#anyway. maybe an unpopular opinion. shrug

[beyondplusultra]

I think if you're going to ship Farcille (or Senchuck, for that matter,) within the realm of canon, then you gotta admit to yourself that it's going to be a little weird. Falin and Marcille met when Falin was 10 and Marcille was the equivalent of someone in their 18-19-early 20s. It gives "elementary student gets a crush on the TA." And even when Falin is grown and in her 20s, Marcille says that she still sees her as a kid. It is a running gag in the series that even after learning Chilchuck's true age, Senshi still thinks he's a young child and feels the need to protect his innocence.

It's a whole thing in-universe that most people of long-lived races are icked out by the thought of having a relationship with someone from the short-lived races, since they experience time and aging so differently. And some people from the short-lived races see this as discrimination against them. You can't poke fun at Otta and call her the Leo DiCaprio of Dungeon Meshi while erasing the same in-universe societal constructs for Farcille. I like the ship too! I just think it would be so much more interesting to examine how these things would affect their relationship rather than just pretend that canon doesn't directly address it.

[spaceorphan18]

Hello! For Glee ask game: 1, 11, 12, 16 🙂

Alright, let's preface this little game with -- these are my personal opinions. just because it's not my cup of tea doesn't mean it's not yours... ;)

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

Kurt/Sam - ah man, the canoe ship. I don't even remember why they called themselves that. Anyway, it just doesn't make any sense to me *shrug*

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

hmmm, I think maybe Rachel might be the closest one? She's grown on me a lot over the years.

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Well, not that this used to be true, but is now -- all of Season 5. Because the episodes are funny and/or entertaining. :)

Oh, also probably the Season 6 Klaine break up/Blaineofsky all that stuff. It's just delicious drama. Could it have been done better? Absolutely! But I do like it.

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Oohh, this is a good one. I think I'd just let it split post-season 3. Let there be a college show with Kurt and Co and you can keep going with the Glee stuff in the other show. It would have never worked. But I would have loved it. :)

[mrstsung]

DEADASS old man shang tsung should be loved more

Like mk legends shang tsung specifically is absolutely delicious.

(Minus some things like not really showing his treachery to shao kahn. Like it's playing a bit too safe in the cunning department. And honestly makes it look like he's a sinp for shao kahn when he fucking wasn't and hated his guts and would happily stab shao in the back 1000 times over if you ask him and given him the opportunity to. And not to mention it's so convenient around plot. And i hate that. Because honestly holy shit this shang had potential. He had the presence,the aura,but never really shown to fight. And it sucks. Because shang is supposed to be a beast in kombat. He was a fucking boss after all. Like gdi nrs. Why you gotta fumble this guy so hard?! Like the writing is right there!)

Anyways. Old man shang. Let's get back to that.

The reason why i feel old man shang or at least how shang tsung IS SUPPOSED TO BE.

This mofo is cursed. To age. Less he takes the lifeforce/souls of others Because he decided to say "fuck you elder gods! Imma take your ritual healing dark magics and apply it to kombat. Imma take this shit and make it my own!" DEADASS a Dracula energy/soul vampire. Like this man despite everything,still could whoop your ass because he is fucking 500yrs old! From old dynasty china. In earthrealm. Yeah.

This man used to be a warrior from earthrealm,got into beef with raiden,and said fuck you im switching sides as soon as he caught whiff of an opportunity to(at least in his mind at the time) be treated "better" (which he really wasn't as better off,maybe even worse,but he had some power and some better standing tho at a cost)

Like you could take shang tsung in many ways. But all in all he doesn't need to be twirly mustache to be evil. Nor does he need to be good or "SOME GODS PLAYTHING!" to be righteous or do honorable things.

Legitimately mofo shang tsung as an old man should be written as a person who comes off as uncannily and eerily calm,a air of danger but you can't really run away nor want to. You're too damn curious even tho you're screaming inside to run. He needs that true fucking snake vibe.

Very few people have written and portrayed this successfully. And tagawa pioneered that well vibe for villains imho. (Tho the man was unfortunately typecasted by Hollywood this man by god set the bar high. He did it so damn well. He put his whole heart into this. And honestly out of all his roles,this was the most notorious of his roles. Tho i hope this man gets more leisure roles and happier roles in the future. And eventually has a safe,and peaceful retirement. He deserves it. Fr. Thank you Mr. Tagawa seriously. <3 )

Artt butler did a fantastic job with shang tsung,tho given a better script it would be better.

Same with alan lee. I feel his would have made me like it more if fans and story weren't shit.

But all in all shang tsung being rejuvenated and young is nice. And should be shown especially since he is cursed. But his default,unpopular opinion here but. His old man form should be his default look. If not old man old man,then a but of salt n pepper at bare minimum.

Honestly,shang i prefer at his old man look because thats what i well grew up on. And that's kinda how i see him. 🤷‍♀️ *shrug*

Like guy is a flashier more fancy pai mei from Tarantino's kill bill to me. Maybe slightly bit more nicer and considerate but not by much. Lol.

I could go on and on about old man shang tsung specifically. But I'll leave this at.

Honestly we just need to bring him back. We need to bring back shang tsung with that vibe. We need to not make him conveniently made for plot. No give me the shang tsung that i fucking knew.

That bastard needs to make a comeback. And mk11 can't be the only game that he does it in.

And mk legends can't be the only media outside the games that does it either.

Anyways,old man shang. I love this foxy grandpa.

[snellyfish]

(duck) w. what are your thoughts on drdt ch 2 so far

hmhmhhhmmmmm

I haven't seen the ttttttwo most recent videos I think, so keep in mind there's still some stuff I haven't seen yet, bc me and my bestie have been too lazy to watch them lately HAHA

ANYWAY........

2 unpopular opinions, which make me laugh because I love being passionately wrong;;

Absolutely cannot stand Teruko right now, she's pissing me off so bad it's embarrassing for everypony, but I'll get over it; I do look forward to what they end up doing with her character, but for now I await satisfying character development like a madman....... rip...... Babygirl stop being so edgy we get it. go to your corner if you must.

Unfortunately, I miraculously still love Arturo, I looove freak characters so much (no one is surprised!!) and I do genuinely think there's potential to come out of his...... err.......... What definitely reads like blatant in-character transphobia. LOL. Seeing this man doubled over in terrifying euphoria is truly all I could've ever asked for, so I can't complain.

In general, Arturo weirdly doesn't read like a character that will progressively get worse and worse until he's put down like ol yeller, I feel that he's got some sort of redemption ahead of him,, whether or not he dies afterwards or in the middle of said redemption. Maybe with an attempt to get genuinely close to J but it's rejected and heartbreaking for him, more spiraling but you feel a little bad for him somehow. Idk. Not to be delusional but I also have this idea, that I REALLY hope is somehow true despite every piece of contradicting canon information, that Arturo is transmasc too ..... because like ..... whatever.. crosses my arms.. you wouldnt get it .........

Not to Verturo on main but-- I smiled when Veronika was like "ok whatever ill just go play with Arturo then 🙄!!" I like to think it was super awkward when she did find him because he probably just infodumped about J the whole time. Veronika being like "can we talk about my day for once" GHHGFKJGHDF. LOVE WHAT VERONIKA HAS DONE THIS CHAPTER SO FAR IN GENERAL SHE'S SO SILLY SO YASS SO KIN

Ace is going fucking BATSHIT and I'm so here for it. GO GIRL BESTIE I LOVE YOUUUUUU SO MUUUCH. For the most part I generally don't care for Levi (just not my typea character ig, nothing personnel kid), so while it is a little YEESH that all of Ace's character rn seems to be driving towards Levi and their heads butting together, I am still a little intrigued by said interactions. They're like a chihuahua and a pitbull, ykno, ykno. Would not be surprised if Levi merked him but that might be too obvious of a kill so hmhmmhmhm.

