#leaving aside Max's daddy issues

[boysinblades]

Ok but why do these two

Give me the exact same vibes as these two

[jungle-angel]

Out in the Middle: Part 12

Summary: For these two families, Halloween is the best shithouse mess in the world

The main house on the Dutton property was still quiet with rodeo season finally at an end and the whole house sleeping off the hell of the night before. 

Harvey and Frankie were still asleep at the foot of the bed as the sun streamed in through the windows, you fully asleep and Rhett snoring away with his arm hugging your waist. Frankie’s little eyes blinked right open at the sight of the sun and the leaves falling from the trees outside. 

“IT’S HALLOWEEEEEEENNN!!!!” he shouted excitedly, jumping up from his bed and onto yours. “Momma!! Dada!!! Wake up!! Wake up!!!” 

You felt Rhett’s stubble lined chine nuzzling further into your neck as a tired groan from him woke you. “Your son is awake,” you yawned. 

“Before sunrise he’s your son,” Rhett groaned. 

“Um, excuse me good sir,” you chuckled. “Need I remind you how biology works?” 

Rhett laughed a little and kissed your cheek before tossing aside the covers and getting himself up. The kids would definitely be excited for a day like this, but the parents were terrified of the day after. 

“Ya’ll get a wakeup call too?” Kayce laughed, running his hands through his messy blonde hair while Rosey clung to his leg, her little giggles filling the kitchen. 

“Frankie jumped on us as soon as he saw the sun,” Rhett yawned. “What’s on the agenda for today? Anything good?” 

“Haunted hayride,” Kayce answered. 

“Ah shit,” Rhett cursed. “I forgot. I think (y/n) has the makeup in our medicine cabinet.” 

“What are you doing for it? Something crazy?” 

“Probably a vampire or some shit like that,” Rhett answered. 

“Well we’d better figure it out,” Kayce said, filling his coffee mug. “It’s tonight at nine and pretty much everybody in Bozeman is coming.” 

If ever there was one thing on the face of God’s green earth that gave Rhett Abbott a major headache it was times like these, the kids bickering about who’s Halloween costume was better, who would get the most candy at the end of the night and a whole list of other things to figure out in the long run. 

“Daddy can you make me a virgin screwdriver?” Tanner asked him. 

“A what?” 

“I asked Auntie Beth what would be good to drink with breakfast and she said a virgin screwdriver.” 

Rhett sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, leaving Kayce to laugh. “I’m gonna give my sister so much shit for this,” he chuckled. 

“Please do,” Rhett told him. 

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

Day had quickly turned to night and soon the entire ranch had been turned into one hell of a haunt. Everything had turned out better than expected, no issues, hardly any bumps in the road and even the kids had cooperated long enough for their parents to take a big group photo of all of them in their Halloween costumes. 

Tate, Tatum and Tanner had all opted to go as Eddie from Stranger Things while Amy was left to be Max. Hannah on the other hand had her own idea, wanting nothing more than to be Meg from Hercules. Not a single one of the kids was able to keep their excitement hidden, but no one else seemed to mind at all, least of all, the parents and grandparents. 

“Creepy as ever,” John remarked. “Haven’t been this creeped out since Royal and I snuck in to see Jaws when we were kids.” 

“It’ll be a good night,” Thomas told him. “Hopefully some of the neighborhood miscreants will be scared enough to straighten out.” 

“Here’s hoping,” John said as he, Royal and Thomas all began collecting the ticket stubs of people who were entering. 

As more people began to enter, the kids had decided to roam for just a little while longer before they had to take their places. Tate had gone on and on with the twins about how many Goosebumps books he had read at school, when they spotted two familiar faces in the crowd. 

“Uh oh,” Tate said. 

“What is it?” Tanner asked him. 

“Super brat at your six.” 

Sure enough, there she was, Amber Warner and her brat of an older brother, looking like a literal spoiled princess. None of the kids could stand to look at her, let alone be within five feet of her. 

“I think it’s time we show her how we do things here on the Yellowstone land,” Tate said. “Can somebody go and get Bear and Danny?” 

“We’re on it!!” the twins answered loudly. 

It only took the two little monsters a minute to find Danny and Bear, Wes’s two shaggy-haired nephews, who at twelve were overcome with the perpetual feeling of being too old for some of the antics. “Dude we were in the bathroom, what do you want?” Bear questioned. 

“Look,” Tate told them. 

Bear and Danny both looked and saw what the others had seen a moment before. “No fuckin way,” Bear muttered. 

“Should we do it?” Evie asked with an evil little cackle. 

“Lets do it,” Tate answered. 

Each of them played a quick game of rock-papers-scissors to decide who would lure Amber into their prank and sure as shit, Evie had the short end of the stick. 

Evie approached Amber, albeit reluctantly, hands in the pocket of her little pilot’s flightsuit and doing a little dance, singing “Danger Zone” under her breath. 

“Oh look, a wild Dutton dork in her natural habitat,” Amber spat. “Haven’t you got anything better to do than spread your dork diseases everywhere?” 

“I could,” Evie said with a shrug. “But why would I want to?” 

Amber huffed and stuck her nose in the air. “Maybe because you’re stupid,” she said, sticking her tongue out at Evie. “Now go away.” 

“Fine,” Evie shrugged again. “I was gonna show you something cool, but I guess you don’t wanna see it.” 

“What could you possibly want to show me that’s cool?” 

“Grandpa says there’s a haunted spot here.”

“Haunted?” 

“Yeah,” Evie replied. “Says it’s haunted by people that froze to death over a hundred years ago. You wanna see it?” 

As soon as Evie had seen Amber roll her eyes, she knew she was getting somewhere. 

She led Amber down the path and through the first half of the corn maze that stretched on and on into the distance, her nerves ticking with anticipation at the moment when Amber Warner fell into their little trap. 

“Just a little further,” Evie told her. 

“I don’t like this,” Amber said nervously. “This field is creepy.” 

“Relax,” Evie told her. “It’s just a little......”

A blood curdling scream tore from Evie’s throat when a pair of gloved hands reached from inside the wall of cornstalks, grabbing her and pulling her in. Amber screamed as something else reached out and grabbed her ankles and another figure jumping out and roaring at her. She took off the way she had come in, screaming for her grandmother as her voice faded into the distance.

Evie and the rest of the kids poked their heads out, laughing hysterically and high fiving each other. “Thanks Uncle Rhett!” they all chirped. 

You and Rhett emerged from the corn, both of you laughing at how well the kids had pulled everything off. “Alright,” you told them. “Go play my little monsters.” 

As soon as the kids were gone, Rhett drew you in and kissed you fully. “Happy Halloween darlin,” he chuckled. 

You laughed into the kiss, enjoying the moment with your husband before “Dancing in the Moonlight” was heard playing from the barn nearby. This definitely would be a Halloween that neither of you would ever forget.

[radiohand]

Hi hi!! Is it fine if I could have some JJBA Stardust Crusaders fluff head cannons if they were you partner? (this applies to all of the of characters that you can right for Pt.3)🥺💖✨ Please and Thank you ☺️

Of course!! Since you are my first ask, I’ll make it long for you love❤️✨

Stardust Crusaders

As Your Partners

Avdol

GENTLEMAN TO THE MAX

Avdol would treat you like the royalty you are😌

He loves to protect you when you need it

You have a creepy person following you or catcalling you? Avdol will step behind you and block the person’s view of you

He has the big build to hide you

“Love, are you okay? I’m sorry you were made uncomfortable. Would you like to go home and rest?”

He is so sweet...I cannot stress that enough

He will bring you little trinkets as gifts

He once walked in on you trying on his robes and necklace, his heart...he fell in love all over again

“Rohi, how can you be so lovely?”

He will introduce you to his chickens!

Free tarot readings...also he IS the zodiac boyfriend

Probably would believe in love at first sight, destiny, and all that

BUT I can definitely tell you that this man will love you no matter what height you are, body type you are, gender identity, sexuality, etc.

He falls in love you? You are his love no matter how you look.

But I do feel like he would definitely think again if your personality is nasty (which none of you guys have a nasty personality. You all are lovely and deserve this Egyptian mans)

Overall, a protective, loving, love at first sight dork so 10/10 boy

Polnareff

I’m gonna be honest, he would see you and immediately try to woo you

Kisses your hand always!! You guys are walking down the streets looking at shops? Boom! He kisses your hand to remind you he loves you

He doesn’t shy away from PDA at all

He reminds me of a big dog, like a Saint Bernard, that thinks he is a lap dog or puppy

He will forget his massive size and pull you into a hug which results in you almost suffocating from his chest tiddies

Speaking of forgetting his size, he will crawl into bed when he wants attention and lay ontop of you. You almost die from being crushed

He respects you so much...you don’t feel like being in public? You guys aren’t going anywhere. He already made a pillow fort in the living room for you two

You want some extra love? Be prepared to get kisses EVERYWHERE

Honestly, he would love a bigger body types

But no matter the size, he will pick you up and carry you around like a puppy

He is a sucker for puppy eyes. You give him puppy eyes and he will do anything for you

“What would you like precious? Can I get you something?

He reminds me a lot of Tamaki Suoh from Ouran Highschool Host Club

He will surprise you with a bunch of roses

You are allergic to roses or don’t like them? He will bring you chocolate

Allergic or don’t like chocolate? Brings you something you do like. Cause he will treat you and will never complain

He gets jealous a lot. But a healthy amount of jealousy if that makes sense

He sees someone looking at you a little too hard, he is not afraid to pick you up and carry you far away from the scene

But if he knows that you would not like it if he did that, this French man will just glare at the person till they leave

Kakyoin

Okay so he is a teenager. Don’t expect anything TOO romantic

But he would gladly do his research on how to treat you...

I have a feeling that he has never been in a relationship before

As his first relationship, he will be a nervous wreck T-T

He is scared to hurt you 24/7

But once you pull him aside and explain to him what you are comfortable with and what he can do to make you feel loved, he is perfect

Even if you guys have been in a relationship for awhile, he will still ask for consent to even kiss you🥺

He isn’t afraid to pull you closer to him by using his stand...

Date nights planned by him would consist of either playing video games together or him taking you out to eat. No in between

He loves to wrap his arms around your body and pull you into a back hug

Kisses your back a lot while cuddling

“May I kiss your back please?”

Falls in love with you HARD

He is loyal AF

His eyes are only on you when you guys are out

And if someone comes up to him to flirt, he is wrap his arm around you and politely asks for them to leave

Jotaro

Honestly I don’t simp for him so this will hard but he would be a difficult boyfriend to get

He won’t show affection too much but he cares about you a lot

He will be thinking of you almost all day

Protective

He sees you being stared at, he will confront the person

He sees you uncomfortable in a situation, he will take you out of it

Hates seeing you cry

He IS that trope of ‘I hate everyone except you’

He wants to protect you

Joseph and Holly tried to give him advice on his relationship with you

It seemed to them that Jotaro wasn’t paying attention at all, but he actually was

Cause he wants to be the perfect boyfriend to you

He knows that he isn’t the best or loving boyfriend but tries his hardest

Is low key terrified to lose you

He has daddy issues so needs reassurance a lot

If he gets flirted with, he will throw his arm around your shoulder and tell the person to get the hell out of his way

“Get the hell away from us. Are you blind?”

When you two are alone, he will put his hat on you and will crack a smile at the view

Dates at the aquarium and will definitely tell you all the facts he knows about the animals

Buys you a dolphin plushie

In return you buy him a starfish plushie, and he will carry it around the house 24/7

Holly loves you so much...

She asks Jotaro about you a lot

And Holly makes the best bento boxes for you and Jotaro (they are matching)

This was my first ask so I’m sorry if I didn’t give you all you asked T-T

[anastasiaskywalker4]

MisterLuu

That is actually the best pairing DC can make out of Trinity aside Lois and Clark. Or Bruce

and Clark for that matter. They both fit Bruce well, though Diana is even more matched with

him. In fact she's the best match romantically for him out there. At least so far. Though

number of fanfiction and arts on the net would suggest that that spot is reserved for

Superman not Wonder Woman :D

Except maybe for Silver and Julie - all Batman's love interest are abusive and downright

toxic. Selina, Talia, Adrea, Jet. Because in terms of comics and not relationships it fits

Gotham mold. People just tend to forget it after rebirth run. Yeah the one that made Batman

impotent and unable to do anything without the Cat around. Exactly that one. And tend to

forget how terrible as human beings his lovers really are.

Going back to the point. Both Talia and Selina tried to kill him multiple times in the past, or

those close to him. Whatever right? Who wouldn't like a lover that tried to end you few times

over. Both assaulted him physically and emotionally. Repeatedly. Both scared his body and

his mind. Repeatedly. Both tried to seduce his wards (adopted sons if u like), just to get to

him. In Talia's case that was basically pedophilia. That's just sick and makes you want to

puke. Both are possessive bitches, Cat threatening his flings while they are in bed while

Talia, well Talia can even go as far as beheading (to her credit she was right with this one).

Both makes him a goddamn hypocrite. Both face no repercussions after a cold blooded

murder while at the same time he berates Diana like a dick when she came to look for his

friendship and support after Max incident. Difference is she had no choice while Selina or

Talia most certainly had. Great move Bats, hypocrite much? And most importantly they both

lie and betray him, and leave him. Over and over again. Again, that's a constant with Cat

and miss Al Ghul. Diana never showed any of those traits with any of her lovers.

Get any counselor or psychiatrist to read actual Bat love history throughout the decades

and they would be writing books on how disfuncional they are. For a love-hate dynamics

they work fine. Or for some adrenaline fueled sex, but that's it. Hell, he even banged Dinah

when they were on adrenaline high. It all has a clinical term. Trauma bonding. As opposed

to authentic bonding. Which he could have with WW, had even one of them tried.

They did not though. Out of fear of ruining their mutual respect and deep bond. In

pre-flashpoint it may have been a thing if Diana acted on it. Again, Diana, not Bruce, so cut

the crap on how he was deflecting her. He was in doubt, yeah, but clearly was ready to give

it a go. She was the one that got scared even though she was clearly had over bat hills in

love with him. Even Martian stated this to Supes. Pre Crisis ? Not really. Some flirting and

kissing, nothing more. Post-flashpoint, New 52 and Rebirth ? Also not, though DC like to

tease those two. Forever Evil gets a hint that Bruce feels more than friendship towards her,

much to Selina's dismay. And that goddamn tension when they got to spends decades

together in another realm. Mostly from Diana side again. But no. The real canon love that Diana had for Bruce was during pre-flashpoint, not counting alternative universes. And it

was so strong that it showed her loving him more than her mother and sisters. And her

lasso forced her to admit it when facing Mera. But Bruce was "dead" at that point. So yeah,

never acted upon this. Pity. You could see she regretted it.

