#and its so frustrating to look in the tags and see these sort of analysizes and going okay this is great. but i cant trust you

[mrswhymrhow]

im going to say this once. there is a lot of fascinating. implications between the family member sin succession that certain (coughincestcough) fans like to dig into in weird ways but it is actually something fascinating and done so well. they arent actually engaging in that but theres so much to say about it. the way shiv is "marrying her father" and having her baby in a way tlaking about capitalism and the way a lot of times these sort of families do have histories of engaging in incest to "keep the family line pure" and all that. romans jokes about it. the way business is equiviliant to fucking in the show. its all fascinating. and now i wont talk about it again bc i dont trust anyone to be able to have this sort of conversation in a normal way on here and i dont want to with msot of you

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch39: The Reunion Part 2: Hey, Kiddo.

Intro: Help arrives in the form of an unknown face, and after almost a month of searching, Tony returns to Earth where he is re-united with his sister.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Please heed the warnings… @angrybirdcr​ hit me in the feels with these ones...

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 39 Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“More census results.” Natasha said, tapping a button as Steve walked into the room, coffee in his hand, Katie following.

“I thought when you said you had news that someone had answered that fucking pager.” Katie mumbled, running a hand through her hair and Steve looked at her, taking a deep breath. He felt her frustration too, the excitement at having finally got the thing working had been short lived, as nothing came from it, at all. It simply continued to send the signal for a good two days on end, no one answering and Steve found himself wondering if whoever was on the other side had been dusted too.

Natasha ignored her completely as the 3D globe flashed up in front of them, along with numerous digital displays of numbers that kept rolling, and rolling increasing in front of their eyes.  

Steve placed his mug down and sighed, leaning over the table so he could get a closer look “God, this is a nightmare.”

“I’ve had better nightmares.” Katie mumbled, her eyes on the ever increasing death tolls.

“Hey.” Rhodey appeared in the door and they all turned to face him. “So that thing just stopped doing whatever the hell it was doing.”

“The pager?” Katie asked instantly, her eyes widening.

Rhodey nodded, and in a flash she moved, pushing past him and darting out of the room, Natasha hurrying behind her.

“They’re keen.” Rhodey quipped and Steve took a deep breath before he shook his head.

“I’m not sure how many more knocks they can take, Rhodey.”

Rhodey simply clapped him on the shoulder as they too headed to the lab, to find Bruce already explaining.

“Whatever signal it was sending finally crapped out.” Bruce said as they all stared through the glass sided container at the pager that had been running for the last few days.

“I thought we by-passed the battery?” Steve spoke from where he stood a few steps behind Katie.

“Well we did.” Rhodey replied. “It was still plugged in it just… just stopped.”

Steve looked up to his left before he glanced back at the item and took a deep breath “Re-boot it, send the signal again.”

“We don’t even know what this is.” Bruce began to protest and Katie cut him off, turning to look at him

“Fury did.”

“Katie’s right, just do it please?” Natasha stated, as she too turned from the object to look at Bruce. “Tell me the second you get a signal, I wanna know who’s on the other end of that thing.”

She turned to leave the room and Katie followed her with her eyes before Nat stopped dead due to the presence of a blonde woman she had never seen before in her life. She was dressed in a red and blue combat suit of sorts which had gold shoulder pads which led into three golden stripes across her chest, culminating in a gold nova-style star of some kind. Katie felt a little bit indignant at the sight if she was honest.

That star style had been given to her. And she didn’t like people taking her stuff.

Lucky gave a bark as Katie nudged Steve. He looked from the pager, to her, followed her gaze and immediately straightened up, drawing himself taller as he turned to face the woman as she eyeballed Natasha and spoke clearly.

“Where’s Fury?”

“He’s not here.” Steve stepped forward putting himself in between Katie and the newcomer as he eyed her up and down. “I’m sorry, and I don’t mean to be rude but who are you?”

“Name’s Carol, Carol Danvers.”

“Carol Danvers?” Katie frowned, moving so she was stood alongside Steve as she instantly recognised the name.

“What is it?” Steve asked and Katie turned to face him.

“When we took down Hydra at the Triskellion, Fury had the retinal scan we used hidden under that name, Carol Danvers.” Katie turned from Steve to scrutinise the small woman in front of her. “You were important enough for him to page when people started to vanish, and important enough for him to use your name to hide a clearance under.” She paused, looking straight at the woman before she repeated Steve’s question. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” Carol said, vaguely. “Me and Nick go way back. I gave him that pager so he could reach of me in case of emergency, I haven’t heard from him in over twenty years so I’ll politely ask again, where is he?“

"Dead.” Nat stated simply and Carol’s face slipped a little bit.

“Dead? I don’t…how?”

“Thanos.” Katie replied and Carol frowned.

“Thanos, the mad Titan?” 

“You heard of him then?”  Rhodey looked at her.

“I’ve been tracking him for a while.” Carol nodded. “Ever since he decimated Xandar, but he slipped off radar about a month ago.”

“Well he slipped off your radar and onto ours.” Rhody continued. “Came to Earth, wielding his infinity stones and…”

“He’s been chasing Infinity stones.” It was a statement not a question as Carol closed her eyes, her voice almost a groan.

“And he found them.” Katie sighed “He found them, and eighteen days ago he used them.”

“Well that explains it.” Carol bit her lip, her eyes flicking again to the now defunct pager.

“Explains what?” Steve questioned.

“It’s been chaos out there for the last couple of weeks.” Carol turned back to him. “I’ve been getting distress calls from all over the galaxy.”

“Distress calls?” Nat asked, her eyes still narrowed slightly. “What-“

“I have powers.” Carol cut her off and Steve could tell she was picking her words carefully.

“Powers?” He pressed. “So you’re enhanced?”

“Not intentionally.” Carol smiled a little, and then the dots suddenly connected in Katie’s head and her eyes widened.

“Project Pegasus.” Katie whispered, and Carol arched an eyebrow at her. “The incident that shut it down, that was you?”

“What the hell was Project Pegasus?” Bruce asked.

“It was a joint initiative between NASA and the Airforce to analyse and study new aircraft engines.” Rhodey answered, frowning.

“To the public.” Kate added softly. “In reality it was the cover used for the project to study the Tesseract.”

Steve let out a groan. “Why does everything come back to that damned cube?”  “Yeah well that ‘damned cube’ and I had an accident, and I absorbed its power.” Carol sniffed as she rubbed at her temple. “Has Fury never mentioned me to you guys? Not even once?” They all shook their heads.

“That’s a bummer. Especially seeing as you’re named after me.”

“Named after you?” Steve frowned

“My pilot tag” Carol smiled slightly as she looked round “I was Captain Carol ‘Avenger’ Danvers. You are the Avengers, right?”

“What’s left of them.” Rhodey folded his arms across his chest.

“You were Fury’s first Super Hero.” Katie looked at Carol, cocking her head slightly, studying the woman some more. “You’re what inspired him to put a gang of us together.”

“Apparently so.”

Before they had chance to question her further, Rocket walked in.

“Is that a racoon?” Carol frowned, staring at the creature who looked up at her, raising his eyebrow before he sarcastically replied.

“You want a photo or summin?”

Carol stayed that evening and they sat up late into the night as she explained everything about who she was, what had happened between her and Fury in the Nineties and for some reason, Steve and Katie both felt they could trust her. It was a boost, if anything, to have someone else on their side.

The next morning after a rest and food, she was preparing to set off again and had given their spirits somewhat of a lift with her promise to do what she could to help find Tony.

“I’ve got places I can try, favours I can call in, people I can speak to.” She said, scanning a photo of Tony into her device on the wrist. “And then I’ll go wherever the trail leads. If your brother is out there, and your friends, I’ll find them.”

Katie nodded.

“You should be calibrated to our coms.” Bruce looked up as Carol tapped again at her arm and nodded.

“I’ve boosted your scanners and your signals too.” she said.

Silently Natasha, Steve and Katie walked her out of the facility, Steve taking Katie’s hand in his as they rounded the corner that led to the doors. They swung open, revealing the now dark sky and Steve noticed Katie glance up, something which had become a habit, almost as if she was hoping to see a sign Tony was there. Which of course she never did.

Suddenly, Natasha gave a gasp whilst Steve jumped backwards, pulling Katie with him as Carol lit up like she was on fire, but when he looked closer he noticed it was some kind of bright energy that engulfed her as she hovered off the floor and turned to look at them, her eyes full of humour.

“Yeah sorry, should have warned you about my party trick.” she chuckled slightly.

This woman had some power, and it made Steve wonder why Fury had never introduced them to her before. But that was a question for another day.  

“I’ll be in touch.” She said and with that she was gone, as fast as she had arrived, shooting through the air like a star, leaving Lucky jumping up and barking in her wake.

Natasha looked over at Steve and Katie, and rightly reading the situation decided to leave them alone “I’m going to let Pepper know what she said about finding Tony.” She nodded to the couple and wandered back towards the doors as Katie looked back up again.

“Sweetheart?” Steve questioned, and she turned to face him, her eyes full of tears.

“This is it.” she shrugged “This is the best chance we’ve had, and probably will have and…” She couldn’t think of the words to explain how she was feeling. She was excited, excited that they had a plan. But then there was also a feeling of dread in her chest. Dread about what it was Carol was going to find, if she found anything. She wrapped her arms tightly round Steve as he pulled her to him, holding her close.

“Keep hold of that hope.” He said gently, his hand stroking through her hair. “Keep hold until we know any different.”

*****

“Titan is a mess.” Carol sighed, her hologram flickered slightly. It was three days since she had left the compound and this was the first they had heard of her since and it wasn’t great news. “There’s clearly been a big fight here but there’s no sign of anyone now. I have a few more potential leads though, so I’ll follow them up.”

“Sweetheart.” Steve sighed gently, turning to Katie who shook her head, pulling away a little. This had been her last hope, that Carol would find something. But they were still none the wiser and every day that past Tony’s chances were getting slimmer.  After a moment or so she took a deep breath, reaching up to wipe at her eyes and she turned to Steve.

“I’m gonna go back to the apartment.” Her voice cracked. “I need a shower.”

“Alright.” Steve nodded and to make sure he understood that she needed space, not from him, but just to be alone with her thoughts, she reached up, gently touched his cheek and stood on her tiptoes to kiss the whiskers that adorned his chin and face. Steve watched her go before he turned back to Natasha who was bent over looking at something on a tablet.

“What you looking at?” He asked and Nat glanced up at him with a sigh.

“Potential sighting of Clint.” she turned it to face him. He squinted at the still on the screen. Sure, it looked a bit like Barton, but he couldn’t be certain. “I ran a facial recognition. Got a few hits, but we all look so different now, we all are so different now.” Natasha shrugged.

Something about that line powered home to Steve as he headed back towards their quarters an hour or so later. The arrival of Carol four days ago had galvanised the group into remembering who they were, even if they didn’t feel like it anymore. They were the Avengers. Fury’s greatest plan, and the ones to whom the survivors of the snap were looking to for direction. 

Steve had realised recently that shield or no shield, he needed to be Captain America, even if he didn’t want to be. He had to lead his team from the front lines, not as a vigilante that fought the bad guys from the shadows, hiding from a government that had declared him the enemy. It was time for him to step up again, become who they needed him to be.

He walked into their bedroom and saw Katie was flat out on the bed, Lucky by her side. Gently he worked the covers up around her, flicked on the lamp on the night stand and gave the dog a quick pat before he pulled off his black sweater and moved into the bathroom glancing in the mirror. He scratched at his chin and gave a sigh.

Captain America didn’t have a beard…

*****

Katie woke up five or so minutes later and stretched, her feet kicking at the blankets which had been pulled up around her. She blinked and looked around, Steve’s black sweater was tossed over the back of the chair and she could hear running water coming from the en-suite as the door was slightly ajar. Climbing out of bed she strolled over to the bathroom door as the water stopped and she nudged it open further to lean against the frame, just in time to see Steve raise a towel to dry off his face. When he lowered it she could see the reflection of a familiarly clean shaven jawline.

The beard she loved so much was gone.

He locked eyes with her in the reflection of the mirror, almost nervously. Deep down Katie had known this was coming, it was only a matter of time seeing as he’d settled back into his role as leader of the Avengers as easily as he had left it.

She smiled and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his toned waist kissing his muscular shoulder which was bare thanks to his white tank. Wanting to be closer to him she pushed up on her toes to nuzzle behind his ear and his eyes closed when she kissed the side of his neck. He shivered a little at the contact, dropped the towel to the sink and turned in her arms loosely wrapping his own around her.

Katie just stared at him for a moment taking in his cleanly shaven face, the familiar sideburns, and sharp jawline.

“Come on, get it over with.” Steve rolled his eyes and Katie gave a sigh.

“You know I really loved that beard,” she looked up at him, “can’t believe you murdered it.”

“Murdered it?” Steve raised an eyebrow, as she reached up to gently take his smooth jaw in her fingertips.

“Yes, murdered it. But I’ll let you off, because you are incredibly handsome.”

Steve smiled a little crookedly and leaning down, connected their lips in a soft, slow kiss that quickly became heated, when his tongue touched hers. His hands slid down the length of her back, over her ass, his fingers skating the back of her bare thighs which sent a fire coursing through her body, drawing a soft groan from her as he continued to kiss her, hard, he realised how much he needed this.

They both did. Both were desperate to fill that gaping hole and emptiness they had both been feeling for the past few weeks, and as always, it was in one another they sought that solace.

Katie slid her hands down, tugging up his top briefly as Steve moved his kisses down the side of her neck. Her fingers grazed his hips then hooked into his belt to begin undoing it but his hands gently stopped her.

“Sweetheart.” He swallowed, his breath deep. “I don’t want to hurt you, you know after…”

“You would never hurt me, Stevie.”

Her voice was a soft whisper and Steve looked down at her once more, and then he knew he was kidding himself. Over three weeks it had been since they’d made love and that was too fucking long for his liking. His lips crashed onto hers but before they could resume where they had been, they were both jolted as, suddenly the air was filled with a loud rumbling.

Curiously Steve reached out to steady the mirror over the sink which was shaking, and then the entire building started to rattle.

Man and wife looked at each other in confusion and Katie cleared her throat.

“FRIDAY?”

“Something has entered the atmosphere, Mrs Rogers” The AI responded calmly, “A vessel is being brought towards the facility.”

No sooner had FRIDAY finished, there came a banging on their door, before they heard it open and Rhodey loudly calling their names. Katie shot out of the bathroom and into the hall, Steve hot on her tail, grabbing his sweater off the chair and pulling it over his head as he headed into the living room.

"It’s Danvers.” Rhodey looked at Katie who took a deep breath. “Kiddo, she found him.”

Katie’s chest began to heave, she felt like her heart was going to pound out of her ribcage. Her hand flew to her mouth as Steve dropped a hand to her shoulder.

“Alive?” She managed to whisper.

“He was when she found him.”  Rhodey replied gently.

Without a further word, Katie set off sprinting through the facility, not waiting for anyone. The blood was pounding in her ears, her heart thumbing in her chest as she burst out onto the lawns, where Pepper was already waiting, staring up at the sky. As Steve, Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey all came to a stop besides the two women, the massive space ship rounded the corner, carried by Carol who was encased in a golden orb of light.

Katie gently took Pepper’s hand in hers and squeezed her fingers, neither of them moving their gaze from the ship, as it made its way to the ground, deposited onto the grass. With a hiss the ramp dropped and there he was, being supported by a blue woman. He looked weak. He’d lost a lot of weight, needed a shave, a shower and he looked so pale.

But he was alive!

Katie let out a soft cry, her hands flying to her mouth and Steve swore as he spotted instantly how bad Tony looked. He sprinted forward, passing Katie who was rooted to the spot, and ran up the steps, taking Tony’s weight off the blue woman. Tony gripped his arm and looked at Steve, before turning his head to watch where he was going.