Speaking of which;; they're also like waaaaaaayyyy playing up the possibility of either Whit and/or Eden dying soon. So I have a feeling they are safe...for now... maybe. Shrugs. I hope Eden gets another layer to her soon, either way, she is very sweet.... too sweet. Take that as you will.

.........Charuko<3

CHARLES IN GENERAL<3

With the tension in the air as it is now, I'm far less worried they're gonna pull another accidental blackened, since idk if anyone remembers but I was very concerned about that in the past. It's fine and fun for a first chapter, though! Gets things rolling I suppose :D Now everyone is incredibly scared and unbearably pissed off at everyone at all times, so yippee!

Fun motive, too, I think the whole secrets thing was a super fun concept in THH and I hope we get to learn everyone's secret at some point. PLEASE I BEG.

GOD. WEIRDLY SOOOOO EXCITED FOR DAVID THIS CHAPTER. REALLY REALLY HOPING HE DOESNT DIE. I WANT TO KNOW MORE HE'S SO SLAAAAAAYY. TWO FACED FREEEEAAAK DOING HIS BEST. PLEASE SNAP. YOU DESERVE IT. THAT IS ALL.

[flick-of-the-wrist]

Do you think part of the reason that some people hate Mary so much is because they're annoyed the press keeps calling Freddie bi? (I know he was gay.) It's not Mary's fault but it's like, yeah let's hate her to cement he was definitely not bi.

I've actually thought about this, and I think your take is quite relevant.

There's a lot of emphasis, especially after the movie, of fans to want to categorically reject the idea of Freddie being bisexual. It's almost vitriolic at times. Not that I don't agree that Freddie was unequivocally gay, but I also don't think he would have labeled himself so stringently as we are wont to do today. I think he would have been more interested in actually just ... living his life, rather than needing to constantly define himself as such.

Now, I think labeling one's identity can be super important for people, and I don't mean to deny that. But our eagerness to label every single aspect of our identities is a fairly new phenomenon. And it's my personal, unpopular opinion that Freddie wouldn't have been too fussed about people calling him bisexual. I do not think he would have been as offended as certain people are on his behalf. I know the reason people have such a fit over it, because they believe it's some sort of erasure of his gay identity, but it gets a little overboard sometimes.

Anyway, back to Mary.

I've wondered if people are so adamant to eschew Mary in order to somehow solidify that Freddie was 100% bonafide gay. He couldn't have possibly loved a woman in a way that was beyond sex or romance---that she couldn't have possibly meant something to him besides just getting his dick hard.

I mean, sometimes I wonder if these people have ever had an actual complex human relationship. It's not always black and white, not always so easy to categorize. Am I saying she was the love of his life? No! But I'm also saying he loved her in his way, and she loved him in her way. We don't have to be geniuses to figure out that a gay man can love a woman and not be bisexual.

The only real reasons we have for hating Mary, as far as I know, come from maybe a paragraph (in total) written by Jim and Phoebe, right? Which indicate how she acted or reacted after Freddie's death? The things that she supposedly said that have been analysed and picked apart and misconstrued. I mean, even if she is a great big bitch, damn...I can be a great big bitch sometimes, too. Give us bitches a break, huh?

I simply don't see the evidence that suggests she was such a tremendous homophobe that she's painted to be. Has she said some things that I wouldn't say? Yes! So has Freddie, tbh. I mean, let's be real in thinking Freddie wasn't always the most PC gentleman in his time. And I'm not excusing those kinds of things by saying "but it was the olden days" because listen... we can't excuse that because of the time period. There were always people who were tolerant and accepting, even back in the time period when it wasn't the social norm. BUT, I simply don't have any concrete evidence of Mary being a mega-cunt. *shrug*

Moreover, I simply don't care enough about her to even bother going to such lengths.

So, as for your suggestion: I think it could have some notes of truth to it!

[arttrampbelle]

Unpopular opinion but

I find yuna boring. I find everything surrounding her. The story,taka,lore more interesting....then her herself.

I feel she could have been done better. And be less....annoying and stiff narratively.

And i pray they don't reduce her to love interest either if they ever decide to make a sequel. Bleh.

I dunno maybe it's just i feel she takes over when jin is the main character. She babies taka. And doesn't really get called out for when she does mess up. And when she was,it was just brushed aside.

I get it. War. Bad. Trauma drama llama. Ugh. But holy shit GET TO THE POINT! some areas it drags on and kinda sidelined characters i feel needed waaaaay more development and "screentime"

Anyways. Jin is baby and i still love him. Just sometimes he suffers "main character/protag" syndrome. But it's not his fault.

It's the writing.

Still love jin ♡

I dont hate yuna. I just want her written better.

However i also argue,any other character could do what shes doing and be way more interesting. Just saying. Srry if that sounds mean but sometimes a character just feels like their just well....there. and they don't feel like they really do anything or add anything really.

Her brother was more interesting.

Masako,and a few other lady characters were more impactful storywise.

Yuna just was.....there. she was boring. And it's sad really. Because i feel she suffers from them trying to follow "look im tough,im not like other women warriors. Im ninja girl like one of the boys because i have trauma." So does everyone in this game honey you ain't special. Your brother had it worse sorry.

Again she could be written so so much more better. Im more sad by a loss of potential than anything.

And i also feel iki island was unnecessary. And just there to fight more enemies instead of actually adding anything to the story. *shrug*

Again you may like it,the dlc,and some things about it. But i just dont.

Other than those few things. And the characters suffering from taking stupid pills at times. The game is absolutely amazing. And i still would play it again and again even with the flaws.

Never tire of this game. It's relaxing,it's one of those games i can zone out to and genuinely immerse myself into.

[wicked-ghoul]

A Wildly Unpopular Opinion I’m sure but...

I was fine with season 4 of The Nine Realms. *shrug*

 I think it’s still a hot mess of a show and all the good things in season 4 would’ve been way better if things had actually been set up properly in the first 3 seasons, and yeah a lot of the references to the original HTTYD charctors felt cheap but like...everything about this show is cheap so it’s hard for me to be offended personally?

It’s not a great show by any stretch, and honestly the moments of it not sucking and actually having halfway decent moments makes me sad that it’s not better, but I’m still enjoying it and obviously if people feel differently about it that’s totally valid, but yeah, I can’t help but enjoy this dumb show for what it is...which is a cheap, rushed, Next Generation Fanfic lol

(Probably VERY unpopular opinion below! If you decide to read it and you disagree that’s totally valid this is just my opinion ^^; )

Also, I always felt like the HTTYD shows played really fast and lose with the movie canon in order to tell whatever story they wanted so when Nine Realms does stuff that flies in the face of the established movie canon...I get why it bugs people it just doesn’t bug me.

 I was honestly more annoyed by that stuff in the original shows because those actually featured the movie charactors and world...Nine Realms is a cheap looking cash grab that takes place thousands of years after the movies so even when they do reference the original charactors, it just reads like a bad Next Generation fanfic and I can just ignore it.

Like, I’m sorry, I just don’t think the original HTTYD shows were these untouchable masterpieces that enhance the movies in anyway. Maybe they’re fine as standalone stories, but as overarching parts of the movie’s narrative, I don’t see the appeal outside of some extra info that I never felt was entirely necessary unless you’re really invested in the side charactors which, personally, I’m not.

I feel a little bad for holding this opinion because I never finished Race To The Edge, BUT based on what I saw and knowing what I know about the subsequent seasons of the show, I’m positive my opinion of it wouldn’t change, if anything it would just reinforce my personal issues with it and I have too much stress in my life to force myself to sit through a show I hated just to feel like I’m allowed to hold an unpopular opinion of it, y’know?

