#Rica: I can fix him

[braveandsnipe]

BoonBoonger Information

Most of this info comes from TV Asahi's website. I did my best with translations.

edit: i fixed boonblack's name. sorry i can't read

Cast

Red– Haruhi Uichi

Blue– Yuki Hayama (prev. Okamoto)

Pink– Miu Suzuki

Black– Ryu Saito

Orange– Satoru Souma

while none of these actors have been in a previous toku series, 3/5 of them have been in productions concerning the story of "cinderella".

suzuki also guest starred in a drama which starred rin takanashi (shinken pink) and had ukyo matsumoto (kamen rider snipe) as a support character. this is relevent because i watched this drama, and enjoyed it a lot

Characters

BoonRed– Taiya Handou

He is a master of development and modification. He works as a "delivery man" with the cars he builds. When he likes a person or a thing, he says, "I love it!" or "I bought it!" He has the ability to see things for what they really are, and he has a strong competitive instinct that leads him to make quick judgments. Even if there is a risk, he says, "Isn't it better to take the risk?" He is the type of person who enjoys taking risks in a positive manner. He is adept at using both rods and guns, and is good at creative fighting according to the situation.

BoonBlue– Ishirou Meita

An "informant", a master of information gathering. Usually a freelance spy. He always considers risks and makes calm decisions. He is meticulous and cynical. He fights alongside Taiya as if it were a "job he had contracted". He has excellent, dynamic vision and is good at precise movements. When he uses a gun, he is a one-hit wonder.

BoonPink– Mira Shifuto

A "driver", an expert in driving and maneuvering. She usually works part-time at various stores. Her pedal work technique is so good that both Taiya and Ishirou are amazed. She is a mood-maker and a troublemaker. After meeting Taiya, she began to show her true core strength. She fights intuitively with his unique sensibility.

BoobBlack– Jou Akuse

He is a "police man", a rookie cop who is passionate about justice. He usually patrols the town on his bicycle as a uniformed police officer. He is a serious and aggressive person. He is more hard than soft. He is confident in his physical strength. He mainly likes to use the rod mode of the Boom Boom Change Axe.

BoonOrange– Kenba Bureki

A "procurer," a master of procurement. He is a man who can be relied on to procure what he needs from anywhere. He has a gentle and soft manner. He is elusive and never shows his true feelings. He is more soft than hard. He is good at fighting by taking advantage of his opponent's movements. He mainly uses the Axe Mode of the Boom Boom Change Axe.

Friends of Boonboomger

Boondeals Boondrio (?) – Also known as "Boom Boom"

A car-shaped alien who fell to earth after being wounded. It resides in the garage of Taiya's secret base at his home, and usually lives in humanoid or human-sized form.

When in human form, he wears a self-made sun visor on his head. He is a first-rate mechanic, and he and Taiya, who likes to tinker with machines, get along well and consider each other to be best friends. He is also good at housework, and for some reason often makes curry.

Boonboomger's set of equipment was made with the help of Boomboom and Taiya. Taiya and his friends call themselves "Boonboomgers," meaning "Boonboom and his warriors. They monitor Boonboomger's battles from Taiya's garage and sometimes support him remotely.

Boonboom can grow to a giant size. The power is drawn out when the Boonboomger rides on it. It can combo with various Boonboomgers and fight huge enemies as a Boonboomger robot.

Voiced by Rica Matsumoto

Great Space Invasion Dairikurikidan Hashiriyan (Villians)

The unborn of the universe. They attack people in order to collect the human scream energy Gasoline ("Gyasolin").

Deco Trade ("Dekotarade") – (left), Has dreams of moving up the ranks. One of 3 idiotic site supervisors who causes trouble every time. Voiced by Junichi Sawabe (who has been in previous Toku Productions)

Itasha – (right), Has dreams of moving up the ranks. One of 3 idiotic site supervisors who causes trouble every time. Voiced by Nana Mizuki (Was in Super Hero Taisen Z)

Yaruka Yai Yai – Has dreams of moving up the ranks. One of 3 idiotic site supervisors who causes trouble every time. Sometimes becomes a car. Voiced by Sumire Moroshi.

Trailer and Music

Via @/DailyBoonBoom on Twitter

Trailer

Opening Theme

The ED is titled "Konkotsu Pon Pon" by Rica Matsumoto and there will be a dance ver for it. [src]

[enemyoflactose]

I finished Battle City

So for my redemption arc, I have finished both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City.

I think I may have gotten worse.

I'll start by talking about voice acting and which one I prefer:

Bakurae: I like both Ted Lewis and Rica Matsumoto's performances. They both did amazing and I am so bi for their voices.

Marik: His goofy ass skeletor voice is not it. It's funny as hell, but he just sounds better in the sub.

Odion: I like both

Ishizu: I like both

Everyone else: could go either way

Characters:

Yugi didn't really do a lot at the start, and everything I want to say about him happens in his duel with Joey. Honestly, I don't like how in the anime he doesn't play much of a role.

Yami Yugi: this man... This man.

Téa: I love her. Honestly. She gave like zero friendship speeches this season and didn't really do much except help Yami find Ishizu.

Joey: I LOVE JOEY WHEELER.

Tristan: he's there. I don't like how he treats Serenity.

Serenity: I actually really like her. She's not the most realistic sister character, but I still like her.

Duke: my guy, leave the girl alone.

Marik: I can't take him seriously. I just can't. He sounds like Skeletor, his plans are stupid, he can barely duel, he's a coward, he dresses ugly, mother fucker uses Revival Jam, this happened

How am I supposed to take him seriously?! Also, his backstory didn't do anything for me. Like, yeah what he went through was awful, but it just feels like an excuse. It felt like Ishizu and Odion were trying to justify Marik's behavior and say he did nothing wrong and should be forgiven. (Also, I saw a post about how Joey should have showed Marik sympathy. They blocked me when I said that was stupid)

Ishizu: she's such a great character. Her love for her siblings feels real, she's a snarky dork, her duel with Kaiba is fantastic, and she's pretty.

Odion: Am I supposed to feel bad for him? Not because he was horrifically abused I do feel bad about that, but with the way he was treating Marik... My guy was an enabler. Of course Marik is still evil under your care, you haven't done anything to help him be good. He just rolls over and lets Marik do what he wants because he doesn't want to betray his oath or something.

Mai: literally so cool. I'll actually get to talking about her in a bit.

Kaiba: iconic.

Mokuba: he takes his duel commissioner job so seriously it's adorable. He just pops up out of nowhere to catch people cheating and then Kaiba comes along to scare the cheater when they don't listen to Mokuba.

Regular Bakura: B-baby boy???

Yami Bakura: I'd literally bend over for him. He can have all of my possessions. Anyway I feel like he went through some character assassination this season. He just doesn't seem like a threat, but I guess that's how abusers get ya because he stabs Regular Bakura.

Arkana: I've said it once and I'll say it again, I am a sap. I felt so bad for this guy. First his magic show goes wrong, then his face gets mangled, then his wife leaves him, then he gets indoctrinated into Marik's cult, then he almost dies by saw blade, then he actually dies.

Lumis and Umbra: these two are gay and dating.

Strings: there is nothing there.

Mako and Weevil are pretty much the same.

Espa Roba: he's a cheater.

Duels:

Bandit Keith vs Yugi Moto (Duel 1)

The first duel of the season introduces us to Marik. We learn that he wants the puzzle and has a magic rod that can mind control people.

This duel shows off that Yugi is not yet as good a duelist as Yami because this loser gets fucking cooked.

Yami Bakura shows up and breaks Keith free. This makes Marik a little annoyed.

Marik makes Keith break the puzzle.

Bakura comes in and helps Yugi fix it, but he puts a little piece of his soul in the puzzle because of reasons that are never explained.

Bakura leaves and Keith burns the building down.

Joey and Tristan save Keith and Yugi.

Yami Yugi vs Jonny Steps (Duel 2)

I am not talking about the duel you suckers. I'm talking about what happened before the duel!

Yami and Téa go on a date. During this date they go on wacky high jinks and Yami gets Light Force Sword.

After dueling Jonny Steps, they go to the museum and meet Ishizu. She tells them that Yami is actually an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and he needs to save the world by joining Kaiba's tournament and winning it. Also he needs three Egyptian God Cards.

Joey vs That one guy (duel 3)

Joey gets Exodiad and feels so bad that he doesn't go and visit his sister in the hospital.

He also lost his Red Eyes Black Dragon.

Tristan finds him on the beach and shows Yugi and Téa who he found (fuck you 4kids)

Kaiba vs the machine (duel 4)

OBELISK, FIST OF FATE!!!!!

Yami vs the one guy(duel 5)

Yami beats Exodia and wins back Joey's Red Eyes.

Joey declined it.

Joey vs Espa Roba (duel 6)

In this duel Joey faces an alleged psychic who had already defeated Rex Raptor.

Rex tries to help Joey for a little bit, but stops like half way through the duel.

During this duel, Espa is talking about the universe and how he can't lose and shit like that and Joey's just clowning on him.

Espa Roba has his brothers up on a building helping him win duels.

Joey figures this out.

Joey wins the duel.

Some guy in the audience says "Espa couldn't predict he'd be a loser", and I think that's funny.

Joey got a Jinzo!! The only good card he'll get this whole tournament.

Yami vs Arkana (duel 7)

Yami faces a magician who's all like "Aren't you SO sad that your precious Dark Magician is in the deck of another duelist???!"

Some bullshit happens, Dark Magician is sentient and saves Yami, Dark Magician Girl is summoned by Dark Magic Curtain, there's shadow blades, guillotine-chan is here, apparently there's no service in the tent.

Yami wins.

Arkana dies or something it was really unclear.

Joey vs Weevil Underwood (duel 8)

Joey got his deck and Duel Disk stolen by some mustache and had a card put In it.

Joey and Weevil duel ata fountain.

During this duel Weevil calls out to the Parasite Paracide card in Joey's deck and turns all of Joey's monsters into insect cards.

Weevil brings out Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. Joey destroys it.

Weevil brings out his Insect Queen and talks about how much he wants to fuck it. Joey destroys the Insect Queen and wins it.

Joey gained the worst card of the season.

Yami and Kaiba vs some guys (duel 10)

Kaiba uses Lord of D and two Flute of Summoning Dragon to summon three dragons and then he summons Obelisk and then he wins the duel and takes some locator cards.

Joey Wheeler vs Mako (duel 11) ft. Marik falling for the Bakura sham.

Joey and Mako duel.

Joey is putting on the world's greatest show, and is told to stop because it's "embarrassing and taking to long"

Joey tries to use Parasite Paracide, but flip monsters haven't been invented yet.

MEANWHILE

Marik almost runs over Bakura.

BACK TO THE DUEL

Mako is telling a son story about his dad and how Legendary Fisherman is his dad and he loves his dad so he has to win the duel for his dad because he loves him ever so much.

MEANWHILE

Yami Bakura is talking mad shit and Marik's all like "This idiot has NO idea that to open the door to darkness he needs the Egyptian God Cards."

What if my guy was talking 'bout Kingdom Hearts?

BACK TO THE DUEL

Mako used a ritual card 🤮

Now Joey has to find the fisherman and attack.

Joey finds the fisherman and attacks. Mako gets sad. Loser deserved it tho for using rituals.

Joey uses some gambling cards and oh no

MEANWHILE

Bakura puts his scam into action and says he's a strong duelist (He's aight.)

Marik doesn't even fact check this and makes a deal with him.

The rod for a god card.

BACK TO THE DUEL

Joey uses Panther Warrior to wipe out the ritual card 🤮, and wins the duel.

Joey has gained Legendary Fisherman! Not as bad as the last card, but Joey you have a shitty deck how do you keep winning???

Seto and Yami vs Lumis and Umbra (duel 12)

THERE'S ANOTHER FUCKING RITUAL CARD!!!! AND IT'S NOT EVEN A GOOD ONE!

It's awful, it sucks, it's worthless, they should have just used level cards

This duel is not worth my time.

Yami and Seto win.

We interrupt this essay to talk about important stuff that happened out of duels:

Bakura got stabbed

Mokuba, Téa, and Joey got kidnapped

Tristan ran for an hour with a teenage girl on his back

Duke hit some guy with dice

Mai met Serenity

Joey got mind controlled

Téa girl mind controlled

Joey vs Yugi/Yami (duel 13)

I cried during this duel

Joey got mind controlled by Marik and is evil and dueling Yugi for the puzzle and they're also strapped to this anchor that's gonna drag them to the bottom of the ocean in an hour and oh my God this duel

Téa's life is also being threatened but she's a badass who doesn't care.

Kaiba can't help because then Téa will die.

Joey was given all these rare cards and is using them against Yugi.

Yugi is so scared to attack because he doesn't wanna hurt Joey.

Yugi is so fucking sweet I love him so much.

Yami is just in the corner like "you good Yugi?" And "Oh no!!! Joey!!" I love them so much

Yugi ends up giving the puzzle to Joey so he can fight Marik better, he summons R d eyes black dragon to get through to him, this shit is just barely working I HATE THIS DUEL

Marik is being a whiny little bitch ass loser because his mind control is failing

Joey breaks free after attacking Yugi then he uses the effect of some mirror card to attack himsefl

Joey and Yugi both plummet to the ocean, Yugi is saved by Joey and Joey is saved by serenity.

I LOVE JOEY WHEELER

Meanwhile at the hospital

Yami Bakura vs Bonz (duel 14)

This episode is so fucking good. The animation, the duel, BONZ IS HERE

This duel starts off with Yami Bakura already being kinda annoyed. He just got jumped so it makes sense.

He summons a headless knight and it gets destroyed.

He destroys Bonz's cards.

Bonz fuses Medusa and crawling dragon to get... An elephant?

Then Bonz activates that one card that makes you lose life points for every card sent to the graveyard. Yami Bakura responded by fucking cheating and just tossing his hand to the graveyard.

Then he summons Earl of Demise and Bonz puts him in a cage.

Then Yami Bakura uses ectoplasmer and wipes out Bonz's life points and sends him to hell the Shadow Realm.

Mai vs Jean Clawed Magnum (duel 19)

I am not talking about this duel other than

Joey x Mai supremacy

We love polarshipping

Stuff that happens before the finals

The gang is shocked at the idea of Regular Bakura dueling (rude)

Tristan can't flirt

The gang raid Joey's pantry

A bingo machine

Yami Bakura pretends to be Regular Bakura and messes with Joey by saying shit like "Cheerio" and "fellows"

Marik does stuff

Odion gets threatened a few times

Ishizu shows up late

Mai drinks censored wine

Yami Bakura vs Yami (duel 15)

This shit is so hype

It starts off with Yami Bakura being dog shit and summoning weak cards (it's for a plan), and Yami and the gang just ragging on him and insulting him.

