#local man accidentally falls in love again with his favorite character

[smashjewels]

I still think it’s hilarious that during the Halloween event where possessed Jade happens I was like “omg….he’s so attractive like this” and I was blushing and shit not realizing that he’s literally just acting like Floyd. It’s Jade’s face acting like Floyd.

That’s just Floyd.

[maddiwrites]

Secrets of the Shore (Chapter 1)

Pairing: Pogues x reader, eventually JJ x reader.

Summary: This is just my rewrite of the show Outer Banks with my own twist by adding another main character which also happens to be John B’s twin sister. 

Note: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the support of my last couple of fics. All your messages have been so kind and so sweet! I’ve made a rewrite of the show with a new character that eventually falls in love with her best friend. I’m gonna be posting a new chapter three times a week. Let me know what you guys think!

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: None

Chapter 2 

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" John B tip toes across the middle of the roof as he sips out of the can of beer in his hand.

I lean to my right, pressing against JJ's shoulder as we sit on a construction slack used to hold construction workers as they work on the siding of the home. Scaffolding, I think it's called. I narrow my eyes at my brother, counting down the seconds until he falls.

"I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival," Pope jokes from the deck below us.

John B shrugs. He licks his finger and holds it up in the air as if he's feeling which way the wind is blowing. "Hm. Should I do it?"

"Yeah, jump." Pope holds up a power drill and points it at John B like it's a gun. "I'll shoot you on the way down."

"You'll shoot me?"

"Yep." Pope closes one eye and pretends to shoot it. "Pow!"

I roll my eyes and look forward again, letting the beer slip down my throat like a refreshing glass of water. The warm North Carolina air presses soothingly against my freshly tan skin and I bask in the sunlight. Its days like these that I like the most. Days where none of my best friends have work, we're drinking causally, and joking with one another. Even if it's on a construction site in the middle of Figure Eight. But the idea of getting caught just gives me an adrenaline rush.

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers," Kie says as she walks out of the unfinished house.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they?" JJ says next to me with a shrug like it's not the craziest thing that a Kook would own.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess."

"I can't have cold towels."

Kie looks up at John B, shielding her eyes with the back of her hand. "Can you please not kill yourself?"

"Don't spill the beer. I'm not giving you another one," JJ says.

As if on cue, John B's foot slips. Luckily he catches himself, but his beer, however, drops to it's death on the deck below. As John B steadies himself I release the breath I didn't even know I was holding. I take another greedy gulp of my warm beer to steady the nerves in my chest.

"Whoa! Oh, shit," John B curses.

"Of course you did," JJ rolls his eyes playfully. "Smooth."

"A plus, really." I glare up at my brother, feeling his mischievous smirk right back at me.

"Dumbass," Kie mutters under her breath. She looks up at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I only giggle to myself. John B can be clumsy but he's not going to accidentally kill himself.

"Hey!" I hear another voice shout behind us towards the street and front of the house. A voice that doesn't belong to any of my friends or my brother.

"Hey, uh, security's here," Pope says.

Immediately knowing what that means, I jump to my feet with the help of JJ right after he slugs the rest of his beer. A delirious grin dances along my lips as I hop down to the main deck.

"Let's wrap it up!"

"Boys are early today."

"Humpty Dumpty, let's roll!"

My legs take off after my friends through the house. Adrenaline rushes through my veins and straight to my head like a power high. I can't even feel my legs as they jump over wooden slacks and construction tools. The high from running from the police is better than any drug JJ can get his hands on, even the good stuff.

"Gary is that you?" JJ plays along before accidentally running into him, making him slip on his feet before running the other way. I grab his wrist and pull him closer to me to catch up. "Gary, good to see you man!"

I laugh as my feet land on the freshly cut grass in the front yard. "You're asking for it."

"JJ!" The obese cop chases after us, recognizing my best friend's face instantly. I'm not surprised, not even a little bit. JJ had his fair share of run-ins with the law.

"They're going out front!" I hear another cop shout. I can barley hear through the wind rushing through my ears.

We run into a tall white painted fence that blocks us from our car, better known as the Twinkie. Hopping fences is something I've learned to become better at after doing it so many times. However, I can't say the same about Pope. He's always struggled.

I swing my legs over the fence and land with a small 'oomf.' I look over my shoulder for my slow-poke friend and see him falling over the fence, landing on his side. I laugh as I pick him up by the shoulders.

JJ is waiting for us, clapping his hands like a coach on the sidelines at a football game because his players aren't running fast enough. But there's a smile on his face. "Get up, Pope, fatso's coming!"

"Hey!" The guard shouts behind me. He's halfway up the other side of the fence, but he doesn't have the strength to pull himself over completely. "Come here you little pricks!"

I hear the familiar honk coming from the van John B and I learned to drive in. My brother and Kie are waiting for us in the front seats of the Volkswagen van that would look better in the 70s than the 2020's but I love it. It fits our friend group perfectly. Plus I'd choose this car over any fancy Mercedes Tourons usually drive. The only time I've ever been in one of them is when I snuck off with a golf player from Georgia after a boneyard party. It was luxurious of course, but nothing like the Twinkie.

"Bus is leaving!" John B says as we get closer.

"Come on!" Kie yells at us from the passenger seat, banging the flat of her palm against the door.

I dive through the back first, landing on my elbows and rolling over. Pope and JJ follow less than a second later.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Gary calls after us as John B steps on the gas.

JJ leans out of the sliding side door that's still wide open. I lay on my back watching him as I try to catch my breath. His smile is contagious. For a boy who's been through hell and back, he smiles a lot, and I love every second of it.

He holds out his beer can as if he's offering it to the cop who's still trying to catch us...if he can catch up to it. "Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise. Come on, Gary!"

"Wait. Slow down. Hey! You little pricks! Hey!"

"You're gonna give him a heart attack!" Kie tries to scold him but she can't fight the smile on her lips either as she watches from the side rearview mirror.

"You're so close! You can do it. There you go. They don't pay you enough bro."

"JJ, stop. Stop!" Kie says through her laughter.

I love Kie. She always tries to keep the peace between her friends and the world itself. Always the girl who raises money for charities that protect this Earth and save animals and solve world hunger. She's going to change the world someday. Her and Pope. Maybe if they can tolerate each other, they'll do it side by side.

JJ slumps back into the van with a toothy grin. He sits next to me and pulls me up so I'm sitting up straight. He dangles his arm around my shoulder and I lean further into his side. If I could choose one position to be in for the rest of my life it would be this one.

But I'd never admit that.

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished," JJ says.

I hum in response and lean back into the seat behind me and stare out the window. A view of passing vibrant green leaves takes over the window as John B drives. The scene comforts me. Summer is my favorite season. No school. Just work and friends and the Outer Banks. Paradise on Earth, some may call it.

It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island. We're currently driving through Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.

As John B drives further South, the houses get smaller and smaller, feeling more like home. This is the South side. Or as we like to call it, the Cut. Home of the working class who make a living bussing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of...drumroll, please...the Pogues. That's us. Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest members of the food chain.

I know... a little harsh, don't you think?

So, the downside of the Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of the Pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.

The second John B parks the car, the boys are gathering all their fishing gear and we set off to our next destination. The marina.

"Nice haul, dude. Look at that!" JJ teases my brother when he reels in what I think is the smallest fish I've ever seen. If it was orange, I would have thought it was my old pet goldfish from when I was six. "Been all bait for, like, three weeks."

John B pulls the fish off his hook and tosses it in JJ's direction. JJ flinches back, knocking into me and almost throwing me into the water below. That was probably my fault, though. I shouldn't be sitting on an open ledge, dangling my legs twenty feet above the water.

"Watch it, idiot!" I smack JJ upside the head after letting go of the death grip I had on his bicep when I was about to fall to my death. Well...I'd probably survive, but it would hurt like hell.

"It's not my fault you chose the most dangerous seat!" JJ retaliates.

Yeah, that's JJ. John B's best friend since the third grade, which subsequently makes him my best friend since the third grade too. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Second best surfer I know. First being me of course. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

"Yeah, Mar, you should really get down from there," Kie says, walking over to me to help me down. I decide not to put up a fight. If I'm going to break my leg, I'm gonna do it in a surfing accident or something cool, not by falling off the dock.

Kiara. Or Kie as we call her. When not saving turtles or listening to Bob Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why though. She's a rich kid, actually. Her family owns the Wreck, this Outer Banks institution. Total cash down with the tourists and my current job. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us. But they like me enough to bring them money towards their restaurant. I bring in a lot of regulars. Advertising is kind of my thing. I'm pretty sure all my friends, even my brother, have a thing for her.

Kie hands me a water bottle and lays her legs across my lap. She lies down on the wooden bench and bathes in the sunlight the day still has to offer. Kie is my best friend. Best secret holder known to man, for the most part.

"I think she needs a leash," Pope adds, making me pass him a glare.

"The only thing useful about a leash is how I can strangle you with it," I say.

"Kinky," JJ says and winks at me. "That's my girl."

John B slaps JJ upside the back of his head.

I'm lucky my sunburnt skin is hiding the blush that creeps along my cheeks.

Pope glares at both JJ and I which only makes my growing smirk widen.

Pope...the brains of the operation...finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.

"Trust me, if a leash was that easy, I would have tried a long time ago," John B mutters with a hint of a smile.

John Booker Routledge. My insufferable twin brother. Pain in my ass. Number one partner in crime. I hate him but I love him. Pretty much like any sibling relationship. We live in an old fish shack on the marsh. The Chateau as my dad use to call it. My dad disappeared at sea nine months ago looking for a shipwreck. I mean seriously, who disappears at sea these days? I miss him a lot. He may have been a little neglectful, but he took care of us the best that he could. My mom, however? She split when I was three. Last I heard she was in Colorado. At least I think it was Colorado. Honestly who knows and who cares.

Since my dad vanished, my Uncle T is supposedly my legal guardian. At the moment, he's in Mississippi, building houses which means it's just me right now, on my own, hangin' out with my brother and my friends.

Three months after my dad went missing, he was officially presumed dead. John B is more of an optimist than I am. He refuses to sign the paper and until he sees a dead body, he's not giving up. I back John B's decision, but I'm more realistic about what happened to my dad. The ocean, although my favorite place to be, is also one of the scariest.

My dad is probably dead and I will never get the closure that I want. So I'm dealing with it the best way I can, although I'm pretty sure everyone is a little worried about me, especially Kie now that John B is starting to follow in my footsteps by exhibiting reckless behavior.

But I'm getting better now. Day by Day. At least I wasn't acting like I did when my dad first left us.

                                                     ~ ~ ~

I woke up with a slap to my ankle and my head buried deep into my pillow. I groan from the abrupt living alarm clock that's now pacing my room and throwing clothes from my closet at me. It only makes me squeeze my eyes tighter in hopes for at least five more minutes of sleep.

"Seriously, Mar, we need to go. We're late." John B rips my blanket off my body, leaving me exposed in just my pajama boxer shorts and a tank top. The sudden chill sends goosebumps up my arms and legs.

"Go without me." I push myself up on my elbows and grab the clothes he threw at me. I knew meeting the social worker alone wasn't an option. Even if one of us goes to this stupid meeting, it will prove to the social worker that we're not being responsible enough to keep DCS off our backs. As far as they know, Uncle T is still living with us and keeping us safe.

"You have five minutes." John B ignores me and leaves my room, slamming my door shut.

I roll my eyes and tumble out of my soft bed. I slip on my jeans shorts and a white t shirt that I tie in a knot to make it a crop top. Underneath it I have on my plain black bikini, knowing that I will be surfing the second we get home. The News has been reporting a storm for weeks that's suppose to hit tonight. Vicious waves and crazy winds sends a thrill through my body.

We arrive to the social worker's office only two minutes late. I thought that was a sign of responsibility, but the social worker only looks at us with distaste as we sit in the two chairs in front of her desk.

"John, Marleigh, it's come to our attention that you two are unemancipated minors living on your own." Her hair is pulled back into a tight low bun and her glasses are perched on the tip of her nose. Her suit looks way too tight for comfort, like it's squeezing the life out of her.

John B scoffs and leans back into his seat as if we have nothing to worry about, but I know his heart is beating just as wildly as mine. "No....no." The social worker raises one brow in suspicion and glances in my direction to either confirm or deny what John B is saying. John B sees this and answers for me. "No."

I just shrug as a response, which only makes the social worker more weary. She leans into her desk and folds her hands on top of our folders that are piled in the middle. "I need honesty to help you. That's what we want, right?"

"Yeah. I'm being honest."

"Okay, then when is the last time you spoke to your uncle?"

John B looks down at his watch and purses his lips. "Uh...thirty-four minutes ago."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"Two hours and...forty-three minutes ago?"

I hold myself back from rolling my eyes. It's clear on the social worker's face that she's not buying into any of John B's lies.

She sighs and turns to look at me. "We're gonna come out there tomorrow to talk to your uncle. If he's not there, we're gonna move forward with foster care." Foster care. The words make me dig my nails into the wood of the arms of the chair I'm in. The last place I ever wanna be is in foster care. I want to stay here on the island with my brother and our friends. Not with some random family who couldn't care less about us in a place I'm not familiar with. "I want to assure you, we're gonna find you a safe and loving home."

She says it like she's offering us a better life, one that we would want, one that sounds like the better option but it isn't. I ignore the worried look John B sends my way and watch the seconds go by on the clock above the door. We basically have twenty-four hours to find Uncle T or someone to be pretend to be him.

                                                  ~ ~ ~

The winds begin picking up early in the afternoon, the rain hitting by 5. On my way home from working at the Wreck, I watch people board up the windows of their stores and homes. All John B and I can do is hope that our little shack won't blow away by morning.

Unfortunately for Pope, he's at our house when John B catches me leaving the house with my board. When he tells me to stop, I'm prepared to put up a fight. I've been looking forward to surfing in this storm all day - something I can use to push the DCS lady out of my head and the promise she made that sounded more like a threat.

"You think you were gonna go out without me?" John B smirks and leads the way to the beach.

Pope follows behind us like a lost puppy, basically talking to himself as he tries to convince us that this is a bad idea. We stop at the edge of the beach. It's almost impossible to see the ocean through the wind and the rain.

"Those aren't surfable waves, bro," Pope says, squinting through the rain that splatters our faces wet.

"Says who?" I say, passing him a devious smirk and make a run for it towards the ocean.

I paddle past the choppy waves, letting the water knock me around like a feather in the wind. When I see a decent looking wave to ride, I prop myself up on my feet and stand. I lean into my board. The warmth that's taken over my body outruns the cold water I fall into when the waves crash over me. My body tumbles under the water and my board bumps against me. I try to swim back up to the surface but the current is strong. I don't know where I am and I can't see under the water. My nose burns when water rushes up my nostrils. I squeeze my eyes tight and just swim upwards in hope of reaching air. Maybe this was a bad idea, but the thrill is still keeping me excited.

I finally reach the surface after what feels like years. John B and Pope's screams are dull against the whistling wind. I hop back on my board and give the two guys a thumbs up and a wicked smile. Pope looks like he's about ready to have a heart attack and John B breathes out a sigh of relief as he paddles closer to me.

"You alright?" He asks me.

"Fine," I yell against the wind.

John B nods. He looks like he's about to say something else, but something over my shoulder catches his attention. I turn myself around, intrigued at what's he's seeing other than the water, clouds, and a bunch of rain. Then I see it. A boat that barely looks afloat, so far out that it looks like a speck against the rain.

"We should probably go," I say. I don't want John B's mind to run to what might have happened to Dad out there. Maybe he was caught by a storm like this, maybe his boat went overboard and his body is out there floating with the fishes. I don't know. The last thing I need him to do right now is speculate. Even if the same thoughts are running through my head, John B thinks he's still alive. These thoughts will keep him up all night. He doesn't move, however. "John B let's go."

                                                  ~ ~ ~

JJ is already laying on the pull out bed in my living room when I get out of the shower. JJ crashes here most days of the week. He'd much rather be here than with his drunk abusive dad. Our friends don't know the extent of how shitty his relationship really is with his dad. But I do. I found out when I was thirteen. JJ snuck through my bedroom window after a tough night with his dad. His face and torso were covered in bruises. It took everything in me not to burst out in tears right then and there. But for some reason, he trusted me of all people with his biggest secret. I cleaned him up and let him sleep in my bed with me. Every once in a while we repeat the process. Sometimes he's not even hurt, he just shows up. And I let him in because I like having him there.

I fall onto the mattress next to him and prop my head up on my hand, leaning on my elbow. I run my fingers through his hair, feeling satisfied and bubbly when he moans in response.

"When did you get here?" I ask him.

"You were in the shower. Don't worry I didn't peak, but I was tempted," He says into his pillow.

I use the same hand I had woven in his hair and punch his shoulder playfully, making him fall on his back. His lips turn up in a grin.

I lay there for a second, looking up at the ceiling. My eyes feel heavy, the events of the day officially taking over my body. I peek an eye over at JJ who's watching me carefully as if I might break under his fingertips.

"What?" I grin to myself, thankful for the darkness so he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks. Again.

"You all right?" He asks, pushing my hair out of my face so he can look straight into my eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

JJ hesitates, like he's trying to pick the right words to say. I watch him closely, studying every mark and crevice on his face. Beautiful and clear like always. Even when it's covered in bruises and blemishes, he's handsome. I could look at him all day.

"You hate storms," He says.

"I can sleep through anything," I tell him. "And I don't hate storms. They make for...eventful surfing days."

His face drops to a more serious one. "You know what I mean."

I do. Storms have never really frightened me. Not really. But ever since my dad disappeared nine months ago, I worried that he would get caught in a storm like this, that by morning there would be a knock on my door from an officer who would tell me that a dead body has washed up on shore and they ID'd him as my father. The image leaves me with nightmares on nights like tonight.

JJ's the only one who knows this.

