of the jetlag as well as your hungover team you guys decided to rest up. Lex and Scott each went back to their rooms to sleep while you chose to pick an outfit out for tomorrows big meeting. In the end you decided on a white loose-fitting dress shirt, a beige corset, light blue jeans and matching beige YSL heels. It was your first meeting at YG, and because of their reputation you felt like you had to at least look the part. After arranging all your things for the meeting, you decided to kill time on Instagram live, but before you could start you heard your phone ring for what you thought to be the 100th time today. It was Irene, but you weren’t ready to talk to her. You didn’t think you would ever be ready. To take your mind off of her you turned on your live.

Hopping onto Instagram you waited for more fans to join in. The comments came in non-stop, too fast for you to read them. You said hello and told them you would start as soon as more people joined in. You read the comments as they came rushing in, some made you smile and others not.

           So pretty omg. Say my name Y/N. PLEASE.

           WE’RE BEING FED GUYS THIS IS IT. THE DROUGHT HAS ENDED.

           Are you in South Korea? Have you met with Blackpink already?

“Yes! I am in South Korea! And no, I haven’t met them just yet. Guys I’m excited but also super nervous. What should I tell them? Now I know how you all feel when you meet me,” you answer.

           YOU SHOULD TELL THEM TO HAVE MY CHILDREN

           Where’s her ring from Irene? It’s not on her finger! Did they really break up?

           Guys it’s none of our business

           Where’s Irene?

           LOVE YOU Y/N

           Do you miss Irene?

You read through endless comments asking about your girlfriend. It was to be expected; Irene was a star on your previous broadcasts. You would scroll through your Instagram after you had finished and found fan accounts that would make cute clips of you and Irene laughing on live. You loved seeing your fans’ reactions when you would like some of the posts. They would congratulate each other and freak out amongst themselves. It was funny to you to have people invested in your life, but along with that you couldn’t help but feel like it was a double-edged sword. On one side you were admired and looked up to but on the other you had every aspect of your life on social media; everything from the clothes you wear, to the cars your drive down to the jewelry you receive from your loved ones. Everything about your life was posted online.

You answered questions and laughed along with your viewers until you saw a comment left by a username that looked like Irene’s, but to your relief wasn’t. It read I miss you. It made you feel both sad and uneasy that someone could joke around like that. They of course didn’t know what went down between you two, but it didn’t take away the pain you felt in your chest when you first read it. Unable to shake the feeling you told your viewers it was time to go as you wanted to get a goodnight’s rest.

Just when you thought you were over Irene you realized you weren’t. You thought you could get out of the endless cycle that was happiness and then sadness. She was in every part of your routine. In every thought you had, and every dream when you closed your eyes at night. You could feel the tears well up in your eyes. You cried all night until you fell asleep.

[6:30 AM KST]

Instant regret is what you felt as soon as you woke up. You tried your best to cover the dark circles under your eyes, but even the world’s coldest and vitamin infused ice pack couldn’t reduce the puffiness under your eyes. Quickly getting your clothes on you heard a knock at your door. After looking through the small peephole you saw that it was Lex, and most importantly she had coffee.

As soon as you open the door you reach out for your coffee and thank her for it. She hadn’t looked at you yet but after looking up from her phone to turn to look at you she knows right away that you cried the whole night. Not wanting to make you cry early in the morning she quickly changes the subject to your hair.

“How are you going to style it?”

“I was thinking a high pony? And a few pins to hold these strands away from my face? What do you think?” you ask.

She looks at you with both concern but a smile on her face, “sounds good. Now hurry we’re going to meet Blackpink today!”

You still couldn’t believe it. Before taking a sip of your coffee, you clinked cups with Lex and shout, “here’s to a good meeting with Blackpink!”

“And adjusting!” she adds.

Chapter 3 - HERE

[almostafantasia]

Lancelot (13/14)

Lexa Woods, an impeccably dressed British secret agent for the covert Kingsman organisation, whose latest mission sees her sneaking through the corridors of the White House in the middle of the night, finds herself having to seduce the daughter of the newly elected President of the United States in a bid to save the world. It’s a surprise to Lexa when she ends up falling for her target as fast as she does, meanwhile Clarke doesn’t expect her gorgeous date for an international political gala dinner to drag her into a world of thrill and danger where one wrong move could cause a global disaster.

a clexa kingsman au | chapter 13/14 read on ao3

Lexa doesn’t know where her jacket is.

It’s clearly not the most pressing issue at the moment, not when there are doctors checking up on each guest, not when there are armed members of the secret service with body armour and riot shields swarming around.

It was a very nice jacket though. The fit was just right and the red velour a striking colour that filled Lexa with confidence. Lexa will be disappointed if she can’t find it and ends up leaving it behind. She doesn’t think she’ll ever have another one like it, not unless she asks the tailors at Kingsman to make another one identical to it, but that would mean having to admit that she’s been careless enough to misplace the first.

Clarke would look good in Lexa’s jacket. It would suit her much better than the oversized men’s jacket she still wears over her dress. Lexa shudders even at the thought of Clarke wearing something that belongs to Roan Azgeda, when there is a perfectly good jacket belonging to Lexa that would keep her just as warm and make her look twice as good.

If only Lexa could locate it…

“Lexa! There you are!”