Then Bakura summons Dark Necrofear, but he doesn't attack because he's scared that Yami's face down card is a trap (reasonable)

Dark Necrofear gets destroyed by a buffed Dark Magician Girl, but this was all part of the an because now Yami Bakura can use not only his Destiny Board (worst win strat ever), but he can also use Dark Sanctuary.

At this point in the duel, Yami Bakura is cooking. He is dominating.

He got out his Dark door, Yami can't attack more than once. He got his spirit redirecting attacks at Yami. He's cooking something delicious.

Then Yami special summons Dark Necrofear and now Yami Bakura can't use his strategy.

Unless he summons Jougen the Spiritualist!

Now the sanctuary is back and he can keep up with his shitty win strat.

Then Yami summons Slifer and he contemplates death.

Marik makes Odion walk over and go "I release Bakura from the spirit" and Bakura starts dying and at this point my shipping senses start going nuts.

This duel has become a love triangle between Regular Bakura, Yami Bakura, And Yami Yugi.

But that's not important.

Bakura doesn't like this strategy because it's for cowards and he's worried Yami will attack his host. (Reasonable. The Yami he knows probably would've)

Yami meanwhile doesn't wanna attack Regular Bakura because that's his friend.

No one has told this boy to just surrender.

Yami Bakura takes control of Regular Bakura again and tells Yami to attack him

Then Yugi tells Yami that he did that because he needs Bakura, not because he liked him. (This is untrue if I believe hard enough)

Regular Bakura is knocked out and the ring is gone.

Joey vs Odion (duel 16)

Joey is talking shit.

Odion keeps setting and passing

And oh what's this?? FLASHBACK

Odion was abandoned on the door step of Marik's and Ishizu's parents. He was raised by them but never truly accepted.

He wanted the tomb keeper initiation to become accepted, but he was adopted. So that didn't happen.

DUEL

Joey's losing

FLASHBACKS

Odion was Marik's best friend and watched their mother die immediately after Marik was born.

He vowed to protect Marik.

DUEL

Odion has trap monsters and Joey is surprised by this.

A massive scorpion monster thing is summoned and Joey says

"Are you really Marik?"

Then Marik has a temper tantrum and tells Odion to summon Ra. Odion summons Ra and fucking dies.

Then Joey dies.

FLASHBACK

Odion watched as Marik got his tomb keeper initiation and afterwards he did his own initiation.

DUEL

Odion tries to get up, but he doesn't.

MEANWHILE IN JOEY DREAMLAND

Joey is having a dream about his friends helping him get ready for a tournament and he can't get up.

DUEL

Joey gets up and wins the duel.

Marik is having a migraine and then becomes Yami Marik.

Mai vs Marik (duel whatever I don't wanna check)

Marik got a fashion upgrade and looks better!!

During this duel Kaiba is edging himself waiting for Ra to be summoned.

Marik makes the duel a shadow duel and starts to erase Mai's mind.

Mai loses one memory and almost gives up immediately.

Marik continues his mind games while Joey and the gang try to help Mai out.

Mai is having non of this.

Mai steals Ra

Marik is cooking

Mai summons Ra, but Marik broke a rule because Ra is written in a foreign language without a translation.

Mai loses because she can't summon Ra and Marik attacked her, Joey, and Yami.

Final duel, Kaiba vs Ishizu

Ishizu should have won

Kaiba and Ishizu keep milling each other's deck.

Ishizu has a plan though. She saw it in her visions

Kaiba defys those visions tho and instead of summoning Obelisk, he summons the Blue Eyes White Dragon and wipes out Ishizu.

I forgot to talk about the Yami vs Strings duel

Marik is a pussy so he uses some murderer to duel

During this duel Marik is using cards like Revival Jam and Jam Breeding Machine.

He uses them to summon Slifer.

Yami is trapped in a cage.

Yami uses Revival Jam against Marik and uses it to cause Marik to lose by DECK OUT.

DECK OUT

That's embarrassing.

So yeah, I think this journey of redemption is becoming a journey of derailment instead. Wish me luck and health.

[hausofmamadas]

| This is why the earth eats the dead |

⁂

Pairing: Rafa Caro Quintero x María Elvira

For @narcolini - Narcos fanfic exchange 2022

Word count: 6K

TWs: Canon-typical violence, major character death, descriptions of violence

No, those days were the best because when my swollen eyelids slid back, I saw the sun and the sky and a girl I knew from way-back-when. That girl stood over me with tears in her eyes and a look on her face I’d been chasing my whole life. Betrayed by his bestest good primo, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, and captured in Costa Rica by a one DILF, Guillermo Calderoni, instead of being taken to prison, Rafa Caro Quintero is taken back Mexico to be tortured, dragged by a pickup truck down a back alley road in Sinaloa, and left for dead … on the front porch of the house owned by Miguel’s ex-wife, María. Still fuming after Miguel kicked her to the curb and told her he was staying in Guadalajara to bang barely legal chicks he met at a museum, María’s further devastated by her ex-husband’s descent into assholery when she finds Rafa’s nearly lifeless body. So, the question remains: she can nurse him back to health, but can she fix him?

⁂

✴︎ Cómo me has engañado, mi hermano! Si me ha dicho lo que ibas a hacer, nunca habríamos venido. ✴︎

A conveyor belt of sky rushed above me. Chaotic streaks of what should have been full, puffy white clouds cut across waves of light blue. Or maybe those were just the stars I was seeing after hitting too many potholes headfirst.

But with the sky up there, rushing like that, the earth against my back like steel wool at seventy kilometers an hour, and the rope embedded in the skin of my ankles with the full force of the pickup truck they were tied to, I kept thinking about la Bribri historia de la creación del mundo.** I had heard it from one of the old ladies in the cathedral once. We liked to tell stories while we waited for the fire bombing in the fields to stop y esos shingadamadre chotas to get in their tanks and fuck off again, until next time.

The story went something like this.

The great creator god Sibú was having a hard time. He needed a place to put his creations but could find nothing suitable to make it with. You’d think since he created life, he could make a place for it too, but it seems even gods have their limits. So, when a bat, flying by, happened to shit soil from which all kinds of marvelous plants grew, naturally Sibú had to know his secret. (Creation myths, right? Fucking trippy.) The bat, who Sibú called tío even though they weren’t related (which never made any sense to me), told him he’d been feeding on the blood of Iriria, the newborn Earth. And wasn’t this great news for Sibú because Iriria happened to be the child of his sister, Tapir. Except, Sibú no era su tío and she wasn’t his niece (which never made sense to me either but maybe it was different for gods that way.) Anyway, Sibú hatched an elaborate plan. To lure Tapir and Iriria from where they’d been staying in the underworld, he invited them to a grand festival and asked them to put on a show, dancing the Sorbón dance for the attending lower gods, demons, and spirits. So, they did. They went and they danced. But something happened when Tapir and Iriria danced and it changed everything. The young girl tripped and fell, and all according to Sibú’s plan, in the furor and excitement of the Sorbón, the demons and spirits couldn’t see her. So they kept on dancing. Stomping on poor, helpless Iriria. Over. And over. And over. Until all that was left of her was trampled earth, from which Sibú made, well, the Earth. Seeing her daughter’s demolished remains, Tapir seethed with rage: How, my brother, you have betrayed me! If you had told me what you were going to do, we would never have come. So it’s said today, for the sacrifice of her daughter, tapirs are sacred animals not to be hunted for food or sport. And as atonement for Sibú’s betrayal and the wounds inflicted on her by his creations, all life, this is why we bury the dead. Return them to Earth for her to consume.**

𐮛

I thought about Sibú a lot when I worked in the greenhouse. When I finally had it, mi sinsemilla, primo declared me a genius. María joked that I was a regular mad scientist. But all I could think about was Sibú. About how his curiosity yielded the universe’s great masterpieces at the expense of those around him.

But thinking about it just now, sky rushing up above and the steel-wool-earth against my back, seventy kilometers an hour, I couldn’t stop laughing. It was fucking hilarious.

Because I realized it wasn’t really me who was Sibú, after all.

𐮛

Those early days were the best. Well, maybe not the first few. Definitely not the first one, when I woke up in a cold sweat, hands and ankles tied together, blood-soaked shirt, now dried, fusing me to wood slats of her front porch. Maybe I’d been her front porch all along. Why else would they leave me here? I couldn’t remember them, the “they” that left me. I couldn’t remember me. The pain in my shoulder was too much. I couldn’t remember why.

No, those days were the best because when my swollen eyelids slid back, I saw the sun and the sky and a girl I knew from way-back-when. We raced dirt bikes in the town square. She let me sleep on her couch when I’d been out too long in the field, then the greenhouse. I used to call her the brains of the operation - ‘No se la llevaron toda, compa.' - because she saved mi sinsemilla, then me. That girl stood over me with tears in her eyes and a look on her face I’d been chasing my whole life. Looking at me like I always wished she would. Only this time, I didn’t have to feel guilty.

She shouted for help, wild, brown hair whipping in the wind while she demanded answers from the nothing and nobody that left me there. In all my dreams before, she wasn’t so sorry for me. But who was I anyway? No matter. I didn’t need to remember to know who she was.

𐮛

I thought one of my fractured ribs might’ve punctured a lung because it took days for me to stop coughing up blood. Weeks to stop screaming out in the night. For Sofia. Sometimes Miguel. Mostly María. Because I knew who she was and she looked at me like that and I didn’t have to feel guilty. Except, it took a few more weeks to remember why.

It came together in the kitchen one morning, when she was making breakfast. Easy as always, the smell of cafe con leche, bacon, tortilla chips, soon-to-be migas sizzling in the pan. She sang softly con Los Zafiros. ‘El gringo, Rafa. Adónde se lo llevaron?’

The eggs she cracked against the edge of the bowl buckled my shoulder. Sofia screamed in the steam of the kettle going off. Then that face from the edges of the darkness behind my eyelids - eso hijo de la shingada chota con su bigote negro and those beady little eyes.

'Sabes que me gusta mucha acerca del hombro, Rafa? Cuánto duele cuando lo sacas de su articulación. Duele igual. Cada vez. El dolor te rompe el alma mucho antes de que se rompan los huesos.'

El dolor te rompe el alma, no mames. Mi alma ya se rompió when the first gunshot exploded the glass and I knew what mi primo did to me. If that fat bastard hadn’t been so sweaty when I spat in his face, it might’ve made a difference. Maybe not, since he never missed a beat and the cracking never stopped. The bones of my shoulder in and out of its socket, cartilage stripping like threads of a screw.

My head swam, my mouth tasted like iron, my throat was numb, I felt cold. Was this finally my time? Qué lástima sería. I just got her, just got here. Were there tiny needles swimming in my bloodstream? Cortisol. Adrenaline. Like high, but none of the flavor, none of the fun. She caught me just before my face smacked the table.

I came to with my head in her lap, mumbling, “Lo huevo– vas a quemar los huevos.”

“Qué?”

“Huevos. Pa’ las migas.”

She shook her head, “Ay, Rafa. Qué voy a hacer contigo?” and smiled my favorite smile.

My lips felt like rubber but I beamed back up at her anyway. “Ocuperás de mí?”

It took a few weeks for her to stop sobbing when she sat by my bed and watched me sleep. I didn’t know who I was, so she knew it was bad. Without a clue how, I still wanted to comfort her. I guess I did in a way, since she only ever stopped when she got up to place her finger under my nose.

If I’d been awake and remembered who I was, I would’ve told her I deserved it por todo lo que hice. Even if he deserved worse but wouldn’t get it. That old house, piles of leaves in the empty swimming pool. 881 Lope de Vega. I heard from someone later on that they’d drilled into his hands at the end, demanding to know the nothing and nobody he knew.

So, it seemed only fair they’d dragged me down some backwoods dirt road. Seventy kilometers an hour never felt so fast and took so long. I hadn’t met the man, but they said he’d had a family. My whole foolish life, I wondered what it was like to be missed by so many that much. Of course, that wasn’t why I did it. I did it to remind him I was flesh-and-blood real, standing right there. And yet when it was all over, cold, calculating, with eyes as old as time, mi primo still didn’t see me.

I probably would’ve told her too that I was far from the boy she raced dirt bikes with. But that other boy we knew from way back when? The thoughtful one with eyes as old as time, that boy was lost altogether.

And if I’d been awake and remembered who I was, I would’ve wept right along with her because that’s how much I missed him.

𐮛

When I could finally walk without getting dizzy, she took my hand and led me out into the backyard, my favorite smile blooming with the flowers on her red dress.

“Where are we going?”

“Tranquilita, mi Rafa. Vas a ver.”

Mi Rafa. I couldn’t remember when she started calling me that. But to belong in such a way? It hurt how much I never knew.

We continued past the yard, onto a dirt trail that led downhill until we came to the edge of a great, big, empty field. She glowed when she told me it was all mine.

“What’s this?”

“Es tuyo para hacerlo como que tu quieras.”

“No me chingues pues. Toda esta madre?”

She nodded, soft lips in a soft smile. And I couldn’t help but pick her up and swing her around, even as my shoulder screamed. She screamed too, like we were kids.

I set her back on the ground with a wince. “Ya tengo un plan.” When I put my arms down, the right one bent awkwardly to ease the throbbing in my shoulder. She took it, splinting my elbow against hers between us, and put her other arm around my waist. I grumbled but she shot me a familiar look that assassinated any and all will to resist.

“Leave it to you to overdo it after being out here no more than five minutes.”

I laughed. “You know me better than almost anyone. When have I ever made things easy for myself.”

“Sí, sí, Rafael Caro Quintero. A man of great passion, no sense, and odd enthusiasms. Like swinging grown women around with a shoulder no sturdier than ground beef.”

“Aahh, no me digas. You love it.”

“Entonces, cuál es tu plan?”

“Pues por supuesto, I’ll build a greenhouse. And when that’s done, I’ll start with sinsemilla.”

She smiled wryly, “Claaaro qué si. Because it hasn’t caused you enough trouble.”

“And then, I was thinking we could sell it.” She cocked an eyebrow up and pursed her lips, a look that said she thought I’d lost it. Again. “But instead of competing with the other plazas, we unite them, create una grande federación, controlando todo el mercado de mota.”

Her face relaxed and she chuckled darkly, elbowing me in the ribs.

“Ay, ya basta. I’m still fragile.”

“If that really is your plan, pues voy a romper tu otro hombro, hombre.”

I looked out at the black hills on the horizon, seeing María’s face in place of eso pendejo Calderoni. Savage brown eyes, enraged, beads of sweat dotting her perfect forehead.

“Si ese chota hubiera sido tan hermosa como tu?” I looked down at her and winked. “El dolor? No me valía madre. I wouldn’t felt a thing.”

She elbowed me again. “Ay, pinshe bruja, no mames.” No loyalty left to dam the tide, it was hard not to get carried away ‘cause I adored her more than the world.

“No mames tu, cabrón. So, c’mon. Let’s hear it. The real plan.”