“I couldn’t stop him.”�� He said quietly.

“Neither could I.” Steve replied.

“I lost the kid.”

“Tony, we lost.” Steve said gently. As he looked at his brother-in-law he saw there was guilt and fear plaguing Tony’s face in a way that Steve had seen before, in his own face when they’d returned from Wakanda. He stood still as Tony studied him for a moment, before he swallowed.

“Yeah, is err…” Tony looked up and his eyes fell first on Katie then Pepper who, following a gentle, nudge in the back from Katie, took the last few steps towards him.

Katie stood still, watching as Tony visibly sighed when he saw them both, and it felt to her like she was seeing the sun for the first time, as Pepper gently pulled her brother into a hug, wrapping her arm around his neck to hold him close as she sobbed against his hollow cheek.

Steve looked at her, his eyes shining with tears and Katie realised she was shaking, violently. Unable to stop her shudders, the tears continued to fall thick and fast and she tore her eyes from Steve’s as Pepper pulled away slightly from Tony. With one arm round Pepper and Steve supporting him on his other side, he took a couple more strides forwards and then he was in front of her.

Katie stared back into his brown eyes, brown eyes that belonged to their father and she took a huge, shuddering breath which was punctuated by a little choke, as the sheer emotion threatened to overwhelm her completely. It had been almost 2 years since he had seen her, and whilst she felt utter relief at seeing him alive, she was also scared, frightened about what he was going to say

But, when he opened his mouth, he only had two words for her.

“Hey Kiddo”

The sound of his familiar greeting broke Katie completely and she let out a loud sob stepping forward.  As she gently wrapped her arms round him she cried into his shoulder, babbling her apologies.

“I’m so sorry Tone, I’ve missed you so much.”

Tony brought a hand up, resting it on the back of her head, his own voice choked slightly as he pressed his face into her hair. “I’m sorry too, I’m so sorry my beautiful girl. God, I missed you.”

*****

“I need a cheeseburger.” Tony grumbled, and Katie’s face split into a grin as Pepper took hold of his hand from where she was sitting by his bed in a chair.

“Maybe in a few days, pal.” Banner smiled as he gently patted Tony’s shoulder. Katie looked up and Bruce jerked his head to the door of the room. She followed him out and the pair of them were joined by Steve and Rhodey who had been hovering at the back of the medic bay.

“He’s lucky.” Banner looked at Katie “The wound in his abdomen missed everything major and he appears to have fought off most of the infection thanks to Nebula, but I’ve given him a course of IV antibiotics to be on the safe side. He’s slightly dehydrated and a little underweight, but other than needing a lot of rest he should be fine.”

“Thanks, Bruce.” Katie smiled as she looked back through the window into the room. Tony had his head lay on the pillow, tilted in Pepper’s direction, a weary grin spreading across his face as they talked. 

“I’m gonna stay with him.” Katie looked back to Steve. “Do you mind?”

“No, of course not.” He shook his head.

She then turned to Rhodey. “Can you make sure that Nebula and Carol get some food and a place to stay?”

“Sure.” Rhodey said as Steve pressed a kiss to the side of Katie’s head 

“I’ll be back later to check on him.” Bruce nodded. 

Katie watched the three men leave before she walked back into the room. Pepper and Tony both looked up at her as she sat on the edge of Tony’s bed.

“Pep, could you give us a minute?” Tony asked. Pepper nodded and stood up, touching Katie’s shoulder once as she left, the door clicking shut behind her. Katie turned back to her brother who reached out with his cold hand and wrapped it around hers

“Kiddo, I’m so sorry.” “So am I.” She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “There hasn’t been a day over the last two years I haven’t thought about you, Tone.”

“Shame. I wanted to call so bad, but…” He trailed off, his voice cracking. “Stubborn ass hole, remember.” “That’s the Starks for you.” Katie smiled.

“What I said to you in Siberia, it was unforgivable.” Tony’s brown eyes locked onto hers, shining with tears. “And I know it sounds stupid but I didn’t mean any of it, not really…“

“Rhodey told me why you said it.” She swallowed as she looked down, her tears falling onto the sheets “I should have told you about mom and dad.”

“None of that matters now.” Tony shook his head, gently giving her hands a squeeze.

She fell silent again, wiping at her face, before she took a deep breath, steeling herself as she knew she had to tell him what had happened to her in the Snap. Because if he found out of someone else…

“Tony, there’s something you need to know, before anyone else tells you.” She looked at him.

“What?”

“When Thanos…when he came to Wakanda…” the tears still fell “I was…I was pregnant, but we didn’t know and…” “Was? Oh no.” Her brother’s face scrunched up as his hands wrapped even harder round hers. “Kiddo I’m…” “Don’t.” She shook her head. “Don’t say you’re sorry, please.”

“I am sorry. Sorry I wasn’t there with you.”

“You’re here now.” She looked at him. He smiled and opened his arms and she lent down next to him, gently laying her head on his bony chest, closing her eyes and relishing his presence. It was as if the past two years had never happened, as she simply lay there whilst he comforted her, the way he always had done. 

“Nice hair by the way.” He quipped, making her chuckle. 

“Thanks. Part of my disguise.” “Mmmm doesn’t work. Can still see your face.”

“Steve grew a beard.” Katie looked up at him

“Spangles? A proper one?” Tony cocked his head to one side, eyebrow arching.

“Yup.” Katie nodded. “It was pretty impressive to be fair. I’ll show you a photo at some point.”

Pepper returned to the room at that point and Katie sat up, moving off Tony’s bed, pulling another chair up from the corner. He lasted approximately twenty more minutes before sleep overwhelmed him and he closed his eyes, out for the count.

“You should go.” Pepper looked over at Katie. Katie started to protest but Pepper cut her off. “I know you think you’re invincible, but you’re not. Maybe Steve won’t put his foot down with you over this but I will. You’ve had an ordeal, we all have, but you especially need to look after yourself. Go to bed.” “Damned.” Katie frowned “When did you get so bossy?”

“Comes from living with him.” Pepper jerked her head at Tony “The amount of times I’ve found him collapsed over a computer.”

Katie smiled fondly before she clocked the stern look Pepper was giving her and stood up. “Fine, I’ll go. But…” “If anything changes I’ll get FRIDAY to call you straight away.” Pepper smiled, nodding. With a deep breath Katie dropped a kiss to Tony’s head and left. The rubber band that had been wrapped around her chest for so long had slackened, but getting Tony back was the tip of the iceberg. She knew that the next step would be to find Thanos, and none of them would rest until they did. 

****

After making sure Carol and Nebula were settled, and thanking them both for what they had done to get Tony back to them, Steve walked back to the apartment, grabbed a beer and headed out through the patio doors into the large garden area to let Lucky have a mooch around. He felt much better than he had in ages, like someone had slotted a large piece of the puzzle back into place. Once Tony was stronger, maybe they had a chance of finding Thanos and reversing all of this.

And then, well, maybe he and Katie could have a shot at being a family.

He took a pull from his bottle and looked out over the grounds. It wasn’t a bad place to bring up a kid, he supposed. Or maybe they should get their own place, just like they almost had three years ago. The more he thought about it, the more he started to think that was the better option. Did he really want a kid surrounded by all of this? More to the point, he found himself wondering if he wanted himself surrounded by this anymore. A year or so ago, he’d have jumped at the chance to get back into the thick of it, but now, well,  he just felt tired.

He’d fought for so long, given so much, maybe it was time to get out, take a back seat like Tony had.

Taking a deep breath he finished his beer, called Lucky back to him and headed back inside. He’d just thrown his empty bottle into the recycling and was contemplating heading back to see how Tony was, when the door to the apartment opened and Katie stepped inside. She looked tired, but almost, dare he say it, happy.

“Hey.” He greeted her as she shut the door. “How is he?” “Sleeping.” She crossed the hall towards him “He’ll be out until the morning I expect.” “And you?” He asked, opening his arms.

She smiled, stepping into his embrace. “I’m okay. What about you?” “Me?” he asked.

“Yeah.” she looked up at him. “Everyone seems hell bent on making sure I’m ok, they seem to forget you.” Steve took a deep breath.“It’s not important.” “It is to me.” Katie looked up at him. 

“I’ve got you.” Steve shrugged. “And long as I do I’ll be fine.” “You’ll always have me.” She smiled gently, and then Steve hadn’t got the foggiest how it happened, but they were kissing again, picking up where they had left off earlier that evening in the bathroom.

The kisses grew almost violent as they both poured every bit of emotion into one another, each one clawing at the other with a desperate touch. Steve fell towards Katie, pushing her back into the wall which separated the hallway from the kitchen area and pressed himself tightly against her. She slid her hands up beneath his top, her nails digging into his back, stinging his skin enough to elicit a deep, guttural moan from his throat. At that noise, Katie let out a high pitched moan of her own as his hands skimmed down to the back of her thighs, fingers digging into her flesh as he gripped tightly, hoisting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and couldn’t help but mutter rapidly into his ear, amid tight, short gasps. “I need you Stevie, I need you, please.”

He dropped his lips to her neck, trailing his teeth along the arch of her shoulder. “I need you too.” His voice was dark and deep, which made her moan even more, and he didn’t wait for a response before hoisting her higher and carrying her into the bedroom where he dropped her down onto the bed. His hands gently reached down and they separated long enough for him to remove her top, Katie repaying the favour as she pulled his jumper and vest off in one move before she threw her arms around him as his lips dropped again to her neck. He popped the buttons on her denim shorts and slipped one of his hands down under the waistband, into her panties and she bucked at his touch as he gently played with the flesh letting out a groan as he found her ready for him, slick and hot.

“Fuck.” He mumbled as her hand fell to the buckle on his belt, their mouths still tangled together as he kissed her hard, needily before he tugged on her knees, pulling her flat down. Taking her shorts and underwear off in a swift glide down the bed, he shimmied out of his jeans and boxers, Katie taking the chance to hastily remove her bra before he fell onto her once more, using his knees to push hers apart. He propped himself on his elbows and dropped down to kiss her, slamming his teeth into hers in desperation as she was clawing at his back, arching up as she groaned into the kiss, his name falling from her lips as he pulled away slightly.

“You’ll tell me if I hurt you?” He looked at her. She knew he was worried, so she gently reached out, running her finger over his once again smooth jaw line.

“Promise.” she assured him. He swallowed thickly and as he worked into her, she let out a soft moan as he started to move, slowly at first, almost patiently as she hiked her legs up around him. He wanted to take it slow, he really did, but he found he couldn’t, and Katie didn’t want him to either. She was urging him on and soon they were fucking with avaricious force, both chasing a gratification they hadn’t felt in weeks, and the more he gave the more she wanted. 

Her hips met his with every drive forward he made as she writhed and mewled underneath him and it wasn’t long before she felt herself beginning to tumble. Steve could read her body signs better than she could herself and as her breath began to quicken, he pressed his mouth back to her neck, groaning himself

“You feel so good, so fucking good.” His mouth nipped at her ear as he spoke “I love you so much, baby.” And that was it, with those words she was undone.

“Stevie.” His name tumbled from her lips, in little more than a squeak as she tightened round him again and again. Then, as the heat burst between her legs and the lights exploded in front of her eyes she let out a short gasp, her nails digging further into his back, smarting the skin as she succumbed to her high.

Steve kept thrusting through her orgasm, the coil in his own belly tightening more and more. “Katie, fuck!” he closed his eyes, his head dropping to her shoulder and he spilled himself into her with a jerk and a moan before his elbows slowly slipped out from under him and he collapsed on top of her, their breathing coming in ragged gasps as they both lay delirious from the utter carnal nature of it all.

Katie’s hands gently trailed up Steve’s back and into his hair to begin their usual caress. Steve loved these tender, intimate moments that followed the sex, as much as the act itself. Gently, he moved his head to slide his nose against hers before he kissed her softly, tenderly this time as they held each other close. 

Skin to skin, soul to soul, the pair of them as together as they could be, each lending the other a soothing reassurance that whilst they were still grieving, and would continue to grieve for however long they needed to, they hadn’t lost everything.

They still had one another, and as long as they did, they would be okay in time.

**** Chapter 40

**Original Posting**

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Riverdale Season 5 Trailer Thoughts/Breakdown

Yay the trailer is finally here! So excited. Anyway here is my breakdown of the trailer and my initial thoughts and theories. I do want to say real quick as a trigger warning that the trailer did have images of what appeared to be a suicide by hanging and there are images of that in this breakdown (I have put them under a tag) so if this is something you feel will upset or trigger you please be careful. Also obviously there are spoilers.  

Firstly they didn’t really give us much new content. Most of the footage was stuff we have already seen and consisted of shots from the videos the voyeur had put out and the characters staring at tv screens. But there were a few new scenes in there for us to over-analyse and go crazy over. Also most of the scenes look like they are pre time jump which to be honest I was expecting because season 5 footage could potentially spoil the ending of what would of been season 4/ the current storyline with the voyeur. 

So the first bit of new footage I think is this shot:

At least I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen it before. It’s clearly Jughead and it looks to me like he’s got a book on his lap (circled in red). Here’s the question I have, is he lighting the match to read the book because there’s no light where ever he is or is he going to burn the book. One theory I have is that from the character description for jughead’s new girlfriend it talks about a book that he’s not writing. Basically he’s struggling to write a book. Maybe this is actually a cleverly placed post time jump scene and he’s frustrated about his fight with his girlfriend over the book and so he burns it. That is the book in his lap is a draft or something of his own book. Maybe he then goes back to Riverdale to start the book over and get new inspiration. But that’s just my best guess of what’s going on here. I mean it might not even be a book in his lap. 

Next new scene is this one where Betty and Jughead are talking to Brett in prison:

Anyone who read my season 4 theory/review posts knows that I think Donna is involved in the whole voyeur plotline and is in fact the leader of a ring of voyeurs I spose you could call it. For me this scene makes me think this is even more likely. Brett says ‘something’s coming and it’s going to hit you like a mack truck.’ So he obviously knows something about the voyeur. Unfortunately I think this might also suggest that Charles could be involved, if anything is going to hit them like a mack truck it would be finding out their brother is out to get them. I really hope thats not the case though. I mean Brett could just be being dramatic right? 

Not really sure how I feel about the B*ghead scene. I talked about this in one of my reviews, about how when Betty and Jughead slept together for the first time I was uncomfortable about it because at the time Betty was lying to Jughead about having kissed Archie and to me that just didn’t seem right or fair to Jughead. This is a very similar situation. I feel like if Betty has already told Jughead about the kiss with Archie and they’ve worked it out then fine its another b*ghead sex scene whatever you know, I’m not overly invested in B*ghead but I don’t really mind them either, I’m just bored of them to be honest, so it is what it is. But if she’s still sleeping with him without having that conversation with him then I do think that’s a mistake on Betty’s part and that she isn’t being fair to Jughead. But from the look on Jughead’s face in this shot:

I think it looks like she does tell him which I am relieved about it even though it’s going to really suck to see Jughead heartbroken like this. In which case if she has told him then this could be breakup sex or it could be Jughead decides he wants to try and make it work and this is like makeup sex. If it is the latter I do think later they will both realise they just can’t make it work and they decide to part before or during the time jump. Though I do want to make it clear no matter what does happen if she does tell him or not that I would never hate on Betty, the same as when she cheated, at the end of the day she’s a teenage girl and she makes mistakes, hopefully she learns and grows from those mistakes, she has time to and the same for Archie too.  

 So prom looks like it is going to be fun, well at first anyway. It does look like Veronica is going to find out about Betty and Archie at prom which isn’t really new information:

Look as excited as I am to see Barchie and the potential of them being explored, and as bored as I am with the current couples it’s still going to be really hard to see Veronica (and Jughead) hurt. I mean look at my poor girl she’s devastated and 100% doesn’t deserve this. But I do feel like the current couples did need to be changed up a bit and breakups are always going to hurt, but it does suck to see. 

