#obviously this show could be giving me a false picture of it

[joemama-2]

born too late

a/: listened to this on repeat and thought hm…nanami

———————————————————————

men your age were nothing compared to those older than you. in fact, they were boys. they didn’t hold the door open for you like how men did, they wouldn’t bring you flowers and pick a time and day on when they would come and see you, they wouldn’t treat you with respect and hold your hand like you were their queen.

no, they did none of that. boys your age were simply boys. but you didn’t want a boy, you wanted a man. and you did have one, at least that’s what you like to tell yourself.

you’re giving yourself false hope, really. but you just can’t stop. and when nanami acts like the picture perfect man to you, you’re melting. he calls it the bare minimum, but can’t he realize even that’s hard to find nowadays?

he holds bags for you, untied your heels, covers you with his jacket when you’re wearing something too revealing. he brushes hair out of your face so softly, leading you inside restaurants with a hand on the small of your back.

you can’t help but fall for him.

you chalked it up to him wanting to keep a professional relationship, considering you’re coworkers. but even then, you still had a sliver of hope that your smiles and lunches you made him could change that.

however, that changes when he says one sentence that shatters your being.

“you’re too young for me.”

too young? too….young? is he serious? he’s not even old and he’s calling you too young for him? is has to be a joke is what you first think, but nanami doesn’t joke, especially when it comes to what he wants he for you.

the distance he forces between you two is hard and unwelcoming. it feels like you’re being suffocated and you can’t help crying when you realize that he’s so close, but so far out of reach.

you long for him like a wife with her husband who’s in the war. long for him like you’re past lovers. long for him like you’re soulmates. and you really think you two are, but how can you be soulmates with a man who sees you as nothing more than “too young for him”?

to him, you’re just a kid.

you cry and cry, cursing the gods above for destining you with such a fate. why were you born too late? too late for the man you love to love you back.

you have no chance, you know that. it hits you hard too after seeing him with a woman, obviously one his age, smiling at him. and what does he do? he’s smiling back at her. she leans in to whisper something into his ear, and he leans in too.

it’s a disgusting and horrible sight that makes you feel sick to your stomach.

you wish it was you. you wished he could touch you like that and speak to you like that. you wish he just loved you.

he’ll see your tears and like the man he is, he wipes them and comforts you. but it’s all for naught because at the same time, he’s making you cry even more. he’s doing this out of the kindness of his own heart, not because you’re his, not because he’s yours.

it’s what anyone else would do.

“your heart just couldn’t wait?”

you confront him, tears blurring your vision as you show up to his house way later than appropriate.

he hesitates, like he wants to comfort you once more. instead, his answer is when the woman from before comes up to his side and gives you a confused look.

his arm wraps around her waist before ushering her away gently. when he turns back to you, all he can mutter is a weak “i’m sorry”, before closing the door.

it’s then, when you become conscious of one fact, the cold and hard truth.

you were born too late for him to even care.

[hazbininlove]

Hopelessly Devoted - Chapter 2

-About 3.6k. Some slightly sexual discussions. Kind of a filler before I really get the story moving.

“What if we made a creature that could fly and walk and swim! Imagine that!” Lucifer says, his hands gesturing wildly around him as he pictures it in his head.

“Ever the ambition one, are you?” Esther replies, laughing into her hand as she sits on the bench in front of him. There’s a fond look in her eyes reserved just for him, and he knows it.

“Don’t tease me! You know it’s a good idea!”

“I do. I have no notes to give! So, what will this creature look like?”

He hums, tapping his foot a bit as he thinks. “Well if they can fly they should be feathery, like us! But like, all over!”

“And they’ll walk, so they’ll obviously need feet. But how will they swim?”

“That’s the best part! They won’t be like other birds, they’ll have wider feet! That’s webbed! And that way they can paddle through the water! And their feathers will be waterproof so that they can take flight without worry!”

Esther giggles at his enthusiasm. “And their colors?”

“Oh there’s definitely going to be a lot of variation in that. But the little babies are going to be yellow and cute and just waddle around on their little big feet,” he says, cooing at the images he’s imagining to himself.

“And what of their sizes? Will they be little? Big?”

“They’re gonna be little! Well, not too little. When they’re babies they’ll be tiny for sure, but as adults I suppose they can be bigger. Though I think it’ll still vary, maybe based on the color of their feathers,” he replies. He looks at her with narrowed eyes and a pointed finger. “The males will be bigger though.”

“Oh not this again,” Esther sighs.

“Nu-uh! Not again! Maybe they won’t be a lot bigger but still bigger! Or some features on them will be bigger!”

“I quite like the idea of a shorter male,” she says, a smirk on her face and she stands at full height and looks down slightly at him.

He blushes at her soft gaze, but pouts at her words. And suddenly an idea strikes him, and he smirks up at her. “You know what else of theirs is gonna be big?”

“Pray tell.”

He motions down his own body as his smirk widens. She looks confused for a moment, her head tilting slightly, before her nose scrunches and her hands are on his face and pushing him away from her.

“Oh gross! Luci, you fiend!”

“What can I say? If there’s anything about myself I’d like to give to my little creatures, why not let it be that?”

She groans and leans away from him.

“I kind of want to give it a weird shape,” he adds.

“Please don’t.”

“Come on! It’ll be interesting! How about we make it all coiled up?”

“Now why would you do that?”

“Because it’s kinda funny,” he says, laughing at her disgusted expression.

She continues to lean away from him, but there’s a twinkle in her eyes that tell him she’s still amused by him.

“Well in that case, I vote that the females have something similar. Except, they have false entrances to trick a male should she want to,” she adds.

“Oh that’s just terrible,” he replies. “I love it!”

“And the male has to do a dance,” she says, reaching a hand to stroke his wings. He shivers at her soft touch. “Show off some feathers, prove he deserves her.”

His wings flutter as he gives her a bright grin and tips his hat to her. “Oh I can show some feathers all right.”

——————————————————————————

Lucifer shuffles his feet as he walks behind her, kicking up dirt as he does. It’s been… well he doesn’t even remember the last time someone called him by his other name. It was definitely before his fall, and probably by Michael who often preferred that name because of its connection to the Divine.

Esther always preferred to call him Lucifer. If she called him Samael, it was usually in relation to work. He didn’t work with her now though, not for years since his fall, so the only thing he can assume is that she’s using the name to keep a distance between them in the same way she referred to him earlier as “Morningstar” and not his first name.

”Soooooo…. How’ve things been?” He asks, keeping his tone light to try and shift the mood a bit. He’s still upset about earlier, and he wants to bring it up again, but he hates seeing her sad, and he knows that she’ll only shield herself from him if he tries. Years may have passed but he still knows her. It’s the reason she hasn’t hidden her wings in all this time. She’s made them smaller than their true size, but they’re still present at her back.

”Don’t,” is all she says. He sighs at her curt tone. He wants to look away, avoid her gaze, but he also wants to stare at her and take the time to relearn all the details of her face.

She turns to face him when she decides they’re far away enough from the others. “Samael, I-“

”No,” he says, holding up a hand and looking up at her with a frown. “I won’t hear you if you use that name. You never used that name, so don’t start now.”

”Don’t make this more difficult,” she whispers to him. He can see the tears already forming in her eyes. “Please just let me do what I need to do.”

“Star, please,” he all but begs. His hand moves too quickly for her, and he holds hers gently in his. It feels as soft as he remembers, cold as it always was. “Let me explain everything to you. You know I’d never lie to you. I can’t lie to you.”

Her hand squeezes his, and he brings it up to his face, holding it against his cheek. He feels her thumb stroke his cheek. He smiles a bit at the touch and watches her close her eyes and let out a shaky sigh.

“Why must you always be so difficult, Lucifer?”

He wants to hug her. He wants his arms around her and holding her impossibly close.

“It’s part of my charm?” He settles for that, giving her a sheepish grin as she shakes her head at him. His smile falls as he presses his cheek further into his hand, holding her there. “I didn’t do anything with Lilith before the fall, or for thousands of years after. We were just friends, I promise. I… I empathized with her. I saw so much of us in her. Adam was supposed to be like me but he lacked any respect for his half. It was so different from us. We had our scuffles sure, but I always respected you, and I know you respected me too. I just- I thought she needed a friend, and there were no other humans so I tried to be that.”

“You never spoke to me of any of that. You stopped speaking to me about anything. What was I supposed to think?”

“I know!” His voice raises a bit, but he takes a deep breath and lets it out before he continues. “I know. And that was my mistake. I didn’t think, okay? I was just so caught up in everything, in talking, and I thought… I thought if I told you, you’d stop me.”

”Can you blame me?” Esther asks back. “Knowing what you do now, can you blame me for wanting to stop you? I always encouraged your dreams, Lucifer. I always supported your ideas. But you know that I also always wanted to make sure you’d stop to think before rushing in.”

”You definitely were the smarter one,” he joked. She strokes his cheek again, and he melts into her touch. “Lilith and I just remained friends. Charlie was… well depression’s a bitch and both of us were alone. I thought of you, of how I’m not allowed to step into Heaven, of how you would never be allowed down here, and we both let ourselves be stupid for a moment. And you know what they say! It just takes one time! I mean, I’m sure other people struggle but come on. I’m me!”

”Your pride will surely lead to your downfall if you continue with these jokes,” she says, her tone sharp. “Why you think I’d enjoy jokes about your intimacy with someone else is beyond me.”

He coughs, lowering her hand from his face and using his other to pull at his collar.

“Right, that was stupid. Uhhh,” he looks around, trying to figure out how to continue. “So uh, yeah. Nothing else happened. Just the once, felt like shit about it after, then woah! Charlie happens! And I don’t know, maybe we thought something else could happen, or whatever, but it just never did. I couldn’t forget you and Lilith… Well quite honestly I don’t think Lilith’s ever been romantically interested in anyone. Or at least no one that she ever told me about.”

He looks back at her with pursed lips, worried he’d further upset her. She smiles softly at him, but doesn’t say anything.

“What about you?” He asks nervously. He doesn’t actually want to know, but considering his own actions, he can’t say he’d blame her if she had moved on.

“No, never,” she says quietly. “It was especially difficult, at first. The others were worried I’d fall as well, so I was kept in Primum Mobile close to the Divine. I wasn’t allowed to leave for… let’s just say it was a long time. A few centuries ago, they decided it was enough and I could leave, but by then I saw no point. So I haven’t really been around others. Mostly the Seven, some of the other seraphs and archangels, but that’s about it.”

“So, who took my place in the Seven?”

“Raphael,” she replies. “He’s not around often. He spends most of his time on Earth and has dedicated his life to hospitals and clinics.”

“And the others?” He asks cautiously. He hates that he misses them, especially after what they, what Michael, did to him. But they’re his family just as much as the sins are and he misses them.

“They’re well! I saw Ramiel a few days ago, she’s doing well. Gabriel is all over the place, as usual. It’s hard to catch him unless you happen to be close to the Divine as well. And Michael… he’s fine.”

“You don’t seem too sure of that.”

“It’s a bit complicated with him,” she sighs. She looks away from him for a moment before turning fully towards him. This time, she brings both of her hands to his cheeks. “I’ve never forgiven him for his part in your fall. And I’m still mad at him for causing my own seclusion but he’s- he’s been there for me. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s been the one to check on me the most throughout everything and make sure I wasn’t always alone.”

“Careful now, you almost sound fond of him. I hear Stockholm Syndrome can be a bitch to deal with.”

“Lucifer Samael Morningstar, don’t start with your jokes again,” she scolds him, now pinching his cheeks. “I am not in love with Michael, or any of the others. He did terrible things, yes, but so did you and he did them under orders of the Divine and you know that.”

She lets go of his cheeks but continues to look at him, her eyes a bit sharper than before.

“Sooooo… no one after all these years?”

“Some of us didn’t give up hope,” she mumbled as her arms crossed over her chest and yeah, yeowch that hurt, but deserved.

“I’m sorry. I know that’ll never be enough, I’ll always have that guilt and I can’t fault you for being upset but… I don’t regret having Charlie,” he replies, his tone serious. Because if there’s one thing he wants to clear, Charlie isn’t to be blamed for his mistakes. He messed up, all on his own. Well, it takes two but that's besides the point. Lilith isn’t here to take her side of the blame and it’s probably for the best that she isn’t here. “She’s so amazing, Esther. She’s so cheerful and bright and she reminds me of us back then. About all the best parts of us. I know the way she came to be isn’t ideal but she’s here and she’s my daughter. I love her more than anything.”

“I know, Lucifer,” she says. Her arms are still crossed and her eyes still look sad but she’s smiling at him. “Regardless of how she came to be, she’s here, and she seems like a wonderful girl. She reminds me so much of you when we were younger. Looks so much like you too. If it wasn’t for her height, I’d have thought you’d cloned a female version of yourself.”

“Oh! Ha ha! So jokes at my expense are fine, huh?” He hip checks her for it and she stumbles a bit, not expecting the move.

“Mine are harmless compared to your more crass ones.” She hip checks him back and he laughs heartily. “We’ve gone off track. I was serious earlier, Lucifer. We didn’t know what Sera was doing.”

“Well, she is the High Seraphim. There’s a lot of power for a person.”

“She’s the High Seraphim of the first sphere, and you know that! Her duty is to her sphere, not the entirety of Heaven. For that, Michael is involved. He leads Heaven’s protection. And even as the High Seraphim, there are still others far above her! Or did you forget about Seraphiel? Johoel? For Heaven’s sake Lucifer, time away from it all couldn’t have made you forget all of that!”

“It didn’t!” He replied. His own arms crossed and he turned away from her, pacing back and forth. He never liked admitting when he was wrong. “You think the exterminations were my first thought? I wanted to redeem souls! You know I never wanted to be the one to create evil!”

“I know,” she says. She stops his movements with an arm around his shoulders, pulling his back to her chest. “But you forget yourself at times. You are Lucifer, the shining one, the leader of the choir, but you’re also Samael the destroyer. It was your job to destroy sin.”

“And it was also my job to tempt it,” he signed, leaning into her hold.

“So much so that you became the first,” she tried joking to ease the mood. “I always did say your head was too big for the rest of you. It’s a miracle you can stand up straight.”

“Oh we’re back to this? It’s time for jokes again?” His tone was bland and she laughed, pressing her cheek against his.

“I never said it’s a bad thing. I’ve always believed in you Lucifer. I know you were just doing your job, wanting to believe the best in everyone. And I hate that you’ve never been allowed to see proof of that. But we can change that now. Yes, there are some sinners that deserve damnation but not like this. Not in masses like what has been going on with the exterminations. We need a system.”

He looks up to her dark blue eyes, and feels hope swelling in his chest. “We?”

“I did mention that I’d be coming back down every so often, didn’t I?”

“Why not stay,” he asks. “Here, with me. We could be together again, like old times.”

Her arm starts slipping away from him until he grabs it. He turns around and wraps his own around her waist.

“Oh love, you have no idea how much I wish things could be like old times.” She presses her forehead against his and closes her eyes. Her hands move to grip his jacket on his shoulders. His heart soars hearing her call him that and he pulls her closer to him. “But so much time has passed, and I sent eons believing you’d moved on. And it hurt me. It still hurts, even knowing what I know now. And I don’t even know how long the Divine will allow me this happiness to be here with you.”

“But that’s the beauty of free will, isn’t it? You get to choose what you want to do. You could stay! I’ll spend even longer making it up to you, to prove to you that you’re the only person I’ve ever loved.”

“It seems I’ve forgotten that Samael is also known as the seducer,” she replies, tone sarcastic now. She leans forward and presses a kiss to his cheek before pulling away.

