#not a big jump in the fire fan honestly but it's so much fun to play

[k2ulhu]

obligatory spotify wrapped post

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Yeah honestly the discourse is quite stressful... I don't interact with the fandom and I'm quite new to MK, and I'm pretty young so the only mainstream MK thing I've been exposed to is the show (I did read the Lemire run though, planning on reading the Jed Mackay run soon) and while I do have some of my own complicated thoughts on the show, I do sometimes feel bad for liking the characters and the show in general as much as I do because alot of fans of the comics seem to hate it lololol. I like the shows version Steven espeacially, I really love how grounded and fun he is (people seem to dislike him too tho aha) Your blog truly is Autism heaven thank you so much for putting as much effort into this as you do :-)

Boy howdy you gave me a lot to think about.

What part of Tumblr you been hanging out in? Let me tell you the secret to enjoying Moon Knight: Stay out of the discourse. Moon Knight discourse is not new and just cycles the same topics over and over and over again and have done so since the OG run in the comics.

You are allowed to like BOTH the comic and the show. Who gives a flip what someone else thinks about it? I got to listen to someone rant about how much they hated the show because it wasn't full of action and crazy and violence (they were wrong and like Moon Knight for all the wrong reasons and are the type of fan that gets on my nerves but at least they are reading Moon Knight, I guess?)

The show is a fantastic jumping on point for new and younger fans! Why? Because even though the majority of the main points of the story are different, and Steven Grant is different, it still hits the big points that make Moon Knight what it is.... That and Marc is and always will be a Dumpster Fire in every iteration.

PLUS, Steven Grant is adorable and love-able and really draws you in. Do not feel bad for liking the characters in the show. The fans of the comics who actively put down the TV show characters have no idea what they are talking about. Do they HAVE to like them? No. You are welcome to hate the show, but if you hate it for reasons of saying it isn't enough like the comics...They CLEARLY have not read the comics.

LET'S GET INTO THIS META:

The original run of the comics opens with Moench having the idea for one man living three undercover lives.

Steven Grant, millionaire philanthropist, and Charity giver.

Jake Lockely, street wise cab driver and friend to the people.

Moon Knight, a masked vigilante.

Notice how Marc Spector is not included in that. In the original idea, Marc Spector was a man on the run from himself and doing what he can to discard who he was and become someone better and different so as to make up for all the pain and wrong that he had done.

So in the OG, we get a BIT of Marc to tell his back story of how he 'died' and then we jump into Steven and Jake. A little later, Moench starts to flesh out Marc a bit, putting him into more stories with his side short stories about Marc's past and also when they go into missions that pit Marc directly against who he was and his past. Such as when the Statue is stolen and broken and he has a break down (severe existential crisis about his death and who he is). The BEST look into his past where he confronts who he was, in my opinion is when a friend from Marc's past is murdered and he goes to Israel on a special mission and for revenge. Issue 17: Master Sniper's Legacy and Issue 18: The Slayers Elite.

The thing is, Marc isn't the main character in the early OG comics. He's a presence that is always felt and often discussed and lurking in the shadows, but the main star is Moon Knight

and the character we often follow the MOST is Jake Lockley.

We also hang a lot with Steven.

Marc Spector is The Bad Guy.

Yes... Despite how every time we get a back story like the "Marc Spector Adventures" mini comic that was at the end of a few issues showing us how goofy and conflicted Marc Spector really is, he's still the bad guy...To himself. No one hates Marc Spector more than Marc Spector.

This is something that carried very well into the show.

(That is the face of a man that doesn't want to be there. Or anywhere.)

You see, Marc Spector isn't the main character of the show either. Steven Grant is.

So... Here's the BIG question.

WHY did Marc Spector become so big in the comics?

Back in the OG run, Jake Lockley and Steven Grant were the main characters. But it's hard to relate to the fancy million air that likes fine things and opera and charity events and swimming around in his pool in a speedo.)

But Jake Lockley? There's a man we can enjoy and relate to. He likes to hang with the homeless. Chat it up with some kids and play Basket Ball with them. He hangs with a single mom in the poor side of town and he drives around and takes action. He's easy to understand and easy to paint as a good honest man and a hero.

In the show? The show was ORIGINALLY going to take it from Marc's point of view. Marc was the one in the fancy Mr. Knight suit (like in the later comics drawn by the amazing Declan Shalvey.) My bet is that in the original idea for the show, Moon Knight was filled with more action and violence.

But they realized they needed to draw you in. They needed to give you someone you could relate to.

Enter Steven Grant.

(Hello dear).

I will forever be asking the question on why they went with Steven Grant and not Jake Lockley because the gentle kind and caring man in the comics is Jake... But maybe the name Steven Grant just fit the role they needed better. Either way... We got this marshmallow of sweet snarky sass.

And the personality? We can thank Oscar Isaac for Steven. He came up with the accent and had a lot of input on how to develop Steven as a character. The story naturally progressed from there.

So this is where the show and comics deviates. ....Or dose it?

Because after Moench leaves, the characters start to change.

We hit the 90s and Marc Spector, man of violence and action and dark pasts is now in and Steven Grant is out. Oh, and so is Jake.

We get a solid decade of watching Marc devolve into a disaster of character murder. It's... It's a thing alright. It's a rough read. My goal in going back through the comics is to try to pinpoint the exact moment when the characters are lost from their original personalities and Jake is turned into a violent insane Caricature of himself, Steven got the boot, and Marc became the overarching main persona.

Even in the 2000s up to 2010, Moon Knight characterization is all over the place!

It isn't until Lemire that we get a solid hold of someone trying to bring the characters back to who they were during Moench's run. Even then, it's a rough grab and by the next writer (we shall not speak of him here) we have completely lost all view of the characters again.

We don't get a redefinition of Jake, Steven, and Marc until the current run with MacKay.

This is 1984 until 2021 people! HOLY CRAP.

In fact, things got so bad in the 90s that Moench had to step in for 4 short issues to try to reset Marc Spector! (I cannot wait to get to those.)

So people that tell you that the show completely ruined the characters.... Clearly have not REALLY read the comics. In fact, ask them what their favorite run is. Give me a good laugh because I can probably guess what they are going to say.

The people that are more modern and sing praise only of MacKay need to get off their high horse and go read some Moench. I love MacKay and will sing his praise all day, but he isn't perfect. I love Lemire, but he also had some issues. Heck, even Moench had issues fleshing out his own characters at times! (and there certainly were a couple of issues that are NOT my favorites at all). Heck, I think the best fleshing out of Marc Spector was actually done by Zelenetz in the death of Elias Spector run. (I may have made a huge mistake while reviewing this run because I thought it was Moench and then realized it wasn't half way through reviewing all the other issues and then sat there for a day wondering why I was an idiot and what to do about it.)

SO. ....I'm not sure if I made my point or got distracted halfway through, but I hope I made some sense here.

The thing is, the characterization of Moon Knight depends on the writer and there is no real set thing to go on other than the fact that Marc Spector is a dumpster fire of a man. If that fire ain't burning in the shittiest way possible, they are doing it wrong.

And anyone with discourse saying the show ruined everything needs to mind their own business. I have no issue with someone hating the show. It's different. But don't tell other people they can't like it and the comics too.

They have obviously never lived through the Moon Knight waste land times when there were like five fans and no merchandise or material. I'm just happy to be able to talk about Moon Knight to someone that isn't my dog for a change.

So thank you kind Annon! Thank you for giving me someone to talk to Moon Knight with and reason to talk about them! And thank you all for listening to me ramble and rant about a little broken system of guys who have gotten the unfair shaft from Marvel more than a few times.

[matenrou-fan]

✨💅 on the mic yo

hcs for ramuda, samatoki, and ichiro with a famous idol gn! s/o??? feeling mischievous and silly today so, maybe the s/o could be more famous then them??? JUST BY A HAIR TEHE 🥰🥰

Ramuda, Samatoki, and Ichiro with an idol! gn! s/o who's more famous than they are

this request is so cute so I decided to write it right now..!

NBreader, fluff, just wholesome stuff;;

-Honestly, he's kinda jealous.. But more in a playful way.

-"Uwaa! My dolly is more popular than me..!" - Ramuda sighs then furrows his brows dramatically. - "I pass too much of my charm through my sweet kisses..! Come on, give it back.. It also would be a great way to say sorry for outshining me!!"

-Of course he's listening to your songs! Especially when you both are too busy to meet each other and your boyfriend starts to miss you a little (but he probably never admits this lolol..).

-Absolutely love to walk with you around. Aren't you two a perfect couple? Ramuda doesn't even care if some of his onesans get upset, he will post you in his Instagram or use you in commercials for his new collections of clothes.

-Oh, and of course.. Fire all your designers, as you already have one by your side..! Ramuda will make a bunch of outfits for your performances, every time complementing the main theme of your show with his ideas.

-"Here..! Maybe your producers and designers were able to make you so popular, yet no one can make you shine as bright as I can, my little dolly..!"

-Ramuda would totally brag about you in front of the Fling Posse, especially Dice. How can he not? He is just so lucky to have such a cutie all to himself, everyone should know that.

-Sometimes you help each other to come up with new ideas for songs and Ramuda teaches you rap.

-Yet he don't really want you to get a hypmic and join rap battles. Well, that would be really fun and interesting to see you build your own team and maybe even fight with him yet.. As someone who is much deeper than others in these things, Ramuda really doesn't want you to get in this trouble.

-But.. Song about passion love - You feat Ramuda when?? Fans are waiting..

-Honestly, he doesn't really care about who's more popular.

-"Oh, so my little darling is higher than me? I'm glad, actually.. Just don't try to make fun of it, okay?" - Samatoki gets closer and smirks. - "Or you will lose in this race when I actually get serious.."

-Your own guard dog, as he's always willing to protect you from crazy fans or haters.

-Samatoki doesn't care if someone would see him, a Yakuza, with a cute shining idol. Yet as you are even more popular than the leader of the main rap team in Yokohama division, you do make a big crowd around you in the streets and it kinda annoys him.

-"Such jerks.. Why can't they just let you have your own private time..?" - your boyfriend scoffs, holding your hand as he leads you through more dark streets. - "Come on, we better spend this evening in my house, where no one will interrupt us.."

-Samatoki does listen to your songs and even watch your shows sometimes, but he never lets you know how much he actually enjoys that. After all, he's a Yakuza, and should be serious and harsh.. Not watching a compilation of your cutest moments on stage before sleep.

-Love to make a little fights with you, using his hypmic. Of course he will never hurt you, even a slightest, but it's just a great challenge for both of you.

-"What's wrong? It's harder than just jumping around on stage and singing?" - with a proud chuckle Samatoki gives you a bottle of water. - "My training is better than all your vocal practice, so why don't you skip a few lessons to spare with me for a little while? I promise to give you a reward if you would be good enough to amaze me with your talent.."

-He's too pure to actually be jealous.. Only sincere happiness in his eyes as he congratulates you.

-"That means you're working hard, s/o..! And I'm really proud.." - Ichiro smiles, holding your hand. - "Keep being like that, I will always support you in this dream..!"

-You can argue with me as long as you want, I'm completely sure he has a fanpage of you on Twitter where he gets in beef with your haters and writes whole novels about why you're the best idol in the world..

-Come on, this guy loves anime and manga and is probably good at editing, so he also would post some of his works in TikTok too.. But too ashamed to admit it..

-"Oh, y-yeah, this editor is really cool..!" - Ichiro laughs awkwardly when you show him one of his own videos, having no idea your boyfriend is the one who spent the whole night making it yesterday. - "Hehe, well, but maybe you should focus on me now, while we have time, not on your phone..?"

-Saburo and Jiro pray for your downfall as they get tired of listening about how cute you're on this show, or what a beautiful song you released today, or that you would have a new interview soon and their big bro is absolutely excited now.. Just why is he fanboying so much if he's literally your boyfriend?!

-He does have some merch with you but hides most of it, showing you only some cards or keychain with you in chibi style.

-Also.. Not only anime, but K-pop and J-pop also get Ichiro's attention and he does know what intense training idols have.. So he would call or text you everyday to check on you.

-"Mm? What do you mean you can eat my curry because you're on a diet now?" - he furrowed his brows, confused, then giggled. - "Come on, we wouldn't tell anyone about this, okay? It's just our little secret.."

[anishake]

Bleach character’s and their planet placements

Yes, it’s what you're thinking - this is a post about what planet placements different characters might have, here we go (The sun signs are from offical databook):

Ichigo - Cancer Sun with 

Moon in Scorpio:  Mom related angst? Ichigo is a poster child of Moon in Scorpio placement, these people often come with a big emotional baggage when it comes to their moms and let’s not start with the complicated inner world he had

Mercury in Leo - Honestly, the reason I gave this placement to him is that Ichigo loves Shakespear, these people are fan of poetry and are more inclined to do well in humanitarian subjects. As it is revealed Ichigo became a translator, so I think the Leo Mercury makes perfect sense for him.

Venus in Cancer - he is a family man, need to say more?

Mars in Aries - Ichigo is very hotheaded, goes straight into action without thinking much and it’s always insticts  driving him, rather then logic, also he has big and endless energy, just like Mars in Aries.

Rukia - Capricorn with 

Moon in Aries: Rukia is a true definition of independent woman who knows how to give others motivation. She steadily rises to any challenges and is an honorable warrior. Besides she is very explosive and never shies away from anger - a true Moon in Aries Queen

Mercury in Aquarius - she is a very progressive and individualistic thinker and her weird chappy drawings are definitely the product of this placement.

Venus in Sagittarius - Rukia is in no way a romantic, but when she loves, she loves deeply and always places huge ideals on people she deems close. 

Mars in Virgo - She is very practical, hard working and a bit self-sacrificial. Think this placement makes sense for her.

Orihime -  Virgo with

Moon in Cancer - a perfect bundle of empathetic, caring and emotional. She even has that round face that many Cancer Moon gives.

Mercury in Libra - Orihime was the hopeless daydreamer and romantic. Never brisk or rude when it came to communication.

Venus in Libra - Again, we come to romance and love. She professed her undying love and wished that she had 5 lives  but one love interest in all of them. Yeah this Venus natives are that romantic and pretty much in love with the idea of being in love. 

Mars in Virgo - Orihime was always good with house chores and she is a healer, she might not be the best of warriors but never backs down from doing work. 

Aizen - Gemini with

Moon in Leo - this man had a HUGE ego. Not to mention, Aizen did all the work just because he didn’t want to be under anyone else’s rule, this moon has the narcissist jumping out and the hair game is on point always, when it comes to Leo.

Mercury in Gemini - This placements are clever as hell, big multitaskers and sharp minds. 

Venus in Taurus - Aizen was a man of Luxury, what can I say. 

Mars in Scorpio - Scheming for years and making sure everything is under your control? Leave it to this placement to execute everything perfectly and without anyone knowing. 

Byakuya - Aquarius with 

Moon in Leo - one thing Byakuya is is a prideful man with a hint of ego lurking on the surface. Besides he was quite a hothead and is a secret one still to this day. No one better to do that with than good ol’ fire moon. Not to forget, he has a fabulous hair.

Mercury in Capricorn - A true conservative. He knows how to carry on the legacy and is a very reserved talker, unless provoked. 

Venus in Aquarius - this placement is a rule-breaker and nonconventional when it comes to love affairs. We all know who he married and how he defied rules to have Hisana as his wife.

Mars in Capricorn - cold, disciplined and unapproachable, that’s our Byakuya so I went with this Mars placement.

Yoruichi - Capricorn with

Moon in Gemini - this placement is chill, playful and doesn’t tend to dwell on things much like Yoruichi. It’s all fun, flirting and games for this Moon

Mercury in Sagittarius - she is a free spirit, doesn’t care much about formalities and often says things as it is

Venus in Capricorn - I’m really not sure about this Venus placement for Yoruichi, but taking all the signs, this might be the perfect choice for her, considering her noble lineage. (Another option: Scorpio Venus, goes with her character as well)

Mars in Sagittarius - Legs and tighs! yup, no one has it better than this Mars sign just like Yoruichi. 

Ulqiorra -  Sagittarius with 

Moon in Capricorn - to say it lightly, this Moon doesn’t do emotions well and one thing Ulquiorra struggled were his and other’s feelings, having problems with nihilism. 

Mercury in Scorpio - he isn’t man of many words, but when he speaks he doesn’t play around goes straight to the point. Also he is very observing. 

Venus in Scorpio - Ulquirra had the theme of Lust going on, what other Venus to give him than Scorpio, with his depth and obsessive nature. 

Mars in Virgo - he was a dutiful and responsible man, always doing what he was given orders. This Mars knows how to do exactly that

[iturbide]

I know next to nothing about engage at the moment, but I would most definitely like to read your thoughts on your favourite or least favourite characters so far! Or anything you like/dislike about the make, really!

Also- I have no idea about anything about the Brodian family besides They’re Royalty but I would 100% die for Alcryst.

I'll be honest, Engage has really surprised me with just how much fun it is!!

(Spoilers below the cut!)

I actually love a lot of different characters. Alcryst is my boy, he keeps outleveling everyone but the healers because I have to take him everywhere. Also, please know that you will not die for Alcryst: Alcryst will die for you (he is 100% willing to throw himself into danger to protect other people because of a frankly massive inferiority complex that makes him believe he's worth less than the people around him; I honestly do not know where this comes from, given that his brother and father love and support him so much, but his brother being perfect in his eyes may contribute in part).

Also, Fogado. I was so afraid I was going to hate Fogado because the pre-release stuff gave the impression of a flirt along the lines of Virion or Inigo, one of my most beloathed character traits. Fogado is honestly more along the lines of Claude in how laid-back and easygoing he seems (while secretly getting shit done), and I love him so much.

(Also, both Alcryst and Fogado are the younger brothers and have an archer class specialty, so between them and Takumi and Claude depending on how canon you consider Three Hopes to be, I apparently have a Thing for the younger brother archers in Fire Emblem games.)

