#pete being the kind of person who just charms the room is so real

[badnewswhatsleft]

just thought this person's description was so cute......🥹

[marauderstan014]

didn't post Remus' birthday here either because I'm all fucked up and ruptured the ligament of my ankle on the 10th, but here it goes

about 3000 words (or 2000, I don't remember) of wolfstar getting together (and jegulus and marylily but in the background), Remus' friendships and fluff

despite not making much sense and being all over the place, I really like this one

“I was looking for you, Moony,” Pete drops on his side, sitting cross-legged and putting an arm around Remus’ shoulders.

“I literally told you I’d be here.”

“Well, yes, but I wanted to talk to you.”

“Why did you want to talk to me?”

“Well, Moony, can’t I just want to spend time with my best friend?”

Remus snorts. “Are you hiding from Lockhart again?”

“He keeps trying to kiss me!” He groans. “I don’t like him, Moony. He wants me to stroke his ego.”

“And you’re too good for him.”

“Yes, that too.”

Remus shakes his head with a fond smile, Lockhart has been chasing after Peter since his first year, their second. And yes, Peter is queer, but not like that. First of all, Peter says he doesn’t want to date people he doesn’t know, snog them, or do anything other than be friends with them.

Second of all, Peter has loads of people lining up at his door, he’s too charming with that shining smile and kind green eyes, not to mention the way he talks, he’ll beguile everyone who comes across him. Not the marauders, though, his relationship with them is strictly platonic.

The third thing is the annoying one, Lockhart can’t take a hint, and Peter is too nice to actually reject him. Merlin, that man is impossible, he thinks he’s the best person that’s ever existed, as in beautiful, intelligent and so it goes.

He’s not. He’s pathetic.

“You should tell him no, Pete.”

“I tried to, but he laughed as if it was a joke,” Peter sighs dramatically and lies down on Remus’ lap with a hand over his forehead. “Please kill me.”

Remus rolls his eyes and speaks harshly. “Stop it, don’t say that.”

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly. “I don’t mean it.”

“I know you don’t, it’s alright,” he pats Peter’s head. “Do you want me to hex him?”

“Would you?” He smiles when Remus nods, he really means it. “It’s alright, I’ll deal with him.”

“The offer remains, just say the word and I’ll do it.”

“Cheers, mate,” he gets up. “I’ll see if I can scare him away now, thank you for listening.”

“Anytime.”

.

“Remus, you won’t believe what happened!” Remus looks at James, waiting for him to continue. “Try to guess it.”

For the way he’s smiling and jumping, it’s probably something to do with quidditch or Regulus. Might be a spell too, he’s been trying to find a way to transfigure the floor into real lava. Why? He wants the trill to play ‘the floor is lava’ for real.

Yes, they’re all of age.

Yes, they still like to play games.

“I don’t know, James.”

“It’s for you, actually. Tomorrow is your birthday.”

“I’m aware,” he says dryly, but smiling so James will understand that it was a joke. “You don’t have to give me anything, James.”

“I don’t care.”

Remus sighs. “What happened, then?”

“Well, do you remember when I said I was going to ask my father if he could find you a job for The Quibbler?” Remus’ heart starts racing and his eyes widen when he nods. “You start right when we finish school.” No way. No fucking way. That’s not happening. Is this happening? “Moony, please tell me you’re not going to faint.”

“I can’t promise that,” he whispers. “I need to sit down.”

“Please tell me I didn’t fuck up,” James says in worry after Remus sits on the floor.

“Fuck up? James, I fucking love you! I can’t believe it! I could kiss you right now!”

“Please don’t,” he laughs, “Sirius would kill me, it’d be worse than the day they found out I have a crush on Reggie.”

“It really wouldn’t.”

“Moony, look at me.” He does so. “Talk to them, you won’t regret it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

James sighs. “Alright, happy birthday, Moony.” He kisses his head and gets up, leaving Remus alone with his books in te common room.

.

"Why are you bothering us about it?" Regulus asks Remus flatly. "Don't you have other friends to do so?"

"I can't talk about it with them, though, can I?"

Regulus sighs. "God, you're annoying."

"You can't say that today, Reg," Pandora says. "It's his birthday."

Evan huffs a laugh. "Maybe getting older made him even more annoying."

“Piss off,” Remus says angrily, even though he’s not. It’s just that he absolutely can’t let them know. The study group can know: Lily knows, Pandora, Regulus, Evan, Dorcas, and Barty by extension because they’re always there bothering them even though Remus has never seen them open a book… James can’t know, Peter can’t know and most importantly, Sirius can’t know. They have a ‘no secrets and no lies’ pact, if he tells Peter or James, they’ll have to tell Sirius. And Sirius can’t know. His friends are laughing at him, all of them but Lily. Lily is looking at him with pity, which somehow is even worse. “Stop it,” he says pointing at her. “You promised you would be nice about it if I told you.”

“They're not being nice, why do I have to?”

“Because you’re the nice one,” Dorcas explains with a straight face. “We’re here to make Remus’ life a living hell, you’re here to help him bear it.”

Remus groans and rolls his eyes again, but his mind goes back to Sirius. Their perfect hair and silver eyes. Oh, they’re so beautiful. Remus woke up today with Sirius as Padfoot, jumping on top of him and licking his face, he didn’t even remember it was his birthday until Sirius made sure to tell him with a wonderful and beautiful grin. Then they made sure to hold his hand through breakfast and only let him go when he said he had to come to the library for the study group, but not before complaining about how Remus studies on weekends. He blushes.

“Look at him,” Barty laughs. “He’s pathetic, isn’t he?”

“I’ll show you who’s pathetic, Mx ‘I’m in love with my best friend but I can’t tell him because I can’t risk our friendship.”

He’s talking about Evan, but when everybody looks at him, he realises that he’s in the same position. It’s different, though, everybody knew Evan was in love with Barty too. Evan even made sure to make Barty know it.

“Remus…”

“I know, ” he snarls. “I’m going to the lake. Don’t follow me.”

He thinks he wants to be followed, but he doesn’t expect them to, he literally told them not to. It’s just that Sirius is everything to him, they’re thoughtful, careful, soft… They never did as much as raise their voice at him, even though they’ve done it with everyone else, even James when they found out he has a crush on their little brother.

And none of them can call him pathetic. Lily has been hopelessly in love with Mary since their first year. Regulus has had a crush on James even before coming to Hogwarts. Apparently, his crush started when Sirius showed him a picture of their friends and talked about them when they were home. Barty and Dorcas went through the same situation before. The only person who can mock him is Pandora, but, for a reason, she doesn’t.

He wants to tell James and Peter, they would understand, but he can’t. He can’t tell them because they’d have to hide it from Sirius, and Remus doesn’t want to put them in that situation.

When he sits on the ground, facing the lake, he feels an anger he hasn’t felt in years. Why the fuck is it all so hard? Merlin, he’s 18, he should’ve been stable by now. But he isn’t. His life is a mess, all he can think about is the NEWTs and Sirius. He needs top marks and he wants Sirius to love him back. He’d be so happy if Sirius loved him back. Even though he’ll have a job in The Quibbler, he will fuck up and need to find another job. He needs top marks.

“You should ask them out,” Remus jumps startled and points his wand at the voice before even looking at them. Reasonably so, the last time he was alone at the lake and someone went after him, it was Snape and he wasn’t prepared at all, he ended up in the hospital wing because of a dark spell. “God, Remus, it’s me.”

“You startled me, twat.”

“Well, don’t start with that, you’re fine,” Regulus says emotionless. “And my point stands,” Remus sits back down on the ground, not facing him. “You should ask them out.”

“First of all,” he says sharply. “I specifically told you not to follow me.”

“Mhm,” he hums nonchalantly. “As if you didn’t want to be followed. I know you, Lupin, you want– No, you need someone to convince you that Sirius loves you back but won’t make the first move, you have to do it.”

“You’re a hypocrite,” Remus mumbles. “If I tell Sirius, then you’ll have to tell James and ask him on a date.”

“I’ll do it.”

“What?” Remus chokes, his eyes wide in shock.

“I said I’ll do it. I’ll go to your common room with you, you’ll tell James to meet me outside. While I tell him I love him in the room behind the knight tapestry, you’ll tell Sirius in your dorm.” Regulus doesn’t seem to be lying, he wouldn’t lie about something like that, would he? “And for the record, both James and Peter know. You’re not subtle, Remus.”

He rolls his eyes and gets up. “Alright, then,” he says, “But if I lose my best friend and fuck up everything, you’ll regret meeting me in the first place.”

Regulus smirks. “Are you sure you can handle me, Lupin?”

“With my hands and feet tied just after the full moon.”

Regulus raises his eyebrows and gets up too, heading for the castle. It’s fine, really, the way Regulus treats him, their friendship is like that. Remus likes his bluntness, sometimes it’s necessary. He appreciates all his friends: the way Lily lets him lie in her lap when he needs it; the way James hugs him when he’s overwhelmed, knowing exactly how much pressure he needs to feel better; the way Peter will sit next to him and say nothing when he’s having an anxiety attack, giving him the support he needs without overwhelming him; the way Pandora coddles him when no one else will; even when Dorcas, Barty and Evan mock him to make him laugh. They all help him in their own way.

And Sirius. Sirius knows how he’s feeling even before him, they know when he needs someone to let him talk, they know when to get someone else to help him, even though they’re always enough. They know Remus even more than Remus knows himself. How he likes his tea, how he loves chocolate cake but only without topping because it makes him feel sick, how he loves to hear them sing when he’s sad… They know when Remus needs Padfoot to lie down with him and nuzzle his face, licking his nose in an attempt to cheer him up.

Sirius is perfect for him and he doesn’t want to lose them.

.

Well, that’s harder than he anticipated, Just looking at Sirius makes his stomach turn and his limbs get cold. He can’t do it. He just can’t. No, no, no. Sirius is looking back at him with that beautiful grin, showing their chipped tooth. Oh, what a sight, he’d look at them forever if he could.

But he can’t, so he averts his eyes and hides in his four-poster.

“Moony,” he hears Sirius saying softly. “I’m coming in.”

“No.”

“I won’t leave you alone on your birthday.”

“I wasn’t alone until now.”

“But you were with my brother, not with me.”

“My point stands,” he says flatly. “I want to be alone, Padfoot.”

“No, you don’t.”

No, I don’t.  

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

“You would, I know you,” they say calmly. “I hope you’re still decent because I’m coming in.”

And they do, because his friends have no concept of personal space and they know when he’s lying. “What?”

“You’re worried.”

“Of course I’m not,” he says sarcastically. “I’m the epitome of calmness.”

“Don’t be mean to me, Moony,” they pout. “What happened?”

Oh, fuck, he’ll have to do it, won’t he? He promised Regulus he would do it, he can’t back off now. “Nothing happened, Sirius, just leave me alone.”

“Did my brother do something to you? Do I have to hit him for you?”

“Don’t hit your brother.”

“It wouldn’t be the first nor the last time, he’s my brother, we do that.” Remus huffs a laugh. “There we are! Now give me a smile.”

“Piss off,” he says, frowning again. “I just need to be alone for a while.”

“Oh, did something happen? Are you overwhelmed?”

“I’m fine, Sirius, just leave.”

“Do you need me to get James? I’ll get him for you. Did Barty say something?”

“I don’t understand your problem with Barty.”

“Well, James doesn’t like them, so as the amazingly supportive friend that I am, I don’t like them either.”

“James is jealous of them.”

“Do you need him now?”

“He’s doing something important now.” Merlin, he has to do it. “Sit down, would you?”

“Are you just giving me orders like a dog?” They do it anyway.

“Well, you obeyed, didn’t you?”

They laugh. “What happened, Moony?”

“Well, your brother and I made a deal, if he does something, I’ll have to do something too,” he says carefully. “And he’s doing it right now, so I’ll have to do it too. But I need you to bear with me and not speak or leave until I tell you to.”

“So you’re giving me orders like a dog.” Remus glares at them. “Alright, I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

He’s sure Sirius is being difficult because they know Remus finds it funny, but it’s not helping now, it’s just making him even more anxious because he’ll miss it. He’ll miss Sirius when they stop talking to him.

“Reg is outside confessing his love for James.”

“Really?!” They jump with a grin. “Oh my God, I can’t believe it, it’s been what? Six years? Seven?”

“Sirius.”

“Alright, I promise I’ll be quiet now,” they zip their mouth shut and pretend to throw an imaginary key through the window.

“Regulus is confessing his love for James because I agreed to do something if he did that.” They nod. “I said if he confessed his love for James, I’d confess my love for you. Which isn’t fair because it’s my birthday and you’ll feel guilty for rejecting me on my birthday. Don’t. I’ll be fine. I just don’t want things to get weird because even if I can’t have you as a partner, I still want to have you as a friend, I can’t lose you.”

They just nod again and Remus sighs.

“You can reject me today, it’s best if you do it now, I don’t want you to wait until tomorrow so I won’t feel bad on my birthday, just… Just please don’t let me lose you as a friend, because even though I love you as more than that, I still love you as a friend and I appreciate your friendship and you as a person and I can’t, Sirius, I just can’t.”

They don’t move.

“I promise I won’t kill Regulus for giving me bad advice either, I know you love him and I won’t kill him even if I want to. I can’t promise I won’t kill the others, though, but you don’t like Barty, so there’s that. If I kill him would you want to be my friend again? I’ll do whatever it takes.” His breath hitches and he realises what he had just said, putting his hands over his mouth and widening his eyes. “I take it back, I can’t kill anyone, I’m sorry. But I’ll do anything else, just don’t leave me.”

Their face is blank.

“I fucked up, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I should have known better. And now I made you uncomfortable because I’m a bad friend and I put you in an awful position. I’m sorry, Sirius,” he feels his eyes watering. Of course he’s going to cry, he’s going to lose one of his best friends, how could someone not cry about it? “Just… I’ll stay away from you if you want to, I won’t touch you anymore if you don’t want me to, I–”

“Remus,” Sirius says gravely and he freezes. “Moony, slow down. Breathe. Come on, inhale… hold… exhale… hold… That’s it, better now? Do you want me to hug you? Will the pressure make you feel better?”

“You don’t want to touch me.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t, would I?” They smile. “You’re overwhelmed, Remus, do you need the pressure?” Is he overwhelmed? He hadn’t noticed. But it makes sense, he’s feeling like he needs to peel his skin off. “Moony?”

He slowly nods. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise, love, I love you too. I have for a while now. James and Peter know, and Reg too, he’s known the longest.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

“That little shite could have told me, couldn’t he? I’ve– Ugh,” he sighs. “He’s known I’m in love with you for a good while now, he could have… It would have… You told him not to tell me, didn’t you?”

“What do you think?” They ask hoarsely. “I can’t live without you, can I?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Remus John Lupin, I think you’re wasting too much time apologising when you could be snogging me. I really need you to, it’s a life or death situation, you’re torturing me by looking at me like that.”

“Am I?” Remus smirks. “What if I want to torture you?”

Sirius grins with that mischievous glint in their eyes. “Naughty boy,” they laugh. “I’ll let you do anything to me.”

“Anything? Well, that’s a huge promise, isn’t–"

Before they can continue, James runs into the room and throws himself on his bed, laughing. “You won’t believe me!”

“Regulus said he loves you?”

“Regulus said he loves me!!”

“And now you’re dating?”

“And now we’re dating!!”

“Moony and I are dating now, too.”

“Oh, are we?” Remus asks with a smirk.

“I thought so,” they frown. “Haven’t you just said you want to make me suffer?”

“Padfoot,” James says carefully. “I don’t think… What do you mean? Suffer? Moony, you can’t– Why would you– I thought you–”

“James, mate,” Remus says laughing. “I don’t think you understood what Sirius meant. But we’re not dating.”

“We’re not?”

“Regulus said I’d have to make the first move,” he explains. “Can I be your boyfriend, Sirius?”

“YES! Oh my God, James! Did you see that? Tell me you saw that.”

“You know…” he says with a weird smile. “I think I’ll leave you two to it, I’ll be back later. Lock the door, will you?”

“Wanker.”

.

“So both of you are suddenly taken?” Dorcas asks amused. “Out of nowhere?”

“I guess.”

“You’re pathetic,” Barty announces. “Both of you. Absolutely pathetic.”

“I’m pathetic?” Regulus asks rolling his eyes. “Alright, Mx ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than when he kissed me’.”

“You weren’t supposed to tell him that.”

“Why not, darling?” Evan asks with a smirk. “Are you afraid I won’t think you’re cool anymore? Don’t worry, I’ve never thought you were cool."

“And how does it feel, Remus?”

“Oh, Lily, you have to tell Mary, I want to relive the moment Sirius called me ‘love’ again and again. I’d live in that moment forever.”

“Sirius made you sappy.”

Remus feels a dazed smile on his face. “They did.”

 .

"Remus," Lily says in the common room the next day. "I told her."

"How did it go?"

"You were right," she says quietly, but undoubtedly thrilled. "Merlin, Remus, her lips are so soft and warm. Her hair smells like coconut and vanilla and I'd live in her arms forever."

"I told you you wouldn't regret it, didn't I?" He asks smiling. "And you know I'm always right."

"We can go on double dates now."

"Lily, you know I love you, don't you?" She nods. "I'll not be going on double dates. Ever."

"Oh, you're so boring."

"I don't see anyone complaining."

She smiles at him. "Yes, unfortunately, we still love you."

[inkdemonapologist]

scribbles from Session 2 of the current Bendy Call of Cthulhu game, where everyone’s having a normal one!!!

After an actually very pleasant evening meal (there was cake!), things got weird fast,

Joey started “talking to himself” in his empty hotel room but got evasive and weird and physically shoved everyone out when the others went to demand an explanation 

Sammy tried to sleepwalk into traffic, completely entranced by Those Weird Symbols which apparently “feel like ink,” and got real Prophety for a bit when the others woke him up

Joey got him to chill out by calling after him in two voices at once (?!?!?)

After Sammy finally came to his sense and we all went back to get a little sleep, Joey finally showed us why he’s been so intent on wearing a hat everywhere lately and explained that hE IS POSSESSED BY BENDY CURRENTLY, so that Bendy could get some help remaining stable and come on the trip with us, WHICH IS, FINE. Just let eldritch horrors possess your mortal form that’s fine. Also Bendy needs a regular supply of ink to remain stable, so Joey’s been drinking ink, which is, also fine,

Anyway here’s some contextless quotes under the readmore:

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee)and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Sammy] So yeah, if you roll under a 5 on a d100, then Jack has SOMEHOW seen this occult symbol before. [Jack] Y'know, I'm gonna roll, just because it'd be REALLY funny if he succeeded. [Henry] Yeah! You can do it, Jack! [Jack] oH MY GOODNESS [Sammy]....what did you roll, [Jack] I roLLED A FOUR,,, [Sammy] Jack I JUST told you not to look at symbols what are you DOING

[Jack] He just used to have an ex who was really into the occult, it's fine -- [Sammy] (his name is Joey Drew,)

[GM] The location of the body is about 30 feet from the nearest building. [Sammy] Ah. So he fell out of the SKY. [GM] Unless he was a very impressive long jumper!

[Joey] Joey did not get candles because it seemed... a bit unfortunate that Bendy was not able to join us -- [Sammy] Sammy doesn't care. [Joey] -- but we can still celebrate -- [Sammy] He's here for cake.

[GM] Is everybody drinking responsibly this time? [Henry] Well Henry's not stuffing four drinks down himself if that's what you're asking!!

[Sammy] There's gotta be at least ONE nice thing about this trip. [Sammy] And it's this cake. That's it.

[Henry] Henry might try to get that book from Joey -- [Joey] Which book? [Henry] The yellow symbol one. [Joey] Um, Joey's gonna hold onto the one with the weird symbol on the cover, because he hasn't had a chance to cover up the symbol and he wants to do that first, but if Henry wants to look at Alice in Wonderland, he can have that one! [Henry] ...maybe tomorrow. [Joey] Joey seems ofFENDED at this.

[Sammy] That's the best roll I'll ever have in this entire scenario. [Henry] Sammy's listening very hard. [Sammy] Sammy's trying to sleep, therefore he hears Every Noise.

[Joey] It was the first night that Joey took Jack out to a dinner to kind of, y'know, spoil him, [Joey] a Thanks For Not Being Super Weird About Our Occult Stuff And Sorry You Got Dragged Into This dinner,

[Sammy] Sammy's not TRYING to be handsome, he's just accidentally really hot.

[Joey, the lowest physical stats of the whole group] He's going to more desperately try to just like, shove them out the door I guess!!! [Sammy, the highest physical stats of the whole group] Yeah! Give that a shot! SEE HOW THAT GOES

[GM] Henry swears he saw a third hand shoving Sammy out the door. [Henry] *uncertain* ......we know how many hands Joey has, right?

[Sammy] I was going to suggest that he's possessed, but... that's not a symptom I'm familiar with. [Henry] I'm pretty sure I didn't get extra limbs last time. [GM] (He just THOUGHT he did!) [Henry] (Well, he thought he was three whole people.) [Joey] (THATS SO MANY LIMBS!!)

[Sammy] I want an explanation. [Joey] *innocently* For what? [Sammy] The list grows longer!

[Henry] You know what happened last time you hid stuff from us, Joey... please... try to be smart, [Sammy] .............. (we know it's hard for you,)

[Sammy, explaining to Jack] ...I mentioned dying, in Haiti, [Henry] Oh, we're going into this, then, okay-- [Sammy] *muttering* You’re the one who brought up being possessed, [Sammy] Joey and I were possessing Henry for a significant portion of the trip. [Henry] For longer than the trip itself! [Sammy] well i wasn't going to go into THAT, [Henry] Well I-- uh-- I-- ...I should shush.

[Jack] So what do I have to roll to see how well Jack processes this? [Joey] How many nightmares do you have tonight? [GM] *cheerfully opening Weird Dream files* At least one!

[GM] You could make a Brawl check to hold on, if you're trying to make sure Sammy doesn't walk away from you. [Sammy] Brawl Check: Just Deck 'Im. [Henry] Henry will try! [Sammy] ....he's gonna try to deck him????

[GM] I feel like this might apply to the Charm skill, because you're a good... cajoler of Sammies, [Jack] *laughing* I'm actually SLIGHTLY BETTER at Persuade, because I'm down to 69 Charm for the joke!!

[Joey] But Joey's going to say it with two voices at once. [Sammy] HMMMMMMMMMMM,,, [Henry] eXCUSE ME? [Jack] Is Jack the only one here who doesn't have someone else in his head?! [Henry] Well Henry doesn't currently, [Jack] Give him five minutes.

[Joey] I think Joey's actually probably going to crack open that book now. [Jack] I honestly thought you were going to say "a drink" [Jack] Crack open a cold one with the son boy

[Jack] Jack is going to do all of the motions of going to bed except for the one part that's the most important.

[Sammy] The rest of us will go down and meet with Peter. [Sammy] Oh -- no, just realised, Sammy would call him "Pete" because he doesn't know that nicknames aren't transitive.

[Sammy] What IS it with people in masks??? [GM] ..................says Sammy,

[Sammy] All we've learned is that Trenchcoat Guy is super suspicious! Big shocker, I know.

[Jack] Jack is going to respond with a very eloquent, "UHHHHH,,,,"

[GM] You probably would get a Bendy voice popping up at that point saying "Joey's not actually drinking it, I am!" [Henry] Oh, hey Bendy. [GM] He maybe borrows a hand to wave. [Henry] (HOW'S IT FEEL, JOEY!!!!)

[Jack] I also had a hunch about the horns once it became more apparent that Joey was very specifically trying to keep a hat on all the time. [Jack] But very briefly, when he was like "and he takes his hat off to reveal--" my brain was like, what if it isn't horns, what if there's just a very small Lurker, [Sammy] Just pulling on his hair like Ratatouille,

[GM] Jack is pretty sure that whoever wrote this play wrote it to induce paranoia and mental distress. It seems baked in. [Henry] Well it's working on Henry! Henry wants to go home!

[Jack] #JustWorkingAtJDSThings

[GM] Make some sort of persuade-type roll! [Sammy] My... my only one is Intimidate, so that's what I'm using! [Jack] oH BOY [Jack] what do I roll to stop Sammy from whatever he's about to say?!

[Jack] Everyone else better be on their best behaviour! [Joey] Joey puts away his lockpicks for now.

[GM] You do see a microfilm machine, which is quite large at this point in time, [Jack] Not very micro, then,

[Jack] See if his Prophet senses are tingling! [Sammy] THATS THE OTHER GUY

[GM] It's kind of remarkable how little there is that talks about this guy's personal life in his desk! [Joey] There's no, like, locked drawers or anything? [Jack] No copy of his autobiography, talking about how gay he is?

[Jack] He's not going to mess with things. He's a polite boy. [Sammy] The rude boys have left the building. [GM] Only polite boys left!

[GM] It surely would never happen again! [Jack] One-of-a-kind, one-time-only, completely exclusive, if you didn't go you'll never get the fancy new shirt, [Jack] Hashtag I Was At The Cult Police Raid And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt And Put In An Asylum

[Sammy] Well, now we can have some new trauma! We've had time to process this trauma, we're ready for more; that's how it works, right? [GM] That's good, because you need to roll Sanity checks for those dreams!

