#plus if it turns out he only gets big and feral when his new mama is in trouble I'll take this puppet to court THAT WAS MY IDEA /j

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Mama’s boy chapter 6

Plot summary: Spider works up the courage to ask Quaritch about his mother. He’ll quickly learn that his mama was just as feral as he is.

Relationships: Spider Socorro and Miles Quaritich Paz Socorro/Miles Quaritch

authors note: I headcannon that Hell's Gate would have a green house for growing food. It was there base of operation for about 30 years so to me there's no reason they wouldn't grow there own crops to support themselves. Plus the Avatars had there own garden where they were growing Na'vi fruits and vegetables so it only makes sense to me that somewhere on base there would be Earth crops growing.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45725335/chapters/115948360

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 A week after his stint in the med bay Miles found himself searching for Paz feeling nervous as hell. He had made some big plans for her tonight, but what if she refused him. They may have spent two days together in the med bay, conversing almost constantly, only stopping to sleep but he had still given her a concussion. Completely on accident but nonetheless, he wasn’t expecting her to willingly spend more time with him. Its not like that, he told himself, it’s not like you're asking her on a date. It’s a meeting. You have meetings all the time.

   His nerves held. Miles had expected to find Paz in the hangar bay with her beloved Scorpion, Hell Spawn. Instead she was nowhere to be found. The other soldiers milling about told him that she had finished her work around 1300 and left to do as she pleased. That was the last time anyone had noticed her. Now nobody knew where she was. Miles had spent the better part of two hours searching for her, his anxiety increasing by the minute as he rehearsed what he’d say to her in his head. It’s just a meeting, he kept repeating to himself when his thoughts would get to be too much. It’s just a meeting.

  He interrogated almost everyone he passed, finally finding someone who had spotted Paz around the two and half hour mark of his search. The man was an agriculturalist, responsible for cultivating the food supply for the entire base. According to him, Paz had barged into the greenhouse on her first day demanding a plot of her own to grow, who knows what. She had apparently been quite persuasive because the team of farmers had given her exactly what she wanted.

 That was where he finally found her, in the greenhouse, her hands in the dirt, hair pulled into a low ponytail. She had the top part of her flight suit unzipped and tied around her waist, revealing the white tank top underneath and…

 “What the hell is all over your arm?” Paz must have heard him coming because his sudden question didn’t startle her. She didn’t look up from her task but she did turn her left forearm towards him showing off the blue ink that covered it.

 “It’s my to-do list for today” she said nonchalantly.

 Miles really hoped a day would come, where he would stop being surprised and confused by her actions.“Have you ever heard of this thing called paper? It’s crazy, you can write things down on it and carry it around with you, and whenever you need to remember something you can pull it out and read it.”

 She looked up at him rolling her eyes. Like he was stupid. “I can lose a piece of paper. I’d have bigger problems than my day to day activities if I lost my left arm.” Whatever. Miles guessed he could see her logic even if it was completely ridiculous. He let the urge to fight go, knowing it’d be a losing battle. Paz rose from the ground, and Miles used their new proximity to lightly grab her left wrist.

 “Looks like a long list. I was told you finished your work at 1300. What else was on your agenda today huh.” She didn’t try to pry his grip off. Paz let herself be led to his side, turning her wrist in his hand so Miles could attempt to read her sloppy handwriting. “How the hell do you read this mess,” Miles grunted, squirting his eyes and cocking his head to the side to try to make sense of her scrawl.

 She gave him a mocking smile “Well it's my handwriting dumb ass.” He looked at her exasperated, dropping her arm. That made her laugh. “After work I went to check out the labs. I wanted to see the famous Avatar Program in person. Plus I’ve been reading Dr.Augustine’s books on Pandora and Na’vi culture and language and wanted to try and meet her.”

“Did you?”

 “Oh yeah she chased me out of the room. I’m surprised she didn't try to throw her shoe at me or something.” Grace’s attempt at assault didn’t seem to bother Paz in the least. She actually seemed happy about it. “Then I took some time to explore the base. This place is huge. I found some fantastic hiding places.” Why would she need hiding places, Miles thought, his gut twisting with the ideas of what Paz might do. “Then I spent time reading. I’m on Dr.Augustin’s book on Na’vi language and it is a bitch to learn.”

 “Why bother” Miles certainly didn’t see the point in learning a savage language.

 Once again Paz looked at him like an idiot “ Skxawng.” Miles could tell she was insulting him. Probably calling him a moron or something “We're gonna have to deal with the locals right? Why wouldn’t you try to learn their language?”

 She was right but Miles really didn’t want her to be so he changed the subject. “What are you even doing in the greenhouse? What could you possibly need to grow?”

 Paz’s body language became slightly guarded, her hands on her hips, stair defiant “I’m growing plants that have medicinal uses.”

 Miles gave her a questioning look while he processed that “ Are you growing weed?”

 He actually managed to shock her for once. Her defenses dropped instantly. “I meant medicinal like medical not medicinal.” She said her last word while miming the action of smoking a blunt.

 He was smiling fondly at her without realizing. “What the medicine in the med bay, not good enough for you.”

 “Of course it is.” She looked away from him as some of the light heartedness of their conversation bleed out of her. “I couldn’t go to a doctor when I was homeless. Even if the threat of being immediately thrown back into the system wasn’t enough, I was flat broke. I couldn’t afford a cough drop or a bandaid let alone actual care. But I could learn a shit ton about plants and their practical uses, break into an R.D.A agricultural center, steal a bunch of seeds, grow lights, soil and tools, then set up shop in the abandoned library no one went near because it was too lame to even vandalize.”

 She really just amazed him with her logic sometimes. “You did all that, but you couldn’t just steal medicine when you were sick.”

 He was starting to think Paz would just permanently look at him like he was an absolute fool. “Oh yeah Miles because it’s so easy and not dangerous at all to steal from stores with their cameras on every aisle, and owners who definitely have a gun behind the register and aren’t afraid to shoot. Why didn’t I think of trying to rob the place while I’m sick, and a suspect the moment I walk through the door.” Miles was taken aback by that, not only because she’d used his name again, but because that sounded like a legitimately hard way to live. “I grew actual food too, not just herbs and shit. Saving myself another thing I would have had to steal on the daily and risk my life and freedom for.”

 “Give a man a fish he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish he eats for life.”

 “More or less yeah.” Miles thought he understood now. Growing her plant was something Paz was comfortable with. They had made her feel secure at a time when she had been her most vulnerable.

 “That's not your life anymore. You're being well taken care of by the company now.”

  She visibly bristled at that but shrugged him off. “Maybe I just like playing in the dirt.” An awkward silence passed between them before she spoke again “Why’d you even come looking for me? I know I finished all my work today and that it was done adequately.”

  Shit. Just ask her nicely to…. “Report to the hangar bay tonight at 1900.”

    Paz looked incredibly confused. “Why?”

    Just explain to her that you planned …. “That's an order.”

   Her brown eyes were narrowed slightly, searching him hard for any tell that could hint to his intentions. “Okay…I guess”

______________________________________________________________

    Miles kept checking his watch. It was five till, she’d be here any minute. He’d already been there for an hour waiting beside Paz’s ship making sure everything was set up properly.

    “You know Colonel, you didn’t throw a party for any of us when you invited us to be part of your personal squad” said Lyle sitting slumped on a folding metal chair while he watched his leader pace nervously.

    “Yeah well I’ve never given any of you a head injury either.”

   “So is that what this is all about.” said Z-Dog “Do you just feel guilty that you bashed her brains in?”

    Miles practically snarled at her “Socorro is the best pilot on base. Our team needs an official pilot. It's as simple as that.”

   “And you bashed her brain in and feel bad about it because she’s spicy and sexy” said Mansk eliciting laughter from the rest of the group. Miles hoped his red face looked more angry than blushing. He was about to fire back with a defense when..

   “Hi” She was here. He’d hadn't even heard her approach, too distracted by his team and his own nerves. Miles turned to face her. Her smile was open, inviting, big beautiful brown eyes shining. “Sooo…. You want me to be your personal pilot huh.”

   Miles collected himself. He would not allow himself to seem weak in her eyes. “You're the best pilot on base and an impressive fighter. You’re the logical choice for this squad.”

   Paz nodded, giving him a placating look. “Sure. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you bashed my brains in….” she shared a look with Z-Dog “or that I’m spicy and sexy.” She walked past him to a chorus of hoots and hollers, slapping hands with Mansk.  

  Miles fought his own feelings of embarrassment. “Is that a yes, Socorro.”

   Paz had taken a seat between Z-Dog and Fike. Z was pouring her a shot of whisky. Those two are going to be the dynamic duo from hell Miles thought as he watched the two women laugh together. Paz gave him that look he was so used to now. “Yeah of course. I’d follow you anywhere colonel.”

[jawritter]

Dean Winchester One Shots

Happy Birthday Dean pt. 1

It’s Dean’s birthday, and you realize something about yourself you never knew before… Until now…                                

30 Minutes til Midnight (Happy Birthday Dean pt. 2!)

Sequel ot Happy Birthday Dean, will you finally tell him how you feel?

Middle of the road

Can you keep pretending your just friends, or will it all come out in the middle of the road.

Lonely as the grave

Dean struggles with his reality visiting the graveyard in his hometown of Lawrance, Kansas

The Fool

The reader comfronts Lisa, based on the song The Fool by Leanne Walmack

The Meeting

A secret releationship getts heated during a meet up

Waiting…

Waiting on your hero hunter to come home can be one of the harderst things you ever do.

Finally Yours

Alpha!Dean is in Rut, and only one Omega can help him through it!

Home

Six years ago Christmas Eve Dean made the biggest mistake of his life under influence of the Mark of Cane.

It Was Fifteen Years Ago Today

Haunted by the past tramas even Dean needs a little comfort sometimes.

I Did It Because I Love You

Dean’s been a complete and total asshole, what happenes when the reader finally has all she can take.

Happy Valenties Day Sweetheart

Dean shows the reader a little bit of his softer side….

I Kinda Like The Disease…

Your search for your demon boyfriend takes you to New Orleans during mardi grag…

Challenge Accepted..