It looks like more than just relationship drama goes down at prom. There is this scene:

It’s hard to tell whether this is like on a big screen at prom or whether this happens after prom but either way it looks like someone else is going to die and this is going to be a disturbing scene. What does make me curious is this shot:

 I’m sort of confused by this scene because at first I thought this and the image above were related and there is obviously something happening, some kind of drama but we can’t see what it is. The thing is they don’t look scared. They look more shocked/ surprised. And the guy on the end next to Reggie (apparently he’s a character from Katy Keene but I just know him as Austin from a show called Make it or Break it and honestly its weird seeing him in Riverdale but I digress) he just looks really confused. My theory is that Veronica and Archie are having a fight in the middle of prom after she finds out about the kiss with Betty and Reggie is making that ooh face because Veronica has slapped Archie. I reckon something has caused Betty and Jughead to have already left prom so Jughead won’t find out until later. Another explanation could be that theory that footage of Barchie’s kiss gets shown at prom. Obviously Austin/ Character from Katy Keene is confused because he doesn’t really know anyone there so probably doesn’t have any idea what’s going on. 

(Ok so the next part is to do with that trigger warning I mentioned earlier so again please only continue if you are comfortable to do so.)

So we’ve got our first potential shot of the voyeur here wearing an owl mask. That’s not creepy at all.  

The interesting thing though is this shot:

As you can see cirlced in red this person who appears to have hung themselves is wearing that same owl mask. But I actually think this is a bit of a red herring. I think the top image is Donna, the jacket they are wearing is similar to the jackets she likes to wear and to me the build of the person in the top image is different to the build of the person in the second image. To me the top one looks more feminine and the second more masculine. Though it is hard to tell because of the difference in angles and what not. But my theory is that Jughead and Betty start to get a little too close to uncovering her so she kills someone else to make it look like the voyeur has taken their own life and throw them off. Maybe she takes a page out of Jughead’s book and fakes a death so to speak. Another possibilty is this is a re-enactment of Clifford Blossoms death and like a last message to Riverdale if I’m making sense but then it doesn’t make sense that they are wearing the owl mask and not the cliff one. It does make me wonder who this person is. They’ve got dark hair and they are wearing quite a formal suit but otherwise we don’t have much information to go off. Also I wonder if this is the same person who appears to be killed in the prom video or whether two people are going to be killed. 

Ok whoever is standing over Jellybean with a knife better have their running shoes on because I’m coming for them. I don’t think they will hurt Jellybean but I actually think this could be what they use to have FP leave the show. I think the voyeur will release videos of them all sleeping and show that they have been in their house with the knife and that they have the potential of harming them which is really really terrifying and like one of my worst nightmares. I think FP will be like Nah not my little girl and for her safety will take Jellybean and move away from Riverdale. I could see some arguments in the family where some members like jughead and Betty refuse to leave and others want them all to go. Maybe in the end Alice decides to stay to look out for Betty and also maybe help Betty, Jughead and Charles with the investigation and FP takes Jellybean. 

From these two images and that image that was released a while back of Archie in the boxing ring it looks like Archie is going to have a boxing match I know an amazing deduction there what can I say I’m a true detective. There’s not really much that can be said about it. I’m not sure why he is having a match, maybe something to do with the navy if he hasn’t already decided to join the army instead? Or maybe its more Hiram Lodge shananigans. Hopefully Archie will win. But it does look like Archie won’t be the only one getting into fisticuffs. 

 Looks like Jughead will be having an altercation with someone as well. I think it might have something to do with the voyeur because you can see a projector in the background with images of houses on them. But I can’t tell who the people in the picture are. If I were to take a guess I would say its possibly that tickle ring. I said in my season 4 theories that I think Terry the ticklemaster is involved in the voyeur plot as he would be able to get the ‘actors’ for the videos. But who knows like I said its hard to see from these pictures. 

Speaking of the voyeur it looks like the next person they want to mess with is Archie with an re-enactment of the blackhood in the diner. I have a horrible feeling that this is only the end of that video and it will also show someone in a Fred mask getting shot first then we’ll see this image of the blackhood holding Archie at gunpoint. Obviously this is going to be soo upsetting for Archie and is going to bring back up his grief at having lost his father. I feel like this will happen after prom too so I feel like he’s going to have just broken up with Veronica then get home to this video. I think he’ll then go for a run to try and let out some of his emotions and end up at his father’s grave where he’ll have a bit of a break down. I mean poor Archie. I’m going to cry at this scene I just know it. 

So this picture is one of the ones I’m most curious about. Now I’m pretty sure that this is one of Cheryl’s dresses, like I can’t remember where I’ve seen her in it but I am 90% sure I have seen her in it. Also to me this looks like the crypt under their house where she kept Jason and where her uncle was killed. Cheryl wasn’t wearing this dress when her uncle was killed so its not his blood on the dress unless she wore it when getting rid of the body. I did wonder if it was the voyeur’s way of letting Cheryl and Toni know that they knew what they had done. But it does beg the question of why is there blood on the dress. Was Cheryl wearing it when it got the blood on it? Or did the voyeur take it and wear it whilst killing someone then bring it back? One theory I have is maybe someone is messing with Toni and the others and Cheryl goes missing then this dress shows up and it looks like Cheryl has been killed but obviously she won’t be. I am interested to see what this is about. 

Ok so the last scene I want to talk about is this one:

I actually think, like the first image, this might be post time jump. Betty’s hair looks a little different here. Although it is pulled back she has got some bits of hair framing her face which is not normal for betty. Usually when her hair is up it is all scraped back. Also I know it sounds odd but she just looks more grown up to me. Also she seems alot more confident in holding a gun now which if she’s been training with the FBI would make sense. As to what is going on in this scene it could be exactly what it appears Betty hears something down stairs and theres some kind of threat down there. But I actually think this might be more of a comic scene. My scenario is as I said I think FP will take Jellybean away from Riverdale. It’s possible that Alice will than go join them after the kids graduate and go to college. I think this scene could be where Betty has come back to Riverdale and is in her old home (from what I can tell from these images it looks like her old house) some freaking stuff has happened in Riverdale since she’s arrived back you know a murder here and murder there and she’s hiome alone when she hears a noise downstairs, investigates gun drawn and its actually Alice showing up in the middle of the night unexpectedly. The both get a scare. 

So what did you guys think of the trailer? Are you excited for season 5? Do you have any theories on what you think will happen? 

[iwritethat]

Jason Todd: Engravings

A/N: Italics are flashbacks, this ones a lil different to my usual style.

>>>>—————————>

———

"They're cool, kinda badass and luckily these ones are blank!"

"They're cheap and tacky. They haven't been engraved yet - where'd you steal 'em from?" He was always quick to pass judgement but it came from a kind place.

"Stall on the corner, I want to carve my name into it but I'm scared of messing it up."

"..."

———

"(Y/n) - Boss, we've captured the intruder and tied 'em up downstairs - want us to dispose of him?" Your peaceful drink at the bar was interrupted causing a halt to your paperwork as you glared at him.

"My my, so quick to get to the murder. You know it's both polite and resourceful to at least ask what they wanted, so come on." Placing down your pen, you ensured you looked presentable before heading down to the basement with your men strictly following like soldiers.

———

Your hands shook ever so slightly, fingers guiding the knife situated between them in sheer concentration though you'd yet to even graze the shiny steel. You winced, pulling away the blade with a frustrated sigh.

"Give it here, a knife is too big anyway." The exasperated tone of your friend reprimanded, briskly untangling the chain from your fingertips, then glaring at it before shoving it in his pocket and walking off into the alley leaving you with no explanation which left you to business on the streets.

———

The doors flung open signifying your arrival and the discovery was less than pleasant, a decently built male securely tied to a chair with guards standing on either side and his jacket and under armour folded on the table beneath his crimson helmet.

"Why did you uh... remove half of his clothes? That seems a tad unnecessary..."

"Ah that symbol electrocutes anyone in close proximity as Mal discovered but we didn't make that mistake twice." A henchmen quickly answered, sheepish expression on his face.

"Hm, clever. Is Mal okay though?" Not many held concern for their hired guns but you were a rare exception which is why your company were renowned for their loyalty toward you. Nevertheless, one of the guards nodded with a smile, once more placing down the offending piece of armour.

"Alright dumbass, what were you thinking breaking into my fine establishment?" Came your charming voice, fingers grazing across the back of the chair before stopping in front of your ravenette prisoner.

"That's no way to talk to your guests sweetheart, but admittedly it's one of the nicest places I've broken into." His icy gaze finally met yours, and that was when you noticed the reflective glint on his bare chest.

Instantly you knelt before the handsome stranger, fingertips barely brushing the heated silver before you received a vicious threat.

"Touch that and I'll personally make you regret it."

Regardless of his venomous attitude, you gently grasped the engraved dog tags - the gesture definitely not unnoticed by their wearer nor the foreign expression that briefly crossed your features.

———

"Oi!" The moment you'd acknowledged the voice, a slither of steel was slung in your direction capturing the light of the moon as it flew through the air.

You barely caught it, faltering before recognising the item and running your thumb over the new alterations.

'Name: (Y/n) (L/n)' accompanied by your birth date with enough space for another line if needed. However, you filtered through the next one as the tags originally came in a pair but this one was different.

'Name: Jason Todd'

'DoB: 16/08'

———

What surprised the majority in the room was your next swift movement, using the chain entangled around your digits you pulled him down to your level bringing your lips to his ear to prevent eavesdropping guards as a precaution.

"If you're Jason Todd, then what does (Y/n) (L/n) mean to you?" With your secretive whisper, the males muscles instinctively tensed and he looked to you with shock in his irises before scowling.

"That's a bold assumption."

"No, the fact you wear jewellery underneath your getup suggests it's sentimental. As it's a pair of engraved dog tags I would've thought military but there's no ID number and they're close to your heart aren't they?" Was your solemn explanation despite knowing exactly what they represented, though you still felt resentment radiating off of the captive as you waved your guards out of the room to speak more freely.

"How do you know I'm not (Y/n) (L/n) smartass?" Was his comeback, wrists twisting in his restraints.

"Because they're incredibly attractive, duh."

"Wait - you know (Y/n)? If you've done anything -" His voice seemed more lively now, like emotion was tied to that name and the hope of finding them.

"Just tell me why you're here already as I might be able to help." Unbeknownst to him, the person he seemed interested in stood right before him - not that you’d tell Jason that just yet.

———

"Why's your name on here?" You mischievously inquired, smirking at your now flustered friend.

"Wha- well because I made it, it's my signature duh." He shoved his hands into his pockets, gaze diverted to Gothams' skyline and pout upon his lips that only made you laugh.

"Uh-huh suuurre."

"If you don't want it then throw my one back." Came the snappy callout, Jason now looking at you expectantly.

"And split them up? That'll look weird." You shook your head, playfully pulling the tags away from his grip as he went for them and proudly clipped them around your neck.

"People probably say the same about us to be honest."

"What was that red?!" You didn't quite hear whatever he'd muttered under his breath, but knowing it would've been somewhat sentimental his defensive reply was expected.

"Nothing jeez!"

———

"I want Black Masks location. Now your turn."

"Roman has no influence over me or my club but I know some regulars who work for him so we can sort something out." With a brisk motion you'd slit the restraints on his wrists thus freeing him.

It was a stupid thing to do, your fingers instantly reaching for your necklace out of nervousness once you'd turned your back on him - it was a habit, you'd put your faith into a common criminal and were hoping he wouldn't kill you now he had the opportunity.

Instantly you realised your mistake, seconds later you ended up with your back roughly trapped against the table, knife to your throat and 6ft war god holding you right where he wanted you.

"Thanks for the assist doll, but you never answered my question about -" As he pulled back, there was a strain, a twinkle of metal against metal as the two chains kept you tied together.

His gaze flicked from the interlocked dog tags then back to you, recognition flooding him instantly as the knife clattered against the tile and his brows furrowed as of analysing you.

"You were right, (Y/n) is incredibly attractive..." Jason was breathless, a contrast of awe and snugness on his handsome features.

"Speaking of, clothes!" You’d grabbed the folded material and shoved it into his chest with a huff whilst subtly attempting to hide your undoing due to the close proximity.

It didn’t take much to detangle the chains so he could get dressed but not without a somewhat interesting reunion - it had been a few years since you were misguided street kids.

"I heard you were dead." Jason started, no doubt he’d inquired about you on the streets but judging by the last man any of your old acquaintances saw you with, you didn’t blame them for their presumptions.

"I heard you were dead."

"Touché, I came back though. Not 100%, but back." Jason commented, scratching the back of his neck which already told you this was a sensitive subject that you noted to delve into in the near future among other things.

"We really changed huh, you got adopted by Bruce Wayne, I got taken in by Carmine Falcone and now we're on the same side again. Sort of..." You playfully shrugged, offering your friend a small smirk.

"Falcone - you became a freaking underground crimelord?!" His shock was evident, jacket dropping to floor whilst he rubbed his temples then gesturing for you to elaborate.

"Says you! Look I did what I did to survive, after Falcone was killed I stayed out of everyone's way and kept this club and it’s profits under my control. No one owns me anymore. But nice to see you kept my nickname for you Red Hood!"

“I knew you’d do great and I have my reasons, it’s not just because of you. Anyway, Black Mask - we should probably y’know...” The big bad vigilante was flustered, a gift of yours that supposedly maintained its effectiveness through the change and so you couldn’t help but continue.

“Are you sure, you did call me attractive.”

“Yeah well you are so... whatever. And besides, you’re rich but kept the cheap dogtags so I guess I’m not the only sentimental one.” Jason closed the distance as he spoke, a gentle brush over your heart as he tugged on your tags with a smirk.

Since you seem in so much of a hurry I’d love to properly catch up some time if you’d allow it. So I f you’re quite done staring at my lips Jason I’ve got a club to open and there’s someone we need to speak to.” You tilted your head in a challenging manner before making your way to the staircase with a devious smirk as you finished your implied invitation.

“...I haven’t missed you at all. Just so you know (Y/n)!” Your partner hollered after you, hastily throwing on his jacket and grabbing the helmet before joining your side with a playful nudge as you walked to the bar.

———

"Even though you're rich now, you still haven't grown out of throwing things at people!" You mocked anger, huffing at the offender.

"Not people, just you." Jason wittily replies along with a wink.

"Oh wow, thanks I'm honoured." Your sarcasm was fluent, inspecting what he’d thrown at you before commenting on the chain.

"Jason what's this, they're replicas of the dog tags I wear already."

"Yeah I know, but these are silver. They're better." His light blush went amiss as he stopped before you with his explanation.

"You brought these?"

"Figured I might as well get you something, besides like you said, I'm rich now."

"Keep 'em." You effortlessly tossed them back, Jason catching them with both disbelief and confusion.

"But I-"

"I don't care - I don't want them. I like my ones - they're had crafted by Jason Todd and I have the crafters signature to prove it. Although since they are almost a matching set..." You trailed off, Jason's curiosity piqued as you unclasped the silver and walked behind the male who, despite his wealthy residence, kept his red hoodie.

"You should keep it, that way you'll have me close to your heart like you are to mine." Came your continuation, latching the tags around his neck whilst you walked around to face him, fingers lingering on the silver in the centre of his chest.

"Never knew you cared."

"Oh I don't, but I still have the original Red. And the originals are always more valuable."

———

[paulieshore]

The Dynamic Duo

Thank you @anxiousdork​ for the ask/idea, thoughts keep flowing with this so I think I’m going to turn this into a five-part mini story of mystery-drama/fierce friendship/growing romance/bromance.

