#she always speaks the truth i love tha for her!

[kissitbttr]

Ms Doja would 100% bust a nut if she sees him in person

[nikkisheep]

Rick Grimes' Girl

Rick Grimes x female!reader

Warnings: season 5 Rick, kiss, cursing, Judith crying, Aaron looks at the reader for a second too long for Rick's liking, everything Rick does is hot

kinda short but I rushed because I have too any ideas for this. Kinda bad too. Sorry

Summary: When meeting a stranger in the woods, the group seeks out the stranger's cars. Leaving you and Rick with the stranger in the barn with Judith.

The rain had cleared up. Maggie and Sasha came back with a man. A man we did not know if he was bad or if he was good. We knew nothing about him. Rick was talking to the man, at least he was before he punched the man. You were holding Judith, since taking him from Carl's arms, and watched the toned man's back flex after the punch.

Michonne wanted to check out the man's words but Rick did not trust them. He was not going to put his kids and the group at risk over something a man said. Eventually Rick caved to her words and gave them an hour to get back.

"You have 43 minutes," Rick said to the man who claims to be named Aaron.

Judith started crying while Rick tried and struggled to crush acorns in a bowl with the handle of his gun. You walked up to him and removed the crying Judith from his arms.

"Let me take care of her," You offer, bouncing the baby in your arms.

Rick looked at you with love and adoration which was not all that rare when he looked at you. With everything he had seen and done, you could barely believe that he was still able to look at someone with that stare.

"Did you see the apple sause in my pack?" Aaron spoke.

Rick then went on a crazy spree, not trusting the sause for his daughter. He forced the man to eat a spoonful to prove that it was not poisoned or anything that could harm Judith and then licked the remaining bit off the spoon. Now was not the time to fantasize about his tongue sticking out for just a second to lick the spoon.

You fed Judith and flattened her growing hair. Rick kept glancing at his watch, waiting for the group Glenn took out. He just itched to be proven right by the man that was bound on the ground of the barn. Yes, there was a small part of him that hoped there was actually a camp or community or whatever the hell Aaron had said but he just did not trust the man. Something in his gut was telling him not to trust the man who claimed that he could help the group and give them a home. He just did not want to risk it.

Aaron looked worried when the group still was not back after about 35 minutes. He looked at you while you cooed the baby to sleep and he smiled. He looked at how Judith fit right in your arms and how much you may be the mother.

"Is she yours?"

"No, I wish but no she isn't."

"She kinda looks like you."

"Shut you fucking mouth," Rick said. He did not want you to be talking to the stranger. He did not want the memory of Lori coming back to mind. Even after so long, she still haunts him in his sleep. But not when you can help it. You knew that he loved his wife and you knew that she would always have a place in his mind. She was the mother of Carl and Judith. Even if Judith wasn't Rick's, he still loved her as if she was. And in a way, she was his. She was everything to the former cop.

----

The group made it back with the news that Aaron was telling the truth about the cars, at least. Rick was listening to Michonne and Glenn speak while you moved to a haystack to sit on. Aaron looked over at you for a minute, hoping you could talk to the stubborn cop who threatened to stab him in the skull.

Daryl noticed and leaned down to Aaron's ear.

"I would stop staring."

"I was't staring."

"Listen, tha' girl is with the man in charg'. That's Rick Grimes' girl and ain't no body gonna touch her'. So if I was ya, I would stop lookin'."

Aaron looked at you and then the archer beside him. Daryl was giving him the look as if to say, "Go ahead and see what happens". Aaron simply bows his head and then glances up when Judith started to cry softly.

"Tell me where the camp is," Rick demanded.

Rick argued with the tied up man and he kept noticing that Aaron looked at you for help. But Rick did not think this quickly. No, no, he thought that Aaron was sizing you. Looking at you for too long and he was tired of it.

"She.is.mine." He gritted out and strutted over to your area.

Rick grabbed your head and pulled you into a kiss. His lips moved against yours and you started to get dizzy from how good it felt. Rick pulled away all too soon and you leaned to get another kiss from his soft lips. He chuckled and turned to Aaron.

"Stop looking at my girl and tell me where the camp is."

[lovl3igh]

alicent as a mother is always so intensive subject, cause where tg refuse to admit that alicent was a bad mother, tb don't give her justice in reasons why that happened (it's not general, both teams has exceptions ofc)

tg defend her saying it's not her fault, she was used, she didn't want those children, they forced her, but was it said otherwise? yes, she was bad mother because of her own trauma and assault she experienced but she was still a bad mother. having an "excuse" don't change that

and not every time that someone said she is not a good parent, they need to add why. no need for assuming that person who says it, doesn't know the reasons. they can say why alicent became bad parent or the way alicent shows bad parenting or that she is just that, bad mother, they can say all of it or just one thing. all of that coexists

before I'll start: there's most stuff from the show, but there's book spoilers, maybe that will be also show cannon in the future, I dunno, sorry for mistakes, english is not my first language

we have evidence of her being basically sold by her father, sa'd by viserys, forced to birth one child by another. she was motherless child forced to becoming a mother before she was ready. she was not a fan of her children, we see her unhappy with them, and when she speaks it's about dry facts like the labour and not her feelings. she does not care for them that way, which is fine bc she not wished for them and she's still a child herself, but that's a fact

we see her later with her kids and again we cannot say she became better while becoming older. she sees them as her duty (her worst enemy), her responsibility and also (admit it or not) way to put rhaenyra down. otto said to her way before jace was born that he wants aegon on the throne, he already could be accused of treason but alicent remained silent and later she acts the same way. she puts on aegon big pressure, responsibilities and also involves him in act of treason (because again she thinks it's her duty to the realm)

what's more she abuses him physically and mentally. we see her beating him more than once, screaming or neglacting him (all of that are forms of abuse). blames him for aemond's losing an eye while it was her responsibility to watch her kid or a servant and guards', not his (you can say also viserys', there was never a dispute if he's a good father, we know he isn't, it's about alicent only discussion then)

aegon in his 20s has to ask his mother if he's being loved, how sick is that? that he drowns in need of attention? (you can say he deserves all of this but the truth is alicent - and viserys ofc - failed to raise him well and now she fails to punish him, cause he should be sent to the wall, instead she beats him and let's him be a monster to another girl, now as a "king". all not to protect him but to protect his reputation, all she does there is bc of her sense of duty)

helaena hates being touched by her own mother, why wouldn't she? child bride alicent did the same to her daughter, knowing what a menace her son is. she does not understand haelena, she forces her to early marriage, childbirting, unhappy life. (and be fr, haelena might not like touching generally but 1. it's speaks even worse about alicent who touches her againts her will and married her to sexual predator, 2. she didn't mind being touched by jace who not really knowing his aunt was far more gentle)

absence of daeron would say more about their relation if not for long time skips, the truth is sending away little child is a form of neglacting however we do not know if they were in touch and how often. i know it's a common practise, i am glad that baela was at least sent to her loving grandmother in her later childhood, but I still do not like the whole ward thing and i won't comment on it in daeron's case, cause we did not see it here how was it done

I will speak about aemond x alicent relation though which is by far the most interesting. he is the only one we can say that he loves his mother and cares for her which doesn't automatically means she was a good mother for him. for the dynamic he observes alicent needs protection from men around her (rightfully so) and decides to lie to the king to protect her. not only he usually lives meeting her expectations (ekhem ekhem not anymore ig) but can initiate his actions to please her even if that means he'll go against his own wishes (searching for aegon to make him a king)

the fact is he was much miserable for not having dragons AND for being bullied. yet two things we have: first alicent as queen could easily arrange aemond going to dragonstone to claim dragon or take rhaenyra's deal to have syrax's egg. second - she blames velaryon boys as if she wasn't the one who destroyed good relations between kids and as if aegon weren't bellwether for bullying actions (YES, JACE AND LUKE ARE GUILTY TOO, but we discuss here alicent dynamics with her kids, so I point her fault right now) and she raised one child to bully others, his own siblings

then we have the children's fight and aemond loses his eyes. one of the best scene when alicent attacks rhaenyra, 10/10 love everything here. that's gonna sound harsh but alicent's behaviour here screams about duty too. it shouldn't at all, her child just lost his eye, her priority should be to comfort him. instead she wants rhaenyra to take responsibility for having bastards (that's not the case), aegon for not taking care of aemond (it's her responsibility), viserys to admitting her own sacrifices weren't for nothing. she put here herself and her needs above aemond, she used his wounds to attack rhaenyra and her children (no, I do not say she didn't care aemond got hurt, don't put words in my mouth)