Again, if people like the original shows and are angry at Nine Realms, that’s totally fine! If people have a different opinion than me, that’s totally fine! But for me, I have a hard time getting angry at the Nine Realms for essentially having the same issues as the other shows, especially when it feels so far removed from the original trilogy (no matter how many times it tries to connect itself to it). But that’s just me *shrug*

I do still think Nine Realms is a mess and I’m very seriously considering doing a rewrite of it once all the seasons are out! :D

[noctualagenaria]

violence 1-25

the character everyone gets wrong

-diluc

a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

-[redacted] cant top bc 1) he doesnt have the self confidence for such and 2) He Is Not Straight in anyway shape or form so even if he is with a woman That Woman is Topping Him.

screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

-it wasnt on tumblr but i saw this zhongchi take where it was a mini comic of them, on a bench, childe doing the adhd leg bounce as one does and the second panel was zhongli forcibly stopping childe's leg from bouncing (one zhonglis the lord of geo so even if childe wanted or NEEDED to keep his leg bouncing itd be near impossible that cannot be a fun sensation and two Literally dont do that. Dont do that.) the third panel was childe looking at zhongli with hearts surrounding and all the comments were like "me and who 🥺" and good GOD. PEOPLE.....

what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

actually they blocked me first bc i commented smth along the lines of 'stop worshipping mental illness....' ive yet to block myself on tumblr at least

worst discord server and why

[answer is found in another ask]

which ship fans are the most annoying?

.. short answer: all the Popular ones

long answer: zhongchi, kavetham, neuvithesley, kaeluc, thomato, chiluc and chaeya are also up there goddamn,,, andddddd most lumi ships too tbh,,

what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

-i actually dunno, kujou sara maybe??? shrug, all the characters i hate are bc of my personal takes of canon

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

-diluc, thats it.

worst part of canon

-end user license agreement

worst part of fanon

-almost everything i hate it here

number of fandom-related words you've filtered

-at least ten but most likely more

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

-baizhu. WHY DID KAVEH THE FOUR STAR ON HIS RELEASE GET MOREEEEEEEEEE ATTENTION AND LOVE THEN THE GUY WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE FUCKING LAUNCH I AM SALTY.

worst blorboficiation

-,,diluc

that one thing you see in fics all the time

-baizhu being there in the Having a Baby fics

that one thing you see in fanart all the time

-cishet takes on baizhu + diluc im sick of them

you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

-neuvithesley bc ... they have No romantic chemistry at ALL worse than zhongchi and also neuvi is. like so much older than him and yall treat this like you would as if they were the same age and like i get the appeal for ships like that dont get me wrong i liked venkae for a time being BUT treating it the same as if they are both human and both mortals where as one is not is just Wrong. also neuvi sent wrio to prison! neuvi has personally Known Wrio since he was a kid and neuvis always been and always will be This "Age" (in a physical sense) ALSO SIGEWINNE ISNT. THIER DAUGHTER....

there should be more of this type of fic/art

more baizhluc pls... im starving

it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

baizhu,,,,, and his shippability with literally anyone who isnt zhongli,,,

you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

wrioney sdjhgsd i guess

part of canon you found tedious or boring

most of the quests

part of canon you think is overhyped

abyss its too focused on and sure i get focused on it too but like,, theres more to the game,,, care more about hte story and characters orz

your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

the way he says these specific lines

diluc is a smug ass sly ass motherfucker

ship you've unwillingly come around to

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i dunno

topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

kaeluc! :3 <- guy who believes the two of them are exes. you can imagine how that goes for me

common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

"The rewards are too little" bitch stfu we arent here to get spoiled and you know that

[fideidefenswhore]

💜 about henry? :)

my most forbidden unpopular opinion is that he probably would have been better off / happier if he hadn't married cathy of the pom.

[ryttu3k]

for that character ask, is it too late to suggest Beckett? :3c

Not at all! :D

Favorite thing about them

He's a feral wolf man with claws and glowing red eyes because he frenzied a few too many times who turns into a big wolf and can severely mess up your day. Also he's a giant nerd. Also he's the Designated Ho of the series. Absolutely impeccable combination.

Least favorite thing about them

Boundaries, man!!

Favorite line

The comic timing... Also very fond of a lot of his Bloodlines dialogue, including "Life's a splendid thing to indulge in... pity we're dead", and this exchange, which is what made me go, "This one. This one is my favourite" (until Sascha stole the show, of course!).

And for sincere!Beckett, the entirety of Jyhad Breaker 😭

BrOTP

If I'm not shipping them romantically, then Anatole and Lucita. Like it doesn't matter what form their relationship takes, they love each other!

OTP

As above XD And also Sascha, obviously. Like obviously that line is absolutely iconic, but this was the paragraph that OHKOed me:

NOTP

You know, I'm not sure I have one? Man's just seducing the entirety of the World of Darkness and that's very valid of him. Maybe the fledgling (or at least mine, Sierra, since her reaction was much more along the lines of "oh my god adopt me"), but even that can be done fine.

Random headcanon

Constantly being tempted by the concept of eReaders. Like he pretends to be all, "Absolutely not, they can't compare to real books with real paper!" but. You can put multiple books on it. If he can figure out how to make one work, he might be tempted to have a sneaky secret one and never let anyone know, ever.

Unpopular opinion

Legitimately don't find him attractive. Shrug emoji.

Song I associate with them

Goddammit the first one that popped into my head was Hungry Like The Wolf. No, I'm going to go with... The Riddle (Gigi D'Agostino version). It's got this kind of adventurous, let's go exploring vibe, it has very unusual lyrics that make all sorts of allusions, no one can agree on what the correct interpretation is (the whole... Caine-is-allegorical thing, haha). Also, what is Beckett's raison d'etre if not solving riddles?

Favorite picture of them

I dig this one! IIRC it's from Lore of the Clans? One of the V20 books, anyway.

[midnightsconspiracy]

Public Opinion

Public Opinion - @midnightsconspiracy

Summary: Being a public defender made you rather unpopular, especially with your new boyfriend's co-workers

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1443

Requested: Yes!!

‘This might be a bit random but I was thinking one for Mouse where the reader is like a successful, powerful lawyer and is secretly dating mouse, but when the team finds out they judge her until they meet her? Sorry if it’s too specific I’m in love with your fics.’

A/N: I am on a creative roll tonight! 4 fics in one night!!! Requests are still open

Masterlist

When you had met Mouse you knew things might be have been a little rocky, considering your jobs were notorious for hating each other, you working as a public defender and him working within the police force. But that had not stopped the both of you from entering a relationship, deciding that it didn’t bother you, both loving what you did and each other, neither wanting to compromise. You had met him at a Rangers reunion, your brother having served alongside Mouse in Afghanistan. You two had instantly hit it off, both keeping each other company, having your original partners blow you off. He had told you of his friend Jay, who he’d originally meant to have gone with, but being abandoned last minutes for his girlfriend instead. That had worked out in both of your favours, allowing you to have the time of your life, talking for hours getting buzzed whilst drinking the free drinks the event offered. After that night you had lost contact for a couple of months before he reached out asking you to go on a date. You were sceptical at first, why was he just reaching out now and not in the three months he’d had your number? But you had said yes anyway, remembering how good you had felt when you were with him.