Lexa’s head snaps up as she hears her own name, to find Anya striding towards her with purpose in each step.

“Have you seen my jacket?” asks Lexa. “It must be around here somewhere.”

“That’s your biggest concern right now?”

Of course it isn’t Lexa’s biggest concern. Lexa is worried that one of the guests will have slipped away without being treated for the poison, she’s worried that she’s going to get arrested and tried for murder even though she only shot Ontari to save everybody else, she’s worried that Clarke won’t forgive her and that she’ll have to live the rest of her life with the knowledge that she’s betrayed the one person she’s allowed herself to truly care about. But it’s easier to suppress all of that and pretend that it’s all about a jacket.

“It’s a nice jacket,” shrugs Lexa. “It would be a shame if I didn’t get to wear it again.”

Anya reaches out and rests her hand on Lexa’s arm.

“You’re allowed to feel things, Lex,” Anya tells her, voice full of concern. “It’s not a weakness.”

Lexa can’t help the way that her gaze flicks across to where Clarke sits next to her father across the room, still huddled up under Roan’s jacket.

“Look where feeling things got me,” Lexa mutters bitterly.

Anya must sense Lexa’s resentment because she swiftly changes the topic.

“Anyway, they’ve arrested Nia Azgeda on her way to JFK to flee the country. She and her son are both going to face charges of treason, attempted murder, and attempted assassination of a President, to name a few.”

“So that’s it?” asks Lexa. “Job done?”

“I think so,” nods Anya.

Lexa pauses, looking around the room at all of the lives she’s saved tonight and wondering why she doesn’t feel better than this about such an accomplishment.

She voices this to Anya.

“Somehow I don’t feel as good as I should about that.”

“Me neither,” admits Anya.

“I think it’s pretty close call as to which of us is Kingsman’s worst agent,” jokes Lexa, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Bullshit,” snorts Anya, shaking her head in disagreement. “It’s very obviously me, by a long way.”

Lexa tries to protest, knowing that this mission has had its fair share of hiccups that have been a direct result of mistakes that she has made.

“But I…”

“Saved the lives of hundreds of people while I was too busy shagging Raven to care,” interrupts Anya, completing Lexa’s sentence before Lexa has the chance to say something self-deprecating about her own involvement in the mission.

Lexa considers Anya’s words and, realising that she doesn’t have the energy to protest, concedes half-heartedly.

“Well, when you put it like that…”

“You needed me and I wasn’t there,” says Anya. “And I can only apologise for that and promise you that it won’t happen again.”

“It’s all fine now,” says Lexa. “We did it. We saved all these lives.”

Lexa gestures around the room, to the masses of guests that could have ended tonight as corpses, had it not been for a Kingsman intervention and the quick-thinking and hard work of Lexa and Anya. Lexa shudders even at the thought of it. All it would have taken is for one thing to have gone differently over the last couple of weeks, and there could have been a death toll of more than one here tonight. Lexa doesn’t want to imagine what would have happened if things hadn’t played out like they did, if she hadn’t agreed to go to that bar with Anya and bumped into Clarke again after Merlin specifically forbade them from leaving the hotel.

It’s a dark thought, and Lexa tries to swim away from it by lightening the mood.

“Jesus, I can’t believe I saved the life of a Tory Prime Minister,” she says, rolling her eyes dramatically as she watches the British Prime Minister across the room, talking rapidly over a phone.

Anya doesn’t laugh, and Lexa glances up at her oldest friend to find anxiety written all over her face.

Lexa tries to put herself in Anya’s situation and imagines how she would be feeling if it was Clarke who ended up in the back of an ambulance with a bullet in her leg. She knows that she would be beside herself with worry, unable to do anything at all until she had the physical proof that Clarke would make a full recovery. Hell, Lexa is already worried about Clarke’s wellbeing, and the girl only sitting across the room, unharmed by bullets or any other weapons.

“Is Raven going to be okay?” asks Lexa, unsure how Anya is staying so unaffected by it all.

“I think so,” nods Anya. “I wanted to follow her to the hospital but she told me to stay here and make sure that everybody else was okay too. But I phoned the hospital pretending to be her mum and they told me that her condition is stable.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Lexa says truthfully. “You could probably go, you know. I think there’s enough people here to have everything under control. I’m sure Raven would appreciate a familiar face at her side.”

“I don’t know,” shrugs Anya. “I don’t want to abandon you here again. I would die if something happened while I was gone.”

Lexa shakes her head and rests a reassuring hand on Anya’s shoulder.

“Now who’s the one hiding from their feelings?” asks Lexa, shooting Anya a teasing grin.

“Oh, piss off!”

Lexa wakes up to a knock on her hotel room door. A quick glance at the screen of her phone tells her that it’s just gone four thirty in the afternoon - she’s slept for nearly ten hours, but Lexa’s eyes are still heavy with tiredness.

Lexa is far too exhausted to give a shit about her appearance. She still wears the clothes from last night, or at least the shirt and trousers, both crumpled and a little blood-spattered and not at all appropriate for answering the door in. But the list of people who could be at her door is only three: Anya or Merlin here to update her on the arrangement for leaving America now that their job here is done; or one of the hotel’s maids who, Lexa reasons, has probably seen some much weirder stuff than a little blood on a guest’s shirt.