[johns-prince]

I was reading Norman's biography of Mick Jagger the other day and at some point I realized that good old Mick had it BAD for John. They hung out a lot in the Lost Weekend and Mick seemed heartbroken when May told him John had gone back to Yoko. He was so upset that he talked to the press about it multiple times, whining about not having any access to John and that he was hiding behind Sean. Mick wasn't wrong, though. I was just very entertained by his reaction. Then there is this:

"Mick, as a result, had found himself in the—for him—highly unusual position of wanting to see someone but having his every friendly overture rebuffed.

From his sitting room window, he could see the Gothic rooftops of Lennon’s home, and would sometimes act out the part of a spurned girlfriend: “[John’s] right over there. Does he ever call me? Does he ever go out? No. Changes his phone number about every ten minutes. I’ve given up . . .” But there was no disguising how much this apparent indifference really hurt. Once or twice, he put aside the Tyranny of Cool sufficiently to leave Lennon a note with his own current phone number at the Dakota concierges’ desk, but no response ever came."

LOL "John is right over there. IS HE THINKING OF ME?" The thirst was real, you guys. I don't remember Mick being this sad about any of his women leaving him. Me thinks Johnny hit and quit it but someone fell in love, you see.

I agree, Mick sounds like a jilted lover/girlfriend here who just wants to be at least acknowledged. He was seriously upset about the fact that, when John went back to Yoko he knew that she didn’t like him. She thought he wasn’t worth John’s time and was a bad influence. Gotta remember, Mick and John had been friends since the sixties-- Mick was much closer to John then Paul, even.

Also talk about the gall because she was completely fine with John hanging out with the likes of Klein, Phil Spector, and Magic Alex... Like, talk about bad influences-- Phil fucking pointed a gun at John because he liked to freak John out and upset him. She liked these people. She approved of them for John. Yoko isn’t fully to blame, John also holds blame for how he’d treat people and just cut them off [even if he personally didn’t want too] but she encouraged John to cut ties with family and close, old friends just, like that.  

I feel for Mick. I honestly feel for anyone who loved John, it did seem trying at times. I mean, sometimes it’s not always easy for me to love John just as some crazed groupie... I could only imagine how intense and, confusing and exciting and, memorable it would have been to know him, personally, and get to love him personally. 

I personally don’t think anything serious happened between John and Mick. Kind of like how I believe nothing deeper then just, solid friendship was between John and Stu-- someone he could confide in, who wasn’t just Paul. 

Was there flirting between the two? Absolutely, though I find it to be a partially playful joking sort of flirting between friends, and partially with a serious edge to it. Libra’s are natural flirters, they often to do it unintentionally because it’s just, part of their personality. John most likely both an unintentional and intentional flirt, and his male friends weren’t left out on his teasing’s and naughty, playful behavior [specifically moreso open and direct about it in the 70s] 

But, I do think you’re right that Mick had it bad. Most male friends of John seemed to have it bad for him, in some way or another. Women and men loved John-- he was rather easy to love, despite how he’s painted and the sort of front he put up. As Paul said-- John was a loveable guy, everyone loved him, and he was right [though Paul usually only mentions everyone else when talking about loving John, deflects onto others at the same time but I digress] 

Even men who apparently thought of him a poky bastard seemed to inevitably be drawn to him, and like him [like David Bailey] 

He was loved, so, so much.

“The theory is that when John went off to Spain on holiday with Brian, that’s what it was all about - John trying to get his position clear as the leader of the group. Also, I’m sure Brian was in love with John. We were all in love with John, but Brian was gay so that added an edge.” Paul McCartney - Anthology

PAUL: “Well, I’m sure Brian was in love with John, I’m sure that’s absolutely right. I mean, everyone was in love with John; John was lovable, John was a very lovable guy.” [x]

“What did John Lennon see in me? I think outrageousness and being true to myself and not giving a fuck. We hit it off straight away, even though I was in complete awe of him. He was nothing else but kind to me. I never saw the other side of John, the Harry Nilsson drinking side of John, where he turned on a sixpence. I only saw the gentle, gorgeous side of John, and he was gentle not only to me but my parents, my band members, and I just fell in love with him.”

— Elton John [x]

“Nowhere can the caring side of John Lennon be documented more accurately than in his relationship with Malcolm Evans, the very tall and bespectacled man who became a regular as a road manager, along with Neil Aspinall, on the Beatles’ tours. Evans had a magnetic personality and was a favorite with reporters and the women who tagged along. His smile and charm could be deceptive; he would have done anything to protect the Beatles. At one point on the touring aircraft, while traveling from Jacksonville to Boston in 1964, a tired Mal Evans sat next to me in the rear of the aircraft with tears trickling down his face. I asked, “What’s the matter?” Mal answered, “John got kind of cross with me … just said I should go f— off. No reason, ya’ know. But I love the man. John is a powerful force. Sometimes he’s rough, if you know what I mean, man. But there’s no greater person that I know.” I never learned what the dispute was about, but I do know that a few minutes later, a sullen Lennon walked by and embraced Evans.” — Larry Kane [x]

“Sharing a twisted sense of humour and a penchant for mischief, Nilsson and Lennon were natural buddies. It was perhaps inevitable that the LA-dwelling singer would gravitate towards Lennon. Lennon clearly appreciated Nilsson’s edginess and was very likely looking for a male soulmate to fill the hole left by McCartney. For his part, Nilsson’s feelings for Lennon ran even deeper: ‘I really fell in love with him. He was all those things you wanted somebody to be.”

Man On The Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s by Tom Doyle [x]

“But the acerbic John is the one we know and love, you know, because he was clever with it, so it was very attractive. But, for me, I have more than a slight affection for the John that I knew then, when we were first writing songs, when we would try and do things the old songwriters had done. I slightly regret the way John’s image has formed, and because he died so tragically it has become set in concrete. The acerbic side was there but it was only part of him. He was also such a sweet, lovely man – a really sweet guy. ””

— Paul McCartney, discussing John Lennon [x]

John was a charming man in his own right, charismatic, and funny. Having a good sense of humor is always attractive, and draws people to you. As Paul says, and Elton, John was kind, he was sweet and friendly. He wasn’t always this, Mr. Tough and aggressive, ripping into people with his sharp tongue. He was gentle, he could be gentle, in his own way. Warm, and loving. 

He had this ability to just... make you feel like you’ve known him longer then you actually have. Like you have some sort of, special relationship or connection with him-- that you were the only one who was close enough to see underneath his armor, to know him as intimately as anyone else ever could. 

Course, this was simply how many felt and wanted to be the reality[specifically men], when it wasn’t, not exactly. They didn't really know the real John, they didn't get to see him at his most sincere, when his beautiful armor was chipped away and he was standing naked and scared. He described himself like a chameleon when it came to social settings, when interacting with different individuals [friends], which honestly makes sense as a Libra [Gemini’s are just as guilty of this] 

They got to know a facet of John... Maybe they did get a glimpse of John here and there, but it’s just reality that John didn’t just, open up so easily to people like that. He didn’t like feeling vulnerable, and he had a habit of testing people’s loyalty and love for him [whether it had been consciously or not, I’m not always sure] because of the insecurities and doubt that one day, they’d turn on him or abandon him. 

Again, he had this way in making people [other men] feel as if they had an intimate and special connection with him. And maybe they did to varying degrees. John had a way to act open with others, without actually being open and vulnerable, or at least not fully. I’m not sure if I’m making sense lol

Only ones who I think ever got to know the real John, were Mimi(of course she raised him), Pete (friends since they were just peanuts), Cynthia somewhat, May got glimpses and wanted John to be himself and independent... Yoko to a degree (though she focuses on entirely pushing and talking about Brand John Lennon™)  

And who I know for a fact did, and does know John the most intimately, deeply, unabashedly, is Paul.

But anyway, speaking of being so very attractive, John was attractive. Like, many women and men found him exceedingly attractive, like this one male photographer who believed John was the most handsome out of the band;

“I think John was the best looking, actually. The refined nose.  He never went out of his way to be a disagreeable person.  He would be the one to go over and just sit and sign some little girl’s book...” 

Harry Benson, photographer who took the photo of the iconic pillow fight and other well known Beatle photos, talks about John. [x]

Then we have David Bailey, who described Paul, Ringo, and George as rather pleasant-- while describing John as being a fucker, a bit poky. 

And yet, it was John who David Bailey claimed to like, out of all of them. 

“I didn’t like the Beatles – I liked John ... John was a fucker. Paul was always the nicest guy in the world. George, he always seemed full of angst. Ringo always seemed Mr Nice Guy. But John was a bit poky; I liked him.” 

-- David Bailey Originally; published in the March 2014 issue of British GO magazine.

That’s honestly the only parts of the interview worth reading, Bailey is sort of a dickhead and clearly seems biased against Paul, and just The Beatles as a band in general, so [which is fascinating. Considering he might’ve been peeved towards Paul ever since John brought his partner along for that photoshoot because he didn’t want to go in alone lol]

Mick did love John, though in what way or in what varying degree, is up for discussion and personal conclusion. Just like how it’s up to interpretation and discussion how much and in what way David Bowie, Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Mal Evans, Billy Preston, and Brian Epstein loved John. 

But it’s clear as day that, in my opinion, they almost all seemed to have some sort of man-crush on him. A serious admiration. Harry Nilsson sounded like he was in a bro-mance with John [or at least he wanted to be in one with him]

Course we can’t forget Paul, but we all know that Paul loved John in such varying degrees, it’s truly impossible to label it. They’re soulmates, can’t really categorize the love between soulmates so easily. 

Anyway, point of this all; Mick definitely had it bad for John, but then again who didn’t? 

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The Return of the King

So we’re back to the quasi-filler stuff. This episode does set a few things up for the finale, like bringing Edmund to Corona, but none of those things are actually good and it’s still mostly filled with irrelevant shit alongside the more important stuff. 

Summary: King Edmund arrives in Corona to see his long-lost son, Eugene, and to give him the royal sash of their bloodline. Eugene wants nothing to do with him, but Rapunzel invites him to stay. Later, the sash is stolen and a ransom note is left behind. Edmund and Eugene decide to go and retrieve it. Meanwhile, the Stabbington Brothers plot revenge on Eugene as they are both viewed as a joke by the other criminals.

So How Did the Stabbingtons Escape the Prison Barge 

Last we saw them they were stuck on a prison barge along with Lady Caine and all of the other season one villains. How did they escape? Did Lady Caine or anybody else make it out? If so then where are they this season? 

We’re not going to get any of those questions answered are we? 

Man this is just sloppy continuity. Which ironic, because these two were only brought back this season because of continuity. They need to be “redeemed” so that they can be at the wedding. I guess it just sucks to be you if you’re an original villain for this show and not named Cassandra. 

Why Is This Deserving of Ridicule? 

Like...We’re talking about a world renowned thief and adventurer and his magical royal girlfriend who are well known enough outside of Corona to be mentioned and there for no doubt people know how they both defeated monsters, daemons, and several criminals besides just there two guys, right? 

This plot point makes no sense. 

You could just kick these dumbasses butts and be done with it. I doubt they’d bother picking on you again if you did.  

Did we really need even more motivation for them to want revenged against Eugene?

Rapunzel is Back to Being Her Bossy Self 

Rapunzel has not earned the role of “wise administrator” yet. She’s only been out of the tower for two years now and she has yet to prove to the audience that she has managed to learn anything since then. By jumping the gun and forcing her into a role that she hasn’t grown into, and by ignoring that this whole show started out as a coming of age story, it just makes Rapunzel unpleasant to be around. All her “advice” is just her ordering people about with a veneer of chipperness to try and mask her controlling nature. People who should know more about their own lives than she does and have no reason to listen to her.  

So We’re Showing Rapunzel Being Responsible... By Having Her Avoid Responsibility? 

Part of why the writers made her “acting queen” for the first half the season was to get her to grow into the role of becoming full time queen. However they screwed this up by not having her actually learn anything and having her avoid the real duties a queen preforms. 

What Rapunzel is doing her is just being a socialite busybody. The only administrative thing she does is approve some low-scale building plans for a small business. A thing that would have been handled by a lower official in an actual functioning government.   

Once again Rapunzel is being selfish and doing what she like, ie bossy people around while having them kiss her ass, as the real work of running the kingdom is left to someone else. This isn’t being responsible, it’s being hypocritical, but don't expect anyone to ever call Rapunzel out for this. 

Pointless Action Scene is Pointless

At this point, the low stakes action sequences are just cringe. Like is this an adventure show or not people? Stop forcing crap like this and give us some real conflicts instead.  

How Did You Get Here So Fast Edmund?

It took Rapunzel and company nearly a year to get to the Dark Kingdom. Even if Edmund wasn't delayed with pit stops like they were, it would have still taken him several months to get here by horse. 

Did he take a boat, or have four to six months already past since Rapunzel’s Return? 

I would argue that this episode was aired out of order and should have been later in the season, but Cassandra’s appearance at the end of this story, and Hamnuel’s appearances in later episodes, would suggest otherwise. 

Crap like this is why season’s three timeline doesn’t work unless you stretch everything out to two years instead of one. 

Read the Room Rapunzel

One could argue that Rapunzel is just trying to be polite, but that doesn't really hold water. 

For starters Eugene is clearly upset and has every right to want to set boundaries between himself and Edmund. Ignoring that is incredibly rude and if my significant other ever did such a thing, well they wouldn’t be my significant other for very long. 

Secondly, Rapunzel could have offered other accommodations if she felt pressured to be polite to Edmund. Not only are their lots of inns in a port town known for trade, many of which are probably well-to-do, but there’s also that convent that was mentioned back in season one. It has to be somewhere in Corona itself and as the so far only mentioned major religious organization in the country it would no doubt have stately quarters for when royalty and nobility would visit. 

So not only would it be a suitable place for a visiting king to stay in, as it would be made for such things, but it’s also far enough away that Eugene wouldn’t feel like his space is being invaded but close enough that Edmund could come and go as he pleases. 

By that point it’s still between Edmund and Eugene and Rapunzel can stay out of it, like she should. 

Eugene is Right

These are all valid reasons for cutting someone out of your life. Furthermore, you don’t even need a reason. If you don’t want to associate with somebody then just don't associate with. It’s your life. You don’t have to justify how you choose to live it and people who actually care about you should respect that. 

Unfortunately no one respects Eugene.  

Not Edmund, not Rapunzel, and most certainly not the writers. 

Then Why Don't You Get Closer to Edmund, Rapunzel?

I understand Rapunzel’s viewpoint here. Edmund is the only person she’s ever met who has experienced the same isolation that she has. He’s one of the very few people whom she can empathize with. 

However that doesn’t give her the right to force her views upon her boyfriend. If she cared so much than she could just befriend Edmund herself and leave Eugene out of it. 

Trying to encourage a child to have relationship with a parent who neglected them is super tone deaf at best and outright disrespectful at worst. It’s also highly hypocritical seeing as Rapunzel cut Gothel out of her life for similar reasons and Eugene only ever supported her for it. 

No really, flip the situation. If Eugene tried to encourage Rapunzel to give Gothel a second chance everyone would be slamming him for it. So why does Rapunzel get a free pass? 

Shorty Already Did That, Eugene. Don’t You Remember? 

I mean, you were literally right there when it happened. Are we forgetting season two the same as season one now? 

So Why Are Stan and Pete Suddenly Back, But Not Cap?

I mean we went through all that trouble in Rapunzel’s Return to write them out of the narrative and here they are without any explanation. Why are simple set ups so dang hard for this show? 

Rapunzel is Overstepping Her Bounds Here

Ok, giving Edmund a place to stay is one thing. Suggesting to Eugene that he should give Edmund a chance is not appropriate but still forgivable. But this? 

This crosses a fucking line! 

Eugene is not Rapunzel’s subject. He’s her boyfriend, and a prince in his own right. Rapunzel can’t just volunteer him for crap without his consent. That’s just indirectly ordering him about like she would a servant.  

Once again, flip the script. If Eugene tried to force Rapunzel to work with Gothel everyone would be up in arms. Why is this then deemed okay? 

This is Coercion

Not only is Edmund and Rapunzel trying to guilt trip Eugene here but she even fucking elbows him!

Like this isn’t “cute couple bickering” here. That kind of stuff is reserved only for inconsequential shit. 

This a woman trying to strong arm and guilt trip her husband to be into having a relationship with his abusive father! Because guess what? Neglect is still abuse! 

Rapunzel has zero say in Eugene and Edmund’s relationship. It’s none of her fucking business! Trying to force her into this plot just makes her look like an asshat. 

I mean look at this smug smile! The fucking bitch is proud of being a shit human being and a terrible girlfriend. 

And of course don't expect the show to call out this behavior as wrong because of out of date sexist double standards. If you think any of this is okay then just role reverse Eugene and Rapunzel here and then tell me its still alright. 

The Show Missed a Real Trick By Not Naming Him Horus Instead

Horus, the sun god, would have been a nice bit of irony and given meaning to the name while keeping the joke virtually unchanged. You could have had both lore and a punchline. 

And I would argue that the joke as is, isn’t even funny. Horace is indeed a lame name, but not for the reason that the show gives. It’s lame because it’s not unique enough. There’s already a Disney character named Horace and I’m sure there are real people out there with that name as well since it’s not completely unheard of. So the joke falls flat and winds up insulting anyone with that name. 

Don’t Expect Any Pay Off for Eugene’s Identity Issues This Season

Yeah the show makes a big deal out of Eugene having a mid-life crisis through out season three, but then never resolves it in any meaningful way. 

Edmund Is an Asshole 

I don’t care how “crazy” he is. Calling someone by a name they don't wished to be called is just plain rude. Acknowledging someone’s preferred name is just a basic common courtesy that is expected of everyone. Once again, this isn’t funny, quirky, nor charming, just unpleasant. 

So the Animators Wasted a Model on a No-Named Character Who Only Appears Once

Someone said this little girl appears in season one, but it’s not noticeable if she does. She also doesn’t have a name and this is her only speaking role. What a waste of money. Just have one of the braided girls from the movie instead. You already built models for them and haven’t really used them. 

And before some mentions race here, this is poor rep already cause the character has no impact. 

Turns Out, Varian Didn’t Even Need Those Truth Serum Cookies

Not only does this dumb down Pete to a ridiculous degree, but it also invalidates everything Varian went through in The Alchemist Returns and the grief he got from everyone for using the truth serum. 

Oh, and it’s also lazy writing and a plot contrivance.  

That’s Not Figgy Pudding!

This is Figgy Pudding.

It’s a boiled “pudding” that’s more like a cake with dried fruit in it. During the 14th through 18th centuries such bread puddings were made to be carried around in ones pocket or knapsack for eating on the go. They’re nothing like the creamy custards we call puddings today. 

It also looks nothing like what’s shown on the screen below. 

That’s like a half eaten loaf of wheat bread?  

That’s jelly filled .. apparently...?

Once Again, If You Have to Make Everyone Else Incompetent to Make Your Hero Useful to the Plot Then You Need a New Plot

Rapunzel has zero business in this plot. She doesn’t even need to be in this episode beyond a cameo. Trying to cram her into the protagonist role in a conflict that doesn’t involve her is just a disservice to everyone.  

Winnie The Pooh Is More Mature Than This Show

More of that meta commentary I was talking about last episode, and it just as full of shit as ever. 

Seriously Find Her, Keep Her is the best script I have ever seen in any show. It’s perfectly balanced so that anyone of any age can relate to it. It’s real and heartbreaking and perfectly suitable for small children to understand. There’s no shock value, no darkness, no modern satire, but its far more mature and complex and deep than anything TTS has tried. 

Also Rabbit is a far better father than any dad in this show, while still being cut from the same trope. There’s no shame in being a children’s show when its done well and this now 30 year old kids show runs rings around what ever mess Tangled is trying to sell. 

Eugene Isn’t Exaggerating Here and I Don't Know How to Feel About That

Turns out Eugene did grow up with these guys the same as he did with Lance. It’ll be confirmed only two episodes later. That just recontextualizes everything. He didn’t just betray some rando guys that he held no feelings for, he betrayed people that he’s known and worked with since childhood. 

Now just because he’s known them doesn’t mean that they were family to him like Lance, but like the fact that he keeps claiming then as such through out the episode would suggest that perhaps they were like siblings. 

That’s ... ingenious. That makes Flynn Rider retroactively an even worse person and gives the Stabbingtons real reason for vengeance. 

Only the show doesn't do anything with this!  It just makes Eugene an even bigger jerk in the movie for zero reason. 

Let Me Reiterate, Edmund Is an Asshole 

Just like with Frederic, Cassandra, and Rapunzel the show uses framing to try and make the audience side with people who do unforgivable things. 

Edmund is an abuser. He neglected his own son for 25 years. But the show presents him as “funny” and “quriky” and “look at his pouty face, he’s so lonely”.... 

No!

Edmund isn’t deserving of anything and how he treats Eugene here is garbage. 

This show is utter crap writing wise but boy does it know how to gaslight its own audience into siding with bullies and abusers.  

Eugene Is One Thousand Percent In the Right Here, But Don’t Expect the Narrative to Acknowledge That

There’s nothing you can do to make up for that. 

Eugene might forgive him. Eugene might move on from it. Eugene might decide a relationship it still worth having with Edmund. But the horrible thing still happened and it happened because Edmund allowed it to happen. There’s no going back from that and everything going forward has to be on Eugene’s terms alone. 

But the narrative won't allow Eugene that agency. 

Even as he makes his grand proclamation about being done with Edmund the cameras chooses to focus on Edmund and his feelings. The story is already priming the audience to prioritize Edmund over Eugene so that when the forced and contrived forgiveness scene comes we won't question it. But it only comes because Chris doesn’t deem Eugene as individual person with thoughts and feels of his own, but as an avatar to fulfill his wishfulment fantasy regarding his own personal daddy issues. 

Rapunzel’s Characterization in Season Three is Just....Off

Ok, even ignoring the major stuff, like not recognizing what she’s done wrong, putting her into roles she’s not meant to carry, and making her a shitty girlfriend suddenly, Rapunzel just behaves contrary to her character all through out season three even in small subtle ways like here. 

On the surface this seems like a clever call back to Great Expotations, but lets examine more closely, shall we. 

On one end we have yo-yos; an invention that’s been around since ancient Greece and is so wide spread across the globe that the word “yo-yo” itself is theorized to come from Indonesia and the Philippines.

On the other end there is Rapunzel. A woman who spent 18 years isolated inside of a tower, because of this she is both ignorant of somethings and insatiability curious and eager to learn.  Or at least she was, until striking out onto a year long road trip, and having now been out of the tower for only two years, claims to know better than the entire fucking world about this object who’s existence she didn’t even know about until only a year and half ago! 

Like what kind of sense does this make? Why would you abandon the core of her drive and motivation, to learn, explore, and grow, and then call it “development”? 

How Did Edmund Get Beat By These Guys?

Edmund took out Adria. The Brotherhood is suppose to be the best physical fighters in this world and Edmund is supposed to be best out of all of them. Yet he’s taken out by two random, mediocre dudes who didn't even jump him. They gave him time to respond and he stood up to fight them. 

Was all his physical prowess tied into that axe? Is the axe magic? 

If you characters have to be depowered for unexplained reasons for the plot to work than you haven’t a good plot. 

This Isn’t as Heartwarming as You Think It Is Show

If Edmund knew where Eugene was this whole time then he could have actually provided for his son. He could have arranged adoption with someone by letter, sent money, food, clothes, ect, maybe even wrote to Eugene directly and kept up a long distance relationship to be there for him emotionally. 

There is literally no excuse anymore for Edmund to hide behind. He literally neglected his duties as a parent, just cause. 

Finding these things shouldn’t make Eugene happy. Finding these things should piss him off even further because that’s how any logical adult would respond to this bullcrap. 

I sure know I’m angry. I’m angry that Eugene is a pawn for the creators’ writing wank-off rather then being treated as human being; as an actual character. 

“Nice” Isn’t the Same Thing as Kind, Rapunzel

One could argue that she’s not even superficially nice in season three, but the real problem here is that the show, and by extension Rapunzel herself, doesn’t understand the difference between being “pleasant” and actually being a good person. Outwardly polite people can stab you in the back, can kill you even, and not care, as Rapunzel has demonstrated repeatedly since season one.   

Do They Have to Be “Family” for Eugene to Give a Damn? 

Can’t Eugene just do the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do? People don't need to be friends and family to care about each others lives. Kindness isn’t transactional. Empathy and true charity doesn’t come with strings attached. If Eugene’s whole arc is about becoming a better person, then making the Stabbingtons “family” kind of undermines this. 

Don’t Reward the Dude for Doing the Bare Fucking Minimal 

No seriously. Edmund forfeited the right to ever be called “dad” by Eugene a long fucking time ago. He doesn’t get to be called that now just because he stopped being a piece of scum and showed the bare minimal of human decency. Even if Eugene decides to have a relationship with Edmund after this, it doesn’t mean that  he has to be recognized as his dad or that that relationship will be a parental one.  

Eugene, and by Extension the Show, Places Rapunzel Upon a Pedestal to  the Detriment of All

Only 4 villains out of 20 get redeemed in this show. Four, and yes I’m counting the Stabbintions as one entity here. That’s 16 times Rapunzel failed to give someone a second chance just cause she didn’t feel like it that day, and even here she did fuck all in trying to give the Stabbingtons any sort of chance. That was all on Eugene. 