“Sí, sí, bien.” With my arm still propped against hers, we started walking slowly along the edge of the field. “Esos manos,” I wagged my hands, “fueron hechas para cultivar sinsemilla, pues sí? Pero quien sabe pues? I can grow other things, coffee beans, cacao. Algo así.”

Maria looked down at the ground and shook her head. “Appropriately indulgent.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Chocolate, coffee, little addictions. Una sombra de las drogas, sí but always indulgent.”

“Pues sí, pues. Qué dijiste de mi? A man of odd enthusiasms.”

She leaned her head into the crook of my neck and squeezed me tight. I didn’t have to feel guilty. Sometimes I did anyway. Instincts of self-preservation were hard-earned-hard-lost in my line of work.

𐮛

She stopped crying at my bedside while I slept but sometimes, she still cried in the middle of the night. A vision in a white caftan, sleeveless shirt, linen pants. Chain-smoking La Llorona, haunting the steps of her own front porch. She usually sat in the spot where they left me that first day. We tried so hard to get the bloodstains off the wood but they’d have to be sanded and revarnished, which I promised I’d do. Except I hadn’t yet because I was scared when I did, I’d lose me for good.

My room was at the front of the house, so sometimes I’d turn over in bed, close my eyes, and listen while she swallowed the sadness back so hard, she could barely breathe. That conveyor belt of blue sky would pop in my head with her sobs like a soundtrack. The more nights we played out this routine, the more I knew we�� she couldn’t go on like this. Too great a toll, pretending she wasn’t living with a dead man, hiding me from him and the whole world. None of it was any of mine, anyway.

So, it was the weirdest thing. When I’d finally decided to leave, that’s when it happened.

I went out and sat with her, which I never did. But it this time it was raining and she couldn’t catch her breath and I got scared. You could call it inconsolable but that’s too small. She didn’t stir when the screen door slammed or rush to hide the evidence. No doubt she knew the angry red splotches on her cheeks gave everything away.

I didn’t know what to do. But then I remembered what someone told me once: how comfort is like a kiss. No rulebook, but instinct. So, I did what I felt. I sat on the steps next to her, hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee like we were two sides of the same seam because it seemed the thing to do. Splinting her to me to ease the pain like she did with mine.

We sat there like that. For a time.

I took a joint from my pocket and held out my hand. “Encendador, amor.”

Her hands were so cold, I nearly jumped when she passed it to me. She didn’t seem to notice as we sewed back together again, this time with her head on my shoulder. I lit up and tried to blink away the dark spot in my vision left by the hot embers at the end of the joint. Because it made me think of the metal rods they’d used. Hands tied up and hanging. Glowing red tips pressed to my sides.

I inhaled, then breathed her name out with smoke, “María.”

She sniffled, “Sí.”

Looking down next to me, I studied the bloodstains that dotted the wood, tracing them with my finger. “I’ll take care of these in the morning,” I said, dusting them. “Then I think I’ll go.”

In the crook of my neck, I felt her stiffen. “So that's how you’d repay me, then. Just leave.”

“I thought you’d be relieved.”

We sat there like that. Some more.

Until she jerked her head off my shoulder and looked at me, not bothering to wipe the new tears rimming her eyes. Her caftan slid off her shoulder. I pulled it back up and watched goosebumps spread across her collarbone, up her neck. On my hand, up my wrist, I got them too like they were contagious.

“Querida.” Confused, I swiped a tear from her cheek and held my thumb up, “No se trata de eso, o qué?”

She cocked her jaw to to one side, then looked away and scoffed. I loved the way she looked when she did that and hated when she did it to me.

“A día de hoy, estás una de las chingas personas más listos que he conocido en toda vida, mi Rafa. But sometimes.” She turned to look at me through half-lidded eyes, exhausted all of a sudden, “Sometimes you still see the world through the eyes of a boy I knew from way back when.”

Before I could ask what she meant or if she’d been reading my mind, her lips were on mine. And every nerve from my scalp to the heels of my feet detonated. My whole life flashed before my eyes. What I wanted most in the world, that I never had, because none of it was any of mine, anyway. That’s what she was supposed to be until I ended up in an early grave, right? Oh, right. Funny, since I actually had died. In a way.

Her cold hand wrapped around the back of my neck, lips and tongues ebbing, flowing against each other. My brain like it was knocking against my skull, mind screaming at me to stop and still I found my hand sliding around her waist. Perilous, rigid edge of her teeth on my lower lip made me hitch my breath, to prepare me for— She bit down hard. Hard enough to snap gravity and I dug the pads of my fingers into the small of her back to ground myself without it. Then I caught her lip in my teeth and nipped back. Two sides of the same seam. So, it must’ve been insanity itself that brought my hand to that satisfying spot where her neck met her jawline. And ripped it. Like an idiot.

And all I could choke out was, “Not … this … way.”

She was alert suddenly, startled by what I’d said. Or maybe the way I said it. Maybe trying to piece out the truth from the lie. Since I didn’t mean it really. Except I really did. With all of me. I wondered if she could see my mind vibrating, violently searching for an explanation, and that’s why she waited. Waiting while I malfunctioned.

“I can’t— the— why, how— please don’t— don’t make me what you use to get back at him.”

Her lips pursed and she furrowed her brow. Looking at the little lines that creased her forehead and between her eyebrows, I wanted to take it all back, grab her, crush her into me. Probably before I was insane, I would’ve. But sanity got burnt up at seventy kilometers an hour and all that was left was the echo not like this, not like this, not like this over and over.

There was a look of awe on her face. And it gave me the strangest, most painful feeling. Like I wished a hole would rip open in the Earth, so we could jump in and entomb ourselves there for forever. Scar-tissue-thoughts I called those ‘cause they reminded me how my mind would probably never be like it was before. I tried not to get lost in that one like I did sometimes.

She cupped my face with one hand, and pulled my arm around her waist with the other, placing it in the same spot as before. Except for her hands, she felt warm against my chest in a way that made my stomach drop. The clouds parted a little, so I saw her eyes in the light of the moon. They looked lit with it, from the inside.

“What makes you think this is about him at all?” Then she kissed me again, and again.

We both knew it was a lie. But on nights like those and many others, nights when we got tangled like that, nights when we were both sides of the same seam, we pretended it wasn’t.

I had to stop pretending when she started taking his calls again.

𐮛

I don’t know how long it was. It must’ve been months, a year, maybe more. Long enough for me to forget I was dead. Time didn’t pass for me how it did before. No, that’s right. It must’ve been years because it was sometime around the election. I only knew he got into trouble with that old bat in Matamoros and in trouble with the politics. Again. Only this time he had no one else to feed the machine when it was done and they got what they needed. Yeah. That was it. Because he came back to Badiraguato, back home to lay low.

That was when he started showing up everywhere. He even came by the house one time.

There was something satisfying about the squeaking sound the hinges made when the backyard gate door swung open and closed. I liked to pull extra hard just to hear it and that day was no different. Nothing different about the way I skipped up the steps to the patio either. Or how I wiped my boots on the rug outside before I stepped in the house.

Before I could smell the food, I heard them in the kitchen, María chiding Abril.

“No, no, no, no. Nada de dulces antes de cenar.”

“Pero tengo haaaambre.”

“Después de tu tarea. Ándale. Dile a tu hermano también.”

I walked through the dining room to the kitchen and set a pile of herbs on the counter.

She smiled slyly at me, “Nunca paran de tragar.” Her face lit up when she saw the herbs. “Ah, fresh from the greenhouse. Didn’t think you’d have them this time.”

I caught her arm as she reached for them, and pulled her in for a kiss. She deepened it, sliding her hands from my forearms to my shoulders. She always held on longer than I expected. I’d never gotten used to it.

She pulled back and smiled. “After I add these, dinner’ll be ready.”

“Ah, for you, amor. I’ll wait forever.”

Her hands still around my neck, she threw her head back and rocked me forward a little. “If it weren’t for that diabolical smile of yours, that would be the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard.”

“No te preocupes, mija.” I winked. “It’s the cheesiest I’ve ever used.”

She fiddled with the buttons at the top of my shirt, “Given what I know of your history, chulo,” then let go and turned to the stove, “that’s saying something.”

I grinned as I walked away, “What history?”

I headed to my bedroom to find her father looking out the window. He tried not to look embarrassed when I knocked on the open door.

“Lo siento, Rafa. I was just—” When he couldn’t find a proper excuse, he just sighed and raked his hand over is face, motioning out the window.

That’s when I saw his blue Buick idle up the driveway and park at the big metal gate. He didn’t get out right away. Just sort of sat there. So, her father and I just watched him, watching.

“Papá, ya quieres tu café? Papá!”

Neither of us answered her.

��Qué pasa?” Her determined footsteps got louder and louder, until she breezed into the room.

I didn’t bother trying to lie but he attempted a too-rushed, “Nada. No pasa nada.”

The joy of intrigue wiped from María’s face and now she just looked wary. “Qué estás mirando, entonces?”

Incredible how little I felt, holding back that curtain, staring at the outline of the man responsible for my death, while he sat in the driver’s seat of mi primo’s blue car. For a split second and all at once, I hated him because I missed him. It hurt how much I missed him. Then I hated me for missing him. And then it emptied to nothing. The oddest thing. Pretty fucking dumb too. I should’ve been afraid at least, considering what would happen if he or anyone knew I was alive. Back in that room with the metal prods, pain, shoulder popping, in-and-out, in-and-out, pain, dry mouth, wet concrete tongue dragging across the roof of it, pain and too much more.

I didn’t know how I felt, so I didn’t know how I wanted her to respond because it never mattered so much what I wanted. But there was no denying my heart seized up in my chest, the arteries all throttled, when I saw how hard her jaw clenched and watched her rage nearly warp the air around her. I supposed she’d have to have been hit in the head as many times as me, to feel the nothing I did.

The three of us stood motionless for a moment, until she sighed, turned around to look at the bedroom doorway, then back again to the window, before making a break for the front door. As she dashed down the still-stained front steps and marched across the courtyard to meet him at the gate, it hit me. He’d just got there. Hundreds of feet from us and not even out of the car yet, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. And even though I stood right there, next to her, she never once looked at me. Before walking out the door.

That was the end of pretending.

𐮛

I was putting up the fence around the greenhouse, hammering posts on the north side of the field, when she brought out iced tea and empañadas. It hadn’t happened in a long time but I kept seeing them today. Flashes of dirt road in the wood grain of the posts, rushing, dragging beneath me. I had to stop now-and-again to wipe them from my eyes. She told me I looked tired. When she could tell I was tired, she liked to give me things to dream about. Maybe that’s why she asked.

“Quieres venganza?”

I stopped hammering and stood up straight.

“Qué?”

“Supongo— lo que quieres decir es si piensas en la venganza?”

I swung the mallet over to rest on my good shoulder and looked out onto the horizon. Something about these sunsets at home made me want to hold her. And the wanting but not, made me want too much at once.

“Claro que no, querida. I'm just happy I’m not dead.”

She looked at me quizzically as she walked over. She set the cup and plate on the empty wood barrel next to me and picked a piece of hay from my hair.

What was she asking? And why? And why now? Too many tangled up questions and the words came tumbling out. No amount of grabbing empty air would shut them back up into the leaky box, my mind, where they belonged.

“Why? Do you?” Because I had stopped pretending but I didn’t know if I was I ready for her to. “Is that what this is?”

She leaned her head against one of the posts. Looking out into the red-orange sky, no hesitation, crisp like glass, “A veces.”

I suppose I knew. It never made sense for her to love me all of a sudden and for no good reason except I just showed up one day and needed her.

“But not usually.”

Windswept hair and brown eyes lit red by the horizon, downright dangerous was how she looked. The sky looked like hell and she looked at it like it was hers. María at her most dangerous gave El Jefe de Jefes a run for his money. I always figured that’s why he sent her away. And yet, just like me, she felt so much more for him than he deserved. How could she not, padre de sus hijos. And how could I expect her to let go when I couldn’t. Still, being reduced to a weapon was a familiar disappointment. It meant, like him, she couldn’t see me just then.

I grabbed an empañada and shoved it in my mouth, too fast, so she couldn’t see how hard my jaw was clenched. It burned my tongue and nearly cooked the back of my throat as I swallowed. Maybe this was my sign to run, take advantage of being dead, leave the boy and the girl I knew from way-back-when for good.

My throat, still with that numb, burnt feeling made my voice thick, so I didn’t sound so wounded. “Given the look on your face, I see you have.”

When she closed her eyes, I realized she was crying. I always thought it was weird how that happened sometimes when she was angry.

“He’s their father. But with how they left you, Rafa–” She pulled in a deep, shaky breath like preparing for confession, “I— I don’t know where to put it. All this rage.” Her hands balled into fists and she turned to look at me. “Did you know, when I can’t sleep, sometimes I count the ways he’s hurt us like counting sheep.”

Those few solitary tears sliding down her cheeks, catching at her chin, dripping off the edge of her jaw onto the collar of her shirt, I felt the urge to bottle them up and take them with me everywhere. Scar-tissue-thoughts. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there, waiting to follow her lead. Just as I had in all things.

“And that’s when I think, yes. He was their father. But now? Ya no más que una puta infección, un enfermedad de la verga, polluting everything he touches.”

“Do you feel polluted?”

“Qué?” She gave me that look again, eyebrow cocked, like I was nuts.

I dropped the mallet, and walked over. Arms crossed, I rested them on the finished part of the fence and propped my chin up to look at her.

“It’s just what I said. ‘Cause well,” I tapped my temple with my finger, “I have some screws loose and– how did you put it? Ground beef for a shoulder?”

She cracked a small smile. Success.

“So, we both know I’m polluted. Owe that to myself more than anyone, most likely. But not all of it, true. So, do you feel he’s polluted you?” Then I jutted my chin up toward the house, “Them?”

She was quiet for a long time, long enough for the sun to slide behind the hilltops, casting her in new shades of purple. I was trying hard not to disappear like I did sometimes. She fixed her eyes on me just in time, swiping her cheeks quickly. “Ah, mi Rafa. It’s just what I said. Everything he touches.”

I asked it with no anger, no jealousy. That wasn’t what this was about. “So why go, then?”

We’d never talked about it but she knew what I meant. She never lied to me, so wasn’t some big secret. She didn’t even try to hide the invitation. To some political three-ringed circus to celebrate the election. He was sending a private jet for her and everything. It was a big deal.

She considered the question for a long time, before whispering, “I have to know for sure.”

“Know what?”

“That I’m right to believe he can’t change.” She stepped away from the post and walked down the length of the fence, grazing her hand along it until it came to rest on my arm. Then she leaned in and kissed me. It didn’t feel like goodbye just yet. But we were getting there.

Then we stayed like that for a little while, forehead to forehead, eyes closed. In my head, I got the sensation like I was falling.

