#and with them gabe is able to let go and be mean and petty and angry

[niaerinisms]

And if I say Cas and Gabe already have feeings for each other? And that Cas fell first (not that they know) and Gabe fell harder (kinda knows but it has them crying throwing up pulling out their hair sobbing)?

[marinettesaltprompts]

Prompt by @kawaiichibiart

I wanted to expand on one of my first prompts I shared, which was the class/school transfer but instead of Marinette it's Adrien. Marinette Salt, implied Akuma class salt (implied because I feel like you could leave it out and the story will still work). Deceptive Gabriel Sugar (you think he's being nice but it's all part of his plans to get the miraculous).

--------

After being told he knew about Lila the whole time, the Akuma class turns on Adrien. It starts with ignoring him and not inviting him to things. The only reason he shows up for band practice is because of Luka.

It then evolves into badmouthing him and some of his old classmates even go as far as bullying him.

It gets to be too much for him that he starts ditching and eventually, in that extremely rare "good dad" moment, Gabriel pulls him out of school.

The two sit down and talk about what happened to let things get to this point, and Adrien tells him what he knows. Lila lying, how he thought it was just for attention, the highroad, how Marinette told their classmates he knew Lila was lying but didn't tell them anything else, like how Lila was threatening her, something he kinda figured out on his own when she got Marinette expelled, or well, he assumed Lila hurt Marinette someway...she made it seem like he was okay with Lila lying when he wasn't. He just...didn't know how to stop her or how to get people to listen without any proper evidence.

And Marinette just, threw him under the bus. He thought she was his friend. That he and his classmates were friends. Maybe, maybe Gabriel was right. He never should have gone to school.

Time for extremely rare "good dad" Gabe to strike again: in a two birds one stone moment, Gabriel suggests Adrien lives with his aunt and cousin in London. They can find a good school for him to attend if he still wants to attend one in person. It'll also keep him safe from Akumas, he still thinks about Gorizilla and how he could have lost him (and also this way he didn't have to worry about Adrien potentially being the one he has to akumatize. Once he wins, Adrien will be able to return home to his mother).

Adrien agrees and moves in with Amelie and Felix. And because they honestly feel like it, the boys literally become twins. Felix and Adrien Graham de Vanily both attend a private school where they can focus on their future careers.

We skip a bit forward in time and DuPont is now in London on a field trip. They're getting a tour of one of their biggest private schools. They're able to see students working on their schedules, each one differing from one another due to the difference of career paths. And once they enter the labs, they see Adrien and Felix.

The twins are working on experiments together when the DuPont students arrive. Some of them try to talk to Adrien, but Felix blocks them, speaking over them or shushing them. As part of their trip, they get to attend the school for a few days. During this time, they try to reconnect with Adrien.

But either their schedules don't align, Felix gets in the way, or Adrien remains civil but isn't interested in mending bridges.

Some of them understand. They hurt him. He moved on. They messed up and lost a friend.

Others don't. He had to be exaggerating his hurt feelings. He was always so forgiving with Chloe. What made them different??

The worst is Marinette. Not only is Adrien ignoring her, he literally told her to not speak to him. To stay away from him. She didn't do anything wrong. She didn't mean any harm when she said he knew about Lila. Why can't he forgive her?!

"I'm trying to be nice!! I've forgiven you for that bullshit advice and you decide you're too good for me?!"

"Ha, "too good." Sure."

"I'm not talking to you. Adrien-"

"Doesn't want to talk to you. But I, on the other hand, have some words for you. Stay away from us. Go back to your petty filled life in Paris. You say you "forgive" my cousin for the advice he have you. Advice you willingly took, no?"

"Well, I-"

"Or am I missing the part where my favorite cousin made you take that advice. Advice can be given but it doesn't have to be taken. You taking the highroad, was ultimately, you're choice. You made that decision and got someone else hurt. But it doesn't matter, does it?"

"Felix-"

"It doesn't matter so long as you end up on top. As long as you aren't the one being pushed around and ignored and hurt. As long as you win."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!!"

"We both know it is. If it wasn't, you never would have let things get as far as they did. You would have told the entire truth. Not held things back. You would have accepted responsibility for your part in what your class did to my cousin, no, to my brother."

"I already said I was sorry!! What more do you want?!"

"I want you to leave."

"Adrien-"

"Leave, Marinette. I have nothing to say to you."

"You heard him. Get. Out."

some additional points I couldn't work into the prompt:

• Adrien is still Chat Noir, but he's no longer Paris's hero. Chat Noir is active in London. Costume and name change are optional.

• Of his old friends, he only speaks to Luka, Kagami, and occasionally Chloe.

• Felix and Adrien played "rock, paper, scissors" to determine who's birthday they would use. Winner also got to be the eldest twin. Felix won.

• Felix switches between referring to Adrien as his cousin and his brother.

• This isn't a requirement but if someone can manage to work it in, get Felix his miraculous (the peacock) early. I love the cat bird duo.

• Marinette still has a crush on Adrien and expected him to beg for her forgiveness, which she would give him after he groveled for a while, so she's surprised when he cuts contact with her entirely.

• Possible rare "good dad" Gabriel moment four: he tells the public a shortened version as to why Adrien left, which is his son was being bullied and he worried that that would cause him to be akumatized. Not wanting to risk it, he sent him to live with his aunt and cousin in London. And once everything was over, he could return, hopefully happier and safer. Which, sadly, means Adrien won't be modeling for Gabriel for the foreseeable future. But that's a chance he's willing to take if it means his son isn't hurt or targeted.

It's his way of showing the public he's just a concerned father who had the means to send his child somewhere he could be safe. It's something other parents had considered and some also decide to go through with the idea.

• Of his past classmates, the ones Adrien is a bit more welcoming to are: Juleka, Sabrina and Nathaniel. This is mostly because they just stayed on the sidelines the entire time. Something they regret but acknowledge can't be taken back. So, while the bridge hasn't been mended, the distance isn't big enough that they have to worry about falling and drowning.

[quietwingsinthesky]

"stop voting for gabriel gabriel is Not cool he’s a dork" tbf, my definition of "cool" has never seemed to align with what others consider "cool". my definition of "cool" usually requires some level of autism around dinosaurs and/or animals in general (GODS I love weird animal trivia and Jurassic Park did something to my brain chemistry my dad taking small child me to see it in theaters was a Mistake) which none of the archangels seem to display much of. the closest is Gabe with the little dog in his first ep.

(Jurassic Park example, actually. Alan Grant is the coolest mf in that movie and I'm p sure it's supposed to be Malcolm.) "look at how that dude dresses! how he acts! so cool!" "fascinating, but what is his favorite Star Trek series." I'm too autistic to understand whatever constitutes "cool" conventionally I guess. Hannibal is fine I like him but Will, with his dog obsession and deep desire to be Left The Fuck Alone, and then becoming unhinged over the series? very cool of him.

"this angel is a tyrant in favor of the apocalypse" deeply uncool. "this angel is a hedonistic coward that likes to victimize abusers" well, the bar is pretty low… (which isn't to say I think that deeply uncool (imo) character trait makes them a bad character in general, I just can't associate them with "cool-ness".)

oh but also? "any excuse to think about lucifer being a slut #literally let me run a train on him until he’s mindbroken. that would fix him." ur right ur so right and it's very sexy of u to say.

(godfather voice) You come into my house, on the day my daughter's to be married, and you ask me to accept not only raphael slander, but ian malcolm slander??? HANNIBAL SLANDER??????????

no, no, it's fine. i see all these guys as pretty equally weird and autistic. i mean, ian malcolm is described as a rockstar of a mathematician for a reason, this is his Thing, you know? he thinks flirting via explaining his mathematical theory is hot. i'm really not sure you could claim he's not fascinated by the dinosaurs, given that they're his vehicle to prove his theory correct, that he's the one in the book who takes note of their population growth and figures out that the park is going to get out of human control very quickly. (as far as I remember, it's been a few years since i revisited it.) sorry wait this isn't ian malcolm defense squad time. and we don't have time to get into hannibal lmao.

BUT. i will not be accepting raphael slander ever forever. incorrect. they lay out their reasoning for the apocalypse very clearly in 5x03, how they have watched every monstrous thing that has occurred in human history and only been able to come to the conclusion that god has to be dead, because otherwise he couldn't have allowed it to happen. the apocalypse is a promised escape from pain. and then, of course, castiel's resurrection in the s5 finale alongside the apocalypse being cancelled tells them only one thing: that god is alive and he just. let all that shit happen. let it happen to the world, let it happen to raphael. now, gabriel is dead, michael and lucifer are in the cage, god is still mia, and castiel. it doesn't actually matter what castiel believes because he's become the face of all of that. it's an impossible position to be in, and archangels are, as a rule, not very good at changing course. raphael is alone, and raphael has decided to self-destruct. i just wish the writers actually gave a shit about them so they could have leaned into what is one of the coolest arcs of disillusionment with god and grasping at any measure of control when the one stable thing you've based your whole life on has been yanked out from under you.

and gabriel is deeply uncool. that's the point! he's not a hero of the people, taking out evildoers in funny ways. he's a deeply petty, incredibly self-serving asshole who still carries the belief that, as an archangel, he gets to decide what's right and wrong, who lives and who dies, and how much pain he gets to cause them before they do. he's all for the apocalypse until it starts messing with his things. his eventual stand against lucifer isn't righteous, it's a dozen insults lashing out as his older brother, trying to hurt him as much as he possibly can because lucifer hurt gabriel first. and he dies because he is still too much like lucifer. he's still playing the same tricks lucifer taught him to. cause what's the apocalypse but a much larger version of gabriel's game, right? one angel who decided humanity as a whole was rotten and needed to be wiped out against another angel who has spent the past few centuries taking out his issues on whatever jerk crosses his path. like, really, the difference is that lucifer is out to get Results. gabriel likes fucking with people, but he doesn't want the status quo to change because that would mean no more people to fuck with.

first and foremost, gabriel is a dickhead whose shots sometimes hit their mark. i love him so much, he's so awful.

[loyal04]

Actually offense. The Percy Jackson Tv show had no suspense. Everything was stated out right we never got to wonder or be suspicious/surprised because everything was stated. Some Examples Medusa, The fates, Furies, EVEN CRUSTY FOR GODS SAKES. There was no build up, even the Summer solstice failed. It was supposed to be a DEADLINE but they went passed it and brushed that off in one convo with Zeus. Hades complete mood switch???? Why was Athena so petty?? Like yes Athena is most likely petty but she wouldn’t take a risk like that its, NOT smart.

Dont get me started on the last episode Traitor reveal. NO SUSPENSE No dramatic drop just. “Your the lightning thief..” LIKE BRO WHAT WHERES MY 60 SECONDS.

Im sorry to say this but I wasn’t content or happy with the tv show. Even the Cgi was weird and the fighting was terrible. The sparing they did with Luke and Percy was the best fight scene in that while show… and that is just sad. Even the fight with ARES was underwhelming. Im hoping they’ll take this criticism and really change that for season two I want dramatic drops, build up, TIME TO BREATH. MAYBE EVEN A LONG FIGHT? They drop so much lore and so fast you don’t have time to digest.

Im pissed about the May lore drop WE DIDNT KNOW ABOUT HER UNTIL BOOK 5. ANNABETH WASN’T EVEN ALLOWED INSIDE (or it was just the kitchen I believe) BUT STILL. Annabeth was almost as clueless as Percy if I remember correctly. Even if she wasnt she doesn’t have the right to spill that secret of Lukes like girl what?? Luke shouldn’t have told about Thalia but still at least she was his friend as well but his trauma about his mom was not yours to share also guilt tripping Hermes??

May’s fate wasn’t even really Hermes fault. He tried to talk her out of it and it was Hades who cursed the oracle in the first place. Im just so upset about all the secrets that were revealed early.

The acting didn’t have much emotion or I felt they portrayed it wrong. For instance Percy reacted to almost everything with the same face. The show was way to dry for my liking. Percy jackson is supposed to be funny. Sally kind of seemed like a mean mom iykwim. I mean she just had no patience for Percy at all and it constantly felt like she was guilt tripping him… no just me??? I get that shes a struggling and single parent but Whattt???? She’s supposed to be supportive, kind and loving. If I met that sally I wouldn’t expect her to sit me down in her kitchen offering us a blanket and cookies.

THEY DID GABE FOWL. They did him so poorly that man did not deserve to die sure he was a dead beat but seriously?? Tartarus would not smell like him. They should have just let him get divorced it would have made sense but turning him to stone?? For what being a lazy, grouchy stepdad??

Gabe in the book was abusive manipulated just a straight up Piece of sewer gunk. He HIT them he abused them and manipulated them into staying quiet. The entire scene with the cops and everything. The guy in the show tho?? He looks like he’d fall over from the raise of a hand bro wouldn’t even be able to throw a punch. He doesn’t even have a job?? He looks like the worst he would do is yell and make fun of you because he’s probably projecting because he’s completely useless but deserving death?? He was more of a nuisance he didn’t deserve to die being divorced and alone forever I can’t understand but seriously??

Also the Percabeth slow burn… they’re pushing it they were just friends in the first book maybe in the second we start getting into it. But seriously the first season? She just started opening up to him in the first book. WE DIDN’T EVEN GET THEIR TALK LIKE UGH WHAT I wanted the Annabeth backstory about her dad but they didn’t have the convo about her going home for the summer we didn’t get into it. They’re overcooking my 5 book long slow burn.

They stuffed to much into too short of episodes that we didn’t get time to breath or get to know our characters. It was just a one minute battles here and there, a few conversations about impending doom and Percy being sad about his mom like. I know I’m being Petty but they should have split most of those episodes into two so we had more time to learn about our characters or digest the info dumps. The first episodes had me reeling I swear my head was swirling. The characters themselves didn’t have time to breath “Oh your claimed by poseidon now you have to go on a deadly quest to find the master bolt everyone thinks you stole but we think hades stole it also he probably has your mom.” Why are they shoving everything in our face. Percy in the books had 3 DAYS to come to terms with his parentage but show percy had like a day AT MOST.

I don’t know, they just could have done so well but they didn’t. I swear Mikey mouse must have tied Rick to a chair no way he said yeah this is amazing or a good script decision. THERE WERE SO MANY PLOT HOLES or decisions that didn’t make any sense.

[arlakos]

Miraculous Rant

Actually, you know what, while im still mad from the previous post I made, lets go off on a rant. No punches pulled. Lets do this.

The lovesquare is the most terrible ship in this fandom. One girl is a hyper obsessed stalker who tracks her crush with her planner for 3 whole seasons, while the boy couldn’t learn to take a hint and stop flirting for 3 whole seasons until he decided to move on with another girl. Ironically that makes them perfect for eachother, but its in a creepy kind of way, not a loving kind of way.

Adrigami and Lukanette in the S3 Finale were wasted events and never should have occured because they were immediately axed in the first few episodes of the next season. I feel sorry for those that were hoping their ships could be real for at least a short actual while, and it makes me want to curse the writers for their story-boner for the status quo of teases

Despite what I said earlier, none of the girls are good for Adrien. Marinette’s stalkery and a borderline yandere, Kagami’s somewhat controlling and too similar to Adrien help him grow as a person, Chloe is a queen bee beyotch and honestly too much like a sibling to Adrien, and Lila is garbage. Fuck it, have Luka date Adrien and they can play some sweet music together (not like that you pervs, I meant they both play instruments).

Nino needs more love. Not only that, but there needs to be more Adrien/Nino bro moments. If Marinette and Alya can have moments together, why not the bros?

Chloe’s character is a mess, and is neither redeemable, nor notably evil. Her role as a villain in season 1 is very hamfisted, such as in the episodes Mr Pigeon and Kung Food. Not only that, Chloe also lacks any of the qualities that makes a good “bully villain” or rival to Marinette, and her sympathetic moments (which are Written by Sebastien) are mostly overshadowed by the fact that Astruc wants her to be a bully, so it just makes her bipolar and confusing when her character is tugged between two writers.

Chloe should not have joined Hawkmoth in Miracle Queen, see my other post as to why I think so. TLDR, its kinda ooc  for her to go full on 2d villain like Hawkmoth especially after Miraculer, plus Lila was being build up to be the main antagonist of S3

Chloe got kicked from the Team in Miraculer because people know her identity? Fine. Kagami gets to be Ryuko again despite being known to Hawkmoth in Ikari Gozen? Not cool. Ladybug shouldn’t be a hypocrite and be willing to break her own rules just because “Kagami is my friend and Chloe’s not”. Same goes for her breaking the rule with secrect identities with Alya, only for her to go on and on about the rules to Chat when he pries.

Zoe is a bland character who’s only notable trait that she likes Marinette, which automatically makes her worthy of a miraculous after two episodes and no actual development.

Astruc is a petty frick who makes episodes that give the finger to fans of the show that have a different opinion than him. Queen Banana, Miracle Queen, and Reverser are good examples of this (Reverser did Nathaniel dirty).

Master Fu is a shit guardian. Read my post for more.

FRICK THE FEAST EPISODE. Not only did is ruin Fu as character, it ruined all the good theories as to why the order fell, and wasted the idea of a new villain being introduced or even taking over as the main antagonist! Speaking of Feast, despite the sentimonster destroying an order when he wasn’t even big, he still go beat by 2 kids even when he was supersized!

Marinette is not a good Guardian. Her ability to choose heroes does not make her capable, and just because “tradition is stupid” doesnt mean that Marinette shouldn’t be tested like others before her!

Despite the Kwami’s being ancient magical buildings, they seem to act like kids a lot, and that annoys me when in S1 they are supposed to apparently be mentors to their wielders, like how Tikki was before she was mentally de-aged.

Lila is trash and should be removed from the show. The only reasons her lies work is because the writers dumb down every other character in the show and ignore the fact the people have smartphones with google.

The “Miraculous” Ladybug spell should require both Ladybug and Chat Noir to cast, because not only does the power have nothing to do with creation, but it also “destroys” anything created by the akuma, which thematically makes no sense. Also it would place more emphasis on the two heroes being equals and “two halfs of the same coin”

On that note, Ladybug has too many powers. Not only is she the only one who can purify akumas, and can cast a spell that can fix Paris time and time again like its no one’s buisness, but she also now gets a new suit and the ability to nullify Hawkmoth’s akumas. Like COME ON! Give Chat some powers too.

Mayura’s feather’s shouldnt be able to be purified by Ladybug since they have no dark energy, and (thematically speaking) Chat should be given an ability that allows him to “vanquish” the energy in Mayura[’s feathers similar to how Ladybug can purify Hawkmoth’s akumas. At least it would develop a rivalry between Chat and Mayura, and would make Chat necassary against Shadowmoth rather than being replacable with any other hero.