“You haven’t seen seduction yet, my love,” he smirks to her, looking up at her with half lidded eyes and a confident smirk. She laughs a bit before leaning away slightly. Not so far that she’s out of his arms, but enough to put some distance between their faces.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself. I meant what I said earlier. Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible.” She smirks, poking him in the side. He startles and lets go of her, and she takes the chance to step away from him, wings extending. “So you better preen those wings and get them nice and ready for your next routine. I expect the dance of a lifetime and a beautiful show of feathers.”

Esther’s wings move and she lifts off the ground, just as a portal opens some ways above her.

“I’ll show you some feathers,” he says to her as the portal closes, a proud smile on his lips.

——————————————————————————

“Sooooo,” is the first thing she hears as the portal closes behind her. “How’d it go?”

She looks up to see Cassiel, Ramiel, and Uriel waiting for her, Michael off to the side watching all of them.

“It went well,” she replies, her cheeks a bit red as she hadn’t expected them to be waiting there for her.

“They want to know if you got back together with him,” Uriel says bluntly, getting straight to the point as always. Ramiel smacks her arm.

“Must you act so tactless!”

“Well, what do you expect me to say?! Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story but after what he did to her? Love my brother, I do, but she shouldn’t fall back into his arms too quickly,” Uriel defends herself. Ramiel says and Cassiel shrugs.

“I can’t say I disagree,” Cassiel adds, wincing when Ramiel elbows him in the ribs. “What! She’s right! Luci shouldn’t get off easy after leaving her for thousands of years! And having a child with someone else, no less! She should make him work for it. And when she thinks he deserves forgiveness, I’ll be there to properly judge him.”

“You’re both impossible. Esther can judge for herself when she’s ready, not a moment sooner,” Ramiel says, moving closer to Esther and fixing her hair. “A wonderful woman such as yourself deserves a wonderful man at her side. I agree that you should make him work for your forgiveness, but remember that your forgiveness is yours to give. Not anyone else’s.”

“Do you really think this is wise?” Michael asks, speaking up from his spot farther from them. “He’s fallen, Esther, don’t forget that. He’s no longer the angel you once knew.”

“He’s not,” she agrees. He raises an eyebrow at her in curiosity. “He’s changed, no doubt, but so have I. He may have fallen but he’s still an angel, and I believe in him. The consequences of his actions may have been terrible but that doesn’t mean he meant for them to happen. He’s a good man, Michael. I know you know that too.”

“Good or not doesn’t change what’s done. Gabriel should’ve been the one to deliver that message to him, and all the messages moving forward,” Michael replies, stepping closer.

“The Divine chose me for this task. I will not question it, and neither should you,” Esther says, stepping closer to him in challenge.

His eyes soften at her as he moves to hold her cheek. She doesn’t pull away from him, but she also doesn’t lean towards his touch either.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt again,” he says to her. Her eyes are closed and she holds his hand against the side of her face. “He is my brother but you are also like family to me. Had Samael been smarter I’d have been able to truly call you my sister. It’s my job to protect you all. It pains me to see you hurt. It hurts me even more knowing that someone I trusted was the cause of that pain.”

“I need you to trust me now, Michael,” she pleads with him, squeezing her hand. “I know it’s too soon for anything to happen. I won’t fall back into his arms over pretty words. But I love him. I love him so endlessly I feel it with every fiber of my being and being apart from him hurts more than the pain I felt at the thought of his betrayal. Let me have this. I’m begging you.”

“And if you fall?”

“Then I fall,” she whispers, a tearing falling from her eyes. “Not to evil or to temptation, but to him. He is a part of me I cannot continue to exist without.”

“I don’t support this,” Michael replies, wiping her tears. “But should the time come, should you choose to accept him again, I will have to remind him of the consequences if he messes up again.”

“You softie,” Esther laughs. Michael smiles down at her. He hates everything about this, but he won’t question the Divine’s plans.

——————————————————————————

Just wanted to lay down some foundations for Esther and Lucifer here. This is going to be sort of slow burn but in the most teasing way possible. Esther will make him put in the work.

Also, I thought I’d drop my original idea for Esther. I changed it because 1. Most of the angels’ clothes looks very covered. Like even before his fall, Lucifer looks to be wearing a robe/gown like what Adam wears. When I first thought of her clothes, I was thinking of something that matched Lucifer’s current ringleader look, which I realized it wasn’t the time for.

Anyway I hope you enjoy! I’m already working on the next chapter and will hopefully have it up within the next few days.

Taglist: @dreamcatcher62 @art3misa635

[seawitchkaraoke]

False has 4 mcc wins now and now there really isn't any way anyone can still say she got carried to those. She is still so underappreciated but like. She is so so so good!

Obviously she's really good at builtmart and rocket spleef rush and quite good at SoT and battle box and such but the main thing she is really good at that doesn't show up in coins much? Is call outs!

If False is on a team that listens to her and/or that she feels comfortable yelling at until they listen to her she is sooo valuable bc she'll stay cool, keep an eye on the bigger picture and make really good calls. That's especially obvious in sky battle. This event her teammates really weren't listening very well to her repeated telling them they needed to move in and bridge and avoid the border so she build the bridge herself and then when the others fled to what she'd build bc of the border gave a snappy little ''you're welcome'' (queenshit). Imagine what that could have been like if they'd have listened to her earlier (not blaming H and the others here, skybattle is very chaotic it happens).

Similar that time she teamed with Illumina and took charge on the last sky battle round after two really bad ones and got them up quite a few places. She keeps a cool head she pays attention to the threats, both other players and the border and she quickly finds ways to adapt and get them in a better situation. She also does this in survival games and in battle box, she realizes when a strategy isn't working and figures out quickly how to fix it.

Of course, bc this is still a gaming tournament, it's full of misogyny so she doesn't always feel comfortable taking charge like this and when she does, isn't always listened to - and even when she is listened to, some fans will then come after her for telling their fave he's wrong (like some of illumina's fans did that time - i'm not blaming him for it but it sucked)

This is why I loved this team, H, Dave and Cub weren't always amazing at listening in the chaos but False clearly felt comfortable with them and wasn't afraid to call them out, especially H and Cub who she knows better of course (and who's fanbases would never say a word against her bc H and Cub make it very clear how much they love and respect her) - she got Cub to give her the bow and take the blocks after the first few rounds of battle box, she called H out for not listening to her border calls on sky battle and she of course absolutely shut all of them up in dodgebolt ''i want to hear a deep breath'' ''no i need to just take slow breaths'' ''don't overthink don't overthink'' ''don't talk to me'' queen shit.

Now False is fairly good at pvp (best hermit for sure) and she is very good with a bow, but honestly I think she'd be even better as a general. The leader doesn't have to be the same in every game and it doesn't always have to be the person with the highest coin average though that's usually how it plays out. I think a lot of the time a team could really benefit from giving the leader role on sky battle (and other games maybe but especially sky battle) to False. The best pvper of the team is probably to busy picking fights to pay attention to the border. False is paying attention to the border. She's already good at callouts but imagine what she could do if she was given explicit permission to boss the others around and the others were more tuned in to listening to her? I just think that could be soooo good

False probably won't ever grab that role herself so one of the actual participants will have to notice this and push her into it but I really hope they do at some point

[beastszai]

✦ Dazai and Chuuya childhood headcanons (1/2) ✦

part 2

♫ Tell Me What To Swallow - Crystal Castles

✧ warnings : mentions of s*icide, death, depression, mental health struggles, etc.・loss of loved one・mommy and/or daddy issues・ooc (???)

✧ a/n : 15 dazai, tdipud dazai and dark era dazai are all my personal Roman Empire it hurts… its hurts so much hes just a kid </3

w/c : 431

!!! these are just personal headcanons and are not accurate to the canon story !!!

✦ Dazai :

He was an only child. As a semi-only child, I can tell. Trust me.

And like the real Dazai Osamu, he was raised in a highly respected and powerful household—though I headcanon Dazai to have been born in a noble family

BIG mama’s boy. Was very clingy to his mom

One of the reasons he grew super clingy to his mom was because of his father being mostly absent (again, like the real Dazai Osamu)

He was in Dazai’s life, but he was rather…grayish, transparent in his life; not in the picture, busy with work blahblahblah

Dazai did try to create some sort of father-son bond with his father—but he just gave up after a while, noticing that his dad didn’t show interest in putting effort into building a bond with him the way Dazai did

Dazai would/did try to make conversation about his interests in false hopes of his father making time for him

But his dad would just brush him off with comments like “that’s nice, but I’m a bit busy right now. Why don’t you go and tell your mom the rest?”

After a while Dazai even grew to hate his dad… no specific reason given. Perhaps how he never wanted to be a true father to him—his own son.

So, yeah. Big mama’s boy. Would give his mom random hugs, come back from their garden with some of the prettiest flowers picked and in his hand for his mom (along with his clothes covered in mf dirt)

And again, like the real Dazai Osamu, his mother was ill.

I personally like to think that his mom wasn’t the best mentally. Maybe because of her relationship with her husband and depression…

But she was always full of love for Dazai, pampered him, spoiled him and treated him with so much care that you’d think of Dazai as someone fragile and easily breakable.

Always defended Dazai with her life, seriously

He was a golden child and I will die on this hill

Dazai was perfect in everything he did, but he only did things he or his mother liked.

Couldn't care less about others or whether he would hurt their feelings (unless it would upset his mom and his mom only obviously)

And the reason he could no longer see the point in life or living at such a young age (+his ‘obsession’ with s*icide and death)

Was because of his own mother taking her life and Dazai having to witness it… The only person he held so dear…

…these are my headcanons, at least </3…

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

Anyways the “essay” about the energy sword to character development pipeline below the cut

Ok so like yea tucker-crunchbite-junior is, obviously, the first instance of the sword-quest-companion theme/trio that im like, rattling in my head rn

Tucker finds the sword, crunchbite shows up and theres the “quest” that challenges tucker both in the false intent (you need to be the hero) and the true intent (SA leading to Junior which is not handled well but it IS important) which is a push against tucker’s character thus far in that he’s the comic relief, make everything a sex joke archetype— he doesnt take it seriously, he doesnt see himself as important beyond getting just enough recognition to be “hot” and now he’s made to be the so called “hero” and the true plot puts him in the one position that he probably never thought could be him. Bc he wants to get laid so… yeah. Pushes his character if you give it like three seconds of critical thinking and not just the standard “haha alien baby bullshit” (that said, i do enjoy fics that explore crunchbite more and play with the potential of the “joke” shitty character into someone less sinister, but im doin my best to stick to canon rn)

And JUNIOR, oh man, because theres the thing that really solidifies this for me like

The dude who doesnt care doesnt bother is all jokes and ‘man whatever’ energy is a dad, and it starts with him trying to avoid it but he really fucking quickly steps the FUCK up for Junior and its the start of his development that people are like “oh he learns to be a leader on chorus” which i mean kinda yeah but he never struck me as a Leader even on Chorus even tho he does decidedly lead, its not the same as when kimball leads or when wash leads or carolina

He’s leads as a dad bc he is a dad

Not always a good one, but he’s trying and yea sometimes that means being the asshole, sometimes that means screwing up but it also means you fucking care and you take responsibility and you put yourself in danger first (the rescue mission, leaving the lieutenants behind)

And that doesnt start on chorus! Its the most evident there sure but

it starts with junior

It starts with him going after tex to protect his son, it starts with him trying to be a diplomat so they stay together, in sending junior away so he is safe while tucker buys time protecting the temple, it STARTS with him looking at church and going “leave my kid out of this” and yeah the way rvb was written and approached does Not take that seriously bc it wouldnt and if it did it would be a very different show but the implications are there and its acknowledged with tucker’s photograph of junior with his 5th grade basketball team (“i know right? Who carries actual pictures anymore” -tucker) which i could go on about THAT too but suffice to say its very clear that tucker cares so gd much about his kid and yeah his character development isnt super linear but you can basically pinpoint when it starts with the sword and junior

The second run of this trio of things is actually grif which is admittedly, a stretch, a big ol reaching for straws (okay, TECHNICALLY grif is the third run, but i’ll address that in a minute) largely a stretch bc grif… does the pattern backwards

This IS S16 stuff so if ur a shisno paradox hater i respect that, i however am gnawing on it with everything i have and will be going feral so this is your warning thank u for reading the tucker side of it mwah appreciate ya

Anyways

Grif does his plot backwards during timetravel shenanigans

He gets the alien companion/friend who contrasts his character first in Huggins

Grif is a loyal friend, but he is lazy, even after s15’s breakdown and apparent change of tune, he’s still looking to take the path of least resistance, avoiding the call, trying to keep things from moving

Enter Huggins: zippy, full of energy, excitable and just so different in that she is not only so proactive she puts herself in danger (which helps everyone in the long run/plot but its the principle) but shes so fucking lonely

As far as she knows, her family is dead, except for muggins who is so dettached from her, he might as well be a coworker and not her brother

Compared to grif, who has a family even when he tries to push them away (the reds, the blues, KAIKAINA) but hates taking action

Huggins is the start for grif’s arc of “it sucks but someones gotta do it” which in their case is best shown as the trudge across the bottom of the english channel which is so fucking funny to me but it really pushes both of them and puts them firmly in the friends category

Huggins cant zip ahead without grif, grif cant stop moving because huggins wont let him, so they find their little balance of gas vs brakes and together they cruise along p well

The actual push of the “quest” is grif having to be the one who steps up (kinda like tucker but its to the left) he’s the one who starts getting everyone together again across the timeline, even if he is very,,,

Well he’s very Grif about it, but it is still fundamentally, the change in character

Tucker isn’t a always good dad, Grif isn’t always a good instigator of action

But theyre trying and theyre working on it and grif’s arc suffers a Little from being so late in the show and thus not having much of a parallel to pull on but you could argue he gets the parallel from s15 anyways with the refusal of the call (from fake church/loco) and rescue mission but i hesitate to call that a parallel bc its literally back to back but an argument could be made for it which i love

Enter part two: the alien quest giver

“Wait wasnt that huggins”

NOPE huggins was alien companion! The Bestie in grif’s case,

The alien fetch quest comes from atlas, in that stupid wishing sequence but cmon it wouldnt be rvb if the character development wasnt sandwiched inbetween obnoxious gags and stupidity

The quest is less important here admittedly bc again, with grif doing this in reverse its not the challenge to his principle character that it was for tucker, his connection to huggins was the challenge, and this becomes the final push into the development, the “you have a role, now play it” that gives grif the final shove into Doing Things literal!! And his prize? For this character development arc? An alien sword

And thus the inverse version reaches an end, sort of (im pissed that technically he loses his sword, im also ignoring that he loses it in canon bc he fucking earned it okay this is a bit of canon i will ignore and loophole my way around it)

And now we track back to Chorus and to the second iteration of the sword-quest-companion plot

Locus

Now okay i will admit this is conjecture and pepe-silvia-on-corkboard-with-red-string fuckery at this point but hear me out okay!