“And what more is there to lose when the damage is done, when we’re polluted already.”

I watched her disappear up the hill heading back to the house. I should’ve said it even if I knew it wouldn’t have made a difference. Unless you were dead, he’d find something to take. Because he only saw the world in terms of “more.” He polluted you with the prospect of “more.” It’s what made him so brilliant. And why he was all alone.

I grabbed the mallet to get to work again. But I was seeing the road in the grain of the wood still. It was coming at me, faster this time. Not flashes. I was there again. It had been a while but actually, I’d been back a few times since it happened.

In the beginning, I couldn’t stop living there. That’s why she started climbing into bed with me. To remind me I wasn’t there because I couldn’t be because no one could be in two places at once. She’d put her arm around me and I’d lean against her, unable to move except to jolt every time a rock kicked up and seared the back of my neck, gouged another welt in my shoulder blade, cracked against one of my elbows. My hands were always the worst, no circulation, bound numb and twisted in the ropes, mangled by the friction of the gravel they slid over. Before I blacked out, I was curious every time. How’d I get here? The answer in his voice, always so calm, and filled with love lost and sadness. Which made sense since he knew I was a lost cause.

Ya tienes más de que lo necesitas. Ya dejar de soñar, Rafael.

And maybe that was the whole problem.

𐮛

After that, I didn’t wait too much longer, a few weeks maybe. Then one morning, I got up at dawn and crept around the house, collecting my things. If I waited to say goodbye, I'd never leave. Because she wouldn’t want me to and it still wouldn’t be enough. She gave me plenty to dream about and I loved her for it and I loved her.

But I was awake now.

I was holding too much stuff, so I swung the door open too hard. Caught just before it slammed, and I sighed, chest full with disappointment and relief. I guided it gently to a close, then strode across the porch to the steps where I stopped short to look down at the clean, newly varnished planks where my blood used to be. It happened just like I thought. I lost me. I was gone. For some reason I thought of the story again, about how the world was made.**

On that back alley dirt road, laughing into the sky like I wasn’t dying, I’d finally worked out that I wasn’t Sibú, but I never decided who I was instead.

Was I the chorus of trampling demons and spirits? Was I Tapir? Or the trodden Earth Iriria? Or maybe, since I’d sort of died, I was thousands now buried, recompense, fodder in the machine of their vengeance. Or maybe I was nothing at all.

My heel hit the first step. I guess I had time now and the whole world to figure it out.

𐮛

And that's a wrrrrap! Sorry for all the Spanish. I was going to make a glossary but I already wrote the thing and it's 6,000 words give or take, so just gonna have to give it a good ole Goog. Thanks for reading.

**See here if you're interested in learning more about mesoamerican myths and legends or about the bribri tribe specifically, this is where I found the story.

[khaleesiofalicante]

My family: talking while we had dinner

My brain: so we will be thinking about Other Max and this whole chapter in these hours. Let me tell you that...

Omg and we went for Christmas to the house of the mother of my aunt, it was all nice ig, but there was this lady who idk who she was but she looked like Izzy Lightwood and I was in awe!!! I stan her tbh. She should dump her boyfriend and he get the Simon Lewis she deserves tho...

Leaving that behind, WHAT DID I READ MA'AM??? I AM EMOTIONALLY IN HELL😭😭

The conversation Other Max had with Alec and him being so chill about this sjhsidjdkd. No one can do it like him🥺

And the talk between Magnus and Max punched my heart repeatedly but it was also so beautiful and Max erasing their memories with the rain. I did NOT expect that!!!

I did wanted to see Max's and David's POV of this clusterfuck though. For pain purposes🙂

But also I'm fricking scared bc what the hell happened for him to learn warlock math and time travel and it wasn't to get David's memories back bc he didn't do THAT so then what is it??😭

Selena is the best babe to ever exist and I LOVE HER OK?!? I STAN. I ADMIRE. I LOVE. I-

He finally told him about the memories!! Fuck yeah!!! I actually screamed and my family was so done bc we were supposed to be doing chores lmao. Maybe I died a little when Max told him everything he could remember about them and the whole "I love you madly" "And I madly love you" but it's ok :) why would I need a heart for?🙂

FUCKING SHADOWHUNTERS AND FUCKING CLAVE AND I HATE EVERYONE IN THIS MOMENT AHHHHH!!! HAVE THEY CHANGED AT ALL???

Ok I know they have but it sometimes doesn't look like it. They exiled David from Idris??? When they just suspected he was a thread??? I had to take several breaks in this scene

And Chopin 😭😭😭no my baby!!! He didn't do nothing wrong!!! And he was lovely!!! I HATE YOU VICTORIA AND I HATE YOU KYLE!!! Yeah I may have cried about the dead of a demon what about it?!?

Also can I marry Achilles?? Everything he said was😍 this man is gorgeous And I am grateful for him everyday!!

I am extremely sad for David. He has lost enough for a lifetime. His memories. His home. Why?? What has he done besides loving others and being so fucking kind??

Rosewood ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Max also waking away from the Clave... Fuck. This will have consequences. But when he says he doesn't want to be anywhere David isn't allowed🥺

And I loooved the scene between Rafel and Max. It shows Rafael understands in some way (and the little flashbacks to when Rafael wanted to strip off his runes was unnecessarily painful) and that Max knows he isn't to blame. Also the quote “You can’t stop us from leaving,” Max told him. “But if anyone can bring us back, it’s you. Fix your Clave, Rafael. Before it gets anyone else hurt.” it hit something on me😭😭

For a second I thought Max wouldn't want to be his suggenes. Thank god that wasn't it!!! And that was the best bachelor party EVER. I LOVE MERLIN!!! And Rafael feeling like a boy is something that can actually be so personal 😭

Rosewood finally going to marry??? In this year??? I am afraid if I blink something will go south lol

What a chapter. And this are just the things I remember rn, which probably aren't a lot bc I am sleepy and a liiiittle drunk. But I did wanted to share the fact that I couldn't keep still while reading this bc it kept me on edge the whole time and I experienced so many things 😭😭

De todos modos, Feliz Navidad!!!! Espero que te la pases muy bien, Dani!! Con personas que te agrade y comida rica y mucho amor y descanso porque te lo mereces!!! Ahora tal vez si tenga que irme a dormir porque ya no puedo pensar en inglés jajsjsh,

💙.💙.💙.

Okay i didn’t understand most of the Spanish and I had to use google translate and I’m not happy about that. 2023 better have more time for my learn Spanish or else 😤😤😤

And lmao reading fanfics during family events is such a mood 😂😂😂😂

Here is a tiktok for you. I don’t even have to say who this is lol. Happy Christmas 🎄

[jurrasicworldcc]

Jurassic World Chaos Theory OC short fic:

Title: Changes

—————————————————————————

At Casey’s Lab in Costa Rica

Casey sobbed as he sulked on the couch, looking at the picture of Brooklynn. He had visited America for a bit to visit Yasmina and Sammy but Brooklynn had called him in when Darius was supposed to help him with something…

…And it was too late when he and Darius saw Brooklynn’s blood on the rock…and the Allosaurus…

He looked at the picture of Brooklynn one more time and kept crying. Brooklynn had so much left with him to do, even with the whole break-up she had and her staying at Darius’ for a bit. To be honest, Casey had feelings for Brooklynn too but was too scared to tell her anything.

He looked at the picture a third time and stood from the couch. He looked at a bottle of pink hair dye and grabbed it. “Brooklynn…” he spoke out in tears. “…I’m gonna fix this…”

He walked to his bathroom, put on a pair of gloves, and sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He hovered the bottle over his head and began to pour it into his hair. He took a few breaths as he felt the liquid in his hair. He then leaned his head down and started scrubbing the dye all over.

Within minutes, his hair was completely pink, remembering Brooklynn’s signature hair color. He sighed, taking a look at his new look, but something still didn’t feel right. Brooklynn was gone and he was still there, standing in that bathroom, not doing a goddamn thing about it.

He needed to know who was behind this. Who wanted Brooklynn dead. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that the Allosaurus that killed her was sent there by something…or someone…

“Brooklynn…I’m gonna fix this.” Casey repeated over and over.

He grabbed his backpack and started getting a bunch of supplies into it. He grabbed his passport and then grabbed his shotgun that he kept well hidden from guests who would visit his lab uninvited. He also packed a photo of him and the Camp Fam, namely as a reminder of why he was doing this.

He stepped out of the lab, not caring that the raining was pouring and thunder was crashing. He entered his car and sighed. He picked up his phone and he sighed in relief as a familiar British voice said, “‘Ello?”

“Mae?” Casey asked.

“Casey! Bloody marvelous that you called me! How are you doing, love?”

“Mae…You may have heard from Ben about Brooklynn…and I’m going to figure out how and why this happened.”

“Casey, I know this isn’t easy but this won’t bring Brooklynn back—“

“If I don’t do this, then who? If not now, when? I bet when April died, you would want to know who would do this…”

He heard Mae’s voice sigh and her voice spoke, “Okay, love. I can’t stop you from doing this, can’t I?”

“…….No……”

“Then what do you need?”

“I’m gonna need one of your jets. What do you got that’s fast and to America?”

“Hmm…I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Mae.”

“You’re welcome, Casey. Just don’t get too carried away.”

“I won’t.”

He hung up and began to drive to the airport. He saw the glowing lights of the night-ridden city and sighed. He then spoke out one last time, “Brooklynn…I’m gonna fix this…I’m gonna stop whatever caused this…”

—————————————————————————

Yes, this is a teaser for a new design for my Casey OC in release for Chaos Theory the other day.

[kleebis-and-fombus]

Can we please have "Jurassic Park the Musical"?

I already have an outline (it's super rough):

ACT I

1. Open with same opening scene as movie, a guy gets eaten by a caged raptor, but have the cast sing an opening ballad "Clever Girl" that ends with the violence, fade that song into a scene at the amber mine where the lawyer sings a short final verse about needing the safety certification 2. In the Badlands, Alan Grant sings an introduction about rocks and bones, how much we learn from rocks, how dinosaurs have evolved into birds. Have the kid in the group challenge him with the “6 foot turkey” comment, Alan sings a verse about how deadly raptors are and scares the kid. Have the crowd disperse, continue the song between Alan and Ellie, about why Alan doesn’t like kids. 3. "I Spared No Expense" - John Hammond arrives, sings a cryptic song convincing them to visit his island. They sing no, song goes until everyone is singing the same chorus with a “yes” tone instead of a “no” tone because they’ve been convinced. 4. Denis Nedry and Lou Dodgson meet in Costa Rica, sing about their evil plan and about why Nedry is disgruntled with Hammond 5. Group arrive at the island and sing a “holy crap, real dinosaurs!” song 6. Visitor’s center - “Life Finds a Way”: A song about DNA, breeding, etc - all the biology explained and Ian Malcom’s famous quote. We see the baby raptors hatching. 7. Group visits raptor pen, reprise song 1, this time raptor handlers are singing about how intelligent the raptors are, etc. 8. Group has lunch, reprise song 3 where Malcom, etc criticize Hammond’s playing god. 9. Kids arrive, song 2 instrumental. Grant is visibly annoyed 10. Tour - "Chaos, Chaos, Chaos!" Malcom explains chaos theory 11. Sick triceratops - Ellie reprises song 2, sings her own version about the plant life and starts helping the dino 12. Storm starts. Group breaks up/heads back. Reprise song 4. Nedry and Hammond have words, Nedry leaves to steal the embryos. He sings his part about his plan while he executes it, and the control room techs sing about the technical difficulties. They and Hammond also sing about what a crappy worker Nedry is. Nedry sings until the moment he dies - the last verse is one of denial/regret. Slow it down, but finish it with a bang.

INTERMSSION

ACT II

1. T-Rex paddock scene: animatronics, duh. reprise song 1 but make it super dramatic and varied based on who has to be quiet when, etc. Meanwhile Ellie and Muldoon are searching for them, find Ian instead. T-rex chases them in car but they get away, possibly singing 2. Alan helps kids and reprises song 2 as a lullaby. Then after kids fall asleep, sings a sweet version about how he’s beginning to like kids. 3. Hammond and Ellie sit in the dining room eating ice cream. Hammond reprises a sad, slow song 3 remembering Petticoat Lane and lamenting his past and his failures and Ellie holds him accountable 4. In the morning, Alan and kids encounter brachiosaur in the tree, find dino eggs. Life found a way. Reprise song 6. 5. Cut to control room, Ian Malcom reprises song 10 in an “I told you so” number to Hammond 6. Still in control room, reprise song 4. Hammond sends Arnold to shut down the system, Ellie and Muldoon follow shortly after 7. Alan and kids witness gallimimus stampede, t-rex eating one. Song 5 instrumental 8. Reprise song 1, use instrumentals to show Ellie and Muldoon confrontation with raptors. Muldoon sings “Clever Girl” as he dies. Ellie turns power back on and Tim gets electrocuted on fence 9. Grant takes kids to kitchen, continue reprise of song 1 as they face the raptors in the kitchen 10. Reprise song 4 as Lex hacks and fixes system in control room. Raptors chase group to T-rex skeleton, t-rex shows up to fight raptors as group escapes 11. Helicopter - reprise song 5. Show birds outside window

[kirkwallgremlin]

He’s beautiful, with the biggest brown eyes, and so smart! He already knows who his father is. I’m certain his first word will be “prince”.

@ BioWare let my warden meet her nephew Endrin

[littlepadika]

Calling Home (1) | Frankie Morales x Reader

Summary: You are a receptionist at the VA. Frankie Morales keeps calling. Yearning ensues...

Rating: M -> E in later chapters

Warnings: fem!reader, age gap (legal), praise kink, voice kink, discussion of addiction/PTSD/trauma, no use of y/n, no beta reader, reader is bad at Spanish, Frankie has a sexy voice 😩

Masterlist here

AN: My first fic. Pedro writers have inspired me to finally start writing again 🥺. Concept inspired by the movie RED. I hope you like it ❤️Set after triple frontier.

Chapter One

~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time he called was an ordinary Thursday.

“Veterans Affairs, how can I help you?”

You had been working at the VA office for about two weeks. Fresh out of college you felt lucky to have a job in the first place. You went to school to be a writer but your big idea for 'The Next Great American Novel' had yet to present itself. At least here you had access to the most inspiring stories and interesting people. Men and women who had seen more and done more than you probably would in your entire life. You loved talking to clients on the phone. It was weird but something about only being able to hear people’s voices excited you. You would sometimes write little stories in your head about the people you'd talk to, filling in the details that were unknown.

Your desk accessories reflected your love of books and writing. You had your growing collection of books sitting on your desk sandwiched between baby pink bookends. Next to them was a matching desk organizer filled with your favorite sparkly pens and sticky notes. You had decorated the plain cubicle walls with posters of quotes from your favorite books. You also brought your favorite candle from home. Even though you couldn’t light it you still liked to lift it to your nose once and a while and smell it between chapters. When you weren’t on the phone or scanning documents you would read. You finished To Kill A Mockingbird in your first week on the job and were now halfway through Murder on the Orient Express.