The are too many temporary heroes. They should have just stuck with the 3 heroes from s2 and leave it at that. Sure, new heroes were cool, but the overuse has made the whole hero thing feel less special. It made sense for the first 3 to have them, but now it’s just like Oprah where everyone gets a miraculous. Except Gabe.

Chat Blanc was a stupid reason as to why secret identities cant be revealed, also Chat could have told LB who Hawkmoth once he returned back to normal was and the show would be over.

Hawkmoth should not be Gabriel. Frick the lore about Gabriel’s wife dying and him going evil to get her back, it makes the story feel too much like a star wars/Darth vader reference and leaves Gabriel acting bipolar, flipping from wanting to save his wife and doing this out of necessity to being a power hungry madman wanting to take over the world ( which is said in his canon music video). Having Hawkmoth be his own character means he can be an actual maniac who wants world domination and not just have villanous plot that rely on obtaining magical jewellery (perhaps doing other evil things/taking a more active role), while Gabriel being his own character means he can be a father that has become estranged from his son due to the lose of his S,O, and thus can have a plot about him reuniting with his son (I liked the end seen in Simon says, ok?)

On that same note, I think Mayura shouldn’t have been Nathalie. Considering Hawkmoth’s plans were repetitive as heck for most of the show, when I heard about the Mayura leaks back in Season 2 (when she was called “le Paon”) I was theorising that Mayura would actually being Hawkmoth’s boss, the villain the was responsible for giving him his Miraculous and the one who destroyed the Order of the Miraculous, and would take over as the main villain in season 3 due to Hawkmoth’s failures. However, that turned out not to be the case.

Not only that, but Mayuras power is a copy paste power with some modifications to make it complement Hawkmoth’s power, by basically giving his akuma’s magic pokemon.

Speaking of Hawkmoth’s power, for a miraculous that is supposed to be used for good, how can his power mind control people and make them become evil? More importantly, for a miraculous that is supposedly weaker than the main heroes of the show, having it be able to multiply and posses people to create an army is kinda strong.

Fuck the Maribat ship that the salt fandom came up with. Its trash, it was made to bash most of the Miraculous cast sans Marinette, and anyone thinks it is good are either those same salters or are the same people who think that Rey-lo and the Twilight Saga are masterpieces of romance.

Whew! I needed that vent. Hope you enjoyed it as as much as I did, and Tune in next time on the next episode of:  Arlakos loses his Mind and Rants for 2 pages of writing!

[liveshaunted-moved]

headcanon dump; sally jackson

sally loves her children so fucking much

most of sally’s books get published in the font Dyslexie and in fact, she uses this font when she writes on her computer, therefore making it easier for percy or annabeth or any demigod easy to read when she get’s them to preview it

sad thought of the day…. sally and percy only being able to give affection when gabe wasn’t around because he hated it, so that meant when she would drop him off to school ( bc she sent him to boarding schools to protect him from gabe you will have to pry that headcanon from my cold dead hands ), and pick him up. or at her work if she could.

and then, them still not being able to adjust to it after gabe is gone and when paul does come along, they do kind of ‘hide’ it until they realise that paul isn’t gabe. because yes they know he isn’t but there are still micro things that they do have to re/unlearn

sally is proud supporter of percy & who ever makes him happy

sally and percy are so much a like. most of his traits, he shares with her, not poseidon, for sally was the one who raised him. his stubbornness and loyalty? from her. his need to protect those he cares about, even if it means he gets hurt? that’s so from sally.

because percy is so much more then posideon’s son, he is also sally’s son.

his love of blue food is from SALLY not POSEIDON, sally loved blue and it happens to be percy’s favourite colour too. blue is a sally&percy thing

sally had a miscarriage, and she is one of the very few where it was welcomed. not because she didn’t want another child, she had always imagined herself with more then one child, but the idea of having another child under gabe’s care frightened her and she couldn’t afford / get access to an abortion. this had happened while percy was in school ( a boarding one ) so he doesn’t know about it

it should be known that sally never sought for percy’s approval of paul, she already knew off the bat that paul was a good person. there was no reason for doubt for her, unlike with gabe when there was a little bit of doubt even before she saw gabe’s true colours. the only reason percy didn’t know right away was because she was still figuring it out, she hasn’t dated since she married gabe, it’s a hard thing to navigate.

sally will never have any ill feelings towards poseidon. she took everything in stride, so he wasn’t going to raise percy with her, she didn’t care because she would do her best to give her son the best that she can with what she had.

she never accepted any of poseidon’s offers, because she learnt that you have to earn things. and she was just a ‘summer’ fling for poseidon, that hadn’t earned a place in his home under the sea. and she wouldn’t have felt right accepting it knowing that poseidon had a wife.

she just needed to know if paul and percy would get along, and it was just a matter of when she was ready to let percy know.

when hades had captured her, she was right before her death. she was meant to die, but asked thanatos to bring the mother of percy back to him, alive. it was going to be a way to get his helmet back, as that was also stolen, and believed to have been stolen along side the master bolt. sally was kidnapped for leverage for the son of poseidon.

sally was alive, and for the most part was in mobile, but she of everything going around her. she heard the whispers of hades, of the ghost and how he was accusing her son of such a crime. of how hades has a plan, that if what he thinks is going to happen, that he’d get ahead of it.

her time in the underworld was at least a month, and for a mortal being in the underworld and not being dead can be harmful and it was to sally’s mental health. but, for years, she’s always put on a brave face for her son. and honestly, this why she flinched when gabe raised a hand towards her. usually she could hide her fear of her husband from her son, but the mental toll of having been in the underworld and being made inmobile did a lot.

when she was mobile, it was when hades favoured someone else that wasn’t working for him to talk too. sally would take this time to tell him that he is mistaken. her son would never, ever do such a thing.

sally would often, after finding gabe’s true nature, take percy to her work whenever she could. this is why she sent him to boarding schools too, so he has limited exposure to gabe and his nasty ways

ever since she got her scar on her hip, she when she swims where a fullbody swimsuit & a pair of shorts because she didn’t want to let percy know how badly gabe has hurt her. this scar had happened when percy was seven and in a boarding school, and it healed just before he came home in time for their usual trip.

sally is everyone’s mother? you want a mother figure, sally offers herself up. she’ll bake you cookies and muffins and homemade meals. give you a blanket to keep you warm.

sally also totally asks, and pays for, rachel to do artwork for her books.

sally supports all her children. all demigods are now her children, i will says this until i die

this is just in, your friendly reminder that, sally jackson is in fact, by definition a murder who is getting away with that fact. she placed medusa’s head in front of gabe. she was feed up with his abuse, and feared that he would go back on his promise and actually hit percy because of everything that’s happened. she feared for her son’s safety more then ever.

sally totally uses dyslexic friendly font on her computer, and for her writing. she also, once she gets published, fights for her books to only be printed in dyslexic friendly fonts.

sally has always been able to see through the mist. very clearly. at school. was once even mistaken to be a demigod, only for the satyr to realise that sally was in fact mortal. this has also lead to a very young sally to be labelled as someone with a very creative imagination.

and that label, got her interested in reading and writing, and her want to be a writer.

the wedding was small, nothing too big. just those close to her and paul.

this was her wedding dress, it just showed up the day of the wedding - she knows it was a gift from posideon

she totally invited annabeth, tyson & thalia

this just in, sally wore blue laced wedding dress. it had blue accents in it

sally, sung often to percy when he was a baby, and when he had nightmares.

sally would have never allowed gabe to stay as long as he did if he laid a hand on percy. herself, that was a different story. that was a set rule between the two, that gabe keep his hands off of percy, and sally would stay with him.

gabe was drunk, and sally can be very petty at times. this was how the whole blue thing came about. gabe was drunk and having a fight, while sally was making a cake, with blue food colouring because percy was coming home soon from his first time at school. and somehow they were on the topic of food not being able to be blue. so, it was from then on, sally decided she will go out of her way to make sure that she will get any food blue, and when it comes to cakes and the like of homemade things, blue food dye was right at the ready. and she loved it so much. because it became an inside thing with her son.

sally and poseidon lasted longer then just the summer., bu a few months after that and that is when percy was conceived. and poisdeon had to go because sally was in more danger now that they were going to have a child. sally understood, and let him go. holding no bitterness towards the sea god. she has made it this far in life without the help of others, she can do it again, even with a child.

she absolutely HATES the idea of someone not feeling safe, or having a place to call home. maybe it came from her having a child that could be in danger, or that is just the way she is. but, after gabe was gone, she would always be willing to lend a hand out to those in need ( mainly demigods ). most of the time just for a place to sleep and crash, and a place to feel SAFE and know that they can trust her.

despite her parents dying in a plane crash, sally never truly actually feared flying. she only ever ‘feared’ it when she had percy, for zeus might want to strike her son out of the sky and THAT is what scares her the most.

SALLY WOULD DIE FOR HER CHILDREN BEFORE SHE WILLINGLY PUTS THEM IN HARMS WAY. she knows the demigod life comes with a harsh reality which is part of why she didn’t want percy to go, why she held it off for so long having known about it since percy was like 3 years old.

sally sent percy away to boarding schools, to protect him. to get him as far away from gabe as possible. it was a way she could protect him, sending him away defeated the purpose of her marrying gabe - but, she hoped and prayed that the times that percy was home, that gabe’s sent lingered on her son for just long enough to keep him safe

gabe, for the first few months of his relationship with sally was nice, to her. her tried to woo her, despite him not smelling well. that was always with him, he never knew how to shower properly and sally counted that as a plus, because it would mask her son’s scent as a demigod. they got married quickly, and that seemed to be when gabe’s behaviour would change. she would refuse things, refuses to do things in the bedroom and he would get mad at her. he started to show his true colours as a awful human being, that is wasn’t just a bad smelling person, but the smell matched the personality. gabe was a verbal & emotional abuser.

she never divorced him. because he masked percy’s scent and because he was NEVER physically abusive towards PERCY, her on the other hand. that is a different story. gabe has hit her a few times and she did her best to hide it away from percy.

she stayed with gabe purely & solely to protect percy, because in her eyes, percy’s health & safety comes way before her own.

sally will fight for her son, she HAS fought for her son. there is nothing in the world that will ever stop sally from doing her best to protect percy, even if it means putting herself in danger. her son, always came before her. his needs came before her own. if they could only afford so much food, it would go to percy before it would go to her

honestly, the moment percy had called her, sally nearly collapsed from pure relief. her son was alive, THAT was the main thing, her son being alive. she knows his life can be dangerous, she knows it may not be long, but that doesn’t take away the fear and make it any less painful knowing that his life is in the hands of the fates.

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: Left Behind Chapter 11 - Demons? Of Course!

Warnings: Language, virgin sex, demons. 

Word count: 2.9k

Summary: Kate moves on to the next stage of her confession, and atonement which takes a surprising turn. The demons Merihem and Saleos plan their attack on Kate’s friends. 

Note: Sorry for the gap between chapters I’m in school. Final exams are coming up. 4 more weeks!!! then I’m on winter break.

***********************************************

“You are cleansed. You will now move on” John says, kissing her forehead.

Disoriented, and still seeing two John’s.

“Move-Move on?!” she asks, her head spinning. 

“Yes my love. You will move on to confession. Confessing your sins” he says, guiding her out of the water.

“S-Sins?” she questions, her mind going at the pace of a snail. 

A cold breeze goes by, and it snaps her out of her delusion, bliss state. 

Her body begins to vibrate, shaking uncontrollably. Shivering violently. 

Crossing her arms to keep herself warm. “Fuck!!!” she mutters, her voice trembling. 

John guides her inside the house. “Come on” he says. 

He sits her down on a chair, and goes to get her a towel. 

She sits there shivering, and probably gonna catch ammonia later. 

He comes back, and puts a warm towel around her.

He sits in front of her, “So darlin’ are you ready?!?” he asks. 

“R-ready for w-what?!” she asks.

“For your confession” he says, placing his hands on her knees. 

She furrows her eyebrows at him “Confession?!”.

“Yes. Your confession. Confessing your sins!” he says, his eyes locked onto hers.

Unable to break eye contact from him, “Now?!” she asks.

“It can be now. It can be tomorrow. It can be this weekend. But the sooner we do it the sooner it’ll be over with” he says, “So what do you say? Hm?”. 

She takes a moment to think about it.

“What do you say” he says, softly almost in a whisper.

“Wh-What is the confession? What h-happens?” she asks hesitantly.

He holds her hand in his, and says in the softest voice ever,

“You will confess your sins of course. You will confess every little bad thing you have ever done. No matter how big, small. No matter how petty”.

She stares at him, trying to keep her jaw from dropping open. She looks down at their hands entwined with each other, and closes her eyes for a moment. 

“Castiel please hear me. Any angels up there in cloud city please hear my voice. Help me!!!” she prays in her head. 

“Darlin’ what do you say?” he asks, caressing her hands. 

“I’m okay with this weekend” she says, looking him in the eyes.

He smiles at her, “Excellent” he stands up and goes over to his mantle. 

Grabbing a book off of it. A white book with gold around its edges. 

He hands it to her, “Here, take this”. 

She takes it from him, “Is this a bible?!”, looking up at him. 

“It’s my brother's book. Joseph. You met him at the church” he tells her as she flips through the pages.

She nods her head, “Oh right, right. Yeah”.

*******************************************************

A few days later, getting out of class, and driving home.

Kate walks through the front door. 

“Hello honey” she greets Morgan.

“Hello sweetie” she says back. 

Their way of greeting each other as if they were a married couple.

“Any demons follow you home?!” Morgan asks.

Shaking her head, “Nope, I have my hex bag, so I was off of demon radar”. 

She sits down on the couch next to her.

“So how was work?!” she asks Morgan.

She groans, “Suuuper slow!!!, and Holly came by as well”.

Kate groans in annoyance, “What did she have to say?!”.

“She was with a couple of her friends, I think they’re in the Cult. Anyway Alissa said that she heard Holly say a few bad things about you”.

Kate rolls her eyes, “What did she say?!”.

“Uhhh, she said that you were a “Snake in the grass”, a “boring Wyominian girl” and that “you should’ve stayed in Wyoming, or Arizona, or wherever that little freak is from”, and that you stole John from her. Shit like that, and I was gonna confront her about but she was long gone before I could even get into her face”. 

Kate scoffs, “She’s a little bitch, I can probably take her ass in a fight.”

Morgan laughs, “I believe you, and she also said that your dog is an ugly bitch”.

Haley lifts her head up as she says this, tilting her head, and barks loudly.

“Holly said that, don't shoot the messenger!!!” Morgan says to the 70Ibs dog. 

“I’ll fucking kill her, and also I didn’t steal John from her cunt ass!!” Kate says.

“Speaking of John, how was your date the other night?!?.I forgot to ask you about it” Morgan asks.

“It went really good, sorta. Am I planning on breaking up with him?” she groans in an unsure kind of way. “Yes, I am”.

Morgan’s eyes widened, “Oh shit what happened?!?!”.

“Well he wanted me to be “cleansed”.” she says with air quotes.

“What the fuck does that mean?!?” she asks, confused.

“Like a baptism” Kate answers.

“What the fuck?!?. What did you do?!?” she asks.

“I said yes, and I was cleansed” she replies.

“You said yes?!?” Morgan exclaims.

Kate flinches at her outburst, “Yeah?”. 

Morgan sighs, “That is how he gets his followers!!!!!. You have to confess and atone!!”

They say in unison.

“I know the confession part, I just have to tell him my sins” she says.

“Yeah then you atone. He tattoos your sins onto your skin!!!” Morgan says, loudly.

Kate stands up from the couch, her palms start to sweat. Anxiety through the roof.

“Oh fuck!!!. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!!!!!” she yells from the top of her lungs, “And I’m seeing him later!!”.

“Shit” Morgan mutters under her breath.”Okay we can pretend we’re not home, or we can go out somewhere!!”.

“That’s a good idea. But where?!?” Kate asks. 

“We’ll figure it out” she says. 

“I even prayed to the angels, Castiel, Gabe, Raphael, it was an open invite. Nothing!!!” she says.

“Yeah same. Hell I even prayed to Lucifer. Nothing” Morgan replies. 

“Well that’s normal for Luci not to reply to prayers, because no one prays to him!!” Kate says. 

**********************************************

Somewhere in the Whitetail Mountains.

Alissa, Sarah, Becky, Layla, Dylan, Kevin and Ryan are setting up their campsite. 

“So is it just us?!” Sarah asks.

“Yep just the seven of us” Dylan answers.

“So are Kate, Morgan, Ashley, Ivan, Isaiah, and Wheaty gonna come?!” Layla asks.

“Kate, Morgan I haven’t seen, and plus they don’t respond to messages for some reason. Ashley is working at the jail since she’s still a full on rookie. Wheaty is working with the Militia, and the twins are going to Missoula to visit their family” Becky says. 

As they're talking, standing 50 feet away from them, hiding behind the trees. 

The demon Kate and Morgan had encountered a few days earlier. Saleos is watching them.

“So Kate Winchester has non hunter friends?!” he says to himself, a grin on his face. 

“How interesting” another male demon says. 

Appearing next to him with a huge grin on his face. 

“So should we make a bonfire?!” Becky asks.

Ryan looks up at the sky, “Not yet. It’s still too early to make it”.

“Well some of us gotta eat, and we have to cook our food!!” Dylan says, sarcastically. 

They all turn to Ryan, “He’s got a point ya know” Layla says, shrugging. 

Becky, Sarah and Kevin stay back, continuing to set up the tents, while Dylan, Layla, Alissa and Ryan go look for stuff to burn for the bonfire. 

“So, we hurt, not kill, the non hunters, and we go after Kate’s little boy toy. On behalf of our king Crowley” Saleos says, “So Merihem do you accept?!”.

Merihem turns to Saleos, “I accept” he says. 

“Good, we wait until nightfall. Then Winchester will feel pain. She will learn that you can never leave this life behind”.

“What about John Seed?” Merihem asks.

“I’ll take care of him” he responds, “For now we go after the non hunter humans”.

******************************************

Back in Holland Valley

“So what are we gonna do?!?” Kate asks, pacing back and forth.

“We’re gonna leave. Go out somewhere. What time is he gonna pick you up?!?” Morgan asks.

“That’s the problem!!!. He didn’t say!!” she exclaims.

“Fuck!!’ she mutters. 

“Can’t we just hide out inside, and not leave. Just close all the windows and curtains. Pretend we’re not home” Kate says.

“We can, we can!! How about we” Morgan trails off, and Kate gets a message on her phone from I wonder who.

“Fuck!!!!!!!!” she yells.

“What, what is it?!?!” Morgan asks.

“John is coming over in a few minutes to pick me up” she says.

“Text him saying that you’re not home!!” she advises her. 