He gets the sword with Felix’s death. We know this. What we dont know is how the fucking hell he gets off Chorus! We just see him show up later with A’rynasea. The vaguely alien (maybe sentient?? AI? Its implied with the way he addresses her but we literally have her for like two episodes) ship that seems to be the driving force (literal) (bc shes his ship) behind his chosen redemption arc where he pushes himself to help others at no apparent benefit to himself, but because it is, and i quote “the right thing to do”

Arguably, Santa could be Locus’ quest giver, seeing as how he is the one who triggers the whole shift in view for Locus in the first place and that is, technically, what crunchbite does and what atlas finalizes for grif! But the problem is we simply dont have enough of A’rynasea to draw the parallel between her and Locus as personalities, as companions for it to work for me??? But that might just be me overthinking? But it does make Locus’ version is a bit messier depending on who you consider his quest-giver but as far as I’m concerned, he’s still on his quest snd its just up to interpretation if A’rynasea is his companion?? or if theres a secret third alien for Locus that we never wouldve seen even if they planned for that bc its red vs blue and im just delusional about locus and his role in plot and this is just me firing concepts blindly into the sky at this point like - yeah i could still theorize what kind of companion characterization i think locus would work well with bc its more about the wielder than the companion in this sense (sorry junior and huggins i love yall i promise) but thats a completely separate rant at this point and not nearly coherent enough at this exact moment to add it PLUS its ridiculously self indulgent and only marginally canon compliant/adjacent but i will never not be amused by this very specific plot beat happening enough to draw these parallels, as tenuous and vague as the parallels are

[lovelybarnes]

The Blanket in The Box- B. Barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader, sam wilson warnings: I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE TEAM I'M SO SORRY I'LL WRITE A SECOND PART, silly about: request! "What if fem reader got a blanket of bucky. how would he react? how would the team react? i just felt like if u write this promt u would give it the best justification." (THANK YOU SO MUCH for thinking of me so nicely thank you i hope you liked it!!). a/n: this fic won!! i hope you're ready. i hope i did the idea justice!! also i could not for the life of me think of a clever little title so i made it like a bones episode name. yay!

“Something came for you.” Sam is standing at your open door, fingers tucked underneath a large box that has his arms brawnier than usual and his brows up to his forehead, a false innocence in his eye that makes you think he knows exactly what he’s carrying.

You stare at the box for a second and try to think, recalling each order placed and its corresponding package received. You gasp. Sam’s lips prune up like he can read your mind, his fingers curving a little protectively. 

You leap from your bed and snatch it away from him, its weight surprising enough to slip straight out of your hands. You heave a foot over the sealed flaps and stare at Sam’s smile. “Go,” you say.

“What?” He exclaims indignantly, grin dropping. “That’s not fair! This whole thing is thanks to me—I should reap some rewards.”

“How?” you demand, bewildered. “They were my targeted ads. Mine.” You push your finger into your chest for emphasis.

"Sure. But would you have paid attention to those targeted ads without my mindful encouragement?" Hard shoving, more like.

"Yes!" you insist, eyes narrowed.

He drops his indignance and instead adopts pleading. “Please just let me see his reaction, you won’t even be able to tell I’m there—”

“No!” you push him out of your room and close the door, leaving him importunate on the other side.

He raps gently at the door with the base of his palm. “Just let me see it! I just want to see it in real life once.”

You press your lips together and crack the door open a sliver. He jumps back and stands ramrod straight, chin dipped hopefully. “Tomorrow,” you say. “You’ll be the first I show."

He looks at you dubiously. "You swear?"

You press your palm to your chest. "From the bottom of my heart."

He seems to accept your offer, glancing back up at you inquisitvely. You back up preemptively, gripping the doorknob tighter. He steps closer. "Will you please take a video, I'll do whatev—"

You shut and lock the door, turning back to The Box.

Apprehensively, you pace around the box, offhandedly snagging an intricate knife from the hidden curve of your closet. It's almost nerve-wracking when you push the blade against the tape, sucking in a giddy breath as you part the flaps open, tossing the weapon onto your carpet and tugging out the contents with great effort. It's doughier than you would have thought, covered with preservative tissue paper. You toss that aside as well, unfolding the blanket you wobble to your feet.

You gasp when you see it wholly, a hand grasping one end of the blanket, the other going to your mouth in order to stop the spiral into laughter.

It's amazing.

It’s greater than you could possibly imagine. Plastic-scented, sure, but you believe in sacrifice.

You hobble over to your bed, draping the blanket over the mattress. "Wow," you whisper, a little overwhelmed as you take in the details.

The Bucky at the top right corner is barely glancing at the camera, an obviously deeply zoomed-in paparazzi picture of him walking outside. Bottom Left Bucky is another papparazzi photo, this one of him holding your bag in a park. Bottom Right Bucky's hand is cut off, along with yours attached to it, but you can see your fingers peeking out behind another Bucky's head.

Top Left Bucky is side-profiled in a suit you remember from a gala, and another Bucky from the same night is in the middle, a little bigger. You recognize the image as one of the mandatory ones Tony ordered for the night, and it's clear why that one is meant to be the center of attention. It's clearer, the surly details of Bucky's face easier to make out; notably the closest thing to a smile a strange camera is going to get from him—the slightest, most sardonic painstaking curl of the corners of his lips.

Still. He's so handsome it makes your chest hurt.

His hair is neat and done in a way that accentuates his cheekbones, and the lovely splendour of his eyes translates even into blanket.

You lean in closer. "Huh," you say. "Did he always have such long eyelashes?"

One of your hands splays atop a grumpy picture of Bucky, fingers curling and uncurling on the fuzzy surface. Not bad.

For the real test, you pull an edge up and crawl underneath, pulling your chin to your chest to stare at the blanket from above.

"Warm," you mutter appreciatively, fisting your hands into a Bucky's face. You pinch it to your field of view, dragging a chunk off your ankle so you can observe this Bucky up close. You recognize his clothing as his mission gear. How someone got the picture is beyond you.

You're too busy picking at the blanket to notice the subject walk into your room, shutting the door very carefully once he's on the other side of it. "Hey."

You startle, meeting his eyes abashedly. You stretch out your fingers as far as they'll go over what you were looking at, but it's futile when there are twin faces on every other inch. Bucky hasn't seemed to notice your unease, and you try to get your limbs to relax so he won't.

"Hi," you force out, cringing when you sound doubtful. You clear your throat. "Heeey."

He frowns at you. "Do you know Sam is outside your room?"

"Is he?" you say. "How... strange."

Bucky gets to your bedside and stares down at you, dubious. "Are you feeling—" The back of his hand is grazing your forehead when he pauses, breath catching for what must be the first time. You don't stop looking at him, catching the contemplative inhale and subsequent eyebrow furrow when he realizes he isn't even sure what to ask.

You stare at each other for a few moments until his lips part again, index finger tapping on your blanket. "Is that me?"

"No," you lie immediately. "No, it's not."

"I'm pretty sure... I'm pretty sure that's my face."

"No."

"I know it pretty well."

"Me too."

"Why do—where did th—" He sighs, deeply and deflatedly.

"It's Sam's fault," you blurt. "Mainly. Or, actually, it's because of how shitty our privacy is nowadays. You're right. Things were better back in the old days."

"Where did you get this?"

"Etsy," you admit ashsamedly. "It was actually pretty expensive. I got an ad for it and it started off as a joke, and then..."

His head shakes confusedly, pupils flickering between each face on top of you. "Why... why do you have this?"

"I got an ad," you repeat.

"Sure. But... why?"

"I don't know. I generally try to avoid the Bucky Barnes edits."

"That's not what I... I mean why would you listen to it?

"I personally like it."

"How would someone make this?"

"A collage? I don't know, the internet is getting hard for me to understand."

"Why? Why would this exist?"

"Why not?" you counter.

He steps back, tongue sweeping over his bottom lip. His pupils erratic before they settle on a specific part. You try and follow his gaze, arriving at a shirtless image of him from a couple metres away, a towel draped around his neck.

“How did they get that picture?” He looks it over critically, a grimace on his face. He grows a little more horrified as he discovers more stills of him in different situations.

"You know there are these things of all of us? I found one for Steve. Mine's pretty creepy." You slip out from underneath it, standing guiltily next to Bucky. He's barely noticed you, a frantic finger drumming on Bottom Right Bucky's shoulder. "Tony has one of himself. I'm pretty sure he had it commissioned."

Bucky doesn't respond and you tug at his shirt. "Will you stop glaring at it?"

"I just... every time I think I get this century, aliens or Asgard or.... this happens."

You rub a soothing palm up and down his arm. "Okay, I'll give you that. That's fair enough."

"What are you going to do with it?" he asks, turning to you.

You cock your head. "What do you mean? What do you usually do with blankets?"

"Really?" He looks a little horrified.

"Yes, of course. Why else?" You grab his arm. "Touch it," you encourage, urging his hand to smooth over it. "It's soft."

"I guess."

"That's not something you can argue, Buck," you admonish.

"Wanna see?"

"No," you mutter, glaring at him. "It's gonna grow on you," you say menacingly.

"It won't."

"We'll see." You pat Middle Bucky on the head. "We'll see."

-

You like challenging yourself in harmless situations. Setting a ginormous plate on your non-dominant hand seems innocuous enough when the only thing threatening it is your impeccable balance, and after a particularly short mission, it serves to burn what's left of your adrenaline.

You step too confidently and your tray of cookies balances precariously on your palm.

You concentrate on each wobble, careful to not let anything slide too far. When you finally turn to your room, you let your shoulders slump from their place by their ears, only to regret it immediately when you tense again, sensing another presence the moment you step inside.

It's a relief for just a moment when you realize it's only Bucky splayed across your bed, because you realize he's sleeping very peacefully beneath the Bucky Blanket and your phone is in the pocket opposite to your free hand.

You gasp and subsequently snap your mouth shut, stilling in your doorway.

"My phone. My phone, nonono," you hiss in despair, needing to shut your eyes to concentrate but not wanting to look away. You suck in a beep breath, focusing on keeping the plate steady as you switch hands and pull your phone out.

"Ohh, I knew it. I told him," you whisper, taking a picture.

A shimmery glow takes on most of the weight, allowing you more freedom with angles. You're taking a slow step toward the bed when you're interrupted. You should've closed your door.

"No way," Sam chortles loudly. Your tray clatters to the floor, Bucky shoots up in the bed. "Nice nap, narcissist?"

it seems like every picture of him groans with Bucky.

[borathae]

hey! i don't understand what is happening rn... i tried reading a few articles but i can easily make out that it's fucked up propaganda and are highly biased. ik that yoongi got in a case. i've seen the vid too so ik that it isn't THAT BIG OF DEAL. so idfk know wtf is happening at this point. cud u break it down pls? I wouldn't mind a link to a genuine article that's just facts...

thnx!! much luv ✨️

On the 6th of August, Yoongi drove around 500m on an electric scooter (something like this, not the correct model idk the correct one but something like this) from a restaurant he had dinner at to his house. He drove on the sidewalk in a straigth line, very slowly and carefully then when he took a turn into his apartment's street, he fell. He wore a helmet and the only person "who could have gotten hurt" was himself but he didn't. He got up right away but three patrolling officers saw him and confronted him. They suspected him to be drunk, so they did a breath analyser test and the results came out to something under 0,08% (idk the exact results, but they were under this number or this number exact. and to give a perspective, that's around the number you have after one and a half beer) and because of that, he got fined and his scooter license revoked. The punishment was done. The case was closed.

Or so we all thought.

Yoongi instantly came onto Weverse and confessed. HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON WE EVEN HEARD OF THIS INCIDENT FROM!!! HE LEGITEMATELY WAS THE FIRST AND HE APOLOGISED RIGHT AWAY!!!!

And it should have been done by then. He apologised, he got the legal punishment and IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY THEN.

But it wasn't. South Korean Media (aka Satan's spawn which came outta his asshole) blew it out of proportions, they spread false information, spread falls cctv videos, spread lies about him in his service, slandered his name and shamed him. They literally tried to fucking murder his public image and many "ARMYs" jumped on the hate train as well (they're another species of Satan's asshole spawn). Obviously Knetz did as well because they're jobless, loveless assholes. They wanted him to apologise over and over again, wanted him to leave BTS, wanted him jailed, wanted him dead. It is literally fucking insane.

It came that far that it has been literally almost a month and it's still going on (bear in mind, Yoongi was the first person who dropped the news on the night of it happening and he apologised right away and took responsibility. It should have ended with that).

Then on the 23rd of August he was called to the police station because the entire backlash started an investigation (like WTF???) and K-media reporters were illegally (or legaly? please correct me if I'm wrong) waiting in front of the station, bombarding him with cameras and making him publicly apologise for everything (I thankfully didn't see anything about it except one video on tiktok I had forced onto my FYP about him literally bowing while too many camera flashes went off. I reported and blocked this account so fast, seeing this video upset me so much).

It should have been over then, fuck it never even should have come that fucking far, but it wasn't.

Now today, Yoongi comes online and writes this heartbreaking apology letter and it breaks my fucking heart. It should have been over when he wrote that first post, he got legally punished and he apologised. It should have been over then, but instead it escalated into this.

If you want to help check out Cam's twitter page, she has templates we can send to companies etc. which will help Yoongi. Also check out Min Suga HQ and their template. And keep reporting people who spread hateful lies about him on social media. Please don't share any pictures/videos about the incident or police station and don't engage with these accounts except for reporting & blocking them.

Let's keep sending him loving messages on Weverse and stream/buy his music! istfg I wanna do so much more for him, but at least like this we can show him that he is loved 💜 let's keep fighting for him and showing him love 💜

I hope he is surrounded by people who truly love him and that he finds some sort of rest soon 💜

[television-overload]

of our own making

(an X-Files fanfic)

Chapter 18/34 - ashes

[Read on AO3]

“I love what you've done with the place,” a voice speaks as soon as the apartment door closes behind her. She looks up at the darkened shadow in the corner, only partially illuminated by the dim light of Mulder's fish tank. His face lights up with an orange flash as he flicks his lighter on, bringing the flame to the tip of his cigarette. It reflects off the hard edges of his face, giving him the monstrous appearance of a gargoyle for the briefest of moments before fading into black once more.

“What do you want?” Scully asks, no patience for beating around the bush with this man. At least he appears to be incapable of harming anyone. The man looks like he already has one foot in the grave, and she'd love to give him that last little push he needs.

“I want you to stop looking,” he answers simply.

“You've wanted that since 1973, when you ordered an end to the search for Mulder's sister,” she says, unmoved. “Your initials are on the document, I've seen it.”

If he’s surprised that she’s figured that much out on her own, he doesn’t show it. “Yes, I signed that order because I knew then what I know now: No one's going to find her.”

“Why not?”

“Because I believe she's dead.” The words deal a crushing blow, as does the cold, unfeeling way he speaks them. “No reason to believe otherwise,” he says offhandedly, gesturing vaguely with his cigarette.

“You're a liar,” Scully says softly, her hatred of the man simmering just below the surface. “If you knew that she was dead, why didn't you say something earlier? Why now?”

“There was so much to protect before,” he says with a shrug. “It's all gone now.” The Syndicate, reduced to ashes. Their leader obviously barely hanging on by a thread.

“So you just let Mulder believe that she was alive for all these years?” she asks, furious, if that’s the case. It makes her sick, the way he toys with Mulder like a puppet. 

“Out of kindness, Agent Scully,” he says. “Allow him his ignorance. It's what gives him hope.”

Scully rears back in disgust. How dare he talk about hope? How could he dangle the false promise of everything Mulder has ever wanted in front of him, and ask her to do the same?

Never.

“That isn't what gives him hope,” she says, glaring at the very embodiment of evil standing in her living room.

He gives a low chuckle, its sound chilling. 

“No, I suppose you're right. He has much better things to hope for now, doesn't he?” The insinuation that he knows what they’re up to terrifies her, but she won’t let it show. “I suppose I ought to thank you for that, Agent Scully,” he continues. “I never could have predicted how sending you to him would turn out, but you're good for him. Despite what you may think, it delights me to see my son so happy. And in the end, I succeeded in my purpose of sending him to you after all.”

“Which was what?” she spits.

“To distract him,” he says calmly. “To get him to quit.”

Well, tough luck, you black-lunged creep. “It didn't work out that way.”

“No, it didn't,” he concedes with a nod. “In fact, he became even more focused with you in the picture. A miscalculation, on my part. But I don't see how that's worth dwelling on now. Everything I built is gone.”