"if the king won’t seek justice the queen will" she wants so called "justice", but stated by her only, where's justice in taking child's eye after accident? would she also break aemond nose for "justice"? if he'd killed luke or jace, would she call for killing aemond? it's not caring mother, it's the queen wanting revenge cause she doesn't like princess' privileges (and also privilege that bastards here have). she calms down when she realizes that she went too far, "neglected her duty", that's not aemond's doing (and also fcked up that her assaulted child feels that he needs to calm her down)

"she was ready to die for her children" desperate actions in the worst scenarios to not matter that much with previous behaviour, especially since her children were doubting if she would do that for them in the first place (that ig you can take as opinion, but if mother abuses child for years how much does it counts if she gives up her life for this child?)

regarding rhaenyra she doesn't understand a good mother patterns as well. she either doesn't care nyra will suffer or doesn't understand that mother who just gave a birth to a child, will not send it away even for a second. she doesn't care or understand mother will not allow for taking her child's eye for "duty". she doesn't understand that bastards are not any less worthy of love. her view of motherhood is sacrifising herself, not enjoying what she can

perhaps she did not know any better, her mother was a child bride (forced by old pedo otto) just like her, she did the same to helaena and unfortunately later that happened to jaehaera. she was abused in many ways but later also became an abuser. and all that because she thought life is about duty and sacrifice. she had every reason to be bad mother and she became one but that it should be seen as a fact while some of you see it as an opinion and criticism

if you read all of that - seven hells okay

[atinylittlepain]

Could I request a Joel and F/reader where the reader is scared of Horses, but really wants to pet one, but is worried it will bite her, so one day Joel shows her they are friendly and soft as well as telling her he likes her and wants to be with her.

I just need some soft Joel after everything that has happened.

this is such a sweet and tender idea, i had to write it <3

gif by @a7estrellas

Spring Foals

Joel Miller x f!reader

Joel Miller masterlist

She's not so sure about horses. He shows her there's nothing to fear.

warnings | 18+ the mildest angst, fluff abounds

......................

He doesn’t mind patrol shifts, but given the choice, Joel would always prefer working at the stables in town. He had grown up with horses, spending weekends at his grandparents’ ranch outside of Austin, riding hard alongside his brother just for the sake of it, joyous yelps as they bounded over the land. His grandfather had taught him how to take care of the animals, how to set horseshoes, how to birth foals, and how to treat those wild creatures with respect. So any chance he got to take a shift at the stables in Jackson, he jumped at it.

It’s a lucky spring day that he does get to work at the stables, warmth starting to thread through the afternoons that coaxes people into t-shirts and out onto their porches. They had three successful births over the winter, and he’s helping out with training the foals in one of the smaller pens. He’s a bit distracted though, watching what must be a class of school kids being led around the stables on a makeshift field trip. His eyes keep darting over to her, the pretty schoolteacher who lives two houses down from him and Ellie. 

They had shared some friendly conversation with each other, at community meetings and whenever they ran into each other around town, and she always offered him a smile that made his heart squeeze. Ellie had been giving him endless shit for the so-called “dopey look” he got every time he talked to her, and had also been hounding him to “make a move already.” He’d been staving off her pestering with noncommittal grumbles. The truth was, he wanted to make a move, more than anything. But it was clear to him that this was a complete pipe dream. She was her, younger and lovely and liked by everyone in town. And Joel was– well, enough said. So, he resigned himself to the reality that it was never going to happen, stealing glimpses of her when he could, trying to tamp down his ridiculous crush.

He’s broken out of his swimming thoughts by the sound of shrieking kids coming his way, being led by another teacher and one of the stable hands . She’s pulling up the rear of the group and Joel has to look twice to confirm the furrowed look of worry across her face. He’s always been good with kids, and has no problem holding court as he explains to the small group what it takes to train the young horses up so they’ll be ready for riding. As he finishes speaking, two of the other people working at the stables offer the kids buckets of grain to feed the foals, guiding them into the pen. They take to it with obvious enthusiasm. She however, hangs back along the railing of the pen, biting her lip as she watches her class. Still in the pen, Joel sidles up next to her, offering her a crooked smile.

“Not a fan of horses, huh?” She shakes her head, a small smile across her lips.

“I think they’re beautiful, really. I just– ugh it’s embarrassing– but I guess I’m a bit afraid of them.” Joel raises his eyebrows at her and she bites her lip again, looking down at her hands where they rest along the railing.

“Have you ever been near one, up close?” She sighs as she looks up at him, squinting lightly in the afternoon sun.

“Only really when I first came here. I’m sure you’re familiar with the, uh, welcoming committee.” Joel hums at that, indeed remembering the ring of riders he and Ellie had encountered, what had really been an ambush of terror.

“I can see why you’re not too keen on them then. But I promise you, that was more the humans than it was the horses acting tough. Here– can I show you?” That furrowed look settles across her face again as she bites her lip, but she nods. He murmurs a quiet “be right back” before stepping back into the middle of the pen in which kids are still petting and feeding the foals. He grabs one of the buckets of grain and coaxes one of the foals along with it, back over to the edge of the pen where she’s standing. 

She jerks away from the pen just slightly as the horse comes closer, a breathy laugh leaving her lips as she looks to Joel questioningly. He nods, an easy smile across his face as he holds his hand out to her. When she takes it, stepping closer, Joel’s mind goes hazy for a moment with the feeling of her palm in his. He clears his throat, letting go of her hand to offer her the bucket of grain. She takes a handful and stiffly holds it out, but the instant the horse comes closer, she shuffles back, letting out another nervous laugh. Joel can’t help but chuckle a bit.

“It’s ok, I promise. Here–” He holds out his hand to her again and she very tentatively steps forward. This time, Joel slides his palm under the back of her hand, encouraging her to hold her hand out flat with the grain in the center of her palm. He lightly curls his fingers around her wrist, guiding her hand down as the horse shuffles closer. He can feel the muscles in her wrist jump as the horse sniffs at her palm, but he holds her steady with his thumb lightly stroking the side of her hand. She laughs, eyes crinkling as she looks between Joel and the horse. He grins watching her.

“If I’m remembering right, they named this one Dolly.” She whispers the name to herself, smiling lightly.

“She’s so pretty.” Joel can’t take his eyes off her, the wonder clear in her expression.

“Yeah, she is.” The words leave his mouth before he can even think about them, and from the way she looks at him, a shy grin on her face, it’s clear she knows that Joel wasn’t talking about the horse. They look at each other for just a beat too long, but are quickly snapped out of it by the snuffling whinny of the horse. She jerks her hand away and out of Joel’s hold, letting out another nervous laugh.

“Well, um, thank you, Joel. I think you may have just proved me wrong about horses.” He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck as they watch Dolly trot away. He looks back at her and she offers him a grin.

“You were right, the humans make all the difference.” Before he can respond to that, she’s already moving away to call her class to come back together. The other teacher on duty starts leading the group away as she brings up the rear. Joel sighs, turning to get back to work with the foals, but he’s quick to twist back around when he hears her call his name. She jogs back to the pen, pressing up against the fencing as he walks over. Before he can say anything, she’s lifting onto her tiptoes to lean over the railing, laying a fluttering kiss to his cheek. He’s pretty sure his heart stops for a few beats as she leans back, a small smile across her face.

“I’ve really gotta go. But would you like to come for dinner some time? I’d like to repay you for the, um, free exposure therapy.” All he can do is laugh, he’s so stunned by her question. She glances over her shoulder to her class that’s continuing to walk away before turning back to look at him. He’s pretty sure if Ellie were here right now, she’d be laughing at the “dopey look” that’s definitely plastered across his face. He clears his throat, nodding at her.

“Um, yeah, yes. Dinner– I’d like that.” Real smooth. She offers him a broad smile, laughing lightly as she starts to walk back toward her class.

“I’ll see you soon, Joel.”

Ellie was smugly excited to hear that night that Joel had finally made his move, with just a little help from a horse.

[bensolosbluesaber]

In the Stars (Poe Dameron x Jedi!f!reader)

Summary: It took all your strength to save Poe Dameron. As you lay unconscious in the medbay, his real feelings come out. (Happy ending, don't worry) (For this request) ~1,500 words

Angst

Pairings: Poe Dameron x Jedi!f!reader

Warnings: Mentions of death, Star Wars version of a coma, coworkers with benefits situation, allusions to sex, extremely unedited

A/N: When this request came, I was instantly in love with it. I do have a few song recs to go along with it if you like that thing: In the Stars (Benson Boone) - yes the story is named after this song, Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol), Somewhere Only We Know (Artist of your choice... personally I listen to the Glee version... don’t judge)

--

He should have told you the truth. That’s all Poe can think as he sits beside your unconscious form with his trembling hands and foggy eyes and struggles to keep himself composed.