The more this show goes on, the more it looks like Eugene is just in love with the idea of Rapunzel rather than who she actually is as a person. It’s a disservice to both their characters but it damages Rapunzel most of all because the show perpetuates this over idealization to everyone she interacts with. 

It’s really sickening to watch and terrifying to know that some uphold this selfish brat as a “role model” for little girls. There’s nothing empowering in being an inhuman “goddess” who can do no wrong....even as they do several wrongs and never gets called out on it.    

This Isn’t “Cute”

Eugene can’t even have an opinion on a fucking toy!

Look if you still like New Dream despite how horribly written it is this season, then good for you. That is completely understandable, especially since this is mainly a problem with season three and not really in the first two seasons and certainly not in the movie. 

But if you try to deny that they aren’t toxic in season three, that people who do have problems with how they’re written aren’t valid in their concerns, than you’re either someone who hasn’t been paying attention or someone who has gross double standards for women in relationships. 

This Scene Is A Waste of Time

This doesn’t tell the audience anything. It contradicts what was previously established concerning her powers without explanation and then just throws the creepy girl voice in there for a lazy hook. It doesn’t work at foreshadowing since we repeat this info all over again in the next episode and it doesn’t expand upon neither Zhan Tiri’s nor Cassandra’s characters.

 In fact it kind of contradicts Cassandra’s characterization in the last episode as well. Is she a remorseless bad bitch or a vulnerable woobie? She can’t be both. Not in the way show is going about it anyways. 

It’s poor time management and poor storytelling. 

Conclusion

It was mildly better than Rapunzel’s Return, but that’s not saying much. Everyone’s character is still circling the drain and there’s no escape line in sight. 

But before I close out, here is a real world update. I had to quit my job at Amazon for personal reasons and am currently job hunting. I’m not hurting right now, I do have money saved up to cover me for at least a month and I’ve been doing commissions here and there, however despite having more time technically to write these reviews, I’m now having to juggle it along with artwork and job hunting. 

If you would like to support my reviews and other personal projects you can send me a tip over at Ko-Fi and more public commissions will be opening soon over there as well.  

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

[engie-ivy]

Wolfstar Holiday Prompt list by @remus-john-lupin

Day 4: Reindeer games

Friends who are dear to us, gather near to us

Have yourself a merry little Christmas - Frank Sinatra

His friends 'gather' a little too near to him, if you'd ask Peter...

Peter yelps and holds on to Remus’ waist a little tighter. They slide over the frozen grounds at a fast pace, the cold winter wind hitting their faces.

“Faster!” Remus shouts, laughing.

The dog and deer pulling the sleigh are up for the challenge. Peter knows from experience that the giant, bear-like dog can actually be quite intimidating, but he’s definitely not right now. He has a headband on his head with reindeer antlers on top, complete with jingle bells attached. The deer of course already has antlers, but for the occasion, they’re decorated with jingle bells as well. The wannabe-reindeers are dashing through the snow as fast as they can, pulling the sleigh with the two boys along behind them.

“C’mon, Prancer and Vixen, is that all you’ve got?” Remus shouts again.

The dog barks very un-reindeer like, and picks up the pace even more.

“Moony,” Peter hisses in Remus’ ear. “At this speed we’re not gonna make the next turn!”

Remus just laughs, clearly enjoying the thrill.

Well, Peter thinks a few seconds later, as he lies face-down in the snow. At least I have the satisfaction of being right.

“Pete, you okay?”

Peter pushes himself up to see Remus sitting across from him, brushing the snow out of his curls.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Merlin, how do you people make even a sleigh ride life-threatening?”

Remus’ answer is interrupted by someone loudly calling his name.

“Moony!” Sirius comes running towards them, looking ridiculous with the reindeer antlers still on his head, and drops himself down in the snow right in front of Remus. “Moony! Moony, are you okay? Please say you’re alive!”

Remus fondly shakes his head. “Padfoot, I’m sitting up, brushing the snow from my clothes. How’d you reckon I’d be doing that if I were dead?”

Sirius shrugs. “You can never be too certain. I’m sorry, though. We were going much too fast. We should’ve been-”

Remus won’t have it. “Are you kidding me? That was amazing! Although, maybe we should place some sort of Shielding Charm or Bouncing Spell over the sleigh next time?”

Next time? Peter shudders, but Sirius’ eyes shine with admiration.

“For real though,” he says, as he places a gentle hand on Remus’ shoulder and looks at him intently. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Remus gives him a soft smile. “Yeah, Pads. I’m fine, I promise.”

They just stare at each other for a while. “I’m okay too, by the way, Padfoot!” Peter calls out.

Sirius at least has the decency to look embarrassed as he rushes over to Peter to help him up.

“I’m sorry, Petey.”

“Yeah, sure you- au!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, I can’t stand on my left foot.”

“We should get him inside.” James has now joined the group as well. Peter and Remus are staying over at the Potter mansion with James and Sirius for a couple of days this Christmas break, as James’ parents are out of town.

James flicks his wand and suddenly Peter is floating in the air. “Oi! Potter! Wha... What’re you...” he sputters.

James just raises an eyebrow. “You’d rather hop home on one leg?”

Peter ceases his protests. While floating around, he sees how Sirius carefully helps Remus up, how Remus winches as Sirius touches his left arm, but tries to hide it, and how Sirius sees anyway and narrows his eyes at Remus.

Peter gets deposited on one of the couches, and Remus is sitting on the other. The verdict is a strained ankle for Peter, and a strained wrist for Remus. James is in the kitchen on a quest for something to eat, while Sirius comes walking into the room carrying a mug, decorated with a nice swirl of whipped cream.

Sirius sits down next to Remus. “I made you some hot chocolate,” he says, handing Remus the mug. “Milk chocolate, with a shot of hazelnut syrup, mini-marshmallows, whipped cream and a butter cookie! Exactly how you like it.”

“I’d say you really didn’t have to do that, but that just sounds too good to object!” Remus is already bringing the mug to his mouth.

“I’m good, thank you,” Peter says. “No need to get me a drink, Padfoot.”

Sirius doesn’t hear him, as he’s too focused on the way Remus’ eyes lit up as he takes his first sip, or some shite like that.

“Thank you,” Remus says.

“Gotta give you some comfort for that injury.”

“Oh, please. I’ve been used to much worse. And it’s not like I wasn’t urging you on! We’re all to blame here.”

“Not me,” Peter mutters.

Sirius suddenly places a hand on Remus’ cheek. “You have some whipped cream...”

Peter can pinpoint the exact moment Remus’ brain stops working. “Oh. I… Yeah, that’s… Oh.”

Peter wants to thump his head against a wall.

Remus shivers as Sirius strokes his thumb across his cheek to get the whipped cream.

“You’re cold!” Sirius jumps to his feet. “I’ll go get you a blanket!”

“What?” Remus blinks. “No, I’m not cold! Sirius, I don’t need…” But Sirius is already hurrying out of the room. “I strained my wrist, for Godric’s sake!” Remus calls after him. “I can walk just fine. If I need a blanket, I can really go get one myself!”

“You know who can’t walk and actually is kind of chilly?!” Peter adds, but Sirius can’t hear them anymore.

Sirius returns with a blanket.

“Thank you, but really, it’s…” Remus’ protests die in his throat as Sirius basically climbs on top of him, and actually starts tucking him in.

“There,” he says, sitting back on his heels. “Doesn’t that make everything better?”

Remus’ expression softens. “Yeah, Pads. You make everything better.”

And again with the staring! Do they realize other people don’t just sit and stare at each other several times a day?

“So,” Peter says loudly. “Who do I have to gaze at like the sun shines out of his arse to get a bloody blanket over here?”

A blanket is suddenly dropped in his lap. James has come out of the kitchen. “You know I’m always in favor of people looking at me like the sun shines out of my arse, Wormtail.”

“Why, Prongsie,” Peter says in mock-indignation. “Aren’t you going to tuck me in?”

James smirks. “Sorry, Wormie. That’s only customary if you want to stick your tongue down someone’s throat, and I have no desire to do so.”

Remus and Sirius both turn bright red.

“Come on, you guys,” Remus murmurs. “Padfoot’s just being kind.”

“Yeah.” Sirius glares at James. “That’s not the only reason I’d do something nice for Moony!”

Peter and James exchange a look with matching grins on their faces.

Not the only reason? Even Remus, Remus who at this point is probably the only person in the whole of Hogwarts who doesn’t know that Sirius Black is in love with Remus Lupin, and that’s including the professors, has to pick up on that. Will today finally be the day?

Remus whirls his head around to Sirius, and Sirius stares at his knees, mumbling. “I mean, that’s… Oh, shite.”

“Sirius…”

Sirius carefully glances up at Remus.

Realization dawns on Remus and his expression changes, becoming determined. Sirius seems to notice the change, as he sits up, mouth slightly open. Suddenly, the air in the room shifts, and there’s a heavy tension.

“Okay,” James says. “That’s my cue to leave.”

James barely makes it out of the room before Remus launches himself at Sirius, who almost automatically wraps his arms around his waist, and Remus’ hands slide into Sirius’ hair as he brings their lips together.

“Guys, I’m still here!” Peter protest. “I’d love to leave, believe me, but my ankle, remember?”

And yes, Peter is thrilled that his friends finally got their shite together, and yes, he’s happy for them, as he knows they’d be good together and deserve each other, but really, he sees both of them as a brother, and watching them make out is highly unsettling.

“You guys, I know you’ve waited for this a long time, but do you mind holding it in a bit longer? Oi, Prongs! Come back here, you wanker! You guys, please, I’m right here!”

[writetorace]

Love is a War – Chapter 1 Peter Parker x Pregnant!Stark Reader

Summary: you’re pregnant and you need to tell your family and Peter.

Warnings: violence, injuries, swearing, snap does not happen

Iron girl is what they called you, Tony Starks' daughter. When you joined the team when you were 15, the world learnt who you were by name only, never your face. Your father had given you a new suit every year for your birthday from when you turned 13. He gave it to you for fun, not wanting you to go out and fight with it. If he even suspected that you were using it to fight, he took it away from you. Joining the team changed that you developed further relationships with people who you lived with.

The compound was split onto levels. Your father and Pepper had the penthouse, which you shared with them until you turned 16 and demanded your own floor. Steve, Bucky and Sam had the floor closest to the gym, they spent a majority of their time in that place, most of the time together, their army days making them close. Nat and Wanda shared another floor, they had wanted you to join their floor, claiming that girls should always stick together. Bruce occupied the space next to the labs, always wanting to be close to his work. He shared his space with Thor when he came to visit, but it was a rare occasion. Clint sometimes came to visit but lived with his family, keeping them away from danger.

Peter had been assigned a room in the penthouse, Tony's orders, however after you two had been dating for over two years and after you, both turned 18, he was allowed to move onto your floor. His room was to be separate from yours for your father's peace of mind, but that didn't stop you only sleeping in one of the two rooms every night. Even when you were sick.

You honestly thought you were dying. Everyone else in the compound believed that you had the flu. Your father Tony had wanted you to stay in the med bay just so that someone was keeping an eye on you at all times of the day. He also wanted you there so that he could run tests to make sure that you just had the flu and nothing else. He tried to coax you into the med bay, but you knew better. His tricks didn't fool you, the only way to get him off of your back was to have Bruce give you IV fluids. He didn't want you to dehydrate. Until you got better, you were also banned from being Iron Girl.

Peter was by your side the entire time. When he wasn't working at the internship, he was by your side, comforting you. Being enhanced by the spider bite when he was younger meant that he was immune to most if not all illnesses. His worry grew for you when you weren't getting any better. He tried to get you to go get tests done at the med bay as well, but even he couldn't charm you.

Then your symptoms started to change slightly, you were still throwing up, and certain smells set you off. When Wanda was cooking chicken one night, you couldn't help but excuse yourself to empty your stomach once again. Peter hot on your tail, like he always was to hold your hair back. Some days you spent all day in bed resting, doing the simplest of things tired you out. Peter would always cuddle you in bed when he came back, only wanting you to get better.

Once you had dropped off to sleep, he decided to do some research into your symptoms and to what it could possibly be that was making you this sick. There were a few possibilities as to what could be wrong with you, but the one that stuck out the most to him was pregnant. He couldn't get the idea of children out of his head. The thought of a mini you or him running around, having the other avengers wrapped around its fingers.

"Baby, do you know why you are getting so sick?" Peter asked one morning after you returned to bed.

"I don't know Petey. Maybe I should go down to the med bay, I hate feeling like this." Your eyes were tearing up at the fact that you didn't know what was wrong with you. Feeling absolutely useless, you crawled into Peters lap, wrapping your arms around his neck.

Peter pulled away from you, his eyes meeting yours, "have you ever thought that you could be pregnant?" The idea was preposterous, there was no way that you could be pregnant. The both of you were careful, not wanting to end up in that position.

Shaking your head, you were certain. "I think I would know Pete. I think I would know my own body."

"Why don't you just take a test (y/n). Just to be on the safe side. I don't mind going to buy it, I'll make sure to go to the next city. I'll pay by cash as well, then it can't be traced back to us. Don't worry, I have this." He was so kind and helpful, thinking of things that even you wouldn't have thought of.

When Peter bought the test, he snuck into an alleyway just so that he could hide the test up his jumper. There were cameras in every room of the compound except for the bathrooms. On his arrival to your shared floor, he headed straight for the bathroom so that he could put the test in there for you to take.

Slowly making your way into the bathroom, Peter couldn't help but smile at you. He wanted to be by your side through it all. "Pete, turn around. I'm not having you watch me pee."

With a pout on his face, he reluctantly turned around. When he heard the sound of the toilet flush, and your trousers being pulled back up, he turned to face you again. "The box says we have to wait two minutes. Humming you couldn't help but think how long those two minutes would feel, and they did feel long. When the timer on your phone went off, you held your breath as you looked at the test in front of you.

Pregnant.

The one word that changed everything. Your body was growing a tiny human. Showing it to Peter, he clutched at you laughing not quite believing the word on the test. Was this a dream, a nightmare, or reality? Placing a hand on your stomach, your emotions were all over the place. You were ecstatic that you were having a baby with the man in front of you, but you were both still only 19, were you ready for this?

It was weighing on your mind a lot, only Peter knew, and you were going crazy. Someone else had to know, you couldn't keep it a secret forever. There was only one person you could turn to, one person immune to your father's charms, one person who could lie to him. Pepper.

After talking to Peter about it, he agreed that talking to Pepper was a good idea. She would know where to go for an ultrasound scan, that would keep it a secret. You had asked Pepper to come to your floor for lunch, it would be easier to tell her there as there would be no interruptions. Sitting across from her you asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to turn off the mics to your floor, telling the A.I. that you were discussing a present for Tony.

When the words left your mouth that you were pregnant you broke down. The emotions you had let build up finally erupted. Pepper was by your side in an instant arms around your shoulders, rocking you until you stopped crying. "Does Peter know?" All she wanted to do was keep you safe, her daughter growing up too quickly for her liking.

You nodded your head, "I know I need to tell dad, but I just don't know how." You were now grasping onto her arms that were around you.

"We can tell him together hun. I'm by your side no matter what you want." Pepper was always the mother figure in your life, always the person you went to when you had a problem, she was always there for you.

Discussing the scan made you nervous, you would have to go to a different city to have it. Somewhere where you or your family weren't as well known. When Pepper told you that the med bay could do it, you were scared. They would no doubt tell your father and then it wouldn't be your secret. When she told you that they had to abide by patient confidentiality due to your age, you couldn't be happier.

Calling Pete you told him the news, Pepper had booked you into the med bay for that night, a time of day when it would be quietest. She wanted to go with you, but your father would be suspicious if she didn't attend dinner with a client. Pete came back early from work, wanting to spend some time with you before your scan, in your little bubble of two, before it became your bubble of three.

Nerves ran through you as you attended the med bay for your scan. It would be the first time you would see the little one growing inside of you. Peter held your hand throughout and even shed a tear when the sonographer showed the screen of your baby. It was real now, your baby.

You decided to tell the team in the morning, you would tell your father at the same time, hoping his reaction would cause minimal damage. You were about to tell him about the one thing he was worried about happening. Right now, it was just you in your bubble of Peter and the baby.

Waking up, you almost couldn't go through with it, but with Peter, by your side, you could face anything. You had asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to get everyone in the common room so that you could tell them all the news together, it was a non-negotiable meeting. "What's wrong? Why have you got everyone here first thing on a Saturday morning?" Bucky grumbled. He was never one for mornings, always consuming an unhealthy amount of caffeine if he had to be up before midday.

"We have some news, and we wanted to tell you all together." Peters' strong voice surprised everyone, including you. He was always shying away from the team when it came to speaking publicly in front of them.

You took the responsibility out of his hands and just came out with it, "I'm pregnant. We're having a baby." Shock covered everyone's faces, they couldn't believe that the two youngest members of the team were going to have a baby.

One by one, the team all came to hug the both of you, congratulating you. All except your father. His face was stoic as he stood leaning against the wall one hand resting on his chin as he thought hard. "Are you sure you are pregnant? That this isn't some kind of prank that the two of you are pulling on me." He refused to believe it until he saw for himself.

When you pulled the photo of your unborn baby from your pocket and gave it to him, he cried, pulling in for a hug. "My little girl is having a baby. Is this why you have been sick? Until that baby is born no more missions for you, no getting into the suit and certainly no training for you. We need to keep my grandchild safe."

The domesticity in the room was not what anyone would have expected, everyone pulled into different conversations about the baby and how it would fit into the dynamic of the team. They all wanted to be involved. Bruce couldn't help his thoughts from wandering, thinking about the genetics that this baby might have. The brains that were established in both you and Peter. He pulled Tony into the corridor to discuss what was plaguing his mind, hoping that he could offer some reassurances.

"Have you ever thought about the biological capabilities of this child? We need to run tests, there is a possibility that the D.N.A. sequence could match yours with the spider gene." Your father turned to Peter when entering the room. "This can change everything. If this information fell into the wrong hands, it could be detrimental to you all, especially that baby. If our enemies found out, then they could take the baby and possibly replicate it, but in the process, it would kill the baby."

Everyone's faces visibly paled at the words your father just spoke. Turning to Bruce, you wanted his opinion, he was the one who had all the degrees. He just nodded his head, your baby could be a target. Sitting down tears ran tracks along with your features. Peter couldn't believe it either, he had been so happy about it to only find it could be fatal, it could lead to even your death.

Steve then decided to speak up "It is just a possibility at the moment."

[doakaptan]

i think i finally get mad men and im not happy about it

Two weeks ago I started watching Mad Men for an assignment and accidentally became obsessed with a show that had no premise other than Don Draper bedding various women. 5 seasons in, I bought myself a mechanical keyboard just so that I can live the aesthetic of the show while writing this.

(I will write this post assuming you have read my first blog post about this show but you don’t have to worry about missing any info because the first blog post was me predicting an unpredictable show and cursing at characters)

So turns out, I did not really figure out anything by only watching the first seven episodes. No surprise there. But by diving deep into the first 2 seasons I realized that Mad Men is actually deeper than it lets on and the cheapening effect of its over-sexualized characters don’t really do a great job at hiding it. Actually after a while sex in the show is more symbolism than actual sex. It especially signifies a mental state that is special to Don and you actually start feeling sorry for him whenever a sex scene comes up. 

Well, Don Draper is a villain as well as the hero or to put it more accurately, a tragic hero and as the seasons progress you develop a love hate relationship with him. And if you binge watch 5 seasons and use all your spare time to think about it, you start relating to Don. Surprisingly Don had all the odds against him and lived an awful life without ever doing anything to prompt it. As I learned more about his life I actually started getting mad at the alternative reality of Mad Men because goddamn let the man breathe and be happy for once. 

At the start I was mad about him cheating on Betty with every single powerful women that looked his way and I am still mad, you can’t really excuse that, but as their relationship was revealed more and more I kind of started to understand why he preferred spending the nights somewhere else. Betty is incredibly hard to put up with and no offense but even I’m not sticking around for her character development. She is overbearing, childish, overall a pain in the ass. If I knew her in real life I would have thought that she was pampered too much and was unable to grow up and get a grip as a result. She has mommy issues though and I respect that. There are also moments that she shines and she especially prefers shining only after they get a divorce and when she knows she will get Don’s approval. Before I lose track and continue talk about Betty know that Don is always worse and let me wrap up his analysis. 

Don is, in my opinion, someone who experiences love by avoiding it. (A love avoidant may be the term but I am not really sure). He marries Betty because he falls in love too hard and starts avoiding her right after their marriage, he likes the artist woman too much so he leaves her to be with someone she is more compatible with, same thing with the most of the women he chases. I only realized how hard he avoids the people he likes during season 4 when he decides to marry his secretary (who mind you spend like 4 days with him in Los Angeles to take care of his children) rather than building a healthy relationship with Faye who was probably the best person he could have ended up with. This also relates back to his self-destructive tendencies. He never truly believes that he deserved anything so he makes sure that he ruins it.

He excessively drinks and smokes, cuts ties on a whim, cheats and only ever feels truly like himself while he’s with Anna (who dies later in the series). Anna is and was the friend he needed all along. Even in his stolen identity Anna was the only person who accepted him as who he is and didn’t leave his side even in his darkest times. The man literally went to Korea by himself to defend an area and came back with a stolen id and lots of trauma and adopted himself into the life of her (the wife of the person he stole his identity from) and made sure she lived a life full of love. He shines the most when he can be himself but his old identity is and probably will always be an enigma to him. 

I think he’s slowly starting to find his way and make up for his mistakes but since he is used to self-destructing his set backs get more and more brutal each time. I start relating to him at this point the most. Relapsing in situations like these is brutal and it always feels like it is the last time and for once, for Don, it is the last time. He starts writing to understand himself and starts doing things like, regularly going to swimming or getting into a healthy relationship with someone who will be with him and help him through his ups and downs. He relapses when he decides to marry his secretary and from then on his relapse will only get worse but I believe that he is getting somewhere…

I will update this post once and for all, when I finish the entire series but for now I weirdly have hope that everything will end well for Don. 

And since I overstayed my welcome by going way over the word-limit I will speed run the thoughts I have about the other characters.

Betty, despite my comments earlier is actually misunderstood and deserves more than she gets. She truly loved Don and did everything in her power to make him happy. She even left her very successful modeling career to get married with him while SHE DESERVED BETTER THAN HIM. Her parenting is questionable but it can be overlooked because right now (in the middle of a global pandemic) we can all agree that being stuck with our family 24/7 is not ideal and we have been doing it for only a year while she has been doing it for more than a decade with more children adding up. LEAVE BETTY DRAPER/FRANCIS ALONE. 

(Also, watch the scene where she shoots at her neighbor’s pigeons because he threatened little Sally with killing her dog then talk to me about good parenting…)

Pete Campbell, turns out I really like him and his work ethic. I wish he ended up with Peggy but he is doing just fine with Trudy good for him. good. for. him. Thank god they didn’t follow up Trudy’s ‘old lover’, ‘the one that got away' plot line because it would probably be the thing I hated the most about watching this show. She is not an interesting character and she’ll never be. Good for Pete though, good for Pete. He never gets anything and I don’t know if he deserves getting it because we are not that exposed to him. But he is loyal to the ones he loves and even though his morals can get a bit questionable at times he is hardworking and will build up a great life as far as I’m concerned. (And if he doesn’t you can find me on ao3 re-writing his plot because I am no longer appreciating Pete-slander in this house).

Peggy. GOOD FOR HER GOOD FOR HER. LEAVE THAT DAMN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND HANG OUT WITH WANNABE REALEST OF THE REALEST ARTISTS. Also love the gay girl she should have ended up with her instead of the wannabe artist who only talks about capitalism. Peggy’s job is capitalism their relationship don’t really make sense.

Joan… Joan deserved someone who treated her right but fell into the lap of a charming locker-room-mouthed jock, who tried to be a surgeon and failed then tried to be a psychiatrist and failed and finally got drafted for Vietnam (ngl I hope he dies there). Unpopular opinion she should have ended up with Roger because while I hate ‘the perfect girl fixes boy with problems’ trope I would have eat it up. I like them together and surprisingly they are good together. I think she is the only one smart enough to actually lead cis-het white men who think they own everything because they are men, within their company and she deserves more than she gets with the shit she deals with. 

On a last note, the topics Mad Men deals with sometimes can get a bit triggering or upsetting but I think it is worth a watch.

[purple-nana]

7 days

pairing: president!jeno x vp!reader - fluff

word count: 1.3k

summary: a genius student who has done nothing but study met a new boy and both of their lives changed because of 7 days

It was another lame day. The same exact thing.

Students all over the hallways, girls who were busy gossiping about boys, your classmates crowding in the corner for a game—everything was the same as it usually does.

You sat at your seat as the lunch hour passes, with no one to talk to, to study with or anything.

Hands busy studying for the next subject, ears blocked with music from your headphones, attention focused on your chemistry book. It’s no wonder why anyone wouldn’t even try to talk to you. Not like it mattered though.

After all, school was just another requirement for you to please your parents.

Signing up for the student council, the academic clubs and everything that would get you high marks. Other students wouldn’t want to be you being boring and all, you also could say the same—but let’s just say that this lifestyle is better for you.

A pat on your back caused your focus to disappear. Taking off your earphones, you looked over your shoulder to see the person that disrupted your attention. It was a first actually, since no one ever talked to you after 10th grade.

A tall figure stood behind you. He had dark hair, muscles evident were from his white uniform and— a really handsome face, a new one perhaps. You haven’t seen him before, you reckon, he was a new student.