The person outside knocks again, and Lexa reluctantly hauls herself up onto her feet and trudges over to the door, where she unlocks it with a click and turns the handle to open it.

“Um, hi.”

It’s Clarke. Not Anya, not Merlin, definitely not a maid, but Clarke. Lexa wishes now more than ever that she had taken the time to shower and change her clothes before she fell asleep. In comparison, Clarke looks as clean and as fresh-faced as she would if she hadn’t had the night that she did at the gala dinner.

“Clarke,” says Lexa, trying not to show how surprised she is to find Clarke outside her hotel room. “I … uh, I fell asleep as soon I got back here. I was completely wiped out.”

Clarke glances down at Lexa’s attire and nods once.

“I can see that. Can I come in?”

Lexa steps aside immediately and Clarke takes hesitant steps past her and into the hotel room. Clarke hovers near the door, not quite making herself at home, and Lexa is left feeling only even more awkward about the way they left things last. It seems strange to be this careful around each other, especially given the memories they made in this very room just days ago after their date, but Lexa has to remind herself that Clarke has every right to still be angry at her.

“Clarke, I just want to start by saying that I’m so…”

“No,” Clarke interrupts her. “You don’t get to apologise yet. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this - thinking about you - and I’ve practiced ten different versions of what I want to say to you, so you don’t get to say anything until I’ve got this out.”

Lexa closes her mouth and nods obediently, waiting for Clarke to say her piece.

“I’ve been trying to get my head around why you lied,” admits Clarke. She lets out a sigh, then continues animatedly, “Like, it frustrated the fuck out of me at first. I thought we had something special and how dare you think you could play me like that? But also, how could I be stupid enough to fall for that?”

Lexa wants nothing more than to interject, to tell Clarke that they do have something special, that she hasn’t been able to think about anything but Clarke since they first stumbled into each other in the halls of the White House. But she knows that Clarke still has so much more to say, and Lexa forcibly keeps her mouth closed and saves her apologies and explanations until Clarke gives her permission to speak.

“If you said to me that you needed to be at the dinner because of your mission, I would have invited you in an instant,” continues Clarke. “You must have known that!”

Though she stays silent, Lexa gives a little nod in response.

“And that’s when it hit me,” says Clarke. “You wanted that date. You wanted an ‘us’ that was more than me just being a girl you met on a mission.”

Lexa’s eyes start to prickle with tears, and an uncomfortable lump forms in her throat, making it difficult for her to swallow.

Clarke continues, her voice softer and more thoughtful than before, and her blue eyes boring into Lexa.

“Our date and that night we spent together felt incredibly real and I don’t think it would have happened like that if you’d just asked me to take you to the gala dinner. At least, that’s what I’m hoping. Because the only other option that makes sense is that you saw an opportunity to play me and get laid, and I really hope it wasn’t that.”

Lexa shakes her head and wipes at the tears in her eyes before they have a chance to spill down her cheeks. This conversation is important and it’s going to be difficult enough without having to force the words out past wave after wave of tears.

“I told you that I don’t do this often,” confesses Lexa. “I don’t do feelings.”

Lexa’s knee twinges in pain and she grits her teeth as she mentally wills her old injury to go back to sleep, before she continues talking.

“There have been girls on missions before, but that’s always been easy,” Lexa tells Clarke. “There’s things that you can say to make a girl swoon, things you can do to push the right buttons and get what you want, and that’s easy because it’s a routine that I’ve practiced before. It’s easy because I have no personal investment in those girls.”

“But you do in me?” asks Clarke, her eyebrows raised.

There’s something that looks like hope in her eyes - a glimmer that reignites something within Lexa’s chest, a feeling that maybe there is still a chance to make things right with Clarke.

But of course there is still a chance. Clarke wouldn’t have come here if there wasn’t at least a small part of her still holding out for Lexa. It would have been way too easy to ignore Lexa, to let her fly back to England and forget about her entirely. The fact that she’s here says as much as any words could do.

It’s especially important for Lexa to get this right. Clarke has been kind enough to give her a chance to explain herself, and Lexa will berate herself for a long time if she takes that opportunity and fucks it up beyond repair.

“From the very second I first saw you, I knew I was in trouble,” admits Lexa, recalling their first meeting and the fluttering in her chest she felt when she first laid eyes on Clarke. “I don’t want to call it love at first sight, but I could feel some kind of connection straight away.”

Clarke is quiet for a few seconds, and she takes a seat on the end of Lexa’s bed, before she finally concedes, “I felt it too.”

Lexa’s heart flips just like it did that very first time, in inexplicable rush of excitement in her chest at Clarke’s admission that their first meeting had the same effect on her too.

“I don’t think I’ve told you this yet, but I was wearing an earpiece that night,” says Lexa, smiling to herself at the memory. “I had Anya howling with laughter in my ear the entire time I was trying to make an impression on you, because even she knew that you were going to ruin me. And then ever since, I’ve had the real Anya reminding me that this is a mission, that you weren’t allowed to be anything more than another mark.”

“So really, Anya is the one I should be mad at right now?” asks Clarke.

“No,” says Lexa, shaking her head. “Because if it weren’t for Anya, I never would have been in the bar that night, and I wouldn’t have asked you to get me into the White House again, and I definitely wouldn’t have asked you out on that date. Without Anya, I would have run away from my feelings and never spoken to you again.”