When he’d seen the bomb with it’s red light blinking faster and faster, it was so close he knew there would be no escaping the blast. So he had thought of you. He’d thought of your quiet movements as you snuck out of his room, of that disapproving look you always gave him after he did something particularly stupid, of those fleeting glances you shared passing each other in the hallway. Everything about the relationship you two shared promised to someday be something more than casual fuck buddies. Poe Dameron was, quite simply, in love with you, and you, quite simply, were in love with Poe Dameron.

That’s what he’d thought about as the red light continued to flash - how much he loved you. And through the Force you had sensed his love and fear and had reached out across the planet with all your strength to contain the blast of the bomb. You had saved his life, but maybe at the cost of your own.

“It’s been more than a week.” Rey’s touch on his shoulder startles him from his vigil.

“I know,” Poe snaps back harshly, then brokenly repeats the words almost to himself. “I know.”

“They want to talk about taking her off the machines,” Rey broaches the subject empathetically, hating it nearly as much as Poe. You had been her training partner, one of her best friends, her fellow Jedi, and now you showed no signs of waking up.

Poe shuts his eyes and lets the tears come. The warm liquid spills down his cheeks. He hasn’t shaved in days, and the tears catch in the scruff of his beard until he swipes them away.

“The night before the battle, she told me she had feelings for me,” Poe whispers, again speaking mostly to himself as if telling the story again will make the truth hurt less. “We’d been hooking up for months, and she finally told me the truth. And do you know what I did, Rey?” His voice gets louder with each word. “Do you know what I did?”

Poe is watching you dress and gather your things. Tomorrow it all ends, one way or the other, and even as he’s sprawled lazily in bed, you are trying to work up the courage to confess the feelings that had recently surfaced. Well, not recently. They had always been there, swirling under that surface of a strictly physical relationship. You suspected Poe felt the same, and even if he didn’t, you could both be dead this time tomorrow. What was there to lose?

“Poe.” Your voice wavers slightly, and he cocks an eyebrow. He tucks his hands behind his head, unintentionally flexing his muscled arms and chest. “I wanted you to know, before tomorrow, I uh… I have- I caught feelings. And maybe um… maybe- maybe we could grab drinks? If we survive I mean.”

You laugh nervously to cut the tension, but it is as thick as it has ever been between you. Poe is just staring, his cocky, self-assured demeanor immediately disappearing. You shift your weight from one foot to the other and swallow hard. So he doesn’t feel the same, or at least, that’s what you imagine his silence to mean.

“I didn’t,” he lies right to your face. “Catch feelings, I mean.”

The last thing either of you need is to be thinking about each other in the midst of a battle. There’s a war on, a war that ends tomorrow, and it’s not the time for love. You’d be a distraction to each other, and he can’t have that. It will get you both killed. Instinct to keep you safe pours venom into his next words.

“I enjoyed the sex, but that’s all it ever was for me. You’re a good lay.”

Poe watches your face fall at his lie. Your lips turn down ever so slightly. You blink rapidly a few times. Your fingers tug nervously at the hem of your shirt. But even as he fixes you with an emotionless stare, you don’t feel any less in love with the handsome pilot.

Deep down, way far deep down, you know the rejection isn’t real, that he’s scared to love someone who might be dead tomorrow, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

“Right,” you whisper, a voice so meek and unlike you that it startles you. “Well it was fun, Dameron.”

“I told her she was a good lay,” Poe snarls the words out in a low voice, hating himself all the while. “I looked her in the eye and told her I enjoyed fucking her and that’s all it was.”

He looks away from Rey and back to you, hating that thrill of hope that shoots through his chest. Each time he looks away, that poisonous hope sneaks into his mind, whispering cruelly that maybe you will be awake when he looks back.

“You could tell her the truth now, Poe,” Rey offers the suggestion gently. She deflects Poe’s anger easily, knowing he’s not mad at anyone but himself. “Protocol says nine days. It’s almost time, so… think about saying goodbye.”

She leaves before Poe has time to respond, leaving him alone with you again. It feels pathetic to confess his love to your unconscious body, but maybe it’s the best opportunity he’ll ever get. Or the last opportunity he’ll ever get.

He takes your cold hand in his and gazes down at your face. Motionless. Beautiful.

“I lied,” he starts with his voice shaking. “I mean you are a good lay,” he laughs sadly, knowing you’d appreciate the joke if only you were awake to hear it. “But I caught feelings too. Actually, I always had feelings. That first night? I had feelings before that. Kind of pathetic, huh?”

Poe presses a long, soft kiss to your cheek then another to your temple.

“I used to watch you train with Rey. Not in a creepy way,” he laughs again, and the sound is garbled through tears. He’s sobbing openly now. “I was in awe. And when I saw you fly the first time, I think I fell in love right then. I should have told you. I should have told you.”

He repeats the word over and over as he presses his face into the curve of your neck.

“I’m sorry. I love you, and I’m so sorry. I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

Someone is touching the back of his head, their hand tangling in his dark curls. He hardly feels it.

“Poe?”

His face is uncharacteristically scratchy. How insane that your first waking thought is about his beard.

“I love you,” he repeats again and pressed closer. “How am I supposed to say goodbye to you? I don’t want you to go. Please don’t go.”

Your skin is damp. He’s crying, you realize as you bring your other hand to his cheek. Maker, he’s tickling you with that beard. How long have you been out that he’s let it grow out so much?

“Poe.” You try to push his head back, but he only holds you tighter. “Poe Dameron. For fuck’s sake. I love you too you absolute idiot.”

That silences him.

Poe sits back. There is it again, that hope. But this time, it’s not poisoned. This time when his bloodshot eyes fall on you, your own eyes are wide open and staring up at him.

“You idiot!” He nearly shouts. “Don’t you ever do that again! I thought you were dead!”

“Sorry,” you offer with a shy smile.

“Don’t sorry me! I’ve hardly left this room! Finn literally dragged me to the fresher yesterday! I haven’t shaved! I thought I’d never get to see you again.

“All that for a good lay?” You smirk.

“That’s-” Poe’s jaw drops as you make the same joke he’d made earlier. Somehow it isn’t funny from your lips. “That’s not funny!”

“Okay, hey.” You reach for him and take his face between your hands, brushing that familiar escapee curl from his forehead. Maybe this wasn’t the time for a joke. “Poe, I’m alive. Look, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Poe leans his head down to press your foreheads together, wrapping his strong arms around you as he does.

“I-” he starts.

“It’s okay,” you interrupt as he hesitates. You spin a curl around your finger. “I heard you. It’s what brought me back.”

“I want to say it again though,” he says and locks your gaze together so you’re drowning in his warm eyes. “I love you.”

--

My Masterlist

Taglists (Want to be added? Click here.)

**This is a mess. Some people won’t tag. I’ve definitely missed people. I’m so so sorry!

Poe Taglist: @ay0nha @queenie-rebel @aduckinpain @huitzilinthebudgie3 @rellasnowheenim @sparkythefallen1 @knopewyattworld @littlenosoul @maplemind @splashofbi

General: @janebby @chaoticevilbakugo @roseqzpd​ 

People who won’t tag: @welcometostayingawake @marvelescvpe  @weirdo125!

[siriusblack-the-third]

Matching Misfortunes: Susan Pevensie

I enjoyed writing this one so much. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!

.

Susan’s cheeks hurt.

She smiles at the boy as he throws an arm around her and winks, and she feels the muscles of her face ache with the effort of holding a smile for hours and hours on end. She wants to shrug off the black-haired boy’s arm, wants to tell him to piss off and not bother her again lest she ask Peter to ensure his distance from her with violence, but she simply smiles at him.

She straightens her spine and smiles.

She ignores the glares her female classmates are throwing at her from all corners of the classroom. She is beautiful, she knows she is, but that does not mean he enjoys being the nectar to the bees that are the hormonal, idiotic boys of Westbrook. She has never enjoyed being known for her beauty, for it has always been nothing but a miserable curse— three wars had been fought for her hand in marriage over the course of twenty years, and Edmund has sometimes called her Helen of Troy for her troubles.

She hates that fucking name.

Her cheeks hurt. Yet, she smiles her most charming smile as she subtly leans away from Raymond— she has heard of the way he treats girls, and she has no interest in being one of his thrice-damned conquests. She has no interest in being a challenge, a trophy to be earned, a thing to be owned. She is to be respected, dammit, she is smart and keen-eyed and knowledgeable. Heaven’s sake, she is a Queen—

She breathes. Pushes the thought out of her mind. Maintains her smile.