Warnings: none

Word count: 1593

Characters: Mc, Minor, Victor, Gavin, mention of Kiki

Brief summary: Mc is presented with an opportunity by Victor to collaborate with a well-known production company from America (Barner Wors), thinking this to be a perfect opening to show just how well she can do; she immediately takes on the job with a small hand selected group from her team. However, it seems someone is sabotaging this joint production costing a bit of money in setbacks. Without knowing who, and why, fingers and accusations start flying back and forth. Victor is then involved when production comes to a halt, considering the reputation in America, Victor seems persuaded that the fault falls to you and your team. With no evidence to claim your innocence, you find yourself in an embarrassing confrontation with your biggest investor and boss. Minor steps in to support you, and then Gavin? Not knowing how Gavin knew the situation exactly, but touched none the less when he too joined in with Minor to defend your honour as a producer against the ruthless/annoyed Victor and solve this conundrum. You bear witness to a growing bromance between hero and sidekick, Gavin and Minor. They set forth to unravel if there is more too these unfortunate events as of late, you cooperate with Gavin and allow him to really use his power of authority in and around the studio. Seeing Gavin in yet another new way you find your heart beating more and more by the mere sight of him. Minor becoming possibly more of an opponent then a friend for Gavin’s affection, only later to find out Minor’s sort of digging you!

Part One: Incompetent

.

.

You just couldn’t quite wrap your head around the situation, none of it made sense, and even worse the most rational of people you thought for sure could help, didn’t! Victor only seemed to have looked down on you even further, “Are you so incompetent? Can you not hold down your team and manage them as a boss should do?” You honestly didn’t know how to respond, Victor seemed so sure this was all your fault.

A fort night ago he came to you and gave you an opportunity to work with Barner Wors, they were shooting some episodes in Loveland for their newly hyped tv show. Being able to collaborate with such a famous company was beyond a dream come true. Victor may be a stern boss but occasionally gave you way to really show your potential.

The first couple of days of shooting were fine, you made introductions with all crew and actors and got things started off right. After the dust had settled, things started to go downhill after a camera ‘malfunctioned’ on set during an outside shooting. The following days, numerous of insignificant things started happening, such as props you’d provided being faulty and nearly hurting the actors. The chosen areas around Loveland for shooting becoming too wet or vandalized when coming into work, you made the decision to film what scenes you could in studio thinking weather/bratty kids had a part to play. Minor and Kiki were being suspicious during one lunch break, they couldn’t help but feel as though someone was sabotaging this collaboration. Things that only staff/crew knew were leaked to the public causing a complication. On top of that gossip about Barner Wors, some of the actors and your own team seemed to be going around. You dismissed their outward thoughts and did your best to keep everyone on track and away from criticism, sometimes bad things just happen.

One late afternoon, tension seemed to have reached its peak. Minor appeared to have had enough with the supporting actress in the scene, she was messing up her lines and making subtle hints about how ‘your team’ was to blame for all the unwanted stress and misfortune. The supporting actress was the renowned Nicole Kissman, famous for her dominating Oscar winning roles in huge box offices. She was also known for her diva like attitude off screen, with a quick revise of lines before the dramatic scene, Minor encourage her to ‘break a leg’. Well, as Nicole laid on the floor weeping in the shot, one of the spotlights above came crashing down close to her leg. This was the final straw on both sides, everyone seemed eager to pass blame, leaving you no choice but to call Victor when the lead of the production halted everything due to liability. The phone call with Victor was brief and he arrived not to long after you told him one of the actresses was involved in a near miss.

Here you were now, standing in front of everyone as Victor pressured you for an answer, “WELL?!” It was rare for Victor to raise his voice, but today everyone felt the impact it truly had.

This was beyond frustrating and further more embarrassing, you wanted to scream at him, but you didn’t want to prove any truth to the gossip lingering that you couldn’t ‘handle things.’ You wanted to cry; Minor could see the tears threatening to fall whilst your face contorted with angry.

“Handle her team? Incompetent? Mc has been ‘handling’ us and their team, during this soap opera drama of its own!” Minor pointed as he stepped forward towards Victor, placing himself between you two. “I understand you’re the big boss here, but isn’t it a little premature to lay blame on her when no one seems to have any idea what’s going on?!” Minors voice was raised in the slightest, you wanted to clamp his mouth shut. As lovely as it was for him to stick up for you, Victor was of all people someone you didn’t want to be up against.

“Excuse me, and who exactly are you, executive producer? I suggest you get back to work and let the ‘bosses’ continue talking.” Victor gave Minor a quick analyse head to toe; scowling, before looking back at you.

Minor stepped sideways, obstructing his view before pressing on, “No, you were judging, passing verdict without even hearing anyone’s side!”

Fear took hold of you, worried perhaps Minor was over stepping and possibly going to get himself fired or have Victors investment revoked, you were about to pipe in. Just then, a light calming breeze swept through the studio, moving your attention to the direction it carried. Walking through the studio doors was Gavin, announcing himself as he approached face as stoic as ever.

“Afternoon, I do apologies for the intrusion. I’m Police officer Gavin, I was called in to take statements for an incident that’s occurred to rule out…”

** scanning the studio to every one present before continuing ** 

“possible criminal intent.”

 Everyone went stiff, Gavin was in full uniform, wait…

did he say he was called??? Your gaze drifted then to Minor who was gleaming with pride at his hero friend from high school walked in.

Victor then approached Gavin, “I apologise for wasting the time and efforts of our police services, may I ask exactly why you suspect such malice?” Victor as usual, cut straight to the point.

“Miss Mc, one of your notable employees, filed a concern the other day with worries and suspicion of something not quite right within her company’s environment. Now for the safety and liability of everyone here, I will have to open up an investigation.” Though he spoke calmly and affirmative, he made eye contact with you - his eyes were saying it’s alright, I’m here now.

Victor turned to you next, “You didn’t say you called the police?” eyebrow raised.

“You didn’t exactly give her a chance before chastising her.” Minors boost of confidence to talk back to Victor, made it clear to you who called and informed Gavin of the events.

You faced Victor and simply stated, “We had to do what’s right for everyone and take account their safety.” Adding *we* in there made you feel better then taking the credit for Minors quick thinking. That didn’t stop the stress you felt for everything to come, and the guilt you had for Gavin, he was always busy with his own work and now he had ‘your work’.

Gavin walked straight passed Victor not even giving him a second glance, proceeding forward, “Id like statements from every one of today’s events leading up to my involvement, please. No one is to leave until I have received statements and should I have any further questions I advise you stay until further noticed.”

“Mc, with me now! You and I will continue our discussion as the officer here starts his investigation.” Victors says dryly as he starts walking towards the exit.

“Excuse me, Sir. You cannot leave.”

Victor stopped dead in his tracks, wiping around quickly.

“Neither of you are leaving, until I have confirmed no foul play and if there is, that you, are not involved in anyway.” Gavin was quick to speak before you could follow Victor out, he spoke boldly to the scary CEO. Throwing his authority towards Victor just like Victor had previously to you, this gave you a funny sense of pulsing in your lower pelvis, and slight heat to rise to your cheeks. Seeing Gavin assert his authority to the ‘not so easily bullied’ Victor really turned you on! You shook your head from your drifting thoughts, now of all times was not the time to swoon over Gavin’s out right bravery.

Victor and Gavin stood 8 metres apart staring at each other with such coldness in their eyes… Oh boy what a soap opera this was becoming indeed…

To Be Continued.

Like, reblog and follow for future posts, if youd like to be tagged in the next part please let me know. Thank you for reading and Thank you again anxiousdork for the inspiration to write this!

Master-List for Parts

[homespork-review]

Spork Introduction

CHEL: Hi! I go by Chel, they or she pronouns, and I’m the one spearheading this project. I still like at least a fair percentage of Homestuck, but after the ending disappointed me a great deal, I got bitter, and when Hussie pissed me off further by Godwinning himself, I decided to do something about it. I’m no longer angry about it, but I felt I’d benefit from picking out what I hate from what I love so I can focus on the latter without annoyance getting in the way, and also to benefit my own writing efforts.

BRIGHT: Howdy! I’m Bright, and I got into Homestuck fairly recently. After ploughing through the archive and digesting for a while, I realised that I was thoroughly annoyed by how something enjoyable had fallen apart so comprehensively. I am looking forward to the time-honoured practice of ripping the story apart to identify its weak points and shout at them.

FAILURE ARTIST: Hello, I’m Failure Artist (call me FA for short), she/her/herself pronouns, and I’m so old-school they burned the school down. I was introduced to Homestuck via Something Awful’s Webcomic thread. I checked the old mspadventures.com site and the latest update was [S] John: Bite Apple. After watching that bizarre piece of animation, I had to know what the hell happened before then. I found I enjoyed the wit of the comic though I didn’t really care much about the plot. It was only when Act 5 came around that I became a serious fan. I currently have 122 Homestuck works on Archive of Our Own. I have a lot of free time, you see. I am very disappointed in how Homestuck ended. Possibly there was no completely satisfactory way it could end but it still could have been better. I feel like Hussie was a juggler who threw a lot of balls into the air and ignored them as they fell to the ground and some fans think not catching them was a master move since you’d expect he’d try to catch at least one. Sadly, lots of the problems with the ending are embedded deep within the canon.

TIER: Hi hi. I am Tier, a very late newcomer to the wonderful world of Homestuck (2018 reader!) and average fan overall. I love this webcomic to bits, but the low points are deep and I enjoy seeking out what the heck went wrong. Not particularly analytical myself, hope that's cool!

CHEL: Cool by us! We’ve already done plenty of analysing before we started, as you may realise from my Tumblr’s “homestuck ending hate” tag (at @chelonianmobile).

FAILURE ARTIST: But let’s put that aside for a moment and talk about the good stuff. 

Homestuck is incredibly innovative. It is the first true webcomic. It’s not just a print comic posted online. It uses not just still images and words but also animation, music, and interactive games.

Homestuck is the latest adventure in the series MS Paint Adventures. MS Paint Adventures started as a forum adventure. In forum adventures, the OP acts as a sort of Dungeon Master and other forum members give them prompts. Andrew Hussie’s previous works under MS Paint Adventures were Jailbreak (which is little more than Hussie dicking with the prompters in scatological ways), Bard’s Quest (Choose-your-own-adventure), and the actually-completed Problem Sleuth. Problem Sleuth lacks the music and animation and despite the weird physics shenanigans is a simpler story than Homestuck. The characters aren’t even two dimensional.

Homestuck (and the previous MS Paint Adventures minus Bard’s Quest) are set up like adventure games. Adventure games are where the player is a protagonist in a story and are usually focused on puzzle-solving though sometimes there’s combat. In the beginning, these games were purely text. The player would type what they wanted to do and the game would spout back text describing it - assuming the computer parser understood you.

CHEL: Oh god, I HATED that. I wasn’t around for the heyday but I’ve played a couple and

Pale Luna

was barely an exaggeration (horror warning).

FAILURE ARTIST: As graphics improved, adventure games started using them, but the commands were still in text. Only later was the point-and-click interface created and players didn’t have to guess what exact sentence the computer wanted them to type. Homestuck and the other MS Paint Adventures play with that frustration while paying tribute to the genre. The game within the comic uses RPG elements but the comic itself is set up like those good ol’ adventure games. In the beginning, Homestuck was guided by commands from forum members. Even after he closed the suggestion box, he used memes and fanon created by readers.

CHEL: How good an idea this was varies, as we’ll be showing.

We probably don’t need to describe Homestuck much more. Everyone here who hasn’t read it will doubtless have heard of it. Almost everyone with a Tumblr will have seen fanart, almost anyone at a convention will have seen cosplay. Shoutouts have been made to it in professional works such as the cartoon Steven Universe, and the Avengers fandom latched onto “caw caw motherfuckers” as a catchphrase for Hawkeye to the point that it’s now often forgotten it didn’t originate from there.

FAILURE ARTIST: The Homestuck fandom term “sadstuck” for depressing stories/headcanons somehow leaked into other fandoms. Using second-person is actually cool now and not just for awkward reader fics. Astrology will never be the same again.

CHEL: Now, in the interests of fairness, we will say that when Homestuck is good, it’s amazing, and it’s good often. The characters at least start out appealing and are all immediately distinguishable; even with the typing quirks stripped, it’s easy to tell who said what. The magic system is one of the coolest I’ve ever seen, who doesn’t love classpecting themselves and their faves? Hussie also shows a lot of talent for the complex meta and time travel weirdness, and it is fascinating to watch a timeline thread unfurl. And whatever else one says, it’s a fascinating story that’s captivated millions. I think it is deserving of its title as a modern classic.

However, as the years have passed, we have ended up noticing problems, big and small, and they nagged at us until we decided it had to be dissected. Our intention here isn’t to tear apart something we loathe entirely. It’s to take a complex work and pick out what works from what doesn’t. As I said, when Homestuck is good, it’s very very good. But when it’s bad, we get problems of every scale from various offensive comments to dragging pace to characters ignoring problems and solutions right under their noses to an absolute collapse of every theme and statement the comic stood for before.

The comic is ludicrously long; eight thousand pages, or thereabouts, to be specific. Officially one of the longest works of fiction in the English language, in fact. Naturally, we can’t riff that word by word in any timeframe short of decades, and we can’t include every picture, even if that was permitted under copyright law. Instead, as comics have been done here before, we’ll recap most of the time, and include sections of dialogue and pictures when particularly relevant to a point.

Here are the counts we’ll be using, possibly to be added to later if we find we forgot anything. Most of these counts will only start to climb post-Act 5, but we’ll be keeping track of them from the beginning. Most of them could have been fixed with a decent editor, which is sadly a hazard of webcomics, but still frustrating to read.

TIER: Note: we started this endeavor months before the thought of a "technically not but still we'll count it" set of canon epilogues were a twinkle in the eyes of the fandom. That is, by the way, a whole 'nother can of worms that will be dealt with at a later date if that ever comes around. We're judging Homestuck the Webcomic as a whole, so no after the credits stuff is to be noted for whatever reason.

ALL THE LUCK - Vriska Serket constantly gets a pass or gets favored over every other character. This count is added to every time she pulls some shenanigans with which others wouldn’t get away. ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY? - Sometimes it’s not entirely clear whether a thing is supposed to be taken seriously or not. We don’t require hand-holding through every joke, but when, for example, we’re supposed to take one instance of violence seriously while a similar case is supposed to be funny, this count goes up. CALL CPA PLEASE - Instances of creepy sexual behaviour (and perhaps particularly gratuitous acts of violence) from the thirteen-year-old cast. Now, mileage may vary on this one. We won’t pretend that thirteen-year-olds are perfect pure angels, especially thirteen-year-olds growing up in what is openly supposed to be a nightmarish dystopia. However, when full pages focus on said behaviour, there comes a point of it being very uncomfortable to read. Clarification: does not refer to cases where the adults do something heinous, this is strictly when the kids do. CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS - When an offensive joke or comment is made, particularly when not justified by the personality of the character involved, or presented in the narration as being okay. GET ON WITH IT! - When the pace drags. ‘Nuff said. Hazard of the format, but it makes archive bingeing very annoying. GORE GALORE - For unnecessary and/or excessive torture porn which is treated less seriously because it features troll characters, and therefore less “realistic” blood colours. HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC - When the comic does something mentioned in How Not To Write A Novel, and it isn’t justified by the webcomic format. HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING - Characters repeatedly neglect to do something about or even react to terrible happenings, either because they don’t care even if they should or they forget they have the capacity. Not necessarily anything to do with their magical powers, either - characters ignore personal problems that are right under their noses, too. IN HATE WITH MY CREATION - For reasons that are unclear, Hussie chose to create characters he apparently hated writing, or at least ignored in favour of others. Every time he’s clearly disrespecting one of his own characters, this goes up, whether it’s by nerfing their powers or changing their personalities. RELATIONSHIP GOALS? - Romantic relationships in particular get fumbled quite often. Ship Teasing is used with skill, but that skill tends to be lost when the characters actually hook up. Fumbled friendships and family relations can also come under this heading. SEND THEM TO THE SLAMMER - When characters other than Vriska get away with something morally questionable. Covers everything from sexual harassment to not trying to save people from the apocalypse. SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS - Later on in Homestuck’s run, Hussie tried to make up for the offensive humour and casual -isms counted by Clockwork Problematykks above. How successful he was at this varied. This count goes up whenever an attempt at progressivism is waved in front of the reader but doesn’t stand up under scrutiny. WHAT IS HAPPENING?? - When the already confusing plot kicks it up a notch. Admittedly this is as much a selling point of the comic as it is an issue, but either way, we’re going to keep track. Points will be added to when it gets confusing, and taken away when a previous confusing thing is explained adequately. WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM - What is shown about Alternia repeatedly contradicts what we’re told about how different it is from Earth. For example, trolls still use heteronormative terms even after it’s established they reproduce bisexually, and the demonstration of the class structure doesn’t always add up. This count goes up every time that happens. It also goes up every time something happens which strongly implies Hussie was envisioning the human kids as white, despite his later claims that they were always supposed to be “aracial”, and every time their economic statuses don’t add up either.