I also love Boucheron. Boucheron my beloved. Buff and kindhearted and everyone is obsessed with his muscles. It's hilarious. But he takes it in stride with incredible grace and also he's just so nice? His supports are all great and also I love setting him up with Lucina's ring because they synergize so well (her special move calls in all allies within two spaces to join in a chain attack, and his personal ability raises his strength when allies jump in to assist like that).

AND YUNAKA. I was so sure that Yunaka was going to backstab us but I was completely wrong and I honestly ended up so attached to her. She's so fun and honestly so silly, which is hilarious since she's literally an assassin or, well, former assassin. "Hiya, Papaya" is now ingrained in my lexicon, thank you Yunaka.

Oh and Zelkov and Kagetsu. They are both utterly delightful in completely different ways: Zelkov is very cool to the point of coming off as intimidating but he has no tolerance for boredom: he teaches himself new things and tries his hand at all manner of crafts and hobbies to keep himself engaged. Also, he has the most interesting inflections in his speech I have no idea what it's drawing from but I love his speech pattern. And Kagetsu is the exact opposite: he's bright and cheery and charming and friendly and so excited about so many things he's so endearing. Also, I don't think that the common langage of Elyos is his first one because he says "I could quiz you" instead of "I could kiss you" and I just. I love him. I love him so much.

I'm also really fond of Alcryst's older brother Diamant, Fogado's older sister Timerra, Rosado the adorable wyvern rider, Merrin the wolf knight who's obsessed with rare critters, Lapis the sword knight who loves a craft project, Jade the meditative knight who secretly writes novels in her free time, Etie the archer with her weighted teacups for getting buff during teatime, Saphira the axe-wielding badass old lady, Framme and Clanne the twin presidents of the Divine Dragon fanclub...honestly it's a shorter list of characters I don't like.

Funny enough, I'm not a big fan of Vander. He might be fine if not for how he comes down hard on Framme for forgetting things, and Framme gives off intense ADHD vibes. I got in a lot of trouble as a kid for forgetting things people told me, so it does not endear me to him when Vander chastises a girl with attention problems rather than trying to coach her and figure out a system that works for her.

I'm also not big on either Hortensia and Goldmary. Both of them are manipulative in different ways but it's extremely uncomfortable; Hortensia gives me Severa vibes with how she tries to leverage her cute looks and get people to fawn and fuss over her, while Goldmary is...almost like a lady Inigo, in a way? She's extremely flirty and kind of full of herself from what I've seen and I just haven't been endeared to her as of yet. I still have a lot of supports to unlock though so all of these might change!

I actually really like a lot of the mechanics in the game! Engaging is such a fun system and I love shuffling the rings around to different characters to see how they work together: giving Marth to an Archer with high speed will absolutely obliterate flying enemies (or just about anything else, honestly) with the extra shot of half damage for every attack they make. Right now I'm abusing Corrin's inheritable Quality Time skill for trying to build up supports because it increases the Support level of all nearby allies after a move (and heals a few points of damage too). Also, having weapon proficiency linked to the Engage rings means you have so much freedom with reclassing: right now I've gone to Advanced class just based on the original base class, but I plan on changing things around once I hit the max level just to see what happens! I think Yunaka would benefit from some time as a Wolf Rider for the Hobble class skill, but Thieves and Dancers are special classes that don't have a level cap at 20 so I'm still trying to find the max level for her. Also, I haven't seen a single normal Base Class that has a unique class skill: only Advanced Classes do, but once you've used a Master Seal once every other Advanced Class change just takes a Second Seal; combined with that freedom afforded by the weapon proficiency system, it's super easy to experiment.

Also I kind of love the skirmishes. Skirmishes level with you: at this point my skirmishes are asking for Advanced Class Level 11 and 12 while the main story is something like Advanced Level 4 or 5. I actually got forced into doing the story at one point because it needed Advanced Classes and I just didn't have enough Master Seals. On top of that, after battle you have an opportunity to run around, adopt animals, pick up items, and talk to your allies! It's really interesting to explore these maps in 3D that you'd just viewed from above or in brief flashes during combat sequences -- some of them are really beautiful, too, like the Solm Palace!

Overall the story isn't bad, either! It's been fun to play through, the cast is delightful, I'm honestly shocked and delighted that for once it's not the desert nation that's the site of the villains, and the dark-skinned characters are absolute gems with some remarkably keen strategizing in play when it comes to keeping their nation and its people safe. Full respect for Solm, I love it dearly (though I will confess that the number of lily white Solmese characters still grates on me: aside from the royal family, every recruitable Solmese character including the dancer is white, despite one of them making it pretty clear from her supports that she was desert born and raised).

That said, it definitely has some of the same flaws that I've seen in Fire Emblem games before it, which continues to be the most uncomfortable aspect to interact with. The villainous nation worships the evil dragon, the only good members of that nation are the ones who don't worship the evil dragon but instead worship the Divine Dragon, the warrior nation is justified in constantly encroaching on the evil nation's territory because they worship the evil dragon, the evil dragon in this case is quite literally devouring the inhabitants of the nation that worships it...there are several aspects that feel like they were lifted from Awakening, but this actually takes it a step further than Awakening ever did and has made Sombron directly and tangibly responsible for the death of a nation. In Awakening we know that Validar orchestrated events at the Dragon's Table in the doomed timeline, so it's not just Grima's influence that caused that disaster; I also don't think it's unreasonable to say that Validar's mind control over both Robin and the people of Plegia at large was only attributable to Grima's influence, since I've always been under the impression that Robin killed Chrom in the doomed timeline because of Validar's manipulation, not Grima's (that cackling at the end of the opening movie sounds like Validar to me, not Robin). My impression in Awakening was always that that Validar sacrificed Plegia to raise Grima, even in the doomed timeline; in Engage, Sombron sacrifices his own people because he's evil, I guess. It's just a bad look and does not lend itself well to crafting a nuanced villain.

I'm admittedly not done yet so hey, that may turn around, too, but my hopes aren't exactly high there.

Also Veyle is precious, I love her, I want to give her hugs and I want Mauvier to live even though I'm pretty sure he's not long for this world (preemptive RIP Mauvier).

Also, if you've made it this far, this is where I'll put the actual big spoilers:

I did not really feel anything when Lumera died. We knew her for a chapter at most, and while her affection for her child is heartwarming despite Alear's amnesia, her death didn't really have any punch because we barely knew her and it was telegraphed in the most obvious way ("we'll talk later and I'll tell you all these things" yeah right I've heard that from a Fire Emblem game before you're not making it out of Chapter 3 lady). Meanwhile, I was completely gutted by the death of Morion, King of Brodia and Diamant and Alcryst's dad. We didn't know him long, really, but we got to see him in action, got to see how he interacted with his kids, how much he loved his family, and how committed he was to the safety of his land and people. And when he was corrupted...you could bring his sons to the fight. And have them face their father. And the dialogues for the brothers when they faced their father just destroyed me. Diamant, worrying he's not ready for kingship, asking his father if he was a good son though Morion no longer answer; and Alcryst, insisting that he has to strike down his father because he knows the task would break the older brother he so loves, and telling Morion that he loves his father and always will. I was a wreck after that, they really pulled out all the stops with those conversations and I am still in pieces honestly.

[bradenthompson]

Rating the Christmas songs on Tidal's Christmas Classics playlist

I only have some shame saying that I like most Christmas music, even when I was working in retail, so understand this is not written by someone going "ooooh grr Christmas music sucks." But I noticed Tidal's Christmas playlist is packing a few deep cuts, and I thought We'd have a little fun and give em some ratings (going until failure--there are a lot of these)

Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You: 7/10 Is it safe to say this song is about as ubiquitous as any Christmas song ever written? It has the benefit of the singer not being dead, which must go some way towards its popularity. Any potential overplay disregarded, there are things about this song that work. I like the bells at the top, the backup vocals are funny, Mariah's got some pipes. I'm never itching to throw it on, but it's rare I skip it.

Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree: 5/10 I respect the retro vibes, I do, but this song has never done much for me. It's best moment is referencing a better Christmas song. Rockin' is a load-bearing word here, and I think it has some people thinking this song is more fun than it is. Saxophone is fun.

The Temptations - Silent Night: 6/10 Most of the points are coming from just how much this song is doing. Not a standard cover of Silent Night at all. Very chill atmosphere, everyone sounds dead on. Don't think I need it to be the six minutes that it is.

Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock: 4/10 This is another song people trying giving a pass for having some snazz to it, but folks, I do not understand it. It's so boring. That's All I got

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song: 9/10 I'm compelled to give every Nat Christmas song a 10, and it only loses a point for being The Christmas Song. Not a big favorite of mine. I do appreciate how loose it is, but lyrically it really does feel like going through the motions. Nat is always packing a punch, tho, so it ranks.

Wham! - Last Christmas: 4/10 I'm sorry, Wham!. No one would love to have a Whammer rank than I, but the hook is so boring. The synths are very clean, honestly the instrumental does the heavy lifting, this one.

Bing Crosby - The Little Drummer Boy: 3/10 Again. Bing, this hurts me more than it hurts you. Not your fault. It's The Little Drummer Boy. There are no depths to which this song blows ass. He's such a great voice that he probably has the best version possible, but still. 3.

The Pogues - Fairytale of New York: 9/10 Pleasant surprise. Never heard of this song before now, or The Pogues. This vocalist is so boozy sounding, it's great. Piano is very whatever sounding and then the FUCKING accordion busts in the tempo jumps, Kristy MacColl joins the battle, and shit ramps up so fast. Halfway through the song I was ready for a 5 and my tune thoroughly changed. Have to respect it.

Donny Hathaway - This Christmas: 8/10 Didn't know this song was this old. I'm a fan, and this incarnation ranks with the best ones. Drums are so good, Donny sells it. If you like fucking on Christmas, I'm just saying you have options.

Boys II Men - Let It Snow: 6/10 Points for originality, but I've never really been a Boyz II Men boy/man. This is another one that feels a lot longer than it is. Christmas R&B has a hell of a time coming up with things to sing about other than Christmas activities with your special friend. "god must have sent you down from heeeeeeaaaaaaaven" is a good moment.

Frank Sinatra - Let It Snow: 7/10 I will always rank Bing over Frank, I'm afraid, but I'll give it up for him. He does as good as you can do with this job, the backing vocals halfway through make for a fun, unique moment. Most Christmas covers fall on their face when they try to add anything new, which I cannot say for this one. Part where Frank says "that fire is mmmmm delightful" gives me the heebie jeebies.

Elton John - Step Into Christmas: 7/10 MMMMMM. It pains me to only go as high as 7. I want to go higher. Come on. It's Elton. The hook is so fucking crisp. His pants on the album art. The la la la la la's. The RIFF mmmm. But I can't escape the feeling that there's one too many things going on in the composition. Especially if you're listening with headphones, and I suppose fuck me for doing that bc who listens to these songs alone. It's close to an 8, I'll say that.

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home): 9/10 Powerful statement from a Christmas song with one of the less inspired hooks. But the instrumentation is everything to this song. And Darlene's got a serious voice. Oscar goes to the drums. This is an ideal song for hollering and Darlene was right to go for it.

The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: 4/10 Here's where I delegitimize this entire list, bc I can't say I love any of the Jackson 5 Christmas efforts. Like, I already don't care for this specific song at the best of times and no I don't think the "sAAAAnta Claus" so many artists go for saves it. Sorry, Tito, Jackson 5 member I've selected at random.

Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby: 10/10 Yeah, you heard me. I do not understand thinking the hate in the slightest, apart from the awful Bublé cover. Eartha has one of the best voices of this era and she never gets the credit I think she deserves. Best Christmas song where a woman asks a very rich stupid man to buy her a platinum mine. "Come and trim my Christmas tree/with some decorations bought at Tiffany's." So good.

John Lennon/Yoko Ono - Happy Xmas (War Is Over): 5/10 idk, man. I didn't expect these two to do something generally appealing, in a way I applaud them for writing a Christmas ballad with a lil bit of sass to it. "Yes, Happy Christmas... to some people hmmhhmhmhmhmhmm." Why the Silent Hill strings.

Destiny's Child - 8 Days of Christmas: 8/10 "You know Christmas?" Great first line. Special place in my heart for all Christmas songs that are about and only about getting swagged out. Also for Christmas songs that feel incidentally about the holiday. Fun one.

Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?: 0/10 Awful. Shit's for the birds. Deplorable pond scum. Might be my least favorite Christmas song ever. Breaks into being one of the worst Christmas songs ever, so fucking cloying and boneless. This song pats you on the head like you're a child. Get it out of here.

Bing Crosby - White Christmas: 10/10 Bing! Biiiiiiiiiiiing! It's Biiiiiiiiiiing! He's from Spokane! I'm from Spokane! Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Vince Guaraldi - Linus and Lucy: 10/10 All time rager for the ages, though I may somewhat object to it being a Christmas song. I welcome it, don't get me wrong, look at the score, it's just odd. There are most Christmas-leaning Peanuts songs on this very album. Alas. Great tune.

Justin Bieber - Mistletoe: 5/10 Oh, what? I'm supposed to give Biebs a zero on principle or something? I'll have you know he's got some earworms. Except I'm not so convinced this is one of them. idk, I feel like as far as subject matter goes, mistletoe as a tradition is low-hanging. Too easy. Try harder. Regardless, "the wise men follow the star/the way I follow my heart" is uh--its good. It's a good line.

Michael Bublé - I'll Be Home For Christmas: 6/10 inoffensive. That's what I got. Buble can lay it down when he wants, but almost all of his Christmas diddies are just going through the motions. Rarely does he make it his own, and when he does we wish he didn't (google Santa Buddy). Eh.

The Ronettes - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: 5/10 Tempo is fun, and Ronettes are always a treat. This is another case of a song just being really hard to make fun. Not a favorite of mine, but I don't totally hate it.

Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas: 9/10 Apologies in advance, I really fuck with this one. Never a skip for me. If you already don't like him, this one song will not change your mind. My grandpa could do a mean rendition of this one; honestly might be what I'm thinking about with this rating.

John Williams - Home Alone Theme: 7/10 Good on Tidal for tossing this one in. Good Christmas playlist has a variety of pulls. Can't say I love it, John always did have a "sound" for any film involving children and it's not my favorite type of work from him. Still, nice to see it here.

The Temptations - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: 3/10 Sorry, lame song removed from Rankin-Bass. Temptations are really going for it, but they don't melt my chilly heart.

Judy Garland - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: 8/10 Before embarking on this, I actually didn't know Judy Garland had done any Christmas music, let alone a whole Christmas album. I'm into it. Anyone else ever think the title of this song sounds a bit facetious?

Gene Autry - Frosty The Snowman: 6/10 Can't get too mad at this one. Combination of the album art and how goofy this version is. Saying it's bad feels like telling a six year old they're acting cringe. Good for Gene, he knew what this song is supposed to sound like. If nothing else. And I think there's literally nothing else.

The Jackson 5 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: 2/10 Man, I was about to rate this one seriously, then the kiss sfx played two seconds in and i winced so hard my hand slipped and I hit the 2 key. Crazy. But seriously, I can't do this one. Michael's performance borders on his worst ever, but I'll give him credit for just how long he holds the note at the end. Also funny how the implication of the outro is a large group of people attempting to silence him. S/O to whichever one tells him to shut up, lmao.

The Supremes - My Favorite Things: 9/10 I'm not the arbiter of what is and is not a Christmas song, but this song's on thin ice. That said, I like this version a lot. Maybe more than the original. The oooooOOOOOoooo's are fun. The big band feel does a lot for this one.

RUN-DMC - Christmas In Hollis: 10/10 Heeeeeellllllll yeah. You gotta hand it to them. Not a request. Hand it to them right now. Rocks so hard. Turning them in a spotless peer review.

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime: 3/10 Okay. I'm aware opinion on this song is split. For some, this is a Christmas diamond in the rough. Some people cannot stand it. I'll tell you what, the synths do create a mood of sorts, annoying as they get. That and I don't love the jingle bells that start and simply do not stop. Also feels like the songs runs out of things to do like a quarter of the way in. Can't say I hate it, but I'm far from liking it.

Wizzard - Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day: 2/10 This sounds like a Christmas song written as a tax write-off. Not an original bone in its body, I forgot this one as soon as it was over. Poor effort.

Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run: 6/10 Very eh on this one. This isn't a sound criticism, but it just sounds like everything else Chuck was doing at the time. This is another song I forget exists until the holiday season. Chuck's done better.

The Jackson 5 - Up On The House Top: 4/10 Just learning of this song right now. I mean, this version. They still aren't getting to me, sad to say. It's a little fun, but hmmmmm. Not stunning me.

Johnny Mathis - Sleigh Ride: 9/10 I'll be real. I rank Sleigh Ride. One of my preferred tenured Christmas songs. Johnny perfectly executes, too. Some versions are doing way too much, this one does just enough. These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives...

Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Christmas Song: 10/10 WOOOOOOOOOOOO. Love this one, I don't care who knows. Total earworm, I am a child again. You get basically all the Chipmunks lore in like twenty seconds total. Marvel of worldbuilding. I STILL WANT A HULA HOOOOOOOP (starting to feel the strain of writing all of these)

Will update this when I got the energy back

[devils-wonderland]

"Heartslabyul Sleepover"

⛓Summary: You host a sleepover at Ramshackle, inviting your favorite Heartslabyul boy.

⛓CW: GN!Reader, lots of fluff, clingy boys, Trey's hat.

⛓Characters: Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Riddle Roseheart, Trey Clover, Cater Diamond.

⛓Notes: This will be an ongoing series with every dorm! Next headcanons coming soon!

⛓Ace Trappola⛓

Isn't every other night a sleepover with Ace? Yes. Is it official? No, he's always intruding! But this time, he wants an official sleepover, just you, and him-WHEN DID GRIM GET INTO THIS EQUATION?! Ace will not tolerate popcorn stealing of any sort!

Ace is clingy as hell, he literally won't let go of you no matter what, and if you comment on it, he turns it around on you?? Will push Grim off the first time he jumps on him when a scary part plays in the movie, but next jumpscare, he doesn't care if Grim clings onto him.