“Hey, y/n right?” He asks in his deep voice, which you find oddly—attractive.

You nod in bewilderment. Your mind is confused on as to why a guy as handsome as him dared to even talk to you when no one else would.

It’s also not helping that your classmates have their eyes locked on the both of you. Perhaps they were also curious as you were.

Your thoughts melted as the boy spoke to you again.

“Mr. Kim wanted to meet us at the student council room for a briefing, I expect you to be one of the candidates if I am not mistaken.”

Oh. That.

You completely forgot that today was the briefing and selection of candidates for each partylist. 

The election slipped out of your mind. Well, how would it not when it is the first time in years that you have had an actual conversation with a boy in that close of a proximity.

They can call you naive and innocent for all you care, but it isn’t your fault that anything that isn’t related to studying is unacceptable to eyes of your mother and father.

It isn’t your fault to be feeling this way.

“Oh, right.” You awkwardly replied. You stood up and went to gather your belongings to keep them.

Lucky for you, the boy was kind enough to wait for you. Afterwards, you immediately signaled him to lead the way.

You followed him quietly from the back. There was no exchange of words or what so ever. But you noticed that he would turn to check on you every couple of minutes or so.

To which you remembered—you don’t even know his name yet.

Maybe it’s because of his intimidating presence or it’s really just considering the fact that you both have just met—

He stopped in his tracks and turned to your direction. Possibly indicating that he wants you to walk together.

You caught up and he showed you a smile. A bright smile that went up to his eyes, making him more charming than he already was.

“I’m Jeno by the way.” He lends his hand for you to shake.

You smiled softly. “Well I supposed you already know me,” you chuckled, “Y/n” you shooked his hand and you felt heat spread throughout your face.

You both giggled and took the rest of the journey to the office as an opportunity to get to know each other.

----

Days passed and the election was over. It was a really an amusing coincidence that Jeno ran for the Student Body President and you ran for the Vice President positon.

To top it all off, you were both in the same team. Which overjoyed you.

Now would it really just be a coincidence that it happens to be that you both won the position!

Well, you kind of expected that in Jeno’s part since every girl on campus were smitten over him. But overall, it was a great and fair election.

You and Jeno spent most of your days together. It didn’t really mind you since aside from the duties of being in the council, Jeno was a really nice person to be with.

And of course, your mother and father didn’t do anything since it was all related to school which was clearly favorable to you.

Jeno hung out in your house that afternoon to finish some paper works. He argues that doing it in the comfort of a house was much better than doing it in the eerie office. You agreed because you can say the same as well.

You stared at the ceiling, laying in your bed while the flicking sound of Jeno’s pen hitting the wooden desk resonates through your ears.

The both of you enjoyed the comfortable silence, until you thought of something.

“Jeno?” You called out to him.

He responds to you with a hum as he was still focused on hs paper works.

“I was wondering why you joined the council even though you barely even know most of the students on campus.” you chuckled. You asked him in a form of a joke but you actually wanted to know why.

Jeno paused for moment, then chuckled with you. He sat up straight and spun around in your office chair.

“I just wanted to be the most.powerful.student in all of the university!” He faked an evil laugh.

You pursed your lips at him, unamused by his terrible joke. “That shit was a no, Jeno. Try harder for pete’s sake.” You tsked.

He stopped and gave you a ‘really?’ expression, you nod at him.

“Ow man I thought that was a good one.” He sulks.

“Hey but seriously though, why did you joined?” You asked him for real this time. You have been curious about it ever since the positions were announced.

It’s not everyday that a new student would be that brave to run for a positon as high as a president on his first year at a new university.

He’s got to have a reason or a purpose right?

“If you really want to know,” He turns to look at you, “you.”

You were confused. You. What did you have to do with him running for the highest position?

“Me?”

That was way too much of a nonsense for you to believe in. Unless Jeno—

He scoffed. “I like you y/n.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, head tilting to the side. “I am not comprehending—WAH!”

Jeno pulled you to his lap and looked at you in the eye. His hands were holding your waist to keep you from squirming.

“7 days.”

“W-what—”

“Ever since the day I laid my eyes on you, I fell for you completely. In seven days.”

You thought he was joking but by the way he was holding you, the words that comes out from his mouth. Everything seems so, real.

“I joined the council only because of you, I wanted to be with you even if I am going to face a challenge. I wanted to know how it feels like to be loved by you.”

“But what about our duties, our professors—”

“I don’t care about them y/n, I only care about you. And even if you don’t feel the same way, give me seven days to prove my love for you. I am sure you won't regret it." His words were sweet and genuine, enough to make you feel flattered and shy.

You didn’t know about his secret admiration for you. but you were sure as hell that you felt the same way.

Nobody mattered to you anymore, not your parents, your classmates or anyone. It’s as if the world revolves on only the both of you.

You smiled and hugged him tight. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll need seven days Jeno. You’ll just need one kiss.”

Jeno immediately gave you a warm and passionate kiss, one that he’s sure you’ll feel his intimate love.

You smiled into the kiss.

For once everything felt right, everything was were it was meant to be,

—and it is all because of a mere 7 days.

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Reviews: The Town Where Everyone Was Nice! or Scrooge Is the Lindburgh Baby

Saludos Amigos! The Ride of the Three Cablleros has at long last come to the last stop before it’s final phase. It’s been a hell of a ride so far: Our boys have tried to woo some ladies, performed some black magic, had some sort of drug trip, dealt with Donald’s ego, helped goofy ungoofy himself...

“SEASONS CHANGE, TIMES CHANGE BUT UNGOOFY IS FOREVER AND ALWAYS HE IS ALWAYS THERE” ... I created this magificent stalion.. kinda I think he came out of a styigan hole in the universe from the darkest dark in the dark of the dark... I can’t be sure. Our heroes fought an arrogant prince, found a lost city and helped donald get his smile back. All culminating in our heroes going to Spain for some reason, soundtracking Goofy’s win against Horace in Flamico Dancing, somehow that wasn’t a Covid induced fever dream I had but the actual premise of the episode, and then played some soccer with Daisy’s cousin and Pancho Pete. All in all we’ve had some good times getting here and I feel acomplished having made it this far. While I’ve still got quite a ways to go, getting this far means I really made something.. and not just the 80 something dollars it took to comission all of this. And I genuinely just want to thank all of you for reading these as these have easily been some of my most popular reviews and @weirdkev27​ for comissioning all of this. It’s been easily one of my faviorite projects so far and I look forward to the final leg of it soon. For now though we have one last adventure before the biggest one starts.  But before we can dive into it you probably have a few questions, and since I don’t really need to give Ducktales 2017 a lavish introduction as unlike most stuff so far this show is well and familiar: it’s what got me started reviewing animation on this blog, it’s what got me into the duck community as a full member, and it’s what caught Kev’s attention leading to this entire series. So I have time to answer the questions your probably asking and if your not.. well here’s the answers anyway Wait aren’t you going to cover Louie’s Eleven?: Nope. While I love that episode, I already did a full review of it earlier this year.  I saw no reason to completely and utterly redo the entire thing when my opinions toward the episode haven’t really changed. That being said since I didn’t touch on the boys characterizations in that one too much and since I do want this retrospective to be comprehensive, I will talk about Panchito And Jose’s characterization there briefly during this review at the right time as a compromise. 

Wait why isn’t THIS the last stop since it came out AFTER Legend of the Three Cablleros: Simple.. it felt unsatsfying to both me and kev to end on this one. While their apperance here IS a good one and a big deal... it’s also ANOTHER guest apperance. It’s something I didn’t quite realize for now but outside of the movie.. every apperance after is them guest starring in another series. Their aperances in Don Rosa’s Duck Comics, while awesome and treating them with proper respect, were still them showing up to shake up Donald’s stories and formulas. They were LITERAL guest stars in House of Mouse, and Roadster Racers was entirely just “let’s shove them in there because we can”. Legend.. is their story. Their moment in the sun after too damn long with all three as main characters and while being a lead is normal for donald, Jose and Panchito really HAVEN’T had that shot outside of their home countries. To be the hero of their own fully realized epic adventure. So it just fits best to have the road lead there instead of have all that happen.. then go back to yet another guest appearance. The other major factor.. is that while Legend came out around the same time as ducktales, to the point many compared and contrast both shows treatment of Donald, this episode is what most non-latin american audiences saw first as it took Disney WAY too damn long to air the series over here.. i.e. until Disney Plus launched, finding it somewhere online was the only option despite the series being produced in america with some really big american names voice acting wise. Point is this came first to some people, so i’m using that as a flimsy excuse to put it ahead so we get a better finale. 

Now all that’s settled, let’s dive into “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!” and see what one of the best duck propeties period makes of our boys. 

We open in a remote town in Brazil. It’s the Festival of the Flower.. which is a bit off to me. While it DOES kind of make plot sense.. the problem is the lure was written to Panchito and Jose.. Jose whose a brazil native and could’ve possibly been supscious that a tourist invintation wasn’t in Brazilian Portugese, the countries national language and something I specifically researched just to see what it’d be called. For the record it’d be O Festival da Flor acording to google translate, which still sounds neat, Webby could’ve still said it means festival of the flower. It just feels like a missed opportunity from a creative team that’s taken such pains to make the series feel as authentic as possible and clearly put a lot of hard work and research into making each location feel like it’s real world counterpart.  But it’s a minor thing and we soon get our two plots for the episode: Our B Plot.. is that Dewey can’t stay the fuck off his phone and is taking pictures rather than actually getting experiences with Louie enabling him, while Webby gets increasingly frustrated at Dewey not actually botherting to experince this unique and obscure culture. We’ll get back to this in a bit. 

Our main plot naturally concerns the reason our heroes are here: Donald is reuniting with The Cabs, who in this continuity are his old College friends who Scrooge hates due to having to listen to them practice constnatly and tells the kids they’d hate it worse than his playing the bagpipes. 

Bagpipes are objectively the worst insterument on earth. They are loud, unharmonic and generally just obnoxious. I do respect how important they are to Scotland, home of David Tennant, Grant Morrision and .. Alan Cumming and James Macavoy? Wait what? that’s awesome! Point is Scotland is great but I do not like the bagpipes except when Bugs Bunnny is murdering them. Honestly Donald’s college band was probably more like this. Nothing bad at all just mildly pathetic and mildly pathetic is what got Donald a girlfriend, so it’s not a  bad look

That brings me to another point: Scrooge is pretty obnoxious in this episode. It seems like his sole reason for coming was to bitch about Donald’s old college band. He could’ve just sent them a stern letter like the pros at being a cranky old geezer do. 

I do GET why he’s here as there are some REALLY damn funny bits with him in the a-plot, it just feels like they could’ve justified it better. But on to better things as Jose and Panchito enter the scene after Scrooge claims they “weren’t so cool”.. with Panchito diving from a plane and drifting down on his umbrella

And Panchito shows up dramatically playing the guitar. A truly awesome and worthy intro to our boys. So let’s talk about them in this series. Honestly the two really aren’t that diffrent from usual, though Jose’s lady chasing is given to Panchito, his footloose world traveling lifestyle remains in tact as does his genuine charm while Panchito remains the peppy one, just with his outbursts gone as his guns are replaced with cell phones.. 

Yeah while I do get replacing the pistols because let’s face it the mexican of the group being a gun nut was pretty damn unfortunate, though Don Rosa toned it down and justifed it well, and frankly guns are a hard no for family shows these days unless their laser guns so replacing them I get. But instead of I dunno giving him knives or turning his holsters into pouches carrying his stuff.. he just has two Cell Phones. It’s weird. It dosen’t really make sense other than for him putting on a big shot act and even big stars probably don’t have two phones on them at all times. It’s just a VERY weird update that makes not a whole lot of logical sense and I belivie is thankfully gone by the next ep. The only real issue I have is the two just sorta blend together personality wise instead of being distinct like usual, but that’s also happened in other apperances, so it’s not exactly a new or unique problem, and the two’s voice actors do a great job making both feel like they should. 

Speaking of which let’s just go ahead and discuss that elephant in the room: The Cabs were recast for the first time in ages, which didn’t sit well with friends of legend as Eric Bauza, who’d replaced rob Paulsen, was himself replaced by Arturo Del Puerto and Bernado Del Paulo replaced Jamie Camil and Carlos Aquazi as Panchito. And I have mixed opinons on this one: Replacing Eric was a no brainer: while he’s a terrific voice actor.. he’s not brazilian and the crew of Ducktales 2017 perfer to cast actors who match their characters backgrounds, which again adds to the authenicty of it’s globetrotting and scope. They don’t ALWAYS, Cree Summer isn’t, as far as I know, Egyptian and Catherine Tate, while wonderful, isn’t italian. But for the most part it adds a nice flavor to things and frankly I personally prefer it when Jose is voiced by an actual brazilian man. So that change i’m fine with. Not using Camil though... I do not get. Jamie Camil is a throughly talented voice actor, having done TONS of great work lately , vocing Globgor for star vs and not getting nearly enough screen time as the loveable demon dad, and stealing the show as Don Carnage earlier in the series. While that episode is one of the series weakest, he’s still easily the best part of it and I hope Carnage shows up one last time before the finale. 

So it really makes.. no sense to me to replace him. Not only is camil a bigger named actor, but he was already on the show and even the defense of “well they don’t want actors playing multiple rolls” ended up utterly destroyed by the end of the season, as Christ Dimatopolus not only reprised Storkules, but went on to play Drake and Melon, and picked up a FOURTH role in season 3 as Hades. My point is the show has no real issue with doubling up on voice rolls, so I scratch my head as to why Camil wasn’t given this part too despite being the obvious choice. Del Paulo isn’t a bad actor and is great in the role.. I just scratch my head why he was needed when a perfect actor for the part was right there and already had experince with the character. 

I do think Puerto and Paulo are terrific and do the characters justice, issues with Paulo being there at all aside, and they do a great job and more than earned the roles and I don’t think the mass critcisim of this version of the characters is entirely warranted.. for this episode. This episode while they can meld into each other... that happens in most of their apperances anyway, so it’s not unusual or unique to this series. I will say however that the way their written in their next apperance is utter garbage: they aren’t really given any chances to be distinct, are basically written as one person even worse .. and that one person is a greedy asshole who takes advantage of their friend and never apologizes. I do get why people did not like them in that episode. I do think it has no baring on this one and people should stop bashing these versions as a whole for one terrible episode, especially when Louie has been written pretty badly for the bulk of season 3, yet is still not a bad character. It’s unfair to paint the series as painting them soley as selfish jackasses when it didn’t at first and hopefully wont’ again when they presumibly show up for the finale’s big avengers endgame sequence I hope is coming. For now they aren’t bad and the colors are crisp and the animation nice and bouncy on our boys. 

Since we have two plots here, I’m just going to go ahead and split em since honestly, the b plot dosen’t really impact the a-plot until really the last minute and is basically happening right along side it and in concert with it. Sooooo... 

The Trite B-Plot: As you can probably gather I didn’t really like this one. It’s basically 5-7 minutes of me wanting to punch a child in the face. Or rather Webby wanting to have fun experinces and actually take in the culture while in town, while Dewey just wants to take pictures of everything, make it seem like he did stuff, and generally is obnoxious to webby while Louie supports him wholeheartdly. That last part is really one of the few good parts of the plot as it’s nice for one of the brothers plots to NOT be about them being in conflict or squabbling but just hanging out and having some fun, doubly so since i’ve had to spend a season watching Louie , outside of a few good exceptions be an absolute dick to Huey and also Dewey once. It’s nice to just see him and Dewey bond over a shared intrest: posting shit online and getting good photos. 

And it’s not without GOOD gags: Dewey’s obnoxious captions at one point while Webby continually looses her shit, Louie continually saying “that’s so wise” at Dewey’s bullshit philosphies, Webby’s continued annoyance is delivered great by Kate as always, and the best bit is Webby, utterly pissed at Dewey for refusing to eat Local Cuisine, wolfing down the entire fucking plate, all the dumplings in her mouth at once while Dewey, naturally, takes a picture. Otherwise this is just.. grating. It’s utterly grating to watch Webby GENUINELY try hard to absorb the local culture and really enjoy a once in a life time experince.. while Dewey jackasses about and basically acts like she’s wrong for it and treats his best friend like garbage. Just because i’ts nice it’s not Louie this time doesen’t make one of the kids being a dick without any nuance or character stuff suddenly great. It’s just tiresome. 

And SOMEHOW , despite already not liking it the first time watching the episode.. it’s even WORSE now afterlast years. No not because I watched it while having to put up with Coronoavirus induced Chills, but because another show did this plot 100 times better: Close Enough. One of the best new shows of the year, Close Enough had a plot where exes Bridget and Alex, aka yet aother great set of Kimiko Glenn and Jason Mantzokus characters, went on vacation together, but their attempts to have some ex sex fell flat due to longstanding issues we found about through this plot: Bridget has a bad habit of doing what Dewey did, focusing way more on her social than actually enjoying her vacatoin while Alex has a bad habit of befreinding random weirdos who agree with his worldview. Keep in mind this is the same worldview that spent an afternoon connecting garfield to jesus while pissing in a jug for some reason. Point instead of a character just being a smug dick, it ties into actual character flaws that helped us not only learn more about them but lead to a really heartwarming scene where the two admit they jsut can’t sleep together casually with allt heir baggage, and that they still have a lot to sort out. Before given the show their on having their friends show up from the a plot and all of them getting kidnapped by a robot because Josh skipped a bunch of ads and a 5 year old has to solve some issues and prove she’s not dumb to blow up said robot. What i’m saying is it’s even more insufferable watching this after seeing it done a thousand times better, and fucking watch Close Enough. Thankfully unlike Inifnity Train it’s not reliant on you to get a second season as it’s been renewed proving that even in a cluster fuck like 2020 miracles can happen, but it’d still be nice for it to get more fans during the presumably long wait for Season 2. Let’s move past this, i’ll get to the plot relevant bit for the climax when we get to the climax, and onto the reason your all here. 

The Main Event: A Life Not Wasted

Okay onto the actual plot. Rewinding quite a bit, the boys meet our boys, and we get some good bits. The boys cool new handshake leaves Huey wanting one only for Louie to simply lick his hand. See this is Louie dickery I can get behind because what did Huey expect? I do take comfort in the fact he has actual friends now who will likely do a handshake, fenton very much included. I’m sure Gyro didn’t want one either so he’s had plenty of time to workshop. We also find out one of the boys was dropped as an egg and well.. given Dewey opens and closes his eyes one at a time for this one moment, the ohter triplets just sorta.. silently agre it’s Dewey. IT does explain why he thought Champ Popular would get over..that and Santa Claus is Going to Highschool being his favorite movie. 

So both Jose and Panchito claim to be sucessful: Jose being a sucessful jetsetter and trendsetter, and Panchito being a world famous pop star, never stop stopping. So Donald being donald panics and runs into a alley where Scrooge and Huey join him.  Donald is fully convinced he’s wasted his life and has nothing to show for it. Huey rightfully points out he raised three wonderful children and isn’t that enough? Naturally given Donald clearly has some issues related to this subject and Scrooge has develoved into old man yells at cloud, he agrees it’s not important as money. So Huey decides to help his uncle because he’s the good son.. and because the two are easily the most alike out of Donald and his Kids. It’s something I haven’t really been able to bring up before so I was delighted to realize i could now: Besides the obvious people bring up constnatly, I.e. Huey having inhereted the most of the family rage out of his brothers, there’s the fact both are kind of obessive, both tend ot spiral into panic when a situation goes wrong, both are awkward with women, both are frequently ignored or taken for granted by those around them, and both are awkward adorable dorks who I will give my life to protect. It’s why I think Huey has the best relationship with his uncle of the bunch: He’s the only one who at least TRIES to empahtize with him and support him. While the other two do love him, and Webby of course likely has an insanne and horrifying shrine of him, and scrooge and probably della now in her closet.. and of course lena but that’s less out of hero worship and more out of her insane, over the top, very webby version of love. Point is, he’s the one who genuinely sees his uncle as a person who needs help and love. This was best demonstrated in the scene at the bank back in “Who Is Gizmoduck” as Huey tries to get his uncle a loan using the guidebook and is there soley to help the guy and taking time out of his day to visit the bank. Let’s face it though this is huey: he probably loves visiting the bank. They just got new pens! So Huey decides to put his improv badge to good use... so far the only use he’s gotten is Louie laughing at the fact he actually earned an improv badge and urges donald to simply ACT like he’s sucessful. Scrooge balks at this, because as Wonder Woman 1984 taught us nothing good comes from lies.. or from  banging your ghost boyfriend while he’s possessing someone’s body without said body’s consent and plan to fully live out the rest of your lives togehter without ever considering how fucked up this is. I will..deal with that movie ... soon. But he soon changes his turn and agrees to go along with it to avoid Jose getting upset and them having to pay for everything. 

So Huey suggest Donald keep the lie small, but belivable. Given the law of sitcoms when it comes to anyone saying that and the fact this is Donald, he instead panics and lies that he’s taken over McDuck industries and scrooge has gone full abe simpson in the other direction. 

Which is why i’m not enitrely annoyed by Scrooge’s presence: while they don’t even handwave him being here, Scrooge putting on an old man act, and sometimes getting back at donald for it is solid gold the whole damn time and some of David Tennat’s best comedic acting on the show, so it makes up for him being a grumpus.  And while i’m not usually not a fan of liar revealed plots, this one works for me.. mostly because it’s rooted in character. Here Donald is lying.. but because of deep seated neurosis he’s yet to fully tackle. While he loves his boys and is proud of htem every day... it’s very clear Donald hates his life and how it turned out. We got bits of this back in House of the Lucky Gander, with Donald’s first thought upon thinking he’s about to die is “I wasted my life” and feeling entirely like a looser. This episode brillinatly builds on that: it shows a Donald who simply feels.. he acomplished nothing. It’s easy to see why as his parents were happy and sucessful at whatever they did from the looks of it and how well taken care of the kids were, his uncle is the richest duck in the world and it’s greatest hero and explorer, his sister is the only one who could rival that record, and his cousin constnatly gets riches and fame handed to him. Donald.. by comparison.. is just a normal guy whose house is in his rich uncle’s pool, who has no job, no partner, and only really the love of his family. He spent his life on adventures he didn’t want to have living int he shadow of someone he grew to resent before the Spear of Selene incident blew things up for a decade. And then when he was free instead of becoming a big sucess... he blew the rest of it being overprotective of his boys and bouncing from dead end job to dead end job. It’s easy to see why he sees himself as a failure despite having lived a good life: compared to everyone else, even his sister who mooned herself, in his life.. he feelsd far behind. And as someone whose felt they were far behind countless times and only now is realizing they haven’t and it’s a marathoon ot a sprint I naturally relate. So his wanting to play big shot for just ONE day, to be the big hero like scrooge, teo be a sucess for five minutes with his best friends.. it’s understandable and relatable. 

So Donald continues the ruse, leading to a great bit where the cabs all try to avoid picking up the check “WE can’t all keep whistling nonchalantly” before Scrooge is forced to give Donald the money to in the best joke of the episode.. and I mean FORCED. He and donald get into a fight with their hands under the table and Huey eventually gets fed up with that and has to BITE his uncle’s hand just to get him to do what he shoudl’ve done ruse or no given he’s the richest person there. The reason I take special offense to this.. is that my fairly wealthy grandpa and grandma, my mom’s dad and his wife for the record, would buy us dinner EVERY TIME they were near town, a nice steak dinner with whatever we wanted to most of the time. They knew we couldn’t afford such luxury half the time and wanted to treat us and spend time with us. Since my grandpa’s passing, my Grandma and her New Husband have continued the tradition since then, if obviously not this year for damn obvious reasons, thought hey sent us a really nice dinner to cook for christmas in the same spirit. What i’m saying is when you know your relatives arne’t as stacked as you , you pay for the fucking meal especially since i’ts a special occasion, and even for someone as stingy as scrooge, it comes off as a dick move. 

We then get the best scene with the episode, just inching out the climax as the three simply talk, remince on old times, have a good rib like old friends would. It feels natural and wonderful to watch and gets even better when the three hear the radio and end up having an impromptu dance and musical number. Also Jose’s umbrella is also a flute somehow. 

Point is the boys have a good time and Donald gets carried away, with the boys planning a world tour. Huey, while happy to endulge his uncle in a badly needded ego boost, isn’t happy to endulge this and scrooge is unwilling ot pay, more resonably this time. Huey eventually talks him out of being a moron and tells him he has to tell the honest truth and while that dosen’t work this does. 

So as Donald goes to face the music, we have come to our climax. Phrasing. 

The Finale: Ay Carumba

So we come to our finale. Backing up a scene or too to the B-Plot, webby is interviewing a local about the festival when she gets stuck in a loop. So far in the episode we’ve had hints something is up with the people as they go all yellow eyed.. and webby finds out why as she notices the “person” she was interviewing is, in a hilarious and disturbing review.. a horrignly realistic hand puppet.. and upon stealing Louie’s phone, she points out there’s no shots of anyone’s feet.. and the reason why is that the giant flower the feast is about is a mean green mother from outer space and he’s bad. And Webby finding that out’s got him fighting mad.  Webby and the boys naturally run to warn the remaning boy and scrooge and they all run out only to get blocked out of town and captured. Dewey looses his phone inside the plant monster.