Raymond smirks back, dull greyish blue eyes glinting like a broken steel sword in the sunlight that streams in through the windows, and tries to draw her closer to him using the arm that he has around her shoulder. Susan does not deign to move. She does not bother to pretend that she is not stronger than this arrogant youngling, this boy playing at being a man, and simply sits there, unmoving and seemingly oblivious, until he furrows his eyebrows and stops trying to move her without her permission.

Her cheeks hurt.

“C’mon, Pevensie,” he leers at her, and she stops herself from lifting a hand to her back. Five and a half years, and she still hasn’t forgotten the phantom presence of her quiver full of arrows, her bow made of the finest wood covered in intricate carvings.

“Say yes, darling,” he says, and she smiles so that she does not try to stab. “The party would be boring without the prettiest girl in school there.”

Susan has heard that compliment fall from the lips of powerful Kings and lovesick fools alike, and she has never been affected by it. Raymond falls into the third category of the people who have called her pretty, the one where they simply want to be known as the one who broke the prettiest girl’s heart, who claimed the love of the Beauty of Narnia—

She breathes in. Pushes the thought out of her mind. Maintains her smile.

“Well, I don’t know about that, Raymond,” she says in the smoothest, most convincing one that she can muster, and she does not fail to notice the way boys and girls alike sway towards her just to listen to her speak. She ignores the way her heart hums at being listened to, a song she has tried (and failed) to forget for five and a half years. “Parties aren’t really my fancy, you see.”

Raymond waves a hand lazily, and Susan wants to scoff at how far the action is from the effortlessness she is sure he wants to portray. He is an arrogant airbag of a boy with an inflated sense of importance playing at being a powerful man. “Oh, now we both know you’re lying, my darling.”

Susan feels the sudden urge to cut off his tongue, for daring to refer to him as his darling. Instead, she folds her hands in her lap and laughs softly, notices the way the students gathered around laugh with her as if following her lead. Her throat feels tight and her eyes burn, and she pushes both feelings away.

“No, I’m telling the truth,” she says, laughter colouring her words in just the right amount that tells everyone that they are welcome to laugh along and sure enough, they do. They do not take their eyes off of her, and follow her unspoken command by laughing along. She ignores the strange warmth that settles behind her heart in her chest. “I get too tired at parties, they’re too much for me.”

She loves parties. She has loved parties for ages and ages, since she was a nine-year-old child and she dressed up to let her father take her and mum out for dancing, and then a twenty-something year old Queen dressed in the finest silks and talking circles around Princes enchanted by her beauty and Kings madly in love with her—

She breathes in. Pushes the thought out of her mind. Maintains her smile.

Raymond’s arm tightens around her shoulders. Susan’s fingers twitch, but she forcefully presses her hand into her lap to stop herself from reaching for the quiver that no longer hangs from her back. There is no quiver. There is no bow. She is a schoolgirl, not an archer. She has textbooks in the bag that hangs from her back. She is a schoolgirl.

“Oh, be a sport, Pevensie,” Raymond scoffs, and Susan wants to rise to her full height and demand that he treat her with the respect she deserves. “It’s just one party, and it’s the first party of term. C’mon, you can even be my date.”

Susan ignores the way the glares are once again aimed at her, ignores the disgust that roils in her stomach, and masterfully stops her smile from curving into a disdainful sneer. An arrogant boy playing at being a powerful man, who wishes that she would clamour for his love. Ha. She has seen many thousands of men just like him.

Many thousands of men trying to seem more important than they are, vying for her attention, looking to claim her, looking to own her, aiming for her throne and her kingdom—

All of them learnt to fear her over time.

All of them learnt over time that she was not just Beauty. They learnt that she was not just respected for her looks. They learnt, over time, that she was Beauty and Brains and Brawn. She was beautiful, she was the peacekeeper, and she was the most talented archer in all the known lands. She was a dangerous enemy to make, and despite her preference for non-violence, would not hesitate to hand out gruesome and painful deaths if needed.

Susan is Gentle, not Harmless.

Men learnt over time, in Narnia, and so will Raymond learn it in England.

She straightens her spine and gently shrugs off Raymond’s arm. He tries to move it back to its former place, and she stares at him with a smile she knows looks too wide and too sharp, making him stop halfway through his movement. That is one good thing that comes out of being truly beautiful— Beauty, true Beauty, is terrifying. It is deadly. It is something that a simple human cannot help but be bewitched by, and Susan knows this. She has known this for decades. She has successfully used this piece of knowledge to her kingdom’s benefit time and again.

Raymond does not try to throw his arm over her shoulder again, and Susan makes sure her smile goes back to its most charming as she engages the rest of the students.

“I will have to decline your.. generous offer,” she says, laying the sarcasm on so thinly that only Edmund would have noticed.

Alas, her dearest younger brother is not here to witness her exercise her power over her classmates. If he were, he would have enjoyed watching them move to her word like mice moved to the Pied Piper’s tune. He is absurd like that, but who is she to deny him his entertainment?

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she sighs as she pushes herself off the desk and stands to her full, impressive height. She brushes her hands over her skirt, takes her water bottle from a boy with a soft smile that has him blushing bright red, and waves to everyone. Without saying a word more, she walks out of the classroom with her head held high and her shoulders pulled back.

Her cheeks hurt.

She walks in silence, ignoring the students that mill around in the corridors of the school. The girl’s bathroom is on the floor above, and it takes her barely a minute to reach it; people clear a way for her, moving out of her path as she walks with measured and careful steps. They do it almost without noticing that they are, almost like a force is making them do it.

Susan locks the door of the bathroom behind her, takes a good look around to make sure she is alone, and bursts into silent tears.

She drops her bag to the floor and leans her back against the door, screwing her eyes shut and letting the tears run down her cheeks and drip off her jaw. Her chest heaves with quiet sobs, and she sucks in shuddering breaths as she slides down to sit on the floor with her head buried between her knees. The warmth behind her heart turns into a painful burning sensation, and she chokes on her tears and emotions that she cannot fully understand.

No matter how much she tries to bury her memories behind smiles that sway the students, no matter how much she tries to forget, she knows what she is. She knows what she always was, and what she always will be.

She is Queen Susan the Gentle of Narnia, the Eagle-Eyed Marksman Queen, Second of the Beloved Four, Defender of the People.

[call-sign-jinx]

Endless Love (Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw) - Chapter 4

summary - Y/N Y/L/N and Bradley Bradshaw have had a rivalry ever since they both attended the same academy. Every chance they took, they always tried to one up each other. One day, Bradley takes the rivalry too far and Y/N ends up in the hospital with serious injuries. Will it make Y/N want to get him back twice as worse? Or will it make her realise that this rivalry between them is childish?

warnings - swearing, enemies to lovers, mention of serious injury, traumatic episodes, reader traumatised from what happened, smut, slowburn, seizures, flashbacks

a/n - hey girliessssssss! sorry that this one is kinda short but what i'm gonna do is just try and post a chapter every day so that u didn't have to wait so long! hope thas okayyyyyy xx

I'm still in the hospital. Which is very convenient. Note the sarcasm. I can't do much all day except go on my phone which got very boring after a bit.

But my friends visit me every now and then. Mostly Mav, Phoenix or my mate, Thomas, who moved with me to San Diego so that I wouldn't be fully alone. But he can't really visit as much because he's an accountant and his boss has made him work a lot of overtime.

Phoenix was currently visiting and telling me all about how Hangman was being a massive dick and him and Rooster nearly got in a fight about Rooster's dad.

"Yeah, he lunged for him! If the guys didn't hold him back Hangman would be waltzing about with the biggest black eye." It made my brows furrows and lift my lip in confusion.

"How did that make him so mad? Like me and Rooster always argue but he's never gotten that angry..." I was really confused, what the fuck did Hangman even say?

"I wasn't really listening to what they were saying, me and Bob were talking, not paying attention because we thought it was a normal argument they have." Wow... Maybe I should talk to Rooster, as if he's going to tell me though, he hates me. Phoenix checked the time on her watch.

"Right, I've gotta go... Training... I'll come back when I'm off duty?" I nod as I bid Phoenix goodbye.

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

I've been on my phone for 4 hours since Phoenix left. I'm now addicted to Candy Crush, Subway Surfers and Episode. I'm in the middle of playing Subway Surfers when I heard a knock at the door. It was Dr. Hunterson. She's always been lovely to me.