“I want you to leave us alone,” Scully demands. She wants nothing more than to get as far away from this man as possible, but she holds her ground. She won’t give him the satisfaction of spooking her.

“I will, so long as the two of you stay away from my business,” he says, taking another puff of his cigarette. “I trust that won’t be a problem?”

“You don’t know us at all, do you?”

He chuckles again. “Unfortunately, I do.” The shadows on his face shift as he takes a step in her direction. “In any case, I offer my heartfelt congratulations on your future together.”

“I’ll be sure to pass that along,” she says coldly, not even giving him an inch as he moves past her to the doorway.

He drops his cigarette onto the hardwood floor and steps on it to put it out. Its stench burns at her nostrils, and she isn’t sure even her strongest cleaning chemicals will be enough to remove it. “Your snark is noted, Agent Scully,” he says with a sickening half-smile and a nod. 

He opens the door and steps into the hall, then looks back at her one final time.

“Best of luck in your endeavors,” he says.

By the time she goes to shut the door behind him, he’s gone.

-.-.-

Mulder’s ramblings about his sister are nearly incoherent the next time she speaks to him. That, combined with her own experiences since returning to Washington, means she’s booking another ticket back out to California, a move that will certainly have the Bureau accounting people staring her down for the next month or so.

But it proves to be the right decision, because Mulder has found something. The most significant something that’s come his way since all this began.

She doesn’t know what it means.

She’s with him when he finds Samantha’s diary. Drawn there by some otherworldly force, or so he says. She can’t argue with the results, though. Hidden in this house, on an abandoned military base, is the diary of a fourteen year old Samantha Mulder.

Her heart aches for the girl, and for her big brother who drinks in every word scrawled on the page in blue ink.

The diary leads them to a police report. Which leads them to a hospital. Which leads them to the home of a retired nurse.

Which leads to the truth.

Finally.

The nurse tells a tale of a nameless girl, strange injuries, the fear in her eyes. Mysterious men who came looking for her in a cloud of cigarette smoke, and how she vanished from a locked room before they could get to her.

It almost raises more questions than answers, but Scully hopes it’s enough. Enough to satisfy her dearest friend, so that he can truly begin to live.

He disappears off on his own in the short time she’s away, talking to the nurse on her doorstep of her home. But she feels something too, like he had when they first arrived here.

This is where it ends. This is where the rest of their life together truly begins.

-.-.-

He’s not sure what it is exactly that pulls him further into the woods. But, the second he catches sight of the little boy again, translucent in the moonlight, he knows with a sinking feeling what he will find.

It’s overwhelming.

With each step he takes, he becomes more and more certain. Like the puzzle pieces are all sliding into place, forming the picture of their own accord. The lack of effort required by him, after all this time, leaves him feeling hollow and empty.

He's letting go. He has no choice but to do so now, faced with the facts before him. The place inside him where the mystery of his lost sister festered for so long has become a gaping hole, and he feels lost without it already. Uncertain where to go next, now that his guiding force is gone.

His first glimpse of her stills him, and even though deep down, he'd expected to find her, the actuality of it shakes him. It feels both unbelievable and startlingly real at the same time, and he doesn't know what to do. Does he cry? Close his eyes and reject the reality in front of him? Should he leave, satisfied with this conclusion to his life's mission despite it being not what he expected or hoped for?

In the end, he does none of those things. Her name drips from his lips, an answer to a question that has haunted him for decades. Simple, but unimaginably profound.

“Samantha...”

His feet carry him toward her in a trance. Her movement is not so restrained. Her beaming smile practically lights up the forest as she dashes to him, her dark waves bouncing over her shoulders.

She's taller than he's ever seen her, and yet, his own height makes her smaller by comparison. He enfolds her in his arms, not expecting much of anything, but he feels her.

There's no breath in her lungs, but she has a solid form. She's surprisingly warm, not like a living body would be, but—he supposes—like light. Electricity buzzes under the surface when her hand lands on his cheek, and though she's different, at heart she's the same.

He can practically hear her voice in his head as she grins happily up at him, her brother.

“Fox!” her eyes say, his name conveyed in the shine of recognition he sees there.

He swallows back the lump in his throat and crouches to his knees, inspecting the changes on her face with the gentle brush of his fingers.

This is what she'd looked like in the end. While he was off in England, beginning his studies at Oxford, this girl was still here, suffering at the hands of her captors, unable to recall anything more than his face.

He'd never forgotten her. Sometimes he'd hoped he might find her, to see her grown up and happy, freed from whoever it was that had abducted her.

Other times, he'd been certain he would never see her again. He convinced himself it would be a mercy if she'd been dead all this time.

Now, he supposes both were right. She was gone, granted the mercy of a peaceful exit from this life by the mysterious inner workings of the universe. But also…

He gets to see her. For what will be the last time, he knows.

And she is happy, he can tell. At peace. Really, that's all he can ask for.

“There's so much I wish I could tell you,” he says, blinking through tear filled eyes to keep her in his vision. 

He thinks of all that has happened to him since she disappeared. In some ways, he’s the same person he was all those years ago. In other ways, he is completely changed. He wants her to know him as he is. To know who her big brother has become.

“I'm going to be a father.”

The words leave his mouth unrestrained, but she seems to understand his need to say them. She smiles softly, tilting her head in what could either be a teasing or truly genuine response.

“I know,” he says with a chuckle. “You think I'll be any good?”

Her answer comes in the featherlight touch of her hand against his, and it feels sincere. He sees flashes of her memories of them together, playing games, walking together to her piano lessons after school, him setting out a TV dinner for her on the nights neither of their parents were home to feed them… He knows what she's trying to say, and it warms his heart, even if he can't hear her reassurance with his own ears.

Her fingers brush over the back of his hand, and he follows their path with his eyes until she lands on his bare ring finger. When he looks up at her, he finds an inquisitive look on her face that almost makes him laugh.

It's strange, to be with his baby sister as an adult. Marriage was the furthest thing from his mind when he'd last seen her. Back then, his only thought was what could happen on the next episode of Star Trek or whether he could convince his father to let him go to summer camp on the mainland that summer. But now, he's all grown up, and in a way, so is she.

“Yeah,” he says, responding to her unspoken question. Smiling quietly to himself, he pulls out the chain that holds his ring from beneath his shirt and dangles it out in front of her. Her eyes instantly light up, and she brings her forefinger up to his chest to touch the cool metal. Gently, like it might shock her.

“Dana,” he says boldly. He's not sure why, but he feels the need to tell her everything. She’s a ghost, or something very like it. The things of this world should no longer concern her. But she should know the name of her sister-in-law. That, at least, he can tell her. “Her name is Dana.”

Samantha looks happy. Relieved, even, which he thinks is strange. If anything, he's the one who should feel relieved, having found her after so long. But maybe she has cause for it, too. Maybe she's spent these years worried about him, just as he has worried for her.

Her small hand splays on his upper chest in a purposeful motion, near his collar bone on the left. He looks down at her hand and then back at her, trying to discern what question she may be asking now.

The scar there tingles, and for the first time, he feels a little guilty that he hasn't taken a little better care of himself. Standing in front of her now, he knows that's not what she would have wanted.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” he says, chuckling softly. “She's the one who shot me. But I’m okay now.”

The corners of Samantha’s lips turn up in a small smile, but she shakes her head. No, that's not what she was wondering.

His brows furrow, and he's about to tell her that he doesn't understand when her fingers start to tap rhythmically against his chest.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

The question mark at the end of the sentence is written on her face, and he finally makes the connection.

‘Do you love her?’ she's asking.

He grabs her hand, cupping it between his own much larger ones, and stares deep into her eyes. He won't lie, not to her.

“More than anything.”

Samantha gives a satisfied nod, a content smile on her face. He knows they don't have much time left, but there's still so much more he wishes he could say.

“I'm sorry I couldn't protect you,” he speaks, finally releasing the apology he's had stored up for over twenty years. “I'm sorry I couldn't save you.”

‘It's okay. I'm okay, now,’ her peaceful expression says. He feels her forgiveness as if it had been spoken aloud, and it's like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. 

‘You’ll be okay, too?’ she asks him next, the words voiced in the expectant tilt of her head.

He glances heavenward, willing the tears to subside for a few more minutes so he can get through this, but manages to smile and nod in response.

“Yeah. I think I'll be okay.”

-.-.-

She's just about to go looking for him when she sees his figure wandering back toward them. What he'd been doing in the woods, she can't begin to guess, but as he approaches, she levels him with a worried gaze.

His necklace is visible, resting atop his clothes instead of under them for once. It glints in the moonlight, and Scully briefly worries that someone will see, but there is no one here who would care.

“Mulder?” she asks. It takes all that is in her to resist the urge to touch him, to check him for physical injuries or other external signs of damage. He seems fine, but it's what goes on inside his head that really concerns her.

“It's over,” he answers in a calm voice. 

His response doesn't do much to reassure her. Calm on the outside certainly doesn't mean calm on the inside, as she well knows, and she still worries he'll shut her out.

He should know by now that his search for the truth is as much hers as it is his.

“Are you okay?” she asks, prodding deeper in hopes he won't shut down. 

He smiles at that, something about her words amusing him, and that offers her a little relief. The feeling only grows stronger as he pulls her into his arms, resting his head atop hers and swaying slightly on his feet.

“I'm okay,” he assures her, in a quiet voice meant only for her. “I'm free.” 

She feels his arms tighten around her, and his voice drops even further, hardly more than a breath into the still night air when he speaks again, insistent.

“We're free.”

-.-.-

She's laying half asleep on top of the scratchy motel room quilt when his voice penetrates the comfortable silence. Despite what she'd told Skinner, she's not keen on letting him out of her sight. Not after what he'd gone through. He lays beside her, curled up under the covers and facing the wall, only the hum of the clunky air conditioner perched in the window to fill the quiet.

“I told her about you,” he reveals.

She stills. He'd mentioned seeing Samantha in the forest, of course. Talked about ethereal children playing in the clearing, the echoing sounds of their laughter and squeals of delight the only sounds he could hear.

Whether she believes him or not, she's relieved that it brought him closure.

The idea that they'd talked about her, however, has her hoping and praying that it’s true. She wishes she could have been there with him. Could have seen her with her own eyes, this girl who has so completely shaped both Mulder's life and hers.

“What did you say?” she asks calmly, staring fixedly up at the ceiling. Her curiosity in this matter makes her feel vulnerable, and the ensuing silence does nothing to ease her nerves.

With the rustle of sheets, though, he turns over, his knees bumping against her legs under the covers. She fights the compulsion to look at him, knowing that if she did, she’d be faced with the full intensity of the stare she feels prickling the side of her face.

He inches closer, the movements jostling the springy mattress, and he maneuvers his head until it's practically on her pillow. She feels his breath on her neck, the spiky ends of his hair brushing against her cheek, commanding the totality of her attention.