Clarke’s eyebrows furrow together in thought.

“So should I be throwing a drink in Anya’s face, or buying her a thank you card?”

Lexa blushes a little bit at the reference to last night, remembering the feeling of the cool drink hitting her face and the betrayed look on Clarke’s face right before she stormed away. It doesn’t quite seem like that was only less than twenty four hours ago. So much has happened since then that Lexa feels as though an entire lifetime has passed since.

“I guess it depends what happens next,” answers Lexa, shrugging her shoulders.

Lexa knows what she wants to happen next. And if she gets her own way - if Clarke agrees that she wants to put things behind them and try to move forward together - Lexa thinks that maybe she will be the one who owes Anya and thank you card.

“When do you fly out?” asks Clarke.

“In the next couple of days, I think,” replies Lexa.

She hasn’t yet spoken to Anya or Merlin since she returned to the hotel very early this morning, but Lexa doesn’t think that they’ll be staying in America long. The events of last night will likely be plastered all over the media and it’s unlikely that Merlin will let them stick around for long enough to get their faces associated with it all. Besides, now that their mission is over, there’s no longer a reason to stay over here.

(It’s a lie. There is a reason, and her name is Clarke Griffin.)

“And I’m supposed to return to college tomorrow afternoon,” Clarke adds. She lets out a disheartened sigh, and then says, “It feels a lot like the universe is working against us.”

Lexa’s heart catches in her throat. She almost doesn’t want to believe what Clarke has said, wants to think that it’s just a product of her own hopeful imagination. Because it sounds a lot like Clarke has just admitted she wants to make things work with Lexa.

“Am I forgiven?” Lexa dares to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.

Clarke pushes herself up into a standing position and her hands reach out to seek Lexa’s hips, fingers gripping tightly as soon as she makes contact like she never wants to let Lexa go.

“You idiot,” exhales Clarke. “Of course you’re forgiven.”

The way their lips crash together is inescapable, like the opposite poles of two magnets unable to stop themselves from flying together. Lexa nearly starts crying right there - she thought she had lost Clarke, thought that her own actions might have pushed Clarke away for good - and the noise that slips from her lips as she suppresses those tears ends up sounding like a choked whimper.

The noise seems to encourage Clarke. She takes two steps backwards and sits on the end of the bed again, and the hand on Lexa’s hips cling impossibly tighter. Lexa finds herself leaning forward as Clarke sits down, lips still unwilling to leave Clarke’s even for a second. There’s a moment where Lexa thinks that she’s free-falling, a split-second in which gravity seems to take over and the only thing tethering Lexa to reality is Clarke’s touch on her hips and on her mouth, but it’s over in a flash. Lexa finds herself sitting in Clarke’s lap as Clarke pulls her forward even further, until Lexa’s full body is pretty much covering Clarke’s on the bed.

It would be so easy to get lost in each other, to keep kissing until long after hands wander and clothes come flying off, but Lexa knows herself well enough to know that there’s a high chance that she’ll either burst into tears or pass out within moments of orgasming, and she isn’t ready for that just yet.

They still have a lot left to discuss.

“Wait, wait, stop,” Lexa mumbles against Clarke’s lips, forcibly lifting her head and rolling off Clarke’s body to the side. “We should figure this out first.”

“Buzzkill,” says Clarke, rolling her eyes and wiping her mouth on the back of her hand as she sits up. “No, I’m kidding. You’re right.”

Lexa moves to sit on the edge of the bed, putting a little bit of distance between them so that Clarke and her distractingly kiss-hazed eyes aren’t right there in Lexa’s immediate vicinity. She needs a clear head for this next part of the conversation, and that won’t happen if she and Clarke are practically on top of each other.

“I have something else to tell you,” confesses Lexa. “I don’t work for MI6.”

Clarke’s mouth falls open and she frowns at Lexa in confusion, before she asks, “You don’t-? But if you’re not a secret agent then-”

“I work for an organisation called Kingsman,” explains Lexa. She laughs to herself, then adds, “I don’t know if I’m even allowed to tell you this but I’m fed up of lying to you. Actually, I think Kingsman is probably so secret that it wouldn’t even count as treason to tell you about it.”

“What’s Kingsman?” asks Clarke.

“A secret intelligence organisation based in London,” clarifies Lexa. “Most of what I told you is completely true. I really did join the army straight out of school but had to drop out because of injury. Then Anya, who I had known since school and was already working for Kingsman, put my name forward for the recruitment tests. I passed and they offered me this job. I became Agent Lancelot.”

“So you’re a secret secret agent?” asks Clarke, a trace of awe in her voice.

Lexa nods, her lips twitching up into a little smile.

“I guess so. And I’m sorry for lying to you. About this and about the dinner.”

“Lucky for you, I really like you,” smiles Clarke, reaching out to take one of Lexa’s hands.

“Are we going to make this work?” Lexa asks hopefully. “It’s a five hour time difference when I’m back in London.”

Clarke shrugs, and then says, “Could be worse.”

Lexa laughs softly under her breath, because it most definitely will get worse than that.

She tries to explain this to Clarke.

“Of course, there’s no guarantee how long I’ll be in London for, or even where I end up going next,” says Lexa. “Or if I would be able to contact you at all. When I’m really deep undercover it sometimes isn’t safe.”