In a great joke, Scrooge ended up actually throwing his back out with the old man act, so our heroes are all captured and it’s up to our stars to save the day.  So while his family is in peril, Donald finally comes clean with Jose and Panchito naturally being upset.. for a second before Jose admits he lied to and an irate panchito.. is forced to admit he also lied. Jose is a flight attendant, hopefully he’ll get his own mini series where he accidently murders a dude on disney plus, which is a nice update of his globe trotting ways, as it’s a resonable way for someone with no money to get around the world these days and Panchito is a birthday party muscian. They all however chuckle over this realizing they haven’t come as far as they thought.. and they still have each other. It’s a nice way of modernizing Rosa’s jobs for them and their hard luck lives he set up and I love this. IJt’s just a sweet emotoinal scene that makes donald, and his friends, realize they aren’t faliures and life isn’t just about reaching some arbitrarity goal.. just like Soul taught me aka the actually great movie I watched on Christmas Day.  But since Donald’s family is in peril Jose suggests theys till play the gig.. just like they did ion acapulco thus we get the second best scene of the episode and another worthy rendition of The Three Caballeros as our heroes beat the shit out of the plant, free the kids and the plant straighens out scrooges back. 

It’s beautiful, psycadelic, and utterly awesome. Seroiusly the bright boldend colors are awesome and so’s this sequence. Easily one of the show’s best.. and it’s a show that contiains the greatest scene in television history

So that masterclass concludes with Donald signing.. badly.. and blowing the plant hte fuck up. Our heroes win and head off in the sunchaser. No idea what Launchpad is up to, probably has another ex in the area. Point is our heroes win, Dewey deletes his photos because “If there was no pics it didn’t happen” (So wise) and Donald decides to get the band back together, prompting scrooge to do an animal house on Panchito’s guitar... you.. you know you have to pay for that right? you aren’t a loveable frat man and he wasn’t ‘singing and I gave my love a cherry. Your obligated to get him a new guitar. You know that right?

So with that the episode wraps. This is a pretty good episode. While the subplot is bad and it should feel bad the main plot is emotional, well done and really adds more depth to Donald’s character while giving us a hell of a show with the cabs. The College Band background gives the boys a unique flavor this time around, not musically but in how they know each other and helps set it apart from the countless other reunions. It’s a truly bright, colorful and fun episode with some great gags and great performances. As I said Puerto and Paulo really knock it out of the park as the boys and while I would’ve preferred Jamie Camil, Paulo was still utterly excellent, though Puerto was the clear standout of the two. While their second apparence would be disapointing characterization wise, overall this was a fun introduction to two of disney’s best into it’s best universe and one of Season 2′s Standouts. 

Next Time on the Ride of the Three Cablleros: we begin our massive finale look at The Legend of the Three Cablleros. Donald gets dumped by a nightmare of a person and finds an inhertance, new friends, and some sort of hot adventure god in his new cabana. Good times. Until then goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. 

[momentofmemory]

FICTOBER 2020 - day four

Prompt #4: “That didn’t stop you before.”

Fandom: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Characters: May Parker, Tony Stark, Peter Parker (mentioned)

Words: 1809

Author’s Note: May and Tony will get along one day, but it’s going to be a rough ride, and neither of them are going to like the journey. Set immediately post HOCO, May POV. Possibly the first in a series. 

>> eight feet and we started on the wrong one

It takes May two-and-a-half hours to drive from her apartment in Queens to the new Avengers facility in Upstate.

Spider-Man’s suit—Peter’s suit—sits hidden in a brown paper bag in the passenger’s seat, looking for all the world like one of the packed lunches Ben would make for Peter in elementary school. Peter’s old enough that he can make his own lunches now, though, so he hasn’t had one since—since.

Ben would be disappointed in her if he knew.

Peter’s still at home, both because he’s very, very grounded, and because she’s about to have a conversation she doesn’t want him anywhere near. Super hearing is apparently among her nephew’s multitude of powers, and considering he’d claimed to hear a heartbeat from across the room, she’s pretty sure there’s not building in all of New York large enough to give her the privacy she needs.

She’s going to be much, much louder than a heartbeat.

The Compound looms in the distance, and she does her best to feel as unflappable as she looks as she approaches the security entrance.

Two-and-a-half hours had felt like a lot of time when she’d pulled the address up on Maps, but all she’s conjured in terms of an attack plan is a losing battle between righteous anger and overwhelming guilt.

She pulls to a stop in front of the tall metal gates, hyper aware of all the doubtlessly lethal security that’s surrounding her. There’s a moment of silence, then a bored voice broadcasts over one of the speakers.

“This facility is for Avengers or cleared personnel only. Please present a valid ID or contact our PR representative to state your business—”

May pulls the suit out of the bag and lets it unfurl out the window, making sure the red and blue spandex is in plain view of the cameras.

She waits.

The intercom crackles back to life, and a new, much more cautious voice addresses her. “…Thank you for coming, Ms. Parker. Your security clearance has been added to the system. Please proceed to the front entrance where Mr. Hogan can assist you—”

“Stark,” May says. The knuckles on her right hand turn white against the steering wheel. “Mr. Stark will be meeting with me.”

Another long, drawn out pause. Then a third voice enters the mix, and this time, she’s able to identify the perpetually-confident speaker on the other side.

“Thanks for stopping by, May. I’d be happy to meet with you.”

May squashes down the thrill of anxiety and rage that fills her at the sound of him as the first voice takes back over. 

“Please proceed through the gate down the center lane. At the first fork in the road, turn left. This will lead you directly to the Avengers parking deck, where you will park on row E and take the south elevator to floor 7. An employee will meet you in the landing area to take you to Mr. Stark’s office.”

“Thank you,” May says, cheerfully, as if she’s given entry instructions to highly secured bases every day.

She can’t afford to appear nervous, so she aims for unconcerned—even if it makes her look a little ditzy.

Being underestimated is always an advantage.

The red lasers crossing the path blink twice before disappearing altogether, and then the heavy steel gates swing open at a belabored pace.

She pulls the suit back into the car and drives forward. In the privacy of her own thoughts, she tries not to dwell on how she’s just earned herself a one-on-one with arguably the most powerful man in the world.

(The most powerful man in the world who’s had near total access to her kid for the last two months, who offered to have him live somewhere else, who was going to tell the whole world his secret before he told her—)

Her stomach twists angrily.

(At least, she tells herself it’s anger.)

She drives into the deck and parks the car.

The suit is still lying in the passenger’s seat. May considers it, then carefully folds it back up and slips it into the bag. Then she steps out of the car and locks the door, leaving it inside.

It may have been Stark technology, but it was Parker property now.

The woman that meets her inside the building doesn’t say much, spending most of their shared time scanning her past enough security to let May know there was no way of getting in or out without their approval. She’s not sure if it’s an intimidation tactic or just the way things work here.

She adds it to the list of the many things she doesn’t know, and sits down in a chair outside of Tony Stark’s office to wait.

The conversation between her and Peter had been a very, very long one, and a very, very emotional one. She hasn’t processed any of it yet, because every time she tries, her brain stalls out on the fact that Peter’s story has enough holes in it to masquerade as one of Ben’s old socks. In fact, the only thing consistently more disturbing than all the danger he’d been in was all the times he couldn’t tell her why he was in danger to begin with.

The man at the desk hangs up the phone and waves in her direction. “Mr. Stark will see you now, Ms. Parker.”

“Mrs. Parker,” May says, because it hasn’t even been a year yet.

The secretary doesn’t seem to care either way, but the finer points of naming etiquette aren’t why May’s here anyway.

It’s time to get some answers.

Stark practically leaps out of his chair when she walks in, radiating enough charm to power a small light show, but with a clear undercurrent of nerves that belies his confidence.

“Well, if it isn’t May Parker,” he says, entirely smiles, “looking as fine as ever.”

Just like that, the anxiety she’s been masking as anger all day morphs into nothing but pure anger.

“What the hell, Stark.”

It’s not the careful or naive approach she’d originally envisioned, and his jovial expression vanishes as quickly as her goodwill had. “Now wait, I know you’re a little upset, but—”

“A little upset?”

“Okay, a lot upset,” he concedes. “That’s just ‘cause it’s a lot to take in, but if we just take a minute—”

“Stark,” May interrupts, her fists curling tight enough to dig crescent moons into her skin, “it’s not a lot to take in because I don’t have anything yet.”

Stark blinks. “You don’t—you talked to the kid, right? That’s how you got the suit?”

It’s the genuine confusion that riles May—that Stark hasn’t even considered how little he’s told Peter, and therefore, how little Peter could’ve told her.

“I talked to Peter,” she says, and Stark’s eyes narrow further, “and he said he fought Captain America. Couldn’t say why.”

It’s a low blow—most of the chatter on the Avengers’ split agrees that the falling out was mostly between its two heads—but May’s already at a disadvantage, and she can’t afford to play fair on a field that’s not level.

Stark stares at her, but May doesn’t make a move. Then he walks back behind his desk, and sits in the chair, propping his feet up. “What happened between me and Cap was personal, May.”

“I don’t care about your bro fight, Tony.” If he’s going to call her by her first name, then she should return in kind. “It’s none of my business, because I’m not involved. And Peter wasn’t, either, until you dragged him into it.”

Stark has the decency to grimace. “We hadn’t escalated anything at that point, I swear. Peter was never in danger—”

“It’d escalated to the point where you were so scared you thought recruiting a fourteen-year-old boy you’d never met was a good option.”

Stark looks away at that. “Look, maybe I rushed it a little. But Pete’s a good kid, and he was gonna get involved in bigger stuff one way or another. Did you not see that little onesie he was running around in? Before I got to him? I’m protecting him.”

(Like you didn’t.)

“Yeah?” May snaps. “So what else have you done? Did you have him sign the Accords? Is there some pencil pushing government official that knows more about my kid than I do?”

“No, he’s just a minor—”

“Oh, you care about him being a minor now,” May says. “‘Cause that didn’t stop you before.”

Tony’s eyes flash. "Listen, honey—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“—it’s real rich of you to play the concerned aunt when you didn’t bat an eye at my asking him to come along in the first place. You’re the one that let your kid fly to Germany for a scholarship you never looked twice at—”

“How dare you assume what I looked at—”

“—and you’re the one that consented to let me talk to him in the first place—”

“So you agree that asking to talk to a minor, alone, about highly confidential information was way out of line?”

“—and you’re the super involved aunt that’s decided for some reason to just ignore all your kid’s weird behavior for the past six months, including but not limited to sneaking out of the house at all hours, dropping almost all of his extracurriculars, consistently lying about his location, and—”

“His uncle died!”

Her outburst stops his tirade in its tracks, but it’s not the silver bullet she wanted, because it’s too vulnerable; too close. And she knows she’s treading dangerous ground, knows she shouldn’t continue when the balance of power is so strongly weighted against her, but now that she’s started, she can’t stop.

“His uncle died, and he thinks it was his fault,” she says. “And hell, what do I know. Maybe it really was. But that is not the kind of mindset that prepares anyone, let alone a fourteen-year-old boy, to make informed decisions about who he trusts. Maybe we got really lucky this time, and you really are that great for him. ‘Cause as you’ve so eloquently proven, I clearly wasn’t.”

May pauses, taking in a breath, while Tony shifts uncomfortably. But he doesn’t try to interrupt.

"So what happens,” she finally says, “the next time some guy comes along with a nice smile and a cool costume, and tells him it’s totally okay to lie to the people responsible for him.”

Tony watches her for a moment, and she watches him right back. He reaches over and flicks the Newton’s Cradle on his desk into motion, then sighs.

“Yeah, okay,” he says. “Fair enough.”

He gestures towards the chair opposite him, and this time, May accepts it.

He clears his throat. “So what do you want from me.”

“The truth,” May says, unflinchingly. “All of it.”

“Okay.”

[littlemisslol-fic]

Summary: Two years after the events of Barviel Keep, Varian has tried to adapt to the expectations brought by being a King’s Ward, with mixed results. Haunted by ghosts, Varian is forced to face the demons he tried to leave behind in Bayangor when his abdication is forcibly stopped by a third party, out for revenge against the Bayan Royal bloodline. On the run, with few allies left to turn to, Varian finds himself chasing a ghost through a series of tests that only a true heir of Demanitus could ever hope to pass.But the shadows are ever present, looming and dark, and not everything is as simple as it might seem.

Notes: It's KICKIN OFF OH LORD

If there were a word to describe Pincosta, Varian would have to pick bland. It was picturesque, quaint little streets lined with quaint little cobblestones, tiny houses clustered around perfect market squares. It was a perfectly maintained hamlet, adorable and ready to be slapped on a postcard. The people were well mannered, even under the blistering heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Pincosta was charming, delightful, even.

It was also irritatingly saccharine.

Varian grumbled as Rapunzel pulled him along the street, her hand tight on his wrist. He couldn’t help but look over his shoulder, unable to shake the feeling of eyes on him. Eugene was nearby, making room up ahead as they walked through the quiet streets. People milled about around them, going about their afternoon with a sort of quiet calm. Eventually they came to a stop in front of a medium sized building, a large set of stone stairs up in front of it. Eugene went right in, leaving Varian and the princess outside. Rapunzel finally let go of his hand, spinning to face him with a forced grin.

“Okay, Varian, you stay here while Eugene and I speak to Constable Lumph,” Rapunzel said, her eyes darting around the cramped streets. “Just for a second.”

Varian arched a brow at her, tilting his head. “Don’t you want someone to go and get supplies?” he asked, “For when we go back?”

“When Eugene and I go back-” Rapunzel’s tone was unimpressed, “We’ll get our own supplies. After Vardaros I don’t want to risk it.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Varian argued, “I can just go into a market, it’s not even that far; there’s like, six people-”

“Varian.” Oof, that was her big sister voice. “No. Thank you. Please just stay where I know you’re safe.”

Varian rolled his eyes but nodded his assent, leaning against the thick stone wall of the constable’s headquarters. “Fine, whatever.” He muttered, looking away from her. Rapunzel’s face fell at the attitude, but Varian heard her sigh and step up onto the stairs leading to the front door.

“Thank you,” she murmured, “We won’t be long.”

Varian grunted something that could be acknowledgement, but could have also just been him clearing his throat. Rapunzel sighed again, and Varian heard the shifting of the old stone stairs as she entered the building. Eugene was probably already bullying the constable for something he’d done last time the pair had been in the town- Varian honestly forgot, he’d heard the story once and even then, it was mostly to fill him in on where Cass had gone- though, they’d left the vast majority of the details glossed over.

Varian huffed, shifting on his feet. No one ever seemed to want to tell him anything unless it was life or death, and to be honest, it was just bits and pieces. Not his dad, not Frederick and Arianna. Not Rapunzel. Something bitter in him made him roll his eyes at the thought.

He waited a minute, then two. The heat of the midday had started to pick up; between that and the ring of raccoon currently wrapped around his neck, Varian can’t help but feel a little warm. He risks a peek back to the door Rapunzel had disappeared behind, thinking. Sure, Rapunzel had said to stay… but Varian was going insane with this whole protect the babyschtick. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, thank you very much.

It was a little insulting, this idea that Rapunzel had that Varian was completely useless- when he was younger, especially after Bayangor, Varian had appreciated it. Hell, he’d even craved it, that idea that someone he loved was willing to deal with him without complaint and push the bad things away. He’d needed it, honestly, needed someone to stand between him and the difficult parts of life, even just to filter out the worst of it. But in circumstances like this, when it was all hands on deck, Varian was rendered effectively useless.

And it made him bitter.

The door didn’t open; Rapunzel would probably be in there for hours. Varian bit his lip a little, thinking to himself. He wanted to be useful, even if she was determined to sideline him. Maybe if he went and got the supplies himself, quick and quiet, Rapunzel would get off his case… Or at least, maybe she would stop thinking he was totally inept. Varian’s mind latched to the thought, and he made his choice. With a movement that was almost casual, he pushed himself off the wall and started walking.

“C’mon Ruddiger,” Varian muttered, “Let’s go make ourselves useful.”

The raccoon chittered in concern, looking frantically back towards the constable’s office. Varian felt his pet pulling on his hair, but ignored it. Ruddiger tried once more to direct Varian’s attention back to the office, only to get a pat on the head. Varian winced when Ruddiger nipped at him, his fingers retreating.

“No, listen,” he said, shaking his stinging hand. “Just in and out, ten-minute adventure. We’ll show Rapunzel who’s defenseless.”

The people of Pincosta were generally pleasant. The town center reminded Varian of Old Corona in a way, if the people were a little less farmerand a little more miner. He liked it, wandering through the streets, feeling normal for the first time in years. Back in Corona he’d never been allowed outside the castle without an escort of some kind, be it a subtle one- like Eugene or Rapunzel insisting on joining him- or an unsubtle one- like Frederic’s ordering Stan and Pete to dog his footsteps like loyal hounds.

He’d missed it, more that he thought he would. The ability to mesh with crowds, to disappear into the throng of faces. To slip in the cracks of the public, vanish like a ghost. Amongst the people, he wasn’t a target, wasn’t a forced heir or a missing child. Here he was just Varian, and something in him settled at the ability to shrug off the status like a musty cloak.

Varian weaved through the crowd, slipping between miners and townsfolk with a small grin. How novel to be able to walk like a normal person again- like he was back home, like Barviel Keep had never happened, like Aldred had never existed…

Like Quirin was home, waiting for him to walk in the door.

Varian coughed roughly. He shook his head, working his way through the main street of the town. Ruddiger perked up at the smells wafting from a nearby bakery, but Varian rolled his eyes and scratched behind the raccoon’s ears again.

“No, buddy, supplies.” Varian laughed, “No cupcakes.”

The animal pulled his biggest puppy dog eyes, but Varian wasn’t convinced. He dipped in and out of a few stores, the money purse he’d nicked out of the bag weighing heavy in his pocket. Varian wasn’t sure exactly where the things they needed were- all of Pincosta’s main stores seemed to be specializing in kitschy souvenirs and housewares- but surely the people needed to eat, so it was just a matter of finding the grocers.

Varian huffed as he left the fourth store, growing frustrated. Maybe he was useless. He sighed, despairing as the maze of keepsakes and clutter vendors grew around him. It seemed like he couldn’t even find food without someone to hold his hand and show him the way. He ducked around a stall, kicking at a loose stone and watching it clatter across the cobblestones; it had been nearly an hour and he was still empty handed, how pathetic. Even Ruddiger seemed fed up, the raccoon draped over his shoulders limply.

Varian wandered to the center of the square, where a large fountain stood. It was an ornate thing, carved to look like flowers and stars surrounding a beautiful, muscular woman, holding a pickaxe out to the sky. He knew the people here followed a deity called Vaara, said to be a goddess of the earth. Made about as much sense as worshipping the Sun, Varian supposed, though he knew the Sundrop had been very real.

He looked over the edge of the fountain, peeking in with a small air of curiosity. He could see coins settled on the bottom, the white limestone bright and clean. Varian could see his own reflection looking back at him, rippling in the water from small streams tossed through the air. He looked pretty much the same as always, maybe a little more exhausted than normal, but nothing out of the ordinary. His gaze drifted up towards his hair, the boy scowling as he saw his hair stripe peeking out from the hood of Quirin’s cloak.

With a rough movement Varian shoved the hair behind his ear, the mass of it irritating under the hood, but hidden, at least. He looked back down into the fountain, smiling softly as Ruddiger reached small paws down as if to grab the water-

Which is why Varian saw the reflection of a dark, looming shadow rear up behind him, and was able to dodge its grabbing hands by the breath of an inch.

Varian spun out of the figure’s reach, snatching Ruddiger off his shoulders and hugging the animal as he backed away. The figure- a woman- smiled at him, a bearing of teeth that scared Varian more than he’d like to think. She looked to be about Eugene’s age, with roughly buzzed hair, short and black and roughly cut. Most startling thing about her, however, was her set of very familiar, toxic green eyes.

“Damn,” she muttered, drawing closer. Varian backed off as fast as he could without tripping, hugging Ruddiger tight. “Aw, what-” she leered closer to him, green eyes glowing even in the shadow of the fountain, “You scared, little crow?”

“Call it more rightfully nervous.” Varian snapped, but was surprised when the woman laughed.

“Fair,” she conceded, “Very fair.”

There was a tense second of silence between the two of them. The woman shifted on her heels, looking Varian up as if sizing up a competitor. The halberd on her back caught the sunlight, a blinding flash of metal that made Varian wince. The market around them seemed unaware of the standoff going on, the people still milling about. Though, the woman’s posture was deceptively casual; Varian couldn’t help but think of Cassandra, how she walked without a care, but was really constantly tense and ready to fight. It made him nervous.

“You know, I expected more,” she commented, pursing her lips. “At least, for Aldred’s heir.”

Varian bristled at that, scowling. “Sorry to disappoint.” He tried to start backing away, stopping when she moved forwards to maintain the distance between them. She paused as he did, cocking her head to the side.

“You know this isn’t going to end well for you, right?” She asked him, as if talking to a toddler. It made Varian all the angrier, the cold wash of fear slipping away and turning to furious indignation. She didn’t seem to care, looking ready to laugh as Varian fumed. “You’re adorable.” She cooed, crossing her arms. “But I can promise that if you try and fight me, I’ll drag you back to my brother missing at least one limb. We don’t need you in one piece, after all.”

Ruddiger hissed at her again, his fur puffing up until the racoon looked nearly double his usual size. Varian inched his hand towards his pocket, stalling for time. Stupid, he thought to himself, stupid, stupid- Rapunzel’s going to have a fit.

“You’re his sister then?” Varian asked the woman, “What, is the whole family out to kill me?”

“What’s left of it,” she shrugged. Her expression was bitter. “Merrick’s young. He needed guidance after what Aldred did to our family.”

Oh, it always came back to that son of a bitch, didn’t it-

“And what?” Varian asked, “You think I’m just going to go with you?”

“I was hoping you would,” she replied. The air of calm surrounding her was borderline infuriating. “But if I have to kill the princess and her husband to make you cooperate… well, no skin off my nose.”

Varian felt his breath hitch in his chest. He’d seen the chaos and bloodshed the Bayans had caused when they’d attacked Corona; he knew she wasn’t threatening lightly. He just needed more time-

“You wouldn’t dare...” He paused, not knowing her name. She caught on, arching a brow.

“Cerise,” she said, her tone flat. Varian nodded.

“Cerise.” Sun, the manners Quirin had instilled in him were so annoying- “I’m Varian.”

“I’m aware.” She looked confused now, tilting her head. “You are an odd one, I’ll give you that.”

Varian couldn’t find it within himself to argue- he only shrugged. She huffed out what might have been a laugh, if not for the smug undertones of a cat who’d caught a mouse.

“You have a choice, here.” Cerise stepped forwards, closing the gap between them just a little more. “Are you going to come quietly, like a good little boy, or am I bringing you back to my baby brother in pieces?”

Varian tensed, his shaking fingers finally touching one of his last alchemical bombs in his pocket. He gently took it in hand, trying to seem nonchalant as the Bayan woman drew closer. “I can’t say either of those would end very well for me,” he told her, trying again to back away. Her face was amused, but in a way that seemed condescending. He felt his rabbit beat heart threatening to burst from his chest with how fast it was going, but Varian forced himself to remain nonchalant; if he panicked now, he’d lose any shot of getting away from her.

“Probably not,” she agreed, like they were discussing afternoon tea. She was getting too close, he had to act quickly. With every step she took he felt his shaking get worse- he nearly fumbled the bomb in his own pocket, nerves finally getting the best of him. Varian grit his teeth, his grip tightening on the smooth glass.

Varian took one more step back, roughly ripping the alchemical weapon from his pocket and throwing it at her. Cerise let out a yell as it exploded at her feet, a plume of noxious green smoke surrounding her instantly. Varian could hear her coughing, could see her frame stumbling through the smoke like she was drunk.

But he didn’t stick around long enough to see what happened next.

With speed he didn’t know he had, the alchemist turned and bolted from the square, Ruddiger situated on his shoulders with a strong grip. He could hear people scream, frantic footsteps everywhere as the citizens fled the market. Varian heard the Bayan behind him shout in rage as he vanished, deliberately weaving between the crowd and disappearing from view The streets of Pincosta flew by as he ran, a blur of brown and dull greys in the bleak morning sun.

“Oh shit,” Varian muttered to himself as he ran. His lungs burned, legs ached- between all the walking and the lack of food, he wasn’t exactly in peak performance- but Varian refused to stop. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” He could hear people yelling behind him, the smoke probably still thick, even in such a large, open space as the main market.

Varian kept running, leaving it behind. Sun, he’d been so stupid-

The constable’s office loomed before him, only a block away from the market. His heart soared at the thought of backup, nearly sobbing with relief at the sight of the stone steps. He raced to the steps, skidding to a stop in front of them. The dust puffed up under his boots, nearly making him slip into the dirt, but he managed to catch himself with a pivot of his ankle.

“We may have made a miscalculation, Ruddiger.” The boy gasped through heaving breaths. The raccoon grumbled his agreement, clinging tighter as Varian sprinted up the stairs two at a time; the alchemist didn’t care enough to take his time. He didn’t even bother to knock, shoving the door open and falling into the room beyond. He just caught sight of Rapunzel’s purple dress before hitting the wooden floors. Varian grunted as he fell, twisting to kick the door closed behind him with a deafening BANG.

“We’re in trouble!” He crowed into the room, uncaring as to what he may have interrupted.