I don't like talking about it. Like JJ, we have this in common. So instead of telling him I'm fine and him not believing me, I pull the blanket at the edge of the mattress over our bodies and tuck myself into his side, laying my head on his shoulder. A position so intimate for just us "friends." I hope he can't feel my heart pounding beneath my skin, against his side. I let my body soften against his, feeling sleep take over me. I fall into a dreamless sleep next to JJ, hoping that the storm will be gone by the time we wake up.

[xo-alie-xo]

PORTWELL LONG GAME OR RINA SLOWBURN.

You can only choose one poison.🍷

Listen up my Wildcats.🐱

We all ship each character with happiness. No matter how much you love to hate them, a majority of us simply adores the characters and want the best for them. Then comes relationships and it's okay to ship our favorites.⛴

I'm a diehard Rina shipper and I know in my heart that they are series endgame. The set up, the natural chemistry, their mutual understanding, the surprises and angst literally put me on chokehold. So I'm 100% a Rina shipper till the end. I'm here for the slowburn and their development rather than one shots. They are worth the pain. 😭❤

Let me start with Ricky Bowen now.

Ricky shouldn't to be with Gina because he's hurting her mentality. He's not insensitive on purpose. Like when he tried to stop Big Red from telling her his message to Nina because he KNOWS it'll hurt her.

If you think, that Ricky didn't understand clearly when Gina confessed, think again. He shushed her. Kept their thing a secret from everyone. He knows he feels some type of way and she feels something too. But this boy is so used to safeguarding his childhood norms and has very little adaptability. Hence, he pretended to ignore everything between them because his home stability was falling apart and he clinged on to Nina, his constant childhood love.

He's a traumatised 16-17 year old boy that needs to heal and grow. This episode was heartbreaking because he had to accept that he had to let Nina go because their once upon a time fairytale had become toxic.

People change. I'm not the same person I was when I was 16 lmao. Being together as childhood lovers means growing together and accepting each other's growth. Which Ricky couldn't. He clutched to the idea of Nini. Even his love confession. It was sooo sweet but all he did was focus on their history.

This boy needs time to heal and maybe seek professional therapy. It would be so DAMN HISTORIC if Disney decides to take psychological issues seriously and show how he's dealing with his anxiety, pills and psychotherapy. He needs to breathe before he can be with any girl for that matter. He's hurting and isn't trying to hurt anyone on purpose. Including Gina.

Him asking her for advice on Nini was a dumb, insensitive move. But he's trying to find a way to build some supportive friendship that they shared in early season one.

As for now, this boy needs to get his own grip on life and heal.

As for our Queen Gina

In Gina's confession, she focuses on their future. She basically said, "I wouldn't quit on a possible future of us being together despite obstacles. Because I never quit. But moving away isn't in my control." Ricky deep down knows this, encouraged her to say it, teary eyed, despite right after getting back together with Nini. Gina is his future. She went to his new house. And I also have this feeling that when she was given a chance to stay, she stayed partly because of Ricky. She left a chance to be with her mom because she prioritised their relationship. Because she never quits. 💪🏼

But she came back and found out Ricky has gotten back together with Nini.😭 What she doesn't know is Ricky got together with Nina before her confession, and after Gina kept dodging his messages. She's hurt and questions why she returned because she isn't particularly close to anyone. Hence, she was so silent at the after party. She thinks it'll be fine, "she'll live", and finds other reasons to find permanence. Her arc this season has been settling down in East High, despite the pain of losing and being 'betrayed' by Ricky, she finds other reasons to stay. 🏡

This kind of contrasts her with Nina. Nina left her dream school and came to Salt Lake because she missed her established home, and not just because of Ricky. Nina returned and was loved and embraced by Ricky Bowen.💕 Gina came back to a semi new place called Salt Lake because of her promise of a future to Ricky. But she got stabbed and she bled. 💔🗡

Think about her situation. She feels confused, alone, heartbroken, out of place and seperated from her mom. She's broken and hurting too. And she doesn't need more from Ricky's accidental or intentional 'sick burns'. That's the one line where he was such a jerk and I can't defend him here. 😠

Here comes the Caswells.

Her second family. A place of healthy stability. A home that accepted her. Ashlyn, her roomie and her confidante. EJ, the misunderstood boy who saw her value and bought her plane ticket.

Let's get to EJ.

At first, I wasn't too keen on seeing Portwell's development. But then that video chat where they talk about the possibility of her staying and him convincing her. Had me sold for a solid brother-sister relationship. Few episodes later, when Gina's pain seemed to be oblivious to everyone, he was the only one who asked her how she was, and saw her glow. The comfort she must've felt.

Not that she needs a man's validation, but she must be feeling like a second choice and feeling a little insecure because of Ricky. But EJ lifts her up and I genuinely saw her smile. This boy has her back whenever. The man she can lean on and truly sees how special she is. She no longer feels alone now that she has his entire fam and other friends. She genuinely feels a place of belonging and happiness when she's the apple of his eye. Notice how happy she is? How happy this boy is? She's going through her own issues and she has found ground with EJ.

I was very doubtful when they started hinting at a romantic direction. Because EJ would be used as plot device again for a girl to get to Ricky.😤 This man doesn't deserve to be second best to anyone, just like Gina.😑 That's why I'm still hesitant on shipping them at least temporarily. EJ needs to be something even more special to Gina. They need to show each other how special and treasured they are to each other despite feeling like rejects. They are each other's source of comfort.

I'm sure they can keep EJ at East High for the next season. Whether it's the drama club, or the AV club or going to a local college. So he will be there for Gina. I don't know how they can work out a relationship with much distance as Rini's fell out when she moved away. So, if EJ leaves again, it'll again shake up Gina. Her being worried whether he'll date college girls, second thoughts, etc. I don't want them to go through that. And if they do move on to romantic Portwell, make sure it's not plot device for Rina. So you can either have Portwell endgame or Rina Endgame.

Basically I want Gina to be treated so right that she understands she doesn't need Ricky. And when he does ask her out, and he makes her feel like a second choice or a rebound, she says NO. Because EJ has helped regain her self assurance. Eventually I want Gina to confide in EJ about her and Ricky. EJ is jealous but also angry about how Ricky has been hurting her. And becomes damn protective of his 'babe'. Ricky gets jealous of their relationship, restarting Ricky and EJ's old rivalry. But this time, it's not because Gina is his girlfriend, but because she's EJ's best friend who he has a crush on and wants what's best for her.

If it's meant to be Rina endgame

EJ- RICKY, YOU IDIOT! You have no clue how to treat her right. You don't put her first. You mislead her. Get the hell away from her! She's too powerful and beautiful, she doesn't deserve your scraps. I know how she feels for you. I wish I were you. I would treat her like a queen. I don't mind even waiting years till she's ready. She deserves that. You're so lucky you have even a small chance that I may never have. So get your act together, prove you're worth it to win her over. All I want is for her to be happy. Even if it's with someone else. And maybe then I'll stop threatening you to stay away from her.😠

Ricky- .....I don't know what I'm more scared of. Change, or losing the girl I fell for or YOU. Okay, losing her but you're a close second.😬

If it's Portwell endgame.

Ricky- I messed up. Make sure you don't mess up with her. You'll regret it forever.

EJ- I'd rather get hit by thousand basketballs than ever hurt her. I'll be her plus one and her best friend until she's ready to be with me. I know she's ready now too. But I want her to know I'm willing to wait till she graduates before we make it official. I'm in it for the long game.

As for their age gap. I'm 100% sure Portwell won't kiss this season. If they do, it'll be next when Sofia turns 18. They are professional actors who are cast because they are the perfect fit for the role and are expected to carry out the storyline. But I suppose fearing some outbursts, they might delay Sofia kissing anyone till next season. It's so weird because Olivia was maybe 17 when Matt was 21-22 when they kissed in season one. But no one had a problem with that. But for this, they do. Remember, they are professional actors. They are acting! Sometimes, actors are over 10 years apart (but above 18) and act as romantic partners.

As for their characters, they are only two years apart. That's hardly any difference once you're over the age of 18. Age of consent is 16. But adults above 18 are only allowed to have sex with adults above 18. So, age isn't a problem here because EJ is a gentleman and is genuinely interested in her and isn't trying to get in her pants. So age isn't the issue when it comes to dating. It's the maturity. Gina is very mature and gives very sound advice. But I can see EJ being patient enough till she turns 18 just to kiss her because he loves her. 😚

As for the Ashlyn remark, "You look like a kid to me rn". He was JOKING.😂 Don't take things out of context. I tell my cousin sister that all the time. But she's three years younger than me and a grown adult. I don't see her as a kid but it's just a cousin teasing her younger cousin that's she's a little immature. I'm Matt's age and I'm very mature for my age and since I was a teenager, I always matched up with boys a little older than me. Now that I'm in my early 20s, I've dated boys even close to 30. So age is just a number.

EJ dating Gina and giving her quick kisses is fine. But to have a strong sexual element in their relationship (including making out), he'll have to wait till she's 18+. And I'm sure for that he'll wait till she's ready even past her early 20s. Age is really just a number and we can't help who we fall in love with. Trust me, I've been there.😂 So I can see EJ feeling conflicted about his feelings that are clear at this point.

They might not be a perfect fit, but they make each other sooo happy. They deserve a lot more than a short lived fling.😟 They are either endgame or Rina is. You can't have both as a Rina unless you're an EJ hater who wants him to exist as plot device. Nope! He's sooo much more precious than that.

But Jack on the other hand....I'm okay if he's the one to make Ricky or EJ jealous. Because he's just been introduced and it's okay if a character is used, but only once, for someone else to realize their feelings. 💁🏽‍♀️

In short.

Ricky needs help and needs to be on his own. No girlfriends allowed.🙅🏽‍♀️🚫

Needs to give both Gina and Nina space for them to grow on their own too.🌳

Ricky needs to understand the core of his problems and become more adaptable via therapy. Maybe the psychologist will point out his unresolved feelings for Gina, or he will conclude it himself. And in comes Ricky-pining-for-Gina season three.

Ricky needs to fully get over Nina before he moves on to anyone. Same for Gina if Portwell were to happen. No one deserves to be second choice.

Gina isn't Ricky's cushion. She's a living person with strong feelings for him and shouldn't be subjected to share his pain. She already struggles with her own issues.

Ricky needs to stay single till he wins back Gina and prove he's worth it. He needs to show even if another girl wants him, he'll never quit on Gina ever again. Even if he has to watch her be with someone else. *cough parallels*.

It's either romantic Rina then Portwell endgame OR Portwell flirty besties but Rina endgame. You and I can choose only one because my boy EJ shouldn't be used as plot device for a girl to leave for Ricky ever again.

Portwell's age difference can be practically solved and isn't much of an issue unless they get hot and heavy before Gina turns 18 which is impossible considering this is Disney. 🤣🤣

Jack and Gina will be plot device material and purely so sentimental to us OG Andi Mack fans. More than any ship, this is what I'm looking for. Sort of an Andi Mack crack ship for season 3a. It's gonna be soooo funny. 😍😂

I respect everyone's ship. I see what you're seeing. And I'm not going to invalidate your ship. But unless it's done right, I won't jump from the Rina ship. I liked Rini. I like Portwell. I like AU Juffy crackship haha.😂 But as for me, I'm still holding on to Rina slowburn.

Preparing myself for the pain. 😭🔥

(But if I had to pair two characters without Disney getting in the way, it would be Gini. The power duo. Undeniable chemistry. They can be written so well because of their layered relationship and contrasting personalities.🤩 The classic rivals to friends to lovers. But that's a talk for another day lmao.)

Thanks for reading my opinion, Wildcat!🐱❤

[parvulous-writings]

Alex Law x Reader // SFW alphabet

Warnings: Very vague mentions of violence? If you squint?

Summary: SFW alphabet for Alex Law, from Shallow Grave. 

Notes: My asks box is currently open and empty! Please check out the pinned post for characters I write for! :) Enjoy! 

Not my gif

A - Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Alex never really shows affection in the conventional or typical sense. He’s not particularly one for PDA, such as hugs in front of others or kisses in public. He’ll lay with you on the couch though, and of course sleeps by your side- in your bed or in his. There are a few instances when he’ll be affectionate in front of others- like if either of you are really upset, or if you’re watching a movie with Juliet and David. 

B - Best Friend (What would they be like as a best friend? Where does the friendship start?)

Alex can be a little bit annoying sometimes.Well, not sometimes. Most of the time. He tries to be nice, in his own Alex-y way. He would take the mickey out of you and joke around a lot, but despite this he would always be there to be a shoulder to lean on or just someone that listens to you. 

C - Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He would never admit it to anyone else, but Alex actually really likes cuddles. Just curling up with you late at night, on the couch or in bed, in the dark, where you can run your hands through his hair and get away from the world. That’s his favourite type of cuddle. D - Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking, cleaning, ect?)

Alex is actually a pretty good cook! He’s alright a cleaning and keeping things in order, but his cooking is definitely the top of his domestic skills. He never was one to seek someone to settle down with, more the type of person to flit from partner to partner, sticking around for a little while before disappearing again. But he thinks that maybe things could be a little different with you, though he hasn’t ever brought it up to you. E - Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Unfortunately he would most likely be incredibly blunt about it all. Every last detail. Why he no longer wishes to stay with you, his next steps going forward. If he’s feeling sappy enough he may offer you an apology, but you might not want to count on it, I’m afraid.  F - Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? Do they wanna get married?) He is... Unsure towards commitment, to be brutally honest about it. He is quite fond of the idea of you sticking around though, so at least that something in your favour, right?

G - Gentle (How gentle are they both physically and emotionally?) In more domestic environments likes date nights in the flat,he can be physically gentler than normal- he can be a little bit of a rough-houser so to speak, in everyday situations. On the emotional level, he tries to be gentle when he needs to be- during soft moments, or moments of tense arguments (when he isn’t losing his temper) but apart from that... He’s just Alex. H - Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it, and what are they like?) Like with cuddles, he really likes them. They’re quick, easy and show a fair bit of affection. If anything, you receive far more hugs than cuddles. It’s just a lot easier for the pair of you, since you’re both usually stuck around David and Juliet, and they don’t want to see constant PDA between the pair of you.  His hugs are usually warm, and show you all the love he can’t put into words.  I - I Love You (How fast do they say the “love” word?) Not quickly. Not quickly at all. To Alex, the L word means commitment, and that isn’t something he is entirely willing to jump into. It may take him a number of months before he finally admits the sheer amount of sentiment he holds for you.  J - Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What are they like when jealous?) Alex can get incredibly jealous. And when he gets jealous, he gets moody, angry and pissed off. Surprisingly quickly, in fact. He also gets rather.. Paradoxical. In public, he’ll be possessive and over-protective, whilst behind closed doors he;ll be distant and rather snappy. 

K - Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?) He adores being kissed, and giving kisses. His kisses are usually sloppy yet warm, endearing yet messy. He’ll often kiss you on the cheek or the temple. He’ll occasionally accidentally kiss your ear if he’s in a rush, though. If his feeling more risky, he’ll kiss your wrist or your neck, as a little hint hint. His favourite places to be kissed are under his jaw or the crook of his neck. 

L - Little Ones (How are they around kids?) He hates kids. He hates them with a passion. In his own words, he’d “pay to have them put down”. That’s all that can be said about this, really. 

M - Morning (What are mornings like with them?

Mornings can be pretty hit and miss- it usually depends on if he wakes up in a good mood. He’ll get you some breakfast- usually consisting of toast or cereal, with the rare show of eggs and bacon- and you’ll lounge around with him watching tv.

N - Nights (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights are usually really calm with Alex. He’ll cook dinner, talk with you about your day, and curl up with you on the couch to watch whatever is on tv, be it a movie like Evil Dead, or his favourite show, which he’ll often natter along with.  O - Open (When do they open up about themselves?)

Not often. If he ever opens up to you, it’ll be in the early hours of the morning, when the pair of you are close to sleep, and he thinks that you’ll soon fall into slumber and forget what he told you. 

P - Patience (How easily angered are they?) Usually, he’s fairly patient. But if he experiences to many inconveniences in one day, he will lose his cool. From this aspect, I suppose that he has about average patience, in this regard. 

Q - Quizzes (How much do they remember about you?) Alex doesn’t always remember a lot. I would say it’s not his fault, however it is. If you’re not actively doing something together, most of the things  that you say to him go in one ear and out the other. He doesn’t always mean for this to happen, he just gets so distracted, usually with the tv and crisps.  R - Remember (Favorite memory with you?) Well there’s two, actually.  The first is your first official date, which you spent at a local pub one Friday evening. Since neither of you had work the next day, you both got a little tipsy. Though some memories of the evening were blurry, he remembers your laugh, and how wonderful it was to him.  The second is a more domestic one, from a rainy day in October. You were watching Evil Dead together in the lead up to Halloween, and you both sat there making little jokes and quoting the film. He thought it was really sweet.  S - Security (How protective are they?) He’s fairly protective. Bearing in mind you’re both around David as the man slowly starts to lose his mind, he does grow more protective of you over time, not wanting David to lay a hand on you at all. He can be pretty protective, and he confronted David when he drilled god knows how many holes into the ceilings of every room in the flat. T - Try (How much effort do they put in?) It varies. Some days he can be very much a lazy slob, hardly talking to you beyond one word answers. Other days he’ll be here there and everywhere trying to please you and make you happy, to prove himself worthy of your affection. So overall, about average effort.  U - Ugly (What are their bad habits?) Apparently drinking your cereal milk out of the bowl is a bad habit, so there’s that. Also he frequently forgets to clean his hair out of the bath drain- though that is like one of the only chores he actually has to do.  V - Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?) Eh, so-so. He’s concerned with his hair- I mean, look how glossy it is! But apart from that, he wears fairly fashionable clothes, and only averagely concerned with his appearance, like most men.  W - Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?) Yes. Not that he would outwardly admit it, but yes. He wanders around the flat like a lost puppy trying to look for you if you’re away for more than a few days. The other two find it highly annoying. He doesn’t pay them any mind, though.    X - Xtra (Random HC) I don’t want to say that this man is a grown toddler at times... But this man is a grown toddler at times. And a bit of a drama queen. Okay maybe a lot of a drama queen. Y - Yuck (Things they don’t like either in general or a partner?) Buzzkills. If he’s around someone who he sees to be a buzzkill, or ruins his fun at all, he sees it as a total mood killer and gets quite grumpy. And by quite I mean very. He gets very grumpy around people who ruin his fun. Z - Zzz (Sleep habits)

He is a rather deep sleeper. He sleeps about nine hours on average, and snores a little bit. He also talks in his sleep sometimes, usually when he’s having a night terror. He also lays spread eagle in the bed, sometimes kicking you, other times smothering you in a hug, it’s a roulette sleeping next to Mister Alex Law.