[jovialyouthmusic]

Charlotte’s Choice

A Royal Romance AU Fanfic

22 All’s Fair in Love and War

Constantine fights to keep control under Anton’s roof. Brad and Hana assist.

@ao719 @agent-bossypants @andy-loves-corgis @sleepwalkingelite @boneandfur @blackcatkita @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicescommunity @darley1101 @drakewalkerrosenberg @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @goirishsunshine @gardeningourmet @katurrade @livingthroughchoices @likethetailofacomet @mrs-nazario @mind-reader1 @ooo-barff-ooo @silviasutton1989 @speedyoperarascalparty @zaffrenotes @missevabean @mrsdrakewalkerblog @cora-nova @missameliep @tanelle83 @endlessly-searching-for-you @jlouise88 @drakenazario @annekebbphotography @tabithacarlisle @furiousherringoperatortoad @notoriouscs @classylady1234 @wickedgypsymoon @carabeth @choices-fangirl @indiana-jr @indiacater @noey718-blog

Please let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged. For those of you that are busy writing, or don’t have time - you know where to find my Masterlist xx

22 All’s Fair in Love and War

The shooting party disbanded after the King’s guardsman had been found badly wounded, shot in the chest. The air ambulance came to take him away and all the guests went back to the Castle. The birds were retrieved and taken either to the kitchens or to the gamekeeper’s shed to hang. The    evening dinner was still to go ahead, along with the King’s announcement of the next two suitors to be dropped. The guests were told to stay in their rooms before the dinner so that an investigation could be made into the accident. Anton’s security guards roamed the corridors, and no-one was allowed to move around without Anton’s approval. 

At first Charlotte was invited into Anton’s suite, but the King insisted that she be allowed to go to keep him company. He also insisted that Bastien’s men be allowed to move freely and assist with the investigation.  Anton personally escorted her to Constantine and tried to go in with her, but the King made it plain that he wanted only Charlotte to enter and called for Bastien too.

‘Are you alright my dear?’ he asked as she entered, pale and shaken. He sat at his desk, the paperwork from last night sitting there, either finished or yet to be looked at. Although it was late summer, a fire burned in the grate of the elaborate fireplace, a small fire that gave out a little heat.

‘I – Yes Father, just a little shocked. It’s terrible, poor Martin. He’s in a serious condition and hasn’t regained consciousness since Bastien was with him’

‘I daresay Severus will clear it all up’ he said calmly ‘Accidents happen at these shoots’ Quietly he handed her a piece of paper. Written on it were the words the walls have ears. She looked at it and he gestured to the fire, so she screwed it up and threw it into the flames.

‘Tell me what happened’ he commanded, indicating that he was going to write more, and she went over the events of the morning. He paid little attention, writing and occasionally interjecting neutral comments. She went on until he finished writing, and he handed over the paper, saying ‘let me get you something to drink my dear’ He busied himself clattering teacups and bringing out a tin of biscuits while she read.

Have gone over papers. He understands very well but cannot support all he approves. Some matters must be sacrificed to make a good balance and stay within budget. He does this to appear generous but could not sustain the country like this. He tries to impress me, but I see through him. He would be a despot. Charlotte’s eyes widened and he gestured for her to throw that into the fire too. Eagle eyed, he noticed her bracelet.

‘That’s a pretty piece of jewellery my dear, have I seen it before?’ He asked

‘It is beautiful isn’t it?’ said Charlotte ‘Anton gave it to me, he said it belonged to his mother’ The King scribbled again He means to impress you. Be wary.

‘It’s a fine piece, he must feel affection for you to give you something so beautiful’ but Constantine shook his head as he spoke. Whatever I say is the opposite when I shake my head. I nod for the truth. ‘Lord Severus has made a fine job of the official papers, he would make a good ruler my dear’. Again he shook his head.

There was a knock on the door, and Bastien entered. The King raised his hand to him and made a gesture that meant nothing to Charlotte but was obviously some sort of code, as the guard nodded. She threw the notes on the fire and watched the two men holding a conversation with hand gestures and nods while talking about something totally neutral. Her mind boggled at the complexity, realising that they were well practiced in their code.

Charlotte elected to stay with her Father as she was sure Anton would find a way to keep her company otherwise. She was genuinely frightened as Constantine would not tell her all the details of his assessment of what was going on, and Bastien left to do whatever damage limitation was necessary. She wanted to send a message to Drake but surmised it was too dangerous. The afternoon dragged on but an hour before the dinner was due to begin, security was lifted, and Charlotte went back to her room to change.

Earlier, Bastien talked to his second in command out in the open away from listening devices and spies.

‘Just how did Martin manage to get injured during the shoot? Did one of the guns go off target?’

‘It wasn’t a shotgun wound Sir – whoever shot him was using a handgun. The sound may have been masked by the shoot’

‘Do Anton’s men have this information?’

‘I don’t know Sir, they are not being very co-operative’

‘They will probably find out from the hospital. I trust you sent a team to guard his room?’

‘Of course Sir, we had two men go from the team at the Palace so we’re not short of manpower here’

‘Apart from Martin’ said the older man grimly ‘He did manage to pass on a memory stick before he lost consciousness and told me the password. It has an up to date floor plan of the castle, as far as I can tell, but why that was worth him getting shot, I don’t know’

The dinner went remarkably smoothly considering there had been a nasty accident and everyone had been questioned. Constantine looked better than he had for some time, thought Charlotte. It seemed that he thrived on intrigue and conflict. He announced that Milo and Rashad were the two suitors to be dropped from the race, leaving Maxwell, Anton, Brad and Drake. Only the last two remained to be tested as to their attention to detail with official paperwork, and it was Brad’s turn that night. Up until the time Charlotte retired to the study next to her bedroom, Anton was especially attentive. Charlotte did not get a chance to talk to anyone else without him hovering at her shoulder, and she felt stifled.

Anton escorted her back to her room and kissed her hand on the threshold. At last with a huge sigh of relief she shut the door on him, leaning against it, sliding to the floor exhausted. She had only managed a few glances at Drake and missed him more than she thought she could – all she wanted was to feel his arms around her, bury her face in his shoulder and weep tears of tiredness and frustration. She pulled herself together and changed out of her evening dress, wearing jeggings and a t shirt with a soft cardigan.  She had not been able to wear the chain Drake had given her, instead tucking it inside her bra, and now hung it around her neck, holding it in her palm and feeling its warmth.  It was not long before there was a soft knock on the door and Brad entered. She immediately felt comforted by his presence, his broad shoulders and square jaw inspiring feelings of stability and ease.

‘Hey Princess, how are you bearing up?’ he asked, concern in his pale blue eyes that seemed so much warmer than Justin’s, a little crinkle at the corners showing his temperament. She sat in the swivel chair, face in her hands scrubbing at her own eyes with weariness.

‘I feel terrible’ she admitted ‘Anton has barely let me breathe – he’s so charming but I feel stifled.’ She looked at him ‘Have you heard how the investigations have gone?’ He shook his head.

‘Not really, Anton’s men haven’t been very forthcoming and now they seem to be playing it down, saying he must have been hit by a stray shot. I don’t even know if he’s regained consciousness’ Charlotte sighed.

‘Well there’s not a lot we can do, and we have these papers to go over before I can get to bed.’

‘Here’ let me take a look’ said Brad, and started to shuffle though the files. The next hour or so was spent sifting through and analysing. Although he wasn’t familiar with a lot of the subject matter, he was able to see some of the diplomatic problems with a fresh eye, and had a very practical approach to financial matters and a keen sense of how to balance the books. Charlotte looked at him with surprise.

‘I can’t begin to imagine how you manage to understand some of this without being familiar with it’ Brad shrugged.

‘It’s a question of being objective to start with, then considering how it might affect the people in question. I’ve had a variety of jobs over the years and I guess it’s made me well rounded’

‘Well I’m sure Father will be impressed, but you really should have made an effort to mess things up’ she smiled ruefully. ‘The reality is I think you’d do well as Consort’

‘But you want to follow your heart, and I have no wish to be responsible for running an entire country’ he said, smiling sadly ‘To say nothing of my – involvement with Olivia. There’s not long to go, do you know how you’re going to handle your announcement?’

‘If I did, I wouldn’t be saying it out loud to anyone’ she said ‘I’m in a difficult position as you know. The next week is going to be crucial to Cordonia’s future.’  

‘Well changing the subject, I’ve heard a lot about  the parties at the Beaumont estate – it looks like we’ll get to have some fun before it gets serious’

‘I hope so’ she said wearily. ‘Thanks for helping me tonight Brad, I really should turn in now’ As she stood, Brad cast an eye over the vase of flowers on the windowsill.

‘Those have a really heavy scent’ he said ‘It makes my head hurt just sitting in the same room’ Charlotte looked at him in surprise.

‘That’s interesting’ she replied ‘There’s an even bigger arrangement in my bedroom, and I woke up with a thumping headache this morning’ Brad frowned, his brow furrowing and his dark blonde eyebrows crinkling.

‘Can I see?’ he asked, and Charlotte led him into her room. He stood next to bouquet and inhaled, instantly recoiling ‘Wow that’s strong’ he said ‘I would move these into the study before you go to sleep’

‘It’s rather heavy’ she said ‘I don’t think I could move it on my own’ Brad put his hands to it and lifted cautiously.

‘I can do it – open the study door and I’ll take them through’ Charlotte did as he suggested, and he moved the flowers with some effort. ‘I would crack the window a bit to air the room out too’ he said. He thought for a while, and went over to the desk. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to the Princess. Just in case it’s deliberate, have security move the flowers back in to your room in the morning. Charlotte’s eyebrows rose as she read it, and her hand went to the cartridge hanging rounder her neck, holding it for comfort. She nodded, and Brad held out his hand for the paper, crumpling it up and putting it in his pocket. They embraced, and Charlotte relaxed into him, grateful for the comforting contact, feeling the solidity of his broad chest, the warmth of his body. He was not Drake, but he was reassuring nonetheless. He squeezed her tightly, sensing her need. They broke contact and he smiled at her.

‘Thankyou Brad, she said wearily ‘I think I’ll sleep well tonight. See you tomorrow’ she briefly kissed him on the cheek and he left, bowing slightly.

 Charlotte woke to a soft tapping noise, and blearily rubbed her eyes to look at her phone to see that it was 5am. She realised that the noise came from the window, and went to see what was causing it. In surprise, she saw Hana on the balcony, finger pressed to her lips. She quietly opened the door and let her in. Swiftly her friend led her to the en suite. She turned on the shower before speaking.

‘Lottie, I’ve come to talk to you privately and liaise with Constantine. I had to be sure we aren’t heard’ Charlotte nodded and Hana continued ‘Your father thinks Anton will try to discredit Brad and Drake in some way, so be prepared. One of his aides was seen tampering with the papers Brad worked on. Tell me, how did he do?’

‘Very well’ said the Princess ‘I was impressed, he’d actually make a good job of it – but he doesn’t want to be Consort’ Hana nodded.

‘As long as we know what he’s capable of that’s all that matters. Tell me truly Charlotte, who do you want to rule with you?’ she looked into her eyes searchingly ‘You can tell me Lottie, I’m on your side – more than your fathers’, though he’s more sympathetic than you might think, darling’ Charlotte drew a deep breath, tears coming to her eyes.

‘Oh Hana, I daren’t. I daren’t say it until I’m in front of the Court, I can’t risk it, not for anyone – not even for who I want’ She bent her head sorrowfully and Hana took her hand, supporting it palm up. Charlotte looked up to see her looking at her intently, then back down at her hand. Hana traced the letter D on her palm, and the Princess burst into tears, nodding vehemently. Hana drew her into her arms and held her tightly until she quietened down.

‘I have to go Lottie. I’ll keep your secret – from everyone, nobody will hear it from me’ she said earnestly ‘We’ll find a way, I promise. I have to go now – take care my sweet friend’.

With her early awakening, Charlotte was able to dress quickly and go down to breakfast before Anton could intervene and serve it in her study. She had no trace of a headache and remembered to ask the member of the King’s guard in the corridor to move the flowers back into the room, tidying up a few fallen petals afterwards. She also left a window open in both rooms and left the adjoining door ajar. Anton entered the dining room to see her already there, sitting with Olivia and Hana. She caught the merest trace of annoyance on his face as he entered, but he quickly recovered and came up to greet her.

‘Good morning Charlotte’ he said, reaching out as if to take her hand, but although she put down her fork, instead of taking his hand she picked up a napkin and wiped her lips, taking just enough time that his hand hung in the air awkwardly before he took it back ‘I trust you slept well, Princess’ he bowed slightly and she smiled.

‘Thankyou Lord Severus, I did’ she replied ‘I feel refreshed. I was telling Olivia about the wonderful ride you took me out on yesterday. I hope to show her and Hana how beautiful the countryside is here. Would it be possible to take a couple of mounts out this morning?’ Anton looked surprised at Charlotte’s boldness in taking control of the situation, but he couldn’t turn her down.

‘Of course, I’ll join you if I may’ Charlotte put on an apologetic expression.

‘Oh Anton, I was hoping to catch up with Hana, have a sort of ‘girls only’ outing’ she said, pouting slightly. She saw him stiffen, but he bowed again.

‘But of course. I’ll send word to the stables. I do think you would be wise to take a member of security with you though, I would be only too pleased for one of my men to accompany you’

‘I wouldn’t think of putting you to the trouble. It would be just as easy to take one of the King’s Guard, and we have I have a female guard in mind to keep the theme of girls’ outing’ Charlotte said sweetly. Anton’s face darkened briefly.

‘But of course, whatever makes you comfortable’ he replied ‘But all the same I feel I must insist on having a member of my security detail follow – at a discrete distance out of earshot of course’ Charlotte sighed.

‘It’s very thoughtful of you Anton’ she ‘and of course security is very important after the unfortunate events yesterday. If you can assure me your guard will stay at an appropriate distance, how can I refuse?’ Anton bowed and walked away, leaving Charlotte to talk to her friends.

Drake chose Brad’s company that morning, knowing he had managed to have some private time with Charlotte the night before and wanting to know how she was. They walked out in the formal gardens, cautious to be out of earshot of Anton’s staff.  The Englishman told him of the flowers with the heady scent.

‘It may be nothing, but I suspect Anton of trying to lower Lottie’s resistance to his charms’ he said wryly. ‘You’ve seen how he’s monopolised her company. She did well to get out and away with Hana and Olivia this morning’

‘Yeah’ said Drake ‘It’s my turn to go help her with paperwork tonight – how did that work out for you?’ Brad made a wry smile

‘Better than I thought I would, it’s not difficult I think. I would say you should find your own way of coping with it, there’s no absolute right or wrong way to go about it. As long as you balance the books and keep as many folk happy as possible you’ll do just fine.’

