#but the thing is travis literally gets hate for fucking breathing these days

[killa-trav]

i hate the internet so much, jason having to clarify that the grad ceremony was literally just some fun bc ppl are shocked that a 34 year old man drank a beer like wtf is wrong w ppl

[phoenix--flying]

pjo characters as things my friend group has said

Hazel: I just kinda radiate towards caves

Nico: Breathing has been taken out of Nicos software

Connor: I can speedrun to your house when you're home alone

Cecil: raisins are dehydrated rats

Percy: It's a roller coaster where the only option is to die

Will: I just goooot- my jugular sliced open by a cat

Nico: We're going out tonight and killing all the homophobes. Call it a date

Will: Why am I so much taller then- Oh its cause im standing on a dead body

Connor: You're sooo welcome. I literally did nothing

Hazel: Just because your trash doesn't mean you can't do great things. It's called a trash can not a trash cannot

Piper: Cut my hair, I'll cut your throat

Thalia: Sometimes I do slap kids

Travis: When I grow up I'm gonna be a legal drug dealer

Beckendorf: I’m going to drop kick myself into space

Malcom: Briefly describe three applications that make use of the total eternal reflection of light Connor: The colour seven

Grover: Percys reaching old age, we should put him in a retirement home

Piper: Leo what did you do Leo: I may have burned down an orphanage and it may have spread to this site.

Lou Ellen: Travelling, usually done on the ceiling

Will: Imagine sitting on your couch watching TV and your phone buzzes. Reminder: Breathe

Austin: i just broke an acorn.. panic whY IS THERE AN ACORN IN MY ROOM

Nico: i feel like today happened yesterday and i just slept for all of tomorrow and woke up in the evening

Malcom: yeah i fell down the stairs and broke my spine in 3 places Connor: that's hot

Jason: Nitroglycerin. The forbidden smoothie

Will: I always look like trash. Annabeth: I know that's why I hate looking like trash

Travis: well we only have a few minutes left of class.. y'all wanna watch something explode

Piper: It sounded like you smoked 10 packs of cigarettes and then hit puberty

Jason: Imagine you get fired the day after you die

Nico: My stomach just like...started learning German

Nyssa: Leo if you don't leave, i'm shoving this desk fan up your ass

Jason: I slammed my foot on the accelerator, running multiple red lights at 220km/h, because I wanted to drive safe

Nyssa: When you go through the car wash but you forget the car

Drew: *points at trashcan* That looks like you

Nico: I only want chemistry between me and a coffin

Jake: Gotta put your wheelchair in 4Wheeldrive. Outdoor mode. Off-road mode

Leo: Murder is ok as long as its fine

Percy: Maybe if I fall asleep on my textbook I'll wake up with all the knowledge

Connor: Let's play spin the bottle but it's only you and me

Leo: Now how do we calculate the density if swiss cheese

Clarisse: I have to ask one of the experts Chris: Who are the experts? Clarisse: I don't know

Piper: Your mom is on vacation Leo: well- she's on a permanent vacation

Michael: AYO BITCH YOUR FOODS FLAMIN THE FUCK

Silena: If you're slow I'm a fucking snail

Jason: We need to hold a funeral! Percy: Here comes the bride

Beckendorf: Have you ever died? No??? Well here you go!!! Death simulator. It’s permanent!

*Annabeth and Percy sitting on a bench with drinks and a cop drives by* Percy: What if they thought we were drinking and driving Annabeth: We're not in a car

Will: I'm so smart Nico: Oh my god since when

Piper: *gives Leo a singular goldfish* Piper: Feeding the poor

Lou Ellen: Bless your soul Nico: What soul? Lou Ellen: ...good answer

Sherman: an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and anybody else if you throw it hard enough

Connor: I can see the veins in my eyes

Ellis: Whatever sinks your boat!

Cecil: You can't kill the gays if the gays kill you first

Will: dude sorry there's a knife in your grandma's face it grew wings and flew there :( Cecil: I’m sorry my knife flew out of my hand and slit that guys throat then burned it so he wouldn’t bleed

Silena: *playing Minecraft* I walked into your house and your birds started aggressively dancing at me

Lee: That's just so unfortunate for me. That is just so- oh I died

Percy: Wanna go to Toronto? Why drive just take the Earth Quake on natural disaster

Travis: The roof is just caving in on us it's fine

Michael: My arms are broken, my legs are broken, my lungs are broken, my knees are broken, I got decapitated when I was five

Connor: We're gonna die? No we're gonna beat the speedrun world record

Cecil: Hell to go down I there

Will: Mask to mask resuscitation

Travis: I may or may not have accidentally dropped a match in the building on purpose

Nico: Minecraft but I accidentally sets a school on fire

Percy: Minecraft but I die of hypothermia

Piper: Minecraft but I left my eyes at home

Jake: Minecraft but my legs are broken

Jason: Minecraft but I died

Lou Ellen: Minecraft but we're all gay

Will: If I die the game is homophobic

Cecil: Minecraft but I run my best friend over

Nico: I wanna hit a citizen with a baseball bat

Michael: Hey sir, you have Alzheimer’s. Would you like a side of bronchitis?

Silena: Why can't this be straight? Lee: Because you're not

Lou Ellen: mmmm i love my jesus fish Cecil: bro jesus fish Lou Ellen: ikr, jesus moment

[ratcatcher0325]

Nobody’s Fool (Chapter #45)

Chapter #45. Penn takes a bite out of the Big Apple and gets some incredible news. 

Previous: Chapter #44

Next: Chapter #46

CW: Adult language ________________________________________

NOBODY'S FOOL

Chapter #45: Mariposa 

Word Count: 1,774 Read Time: Approx. 14 mins

[Eveline's POV]

We piled into our trusty van the morning after, and we were back to being one big, happy family. Dani drove, I sat passenger side and the boys were in the back. Penn sat on the console, leaning against my hand, legs crossed in front of him. I rested a few fingers around his ribs just in case we hit a bumpy patch in the road. He seemed comfortable and relaxed. His right arm was propped up between my finger and thumb, his hand resting on the base of my thumb. I was practically beside myself with giddiness every time he showed me he trusted me again. A sweet little kiss on the pad of my finger, the way he would absentmindedly wrap his hand around one of my nails, or when I could feel him looking at me, dreamily, and I’d pretend not to notice. I was so ridiculously in love with him.

In this moment, he was locked in a heated debate with the guys. They were trying to decide, all things being equal and if Penn were human sized, who of them would win in fight, Penn or Riley. Boys were always stupid, even if they were only as big as your hand. He leaned forward emphatically pointing at Riley, “No, dude, fuck you! I could so easily kick your ass! You’re literally high all the time!”

“No way! No fucking way. I’d break that pretty face of yours before you had time to swing back!” Riley retorted as he shadow boxed, looking absolutely laughable. I was pretty sure he’d never scrapped a day in his life. “I mean, c’mon, look at these guns!!” He flexed his arm and then pulled up his shirt. I hated to admit it, but there was more muscle definition than I was expecting for a man who smoked weed and ate a steady diet of Doritos everyday. Travis laughed of course, knowing that he could have taken either of them with his eyes closed.

“Oh is that how we’re doing it? Alright!” Before I could hold him back, Penn leapt up and ripped off his t-shirt too, spreading his arms and flexing. He wasn’t muscle bound by any means, but he certainly had quite a bit more definition than Riley. There was no denying this and Riley realized he was losing ground. He sighed.

“Whatever, man! I’d love to see you try!”

“So that’s settled then! I’m clearly the winner!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Don’t need to, it’s obvious enough as is!!” He beat his chest like a proud and very very stupid gorilla. Before he could bask in his so called victory, though, Riley’s finger pressed into his middle, making him stagger backwards, “Hey! No fair!” The finger came at him again but this time he was prepared. He leapt onto it, wrestling the whole of Riley’s Index finger trying to bend it backwards. He couldn’t, of course. But it was pretty fun to watch him try. Finally, out of breath, he tapped the surface of the console. “I’m out!” He heaved. Travis and I locked eyes with each other and soon we were all busting up, tears welling in our eyes as we recognized how goddamn stupid that whole thing had just been.

I pinched his shirt between two fingers and held it before him, “Want this back?” He looked up at me and nodded, taking it from me and pulling it over his head. “You guys are such idiots!” I shook my head at them. Penn made puppy dog eyes and threw himself on top of my hand.

“Yeah, but we’re your idiots and you’re stuck with us forever!!” He curled up into the crook of my hand, kissing my skin and looking up at me with big, adorable eyes. He was right. I wrapped my fingers around him and lifted him up, holding him close to my face.

“Ugh! I’m way too easily manipulated by you, you know that?”

“It’s the one advantage I have: being cute and winning your heart! Can you blame a guy for trying his best?” He looked up at me sheepishly through those sweet brown eyes. I couldn’t win, not with an adorable face like that! I kissed him on the cheek, before lowering him back down.

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

When we arrived in New York, I was immediately reminded of just how minuscule I really was. This place was crawling with humanity in every possible square inch. My jaw dropped at the sheer scale of it all. The gang took me to Times Square and my eyes were aglow with all the insanely bright digital billboards bursting with color, while people swarmed around each other, the sound of grinding brakes and tires on pavement as traffic moved at a painfully slow shuffle, the buzz of conversations in all different languages from around the world, vendors selling cheap commercial art, records, souvenirs, hot dogs and tacos. Eveline kept me on her shoulder, wrapped up in her scarf to keep warm. “This place is insane!!” I whispered into her ear. She laughed, gingerly resting a finger on my knee.

“I know! Welcome to the Big Apple!!”

“Big is an understatement!” I chuckled in pure awe. She laughed, turning her head to kiss me.

“C’mon, let’s get settled in, yeah?”

I soon found myself on a hotel bed as Eveline unpacked a few things. It was moments like this where I wished I could help her, let her relax while I carried her stuff and organized the space. Instead, I fiddled with my guitar, seated cross legged in the exact center of the bed.

As soon as she was done, she crawled on the bed toward me, then leaned down to press her lips into mine, my body shivering with joy as she touched me. I kissed her back, grateful to be alone with all her attention on me… that is until her phone began to ring. I still hated those things. She pulled away, much to my disappointment, to look at the caller ID. Her brow furrowed. “Who is it?” I whispered.

She shook her head, “Don't know…” she answered the call. Her hand resting gently on my body, as I sat up, curious to see what was going on. “…. This is she…” she locked eyes with me, her expression brightening, “Yes, of course! He’s right here, give us just one moment…” a smile painted her features as she muted the phone call, and placed the device at my feet. She brushed my cheek with the pad of her thumb. I leaned in to her, practically trembling with anticipation… What is it, Eveline? “The woman on the line is from a major record company… she wants to meet with you about an offer…. A solo offer.” My jaw hung open. Was it possible? Me? What would this mean for the band? Was I even ready for something like that? My face flushed, as I managed to nod my head. She caressed my spine and shoulders as she unmuted the call.

The voice through the speakers was melodic, soft, “Hello? Am I speaking with the world’s most famous pet?” I squirmed from embarrassment, chuckling.

“Uh, that’s, that’s very kind of you. This is Penn, yes. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

“So polite! My name is Naomi Delgado, and I am a representative of Mariposa Records. I happen to be in our offices in the city today, and I’d like to invite you to come see me. You’ve made quite the stir in the indie music community and we couldn’t help but notice your exceptional talent. Would you be available this afternoon?” I locked eyes with Eveline, she was nodding emphatically, playing with my hair. I kissed her finger.

“Yes! Certainly! It’d be an honor.” She gave us the address of the office, and we freshened up and I packed my guitar as Travis entered our room. We’d asked him to come up to discuss this sudden and unexpected change. Eveline had placed me on the surface of the desk while Travis sat in the office chair, leaning on his elbow propped up close to me. “What do you think?” I stood with my arms crossed over my chest, genuinely curious about his response.

“You want my honest opinion?” I nodded my head, “I think you should go for it.” I let out a sharp breath I’d been holding on to, “I truly believe you’ve got the talent to pull it off, and I think you’ll be able to do more to advocate if it’s just your voice. I’m so proud of you, man. It was such an honor to go on this journey with you.” His voice cracked slightly with emotion.

I couldn’t help the tears welling up in my eyes, “Don't talk like this is goodbye! I’d wanna open for you and keep collaborating…”

Travis smiled as he placed a massive finger on my shoulder, “Penn, I promise, pretty soon we will be opening for you, not the other way around…” I smiled, pressing my hand into the bed of his nail, my eyes bright with amazement. Travis always seemed to have his finger on the pulse of where I’d head next, even before it had registered as a possibility for me. He cleared his throat, “Besides, Spence called and said he’s finally healthy enough to travel, he booked a flight and wanted to come jam with us. Now, I suppose it’ll be his first show back headlining and your last show as  an official member of the band… what do you think??” Good, if I went independent, Spence would have his place in the band again, all seemed to fit into place.

Still, I chuckled and shook my head, “Well, I think I have to still meet with this woman first! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!” Trav shrugged. I loved when he got that passionate glint in his eye, enthusiastic for the future.

“I’ve got no doubt in my mind, Penn, you’re gonna do incredible things.” Tears welled up in my eyes, as I slipped under his thumb, wrapping my arms around the flesh of his palm and squeezing as hard as I could. He wrapped his fingers around me, warmly embracing me in return.

“No matter what the future holds, you’ll always be my brother…”

He beamed, “Cowpokes for life, man!” I caught Eveline’s eyes as she watched this scene unfold. She was bursting with pride and love. I couldn’t help the warm tears that streamed down my cheek. I loved these two humans with all my heart.

Now, to see where I was taking them next!

[troubatrain]

runaway (part two) - n. patrick

a/n: shoutout to tumblr being down and not having work because i somehow cranked out both of these parts in one day. i’ve settled on this series being a small series of smut that sort of just follows a storyline and i’m really excited about it. anyways i’m tagging @hookingminor​ for reading this while i wrote it and gassing me up and @princessphilly​ & @texanstarslove​ because it’s whore hours here

warnings - smut this is all literally smut

part one - part three

It was St. Patrick’s day in Boston, and Nolan was hoping that a second round of luck was on its way. Nolan hadn’t seen much of you since you left to go home a few days after that night. You were living in his head rent fucking free, and it was unfair. It was unfair that he got to see every thirst trap you posted on Instagram, but he’d be damned if he thought about liking it. It was unfair that you were definitely Kevin’s favorite sibling and he talked about you all time. It was unfair he had to watch Kevin make out with some chick while he couldn’t do anything about you across the bar. And it was beyond cruel that you were shaking your ass with your roommates in a too big Celtics jersey and Nolan couldn’t do anything to ward off the dudes who had their eyes on you. His grip on his beer tightened, knuckles white and anger coursing through his veins while you rejected the like fifth guy that night.

“Hey dude, keep an eye on her okay?” Kevin asks, snapping Nolan out of his thoughts while he got ready to head out with his friend in tow. The Flyers had played a hard fought afternoon game against the Bruins, and with a day off promised the next day Nolan was sure it was going to be a late night, “I’m serious Patty, she’s two tequila shots with TK away from a mess.”

“I think I can handle your sister,” Nolan scoffs, eager to get Kevin the fuck out of that bar so he could talk to you for more than five minutes. He watched Kevin leave, turning his attention to you and smiling when he saw you laughing with your friends.

“Boston in Boston? It’s like seeing you in your natural habitat,” Nolan jokes, a hand landing on your lower back. You laugh, throwing your head and wrapping your arms around Nolan’s waist. You looked around, your brother was nowhere to be seen and you thought the coast was clear, “He’s gone.”

“Do I want to know?” You ask, scrunching up your nose knowing damn well why your brother left early. Nolan shook his head, sparing you the details and smirking at you, “And what about you Patty? Chasing a girl out of here too?”

“Unless it’s you,” Nolan husks in your ear, his deep voice sent shivers down your spine, a calloused finger slipping over the basketball jersey you stole from one of your brothers, “We had so much fun last time.”

You did have fun. You were sad and Nolan was making you feel infinitely better. Now some time has passed, the wounds on your heart healing and single life was good. Nolan’s eyes were staring into yours, holding your gaze while you decided what to do. On one hand, one time was one thing but twice was another. How long could you fuck around with Nolan before Kevin caught on? Probably a while given your brother wasn’t always the brightest, but he’d figure it out eventually.

“Take me home Nolan,” You breathe, sliding out of your phone and ordering the quickest Uber you could to your place. Nolan was grinning, hands wrapped around your waist when you were finally free from the eyes of his teammates.

Your apartment was the complete opposite of Kevin’s. Nolan’s eyes scanned over the art prints and pictures of your family that decorated the walls, his eyes scanning the titles that lined up against your record player. Maybe you had more in common than Nolan thought. He’d overthink it later, because your lips were on his neck and your fingers were toying with his zipper and if he didn’t find a release soon he’d lose it. You were the best he’s had, Nolan spent countless nights alone using that night to get himself off. You got him off. You were irresistible, and it was going to get Nolan in trouble.

Your fingers unhooked Nolan’s jeans, pulling the zipper and going down with it. Nolan groans, tilting your chin up to look at him, his finger ran across your lip. You took it into your mouth, Nolan’s eyes practically rolling to the back of his head, “You’re trouble.”

“Haven’t you heard, I’ve never done anything wrong in my life?” You muse, pulling Nolan’s boxers down, springing his cock free. Nolan had heard all about it, Kevin’s perfect baby sister, who was smarter than anyone he knew and had a heart of gold. You were perfect but it was more about how good your mouth looked when you took his cock into your mouth and less about what your brother thought. Your fingers were tracing his thigh tattoos, your mouth popping off his dick and your attention on those, “I like these.”

“Me too, but if you could maybe,” Nolan whines, an actual plea to get your mouth back where he needed it most. His hands were in your hair, and if he didn’t think you’d smack the shit out of him he would’ve moved your head himself.

“Like this?” You press a kiss to the tip of his dick, letting your mouth hover just above it. You bat your eyelashes, watching the way Nolan’s face was getting redder the more you egged him now. You lick the underside of his cock, tracing a vein as slowly as you could, “Or like this?”

“If you don’t start being a good girl I’m not going to let you cum,” Nolan growls, his voice deep and raspy, a chill running up your spine. You rub your thighs together, Nolan’s voice was fucking delicious. You take him into your mouth, bobbing your head while Nolan hit the back of your throat, “Fuck, can I-”

You nod, feeling Nolan’s dick twitch in your mouth and his cum hit the back of your throat, he let out a groan. You swallow as much as you could, finally take your mouth off Nolan’s cock and let the rest spill down your chin. Nolan slides his thumb across your jaw, picking up his cum and pushing it into your mouth, groaning when you happily obliged, “Do I get to cum now?”

Nolan chuckles, lacing his fingers with yours and letting you drag him into your bedroom. You tossed the jersey, sliding off your jeans and leaving yourself in the matching black lace set you were grateful you chose to wear, “Look at you.”

“You’re so fucking sexy.”

“All of this for me?”

“I’m going to ruin you.”