[miastideclock]

Stray Kids Reaction To Their Soft S/O Accidentally Cursing

Hi! May I please get a reaction of Stray kids reacting to their S/O being very shy and soft, but accidentally slips a swear word. Thx love your work! 💞

Word Count: 2157

The length of the bits are quite varying in size, so my apologies for that

Bang Chan

You were sat at a table outside your favorite café during lunch with your lovely boyfriend. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping, only making the early summer day all the better.

"Here is your bagel, as well as your iced latte. And a bagel and americano for you, sir." The waitress spoke as she gently set down your orders. It had been a while since it was just the two of you, so you appreciated him taking the day off for you. With the chaos of their latest comeback, and the fact that he lived with seven other boys- there weren't a lot of time for just the two of you.

"I'm so glad I took the day off to be with you." Chan grinned as he took a bite of his bagel. Being too captivated by his eyes and how much you absolutely adored him, you didn't notice that the waitress had placed your cup down much closer to you than you had imagined. And with that, you knocked your cup over, spilling it all over the table and yourself, drenching your outfit.

"Shit." You let slip as you reached for the napkins. You soon realized what you had said and immediately let your head snap towards your boyfriend. You had never been one to curse, but here you were.

"Please pretend you didn't hear that." You spoke sheepishly as Chan started laughing like a crazy man.

"You should have seen the look on your face when you realized- priceless!" He soon spoke, all while he grabbed more napkins form the dispenser, helping you clean up.

"We're never talking about this again." You spoke in a joking manner, Chan just continuing to chuckle.

Lee Know (Lee Minho)

"Good morning, beautiful." Your boyfriend spoke from next to you. Your entire body screamed for you to just go back to sleep, but you knew it would make Minho sad as you had a whole day planned out.

The night before you and your boyfriend had stayed up late, planning every single detail of your day of fun. You would go to the amusement park downtown, and you would get ice cream, and funnel cake and other park-foods. Then you would go to the movies, and then finish at a restaurant you had been dying to try out.

You pried your eyes open, only for the light to blind you, sending your arms flying to cover them. "Fuck." You muttered, barely audible to yourself. Your boyfriend however, caught it.

"Y/N? What did you say?" Minho's tone was obviously not upset, but he didn't seem to happy either. To him you had always been such a sweet and soft person, one he had never heard curse in the eleven months you had been dating.

You soon realized what you said and sat up in bed faster than lightning, obviously having opened your eyes fully by now. You looked at him, your eyes a bit wider than they usually would be. "That's not very like you." Minho responded in a completely normal tone, getting to his feet from where he was kneeling next to the bed.

"Sorry." You said sheepishly, fiddling with your hands as if you were a child being told off.

"Babe, don't worry. You can say and do whatever you want, I just wasn't expecting it." He chuckled and followed it up with something along the lines of you having to get out of bed to get ready.

"I'll be out in a minute!" You called after him before letting your head fall into your hands in embarrassment.

Changbin (Seo Changbin)

11:47pm

The soft wind from the open window brushed through your hair, but you didn't notice. You were too focused on the task you had in front of you. Your face was illuminated only by the laptop as the clock was soon to strike midnight.

You had worked so hard on a paper, but in the middle of the night, you realized you had forgotten to actually turn it in. Luckily, the deadline was at 12 a.m, but unluckily, your computer was not having it. No matter how much to pressed the upload button, it wouldn't budge.

11:51pm

You felt yourself becoming stressed as you knew that if you didn't turn it in on time, you would fail. You felt movement next to you as your boyfriend took a deep breath. "You okay, sweetie?" Changbin asked with a groggy voice as your fiddling and hard tapping had woken him up.

"Yeah, sorry it just that this bitch of a computer refuses to work." You muttered angrily, your eyes never leaving the screen as you refreshed and tried again. You were so upset with your paper that you didn't even notice that you spoke a word you would usually never use. Changbin wanted to comment on it, but decided to not since you were already so frustrated with the site that wouldn't load.

"Just send it to your professor via email, and tell him the site won't work. He'll see that the timestamp is within the deadline, and he'll have to accept it." Changbin spoke as he sat up to look at your screen. You decided he was right and did as you were told.

When you finally were done, you closed your laptop and placed it on the floor, laying down in the bed next to your boyfriend.

"You know," Changbin started with a whisper. "I've never heard you curse before."

You gave him a weird look and told him he never would either, since that's something you don't do. "No, you cursed just now." He commented again, but you refused to believe him.

"If I cursed, then what did I say and why don't I remember it?" You tried with a scoff. He soon repeated the sentence including the curse you had spoke earlier. You then realized that you had in fact let the word slip. You apologized with a smile, embarrassed as you admitted you we're wrong.

"Don't worry, honey. Let's just go to sleep."

Hyunjin (Hwang Hyunjin)

You ran with everything you had, making your way down the semi-steep hill, trying to escape the hell that followed you. You and your boyfriend had been on a picnic on a hill at your local park, having a good time before all hell broke loose. Two words. Tickle fight.

The grass under your bare feet felt nice, but you didn't have much time to think about it as the one thing on your mind was to escape Hyunjin. You heard the sprinting behind you come closer and closer, making your stomach flip as you knew he was about to catch you. But before he could reach you, an unexpected dip in the ground sent you flying.

You tumbled down the remainder of the hill, luckily there only being soft grass for you to land on. "Holy shit." You groaned as you sat up from the fall, your boyfriend soon by your side to check that everything was alright. As he inspected you of any damage, he let the word "Language." slip. He caught himself and your eyes met, both sets filled with a mix of shock and humor. His comment then made you both laugh.

You had never been one to curse as you were on the shyer side of the spectrum, but your fall had given you more than a valid reason to let the swear slip.

"Wouldn't think I'd hear those words from you. But let's get back to our picnic, shall we?" Hyunjin suggested and reached out his hand for you to grab, and hoisted you to your feet.

Han (Han Jisung)

The sound of rain gently tapping on the wide open window was soothing, and it went well with the smell of nature and the cool air waltzing in the window. 

It was Sunday afternoon, which meant you and Jisung were sitting in the office, doing each your thing. You were sat with a book, whilst your boyfriend sat staring at a sheet of paper displaying lyrics that were crossed out or circled, with arrows going from a to b in a chaotic manner. 

You did this every Sunday, well- not necessarily a book and lyrics, but something. You both did things that you enjoyed or wanted to do, but you did them together. It was your own way of making sure you always had time for each other. 

After a while, the cool air became too chilly for your sockless-feet, so you got up to close it. Without thinking, you got up, your book soon falling from your lap directly onto your pinky toe. 

“Fuuuck.” You dragged out the word you whispered. You soon realized what you said and placed your hand gently over your mouth, as if it would stop your from saying it- like it would change the past. 

You turned to look at your boyfriend, but he hadn’t seemed to notice. You let go of the breath you didn’t know you were holding as you saw he didn’t hear. You then picked up the book and placed on the coffee table, the proceeded to close the window. 

About a minute after your slip up, Jisung finally turned around. “Did you say something?” He questioned, making you shake your head no.  “I could have sworn I heard someone curse. Oh well, how’s it going with the main character?” He continued and walked over to the couch you sat in. 

You chuckled at yourself before informing him that they were closing in on the ending of the adventure.

Felix (Lee Felix)

You stared at the words on the paper, but they didn't seem to make sense to you. It was a recipe, you could tell that much- but not anything more than that. You turned to look at your boyfriend, but he looked just as clueless as you.

You finally had the place completely to yourself, which meant date night. You and Felix were planning on making this pastry-thing he had found on TikTok, but it turned out to be more complicated than anticipated.

"I can get the eggs, that much I can promise you I am capable of." You joked as you turned to get the eggs from the fridge. Felix chuckled at you as he kept staring at the recipe. You opened the fridge, but before you could even think about your next move, the carton tumbled out and onto the ground, sending six eggs flying, making a mess everywhere.

"Fucking hell." You mumbled as you glared at the mess by your feet. You let a sigh escape your lips, your head dropping in defeat. You had to admit that your evening didn't exactly go as you had planned. You wanted it to be cute, romantic and perfect in every way! Making food with your boyfriend, laughing and having a grand ol' time. Especially since it only happened once in a blue moon that you had the place entirely to yourself.

"Did I just hear you curse? You've been listening to me game too much!" Felix commented with humor in his tone as he approached you with a mop, ready to clean up your mess. You apologized profusely, but he was quick to stop you. "Don't apologize. What do you say we just order some takeout and watch a movie on the couch? Making your own food is overrated anyways."

His idea brought a smile to your lips as you nodded.

Seungmin (Kim Seungmin)

The breeze blew softly through your hair as you stood on the small balcony, looking at the passing cars on the street beneath you. There wasn't a lot of traffic as it was about twenty minutes past midnight, but you found yourself looking for a specific white van.

The boys had just finished tour, so your were waiting for them at their place, excited to see them- but mostly excited to see your boyfriend.

A big, black van soon rolled to a stop outside the main entrance, sending your stomach into flips. You ran back inside and out in the hallway, sprinting down the stairs as fast as you could. As you were making your way down the last few steps, you heard the door to the lobby open, Seungmin entering first. The sight of your boyfriend made you forget what you were doing, causing you to trip and tumble down the last three steps of the stairs.

"Fuck." You spat as you hit the ground, landing on your shoulder. You boyfriend soon rushed to your side, mumbling something about how you can't say that word, but it also sounded like he wanted himself to shut up.

"You okay, baby?" He asked as he helped you sit up, having squatted down himself. Even though the pain was excruciating, it all seemed to disappear when you looked him in the eye. You nodded and then launched yourself forward and slung your arms around him, attacking him in a hug,  sending you both to the floor for a second time.

"I'm amazing now that you're here. I've missed you." You mumbled into the crook of his neck. "I missed you too."

I.N (Yang Jeongin)

The place was quiet, all except the sound of Chan and your boyfriend, Jeongin, watching a movie on the couch next to you. You was originally watching it with them, but you ended up having a full grooming session with your cat. You had found tons of knots in his fur, so you had gotten your brush and scissors and gotten to work.

The sound of the movie pausing caught your attention, making you look up from the fur-coated project you had in your lap. "I'm just gonna make some tea, y'all want anything from the kitchen?" Chan asked as he stood up from his seat. Both you and your boyfriend shook your heads no.

While Chan was out, Jeongin decided to sit closer to you and ask about your progress, but before you could reply, you apparently pulled too hard on a knot, making your cat squirm- scratching you in the progress. "You bitch." You hissed at the pain, scolding your cat.

It was as if your life flashed by your eyes for a second, then you turned to Jeongin who sat there with a unimpressed look on his face. You gave him a sheepish look, almost as if you were begging for forgiveness.

Jeongin continued to look at him before he slowly started sitting up. "No, babe, please don't-" You started but were soon cut off.

"Hyung, Y/N said a bad word!"

He snitched.

I honestly have no clue what this is, but it deadass took me four days to write im-

i hope you enjoyed it???

I WAS ABOUT TO POST THIS THEN I REALIZED I FORGOT THE ENTIRETY OF JISUNG WHAT TEH FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME???

-bentley

[gizkasparadise]

Recs! Top 10 dramas this year

My top 10 dramas that aired in 2020! These are not always Objectively the best, but rather my favorites/ones that crossed off all the tropes. Note that I haven’t seen or haven’t completely finished the heavy hitters It’s Okay Not to Be Okay, Hospital Playlist, Crash Landing on You, and Itaewon Class yet, but they all got high ratings

10. 18 Again | shitty powerpoint

Premise: Remake of the Zac Efron/Matthew Perry movie 17 again. Washed-up, tired husband gets transported into his teenage body and Shenanigans ensue

Highlights: The plot twists being all about how the main guy is actually a v nice man, an entire family ready to fight someone in a parking lot, moments of A+ comedy, so so much dad energy

9. Into the Ring | Review

Premise: local woman tries to take on the corruption of her district politics. her soon-to-be boyfriend says “kick their ass, baby, i’ll hold your flower”

Highlights: quirky sense of humor that stays consistent throughout the drama, one of the best OTPs with really refreshing dynamics, a chaotic good and a lawful good team up to fight crime! and fall in love!

8. Kingdom 2

Premise: zombies in joseon korea somehow don’t stop bullshit attempts to take over the throne

Highlights: Production Value(tm), great acting, great set design, lots of high-paced action

7. The Romance of Tiger and Rose | Review

Premise: A screenwriter accidentally ends up writing herself into her own television show, where she is in the role of a princess who dies by episode 3

Highlights: fucking hilarious, no really, probably the funniest drama i watched this year, a murder cat husband, A+ trope and self-awareness, cute!

6. Twisted Fate of Love | Shitty Powerpoint

Premise: A general travels 8 years back into the past in order to stop an uprising against the emperor and she tries to conduct many assassinations. local corrupt politician--who is actually one of the said uprisers--falls hard and tries to wife it up

Highlights: T H E power couple, anti-hero male lead who actually stays an anti-hero, one of the rare shows where i like the male and female lead equally, this will probably be higher but it hasn’t finished airing yet/being subbed yet

5. Flower of Evil | shitty powerpoint

Premise: a very attractive detective is married to a very attractive artisan who is basically a stay-at-home dad who cooks real well. this is all way too good to be true, and turns out it is, because her husband might just be a serial killer

Highlights: A C T I N G, one of my favorite couples this season, fast-paced and intriguing plot, just a really good time (but not for the characters)

4. Kairos | shitty powerpoint

Premise: a young woman, whose mother is missing, realizes that she’s able to call a man who lives one month in the future at 10:33pm every night. said man has just had his entire life torn apart. the two team up in an attempt to stop the tragedies in their lives 

Highlights: great character development, tight execution, fast-paced, so many WHAT THE FUCK moments, cliffhangers that get you AMPED, great plot start to finish 

3. Love and Redemption | shitty powerpoint

Premise: oh boy. *deep inhale* many years ago, heaven and the devil realm battled in a cosmic shit show, with THE GOD OF WAR being the trump warrior for heaven and THE STAR OF MOSHA being the trump warrior for the devils. THE STAR is defeated and the GOD OF WAR disappears

cut to today: xuanji is a girl who belongs to a warrior sect, and she was born with the inability to understand the 6 senses. she meets sifeng, who belongs to the most dramatic clique you’ll ever see, and he’s forbidden to love. GUESS WHAT HAPPENS.

and oh yeah she’s the reincarnated GOD OF WAR and so so so much shit is going to go down for everyone and it’s all set to a bitching soundtrack

Highlights: this was 100% percent my brand of crack, surprisingly feminist, surprisingly not heteronormative. just lots of pleasant surprises from start to finish on this one and awesome characters across the board

2. Go Ahead | Review

Premise: A slice of life/melo that follows a found family of two single dads and three kids as they all grow up together. as high schoolers, they’re separated by Circumstances, but they reunite 8 or 9 years later

Highlights: you wanna cry? this will get you to cry. probably the best parent/child relationships i’ve seen in a drama, lots of beautiful family moments across the board. all the mains are wonderful. deals with issues such as toxic parenting, emotional abuse, depression, and abandonment in real/respectful ways

1. Mystic Pop-Up Bar | Review

Premise: a shaman pisses off god 500 years ago and to repay she has to solve the grudges of 10,000 humans (i think, idr the actual number). to do this, she runs a pop-up bar where she gets humans magic!wasted and enters their dreams. she teams up with a retired ghost!cop-turned-sous chef and a magical baby young man whose touch gets others to tell their secrets

Highlights: my favorite female lead of the year, my favorite found family of the year, my favorite male leads of the year, my favorite ship of the year, the best  the best

[kenbunshokus]

this is a (super late) update to this fic rec post! i was planning to just keep editing and updating that post, but it’s been so old it no longer appears on tumblr search system and all, so here we are. be ready for some old school zosans in the mix

all complete

absolute favorites will be noted with a ♡

list will be updated as i find more

story count: 30 fics

last update: jan 5th 2020

CANON-VERSE

Goings On by clarify  ♡

Zoro and Sanji understand each other, and sometimes have a very similar sense of humor. Even though they're worlds ahead of most, sometimes they can't help but to act their age.

easily one of my favorites. zoro and sanji are completely in character, being themselves and comfortable in each other’s spaces. for anyone who thinks zoro and sanji can’t get along in canon, this fic can easily prove them wrong.

Part Timer by 8ball ♡♡

Sanji really, really doesn't want to give Zoro a job at his restaurant. Zoro doesn't really even want to work there in the first place, but, well, there’s this thing with Sanji, and this thing with feelings and the whole thing is pretty damn stupid all together.

Zeff just wants grandkids. He’s too old for this bullshit anyways.

a wonderful, heart-wrenching, roller coaster ride of a post-series fic. this fic is not just a mere fic — it’s a zosan magnum opus with guest appearances by so many other characters, lots of crew hijinks and a must-read for everyone who craves for a happy ending for these good boys.

