#it means i won't be totally spoiled for the story

[candidsoup]

Word of Honor - I realized something in Ep. 16

I realized that there was something that they probably cropped/zoomed in on the video in order to censor.

Spoilers for episode 16...

Episode 16 on YouTube

The Scorpion King and Zhao Jing are talking, and at about about 29:44 you can see Scorpion's arms move up for a fraction of a second. Then it zooms in a tiny bit to basically just show Scorpion's head, and Zhao Jing from like the top 4th? of his torso up. At 29:45-:46 you can see part of Zhao Jing's robe move a tiny bit. Scorpion is clearly pulling on part of his robe in a playful manner and they were like, oh, uh, we can't show that..... but if you pay attention that's definitely what is happening... I got the "vibes" between them already from this interaction, which is the 2nd time they're shown together. (Ep. 15 shows them talking but with Zhao Jing purposely obscured, so you just know Scorpion has some mysterious "godfather" -- the subs on Youku say "father" but "godfather" is what it said on Netflix, I believe, and may be a better translation for English speakers to understand they are NOT related...) I was surprised that not everyone gets the relationship they have with each other, tbh. Even if it's not clear earlier on, when that metaphor of the "gambler" comes in, and Scorpion says something like "I am a gambler too"..... I mean come on. But not everyone realized it? (Based on comments on YT videos and some people's reactions I've seen) Still, I wasn't aware of this little robe pull, at least not consciously, until just now. I just love noticing those little details. Knowing how much work they put in to include things, even if they might have been censored later, is fascinating (and really special!!!) to me.

[weebsinstash]

Sitting here watching that clip of Valentino with that demon girl going "you're gorgeous! Do you need a job? 🥰" and started thinking of Val either intentionally or unintentionally making Reader feel massively insecure and ugly and Val using that to manipulate them

I've mentioned "oh what if your job is serving him drinks at his club" but what if he also starts dragging you along when he goes out like some kind of weird PA. Like he's just throwing random bills at you that he clearly isn't counting like it's pocket change in a very "yeah sure whatever just do it bitch" kind of way so you put up with it, it's good income, but it's still... WEIRD. He's going to get his antenna done at the salon, and you're like. Having to STAND THERE beside his chair, you're not even in the lobby waiting room, you've gotta be WITH HIM, and you just get all these windows into his cunty personality where he's spoiled and mean to service workers and is a total fucking diva and it's extremely off-putting I'm sure

He's in a night club hitting on people whose bodies are absolutely insane like I'm talking GYATT city, ass and titties, you've got twunks and you've got hunks, and you're like, in sneakers, off to the side, head down playing games on your phone since you can't even put earbuds in because you unfortunately have to keep an ear open since he'll order YOU to bring drinks, not just for him, but for these complete strangers who don't even work for him too, AND he'll let them be fucking mean to you. You bring some bubble butt twink who's on Val's arm the daiquiri he asked for and he gives you a very clear look up and down before laughing, cuddling up to Val, "yeah I can SEE you need new employees 😋" and they all laugh Including Fucking Valentino

I dunno, I'm on the fence. It really changes with the story. You get the yandere who are obsessive but more abusive-adjacent and then you have the more true-blooded kind that won't accept any slander of you at all. Like can you imagine Valentino's smile just dropping off his face because some chick like, tells you you have cellulite or even something MILD like your mascara is bad or idk what are, male insults.... you have a flat ass??? And Valentino just instantly shoves them away "okay you're done bye, let the door hit you on the way out 🤭"

But today we're talking about angst and feeling fucking miserable so. Over time it just, makes you feel so horrible about yourself to go to these nightclubs. It isn't even about fucking Valentino, it's about how you're sitting here watching everyone EXCEPT YOU receive all this fawning and compliments and attention, even if Val is faking some of it just to lure in more workers. You see a girl who has the perfect skin and you run fingers over an ice pick scar on your cheek, male reader sees a guy who's tall but muscular with nice facial hair and you feel your own baby face and smaller build, there are people thinner than you, curvier than you, stronger than you, smarter than you, and you watch all of them get called gorgeous and beautiful and handsome and sexy and you're just the fucking dweeb who gets teased, mocked, BULLIED

One night Valentino is sitting there talking to another girl, "oh my gosh, honey, I would TOTALLY do body shots off of you. Hey, can we get some shots over here? .... helllooooo, I SAID can we get some shots? ...bitch if you make me repeat myself again--" and he looks over and you're not even there. It's like ice. Suddenly without warning you're not there and he doesn't know what to do because you're ALWAYS there and whenever you're not it's because he LETS YOU leave??? Like??? He's immediately standing up even if it knocks away the people hanging off of him and he's looking around, "you BETTER be in the fucking bathroom--"

And over the crowd of people he sees you on the opposite end of the club, as if you were actively trying to put as much distance between you two as possible, and you're with a guy, some big furry monster boy, and you laugh with a big smile and Valentino GRINDS his teeth as he realizes it's been ages since you laughed around him, let alone at anything HE'S said, and you're actually drinking with this guy where you would always be way too stiff and cautious around Val (although he also really wouldn't let you drink anyways, being more of a waiter when you're 'on the clock')

Obsessed with the idea of Val making Reader carry around combs and brushes to comb his antenna/fur and Val sees you using them on another guy. like I think he'd go absolutely violently fucking crazy honestly because 1. Those are HIS and he is a bougie Gucci material man like those are high quality things being used on some RANDO 2. Those are for HIM, you're using them on someone ELSE 3. The person using them on someone else is YOU, YOU'RE brushing another man, YOU'RE cuddling another man like some kind of UNGRATEFUL WHORE--

When I say you suddenly look up and you're being GRABBED, HAULED UP to your feet by your arm, grip on you so tight it's ready to fucking bruise, and Val just shoots this guy in the head, like cartoonishly powerful gun just splatters the dudes head from what should have been just a single bullet hole I'm sure. You're like vaguely traumatized and trying to tell yourself the man will regenerate and be fine but now Valentino's got a gun in his hand and he's furious and you just start CRYING. He doesn't even CARE about the people he was flirting with anymore, if he has any employees in the club with him he doesn't even call out that it's time to go, he just starts DRAGGING YOU to the limo and will just LEAVE EVERYONE there because he's in such a rage, also, have you guys seen the posts where people point out there are moth squeaking effects when he speaks sometimes. So he's just fucking mad, voice cracking, shouting, squeaking, and i think it'd be funny if he spends like 15 minutes screaming about THE GUY while he has you like all but glued to his lap on the ride home and doesn't say a single thing about what you did. Just manic ranting on his phone as he HAS to call Vox, "oh my god you wouldn't FUCKING BELIEVE what this piece of shit did in front of me, the ugliest fucking guy I've ever seen was--" and you're like trembling wondering when he's going to pivot and realize like, you were also. Intentionally willingly sitting with that guy.

But he doesn't even like. Acknowledge it that way. He just keeps ranting about the guy touching something that doesn't belong to him, he's gotta replace all his fucking combs now, oh my GOD Vox like SERIOUSLY-- and then it's probably Vox that's like, with a disinterested voice, "sooooo.... WHICH whore did this happen to again???" And Valentino without hesitating just straight up says your name, "the nerdy one, you KNOW which one I'm talking about"

And that's when you just start to blubber cause you're tired and you're tipsy and you're mentally worn down, "oh OF COURSE I'm 'the nerdy one'!! You drag me all over the fucking place and I never get any time to myself and I have to WATCH everyone ELSE have fun, and when I finally find someone who calls ME cute, calls ME pretty, you fucking SHOOT HIM!" and you're just, face in your hands crying and you can't see it as Valentino GRINS like some fucking MONSTER because, "Aw, pobrecita, is that what this is about? You're lonely? ❤️w❤️"

And you're just mad and crying and pouting and you're telling him to go fuck himself and actually starting to get a little mouthy and have an attitude with him and he doesn't even care because how upset you're getting is going right to his head. even if you don't want to, you're jealous of him giving other people attention instead of you, and now he's watching you get all upset and sniffly over it and he's so full of himself, this makes him feel so powerful that he's reduced you to this insecure bawling state, and he's rubbing your shoulders, "awwww, don't cry mami, you should've told me you were wanting some 'attention'"

At this point you could be literally slapping his hands away but he's gonna keep pulling you close to him on purpose and NOW, now he's laying on all the fucking compliments, stroking the tops of your thighs. He knows exactly what scent you're using in your hair. Oh, you're wearing the nail polish you bought during one of your first months here; he's always liked this color on you. He's commenting and bringing up things you didn't expect him to notice let alone remember about you and... you're just so weak to it.... you're lonely... and he's here... and maybe it's the smoke or his cologne or what but he smells so good, he's so close, your head feels a little funny--

The rest of your night blurs together after that, but when you wake up, you're not at your place, or the studio, or anywhere you mildly recognize. You're in a bed way too big for someone your size, and you're especially not used to SOMEONE ELSE BEING IN IT WITH YOU. Val just has you caged in all of his arms and is passed out drooling in a post alcohol, post drug, post fuckathon coma, and you can FEEL in your muscles and in your body that you two were up to some wiiiiiild shit together.

IF you may manage to sneak out of V Tower without being stopped or caught, it won't make hin suddenly forget all the things you told him, or him now knowing how it feels to have your hands on his body, or how it looks to have your big sad wet eyes looking up at him and then sparkling with one of his compliments. Usually he WANTS bitches to be gone when he wakes up but, this time? When those eyes open and you're not there? Instantly feeling rejected, mad, irritated, he can't exactly identify why, he's just MAD you ran off without telling him and he's instantly blowing up your line to figure out where you are, and now you have become a recipient of The Voice-mails

"Heeeeeeey, baby, so, it's so funny but I just woke up and I can't find you in the tower? Did you run off to get breakfast somewhere? You KNOW you shouldn't run off without telling me first; I need you to come on back here ❤️"

"-- so answer your phone you fucking SLUT!! You better not be with another fucking guy, or I swear to fucking GOD--"

"--It just stresses me out that there are so many different kinds of people down here, I worry someone might hurt you, amorcito. I can't help protect you if I'm not there, soooooo, why don't you just, tell me where you are--"

"Is this fucking funny for you, you cunt?! You get all worked up about how PATHETIC AND SAD you are and then leave me? Leave ME? ME?! You're LUCKY i even TOUCHED YOU AT ALL--"

"Heeeeeeey, oh my gosh so this is so funny ummmm, Vox just let me know that Velvette borrowed you for something, soooooooooo, please don't listen to any of those other voicemails, ok? You know how CRAZY you make me, right? Don't forget you have a shift tonight, and if you even think about not showing up, I have some hellhounds that know your scent already and they'll drag you back here by your hair, sooooo, see you later love you byeeeeee ❤️"

[heygerald]

Falling Without A Harness - Chapter 5

AU where Tom Ryder is still an asshole, just not a psychotic one. When he has good news, but no one to share it with, Parker invites him along to her brother's birthday party. A moment of weakness, or a moment for him to prove he's more than just his Hollywood ego?

read the story here: prev / next

"—and Jodi said she was going to wear something simple, maybe jeans and a t-shirt, but I'm not really sure I want to match that vibe or go for something a little more, you know, fun. Maybe I could finally break out the bucket hat tonight," Colt's voice droned on from the phone tucked indelicately into the crevice of her neck and shoulder. Parker was only half listening, as was the usual when it came to her brother's incessant rambling about anything related to the pretty blonde camerawoman, and while he talked, she made work of slowly peeling strips of painters tape from the freshly painted wall. The ball in her hand was nicely sized by this point of the conversation. "So, anyway... uh, wait, what was the point?"

"Was there a point?" she mused aloud. "I stopped listening when you started talking about some pony she rode once at her twelfth birthday party."

She heard him snap his fingers. "Right—the birthday party."

"Hers or yours?"

"Mine! Listen, I know that you all put a lot of work into planning this shindig—"

"Shindig? God, you're old!"

"—but I would really appreciate if you told me what to expect tonight. Just a hint will do. I'm not trying to show up wearing dress shoes to a disco if you know what I mean."

Parker stuck another piece of tape onto the ever-growing ball with a blithe snort. "I never know what you mean."

"Park," he whined, much like a child, and not the thirty-something year old man that he was. Was this year number thirty-seven or thirty-eight? She should probably figure that out before putting candles on his cake. "Come onnnnnn. Just tell me. Just a hint!"

"And ruin the surprise? No way, Jose."

"But it's my birthday surprise! You can spoil it for me. I mean, realistically, no one would blame you if, maybe, you accidentally let the surprise slip. It'd be expected coming from you, actually."

She frowned. "What do you mean it would be expected coming from me?"

"Well, you know, you can't keep a secret to save your life."

Parker tossed the ball of tape into the trash and picked up the broom with an indignant scoff. "Excuse me, I am a very good secret keeper."

A long winded and high-pitched whine followed, and she winced at the volume of it. Parker switched the phone to her other ear, certain that between her brother and Melissa she had permanent hearing damage.

"Oh, so now all of the sudden you're a locked vault!" he blathered on. "Where was this dedication to silence when I got sick at Macy Lindwigs wedding and you spent the entire evening telling everyone you could find?"

An image of Macy Lindwig, dressed to the nines in a beautiful handmade wedding dress, staring in horror as her brother puked in an azalea bush three minutes before the ceremony started came to mind.