That evening he had told you how he was meaning to call but had been going through some stuff at work that kept him from doing so. The date had bought back memories of how much you enjoyed spending time with Mouse, eventually leading to more and more dates each month, until finally, you started formally dating. Mouse was not the easiest boyfriend, having problems with his PTSD and anxiety, but that didn’t make him any less loveable in your eyes, in fact, it made him more so. It bought you both closer together, he relied on the fact that you were willing to help him, encouraging him to seek help each time he felt as though he was spiralling out of control. After six months of seeing you, he already felt as though he was a better person, he had started therapy to help deal with his trauma caused by the Rangers, going out to socialise with his friends more and was just generally happier with his daily life. The one thing he didn’t understand though is why you chose to become a public defender. You knew it was his police and military background talking, but it didn’t bother you too much knowing not many people understood why you did what you did, being a public defender, and a good one, was an extremely controversial job. Explaining to him that you liked to help the underdog, he stared at you like you were mad, as you realised he would never understand why. Once you had felt as though you trusted him enough, you decided that you wanted to meet the other important people in his life, his co-workers. You finally wanted to meet the notorious Jay Halstead, the one he had told you so much about on that faithful day. But he had been hesitant when you bought the topic up, knowing how they had reacted when he had told them originally.

The team had noticed a difference in Mouse, being much happier, even being more talkative than usual. They had questioned him extensively, wanting to get to bottom of what or who was causing Mouse to act differently. Whilst at Molly’s, he had decided to reveal all over a couple of beers, informing the team that he had met a girl a couple of months ago, and had only recently become official with her. The team had been happy at first, congratulating him on finding someone, despite his traumatic past and the consequences of that. But things had turned sour when then had pried more on who this mysterious person was. He’d told them that you were a public defender, and they might have known who you were considering you had defended some high profile criminals that they had worked on. That had changed things dramatically, all of them knowing exactly who you were, disliking you over the fact you had gotten off or lessened the sentence of people who had done awful things and they had spent a long time trying to find. Jay's reaction had been the harshest blow to Mouse, being his best friend, he just wanting the man's approval. This recent disapproval of your relationship made Mouse really question what he wanted, you or Jay? Determined that he wanted to keep both of you, he devised a plan, maybe if Jay met you, he would change his opinion on you. So he decided that he would bring you along to when they would next all meet up at the infamous bar.

Mouse had been telling you for the past week that you two were going out on Friday evening to meet his friends, so you were excited, not knowing what had happened with him and his co-workers last time they had drunk there. Getting ready, you put on a nice outfit, waiting for Mouse to be ready so you could finally leave. A few minutes past and Mouse still had not emerged from the bedroom, despite seemingly already being ready as you were getting changed. Walking into the bedroom you found him on the bed, head in his hands, silent and unwavering. Calling his name out, he looked up, giving you a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, walking towards you to plant a slight kiss on your forehead. Asking if he was ok, he shrugged it off, giving you a small ‘yes’, proceeding to walk out of the room to grab his keys and wallet. The car ride over was silent, as tension filled the air, a tension that you didn’t understand. Walking into the bar and over to the booth, Mouse introduced you nervously, bringing down your excitement a couple of notches in the process due to his strange disposition. Following your boyfriend, you greeted everyone, noticing all of the grim faces staring back at you. The first to speak up was Jay, introducing himself with an awkward smile, the table falling into silence afterwards. You knew something was off but that didn’t stop you from being your normal, kind self.

“Mouse talks very highly of you all, I especially appreciate all the work you guys do,” you said, trying to create conversation to cut the tension.

“Yeah, sure you do,” Jay sarcastically commented, verbally disagreeing with your line of work

“I know you guys don’t like the work I do, but I have a reason for it, just as you have yours for becoming police officers.” Trying to reason with them was going to be hard, having gone in a totally opposite direction career-wise to them, having a fixed outlook on your job. But you were determined, loving Mouse so much that you would fight as hard as you could to be in their good books.

“It's not the same though, we catch criminals, you release them.” Adam piped up, adding more fuel to the fire of hatred, directed towards you.

“Maybe we should leave,” Mouse said, knowing you were probably extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

“No,” you replied, wanting to stand your ground and explain yourself to these people.

“I do it because no one else is routing for the underdog, they’re thrown into the system and spit out into a life of more crime. I help them have a chance at life, a chance of justice, even if sometimes they don’t deserve it.” Raising your voice, you started getting angry, these people weren’t even giving you a chance, not only hurting yourself but also Mouse in the process.

“Ok.” Jay followed up.

“Plus you should be happy for your friend that he’s happy and found someone that he likes, not hating on me and trying to sabotage this relationship-” you exclaimed, pissed at the fact his friends would do this to him.

“I like you.” Jay butted in. Confusion bounded onto your face at the sudden expression of fondness. Why had they changed their minds so quickly? The conversation continued as normal as if that argument had never even happened, not only chatting as usual but including you in them as well. Little did you know your outburst had changed his mind completely, deciding that maybe you weren’t so bad, that your fiery self would stand up for you and Mouse no matter what, and that was just what he needed. So maybe you were good for Mouse after all.

----------

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[robininthelabyrinth]

Good Help - chapter 3 - ao3 link

-

Everyone was required to come to the Nightless City to pay homage to the Emperor, no matter their status, and any number of sects had chosen to pay another visit during the Emperor’s absence – whether in search of profit or merely credit for fulfilling their duties, preferably without the risk of incurring their volatile Emperor’s attention.

One of those sects was Lanling Jin.

Meng Yao felt both disappointment and relief when he learned that Jin Guangshan would not be coming himself, declining on the grounds that it was just too miserable to go without his good friend the Emperor there, though it was far more likely that he didn’t want to have to acknowledge the presence of Meng Yao, standing there in the Emperor’s place. Instead, his father sent his one legitimate son and heir, Jin Zixuan, and Jin Zixuan brought his wives.

The rumors of friendship between Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan were exaggerated for effect, in Meng Yao’s opinion, but there must be some basis to it. Otherwise, there was no way Jin Zixuan would have been allowed to hold such a treasure in his hands: he had married the last survivors of the Jiang clan, Jiang Yanli and her younger brother Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Yanli, at least, was considered a prize, given that she brought with her the bloodline and legitimacy of a former Great Sect and had at least a technical claim to a frankly eye-popping dowry, should the Emperor ever decide to allow her to reclaim the ownership of the Lotus Pier, even if in practice the place had been rapidly converted into a pleasure palace by his second son.

Jin Zixuan had managed to win that race, having had the advantage of being already engaged to Jiang Yanli since birth, his mother having apparently been friends with the former Madame Jiang, known better as Madame Yu. Given Jin Zixuan’s character – not known to be especially good at either politics or finance – Meng Yao was of the belief, as were many people, that he had only taken Jiang Cheng as a bride in order to please his wife by saving the life of her younger brother after the Jiang sect was destroyed, since Jiang Cheng, the son of a fallen clan, represented little more than a gigantic target on the back of anyone who might claim him.

Of course, rather than admit it, Jin Zixuan denied all such rumors and maintained consistently that he had been in love with both of them, desperately, and that had been the reason he’d petitioned for the right of marriage.

(Meng Yao also heard rumors that Wen Ruohan had found his insistence funny and agreed to the match on the condition that their marriage bed be witnessed, which sounded very much in line with what he knew of Wen Ruohan’s character – he would have enjoyed forcing them to consummate their fake marriage, luxuriated in their humiliation, and laughed when they failed to look each other in the eye later. Still, what wasn’t worth doing to preserve a life?)

At any rate, regardless of anything else, Jin Zixuan was still the Emperor’s subject, and therefore he had to come pay homage the same as anyone else. Meng Yao’s brother by blood (although frustratingly not by law) had trouble looking directly at Meng Yao during the ceremony, but he managed to conduct the ritual of swearing loyalty moderately well regardless, with no indications of disrespect and perfect etiquette. It was only after, when Meng Yao had maliciously invited him to share a cup of tea to extend the duration of the awkwardness, that something broke – and it wasn’t Jin Zixuan at all.