Say It Again by 8ball

Zoro tells Sanji how he feels. And then again. And again. 

since we’re talking about 8ball i just want you to know i’d rec everything they’ve ever written, but special mention to say it again — a classic miscommunication trope fic done well where the miscommunication stems from fundamental misunderstanding of each other’s principles and views instead of just some plot-convenient coincidences. and soft zoro. god, he is soft.

The Wedding Night by cuethe-pulse (lj)

Zoro had never expected any of this.

major character death warning. don’t let the first few scenes fool you. note the warning; the last few lines were like a punch in the gut for me, except, you know, the good kind of punch. also, a quick rec of a drabble by the same author to soothe the pain after this one.

Roronoa Zoro: World’s Greatest Bug Killer by insaneidiot ♡

Sometimes, Zoro's life really sucks. He should've known better than to make fun of Sanji's bug phobia, though...

zoro’s internal monologue is hilarious  — until today, this author is still my go-to expert on zoro’s voice, especially his more sarcastic side.

Quitting’s Easy by insaneidiot

Sanji decides to quit smoking. This is not quite so easy as he thinks it will be. Also, his crewmates (excluding Robin and Nami, of course!) are assholes.

fun, fun strawhat hijinks and oblivious sanji. the crew dynamics and especially sanji’s voice are pitch perfect. there’s a hint of luffy/nami that you can easily scroll past if it’s not your thing.

I can’t stop thinking that i can’t stop thinking by hieiandshino ♡

In which Brook changes tactics and Zoro is not amused. Everyone else is, though.

holy shit is this fic hilarious. i love comedy fics that manage to slip in thoughtful observations and character study in between the hijinks, and this fic pulls that off with flying colors. 

The Walls See All by threesipsmore

Reiju hides a snail cam in her brother's room.

fun short fic from reiju’s pov. there’s never enough zosan set in whole cake island arc and this fic delivers.

Stormbird by Judin ♡

The Straw Hats' first landing in the New World is on Arashi Island, where it looks like they'll be spending a fun week attending the local festival and making new friends. Until they spot a strange pirate ship in the harbour, and Sanji starts behaving oddly. The Straw Hats become entangled with the mysterious Gently Pirates, a crew that harbour many secrets, and whose captain is a man out of Sanji's past who has the power to tear the Straw Hat crew apart. 

it cannot be overstated how wonderful this fic is, and how it could’ve fit into the canon just nicely, like a better-written one piece movie, except with zosan. not only are sanji and zoro in character, every strawhat gets a spotlight and has pitch-perfect voices. brook is especially lovely in this fic.

Unintended Consequence by itsmylifekay

A group of marines charge, Zoro slices through them, and in that instant Sanji feels his own eyes grow wide. Because there, on the arm now outstretched towards him, steel glinting in hand, is the stupid bracelet he’d given Zoro. The bastard is actually wearing it.

there’s a reason this is the most kudo-ed zosan fic on ao3 right now — it’s so soft without being ooc, and there’s a quiet undercurrent of affection laid throughout the fic that will warm you up from the insides.

Somewhere Between Sorrow and Bliss by srididdledeedee

Sanji has never cared for winter.

He can see himself, is the thing. There are bits and pieces that poke through, but it’s not all him. It’s like staring in a fractured mirror. He knows, intellectually, that the person staring back at him is himself, but his face is splintered and his shape is distorted and his body is wrong.

a fantastic character study on trans!sanji and how he comes to terms with his identity with the help of his crewmates. supportive strawhats are always a lovely addition to a zosan fic

Give In To Love by libbylune

Zoro knows better than to think about it too much, but between the rowdy festivals and ancient unexplained temples on this island, it's hard to forget about wanting Sanji.

i love how this fic puts as much focus on the boys after the confession as it does before the confession. a good case fic with its own unique island adventure and i’m always a sucker for soft!zoro

Laundry by libbylune

Dealing with Sanji makes Zoro develop a lot of opinions about clothes.

there’s absolutely nothing hotter than bi!sanji who’s completely comfortable with his gender identity and sexuality. also gay disaster zoro fumbling his words whenever sanji is around is 1) accurate 2) hilarious.

Language of Swords by HaveMyWeedCookies ♡

It took them for a while but finally, Zoro asked if Sanji wanted to hold his sword.

i love fics that explore zoro’s relationship with his craft and his swords, and adding zosan into the mix is something i didn’t know i needed. an interesting outsiders pov zosan in the pov of zoro’s swords.

Ghost of a Chance by sabershadowkat

“I know, for sure, that I didn’t expect to miss everyone so much, including you.” Sanji cut a glance at Zoro and rephrased correctly, “Especially you.”

this fic handles tropes that are usually associated with character death fics, but manages to end it with a happy ending. zoro’s devotion here is heart-wrenching.

Idiot Romance by sabershadowkat

"This has to be a joke," Sanji muttered, poking at the colored petals. Zoro couldn't have just given him flowers.

a classic  — this is literally the first zosan fic i’ve ever read — and a lovely one at that. sanji is oblivious and zoro attempts romance, not that zoro ever needed to.

festival night by thisislegit

“ANOTHER FEAT BY THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN, JORIRI.” The woman turned to Mr. Mohawk and with faux sympathy said, “Oh! Sorry, sir. Maybe next time. We can’t always beat the best, but we can do our best and that’s what matters. Do we have any other takers? ANY OTHER TAKERS READY FOR THE STRONG MAN CHALLENGE? HOW ABOUT YOU SIR? MADAM? YOU OVER THERE? ARE YOU INTERESTED?”

“What kind of shit name is Joriri,” said Zoro and Sanji in unison.

i’m an absolute sucker for fics that have zoro and sanji simply hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, comfortable in a way they couldn’t with their other crewmates, and this fic exemplifies that. just them being little shits and having fun with one another.

No Victory in Hesitation & the Past Has Its Lessons by EudaimonErisornae & vageege

Zoro has a lot of things he wants to say to Sanji, but he just needs one more day. || Zoro tries to fix a mistake he made in the past.

major character death warning. i died a little bit inside after reading this tbh. there are some devil fruits-explained time travel hijinks, but mostly it’s this looming, grim inevitability of death that’s written so pervasively throughout the fic that really got me.

Imperatives by dollcewrites

Zoro is confident in saying that Sanji is a man who doesn’t do what he’s told. Which is why, when a command accidentally slips from Zoro’s lips during foreplay, he is expecting to hear the cook’s scoff as he continues to do what he pleases.

i don’t tend to do pwp, but this isn’t just one — it’s a completely in-character piece about their relationship and dynamics.

when you say by bluewalk ♡

It's a long time in coming. Usopp can promise, but.

this fic is as much sanuso as it is zosan, and usopp here is — still very much usopp, but also a very beautiful take on his character as someone who spent a lot of time behind sanji’s back, and realizes that when he watches sanji’s back, he gets to see zoro’s, too.

a complete guide to falling in love by ThousandSunny

Sanji was trained in the Bridal Arts; this does not go unnoticed by the rest of his crew.

while the main ship is still zosan, the fic also focuses a lot on zoro and sanji’s relationship with the rest of the crew, and it’s one of those fics that really makes you realize how much of a family the strawhats is. a lovely read all around.

destructivity is a poison that run through our veins by wasteofmind

Zoro thinks that, someday, they are going to kill each other.

a dysfunctional take of their relationship. it’s fascinating in the same way a car crash is fascinating  — there’s an undercurrent of something violent, something visceral. this is one of the fics that inspired me to write migratory animals.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Ocean’s Child by 8ball  ♡

Here's the truth: Zoro couldn't swim. He fell in the water and sank like a stone because there had never been anyone to teach him how to move his arms. He forgot that if he screamed for help the water would get in his mouth, and he even opening his eyes hurt.

Here’s the other truth, the one that stays a secret: a mermaid saved him.

a fascinating retelling of the one piece canon with mermaid!sanji. it feels a lot like a love letter to the seas, and it’s mesmerizing how sanji’s mermaid backstory is seamlessly weaved into the one piece canon.

with you by Cirro

How to find your life partner in three easy steps: 1. Punch them in the face 2. Insult their cognitive abilities 3. Embarrass them so much they agree to marry you

a wholesome two-part modern au series. my personal favorite is the second part, where sanji brings zoro home to meet zeff — complete with the two of them teasing sanji in their own ways.

The Proper Reaction (or What To Do When Your Son Brings His Boyfriend Home by three_days_late

Holidays at the Baratie were always hectic, but it's nothing Zeff can't handle. Sanji's new boyfriend, on the other hand...

on the topic of meet-the-family: the only thing more fun than zoro meeting zeff is zoro meeting zeff and the entirety of baratie staff. also includes one of my favorite line about bi!sanji: “sanji loves nice girls and bad boys”.

Exclusive by cuethe-pulse

Zoro loves Sanji, Sanji loves Zoro. Zoro wants to be exclusive, so Sanji should, too. Right?

this is a circus/bakery au. yes, you read that right, and yes, it works. i went into this fic with a lot of doubts and came out very satisfied with how fleshed out everyone in this au is, and i’m forever in awe with how the author can set up an entirely separate, vivid universe with so few words.

Delivery by styx_in_the_mud

Sanji is stuck delivering pizzas when Patty is out of commission for a while. Zoro likes to order pizza after training. Both of them are sort of idiots, but Zoro can be smooth as fuck if he puts his mind to it.

a fun, in-character au with good ol’ banter and cute get-together.

The End of It All by xpiester333xx

Humans have been forced underground due to the effects of a chemical weapon that has made surface life impossible. Sanji lives in one of these underground colonies and though he dreams of bigger things his life has been mundane; spent following strict rules and obeying higher commands. Or it was, until a stranger shows up and changes everything.

the author labelled it as sci-fi au, but I personally think it’s more dystopian-like? either way, while this fic is on the long side, it manages to keep everyone in character until the very end, which is something that can’t be said for a lot of fics.

well, there we go! feel free to drop me an ask if you want to rec me fics or ask for a more specific/themed rec list; i’ll also update this post regularly !!

i also have an ao3 donutsandcoffee if you want to see my take on these dorks o/

[starlocked01]

So Happy Together

AO3 @tsshipmonth2020

Masterpost- Previous- Next

Summary:  Logan can feel when his soulmate's day goes from amazing to the worst possible day of his life. Ironically, this helps the stoic man comfort an abandoned groom who reaches out in despair.

CW Unsympathetic Virgil and Roman

Day 5 Logicality- You and your Soulmate feel each other’s strongest emotions

Logan was having an adequate day. Nothing had gone horribly wrong or fallen short of his expectations. So the intense happiness he felt all morning must be coming from his soulmate. It was worrisome when the happiness flipped to sudden crushing sadness. He wondered briefly what could have happened to cause such distress for this person but quickly put the thought behind him as he walked through town.

Ahead on the sidewalk, he saw two men in dark suits comforting another man in a white suit who was sitting on the curb and bawling his eyes out. Logan looked to the building and realized it was a cathedral. This couldn't be good.

Logan tried to keep his head down and walk past but the man in white called out to him.

"Did you see a guy in a purple tux run that way?" the man looked up at Logan with watery eyes, magnified by wire-rimmed glasses.

"No, I'm sorry. Perhaps he went that way?" Logan pointed off the direction he was walking.

The man in white burst into a fresh round of tears. Logan felt the ache of profound sadness in his chest and almost felt he could empathize with this man, even without knowing the situation.

"Oh, if I ever find Virgil, well let's just say there isn't a flight of stairs tall enough for him to fall from," one of the men in a dark tux scoffed. 

"Yeah, right. Does it have to be stairs? Like that could kill him.." the other said hesitantly.

"Roman, he left me at the altar!" 

"Yes, I understand that, Patton. But I mean, I'm not surprised he got cold feet. He was nervous during the whole wedding planning process," Roman kept speaking.

"Roman, if you don't shut your mouth…" the unnamed one said.

Logan felt trapped in the situation, both because of the loud argument and the strong feeling of empathy he had for the abandoned groom, Patton. He made a decision and sat down next to Patton on the curb.

"Was he your soulmate?" Logan tried to ask as delicately as he personally could manage.

"I- I don't know. It's so hard to tell, you know? But I love him and he ran away… everyone is in there and now I'm nothing but a joke and their gossip for the next month!" Patton's lip quivered as he wiped tears from his eyes. The two groomsmen kept bickering and Logan felt overwhelmed with no way to comfort the man.

He decided to be honest about why he stopped in the first place, "Patton, right? My soulmate is also feeling incredibly sad at this moment. So, I get it. At least in part. I'm sorry he did that to you; you don't deserve heartbreak," Logan took a deep breath. He was not comfortable talking about these emotions.

"Th-thank you, sir. I appreciate you trying to help. What's your-" Patton was interrupted by another man in a different shade of dark suit busting out of the front doors of the church.

"What the fuck is going on out here? Everyone's dying of heatstroke waiting for our blushing grooms- where's Virgie?" 

"Remus, Virgil ran. Weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" the groomsman who wanted to push the runaway fiance down a flight of stairs gave the newcomer a steely-eyed glare.

Remus looked wide-eyed and utterly surprised, pointing to himself, "me? Janus, I thought that Roman was watching him!"

The three groomsmen kept fighting. Patton looked like he was about to lose it again.

"Ah, maybe he'll come back, realizing his mistake?" Logan tried to console the stranger that he felt too connected to. The sadness in his chest softened with a thrill of hope and Patton looked up from the street to him.

"Do you really think he might?"

"Ah, Patton, what if… Virgil found his soulmate? And decided he'd rather be with…. him?" Roman asked entirely too suspiciously.

Janus and Logan both looked hard at Roman. Logan suspected that Janus could smell the same figurative rat he could. 

"Look, Patton, I am very sorry for you. This might have been a better outcome than it feels like right now. I hope you feel better soon," Logan stood to leave when Patton grabbed his hand.

"Wait!" Patton sniffed, "what's your name? You really didn't have to stop and try to comfort me, that was really kind of you," Patton gave a weak smile. 

Logan felt his cheeks flush, "ah, Logan. Logan Crawford." He pulled his hand free and sped walk down the street, feeling confused and grateful? He could hear Janus and Roman arguing more, accusations flying about the best man running off with the groom as soon as the wedding was called off. Patton, whoever he was, had almost certainly avoided a sham of a marriage when this Virgil character left.

Logan’s thoughts didn't return to the ruined wedding for several weeks until his daily trip to the local cafe was sweetly interrupted.

"Logan? Is that you?" Logan looked up at the voice which was familiar but his memory could not place it. As their eyes met, he recognized the sobbing groom, Patton.

"Oh, Patton. Hello," Logan stated simply.

"Logan! Oh, I can't thank you enough! You were right, it was a good thing Virgil ran away," Patton sniffed and Logan felt an ache of regret and betrayal all too apropos for the situation. "He uh, he had been cheating on me… it kinda tore the whole friend group apart…" Patton looked like he was about to cry and Logan wondered how he'd accidentally made himself an emotional backboard for this stranger. "But the important thing is that we didn't end up married and unhappy!" Logan could see right through the miserable fake smile.

"Ah, I'm sorry that sounds awful," Logan tapped his pen on the cafe table. 

"Oh gosh, sorry! I wear my heart on my sleeve. You probably didn't want to hear any of that," Patton flushed with embarrassment. Logan was getting worried for his soulmate who also was feeling embarrassed mixed with nervousness. "Um, can I join you for coffee?"

Logan nodded. Why not? He wasn't needed at the lab for at least two more hours. Patton walked off to order while Logan did a short meditative exercise. His soulmate often had strong emotions whereas he did not, so sometimes it was difficult to tell when he was feeling something subtle underneath his soulmate’s ocean of feelings. He wasn't embarrassed, he didn’t have any particular reason to feel nervous. Logan was very relaxed so most of these conflicting feelings must be coming from his soulmate. Poor man must be having a rough time lately.

"You know Logan, you remind me a lot of the things I loved about Virgil, before.. well you know," Patton spoke as he sat down, coffee in hand.

"How so?" Logan asked, curious about the comparison.

"Well, my soulmate doesn't have a lot of strong emotions. I've felt intense anger and satisfaction on occasion, but most of the time he must be pretty content. Virgil was very laid back and chill, so I kinda assumed he was my soulmate.. until he had a panic attack and I felt nothing… gosh! What I mean is that you have a very calm presence. It's comforting," Patton grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I have never been very emotionally vulnerable. I know I've endeavored to maintain a rational outlook on life. Emotions are complicated and blowing them out of proportion just hurts both me and my soulmate," Logan replied, surprised how much he was willing to open up to this slowly growing acquaintance.

Over the next few weeks, Patton "found" Logan at the coffee shop several times and they spent time talking. Pretty quickly they moved away from talking about heartbreak and soulmates, preferring to find common interests or even just introduce each other to their own favorite topics. Patton was fascinated with Logan's research and Logan couldn't help but admire Patton's enthusiasm for library sciences.

Logan grew to look forward to these meetings, and when they did talk about emotions he felt his own metaphorical heart filling with genuine care for the kindhearted man. 

Patton couldn't keep up the pretense much longer and soon asked for Logan’s number so they could arrange meetings rather than him manufacturing accidental ones. His heart had felt warm and happy during the coffee shop meetups, and Logan’s presence always lifted his spirits in a way his ex never had. The first time they set up a dinner meet up, Patton felt an uncharacteristic panic while getting ready. That was new. It must- could his soulmate actually be feeling panicked?? Patton thought extra hard about the date dinner, wanting to give his soulmate a boost of happy to help with the panic. It seemed to work as the panic dwindled down to nervousness that Patton couldn't really tell who it was coming from.