Speaking of scary movies, Ace loves scary movies. Thinks he's going to be a knight in shining armor, he is crying into your pillow alongside with Grim. Will also sneakily hug himself on you. He'll make a dumb excuse like "this pillow is too small!" No he will not explain any further.

Cuddliest number one, Ace is a big fan of cuddling, and he's not ashamed of it either! At least, not when others are around. He's honestly so warm too? There's just a comfortable type of feel with him. Yes, Ace will let Grim into the cuddle session, even if he makes a snarky comment about it.

As cuddly as Ace could be, he's the worst sleeper! You guys have to move place to place for Ace to get any sort of sleep. Tried the couch, tried the floor, what's that? You two are gonna sleep on your bed? Get ready to be smothered by him in his sleep. He ends up kicking Grim off the bed a few times, Grim can't take this anymore.

If Ace ends up waking up earlier than you, he'll watch you sleep. He loves tracing little patterns on your skin, if you turn in your sleep from that, he'll pull you back so he can see your face again.

"Sleepover tomorrow again? I'm in! You want to invite Deuce? Nah, three's a crowd already, no room on the bed!" Ace gets excited and tries to find as many scary movies as possible for next time.

⛓Deuce Spade⛓

This is Deuce's first sleepover. He's never been to one before because the other delinquents said that's what babies do. He will never live that down either, not with as much fun he's having right now.

Deuce takes this sleepover very seriously. Wants to make this the best sleepover in existence, and has a list of what he wants to do, if you don't mind, of course!

You manage to build a pillow fort in the Ramshackle lounge, Grim almost lit one of the blankets on fire, but hey, you three were having fun. You put a flashlight on, and make shadow puppets with Deuce. Deuce is jealous of all the cool shadows you could do. He can only do a bunny, alligator, and a cauldron?!

To make this an official sleepover, Deuce wants to sleep on the floor, he even makes it comfy by double laying blankets on the ground. He's so stiff when he lays next to you, Deuce is just so nervous?? You notice, and hold his hand, he melts immediately.

Deuce phone rings in the middle of the night, turns out it's his mom asking how the sleepover has been so far. "Mom, I know I told you about this...but it's one in the morning..!" His mom will make him put her on speaker so she can say hi to you.

Overall, the sleepover has been really fun, Deuce will keep this moment in his heart for life, and would be very excited for the next!

"Maybe we can bake next time..? You're fine with that? Then I'll be waiting for next week!"

⛓Riddle Rosehearts⛓

Like Deuce, Riddle has never been to a sleepover, his mother would never allow it, so when you ask him if he wants to sleep over at Ramshackle for the night, he agrees...reluctantly.

This was the longest he has ever been up, he was usually in bed by early hours, but you two lasted up til two in the morning, and while Riddle complains about this, he's nowhere near tired, not that he'd admit it.

One of Riddle's favorite moments were the movies, movies he'd never gotten the chance to watch before. Also, he's a big fan of Titanic?? He cries, and hides his face up against your chest. "This doesn't make sense! Why couldn't Rose just move over?! Where is her logic?!"

You definitely have to comfort him after that one. What's better comfort than cuddling? Riddle refuses to sleep on your floor, there's no way you will catch him laying down there. However, he will feel extremely bad if you're not in your bed with him. Riddle is way too shy to initiate any type of intimacy, or touch, but once your arm pulls him in closer, he'll get all flustered and cuddle into your chest.

You wake up like an hour later and ask him if he wants any leftover cake in your fridge, Riddle wants to yell at you for waking him up, but cake does sound nice... You both eat the rest of it, and pass out on your couch.

The next day Riddle swears he slept like an angel, while you're there with your back cramped from the position you were in on your couch, it was worth having Riddle lay on you though.

"Thank you for inviting me, y/n. Next sleepover will be hosted in my room, and no, we will not be having late night snacks of any sort." Riddle lied. He was the one waking you up this time.

⛓Trey Clover⛓

You two were studying, but since it was so late, you might as well have a sleepover at Ramshackle? Trey definitely calls Riddle before the sleepover starts, wouldn't want his housewarden filing a missing person report.

Trey will definitely bake something for you, and Grim. You want cookies? He'll make cookies? Cake, that's a piece of cake. If you don't laugh at his little corny joke, he'll get a little sad.

Makes sure you brush your teeth thoroughly right before bed. Grim says he doesn't have a toothbrush, guess what? Trey has one right here, wherever he magically got that from...you swear he's the tooth fairy's co-captain.

Sleeps like a log, honestly, no matter where he lays. Trey suggests sleeping on the floor, remembering the sleepovers he had with Che'nya, if you sleep anywhere else, he might crush you.

Not a big cuddler, but will go crazy if you let him hold his arm, or something. He also has a bedtime fedora. No, you don't let him wear it. You refuse. Grim burns it.

"I didn't cause you any trouble at night, are you sure? Maybe we can do this again, if it's not a bother..?"

⛓Cater Diamond⛓

Cater comes fully prepared, he is a professional at slumber parties. He has everything you will possibly need in his little diamond-shaped bag. He will keep it out of safe reach from Grim.

Facemasks, facemasks, facemasks! It's a daily routine for Cater, but he brought you a special one since you obviously don't do it as a routine. If you hiss like an animal, Cater will spray you with water. Would also love to do your nails, only if you let him! He wants to show you how he practiced your aesthetic!

Cuddliest number two, Cater is really clingy, especially with you. Wants to take a photo of everything that goes down here tonight. The pictures are the most ungodly photos in existence. Definitely posting them later!

You and Cater watch teen romance type of movies, just so you both can make fun of the characters. It's a real good laugh because what is this love interest even doing?! You two most definitely reenact the romantic scenes, Cater does amazing impressions.

Cater loves sharing a big blanket with you, you get to hold his hand, tickle him, let him lay on you. Grim is gagging at the amounts of affection. "What's that, Grimmy? You want to hold my hand too? Give your paw to Cay-Cay!"

Cater brings ghost peppers for fun, wants to do a little challenge. Cater is surprisingly very neutral with the pepper, you assume he's cheating??? Because how??

You two end up cuddling on the couch at the end, your legs are completely numb by the way, thank Cay-Cay for that.

"That was super fun, 10/10 subscribed to this idea! Let's do another one next week?<3"

[miyagihawk]

Reader x Hawk imagine where you're cheering him on at a tournament.. I don't really know what more.... I just feel like some cute stuff would happen 🥺

ahhh this is so cute!! thank you sm for the request <3

his biggest fan | eli “hawk” moskowitz x fem reader

warnings: maybe some mild swearing? a bit of violence (karate) and mentions of anxiety.

summary: you cheer on your bf hawk at his karate tournament

a/n: this doesn’t really follow the show’s storyline ? let’s just say hawk won instead of miggy lol i also don’t know how karate things work so sorry haha

word count: 906

Your boyfriend Hawk invited you to watch him compete at the All Valley Tournament and you were nervous. You’ve never seen him do karate because his sensei doesn’t let non-students loiter around the dojo, so this tournament was going to be the first time you see Hawk in action.

It honestly scared you to think about him getting hurt. He’s had enough bruises and black eyes from practice, and that was just practice with his own teammates. In a competition setting, you worried that someone could seriously injure him.

“Hey,” you heard his voice from beside you, snapping you out of your thoughts. He reached his hand over to hold yours.

You two were on the way to the arena where the tournament was being held, and Hawk could sense your anxiety as he drove.

“It’s gonna be fun, don’t worry about me Y/N. I’ve trained for months and they have strict rules at this kind of thing,” your boyfriend said soothingly, caressing your hand with his thumb.

He was jittery for another reason. You’ve never seen him fight and he was scared that he would mess up in front of you. The truth is, he really cares about your opinion of him and he wants to be nothing less than the best for you. He doesn’t want to let you down.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, I don’t want to make you nervous with my nervousness. I just care a lot. About you,” you explained, letting out a deep breath to ease your qualms.

“I’m just worried that I’ll get my ass kicked and you’ll leave me,” Hawk chuckled, but little did you know there was some truth behind it.

“Oh that won’t happen. I know you’ll win,” you smiled at him. He leaned over during the stoplight to give you a quick kiss before turning his attention back to the road.

-

The arena was huge and there were more people than you expected. Being alone, you easily found a seat that was close to the fighting floor. Hawk’s parents never supported his new identity, so you were the only one who was there for him.

As the announcer started to introduce the different teams, your heart raced in anticipation.

“From Reseda under the instruction of Johnny Lawrence, we have Cobra Kai Karate!” The man yelled into the microphone, and you cheered loudly along others in the crowd.

You grinned as Hawk walked out, looking handsome in his gi. You admired as he soaked in the applause with a smirk; he was in his element.

His eyes search the crowd for you and when he finally finds you he sends a wink that makes your heart swell.

You watched the matches before his, and your anxiety from earlier seemed to be returning. You don’t really know much about karate, but you knew the students you’re watching are really good. You’re not doubting Hawk’s talent, you’re just scared he’ll get hurt.

As you watched from the stands, you made eye contact with your boyfriend. He loved watching your reactions to his biggest passion; the way your eyes shine in wonder at how people can react so quickly to a hit to the face.

“Eli Moskowitz from Cobra Kai and Justin Martinez from Canoga Park,” the announcer called.

Hawk confidently strided to the middle of the mat, face to face with the boy from the other team. His expression is smug and you swooned; he looked so badass.

Then they began, and you feel your heart drop everytime the other kid sends a close hit. But Hawk is fast. You might be biased as his girlfriend, but he truly was just so good.

He dodged every hit and kick, advancing towards his opponent with better speed and agility. You knew his competition was already dead meat.

You thought he looked so beautiful; anyone who saw him would agree that karate was what he was born to do. His passion for the sport was so obvious in every move he made, you loved that fire in his blue eyes.

As the referee called Hawk’s point, you cheered in celebration. The people next to you started to look at you weird, but you didn’t care.

It was a blur as he progressed in his matches; win after win you would jump up in excitement and he would blow a kiss your way. “I love you,” you mouthed to each other.

Then came the final round, and you were in awe at how talented your boyfriend is. He was about to win the All Valley Tournament.

And he did.

You wanted to cry because of how proud you were.

He was being swarmed by his teammates, all of them hyping him up with incoherent chanting. He loved the attention, but he just wanted to see you.

Pushing past the small mob, he smiled so big when he saw you running towards him. You jumped into his arms, and peppered his whole face with little kisses. In your presence his tough guy exterior was gone.

“I’m so so proud of you, my baby! You freaking won, holy shit! I didn’t even know you could fight like that, it was just so good!” You marveled in his arms, and he looked at you with adoration as you praised him.

Sure the trophy and the title of champion was cool, but he was just so happy that he made you proud.

[lichfucker]

I’ve always been super intrigued by your Survivor posts and you’ve made me want to watch! What series would you recommend jumping into? There’s so many it’s a bit daunting!

oh g-d this is a big question

usually I tell people to start with season 7 (pearl islands) or season 12 (panama/exile island). I started with pearl islands so I know for a fact it's a great introductory season, early enough that the game is very straightforward but not so early that the show doesn't know what it's doing. iconic cast, fun pirate theme, very enjoyable winner. panama is a little more complicated in its mechanics, as it includes immunity idols and introduces exile, but it's still very easy to follow. another iconic cast. I feel a lot more Whatever abt the winner but like it's fine lmao. I've also heard a lot of people say that 18 (tocantins) is a good introductory season! some enduring survivor legends in that cast as well. all three of these seasons feature people who will go on to be recognizable by first name alone

(you COULD start with season 1, borneo, but you probably shouldn't... neither the players nor the show itself knew back then what the game was supposed to be. it's interesting to look back on now, when things have been established as they are for the last 22 years, but back then it was very... unformed, like clay.)

just, y'know... keep in mind that the older seasons are... old. pearl islands aired in 2003. panama in 2006. the show itself is, in a lot of ways, a time capsule. every season has an air of being very much Of Its Time. there's a scene in season 3 (africa, also a good season but potentially kinda boring) where for one of the reward challenges, the host gives the contestants his credit card, and there's a close-up shot of the credit card with all the numbers completely visible. you'd be fucking insane to do that in 2022 but in 2001 nobody gave a shit at all lmao

basically with survivor, the single-digit seasons can be kind of up and down, but they're mostly fun and watchable if you know what you're getting into (I'm literally doing a rewatch of season 4, marquesas, Right Now). I watched season 8 (all stars) immediately after watching pearl islands, with absolutely no idea who any of these returning players were, and still had a fun time (despite one episode that, um, most streaming platforms don't air, for very legitimate reasons w/r/t sexual harassment. on a similar note, do NOT watch season 5, thailand. don't watch it). the teens are almost universally good (17, gabon, is some of the worst survivor gameplay in the entire 41 seasons, but of all the dumpster fire seasons it's one of the most entertaining). the thing about the teens, though, is that some of the seasons are TOO good, and if you watch them first you either won't appreciate them for their brilliance or you'll be disappointed by other seasons. 15 (china) and 16 (micronesia/fans vs favorites) fall into this category. seasons 20 (heroes vs villains) and 28 (cagayan) are also in that category, as they're largely considered to be two of the best seasons in the entire show. the twenties are REALLY hit-or-miss. 21 (nicaragua) is on the same level as gabon. 22, 24, and 26 straight-up suck. I have mixed feelings about 23 tbh. 25, 27, 28, and 29 are very good. I don't think you should start with any of them. and I REALLY don't think you should start with any of the thirties. the thirties are headache-inducing. we're two seasons into the forties now and under no circumstances should you start with 40 (winners at war) or honestly even consider it until you've watched... like. MOST of the seasons that those players initially won lmao. and if I'm honest, 41 just ended in december and I feel like I'm not far enough removed from it to judge whether or not it'd be a good introduction to the series. probably not, though. they kept talking about stripping things back but it was VERY complex

hope this helps!! and if you do start watching survivor then I hope you have fun with it :3

if you have more questions or wanna talk abt anything more specific hmu, though I don't know how coherent I will be considering it's nearly 6 am lmao

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 23

Here we are... the fluff is finally here and Rowan is back.

Enjoy the chapter.

6 months later  

The months and seasons had slowly turned and autumn in Terrasen was in full swing with the trees now having lost of all of their leaves and the days turning chilly and October had brought with it all the smells of the season.

Rowan got out of the airbase and looked up at the sky and he could smell snow in the air. His favourite type of weather. He breathed in deeply and enjoyed for a second the feeling of being on land once again after months on a ship. This last deployment had taken a toll on the whole squadron and all of his team members had plans of enjoying their well deserved time off.

“Rowan!” A voice called him and he turned seeing Gavriel coming his way “need a lift somewhere?”

“I was going to call a taxi.”

“Come, I’ll drive you to the fire station.” The man said, knowing full well where Rowan was headed.  

Rowan nodded and thanked him. Aelin had told him she was coming off shift around noon. It was eleven and he had some time. 

“Are you looking forward seeing Aelin again?” Asked Gavriel once in the car.

“Yes, I have missed her like crazy.”

The man at his side chuckled “you never missed Lyria this much. Never spent so much time on your phone either calling her or texting her.”

Rowan sighed “Aelin is different.”

Gavriel nodded “you found a great one. Truly.”

Gavriel had never been a fan of Lyria either. And the more he thought about it the more he realised that a lot of people have never been keen on his ex wife. No one ever believed she was actually in love with him, but his friends now were fully supporting him with Aelin. Maybe this was how it was actually meant to go.

While he was wool-gathering they had arrived at the fire station and Gav had parked beside the pavement to let him out. 

“Have fun you two.”

“Have a nice time off too, my friend.”

Rowan grabbed his duffel bag and turned to the yard. The doors to the apparatus floor were closed. He peeked through the glass and spotted engine and truck. Good, they were in. Now he had to try and make it a surprise.

A moment later he spotted Luca coming out of the main communal area and grabbed his arm “shhh Luca, it’s me.”

The young man turned and smiled deeply when he recognised him.

“Can you please ask Aelin if she can come out here? Invent an excuse, please.” The boy grinned and nodded in understanding “welcome back, captain. She missed you.”

“I missed her too.” He admitted while adjusting his uniform.

At that Luca walked out and Rowan bravely climbed on top of the engine. Dropped his bag and lay low until he heard her voice.

“Luca, what is it? Is there something wrong with the rigs?”

Rowan kept silent and hid a bit better but with his height it was difficult. He also felt the crazy urge to giggle like a schoolgirl.

His legs hit the rail and he noticed her turn around looking for the origin of the sound.

“Come out. Show your face. I can kick your arse.”

He grinned and sat on the rig with his legs swinging from the edge while she had her back at him “Is that so, captain?”

He saw her turn and her expression morphed in the smile he adored. Being apart from her had been hell. He had no true idea how mad he was about her until he was forced to spend six months away from Aelin. The thought that he still had four years of that, made him want to scream.

Aelin gasped as she noticed Rowan sitting on top of the fire engine “you are back.” She said softly and Rowan nodded and heard her sniffle “you are truly back.” Aelin could not believe her eyes and for a moment she thought she had fallen asleep and it was all a dream.

“Come up here and see it for yourself.”

Aelin moved as if in a daze, slowly climbed the ladder and once at the top his strong arms pulled her to him and they fell into a heap on top of the hoses.

“Hey you…” he said as Aelin lay on top of him. Her blue eyes fixed on him.

“Hey you…” she replied burying her face in the crook of his neck to inhale the scent of him. He was home, he was back. He was real. Rowan’s arms wound around her in a tight hug “you have no idea how much I missed you. Since they told us when we were coming back I have been counting the days that I still had to spend away from you.”

Aelin did not reply she just melted in his embrace “you have been away from me 192 days and 20 hrs.” She said softly against his neck. She had counted each single day and the more they accumulated, the more she longed for the moment she could hug him and kiss him again.

“It felt like an eternity.”

Rowan turned his face and finally met her gaze and his eyes dropped to her lips and she must have noticed his stare because she looked up at him and kissed him.