"Hi Y/N, there's someone here to see you?" She said it as a question, basically asking me if I wanted to see them or not.

"Send them in, anything to cure this boredom." I chuckle out, Dr. Hunterson laughed as she closed the door. A few seconds later, someone walks through the door. I looked up at them.

It was my mum.

"Y/N! Oh my god! I would've come sooner had someone told me earlier!" She set her bag down on the floor next to the chair she then sat in.

I sat in silence, not even looking up from my phone. I couldn't talk to her, let alone look at her. I continued with Subway Surfers.

"Y/N? Why are you ignoring me? We haven't spoken to each other in 7 months!" She laughed as she spoke. I slammed my phone down on the bed and finally turned to look at her, I glared at her.

"Why the fuck did you lie to me about dad? Why couldn't you have just told me the truth?!" You could practically taste the venom in my tone. I was fucking seething.

My mum didn't utter a word. He mouth opening and closing as if she was trying to say something.

"What? Can't speak?" I was absolutely pissing incensed. Why the fuck would she lie to me for so long?

"I... I... I don't know what you want me to say?" She had a guilty smile on her face.

"I want you to tell me why the absolute fuck you would lie to me saying dad just didn't want to be in my life anymore when he stopped visiting me?! And guess what is the funniest thing? Dad told me himself! Yeah! He told me." Mum had tears streaming down her face.

"When you want to act like an adult, I'll talk to you then..." She grabbed her bag off the floor and left the room.

"Fuck you!" I shouted as she closed the door. When I want to act like an adult. Tsk. Fuck her. I am a fucking adult.

I'm just going to have a bleeding nap, cannot be bothered staying awake right now...

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

I was woken up to yet another knock at my door. When I sat up and said come in, I saw Bradshaw.

"Just the person I wanted to see." I say sarcastically as I turn to face away from the door.

"Y/C/S, I just wanna say I am really sorry... I must have accidentally pressed something... I did not mean to take it this far... You may not accept it but I just want to say that I am really really sorry..." I turned to look at him and his face was filled with remorse.

I didn't like this look on Bradshaw. I wasn't used to it. At all. I'm a lot more comfortable with him having anger on his face while looking at me. He seems really guilty... Maybe I should forgive him, I mean... He does seem to actually regret it.

"It's okay Bradshaw... I've made that mistake before... Except... I actually killed the girl..." Bradshaw looked up at me with shock on his face.

"W-what?" He sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed, leaning forward.

"I may as well tell you... Me and this girl, Sox, we were doing a training exercise, but with actual missiles, trying to shoot a target..." I began to tear up. "As soon as I shot the missile at the target, Sox got in the way... Luckily I only shot the wing, but when she pressed the button to eject her seat..." Tears were streaming down my cheeks, I was trying to hold in sobs. "It didn't eject, so all she could do was wait till her jet crashed and hoped she would live. She didn't."

Bradshaw sat there, in shock, mouth agape. His face changed to a sympathetic expression.

"We were best friends, she was the first friend I made after moving here, to San Diego... Her family somehow forgave me, I can't even forgive myself. They said that it wasn't my fault. It was. I'm the reason she's dead. If I hadn't shot that missile, maybe she'd be here at Top Gun, and not me." I was borderline sobbing at this point. My body was shaking. My breath uneven. Eyes dead set on the plant pot in the corner of the room.

"Y/C/S, it is not your fault, you didn't know she was going to fly in front of the missile. You had no intention of hurting her. Don't blame yourself..." I immediately began to shake my head, disagreeing with him.

"No. No. It is my fault Bradshaw. I shot the missile. I am at fault. I killed her... If it wasn't for me, she would be alive. And I'm going to have to live with that. Until the day I die." I couldn't stop the crying now, even if I wanted to. I haven't talked about it since it happened. Not even to my therapist.

"Y/C/S, it's okay... I promise you, it wasn't your fault. From what you've told me it was a training exercise gone wrong... You are not at fault for anything…” His words were filled with reassurance, and coming from him, it actually meant something. Although it didn’t totally get the idea that it was my fault out my head, it put my mind at ease.

I gave Bradshaw a tight lipped smile as my eyes darted between his gaze and my bruised hands.

"About this... rivalry, that we have... Can we just call it quits?" Bradshaw finally spoke up after a while of silence. I looked at him with a smirk.

"What? Finally realised that I'm the best and you're second place?" Bradshaw laughed as he shook his head. He looked back up and has a smiled with his eyes.

"Absolutely not... I am never going to accept that sweetheart..." The nickname made my eyes widen. Sweetheart? He's called me that before but never in the tone he just used. It sounded almost, flirty? I don't know, could be nothing. That is Bradshaw's personality after all.

"Guess it's just really tiring, and..." I gesture to all my cuts and bruises on my body with a laugh. "This... but don't worry Bradshaw... won't hold it against you." I chuckle as Bradshaw leans back in his chair and does the same.

"Truce?" Bradshaw stuck his hand out. I took his hand and shook it with a tight smile. I wish it didn't take me almost dying for us to stop this. Maybe it was the only way? I'll never know.

[mandomaterial]

Forgotten pt.2

Pairing: Tonowari x Metkayina!Reader

Wordcount: 1.4k

Warnings: angst, mourning, horrible news, i love that Ronal is our sister yay, crying, no fluff, ANGST

Notes: i love writing angst but i don’t know if im any good at it- pls tell me how u like it and leave some ideas for what should happen next :P pics not mine, credit to the owner!

Masterlist /// Previous /// Next

Tonowari knew that he had to get his children back to the village, but at the same time he didn’t want to prove that you were gone; leaving without you. His heart was heavy with grief, and his mind was consumed with thoughts of you. He had failed to protect you, and the guilt was crushing him from the inside out...

As he rode on the tsurak, with his children in front of him, Tonowari could feel their small bodies trembling with fear and confusion. Tonowari couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth. He wanted to shield them from the harsh reality of their situation for as long as he could. He didn’t want them to feel the pain that he felt; he didn’t want them to suffer.

But the children could sense that something was wrong. Ao'nung was yelling “Mother! We need to find Mom!” angry because he didn’t understand why they were leaving you behind. Tonowaris youngest was already crying, alligator tears rolling off her cheeks and sobs leaving her throat, “…mama,… where’s mama…” she turned to look at her sibling and father “I want to see mama! Mama needs-“ she was cut off by her father enveloping the two of them in a tight hug. They could feel the grief and suffering rolling off him in waves.

“I’m sorry… I-I couldn’t… oeru txoa livu…” he whimpered into the hug “..they took her… they t-took sa'nok..” Tonowari couldn’t bring himself to look his children in the eyes, he had failed them; it was his fault. He could feel Tsireya sobbing and even Ao'nung started shedding tears. They couldn’t speak a word, being too shocked about their mother's disappearance.

Ao'nung wrapped an arm around his sister “We’re going to find her. She’s going to come b-back. If n-not… no. It’s impossible. She h-has to come back.” he said with a shaky voice, hoping to comfort his family. “D-dad, is this t-tue?” “Yes, syulang. She will return.. s-somehow… ” he added to his son's little speech.

It was already late at night, the dark sky speckled with stars, and soon enough Tonowari felt Tsireya slump against him, fast asleep. He couldn’t blame her, so much had happened that day, so many horrible things. But alas the sky people retreated and peace was soon to come back to the reef. Peace that has been waited on for a long time. Everyone would be at peace again; his clan; the Tulkun; everyone but him. He would never forgive himself for what he has done. Never.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Tonowari, Ao'nung, and Tsireya were the last to come back to the village, a crowd already gathered to welcome them back. As they disembarked the tsurak, the villagers erupted into cheers and applause, grateful for their safe return. But for the three of them, the joyous atmosphere only deepened their sorrow. The loss of their mother weighed heavily on them and their hearts were heavy with grief and pain.

As they made their way through the throng of well-wishers, Tsireya clung to Tonowari's side and Ao'nung walked behind him, their faces etched with confusion and sadness. They didn't understand how it was possible that their mother had been taken away, or why their father couldn't protect her. Tonowari himself was consumed by guilt and regret, wondering if he could have done more to save her.

Despite the outpouring of support and encouragement from the villagers, Tonowari and his children remained silent. No one knew what had happened. No one realized that someone was missing. In the heat of the battle, no one realized that their beloved Tsahìk had been taken.

The person they could always seek help from. The gentlest soul of them all. The person that never saw the bad in anything. The ray of sunshine that filled their lives with happiness every day. She of all people had been taken from the tribe.

Tonowari knew what he had to do right now. He had to share his troubles with one person first, before telling the rest of his people. Ronal, your older sister.