As she’s able to text him back, she gets a message from him saying. 

“I know you’re home. My men saw you pull into your driveway” - John

“Shit!!!. Fucking shit” she says, “He knows I’m home because some of his men saw me pull in!!”. 

“Stalker!!!!!” Morgan yells out.

A few minutes go by, a black SUV pulls up in front of the house, and John walks up the driveway.  

Kate shushes Morgan, and the dog.

-knock knock knock-

They stay in silence for a few minutes.

-knock knock knock-

Kate slowly tip-toes to the window, opening the curtain less than an inch.

Sees John, and a few of his men standing a few feet behind him.

She mouths to Morgan, who is sitting on the couch.

“He brought backup”. 

Another knock at the door, but this time a lot more aggressive. 

-bang bang bang-

“Katie!?! Darlin’ I know you’re home!!” he says, in a singy tone. 

“What do we do?!” Kate mouths to Morgan.

Morgan shrugs, “Let's go out the back” she says pointing to the back door.

They grab their stuff, Haley and quietly go out the back gate.

They try their best to be stealthy, but fail to see one of the peggies standing on the far end of her property.

He sees them, whistles loudly, getting John to look back.

Seeing Kate and Morgan trying to sneak off. 

“Katella!!” he says, in a teasing voice. 

Their backs to him, can’t see their annoyed and angry facial expressions.

“Fuck!!’ she murmurs to herself, and Morgan.

“Oh hey John!!” she says trying not to sound suspicious, “Didn’t hear you pull up”.

“It’s time for your confession” he says, approaching them. 

“Ooh right. That was today. Huh, I guess it slipped my mind” she says, totally not in a suspicious way. 

“Alright darlin’. Lets go” he says to her, his hand extended out. 

“Actually John. Kate and I have things to do. So she’ll have to do her confession another day” Morgan says, pushing Kate behind her. 

John chuckles, “You’re a terrible liar Megan”.

“It’s Morgan!!” she snaps.

“Whatever” he responds, “Katie lets go”.

“But I. I can’t g- Okay” Kate stutters in defeat.

She takes John’s hand, but is pulled back by Morgan.

“She’s not going with you John” she says, in her tough voice. 

He looks back at her, “Excuse me?!”. 

“Kate is not going with you. She’s not confessing or atoning for shit!!” she raises her voice.

His men hold up their weapons, but he immediately calms them down.

“Now, now. No need to get trigger happy” he says, “I can do whatever I want Costello, and if I want to take her. I will, unless you want a problem which you’ll get, if you don’t let her go!!” his voice, so sadistic, and so filled with rage in such a short span of time. 

“Morgan. It’s fine. I’ll make it through” she tells her friend.

She hesitates but lets go of her hand. 

“She better not having a fucking scratch on her when she comes home” Morgan threatens him.

John smirks, “No promises” and escorts Kate to the SUV parked on the side of the road. 

*********************************************

At the John’s Gate.

They pull into a giant warehouse on top of a mountain. 

“Where are we?!?!” Kate asks.

“Paradise” he says before kissing her hand. “Follow me”.

They get out of the SUV, and walk to the warehouse. 

His men open the giant doors which make a loud rumbling sound.

John takes Kate’s hand, and he walks her through the dark warehouse.

“It’s dark in here” she jokes.

“Just how I like it” he says, with a lustful undertone.

He walks her into some room, dimly lit and also dark.

It reminds her of the time when she was in Hell a few years back.

“A torture room?!” she questions him.

He chuckles, “This is where the magic happens”.

He grabs a metal tool box, placing it on a wooden table. 

She breaks the silence, “So. Are you gonna ask me what are my sins?!”.

“In a bit. No need to rush” he responds.

Kate nods, “Alrighty then”, and looks around the dark room.

When she turns to face John, he’s already looking back at her.

“Sin must be exposed so it may be absolved. We must wash away our past” he says, as he slowly approaches her. 

“I know your sin” he says, cupping her chin.

She tilts her head to the side, “Do you?!”. 

“Yes. Your sin is” he leans in closer to her right ear, and whispers “Lust”. 

She laughs softy, and looks down at the floor.

“No need to deny it. I know. Because I also suffer, and carry the burden of Lust. I can see it burning in your eyes” he holds her closer to him, their bodies pressing together.

“It burns into your blood. Almost like an itch” he says, “I can help you set that burden free”.

Kate looks into his eyes, can see the feral lust in them, and it’s begging to come out. 

His blue eyes black, dilated and filled with lust.   

“Are you- are you being serious?!” she asks, not believing this is real.

“Yes. I want to set you free, and I know you have other sins. I can see them you” he says.

“I can see. Pride. Greed, and Wrath” he sneers.

She looks at him in disbelief, her eyebrows furrowed at him. 

He clicks his tongue as a sign of tease. 

“I can set you free of them. One. Sin. At. A. Time” he whispers while tracing her lips with his thumb before pulling her in for a deep kiss. 

John lifts her up, grabbing her ass, and presses her against a wall.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck. 

Kissing, and sucking at her neck. Marking her as his. 

He undoes her pants with one hand, and then his. 

“John! Wait. Wait John!!!” she exclaims, making him stop.

He looks at her concern. 

“I’ve never had-. I’m. A virgin” she mutters.

He chuckles softly, “Well that makes it even more exciting. Let me do all the work”. 

He moves her panties out of the way, and slowly shoves himself inside her tight wet walls.

Her scream turns into loud moaning as his hard cock brushes her tight walls.

“Relax” he whispers, “Let me do everything”. 

He thrusts in, and out of her. 

Her nails digging into his shoulders with every movement. 

He moves her away from the wall, and lays her down on a metal table.

Giving himself better access to pleasure her. 

Gripping her thighs as he continues to shove himself inside her tight cunt. 

His tongue wrestling with hers, biting, tugging on her lower lip. 

His moaning echoing throughout the building.

The sound of skin rubbing together echoing off the walls. 

John pins Kate’s hands above her head, pulling her closer to him, and continues to fuck the shit out of her tight pussy.

 ****************************************

The group of friends have their tents all set up, and are all ready to eat dinner.

Laughing, enjoying the night. The stars gleaming, and the moon in its crescent form.  

Cooking fish, meat and making smores. 

“I wish the others were here” Alissa says, looking up at the night sky.

“Yeah same” Ryan replies.

“We can bring them next time. So all of us can be here” Kevin says.

Several feet away from them, hiding in the dark forest.

The demons wait for them to go to sleep to attack, getting the attention of Kate Winchester. 

“Let’s get them” Meriham says, taking a step forward.

“No” Saleos says, putting his arm out to stop him, “We wait until they go to sleep”.

“They’re all right there, we can hurt them now!” he sneers at him.

“No!. We wait until they go to sleep. It’ll be easier” Saleos says to him.

************************************

John’s head buried between Kate’s legs, licking and tasting her wetness.

He loves the sound of her whimpering and soft moans.

Knowing that he’s making her do that. 

Making her beg for him. Pinning her down. 

His head between her once virgin legs. Taking her purity, virginity and making it his. 

“John” she moans softly.

Gripping her thighs tightly, her fingers running through his hair. 

His right hand moves up her body, going under her shirt, cupping her breast.

Playing with her erect nipple

He hums between her legs, sending vibrations throughout her body.

“John” she moans again.

He crawls back up her body, crashing his lips with her.

Marking her neck, chest and collarbones. Marking her as his, and no one else's.

“You’re mine now” he says into the crook of her neck. 

[princeescaluswords]

A little controversial question... If the show ever made Scott go dark/evil/make a terrible but necessary decision, how would you want it to happen in a way that would make sense.

I think we already saw how it would happen in Ouroboros (5x08) with Scott’s violation of Corey’s mind.  

Make no mistake, in this scene, Scott betrayed everything he had stood for from Season 1 in a desperate act to save Liam and Hayden.  I love this scene, because it laid out that the very things that could push Scott into darkness were also the very source of his strength: his friends, his pack, his family.

Look at the relationships involved in that scene.  His father-figure, Deaton, had vanished.  The sheriff, who used him as free labor, had arrested his girlfriend for murder.  His mother had mouthed some bullshit about ‘I can’t tell you not to be a hero’ and then turned around and demanded he be a hero.  Liam had basically made him swear a promise to do anything to protect a girl Liam had started having feelings for a literal week before.  That’s on top of the responsibility Scott felt for Liam as beta.  Meanwhile, Stiles and Lydia were pulling away, leaving him unsupported.  He’s suffering from asthma. Fandom likes to paint Scott as oblivious, but even Scott knew he was losing, and people were dying because Scott wasn’t perfect.   In his own words: “I know something’s coming. And all I can think about is how good am I going to be if I can’t even breathe?“

Every single season, Scott had been pushed by the people he cared about to be a super-hero so they didn’t have to be.  In Season 1, Stiles literally tortured Scott and then had him beaten by seniors because he’s pissed off, yet then turned around and said “Look, you have something, Scott. Okay? Whether you want it or not, you can do things that nobody else can do. So that means you don’t have a choice anymore. It means you have to do something.”  In Season 2, his own mother didn’t talk to him for a week out of horror for his new state, and then when she finally did talk to him like a person, she says “If you can do something to help, then you do it. You have to.”  

In Season 3, Scott literally was inspired to commit suicide because he couldn’t take the pressure of having to save everyone.  Allison tries to tell him that Derek wasn’t his fault, but he doesn’t believe her, because no one before had ever acted like that was true.  Instead, he’s guilted out of suicide by having Stiles insist on dying with him. It was touching, but Stiles’ action didn’t address the underlying problem.  By this point, Scott had clearly equated his self worth with being a hero.

Scott was never convinced that it was okay for him to fail as the True Alpha, a power he never asked for and didn’t want.   Derek basically crowned him Protector of Beacon Hills and then fucked off to South America.   His heart literally stopped and his mother told him that same night “You’ll get them back.  You have to.”  His best-friend screamed at him “Where were you?” when he had been lying dead.   That same mother whispers from her possible death bed “Don’t run.  You fight.”  The sad part of this is, I could go on with more examples of people equating Scott’s personal value with his lycanthropic status.

No pressure there. /sarcasm

The only three people to ever tell Scott that he doesn’t have to save everyone were Alan Deaton, Chris Argent, and fucking Theo Raeken.   Alan Deaton was the only person on the show (leaving romance out of it) to value Scott without preconditions, to like Scott for Scott and not what his powers could accomplish.  He’s the one who cautioned Scott about taking on burdens he might not be able to handle.  Chris Argent is the only person to treat Scott like he didn’t have to be personally responsible for winning all the time and was willing to put his money where his mouth was by flying from France not to just to help but to also take responsibility. 

Look at how Theo in 5A and 5B gets under Scott’s skin.  He was the only person to recognize the amount of pressure Scott’s so-called friends and family had put him under.  From “You guys do this a lot, don’t you … Get involved.” in A Novel Approach (5x05) to “Just let it happen. Let it go. Let everything go.” in Apotheosis (5x20) Theo recognized that his pack’s requirement that Scott be the hero they needed – without regard for the fact that Scott was just a kid like them – was Scott’s weak spot.  And Theo used that, big time.

This all added up, and it never stopped.  In the freaking series finale, Scott was confronted by his greatest fear, which wasn’t that he’d die before he went to college or that he’d be perpetually locked in a battle with the supernatural and never have control over his own life, it was that he would fail to protect his friends and family.   

You want to imagine a scenario that would drive Scott McCall to the dark side?  Take a teenage boy, turn him into a werewolf, and then teach him, repeatedly, that the only way people can love him is if he becomes a flawless paragon of heroism.  If he screws up, a person he loves will die in his arms.  If he screws up again, another person he loves will be locked away in the desert, maybe forever.  If he tries to explain why he failed, sneer at his petty excuse, “You’ll heal.”   Make it clear to him that if he doesn’t win all the time, he’s a monster.  Then have him lose – welcome to the dark side.

It could have easily gone that way.  Imagine what would have happened, if instead of “being lucky this time” as the Sheriff put it, Melissa, Lydia, Mason, Chris, and Rafael had died when Gabe shot up the McCall house in Werewolves of London (6x17).  Malia too wrapped up in Peter’s bullshit.  Inexplicably, Deaton hadn’t even talked to him during 6B.  Liam – Angry Wolf – would have held him back?  We were very close to the scenario you were talking about, right on the screen.  

[gcldveins]

hello i’m back with another senior citizen and i am incredibly sorry .. i finished s3 of ozarks n couldn’t help myelf :/// but ANYWAYS this is gabriel taylor, laura’s shitty dad ! uwu

basics

✎⌠jason bateman. cis male. he/him⌡❝ — well, look who’s just arrived ! if it isn’t the one and only gabriel taylor. though, around here they’re known as the fortress. don’t tell ‘em i said this but the fifty-one year old lawyer kinda has a reputation of being cold and enigmatic. but y’know, they can be driven and astute too. typical capricorn. anyways, welcome home and stay safe gabe ! ❞

statistics

full name: gabriel jebediah taylor

nickname(s): gabe, sometimes

date of birth: january 7th, 1970

hometown: misty hollow, connecticut.

gender identity: cis gender

preferred pronouns: he/him

sexual orientation: heterosexual

hogwarts house: slytherin

aesthetic: crisp collars, silver tie pins, the smell of fresh laundry, hollow smiles, always a handshake, never a hug, leather briefcase always on hand, a glass of single malt scotch, perfect posture, the sound of waves softly lapping at the shore, thunderstorms with no rain. 

distinguishable characteristics: always Clean

their song from the sigh no more album bc i love this album and it makes me Sad™ : dust bowl dance 

background ( emotional, physical abuse tw )

born and raised in misty hollow, gabriel’s family has relatively deep roots within the town. the man comes from old money, with all the law firms he owns having been passed down from generation to generation. his father was a part of this business and his mother, on the other hand, is your typical southern belle, moved here from a small town in texas. she was a corporate lawyer ( it’s how she met gabriel’s father ) but since becoming a mother she really has had no interests in any other occupation other than trophy wife and socialite.

to say that gabriel’s parents were old school would be putting it lightly. basically, both of his parents were deeply religious republicans and were very aware of their image as a family. they were harsh parents, extremely controlling when it came to their children’s lives but at the same time were also really emotionally absent. to this day they still believe that it was all in the name of tough love but obviously it was just emotional abuse. 

his father was especially hard on gabriel, he was a strong believer in physical discipline and thought gabriel to be too “soft”. he was always berating him, punishing him for petty offences, and pretty much just fostering your typical environment of toxic masculinity. though he never laid a hand on gabriel’s sister as she was what he called, “a lady” and his “pride and joy.”

but gabriel was a good kid, he was obedient aside from stupid mistakes that kids are bound to make. he was your typical golden boy, a jack of all trades of sorts. not exceptionally good at one thing, but averagely good at a multitude of things. he was a quick learner and dedicated, anything he took a crack at, he eventually excelled in. but all those opportunities he was given as a child; being able to practice multiple instruments, getting extra coaching and tutoring in activities of his choice — definitely gave gabriel a leg up among his peers. 

throughout high school, he mostly kept to himself, choosing to focus on his education and after graduating, he went to harvard where he earned a dual degree in business and law and carried on through with law school. the plan was to move to boston where the business’ main office was and work for his father, making his way up until he was ready to inherit it all himself.

ok this is where things get shoddy cause everything from above is part of an old intro so if this doesn’t make sense dont look at me ndfjsndjk but i imagine this is where gabe met his future wife ? i don’t want to set anything in stone for when that role gets picked up but ! gabe’s always been .. well-meaning, for a lack of a better word. like in the beginning he initially wanted to go into criminal law and become a prosecutor before his dad pressured him into staying in corporate. these good intentions were really able to develop during his time away from home, i think. he was able to develop his own opinions and views, different from his parents.

but gabriel’s always lived to serve and aims to please, giving himself to others until there’s nothing left. and he still has this really messed up view of his relationship with his parents, especially his dad. it’s just something he’s never been able to shake. out loud, he would never utter a word against them and in his head, he’s justified his father’s actions, forcing himself to think of it in a way that made it okay because putting his actions under any other sort of light would have felt like he was betraying him.

and while he didn’t have the same dreams and ideologies as his father, gabriel felt as if there was really no choice other than to adapt. it’s what’s been expected of him since he was born. so, he poured himself into his work despite hating every minute of it, his pride preventing him to be the one to drive generations of hard work into the ground. and gabriel was good at it, like really good. and he let himself believe he loved what he did, associating the feelings of success with enjoyment.

and in regards to his own family, i think that things in the beginning were good and almost picturesque, y’know? like the vision of a white-picket-fence type of family. but as the years went on, the more time he spent working with his father and the family business, he subconsciously allowed his father’s habits and tendencies into his own head. He succumbed to his parents’ influences and allowed their ideas of success and vision for his and his family’s future to become his own.

and i think one day gabriel looked in the mirror and straight up did not like what he saw. he’s fully aware of the mistakes he’s made in the past and he feels the heft of those mistakes everyday, but what is he supposed to do now ? it’s too late, he’s too far in. and so gabe did what he does best, he compartmentalized and began distancing himself from the family. spending more time at the office than at home because the farther you are away from people, the less likely you are to hurt them right ? 

personality

i’m gonna keep this loose cause i’ve noticed i tend to diverge from them a bit when i actually start playing my muses !

but gabriel is the fakest mf you’ll ever meet. all smiles and formalities, he’s like a goddamn politician i hate it. but i think if he were ever to let this decades long charade fall, everything just falls apart for him, y’know? his emotional sitch is like a house of cards, everything being perfectly curated and placed

he’s incredibly loyal to his family, he’d do anything to protect his family. and like sure, he loves them more than anything, but i think this loyalty comes more so out of duty than love, y’know ?

smart as a whip, always calculating and very cunning. the dude’s a shark in the courtroom and has he done morally questionable things to win a case? probably

idk i think... gabriel as a whole is a moral grey area. i rlly do love him and this version of him is always fun to play but we ! shall see ! 

[retrauxpunk]

silicon valley grand finale recap: 6.07

everything under the cut, complete with spoilers :)

okay alec berg

okay

okay

you won me over as i suspected and hoped and wanted you to but i dared not hope too much because of what a clusterfuck 6.06 was in my opinion

i had low expectations as a defence mechanism

but i’ve just watched this magnificent 45-minute farewell behemoth of an episode and you know what? FINE. 