You were starting a new chapter when Frankie Morales called the first time.

You picked up the phone on the second ring already mustering your chipper 'customer service' voice. “Veterans affairs.” You stated your name. “How may I help you?”

“H-Hi. My name is Frankie- uh-Francisco Morales." A deep voice answered you. "I’m calling because I have gotten my benefits check yet. It’s been a month. I was hoping you could tell me if it got sent?”

“Okay Mr. Morales." You flipped on the computer. "Let me check. Can you spell your last name for me?”

“M-o-r-a-l-e-s”

“Okay... let's see.” You clicked on his account. You were momentarily distracted by his picture likely taken when he graduated basic if you had to guess based off the uniform. He looked sweet. Sharp nose and strong jaw balanced by kind eyes and a shy smile. You could imagine how age would continue to soften his expression making him even more handsome. The image was a strange juxtaposition to the voice you were hearing on the phone which was much deeper and rougher. His profile said he was special forces. A pilot. The rest of the information was blacked out. Something you were used to seeing on many people's accounts but even his years of service were redacted. He must have been involved in some dangerous stuff, you thought to yourself. The dates that were not redacted were mostly in Latin America. You clicked over to processing requests. “Looks like the check got sent one week ago.” You informed him.

"I'll look again but I haven't seen anything-" It sounded like he was apologizing when clearly it was not his fault.

"No no. It's probably a mistake on our end." You interrupted. With how shitty and outdated the payroll interface was you wouldn't be surprised if there was a mix up. "I’ll go ahead and let payroll know to send another."

"Great. Thanks." He replied sounding relieved. The roughness in his voice gave way to a smooth baritone.

“No problem. I'm sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused. We'll get it sent right away." You hoped he was not relying on this benefit check for anything important. While you could promise you'd fix the problem, the administration was notoriously slow. When he didn't respond you asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with today, Mr. Morales?”

“Uh-no" The roughness back in place. "Thank you." He paused before adding your name onto his thank you which made you smile. People usually never remembered your name.

“Alright. Have a nice day and thank you for your service.” You chirped before hanging up. The smile he put on your face lingered for a few minutes as you returned to your book.

The next time he called was exactly twelve days later.

“Veterans affairs” you answered, your routine greeting cut short as your eyes were still on your book.

“Hi- I’m calling because uh I still haven’t gotten my benefits check. This is Frankie Morales.”

“Oh Mr. Morales.” You recognized his voice even before he even said his name. You quickly shut your book, pushing your hair out of your face. Had you been thinking about him? No! Okay maybe you stared at his picture for a few minutes longer after he hung up. Yes, it was probably very unprofessional but you couldn't fight the curiosity. You were trying to rationalize the contrasting sharpness and softness of his features with his voice. How it all worked together. How one person's voice could change textures and colors so easily. You wondered what kind of things this man might have seen on the job. Most of the veterans you would help day to day did not have so many redacted missions and deployments. You were in the middle of Narcos season one so you immediately thought of drugs or something equally dangerous. After much pondering, you had come to the conclusion that Frankie Morales was both insanely attractive and insanely courageous. “Still no check, huh?”

“Nope.” He sighed the sound making the phone's shitty speaker crackle as you held it to your ear.

“Let me just check that it was approved...“ you found his profile again and scrolled to the status page. “Hmm... it says it was sent out last Friday after we spoke. That’s so weird...”

“Yeah. Really weird.” He echoed your frustration on the other end.

Typical payroll, you thought to yourself as you rolled your eyes. “I'll get another one sent to you right away. I'll see to it myself.” You tucked the phone under your chin and typed out a short email to Mary in payroll letting her know you'd be stopping by her office to explain the situation. You realized he hadn't hung up yet.

“Sorry for the back and forth.” You said, trying to fill the silence.

“It’s not your fault." The earlier irritation gone. "You’ve been really helpful.” His voice sounded warm and reassuring. Less gruff than it was last you spoke. Instead it was that rich baritone that you caught of glimpse of last time.

You feel your face warm at his compliment. It was this annoying reflex you had. Praise always made you blush no matter what context but it was worse when it came from a (you assume) gorgeous stranger.

“And just to verify that your address is correct- you’re on Maple Lane in Miami, Florida?”

“That’s right.” He confirmed.

“Okay. Sent!” You clicked send on the email, which caused the window to close and reveal Frankie’s profile page again. “I was curious-" You spoke before you really made the decision to speak. You didn’t want to overstep but once again your curiosity got the better of you. Honestly, you were just searching for a way to keep him on the phone. The day had been so boring.

“Your profile says you were stationed in Costa Rica.”

“For a bit.” He replied after a moment. He didn’t sound too defensive but there was definitely some tightness in his answer that made you feel bad for asking. Like you were scratching a wound.

“Did you like it? The country I mean.”

“Are you planning a trip?” He sounds a little amused.

“Yeah- well- kind of. It's more a trip in my head right now. I’d like to go there one day. It looks so beautiful.” You sighed closing your eyes trying to imagine the heat on your skin.

“It is." He agrees. "Really humid though.”

“Mm that sounds nice.” You would kill for some warm weather after such a long winter in DC.

“It was too muggy for me at times." He grumbled. "If you do go, stick to the costal areas where it’s more breezy or else you’ll just be sweating the whole time.”

“I don’t mind a little sweat” you shrugged, still thinking of the awful east coast winter you were currently suffering through. The sexual connotation of what you said hit you hard as soon as you heard the statement in its entirety. You felt your face flush again, though the man on the other end would never know.

“I’m learning Spanish!" You announced loudly trying to move the conversation past your awkwardness.

“Wow. Muy impressivo.”

“Si” you replied but after a moment you admit “I don’t really know what you said.”

Frankie laughed loudly on the other end and you couldn’t help but join in, drawing dirty looks from the elderly lady, Donna, working in the cubicle across from you. You ducked your head behind a stack of papers to avoid her glare.

“Fake it till you make it.” He chuckled.

“Maybe you should help me out.” You took on an indigent but still playful tone. “You sound better than duolingo” Your smile widened when he laughed again. His laugh was what you hoped it would be, by all your assumptions from his picture. It was an unencumbered, unburdened, rich sound with only a hit of roughness from the air behind it.

“Tell me you’re not using that dumb app to learn.” he scoffed, saying your name in an almost scolding tone.

“I’m got my thirty day streak today.” You boasted.

“You’ll be a total tourist if you go by duolingo.”

“But the owl is so cute every time I get something right!” You argued your voice taking on a more childish cadence.

“That’s how they trap you, silly girl.” He teased right back. Usually such a condescending nickname would piss you off but something about the affection behind him using it made you feel very differently. You felt warm like you were proud to be silly as long as it made him laugh.

“Then you saved me just in time, Mr. Morales.” You bit your lip. His scoffing and laughter died down on the other end.

“Frankie” He corrects you.

“Frankie…” You repeated it, smiling at how well the nick name suited the voice over the phone. Honest, sincere, and not pretentious at all. Way better than the pompous guys you know with equally stuffy names like “Edward” and “Christopher.”

“So what do you want to know?” Frankie interrupted your thoughts. “Dime”

You started asking him questions in Spanish to the best of your ability. Granted they weren't particularly probing questions. What is your name? What is your favorite color? What is your favorite animal? What's your favorite book? I am reading Gone Girl. He answered them all with patience and amusement, occasionally interrupting you to correct your pronunciation or explain what a word meant. Every time you’d repeat the word back correctly he would say something like “good” or “there you go” or “you got it”. You hated to admit that his kind words and his praise was doing something to you. You didn't even realize you were clenching your legs together unconsciously, almost in anticipation of his next correction or next answer. His low voice so sweet and encouraging against your ear, more tangible when he was speaking Spanish. You just wanted to hear more of it. Would it be this sweet in other situations? Would it get huskier or rougher? If you closed your eyes it was like he was sitting right next to you. It would be all too easy to slip into that daydream and escape the dull office.

Suddenly out of the corner of your drooping eyes you saw a flashing red light on the phone console meaning another caller was waiting.

“Shoot- i’m sorry, Frankie- I have to take this call.” You shot forward in your chair, legs uncrossing.

“Of-Of course. I should let you get back to work.” He sounded a little sad or so you hoped. You felt bad for interrupting him after you both were having so much fun. You wanted to say he could wait on hold but he killed that idea when he said, "I have work too. Technically I'm five minutes past my lunch break."

Your pout turned to a smile. He was spending his precious lunch break with you? Get a grip! you snapped at yourself.

“You’re welcome to call again if you want.” You threw out the offer in a small voice, scared you would be rejected. You peered over the cubicle wall to see if you were still being glared at. Thankfully Donna was away from her desk. Probably out for a smoke. “It’s really boring here and usually no one calls.”

“Maybe I will.” He replied and you could hear the smile behind those words. You felt your heart clench weirdly in your chest like it didn't know how to process the sudden spike in emotions.

“Bye, Frankie.” You beamed.

“Bye”

This time the smile on your face lasted for hours. Frankie’s laugh echoed around in your head, taunting you, sending your mind to the gutter. His voice went from grit to molasses on a dime. You wanted to be the one to bring out those sounds. You wanted to hear his voice bend and stretch and strain as you fucked him. What the hell is wrong with me? you screamed internally. You had never been so depraved and with a stranger no less! You clearly needed to get laid fast because this much yearning would not end well.

Frankie got the second VA check a few days later and this time he didn’t even feel bad about ripping it in half. He was already reaching for the phone to call you.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tags: Message to be added 💕 no minors please!

[literatikoo]

Pro/Con of each Rory boyfriend

Okay, I'm gonna keep this as objective as possible but each boyfriend will be criticised a fair bit. I am not tagging this post as anti-anything but if you're uncomfortable at the thought of any of these men being criticised DO NOT READ!!!

Dean- pros

Genuinely loved Rory

Got along with Rory's family

Went as Rory's escort to all her high society functions with minimal complaints

Tall

Nice hair in Season 1

Is very sweet to Rory when they first started dating

Is the only one of the three boyfriends who seems to know how a relationship works

Can keep up with the Gilmore's quirks

Tries to read big books for Rory

Dean- cons

Loved Rory to the point of infatuation

Got along so well with Lorelai that he started confiding in her about his relationship with Rory

Extremely possessive, has threatened bodily harm on two guys who Rory saw as friends

Got jealous of Harvard

Misogynistic, does not understand unusual family structures

Yells a lot

So tall that looming in shadows and being intimidating comes easy to him

Still seemed to think he had enough of a say in Rory's relationship with Jess to sucker punch Jess even though he had no idea why Rory and Jess fought

Got married to Lindsey while he loved Rory

Lied to Rory to get her to sleep with him (this is also in the grey area of consent btw)

Was not planning to end his marriage to Lindsey until she found out about the affair

Broke up with Rory twice, in public, by yelling at her

Blames her for both times, when really he just couldn't handle being inferior to her

Jess- pros

Genuinely loved (loves?) Rory

Has everything in common with Rory

Doesn’t care what anyone has to say about him or their relationship

Pushes Rory to fight for herself

Takes Luke's and Lorelai's feedback into account to be a better boyfriend

Though he didn't make the greatest impression on Emily the first time, he was ready to go back and fix it

Does not get jealous

Does not yell at Rory for being friends with guys

Instead tries to tell her that he doesn't want her to feel like she needs to lie to him or keep secrets from him

Slowly becomes friends with Lane and Hep Alien

Tries to be nicer to Lorelai because Rory asked him too

He "made sure she was okay"

Great hair

"Why did you drop out of Yale" "You should write a book"

Gets his shit together, writes a book and has a steady income by the age of 21 (is the only boyfriend to do this)

Jess- cons

Loving her was not enough for him to stay

Has some deep seated issues that stopped him from trusting anyone

Loses all impulse control when he's emotional

Kyle's bedroom (again, in the grey area of consent)

Asked Rory to go with him to New York after he left her twice

Did not take her to prom

Said "I love you" and ran away

Did NOT know how to be a boyfriend

Could be a bit pretentious

Was rude to Lorelai and Emily

Took his anger out on Rory in Keg!Max!

Didn't tell her he was leaving

Logan- pros

Genuinely loved Rory

Made an effort to get along with Lorelai that actually stuck

Gives Rory a place to stay after Paris kicks her out

Is the only one of the three boyfriends who seems to understand consent (SERIOUSLY the threshold is so low)

Gives brilliant gifts

Knows his authors and books

His and Rory's relationship lasted two years pretty steadily which is good for someone's first try at a relationship

Tries to communicate his problems with Rory

Had the entire adult relationship thing down

Was ready to change for Rory

Gave Rory new experiences such as the LDB

Knows how to have a good time

Gets along well with the Gilmores

Good at high society events

Supported most of Rory's career

Also supported Rory's... non career (aka yacht)

Logan- cons

Did not love Rory enough to support her choosing her career over their marriage

Broke up with Rory at her graduation

Cheated on Rory with his sisters entire bridal procession

Manipulative: twists Rory's words into something they aren't multiple times

Rude to people of lower social class (Marty, Jess)

Also known for getting jealous (Marty, Jess) (Though I would like to add that he was in the right about telling Lucy the truth)

Spoiled

Loses a million dollars in a business deal and then goes to LA to blow off more money

Has too much fun

Is a part of the Huntzberger dynasty

Introduced Rory to the Huntzberger dynasty

Tries to rebel against his dad by constantly flaunting his privilege

Rory forgives Logan for cheating after he jumps off a cliff in Costa Rica and severely harms himself

Supported Rory's non career (yacht)

Gatsby levels of pretentiousness

Doesn't go with Rory to SH events that matter to her (Lane's baby shower, Lane's wedding)

Still acting like a petulant child at his big age of 25

In conclusion, all three of them had a great deal of growing up to do and they all made their mistakes. But they were important for Rory's growth at that stage.

[newtonsheffield]

And, because I am apparently needy AF, I’ve got another one: Can you indulge us with some moments of Anthony being vulnerable with Kate? I mean, you blessed us with Comforting and I think there have been a few more headcannons, but I’m trash for emotional Anthony, so I’d love pretty please Anthony either opening up to Kate or being emotionally vulnerable with her or both? Thank you for indulging us and for all our Bridgerton (and life) chats ❤️

Oh Heyyyyyy 

I have to say you, my friend, probably know comforting better than I do at this stage. Truly, the world’s biggest B&S fan and I’m not sure what I did not deserve it, but I am thankful for it! 

And so, here we go! Anthony + Kate + being Emosh.