"Oh, I totally forgot about that," she snickered, the memory almost too sweet to ignore now that it had been brought back up. "You ruined her heels that night, you know. What was I supposed to do? Not tell everyone?"

"For starters. Or, at the very least, you could have refrained from blabbing about it at Christmas," he muttered petulantly. "Grandma never looked at me the same way again. She still won't let me near her rose garden."

"Cause and effect," Parker chirped. "You drank one too many tequila shots the night before, and thus, you have to suffer the fate of Grandma judging you every Christmas Eve."

"Miami Vice premiered the night before!" he argued, shouting, in what she suspected was a deranged manner. Parker hoped he was somewhere public; perhaps a grocery store or laundromat. "Just another example of how you can't keep a secret for the life of you, not even when your brother's good name is at stake. Your only true sibling, might I add."

"And here I thought I was an orphan found in a box."

She could hear Colt kicking something, palm clasped over the speaker as he whined, before he was back. "You're worse than Judas, you know. You ruin lives just for the fun of it, no silver needed."

"Are you offering silver?"

A cough. "Uh, I mean, I'm a little tight on silver at the moment. I think I have a free sub from Publix somewhere around here."

"A coupon. Wow. So generous."

"It's a punch card, and those aren't easy to fill out, you know," he huffed indignantly, obviously put out that Parker wasn't going to accept his lackluster offer. "What if I say pretty please?"

"Ha! Nice try. I happen to like Jodi, so even if I wanted to tell you what we're doing tonight—which I don't—I'm not going to. She was really excited to help me plan this year."

Some spluttering followed her resolution, before he was kicking something again. Apparently, whatever he kicked was harder than he thought, however, and the next moment her brother was wheezing in pain.

"Jesus, take it easy, alright? You're going to need your toes for tonight."

In a breathless voice, he weaseled, "tonight at...?"

But Parker was no novice when it came to keeping secrets from her brother, and so she didn't fall for the trick. "Ha, nice try," she snorted while stooping to sweep her pile of dust and paint chips off the ground. Shades of green and white stained her hands, but she didn't bother to clean them off. It would be a pointless endeavor, after all, considering what they had planned for Colt's birthday party later that evening. "I'm trying to stay on Jodi's good side."

"Both of her sides are good sides," was his immediate response, something wistful coloring his tone. "She's gorgeous. If you haven't noticed."

"Trust me," Parker deadpanned with a blithe glance at her own disheveled appearance, "I've noticed."

"Do you think I should bring her flowers?"

"To your birthday party?"

"Girls like flowers. Plus, she's planning the whole thing."

"I helped!"

"I'm not bringing you flowers to my birthday party, Park. It's not about you, you know."

"Right, of course, how could I have forgotten?" she deadpanned. However, despite his disinterest in showing her any gratitude, Parker smiled at the concept that there was a man out in this world so infatuated by a woman, that he not only spent all his time talking about her, but he also wanted to bring her flowers for no good reason. If only she could find someone like that who wasn't her brother. Wishes and wants, she supposed. "As nice of a thought as that is, don't bring her flowers tonight. They'll end up wilted by the time she gets back home from the party. If they aren't totally trashed first, that is."

His tone pitched higher, eagerly. "Trashed? Why would they be trashed? Are we doing some floral vandalism tonight? Oh!" Colt cried, hands clapping together. "Are we going to a wreck-it room? I've always wanted to do something like that. You know, somewhere that wasn't on a set, anyway, where I'm being beat up for a living with props."

Parker covered the speaker of her phone to curse at herself. While she hadn't ruined the surprise, Colt was like a dog with a hambone, and was not likely to let it go anytime soon.

She cleared her throat and attempted indifference. "Not even close," she said, but it didn't sound super convincing, and with an exasperated huff, she threw her hands up. "Jesus, Colt, you're going to get me into trouble! Just chill out. Jodi should be picking you up soon, anyway."

"Picking me up soon for...?"

Colt's whining was interrupted by the tinkle of the front bell, and as she switched her phone back to her right ear, Parker took a moment to scoop up the paint-splattered tarp sprawled across the floor.

Melissa had been on to something with her suggestion to repaint the store, and while they had only gotten the walls finished over the past two and a half weeks, the mossy green color with gold accented picture frames really gave some life back to her shop. It still had that musty smell, as well as a pair of flickering lightbulbs from the janky electrical sockets, but they were definitely taking a step in the right direction. The color made everything feel cozier, and once they coated the bookshelves with shades of blue and yellow and replaced the overhead fluorescents with something warmer, she thought it might look like an entirely new store for the price of a few gallons of paint.

Not to mention the color stood out from the recent tan and brown trend that had swept across Hollywood hills. Win, win.

"Ugh! Stop trying to spoil your own surprise and let it happen, alright? You're going to love it," she pacified half-heartedly while booting a stool out of the way. Too deep of a breath had the smell of laquear and paint fumes killing off some braincells, and Parker dropped the tarp along with the rest of the paint materials with a cross-eyed huff. "Plus, it was all Jodi's idea, so if you hate it, I would keep that to your..."

Parker paused halfway up the aisle.

On the far end of it, a brown and black colored dog sat patiently wagging its tail at her. Its tongue was sticking out of the side of its mouth, but despite Elon Musk's predictions about the existence of intelligent life in the galaxy, she was pretty sure that the local population of Hollywood mutts had yet to grow opposable thumbs capable of opening a door.

She blinked at it.

"Er, listen," she muttered into the phone, gaze darting past the dog, but not seeing its owner. "I have to go. There's a dog situation that I need to take care of."

"A dog? I've been asking you for years to get a dog, and now you finally decide to get one on my birthday! That's so totally fu—"

Parker hung up before he could complain any further, and slowly tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. The dog barked at her, as if excited to finally have her attention.

"Er—hi. Did you—how did you get in here?" she asked.

It responded by tilting its head to a ninety-degree angle. She stared, waiting, as if the language barrier would suddenly disappear.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't. The dog barked a second time.

"I don't have any treats on me," she said again, not sure else what to say, but certainly feeling like she should say something. It trotted towards her, and though it seemed friendly at first, when it stuck its head into her crotch to take too deep a sniff for comfort, Parker jumped backwards. "Ah—fuck! Buy a girl dinner first, huh?"

She sidestepped the dog, hands splayed out in front of her like she was a robbery victim, and did her best to avoid being felt up as the dog followed her towards the storefront. It nosed her rear end, and Parker let out an undignified squeak.

"Jesus! I know the humane society is underfunded and all, but this is a little ridiculous, don't you think?" she asked it.

The dog darted in front of her, nose going right back for the crotch, and Parker just barely managed to leap onto Melissa's sunken reading chair when an increasingly familiar head of blonde hair stepped out from behind one of the bookshelves.

"Talon, Jean Claude," he said, and as though the dog hadn't just been harassing her, it plopped down onto the floor right beside him. Dog and owner blinked at her in bemusement. "Don't seriously tell me that you're afraid of dogs."

Parker shot him a disgruntled glare in response, but Tom didn't seem to mind the heat packed behind it. Instead, he smirked at her, crossed one arm over the other, and languidly leaned back against the front counter.

It was obvious he was laughing at her, and not with her, and Parker added it to the list of all the things she couldn't stand about Tom Ryder. Worse though, she couldn't help but subconsciously smooth a hand over her hair, because where Jodi was effortlessly gorgeous, Parker required quite a bit of effort not to look awful. And right now, with paint-stained pants, a half-assed pair of dutch braids, and miscolored converse, she was certainly not showing him her good side.

If she even had one, that is.

"I should have known you would have a pervy dog," she said while looking down her nose at him. Literally, too, considering she was still standing on the chair. Parker flushed a bright red at the realization and none-too-glamorously clambered down onto her feet. "And French, too. I think that's stereotyping, Ryder."

Despite the distrustful look she shot the dog, he seemed a whole lot less pervy and rabid now that she knew he had an owner, and when she approached it, its tail flapped back and forth excitedly.

"Insulting an entire country?" Tom harrumphed as she started to scratch the dog between its ears. "Maybe you should sit through PR training with me next time Gail hosts a session."

She blew a bland raspberry as she read the dog's name tag.

Jean Claude. Huh. Cute.

He let out a low whine when she hit a particularly sensitive spot, and in delight, he rolled onto his back with half-lidded eyes.

"Is this the one you were talking to the other day, or do you have any other expat mutts that I should know about? I can only be felt up so many times before I file a harassment complaint."

"Jean Claude isn't a mutt," he corrected her, disdain at the very idea of owning a mutt. Parker supposed adopting a kennel-dog was likely below him, being a superstar and what not. "He's an Australian Kelpie, pure-bred, and he certainly wasn't fucking cheap. His parents are award winning cattle dogs in the Australian circuit."

"That's an award category?"

"Hmph. Laugh all you want, but I'd bet he's better trained than you are. He's even trained to attack someone in the balls on command."

"So am I," she sassed while making kissy faces at Jean Claude. "Oh, he's cute. Yes, you are. Yes, you are," she cooed.

He ate it right up, tail flapping in every direction, and when she spared Tom a glance, she could feel the jealousy rolling off him that someone else was getting more attention. Dog or not. Parker snickered.

"Sorry you're stuck with this one," she added, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to gesture in Tom's general area. "But trust me, you're way cuter, and probably lower maintenance than he is."

Tom cleared his throat. "Are you done?"

"Jealous?"

"Of a dog?" he deadpanned, rolling his eyes beneath a pair of expensive Ray Bans—not at all disproving the theory—and Parker smiled at her private joke. "Hardly."

She leaned closer to Jean Claude, and spoke in a stage whisper, "I think he's jealous."

And—yup—that seemed to do it.

Tom pushed off the counter with a sharp huff, unamused by her teasing, and make a command in French. Jean Claude bounded onto his feet, trotted to where Tom was, and curled up between his legs.

Parker stood and planted her hands onto her hips. "Real mature."

"I can always show you his attack command," Tom threatened. "I doubt you'll find him as adorable when he attacks you. It's always a hit at parties, watching someone get their balls bitten off."

"I think I'm missing a critical component for that trick to work," she pointed out with a dry smile. "But, anyway, what are you doing here? If you came to return my books, they're yours, considering how much you paid for them the other day."

He shrugged. "Maybe I want my change."

"You came all the way here, through traffic, to get your change?" she echoed, clearly disbelieving his piss poor excuse. Under her stare, Tom shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. "Hm. I thought I was supposed to be the penny pincher between the two of us."

"Maybe it's not the money I care about. It's the principle of the whole thing."

"Ha! You expect me to believe that you have principles?"

Tom huffed, but she caught the crooked upturn of his mouth. Still, he played the victim—always acting, this one. "You're right. I don't just deserve change. I should get a full refund, considering how awful your book recommendations were. Not to mention the books practically fell apart when I touched them. Clearly, you sell cheap products."

"Clearly," she muttered, while flipping the sign on the front door from OPEN to CLOSED. There wasn't much going on outside, anyway, and she doubted she would be missing any customers by taking the day off early.

"You want to tell me what you're really doing here? Because we both know you liked my recommendations," she said matter-of-factly, moving to the cash register now. She had made a few sales throughout the day, more than a typical Friday, and so she carefully began stacking her receipts. "I mean, who wouldn't? Those are good books I gave you. Contact is in my top ten."

Tom leaned on the counter. "Books I bought."

She waved him off, stack of receipts in hand, as she locked the lower cabinet. Tom could complain all he wanted, but she did know that he liked her book recommendations. He had finished them all within a week, when he likely should have been spending more attention devoted to practicing for his audition. Granted, it was a sci-fi movie he was auditioning for, but—

She startled.

"Oh, duh!" Parker sprung to her full height with a curious look. "Did you get the part?"

Tom smirked.

It wasn't bashful or pleasant or soft like authors typically described their tall, dark, and handsome characters, but it was so very him that she hardly minded it. In fact, Parker sort of liked it. It crinkled the soft lines by his eyes, loosened the tension in his shoulders, and made him look younger. Nicer. Cuter.

"Of course I did," he sassed. "I told you I was going to get it."

She ignored his blatant peacocking to punch him in the shoulder. The action seemed to shock him, and Tom clutched the spot with his other hand—as if she had done some real damage—while Parker grinned. "Holy shit, that's great! I mean, sure, you were a shoo-in or whatever, but this is a big deal. Right? It's a big deal? You must be jumping off the walls right now!"

Tom gave a bemused huff, eyes darting over the length of her face, and nodded. "Biggest movie I've gotten yet," he said. "My first sci-fi film too, so, that's going to get my name out there even more than it was. I mean, if I thought I was well known before... after this, everyone will know who Tom Ryder is."

"That's awesome!"

Tom rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm, clearly not buying into it, and though Parker was so excited on his behalf, Tom seemed like he was fighting off indifference to the news. "Yeah, well, a role's a role, you know."

"Well, yeah," she hedged, waving a hand at him, "but this is your first sci-fi role, and it was one that you even told me you wanted to get. You must be at least a little excited for it. Sci-fi is so interesting, I bet filming it is gonna be a ton of fun."

"Sure," he echoed dryly. His smirk had returned, and though she wouldn't necessarily classify what his face was doing now as a smile, it was certainly close. "Fun. That's what I'm aiming for in my career: fun."

