#Sorry if Francisca looks weird

[stall1iion]

champions love - three

- - - y/n’s texts - - -

- - - Max’s texts - - -

- - - y/n’s texts - - -

Y/n didn’t know what to wear to this party, having to enlist the help of her best friend to choose before she chose a tie front blouse and a skirt. It felt embarrassing how nervous she felt as she climbed out of Max’s Ferrari in front of the club. Walking around the car, their eyes met before she sighed and slipped her hand into his as they walked inside.

The club was already bustling with people, drivers, celebrities, patrons of the club. All kinds of people gathered in one area for the night to celebrate Charles’s win in the Monaco Grand Prix. She then was introduced to the dreadful feeling of having to follow Max like a little duckling because she knew no one there, sure she knew of some people present, recognized them in passing and gave them a smile and wave but no one personally.

That’s why it felt weird for Max to bring her up to the two booths being occupied by the drivers and their plus ones and have him introduce her.

“Everyone, this is Y/n, my girlfriend” Max said and she smiled and waved at everyone

“Hi” she said as she slid into the booth next to Max, looking at everyone present and just hoping she’d be able to remember everyone’s names to their faces but first she turned to Charles. “Congratulations on your win today, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, but I did watch the final laps live on my phone”

“It’s all good, it’s nice to finally meet you, y/n” Charles said and she smiled, glad he didn’t feel any way about her not coming to the race but showing up to the party. The next couple minutes were filled with other greetings, going around the booth and being introduced to the girlfriends present, Lily (He Muni), other Lily, who she decided to call lils to help differentiate but also because she was so adorable, Alexandra and Francisca, who had insisted she call her Kika.

If meeting the girls was what she needed to relax and actually enjoy the night then it was a success because a few minutes and a couple drinks later, she was on the dance floor dancing her little heart out. The following hangover would probably be hell but she would deal with that in the morning.

At one point she was pretty sure "Party In The U.S.A " came on and she and Logan were screaming the lyrics and laughing maniacally, but in their defense they were surrounded by Europeans, Aussies and Spaniards. Another thing she learned was that she was going to love the 2023 rookies, Oscar and Logan, making their way into her heart with their adorableness and she truly wanted to adopt both.

She didn’t remember how long she was at the club but she did know when she woke up, she was at Max’s house in his guest bedroom with a massive hangover and a glass of water and some Tylenol on the bedside table, he wasn’t there when she woke up, probably at the factory for some sim practice and meetings which she didn’t care about but it did put a small smile on her face…a small one.

→ Lando was the dj at the party (party in the usa was him) 

→ Y/n felt nervous meeting the rest of the grid, afraid they wouldn’t like her (I don’t like how the grid ignore Logan so Y/n and Logan will have a huge friendship) 

→ Lily was excited to meet another athletic wag (expect a lot of lily and y/n in the future) 

→ Y/n was too drunk to drive home in Max’s opinion (you were blackout drunk) and so he carried her inside and put her in his spare bedroom 

Author’s Note! 

→ I apologize for the late upload! I spent the day with my little brothers going mini golfing and one of them passed out from dehydration, he is all good but I didn’t get time to finish due to that so if this seems incomplete, I apologize, also answer the poll please! The answer will affect the next chapter!

taglist: @boiohboii @ale-522 @ietss @theseerbetweenus @jaxx-7 @sainzluvrr @the-untamed-soul @ashy-kit @hc-dutch @nichmeddar @delululeclerc @sweate-r-weathe-r @dhanihamidi @tellybearryyyy @luvsforme

༉‧₊˚  CHAMPIONS LOVE ༉‧₊˚

⤷ Following the messy breakup between Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet, Max’s manager comes up with a solution to divert the attention – a fake relationship. His new girlfriend? Two time olympic gold medalist figure skater, y/n for the USA team. Easy? Well…

[keebyjeffrey]

ALSO since your post says ur open to Kirby oc requests. Hi. Do you have time to spare for my beast goppoko they're just a guy

There we go! Sorry for taking SO long but it was a troubled week, but alas, at 4:38am, they're done, i loved drawing them sm and i find them pretty interesting, feel free to request again!

[fecto-eevee-agitando]

My thoughts on Deep Cut/Trio Triglio from Splatoon 3

Shiver/Pinnuccia:

-I think she's very elegant;

-Looks kinda weird without the typical eye markings, in this case Octoling markings bc yeah, she's an Octoling (I thought she was a Sharkling at first XD);

-She reminds me a lot Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy and Francisca from Kirby Star Allies;

-I'm still wondering how she turned her mask into a fan (not fan as person, but as object, I mean, that thing you use when it's very hot, sorry I can't explain any better ^^').

Frye/Morena:

-I actually think she's very cute;

-Love her colors, they're so vibrant and fit her energy very well, gotta love her eyes and eyelashes too;

-Also, she reminds me of a mix between Iris, Lana/Suiren and Mallow/Ibis from the Pokémon series;

-Ok, this may be weird, but I also love her long ears, her fangs and her big forehead, aka... MORE ROOM FOR COLORFUL STICKERS (Comet Knight from @kittenvirus, I'm looking at u :3)!!!!!

Big Man/Mantaleo:

-Precious boi <33333;

-He's so big and very huggable-looking;

-JUST LOOK AT HIS CUTE LITTLE FACE;

-In a few words: MOST LOVED DEEP CUT MEMBER FROM THE FANS (and they thought male idols were bad lmao).

Ok, I'm done. See you next time! :D

EDIT: changed Shiver's pronouns bc she's confirmed to be a girl.

[theultimateultimateweapon]

Kirby Star Allies: The Universe is in a Big Pinch!? (Chapter 6)

The Jambandra Base. It was a huge fortress floating at the end of the galaxy.

In one room, Francisca and Flamberge were waiting for Zan Partizanne to return.

"…She's late." Francisca sighed with a sour face. "Surely she's being harshly punished… even though I'm the one who messed up…"

"It's not your fault." Flamberge calmed her down. "Even I couldn't catch that little punk. I chased the stubby pink thing into a corner… but I still got jammed." Flamberge's voice faltered, remembering King Dedede.

Now, Zan Partizanne was leaving the Jambandra Base and heading for the Divine Terminus. She was going to report the failure of their mission to the mage priest who was preparing for the ritual.

Francisca whispered. "Will Zan Partizanne be alright…?"

"It's okay. Zan is more loyal than any of us. He knows this well…"

It was then. The door opened and Zan Partizanne came in.

"Welcome back, Zan…" Francisca was relieved and took a breath.

Flamberge changed her complexion and rushed to Zan Partizanne. "What's wrong with your face!? No way, did you get hurt…!?"

Zan Partizanne's beautiful face was swelling red.

"I'm fine. It's not a big deal." Zan Partizanne said calmly.

However, Francisca and Flamberge were flustered at what they noticed from her.

"Just because we couldn't catch the traitor? You got that kind of treatment…?"

"It's because of us…"

"It's nothing to worry about. I told you, it's not a big deal."

Flamberge commented to Zan Partizanne as she pondered. "Hey… Don't you think he's been a little weird these days?"

"Berge…" 

Francisca tried to stop her, but Flamberge continued like she couldn't hold back.

"He's always been a tough person, but he'd never do something so violent. I know he's frustrated that the ritual isn't working but…"

"Flamberge!" Zan Partizanne screamed with all her voice.

Flamberge covered her mouth with her hands and retreated.

Zan Partizanne stared at her with cold eyes as she continued. "Anyone who talks badly of him will not be tolerated by Zan Partizanne! Even if it's you, I won't allow it!"

"We’re sorry, Zan Partizanne." It was Francisca who apologized.

"Berge didn't mean to say it like that, she was just upset when she learned that you had been punished…"

"You haven’t forgotten, have you? We owe him a great gratitude." Zan Partizanne's anger did not subside.

Francisca and Flamberge nodded in a hurry.

"Of course."

"We didn't forget."

"-What do you think would have happened to us if he hadn't taken us in?" Zan Partizanne closed her eyes and thought about distant memories. "We were young children without food to eat, no place to take shelter from the wind and rain, we were shivering, and he took us in and opened our eyes."

Francisca and Flamberge nodded without words.

"If we hadn't met him, we wouldn’t be here now-"

"Of course, I've never forgotten. Not for a moment!" Francisca shouted.

Flamberge also spoke. "It's all thanks to him that we're here now!"

Zan Partizanne finally softened her expression. "Yes, do not forget this feeling."

"Yes…"

"He told me to strengthen our defenses." Zan Partizanne said, again with a stern look. "The Divine Terminus and its location may have been spilled from the betrayer's mouth. We have been ordered to prepare for an enemy attack."

"Yes!"

"They will never jam us."

Zan Partizanne raised her face, as if glaring at their far off enemies. "We, the Three Mage Sisters, will defeat any enemy of Hyness! Even if it costs our lives!"

"Even if it costs our lives!"

Francisca and Flamberge shouted in unison and nodded powerfully.

The Warp Star was heading towards the end of a distant galaxy that Kirby and his friends had never visited.

As they continued to fly in the dark universe, King Dedede yawned. 

"Feh… do you see it yet?"

"I think we're almost there." Kirby answered.

Kirby didn't know exactly where the Divine Terminus was, but somehow, he could feel it coming from Jammerjab, who was currently his copy ability.

"Who would ever build a base so far out at the edge of the galaxy?" King Dedede replied.

"-I've been curious about that." Meta Knight said. "Secretly building a satellite in such a remote area with such a tremendous feat of technology. Who is this mage priest…"

"Can't your prestigious battleship Halberd investigate?"

"My subordinates are working hard, but the enemy is cautious. It's been difficult to get a tail."

"Hmm, real useful they've been."

At that moment, Kirby screamed.

"I can see it! That's the Divine Terminus! That's where the mage priest is!" A faint light flickered in the distance as the Warp Star rushed forward.

King Dedede leaned forward and shouted. "Alright, it's finally time for a great battle! Leave it to me~!"

"Woah, it's dangerous, your majesty! If you lean too far you might fall off!" Waddle Dee hurriedly grabbed King Dedede's gown.

"Charge~!" The Warp Star sped up as if it heard Kirby's command.

The Divine Terminus was aglow in a glaring red light.

The Warp Star landed quietly with no retaliation.

King Dedede grabbed his hammer and looked around alertly as he jumped from the Warp Star. "It's quiet. Don't they know we're invading?"

"I don't think they have anybody on the front line, so maybe their defenses are thin…" Meta Knight said.

At that moment, there was a loud, rattling noise above them. Kirby and the others looked up in the direction of the sound.

Huge stones were moving through the air. The only way to continue was to jump onto the moving blocks. It was a formidable challenge. The ground was unstable as the blocks would move suddenly and pass around each other at the last minute. If they got caught in the way of a block's movement, they could get crushed.

King Dedede glanced back at Meta Knight. "Still think their defenses are thin…?"

"Apologies, I take it back."

Kirby shouted. "Hey hey! If you jump quickly, there's nothing to be afraid of!" Kirby launched his staff to the floor, vaulted up, and rode on an approaching block.

Waddle Dee raised a worried voice. "This is dangerous. Be careful, Kirby…"

"It's okaaay! Everyone, come on!"

"Mmm… I can't afford to lose!" King Dedede jumped onto a block, inspired by his rivalry. Meta Knight and Waddle Dee also followed.

"Wait up Kirby. I'm the leader. Don't get ahead of me!"

"I'm not going to lose!"

Kirby and King Dedede started a competition to jump over the blocks.

Suddenly, soldiers jumped down from above.

"…Eh?"

Kirby and King Dedede were caught off guard and froze still.

The soldiers held their staffs out in a trained movement and attacked all at once.

"Woaah!?"

Kirby and the others tried to jump down in a hurry, but Waddle Dee immediately shouted.

"Look out behind you!"

Immediately behind, a stone block appeared. Kirby and King Dedede quickly turned around and jumped onto the left and right blocks. It was a close call. If Waddle Dee hadn't spoken up, they would both be crushed by a huge block.

King Dedede gritted his teeth. "Why, those guys…!"

He swung his hammer and wiped away the attacking soldiers. Some soldiers were blown away and fell to the floor. However, none of them were afraid and jumped back into battle right after each other.

Kirby and Waddle Dee gasped. The soldiers all looked just like their friend, Jammerjab. However, everyone's eyes were dark and hollow. It was like they were heartless machines.

Kirby remembered that Jammerjab was like this the first time they fought… "They're the same as Jammerjab…? Oh, then…"

If he hit these soldiers with a friend heart, he might be able to befriend them. Kirby thought this and tried to hold up his hands.