The taste of her lips was enough to cancel all the longing of those months apart. He deepened the kiss, his tongue teasing her lips until she opened for him and a moan escaped Rowan’s mouth as tongues clashed and she moved fully on top of him.

“Aelin…” he said against her lips.

“I know, we are on top of the engine and I know how paranoid you are. Let’s just make out for a while, then once I am off shift we can go home and indulge in more private activities.”

They made out heavily for a good half an hour, then they finally came up for breath. With his hand Rowan pulled back a strand of hair from her face then flipped her nose feeling desperate for contact with her even if they were almost glued together.

“You seem tired.”

Her head thumped on his chest “long and busy shift.”

“Looks like someone needs some heavy cuddling tonight.”

She stared at him and grinned “always. And a back rub.”

“Something else?”

Her grin became wicked “of course, but later.”

She had so much to tell him but she would do it once they were back at home. On top of a fire engine was not ideal.

“I thought you were going to bring Lorcan too.”

“He will meet with Elide later I think. He always has a lot to do after we come back from a mission. But he will see her. The man has been pining like crazy.”

Aelin laughed “honestly? I can’t believe it.”

“Hey I was there and I couldn’t believe it.”

Aelin sat up “come on, let’s go and say hi to the others.”

“No,” he pulled her down back to him and squeezed her.

She brushed his hair and he closed his eyes and he almost purred in delight. Aelin smiled. Iceman, the man who seemed incapable of showing emotions was addicted to cuddling.

They stayed on top of the rig until Aelin heard Peter’s voice and second team arriving.

“Come on, buzzard, second team is here which means it’s time for us to go home.”

Swiftly she made her way down and Rowan followed.

“Hi Pete!” She greeted him happily.

The man looked behind her back “welcome back, sir.”

Rowan turned red at being caught sneaking down the engine but the other captain did not seem bothered.

“Thank you. It’s nice to be back.”

In that instant her whole team poured out in the main area and spotted Rowan behind her.

“Oh, that’s why she never got back.” Said Brullo.

“Yes, yes, the captain and I were cuddling on top of the rig. Now go home and relax.”

Lysandra moved closer to her ear “go and get some, girl. Just don’t make me an aunt yet.”

Aelin laughed “promise.”

The team walked out and Aelin grabbed Rowan’s hand “let me get out of this uniform.”

They reached the changing rooms and it was full of the guys from the second team. She went to her locker and opened the door and disappeared behind it.

“How was the night, cap?”

“Long,” she said, popping her head from behind the door “it seemed like the whole of east Orynth needed us last night.” She saw Rowan on the doorstep and smiled at him while wearing a polo shirt and then a hoodie “oh yeah we had to evacuate a couple who got stuck in an elevator.” And she grinned at Rowan “and by the time we got to open the trap they had decided to pass the time in an interesting way.”

“No bloody way,” commented Peter from his corner.

“The idiots,” she slammed the locker closed “I’ll see you all in a day.” She grabbed her bag and joined Rowan who was waiting for her. He pulled his arm around her shoulder “do you always change with the guys around?”

“Are you jealous?” he did not reply.

“Ro,” she stopped “they are not interested in me. And if I have to strip naked for my shower I’ll do it in private. But if they see me in my knickers and bra, what’s the difference with strangers seeing me in a bathing suit?” She replied “and as you saw I wear sports bra and comfy knickers for work. The sexy stuff is just for you.”

“I guess that firefighting with a thong is not recommended.”

Aelin laughed and they got to the car “jump in, buzzard.”

Before going home they stopped at the supermarket and Aelin explained she had nothing in the house and Rowan rolled his eyes muttering something about her diet.

At the supermarket she went to get a hand held basket but Rowan pulled her towards the bigger trolleys telling her that they needed to do a big shopping since he was back and was going to cook.

Once inside, Rowan offered to push the trolley and Aelin just grabbed his arm and walked at his side, happy at the domestic scene. They were shopping together and he had not mentioned his flat. Maybe she was worrying about nothing about asking to make it official and move in with her.

“Why are you buying all these veggies?” She asked him as he stopped at the vegetables and fruit aisle.

“To cook.” He stooped for a kiss “and stop complaining.”

They kept walking around the supermarket and Aelin saw the trolley getting fuller and fuller. It looked as if Rowan had every intention of keeping her well fed. Not that she complained.

An hour later they finally made it to the checkout. Rowan told her to put the groceries on the belt while he packed and she giggled at the military precision with which he packed.

She paid for the shopping and he carried the bags back to the car.

“We should have a budget for groceries. This one was big because you have nothing in the house.”

“Make sure the budget allows for chocolate expenses.”

“We’ll see.”

They got back in the car and not long after they were finally back at home. 

Once inside, Rowan dropped the bags on the kitchen island and started unpacking straight away. 

Aelin dropped his bag in the bedroom and joined him in the kitchen with bird Rowan in her arms “someone else wants to say hi.”

Rowan smiled “it’s actually quite nice. It looked lovely online.”

Aelin hugged the toy “he is so soft.”

“Come on, help me unpack.” She put bird Rowan back in the bedroom and went back to the kitchen and together they methodically unpacked the groceries ready to feed a family of five.

Slowly she watched her fridge become full again, something she hadn’t seen in six months.

“Now, let me take a shower, get changed and I’ll make lunch.” He kissed her softly and Aelin purred.

“A quick shower. If you come in as well we’ll never have lunch.”

“Spoilsport.” She turned but Rowan grabbed her arms and pulled her to his chest, his arm around her waist and his mouth on her neck trailing hot kisses along its length. Aelin threw her head back, but Rowan pulled back “fun times later. Food first.”

Aelin groaned in silence at the loss of contact with his body.

When he came back from his quick shower he found her on their bed with her huge hockey jersey and a pair of shorts, barely visible under the huge item of clothing. His eyes landed on her long legs and until that moment he had not fully realised how desperately he needed her. But lunch was a priority and he could not get distracted.

“Come on young lady, let’s go and get you fed.” He offered her a hand and Aelin climbed down the bed and they got to the kitchen.

Aelin sat on the counter and studied him while he set out all of the ingredients and started prepping them.

Then she decided to be brave and pose the question “Ro, do you want to move in with me? As in officially?”

Rowan looked at her perplexed “I thought that’s what we were doing? Living together?”

“Are we though? We never talked about it. You just stayed here after the accident.”

“So?” He asked while slicing the carrots.

“You still have your flat and some stuff there. And I understand if you want to keep your place for yourself to have a moment away from me if it gets too much. I know I am an handful.”

Rowan threw the veggies in the pan and then moved to her.

“Rowan the hob.” She ordered him. Her firefighter paranoia kicking in.

He switched off the gas and moved to her, between her legs and gently took her face in his hands “I only kept my flat in case you got fed up with me and threw me out. I don’t need it. I can sell it.” His hand brushed her hair “I thought I threw you enough hints that I was not moving out. Yes, you are a handful but I love living with you.”

Her arms went around his neck “so we are doing it.” Rowan nodded and kissed her “I can bring all my stuff here in the next few days.”

“I have a spare bedroom, dump your stuff in there.” She grinned and her legs went around his back and kissed him in a dangerous way, but he pulled back.

“Lunch?”

“I am famished.”

“Then let me cook.”

She smiled and swinged her legs happily. She could not believe it. She and Rowan had been together officially for around nine months but only spent three of those together and they were now officially shacking up. She was excited and for some strange reason it felt normal. With Sam it had taken much longer. They had been dating for over a year before she asked him. But with Rowan had felt natural, probably because of how their living situation had started.

“Now, this is how a stir fry looks like.”

“Still too many veggies.”

“Menace.”

Aelin grinned and stole a piece of chicken from the pan. His food tasted so much better than her mess.

Eventually they finished dinner and ended up on the sofa, Aelin all cosied up against him mentally getting ready to tell him everything that had happened while he was away.

“Ro,” she said softly, holding him “I have to tell you something.”

He looked down to her and her tone scared him.

“What, Fireheart?”

Aelin loosened a breath “while you were away a lot of stuff happened. Bad stuff.”

She felt him stiffen “how bad?”

And Aelin told him. About Hamel, her working with the police. Being assaulted in the house, Aedion being shot and the wedding postponed. Her going undercover and almost getting killed again before the detectives shot Hamel. About Hamel being the cause of Sam and Thomas’ deaths.”

Rowan stood abruptly and started pacing in the living room. His expression difficult to read. Rowan paced a bit more and a few times it seemed like he wanted to say something but then stopped. There was rage in him.”A guy, a stranger was in our house and tried to kill you. Hamel’s men tried to kill Aedion and you, not happy of all this, just went and played cop and almost got killed again?” He was not raising his voice but Aelin knew, he was furious. He paced around the coffee table “Rutting hell, what the fuck were you thinking?”

Aelin was taken aback by the harshness of his words “why you didn’t tell me?” His tone angry. His hand nervously ran through his hair. For a brief second he even stopped his pacing but never looked at Aelin in the eyes.

“You were away. How could I?” She stood in front of him “if I had told you, you would have worried and not concentrated on your job and risked getting killed. And I could not have that. I…” she felt tears stinging her eyes “I can’t lose you.”

“What if I lost you?” He shouted back at her, giving his back to Aelin “I can’t lose you either. And I almost did. Twice.” He walked out on the balcony and Aelin let him go and went back to the bedroom and curled on the bed hugging bird Rowan. And cried.

Rowan leaned against the rail of the balcony and stared at the lights of the city slowly coming alive as darkness fell. He was furious, but not at her. He was mad at fate who gave him a woman to love once again and did its best to take her from him. In an instant all his fears, all his doubts and his reasons for not getting involved again had come back. He took his head in his hands and the weak part in him told him to bail. To ignore that just earlier they had taken an extra step in their relationship and just get out of there. Go back being alone and cold. It was far easier. 

Except it was not.

He turned to the house and looked at the bedroom. Aelin was curled in bed. He could not leave her. No matter the fears, he could not give up on her, not when she brought him happiness and gave him again the will to feel. He could not go back to a life of ice, pain and guilt. So he did the only thing he could do. He walked back to their bedroom.

She was all curled up and hugging the bird he gave her.

He climbed in bed with her and pulled her closer but Aelin turned and faced him, her eyes all puffy.

“I am sorry, I am a jerk.” he whispered, brushing her hair from her face and drying her tears with the back of his hand “I haven’t seen you in six months and all I can do is shout at you.” He kissed her once “I am not mad at you. Yes, you are reckless but I am more mad at what happened.” He hugged Aelin and drew her closer “I can’t stand the idea that you had to go through all this. And Sam…”

Aelin buried her face in his neck “I am better. Lys and the guys kept me from breaking down. Without them I don’t know…”

Rowan sighed “I should have been here. It looks like I haven’t learned from my past.” At the deep anguish in his voice, Aelin grabbed his face and kissed him deeply.

“You make me stupidly happy.” He told her, a hand brushing her head “and no matter how scared I am of your job or of what the future holds for us, I am not letting you go.” But she sensed unease in his voice.

She sniffled  “you are still a bit mad at me.”

Rowan shook his head “no, not at you. At a lot of things, yes. But not mad at you.” His forehead brushed hers “I was overwhelmed and I overreacted. I am glad you did not tell me.” His nose bumped hers “you are right I would have been worried sick and not being able to concentrate and in our line of jobs is a deadly thing.”

Aelin nodded and kissed him gently “thank you for coming back to me.” She whispered against his lips.

“I made you a promise.” His hand sneaked under her shirt, caressing the length of her back. Aelin rolled on her back and pulled her jersey off, remaining only in her shorts. Rowan’s gaze became lustful and she pulled him down to her for a heated kiss. Rowan reached for the back of his t-shirt and pulled it off and discarded it on the floor and then moved on top of her, caging her head between his arms. Aelin took in the expanse of his chest with her hands, then followed the lines of his tattoo with her fingers. 

“I missed this so much,” he whispered as his head ducked in the crook of her neck.

“Definitely better than on the phone,”Aelin joked pulling him down to her completely, skin touching. His mouth trailed south leaving scorching kisses on her collarbone and then down to her breasts. Aelin’s back arched on instinct and in response Rowan took one of her hard peaks in his mouth and Aelin moaned, fingers burying in his back and leaving gentle moon-shaped marks.

Aelin rocked her hips for friction and she felt Rowan grin “so impatient.”

“I need you…” she breathed “we can have all the foreplay in the second run, but not now…”

His mouth bit lightly on her neck then his hand slid down until it hit the band of her shorts and knickers “so I guess you don’t need these…” and in a swift motion she was bare in front of him.

“Well, if I am naked, so do you, captain.” Rowan smiled and peeled off his briefs. He leaned back down and her legs wrapped around him and she pulled him much closer until she felt him nudge her near where she desperately needed him.

“I love you,” he whispered and after months apart they met again.

*

Aelin was sitting against the head of the bed and Rowan’s head was in her lap while her fingers played gently with his hair “do you know how to ice skate?” She asked him.

“A bit, why?”

“They opened an ice rink down in the main square and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. It’s been a long time since I did it.” He turned on his back and looked up “I’d love to. Want to go tonight?”

Aelin nodded “can we have dinner out as well? Have a proper date?”

“Are you asking me out, captain?” Rowan smiled and stretched his arm to caress her cheek.

“Well, it’s my right as well to woo my boyfriend.”

Rowan smiled and sat back up and went to kiss her “I am yours.”

“What time does your shift starts tomorrow?”

“At ten and it’s my usual 24hrs shift.” She told him.

“We should not stay out too long. You came off another night shift this morning and never slept. I need to tuck you in in bed early.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rowan got off the bed and stood, holding out his hand to her “come on, miss firefighter, let’s get you ice skating.”

Aelin beamed in joy and got off the bed and went to put some clothes on. A polo shirt and her favourite TFD hoodie. Then she moved to the bird toy and got her dog tags from it.

“Make sure you have a nice layer on, it’s getting colder outside.” He pulled a scarf around her neck “forecast says it might snow.”

Aelin groaned “I love winter, but snow always causes so many accidents.” Then she realised what she said “I am sorry, I didn’t mean…”

He stooped to kiss her “it’s okay. I am fine.”

She smiled back at him, “let’s go skating, captain.”

Hand in hand they walked to the main square enjoying the chill air and the winter feeling.

“Look,” said Aelin once they reached the square  “They have street vendors.”

“I thought you wanted to go out for dinner.”

She turned around and walked backward facing him “but this is winter fair food. It’s so good.”

“Come,” Rowan grabbed her hand “I’ll buy you dinner.” They walked to one of the stall “what do you want?”

“A nice juicy burger.” She smelled the food around her “and a couple of skewers as well.”

Rowan bought the food for her and himself and they sat down on a bench munching away happily.

In front of her the ice rink was surrounded by people being happy and having fun. Then a little blonde girl with pig tails ran to her “hello, gorgeous.” Aelin picked up the girl “where are your parents?” The little girl pointed in a random place. Rowan ruffled her hair and the girl giggled happily.

Then all of a sudden “Lynne.” And a woman hurried towards them “momma.” The little girl screamed at recognising the woman. Aelin passed the child to her mother “thank you,” said the woman hugging her daughter.

“She was adorable,” said Aelin leaning her head against Rowan’s shoulder. He kissed her head “she really was.”

Rowan eventually stood and took Aelin’s hand “Ice skating?”

Aelin joined him and together they went to the rental place and got their skates and changed into them.

Aelin took tentative steps to the entrance of the rink while Rowan had his hand on her lower back.

While Rowan went for the cautionary approach and moved some baby steps on the ice, Aelin was being her usual carefree self and jumped straight in the fray “Come on, buzzard, it’s easy.”

By the time she completed a few laps around the rink, Rowan was still holding to the edge for dear life. She slid to him and took his hands “come with me.” She took his hands and placed them on her sides “easy… follow me.” Slowly he got more confident and they managed to skate hand in hand.

The hour on the the ice was up and they were sitting on a bench again when when Lys texted her that she and Aedion were meeting Elide and Lorcan and have dinner together and invited them as well.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to see Lorcan out of work.” But his smile turned wicked “Oh no, I need to see smitten Lorcan.”

Aelin leaned forward and kissed him “but no jokes in front of Elide.”

“Don’t worry I’ll just gather enough material to take the mickey out of him when we are alone.”

Gently she patted his arms “you really are evil.”

He nodded proudly “no news there. You should know by now.”

The other two couples arrived not long after and Rowan laughed at seeing Lorcan with his arm around Elide’s shoulders. The scene was almost ridiculous given how tall was the man compared to the woman.

“Aren’t they cute?” Whispered Aelin, grabbing his hand and walking toward the couple.

“Hi guys,” said a very happy Elide, waving her hand at Rowan and Aelin.

“Hi, darling.” Aelin hugged her friend and then looked up at the man at her side “evening, commodore.”

“I am just Lorcan tonight.”

Rowan snorted loudly “sure, Lor,”

“Lys and Aedion are on their way.” Added Aelin.

“Did you go ice skating?” Asked Rowan to his boss.

Elide laughed “I tried to convince him but he laughed at me.”

“Oh it would have been amazing to see the drunken giraffe.” commented Rowan with a wicked grin and Lorcan growled back at him “Whitethorn…”

“What’s the drunken giraffe?” Aelin smiled, ready for some snooping.

“Don’t you dare…”

And now the whole group was even more interested.

“So,” started Rowan with an evil grin “Lor was my captain and I was just a lieutenant. We had a team evening here in Orynth and it was winter. The ice skating rink was out. We had a few girls we wanted to impress, so we took them out.” He narrated, while Lorcan glared at him “Lorcan tried to skate but he is stupidly tall and well…” Rowan moved his arms with a jerky motion “it was hilarious.” He continued “his girl called him a drunken giraffe.”

Everyone burst out laughing and for a moment that story threw a funnier light on the man who seemed to be made of ice.

“Fine, fine Rowan you had your fun.”

Elide gave him a pat on his shoulder and in that instant Lysandra and Aedion joined them.

“We are here. Sorry we are late, parking was a pain.” 