"Oh, please," she clucked her tongue at him, receipts shoved hastily into their folder. "You can be a huge movie star and still have fun doing it. I mean, isn't that the point? Doing something you love and all that. I'd imagine it's going to be a whole new experience for you, stepping into a sci-fi set."

He hemmed, mouth twisting between a smile and a frown. "I guess."

He didn't sound all that convinced. In fact, when Parker thought about it, she seemed to be far more excited about the role than he did. She tilted her head at him suspiciously. "Alright, well... what are you doing to celebrate?" she asked. "A vacation? Buying yourself a new car? Oooh—Legoland?"

He furrowed his brows at her in surprised. "Legoland?"

"It's what I would do," she shrugged. "Probably, anyway. I've never been because the tickets just don't seem worth the price, but if I had just landed a giant role in a giant blockbuster, I think buying a ticket would be the least of my worries. You could probably even write it off on your taxes."

He blinked at her. "Poor people are so sad to me."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and took delight in the way that he huffed in amusement. "Well? Come on—make me jealous—what are you doing?"

Tom shrugged. "Gail's throwing a big party next week to announce the role. She always does that. Invites her producer friends and talent agents and that sort of stuff. There'll probably be some sort of attraction, singers or a zebra or something."

"Casual," she snorted.

"She has a weird thing for exotic animals, I don't know."

"Seems like it. But that's what she's doing, what are you doing?" she needled further. "I mean, I assumed you would do a big party with your friends before then. You know—cops get called, party crashers—the whole scene."

Tom hesitated to answer, and when he did, he didn't sound all that much like himself. "Well, I can't really do that—she controls when I make go public with the news—has the whole timeline figured out, and manages all the press for it. She doesn't let me tell people ahead of time."

"I'm people."

He rolled his eyes. "You're a nobody," he said. Not to be mean; no, Tom was very clear in his words when he intended to be mean. Instead, he had said it nonchalantly, as if it was a universal truth that everyone understood. And, in all honesty, Parker got it. "I mean, who are you going to tell that would care, you know?"

"Okay, ouch," she muttered still, before barreling on. "Don't you have any non-work friends that you can go get drinks with?"

"All my friends are work friends."

"What about people that don't know Gail?"

Tom huffed and waved a hand at her. "That's the same thing, you know. She introduced me to everyone I know in the industry. Other than some set hands, we have the same circle."

Parker sank onto her heels, feeling slighted on his behalf, but knowing that she didn't really have a right to. Surely, Tom Ryder would have stood up to Gail if he didn't like her hands-on, helicopter parent approach to managing his life. And clearly their work relationship was beneficial to them both. He certainly didn't need a nobody like her feeling sorry for him.

And yet, she did.

Because, as she listened to him talk, it felt like he had to give up everything just to be a somebody in Hollywood. And while it might have been the norm for him, it was absolutely not the norm for everybody.

Did he even realize that?

"Fuck that," Parker said before she could think better of it, emotions getting the better of her. Colt always joked that she had a bleeding heart, but she had never thought there was anything wrong with that. "Come hang out with me, then."

Tom arched a brow at her, mouth parted dumbly. "...what?"

She shrugged, feeling a little like a specimen beneath a microscope, and struggled to explain herself. "I mean, you just said that Gail doesn't want you telling anybody that matters, and I only hang out with people that don't matter in the grand scheme of Hollywood politics. I'm getting ready to head to Colt's birthday party after this, and if you're not doing anything else, you may as well come with me. It won't be a celebration for you, obviously, but... it'll be fun."

He blinked at her slowly, surprise written in the fine lines of his face.

"We're not going to murder you," she huffed indignantly.

"I—I never hang out with Colt or those guys."

"Yeah, for good reason. They all sort of hate you for being an asshole on set to them. Like, all the time. I wouldn't want to hang out with you outside of work either, if I was them."

He scowled. "Oh, well, when you put it like that," he huffed. "Obviously, they're not going to want me to come. And, I may be an asshole, but I try not to gatecrash birthday parties."

She waved his concern away with a paint-stained hand. "First off, you won't be gatecrashing, I'm literally extending an invite. And secondly, they only hate you because you're a prick on set. What better way to prove that you're not a prick, by coming to Colt's birthday party, and—you know—actually being nice for once. Just don't be a dickwad. Or an asshole. Or any sort of thing that you usually are on a normal day."

"I think the saying is 'always be yourself'," he deadpanned.

"That absolutely doesn't apply here."

"Smartass."

Parker nudged him in the shoulder with an exasperated look. "Come on! What else are you going to do? Do some irresponsible spending and buy everyone a round of drinks. I bet they'll think differently of you after everybody is a few beers in."

Tom didn't seem too convinced with her logic. "Crashing his birthday party doesn't seem the best way to get on Colt's good side. I didn't even know it was his birthday."

"Now you do," she shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. And—well—her brother was probably going to bitch about Tom's presence at the party, but Parker also believed that after a few shots of liquor, everyone would get over the issue fairly quick. Not to mention the party itself was designed for stress relief. Bringing Tom may actually make the night. With a conniving wiggle of her brows, Parker tried again. "I know for a fact that there's room for one more. Jodi and I planned the whole thing together, and if she's allowed a plus-one, so am I. Jean Claude can even come. Colt loves dogs."

Tom seemed to sway a little further with her reasoning, and with a slow nod, he finally agreed. He certainly didn't look happy about it though.

Parker punched the air. Oh, Colt is going to love this.

"Awesome! Give me a minute to lock up, and then we can go."

"Fine," he huffed, not too unlike that of a sulky toddler. "But I'm driving."

Parker smiled. Her car was a piece of shit that barely worked on a good day. She was going to insist he drive in the first place. Plus, now, she could get really drunk.

"Fine by me," was all she said, not eager to give away that piece of information just yet. "Just promise me you won't be an asshole. I won't be able to keep my reputation of favorite sister if you ruin the night."

"I'm not going to ruin the night," he snarked with a petulant glare. Parker shrugged, grabbing her things, as he asked, "...wait, I thought you were his only sister?"

"Exactly. Now, come on, I want to get there before they start assigning teams."

The bell rang as she stepped outside, Jean Claude trotting with her, and Tom hesitated for a brief moment before what she said caught up to him.

"Wait," he called, jogging after her. "What do you mean teams?"

---

Tom's presence did not go unnoticed. In fact, it had taken a mere three minutes before Jodi was elbowing her to the side, a stern, disbelieving look furrowing her brows. She had let it go in a huff, however, when Parker pointed out that Tom had promised to be on his best behavior, as well as promised to buy the first round of drinks once the game was over.

That had been a lie, of course, but she supposed she could deal with that tantrum later.

Colt, on the other hand, hadn't been so easily placated, and as the twenty odd players stood in a circle, listening to the instructor drone on about safety, he weaseled next to her with a glare.

"I can't believe you brought Ryder," he hissed for the third time that night, hot breath on her face. She would have shoved him away if the instructor hadn't already reprimanded then twice for being distracting. "I mean, seriously Park, I can't stand the guy."

"Oh, really? I couldn't tell."

"Really!"

"Well, I'm sorry," she shrugged, although the apology was half-hearted at best, and Colt seemed to know this as he narrowed his eyes at her irritably. She huffed. "What was I supposed to do? Leave him behind?"

"Yes," Colt whisper-yelled. Dan glanced over his shoulder at the pair, and in perfect Seavers' sibling unison, they plastered fake smiles onto their faces with a friendly wave. He shook his head at them, but likely didn't think they were worth whatever trouble they caused, and faced forward once more. "That's exactly what you should have done!"

"It's not that easy," she argued, hissing as well. "He looked so sad! Like a little abandoned puppy dog that had just been kicked. It was a moment of weakness!"

"Oh, really?" Colt drawled. Together, they glanced over at Tom to find him ignoring everyone in the group with his head stuck in his phone. When a fly buzzed too close, he swatted at it with an icy glare. "That? You couldn't say no to that?"

"I said I was sorry!"

Parker's voice hitched higher than she intended, and the instructor paused in his speech to glare at the duo. She gave him a weak smile in return, mouthing, a guilty, sorry!

The man only got two words back into his speech, however, before Colt started whining again.

"Look, I'm totally stoked about the surprise party, okay? You did a stand-up job on it and the guest list. So how could you fuck it all up so close to the finish line?"

"What the hell does that even mean?" she asked in bewilderment. Parker shook her head. "Seriously, you need to update your sayings."

"Update my—?" Colt bit off a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose to take a long, overdrawn breath. "Why was he even at your bookstore? Since when did you two become friends? What happened to the whole—asshole, asshole, asshole—bit you had going on?"

"I still think he's an asshole," she shot back. But, well, when she caught Tom's gaze across the grass, she faltered. Did she think he was an asshole at his core? Or had he simply become someone she was beginning to understand—a dog that lashed out when someone got too close? Parker rubbed circles into her temple. "And we're not friends. And, even if we were, you have no one to blame but yourself."

"Myself?" he echoed in disbelief. "What do I have to do with this?"

"You're the one that gave him my phone number."

Colt snorted, shaking his head at her. "Fat chance of that," he said. Parker, thinking he was joking at first, fell silent when he caught the look in his eye. But, if Colt hadn't given Tom her phone number, then who had? she wondered, mentally counting down the list of people it could have possibly been.

Bigger fish to fry, she reminded herself when the list made her go cross-eyed.

"Whatever. We're not friends or buddies or whatever you think we are, so you can stop worrying about that."

Colt snorted. "Oh, sure you're not. He just happens to hang out around your bookshop and you share recommendations and, oh yeah! You bring him as a plus-one to my birthday party!"

Parker scowled. "I made the guest list, I think I have a right to bring someone along with."

"Sure, someone. Not Jaws over there."

She frowned at him, thrown off by the random insult. "Jaws?" she echoed, crinkling her nose distastefully. "What does a shark have to do with this?"

Colt sighed. "No, not the shark, the James Bond villain."

"That's a stupid name for a villain."

"I didn't write the damn thing."

"Okay, well, maybe he has the arrogance of a James Bond villain, but at least pick one from this century."

"Silva?"

"Nah. Whose the the one with the weird eye?"

Colt hummed thoughtfully, gaze darting over towards Tom. "Le Chiffre?"

Parker snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "That one!"

"Yeah, alright, I'll give you that," he conceded, nodding. "He does give off Bond villain vibes with the sunglasses and hair-do."

"Right? Oh you should have seen these glasses he was wearing last time. They were huge, and yellow tinted; like Tony Stark would wear. They were so ridiculous."

Colt snickered for a moment, enjoying mocking Tom with his sister, before realizing that he was currently mad at her. He threw his head back with a subtle groan. "Stop doing that! I'm still mad at you!"

Parker gave her brother a blithe look. "I think you're looking at this all wrong."

"Wrong? What other way should I look at it?" he snarked. "With my eyes closed?"

Resisting the urge to smack him, Parker instead gestured to their instructor, the paintball gun in his hand, and then towards Tom. "You literally get the chance to chase down and shoot, Tom Ryder, bane of your existence or whatever. Shoot him. Think about all the welts and whining and, maybe, if you're lucky, the tears you can get out of this experience. Legally. Without getting fired or arrested. What's better than that, huh? It's your very own personal rage room."

Colt considered all of that silently. He swept his gaze from the large pile of paintball guns set off to the side, to the acres of arena in front of them with inflatable obstacles, and then to his blonde alter-ego sulking at the edge of the group.

He slung an arm around Parker's shoulder with the boyish grin. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Parker snorted, amused by his mood swings. "Not nearly enough. It's all Jodi this, and Jodi that anymore."

Jodi, having finished listening to the instructor's demonstration, peered around Colt's shoulder to blink at the siblings. "What about me?"

Colt and Parker shared a silent look.

"Nothing," she said, whilst he cooed, "just talking about how pretty you are."

Jodi blushed a bright rouge instantly, and Colt obviously took pleasure in that when he slung his other arm around her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he let out a happy sigh. "My two ladies. Paintball. The smell of tears and blood on the horizon. What better way to spend a birthday?"

Parker glanced at Jodi, expecting her to roll her eyes, but the camerawoman instead just smiled with something soft in her eyes.

Parker responded by wiggling out of Colt's reach. "Ew, blegh, that's disgusting. They say cooties are contagious you know."

"What on Earth are cooties?" Jodi asked.

"An STD," Colt replied, only half joking, and though Jodi appeared mildly disturbed by his joke, Parker had known her brother long enough to appreciate his odd ball sense of humor. "And they're not contagious if you have a shot."

Jodi, not wanting to know if he was serious or not, let it go as the group slowly filed forward to get their guns, face masks, and coveralls. They followed shortly after, snickering like kids the entire way through.

In the end, Colt and Jodi both got white, while Parker and Tom were given black ones.

Karma, she supposed, is that she wouldn't be able to shoot the asshole after all.

"Somehow, this is a step up for your usual clothes," said asshole chirped, pinching the baggy material hanging at her waist between his forefinger and thumb. Parker swatted him away, only for Jean Claude to bark at her. "Easy, you want to get taken down before the game even starts?"

"Please, you're lucky we're on the same team," Parker teased. He didn't seem to buy it if the blithe look he shot her was anything to go by, and she huffed at him. "I bet I could have gotten the first hit on you if we weren't on the same team. I have mad skills at paintball, Ryder. Seal Team Six type stuff., you don't even know."