FINE

IT WAS REALLY REALLY GOOD and it’s good enough that i’m now slightly less mad about 6.06 because you know what OKAY the dumbass rushed-execution plotline about the AI — yeah okay now that the finale’s out, OKAY, YES, it was WORTH the russfest deus ex machina fucker to get THIS. 

a really good finale that i’m. HAPPY WITH.

i FELT THE EMOTIONS when i was meant to feel them! it resonated! it was brilliant!

oh man

i don’t know if i have too much to say because i’m just quite happy with it and now that the whole thing’s over, i no longer have the suspense? but okay let’s see

so firstly i woke up to a DM from some fucker (someone i’d intermittently chatted SV with on instagram after they reached out to me; someone who, prior to this, i would not have called a fucker) and all i saw were the notifications reading something like ‘have you seen the episode’ and ‘heartbreaking’ and i swear to god i was fucking livid because, like, i recognise that that’s not a spoiler DETAIL about PLOT per se but i’m one of those freaks who, when i really like something, i don’t want to know fucking ANYTHING! including the emotional reaction anyone has to it because then!! then!!!! i fucking start thinking about what happened! it’s giving me some kind of information that i previously did not have and which i did not want to have because i DO NOT WANT my experience coloured by other people’s reviews! because they give away SOMETHING

(if you were doubting the veracity of me relating to richard the most out of the characters. behold this petty rage and tell me i’m wrong)

(also i KNOW it could’ve just been saying ‘the show’s over now and that’s heartbreaking’ but the point is I DON’T KNOW THAT RIGHT because you only get a truncated view in notifications and it’s not like i’m gonna open the fucking chat to CHECK if it’s ACTUALLY A SPOILER at the risk of viewing S P O I L E R S)

(they don’t call me the richard hendricks bitch for nothing, that moniker has a new dimension now)

yeah so i blocked this guy (and then sent him a technically polite and civil but otherwise really fucking pissy DM in response after i’d watched the episode) and then went about my day

i had a good day, which was good. gotta be in the right mood to consume the final installment of my favourite tv show ever.

i started watching.

documentary, huh? this is. INTERESTING.

and it becomes clear that something’s fucked up. even without instagram fucker’s comment, it is clear. given the fact that richard looks like a lonely soul in a retirement home at the beginning of the documentary, with all the colours/backdrop and the weighty comments of how ‘everything was fine’

and then there’s the party ... hurray ... richard in the cake! love it. sometime do some fic/art of richard popping out of a cake in a jarrich context lol

monica’s gift of the text messages! that’s really sweet and i loved it.

THE DOT. HOLY SHIT RICHARD YOU EAGLE-EYED MOTHER FUCKER

also u fuckin nerd with the ellipsis comment........... tbh i get it, i appreciate that joke

(oh jared. dutifully laughing at all his jokes. LITERALLY LIKE HOW SOMEONE WITH A CRUSH LAUGHS AT ALL THEIR CRUSH’S DUMBASS JOKES HHHHHHH)

I really enjoyed when jared mansplained and got bitten by monica lmao i just ............ i’m not fully able to articulate why i liked it but i REALLY ENJOYED IT hahah

GILFOYLE!! appearing with the lock the doors comment and cliff bars and a gun ...... oh boy i love him ;_;

i enjoy that they explicitly(ish) mention that gilfoyle’s an alcoholic lmao

also, dinfoyle shippers, gilfoyle passing out in the men’s room after a rendezvous with dinesh? huh? huh? -aggressively nudges and winks-

...anyway

i love that it’s the combination of richard’s obsessive meticulousness and gilfoyle’s hardcore work ethic and security-mindedness that reveal this fatal flaw with pied piper. it’s a nice collaboration of sorts and it speaks kind of to each person’s greatest strengths (diligence, thoroughness) (i mean we know richard’s other greatest strength is the talent of his coding and gilfoyle’s other greatest strength is also his brilliance and also his being smoking hot but y’know i didn’t say greatest strength at the exclusion of others...)

OH MAN

YES GILFOYLE you have a strong moral compass and want to kill the monster!

laurie being in prison .......................for no clearly defined reason.....and her hair’s still perfect..... yeah i’m here for it. also she does strike me as someone who’d do pretty much fine in prison lmao 

i liked richard and jared’s rooftop conversation. i ..... i was annoyed with jared mentioning gwart because THAT WHOLE THING WITH GWART AND JARED LEAVING AND THEN COMING BACK AND THE I MISS YOU AND WHATEVER I DON’T CARE WHILE LITERALLY CRYING AND ALL OF THAT STILL FEELS LIKE AN ARC THEY STRAIGHT UP FORGOT TO CONTINUE/RESOLVE AND I’M STILL FUCKING MAD but aside from that i liked the conversation.

this whole series has been instance after instance of richard’s idealism and moral compass seeming to thwart his success because he refuses to do shitty things and instead chooses the harder but ultimately morally good path, and it’s ...... i love that this culminates in him making one of the most difficult/painful idealistic choices of all: let his dream of six years come to fruition and possibly (rather than certainly, at this point) ruin the whole fucking world, or kill his dream and really truly make the world a better place by SAVING THE FUCKIGN WORLD?

UGH YES *chef’s kiss*

love that jared’s agreeing with him/supporting him the whole time and you can fucking SEE richard calming down from his initial rage and seeing that, oh, okay, no, he has no choice, he Must kill the beast he has created...

and at that point screaming FUCK from the rooftop seems like a pretty sane response

love the cut to him in his i-mean-business blue hoodie (was it his blue hoodie? i can’t remember but i feel like it was?) being like ‘gilfoyle’s right’ lol

THE THING WITH DINESH’S CAR AND CRACKING TESLA’S ENCRYPTION

this was cool enough that i did not care about technological feasibility, Rule of Cool achieved

and dinesh’s speech about how he couldn’t be trusted! oh boy

like jared said, it was a magnificently courageous moment of cowardice. LOVE. IT.

(also i couldn’t help thinking, lol was this done as a response to kumail nanjiani’s schedule clashing with the others so they had to have all his scenes separate rom the rest of the cast? i mean either way they executed it stunningly)

oh BOY THE THING WITH GABE AND JOHN STAFFORD!!! and you know if gilfoyle had been friends with john stafford then maybe john would’ve fucking called gilfoyle and checked before fixing this shit!!

is this what they intended? i’m not sure. but it sure makes the gilfoyle chess subplot seem a lot less frustrating than the other going-nowhere-but-comedic-relief subplots that were in themselves fine but made me mad when i saw how rushed 6.6 was

gabe lmao

fuckin gabe

BUT GOOD ON GABE FOR LETTING DINESH KNOW JUST IN CASE!! THANK YOU GABE!!!

and OH BOY DINESH! YOU CAME THROUGH! YOU HAVE A GOOD CORE AFTER ALL! YOU COULD’VE DONE NOTHING AND BECOME RICH BUT YOU CLIMBED A SKYSCRAPER’S WORTH OF STAIRS AND SAVED THE FUCKING WORLD!

lmao i loved kumail nanjiani’s horrible wheezing as he opens the door and then despairs and then wheezes his way up the surprise additional stairs, i actually started laughing in my seat. brilliant physical comedy.

also loved gilfoyle’s ‘are you jacking off’ ‘did you do one push-up’ jibes lmao

brill

YES DINESH SAVED THE DAY!

AND GILFOYLE SAVED THE DAY! WHEN RICHARD (not entirely unreasonably) FUCKING FROZE AND GILFOYLE MADE AN EXECUTIVE DECISION AND TRUSTED DINESH AND IT PAID OFF! YESSSSS

oh and speaking of trusting dinesh. richard being like ‘dinesh you fucked us’ and then apologising and dinesh being all ‘you’re good, i’d think i fucked us too’ AHHH *chef’s kiss*

THE RATS? LMAO THE RATS? verging on maybe too ridiculous but I THINK I LIKED IT.

oh boy

CONAN

BILL GATES LOL

KARA SWISHER

PRESUMABLY MANY OTHER BRILLIANT GUEST STARS I MISSED

YES

oh man that convo on the roof! the only issue i had with that was jared being relegated to the seats behind them WHY ! WHY WAS THAT!! 

ok i’m gonna headcanon it as like, they were gonna make room for him but he was like ‘OH NO NEVER MIND I’LL SIT BEHIND YOU, I LIKE BEING ABLE TO WATCH OVER YOU ALL’ ok there i fixed it. it’s plausible and i fixed it.

gilfoyle drinking entire bottles of tres commas? man he’s so hot and alcohol-soaked i’m astonished he hasn’t spontaneously combusted yet

THEY SAVED THE WORLD ;___;

MY BABIES SAVED THE WORLD

oh and now the present day................ (of the episode) ......

gavin as a trashy romance novelist and denpak as his long-suffering ghostwriter/collaborator? LOVE IT LMAO yeah sure why not!! and that scene when they’re arguing but then have this breakthrough about their novel in progress? AMAZING HAHAHAH i hope they’re happy together

RICHARD IS THE GAVIN BELSON PROFESSOR OF ETHICS WHAT THE FUCK 

I MEAN OKAY FIRSTLY he is well-qualified to be an ethics in tech professor given his experience

BUT DOES IT NOT KILL HIM TO HAVE GAVIN BELSON IN HIS TITLE LMAO

maybe gavin made a hefty donation to stanford and bighead gave enough of that to richard that richard doesn’t mind

maybe at this point richard’s developed a good enough sense of humour to tolerate it because if he didn’t, he’d go fucking insane

he said he was happy .................... was he? i’ve no fucking idea tbh. what do you guys think? richard’s happy with a high-paying non-stressful job, or richard’s sad and despairing? ......i’m gonna go with the former. maybe wistful. maybe he’ll start another company one day. idek.

god when he said his best friend gave him a job ... for a second i thought it was jared. but oh well. OH WELL. OH WELLLLL.

LOVE that big head is president of stanford and it’s not addressed AT ALL how that happened and you know what? we had enough of him failing upward that we don’t need an explanation! this seems totally plausible! amazing.

and josh brener’s acting when they’re like ‘do they call you that because your surname is bighetti’ .......... amazing

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH DINESH AND GILFOYLE STARTED A COMPANY TOGETHER AND HOLY FUCKING SHIT OH MY GOD 

hey i just realised is NEWELL ROAD the place where the guy who bought dinesh’s laptop from the office clearance sale lived where gilfoyle turned up pretending to be geek squad to punch a hole in the laptop????!!

okay i just went back and checked and that’s not it. BUT newell road is the street the hacker hostel’s on!

which is fucking adorable and i love it.

ALSO

ALSO

ALSO

AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED THEY FUCKING MADE DINFOYLE CANON BECAUSE LOOK GILFOYLE SAYS THAT THING ABOUT DINESH BUYING THE HOUSE NEXT TO HIS BECAUSE HE LOVES HIM AND DINESH HAS NOTHING TO SAY BUT ‘FUCK YOU’ AND YOU KNOW WHAT

YEAH THEY DID IT

THEY STARTED A COMPANY TOGETHER AND GOT MARRIED

i swear to god when they said there was a meeting i just briefly imagined the ‘meeting’ was them sneaking off to a supply closet to fuck or something

YESSS

so we didn’t get jarrich but WE GOT THIS

okay whatevs i’ll take what i can get *blows coolly on nails*

jared working with the elderly! that thing about having parents and being someone’s parents! that’s so beautiful and makes so much sense it works somewhat as a salve to the darkly comedic but ultimately not really necessary punch to the gut that was the discovery about his biological parents.

judy reading one of gavin’s romance novels HAHAH YES

oh boy! the reunion!

i swear to god when richard and jared walked up to each other IT STILL FUCKING FELT LIKE THEY WERE GONNA KISS

everyone hugging!

GILFOYLE LOOKING TO THE CAMERA WHEN RICHARD AND JARED HUG

to me, that’s him being like ‘look at these two. ten years and they’ve not realised they’re in love yet’ hahahha

oh and Monica working for the NSA? yeah i can see it hahahah

jian-yang’s crazy jungle empire? yeah fuckin checks out

(RON’S PANIC WHEN RICHARD STARTS ADMITTING GUILT AND HE HAS TO BACKTRACK LMAO love the law jokes/references)

dinesh referring to gilfoyle’s horrible corner hahaha it’s so clear they fucking love each other they wouldn’t have fucking started a company if they didn’t also THEY LIVE NEXT DOOR TO EACH OTHER WHAT THE FUCK OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR THIS GIFT

at first i was like oh god did richard and jared not see each other for years??? but then there was that line about ‘i saw you last week’ and i’m so happy again. headcanon best friends (not to say that big head isn’t also a best friend of richard’s) and they catch up and love each other and then fall in love down the line (TIME TO WRITE A FIC LOL)

WHEN JARED HAD THE THING IN HIS BAG I GUESSED IT WAS THE ALWAYS BLUE THING AND WHEN IT CAME OUT I ACTUALLY PUT MY HAND OVER MY MOUTH AT ALL THE FEELINGS AND OH BOY OH BOY YESSSSS

<3333

richard losing the thumb drive. HA.

good. good setup

now the spinoff of sv is this apocalyptic hellhole because the thumb drive fell into the wrong hands and now pied piper have gathered to face/fight the apocalypse

i..... could write that fic. i could.

i imagine in that apocalypseverse jared has super surprisingly become a ruthless leader of a tribe, dinesh and gilfoyle are dual rulers obviously (or like, scavenger rebels on the fringes), monica has a terrifying tribe of followers or has made herself indispensable to another leader, richard is working as a tech slave for someone horrible (or is out in the woods after being stranded away from civilisation when the first attacks/clusterfucks occur) but then gets rescued by jared/the rest .............. yeah

OKAY ANYWAY

in short i really really liked it and i think the whole idea of them having to purposely fail to save the world from the terrible genius of what they’ve created is a fitting and deliciously bittersweet way to end this wild journey and i LOVE THIS WHOLE FUCKING SERIES and i don’t wish it had ended any other way

except for richard and jared kissing and sailing off into the sunset of course

[mydearthisbe]

Ayesha Liveblogs One Tree Hill S1

No matter how many times I watch the pilot I consistently forget that Nathan and Peyton used to date

“Don’t bother showering tonight” is that really your come-on Peyton I will never understand sports

Lmao @ Nathan and Peyton “OTP: Distracted Driving”

“You’re despicable, you know that,” said Dan, a literal future murderer

I’m always so thrown when ppl in shows start drinking at their workplaces like what kind of bold behaviour Whitey you work at a high school

“What are you wasting your time at now?” Nathan ur a terrible boyfriend

“I say that the people who pray here are wasting their time. God doesn’t watch sports” I know Lucas is pretentious as all hell but this is my favourite line in any sports show ever

Karen is such a good mom ahhhhh like she just wants Lucas to be happy and she knows he’ll put other people’s happiness first 

Dan calling Lucas ‘this kid’ like he’s not his wholeass son what a dick

It’s not lost on me that Keith telling Lucas stories about his father means that it’s Lucas’s grandfather Keith Scott is truly the only dad in this show who matters

“So why’d you just tell me all that” because he loves to monologue

“If I could [change the fact that Lucas exists], I would” Dan answer your door I need to send you a very rude telegram

I am in love with Moira Kelly and also I want Karen to punch Dan

The music of this show is really.... transcendent 

Djhfkjhfkjh since Lucas is implied to have like, five friends.... is that crowd of supporters hugging him just a bunch of people who think Nathan is a dick

I admire Lucas for deciding he was gonna put up with all this bullshit to do something he loves

Omg I forgot that Brooke wasn’t in the pilot she’s such a major character

“Nice hands” “Nice legs” Emo flirting in a jock setting lmaooooo

My inner 2007 angst awakens every time I hear Gavin Degraw. He is THAT bitch

“You ever think I might want to talk” Peyton and Nathan’s relationship is truly nothing but blind horniness they have nothing in common at all in this juncture of their lives

“I didn’t invite you to come in, I just asked if you wanted to” Peyton is so weird but I kind of want to marry her. Is this what Lucas feels like

Lucas’s economic status is really part of Brooke’s romance criteria at the age of 17 they teach the bourgeois early huh

Oh my god I cannot BELIEVE Jake recommended Atlas Shrugged to Lucas jhjhgjhgjh the undertones of this basketball show really are about capitalism

HAHAHAH Nathan’s word being “revenge” calm down Sasuke Uchiha

I haven’t said so yet but Haley is so very endearing she’s great

God. Lucas turning around to reveal to Dan that he’s cast away his name. HE is that bitch

Ghjkghjkgh Keith hissing at the rude Boosters mum. Love of my life

“Maybe he’s gay” “No, I think he’s just nice” who writes this dumbass show

“Do you even care that it’s slipping away” maybe it’s because I went away for university but the idea that someone is this deeply invested in their kid’s high school basketball career is. A lot

Nathan simultaneously trying to bother Lucas and pass English while about to fall in love: I can multitask!!!

Update: He also managed to trash Lucas’s favourite basketball court somehow in all his business. He really can multitask!