But before the heart appeared, the soldiers rushed in. They pointed their staffs at Kirby all at once.

"Woaah!"

There was no time to create a friend heart. Kirby hurriedly jumped to the next block.

Meta Knight shouted while cutting off enemies with the Galaxia, which was spewing fiery sparks. "Kirby, don't hold back! Pave the way for us and move forward!"

"O…okay!"

He was reluctant to fight soldiers who looked just like his friend Jammerjab, but there was no way around it. 

Kirby wielded the Sizzle Staff and scattered the following soldiers. As he was distracted by battle, he couldn't see his surroundings. He was almost crushed by the huge blocks. Waddle Dee helped him out.

Immediately after Kirby, Waddle Dee looked around and screamed as he saw the intricately moving blocks.

"A block is coming from your upper right! If you move, move to the left!"

"Alright!" Following Waddle Dee's instructions, he jumped to the moving blocks in the instance of a breath.

Meta Knight and King Dedede drove away the soldiers behind him.

The soldiers who seemed to come endlessly were repelled consecutively by the four allies as they continued to hop along the blocks.

At last, Kirby and his friends reached the deepest part of the Divine Terminus.

A long staircase led to a floor with intricate markings towards the back of the satellite. Enshrined in an altar at the end of the stairs was a giant, heart-shaped vessel.

The vessel contained a purple-colored substance that emitted a malicious light. The Jamba heart fragments scattered throughout the galaxy were being poured into this vessel.

The vessel was almost full, but it was still missing pieces.

Kirby tried to run up to the altar, but Meta Knight stopped him. "Wait, Kirby. Look."

Where Meta Knight pointed, there stood someone wearing a robe.

Standing at the top of the stairs, he raised his hands and offered a prayer. He seemed unaware that Kirby and his friends had appeared.

"Is that, the mage priest…?" Kirby tried to approach the stairs carefully.

And suddenly.

"Stop right there, stubby pink thing!" There was a loud voice. A woman with yellow hair and eyes like lightning stood in front of Kirby.

"Hmm…? Who the heck are you…?"

Kirby replied to King Dedede's interjection.

"She’s the leader of the Three Mage Sisters! Her name is, uh… um… Zan… Zan…"

"I got it, it's Zan Part… Zan Parti… Zan Parururunne?... Wasn't it…?" Waddle Dee said unconfidently.

Zan Partizanne looked down at Kirby with furious eyes.

"I didn’t think you’d survive the fall of the Jambastion and reach the Divine Terminus. I'll give you credit for your stubbornness… but the sacred prayer Hyness is working on…" Zan Partizanne pulled out a giant spear and aimed it at Kirby. "I won't let anyone jam it up!"

Kirby and his friends all held out their weapons at once.

King Dedede glared at Zan Partizanne and spoke. "So you're the guy who messed up my Dreamland? I won't forgive you!"

Meta Knight also spoke with a fierce, fighting spirit. "You are guilty of disrupting my freedom and hurting my honor. You will regret this!"

Kirby held up his Sizzle Staff and jumped straight ahead. "Haaaa!"

Zan Partizanne swiftly evaded the attack and held her spear high.

From the tip of her spear, a lightning-like strike burst out.

"Eat this, Lightning Lemonade!"

A thundercloud swelled over Zan Partizanne's head. The thundercloud sparked and lightning fell.

Kirby, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee hurriedly dodged the lightning. However, King Dedede had a big body and couldn't avoid it.

"Gyaaa!"

He was struck by the lightning and fainted as he was shocked.

Kirby remembered the battle at the Dark Fortress Jambastion. "Wait, Zan Parti… ruruzanne is vulnerable to water! When she got soaked, she was shocked by her own electricity…!"

However, the attribute attached to his weapon now was fire. He could have had the chance to copy a water ability instead of fire… but it's too late. He couldn't use the same techniques as before. In that case, he'd have no choice but to fight head on.

"Let's go-!" Kirby swung around his Sizzle Staff and jumped at Zan Partizanne.

"Hmp!" Zan Partizanne moved quickly and raised up her spear.

"Zan Zkewers!" She rapidly rushed her lightning spear towards Kirby.

Kirby jumped up and evaded the attacks. In that moment, Meta Knight snuck behind Zan Partizanne and swung up the Galaxia.

However, Zan Partizanne swung her spear behind her without looking back. It was a tactic they saw in the previous battle. Her finely-tuned five senses could detect any enemies behind her.

"Wh…what…!?" Meta Knight panicked, thinking he had caught the enemy in a surprise attack, but was hit by an attack instead.

He could barely avoid the direct hit of her spear, but couldn't avoid the lightning that followed. He was electrocuted and collapsed.

King Dedede and Meta Knight were out of the fight.

Kirby swung the Sizzle Staff in the air, but he couldn't reach Zan Partizanne. If he reached out and hit her, he could get an electric shock from her lightning.

"That's it, stubby pink thing!" Zan Partizanne shouted as if she had won.

Only Kirby was within her sight. She completely forgot there was another enemy left. What she ignored, of course, was Waddle Dee.

Away from the battle, the shuddering Waddle Dee couldn't have been within Zan Partizanne's sight.

Waddle Dee shook and thought. "At this rate, Kirby will be killed. I have to help…!" That said, Waddle Dee had no fighting power. All he could do was…

"Somehow, I'll revive my king and Meta Knight!"

Waddle Dee ran first to King Dedede. "Your majesty, your majesty! Please wake up!"

No matter what he said, King Dedede didn't move an inch. He had no tools or methods to treat him with.

"What do I do? I need to open the king's eyes… I need him to wake up…"

While thinking desperately, an idea came to him. But Waddle Dee hesitated.

"No, your majesty… I know you'll be upset… but… but…"

There was no other way. "I'm sorry, your majesty!"

Waddle Dee took his spear and poked the king's rear. However, even with the sharp pain, the king did not wake up.

Waddle Dee closed his eyes and attacked him as hard as he could. "Haa!" His spear hit the king's rear again.

"Kyaaaaaa~~~!!" As expected, King Dedede jumped up and screamed. 

"Ouch! That hurt! Who stabbed me!?" King Dedede looked around with furious eyes.

Waddle Dee spoke in a small voice.

"I, I, I'm sorry, your majesty…!"

"Waddle Dee, it's you! That guy… Zan Parti… something…" King Dedede, his eyes bloody, squeezed his hammer and headed for Zan Partizanne.

"Your majesty, it's a misunderstanding… Yes, next is sir Meta Knight!" Waddle Dee ran to Meta Knight. "Forgive me, sir Meta Knight!"

When he stabbed Meta Knight from behind, he jumped up with a jerk. "Kah…!"

"Sir Meta Knight, I'm sorry…"

He tried to apologize, but Meta Knight didn't listen and pulled out the Galaxia. 

"I was caught off guard! She got the upper hand! Just as expected… Zan… Paruru…!" Meta Knight also started running towards Zan Partizanne.

Waddle Dee was relieved. "Good. All I can do now is wait!" Waddle Dee watched over the battle.

The battle between Kirby and Zan Partizanne continued.

Kirby was being cornered. Zan Partizanne seemed to be stronger than when they fought in the Jambastion.

While pulling out her electrically charged spear, she murmured as if obsessed with something. "I won't let us get jammed… not at all… for Hyness!" Her loyalty to the mage priest made Zan Partizanne stronger.

Kirby jumped up, dodging the falling lightning, and shook his stick violently.

"Pole vault!"

However, Zan Partizanne expected the move. "Huh! Such acrobatics won't work on me!" Lightning sparked from her spear as she swung it.

Kirby's staff had been blown away. "Ah…!"

"Stop, you stubby pink thing!"

However, at that moment, a fast-moving shadow came from behind Zan Partizanne. A huge smile spread on Zan Partizanne's beautiful face. "Don't make me come after you again and again!" She didn't turn around and attacked behind her!

"GWAAHH!" King Dedede, who was about to attack Zan Partizanne from behind, was hit by her spear and knocked out again.

However, another shadow immediately popped out from behind King Dedede.

It was Meta Knight. Swinging the Galaxia, he landed a good blow on Zan Partizanne! Even she couldn't predict the two part attack.

With the power of fire added, the Galaxia was stronger than ever. There was no avoiding it if attacked properly.

Zan Partizanne dropped her spear and fell to the floor. A weak scream leaked from her mouth.

"A… ah… Hy, Hyness… s…ir…"

It was then, the man in the robe, who was devoting his attention to the heart away from the battle, finally turned around.

(Chapter 5 - Table of Contents - Chapter 7)

[darkwingsofimagination]

I have lots of thoughts and feelings about Madre Solo Hay Dos, and this post is an attempt to express it. Since I'm posting through the android app I can't use the keep reading option, so SPOILER ALERT IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED MADRE SOLO HAY DOS YET.

-------------------‐------

So, when I began watching I couldn't find a trailer or a teaser, was relying solely on the small synopsis Netflix gave - which honestly was the best thing for me.

It also meant that at fisrt I was really surprised there was a husband at all not to mention two older kids in Ana's life, but I grew up watching enough mexican telenovelas to know that one way or another things would work out (I surely hoped so). But I liked how the story unraveled.

I was also VERY SURPRISED by Mariana and Elena's relationship because I definitely wasn't expecting Mariana to actually be with a woman before falling for Ana.

Juan Carlos cheating on Ana was both expected and utterly irritating (how could he do that when he had such an amazing wife and family?) And it cannot be justified by the fact she was controlling and workaholic. It just isn't, I mean he knew that control was how she showed love - he said it in episode two - and knowing he met her in university he must have known she was and would still be career driven. And to me that marriage was in the verge of ending and not just because he cheated, but for how he treated her. Always making her feel bad on focusing on having a successful career. I like him as a father, he is pretty good. But as a husband to her he was an asshole. I mean I could understand him asking her stop working a little to spend some time with the baby, for health and bonding issues, (and in a way she did need some rest) but I can't say I liked him in the first episode, because as soon as I knew he cheated that was it. But I tolerated him, he had some nice moments.

Pablo made me so pissed at him for the way he treated Mariana, specially after she said no to him. Although I didn't see him as being manipulative at first, I do agree he seemed to only want Regina if Mariana would go back to him. Besides, the fact he kept competing against Elena (he didn't see Ana coming at all and I really love that lol) irritated me. To me he was clearly treating Mariana as if she were some prize. As if she came back to him would prove he was better than Elena, that Idk Mariana was only with Elena because he left you know? Like getting her back was just to boost his ego - just my opinions. If he could work on not being an ass to Mariana just because she doesn't want to go back with him and still be in Regina's life and for all that's holy if he finally stops listening to the jerks he calls friends he could be tolerable.

I like Elena, I don't love her though, but I like her pretty much, however telling Mariana that she was just confused about how she felt for Ana was a jerk move. I get it, she is hurt and maybe she feels like getting revenge because what Mariana did to her wasn't nice (I mean, it was pretty clear she let Elena assume they were more than just friends who occasionally kissed) but still doesn't justify it. Honestly, I don't even think she should have told Mariana that she noticed she fell for Ana. Mariana needed to that on her own (which she was almost there if the gay panic on her face while she looked at Ana during their "bonding" ritual for Regina's spiritual reception was any indication). What happens is I think that Elena accepeted that she had lost Mariana to Pablo, and to her ir made sense: he was there first (in the sense he was her previous relationship), he was a man, and she was the first woman Mariana ever was with, so maybe she was trying new things and he is Regina's father, maybe she even thought Mariana was still in love with him on some level (which is even sadder, honestly). But seeing Mariana fall in love with Ana, made her realize that Mariana likes women, that she can fall in love with another woman, she just never fell for Elena. So yeah, if they don't make her into a manipulative bitch she could still be an awesome character - my headcannon is both Elena and Pablo getting their heads out of their asses and helping Mariana win Ana back.

All of the men in Ana's life are stupid.

Juan Carlos doesn't appreciate all the effort she puts in trying to be a business woman, a good mother and wife. Neither does Daniel, her ex, seems like he actually understood her. While he read a bit of his book to her she seemed very unconfortable, just as when he talked about not being able to keep up with her. And like he said, her smile is beautiful, yes (the woman is masterpiece of beauty) but she's way more than that. However her ex did look like a fool in love when he saw her again (which Juan Carlos never does) and I guess that's what drove her to him.

I'll save the best for last, so bear with me just a bit more before getting to Ana and Mariana. Before I'd like to talk about Teresa.