Nolan’s words were pressed against your skin while he took his time with you, running his hands all over your body. His hands grip your thighs, turning you around, “Get on your knees for me.”

You nod, biting your lip when you could feel Nolan’s breath fanning your pussy, his finger slips under your panties, sliding them down pressing kisses to your ass, “Nolan enough teasing.”

You were whining, whimpering when Nolan’s hand came in contact with your ass, his tongue was flat against your pussy, teasing even more, “I said good girl.”

A finger slid inside you, and you let out a moan that was embarrassingly loud, Nolan’s name slipping from your lips while you begged for more. You needed to get off, so worked up past the point of no return. Nolan slid in a second finger, curling his fingers inside you and pressing a kiss dangerously close to your asshole, “You can Nols.”

You were his dream girl, that’s it, you were Nolan Patrick’s dream girl and he couldn’t have you. He groans against your skin, his tongue rimming your hole and pushing his fingers inside your pussy faster. You were soaked, clenching around Nolan’s fingers and letting out a scream. You fish out a condom from your nightstand, tossing it to Nolan and muttering something under your breath, “What was that Boston?”

“Want you inside me,” You breathe you, shaking your ass in front of Nolan because you wanted him so badly. Nolan’s eyes went darker, rolling on the condom and slipping inside of you. He gave just a second to adjust before his hands were on your hips and he was pushing you into your mattress, “Fuck, I missed your cock.”

“Yeah?” Nolan muses, his pace steady while you fall apart underneath him, “I’m only the person who makes you feel like this huh?”

“Yes, fuck, Nolan I’m going to cum again,” You pussy tightened around Nolan’s cock, pulling his second high out of him and into the condom.

You finally fell onto the bed, fucked into oblivion. The grip you had on your sheets was released, Nolan admiring you below him. Slow breaths escaped your lips, your eyes closing and opening from how tired you were, “We’re never going to be able to stop doing this are we?”

“I think we’re going to have to do this a few more times,” You agree, poking one eye open while Nolan tossed you a t-shirt from your dresser, “I’ll be back in Philly soon.”

“Really?” Nolan smiles, kissing your head while he got himself dressed. He didn’t want to leave, another time where he wanted to hold you and press his lips against all the spots he marked on you, but getting caught wasn’t an option.

“I have a Grad School interview at UPenn,” You muse, sliding on the t-shirt and tucking yourself into bed, “It’s not a big deal-”

“Sounds like a pretty big deal,” Nolan disagrees, hoping he could steal you for a night away from your brother. He took one more look at you, biting his lip and thinking about just saying fuck it and staying but he knew he just couldn’t, “See you then Boston.”

Nolan heard one protest about how you hated that nickname, laughing to himself and throwing on the hoodie he thought was his. It was dark, and before Nolan could catch his mistake he was sporting a Boston College hoodie while he left your place - hoping there wasn’t a chance he’d run into Kevin. He made it to his hotel room without seeing anyone, a throat clearing when he finally got into his room. Travis’s voice echoed through the room.

“Is that Kevin’s? What is he dressing you now?”

[shinebrightlikeanarwhal]

Random SF ideas

It has a lot of Travis ships because that's my feral lil bby. I'm having fun keeping him from bullying people by bullying him instead lol

Every time he enters school Sal mutters “anything can happen in the Bronx”. Todd is the only one that doesn’t understand.

Travis is emotionally constipated and will take it out on others, but later do small things as his form of apologizing. Philip and his mother are the only people that understand him and understand why. Sal thinks he may be bipolar and Larry has probably called him the r-slur under his breath. (Stinky boy probably would say it openly if not for Sal's disdain for that word).

Maple and Travis bonding over jewelry and make up. Travis won’t admit it to anyone but her but he likes the way Maple accessorizes. Obligatory Chug appreciation to keep on her good side, later forms a healthy and wholesome friendship.

Travis and Larry fight verbally. It doesn’t get physical unless Larry loses control and shoved Travis. This prompting a snarky reminder that Larry is no better than Travis’ own father. They cuddle and fall asleep later tho, after Sal puts them in their get along corner.

Nicknames. Travis’ weakness is nicknames. Lisa discovers this and shows Larry and Sal who abuse this power. Travis’ tan cheeks are bright red anytime he’s out public with them because of their stupidly sweet nicknames. Their go to for reactions are baby(boy), sweetheart and bottom

Shameless PDA when Sal is jealous. Travis learns the hard way how easy it is to make him jealous when a hand is in his waist and holding him close to the shorter. Fingers tracing any exposed skin to keep Travis focused on him. Sorry Lar, you took up too much Travis time..

Travis’ mom being an absolute babe. Apple if her eye is her sweet boy. Probably passed while he was young and had to watch him grow in that unhealthy environment.. maybe reaches out to Sal for help since he’s more intuitive. Def terrifies Larry a couple times as a prank. He hit her son, bully or not, it just felt right to braid his hair to his bed post a couple times and paint his nasty thoughts on his chest.

Travis hates surprises and loud noises because of his father. They don’t learn that until they throw a surprise birthday party with cheering and loud pops of confetti balloons, his panic attack damn near gave him a heart attack. (He refused to accept apologies for something they didn’t know. Instead demanding they spoil him for the rest of the week as compensation for his hospital trip on his birthday)

I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Service. Animals. Mr. Phelps legally obligated to give him a service animal and Travis is somewhat saved from Kenneth's abuse. Taking more time outside for walks (the dog can’t bare letting Travis stay in the house for long with his father home). He genuinely bonds with other students over his new dog (the dog allowing contact when not in uniform but if Travis’ needs are present will attach itself to Travis’ hip.

Religious trauma and coping. Because PLS, can we please address the amount of abuse because of the Bible?? That boy may stay and follow the proper words of his lord. Or he could detach himself from the church entirely (especially because of the cult!)

Travis ships: Salvis and Larvis

Asked out: Oh. Oh no. How did they fall for Travis?!? What did they do to find that feral little kitten so cute?? Was it they dyed hair? The dresses when he shows off more legs than they anticipated? Him apologizing and changing for the better?? What happened to him to make him so interesting!? Sal absolutely starts approaching Travis cautiously. Taken aback when he's greeted with a warm smile and compliments. They start to grow as friends and spend time together often. Sharing eachother with their friend groups and on their own. It takes a couple of years before Sal nervously asks Travis if he would be interested in getting closer. Travis doesn't understand and Sal just awkwardly blurts out if he would try dating him... for an experiment or anything. Travis is excited, he wants to be closer and happily hugs onto Sal as his answer.

Larry is a lot ore aggressive. Cornering Travis and glaring down at him. Demanding to know what his game is. Travis doesn't fight he just nervously asks if Larry hates him. Larry almost says he does but gets distracted by the trembling and cowering kitten before him. Fuck, he can't possibly hate Travis. Larry instead starts approaching Travis. At first Travis is afraid that Larry will hit him if he doesn't like something he does. Larry hates to admit it, but Travis infested his mind. Dreams were no longer sacred when teenage hormones and a new love interest were involved. Many a times he had to look away when Travis were a particular skirt or dress because his dreams seemed to run rampant with those items. When they finally talk, Travis initiates it. He Pushes Larry into a bathroom stall and demands he explain himself. He's staring at him like a piece of meat and following him around. Larry is scaring HIS friends. Larry doesn't even hesitate to pounce on Travis. Mouth to mouth and hands on ass. Travis surprised but kinda into it allows the kiss until Larry gets too handsy. He returns to his friends with an angry red hand print on his cheek. It takes a month of apologizing Travis finally agrees to give Larry a chance. (Larry tells his mom and dances around the apartment that night)

First kiss failures: Larry got too into the kiss and starts feeling up the poor boy. Sal pecks him in his sleep and never tells Travis. He just happily holds the memory of kissing his sleeping princess.

First dates: Larry tries to show Travis the fun things to do in this sleepy little town. Travis is excited just to go anywhere other than church and school. At first there are a few hiccups, maybe weather, maybe places are crowded or cancelled. But it still ends well with the boys passed out in the truck, snuggled under a blanket Larry stores with a big smile on their face. Sal is much more romantic. Candles and flowers. Dresses up nice and styles his hair in a neat bun. He wants to impress Travis and assert he can be the man for him by presenting more masculine (Travis snorts and tells him even in a dress Sal could fight a bear). Its a simple dinner at home with Gizmo as their lazy server, sleeping on the couch in a little suit. The night ends well with the boys enjoying a night stroll and admiring the calm and almost desolate surroundings of Nockfell.

First Times: Sal does NOT expect Travis to offer it. In fact, he almost shattered his favorite mug with the tight grip he put on it. Travis thinks this means Sal doesn't want him, but no nono, Sal wants it/ He wants Travis bad. That simp wastes no time scurrying to their room, cleaning his bed and all necessary items are prepared. He was well stocked for... college purposes, but Travis offering to give Sal his first?? (Yes. He did a victory dance and scream in the tree house when he thought he was alone.)

First Time: Larry would waste no time, grabbing Travis and making sure, this is what he wants. Larry may sleep around before they got together but he would never expect Travis to offer his first time so soon. Travis agreeing and Larry in tears hugging onto the confused man. He has never been so gentle with a partner and savored every second, sound and action. It may not have been Larry's first but he was more than happy to say it was his best. Larry would 100% scream to Sal about it later though. He is a man that appreciates his partner and would be an aftercare fiend. Relishing in any reactions Travis gives him while massages and treats the poor tired bum.

Living together: Hell hath no fury like Travis on cleaning day. The boys no not to be in his way if he has his cleaning apron and swiffer. The only one allowed to interrupt his most sacred day is Gizmo and any animals they adopt. Larry has to moderate his metal music or sleep on the porch, he tried to test Travis and found the porch uncomfortable during a rainstorm. No ghost hunting after 11pm. If you even think Travis will allow you in the house after hunting ghosts he will promptly pack your bags and ship them off to your parents. Sal has his own room dedicated entirely to clothes and accessories. His prosthetics he tries to hide at first but after a harsh scolding from Travis (while he literally hand cleans every single prosthetic so Sal doesn't get an infection) Sal starts putting them away where he feels comfortable and clean. They don't expect Travis to be semi nude half the time. Especially before they marry and start a family, no pants. Never wearing pants. Larry hams up the free skin. Sal is too embarrassed of his sinful thoughts.

Proposals: Travis would be terrified of marriage after what happened to his mother. If they were to propose they ould make sure he is fully comfortable and settled in their new life. They would make sure he is loved and never feels any of the fear his father had instilled in him. Larry mentions marriage in passing to gauge his reaction. Ig Travis tenses, he kills the conversation and instead distracts Travis. If Travis reacts positively he would sneak a ring on his finger and just smirk until Travis realizes and smiles. Sal =, however, is sneaky. Keeping close tabs on Travis. If Travis starts showing signs of interest, he would 100% plan the biggest proposal for Travis and make sure he feels cherished during every moment.

[gaawachan]

Critical Role 135 Discord Convo (Topic: Shipping?)

Some pre-convo context: This conversation meandered a bit so there's a lot of stuff that may turn up in other conversations later; it was really late and so a lot of things were only briefly touched on.

Me: You know... people are gonna freak out if LoB doesn't just cave and romance Essek at this point. If he wasn't planning on doing so then his roleplay during the past few episodes is gonna cause backlash, I think.

Sibling: I think he was on the fence and then Matt was like, "Okay, I have to push this because I currently have plans to make Astrid a victim of Trent and/or the big bad of Caleb's arc."

Me: Certainly feels that way, lol.  Matt's definitely the one that's been doing the pushing post-boat scene.

Sibling: Pretty much-- Matt has kept Essek near Caleb for every moment that he can

Me: (Caleb did tell Essek to stay close, lol) But in the past couple of episodes Liam's gone back to reciprocating. If he isn't planning on shipping it, he shouldn't do that.

Sibling: Despite Lucien's eyes. Oh for sure. I think he is though. Why else would LoB post stuff like *examples of LoB's twitter activity*? He doesn't egg on Astrid/Caleb shippers lol

Me: That's true.

Sibling: Plus, Essek is purple.

Me: Of course we weren't in the fandom when Vaxmore happened and then dropped, so we don't know if Liam did the same thing with that ship.

Sibling: God I hope not... C'mon, give us a bit of beeg yoshi

Me: Having watched half of season 1, I can say that there was way, waaaaaaaay less tension and such between Vax and Gilmore. Vax liked Shaun a lot, and Shaun was in love with Vax... but they had nothing in common, they didn't have any real theme/plot/setting/interest ties or anything. Just a vanilla relationship, like, they went out on lunch dates.

Sibling: It's funny because OTHER non-shippers came onto that ship-positive trend and started talking about Vaxmore and how more "real" it was. And I'm like, I feel like slow-burn romances are far more "real" than people hopping on each other as soon as that they get a chance (COUGH COUGH BEAUYASHA I'M SORRY COUGH). Don't disparage lunch dates, btw; there's nothing gayer than that.

Me: No, don’t get me wrong, I was actually about to post that "I can see why people like that because it feels realistic" The bigger problem with Vaxmore was simply that they didn't see Gilmore very often.  I think Liam would have been more interested in continuing that ship if Gilmore had not been... well, the Pumat Sol of the campaign.  Just not very relevant.  This isn't the case for Essek; he is THE npc of this campaign, basically. He's more involved than any other NPC in either season. Side note: if C1 and C2 had happened concurrently, I'd have totally shipped Gilmore with Mollymauk.

Sibling: OH TOTALLY

Me: Lol

Sibling: Essek and Caleb have many interests in common, and Liam has CANONIZED Caleb's attraction to him, both intellectually and physically. They have expressed a desire to spend time together, platonically? to improve their craft. They have worked to improve with each other, speak with each other in a way that they don't with others-- not even people they're supposedly closer to. Essek has had a turn of his morals BECAUSE of Caleb's actions... What do other ships in this season have? Caleb and Astrid; they have shared misery and a past that stains ALL of their interactions. Maybe there is love left, but it would need a TON of work, and she is never onscreen long enough for that to be established. There's not really any tension aside from the viewers' "is this a villain" tension. Not even the dance felt good, it was transactional and there to hide information being exchanged and then they LEFT. Caleb and Eodwulf; Caleb said his forearms were hot, lol? But Eodwulf has even less time than Astrid, and hasn't even really piqued the rest of the cast's interest, in spite of Caleb's history with him. Caleb and Jester; Might have worked if JESTER WAS EVER INTERESTED IN HIM. AND SHE NEVER WAS AND STILL ISN'T. She was smitten with Fjord the moment she started projecting him onto Tusk Love lol. Caleb and Nott; I'm not touching this one Non-Caleb ships are like: Fjord and Jester; Sweet, predictable, pretty much how I pictured it being when it became canon. Jester being exactly the same and Fjord being openly affectionate. Maybe some priorities being changed around. Beau and Yasha; I'm NGL, I feel like they're together... because they're lesbians? And not because they actually have much in common aside from that? It's sweet, but if we're speaking purely from a like... chemistry standpoint? This one falls on its face. But, no, I'm sorry. Just because Caleb isn't literally devouring Essek's face whenever he's on screen  (though he slobbers like he wants to whenever Essek uses Dunamancy), doesn't mean that the ship is "invisible". It's invisible to people who are only used to overt ships I guess But I'm sorry, I need to go back through and make a "Caleb slobbers over Essek doing magic" compilation. Because it doesn't exist yet, and yet it happens all the time lol And people are like "where attraction" RIGHT THERE, GUYS

Me: Speaking of Jester, actually.  Jester's funny because early on she actually did tease/flirt with Caleb quite a bit... but then she stopped doing it.  When?  I'd say it happened right around the same time Caleb started having feelings for her, imo, after their waltz, when he said Astrid's name.  Jester and Fjord were caged together in the Sour Nest and I think that, followed by the Fjord/Avantika arc, really sealed the deal for where her interests went.  Also, Jester and Nott wrote that letter to Astrid, so by that point I think it's pretty safe to say that Jester not only was not interested in Caleb; she wasn't even interested in teasing/lightly flirting with him anymore. Also Caleb eyescrews Essek a lot... so yeah what are these people smoking?  Even LoB, who has been wishy washy about the ship, has been pretty upfront about Caleb's interest in Essek.

Sibling: I don't think Widojest people want Caleb to be with someone happy and who makes him happy. Essek is not a happy man but Caleb's mood certainly seems to brighten whenever he shows up.

Me: I mean, there IS chemistry between Caleb and Jester but the issue is that the two characters view each other completely differently. She just doesn't see him that way. The other half of the equation is that Caleb tends to treat Jester as being more than just the cutesy trickster and a lot of the other cast members haven't really shown that? They tend to undermine her a lot actually. It's most obvious with respect to the Traveler. Caleb actually respects her relationship with Artagan. Other members of the group just hate him and have made it clear to her that they feel that way.  That includes BOTH Fjord and Beau. Like if you compare the conversations she had with Fjord and with Caleb on Rumblecusp, it's night and day, but it doesn't matter because she just doesn't view Caleb as a prospective partner at all. She tends to frame their relationship in the same way several of the characters in the party frame their dynamics with Caleb. "I want to help him but I have no idea what the fuck to say or do."  She'd still above average compared to the group at doing so but that's because of her mother's influence, not because she has feelings for him. Ngl, if I WERE to ship Caleb with someone other than Essek at this point I think I would pick Jester just because they have a mutual respect for each other. Oh oh here's an example. Okay, so Caleb's room for Jester in the tower right? It's very similar to her childhood room, but he deliberately "adults" it up, because he respects her as an adult. What was Fjord's gift to her in Rexxentrum? A child's toy.  A unicorn statue. And that's cute and all, but... uh...

Sibling: A little infantilizing?

Me: Yes exactly, and it's the same way he behaves about her relationship with Artagan. One could easily argue that Fjord treats Jester sort of like she's the pixie girl stereotype, but that's just surface-level stuff about Jester. You'll notice that Fjord and Jester's conversations tend to lean cutesy and immature, but when Jester talks with Caleb, it's very often a thoughtful and deeper conversation, so I DO see why people ship it.

Sibling: I mean, but that's my problem with it. Maybe it's better than Fjorjester, but Liam doesn't lick his lips every single time Jester breathes too hard.

Me: Lol. Personally I think that part of the problem is that 1) Travis isn't comfortable with doing romance, and Fjord is awkward af, and 2) Jester/Laura has tried to get him to talk with Jester on a deeper level and it hasn't really been successful, and she's let some opportunities slip by, but Liam rarely passes up the opportunity to have a deeper conversation with other players, so he ends up having more serious conversations with Jester simply because Liam seeks out those conversations.

Sibling: Well Liam loves character romances. It's why his second character left as many options open to him as possible lol. It's the stark difference between Liam and Travis. Travis is only comfortable romancing his wife fictionally lol. Liam loves the way you can reexamine a character and reshape their ending with those choices and I think he's way more willing to just go "screw it, my character is horny AF for this wizard boy, what are you going to do Matt?" "my character is also horny for my party member, but it's probably unrequited, but I'm going to stick with it for character depth"

Me: Seriously though  go back and rewatch the Rumblecusp conversations Jester had with Fjord and with Caleb.  You could SEE it in Jester.  Fjord was NOT saying anything she wanted or needed to hear.  I thought she actually looked pretty hurt.