“If it makes you feel any better I called some woman a bitch the other day” [giggle] I love Karen and Lucas’s relationship

Haley is such a good friend to Lucas and hoo boy Nathan when do you grow a conscience

“You’re both so broody. You could brood together” that’s it, that’s Peyton and Lucas

These emails and VCR references are really dating this show

Nathan is a straight up sociopath in these early eps my god he humiliates Lucas publicly twice at this party and just pops over to Haley like “Hey cutie :) Idk why Lucas is so mad :) I’m rlly nice :)”

Nathan really taking his girlfriend’s car to hit on another woman how much of a crapbag

As soon as I said this he (drunk?) drove her car into a streetlight my god 

Deb and Karen having a nice lesbian coffee shop AU would be a pleasant turn in this show instead of literally anything that happens in either of their narratives

“Why would you even go there” “Because I loved getting dumped on” That is... accurate

“I’ll call you when you’re not so PMS” said Nathan, when his (ex) girlfriend rightfully lambasted him for crashing her car

I take it back Peyton and Nathan do have one thing in common it’s their disregard for traffic laws

HELL YEAH Keith IS your dad Lucas <3 <3 <3 <3 

Whitey talks a lot of shit for someone who advised Dan to abandon Luke 

I had been wondering why Lucas had the Scott name when Dan is such an ephemeral piece of shit and I guess there’s my answer thanks Karen 

Does Haley ever find out about the shit Nathan pulled at the party I feel like these are relevant details in her budding affection

“Dad send you to spy on me? Poison my drink?” This is the second time in two episodes Deb has been accused of being Dan’s spy I wonder if she still considers that a red flag 17 years into marriage

“One of the boys doesn’t have a father” BUUUUURN Dan

Rhkgjhgjkh the last moment of this scene:

Keith: There is enough room in my heart for each of my brother’s mistreated sons even the rude ones Nathan

Nathan, experiencing a split second of paternal love: :O

Ghkjghkjgh the Scott bonding in hatred of Dan continues with Lucas asking Nathan if he too would like to spite Dan:

Lucas: You will be receiving your “I Hate Dan Scott” Club invitation in the mail shortly Nathan, mom, Uncle Keith and I hold meetings biweekly

Nathan: Biweekly as in every two weeks or twice a week 

Lucas: Both! See you on Tuesday

“Does this mean we’re dating” yes it does the mixed CD is emo code

“Good luck with your game” “yeah, you too, Ma” hehehehe

Someone revoke this college medic’s license hoo boy

Ghjghkgh Lucas keeping his money tucked into his boxers what a doofus

I can’t believe Nathan and Lucas’s second big bonding moment is threatening dudes while in their boxers after beating on each other what a brotherly bond lmao

Okay but highkey if ur a lady and ur friends are gonna leave you alone and vulnerable at night get new friends

“I can live without my shirt” Nathan is thirteen shades of petty lmaooo

Dan is such a bad (abusive) father that Nathan literally would prefer to have none at all my god 

“Can I tell you a secret? I pretended too” just get marrrried 

“Thanks for cutting Lucas some slack” talk about accepting the bare minimum Haley kjhgkjhgkj

Brooke is really unbearable in this episode is it any wonder her, Lucas and Peyton’s relationship is as dysfunctional as it will soon become 

Hoo boy the one (1) time Nathan doesn’t do something douchey and he gets blamed for it 

LMAO @ Lucas approaching the one girl at this school with commitment issues with a bold “I wanna be here [in your heart]” hahaha

“Yeah, they can have their world,” said Lucas to Haley, about the two people they would literally go on to marry

The fact that Peyton doesn’t turn off her webcam and just covers it also really speaks to the era

This Gabe dude is really ready to assault a minor like he’s not just a r*pist he’s also a predator double KO 

It is not lost upon me that it looks like one pill has been popped out before so he is also a serial r*pist big fucking yikes

“What, you got a cellphone too, dawg? Things sure have changed” also quite dated hahahaha

They really went out of the way to redeem Brooke not only did she give Nathan and Haley a very very cute date she also saved her friend from being assaulted

“So you don’t have any brothers, do you” jhgkhgkhg Brooke please 

“Why are you only nice to me when we’re alone” a very legitimate question Haley

Nathan’s dating methodology: There’s nothing in life that can’t be solved with make-outs

Deb is really so nice but every time I look at her I think of her drinking a lot and sleeping with Nathan’s friends lmao

Haha that North Carolina sign explains the mild Southern accents 

Aieeeeeeeeeee you kiss that man and follow your dreams Karen

Even if Nathan is still A Lot this season him and Haley are so cute:

Haley, smiling: We can’t do this here right now

Nathan, giggling: We just did

Lucas says more to Dan by constantly leaving with a look of disgust than any words ever could

“My heart’s racing too. That’s what happens when I’m around you. (And on drugs. I’m very unstable Haley.)”

Lucas and Nathan’s very intentional “pressure from your dad” and “you don’t know anything about my dad” bc Lucas will not acknowledge that Senor Crabag Sr. is anything resembling a father bless 

Drunk tattoos with crush’s bff Lucas has decided to make all mistakes at once and I respect it

Poor Keith he is trying his best but Lucas just chose this week to hit his rebellious phase

YESSSSSSSSSS DEB KICK THAT ASS OUT OF THIS HOUSE

“Do you really think that Nathan would choose you over me” uh???? Are you not aware you are... the worst father in town

Brooke you were fully aware of Peyton and Lucas’s vibing and actively pursued him/interfered so you have no moral high ground to be like “:) I’d never choose a boy over my friendship”

Skillz and Mouth accurate “hoo boy don’t look” when ur friends start PDA

“Mom doesn’t want things to get back to normal, she wants them to be better” hell yeah Nathan gaining emotional intelligence

Lucas quit projecting your childhood issues onto Jake he too is a child let him decide how he wants to live Jenny’s 6 months old not like she’s gonna remember lmao

Damn Nathan LET LOOSE on Dan fuck that dude

JGFHJGFJGFJH I forgot Gavin Degraw had a cameo hahahahah

Did Luke.......... break into Jake’s house. His parents work at night how was he able to get into Jake’s coffee table

“You do not have to feel like a third wheel” The pure dumbass energy.... Peyton is literally CRYING do u really think her issue is “third wheel” you KNOW she and Lucas had a thing Brooke???????

Me watching this team form a brotherly bond over their mutual love of basketball: Mayhaps sports are... good 

Hahahaha Lucas threatening Peyton’s dad with a rake is weirdly endearing

“Hey you.” “Hey you, and you,” is a good summary of this seasons Brooke/Lucas/Peyton dynamic lmao

Why is Dan’s head... shaped that away. It is like a bar of soap

“I don’t mind you playing ‘Daddy’ to one of my offspring, but leave the good one alone, will you?” Dan. Meet me in the Denny’s parking lot at midnight and we’ll have words

“The whole Nice Guy thing is wearing kind of thin” foreshadowing for all the dick moves Lucas is about to pull lmao

“He’s got you skipping school now?” “Lucas talk to me when you get your tattoo removed”

Lucas:

Lucas is such a meddler lmao how many family dynamics is he going to alter

I don’t trust Dan being nice for a minute all he wants is the upper hand with Deb in the inevitable custody battle over Nathan

Props to Nathan and Haley for somehow, some way, being the only normal couple on this show despite their incredibly dubious origins lmao

Scott family dinners are bananas I count four (4) major revelations and they haven’t even revealed that Deb and Dan are separated

Lucas and Peyton are really hitting every fictional couple trope in this ep - road trip, bed sharing, hurt/comfort, truly the YA bases 

“The truth? In this house?” Props to Deb for drama lmao 

Brooke saying ‘I love you’ you’ve been dating for like two episodes but okay kjhgkjhg

I can’t say I understand Nathan’s logic lmao but I guess they have to bring him back to basketball sometime

Wow Lucas zero hesitation on that second kiss lmao u r a mess

This scene is the definition of “that escalated quickly” they go straight to undressing 

HAHAHAH NATHAN BEING SHIRTLESS IN HALEY’S DREAM FOR NO REASON 10/10 TEENAGE ACCURACY

“How do you explain being with me and not her?” “Because with you, I saw a future” that’s Dan code for ‘I’m a gold digger’

You’re literally macking on Peyton in the middle of the hallway while you’re dating the other most popular girl in school Lucas how are you this ridiculous and bold BREAK UP WITH BROOKE U DUMBASS

“So what are we going to do” I’ll tell you what you should do BREAK UP WITH BROOKE

Keith it is still daylight out stop bringing alcohol into this high school you have a drinking problem

“Can’t control love, you know?” THAT’S NOT ADVICE LUCAS BREAK UP WITH BROOKE

I really can’t handle watching Keith and Lucas self-destruct this episode how is Nathan the only Scott in a happy, healthy relationship

“You know that this is... wrong, so that makes it feel... deeper?” Lucas asks, as if he were not entirely in the wrong by carrying on with Peyton (who is not in a relationship) while dating Brooke

“I don’t want to hurt Brooke,” he said, about to start his third secret cheating makeout session of the week

“But then again our spouses aren’t here are they” [Deb opens door] COMEDIC TIMING

Gjjhgkjhg Nathan revealing his messed up intentions with Haley entirely by accident Scotts have no self-control whatsoever it’s their kekkei genkai

Lucas evading responsibility for his romance crimes by literally dying

Hahahah Karen’s confused vibes at Brooke are kind of the highlight of this episode 

How funny would it be if Lucas woke up to Karen scolding him about his tattoo

Hahahaha for such dysfunctional partners Nathan and Peyton are excellent exes 

AHHHHHHHHH LUCAS WAKING UP TO HIS BROTHER... MY HEART

Keith rlly was gonna propose after zero (0) days of dating I’m telling you no self-control is truly the Scott clan kekkei genkai

Ahhhh bless Karen’s compassion 

Dan is literally blackmailing his son into staying in his custody he is in Deb’s words an “abusive son of a bitch”

Fucking finally Lucas ends this sham of a relationship with Brooke

It’s wild that Nathan is the only Scott with a happy and healthy romantic relationship 

Nathan divorcing his parents is a real power move 

I’m glad Haley announced Sheryl Crow’s name because let me tell you I would not have recognized her on sight

“How’s my daughter” Lucas really chooses exclusively to hook up with people who have devastating emotional consequences for his immediate friend group huh

“Funny I didn’t know you were forgiving at all” Lmao Peyton is that really the position you’re going to take after cheating with your best friend’s boyfriend 

All the deodorant product placement lmao ‘this ep sponsored by Secret’ 

All things considered I think Lucas is handling Haley’s constant ditching p well 

Bfhkghghjg Keith buying a new shirt just to go to dinner with Karen stop

OH MY GOD THE EP REALLY WAS SPONSORED BY SECRET IT’S GOT SECRET ON THE CHEER COMPETITION BANNERS AND A LITTLE GIFT BAG RANDOMLY IN ALL THE CHEERLEADER CONFRONTATIONS JKGHKJGH

The comedic timing of “hungover idiots” panning to Karen and Larry kills me

“She used to be this totally original.... Haley” what does this mean????

I don’t think Nathan and Haley are being entirely fair to Lucas bc he was only a dick once she ditched him twice (or thrice?) in one weekend 

This boy toy auction as a concept is so inappropriate on so many levels

“I get Nathan for free” Fhjkfhkfjh Haley pls

God I was so very concerned about whether or not Nathan and Peyton were gonna kiss 

“You’re not a mess, you’re just in love” [Ole Del Paso Girl voice] Why not both?

“She’s nine months old, just in case you forgot” to be fair I assume Nikki gave birth so she would remember that you can’t hold that one over her 

It must take Lucas some mental disconnect to assume Peyton and Nathan are cheating when he also kissed Haley

Fhjfhkjfhjfh Keith fulfilling my fave trope of ‘we are not even dating but how about we get married bc we’ve been repressed in love for years’

“You know I asked your mom to get an abortion,” said Dan, to his literal son

I really can’t figure where this pregnancy storyline is going bc I know Brooke doesn’t have a baby

Nathan and Haley really need to consider oral or smth there’s a middle ground between making out and having vaginal sex

“It all hurts just the same” Brooke really out here trying to say that cheating is in any way equivalent to faking a pregnancy (even if only for a week)

Peyton and Brooke are way more invested in each other than Lucas 

“I got you a high five” Hahahhaa I love Peyton 

Gary like: Wow Nathan it’s humanizing that your father is an abusive dick

“Maybe this is the one that changed him” Lucas joining Dan as the second and only non-Dan member of the Dan Scott Apologism Club

It’s wholly unreasonable that Haley expects her boyfriend not to look at p*rn lmao

I love all this Lucas and Nathan bonding but I hate that it comes at the cost of Dan being near them at all u stay away from those boys u manipulative fuck

Ah the foreshadowing about Peyton changing in front of her webcam finally pays off

I’m no legal expert but I don’t think that taking your daughter out of state will help you in the custody battle in the long term Jake - nor will dropping out of high school

“What do I get out of it” r u 4 real Keith u dont get payment for loving your family

“I’m leaving because I can’t look at you anymore without my heart breaking” I like you Keith but that sounds like a You Problem

This is a fun way to shoot this episode One Tree Hill has such good directing tbh

Nathan discarding the Scott name from his jersey just like Lucas did in ep 2: 

Haley: Having sex will solve all of my problems Nathan what are you talking about

I remembered that at some point Deb and Keith have sex and I’m glad they fuck things up early bc I could not deal if it was later on

“I’ll miss you too, little brother” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

KJKGHKJHGJHKJHGKJHKJ I CAN’T BELIEVE NATHAN AND HALEY GOT MARRIED JUST TO HAVE SEX THIS IS WHY THEY DON’T LET PEOPLE YOUNGER THAN 18 VOTE

[darkling-er]

Piety Knob || Chapter 1

Summary: In 2017 Juniper Blackwood moves into a small town with her aunt because of a job opportunity thanks to distant family. Juniper was always homeschooled so she's unfamiliar with everything at her new town, and a new school to fit in with strangers. With noone to really talk to, she dwells in the mysteries of the town, while finding out secrets about her family and herself as well..

Parts: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 coming soon

Characters: Piety Knob OCS (see under Piety Knob intros tag)

The car ride from the airport is longer than expected. It's not like I didn't google the whole trip and count how long it would take, but actually experiencing a 16 hour long car ride is way different from theory. Perry, my aunt, is being cheerful without a stop since we packed our things in Chicago to move to the distant little town in Oregon, Detroit.

"We should be near to family, Juniper, you'll see how good it will be for you!" she said when she announced that she got a job in my hometown. I was excited for her, truly, she had such an awful job back in Chicago, her boss was mean to her all the time and she recieved a way too low paycheck after the plus hours she was working.

Finally she got a chance to start over in a small town, with people she already knew and liked so I guessed why not. Why not leave behind the town I grew up in and mostly loved to a place I hardly even remembered other than from my aunt's tales when I was little. At the age of four when people only remember insignificant events like there was a time when a butterfly flew on my mom's shoulder and my dad tried to catch it. Or when I hurt my knee in the backyard and my aunt scolded me for being so wild when playing. Not Perry, mind you, my other aunt, from my mother's side, Primrose.

And here I am in the overheated backseat of my aunt's old station wagon. It smells old, mixed with smells of used leather, overheated plastic and the burgers we ate a couple hours ago for lunch.

It's close to noon, which I can tell from the direction of the sun in the sky - I had to rely on such primitive modes since both my and my aunt's phone died due to lack of charge - which greets us sometimes when it reaches over the tall pine trees that sorround the main road to Detroit.

Perry promised to take me on many trips after we moved in to the Stantiam State Forest.

I look from the phenomenal view to the front seat and ask Perry:

"How is Church doing?" I look to our old tabby, who sleeps peacefully in her carriage.

"Wonderful, after he puked on my best traveling shoe back at the drivers' parkinglot."

Perry says sarcastically but looks lovingly at the cat for a second before turning her attention back to the road.

"How are you darling?" she asks looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"Good." I smile and I believe I manage to convince her because she smiles back and drives happily towards that hellhole.

I practiced smiling like that for a long time before talking to aunt Periwinkle about moving to Oregon. It's not the nature I have the problem with, the lack of city noise. I actually love the idea of being somewhere quiet and nice. Somewhere I can actually breath clear air.

But the thought of leaving my home and the place I was so used to terrified me in a way I never thought it could.

Maybe a repressed childhood fear, I reckoned. Moving meaning to lose something I love, just when I was four. Losing both my parents than having to move to my aunt Perry, who was my closest next to kin. Meanwhile my sister stayed there with Primrose. I never understood why was that, and truly Perry couldn't explain it either, it was some mix up with my father's and mother's last will. That's why I've barely met my sister, Betty or my other aunt. I got a card and some cash for my birthday from them always, with some petty excuse of not being able to visit me and meet. On Christmas it was our turn to go to them, but Perry having terrible pay at her work made that difficult as well.

I'm not saying it's all their fault. We could have called or texted any time, it's 2017 for God's sake. But it was too awkward and forced so we stopped trying to connect with my sister.

Now that we'll move there, I don't really know what to expect from this sudden change. I would prefer to skip any small talk with them, but if Perry will persist, which I know she will, I will try for her sake.

She always put me in first in her life since my parent's accident, it's only fair I try and make it up for her.

Doing all this thinking I only realize that Perry was talking as she calls my name probably for not the first time:

"Juniiii? Earth to Juniper, is anyone home?"

I roll my eyes and smile.

"Of course, sorry I was daydreaming."

She dismisses it with a smirk.

"I was only saying now that you'll attend high school maybe you'll get a chance to meet a boy."

I make an annoyed sound and bury my head in my hand.

"What? Stooop, no!"

She shrugs in reply.

"Or a girl, I don't judge, you know me."

I shake my head and look out the window again.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say any of that."

Perry chuckles with amusement then turns her attention to the road.

"Whatever."

The rest of the trip is boring, we almost hit a deer at one point, which freaks Perry out the most, then Church, who acts wild in her special carriage 'cage'. I on the other hand just want to catch some sleep and recharge my phone so I can return to socialization. Jeez, I'm really one of those people who can't live without their phone for a longer period. Longer meaning hours, it's ridiculous.

I would read something, but all my books are in the new house, we sent the moving truck way ahead so at least when we arrive in the new house all our things will be there.

After what seems like ages I notice an old, mossy sing with the usual welcome messeage. 'Welcome to Detroit, Oregon. Stay for a while.'

"Well that sounds like what a desperate husband would say to her wife when they are having a divorce." I let the comment slip out of my mouth and Perry shushes me but I see her trying not to let out a chuckle.

When we finally reach the house it's already dark and I feel terribly tired after the long drive.

"I want to sleep for a month." i comment as Perry parks the car in the driveway. She nods in agreement and we step outside the old station wagon.

I breath in deeply the summer warm but fresh air and let my body to be free from sitting all day long. I strech my arms and legs with a low growl, then take out Church's cage from the front seat.

Perry is already at the door, all fast and excited even after the trip, like it was nothing to her, just a five minute trip to the store or something.

She lets out an excited squel searching for the right keyes in her hand as I close the car with an exhausted sigh and join her at the doorway.

She looks at me with a grin excited for both of us.

"This is gonna be so great, sweetie! I'm going to make you something for dinner, maybe you can unpack a little in your room?"

"Sure thing, Captain."

She doesn't mind my sarcastic tone as she lets the front door fling open so our new home can greet us.

Periwinkle steps in first and I follow her inside, locking the door behind me.

It's a two story building, all wooden and bricks. It looks cozy, it's definitely bigger than our flat in Chicago.

It has a half-deck to the front door. A garage and an attic. Basically the attic is the second store to the house. My room as Perry told me. Two bathrooms, one downstairs next to Perry's room and one upstairs next to mine.

The living room is open and is connected to the kitchen. Other than that it looks pretty simple, no guest rooms or a cellar. We don't need them anyway.

I like the style of the house. It's like the one from Oregon Trail. The window shutters and doors are painted to a deep green, like the color of the pines around the house.

The moving company did a great job with the furniture, though we mostly left everything behind. We only brought the old couch and the Perry's wardrobe with us. I didn't need anything in my room, all my stuff could fit in three boxes and that was pretty much all I really cared about. Things are just things, the people around us is what matters. My mom used to say that, according to Perry. I like that thought.

I set down Church in the living room and let her out of the carrier. As soon as she knows it's freedom for her she runs to Perry in the kitchen.

I hear my aunt chuckle from next to the stove as I go upstairs towards my room.

It's a narrow stair, followed by a similarly narrow hall which ends in two doors. First I assume is to my room and next to it is the bathroom.

I open up the door which creaks with an eery sound. From the pictures Perry showed me it looked a lot smaller but now stepping into it I immediately smile. It's small alright, but looks cozy with the two windows looking down to the small town and lake, somewhat covered by the pine trees.