Requested: ok so here is a request(idk if you do these)(also it’s smut) so dean talks about how good he is in the bedroom and the reader says something along the lines like “i bet you can’t make me come” Dean challenges this. In the bedroom and you know they doing the dirty or whatever. Dean edges her and edges her and just when the reader had enough of the teasing Dean finally takes her over her edge and the reader is left with the most hot shaking orgasm ever. I hope this makes sense! ❤️ur stories!!

Your Perfect

Request: the reader is always willing to go down on Dean but when Dean goes to return the favor the reader stops him and always finds an excuse. No one has ever offered to go down on her before so she’s insecure about it and doesn’t want to look weird in from of dean. i Hope this makes sense!

Curves

Requested: Can I request a Dean Winchester x plus size reader, where she really shy and dorky but believes that she really bad at sex because she is bigger? And dean shows her that she not 😊💕 I hope this make sense haha! I know this sound awkward turtle 🐢

You Deserve Better Than Me

Requested: Dean winchester x pregnant Reader. Dean feels the reader deserves better than what he can give her in his life, what will he do when he finds out that she’s expecting his baby?

Quarantine

Summery: Everyone is stuck in quarantine right now everywhere, and your stuck alone with Dean, who really needs to blow off steam… Oh what has your big mouth gotten you into now…

My Best Friend

Request: hiii i have dean x reader request! the reader and dean are friends with benefits but recently she’s just been down in the dumps and just wants some platonic affection and not sex. as the writer you can do what u want but could you add Dean playing with the readers hair? i have a weakness for it lol thanks!

Just A Dream…

Part 1

Part 2

Winchesters Fantasies 1000 follower Challenge…

Daddy’s Home

Request: Hey I know this is odd, but I really enjoy your writing and I was wondering if you could possibly do a little smutty Dean thing? Maybe using the name Lyn, and really anything is on the table, I mean, it’s Dean Winchester. (Or if you want, some daddy kink and maybe just rough stuff :o) Thank you dear!! You don’t have to if ya don’t want to, no pressure 💕💕

Like Pulling Teeth

Request: Okay, so I was just watching few recent spn episode and saw Garth episode. Which gave me an curious idea, can you write dentist reader x dean? They’re in a relationship, one day when dean eats something, it pains and reader has to look into it? and then reader says wisdom tooth extraction? Also the fear of dentist which dean already has (shown in the episode, I found it very funny) I know it’s a weird request but I also think it would be very funny🙈

Little Details…

Request: Could I maybe request a Chubby!Reader x Dean story? She’s super sweet and kind of laid back, just going along with the boys as a research partner, but she’s also super artsy and loves to draw Dean while she researches. Maybe some sweet and soft smut, oh! And maybe he plays with her hair? :) Thanks dear!! 🌻💛

Age Is Just A Number…

Request Hello :) How do feel about an age difference, post sex one-shot? Alternate universe (no hunting), consensual, not underage but quite a big age difference (like at least 10years) where Dean is like freaking out because he’s Dean and doesn’t want to destroy the girl’s life?

Mine…

Request: Could you do a one shot where the reader lives with Sam and dean they are best friends. The reader and dean have a secret relationship and dean gets jealous of the reader and Sam hanging out all day. So dean shows the reader who she belongs too in the bedroom.

Right In Front Of You…

Request: Dean x Reader. Reader is hunting with Sam and Dean, and she is constantly getting annoyed at every single thing that Dean does. And she always acts very bad with Dean with this making dean think that she hates him. And that makes mr very sad because he has feelings for her but when Dean save her sacrificing himself from a hunting gone wrong. She stars to develop feelings for him.

Jealous Of My Demons...

Requested: Dean get’s jealous of the reader’s former boyfriend Brady, who is now posses by a demon and working as a stable boy for the horseman pestilence. Who will they work this out?

Princess...

Request: Thank you for answering my question love!💕 can I request a Dean x plus size reader where she is super shy and it drives dean crazy? Fluff, smut? I’m sorry to bother you hahah and that this sounds awkward turtle 🐢 🖤😻

My Girl...

Requested: Hola! request for dean x reader: the readers current boyfriend always puts her down and one day threatens to breakup with her if she doesn’t lose weight, even though she’s not even plus sized or anything. She constantly pushes her body to the limit to lose the weight and dean notices. it ends all fluffy and protective!dean comes out and has a “talk” with the boyfriend. side note for anyone reader this: YOUR BODY IS BEAUTIFUL MAMA 💗🥺

Your Dean...

Request: Heyy! I'm sorry to be a bother. I was wondering if you can do a one shot where the reader is prone to severe panic attacks and her husband Dean is the only one who knows how to calm her down? She gets a really bad attack but Dean for some reason ain't there, and no one is able to help her but eventually he comes back and takes care of her. Sorry if this is a lot haha.

Safe. Warm. His...

Request: Are you taking requests? If so would you possibly write a one shot with Dean where the reader is in little space and just wants to cuddle and nuzzle her head in his neck and give him lots of little kisses and play with his hands? It’s just superrrr fluffy 🥺🥺🖤

One Hell Of A Thank You...

Request: Can I request a Dean Winchester x plus size reader, where the reader is really quirky and dorky and goes on a date but turns out her date is a vampire and kidnapped her and dean saves her and falls in love with her, maybe some angst, fluff and smut 💕

Voices..

Request: Can I request? Dean x reader were she has an Eating Disorder and she’s recovering but today was an off day for her and starts to go back to her old habits and Dean notices and helps her through it.

His Girl...

Request: May I request a Dean Winchester x plus size reader where the reader is very shy and she at a bar and some dirt bags are picking on her about her shortness and weight and dean stands up for her? Some smut and fluff ?? Also want to say you are a bop of a writer my love! ✨💕🥰❤️

Happily Ever After...

Request: Hey beautiful! May I request a Dean Winchester x plus size reader where the reader does all the research for the boys and she is very shy,she a huge Disney fan, one day demons get in the bunker and make fun of her and dean stand up for her and confess his love for her (smut)? And after they cuddle and watch lady and tramp? Fluff and smut you are a gem my dear! 💕

His New Toy...

Request: Hai can I request dean x reader smut with breast bondage and nipple play?? plot (if there is any) is up to you ;)

His Heaven...

Request: Heyy I love your ABO fics and I have a request for you. You can always say no to this if you’re uncomfortable. I’ll completely understand and I’m very sorry. Can you do one with Alpha!Dean x Omega!reader. Where the reader is on a supply run and she gets assaulted and tortured by a monster and when she gets back to the bunker somehow, she only allows her Alpha anywhere near her and refuses help from anyone else. Dean takes care of her and helps her heal.

Something Worth Fighting For

Request: Hi love! Your writing is amazing and I was wondering if you could do a Dean x depressed!reader? Like dean finds the reader about to jump off the roof of the bunker after reading the note she left him and sam saying goodbye. He had never suspected anything cause she hid it so well. Dean saves her and tells her his feelings for her? You can also add any details you want or anything like that! There is no rush! Thank you!

Unlikely Places

Trigger Warning: Non-Con

Request: Hi! I love your work! Can you do a ABO? One where the reader is Beta, and Dean Alpha, and she’s his true mate/soulmate, but they don’t know it, and he gets possessive and goes into almost a feral rut where he tries to claim, and it almost kills her but Sam and Rowena save her and give Dean his Omega back? You come up with the plot because you’re amazing at that!! Please! I’d be forever in your debt!

I Hurt Too

Request: hi there! I have seen loads of fics and one shots where Dean is sleeping around/having a one night stand and the reader gets jealous and upset, but I was wondering if I could request one with the other way around? or maybe one where they sleep around equally? as smutty, fluffy, or angst as you want!!

What’s Left Of Me

Summary: Who know one little woman could have turned his whole world upside down? He had done so good alone for so long. Then here you come along, and ruin everything

Elf

Summary: Maybe being stuck at home alone with Dean for Christmas isn’t so bad after all.

Save Me

Summary: It’s not always easy being the hero, especially when no one is ever there to save you.

Saving Grace

Summary:  Some things are worth fighting for, even when they think they’re not. You can either roll over and die, or you can pick yourself up off the ground and go get what you want. That’s the place Y/N now finds herself in.

Living With Regret

Summary: Death can be hard to deal with in any aspect, but when you’re in the life, it's something you deal with all to often, and carry with you until it's your turn to burn.

Happy Halloween

Summary: It’s Daddy’s favorite holiday. So what’s a good girl gonna do, but let him blow off some steam after a successful hunt?

I’ll Wait For You

Summary:  Sometimes when we’re angry, hurt, or scared we say things wrong. Say things that hurt the ones we love. When Dean takes things a step to far can you find it in your heart to forgive him?

An Alpha And His Omega

Summary:  Sometimes Alpha’s aren’t the assholes, sometimes words Omegas say things that can hurt too. 

No, Screw You Sweetheart

Summary: You HATE Dean Winchester, I mean you really, REALLY hate Dean Winchester.

30 Minutes In Heaven

Summary: Your life, like many hunters before you, was cut short. You had no idea at the time the Fates that were at play in the universe were really those of dick angles and egotistical assholes with massive god complexes. And you also had no idea that they were really the reason you lost your life, and you had no idea why… Until around 30 minutes after you made it to Heaven.

The Devil And I

Pt. 1   Pt. 2   Pt. 3

Summary: What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? You survived after you thought your mate had died, but how will you survive finding out he's alive, only different.

Don’t Let It Show...

Summary: She’s had enough of him, just like every other woman always seems to, and normally, he doesn’t care, but this time...this time it hurts.

Don’t Fear The Reaper

Summary: They took him from her, her knit, her king, her Dean, “cured” him, and now she’s going to get him back, she’s going to set him free.

Scars And All

Summary:  You and Dean have a strange, mutual relationship, but that’s all it is, physical. Until an almost bar fight brings some things to light that you thought you’d never hear.

I Almost Lost You

Summary:   Sometimes, monsters aren't always monsters...sometimes they're people.

Touch Starved

Summary: Sometimes when the hunt is hard, and his mind is loud, Dean just wants to be close to someone he loves, but is to scared to say it out loud. Thankfully, she knows him better than he knows himself.

I Wanna Be Your Everything

Summary:  After a huge fight, and a week away from Dean, he’s finally decided it was okay to have the ending he’d always wanted.