Sibling: Oh, I remember being like "well that was deflating" and it's why she kept asking people. She's looking for answers, and pretty much everyone pussyfooted around it becawuse she's such a cuwuty.

Me: Yes, props to Caleb for stepping up, even though he didn't give her the answer she wanted either. That's precisely the problem with her dynamics with other characters. They're too busy fawning over how cute she is and trying to shield her to get to anything much deeper.

Sibling: Whereas Caleb thought of her as a woman- someone he really liked, from... like super early on.

Me: Oddly the end result is that the non-stop shielding of Jester has inhibited Laura's ability to grow Jester as a character. Which has to be frustrating as a player.

Sibling: I think it probably has been. Especially because I think she wanted to explore how being in a romance would change her. She even hinted to that way earlier: "That's not at all how love is depicted in the books we read..." "You mean the porn books we read?"

Me: The character is rarely challenged and hasn't really been forced to change.  She has changed in that she's matured from experience, but it's subtle and it isn't really acknowledged much. Nothing screamed this more than the climax of Traveler-con, where she was staring down the barrel of a monumental life-change and her cutesyness somehow convinced the planetar to be like... "fine, bye." Even MATT regretted that decision in the Talks afterward.

Sibling: Oh for sure! She just gets everything and you know what sucks? I think LAURA wanted Artagan to be taken. It would have devastated Jester but it would have forced her to change.

Me: Well actually, Laura said that she was going to offer to worship the Moonweaver instead of the Traveler if it meant she'd spare him punishment. When she said that, Matt's whole face just dropped; he was so upset that he wasted that opportunity, but that's the cost of treating Jester like she needs coddling. It's like... bro... she ax murders people... come on.

Sibling: She burns people to death with sacred flame and gets people lost in the woods by messing with road signs.

Me: She's been tortured and barely shows the trauma of it at all (can't believe that went unaddressed btw)... She can handle pushback... Like again, Caleb. Early on she butted heads with Caleb because she's a spoiled rich kid, but you'll notice that after offending him like that?  She never did it again.

Sibling: Because she's a good person capable of introspection and changing her behavior to help people.

Me: It's a small thing but Jester actually became a better person precisely because Caleb didn't handle her with kid gloves.

Sibling: That even ties back to her dropping her flirting when "Astrid" was brought up.

Me: Yep

Sibling: ... Shadowgast is still better.

Me: Yep. I don't hate widojest and I think that of all the jester pairings it's probably the best, but of all the Caleb pairings Shadowgast is best.

Sibling: I mean, Shadowgast is best even by virtue of like... who else would you pair Essek with that he could still stick around the party for? He's only interested in Caleb lol. That's not to say he doesn't LIKE the rest of the cast, but back to the deep conversations thing...

Me: I've seen some people shipping Widojessek, lol.

Sibling: There's really only one person (and one group chat) where he had those sorts of opening up moments. Poor Fjord- just got a GF and people are already cucking him.

Me: Lol. Oh, man... Caleb and Essek really need to talk about the assembly. Specifically Caleb's past and what Essek's dealings with them were like in more detail.

Sibling: Matt tried to lol and Caleb was like "yeah okay i got plans, but also paper"

Me: Essek needs to be more direct because Caleb doesn't WANT to talk about it.

Sibling: He can't, he's a wizard. No melee attacks, emotionally or verbally.

Me: Well, the issue is that Essek prods at Caleb's goals, which are nebulous (so Caleb really can't give a satisfactory answer, and he also can't answer without talking about his past first).  And when he prods about Caleb's past, he's too indirect.  He needs to directly ask about Caleb's past FIRST if he wants more information about Caleb's goals.

Sibling: The next time they're in the tower (which I fear won't be for a while) Essek literally needs to be like "I'm drowning in guilt, you need to tell me about what I was involved with so I can manage it" He'd probably give him a few crumbs lmao.  If Essek makes it about himself, Caleb is less likely to close up.

Me: Yes, that is exactly how Essek needs to frame it. "I don't have a full understanding of the nature of the people I gave power to.  I know now that they're more terrible than I thought, but not exactly how. I think that in order to fully grasp what I have done, I need to know more about them." It's pretty blatant bait but Caleb would probably be convinced by it anyway.

Sibling: Oh for sure. Caleb can't exactly run away from that either; he's too chicken to flee from conversations. He freezes and either spills or clams up.

Me: At this point, there's really no GOOD reason to NOT tell Essek about his past. There's nothing to lose from it, and a decent amount to gain; it could turn Essek actively hostile towards the Assembly rather than keeping him cowering in Eiselcross.

Sibling: He's uncomfortable with it (trauma will do that) Doesn't want to get sidetracked (Essek told him not to) Haven't had a good time to do so (no privacy) Doesn't want Essek to distance himself from him (most likely)

Me: This is true, but he's already told the people who he least wanted to tell (Jester and Caduceus) ... Actually, my suspicion is...

Sibling: And neither of them pulled away from him-- eh? Me: ... that Caleb doesn't want to tell Essek because he's worried that Essek will, well... uh, treat him like a child. Caleb was so young, and telling the story of his past also means admitting that he's 11 years younger than he appears. And there is some amount of Caleb's view of his past that is irrational and he chafes viciously whenever someone tries to downplay his culpability by pointing out his age at the time.

Sibling: I think he already has. Don't try to tell me about how not patronizing that "Young Man" line was lol. It was meant in good faith but... I think Caleb does the abuse victim "the idea of ever being young and vulnerable again is terrifying" thing pretty convincingly. It's also sort of a rewind back to his respect for someone who seems outwardly childish, but is an adult whose choices need to be respected.

Me: There is another matter which... Well, Caleb is slowly coming to terms with his status as a victim (veeery slowly) but I think if Essek were to learn about his past, and taking into account their different cultural perspectives on age, Essek might have a hard time not reacting more in line with Beau/Nott's initial reactions to the full tale.  Beau said she thought it was nothing to be ashamed of (and Caleb started laughing hysterically) and then Nott just full-on denied that any of it was his fault (which is completely at odds with his own belief), and since Essek's gut reaction to hearing the story is probably going to be something like "Trent is a baby torturer" ... That's not an easy thing for Caleb to stomach.

Sibling: And yes, Essek will absolutely have that reaction because at that age humans are still fetuses to him.

Me: This brings me to my final point. Caleb may be worried that Essek learning all of this and thinking that way will damage Essek's ability to see Caleb as his mirror. He may view it as a threat to the life-line he threw Essek that night in Nicodranas.

Sibling: And then it's not about bettering each other... It's about Essek being alone again and Caleb being alone.

Me: However, Essek's insistence that he is sure nothing Caleb has done could compare to what Essek has done does mitigate that risk significantly.  It's just a matter of whether or not Caleb can see that and Essek can be pushy enough to get him to crack.

Sibling: I know Essek has it in him. He can forsake his country's precious artifacts to an opposing nation, he can push his BF to open up to him about his problems. Caleb, on the other hand, has been exceedingly fragile... since you know... GOING BACK TO THE ASYLUM, so I don't know if he's in a state to have that discussion, but if they don't have it soon, by the time Essek talks to him again Trent will probably be dead.

Me: Caleb is pretty blatant about his compartmentalization and deflection.  He feels it's necessary in the current circumstance with the Tomb Takers, but somebody really needs to step up after Lucien's taken out and talk to Caleb about this stuff.  Essek would be ideal because Caleb could benefit the most from Essek's perspective, I think, but really... anyone other than Veth is better than nothing. Going back to the Asylum was very obviously a severe triggering event and NO ONE TALKED ABOUT IT. Like, jfc, guys, Beau is right.  She asked if Caleb was even capable of working alongside Trent, and Caleb said yes (if he thought it was necessary), but we all, WE ALL know that he can't.  Not after that disaster.

Sibling: Especially because both Veth and Jester saw him go straight into "OH GOD WE'RE GOING TO DIE, HE'S HERE AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO KILL HIM BEFORE HE HURTS ANYONE" and they were like "he can probably handle this"

Me: He was already borderline in that headspace BEFORE Trent showed up.

Sibling: And then afterward, he went straight into a dangerous self-destructive spiral. Like... I know we've said this before but thank GOD for that failed persuasion check.

Me: That nat 1 was poetry on so many levels. On a meta level the sheer luck of it was a delight, but within the context of the story I think it was great that Essek is just like... "No.  I am not crossing this line, not even for you."

Sibling: It worked narratively, meta-narratively, and saved Matt from having to draw up a bunch of ambush situations made by Volstruckers when Trent inevitably backstabbed them.

Me: Can you imagine poor Matt trying to play the Tomb Takers, Trent, Astrid, Wulf, and Essek... AND Charlie/Devexien?

Sibling: He already forgets to play Essek, and he only had a few NPCs to deal with.

Me: Even purely from a gameplay standpoint, can you imagine all the loot they Nein would lose in Aeor if they had brought scourgers with them? What if they found that dunamis machine?

Sibling: EXACTLY.

.

Convo ended here, but I had some more thoughts.  It was just too late to keep talking.  For example, I like FjordxJester and BeauxYasha.  I think they are actually complicated relationships but they just haven't really had the room to be deeply explored/examined, for example.  I also did not go into nearly as much detail about my thoughts on VaxxShaun as I would have liked to mostly because that ship wasn't the point of the discussion. ... oh god how do I even tag this?

[vowtogether]

Meet Our Writers: Krissy

It's time to meet Krissy! This wonderful wordsmith is Lovestruck's most senior writer, responsible for helping to bring Aurora from Gangsters in Love and Astraeus from Astoria: Fate's Kiss to life. More recently, she has slayed us with her work on Vivienne from Queen of Thieves, Lyris from Reigning Passions, and Antonio from Havenfall is for Lovers. She took a break from breaking our hearts to answer some questions about herself and her writing style.

Romance trope that gets me every time: the interplay of sex and violence.... and hurt/comfort. when the grumpy one falls for the sunshine one, and other "opposites attract" ships. Monster/Human, especially if the human is the only person in 400 years to tell the monster to fuck off, or is otherwise the only one to earn their trust.

When I like to write: wish I was a morning writer, but evening is always best.

Where I like to write: my desk, or the living room couch.

Weird writer quirk: I often play the same song on repeat while I write, 24/7, for days at a time.

What music I'm listening to: TKN by Rosalía and Travis Scott!

What I'm reading: Chasing Stars by Alex Thorne and Foxy Lady by Cara Malone

Pets: Fionna! She's half tortie half siamese. Named for the Adventure Time character.

Current favorite word: Cthonic, Indelible, Prestidigitation, Catharsis

Hobbies: Making music, weightlifting, kickboxing, viddy games, baking

Zodiac sign: Cancer

Favorite kind of weather: Sunny and bright with a strong breeze. I am a tropical bird of paradise and I hate being cold. Thunderstorms frighten me. Rain on its own is fine though!

Other things I've worked on: Chapters App, some original games and novellas, and Generation: ZERO

State or country I live in: Washington state, sleepy near Seattle

Tattoos: A triforce on my right shoulder and Evelynn's heart on my ribs (it's from league of legends concept art)

Current random fascinations: vegan food... it's so tasty but I'll die without meat... AND KDA KDA KDA KDA KDA KDA...

What the other writers say:

"Krissy truly has an astounding mastery over dialogue, and the way she writes group interactions is something I strive to achieve."

"I'm literally struggling to find compliments that sound as sincere and bottom-of-my-heart as I mean them. Krissy brings characters to literal, physical, breathing life. Their development is always deep and messy and beautiful and complex."

"Vivienne's route as a whole feels like an absolute masterclass on how to write a really high octane powerful romance. I want to take notes when I read it but then I end up swept along by the story and never do."

"There's so much emotion and life in the stories Krissy tells. Her ability to make people feel what the characters do is legendary."

[garrothromeave]

the hell is mystreet season 6??

(warning, long post ahead)

ok so before i start this

1) ive never posted shiiiit on tumblr before so watch me suffer, im just here to talk about stuff that my friends who dont know anything about aphmau have to listen to me rant about for hours on end

2) i havent seen mystreet in like years (except season 3, i watch that frequently since im laurance and shadow knight deprived) so please bear with me because i might be completely wrong on this lol. it’s just like, pointing out things i remember

3) im sure someones already talked about this but who cares

4) im gonna do this stupid thing where i just explain myself a bit at first, if you dont want to read that just skip to the part where you see “the actual thingy:” in bold and italics 

5) mild disclaimer; i am completely aware that jessica is not a professional writer. i know that she did her best to appeal to her fans, and honestly, respect for that. while this post will come off as aggressive and probably look like hate, that’s not my intention in the slightest. it’s just... intense criticism. im sure y’all probably already know that, but yeah, just stating that anyways. i do believe that jess is doing her best, and in no way do i want to dismiss any hard work she’s done. that being said; prepare for a very strongly opinionated post.

haha watch there be 10000+ typos in this making me look like a complete dumbass

ok here we go 

one of the main reasons i stopped watching aphmau back in 2017 was the mess that was season 4. like, in the first few episodes of the emerald secret, i thought “woah!! this is kinda cool, im a sucker for mystery!” because of course i was, it was something new and something exciting. the only problem i had with it at the time was kim, but that’s just because i always found her annoying and out of place. i just didn’t understand why garroth dragged her along and honestly i still don’t to this day BUT, moving on.

anyways, as the season progressed, 13 year old me was of course just “:0!!” the entire time--that is, up until the reveal of the main villain. i remember watching the episode, seeing the reveal of ein, and then stopping. like, just for a quick break, but i was still just overwhelmingly disappointed. like, and this was the time when pdh was airing and ein just got made alpha (i think?) and i had really really liked eins character in pdh. either way, that really sucked and actually opened my eyes to a lot of things.

one of the main things bein’ the fact that this was supposed to be a slice of life kinda series that decided to take a turn to a more edgy kinda approach. which, i guess i regularly wouldnt mind? but seeing as mcd was kinda bein neglected at the time it just didnt sit right with me. BUT WHATEVER, point is i stopped watching mystreet all together at the end of season 4.

like, a whole year later my brother tells me that shit’s getting intense in season 5 + 6 of mystreet, and my brilliant self decided to give it a shot--but i refused to watch all of season 5, so i only stepped in when ein made an appearance. so whenever that was, that’s where i picked up because i didnt care enough to see 

and y’know--i honestly didn’t hate it at first. in fact, i found it oddly cool. it wasn’t enough to get me into aphmau again, but it was enough to where i was intrigued. i dont know why, but i never watched the finale, so i didnt see the ending until just a few weeks ago--but back then, i thought it was neat. looking back on it however... im just so confused. 

side note: only got back into aphmau this time around because of mcd. mainly because like, i adore the first season and the first half of the second season. and being nearly 18 now, im a lot more appreciative of plot and well-written characters n junk. 

the actual thingy:

ok back on track. imma stop spilling out my story of how i got back into aphmau, and lets just skip to what rewatching mcd made me realize of season 6′s plot and shit:

-emmalyn. how the fuck does ghost even remotely exist? if she’s emmalyn as claimed, then why have we already seen emmalyn in the mystreet universe alive? look i get that creators can do whatever they want with their stories but at the same time please provide some sort of explanation good god. and maybe they did and i just havent seen it, so if there is one--let me know. but until that day imma just sit here confused as fuck

-ok so imma just be real, the whole ‘ultima’ thing is just... not great. in my opinion, anyways. like... i saw someone mention this in another post, but if this ultima stuff was like, a really big deal, why isnt it mentioned in mcd? though i suppose since its a curse of sorts, it could be later on past the time period in which mcd takes place--but even then, how did it manage to make its way into aaron’s family bloodline? 

-WHY IS EVERYONE AT STARLIGHT ITS JUST SO CONVINIENT like what happened to this place being the most expensive shit on the planet or whatever, and how the gang happens to run into like, the werewolf trio and blaze and kai and guy and nate all of these people like god damn life doesnt WORK LIKE THAT 

-im sorry but turning people into relics? thats... thats the best you could come up with? plus, like, how does that even work? in mcd it’s established that relics are separate entitles that choose their wielder, based on a ‘personal’ connection (being a descendent of a previous wielder) or if they’re a good match personality and (i think?) moral wise. so the whole turning-people-into-relics doesnt make much sense to be honest. 