Logan was a wreck. He didn't know what you were supposed to wear for dinner with a friend acquaintance. And he really wanted to make a good impression on Patton of whom he was growing rather fond. And he was out of Crofters, otherwise he would absolutely be slamming half the jar to calm his nerves. He felt a sudden wave of happiness and anticipation. Did his soulmate do that on purpose for him? It was very effective at drowning out the panic he was feeling. 

Both men felt a sharp joy seeing each other at the restaurant. The entire evening was so pleasant and both left the dinner date with fuzzy feelings of admiration and happiness.

Patton suspected Logan might be his soulmate. Logan had a strong knack for knowing when he was trying to hide sorrows and fears, even when he didn't want his new boyfriend to know anything was wrong. 

More importantly, Patton could feel stronger emotions coming from his soulmate more often and even if he wasn't Logan, Patton was very happy that his soulmate was opening up.

Patton found himself screaming during their first fight and when he realized what he was doing he stopped cold. The intense anger was so foreign to him, he felt awful. Logan didn't deserve this level of vitriol, no matter how upset they each were.

Logan’s anger melted into regret and shame as Patton apologized for going so overboard. Logan pushed this argument farther than it needed to go. He should be the one apologizing for his anger. It was all too much. Until Patton shared his theory and Logan had to agree it seemed like the only rational explanation for both of their outbursts.

They made a better effort to communicate each of their own emotions and found the strongest ones were always mirrored between the two of them. But by the time they realized they had to be soulmates they really didn't need the confirmation anymore. They would have been happy together and in love with each other anyway.

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 19: 19th Century

Patricia Sanders is the only child of wealthy aristocrat Thomas Sanders. She attends a local aristocrat party expecting to feel the same loneliness and uncomfortableness that she usually feels. But when Remus Royale discovers her (or rather, his) biggest secret and offers a once-in-a-lifetime deal, will Patricia gain the confidence to be comfortable in her own skin? Patton POV, genderfluid!Patton/Patricia, slight Intruality with background Intrulogical.

Warnings: There will be internalized misgendering because Patricia is a ‘good girl’ and being genderfluid at the time was a big no-no. This fic does not condone misgendering or any transphobic/misogynistic/homophobic opinions that characters in this fic may have.

Day 18 | Masterlist | Day 20

Patricia Sanders was the perfect (and only) child of Lord Thomas Sanders. She did everything her father asked of her. She always smiled and told witty jokes to make him happy. She learned how to read and write and be a good wife. She could sing and play the piano and sew. She never stepped out of line and never spoke out of turn.

But just because she was the perfect daughter, didn’t mean that she felt perfect. Most days, Patricia couldn’t even look at her own body without sneering in disgust. Her maids told her she simply lacked confidence in herself, and that she was beautiful both inside and out (the word ‘beautiful’ made Patricia’s skin crawl, but she didn’t realize why for a very long time). Somedays none of her dresses looked appealing to wear. Every time, her father would buy her a new dress; and every time, the new dress would make her feel worse. Somedays her hair felt too heavy on her head; it only felt better after she ‘accidentally’ cut it off at age 9.

Most days, Patricia felt like the perfect little girl. But somedays she felt like someone else. And as she blossomed from a little girl to an eligible young woman, her ‘someone else’ days became more and more frequent. Patricia never learned what was wrong with her…

-----------------------------------------------------------

...is what she wanted people to think. Because in reality, Patricia figured it out when she was 15. An anonymous author had published an outlandish book simply titled ‘Love.’ It was a book that could commonly be heard about through peasant’s gossip, though it was secretly whispered about between the aristocrats and nobles. While it wasn’t polite to speak of such vulgar material, the contents were too outrageous to not talk about. The first issue was that the male protagonist falls for another man. If that wasn’t scandalous enough, the later scenes of… adultery are most shocking. The love interest is described as a male, but in the writing is given breasts and other biologically female parts. They even have a child at the end! So what did it mean? Some gossiped that the author described the love interest as a man due to the vulgarity and outspokenness of the character, to show that she acted more like a brute than a lady. Others speculated that it was about a married man having impure thought for another man, and that he’s imagining his forbidden love while being pleasured by his wife. Patricia had stolen the book from one of the maids and read it for herself, and she found herself relating to the love interest in more ways than one. What if the love interest was just a man born in a woman’s body? Was she a man born in a woman’s body?

Patricia had nearly burned the book after that thought. That was absurd! She’s a woman, for god’s sake!

Most days, Patricia though that the book was ridiculous. She was a woman, and she felt like a woman. But somedays, Patricia would carefully remove the book from its hiding place and reread it. And every time, the love interest became more and more relatable. But Patricia’s favorite character was their son, Patton.

Patton, what an interesting name. Patton Sanders.

------------------------------------------------------

Patricia sighed as she sipped her champagne. Her father had encouraged her to go to one of the local aristocrat’s birthday party. Sadly, today was one of those days. Her hair was tied up into a tight bun, so she wouldn’t feel the urge to yank it out every time it brushed against her neck. She wore no jewelry, knowing she would just feel worse if she wore it. She wore very little makeup, and her dress was extremely modest. When Patricia felt like this, she learned that looking at her skin made her uncomfortable. So, she would cover it up. While these were simple solutions, they left her hot and uncomfortable. She was only an hour into the party, and already Patricia wanted nothing more than to go home and take a bath before bed.

“A lovely night, isn’t it?” Patricia looked to her right and bit back a gasp. Standing there with another flute of champagne was Lord Remus Royale. Lord Royale was known as a flirt; he’d been known to socialize and flirt with multiple women, yet he’d turned down every marriage proposal. His excuse seemed to be that he refused to marry a woman that would potentially fall for his twin brother, Roman.

Patrica then seemed to realize that he was talking to her, and forced out a response. “It is.” She took another sip of champagne before speaking. “For what do I owe this pleasure, Lord Royale?” Patricia wanted nothing more than for the young lord to go away. While Lord Royale was extremely attractive, to be flirted with while feeling like this would be pure torture.

Lord Royale laughed. “Please, no need for pleasantries. Just Remus, if you will.”

Patricia gave him a curtsy. “Patricia Sanders. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Remus.”

Remus smiled. “Well, Patricia, may I have this dance?” If this had occurred yesterday, Patricia’s heart would have burst at the way her name rolled off of Remus’ tongue. Tonight, it made her skin crawl.

Patricia smiled. “Well, I couldn’t say no to such a gentleman.” They deposited their flutes on a nearby tray before making their way to the dance floor. Remus was surprisingly gentle with his touches, putting more pressure on her hand than her waist. Patricia was thankful for that, knowing that any more pressure on her waist would make her squirm uncomfortably. They danced through several songs before Remus spoke up.

“Can you see the woman behind me?” Patricia looked over Remus’ shoulder and nodded when she saw Lady Maybell. “How good do you think she is in bed. Actually, how well do you think her dance partner is in bed?”

Patricia blushed. “A lady shouldn’t think such thoughts.” Patricia ignored the way her stomach twisted at her own words.

Remus chuckled slightly, moving forward to where his mouth was mere inches from Patricia’s ear. His breath made her skin hot, but his words made her blood run cold. “But you don’t want to be a lady, do you?”

Patto- Patricia let out a shaky breath. “W-what are you implying?”

Remus chuckled again, not moving from his place uncomfortably close to his her neck. “I’ve heard a lot about you, heir of Thomas Sanders. How you tried to wear a suit at Lord Smith’s party. How you once cut your hair up to your ears. Even now, you refuse to wear jewelry and your dress is more modest than a nun’s. You’re not the first person I’ve met who was born in the wrong skin.”

It took all of Patricia’s willpower to not cry. Patricia was a good girl! And here he she was, having his her biggest secret exposed by a stranger. “And what if I do feel that way? Are you going to have me burned at the stake? Or perhaps you’ll spread enough rumors to ruin my life.”

Remus leaned back to where he was now facing Patricia, and he she could see the smug smirk on his face. “Not at all! In fact, I have a proposition for you. Meet me on the eastern balcony in fifteen minutes.” The song ended, and he knelt down to kiss his her hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, m’lady.”

Patricia forced herself to smile. “Likewise, Lord Royale.”

Patricia should just go home. Or enjoy the rest of the party and avoid Remus. But the young lord held the secret that could ruin the lives of both Patricia and her father. So, after visiting the washroom and wishing the host of the party a happy birthday, she made her way to the eastern balcony. It was completely empty besides Remus, who was drinking another flute of champagne. Another flute sat on the railing next to him. Remus was staring out into the night sky, a small smile on his face. As Patricia approached, he began to speak. “Did you know that the stars form patterns in the sky? Each pattern has its own name and story behind it.” He gestured to the flute on the railing, and Patricia took it.

Patricia hummed as she took a sip of the champagne. “I did not know that.”

Remus then faced her, yet the far-away look was still in his eyes. “My gardener told me that. He is very smart. Almost every night, I sit out in the garden and listen to him tell stories of the stars. Every story is breathtaking.” He chuckles, though it’s much softer than his chuckles in the ballroom. “Though I can’t tell what steals my breath; the words themselves or my gardener.” His gaze focuses on Patricia now, and it feels like he’s staring through her soul. “He’s like you, feeling like he was born in the wrong body. I call him a man simply because he wishes to be one.” His gaze shifts back to the stars, and they seem to give him encouragement. “I am madly in love with him. And even if he called himself a lady, we could never marry due to my status as a noble.” He took a sip of champagne. “So here is my proposition: you wish to be happy with who you are on the inside, and I wish to be happy with my gardener. But we are both expected to marry other nobles who don’t see such things as acceptable. So, why don’t we marry each other?” He gently pries her hand from where it’s gripped the railing, and she lets him. “Inside my manor, you will be able to dress and be called whatever pleases you. There will be no expectations or conformities. Outside of my manor, we will be husband and wife. If we fall in love along the way, then hooray! You’ll just have to share with Logan. If not, we can remain friends. All I ask is that you produce me at least one heir and have no children that aren’t mine. I will do the same.”

Patricia stood there in shock as she processed the information. The thing that stood out to her the most was that Lord Royale was proposing to her! And if what he promised was true… “What if I decline?”

Remus nodded. “Then I’ll be on my merry way and you’ll never have to see me again.” He then smirked. “But something tells me you want this just as much as I do.”

Patricia bit her lip. “May I have a week to think about it?”

Remus smiled. “Of course! Marriage is a big step. Just send me a letter once you’ve made your decision.” He brought her hand up to his lips. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Patricia-”

“Patton.” Remus froze, the hand still touching his lips. Patri Patton continued. “Some days my name is Patricia. But other days, like today… my name is Patton.”

“Patton,” Remus spoke his name like it was a holy prayer, and Patton felt himself shiver in the most pleasurable way. Remus kissed his hand again, and this time it felt more important. More sensual. More personal. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Patton Sanders.”

As Remus walked away, Patton felt himself blush as he smiled to himself. That was the first time anyone had ever called him Patton, and for once Patton felt perfect.

[ducktracy]

177. dog daze (1937)

release date: september 18th, 1937

series: merrie melodies

director: friz freleng

starring: mel blanc (police dog, spitz, russian wolf hounds), billy bletcher (st. bernard), berneice hansell (puppy)

around this time, friz freleng left warner bros. to reconnect with his former co-workers and friends, hugh harman and rudolf ising, over at MGM. he’d serve a relatively short stint as director there, coming back to WB as soon as april 1939. the backlog of friz cartoons would trickle out until early 1938, where he would then be replaced by ben hardaway and cal dalton. friz has seniority at the studio, going as far back as animating for the 1929 pilot bosko, the talk-ink kid. while this isn’t his last cartoon, it remains an intriguing talking point! he’d make his biggest splash upon his return, directing a number of great black and white porky cartoons and making other little-known characters such as yosemite sam and sylvester, to name a select few. let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, now: here, we’re treated to a number of spot-gags involving dogs—including a drunken st. bernard.

patrons stream into a theater advertising the local dog show. it’s not a ‘30′s cartoon without a celebrity caricature of some sort--a lumbering caricature of humorist/author irvin s. cobb moseys along down the street with his identical looking bulldog. he’s followed by william powell and his pooch asta, both featured relatively prominently in speaking of the weather just 2 shorts ago. and, furthering the connection to the aforementioned cartoon, we get another gag implying that the dog took a leak on a nearby pole: powell marches past a spare pole, when suddenly his leash is yanked from behind, leaving the audience to read between the lines.

another gag that is more reminiscent of the early days of animation: your stereotypical “fat lady” gag, underscored by a rather sardonic rendition of “oh, you beautiful doll”. the woman, in an attempt to fit into the seats, ends up shoving the entire row out of the way. not much to add here: fatphobia funny, right? (eyeroll)

cue the dog puns as we get a look at the line-up for the dog show. a bird dog (as in, dogs who hunt birds) is taken to its literal meaning, perched in a cage and whistling like a bird. the next pen over is an irish setter (sitter, get it?) perched on top of a nest. mama crawls out of the nest to reveal a line of eggs. one by one, they all hatch to reveal a trio of energetic, yappy puppies. points for surrealism. 

next up, a disembodied voice cries “RAIN BLOW THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN!”, curtains withdrawing to reveal a police dog donning a mountie uniform, howling (its howls, of course, provided by mel blanc). this is a reference to the ever popular renfrew of the mounted, a ‘30′s book and radio series about a singing mountie--frank tashlin’s porky in the north woods even served as an ode to it. after that features a spitz hound, chewing on a glob of tobacco and lobbing it at a spitoon. amusing at first, this gag quickly wears its welcome as its featured in a number of other cartoons. spitting gags themselves were more along the lines of the earlier ‘30′s cartoons, right at home in the cruder days of the early harman and ising films.

 a st. bernard booze hound is next to be revealed, drunkenly singing a wordless rendition of “how dry i am”. billy bletcher’s deep bellow is a perfect match for such a big dog: the dog, rather pluto-esque as we’ll come to recognize, will return throughout the picture. the animation of it is rather nice--the physics on the floppy jowls are great. after a fit of hiccups, the dog giggles bashfully.

so, to counteract that high of the dog, our next pooch?

oh, sweet hilarity!

time to make room for more puns, this time plastered on the curtain. the curtain advertises groaners such as “come see our itchings -- canine art galleries”, “are you in the dog house? get a new leash on life supply co.”, and so forth. the spotlight takes its sweet time to roam around each pun, allowing it to really sink in. complete with close-ups! i’m watching the newly restored version on hbomax (which looks gorgeous, by the way), and so i don’t know if it’s the fault of the restoration or if the original print had this issue, but the close-ups are a bit blurry, as if they were having some problems with the double-exposure effects. 

with eye-rolling puns out of the way (and i say this as a shameless pun lover), the audience is treated to a variety of k-9 vaudeville acts, starting with a pair of scottie dogs, who perform the highland fling. personally, i like the camel’s version better in porky in egypt. the spacing of the animation isn’t well distributed here--the movement feels too mechanical. 

the scotties are replaced by a pair of russian wolf hounds, who look like sticks when viewed from the front--a common place gag. animation of the hounds doing the hopak fares better than the scotties, and the barks at the end of the musical phrases are at least passably amusing. as the performance wraps up, the ushankas worn by the hounds turn out to be little black dogs curled up in a ball--once more, a tried and true gag that calls back to the days of the harman and ising era. 

just when we think we’ve had enough groaners: the next act, titled “dog eat dog” features a... wait for it! a dog eating a hotdog. at least the ironic commentary by the sarcastic, pitchy, violin rendition of “where oh where has my little dog gone” alerts us to some self-awareness regarding how lame the gag is. thankfully, the next gag at least got a polite chuckle out of me: the act titled “little man you’ve had a busy day” (in reference to the popular song of the same name) showcases a dog panting and flashing a guilty smile, a line of poles in the backgrounds. two piss jokes in one short! that must be a record! 

what could be considered the song portion of the short follows next, a group of prarie dogs singing “my little buckaroo” with alternate, dog-inclusive lyrics (mentioning pedigrees and the like). the drunken st. bernard from before cringes at the act, howling and carrying on. a hand off-screen shoves a muzzle on him to shut him up (don’t tell PETA!), prompting the dog to force it free. 

instead, the dog accidentally ricochets himself into an open trunk (labeled johnson skating act, a reference to background artist johnny johnson, most commonly associated with tex avery). and, as to be expected, the dog emerges from the trunk slipping and sliding on a pair of roller skates. the animation of the dog on the roller skates is certainly the high point of the short--even the dog’s emergence just slides like butter. definitely worthy of a frame-by-frame watch. 

the prarie dogs finish up the remainder of their song (once more bitten by the double-exposure bug, still wondering if that’s the restoration or the original print?), just in time to allow a shanghaied skating pup to slide across the stage. more great animation of the dog struggling on his skates as he slides into the other wing, his struggle animated on ones (you’ll also note the sign in the background advertising a gross of anvils). he eventually topples over, the barrel on his chest keeping him going until he crashes into a wall. the few smear frames leads me to believe that this is ken harris at work, though i’m far from confident on that claim.

even more great animation as the dog, pluto-esque in his struggle and frustration, struggles to get back onto his feet, his drunken hiccups sending him falling each time. i love when he resorts to grabbing his ass by his teeth to lift himself up, giving a self-satisfied grin at the camera before falling right back down again. frustrated, the dog grovels in his humility, a welcome burst of comedic timing as he shoves the lower half of his body down in frustration, free to mope and ponder in peace. 

next up serves as a rather deliberate callback to one of friz’s most monumental pictures (in notoriety, not quite in quality)--his 1935 entry i haven’t got a hat, that most famously marks the debut of everyone’s (okay, MY) favorite porcine. a shy little puppy timidly pokes her head out from a cardboard standee, clearly in no rush to get out on stage. ken harris’ animation of her resisting the push of the disembodied arm is full of character: her facial expression creased with worry is relatively scribner-esque, another bonus. 