Tom rolled his eyes at the same time that Colt reappeared, face mask propped on the top of his head, looking just a tad too comfortable in his onesie. Jodi and Dan flanked him, and Parker didn't like their smiles one bit.

"What?" she asked.

"You suck at paintball," Colt egged. "Remember Tallahassee? You were covered in welts for weeks!"

Tom snorted, and Parker considered him the greater threat considering the fact he was standing closer to her than Colt was. She glared at him to state, "I'm not joking. I could literally take you out. Any of you," she added with a stern point of the finger sweeping through the group. "All of you!"

Not a single person believed her.

Tom went so far as to snicker at her. "I don't buy that. for a second. You're a total klutz."

She gasped. "Am not!"

Colt raised a hand. "Are too. Remember when you broke your ankle trying to play hopscotch?"

"Just—stay out of this!"

He did not, in fact, stay out of it. "What was it you said, Park? Cause and effect? You suck at sports, and the effect of that, is you're about to go down on the course."

She blew a rather wet raspberry at her brother. "Please, if you and Tom were on the same team, I would smoke both of you."

They bickered for a moment, amusing some, but boring Tom, and the A-lister broke up their argument with a long-weary sigh. "Oi! Whose to say either of you could get a shot on me?" he taunted.

The siblings turned to face him.

"Is that a challenge?" Parker asked, hands planted on her hips, whilst Colt raised his brows.

Tom shrugged, unconcerned.

"In fact, I bet I'll make it a whole round without getting shot once," Tom tacked on, ego puffing his chest out as he smirked at the group standing around. Dan rolled his eyes, while Jodi coughed into her hand to hide an obvious laugh at his showboating. "I'm serious. First one to hit me gets five hundred dollars—"

Thwack! Thwack!

Tom gaped at his chest, now dotted with one yellow and one blue splatter. Parker and Colt stood in front of him, guns still smoking, and while his eyes widened in anger, the pair of siblings were more concerned with claiming the prize to notice.

"First!" Colt cried.

"What? No fucking way," Parker argued. She waved at the yellow paint splatter haphazardly, almost taking out Jodi as she did so. "I was so first. Tom! Tell him!"

Tom, now even more unamused by their bickering, blinked in wide-eyed disbelief at them both. "Are you fucking serious?" he shouted. "The game didn't even start yet!"

"But you just said—"

"I meant during a match. Christ, Parker, we're on the same team," he blustered, attempting to wipe off the paint, but only managing to smear it further down his chest like a bad Jackson Pollock painting. "Fuck!"

Colt, sensing a blow-out was coming, swung his gun behind his back with a wide eyed, innocent look. "Hey man, it was all her," he started. "Totally uncool. And immature. And, really, if you need me to smack her around a little after this I totally can."

Tom glared at Colt, effectively shutting him up in seconds, before turning to Parker. Everyone watched in baited breath, nervous what he might do, and while Parker hadn't been on set long enough to know what his meltdowns looked like, the ones most familiar with Tom were left stunned by his reaction.

Or, really, how utterly tame this one was to the hundred others they had seen.

"Are you happy now?" he asked.

Parker hemmed and hawed for a moment before deciding that honesty was the best policy. "I mean, I'd be happier if you gave me my five hundred dollars."

"I'm not paying you shit."

"Oh, come on," she rolled her eyes, popping a hip as she did so. "It's not like you're cash poor or anything. You're just upset that I shot you."

Tom gaped at her in disbelief. "No shit!"

Parker, shifting her gun over her shoulder, waved the other at him blithely. "You'll get over it once the game starts. It's—heh—surprisingly therapeutic."

"Shooting me is therapeutic?"

She paused, caught up in her own statement. "Er, well, not you exactly. Just someone, in general, you know." Parker swallowed when Tom continued to stare at her. Awkwardly, she laughed. "Just... wait till you get out there, and you'll see."

Tom remained silent, blinking at her for a long, tense, moment before he rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh. And—

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

His gun went off before anyone could stop him, and Parker gaped at the trio of yellow paint that was now splattered across her chest. "Fucking ow!"

Tom smirked at her, blowing the muzzle of his gun for extra flare, before swinging it over his shoulder. "Huh. I guess you're right. I do feel better."

"Asshole!"

"Yeah, well, takes one to know one, right?" he snarked.

And—oh.

She could kill him. Really, seriously kill him.

But, well, the longer she stared at him and he stared at her, eyebrow cocked and a daring smirk in place, Parker realized above the hatred simmering in her chest, she felt something kindred and wanting flutter like butterflies. Something amused by the curve of his smirk, flushed by the scorching burn of his gaze, and—dare she think—understanding at the retaliatory strike. She had, afterall, shot first.

He had only lowered himself to her level; played by her rules.

And with a strong suspicion that Tom Ryder wasn't so much an asshole as he was just looking for someone to understand him, Parker's only response to that was to throw her head back and howl in laughter.

Despite this, no one else moved for a long moment, too busy darting their gazes between Parker and Tom in case they needed to intervene, but in an even more surprising turn of events, he laughed as well. Not so outright, and not nearly as loud, but he did. Prompted by his positive reaction, it wasn't long before Colt started to laugh, and then Jodi, and then suddenly everyone was knelt at the waist in laughter.

It wasn't until their instructor honked a blow horn at them, none too amused with the pre-game warfare, that they calmed down. He honked the horn a second time at Parker and Tom, threatening to kick them out if they kept breaking the rules, and while they managed to stay straight-faced, the moment he turned his back on the group, they shared matching grins.

Maybe, she thought as they got into place, it hadn't been such a bad idea to bring him along.

And maybe, her brother thought at the exact same time, Parker and Tom being friends wasn't the end of the world.

[cupcakeslushie]

Okay. I've been tip-toeing around this AU for a while now, but I just got caught up, and now I think I have a (decent) grasp on what's going on. So I wanna go over everything I know so far to see if I'm right or wrong on anything. Don't know if you'd be willing to correct me or not. Either way, I hope my mistakes can help you understand what to clarify to other fans like me. But, I also have some questions. You probably won't be able to answer most of them, but it's at least worth a shot.

First, where's Venus? Like, why is she not in your comics that are (sort of) separate frome the canon now story. The ones that skip to the future way after all the turtles reunite. Did she die? Did she escape? Is it because she wasn't introduced yet when you made those comics?

Two, why do you keep on making references to the future timeline? I know you're planning on possibly making your own stuff leading up to the events of the movie. It just gives me a jumpscare when I see certain...imagery in those comics. I guess you're hinting at what your version of the future apocalypse would look like, but it just hurts to see. Specifically in the comic explaining both the events and aftermath of the movie and the bad future timeline. It's starting to really confuse my brain as to where this story is headed. What's meant to be the main focus? The Hamto's reuniting? The aftermath? Or the future?

Third, did you make all those min-comics before you started the actual AU? Or did you do them during?

Fourth, are any of those mini-comics relevant to the actual story now? Or have you changed your mind on a few things? It's just that everything is so all over the place, I don't really know whether to trust if they're accurate. I know most of them are just there for funzies, but the longer ones concern me. I guess I'm just not used to the storyteller doing sequel, start, prequel, start, sequel, prequel, prequel, sequel, and then end. Or maybe it's just me, and I'm sleep deprived.

My little observation speech is gonna take a while for me to get out in your asks because when I get theoretical, my speech gets long, and my proper English goes down the drain. So I'll be back. I appreciate your work very much. Despite the pain it causes me, it's still amazing.

I’ll try my best to clear up what confusion I can!

1. As far as Venus. The answer is kind of a mix of, I was still figuring out her design and backstory while coming out with some of those early comics, and then, once I had that down, I wanted the boys to grow strong bonds as a main cast. That’s why a lot of the side characters are only making small appearances in the Sep!AU Life stories, as those are mainly for the boys reconnecting. (Usagi shows up the most because I love him and am totally biased towards him).

This maybe hasn’t been stated outright, but I wasn’t really expecting so many ppl to like Vee as much as they do, and now im trying not to spoil too much of her story. It’ll unfortunately just take us a while to get to the meat of it. Since the boys reconnecting takes up a lot of the early s1s2 story, Im trying to follow the familiar Rise blueprint of Draxum, Shredder, Krang, and then in s3 we’ll have crazy fun new stories with the extra characters.

Ive also decided to take this little nugget from one of the Q&As, and use it for Venus instead of Jennika. It was a much needed bit of inspiration to explain why Venus sorta disappears for a while and will go through some major physical changes (not yet revealed) before the family can figure out a way to reach her.

2. I’m not sure if you mean jump scared in a bad/triggering or neutral way, but if you need me to tag anything on those posts please let me know!

The glimpses of the future timeline, are being scattered throughout wherever they parallel the present story in little ways, but that’s only for now. As we get closer to the movie plot, bigger chunks of the future will be revealed, because the future versions of the boys will have a larger role to play in the present timeline. So we will need more backstory than what the canon got. And also I just enjoy drawing my future versions so sometimes I don’t think too hard on a reason. I just like throwing them at ppl with no warning or reason.

When s2 ends, I plan on collecting all the future related stuff that’s been released, and recapping it for easier reading. Right now, it’s just little sprinkles of foreshadowing to give ppl an idea that, ‘oh crap. The doomed timeline is a bummer’. In my mind, I guess i thought it’d be kinda like a fun scavenger hunt for clues, but maybe ppl don’t like that 😅

3. All of the side-stories were written as the main comic was/is being released. A lot of them resulted from asks that just spawned the need to expand on certain ideas, or a desire to give all the turtles their time to shine.

For instance, when I was doing Donnie’s section of the main comic, it was a good few months where we hardly saw anyone but him and Venus. I wanted to just mix it up, and give Raph some love with his ‘Raph Time’ short. When Leo was front and center in the main, we hardly saw the others, so Mikey and Donnie got their little ‘Secrets’ short (and it was also I fun thank you for EW making it so far in the tmnt sep competition).

4. Anything that has been reworked/revised or just plain dropped should have an ‘Edit’ note because yes—I have gone back and changed some things, but more so from the asks i got in the early days, and some movie idea drafts.

All the short comics done in the last year, especially the ones that are listed in my pinned post, are canon and fall somewhere in the timeline. They’re like supplemental reading though—extra meat to give the world and the characters more personality. They do have particular backstory plot and important info in them, but nothing that shouldn’t eventually be re-visited/repeated in the main story.

um I hope that cleared up some things! I know it’s kind of a crazy amount of lore. I’ve tried my best to organize it in the pinned post, huge timeline, and search bar tags, but I know it’s getting harder and harder for newer ppl to jump in as it just get bigger. Thanks for reading regardless!

[ablupen]

Obey Me cast with a child MC <3

As much as I do occasionally simp for the characters, I like soft romance. (If you like spicy stuff though I'm not saying you can't interact with me or whatever- I don't post those stuff but I'm not against y'all)

Anyways, back on topic; .....Obey Me characters as parent figures or sibling figures. Please! Imagine it! That's adorable! In light of that, I have some ✨ headcanons ✨ for each character and a headcanon or two of how they'll act around a child MC about maybe Luke's age or even a bit younger.

**LUCIFER**: He won't directly say it in front of everyone, but he finds MC very cute. He may get angry at his brothers, but will NOT do in front of MC. Lucifer will tell them to wait in another room, then leave and close the door to hang Mammon on the chandelier when MC isn't looking. If someone starts talking to MC, he will glare at whomever is talking to them for a few seconds before looking away, but will ALWAYS keep an ear on the conversation. Very obviously protective parent/brother. He can be kinda strict, but he's also very soft with MC. He knows how to treat children as the oldest brother, after all.

**MAMMON**: At first, Mammon isn't sure what to do with MC. A child? How will this help him? MC's boldness (or naivety) grows on him though, and he'll eventually spoil this child. Like, part of his big spending will go to getting this kid a ton of good stuff. Trending toy? You bet! He'll complain that he's broke later and his ideas of what's good for a kid are somewhat wonky, but he means well. He may even gather the courage to ask Lucifer, Simeon, and Barbatos on how to take care of a child! Least likely to warn people that there's a child in the room when someone curses.

**LEVIATHAN**: If ANY of these people felt the most unprepared, it's Levi. He tries though! Families on animes when they do show up look really happy, anyways! If there's one thing about this though that he's better than Mammon though, is not giving MC dangerous objects. He knows better than that. But he has no idea what he's doing, so he tries to research it, wing it, and see how MC reacts. He was so happy when the child followed him around pretty easily. Gaming buddy, you know? For MC's sake, he's a bit more active, because if he doesn't, he's afraid he'll look boring in their eyes. He introduces Henry 2.0 to MC at some point, too!

**SATAN**: He's a lot more outwardly calm about a human child bonding with him and seems to take it smoothly...... But that's just on the outside. Privately, he's very confused, surprised, and pours some hours into his reading time for learning how to take care of a child. He's the type of care figure to read MC bedtime stories. Absolutely. Also, he knows that Lucifer won't let him keep pets, but if MC wants a cat he'll get them a cat dammit the child wants one. After bonding with MC, he's a lot more nervous about his temper and his demon form (sharp tail), so there are times where he seems to just vanish from the House of Lamentation. He's fine though! He's somewhere with MC to calm himself if that happens. Satan likes to show them pictures of places in a book and if MC says that they're interested in a certain place, Satan will take them there, granted that it's a safe place. If someone says one bad thing about them, or if MC cries, Satan will be on a warpath as soon as MC isn't watching.