-irene really over here using her god powers to only keep her friends alive like god damn not a great god if you ask me 

-can i talk about how incredibly predictable aphmaus death was? like i just kinda sat there waiting for it to happen and when it did i literally went “haha! wonder when she’ll be revived” because god forbid we actually kill off characters 

-when aphmau + demon warlock fought in the irene dimension there was no passage of time whatsoever in the real world whiiiiiiiiich really bothers me because they fought in there for at least a few minutes

-speaking of aphmau and the demon warlocks fight does it bother anyone else that it had to be aaron who took over the fight?? like we get it hes the big protector blah blah blah but god damn it wouldve been cooler if aphmau had fought this battle as her. aaron fighting this battle was so underwhelming

-...love. like, thats the only thing thats needed to break out of a forever potion? love? LIKE YEAH, GOOD GUYS GOTTA WIN SOMEHOW, but its just so cliche and overdoneeee

-oh yeah and also when travis went bonkers and became the demon warlock or whatever, why’d he only take over katelyn and garroth?? like, zane had been influenced by the potions in the past as well? DONT GET ME WRONG--i do love some good brother edge, but uh, the demon warlock was just bein kinda a dumbass by not possessing zane too just sayin’

-can aaron please go to fucking jail for mass murder now like holy shit, he just got sent home on a fuckin boat. also why did blaze forgive him for killing him thats not even remotely realistic. then again, nothing in mystreet has ever been realistic when it comes to characters and motives and personalities, (cough katelyn being actually abusive and travis being an actual pervert) but yknow whatever

-katelyn and kawaii chan literally added nothing to the plot whatsoever. like lets be real, katelyn lost her personality the moment season 5 started and kawaii chan just kinda sits there :I

-ok im sorry this was bound to come up but cmon guys imagine laurances potential if he was in season 6 like god damn this is beyond maddening. AND YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY REALLY COOL PARRALLEL?? IF IT WAS LAURANCE WHO SNAPPED GARROTH OUT OF HIS MIND CONTROL THING, because it would mimic laurance’s speech to get garroth to snap out of his rage in season 1, episode 100 of minecraft diaries. like how fuckin rad would that have been? missed opportunity 

-also?? why does kim/ghost know magicks?? like, if i remember correctly, emmalyn is a scholar--not someone who knew magicks. i mean, i guess research? study?? but its been established that knowing how magicks works =/= being able to use magicks. i dunno, just doesnt seem right i guess. maybe its explained, i wouldnt know (yes i know that makes me look like a dick leave me alone)

-melissa should have stayed dead. LIKE, NO, ITS NOT AS SIMPLE AS “haha it takes more than a few bullets to kill me”??? look ive got nothing wrong with melissa (cough lie cough) but yknow it would have just been cool a character... stay dead? for once? its just too fuckin cliche that shes alive god damn

-can i also just say the only good thing that came out of season 6 was travis’ dads sacrifice like damn that made me actually sad

-howww was lucinda turned into a relic. or yknow, anyone else? like im sure they explain it better in the actual show i just dont remember, but its just that easy? turning anyone into a relic? granted, a normal person wouldnt be able to produce a good relic, but idk man. IM JUST SAYING; that the only really powerful relics that aphmau should have been able to wield is the one that aaron + zane produced because shad relic and esmund relic moment. lucinda isnt even like, connected to a divine warrior. ALSO, another point, if its seriously that powerful of a relic getting one from just a magic user like lucinda, why go through the trouble? i mean i guess ofc youd want the “all powerful” one that the ultima produces but i mean damn whats the point

-ok this is just going to bother me but in one of the episodes (i think might have been in season 5 actually) where that like, guardian dude was chasing aphmau and zane and at one point they split up and the dude just chuckles at zane diverting paths and goes under his breath “youre not the important one here”, suggesting that aphmau somehow is? first of all, id argue that any ro’meave is significantly more important than aphmau was, especially not knowing much about her other than that shes with aaron. i might be missing some bits an pieces, but if i was that dude id forget about aphmau and go after zane 

-killing off derek for shock factor sucked, and i know the moment was supposed to be really sad because like “oh :( aarons dad is sacrificing himself for his son” but lets be real dereks still was a shitty father and i dont think his reasons for doing what he did was very good at all

-less about plot or more like: why the absolute fuck did the gang bring kim along instead of, oh i dont know, a life-long friend? like, laurance or dante maybe?? im sure its explained, i never saw aphmaus year or most of season 5, but god DAMN id hate to be apart of this friend group AND GOD LIKE, imagine reconnecting with an old friend who ends up getting closer to your best friends and taking priority in their lives over you (cough laurance) like god damn lol

-im just going to preface this one with: i dont remember everything that’s happened, so if im wrong i apologize in advance--but (you actually can correct me if im wrong and please do) didnt like, irene reincarnate her friends in order to give them better lives? I DONT KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE, ITS JUST WHAT I REMEMBER--however, if im correct, then:

a. why the hell would she bring back someone like zane, or gene, or ivy, etc.

b. why the hell do they all have the same exact names? first and last? again, im aware that the whole mystreet+mcd tie wasn’t originally supposed to be there, but i dont think that means such a coincidence can be excused? its just a bit much if you ask me.

c. why the hell is the fact that (as much as i literally hate this) aaron is a decedent of shad being ignored? like, you’d think that something like this would be something thats actually important, or something the demon warlock couldve taken advantage of. or are we completely erasing every other connections to divine warriors besides aphmau + irene? because even if irene did reincarnate them or do whatever it is she did, does she even have the power to sever the connections between them and their ancestors? my guess is, no.

d. speaking of irene why on earth was aphmau able to talk to/see irene, they’re literally the same person are they not? did she like, fuckin reincarnate herself without actually doing it?? BUT--i will give it to them, the demon warlock did refer to aphmau as something along the lines of being “one of the 3 parts of her broken soul” or something like that. however, my point still remains. also what are the other two did i miss that or is it never explained

now; if irene in fact did not ‘reincarnate’ her friends then please ignore that little bit right there :)

but yes, those are a few of the problems i have with season 6 off the top of my head. i would go into like, season 4 and 5 more as well, but i honestly didnt feel like it. at some point i might go into other things, like how important laurance could have been to the plot of these later seasons, or HELL, even dante. i might also go into what could have made season 4, 5, and 6 actually good--maybe... a rewrite? perhaps? but im getting too far ahead of myself, so i just leave you with this for now.

and i know that as soon as i post this 15 more things are just going to pop into my head BUT im going to try and not edit this post because why stress myself with that even more

anyways thank you for coming to my tedtalk 

[trashcatsnark]

I love how you have become like, the silverv/silverhand confessional lmao

I hope you arent overwhelmed with all the asks, but I am curious if you have any go to ship songs for the pairing. I have been listening to this one myself a LOT and its my current fav ship song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYpg8bqKbW0

Ooooh, I like!

Its truly my calling in life! Absolutely no worries, I’m living for this all right now and if i start to feel overwhelmed or anything, I’ll be sure to take care of myself! I appreciate the concern and the ask. 

Becauuse speaking of songs; i got a playlist for my V and Johnny (though it also has songs specific to her and to some other relationships, like her friendship with Jackie too on there): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6wkDHbdiMT7NNldksbqBaQ?si=1pZ1ttq9QICGWUdQuzYJVw&nd=1

Out of those; I have some songs on there that specifically give me strong SilverV vibes

Under My Skin by Jukebox The Ghost; a little more esoteric in it’s lyrics, but a lot of symbolism and talks of feeling as if you’re letting a second person into your skin. And even some lyrics regarding a doubtfulness that this person you let in is even truly there, so I think it works and I just like the song so

I can fit two people under my skin I can fit two people under my skin And I will prove it if you will listen You crawled up in there you joined me within

Time by NF; I like this one for SilverV because I think it works really well regarding Johnny trying to change and that sort of effort it takes, the comfort in knowing V will stay by his side even as he struggles to become the person they know he can be. And how that change doesn’t come quick or easy. And knowing he’s not easy to deal with and he still struggles, he still lashes out at times but he’s trying and he’s willing to keep trying for them. 

Even if we both break down tonight And you say you hate me And we go to bed angry I know everything will be alright I'll be here waiting I promise I'm changing I just need time

Nicotine by Panic! At The Disco; this one I look at as a V who’s becoming frustrated with themselves for being drawn to Johnny and always seeing the best in him despite his toxic behavior at times. A little more of a disheartening look at their dynamic at times, that Johnny isn’t good for them in so many ways, yet they can’t help but care for him. And comparing him to nicotine, juxtaposed to him literally trying to con V into smoking, is real nice to me. 

I've lost control and I don't want it back I'm going numb, I've been hijacked It's a fucking drag I taste you on my lips and I can't get rid of you So I say damn your kiss and the awful things you do

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine

I Like Me Better by Lauv: This one is a more upbeat look at them, especially one Johnny’s committed to being better and things are looking up more. Its just a cute song with a focus being on, feeling like someone brings out the best in you, Johnny likes himself more when he’s with V, when they’ve helped him become a better person. Also cute lyrics about just wanting to spend all day talking to your special someone and feeling like you could tell them everything

Midnight into morning coffee Burning through the hours talking Damn I like me better when I'm with you

Guillotine by Jon Bellion & Travis Mendes; The big part of this song that screamed SilverV for me it is has the notion of knowing someones darkest secrets, knowing the worst of them, and still loving them anyway. V and Johnny know the darkest parts of one another, have seen each other at their worsts and bests, yet they still fell for one another.

The secrets you tell me I'll take to my grave There's bones in my closet, but you hang stuff anyway And if you have nightmares, we'll dance on the bed

I know that you love me, love me Even when I lose my head

Guillotine, guillotine

All I Want by Kodaline: SPOILERS BY THIS SONG IS LIKE THE TEMPERANCE ENDING THEME SONG LIKE??? Or alternatively; I accept Sun Ending V lamenting their choice and missing Johnny.  Like the way its so perfect for it is downright ridiculous. Did Kodaline predict Cyberpunk 2077???

All I want is nothing more To hear you knocking at my door 'Cause if I could see your face once more I could die a happy man I'm sure When you said your last goodbye I died a little bit inside I lay in tears in bed all night Alone without you by my side But if you loved me Why'd you leave me? Take my body

Haunting by Halsey: Not as perfect for them as some others here, but it just strikes me so much a V who’s grown so attached to Johnny and doesn’t want to let him go and what they have. They want him to keep haunting them. 

'Cause I've done some things that I can't speak And I've tried to wash you away but you just won't leave So won't you take a breath and dive in deep 'Cause I came here so you'd come for me

I'm begging you to keep on haunting I'm begging you to keep on haunting me

The Night We Met by Lord Huron: Again, makes me mostly think of Temperance Ending (can you tell what my favorite canon ending is). Johnny looking back at his time with V, the first time they met, and wishing he could have undone something. Wishes he could have done something, anything different, anything to get them to have made a different choice. Thinking of how they went from looking at him in fear as he raged and screamed at them; to them giving the ultimate sacrifice. 

I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you Take me back to the night we met I don't know what I'm supposed to do, haunted by the ghost of you Oh, take me back to the night we met When the night was full of terrors And your eyes were filled with tears When you had not touched me yet Oh, take me back to the night we met

[mellowrat21]

Rough Changes.

AU where the bullying Sal recieves from Travis, his school crush, gets so hard to him, it almost kills him, so he decides to close some cycles and get the hell out of the situation. Cw: mention of self harm, bullying, graphic violence, strong vocabulary, polyamorous relationships, mild (really really mild) implied sex scene(?, heavily loaded with angst. Fandom: Sally Face Words: 4800 Hope you enjoy it!

The first time Sally went out around Nockfell he used to wear a beanie to hide his bright, long, electric blue hair and wore discrete clothes, but as the time went by and he started hanging out with Larry, Ash and Todd, his confidence slowly started going higher and higher until he started going to school with his signature hairstyle, some hairpins and his favorite clothes, he was a cis guy, and he was bisexual, but who cared, everyone who saw him thought he was a girl and probably a lesbian since he hung out with Ashley so much. And he didn’t give a flying fuck about it, he wouldn’t make an effort to change his voice to make it sound “more feminine” or go to the women’s restroom because he didn’t feel the need to, he was a guy, period. Some people didn’t seem to agree and thought he was a trans guy or something, which was terribly stupid and Sal and his friends would always mock the people that harassed him on the streets “you will never be a real woman, you tranny!” or “no matter how many chemicals are in your body, you will always be a girl!”, people never knew if he was a girl or a boy, and that amused him a lot. But then, when they got to the middle of 8th grade, a new kid was introduced to his class, he was a tall, brown boy with shiny blonde hair, he had what appeared to be a bruise on his left eye but Sal thought it was rude to stare, so he lowered his head, wondering if it was a bruise or a birthmark. The kid got to sit beside him, they didn’t talk at all, if not just the common “hi” from when a new kid gets introduced to the class and you’re the one sitting next to them. Dear diary: Today in class there was a new kid, he is cute, I wanna be his friend and maybe share drawings or stickers or even Pokémon cards, what if he collects them too? I could find the ones I don’t have and he could benefit from mine too. He’s my age, his name is Travis. I think he’s religious, so not cool, religion is boring, I always sleep in religion class. I’m gonna ask him if he wants to sit with me at lunch, he might be lonely since he’s a new boy at school, I wanna be his first friend, I could even introduce him to the group!

Alright, gotta sleep, Sal out.

**

The alarm clock was buzzing, letting Sal know it was time to get out of bed and ready for a heavy Tuesday of school, he hated Tuesdays, no band club, no art classes, nothing, just geometry, math and a lot of history, Spanish and English, oh, and religion too. He got up and went to take a quick shower, it was cold and he didn’t really like turning the heater on, it was too noisy for being 6:40 in the morning the time he showered for school. When he got out of the shower, he put on his underwear and with a towel around his hair he sat on the sink to take care of his reddish scars, that day they were way more tender than usual, it stung and even hurt in some places the q-tip touched with the lotion. He sighed, getting back down from the sink and finding a meowing Gizmo on his bed, who stretched as soon as he saw his owner, asking him to pet him and rub his belly. “Aw hi little guy! Did you get some good sleep?” Sally asked in a tiny voice, thoroughly shaking Gizmo’s big belly, he earned a purry meow from him, who got up and walked out of the room to get food. Sal let out a breathy giggle and started going through his closet, thinking what he should wear; he found a white skirt he thought was really cute, tried it on but found out it was way too short and it showed the scars on his thighs, he didn’t want any more visits to the school counselor for self-harm even though his scars were a combination of cuts made by him and scratches made by Gizmo. He decided to stop thinking so much and just grabbed a pair or ripped black skinny jeans with patches and chains Larry had gifted him for his 15th birthday and a pastel blue gloomy bear t-shirt to go with it, by the time he tied his usual blue converse he thought of grabbing a hoodie, so he grabbed a red zip-up hoodie and threw it on before he went to get some breakfast, some peach slices and Greek yogurt did the job and after a little bit of him styling his hair with his dryer and iron, he went to brush his teeth, he grabbed his bag after putting his prosthetic on and headed out. On the way he found Larry, with whom he went to the bus stop while chatting a little bit. “hey Lar, did you see the new kid?” Sal asked, eager to hear the answer, he was so interested in him, he was excited to know him. “uh yeah, that Travis boy? He’s chill, why? Larry said, munching on a chocolate chip cookie that might be his breakfast, he had his hair tied back in a messy bun which showed he didn’t shower, and those bruise-like bags under his eyes made clear he didn’t sleep either. “huh? What do you mean chill, did you talk to him?” Sal’s eyelids perked up, surprised by his friend talking about his interesting future new friend. “oh hell no, he’s religious, I would never get near a religious guy, they’re scary with all their crazy ‘god loves you’ shit” Larry shivered jokingly, earning an annoyed sigh from Sal, who playfully punched his friend’s shoulder. “he can’t be that bad bro, he’s 14, he probably just uses the cross necklace because his dad makes him.” Sal tried to shrug it off, then the bus came and they got on. While looking for a seat, Sal spotted a blonde head, and when he got closer, low and behold, it was Travis. He was talking to another blue haired kid that attended their school, but they suddenly locked eye contact and Sal smiled to him, only to remember he couldn’t see it, so he shakingly waved until Larry softly pushed him to sit behind Travis and the other boy that was there. “come on dude, you’re gonna fall if you stay there!” Larry tugged on his hoodie, which made him sigh and sit next to his friend, his face red as a cherry and the blush spreading to his ears. That was so embarrassing… “woah woah dude are you okay? Do you have like a fever or something? Your face is hot as fuck and your so re- AH DUDE NOT COOL!!” Larry said worried, getting elbowed on the stomach by his flustered friend who was literally shaking on his seat. “i-I am- I’m okay it’s j-ju-just I-… fuuuuck” Sal stammered out, not being able to form a sentence from how hard he was shaking, then he hear a gasp from the

seat in front of him. “what? Are you- are you a boy?” a flustered, weirded out Travis was looking at him, he looked disgusted and scared. “uh m-me? I- I… yes, I’m a boy…” Sal stuttered again, scared, the first words they exchanged and they were not at all the ones he expected. “what the- ugh, boys don’t wear skirts, you shouldn’t wear that kind of attires, it’s ungodly.” The disgust in Travis’ face was growing with every word and Sal was literally at the verge of tears from how scared he was, even though he had picked a gender neutral looking outfit he got a bad comment, from the boy he wanted to be friends with. Sal tried to talk but the words were stuck in his mouth, when a sudden movement startled him to the point he yelped. “yo, clothes don’t have gender. Go fuck with someone else smartass.” Larry had jerked up from his sit, completely angered and with a threatening stand. Travis got scared himself and he just turned around mumbling something under his breath. Sal was silently crying, little sobs slipped from under the mask his day didn’t start well at all and he had heard what the boy in front of him had mumbled.

He called him a faggot.

His day went on horribly, boring classes, all of them where he sat next to the boy who he had a little crush on, it was all wrong, all he wanted to do was go home and curl up in a ball to cry, and cry and cry. Before lunch started, he got up rather quickly, Travis used the opportunity to trip him and he fell over, he scratched both his knees and it wanted to make him cry again, and it did, he just ran to the restrooms and locked himself in a stall, hugging his legs and silently crying again, what a shit day, he just wanted it to end already. The urge was suddenly unbearable, he needed to get himself off of that situation, he reached to his hoodie pockets and pulled out a little envelope that contained a stainless steel blade he hadn’t used in a while. He then pulled his sleeves up and angrily started making multiple deep cuts in every dimension, that made him sob and gasp, and when he was done, he was just a mess of blood and tears, he reached for the toilet paper and luckily for him, there was, so he quickly put it on the wounds and made some pressure until the blood was almost gone, he pulled the sleeves back down and sighed, he wasn’t relieved, but he wasn’t around Travis so he was good for a while. Then he remembered his next class was religion, fuck no, he was going to the principle to ask him to call his dad, he needed to go home, he couldn’t resist any more time with Travis let alone it being in religion class, fucking religion class, that was the last thing he wanted to happen to him. After he decided he was calling his dad to go home, he got off the toilet and opened up the stall door slowly as to not find any “unwanted guests”. Once he double-checked and triple-checked he was able to get out of there an run to the principal’s office, only to blink and open his eyes back up at a hospital room, surrounded by Larry, Ashley, Todd, Todd’s boyfriend (he didn’t remember his name) and his dad, all looking both worried and relieved. “oh my god, he’s awake!” Ashley almost yelled, rushing to hold his friends hand. “huh…? Wha- what am I doing here?” Sal asked, looking around, noticing his arms were uncovered, showing his fresh cuts and the catheter where the liquids where flowing. “uh, you passed out and Larry found you completely splattered on the ground, your hoodie was soaked in blood so he told us and we rushed you to the hospital. It seemed like you lost a lot of blood, Sally, what’s wrong?” Todd talked, looking concerned. “Salvatore, please tell me you’re not going to start cutting yourself again, I already signed a document to refuse your admission to the mental hospital, I know you don’t wanna go back there and I don’t want you to go either, that place only drugs you and prevents you from everything…” Henry spoke, worry and sadness gushing out of his mouth while he talked. Tears started falling down Sal’s eyes, he was mortified, and now he was in the fucking hospital, he was sure this was a nightmare, he needed to wake up, he needed to fucking- “SAL, WAKE UP!!” Larry said, worried and scared, it had been a day since Sal got out of the hospital and he stopped going to school for a while, Larry was taking care of him every day after school to make sure he was eating and cleaning himself, he was worried his best friend would kill himself if he spent too many time alone and he wasn’t risking losing another loved one. Never again. Sal jerked awake, all startled by his friend’s yelling. “what do you want Larry…” annoyed by his sudden awakening, Sal rolls over on the bed and starts falling back asleep. “I brought you some pancakes and chocolate milk… I know you like them…” Larry sighed out, he was sad to see his best friend like that, he hated it, he fucking hated whatever was going on with him to make him that depressed. Sal sat up and started eating bit by bit, the bandages on his arms were getting loose and a bit gooey, so after Sal finished eating, Larry carried him piggyback to the bathroom to clean him up.

That was only the beginning of the worst four years of his life, days of never ending bullying, depressive episodes, fights, detentions, panic attacks and breakdowns.