“Is it true?” Jiang Cheng asked abruptly, the first words he’d said in this visit, and Meng Yao turned to look at him even as Jin Zixuan’s face turned pale. “That the Emperor started fucking Huaisang?”

Huaisang, Meng Yao thought, rolling the name around in his mouth – was A-Sang originally a Jiang, then?

But no, if he was, Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have that look of desperation on his face, of longing and despair; whoever this Huaisang had been in his previous life, before he’d become an Imperial Consort, he’d been someone that Jiang Cheng had been close to. Maybe someone he had even lost his heart to.

Interesting.

Or, well – interesting, but ultimately irrelevant.

“I have no insight into the Emperor’s personal affairs,” Meng Yao said, calm and placid as ever. “Especially while he is far away on a long voyage.”

Jiang Cheng scowled at him, but his sister put her hand on his shoulder and he subsided, still looking upset.

Meng Yao decided to show pity as a stratagem to put Jin Zixuan into his debt, and said, affecting a tone of mild sympathy, “I have no reason to think that he is based on his conduct before leaving, and I understand that his travels were motivated by a search for a spiritual item capable of improving cultivation. It may be that he took Imperial Consort A-Sang with him on account of the Consort’s reputed scholarly achievements.”

To the extent A-Sang had any scholarly achievements other than carting around a scholar’s fan, anyway.

Jiang Cheng still scowled, but his shoulders relaxed a little, and Jiang Yanli sent Meng Yao a grateful look.

Jin Zixuan seemed only a little moved, picking up his tea cup and continuing the former conversation without a hitch, but when everything was done he unexpectedly reached out and caught Meng Yao’s arm.

Meng Yao tensed, but Jin Zixuan took no movement against him, only looked at him. “It was an unexpected pleasure to meet you,” he said, nothing he couldn’t have said without touching, but then his hand shifted and Meng Yao felt the prickle of paper beneath his palm.

Meng Yao put a smile on his face and said some pleasantries, and as soon as Jin Zixuan left he looked at the note he’d been smuggled.

You are being targeted, it said, which – was rather unhelpful, actually.

“He couldn’t have included more details of who, what, or when?” Meng Yao complained to A-Jue later, making sure to look piteous out of habit even though he knew A-Jue didn’t believe him at all. Or at least, he shouldn’t by this point, or else Meng Yao’s lessons on how to detect a liar were all going to waste. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s me that he didn’t want to commit to saying too much, there is that awkwardness there, but it’s not like I don’t know people are trying to kill me. I’m the Emperor’s viceroy! I’ve been making changes left and right in his absence, some of them extremely unpopular –”

And yet others that were extremely popular. He’d known the Watchtower idea would win him acclaim among the common people, and that even if the smaller sects complained about the encroachment at first they would soon – or at least, eventually – realize that it was in their own best interest.

“ – and really. He left a note! Why be ominous and vague in a note?”

“Perhaps he meant something more general,” A-Jue said.

Meng Yao looked at him, and A-Jue shrugged, averting his eyes. The action – so obviously indicating that he had something to say and wasn’t saying it for whatever reason – should have irritated Meng Yao, but by now he’d grown to find A-Jue’s thorough inability to dissemble directly rather adorable. Such a big man, older than Meng Yao, and he still blushed when he tried to lie to your face.

“You can go on,” Meng Yao coaxed. “I’m not going to be angry.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m five.”

“Who’s a big boy who knows something he’s not saying? You are, yes, you are!”

A-Jue tried to look disapproving but ended up having to hide his sniggering into his sleeve. “That’s more like you’d treat a dog, viceroy Meng. Not that you’d know, given how much you hate them.”

“I don’t hate dogs,” Meng Yao said. “I gave Jin Zixuan’s eldest a spiritual dog just last year, a husky. It’s gigantic man-eaters I object to.”

“Northern mountain dogs are a bit large,” A-Jue conceded, a little reluctantly, but in fairness at his size the mountain dogs were probably proportional in size to regular dogs. Actually, A-Jue’s accent, however blurred by time and assimilation, suggested he was from somewhere to north of the Nightless City – maybe he’d drunk the same water as the dogs growing up, explaining how he reached his current heights. “And aren’t you the one who’s always saying that you only keep things from people that they don’t need to know?”

“I like being the person to decide who needs to know what,” Meng Yao said. “Now, you clearly want to tell me, so tell me already.”

A-Jue sighed. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the job is supposed to kill you?”

Meng Yao frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’re the Emperor’s viceroy,” A-Jue said. “He appointed you, and then he immediately left you alone to more or less run the entirety of his domain – he gave you the power of authority, to speak with his voice. That’s a pretty big promotion from chief torturer, wouldn’t you say?”

Meng Yao would not describe being the deputy in charge of the Fire Palace as ‘chief torturer’ – prisons required a great deal of management, he wasn’t just torturing people anymore – but he couldn’t exactly say that A-Jue was wrong.

He’d enjoyed his success, but he’d been startled by it, too. He’d had to fight and scheme for every last thing that he’d ever wanted, before this, and while he’d had to do more than a bit of tussling to keep this role over the overtures of the other deputies, it did sometimes feel as though this promotion came a little too easily, too suddenly.

“What do you think, then?” he asked, folding his hands together under his sleeves so no one could see how his nails dug into his flesh. If there was one thing he truly hated, it was the scorn of others, of those who thought they were better than him.

Being schemed against was a very close second.

“Some of your policies are in fact very unpopular,” A-Jue said. “Even though we both know that they’re necessary…the Emperor would know that they were necessary, too.”

“You think he wants me as what? A scapegoat?”

Wen Ruohan didn’t pay attention to things like popularity, officially taking the position that strength was all that mattered, and yet only a fool ignored such things entirely, and Wen Ruohan was no fool.

“The Emperor is friends with Jin Guangshan,” A-Jue said quietly. “Not merely for show, and although Jin Guangshan does exaggerate it somewhat, it’s not as much as people think. Before he became Emperor, back when they were peers, they would often spend time together, do things together…and your existence offends Jin Guangshan. People laugh at him for not having accepted you back then.”

That was as Meng Yao wanted. He’d wanted to rub into his father’s face how stupid he’d been – and Jin Guangshan had done nothing, had just taken it, and in retrospect that seemed rather uncharacteristic of someone of his reputation.

“So, what?” he asked, ignoring the blood on his nails from where his flesh could no longer take the pressure. “You think he’s pressing the Emperor to have me executed for failing to live up to his expectations?”

“Maybe,” A-Jue said. “And perhaps the Emperor has incentivized others to try to make you fail.”

Having people try to kill a stand-in would be a very effective way to see how those same people would try to kill you. It wasn’t a bad plan, not really, but Meng Yao really didn’t appreciate it when it was aimed at him.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Meng Yao said. “I will not fail. I will succeed, and so thoroughly that even the Emperor will be unable to deny my success – he enjoys being thought of as someone who rewards merit, and killing me would just be seen as petty. He won’t do it. I have my brain, my talent, my competence – I won’t let him.”

Assuming, of course, that he survived until Wen Ruohan’s return.

“You have me, too,” A-Jue said.

It was a nice sentiment, Meng Yao thought, and patted A-Jue on the shoulder, and A-Jue didn’t even flinch this time. He didn’t expect that A-Jue really meant it, of course – A-Jue was a guard of the inner hall, and to get that sort of position he had to be loyal to Wen Ruohan first and foremost – but it was nice of him to say it regardless.