**ASMODEUS**: He'd gasp and find MC really cute!! He'd totally take them in and find really cute outfits for them. If they want to, he'd also paint their nails. For the child's sake, he'll tone down his jokes around MC, but a rather dirty one slips out sometimes, and someone will have to either cover their ears or tell him that there's a child in the room. He really acts the most like a sibling or a proud mom. He may also post pictures of MC on Devilgram, too. He usually finds it atrocious, but he'll let MC "make him beautiful"; choosing colors, drawing on him, brushing his hair, you get it. MC is a ball of sunshine to him. Asmo is also very generous with praise.

**BEELZEBUB**: When MC first approaches him, he's confused. Why is a tiny human kid walking up to or near a giant demon of gluttony like him? He's not complaining though. He doesn't have experience in caring for someone much younger than him, but he has experience in general care for someone from taking care of Belphie growing up. Beel is careful to be gentle, and is happy to give MC a lift or a piggyback ride whenever they want to. He'd also like to take MC on food tours to try a bunch of cool foods. Then afterwards, they'll head to like a McDonald's or something and he'll order them some chickie nuggies while he gets a cheeseburger. There were a few times when MC was in danger and none of them realized. Thankfully, Beel has an intimidating appearance, being very bulky and tall (second tallest character), so as long as he's around, simply being in MC's vicinity will keep them safe. Belphie co-parents/co-big brothers MC as well.

**BELPHEGOR**: Ew, a tiny human. That's his first thought. Unfortunately for him, this was a very much innocent child and wow, what a surprise. The child grows on him. During these beginning stages, he tries to ignore MC, but God Dang it. MC follows him around, finding his sleepiness the equivalent of safest. Eventually, he lets MC into he and Beel's room and even sleeps near them to keep them safe, pulling a blanket over them whenever they sleep without one. He'll even temporarily lend MC his pillow, which surprises everyone but Beel. Belphegor finds this to be common sense, but the realization that he might be some sort of big brother/father figure will eventually sink in and he will accept this with a long sigh before smiling fondly at MC. He likes to ruffle their hair sometimes too as a sign of affection, and will let MC hug him to warm themself up. He's a very laid-back father figure/big brother figure, so he often let's MC just do their thing while he naps nearby, but he gains an uncanny sense of when something might go wrong with MC, so he'll wake up in a snap if needed. If anyone other than MC wakes him up, he'll glare at them, but will gently smile if it's the child. If someone tries to quickly wake up MC, they shall receive no mercy (/hj(?)).

**DIAVOLO**: HUGE millionaire father vibes. HUGE. And it's very accurate! Except that he'll actually try his best to spend time with MC! He grabbed the wrong person when doing the exchange program, so he ended up with this human child instead of the young adult he was getting. He very much regrets this. He tries taking MC back, but it's either harder than expected, or the child keeps wandering off. Dia then tries to have the brothers take MC. MC latches on to him instead, and he just gives up because oh my god not the puppy dog eyes. Like what Mammon would do, he spoils MC ROTTEN. Only the best for them. The difference is though is that Diavolo has a better idea on how to treat a child and that he'll probably never go broke. He unfortunately has to work a lot, so there are times where he won't get to see MC. However, he lets MC roam around the palace grounds, granted that a trusted servant watches over them. He'll even pay the servant extra if they do. Either that or Barbatos serves as MC's father figure when Diavolo is busy. This is no problem for Barbs though, because he's already kind of a father figure for Diavolo and Diavolo as a child was even harder. Sometimes, MC likes to just run into his office to surprise him and Dia is very touched, and will both praise them and pat their head, telling them to leave ONLY when VERY nessasary. He's a very loving father figure and likes to call MC "my little prince/princess/royal". Everyone is pretty sure the only reason why he hasn't actually adopted MC is because they had an actual life in the human world and he is trying his best to respect that. Also, btw, I noticed that this section is a bit longer than my other sections, so I think my bias is showing I'm sorry-

**BARBATOS**: Diavolo approaches him shyly one day and asks him to take care of a child while he figures out how to send them back. Barbatos agrees, and he takes to the task of caring for MC rather quickly because dedication. It also helps that he knows how to take care of children because of the Young Master. At first, it was purely dutiful, but it becomes genuine after a while. He's happy to let MC taste test and "review" his food, and one can see him with a gentle smile whenever MC is happy. Barbatos also lets MC join his baking lessons with Luke, which makes both of them happy and Simeon to an extent because Luke is happy. Barbatos is also a very good teacher, and he knows perfectly when to be strict and when to be sweet. He lets MC follow him when he does his chores around the castle and even lets them decorate his "room" with stickers and other things. This is usually considered untidy, but he doesn't care. He finds the decor quite charming.

**SIMEON**: As an angel, he already has a protective instinct, so he was pleasantly surprised and delighted when MC decides to befriend him. He's very happy that Luke and MC kinda click together, and eventually, MC is unofficially adopted alongside Luke. Simeon is very fond of his little siblings/children, and treats them equally while still embracing their differences. You know the way he canonically treats Luke? Same with MC. Sim is most likely to slightly gasp and go "Language, there are children" when the brothers swear and joke. He goes on lots of small walks and activities with Luke and MC and he enjoys every moment of it, being most open about his affection. This section is kinda short because there's already a lot of canon material about his relationship with a child (Luke).

**LUKE**: BESTIES! They're about the same age, and human is much better than demon, so they fit! He and MC do basically everything together! Of course, in this scenario since they're about the same age, Luke's scenario is one where any of the other characters is MC's parent figure. It fits better though if it's Simeon, Barbatos, Diavolo, Solomon, Thirteen, Raphael, or to an extent Lucifer, but anyone will do. Luke and MC will gossip a bit, mostly Luke telling them to be careful for demons, but whomever is MC's guardian will get a pass. If one is a tough situation, the other will be immediate support. The duo love to doodle or window-watch together and everyone finds the two to be adorable. MC is the first or second person to try his food. 🥺. (Short for a similar reason to Simeon.)

**SOLOMON**: MC was probably drawn to him because he's also human, like them. I'm sure some of you are wondering about his food, so there's two scenarios: 1. MC also has a strangely iron stomach like Sol and Raph or 2. People donate food. You choose. If it's the first one, they're as confused as Sol and Raph about why people don't like his food. MC is very impressed with his magic, and Sol enjoys making mini fireworks and bubbles for them. He understands why MC might've befriended him, so he's not as confused about this, but is almost as slow in the head about what's safe for a child as Mammon. If he finds a new spell, MC is first to know about it. If he's busy, Sol will ask Asmo or Barbs to babysit and they agree to, usually. Like Asmo, he's generous with giving MC praise, but in a calmer way. He also gives MC a protective talisman just in case, as well. Solomon adores this child and even made them a few magical items, not counting the talisman.

**THIRTEEN**: Yep, even the currently undatables will get entries. 13 is like "...Is this a child? Seriously?" when they first meet, but finds that MC either doesn't mind traps or enjoys the pranking as well. This means fun! This gains some favor to her. MC may become like her partner in crime whenever they cause mischief. To surprise them, Thirteen may set up harmless traps that shoot confetti or even give them candy! Their reactions are really endearing, so she'll occasionally leave these behind and make it VERY hard to spot since being with her means that they'll gain a keen eye lol. Sometimes, MC will prank her back with the oldest tricks, and she's either genuinely surprised or falls for it on purpose just to get them to laugh.

**MEPHISTOPHELES**: The least willing to look after a child, but Mephisto is a Diavolo stan, so he eventually agrees. He ignores MC most of the time, but will begrudgingly help them out if they get stuck somewhere, partially because of Diavolo, partially because he doesn't want to ruin his reputation, and partially because he genuinely feels bad. He lets MC do whatever as long as it doesn't affect him, but makes sure to follow them so that he can follow orders. If MC likes horse riding, this sparks some interest, and he will bring MC along the next time he goes. Eventually, he'll have more pride in his voice whenever he talks about what MC is up to, even if he'll never completely say it.

**RAPHAEL**: Out of the three newest characters, he would be the most accepting of this situation. He's very curious at first. It's not every day that a normal human child ends up here, after all. He'll take MC along with him whenever he goes somewhere, and slowly becomes fiercely protective with spear ablazing if something might jeopardize their safety, even for the smallest thing because man's not too socially in tune. He may also slowly and somewhat uncertainly give MC headpats as well as a silent "good job" if they tell him something they did. Raph will ask Simeon for advice on how to look after a ~10 year old to make sure he doesn't do anything wrong. He can sometimes be a bit emotionally dense, but he still has a protector's instinct, after all.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

I can't take it anymore on how much I adore your series of FATUM NOS IUNGEBIT with reader and König ♡♡♡ writer I don't know how i can express my love for your writing that I won't hesitate to bow upon youu

How you write König in that series makes me SJFJDJFHWJFJWBHX as in IDFHEBFJAJBDJD like he is a walking huge dog. Him bringing gifts to reader with fine silk, jewerlies, and honeys from the village he destroyed l. I could imagine him wagging his non existence tail thinking his prize would love him for bringing those gifts for her and kicked lile a puppy when reader denies him (つд⊂) my heart can't take it.

Yet at the same time reader is adjusting to her new life of being the brute's possesion. I can't imagine how scared and confuse was she when König bu.rnt down her village, took her in, and spoiling her like a Goddess. Imagining Konig sees reader like a stray kitten when he took her in from her home. Loves her no matter what even though she hisses at him.

König be like: *gives love and gifts and wants to fuck her*

Reader: *confuse noises*

And OH GOD her eyes must have been wide and shocked when she sees his dick for the first time. I can also imagining her measuring it to her lower abdomen when konig is away to see if it fits EHDBGBJWJCOS

Oh my god first of all I’m so happy to hear that you like this silly story so much! 🩷

And yes König is exhausting his little walnut brain thinking about what must he do to make her happy and to get a slice of that sweet pie ❤️ Meanwhile, Fee is just completely traumatized and scared (and therefore mean), but after seeing that this dude is not going to pound her brains out if she’s not into it too, DAMN, it makes her so so curious!

And who’s around to blame or scold her for wanting to torture this beast who stole her? He’s the reason she lost everything she had. Why not have some fun by trying to discover how far she can push this guy’s limits before he breaks? (Lol she’s not playing with fire, she’s playing with a natural disaster + doesn't even realize that she’s falling in love with this big dork too)

And YES she has totally tried to measure some shit. For sure stared off into space after that. König comes back into the tent and wonders if there’s some dangerous animal in there with her for a moment because the look on his fairy’s face is so dumbstruck and slightly horrified. Like... does she need protection? He will kill who or whatever has made her look so scared and helpless! :(

[exilethegame]

The Exile - Chapter Five, Part One

She's here... and she's a big one. This is easily the biggest chapter I've ever written in terms of variety, and honestly most of it is thanks to the fight scene alone.

I would highly recommend playing through a few times with some different commanders (if you have more than one)! There are some big secrets to be found this chapter >:3

Note to Code Divers.

We're at the point where the plot is beginning to thicken up and a lot of interweaving stories are going to be introduced.

By code diving you'll spoil the game to yourself (obviously). And, obviously, the game is meant to be played through blind. While I can't control what you choose to look at or spoil for yourself, I do ask that you keep yourself from spoiling the story for others.

This means do not share "sensitive/spoilery" code with others and do not use the code for your public theories. Because at that point it's not really a theory-- it's just spoiling the game.

Thank you!

Avg. Play length: 90k -> 114k Total Wordcount: 530k -> 818k

Read Below!

Trigger Warnings - There are no new trigger warnings. However, Chapter 5 starts with an incredibly graphic and emotionally intense scene.

Note: You'll have to play from the beginning. Your save files may still be there, but there's a high chance they won't work with the new chapter. Start from the beginning. Save yourself the pain. 😔

Play Chapter 5!

(Send bugs to my tumblr inbox or report them in the discord #bug-report channel. Either one works! And yes, there will be a lot of them 🙃)

[burningexeter]

[THIRD HEADCANON/FAN THEORY]

In my own insane (but somehow way less insane) take on the infamous (is it infamous, I just want to know that) Tommy Westphall Universe fan theory which claims not only are 500+ shows are in the same universe but they all take place in the mind of a twelve year old autistic boy with a snowglobe (yes, this is a real thing, blame St. Elsewhere), I propose that in this case for me not only are a decent handful of media are set within the same universe as each other but they all take place within the mind of the deadly, morally grey, femme fatale and early 20s sorceress Charmcaster — the Alien Force and Ultimate Alien Charmcaster to be specific.

How I see it is this is the Where The Magic Happens Trilogy Charmcaster (the pitch I did) specifically the second and third series Charmcaster where she's not only way more mature but a lot more darker, sinister, calculated and ruthless where she took all the lessons she's learned and built upon them and grew from them but not in the good way you think of at first. Obviously, as the second and third series go on, she redeems herself and this is teased throughout because in all three shows Charmcaster has a code, refusing to hurt people that she doesn't have to, expressing regret and disgust at herself for [SPOILER ALERT] decapitating Gwen when they first met, going back to when she doesn't need to to save Gwen and her friends when left behind etc.

She's torn between being a hero and a villain.