One More Sunset

Summary: Dean just wants the pain to go away...

[minuteminx]

Revolutionary

Pairing: Preston Garvey/ Female Sole Survivor

Summary: In the aftermath of personal tragedies, Preston and Charlie both seek to make a difference in the Commonwealth and those around them. They could never anticipate the impact that they will have on eachother in the process.

Chapter Seven: Jewel of the Commonwealth

Chapter Summary:  Charlie and Preston make the most of their time in Diamond City.

[First Chapter]

[Previous Chapter]

[AO3 Link]

“Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit.” ― Abbie Hoffman

Diamond City, January 2287

Charlie sat uncomfortably, poorly supported by the worn, flattened cushions of the dingy, yellow couch beneath her.  It wasn’t the various questionable stains in the fabric that caused her to sit stiffly, hands in her lap, twisting at her wedding ring with her thumb.  In fact, as far as couches went, she’d seen much worse in the Commonwealth.  She simply hadn’t expected to find a lead on Shaun so quickly, nor had she been prepared to spill her guts to some nosy reporter in order to follow that lead.

“You don’t have to talk to her, you know,” Preston muttered at her side.  He’d declined the offer of a place to sit, and instead leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “Diamond City’s a big place.  I’m sure someone else knows something.”

Charlie shook her head.  She wanted answers more than she wanted confidentiality, and after walking around the repurposed baseball stadium for an hour, being blown off and scoffed at by everyone she’d approached with questions about her missing son, she’d considered Piper’s offer. At least she seemed like she meant well.

They’d run into the journalist at the “city” gates, bickering with the security officer on the radio who refused to let her inside.  She’d quickly roped Charlie and Preston into the conflict, using their arrival as a way to get the guard to open up.  After all, how could he possibly refuse to open the gates to guests on account of her presence?  Ultimately he’d opened up, and the mayor, a pompous man named McDonough— who looked like every bit of a pre-Nuclear Revolution oil tycoon— was waiting to greet them all.

According to him, Piper had stirred up a fuss with one of her articles, throwing suspicion at McDonough about his lack of concern over person’s mysteriously missing from Diamond City, as well as his possible ties to something called “the Institute.”  He’d hilariously called her a “muckraker” and apologized that Charlie and Preston had gotten dragged into her “little scheme.”  It was all Charlie could do to keep from laughing as she told him that freedom of the press was important and watched him stomp away.

Piper had thanked them for their help, inquired as to why they’d come to town, and Charlie made the mistake of mentioning her missing son.  This sort of thing was right up Piper’s alley as far as journalistic intrigue and investigation went, and she’d jumped at the opportunity to offer her assistance in return for an interview.  Charlie declined at the time, but now she felt like she didn’t have many options. Not even Mama Murphy’s vision offered her the insight she’d hoped for.

“So, Blue,” Piper announced as she returned from upstairs with a notepad in one hand and two Nuka Cola bottles in the other.  She handed one of them to Preston and the other to Charlie. “I’m really glad you decided to stop by.  I know I was a little pushy at the gate.  I just—”

“You actually care about this stuff, don’t you,” Charlie asked with a smile, opening her Nuka Cola and sticking the cap in her pocket.

“Somebody has to,” Piper answered, “People go missing all the time in Diamond City, the Commonwealth, and everyone just turns a blind eye.  I’m hoping that your story will wake them up.”

“Well,” Charlie began, interrupting herself to take a drink, “What do you want to know?”

Charlie spent the next hour or so answering Piper’s questions, starting with the basic items that most Commonwealth inhabitants would want to know about a vault-dweller.  Unfortunately, Charlie couldn’t provide those answers, as she had never dwelled in a vault.  She’d lived in a house, spent two-hundred plus years as a popsicle, and woke up in an irradiated wasteland.  Of course, Piper found that response to be even more intriguing, and she’d pressed Charlie for information about what it was like before the war, what happened to her family, why she was in Diamond City, and ultimately if she believed the Institute was involved.

Finally, she’d asked Charlie to leave the readers with some words of wisdom, something she did not feel particularly equipped to do.  She glanced up and over at Preston, whose eyes were already on her.  He’d been listening quietly to the interview the entire time, heard her talk about her life before the war in details she’d yet to give to him.  She’d talked about how much better everything was before the bombs fell, how she’d give anything to go back.  She’d been honest, but as she saw his somber expression, the furrow in his brow, she wished she’d shared those truths with him more gently.

“If there’s anything I think the people of the Commonwealth should know,” Charlie said, letting her eyes linger on Preston before turning back to Piper, “It’s that they shouldn’t give up hope.  When I watched those bombs drop, I just knew that it was the end of the world, and to wake up and see that people are still out here not only surviving, but rebuilding, and trying to make the Commonwealth a better place… it’s pretty inspiring.  It gives me hope in humanity.”

It was dark by the time Charlie and Preston stepped back out into the marketplace, sent away by Piper with new information.  Admitting that she had nothing but hunches about the abductions, she told them that they should seek out some private detective named Nick Valentine, who had an office in the city.  Charlie tried not to get her hopes up at the mention of the “tacky little neon heart signs” above his office door.  As right as Mama Murphy typically was, Charlie preferred to expect the worst these days, so that when she was wrong, it was a pleasant surprise rather than devastation.

Though the sun had set, Diamond City still bustled with life, citizens buzzing around, chatting with one another, and making purchases at the vendors set up in the square.  It was a collage of juxtaposed pieces of rusted metal and wood built in the middle of the field and grafted up into the stands, an impressive feat of human ingenuity and creativity decorated with neon lights.  Charlie admired that the human race had found ways to press on in the face of destruction.  She was less excited about the prospect of attempting to find Mr. Valentine’s office in all the chaos, of pushing past and around people who’d been rude to her just hours earlier.   She’d never been prone to claustrophobia before her time in the vault, and yet panic seized her gut and grappled with her chest at the thought.

“Charlie,” Preston asked, voice a thousand miles away as he lay a hand on her shoulder, “You good?”

He wore the expression of someone who’d spent enough time fighting his own demons to realize that she needed a hand with hers, and Charlie nodded in response. “Yeah.  I am now.”

With her newfound sense of clarity she moved to take a step out into the square, toward the far corner where she could see a path to some alleyways that circled the market. Preston’s hand slid from her shoulder only to catch her hand and stop her in her tracks.  Surprised, she snapped around to look at him, unsure what to make of the gesture.

“What,” she asked, looking around to make sure she hadn’t overlooked something obvious, like a mutant hound standing in the middle of the ballpark, ferals pouring out of windows, or even one of those annoying eyebots that blared advertisements for companies that no longer existed. After all, Charlie had already bumped face first into one of those things because she wasn’t paying attention. Maybe Preston was just trying to save her another bout of bruised ego and busted lip.

“Where are you going,” he asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

“To find this Valentine person,” she answered excitedly, tugging at his hand that still held onto hers, “C’mon.”

Preston shook his head and laughed quietly. “I know you’re itching to talk to the guy, but it’s getting late.  I’m sure his office is closed by now.”

“Oh,” she replied, bringing up her PipBoy to check the time and feeling rather ridiculous when it said 20:00, “Right.”

“Besides, it’s been a really long day,” he said, “I think we could both stand to take the night off.”

The prospect of an evening in the city with Preston, free of her commitments for just a few hours, enticed her more than she was willing to vocally admit, and instead she replied with a sigh and, “That’s fair.”

“So,” he began after a moment, a smile forming on his lips as he gave her hand a squeeze before letting go.  “You hungry?”

“Depends,” she answered, nudging him with her shoulder, “Is there something to eat besides grilled radroach?”

He laughed. “Definitely.”

“Then, I’m starving.”

---

It wasn’t long after her return from Corvega that Charlie had approached Preston about her wish to visit Diamond City, the “great jewel of the Commonwealth,” as the wastelanders sometimes called it.  He had offered to accompany her without hesitation— as soon as her leg healed up, of course.  At the time, she’d wondered if his offer was simply a way to keep an eye on her, to make sure his newly-appointed General didn’t croak in her first month on the job.  Now, as she walked around with him in the city, watching his face light up with genuine excitement for the first time since she’d met him, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had other motivations for joining her.

Their search for a decent meal led them to a vendor in the middle of the marketplace, aptly called “Power Noodles,” and operated by a slightly unorthodox protectron chef named Takahashi.  It took several clumsy attempts to order the only thing on the menu, and Takahashi served them what turned out to be honest-to-goodness ramen noodles.  Charlie nearly wept at the sight, taste, and smell of real actual food that wasn’t questionably past its expiration date or harvested from directly irradiated flora and fauna.  She never appreciated artificial flavorings and monosodium glutamate enough before the war, and she was unashamed to purchase several packets to take with her for later.

It was Preston who had stood up first, paying the chef for both of their meals, and placing his hat back on his head before turning to Charlie.  He extended a hand to her, and she glanced awkwardly between it and his face several times before she realized he intended to help her down and took it.  If the nuclear fallout hadn’t killed chivalry, nothing could.

She still had not let go of his hand, even as they finished perusing the vendors in the square.  She’d managed to purchase a change of clothes, some worn jeans and a flannel shirt that actually fit, as well as a handful of bobby pins, some stale bubble gum, and a supersized bottle of Wonder Glue for Sturges.  Preston didn’t buy anything for himself, but Charlie caught random glimpses of him laughing and shaking his head at her as she tried to haggle down the merchants, with little success.  Once, their eyes met, and the same heat she’d previously attributed to whiskey rose to her face.

She shook it away as she trailed behind him, through clusters of city dwellers and toward a clearing near the city gates.  She could no longer deny the uncomfortable, burgeoning affection she felt for her companion.  She could, however, pretend it didn’t exist, lock it up in her chest and place it on the mental shelf right next to the bottle which held her oceans of grief.  It wasn’t exactly the healthiest way for her to handle her emotions, she knew, but it was the only one where they did not consume her.

When Charlie finally escaped her thoughts, she noticed that Preston had slowed his pace to a halt, and was now gazing up at the rows and rows of empty seats in the stands.  For someone who claimed to have passed through Diamond City several times in his life, he sure acted like some wonderstruck tourist seeing it for the first time.