Aside their comics history in canon universe, realistically speaking Diana is way more

similar to Bruce than Selina will ever be (or Talia for that matter). Even though at a the first

glance they are nothing alike. She's the light , he's the darkness. She believes in love and

trust, tries to see the good in everyone. He's cunning, distrustful and downright realistic to

her idealistic approach. She's honest and straight while he will not hesitate to lie or to use

violence to get results. And you know what? It makes for great couple chemistry and

tension. It may be a cliche, yeah, but Yin and Yang dynamics work. That's why Clark ends

up with Lois all the freaking time. Even on elseworlds he and Diana are a thing only after

Lois is out of the picture. But that's not the most important thing. Yin and Yang provides for

a tension yes, but it would never last in the long run. For a relationship you need also

something in common. And Bruce has that in spades with Diana.

They might be on opposite side of the spectrum but than you realize how much alike they

really are. They are both kindred spirits. Both born fighters, warriors at heart. Arguably two

of the best in the world. At least Diana is according to Batman. And judging by Wonder

Woman's choices in man that is a highly important trait to her. Both endlessly fighting for

others. Both have utmost respect and admiration for each other. Both tirelessly train to

make themselves physically and spiritually better. Constantly. And to make the other better.

Their sparring sessions are legendary. And heated. Both with a great heart and

compassion. I would argue that Bruce's compassion is even bigger than Diana's. Even

though their methods might differ they share the same goal, which he has with no other

woman. Both have the heart of a warrior and are pushed by the circumstances of their

upbringing to reach for impossible dreams. They are also two of the most stubborn and

obstinate people in DC universe. Both perfectly capable of operating solo, and yet both

performing the best in a team. And yes, Bats is a great team player. Both natural leaders

that other heroes follow without hesitation. Both selfless and able to sacrifice for those they

value, trust and love. None of the other Bat trollups have any of those traits. Not to mention

they emotionally and physically find the other highly attractive. One being a literal goddess

and the other perfect male specimen. As for Batman, his relationships tend to collapse due

to a lack of trust. He's either unwilling to bring his romantic partner fully into his world or he

can't bring himself to trust completely. While Selina got his trust now, it's recent

development. And a mistake judging by latest issues. Again. One would think he's smarter.

When it comes to Diana, he trusts her. Fully. She's not privy like BatClan is to his world, but

they aren't that close in mainstream DC. She's not a psycho with daddy issues or a violent

narcissist. List can go on. Selina on the other hand doesn't have that much in common with

Bruce than she has. Not even close. He loves her, yes. But I don't see Di leaving him

countless times over the choices he makes. Or lying, or betraying, or trying to sleep with

Dick to spite him or... you get the point. Though there is one thing that gives Kyle an edge.

Immortality. Diana won't die unless killed. It doesn't make for a great long term relationship

prospect. But then again, those are comics, and he's a goddamn Batman. He would find a

way :)

The thing is - there is no other woman that fits his world as much as Diana does. And Bat is

capable to loving deeply and going to great commitments with a special woman. He showed

it with Andrea, he showed it with Silver. Problem is he always got burned. Every time he let

his guard down and opened himself. And he would have to do it when it comes to Wonder

Woman. She deserves that. It's hard to imagine with current Bruce, but it is most definitely

possible. It would be harder than with an ex criminal or an assassin though. Because there

would be much more on the line. The other two would crawl back anyway if he messed it

up, Di wouldn't.

There is also another aspect to this outside comic universe. His partners tend to be minor

characters compared to WW. She has her own series, JL, JL dark and every major

crossover/event happening in DC. They don't. And so does Batman. Both are one of the

most popular DC characters.

Besides changes to Bruce writing that are needed to make this work (cough.. pre flashpoint

Bats... cough), it would require fitting it to their distinctive titles. And frankly Diana can easily

function without any love interest and generate money. It's even easier that way. It fits her

as an independent, strong female character. Arguably most iconic of them all. And It's most

certainly easier for DC with a tease here and there than an actual WonderBat in mainstream.

Maisterluu wrote this is a comment on a YouTube video which is dow in the comments. They make really good points for ww and bats. No hate to other DC ships with ww and bats.

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

Hi, I've never done this before but I was wondering of you could do a scenario where the boys (separate) meet your parents and/or family for the first time. (I love your blog btw, you make my days more enjoyable

God this ask is so freaking cute. Pardon any spelling errors/grammar mistakes cause I did this on my phone at 5:30 in the morning lmao. Also, I'm going by the ~average~ nuclear family of one mom and one dad (even if my own household isn't like that lmao)

The Lost Boys x Meeting the Parents

David

Will pretend that he doesn't care if your family likes him or not, but he actually Does™

He's not gonna change his look or anything for your parents. He just doesn't want them to be against him or to be an obstacle in any way that would prevent you from seeing him. Your parents not liking him could be a real pain in the ass, and you remind him of that right before the two of you leave. It's basically a reminder to be on his best behavior

It takes forever to actually convince him to meet them because he's kinda like- who needs parents when you're a vampire ahahaha. Plus the only parent he has to base judgement on is Max so he doesn't have high expectations.

But if your parents do like him,,,,and your dad calls him son? Oh god daddy issues have been activated

Your dad put a hand on his shoulder and complimented his hair what do you mean he can't move in???? (If you tell the others they will make jokes that David wants to fuck your dad I'm sorry)

David is a little bit more wary of your mom, but he's still nicer to her than he would be to Max. Basically, David just tones down being a dick and that's it. He's a pretty charming guy when he wants to be so he'd probably 8/10 get your parents approval. Especially if David keeps up the whole "gentleman" thing since he's from like the late 1800s.

Will most likely end up on a first name basis with your parents by the end of the night

Dwayne

He thinks meeting the parents is important, not because he wants their approval, but because it's a big step in the relationship. It's just solidifying what you currently have and Dwayne is cool with that

Didn't really take much convincing. You just invited him to dinner one night and he just goes "Cool."

Harder to convince him to wear a shirt though. This will take forever, rip your parents but Dwayne likes having his tiddies out. Best you can do is get him to wear a wife beater that shows just a little bit too much side-boob y'know the ones I'm talking about

Dwayne just had a way,,,with parents. He starts off very polite with a, "Hello Mr and Mrs. _____" and you stand to the side as your parents welcome him in like he's always been there. It's been five minutes and your mom is already insisting on him calling her by her first name. He's not a talker but he does put in a little bit more effort around your folks. Doesn't really matter either way though cause your parents already love him

You pull him aside to ask him if he pulled any mind tricks on them but he's just like, "Nah."

Moms love Dwayne. I'm sorry but they do. He eats a lot and he's not picky so once he's cleared his second plate your mom is just fawning over how he's a "big growing boy" and even if Dwayne hasn't aged a day in like nearly a century he still plays into it. Your dad will ask him questions and the two of them talk about Car Stuff™

Dwayne will 10/10 steal your parents sorry I don't make the rules they're his parents now

Marko

Has absolutely no will or desire to meet your parents I'm sorry. Will probably avoid the meeting for as long as possible. It's not until you're genuinely starting to get pissed at him that he'll groan for a solid minute before saying, "Fine. Fucking fine."

Marko will Not™ change for the meeting. The crop top stays on. So do the leather chaps. It's not dinner attire but Marko makes a point to not changr

Marko acts this way because he's the most androgynous and he's the least likely to be accepted by 80s standards rip. He's just prepping to be hated, even if you swear that your parents won't be assholes

Marko is welcomed into your home and is,,,,, uncomfortable. He tries to make small talk but it's hard to filter out all the curse words he says on a daily basis. He's the second quietest of the boys, so he just clams up whenever he feels like he's making an ass out of himself. Is mostly just overthinking so rip this vampire

Even if your parents like him, it's hard for him to accept that. He just assumes that they won't because he's grown used to Max for like the past century. Is weirdly??? Liked by one parent??? And not the other??? (Most likely your dad because Masculinity™)

May not be popular with your parents but if you have any pets- ohhoHO

Will lay on the floor with a furry friend or will stare inside the cage of your family pet. Marko may not be good with parents but he just Gets™ animals

Solid 7/10 of whether or not your parents like him cause they just think that he's "interesting", but will 10/10 steal your dogs love and affection

Paul

Most excited to meet your parents and will meet them the earliest out of all the boys

There's no convincing him to change any aspect of his outfit, even the mesh shirt so- don't even ask because Paul will just find a way to turn it into flirting ("trying to get me out of my clothes, babe?")

Honestly, you're gonna have to warn your parents more than you're gonna have to warn Paul

Paul is the type to immediately call your parents mom and dad. Like, they open the door and he hugs both of them like they're his very own parents. Is just as affectionate with your parents as he is with everyone else i.e. kisses your mom's cheek and gives your dad friendly pats on the back. Let's just say your parents are,,,,Bewildered™ but oddly charmed

Paul is like a walking tornado and let's just say that, while Paul is very friendly, your parents aren't super impressed by how "lax" he is. Basically, Paul screams sex, drugs, and rock and roll and this was the 80s parents worst nightmare

He somehow eats three plates of food and your parents are just in a constant state of confusion. Paul is as polite as he can be and thanks your mom, might even offer to help wash the dishes, and has started to affectionately call your dad "pops" before the night is over

Paul thinks the night went great and really likes your parents but there's a 5/10 chance that they actually like him back. Paul promises to come back soon and somehow you know he isn't kidding

[incarnateirony]

I get Chaos Machine has a deal with WB. But they are already following the CW too. Kinda bumps in a wrong way..

I mean, there’s been a lot of misinformation about things, and there’s a lot of truth to things here.

There’s rumor, for example, that Jensen was signed on to do a mini series directly for CW a while back. This came from a misinterpretation of a recording someone heard. At the time he was actually discussing a pod-cast-esque thing he was prompted to work on by one of the CW execs as a general encouragement from being career friends, but that never manifest.

On the other hand, yes, Jensen *is* following CW. And I have zero surprise, beyond the fact that he isn’t also following HBO; he’s able to work with both. Which tells me what he’s working on is, in fact, something that’s likely being geared to the CW--which isn’t actually to be mistaken with the first piece of information at the time.

But considering Jensen--and even Kim lately--have been speaking about SPN reboots/revivals recently, I can tell you right now--those are likely fated to go to the CW. Even if their licensing technically lapsed for things like their digital platforms (hence the removal of all their stuff from YT, etc), nothing stops them from trying to grab anything in the works--and they’re the most likely candidate. After 15 years of content (or like 14?) being on CW (before it was on WB before the merger), logic dictates HBO isn’t gonna get in a slapwar with its own sister company to get the rights, as much as we’d all love HBO Supernatural. 

I’ve been meditating on this a lot, actually; any of these details alone wouldn’t mean much. These details together though--following CW and still not other WB affiliates by now; Jensen’s comments about rethinking it; certain details I’ve heard about that I literally can’t talk about in public without burning sources; Kim’s mention of it on the stream; CW moving public-- it would indicate they are, in fact, working on something.

The interesting thing though is if CM is the production studio, it changes the handling to some extent even if it feeds through CW. 

For example, you’ve heard the script draft process:

Writer Draft

Studio Draft

Network Draft

Production Draft(s)

So let’s imagine, I don’t know. Bobo still works on a CM reboot. That means Bobo’s script would go through CM this time, and Jensen’s studio would be the one with fingers in it. Then the only fiddling would be with the network itself, but the studio can actually pitch a bit back against the network depending on its position--eg, it’s also a WB contracted entity, Jensen has pretty solid clout, etc. Especially since he’d also probably end up working Production end, meaning he could look at something he passed at Studio level, see something butchered at Network level, and go “What the hell?” to his own corp pals.

Keep in mind--while there’s the boycott against the CW, this is in essence a boycott against both of the parent companies: WB and CBS. They use the CW as a vehicle for a lack of accountability. This fandom has a lot of power, but taking WB or CBS head on would be like kicking water uphill. 

At current, we can actually shake down WB pretty directly if SPN fandom actually onboards #IStandWithNadria (check my pinned post, reblog if you can), because we basically built an alliance with wider non-CW comic book fandom, the word spread like wildfire because of the nature of Superman, meaning we have diverse support. If you want to actually kick WB directly in the shins right now, please, PLEASE consider joining #IStandWithNadria. Personally I’d prefer people join because they actually are mad about what they did to her, but even if it’s pure gay petty spite, we need every hand on deck we can get.

CBS is a different beast, and also has its bullshit, but right now we can only dump ice on them proxy of the CW.

Breaking down the CW’s value and ad space depresses their ability to draw revenue and basically causes a chain reaction up the ladder where if the network is going to recover, it’s going to have to tell mommy and daddy to stop instead of just protecting them. CW is an LLC with no stocks, and difficult to hold accountable, and smokescreens for the larger corps. But crush out their ad value and suddenly, CBS and WB have to consider how to keep this vehicle for their content delivery alive--they’ve already lost the netflix deal that came by proxy of it, which is why CBS shows are even getting vaulted onto HBO Max now.

Now this is a very LONG aside from Chaos Machine following CW but a very necessary one to understand why, for example, things might be different if it went by way of Chaos Machine. The IP would still belong to WB (which is why an exclusive contracted studio would handle it) and Kripke (duh), but the studio standards would be different. They aren’t the same sort of accountability issues that we’re protesting by rocking the CW boat.

It will leave an interesting question on ethical consumption/boycotting: would one give it a chance knowing the CW/WB would still profit from it to show support to the individual studio, or would we still stay walked away until results happened that showed they learned from their errors? Would Chaos Machine alone even be enough to reinstill trust, or would we need to see it from more WB studios and works (and CBS?). 

Personally, I lean towards the latter end of that rather than buying in right away, but that’s a long horizon away. Just a lot to think about.

[mikah-writes]

nsfw a-z with joel miller

I do hope you all enjoy! I worked very hard on this so please let me know in an ask or message if you’d want more of this stuff with Joel <3

Warnings: BDSM talk, various kinks and fetishes being mentioned, Daddy kink, NSFW!!!