Even if I wish Mariana didn't hide from Ana what happened I do understand her. First Tere (beautiful woman, wich honestly this show just slayed me with so many beautiful women) is her mom and she is kinda manipulative (although I'm sure she sometimes means well most of the times she doesn't think about the consequences of her actions) and I don't know, I think as strong and as independent Mari is, she does want to have a family that gets along and people here in Latin America sometimes get in too much of that "family is blood" bullshit, and not only Latinex but the rest of the world seems pretty adamant in having children listen and forgive their parents and carry on toxic parent-child relationships because "they are your parents", which sucks, but it's true. And not only that as much as Ana feels hurt I don't think she would have believed Mariana if she told her. After all in 20 years Juan Carlos never seemed to show any signs of ever being unfaithful to her. Even if it was the right thing to do, it's not the easiest decision. It wasn't just a relationship of a married couple it would affect but also JC's relationship with the children, because it does change their view of the parent - hence he cutting Ana before she said to the children she cheated on him. And yes Tere is her mother and the thing about parents (and other immeadiate family members) is that even if they screw us up all the time we always feel like we have to stand by them someway, somehow. And (and it's a very unpopular opinion and I'm not sure if I'll manage to get my point across very well but I'll try) I guess Mariana felt guilty for what Tere did, not only for keeping the secret but for her actions as well. Mariana is always trying to fix things with and/or for Tere and I guess she might have felt guilty over bringing Tere into Ana's life, even if she knows it's not her fault anything happened... but guilt is something really weird, so yeah. why I think she feels guilty is because, well, I don't know how it is for other people, but when living with manipulative people they managed to make you feel bad for things you have nothing to feel sorry for, not to mention that her attempts of protecting and trusting her mother comes from a feeling of guilty of not being able to trust her - which is also another thing both Pablo and Teresa want from Mariana without ever giving her reason to and then making her feel bad about not being able to trust them.

And finally, what I thought of Ana and Mariana's relationship.

I love how Ana and Mariana balance each other, I like the age difference as well. I thinks it sends a great message as well, not only with the cliché that you may find lkve whenever, but that no matter how old or how young are life happens and you have to deal with it. Being married and having a stable life didn't stop Ana from having her life turned upside down, and the same with Mariana, in her case it just meant that her mess of life got even crazier but that just it.

I love how the relationship between Mariana and the kids just flows naturally as well. And I love how Mariana does support Ana and shows she is happy for her a lot more than her own husband. Even if they are not married they do act like each other's partners, at least to me.

I feel like their relationship begins to shift at the end of the first episode when they decided to live together - and 'Flotando' by Francisca Valenzuela playing during the scene, to me, it's a very beautiful and subtle way to say to us viewers that we can and should expect more from their relationship.

However the second episode it feels to me like it's fundamental, specially for Ana. They both fell very silently for each other, and without noticing and I think Ana began falling when Mariana not only broke her rules but defied her and told her the truth everyone else was afraid to say - and not only that that bond the girl began forming with both Ceci and Ro. I loved how she was super attentive in listening how Pablo was a jerk and then being super protective of both Mariana and Regina when he began coming around - but I also loved that she relented, albeit reluctantly, when she saw that Mariana really thought Pablo could be of importance to Regina. The fact that Mariana was so worried in making sure Ana approved of him showed more of how much she valued Ana's opinion than whatever she may feel for her ex, which to me was step 1 of Mariana falling for Ana, step 2 was definitely the scene where she makes faces at Valentina just so the baby would smile at Ana and the woman could be a little happier, and sideways hug was the cherry on top - the way she feels uncertain of it before doing was very well thought out and executed.

The scene where Ana introduces Mariana and Regina as her other daughter and Valentina's other mother without explaining further than "we are the mothers of the two babies" was really such a heartfelt moment I just died.

I loved how after those initial moments they were constantly checking on each other (I really do love when Ana goes check on Mariana after her disaster of day with Anuar and she gently tucks Mariana's hair out her face in such a beautiful caress).

The scene in which Ana is shocked about how Mariana's date went is definitely one great indication of the fact she was feeling something more (I mean, saying that if she were a man she would definitely hit on her? That has got to be the oldest play on the book, the famous "I'd kiss you if I weren't straight"). Also on the same episode but before the horrible date, she did ask Mariana to never again say she wasn't attractive, which I also saw as something more, 'cause she was able to read between the lines. Mariana out loud said she wasn't sure about her body, not really saying she didn't feel pretty but one could read it. I think it meant something because Ana seems not that much of an expert reading people, so to be able to be so certain would mean she really paid attention. When Ana said Mariana should try with someone she trusted I think that she wanted it to be hed, even if she didn't realize yet. Or maybe did. In the episode where she takes time off before accepting her promotion there's a scene after she wakes up that Juan Carlos begins to kiss her, clearly intending to have sex (and they did have it) but her face is like "god this is boring/I don't think I really want to" that just makes me think ok, maybe she's already realizing she wants someone else (I had this impression). The episode where they go away and not only Mariana manages to convince everyone to go without being intrusive it's really nice, I also loved how fast Ana embraced everyone else as family for Mariana and Regina. The pool scene, oh my, I melted. First how pissed Ana was to know that Tere got distracted and Mariana almost drowned and how she instantly went after Mariana to chek on her, and not only trying to calm her about the water, listening to her about her fears and at the end asking if she trusted her (like I said before I really think she already wanted Mariana and knew it) and then the way they looked at each other whilst in the pool with the babies. Perfect!

Ana feeding Mariana the baby food was the cutest, and I know she said the girls weren't ready to be parted because she was afraid of she might have cancer I really do think she also meant because she wanted them there (let's not forget the lengths she went to make Mariana stay when Juan Carlos said he thought it was time to get back to normal).

Ana's "Te amo" makes lots of people think it came out of nowhere, but I don't think so. I really do believe she fell in love with Mariana, silently and without even noticing - the lingering gazes and gentle touches are some indication - and while she was drugged and asked Mariana to promise her to take care of the girls and she did I guess it hit her right then and there how much she fell for her and you know, most people do say that when you're drunk or high you tend to do and say the things you really want to because your filter just doesn't work. So yeah, I admit to me it was both unexpected and not at all.

I keep wondering if Mariana would have told Ana that she kissed her had she not told her she needed to do the biopsy to rule out cancer. Either way I love everything about the scene. How grateful Ana is to know that she can count on Mariana and how fearful Mariana looks. I loved that Mariana just stopped everything to accompany Ana to the hospital.

I loved that Mariana never for one second seemed to think of saying yes to Pablo and how even with all of her mother bs she refused to live with them because Ana needs her.

The baptism is the peak. Their bonding ceremony is not only wedding vows worthy but it's also the it finally hits Mariana that she fell for Ana, and I just love the gay panic she clearly has. I love her face of fool in love when Ana goes to her friends and how happy both of them look while holding the girls through the ceremonies.

Even if I'm very grateful for the declaration and the kiss we got - highlight for the lightning of this scene. The way the sun hits them helps give the impression that they will work it our - however Mariana should've processed her feelings first but I get her, she was afraid of losing Ana without a fighting chance - both for not telling and for Ana may having cancer. That scene is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking with both of them so miserable. The ending is one more proof of how well this show knows to pair scenes and songs. Cobarde's lyrics is so perfect it feels like it was made for the scene (or perhaps the scene was thought for the song).

I really hope we get these two together in season 2 - however I love me some angst, and usually is what we get, so I think that Ana's tests will come back positive and that Mariana will go back to take care of her and things will go on from that.

And that was my TedTalk, thank you for having the patience to read the ramblings of a very enthusiastic viewer.

[lovemesomerafael]

It’s Complicated                           Chapter 2:  The Rest Of The Story

Source:  @fortheloveofbarba

Read Chapter 1

The man in the box was a good candidate.  He’d been arrested trying to fence items stolen from not one, but two of the victims.  Not only that, but he was angry and uncooperative, and his interaction with Lieutenant Benson and Sergeant Dodds thus far in the interrogation was certainly nasty enough to be consistent with the guy Dr. Rojas had said they were looking for.  However, he wouldn’t give them DNA, and he had alibis for the times of the rapes.  Fin and Rollins were out at that moment checking them out.

Barba and Rojas stood on opposite sides of the one-way glass in Benson’s office, as far apart as they could, as they watched the interrogation, hoping for a break.  Over the three weeks they’d been working together, things had not improved between them.

“Y’all trippin’,” sneered the skinny, tweaked-out kid. “You wastin’ your time.  I told you where I was when them rapes went down. Just check it out.”

“We’re doing that,” Dodds said.  “In the meantime, maybe you can tell us where you got the stuff you were trying to sell.  Because it’s pretty suspicious that it belongs to two of the women who were raped.”

“I done told you that.  Some dude gave it to me.”

Dodds sighed and moved closer to the suspect, whom Dodds dwarfed.  “Describe the dude,” he said, slowly and distinctly.

“I don’t feel like it.”  

Barba was scowling thoughtfully.  “This kid knows a lot about this case that he’s not saying,” he muttered to himself.

Frankie cut her eyes to him.  She’d just been thinking the same thing.  “But he’s not our guy.”

“No. And we’re asking the wrong questions.”  

“Have you noticed his weird affect?  I can’t pin it down, but there’s something…” 

As she looked at Barba while he stared thoughtfully into the interrogation room, Frankie noticed for the first time how well-cut his hair was.  She knew an expensive haircut when she saw one.   She wondered whether that was what Amanda had been talking about when she’d called him hot. He did have a nice profile, she supposed.  To be fair, he wasn’t ugly by any stretch.  And since Amanda had mentioned his green eyes, she had noticed those, too. But hot?  Barba?  Not with that personality.  

Suddenly, it struck her what the witness’s behavior reminded her of.  “You ever see a little kid try to keep a secret?  How they’re just busting with it, dying to tell?”

Barba looked over at her, nodding.  “Yes.”  He looked back through the glass, still nodding.  “Yes.”

As he watched the suspect, he had to admit that was a good description of his behavior.  After just that brief look at Dr. Rojas, he also had to admit that she was wearing a very nice suit today, which fit her extremely well.  He’d noticed that all her accessories, from the necklace that - though subtle - probably cost as much as his suit, to the chic shoes that elongated and accentuated her legs without drawing attention to themselves, showed excellent taste.  Barba usually liked well-dressed women, but on her, the effect was ruined.  Rather than appreciating her outfit, Barba found that it left a sour taste in his mouth.  He knew that he would probably have admired her if he hadn’t known who Francisca Rojas was. But he did.  He knew that she was one of them. She might be Latina, but she wasn’t one of his people.

Rafael Barba was insightful enough, at least, to recognize that he had a particular chip on his shoulder when it came to Dr. Rojas and the rest of her privileged class, to whom everything came entirely too easily. People who expected that, and believed it to be no more than their due, and who had very little regard for people like him and his family, who had to earn their achievements.  Any display of unearned wealth disturbed him on a deep level wherever he saw it, and he was looking at it right now.  Her father might be self-made, but she was not.

He had met far too many of her type in his life. His parents had sacrificed to send him to Catholic school so that he would get the best possible education, which meant all his friends from Jerome Avenue were together at public school while he was incarcerated with all the posh kids from the surrounding area.  With the fierce cruelty of children to anyone who stands out, his classmates had made sure he understood his inferiority, mocking everything about him that set him apart, even the fact that he was smarter than any of them.  It didn’t get better in college, it was just more well-concealed.  And at Harvard…  Well, Rafael had actually preferred Catholic school.   At Harvard, the culture of overt prejudice against “scholarship kids” was not only blatant but encouraged, and highlighted by an irremediable difference of wealth and social class that no amount of achievement could touch.  It was there that Rafael’s dislike of the trappings of wealth and social distinction was honed to a razor-sharp hatred.

Getting nothing further from the suspect, Benson and Dodds eventually had to end the questioning and arrest the suspect for nothing more than receiving stolen goods.  None of them thought he was the rapist, and none of them thought he was going to give them anything that might lead them to the rapist.  When Fin and Rollins returned, having confirmed his alibis for the times of the rapes, no one was surprised.

As the suspect was being led out of the box to be booked, Olivia signaled.  “Rafa, Dr. Rojas, can we talk in my office?”

Hearing that, the suspect involuntarily flinched and turned to look at Frankie, lighting up with interest.  Trouble was written plainly in his sudden wide smile as he gave her an insolent once-over.  “You’re Frankie Rojas?  I know someone who is looking for you.”

“Oh?”  She asked, too surprised to hide her reaction.