“In all the times I passed through here, I never really realized just how many seats there are,” Preston mused before turning to Charlie. “I sometimes try to picture what things looked like before the bombs destroyed it all, but… so many people in one place at the same time.  It’s hard to imagine.”

“To be honest I never really understood it either,” Charlie admitted,” Back then, I had this idea that places like this, where enormous amounts of money were spent so that America could watch grown men hit tiny balls with wooden sticks, were a waste.”

“It does sound kind of ridiculous when you put it that way.”

“I’m glad it’s here, though,” she said, blinking up at the remnants of a scoreboard, “It looks like it’s given lots of people a safe place to live.”

Preston smiled, but only briefly, and sighed as the wistfulness faded from his face. “It’s good to know there’s at least one thing that’s gotten better since your time.”

He didn’t mean for his words to cut her, and they didn’t at first, not until she processed the fact that he’d alluded to her earlier conversation with Piper.  Boy did they ever smart after it clicked.  She fumbled around in her head looking for some balm of a response.

“Listen, I—” she began, but was interrupted as something slammed into her shoulder and knocked her into Preston.  

The man who smacked into her was tall and stocky, dressed in the black uniform and baseball helmet all of the other DC Security Guards wore.  He looked back, and glared at the both of them.  “Stop standing in the middle of the fucking street, you goddamn hicks.”

“Hick” was an insult Charlie hadn’t expected to still be in use in the 23rd Century, and she puffed up, preparing the most artfully profane comeback she could think of; however the man continued to stomp away, and before she could yell after him another guard approached, stopping when he was shoulder to shoulder with Charlie.  

“Don’t mind him,” the guard said, pushing his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose.  The next time he spoke, his voice was loud enough that the other guard could hear him.  “Ralph had to dump his girl last night ‘cause she left the cap on her toothpaste.”

“Who does that?” Ralph called back, voice audibly strained with betrayal, “A synth! That’s who.”

“Or just your regular old run of the mill psychopath,” the guard beside Charlie muttered.

“I keep the cap on my tooth paste,” Charlie chimed in with a shrug.

“Me too,” echoed Preston.

The man scoffed and waved his hand dismissively at them, “Weirdos.”'  

“What the hell just happened,” Charlie asked as she watched the unusual security officer walk away and then glanced over at Preston.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he replied.

There was a beat of silence in which he glanced around the area, then brought his gaze back to her, amusement bright in his eyes and apparent in the dimples that formed in his cheeks.  Before Charlie could conjure up anything to say, he erupted into a fit of laughter unlike anything she’d heard from her stoic lieutenant yet.  It wasn’t the polite chuckle he offered to Mama Murphy when she teased or flirted with him, nor was it the snort he’d sometimes let out when Sturges made an off-color joke that he knew he shouldn’t find funny.  It was real, genuine laughter, and it was enchanting as hell.  

Charlie slipped easily into the contagion, laughter bubbling up past the wall of anxiety that had taken up permanent residence in her chest.  For just those few moments, as they stood giggling like children surrounded by famous green walls and so many neon lights, she felt something more than empty.  When the laughter finally subsided, it was Preston who spoke first, a smile still painted on his face.

“Man,” he said looking down at the ground and kicking at the dirt, “I can’t even remember the last time I had this much fun.”

“And to think it’s all because of a toothpaste cap,” she joked, tilting her head.

“No.” Preston shook his head and looked up at her. “I mean, that was kind of hilarious, but I’m talking about this whole night… hanging out with you.  I needed this.”

“So did I,” she replied, reaching for his hand almost unconsciously, “We should do it more often.”

He glanced thoughtfully between her eyes and extended hand before taking it, allowing their fingers to lace. A grin spread across his face. “Yeah?”

Charlie smiled and nodded, embracing the fondness swelling in her chest. “Yeah.”

After a few seconds Preston cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s, uh, it’s getting pretty late isn’t it?”

Charlie checked the clock on her PipBoy, reading the time aloud. “23:57.”

He blinked a few times, clearly surprised. “Well, damn.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, huh,” she teased, releasing his hand and bumping his shoulder with hers.

“I guess it does,” he sighed, “We should probably start looking for somewhere to sleep for the night.”

Charlie opened her mouth to ask if there were any hotels in town, and realized she had no idea if hotels existed anymore.  Bringing her hand to her face, she sighed and mumbled into her palm. “God, I don’t even know if you mean rooms with beds or a suitably clean spot on the ground where we can use our jackets as pillows.”

A warm pressure fell on her middle back, Preston’s hand, and she looked up and over at him.  “I mean rooms with beds,” he reassured her, “And, come to think of it, I might actually know a place.”

---

As it turned out, inns still existed in 2287.  The place Preston knew of turned out to be a sizable bar and inn constructed in the ruins of one of the old team dugouts, aptly named “The Dugout Inn.”  The lighting was low and comfortable, some slow jazz from the 1950s hummed over the radio as patrons sat on couches and at tables nursing bottles of pale ale or sipping whiskey as they chatted.  Charlie could have gotten used to a place like that.

On the radio, the bumbling mess she’d come to know as Travis tried and failed to tell a joke about mutfruit.  At her side, Preston snorted out a laugh and rolled his eyes.  Several of the Inn’s customers booed and called for someone to change the station.  

“Change station,” asked the man standing behind the bar with a hearty laugh and an inexplicable Slavic accent.  He looked to be in his forties, balding and dressed in a flannel shirt and denim jacket with a fur-lined collar. “Change to what exactly? Cambridge Police station? Boring classical bullshit stati—”

“Vadim,” hissed another inexplicably Slavic man as he turned the dial on the radio until some concerta-symphony-thing started playing.  He looked identical to the bartender, only he wore a dirty grey suit and a scowl instead.

“What, brother?  They make stupid suggestions,” Vadim said and shook his head, waiting until his brother walked past him and down the hallway before grabbing the radio and turning it back to Travis and his Diamond City station.  

Sixty Minute Man  poured through the speakers, and Charlie brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle a chuckle at the irony.  When she looked up, Vadim appeared to have locked eyes with Preston, his already wide grin stretching even further across his face as he waved and shouted, “Preston Garvey, old friend, is that you?”

Preston glanced at Charlie as if he was gauging her reaction, and then looked back at Vadim, mirroring the delighted expression.  “The one and only.”

He made his way toward the bar, and Charlie tailed closely behind.  As they approached Vadim pointed a thumb to the radio. He’d clearly connected the same dots as she had. “What is the old American saying? Speak of the Devil?”

Easing down onto one of the stools, taking his hat off, and setting it on the bar, Preston answered. “I tell you, we could use some of that Lovin’ Dan’ energy right now, Vadim.”

“You will be first to know if I find some,” Vadim chuckled, but his expression fell, eyebrows pressing together in concern. “It is good to see you.  I heard rumors about Quincy… I was worried.”

“Yeah, it got pretty bad,” Preston admitted somberly, looking down, then another sidelong glance at Charlie before he returned his attention to the man behind the bar, “But things are starting to look up now.”

“This is good news,” Vadim, bringing his eyes up to examine Charlie casually, “It could not possibly have to do with this lady friend of yours, could it?”

She flinched, shaking her head more quickly than she needed to and giving a dismissive hand wave.  She wasn’t his “lady friend,” and she certainly had nothing to do with turning his outlook around.  Hell, all she’d done was stumble into a museum half out of her mind.  Things were looking up for Preston because he was no longer running for his life, the lone shield between the dangers of the Commonwealth and the settlers he was charged to protect. Things were looking up because the Minutemen were back in business.

She opened her mouth to decline the undeserved credit, when Preston turned back to her, nearly beaming, and said, “It may have something to do with her.”

Vadim’s brows shot up in amusement. “Oh ho?”

Charlie rolled her eyes playfully, pretending her face wasn’t on fire, and moved to sit on the stool next to Preston, leaning her elbows on the table. “Preston likes to put me on a pedestal because I was in the right place at the right time.”

“And Charlie likes to pretend she didn’t throw a grenade down a deathclaw’s throat,” Preston corrected, giving her a nudge with his elbow.

“So the lady’s name is Charlie?” asked Vadim.

She nodded. “Charlie Smart. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same to you!  Any friend of Garvey’s is a friend of mine.”

“Just don’t let him talk you into trying any of that moonshine of his,” Preston warned, smirking, “That shit’ll make you forget your own name.”

“What? No,” Vadim feigned offense, “ Only side effect of Bobrov Brothers’ Moonshine is growing of hair on strong, feminine chest.”

Charlie laughed at the exchange, even as her thoughts drifted to moonshine and memories of home. It was an Appalachian staple after all, a relic of the farce that Prohibition had been.  Folks in the mountains brewed hooch in five gallon stills far away from the prying eyes of “The Man,” and the practice had never stopped.  Growing up, Charlie’s next door neighbors had a still in their basement, and they’d occasionally deliver mason jars of moonshine-infused peaches and cherries. She had blurry memories of sneaking the cherries from the cupboard when she was fifteen or sixteen, and taking them to Nate’s house just down the road. His parents were never home, and no one cared if they consumed an entire jar.

Shaking herself out of forever ago memories, she glanced from Vadim to Preston, then back, and smiled. “As much as I’d love to forget my own name... among other things, we’re just here for rooms tonight.”

“Have it your way,” he replied with a shrug, as he reached below the counter and pulled up a clipboard that held a single, indescribably stained sheet of paper that appeared to serve as the inn’s guest book.  Scanning the page, Vadim winced and looked back up at Charlie.

“Let me guess,” she remarked dryly, “There aren’t any open rooms.”

“No, no,” Vadim corrected her, “We have room.  A room.”

Charlie blinked a few times, realization of the predicament dawning on her.  Under typical circumstances, she wouldn’t have batted a single eyelash at the thought of sharing a room with someone as harmless as Preston.  Especially considering the fact that they’d slept near one another on multiple occasions on the road and their first few nights in Sanctuary.  She shouldn’t have even thought twice about it, and yet there she stood with nothing but a blank expression and a head full of second thoughts.  

“That’s fine,” Preston piped up nonchalantly, as if it were nothing.  Maybe it was. “How much?”

“For you and lady friend,” Vadim answered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, “On the house.”

“You sure,” Preston asked, tilting his head, oblivious to the other man’s gestures.  Vadim’s brother could be heard cursing and scoffing about Vadim’s penchant for charity, and Preston continued. “We don’t care to pay.”