Aelin jumped all excited “we can finally have dinner.”

“You haven’t stopped eating since we arrived.” And Rowan pulled Aelin to his chest and kissed her temple “I love my bottomless pit.”

“Ow, you two are so cute it’s disgusting.” Joked Lysandra wrapping her arm around Aedion’s midriff.

“Come on let’s go to dinner before Aelin turns hangry.” Elide took Lorcan’s hand and dragged him away and the rest followed. 

Once at the restaurants they got a table for six and sat down. Aelin grabbed the menu and started perusing “this place seems amazing.”

“I think we need a nice bottle of wine to celebrate that you two boys are finally back.” Suggested Elide who, all of a sudden, was confident and seemed to have lost all of her shyness.

The waiter came and took their order and as usual Aelin shocked the poor youngster with her gigantic order.

“Captain, are you sure you can afford feeding her?” Joked Aedion.

Rowan shrugged and smiled at Aelin “the bank doesn’t offer mortgages for feeding your girlfriend, apparently.”

The rest of the group laughed.

Then the wine arrived and they toasted and Aelin looked around at the table and smiled at the scene. Of being with her friends and Rowan. She placed her hand on his and gave him a big smile. She kept repeating to herself that he was back and he was real.

Lorcan took a sip of his wine “this feels nice,” and a weak smile painted his lips “after six months of bad food and no treats, this feels like bliss.”

“I didn’t pin you for a wine lover, commodore.” Said Aelin sipping her wine and agreeing with the man. It was a nice one he had got.

The man shrugged “we are posh boys, of course we like wine.” He gave her a half smile.

Aedion snorted “that’s all you can handle.”

“Ok,” almost shouted Lysandra “this is a dinner to have some fun together, not a pissing contest to see who is better between the army and the airforce. Now you three behave.” She pointed her finger at them and Aelin hid her smile behind her hand.

“So,” started Rowan trying to change the topic “any new plans for the wedding?”

Aedion nodded “we have a temporary date in January. We just need to find a venue and few other bits and bobs. And hope for no interruptions this time.”

“At least this time my girls will have their real partner at their side.” She looked at the two men “I am waiting for you two to melt when you see in their dress.

“Oh, believe me they did the first time around too.”

Rowan nodded remembering Aelin in her dress. Yeah the shower had been quite longer than his usual “Both Lorcan and I remember the dresses.” Admitted Rowan trying to sound as casual as possible.

Lorcan looked away almost embarrassed by the admission but Elide gently pinched his side “admit it, you loved it.”

“I did.” He said quietly.

“So captain,” began Lysandra while sipping more wine “are you going to teach our Aelin to cook?”

Rowan chuckled “I can try but I have a feeling it’s a suicide mission. As a soldier I can see when it’s time to push back and retreat.” He brushed his hand on her head softly “but it’s fine I love cooking.”

Aelin was about to reply but their food arrived and her focus disappeared on the plates placed in front of her.

“Sometimes I think she would find me more interesting if I dressed up as a giant hamburger.” She stuck out het tongue out at him and he flicked her nose. After six months away from her he was desperate for some contact. He would have loved to go home and partake in more interesting activities, but the idea of having dinner with the other two couples had been quite pleasant. And Aelin did not seem displeased by his extreme need for PDA.

“So, Lorcan, are you coming to the station one day to see Elide in action?” Suggested Aelin with a grin and Elide almost glared at her nervously.

The man lowered his fork and looked at her “I think I might.” Replied the man eagerly “I must admit, I am quite fascinated.”

“We can also give you a proper tour of the firehouse. The official one.”

“I think we can take them on the trucks, one each” suggested Aedion “I am happy to take the commodore. But you guys need to stay inside the truck.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Hey, I have seen you fly, it’s only fair.”

“You seen him fly?” Elide’s face turned to Lorcan “Can I see you fly?”

“I am sure the commodore and I can give you a lovely display of how I kick his arse.” And Rowan grinned wickedly at his boss.

“Please, please.” Singsonged Elide, taking his hand.

Lorcan nodded “let me know of a day off and we can get it organised.”

“Yes!” Shouted Elide all excited.

“Actually…”  continued Lorcan “we sometimes give tour of some ares of the base. I might be able to get permission to invite the whole station for a tour and with the excuse of a drill we can give you a show.” He explained “I think we owe it to the TFD for the help they gave us.”

Rowan stared at Lorcan in disbelief. He knew everyone joked but Elide really was doing the miracle on him. He had never seen his CO so relaxed and willing to offer a tour of the base. Usually he would  shove that kind of stuff to him. Rowan gave a big smile to Elide and a silent thank you. Lorcan actually seemed happy.

“I am sure the guys would love it.” Then Aelin turned to Aedion “are you willing to come for one day at posh house?”

“I guess I can do that.” And he smiled.

Lorcan nodded “Rowan, liaise with the captain and choose a suitable day.”

Rowan squeezed her hand under the table.

“Ok good, Rowan is coming to the station tomorrow morning. You can join us around nine.”

“Am I?” But Aelin looked at him puzzled.

“Yes, unless you have other plans.”

“Uhhm I was planning on going kitchen household shopping but I assume I can do grampa stuff another day.”

Aelin patted his head “good, grampa. Come and have some fun.”

Lorcan nodded “9 am sounds perfect. I must admit I am looking forward to this.”

“And coming from Lorcan this is the best compliment ever.” Joked Rowan.

“This is going to be much more fun than you guys running drills with us.” Explained Aedion who for once did not seem to have any problems with the airforce. 

The group finished their meal and Aelin was the only one who actually went for dessert and everyone took the mickey out of her.

“Of course she gets the cake.” Elide rolled her eyes “how is it that you are not the size of a zeppelin I do not know.”

“Uh, I love you too.” Added Aelin while munching her cake away.

After the meal the group said their goodbyes Aelin and Rowan walked home, taking a detour through the park, hand in hand.

“I had a lovely evening.” Said Rowan pulling their twinned hand to his mouth and depositing a gentle kiss.

“I can’t believe Lorcan. He is so different.”

“I will be forever grateful to Elide. He is like another man.” He explained “I have known Lorcan for a very long time and I have never seen him so happy.”

Aelin almost skipped happily “are you looking forward to tomorrow?”

“Very much. I really want to see you in action.” He gently pinched her butt and Aelin squealed “you and your sexy jacket.”

“It’s called turnout or bunker gear.” She said to him leaning forward for a kiss “not as hot as your jumpsuit…” She swayed her hips in front of him.

He took a couple of steps and folded his arms around her waist and turned her around “you look hot even covered in grime.”

Aelin chuckled “you never saw me coming out of a house collapse after slithering through the debris and come out with my clothes white, my hair grey ad my face verging on black.”

His hand caressed her sides “Imagine the long shower…” his lips brushing hers gently.

“We are in a park, captain.” Her arms sneaked around his neck.

“I am just reminiscing our first kiss.” And slowly pinned her to a tree.

Aelin leaned forward and kissed him first “I’d throw my shoes at you but they are trainers and would hurt. It’s a shame I don’t have my flats on.”

“My menace…” he whispered, their mouths sharing a breath. “I should take you home. You have work tomorrow.” And pulled back from her, grabbing then her hand and resuming walking.

“You fuss too much.”

Rowan rolled his eyes and smiled “let’s just say it’s in the job description for boyfriend.”

“What else does it entail?”

He took a long pause staring toward the pond “make you happy, mostly.”

Aelin stopped him and turned him to her “you do. Make me happy, I mean.” Rowan stooped and kissed her hard “home, now. It’s getting near your bed time.”

“Sexy bed time?”

“No, young lady, we are going home and tuck you in bed and no shenanigans allowed.”

“You are no fun,” she complained walking away from him pretending to be mad.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her back “You came off shift this morning and I got home this morning. We both need rest.”

Her smile turned wicked “I might go and find myself a younger model. I wonder if Fenrys is interested in a sexy firefighter.”

A second later Aelin found herself pinned again against a tree and his lips on hers, the kiss demanding and almost possessive.

When Rowan pulled back they were both breathless, his forehead leaned on hers “don’t even joke about it.”

“Jealous much?”

“You are my girl.” He whispered against her lips and the tone he used made her heart melt.

“Said that again.”

“You,” his lips travelled along her neck “are,” a gentle nip of his teeth “my girl.” And a searing kiss.

How was it possible that the man in front of her could stir such deep passion and desire in her? Something so strong she had never felt before with anyone. It felt like an all consuming fire. She just hoped it would stay like that forever. She felt his hand sneak under her hoodie and touch skin and groaned into the kiss “let’s go home, captain. We are in a park and both about to lose it.”

He nodded silently and started walking home as quick as they could.

As soon as they were through the door to the house, Rowan lifted her in his arms, kicked the door shut with his foot and walked to the bedroom.

“I thought you said no shenanigans.”

“Fuck it.” He let her slid down and a second later his hand had started peeling off her clothes and she did the same.

“Show me what you got.” A second later she was airborne in his arm and then in bed. His strong body hovering over her. His pine green eyes trained on her and she could see the desire in them.

When he kissed her again her toes curled and heat began pooling at her core.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips. It was all he needed and a moment later his name was on her lips begging him for more over and over again.

TAGS:

@rowaelinismyotp @swankii-art-teacher @courtofjurdan

@whimsicallyreading @tillyrubes10 @surielandiareendgame

@aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity @acreativelydifferentlove

@mis-lil-red @thegreyj​ 

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And with that, we’ve gotten through volume 6! Time for all the extra material.

First off, some bits from the fan translation for this volume:

Imagining an alternative universe where this volume is officially titled ‘to wriggle’ kills me. 

I can’t believe Aizawa really half-assed his hero name like that. /lh

Ah, puns, I love them. 

Onto the new material, including the end of chapter 53 page, since I didn’t feel like having it be separate this go around. 

Hori and his characters all in tears of joy over the anime deal going through. I’m still so happy for Hori that his comic has done so well, especially since early on a lot of his writing and pacing seemed to reflect his worries about his manga being canceled. It would explain why he had the tournament arc so early into the series, since for all he knew he might not get the time for it otherwise.

The art styles for all his assistants, as well as I suppose favorite characters? Or at least their latest doodles.

Spine and inner flaps. I do like the Katsuki doodles quite a bit, and while we saw the blurb about Stain before, it’s still neat to consider how he’s drawing from the English language for some of his characterization and narrative decisions. 

Next, the most interesting page of the bunch, more information on Yamikumo / early Deku!

From top to bottom, the text reads:

Part 3 Deku

At school, just because he lacked a “quirk,” he was treated as fragile (?) He wouldn’t be made fun of directly to his face, but it was more along the lines of people going “Wha, he was here? Wait, who was he again?” And to that, Deku’s all like “Just you watch!”

Pronoun of choice: “Boku” Slight freckles. Mumble mode.

“Nah, I’m the one with the most possibilities! If nothing else.” “I won’t lose to you!” “I’ve got confidence!” 

“Wait a sec… something’s weird… well, maybe…” “What is it?” “Poop’s leaking out.” “!!”

“Who, me~?”

Contents of his bag:

-Taser gun, (36,000 yen) (currently illegal in Japan, but after the massive exacerbation of super-human crime, they were made legal for those without powers to defend themselves.)

-auto-winding reel (modified)

-blanket, bandages, disinfectant spray

-“jump runners” He can jump big bounds when attached to his feet.

He can’t knock the enemy flat with a single hit, but fights back through a rush attack shower of blows. 

If, for example, there’s somebody who can shoot fire, he’s the type to raise his profile by, say, using friction to make his own fire and even their footing.

Speaking honestly, at the start, Deku was to fight while remaining quirkless. And All Might’s role was just going to be as the big shot who would encourage him. My editor at the time told me “I’d like it if you could let the protagonist get a special power after all,” and I took his advice. And so One For All was born, as well as All Might’s much deeper bond with him, and various other aspects of the series.

So yeah, definitely the midpoint between the more surly Mikumo and the modern iteration of Izuku. Still has a lot of that confidence, still doesn’t have a quirk, but seems to be more upbeat and friendly. I feel like this is the version of Izuku that a lot of people writing Vigilante Izuku fics draw on. I doubt that that is actually international in most cases, but it’s still an interesting tidbit from Hori himself. 

Next is the ‘next time’ page, featuring Shouto:

Small woodland creature? Is that how we’re describing Nedzu now? Interesting.

Finally, we have the back corner, featuring Gran Torino.

Nothing exciting, just some taiyaki… and some interesting decor color decisions. 

With all that done, next time we’ll be getting into volume seven and working towards the climax of the Stain vs UA students fight. See y’all then.

[roswellnmsource]

Michael Trevino Talks The Valenti Legacy & Roswell, New Mexico's Exciting Season 3

So, I'm just jumping right in here. Kyle has had a lot going on in season three, to put it mildly. How would you describe his journey so far this season?

Well, as I'm sure you know, Kyle is continuing to put out fires. He's there for as many people as he can be, but he's definitely called upon. And whenever he's needed, I feel like he shows up, but in episode 3x09, that's going to air next week, I think we kind of see things. He's reached his limit. And you sense his frustration. And I feel that it's warranted even though it comes in a bit hot, but we're in season three, and his life has taken a turn. And he's finding out more and more about his own family history, and I think it's just been a bit frustrating for him.

Sure. And while Kyle was recovering, the audience got the big bomb dropped on us that Ramos is Kyle's uncle. And that adds another layer to the Valenti history and legacy. So can you kind of speak to where Kyle currently is in regards to his feelings about his father and his feelings about the legacy of his family?

Well, I think what the writers have done is really, from season one to season three, has painted a picture of who Kyle's father was. Who is Jim Valenti? And at first, we thought he's this great guy that Kyle had looked up to and always wanted to make proud. And maybe that is the driving force in everything and anything that Kyle does. Well, now we're finding out a bit more about who Jim really was. We've been on this journey of season two with Jesse Manes, that whole interaction. And now we're finding out a bit more in season three. And that really flips Kyle's world upside down. I don't see how it couldn't. So he becomes this angsty, frustrated individual because you're thinking you know somebody, and you're finding out all these different things about him or her. And so with Eduardo, I feel that it's like, "What else? What else am I missing?" What else can be thrown his way? Because now we find out that, yeah, Eduardo, "Oh, you're my uncle. Interesting. Why hasn't anybody ever told me that before? Where have you been? Can you help me understand what is going on?" And when you think about that, Kyle probably thinks, "Well, who am I really? What is this really about?" So I don't know if he's, maybe, in the middle of wondering or questioning his own identity of what is this Valenti code? Has that been a lie? Because that's something that he's lived by, so that's where we're at.

Will we get to find out more about what happened the night that Kyle was attacked?

No, not really. I'm trying to think fast here of exactly, no, I mean, when we started episode 309, we find out, has he been in a coma? Was he injected with something? Was he knocked out? So, it was briefly explained, but I think, more so, we get into Eduardo and Kyle. Who are they to one another? And that is a jumping-off point for Kyle.

You touched on this a little bit earlier, but Kyle is not only the doctor that everyone needs, but he's also a confidant as well. Can you speak to Kyle's role, how you see Kyle's role within his group of friends?

Yeah. I think Kyle is somebody that you can depend on. He's somebody who has everybody's best interest at heart. If you call upon him, he's going to be there for you. And I think that what I've enjoyed about being on the show is how Kyle is interwoven between all the storylines, everything that's happening. He is a part of that, in some capacity. So that's been fun to play just as an actor with everybody on our cast, but that's just going to continue. And I feel like it's just going to get heavier. Just a heavier burden on Kyle, on what else needs to be done, how he can help, what is asked of him, needed of him to finish off the season.

And that also kind of flows into my next question, which is that Kyle is a character that has deeply personal relationships with pretty much all of the core characters, but is there a certain dynamic that you wish could be explored a bit more on the show? Like this season, we've got you with Michael some more and some more with you and Rosa, is there any particular dynamic you'd like to see explored more?

Great question. A hundred percent. Kyle and Isobel. I want to see it. I want them to...what is their dynamic? Cause I think the energy that Lily brings to Isobel is so... it's not infectious, but it's... it is infectious, but it's also, she just has so much energy. She's a ball of energy, and I want to see...and she's powerful. She's just fierce. And so, I'd like to see more Isobel and Kyle scenes. What is their friendship relationship to one another? And I'd like to explore that.

Yeah, that'd be great. Cause I also think with Kyle, every person he gets to interact with brings out a different side to him, which is really nice to see as well.

Yes, very much so. I'm glad you noticed that because it's true. It's true. And that's why I picked Isobel because I think that out of everybody, you see the most, you see such a different side of Kyle whenever he's interacting with Isobel. For whatever reason, I feel like it's always there compared to any other character. And so, I'd want to explore that more.

Yeah, I'd like that too. So last season, we saw Kyle in a relationship with Steph, but this season we haven't seen him pursuing anyone romantically. Will that be something that changes as the season progresses, or will his focus kind of lay elsewhere?

No, I think the focus at this point is not only is he going to be more involved with Deep Sky and Eduardo. But everybody, in some way, is going to have to deal with Jones. And that's gotta be priority number one. So, I don't see any time for any romance.

Earlier in the season, Kyle was presented with an opportunity to potentially leave Roswell for new opportunities. If that were to ever happen, which I hope it never does, where do you think Kyle would end up?

Ooh! That's fun. I think Kyle would go to New York. I think he'd go to the East Coast. I think he'd want to be in the big city. He'd want to be in Manhattan and just have that energy. Because we all love Roswell, but it is a bit of small-town living. And so, I think I would see him pursuing more in the medical field in the big city.

This season feels like a bit of a rebirth in some ways. And it's been a lot of fun for the audience. So, is there anything about season three that you particularly enjoy? Not just for Kyle, but the show as a whole?