He walked to her Marui pod but before entering he murmured “Go to our pod. I’ll join you after this.” And gave his children a little push in the right direction. Stepping closer to the closed-off opening, taking a deep breath and balling his fists, “Ronal? Are you there? We have to discuss something. Right. Now.” he declared.

Rustling came from inside and the flap opened up instantly, revealing a tired Ronal. “Are you certain this can't wait until tomorrow, tsmukan?” He didn’t answer, entering the pod silently. By doing this Ronal understood that this was indeed very serious. “What happened.” Still silence. He couldn’t face her. “What happened?! Tell me!” Ronal cried. She prayed to Eywa that nothing happened to you. She rushed over and grabbed his arm firmly, turning him to face her, seeing the pain etched on his face she asked “…where is my sister.” with an unwavering tone. Her voice cut through the air like a knife.

This time Tonowari answered her. “She was taken” he whispered, looking straight at your sister. At first, Ronal didn’t seem to be registering what he was saying. She stared at him blankly, as if trying to make sense of his words. She didn’t want to believe it. Then, all at once, the realization hit her. Her eyes widened in shock, and she let out a strangled cry.

"No!" she sobbed, her body shaking with the force of her grief. "No, it can't be true!" She raised her hands and started slamming them against Tonowari's chest. “No! You are lying!” She sunk to the ground, dragging Tonowari with her. He tried hugging her but she struggled against him “No!” she screeched, tears rolling off her cheeks.

Tonowari held her tightly as she wept, feeling helpless in the face of her anguish. He knew that there was nothing he could say to ease her pain, but he stayed with her, offering what comfort he could.

Together, they cried for the loss of a sister, a wife, a mother, and the light of their life. Time seemed to be frozen in place as they mourned. After some time there were no more tears to cry though. It must have been in the middle of the night, everything was silent. It was Tonowari who spoke the first word “Tomorrow, we must tell the people. You must take her place as Tsahìk in this time.”

Ronal lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, shaking her head, her face contorted in a mixture of sorrow and anguish. “I can’t. I won't take her place” she whimpered. “You must. The people need us now” he spoke in return.

After a few more moments of silence, they parted from each other, standing up. Ronal gave him a single nod but stayed silent otherwise. Tonowari took this as his sign to leave. “Rest well, tsmuke,” he muttered

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The way back to his pod wasn’t long. He walked silently, thinking about what he should do simultaneously hoping that his children were asleep already, not wanting to face them again. The flap was still open, showing that his children had waited for him.

Stepping inside he looked around and saw his daughter sound asleep already. Tonowari continued looking for his son as well when he heard, “…what’s going to happen now, dad? Will she come back?” the voice came from the darkest corner of his home, his son sitting and leaning against the wall with his head resting on his knees, arms crossed over them.

“Ao'nung…” he dragged his feet closer, sitting down next to him, hiking up one knee and resting his arm on it. “I don’t know. I truly don’t know.” He looked over seeing his son tearing up. “But she will come back, r-right?” Tonowari didn’t know what to say so he just let his heart do the talking “We will reunite. We must pray to Eywa that it is in this life and not our next. But we have to continue living. Everything must be balanced in life, so we can not just stop living. I will send out word to the other tribes to search for her as well. I pray that Eywa help us.” He pulled his son closer, leaning Ao'nungs head on his chest.

“May Eywa help us”

[waitwehadhomework]

The One Where He Is Suave (he is, shut up Pansy)

  People would probably never believe him if Draco were to tell them that he preferred children to adults. It is unbelievable, he’ll admit, but it’s the solid truth. Children are loud, clumsy, messy little creatures. They also don’t judge people for who they are or where they happen to come from. They always speak their thoughts; even if those thoughts are better left unsaid. They don’t understand things like war or politics or prejudice, no. They stick to the more important things like; why are clouds so fluffy? Or, why are brussels sprouts so disgusting? Draco loves them.

  This is why he is secretly delighted when their Care of Magical Creatures professor tells the class that their year will be in charge of supervising the first years on a field trip located in the denser parts of the Forbidden Forest. There are audible groans all around and Draco had to quickly hide his excitement behind a mask of bored indifference.

  “Oh c’mon, don’ be like tha’.” Says Hagrid as there is another round of groans. “It’s jus’ fer one day, an’ the firs’ years are all well behaved, so there’ll definitely be no problem.”

  “You’re sending us into a dangerous forest with a bunch of infants, you oaf.” Pansy complained under her breath. “I see a lot of problems.”

  Draco refrains from rolling his eyes. “Hush, Pansy.” He shushes her.

  “It’s fairly simple.” Hagrid claps his hands together. “Yeh’ll be split inter’ groups o’ three, and yeh’ll be helpin’ each other supervise groups o’ ten.”

  An excited murmur arises around the students as they begin searching out and clutching onto their friends. 

  “Ahem, I’ll be pickin’ yeh groups for yeh if yeh don’ min’. Ya know, inn’er ‘ouse unity an’ all.” Hagrid continues causing more groans. “I’ll start now, yeah? Righ’ now, we ‘ave:

  Lovegood, Thomas an’ Zabini

  Parkinson, Weasley an’  Macmillan-”

  Pansy let out a wail of despair. “A Weasley and a Hufflepuff? Is he trying to kill me? You know, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

  When Draco doesn’t answer, she hits him with her book. “Show some sympathy, will you! I’m being led to my death here!”

  “Ow!” Draco rubs at the sore spot gingerly and glares at her. “Poor you.” He says, his voice flat. 

  “-an’ the las’ group; Smith, Malfoy an’ [L/N]!” Hagrid beams at the whole class who- unsurprisingly- does not beam back.

  Draco chokes on his own saliva and turns to face Pansy, horrified. “Who did he just say I’m grouped with?”

  “ Zacharias Smith and [Y/N]  [L/N], why?” Says Pansy, not paying attention to him but to her nails, examining them with a detached sort of satisfaction, unaware of Draco’s crisis. 

  There’s a moment of silence as Draco tries to regain his composure when the realization hits her. “Oh, oh. Is that the girl you’ve been going on about for- I don’t know- a century?” 

  “No” Draco denies quickly, but he knows it’s useless when Pansy smirks evilly.

  “Oh ho ho. This is gold, you literally have her to yourself for a whole ninety minutes. Draco Malfoy, whatever are you going to do?” She drawls.

  Draco gives Pansy a look which he knows conveys just how much he would like to throttle his best friend. Pansy is undeterred and she sticks her tongue out at him before scanning the crowd.

  “Just where is the unlucky girl, I wonder?” She muses loudly.

  “She’s right-” Draco stops himself. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.” He fibs. In truth, he’s actually been staring at her on and off throughout the whole class but Pansy doesn’t need to know that. Judging from the sly look Pansy is now giving him, Pansy already knows that. 

  “Oh Draco, you have it so, so bad, honey.”

  The Field Trip

  The first thing Draco notices about her is that she gives great lectures. All the first years are enraptured as she describes different magical creatures and plants with creative little details, not to mention adding her own fun facts to keep the children's attention from wandering. The next thing Draco notices is that although she is great at teaching children, she’s not that great with, well, children. He watches in amusement as she squirms uncomfortably when a little Ravenclaw girl praises her in awe, and then has to stifle a chuckle as she flinches away from a young Hufflepuff boy when he grabs and holds onto the end of her school robes.  

  “Charles, what exactly are you doing?” She asks, her voice strained.

  Charles looks forlornly up at her. “My aunt told me that if I’m ever in an unfamiliar place, I should stick close to the most responsible person.”

  “Oh, boo hoo” Smith mutters nastily. Draco shoots him a glare but Smith doesn’t see it, occupied as he is scowling at [Y/N]. 

  That’s the next thing Draco notices. As far as observation serves him, [Y/N] and Smith seem to have a strong mutual disliking for each other. Every once in a while, one of them would take a subtle- or not so subtle- swipe at the other and after a particularly cutting comment from Smith, Draco was about ready to hex off his private parts. How dare he.

  The three of you and your little group had reached a small clearing in the forest and [Y/N] had decided to give the first years a little break by giving them free rein.

  “This is exactly how I wanted to spend my day,” Smith says sarcastically, leaning back against a tree. “Babysitting a bunch of brats while listening to Ms. I-know-everything over here prattling off about fungus. What joy.” He sneers.

  That’s it. Draco’s had enough. He raises his wand and a hex is already on the tip of his tongue when he’s blocked by someone stepping in front of him. At first, he’s confused because he thinks [Y/N]’s trying to stop him from cursing the bastard but then he sees that she has her own wand out and it’s jabbed directly in between Smith’s eyes.