Clarke’s face falls a little bit, apparently having been so caught up in the excitement of making up after their disagreement that she had forgotten the nature of Lexa’s work and the fact that she might be constantly travelling all over the globe.

“That sucks,” admits Clarke dejectedly. She glances up at Lexa, a glimmer of positivity in her eyes as she adds, “But I’m not the kind of person who needs to be texting somebody I’m into all the time.”

“No, me neither.”

Clarke grins and holds one of her hands up in the air, palm facing Lexa.

“High five to maintaining healthy relationship boundaries.”

Lexa can’t help the bubble of laughter that leaves her throat, and she awkwardly lifts her own hand to press a soft palm against Clarke’s.

Clarke blushes, realising what she’s just done, and mumbles, “Sorry, that was weird. Carry on.”

“Right,” says Lexa, trying what they were talking about before the high five. “We wouldn’t be able to talk all the time, and we definitely wouldn’t get to see much of each other.”

“I could come and visit you,” suggests Clarke. “I get three months off for summer. I could spend some of that with you.”

“And I’ve been working a lot this year,” adds Lexa. “I’m due some time off this summer.”

Clarke reaches for one of Lexa’s hands, much less awkwardly than the last time their palms met, and laces her fingers through Lexa’s.

“We’re actually doing this,” says Clarke, with the air of a giddy child about her voice as she speaks. “We’re going to make this work.”

“I have no idea what’s going to happen in the long term,” confesses Lexa, “but we’ve got the short term figured out. The rest we can work out as we go.”

Clarke pulls on their connected hands, encouraging Lexa to come closer again, and Lexa is too weak around Clarke to do anything but comply. She settles on top of Clarke again, this time with Clarke’s legs wrapped around her waist and locked at the ankle behind Lexa’s hips, effectively trapping her in place. Not that Lexa minds. It’s a very nice place to be trapped.

“As for the super short term…” says Clarke, tipping backwards until her back hits the mattress and bringing Lexa with her.

“Oh, you have some ideas about that too?” teases Lexa, her face just inches from Clarke’s as she uses one of her arms to prop up her body weight.

“First of all, we’re going to take a shower,” says Clarke, rocking her hips up so that her pelvis grinds against Lexa’s lower stomach.

“We are?”

“Yeah,” says Clarke, curling a hand around the back of Lexa’s head and drawing her closer so that she can whisper into Lexa’s ear, as if she’s imparting some big secret that needs to be kept from the rest of the world, “and then I’m going to take you to bed and fuck you stupid. Then you’re going to let me take you out to dinner, and after that we’re going to come back here and have sex again. And probably again after that.”

Lexa’s brain short-circuits at the phrase “fuck you stupid” and she barely registers the content of the rest, only Clarke’s husky voice and the obvious implications of her words from the way that her hips slowly move and seek out contact from Lexa’s body.

“I really like this plan,” says Lexa, her voice breathy with arousal.

Clarke grins at the admission.

“Why don’t we move this to the shower and you can show me just how much you like it?”

“Is Raven okay?”

The question comes to Lexa’s mind when she’s naked in bed, tangled around Clarke and the bedsheets, some time after round three has reached its conclusion. Somewhere along the way, the idea of Clarke taking Lexa out to dinner became forgotten, and a cart once laden with room service stands at the foot of the bed, now carrying plates of half-eaten food and an empty bottle of champagne that Clarke insisted on ordering to celebrate saving the world.

“That’s the first thing you have to say after I make you cum?” asks Clarke, propping herself up on one elbow while the fingers of the other hand brush stray curls out of Lexa’s face.

“I mean,” admits Lexa, “I’m feeling guilty that I’m here enjoying this - enjoying you - and she’s stuck in a hospital bed with a bullet in her leg.”

“They took the bullet out in surgery,” Clarke tells Lexa, her hand still absently playing with Lexa’s hair, curling loose strands around her fingertips. “Last I heard, she was high on pain meds and trying to persuade Anya to dress up as a sexy nurse.”

Lexa snorts to herself.

“I bet Anya loved that.”

“I think if Raven hadn’t just come out of theatre, Anya might have been less sympathetic,” grins Clarke.

“I’ll try and visit her before I leave for England,” says Lexa, voicing her thoughts aloud. “It’s mostly my fault that she got shot.”

“When do you fly back?” asks Clarke, a trace of sadness in her voice.

“I don’t know,” confesses Lexa, nestling her head against Clarke’s shoulder and draping her arm across Clarke’s bare stomach beneath the cotton sheet that shields their sweaty bodies from the chill of the hotel room. “Within the next day or two, I would guess. And you go back to college in the afternoon?”

“Mmm.”

Lexa lifts herself from Clarke so that she can reach for the phone on the nightstand, unlocking the screen to check the time. It’s just gone midnight, and time is passing much faster than Lexa would like.

“But,” says Clarke, rolling Lexa onto her back and covering Lexa’s body with her own as she nuzzles her face into Lexa’s neck and sends a hand lower, “I don’t plan on sleeping tonight until I’ve had you at least twice more…”

“Clarke, I’m not sure I can go again,” protests Lexa, even as her legs fall open to let Clarke’s exploratory fingers dip into her folds, still wet and sensitive from the last round.