Ooh. Listen, where we're at now in the season is Jones. Jones is our "big bad," if you will. And what's fun is, one to see Nathan Dean play two characters, right? And trying to see him add different layers to both of them. So that's been fun. I know last season he was working his ass off, and I think it shows. But to do that, to play two characters, is a lot. I really enjoyed him tackling that, but all of us have that in common, right? It's like, okay, we have to all come together, join forces almost like it's The Avengers or something to take care of Jones. This is our big bad. This is priority number one, and this is what we have to take care of. And I know in the later episodes, it's everybody joining forces. I mean, it's exactly what you would think of all of us in one scene, coming together, being like, "Okay, we got to get rid of this guy. How do we do this?" And everybody has their job.

I know you are shooting season four now. What is it like being back in Santa Fe and stepping back into the role, and how much do you enjoy filming in Santa Fe and everything that kind of goes with it?

Well, I noticed, we shot season three a little later in the year, and so it was the dead of winter; it was freezing. I think you can see that in the episodes that are currently airing. We may seem like we're not cold, but we are freezing, freezing. I liked that we started a bit earlier for season four. So right now, the cold hasn't set in yet. We're shooting very beautiful exterior shots, and it's been nice. It's been nice. The show is still going. I do want to thank all the fans that continue to watch week to week and are still invested in the story that we're telling and the characters that we're playing because we're getting into that rare territory. It's season four, and we're all still happy to be here. We're all still working. I've been on series' that last a long time. And sometimes the dynamics can shift, right? But I can honestly say that I think everybody on this series is happy to be here and happy to work and grateful for that. And so, it is a nice feeling. We're plugging away right now. It's season four; things are going really well. I really like these episodes. And it's a different energy because we're working, but then we're also able to get instant feedback on which episodes are airing currently. That's a really nice feeling, but me, I enjoy Santa Fe. It's a beautiful part of New Mexico. And we're all great right now until maybe in about a month and a half until it gets freezing again. But right now, we're good.

Yeah, and congratulations to you because, like you alluded to, getting four seasons nowadays is no easy thing to do. So, you guys should be very proud of that.

And trust me, I'm reminding our cast every chance I get. I'm like, "Hey, this is a good thing here." I think people are still engaged in what we're doing. People are still tuning in. And so as long as that's happening and we're doing our jobs, everything should be fine.

This is just a little bit of a fun question. If you could think of a Vampire Diaries character that you would like to see swoop into Roswell for a bit, who do you think that would be?

Oh, damn. That's a great question. I'd love to have more time to think on this, but off the top of my head right away, gut reaction because I'm envisioning my buddy, Zach Roerig, in a Sheriff's uniform. And I'm envisioning Max in a Sheriff's uniform. And I don't know why I want them to... maybe they don't get along. Maybe there's a new sheriff in town. I don't know what. I don't know what, but it would be very awesome to see Zach Roerig play Matt Donovan in Roswell, New Mexico. But him be that character. Have him be Matt Donovan and just kind of react to what's going on here. And if it's the same character, you'd think he'd be like, "Okay, first I was dealing with witches, werewolves, and vampires. I'm coming to this town. You're telling me there's aliens here." Let's make this a comedy. I want to see that play out. That would be hilarious.

Yes, it really would be. Last question for me, with this season winding down, is there anything you can tease for us about where Kyle's story goes from here?

I think what we're going to see him and Eduardo be allies to one another, and Kyle's involvement in Deep Sky is going to be greater, and everybody has to come together for this guy, Jones. It's all hands on deck. Cause Jones is very powerful, manipulative, and we have to get him out of here.

[melismaticmadness]

INTERVIEW

Request: “Something in the lines of reader playing reggies gf on the shows s2 and she becomes bffs with charlie but people keep shipping them. Something in like interview style or so....”

Description: FLUFF

1811 Words

Warnings: one curse word!

Charlie x Reader, Featuring Jeremy

Hope you like it!!

Press was always an exciting time as an actor, but even more so with this cast because of what happened before press events for season one. Their virtual press was great, but you can tell how excited they all were to experience it together this time around. Julie and the Phantoms was the best job I had gotten since moving out to LA. Honestly, it could be my big break. I was playing opposite Jeremy as his love interest, but our off-screen relationship was strictly platonic. Obviously, he and Carolynn are married and she is the sweetest. Jeremy is more of a mentor to me.

I sat in between Charlie and Jeremy for our first interview of the day when a production assistant came in and prepped us for the topics for this interview. Each interview has a slightly different focus, so it’s helpful that we know before we get started. The soft-spoken man raddled off some talking points: Charlie’s sleeves, Jeremy’s new character arc, my relationships/experience joining the cast, and then all of us would have time to add in stories of our choice if there was time. Easy. This cast makes it really easy to connect and bond. They are a family and I am so lucky to be a member of it now.

What I didn’t expect was to get so close to Charlie during rehearsals and filming in Vancouver. The two of us were instantly inseparable. He came to watch my film on set, I came to watch him. We rehearsed our lines together almost every night after long days, and Owen even considered me his other roommate because of all the nights I was asleep on their couch. Hanging out with Charlie felt like we had known each other our entire lives, but it had only been about a year.

Interviewer: “So, y/n, you seem really well connected to this cast, even though you’re sort of the new kid in the group. Would you mind telling me how you felt about joining this project?”

Y/N: “Oh I definitely felt welcomed right into the group. I remember my first night in Vancouver, Charlie came to check out my apartment, Owen came too, and I remember Charlie and I trying to prank Owen when he fell asleep on the couch but it was an epic fail. We had water and shaving cream all over the floor and ourselves, oh my god it was a mess, but that’s kinda the proof of how fast I became part of the group. Night one and they were already including me in their fun. The same goes with the girls, Jadah, Madi, Sav, Tori- we immediately were meeting for breakfast before filming together and having movie nights. It was the best welcome I could have imagined, knowing how close they all were from last season.”

Interviewer: “Jeremy, what was it like having this new energy come in, especially to shake things up for your character Reggie, who really was much of the comedic relief last season, but now has this mutually flirty relationship with y/n’s character?”

Jeremy: “Well, it was great having y/n come in and it allowed us all to explore Reggie outside of his quirky one-liners. It’s not that hard acting opposite, y/n, the talent they bring in was insane and we got along really well so it made it a lot of fun exploring Reggie as somewhat of a ‘ladies man’.”

Interviewer: “Yes it was fun getting to see more of who Reggie is, or was? Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen season one, Reggie is dead. All the boys are dead. Anyway, speaking of seeing more of something- Charlie, I noticed the sleeves on all your shirts this season were barely there. Is this a Charlie characteristic that just carried over to show off or was this specifically written for Luke?”

Charlie: “Oh gosh, haha. I think it’s a little bit of both. I definitely bring a lot of myself to Luke, but even in season one, Soyon, our amazing costume and wardrobe supervisor, was cutting the sleeves off Luke’s shirts. I think it played into his 1995 bad boy persona, and now it’s just him.”

Y/N: “and you just like showing off...hahaha!”

Charlie: “If you got it, flaunt it!” With that, all three of us and the interviewer were cracking up laughing and Charlie was flexing which kept us going a minute longer.

Interviewer: “AH,” they sighed, “Y/N, the internet is freaking out about you, truly, because of some photos of you with Mr. Gillespie over here. Let me read some things for you - ‘my heart is broken because I can’t have Charlie, but at least y/n can. I ship it,’ under an Instagram photo of you two the caption reads ‘ship it so hard it’s like the Titanic,’ which is my favorite. It’s too funny. So my question is, what is going on here? Is there a secret showmance that you’re hiding behind Reggie?”

Charlie and I are now laughing hysterically again. I don’t think the interviewer realizes how nervous our laughing sounds compared to before, but hopefully, it’s not noticeable to fans or the rest of the cast. I wasn’t expecting to get questions about Charlie and my relationship when I was supposed to be talking about my character, the whole experience, and all my scenes with Jeremy.

Y/N: “Oh no, no, no. We are friends! Nothing is going on,” I looked over at Charlie who had his eyes locked on me most admiringly. He was going to let me handle this however I wanted. “Charlie and I just happened to click right away during rehearsals and now I feel like he’s the older brother I never had!”

Charlie looked a little hurt at that ‘brother’ comment, but he jumped in to echo what I had said.

Charlie: “Ya know, the fans are so great. They love to keep up with our lives and find little hidden clues in the show about the backstory, and I think that’s just what happened with our friendship. We’re best friends, we have so many inside jokes, we hang out a LOT. But, Nah, nothing is going on here. It’s cute though that they ship us! Look out, Jere! I’m stealing your girl!.”

Interviewer: “You heard it here first everyone, Mr. Gillespie isn’t off the market! Thank you all for your time today. Everyone make sure to check out season two of Julie and the Phantoms, now on Netflix!”

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

After a long first day of press, I was finally walking back into my hotel room in New York when my phone went off.

I tossed my stuff on the couch and plopped down to see what I had missed all day. Charlie had just texted me asking to meet him on the roof.

“The roof?!” I grunted, “How did he even get on the roof?” Back out the door, I followed signs to the roof. Swinging the door open once I got up there, my breath was taken away. New York City right at dusk, with the cool breeze hitting me, was so beautiful.

“Gillespie, are we allowed to be up here?”

“Kenny said we’re less likely to be followed or have our picture taken together if we were up here and came up separately. So, if we get in trouble, it’s on Kenny...”

“The view is amazing. Not surprised Kenny knew about it.” I said as I went to look out over the glass barrier at the edge of the building. We looked out in silence for a minute or so when I heard Charlie exhale.

“Y/n, what was that today?” he said running his hands through his hair.

“What was what today?”

“That whole ‘Charlie is my brother’ thing,” he made his voice go up in pitch to mimic my voice when he said it and I could tell it was bugging him, but I didn’t know why.

“I was caught off guard...I mean we’re friends.. but I figured no one would believe that if I didn’t squash the rumors right there. Sorry if it was like, emasculating, or made it seem like you don’t have any game, lol.” I playfully hip bumped him to get him to laugh a little and it worked but there was still something on his mind.

“Char, is your manager upset with what I said? I can fix it tomorrow, I’ll figure something out-” I said tilting my head in front of his so he was looking at me instead of the view.

“No, y/n, no, it’s okay..” he hesitated, “but is that really what’s going on?”

It felt like the wind was knocked out of me at that moment and all I could do was slide my back down the glass and sit on the roof. My head was in my hands and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing next.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry if I caught you off guard,” Charlie said squatting down to my level. “I just thought..maybe you felt something, anything, telling you this was more than a friend to friend relationship..” Now he was rubbing my back. Damn, this boy is my best friend.

“Charlie, I- I don’t want to lose my job. I love working with you and with everyone,” I took a deep breath, “but I can’t say I never thought about it. I have definitely thought about it.”

“Okay, so what are you thinking in that head of yours?”

“I’m thinking that I care about you and that I have for a while but didn’t want to admit it to myself until now,” looking up at Charlie I could tell he was fighting to hold back a smile.

“Kenny, won’t fire you. I talked to him in LA before we went up to Vancouver because I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me because of how I felt.”

“You told him in LA?! He’s probably been watching us and laughing at us for MONTHS. Oh my god.”

“No, it’s cool. He just warned me to make sure I wanted to be more than friends because he didn’t want to lose you.”

“Wow. Okay.” The weight I didn’t even know I was holding, had been lifted off my shoulders. “The fans really do know us better than we know ourselves.”

We both laughed and Charlie finally settled down right next to me.

“Look, I’m not saying we rush into anything. I knew I had to say something before the opportunity was gone. Now that the show’s out, you’re going to have guys banging down your door for a date.”

“I guess it’s a good thing the only guy I am looking for is you then, hmm?”

“Thank god for that interview…” Charlie said under his breath.

[charlieswanwhore]

Realization (George Weasley x reader)

hi! this is my first imagine here on tumblr! i am gonna try to write more but here is this one for fun, sorry if its not great!

masterlist

It was fourth year when George realized he liked you. He found you in an empty corridor during dinner, everyone had been in the Great Hall except for you. He had gone to go search for you since you had not arrived at your usual spot right next to him. Hearing your faint cries is what brought him to you. He saw you sitting in the window sill with your head in your knees as you were curled up in a ball.

“Y/N?” your head popped up hearing the voice. “Are you alright?”

Before you turned around you made sure to wipe your eyes, take a deep breath, and put on a fake smile. When you turned around to meet George’s eyes though, you could tell you hadn’t fooled him. “Go eat, George. You don’t need to worry,” you tried to reassure him, not wanting your best friend to see you cry.

“No, no, no. I’ll stay. Obviously you’re upset, I don’t want you to be upset,” he said as he took a seat next to you. “So, tell me. What’s got you down?”

You stared at the floor for a bit before confiding in George. With a soft but raspy voice you speak up, “Adrian broke up with me, actually.” Embarrassment caused your cheeks to have a rosy tint and to keep your eye contact with a single tile on the floor.

“You’re kidding! Pucey is a git, always has been, you know that?” He nudged you in the ribs as he said that, trying to get a laugh out of your sad demanour.

You did giggle though, a weak smile found its way to your face. “I do now. Perhaps I should have listened to you and Fred complain about him more,” you broke into another giggle before apologizing, “sorry, Georgie.” It was your turn to nudge him in the ribs. He looked up and straight into your eyes. Seeing your Y/E/C eyes red, puffy, and wet made his heart sink.

“Honestly Y/N, you need to start listening to me, after all I am the smart twin,” His big headed comment cause you two to laugh for a few seconds, it eventually faded into a comfortable silence. Your head falling onto his shoulder startled him before he could relax. He’s never really been this close with a girl before, even you. It was new, but it was nice. He hesitated for a bit before he leaned his head onto yours.

The comfortable silence continued on, your sniffles breaking it as your mind wandered back into the break with your first boyfriend once again. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t cry,” he awkwardly put his arm around your shoulder and patted your back to comfort you.

“Merlin, I’m sorry. He was my first boyfriend and even though it didn’t last for too long, this really stinks.” George nodded as he listened to your rant, just wanting you to feel better.

He felt your breathing begin to calm down, as that happened George’s mind began to wander. He was thinking of what he would do better. He wouldn’t ditch you for his friends as much as Pucey did, he wouldn’t flaunt himself to his qudditch teams fan girls like Pucey did, he wouldn’t let his friends mock you like Pucey did, and most importantly, he would never hurt you, ever. He would never break up with you, if you were his. George’s eyes widened as he made the realization. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he remembered he’s holding his best friend in his arms, he was thinking about her in a different way before. He had feelings for you.

His concern was interrupted when you stood up and offered your hand, “let’s go eat, I am sure Fred and Lee are wondering where we are.” He took your soft hand nervously. Walking down the corridors with you by his side made him realize that Fred is going to know because, honestly, Fred always knows.

It was during the Qudditch World Cup when you realized you had fancied George. Going to the Qudditch World Cup seemed like the best way to celebrate the end of the O.W.L. exams for you George, and Fred, even if some didn’t do as well as others. You hadn’t been too big on qudditch, you knew a bit only because your best friends were beaters for the Gryffindor team, but nothing outside of Hogwarts really sparked your interest. The entire Weasley family were appalled when they found out you weren’t very aware of any of the Qudditch teams that weren’t the four at school, especially when you had only heard of the Irish teamplaying, but only because the twins had wrapped you up head to toe in white and green to cheer on the team. So when it came down to the actual Ireland vs Bulgaria game, you had gotten a very extensive run down from George and Fred both. You cheered when they did, loving how intense they were getting. You saw just how passionate they became as the game was getting tough, it was a mixture of yelling out of anger, jumping from excitement, and a few tears of frustration.

Ron leaned in next to you and whispered, “you should cheer for Bulgaria next time they score, see how they react,” you smirked at the younger Weasley boy and nodded, his face complete with a devilish grin before turning his attention back to Victor Krum, who he so adored, apparently. After waiting for Ron’s cue, you and Ron went wild with cheering for the Bulgarian team, making Fred and George’s heads turn rapidly, fire in their eyes.

“Y/N! You traitor!” Fred yelled as you began to laugh hard with Ron. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the game. You weren’t off the hook with George, though.

George furrowed his eyebrows and made himself look shocked as well as disappointed, joking of course. He grabbed your shoulders and shook you a bit, “How could you?! Y/N, I don’t even know if I can even look at you anymore,” he said before turning away. This made you want to beg for his forgiveness, even if he wasn’t truly angry. You teased him in many different ways to get his attention, the only thing really grabbing his attention being when you jumped on his back and tried to hug him while begging for forgiveness. He played along in a flirting manner, making you blush more than ever. Eventually he put you down. After he put you down, he turned to look at you and said as if he was an upset parent, “Trying to get my forgiveness, eh? Not so easy, is it?” he tilts his head and stifles a laugh when you nod. “Well, I suppose I could make an exception for you, since you’re so cute,” he smiled at you in a way that was sweet and adoring, he then poked your nose before turning his attention back to the game as Ireland had gotten another point.

You stood there, red faced and shocked. Cute? Did George Weasley just call you cute? No, he didn’t mean it that way, right? George Weasley doesn’t call anyone cute. You stared back at the field trying to get your mind off of the words the boy next to you had just spoken, but the grass was all you could stare at as all things George Weasley ruffled through your brain. Why did him spinning you around on his back give you butterflies? Why did your cheeks burn that hot when he looked down at you trying to look angry? Why did him calling you cute make you swoon?

“Alright there, love? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost,” George leaned into your prepheral vision. Love. Is he trying to mess with you? Can he read minds?

“Never better! Just thinking, I guess,” you smiled back at him.

“What about? There’s a bloody brilliant game going on! What’s more exciting?” he nudged your ribs as he does all the time.

You, you wanted to say. All you did was shrug and tell him, “Thinking about how I would beat your ass in a game of Qudditch,” you smirked up at him, trying to avoid the truth.

“Oh, really? Someone with no broom experience past basic lessons versus a star beater? I’d love to see it,” he shakes his head then wraps his arm around your shoulders pulling you closer before pointing out things happening on the field.

As much as you’d love to listen to your best friend ramble about something he’s so excited about, something else flooded your mind and wouldn’t leave. The arm around your shoulders that made you feel warm solidified your thoughts, you liked George Weasley.