Meng Yao wondered, briefly, if now was a good time to let his hand linger on A-Jue’s shoulder, to turn the contact into a caress. He didn’t think he’d even need to order A-Jue to his bed at this point, although he’d be more than willing to do so if A-Jue liked things like that – he was moderately sure that A-Jue sincerely liked him, and that there was more to that liking than mere friendliness or even the stirrings of loyalty. If he asked, or even just indicated interest, A-Jue would probably come to him entirely of his own volition.

And yet…

Meng Yao removed his hand, turning the conversation forcefully to some other subject, much to A-Jue’s evident relief. He was too busy, he told himself. There was no time to spend on dalliances.

And anyway –

He’d had his fill of sharing with Wen Ruohan.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Unpopular opinion. -- I hate Molly -- It's not because of Sherolly or whatever but I genuinely think her character is shite. maybe it's the part of me that is a fan of the source material, in which she isn't a character, or it's just her. Maybe a bit of both. She just seems so useless except to be a love interest for Sherlock. *shrugs* Just my opinion, which no one asked for.

Hey Nonny! *HUGS*

Listen, you're totally allowed to dislike characters... I dislike Moriarty, and that's apparently a sin, LOL, so you're not alone. I know plenty of people who don't like Molly because she ended up being such a one-dimensional character in the end. I actually liked her until they just regressed her character all over again. It was so disappointing, because they were essentially setting up Mollstrade, and then... didn't. It was weird.

Anyway, again, it's fine to dislike her, just as it's okay for me to like her. No shame here, Lovely <3

[comiiical]

Also, unpopular opinion but Uk*aine can’t physically win. The winner of the contest is not given anything other than the privilege of hosting the next year the contest in their country, which is an amazing opportunity to increase incomes and tourism, as a preparation for the people that will come to watch it, and during the live show, an excuse to promote places for people to know. If it was won by this country.... where would it be celebrated? Where would it be safe? Physically, there’s no chance it can be. The people that is voting “for support” maybe try thinking twice if it’s going to end up with the organization ignoring the votes. But anyway *shrugs*

[sapphicscholar]

Rebecca Welton, Frankie Bergstein, Deborah Vance

Ooh thank ya for this grouping! And sorry this got long!

Rebecca Welton:

My favorite thing about them: regardless of shippiness, I love what a good friend she is to Keeley (and becomes to Ted, in part because she was willing to do something hard and painful because Keeley told her to)

My least favorite thing about them: I think we've seen a few moments where, in trying to grow and letting herself be a little more open to new experiences and happiness, she's ended up more impulsive than is wise and has given out advice that might work for *her* (or maybe that she needs/wants to hear) to someone where it's really not right for them

My favorite canon relationship: her and Sam (unpopular opinion, I know). Would there have been problems? Yeah, of course. (Then again, the whole budget crisis of early S2 never came to anything despite losing their primary sponsor in Dubai Air, so who knows! Realism went out the window ages ago! It's tv, and I don't come to tv for a step-by-step model for healthy relationships haha) But anyway they were two very attractive people who carved out a bubble for a little window in time where they made each other and themselves very happy, and I love that for them

My favorite non-canon relationship: Rebecca and Keeley (nothing against her and Ted, but my femslasher heart thinks we should all be looking for our ride-or-die bestie who's ready to invade France with us and who will also make sure we know how hot we look the whole time)

The sexuality I headcanon for them: maybe bi

What I’d do if I could spend the day with them: ooh, I think I would want to let her plan the day... She was in a relationship for so long where her desires and ideas were written off, and I feel like with her job it's been a long ass time since she's had a whole day to just do what she wants, so I'd want to give that for her and come along for what would probably be a very fun day (that is so so far above my paygrade haha)

Random fact about them I like: that she fucking loves shorbread. Me too, Rebecca, me too (I say around a bite of the shortbread I baked for myself last night)

Frankie Bergstein:

My favorite thing about them: she cares so deeply for the people in her life, and while it isn't an instant "in" to the close inner circle I feel like 1) it's really hard to get kicked out of there; she holds her people close even when it's painful to her for a time; and 2) I think people generally start closer to in than out (exact opposite of Grace) - like, she genuinely seems to want the best to be true of those around her

My least favorite thing about them: as a Type A myself, the times she shrugs off work or the less fun responsibilities grate. Like I know Grace fucked up in bringing the cake to the wedding at the end of last season, but it's also 100% something I'd do after what *seemed like* a total lack of a plan around stuff like Vybrant (the urge to fix things without asking first is real!)

My favorite canon relationship: I liked her and Jacob! He was sweet and willing to meet her where she was at after the divorce and all the hurt and mistrust that had built up after the reveal of the years-long affair.

My favorite non-canon relationship: her and Grace <3 love that enemies to friends to lovers arc for me

The sexuality I headcanon for them: bi/queer (I feel like she'd own both terms)

What I’d do if I could spend the day with them: I'd go to the farmers market with her because I feel like she'd know everyone and end up telling me a million fun stories while we walked around. In exchange for cooking dinner (and cleaning up), I'd also love for Frankie to teach me how to paint! It was the one form of art I could never manage (to stay on brand, it always seemed too messy and chaotic), but I feel like she'd be a great teacher

Random fact about them I like: oh man there's so many good ones! Let's go with the fact that she's been making homemade yam lube for ages!

Deborah Vance:

My favorite thing about them: her strength - like, god, to come back from being so publicly left by someone you thought of as the love of your life for the only family you have left, then blamed for something you didn't do while having the opportunity of a lifetime wrenched from your fingertips at the last second? Goddam. So much respect. And to do it all as a single mother? In an industry that, esp then, was so deeply misogynistic? Phewwww, fucking hats off, Deborah Vance

My least favorite thing about them: the tendency to assume the worst in most of the people around her - she has so many reasons for it, so it's understandable, but sometimes ya just want to sit her down and be like okay wait please take 2 full breaths and maybe ask someone before assuming the worst of intentions!

My favorite canon relationship: oof, in the face of Frank (may he rot in hell), I guess Marty? It's fucked up for sure, but I think they've both been screwing each other (over and otherwise) for way longer than what we see in the show, and that Deborah might take some degree of pleasure in the antagonism. It's a relationship where she can feel justified in assuming the worst (and in giving it right back) - she doesn't think she has to worry about being hurt because at least it'll never come as a surprise; he's always going to go for those 20-somethings while wishing he had her

My favorite non-canon relationship: her and Ava <3

The sexuality I headcanon for them: not straight, but nothing more labeled or set in stone than that

What I’d do if I could spend the day with them: oh man I want a behind the scenes tour of Vegas from the Queen of Sin City herself! And then I would 100% go antiques hunting with her - nothing like shopping when none of it's my money (and the person I'm shopping for has more money than god)

Random fact about them I like: that she gives her dogs fancy dinner (plus all my HCs about Barry and Cara haha(

[nieladasdenani]

The daylight’s fading slowly (but time with you is standing still)

So, months later I finally was able to finish the prompt @mooooonshine gave me: The Corrs - Breathless + Summer Vibes. I hope it holds to your expectations, as it was erased twice accidentally! I love the Corrs, actually, so maybe that helped keep trying. You can also read this in AO3, if you rather.

Lena Luthor hates the beach.

She's aware that it's an unpopular opinion. And it's not just because standing in the shore of vast expanses of water trigger some trauma. It's not to be edgy either. Lena can actually appreciate the gentle breeze coming from the ocean, the calming sound of the waves. But she's not a fan of the Sun burning her skin, unless she's cocooned under a palm tree wearing a giant hat and shawl. Or the intense heat that makes the sand stick to her skin. Or the noise of too many people having too much fun, everyone trying to impose their respective playlists.