finally, she’s thrown out on stage... facing the wrong way. a whistle summons her to turn around, where she recites “mary had a little lamb”, her squeaky vocals provided by none other than berneice hansell. she starts off... and, in an avery-esque break of character, growls to stage left “awww... this is SILLY!” a book is thrown at her in response. 

in the midst of the puppy’s recital (which is cleverly underscored by “puppchen”), the drunken dog from before still engages in his battle to get up. once more, the animation is more than a treat to look at: the dog, fueled with fury, scrambles to his feet with a running start. the animation glides as effortlessly as the dog, but something off-screen catches his attention: a trunk containing a flea circus.

as you can surely guess, dog crashes, and the fleas miraculously fly (suspension of disbelief!) out of the trunk, ready to cause trouble. in another ode to i haven’t got a hat, where porky was the one mixing up two poems in a recital, the reciting puppy mixes up her nursery rhymes (”mary had a little lamb, the mouse ran up the clock. and anywhere the lamb would go, hickory dickory dock!”) while watching a flea buzz dangerously close to her vicinity, eyes rotating 360 degrees and all.

inevitably, the flea strikes, and the puppy gives a strained remainder of her recital, itching all the way. the main ode to i haven’t got a hat stems here--the puppy’s voice grows exceedingly higher in pitch, the animation of her pacing from side-to-side and eventually off stage directly reused fom the short. it should be noted that, in the original scene, another hansell-voiced animal (little kitty) was giving the same recital of mary had a little lamb. this scene has the benefit of better animation and a little bit more humor, but it’s an interesting callback to such an important cartoon.

fade out and back in to the remainder of the fleas, who are having a hell of a time sopping up the spilled alcohol from the st. bernard’s barrel. one flea fishes in the liquor, another swimming, one more even licking it up straight from the source. the short comes to an end on a quartet of drunken fleas, singing a shrill, obnoxious, hiccup-ridden rendition of “how dry i am”. iris out.

i will admit that, as i reviewed this, the cartoon slowly warmed up to me. i wasn’t at all charmed by the first half: the puns are rather lame, the timing is bloated and slow, and it lacks direction, even for a spot-gag cartoon. it feels overwhelmingly half-hearted: when a director or its crew lacks enthusiasm, that absence is certainly felt. yet, the second half of the short definitely thawed my otherwise cold review. the animation of the st. bernard on roller skates is some absolutely gorgeous stuff. it’s very smooth, very funny, and very tactile. moreover, the puppy’s recital of “mary had a little lamb” was very fun and amusing--berneice hansell never fails to win me over with her vocals. with that said, however, i wouldn’t really recommend this cartoon: there are too many other good friz cartoons to check out. it lacks enthusiasm and conviction, and feels more like a relic of the past, from the prevalence of billy bletcher and berneice hansell (who dominated the pre-blanc cartoons) to the harman and ising-esque gags to the deliberate callbacks to i haven’t got a hat. mainly, i would persuade you to check out the second half for the animation of the roller-skating dog, and maybe add the recital sequence as an extra incentive. but, for now, this is a largely unremarkable cartoon that you can skip without feeling too slighted.

yet, with that said: the short is available on hbomax if you have it, where i got the screenshots from! if not, you can check out a lower-quality version here. better than nothing! 

[justcafewriter]

thank you for the request bby! I actually only receive 3 characters for HCs but I will make an exception for this one ❤️.

Kita Shinsuke

(I couldn't find his gif 😭)

Kita is the sweetest boyfriend you could ask.

He knows your desire to be a great figure skater and he will support you to reach your dream, mentally and physically.

He will constantly asking how's your practice and when you have a competition coming, he will make sure to watch it and to support you.

His conversation with you will also including the sweet words of, "Please take care and rest well after your practice. i love you ❤️." and also "I know that your performance gonna be good and I'll be there to watch it. good luck, ❤️."

He even will learn about massage because he knew that you could injure yourself when practice. He'd come to your house while holding a massage certificate and told you that he'd treat you if you ever injure your muscles.

"Shin-chan, how could you think of this?" You were in awe when you saw the certificate which Kita holding.

"I've seen in the internet that you could have a minor injure of pain back, ankle or wrist sprains. I mean that doesn't mean I want you to experience that no, I mean.." Kita was flustered as he tried to reasoning his action and you couldn't help but to fall deeper at his cuteness.

You move your head near his before you cup his face and kiss nose down to his lips. It was a short kiss, more like a pecks but it was enough to make Kita become a messy ball of shyness.

"I really am lucky to have you as my boyfriend, Shin-chan." You said to him as he caressing your cheek lightly.

"That goes with me too. I love you, sweetheart." He responded before he lean in and took your lips with his.

Haiba Lev

LEV IS A SO DAMN CUTE AND SWEET BALL OF BOYFRIEND. fight me if you think the otherwise

The first time he know about your passion toward figure skating, his eyes will light up and he will enthusiastically supporting you.

This giant baby will come to your practice whenever he has a time. He and his sister will come to your competition, he even will ask his volleyball teammates to come and support you.

Lev will also rewarding you for all the hard work you put. He will treat you to your favorite restaurant/cafe, he will bought you your favorite dessert and he will even help you with your practice if you ever need help.

But, he will be very sad if you become too hard on yourself especially when you starve yourself because you said you look big (which is not!).

"Baby, I don't know how you could do that to your beautiful self. I.. I'm sad because you need to starve yourself like this and you look unhappy because of this "diet" you talk about." You could see tears gathering inside Lev's beautiful eyes, it makes your heart feel pain yet warm at the same time.

"Lev, I'm sorry, I- I don't mean to starve myself, I.. I just want to look beautiful." You said, your tears already left your beautiful eyes which Lev wiped with his thumb.

"I hope you can see what I see. I hope you can see how beautiful you are to me and how I admiring you and your passion. You're so beautiful especially when you skate and you look so happy, so graceful yet so powerful." He speak softly yet his words giving you so much strength.

You cry at his remark and Lev hug you tight. He calm you down by patting your back and kiss your crown, and it did things. You finally calm down and you feel loved once again, the feel that you almost forget but you're lucky to have Lev remind you of it again.

Akaashi Keiji

This man will makes you feel like you're the most loved person in the world.

He will showered you with affection through a small action of his.

He knows about your desire to be a figure skater, he even will come to the skater shop only to buy you the dream shoes that you eager to have.

When you accidentally sprain your ankle and feel disappointed of yourself, he will be there to raise your moral and your motivation up. He's a great listener and he will listen to your rumbles for hours without even complaining.

He will ask you about your progress after you tell him that you will enter the local competition and will accompanying you if you even have a late night practice.

He will bring you food too, he will reasoning that the food he bring is safe for your diet and you won't need to starve yourself because that's the opposite of what diet means.

When you ask about his opinion on your moves/dance he will be really honest with you because he know that it was what you want to hear.

He will tell you if he think you can jump higher, he'd praised you when your moves looks so elegant. He totally give you a honest feedback.

When you suddenly feel crappy about yours he will be there for you, like.

"I know that to jump higher you need more power and balance to it, and I know you can do it." He will tell you one day when you talk that you haven't make your moves/dances to 100% because you can't jump higher.

You're inside his brace as both of you lying down on his bed. His hands wrapping your body tightly to his.

"How can you feel so sure about it?" You asked.

"Because it's what I believe. I believe that you can do that." Akaashi words are simple but it makes a big impact to you. It makes you want to believe on his words too.

"Well, I think I can do that." You said as you look up to him. "Especially if you give me kisses now." You said playfully and you could see a pink color start to creep on Akaashi's cheeks.

He look at you before he said, "Well, if you insist." Then he cup your face as he kiss your lips ever so tenderly.

Sugawara Koshi

Suga is a supportive boyfriend and he will extremely boast your moral and confidence.

He will always looks at you with awe. He will praise you when you did a good job or when you pull out a difficult moves.

He will always make time to watch your performance or to just seeing you practice.

He's the sweetest okay.

After you finish your competition, he will always prepare something for you. Either it was a bunch of delicious home made cooking, or a comfortable movie night or your favorite, a cuddle.

It was one of the day when you just finish your competition. You failed to get the first place because your balance a bit off after your jump. Suga knows that deep inside you feel frustrated but you didn't want to show it in public.

So once both of you arrived at your share house, you excuse yourself to sleep. Suga help you with your things and told you to rest.

Not long after, he will come to the bedroom, he'd find you in curled up position. He will walk to the bed and invite himself to join you.

"Baby, you want a cuddle?" He asked softly.

You didn't answer him, instead, you move and rolled around so your face facing Suga's chest. You put your arm around his slim waist, then you pushed yourself closer to him, inhaling his scent after that, a comfortable scent which always makes you relax.

You feel your head being patted lovingly by Suga, his other hand embracing your body tightly. It feels like he tried to get your broken pieces together, he tried to fix the disappointed you have for yourself.

No words exchanges between you too but both of you know that your mutual feelings being spoken to each other, and both of you feel grateful to have each other in that moment.

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 502

Watched this episode after winning Wynonna Earp trivia (fuck yeah, The Shit Tickets!) at a bar, put on by a queer af podcast, followed by going to see a queer af movie, and was all ready to get my Beauchamp fix... And it was like oh here’s a taste and a hint that we’re gonna end up in a story line similar to what we’ve already done multiple times, but now on to the menfolk.

For real though, this episode was like an OL greatest hits clip show. It had all the stuff we’ve seen before. A time traveler who wants to go home? Check. Rape PTSD? Check. A man being a dad to a kid who isn’t/might not be his? Check. That same man being the absolute worst? Check. Claire being reckless with future medicine? Check. Townsfolk questioning Claire’s medical knowledge in favor of the local Man of Importance? Check. Jamie trying to be on both sides at once? Check. A villain who seemed to have died the previous season and should have fucking stayed dead? Check.

We’ve literally seen all of this stuff before.

For a show that spent the first part of season two claiming to be a political drama and then last season claiming that they “weren’t political” I see we’re back to just leaning hard into politics that have direct parallels today.

No fucks left to give about the system Murtz is kind of my favorite Murtz. Like this dude spent his whole life living by a code and an oath and was fucked over by the system so many fucking times that he’s ready to just burn it all down. Curious to see how they walk the domestic terrorist vs. freedom fighter line with him for the rest of the season.

Got all excited about the bread title card because yay medicinal mold, but of course, the lead character was relegated to the B story.

Old timey medicine baffles me. Like the fact that bleeding someone was like a catchall remedy boggles the mind.

I feel rull bad for Mrs. Whoeverthefuck though. She tried.

Also, shit like this makes me be like, yo Claire, you sure you wanna stay here? Jamie’s really not all that and a bag of chips. But you do you, boo.

Speaking of Jamie, his hair looks really good. A thousand fruit baskets to the new wig person.

Lulz at Knox thinking the Gathering was about being loyal to king and country. Dummy.

Srsly though, Murtz Valmurtz is really getting under their skin. Is he like the *only* Regulator leader?

The convo between Knox and Jamie is literally as relevant today as it is in the 1770s. But yeah, the show IsN’t PoLiTiCaL.

The fact that fuckers think those at the bottom should be happy with their lot because “lol it could be worse” need to be punched in the face and taken out of power. Stat.

Also any time someone in power talks about civility as a reason not to rise up against injustice, I want to punch them. Because they deserve it.

I want to punch a lot of things.

This whole episode is very Les Mis, tbh.

Literalol at Claire covering dead guy’s face and not his body cavity before Bree comes in.

Aw Bree, why you gotta be a buzzkill? We were cheated of badass Doctor!Claire in S3. Let us have this.

Also, yeah, Claire, Bree’s fucking right. Which you’d think you’d know by now what with alL THE FUCKING TIMES YOU’VE BEEN CALLED A WITCH. AND NOW YOU’RE UPPING YOUR GAME TO LIKE NECROMANCY?!

Also the more she says no one will find out the more annoying it is because *clearly* someone *is* gonna find out and we’re gonna be back on the “she’s a witch!” “I’m not a witch!” “you literally have a dead guy in your closet!” merry-go-round again.

Today in most on-the-nose shots ever: How convenient that Marsali just happens to be doing some butchering right there, right then.

Petition for the show to go full Shondaland and just turn into a backwoods medical drama with Claire and Marsali, and all the others (cough the men cough) can fuck on off.

Tarring and feathering is like the old timey version of #AlwaysPunchAFascist but dialed to 11.

Oh the baggage behind Jamie saying redcoat man will someday wear his scars with honor that none of these fuckers know about...

Ok so clearly the English know that Claire’s a doctor so whenever shit hits the witchy dead dude fan, can we please have a quick resolution and not that dumb af “Claire goes to jail and of course her cellmate is a lesbian because Diana sucks at writing queer characters” nonsense?

Man Jamie is *not* subtle with this convo at the jail. Like Knox is right there and he’s just like hey buddies, I have people and we’re Scottish and y’know how we feel about protecting people vs. obeying the English.

I AM SPARTACUS FITZGIBBONS!

Aaand, naturally, the fuckwit preaching civility is the one to kill a man in cold blood. Rise up, motherfuckers. Rise up.

THANK FUCK ROGER IS A TERRIBLE SHOT BECAUSE IF THAT SQUIRREL DIED I WOULD LEGIT QUIT THE SHOW. RUN AWAY AND BE FREEEEEE YOU PRECIOUS LIL WILDERNESS FLOOFER!

Roger is, and I cannot stress this enough, the fucking worst.

He’s like look how shitty I am at being a soldier but then bitches about having to try to learn. And then he bitches about how dumb it is to shoot at squirrels as if being able to hit a squirrel wouldn’t make hitting a much larger thing, like a man who is shooting back at you, that much easier. And also, how the fuck does he think they get meat to eat? Shooting it, you twatwaffle.

And he’s like so fucking butthurt about being left behind. Like no shit, asshat. You’re bad at being in the past and have made no real effort and you whine a lot and are generally the worst. Of *course* you were left behind. Stop being emo about it and maybe actually try.

“He doesn’t respect me, Bree.” Yeah, no shit. Because you’ve done LITERALLY NOTHING to earn his respect. WHY ARE YOU SO TERRIBLE IT’S LIKE THEY’RE INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO MAKE HIM SUCK.

He also is like butthurt that his wife is a better shot than him when she gets the turkey he misses. How the fuck are we supposed to ship this. Ugh.

#BreeDeservesBetter

Oh Bree, sweetie, Jem won’t get hit by a car, but there are like eleventy million ways to die in the past. Just stick with the “you want to stay with your family” stuff.

Roger clearly doesn’t want to stay and is gonna pull a Fred and make Bree feel bad about wanting to all season, isn’t he. Fahkin’ doucherocket.

“I want to go but I’ll stay for you and look how magnanimous I am as I whine about it and make no effort to acclimate to the time.” Take your martyr card and shove it, Rog.

Shorter Jamie Fraser: “If you stand for nothing, Knox, what’ll you fall for?”

I’m already over Roger singing all the time tbh. Mostly because it reminds me that soon he won’t be able to do that anymore and we’re gonna be subjected to like half a season of him being more insufferable than he already is.

Wait, was Joan already born last episode? Or was there another time jump? Is Marsali preggers with baby #3? I lost track.

I love this scene between Claire and Marsali with my whole heart. Marsali especially.

CAN WE PLEASE JUST HAVE A WHOLE SHOW OF THESE TWO BEING ALL BADASS AND DOCTORY TOGETHER!?

Although, quick question, how fucking long is Claire planning to keep that un-embalmed body lying around in an un-refrigerated surgery/root cellar? Just curious...

Because you know someone’s gonna find it eventually and that’s gonna be a whole to do and I really need to stop being preemptively annoyed at plot lines that haven’t actually happened yet.

And with all this talk of plowshares and swords, I really am going to be singing Les Mis for days...

How long have these biddies been living on the Ridge? The fucking Leoch folks spent like a minute with Claire before they were like yep, she knows what’s up. These folks have apparently been here for months and are like loool, pass. They live in the fucking woods. You’d think they’d be more open to Claire’s brand of medicine.

Omg are they like the accidental antivaxxers of the Ridge?

#VaccinateYourFuckingKids

I mean, Bree, I think there’s some difference between Claire pretending to be a dude doc and telling folks to wash their hands and Otter Tooth.

Season 2 Claire and Otter Tooth on the other hand...

Ok so Jamie needs more men so that means next week is AHS: Beardsley Farm and then maybe (hopefully) instead of being like lol jk you can all go home, it actually goes right into the battle thing. Still not sure if they’re gonna do Roger getting hanged as the mid-season big thingy and then do the Bonnet nonsense in the back half or keep trying to do both of those at once.

Hey, Roger, pro-tip, next time you see Morag MacKenzie, maybe don’t fuCKING MAKE OUT WITH HER YOU FUCKING DUMBASS.

Claire’s totally right about how they should go back. Honestly, they should. But instead of talking with her like Claire is now with Roger, he’s just being all moody about how he’s bad at the past and wants to go back. You’re shooting yourself in the foot, broski.

Oh hey Husband the Quaker. And is that a fellow Quaker named Hunter with him? Are we gonna get Denny and Rachel this season?! Please and thank you that’d be great, I love them.

Murtz talking to his squad is full on Enjolras being like don’t worry fam, Marius will stand and fight with us. His place is there, he’ll fight with you.

The two very different but very similar ways Murtz and Jamie approach being Laird of their squads is fun to explore.

Bree lecturing Claire about changing the future by saving a few backwater hicks like Claire didn’t spend years trying to fucking change all of Scottish history is a bit rich. Like writers, we get it, you’re trying to be like oh snap, wait for the consequences of this bread!science! But like come the fuck on. We sat through all of season two.

“You’re a good dad, you know that?” Oh man, I’m getting that déjà vu about a shitty man getting kudos for being a good dad to a kid as if that negates all of his shittiness.