‘Thanks my friend’ replied Drake ‘I wasn’t sure about you when Olivia first brought you over, but it’s been a pleasure getting to know you. You’re a man of many talents and handy to have around in a crisis’ Drake was referring in part to the accident the previous day ‘Bastien told me Martin’s not regained consciousness just yet. He’s got a couple of the King’s Guard outside his room in case anyone tries anything suspicious.’ Brad grinned at the Duke’s praise, then his face fell when he heard about the guardsman

‘What do you think of it all?’ he asked ‘Why and how did he get shot? I could see it wasn’t a shotgun wound so why are Anton’s men insisting it was?’

‘I don’t know, and Bastien’s trying to get to the bottom of it all’ replied Drake ‘I don’t trust that man an inch’

‘Did you know Anton much before all this?’ asked Brad. Drake shook his head

‘No, he didn’t have much to do with Court when he was younger, his father kept him away. He around the same age as Charlotte, Olivia and I, but we never got to know him.’

At that moment, Drake saw Bastien making his way toward them. He hailed him, and Bastien got close before he spoke.

‘Walker, Lord De Montfort, there’s been a development. You’d better come with me, I need to show you something’

[symonde]

Dark sun (part 5) Taking responsibilities (Beckett/Zeph)

Pairing: Beckett x mc

Book: the Elementalists

Word Count : +/- 1352

Summary: Beckett strikes a deal with Zeph

Masterlist “Dark Sun” : Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Tag-List: @itsbrindleybinch @flyawayboo @daisy-ashton @alegria1580 @thefarrari

Joane’s spell illuminated the school grounds for three days straight. Only the wards kept it from spreading further. The school and the professors tried to keep up a normal schedule for classes but every student engaged in either ‘care for the magical creatures’ or ‘natural disaster regulation’ had to deal with the more urgent consequences of her magick. No one knew how to reverse it, so they had to wait for its effects to die down and reduce the caused damage to a minimum.

Beckett worried constantly about Joane but he couldn’t visit her for either Shreya, Zephyr or Griffin practically camped near her sickbed. He also needed to take on his assigned classes. To his own surprise, his first class had started out to be a success. His students respected him and listened to what he had to say. His reputation seemed finally to pay off. He introduced them to the various theories on how the magickal attunements could have taken root in people and creatures up to modern genetics. Beckett decided ultimately that he would give them a challenge to face outside off class to sort out the most promising students.

“As your first assignment I want you to crosscheck the very different theories of Mr. Magnus Blunt, Mr. Seamus Scrate and Mrs. Edna Weil in detail. All of these authors all have written essays on how they believe that magick takes root in certain species whilst not in others. The theories have been written in different time periods, and on different continents, so there will be social and religious characteristics to take into account. Analyse the differences in their evolutional theories based on scientific facts and your practical knowledge of magickal abilities. Where are the flaws in their reasoning? Who relays on beliefs rather than on scientific proof? You have three weeks for this assignment and you can work on it during our classes on Mondays. I will be available for questions at that time. I will expect at least 20 pages of analysis and another 10 pages of reflection on the subject – the manuscripts you need will be available at my desk – Thank you for your attention.” His class took notes on their assignment but he could see that they hadn’t expected this workload so early in his class. Yet they all nodded and took the manuscripts, before heading out.

“Well, well, well, the famous Mr. Harrington decided to grace us with his presence – how long can we count on you this time?” Zeph was leaning leisurely against the doorframe – his moves were cautious but his voice carried a hint of sarcasm and he seemed not on the verge of throwing some magick at him, so Beckett allowed himself to slightly relax. Out of Jo’s friends, he always liked Zeph best. He was also the only one that hadn’t expressed any deeper feelings for Jo over the years – not that he could blame anyone for having these...

“You handled your first class not so badly until you gave the class roughly 3.000 pages of scientific reviews to read and to analyse. Your students won’t even have time to hate you if you keep this workload up.” Zeph smirked, but his voice betrayed him being uncomfortable. Was it because he was concerned for the students or because he talked to him?

“Hi...” Beckett considered his words, frowning slightly. “... well, there are numerous detailed theories out there that are spreading non-scientifically founded beliefs. My students have to be able to distinguish them whatever their source. When they have understood this we can go on....”

“Listen to me Beckett... I know you do not have your social amplifier anymore since you threw her away... but I am trying to help you here... god knows why...” Zeph muttered. “You are teaching a class, were some students might be very talented but others will not. You crashed these students just now with a workload that I would have trouble finishing in that amount of time, and I passed that class with distinction. You went already beyond the requirements of the curriculum on your first day. I suggest you take it a little bit easier on them in the next few classes. They are afraid they won’t pass your class already now... when you keep this up they will start to cheat in your papers and skip your classes because they feel like they can’t keep up anyways. A lot of students in their teens already have low self esteem...”

“Are you done?” Beckett didn’t like being lectured on how to teach his students. He sighed biting back his temper “I... I might consider your points when you tell my why you are really here.” Beckett took a deep breath before continuing “Since I am back, neither you nor Griffin or Shreya have talked to me... I can’t visit Jo... I know I apparently have messed up pretty big, but I don’t know what happened here and no one will talk to me. So tell me what you want from me?” Beckett felt his hopes crumble when he saw Zeph arch up his eyebrows in surprise at his outbreak.

“I do not believe that we should be the first to tell our part of the story” however Zeph saw the hurt and worry in Beckett’s eyes. And he had admitted that his teaching was not perfect. He seemed changed, at least a little bit. “What happened 5 years ago to you? Why didn’t you tell anyone you were leaving or at least wrote a message explaining yourself afterwards? It’s not only Joane who was hurt, you know. The rest off us considered you a friend too.”

When Beckett didn’t reply right away and looked away blushing, Zeph sighed frustrated – perhaps not that much changed after all... “Listen Mister wannabe perfect in everything. You messed up pretty big with us and I can not consider weather you could help us get through to Joane if I do not know your motives for leaving...” He turned to leave.

Beckett had to steady himself before he was able to respond. He had had friends... that had cared about him. How could he make this right again with all of them? “Zeph wait... i will tell you all that i can but I would like to have Shreya and Griffin there too. They seem to hate me even more then you or Joane do... Do you think they would agree meeting with us so that I can explain myself...?”

Zeph considered his offer carefully. But then shook his head... “I don’t honestly know. Griffin probably yes, but Shreya can’t even stand someone say your name right now... and then I believe there is one person you should tell first what happened. Jo won’t like it but she has to know or she will never be able to deal with it.”

Beckett’s face must have betrayed his sinking stomach at that... the last time he had approached her, she apparently had tried to kill herself... “Listen, considering her condition now – she will probably wake soon. Physically there is nothing wrong with her. Her mind needs to accept that and wake up. I will tell Griffin about it, and I will be just next door... ” Zeph told him – daring him not to argue.

Beckett’s voice was barely a whisper. “Why do you help me?”

“I simply can’t believe that you would consciously be willing to hurt her. You were never a good actor and I believe you loved her once. No one can fake that love stricken look you always gave her. Furthermore you passed the infirmary everyday to ask about her, yet you never tried to force your way in like a Harrington without a conscience would have done. You need to face your responsibilities” Zeph shot him a final evaluating glace before leaving. “You are welcome.”

Joane was hurt, but perhaps Beckett would be able to help her get back to herself. God knows they had tried everything else and Joane was slowly gliding away, detaching herself more and more from her emotions and her humanity.

[merinathropp]

Tanz der Vampire - Vienna 2018: Detailed Breakdown

Guys, this was such an amazing experience, I have a real mixed bag of opinions (both good and bad) and a lot of emotions. I feel so lucky to have seen this production. Now, to get all my thoughts down on paper! 

First night - from middle stalls front row Second night - from middle stalls seventh row

Graf von Krolock - Drew Sarich (second night) Graf von Krolock - Florian Fetterle (first night) Alfred - Raphael Gross Professor - Sebastian Brandmeir  Sarah - Diana Schnier Herbert - Charles Kreische Magda - Anja Backus 

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THE GOOD STUFF

ALFRED - Hello yes first off I would like to marry thank Mr. Raphael Gross for his powerful, heartfelt portrayal of one of my all-time favourite characters. He was everything I could ever want in an Alfred: sweet and devoted, full of energy and expression, and completely freaking adorable. He scurried around the stage like a frightened hedgehog, but I mean that in the best way possible. He was a ray of (very anxious) sunshine, you couldn’t help but love him and want him to win against all the odds. 

- Für Sarah was An Experience, in the best way possible. Raphi’s Alfred started off very soft and uncertain, sort of pep-talking himself into summoning up the courage to keep going, but as the song went on, he seemed to sort of...grow and strengthen in front of your eyes? Like he was channelling all his love for Sarah into fighting against his fears, and by the end of the song, he had defeated them completely. He was practically punching the air and thrusting the bag all over the place with passion and determination. It was sweet and stunning and perfect, and the audience rightfully cheered at the end :’)

- Loved this detail: when the Professor was demonstrating to Rebecca how he was going to stage Chagal, Raphi turned his head away and cringed and closed his eyes for the actual moment of staking. Such good foreshadowing, setting up how frightened Alfred is by the whole staking process, so early on!

- When the Professor gestured in Ein Guter Tag for a bowl of gruel, he leapt up and charged around the bed at such a speed, he completely forgot where he was going :’) because he headed straight for the Professor’s clothes instead of the trolley! He had to skid on his heel and go charging back to fetch a bowl of gruel instead. It was the most Alfred-y thing to do (being in such a desperate hurry to please the Professor, he forgets what the Professor actually asked him to do) - I loved it.

- When the Professor is chiding him for stepping on the creaky floorboard at the end of Act 1 (even though it’s actually the Professor himself), Raphi’s Alfred stood there with this expression of half-bewilderment, half-hurt on his face, kind of like: “But Professor I’m not...doing anything...” and it was both hilarious and sad all at the same time. Then when Alfred himself passed the creaky floorboard, he walked very carefully to make sure it didn’t creak again, which is the most Alfred-y thing and I loved it. 

- Okay, this made me laugh so much at the time, even though I always feel so bad for Alfred: when the Professor does his “Hast du ihn provoziert oder was?!” line and tries to investigate his trousers, Raphi’s Alfred went into a complete panic and struck this ridiculous wobbly pose where he tried to turn his legs in and cross his knees, he looked completely silly and like he was about to fall over at any moment :) poor Alfred, it’s just the icing on the cake in that scene...

- The bite was 10x more traumatic than it needed to be, because inbetween the usual screams of pain, Raphi’s Alfred cried out Sarah’s name, and that pretty much broke me. I don’t know whether he was begging her to stop or just crying out in horror, but either way, it was gut-wrenching. 

- He undid four of his shirt buttons in the bathroom scene??? revealing a lot of bare chest to the audience??? I think this is the most scandalous thing I’ve ever seen an Alfred do??? (not exactly complaining, it was just...unexpected)

- Raphi lost his red coat somewhere over the course of his dance with Herbert and it was the greatest thing I have ever witnessed in a rendition of Wenn Liebe. Literally, it was hanging off his shoulder, and he couldn’t pull it back up because of the mirror-reflection. This + drenched in sweat + his hair looking like he’d come through a hedge backwards = I felt bad for laughing, but it was hilarious and adorable in equal amounts, just the icing on the cake in that scene.

KROLOCK (DREW SARICH) - I was not prepared.

- Seriously, nothing could have prepared me.

- Nothing, I tell you.

- Don’t get me wrong, I’d seen this guy on YouTube before and always thought he was a perfectly decent Krolock. But seeing him live...oh boy, seeing him live was an experience I will never forget. I finally understand all the hype for Drewlock and it is so. freaking. justified. I’m now going to fangirl for a couple of paragraphs and probably say 19023 things that all his fangirls have been analysing for decades, but what can I say? I’m a shiny new fan!

- I think the best way to describe Drew’s performance is hypnotic, charismatic and animalistic. There was something so intimate about his portrayal, you hung on every single word he spoke. Each line was given purpose and meaning, every gesture controlled and planned, every tiny inflection mattered. He was magnetic to watch, sending this incredible hush over the audience whenever he spoke or sang. When he was onstage, it was like the entire world and all the other characters revolved around him, and each time he left the stage, I found myself wishing (for the first time) that there was more Krolock in the show. 

- He glided around with this incredible predatory grace. His hands were constantly moving and arching and flexing, like a cat with its claws. He’d snarl, hiss, bare his teeth, twitch his lips, lick his fangs etc. in a way that somehow always came off incredibly chilling, never silly or pantomimic. During his numbers, I kept noticing my heart literally pounding in my chest, or having to to lean back in my seat and let out my breath in a gush because I’d been holding it...ridiculous, but true, and completely awesome.

- His personality for Krolock was full of charisma, pathos, wit, genuine menace, and humour. Proper humour, that was what surprised me the most, e.g. his sarcasm with the Professor and mocking reaction to Alfred’s candlestick charge both made me laugh out loud. 

- His dynamic with Alfred was...full-on seduction? Vor Dem Schloss was surprisingly intense! I’m not a Krolfred shipper, but I can see where the inspiration comes from now, and understand why this ship has climbed in popularity recently. Drew’s Krolock approached Alfred and moved his fingers in front of his face, like he was casting a spell, and Raphi went all dopey and wide-eyed, like he’d slipped into a trance (much more interesting than Alfred looking mildly scared and awkward through the whole scene). Then during the ‘Ich lehr dich, was es heißt zu lieben’ line, when Alfred was gazing sleepily out into the audience, he tucked a finger under Alfred’s chin, guided it around and upwards to look at him, then begin to draw them together (literally, I thought a kiss was coming and was ready to throw a riot) - before breaking off at the last second and sweeping away. I was like: “This. This right here, is when the ship was born. I’m holding you personally responsible, Mr. Sarich.” 

- In fairness though, I like that Drew’s Krolock kept his interest in Alfred consistent throughout the show and made a proper ‘arc’ of it: during the He Ho Reprise, when speaking directly to Alfred (who had hunched in on himself and turned away, like he was hiding), he reached out a hand over the battlements and beckoned with one finger, and Raphi’s Alfred slowly looked up to meet his gaze, and started to shuffle towards him across the stage, like he was falling back into a trance again. Tom’s Alfred did something similar when I saw him in Hamburg, but this was much more obvious and a nice throwback to Act 1. 

PROFESSOR - This guy was perfect. Hilarious, frustrating, easy to love, fond of Alfred. Ticked all the boxes and an amazing voice to boot. What a great performance. 

- Once Alfred had helped him undress in Eine Schoner Tochter, he reached out and held his hand to Alfred’s cheek and gave him this proud grandfather smile like “Thank you my boy, another good day’s work done :)))” and I cried a lot on the inside...these two will be the death of me I swear...

- During the He Ho Reprise, he brandished his umbrella threateningly at Krolock, and then when Krolock spoke directly to Alfred, he encouraged Alfred to take his umbrella instead, so he could brandish it at the Evil Vampire Overlord too and presumably protect himself more effectively :’) 

HERBERT - Why, oh why is no one talking about Charles?! This guy is sheer perfection as Herbert! Hands down one of my all-time favourites. He reminded me strongly of Kirill Gordeev from the Russian production, but with his own personal flair. Very much a graceful, charming, vain, ‘spoiled princeling’ Herbert with the perfect amount of underlying menace. He felt very fresh, and there were so many little details to his performance that stood out. Best of all, he never played for laughs or threw Alfred around like a sack of potatoes to get an audience reaction.