Anthony Bridgerton had never been a particularly emotional person, he sometimes wondered if those nights he spent crying alone after his father died had dried his tears up forever. And then he met Kate Sheffield and everything about him seemed to bubble with emotion. From the very first moment he met her indignation and anger had swept over him the likes of which he’d never seen. He’d ranted and raved to his mother about how absolutely impossible she was and his mother had clicked her tongue and said Are you sure that’s what it is? Anthony had glared at his mother because Jesus had she not been listening at all?! And Violet Bridgerton had fixed him with a very stern glare over her tea cup and said Hatred isn’t the opposite of love Anthony, nonchalance is. And he’d left with as much dignity as he could muster, and a terrible nagging feeling that she wasn’t wrong. 

Anthony knew how to manage his stress. He was an adult, after all. And he’d managed perfectly well before he’d been in a relationship, he reasoned with himself. So why was the only thing he wanted now was for Kate to tuck his head against her chest, run her finger’s through his hair and tell him everything was going to be okay? He wondered as he loitered outside Kate’s office door one afternoon after a truly trying day. His client had told him some very sensitive information he’d rather not know, but now had to follow up with which would completely ruin his case, Hyacinth had told him she didn’t want him to go and see her debate at school tomorrow which had smarted a little, He had to organise his mother’s birthday party, and there just seemed to be a thousand other things he had to do and no time to do it in. He took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the door, before entering, peeking through it first to make sure she wasn’t busy first. Kate was looking up expectantly, a smile spreading across her face as soon as she saw him. Anthony felt himself relax slightly. Kate frowned What’s wrong? she said at the look on his face, instantly standing from her desk, and tugging him further into the room before closing the door behind him, her eyes searching his. Anthony felt himself crack sighing as his head dropped to her shoulder. Her hands immediately reached for him, pulling him tight against her, one hand rubbing soothing circles on his back the other twisting itself through his hair. He breathed slowly against her neck the scent that seemed to always cling to her soothing him. I’m just stressed I guess he mumbled, feeling a little ridiculous. Kate cooed in his ear. It’s going to be okay you know? And if it’s not we can run away together and live in Costa Rica. You would look so good in board shorts. Laughter bubbled in Anthony’s chest and he instantly felt better. Kate hummed Now, tell me which of these things I can help you with. She said, still not moving, And Anthony wondered how he ever managed before he had her

Most of the time Anthony finds it much easier to open up to Kate in the dark, especially in the very early stages of their relationship. He’s never considered himself a very chatty person but when she’s moving above him or beneath him, cushioned by his bedsheets he can’t seem to stop the words from falling from his mouth quicker than he can think them. Something about the look in her eyes, so open as she gasps his name makes him want to spill all of his secrets to her. The feel of her head against is chest in the after glow has the same effect and he finds himself whispering all of his worries into the darkness of their little bubble. I’m worried I’m not going to be good at this he’d said, his voice barely audible even to his own ears I’ve never really done this before and I think eventually you’ll get tired of having to push or I’ll tell you what I’m thinking and you’ll realise that I’m not worth it he’d said, not meeting her eyes. Her fingers had been on his chin within seconds tilting it down, forcing him to look at her, to feel the weight of her words as she said them I want to know everything about you. Especially the things you wouldn’t tell anyone else. He spends the rest of the night whispering his secrets to her and in the morning when she still kisses his cheek and tells him she loves him a weight finally gets lifted from his chest.              

[calaryssia]

Unexplainable | Gods, they're so annoying.

Unexplainable Series Masterlist

Dean Winchester x OC

Word Count: 2.7k

i was just sitting on a beach in costa rica in a maroon bikini with a black, almost see through pull over that was open in the front. i suddenly get a phone call. i reach over to the table beside my lounging chair grabbing my phone taking off my sunglasses to look at the caller ID. it was an unrecognizable number, i open up my phone and bring it up to my ear.

"hello?" i mumble out confused to who was calling me. "belle?" my heart drops. it's dean. "hey, is something wrong dean?" i say concern dripping from my voice. "uh, yeah i'm fine for now. i need your help though."

"yeah, sure where are you at." he tells me where he is. "okay, i'll be there soon." i say before we bid our goodbyes. i shut my phone off before grabbing my sunglasses with my phone and putting on my sandals heading up to the beach house.

i waste no time with getting my stuff together and putting it in a suitcase. i don't bother changing before going into the living room where crowley was dropping my suitcase to announce my presence.

he turned his attention to me looked at me. "what?" he says before putting down the tea cup he had in his hand.

"i need you to take me somewhere." he looks me up and down assessing my outfit. "looking like that?"

"look i don't have time to change are you gonna take me or what?" i say giving him my sassy look and putting my hand on my hip.

"fine, where to?" i smile. that always works. 

by the time i get to where the boys were they seemed to be waiting for me. i appear in front of them as they sit on the couch. they both stare at me with their eyes trailing my body. sam looks shocked while dean just looks at me with lust.

"you called." i say putting my hand on my hip giving the same expression i have crowley just moments ago. "um, yeah, we did. what's up with the outfit?" sam says flustered. "i was in costa rica. didn't have much time to change." dean smirks before getting up and walking over to me. "i don't mind that one bit."

i move my hand to move him back a little, he stumbles a little bit is now away from me a respectable amount. "that's my cue to go change." i grab my suitcase before walking over to the bathroom. both sam and dean, but mostly dean, eyeing me as a walking into the bathroom. i close the door, but i can still hear them through the door. "damn." i hear dean say loud and clear so i could hear him. i laugh a little before changing.

once i was done changing into more covering clothes, i walk out to see deans sad expression on his face to see me fully clothed. i roll my eyes before sitting down next to sam on the couch.

"so, what's the issue?" i say sighing and crossing my arms over my chest.

"well, to start with, there is a whole group of gods here keeping us." sam says before looking over at dean.

"what do you mean keeping you?" i say confused, why couldn't they just leave.

"well kali, is keeping us here by a blood spell. loki, which is some we have ran into before, is trying to get that all fixed." before he can continue i cut him off by raising my hand.

"wait you mean gabe, he's here?" they both look at each other surprised that i knew 'loki' wasn't gabriel's actual name.

"you know he's an angel." i nod. me and gabe had multiple run ins over the years. which usually he just constantly flirts with me but, he was a funny guy so we would hang out when we stumbled upon each other. when are these boys gonna learn that i probably know almost everyone they do.

"well, anyway, he's gonna get us out of that spell and we are gonna get the trapped people downstairs and vamos out of here." dean finishes off. he looks at me hoping that i'm good with his plan. i nod and we get up and head down to the lobby.

once we walk in we hear people coming from around the corner by the main desk. we rush to hide. four of the gods bring in a man and put him on the desk as he struggles.

dean tries to go to save the guy but i bring him back with my hand. "it's too late." sam says before i get the chance to and i continue to hold dean back. they then cut of the mans head. i cringe at the sight.

once they are gone, we rush over to the giant freezer that the people were trapped in. sam starts to pick the lock, i tried to open it with my powers but it must be warded. it looks like sam is about to get it when dean gets grabbed from behind him. the god tosses him across the room. i reach up my hand to use my powers to push him back but before i can he grabs my arm and throws me over to dean. he then starts over to sam. he pushes him against the wall and starts to choke him.

dean then comes up behind the god with a wooden stake and stabs him in the back. the god groans behind dying. i finally regain my balance and come over to the boys.

"where the hell is gabriel?" dean says.

before we know it we are both brought into the main conference room. gabriel is sitting in one of the seats looking defeated. we were being brought to the table while gabe and kali talked.

"how long have you known?"

"long enough."

they finish exchanging their words before they sit me and the boy's down in the chairs a little behind gabe.

"how's the rescue going?" dean says pointed toward dean.

"i could say the same for you, i thought you were stronger than that belle." he says sending me a slight smile.

"yeah, well god trumps witch. plus i've been in costa rica so i haven't been using my powers much." i say giving the same smile to gabe before he turns to kali.

"well, surprise, surprise. the trickster has tricked us." she says looking at the angel with hurt eyes.

"kali.. don't." he says trying to reason with her.

"you're mine now." she says before sitting on his lap. "and you have something i want." she trails her hand down his chest before reaching into his coat to bring out a large blade. "an archangel's blade. from the archangel... gabriel."

all of the gods exchange glances before fixating on gabe. he was in trouble. "okay, okay! so i got wings. like kotex. but that doesn't make me any less right about lucifer."

kali looks at him with dark eyes. "he's lying. he's a spy."

"i'm not a spy. i'm a runaway. i'm trying to save you. i know my brother, kali. he should scare the living crap out of you. you can't beat him. i've skipped ahead, seen how this story ends."

kali interrupts him. "your story, not ours. westerners, i swear, the sheer arrogance. you think your the only ones on earth? you pillage and you butcher in your God's name. but you're not the only religion. he's not the only God. and now you think you can just rip the planet apart? you're wrong. there are billions of us. and we were here first. if anyone gets to end this world... it's me." she says before getting close to him creasing his face with her hand. "i'm sorry." she says before stabbing him. i take in a deep breath. before we know it. gabriel is dead. his lifeless body just sits there in that chair. i stare in shock.

"this is crazy." one of the gods mumbles out.

"they can die. we can kill lucifer." kali says, you can tell she's hurting even though she was the one to kill gabe.

dean stands up suddenly from his chair. i look at him like he's dumb before he speaks. "all right, you primitive screw heads. listen up." sam looks up at him like he's insane, which he is. "are you out of your mind." sam mumbles out. dean looks over at sam and me. "i'm out of options." he mumbles to sam and me before turning back to the rest of the group.

"now, on any other given day, i'd be doing my damnedest to, uh, kill you, you filthy murdering chimps." he says going around his chair. "but, uh, hey.. desperate times. so even though i'd love nothing better than to slit your throats, you... dicks... i'm gonna help you." he goes over to the mini bar cart getting something.

"i'm gonna help you ice the devil." he turns back around to everyone. "and then we can all go back to tanking each other, like normal. you want lucifer? well, dudes not in the yellow pages. but me, sam and belle, we can get him here."

"how?" kali questions.

"first, you let those main courses go. then we talk. we can either take on the devil together or you lame ass bitches can eat me.... literally."

they take upon our plan and they let us take everyone out. me and sam stay in while dean helps the people outside.

me and sam were in the main room we've been hold up in with kali and some other god that i didn't bother learning the name of.

"so, you're going to summon lucifer?" kali says walking toward us.

"sort of." i say before looking over toward sam for him to finish. "i just need you to squeegee some stuff from my ribs, and he'll come running."

"breaking them would be easier." yeah, that's true. sam looks at them with a not so pleased expression.   dean comes through the door before walking up to be in between me and sam.

"show's over. sword's a fake. and gabriel, he's still kicking. i hate to break it to you, sister, but you've been tricked." i hold in my sigh of relief. if gabe is still alive we have more of a chance with defeating lucifer. i was already erie because of the last time we ran into each other.

suddenly i felt a dark presence, my heart dropped. he was here. the lights start to flicker, dean grabs my arm slightly knowing that something was wrong when i was acting like this. my scared expression plastered all over my face.

the god, whom i still didn't know the name of, noticed the flicking lights along with the rest of us. "what's happening?" then we heard screaming coming from the other room.

"it's him." i say with a shaky breath.

"how?" kali says looking at me slightly confused.

"does it matter? shazam us out of here, would you?"  dean says looking around, his hand not on my arm anymore but in my own hand.

"we can't" the dude says before we notice that lucifer came into the room.

"of course you can't." my hand griped deans for dear life. "you didn't say 'mother can i?' sam, dean.. belle. good to see you again."

"baldur.. don't." kali says, ah that's his name.

"you think you own the planet? what give you the right?!" baldur starts toward him raising his voice.

"no one gives us the right. we take it." he says sticking his hand through his chest. he then takes his hand out tossing him next him on the floor.

kali then gets mad and the fire starts to spread from her hands up her arms and she stares at lucifer. she then shoots a fire ball at him. dean grabs a hold of me as we all jump behind a table to cover from the warm flames. her attack doesn't seem to work though and she approaches him more. he ends up punching her across the room.

"are you okay?" sam says to both me and dean but i stay silent. "not really." we hear from right next to us, and we all turn over to see gabe. "better late than never, huh?" he then hands dean a dvd case holding it to dean's chest. "guard this with your life." he then takes off over to his brother.

just before lucifer goes to hurt kali more, gabriel pushes him away. lucifer struggles to get up for a second then looks toward what moved him with such force.

"lucy. i'm home." gabe says before lucifer starts over to him mostly fixating in kali. gabe stops him in his tracks. "not this time." lucifer backs away slightly as gabe picks kali up holding her close to him.

"guys! get her out of here." the boys and i head over to them, they grab kali and i walk a little behind them, my heart beating out of my chest. gabe nods to me saying that it was okay for me to leave.

we get out of the building quickly. "i'm not getting in that thing." kali says. "just get in the car, princess." dean says before we all get in the car, getting the hell out of dodge. 

later, we get over to the side of the road as sam puts the dvd that gabe gave us into the laptop and pressed play.

'casa erotica 13' comes over the screen, i roll my eyes. gabriel as always had his thing for these. it starts off with a half naked girl on a bed writing in her diary. before someone knocks on the door saying something about room service.

"gabriel wanted you to guard this with your life?" sam said before turning over to dean with a questioning look.

"maybe he's a fan. it is a good one." i roll my eyes before my attention goes back to the scene when gabe is the one to open the door. he ends up going over the girl starting to make out with her, i look away with disgust.

"what the hell is going on?" sam says which i was thinking the exact same thing.

suddenly gabes voice comes through, "sam. dean. belle." he says my name longingly with a wink. i roll my eyes. "you're probably wondering what the hell's going on. well... if you're watching this... i'm dead. oh, please. stop your sobbing. especially you belle." he says pointing at the screen, my eyes did actually start to tear up though i wasn't gonna let them fall.

"it's embarrassing for all of us. without me, you've got zero shot at killing lucifer. sorry. but.. you can trap him. the cage you sprung lucifer from is still down there. and maybe, just maybe, you can shove his ass back in. not that it'll be easy. you got to get the cage open, trick my bro back into it, and, uh. oh, yeah, avoid micheal and the God squad. but hey, details, right? and here's the big secret, lucifer hisself doesn't even know. but the key to the cage, it's out there. actually, it's keys, plural. four keys. well, four rings. from the horsemen. you got them all, you got the cage. can't say i'm betting on you boys, but, uh, hey, i've been wrong before. and dean.. you were right. i was afraid to stand up to my brother. not anymore. so this is me standing up. and this is me, lying down." he says before carrying on with the girl he was with before. i look away from the screen as soon as he's done talking because i don't feel like bleaching my eyes later.

"oh! oh, man." sam says before closing the laptop. i look back up happy that that was over.

"horsemen, huh? well, we got war's. we nicked famine's. that's two rings down. collect all four. just need pestilence and death." dean says.

"oh, is that all." i say sarcastically.