“Nonsense!” Vadim bent down under the counter and rose back up with a rusty key dangling from a keychain that was shaped like a Nuka Cola bottle, “Here.  You’re in room at far end of hall.  Try not to disturb our other guests.”

Another suggestion that her companion failed to notice as he took the key, put his hat on and said, “Thanks, man.”  Clearly, Preston had never spent hours consuming hundreds of pages of tropey romance literature in his early twenties as Charlie had.

As they made their way down the hall and toward their room, Preston chuckled and started to shake his head characteristically. “Vadim totally thinks we’re sleeping together.”

A wave of relief washed over her.  “Thank God.”

“What,” he asked matter-of-factly, stopping in front of the door marked with the number five at the end of the hall and fiddling with the key and lock, “Did you think I didn’t notice?”

She shrugged and scrunched her nose. “Maybe.” “Miss Charlotte,” he exclaimed, imitating Codsworth in faux-offense as he twisted the knob, pushed open the door, and turned back to her with a smile, “I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night.”

A smirk tugged at one of Charlie’s cheeks, and she rolled her eyes, taking a step into the room. “Does it not embarrass you that your bartender buddy thinks we’re going to get it on in—” she flipped on the light and looked around the space provided for them— “this sad, dusty little room?”

“This is actually pretty nice compared to other places I’ve stayed.” Preston closed the door, locked it, and tucked the key into one of his duster pockets. “There aren’t even any radroaches.”

Charlie grimaced and moved to sit down on the edge of the sheetless bed, then flicked her eyes up to him. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how you expertly evaded my question.”

He sighed and flopped down on the patchy brown sofa that was directly across the room from the bed.  “No,” he said as he took off his hat yet again, reaching over to place it on an end table. It was amazing how the Bobrov brothers managed to squeeze so much furniture into a room that was hardly bigger than a shoebox.

“No?”

“It doesn’t embarrass me,” Preston explained matter-of-factly, gaze dancing around the room before settling on Charlie, “Does it embarrass you?”

“No,” she lied, “I mean… why would it? We’re two, grown-ass, consenting adults, and if that’s what we were doing here—  which it obviously isn’t— there would be nothing to be ashamed of.”

The room was quiet as he took a moment to raise his eyebrows and blink at her before letting out a quiet chuckle.  “Whatever you say, General. ”

They readied themselves for bed in a comfortable silence, with the exception of the rustling of fabric as boots and coats slipped off.  Without his ridiculous-- yet oddly appropriate-- period attire, Preston looked so normal , like someone she might have stood in line behind in the Super Duper Mart, someone who did normal things like laundry and family dinners. He deserved a life like that, she thought. If anyone had no business living in Hell, it was Preston Garvey.

“Something wrong,” he asked when he caught her mid stare.

She shook her head. “Uh… no. Well, not really.”

He didn’t respond, except to give her a knowing look.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, looking down at the floorboards.

“For what?”

“The things I said during the interview with Piper.” She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I got carried away talking about my old life, and I didn’t consider how it would sound for the General of the Minutemen to talk shit about the Commonwealth we’re supposed to be saving.”

Preston laughed humorlessly. “The Commonwealth is shit, Charlie.  That’s just honest.”

“Yeah, but—”

“And if I’d had your life… well, I think I’d miss it, too,” he interjected as he stood up and sat down beside her on the bed, “Hell, I sometimes look around and wonder what is even the point.  Why am I fighting for this place?”

Charlie lay her hand over his where it rested on his knee.  He looked down at their hands, and then turned his palm up so that their fingers could interlock.  Without its glove, his hand was warm and softer than she expected it to be.  She caught the gold flare of her wedding band, and hot tears brimmed in her eyes.  She couldn’t figure out whether the emotion was grief or guilt, and she refused to think more about it.

Clearing her throat as if it would force her feelings away, she said, “That’s why I apologized.  I don’t want you to doubt that what you’ve done, what you do, matters.”

“Trust me, I was doubting that before you showed up,” he admitted, absently tracing her thumb with his while he talked, “You don’t owe me an apology.”

“Preston—”

“You don’t,” he repeated more firmly, “I wasn’t just kidding around with Vadim out there.  Things really have started looking up because of you.”

“I…” She began but faltered, unable to tell if his words were just a compliment or more than that.  It sure felt like more than that, sitting on a bed in a dimly lit hotel room and holding hands after an evening of eating and shopping and talking that was uncomfortably close to a date when she thought about it.  She pulled her hand away from Preston to rest on her own lap,  trying not to think too much about the hurt look it left on his face.

“You blow up one deathclaw,” she deflected, “And suddenly you’re a superhero.”

“Yeah,” he said, sighing and standing up.  He smirked and then pointed toward the headboard of the bed. “Now, hand me one of those pillows, Grognak.”

---

Charlie awoke the next morning to a pounding chest, tears streaming down her face.  She rarely dreamed, but when she did it was always a nightmare that she could barely remember as soon as she opened her eyes.  Flashes of Nate, Shaun, the bombs, her conscious moments in the cryochamber, her past was a phantom limb, aching where she could no longer reach.

She didn’t actually remember falling asleep.  After her less than comfortable moment with Preston, he’d taken one of the pillows and gone to lay on the couch while she curled up on the bed, wondering how it was that the Bobrovs ran an inn without blankets for their guests.  They’d stayed up for sometime afterward, talking about innocuous things like comic books, music, and everything else but the elephant in the room. She figured she must have dozed off sometime before they got back to the elephant again.

Yawning and stretching, she sat up and looked over toward the couch where Preston still dozed, his breath slow and heavy.  She’d never seen him asleep before, always in bed before and up after him.  She’d begun to question whether he actually slept at all.  Now she knew, and she refused to disturb him.

That did not mean she would wait a minute longer to head to find Nick Valentine’s office. As quietly as she could, she pulled on her jacket and boots, fastened her PipBoy to her wrist, and slipped out of the room.  Were they in a pre-war inn, she would have left Preston a note on one of those little stationery pads where the paper was decorated with the company’s logo.  Gone to see a guy about a baby .  Unfortunately they weren’t at a Motel 7, and there wasn’t anyone at the bar with whom she could leave a message about her whereabouts.  She would have to trust his ability to connect the dots.

Stepping out of the Dugout, she squinted her eyes in the sunlight, bringing a hand up to her forehead to serve as a visor while she glanced around.  Still clueless as to where that damn detective agency was located.  It was well hidden for an office that was supposed to have more than one glowing neon sign pointing toward it.  Frustrated, she let out a huff, moving to walk down one of the nearby alleyways, and instead bumped directly into a suit of Diamond City security riot gear.

“Shit. Sorry,” she muttered, as the officer turned around slowly.  “Oh, it’s you.”

The guard from the night before, Ralph’s friend, who’d worn sunglasses instead of a helmet, stood in front of her, an amused smirk twitching at his lips.  “We’ve got to stop bumping into each other like this.”

“Mhmm,” she said dismissively as she continued to scan the area before looking up at him, “Say, maybe you could help me.”

“What? Did you lose your friend,” he asked, words thick with sarcasm, “Don’t worry, he’s the only person in DC dressed like an American Revolution action figure. He shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“What? No,” she replied, shaking her head, “He’s not lost, just sleeping.”

“Then what do you need,” he urged, “I’m kind of busy here.”

Taking a deep, centering breath, she placed her hands on her hips and answered. “I’m looking for Valentine’s Detective Agency.”

The guard raised his eyebrows and pointed out toward the market. “Nick’s place is directly across the market. There’s neon signs.  You can’t miss it.”

Charlie followed the line of his arm, mentally charting out a path through the city.  She turned around to thank the unusual guard only to see that he had vanished.

“Weirdo,” she mumbled, and trudged out into the square.

[evisamora]

Since the trailer of She-Ra season 4 came out, I have a lot of questions and predictions about what will happen next.

1. I want to starts with Entrapta.

In the end of season 3, Catra send her on beast island. We don’t see her in the trailer, but she is still the in opening intro. so Entrapta is ALIVE. This is not a surprise for everyone, but I wanted to say it.

Entrapta will be on beast island and who do you think is on this island? Micah. I am at 210% Micah is there, and who send him there? Shadow Weaver. I wouldn’t be surprise that Shadow Weaver saved Michah’s life.

Anyway, we will learn about Entrapta and Micah during the mid-season and they will make a comeback at the end of the season.

I am so excited for this story because don’t get me wrong, but if there’s someone who can escape Beast Island it’s Entrapta, and she will have help of Micah. Plus Shadow Weaver said it, Entrapta is the only one who can combine Magic and Technology.

2. Mara

So, there’s a lot of theory about Mara and I think the one we all agree is that she is still alive.

The first theory is that she is in a dimension, like Angella, and she is stuck there.

Actually, I have difficulties with this one, since she has recorded the message after crashing and we heard people coming for her. Except is she opened the last portal where Hordak get Adora.

The other theory is that she is on beast island, which it can be interesting too and make a nice story with Entrapta and Micah.

Another theory is that Madam Razz is Mara in a costume, and she try in her best to train Adora and guide Adora. Which it could be really nice too.

One theory is that Mara is actually dead, and it was really a perfect world where Adora was not She-Ra. Since she struggles a lot being She-Ra and wish, in a way, to have control in her destiny.

Last theory about Mara is that she is kept by Light Hope in a prison, in the temple where Adora train.

I am pretty sure we will have more keys about Mara, but I wouldn’t be surprise that she will show herself only at the end of the season or at the beginning of the last season.

3. Glimmer

I think Glimmer will be one of the character the most interesting this season and everyone is excited to see it.

Glimmer will leave big change in her life and I the "dead" of Angella. She will feel alone and will push people away, mostly Adora and Bow.

The only person she will allow will be Shadow Weaver, and god no one wants to be close to her. *except me, spank me mama* Shadow Weaver will bring the idea of vengence in Glimmer’s head. I mean, she doesn’t need Shadow Weaver for that, but she won’t help either.

I think Glimmer will be in a depression, that we will call the "Dark side" and at some pount she will cross a line and bring her back in track.

The line she will cross?

I won’t be surprise she will try to hurt Catra and Adora will protect Catra, and Glimmer and Adora will have a huge fight about that. And this could happen mid-season or the end of season 4.