- On the line: “Was macht dich so blass? Bist du krank?” he said the last part as if it were a dry witty joke, and then giggled and swept his hand like “I’m so funny!” and it made Alfred’s nonplussed reaction twice as hilarious :)

- When the minuet began in Tanzaal, he swept off his cloak and tossed it over Koukol like he was a hatstand, it was priceless. And 110% Herbert. Somebody write that into the official blocking for this character, please. 

- Throughout Carpe Noctem, he was very much embodying the ‘MC’ role and pulling all the strings. Lots of elegant gestures to pull dancers on and offstage, that kind of thing. At the end of the song, he focussed his attention completely on Alfred, watching him sleep with this :) expression whilst all the other dancers exited the stage. Then he clambered off the bed, and started to exit the stage...before pausing, and turning back to look at Alfred again (kind of like a kid sneaking a last glance at something special, it was unexpectedly sweet?) with this little smile on his face like “Awww look at my human! :3” and finally slinking offstage after that. Definitely stealing that for a fanfic someday...

KENTAUR SETS & COSTUMES - Are stunning and beautiful. ‘Nuff said. The vampire outfits in particular are exquisitely detailed and lovely to watch, all that sweeping velvet and heavy embroidery. The rotating set in Act 2 is also super neat! I think the projections are best seen from middle of the stalls, rather than front row though.

ORCHESTRA - Sounds like a dream, y’all were right, it’s a thousand times better than the German touring version. Full and luscious and gorgeous. Loved it so much.

THE BAD STUFF

SARAH - Oh boy, time to brace myself for the hate mail. I really, really didn’t like Diana’s Sarah. I found her belt shouty and downright painful at times, and her acting choices very confusing and inconsistent. I don’t want to turn this into an unnecessarily negative post, so I will just say: she’s clearly a wonderful talented young person, I just personally didn’t like her performance for Sarah at all. 

KROLOCK (FLORIAN FETTERLE) - Again, didn’t care for this guy’s performance. Very sedate, bored-by-his-eternal-life Krolock that came off...downright dull, for me. I felt as though he had no stage presence. He didn’t seem to want to give Krolock any real menace or personality in general, though I understand that this might be part of his take on the character as a vampire with ‘deadened’ emotions. Full respect to the guy as a performer, I just personally really, really wasn’t a fan of his Krolock. 

DANCING - Went wrong in multiple places, both times I saw it, which absolutely broke my heart. The cast I saw in Hamburg were flawless, not a foot out of place, but this was a whole different story. During Red Boots Ballet, Sarah didn’t even hit her splits on both performances I saw, and Krolock’s dance-double let one of her legs drop on that amazing ‘spinning’ lift at the end, which must have thrown him off balance, he was staggering around all over the place. Carpe Noctem was equally messy, with some really nice moments and some really “huh?” moments as well. White Vampire/Sarah seemed to lose their marks halfway through and face the bed instead of the audience, several moves felt like they were being ‘marked’ rather than fully danced, or left unfinished in aid of keeping up with the music. I spoke to two other fans who warned me that the Vienna dancing could be sloppy sometimes, but I genuinely didn’t think it would be this noticeable. I know we’re spoiled with all the Moscow/St. Petersburg bootlegs of insanely polished Russian dancers, but still...

BLOCKING ETC. - During my first performance, it seemed as though bits of blocking were being lost or accidentally messed up, e.g. when the Professor pushes his bag off the table using Chagal’s body and Alfred has to catch it...well, the bag was positioned wrong, so Alfred just picked up the bag and the joke was lost. The ensemble also managed to get out of time with the orchestra during Vor Dem Schloss, which was funny at first and then just frustrating. I’m going to put this down to the heat of the day, because it was pretty stuffy in the theatre and maybe the cast were just finding it hard to concentrate...?

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I’ve now seen Tanz four times in total, and continue to love this show more every day. Time to start saving for a trip to Russia, that’s the production next on my bucket list! Unless someone attempts a heavily, heavily revised Broadway revival before then...I mean, a girl can dream, right? :)

[dangertronic]

Not A Monster Chapter 8

This chapter was a literal request from @deamontesnothere so I apologise for the super bad fight scene.

This whole thing is literally his fault

Ao3 Link

Tag list: @sten-bros @agrimny @creamy-brown-eyes @areyareddie @soomar-wine @jakethezombiehunter

“That’s it, I’ve had enough of this shit!” Jessica complained, breaking the silence of the library as she threw her pen down on her notebook.

Startled, Stan looked up from his literature work to the clearly frustrated girl who was sitting across from him between Mike and Eddie. “It’s been five minutes since we started. You’ve done one sentence!”

“And then you drew a frowny face on your work.” Eddie said, looking over at her work with a shake of his head.

“It’s a poem about someone planning to commit murder!” Jessica snapped, waving her hand at the text book she was sharing with Mike. “How the fuck am I supposed to make two pages out of that shit?”

Stan sighed, pinching at the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. “You’re supposed to analyse each line, Jess.”

Mike chuckled, pulling the text book closer to them. “See this? Here it says: Today I am going to kill something. Anything.”

“It’s a dramatic hook to draw the reader into the poem.” Stan said, twiddling his pen between his fingers. “We’re not told anything about the speaker so it’s difficult to judge if they’re making a statement just to shock or if it’s serious – take notes Jess we’re not gonna repeat this – and the unsophisticated, childish and monosyllabic language indicates that it doesn’t need to be taken serious.”

“The ‘anything’ part shows us that the person in the poem isn’t bothered about what he or she is going to kill, and just wants to do it for pleasure.” Eddie said, waiting for Jessica to make a note on what he was saying. “I’ve had enough of being ignored and today I am going to play god. This line shows a god complex which makes us see that the person is discontented, isolated, neglected, even a failure in society.”

“It is an ordinary day, a sort of grey with a boredom stirring in the streets.” Mike picked up, pointing to the line in the book. “This is using the elements to reflect the mood or actions of the person. The person feels bored, so the environment reflects that in its greyness. It’s an ominous phrase and makes us wonder if the person really does have a complex of some kind.”

“And now you have the first verse analysed and should be able to do the rest.” Stan said, writing something down in his notebook before shooting her a smirk. “Or do we have to do the whole thing for you?”

Jessica stuck her tongue out at him. “I think I got it from here, thanks though guys. I really hate poems.”

Mike paused in writing something, glancing up from his work. “I feel like I’m reading a poem about Bowers.”

Stan snorted, but didn’t look up from his work as he scribbled something down, already four verses ahead of them with his work. “I was thinking that myself.”

Jessica placed her pen down onto her notebook again, leaning back to stretch. “Alright, I need a bathroom break, I’ll be back and I’m gonna kick this poem’s ass.”

“That’s the spirit Jess!” Eddie praised as Jessica stood. “We’ll make sure you don’t fail the class, don’t worry!”

“This is one of those times I actually envy Richie.” Stan groaned, folding his arms onto the table and dropping his head onto them once Jessica was out of the room. “You don’t see him in here after school trying to catch up on work.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Eddie complained, throwing his pen down and leaning back in his chair, opting to take a break while Jessica was gone. “How he gets good grades and manages to actually stay ahead, I don’t know.”

“I should have taken him up on his offer to do the work for me.” Stan mumbled into his arms. “I just didn’t want to know what the ‘payment’ was.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t too bad.” Eddie said, unconvinced by his own words.

“Where is Richie anyway? Did he just bail on us the second the bell went?” Mike asked.

“Nah.” Eddie placed his elbow onto the table, resting his chin in his hand. “January marks the start of track season. He’s getting some training in with Ben.”

Stan snorted. “Yeah, stamina training for when you two decide to fu –”

“Shut the fuck up Stanley!”

Mike let out a breathy chuckle, still carefully writing down his essay on the poem they were supposed to be studying. It didn’t take long for Eddie and Stan to follow his lead, the latter scribbling away vigorously to try and get the work finished sooner so he could go home.

“This where we part ways, Haystack!” Richie said cheerfully as they reached the juncture where the hallway split into three. “I’m gonna go see if Eddie and the others are done or need help finishing their work.”

“Alright.” Ben said, hand poised on the bar of the door. “Hey Rich?”

Richie, who started to veer off to the left, turned to face Ben. “Yeah?”

“I’m really happy for you guys. I just want you to know that.”

“Aw, look at you getting all sappy on me!” Richie called, walking backwards down the hallway. “Save it for your girlfriend, Ben!”

“Shut up, Trashmouth!”

Richie grinned, playfully extending his middle fingers towards Ben before he turned, heading for the stairwell to the second floor. As he reached the landing, the sound of voices reached him and Richie came to a halt, furrowing his brow as he listened, one hand poised on the railing.

“Come on, it’s just one date!”

That was definitely one of Troy’s friends; Brad, was it? The last thing he needed was to run into a rejected Brad who would take his mood out on the first person he saw roaming the school. Slowly releasing the railing, Richie took a step back, debating on the using the other stairwell to get to the library.

“I told you, no, just stop bothering me.”

At the sound of Jessica’s voice, Richie found himself pushing forward, starting to creep up the steps as quietly as possible. He didn’t hear whatever Brad said next, but the next words from Jessica’s mouth had him running up the steps and turning the corner sharply.

“Let go of me.”

Jessica was standing outside the bathrooms having a glaring match with Brad who had one hand curled tightly around her wrist, but Richie could by her stance that he was making her extremely uncomfortable despite the defiance.

“It’s just one fucking date, Jess.”

Richie took a step forward, purposely bumping a nearby locker as he dropped his backpack to the ground, alerting them of his presence. Brad released Jessica’s wrist instantly as he looked for the source of the noise; fearing that it might be a teacher.

“I believe she told you to let fucking go.”

“The fuck are you doing here Tozier? This isn’t your business.” Brad snapped.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re making my friend uncomfortable, and I’m thinking that’s gotta stop.”

Eddie glanced at his watch, taking in the time of four-thirty before glancing to Jessica’s still empty seat next to him. She’d been gone for a whole thirty minutes, and he doubted that Jessica had just bailed on them since her backpack and jacket were still hanging neatly on the back of her chair waiting for her to return.

“I noticed too.” Stan said, closing his notebook and gathering his things. “I doubt she got lost.”

“She could have bailed.” Mike said, packing his own things away.

“She left all her things here.” Eddie pointed out.

“We’ll get her on the way out.” Stan said, pulling his jacket on and slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

Gathering Jessica’s things, Stan shoved them into her backpack and grabbed her jacket, the three of them leaving the library.

“Do you think she just decided to hide out in the bathroom until it was time to leave?” Mike asked as they made their way down the hallway. “She didn’t really seem to want to do the work today.”

“Jessica doesn’t bail on people for anything.” Eddie defended.

“Eddie’s right, and she’s been here too long now to get lost.”

Brad fisted his hands into Richie’s shirt and pulled him up from the ground, hoisting him up and slamming him back first into a set of lockers. Richie, who was now sporting a bloodied nose from a well-aimed kick to the face, visibly winced, but didn’t give up as he raised a leg to kick at Brad’s hip in an attempt to get him off, though it did little to make him budge.

“Brad, come on, let him go!” Jessica said, grabbing one of his arms to try and pry it away from Richie.

“I told you to get the fuck out of here, Tozier.” Brad said, ignoring Jessica as he pulled Richie forward, only to slam him back into the locker with a loud clang. “I told you this was none of your damn business.”

“And I told you that you were wrong and you’re making my friend uncomfortable.” Richie snapped, shoving his foot against Brad’s stomach this time.

Brad took a step back from the lockers, yanking Richie with him as he tossed him to the ground where he delivered a kick to his stomach that had Richie sliding back into the lockers the other side of the hallway.

“Oh fuck no.”

Jessica jumped at the sudden new and angry voice, turning in time to see Eddie throwing his backpack roughly into a set of lockers as he sprinted down the hallway, Stan and Mike lingering back.

Brad was so busy with Richie that he had hadn’t heard or seen Eddie coming until he’d leapt onto his back, grabbing a fist full of his hair as his legs wrapped around Brad’s waist. Eddie jerked his body to side with a yank on Brad’s hair, forcing Brad to stumble until he was close enough that Eddie could slam his head into a locker.

Sliding from Brad’s back, Eddie delivered a swift kick to the back of his knee, buckling the taller boy’s legs from under him. As Brad went down, Eddie’s knee suddenly went up, colliding with Brad’s chin before he nudged his knee against his nose roughly, sending him sprawling onto his back.

“Who. The. Fuck. Do. You. Think. You. Are?” Eddie punctuated each word with a strong and swift kick to Brad’s side. “I. Asked. You. A. Fucking. Question.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Stan breathed, dropping Jessica’s things onto the ground beside him. “He might actually kill him.”

“Eddie –” Richie hissed, wrapping an arm around his stomach as Jessica helped him stumble to his feet. “Eds.” Using his free arm, he propped himself up on Jessica. “Oi! Eddie Spaghetti!”

Eddie wheeled around so fast that Richie could have sworn that right in that moment, he was possessed. “Don’t you fucking call me that right now!”

Richie unwrapped the arm from his stomach, holding up a single hand in defence. “Come on now, Eds. I’m okay, see?”

“Look at the fucking state of you!” Eddie snapped, turning to deliver another kick to Brad’s side. “Get the fuck out of here before I finish what I started, and don’t you ever touch him again!”

Brad didn’t need to be told twice. Though no one else had made a move, Brad was aware that he was heavily outnumbered now and scrambled to his feet, taking off around the nearest corner and leaving the small group behind.

“Holy shit, that was hot.” Richie said, leaning against Jessica who stumbled from the sudden weight on her shoulder. “Look at you, defending my honour. Ah do think I’m falling in love with you all over again!”

“Shut the fuck up.” Eddie huffed, crossing the hallway and looking up at him. “No one gets to beat you up but me. Why the fuck were you picking a fight with Brad?”

“Ah, well, ya’see Eds –”

“He’s an idiot, that’s why.” Jessica said, shaking her head. “Thanks though.”

“Hey, anytime.” Richie grinned, bumping his fist gently against the side of her head with a hiss. “Okay, me and moving too much is not a good idea right now, but holy shit Eds, what the fuck was that?”

“That was what happens when someone hurts my boyfriend.” Eddie growled.

“That’s kind of sweet and terrifying at the same time.” Jessica said, carefully removing Richie’s arm from her shoulder and dropping it onto Eddie’s. “Sorry Eddie, I think your boyfriend broke a little in my care.”

Eddie huffed again, though he seemed calmer now that Brad was nowhere nearby. “What actually happened?”

“He was touching her, and she didn’t like it.” Richie said, pushing himself upright from Eddie. “So I did something about it.”

Richie wobbled for a moment before looking around the hallway for something, and it was only now that Eddie noticed he wasn’t wearing his glasses. As he started to help Richie look for them, Mike approached the group, a pair of glasses in hand which he unfolded and then slid onto Richie’s face.

“They were by the lockers.” Mike said.

“Ah, thanks, Hanlon, my saviour!” Richie said, shooting him a grin. “I was wondering what state they were in.”

“How are those things not fucking broken after that fight?” Eddie demanded, leaning up to look at them closer.

There were a few scratches on the frame and the edges of the lenses, and the smallest of cracks on one of the arms, but they otherwise looked fine. Jessica crossed the hallway and grabbed Richie’s bag before making her way back over to where Richie stood.

“I can’t believe you just tried to fight the biggest guy in school, Rich.” Jessica said, holding the backpack out to him.

Richie reached out for the backpack, only for Eddie to smack his hand away with a stern look. “Jess, I wasn’t going to just turn around and walk off. Is that what has Lucille so annoyed lately?”

Jessica heaved a sigh as Eddie took Richie’s bag from her. “Yeah. He’s been like that for a couple of weeks now.”

Stan picked up the things he’d discarded on the ground, holding the jacket out to Jessica. “I think after Eddie’s little chaotic feral moment just now, he’s not gonna be bothering you again for a long time.”