My bed is right under those windows, and it has a wardrobe, a desk and a small bookshelf.

I can already imagine stacking up the walls with polaroid pictures I took ages ago in Chicago with the posters of movies I always watch with uncle Gabe. He lives in Salem, so I'm also excited to meet with him more often.

He couldn't help us to move from the airport because he was out on a job, but he called us and said he would visit next thing tomorrow.

I look at the boxes that the moving company put down in the middle of my new room and I start to open the up and unpack my things. Just some clothes, I never was really that into fashion and having a lot of clothes to wear. My books are the next, which I immediately put on the bookshelf above my desk, and some other trinkets, such as my laptop and charger. I search for a place to plug it in my phone.

"Arise!" I say dramatically and put it down to charge on it's own.

Now my main goal is to put on something comfortable and go down and eat whatever is smelling so good downstairs.

I put on a button up shirt which is way too baggy for me, I got it from my dad. Well I found it in a box that had my dad's belongings in it. My mom's stuff stayed with my sister and aunt Primrose.

It covers the short I'm having on and in this summer heat it's perfect and comfy. I run down the stairs towards the kitchen and meet my aunt with a new sense of energy.

"What are we eating, I'm starving!"

She looks at me with a smile and holds up the plates.

"Bacon and eggs.. Right from the locals."

"My precious..." I make a lame impression and we eat our food in less then a couple of minutes.

"I'm gonna go wash up. You should too, and get ready to bed. We have to go into town tomorrow, I have to meet with my new boss and we have to sing you into high school before august starts!"

With no time to argue she heads into the bathroom downstairs and I hear the water starting. I sigh and look at Church who is already licking up our empty plates. I pet her and say to her.

"You are very lucky to not have to go to work or school."

With no response other than some purring I fill up the washer with the dishes. Just as I would head back upstairs to have a quick shower then hit the sack there's a knock coming from the door.

I look toward Perry's bathroom then I sigh and put on a tired smile before going to answer the door.

As the front door swings open the cool air comes inside the house making me have goosebumps all over my body. I hear the sound of crickets and I look upwards to meet the eyes of a stranger.

He looks to be in his late thirties, with slicked back short hair and a small mustache above his mouth. He wears a suitjacket with a v neck grey shirt and some very 'important looking shoes'.

His salesman smile falters for a moment when he looks me up and down and I realize I look like a girl with only a shirt on. I immediately feel uncomfortable for multiple reasons.

"Umm... Can I help you?" I ask because he hasn't said a word yet and I want to close the door on his face already.

"I hope you can. I'm Damian Forrester, mayor of the town. And hereby welcome you and your lovely family to our community."

I nod but I find it extremely odd that he came all the way up here to just introduce himself in the middle of the night.

"I see..." I say clearly uncomfortable under his eyes. It's like he's a robot, his smile never fades or changes on his face.

I'm seemingly being rude as he raises his eyebrows.

"And you are.."

I try to conjure some politeness up, even though I'm feeling grumpy and tired by late night smalltalk. You never see the mayor of Chicago knock at your door to introduce himself and welcome you to town.

"Juniper Blackwood." i say standoffishly.

"Ah. Yes! Rose talked a lot about you coming to town... And your other aunt of course."

I look at him weirdly before asking.

"Then why did you ask my name if you already knew it?"

There's a moment of awkwardness and his unfaltering smile starts to scare me. I can almost see a twitch in his eye like I made him mad, but it's gone before I could interpret it like it was never there.

I hold the door awkwardly and I can't stand his gaze any longer so I look behind him. It's only then when I notice the very expensive looking car and next to it the presumed driver. He looks out of place, wearing similar clothing to a car mechanic, with a name tag on it. I try to read it from the distance but it only has a handdrawn smiley face on it. The wearer himself looks in his thirties, his hair buzzed at the sides, but letting it grow longer. Like he regretted the hairstyle and wants to regrow it. The rest is slicked back, but not like Mr. Mayor here, but more messier, like he used the product on his hair days ago and it's use is growing weaker.

He leans on the car door, looking bored and off to the distance.

Mr. Creepy smile notices my sudden change of attention and looks back at the driver as well.

"Don't mind Marcus, he doesn't have any manners."

At the mention of his name he lazily looks at the mayor and then at me. He doesn't come up to introduce himself or even just to break a smile, he just stands there looking.

Okay, this is getting creepy, it's like looking at Frankenstein and Igor. I think.

As if I had said the joke out loud Igor 'Marcus' shakes his head with a chuckle and looks at his wrist to check the time. Yeah, I would like you two to leave as well.

"So.. You need anything, Mr. Mayor?"

I turn my attention back to Creepy Smiles. He looks surprised at the title.

"No, I just wanted to welcome you to town... Is your aunt in?"

He tries to look inside the house and I know he wants to get invited in, but I am not going to do that. Even if I get a scolding for it later from Perry.

"She's having a shower. We are both very tired actually. We have to do some paperwork tomorrow and unpack as well, so.."

He looks from the house to me again, not forgetting the salesman grin.

"Of course, I'm sorry for the late intrusion. I'm sure we'll meet soon again. My wife is inviting you two to the ball we are having this weekend. Please come, have a laugh. I'm sure you would like my son, he's similar to your age."

I fake a smile, in my head already planning to forget to mention this invite to Perry.

"I surely will." I lie. "Goodnight."

He's ready to leave the porch as he waves goodbye and gets inside the car. The driver looks at me again before entering the vehicle.

"Nice legs." He says with a cheeky grin and I can't help but make a face and shut the door.

Who the fuck... I think angrily and go up to my bathroom. Who the hell invites people to a ball in the 21st century anyways.

With those thoughts I lay in my bed after the quick shower and I quickly fall asleep.

tags: @onl-you

A/N: hope anyone who sees this likes it even just remotely. 😂💕 SORRY ITS ON MOBILE I COULDNT ADD KEEP READING LINK

[thegreenfairy13]

Dog Sitter Part 11 - Time To Visit A Friend

A Gobblepot fanfic. When Oswald loses his dog Ed, Jim Gordon finds it and does an excellent job when it comes to taking care of the mobster’s furry friend. Read it on Ao3 here.

Days pass, then weeks, and then even months. Oswald has everything he could have ever hoped for: a family, wealth, power. He should have been happy. And he is. For the first time in his life, he has achieved some sense of stability. Everything is going so well it should have been boring. It is.

Jim has stayed true to his word, keeps as far away from the mobster as possible. He resists waltzing into the Iceberg Lounge at any given moment as if he owned the place and refrains from calling the criminal at ungodly hours to obtain some intel on the workings of the inner mind of some lowlife Oswald might or might not be acquainted with.

Instead, when the situation calls for it, cops show up at his doormat who know how to keep their heads low and their manners in place. Oswald isn’t forced to keep his wits about him whenever the police arrive. Not when he only has to deal with quivering fools nowadays who are too afraid to ask the right questions, intimidated solely by his reputation. There’s no challenge in his interactions with the GCPD any longer, no game of push and pull.

Even Zsasz’s mouth escapes a mournful sigh the next time Jim doesn’t show up for interrogation but one of their most loyal associates at the GCPD.

One could think the Penguin misses the old days. He doesn’t, he tells himself firmly. Now, that he finally realizes how toxic his fascination with the cop always had been, he’s able to focus on what’s truly important: the family he had been given.

As more and more time goes by, Cobblepot’s interests begin to shift towards his more legal businesses. He starts a restaurant chain, and a perfectly legal casino, both turning out to be a steady influx of gorgeous dollar notes and makes plans for another lucrative arms trade with the state of New York.

And yes, it is true. There had been a time when the Penguin had envisioned his son following him on the throne. But now, with his kid being close all the time, he isn’t quite sure about that anymore.

His love for Martin keeps growing steadily, increasing day by day until he can’t remember what had possessed him in the first place to wish for his child to become a criminal. The thought alone of his kid being hunted down by other mobsters or being chased by the police is enough to make his stomach churn. Now, he has more to live for than an empire. He has a legacy. A legacy he keeps building steadily for Martin and Martin alone.

One day, his son will be a powerful and respected man, he vows. There won’t be any hideous rumors, exchanged only in the dark, about his alleged criminal connections. He’ll be as much loved as Bruce Wayne - Oswald will make sure of that.

That doesn’t mean the Penguin has entirely given up on crime. Gotham is still his city, his kingdom. And despite the crime-licenses being history, nobody in their right mind would dare to make their businesses without the monarch’s blessing. He doesn’t control petty crime any longer, but who cares anyway? The GCPD listens to his command, the other Dons too, and the Penguin still makes his cut in exchange for protection under his notorious umbrella. He just isn’t personally involved anymore. He lays low for the sake of his boy.

And maybe for Jim’s sake, a traitorous voice in the back of his mind keeps whispering. He shushes the voice whenever it speaks up. Claims not provoking the last honest man at the GCPD is just another measure to keep his boy from having to visit him in prison.

Oswald Cobblepot has turned into a criminal who doesn’t make his hands dirty. Just like Falcone before him, he pulls the strings in the background while in public maintaining the facade of a proper businessman.

On some days, he’s sure Jim sees right through the charade. Or would, if he could be bothered to care. Or maybe he does care but decides not to act on his instincts. His promise not to turn Martin into an orphan seemed to be a genuine one. And with Oswald residing in Arkham or Blackgate, Martin would be just that.

With Jim being gone from his life for good, the Penguin starts to wonder. He reminisces their conversations during dull meetings, tries seeing his actions through the eyes of the cop who came here so many years ago to rid the city of the corruption that is the very blood and soul of Gotham. If he understands at last?

It doesn’t seem like it. Not if the Gotham Gazette and the City Herald are anything to go by. Almost on a daily basis, the man’s face stares accusingly at him from the covers. Jim is judging him, scowling at him. That surely wasn’t what he had envisioned when he let him off the hook.

But what was he expecting anyway? He remembers their first conversation in Jim’s flat. When the man stunned him into silence, admitting he had indeed let the mobster walk away freely despite being able to arrest him. Back then, he didn’t believe him. But now, he starts to reconsider.

In Jim’s eyes, he had been too powerful before his third fall from grace. He had controlled the city like no other man before him and he had tried putting an end to it by bringing Sofia to Gotham. But maybe that had been Jim’s kind of mercy. The cop had always been smart, clever. Yet, instead of arresting him, he brought home another criminal to take the throne from him, or at least someone he would have had to share his power with.

His actions had almost torn Gotham apart. And now, despite him meddling and expanding his control again, Jim stays true to his word. He must know about Oswald’s actions, though. He’s still Jim Gordon, isn’t he?

And while the weeks pass, Oswald reads the newspapers. Learns about the hero-cop who’s never afraid be the first in the line of fire whenever someone robs a bank or takes another hostage.

Ed is wreaking havoc again when Lee finally leaves him. He blows anyone up too stupid to solve his ridiculous riddles, desperately trying to strike fear in anyone’s hearts and to make himself known. It’s laughable, really. He’s putting so much effort into his games and still achieving nothing: no wealth, no power. Fear without reputation has never been to Oswald’s liking. Sometimes he wonders how he fell for Ed in the first place. The man has become a mess, a loose cannon ready to go off at any given moment. They had been a good team though, he muses. Before everything went to hell.

Jim is chasing Ed desperately, almost getting himself killed before finally catching him and hauling his sorry ass to Arkham. Oswald wonders if Jim survived thanks to his wits or because Ed couldn’t bring himself to murder him. After all, there had been a time when the two men had been friends.

How deep is he under Ed’s skin, too? Is he? And no, he isn’t jealous. Not of that friendship. Not of Lee, who is now free to return to Jim. He isn’t. For he can’t be friends with Jim. Not when his proximity alone is a danger to his child and everything he built.

His heart isn’t filled with dread either when Jeremiah Valeska hatches a plan to cut off Gotham from the mainland. He definitely isn’t worried half out of his mind when Jim does what he does best and marches right into the heart of darkness. Isn’t staring into the flames of his fireplace when the news declare Jeremiah dead and the Captain missing, buried beneath the ruins of the single bridge the redhead managed to destroy. He doesn’t drink too much or bites his nails frantically until drawing blood when ordering his men to team-up with the Wayne boy to get the appropriate machinery over to dig up the cop as soon as possible.

He simply does what any decent, wealthy citizen would do. And he definitely doesn’t sob hot, relieved tears in the privacy of his own bedroom when Jim survives yet again. He should have prayed for his death instead, he chastises himself. With the cop gone, his life would be easier.

Oswald never took the easy way. But he stays strong even afterward. Doesn’t consider catching a glimpse of the Detective lying in his hospital bed despite wishing so much for visible, tangible proof he’s still breathing.

Instead, he stares at yet another photograph of the good Captain gracing the cover of the Gazette. His frown has deepened and the circles beneath his eyes seem darker than ever. Else, he seems fine. Not even three days after the incident he’s back at the precinct, ordering his men around. Oswald is relieved - and a tad bit worried. It’s awfully soon, isn’t it?

It’s no use denying: he misses Jim Gordon. Yet Oswald isn’t going to waste his chance for his personal happy ending. That is until Harvey Bullock pays him a visit.

The Penguin frowns. None of his machinations should have provoked the GCPD’s interest lately.

The Detective is still a stranger to decent haircuts or flatirons, the mobster notes, slightly displeased. Bullock is unusually subdued today, but then he’s mostly rather civil when not tagging along with Gordon. Must have something to do with him regularly paying the cop’s gambling debts, Oswald ponders. Only last week Bullock brought himself into rather serious trouble once more.

If Jim knows Harvey can’t quit visiting illegal gambling dens? Probably not. Why the Detective doesn’t visit his own clubs is anyway beyond him. He wouldn’t have to fear for the safety of his kneecaps in the Penguin’s establishments, that’s for certain. And no, that’s because the man is useful, not another favor for Gordon. Well, maybe a small one.

Heaving a sigh, he gestures for Bullock to sit down and waits patiently while he crams himself into the deliberately too narrow chair before him. A polite smile firmly in place, he orders Gabe to bring them some refreshments. After all, he still has manners.

Folding his long, elegant fingers beneath his chin he asks, “what can I do for you, Detective?”

For a second, Bullock squirms under his gaze before ceremoniously dropping a folder unto the table. Cobblepot’s mouth twitches. He never liked rude gestures.

Slowly, he picks it up and opens it. The first page isn’t spectacular at all. A simple police-report he can’t be bothered to read. Yet when turning to the second page he has a hard time concealing the surprised gasp about to escape his throat.

He has seen pictures of corpses before, has seen dead bodies with his own eyes and even been the cause of death but this, this is different.

Thankfully, this is also the exact moment Martin decides to barge in. Scowling venomously at the Detective, Oswald quickly snaps the folder shut.

Bullock’s eyes grow wide like saucers when taking in the little Penguin, but Oswald pays him no mind. He’s too grateful for the distraction allowing him to collect his jumbled thoughts. That man on the cop’s photograph, he knows him. Knew him, if only briefly. And now he’s dead. It can’t be, mustn’t be. Not now, not when everything is going so well.

Pushing his inner turmoil aside, he focuses on Martin instead. His little one looks so much like him, dressed in his gray dress pants, even if currently decorated with grass-stains, and sporting a white shirt. Except one item is missing to complete the picture.He’s holding a small, rumpled frock in his hands and looking entirely crestfallen at his father.

“I’d rather you wouldn’t bring such horrifying pictures to my home where my child could be exposed to them,” he chastises Bullock haughtily.

“And Martin, what did I teach you about knocking?” Oswald inquires sternly.

“That I should do it?” the kid asks back.

The mobster rolls his eyes. “Just tell me what happened,” he urges, tapping his fingers impatiently on the shiny surface of his desk.

“See, Ed…” he starts, cheeks already heating up.

“No,” Oswald interrupts his kid. “What did I teach you about lying?” He doesn’t miss the snort that escapes Bullock at the question.

“Only ever lie to the police, the judge, business partners, and…” Martin starts to list by using his tiny fingers. This time, the cop outright chokes.

“And never to your dad,” Oswald cuts him off determinedly. “So try again.”

“I was playing in the garden with Ed,” the kid finally admits. “I slipped and tore the lining,” he elaborates, holding up the piece of garment for his dad to see.

Oswald bristles. “This kind of attire isn’t really suited for playing in the garden, Martin.”

“I know, dad,” the kid whines and his father has to hide a smirk behind his hand. “But can you fix it?” he asks, already stepping closer to the desk.

He’s staring at Bullock with unhidden curiosity when approaching. “I know you,” he states. “You’re the cop who accompanied the one who watched over Ed. The one who…”

Before Martin can finish his sentence, Oswald takes the frock from him and makes a show of inspecting the garment. “Just take it to Olga,” he judges, giving his son a pointed look. “Ask her nicely to take it to the tailor. And while you’re at it, see what she can do about the grass-stains. I’d be more worried about those,” he finishes.

“But Olga is terrifying,” the little one protests.

“Maybe she’d be less terrifying if you’d be nicer to her?” he suggests.

“I am nice,” he objects.

“Good then, at least someone in this house can be severe,” Oswald mutters more to himself than to his child. “Martin, darling, please let dad have a chat with this man here. We can discuss this later, alright?”

Nodding, the kid finally makes to leave the room, still openly staring at the Detective. “You aren’t in danger, right?” he can’t help asking, glancing warily at the elderly man. Bullock is still too flabbergasted to respond.

“No,” Oswald soothes him. “I’m just having a chat with an old friend.”

Once the door closes behind Martin, the mobster turns his attention back to the task at hand. His initial shock at seeing a photograph of the recently deceased Brian Gold has thankfully worn off enough for him to think properly again.

“Cat caught your tongue?” he smirks when Bullock still stares at the door.

Turning in his narrow seat, he stammers out, “no, I just thought…”

“What?” Oswald snaps more for dramatic reasons than out of real anger. “That I killed my own son? Or sent him away for good?”

“Son?” he echoes incredulously.

“Son,” the Penguin confirms proudly.

Collecting himself slowly, Bullock taps the folder. “The reason for my visit,” he clears his throat awkwardly.

“And I already thought you’d be here to show your gratitude,” he interrupts him, directing a sweet, innocent smile at the cop. Thanks to Martin, it’s almost ridiculously easy to throw the Detective off guard.

“Yeah,” he brushes off the last statement seemingly unheard but the folder suddenly vanishes from his table. Silence stretches between the two men while Oswald waits for Bullock to speak up again. The cop is meanwhile looking at anything but at him. He twirls the hat in his hands, studies his dirty fingernails before sucking in a deep breath.

“Penguin,” he starts. “I need to talk openly with you.”

“Please, we are old friends after all,” he encourages, his smile growing wider.