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Joel is a very cuddly person after sex, despite his outwardly exterior. You can find him snuggling up to his partner while leaving delicate kisses along her neck as they settle into bed for the night. Expect lots of soft singing and humming as he reassures you that you are cherished and adored by him. Especially if you two have done a dirty talking scene. He will assure you that any names he called you in bed are strictly fantasy and roleplay and that he does not mean it in the slightest.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

If he was honest, his favorite body part on himself is his biceps. He knows how much you adore his strength and loves to show it off in bed. His favorite part on you has to be a hard tie between your ass and your thighs. He loves how soft you are and isn’t afraid to cop a feel in and out of the bedroom if time allows it.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Joel LOVES watching you swallow his cum. He can’t get enough of it. A second runner up is creampies. Watching his seed slowly leak out of your pussy is a dream come true for him. Another contender is cumming all over your ass and/or tits. Anywhere on your body that he can get his hands on he wants to mark with his cum.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

One dirty secret of Joel’s is that he is a lover of feet. It’s nothing too extreme and he isn’t the type to sniff socks or suck on toes however you will catch him rubbing and massaging your soles a bit more often and somehow holding onto your feet while your legs are over his shoulders. He’s a lover of pretty painted toes. Simple.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

While his last married ended in shambles, he did pick up a thing or two on pleasing a woman. That experience has grown over the years with his small flings here and there with past girlfriends. So with you in the picture now, expect to have a very experienced Joel to guide you through all your secret kinks and fetishes.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

For Joel it’s a hard tie between doggystyle and cowgirl. Missionary used to be his thing back when he was a horny teenager but Joel has some years under his belt and has figured out what works best for him and his partners. He loves the way he can grip your hips and plow into you in doggystyle but adores the change of pace cowgirl gives where he lets you set the speed when riding him.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Joel is a mix of both. He can keep it together during an intense scene but if you start smiling and giggling at him (like you typically do), after a while he can’t keep it together and ends up breaking character by chuckling and asking “Darlin’, what’s so funny?”

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Joel is a hairy man and doesn’t see the need to shave or trim below the belt. He does’t expect that from his partner either. Just as long as you two are having fun and enjoying the moment, that’s all he asks. Pubes have never been an issue in Joel’s eyes and he honestly takes pride in the bush he rocks. Plus, who can find a razor during the outbreak? Let’s be real.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Joel is pretty romantic if I am being honest. He loves kissing you and looking into your eyes as he slowly fucks you. He’s much more of an observer and likes to watch your faces of pleasure as he touches you. He gets pretty deep in his role of being your dominant and takes pride in being the only one who sees you so thoroughly fucked after a session with him.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

While he won’t ever admit it to your face, he likes to jack off whenever he has the time to do so. Self pleasure is key. As naughty as this may be, he’s jacked it to the thought of you many times and even did it in the same room as you when you were sleeping. Before the outbreak, he loved taking his time jacking off and enjoying that post orgasm high. Now, quick and fast strokes are whats best to get him off and to stay alert. He doesn’t bask in the bliss anymore and tries to clean up as fast as he can.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Joel is an advocate of titjobs. While he is an ass man, something about sliding his cock in between a nice pair of breasts never fails to get him going. He loves pinching your nipples and loves to give your breasts a nice squeeze while he’s fucking them. He is a fan of bigger breasts but if you have a smaller chest, he will still love you the same! 

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Before (and even now) he has always appreciated a soft bed to pin you down and roughly fuck you in. Now that the outbreak is here, he loves to take you in semi-public places. Up against a table in the lookout or pushed upon the wall in a back alley somewhere in the city. Nothing will stop him from pounding into you if he has some privacy and the time to do so.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Simple answer: you. He cherishes the time he spends with you whether it be in public or private. But something about your scent drives you wild. You smell so feminine and it drives something primal inside him to just take you right then and there. It’s why he loves to kiss alongside your neck and leave hickies there. He gets to smell you better and mark up his woman. Two birds with one stone.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Joel isn’t the kinkiest person alive. While he loves choking, spanking, hair pulling, and biting, one thing he doesn’t want to partake in is bodily fluids. Saliva is fine for him (given he’s thought of spitting on your face and in your mouth on multiple occasions) but urine and feces? Nope. Joel loves to stay clean and those two things are the total opposite of what he wants. Plus urine and feces is a constant reminder of how bad the world has gone to shit (literally) and he doesn’t want to be reminded of that.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Joel LOVES to give oral. While he definitely doesn’t mind receiving a blowjob, something about the way his tongue feels inside of you makes it so addicting to him. He adores the taste of your pussy and honestly cannot get enough of it. The best feeling ever is having you wrap your legs around his neck while he goes to town on your clit.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Joel likes to switch it up every now and then. When it’s fast, his pace is brutal. His harsh deep thrusts are hard enough to leave slight bruising on your thighs. When it’s slow, expect soft and deep strokes that make you whimper until you cry. Either way, his main goal is to make you cum so hard you forget your name.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

As much as Joel likes quickies, he’s a fan of proper sex. Quickies get you off but proper sex is irreplaceable. The sounds. The intensity. The love. The cute faces you make when he hits that spot. He cannot get enough of you. Quickies can’t give him the same satisfaction that real sex gives.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Joel has always been a risk taker. He loves to experiment during sex and what he can do better to pleasure you more. He’s an experimentalist at heart. Semi-public sex is very arousing to him and the riskier it is, the more it gets him off. However, he is NOT one to be easily caught though the possibility of being caught is what gets him going.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Being a seasoned man in the sex department, expect to go around for at least an hour. Joel is all about the foreplay and the acts leading up to sex just as much as the actual act of sex itself. He can go for two rounds before having to hit the hay. However, given that he is getting older, his stamina will decline slightly though not by much.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He doesn’t own toys but doesn’t mind if his partner owns any. He’d honestly be surprised if you had any given the circumstances. He would use his partner’s toys on her as foreplay but will toss them aside once he’s actually ready to begin.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Joel is the KING of teasing!!! You’ve got to prove to him how much you wish to cum. He will edge you until you’re a drooling babbling mess. He will get you right there and then deny you and chuckle in your face about it.

“Oh you wanna cum? Beg for it then darlin’”.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He doesn’t get too loud during sex at all. Joel is more of a grunter than a moaner. When you’re gripping him in all the right ways. expect a curse or two to slip out.

“Fuck babygirl! You’re so wet for me. I love making a mess out of you.”

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Joel is a lover of degradation. He adores dirty talk and the filthier it is the better. He knows how it makes you so wet hearing his deep voice call you names.

“Does my filthy little whore want more of Daddy’s cock? Beg for it slut.”

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Joel, to put it in words, is hung like a horse and he is proud of it too! Eight inches in length and he is very girthy. Expect to be stretched to the max with him. He knows how his cock is drool worthy and loves whenever you get on your knees and start to tease him.

“Let’s see what that mouth of yours can do darlin’”.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Joel has always had a moderate sex drive. It was pretty high during his first marriage but after the divorce and his ex wife leaving him and Sarah, it decreased severely. Now it’s starting to pick up again after beginning a relationship with you. He now has the urge to masturbate again and wants to be closer to you.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Joel falls asleep pretty quickly after sex. He will get up to bring you a towel to wipe off any sweat but after he climbs back into bed, he is out like a light! No waking this sleeping bear unless you want to be punished for it (which could lead to a session of spanking and fyi being spanked by Joel ain’t that fun given his strength but hey maybe pain is your thing!)

[deathonyourtongue]

Resurrection | 10

Summary: A ragtag team of Spec-Ops operators are brought out of retirement for all the wrong reasons. When the dust settles, only the best will be left standing. Pairing: Pablo Schreiber x OFC, Henry Cavill x OFC (listen, she gets with the whole team, okay? Don’t lie, you would too.) Word Count: 2.6K Warnings: Nothing much really. A/N: The one you’ve all been waiting for! 😈

As the unofficial dad of the team, none of us are surprised when Rick floats the tab not only for dinner, but for the strip club afterwards. 

“You gonna give us money for working girls too, pops?” Dom jokes as he shuffles past, collecting the money Rick’s doling out and patting his shoulder gratefully as he does so. It’s the same with the rest of the team, each of us getting enough money for two lap dances if we choose to, although I have a feeling we’ll end up pooling our funds towards the end of the night for a group dance. 

We’re good and liquored up by the time we make it through the doors of Prowler, the bass of the music reverberating through our chest as we file into the VIP area, two bottles of champagne there to greet us. Sitting between Max and Jake, it’s not long before I have a glass in my hand, raising it to toast a reunion none of us imagined possible. 

“To the walking dead. If you two fuckers ever go off on your own again, I’ll personally drag you back and kill you both. Love you guys.” Rick grins as our glasses clink, all of us nodding our agreement.

Before long, I feel a head slump on my shoulder, and looking down, find Jake, eyes at half mast. The realization that this is the first time he’s probably been able to relax since everything happened is a sobering thought, and in that moment, I want nothing more than to drag both he and Benji back to our safehouse and curl up with them until they both get as much sleep as they deserve. Logically, I know this is the only respite we’ll get until Wallace is in the ground, but it doesn’t stop me from wishing for more. 

“You should get up there and show Lil’ Miss Daddy Issues how it’s really done,” Jake grins, giving me a wink to make sure I know he’s kidding.

“As tempting as that is, I feel like my time’s come and gone,” I laugh, shaking my head and earning a raised eyebrow from Max. 

“I’m sorry, I thought I heard you disparage yourself, love,” Max comments during a lull between songs, one hand scratching at his short hair before he gently strokes a lock of mine behind my ear.

“It’s the truth. I’m not built the same way I used to be. And I’m definitely not as flexible.” Giving him an appreciative smile, I stroke his cheek in much the same way I had Jake’s, though Max nuzzles into my touch far more. 

“Bet Max is dying to find out just how flexible you are.” Jake smirks, earning a light swat from me just as one of the girls comes around, offering herself up for a lap dance. 

“If he wants to, it’s his,” I grin at Jake as I hold up my night’s allowance, figuring if I can’t beat ‘em, I may as well join ‘em. 

Both Jake and Max’s eyebrows go up as I shift in my seat, making room for the dancer to grind in my lap. As the music thumps through the nearby speakers, the redhead slowly takes off her top, giving all the boys a front row seat. 

Discreetly watching their reactions, it’s easy for me to spot the fact that out of all the boys, Max is the only one who seems ill at ease with the situation. It confuses me, because a few weeks prior, he was in the same position I’m in, and was only bothered when I took the girl away in favor of dragging him along on this mission. Although I’ll be the first to admit that his behavior’s changed in the last little while, this feels like another level, even for Max; like a breaking point.

Before I can even determine what to do, Jake flashes a $100 at the dancer and pats his lap, giveing me a kid-in-the-candy-store grin. Shaking my head, I’m about to say something, when I feel a tug on my hand. Looking to my left, I find Max standing and motioning his chin towards the exit, looking for all the world like this is the last place he wants to be. 

I shoot a quick look back to the rest of the team, doing my best not to laugh as I find them entranced by three different girls, all of them vying for the attention of men who aren’t over 60 and actually know how to dress. Satisfied that they’re all occupied, I let Max pull me under his arm as we step outside, the comparative silence of London at night one that makes me instinctively shake my head to clear it. 

“Where we going?” I smirk, my voice a little sing-songy as Max looks both ways before jaywalking us towards the direction of the safehouse.

“Home,” he smiles, tucking me back in. Although the stroll through the more historic part of town is a nice change of scenery, there’s no missing the fact that both Max and I are keeping our heads on a swivel, both of us keenly aware of everything that’s led us here. 

Scanning our thumbs to get into the safehouse, I only manage to get my heels off before I feel Max pull me close, our lips colliding gently. 

“Hey,” I murmur once we both pull back for air, my hands cupping his bearded face and forcing his gaze to lock with mine. “Are you sure? Or did I misread and you’re just planning another movie night?” I ask softly, not wanting Max to go any further than he feels comfortable with.

“If yesterday taught me anything, it’s that we don’t often get second chances, and that I may very well have been wasting what could be my only shot. That, and well...I love you, Carmen.”

I must recoil a bit, because a look of disappointment crosses Max’s face. 

“Max,” I start, holding onto his face with just a bit more firmness, not wanting him to assume the worst. “In our line of work--”

“I know all about the superstitions and the old wives’ tales, Carmen. I just...After this I’m out, and I hope you are too. I want to enjoy what’s left of our lives, you know? Don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder forever.” 

“I was out until this happened, so I understand, but Max..Me? Really?”

The tension leaves his face in lieu of a relieved and joy-filled smile, Max pulling me close and kissing me deeply. I sink into his arms, his mouth moving against mine without hurry as he walks us back towards my room. 

I kick the door closed, hearing the woosh of the automatic lock behind us at the same time that Max’s calves hit the bed frame. Smirking, I push him back, enjoying the confusion on his face.

“I’m not exactly Mrs. Robinson, but I just might be trying to seduce you,” I joke, lifting one leg onto the chair across from the bed and slowly pushing down one of the thigh highs I’m wearing while simultaneously putting on some music, hellbent on making his first time as memorable as possible.

I watch Max sit up, his eyes roving over my body as he leans back on his elbows. Never has a man looked at me with more hunger and more love, and I know that tonight will either end quickly, or cause us both to walk into tomorrow’s meeting a little sleep-deprived; I’m hoping for the second option. 

Though I have as many questions as I’m sure all the guys do when it comes to Max and his situation, I put them aside, focusing instead on being present and reading his body language for any sign of anxiety. Swaying my hips in time with the music, I come close enough for him to reach, only to pull away just before he can, sticking my tongue out teasingly as I slowly strip for him. 

I make sure to face him when I drop my bra, not missing the tent in his slacks or the adoring look in his eyes. Max sits up further when I straddle his thighs, his hand slipping up my back as his lips find my breasts on instinct. I let my eyes close as he takes his fill, grinding against him without shame, learning how his body responds to mine. 

Blindly, I push Max’s jacket off his broad shoulders, my fingers finding the buttons on his shirt soon after, a soft inhale escaping me when I feel his teeth gently nip in just the right spot. Raking my hand through his curls, I pull back just enough to admire a body I know he’s worked hard for. 

Max uses my distractedness to his advantage, flipping us around so that my back is against the mattress. I let out a whoop of surprise, laughing softly as I watch him practically tear his clothes off, leaving only his black boxer briefs on, the thin fabric leaving little to the imagination. If the bulge is any indication, he’s big, and I’ve got my work cut out for me. 

I motion for him to come back to me with both hands, and he obliges with a big grin, kissing his way up my body even as he pulls off what’s left of my clothes, leaving only my g-string intact. Neither of us hesitate as we eachother’s lips once more, Max cupping my breasts while I let my hand slip over his bulge, feeling a tingle go through me when he responds with a shiver and a thrust closer. 

Pushing him back so that he’s sitting on his heels, I let my gaze flit between the waist of his briefs and his own blue orbs as I slowly pull down the material. His cock springs out, hard as marble and my eyes go wide, having expected the length, but not the girth that comes with it.

“Suddenly, your call sign makes so much more sense,” I shake my head with a smirk, waiting for Max to tug his briefs the rest of the way off before I take hold of his hips. Eyes meeting his again, I kiss through the thick thatch of hair that leads from his belly button to his base, feeling the jolt of anticipation go through him.