“Someday I'll tell you, Scully,” he whispers, curling deeper into the bed. His forehead nuzzles against her shoulder and her eyes fall shut, lost entirely to the sensation of him beside her. “I promise.”

~~~

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[spencers-abit-weebish]

3 Minutes and 3 Seconds

XxX

Warnings: Typical COD violence, Incorrect information about Nymphs,

The One Where: Ghost Team pair up with a Nymph to take down a crime lord and his team at a Gala event

Pairing: Ghost x Fem!Reader

A/n: I know a lot about Nymphs and Greek Mythology I swear, i just put out somewhat false information for the sake of plot

xXx

“Nymph, meet the Ghost Team, boys this is Nymph, she’s been leading the operation on Brühl for months now, so be respectful” Laswell said over the speakerphone.

Ghost team had re-grouped after their newest target Josiah Brühl made a deal with the Cartel in Mexico. Brühl was apparently not only making nuclear weapons under the table but also had created a drug that while does give you a high at first, overdosage was easy on it and killed you painfully from the inside.

“Nymph, Price and Ghost are in charge of this team, so while you’re leading this operation I still need you to play nice” Laswell said in a warning tone.

“Gosh fine mom, what’s next you’re gonna tell Osborn I’m bruising egos?” You reply sarcastically.

“Actually I’m about to call him-”

“Wait no I’m sorry I’ll play nice, please don’t tell Osborn” Laswell hangs the call up with a laugh making you sigh heavily.

“Is Osborn your superior?” Price asked.

“Osborn is my partner, he’s my hacker, and a really annoying one at that” You said causing everyone’s phones to go off at the same time with an annoying alarm. “Okay I’m sorry you’re a delight!” You yell taking your phone out of your pocket tossing it onto the table causing it to turn off along with everyone else’s.

“Osborn?” Soap leaned forward looking at your phone. A picture of you and Ossy appeared on the screen. He was sitting at his computer and you had your arms tossed over him winking at the camera.

“Ossy get off my phone” You said causing your phone to shut off. “He’s also a bit of a prankster” You inform as you grab your phone pocketing it.

“So they call you Nymph” Ghost states. You look up at him meeting his greasepaint gaze, you tilted your head to the side almost in familiarity and fondness.

“Yes sir” You state proudly. You loved your call sign.

“Why?” He asked curiously.

“My First mission out of basic training I was trailing an enemy ship underwater and I held my breath for 18 minutes before taking each person out one by one, second mission I was in a jungle taking out Russian-soldiers from the trees, third mission I was undercover at a Russian auction and they had ‘hired me’ to perform before the auction. My call sign was almost Siren because of that mission but Ossy recommended Nymph and my team associated that with me more. Nymphs are creatures of any aspect of nature and some are associated as Sirens, I’m a creature of whatever nature you put me in. I'm a nymph” You shrugged.

“Her most impressive mission was in the mountains of Serbia, caused an avalanche with just her voice taking down a terrorist group” Price said making you grin proudly.

“Do you usually work alone?” Rodolfo asked.

“Most of the time it’s just me and Osborn, but I have my own team that I usually lead. My captain, Castagnoli, mainly does solo missions so since I’m his Lieutenant I’m usually in charge, obviously when I’m solo as well Os is left in charge” You explain. The team is left with well impressions of you.

“If that’s all I’d like to regroup tomorrow so we can come up with a game plan, Brühl’s second in hand is throwing a Gala in a few days and I want us there” You state. Price nods his head gesturing for the boys to leave.

“Uh could one of you guys show Nymph to her room, it’s right down the hall from Vargas and Parra” Price said.

“Come with us preciosa, we got you” Alejandro said. You smile grabbing your bag following the two Mexican men out.

“We’re having dinner around 2000 if you wanna join us” Gaz offered as you all walked out the room.

“In the mess hall or out the base?” You asked.

“Out the base, there’s a nice grill down the road from the base” Soap added.

“Sure thing, I’ll meet you guys in the commons” You smile. The task force leaves you with the two Vaqueros to take you to your room.

The team waited for you in the commons. You walked in wearing normal jeans and a cropped hoodie with boots. You had your holster attached around your waist with a glock in it and your badge on a chain attached to your dog tags.

"You always walk around showing off your package?" Alejandro asked gesturing to your gun.

"You guys don't?" You asked causing everyone to lift their shirts showing the gun tucked into their jeans. "You all look like some sort of bootleg street gang walking around with your glocks in your pants" You teased causing Ghost and Price to lift their boots on a couch and show the small pistols they had on a holster in their boots. "Except for them"

xxx

"Tell me what I need to know" You said. You sat at the bar with Price while the rest of the boys had split off to either play pool or darts.

"Sergeant John 'Soap' MacTavish, he's pretty introverted at first but once he gets close to you outside the field he'll never shut up," Price starts gesturing to the Scott with a mohawk playing darts with Gaz.

"In the field though?" You ask

"He's very focused, will rarely talk outside of the mission and if he does, usually means he's nervous and needs to calm down. Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick, he's probably one of the most normal ones, typical extrovert but when it comes to business he gets down" Price said taking a sip of his drink.

"I'm assuming all your men do?" You asked.

"They're not all mine, Vargas and Parra are Vaqueros from Mexico, they're in the Mexican Army, came with some of their men after Brühl started working with one of the cartels down in Mexico. Alejandro is the Colonel of his team and Rodolfo is his second in command" Price explained. The two hispanic men were playing pool with Ghost, severely getting their asses handed to them by the Brit.

"What about skull face?" You asked.

"Ghost? Not much I'm allowed to tell you, you're gonna have to find that one out on your own" Price said.

You made eye contact with Ghost for a moment. You could swear that you recognize those eyes.

"His file didn't have his government name, is that classified?" You asked.

"Yes and no at the same time, it's hard to explain, like I said there's not much I'm allowed to tell you. Not because it's classified but out of respect to him, If anything you might get more information about him out of Soap" Price said. You hum to yourself eyeing the 6'2" British man.

You down the rest of your drink before jumping off the bar stool. Price watches as you make your way over to the pool table talking to the men there. Alejandro laughs setting a hand on your upper back, out of respect. Rodolfo hands you a cue stick making you smile as Ghost sets the table up.

"We doing teams?" You ask.

"You're on my team" Ghost states.

"You sure hermano? I don't mind teaming up con la princessa" Alejandro says his hand still on your back.

"I'm sure" Ghost says. You smile over at him as you lean over the table, you were breaking.

When it was Rodolfo's turn you stood back standing next to Ghost. You look up at him tilting your head as he looked down at you.

"Anyone tell you you have a staring problem" Ghost says.

"So do you" You say making him look away. "You have really pretty eyes" You tell him. He only hums in response making you smile.

You and Ghost won the first game easily. The two of you traded spots with Soap and Gaz the pair wanting to test their skill against the cowboys. You played a round of darts with Ghost, not much talking done and no one was really keeping score. Something about his presence though comforted you.

"Can you tell me anything about yourself Ghost?" You ask tossing a dart to the board hitting dead center. The game was pretty boring since you and Ghost both constantly got bullseyes.

"Did my file not tell you enough?" Ghost asked.

"I think we both know almost everything about you is redacted, should've just printed on black paper with the amount of black ink on those pages" You say.

"I could say the same for you Nymph" Ghost lifts the bottom of his mask to take a drink from his bourbon. You notice a small scar right at his jawline making you tilt your head. "You're staring again"

"Not sorry, you're very attractive" You smirk throwing your last dart before going to collect them.

"I'm wearing a balaclava, you think I'm attractive?" He asked.

"Got a problem with that LT?" You asked.

"Not at all Pet" Ghost says. You could hear the smirk from behind his mask. Your mind raced as you chuckled shaking your head

When the team regrouped to eat dinner you sat in between Rodolfo and Ghost.

"Why do you do so many solo missions Nymph?" Soap asked grabbing a chip from the basket in the center of the table.

"Less colateral, not to mention I lead a team of men so half the time the missions that are given to my Captain and I don't require a full team and are something one person can handle in a day or two, don't want to waste my boys' times when they could be at home with their families" You explain.

"So you drown yourself in work so your team can have breaks?" Gaz asked.

"I don't have a life outside of work," You shrug, "My parents were shit, they cut ties with their families, all my siblings are assholes, most of my friends lost contact after high school, so I decided to go into the workplace that kept me the most busy, and paid well" You say nonchalantly.

"What about your boys?" Price asked.

"My three sergeants are all married, one of them has a family, pretty big one too, I try to bother him the least, one of them only married so his partner could get benefits but they're good, the third one is freshly married so I want him to spent time with his girl. As for my private he pretty much lives on base training unless I need him. I guess you could say he's my padawan" You smile taking a drink from your whiskey sour.

"Padawan?" Gaz asked.

"Star Wars? You know? Jedi- Padawan" You say. All the boys shake their heads. "None of you have seen star wars? Oh we're fixing that later" You tell them.

"So how did you and Osborn meet?" Alejandro asked.

"I met him not too long after getting out of basic training, purely by luck him and I met online on some game before meeting in person. He’s the one that put in a good word for me to my Captain. I was one of the first people in the Underground Team” You explained.

“You guys are called the Underground team?” Gaz asked.

“We deal with a lot of lesser known crimes, too advance for the FBI not advance enough for you guys, we work with the CIA a lot” You explained.

“You- little Nymph, are a very impressive lassie” Soap says festering to you with his drink before taking a sip for it. You smile tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Thank you, that means a lot coming from someone like you” Yoh tell him.

“Someone like me, Bonnie look around, you’re just as badass as us, very rarely do we go on solo missions taking out men twice our size, I mean Ghost right there is over a foot taller than you probably and I don’t doubt you could take him out before any of us could react” Soap said. Ghost tilted his head at the Scott causing the man to shut his mouth. You chuckle looking at the masked man next to you who looked down at you before he reached for his drink lifting his mask slightly.

“I don’t doubt it either L/n” Ghost says softly to you before taking a sip of his drink.

xxx "Courtesy of Osborn these are everyone's new identities, I want you to memorize them front to back, Alejandro and Rodolfo are brothers from mexico, you guys are supposed customers of the cartel and want to buy the new drug. Gaz you can do an american accent so you're a tourist that caught wind of the drug and want some. Soap and Price you guys want weapons" You said handing out the files. "Ghost, since you're faceless you're my bodyguard, I am a german crime lord and I want my hands on both the drug and the weapons"

"I thought you've interacted with Brühl and his men before" Soap said.

"I have, plenty of times" You stated.

“So Brühl and his team know what you look like?” Ghost asked “Oh baby,” you said in a patronizing voice, “Don’t you know Nymphs can change their appearances?” you chuckle.

The day of the mission the entire team met up at the air strip where a plane was waiting for them.

The men all waited for you seeing as you were the last one left. Soap was the first to see you stopping what he said as he smacked the person nearest to him which happened to be Ghost, and caught everyone’s attention.

You wore an elegant black gown with lace sleeves and a slit up to your upper thigh. You had black strappy heels and silver jewelry to compliment the look. Your makeup while to most would seem simple you definitely looked different the usual, and the dark lace front wig you wore with a beautiful hairstyle definitely helped your change in appearance.

“Just to be sure you’re Nymph right?” Gaz asked making you giggle.

“Yes, glad to see you all clean up nicely” You smile.

Alejandro and Rodolfo both wore matching white suits. Alejandro had red accents while Rodolfo had blue. Price had settled for a normal black and white suit while Soap wore a black dark green set with a black shirt. Gaz had a dark blue set and appropriately enough, Ghost wore an all black suit matching your all black attire.

“Hey Lieutenent, wear this” You said tossing him a black mask. The Lieutenant gave you a funny look until you placed a black fedora on his head before boarding the plane.

“Hey look, we’re matching” Gaz said gesturing to the blue fedora he had on. Ghost rolled his eyes following after you the rest of the team on his trail.

“Here’s the game plan, all of us have to arrive separately from each-other in about 10-30 minute intervals. Ghost and I will go in last due to Brühls men knowing me if anything goes wrong at least all of you will be in there. Rodolfo y Alejandro I want you two to go in first. Soap you go in after them then Gaz then Price. This is a gala that’s open to the public so be careful with what you say, we don’t wanna cause any harm to civilians we just want Brühl, his second in command Morgenthau, and the Cartel leader Torres, we need at least all three of them alive. Now is everyone strapped?” You asked.

All of them men flashed you their concealed weapons. Price had his tucked into the suit the black gun blending it with the tuxedo. Alejandro and Rodolfo had their tucked into their waist under the vest and suit jacket. Gaz and Soap both had theirs on a holster around their ankle causing you to look over at Ghost. He lifted up his pant leg showing you the gun on his ankle. He opened his suit jacket showing the gun he had blending in with his inner suit and opened his vest showing the collection of knives he had in here along with the two he had tucked up his sleeve held in place firmly by his gloves.

“I like this one” You smile gesturing to the man sitting across from you.

“You packing too hermosa?” Rodolfo asked. You moving the slit of your dressed to your covered thigh showing the assortment of knife and the one gun you held.

“Not to mention the amount of shit I can stuff in this dress” You said pulling out a taser, a knife, a lighter, and handcuffs.

“I want to say that’s kinky but I’m a little scared” Alejandro says making you smile.

“Everyone remember their names and identities?” You ask putting away everything you had concealed.

"Yes Ma'am" Everyone said nodding their heads. You look over at Ghost who gives your a nod.

When you guys landed you each took separate cars to the gala. While you drove Ghost changed into the mask and fedora you had given him. You looked away when he took off his balaclava out of respect but couldn't help but ask.

"We know each other don't we?" You asked.

"Come again?" Ghost asked.

"You're the only one on the team that knows my name Ghost, cause I know damn well that my file redacted my government name. Not to mention I recognize those beautiful eyes anywhere" You smile glancing over at him not that he had put on the black mask and hat. Some of his dirty blonde hair peaked under the bottom of the hat making you grin as you look back at the road.

"Yeah we do know each other" Ghost said after a beat of silence.

“We were in basic training together, when we first started”

“I remember, you were one of the fastest to complete the obstacle course” He says.

“Yeah, you were really impressive too, it’s no surprise you ended up here”

"I could say the same for you, working solo missions, leading teams, you were made for that" Ghost said making you blush. When you parked at the Gala event Ghost got out first opening your car door for you. He held his hand out taking the keys from you before helping you exit the car. He pulls you closer to him pressing your chest against his.

"It's good to see you again Simon" You said softly running your hand to the back of his neck.

"I could say the same to you Y/n" You could hear a smile in the way he spoke.

"Nymph we're in, where are you and Ghost" Price said over the comms.

"Walking in now" You said. The two of you went through security and put your names into the guest list before entering the ballroom. At the front was a grand stage where a small band was performing.

"Tell me what you know" You said with a smile as you grabbed a champagne glass from a waiter.

"All the men with name badges that are gold are men of Brühl's, you missed it but Morgenthau was just on stage earlier before leaving through the double doors behind the stage with Torres" Gaz said.

"Any sign of Brühl?" You asked

"No Ma'am" Soap responds

"Probably hiding in the back" Ghost said.

"He is, I got two addresses already on locations for me to pick up some weapons, Brühl said he and his men would meet me there on the condition that I showed up with my men" Price said holding up a card that you saw from across the room before he tucked it into his suit.

"Rudy and I already have a meeting with them in about 15 minutes to get some drugs, you guys just have to get the weapons and we can get the rest of our men down here" Alejandro said. You watched as Rodolfo smiled and shook hands with one of Brühl's men before the soldier walked into the backroom. Alejandro and Rodolfo looked over at you nodding.

"There's not that many men out here, I reckon we can take all of them out while Vargas and Parra are in the back" Soap says.

"I can take the three by the side" Ghost says

"I have my eye on the two by the stage" Soap says.

"Calm yourselves boys, I don't doubt there's more around here somewhere, have some fun and mingle with the guests while I think of something" You said handing Ghost your champagne glass before walking into the dance floor.

Ghost wasn't too far behind you after dropping the glass with a random waiter. Right as the song changed you felt Ghost grab your hand his other landing on your waist.

"What are you doing LT?" You asked

"Blending in, mingling," Ghost stated plainly.

"This feels familiar" You chuckle softly.

"Lucky, how come Ghost gets to dance with Nymph" Soap whines as he invited a random girl to the dance floor. Gaz and Price follow as the five of you watch Alejandro and Rodolfo get invited into the back. Ghost notice you tense up as you quickly start looking around.

"Calm down, you'll get us caught boss" Ghost whispers in your ear. Somehow the way he pressed himself closer to you did manage to not only calm you down, but your attention was focused on him.

Those pretty eyes you first saw your first day of basic training after he had pinned you to the ground but offered you a hand up. The same eyes that looked up at you when he was lying at the end of the obstacle course out of breath while you had barely broken a sweat. The same pretty eyes you lost in the crowded as Osborn had finally taken you under his wing and took you away to join him.

"Osborn" You said as you looked up on the stage. There you saw Osborn, in a grey suit softly singing while playing the guitar at the front of a band of CIA agents. You caught his eyes causing him to smirk at you and nod down. You catch the black fairy brooch on his suit making you look around.

"I have a plan" You said dragging Ghost off the dance floor.

"What where are we-"

"I need all my eligible bachelors to find a girl wearing a black fairy brooch, they're Osborn's girls" You smile.