Leaning back, the Detective studies him thoroughly. “I never liked you,” Bullock admits. “Thought you’d wind up dead sooner than later. Instead, you’re on top of the food chain again.”

The Penguin dismisses this rather rude statement. The man is obviously trying to manipulate him into losing his temper. Oswald isn’t going to rise to the bait. Not when the stakes are so high. Not when there’s still hope.

It’s only Bullock he’s dealing with. Jim Gordon still respects their agreement, and while he must be absolutely certain Cobblepot had Brian Gold killed, he still didn’t come. He sent his partner instead. It seems like Jim is truly sticking to his word, going even against his moral code in order to keep Martin from becoming an orphan.

It only hits him now, that he clearly didn’t tell his partner about the return of his son. While he isn’t keeping Martin a secret per se, he didn’t shout it from the rooftops either. The less know, the safer his kid is.

Oddly enough, the mobster wishes Jim had come himself. Oswald had had nothing to do with the man’s untimely decease and he yearns for the Captain to believe him. Hopes to look into his eyes and be given the chance of convincing him he isn’t the monster he clearly thinks him to be. He values agreements too. He had always been honest with Jim. Can’t he see that? Not even once? Must he send his partner?

And Bullock, really? Oswald wants to scoff. He trusts his partner so much while the man is still another crooked cop, ready to sacrifice the oh so precious law for his own interests.

“Jim sent me personally,” Bullock carries on. “Which is odd in itself,” he states with what passes as his most intimidating stare. It does nothing for Cobblepot though. “Said you might know something about the man we found with a bullet in his head this morning. Gently placed for his final rest on a trash dump.”

“And your point is?” the Penguin inquires politely.

“I could ask you if you knew him and listen to your lies,” the cop growls lowly.

Leaning over the table, he brings his face uncomfortably close to Oswald’s. He can smell the cheap burgers he consumed, the onions and the garlic in his breath. He wants to lean back, evade this gross, stomach-turning scent but dutifully stays in place. Bullock needs to see his expressions, has to be certain he isn’t lying to him.

“But I did know him,” he concedes, surprising the cop entirely. “If only briefly,” he continues. “But this,” he gestures at the folder. “I’m not responsible for this.”

Leaning back against his throne, Oswald studies the cop intently. He isn’t sure he believes him. It isn’t Bullock’s validation he seeks anyway but Gordon’s. But he’s the next best thing, a step to take in order to get into the Captain’s good graces.

To his utter surprise, Bullock nearly explodes out of his chair. “I couldn’t care less who’s responsible for some minor drug dealers death!” he shouts. “Maybe it was you, maybe it wasn’t. What I really want to know is what have you done to Jim Gordon?”

“Pardon?” the Penguin blinks.

“What,” Bullock commences. Slowly leaning over the table he grabs his lapels again. “What have you done to Jim?” he asks again, lowly, threateningly. “Before the whole dog incident, he would have never shied away from going to you himself if he thought you were up to no good. So, what is it you are threatening him with?”

Releasing him, Bullock pushes the Penguin deeper into his chair. Oswald gapes, too stunned to reply. He should have assumed their agreement would raise some suspicions.

“I, I, I did no such thing,” he stammers, intimidated, as shy as the umbrella-boy he used to be so many years ago.

Bullock merely scoffs in response. “Whatever you’re doing, it’s working incredibly well.”

“What do you mean?” Oswald asks back, having a hard time following the cop’s train of thought.

“What I mean, is that I don’t care who and what you are,” he declares dramatically. “I’ll be coming after you if Jim should get killed or kill himself.”

At the notion, Oswald feels as if someone had pulled the rug right underneath his feet. He has to draw his breath before being able to speak again.

“Whyever would he do that?” he sputters. It’s not his most eloquent moment but he must have done something right for Bullock’s expression turns less thunderous.

“Have you been reading the news lately?” he demands to know. Too anxious to answer Oswald just tilts his head.

“Our good Captain of the GCPD is on a suicide mission ever since he stopped caring for your pet. You don’t want me to think that’s merely a coincidence?”

Surging forward, Bullock reaches again for the Penguin. Yet the mobster stops him.

“As opposed to you, I truly considered Jim Gordon a friend. Always. I’d never…” He’s struggling for words, unsure how to continue. It’s unlike the King of Gotham to beg for something. But right now, he needs Harvey to trust him. “What you are implying… I could never do that. Not when it comes to Jim. So tell me, what’s wrong with him?”

Laughing humourlessly, Harvey considers his words. “I never know with you if you’re lying or being sincere. Jim lost his will to live. That’s what happened. And should I ever find out it’s something you’re threatening him with, I’ll personally come after you.”

“Sounds fair,” the kingpin mutters. Collecting himself, he indicates for Bullock to leave. Being clearly outnumbered should the kingpin choose to call for his employees, he turns on his heel but not without shooting the Penguin a last, nasty glance.

Once the cop is gone, Oswald collapses back in his seat. Rubbing his temples wearily he picks up the latest edition of the Gotham Gazette. He browses through the newspaper until he finds the picture he had been looking for.

Jim Gordon is frowning at him from the paper, appearance haggard. The Captain has clearly lost some weight since they last saw each other. The worn down suit he’s sporting seems to be the only thing gluing him together. Oswald doesn’t know if he’s imagining things but Gordon seems to look, for the lack of a better word, sad.

He wonders how he didn’t notice that before. Could Harvey be right? Jim had only been doing what he had always been doing: trying to save this wicked city from itself. True, he had been reckless, careless for his own safety but that is just ultimately Jim, right?

And Jim Gordon committing suicide? The thought alone is laughable. The man is a soldier, a hero, the last honest cop in the entire city. Whyever would he even think about ending his life?

He doesn’t dare thinking the man’s losses might have finally caught up with him. After all, what does he have? Two failed relationships and his job. He remembers the state of his flat shortly after giving Ed into his care. How shabby and messy the place had been. The dog had been an anchor back then, a reason for him to tidy up the apartment and to reconsider his life.

Could it be that with the dog gone he had gone back to his old ways?

Once he has made up his mind, he orders Gabe to come over. The bulky man stumbles through the door and Oswald sighs. There are not many jobs the slow-witted hulk can be trusted with. But this one should be easy enough.

“I need you to get me a dog from the animal shelter,” the kingpin commands, tone decisive. “A Pomeranian. The one in 34th street has one. Fetch it and take it to me. I already informed them about your arrival.”

To his utter surprise, the whole man lights up at him mentioning the Pomeranian. “You mean that kind of dog they had on this sitcom called “The Nanny”?” he inquires.

Oswald stares at him, entirely lost. “I suppose,” he offers.

“Oh, it was a lovely show,” Gabe continues. “See, boss, there was this couple. She was a nanny and he was some rich dude. They were pining for each other for years and never got properly together. They had love interests but always broke off with them cause they knew they were meant for each other but in the end…”

The Penguin cuts him off. “The dog, please,” he presses out through gritted. “And once you have it, get my car ready. I have to visit an old friend.”

[longliveninokuni]

Pet Names

Part of the EOA Ship Appreciation Week on the Discord.

Esteban and Naomi going through the motions of pet names.

Ff.net version if you prefer: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13206016/1/Pet-Names

A/N: Tis the third day of shipping week, and I'm already exhausted. Well, today's theme is "pets," but as you can see, I decided to switch that up with "pet names." But then this story got out of control, so apologies in advance if you're confused by the end of it. Anyways, enjoy it!

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit, fan-based, fanfiction. Elena of Avalor belongs to the Walt Disney Corporation and Craig Gerber. Please support the official release.

"See you at dinner, Nomes!" Cried out Scarlet Turner, Naomi's mother.

Naomi blushed and then growled as she saw the smirking face of her coworker/somewhat of a friend/possibly a best friend/definitely annoying rival Estéban as she climbed into the carriage. He, unwillingly, volunteered to pick Naomi up from her house after she said that both her parents would be too busy to drop her off in the morning. He would've let her suffer, but Elena decided that Estéban needed to 'bond with Naomi after the immense fight you two had' or something stupid like that. But he supposed he didn't have a choice; they were close to bursting into another argument when a very important royal dignitary was visiting. So, he could see Elena's worries. So, he reluctantly agreed. Now he's starting to like his decision just from today's exchange. "'Nomes?'" He snickered.

Naomi kept blushing, but she didn't remove her angry face from Estéban's smirking one. "Yeah, it's a pet name my parents gave me. What of it?!" She said defensively.

"How in the world did your parents come up with a name like that? Were you shorter than the other kids when you were little?" He jested.

Naomi growled. "How they came up with it is none of your business!"

Estéban laughs. "Alright, no need to get all fussy...Nomes." He smirks.

Naomi wanted to tackle him, but they were in an open aired carriage, so that wouldn't exactly be a good decision. But she swears she will get revenge on him somehow.

A month passed, and Naomi decided not to get revenge on Estéban. Surprisingly, he chose to keep her little pet name a secret from the people who don't know it already, Elena, Gabe, and Mateo being the only three who do know about it. And with that, they started to respect each other a little more than they did before. And hey, little progress is still progress. Although that still doesn't mean he didn't tease her by calling her that from time-to-time.

Naomi was waiting for the carriage to pick her up from school, her parents too busy to take her to the castle again, although not really in the mood for more Grand Council decisions. She had a terrible day at school. The other students are still jealous of someone like her getting picked to be part of the Council instead of it being one of them. She never really told anyone about what was happening, but that's only because it never really bothered her. They mostly just threw petty insults and glared from afar, and she can handle all that. But today, they just went too far.

"Oh, does the little GNOME need help reaching that book?"

"Look at the tiny little GNOME; I bet she can't even reach the top of a barrel."

"Does the little GNOME need a booster seat to see over the Grand Council table?"

Somehow. Somehow everyone found out her parents' pet name for her and are now using it to tear her down. She didn't show her dissatisfaction in front of them, because she was better than that. But, right now, she felt like she was on the verge of tears. Naomi never felt so humiliated before, how could they take something that she loves and ruin it for her? How did they find out?! Was it Estéban? No, not even their little bicker thing would be enough for Estéban to tell anyone her pet name from pettiness. He's better than that.

Naomi was so focused on trying to figure out how everything happened today that she didn't realize that she was crying, or that the carriage was here, or that someone was standing in front of her. "Naomi?"

Naomi looked up at the, surprisingly, concerned face of Estéban. Naomi said nothing as she just ran inside the covered carriage, embarrassed that Estéban saw her like this and will probably tease and torment her for the rest of the ride.

She had her forehead resting on her pulled up knees as she continued crying. Then she felt Estéban sit next to her and felt the carriage moving. Great, here come the insults!

"Did something happen? Did someone hurt you? Do I have to get the royal guard involved?" Estéban asked, sounding concerned.

Naomi sniffed as she looked to his face, no sign of his teasing attitude anywhere. Naomi shook her head. "Nothing happened."

Estéban gave her that look. "Oh really? Then what's with the tears?"

Naomi put her head down again. "It's nothing! Why do you care?!"

Estéban sighs. "Naomi, we may fight and argue, but that doesn't mean I want to see you hurt! Do you think I'm that terrible?"

Naomi lifted her head slightly to see that Estéban, looked genuinely hurt at the prospect that she might've misunderstood their weird friendship. Then she fully raised it as she shook it and started wiping her eyes. "No, I just had a bad day today." She sniffed.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked as he pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to her.

She took it and wiped her face. Then blew her nose. Then she shook her head. "Not really." She sniffed again.

"Well, if whatever happened today happens again, don't refrain from telling anyone. Okay?" Estéban asked.

Naomi slowly nodded. "Okay...would it be weird if I asked you to hug me?"

"Yes, very."

"Jerk."

"I just answered truthfully." He smirked.

Naomi growled but was starting to feel better. It's strange; this banter session is helping her feel better. She flinched a little when she felt Estéban wrap an arm around her shoulder. He pulled away and held his arms up in surrender. "I thought you said it'd be weird if I asked you to hug me!"

"I did. But I never said I wouldn't do it." He stated.

Oh. Now Naomi was even more embarrassed. It took a few minutes before she was comfortable enough. "Can... you hug me?"

"Don't you want to wait for Elena?" He asked, playing and look coy.

Naomi whined. "Please? I had a terrible day!"

"Oh fine, if I must." He gives her a gentle one-armed hug.

Naomi rested against his side. She was surprised by how gentle Estéban is being. She's seen him like this with Isabel from time to time, but with anyone else? With her? She's even more surprised that during this whole ride, they haven't had their usual bicker session. She sighs in content.

"Feeling better...Nomes?" Well, he ruined it.

She, gently, pulled out of the hug and sat across from him. "You just had to say that."

Estéban looked confused but didn't press her. "Alright, I don't know what triggered that reaction, but I still need to know: Are you feeling better now?"

Naomi sat in thought. She does feel a little better. But something was strange. She didn't feel hurt when Estéban called her Nomes. She thought her schoolmates would've ruined it forever. But when he said it, it didn't hurt at all. It just felt like his typical way to tease her. Naomi wondered why that was, but it might just be that she's used to Estéban's teasing. Or, it could be that he's not using it to hurt her intentionally. Either way, she does feel better, even if a little. "Yeah, a little." She said softly.

Estéban nodded. "Well, a little is better than not at all."

Naomi nodded a little. "Yeah...thank you."

Estéban widened his eyes. "Oh, well, you're welcome." He said awkwardly.

"No really, thank you," She said. "you helped me a lot right now."

Estéban sputtered and looked away. "Well, that's only because we have important Council business at the palace, and we can't have you distracted by whatever happened to you."

Naomi smiled. "Sure, it is."

The probability of Estéban being a best friend to her just slightly increased.

A week later, she told everyone what happened, but not to worry about it. She was able to deal with it and ignore it, even had a few snappy comebacks to give. Must've been training from all those bickering sessions she and Estéban have all the time. She's going to have to thank him soon. Either way, it was a good week.

Two years since the incident, the friendship between Estéban and Naomi grew. In fact, it grew from a bickering friendship to a bickering relationship. Yup, the two of them are officially dating. But there was a problem: Estéban came up with a pet name for her, and he made it only to annoy her. And the worse part is, she hasn't been able to come up with a pet name to annoy him.

Right now, Naomi was in the library reading a book she pulled out randomly, not paying attention to its contents. Her mind's been wandering to the backtalk and insults she's heard from her former schoolmates about her relationship with Estéban.

"It's obvious she's only dating him for her benefit."

"I bet she's gonna spend all her time shopping with the royal family's money."

"Does she even love Chancellor Estéban?"

Naomi groaned. Why do their words hurt her so much?! Why can't they mind their own business?

"Hey there Nomey." Said the smooth annoying tone of her boyfriend Estéban, standing behind the couch she's sitting in.

Naomi growled a little and turned her head towards Estéban with a pout. "I told you not to call me that."

Estéban put an index finger to his chin. "Hmm, I could, but where would be the fun in that?" He asked with a smirk.

Naomi growled again. "One of these days, I'll find a pet name that'll embarrass you."

Estéban chuckled and playfully patted Naomi's head. "I'd like to see you try Nomey." He had to duck from the punch that almost hit him. "Well, looks like I got to go." And he dodged a book that Naomi threw at him and left the library.

One day, she will get her revenge, and it will be sweet.

"Hey there Ban-Ban." Naomi said to Estéban when she found him making something in the kitchen.

Estéban tensed up and looked over at her, seeing the smirk that he usually wears on her face. "Where did you hear that?" He asked, his terror slipping out of his voice.

Naomi giggled. "Turns out your Abuela is a great source of embarrassing information when needed. Apparently, it's the name Isabel used to call you when she was too young to pronounce your name fully? Oh, but now it'll be my pet name for you." She smirked triumphantly.

Estéban just stood there dumbfounded and betrayed. "Abuela, how could you?" He asked quietly.

Somewhere in the palace gardens, Luisa Flores sneezed.*

Naomi walked over to Estéban and poked his chest. "Now I have an embarrassing pet name for you. How does it feel to have your girlfriend use it against you, hmm?" She snickered.

Estéban growls. "Oh sure, use my family history against me, Nomey."

Naomi frowned. "You did it first, Ban-Ban."

"Nomey."

"Ban-Ban."

"Nomey!"

"Ban-Ban!"

"Would you two kiss and get out already? The kitchen staff needs to prepare lunch." Armando called out to the bickering two, with the kitchen staff in tow.

The two looked at them with blushes covering their faces. Naomi was the first to leave the kitchen, Armando's statement about her and Estéban kissing to end an argument making her face redder than ever.

Come to think of it, the two of them haven't kissed yet. And that's fine by her; she's heard tales of what Shuriki did to Estéban. She wasn't going to instigate anything. She doesn't want to make him relive awful memories. He never stepped on her toes so she won't step on his. Still, though, she thought, stopping in the middle of the hall to bring her fingers to her lips. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to kiss each other. Someday.

"Nomey!"

"Ban-Ban!"

"They're at it again." Mateo said, leaning against the table in his workshop, watching Naomi and Estéban calling each other names.

"What are they fighting about this time?" Olivia, Mateo's apprentice, asked.

"That is a mystery we shall never know Olivia. Now, let's get back to our lesson."

"Okay!" And the two went back to what they were doing, ignoring the arguing couple in the library.

It was a dark night in the library. Naomi was trying to read a book to calm her nerves. But she couldn't focus. Her former schoolmates have to ruin everything!

"Oh, look, it's the GNOME. Shouldn't you be guarding someone's garden?"

"I can't believe Chancellor Estéban would date you; you're too small and GNOMEY."

"No wonder the two never kissed, she's probably too GNOMISH for his tastes!"

Naomi didn't realize she was crying until she felt someone wiping her tears away. She looked up and saw that it was Estéban, who looked concerned. "Naomi?"

Naomi said nothing as she put down her book and just hugged Estéban, crying into his chest. Estéban carefully hugged back and rubbed her back in circles. "Why are they so mean? What did I ever do to them?!" She sobbed.

Estéban only continues to rub her back. After a while, Naomi pulled back and started rubbing her eyes. Estéban pulled out his handkerchief and gave it to her, her taking it to dry her eyes and blow her nose. "Better?"

Naomi sniffed and wiped away the remaining tears. "A little, yeah."

"Want to tell me what they said?"

Naomi shook her head. "It doesn't matter; it's just stupid rumors and gossip."

"Which usually doesn't get to you this much. What did they say?"

"It's nothing important."

"Why not?!"

"Because I said so, Ban-Ban!"

Estéban growled a little. "There's no need for name calling, Nomey."

"You just did it!"

"Only because you did it first!"

"Ban-Ban!"

"Nomey!"

"Ban-Ban!"

"Nomey!"

"Ban-MMF!"