**

Last break of their last year of school was nearing in, that was the last day of school before break and they’d be back for a month and a half more of school and everything would be over. Sal was excited because he was going on a field trip with the squad, not knowing those plans were going to be completely crushed by goody two-shoes blonde fuck Travis, who had woke up that last day of school and chose complete violence. That day was living hell for Sal, he never stopped mocking him and calling him names, but Sal just pretended to ignore him, until… “Hey freak, you faceless faggot motherfucker, did your mommy do your hair for you? It looks shitty! Oh wait, no she didn’t. why, you ask? OH YEAH, BECAUSE SHE’S DEAD, SHE MUST BE CRINGING AND CRYING IN HER GRAVE BECAUSE SHE’S ASHAMED OF YOU, ABOMINATION, UNGODLY MONSTER” Travis was following him around, tugging at his hair and pushing his head around, until Sal snapped. He didn’t say anything, just a hit, square in the nose, a loud crack and a scream followed, Sal just kept hitting and hitting until Larry had to physically drag him away, he was frozen, scared, absolutely terrified of himself, of what he did. Luckily it was finally break time and he got to dip out of there, he locked himself at home and ravaged the tree on his backyard, then when he was tired of it, he decided to go back inside and look at himself in the mirror, he then found himself staring down to a pair of scissors on his nightstand. His breath became shaky and anxious, he didn’t want to do it, he made him do it, it was all his fault, all his fault, he fucking did it. “LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, TRAVIS FUCKING PHELPS!” he cried out, yelling and shaking after he looked at himself back in the mirror, his pretty blue long locks were completely gone, leaving him with a mess of hair, he didn’t want it anymore, he didn’t want to look like a girl, he didn’t want to be bullied anymore, he didn’t deserve it. “I am a man, I was born a man, I will die a man, and if I am a man I will fucking behave like one. Did you fucking hear me, Phelps!? IM GONNA BE WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE, A FUCKING GUY, NOT THE UNGODLY FAGGOT YOU ALWAYS SAW ON ME!! ARE YOU HAPPY? ARE YOU GLAD?! FUCK YOU! YOU MADE ME LIKE THIS! ME! THE ONE WHO ALWAYS THOUGHT FONDLY OF YOU, THE ONE THAT THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST SCARED OF ME! The one who… the one… the one who fucking liked you…” Sally couldn’t speak anymore, he was shaking, sobbing and crying out loud on the bathroom floor, just to stare back up and find Larry and Ashley looking down at him, both crying, completely worried and scared of what they were looking at. Larry picked him up as he drifted away, passing out from all the crying. They let him sleep, he was sleeping soundly as the other two were slowly falling asleep by his sides. When he woke up he found them sleeping there, he woke them up too since he had an enormous headache and needed some assistance. “Lar… b-bring me some medicine please my head hurts like hell…” He went to grab onto his locks and all he found was a nest of tangled up short hair, he found himself scared but then remembered what happened before he went out and tears started gushing out of his eyes. “fuck, I really did it, I cut my fucking hair.” Sal unbelievably laughed, a melancholic laugh. Larry got up and Ash stayed there, hugging him softly. “don’t worry, blue, I’ll take you to a salon after you take your medicine and we’ll get that mess fixed, alright?” Ash held his hand, reassuringly squishing it softly. Sal nodded then looked up when he saw Larry pop out of the doorframe holding a pill and a glass of water which he gave him to drink. “So dude… after you get the haircut… do you wanna go get some food and maybe get high at the abandoned house down the hill? I know Ash is out of this because she has to babysit her brother but we can go if you want.” Larry asks rather shyly, trying not to give Sal any strong emotions. “I’ll take the food offer, but no weed for me today, this headache will get fucking worse if I even get near the stuff” Larry nodded, joining the hug

after Sal had swallowed the pill, closing his eyes at the pleasuring hug. After the pill kicked in and Sal was no longer in pain, the three young adults went to the hair salon to get Sal a haircut, then the other two sat back reading awfully boring magazines. Mid haircut, Sal asked the stylist to dye his hair black, he wanted to change himself completely, never look back at himself how he used to be. They finished washing his hair and he went to show his friends who looked completely dumbfounded by the new look, so dumbfounded Sal started to worry. “guys? What is it? Do-does it look bad? Do I change it or-“ he was cut off by a wave of NO’s from both of them, they were both in love with what they saw before them, they rushed to hug him and cradle him, Larry cried, because he loved him, he loved every single piece of his existence and now he looked so different, not happier, but completely different, he was proud of him, of his baby, not blue anymore.

**

The road trip never happened, but they stayed together at Sal’s house the whole break since Henry was away for a business trip that meant a lot of money coming to them afterwards. The three spent the break like a little family, they tried doing all sorts of things, like cooking, hiking, stargazing, burning all Sal’s “feminine” stuff as a symbolic sacrifice (even if Ashley wanted to keep the makeup and some stockings he had) and well, other kind of stuff between the three of them. The day they had go back to school went… not so badly. The squad had agreed not to talk to Sal a lot at school so people thought he was just absent or something, and it worked out until some person started to suspect. “hey, you, uh… Salvatore?” Travis approached the guy shyly, tapping his shoulder. “yeah?” Sal tried to lower his voice to confuse the oblivious blonde even more. “well I wanted to talk to you about something, in private, so… do you mind going with me to the school’s auditorium? I promise it’ll not take long.” Travis stepped a little further from him as to not scare him. “uh yeah sure, why not.” He nodded and followed behind, not too closely, while he texted his partners about it, he was shaking, scared and stressed about what might happen there. Porcelain doll: school auditorium, quick, heading there with Travis, apparently he wants to talk about something.

Ashey<3: oooo someone is getting confessed to!!!

Lar-Bear: be there in 3 minutes, dragging Ash with me if something happens.

Porcelain doll: nice, thanks babe.

Ashey<3: no worries boo ~

Lar-Bear: we love you, Torey.

Sal sighed in relief knowing his boyfriend and girlfriend were going to be around if something bad happened, so he ruffled his hair and jogged a bit, trying to keep up the pace. When they got there, Travis pushed the big doors to the entrance, the dim lighted room was scary enough with the theatre people in it, let alone it being completely empty, except for Ash and Larry who were hiding in the console room.

Travis cleared his throat, he was… nervous? Maybe Sal was imagining it, there’s no way that motherfucker was nervous.

“so… what did you wanna talk about?” Sal spit out rather venomously, stressed and annoyed by Travis’ presence.

“I promise it wouldn’t take long so it won’t. Salvatore Fisher, Sally Face, I wanted to tell you I’m absolutely sorry for what I did to you, all those years of suffering because of my fear of… of… uh… of…” Travis was struggling to take it out, he was disgusted by his own words though he knew he had to say it somehow. “of liking another man, of liking you, Sal… I was taking it all out on you and you didn’t deserve it, I’m working on myself, on becoming a better person for you, because I know how much damage I caused you on the outside, but on the inside, I know I left you a wound that is rotting and I will never know how deep it is.”

“Bro. You waited four years. Four fucking whole years to apologize for something you did to me every day nonstop, the words, the names, the hits, the hair pulling, all of that, and now you’re just telling me that you’re sorry? What do you expect? That I fall on your arms, begging you to hold me and forgiving you right away? Fuck no. Totally not. I will never forget what you did to me, and you know what? Fuck you. You’re the fucking faggot, you’re the one that deserves to get your shit rocked every single day of the rest of your fucking existence. You’re the sissy, little blondie piss baby, what’re you gonna do, huh? Cry out to daddy for him to save you? Only sissies cry, Travis, man the fuck up and piss your pants anywhere else but near me.” Sal gushed every word that came out of his mouth so naturally it was like he had rehearsed that speech a thousand times. He pushed him, making him trip over his feet and fall to the ground before he left, fuming, at the verge of tears, and before he closed the doors of the auditorium he yelled “FUCK YOU TRAVIS PHELPS, EVEN IF I STILL LOVED YOU, I WOULD NEVER TOUCH YOUR FILTHY FLESH IN MY MISERABLE LIFE, Y’KNOW!?” and with that said, he slammed the door behind him, actually hearing rushed footsteps from the other side. Todd and Larry were waiting for him outside but Sal ignored them, he was too busy wiping the tears off of his face as his legs gave in and let him sit on the floor, resting his back against a stack of lockers nearby. Travis barged out of the auditorium, tears desperately streaming down his face, yelling out for Sal. “SAL PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I LOVE YOU WITH MY LIFE AND IM SORRY I HURT YOU SO MUCH PLEASE JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE I PROMISE I’LL BE BETTER!!” Travis was full on begging, he needed him so bad but Todd and Larry stopped him, Larry had hit him square in the face while on the floor Todd kicked him on the side, completely angered to see how poor Sally was crying too, with Ashley by his side hugging him and comforting him, they would never let Travis get near Sal, ever again. Since the principal actually knew Sal and Travis situation, he didn’t end up expelling anyone and didn’t give them detention, Travis, Todd and Larry were given a warning and Ash was congratulated because of how good of a job she did comforting Sally while he was having his panic attack. Finally they got to go home and do their homework and onto the next day.

**

Finally, the school year, graduation and prom had been completely over, and Ash, Sal and Larry were moving out of Nockfell to live together in the city since Larry had gotten a job and Sal was planning to start university with Ash, they were both planning on enrolling in art school even though Sal wasn’t too excited about it since he wasn’t as good at art as Larry and Ashley were, but they both always reminded him that he doesn’t need to be good, he needs to be passionate. That way he would finally get better.

The news of the moving got to Travis, so, as a goodbye present, he left a letter and some candy for Sal in his letterbox, promising him and himself that they would never cross each other ever again. Sal thought it was a cute gesture, maybe in another life they would’ve been together, but in this one, they just peacefully drifted away after all the suffering they felt throughout the years. He went in to smoke some weed, he took the letter with him and read it out loud, he cried a little while, and after that he just burned the letter and went back into the empty house. Ash greeted him with a soft kiss on the lips and smiled. “The moving crew called, they’ll be here in ten minutes. Lar is upstairs saying his last goodbyes to the house.” Ash kissed his forehead and let him go with a playful spank on his butt, making both of them giggle. When Sal went up he found Larry crying, he softly approached him and sat beside him, hugging him tightly.

“hi doll, sorry you get to see me like this, I got nostalgic and I was thinking of how glad my mom would be to know that I found a job, that I have a beautiful loving relationship and that I’m moving out with them, with the beautiful people I love.” Larry sobbed onto Sally’s chest and he howled as soon as the words left Larry’s mouth.

“I’m sure little old Lisa is really fucking proud of you, of me and of Ashey, like, we’re both successful young adults and we’re taking off, we’re living our lives just like Lisa, my dad and Ashley’s wanted, so never doubt it, they’re all pretty proud of you, bear.” Sally reassured him with a big smile, Larry kissed him softly then pulled out with a huge smile.

“good god Torey, I love you so fucking much.” They ended up cuddling on the beanbag they didn’t pack, it was big enough to fit three people there, so they were comfortable, kissing and cuddling there. They started getting heated up and kissing more aggressively. Rough kissing and hickeys, until Ashley interrupted them.

“I knew I was hearing my little porcelain doll moaning, why am I not invited again?” They all laughed and pulled her onto the beanbag, but then again there was another interruption, the doorbell rang, the moving crew was there, they started loading the stuff to the moving truck and the other stuff inside Larry’s truck, then took off, they were leaving, finally leaving that damn town, the memories, the suffering, off to a new life, a better life where they had love to give and receive, wealth and success, so they weren’t sad. Obviously they were nostalgic, but never sad.

They finally got to the new house, it was big and pretty, the furniture looked perfect and the bedroom was cozy and welcoming. They were so tired that day, they just slept through the whole night and the next half of the day.

There their life started, their new life, where the worries were different and the old problems were nowhere to be seen, and they were happy, they were completely free. Free, loved and happy, just how they deserved.

[mossygardenstone]

Only Then Am I Free (Ch2)

Sal shifted his gaze from Travis to Ash. "Yo-ou're kidding right?" He said with an awkward chuckle, that caught in his throat when Travis shifted his eyes to meet the other's, reminding him how bare he felt again. "No, I'm not. It /has/ to be done." He snarled, seeming to will himself to believe it for himself. Sal and Ash looked the other over for a moment, Ash being the first to break the silence, "Can you.. Handle that?" she questioned out of worry, but it felt so covered in venom to Travis. "Of fucking course I can!" He snapped back at her, making her flinch a little at the sudden yelling in the still room. Travis took a breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose, now broken more times than he can remember by the man he was about to have to help end. The pain coming from the fresh bruise across it, snapped him from his anger, and reminded him to watch his words, to make sure they didn't start to sound familiar. "No, sorry. Fuck..." He said trailing off as he finally stop purposely putting pressure on the wound. "I'm just... Stressed. I guess." He muttered and looked up at them, trying to find more words, but all it felt like was excuses. But he didn't want them to be excuses, he wanted them to be reasons, he wanted them to see him trying, him changing, but he wasn't even sure he saw it yet. But Sal, in his never ending kindness, did. He took a step forward, and put his hand on the Travis' arm, looking down at him with a gentle and reassuring smile. "It's okay, we understand, this isn't a really easy thing to handle right now, right, Ash?" He said, turning his attention to her, who gave her own kind smile and nodded as well. "You're right! I'd be snappy too under all this pressure. All good, dude." she continued, as she looked Travis in the eyes. He wasn't sure she had ever done that, not truly looked him in the eyes anyway. He gave a nod, with the quietest "thanks." his throat would allow, but then was followed by an awkward silence for a moment. They all stood there, almost thankful for the moment to all collect their thoughts.

This time, Travis broke the quiet, he raised his head slowly, and looked at the others. "We have to get your fa-.. Your friend." Fuck, get that piece of shit word out of your brain! He cursed but tried to reel himself back. Reminding himself, he's not the one that put that there in the first place. Despite the mental battle, Sal simply smiled, and commented, "You mean Todd?" like he had simply forgot his name. He wondered if he always smiled this often, if he missed every one of them behind that prosthetic. He shook the thoughts from his mind, he didn't deserve to think of the other man in such a way, when he nearly insulted his friend, simply because he was jealous of his ability to be open about his love. "Yeah.. Sorry, we have to go get Todd, but I don't know where he is? I at least know the cult doesn't have him." he rambled, trying to keep eye contact, but losing it as he continued to try and plot 5 steps too fast for his own mouth. Sal's voice broke him from his thoughts again, "He's in the mental institute. I got them to tell me as much." the blue haired man said with a scoff. Travis sighed with relief and nodded for a moment. "Alright, so we need to get him out. I heard he-" Travis, yet again paused in his sentence, his eye burning like a cliché. Guess he always will be a cliché of some sort. The eye gave a twitch and stopped it's soft burning, and he continued, "That he has had a lot of influence from the demon."

Travis' voice sounded so small as he spoke about the demon. Sal couldn't help but run things through his head that he may have faced, but he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to know the truth. Travis on the other hand, never even got to the point of considering telling anyone. He couldn't tell his dad about his sins, or his crush about his feelings, how could he ever think to confide the things he's seen and done, to others. He would be hated, more than he already was. "He may be able to help us with taking down my dad because of it." He added finally, as Ash shifted on her heals and looked him up and down. She could tell he had more to say than he was, and she wondered if Sal knew as well. She shot a glance to the bigger male, who if he did, was still looking at him with such a supportive look. She couldn't fully understand why, he had been the cruelest to Sal, she never knew why, but Sal, he always knew. The secret they shared that day never left his mind, he always hoped he would have taken his offer and actually reached out to him and his friends. He was more than ready to welcome him into the group with open arms, forget it all had happened, and move forward like they had been friends since he moved to town. But he never did get to tell Travis that, so he hoped, maybe now, after he literally saved his life, maybe he would make sure he knew the offer was there for as long as he needed. But while Sal was lost in the whirlwind of what happened, and fond memories of secret notes, Ash asked the question he knew he wanted to know as well, but couldn't ask.

"What are you not telling us Travis?" Ash finally blurted out. Looking him up and down for a moment, trying so hard not to be suspicious, her best friend would be dead if it wasn't for him after all. But still, when he said he was in the cult, it made her nervous, especially since he's the son of the leader. But she wanted more than anything, to just trust him. Travis scanned the both of their faces. Fear, confusion, trust. All plastered over the both of their faces, looking at him, like he was some sort of leader, like he would speak the truths of life, like he once thought his father did. Looking up at the man, high above everyone else, speaking truth just to lead them all to the world they deserve. But he wasn't his father, and his father held no truths, so why would he? He swallowed hard, his mouth dry, his chest tight, he felt the air in his lungs failing him. As his breath quickened alongside his pulse, he felt trapped. They wanted answers Trav, but what could you give them that wont leave you unwanted and alone, again? Ash's question swam in his mind and stomach, he felt sick, he felt weak, he felt like he'd hit the floor at any moment. And then he did, well almost.

All he could remember was the room spinning, his vision going darker, and a blur of blue. Sal could see the panic attack a mile away, nights alone with his nightmares, carved the signs into his very being. He had started his soft shuffle toward the blonde when he started to breath heavier. Not that the other would even notice, the panic he showed lasted a minute or two for Sally and Ash, but for Travis, it was years in a cage made of pure fear. But once the blonde's body couldn't take it anymore, and his knees buckled as his mind left him, Sal jerked forward as fast as he could manage. First grabbing a handful of the other man's sweater, then pulling him close to keep him upright, as he asked Ash to get something for his head. Ash quickly took off her jacket and made the best pillow she could with it, laying it on the ground, as Sal held the limp man awkwardly against himself, before carefully lowering him to the jacket to rest. "I uh, guess he needs a minute." Sal defused the situation with an awkward chuckle, as he lowered himself to the floor. He had changed in the time he was away in jail. Not that much, but just enough for Ash to notice, as she slid down to the floor to sit beside him as he watched Travis. He was bigger, Sal already hit his growth spurt, and was a bit taller than her, but he finally seemed to have grown into his large hands and feet. He was always lanky as a teen, even if he kept his baby fat for a long time. But his hands and feet were always too big on him, Ash thought it fit him though, like a puppy that needed some growing before he could truly walk with confidence. But now, he was maybe even a bit taller than she last saw him, and more toned. His hands looked a mess though, still larger, but now covered in more scratches and scars than there usually was. She almost felt small next to him, despite only being slightly bigger than the day they sat beside the lake together. She couldn't believe all the things that had happened since then. She missed him, she missed everyone. She finally pulled her gaze off Sal, and down to Travis. Probably the most odd addition to their crazy stories. She would always remember the day she saw Sal's face for the first time as she cleaned the bloody nose he caused.

Sure she can understand why he's like he was, but part of her couldn't forgive how cruel he was to someone like Sal. Who seemed to grow more fond of the bully after that day, which was even more confusing for her, and really pissed Larry off. She couldn't help but wonder, what would Larry say about this all? Sal hummed, almost as if she had said all that out loud, and he listened along. "I bet Lar would get a kick out of this." He mumbled into the darkness, as he looked down at Travis. "What the fuck is church boy doing here?" Sal said, in a mimic to Larry's voice before he bust into a laughter he hadn't had in him, in so long. Ash joined in along side him, looking over at the boy. Sal's laugh boomed into the dark and musty room, he looked around from the echo, the light left his eyes, and his laugh faded off into a soft whimper. Ash's heart crumbled at the noise, as she too started to take in the surroundings of the basement of Addison Apartments. All the stories she had here with Sal, Todd, and Larry. Soon they both found their selves sobbing in the dark together. Always together.