“Sure you can,” sniggers Clarke, sucking the skin of Lexa’s neck between her teeth as her fingers tease and probe.

Clarke, Lexa quickly decides in that moment, is going to be the death of her.

Lexa can’t wait.

[regrettablewritings]

I absolutely love your writing and I really love how you write Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck is by far the best imo) . I'm thinking about starting my own Bruce Wayne/OC story (even though I have a crap ton of other stories to write, but shhhh) and I was wondering if you have any tips to writing Batfleck's batman? ❤

Wait wait wait wait wait … You … trust me …? Enough to seek writing tips for everyone’s favorite flying rodent man circa 2016!? 😳😳😳 *sets phone down, goes off camera, and a muffled scream is heard*And now I’m back. I am very flattered 😊 *cuts to me sobbing in the shower as I wash my hair* Anyway! 😃 I’m not sure if I could give the best tips on how to write Batffleck, but I can try. So here we go, let’s (bat)wing this!!

While every Batman is on some level of brooding or having difficulties with society, the big thing to remember is that Ben’s Batman is considered the darkest in film and arguably the most problematic for having some more… pronounced difficulties.Ben’s Batman is noted by cast and Snyder himself to be “on the verge of moral bankruptcy.” This is key because it really is this more than it is the fact that Snyder had a violent Batman. The big thing to consider when writing for this particular Bat is this mindset:

Imagine you’ve been working the same job for decades. It’s a low-paying job – if it even pays at all – and you did it because you wanted to make a difference. But fast-forward to present day, and there is arguably no difference. The people have gotten worse, you’ve become overwhelmed, and it feels as though any efforts to push are met with a far stronger push back by those who pose an actual threat to your ability to keep things safe. Oh, also, you’re the only one in the city with this job so it literally all falls down to you. You don’t really want to, but you have to push back twice as hard to even hope to achieve the results you want. And you keep pushing and pushing until you finally push yourself so close to the edge that you’ve barely got even one foot left still on the cliff. You’re exhausted and surely, adding on to an already weary and bitter personality. If you work a thankless or horrifying job long enough, you begin to cut corners. It may not fit with the wide-eyed, idealistic novice you once were when you first started out, but it gives you results. The ends now justify the means. Worse is that there’s really only one person you can talk to about this, and he ain’t exactly a qualified psychiatrist, so you have to pretty much deal with everything on your own.

This, as you can tell, symbolizes the years of physical, mental, and emotional baggage that Bruce has had to pile on over the years on top of an already traumatizing childhood. Bruce in BvS is bitter and one week away from becoming a full-on extremist (”If there’s even a 1% chance that [Superman] can hurt us, we have to take it as an absolute risk!”) He’s protective of what little there is left, but he honestly has no genuine hope for humanity the way he once did.

… And then he interacted with Superman. Yeah, people will joke about this all they want, but with Martha serving not only as a trigger but also revealing to Bruce that Superman does, indeed, have a human life that was filled with a loving parent, he kinda has to rethink his entire position on everything. And when Superman willingly sacrifices himself for the good of mankind and people respond with genuine shock and sorrow (as well as learning just how much of it was hyped by Lex), Bruce comes to his senses. it’s like the dark-colored glasses came off and he realized that the world may not be perfect, but there’s no reason to give up. We have to do better.

By the end of BvS and, as suggested by his letters with Diana in Wonder Woman, we can see that Bruce is trying to make an effort to better himself so that he can better society. But the keyword here is “effort”: Change is not immediate, even if it’s in one individual. He may fall back into his paranoid or extremist habits where he’s overprotective and suspicious of everyone. But he’s trying to be who he used to be: Domineering but still in touch with his humanity enough to offer an extent of sympathy where it is deserved. He’s making up for where he’s failed and trying to be more like Supes in the sense that he wants to promote hope to those who feel hopeless.

(Sidenote: He really does try to build a better city even as Bruce Wayne. He holds plenty of charities and galas and encourages people to donate, he refuses to accept military contracts, holds a Zorro film festival every year to help restore a good reputation to the area his parents died in, has the Wayne Botanical Garden host an annual winter garden walk with live entertainment to cheer people up, and, in the film, was notably upset that a former worker was refusing his checks because he really did want to assure that the man was taken care of. Plus, he has a soft spot for children. Probably especially after Robin died.)

But I suppose the long and the short is:

Bruce is a broody dude not just by nature, but also because he’s gone at least two decades busting his ass for a customer service job where you fight the bad customers but only get screwed over further for it

He may not have PTSD per se, but there’s definitely a few things mentally and emotionally distraught within him that have made carrying on a bit harder

Has extremist tendencies that translate into a desire to protect (or perhaps this is his excuse)

Is trying to be a better person and become more humanitarian by helping people more and being a good friend to Diana

If he’s dating someone, you’d have to luck out on getting real cozy with him because he’s not easily going to give up everything he feels. However, he’s likely to be fiercely protective of you and will work even harder to make sure that the world is a safer place for you.

I’m sure there’s a lot more but I feel like I’m blabbering …😰😰😰 Sorry! I just feel really deeply about Batffleck. I hope this helps some, but feel free to ignore me; I’m sure you’ll do perfectly fine no matter what you choose to do! 😊

[davidmann95]

Have you watched Brows Held High's video on the 'unrelatable' nature of Superman? I'd link it, but I'm on my phone. It seems like something you'd simultaneously agree and take issue with.