“What?!” Eugene. The man had been leaning back on a chair, his feet propped up on a table. He dropped his boots to the floor, the two air born legs of his chair quickly following. They landed with a thunk on the wooden floors. Eugene stood quickly, gaze already shifting towards the door. “What do you mean trouble, kid? Please tell me the trash cat got caught stealing again-”

“It’s one of the Bayans.”

Eugene’s face fell into a grimace, the man looking tired. “Of course it is,” he muttered to himself. Rapunzel took the silence after to jump in, rushing over to Varian and grabbing him by the shoulders. She pulled him up off the floor, hands flying around him in a frantic mess.

“Did they see you?” She asked, her voice frantic. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

“I’m fine!” Varian snapped, pushing her away. “I’m fine; she attacked me out in the square, but I got away-”

“She?” Eugene’s voice piped up from behind Rapunzel, the man arching a brow.

“I only saw one,” Varian replied, “She said she was Merrick’s sister.”

Eugene groaned, rubbing at his closed eyes with the tips of his fingers. “Great,” he muttered, “There’s more than one magical lunatic. Why wouldn’t there be?”

Rapunzel looked even more spooked at that, backing off before grabbing their bag off a nearby table. Varian just caught sight of the fresh supplies stocked inside before she was sealing it shut, looking towards Eugene.

“We have to go,” she said, slinging the bag over one shoulder and pulling her frying pan from her belt with the other hand. “We can’t stay here, not if they’ve already caught up with us- how did they even know we were here?!”

“I don’t know,” Eugene was shaking his head, “But you’re right, we have to get out of town, back to the woods.”

“Back to Corona?” Varian asked, head flicking between the two adults. “They won’t be expecting that, right?”

“Kid’s got a point-” Eugene started to say, only to be cut off by a furious noise.

“We are not going back to Corona!” Rapunzel barked, her voice echoing in the small room. Her eyes were wide, almost angry, as she got nearly nose to nose with the boy in front of her. Varian found himself shrinking in the face of her ire, shaking as he stumbled backwards. His back slammed into a table, rattling the contents on top. Mistake, his thoughts screamed, mistake, mistake, going to be locked in your room again-

“If you go back there, we’ll be playing right into their hands,” she said. Varian could barely hear her through the pounding of his heart- when had she gotten so scary?!- “I promised that you would never go back to Bayangor, and I intend to keep that promise, Varian. Even if you don’t like it.”

With that, she shouldered past the stunned boy, not hitting him, but moving in a way that had Varian scrambling to get out of her path. She grabbed at the doorknob of the office, pausing before sighing heavily. Rapunzel didn’t turn around, but Varian could see the way her shoulders slumped, and the grip she had on her frying pan went white.

“It’s for your own good.” She muttered, wrenching the door open and stepping out onto the street.

Varian and Eugene stood there for a second longer, both of them wincing when the door slammed shut. There was an awkward pause, the sudden silence smothering and strange after such an outward display from someone usually so gentle. Varian shuddered in the new quiet, his hands unconsciously reaching up to rub at his wrists. Something in the bones hurt, inescapable and intangible but very much there. Eugene grimaced, moving the few steps toward his younger friend. He shuffled closer to Varian, slowly bringing his hands up. When the boy didn’t react, he reached down to gently take the teenager’s hands and break the vice like grip. Eugene caught Varian’s eye, trying for a smile. It failed.

“She didn’t mean to snap.” He murmured, gently lifting a hand to wipe away a few frightened tears that had slipped from Varian’s eyes. Excuses, always with the excuses for her- Varian’s fear snarled, something bright and angry. Sure she gets a free pass to act like this, but the second he snaps- chaos! Eugene kept going, unaware of the shift in Varian’s mood. “She’s stressed, we all are. Sunshine is worried about you-”

“It doesn’t give her the right.” Varian shuddered, turning away from the older man. “Just because she’s upset-”

“I know.” Eugene soothed (but did he really?), “You’re right, Varian. But we have more pressing issues for now. We have to sort through it once you’re safe.”

The boy looked up to his friend; Eugene seemed to have swapped tactics, but Varian couldn’t figure out if it were an actual change of heart or of Eugene wanted Varian to sit down and shut up. The man schooled his face into an easy grin when he saw Varian looking at him. “C’mon.” Eugene said, “We’ve got places to be. This place was giving me hives anyways, too many goodie-two-shoes for my liking.”

Ah. The second one, then.

Varian sniffled again, fighting the press of tears; he looked towards the door with a sudden sense of apprehension. Not quite fear, but close. He couldn’t help but feel a thousand eyes boring into his back, the creeping vision of a room full of portraits staring into his very being taking over. Eugene’s concerned voice slipped away, the tremors growing more extreme as the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow.

Varian could feel his chest hitching, the shaking doing nothing to ease the tensing of his shoulders and spine. The breaths he was trying to take were unable to reach his lungs, his throat felt clenched tight as if he were being choked from the inside. Tears, unbidden and unwanted, flowed down his cheeks as the alchemist crumbled inwards. His hands curled around his wrist once more, the phantom sting of broken bones pulsing through his hand like a flame he couldn’t put out. Varian’s eyes slammed shut, blocking out the world in a desperate attempt for calm, for peace.

So when Eugene stepped forwards and gently cupped his face, Varian wasn’t ready.

“Don’t touch me!” The boy wailed, scurrying back as if burned. His eyes remained closed, the horrifying images of Barviel Keep flying through his mind at a breakneck pace. The knot in his throat only tightened, the hitching breaths doing nothing to ease the strain. Varian couldn’t hear a single thing beyond his racing heartbeat, the terrified thump-thump of a rabbit’s beat echoing through his mind.

But then.

Hands.

Someone touching his shoulders, a grip that felt like a vice, a manacle, a cage to keep him trapped and complacent and a perfect little doll- a brutal grasp, tight and rough, one that would shake him until he cooperated-

“Father, I’m sorry!” He screamed, an instinctual, gut reaction.

And those hands left his shoulders like he’d burned them.

Varian’s eyes snapped open, a sudden fear taking him at the sudden lack of contact, the boy looking up and expecting to see his own eyes glaring back at him- so when he was met with warm, chocolate brown it was like a shock to his system.

He was free, Aldred was dead; Varian was in Pincosta, not in Barviel Keep.

And Eugene Fitzherbert was staring at him in absolute horror.

“I-” Varian stuttered. “I- Eugene, I didn’t- I wasn’t-”

“Kid?” the man asked. He didn’t dare draw closer, and it broke Varian’s heart. “Are you back, uh, back with me?”

Varian sniffled, nodding. “I don’t know what… what happened,” the boy stammered. “I just…”

“It’s okay.” Eugene said quietly. “You’re okay. You’ve had a rough week.”

Varian rubbed at his eyes furiously, chasing away the thoughts of roaring winds and pink tourmaline. The feeling of eyes on the back of his neck. He took a deep breath, forcing it down past the knot in his throat. It didn’t do much to calm him, but they didn’t have time for much else.

“Try a rough year.” Varian couldn’t help but try and crack a joke, to shove the pain under a layer of flippant, couldn’t care attitude. Eugene didn’t seem to buy it, but could only shake his head in wonder.

“You might be right, there,” the man said, holding a hand out hesitantly. When Varian didn’t flinch, he gently placed it on the boy’s shoulder, slowly directing him towards the door. “I’m sorry kid, I wish we had time to calm down- but we have to catch up with sunshine.”

Varian nodded, the movement rough, and wiped away the last of unshed tears and forcing the panic away. They didn’t have time for this- they had to move before Cerise figured out where they were. The panic simmered, set to a low heat- Varian knew it would come back, later, like it always did- but for now he had to pushed it down and keep moving. Eugene pulled the door open with a grimace, peeking out into the streets beyond. The smoke had done its job and scared away the public, it seemed, as the cobblestone paths that had just been filled with people were left empty.

They cautiously stepped out into the hollow streets, a loud silence ringing all around them. Varian rubbed again at his face, chasing away the last of his cloying panic and steeling himself. Eugene scanned the area once again, brown eyes narrowed and scrutinizing. Varian held his breath, waiting, as the older man finally seemed satisfied with their surroundings.

Eugene indicated with a tilt of his head for them to move. Varian went first, already taking stock of his meagre weapons. He didn’t have much left in the ways of alchemy, just a few more smoke bombs and exactly one sticky bomb. Stupid Vardaros he thought to himself with a grimace, should have grabbed more supplies.

A sudden clang noise echoed along the abandoned cobblestones, stirring both Varian and Eugene into action; the two of them set off at a brisk pace towards the center of town. They drew closer to the marketplace Varian had run from, and the closer they got, the louder the sounds of fighting and female voices became. Varian lagged, but Eugene let him set the pace- probably to keep an eye on him, if Varian were to guess. It was still a fair gesture, as if Eugene were running at full pace, he’d surely leave the alchemist behind.

Varian skid to a halt by the corner of a building, yanked to a stop as Eugene grabbed at his elbow to keep them in place. The boy looked to the older man with confusion, but Eugene held a hand out, asking him to wait, silently. The sounds of fighting were louder here, so Eugene took the lead, peeking out. Varian, stubborn little shit that he was, followed, and winced at what he saw.

Cerise snarled as her halberd slid off of Rapunzel’s frying pan with a harsh bang, the metal blade slamming deep into the stones of the square. Rapunzel twirled out of the way with a grace that screamed of practice, a swirl of purple fabric cutting through the air, but it was easy to catch the sight of crimson blood staining the sleeve of her dress. Cerise too wasn’t unscathed, her body covered in patches of bright pinks and blues- surely the residue of Varian’s own creations. Both women huffed for breath, circling each other like a pair of lionesses. Neon met forest, two pairs of green eyes locked together- sizing the other up and waiting for a break to make their move.

“Where’s your baby brother, princess?” Cerise taunted, yanking her weapon from the rock. It left a deep wound behind, a thick line right through the stone. Varian’s mouth went dry at the sight of the kind of damage that axe could do. Rapunzel didn’t reply to the Bayan’s question, backing off as Cerise spun her halberd in a wide, devastating arc that cut the air with an audible whumph. Rapunzel was forced to dodge, rolling to the side to avoid getting sliced in half. She landed hard, a cry of pain echoing through the square. Eugene let out a lout yell at that, rushing from their hiding place and to his wife’s side.

Rapunzel grinned at the sound of his voice, quickly standing and twirling her body around. Her frying pan clattered to the ground as she brought both of her hands into am interlocked pose, offering a flat surface while she crouched towards the ground. Eugene took it, using her hands as a step. Rapunzel let out a grunt of effort as she brought her hands up, launching Eugene high into the air with a well-timed throw. Varian blinked as Eugene drew his sword while in midair, bringing it down onto a startled Cerise.

The Bayan woman shouted, bringing up her arm to block the blow. Eugene’s sword rattled off her gauntlet, blocked, but Varian could see how roughly Cerise had taken the blow in the way she held her arm once Eugene backed off. The man refused to let up, quickly forcing Cerise away from Rapunzel with a series of well-timed slices. Rapunzel followed, her frying pan forgotten in lieu of a few of Varian’s alchemical bombs.

Varian felt frozen, like he’d been glued to the ground as the two adults quickly backed the threat away. Cerise snarled as she spun her halberd, but splitting the attention between the two Coronians was obviously difficult with such a bulky weapon. Varian felt a sudden sharp tug on his hair, snapping to attention as Ruddiger frantically gestured to the forgotten frying pan.

Varian forced his legs to move, stumbling towards the iron pan. He scooped it up just as Eugene let out a shout. Varian twisted just in time to see the man fall to the ground, Frederic’s sword going flying from his hand. The boy gasped, rushing for the chaos with his newfound weapon. The iron was cold in his hands, heavy and solid. Varian didn’t take to reflect on it, bringing it up in a fluid motion.

Cerise didn’t even see him coming.

Varian brought the pan down with a swift crack onto her head. Her whole figure tensed for just a second, swaying oddly, before she collapsed to the ground with a thump. Her halberd was loud as it fell, a rattle of metal against cobblestone that echoed.

Eugene, still on the ground, gawped up at Varian in shock. The boy huffed, turning as Rapunzel ran up to him. The unsettled fear in him solidified into proper irritation at the sight of her, condensing further into a rough, bitter anger. She got close, her hands already reaching forward, grasping, like she always did. He scowled, shoving the pan into her chest roughly. Her hands flew up to grab at it, green eyes blinking in shock at his ire. Varian huffed, refusing to back down. She knew what she did.

“Can we go, now?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, stepping over Cerise’s unconscious body and holding a hand out to Eugene. The man took it, blinking as Varian pulled him to his feet. The square was oddly silent, now that the fight had been cut off. It felt nearly unnatural, like seeing something fall upwards. Just something that shouldn’t be. Varian shrugged off the feeling, looking at the two adults with a scowl.

“Pincosta’s a bust,” Varian said firmly. “We need a new plan.”

Ruddiger chittered from his place on Varian’s shoulder, dropping to the ground to sniff at Cerise. The animal hissed, scrambling up Rapunzel’s leg. The brunette sighed, grabbing the raccoon and holding him on her hip not unlike one would an infant. He cooed, snuggling close to her. Traitor.

“We’ll just need to hide you somewhere else,” Rapunzel said firmly, “Tropi Island was our next bet-” she shifted Ruddiger in her arms when he got squirmy. “-but we weren’t sure about it.”

“Sunshine,” Eugene tried to interject, “Maybe we should listen to Varian.”

Rapunzel’s face morphed into something almost called irritation, twisting to look at Eugene. Ruddiger complained from her arms, wiggling and grabbing into her dress pocket at the motion. She didn’t notice, too busy locking her husband with a look.

“We’re not going back home until Varian’s safe,” she said firmly, “I won’t lead him right into the hands of the people who want to hurt him-”

“I’m right here, you know!” Varian objected with a tart voice, only scoffing when he was ignored by both adults. Eugene and Rapunzel kept debating back and forth, both of them obviously trying to keep cool, but Varian could see the stress lines creeping across Eugene’s face, the way Rapunzel’s shoulders hitched higher and higher. The alchemist sighed, clicking his tongue at Ruddiger.

The raccoon perked up, his little hands leaving Rapunzel’s pocket. Ruddiger jumped from her arms, scuttling back to Varian, who scooped him up in attempt to ignore the others. The boy sighed, a rush of air that took his whole body. Ruddiger cooed to him, papping at him with one little paw. The alchemist smiled, but cracked an eye open in curiosity when he only felt one paw hitting his face. Varian pulled back, seeing the animal’s other paw taken up by an envelope.

“What do you have there, bud?” Varian asked, taking it gently from Ruddiger and looking it over. It must have been in Rapunzel’s pocket. He felt a small pulse of surprise when he saw a broken wax seal on the front. He flipped it, pushing Ruddiger up onto his shoulders so he could use both hands to inspect the already cracked wax seal.

Rapunzel and Eugene’s tense bickering faded from his ears quickly as Varian pulled the letter out and scanned it, his stomach sinking with every word. It couldn’t possibly, not- she wouldn’t, right? Varian’s thoughts struggled to comprehend what he was reading. If it were true, then his mother- he thought- and Rapunzel had the evidence in her pocket! His heart started to race as everything began to slot into horrifying place.

Rapunzel’s defensiveness, her push towards keeping him in Corona, all of it was because…

Because his mother was still alive, and she’d been hiding it from him.

Because Rapunzel must have known, of course she did. She had the letter in her pocket. He stared at the looping script of Aisha’s signature as the world fell out from under him. He was focused on it, transfixed, blue eyes scanning it as if the paper were about to burst into flame and be turned to ash before he could get to the end. He could feel something stirring in his gut, nausea perhaps, and the ringing in his ears only grew and grew.

He finally tore his eyes away, looking to the two adults. Eugene was off to the side, quietly trying to convince his wife to turn back for Corona. Varian zeroed in on Rapunzel, and the feeling in his stomach cemented itself not as sickness, but in rage. Rage at the lies, at the trickery, at keeping something like this from him…

It was the amber all over again.

Varian let out a strange noise, something of a growling gasp. Rapunzel turned to him, the irritation on her face swiftly turning to horror when she saw the envelope in his clenched grip.

“Varian-” she started, but was cut off when his eyes met hers. Rapunzel had gone pale, a rarity for her. It made her look sick. She was cowed by the glare he leveled at her. Her voice was quiet, weak. “I can explain…”

“How long?” The question echoed in the abandoned square.

“I-”

“How. Long?”

Rapunzel flinched at his tone. For a second she turned to Eugene, who was staring at Varian in confusion. The boy’s face twisted even further, shoving it at the older man to read. When Rapunzel still didn’t give him an answer, he moved forwards into her space. He was shorter than her, but she still shrank under his glare.

“Rapunzel.” He wasn’t asking anymore.

She finally shook her head, turning her gaze away. “Since before your birthday,” she finally admitted. Varian’s hands tightened at his side.

“I… that long?” His voice cracked in the middle, the full weight of her actions finally hitting. “You- you knew, for that long?”

“Sunshine?” Eugene’s voice drifted between them, the man having finished reading. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I…” Rapunzel trailed off, tugging at her hair. “I was only trying to protect you-”

“From what?!” Varian snapped. “From my own mother-”

“From all of it!” Rapunzel finally said, loud and frustrated. “Varian, after everything that’s happened with those people can you blame me?”

“She’s my mother!” “And she was just as bad as Aldred was!”

The boy reeled for a second at the audacity, before the fury in him exploded outward.

“How can you say that?!” Varian snapped, “She ran from fa- from him! To protect me! How can you think she’s evil after that, after everything she did to keep me safe? If it weren’t for her, I would have grown up with him, I wouldn’t even have had my dad, or my home, or any of it; I would have had nothing-”

“She burned villages to the ground! She murdered people- you know as well as I do; she was a warlord in her own right.” Rapunzel countered, obviously over trying to cushion her words. “She ran away because it benefitted you, it was still in her own interest! You don’t need her!”

Varian bristled, the fury welling up from a place he’d thought was long dead.

“You don’t get to make that choice for me!”

His voice echoed around the square. Rapunzel reeled back at the shout, clenching her fist tightly around her frying pan. Eugene tried to step in, but backed away when Rapunzel took a step towards Varian.

“I did what was right.” Her voice was steel. “Those- those people have caused nothing but pain, and I am not going to let you walk right back to them.”

“I’m not just going to ignore her,” Varian said, “She’s my mother, she’d be the only family I have left!”

“What about us?!” Rapunzel argued. Varian grimaced, shaking his head.

“That’s not fair-”

“No, what isn’t fair is you trying to run away from this! To abandon us, abandon me, because you keep trying to ignore what happened!” Her chest heaved from the shout. Eugene tried to get in between them, handing the note back to Varian numbly, only to be pushed out of the way so Rapunzel could invade Varian’s space once again. Her face was inches from his, his eyes going wide with fear. She snarled the next words, more furious than he’d ever seen her before.

“It happened, Varian; if you go to her, it will happen again- and this time it will be your fault.”

The silence following Rapunzel’s shout was deafening. Varian stared at her with wide eyes, the salt in them burning. His heart raced, a cocktail of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Rapunzel’s chest heaved, her face twisted into an angry mask. She didn’t even look like his sister anymore. The shock spurred Varian’s legs to life, shaking knees unlocking at last. Varian took a step backwards, unable to look away from her eyes. Rapunzel’s tense frame slumped, shock at her own words making her expression drop into horror. She reached a hand toward Varian, grabbing at him, trying to tie him down-

He stumbled back, and ran.

>>>><<<<

Rapunzel scowled, trying again to weave around Eugene. Her husband refused to move, however, blocking her way to where Varian had disappeared between the buildings.

“Eugene!” She cried, “We have to go after him, it’s not safe-”

“Sunshine, I love you, but you are probably the last person he wants to see right now.”

Rapunzel slumped, trying one last time to dip around Eugene’s chest. He stood firm, his boots planted on the cobblestone. She sighed, looking up into his brown eyes, pleading with him.

“Eugene,” she tried again, “Even if Varian’s confused, we can’t let him go off on his own, if she-” Rapunzel gestured to the unconscious Cerise with her free hand, “-wasn’t alone, then he’s in danger! We don’t have time for this!”

Eugene caught her flailing hands gently, holding them close to his chest.

“Rapunzel,” he sighed, “Varian will be fine for a while, he’s a big boy. We need to get you sorted first, or we’ll find him, and he’ll run off again.”

“I…” she trailed off, before scowling. “He needs me- needs us. He can’t handle them on his own.”

Eugene’s face was concerned; Rapunzel felt a knot tie in her gut. She could see in the way he was approaching her that he thought she was wrong, that she was going to have to argue this. Case in point- “Listen to me,” he said, “We’re going to go get the kid, trust me, but first you need to calm down. Varian’s hurting, he needs us to be stable. After the- with the constable’s office- Rapunzel, he had a breakdown. I haven’t seen him so scared in a long time.”

The princess paused at that, her expression dropping. “He hasn’t had one in almost a year,” she said quietly, “He was doing so well… did I… did I set it off?”

Eugene’s grim face was enough. Rapunzel felt her anger shrink, the anger melting away in the face of what she’d done. “Oh, no.” It was nearly a breath, quiet in the abandoned square. “Oh, no, what have I done?”

Eugene’s face broke into a small smile, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. “There you are,” he murmured, “I knew you were in there somewhere, sunshine.”

Rapunzel sniffled, shaking her head. “He must hate me,” she said, “I would hate me. I was just trying to do what was best for him.”

Eugene smiled, wiping away a stray tear. “You made a bad call, that’s okay. Varian’s hurting right now, but he’s a smart kid. He knows that you love him, and he loves you. You went about things the wrong way, now all that’s left to do is try to fix it.”

Rapunzel paused, thinking it through. They needed to move, they didn’t have time to waste. Not while her brother was wandering the world by himself, not while people were still trying to hunt him down.

“We have to find Varian,” Rapunzel said, leaning into the touch. “I need to apologize for the yelling… but the note, I was just trying to-”

“You were trying to protect him.” Eugene said softly, “And I get that, really I do. You think I don’t want the kid wrapped in bubble wrap all the time? But he’s getting older, and we’re not always going to be there.”

Rapunzel sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not going to end well,” she said, her tone miserable. “It can’t…”

“We have two options,” Eugene finally sighed, after a beat of too long silence. “We either follow him and don’t get in his way,” he arched a brow at her at the last point, “Or, we go back to the city. Take Merrick down, and then wait for Varian to come home- if he ever does.”

Rapunzel flinched at the thought, shaking her head. “We’re going after him,” she said, her tone firm. “Whether he likes it or not, he can’t be out here all by himself.” She started to move again, this time brushing past Eugene without protest. They’d wasted enough time, she had to find her brother. Eugene watched her go, before finally sighing. He followed his wife, shaking his head.

Neither of them noticed that Cerise, left behind, was beginning to stir.

[rina-writes]

Calm Waters (Part 2)

Part 1: x

A/N: Thank you for all the kind comments on part 1 :D Please continue to give me feedback on this fic as this is my first multiple part fic in a very long time haha

Summary: Grayson suspects that something fishy is going on and enlists his brother, Ethan, to track down everything they can find out about “Aurora”.  During their search, they find out more about the real you.

Warnings: Same as the last one...mentions of abuse, captivity, and bullying.  Also lots of fluff.

During the day, their tank opened up to the entire park aquarium, so they had a bit more room to swim.  It still sucked in comparison to the ocean, but like you, they appreciated their freedoms.  Nelson, Doris’ mate, made a figure eight with his nose when he saw you coming toward them.

You’re late.

You clutched your chest lightly.  

I’m sorry.

Doris came up and tapped her tail fin three times. 

Mate.

Nelson let out a squeaking sound that you recognized as his laughter, making you blush.  You realized that Doris must have brought him up to speed about Grayson.  

Dolphins thrived off of gossip.  They spread it like wildfire and had great memories to boot.  You tossed them their fish, and moved around the area to give the other dolphins there share as well.  You made sure to give the new recruit some extra.  You hadn’t give him a name yet.  Dolphin names were quite difficult to understand, because they were in their tongue, and did not translate well into to sign language.   You often gave them human name equivalents and you would use them in the shows. You would teach them the signs for their name, once you made up, so they knew who you were calling on during the performance.

Doris was your first friend, so her sign was three taps on top of your heart.  Nelson, being Doris’ mate, got two taps on the heart and one on the stomach.  You hoped to give the new dolphin something strong to uplift him.

You moved on to the hammerheads.  They did not talk as much as the dolphins, but were always polite.  They spun in counter clockwise thrice in order to say thank you and always asked about your day.  Occasionally, Hunter, the hammerhead that was “rescued” when you first arrived would inquire more if you seemed sad, but sharks really didn’t like to talk about feelings.  

You didn’t mind because it allowed you to think about Grayson more.  How his finger tips were so rough, but his hands in general felt soft.  How he laughed loudly, but then would always stop himself short before he would start to snort.  How he lit up when he talked about his family, especially his twin brother. You wished you could see him again.  

When the park was closed.  You walked over to the shed that when you were in a good mood you called your closet.  You hung up your uniform, and changed to your other pair of underwear.  You washed the one you were wearing in a sink nearby with hand soap.  You hung the underwear to dry in your closet and went to wash your mouth out.  One of the scientist that would experiment on you would periodically bring you travel size toothpaste and a toothbrush.  You figured it made them feel like less of a monster.  