Oh hey, Bonnet’s back. Clearly we couldn’t have just let him die last season. Gotta drag shit on for longer than it has to. This is the [Outlander] Way.

If they were gonna keep him around as a villain, they shouldn’t have (in addition to all the other reasons) included him raping Bree. Jamie, Murtagh and Bonnet all making choices within and outside of the law to various degrees in order to make their living in the Colonies would be a really interesting contrast. But nope, gotta just go all in. BeCaUsE tHe BoOk.

Also I hate with the passion of a thousand fiery suns the Jemmy’s paternity stuff. Le sigh.

Remember in season one when the show was about Claire and she was in episodes for longer than 10 minutes?

I miss Claire.

[frvyas]

「olivia holt & cis female」⇾ nilsen, freya, the junior radcliffe student’s records show that she is a leo and 21 years old. she is studying marketing, living off-campus and can be assured, exuberant, facetious & remiss. when i see her i am reminded of a missing mother’s found necklace, sleeping through well-intentioned alarms, automated ‘to accept this call, press 3 now’ messages seemingly on loop.

ella again! with her second character. again if u would like to plot, smash that like button and i’ll hit u up!!

(addiction tw) freya’s comes from a family that has plagued lovell for years with their stunning reputation! father, conrad nilsen, was a menace and there was more than enough stories about him from his heyday. mother, holly koch, came from a family where everyone was constantly at each other’s throats. holly dealt with the drama of it all through drug use. as was common in holly’s family, an accidental pregnancy was the next step and thus, freya was born. their happy family of three didn’t last long. the reasons as to why her parents just ditched her are plenty if you wanted to explore them! a real baby is scarier than the idea of a baby, conrad had non-baby plans and holly wanted to follow after him, and finally, addiction is a bitch. freya grew up in her aunt fiona’s care for the majority of her life.  

it’s not as if her parents suddenly disappeared from existence, although freya prefers pretending that they did. it’s easier to deal with them as nondescript figures in her life. and, at the end of the day, they ditched her. in reality, collect calls from correctional facilities let her figure out that her dad’s been locked up. memories of a woman in youth that looked so much like her and so much like fiona proved that holly was still in and out in lovell. freya also remembers that holly never acknowledged her as her own before disappearing once more. she never figured out if it was done purposefully or if it was because that’s just the way her mother functioned. that being said, all potential contact with either parent was short and brief and freya learned to not let it mean anything. there hasn’t been any substantial contact for years now either way.

as for freya’s aunt, she was on the younger side when she took freya in and as she was being raised, it was more of a weird friendship/sibling sort of relationship rather than a proxy mother-daughter one. that meant freya had too much freedom, but it also meant there was a lot of screaming matches between the pair and a lot of times freya was left directionless. her aunt also loved serial dating so there was a lot of strange men in and out. not the most reputable guys either, but truth be told those men were providing them with financial support, so fiona was never quick to let them go. 

very independent. freya has a lot of practical smarts, although most of the time it’s used for nothing good (knows how to shoplift without getting caught, can talk her way out of most things, knows how to get what from who). she’s someone who does what she wants! discipline is foreign to her and god forbid if anyone tries it. in typical teenage fashion, heightened by the fact that life was set up for her to fail, she’s always had this aura of apathy. her general approach to life is to accept it as it is but make sure she’s having so much fun as well. of course, as most people do, there was an inkling of yearning there. the shiny gold possibility that she didn’t have to become another nilsen-koch lovell deadbeat staple hung at the back of her mind. that she could possibly get out and have some dreams was encouraged by a few teachers. so she ended up trying as much as she could possibly try in her last few years of high school and proved to herself that she wasn’t completely useless. although, it was soon clear that getting into a good out-of-state college requires more than just making an attempt -- extracurriculars and money and other obvious yet non-obvious things that freya lacked. at the end of the day, her best option was the local college at radcliffe, which wasn’t a defeat by any means cause she had made it and it was college. still, she was stuck in lovell. she decided to major in marketing after her sophomore year. good at numbers and can talk the talk baby.

kind of always has her foot out the door though. it didn’t take long for freya to fall back into old habits because her life is her life. there’s always a lack of money, another man fiona’s caught up in, another wrench thrown in the works. her education has been spacey and has cracks, and i’ll be honest, i don’t think she’ll make it to graduation but she’s here now! unfortunate bc she’s the kind of person who could accomplish things if she cared or tried, but the problem is that she does not and no, she will not ask for help! she refuses to take anything seriously.

other fun facts is that she’s a leo! she knows how to have fun and knows how to track down a party. i don’t think she’s someone that would ever bring the mood down. like i said she doesn’t really get Deep about things so if your muse needs someone to fuck around with freya is your girl. if your muse needs help with something serious, she is not your girl! her general relationships and friendships are all over the place. i think she’s someone who doesn’t make much of an effort in anything, but will also be totally fine picking things up weeks later. there’s a handful of relationships she holds closer than the rest, though. careless with people and things. catch her in your muse’s favorite sweatshirt that went missing a week ago. currently working at the local diner, which she has been for a few years now. been known to pick up shifts in place of classes. follows paris hilton’s advice of screwing things up the first time so you don’t have to do them again. currently living in an off-campus apartment with lana, maggie, and rosa and lana frequently covers her part of the rent (blows her a kiss).

[charliejrogers]

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

In 2006, Borat was one of those great cultural touchstones that transcended the big screen. There was no aspect of pop culture after its release that wasn’t in some way affected. It perfectly coincided with the rising popularity of YouTube, such that those who hadn’t seen it (or couldn’t because they were too young to get into the rated R movie) could at least see many of its famous clips.  Everyone knew Borat in 2006. Everyone. You couldn’t go two fucking steps without someone going “very nice!” or “my wife!” It was such a wonderfully smart movie. It combined the best aspects of a Jackass movie, i.e. the trolling of innocent and unsuspecting bystanders, with a noble cause, to expose to the world the ignorant side of America. It was a novel and insightful look at our country.

In 2020… there is no insight in telling us that much of the country is ignorant of the truth, racist, or sexist. As Borat himself points out in this film, in the years between when he filmed the first movie (2005) and the new movie 2019-2020, America has become transfixed by their new “magical abacuses”, i.e. cellphones. Phones, the internet, social media, all of them expose us everyday to how the other half lives in their little social bubbles. We don’t have to wonder “do people really think this?” Just type whatever terrible or stupid theory you can think of into Google, and you’re guaranteed to find at least one person who endorses whatever heinous thing you just wrote. Again, this is portrayed within the film when Borat, confronted by the fact that maybe some of his core beliefs are lies, finds websites that say that (much to his anti-Semitic disappointment) the Holocaust was not real. So, one is left wondering… what can Borat bring to the table in 2020 that is fresh?

Unfortunately, the answer is… not a whole lot. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm feels mostly like a retread of 2006 with the only additions aiming more for “shock factor” than real comedy aimed to grab headlines (which it succeeded in doing). This is not to say this is not a funny movie. It is. The film’s opening where Borat describes the typical (fictionalized) Kazakh’s view of American politics is hysterical. In sum, America went to shit with the election of Obama, paving the way for other Africans to take power of the West (cue the photo of Justin Trudeau in Black face). Now with Trump in power, Borat is sent on a mission to curry Trump’s favor so that Kazakhstan and its leader will be viewed with the same favor that Trump has bestowed upon other “tough guys and tough guy countries” like Russia/Putin, the Philippines/Duerte, North Korea/Kim Jong Un, Brazil/Bolsonaro, etc. The gift is supposed to be an overly sexually aggressive chimp for Vice Pussy Hound (i.e. Vice President) Pence. However, Borat’s daughter Tutar sneaks into the crate with the chimp, and after a chain of events Borat has no choice but to gift his daughter over to Pence, and eventually Rudy Giuliani, instead.

It’s a simple enough plot but I think the movie gets a little too caught up in it. No one is asking for a plot line for this movie. If this were just a string of sketches with a vague whiff of a plot to transition between the sketches no one would fault it. In fact, that sounds like the first Borat. We are just here for the sketches. Yet the movie is looking to do a little bit more than the first movie. It’s not content to just say, “Hey, look at yourself, America! You’re fucked up! Let’s all laugh at you.” This movie has specific targets that dominate its focus: Trump and Trumpland.

This is, I think, an unfortunate choice not because I don’t approve of bashing Trump and Trumpland, but because whereas the first movie felt like comedy was king with the sociopolitical insights as a dominant undercurrent, here the story and the humiliation of Trump and his base is the end goal. This still makes for funny scenes, but when I think back to the first Borat (and as I re-watched clips of the first movie after finishing this movie), some of the greatest parts of Borat had nothing to do with politics or sensitive subjects. Much of the humor was just based around the ballsiness of Sacha Baron Cohen. This is a guy who when invited into a person’s home for dinner makes openly sexually complimentary remarks about two of the female guests, but explicitly states that the host’s wife is ugly. Never mind the fact that at that same dinner party, Borat hand-delivers his shit in a bag to a guest, claiming to not know how Western toilets work. It’s hilarious, it’s daring, and has nothing to do with politics.

In essence, the first Borat was such a success because Cohen played the character with such a believable naivete and loose grasp of English idioms, that he was a factory of malapropisms, a genius of comedic-timing, and a troll that could annoy the ever-living daylights out of anyone. There are as many scenes of him trolling nice, innocent people (like the driving instructor, the man who teaches him jokes, the group of feminists, or really any time he goes on the news) as there are scenes of him trolling people so that Cohen can make a political point or social observation (like the singing the wrong national anthem at the rodeo or his innate criticism of a Pentecostal Chruch’s weirdness). And in the end, the “point” of that plot at least had nothing to do with politics. You can watch this movie, get your laughs, remark at America’s racism, and still get your laughs.

Here, there really isn’t any scene I can think of that wasn’t done to make some sort of observation or political point. The closest I can think of are the bits towards the beginning before the plot kicks into high gear. There’s a recurring bit I love of him communication with the Premier of Kazakhstan via fax machine at a local UPS Store. The genius isn’t contained in the sentence I just wrote, but that he requires the aging worker of the UPS Store to hand-write all of his faxes for him and read any and all replies. Similarly, there’s a quick bit of genius at the beginning where Borat goes to a cellphone store and cannot understand FaceTime at all. He assumes the person on the phone must be the brother of the phone store worker he sees in front of him; they cannot be the same. Similarly he somehow enlists the help of a delivery person to re-seal the crate in which his daughter came to America in.

But otherwise, the jokes are there either to say, “Woah! Aren’t these Americans terrible?!” (whether he’s talking about QAnon’s theorists, anti-abortionists, or anti-maskers). Or there’s gross out humor, mostly about vaginas and periods, (or moon blood, as Borat calls it). As I said, these aren’t all unfunny. Probably my favorite sequence in the film sees Borat and his daughter at a pregnancy crisis center because Tutar has accidentally swallowed a little baby doll that was on top of a cupcake her father had “given” to her as a “treat” that was just supposed to be “their little secret” because women in Kazakhstan aren’t supposed to have sweets. So she ate the cupcake behind a dumpster. I’ll let you guess what happens when you enter a Christian pregnancy crisis center asking for them to take out the dumpster baby your Dad wasn’t supposed to be giving you… but it’s hilarious to see the worker sorta squirm his away around addressing the reality of incest.

But mostly, I felt kinda fatigued knowing that Cohen and co. were mostly trying to show me the “underside” of QAnon and anti-maskers… but as I said, in 2020, I am unfortunately well aware of both these groups, their psychologies, and their world. So merely highlighting that these ideas exist and that the people who endorse these ideas don’t really have a lot of great ideas otherwise, isn’t that novel as it might have been back in 2006.

Probably the more “interesting” side of the film is it’s focus on feminism. The film uses Tutar (played perfectly by previously unknown Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova and deserves all the praise she gets) to really expose how America, despite being a “feminist” nation, still shares many aspects with the fictionalized version of Kazakhastan where women are considered equivalent to livestock. The movie hopes to shed light on the far reaching effects of the patriarchy. The movie ends at the top of the pyramid with politicians who feel like it is their right to use their power to sleep with whomever they want (Trump’s obviously the true target of this criticism and I will say, the final Giuliani scene feels a little bit like entrapment… that said, I think it’s fair to say not every man would be so willing to fall into that trap). But leading up to that we see aspects of America designed to fit perfectly with the patriarchy’s demands. We hear from a shallow, vapid Instagram influencer that to get by women need to be docile and pretty, and we see a frankly horrifying discussion from a plastic surgeon talking about all the things wrong with Tutar that he would fix with surgery so that men would want her… despite the fact that she’s a beautiful woman and has nothing wrong with her! We live in a society that recognizes the horror of a patriarchical society, but still so clearly buys into it.

But in the end… you’re not watching Borat Subsequent Moviefilm to get an education on feminism and the problems with the patriarchy. That should be the extra cherry on top of a main course of hearty laughter. In focuses on the politics, Cohen and co. find plenty of laughs and memorable moments, but fail (perhaps inevitably) to recreate the signature naivete and bumbling oafishness of his titular interviewer, in the process losing some of the film’s humor and paradoxically its ability to leave a lasting message.

**/ (Two and a half stars out of four)

[maxineswritingcenter]

Beauty and the Beast AU - Demon!Dean Winchester

We'll see how this goes! I'm using she/her pronouns for this fic, just to keep it like the original story.

Characters (As they appear): Fem!reader, reader’s father, Gabriel, Metatron, Michael, Zachariah, Demon!Dean

Summary: You are seen as the oddball around town, you're into books and other nerdy things that the small town you were raised in just don't get. You dream of going on the road and having adventures, but it's unlikely you can because you don't have a lot of money. Your father runs a house renovating business and goes to a job in the spooky abandoned house in the woods. You see where I'm going from here.

-------------------------------------------------

Legend tells of of a town, just like one you may know. There was a hero known through out the land for his selflessness and his righteousness. But in times of great peril he sought help from a dark force to go against a greater evil, Cain. With the help of an unlikely accomplice, the hero took the Mark of Cain. The Mark turned our hero into a dangerous foe, scaring family and friends with his unpredictability. But our hero lost the fight against the evil Metatron and died. In a turn of events our hero rose from the grave, but he was not the same person. His eyes black as night and powers beyond anything anyone had ever seen. He began to burn and pillage anything he could find in the name of destruction. His friends and family chased him down into an abandoned house in the woods. With the help of divine intervention everyone in the house was trapped. As our hero lives with the Mark he will fall deeper and deeper into the darkness, farther from his humanity. His brother has a cure, but fears what our hero is capable of. Our hero hides alone in the house, isolating himself from those he cared for most. Only true love could tame him and bring back his humanity. But who could ever love a beast?

-

Did I think I was still going to be in this tiny town after I graduated college? No. But here I was. In the same tiny room, in the same tiny house, in the same tiny town. I suppose it would have to do until I found a job I didn't despise and made enough money doing side jobs so I could leave this place. My father and I shared this tiny house. One bedroom, one bathroom, one basement. I was given the office space in the house for my room. It was small and crowded, but I had to say it had its perks. Well, more singular: perk. One entire wall was bookshelves to house my many, many books. Majority fiction. If I couldn't have adventures on my own, I would join other characters on theirs.

I had woken up, fifteen minutes before my alarm, as usual. My dad said it was from stress, but I wasn't really stressed too much. Not really. The only thing that stressed me out was the fact that I was going into town for the farmer’s market and I wanted to avoid two certain individuals. I got dressed, I had been going for a more boho vibe lately, so today it was a long, floral skirt, black T-shirt, and some slip on sneakers. It was still warm out so I wanted to take advantage of it. Late September weather was unpredictable. The local weather station was talking about snow in the coming weeks and I really wasn't prepared for that to start.

I grabbed my large flannel bag and made my way too the kitchen. Dad was leaning against the counter, reading the local paper.

"Morning, pops." I called, "Any spicy gossip?" Small towns meant gossip was put into the newspaper, which I couldn't decide was terrible or not considering everyone knew about it anyway.

"Oh you bet, there's two sections worth of business about the monkshood going missing all over town. Which... I don't see how that's relevant." He said, taking a gulp from his coffee.

"Sounds like the resident werewolf was having none of it." I joked. Then something caught my eye, cupcakes on the counter.

"Oh did someone get a special delivery?" I winked, bumping hips with him. His face went red, he started scratching his beard to distract himself.

"Uh na- oh yeah. Mrs. Barber dropped them off this morning. Said she had some left over from the bake sale at the high school." He lied.

"It's Ms. Barber, dad. And she definitely has a thing for you. Why don't you give her a wink every once in a while?" I said, leaning over and taking one from the tray.

"Oh I don't know..." He said. Ever since mom left us, he's been nervous about getting back into the dating scene.

"Just sayin'." I shrugged and made my way out the door.

"What's the cupcake for? It's 10am?" He called as I shut the door. The cupcake was for our mail man. The man had an incredible sweet tooth. He was a huge patron of the bakery. And right on time, here came the mail truck. The only mail truck at our post office.

"Hey Gabe!" I smiled as he parked. He got out, smoothing back his brown hair. He had a smile that was contagious.

"Hey there, (Y/N). Is that for me?" He pointed to the cupcake in my hand.

"Of course, anything for my favorite messenger." He chuckled, taking it and replacing my empty hand with our mail.

"You spoil me." He smiled and took a bite. "So uh, where ya off too?" He leaned against the front end.

"Farmer's market and the library."

"So veggies and the same book you always get?" He said, licking his fingers of frosting.

"I don't need your judgement." I rolled my eyes, starting to make my way towards town.

"Thanks again!" He said, getting into his truck and continuing on his route.