I won’t be surprise either that she will try to banish Entrapta and Bow will protect Entrapta and boom bug fight between these two.

Don’t get me wrong, but if glimmer is going to the dark side will learn the hard way and she will need to cross a line to know what she is doing it’s not ok.

I am really excited to see what will happen. Btw, her new design is so sexy.

4. Catra

Catra is sexier than never. Top me, top me, top me.

Catra will take over Hordak and we already saw it in the sneak peek. Which many of us preddicted.

Catra will love to be in control, but don’t get me wrong I feel she will hit the rock bottom soon more than never.

I feel like Scorpia will play a huge part in this, plus Double Trouble and Horde Prime.

We all know that the redemption arc is closer than never. Is it at the end of season 4? Is it at the beginning of season 5? Is she going to change camp at the end of the last season during the final battle?

Catra has so many possibilities and this is awesome. I really wish it will be end of season 4, where she will start to see what she is doing is bad, but I feel it won’t be.

Is Catra a princess? We know that now she has the same hair that we saw in season 1 episode 12 with Light Hope. BUT is she a magicat princess or it’s because she will be at the head of the Horde and being considered as a princess to fight against Horde Prime? That is really more and more interesting.

I would like to see Catra being captured by the Rebellion and seeing Scorpia with them and going crazy. Anyway, Catra will need a good kick in the ass, but more she gain power more we are close to see her fall and get her redemption fam.

5. Double Trouble

Our new nonbinary character is finally here and god I already love them.

Are they going to be a brat? Yes they will. Are they good or villain? That is an interesting question, since in the old She-Ra they are Glimmer’s cousin and work has a double agent. I wouldn’t be surprise that they are a double agent again but for Horde Prime this time. But we saw them in the Prom episode and I don’t think it was an accident. So they might be a double agent again, but Glimmer doesn’t even know they are.

Maybe they are a new Scorpia love interest? I would love to see that happen. Im sorry for Scortra fan, but in my opinion Scorpia deserves better and deserves someone who will love her as much as she loves.

This character will be really interesting, and I can’t wait to see them.

6. Scorpia

We already know that Scorpia will have an episode about her and I can’t wait to see her stand for herself and kick Catra’s ass.

God, I’ll be honest with you everyone, I am waiting for this moment since season 1. I love Scorpia and I think she will be a great leader. At the end, I want to see her at the head of the Horde and bring peace in this place.

I don’t know what will happen with Scorpia tbh. I feel like she will leave the Horde because Etheria will be more important than Catra happiness. I feel she will bring people with her too, like Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio and maybe Double Trouble will be the reason of it.

I think it will be a difficult journey for Scorpia but she will finaly find herself and being stronger than never.

If Scortra has to happen, I guess it will be at the very end, because a little like catradora, they need to separe themselve because Catra is in a toxic mode.

7. Bow

Tbh, I have no clue about Bow this season, but I am a little worried about him.

I would like to see him being less a people pleaser and stabd for himself too. NO ONE CARES BOW! BE YOURSELF, WE LOVE YOU THE WAY YOU ARE.

I feel that Glimmer and him will be really difficult this season, but they will find a way. I know they will.

But I feel like the fight about Glimmer wanting to hurt someone and Bow trying to convince her that they are the "good guys" will come back during the season.

I think he will be really important and I can’t wait to see the direction his character will take.

8. Adora

My favorite dumb lesbian.

Since the story turns around her, again she will be the key elements.

I feel Adora will struggle to see Glimmer being bad, Catra being bad and the story with Mara and Etheria.

Adora has to live with the idea that Angella sacrifice her life to save everyone when it was her job. Does it can create a cold between Glimmer and her? Probably.

She will go through a lot of pressure and won’t know what is good and what is bad anymore.

I feel Adora will learn, and she already seeing it, that there’s no balck and white, but more greys areas.

I would like to see Scorpia join the Rebellion and Adora and Scorpia becoming friend. I would like to see them struggle together about seeing their friends becoming more and more villains. Adora will have difficulties to let Glimmer go more than Catra because I feel she doesn’t want to make the same mistake she did with Catra. Or it could awake new feelings about Catra, and see what her mistake was.

Is infected She-Ra will be here again? I hope so.

9. The Rebellion

I really feel that Glimmer going crazy will create problem in the Princess Alliance.

I think it will struggle to get stick together, but Adora and Bow will do their best to keep them together.

I could see Glimmer canceling the Alliance too tbh.

I know at the end they will be back together.

I hope we will see more about Sea Hawk this season because I really missed my boy.

10. Hordak

Hordak lost his queen, and now will lose his position at the head of the Horde.

I feel Catra will keep him around until she doesn’t need him anymore.

He will be lost in his head and I feel he will have like an existencial crisis.

I could see him going back at the head when Horde Prime arrives.

I can see him leaving and going after Entrapta.

I can see him going feral after learning that Catra lied and take back his place to the Horde.

One thing is sure, it’s that he still wants to prove himself to Horde Prime, so I won’t be surprise that he will fight his place until he will be able to.

I wish, my boi will get his anti heros redemption and join the rebellion to fight Horde Prime.

I want to see him and Entrapta reunited, but I won’t be surprise that Entrapta will try to come back to him and he will push her away thinking she betrayed him.

ANYWAYS,

I feel like Shadow Weaver will be important in Glimmer’s dark side.

I wish that Shadow Weaver and Catra will find peace between each other, not for Shadow Weaver, but more for Catra to be in peace with herself and love herself better.

Plus, this season seems really huge and I am really excited because everything can change and alot might change too.

I am not ready, and we are going close to the end and I hate that. I wish they will give us more episodes than 50, because I really need more. I love this show so much and The Crew is doing a great job and continue to slap us in the face so many times.

We all thought that season 3 was our mental breakdowns, I feel that we are going to cry a lot in season 4.

Don’t forget november 5th.

I will tag she ra spoilers and season 4 on my tags.

[devotedlydeepeststrawberry]

Sooouu, I started this by wanting to explain why Rise!Leo wouldn't be a good leader right now and I kinda ended up explaining where I would take the story if I wrote it. Anyway I'm a bad writer and English is not my main language so if anybody gets inspired by any of this and decides to write a fan-fiction from it, be my guest (and please link it).

First of let's start with my initial why Leo wouldn't be a good leader. Even though he has a great gut feeling (I think he was wrong only one time in the first season), is relatively good at planing, is able to motivate his brothers with his speeches and his brothers do listen to him sometimes he lacks responsibility and confidence.

Different to Donnie, who is awesome at one specific thing and seeks recognition for it, Leo does not have a specific thing he is good at. Instead he seeks recognition in medals and competitions, he is boasting about his wins because they are the only thing he has going for him and nobody else is praising him for anything, even when he is right or saves somebody. This lead to Leo thinking he is not good enough on his own, even tough he proved otherwise in Bug Busters where he was alone in Big Mama's Hotel and was still able to save his brothers. The first thing he did in Portal Jacked when his brother were lost was to go to Señior Hueso for help(sorry for misspelling his name), in Flushed but Never Forgotten he went to his father for help. Unless he can't help it, he makes sure that he is never alone in a situation that might go south because he lacks the confidence to use the skills he has.

The second point is the fact that he isn't responsible enough to be a leader. He tries to avoid responsibility for his actions every chance he gets. That's why this Leo doesn't want to be leader because he knows that he would be responsible not only for himself but also for his brothers. And that ties in with his lack of confidence. However, in Flushed but Never Forgotten, when his family was in danger he threw away his reason, went after them without a plan and took on full responsibility for the plan while being ready to be the only one to take punishment, sacrificing himself. Meaning he is only ready to take responsibility in dire situations.

On the other hand Raph, being the oldest, is used to care and be responsible for his brothers, but he cares too much. He didn't want to let Mikey go on a mission alone, his plan for better teamwork only worked because his brothers pitied him and when Donnie put their family in danger with his gifts Raph didn't want to hurt Donnie's feelings. This are things a big brother would do, not a leader. As it is right now both Raph and Leo are bad leaders, the former for caring too much and the latter for not wanting to be one.

And this where I explain where I would take the story so Leo can become a leader.

First off, Leo needs to get confidence and more leadership skills. But where would he get that? Of course by being away from his family and meeting new people. But, where?

Currently, we know three places where he can go do that:

human world(with the thing that turns yokai's into human)

The Mystic City

Battle Nexus

The human world is more for Donnie. He already has a group he fights against (Purple Dragons), and is more interested in normal school than his brothers. Aside from that, Donnie has the brains to recreate the thing that could turn them human plus he would greatly benefit from being a human. Donnie's main issues are his constant need for praise and his lack of understanding other people's feelings. For him meeting teachers who praise him and people who have the same intellect as him would do wonders on his mood. Of course he would also need to handle bullies and realize that in the real world team work and communication is really important. Plus you won't be able to choose who you work with, you need to be able to compromise and understand the other persons strengths and weaknesses, that also means putting other people before himself. Donnie also needs to understand that, as much as hates being sociable, everybody can be useful so he needs to make a lot of connection, even with people dumber than him and he is not allowed to insult them. Leo would be there to tell him that, but Donnie wouldn't listen to him until he is in a great pinch. In the end he realizes that Leo was right, but never tells him that and his live improves greatly.

Leo is a sociable person. He would be quick to make new friends and maybe be relatively popular. He wouldn't benefit at all from going to a human school.

The Mystic City is not a challenge for Leo. Aside from Draxum, there aren't really dangers he would need to face there. The last time he was there, he survived without his sword in the bad part of the city. He did have Hueso with him but why would Leo go there alone in the first place? Leo also doesn't have good mystic powers, but do you know who does? Mikey. From what we have seen of Mikey, he is friendly and creative. Mikey would thrive in the Mystic City, find friends, be creative and maybe even learn a thing or two to impress his older brothers. For why he would go there, he would want to prove himself to Raph. He is not just a baby anymore, he can survive without him breathing down Mikey's neck. Leo would be supportive, give Mikey some advice on pirates and bad places, maybe ask Hueso to help Mikey discreetly. It would work out in the end. Leo would be right once again. Raph wouldn't like all of this one bit.