And yet, here she is. Dragged by her traitorous best friends with a flimsy excuse of getting back out there, Lena. So, it's been a while since she's last had casual sex. But less time since she had sex, though. She just ended a two-year relationship, and it's in no hurry to get back out there. Jack is still a dear friend, and it was her who ended things, it's not that she's opposed to casual sex, or one-night-stands, it's a matter of respect for the relationship they had.

"It's been a month, Lena. I think you mourned your kill long enough." Andrea's deadpan comment reaches Lena's internal ramblings, as if her friend could read her mind. She supposed she can, after all those years of friendship. Which is also why Lena glares at her openly and without remorse.

"No. Don't start, you two. We're here to have some fun, and enjoying a lovely day at the beach. We deserve a break!" Sam's always been the soft one out of the three of them. "It's also a good opportunity to meet new people!" Now Sam's throwing an unfairly sweet, hopeful smile at Lena, which in turn make her frown harder.

"Et tu, Brute?"

"Now, there's no need to be so dramatic, Lena. I'm not saying you have to, we're here to have a good time as friends, and if it happens, then, great!" Sam has the audacity to grin, and Lena is appalled to find herself softening in the face of her friends' love. Lena's not about to show this, though. Especially not when Andrea is smirking smugly at her, as if she knows she's won.

"Why are you smiling as if you enjoy spending time at a packed beach?" Lena fires at Andrea, who shrugs:

"I like it just fine. More so when I can eye such delicious, half naked snacks." She says this while pointedly looking in the general direction of a very tall, very handsome dark skinned man, who's smiling at a much shorter but equally gorgeous dark haired woman. Lena's about to point out how the pair seem to be a couple to Andrea, when Sam can't contain her enthusiasm any longer and explodes with an expressive:

"Who wants to get in the water!?"

Neither Lena, nor Andrea startle at the exuberant proposition, they both acknowledge it, however, with a decline. Though, Andrea promises to join her in a future immersion. The rejection doesn't affect Sam in the slightest, who skips the short distance that separates her from the ocean and dives head-first into the water, disappearing from view.

The attention of the remaining pair is grabbed by loud exclamations of joy coming from a group of people that are settled a short distance from them, only to discover that tall and handsome and short and gorgeous are part of the neighbors, and the actual reason they are whooping. Lena imagines it's because they come bearing alcohol and snacks.

"It seems like your snack is already taken." If she's going to have to get through this by force, Lena might as well be annoying, perhaps it will deter her friends from future abductions to the beach.

"Are you not familiar with concept of eye candy?"

"All I'm saying is, if you're going to fantasize about a handsome man, but it turns out he has a gorgeous girlfriend, and they're displaying it so publicly it must dampen the illusion somehow." Lena shrugs, not willing to let it go.

"You said that like it's a problem. All I hear is: handsome man and gorgeous woman. I'm sure you can also appreciate this combo." Andrea directs an arched brow at her, and Lena sighs in defeat, because she sure as hell can appreciate it.

"You're incorrigible." Lena huffs out with a laugh.

"Hey, guys!" They hear Sam, and turn in time to see her waving them from near the edge where sand meets water. Her smile impossibly large as droplets drip from every inch of her. Lena instinctively waves back with a small smile, but then freezes, because right behind her friend there's a goddess.

"Oh, no." She can't help the murmur that escapes her. It's a miracle that she recovers enough, despite Andrea's pointed, mocking, laugh. Just in time for Sam and her new friend to reach them.

"This is Kara!" Sam wears a smile that would be predatory when directed at Lena if it was in anyone else's face, specially Andrea's. "We were talking, and she's inviting us to join her and her friends to spend the day here at the beach!"

"Oh, isn't that wonderful, Lena?" And sometimes, Lena truly wonders why she allowed a friendship with Andrea to bloom after they fucked in college.

"Yes, so gracious." The growl is directed at her friends, but the moment she circles back to look at Kara, Lena finds herself smiling genuinely. Not only because the girl is ridiculously beautiful and fit, but because she's sporting one of the most charismatic smiles Lena has ever been hit with in her life.

"Hi! Sam said you guys were here to have a break from life, and so are we. So I figured we could just join forces and have a good time?" She's chipper, which should be enough to save Lena from this situation, because Lena Luthor hates the beach and Lena Luthor doesn't do chipper. And yet...

"That'd be wonderful, thank you, Kara. Are you sure it won't be a problem with the rest of your group?" Lena finds herself saying.

"Oh! Not at all! They're all very friendly and welcoming. Like I told Sam, it's really not a problem."

"Lovely. I'm Andrea, by the way. This is Lena. It seems as if our dear Sam has forgotten her manners."

"Right! Sorry!" She sounds anything but. "Anyway, shall we?" She's practically jumping with excitement and hurries to carry as much of their things as she physically can. Kara then jumps in to help, despite Lena's protests.

"No, it's no problem." And god, that smile is a weapon.

Turns out they fit right into the group, mostly because said group is outstandingly welcoming, at least after some awkward introductions that served to confirm that tall and handsome (James) and short and gorgeous (Lucy) are, indeed, a couple. Lena tries to send a smug smirk Andrea's way, but her friend looks, if anything more pleased. Incorrigible.

Kara doesn't leave Lena's side, not even when she looks like she's physically ill at the prospect of not getting into the water when most of the group decides to dip together. Andrea included, which almost makes Lena openly balk at her. Kara keeps stealing glances at the friends loudly enjoying the water, so much so that even Lena is close to feel like she wants to join them, too.

"You should go. I promise I'll be here when you come back." Lena teases. Satisfied when a light blush covers Kara's lovely face. 

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! You look like you're about to turn green with envy." Lena appreciates Kara's laugh, like she's always been free to express it, and she finds herself wanting to hear it more. A lot more. Odd.

"Ok! I'll be right back! Have fun, don't let Alex scare you, she's actually a softy." And with that Kara bolts to the water as if she'll turn to sand if she's not wet promptly... Ok, maybe not the best analogy, now Lena feels like she needs to dip in cold water. Ah, Alex. The big sister. Right. She has been friendly enough, but she keeps giving Lena the side eye and Lena's afraid she may receive a shovel talk she's not sure if she's ready to face. Lena faces her with a solid, confident stare, she's a Luthor, after all.

"So," Alex starts, "how are the labs at Luthor Corp? You're awful far from Metropolis." She never leaves her stare from Lena's face, not even when she sips at her drink. Which is a problem, because even if Lena recovers well, she's sure Alex didn't miss how much her question startled her. 

"Hm, are you keeping tabs on me? What is it, agent, special agent?" Lena remembers Kara gushing about her sister's accomplishments when she introduced them, FBI.

"Doctor Danvers is fine." She says. Smug. Lena squints at her. "I'm something of a scientist myself."

"Ah, that's what Kara meant when she said you were like Scully, then." And, surprisingly, they share a fond huff of a laugh over it. So maybe there's still hope.

"Yes. I like to keep up with the latest and greatest of the scientific community as much as I can. And that seems to lately involve Luthor Corp more often than not." Oddly, Lena sees the thinly veiled compliment, she tries not to blush.

"Well, it's a passion of mine. The lab, that is." Alex hums, but adds nothing, just keeps her gaze on Lena. And are moment like these when she's grateful for Lilian, she would be squirming if it weren't for her mother. They share a few more charged stares. Then Alex sighs and drops her eyes for a moment.

"Just don't play with her, all right?" Oh, wait what? Oh, no. She thinks... No!

"We're moving the company to National City!" What? What is she doing' why is she revealing secret information to a literal stranger? "We're changing the name, too. To L-Corp." Oh my god, someone please shut her up! Now! Oh she's dead. And Alex looks completely baffled, she even takes a couple of tries to speak.

"I...Oh. Oh, ok. That's, that's great."

"You can't tell anyone, though." She's not begging, just clarifying. "Please." An afterthought.