Max cards a hand through my hair as I lick my way up to his tip, a soft sound of enjoyment leaving my lips as I collect the precum drooling from his slit. I can’t help my smile when Max inhales sharply, the reaction making it clear that he’s been honest about never being with anyone. 

Holding onto his muscular thigh with one hand, my other gently cups his sac, rolling gently as my lips seal around his shaft. Max’s breathing increases as every lick and suck brings a new feeling he’s never experienced before. 

“Oh fuck!” He pants out, gripping my hair a little tighter as I take him all the way down, swallowing around his head before pulling back with a gasp of my own. I can’t help but moan as I lick down his shaft once more, popping his balls in my mouth to further tease him. 

I can feel Max get close as his muscles contract, and with one last lick to his tip, I lay back, waiting to see what he’ll do. Max doesn’t hesitate, nearly diving between my legs, eyes wide with need. His enthusiasm earns a giggle from me, one that’s quickly silenced as he kisses over the sheer material of my g-string. Sitting up, I stroke my fingers through his curls, appreciating how good his mouth feels against my most sensitive area. 

A soft moan escapes me when Max pulls the thin fabric aside and lets his tongue slip through my folds, the feeling reminding me of our deeper kisses and causing the same weightless sensation he’s so good at making me feel when we’re cuddled in bed. I lay back, putty in his hands as he lifts my legs over his shoulders, taking off my final piece of clothing as he does. 

“Darling?” Max’s voice is hoarse but gentle, the question in his tone equal parts uncertain and hopeful. 

“Bare, babe. Want to feel nothing but you inside me,” I answer, having already felt the swollen head of his cock brushing against my entrance; it’s one of the most arousing sensations I’ve experienced in a long time. 

With a kiss to my calf, Max pushes his hips forward, groaning softly when he slides in with ease. I can’t help but reach up and cup his face, smiling as I experience the moment with him. Knowing how long he’s waited, I don’t take it lightly, honored to be his first. 

“Feels so good inside you,” he whispers, eyes still wide, as though any minute he’ll wake from his dream. 

Biting my lower lip, I can’t help but roll my hips, grinning ear to ear when my movement elicits a choked noise and a look of utter bliss. The growl Max gives me sobers any laughter, and before I can even open my mouth to squeal, his body is covering mine and his hips are rutting. 

My mouth falls open in utter shock as Max cocoons my body in his arms, his lips searing every inch of skin he can find, while his thrusts push me up the bed an inch at a time. I can almost see stars at the crown of Max’s head as he brings me up so that I’m nearly seated on his thighs, his cock going even deeper and making the breath catch in my throat. 

His lips find mine for a torrid kiss, Max’s pace picking up as he shifts the angle once more, making me moan loudly as his hips grind into my clit while his cock sweeps my g-spot relentlessly. There’s no doubt that Max’s need is primal, born from years of waiting for this very moment. Our gazes meet and I can’t stop myself from cupping his face, seeing beyond the lust to the depth of his feelings beneath and knowing that after tonight, nothing will be the same. 

Max comes with a cry of my name, and I follow suit, gasping and jolting my hips, having never experienced an orgasm as intense as the one he’s given me. By the time he rolls us to our sides, our bodies still connected, tears are streaming down my face. 

Everyone’s heard about the elusive orgasm so good it makes you cry, but I never thought it was true; until now.

“What’s wrong, love? Did I hurt you?” Max’s voice holds a razor’s edge of panic, and though I manage to shake my head and smile, the tears won’t stop.

“I j-just...I’ve never...Y-you love me?” I stammer out nonsensically, burying my face in Max’s chest as I feel his arms tighten around me.

“Yes, darling, I love you. I’ve loved you for a very, very long time. I’ve just been too chicken shit to do anything about it until recently. I love you with all my heart and I’m not sure I’ll be able to spend another day without you.”

I look up as Max brushes my hair off my face, finding his gaze filled with the same tenderness, love and devotion that I’ve seen in his blue orbs time and time again over the years. My face finds his chest as the sobs come once more, Max chuckling softly as he holds me close.

[justjessame]

Avery Emerson Clay: Daddy's Little... Taser Zapper

Jake helped me undress, unwind, and take a very slow shower. Instead of waiting to talk it over after the shower, he brought it up while hosing off the first layers of dust.

“I know that I get pissed at sparring dummies because of those smug expressionless faces they have,” he offered, his fingers untangling my braid and working shampoo through the strands. “I mean where do they get off, with their no eye having asses?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Yeah, and they can’t even talk back.” I leaned back, letting the shower stream flow over my face, giving me a reprieve and cleaning it free of dust and sweat. When I straightened up, I opened my eyes to see him waiting, watching me carefully. “I was pissed off at my dad.” I considered those words, my words. “I AM pissed off at my dad.” I wasn’t seeing red, not right now, but Dad wasn’t in front of me, Jake was. And Jake was naked, so I was in a different frame of mind.

Jake reached around me for the soap and a washcloth he’d brought into the shower with us. Lathering the terry cloth up, he was taking the time to gauge his words, by the time the cloth was soapy and ready to touch my skin so was he. “Because of the Op?” He started at my shoulders and neck, since I’d managed to clear my face on my own. I relaxed into his ministrations, letting him take care of me while I explained why I was angry enough to lose my shit on an inanimate dummy.

I told him all the reasons I’d seen red, literally. Why I went off and beat the high holy fuck out of a dummy, getting stuffing all over myself and the gym and forcing him to come play babysitter.

“Babysitter?” His lips quirked into a smile at the term. “You think your mom called me to babysit you?” He’d finished washing all the parts of me that had been coated in stuffing, but that left some of my more personal parts untouched and neglected. Jake’s hands, which he’d been keeping carefully above the waist while we worked on my issues, started to slither lower, reminding me of Jake Jensen’s ability to prove he had game when the time was right. “I’m pretty damn sure that your mom would NEVER hire me as your babysitter, Avery.” He pulled lightly on my waist and then our mouths were together and I forgot all about Dad and the stupid Operation.

We were dressed and walking back to the kitchen for something to eat when I heard the reminder that we weren’t in a bubble without rage triggers. Jake’s fingers were still linked with mine, which probably helped keep the flare of anger from growing to a full roar.

“Avery Emerson,” did Daddy always greet me with my first and middle names? Was this a new thing or was it normal? “I heard that you made a mess in the gym.”

“Don’t worry,” I moved carefully to the refrigerator to pull one of Rose’s pre-made meals from the freezer to reheat for Jake and I. Good luck getting a meal out of me, Daddy Dearest. “I plan on cleaning it up right after Jake and I eat.”

Dad grunted and I read the instructions that Rose had taped to the container twice, just to allow myself extra time to ignore him. Preheating the oven meant that there would be time to kill, which in a Dadless kitchen could mean extra Jake nudity, but as I looked up from the stove I saw that Dad was in it for the long haul. Shit.

“I think that you and I still have a few things to iron out, Avery.” Don’t roll your eyes, don’t sigh, and don’t throw something heavy at him. Weakness, remember? I nodded and took a seat beside Jake, which had Dad’s eyes narrowing. “Your brother isn’t completely sure where this Max might make the move, which means that you are going to have to be more available.”

“More available?” I tilted my head. “Should I wear a sign that says ‘Take me, I’m bait’?” I was baiting my father, dangerous, but honestly, what the fuck? “I can’t go into GI more often, Dad, the court frowns on that, since it’s the ‘scene of the crime’ and all.” I was using air quotes. I was three beats from rolling my eyes. I was wondering where the fuck my mom was.

“You can go in if I send you in with documents,” loopholes, I nearly snorted. Dad was utilizing loopholes to get me kidnapped. “And we aren’t just thinking of GI.” I waited, thinking that I’d better not test him with another bout of daydreaming. “You jog at least twice a week off property, kick it up to three times.” Great, I hated to fucking jog. There was a reason I only did it twice a week. “Start shopping more. You’re an heiress, sweetheart, start acting the part.” Did I imagine the shift of his eyes to Jake when he called me an heiress? Was he actually playing the fucking class card? For fuck’s -

I felt Jake’s fingers tighten on my thigh so I didn’t speak, or at least I didn’t say what first came to mind, which shocked Daddy, I think. “Fine.” I exhaled, and nearly cheered when the stove announced that the oven was ready. “Let me get this put in the oven and we’ll hash out my new schedule.” I knew I sounded exactly like a child who just learned that they had piano lessons added when they hated the piano, but damn it, I really hated this entire fucking idea.

We ate, I gave in and gave Daddy a portion after he admitted that Mom had been called away to one of her charity luncheons. Clay and Aisha were off on their own, Pooch was in the pool house probably hooked up and connecting with his little family, and Cougar was doing whatever Cougar did when left to his own devices. It seemed that Daddy was given the task of putting Avery to rights. Yay.

“Shopping like a Hilton,” I muttered, once lunch was finished and I’d put the dishes in the dishwasher and Jake wiped up the crumbs. Dad had gone off to his home office while Jake was still with me. He wrapped his arms around me as I sighed and leaned back. We could look out over the pool and backyard, where puppies were relaxing and cats were sunbathing. “Jogging even when I hate sweating,” his chuckle ruffled my hair. “And errands into an office that I no longer have an office in, thanks to my temper.” My hands covered his and I was sorely tempted to leave the gym for tomorrow, but that wouldn’t work, because Rose would be back to work and she’d by some extra sense sniff out the mess and clean it up for me. “I have a mess to clean up.”

“WE have a mess to clean up,” Jake insisted, and took my hand and walked with me back to the scene of the massacre.

As we worked, vacuuming up the loose filler first, then sweeping up the crap that wasn’t easily gripped by the vacuum, I tried to understand my dad’s attitude. Why was he acting so weird about Clay being home, and bringing his team with him?

“And that bit about me being an HEIRESS?” I was shoving the larger bits of Mr. Sparsnomore into an industrial strength lawn and garden garbage bag as I muttered darkly about my dad’s shortcomings. “What was that all about?”

Jake snorted, causing my head to pop up and our eyes to meet over the length of the mat. When he saw my confusion he chuckled and shook his head, but I was no less confused. “You really don’t get it?” I shook my head right back at the broad shouldered dork. “How often do you have a guy you’re openly sleeping with staying in the house, Avery?” My eyes were narrowed at the question. The answer was rarely, if ever, but he didn’t wait for me to answer. “Better yet, a guy you tell your entire family you plan on having very aggressive sex with minutes after leaving their company, under the same roof, that happens to be a guest who is staying in the guest room NEXT to your bedroom?”

I was going to shrug it off, tell this adorably awkward, yet truly naive hottie that he was beyond wrong. I mean, MY dad, the man who basically screwed my mother over the entire property we stood on, in fact, I was pretty sure he might have had Mom pinned against this poor dead dummy at one point or another, if I strained my memory banks I bet I had that one hidden in there, was going to go full prude with ME?

“Don’t even think of saying I’m wrong, Avery,” he was grinning and I bit my lip because even when he was being obnoxious about being right he was pretty damn sexy. “I have a sister, remember? And while my parents aren’t quite as tuned into what we were up to, my dad was super fucking weird when she started dating. More so when the guys started being around the house.”

I considered what he was saying. Aside from Mom, Dad, and Clay, I was the private one. I kept my personal life under wraps, and BEHIND CLOSED FUCKING DOORS. So Jake was a first, in that they actually met him. And I HAD sort of insinuated that I’d planned on maybe tying him up. Shit. Damn it. Jake crawled over the still slightly grubby floor and kissed my nose. “It’s ok, I’m not scared off.”

[hellyeahomeland]

“In Full Flight”: an HYH recap

The most delightful Homeland episode since “Two Minutes” picks up with Mike, Jenna (in a chambray shirt), and Alan in Kabul station, observing drone footage of Carrie, Yevgeny, and crew. Jenna deduces that they’re probably going to Kohat, and she is correct for the first time all season.

Mike asks about an exfiltration team from Islamabad but they won’t be there until later tonight. Saul interrupts their pow-wow to ask what’s going on:

Saul: What is this about grabbing Carrie Mathison? Mike: Oh, hello, sir. Let’s go into my office. Saul: Fuck your office and fuck you, too. What are y’all talking about? Mike: No problem, sir. A special ops team is planning to grab Carrie. You know, because she’s a defector. Saul: FOR FUCK’S SAKE SHE IS NOT A DEFECTOR. Actually she’d be right here telling you that herself if you hadn’t cornered her like an animal three hours ago without telling me. Mike: Actually actually she was supposed to be back in America like a week ago but then she broke custody and started her adventure with a GRU officer. Now they’re out there doing God knows what. Sir.  Saul: I’ll tell you what they’re doing. They’re finding the flight recorder. Mike: What’s a flight recorder? Saul: I can’t believe I’m still having this conversation with you. Do any of y’all have brains or critical thinking skills? Mike: By the way, sir, you’ve been called back to DC. Saul: Fuck my whole life. Fuck all of you too.

Carrie and Yevgeny are very much on their way to Kohat. It’s been just a few hours since Carrie turned her back on Saul and her loaded expression as she stares out the window is very much “questioning all my past life decisions.” That could take a while, Carrie!

Carrie and Yevgeny arrive in Kohat and begin driving under a series of … I have no idea what they are, basically overhangs in the street so you can’t tell where their car is. It’s very “From A to B and Back Again” when Quinn lost Haqqani in the classic baseball stadium game “Which hat is the ball under?” trick. The team in Kabul is annoyed and prepares for a grid search.

Carrie & Co. are checking into a hotel for the night. Yevgeny makes a very obvious performance of leading Carrie to her room and what ensues is the most sexually tense scene on this show… ever. First he offers her some Ambien and Carrie cracks a joke for the first time in eight years and says she could open up a pharmacy of her own.

She apologizes for not telling him about the flight recorder sooner. At first it was all personal, she needed to find Max, she couldn’t focus on anything else. Yevgeny asks what she thinks actually happened to the presidents’ helicopter, since she certainly doesn’t believe Jalal was involved. She thinks it was probably just a freak accident: pilot error, mechanical failures, shitty weather, any or all of the above. Then she reveals that detail from the fifth episode, that the Black Hawk fleet has had a series of mechanical issues. Oh, I should add that this conversation all takes place in the doorway of Carrie’s hotel room and every fifteen seconds or so Carrie and/or Yevgeny glance back toward the bed. You can cut the sexual tension with a knife.