“Yeah.  Alan sends his best,” the skinny punk laughed as he was led from the squad room.  

Frankie blanched and appeared to falter as she put a hand out to steady herself on the nearest desk.  Barba and Olivia shared a look.  What was that?  

They headed into Olivia’s office and took positions around the small room, Olivia behind her desk, and Barba and Rojas on opposite sides of the couch.  Mike Dodds started to close the door but was stopped by a tall, very good-looking man with dark hair whom no one had noticed enter the squad room.

“Hey, Porter,” Dodds said, holding the door open looking expectantly over at Lieutenant Benson.

She smiled regretfully.  “Ten minutes, Dean.  I’m sorry, we just need to have a short debrief.”

Frankie surprised everyone by standing up from the couch and saying, “No, I think he should come in.  And I think he should stay.”

All eyes turned to her as she looked at Olivia’s live-in boyfriend, FBI Agent Dean Porter, who had come to take Olivia to lunch. Normally, that would have been cause for a fair amount of suggestive joking, since the relationship was fairly new and rumored to be very physical, but not today.

“He’s here,” Frankie said to Porter, the fear in her voice unmistakable.  “Porter, Alan is here.”

“Fuck,” Porter said, and closed the door.

Olivia briefly scanned the faces in the room, paying extra attention to Rojas and Porter.  She looked from one to the other, saying, “Is someone going to explain what’s going on?”

Porter held out a hand to Frankie, inviting her to speak.  He and Dodds remained standing while she collapsed back into her seat.  She took a deep breath and exhaled it forcefully before beginning.

“Everything you know about me is true.  Porter and I did meet at Quantico and we did… work together. When you hear ‘we worked together’, that sounds like we were partners or on the same team or something, and we let that impression stand.  We were both working Major Crimes, but that’s not… that’s not how we knew each other. We knew each other because I was a victim in one of his cases.”  She sighed again.  “There was a man – is a man named Alan Canady.  Long story short, he wants to kill me.”

After dropping that grenade, Frankie simply waited for questions.  None came. She looked around for help, but everyone in the room was too skilled an interrogator to think of interrupting.  

So she continued.  “We met in San Antonio, when I first started with the Bureau.  He and I dated for about six months.  It’s the textbook story we’ve all heard a million times.  At first, he seemed entirely normal.  But then, over time, he got progressively more possessive.  It happened so slowly I didn’t realize it at first.  Have I missed any of the clichés yet?”

Olivia muttered, “Stop it, Doc.  We’re familiar with the pattern, yes.  But we don’t judge our victims here.  Just tell us what happened.”

Frankie smiled thinly in gratitude.  It was one thing to be the one who got to say those things.  It was another to believe them when they were said to you.

“One day, something happened.  It was so small, just one of those little, stupid things that happen every day.  I had to work late, and then my car wouldn’t start.  By then, Alan had all these rules. I was supposed to call him any time I wasn’t going to be where I’d said I would, but we didn’t even have a date that night, and we didn’t live together or anything… And then when my car wouldn’t start, one of my coworkers was right there, and he gave me a ride home.  I didn’t even think about it until we got to my house, and Alan was there.  He was seething.  He accused me of… well, this isn’t a very original story.  You know the rest.  It was the first time he hit me.  And then it escalated, like it always does, until I ended up in the hospital.  So I broke up with him.  He went nuts, stalked me for a while, and was such a general pain in my ass that I decided to take a position in Virginia to get away from him. I thought that was the end of it, until he showed up there.”

“He followed you to Virginia?”  Barba asked.

Frankie was having a hard enough time working around the shame of having to reveal this to her new colleagues.  She simply couldn’t respond to Barba, of all people.  She could only imagine what he would be like to work with now.

“He followed her and torched her house,” Porter answered for her.  “With her asleep inside.”

“Shit,” Dodds hissed.

“I don’t think he was trying to kill me at that point.  It was easy enough to get out once I woke up.  He was just trying to scare me into taking him back.”  Frankie pointedly did not look at anyone but Porter, who knew the whole story.  “Anyway, that’s when I met Porter.  Alan was always one step ahead of us.  It doesn’t look like he moved to Virginia, which is part of why he was so hard to trace. He just visited enough to make my life miserable and keep me scared.  But he escalated.  That’s when Porter started to recommend that I leave town.  In retrospect, I should have, but I fought it for a long time.  I was so pissed!  I didn’t want to have to start over in a new city, again.”

“So what happened?”  Dodds asked.  

“Porter came to New York to be with Olivia and the Bureau assigned a new Special Agent to the case.  When she came on, she took one look and said I had to get out of Virginia. Alan was trying to kill me for real, and he was going to succeed one of these times.  She said that Porter and I were like those frogs in the pot of water. You know that saying?  You turn up the heat gradually enough and they’ll just get used to it until they’re boiled alive, not realizing how hot it is?  She said it was too hot for me to stay at Quantico, and she went over my head to get me reassigned.  She called Porter, who knew about this job because of Olivia, and here I am.  You can read the file if you want.  You probably should.  Because now Alan’s here.  Already.”

The room digested the new information.

“How do you know?”  Porter asked.  “How do you know he’s here?”  

“We were questioning a suspect just now,” Dodds answered.  “When he heard Liv call her ‘Dr. Rojas’, he recognized her name.  He called her by her first name and he told her ‘Alan sends his best.’”  

Porter looked concerned.  “What was the suspect’s crime?”  

“We’re charging him with receiving stolen goods, but we were questioning him because the stolen goods belonged to two victims of the rapist we’re calling Pattern 20,” Rafael answered.  He was watching Dr. Rojas carefully.  From the complex look on her face, she wasn’t thinking anything good.

“Is he good for the rapes?”  Porter asked.

“We don’t think so,” Rafael responded.  He thought Rojas was suddenly very quiet for someone who enjoyed sharing her opinions as freely as she did.    

“How’s this tweaker kid know who Frankie is? How’s he make the connection between her and Alan Canady?”  Porter mused, looking at Olivia but not particularly asking the question of her. Frankie looked at her, too, hoping she’d have an idea, because that was the question bothering Frankie, too.

“That’s what we’re going to ask him,” Olivia answered. “Let’s get lunch while he’s being booked.”

The group filed out of the office, with Dodds holding the door.  Due to her position in the room, Frankie was the last one to reach the door.  

“Doc, a word?”  Dodds asked.

“Sure,” she said, hanging back while he re-closed the door.

“I’m sure the Lieu won’t mind if we borrow her office,” Dodds said, indicating the couch.  They both sat.  

“What’s on your mind?”  She asked.

“That’s my question to you, actually.  Guy tries to kill you multiple times, runs you out of two cities and chases you to a third…  I’m guessing you have some thoughts about that.”

“You trying to shrink the shrink?”  Frankie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Mike simply replied, “Yes.”

Frankie stood, hugging her arms to her waist and looking out the window into the squad room.  “I appreciate it, Sergeant.  I do. And you’re right.  I question what it was about me that this prick thought he could treat me the way he did.  I feel like a damn imbecile, choosing him to date when I’m supposed to be an expert on this kind of stuff.  But most of all, now I’m fucking scared again.  And that pisses me off.”

She turned around to look at him again.  “That about what you expected to hear?”

He shrugged.  “Just about.  You’re the psychiatrist, and you have more experience in this field than I do, but all that sounds pretty damn normal to me.”

“It is.  But that doesn’t make me hate it any less.”  

Dodds nodded but didn’t say anything, just giving her an opportunity to talk if she needed to.

“I appreciate the shoulder, Sergeant.  But I’d appreciate an arrest more.”

“Understood.  And one other thing.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve said ‘fucking’ in front of me now.  That means you get to call me Mike.”

Frankie insisted upon being in the room when they questioned the tweaker kid again.  When Barba refused to allow it, she initially tried to talk him around, but he refused even to consider it.  The harder she pushed, the angrier he became, until the argument became so heated, Olivia insisted they go into one of the other interrogation rooms to work it out. She then had to stop Carisi and Rollins from using the speaker to eavesdrop.  Even without the speaker, it was easy enough to hear Barba and Rojas shouting at one another in Spanish.  Olivia knew just enough to recognize that some of the words they were using were not polite.

“This is my life, Barba!  I am going to be there.”

“’This is my life?’  Really?  Isn’t that what teenagers say when their parents won’t let them drop out of school to become beat poets?”

“Don’t you fucking patronize me!  I have as much right to be in that room as you do, and you cannot keep me out.”

“In fact, you don’t, and I can.  And I am.”

“This man has tried to kill me multiple times. He’s here to try again.  I’m not playing games here.”

“Neither am I, Doctor.  I’m doing my job.  I’m making sure that your little tantrum doesn’t destroy three separate criminal cases. One of which, I might add, is yours.”

“My little tantrum…?”  

“I realize you aren’t all that familiar with the word ‘no’, but I also realize you have a law degree and, although you’ve never practiced law, you should at least recognize the concept that having the victim do the interrogation is a bit of a conflict of interest.”

Frankie was too angry to form a coherent sentence. “You egotistical son of a…  strutting around like a tin-pot dictator in your little fiefdom…”

“Calling names is not particularly refined discourse, Doctor.  But if we were calling names, I’d call you a fresa[1] and suggest you go have your nails done and let the rest of us get to work.”

”A… A…  you did not just call me a fresa to my face.”

“Nothing wrong with your grasp of the obvious.  I’m going to…”  He started moving toward the door, but she stepped in front of him, stopping with their faces very close together as they shouted.

“I am a fully-qualified Forensic Psychiatrist with all the credentials.  I’m perfectly qualified to take part in questioning this suspect.  I happen to be very good at interrogations, which you would know if you ever took your eyes off the mirror.  I also know this case.  That is why I should be in that room!  Anything else you might think is utter bullshit.”

“Really.  I can’t help but notice you’re quite unhappy about being one of the lowly victims we work so hard to protect.  It’s lovely to play the lady bountiful in your pristine Elie Saab, but it must be terrible for you to have to rub elbows with the great unwashed…”

“Stop talking.” She growled.  

“With pleasure.  Get out of my way.  I have an interrogation to attend.”

For a very, very long moment, they stood there, glaring at one another, their breath heaving in their anger.  Rafael was furious and completely frustrated by her irrational, petulant refusal to see reason.  He was also painfully hard.  Before he lost control of his urge to bend her over the table in the middle of the room, he stepped around Frankie to the door and left without another word.  Frankie knew she wanted to throw him to the ground at that moment.  What she didn’t know was which she wanted to do first, fuck him or punch his lights out.

 [1] Literally means “strawberry”, but is Mexican and Latin American slang meaning stuck up, fake, snob, one who thinks they’re better than everyone else because they were born rich, and are well-educated.

[bittysvalentines]

You Shine in What I Am / Mas Brilhas No Que Sou

From: @aceinhyperspace

To: @sailorsav

Fic Summary: When Whiskey turns 18 years old, he receives his Gift. But what is he supposed to do with Love? No Content Warnings. General tags: Gen (no pairing); Asexual Whiskey; Eric Bittle; Magic Au; Message: I was so happy to see that I got your gift! Your magic AUs are some of my favourite fics and when I saw that Asexual Whiskey is your jam, I just KNEW what I was going to be writing about. I hope you enjoy!!

Connor knew what love was long before he knew he was ace. It was six year olds holding hands and twelve year olds sneaking kisses because they wanted to be grown up. It was the women in movies, pining after men and demanding roses. It was his teammates in the locker room, talking about bases and the girls they wanted to hook up with after games.

Connor knew that love was something physical and scary and frankly, he wanted no part of it.

Thankfully as everyone in his grade crept closer to their 18th birthdays, the “plant boy” jokes wound down. There was much more interesting news as people got their letters.

“I can’t believe Lauren got metal-bending and I got nothing,” Adriana complained one day at lunch, sprawled on the floor of the hallway outside their 5th period class.

“You know the Guild doesn’t actually call it metal-bending.” Whiskey said into his sandwich.

Adriana rolled her eyes so violently, her head moved as well, dragging her tightly coiled hair across the linoleum. “Ugh, you nerd. That’s not the point. Pretty white girl, I wear bows even on days where there’s no football games, Lauren. She gets to manipulate metal, Connor Whisk. Me-tal.”

“We don’t get a choice, Adri. And frankly, I’ll be thrilled when I get my letter and the Guild tells me ‘Hey, Connor, you’re off the hook. Go play hockey and don’t worry about accidentally setting your college dorm room on fire with this super exciting new superpower you manifested.’”