Yeah, I checked that one awhile back. There’s definitely plenty of aspects I disagree with - the Jesus comparison, the idea that the 50s and 60s titles brought nothing to the table, the assertion that he’s a symbol more than a character (which probably covers the pretty flat characterization of the Clark/Lois/Superman triangle, and the description of his ethics as strictly Kantian). But the central idea of the video - that Superman doesn’t fit the Ubermensch model, and that this is in fact part of why he has trouble appealing to a modern audience - I think has some merit behind it.

Superman certainly isn’t an Ubermensch in any meaningful way: his ideals are very much attuned towards serving the common good, rather than as a means of achieving personal satisfaction (even if that typically comes as a bonus). Lex Luthor’s the one who looks at the world that way. And I don’t know that the Ubermensch as an archetype is one that’s necessarily an attractor in and of itself in terms of global pop culture. But, the idea of a Great Individual determining their moral framework in response to a great personal need and overcoming a hostile world in order to do so? We generally tend to be all about those. Batman isn’t self-centered, but he’s explicitly all about imposing order on a disordered world in response to his own emotional need. Spider-Man works in a large part to assuage his own guilt. Iron Man becomes Iron Man to take back his technology after the fruits of his labor are turned against him. These days, Flash fights crime as a way of dealing with the world after his mother’s murder. There’s a legitimate moral framework behind what they do, they’re altruistic and working in service of what they believe to be a greater good than themselves, but the traditional “something bad has been done to me or someone/something I value, I will battle a world of madness to rectify things and restore order, explicitly by means of turning myself into a symbol and thereby imposing meaning upon my actions” origin story has more than a bit in common with Nietzsche’s ideal, and we keep going back to that because it’s a simple and effective means of garnering sympathy and grounding their motivations in something tangible. Superheroes and Ubermenschen aren’t the same thing, but one does invite the idea of the other.

The problem is that Superman of course isn’t that. There’s no defining moment in his backstory that makes him who he is, no overwhelming self-centered reason for doing what he does - Krypton was when he was too young to remember, and even in versions where Martha and Jonathan die, the narration in the old comics mentions it simply strengthened an existing conviction in his mind to fight for the weak. He’s simply Good, and fights for us because it’s Good. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t have motivation beyond that nebulous sense of Goodness, there’re plenty of personal reasons he does what he does - a need for acceptance and a sense of purpose, an overdeveloped sense of empathy due to both his upbringing and super-senses, a fear that his new home will go the way of his old one, his love for humanity in general and most especially those close to him - but none of it’s rooted in an obvious moment where something happened, so he decided to be an action protagonist. And it’s hard to show the relatively normal process of slowly becoming a decent human being over time in the same way as swearing vengeance because your parents were murdered, or repentance because your uncle was killed.

And because it’s hard to communicate that in a straightforward, effective way, his adaptations have suffered by comparison (along with his comics for that matter, but those aren’t the popular culture). Whatever their quality, The Adventures of Superman, Superman: The Animated Series and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman take his nobility as a given (though for the first two that’s certainly fair game as entertainment for children). Smallville spent 10 years and almost 200 hours trying to slowly tease out that moral arc, and frankly, while I love Superman as much as almost anything, not every aspect of his story has quite that much gas in the tank. The initial Donner movie presents him as almost inhuman in his simple perfection relative to those around him, and the final beat of the movie is meant to show that he really, unambigiously can save everyone and always do the completely right thing; with almost no character to build off of, II and III were built around trying to subvert the morality that was largely the sole aspect of his character, and IV just took it further, because as perfect as Christopher Reeve’s performance was, there are no other stories to tell with him as he’s defined after that first movie. Superman Returns continues to try and subvert his essential morality without really giving a defined reason for his actions, without even banking on the same charm as the previous movies. Man of Steel at least gives him a clear, understandable and articulated purpose in its first act - discover the truth of who he is - but after that he’s just Superman because ghost dad said so, and it’s right back to trying to subvert a character we don’t especially understand, on an even grander scale. Same with Batman V Superman, but without the initial grounding, or much personality on display either.

So yes, I’d say most attempts at capturing him have been pretty bad failures. But it’s not impossible by any means for that kind of character to work.

I could go on for a good long while about how well the Captain America of the MCU works - especially on how the small but important changes to his origin, personality and treatment by the world at large solve a number of issues that have always plagued him in the comics - but I’d say it’s pretty inarguable that he’s at least neck-and-neck with Iron Man at this point as the most popular and significant figure in those movies. He’s Good in the same way Superman is Good, there’s no radical alterations to his motivation or methods, but he’s a pretty universally loved Hollywood icon. Because we know what we wants: in the first movie, his decency is clearly born of an understanding of what it means to be vulnerable, physically and socially, which leads to a purely heroic self-sacrificing desire to protect others from pain and exploitation. In the next, he’s up against individuals whose politics in regards to security, freedom and the value of human life conflict with his own, naturally bringing about a conflict where he’s purely heroically fighting a fascist overthrow of the government. And in the last, he has the purely heroic mission of protecting the wrongfully accused from a state power intending to bring individuals under their direct control, because he wants to save his friend. Every time we get very clearly Who He Is and What He Wants and Why He’s Doing What He’s Doing, and because of that we’re willing to accept and embrace the answer being that he’s a very nice young man.