Now to the Battle Nexus. I really thought that this would be the perfect place for Leo. Being a champion is an easy bait for him, but Leo isn't dumb. He wouldn't trust Big Mama and would not easily fall into her trap. Besides the Battle Nexus is one against one, not for teams and why would Big Mama want Leo there in the first place. No. She would want somebody strong, feral, somebody like Raph. Give Raph some cutesy stuff and the trap is laid. So we have a Raph that is totally alone in the Battle Nexus for days while fighting big scary mutants and yokai. He would go crazy, and wouldn't find a way out. Cue, the other three trying to save him with Leo's plan. It fails, miserably. For the first time in Leo's life he was actually wrong at something and it could have cost his brothers lives, it was all his fault. And this time it wasn't a lesson by his father. He needed to plead Raph to calm down while protecting his other two brothers. Raph listens to Leo's pleading and calms down after a while, but in Leo's eyes Raph didn't calm down because of him but out of his own strength, since, after this, Raph learnt how to control his feral side and was able to save all four of them all on his own.

All of Leo's brothers overcame their weaknesses. They became better ninjas. Leaving Leo the only one who hasn't changed. He was still bad with his mystic powers, and the medals he earned were worth nothing.

So how would Leo grow? Simple, just like all the Leos before him. He gets to fight the same enemy as them but in a different way. There was a shot in the episode Shadow of Evil(around the 18 minute mark, can't screen shot it now) where Draxum creates a rift. On one side of it are three turtles and Splinter and on the other side, The Foot and Leo. All of them look surprised at where Draxum is. Now, this could be as to create a balance in the scene or for foreshadowing. I will choose the latter for my story.

As we know Draxum and the Foot soldiers are not on the best terms. There will be betrayal and fights in their future. However Draxum became too powerful for two soldiers to defeat, so they steal the finished armor but they don't wear it. Fast Forward to turtles plus April plus Splinter vs Draxum. Turtle family loses and the only one to escape is Leo. Leo has show to go to drastic measures for his family and is ready to accept help because he is too scared to fight alone. Enter The Foot Brute and Lieutenant with the finished armor. They tell him about how the armor grands wishes and could give Leo the power to save his family. His gut tells him that this is a bad idea but his gut was wrong before, and this was the only way to save his family. He accepts wearing the armor to save his family, together with the Foot clan.

Of course they succeed, but Draxum manages to escape. Now that Leo's wish was granted the armor or, better, Shredder takes over Leo's body. Like I said, Leo is skillful but he doesn't know how to use his skills and has no confidence but imagine Leo's skill and weapon in Shredder's hands. The turtles are lucky that the new villain isn't yet used to his new body, so he decides to escape, together with the Brute and Lieutenant.

And that's it for what we see of Leo for a while. The other episodes would be about a life style without Leo. His family will realize how much Leo has actually done for them and even start missing his jokes. They will live their lives, fail and succeed at stuff, while searching for Leo. Each turtle will get their individual episodes that seems fine, but kinda off in way. This way ROTTMNT can fulfill their promise to not be a Leo centric show because every turtle gets their own arc. They will have their own enemies and issues to fight and overcome, while Leo is just a supporting character and he importance only becomes clear once he is gone.

Now, while the other turtles had a few episodes of their story arc with some interludes for comic relief and episodes of the family members, I want Leo’s story to have one half hour episode episode, like Shadow of evil. So, what is happening with Leo?

While his his body is controlled by Shredder, his mind is trapped in the armor, together with the person who sealed Shredder all those years ago, Karai. You can imagine her anger when she realized a turtle let Shredder lose. They talk. He explains who he is, how he got here etc... Karai explains to him what ’here’ is and who Shredder is. Leo realizes he released armageddon upon the world, and, more importantly, his family. However not all hope is lost. Since Leo has Lou JItsu’s DNA, he, in a way, is related to Karai, meaning he has the power to fight against Shredder and take his body back. Leo tries calling Karai grandma, that did not end well. Anyway, Leo doesn’t know how to fight against Shredder so Karai offers to teach him and since they are in the armor Karai decides to use Leo’s memories to create a copy of Lou Jitsu to boost Leo’s moral.

Leo needed a pep talk, a bunch of stuff happens but Leo still wasn’t able to understand how she could fight against Shredder and Karai got more irritated by the minute. Meanwhile, Shredder realized what Karai was doing, knowing what and who Leo is and how dangerous the situation could get for him, he separates Karai and Leo by trapping Leo in a simulation of what happened in the war when he was sealed according to his and Kara’s memories. Bad move.

Leo was stuck in a never ending loop, where a bunch of good people died and Karai sacrificed herself to stop Shredder. Turns out Karai was quite similar to Lou JItsu since she didn’t care for her families destiny as well and that was the catalyst for her families death by the hands of Shredder. After a while Leo had enough and managed to use Karai’s training to stop the loop, turn back time and fall right into the story. He meets Karai and Usagi the young, soon to be leaders of their repective armies. Right then they were arguing about what they should do. In fact, one of the main reasons why Shredder couldn’t be defeated in the past was because Usagi and Karai would argue too much so they created two armies instead of one. Leo knew if they had put their differences aside or at least compromise lives could have been saved, so he decides to change this simulation

He acted as the middle man for the two and compromised a co-leadership. They didn’t trust him at first but with time they became close friends with Karai teaching Leo about swords and Usagi helping with the mystic powers They created an army and when the time came to choose a leader Leo was chosen with Karai and Usagi being his advisors. They managed to defeat Shredder. Leo got back to the Karai in the armor and they continued their training until Leo’s family came to save him.

The turtle plus April and Splinter used their training from their own arcs to save Leo. They were apologizing to Leo and all the typical stuff. Leo didn’t finish his training with Karai so he still wasn’t able to defeat Shredder for good but he couldn’t let Shredder use his body to kill his family, Karai understood and let him go with a last words being something along the lines of ‘Go my teenage mutant ninja turtles’, giving them their name while he just said ‘bye, grandma’.

He managed to get his body back but the armor and Shredder were still alive. Giving Leo an end goal. After this incident Leo had some PTSD to handle(he fought in war). Things happened and everybody gradually realized that Leo would be good leader and he was offered the position he accepted. I mean it couldn’t be worse than what happened in the simulation,

[sanjuno]

You wrote it! LOL, I am amazed and gleeful and yes it is dark, but it's dark in a way that leaves you gleeful that the /bastards got what was coming to them/. Hooray! Although now I have the mental image of XANXUS being raised by Madara and Tobirama

I did indeed write it apparently, because I don’t really have a clear memory of doing so and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m really fond of abrupt and inevitable vengeance. It’s what happens when you make an enemy of a self-determined (or at least a ninja raised) person. Once they decide that someone has to die it’s just a matter of picking the moment. Funny thing about humans is that we really don’t expect other people to try and kill us, especially not fluffy bunnies like Tsuna. Which, of course, is why Tsuna’s plan worked so well.

“Hi, sperm donor. Die, sperm donor.” *BOOM*

Conversely, I feel like a Xanxus raised by Madara and Tobirama would have 100% more chill than his canon self. I mean, yeah he’d still be a Wrath Sky, but he’d have Madara to learn techniques from and acceptance from the rest of the Hibari Clan even without him being their blood. Especially if Madara had Resonance with Xanxus (which he very much would, thanks) and then Xanxus found his Cloud from among the HIbari, because the Hibari adopt their Skies into the Clan rather than letting Clan Members leave. (Gotta love that Cloudy Territoriality.) 

Because I’m imagining a Xanxus who gets taken in by Madara when he’s still a child. During the hunt for the Man in the Iron Hat, Madara and his brothers would come across tiny feral street child Xanxus and instantly fall in love with the savage bundle of rage. Of course, Xanxus’ mama is cracked, and she insists that Xanxus has “his father’s Flame” and everyone knows that Xanxus looks nothing like Madara but it’s enough to get Madara’s attention. So Madara takes Xanxus home with him because adoption is a perfectly valid way to have kids and the Hibari can only benefit from having another Sky.

So Xanxus grows up knowing that he was adopted, but also that Madara chose to be Xanxus’ parent despite their lack of blood relation. And from Madara Xanxus learns how to hold the loyalty of an entire Clan. It’s not the all-or-nothing limitation of the Guardian Bonds that are so vaunted in the Western World. It’s a variety, it’s family, because there’s always that one relative that you’d rather throw into the koi pond or set on fire, but you’d still take their side in a bar fight because they’re your asshole relative. And Madara, and then Xanxus in turn, would be the Hibari Clan Skies and all that the title entails.

Then the sealing thing with Tsuna happens, and Madara would go to get Tobirama. Now, this makes things get really interesting, because now Tsuna has both a New Dad and a New Big Brother who are both Wrath Skies. Plus Tobirama as his Other Dad. So when the Vongola show up with their Ring Battle Nonsense, there is a VERY PERVASIVE sense of WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK because the tiny Primo clone has a Wrath Sky “cousin” who is Secondo’s clone. 

Of course, Xanxus prowls around eyeing the Varia because the Sky in him is going “ooh shiny” and the Hibari cultivated parts of him are going “this is Ours now.” Tobirama would just be the Most Proud Dad when Xanxus went out and took over the Varia and brought them home with him. Because yes, assassins are only scary if they aren’t your assassins.

@hamelin-born said:

I’m pretty sure that a Xanxus raised by Madara and Tobirama (Plucked from the ice, given a real family - Madara knows that Rage. Tobirama knows that Will.) would trigger either the apocalypse or end up founding an independent Family of his own that more then rivaled Vongola. Because the best revenge is living well, being fully capable of destroying your enemies, and watching in glee as they squirm on the hook, knowing that they live only at your sufferance.

Oh yes, so in the case of a Xanxus taken away from the Vongola post-icing he’d be 16 or 17 ish? In which case we have a Xanxus who is riding the ragged edge of his sanity, betrayed and well aware of how little he actually means to his “adoptive” father. This would be a Xanxus taken in to the Hibari Clan just after Tsuna was revived, who would see Tsuna (an actual descendant of the Vongola) who Nono was just as prepared to kill.

Xanxus and Tsuna would resonate so deeply with one another here. And with Madara, because Hashirama might have only been his blood in their first life but he was still Madara’s brother ever after, and how many lifetimes ended with Madara dead by his brother’s hand?