“Give Peder a break. He’s doing much better now.”

“Yeah, whatever, Adri.”

That evening when he got home, his mother was already at the kitchen table, Skyping her sister in Brasil, hands elegantly shaping the lump of clay spinning on the wheel.

Connor loved watching his mother work- ancient techniques interacting seamlessly with her magic. Her deep brown hands skimmed the edges of the vase, feeling for form sleeping inside the unshapen material. She once told him that her Gift was so much more than moving dirt around. From the rock beds lining the back of their desert home to the red dust she could sweep away with the movement of her hand, Ana Maria Francisca da Silva Whisk saw potential. She saw the shape of things that had been and were meant to be.

“I think I always knew,” She told him a couple years ago, combing her fingers through his hair, loose and chestnut colored, like his father. “Your avô had a farm when I was little. He couldn’t keep me out of the animal pens! He and my mother would lose sight of me for a minute, and they’d find me pelado como Adão e Eva-

“Mãe!”

“-sitting in the middle of the pigs, covered head to toe in mud.” She laughed and laughed.

That day, Connor didn’t feel much like laughing.

“Mamãe?”

“Si, meu amor?”

“Do you see anything in me?”

“O que você quer dizer?” His mother stopped the wheel and looked directly at him. Her eyes were dark, warm.

“I guess…” He stopped, unsure of the words. “I guess I’m worried.”

“Your letter?”

“Sim.”

She took a deep breath, the fine grey dust covering her hands loosening, gently floating to the floor. “Is that it?”

“I don’t know. I’m just ready for highschool to be over. Jake decided to spend all of bio making uncreative jokes about cellular reproduction. And how my gift would be to clone myself.”

“Meu amor, when we spoke about you coming out, I did tell you to be prepared. People can be cruel.”

“Okay, but I thought you meant that about the bi part, not the ace part.”

A small smile flickered across his mother’s lips. Her hand reached out to touch his cheek gently. “I just want things to be easy for you.”

“Eu sei, mamãe.” Connor sighed. “I guess I wanted to know that I’ll be something more than the weird kid.”

“Meu filho. You are so much more than I can tell you. I get glimpses of the man you will be and can only be proud.”

“Ugh, gross mom.” Connor complained, his voice rising in pitch, swatting her hand away.   

“Ah! Sem graça! Deixe seu mãe dá amor quando ela pode. Amanhã você vai ficar uma homem grande!”  

“Mom!” He ran off, and his mother tossed bits of clay at his retreating back.  

-------

Connor had to fight to open his eyes the next morning.

His eighteenth birthday. The day he would receive his Gift.

His feet couldn’t even lift off the ground as he drug himself down the hall towards the kitchen.

Please don’t let it be clones. Please don’t let it be clones.

It wouldn’t be clones, Connor reasoned with himself. His whole family had natural gifts or no gifts at all. If he was lucky, maybe he’d be like his father and oldest sister, who got to live life normally. That way he could focus on hockey and school and not worry about things exploding like Peder. His oldest brother’s pyrokinesis was the coolest thing ever for approximately five minutes.

He stood in the doorway, the glass door separating the kitchen from the rest of the house an immovable barrier. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this.

“Meu amor, vem aqui,” his mother called gently from inside. Her black eyes, sometimes so disarming, were as soft as he ever had seen them. Using all of his strength, he turned the handle and stepped inside.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, his mother stepped forward and wrapped him in her arms. “Voce ‘sta pronto?”

“Nunca.”

“Whatever it is, you can always decline, okay? There is no shame in that.” Her chin rested gently on his shoulder. When had he gotten so much taller than her? She’d always been a towering figure in the family, carrying them through.

“Okay.”

She stepped back, pulling the letter from her work apron. He took it with trepidation, carefully tearing the seal and unfolding the heavy paper.

After a few moments, most of which the words on the page didn’t register, he spoke.

“I… I think... the Guild sent the wrong thing, Mamae.”

“They’re just messengers. You know they have no control over what manifests.” His mother responded, hands already buried in the clay lumped on the wheel of the kitchen nook. “Deixa eu ver.”

His mother’s hand left gray fingerprints on the paper, but she didn’t seem to notice as her eyes scanned the letter.

“Amor.”

“Yes, mom?”

“Nao, not you amor. Amor amor.”

“I think it’s a mistake.” Connor whispered. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Love magic.

For him.

Connor Whisk, asexual extraordinaire, whose longest relationship was with the Shane Doan jersey pinned lovingly to his bedroom wall.

Love magic.

“Connor Silva Whisk.” The letter gently thwapped across the back of his head. “I raised you better than that. Now, if you don’t want it, that’s your decision to make. But what can you do with love? That is a very stupid question.”

Fast forward six years and behold: Whiskey, collegiate hockey champion, in possession of a liberal arts degree, bartending license, and a certificate in business administration, still has no idea.

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

The day that Whiskey meets Eric Bittle, the lights go out.

No, seriously. The lights are actually out.

“I’m so sorry! That just, happens sometimes? I’m workin’ on it. Oh Lord. There is nothing worse than these delicate wire light bulbs, one short and they’re toast! I am so sorry. You know, they make LED versions of these now? Not that I’m telling you how to run your business but-”

Whiskey only stares at the man in front of him, blonde and tanned from the summer sun, already on his knees gingerly picking up shards of glass with his bare hands, words running at a thousand miles an hour.

Poetry, early readers, maybe a teacher? Needs something smoky to drink… whiskey… no, red wine. I have the perfect Zin in the back.

His quick scan of the other man’s desires only takes a second or two. His needs sit close to the surface, close enough that he was probably on his way to ask Whiskey himself.

“If you want to help, at least use a broom. I don’t need to clean up your blood too.” Whiskey says from behind the bar.

The young man freezes, hands already filled with glass. “Well, I suppose that would make much more sense.”

“Yeah, probably,” Whiskey says. He reaches out with a metal bucket. “Here.”

The glass clinks as it’s dropped into the bucket.

“I really am sorry about that. I’m Eric. Eric Bittle. I live up on the third floor. And uh, I have a gift for electricity. Well. Usually. Sometimes unfamiliar systems don’t react well to my emotions. Have you read that fantastic book by Derek Nurse? That’s what caused this whole mess in the first place.”

“Connor Whisk. People call me Whiskey.”

Somehow, even after their disaster of a first meeting, Eric becomes a staple of Whiskey’s bookstore-slash-bar. Most nights find Eric in the corner sofa, a glass of red wine in hand, grading papers for the kids he student teaches.

On a slow night, Whiskey sits next to him, reading through new releases he wants to stock.

Eric’s head hits the back of the sofa.

“Why can’t I just become an electrician?”

Whiskey snorts. “That’d be too predictable. Also, you clearly adore children. You’ll make a great teacher.”

“You’ve never seen me with a child in your life, Connor.” Eric groans.

“Trust me, I just know.”

Not that Whiskey was ever planning on telling him how.

------

The day that Whiskey meets Jack Zimmerman, the lights go off again.

This time metaphorically.

It’s a busy Wednesday night, which puts it right between a quiet Saturday and an overwhelming Monday. Ford and Tango from upstairs are arguing over a game of scrabble; Ransom laughs at them from above his post-rotation beer, hand on Holster’s knee. Dex and Bitty are finishing a diagram of the best way to rewire the bar lights to save energy while still providing ample lighting. Nurse helps stack chairs after his poetry reading. A couple other folks float in and out of the store, occasionally stopping to ask a question. And Whiskey is hovering around all of them, making sure everyone is satisfied.

The seating area is small, so when a stupidly handsome man wearing a godawful black tracksuit walks in, everyone notices.

Grad student… maybe? He’s here for history? Queer Theory? Well, he’ll get more of the latter, but he’ll see that out soon enough. No alcohol. I’ll make some tea in the back after I check in with everyone.

“Excuse me?” Eric leans forward, bridge of his nose crinkled in interest.

“What?” Whiskey asks, picking up the empty glasses on the low coffee table.

“You just started talking about Queer Theory and tea?” Eric says. “I wasn’t hallucinating was I?”

Dex shakes his head. “Nope, I heard it too.”

Whiskey’s stomach drops. “Uh, nothing, just restocking the shelves.”

“If you say so.” Eric is completely unconvinced, but is too polite to push the subject in public.

Yellow.

The echo of desire floats from among the shelves. The new customer’s hands rest on a book, the cover a bright canary, and Whiskey smiles.

With that, he leaves Eric to his drink to help the customers that are reclining against the bar.

About 5 minutes later, the customer had taken a seat at one of the couches in the reading corner, setting the book on the coffee table between him and Bitty.

“Do you mind?” Whiskey, hears him ask. Bittle’s face is flushed.

“Not at all! On second thought, let me move my mess so you don’t have to be competing with… whatever this book is-” Eric waves animatedly at the pile that had been forming in front of him.

Whiskey barely restrains himself from snorting.

Bittle hurriedly shoves his work into a stack and then escapes to the bar counter, “Good Lord, it’s a good thing that man dresses like a russian mobster because if he paired his face with nice clothes, it’d be over for the rest of us.

Ford, two seats down, snorts into her coffee mug.

“This is a small shop, Bits.” Whiskey laughs, “Careful with the volume.”

“Honey, this is New England. I travelled 3,000 miles to be unabashedly loud and gay. This is a queer bookstore for God’s sake.”

“You can say what you want, just know that the object of your unabashedness can probably hear you,” Whiskey says.

They look over to the man in the corner and sure enough, his eyes are on the both of them, a deep furrow in the middle. The intensity of his gaze and the concerned frown on his lips seem to indicate anger. But Connor feels something else.

It hadn’t been the book.

Oh.

OH.

Yellow.

It smells like Quebec in the summer (had he ever been to Quebec?), and feels like a long car trip, singing into the wind, stealing ears of corn from the farmer’s field, grilling it over a campfire at night. There is expensive whiskey and cheap beer on his lips, elation.

Yellow like the afternoon sun reflecting against the pond in winter. Blinding and exhilarating, flying with no sense of direction and no hope of stopping.

“You.” Whiskey whispers.

He can’t hear if Eric responds, his head still filled with desires not his own. It takes him another moment to come into the present, shaking his head subtly to remove the extra noise.

“Connor? Are you alright?” Eric says, gently laying a hand on his arm.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just caught up for a moment.”

“You sure?”

“Just a side effect. I try not to go that deeply but some people suck me in.”

“Oh I knew it! You are a telepath!” Eric whispers excitedly. “Did I tell you my PawPaw once-”

Whiskey cuts Eric off, running an embarrassed hand through his hair. “No, no. I definitely can’t read people’s minds. But, uhhh. I can see what they… love?”

Eric’s eyes widened. “My Lord.” There’s a reverent sparkle in them that Whiskey can’t explain. “You have a Love Gift. That’s something special. Much more special than electricity.”

Whiskey rolls his eyes. “Sure. Really special. I can’t do anything but tell what drink someone wants before they order.”

“It’s a real shame you think that way, Connor.” Eric shakes his head. “Well, now I know how you’ve managed to draw us all here like flies to a sty.”

“Isn’t it flies to honey-”

“Think about it. All of us were floating around, not from the same place or backgrounds. Some with gifts and many without, but now we’re here. Together. That’s because of you.”

Eric saunters back to the couch, oblivious to the distress rising in Whiskey’s chest.

“Hey, Ford. You mind watching front of house for a second?” Connor manages to say before he loses his breath completely, slipping into the back room before receiving a response.

The phone is clammy in his hands, but, like clockwork, she picks up on the second ring.

“Amor?”

“Mom.

“Que está acontecendo, filho? Você ‘tá no trabalho?”

“Mom, I did it again.”

There’s no sound on the other end of the phone for a brief moment. When his mother’s voice comes back on the line, he feels his breath release.

“Okay, I can talk now. Tell me everything.”

“Well, there’s a group of people that come to the store a lot. And I like them, mom. I like all of them. But Eric-”

“That’s the Southern boy, right?”

“Yes Mom, but Eric found out about my Gift today. And he said that everyone is here because of me. It’s my fault. It’s like college all over again.”

“Did he say he didn’t want to be there?”

“No but-”

“Did he say anything about being in love with you- romantically I mean.”

“No, that’s not-”

“Then this doesn’t sound anything like what happened back then.”

Connor takes a few deep breaths. “Mom, I don’t know what to do with this Gift,” he barely whispers into the phone.

A few more seconds pass.

“This may not be my place. You are a grown man now and can make your own decisions. But my love? You need to get your head out of your ass.”  