But here's where her secret universe within her mind comes directly into play, at the end of the first series, a now changed completely Gwen - no longer the spoiled, know-it-all, mean brat she was at the beginning of the series - gives Charmcaster a special snowglobe that originally meant a lot to Gwen when she was only little and in the words of her Aunt Sandra "finally being able to walk".

It turns out in the second and third series, it's a prized possession of Charmcaster that she won't let anyone else get near or even touch even Gwen who gave it to her in the first place.

How I see it is this is where Charmcaster's universe begins, all of the following are figments on her "imagination". Stories in her mind that only she knows of, it's her own personal secret that's all her fun and her fun only. One day when they're married, she'll tell her wife Gwen but for now, this is hers and hers only. That way, it makes her finally telling Gwen more special.

CHARMCASTER'S UNIVERSE

The connecting theme here are a total of three things which fits them despite being tonially and stylistically different from each other:

1). They focus on distinct but very unconventional types of protagonists and even ensembles having to not only fight the odds but face the highest stakes and the highest threats there is. At the same time, the protagonists aren't generic action heroes or the type who'd be the heroes of these scenarios but they have moral codes or just codes in general even if they're not always "good people" and always end up doing "the right thing". Way less of Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Frank Dux from Bloodsport and Steven Hiller from Independence Day and WAAAAY more of The Stranger from High Plains Drifter, The Driver from Drive and Michael "De Santa" Townley from Grand Theft Auto V.

2). The villains or main antagonists are always never one-dimensional or generic stereotypical bad guys. They're all fully-fleshed out or just fleshed out in general villains with their own personalities, histories and motivations. Some of them are genuinely tragic villains out of Shakespeare and some who are full-on villainous are dangerous and intimidating. Hell, some have codes too. They fall straight into the morally grey area with that if they have that. Way less Tonraq from The Legend Of Korra (ugh, that whole show sucks), Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Senator John McLaughlin from Machete and WAAAAY more of J. Nomak from Blade II, Davy Jones from Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest/At World's End and Thaddeus Sivina from Shazam!.

3). All of the events in them are either caused by, advanced and forwarded by or sometimes both by the protagonists. They make life-altering decisions that whether good or bad, whether they did or didn't do the right thing, will have massive repercussions. It's never something random as all hell happening to a certain individual, it's the opposite where they did something that caused or triggered this event to happen to them so they really have no one else to blame but themselves.

IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:

• The Mummy (1999)

• Saving Private Ryan

• Overlord (2018)

• Inglourious Basterds

• Thief (1981)

• Heat (1995)

• The Long Kiss Goodnight

• The Invisible Man (2020)

• Upgrade (2018)

and that's just too name a few, there's much more to it than that but this gives you a great idea on what's going on in the mind of everyone's favorite teenage sorceress Charmcaster.

[wordbunch]

Their love song (Taylor Swift edition) > The Rings of Power characters

a/n: welcome to my little self-indulgent celebration of 700 followers! 🥳 EVEN IF you're not a fan/don't know the songs, I hope you can still like and support this fic - a lot of time and love went into it! and by all means come talk to me about it or suggest your own songs! love you all so much and thank you for reading my stories and being a wonderful community 💕

HALBRAND ♡ cruel summer

Please look at these lyrics and tell me it isn't just perfect for him!! You never really planned on falling for him, ever, but alas, something captivated you - his eyes looking down on you from a height difference, the way he seemed to understand you more than anyone else in certain moments, and how he was adamant to be around you. He was very cocky and confident when you admitted it at last.

ARONDIR ♡ peace

Maybe you come from different backgrounds, but there is nothing that you wouldn't do for each other. He is very protective of you, but he is also cautious because he never wants you to be in danger because of him. Although your relationship can be judged negatively, the only important thing is what the two of you feel for one another - true love.

ELENDIL ♡ labyrinth

Things haven't exactly been easy after his wife suddenly died, and he had mixed feelings about moving on; somehow, with you it was kind of effortless and unexpectedly natural. He struggled with it within himself for some time, but you were understanding and supportive the whole time, and he began feeling much better when he accepted his developing feelings for you.

CELEBRIMBOR ♡ lover

Honestly, he kind of is a magnetic force, and he would also be a total romantic to his partner and spoil them in so many ways. Admittedly, he's lived through a lot of things and challenges, but ending up with you seemed like a reward at the end of everything, and he never wants to let you go.

GALADRIEL ♡ daylight

She certainly has her struggles and her mind can be a very occupied place, so she really didn't expect to find captivating romantic love among all the mess. You bring brightness and warmth to her life like nobody else, and she lights up when she is around you, especially when the two of you are alone.

ISILDUR ♡ blank space

He is still quite young and impulsive, and everything else that comes with it, and also naturally curious and a bit of a troublemaker - never a dull moment. When you two first met, you didn't think it would go anywhere, but quickly you fell for his reckless charm, and decided to give it a go anyways. It's a passionate and unpredictable relationship which can end at any time, but he is so wrapped around your finger that you highly doubt it.

VALANDIL ♡ sparks fly

He is also crazy, young and exciting, but something won't let you let him go. He is aware of his strengths and he knows how to play them exactly right to keep you on your toes and crazy about him. Maybe it isn't the most stable of relationships, but hey, as long as you're having a good time!

GIL-GALAD ♡ gorgeous

He is so royal and classy and naturally, captivated your attention within mere seconds in his presence. At first you might have been a little intimidated (who wouldn't be?) and you had mixed feelings within yourself - he surely already had someone, so you decided it would be best to wait for him to approach you. Years and years later, you both like to jokingly reminisce on those moments.

BRONWYN ♡ new year's day

Life can be tough, and people can be difficult to deal with, but the two of you have each other's back through it all. While you have your arguments and disagreements occasionally, and maybe someone judges your relationship, at the end of the day there is nobody else that the two of you would rather share your troubles with.

ELROND ♡ you are in love

This sweet soul had to get this song assigned to him! Your love bloomed steadily over centuries of close friendship and understanding, you shared a quiet, unspoken bond, and it was just the most natural thing ever. It eventually became difficult to pinpoint when exactly it turned into something more than platonic, because for so long it had been the two of you together, side by side.

✨ taglist my beloved ✨ @lotrnonsense​​​​​​ @starlady66​​​​​​ @queenmeriadoc​​ @entishramblings @thesolarangel @silversword7000 @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @averys-place @valkyriepirate @emmaarenstarr @noldorinpainter @asianbutnotjapanese @adamgetawaydriver @fenharel-enaste @ironmandeficiency    @starryeyedrogue​​ @dinofromspac3 ​​  @wisheduponastar @lady-of-imladris @frodo-cinnamonroll @unethicallypleistocene @deadlymistletoe @suncran @high-sea-husbands @asianbutnoteastasian @aidansloth @sweetpea-thoughts

I TAGGED EVERYONE CAUSE IT'S A FOLLOWER SPECIAL OK <3

[nadinefromwhere]

This lifetime but with him (Rafayel x real world reader) Chapter 4 - Date night

Prologue, Chapter 1 , Chapter 2, Chapter 3

After chatting with Rafayel for a good 4 hours, y/n decided to hit the shops shopping for clothes. Like designer clothes and some normal ones. I mean it's not bad to spoil yourself once in a while right?

y/n has spent a total of 6 hours getting ready. Shopping, makeup, clothes, styling you named it all. As she finished looking at herself in the mirror she wondered, was she pretty enough? Did she look fine even when she's wearing makeup? So much thoughts rolling through her head to the point of view she didn't realize she was 10 minutes late to the date

Rafayel was trying to wait patiently at the restaurant that he and y/n were supposed to meet up at. Looking at the view outside as the sun sinks down as night is approaching. 

“Where even is she” rafayel mumbles underneath his breath, starting to get impatient waiting for y/n. After all, he waited 800 years for her. 

y/n was walking as fast as she could to the restaurant, her mind racing with dozens of thoughts per second. She cannot believe that one moment she was sleeping in her bedroom back in the real world and then the next thing that happens to her is that she gets sucked into an otome game she just started playing. Even worse, she only ended in chapter 5 of the story..damm the Gods couldn't even at least let her finish chapter 8 before teleporting her here? Then she’ll have to improvise.

Going into the restaurant y/n tries finding rafayel until she spots a familiar purple headed man that was sitting on their reserved seats. Meanwhile for rafayel, he made eye contact with y/n as he stood up from his seat going to her. 

“Your here” Rafayel says smiling at her, giving her a pink tulip her favorite (if you have a different favorite type of flavor just uhh erase the pink tulip instead :) )

“Why thank you” y/n says smiling back at him, accepting the tulips he gifted for her.

“So should we go to our table already?” he asks holding his hand out for her

For some reason y/n felt like she was in a state of deja vu as rafayel held out his hand for her, it felt familiar for some reason

“Of course we should go to our table already, after all i'm starting to get kind of hungry” y/n says accepting his hand. “Then let's go then” he says smiling, leading her to the table 

 “I would like to get the steak.” y/n says looking at the waiter as he writes down there orders 

“What would you like to get sir?” the waiter says looking at rafayel “I’ll just get steak too” Rafayel says, closing the menu booklet

“It’ll take 15 minutes” the waiter says as he gets the menu booklets from the two of them going back to the kitchen

“About meeting each other a while ago in the cafe….” y/n says as she plays with her fingers 

“And what about it?” Rafayel asks, his eyes meeting hers as the ambience of the restaurant is a comfy atmosphere with candle lit dinner.

“Honestly you remind me of someone familiar. It's as if we met before” y/n says, not knowing she had an actual marriage with him before. She was as if the actual mc in game, but a different plot waiting for her in the near future. “Oh really? Then what did he look like?” Rafayel asks, wondering if she did actually remember him somehow

“Well he had your purple hair, a pretty smile, and he’s voice was very soothing” y/n says as she looked at rafayels features, moles on his face, his purple hair, and a pair of beautiful eyes. He was as if he was made by the Gods themselves. 

2 hours later they finished eating, as they left the restaurant rafayel asked “Want to visit the beach?” “Hmm at this hour?” she asks wondering why would they both visit the beach at this time

“Come on let's go it won't be that bad” Rafayel says, as he opened the the of the car and y/n going in it.

As they reach White sand bay, Rafayel pulls up in a parking lot by the beach. He wanted to visit the beach at night with y/n as in his opinion would be a perfect chance to be with her after so long

“Good thing i brought some slippers just in case” Rafayel says as he gives the slippers to y/n since she’ll have a hard time walking

“Not thanks i'm fine i’ll just go barefoot” y/n says declining his offer 

“Well i guess i should go barefoot too” He says removing his shoes

As they walked along the shore, it was an awkward silence until y/n starts speaking

“So uhh why did you bring me here in the first place?” y/n asks, as she looks at rafayel

“Well we just ate, so we need to walk a bit since technically we're both really full plus its not bad to see the scenery at the beach at night right” He says looking back at her 

“If i had to be honest i remember walking at the shore at night when i was a child, i’d always believed that a mermaid was lurking in the waters watching me silently. I only walked at the shore when I felt stressed out or when I just felt like it. The beach was like my escape from the pressure that was given to me as a child.” she says looking down to her feet that's was now covered in sand

“May I ask what happened in your childhood if you don't mind me asking?” He asks looking at her showing a face of concern

“My parents expected me to be perfect as a kid. They wanted me to take a career that I never wanted at all. They also expected for me to be the top of my class so at a young age i would stay up all night studying until dawn” y/n says tearing up while talking about her original parents. 

“hey , hey why are your crying” Rafayel’s instinct kicked in as he saw y/n tearing up so he wiped tears from her face using his own hand 

“I just…wanted to do a career that i loved and i-” y/n says, as she was now crying the tears continuing to go out from her eyes “It’s okay. It will be alright.” Rafayel says as he tries wiping out the tears from her eyes Minutes have passed, y/n had finally calmed down from crying and rafayel was driving her back to her place  “So when should we meet again?” Rafayel asks, he wanted to stay with her a bit longer but eventually y/n had to go back to her house “Tommorow if you’d like” she says smiling

“Want to visit an art exhibit tomorrow? After all i’d be there” “Sure why not” 

@kinny-away heres new chapppp

[piracytheorist]

The philosophy of Eden College is that children need, at least in papers, to have both parents in their lives. They're like "Oh you're a widow(er)/divorced? Sucks to be you better find a spouse or your kid won't be accepted!"

They're so strict about the families of their students upholding the values of the traditional, nuclear family… and then they accept a ton of students into their dorms, where the children experience absolutely none of said values.

Not only that, but Damian Desmond, one of the first-year students who, aside from his bullying attitude, could be described as a model student by Eden, rarely if ever even sees his parents. When he calls home, he doesn't talk with his mother - he talks with their butler. He doesn't plan on staying home for the holidays because he knows his father won't be at home, so it won't matter even spending time with his mother and older brother.

I mean, don't get me wrong, plot-wise it's perfect because it brought Yor into the story and into Anya and Loid's lives and I love that, but it also shows how little the actual value of family means to Eden (and what Eden represents, considering what the Imperial Scholar meetings actually consist of), and how the Forgers are a total opposite to that. If Eden knew about them, Anya wouldn't have been accepted. A child with no info on her date of birth and biological parents, illegally adopted by a random nobody with no family who married also a random nobody, all of that a week before the admission interviews? They'd be kicked out.