  “Careful now, Smith. I have tolerated your pathetic, immature whining up until now but you still insist on mouthing out your lame, dumb, downright imbecilic thoughts. You have two choices; shut the fuck up or get hexed. It’s completely up to you.” She threatens menacingly, eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

  Draco stares at her open-mouthed. He’s never seen her like this before. Like sure, he’s seen [Y/N] when she’s mildly irritated but even then the most she’d ever done is glare murderous daggers at the offending person.

  And she has been glaring daggers at Smith, he supposes. She’s probably just reached her breaking point.

  It’s a shame that Smith hasn’t come to the same conclusion.

  “What, are you seriously gonna hex me in front of all your precious little first years?” Smith goaded. 

  [Y/N] freezes as if just now registering her surroundings, shoulders slumping in defeat as she lowers her wand. “You’re right” She says regretfully. Then a beat.

  “KIDS, VOTING GAME TIME! Who do you guys like better; me or Mr. Smith here?”

  There’s a short moment of surprised silence then the small group erupts chaotically into cries of “[Y/N!]” and “I like [Y/N] the best!”. Draco is pleasantly startled when he hears a few voices exclaim “My favorite is Draco!”

  It warms his heart and he sends an uncharacteristic smile the children’s way.

  “There you have it, Smith. I have a feeling that they won’t be telling on me, whatever I do to you.” [Y/N] gloats, wand gleefully trained back onto him.

  Draco has to admire this side of her . Even though he knows just what she’s capable of, having already witnessed her in action. She’s never really been the type to use her skills in such a way. It’s what drew him to her in the first place.

  Smith bares his teeth in an ugly snarl. “You wouldn’t fucking dare [L/N], I’ll -”

  “ Densaugeo!”

  The Hufflepuff doesn’t stand a chance. The rest of his sentence is cut off as his front teeth start growing at an alarming speed, eliciting surprised yelps from the first years and a very unladylike snort from the caster. Draco can do nothing but stare as Smith tries to conjure the counter-curse through his botched dentures, fails, turns tail to flee... and barrels head first into a tree, effectively knocking himself unconscious.

  Salazar, we’re going to be in so much trouble.

  “ And that, darlings, is how you deal with morons.” [Y/N] bows with an overexaggerated flourish to enthusiastic applause, cheeks glowing with poorly concealed pride, the first years clamoring all into her space, praises of amazement filling the air. 

  Draco is done for, he hopes his family will attend his funeral. Cause of death: [Y/N] [L/N]. The love of his life, a menace to the general society. May his soul rest in peace.

  “Umm, you won’t tell on me, will you?”

  It takes him a solid minute to realize that the question is directed at him, along with bright, questioning eyes.

  As if I ever could. “Why would I? Prick got what he deserved.” An idea occurs to him then. “On one condition, though.”

  [Y/N]’s posture straightens minutely, interest piqued. “What?”

  It’s now or never, he decides. “Next Hogsmeade weekend, have lunch with me.” Wait, that was too abrupt. “Uh, please?” Ugh, nice going you simpleton. 

  Quietness descends as [Y/N] and the first years both gawk at him wearing identical looks of bewilderment. Oh crap, he completely forgot about the first years. Merlin, smite him now. 

  “... lunch as in a date?” [Y/N] questions, suddenly standing right in front of him, gaze piercing. When did that happen?

  “Y-yes, a date.” He barely manages not to stutter, desperate to exude the notorious Malfoy confidence he absolutely does not feel. “ I would like to court you, if you’re amenable to the idea.” Great, now he just sounds snobbish. Where the hell is Pansy when he needs her?

  “If I’m amenable,” [Y/N] repeats, smile spreading slowly across her face, “how gentlemanly of you.”

  Is he being teased right now? 

  Before he can work himself into a full blown panic, she takes pity on him as well as both his hands. It’s a considerably light hold, the barest of pressure applied and yet he finds that he can’t. Bloody. Breathe.

  “Breathe, Malfoy.” She grips his hands harder, grounding.

  “I’m trying.” He wheezes. He really is, he swears on his mother. It’s just a tad bit difficult when the person he’s been obsessing over is casually touching him like it’s nothing when he’s trying not to flipping die.

  “Do you really mean it? You really want to date me?” The query is uttered softly, meant only for him, the uncertainty so clearly laced in her tone catching him completely off guard.

  “Yes I bloody well mean it!” He splutters, “what the hell do you think I’m freaking out for, woman?! This is way out of my comfort zone, mind you and if it wasn’t obvi-” His tangent is interrupted by peals of sudden laughter. [Y/N] collapsing into him in a fit of uncontrollable giggles nose pressed against the side of his neck.

  Without thinking his arms wind themselves around her automatically, holding her in place as she tries to calm herself down. He’s not even mad, it was a stupid tangent anyway. He takes a chance and nuzzles the top of her head gently, immediately emboldened when she doesn’t pull away.

  “You dolt,” She says into his collar, voice muffled by the fabric, “I’ve been trying to get your attention since forever. I’m the one freaking out right now.”

  No way. No fucking way.

  He hugs her tighter. “So you’re saying tha-”

 “I’m saying yes.”

  Salazar, Merlin. If you’re listening, thank you you sadistic bastards.

[jucyfruit]

‘Media Is the Third Parent’: A Conversation With Lucy Dacus

by Justin Joffe | 2/22/17

The music that we love is an accumulation of narratives. The stories those songs tell, the memories they create for us and the truths that their writers have lived all become an important rubber band ball of context and experience, informing our connection to them in ways we don’t always immediately get.

So when a young artist emerges from the formless depths of adolescence near-fully formed, the narrative starts taking shape even before we understand it. Cries of nepotism, entitlement, and business collusion often drown out the true origin story of someone who takes to a big stage so all of a sudden, whether or not those cries have any merit. And in the case of Lucy Dacus, a 21-year old singer/songwriter from Richmond Virginia with a remarkably deep and powerful voice, no such assumptions about her recent ascension ring the least bit true.

Adopted at a young age and creatively nurtured by her piano-playing mother, Dacus’ musicality was embedded in her home life from the get go. Her debut, No Burden, was recorded by her guitarist Jacob Blizard as part of his winter project at music school Oberlin and released by hometown label EggHunt Records last February. Almost immediately, Dacus’ husky alto caught the attention of larger labels—over 20 of them—requiring her to take some time sifting through the muck and the mud, fielding offers and inquiries guided largely by her convictions and her gut.

Six months later she signed with venerable independent label Matador Records, and their reissue of Dacus’ No Burden last fall gave hope to this whole generation of self-starters. Dacus’ reverb-drenched, alt-country-dusted songs cut to the question of how an artist in the public eye can still live away from what Sartre called “the gaze of the other”, free from expectations of beauty or lapses in trust, living and working only by the standards they set for themselves.

We caught up over the phone to discuss what it means to take personal agency over your work in a time when art and politics seem pretty much inseparable.

How ya doin’?

Good, I’m in Canada! Hopefully my connection will be good, but if it starts to break up I’ll blame it on that.

So, were you looking at a hearse or a limousine? That lyric of yours reminds me of one of my favorite Leonard Cohen lyrics, “Thought I saw an eagle, but it might have been a vulture, never could decide.”

Yeah, that one’s really good.

Much of your album speaks to trust and navigating uncharted waters, but can you unpack that rhetorical question for me?

I guess the point of that song, “Troublemaker, Doppelganger” is trying to navigate the worth of beauty, and if it’s hurtful or helpful to value beauty. If it’s a curse or a blessing. Is that something really negative and morbid, like the hearse, or is it the limousine—a glamorous symbol of enjoying life?

I’m trying to connect how your interest in the aesthetic side of media, between your time in film school and your time as a photo editor, has informed your perspective on our habits of consumption and decision making. Is that something that weighs on your mind often?

Yeah! The media, and how we’re taught to read it, has a huge impact on who we become as people. When you’re a kid you learn whatever your parents think, until you start taking in media. Because all your friends are your age as well, media is the third parent that you ever have. So I think about that a lot, what visual imagery is teaching us, and media in general having a huge impact. But it’s ambiguous—if you haven’t learned the cultural symbolism where media is coming from, it can be really confusing.

You said that you felt this record was possible because you went into it without any expectations, during the writing and recording process. But the minute any work is released to the public, media expectations become imposed upon us. I guess it’s what Sartre called “the gaze of the other”. How do you keep that purity of intention during your process while operating inside someone else’s media infrastructure, an infrastructure that you didn’t build? It’s something I feel that you’re in a particularly great place to help us with.