You stood in front of your reflective glass and looked at yourself. You looked different today.  Your skin was more radiant and your dyed red hair didn’t look so bad. You realized it was because you were happy.  You hid your toiletries and your drying underwear so no one would find it the next day.Then just before the top of your cell closed automatically, you jumped in.  As you sunk to the bottom, you heard the top of your cell click.  About three minutes later, you heard footsteps that walked by to make sure no one was upstairs.  The steps stopped by your cell, the person most likely looking for you red hair.  Upon spotting it, the person walked away.  You looked up and to your surprise saw the gap on the corner of your cell was still there.  It must not be noticeable from up top.  You smiled to yourself as you curled into your ball.  You didn’t have to rock too much to fall asleep as your mind was excited to dream.

The next day, you awoke as usual to the sound of the cover leaving your tank.  You swam upward and pulled yourself out. You jiggled your legs a little bit and took a deep breath to let the air fill your lungs.  After years of being under for 12+ hours, holding your breath was second nature.  However, there was nothing like feeling air.  

“Oh my god…”  You heard from your right. That was the door that led to the roof. 

You turned slowly, goosebumps appearing on your skin.  Your eyes met Grayson’s hazel ones, and your jaw dropped.

 You were too afraid of the conclusions that Grayson had made from seeing you crawl out of a tank that him seeing you half naked was not that big of a deal.  Grayson started to back away, slipping and causing himself to fall on the ground.  Your heart sunk to your stomach as you squeezed your chest to cover yourself.  You couldn’t tell what worried you the most:  the fact that you secret was out, the thought of what would happen to Grayson if your uncle found out, or, your own punishment that would be waiting for you.  No, the worst thing was that now, the one person who you thought could understand you realized what you really were and you were going to die knowing you were a freak.

“I-I should have knocked…” Grayson stammered, as he tried to look away.  “I had a suspicion you were living here, but I wasn’t expecting you to be naked.”

You were stood there, paralyzed by fear, holding yourself as you stared at him blankly. 

Grayson did his best to tear his eyes away from you.  There was a part of him that was terrified by what he just saw.  He could hear his heart thundering in his ears and his legs were itching to run away.  However, staring in to your eyes and seeing his Rory with an even more petrified expression, he just wanted to hold you.  He wanted to protect you and save you, just like you saved him.  His eyes wanted to continue to scan your body, for multiple reasons, but one in particular stood out.  He angled his body towards the view that you admired each morning when you woke up.  He stared straight ahead and signed.

“Your skin is so beautiful.” Grayson remarked, still avoiding your eyes.

Your skin?  You looked down and suddenly remembered the one thing that marked you differently from “normal” humans.  When your skin was wet, parts of your body as part of the drying process turned a turquoise blue color, that almost looked like gems.  They kind of looked like the scales with reflective property that made them look like part of a rainbow from certain angles.  Looking at it now, it was clear to you how the myth of mermaid fins came to be.  They were irregular shapes all over your body from the tops of your thighs, the sides of your legs and even down the middle of your chest.  You learned from the “experiments” that this attribute of your skin also helped you to rebuild more skin cells quicker. 

You finally snapped out of your “deer in headlights reaction” and walked over to your closet and pulled out your uniform.  You put on your clothes and waited for Grayson to say something.   You attempted to look on the bright side.  He didn’t gasp or take pictures of you like your uncle’s colleagues did.  He seemed more embarrassed to see you naked.  You weren’t sure if it was a compliment or insult.

For the first time in the 48 hours you knew Grayson, it seemed like he didn’t know what to say.  He just stared at the view as if trying to gather his thoughts.  As you got dressed, you took the opportunity to look at him.  This could be the last time you ever got to see him.  You wanted to etch his image into your mind.

Today, he was wearing a cap backwards with his uniform.  He always had his lifeguard whistle around his neck, but today, he also had his red lifeguard towel draped over a shoulder.  Around his waist was a fanny pack that matched his towel and he was wearing white vans to go with the uniform.  He looked like a model, especially turning to the side like that.  

“What are you thinking?” You asked, breaking the silence.  You stood by the sink as you attempted to tidy up your hair.  “Aren’t you afraid?”

“I wouldn’t say afraid...” Grayson said after a long pause.  “I mean, I legitimately thought you were an angel when you saved me that night.  How else could I explain how someone who was nowhere to be seen before it happened saved my life when I needed someone most.”

Grayson smiled and turned to look at you.  His eyes seemed to reflect the orange and pink hues of the sun.  He was the one who looked unreal.  

“I guess,” Grayson said with a soft smile. “I should have guessed you were a mermaid.”

Your mouth got dry and you walked over to him.  “I’m not a mermaid.  There is a logical explanation for all of this.” You realized that saying there was a logical explanation for something did not make it anymore believable. However, you needed to buy time to think of something.

Grayson bit his lip.  “I know you’re not Aurora.”  Grayson said, sadly, looking up at you as he sat up with his legs stretched out.  “Because there is no one in this town named Aurora.  But I do know of someone named Y/N Y/L/N, who was said to be at boarding school, but is not registered at a single one in the country.”

It felt like the ground beneath you was shaking. You hadn’t heard your name in so long that it brought tears to your eyes.  You eased yourself down to the ground and slowly crossed your legs.  

“H-How much do you know?” You asked, finally.

12 hours earlier - Gray’s POV

Grayson waited by the gate of Pete’s Ocean Land until closing in hopes of running into Aurora before she left.  He knew he was being annoying.  After all, Aurora clearly stated she did not want to walk home with him.  At the same time, he could see how happy she looked around him.  He loved the fact that she was able to open up to him and everything he was able to learn about her.  She was funny, charming, and a little weird, but in a good way.

There were a lot of mean rumors about her that Grayson assumed was started by some of the female workers.  Things like she didn’t shower, she was poor, she talked to the animals, anything to explain why no one saw her outside of work.  The threat of Aurora was that  most guys admitted that there was a beauty to her that they couldn’t place. However, no one want to confess to liking the “freak show of the park.”  So, the rumors piled up, and everyone kept their distance.

It wasn’t just employees either. Guests adored her character during performances, but still would treat her like crap when asking for favors outside of her job description.  On Grayson’s first day, he even witnessed someone pretend to bump into her and toss her drink on to her and her food.  She just sat there with a blank expression before she took off running.  It was a little comical, like watching a cartoon. Grayson was ashamed to admit that he chuckled himself. Making fun of her was the norm and like everyone, Grayson just wanted to blend in.  While he didn’t partake in her bullying, he didn’t do anything to stop it. 

And then he was the butt of the jokes.  A couple girls asked him out and suddenly he was the guy everyone was trying to put down.  He was stupid to think that when they invited him on one of their late night adventures that it was an olive branch.  They were all drunk, deriding him for not drinking with them.  In order to prove himself, they said would have to stick his hand into this tank. It was supposed to have some monster.  It was closed off, and not even people who worked there could see what was inside.  They all had done it,they said, he just had to do it too. Everything told Grayson this was a dumb idea, but if it meant that the teasing would stop, he was willing to do it.

They pointed to a crack in the retractable cover that was quite large.  As Grayson stuck his hand in he felt a push.  He lost his balance and another push sent him into the pool.  He was paralyzed by fear and the unknown darkness surrounding him. 

He blacked out and then next thing he knew, he saw her.  She was staring at him in the tank, and she was glowing.  Her skin looked like aquamarine crystals, and her eyes were reflective.  He assumed it was the oxygen slowly returning to his brain that made him hallucinate, but he couldn’t deny that even without the sparkle she was beautiful.

Now that he spent lunch with her, he knew for sure that she was the most beautiful person he had met inside and out.  He was going to convince her to be his.  He would protect her from all those assholes and he would make sure that she got out of this dump amusement park and doing what she really loved.

Except, she never came out.  As the security guard closed up the park, Grayson asked if there were any workers staying behind.

“Nope.” The security guard confirmed in a gruff voice.  “Even Pete’s gone home.”

Something didn’t sit right with Grayson.  Because when he looked up at where the tank of the “mysterious creature”, the dolphins and the hammerheads opened up, he saw a man standing on top surveying the tanks.  And that man looked like Pete to him.

When Grayson got home, he immediately enlisted his brother Ethan to help him research everything on Aurora.  Ethan, Grayson’s twin brother, with shorter brown hair, narrow hazel eyes and a chiseled jaw, was only awake for four hours when his brother stormed in. 

“You could knock.” Ethan groaned, pulling off his gaming headphones.  He was only wearing a pair of red shorts when he swiveled around in his gaming chair.  Today was Ethan’s day off from working at the bicycle store in town where he fixed all non-motorized vehicles.  Ethan was hoping to enjoy it by sleeping in and playing games.

“Can you look up a girl named Aurora?” Grayson asked, about to sit on Ethan’s bed.

“Please don’t sit on my bed with your dirty clothes.” Ethan complained.

Grayson knew Ethan was just cranky about him ruining his afternoon plans.  He figured he would be equally obnoxiously and just strip down.  If you aren’t petty with your brother, then are you even siblings?

Grayson shrugged.  “Fine.  You’re lucky I showered after work.” Grayson stripped down to his boxers and socks before sitting on his brother’s bed. 

Ethan had already begun typing, “Any last name for Aurora?”

“Nope…” Grayson said.  “No idea.”

Ethan hummed as he started his search.  He was quiet for a bit despite clicking on various links and searching for different keywords.

“There’s no Aurora who was born in the last 16 to 20 years anywhere in our county, or the nearby one” Ethan informed Grayson.  “Did she just move here?”

“No…” Grayson shook his head, thinking back to this afternoon.  “We talked about the park near our house and how one of the swings was always broken.  There’s no way someone who just moved here would know that.”

“Well she’s definitely from our area. Is she our age?” Ethan asked.

“Yes.” Grayson confirmed.  “18.”

The sound of Ethan typing filled he room.  Grayson laid back on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to think of information that could help Ethan’s search.  The last of the sun was peaking through Ethan’s windows and warming Grayson’s abdomen, making it harder for Grayson to fight back the tiredness of being by the pool all day. 

By the end of the summer, he and Ethan would have enough to live anywhere.  They were hoping to move to Los Angeles and now, Grayson wanted to take Aurora with them.

“Do you remember that girl Y/N Y/L/N?” Ethan asked, breaking Grayson from his thoughts.  

“As in Peter Y/L/N? The owner of Pete’s Ocean Land?”  Grayson asked, sitting up on his elbows.  “Not really….”

“Remember like 5 years ago, her house burned down and her parents died in it? Then Pete adopted her and sent her to some cushy boarding school so she could have a new start?” Ethan backed away from the computer to gesture to a newspaper article.

“Not really...” Grayson said, sitting up suddenly.  

Ethan slid over to unblock the monitor and Grayson leaned in to see to read. His eyes scanned the page with a furrowed brow.

Local Tragedy

The house of {Your Father’s Name}, brother of Peter Y/L/N,  was caught on fire by which, police speculate, was caused by a cooking accident. The house was engulfed with flames, prompting the {Your Father’s Name} and his wife, {Your Mother’s Name} to toss their 13 year old daughter out the window, sacrificing themselves.  Their bodies were not found, but firefighters claim that with the intensity of the flames and the rubble, it’s not surprising.

Y/N Y/L/N is currently in the custody of her uncle Peter who has decided to give her a new chance.  “It can’t be easy for a kid to lose their parents.  I can’t replace my brother, but I can give her the life I know he would have wanted her to have.  I’ll make sure she has the best education money can by and the opportunity to have a normal adolescence.”  Peter said to news on Monday.

Grayson sucked in a breath.  “I don’t really remember this, but it’s terribly sad.  You don’t think that has something to do with Aurora, do you?

Ethan nodded as though he was hoping Grayson would ask that question.  Ethan opened another tab, and continued to flick through multiple tabs for Grayson to see. The first tab was some cushy boarding school Grayson had never heard of where Ethan had searched Y/N without any results.  The next was another boarding school.

 Ethan looked up over 20 boarding schools across the country, none with a student with the name Y/N Y/L/N.

“How is it possible that the only results for her are these news articles, but nothing about her at schools?” Ethan asked. 

“Well, maybe she got a fake name to make sure that she wouldn’t get connected with the case.” Grayson suggested.

“Exactly.  Like Jenna, or Kirsten or…” Ethan trailed off.

“Aurora…” Grayson continued.

“Exactly.”  Ethan pulled up a yearbook picture of the middle school you attended.  He found a few photos of you including you in your class photo and a few pictures of you in a musical.

“That���s her!” Grayson said, squinting.  “Sure, she looks a lot older now, and her hair is that red color, but that’s definitely her.”

“Now, why would Pete lie about sending her to boarding school and force her to work at his amusement park?” Ethan asked.  “I mean it doesn’t make sense, right? He could have just sent her to school and then had her work part time.  No one would have found that strange.”

“Unless she couldn’t leave the park…” Grayson said mostly to himself.  He grabbed Ethan by the shoulders.

“Dude, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?” Ethan asked, startled by the sudden movement.

“This is going to sound crazy, but what if Pete is keeping Aurora...err, Y/N, captive in the park because she’s different…” Grayson said, not sure how to find the right words.

“What do you mean different?” Ethan asked.

Grayson explained in detail what happened two nights ago when you saved him, including your bedazzled looking skin.  He was impressed that Ethan didn’t crack a smile and only nodded to show he was still listening. 

“To summarize,” Ethan ruffled his hair with a sigh.  “You think Aurora is being held captive in a water tank where she can somehow breathe over night and has reflective scales on her body.”

Grayson paused.  Was that really what he was saying?  

“Yes.” Grayson confirmed out loud.  

“You’re right that is crazy.” Ethan nodded.  But he didn’t laugh.  Nor did he dismiss it. Instead Ethan sat on the bed, coaxing Grayson to sit down as well. 

“You know Travis?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah, the owner of the bike shop?” Grayson asked.

“Yeah.  Apparently, he comes from a long line of fishermen.  Since our town is so close to the water, a lot of them would live here and then travel by sea to catch fish and sell them in other areas.  His family believes in mermaids and they said…” Grayson cut Ethan off.

“Okay, I know my story is crazy, but I don’t think she has a fin dude.” Grayson said, putting up a hand.

“Wait for it…” Ethan said, “That’s the thing, they don’t have fins.  Instead, their skin and hair blend in to the color of the bottom of the sea like chameleons. The only time you can see them is when they come up for air.  Apparently, they do breathe air, but they can hold their breaths for crazy long times.  The legend was that if one of these maidens fell in love with a fisherman, she would bring him all the fish that he needed.  It was seen as a badge of honor because they only trusted men that were kind and good to the sea.  There are other legends where they would cast doom on fishermen that brought harm to the ocean.”

“So you think Aurora...err Y/N is one of these water creatures?” Grayson asked. He let out a long sigh as he looked at his brother blankly for moment. This had to be the most ridiculous thing they had ever come up with and that was saying something.  “I mean, it’s a little far-fetched don’t you think?”

“Sure…” Ethan agreed, nodded slowly.  Up until ten minutes ago, Ethan and Travis only discussed the legends while Travis got high on his break.  Ethan never expected for it to be the missing piece to a mystery involving the girl of his brother’s affection.

Ethan took a deep breath.  “At the same time, it connects a few dots, doesn’t it?  Let’s assume that Pete isn’t one of these creatures, then his brother probably isn’t either.  That leaves Y/N’s mother.  So, she’s one of the water creatures and her daughter becomes one too.  Pete tries to convince his brother to put the ladies on display, his brother says no, and then he mysteriously dies.  But, custody of the daughter suddenly becomes local news and Pete would look like a monster if he put her in a tank.  So, he keeps her there, probably pimping her out to the government, while using her for free labor.”

“Because she can talk to the animals!” Grayson said.

“Okay...that’s a bit far-fetched.” Ethan said, putting his hands up in surrender. 

“No come on.” Grayson explained.  “People used to hear her talking to the animals..  Maybe that’s why she does all the shows, because they trust her.”

“Dude,” Ethan grabbed Grayson’s shoulders.  “Do you realize how insane this is? If any of this is true, you’re practically dating a real life mermaid.”

“If it is true.” Grayson said, grabbing Ethan’s arms. “Then, I have to save her.  I can’t let her suffer in that place anymore.”

“Well, we can’t just bust in there with the police.”  Ethan reasoned. “At least not without proof.”

Grayson thought for a moment.  The last time he went to find her, he went straight to the roof at the beginning of his shift.  She was already there with her uniform on.  He wondered if he got there just a bit earlier if he would be able to run into her.  The morning security guard was really laid back, so as long as you were quiet, he would let you in.  He was sure he could sneak in Ethan as well.

“We could go there tomorrow morning.” Grayson suggested.  “See what time she arrives.”

“Yes.” Ethan said, slamming his a fist on his open palm.  “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to Pete’s Ocean Land bright and early to see if she emerges from that tank.  Or, maybe we just go late at night and wait it out.”

Grayson tapped his chin.  This was the most insane thing he had ever done, but he was willing to give it a try.  “Alright, let’s do it.”

Present moment - Your POV

You felt overwhelmed with emotion as Grayson explained the events that led to this current moment.  Part of you was mildly impressed.  To job to those conclusions you had to be just the right combination of observant, resourceful, and a little childish.  You weighed your options.  You could deny it, but there was so much of your story that you would have to build up.  You never spoke to anyone before, so Aurora didn’t have a back story.  There was also the fact that he saw you emerging from a tank of water with scales on your skin.  You could pretend that you were just doing some performance, but that was even more unbelievable than his theory.

You let out a shaky breath. “Is Ethan here now?”  You asked.

Grayson pointed with his thumb behind him to his brother who took a “mini-nap” and was now completely knocked out.  You chuckled softly, a weak laugh, but it made Grayson smile as well.

“So uh...how crazy are we?” Grayson asked. 

“All I can tell you is that you’re not crazy.” You said in a measured tone. “But you can’t tell anyone what you learned.  Pete is not the nice guy everyone thinks he is and you two are in grave danger with everything you know.”

[kane-m-killer]

Here’s a small horror story draft

________________________________________

Has anyone seen Pete? He’s 25,6’1,black curly greasy hair,pimple face? Used to frequent this subreddit often? I wanted to ask you all if you have seen them cause I’m an old friend of his and I wanted to say if any of you saw him or have seen him.

Run away, Run far away.

No I’m not joking either,Or trying to paint him in a bad light. This guy is serious bad news, and if you won’t take my word for it. First off, good on you for not trusting a random Redditor. Allow me then to start from the beginning as to why the next time I see this man it will be in a morgue when we are both dead.

I met him at a A&A meeting. I was in bad shape when I met him, addicted to drinking at 21 and down on my luck. He was a new member we had to say hi to and he sat next to me once he introduced himself.

I can’t remember the details of the conversation but I know we talked about something boring like the weather maybe.

He was there for a few more sessions until he stopped coming.

I didn’t think much of it until one autumn night when I left the building after the meeting,7 weeks sober then mind you, he was there leaning against the building. It was like he was trying to seem cool but in actuality just looked dumb and a try hard.

But nevertheless I still went up and talked to him, I can’t tell you why but I guess it doesn’t matter now. We talked more and his slow monotonous voice gave an air of disturbed charm to me. I thought he was like one of those guys that are bland on the outside but fascinating on the inside. And strangely because of that we became friends.

Friends for 3 years for that matter. And through all that time he was a good friend, he offered his advice and gave me a shoulder to cry on when needed. It’s just that something about his behavior sometimes really should’ve told me he was trouble.

For example when me and him were at a bar being the sober friends at a party and he was flirting with a girl next to us, me being too tired to be a wingman I stayed quiet but listened to his conversation.

“So what are you doing tonight honey?” He started off with

“Nothing to do with you that’s for sure” she retorted and I held back a laugh.

“…You should shut the fuck up then before I take those hot lips of yours and cut them off.” He said with a voice that I haven’t heard him use ever. It was fucking creepy

“Excuse me?!” The lady said immediately getting up to leave

“I’ll be able to kiss your sexy lips all the time if I cut them off, you sure aren’t using them much if you're using them to talk shit.” He continued grabbing her arm. I was utterly shocked and disgusted with him and got up and punched him clean in the face. He reeled back and gave me the dirtiest look and yelled at me, we argued, screaming at each other for a good minute before we were kicked out the bar for disturbing the peace, he left in his car and I was there with no ride.

I was about to call an Uber when someone tapped my shoulder. It was the girl who Pete harassed, she wanted to thank you for defending her and asked if I needed a ride. We talked on the way to my house and I’ll cut off at this bit to just say Her name is Desiree and she’s now been my best friend for three years.

The reason I’m telling you this is because me and Desiree became close enough to move in together, and throughout that whole move from my mothers house (yes I know, cringe) I haven’t told Pete about her and me, in fact I don’t think I had a full conversation with him since the bar fight. And honestly I was fine with that.

I just wish it stayed that way.

It’s been a couple weeks since I fully moved in with Desiree and I was home alone while she worked the night shift. I was messing around on my phone when I felt eyes on me. Not the kind of eyes you feel from a worried mother or annoying friend but just eyes, cold unmoving eyes.

I got up from the couch and looked at the windows. Desiree had one of those studio apartments with the balcony window the size of the wall. I tried to stare into the blackness that was night outside but of course I saw nothing of anything or anyone. But the eyes still wouldn’t leave me. I looked everywhere in the house but no dice.

The eyes felt like it was amused at me failing to try and find its source. I decided it was just my mind messing with me and I just went to bed.

I fell asleep pretty easily after I calmed down and the eyes almost went away,until I woke up.

Now there’s this thing about humans that can detect if it’s life is in danger. I think my body activated because of that. Cause when I woke up I felt a weight at the side of the bed.

Someone was in the bed with me.

I didn’t dare move, I didn’t dare speak. Anything that could have indicated I was alive save for my breathing ceased. I tried to access the situation but a hard metal object touched my back, it felt like every nerve in my body prepared me for this moment but when the moment came I just froze. It’s such a pathetic thing to do but I couldn’t do anything other than freeze.

I felt the person scooch up to me pressing the knife closer at my back, to the point where I was drawing blood and the person’s chest was touching my back. I could feel their hot breath on my neck that night.

We stayed that way for what felt like hours. I think they were waiting for me to move or show that I was awake or something cause I stayed froze in that position, at that time I couldn’t even feel my body with how hard I was trying to keep it together.

The worst part about it was that they never spoke a word, but their eyes were unmistakable. They were the same eyes watching me from afar earlier now staring at the back of my neck waiting for me to mess up.

The front door soon opened with what I assume was Desiree coming home from work, the person in my bed slowly moved away and came off the bed. Their weight being so heavy I almost flew up when they got up.

While they opened the door out of my room I slowly reached for my phone on the desk. I heard him walking downstairs and typed in a number quickly.

Pretty soon I heard it. Desiree’s phone rings. She picks it up and her sleepy but joyful voice almost makes me cry of relief.

“Hey dude, what’s up? Did you go to sleep early?” She said, I can hear her smile as she puts down her things and opens the fridge. I can’t hear the person who was in her house.

“I’m fine, just wanted to say hi, and yeah…could you do me a favor and go outside real quick?” I said trying my best to not sound like I’m shaking as my body finally responds to moving as I snuck out of bed.

“Um,what? Listen man I’m too tired for any games rn.” She said sounding a little annoyed. I don’t blame her.

“Just, go outside like right now.” I hear a creak of wood on her end of the line “please.”

I raised a glass cup high above my head, the plan came to me during the call as I was straining to listen for the intruder. I smashed the glass against the wall and I heard it double on the phone.

“Now!” I screamed into the phone before hanging up and jumping out the window of my room, her apartment was thankfully on the second floor to the way down wasn’t deadly. But concrete on bare skin hurted like a bitch.

I heard a scream from the window and my heart dropped, but the next thing I saw made my whole body stop again. The intruder was looking at me recon the window I dropped from.

And it was Pete.

Me and Pete stared at each other for what felt like eternity, his dark eyes and pimple faced morphed by the dark room into something hideous to look at. I heard the building door open and out came Desiree with blood coming from her arm.

We both ran away with him close behind. It hurt to move after being still for so long but I had to keep running. We managed to lose him in traffic and alleys and after thirty minutes found a police station. We came in scared and with bloody bare feet, we told them everything and we stayed there for the rest of the night.

Some police went back to the apartment and by a stroke of luck found him waiting for us in Desiree’s room doing stuff that I won’t repeat here. He was arrested for attempted murder and breaking and entering. I later found out he was outside watching me through the window via a ladder. So that would explain the eyes.

But something happened in court and he was let go due to good lawyers from his family. He’s out free and I haven’t seen him since

So that’s why I ask, have you seen Pete? I don’t know if he’s moved to another country or is still around here. He could be anywhere and I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea where to look.

Remember what he looks like. 25,6’1,black hair and pimple face. Don’t trust anything he says to you and just run.

And watch the people you meet in a AA meeting

[chimswae]

BTS Caretake CH17

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 3,473

- Author Note:Late update again hmm i was a little busy these days with work ;(  i appreciate your feedback and comment, just drop in my ASK BOX :)

Previous | Next

Chapter 17 

The first move made by Jungkook few weeks ago did not end just like that, he would find free time between his hectic schedule to visit Seul and most importantly to live up to the promises that he made with her. Filling up the blank pages in his sketch book with Seul’s drawing. Seul on the other hand was used to Jungkook’s presence, as a matter of fact she still had no idea who’s the real Jungkook behind that black mask. For some reason he gave her a sense of security and tranquillity.