Naomi got cut off as she felt Estéban kiss her lips. Naomi's eyes were wide. She had no idea what to do; she never kissed before. This was her first kiss...ever...and it came about from an argument. Yeah, that sounds about right.

When Estéban pulled away, they both were blushing madly. Estéban cleared his throat and shifted his eyes away. "Sorry, it just felt right."

Naomi tilted her head. "You're sorry? You're the one who was tortured by Shuriki."

"But you're the one being ridiculed now." Estéban said, looking back at her. "You don't think I hear the same thing when people gossip?" Naomi gave him a pointed look. "Okay, Doña Paloma may have had a hand in informing me. But still." He grabbed Naomi's hands. "Why do you always hide these things happening to you? Why torture yourself holding in all your pain?"

Naomi squirmed a little. "I don't know. It just doesn't seem as important. It's just stupid gossip."

"Words can hurt as well. Trust me, I know." Estéban learned his forehead against her's. "Shuriki said many many hurtful things to keep me in line. They all worked. They all hurt, which means that those gossipers words hurt you too. Naomi, I told you everything Shuriki did to me, why do I not get the same courtesy?"

Naomi sighed. "I don't know. Ugh! This is all so stupid!" Naomi felt Estéban squeeze her hands a little. "I guess, I'm just used to dealing with it myself without help. This never really happened before I moved here with my parents, and I've barely paid attention to it when I was still in school. And you know me, I barely ask for help with anything." She looks at Estéban. "I guess I'm too stubborn to ask for help."

"Of course, you're stubborn; you decided to say 'yes' when I asked you to court me, another stubborn person." Naomi laughs a little. Estéban smiles a little. "And now I'm using my stubbornness to figure out why you won't talk to me. And I'm not leaving until you answer me."

Naomi grumbles a bit before sighing. "I guess, somewhere deep down, I believe them."

Estéban raised a brow. "Eh?"

Naomi groans and pulls her hands away to cover her face. "I think they might be right! I don't belong here. I never belonged here. I don't deserve Elena's friendship. I don't deserve this Grand Council position. I don't deserve you." She puts her hands down and looks at Estéban. "What do you even see in me? I'm just a girl from the port."

"Of course, you are, you are from the port."

Naomi gave him a pointed look. "Gee, thanks."

"Let me finish." Naomi settles. Estéban moves from his kneeling position to sit next to Naomi. "Yes, you are a girl from the port. You are also one of the realest people I've ever met. You aren't afraid to tell people when something's wrong. You have impressive insight into people. And not to mention, you aren't afraid to go toe-to-toe with me. I look forward to our arguments every day."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "You argue with Doña Paloma too, why not date her?"

"Because she doesn't give me the same happy, teasing feeling I get when I argue with you. Also, if she and I were to get together, we'd most definitely kill each other in a week." He winks.

Naomi blushes. "I guess those are good points." She said in a tiny voice.

"And," Estéban says in a smooth tone as he hugs her and leans into her ear. "she doesn't squirm when she's nervous like you do. And I find that...adorable." He breathes a little on her ear.

Naomi's entire face is red, and she punches Estéban's chest hard. "Ugh!" He slides over a bit and holds his chest. "Okay, I went too far with that." He said in a strained tone.

Naomi's first reaction was supposed to be something akin to worry and to check if he was alright. But that's not who she is. Her actual first reaction was bursting out laughing. "Hahaha! Your face right now is priceless! Hahaha!" She continues laughing.

Estéban wanted to be mad, but he couldn't. He loved hearing her laugh, even if it's at his expense. He smirked. "I'm so glad my pain has brought you joy." He says playfully.

After Naomi calmed down, she smiles. "Thank you."

Estéban gave her a smirk. "Well it's not like I had a choice, your crying would've disturbed the entire kingdom's rest."

"Hey, I don't cry that loudly." She pouts.

"Oh yes, you do." He chuckles.

Naomi stops pouting and only smiles. Then she rested her head on Estéban's shoulder. "Ban-Ban."

Estéban smiled as well and rested his head on her's. "Nomey."

And the two just stayed in the library for the rest of the night.

A/N: Well, that's the end of this story. This was hard to write for some reason so again, sorry if the ending confused you. See you next time, and try not to get yourself killed. ;)

*In Japanese culture, it is believed that if someone sneezed out of the blue, it means that people are talking about them.

[tacticalgrandma]

So @illegalanger‘s birthday was earlier this week. Rose is one of those people where it honestly boggles your mind that someone can be simultaneously so creative, talented, and just plain cool and also so incredibly thoughtful, empathetic, and sweet. AND she also ships Spiderbyte holy shit. She’s an amazing person and if you’re not already following her/checking out her art, you should be.

Anyway. In celebration of Rose, here’s some Spiderbyte pranking Tracer. Happy late birthday you beautiful sea lion <3

"She," Widow announced, "is the worst."

She looked around the drop ship expectantly. Sombra shrugged and Reyes kept his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Yeah, that sucked," Sombra said. "But we got out okay, and I got my data, so..."

"She's not that bad," Reyes mumbled.

Widow fell back in her flight seat with a huff. No one had so much as spit in her direction until Tracer had shown up, and made a blue-streaked beeline for her perch. She had tried to hold her off, but her rifle was pathetic at the close ranges the girl insisted on fighting at. Reyes had had to fall back from his position to support her. Sombra had had less time to get her job done. All because of one girl, who was the absolute worst.

"I have known plenty of British people in my life, and none of them talk like her," Widow said, intent to prove her point. "She's doing that on purpose. It's embarrassing." Sombra nodded sympathetically. Reyes coughed. Widow turned to him with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"No, you're right," he said. "She absolutely is a ridiculous national stereotype."

"Thank you!" Widow said. She set about disassembling her rifle, and therefore missed Sombra kicking a somewhat sheepish looking Reyes in the shin. "And those goggles," she continued. "What's even the point of them?"

"Keep bugs out of her eyes?" Sombra ventured. "But like, actually though. She goes really fast, right?" Both Reyes and Widow stared at her. "Haven't you guys ever seen the grills of supercars, after they've done speed tests with them? It's like..." Sombra made a splat motion with her hand, then drifted off as the two continued to silently watch her.

"It's because she's a pilot, Widow," Reyes said.

"WAS a pilot. Now she just wants to get away with her World War I cosplay."

"World War I pilots didn't have asses like that," Sombra said. Widow scowled at her.

"Just because we didn't like your bug idea doesn't mean you have to be petty."

"I didn't say your ass was worse! I just said she has a nice ass!"

"There were World War I pilots with nice asses," Reyes said. "I saw a photoessay on gay soldiers throughout history and like. Trust me."

"We're getting off topic," Widow said. "The point is, Tracer is the worst of any of them."

“Eh. I don’t know. His ex is worse,” Sombra said, point at Reyes, who nodded enthusiastically. “I have friends back home who are still in the hospital because he wanted to play white savior to those poor, helpless Mexicans. And Tracer’s just kind of funny, with how huffy she gets over the upgrades I made to her tech.”

“You get used to her after a while,” Reyes added. “At least, that’s what she was like back when we worked together. And Sombra’s right. Jack is much more annoying.”

“Or what about the German guy?” Sombra added.

“Reinhardt? In terms of pure sensory shit, yeah, he’s worse. His whisper is about the volume of most people’s yell.”

“His hair is what turned me gay.”

“Hey, come on, he’s a bear icon. You can’t be too mean about his looks.”

Widow slouched back down in her seat as Sombra and Reyes devolved into an argument about the cornerstones of gay culture. She stayed sullenly silent for the rest of the flight, until Sombra grabbed her elbow as they were disembarking.

“Hey,” Sombra said softly. “Are you actually mad about the ass thing? Because, like, trust me Widow, I’d take yours over hers any damn day. Like seriously, it only really looks good because the rest of her is so small, but yours–”

“No, I– no. But thank you.” Sombra continued to stand at her side, concerned frown on her face, and Widow sighed. “I’m just upset, I guess.”

“Upset with her?”

“Upset with myself.” Sombra’s frown deepened and Widow took her hand and began walking towards the base. “That’s the second time that girl has stopped me from completing a mission. And she almost kept me from doing the Mondatta job. I just– don’t like it, I suppose.” She brushed her hair from her face with her other hand. “I’ve tried training in close combat, I upgraded the venom mines, but she keeps beating me, and this time it hurt you two as well. It’s just very frustrating, feeling like someone’s always getting the best of you.”

“Hey. Widow. You’re the best.” Widow shook her head and Sombra stopped, pulling her towards the wall. “I mean it. You’re the best sniper in the world, and she’s the epitome of spray and pray. Gabe helped you out today because he knew making sure you could do your job would mean the best for all of us. And it worked, right? We got it done.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without you,” Widow muttered. Sombra laughed and kissed her.

“Yeah, man. It’s called being part of a team. That’s kind of the deal.” She took Widow’s hand once more and Widow let herself be led back into the base. “But trust me. You’ll get one up on her, and soon.”

-

Widow had thought Sombra’s words were empty affirmation. She should have known that while Sombra may have been a consumate conwoman, she never lied to her.

“What are we doing here, Sombra?” Widow hissed, as Sombra held the door open for her. The apartment building they were in was by no means bad, particularly for London housing. But it definitely was not the typical domicile of her high-profile targets. And she hadn’t received any briefings from the Council, and Sombra was carrying a large box she had refused to tell her the contents of. Something was up.

“So,” Sombra whispered, closing the door behind them. “I was thinking about how annoyed you were with Tracer. And I maintain that you’re better than her in every way, still. Especially in terms of ass.” Widow snorted and looked down. “So you don’t need to go out of your way to beat her. It’s going to happen. But.”

“But?”

“But I thought maybe I could help you out.” Sombra grinned and held out the box. “Take a look.”

Widow eyed it over. “I don’t understand. It’s not the right shape for my rifle.”

“What? No! Okay, hang on.” Sombra rubbed her face, balancing the box on her hip. “I mean, she’s still… this isn’t an assassination job. Sorry to get your hopes up. But I still think you’ll enjoy this?”

She held the box out once more. Widow gave her one last apprehensive look, then opened the lid.

A spider crawled onto her hand.

“My God,” she whispered, staring inside. The box was full of spiders. Sombra laughed in delight.

“Your aesthetic is very conducive to pranks, Spider. I appreciate it.” She handed Widow a pair of gloves, and Widow put them on, a small smile beginning to form. “And do you want to know the best part?”

“What?”

“Her girlfriend’s vegan. She posted a picture on Twitter of Tracer carrying out a bug for her, with the caption ‘my hero!’ So...”

“So she won’t be able to squish any of them,” Widow completed. She laughed, sprinkling the spiders on the couch. “Good. I wouldn’t want her to hurt any of these beautiful souls.”

“You kill people for a living.”

“Yes, but look at them.” Widow held a handful of spiders up to Sombra’s face. Sombra gave an appreciative nod.

“Good point. Now help me get some of them inside the Playstation.”

-

Sombra and Widow were having a pleasant breakfast when Reyes stomped up to them and dropped his holovid on the table. They looked between him and it, then at each other.

“Uh,” Sombra began.

“Does one of you want to explain this?” Reyes asked, pointing at the device. The two bent over it. There was an article on screen, with the blaring headline “OVERWATCH HERO LENA OXTON SEEN ENGAGING IN BIZARRE SPIDER RITUAL– LESBIAN WITCHCRAFT?!”

“I didn’t know you read gossip blogs,” Widow said.

“I know this was you two,” Reyes snapped. “Spiders? Really? You couldn’t have used something less obvious? This makes us look completely unprofessional. Akande will be furious.” He looked down at the holovid again. Below the headline was a picture of a very unhappy looking Tracer holding a cup filled with spiders far, far away from her. He sighed. “I just don’t know why she was carrying them out like that.”

“Oh, Gabe, that’s the best part. So, her girlfriend’s some ridiculous hardcore vegan–”

“I’m a vegan,” Reyes snarled. Sombra and Widow paused and looked at each other.

Very delicately, Sombra asked, “Don’t you eat people?”

Reyes pivoted and stomped away from the table. Sombra smiled widely at Widow, and her smile grew when Widow kissed her on the cheek.

“You're the best,” Widow murmured in her ear.

[thats-pucking-amazing]

Toronto (Tyler Seguin) *Requested*

This was requested by @surelyseguin 

Warnings: I don’t think so...

Requests: Open

Up Next: Gabe “The Babe” Landeskog

You hated fighting...which lately seemed to be all you were doing with your boyfriend of almost two years. The fights were never anything major, just petty arguments, but they upset you regardless. You were almost a full two days without any disagreements...which was why you were currently cooking Tyler’s favorite dinner, that way he would be softened up when you delivered your news.

“I’m home!” You heard him call as he walked in the front door. You heard what sounded like a herd of elephants rush the front door followed by an “umph” as Tyler was bum rushed by your three dogs. His laugh carried into the kitchen as he wrestled with them before getting up and heading into the kitchen looking for you.

“Hi hun!” You greeted as he rounded the corner into the room. “I made your favorite and it’s almost ready if you’d like to set the table? Please?”

He tapped his chin. “I guess I can probably manage that.” He gave you a quick kiss and then reached around you to grab the plates. The two of you worked around each other in a comfortable silence, just the sound of the radio softly playing and the dogs playing outside between you.

You turned off the stove and Tyler brought the plates over. After both were filled with food the two of you returned to the table. There was a formal dining room in the next room, but when it was just the two of you, dinner was usually eaten at the small table that was by the window looking over the backyard.

Dinner was peaceful....for all of about five minutes.

“Alright. It’s not that I don’t appreciate you making dinner, you know I do. I want to know why you made it.”

You sighed, “Can’t I just make you something nice every once and awhile? Why does there have to be a reason?”

“Is there?” Why is he so astute??

“I just don’t want us to fight today. I’m tired of us constantly arguing. So I’m just trying to do something nice.”

He grabbed your hand and interlaced your fingers. “I don’t like us fighting either. I’m sorry we’ve been at each other’s throats so often lately.”

You moved into the seat next to him and laid your head on his shoulder. “It’s not all your fault. Work has been on me about this new project and getting it done a week before the original deadline. I’m just so stressed! And I know you are, too. There’s so much pressure on you and your team to make the playoffs.”

“You’re right. You know you are.” He dropped a kiss on your head and pulled you tighter to him. “But in just a few days we’ll be flying to Toronto together for the WAGs trip. We’ll have at least one full day to just sightsee. You’ll love it.” You stiffened and bit your lip but didn’t say anything. “Y/N?” He questioned. “You’re still coming on the trip right? It’s the first one the team has done. It’s important to me that you’re there.”

“I know it’s important to you.”

“But….” He pulled back so he could look you in the eyes.

“My deadline moved up. Which means I have a meeting with the board the day after we were supposed to fly out.”

“Y/N! You’ve known about this all season long!” He snapped.

“I know!” You responded to his tone with a sharp one of your own. “It’s not my fault they moved the deadline! This is the first project I’ve gotten to lead! I can’t just miss the meeting.”

Tyler ran his hands through his hair agitatedly. “Were you going to mention this before we were supposed to board the plane?”

You bit your lip to refrain from lashing out and sighed instead. “Of course I did, Tyler. I was going to tell you later tonight. I just wanted to make it through dinner without a fight.” You rolled your eyes. “Obviously that was a bit too much to ask for.”

You felt him exhale and the tension seep out, “No, it wasn’t too much to ask for. I know you can’t control what goes on at work. I’m sorry I got mad at you.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be there. I know how much it means to you...but Hun, you gotta know I’d be there if I could.”

“I do. Now why don’t we just go watch some tv and relax together in a non-fight filled evening.” He stood up and held out his hand to you in a dramatic bow.

You stood up and curtsied in response. “I would love to my good sir.”

Two days later you kissed Tyler goodbye as he headed for the airport to catch the plane taking the team and their significant others to Toronto. You closed the door and sighed before heading back up the stairs to get ready for work.

Finishing your makeup you looked in the mirror but before you could get dressed your cell started ringing. You grabbed it and checked the caller ID, seeing that it was work answered quickly.

“This is Y/N.”

“Y/N,” The voice of your boss came through the phone. “Change of plans. The board isn’t able to fly in so you’re flying to them.”

You groaned to yourself but talked like there was nothing wrong. “Of course. Where is our flight heading and when do we need to arrive at the airport?”

“The flight is leaving this evening at 6pm. You’ll be taking the company jet so arrive about half an hour before. You’ll be flying to headquarters in Toronto.”

You balked. “Toronto? As in Toronto Canada?”

“Yes. We know everybody on your team has passports because of the business you had in Vancouver about six months ago. You’ll give your presentation tomorrow and then fly back the next morning.”

“Would it be at all possible for me to stay?”

“I’m sorry?” You could hear the confusion in her voice. “You want to stay in Toronto?”

“Yes. I was originally going there today with my boyfriend for his job. When the deadline got moved up I cancelled on him, but now I can meet him there and just fly back with him.” You explained.

“I don’t see why not. You have next week off and you weren’t going to be in the office for the rest of the week with the unexpected team travel to Canada. I assume this means you won’t need the company to provide lodging for you this evening?”

“No ma’am. Thank you for allowing me to lead this project.”

“You’re a good leader, Y/N. I see you going far in the company. Enjoy your vacation.” She hung up and you smiled victoriously. Tyler was going to be thrilled!

Your flight was leaving in about eight hours which gave you plenty of time to pack what you needed for the presentation and for the rest of your trip. By noon, you were ready to leave, but had a few more arrangements to make in order to make sure you were completely successful.

Your flight ran smoothly and by 10:30pm Toronto time you were at the door to Tyler’s hotel room. You knocked and then stood out of view of the peephole. You heard him stand up and walk to the door, shouting the entire way.

“Guys! If this is some kind of prank it’s not funny! You know I’m mad because Y/N couldn’t co-” He cut off when he opened the door and then froze seeing you there.

“Surprise?” You said holding your hands out in a sheepish gesture.

“Y/N? What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t come!”

“The board couldn’t fly out so we flew to them. It just happened to be in Toronto. We give our presentation tomorrow.” You explained.

He pulled you into the room and then shut the door. “Does that mean you’re leaving tomorrow? Don’t get me wrong I’m grateful you’re here tonight!” He hastened to explain. “I just want to know how much time I have with you.”

“You can have me for all the time you want. After we present tomorrow I’m here to stay. I’m off all of next week, so I’ll be here for your game and sightseeing with the other couples.” He did a fistbump of joy and you giggled at his excitement.

“This is the best trip ever!” Tyler pointed at you quickly. “Do not tell my mom I just said that.”

You laughed loudly and rolled your eyes. “I make no guarantees.”

“I guess I’ll just have to keep you busy so you don’t have a chance.”

“Deal.”

This was not edited! Let me know if y’all see any blazing errors!