"You work with Osborn?" You heard Soap ask the girl he was dancing with. You heard a giggle in response as Soap left the dance floor. Just as the song ended Price and Gaz had both found girls with Fairy brooches.

"We got the drugs, and we heard your orders ma'am, Alejandro and I got ourselves two lovelies fairies" Rodolfo said.

"Good, now pretend to be drunk and take your girls into a private area, but make sure guards see and follow you guys" You said as you start giggling and dragging Ghost with you. You caused him to bump into one of the two guards posted by the front doors as you dragged him thought a set of double doors into an empty staircase where another guard was posted at the second level. "Watch out for more guards in your private areas" You whispered leaning against the wall pulling Ghost closer to you.

Ghost pinned you to the wall both hands on either side of your head.

"This feels increibly familiar don't you think" Ghost whispers in your ear causing a shiver to go down your spine.

"Nostalgic even" You respond your arms going to his shoulders and down his chest.

"Hey you can't be in here" The guard in the second level shouted as he came down the stairs. The doors behind Ghost opened as both guard had followed you and Ghost.

"We got them Private" One of the guards said as you giggle pulling Simon closer to you lifting your right leg up to his hip. His hand crawled up your thigh while yours went into his vest.

"Not yet" You whined in a whisper, as if it was cue for Ghost.

"Hey get out of-"

Ghost shoved the guard off him causing the private to come down the stairs. You mounted the private's shoulders with ease leaning forward flipping him off the stairs pulling taser out of your dress pressing it to his throat. You threw Ghost's knife at one guard before he could grab his weapon causing him to drop his gun and walkie. Ghost bashed his head into the railing knocking him out cold before he put the last one in a choke hold until he passed out.

"I think he's out Pet" Ghost chuckles looking down at you as you still had a taser pressed to the Private's neck.

"Oops" You giggle.

"Nymph and I took down three" Ghost said helping you off the ground.

"Only three? Psh I got seven" Soap said cockily.

"I saw, the fairy did most of the work, lets just say she can't come out to the dancefloor without getting some stares" Gaz said.

"i was going to say minimal death cause Ghost and I only knocked our men out" You said taking Ghost back out to the dance floor.

"We knocked them out with our girls" Alejandro said. You watched him grabbing a drink with the girls his arm wrapped around the faerie's waist.

"No my girl drew blood, but she's wearing red so it's okay" Gaz said. You watched him dabbing a paper on his fairies dress causing you to chuckle.

"Mine is bloody as well," Price said meeting up with Soap, both farie's wearing the task force's jackets.

"Men, meet the Black Faires, Osborn's own personal team of assassins" You said walking up to Alejandro and Rodolfo and their farries. The rest of the team walked up to you guys all of you grouping around the buffet tables.

"We need a distraction so you guys can all invade Brühl and his men in to the back" You said grabbing a glass of champagne.

"Did you forget we still have guards on the main floor" Price said.

"We have more farie's sir" His Black Fairy said gesturing to the fairy brooch she wore.

"Here Boss, lay your plan out to Osborn and The Fairies. You men, need to wear these, so the other girls don't try to kill you" Alejandro's Fairy handed you a comm as she took fairy brooches out of her clutch.

"Pretty" Soap compliments. Ghost just sighs heavily as he clips the brooch to his suit.

"Anymore stupid things I have to wear?" He asked making you smack him.

"Fairies will kill you Si, watch your mouth" You said earning weird looks from the men.

"Okay team, here's the plan" You said into the comm the fairy had given you, "Osborn and Black Fairies, I want you to meet the Ghost Team, they're the only men besides Ossy wearing fairy brooches so everyone else you see as a threat is free game. We need to take down Brühl and his men tonight. Ghost, Alejandro and Rodolfo stay on the floor. I want the rest of Ghost Team and their fairies to take down the backroom behind the stage, fairies you scout the rest of the building for anymore threats. We have Vaqueros and Bravo Soldiers on their way here in less than 10 minutes waiting for my cue to come in but under no circumstance can we disturb the civilians" You said.

"Sorry Boss but we're gonna need a distraction to get those boys into the backroom" A random fairy said over the comm. You looked around quickly before looking at Osborn on the stage. He makes eye contact with you glancing down at the violin on its stand.

“I can give you 3 minutes and 3 seconds” You said with a smile pulling out the handcuffs from your dress handing them to a fairy.

“What the hell does that mean?” Ghost asked.

“3 minutes take it or leave it” You said taking off the comm. You grab his hand leading him to the stage.

“I mean I usually last way more than 3 minutes but I guess I’ll take it” He shrugs making you laugh as you gesture for the team to split up and take their positions.

"Do what you do best Ghost" You said pulling black Balaclava out from your dress. He takes the fedora off putting on the balaclava before taking off the other mask.

"Everyone ready?" You asked

"Ready" You heard a chorus of men say.

Osborn smiles grabbing your hand leading you onto the stage catching the audience's attention. Osborn hands you a violin and you take if gracefully before walking up to the mic. You watch as all the men are in position Faerie's waiting for the cue to leave the main ballroom area.

Your eyes drop down to Ghost who's still next to the stage slowly backing away as you mute the comm in your ear as to not kill them. Without another word you place the bow down on the strings striking the first chords, the pianist accompanying you as Osborn and the others distract the audience into clapping along.

"Years ago, when I was younger,

I kinda liked a boy I knew" You sang into the mic with a wide grin on your face. "He was mine, and we were sweethearts, that was then, but then it's true"

"I'm in love with a fairytale Even though it hurts 'Cause I don't care if I lose my mind I'm already cursed" You belted before lifting the violin up once again. You had the crowded so enamoured that no one noticed the numerous guards being taken down and dragged off. Ghost himself almost forgot to stay on task if it wasn't for you smiling over at him as you played the violin.

xxx

"Fuck you Simon" You spat as the two of you stood out in the rain.

"You already did Pet" Simon argues

"One job, I asked you to do one simple job, I was leading that team, It was my turn but no, Big Bad Simon Riley can't stand taking orders from a girl" You said sarcastically while punching his chest.

"Its not taking orders from a girl that I have a problem with sweetheart, it's taking orders from you"

"Why, why is it so hard for you to listen to me, the rest of the team had no problem doing it" You ask pushing your mess of wet hair out of your face.

"How am I supposed to take orders from the same woman who quivers at my touch, everytime you're in a position of power sweetheart I just think of how you whimper every time I have my hands on you" Simon smirks causing you to turn beat red. You bite back a grin before you crack and start chucking.

"You horny mother fucker" You giggle

"What can I say love, you bring it out. I'm sorry I didn't listen to your orders, I prom ise from now on when you're in charge I am but your most loyal guard"

xxx

"I'm in love with a fairytale Even though it hurts 'Cause I don't care if I lose my mind I'm already cursed" You smile widely as you continue with the violin. All the guards out in the dancefloor had been taken care of along with some cartel members Alejandro and Rodolfo recognized from the backroom. Ghost stood to the side of the audience admiring you as everyone completely ignored whatever violence could be heard from the backroom.

"He's a fairytale, yeah Even though it hurts 'Cause I don't care if I lose my mind I'm already cursed" You finished off with the violin before dramatically dropping your arms with a bright smile. The audience cheers as you turn your comms back on. You smile kissing your hand as Osborn goes to help you off the stage. Ghost reaches you quickly holding a hand out for you. You grin taking it walking down the steps of the stairs. You whip your phone out of your dress dialing Laswell's number as you walk into the backroom with the three men.

"Bring 'em in, we got them" You told Laswell with a proud grin as you still gracefully held onto Ghost.

"Hündin" Josiah spits at you.

"Tschüss dummer Junge" You blow him a kiss as Bravo Team enters from all different kinds of doors taking away Josiah, Torres, and their men. You sigh feeling like a big weight was lifted off your shoulders.

"So, you two have some explaining to do" Soap says gesturing to you and Ghost.

"Hündin, saug meinen schwanz," You say.

xxx

"You were amazing up there" Simon said handing you a drink. You two sat in an empty corner of a bar the team celebrating the big win tonight. Most of you all were still in the attire you wore to the gala, yourself included.

"You were amazing yourself, you didn't even need the full 3 minutes" You smirk. Simon chuckles tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

"I still promise you I can last much longer than 3" Simon says

"I believe you soldier, can't count the amount of nights I've stayed up thinking about the hours of sleep I lost from your stamina" You say resting your hand on his forearm.

"I missed you Nymph"

"I missed you more Ghost"

"Think my new callsign should be Fairytale, Pet, judging by that little performance you put on for me" Simon teases

"Im your dreams Ghost" You laugh. Simon only chuckles winking at you as he takes a sip from his drink, you followed the action shaking your head as the sour drink goes down your throat.

"C'mon, let's beat the boys at pool again" You giggle getting up from your seat.

"After this" Simon grabs your bicep pulling you into the hallway the bathrooms were in.

He lifts his mask just above his nose grabbing you by the back of your neck. He hold you there for a moment, your breaths mingling together before he finally pulls you into him locking his lips with yours. He pushes himself closer to you trapping you between him and the wall. You feel his tongue brush against your bottom lip but you didn't give in until you felt his hand crawling up your bare thigh squeezing just above your holster. You moan as your hand goes down his chest undoing the first few buttons before you lightly pushed him away chuckling at your smeared lipstick. You glanced at the clock behind him giggling.

"Best 3 minutes and 3 seconds of my damn life, right Lieutenant?" You asked pulling him back to you.

"Damn right Lieutenant" Simon chuckles pulling you into another fiery kiss.

[justenjoythegossip]

PR ANTICS PART 1: Team Real/Team PR's tactics, the use of haters in a PR strategy and the purpose it serves

Team Real and Team PR: 2 sides of the same coin pursuing the same objective

I have already defined who “team PR” and “team Real” blogs were in my pinned post. You can check it out if you want.

Their disrespectful, condescending and downright insulting tone is usually a good enough hint to recognize those plants whose purpose is to push certain narratives. But they actually are two sides of the very same coin, as they pursue the same objective even if they sometimes use opposing strategies. Each side is meant to “gain the upper hand” at some point, before the other gains ground again. And so forth. By using the oldest trick in the book that is the good old divide and conquer tactics, their goal is to distract from the truth, drive more traffic and keep people’s engagement to a maximum. Although, I do suspect people’s patience might very well be wearing thin at this point. 

Why do people (still) give them the benefit of the doubt…

I have already explained how each Team has lost any credibility at this point. However, both have gotten away with it and sometimes even continues to do so thanks to two things: 

They sometimes have legitimate information that could only come from Chris’ or Abba’s team (a Team Real blog had the exclusive for Chris and Abba’s wedding with Renner and Hemsworth’ presence for ex)

They sometimes point out obvious lies coming from the other team

Those two things still provide them with an audience that listens to their wild speculation or blatant lies, as people keep hoping they will catch a glimpse of the truth or get the ultimate evidence that they are looking for, as it will prove them right.   

Similar and opposing strategies used by either Team

Each Team uses a nice mix of actual facts, real observations, speculation, lies, hateful comments and trolling. And both of them show no sign of actual integrity and keep attacking other people who have an opinion that differs from them.

I was recently attacked by one of those Team Real blogs in my private DM who wrote to me and I quote: “Chris and Alba are married! I know someone who works with his sisters and their marriage is real.” But as I said, I know for a fact that Chris and Abba are exclusively PR because my mailman’s third cousin removed is best friends with someone who knows the assistant of Chris’ mother’s dermatologist. I am obviously joking. I am not privy to any private information but you get the point… 

The inclusion of haters in PR tactics…

It’s important to note that trolls and haters are part of the strategy used by a PR team. Those hate accounts basically work as a controlled opposition. They can serve various purposes. First of all, they can work as bait to get a pulse of what some people might really think of someone, of their RS, of their actions etc. They can also help shape a narrative or help discredit one.

For example, when certain mods called Chris a groomer or a pedophile for dating Abba, they were achieving two things. First they were selling that those two are a real couple. But also by voicing such a false and extremist opinion, they help discredit any kind of concern the public might have looking at them. Indeed, the age difference between them is pretty vast but the optics are even worse given that she looks like a teenager. Some of those mods miraculously became shippers afterwards, which is another sign of them being plants placed here to sell a narrative, whatever that may be and using whatever strategy they see fit. 

Also, if my memory serves me correctly, a hate twitter account got the exclusive for the infamous Walt Disney pics and then claimed they got those pictures via Chris’ sister’s private account. If you actually believe that… It is much more realistic to believe that this account was fed those pics or is actually working for their team. But I am speculating of course. 

The alleged hate relationship between the two and how it helps Chris’ image…

There were hints and breadcrumbs that were designed to help sell the narrative that Chris and Abba actually hate one another. The pictures of them on the stairs after their first papwalk were comically bad and Buzzfeed threw actual shade with their “romance” headline. His mother liked a tweet calling her a racist. Her best friend and soulmate liked a tweet calling Chris “a cheap version of Leo but without the talent”. Of course, Chris and Abba might dislike one another. Or… this could also have been manufactured as well. We will never know for sure.

But what we do know is that this narrative helped achieve a couple of things. First it kept the discourse between Team Real and Team PR very much alive. Because how real can they be if they hate one another? 

But it also helped save Chris’ image with the people who are aware of her problematic stuff. If his fans actually believed that he really fell in love with a Nazi sympathizing yacht girl, he wouldn’t have many fans left. So this narrative served not only as damage control, but also helped him gain sympathy from the people who pay close attention. How sad is it that he is forced to be in a PR RS with a girl he hates? Poor Chris!

I personally think they don’t like one another. He has done the absolute minimum to sell this and his whole demeanor point to it. But again who knows?

I will share more of my thoughts on those PR tactics in my next posts.  

[justyouraverageficwriter]

Orange ~

Sana X M Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst(?), Light Smut

WC: 4,664

Chapter 6: Bringing the Truth to Light

Sana--

Sana was once again left alone in the office, you have already gone out to prepare for an operation. It's not like it is a bad thing, Sana understood that you always prefer operations rather than being stuck inside your office doing paperwork, and operations you have many due to the still unchanging way the senior doctors treat you. Today was no different, she has said a silent prayer, hoping your little adventure will not affect your skills in the operating table. However, the prayer was done half-heartedly because Sana trusts your wizardry and skills. It's just that she could not discount any possibility so she said that prayer nonetheless.

Of course she is smiling, that quick and hot sex on your desk was something she did not imagine happening but ended up loving it. Sana realized she has a thing for that kind, the thrill of being caught greatly turns her on. She's already looking forward to the next one.

But before her thoughts completely occupied her mind, she caught herself, halting all mental impressions. She could not believe she let her brain wander off to those kinds of ideas. It's not like it is wrong or anything improper, you're both old enough. It was just that Sana thought it should not be something she fantasizes about always that she'll even consider herself a slut; or maybe she is already. She focused back on her task, some documents needed for a patient's operation. She hoped it would be enough to suppress any other kind of thoughts.

"Hello good afternoon!" The voice of an elderly man was heard. It broke the silence between Sana's thoughts and the emptiness of the room. She didn't even hear the door opening.

The man is well dressed, respectable and confident. His age could not hide his good looks. His posture exudes experience but Sana noticed his eyes are full of sadness. There's also a hint of familiarity Sana could not put her finger on.

"Hello Sir, good afternoon. How can I help you?" Sana knew that there were no scheduled consultations for you this afternoon. No one was expected to come.

"Is Doctor (LN) here?"

"Unfortunately he currently has an operation, it's a long one too. May I know what your business is with Doc (LN) sir? So that I can properly assist you?"

"I just want to talk to him." The man replied. Sana noticed disappointment, or perhaps sadness. She didn't know what it was exactly.

"If it's for medical purposes, I can schedule a consultation for you sir. Doc (LN) doesn't entertain walk-ins unfortunately."

"I'm his father."

Sana's jaw dropped, she obviously did not expect to meet your father like this. Ever since she saw the lone picture on your desk, Sana concluded that you look so much like your mom. However, looking at the man in front of her she could not deny that Sana can see you in him. Now, the sense of familiarity has been answered. It was you all along. His eyes mirrored yours, just like when you're afraid. A man who is suffering and lost. 

Until now, Sana knew little about your father. That little mostly consists of bad ones too so she didn't know how to act. Here's a man full of emotions and vulnerability masked in that false sense of confidence. From the painted picture on her head, she thought your father was this heartless cheating person. Maybe this is all just a front, all for show. Then she realized, your father is so much just like you. Afraid and completely misunderstood. At least Sana hoped that's the case.

"Do you want to wait for him sir? He'll be back late I'm afraid."

"No, I think I'll just go. Kindly give this to him." He handed Sana a business card. "Tell him to call me."

"I'll make sure to tell Doc (LN) that you came by sir." Sana bowed her head as she waited for your father to close the door behind him. The whole encounter felt off and weird, in the back of her mind she wanted to introduce herself as your girlfriend. However the circumstance is not the best, Sana knew about you and your father's relationship. It's not good to put it simply. She's now facing a dilemma, will she try to help bridge the gap of your relationship? Or she'll just stay out of it? In the end she abandoned that train of thought, Sana will worry about it later. There are paperwork waiting for her attention.