After a good cry, they finally calmed down, and sat in silence again. Sal never took his eye's off Travis. It's like he was afraid he would disappear if he so much as looked away. Ash looked over at him, her eyes trained on his face in the dark, she wanted to say something, but everything felt like it was said in the quiet they shared. Before she could even try to think of something, a shuffle caught her attention, she looked back to Travis, unlike Sal who had still been staring at him. His eyes softening when he saw him move. "Ah, morning sunshine." Sal teased, his long legs were pulled to his chest, as he leaned over them, closing the distance between the two a little. Travis groaned, his eyes rolling around in his skull painfully, as he pulled his hand to his head. Where was he? What happened? He looked down at his legs as he pulled himself up on his arms. The mud covered shoes and the smell of the musty room brought it all back. He groaned and pulled his legs in to sit cross legged. Unsure if he was more upset by the headache, or the waking up back in this nightmare. Once he lifted his head though, red ripped across his face, as he locked eyes with Sal, much closer than he remembered before it all became back. Sal smiled at him, a smile more expressed in the eyes, from years behind the prosthetic. Hardly noticing the closeness, as he was damn near closer to Ash at the time, but it was the closest Travis has been to him since he freed him from the chair, and this time, the situation wasn't there to distract him.

His chest felt tight again, but this time, in a way he loved so much more. His dark skin felt like it was on fire as he scanned the man's face, eye's trailing down him, taking in ever inch of the man that stole his heart before he even knew he had it. The smile stayed on Sal's face, and Travis felt his life complete in that moment, but he had to pull away, he had to remember to speak once again. "So- Ow, Sorry about that." He said rubbing his head, wincing when he touched it, his head felt like it was going to split in half. "I must have hit really hard, my head feels like shit." He groaned out looking up at the two again, still getting his surroundings, and ignoring the beautiful blue boy. "You didn't hit, I caught you. Probably just from the hyperventilating from the panic attack." Panic attack? Caught? Hyperventilating? These words hit him like an open window on the freeway. He thought he'd pass out again, hopefully this time he wouldn't wake up in hell again. But then, just as a cherry on top, Sal did something that nearly stopped his poor heart. He stroked a big hand up and down his back gently. If he wasn't blushing before, he most certainly was now, he was seeing stars, and the stars were as gay as him and his thoughts. Ash blinked for a second, before her eyes widened a bit, but she shook it off. She felt like a fucking idiot, how did she never notice? The boy was gayer than her, and can't handle his feelings to save his little homo life. She looked to Sal, wondering if he noticed the gay panic in the man's eyes, and if he did, he was hiding it, probably for Travis' sake. "Don't worry about it Trav," he started, in a caring voice, before he continued, "I've had a lot of panic attacks, I'm just glad you didn't hit the floor, it would hurt pretty bad down here, couldn't even be on the carpet, huh?" Sal rambled softly, reassuring and loving words spilling into Travis’ ears, sending his brain into orbit, and his hand. His big fucking hand didn't stop it's comforting petting as he spoke. He was convinced he was going to actually pass right back out, before Sal finally pulled back his hand, putting it to rest on his knee again. "How are you feeling though?" Travis snapped out of it at his words and turned his head to Sal quickly. "Uh, I'm okay I think.. I'm starting to get a hold on it all again. I'm still sorry, it's not really the best time for me to be taking a fucking cat nap." He whined mostly to himself, but it earned a chuckle out of Sal, causing him to look back at him again. "Don't worry, sometimes you just gotta lie down, like, right fucking now." He added with another friendly smile. But Travis trailed up from his radiant smile, up to his eyes. Had he been crying? His eyes flickered over to Ash, her eyes were the same. They both had been crying, while you were a little bitch and passed out at a question. He groaned and pulled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his head on his knees. "I do know more than I'm telling you guys.." He mumbled into his thighs, not looking up at them.

[revchainsaw]

Bumblebee (2018)

Good Evening worshippers, and welcome! Today the Cult of Cult goes a little more mainstream than usual. It's been a while since i've tackled a big Hollywood superhero film. But I do believe that these sorts of films will be remembered fondly my small groups of people in the future, especially the smaller films that are being overshadowed by the big bad MCU, films like 2018s Bumblebee.

The Messsage

Bumblebee was originally released as a prequel to the Transformers franchise that had started all the way back in 2007. However, reboots had really hit the market as a way to breath new life into struggling franchises, and the Transformers series had already gone to just about every absurd extreme you could imagine. No changes were made to the movie as it was released, but with it's more childish and heartfelt tone, and a new aesthetic that was softer, smoother, and all around just generally more pleasing to the eye, I think it was a wise choice to rebrand Bumblebee as a new beginning.

Our story is of two friends from two very different worlds and how they came together. Our first character is Bumblebee, then known as B- number sign/it doesn't really matter. Not yet Bumblebee is a soldier set with securing a safe location for the Autobots to regroup and make their home as they suffer a pretty serious defeat on cybertron at the hands of the tyrannical Decepticons. Optimus Prime, here again voiced by Peter Cullen and looking so much more like himself, assigns this task to Bumblebee promising him that they will meet him there when the time comes. Then Optimus fucks off for the rest of the run time making way for our little hero.

Bumblebee lands on Earth and is immediately set upon by John Cena and his military goon squad. It probably would have been wise for Bumblebee to avoid John Cena but in his defense, he couldn't see him. Hardy har har. In his attempt to flee his voice box is damaged, he seeks sanctuary by taking the form of a run down little VW bug, and suffers from amnesia.

Then we have Charlie. Charlie is not like other girls. She likes cars, all the retro music, which wasn't retro when the movie takes place, so I'm supposed to just think she's a rocker but it kinda seems like she'll listen to just about anything. I think in 2018 liking Motorhead and The Smiths (who are used ad nauseum in this movie) is perfectly common, but I feel like in the 80s that was a much different and much older attitude to take.

Anyway Charlie's poor family lives in a super fucking nice house and are poor because the dialogue keeps insisting they are so it must be true despite all the shit they have that actually poor people would sell blood and teeth to attain, but hell, this is Hollywood and Hollywood poor is like regular people upper middle class. Charlies family is so poor that instead of giving her a one time graduation/birthday present to buy a part for a car she already has, they just give her a moped, She also spends all her time at a pull apart where the manager (who might be her uncle that wasn't super clear) is willing to just give her a Volkswagen so I don't understand why she didn't already have the project car up and running. Whatever, it's a plot contrivance. All you need to know is that Charlie is tenacious and hard around the edges cuz her dad is dead and she's not yet mature enough to process that in a healthy way. Maybe her character arch will teach her to let others in, we'll have to find out.

There's also a wacky nerd named Memo, and some bad guys, and John Cena. They are all also pretty archetypal and contrived and don't really do anything of note that isn't just filling a beat that this kind of movie needs to walk. Charlie starts Bumblebee up, discovers he's a robot and the two begin to bond. Charlie learns to make a friend, and bumblebee is learning about himself. They get into hijinks and get revenge on a bully girl who makes Regina George look like a saint, she pretty much only picks on Charlie exclusively for having a dead dad.

The moment Bumblebee is woken back up, some technology goof em up that both he and Charlie are unaware of brings two Decepticon baddies into the picture. I don't remember their names, but since I love The Venture Brothers let's say they can be "Jet Boy and Jet Girl". Jet Boy and Jet Girl are sometimes cars, sometimes various flying military vehicles, and they make friends with the deep state and plan to get all the adrenochrome from all the orphans, or just to go find Bumblebee and beat his ass good cuz their bad guys. Let me tell y'all though, Jet Boy and Jet Girl are so bad that they don't even care that the government is listening when they reveal that they are planning on bringing a Decepticon Invasion and after they rough up Bumblebee real good they are going to destroy all life on this planet. So they start by killing a military scientist.

John Cena is after Bumblebee and he's homies with Jet Boy and Jet Girl until the military scientist butt dials him and he hears the evil plan. John Cena goes from heel to face and helps Bumblebee and Charlie save the day. It's a giant CG clusterfuck climax a la any superhero film in the last 10 years and I basically stopped watching. BumbleBee pulls a Hellraiser on Jet Boy, and then he hits Jet Girl with a freaking boat. Charlie uses her diving skills do dive down and save him, but he's a Giant Robot and he was okay and it was literally pointless for her to to except as a way to show that her character has completed her arch by doing the thing that was representative of her connection with her lost father.

Bumblebee turns into the Camaro from the first movie, meets up with Optimus prime, and the stage is set for this prequel to squeeze more prequels out. So it wasn't very creative, but was it bad? Let's find out.

Please Stand to receive the Benediction.

Best Aspect: Transform the Franchise

Bumblebee was directed by Travis Knight of Laika fame and it shows. This movie marks a stylistic change in the transformers franchise, as in it doesn't look like utter dog shit, but it also represents in many ways a tonal shift. It does hold on to a lot of gross sleaze that has unfortunately been forcibly jammed into the DNA of the franchise but it also attempts to be a more heartfelt entry. The characters of Bumblebee might all be sort of a waste of time, but at least they are doing something with emotions, even if the emotions of the characters are only explored as deeply as a children's cartoon I'm glad they are there. In the previous installments the only thing the characters did between running from action piece to seizure inducing action piece was drool over underage girls like a bunch of chimpanzees at the facility where they test experimental E.D. meds. It was nice to see that at least somewhat tampered. This transformers movie feels more like it's for kids and young teenagers, and strangely that more friendly tone makes for a much less juvenile product.

Worst Aspect: Remember I Love the 80s from the 2000s

I hope you really like Stranger Things. I do, but because Stranger Things was so successful it' s going to be everywhere. Not true Stranger Things just 80s nostalgia porn. This 80s nostalgia is going to be forced on you whether you like it or not, and it's not going to be fun. It's gonna be in your shows, in your music, in your Sunday like Bacon in 2010. It's that or Marvel Franchise Brand Whedonisms. Bumblebee is that brave movie that says, "Why not both?" It would seem fitting that a property as quintessentially 80s as Transformers should feel completely comfortable doing a period piece set in the 80's but it's so fucking half hearted it's depressing. It wasn't done to appreciate the roots of the IP, it was done to cash in on a trend and it feels it. All they did was throw up a date and insufferably force an 80s soundtrack down your throat as if that was enough to convince you that this movie needed to be set during this time. Other than that you could have told me this film was set in 2007 and I couldn't tell you any different.

Best Character: Charlie's an Angel

I liked Charlie. Sure her Arc is predictable, her taste is dumb, and she isn't exactly a master of her own destiny to any degree. But at least she is a woman in a transformers movie who's got something going on. Sure she's defined entirely by grief, but that sure is better than pretending that being able to work on cars is a feminist character trait instead of a weird fetish thing. They certainly do that thing with Charlie, but at least it's not the only thing they throw at the wall. Bumblebee is by no means out of the woods in this department, but it garners a lot of goodwill for trying. Like a racist uncle who just started his journey out of ignorance, but hasn't yet realized he has to stop asking mortifying questions to the barista at Starbucks. Okay, maybe that's an extreme metaphor. I'm saying that perhaps Charlie is not a great character but she's a great character for a Transfomers movie.

Worst Character: It's JOOOOHHHNNNN CEEEENA!!!!

Why is John Cena in this movie? I don't hate the guy, but his character seems pointless. You could remove him from the movie completely and replace him with any one of the random military goons at any point and it changes nothing. What was with that dumb salute at the end? It seems like they put him in this movie in post and it was just to pump up cast list. I wish he was given anything to work with. I can't remember his characters name, and it's not like John Cena did a bad job, I was just annoyed every time they kept giving him hero shots. I felt like I was watching a trailer for a different movie.

Best Actor: Optimal Primo!

Every time Peter Cullen speaks I want to listen. There's a reason they haven't had Chris Pratt or somebody with a bigger name come in and take over the role at this point. He's why the audience keep coming back. Peter Cullen IS Optimus Prime, and there's no changing that. He also wins twice. He's the best actor in the movie AND he's barely in the movie. Good call Peter.

Worst Actor: Mean Girls 2, Meaner and Girlier

I don't want to be cruel so I'm not going to go into to much detail, but there's an actress in this film who's performance is so mustache twirlingly evil and stupid that it ruined my suspension of disbelief when i knew going in that i was about to endure a 2 hour toy commercial about robots that turn into cars. Beldar Conehead was a more convincing human being than Tina.

Best Effect: Goo Be Gone

I really appreciated when the bad guys shot the government nerd into a blast of snot. That was pretty fun for me. Best part of the movie hands down.

Worst Effect: Live Action?

Bumblebee is a cartoon. It's a great looking cartoon but it doesn't sell itself that way. If we were doing a Roger Rabbit thing I'd have no gripes. However, I think CG is just getting worse. I'm criticizing this and it's still lightyears better than the previous entry's on the franchise. No transformation or fight sequence in Bumble Bee had me straining to make sense of what I was looking at. I think it was a great idea to start using some basic shapes and outlines to these characters, and return somewhat to their 80s designs. But at certain points, especially when there were no humans in the shot, i was pretty convinced I was watching Clone Wars. There may not be anyway around this, as the Transformers concept might not be able to be pulled off in any more effective manner. It's a minor gripe, but I just didn't think it looked like anything other than a very expensive cartoon, and in this franchise that's a compliment, because it least it looked like SOMETHING!

Best Scene: Space Opera

I am not a Transformers fan. I missed the boat on the cartoon as a kid. I would sometimes catch it at friends houses but I was more into Batman, Star Wars, and Ninja Turtles. By the time I came onto the scene the world had moved on to Beast Wars. I did one day arbitrarily decide that my favorite Transformer was Sound Wave. He looked great in this. I am a big fan of the return to form with a lot of the character designs in this. They really did keep the things that worked from the other adaptations, and they are steadily removing the things that didn't. For this reason, the scenes on Cybertron, particularly the battle with Soundwave (i prefer for personal reasons) looked great and were exciting to watch. I remember thinking Cybertron used to look like a Marilyn Manson shot a music video from inside to dumpster. This is so much better.

Worst Scene: Blocking the Box

There's a scene in Bumblebee where Charlie's family decides the best way to save their daughter was to cause a pile up of vehicles in an intersection, and it's pure contrived writing that saved any character in that sequence from being killed in a horrific traffic accident. It was stupid, played for laughs, and it wasn't exciting as much as it was anxiety inducing. I also thought that there was no reason the covert military group covering up extraterrestrial life wouldn't just disappear this family of fucking morons in their little piece of shit car. The logic of the scene was just so childish like, "No they won't hit me, I'm a good person."

Summary

Bumblebee may be remembered fondly in a decade. I think especially if the Transformers franchise were to end here. It didn't get the publicity of the other films, and that really is a shame. For my money, this was the best Transformers movie so far. I was very tempted to give Bumblebee a C, it does just enough to right what was wrong from the other movies to make me appreciate all that work. This movie has heart, and if you are at all into Transformers then l think you should see it. It's still pretty stupid, and pretty basic. It's not offering anything new to the genre, and it feels like a commercial for more movies. I really wish we could just get movies that want to tell a story. I thought it over and decided that it wasn't fair not to grade Bumblebee on it's own merits. Bumblebee is substantially better than the films that preceded it, but that's not saying a lot, when the films that preceded it are joyless exercises in self abuse.

Overall Grade: D

[trashforhockeyguys]

Don’t Hold Me -3- Carter Hart

A/N: Uh, drinking. Literally the only thing. She's drunk. So yeah.  Didn’t plan on posting this now, but I figured I’d try and make someone happy with the news that came today. So enjoy. 

You hiccuped as you stumbled down the steps. Truth be told you weren’t entirely sure where you were anymore. Your roommate had some wine in the dorm, and for once you decided to drink with her. That lead to both of you going to some party or something. You decided to drink something that was mixed in a big bucket, or at least you think it was a bucket.  You really weren’t sure of a lot of things right now. 

You giggled as you pulled your phone out to answer it, “EEEEETHHHANNNNN!!!”

“Y/N? Are you okay?” Your brother quickly asked. 

“I am feeling greaaaat!” You slurred. 

“Are you drunk?”

You giggled, “Mayyybee.”

You sumbled again and cursed, only to laugh even more. Your head was foggy and you weren’t entirely sure if you could even see straight. You really wanted ice cream too. 

“Okay, I’m texting TK, where are you?”

You shrugged. Not even thinking about the fact that he couldn’t see you. 

“You don’t know do you?”

“Noppeee!”

He sighed and you could hear him typing something. He cursed again, “Fuck, Travis is busy or some shit. Just stay put okay, he said someone will come get you.” 

“I can just get an Uber. I’m an adult.”

“Not when you’re drunk, you become a two year old. You’re not getting into a car on your own.” 

You pouted. Even from halfway across the country he had the ability to make you feel like a small child who’d stolen a cookie. He’d always been your protective big brother. Even when you were still at home, he always seemed to know what you were doing. Not in a creepy overprotective way, but considering what happened to you in the last few years, you couldn’t blame him. 

“Okay, TK said he was sending someone, just don't move okay?”

You should’ve asked how Travis knew where you were. But you probably mentioned it to him earlier in the day. All you could really think about was how your head was spinning. You almost felt like you were on a rollercoaster or something. Like you weren’t actually on solid ground. 

You liked the feeling. You couldn’t even remember why you were so worried earlier in the day. Everything just seemed to melt away after one too many drinks. You felt free. Like you were flying far above the clouds. Happily. 

“Oo there’s a car,” You told your brother, who was still talking to you, although his words didn’t make sense, “That’s a nice car.”

“Y/N? How much did you have to drink?”

You started trying to count on your fingers, but you genuinely couldn’t remember. Everything was just blurring together now. You giggled again as you stumbled, even though you were standing completely still. 

“I lost count,” You laughed, “Too many. Wine… I think a funnel? Something in a bucket.”

“Fuck. What were you thinking?”

“You aren’t my mom. I can do whatever I want Ethan.”

You could hear him sigh and curse some more. All you could do was laugh though, “Don’t be so grouchy. I thought you wanted me to get out and have fun!”

“Not like this you dumbass. It’s not like your roommate is going to take care of you.”

“I can take care of myself!” You argued. 

“Oh yeah? How do you get back to school? And do you even have your key?”

You turned around to look down the road. You kept turning around so much that you started to get dizzy. Nevermind the fact that you had no idea where your key to your dorm was. But you didn’t want to admit that your big brother was right. No part of you wanted to do that. 

“Uhhh, yeahhh yep mmmhm I know.”

“Teeks said that his buddy should be there in a minute, said you know him.”

“OOOO it must be Nolaaan! Do you think he’ll let me do his hair?!”

“You really should keep your hands to yourself. You better be thankful someone’s actually coming to get you. I’m surprised Travis actually trusts someone with you, considering how drunk you are.”

“I’m not that drunk!”

“Yeah, okay. If you say so.”