Yevgeny asks if there are any more secrets she’s been keeping from him. She smiles, pauses… it’s the most interesting moment. Then she says very quietly, “I think I’m fresh out of secrets.” They stare at each other for a long time, Yevgeny probably wondering if Carrie is going to invite him in and Carrie probably wondering if Yevgeny can take a fucking hint. Finally, I exhale, and Yevgeny says to just “bang on the wall” if Carrie needs anything, which at least elicits a laugh.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a Pakistani military officer named Aziz has come to see Bunny to ask just where the fuck Tasneem is. Aziz is pissed because Tasneem was supposed to control the Taliban—first Haissam, then Jalal—and her “incompetence” has led to the Americans threatening to invade. Bunny is the opposite of worried. The Americans are all talk, no bite. They won’t actually invade Pakistan for failing to produce a man they claim they can’t find. I guess he hasn’t met John Zabel. Anyway, he says Tasneem is off to find Jalal somewhere in the mountains.

Instead, she actually meets (Haissam) Haqqani’s right-hand. She is beyond pissed that he just let Jalal control the shura last week. This is all so fucked. He doesn’t have much of a response, beyond, “well, he was the emir’s son, so I guess so?” He offers to take Tasneem to Jalal but only if she puts a hood over her head and lemme tell ya, Tasneem is none too pleased about that either!

It’s the next morning in Kohat and Carrie and Yevgeny really are going shopping, just like the logline said. They’re winding their way through the bazaars on the street but still no luck finding this flight recorder. Enter A Kid. He’s all “pardon me, excuse me,” and Yevgeny puts on his best Dad Hat and tells him to get lost. It’s very touching. Then he says he knows what they’re looking for, which is enough to get their attention.

He takes them to a shop where Mr. Shop Owner #1 is like, “Hi, do you like flight recorders? Because I’ve got lots!” Unfortunately he doesn’t have the one they’re looking for and he also seems pretty skittish because a) what the hell are a Russian and an American doing together? and b) is this official government business or something private or, like… just generally what the hell?

Saul has arrived back to DC and meets Hayes in the Oval Office with our favorite Odd Couple, Linus and Zabel (this should really be the name of a sitcom). Saul passively aggressively says he knows of Zabel “by reputation.” Aside from that jab, the meeting unfortunately goes from meh to ugh to wtf for Saul. He has to play bad cop and tell Hayes that the video of Jalal is unvetted intelligence, completely lacking in context, and probably just a straight-up lie. Hayes has the expression of someone who’s never followed Thought A to Thought B—which is true, obviously—and Zabel has to jump in to say of course POTUS has already done the Thought A to Thought B exercise, he just arrived at a different conclusion. You know, mine! The best part of all THIS is that as Saul grows increasingly incredulous at the conversation, Linus sits there, silently, looking like he’d like to be swallowed up by an alligator. Afterward:

Saul: Wow a bit of warning would have been helpful. Or maybe just an assist there, Linus. Linus: I didn’t even know you were coming back. I’m outside the ~information flow~ Saul: God, we’re so fucked. Linus: I wish I’d get swallowed by an alligator.

Back in Kohat, Carrie has entered another shop, this time sans Yevgeny. This one proves a bit more fruitful. She actually finds Max’s rucksack, which means that flight recorder had to have been here recently. Mr. Shop Owner #2 feigns ignorance, but Carrie is relentless.

Yevgeny enters all of a sudden to let her know that that special ops team from Islamabad is here, so they need to get out of there, pronto. He leaves quickly to lose the tail and instructs her to go back to the hotel and wait. His absence gives her the perfect opportunity to keep grilling Mr. Shop Owner #2, whom I actually love and seems really sweet. Poor guy is just no match for Carrie. He finally reveals the flight recorder was there but he sold it to a broker he works with. Carrie offers him a lot of money to find the broker and get the flight recorder back there for a trade at midnight.

Tasneem gets the black hood off her head in exchange for an audience with Jalal, but homie remains pissed. Jalal is sort of confused at her reaction. A few episodes ago she was plotting to put Jalal in the place he’s currently in. What changed? Well, for starters, now the Americans are threatening to invade Pakistan. She says he’s got to go to ground, but he refuses to run.

Jalal: Who do you think I am? Tasneem: You’re the loser whom I picked up on the side of the road. I bandaged your feet and listened to you crying about your daddy issues for hours. Jalal: You think that you control us. Actually it’s the other way around.

He leads her up to a rooftop where hundreds of Taliban fighters have gathered. He says the last time the ISI got in the way, they killed a thousand of their officers on the street. And now they’re twice as strong, so you do the math. Tasneem has a general “oh fuck” expression on her face and… same.

In Kohat, Yevgeny finally shows back up in Carrie’s hotel room. He reveals that eight men are hunting her and they need to leave, now. She says they can’t, as they haven’t found the flight recorder yet. Of course we know Carrie has found it—and in hindsight, at this point Yevgeny probably does as well—but she needs to stick around a few more hours to make the trade. For a split second you think maybe Carrie is going to preoccupy Yevgeny for a few hours in her bedroom but instead she calls Jenna.

Carrie: Hey, how’s it going? Jenna: OH MY GOD I STILL HATE YOU. Carrie: Chill for a second. Also I know you’re walking toward Mike and do yourself a favor and pause and just listen to me. Jenna: Ugh, fine, I’m listening. Carrie: I need you to give up the location of the exfil team that’s looking for me. Jenna: Are you high? Carrie: I am not, but you are if you think this will end up any other way than me convincing you. Jenna: You’re putting me in an impossible position. Carrie: You must do this. I compel you. Jenna: If I give up their location, you’ll turn yourself in there? Carrie: “Sure.” Jenna: Ok I’ll call you back.

This entire conversation transpires with Yevgeny sitting on the sofa in Carrie’s hotel room, legs crossed. It’s… I’ll be honest, it’s hot. When Carrie hangs up he applauds her performance and says she was clever and convincing. That’s right, Carrie played Jenna… again. Again! Again again again!

Carrie is kinda down on selling out her own people but Yevgeny says she did it for all the right reasons and in any case, the local police will only hold them for a day (uhhhh yeah right). He starts to compliment her strong instincts. He really respects her for that.

“Why, how do you do it?” Carrie asks.

“Me? I am more of a planner,” Yevgeny answers.

The alarm bells start ringing in her head and Carrie asks him all speaking of which whether he arranged for them to “run into each other” outside G’ulom’s office way back in the season premiere (show time: 10 days???). Before he can answer, Jenna rings back and tells Carrie the safe house location. Carrie says “you did the right thing” and the amount of self-disgust in her expression for this just being too fucking easy is … significant.

A few minutes later, Mike is on the phone with one of the special ops team members in the Kohat safe house. Local police have surrounded the building. Exasperated, Mike tells them to stand down. One by one, they file out and are led into custody. Jenna watches in horror and the amount of self-disgust in her expression for this just being her life is… also significant.

In Rawalpindi, Tasneem is at Bunny’s house and freaking out. Jalal has consolidated power extremely quickly. She’s concerned, but Bunny says they just need to take him out, root and branch. Bunny is offended by the prospect of being ordered around by a smarmy teenager but Tasneem thinks they need to protect him. If Pakistan protects Jalal, they’ll protect themselves too. And they need to respond to the Americans not with concessions but with threats just as strong. Remember when they were three minutes away from a generation-defining peace agreement?

Back in her hotel room, Carrie is growing restless. She decides to get some fresh air and by that I mean she jumps out the window to get the show on the fucking road. On the way she calls Saul, to whom she is apparently still speaking. She asks if their protocols for transferring money over the dark web are still a go and he says yes. She says she’s got a lead on the black box and he promises to arrange the funds ASAP.  

Carrie winds up back at Mr. Shop Owner #2’s shop. Mr. Shop Owner #1 is there, too! Plus the broker. They do a little thing, Carrie says she won’t pay any more than $999,999, she is very In Charge and it’s pretty great to see. Not that we needed any more convincing, but the kind of instincts and improvisation Yevgeny admired just a few hours earlier are on full display here. She knows exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. It’s breathtaking.

What’s also breathtaking is Carrie doing something correctly with a computer. Apparently the black box just hooks up to her Macbook with a USB-C cord… whoulda thunk?! After pulling a gun on Mr. Broker and telling him to beat it, she starts listening to the cockpit recording.

Then Yevgeny arrives! She starts to apologize but he stops her—he just wants to listen. They each share an earbud like goddamn Jim and Pam and continue listening. Turns out, Carrie was right. No one shot down that helicopter. A freak mechanical malfunction, “brace for impact,” etc. “Fucking helicopters,” Yevgeny says.

Carrie attempts a segue and says, “So… what now?” She wants to get this to the embassy in Islamabad. He wants to do the opposite of that. Then Carrie starts on him. Maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all. Maybe he’s actually… good.

Carrie: Plus, I’d owe you a favor. Yevgeny: Carrie, if I drop you off at the embassy I’ll literally never see you again. Carrie: Not true. I won’t betray my country, but I’d still move to Scottsdale with you. Yevgeny: I still don’t believe you. Carrie: Why not? You’ve already helped me a ton, and it’s cost you nothing! There has to be a way where we can make a “mutually beneficial arrangement.” Yevgeny: Is that what they’re calling it these days? Carrie: What? Yevgeny: What? Carrie: …anyhow, aren’t you sick of all this bullshit? Shitty bosses, shitty politicians, clearly the current way of business isn’t working for us. We could do better. You and me. We could chart something new here. You and me. God, we’re already halfway there! Yevgeny: Our own private network, huh? That would be nice, but it’s a pipe dream. Also, I like what you’re saying, but you still lied to me. Carrie: Technically, I just withheld the truth. Which is exactly what you did to me. Yevgeny: Heh? Carrie: The asylum, Yevgeny. What actually happened? We just took long walks in the woods and shared our life stories and you just happened to be the there the day I tried to hang myself? Give me a fucking break.

She moves closer and mentions the whole “picking up where we left off” thing. Well, will he or won’t he? Because she’s already decided.

There is a long pause and then they start making out. It’s exactly what you’d expect it would be, by which I mean it’s really hot! The scene is fraught with the unknown. How much are they playing each other? How much are they being genuine? Like Carrie says, they’re living in the grey areas. And who’s the first to blink?

Evidently it’s Carrie. After a few moments she breaks away and says they need to wait until after Islamabad. “Ok,” he says quietly. She tries to kiss him again, but he pulls ever so slightly away.

She hops off the table and begins to pack up the flight recorder. At that moment, he stabs her in the neck from behind with a tranquilizer. “Sorry, baby,” he says as she falls unconscious.

In DC, Saul is waiting anxiously by the phone. It rings. It’s not Carrie, but Linus. Everyone’s in the situation room, there’s some sort of activity in one of Pakistan’s nuclear facilities. Saul’s day goes from bad to worse.

In the situation room, resident hottie Scott Ryan is giving a PowerPoint presentation about said activity. Hayes is trying to understand literally anything that’s happening. Zabel explains that Pakistan only has the nukes in the first place to defend against a possible invasion from India. They’ll never actually use them. Saul growls that that’s because India isn’t fucking stupid enough to invade Pakistan. Hayes is beginning to understand the whole concept of “consequences” but before his mind can dwell on that for too long, he decides to just up the ante. More troops, more preparations for war, more of the same.

Saul’s day is not possibly as bad as Carrie’s has wound up. Yevgeny carries her, still unconscious, back into the hotel room. He places her gingerly on the bed and then kisses her forehead. He shuts off the lights as the camera moves in slowly on her her peacefully sleeping face.

[msjr0119]

One Temptation

Part 3

*This new series is based on The Royal Romance characters who belong to Pixelberry - AU Plot switch*

Riley Brooks moves back to New York after leaving five years prior- struggling to get by in life she wanted to go home. After getting mugged, a woman and man come to her rescue and offer her a job at their strip club. A rich business man Liam Rhys is forced to visit the club as part of his bachelor party. What will happen that night?

Warnings: Swearing, mention of assault.

Tags-if you want to be removed let me know 😊: @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @whenyourheartskipsabeat @jovialyouthmusic @nz1091 @yukinagato2012 @indiacater @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @cordonianroyalty @dcbbw @qammh-blog @beardedoafdonutwagon @jared2612 @princess-geek

******

Riley and Max managed to watch a full series of Sex and City before both falling asleep on the couch. Neither of them had heard from Drake.

Maxwell woke up before Riley, sneaking off the couch attempting to not wake her- he immediately entered Drakes room, hoping he had returned. His bed hadn’t been slept in. Beginning to panic, Max continued to ring him- voicemail.

Drake where the fuck are you? You’re starting to worry me a bit now. Please just let me know that you are okay buddy.

******

Liam woke up the following morning, knowing he needed to go into work for meeting- but before that he needed to pay someone a visit. Arriving at the abandoned apartment, he knocked on the door - Bastien allowed him in.

“Mr Rhys- Come in.” Liam nodded, before walking into the bedroom.

“So you’re awake then?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I told you I’d fight for Riley back. If I have to play dirty to get that, I will Drake. Maxwell has text and rung you, I suggest that you text him back what we suggested last night.”

Drake arrived back at his apartment after his visit with Riley.

“What’s up with you? You’re smiling...” Maxwell said over dramatically- in the back of his mind he had an inkling as to what the answer would be.

Drake thought back to Riley’s words “I can’t stop thinking about you Drake.” “Yes really. I like you.” “Wait for me?”

“Riley likes me. I like her too. I know she’s Liam’s ex- but I can’t stop thinking about her Max. She’s coming here once she’s finished her shift.”Thinking about their time together a blush crept up on his cheek. Maxwell noticed- he was happy for the two of them.

“I’ll nip to the shop- do you need anything? Condoms? Lube?” Winking at his friend he was only pulling his leg- regretting having a joke as Drake’s face looked as if he could commit murder.

“Drake I’m joking! We need milk. I’ll be five minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll be in my room when you get back. Ask Riley to come in, I’m thinking about just watching a film with her. Getting to know her a better?”

“Is that what they say nowadays? Watching a film? I’ll have my ear muffs prepared again. See ya in a bit.”

Maxwell left, Drake sprayed some aftershave on him- not knowing why, but he was trying to make an effort for the girl who had won his heart immediately. Putting the kettle on, there was a knock at the door- he was about to berate Maxwell for forgetting his key again.

“Li? What are you doing here?”

“I saw you leave the strip club. Did you enjoy your time with Riley?”

“Liam, I went to tell her that you knew about us- but she had already spoken to you. I don’t personally see the issue.”

“Is Maxwell in?”

“Does it look like he is?” Drake sarcastically said. Before he knew what was happening- Bastien and some other men hit him forcefully. Drake couldn’t recall how long the beating had gone on for or how he had ended up in an abandoned apartment, only the final kick to the stomach was felt afterwards. His face wasn't too disfigured, there was a slight cut above his left eyebrow, whilst his right eye was swollen. Feeling defeated due to new knowledge that his own friend could do such a thing broke something inside of him- mainly trust. It was something that would remain long after his injuries had healed. Sadness in his eyes, he thought of Riley- hoping she would forgive him for not putting up a fight.