Jessica couldn’t hold back her laugh, taking the jacket and pulling it on before taking her bag. “Yeah, I think Eddie beat the message into him more than Richie did.”

“Hey!” Richie protested, wincing and wrapping his arm back around himself. “I’ll have you know I got a few kicks and punches in before he fucking tripped me and slammed into a locker.”

Jessica nodded. “Yeah, you did. Let me give you and Eddie a ride home. You can’t drive like that. I’ll pick you up in the morning too.”

Richie tsked at her, wagging a finger. “I’m supposed to be the saviour here, not you.”

Eddie scoffed, retrieving his bag from where he’d thrown it. “You were getting your ass beat until I stepped in, Tozier. Don’t forget that.”

“Yeah, if anyone is the saviour here, it’s Eddie.” Mike said, clapping Eddie on the shoulder. “Like damn kid where did you learn that?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’m small, I had to learn.”

Richie let out a chuckle, wincing again. “Ow – hold on before we leave. I need to get this blood off my face or mom’s gonna freak out.”

Eddie nodded, waiting outside the bathroom with Jessica while Stan and Mike took their leave, ordering Eddie to let them know how Richie was later.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asked, breaking the silence that stretched over the hallway.

“Shouldn’t you be asking Richie that?” Jessica asked, arching a brow at him.

Eddie snorted. “Richie’s durable. He once bounced back from a rock to the face. He’s gonna be fine. You’re the one I’m worried about.”

Jessica grinned. “I’m fine, really. I was more worried about what he was going to do to Richie.”

“He’ll be back to his old self tomorrow.” Eddie assured her. “Brad’s lucky I don’t snap his fucking neck.”

Jessica giggled, attempting to stifle it with her hand. “You sound just like Lucille.”

“Yeah, well sometimes you sound just like Richie.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Eddie thought it over for a moment, a smile coming to his face. “Nope – not at all. It just means you’re loyal as fuck and you’re gonna take a beating for a friend.”

[topicprinter]

Why I startedI love building new things and sharing them. When I do, my excitement often turns to despair as my betas rarely catch on.Though I’m ok with this (and I usually learn a ton along the way) I often lament over how much time I had put into building a web app just to test the value prop. Sometimes the prospect of it all going to waste can even be a huge demotivating force during the build.Regardless, I had always considered it a necessary evil to test my idea. Without really thinking about it, I hadn’t considered that anything less would be a fair test of an idea. Perhaps it was the engineer in me that thought about the technical considerations before what it really took to test a business.What I builtMy latest beau is Catsnatcher — a tool that gives profitability and competitive metrics on 40,000+ highly-specific Amazon categories so that sellers can find the perfect niche.Having spent months developing the necessary scripts to gather and analyse the info, I finally completed the data stage three weeks ago. I then started to break ground on the web app that would present this data to users.“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” — Reid Hoffman As a lone wolf, I quickly found myself frustrated when dealing with the mundanity of non-value add pieces (pretty much everything on the frontend). I had the data ready, wasn’t that enough for people? The medium wasn’t going to affect people‘s success on Amazon. ‘People don’t pay for buttons’, I told myself after three hours of trying to fix the damn buttons.Thinking about myself and all the time I had wasted on the presentation of previous betas — I put myself in the shoes of the customer and realised that if I was them, I wouldn’t care how this was given to me. My purchase would depend on the data available and if it serviced my need to be the best Amazon seller. In fact, part of me would probably trust data from a file more than a typical web app.Following research on the specs and planning what adjustments I’d have to make (more on these below), Google Sheets quickly became the favourite. After all, it includes:Data presentation — the well-known tabular format first made famous by excel is easy to navigate and isn’t much worse looking than a custom frame that would have taken days to tweakSorting — viewing metrics from highest-to-lowest and vice-versa is very important for analysing Amazon data Filtering — as with the above, people will be searching criteria based on parameters (e.g. rating < 4.2)Copy protection — data is my product, so if I didn’t use Google Sheets I would have had to install CloudFlare to prevent illicit scraping of my dataSharing/auth of users — its so easy to add new emails and adjust permissions of existing ones, I can even add people who provide a non-Google email!All of this could have taken me weeks or even months to build myself, not to mention maintenance. As I closed my IDE (for what was hopefully the last time), I asked around to make sure I hadn’t lost my mind:Running MVP on Google SheetsWhat I learnedThe new stack would be a Google Sheet that I added people to once they had paid me through my simple static HTML landing page. As I could export directly from PostgreSQL to CSV getting the data in would be as simple as drag and drop; however the remainder of the setup wasn’t all plain sailing.Although Google Sheets was handling huge chunks of my app stack (data frames, authentication, frontend protection from copy/paste) there were several limitations that simply wouldn’t have been an issue if I had taken those extra weeks to code an app instead:The maximum allowed cells possible in Sheets is 2M. I needed two sheets — one for the Categories and another for their constituent Item listings. Considering I started out with 40,000 Categories and over 500,000 Items and about 10–15 columns of metrics for each; keeping this many rows would have meant a lot fewer metrics on each to be compliant (no fewer than four for Items, in fact). Instead, I filtered some protected categories and ones I thought were useless to bring it down to 28,000 and instead of showing the top 20 Items for each Category for beta I decided to show just the top five (for a total row count of just over 100,000). This meant I could show off most of the important analyses (columns) I had made for both. I think my final tally of cells was about 1.8M.User permissions were probably my biggest challenge. I wanted people to be able to explore the data but not make edits, copy or download the data, which meant a regular Edit user option was off limits. View-only ended up being a decent option only because of filter views, which allow viewer users to use Sheets’ sort and filter options without affecting anyone else’s view. I did mess up whilst adding one of my first users and left him as an Edit user for three hours. Thankfully he’s a nice dude and opted not to steal my data or blow shit up. Unfortunately these view-only users do see each other’s Google icons if they use at the same time which is a bit weird, but for now this isn’t a big issue.Ease of use was definitely not as polished as it would have been in a regular app. The most memorable example I have is that I wasn’t able to link from a niche that a user had shortlisted to jump to the next tab and filter the constituent items that were within that — this would have been possible with a Google Script but there aren’t accessible to view-only users. Instead, I added a tutorial in the welcome email on how to do this manually. I gave users more detail into what each datapoint meant using the notes feature, where if you hover over a cell you can get more insight.As expected, performance is touchy when you’re at 90% capacity presenting hundreds of megabytes of data to your users. From testing myself, I noticed most of the lag was when initially opening the sheets, particularly the 500,000 row list of Items. I made a note in my email tutorial to give it some time to load initially before using. Although I expected the lag to get worse and worse as I added more users, filter-only views actually helped here, my understanding of how they work suggest that they defer a lot of the work to the user’s computer rather than Google’s compute/memory allocated to a sheet, thus not affecting others’ experience. I’d assume more overhead in scaling Edit users as the changes are seen and saved on everyone’s version of the sheet.Pricing wasn’t a limitation per se but it was clear that it needed to be more attractive to beta users due to all of the above. I’ll also be gathering feedback from them as I tweak the final draft of v1 in the coming weeks — so its only fair that its a bit cheaper. As it stands I’m charging $60 for two months access to the list ($30/month) and for the full app the fee will be closer to $40-$50/month for access — billed quarterly. I know this won’t suit everyone but I’m looking to build up a cache of serious Amazon Sellers, regardless of their stage in the journey.Usage and event analytics are super important for a new product —not only for informing the features in the full build but also for ensuring people use it and keep using it long enough to give meaningful feedback. Unfortunately there really is no way to track this in Sheets. I’ve overcome this by reaching out a little bit more to my users than is necessary to check that everything is going ok or if they have any issues.My product has no free trial, so people have to make their judgement to sign up based on what I say and show on my landing page. I figured this might be troublesome as I’d just be showing them a screenshot of a Google Sheet alongside a promise that it could help them be more successful. Part of me expected laughter when people saw a $60 price tag on a Google Sheet. Thankfully they saw past the wallpaper (see below). On balance, I feel it was still worth it — anything major outlined above was either overcome or just wasn’t as important to the end users or getting access to the data.LaunchThough nervous about the my light stack I decided that data was worth it so I’d charge $60 for two month’s beta access. Last week I launched on Product Hunt and I got several paying users within hours, and many more newsletter signups! I followed this up with a BetaList launch and have more targeted stuff scheduled for the coming week. The plan is to continue adding users to the Sheet and get their feedback as I build out the full app on the side.Despite being only part of the way through, I can say with confidence that its by far the best launch I’ve ever had (in far less time)!I am almost certain this is a result of outsourcing the app to Google Sheets and thus having more time to focus on messaging, sharing and nurturing new customers. This is important. Use your newly-freed time wisely. In my previous launches, I had put all my energy into the app, pasted the link and hoped for the best. As much as it pains the engineer in me to say it, this stuff is the life and soul of a business.Feel free to reach out on Twitter if you’re thinking of running a product beta on Sheets. Also (shameless plug), if you are an Amazon seller or considering becoming one, check out the Catsnatcher beta file to find your perfect high-profit, low competition niche!

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

F1 2018 preview - Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India, Williams

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/f1-2018-preview-mercedes-ferrari-red-bull-force-india-williams/

F1 2018 preview - Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India, Williams

The second part of ESPN’s team-by-team preview for the 2018 Formula One season looks at the top five from last year’s championship standings, including the three teams most likely to fight for the title.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are favourites for more championship glory in 2018. Octane/Action Plus via Getty Images

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas Engine: Mercedes 2017 points: 668 Fastest lap in testing: 1:18.400 (seventh fastest) Title odds: 1/2

Following two weeks of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, ESPN analyses the battle at the front between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

The reigning world champions appear to be the team to beat again in 2018. Pre-season gave little reason to expect otherwise and nor do the preceding four years of the V6 turbo era. Mercedes’ championship last season was perhaps the most impressive as it came despite a sweeping overhaul of Formula One’s regulations, highlighting why this is one of the sport’s all-time great dynasties.

Spearheaded by Lewis Hamilton, who at times last year appeared to be operating at the peak of his talent, the German manufacturer will be a formidable opponent for anyone close enough to challenge. Hamilton is likely to secure a contract extension in the early part of the year and goes into the season as the odds-on favourite for a fifth world championship.

But 2017 proved Mercedes is not unbeatable. Despite a strong second half of the season, Ferrari’s implosion in the final rounds basically handed Mercedes the championship when the fight looked to be going to the wire. The W08 car the team labelled “a diva” was tricky to understand and struggled to find the same performance gains on Pirelli’s softer tyres as Ferrari and Red Bull did. With Pirelli introducing altered compounds for the 2018 and pre-season suggesting the W09 is little better on the softer tyres, Mercedes has a lot of work to do to ensure its latest car stays at the front end of the grid.

Ferrari

Ferrari will need to match its rivals’ strong development in 2018 to claim a title. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen Engine: Ferrari 2017 points: 522 Fastest lap in testing: 1:17.182 (fastest) Title odds: 10/3

Ferrari used last year’s overhaul of aerodynamic regulations to mount a serious championship challenge, only to see its season fall apart late on after a series of engine failures. Having proved it has not forgotten how to build a title contender, the Italian team seemed quietly confident coming into the new campaign. Pre-season gave mixed messages about the order at the front but Ferrari is clearly going to start the year in the mix. Sustaining an aggressive and successful rate of development throughout the season — all while avoiding the failures of 2017 — will be key to its success this time around.

Sebastian Vettel drove as well at certain points last year than he ever did during his dominant spell at Red Bull. The German driver clearly relished being back in title contention and there’s little reason to think he will not be operating at a similar level in 2018. However, by keeping Kimi Raikkonen despite his frustrating inconsistency, Ferrari appears content not to win the constructors’ championship — Mercedes and Red Bull both have a more rounded driver line-up to take that accolade. Despite occasional flashes of the old Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion was very rarely on the same level as Vettel. A repeat of that this season could be damaging to Vettel’s title ambitions if Red Bull is also in the hunt for big hauls of points throughout the year.

Red Bull

Red Bull is in the best shape its been in since the start of the V6 turbo era. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen Engine: Renault (Branded as TAG Heuer) 2017 points: 368 Fastest lap in testing: 1:18.047 (third fastest) Title odds: 10/3

Red Bull could finally be back in title contention if the team is as close to Mercedes as pre-season suggested. Despite never having a package capable of winning the championship since F1 swapped V8 engines with the current V6s turbos, it has continually shown its aerodynamic prowess by finishing each season since with an aggressive upwards development curve. The problem has always been the gap to overhaul has simply been too big.

Analysing Red Bull’s gap to the front at the Australian Grand Prix will give some idea about how the rest of the season will play out and how likely the team is to be in the mix. If its tight at the top in Melbourne, it will very much be game on for 2018.

If the package is good, we also know its driver line-up is up to the challenge. In Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull likely has the best and most competitive pairing on the grid. This will also provide a fascinating narrative if Red Bull is in the title hunt — the two ultra-competitive drivers have so far enjoyed a good relationship, barring a brief spat after colliding in Hungary last year. Given the nature of F1 that harmony is unlikely to continue if both Red Bull drivers feel they can win a maiden championship this season. Managing that, and ensuring it does not derail a championship bid, will be just as important to Red Bull’s chances of winning as its car development plans.

Force India

The Force India didn’t shine during testing but the team is looking to bring a big upgrade to Melbourne. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Drivers: Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon Engine: Mercedes 2017 points: 187 Fastest lap in testing: 1:18.967 (eighth fastest) Title odds: 300/1

Formula One’s serial overachievers face a big task in 2018. The team which has made out-performing its limited budget a habit in recent seasons had an underwhelming pre-season where it appeared to be lacking performance. Last year it was consistently best of the rest by some margin ahead of a packed midfield battle, but that cluster of teams is likely to make a step forward this year.

Renault and McLaren, both equipped with an improving engine and big budgets, are likely to close the gap to the top three. Force India faces a big task in competing with both over a 21-race season but if any of the grid’s smaller outfits can do it, the one emblazoned with a striking pink livery seems the most likely. Force India’s supply of Mercedes engines means it has a good baseline if it can get everything right with its car, and we know it is a team which relishes the sort of challenge ahead this year.

Rumours still exist about a name change ahead of the season, one which the team hopes will open it up to new and improved sponsorship opportunities in future, but that is unlikely to cause too much distraction to one of F1’s most efficient race operations.

Williams

Williams has a lot of work to do in 2018 to understand its radical new aero concept. JOSE JORDAN/AFP/Getty Images

Drivers: Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin Engine: Mercedes 2017 points: 83 Fastest lap in testing: 1:19.189 (tenth fastest) Title odds: 500/1

By contrast to Force India, Williams has struggled over the last two years to improve a car during the season. A radical new aerodynamic concept was unveiled this year, spearheaded by Paddy Lowe and Dirk de Beer, and that rarely leads to an immediate upswing in performance. During testing, Lowe admitted the team is still a long way from understanding the true potential of the revamped FW41. With development likely to be what defines Williams’ season, attention naturally turns to the two men chosen to pilot this year’s car.

Ever since the launch, deputy team boss Claire Williams has been defiant about her team’s selection of the grid’s most inexperienced driver line-up, F1 sophomore Lance Stroll and rookie Sergey Sirotkin. The team has taken a huge gamble by investing in youth for its race squad and its ability to learn about and develop the FW41 will rest largely on their shoulders. Robert Kubica is a popular addition to the team as reserve driver but his knowledge of Pirelli’s notoriously tricky tyres is also limited after seven years out of Formula One, though his input is likely to be invaluable as the season progresses.

If Williams struggles early in the year, questions about the decisions made in the months leading in to the season are likely to be rife. Given how tight the midfield is expected to be at the start of the season, Williams cannot afford to have made a fundamental error in judgement.