You tried to take a few steps into the grass, causing you to stumble and fall down. You grunted and flipped over so you were on your back. You couldn’t see any of the stars due to the lights of Philly. But you still liked trying to find them. You tried to squint, like that would help you. 

You huffed and closed your eyes, leaning your head back into the damp grass. All you could hear was the sound of everyone yelling inside the house. Cheers erupted every few minutes followed by so much laughter that it made your head spin. 

Why were you even here? 

You didn’t even like parties. You shook your head, wanting to block out everything that was making your head spin. Why weren’t you feeling good all of the sudden? You were just flying. Everything was fine two seconds ago. 

“Y/N?”

You pried your eyes open and hoped the world wouldn’t spin. You had to blink a few times to try to clear your vision, above you was a boy in a hoodie and a snapback. It took you a second to realize who it was, but you knew. 

“Carter?”

“C’mon let’s get you up.”

“What-what are you doing here?”

Before he even started to answer, he took hold of your hands and started to pull you up. Even though you were more or less a sack of potatoes in your current state, he had no problem pulling you up from the ground. He reached down and grabbed your phone, realizing you still had a call he huffed and turned around. You could hear him talking, but nothing was making sense to you. 

You couldn’t understand why he was here. Carter, of all people. 

“Yeah, I got her, don’t worry, I’ll keep TK updated,” He nodded, “Yeah, no problem man. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“Carter. Why are you here?”

You weren’t really sure if any of your words made sense, but you really hoped they did. You were more than confused, and it wasn’t the copious amount of alcohol you’d ingested. You tried to keep your focus on him, but everything started to spin a little. 

“TK was busy, I was the closest, and he figured that you’ve met me twice at least, so I was better than anyone else,” He explained, “So, c’mon, let’s get you out of here. Okay?”

You shook your head, not wanting to go anywhere with him. But that simple action seemed to do you in. Your stomach twisted as your head spun more than you thought it could. You found yourself running to the bushes before you could even think. Turns out you couldn’t hold that much alcohol without your body punishing you, big surprise. 

Someone was behind you in an instant, holding your hair out of your face and rubbing your back. You felt so stupid. Why did you have to the girl throwing up in the bushes? You heaved for a few minutes before you felt like you were done. 

“You okay?” Carter asked. 

“I drank something out of a bucket.”

“Yeah, let’s get you home okay?”

You shook your head, “I don’t have the key to my dorm. And Travis is...fuck him I don’t even know what he’s doing.” 

Carter laughed and put a hand on my back to steady me, “Let’s just get you into the car. We can figure it out after that.”

A few minutes later, you were settled into Carter’s car. You couldn’t even fight him. You didn’t want to go with him, but you also just wanted to leave the loud house. The sound was too much, it made your head spin and feel like it might split open. The smell of stale beer was enough for you. 

“How’re you feeling over there? You okay?”

You mumbled a response that somewhat sounded like a yes. You leaned your head against the cold window and tried to just focus on breathing. You hadn’t been this drunk since the last night of high school, when everyone got shitfaced on the football field together.

“Just don’t throw up in my car, okay?”

“Fuck you, Hart.”

He laughed when you opened your eyes and glared at him. You didn’t want to admit it, but you liked the sound of his laugh. Even if you didn’t know why he was laughing. 

“Why are you laughing at me?”

“Because, I finally got to see a bit of that girl TK and Patty always talk about.”

You groaned and flipped him off. You returned your head to the window and closed your eyes again. You just wanted all of this to be over already. You didn’t have much control over what you might say. Your head was still too fuzzy to actually make your own decisions. 

“Why do you hate me so much? Seriously?”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Really? Had me fooled.”

“Easier to hate you.”

“Easier to hate me? What does that mean?”

You shrugged, “Easier to hate you, that way I can’t like you. It just works better.”

“What?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just better this way.”

You didn’t say anything else. You tried to block out any questions he might have. Maybe he’d just stop after a while. Or maybe he’d think you passed out. But he didn’t ask anything else. The rest of the ride was silent. You almost couldn’t bare it. 

When the car stopped moving you didn’t even try to figure out where you were. Maybe if you kept your eyes closed you could wish yourself back in your bed at home, not here if Philly where you seemed to be making a mess of your life. 

“C’mon, I know you’re awake.”

You grunted, hoping he’d just leave you there. It wouldn’t be the first time you’d slept in a car overnight. You didn’t mind. It would be better than possibly telling him how you actually felt. He was bound to ask you, and at this point you knew you’d tell him. 

But you didn’t want him to know. You were more afraid of him knowing than him hating you because he believed what you wanted him to. You could just keep pretending and go about your life. You could keep hiding away, with Travis and Nolan as your company. 

You could hide in the studio, covered in paint, or whatever medium you were using on that particular day. You were okay with that life. School and the two most important people in Philly, at least to you. 

“Y/N, please, I’ll carry you if I have to. But you’d probably smack me.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“C’mon, just take my hand. I’ll help you.”

“No. I’m comfy right here.”

“God, you are such a child.”

“Fuck you.”

He laughed and gently helped me out of the car, “Ask me again when you’re sober.”

“You’re a fucking asshole.”

He laughed again and started to lead you inside. You realized that you must be at his place, which why he’d bring you back here you weren’t quite sure. But you weren’t about to try to fight him on it, when you’d probably fall over the second he let go of you. 

“I’m really drunk,” You admitted. 

“I know,” He replied, “It’s okay, you can sleep it off here. I’ll be quiet, you won’t have to worry about Patty, or TK, or what stupid roommate I’ve heard about.”

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“Why do you want me to think you hate me?”

You shook your head and leaned into him, hoping he would just support you the rest of the way. Slowly, you made your way up to his apartment. You really had no grip on reality anymore. 

He lead you to the couch and allowed you to fall over on it. Without even asking, he pulled your shoes off. You hummed and flipped over so that you were face first on the couch. He let out a small laugh and draped a blanket over me. 

“You’re welcome to use the bed, I can sleep somewhere else.” 

“I don't want to move,” Your words were muffled by the pillows, but you were pretty sure he understood you.

“I’m going to get you some water, okay? You should probably drink as much as you can right now.”

“No.”

“Don’t be difficult, just let me try to take care of you, okay?” 

“Why?”

“Because, contrary to what you must think, I’m not an asshole.”

“I know.”

“You’re not so bad either,” he replied from the kitchen, “Shame you won’t let anyone else see it.”

[blackbabybird]

Forgiven - Chapter 4 - An Event 

warnings: self hating bruce mostly and bad words. this is a long ass chapter, #sorrynotsorry kind of got carried away. however, we learn new things more and more everyday ;) also i think isley’s job fits her and bruce v v v well. enjoy:)

I get those goosebumps every time, yeah, you come around, yeah You ease my mind, you make everything feel fine

~ Goosebumps by Travis Scott

I parked my car in front of Cork County Middle School. The school itself was a large brick building in the middle of a corn field. It used to be an insane asylum. I grab my bag and get out of my car to head toward the doors of the school. Once I get up there, I pull on the door. It’s locked. I look at the wall near the doors, they have an extremely fancy security system. I buzz the door. 

“Hi there! What can we do for you?” a happy voice rings through the intercom.

“Uh, my name is Isley Thomas. I have an appointment with Headmaster-,” I look down at my phone, “Guille.”

“Give me one second, dear. I’ll get those doors open for you,” her sickly sweet voice came through again. 

A second later the massive doors swing open. I’m greeted by two men in riot gear. “Any weapons must be surrendered before entry into property. This includes, but is it not limited to guns, tazers, pens, and ninja-stars.” speaks the large guards. 

“Pens?” I ask. 

The other guard nods curtly. I shake my head and grab all my pens out of my bag. They take them and put them tightly in between their bullet proof vests. “Follow us.”

What the hell is this place? I walk silently in between the two. We arrive at large double doors with a Medusa head engraved into the doors. The two walk around me and open the doors synchronously. I walk through them towards what looks like the office. That same god-awful sweet voice rings through the hallways, “You must be Ms. Thomas! You’re shorter than I expected. Hm, anyways, follow me.” 

So I do. “I never caught your name, Ms...?” 

“You needn’t worry about me, sugar. Names get in the way. I’m simply the next vessel for Headmaster Guille. Oh, we’re here! Knock twice then let yourself in, alrighty?”

I nod quickly and do as she said. The room I walk into is white and pristine. Nothing, and I mean nothing is out of place. There’s just a desk and two chairs in the room. No computer or even a cup of coffee, weird. “Please, sit Ms. Thomas.” says a voice from my left. 

I sit down in on the chair across from the desk. Slow, loud clacking walks pass me. A woman sits in front of me. She has on black classic pumps, a pencil skirt and a white blouse. I finally make my eyes to hers and that’s when everything starts clicking into place. Her eyes are gouged out in an attempt to recreate Oedipus. “I am headmaster Guille, Ms. Thomas.”

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me Headmaster. I know you have plenty of other more pressing things to do.”

She turns her head, “Why, my dear, nothing is more important than finding one of my sweet, obedient students.” I nod in agreeance despite my weird feeling towards her and this place. “Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?”

“Well, I’m the owner of IT Investigative Services. We do freelance investigative work and are outsourced for police work occasionally.” I explain. 

“And your business here, is it freelance?” 

I feel my heart dip in a weird way, “No ma’am. The Cork County Police Department needed help and they outsourced me and my company to help with a missing persons case.” It wasn’t necessarily a lie. 

“I see.” she says. Her non-existent eyes felts like they were boring into my soul and making a home. “Well, I will say that we told the police everything, not sure what else I could say.”

“Anything helps. Especially when it comes to a missing child,” I say. 

“Ask away,” she says splaying her hands outward. 

I start asking the basic questions. Just small things I could compare to the recordings that I borrowed from the Cork County Police. Everything was going relatively fine until I seemed to strike a nerve. “So, I noticed that Amos actually lived in Andan County. That’s a 3 hour drive to Cork County. Why was Amos going to school here?”

She opened her mouth a few times with replies, but she eventually settled on, “Amos was a special boy. As are most of the students that attend here. However, he needed correcting. As do all of the students here,” she gives a tightlipped smile.

Now we’re getting somewhere. “Why did he need correcting? Did he do something bad?” I ask simply. 

“As with most 13 year olds, he was ill-mannered and bad tempered. He had to be corrected,” she repeats.

“Fair enough,” I nod. Time to go for the kill.“Yet, there is one more thing I’m confused with. Amos was an orphan. One that lived 3 hours away from this county, so who told you he was being a nuisance?” 

If this woman had eyes, I know she’d have a look that could kill. Her eye sockets bend slightly. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Ms. Thomas. We have an assembly soon that I must attend.” 

“Of course, Headmaster.” I say as I start packing up my stuff. I walk to the door, feeling her cavernous holes in my back. I go to pull the door open, but then I stop. “One last question,” I say. She looks up at me, “Who reported him missing?”

Bingo. Question answered.

The smile she gave was cruel and mouthy, “Some questions needn’t be answered. Have a good day, Isley.”

I walk out the door and head back to my car. 

/// 

When I arrived back at my car after successfully getting my pens back, I scrutinized the building. Being in there fucked with my mental state. Something was off about the place and I wanted to know more. My phone starts buzzing. It’s Phoebe so I click answer.

“You bitch! I can’t believe you,” Phoebe’s voice screeches through my receiver. 

“That’s one way to talk to your boss,” I deadpan.

“Boss or not, you’re literally the worst person I know.”

I scrunch my nose at her insult, “Let’s say hypothetically that is true, what exactly did I do to deserve such a title?” 

“Beside be a size 10 in shoes when I’m an 8?” I roll my eyes, “You also never mentioned that THE Bruce fucking Wayne of Wayne Corporation invited us to a fundraiser in Gotham City.” 

I sit there listening to her, “How’d you know about that?”

“I was going through your emails and there’s an invite. Also, pause, you knew?” she huffs.

I shrug even though she can’t see me, “It’s just a Wayne Event. It’s not a big deal. I didn’t even know it was a fundraiser.”

“Yeah, he’s going to try and get the Gotham socialites and old heads to give money for a-,” she stops talking and there’s some slight shuffling in the backgorund, “Ah! A metahuman trafficking recovery center. It would be an extension of Arkham Asylum.”

I feel my heartbeat get 10 times louder, “Pheebs, I need to call you later. I’m still here at Cork County Middle and I need to finish some paper work before I drive back tonight.”

I don’t wait for her to say goodbye before I hang up. I start dialing Bruce’s number. 

///

One. Two. One. Two. Jab. Hook, hook.

“God fucking damnit,” Jason exclaims. 

“The fight not going well?” I ask.

“Bruce. Manny Herechio has to win tonight.” Jason starts.

“Has?” I interject. 

He rambles over me, “HAS. I have so much money on this fight. Like, my future children’s money kind of money!”

I shoot him an amused look from my book. “I’m sure he’ll pull it out. Underdogs have a weird way of doing that.”

“OH MY FUCKING GOD. HE DID IT! HE FUCKING DID IT MAN,” Jason shakes me. 

I smile at him, happy that he’s happy, but then the scene changes. I’m now Batman and I’m holding Jason. He’s barely breathing and there’s so much blood. “You did this. You did this to me.” He breathes out angrily. 

“Jay, what? No, I didn’t! What do you mean?” I explain.

“You, the fucking Batman of all people, should have saved me. I’m dead because of you!” He’s now yelling at me. 

I feel the panic flutter throughout me. I should’ve saved him. It should’ve been me. 

The clatter of my phone hitting the floor shakes me out of my daydream hard. Less of a dream, more like a nightmare. The phone goes off again and I grab it from the floor. Isley Thomas flashes across the screen. I press accept. 

“Isley? Hello?” 

“Have you lost your goddamn mind?!” she seethes through the phone. 

I pull it away from me.��“I can’t catch a fucking break today,” I grunt out. I put the phone back near my ear, “It’s possible I have, but depends on what this reason is,” I joke. 

“This event, party you’re throwing is for the business proposal that was between us privately. What the hell, Bruce?” 

I can tell she’s upset at what I tried to make a surprise. “It was supposed to be a surprise.” 

“A fucking surprise? For why?” she all but yells into the receiver. 

“I presented it to the board,” I didn’t. “And they didn’t like the idea of Wayne Enterprises being the face of metahuman trafficking support centers,” I explain. “Having a fundraiser will show that people, specifically people with money, are interested in defeating the metahuman trafficking.”

I can hear her breathing. “You could’ve just told me that the board rejected it,” she pauses, “I would’ve dealt with it.”

She’s not incorrect. However, I needed a win for today, “You told me that this was Staya’s dream. I just wanted to do everything I could to try and make it come true.”

She doesn’t reply anything. For a second there I think that she’s just hung up on me. “Okay. Next time, let me know ahead of time, please, Bruce,” is all she says. Then she adds, “I have to work. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

I hear the click of call ending and put the phone down. I bury my face in my hands. I walk to my door and walk to Sonya’s desk. She looks at me with a smile, “Mr. Wayne! What can I do for you?”

“Sonya, I’ll be unavailable for the rest of the day. See that the fundraiser details get figured out. I want to no hiccups, understood?” She nods, typing furiously. I continue, “Perfect. Thank you.”

I walk to the elevator and press floor one. I lay against wall in sheer exhaustion. Between my guilt from Jason and my repressed feelings about Isley, I needed to punch something. 

/// 

I took another sip of my coffee and continued typing on my computer. I was trying to find information about Cork County. “With the way you’re hunch over your computer, we’ll have to get massages before heading to Gotham,” Phoebe said pointedly. 

I roll my eyes, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Fair enough. Enough investigating today boss lady. If we want to make it to Gotham in a decent hour and avoid traffic, we need to go,” Phoebe insists as she shuts my computer. 

“I made us a reservation at some fancy hotel. It offered nails too, what a deal. And, ooh, our dresses were delivered!”

“I thought we were going dress shopping today?” I say scrunching my nose at the implication of Phoebe picking out a dress for me. 

“Oh no you don’t. We were yesterday at 4, but someone,” she squints at me, “was a bit forgetful.”

I inhale, “Okay, that’s my bad. I’m sorry, this case just keeps making new turns every second. I feel like I’m drowning.”

“Well, tonight, no missing children to worry about.” 

I nod and smile at her. If only it was that easy. 

///

“Master Bruce, people will be arriving in less than 30 minutes, what on Earth are you doing?” I heard Alfred call for me while I was in the Batcave. 

I kicked the bag again. Focus. I kick again. 

“Master Bruce?” I hear Alfred again. I shake my head. Focus, Bruce. I kick the bag again. The chain breaks and bag flies across the room. 

“That is the 8th bag you’ve broken this week, Master Bruce.”

I exhale deeply. “It’s unimportant.”

“Perhaps to the ghosts of this cave, but not you. Never mind all that. You must shower and get dressed immediately,” Alfred says pushing me quickly towards the stairs.

“Can I at least take the elevator if speed is what we’re going for?” I grumble. 

“That privilege was lost once you made me trundle down those godforsaken steps and come get you!” I trudge up the stairs his insistent demands. 

When we arrive at the top, “Mr. Maurice, sorry to keep you waiting, Master Bruce is insolent when it comes to other’s time and efforts,”

I shoot Alfred a dirty look at his insults. He simply flicks his hand and I’m being taken by the tailor. Who starts showing me different fabrics and colors for tonight’s event. “What do you feel tonight Mr. Wayne? Navy or Black? I have grey also, but it has not been a fan favorite for the year.” Maurice explains quickly. 

I look at the colors. The black always speaks to me, but tonight was different. Because Isley will be there. I ignore my thoughts, “Let’s take a walk on the wild side, shall we?” 

“My thoughts exactly, Mr. Wayne!” 

I go to hop into the shower and prepare myself for tonight. 

///

I can hear the people downstairs. Drinks are flowing and soon enough the cash will be too. I hear my door open. “Only man I’ve ever known to be fashionably late at his own home.” It’s Dick. “Also, I don’t know what the fuck those little sausage balls are made with, but they are delicious. Woah-”

I turn and look at him, his mouth is wide open with the same bits sausage hanging in his mouth, “What? Also, please close your mouth.”

“This suit...who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Dick jokes.

I just grunt and turn back around fixing my tie. I hear Dick’s laughter stop, “Okay, I’m sorry, here let me help with your tie. It’s more crooked than Cobblepot’s teeth.”

He fixes my tie and I can’t help but think about Jason. Dick searches my face, “You been thinking about him?”

I turn back to look in the mirror to inspect the knot he made. It answers his question. I know he wants to say something, he just doesn’t know what. No one ever does. “Master Bruce, Mr. Grayson.” Alfred’s voice turns us both around. “Almost all the guest are here. It is time to make an appearance.”

“Well, thank god I didn’t throw the party. I’m gonna find some pretty ladies and some more of the sausage balls.” Dick chippers happily and leaves this room. 

Alfred turns to do the same, but not before saying, “Mr. Todd is a great man. Just because you’re choosing to move on, doesn’t mean you’re forgetting him.”

“Don’t you mean was?” I ask.