“You can’t drive me out of the city because I slept with your ex.”

“Oh I can, and I will. I’m sure your mother will be thrilled with the money that I’m offering your family.”

“If I had a choice, they would have beaten you more to a pulp Drake. I’m sorry for doing this- but now Riley is home, I’m not losing her. I heard that your mother is struggling keeping her ranch a float. I will pay her debts, and I will pay for you to leave New York. Text Maxwell that there has been an emergency and that you are needed back home.” Drake couldn’t believe the arrogance and impudence of Liam’s attitude. Remembering what Riley said to him “what if I said that you didn’t need to fight for me?”

“No liam. I’m not leaving.”

“Wrong answer Drake. Now I am going back to the strip club- and I am going to rekindle my relationship with my girl. Sleep well.”

“I have a job here, I have an apartment. I have friends. I will stay away from Riley.” Putting his own feelings aside, if he needed to lie he would to protect her.

“I don’t trust that you would stay away from her Drake.”

Drake had flashbacks from his night with Riley- he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her. Seeing Liam’s true colours, he was now unsure of what Liam was truly capable of.

*****

Riley slowly woke up, smelling the aroma of coffee. Looking over towards Maxwell- she noticed he was alone. Deep down she had hoped for Drake to return- Maxwell provided her with a sad smile. That was all she needed to know that her hopes were about to come crashing down.

“Morning blossom. I’ve heard from Drake.”

“Oh? Where is he?” Feeling hopeful- she had hoped Drake had a decent excuse for letting her down after she informed him that she liked him prematurely. It was hard for her to admit that especially after her poor relationship with Liam.

“He had to return to Texas, family emergency but he has promised he will be back as soon as possible.”

“Why didn’t he just let us know that then?”

“I don’t know. But we know he’s alive though.”

“Yes. I’ll see ya later. I better get back.”

“Are coming back here?” Maxwell asked with hope in his voice- they were close once up on a time, and he was grateful for her company in Drake’s absence.

“I don’t know Max? I’ll let you know.”

*****

Leo knocked on Liam’s office door, they hadn’t spoken since he dragged him out of the strip club the night that they first saw Riley.

“Come in.” Liam rolled his eyes at his brother’s attitude in his office. Helping himself to Liam’s scotch, he sprawled out on the Chaise longue.

“Hey little brother. I believe you have something to tell me.”

“Leo I don’t have time for this.”

“Just like you didn’t have time to inform me that I have a niece? Why couldn’t you tell me?” Leo narrowed his eyes at Liam, wondering what poor excuse he would use.

“I don’t know Leo. I love her, I do. I feel ashamed that Madeleine became pregnant after I cheated on Riley. I only imagined to have a family with her.”

“So what? You fucked up. You have to live with that mistake. But don’t hide her away from her family. As much as I hate Madeleine, I’d like to bond with my niece, and you stole that time away from me.”

“Fine! I’ll arrange something. She’s out with her nanny all day. If you wait here, I’ll ask her to bring her here for a bit.”

“And what’s Madeleine doing? Why isn’t she looking after her OWN daughter?”

“Because she cares more about using my credit card. I’m fighting for full time custody.” Leo stood up, scrutinising the paperwork on his desk- there was indeed paperwork regarding a custody agree. Leo wondered why all of a sudden Liam was breaking his family up- realisation hit him like a ton of bricks, Riley.

*****

Riley decided to go for a walk around Central Park- to clear her mind. Knowing something wasn’t right regarding Drakes disappearance. Not knowing about his family, if there was any truth in the story- he may not return. She was wondering if she should just put their time together in the back of her mind- leaving it as a distant memory.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry sweetie. Are you okay?”

“Yes ma’am.” Riley looked into the little girls eyes, they reminded her of someone else’s. Picking up the little girl, the stern looking woman with her gave her dagger eyes. It was an accident, accidents happen, Riley wanted to tell the woman- but her priority was making sure the little girl wasn’t hurt.

“You’re hurt, here I’ve got some plasters in my bag.” Riley placed a plaster on the girls arm that was slightly grazed- Alice stared at Riley with awe- she had never had anyone that she didn’t know care for her.

“What do you say Alice?”

“Thank you ma’am. You are so pretty. You look like a princess.” Riley laughed, wondering if the little girl was a fan of Disney Princesses.

“Thank you Alice. My mom used to call me Belle when I was younger- as I always had my head in a book and we have the same hair. You are the most polite little girl I have ever met. Have a good day. Again, I am so sorry.” Riley headed back to the strip club, that short interaction with Alice in the park had kept her mind off Drake for a short time. She had the same eyes as Liam and Leo, no it’s just coincidence- she convinced herself.

*****

Alice knocked on the door, hearing her father’s voice bellow through the door her nanny opened it.

“Daddy!” Alice ran up to her father, ignoring the other person in the room.

“Baby, what have you done to your arm?” Liam checked all over her body, wondering if there was anymore injuries- he had wished he had more time to spend with his daughter where he could protect her himself.

“A pretty lady bumped into me. I fell over. She put it on me.”

“Oh really. She sounds very nice.”

“She was pretty Daddy. I wish I had brown hair like hers. She said her mommy used to call her ‘Belle’. She looked at me strange before she did this.” Alive continued to talk about the stranger- as if she was superwoman.

“Princess, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is your uncle Leo.”

“Hey kid.” Leo bent down, raising his hand for a high five- Alice nearly knocked him over.

“You look like each other.” The men laughed at Alice. Leo was furious that Liam had kept her from him- she had this fun attitude and she seemed to be bright, sweet, caring. Unlike her snake of a mother, Leo thought.

“Alice? Would you like to go out with uncle Leo tomorrow? I have many years to catch up on spoiling you?” Alice looked at her father for reassurance, Liam nodded and Alice provided a sly smirk for her uncle.

“I like ice cream- and lots of it.”

“I see, well I’m sure I can win the best uncle award and get you some ice cream. Maybe not too much though- I don’t want daddy to kill me for making you too hyper.”

******

Leo decided that he needed a drink, he usually just went to the local bar- but he thought about Riley. Thinking if she would like some company whilst she worked.

“Leo? What are you doing here?”

“Ri I need a drink. I’m so annoyed with Liam. I thought maybe we could complain about him together?” He winked, noticing a sly smile appear on her face.

“You not dancing yet?” Not wanting her to dance for him, he just believed that they would have thrown her into the deep end straight away.

“No. I did a private one for Drake last night before he disappeared to Texas?” Leo wasn’t as close to Drake as Maxwell was, but he knew the reason for him leaving Texas in the first place- the strained relationship with his Mother and Aunt.

“He’s in Texas?”

“Yeah, some family emergency apparently. He didn’t even tell anyone until this morning.” Shrugging her shoulders, she poured them both a drink.

“Must be bad then. He doesn’t even like his mom that much. Anyway, I met my mysterious niece today.” Riley’s face seemed to drop before Leo noticed that she slapped on a fake smile.

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell you. I think he told me before anyone by the sounds of it.”

“He’s a wanker, then again you already know that. I’m taking her out for the day tomorrow. Surprised I’m allowed to.”

“Where are you taking her?” Riley had no issue with Leo, she still classed him as one of her closest friends- seeming interested in Liam’s daughter was purely just because she felt bad towards Leo losing all those years bonding with his niece.

“I don’t know, it’ll be a spontaneous trip- see where it leads us.”

“You could take her to the zoo? Or the museum of natural history? Coney Island?”

“You are a star! Why Liam let you go I’ll never know? Do you still love him?”

“Excuse me?” Nearly chocking on her drink, she knew she couldn’t lie to him- he would see straight through her.

“Do you still love him? I’m surprised you’ve not bitten my head of for talking about his sprog.”

“It’s in the past. His daughter is his future, but yes I still love him- no matter how much he hurt me. I keep wondering if Drake left because of me and Liam.”

Leo started to think about her words and Liam’s words- I only wanted a family with her. I’m fighting for full custody. Knowing he was doing all that for Riley- could he be involved in Drake’s disappearance?

“If Liam is the reason behind Drake leaving, it’s a good thing that he doesn’t know what happened between us that week in Florida...”

******

Drake managed to move out of the room, considering breaking the window- risking breaking a limb to escape. Liam said he would return in the morning. Seeing Bastien asleep on the sofa, he noticed the keys on the side cabinet- creeping to grab them he opened the door slowly and quietly. Scrutinising the hallway- hoping that no one had seen him complete the great escape.

Limping a few blocks away, he had hoped that Maxwell was in as Liam had confiscated all his belongings. Banging on the door of his and Maxwell’s apartment with the lack of energy he contained, he was relieved when Maxwell opened the door- shocked to see Drake in the state he was in, his mind began working overtime.

“Drake!” Helping his friend stand up, he escorted him to the couch.

“What happened to you? I thought you was in Texas?”

“Liam... he... he saw me leave the strip club. Followed me back. Once you left they beat me up and dragged me into his limo. He wants me to flee New York...it was Liam texting you. Not me.”

“Why?” Drake had never witnessed Maxwell look angry before, he was always grinning like the Cheshire Cat- always smiling and thinking positive even in difficult situations.

“He wants Riley back. If I didn’t leave he threatened to kill me...”

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

BFCD Reviews by Nesha: Summertime on Netflix

This is what I’m gonna do... I’ll be doing more structured reviews later and most likely liveblogging suggested stuff and tagging with “Nesha Watches (Insert Title) for all liveblog posts. For this first review, I won’t be as structured, because I didn’t really plan on reviewing, so this is basically all of my comments to friends @chenoahchantel and @daintyurbanprincess that were made whilst I was watching this show suggested to me by @rbaifzau 

It didn’t take me long to be annoyed with the white boy in this show. It doesn’t take much anyways, but one episode in and I’m over him already. This dude saw her at a party, she got pushed into the pool accidentally, he gave her a dry shirt, and two minutes later tried to kiss her… TF..  

Girl, this bout to be IGNANT...

Chile... She was like, "What are you doing?" And he looked surprised. Like whet. And in episode 2 after having seen her thrice and spoken to her once, he telling his best friend, "I'm pretty sure I like her a lot." I HATE stuff like this. Why did I tell old girl I'd watch this and discuss it with her? 😭

But she like him, so like??? 😭

And her daddy, who we haven't seen yet is presumably a rolling stone. Only one negro in this town and the nigga gotta be probably running around on his wife? 🙄 I'm like, OH, so the one Black man in the show gotta be a rolling stone? And even though his wife is also highly irresponsible as a parent, she's sort of made out to be the victim of his dreams. They never portray Black mothers doing things on their own as victims. That woman was messing up left and right and it's all on her husband not being there, when that's only part of the problem.

Also, if she IS the only present parent and made the decision to do that, she should be doing it instead of leaning on Summer all of the time. 

And she got a close friend that have an obvious crush on her but she seems oblivious. I hate dis

This dude reminds me of Max Theriot. He always looked musty to me. 🤣🤣🤣 He look like him breaf stank. Him and Jack Griffo were working on something where they play soldiers and I absolutely said, "He still look like he stank" when I saw him on Instagram…

This is basically the same mold of dude and it looks moldy and should be tossed out. None for me, thanks.

But, there are moments in this show that's really cracking me up. 🤣🤣🤣 It's like, I feel like I should enjoy it for the messiness of it, but the main characters can be infuriating.

She called him an asshole and he said, "You don't even know me." No duh dipshit. She ain't know you when you tried to kiss her neither. NOR when you was talmbout you like her. 

This girl kissing her friend!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. She's gonna hurt this boy! My Gwad. He finna be discombobulated. 😭😭😭 He all happy today and she don't even see him like that. Lordt.

He walked up and she look uncomfortable AF. Her younger sister is like, "You're being weird." 🤣🤣🤣 Even SHE hip to something. He on the beach talmbout "It's hot today, don't you think?" And took his shirt off. 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I like Summer's friends and feel bad for them because she really didn't treat them kindly. She used Edo whenever she was upset by Ale and then she just completely ditched Sofie on her birthday and didn't even text her or anything. Just had her waiting on her and didn't even apologize. Like, I love that she gets a chance to be human, but being an asshole to the people who you're supposed to be friends with is such an upsetting trope to me.

And the connection between her and Ale is so weird. He comes across as super predatory in the beginning and I don't understand why she liked him in the first place, but also whenever he does something by mistake, she is so angry at him, even though she's been just as inconsiderate when it comes to her friends.

NOW... HE HARASSING HER AT HER JOB. 

WOTTICE DIS HUNNY??? 

Talmbout if she got a boyfriend he'll "take care of him" 😖 After she told him to leave and he said he'd wait for her outside, she asked her coworker, "What do you do to let a guy know you like him back?"

NOW, she went outside and he's there, but her friend showed up to surprise her after work. 🤣 Whoever made this HATES me

He stole a book out her locker and left a card with his phone number. How is this the start of a romance???

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. FRIEND IS TALKING ABOUT THE KISS...He said it was perfect........

Chile... And she don't even wanna tell their other best friend. Bruh. He said, "What we have doesn't need to be discussed." Summy PLEASE tell this young man...HE TRIED TO KISS HER AGAIN AND SHE SAID, "We just talked about last night's mistake" 😭😭😭

And she done hurt my friend this way, but she worried about Maxface because his mama can't reach him on the phone??? Girl.. go.. girl...

The gag is that she got mad at Ale because she saw him talking to his ex and she had to cover for him at work, but you've now ACTUALLY put your best friend in a bad space. And he ran into her mom and little sister and looked so uncomfortable but kept it short and sweet. These are people he loves. Idk. I feel bad for him and also like she kind of a hypocrite.

That was what REALLY bothered me. I don't expect her to be perfect, by all means. Black girls should be allowed their imperfections and their mistakes, but the fact that she knows what it's like to have the people you love be so absent and that she would treat her friends this way because of one guy who she's only known for a couple of months was disappointing for her character. She could have been written imperfectly without this glaring problem that I don't believe a real person in her position would actually have. 

I think in real life, the girl who raises her sister and basically has to lift her mother up all the time would overextend herself to her friends, but instead, she just leaves them in her dust as soon as she gets some dick. 😭

He is now hanging out with her little sister. 😭😭😭She goes to school with them but she looks tiny. I'm cringing at everything.

BRUH. Like... I can't tell if they're trying to or not, but I wouldn't be surprised because he's cool with the sister too, but they've been friends a while, so I didn't think much of it until Summer hurt him.I thought she liked him earlier, so idk if he is noticing her or I just EXPECT it. 