"Sure, no problem."

"I wouldn't. I wouldn't play with her." And here Alex sends her a searching look, no doubt looking for flaws. She doesn't seem to find any, because there aren't, and because she shrugs, finally.

"All right. That's all I ask. She's a big girl, she can take care of herself. But If you break her heart I'll make you regret it."

Lilian is going to kill her. Why is she revealing corporate secrets like this? For fear of the sister of a girl she finds cute (ok, glorious)? What the fuck? Since when does she panics like this? Why does she even care to make clear to Alex she's not playing with Kara? Oh Lilian is definitely murdering her now, no matter she's the only child she has left, now that Lex went crazy. So she probably shouldn't be making fun of her brother's very serious mental illness, but she's in self-destruct mode, apparently. Oh, forget Lilian killing her! Sam and Andrea are going to mock her relentlessly. Wait, they don't have to find out! None of them. Oh, good.

"What's wrong with you?" Andrea's usually unimpressed drawl has a tint of concern. And Lena is so caught off guard by the return of the rest of the group form the water that she gapes a little. Which only makes Andrea's frown deepen.

"Nothing. What's wrong with you?" Great. Excellent comeback. Andi's eyebrows almost touch her hairline.

"What did you do?"

"Everything ok?" Kara's sweet voice carries a hint of menace, and both Lena and Andrea turn to see her in such a defensive pose it's kind of uncanny to associate it with the sunshine girl they've met. It's actually kind of hot.

"I don't know. But she looks terribly guilty." Andrea, who seems to be a little impressed herself, says while pointing her accusing finger at Lena.

"Oh! Are you ok?" And she's back to being sweet, sitting back down next to Lena and scooting closer in case she wants to share a secret... again.

"Yes. Yes, of course."

The situation is gathering the attention of everyone, and Lena is sure that she's heading towards a panic attack. But her rescue comes from the least expected place: Alex.

"It's fine. She's just trying to reconcile the fact that I'm FBI and a scientist that knows science."

Lena sends a grateful smile Alex's way, because that seemed to be enough of an explanation for everyone else. Everyone else, except Andrea, of course. Lena does her best to ignore her, which is honestly not that hard with Kara so close to her giving her all of her attention, or the years of practice Lena has in the matter of ignoring Andrea. Also because Andres has her own source of distraction, in the form of James and Lucy. The day goes by in a whirlwind of fun, Lena's loathed to admit. Until Kara's stomach actually growls.

"Yep," Alex says, "that sounds about right. How about we order some actual food before hungry hungry hippo here resorts to cannibalism?" Kara's pouting, but she's also not offering any sort of dispute either. Something Lena shouldn't find adorable, and yet...

Somehow night crawls on them, and Lena is surprised to find that she's not drunk, despite having been drinking since they joined Kara's group. Actually, now that she thinks of it, none of them are. It's probably because Kara was making sure they were all drinking water and eating regularly, the whole time. She feels a little shift in her heart.

It looks like the spell will be broken when Sam regretfully announces that she needs to pick up Ruby from her dad's place. Andrea and Lena start to get ready to go with her, but Sam adamantly refuses them, ordering them to stay and enjoy the rest of the night. That she's just going to pick up her daughter and head home anyway. They insists, even Alex offers to be the one going with Sam, which strikes Lena as odd (doesn't Alex have a girlfriend?). But Sam, for her sweet disposition is really good at being a mom and having a mom voice.

"The only thing is that you two are going to need to find a way get back. I trust our new friends to take care of that?" James is the first to scramble to placate Sam that they'll make sure Lena and Andrea get home safe.

After Sam left night was quick to fall and they group started to retire for the day. Alex received a call from her girlfriend, Brainy and Nia left for Nia’s roommate’s birthday party, Winn had “mysterious date” his friends were teasing him about the whole time.

To Lena’s utter surprise, Andrea ended up leaving with James and Lucy, sporting the smuggest of smirks. This left Lena in the sole company of one Kara Danvers. Lena is actually surprised of how good her day at the beach was, she had fun, she feels like she did make new friends, not acquaintances, but actual friends. She also learned a lot about Kara, who has no reservations in wearing her heart for all to see. Which in Lena’s life is refreshing. It’s why she can tell the blonde is nervous when she says:

“I, I could walk you?” She doesn’t word it as a question but her voice does this thing that makes it sound like one. It’s endearing. It’s disarming.

“I’d like that.” And Lena’s nervous, too. She’s just better at hiding it. She’s nervous because she really wants to fuck Kara tonight. But she truly doesn’t want Kara to be a one-night-stand, or something even more ridiculous, like a summer love. But, god, she really wants to make love to this absurdly beautiful girl. And the walk is lovely, the air is a little cooler, but mild enough they can stay in their beach clothes, it gets lovelier when Kara spots her favorite ice cream stand open and insists she introduces Lena to:

“The best ice cream ever, you’ll see.”

“I’m sure.” She is, because she’s starting to believe everything with Kara is going to be delightful, Lena’s never been more charmed in her life.

Kara ends up buying a monstrosity that’s like a sample of every flavor available in one giant cup. Lena voices her concern about the amount of ice cream, and how she doubts they’ll be able to finish it. And Kara looks at her with a genuinely offended expression. Admittedly, the ice cream is delicious, and surprisingly, Kara does manage to finish the whole thing by the time they reach the hotel Lena’s staying in while her new apartment is done. They both look at the entrance like it has personally offended them.

“Well, this is me.”

“Yeah. Uh… Would you… I know you’re an important scientist and are probably super busy, but, do you think we could see each other again?”

“I’d love that.” Lena’s sure she’s never sported a bigger smile on her face. “Here, let me add you to my contacts, and I’ll text you so you have my number as well.”

“Yes, yeah. That’s awesome!” They exchange numbers like giddy teens, but still linger just outside the door.

“Would you like to come up?”

“Oh, you have no idea. I really, really do. But I want you in my life for as long as I can have you, you know? I mean, I want to do this right.”

“Oh?”

“I mean, if… if that’s what you also want, of course!”

“What I want is you, naked, in my bed.”

“Oh… Rao…” Kara’s so red, it’d be concerning if it wasn’t so adorable. “I really want that, too. I do. But, will that mean like a one night thing? What are you proposing, exactly?” Lena is so surprise for a moment, about the openness of Kara’s feelings, that it’s taken the wrong way. “I’m not, like, trying to pressure you into anything! Please, don’t freak out! It’s just, I like you so much, I really would like to maybe try and see if we work? Together? Like, as a couple? I know we just met… What I mean is, I’d like to know where we stand.”

“Kara,” because Lena doesn’t ever want to be the reason Kara looks this distressed again. “I’d love to explore the possibility of a romantic relationship with you. I know what you mean, you want to go step by step. I appreciate that. I just really wanted to have my way with you tonight.” Lena teases. And suddenly, Kara’s whole body language changes, she gains some confidence at Lena’s confirmation of affection.

“Well, I’ll make it worth the wait.” And oh, Lena is going to hold her to that.

They’re close enough to each other there’s no way to tell who initiates the kiss, it’s probably both of them, honestly. It’s soft, but so full of promise, Lena suddenly has no problem with doing the thing right, doing it their way, at their pace. She has a feeling this is all going to be worth it.

As a matter of fact, she’ll be right. She and Kara would go to start a relationship that’d be the best either of them ever experienced. They complement each other nicely, when Kara is impatient, Lena steps up, and when is Lena the one rushing things, is Kara who grounds her. It’ll start with regular coffee dates, then dinner dates, then lunch dates at Lena’s office. Game nights, movie nights. It’ll be like watching a flower bloom. And yes, the wait for the love making part will absolutely be worth the wait.