I waved back, making my way past the neighboring houses and into the heart of town. The whole town was out and about. Everyone I passed seemed to look and whisper, it was the reality we lived in. I was the girl whose mom left without a trace. I was the girl who lived in her own little world of books and fantasies. I was different and odd compared to everyone else. But that was okay... Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

The main Street was blocked off for the market. I crossed the street and pushed open the door to the library. It was a small shop, there were a few shelves and a register. In the back corner was a reading nook with a soft recliner chair that I knew very well and probably had my butt print in it. After I set my last read in the return box, I made my way towards the section I was looking for. The book had no title and no author, just a single rose on the front. I think that's what drew me to it. It was a story about a guy and girl who meet and she doesn't realize that he is her true love. I could quote this book, it was my favorite. Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise. I held it close to me and moved towards the front where the librarian sat. He was an older man, a little odd looking but didn't seem like he could do any harm. He had told me his name was Met. A little strange but who was I to judge. He was hunched over on the desk, looking down through the glasses at the end of his nose. Met said he had read every book in the library more that 5 times which is why I think we got along.

"Good morning, Met." I greeted him, setting the book and my library card on the counter.

"That book again?" He said, not even looking up from his book.

"I can't help it. It's my favorite." I grinned, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it again.

"You know what? Just keep it. No charge." He said, looking up at me with a knowing look in his eyes.

"What? No, I couldnt-" I started. I hated that I was refusing but I just couldn't take it.

"I insist. You've read that book more than I have, which is saying something. I know you'll give it a good home." He smiled. I took the book and hugged it close.

"Thank you, thank you so much." I gushed, carefully sliding the book in my bag, "I'll see you around!" He waved as I left the shop, a new spring in my step.

-

There were the usual crowd in the market. The baker, the various farmers and Crafters. I made my way, stall to stall, chatting and picking up a few things. I preferred shopping this way, I could help out the community and get fresh produce, win win. The only issue was I accidentally made eye contact with the town pretty boy, Michael and his goon Zach.

Michael was the town hero. He was a good hunter and all around charmer. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Meaning every girl in town was in love with him. Except me, considering that I think getting by on your looks and being macho wouldn't be a great match for me, who finds more attraction in personality and, well, a brain. He and his goon Zach were odd friends, considering Zach looked like he was old enough to be Michael's father. Michael had this odd obsession with the fact that I wasn't obsessed with him. I had heard from the rumor mill that he had a crush on me and no thank you.

I quickly darted through the crowd, hoping he couldn't follow. I circled back towards my house. But as soon as I made it to the drive way:

"Hello, (Y/N)." Michael said, he was laying on the charm early this time. He was also, right behind me. I turned, holding onto my bag.

"Hello, Michael." I smiled stiffly. If I kept things short, maybe he would go away.

"Listen, I was thinking that we should go back to my place and talk. I havea few things I would like to dicuss." I clicked my tongue, stepping away from him.

"Maybe another time. I have to help my dad with a few things."

"Heh, that guy needs all the help he can get!" Zach laughed.

"Hey! Don't talk about my father like that!" I shouted, rolling up my sleeves to punch this dick a new one when Michael stepped forward and punched Zach in the shoulder, "Yeah, don't talk about her father that way!" He turned back to me, "Now, I know how you feel about me."

I raised an eyebrow, "You could not possibly have a clue." I continued, "Listen, I gotta go, nice talking to you, bye!" I hurried inside, making sure to lock the door behind me. I set my bag on the counter, carefully placing items in their places when I spotted a note on the counter.

Gone to the old house in the woods. Be home for dinner.

Love Dad.

Dad renovated old houses and made them new. He was just the run of the mill Property Brother, without the twin and real estate practice. The house he was referring to was this huge mansion that was in the woods. It used to be the home of this really rich guy back in colonial times, like pre-America. The guy never had any kids so it was just left to be abandoned and rot. Some people said it was haunted, but who would want to haunt that place? It was falling apart.

I shrugged and went about my day as usual. I made a snack from the delicious apples I got, read a little, tidied up around the house, and made dinner. But... Dad was late. Sure, he had been home late before but never this late. A hour turned into hours. I tried his cell phone but it just went to voice mail each time. So there I was anxiously sitting at the table, my foot about to wear a hole in the carpet from how much it was shaking. I just kept refreshing my messages, hoping that he would text me saying he was late or stuck somewhere.

"That's it." I stood up and gathered my things. I shoved the first aid kit, my phone, and a few other things in my bag before making my way to the garage. It was a two car garage, one spot for dad's work truck and another for my 1999 Thunderbird, a car that definitely did not live up to its name. I started the car, opened the garage and left, almost not pausing to close it.

It was just getting to be dusk, the sky was just beginning to fade to night when I got to the house. When I pulled up the long, winding driveway, far off the road, I saw dad's truck. I opened my door and looked around the car. Maybe he could have slipped and knocked himself out.

"Dad?" I called, looking around. His took box wasn't in the passenger seat, meaning he was probably inside. Holding my bag tightly by the strap I got closer. In the time it had taken to get here, it had chilled significantly. I really should have grabbed a jacket. The house was... Menacing to say the least. The white faded paint was chipping off, the columns on the front porch were near collapse. The wooden stairs creaked as I made my way up to the ajar door.

"Hello?" I called, peaking me head inside. I used my phone flashlight to look around. There was graffiti on the walls from kids who really should take an art class. Their pentagrams could use some work. There was stuff strewn all over. Lots of papers and other things.

"Dad?" I called again but cursed myself when I heard creaking. I am literally that girl in every horror movie. Let's go to the haunted house and call out to someone and then get straight up murdered. I am literally so stupid. I silently crept closer to the stairs, they probably led down to the basement.

"(Y/N)?" I heard dad's voice echo from below.

"Dad!" I called back, rushing down the stairs. As I got lower, the atmosphere seemed to change from a old house to almost a bunker. Metal lined the stair case as I went down further and further.

When I made it to the bottom I looked around in shock. This place was practically brand new. Hardwood floors, nick knacks lining the shelves. There was a kitchenette in the corner with a white marble island.

"(Y/N)!" Dad called again, the sound coming from a narrow hall that led to a bookshelf. I could hear my dad calling from behind it.

"Grab a book!" He shouted.

"A book? What does that-" I started grabbing books, pushing them away to see a door but instead, when I grabbed a copy of Arabian Nights there was a low groan from the wall. I took a step back as the wall swung back to reveal a secret room. It was a circular concrete room and as soon as I walked in goosebumps rose on my arms. Dad was tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

"Dad..." I ran up to him, "Oh thank God you're alright! What happened? Who did this?" I said, moving around him to get at the ropes.

"We gotta get out of here, kid, this guy isn't human. He'll kill us both." He whispered. What kind of an asshole takes a nice guy like my dad and locks him up? A psycho, that's who. My dad coughed, it was wet and loud and too much for my liking.

"God, it's freezing in here, you're going to get sick." I said, finally starting to loosen the ropes.

"Well, well...." I froze at the new voice. It was deep and cocky sounding, "Look what the cat dragged in." I stood up to face this guy. He was just Out of view of the light, all I could see were his nose and the smirk on his face. He was wearing a red button down, dark jeans and boots.

"Look, I don't know who you are or what you want but we don't have anything to give. Please, he's getting sick, you can't keep him here." I pleaded, holding my dad's shoulder to keep up this confidence I was trying to portray.

"What he deserves, breaking into my place, snooping around." The stranger said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He was just doing his job, this house is abandoned!" I shouted, taking a step forward.

"Baby, please..." Dad whispered urgently, "Just go, it's me he wants, don't let yourself get wrapped up in this."

"I can't leave you here, I won't." I said, crouching down and holding his hands. They were so cold and I could feel him shaking. Dad's eyes were so dull, his teeth were chattering.

Rage built up in my chest as I stood to meet the stranger again.

"Who do you think you are, keeping him here like this?" I spat, "Come into the light, coward."

"(Y/N)!" My dad shouted in a warning voice. The stranger only chuckled and shook his head. He stood up from where he was leaning on the door frame and took a step forward. My jaw tightened and my eyes widened. The only thing I could focus on was his eyes. They were pitch black. No pupil, no Iris, just black. I quickly recovered my glare and stood my ground, even as he came close to me. He smelled off, like rotten eggs. On his arm there was a strange mark that seemed to glow red. In his hand he held a odd weapon. It was the jaw bone of some type of animal attached to a handle. There were even teeth still attached.

"And what do you intend to do with that? Club me until it breaks?" I smirked, again that confidence I was trying to portray. But was intimidation the right choice in this situation? I didn't care. He seemed like another smug asshole that could get whatever he wanted from his looks whoever or whatever he was.

He hummed under his breath, lifting the weapon to his open palm. He dragged it down, and I watched it slice open his palm. But as soon as blood appeared from the cut, it disappeared as if it healed itself.

And confidence gone.

"Look, sweetheart, this isn't about you. But you're doing a number on my patience. So get the hell out." He motioned to the door.

I looked at the door, then back to my father. I couldn't leave him here. No matter how much this guy scared me. I had no other choice.

"Let my dad go, I'll take his place." I said quickly, "Do whatever you want, just let him go."

"No! I won't let you do this." Dad said, leaning forward to struggle.

"I won't let you rot down here. Let me do this." I couldn't look at him in the eye.

The stranger took my chin in his hand, making me meet his eyes, the black void of nothingness. It made me think of death and despair.

"You sure about this?" He asked, he lowered his voice, "You sure you want to take his place?"

I nodded, "Please, let him go." I whispered, my voice was on the verge of shaking. The stranger grinned and let go of my face. He went around my dad with the weapon, in a quick slice, the ropes fell away. He grabbed my dad by the shirt, lifting him from the seat and pulling him to the door.

"Don't hurt him!" I shouted.

"I'll come back for you, (Y/N), I'll get help!" Dad called, his voice fading as the hidden door shut behind them.

Oh God...

I slowly sat on the chair, the dread setting in.

"What have I done?"

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NEW SERIES - You will never guess how it ends. 

Reblog if you liked it, likes work too.

Read part 2 here!

Requests are open and the fandoms I write for are listen in the bio. 

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@happy-little-marvel

@hobby27

@somebodyto-love

@beanie-beebo 

[jafndaegur]

The Blood Sacrifice’s True Ugly

“Broken migrant, knife through heel—sing your praise so hell can hear. Where did you come from? The strange, we walk, the touch we feel…Could you find a way to love us all? Don’t wake up.” – Coheed & Cambria

Day Two @mmangstweek . I’m definitely trying to NOT turn this into a Jumin x MC fic rofl. I’m failing miserably. A LOT of triggers in this one, i’m sorrry. With a character whose power is blood sacrifice you can’t expect this to be a happy story until the end…maybe.

Triggers: Bodily harm (both self and from others)

MC’s father hid her eyes behind his hands. Beneath her knees where she had collapsed in front of her mother—she felt the thick and sticky liquid that smelt too much like iron. Her father clutched her closer and his shoulders trembled as he pulled her against his chest. He wouldn’t let her look. And that was okay. It wasn’t too long after that she forgot her mother’s face, and her mother’s name. She didn’t know why; she tried to think of all the good times, all her favorite moments with the woman, but all she could see was an empty face as blank as a wiped chalkboard.

From then on, her father dressed her in a surplus of thick, long clothes. From turtlenecks and gloves to long sock and trousers, not an inch of her wasn’t covered up in some form or capacity. The only place she was allowed visible was her face. He told her it was unlikely for her to bleed there. “Such a pretty face shouldn’t be hidden”, he smiled sadly.

He must’ve been traumatized, she figured. The death of her mother too much for him. He didn’t want to risk her getting hurt. So she stayed careful. Stayed cautious.

The times with him were fond.

He loved walking in the park on the days that were warm. Not an afternoon during the summer, the spring, and the fall were wasted inside. He would pick her up from school, and he would park at a nearby convenience store. Together, they would walk in, and he would buy a coffee and she a soda; he’d purchase dinner from there too, a pair of sandwiches or a couple of hotdogs—whichever was cheaper. From there they would walk down the sidewalk to the local park. Her father was a man of few words, and she was fine with that. Someone like him didn’t need to speak much to show what was on his mind. So she would skip along side him and tell him about her day at school, about the few friends she’d made, about her favorite book that she’d read. He would smile. And she would smile back.

As she grew older, however, her steps became a little less light. He never changed: the same stride, the same tired glance, the same expectations of her to stay covered up. The same old walks in the same old park.

But she changed.

When she entered high school, she figured he was a prude—after all, that was what her classmates called her because of her dress and certainly her wardrobe was not her decision.

The one time she’d mentioned it to him, she said she would like to wear a sun dress, his characteristic passive look had warped. His brow knitted and his lip curled. His eyes stormed. His jaw clenched. “Absolutely not MC”. She had never heard him so frustrated; so scared. For the moment she would apologize and leave it alone. Afterall, he’d never done wrong by her before.

Winter tumbled in harshly during the near tail end of her senior year in high school. They didn’t go outside for walks. She wanted to leave. For once she wanted to leave the house and do whatever she wanted. But with the snow-in came a surprising amount of stern behavior from him. He didn’t let her leave. Normally she did the errands; now he did. Normally she went for the groceries. He would take the car out and return within the hour with whatever they needed for the week. More and more often, he hovered. “Ice is dangerous”, MC. She started to sit and stare out the window, wondering what would happen if she just left. “You could slip and fall, MC”. She stopped wearing her socks, and wore stockings and skirts instead of pants. “What would happen if you hurt yourself”? His stare was less endearing and more crazed.

It was evening. She remembered it like that. The sun crested itself just barely above a hill hollowed of any trees or brush. Rid of anything she might scrape herself on. She was gazing out the kitchen window while she was grating the vegetables for their dinner that evening.

He ranted to her about how he disapproved of her going outside without her gloves on.

Brow twitched, she scraped a carrot harder against the grater. Her father growled on about how it was irresponsible of her to go without anything protecting her fingers. She snapped, whipped around, and sliced the side of her palm against the sharp little edges of the kitchen utensil.

“God, I wish you’d just leave me alone!”

MOBILE USERS HERE IS WHERE, THE TW KICKS IN. FOR WHATEVER REASON, MOBILE IS NOT KEEPING THE “KEEP READING” LINK

His expression into hurt, and his big brown eyes widened. Hands fell to the side and he stuttered. His eyes lowered and noticed the slice on her hand, shiny red blood trickling down her wrist.

Her father’s eyes widened, he yelped with a cracked voice and reached out suddenly . “MC—”

Then he was gone.

There was no flash or snap or brush of magic. Just one moment he was there. And the next he wasn’t.

At first she thought it was a joke, or something to make her feel bad. She waited for him to go home. Upstairs, she wrapped her hand with gauze after applying a little bit of disinfectant. He didn’t come home. Took a shower, put on pajamas, made apology hot chocolate. She even did some of her homework, but by the time the clock read three am, and her father wasn’t home—she could only hope that he’d gone to cool off from the argument. In her mind she couldn’t remember the last time they’d gotten into a fight. Perhaps he thought that they both needed a little bit of time. He’d be back in the morning, she told herself.

He did not come home the next morning.

She waited for a day. Then two. On the third day, she looked through obituaries, her emails, the news, anything to tell her if he had died or gone missing. She called the police on the fifth day. She told them he was missing—they told her he was not.

Her father never came home again.

MC stopped going to school. She worked a job, but never made the money to keep the house. Although somehow the bills were always paid and on time. She didn’t know why her father was staying away, if he was clearly alive and well.

At the time, she wondered why he would listen to such a simple wish.

But that was her second encounter with Blood Sacrifice.

Later in her life, since she didn’t have the finalized education higher than middle school, MC had resorted to some…undesirable jobs. After one night with a man, he’d accidentally cut her thigh with his belt buckle. He’d been purring in her ear as he was leaving about how he wished she would give him another hour. She’d been done for the night. But her body seized as he apologized profusely for the injury. Her own limbs worked against her—wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling him closer as she told him she’d give him another hour if he paid for it—he was ecstatic, the bleeding gash forgotten.

Her third encounter with Blood Sacrifice.

MC found more and more people somehow figured out about her power. Someone stabbed her in the bicep with an ice scraper, they wished for money to pay off a loan-shark’s loan. Another person tore her lip while they were kissing her, they wished for their wife’s undying love so they wouldn’t have to keep seeing MC. Bit by bit, her body became a bit more tore up as she gave more and more of her wishes away. She’d tried to stab herself too, right above her collar-bone. She wished to see her father again, for him to sweep her away so she could cry against her chest and tell him she was so sorry for stupid words during an even more stupid argument.

Shortly after that wish, as she hobbled through her home city, she discovered two things. While she’d been living in an alley the past few years, in the sheltered shadow of a dumpster—more and more people like her had appeared. They were called Oddities; people with strange mutations and powers of all sorts, just like characters from old time comic books and superhero movies.

The second thing she discovered, was her father. It was fall, and she’d been close to that local grocery store they’d frequented so much—it was the first time since his disappearance. A church had been built behind there. That was new. She snuck in, through the back, hoping she could find loose bulletins she could use as mats for her bed. Instead she found a wall of cremated people. Her father’s name among the dozens.

She smiled. He really had just left her alone.

Life after that was blurry. She collapsed at the wall of burned bodies. Her vision swam. Who knew how many days it’d been since she fell there. A flash of golden hair as bright as flames, and brilliant green eyes just as warm as frozen jade. A tender hand around her wrist, pulling her—a Savior from death or a Sentencer to life…

And then nothing.

MC shrieked as she sat up. An IV had been strapped to her arm and a heart monitor beeped pleasantly next to her. In front of her, with his hand recoiling from her temple, was the crazy ghost in the suit from earlier. Except this time he wasn’t a specter. His fingers had left a warm graze angst her head.

She seethed, knowing perfectly well what happened. “You. Read. My. Memories.”

“I,” he paused, as if considering what to say be for narrowing his grey eyes and setting his expression as blank as snow. “I did. They were as open as a journal entry. Thank you for your cooperation.”

She searched for anything to cut herself on—she was going to kill him.