Whiskey stops, shocked. “What?”

The voice on the line is firm, like the earth she manipulates. “I am your mother. I would give you the world, make it kind and easy. But I can’t. You told me, all of seventeen shaking years old that you were bisexual and ace and I let you make the choice to tell others on your own. You received your Gift and kept it on your own. And then when you transferred out east and graduated and started your own business- you did that on your own too. If you want to live the rest of your life away from others, separated by your fear, that is a choice you also make on your own.”

A deep sigh breaks the tension across the line and when his mother speaks again, her tone is gentle.

“I am here for you now, whatever you need, but that won’t always be true. What happened in college was awful, amor. Love magic is a powerful, dangerous thing. But you are not that scared young boy anymore. You are building a new home with new people. And that requires you to love, filho. Love. Love yourself and others and let them love you too.”

Whiskey feels the wet lines running down his cheeks before he realizes he’s crying.

“Thank you mom. I love you.”

“Eu te amo também. Agora, faz uma decisão. E chama-me mais frequente, eu sinto falta da sua voz.”   

When Connor comes out of the back room a couple minutes later, he does so with his Gift wide open. And the hearts of the people in the space are so bright, he can’t even see the lights.

[roastedlizlow]

DAY NINE - SKY PAIR: Levi/Jed WC: 1949 NOTE: Levi’s easily my favorite of the boys for Ashen Hawk. I really like how his ending was handled, honestly. Boy did... the entire story throw me for a loop. I felt insanely called out when Levi was basically called a puppy that followed Jed around though, and the fact that his stellaset badge is like, three dogs (including him)... I love to have a type! I use both of Jed’s names in here (I debated sticking to Jed only, but Eiar worked better in a section). I got... really into this one! 

A bright, sunny sky suits Levi more, Jed thinks as she puts down her pen, scurrying to give her letter to Lavan. The first true instance of this thought had fully come to the surface when she encountered him on their last days of true freedom. I love him, and want to see him laughing, smiling, under the clear, blue sky.

It’s persisted ever since, permeating until it becomes one of her strongest.

He deserves affection, all that has been driven away from him. There is no taking away the sins that stain his hands, but she will gladly take them, and warm them.

Her thoughts do not change as they lay in the snow, within the vicinity of the snowdrops. Wrapped in the embrace of one another as the exhaustion of the world weighs them down, Jed cannot help but accept this. The letters they’ve shared, such trivial, little conversations.

“Jed, is this really okay?”

“Yes. Levi, I want to be with you.” Forever and always...

Jed wonders how she didn’t realize it earlier, with how comforting it felt to be around him, with how accepting they are of each other, no matter what. Why did the fog cloud that part of the truth too? Could the reason be because she had long closed her maiden's heart, to live as a boy? Does it really, truly matter now, when they are at ease, in each other’s arms?

“You’re cold, you know,” she jabs, but it’s soft, a hint of mischief in her voice.

“Haha, yeah,” Levi grins, “but you’re warm. So, so warm. Thanks a bunch, for being here.”

To what they share between them, to the eternity that will never leave them, they press closer together, hands, arms, foreheads, everything, as the freezing, white blanket begins to fall upon them once more. Where will they go now, when town in not an option? Who will they be now?

Simply Levi and Jed, to each other, that’s all.

They don’t need anything else certain. Things will fall into place as they come. It’s been so hectic lately, that being able to be so close, on the same side of things, means that much more. It satisfies them so much, quells them so much, that their setting becomes what they decide to stay in. No moving until later, let their eyelids blink, slower, slower, until the shut, with gentle smiles on their faces.

Good night. I love you. Words thought, but not said. They revel in these, because they will always, always be together now.

The reliable handyman, who harbored secrets with her work, and the quick-tempered, book-loving younger of the Wolg Clan heirs, two souls banished, for reasons clear to those that knew them personally, and to those that didn’t, too. They say their farewells to the universe they always knew, and venture out to the beyond.

All while gradually drifting to sleep.

“Oh! Your hair’s getting longer again!”

“Mmhm! It’s gonna feel weird, having it long again.”

“Well, I think you look good, now matter what length it is.”

“Oh, Levi...”

“I can’t kid with ya on that, Eiar. It’s the truth!”

These times are much simpler. Unbound by the pains that tangled them down, they are allowed to live as they were meant to be. Eiar is very much a tomboy, and Levi encourages it wholeheartedly, much to the exhaustion of his older brother, Lavan. What? Does he think she’s going to get seriously hurt? That’s ridiculous! She’s super tough, and does her best in everything.

She’s a girl who can out eat them both (though, perhaps that’s not something to boast about), one that has an iron stomach. She can cook, and she’s strong and adventurous. She can handle herself, no problem, and Levi admires that a lot!

The incident of her getting her hair suddenly cut short is probably one of the ones Lavan would use as reference to her needing to be more careful, but it’s not like Levi or Eiar knew that her hair would get tangled up like that. She didn’t miss a beat, either, immediately asking for something for something to fix it with. “Well, I guess it’s just... gotta go.”

“That’s right, you got into an argument with Tee about who knew me better...”

“There’s no way that Little Chick knows you better than I do!”

“Yes, yes, you don’t need to get riled up about it.”

Eiar finds him so endearing! He’s always been inclined to follow her around, when he’s not stuck in a book, but Eiar’s not much different, is she? She’ll often plop right down next to him with a blanket, asking him if he wants to read more of that book they started. A twinkle will then appear in his eye, nodding vigorously as he takes the book in hand and picks up right where they left off.

“Tee’s not someone who’ll actually know how cool you are anyway,” Levi says.

“Oh? Hmm... Would you dare call me cooler than Lavan?”

“Hey, hey, you’re both great for different reasons!”

Eiar laughs, expecting that answer. She has a lot of memories with the two of them, due to growing up so close. The time they tracked mud into the house, only to get scolded by Francisca and Lavan, then immediately after, they made a mess playing around with the decorations they were supposed to prepare.

There are the letters too, silly, little things they’ll have Lavan pass along to the other, where they talk about nothing in particular -- they see each other often enough to deem it absolutely unnecessary, but they can’t help it at all.

Sorry my handwriting is so messy. Yours is really neat, Levi.

Yours fits you, Eiar. That’s what nice.

“Say, Levi, I’ve got something to show you!” Eiar suddenly states, picking up her dress with one hand, marching over to Levi and grabbing one of his arms with her other.

“A-Ah, this isn’t going to lead to you pushing me to avoid Lavan, is it?”

“No! Did you want it too?”

“N-Not at all! Reverse situations like that are embarrassing...”

“Besides, I think that’d only happen if one of us made him mad,” again, becomes her implication.

Levi is about to speak before his friends chime in passing, “Levi’s really got a girlfriend! Joined at the hip, again!”

Levi, and Eiar too, both fluster, and run quickly off, the young lady turning to be a guide on this crisp, spring day.

Once they reach just before where Eiar wanted to go, with Levi wondering just why they’re going this far, Eiar looks up, seriously at him, “Close your eyes, Levi.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I said so! What if the only way to avoid being struck down was to do so?”

“Haha, that’s definitely not how it works.” But since it’s her, he’s not worried. He knows, too, that her example was just to get him to laugh. Compiling, he closes his eyes, letting her pull him along a little further. Suddenly, he feels her grip loosen, and he’s about to peek, concerned for her, for being alone without warning.

As if she knew, she speaks, already a small distance away, “It’s alright! I’m right here! You can open up now.”

He does so, and the sight, all of it, is beautiful A field of colorful flowers, and her, right in the middle. “Eiar... this is...”

“Right? It’s just like the scene in the book we’re reading,” she spins around trying to really take the entire scene in, but it feels best when he’s in sight, since this is what she wanted to show him. “I discovered it the other day...” when I was on a errand for a kind old lady, but those are details she’ll withhold (sitting around gets boring!), “And when we got past that scene, I knew I had to share it with you!”

Levi steps over to her, carefully, of course, since these flowers look pretty delicate, “Thanks, Eiar. You really are...”

She’s the kind of person Levi figures he’d feel alright with liking, no matter what. She’s not just a girl; she’s Eiar, the one who saves him when he’s in trouble, the one that relies on him, and he can rely on. He likes being near her, and he’s quick to her defense. (He’s always been really smitten, some might say.)

Most of all, her hands, with fit in his well, are really warm.

He looks down, and an idea pops up, right on sight. Levi bends over, picks a flower and, side-stepping so he’s right in front of her, and places the flower so it’s sticking out, behind her ear. It’s uneven, quick, but he’s sure of it -- she’s gorgeous.

“Levi..?”

“It was in another book, one we haven’t read yet, but you’d like it.”

His wide eyes are more than enough for her to get a glimpse of how she looks. Coupled with his expression, she can’t help the fact of her heart drumming. She’s sure she’s visibly affected too, but -- mmm, this feels right! And Levi’s smiling..!

If there’s one thing she’s certain of, it’s the thought that rises to above all others. She beams, matching the wide grin he has, which doesn’t stop, even as his cheeks dust over, even as she takes both his hands in hers. The crystal clear sky allows them both to have their entire world to become them alone, with the brightest, largest star brimming down a spotlight, as if given them both a blessing, as if solidifying everything she can’t contain.

She loves him, loves him so, so much. She wants to keep listening to him read the stories he loves, talk about how driven he is because of them. He’s adorable, even when being teased, and the moments are never, ever dull. This happiness that’s making her feel light as a feather bursts, and she can’t hold back her words a moment longer.

“I’m definitely right! A bright smile, under the sun suits you best!”

“Wha--”

“Levi’s just like the sun!”

Footsteps, a boil inside him. It hurts. It’s freezing, but there’s nothing to numb this away. They -- They were the most important people left to him. He knew one of them had to go, but she... He sighs, wishing they had gone a little further out, hoping he would have to see his foolish younger siblings like this.

He thought he lost them once but to actually know, now, is a sorrowful reality to bear. He regains his bearings, as much as he can for the moment, and reaches down, brushing aside the snow, to get one last clear look.

They’re smiling...

“Joining me like this, how interesting a thought, for the head of the Wolg Clan to humble a mere traveler this way.”

His gaze falls upon the Traveler for a moment, but he turns away, wordless. He knows they are meant to buried, away. No ceremony, for the exiled.

“So this is the outcome,” the other continues, “a town of sinners, with two sets of shoulders to accept the burden. How interesting... the laughter she sought unravels in her dreams.”

“You... who exactly are you?”

“Hmm, I wonder,” he closes his book and puts a hand to his chin, “who am I to you? What do you make of me?” He snaps his fingers, a gust of wind spins the snow at just the right moment, “I’m curious about what story your path will make of you now, Lavan of the Wolg.”

When the wind subsides, he is gone.

Thus, we end the story of the daughter of the witches and the loyal dog that adored her no matter what.

[imaredshirt]

For the Domesticity prompts can I get a number 10 for imector in the LOtD? Maybe the first time Imelda’s parents come over after the events of the movie?

Domesticity prompts

10. The in-laws come to visit

Nonnie I’m so sorry I took forever to write this one. It’s the first time I’ve given any real, detailed thought to Imelda’s parents (I headcanon that she was raised by her grandfather) but it was fun! I had actually really wanted it to be a light hearted, funny ficlet but my angst muse took over and was like “NOPE.”

Thank you for the ask, hope this turned out ok! (also it got lengthy, sorry ‘bout that)

Héctor swept a handthrough his hair, patted it down, then ruffled it just a little because itlooked too neat. He adjusted the collar of his pressed white buttondown, straightened his dark blue vest, and then quickly patted his trousersdown to get rid of any rogue dust particles. He sniffed, nodded his head at hisreflection in the hallway mirror, and struck a pose that obviously read“good-and-respectful-and-neat-and-totally-responsible-son-in-law.”

He held the pose for amoment before letting his shoulders sag and running a hand down his face.

If he still had skin,he’d be sweating enough to fill the lake around the city. And then some.

He felt awful. Theupcoming social event of the day had dipped him in a cocktail of emotions, andhe’d been trying to cope for an entire week after Imelda had broken the news tohim. Laying in bed, twiddling his thumbs, staring at the ceiling and pretendingto be asleep whenever Imelda checked in on him with a worried frown. He and hiswife weren’t sleeping in the same room–it was far too early for that, the painwas still too raw–but the relationship between them had advanced enough thatImelda didn’t hide her concern for his emotional well being.

Ever since she’d toldhim who was coming to visit, she’d looked at his worried face and touched hishand reassuringly and told him comfortingly, “It’s going to be ok, Héctor.”