It wasn’t until later that year that these feelings would connect like a puzzle piece. Since the summer, yearning gazes and blushed cheeks were a common thing between you and George. Even though you both felt the same way, nothing had progressed since the night you realized your feelings for the red headed boy. You wanted more than anything to tell him how you feel but there was a dark cloud overshadowing that idea, the cloud being the possibility of rejection. You felt that if he liked you, you would have known by now, especially with his blabber mouth of a twin constantly spilling his secrets. Swallowing these feelings was hard, especially as the Yule Ball was coming up. You wanted desperately for him to ask you. You were sure he would moments after Fred asked Angelina, but he never did.

“Are you excited for the Yule Ball, Y/N?” George asked, trying to pry out of her that she is in need of a date, maybe asking him. Unfortunately for George, that wasn’t what happened.

“Actually I am! I was actually asked just this morning just after Potions!” you beamed, but also wanting to see how he reacted.

George was shocked, not because he didn’t think you were capable of getting a date, but he kind of assumed you were going in a group with him, Lee, Angelina, and Fred. “Who on Earth asked you?” his tone was quite rude to your ear. His tone truly offended you, despite that you wanted him to be angry.

“Timothy,” you bit, “he’s on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, he’s very sweet and actually seems very interested in me. Why are you so surprised anyway? Do you really think I wouldn’t be able to get a date?”

“No… it’s not tha-“ George started but the first word was enough to set you off.

“I know, what a weird thing for someone to take interest in me, right?” you said before turning into the other direction. George didn’t know what to say, he just watched you stomp in the opposite direction of your next class.

He knew he had messed up. He knew he broke his own promise to never hurt you from two years ago.

—

He watched you walk down the stairs arm in arm with the Timothy you had mentioned. George made a note to be a little less kind on the pitch next time Gryffindor played Ravenclaw. You looked beautiful, you were draped in a long lavender dress with many layers to it, it is something that he never thought you would have picked out, but he loved it anyway, you looked gorgeous.

Throughout the night, he would see you dancing and laughing, his heart felt a pinch as he became more and more jealous of this Timothy boy. His gaze rarely left you while he sat with Lee. His gaze became more intense as you left the circle of dancing people with Timothy, who seemed to have pulled you aside to talk. George watched your smile fade, the light leave your eyes, and your posture go down as Timothy kept speaking. Timothy had returned to the crowd and left you on the side looking upset. It wasn’t until you jogged past the door near to George that George got up to see what was wrong.

George had a feeling of deja vu as he tried to find you in the corridors, only to hear a light whimper coming from an abandoned area. “Y/N?” again, you sniffled, wiped your tears and turned to him, just as you had done when Adrian Pucey broke your heart.

“What do you want, George?” you were angry at both boys right now, but honestly, your anger with George faded.

“I saw that you were upset, I wanted to see what was going on,” he sat down next to you, leaving a little space, being aware that you weren’t exactly on amazing terms right now.

“Do you actually care or are you here to gloat because my date didn’t turn out the way I wanted?” you snapped.

“Y/N, I truly care, I hate seeing you upset. As for the other thing, I didn’t mean it in that way, please believe me, I just didn’t expect you to get a date, I thought we… erm… as a group were going!” George stuttered.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were being a git about someone being actually interested in me, I wasn’t fair to you,” you put your head on his shoulder, the situation feeling familiar.

“It’s alright. Now, why don’t you tell me what happened?” George wrapped his arm around you, only this time it landed on your hips. This caused you to blush, it was different, but nice.

“Timothy only asked me to the ball to make his ex-girlfriend jealous, I guess it worked, he totally blew me off,” you laughed at the dumb situation.

“What an absolute git, you do not deserve to have your Yule Ball ruined by some boy,” he sounded sincere.

“Maybe I should swear off Quidditch players, this is the fourth one to dump me in a bad way,” you joked not even think about how the boy you like it a literal Quidditch player.

“Well, as a Quidditch player, I know I wouldn’t dump you or break you heart, ever,” his eyes widened after saying that. The cat was out of the bag with that one. He was scared for your reaction.

“Thank you, George,” you looked up at him and smiled, wiping your eyes again, careful not to mess up your makeup. You were sure he was just being friendly, he was being George.

“No, I mean it. I wanted to give you the best time at Yule Ball, I would never break you heart either,” his hands were now on your cheek. “I know I haven’t been the best at showing it recently, but I really care for you Y/N, a lot.”

“I care about you too, George. A lot,” you smiled back at him.

George broke away from you before standing up ajd offering you a hand, “may I have this dance, Y/N?” he asked in a dramatic gesture, making you giggle. You took his hand. You could faintly hearing a slower song playing from the ball. He took your right hand and put his other hand on your waist before you put your other hand on his shoulder. The combination of the faint music and starry night showing through the corridor windows made for a dream setting as they slowly danced, your head laying on George’s chest.

This went on for a few slower songs, during the third song, you removed your head from George’s chest before looking up at him, you softly smiled, looking straight into his eyes that had shifted from being closed to your eyes. The minute that you stared into his eyes felt like hours, you could honestly stare into his eyes for hours. After a bit, your eyes slowly dropped down to his lips, moving back and forth between them and his eyes before you slowly moved up to kiss his lips.

His chapped lips were warm against yours. They moved together in a slow, sweet motion, moving with the song playing in the background. It was at the end of the song when you two pulled apart and blushed. Your head went back to his chest, your grip on his hand tightened, cueing him to pull you closer to him.

It was a silent moment before an upbeat song began playing and a loud cheer from the young wizards boomed. Breaking apart from the dancing position, you both chuckled, not quite sure what to say to each other after the kiss. George cleared his throat before speaking again, “since I couldn’t take you to the full Yule Ball as a date, would you fancy going on one with me tomorrow?” He licked his lips as he nervously awaited your

“Only if you and I go dance for the rest of the night, help make up for missed time,” you looked at him with a flirty smile and eyes to match.

“That can be arranged,” he grinned before taking your hand and running towards the crowd once again. Suddenly you stopped in your tracks, almost stumbling over your dress and George his dress robes. George looked at you confused before you pulled on his hand to bring him close so you can kiss him again. It was quicker than the first kiss but was more cheeky. After you pulled apart, you noticed his dumbstruck facial expression that made your heart flutter. You then began running again with his hand still in yours, George being shocked at the sudden pull to the dance floor.

[bibbawrites]

Beach Baby - Single Dad!Charlie x Owen

THIS IS PART 4 OF THE SINGLE DAD!CHARLIE SERIES YOU CAN READ PART 1 HERE , THE PREQUEL (PART 2) HERE AND PART 3 HERE 

Request: none

Word Count: 3907 words 😳

Summary: Part 4 of Single Dad!Charlie, Margaux and Charlie reunite with Owen in Hawaii after months apart due to lockdown, just in time for Margaux’s fourth birthday 

Warnings: technically underage drinking, i guess technically i have to warn that this is implied mutual crushing between owen and charlie, if you dont feel comfortable with romantic chowen do not read 

A/N: i couldn’t get this out of my head so i had to write it, and boy did i write it this is the longest non-chaptered fic ive ever written and honestly i could have made it longer but i didnt want it to drag on any more that it already did this is literally more than double the length of my normal fics, i got very carried away

also just a note that i’m not trying to be rude about the fans who met the boys at the airport and i��m sure in real life the boys were happy to stop and chat, but from a parents perspective charlie’s first instinct would be to protect his daughter so i just thought i’d add that. please don’t get upset for that part!

sorry for any mistakes, its 4am and im half asleep trying to read through this to post lol anyways, hope you enjoy! 

Tag List: @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ @littlemissaddict​ @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ @headheartbellarke​ @lovesanimals​ @bartok-the-magnificent​ @juliefromaustralia @multi-universe21 @rangerelik @kaitieskidmore1 @katrina765​ @fandomxreaders​​ @ifilwtmfc

“Papa!” Margaux screamed, racing across the airport to Owen, the blond boy scooping up the nearly four year old and spinning her around when she reached him. 

“Maggie! I’ve missed you so much.” Owen exclaimed, pulling his mask down to pepper her cheeks with kisses, causing Margaux to giggle loudly. “Where’s your Daddy?” 

“Right behind you.” Owen spun around to find Charlie standing there, clearly smiling at him despite the bandana that covered his mouth, and Owen’s heart skipped a beat at how good Charlie looked in the early morning sun streaming through the airport windows. 

Meanwhile Charlie was thinking the exact same thing, admiring how attractive Owen was, especially when he was in his dad mode. He really understood why girls had such a weakness for cute boys with cute kids when he saw Owen with Margaux. 

Charlie stepped forward, pulling Owen into a tight hug and Margaux whined in complaint at being squished between her dad and her self declared papa. They pulled away from each other, both boys fighting to hide their slightly flushed cheeks. 

“I’m hungry.” Margaux whined, and Charlie was snapped out of his heart eyes daze, his whole focus back on his daughter. 

“Let’s get some food into you before our plane leaves then eh.” He replied, and Margaux nodded happily. 

Feeling bold Owen grabbed onto Charlie’s hand, lacing their fingers together. It wasn’t unusual for them to do this but it was the first time doing it when they were well known enough that someone might recognise them. But neither of them really cared. They were just happy to be back together again. 

- 

The minute they arrived in Hawaii they were met with fans. As much as he loved meeting the fans Charlie couldn’t help but sigh slightly as he tried to protect Margaux as much as he could.

It wasn’t that the fans didn’t know about Margaux, because it was a well known fact that he was a single dad, it was more that he wanted to keep her away from the spotlight. She hadn’t asked for her dad to become a well known actor, and she didn’t deserve to have her life changed because of it. He was determined to give her the most normal life possible. 

Eventually they made it to the villa house that they were staying in while in Hawaii, and after throwing their bags into their rooms it was time to have a bit of fun. 

“Swim time swim time!” Margaux sung, running laps around the living room. Kenny chuckled at the small girl, looking up at Charlie who was following closely behind her. 

“It seems like only yesterday she was a tiny two year old who cried every time you left her side.” He said, and Charlie smiled fondly, sitting down on the chair next to Kenny. 

“She’s growing up too fast.” He agreed. “I can’t believe in less than 24 hours time I’ll be a dad to a four year old.” 

Margaux tripped on the tiles, landing with a clatter, her bottom lip jutting out. Charlie jumped up, but before he could even think about moving across the room Owen was by Margaux’s side, helping her up and pulling her into a tight hug. He whispered something in her ear and Margaux giggled loudly, her fall already forgotten.

Charlie smiled softly at the scene, his heart filled with love for both the blond boy and his little princess. 

“Daddy.” Margaux called, snapping Charlie out of his daze. 

“Yeah baby?” He answered, finally making his way across the room. 

“Can we swim now?” She asked, grabbing onto his leg. Charlie subconsciously ran his hand through her soft curls.  

“Of course we can.” He replied. Margaux glanced up at Owen. 

“Papa too?” She questioned. 

“Papa too.” Charlie agreed. Margaux peered past him, her gaze landing on Kenny.

“Coming Uncle Kenny?” She asked, and Kenny laughed, standing up. 

“Coming Little Gillespie.” He replied. 

Margaux smiled contently, taking both Charlie and Owen’s hands to pull them outside towards the pool. 

She really did have every single one of them wrapped around her little finger. 

- 

Dinner that night was special, as it was supposed to be Carolynn’s last day on the island. They decided on a joint party for her last night, as well as celebrating Margaux’s birthday a day early. 

They had headed to a tiny restaurant near their villa, and Charlie had allowed Margaux to pick whatever she wanted from the menu, not that it mattered because she chose chicken nuggets and chips anyways.

The meal was nice, and before they knew it they were arriving back at the villa. Jeremy, Carolynn and Kenny all excused themselves for bed, and Tori settled into the couch, flicking the TV on. 

“Bath and bed time baby.” Charlie told Margaux, and she pouted but obeyed, following him into the hallway. 

“Hey Char, can I ask you something?” Owen asked, trailing behind the father daughter duo, and Charlie stopped, letting Margaux run ahead to their room. 

“Anything.” He smiled. 

“Do you mind if I share your room? I know the other bed was meant to be for Margaux but-” Owen started, playing with his fingers slightly. 

“She can share with me.” Charlie cut him off. “Bed’s all yours.” Owen looked up, his eyes widening. 

“Really?” He checked. 

“Of course.” Charlie smiled. Owen grinned, throwing his arms around Charlie’s neck. 

“Thanks Char. I just didn’t really want to sleep alone.” He admitted, and Charlie squeezed him tight. 

“Any time.” He told Owen, and the blond boy pulled away with a smile, before heading off to the room he was originally going to stay in to collect his bags. 

Charlie entered the room that he and Margaux, and now Owen, were sharing, finding his daughter already snuggled into one of the beds, still wearing her dinner clothes. Charlie sighed, moving to pull her out of the bed. Owen entered the room, bags in tow, and Margaux looked up at him excitedly. 

“Papa! Are you sleeping here?” She questioned. Owen placed his bags in the corner before answering. 

“I am Miss Maggie.” He said, and Margaux cheered. 

“You don’t mind sleeping with Daddy?” Charlie checked, and Margaux shook her head, jumping up to throw her arms around Charlie’s neck. 

“Nope! More cuddles!” She stated. Charlie laughed, picking her up. 

“Exactly right. Now, it’s bath time.” He said, grabbing Margaux’s pyjamas as she clung to him. 

“Bye Papa!” Margaux called as Charlie moved to leave the room. Owen waved. 

“Bye Maggie!” He replied, matching her enthusiasm. Charlie couldn’t help but smile. 

Margaux was so lucky to have someone like Owen in her life. They both were. 

- 

“Daddy! Wake up!” Margaux screamed, jumping on top of Charlie. He groaned, squinting as he looked up at his daughter. 

“What time is it?” He mumbled. Owen sat up in his own bed, grabbing his phone to check the time. 

“4:47am.” He informed Charlie, his voice thick with sleep. Charlie tried to ignore how sexy Owen’s morning voice was, instead focusing on his daughter. 

“Mags it’s too early to be awake.” He told her. Margaux pouted, flopping down on top of him. 

“Daddy, it’s my birthday!” She exclaimed. Charlie smiled, kissing her cheek. 

“I know baby, happy birthday. Now can we sleep for a little bit?” He tried. Margaux thought for a moment. 

“Only if Papa comes here too.” She decided. 

Charlie’s eyes widened slightly, eyes fixed on Owen as the younger boy sleepily slid out of his bed with no hesitation, and into Charlie’s, snuggling into Charlie’s side the minute he laid down. Margaux squirmed her way under the covers, squishing herself in between the two of them. 

Charlie shut his eyes in an attempt to get back to sleep, but it was no use. He opened his eyes again, staring up at the ceiling, as Margaux slept soundly next to him.

His mind was racing, noticing every single little place where Owen’s warm skin was in contact with his. It felt like he was on fire.

“Stop thinking.” Owen mumbled, and Charlie turned his head to see Owen staring at him, his eyes half shut with sleep.

“How did you know?” He questioned. Owen gave him a small smile. 

“I always know. Whatever it is, just ignore it for now. Get some sleep, it’s gonna be a big day.” Owen whispered. Charlie paused for a moment, just staring at Owen in the dim light from Margaux’s nightlight. Even half asleep in the almost complete darkness of the room Owen still looked gorgeous. Charlie swallowed. 

“You’re right. Thanks O.” He replied. 

“Love you.” Owen yawned in response, his eyes shutting again. Charlie smiled softly, moving his hand to brush a bit of Owen’s hair off his face.

“I love you too Owen.” He replied, despite the fact that the younger boy was already asleep. He pressed a soft kiss to Owen’s head, and lowered his voice to no more than a whisper.

“More than I probably should.”

- 

After what felt like no time at all Charlie was being shaken awake again. 

“Daddy is it time to get up now?” Margaux questioned, sitting on his chest. Charlie yawned. 

He reached over and checked his phone. It was just after 6:30am. 

“Okay we can get up. But we’re gonna leave Papa to sleep a little bit more, okay?” Charlie compromised. Margaux thought for a moment before agreeing. Charlie grinned, sliding the both of them out of the bed careful not to wake Owen. Once they were out of the bed Charlie lifted Margaux up, placing her on his hip. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple.  

“Now. Let’s go make some birthday pancakes.” 

- 

“Happy birthday Little Gillespie.” Jeremy sung, entering the kitchen with Carolynn close behind him.

Margaux grinned, her mouth full of pancake. 

“Thank you!” She exclaimed, her words muffled by her food. Carolynn stepped past Jeremy, moving to place a gentle kiss on Margaux’s head and whisper to her. Margaux grinned before looking up at her father.

“Hey Daddy?” She spoke. Charlie made a noise in response.

“Yeah?” He said, flipping pancakes onto a plate for both Jeremy and Carolynn.

“Do you think the birthday fairy could found me here?” Margaux questioned, her eyes full of hope. Charlie couldn’t help but smile, not even bothering to correct her words, as he placed the pan down.

“Should we go find out?” He asked. Margaux’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Yeah! But first we have to get Papa.” She decided. Charlie nodded.

“You wanna go wake him up? Tell him we made him some pancakes?” He asked, and Margaux grinned, already sliding out of her chair.

“Okay Daddy!” She replied, before rushing out of the room. The room fell silent for a few moments before Carolynn cleared her throat.

“So Charlie...” She raised an eyebrow. “How long have you been in love with Owen?” 

Charlie choked on his coffee. 

“I’m sorry, what?” He spluttered. Carolynn grinned. 

“You heard me.” She said. Charlie hesitated. 

“I’m not-” He stopped. “I-” 

He groaned. There was no use denying it if clearly he was obvious enough that his friends had figured him out.

“Since filming.” He admitted. Carolynn cheered. 

“You owe me $20.” She told her husband, who glared at Charlie. 

“You just had to admit it, huh?” Jeremy shook his head, and Charlie shrugged, a small smile on his face.

“Admit what?” Owen’s voice came from behind them, deep from sleep, and Charlie took a sip of his coffee to try to distract himself. Owen always looked good but in the early morning light, his hair still a mess from sleeping, he looked ethereal. Charlie bit his lip to stop himself from staring.