Eden represents family in papers - both parents present, with at least one being biological, and who gives a damn if the child actually experiences familial relationships and bonds.

The Forgers represent family in feeling - three people who were alone (and yeah Yor has her brother but the fact that they both keep their jobs a secret from each other despite knowing each other their whole lives... yeah) finding each other and building a home together, and who gives a damn if blood or papers say they are not actually related.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

[justagalwhowrites]

An End to the Angstening!

Hi, Yearling Besties!

This post is for the folks who want an idea of when the Joel/Bambi angst will be drawing to a close in Yearling. If that's you, I'll see you below the jump! If that's not you, now is your chance to click away to keep your reading experience as spoiler-free as possible.

Below the cut is JUST A TIMELINE. I won't be telling you how the angst ends, what's happening between now and then and what's going to happen immediately after.

As always, feel free to DM for full spoilers as long as you promise to keep it to yourself! I don't mind spoiling stuff if that makes your reading experience more pleasant.

See you on the other side!

ALRIGHTY!

The Joel and Bambi a relationship angst will wind down in 4-5 chapters. I think 4 but I want to give myself some wiggle room. My publishing schedule might be a little funky because of the holidays but that should put us at first week of January for this arc of the story winding down. But, full disclosure, the chapter that got posted last night kinda snuck up on me. I'd intended to go right into the trip outside Jackson but that didn't really make sense so HEY we got another chapter! But with this current estimate, I think we're looking at 8 total chapters of Joel/Bambi relationship angst before we get to what's basically the Fuckening 2.5

THAT BEING SAID I'm not saying that's all the angst for the story, that nothing else is going to happen to these characters, etc. As of this writing, we still don't know Savvy's fate and Mitchum is roaming Wyoming. These things might result in some angst! Who can say? But that's the point that the emotional turmoil will stop being rooted in Joel and Bambi's relationship and will be more externalized.

Thanks for sticking out with this story! I know it's a rough one right now but it's a story that really matters to me and I am so happy there are people who are sharing in the journey. It truly means the world.

Love you!!!

[theseasasleep]

Story of Kunning Palace E03 (semi-live reaction)

So, it's our heroine's fate to always be crushed on by the spoiled Princess? LOL

There's no way a young woman who climbed all the way to Empress can avoid most of the path to that fate. In most of the webnovels of this type I've read, reaching that type of pinnacle means you have a fate with it, regardless of the ultimate outcome. The best Xue Ning can do is flip the script on circumstances while doing her best to skirt around the thornier aspects of future events.

1st Life: the Princess thinks back to her first encounter with Xue Ning with humiliation, embarrassment and rage

2nd Life: the Princess will think back on their first encounter with pride, happiness and warmth

So far so good. Although I totally get why she'd want to avoid tangling with a temperamental royal who she had a terrible experience with.

...

I really like how this show is shot. Sometimes you never know with cdramas if you'll get a cheap or pedestrian directing style or a dramatic and/or compelling one.

...

The show is still building its foundations and I'm just so eager to jump into the action!

*fight sequence starts 1 minute later* AND HERE WE GO!

Dude is more pissed off by the damaged qin strings than the assassination attempt! HA!

Xue Ning, as hostage: *minimize connections to minimize involvement* Mr. Hostage-taker, sir, I know Xie Wei only through the grapevine...

Xie Wei: MISS XUE NING, PLEASE DON'T SELL OUR CONNECTION SO SHORT! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE GREAT FRIENDS! IN FACT, YOU ARE MY LIFE SAVIOR!

Xue Ning:

...

Take me instead.

Mmm. Something about the silky oomph with which he said that line combined with his expression... Okay, okay, Zhang Ling He. It took three episodes but you got me: the character of Xie Wei is now officially attractive to me. All he had to do was low key deliver a line that just vibrates with high key threat.

Man, what era are my hormones in? Between finding my mojo over one ML threatening to tear an offensive man's tongue out and fixing my posture when this one is nothing but velvet menace, I need a name for it. I need to know. Should I be worried? Scared? Aroused?

oh. oh. he's so sexy... okay, now you're just showing off; put the murderous sexiness away

Not this man calling her out, leaving her neither a fissure to hide in or a crumb for modesty!

I... I can't wait until he's incandescently in love with her because I just know, I just know it will be so magnificent I won't know what to do with myself.

Girl, while you are absolutely right to defend your current relationship with Yan Lin and right to say it is a flirtation that is undeserving of such rude scrutiny... you (and us) know that man speaks no lies. You are trifling with Yan Lin and you would have done him plenty of harm without the benefit of literal 20/20 hindsight.

That being said, I see @dangermousie point: kicking off a relationship trying to gin up, stoke and maintain fear in the other party is an excellent way to receive future comeuppance in the form of watching the woman you desperately love side-eye you as she lavishes protection and support on her other suitors.

...

I like Yan Lin. Not too sorry to say that. Hopefully Life No. 2 keeps him off the rapist track.

It's nice seeing Xue Ning enjoying festivities. The impression I have of her first life self is that while she reveled in being "wild", she likely didn't really allow herself to enjoy being young and with friends, too busy being hungry.

Dear. God. That seamless transition from earnest Yan Lin in Life No. 2 waxing poetic about his first impressions of Xue Ning to embittered Yan Lin in Life No. 1 waxing poetic about his first impressions of Xue Ning with the exact. same. words. Add to it the implied threat of sexual violence in LIfe No. 1!!!

Chills.

*gagging* Did I say I like Yan Lin? Show, it's going to be hard for me to keep that opinion if you keep flashing back to that.

Me during the Life No. 2 Ning x Yan kiss scene:

I want no part of it.

All right, dude, are you telling me you raped her because she plain text told you she planned to marry someone who could help her achieve her goals?! She didn't sell you out to the devil... Or refuse to shelter either you or wounded family members... but because when you were at your lowest, like the bitch she admittedly is... was..., she told you the truth and cut ties? I mean, that's reason enough not to warn her a coup is coming for her ass in Life No. 1. There's no reason for rape, ever; even if she lit your dog on fire, you can't rape her. Just WTF, guy?!

...

Not that it excuses any of her horrid behavior but I can see how lonely Xue Ning is in what should be her familial home. That cozy scene between her parents and half-sister where in her absence there is only affection and warmth and in her presence, only awkwardness and discomfort.

She lived a childhood in poverty and exile being spoken and looked down upon; returned to her parents' home to find herself being shunted as second-born (in an era where hierarchy matters) and defective instead of receiving proper homecoming. I can see why the attraction of her sole dream, her ultimate goal - becoming Empress - would become all-consuming, especially if such a dream sustained her in exile and fueled her defiance at home.

...

Oh, jesus christ, Yan Lin, don't be an idiot! Don't believe in an enemy soldier during wartime, like...?!

...

So Xue Ning might have accidentally sold Yan Lin out to the devil.

But in her defense, that wasn't her intention. Just to watch him. Like a politics-minded creeper.

Me to Ning as she reads her former coachman cum spy to filth: GET HIM.

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

Cod rant incoming but i'm feeling a type of way and you're the only cod posting blog i follow, this will piss off the people who whine about people not playing the games and stuff but i've already been spoiled about multiple parts of mw3 and am so tired of shitty depressingly lackluster games from greedy companies that i don't really care to buy it or watch play throughs. All that happens in new cod games is disappointing cheap shots at inspiring nostalgia and stuff that used to be free being added in as "bonus content", and so much more. i'm gonna deep dive into fix it fics and make my own canon from now on loosely based on the games story but man i'm just so tired of disappointing games. idk how you feel about it but i'm pretty miffed about the state of cod in general and have been for years, i love the fandom's interpretations of characters and all that but the actual game just doesn't hit the same anymore and maybe it's because i'm getting better standards for what game companies shit out

I didn't mean to sit on this ask for that long but i totally agree anon

It's annoying to see big gaming companies just take advantage of people who like the game they create by giving them shittier games the time goes on but it's also incredibly heartbreaking to the devs who put their work into it and who actually liked the stories they created. It's also heartbreaking to the actors and voice actors who get taken advantage of as well.

I'm pretty upset by the way it ended. It feels cheap, there's no love or emotion put into it when the other games had it to an extent. I won't say that COD has ever really had an amazing stories in the past or even in the reboot before this game but there was still passion in it and it was upsetting to see it be taken away and ruined by greed.

Greed ruins creativity. Greed ruins the human in creation.

[azucarmorena97]

Cold (1)

Prologue | Pt.2

Spoiled rotten. Idiot. Greedy. Gluttonous. Evrything you could ever despise in a human being, all wrapped up in a beautiful, gold foil package. Seokjin is known across the land- or, at least all over three different IVY league campuses in the area- as the party-legend and the guy to call for a good time. Not to mention, a total whore. The last person you ever would've wanted as a group mate for the first quarter of the new semester, and the last one you would've ever imagined to have fallen absolutuely, head over hell in love with.

Hell as officially frozen over.

A/N: This takes place before Jin's part in my BTS as Cliched School Tropes. I will be inserting a link to that piece right where it fits chronologically in the story so you can read it and come back when it's time. All the boys in this story are from that piece with each story occurring in the same universe and on the same timeline.

Series Warnings: Serious themes will be mentioned in this series, such as substance use/abuse, self harm, and violence. Not to mention, there will be smut in the future!

You've known him for a long time. Since you were about ten years old, to be exact. He's been in your class three different times, once for fifth grade, again for eighth, and then one final time for 11th grade. All three years, you'd interacted with him as little as possible, having decided in fifth grade that you hated him because he got everyone in your class to call you AP because, in his words, you were "such a goddamn nerd."

Girls have always liked him; He's handsome, always has been, he has money, knows how to have fun, doesn't take himself to seriously-

I mean, what's not to like, right?

Wrong. There's plenty to dislike, though writing a list would take forever and no one has that kind of time.

In fact, you were quite pleased when he moved schools in the middle of the semester during Jr. year. You weren't sure why he'd left so randomly, but you didn't really care to ask questions... although you did hear a few conflicting stories: busted for drug possession, caught drinking at a house party, stealing old Hitman Bang's (that's what everyone called the principal) car and taking it for a joyride. Honestly, all of those stories were pretty believable for those who knew him.

Hence, why he sucks as a person.

Imagine your surprise when, on the first day of University, he walks in with a crowd of people hanging off his every word. Walked right past you without a second glance.

Good. That's just how you preferred it anyway.

"It's not that I don't trust your judgment, sir. I just don't think it's gonna work out-" "If I do that for you, I'll have to reconfigure everyone else' group and that is just not an option."

Professor Song has just posted the teams for the upcoming group projects and you're desperately asking him to reconsider. Hoseok is standing next to you being of absolutely no help, of course.

"Sir, I understand but I could do it for you, if you'd like!" "Mr.Jung, do you have an issue with Jin being on your team?" Prof looks at him from over his glasses, lifting an eyebrow. Hoseok looks at him, then at you, "I-I don't have a particular issue-" You kick his ankle 'discreetly', "-I mean, but it does seem very very important to Y/n, so I support her?" Hoseok glances at you, giving a pathetic little smile of appeasment.

"Right...well, the decision is final. Sorry!" Without so much as another word, Prof grabs his briefcase and walks out of the classroom.

You glare at Hoseok, "Thanks a lot, dude."

You push past him and grab your backpack, brows furrowed in anger.

"Oh, come on!" He whines, "Maybe it won't be so bad."

"For you, maybe."

You both exit the classroom and start your way down the hall to where the elevators are. You press the button to go down.

"Look, I get your hesitance to work with him but that was high school and this is university! You seriously think he's the same guy we knew when we were 16?" He asks, putting his hands up for emphasis.

Just then, timing as perfect as any movie, the elevator doors open, revealing a girl with her back toward you, male hands clutching firmly at the flesh of her ass, as though neither of them expected the elevator to stop so soon. She jumps off of him and moves to the side- and there's Jin. Lipstick stained, puffy-pink lipped Jin.

You look at Hoseok, your expression screaming "I TOLD YOU SO." Hoseok just shrugs, "Old habits die hard?"

"I heard he's only there so that daddy doesn't cut him off," B/f/n says, leaning forward to add a few extra paint strokes to her big toe.

You roll your eyes, "I don't even care why he's there- I just want him gone. I don't even know how your boyfriend can stand him. Red flag, B/f/n."

She laughs, "Hoseok just...likes to see the good in people." "Yeah, like a dog." "At least I have a dog," She quips.

"Touche," You sigh, throwing yourself backwards onto your bed.

Neither of your speaks for a little while, the both of you lost in thought. A SZA song playing softly from B/f/n's speaker, filling every space of the room.

"Wanna know the funny part?" "Oh, we're still talking about him?" She asks smugly. "Shut up," You crane your neck to give her a quick glare before returning to your previous position, "The funny part is... I remember the first day I saw him. He walked into class and I thought he was likee...the most beautiful boy I've ever seen." "Really?" She asks, raising her brows in surprise. Seeing as how you're the president of the We-Hate-Jin club, it's a shock to think that, at one time, you might have been just as in love with him as everyone else.

"Yeah...and then he opened his stupid fucking mouth."

She rolls her eyes, "Of course."

You sigh, "I don't know what I'm gonna do." "You could always just transfer out of that class, you know? The semester just started, anyway."