He loved Imelda. He did.And sometimes he believed her. But then he’d think about the day ahead and he’dbecome nervous all over again.

The in-laws were coming.

As if the absence ofnervous sweating had called forth alternative methods of showcasing hisanxiety, he had to struggle to keep himself from fiddling with the sleeves ofhis shirt and biting at the tips of his phalanges like the nervous wreck thathe was.

Before he’d died, andbefore he’d left Santa Cecilia with Ernesto, Imelda’s parents had adored him.Before that, they’d tolerated him. Before that, they’d hated his guts.

Initially, they hadn’tbeen happy with their daughter’s choice of husband. Some skinny, lanky orphanfrom the streets of Santa Cecilia with too much hair and too big ears and whowas just too tall and who could play the guitar wasn’t the man they’d had inmind for their only daughter. Héctor even remembered on the first day he’d metthem, Imelda’s mother, Francisca, had turned to her husband and whisperedbehind her hand that Héctor was too cheerful.

Imelda’s father, Xavier,had sat glaring at Héctor through the entire meeting, arms crossed, and hadn’tsaid a word.

It had taken Héctor…well, quite a while to get them to warm up to him.

He’d shown them that hecould be responsible, that he could support their daughter and protect hisfamily through turbulent times, and that he loved Imelda with all of hisbeing. And even though Imelda’s mother had criticized his cheerfulness at theirfirst meeting, she’d ended up beaming at him every time he greeted her duringtheir later days. He’d made her laugh and whispered chisme with her and dancedwith her when music played while Imelda chuckled and rolled her eyes.

He’d even gotten Xavierto smile once or twice, and made him laugh one night, and that was anachievement not a lot of people could claim.

“You’re like a son tothem,” Imelda had told him one day after her parents had taken the train home.She’d been pregnant at the time, and Héctor had already been so content andfull of love that the thought of someone seeing him as a son had brought tearsto his eyes.

He’d learned a lot fromher parents. He’d grown close to them.

And then, with one trainticket and a farewell to his family and hometown, he’d ruined it all.

He’d run into them,once, after he’d passed away. They’d died only days apart from each other, andrarely traveled alone in the Land of the Dead. It was a meeting that Héctor didnot like to remember. It had been the first time he’d had hints of what hisliving family thought of him, and why he couldn’t cross the bridge to see them.He’d wallowed around the city for days after that, remembering the words Xavierhad said in such a cold voice, and the intensity with which Francisca hadignored him and simply refused to acknowledge his presence.

Somehow, rememberingthat he’d once been almost a son to them had made it all worse.

Héctor shook the thoughtfrom his mind. He ran a hand through his hair again and picked absently at hisshirt collar. Now was not the time to think back on that. It made his nervesworse and he was afraid if he sank further into his ever present anxiety he’dmake a fool of himself in front of the people whose opinion mattered so much tohim, and who probably still thought so little of the man who had left theirdaughter and granddaughter.

But two weeks ago, onlydays after that one whirlwind of a Dia de los Muertos, Imelda had met withthem. She’d traveled to their apartment across the city, where they lived withothers who had lived during their era, and spent hours speaking with them.

When she returned, she’dsat by Héctor’s bed where he lay recovering from his brush with the FinalDeath.

“They want to see you,”she’d said. “Mamá wanted to come today, but I told them no. You need to recoverbefore you can see anyone.” She’d paused, then met Héctor’s eyes with worry. “Ishould have spoke to you first, Héctor, but—”

“No,” Héctor had said, taking her handin his weak grasp and smiling. “No te preocupes. You’re right. I can’t talk tothem like this. How will I make your mamá laugh when I can barely stand?”

Two weeks since then, and Imeldahadn’t been able to delay the meeting any longer.

Héctor was still weak. His knees stillbuckled, he still had to sit after minutes of standing to rest, but he couldn’tbare to stay stuck in a bed while his in-laws stood around him and glared.

He wanted to be at least standing,in clean clothes, when they gave him the talking-to of the century again.

He’d washed and ironed the suit thathis family had given him the night before, and spent an hour dressing himselfto near perfection before the arranged meeting. Well, he thought it was near perfection. He hoped. Maybe?

He looked in the mirror again andpatted his hair down and practiced his smile.

Even his smile was nervous.

“Héctor,” Imelda said, suddenlybehind him. He jumped in surprise and she placed a comforting hand on hisshoulder, sharing a smile with his reflection. “You look fine.”

“Do I?” Héctor patted his hairagain. In another time he might have said Muyguapo, eh, amor? But his mouth was dry which was weird because he was askeleton and didn’t have saliva anyway, and all he was able to continue withwas, “Eeh, are you—”

“I’m positive,” Imelda said. Withher hands on his shoulders, she turned him around and played with the collar ofhis vest. She looked him over, smiled and said with a playful glint in her eye,“Muy guapo, Héctor.”

He hadn’t seen her look at him withthat hint of mischief in ages. He grinned, suddenly feeling refreshed, andopened his mouth to respond in kind.

In the distance, there was the soundof the front door opening, and voices filled the apartment.

“Dios mío,” he said faintly,shrinking in on himself as if he could disappear into his shirt and hide forthe rest of the year.

Imelda cupped his face with herhands and said, “Héctor. I told you, youwill be fine. Believe me, por favor, they wantto see you. Be strong, quierido.”

At her words, Héctor’s phantom heartfluttered, and he straightened up. He gave her a shaky smile as she took hishand, and together they walked around the corner into the sitting room.

He had to clench his jaw to keep histeeth from chattering.

Felipe and Oscar looked up to grinat them, and standing between them, their parents landed their gazes on Héctor likehawks spotting a horror struck field mouse.

The twins had traveled to theirparents’ apartment to bring them over, giving Imelda time to brew some hot teaand make light sandwiches. The drinks and little perfectly made snacks werelaid out on the table, not unlike the first time they’d all met. And also notunlike that first meeting, Héctor felt faint.

Xavier’s mustache was the same dark,carefully groomed mustache he’d sported until his dying day, and his three piecesuit made Héctor’s look as raggedy as an old wash cloth. Standing arm in armwith him, Francisca was as elegant as ever in her dark dress, the stiff collarreaching up under her chin and the hem of the skirt reaching the floor.

“Mamá, Papá,” Imelda said, steppingin front of Héctor to greet them. Standing nervously behind her, Héctor couldn’thelp but feel she was acting like a shield between them, despite her reassuringwords from before.

She exchanged two kisses with her Mamá,and reached up to press one kiss to her Papá’s cheekbone. Xavier’s gaze softenedwhen he looked down at her, but hardened immediately when he looked again atHéctor.

Héctor tried to remember when he’dshared shots of tequila with the man, laughing at some forgotten joke, andgulped.

“Buenas tardes,” Héctor said, andstopped himself because was it ok that he’d spoken first? Should he have waitedfor them to speak? What if—

“Héctor,” Francisca said suddenly,her stern voice cutting across Héctor’s thoughts like a hot knife throughbutter.

She released Xavier’s arm and movedforward, past Imelda and her sons. Imelda watched with barely hidden nervousanticipation, while her brothers were a hair breath away from falling apartwith anxiety.

Héctor was faring no better. Inanother age, he would have grinned and immediately started chatting with her,taking her arm and leading her to a comfortable chair. But now he was barelyable to smile as she neared him, her dark brown eyes reminding him painfully ofImelda’s, and waited while she paused to tilt her head back and stare straightinto his eyes.

She reached up, adjusted his collarwhich had somehow folded the wrong way in the few seconds since he’d last checkedit, and said, “It has been a long time.”

“Si,” Héctor said. He swore he couldfeel a heart somewhere in his ribcage beating fast. “How have you—”

“You’ve suffered for your sins,” shesaid suddenly, and Héctor felt an odd swoop in his chest. He looked down,suddenly feeling very small, and tried to think of what to say with everyonewatching him.

But she didn’t allow him to speak.She continued.

“No more suffering,” she said. Herhands went to his face, shaking his head minutely as she said with warmth inher voice, “Welcome home, mijo.”

She pulled him down to kiss hischeekbones, and patted his face affectionately before releasing him andstepping back.

Still reeling from the unexpectedaffection, speechless, Héctor only had a moment before Xavier moved forward tograb one hand in a firm handshake.

“It’s good to see you again, Héctor,”Xavier said, surprising Héctor again with more affection than Xavier wascapable of showing anyone other than his children, and then used the handshaketo pull Héctor into a quick hug.

They patted each other on the back,Héctor still speechless, before Xavier gave him one more pat and stepped back.

Héctor remained where he was, hislegs feeling like jelly, as Imelda quickly moved to stand next to him and takehis arm in hers. She smiled up at him, patting his hand, as Francisca andXavier moved together to sit on the nearest couch.

“Imelda tells us you met yourgreat-great-grandson,” Francisca said, sitting elegantly next to her husbandand immediately reaching to pour herself a cup of tea. “How is he? Does he playmusic as well as you did?”

“Of course,” Héctor said, feeling asif he was leaving a stupor, and let Imelda lead him to sit across from herparents. Felipe and Oscar, who had exchanged exuberant glances, sat on the twochairs that had been brought in.

“He’s a very good musician,” Héctor continued,sitting and sharing a smile with Imelda, who squeezed his hand comfortinglybefore handing a plate of sandwiches to her father. “He’s better than me!”

Francisca exclaimed words of disbelief,and before Héctor knew it, they were all chatting on the various talents oftheir descendants, Xavier adding his curt opinions every so often, while Imeldaand Héctor snuck secret smiles at each other over their cups of tea.

Without realizing it, all of Héctor’sanxiety had melted away, and he almost fell into the illusion of past memories,sitting with his family, warm and content.

[kittymonks-fanfiction]

Genderswapped Nations Review - Chapter 7

Welcome back to Genderswapped Nations, where the girls are mean and the plot is shitty. In the last chapter, we suffered through Ariana’s visit to the hospital where she did nothing to show her sympathy for Italy past bringing a Walmart cake and starting a food fight with her counterpart’s worst enemy. Not only that, but we also learned that Sealand is not only the god of rowing his boat but also the worst friend ever. In this chapter...well, let’s see what the title says will happen.

Chapter 7: Ice Cream and Ill Humor

Remember how chapter 5’s title (Hamburgers and Hurt) was the third worst title? This one is the second worst title. Yes, folks, it gets even worse than this. While ice cream does make a prominent appearance in this chapter, ‘Ill Humor’ is just referring to the fact that this chapter is serious in comparison to the food fights and implied attempted sexual assault in the last chapters. It would’ve been a much better idea to make the second word something related to the backstory which makes this chapter more serious instead of making the chapter proclaim itself as being serious in its title. And if you want to alliterate with an easier letter than ‘I’, you could’ve used a close synonym like ‘Gelato’ or ‘Sundaes’ or a synecdoche like ‘Cones’ . ‘Gelato and Guilt’, ‘Sundaes and Sadness’ or ‘Cones and Confessions’, for example, would have all been much better titles…though really anything would be better than ‘Ice Cream and Ill Humor’.

Ariana woke up the next morning and rubbed her eyes, before re-rubbing them when she noticed something on her nightstand.

Then she rubbed her eyes again when she remembered the shenanigans that took place last chapter, and again when she realized that she was in a bad fanfiction. Then she chafed her eyes and couldn’t use them anymore.

She picked it up, and found it to be a cold container covered with a thin layer of ice.

I mean, by that point, it should be obvious to Ariana that it’s ice cream.

She scraped off some of the ice on the container to see two words labeling the small container; ICE CREAM. "What the…?" she asked to nobody, wondering why there was suddenly ice cream on her nightstand.

Not only is there suddenly ice cream, but since there’s still ice on the surface, that means that the culprit must’ve left the room directly before she woke up. If the culprit left it any earlier, then it wouldn’t be icy anymore. Hm….

….

"ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM!" After hearing this echo through her dreams, Allison shot up to see what was going on. Expecting to see something dangerous,

What could possibly be dangerous about a person shouting ‘ice cream, ice cream, ice cream’??

she instead saw her gender swap jumping up and down and swooning over a container of what seemed to be vanilla ice cream.

"What the hell are you doing?" Allison asked America. "And how do you have ice cream?"

He could’ve gotten it from the freezer…though either way, that first question is totally justified. What the hell is he doing?

"I came in here to wake you up, and found this ice cream on your forehead! I thought you didn't want it, so I took it!" America explained ecstatically.