"it's a plan."

we all nod at each other before getting into the car heading back down the road. and that's how i became apart of the boys plan to take down lucifer. and i can say, i was very happy to be hanging out with the boys again. i may die, but it will be well worth it.

[spencersawkward]

mgg fluff!!! like maybe a super cute romantic date where you both dress up or something like that 🥺

I’ve been writing so much smut the idea of writing a scenario without sex is actually feeling foreign rn WOW lmao ok this was fun to write. here’s some fancy-date pure fluff for you, babe!

summary: Matthew takes reader out for a fancy dinner, and the two make the most of their evening together. 

word count: 2.1k

content warnings: none! short but sweet. 

I swipe the glossy red shade over my lower lip, touching up my makeup before we head out tonight. despite the fact that we’ve been dating for a few months now, the idea of Matthew taking me out to eat-- really taking me out-- is making me positively giddy.

capping the tube and doing a quick once-over in the mirror, I admire the dress I’m wearing. it’s new, something I may or may not have splurged on after work today. it’s a creamy, inky shade, the color of pitch with an open back that I would normally never deign to wear. but something about it, the way the fabric sits against my shoulder blades, makes me confident.

after fluffing up my hair a little, I move into the living room to join my boyfriend. he’s fixing one of his monogrammed cuff links, and he looks up at the sound of my footsteps.

his eyes run over me, the bloom of my mouth and the dress, and he smiles dreamily, not saying anything. my stomach is overflowing with butterflies as I look at him in his suit, so well-dressed. we stare at each other for a moment.

“so?” I grin, walking over to him and running my hands up his chest. “how do I look?”

“you...” his gaze flickers to my pout, then my form. “you’re an angel.”

I reach up and am about to kiss his cheek when I remember that I’ve got lipstick on. “I’ll kiss you later.”

“that’s fine,” he sighs, then takes my hand and spins me around in front of him. “I’m still in shock from how beautiful you are!” he says the last few words in his stupid monster voice, reaching out and tickling my sides while he pulls me into him.

“Matthew!” I squeal, trying to breathe through the laughter. he knows I’m especially ticklish. once he finally relents, I look up at him with a huge smile on my face. sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming with him.

“we’re gonna be late, baby.” he tugs on my earlobe playfully before taking my hand again and leading me into the entryway so we can put our coats on. winter is just starting, dusting the sidewalks with fluffy snow and blowing wind in our faces as we start walking to the car. he holds the door open, as usual, and before long, we’re off to the restaurant.

even though Matthew is a bit of a reckless driver, I trust him. I’ve never told him this, but I love the way he places his hand on the back of my seat and turns around to assess the road behind him before he pulls out. something about it makes my blood warm up. he catches me looking, smiles and asks if I’m okay.

I’m fucking fabulous.

the restaurant is way fancier than I even imagined: cavernous ceilings that drip with chandeliers and walls covered in expensive-looking art. velvet curtains cover the windows, creating a wine-red ambiance of jazz and gentle conversation.

I must look dumb just staring at everything, but Matthew goes to the maitre d’ and gets our reservation ready. we never go on dates this fancy; most of the time, we stay in and binge watch old movies or play board games or just talk. he said he wanted to treat me, though, so I’m more than happy to go along with it.

part of me feels slightly out-of-place as the host leads us to a secluded table, walking past rich-looking couples or groups of people who appear to be socialites. as much as I wish I could blend in with this crowd, I keep worrying that I’m going to trip or somehow break something. elegant situations tend to make me especially clumsy.

once we’re seated and handed our menus, the host leaves us to talk.

“wow.” my eyebrows raise as I check out the options. Matthew looks up.

“what?”

“this place is fancy.” the corners of my mouth tug upwards. some of the items are in French, which makes the process even harder to untangle.

“too much?” he’s a bit wary as he asks, like he’s afraid I don’t like it.

“no, no.” I laugh. “I’m just impressed.”

“you wanna get a bottle of wine?” he asks softly, grabbing the wine menu. I nod.

“sounds good.” I think for a second. “do you happen to speak French?”

“dónde está el baño?” he jokes. before I can stop myself, I reach over the table and hit his arm, both of us laughing. it must be a bit too loud, because a couple people around us turn their heads. I settle back in my seat.

“that wasn’t funny.” I’m giggling.

“I wish I knew French.” he muses, still perusing the wine selection. I sigh.

“honestly, me, too. very sophisticated.”

“are we supposed to pair our wine with our food?” he whispers over the table.

“you think I know the protocol for this kind of place?” I hiss back.

“you know, what? who cares?” he sets down the menu and gives me a resigned smile. Matthew has always been uninhibited, and him deciding to just go with the flow gives me a warm feeling in my tummy. it’s one of the most attractive things about him, in my opinion.  

when the waiter comes to take our orders, Matthew and I just get a merlot and filet mignon, both of us starving. in the meantime, we talk about his day and my day and he tells a funny story about his friend. somehow, he and I always have the best conversations, even if they’re about nothing at all.

literally you could ask us to discuss paint drying and we’d find a way to laugh about it.

“I was thinking... I’m gonna have a vacation soon,” he trails off, the antique ring on his pinky finger clinking against his wine glass. “maybe we could go somewhere?”

“somewhere like...?” I gesture for him to keep talking. he grins.

“you can decide. as long as it’s fun.”

“what? no, you can’t put that pressure on me, Matthew.” I laugh. there are so many places I want to see, and places that I know he wants to see, that I don’t wanna pick the wrong place.

“why not?”

“well, let’s do this,” I sit up more, resting my elbows on the table. the candle in the middle of the table flickers, casting his features in a pretty glow. “you list some places you’d like to visit, and if there’s some overlap, we’ll do that.”

“okay.” he rubs his hands together, then starts to think about it. I wait patiently, sip my wine and start to imagine how many possibilities there are for us. hiking along mountain trails, zip-lining through rainforests. if I’m being honest, I kind of just want to relax.

he breaks my train of thought as soon as he begins to tack off places.

“we could go to Costa Rica, or Croatia, or Mauritius... the Azores...”

“oooh, you know, I’ve heard the Azores are absolutely gorgeous.” my eyes sparkle as I think about the little islands. “and they’ve got these super nice hot springs, too.”

“private hot springs?” he asks me over the rim of his glass. my spine tingles with the implication.

“you wanna fuck in a hot spring?” I almost laugh. he reaches across the table and twines his fingers with mine, thumb rubbing over the back of my hand softly.

“I wanna do it on every continent.” he winks, then pulls away as our food arrives. I try to suppress the heat rushing to my cheeks and regain my composure even though my entire nervous system feels like it’s short-circuiting at the thought.

I try to put those images out of my mind before we thank the waiter, and then we’re staring down at the plates in front of us with surprise. the portions are ridiculously small-- mignon usually isn’t that big, but it’s such a fancy-restaurant-move.

Matthew and I start to giggle to ourselves, picking up our forks and eating. I’m not upset or anything; it’s sort of funny. instead, we share asparagus and dig into the meal.

“do you think they’ll be mad at us for laughing at the nickel-sized food?” I question. it’s really tasty, to be fair, but I have to take small bites so as not to mess up my lipstick.

“for the amount they’re charging, they’re probably the ones laughing.” he replies. I snort, reach up, and he high-fives me.

“that was good.” I concede.

“thanks,” he smiles, wipes his mouth with a napkin before focusing back on me. “so, back to the topic at hand-- are we going to the Azores?”

“only if you want to.” I smile.

“I’m the one that suggested it.”

“okay, then. I guess it’s settled.” I shrug. we set our forks down, done with our food already after about twenty minutes. we start to talk logistics and things we want to do there, excitement building in my stomach the whole time. I love spending time with Matthew-- having him all to myself for a couple weeks sounds like literal paradise.

he looks so pretty right now, too, with his glasses and fluffy hair and the ever-present smile. everything about him exudes positive energy, and I’ll never get over that sensation. I just can’t believe how lucky I am.

“I have an urgent question.” he tells me suddenly, completely serious. I straighten up and frown at him.

“shoot.”

“do you think we can get ice cream? somewhere else?” he asks. I make a face at the way he set me up for suspense, but the relief is overwhelming and my stomach still isn’t full from the small filet. I nod quickly.

he gets the waiter’s attention, pays, and before I know it, we’re walking back to the car.

“thank you.” I nudge his shoulder with my own, both of us bundled up in our coats. he leans down to kiss the top of my head before wrapping his arm around me.

“of course, darling.”

I like his little pet names, how he says them with the kind of sweetness that nearly rots my teeth. even if Matthew didn’t tell me he loved me every day, I would be able to tell just from the way he speaks. like I’m the only girl in the world.

we end up driving to a small ice cream shop by our home, a place that we always visit during the summer if it gets hot and we want sugar. there’s almost nobody inside and we look sort of absurd in our fancy attire, but when I get to the counter to order, I let loose.

salted caramel with oreo crumbles in a waffle cone, piled high. he gets chocolate fudge and we lick at our confections while he pays. it’s so yummy, hitting the spot in a way that a small slice of steak just couldn’t. even though it’s winter, ice cream is always good.

“is my lipstick all gone?” I grin, looking up from my cone to ask. we go to sit in the back room of the shop, which is completely empty.

“mostly, but there’s a little bit...” he grabs my face across the table and guides me to him, sliding his tongue over my lower lip and pulling away to smirk. “got it.”

“uh huh.” I chuckle.

“you taste sweet.”

“you wanna lick?” I offer my cone and he nods, trying it before offering me his own.

“literally how is ice cream so good?” I ask as we go back to our treats. music from the 50′s is playing over the speakers, delightfully saccharine as we just enjoy each other’s presence.

“no idea. but I love the person who invented it.” he says dreamily. “also, sorry about tonight. I know it was kind of a bust.”

“what?” I stop eating for a second. “Matthew, that wan’t a bust!”

“the portions were so small.” he can’t get over this. I snicker to myself.

“sure, but I had a great time.”

“are you sure? I can plan something else special for us.” he gives me puppy dog eyes, afraid that I’m disappointed. I could never be disappointed by a date with him.

“don’t worry about that. let me do the work next time.” I shrug.

“like?”

“like I’ll make an itinerary for our trip. that way you don’t have to stress about activities.”

“you and your itineraries.” he shakes his head slowly, but he’s laughing.

“have they ever failed?” I ask, then tap my finger to my ear as if daring him to reply. when he just smirks in response, I get smug. “that’s what I thought.”

“I love you.” the words come out of nowhere, a heavy sentiment for a light-hearted conversation. every time he says it, I feel it. that deep, burning adoration in my bones. I admire him for a moment.

“I love you, too.”

[a-drama-addict]

thanks to @dungeons-and-dragon-age for the tag!! to do this picrew

i'll tag @dumbassentity @blueheaded @lostwonderlandgirl @squeakedout and @beelzebard (no pressure as always)

>:3 this was really fun (a great opportunity to show some new faces~)

(left to right) Velka Brosca (she/her), Ares Tabris (he/him) and Da'revas Mahariel (he/him)

(left to right) Chloe Hawke (she/her), Damien Hawke (he/him) and Matthew Hawke (he/him)

(left to right) Hecate Lavellan (she/her), Randi Cadash (she/her) and Aristaeus Adaar (he/him)

and now, i will also add some fun facts/headcanons!! >:D

- Ares and Aristaeus are the only male exclusive and Chloe is the only one female exclusive, the others have no restrictions

- None of them have any race restrictions (though Hecate will warm up easier to an elf/qunari/dwarf than a human)

- The order of easiest to hardest to romance is this:

Da'revas - Randi - Velka - Damien - Matthew - Aristaeus - Ares - Chloe - Hecate

Velka

- She can be found in the cafe or in the park, in the cafe she'll be sitting at a couch and in the park she can be found near the tree with the swing.

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can visit her house where you will meet Rica. In the house you can make pottery with her and watch shows and movies with her.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: Talking about history, gifting nature related items and taking her out to dates in the outdoors

- If her friendship is maxed she will give you a gem, it may differ on your personality. (Which are the Diplomatic/Humorous/Direct personalities from DA2)

If your dominant personality trait is Diplomatic she will give you a Sapphire, if your dominant personality trait is Humorous she'll give you an Amethyst and if your dominant personality trait is Direct she'll give you a Ruby.

Ares

- He can be found in the library at the computer and if he isn't there he's either working or printing stuff

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can visit his apartment in the alienage where he will show his little robot he is working on.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: Talking about technology, helping him with tinkering on robot stuff and taking him to dates in the library

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a mini robot, with your name etched onto it.

Da'revas

- He can be found on the edge of the forest or with his friends in town

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can visit him in his cabin where he can be found either knitting or baking.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: Talking about elvhen lore, joking with him, baking with him and taking him out for dates in the woods.

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a ring. He will also introduce you to his Halla

Chloe

- She can be found in the bar, skate park or the musuem

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can visit her apartment where you can meet her roommates, Varric and Bingo the Cat. She'll show you her latest projects and helps you make your first painting.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: listening to her sing, giving her items for writing/drawing and dancing with her

- If her friendship is maxed she will write a poem about you. The poem is different depending on whether you romanced her or if you only had friendship with her.

Damien

- He can be found in his garage from the start and if you let him feel comfortable around you and when he feels accepted, he can be frequently found with Velka in the café.

- If you have enough friendship with him he will reveal that he is very insecure about his life decision and he reveals one of his bad choices that have hurt him for a while. If you comfort him you can enter his house where you can go to his room to find his dog.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: taking him on cheesy dates, playing board games with him and helping him in the garage where he is fixing an old car from the 80's.

- If his friendship is maxed out he will give you a puppy Mabari and if you romance him you can decide the name for the car and drive it around with him.

Matthew

- He can be found in the bakery, where he works. If he isn't working you can find him babysitting his younger cousin.

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can visit his house where he will introduce you to his mabari and show you his video game collection. Afterwards he'll show you his favorite game and lends you his copy.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: playing video games with him, taking him out to the cafe and by being nice to his Mabari

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a statue of a pigeon (he will joke saying "Y'know, Ares knew a person who loathed pigeons. Their name was Shale I think. I hope you like it though.)

Hecate

- She can be found deep in the forest or at her job at a small daycare

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can find her in her house where you can meet her parents. You can then enter her room which has scratched projects everywhere.. and an pet dove.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: allowing her to talk about elven history, taking her out to dates to the bar and gifting her items from the bakery

- If her friendship is maxed she will give you a bracelet she crafted herself.

Randi

- She can be found in the park near a bench with names engraved everywhere on it.

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can visit her apartment where you'll be able to visit her and meet her roommate Dorian. You'll then be able to play board games with her and her roommate.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: joking, showing her tips and tricks on your hobby, sharing your interest and gifting her vinyls.

- If her friendship is maxed she'll bring you to Chloe's house where you'll get a costumed record player with a bunch of vinyls.