"And let him win!? No way..." "Then, in the words of Edward Cullen, you'll just have to endure it."

And endure, you shall.

"For this first assignment, you will be presenting on any current major political event or global issue. I will be posting some idea topics on the projector, though you can choose a topic not on this list as well, just let me know as soon as you decide. Each topic is first come, first serve, so think of at least three possible topics in case yours is chosen," Prof flips his projector on and claps his hands together, "You may now go and confer with your team."

Students shuffle and move around the classroom to get to their teammates, though you and Hoseok stay put. "Should we go over to him?" Hoseok asks, looking behind him to look for Jin. "No. We're already sitting down, he's the one that should come to us," You say with a self-righteous expression.

A good three minutes pass and you're both still waiting. "I-I don't think he's coming," Hoseok says, checking his apple watch. You flare your nostrils, already annoyed. You give in to the urge to look behind you as Hoseok had, only to see Jin sitting with a large group of people in the back; his head jerking backward in laughter as they all huddle together.

Wordlessly, you stand up from your seat though you leave your notebook and pen at the table. You might be the one to go after him right now, but you'll be damned if you let him dictate where you'll work on the project.

As you approach the large group of people at the far back of the classroom, you feel your heart start pounding in your chest. It's like high school all over again. You try to shove your nerves out of your head and make sure not to let it show on your face. "Excuse me, Jin?" You say.

They all keep talking and carrying on, not a single one of them having heard you. It's like you're standing behind some kind of invisible forcefield of assholery. You clear your throat and, before you can fully gather the nerve, your index finger is making contact with Jin's shoulder. "Jin."

His head immediately whips around, "Mm?" Silence befalls the entire herd and you can feel your cheeks burn with embarrassment. "We're waiting for you."

"Who's waiting for me?" He asks, a genuine look of confusion on his face.

You stare at him blankly, deciding on whether or not he's pulling your leg, "Hoseok and I. Your team. For the project."

He glances over at Hoseok, who is texting away at the other table. "Right, the project." The herd laughs, "Fucking dumbass," One of them says, shoving his shoulder. "Shut your ass up," Jin shoves him, a big smile on his face.

You're still standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Jin looks as though he's only just remembering you're standing there and he clears his throat, "Uh, yeah. I'll be right there. No worries."

"Alright..." You say, eyes narrowed on him slightly. You're not sure you believe him, but you're also no gonna stand here like an idiot.

You return to your seat and open your notebook. "He coming?" Hoseok asks. "Yeah." "You sure? He hasn't moved like...at all." "He said he's coming, so he's coming. Let's just start thinking of what we want the topic to be." "Alright..." He leans back in his chair, "Well, I was thinking..."

Hoeseok goes through about three different topics, saying this or that about each one, but you can't focus on anything he's saying.

That fucking asshole isn't coming. It's been...goodness, it's been fifteen minutes. Does he just not give a fuck? Of course he doesn't. He's just here so he doesn't get cut off, just like B/f/n said.

"So, what do you think?" Hoseok asks, snapping you out of your thoughts. "Hm?" You ask, blinking slowly as you come back to reality. "Were you listening like, at all?" "Of- of course. Uhm, let's go with your second idea," You glance down at the paper he was jotting ideas down on, "Feminism in the workplace."

"Okay, great," He folds the paper and tucks it into his pocket.

"Alright, everyone. I hope you got some good discussions in. Remember this is due in a week and a half. Make sure to assign jobs tomorrow for everyone to do. Have a good rest of your day."

Everyone starts gathering their things and walking out, chatter filling the room. The crowd Jin was sitting with all walks forward to exit the room, and of course, Jin doesn't even look yours or Hoseok's way.

Fuck it. You don't need him.

"You excited to see him?" B/f/n asks, biting her straw in excitement. You roll your eyes, trying to seem nonchalant, "It's not even a big deal." "Oh, please. You all but begged for Hoseok to invite him." "I did not beg. I...strongly suggested it would be cool to have more people over," You shrug, taking a swig of your coke. "Right," She laughs. "Aaay!" Hoseok's voice booms from the living room, indicating his invited *ahem* guest has arrived.

You and B/f/n both look at each other, sudden panic taking over the both of you; B/f/n for you, and you for yourself. "Teeth!" You both say in unison, prompting you to immediately bare your teeth at her, her eyes carefully examining every single crevice, "You're good." "Breath?" You breath on her. "Minty fresh," She assures. You take a long, deep breath, "Okay. Let's do this." "So much for it not being a big deal," B/f/n says smugly, to which to respond by glaring at her.

"Hey, everyone!" B/f/n greets with a big smile, walking over and hugging Yoongi, Namjoon, and Taehyung.

They all greet the both of you.

"Can I offer you guys any drinks? Namjoon, Yoongi...Taehyung?" Your eyes linger on Tae for just a little longer than the others, as he's your true interest tonight anyway.

"I'll take a beer," Hoseok interjects, to which B/f/n chupses and hits his arm. "Ow?" He furrows his brows.

"I think we'll all take beers," Namjoon says for everyone. "Uhm, I think I'll just have a Sprite, thanks," Tae says.

"One Sprite, coming up" You smile, completely forgetting about everyone else, 'cause fuck 'em, that's why.

"Let's go!" Hoseok cheers, along with the other guys when whatever-the-fuck team scores the winning touchdown. "Good, it's finally over," You say exasperatedly; you're bored to death and just want to be able to talk to Taehyung.

"I don't even know why you'd want to be invited to watch the game- you hate football," B/f/n says, just loud enough for you to hear but no one else.

"I was desperate," You sigh, "I've been trying to get the nerve to talk to Tae' but I never had an in until now." "Just talk to him, you nerd," She says, lightly pushing on your shoulder.

"You're right. I need to stop being a pussy," You nod, "I'm going in."

By this point, everyone's had a few beers- minus Tae- and everyone is in a seemingly good enough mood; "How about some karaoke?" You say, standing in the middle of the living room in front of the TV.

"Fuck yeah!" Hoseok jumps up, "I'll go get the mics."

"Karaoke's not really my think," Yoongi says, crossing his arms. "What? Scared you'll lose your sTrEet CrEd with your shitty singing?" You mock. "Scared? Ha," He shakes his head, "You know what, fine. We'll do some karaoke."

"Ay! Now it's a party," You and B/f/n cheer, "Got the mics," Hoseok says, coming back with the rechargeable mics with built in speakers, "I call first!" "What about you, Taehyung? You gonna sing?" You ask, sitting next to him. He smiles shyly, "I...I don't know. I'm a little shy." "Oh, come on! I'm sure you'll be great." "I think I'll just watch for now," He says, leaning back into the couch.

"Ah, you're the observant type, then?" You ask, taking advantage of the fact that everyone is now focused on Hoseok's overly emotional rendition of The Fray's 'How to Save a Life'.

"I guess so," He nods. "A wallflower of sorts," You add. "What a...pretty way to put being an introvert," He chuckles. "I do have a way with words," You smile. "I definitely don't- I usually get really tongue tied when I'm on the spot." "Yeah, I'm not much of a public speaker, myself." "Shit, me either. I failed speech last semester because of it." "You took speech? Who was your professor?" You ask, rotating yourself to face him better. "Professor Song," He sighs. "No shit- I have him now too!" "Good luck," He shakes his head in pity. "You can say that again. He paired me up with this guy I've known for forever, total dick. I tried to get him to change the teams but Prof was absolutely not with it," You roll your eyes. "Yeah, sounds like Song... Who's the guy?" He asks. "Hm?" "Total Dick." "Ah yeah, him. You may have heard of him. Kim Seokjin?"

"No way, you're working with Jin this semester?!" Yoongi cuts in, plopping down next to you, "I've been overcharging that idiot for weed since middle school," He laughs.

"Remember when you sold him Tums and told him it was molly?" Namjoon laughs. "Oh yeah, that shit was funny."

"So he's really stupid?" Tae asks. "Oh no, he's more than that," You say bitterly. "Oh boy, you've gotten her started," B/f/n sighs. "He's the hugest asshole. Fifth grade, a girl told him he needed a hair cut, so what'd he do? Tangled a huge wad of Hubba Bubba in her hair, then told her he knew a really good barber who could take care of that. Eight grade, he was caught...'playing doctor' with some girl under the bleachers at a football game and then proceeded to completely ignore her for the rest of the year, went on to date her best friend. These are only some of the dickish things he's done-" "Wow, he does seem like quite the asshole," Tae nods, taking a sip of his sprite. You catch yourself having gone on a rant, as you tend to do, and get embarrassed. "Yeah, uhm...well, I-I'm gonna go get us some popcorn. Be right back-" "I've actually gotta get going," Taehyung says, checking his watch. "Yeah, me too," Yoongi nods, putting his beer on the table. "Yoongi's my ride," Namjoon stands as well.

"Oh, okay," You try not to sound so defeated, convinced that you've blown it by sounding like the biggest hater in the universe. "It was nice of you all to come over," B/f/n says. "Of course, thanks for having us," Namjoon smiles. "tHaNks fOr hAvIng Us," Yoongi mocks him, "Fucking dweeb." "It's the polite thing to say," Namjoon furrows his brows. "Bye Taehyung," You say, as he's the last one out the door. "Bye. It was nice talking to you," He smiles politely, giving a slight bow and then following them out.

When the door closes, you plop back down on the couch, letting out a big sigh, throwing your hands over your face in defeat. "Ugh! I blew it, didn't I?" "What? No, not at all...I- I definitely think, for next time, maybe don't go on a tangent about another man?" "Another man? You make it seem like I was talking about a lover," You scoff. "I know, I know. But just tone it down next time." "If there even is a next time," You groan, still not uncovering your eyes. "Oh stop, I'm sure there will be. I'll even make Hobi keep throwing watch parties until Taehyung eventually falls in love with you." Finally, you uncover your eyes, "Promise?" You hold out your pinky, and she hooks hers around it, "Promise."

A/N: I think I'm addicted to writing the boys out to be total jerks. What can I say? That's my type. As always, let me know what you think! <3

[mediaevalmusereads]

Powers of Darkness: the Lost Version of Dracula. By Bram Stoker and Valdimar Ásmundsson (trans. Hans Corneel de Roos). Overlook Duckworth, 2016.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: horror, 19th/20th century literature

Series: N/A

Summary: Powers of Darkness is an incredible literary discovery: In 1900, Icelandic publisher and writer Valdimar Ásmundsson set out to translate Bram Stoker’s world-famous 1897 novel Dracula. Called Makt Myrkranna (literally, “Powers of Darkness”), this Icelandic edition included an original preface written by Stoker himself. Makt Myrkranna was published in Iceland in 1901 but remained undiscovered outside of the country until 1986, when Dracula scholarship was astonished by the discovery of Stoker’s preface to the book. However, no one looked beyond the preface and deeper into Ásmundsson’s story.

In 2014, literary researcher Hans de Roos dove into the full text of Makt Myrkranna, only to discover that Ásmundsson hadn’t merely translated Dracula but had penned an entirely new version of the story, with all new characters and a totally re-worked plot. The resulting narrative is one that is shorter, punchier, more erotic, and perhaps even more suspenseful than Stoker’s Dracula. Incredibly, Makt Myrkranna has never been translated or even read outside of Iceland until now.

Powers of Darkness presents the first ever translation into English of Stoker and Ásmundsson’s Makt Myrkranna. With marginal annotations by de Roos providing readers with fascinating historical, cultural, and literary context; a foreword by Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew and bestselling author; and an afterword by Dracula scholar John Edgar Browning, Powers of Darkness will amaze and entertain legions of fans of Gothic literature, horror, and vampire fiction.

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: blood, racism

Because this book is a late 19th/early 20th century work of literature, I'm going to structure my review a little different from normal.

I first became aware that there was an "Icelandic version" of Dracula a few years ago. Hearing that it contained a different plot, different characters, and various allusions to Norse-Icelandic folklore, I was excited to read it and compare it to Stoker's novel. And boy, did this story take me on a wild ride.

I won't spoil the plot for anyone who wishes to discover how different (or similar) it is to Dracula, so instead, I'll focus on the edition by de Roos.

Overall, I found this edition to be fairly accessible for a casual reader yet it involved enough supplementary materials to satisfy someone with a more academic interest in the work. de Roos's introduction clearly laid out the relationship between Dracula and Powers of Darkness, and I found the diagrams of the castle to be very helpful. As for the text itself, I don't read a lot of Icelandic, so I can't speak to the quality of the translation, but I appreciated the notes in which de Roos explains his choices.

I also really loved the page layouts in this volume. I love a book with big, beautiful margins that leave enough space for me to make my own annotations, and I appreciated that the "footnotes" weren't at the bottom of the page, but just to the right or left to the text so I didn't have to move my eyes very far. Granted, this layout did mean that there was a lot of wasted space, so this edition will probably best serve those who will be writing directly on the page.

Overall, I award this book 4 stars because it was a wacky reading experience, made all the more engaging by de Roos's introduction and informational annotations. The only thing preventing me from giving it a full 5 stars is my subjective enjoyment of the text itself; I found part 2 to be rather awkward, and the descriptions of the "ape-like" people reeked of 19th century racism (though de Roos points this out). Still, if you're interested in Dracula and its legacy, you'd do well to pick up this book, though if you're doing serious scholarship, you should probably find an Icelandic language version too.