OAN, this man realized his son had a motorcycle accident on purpose and got mad instead of concerned

At one point, they say he's been riding bikes for 20 years, and whenever his father is mad that he had his accident on purpose (which I'll come back to) he says that he's never made a mistake like that, not even was he was 4, so Ale is AT LEAST 24 and she JUST turned 18. Which is WILD to me, even though at 18 I dated someone who was 23 (he was possessive and abusive, so I have a real suspicion of age gaps). 

But, aside from that - she gets mad at him any time she sees him with his ex when It is perfectly fine to speak with your ex and whenever she did see them together, it was always innocent and she didn't give him a chance to explain.

But then, when he does something questionable, like whenever he tried to kiss her the first day they met, or whenever he came to her job to ask her out and she told him to leave but he said he was going to wait outside (toxic AF and presumptuous) she is fine with those things.

Now, back to Ale's accident. I really felt so bad for him whenever we discover he did this on purpose, because his father is mad, when they should be concerned. His mother says, "You could have died" and he agrees...

How did they not notice that meant that this young man was so disappointed with his life as a biker that he was literally suicidal? They just grazed past it and whenever he vanished on them, there wasn't a huge call to find him,even though he'd just admitted to purposefully filling a possibly fatal mistake.

I'm prepared for nothing but disappointment. ALL these people outta there. Ale's best friend is in love with his ex. 😭 IT'S SUMMER'S 18TH BIRTHDAY. MYNIGGA She really stood her other best friend up to go get some dick on a little ass boat

The little sister shot her shot! 😭😭😭 He told her she's like his little sister and she burnt off mad denna muffugga

This child drunk, walking down the street in the middle of the night without her glasses...

OMG AS I WAS TYPING THAT SHE GOT HIT BY A DAMN CAR

I was really upset by these things coming to light, and also whenever Blue gets hit by a car, because all of the reviews that I've seen on this site have been that it's a cute love story with likable characters, but nobody mentions the problematic content, the dark portions of the story that can be triggering - like suicide and alcohol incidents and literally seeing a young Black girl be hit and run by a car??? 

I wasn't prepared for that shit in a "cute love story." I think that this story is less cute and more dark than people have made it out to be, and that's one of my problems with it. It isn't marketed as a dramatic coming of age story. It's marketed as a romantic comedy, when it is more serious than that and has a lot of issues that should be considered.

The lesbian best friend is in love with her too??????????????????? I. Hate. This.

My favorite person in this whole thing is the lesbian in the background, Irene. And also Dario.

I was entertained a lot of the times. Just heavily confused because I couldn't figure out what the tone was supposed to be. 😁

In conclusion - it's maybe a dark comedy, not a cute comedy, IS a coming of age about a young Black girl who is kind of an asshole, but Black girls should be free to be assholes too. White dudes do it all the time and are valued characters. The dude is weird AF for chasing around this 17 year old girl and he's in his 20s. Idk if that's normal in Italy. It's nasty to me. Their beginning is young people foolishness and there's not much that we see their relationship built upon, but that happens, yanno. You young, tired and silly and some pushy dude makes his move whenever he see you. Slap some discount sex in a dinghy on it and you have this show. I don't recommend it, but a lot of folk loved it, so I guess it did what it meant to do.

[planetsam]

That finale really messed me up and I was just wondering if you'd be down to write more hurt Alex with him not forgiving Michael and moving on? (I love Michael but I just need more of Alex finally moving on after that shitty move)

He feels nothing as he looks down at his father.

It’s unsettling. He’s so used to being overcome with emotion of one kind or another. But now there’s nothing. He’s not sure he’s felt much recently, it just seems kind of pointless if he’s being honest. Maybe some part of him thought seeing his father on life support would change things but it doesn’t. Jesse Manes wins in the end. Even in Alex’s own emotions.

Alex should have expected nothing less.

He leaves the room still feeling numb. The white washed walls and smell of antiseptic make his leg ache. If leaving didn’t look so suspicious, he would. Instead he gets some hospital swill and tries not to remember the last time he was in the hospital.

“Alex?”

Alex turns at the sound of his name to see Michael standing there. The anger and resignation that’s churned in the pit of his stomach falls aside at the look on Michael’s face. Something is terribly, terribly wrong. Michael looks small and scared, in a way Alex hasn’t seen ever. Not even when they were in the prison and his emotions seemed to take up the whole space. Alex doesn’t know what he’s allowed to do and that also makes this hard. He takes a step forward and even with how small he is, Michael seems to collapse in on himself. His entire body language projects that touching him is not going to end well. Not because he’ll attack but because he can’t take it. He’ll fall apart. So Alex waits.

“Michael what happened?” He asks.

Michael looks at him in any way but straight on. The guilt seems to come off of him in waves. He looks over his head for signs of anyone else but it’s just the pair of them. So he focuses back on Michael. Michael just motions and Alex nods. Michael leads them into a room labeled a closet and Alex steels himself to reject whatever is about to happen. He’s used to Michael’s need for the physical over communication. But the closet opens into a full room with all the equipment. Right now the monitors are beeping and a ventilator is hissing. It’s so much like his father’s room except the person in the bed isn’t someone he hates.

It’s Max.

“What happened?” Alex questions, zeroing in on the figure. Max looks comically large on the hospital bed, but the tubes going in him seems to change everything. Alex thinks of the aliens and the prison. They aren’t supposed to be here. But when he turns back to Michael, he gets the sense that this wasn’t a choice, “Michael?”

“Max brought Rosa back,” Michael mumbles, “it killed him.”

“But—“ Alex looks at the monitors.

“Kyle brought him back,” Michael continues in that same stilted tone, “he’s not breathing on his own.”

Alex gets suddenly why Michael looks the way he does. Max is his family. There isn’t that could have been or things that weren’t. There is Max who has always been there. Alex has been wondering what the straw that breaks Michael will be. Not that he’s ever wanted it. But he knows it’s coming. No, he corrects, it’s here. And God help him he doesn’t know how to be there for Michael when Michael’s broken his heart. No more than Michael knew how to be there for him in the mirrored version of this situation.

“He’ll be okay,” he says. Michael looks down, “you’ll both be okay.”

Something tugs at Michael and Alex is incredibly envious of how quickly he starts feeling things again.

“Because you said so?” He challenges.

“Yeah,” Alex says, “I’ll see you around. “

They keep seeing each other around.

Michael slips in and out of the hospital. Isobel has to get over her power issues a lot faster than she should because they have to hide Max. Who knew avoiding the hospital was the easy thing to do? Kyle helps. Liz helps. Everyone helps and Michael wants to tell them all to stay the hell away. No one gets to come near his family. People coming near his family means that people are going to hurt them, it’s just how the world works. But they ignore him. That’s also how the world works.

Alex is a shadow through all of it.

He’s intimately familiar with Alex’s gaze on him and nothing else. He knows he doesn’t have the right to have feelings about it, but he’s pissed off anyway. His nice, shiny relationship comes to a fucking crashing burning end about five seconds after he kisses Maria. He strums the guitar and when he looks up, what’s on her face is nothing he ever wants to be on the receiving end of. He’s never had someone look that cripplingly disappointed in his entire life.

“I can explain,” he starts.

“What possible explanation could you have for that?” Maria demands. He falters, “what was your plan here, Guerin? Ignore my glowing, fixed hand, anyway here’s Wonderwall?”

“Oasis sucks,” he says which is the wrong thing to say, “I didn’t have one!”

“Did you think I wasn’t going to notice?” She demands. He doesn’t really have an answer for that.

So she throws him out, which is fair. But it happens about ten seconds before his phone rings to Isobel telling him Max is dead. Then Valenti correcting he’s not dead. And Michael just can’t. He can’t. He’s not a runner but this is that wall that everyone talks about. He can go no further. He’s turned from someone who can knuckle down and do anything to the kid who spent countless hours screaming at the stars. For someone who was a few towns over. He can’t with any of the things happening in his life. It takes him too long to finally work up the guts to approach his Alex Manes shaped shadow.

“Whose here?” He asks finally.

Alex doesn’t call him the litany of names he deserves.

“My dad,” he says, “he took a dose of drugs he’s allergic to. Doctors are calling it a suicide attempt.”

Michael looks for Alex’s reaction but he has none. Gingerly he sits and Alex doesn’t move away, but the shift he makes towards the far wall stings. Michael doesn’t think it’s fair after everything that Alex is hurt by his fuck up, but when has life ever been fair to him? So he ignores it. It’s one more fight he can’t stomach having right now.

“You okay?” He asks.

“About that?” Alex says, “I mean, obviously my suicidal father needs to get the help he’s been clearly ignoring.”

Michael knows that’s bullshit. But in that moment, he also recalls every sign of suicide he’s looked up and committed to memory. It’s hard with his own empathy out of whack. But he tries to look at things objectively. He tells himself he knows Alex, but Alex feels like a stranger at the moment. He’s done something bad, he realizes. Alex has shut him out. Sure he’s tried to before but it’s been a half hearted attempt at best. More because he knows he should shut him out, but he’s never quite succeeded. Now Alex looks at him with the cool, detached gaze of a stranger.

“We should talk,” Michael starts and Alex shakes his head.

“We’ve got nothing to talk about. I have to get back before someone sees.”

It’s familiar, Michael tells himself. It’s familiar but he has never felt Alex mean the words like he does when he stands up. He holds Michael’s gaze for a moment and Michael throws up every wall he has. He can’t deal with this right now while his mom is ash and his brother has a machine breathing for him. Alex doesn’t care if his father is dead but he cares about his brother. That takes precedence. So he nods and gets up. Shifts his weight because he is that level of dirt and gets the hell out of there.

A shadow Alex will remain.

He fucks his father’s doctor to feel something.

The doctor is hot and good with his hands. He’s also his father’s doctor but Alex refuses to unpack his daddy issues here. He just wants to feel and if the emotion is out, then he’s going to do the physical part of it. It’s quick and hard and the ache he feels he savors when it’s done. At the end, the doctor writes him a prescription for an anti-chafe ointment.

“Romantic,” Alex says.

“First time you’ve done it with that on?” He shrugs, “yeah, won’t be the last. It’ll help.”

“Thanks,” Alex says.

The doctor nods, kisses him again and Alex leaves first.

Alex wishes he would run into Michael just to shove it in his face. But he doesn’t. Not exactly. He runs into Valenti who yanks him into the room where Max’s monitors are going crazy. It’s a miracle they’re not being heard.

“He’s setting them off,” Kyle says, “with his electricity. I need to monitor him but the alarms—“

Alex nods and goes over, looking at the machines. He has to get to the wires. He knows one person in that room who has a leatherman. He goes over to Michael who is pressed against the wall. Paralyzed for once. Alex aches to help him. He also aches to slap him. Instead he finds it and slips it from his pocket. Michael’s hand locks around his wrist and—and—

His hand is fine.

Alex stares and Michael looks at him desperately. But Alex has to get to the monitors to help Max. So he gently pulls away and goes back over to them. If someone had told him that he would be using his old leatherman to disable an alarm so an alien could survive, Alex would have laughed at them. The thing still works. Even as he focuses on his job he can see how well cared for it is, not that he would expect less from Michael. The alarms cease and Kyle grips Max’s wrist, looking at his watch and the monitor.

“Oh my God. Max!”

Liz is on the bed instantly, cupping Max’s cheeks. Michael slides down the wall like all the wind has been taken out of him. However small Max may have looked with the tubes and needles, he’s a big guy and it takes a lot for Alex to hold him down. Michael scrambles over and takes the other side. Some combination of the pair of them is enough to hold him down, though the real force keeping him there is Liz. He would never hurt her, especially not physically. It occurs to him as he looks that he’s never been hurt by Michael’s power either. Despite all the fucked up shit they’ve done to each other.

“Tube’s coming out, you gotta cough for me,” Kyle says, raising the bed. Liz smiles encouragingly. Kyle is careful, gentle and quick but Max still winds up doubled over around Liz’s arm, coughing violently as she whispers to him in Spanish, “Okay, Max, can you look at me?”

First Max looks at Michael.

“I’m so sorry,” he says.

Michael shakes his head and moves away. Alex doesn’t understand what’s going on, but from the way Michael cracks his knuckles he can piece it together. Max lays back and looks at Liz, she’s crying freely and his own face echoes that. When he opens his mouth, she wraps her arms around him and shakes her head.

“Later,” she says, “I can’t yell at you right now.”

Max nods and leans into her embrace as Kyle holds up the tongue depressor.

Alex approaches Michael with the tool but Michael shakes his head.

“Keep it,” he says.

“I don’t want it,” Alex lies. He does, just not as badly as he wants Michael to have it back.

“Too bad,” Michael says.

Alex puts it on the window sill and leaves.

When it slots itself into his back pocket, he has to rethink Michael never using his powers to hurt him.

“What?” Alex asks when he sees him again.

Michael doesn’t have an answer for that either. Alex is pissed and Michael gets why. Alex gave him the leatherman instead of a note to tell him he was leaving. Now Michael has given it back and hurt Alex in the process. And Michael feels like crap but he also feels pissed at Alex for being on a high horse like this. Mostly he’s fucking jealous that Max gets to go borderline stalker and get the girl but he fucks up once and Alex wants nothing to do with him.

“We said we were gonna talk,” he says.

“Right,” Alex says, “I said we have nothing to talk about.”

“Yeah but now you don’t mean it,” Michael points out.

Alex glares at him and Michael shouldn’t be as glad for it as he is. He can work with pissed off Alex. He can work with any Alex but pissed off Alex is an old friend. But then Alex closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and when he looks at him the pissed off is gone. Replaced by the smooth, flat look. Michael’s stomach bottoms out and before he fully thinks it through, he steps towards him. The problem is that Alex has his back against a wall already and that step brings them close to pinning territory. Usually when Alex looks at him like that it’s because they’re in public. But his eyes don’t drag to anyone else. They stay focused on him.

“Wait,” Michael hears himself say but he doesn’t recognize the tone.

“No,” Alex says, “I’m not waiting.”

“What?” Michael stops. That stupid foster kid abandonment issue rears it’s head, much to his displeasure and he feels the panic start, “you—“ he licks his lips, searching for any kind of moisture in the suddenly dry air, “no.”

There’s no reaction which makes Michael want to yell. Alex just looks at him silently. Michael feels his familiar way with Alex but the dread is new. The finality is new. He’s only felt it once and that was at the bar. The bar where he consequently did the really stupid thing. He just keeps doing stupid things and Alex does too. But Alex isn’t right. That much he knows. Max has been a good excuse but Max is leaving and Michael doesn’t have a reason to be here. Alex keeps looking at him but he’s not waiting. He was clear about that.