She loves that.

Now and then, both of them would have a little chit-chat over hot jasmine tea which apparently became Jungkook’s new favourite drink during his visit. He would come around 10 or 11 at night every time Seul had her night shift, that appeared to be 5 days in a week. If he did not show up after 12, Seul took the cue that he was too caught up with something.

Wiping the last table at the corner, Seul heaved a heavy sigh, it was a long day in this extremely cold weather. She felt super worn out for no reason, and she had to thank Wongeun for closing the store early today. Plus, it’s a new year eve, everyone deserved an early break and to be with their loved ones. Thirty minutes till clock strikes 12, embark the start of new chapter for everyone.

Seul wished to start her new chapter with a smile.

“Seul-ah are you done?” Sera’s chirpy voice filled the emptiness inside the room. She flashed Sera a warm smile with a simple nod “Are you ready to head back?” cheerful Sera clasped her hand together.

“You seem excited Ser, do you have a date tonight?” she teased.

“Let’s hope it is a date. Don’t you have one?” Sera blinked innocently.

Seul reddened at Sera’s accusation “Hey, I am not dating anyone” she retorted.

“The guy in that black mask visits you every week yet you don’t call that i-am-not-dating-anyone. You are a bad liar Seul!”

“He is just a friend of mine, we are not in that kind of relationship” just at the thought of dating the mysterious Mr JK sent chill down her spine. To be truth, she enjoyed his company because he felt oddly familiar even the smell of his clothes reminded her of the detergent she used for Bangtan’s laundry. It sounded insane, but her nose was sensitive as hell. The smell of his cologne that sipped through her nose smelled like someone from Bangtan, oddly.

Seul swore in the name of food that she consumed daily, the expensive cologne did smell like one of the boys. She spent every day in the dorm cleaning up their mess, sometimes she still could smell their cologne lingered in the thin air.

She shrugged the weird thought off from her tired mind. It couldn’t be one of boys, none of them were informed about her working here though. And, need Seul to remind herself they were not that close to the extent of exchanging personal information. That did not include Jin, her friendship and Jin grew over time even though at first, she was a little reluctant to pursue this new relationship that she was about to have with him.

Seul’s blooming friendship with Jin was nothing new. Jin is an interesting guy though he was terrible in cracking jokes. Nevertheless, a message from Jin gave a tingly feeling inside.

It felt homey.

Groaning in her head out of frustration, she needed to sort her feelings soon. 2017 is approaching, how could she love every presence of the gentlemen that she encountered, Yoongi, Jin and Mr JK. Oh, make it four, she would not forget Park Jimin.

Crossing her arm together, the corner of Sera’s lips was tugged into a playful smile “Oh really? If you are not in that kind of relationship. Turn around and see who is waiting for you outside” Seul brows were flinched together in confusion.

“What are you talking about” she puffed her cheeks and turned around only to be welcomed by a familiar figure waving awkwardly at her way. Seul’s eyes widened at his sudden visitation considering it was a new year night, he was the last person that she expected to see tonight.

Sera made her way to flustered Seul and whispered “He is coming for you, go get ready and leave. It is going to be long night” she gave the stoic girl a soft pat on the back. Clearing her throat to ease the awkwardness, Seul returned Jungkook’s wave shyly and signalled him to wait while she picked her stuffs.

Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck while smiling widely under the mask, giving her an ‘okay’ sign. Being here tonight was already hard for him since he had been thinking over this to happen in the past two weeks. After much contemplation, he finally made up his mind. If the truth need to be prevailed, then today was the perfect time for it.

He questioned his decision.

Was it for the better or for the worst?

 --------------------

“Where is Jungkook?” Namjoon nibbled his honey chips with a questionable look. They had promised to spend the new year night together now seeing one of the members disappeared worries him.

Jimin took a seat beside Yoongi with a loud yawn “He went out for a while, and he will be back in an hour” he answered casually. That was the only thing Jungkook told him before the younger guy left the house few minutes ago.

“So, he won’t be here during the countdown?” the elder boy grimaced.

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter, we will celebrate the night together eventually” Jin reasoned. They would not let things like this jeopardize their night, though it made more sense if everyone were together until the clock strikes 12. However, the boys believed in giving each other a little personal space, they didn’t want to appear too clingy towards each other anyways.

Namjoon hummed “Fine, as long as he doesn’t get himself into trouble” his eyes travelled back to the screen, joining Yoongi who didn’t show any movement since the movie started. Jhope’s soft howler from the kitchen got Jin’s attention “We are running out banana milk! Jungkook may need one later” he exclaimed.

“Shoot, I forgot to restock the banana milk” Jin frowned.

Taehyung exited his room while fixing his hair “I am going out to buy chips, I will get the drinks” Jimin blinked capturing Taehyung’s readiness, and his eyes landed on the camera in his hand.

“You are bringing camera to buy chips?” he inquired.

“In case, I catch some beautiful scenery that worth the shot” Taehyung’s mind traced back to Seul. It had been a month since his sloppy first meeting with Seul, ever since then he had no guts to meet the girl even though he knew her workplace. She did not want to creep her out at least that’s what he thought.

Yoongi mumbled under his breath lowly “Be back in an hour, don’t wander around mindlessly” he finally spoke up.

“Alright Yoongi-ssi” Taehyung grinned, giving all of them a salute before leaving the warm house. He purposely took the longest route pass Seul’s workplace just to catch a glimpse of Seul from afar. Why was he being so timid? He too was unsure of himself, things could be a little too much for him to comprehend this time.

Strolling along the sidewalk with a gleeful smile, Taehyung would not miss the chance to take a few shots of beautiful scenery that worth the shot to be included in his collection. His heart was beating so fast as the image of the store came into his vicinity. The road was cold and empty, knowing by now everyone should be home or somewhere with their loved ones, deep down inside, he wished to see Seul once again.

He stood across the road staring at the store with so much interest. The corner of his eyes caught an ambiguous figure leaning against the cold wall whom seemed patiently waiting for someone. It was dark, so he couldn’t clearly see who the person was though again he gave him a sense of familiarity.

Taehyung watched the light inside the store were turned off as two females coming out from the store with soft giggle. Again, he was sure one of the girls would be the person that he was dying to see since forever.

One of the girl gave a final wave before moving to another direction whilst the other girl stood straight facing the guy. Judging from her ponytail and her body gesture, Taehyung was sure it was indeed her. Not to sound like a real creep, but he remembered the little gesture and habit that she made along with the way she tied her hair into a cute ponytail.

His eyes never left her as he watched her walk side by side with the guy earlier, and it ached his heart. It was not a big deal to begin with since she had zero idea of his existence, and for pete’s sake they barely knew each other.

So, the fact that she’s dating someone should not be affecting him this much.

“Damn Kim Taehyung, you are fooling yourself” he let out a soft sigh of regret. Thinking about girl would only ruin his brain cell, so he ought to get Jungkook’s banana milk instead and snacks for tonight’s so-called celebration.

 -------------------

Along the way, it was dead silence. None of them uttered anything, yet they enjoyed each other company. Seul was the first one who broke the silence that caught him off guard “So, what are you doing here with me instead of spending it with your family…or girlfriend?” she purposely emphasised the last word with a soft cough.

“There is no girlfriend” Seul bit her lower lips trying to surpass her obvious grin. She heard him continue “And my family is in Busan, but I will be celebrating with my friends who just like my brothers today. Don’t worry I have informed them that I will be late, they don’t mind” his soft voice soothed her heart.

“I just wanted to start my new year differently this year. And, I choose to spend it with you” for the umpteenth time, it shook the deepest core of her heart. Why’s he doing this to her?

Seul was touched by his kind words, never in her life she felt so important as now “You are flattering me Mr JK” she chuckled away her nervousness afraid that he might catch her jumbling with her own words.

“I am not flattering you. It is the truth” he shoved his hand inside his pocket, gathering his thought. The part of wanting to start the new year differently was the truth though, he wanted to get out from his comfort zone. Glancing at his watch, Jungkook murmured “So, ten minutes till 12, lets get an ice cream” he suggested.

She flinched “Are you crazy? It is freezing, and you want to eat ice cream at this time, seriously? It will only pain your body” Jungkook chuckled at her cuteness. He watched how her lips was curved upwards into a pout, it never failed to amuse him.

“I am craving for one, and we can share the ice cream. Let’s just get one” before Seul could even protest, Jungkook made his way inside the convenience store purchasing an ice cream just like he mentioned earlier. He ignored the odd look that he received from the cashier as he quickly returned to Seul excitedly.

“I got us one”

“You are weird”

“Do you mind if we share ice cream?” Jungkook eyes sparkled innocently under the moonlight. Was he hinting her about the indirect kiss? But that was only in a drama, the indirect kiss was exaggerated in the dramas anyway. It shouldn’t be a big deal.

A soft giggle escaped from her cold lips “We are not in a freaking drama Mr JK, so don’t get ahead of yourself. I don’t mind sharing it with you, plus I don’t think I can finish one in this weather” she shot him a playful glare.

“Agree!” he winked. With that, he unwrapped the ice cream and held it close to Seul’s mouth “You eat first” Seul took a soft bite. Both of them started walking again, following the trail of snow on the street.

“This is my place” Seul made an abrupt stop facing Jungkook. He scanned the old building, tilting his head in disappointment since he still wanted to spend more time with Seul. It ended too quickly.

“That was quick that I expected” his voice showed a hint of sadness and disappointment.

Seul nodded “It is two minutes’ walk from the convenience store, I forgot to mention that. Anyways, you should head back. Your brothers are waiting for your arrival” Jungkook did not budge but instead he fed the girl with the remaining ice cream causing her to shudder due to the coldness.

“YAH!” Seul jabbed his arm as he dodged skilfully accompanied with a playful chuckle that broke the eerie silence of this empty street.

“Four minutes till 12, I will head back after that” Seul gave him an amused look, up until now she wondered to what extent this guy in front of her would surprise her with his randomness.

The time is ticking so did Jungkook fear of wanting to end this little mind game he had, no more turning back. He unzipped his jacket, pulling out his sketch book “I.. did it…” he mumbled. Their eyes met did not know how to react in this situation, was it just her but she felt extremely sad over the fact that he was done with his task. This means, she will no longer be able to see him as frequent as before.

His job was done here.

She must live up with the fact that people will eventually leave when the times come.

Jungkook sensed her expression darken, so it worries him a little just in case she did not like the drawing. Seul took the sketch book, flipping through the pages one by one. Her heart sunk as it reached the last page. The drawings of her and him, talking happily at the corner of the café while enjoying their drinks.

Her eyes were sting with tears, but she refused to let it go. She did not want to overreact in front of him, they became close over a month, so it did not make her any special in his heart. For an odd reason, Seul felt very affected of this as if she got dumped by a guy.

“Seul-ssi…are you alright? You don’t like it? I am sorry, I will do better next time. I also think it looks bad never mind, let me draw it again. Let’s forget about this” Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck trying to get a look of Seul who had her head hung low.

Blinking her tears away, Seul shook her head “No, I love it. It takes my breath away. Your drawing. As expected from you Mr JK. That was fast, did not expect you to finish it within a month” she swallowed the heavy lump on her throat, mustering her courage to meet Jungkook’s worried eyes.

“Thank god..you scared me. I..was shocked of myself too. I got carried away, and I guess the result came out earlier than I expected” he studies Seul’s solemn expression. Something was bothering her indeed, but he did not know if it was appropriate to ask.

“I think your job is done, you finally complete your goals. Guess, it would be hard to see you around after this Mr JK” she joked. Even though she tried to sound cheerful, but little did she know her voice sounded broken.

The things that came out from Seul finally answered the questions that he had just now. Jungkook realized his assumption was right all along though he thought it sounded absurd at first. What more to confirm this? He heard it from Seul personally, it would not be a lie.  

Jungkook raised one of his eyebrows, taking a step closer to Seul “So.. this is what it is all about?” his sweet usual voice was no longer there instead it was replaced by his unusual deep and alluring voice. Seul was feeling defensive all of sudden, as she took one step back “What..” she muttered confusedly.

He inhaled a deep breath, “You are sad that I might not be visiting the store anymore once I finish my drawing?” Seul grimaced knowing how easy for him to read her. She didn’t intend to appear like a fool in front of him, denying his statement was the best thing for now.

“Ur… No.. I didn’t say that” she argued.

“But your eyes say something else”

“Ha.. you must be mistaken. It is due to the light from this street lamp” Jungkook lurched forward and every step taken by him made Seul to take a step back. The things just went on and on following her heavy breathing.

Jungkook smirked “I may be wearing mask, but my eyes are not blinded from the truth. Why are you feeling that way though?” he probed. Her eyes quivered feeling defeated. She tried to convince herself not to fall for Jungkook’s evil plan to lure answers out from him.

Jungkook was testing her.

“JK-ssi, I think it is time for you to leave and meet your brothers. I will see you around, I guess. Thank you for the ice cream and walking me back home. And uh… happy new year” clutching onto the sketch book tightly, Seul turned her heels getting ready to escape from Jungkook.

Bemused, Jungkook wouldn’t let her go to that easily as he needed to execute his plan first.

To her surprise, she felt a soft tug around her wrist. She was pulled back facing him, crashing against his warm body, Jungkook tugged his mask uncovering the rest of his face. He did not want to waste any minute. He used one of his free hand to cup Seul’s cheeks, encircling another one around her waist holding her body close.

Jungkook dipped his head, connecting their cold lips together. Warmth sipping through her body making her froze. Seul was surprised to find her own lips parted not long after giving into the kisses. Their breaths mingled.

He smiled between the kisses, stroking her cheeks lovingly.

The feel of her lips against his rendered him breathless.

The sights and sounds of a spectacular firework matched the sparks in their heart.  She really wanted to have a good look of his face, but the kisses made her mind went numb. The only things that matter now was the kisses. Unlike the kisses that she had with Yoongi, this one was more careful and gentle. She did not want to compare these two guys. Seul had to admit it was different.

Jungkook pulled away slowly, turning Seul body with her back facing him. He did not plan on telling her who is him just yet, because that was the only leverage that he had to be able to meet Seul again in the future. Enveloping his arm around Seul from back, he ran his lips to her ears and whispered almost a little too romantically “Happy New Year Seul-ssi” Seul was trembling under his soft touch.

“I will see you around” Jungkook left a soft peck on the top of her head, pulling his mask to cover his face again and left with a wide grin plastered across his face.

Seul on the other hand was trying to register the whole thing, everything happened so fast. Clenching onto her chest, she gasped regaining her soul back into her body “What the hell just happened?” she bit her lower lips.

She turned back in hope Jungkook would still be around but to her dismay, he was nowhere to be seen. How could he flee without words and left her hanging? This was totally unacceptable.

“Nuna! Why are you standing here?” Hoon’s voice brought her out of her trance. She was feeling a little feverish, was it because the kiss with Jungkook? Her brother scrutinized her expression with a wary look “Why are you so red? Are you sick?” he touched her forehead with the back of his hand.

“Urm..I think so.. come on lets get inside” she tugged his arm, making their way inside before he could inquire him further.  Seul was not in the right state of mind to answer any Hoon’s question, not when she still needed an answer from her mysterious Mr JK.

    This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2020. All Rights Reserved.

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2020: Days 1 & 2

Films: 5 Best Film of the Day(s): One Night in Miami

One Night in Miami…: I guess you could form an argument that basing a film on a pre-existing play would make the feature easier to put together, but that wouldn’t be taking into account the tremendous differences between the mediums, their relative strengths and weaknesses. For her feature debut, the Oscar-winning actress Regina King has cinematically adapted the stage play  by Kemp Powers about a fictionalized fateful night amongst four famous Black men in 1964. Those men, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), are all in town ostensibly to celebrate Clay’s beatdown of Sonny Liston to first become the heavyweight champion of the world at the tender age of 22. But the film puts them all together in Malcolm X’s modest hotel room, watched over by Nation of Islam security men, to spend a night, essentially, debating the merits of what they bring to the struggle for Black equality and economic emancipation, and arguing back and forth about their distinct positions. Here is precisely where many play adaptations falter, without the dramatic friction of a live performance to power the emotional core, such conventions generally fall flat on the screen, but King’s virtuoso acting instincts serve her able cast well, and her work with DP Tami Reiker allows the film to flow, seemingly organically between its few location movements. Working from a skilled script by Powers, the celebrated figures feel three dimensional, which gives even their more didactic diatribes (Malcolm), and pithy rebuttals (Cooke) enough weight to avoid sounding contrived. The cast work wonders on the material, granting a needed organic vibe to their nonfiction characters, echoing the essences without tipping into caricature. It’s a strong debut for King, and the film’s complex ruminations on the responsibility of successful Black people towards their community as a means of bringing attention to the country’s oppression couldn’t be more on point. At one point Clay tells Cooke the four of them will always remain friends, because they are among the few who can possibly understand what it’s like to be “young, Black, famous, righteous, and unapologetic.”

Shiva Baby: Danielle (Rachel Sennott) is in the midst of having a day. Turns out Max (Danny Deferrari), the sugar daddy with whom she has frequently been visiting as part of her regular prostitution gig, is somehow a friend or cousin of the deceased at the same Shiva she has come to attend with her well-meaning, but completely overwhelming parents (Polly Draper and Fred Melamed). If that weren’t enough in Emma Seligman’s spry comedy, Danielle is also horrified to find Maya (Molly Gordon), a successful young woman she’s known for years, and a recent ex, also there. Crammed into the Shiva house, full of cousins and aunts and uncles all kvetching about everyone else, and being physically grabbed and moved about by her mother, Danielle faces this house of horrors, with everyone commenting concernedly on her weight-loss (“You look like Gwyneth Paltrow  —  on food stamps!” her mother hisses at her), and her lack of job prospects when she graduates, and her parents telling scathingly embarrassing stories about her in front of Max and his shiksa wife (Dianna Argon), whose 18-month-old baby, her mom says is “freakishly pale  —  and no nose,” with no respite in sight. As a result of this sort of hyper-scrutiny, Danielle goes the only route that makes any sense: Lying to everybody about nearly everything, from her current major (“gender business”), to the many job interviews she has supposedly lined up. She’s just trying to get through the ordeal, one that Seligman, along with a continually spiraling score from Ariel Marx, ratchets up, until, near the end, poor Danielle is in a near fugue state, sweat glistening on her face, and the attendees, shot in unflattering slo-mo, and distorted lenses, take on the sheen of a waking nightmare. At a brisk 77 minutes, the film still doesn’t have quite enough to sustain its running time  —  at a certain point it begins doubling back on itself  —  but it’s still a lot of horrific fun, as Seligman expertly captures the absolute loss of agency one can feel, swallowed up in a claustrophobic family gathering, where escape feels futile.

Limbo: If Scotland has a cinematic identity, as such, it seems like the kind of place, desolate and unforgiving, where individuals come to exit regular society and come to a land filled with eccentric loners (stoic and unique in their oddities), in order to get better in touch with their souls. Ben Sharrock’s serio-comedy captures both the pitiless beauty of the land, and the lonely plight of a Syrian immigrant, Omar (Amir El-Masry), waiting with a group of other men from across the Middle East and Africa, on an island off the mainland, for word from the Immigration Office that his bid for political asylum has been accepted. Omar, sweet-faced and approachable, was a musician by trade in his native Syria, and walks around everywhere carrying his precious oud, bequeathed to him by his grandfather, also a musician, even though his right hand is locked in a cast from an unspecified injury. Even without the cast, however, you get the sense that his heart really isn’t into playing, despite the entreaties from Farhad (Vikash Bhai), his Afghani roomie and self-appointed “agent and manager,” who wants him to enter a local music contest. Omar is carrying a significant amount of weight beyond missing his mother’s fragrant home-cooking. Talking to her on the lone payphone on the island, where other immigrants-in-waiting stand in line for a chance to hear from home, she implores him to speak to his older brother, who chose to stay behind in Syria and fight in the Civil War that has plagued the region for years. Omar feels guilty for having left, and suffers from having disappointed his father in the process. It doesn’t help him that the culture he finds himself in seems so foreign to him, despite his speaking flawless English. Sharrock’s brand of deadpan perfectly suits the setting, but as funny as the film can be (when asked in a culture/language class to create a sentence using the “I used to” construction, one immigrant offers “I used to be happy before I came here”), it doesn’t paint a rosy affirmation for Omar and his ilk, stuck as they are, as the title suggests, between countries and lives. Omar’s pain is real, and for every positive step forward he takes, it’s one further away from his family and his beloved home country.

Enemies of the State: Sonia Kennebeck’s challenging and curious documentary seems at first to present a case for its protagonist, Matt DeHart, a young teen hacker interested in social justice, who through his work with Wikileaks runs afoul of the U.S. government, and his beleaguered parents, Paul and Leann, who vigorously defend their only child against the evil forces conspiring against him. Through a series of personal interviews with Paul and Leann, both retired Air Force intelligence officers, who believe their country has turned against them for what Matt had downloaded from his computer into secret thumbdrives shortly before the FBI arrived at their door and confiscated all his equipment, and various lawyers they employed, first to protect Matt from what they claim as utterly bogus child-porn charges, then, after they slip away to Canada in the middle of the night, the lawyers trying to earn them asylum. While in Canada, under close supervision and confined to his parents’ apartment, Matt uses his charms, his hackavist bonafides, and his skill at PR, to generate enough interest in his case to become a digital cause celebe, along the lines of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Protests are fronted, defense funds gathered, and pressure put on the government to come clean about why they seem so hard-driving against the young man. During a peculiar reenactment set in a Canadian immigration hearing  —  Kennebeck employs actors who apparently lip sync their lines in perfect time with the actual recorded audio  —  DeHart describes a harrowing ordeal earlier in the affair, after having moved to Canada to attend college, being abducted by the FBI shortly after crossing the border to renew his Visa, and tortured for days for information related to the material on the thumb-drives. Some documentation seems to corroborate his claims (even Paul and Leann, as fierce supporters as can be, were shocked to see just how ready the FBI were to snatch him), but as the film continues, and we hear more and more from the investigators and prosecuting attorneys about the original child-pornography crimes, it becomes clear that our sympathies are being played with by Kennebeck. By the end, the film itself becomes an indictment of our rapid-assumption culture, in which decisions of guilt and innocence are determined in seconds online and forever after based on the presentation of information before us.

The Way I See It: For non Trumpites, the switchover from eight years of the dignified, intelligent, and measured leadership of Barack Obama, to the perma-tanned tackiness of power-mad, narcissistic bloviating of Donald Trump, was like a double-feature that went from Citizen Kane to Kevin James’ Loudest Farts. One man better than most to measure Obama’s time in office against the subsequent regime is photojournalist Pete Souza, who served as the official White House photographer for both of Obama’s terms, and has gone on to become an outspoken critic of Trump by way of his devastating IG account, in which he juxtaposes stately Obama photos with Trumps scandal-du-jour. Lest you think he’s just another divisively partisan liberal, you have to take into account his previous turn in the White House, as one of the official photographers for Ronald Reagan’s presidency. In fact, Souza’s fly-on-the-wall quality was considered one of his strengths in the oval office. Documentarian Dawn Porter travels with Souza as he makes the media rounds promoting his newest book, Shade, a collection of those IG photos that have earned him millions of social media followers (a sort of companion piece to his previous book Obama: An Intimate Portrait). Hauling from far-off India (where he gets a standing ovation before he even takes the stage), to domestic conferences and speaking engagements, Souza emerges as a man becoming more used to being out from behind his ever-present Canon lens. Through that lens, as he displays to his rapturous audiences, he has taken many hundreds of indelible photos, showing Obama’s various interactions with foreign dignitaries, his council of cabinet members, and his more raucous time with his two daughters (one shot of Obama with his girls making snow angels on the rear lawn during a heavy snow storm remains his computer screensaver, Souza says with pride). As Porter moves from talking heads to public oratories, Souza’s remarkable photos  —  brilliantly composed, and inspiringly intimate, having been given nearly unlimited access to the president  —  play throughout, showing us a collection of images that capture the inspiring hope the president inspired and the agonizing rigors of the job he was elected to perform. The film spends little time on his Reagan years, except to note how media and image-savvy the former Hollywood actor and his wife were (Souza professes no political ill-will towards the Reagans, other than noting that while he didn’t always agree with him, he was a genuinely caring man, who at least understood the parameters of leadership). At first, the film trolls Trump by a sort of subtweet level of backhandedness: Without directly naming names, Souza makes it entirely clear who he finds failing in comparison to Obama’s empathetic, engaging deportment, but by the time the film comes around to his notorious IG account, there can be no doubt the subject of his ire. Souza maintains it has less to do with his partisan feelings (his political affiliation is never revealed), and more the way he finds the current president’s undignified manner and total disrespect for the office and the leadership it demands unacceptable. Trumpers will of course take great exception to the portrait the film portrays of the sitting president, but even the most hardcore GOP folks won’t be able to help noting the blatant differences between the loving, genuinely close Obamas; and the preening, viciously competitive Trumps, each trying to outdo the others in acting as their father’s primary sycophant.

In a year of bizarre happenings, and altered realities, TIFF has shifted its gears to a significantly paired down virtual festival. Thus, U.S. film critics are regulated to watching the international offerings from our own living room couches.