When all the work was done, Sana stretched and tried to look for a past time. It's still another hour before her end of shift. Going out to talk to Jihyo or Dahyun is not an option at the moment, they are still with you in the operating room. She somehow smiled at the idea that nobody knows except Tzuyu about your relationship, well not yet at least. From the looks of it, you are not planning on telling them and Sana was completely sold on that idea too. You both will just let them think whatever they want to think about the two of you. She resigned her head in her arms on top of her desk, eyes fixed on something without really looking. Then, it blurred and went out of focus.

--

Sana felt something poking her cheeks, it was an inconvenience so she tried to swat it away. It worked for a bit, until she felt it again; this time it was pinching. Then it hit her, she fell asleep while taking a quick break. She hastily lifted her head up only to see you smiling, beaming like a fool.

"Why are you still here?"

"I waited for you." Sana tried to capitalize on the opportunity, even though it's not really that true.

"It would have been awesome if that's the case, but I know it isn't." You obviously seen right through her. "Fix your hair Sana, I'll take you home."

"Sana? Am I just Sana now?" She was acting all sad and disappointed. She knew she'll win eventually.

Then in a blink of an eye your face is on the level of Sana's face. She did her best not to flinch or even blink but ultimately failed, her eyes involuntarily closed as your face got closer and closer. She waited for a kiss, the anticipation is killing her. Her heart beats each time the clock ticks, waiting but it didn't come. When she opened her eyes, you are now at your desk fixing your stuff to go home.

"Let's go." 

Sana fixed herself and her things without saying a word. You didn't even wait to open the door for her and chose to wait outside instead. She got sultry and mad, sensitive to the things that you should do but did not. When she emerged from the door, she didn't hide her disappointment and continued to be silent; hoping that you would notice. The lack of conversation continued throughout the whole ride down the elevator, needless to say it stoked Sana's exasperation further.

"Is something wro-" Sana's sentence was cut off as she felt your hands slide on hers, holding it gently and firm. There's a sense of assurance and ownership in the contact of your hands. The feeling of how it fits perfectly is something she could not explain. The anger and disappointment now long forgotten, dissipated like it was not there to begin with.

The elevator door opened. Sana was surprised when she saw the whole lobby of the ground floor, she was expecting to see the basement where your car is. She felt her hand get tugged as you stepped out the elevator into the busy hall.

"Doc, everyone will see." Sana was obviously talking about the hand holding.

"Do you care about what everyone will say? I don't." You sounded soft and reassuring.

"I don't think I do either, but are you sure?" Sana could not meet her boyfriend's eyes.

"Do you want me to let go?"

Sana shook her head in response.

"Let's go then."

Both of you continued to walk towards the hospital's main exit, across a valley of people; hospital staff, patients and families. Sana could already feel the attention you are getting.

"I thought we were heading down the basement Doc?"

"Let's grab something to eat first."

Sana nodded, her lips pressed in a straight line as her cheeks protruded like a hamster chewing a sunflower seed. She got really conscious of all the eyes, some adoration, others straight up judging.

"I'm sorry I teased you earlier, you're way too cute sulking."

Without thinking, Sana slapped your shoulders. It was not hard but enough to be felt. She regretted that action immediately as more eyes looked towards your direction. Feeling sheepish, she could not do anything but lower her head.

Next thing she knew, you pulled her closer and wrapped one arm around that landed on the waist.

"Chin up baby, you're beautiful. You're the envy of everyone here."

Sana let out a soft sigh. So much for keeping things private, now everyone in the hospital will know. Although, deep inside her heart was dancing in joy. It seems like you let butterflies roamed around her stomach.

Reader --

You’re taking an unusual afternoon off work. You’re somehow sitting in a coffee shop, waiting. The patience is starting to wear really thin, time is of so much value to you. Fortunately, before all that patience ran out your father arrived. You now start to question why you agreed to meet him. If it was not for your girlfriend, you swear you will never do this. She persuaded you that night you two had dinner after your father took a visit. She can be really persuasive, she argued that it will be good for you and your father to reconcile. You obviously gave in to what she wanted, you knew she would not let you off the hook until you concede. Besides, her intention was pure and you love her for it. It is just you thought things are fine the way it is. But here you are sitting across from your father. Things started on a bad note, it was clear to see. You are already in a foul mood because he could not make it in time, even if it was just more or less ten minutes late.

“I’m sorry I am late.”

“You should hurry then, you can’t make up for lost time.” That was as cold as it possibly could be.

“Thank you by the way for agreeing to talk to me.” Your father cleared his throat when his words almost got stuck while he said it.

“I suggest you get to the point Mr. (LN). You don’t have much time.”

Your father straightened himself up. He tried to compose himself, shocked was written on his face upon realizing you don’t even call him father anymore.

“Look (YN), I’m sorry for everything. I know I have done so many wrong things and there is nothing that I can say to justify those. I’m just deeply sorry.”

You can see tears starting to fall. It was the first time you saw your father cry.

“Don’t you think it’s too late for that? We’ve already made it without you. We have survived even though you were not there when we needed you the most. You were not even there at Mom’s funeral. She was your wife.” As much as you tried to hold back emotions, it was impossible to hold it all. Some will just slip through.

“I know that was wrong of me, I could not bring myself to visit her after causing her so much heartache.”

You want to confront him with every single pain and suffering you experienced. You want to let him know how bad a father he really is. But you realized it was no use.

“What’s all this for then? Why the sudden change of heart? You still have your business working out for you. I don’t see this to be about money.”

“I’m getting old, my son. It took me too long to mature enough to own up to my mistakes. I just want to apologize and build the bridges I once burnt.” You somehow saw complete genuineness in his eyes.

“You know I have so many things that I kept for myself that I want to rub in your face, but I won’t. That is because I can see in your eyes that you’re being true. I could not say for certain though. I can’t say I can forgive you just yet, but all I can say is I don’t hate you; not anymore.”

Your father nodded as he heard your words. He took a deep breath, you didn't know if it was relief or disappointment.

“If you want to really apologize, not with me but with your daughter. You don’t know how much pain and suffering you’ve caused her. She grew up without even knowing the love of a parent. I’ll give her your number, it’s completely up to her what she does with it.”

You stood up thinking the conversation is done. He said his apologies and you have said your share of words as well. There’s no more point to loiter around.

“Thank you for taking care of Tzuyu, you have all the reasons to hate her after all that has happened.” He held your arms to stop you from leaving before he could say his thanks. 

“I do not blame her for your mistake. And she is a sweet young woman, but strong and feisty too.” You sat back in your seat which surprised your father.

“Tell me the truth about Tzuyu.” You looked at your father’s face dead on. It was not a request but a command. It was your chance to know the truth. You did not care with it before because you knew it would not change anything. Still the truth was always on the background, waiting for it to be told. You have with you the man who can tell the story first hand so you have all the right to be curious and finally bring it to light.

He once again cleared his throat.

“If you really want to know, I guess you deserve the truth.”

“Tzuyu’s mother is a Taiwanese woman I had an affair with. I frequently went to Taiwan those times for some business trips. I know it was a mistake but at that time it didn’t feel like it. Maybe that’s just how it is when you justify yourself. She took care of me in those times, I feel loved especially when me and your mother had it rough fighting. Then she got pregnant, and I feared for my reputation. I could not leave the baby alone so I asked your mother if I could bring Tzuyu home, to make it look like we adopted a baby since we could not make another after you. Your mother agreed at first after I promised her that I’ll be straight and fix our marriage.”

You could see him tried to gather strength to continue the story.

“I absolutely did not expect what happened next, seeing the baby for herself in person I didn’t know it would drive your mother to her limits. I think you know the rest. I want to stop right there.”

“Yes, I clearly know the rest.” You do, at least the one told from your perspective. 

You stood up again and bowed, in a sense that’s the biggest form of respect you can give him for now. He did not hold you this time and you were free to walk towards the exit. You thought, at least some things made a bit more sense now. You finally have an explanation why you and Tzuyu don’t have any resemblance, her Taiwanese blood was stronger than your father’s. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that your father cheated and had his affairs. At least all that brought Tzuyu in your life, a sister you hold most dear. Only time will tell if you can completely forgive your father, but it’s a good start. You ultimately thought about your girlfriend. If not for her and her unchallenged will to have you talk with your father, all that would not have happened. Sana has really been an angel for you.

Sana --

It was inevitable for the news to spread that you and Sana are dating after what happened a few days back. Thankfully all the talks have died down except for the teasing Sana is still experiencing from the rest of the of your team especially Dahyun and Jihyo. They could not ask you directly so they bombarded Sana with questions. Each one of them was genuinely happy at least so Sana just let them inquire and answer them with the safest answers until they too got tired of asking.

Sitting in the office, Sana was wrapping up her tasks. You are off work that afternoon to talk to your dad. Both of you planned to spend the rest of the afternoon together so she will just wait for you to fetch her.

The door swung open and Sana was kind of confused why you're back early. Maybe the conversation didn't end well. However, when the person finally stepped inside it was Hirai Momo and not you.

"Hi Sana!"

"Hi!" Confused and wondering what is happening.

"What's with the face? Is (YN) here?"

Sana recalled what her Japanese friend tried to do with you, and now she just casually called your name like that. Sana was ready to snap back.

"I think you forgot there's a Doctor there somewhere." Sana smiled, controlling her emotions.

"Your boyfriend is hot, I tell you that."

"I know! I am asking you to stop seducing him Momo."

"Alright Ms. Possessive. Good thing we're friends."

"I'm sorry I ran away from your brother." Sana sighed. She felt a bit of guilt looking at Momo.

"Why are you apologizing? It's your life and I respect your decision. I envy you in fact. Having the guts to do all of this." Momo sat comfortably on the couch.

Sana did not know how to respond to the sudden emotional shift of conversation.

"It's funny how you ran away from the attention back home, while me trying my best to have my parent's attention. That's why it's fun seducing other people's boyfriends, it fills all that attention I am craving. You know that right?" Momo's mischievous smile returned.

"Yup I know Momo. I always tell you that it's wrong but I know I'll never be able to stop you. Just not my boyfriend okay?"

"Sure whatever Sana! I'm just here to say goodbye. I'll be going back to Japan later today."

"What's the business with this hospital by the way?" Sana found her opportunity to ask.

"To be honest I don't know much, I'm just here to arrange meetings with our hospital and this hospital's heads. Let me warn you though, I think your father was the one who started the plan."

Sana's jaw dropped. She knew her father and there is a big possibility that she is one of the reasons for the plan. It worries her but she decided to not overthink yet.

The door swung open yet again interrupting her worries. What she saw calmed her down, a face she long to see; an aura she always missed when not around. 

"Who do we have here? Hello Ms. Hirai." You greeted Momo, all proper and professional.

Sana acknowledged your smile by returning a sweet smile of her own.

"Hi Doc, I'm here to say goodbye. I'll be going back to Japan."

"Oh really? Wrapped up your business already?"

"Yes all except one but your girlfriend here cock-blocked me already. It's a pleasure meeting you though." Momo extended her hand for a shake.

Momo came closer to Sana and gave her a quick hug. Sana was happy to know that she and Momo are still friends after all that has happened. She watched her walked outside the office after she said her final goodbyes. When her Japanese friend was completely gone, she immediately shifted her attention to you who was already rushing to her side and wrapped her to a hug. You both just stood there for a minute or two, it was obvious to Sana that both of you have things to share. Savouring every moment of that embrace, she felt peace. Sana told herself everything will be fine, she'll deal with her father when the time comes.

"I see you and Momo are still good friends. Did you talk about what she did to me?" You broke the silence but stayed with the hug.

"I just know her that well, besides I have full trust in you." She halfly lied, it was not entirely true. She also knew you'll see right through her statement.

"I'm just glad you talked it out." Sana felt a kiss in the forehead after what you said.

"Speaking of talking it out, how was your conversation with your father?"

"Short version, it went well. Long version, it went better than expected."

Sana felt relieved. It was her idea in the first place and she kind of forced you into it. It could have gone wrong but it didn't. It made her happy. She looked at your face and saw satisfaction. You are staring right back at her.

"It's all because of you. Thanks for pushing me to do it."

"What did I tell you? But I want details (YN)!"

Both of you laughed at her remarks. Sana was all ears as you share all that you learned. She too shared your sentiments and completely understood your decision. After all, it was not a light matter. At the end of the day, it worked out and at least the wounds will now start to really heal. 

Reader--

"Cook for me!"

She answered promptly when you asked her what she wanted. You expected something like a movie date or visit a park, but she opted to be inside. In all honesty, you love the idea too. The thought of spending the afternoon together regardless of the whats and wheres is awesome in and of itself. Add in all the possibilities of freely doing what you want in the equation, it's an opportunity you would not even dare to miss.

You should have started to cook by now, if not for your girlfriend directly in front of you wanting all attention.

"How will I cook if you are going to stand there, baby?" You tilted your head inquisitively while you asked.

“You have to find a way.” Her beautiful eyes sparkling and full of intention. You knew what she meant.

“Damn Sana, what have I done to you?”

All she did in response was chuckled, cute but at the same time full of anticipation to the things that will unfold. You closed the proximity with a kiss in which she welcomed with enthusiasm. Sana raised her hands and wrapped them on the back of your head, pulling you closer, deepening the kiss. The sound of the interlocking lips started to get sloppy, the tongues joined the fray. The need grew stronger and stronger. The urge to touch, the ought to break all self-control was all hanging in the balance.

“I’m so horny, (YN). Fuck!”

Then it snapped, that was the blade that cut all restraints. You let your hand wander her clothed body. Touching, having a feel and ultimately lost in the maze of lust. The idea of touching her skin bare was killing you, so you started to undo the buttons of her top. It almost felt like opening a present, and maybe it is; wrapped and waiting. With her help, you peeled off her articles of clothing except for the underwear. Loving her body was a complete understatement, you think you are crazy over it.

“Fuck Sana, you’re so sexy.” The words escaped your lips.

Your words stoked her confidence. It was not like you are the only one having all the fun, Sana was quick to remove your belt and unhook your pants. She kissed you and did not took her eyes off as she moved down to free your manhood. In the back of your mind, you already knew what she was going to do.

“I want to do this.” Sana grabbed the base of your dick, gave it a few pumps. It was already hard from your make out session but you felt it being harder still.

Then your body tensed and flinched due to the sudden pleasure. Sana gave your tip a lick before putting it all in her mouth. It was your first time receiving a blowjob from your girlfriend and all you can do was threw your head backwards to enjoy the sensation. She was good at it, the scene of her angelic face doing lewd stuffs made the deed more sinful. You fixed the messy strands of her orange hair, not wanting them to get in the way. She was all for it, slathering your length with saliva and massaged you balls for an extra layer of pleasure.

“I’m going to cum soon if you keep doing that.”

“I’ll let you cum in my mouth if that’s what you want, but you have to fuck me first.” Sana’s naughty side completely took over.

You pinned her to the kitchen top, back towards you. In one quick stroke, you unclasped her bra and threw in on the floor. Pulling her close, you hugged her from behind and reached out to massage her tits. The size of your hands matched the size of her breasts perfectly, giving you a handful. Her bare skin smooth and creamy, it was too much to process everything.

“You're mine." You whispered in her ears.

"Use me baby! I'm all yours."

As your dick slowly entered her waiting clit, you both moan in wordless pleasure. Satisfaction clearly written on your faces, like having to find your bed after a long day. Finding the proper rhythm, Sana melted into a one fucking mess. It was new to see your girlfriend completely lose herself in sex, feral to the core. You didn't want to fail her so you increased your pace, your thrust became more pronounced fucking up to the hilt.

"Oh my God! Please don't stop (YN), I'm cumming. Shit. Please!"

In one prolonged moan, she rode her high, tipping her toes in the process. But before she could finally rest, you reminded her of where you want to cum. She immediately took to her knees and gave you a blowjob again. You didn't last long, every bit of your cum exploded in her mouth. You have seen her struggle to swallow it all which you found you funny. The highs inevitably expired that leave you sweating and in a complete mess.

“I didn’t tell you to swallow it.” You are still amused looking at her.

“They made it looks easy in videos.” She tried to reason herself which made you laugh even more, she even made to point of watching porn.

“I fucking love you Orange!” Even you could not explain how the scenes after your sex was as wholesome as it can get if you disregard the lack of clothes.

“I love you too!” She leaned her head on your chest. “I found about it in your phone by the way. Orange. I love it.”