“No. I meant is. What’s that saying you always tell the board members when you’re not present? Oh, yes, physicality is not the only way to be present.” With that Alfred mules out of the room.

I follow after him. I make it down the stairs, “Man of the hour. Mr. Bruce Wayne.” I hear some rich old guy yell at me. He grabs my hand and shakes it furiously. 

I do this for about an hour before I clink my glass and everyone quiets down. “I want to thank you all for being here,” I start, “Tonight was a bit last minute, but I am so glad to have the ability to host such things that bring us together. Tonight is about us expanding Arkham Asylum to host those affected by metahuman trafficking. Donations, as always, are tax deductable and can be written to the Wayne Corporation. Again, we are going to make a difference.” I raise my glass and every one claps. “But please, keep enjoying the booze, gives me an excuse to buy more!” I add with laughter. 

I make my way through the crowd towards one of the balconies. There’s just a woman out there. “What a speech,” she says as she comes out the shadows. 

It’s Isley, but she looked...beautiful didn’t even begin to describe it. Her hair is  straight rather than its usually curls. She has on a silk baby blue dress that ends at her mid thigh. Her dark eyes are blown wide with the chill air and small goosebumps litter her dark brown skin. “Isley,” I breathe out, “Thought you bailed on me.”

She turns her head like a curious cat, “Me? A flake? Never.” she says with fake ingenuity. “Although, I was very late. Phoebe loves to take her time with me.”

My eyes scan her face, “Well, she did an amazing job.” I compliment.

A smile grows on her face, “Why thank you, Mr. Wayne. You clean up nicely yourself. A navy blue suit? How daring.”

“Dick already made fun of me for it, I thought it was time to step out a bit.” 

She steps close enough to grab one of the lapels. “Dick? Also, it reminds me of prom. Senior year,” she whispers. 

I grab her wrists, we’re extremely close now. “Well, look who I found hiding in the shado- oh?” 

It’s Dick, again. I breathe out slowly, “Dick, meet an old friend. Isley Thomas.”

[willykappymarnsmatts]

Mine (T. Dermott)

Another request from the adorable @eikoxx 🥰💙

“Y/N, come with us!”

“Yeah, come on! Please!”

I roll my eyes and laugh quietly from my bedroom at my friends. One of my biggest regrets in life was giving them each keys to my dorm. They know I have work to catch up on, and I told them earlier that I wouldn’t be able to go out tonight, despite the fact that I said I could the day before.

“Y/N!” Travis bursts into the room, almost falling over from the momentum of him running basically through my door. “Y/N, come on!! You can work later. Please. We all have so much more fun when we’re with you,” he pleads.

I start to shake my head, but Kasperi, and then Auston and Mitch, followed by Willy, wander into the room behind Travis. “I literally cannot stand you guys. I don’t know why I’m friends with you. I should’ve taken the fucking job in Ottawa or something.” All four of them laugh at me, knowing that my mocking means they’ve convinced me to come. “No, I’m not joking. I literally hate you guys,” I continue as Kap sits at my desk which I’ve just deserted. Travis plops his ass down and sits cross-legged on the floor, Auston sits on my bed, allowing Mitch to crawl into his lap, and Willy leans casually against my door frame.

“Give me 10 minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” I mutter under my breath, and Travis jumps up to hug me and spin me around.

“We love you, Y/N!” He cries. I push him away laughing and gather together clothes, picking out an outfit with the guys’ help.

•••

Twenty minutes later, we’re in the car on the way to a bar called BarChef. It’s Willy’s pick, being his turn since the last time we went out he was the DD.

“Where do I go now, babe?” Kappy asks for the fifteenth time this drive as we come to a red light.

“Left,” Willy responds, squeezing their hands together, which are interlocked between them.

I try to fix my hair, using my phone as a mirror, when Mitch steals it from me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “You look beautiful, don’t worry.” I rest my head against his shoulder and look out the windshield. Auston, Mitch, me, and Travis are squished in the back of Kappy’s car, but it’s nothing new. None of our cars legally fit more than five people, but we make it work.

I look over at Travis and catch him almost glaring at Mitch, but when he looks at me his face changes. I look at him questioningly, but he pretends not to notice. “How’s school going?” He asks instead.

“Good,” I say carefully, still very confused. “Good, I’m enjoying all my classes. I still have no idea what I want to specialize in.” I’m in my last year of university at U of T, and I’m really enjoying it, although it’s quite challenging.

“It’s okay,” he tells me. “You still have med school, then your residency, right?” I nod. He actually listens when I talk to him, unlike my girlfriends. “So you still have a really long time to decide. Residency will help you decide, I think.”

I smile at him. The way he’s looking at me, like I’m the only other person around, my chest constricts and my temples throb. I look away suddenly, staring at his shoes. I’ve never felt this way with Travis before, and I’m kinda freaking out. ‘It’s just Derms,’ I tell myself. ‘He’s one of your best friends. Just Travis.’

We pull into a parking lot of what looks to be a very busy bar. “Nicely done, Willy. You guys are gonna get noticed and I’ll just be left in the corner doing my own thing.

“Trust me, you idiot, nobody here likes hockey. It’s way too nice a place for sports fans.”

I laugh at him as the five of us climb out of the car. Travis takes my hand in his as Auston takes Mitch’s and Kap takes Willy’s. It’s a running joke that Travis and I will forever be single, and that the two couples shove their cute relationships in our faces.

When we walk into the bar, I immediately understand what Will was saying. It’s a modern, mature bar. Nothing that a Toronto sports fan would ever be caught dead at. A few girls sitting at a table near the entrance turn and stare at the guys, then glare at me. Travis notices and protectively puts his arm around my shoulders. “Jealous, much?”

“Of what, me hanging out with you guys? Please, I could do so much better.”

He laughs loudly and attempts to mess up my hair as I sit at a barstool, but I catch his hands and shove him into his seat. We’re both laughing like idiots and the guys are watching amusedly. Auston sits on the other side of me and leans into me slightly. “I don’t know how you two haven’t gotten together yet,” he chirps.

“Oh shush,” I respond as the bartender comes up to us to take out orders. We get our drinks and continue chatting and laughing. As I suspected, the guys get noticed by a group of good-looking girls. Their collective attention is away from me for about 15 minutes as they talk with the girls. I play with my straw and stare at my phone, pretending there’s something very enticing on the screen, when a tall, handsome guy comes and sits next to me in Travis’ seat.

“Hey,” he says, his voice low and gravely.

“Hi,” I smile politely at him, hoping to make my disinterest obvious.

“Can I buy you another?” He asks, gesturing at my half full drink.

“No, I’m okay with this.” I turn away from him, when suddenly his chest is against my back and I can feel him breathing down my neck.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t want to say no to me,” he says into my ear. I flinch away, disgusted. I turn back around on the stool to face him.

“Excuse me?” I demand, sitting straight up. He moves close to me again, sliding between my legs. I glance over to where Travis and the guys are, still facing away from me. I take a deep breath and think about what to do. If I move away, he’ll get even angrier with me. He’s not as big as my friends, I could probably defend myself against him if I needed to, but I don’t really want to have to. I look over again at the guys, and Travis turns to look at me, a smile on his face. As soon as he looks at me and sees the guy, though, his face falls.

Travis ignores the girls and comes over to me quickly and shoves the man off of me. “What the fuck do you think your doing?” He demands.

“And who are you to ask?”

Anytime I’m put in this situation, the guys easily slip into the same lie. “Her boyfriend, fucker. Not that it’s any of your business.”

The man refuses to move, instead rolling up his sleeves. “Derms, stop,” I whisper. I know he hears me, but he chooses to ignore me.

“I wouldn’t try to fight me if I were you, bud,” Travis chirps, and I shake my head.

“Travis-“

The man's fist hits Travis square in the jaw, and his eyes flash. It’s his hockey face. “Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, leaning my elbow against the bar counter and leaning my head into my palm. It’s so easy for him to get pissed off when it comes to protecting me or any of his other friends or teammates.

Travis uppercuts him in the jaw, hard. Auston and Kap are at his side, with Mitch and Willy close behind. The amount of men facing off the man seems to intimidate him. He shakes his head and looks at me once more. “You’re going to wish you didn’t say no one day,” he tells me, turning to leave the bar. His words disgust me, sending a chill down my spine.

Travis wraps his arms around me, his eyes soft again.

“You okay, Y/N?” Kappy asks, rubbing my arm supportively. I smile at him.

“Let’s go,” Auston suggests. I start to shake my head. This is all the guys wanted to do tonight. Forget the stress of hockey, just chill and probably get wasted.

“He’s right, Y/N. It’s okay. We’ll go back to Travis’ and just play chel or something,” Mitch chimes.

The guys nod and grin at me. “I love you guys, you know?”

“Love you too,” they coo.

•••

Back at Travis’ place, we’ve all changed into more comfortable clothing. The guys have small pieces of their clothing at basically every team members’ houses, so they’re wearing their own clothing. I’m wearing a pair of Travis’s sweatpants, which I have knotted tight at the waist, and his team sweatshirt. We’re lounging on the couch, playing chel and cod while stuffing our faces with pizza and pop.

We laugh and yell at and throw pieces of popcorn at each other. I’m sitting next to Auston, my legs resting across his with my back against the armrest of the couch. Travis is sitting on the floor in front of me, his hair brushing my leg when he moves. Mitch is sitting next to Travis, in between Auston’s legs. Kappy and Willy are squished together on the armchair against the other wall, all of us focusing on the chel game between Will and Aus.

I continue kicking Auston’s arms slightly, trying to get him to press the wrong buttons. “Babes, will you please fucking stop,” he says for the fifteenth time. I giggle and stop momentarily, resting my legs to continue shortly.

“I thought I was babes,” Mitch whines, craning his head back to look up at him.

When the play stops, Auston leans down and kisses him. “You’re my babe.”

Mitch smiles, satisfied. Willy’s biting his bottom lip as he skates the puck up to Auston’s net and skates back and forth in front of it. He shoots and the puck ends up in the back of the net. The living room erupts in cheers and Auston slumps back into the couch, defeated once again.

Mitch crawls so he’s on his knees and stretches to kiss him. “I love you anyways,” he says, and Willy makes a face like he might vomit. Kappy pulls him into his chest before he can chirp them and kisses his hair. I look at Travis and catch him staring at me.

“What?” I whisper, smiling gently.

“Nothing,” he whispers back, shaking his head slightly. I mess his hair as I stand up to go to the washroom, trying my best not to kick Mitch in the back of the head. I feel eyes on the back of my head as I leave the room, but when I turn Travis is staring pretty much through the television.

After many more rounds of chel, the guys start getting their stuff together to head home. We decide to leave our dress clothes at Travis’, knowing we don’t go out places with any other groups, the losers that we are. I’m slipping on my boots while the guys are decide who gets to drive and who to drop off first.

“Kap, you drive,” Auston suggests. “You can drop Mitch first, and I’ll just stay the night. Then bring Willy to his place then go home.”

Will is staring at me, the only one to remember how far out my student residency is from everyone else’s houses. “Uh, it’s okay. I’ll… take an Uber?”

“Are you sure?” Mitch asks, a worried look on his face. “It’s really late.”

“Yeah, I’ll, um, I’ll be okay,” I say, glancing out the window at the pitch black.

“No, no, Y/N, stay the night.” Travis says from further inside the entrance hall.

“Hm? Are you sure, Derms? You have practice tomorrow morning and I don’t have any classes.”

“Yeah, of course. You can come to practice with us, or just chill here. Whatever. Just stay, please.”

I’m still not sure. It’s not like I haven’t stayed over at each guys’ place at least once, but I feel bad because he has to wake up early. But he’s giving me his stupid puppy dog eyes, and nobody can say no to Travis when he does that. “Fine, okay, I’ll stay,” I mutter, toeing off my boots.

“Okay, we’ll get going,” Auston says, and we give hugs and say goodnight. Once they all leave, Travis shuts and locks the door behind them.

“Do you want other clothes to sleep in?” He asks, not really looking at me.

“No, I think I’m okay.” We try to tidy up the living room a little bit, picking up empty pizza boxes and half-full bowls of popcorn and chips in comfortable silence. “Hey, thanks for sticking up for me at the bar.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me. What are best friends for?” He smiles at me wide.

I smile back, and we look at each other. His eyes are so blue, so bright. “Yeah, best friends,” I whisper, picking up a can from the ground and glancing up at him again. He hasn’t moved, still looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. The same clenched chest, throbbing temples, falling feeling from the car comes back. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, but it doesn’t help. My heart beats faster, if anything.

Travis drops the two pizza boxes he picked up on the coffee table and moves toward me. He takes one step, two steps, and he’s right in front of me. It would be so easy to close the small space between us. I feel his breath against my lips, and it would be so easy-

Suddenly, it’s not an idea anymore. One of his hands is on my waist, the other under my chin. And his lips are on mine, his body is flush against mine. He pulls away suddenly and looks at me. “Okay?” He asks breathlessly, his blue eyes flicking between each of mine, searching.

“Okay,” I whisper back. He leans in and kisses me again, sending my stomach into flips. My chest clenches again and my temples throb with yearning. But I don’t try to will the feeling away now. Instead I pull him closer to me. I want all of him, and I don’t try to deny it anymore. Because this is Travis, my best friend in the world. And this is Travis, my favourite person in the world. The only person that matters in this moment. My person. And I tell him by kissing him with every emotion and word I’ve been keeping back. His arms are strong against me and his hand is in my hair. I clench his shirt in my hands and pull him closer. “You’re mine,” I manage to whisper when he pulls away slightly for air. “I’ve been waiting for this for so fucking long, Travis,” I tell him.

He laughs gently against my lips. “You are very mistaken, love. I have been waiting for this moment from the moment I met you. You, Y/N, are mine. And I’m gonna let the world know.”

[readbythestarlight]

c2e93

Oooookay the ad is freakishly normal so far

Nott: I stole this statue because fuck your dad

Fjord harassing the man just sitting listlessly in the bar

This poor old guy xD

I like how Fjord is like “it’s time to find out all about Beau’s wild days”

[[MORE]]

Cary: “you good with a shovel?”

Cad: “I am actually.”

“They are... disappointing.”

Jester is so grossed out by these rooms poor thing

Okay what’s the joke with Sam’s flask this week

HOLY SHIT THEY ALL GET TO SEE THE TRAVELER FOR THE FIRST TIME

Oh fuck what does that mean

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

So that means he’s.... not a god right

I’ve heard the theory he’s an archfey who Jester is helping to ascend to godgood because of her belief in him?

lol the Nott and Fjord banter is the BEST

He was?? A kid?? When she met him?? I do not remember this!!

The disappointment over that Nat20 cause they wanted to fight xD

Oh boy it’s been a while since they faced a harpy

The whole jar, Caleb?? Come on that was fun boba

Now you’ve lost the boba AND you have to fight

Nott’s drinking has gotten bad again

Have we seen Cad’s spirit guardians? I can’t remember. It’s probably bugs.

Called it

Cad coming in clutch with the dispell to save the wizard

Oh boy double crits

Ha nice tho! Fjord fjucking it up with the armor!

And the second one too DAYUM that armor is good

Oh frick it’s acid

OH NO

THE HORSES

Sending the horses back alone is a dumb idea they’re def gonna die

Good trying to deceive his way across the swamp xD

Poison fog?

Ghost fog

This which really does not want visitors

People skin leathers

I half hope it’s NOT the witch’s hut just because it would be funny

They just come across some really really weird hermit’s hut

SHIT there she is hiding on the roof

SHE SCARY

Thanks Matt I hate it

Wtf is she

I haaaaaate her

Also they’re gonna be fucked with a point of exhaustion

Hate the voice god dammit Matt

Like y’all I’m not easily freaked but she is definitely freaking me out

NOPE

NOPE

DONT LIKE HER

I’m with Travis this one time

“One at a time” hahaha hell no

Fjord really stepping up here I’m proud of him but also FUCK DON’T GO IN ALONE

Fjord don’t go promising favors to a witch

Thank god for that low roll

Fjord you little shit xD

Oh no Beau

Beau don’t do it

Nott wouldn’t want you to do it

MARISH RAY

NOOO THE STREAM IS DYING

Beau Beau Beau don’t

God I hate this no no no no no no no no no

I won’t allow this

MARISHA

GODDAMN

RAY

DONT YOU DARE

BEAU DONT

NO

Please Beau don’t

Please Beau

Please

They wouldn’t want this you’ll be hurting them too

BEAU

Oh thank god she left

Beau please don’t

Beau

ASK HER WHAT SHE MEANS BY NOT YET

What if she agrees to change Nott because she senses that Nott’s misery of being away from the M9 would be enough new misery to make it worth it

NOTT

NOTT YOU BAD

DONT DO THAT

Jfc Nott DONT WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

ALL THOSE LIVES??

Jfc this is THE MOST SELFISH I am appalled

That puts your own family in danger!

Beau was going to sacrifice all her happiness for you and you’re going to fuck over two nations?!

Nott

Don’t you dare

Girl

If this pushes Beau to make the sacrifice instead I will rage

Has Nott been really off lately or is that just me

“Things that don’t really affect us though” Nott you lying selfish

I am so disappointed in you

Oh Beau’s gonna be MAD

Nott you LIAR

Beau tell them

Tell them the truth

Beau

Please tell them

So they can tell you how miserable they’ll be without you

BEAU DO NOT

MARISHA PLEASE DONT DO THIS

SOMEONE STOP HER

STOP

HER

PLEASE

hug her!! And hold her!! And walk away from the goddamn witch!!

PLEASE DONT LET HER

Jester hug her

Group hug her

Don’t let her

Yasha

oh god

Not gonna let Beau do this

I’m crying so hard please just kill this witch please don’t give her anything

Jester Yasha somebody grab Beau and just hold her and tell her you can’t lose her

All of you do that

And Yasha please don’t listen to the witch

She feeds on your misery, she would bring your wife back as a husk

DAMN RIGHT GIRL

What’s she gonna give her

Oh no the flowers I’m

I’m crying really hard right now

Please roll well

“Oh I just meant I would kill you”

YAAAAS YASHA

Just do it please

Jester no

Can we not

Let’s just fight her let’s just KILL HER

I want Jester to kill her with sunshine

Oh no her artistic expression

Oh that would be so sad

Just KILL HER

JESTER NO

JESTER

JESTER NO

OH MY GOD

I’m gonna throw up

N: “let her do her thing” FUCK YOU NOTT

Oh damn, was that clever of her?

Oh. Oh my god.

She’s using modify memory

BABY GIRL

that’s THE SPELL

ITS NOT GONNA WORK BUT IM PROUD SHES TRYING

HOLY SHIT

SHE SUCCEEDED

I can’t breathe

That persuasion dice roll for the fucking cupcake

LAURA GODDAMN BAILEY EVERYONE

I literally can’t breathe

Taliesin is all

Of us

Marisha is the only one keeping in character

Oh my god oh my god oh my god

I can’t believe it was all that darkness and all that emotion and then Jester saved it with a moldy cupcake

Anyone feel like Jester did that as much to keep Beau with them as for Nott?

I’m shaking man what a ride