Aristaeus

- He can be found in a small retail store where he works or he can be found hanging out with Hecate.

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can hookup with him and visit his house where you can find his crafts ( statues and clay sculptures).

- You can gain friendship/approval by: watching movies with him, going to museums, helping him do chores and putting graffiti on abandoned buildings.

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a little sculpture and tells you one of his secrets.

[chilling-seavey]

Qui Totum Vult Totum Perdit (d.s.) - The Fight

A/N With Hope’s intense google doc analysis of trying to piece together Daniel and Avalon’s fight through his flashbacks, I figured I should give you the real thing!

“Your ignorance is fucking incredible, Daniel James!”

Her words were venomous, punctuated by the slam of the front door the moment we stepped back inside the house. I was still trying to put my wallet in my pocket after paying the taxi driver, showing exactly how quickly she decided to snap back at me after we already endured a terribly tense flight home. Yet, apparently a simple question of “are you okay” was completely disgusting of me to ask.

“You can’t just lose your temper like this every time you get a bit upset, Avalon! I’m just trying to talk to you.” I called as calmly as I could as I set my computer bag on the kitchen island.

She grabbed herself an empty glass from the cupboard and slammed the door shut before turning on the tap aggressively. Her brown eyes glared daggers in my direction over the rim of the glass as she raised it to her lips to take a sip and the diamond ring on her left hand caught the light of the late evening setting sun coming in through the window. Flickers of orange light writhed on the marble countertop between us and died when she lowered her hand out of the incoming rays.

There was a moment of silence as the beginnings of this obvious inevitable fight lingered between us.

“Trying to talk to me?” she repeated my words slowly as she stepped around the island, water glass held in both hands as if she was ready to interrogate me, “Well, gee, Daniel, that’s the first time in days you’ve even bothered.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned.

“You spent most of our honeymoon with your laptop and your goddamn work rather than with me.”

I sighed, “Ava, come on, you know I had to-”

“No! You didn’t have to do anything! The only thing you had to do was relax for the first time in your goddamn life but that was too much to ask, wasn’t it? God…stupid me.” she shook her head in near disbelief, “I thought you might have actually given a shit about me once we got to Costa Rica but apparently, I was wrong.”

A rouge was rising on her sun-tanned cheeks, a clear indication of her true anger she felt, but her accusations weren’t making it easy for me to simply let her have this one. It was a fight we had before and were probably destined to again. It just came with the job.

“Give a shit about you? Avalon, you’re my fucking wife, of course I give a shit about you! You were the one complaining about wanting to leave the entire time. That doesn’t make the trip very fucking enjoyable.”

“You weren’t around me!” she yelled, tapping her hand against the cup in her hand so the sound of her ring against the glass punctuated each of her words. “What person wants to spend their honeymoon alone? Of course, I wanted to go home! I was basically there by myself and I was miserable!”

“I had to get some shit done! Jonah needed me to double check a few things while we were away. It’s not the end of the world and I’m sorry if you feel that way!”

I could see her visibly tense and she turned her head so she didn’t have to look at me, jabbing under her breath, “That’s always your excuse, isn’t it? ‘Always gotta get some shit done’. Well, I’m sick and tired of coming second to your work all the time.”

“Well what do you want me to do?! Do you not like having this house and a nice car and that huge fucking diamond on your finger? Well sorry to break it to you, honey, but without this job, you wouldn’t have any of that!”

“There you go again!” Avalon threw her hand up in my direction, “It’s not all about your fucking money, Daniel! I don’t care about that! I would even be perfectly happy living on the side of the fucking street with you because I love you! None of this other shit that you think is required for a happy and fulfilling life; because – news flash – it’s not!”

“Well it makes me pretty damn happy.”

“Oh really? Are you happy now? Huh? Does this make you fucking happy?”

“Yes! Because at least my house or my car doesn’t spew this fucking bullshit at me all the time!” I yelled back.

Avalon literally scoffed and took a step back, her voice lowered to a steady unimpressed drawl, “You’re a selfish prick, Daniel Seavey. I’m done trying to help you…you’re such a lost cause that…God…sometimes I wish I never married you.”

“Then why did you? If I make you so fucking miserable all the time! Are you that insecure that you’d rather be miserable with me than be alone? You can’t stand yourself either, can you?”

“Fuck you!”

“My brother always told me you were too fucking weak to be my wife…couldn’t handle the baggage that comes with the job.”

“Leave Christian out of this. He doesn’t know bull-fucking-shit about us and especially not about me. Neither of you know how hard it is!”

“It’s not hard, Avalon! You sit here and look pretty and I buy you sparkly things! It’s not fucking hard! You’re just being an obnoxious brat about everything, and you always have!”

“You invalidate my feelings all the time!” she yelled.

“You’re too goddamn sensitive! It’s not a big deal!” I shouted louder to top her.

“God, I fucking hate you!” she huffed. She turned to set the glass angrily on the kitchen counter but it fell and shattered on the kitchen floor between us, silencing our screaming match except for our heavy breaths and Avalon’s sniffled tears.

I sighed at the realization that the whole confrontation went on too far and I tried to reach for her, but she pulled her hand back and moved away from me, “Aves.”

“Don’t.” she snapped.

“Avalon, I’m sorry, I-”

“Sorry doesn’t fix everything.” she retorted sharply, yet I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. “I’m sleeping in the studio tonight.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded, glancing to the ground with a heavy heart, the pieces of broken glass shimmering in the kitchen light between us. She went to step around me but I instinctively reached out a hand to her to keep her back from accidently stepping on any broken glass, “Careful.”

“God, Daniel.” she huffed, “Please don’t.”

I didn’t make a move to stop her as she walked around me to storm across the living room and to the back door. She didn’t look back as she opened the sliding glass door and slipped out into the darkness that the falling night brought. I watched her disappear out of the house and into the backyard, her form fading from view like she had been a figment of my imagination the whole time, the cruelest most perfect kind of dream.

Oh, how I loved her. And I was so, so stupid.

I busied myself in her absence by bringing my laptop bag and our shared suitcase to the master bedroom and rested them against the wall just inside the door. I returned to the kitchen to clean up the broken glass and spilt water, glancing out the back door as if half expecting her to come back inside. I was met with darkness.

I squinted slightly to try and see the light from the backyard studio window but it was still pitch black. Odd. Usually you could see the light from the main house. I brushed it off that she simply went to bed early after such a fight and focussed on the broken glass. I had just crouched down to pick up the worst of it with a steady hand when the pling of the security camera peaked my attention. It rang steady from the monitor’s spot on the front counter and I headed over to it to check on the studio cameras, but the alarm was disarmed from the studio before I could reach it, sending the kitchen back into silence.

My phone buzzed in my pocket at that moment and I pulled it out to read the text from my older brother,

Did you get home okay?

I hesitated as I read his message, not particularly wanting to be honest with him and have to endure his confessions of his dislike of my new wife and her very personable opinions on my job. It was our private relationship and Christian seemed to like to weasel his nose into it sometimes. Ah, well. He meant well. Before I could decide if I wanted to answer him right away or not, I heard a faint scream from the backyard and my head shot up to look towards the sliding glass doors. I paused, expecting Avalon to come running in to ask me to kill a spider any moment now.

But there was nothing.

I pocketed my phone and walked briskly across the main floor of the house, broken glass forgotten, and slipped outside into the warm LA evening. The studio was only a few paces from the back porch and I jumped down the three steps and across the stone tiles to the door. I didn’t bother knocking before I went inside, the darkness that consumed me when I entered already adding more concern to my conscious, and I reached for the light switch blindly.

“Ava? I thought I heard you scream, are you-”

The scene that met my eyes with the flick of the switch had my breath stopping in my throat, my words falling into silence, and my heart dropping into my stomach. Avalon was laying over the rug across the small room, eyes staring blankly into the ceiling, and her throat slit until she was laying in a pool of her own blood.

“Aves.” I breathed shakily, taking a step towards her, then a second, “Avalon, honey…”

She wasn’t moving. I barely made it halfway across the studio but with my back to the door I had entered through, someone came up behind me and grabbed me, slapping their hand over my mouth and holding me down by an arm around my waist. I struggled and tried to get away but they had a good grip on me as they swiped my feet out from under me and took me to the ground. The sharp slam of my head hitting the side of the piano on the way down was the last sound in the room before I blacked out.

Detective Team: @jonahlovescoffee​ @randomlimelightxxx​ @stuffofseaveyy​ @hopinglimelight​ @tempus-ut-luceant​ @br4nd1s​ @xkelsev​ @hiya-its-amber​ @the-girl-who-cried-wolf​

[madamebaggio]

Notes: Claire and Russell were the winners of their group.

So here we have a longer post about them ;)

***

Claire wasn’t happy about this.

Actually, she wasn’t happy about any of this. Of course. The escape of the Indominus Rex was a tragedy inside the park. People had died, there were many hurt and they still didn’t have a solution to this.

The longer the Indominus was free, the worst it’d get. So yes, they needed to fix this, fast.

It didn’t explain why she had to deal with Agent Cowboy.

‘Work for the American people’ her ass. She realised he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information about his agency. He said he was the guy that cleaned up messes made by science, but still hadn’t offered any credentials besides a badge that he’d flashed way too fast.

Honestly, if the President -yes, that Presidente -hadn’t sent him here, Claire would’ve kicked him out.

The board was already unhappy with the fact that the government was intervening in the situation. Claire didn’t even know they could do that; as far as she was concerned the park was out of American jurisdiction. They were in Costa Rica.

There was also the fact that this guy had arrived fast -faster than she thought it was possible.

And he was keeping information from them. He claimed he was there because there were American citizens trapped in the park, but there were also tourists from other countries, and so far no other agency had shown up.

She didn’t trust him at all.

Claire also didn’t trust that smirk of his.

“As you can see, Agent Russell, we have things under control.” She told him, her professional smile was a work of art.

The man made a big show of looking around. “I can see that.”

She took a deep breath in, and Owen coughed to hide a laugh

“What happened to the team you sent to recover the… Dinosaur?” Agent Russell asked politely.

Claire’s smile fell away. “They… They didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He did sound sincere about it. “Was the Indominus capable of withstanding the bullets?”

“They didn’t use lethal force.” Owen volunteered before Claire could even answer, so she glared at him.

Agent Russell turned to her with an arched eyebrow. “You didn’t?”

“It was Mr. Masrani’s decision.” Claire pointed out. “We have millions invested…”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Russell asked sarcastically.

“I’d love to know what an American agent thinks he has to do with this situation.” She asked him dryly.

“As I’ve already said…”

“And we know this is not the whole answer.” Claire cut him.

“It’s what I can tell you, Miss Dearing.”

Great.

“Where is Mr. Masrani?” He wanted to know.

They all exchanged looks again, and Russell arched an eyebrow again.

“He went to…” Vivian bit her lower lip. “He’s piloting the helicopter.”

“He what?”

***

Russell was starting to think the people in that park were enjoying this chaos. Honestly, he didn’t even want to be involved, but there was a tiny problem…

The government had sent some… Incentives. They were secretly funding a very specific research that was happening in the labs in the park. And Russell had to get those back.

The problem was the lady.

Miss Claire Dearing.

She was a lioness guarding this park. He couldn’t get past her and she wasn’t giving one inch. If she wasn’t in his way, he’d be impressed.

As it was…

“Where’s Dr. Wu?” He asked.

“Why?” She wanted to know.

Russell gave her his most placating smile. “I need to ask him a few questions.”

“He has nothing to do with this.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t that his lizard?”

“But he has nothing to do with it escaping.” She pressed.

Russell turned to Owen. “Is she always like this?”

Owen scoffed. “Don’t get me involved in this.”

Claire took a deep breath in, and Russell had to contain a grin.

“We appreciate you being here to help us, Agent Russell.” She spoke, and it was clearly horse shit. She didn’t like the fact that he was there, but she was perfectly diplomatic. “However, if you can’t really help with the situation at hand…”

“Who says I can’t?” He asked. “I came to talk to your boss, but he hopped on a helicopter to shoot…”

“They found the Indominus!” Lowery called.

***

Mr. Masrani was dead. The Indominus was still running free and causing havoc and now Hoskins was taking over…

Claire didn’t know what else to do.

Agent Russell didn’t seem to have the same problem. He ran after Owen with weapons because now they had flying dinos out there and there were still people around the park.

This was a never ending nightmare.

“Miss Dearing.” He came up to her. “Stay here.”

She gave a humorless laugh. “Where else would I go?”

He grinned at her. “Not the type of woman to run off into danger?”

She rolled her eyes. “I know what I can and can’t do.” She informed him. “I can be more helpful here.”

“Good. Listen…” He lowered his voice, coming a bit closer. “You’re right. I do have other reasons to be here, but now it’s not the time. Keep an eye on Hoskins and Dr. Wu.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later, I promise.” He told her. “Right now we have another situation.”

“So you’re going to go all cowboy on the dinos or something?” She asked with the worst fake Southern accent he’d ever heard.

“Something like that.” He drawled. “Hold the fort until I get back.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t work for the American people.” She reminded him.

“Well, something tells me you might need a new job soon.”

[dollopheadedmerlin]

I'm so tired and sad

It's just a bunch of things piling up on top of one another and idk what to do bc there really isn't much I can actively do to fix any of it

I didn't do anything for Halloween, I couldn't afford to and the only friend who lives near me is my bf and whenever I'm not with him I'm just alone in my room or at work

And I hate living here and I need a second job and I can't get one and idk

Halloween is my favorite holiday and I love making costumes and I just hate that I wasn't able yo do anything this year. I didn't even have money to spare to buy a pumpkin or something

And I got all excited the other day bc I was gonna look into maybe becoming a peircer through APP but a lot of people said it would be really difficult to find a studio if I didn't want to do genital piercings and I know I wouldn't be comfortable doing that so idk that kinda just knocked me back down a fee pegs

I still don't have a computer, let alone time to do art and I feel so empty just sitting here trying to make rent and pay off my dumb unemployment overpay debt that I shouldn't even have

And Quasi dying still really hurts and I miss him and I hate that I can never hold him again

And my bf talks about moving to costa rica sometimes, which could be cool but I really don't know of I would be able to bring my snake there and it is so scary to think about having to leave her or live in a different country as my boyfriend long term

Even if I could bring my snake there idk how available her food would be or if I'd ever be able to have crested geckos again

Idk I just want a job that doesn't kill me and to go home and have it actually feel like it bc right now I'm sitting in my own bedroom and wishing I could go home but there's nowhere closer than here

I also took off work the day before I go to my follow up appointment for surgery just bc I know it would be too stressful for me to worry about getting up on time for travel but now I'm sitting here panicking about if that'll make my paycheck too small to buy food or something and I just wish I had Quasi back bc he was my best friend and he was in pain the last time I saw him and I just wish I could have saved him from that at the very least