Your question was solved now at least, not that it really matters if it was left unanswered. Then a phone rang in the background disturbing your moment. Sana ran towards it after realizing that it was hers. It was kind of funny seeing her run naked, but all that fun was immediately cut off when you saw her face changed. Fear was evident as she answered the phone.

“Is anything wrong?”

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

A/N: Just a light smut for this one, I just want to progress the story. Thanks for taking the time to read as always.

[no-where-new-hero]

☕ - booktok and I'm cheating to add the state of YA in general 👀

Disclaimer at first that I don't have TikTok (proudly) so that my experience with social media book discourse is through Instagram (which also has a lot of TikToks transferred over, obviously) but I'm not sure if the IG algorithm shows me different things from what TikTok would. Anyway.

I'm going to start with the state of YA actually because I feel slightly more familiar with this but also I think BookTok/Bookstagram trends are absolutely contributing to its hellscape. I may have talked about this in the post about where LMM would be shelved, but I think YA is losing its own identity. It's no longer about finding your place in the world or coming to terms with identity or dealing with themes that will help provide a bridge between childhood and adulthood. Romantasy abounds as much as in adult fiction, maybe just with a little less sex (though that's debatable). Contemporary feels reducible to a Pinterest moodboard (Portrait of a Thief, which I honestly liked in a lot of ways, suffered from this in my opinion). Fantasy without romance is almost nonexistent, and SF is more and more negligible.

All of these issues are perpetuated by BookTok. In a small video, there's only so much of a story you can share. Romantic tropes, aesthetic pictures, over-the-top dramatic lines sell well on there because they're catchy and cater to a romance- and visual-centric society. But I think it has given the false impression that you can stretch a skin of plot over these bones and call it an animal, and because everyone is accepting that this is an animal, the proliferation of such simulacra continues. Especially when the plot itself is none too strong.

You mentioned the trope problem, and I'll drill down on it because I definitely see this as the fanficification of published literature and the deterioration of rigorous plotting: A, because people enjoy it. B, because a majority of new authors grew up in the fanfic heyday and cut their teeth on that style, so they no longer know how to break free of it. C, because it's easy: you have narrative assumptions baked into rivals to lovers, in there's-only-one-bed, the coffeeshop au, etc. They're in fanfic because they're easy and provide a handy template for the meat of the story, which is the characters. But translating that into original fiction runs the risk of creating a predictable story. Predictability can mean palatability, which doesn't hurt on the whole. But it again inscribes this misbelief that if that's all that's on the market, that's all that people want.

The publishing industry absolutely is perpetuating it too: to sell a book now, you need to give comparative titles, "the books yours will sit next to on a display." There's more and more pigeonholing, which the fanfic style enables.

I could also get into the moral turpitude of some of the books on there (cough anything by colleen hoover not to mention HAUNTING ADELINE cough) but that will sound unnecessarily judgy, so I won't. Suffice to say that I feel sorry for anyone trying to "become a reader" by taking their recommendations solely from an app driven by popularity, shock-value, and the cultural capital of prettiness and success.

(Okay I need a last footnote to say that I understand that ALL advertising is driven by popularity, shock-value, and cultural capital. But you remember in the old days when you could go into the library and find a dusty book that was published in like 1990 or something and it smelled like it was growing mildew and it probably had a horrible cover and the author was someone you'd never heard of and none of your friends knew what the book was but you would bring it home and it would completely change your brain chemistry and everything you thought about the world? THAT'S HOW YOU BECOME A READER FELLAS. As a librarian in training, I'm going to die on this hill.)

[nmzuka]

Alright I did it Ranking the human characters from Primal Rage: The Avatars from least to most mischaracterized to me personally:

--Kaze and Keena They're kinda just genetic "protagonist hero" and "girl" I do like a lot of moments they had overall and dont think their characters are bad for them Keena having a crush on Kaze wasn't terrible since it obviously wasn't reciprocated but I did HATE the long bit of Keena fretting about "never feeling the touch of a man" she's 15 bro she's not thinking about that pls fuck off I do think it was lacking a lot in Keena being a child (and they kinda cop-out of doing that by saying she like matured by magic after becoming an Avatar which is lame) I don't really have that much to say in general about Kaze. I thought he was fine for being the "main character" The other characters joking about him being WAY too loyal to Blizzard (to the point of joking he wanted to fuck him) was honestly really funny tho

--Shank hard for me to fault much cause like he isnt in the book a whole lot? but I do wish they'd done more with him… he's just kinda there, does his thing, and then goes away Spoilers kinda but it was really weird that he gave a false name when he met them and then like Keena just out of no where was like "what's your real name?!" and then Malyssa knew who he was?? which I guess was the point that he hid his name so they wouldn't realize he was Chaos but they also never brought up that Malyssa knew who he was?

--Sinjin on the one hand I think Sinjin's character was kinda fun. He is sassy and a bit quippy (really like his line when all the gods got together and were roaring at each other and he just says "one big happy family…" its just so silly of him I love it) They made it a point of how good he was at rallying troops behind him and like giving these passionate speeches which is kinda fun for him to be charismatic like that but it really feels like character moments that should have been for Arik?? The book didn't even bother bringing up his want to die (I dont remember if it even brought up he was immortal? I dont think they did) that annoyed me but REALLY annoyed me when he had the line while giving a speech to the soldiers and said "we have the will to live!" made me yell HE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY THAT!! his personal motives are just kinda dropped after a while too? like he started out playing both sides (the other Avatars and Necrosan) but that doesnt really go anywhere and once he gets the powers of being an avatar it seems like he's going to betray the Avatars because he doesnt want to release Diablo again but it just never happens? they have a lead in like he's planning something but Tor and Arik show up and he just never tries any kind of backup plan or anything? he's just fully helping the Avatars to beat Necrosan and release the gods

--Arik, Tor, Xiao Ming Im lumping all 3 together because they are honestly interchangeable in the book you could just swap the names and it wouldnt make a difference because they arent given enough character to stand out. which is a real shame! especially for Arik and Xiao Ming because I think they have a lot of interesting character possibilities with what we get from the game:

Arik is a fallen prince who wants to rebuild his kingdom and in his game ending it says how he became a greatly loved king who was known for his compassion and wisdom. He establishes a new age of peace and prosperity for humanity and its a shame the book just doesn't touch on that at all I mean they mention he's a prince but not any of his wants to help humanity

Xiao Ming is an arrogant fighter who challenged the god Slashfang to a fight and lost. Shashfang doesnt kill him tho and instead makes him his avatar in his ending he rechallenges Slashfang who says instead of a fight Xiao Ming must hunt him down He fails at this as well but over his time traveling gains a sense of humility and peace

So I always pictured his relationship with Slashfang being more bitter? it says how Xiao Ming is "disfigured" by his earlier fight with Slashfang and I dont think he was really a willing follower?? Slashfang is more trying to teach him a lesson in the book tho he's just a guy, given no sense of arrogance or anything he's just there and hanging out with Slashfang like whatever. it did annoy me too cause there was a bit where Xiao Ming and Keena think Kaze betrayed them and Keena is the one going off about what a jerk he is and shit and Xiao Ming is the one like "no he wouldnt do that would he?" when I think it should have been switched with Xiao Ming shit talking Kaze for betraying them

I did laugh when the book out right said Tor and Armadon were boring lol (Malyssa is the one to say it and I was just like "girl you get it they are so boring") but honestly that made me more sad then anything cause I had hoped to get some character ideas for Tor especially but nope he's just kinda around and is a normal dude? Armadon mentions him being afraid but never of what? like what is that suppose to mean my guy??

--Malyssa ok so like… she is my fav character in the book but also the one that bothers me the most ffff I liked how much pull she had in the story playing both sides the whole time, betraying people and then talking her way back onto their side (even tho most of the time it made no fucking sense what she was trying to do or how she was able to make the others work with her again) I just liked how important she was

what I didnt like was how much of her character was "breasted boobily down the stairs" they for some reason made her centuries old but keeping herself youthful by drinking the blood of virgin men after sleeping with them?? like okay (I dont at all mind that she liked to get it like good for her! they just kinda made it weird cause she always thinking about it) her not wearing much clothes was brought up a LOT and just talking about her "supple body" I get it she's sexy idk it just really derailed me every time and made me roll my eyes. they didnt at all bring up any of her lore from the game which also really bothered me and I think was the main reason I hated her being portrayed as she was in the book

in the game she's literally a slave to Vertigo as are all her people (magically bound to serve Vertigo) and Malyssa wants to free them she ends up tricking Vertigo and rewritting a spell that Vertigo thought would free herself into one that would free Malyssa and her people and then she leads her people with kindness and allows them to pursue freedom and happiness

which is like so good??? thats part of why I like Malyssa so much cause she's bound to one of the big bads of the series yet she herself isnt evil and wants to do good (at least for her people) I just love that for her and it feels like such a shame the book reduced her to just "sexy evil lady" (not that thats not a fun character type but just not for Malyssa I think)

anyway I know the book was just a silly thing written to promote a fighting game about giant dinosaurs so I dont hold it to being like the most amazing piece of literature ever written. It would have had to have been a lot longer to touch on all the characters lore (and honestly thinking of it now if we had instead gotten a series of books each focusing on the individual characters with a slowly intertwining story would have been amazing!!) at the end of the day I had fun reading it! But did just want to whinge a bit about the characters (because I love them a lot hhh)

[zombiee-reviews]

Rogio X Ranach Discussion.

Welcome to the clown show ladies and gents! I wanted to begin my thread on my opinion(s) of Rogio and Ranach, tapping into why Rogio playing victim makes no sense in the story.

Side note: I’m currently on Tumblr Mobile and it limits my picture usage on threads, so I will only be posting pictures I feel are relevant and link page numbers to other ones.

To start, here we have Rogio and Kargo in a huge disagreement. Rogio claims that the relationship between him and Ranach was pure abuse and that he was under Ranach’s control. Let me show you why I feel this is false.

Here, Ranach asks Rogio something, which ends up being Rogio poisoning the Jarls meal. ( Can be seen on page 101 ) Thing that bothers me most here is how hugged up Rogio is on Ranach. You would think that if Ranach is giving Rogio an order, ( on the subject of Rogio claiming he was under Ranach’s control ) why is Rogio willingly saying “Anything” in response and not showing any fear? If Ranach is the big, bad abuser that Rogio claims late comic, I would think that Rogio here, in this page, would show lots and lots of fear.

Later in the comic, after Ranach leaves Rogio for dead, was the turning point for Rogio to become a “victim”. The hilarious thing here is, Rogio has overpowered Ranach numerous times. Evidence of this can be found on pages 100, 101, 135. So why on page 416 is Rogio acting like seeing Ranach is going to be the end of his world? And to top this off, there is literal zero evidence of Ranach ever “abusing” Rogio. That’s right, zero.

Another interesting thing that caught my attention, was Kargo’s interactions with Rogio in the beginning.

This got me thinking, who knows Rogio best out of all the current characters? Kargo. Kargo grew up in MT, same time Rogio was rescued and stayed willingly in MT. If Rogio claims that Ranach was so abusive and not a good fit, why would Kargo say these things about Rogio and Ranach? Especially on the topic of Rogio becoming Ranach’s Baron, it’s obvious Rogio has talked highly about becoming Ranach’s Baron, otherwise why would Kargo say “Seems you always got what you yearned for.” Anyone who is in an abusive relationship, especially when they can very easily leave, would not want to become their “abusers” second hand in a Tribe.

Then, on page 370 ( this whole page itself is a meme ) Kargo admits to Roamer that Rogio only returned to MT to be with Ranach once more. Further showing that Rogio and Ranach have shown Kargo their love for each other, otherwise why would he say things like this?

Then of course came the time when Ronja came in.

Is that jealousy I see from Rogio? Hmmmm.

Even right after Ranach announces Rogio becoming the Baron, look at that shit eating grin he has! And then when he slaps him with Ronja becoming a Viscountess, look at the instant mood change. Here, he shows more jealously.

Here on this page, we have quite the interesting interaction between Rogio and Ranach. To start, the first thing Rogio is upset about is the fact he’s serving underneath Ronja. He’s not upset about nothing else except that, which gives me more evidence towards the jealousy he has towards Ronja. Then he states that “You made me believe it was gonna be you and me.” Again, this statement leads me to believe that they have talked about a potential future together. They obviously planned on running the tribe together and this could have been Rogio’s driving point to kill Ranach’s father, under Ranach’s command. Anyway, while this might be little evidence of Ranach being a terrible partner with lying, it in no way should affect Rogio in making him sit out while the whole Avanti and Ranach situation was going on. Plus, Rogio was a Baron once more, but a rather useless one.

Then the conversation carries out to Rogio explaining in a rather intimate manner of Ranach and how Rogio views him. We also have another page of Rogio giving the same speech here.

When reading this the first time, you could really feel the passion and love that Rogio has for Ranach, he doesn’t want things to end. It could also be argued that he was trying to save his own tail in this situation, spoon feeding Ranach a bunch of bull so he can live. Wouldn’t that be a little manipulative of him?? Hm.

Again though, this isn’t the first time Rogio has explained how he views Ranach in intimate depth, I mean it really tells me that Rogio loves Ranach deeply and would love for the relationship to continue. But, when Ranach sacrifices him to Vjall(?) it’s almost like Kique uses this as a driving point for Rogio to cry abuser at Ranach. And yet, their whole relationship seems rather willing and consensual, I damn well might say even loving?

So why is Rogio acting like his relationship with Ranach was the worse thing ever? If anything, Rogio had the red carpet pushed out for him by Ranach. Kique just needed something to give Rogio a reason to not see Ranach and further drag out the comic so he could steal more of his patrons money.

Rogio was never seen to be abused or controlled in his relationship with Ranach. If anything, Rogio is a giant pile of you know what for betraying Kargo in the first rebellion and not assisting with slaves getting away. Rogio was perfectly content being at Ranach’s side, if he was so abused like he claims then why didn’t he run off during this first rebellion? Anyone who undergoes true relationship abuse would jump on the first train out of there. And yet, Rogio didn’t do squat.

In conclusion, don’t buy anything Rogio says, he willingly stayed with Ranach and showed no intention/ interest in leaving him in the beginning. He wanted to serve the Tribe beside Ranach for christs sake. Anything said about Rogio and Ranach from now on is just fuel for Kique to give reasons for everyone to feel bad for Rogio, but truly none of feel bad at all. He didn’t do anything to save the females in MT, he just wanted Ranach’s dong.

[alarrytale]

"I'm pretty sure he's a lazy bum when off tour though compared to on tour. Just look at how much his body has changed in the months he's been off tour."

It´s the workout article anon again. Yes, this is absolutely true, I noticed it as well how bulky he got just after the LOT ended - in those pap photos from Italy with his whole circus gang sharing two boats while also revealing O tattoo for unknown reason (while already being in another stunt relationship) I noticed his abs look kinda bloaten like not that ripped six pack from weeks before and not to mention those another pap shots from September when he´s jumping into the pond where he´s obviously very bulky - from my pov as a person who also workout and try to eat as clean as possible, I reckon it´s because of eating more carbs so yes, I totally agree with your opinion that he´s not that strict when off tour. But it just drives me a bit crazy how most fans don´t see it and once we get this kind of an article mentioning how his workout session looks like, fans get crazy thinking he must be a gym freak working out like he´s preparing for Olympics. And that´s even supported with trainer´s opinions how he hasn´t seen pro athletes being this fit like H is. It even get me thinking like if it´s true why doesn´t he enrol to some race or competition when we should believe he´s better than many professional athletes. As I wrote before, I have no doubts he´s very fit, disciplined and giving his maximum when training but those articles just makes him look like he´ll win Olympics in multiple disciplines if he´d compete.

And the second point of my ask wasn´t really about having doubts if HL are more different than similar but I was just wondering how some larries got questioned their relationship after that article. It feels to me that everytime we get these articles feeding the official narrative, larries start to question their relationship because they probably got into doubts if they are actually compatible.

Hi again, anon!

Yeah, that article did make it sound like he could compete in the Olympics no problem. He's good, but this is highly exaggerated. It was the pond pictures i was thinking of. It's a noticable change.

Everytime their images are enforced by themselves, pushed by the media or on social media people get doubts if what their presented with is real after all. It happens everytime. If Harry is working out so much how can he be with Louis who doesn’t? That's feeding into their constructed and false images. It always happens and will continue to happen. The only way to stop it is educating people on their images and showing them that it's a concerted effort to created as different images as possible to make it seem impossible that they're in love and in a relationship. It's a tool they use to closet them and hide their relationship.