Wait, how was the culprit able to put a container of ice cream on her forehead without waking her up and without the ice cream falling onto the ground when she turned over in her sleep? And why would America see that ice cream on his counterpart’s forehead and take it with the intention to eat it? And if the culprit (assuming it’s the same person) just struck in the UK, then how did they get to the United States so quickly and break into the White House all without letting the ice cream melt??

"Hey, I still want it!" Allison said. She jumped from her bed and tackled America, and began to wrestle the ice cream from his hands.

Behold, a twelve year old girl wrestling the United States of Fucking America for a tiny container of ice cream that would be so cheap to buy at your local convenience store that even I could afford it! Genderswapped Nations, everyone!

….

Iscah woke up to the Baltic States looking over her holding something. "What are you holding?" she asked.

All three of them are holding it at the same time. It’s like Light as a Feather, Thick as a Board but with ice cream.

"I-it's something we found on your bedside, M-miss Iscah," Latvia said nervously.

"Well, then let me have it," Iscah said. Latvia shakily handed the item to Iscah, and then he and the other two Baltics left Iscah's bedroom quickly. Iscah rubbed some of the ice off the odd item once they were gone, and discovered that it was vanilla ice cream.

Well, that scene was totally pointless. Hopefully that’s the end of things because this chapter is quickly beginning to look like—

….

Louella woke up earlier than usual, and then prepared some food for her, Germany, and Felicity. After she finished her food and Germany finished his, she entered Felicity's room and set the food on her nightstand gently, before going to her room again to find something weird on her bed. She walked over to the odd thing and picked it up, and found its surface to be icy. She scraped off some of the ice, and found in blocky letters written on the side, 'ICE CREAM'. "How odd," Louella thought.

Are we really going through this same song-and-dance for every girl? It’s not like their reactions are that different, they just do normal things you’d expect their counterparts to do and then it’s like ‘oh look, ice cream!’, and that’s if you’re LUCKY.

….

Kierra woke up and got some tea from Japan,

Out of context this sounds really funny, like this girl goes to the nation of Japan specifically to get tea and then goes home to who-knows-whereland.

before returning back to her room later to straighten up her bed. However, when she made her bed, she saw a small lump underneath the covers. So she lifted the covers, and discovered ice cream. "Who in the world would sneak into my bedroom and give me ice cream?" she thought.

Better question: How in the world did you make your bed without seeing the ice cream first?

….

Francisca drowsily woke up, and immediately felt a presence behind her. She turned around, and balanced on her bed's headboard, found ice cream instead of an intruder.

Eww, the ice cream has an aura? It’s got to be moldy, then.

She took it off the headboard and inspected it, wondering, "Who put this here? It couldn't have been France…"

Why not? Is he too good to serve convenience store vanilla ice cream?

….

Yiesha yawned and woke up,

It sure is lucky that everyone’s waking up at the exact same time despite time zone differences!

before giving her panda plush a big hug. But instead of warmth from the hug, she felt coldness. "What's wrong, feeling bad, aru?" she asked the plush.

Yiesha’s supposed to be fifteen, by the way. Do you know any fifteen year olds who believe that their stuffed animals are living, sentient beings that can be in bad moods and assume that people are physically colder when they’re in bad moods? No? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

But upon further inspection, she found that her panda was clutching a container of ice cream. "How did that get there?" she thought.

How did that get there?? Of all of these occurrences, this one is easily the least plausible. I could believe that Allison could sleep through having ice cream placed on her forehead since I’m still not convinced that she can feel anything yet, but how do you put cold ice cream in the arms of a teddy bear being embraced by a sleeping person without said sleeping person waking up to notice??

….

Mattie woke up to a phone call. She got out of her bed, and answered the phone. "Hello, Mattie speaking," she said.

I can already tell that this is gonna end well.

"Mattie! Mattie!" Allison's shouting from the phone caught her by surprise.

"What?" She asked.

"Dude, check your nightstand! I just found some ice cream on mine!" Allison said.

No you didn’t, your counterpart found ice cream on your forehead! Or did you get two for some reason? Boo, you don’t deserve it!!

"Really?" Mattie questioned.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Allison said.

Mattie hung up and ran to her nightstand and searched around everywhere, but found nothing. "I guess I got forgotten again…" she thought sadly.

That’s a slap in the fucking face. Why even do that? Spoilers, the ice cream is supposed to be comfort ice cream to help the counterparts through this difficult time with Italy, so this just makes it extra hurtful.

Even still though, I feel like I’ve been arbitrarily doubling my additions to the Canada/Mattie Abuse counter enough as it is, so that’ll just be one point. Don’t worry, the story will make up for it later.

--CANADA/MATTIE ABUSE +1

….

Felicity woke up to breakfast on her nightstand, which looked great. She ate it quickly, and then fell asleep again.

Man, I wish my mornings were like that.

When she woke up again, she found a huge chocolate fudge sundae on her nightstand. "Dessert?" she questioned excitedly, before discovering a notecard beside the base. It read, 'Sorry about Italy. From, Anonymous'. She looked at the card oddly, before grabbing the sundae and beginning to eat carelessly.

And then it was probably poisoned? With the ongoing threat Prussia’s been (apparently), this seems a little careless. He’s inhabiting the same house as this girl right now, so I imagine she should be a lot more wary about this mysterious hot fudge sundae.

Then again, it’s Felicity and her only character trait is being a moron, so I guess there’s nothing to do about it.

….

At about the same time Felicity got her ice cream, Ariana was eating her ice cream on the shore, but noticed Sealand wasn't on his rig like he usually would be. 

I’m not even going to question how that works with the time zones and not letting the ice cream melt.

"Where could he possibly be?" She turned to her left, and said, "At least I've got you, Flying Mint Bunny!"

"Yeah, I'll always be right here by your side!" the imaginary creature said gleefully.

Ariana talked and played with Flying Mint Bunny,

Embrace this moment while you can, folks, because this is the last time that Flying Mint Bunny appears and the last time that Ariana is really characterized in the same way a Flanderized England would be. From hereon out, she’s just a Mary-Sue who whines a lot. Really makes the “I’ll always be right here” line pretty ironic, actually.

until she heard splashing to her right. She turned around, and saw someone running at a high speed across the water. It then leaped onto Sealand's rig, confusing Ariana. "Why would Sealand leave his rig?" she thought, continuing to eat her ice cream.

She sees her best friend running on water like Jesus and that’s her only question??

But then she took the lid to the ice cream container and noticed a logo- with Sealand's face in a shaky- looking chibi form as the centerpiece.

"It was Sealand!" Ariana exclaimed to Flying Mint Bunny.

"Yeah, figure that out yourself, Sherlock?" the bunny teased.

Apparently so, and it’s very strange that it took this long for ANYONE to notice. Nobody knew who it was, but with Sealand printing his mug on every container, how could they not? I guess he’s a little-known micronation, but even still, what?

"Oh, shut up! Who needs you?" Ariana shouted in anger, shooing the bunny away. It floated away in melancholy.

Well, goodbye forever, Flying Mint Bunny. You were a great ally for as long as you lasted. I salute you.

In the corner of her eye, she noticed bright orange float from the rig. Once again, Sealand leaped into the orange raft and paddled like mad until he hit the shore Ariana was on,

Why’s he bothering with the raft when we just learned that he can walk on fucking water?

before sitting down beside Ariana. "Hey, Ariana, where'd you get the ice cream?" he asked.

"I found it on my nightstand this morning," Ariana said, joking with the boy by keeping her knowledge of his ice cream a secret.

They both know that the ice cream exists, so what does this even mean?

"Do you know who it's from?" Sealand asked, his voice being cracked by giggles.

"Yeah," Ariana said.

"Who?"

Ariana poked Sealand in the chest. "You."

Oh my GOD they’re flirting. GOD! THE POLICE! CALL SOMEONE! NOOOOOO!!

Sealand looked surprised. "How did you figure me out?"

Ariana simply held up the lid of the container, showing Sealand's odd chibi face.

Sealand face palmed. "I tried to cover it with white-out, but it didn't work! I feel dumb now!"

There are only two ways how that could be possible; either the white-out was removed when the ice was wiped off the cup or he never tried to use white-out in the first place. Either way, why would he print the containers like that if he didn’t want anyone to know that it was him?

"Don't feel dumb," Ariana said, ruffling Sealand's hair for no reason whatsoever.

Wait, so are they flirting or not? That seemed like the sort of thing that would be written to shut down a shipping attempt, but they’re definitely flirting. The Principality of Sealand has existed since the fifties or sixties! He’s young by a country’s standards but he’d still be robbing the cradle if he and Ariana dated! Like, can you even imagine that? Ewwww! Not to mention, Sealand is supposed to hate England! Why, then, would he turn around and try to fuck his female counterpart?!

"Anyone who can sneak into my room without me noticing is pretty clever." "Except Francisca," she thought.

Ew, not with this again.

"Ariana, I have something to ask you," Sealand said.

"Yes, what is it?" Ariana asked.

"Do you… like me?"

OH MY GOD! NO! NO! NOOO! CALL THE NAVY SEALS! CALL THE COAST GUARD! CALL THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE! CALL ANYBODY! SOMEBODY NEEDS TO SAVE US FROM THIS MESS!

Ariana responded in shock, "Not in that way! Just as a friend!"

Sealand looked sadly to the waves lapping on the shore. "Oh, okay then."

"Look, its okay," Ariana said, putting her head down too so she could look at Sealand. "I can't like you. At home, I had a boyfriend."

I’m almost surprised by that fact, not only because she’s thirteen but because she’s relatively unappealing as a person.

"What do you mean, 'at home'? Don't you live here?" Sealand asked with a puzzled look.

"Not always. I kind of only came to live here after I got kidnapped," Ariana explained.

"By that English twit?" Sealand asked roughly.

"No, by Prussia," Ariana said.

Wait, shouldn’t Sealand know this information already? If they’re such good friends, then how didn’t this come up sooner?

"And then he made me despise him more by attacking the most loveable guy I know, Italy."

"Can't you just ask to go back home?" Sealand asked.

"The thing is… I'm not sure if I want to anymore," Ariana said, looking down. "I've made so many friends here in Europe, and I don't want to lose any one of them."

Yeah, your beloved European friends! You’ve got Sealand, um…nobody else that I can think of since you like to randomly antagonize everyone else…Yeah! All of those valuable European friends that you should remain missing in the U.S. for!

"But… What about your parents? They must be so worried," Sealand said.

"Being the youngest out of four, I'm often ignored. I doubt anyone even notices I'm gone yet." Tears began to run down the British girl's cheeks.

What the shit? This is coming right the fuck out of nowhere. Like, where was the prompting? Also, four isn’t a lot of children and she’s the baby of the family. Of course they’re going to know she’s gone. And even if it’s not a normal family situation and her parents are abusive or something, then they’ll still take notice if their youngest daughter is gone. She won’t want to go back and they may not seek her out, sure, but it would be impossible to just disregard. Not to mention, she’s a bright-eyed blond little white girl. Her disappearance is not going to go unnoticed by the American media.

"I was outside when I got kidnapped. I always went outside. Getting away from the world where everyone ignores me to a world where anything is possible just felt like a miracle."

Wouldn’t this backstory be a lot more understandable if she were the middle child in a family of, like, ten? Or if she was adopted or something? Then her origins could be obscured enough that you could reveal later on that she’s actually a full-blooded Brit. And evidently she isn’t totally ignored since they bought her an iPod or an MP3 player or something for her to get kidnapped from, so it’s just super nonsensical. You can tell that I made this up on the spot.

"I think I understand now," Sealand said, before glancing to the empty container of ice cream in Ariana's hand. "So, do you want more ice cream? I can go get some."

Hold up, when the hell did she eat it? I think I missed something. Unless she was stuffing her face while crying and giving Sealand her entire life’s story, then that container should still be mostly full.

"No thanks," Ariana said, standing up and walking away and left Sealand sitting on the shore by himself.

Wow, cold! What the fuck? And it just ends after that. That’s all, folks.

I admit, this chapter was a little less funny than some of the other chapters, because I've wanted to explain the back stories of some of the gender swaps.

Feh, I wouldn’t feed that horrible backstory to my cat.

Next up is going to be Iscah, I think. Not sure yet :3

Great, let’s read about the character who’s been repurposed into a memetic molester. I’m soooo excited to see you defend her actions up to now. Anyway, you heard the woman. That’s what we’ve got in store for us next time. Exclusively. Without any B-story or relevance to the ‘plot’. Yaaaaaaay.

(CANADA/MATTIE ABUSE COUNTER= 13)