Meanwhile Tobirama is staring at Madara and wondering somewhat incredulously why he’d never noticed how much of a mother hen Madara is. You thought the fussing over his little brother’s was bad, but that has nothing on Madara when he has foundlings to mother. Such fussing. (Tobirama is certainly not blushing shut up. Even if he was blushing it would be understandable because the ability to care for children is an attractive trait in a man.)

With Xanxus free, the Varia are in a bit of a conundrum, because do they confront Nono? Do they try to track Xanxus down? Do they wait for communication from Xanxus? Is this a trap by Nono? A test to see if they’re still loyal to Xanxus? Is Xanxus really free? THEY NEED TO KNOW WHAT TO DO AND THEY NEED TO KNOW NOW.

And then Fon drops by to see Mammon and is deeply apologetic about his nephew’s tendency to just take things that interest him. Mammon is just staring at Fon over their strawberry milk. Because how the fuck? Now, to be fair, if the Vongola hadn’t sealed Tsunayoshi then Madara would never have had a reason to go snooping and he never would have found Xanxus’ iceberg, so it’s all Nono’s fault in the end anyway.

Still, there is a slow trickle of the Varia members disappearing or retiring or leaving without warning, starting with Squalo and the other Officers. Except for Ottabio, of course, who ends up in charge of the dregs and sycophants and mooks. None of whom really deserve to be called the Varia and are little better than thugs.

Meanwhile the real Varia are being folded into the Hibari Clan and Madara is delighted look at what a wonderful son he has. Look at how he’s strengthening the Clan. Isn’t he just precious? Xanxus has… no earthly idea how to deal with this. Especially when Madara tuts and tells Bel and the other kids that if their aim is to cause maximum trauma they should cut here and then put pressure there and Tobirama is in the background complaining that Madara should not be teaching the children his bad habits and efficiency is better for contract assassins and it’s all morbidly heartwarming.

Then of course Reborn shows up to teach Tsuna and there is even more DRAMA AND CHAOS than in canon. And yes, Nono and Iemitsu are terrified to find out that this is where Xanxus has been. What is he planning? 

And then Tsuna probably poisons them both with something chakra treated and incurable because this time he wants them to suffer for what they did to Xan-nii, so no mercifully quick deaths for them this time. The Vongola proceeds to get taken over by the cheerfully ruthless combo of Tsuna and Xanxus. The Alliance quick learns that a happy Xanxus is the scariest Xanxus of all.

[maddie-grove]

Bi-Monthly Reading Round-Up: July/August

Playlist

“Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard (The Mars Room)

“Summer of Sam” by Lana del Rey (Sharp Objects)

“Keep Searchin’” by Del Shannon (Those Girls)

“No One Knows” by Dion and the Belmonts (Fortune’s Lady)

“Unpretty” by TLC (90s Bitch)

“Everybody’s Got the Right to Love” by the Supremes (Fool Me Twice)

“Loving Arms” by the Dixie Chicks (East)

“Spare Parts” by Bruce Springsteen (Joe College)

“You Said You Loved Me” from Bloody Blackbeard (Tomorrow and Forever)

“Hot in Herre” by Nelly (Miss Wonderful)

“Growin’ Up” by David Bowie (The Charm School)

“Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye (The Beggar Maid)

“Henry Lee” by Georgia Fireflies (Fairest)

Best of the Bi-Month

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (2006): Troubled journalist Camille Preaker returns to her claustrophobic Missouri hometown to report on the brutal murders of two teenage girls. The gruesome nature of her assignment is only matched by the cruelty and senselessness that fills her childhood home. Flynn marries a beautifully constructed plot with a wealth of distressingly vivid details, and the result is unforgettable. It’s like if V.C. Andrews had cared about being a more conventionally “good” writer. (No disrespect meant to V.C. Andrews, who didn’t really need to be any better, but she very much did her own thing re: plot and style.) Also, I love Camille a lot.

Worst of the Bi-Month

Fairest by Marissa Meyer (2015): In this prequel to The Lunar Chronicles, Princess Levana leads a luxurious existence on the moon colony ruled by her family, but lives in fear of her sadistic sister and believes she can never be loved because of the terrible scars hidden beneath her glamor. Her desperation for affection and validation eventually turns her into the Evil Moon Queen of the series proper, or something like that. Levana is probably meant to be a lonely, misguided girl who slowly descends into evil due to a barrage of disappointments, or else a conscienceless rapist (yes, rapist) whose suffering renders her somewhat pitiable. I honestly can’t tell, but the result is incoherent, to say the least. 

Rest of the Bi-Month

The Charm School by Susan Wiggs (1999): In 1850s Boston, painfully awkward spinster Isadora Peabody decides to leave her stifling, shallow family and work as a navigator/translator on a clipper ship, much to the frustration (at first!) of its raucous captain. This is a rollicking  romance with a nice Old Hollywood feel, partly because it owes a lot to Now, Voyager. Isadora’s character development is engaging, and there’s some interesting social commentary about the damaging effects of being forced to perform femininity.

The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro (1977): In this collection of short stories, Rose grows up poor and unshielded from the sordid realities of her mid-century Canadian town. Education and marriage change her life almost beyond recognition, and then she changes it again of her own volition. Munro’s descriptions are so perfect that I barely ever had to make an effort to imagine what anything looked like, and her observations about people are uncomfortably accurate. The stories become a little too sedate in the last quarter of the collection, though.

Joe College by Tom Perrotta (2000): Working-class Yale student Danny, equally at sea with his carelessly rich classmates and hostile townie coworkers, runs into even more trouble during a spring break spent driving his father’s lunch truck. Although the story takes a while to get started, it features several terrific setpieces (notably a dinner hosted by a classmate’s personally charming, politically heartless father) and has a thought-provoking ending.

Fortune’s Lady by Patricia Gaffney (1989): In 1790s England, Cass Merlin’s father is hanged as a Jacobin traitor, leaving her disgraced and practically alone in the world. Recruited/blackmailed into acting as a honeypot for a suspected Jacobin ringleader, she doesn’t expect to fall for Philip Riordan, her fellow spy, but you know how these things go. This is probably my favorite of all the Old School romances I’ve read. It has a fun if overly lurid plot inspired by Notorious, a compelling if occasionally idiot-ball-carrying heroine, and a hero who is only occasionally terrible. On the other hand, the villain is a bisexual who hates Edmund Burke, which (a) is kind of offensive and (b) makes it really hard for me, a bisexual who hates Edmund Burke, to hate him.

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner (2018): Romy, a single mother and stripper from San Francisco, ends up serving two consecutive life sentences in maximum security prison after killing her stalker. This novel pissed me the fuck off, not because it’s bad, but because it showcases the blatant unfairness of the justice system for indigent defendants and the proudly heartless attitude that many people have towards prisoners. Kushner has a terrific style and makes lots of references to 1960s country music, which I appreciate, but she loses steam about two-thirds into the book.

90s Bitch by Allison Yarrow (2018): Pushing back against the wave of nineties nostalgia, Yarrow details the sexism rampant in the decade’s politics and media, covering topics like the Clarence Thomas sexual harassment controversy, the downfall of Tonya Harding, Dan Quayle’s war on Murphy Brown, and the watered-down feminism of the Spice Girls. Yarrow’s account is entertaining as the subject matter is infuriating, but I wish she’d spent more time establishing how the eighties were any less sexist, because that doesn’t sound quite right.

East by Edith Pattou (2003): Ebba-Rose grows up happy with her large family on their early modern Norwegian farm, until poverty, illness, and the exposure of a big lie threaten to end it all. Then a polar bear shows up at the door and offers to fix everything in return for Rose coming to live with him--an offer that Rose feels compelled to take not just out of desperation, but out of wanderlust. I’m not that familiar with “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” but this seems to be a fairly straightforward retelling. It’s charming, though, and it really picks up after the candle incident.

Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase (2004): Threatened with financial consequences if he doesn’t marry an heiress within a year, Napoleonic war veteran Alistair Carsington says “fuck that” and goes into the canal-building business with a friend in order to come up with the necessary cash. However, going into the canal business brings him into contact with the bewitching Mirabel Oldridge, who fucking hates the idea of a canal running through her village. This Regency romance turned out to be a lot sadder than I thought it would be--the hero and heroine spend just as much time dealing with PTSD and grief for a parent, respectively, as they do bantering--and it was a richer story for all of that. The start was pretty slow, though, and I could’ve done without the disdain for the lower class.

Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran (2014): Desperate for safety, Olivia Holladay cons her way into a housekeeping position at the Duke of Marwick’s house, hoping to find letters that will keep her murderous stalker off her back forever. Then she becomes way too invested in the welfare of the duke, who has become agoraphobic and borderline feral after his wife’s sudden death. This Victorian romance had an even slower start than Miss Wonderful, and I never got a coherent sense of the heroine’s personality; she’s a combination of prim goody-goody and wily con artist, and those two sides never really gel. I did like the conclusion, and Duran’s style is excellent as ever.

Tomorrow and Forever by Maud B. Johnson (1980): Tricked into boarding a bride ship and brutalized by Blackbeard’s pirates, New England girl Marley Lancaster finally finds love with Captain Bates Hagen after they’re set adrift in a dinghy together. They start a new life in Bath, North Carolina, but can it survive the fact that Bates is kind of a dirtbag? I rather enjoyed this Old School romance, partly because of the unusual setting and partly because I just liked the heroine. She’s kind of weak-willed and not very good at solving problems, but she struggles through life anyway and I really rooted for her. Bates, for his part, is...not a rapist. He’s actually the least rapey man in the story, which is how it should be, right? Still, he’s a dirtbag who ditches his common-law wife in a hostile colonial town and seems affronted when she doesn’t stay put. Plus I feel like only half the rapes in the story were narratively necessary.

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens (2015): Three sisters flee their rural Canadian home after the youngest kills their abusive father, only to face more horrible violence from men. Years later, after they’ve started a new life in Vancouver, the past reemerges and, you guessed it, there is more horrible violence. I finished this book and asked myself, “Is a woman made to suffer?” Like, I obviously read a lot about women suffering (see: most of this list), but this whole story is just women suffering, briefly trying to get revenge, and suffering more because of the revenge.