“Nothing important.” Carolynn replied, and Charlie shot her a thankful look. 

“Can we see if the birthday fairy visited now?” Margaux sighed, clearly impatient. They all laughed. 

“Of course baby.” Charlie told her, standing up. He grabbed the plate of pancakes he had made for Owen, handing them to the younger boy as he passed him. 

Margaux lead the way to the living area where Kenny and Tori were already sat waiting, squealing with excitement when she saw the small pile of presents on the table.

“They came!” She exclaimed, and Charlie couldn’t help but smile, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Margaux settled down on the couch as everyone spread out around the room, and one by one she opened the presents, eyes widening with excitement at every single one. 

Charlie had gotten her a few dolls that he knew she had been wanting, plus some new clothes, books and other toys. 

Jeremy and Carolynn had gotten her a small paint set with a Frozen paint by numbers. 

Kenny had gotten her a tiny version of the Sunset Curve shirt that the cast had all received. 

Tori had gotten her a little lilac tutu. 

Madi, Jadah and Savannah had sent their presents, some handmade earrings, little stud versions of the ghost drawings that Carolynn had created from Madi, a small pair of overalls from Savannah, and a colouring book from Jadah.

But her absolute favourite gift had come from Owen, a tan coloured bear from Build-A-Bear that he had dressed like Luke, and the clothes to change the bear into Reggie, Alex and Julie if she wanted to. 

After hugs all round the group decided to go their own ways, with Kenny heading off to spend the day relaxing, and Tori, Jeremy and Carolynn going to the beach to sunbathe since Carolynn’s flight had been delayed. 

“Where do you want to go today birthday girl?” Charlie asked, as he and Owen collected the pile of gifts to move them back to their room.

Margaux frowned in thought, the bear still grasped in her arms.

“Hiking.” She decided, and Charlie laughed. She was definitely his daughter.

“You sure? We can do whatever you want to do.” He checked. Margaux nodded, her attention focused on her new clothes that Charlie had placed on the bed to fold later. 

“I’m sure.” She said, reaching for the Sunset Curve shirt and overalls. “Can I wear this?”

“Of course you can.” Charlie agreed. 

“I’m gonna have a quick shower.” Owen said, grabbing some clothes out of his bag. Charlie nodded, focused on helping Margaux change out of her pyjamas into her new clothes.

“Do you think we can have some time tonight just you and me?” Charlie asked once Margaux was dressed, moving to grab her hairbrush and some hair ties.

“Yes please Daddy.” Margaux agreed, sitting on the edge of the bed as Charlie sat behind her.

“We could go get dinner just the two of us, and then come back here for birthday cake.” He suggested. Margaux frowned, clearly thinking. 

“Is it chocolate cake?” She asked after a moment, and Charlie paused from brushing her hair to kiss the top of her head. 

“You’ll have to wait and see.” He teased. Charlie finished tying her hair up into two little space buns, not quite proper buns but as close as he could get with her shortish hair.

“I hope it’s chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake.” She giggled, standing up on the bed and turning around to hug her father. Charlie wrapped his arms around her, a gesture that was so safe and familiar. 

“Me too baby, me too.” He agreed. Margaux snuggled her head into his shoulder. 

“Is Papa coming hiking?” She questioned. Charlie grinned to himself. 

“Do you want him to come?” He asked. Margaux didn’t even hesitate. 

“Yes.”

“Then I’m sure he’d love to come.” Charlie assured her. She pulled away. looking him in the eyes. Charlie had always loved that she had gotten his eyes. 

“Do I ask him?” She said, eyes wide. Charlie struggled to contain a laugh at how serious she looked. 

“When he comes back, yeah.” He nodded. 

“When who comes back?” Owen asked, re-entering the room. Margaux jumped up, throwing herself at the 20 year old. He lifted her up with no hesitation. 

“Are you gonna come hiking?” Margaux asked, her bottom lip jutting out in a pleading way. 

“Of course I am. Wouldn’t want to miss spending time with my two favourite people.” Owen grinned, kissing her nose causing her to giggle. Charlie’s heart skipped a beat at the declaration that he was one of Owen’s favourite people. 

“Yay! Can we go now?” Margaux turned in Owen’s arms to face her father. He nodded, standing up from the bed. 

“Shoes, and then we can go.” He said, and Margaux squirmed her way out of Owen’s arms to go find her running shoes. 

Charlie exchanged a look with Owen, the both of them thinking the same thing. 

It was going to be a long day. 

- 

Hiking with a just turned four year old was exhausting, even despite them choosing the easiest possible trail so that she wouldn’t have any issues.

It was fine at first, Margaux excitedly looking at the plants and trying to spot any animals in the trees, but after about twenty minutes she got bored and tired, and Charlie and Owen spent the rest of the hike passing her back and forth between the two of them.

Finally they made it back to the villa, and after a quick stop for lunch Margaux was recharged and ready for the rest of the day.

“Can we swim?” She asked. Charlie nodded.

“We’ll go and get changed, and then we can go in the pool for a while until we have to get ready for dinner, okay?” He suggested. 

“Okay Daddy.” Margaux smiled sweetly. 

-

After quickly changing into their swimmers, Charlie, Margaux and Owen ended up in the pool, Jeremy and Carolynn lounging nearby. 

They swam for a few hours until Margaux got thirsty, and with a promise of apple juice she and Charlie climbed out of the pool leaving Owen to go sit with the Shada’s. 

Charlie walked inside the villa, finding Kenny sat at the kitchen bench reading while Tori lounged on one of the couches, staring at her phone. 

“Why don’t we do cake now, so that you don’t have to worry about rushing home?” Kenny spoke up, as Charlie manoeuvred through the kitchen to get the apple juice out, Margaux clinging to his chest like a baby koala. 

“That’s a good idea. Do you want to do your birthday cake now Mags?” Charlie asked his daughter, pouring her some apple juice. She sipped on the juice, looking up at him with wide eyes. 

“Yeah!” She exclaimed. Charlie smiled. 

“Okay, can you go get Papa, Aunty Care and Uncle Jer for me?” He asked, placing her down. She nodded eagerly, handing her cup of juice to him before rushing outside to where Owen, Jeremy and Carolynn were still sat.

Charlie grabbed the cake out of the fridge and placed it on the bench, before putting the four candles in, and grabbing a lighter.

“Have you seen my camera Kenny?” He asked, and Kenny just pointed to the end of the bench where the camera was sitting. Charlie smiled gratefully, grabbing the camera.

“Want me to take photos?” Tori offered, and Charlie nodded, handing her the camera. 

Margaux re-entered the room, Owen and the Shada’s following close behind her, and when she reached her father he lifted her up. Kenny took the lighter, lighting the candles on the cake and together they sung Happy Birthday to Margaux, Tori snapping photos as the four year old blew out her candles. 

Charlie held Margaux close to him as Kenny divided the cake up, thankful that he had such an amazing family to spend his little girl’s birthday with. 

-

When Charlie and Margaux made it back to the villa after their dinner that night, the newly four year old was ready to fall asleep. Charlie carried her to bed, silently thanking his past self for deciding to give her a bath and do her birthday cake before they went to dinner because now all he had to do was change her into her pyjamas. 

He changed her quickly seeing that she was almost asleep, and tucked her into the bed. 

“Did you have a good birthday baby?” Charlie asked softly, settling down next to his daughter.

Margaux just nodded in response. 

“That’s good.” Charlie ran a hand through her curls. “Goodnight baby girl.” 

“Big girl.” Margaux mumbled sleepily. Charlie smiled, leaning down and kissing her head. 

“You might be a big girl now but you’ll always be my baby girl.” He whispered. “I love you.” 

“I love you too Daddy.” Margaux replied, her eyes already shut and her arms wrapped tightly around her new bear. Charlie stood up slowly and headed to the door, leaving it open a crack for a little bit of light to shine in. 

He paused for a moment, just taking in the reality that Margaux was already four years old, and that she was growing up too fast. With one last look at the door he made his way down the hallway and outside to where he knew Owen was waiting. 

“She’s asleep.” He announced, flopping down on the outdoor sofa next to Owen. 

“I’m not shocked, she’s had a big day.” Owen replied, handing Charlie a cold beer that he had clearly gotten for him. Charlie took it thankfully, taking a large swig. 

“Can you believe that she’s four already? It feels like she was only just born and I was waking up to find out that her mother was gone and that it was only me and her. It was terrifying at the time, but looking back I wouldn’t change it for the world.” He rambled. Owen rested his head on Charlie’s shoulder and Charlie wrapped his arm around the younger boy, pulling him closer.

“You should be proud of yourself Char. You’ve done an amazing job.” Owen complimented, snuggling closer to Charlie as he took a mouthful of his beer.

“You think so?” Charlie questioned. Owen nodded against his shoulder.

“I know so.” He sat up. “Margaux is the most well behaved kid I’ve ever met, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her misbehave once in all the time I’ve known her. She’s an amazing kid and it’s all because she has the most amazing father.”

“Thank you.” Charlie whispered, suddenly realising how close Owen was to him. He could feel Owen’s warm breath on his lips, and he found himself leaning in, the urge to kiss Owen overtaking his entire being. His lips brushed against Owen’s ever so slightly, but before they could properly commit to the kiss they were interrupted. 

“Hey, we’re gonna play...” Tori’s voice came and they jumped apart quickly. She trailed off, eyeing them carefully. “Were you two about to kiss?”

Charlie cleared his throat. Owen’s eyes widened.

“Uh... no?” Owen lied. Tori shot them a suspicious look but clearly decided against pushing.

“Right... well we’re gonna play Cards Against Humanity if you want to join us.” She told them, before turning and heading back inside. Neither Charlie nor Owen moved, the silence was deafening. Finally Owen spoke.

“Sorry.” He muttered quickly, before standing up and rushing inside. Charlie groaned, watching him leave, the feeling of Owen’s lips still lingering on his own.

“Fuck.” He sighed, downing the last of his beer before standing up to join the rest of the group inside.

He would have to deal with the Owen situation later.

[grimmywrites]

So, about Infinite Darkness...

I’m gonna try to be as succinct as I can (I failed) about all the problems I had with it, but my list is pretty long... Yes, this has spoilers. Let me state upfront: if you’re not a hardcore RE fan, you can skip the show. Below I’ll tell you why.

Story: What a mess. Honestly, they turned me off right at the beginning with all the military stuff. It’s the same reason people didn’t like Chris’ campaign in 6; didn’t they learn anything from that? So, the story wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it had more plot holes than anything and so many points where I went: “I don’t care about this.” Again, it was a jumbled mess. Capcom, hire me and I’ll do better, I swear. Let’s just sum it up by saying it’s a rehash of things we’ve seen SEVERAL times in the series before. If you’re gonna do it AGAIN let’s make the story unique and interesting. Oh, there are shady people in the military that want to use bioweapons in war? Okay, we’ve known that since the first game. We’ve seen it time and time again. Look to re8′s ending for example: the BSAA are now starting to use engineered soldiers - THAT was a reveal that was far more interesting. The way it was addressed and overcome in this show was just... so lackluster. Ultimately, it just felt like this entire thing didn’t need to happen. It changed nothing, it impacted nothing, and I’m aware that it really couldn’t since it was after re4 and before re5. There was just no lasting point and all the ‘themes’ (if you can call them that) made absolutely no sense, but I guess I’ll get into that with the characters? Pacing: Absolutely god awful. One minute we’re in the White House fighting zombies then I blink and it’s over and I’m like: Oh, we’re done? Another we’re in a sub and then I blink. Oh, that’s over, too. Also, the creators must’ve taken a page from the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones (which is an abysmal idea, don’t fucking do that) because with a few cuts here and there we went from Guam to China back to DC. Guess everybody learned how to teleport so they got exactly where we needed them to for the “climax”. Let’s talk about that climax: There was none. Let’s look at Degeneration and Damnation (no I won’t talk about Vendetta). Both had their weaknesses but Leon and the climaxes were BADASS. Leon doing parkour in Degeneration? Leon going against Lickers and the huge Tyrants in Damnation? Those were amazing scenes. He did a few cool things here and there but nothing that got more of a laugh out of me. My man is coming off re4 where he rampaged through a village, a castle, and an island of mutated creatures to save one girl. C’mon now. Characters: By now (if anybody is even reading this rant), you’ve noticed that I’ve talked a lot about Leon. But what about Claire? Yeah, they lied to us about them working together. She got sidelined again. A lot of people are upset about this -- and yeah, it sucks because I do love Claire. Leon has just happened to be my favorite since 1998 so I wasn’t as heartbroken. That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, I’m just not very surprised. Leon - My main problem with Leon is Nick, his voice actor. I’m so sorry for all those who like him, but he just isn’t good enough for me. Paul Mercier (re4, Degeneration, Darkside Chronicles) and Matt Mercer (Damnation, Re6, Vendetta) would have been more appropriate. Nick tries his best, but he’s just too soft sounding to be post-re4 Leon. This is a man who is quipping one-liners left and right a couple of years ago. Now he’s barely smiling and doesn’t feel confident at all, and I think a lot of that is because of his portrayal. There are times where the lines hit, but more often than not they fall flat. I never felt that way with Paul who is my favorite Leon or Matt who gave emotional performances every time. Also, his decision at the end? I can understand it, but explain to Claire! Claire - I like Stephanie as Claire, I have no problems with her. She makes her sound tough and ready to do what she thinks is right. Unfortunately, the story completely sidelines her and makes her role obsolete. Everything she uncovers (because that’s her role apparently, just there to Nancy Drew) is already told to us through flashbacks and other characters. Why even have her? Was it just to show us WHY her and Leon don’t talk often? A waste. Shen Mei - I don’t care. I felt nothing for her. They tried really hard, but they just failed to flesh these new characters out and when her time was up I once again went: Oh? That’s it, then. ‘Kay. I think I laughed a bit, sorry girl. Her whole plotline was to get that chip in Leon’s hand, nothing more. Jason -  I don’t care. A character I thought I felt sorry for with his ptsd but nope. Once his story unfolded - messily, I might add (I hate the REPEATED flashback shit. Tell me once and stop teasing me.) I just went... okay, what the hell is your plan? To spread fear? ‘Kay. It was dumb and made no sense. What, he wants everyone to feel terror so they know? It needed to be clarified. It’s like they couldn’t figure out more synonyms for fear and terror. So, what? It helps keep Leon from going public with the chip and that information? Because he knows it’ll just cause mass hysteria? And then you’ve got Claire’s side - she’s not an agent and she believes the people have a right to know. They’re both right, but there’s no goddamn communication between ANYONE in this show. I just felt exhausted by it, nothing else. Not to mention it’s useless angst because of the plot of Degeneration. Wilson - Our bad guy. Let’s just sum up really quickly in case people were confused by the plot: He was putting infected soldiers into war zones so that even after they died they’d kill anybody involved, then he’d bomb the area and clean up the evidence. These soldiers didn’t show any symptoms because they had inhibitors that kept the virus at bay until they died, so they had to take regular shots to stay human. He’s the one who gets the zombies into the white house so that he could blame it on China and get the US into a war with them. That way he could send in his soldiers and infect the populace. From there, he’s the only one with the cure so he could rake in LOTS of money selling it to the world. AKA: he wants to use the US military to infect everyone so he can make a profit. He gets infected by Jason and gets away... then meets up with someone who gives him an inhibitor. This someone is working for Tricell, the big bads of re5 who work under Wesker. So it leads right into the fifth game. That’s all he is, a tie in and yet another example of someone in power trying to profit off the viruses of the RE world. Honestly, nobody else is worth mentioning. Animation: They’re getting better at it. Leon and Claire looked especially pretty, but there’s still a stiffness here and an issue with everyone’s mouths while they talk. I want to praise how different SOME of the characters look - the president and his aides all look appropriately aged and grizzled and distinct. Same with Jason. Other characters (side characters mainly) kinda look generic. Shen Mei for example isn’t very distinct. I mean, her grandpa and brother (both one scene wonders) were more realistic looking than she was. Even Claire - they gave her a bigger nose and made her look more in line with her Revelations 2 model (thank god I love that model). Movement was pretty fluid, I wish we’d seen more fighting and cool action -- though not to the extent of Vendetta. Maybe that’s what they were trying to avoid, but it didn’t make it any fun to watch. Enemies: This is the last thing I’ll comment on. The zombies were fine - they always are. I heard a ton of reused sounds from remake2, as well, but I thought of it as an Easter Egg more than anything. They looked good, their gore was good, all set there. Problem was, they were basically the only bad guys. That’s a huge fucking disappointment. I know people recognize this series as ‘the one with the zombies’ but that’s not true. Every game (save 7) had MULTIPLE enemy types all created through bio engineering. In this show we see three types. THREE. Zombies. Zombie rats - a one-scene wonder that Leon dispatches fast and easy. I’ll admit, they looked cool but there was nothing else to them. “They’re a bioweapon” and then Leon fries them all with some electricity and we’re done. Jason’s mutated form. Okay, I have to admit, I really loved his design. He was cool, I liked that he could talk and emote. But, other than that? He didn’t DO anything cool. He mutated once and hopped around a lot. That’s it. I mean, a bioweapon that keeps his mental capacities? C’MON! We could’ve done so much more with him. Again, this goes back to why the climax was so bad -- he and Leon didn’t fight. One jumped, the other ran around to catch up and fired a few bullets and a rocket at him. Then he used an acid bath to finish the job. (Also, explain to me WHY he mutated into a tyrant-like creature while everyone else with that specific virus was another form of zombie? We see Jun (Shen’s brother) mutating almost crystal-like at one point but... what? You leave them off for a while and they turn into crystal zombies? Make it make sense.) I’m sure there’s more to say, but honestly, unless you’re a hardcore RE fan like me, I’d say you can skip it. It wasn’t a fun ride, there weren’t any stakes, it wasn’t emotional... it just... was. I will end on one good note that made me smile, though: I loved seeing the Ashley Easter Egg.