So it’s hardly an insurmountable obstacle. It’ll continue to be as good as so long as writers assigned to Superman either aren’t good enough or don’t get it or just don’t try, but there is some very concrete evidence that this type of character can work in one of the two biggest franchises in the world right now. The problem isn’t that he isn’t an Ubermensch, it’s that his caretakers don’t know what to do with him when he so clearly doesn’t fit a model even kind of resembling it.

[showlexsite]

We inform you how exactly to Treat Hungarian Women

We inform you how exactly to Treat Hungarian Women

Well, you are already aware the essential essential character characteristics of Hungarian brides, however it is not anything you ought to know. Another of good use info is simple tips to act using them.

Pay money for Your Woman

When dating a woman that is hungarian you are able to pay money for her products and food, it could be really pleasant for your needs. Every woman likes attention and it’s also a good indication of it. For those who haven’t got much cash, you don’t obligate to cover, it is only a sensible way to wow a lady. But, then don’t be too persistent, as many girls nowadays have rather feministic points of view if your decision is to pay for a lady, but you get a rejection. Another real solution to create your Hungarian girl notably happier is through giving her various attractive gift suggestions, for instance, it may be a bouquet of plants.

Be Confident

It was already mentioned that brides from Hungary are instead confident, due to that it’s nicer to allow them to keep in touch with as confident males since they are. Shyness is an excellent trait too, nonetheless, having good self-rating is essential particularly for every Hungarian wife finder who would like to produce the impression that is best. But don’t imagine to be self-confident, if, the truth is, you’re not therefore, be maximally natural.

Compliment Her

Giving compliments is another thing that drives girls crazy. Every pretty woman that is hungarian compliments whenever she actually knows then deserves them. Therefore act as initial and talk beautifully, but don’t be too sly, brides don’t like it. Additionally, you ought to keep in mind that compliments are crucial even if you’ve got already met your love and began relationships with A hungarian woman.

Avoid Controversial Topics

Hungarian girls don’t like worthless conversations about politics, furthermore, it isn’t appropriate to talk about this theme inside their nation, so that it is definitely better to choose something different to talk about, as an example, her passions and yours. The major reason for avoiding it’s the probability resulting in a quarrel between both you and your woman since this theme is just too complicated and everyone else has his or her own points of view.

Knowing Hungarian Isn’t Necessary

Most brides from Hungary speak English extremely well so you don’t need to learn the Hungarian language. Both you and your Hungarian mail order bride effortlessly can talk just English, but, it could be definitely better to access know some terms or expressions on Hungarian firstly, to shock your ex, next to master some interesting peculiarities of her tradition, and thirdly, to comprehend her mentality a small bit better.

Be Interesting

Try to get ready some interesting themes to go over with brides from Hungary, talk lots of you are feeling that the conversation stalled, also attempt to make her numerous concerns. Then do it if you can joke. Allow her see your entire benefits, but remember about yourself most of the time that you shouldn’t speak only. Additionally, if you’re for a date that is real Hungarian bride it might be definitely better in the event that you switched off your phone because there are a few quite irritating guys just just how always stop the conversation for phoning and browsing the internet.

Just how to Meet Hungarian Girls for Marriage

After obtaining the most helpful information on Hungarian brides just one action left – find the perfect Hungarian women for wedding. This can be done in definitely various ways and each method has its very own own peculiarities.

See Hungary

Hungary is a really breathtaking nation which can be well well well worth visiting also minus the objective to locate a bride there. This place that is wonderful please the two of you with remarkable architecture and brides. If you intend to make an attempt to have familiar with somebody and begin relationships, it’s definitely better to begin to see the woman in fact. Some places looking for beautiful cuban brides you can travel to for getting A hungarian bride:

Find Hungarian Brides Locally

It is certainly not a secret that Hungarian brides live not just in Hungary but additionally in other countries plus in yours too. Therefore making much work you will find somebody here, because of this you should use assistance from the world-wide-web and acquaintances to make the journey to understand the most regularly checked out by Hungarian bride places in your area. It might appear effortless, you it can simply take considerable time, a lot more than you might be anticipating.

Utilize Online Matrimonial Services

If you want to find an excellent bride and acquire hitched you will get what you need even without making your house as a result of special matrimonial solutions. There you’ll find profiles of various brides from Hungary who additionally fantasy of matrimony. These services that are matrimonial you information regarding girls’ age, passions, and choices. Signup of all services that are matrimonial free. It is possible to opt for instance those types of online dating sites:

MatchTruly.com

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Using every thing into consideration, we are able to started to the final outcome that Hungarian brides along with their advantages and disadvantages are wonderful. If you wish to get hitched it really is good as well as that, you want a remarkable girl, for instance, Hungarian one, that is ideal for this part. So Now you know all of the advantages of Hungarian ladies which is your move to result in the right choice. Furthermore, in the event that you made a decision to fulfill a Hungarian soulmate maybe not leaving the home, then utilize the help of online matrimonial solutions.

from SHOW LEX https://showlex.site/2020/03/30/we-inform-you-how-exactly-to-treat-hungarian-women/