“Fine,” Michael says, “don’t.”

No reaction.

Michael turns around and walks out.

No-one stops him.

He keeps going until he’s far enough away to unleash hell on the unsuspecting sand dunes. He’s not Max. He’s good with his powers. But he hasn’t really been using them and everything that’s happened means going out for acetone hasn’t exactly been a priority. What comes from him is a shockwave that’s so big, it seems like driving out here doesn’t really matter. The earth cracks in an ugly ugly line like Michael’s gouged it. He can add it to his list of stupid fucking things he’s messed up lately.

“Michael?”

Fuck this.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” he says, looking at Max.

“Michael I’m—“

“What? Sorry?” Michael demands. Max looks at him, “sorry doesn’t do me any good, Max. Sorry doesn’t change anything.”

“I know.”

“No you don’t!” Michael doesn’t recognize the voice that comes from his lips. Neither does Max, given how he stares at him, “you have no fucking clue.” At the very least Max doesn’t have the grace to say anything to the contrary, but that doesn’t help Michael much. Instead Max lowers himself and sits, “I got no more scars for you to take away,” he snarls, “nothing else here you can fix without my consent.”

“Okay,” Max says, apparently going monosyllabic, “I’m just gonna sit here.”

“I don’t want you here!”

Max sits as Michael exhausts himself like a god damn kid and then finds himself on the ground next to him. The pent up energy expended, he can do nothing but try to stave off the emotional fallout.

“I fucked everything up,” he admits finally, “I don’t know what to do.”

“That,” Max says, “I get.”

“I hate you,” Michael says but the force is gone from the worlds.

Max smiles.

Michael is waiting outside his car.

Alex fights the urge to say he’s going to just walk home. Or maybe he can get one of those hospital wheelchairs. Michael’s got his hands shoved in his pockets and he’s slouched over, but there’s determination in every inch of him and Alex isn’t sure what to make of it. He doesn’t want them to keep torturing each other. But he doesn’t want to be another person whose abandoned Michael. So he goes over.

“Guerin.”

“I know, I know,” Michael says, “we’re not talking. I just want you to listen.”

Alex wants to say no. He’s done such a good job of holding himself to how he wanted to act. But Michael chews his bottom lip and Alex can feel the weight in his pocket. So he shifts his weight and doesn’t tell him to get off his car. Michael sparks nervousness for a moment before he looks up at him.

“I think you were right. You shouldn’t wait,” Alex nods around the hollow feeling, “but you should know I’m not giving up,” that catches him off guard, which makes Michael continue, “I’m not saying any of that creepy I’m not letting you go or I’m coming after you. You want to go, that’s fine. But I’m gonna win you back.”

“Michael,” Alex starts, loathing the feeling this kicks off inside him.

“I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy. I know it’s not. But I’m gonna do it.”

Alex stares at him. He knows Michael’s stubbornness. He knows their relationship doesn’t work without it. Just like he knows the only chance in hell they have is if he steps up. He doesn’t know if he’s ready. If either of them are ready. But he’s definitely not prepared to once again let Michael humiliate himself while he turns the other way. Instead he picks the leatherman out of his pocket and pushes it into Michael’s chest. He wasn’t brave enough to stick around the first time. And Michael was never brave enough to confront him about it.

“It’s still a loan,” he reminds him.

“You’ll get it back,” Michael promises, closing his fingers over it, “one day.”

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

So, I've been going on a Isekai Otome Decostructions Bend as of late, so here's a Miraculous Ladybug AU:

Marinette gets hit by a car trying to save a old man who collapsed in the street, and dies tragically. In the Afterlife, she meets the Goddess Tikki, who In exchange for her good action, decides to reincarnate her in the last videogame she played.

Unfortunately, however, the last videogame she played wasn't one of her usuall fighting games like UMS III, but a gift from Alya, a newly rereleased Otome game (A japanese dating sim usually targeted to women) called "The Ways and Loves of the Chamaleonic Fox, Golden Deluxe HD Remastered GOTY Edition + DLC Pass," the story of a poor commoner girl tricking her way in a prestigious academy for the nobility by pretending to be the long lost heiress to a ancient and defunct noble family, and using her wits to climb the social ladder based on whom she manages to make fall in love with her.

Marinette already played the non Game of the Year edition to completion with Alya (No ladybug in this world so Alya is a popular twitch streamer/youtuber now, and does collabs with Marinette when it comes to videogames due to her friend better knoweledge of them, because why not), so she knows what happens in the main story, but knows little to nothing of the characters and events added in the 5 DLCs they added since then ("Masquerade," "Sonata Macabra," "The Night of the White Cat," "DragonKnight" and "Holyday Events, Outfits and Horse Armor Pack"), nor she knows enough about the content added in the GOTY edition, among them the introduction of a new, hidden love interest, or Capture Target, already present in the base game but usually deemed too unotainable by the protagonist due to the difference in status, and a new Rival Character...

The daughter of the daughter of the Dragon King of the Eastern Seas, who was briefly touched upon in one of the DLCs, and a Baker, son of a adventurer who gained her noble title by committing great deeds in her world travels, and another baker, a girl who has now been enrolled in the academy by her Grandfather in order to be educated into one day take his place as his legitimate heir as the new Dragon King Queen and forge the proper social ties in the process.

Marinette didn't know much about this new rival aside from her Game Title as "The Dragon Princess."

So imagine her shock when, after waking up from her death in the previous world, she finds herself in the shoes and scales of the Dragon Princess herself, one year before getting enrolled in the Academy, as she meets her Grandfather for the first time, her memories from her previous life as Marinette merging with the new ones of the Dragon Princess she has sudenly become.

And imagine her shock when she realizes that she is not the Heroine, The sly and charming Lila Rossi, but one of the Rivals, whose endings, bad or otherwise, or at least the ones she heard from Alya (And Marinette thanked every god in existence she wasn't stingy about Spoilers), usually involved either her being slain by one of the other love interests as she wounds the Heroine (Good) Ending, her losing herself to her rage and becoming a full on storm dragon before destroying the kingdom (Bad Ending), or her having her powers sealed and trapped in a cave up in the mountain, away from civilization and the seas and its storms that give her power (Golden Ending), so she almost has a full on panic attack at the prospect of any of this happening.

But Marinette is a though cookie, and will try with all her might to survive in her new role and avoid her tragic fate!

A couple things:

0) We go with Wizard of Oz Logic here so the people she meets in the game are actually the same people she knows in real life. Also she is a 20 something office worker currently in a 16 years old body that can gain draconic aspects and forms if she isn't careful enough with her emotions.

1) The DLCs add 1) masqued ball related events to all targets and rivals (So to add a "Masqued Persona" to all of them) 2) Luka as a Capture Target (Son of a Adventurer who gained her duchy via her heroic deeds and the gods know whom, Soulful Pretty Boy that plays guitar type) 3) Felix as a Capture Target (Bastard son of the king and a concubine, cold, diffucult to approach type), 4) Kagami as a Rival (To Lila, of course, and more in a sense of will expose her lies and multiple bids at different capture targets if she isn't careful enough than a actual romantic one) for added difficulty + Dragon King Storyline (she's introduced to Marinette as her "Bodyguard" at the start of the story and the two become friends after some minor issues), and holyday related events and shit + armors for horses.

2) The Base Game Capture Targets are Nino (Son of the Royal Chamberlain and best friend of the crown prince, the Rival in the route is Alya, daughter to the Royal Banquet Mistress and the Head of the Royal menagerie, most of the gameplay would consist in Lila tricking Alya in accusing Nino or someone of higher standing than her of something they didn't commit by Gaslighting her, ending up with her being ostracized her and having her leave the academy in shame), Nathanael (Rival Marc, given how easily Nath can be a dick to people, Marc fragile self esteem, and Nath's need of affection this is the easiest target, but also the least "rewarding" due to him being the son of a minor noble), Kim (Son of the Captain of the Royal Guards, Rivals Ondine, Max, Alix and potentially Chloe. Lila needs to alienate him from his friends and potential love interests before being able to manipulate his suppressed need to feel loved to her advantage), and Prince Ali (Foreign Prince, hardest to capture but "most rewarding, Rose and by extension Juleka are the Rivals here).

4) The hidden Love Interest is, of course, Adrien. He has been reincarnated into the Crown Prince by the God Plagg as a prank on Tikki after Adrien collapsed off a window to his death for the lack of sleep after spending 4 uninterrupted days playing "The Ways and Loves of the Chamaleonic Fox, Golden Deluxe HD Remastered GOTY Edition + DLC Pass" to complition after finally getting away from under his father's thumb, so he actually knows more about Marinette about the game than her. Rivals are Chloe (Daughter prime minister), Marinette (Dragon Princess), Kagami (Dragon Knight).

3) They do not know the other is in their same predicanent but during the first Masqued Ball Event they reveal each other while in their Ladybug and Black Cat Masquerades but do not want to reveal their in gane identities yet so they help each other from then on as that simply by going "Same Hat!"

4) Marinette at first tries to keep her head down and not clash with anyone in fear of getting slain but then she witness Lila msnipulating shit on the slay to destroy Rose self esteem on the first days and she can't stand by it so she has to interveen.

5) This creates a weird paradox of Lila building up some fake instances of marinette "bullying" or threatening her by trying to get a rise from her in front of witnesses as she tries to stop her from manipulating people.

6) Also she buts head with Chloe but then they get kidnapped (orchestrated by Lila of course) and Chloe thinks this is all about her and knows her daddy will send people to save her because she's important and people love her but deep down she knows not many people will miss her so she tries to hide it with her cockiness untill Marinette says that she pities her but her sob stories aren't a excuse to be a dick, she manages to escape from their kidnappers' lair with Chloe's help, rescuing themselves, and are promptly found by the royal guard lead by Prince Adrien and Kagami, and then Chloe realizes that some people like her father or her butler or her lady in waiting would actually miss her if she was gone so she decide to become a better person and use her spoiled arrogant noblewoman powers for good.

That's it, can't think of anything else.

[agentnico]

Ad Astra (2019) Review

Reach for the stars!!

Plot: A psychological sci-fi thriller in space that follows Roy McBride on a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.

Now here’s a movie I was looking forward to. A slow-burn science fiction drama that focuses on existentialism and the psychology of humanity. Heck, there’s a reason why Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1971 masterpiece Solaris is one of my favourite films of all time. And of course who can forget Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Even the recent Interstellar from Christopher Nolan I really enjoyed. But not Gravity. Gravity simply sucks! Putting Gravity aside though, slow paced philosophical science fiction drama is a genre I hugely enjoy, so I did really look forward to Ad Astra. Also with this coming from director James Gray who’s previous feature The Lost City of Z really impressed me as it was a nice callback to the old adventures of explorers in the vain of Jules Vernes’ writings, so I was really looking forward to what he’d do next. So the question is, does Ad Astra deserve the hype (critics have been raving about this thing)?

Here’s the thing. Visually and technically this movie is marvel. The vibrant colour palette and textures used to recreate space is incredible as well as a clever use of tracking shots that at times leave you staring at the screen hypnotised in a sort of trance. At times I felt like I was sitting in a planetarium! So props to director James Gray, cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and the VFX team on this. Max Richter’s mellifluous music score, though not ever rising to heights of something like Hanz Zimmer’s riveting Interstellar score, still acts as a solid accompaniment to what is happening on screen. Sound editing is also on point. Basically from a technical standpoint this film is gorgeous to look at and listen to. 

However...yes, of course there was going to be a however. Though visually stunning and sonically mesmerising, Ad Astra ends up being narratively tone deaf. The film simply thinks it is more intelligent than it actually is. There are various attempts where the film tries to give us a proper character study of Brad Pitt’s character Roy McBride, whether through his narration or stern expressions to, you know, see the man behind the mask so to speak. But the thing is that there isn’t much there. Don’t get me wrong, Brad Pitt works his ass off and with the camera lingering on his albeit-minimally-wrinkled face throughout most of the duration tasks him with a heavy feat and he handles it well, but his character generally only has a couple traits. He’s either the unstoppable superhero who can fall off a space station back through atmosphere onto our home planet without losing control over his pulse and calm demeanour, let alone burning when actually entering the atmosphere, or having severe daddy issues. And the latter could have progressed into something interesting, however the way the film ends kind of makes the entire journey feel pointless. Also, for a movie that tries to be super serious and take on very high-ended topics, there are random points of over-the-top ridiculousness like the use of Moon pirates and space monkeys. Yes, there are space monkeys. Also, characters in this film constantly make some very questionable decisions, that lead to some very stupid consequences, as if writers did not know how to better progress the story.

Ad Astra is not a terrible film by no means. It is great to look at, Brad Pitt does a decent job, there are some scenes that are actually really well done and the ambition of the whole thing is admirable, but I am sad to report that Ad Astra is not a science fiction space epic that will be remembered for long. Also, don’t expect to see much of Liv Tyler or Donald Sutherland (what a waste) or any of the cast for that matter who’s name doesn’t happen to be Mr Pitt.

Overall score: 5/10

[heyheyohsorry]

Bad girls

Summary: Grace Choi keeps falling for bad girls

Fandom: Black Lightening

Her last girlfriend stole her credit card in the middle of the night and maxed it out buying a flight ticket to Las Vegas, a week stay in the Bellagio, and floor tickets to Lady Gaga.

So, yeah. She’s well aware that she’s got a bad taste in girls.  

Her best friend Owen, always shook his head and called her an sadist when she’d fall for another leather wearing sweet talker. A woman emotionally distant, with a hint of daddy issues and 100% guaranteed womanizer.

But the bad girls are the most fun. They kiss the sweetest in the morning. They fuck the best in the night. And while they’re loving you, they love you the hardest. 

In her defense, she didn’t know Anissa was that kind of bad girl when they first met. In a library searching reading about genetic mutation is pretty geeky.

She learns when Anissa finds her on the dance floor dressed shoulders down in black latex. It clings to her curves as she rolls her hips. Grace is hooked on her flirty bright smile, shiny like her diamond feline ears, and Iike the cheshire cat, Anissa is full of mischief.

Grace knows she should be reflecting on the drama at the bar, or even Cheona’s hurt face as Anissa carelessly flung her aside, but all she can think of is Anissa, the med student, activist. 

She falls before she knows she’s fallen. she’s supposed to be mine

From her string of rotten girlfriends and strict family, she’s closed herself more up over the years. Grace has experienced the fallout. She’s done the late nights crying, wondering what went wrong. She’s done the sad songs and the tubs of ice cream.

And yet, she finds herself expanding for Anissa. Like a force greater than them has open her chest cavity, separated her ribs, and handed Anissa her heart. Leaving Grace helplessly standing there praying Anissa doesn’t drop it.