[Laughs] A lot of the songs for the next record were actually written well before we spoke to a label or had any kind of coverage, so at least for the next record, I haven’t had to deal with that. But of course I’m still writing, and I think the biggest aspect of it that keeps me from catering to our current infrastructure is not trying to write. I don’t ever sit down and say, “OK, I need to write a song” or “I need to crank something out” or “I have to make something that will satisfy the people around me.” That’s never been a concern, I don’t think that should be a concern, and it means I maybe don’t write at a quick pace anymore, but everything that I do write is stuff that just comes to me the way any other thought does. So far it doesn’t feel like anything that I’ve written is compromised by the fact that we have a label now.

You’ve spoken about how you had to develop a bit more business acumen after this album was finished and you were shopping your project around a bit. Do you almost learn those things so that you can know when you don’t have to use them, in a way? When you don’t have to have your guard up with them?

Yeah, I really enjoy navigating the business aspect of having a band, and there is a great amount of instinct. You don’t wanna work with people who make you feel weird, even if they’re super qualified. You don’t want to feel like you’re being used by anybody, even though you are submitting to that in some way, in some mutual using of whoever you end up working with. But there’s a fine line that’s hard to describe between being taken advantage of and having a partnership. I feel like that might be different for everybody, but I would just suggest that anyone getting into this take their time and compare a lot of different companies or whatever you’re choosing. Be comparative about decision making , because you don’t have to rush into things.

That ties into the themes of trust on this record, too, which is funny because you wrote these songs before having to navigate those waters. You wrote, “I wanna live in a world where I can keep my doors open, but who knows what’d get in and what’d get out.” Would it be a stretch to connect that lyric toward your path of ascension in the music sphere, toward your approach to how you present yourself? Are you talking about trust in the abstract here?

Absolutely. The more you learn the more wise you’re supposed to be, but I still reflect upon myself as a child, or even just myself pre-audience, kind of contemplating on where my creativity came from at that point and always trying to stay connected to why I originally started writing. I did write that song a while ago, but luckily it still rings true.

I talked to Joe Steinhardt of Don Giovanni a few weeks ago, and he’s of the mind that the big three media companies are turning into the big three tech companies, insofar as Apple, Google and Amazon are eating whole industries of art, commerce and media. It got me wondering what we can do. Now obviously you’re on Matador, and they have a great reputation around doing right for their artists’ sustainability. What are you, and they, doing right when it comes to giving artists some agency over their own work?

I guess there’s two ways to approach this question. There’s technically retaining the rights to your own music, being structurally independent and not feeding into major labels or major companies, but then there’s also this idea of retaining agency in a more metaphysical sense.

I think both are important. Matador’s an independent label, which was part of the reason that we chose them. Myself, I feel like I still have ownership over my own work. Like I said, you just have to retain your writing process and not force anything. That’s what helps me feel like I still have a handle on what I make—it’s coming from me because of me, not because of anything else.

On top of that, I really like and respect bands that do more than just the typical structuring of recording, releasing and touring an album. Bands that are socially active, bands that are not afraid to talk about their belief systems explicitly. I’ve been inspired by that, and that feels like not just taking agency over your own work, but taking agency over the responsibility that you’ve been granted by a fanbase. Really contemplating your fanbase and being present with the people who listen to your music.

That begs the very timely and topical question, too—if all art comes from culture, and cultures are being stigmatized right now, then isn’t all art political? The question’s kind of irrelevant when the creative class is kind of a marginalized community in its own right, but I guess I’m just wondering how your value system responds to right now, as you come into the creative class professionally at a time when a lot of people are freaking out about the abolishment of the National Endowment of the Arts and similar public-funded avenues for creative programs or dialogues. What’s your role in pushing back against that?

The solution we came up with as a band for this tour was raising money for local charities at each of the shows that we’ve been playing. That feels like a pretty effective form of activism so far, but beyond that, I would hope that the music we make and tour causes people to consider not necessarily the specific current events happening around the world, but what’s behind them—power struggles, contemptment and these other things behind the negativity that we see, a lack of fulfillment in people.

It’s nobody’s actual job, but I personally admire people who see it as their responsibility. Whether its actual resources going to real life projects, charities or charities, that’s one piece of it. But like I said, the content of the music can really change people’s mindset, and I know that I’ve definitely been changed by some musicians and lyrics that I’ve heard. Like I said, media is the third parent to anybody. I would just hope that people write things that call for more thought instead of less thought. That could make a huge difference.

(x)

[ocil91]

I meant to do this MONTHS ago but I want to talk about the Coven Heads a bit now that they've all shown up at least a bit in Outsiders.

Let's just start with the three at the Glandus Incident.

Mason - Stern Head Witch of the Construction Coven. He's very good at what he does and has a bit of a perfectionist streak. He's a newer Head Witch and is quite proud of the title. He works well enough with the other Head Witches but he's not going to let them boss him around or speak down to him. Which generally puts him at odds with Adrian, Vitimir, Terra, Osran and even Darius.

He's generally a kind person but his strict adherence to his own personal beliefs, combined with being very openly hostile to anyone that he believes is in the wrong don't always make him come across that way.

He is Steve and Matt's father, which hasn't come up in the actual story yet but its a thing that's true. Steve and Matt are half-brothers meaning that they have different mothers, but the same father. He's proud of both of his boys. Does he know Matt is Dual Tracking? Probably not.

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

Raine Whispers - We all know and love Raine. An incredibly powerful Bard with an equally strong sense of justice. As a member of the Rebellion, Raine has to pretend like they are part of the Coven Machine, but cannot bring themselves to actually hurt anyone just to keep up appearances.

They are also the leader of the Bards Against the Throne and are fiercely protective of its members. It drives Raine mad listening to Darius making snide comments at their expense. The trio of Bards might not be as strong as Head Witches, but Raine believes fully in their potential and always seeks to nurture that potential.

As a talented actor, Raine pretends to be much more meek around the other Head Witches and Belos himself. With an overbearing presence like Terra always hovering over them, its easy for them to appear more timid and weak.

Speaking of Terra, their relationship to her is pretty simple. They absolutely hate the woman. She has involved herself in their life as far back as high school. She's even constantly vouched for Raine's ability while, in the same breath, infantilizing them. It's led to an overwhelming belief among the Coven Heads that Raine only got the position because of Terra.

However, as much they can't stand her, Raine can't help but feel like a helpless kid in her presence. One day they'll work up the courage to speak the truth directly to her face, but for now...

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

Terra Snapdragon - The ever-confident Head of the Plant Coven. She's held the position for decades now. Every year it is speculated that she'll finally retire and name her replacement but it never happens. Terra intends to hold firmly onto the role until she finally gets what she deserves. And to that end, everything is fair game. There's nothing too cruel or too petty.

Her age and experience put her a notch above even her peers. Despite her age her magical power hasn't weakened at all, even if her body has a bit. She looks down on pretty much everyone, viewing herself as the most skilled, most powerful, most beautiful, most... everything.

With the exception of Raine, she doesn't really get along with anyone. The others are either too young to be taken seriously or too weak for her to even consider listening to.

She even views herself as superior to Belos. She acknowledges his position in the world, but thinks of him as a lowly brute who she can effortlessly manipulate into doing what she wants.

Her relationship to Raine is more complicated than she'd like. Having never had any kids of her own, she legitimately views Raine Whispers as her legacy. This bright-eyed and endlessly talented kid who she took under her wing and boosted up to the very top! She will do whatever it takes to keep Raine on the right path and protect them... in her own ways.

However, any care she has for Raine is ultimately swaddled by her own selfishness. The core of the matter is that she views Raine as an extension of her own prowess and ability so, truthfully, her grip on them is just her trying to puff herself up further. Not that she sees it that way.

[lemonduckisnowawake]

Against my better judgment, I'm posting a concept short story of vampire-christian (2.6k words. Gloriously unedited) I wrote literally yesterday because I think I'm hilarious. Here it is on WordPress if that's easier for some of you.

Actually, while I'm here, as I put on WordPress, ShamelessPlugin time of this kofi. NOT to give me money, by the way, but because I want to support a friend going on a short term missions trip (once that goal is reached, I'll refund the kofi, unless you specify not to). You can help them by sending me a kofi with a prompt or, if you prefer, donating directly to them here or reblogging the donation post I made here.

Anyway! What do I mean by concept short? It means probably not gonna remain canon-canon but it's something I write as basically an exposition dump to establish setting and possible dynamic with minimal narrative meat. So here you go. I love the attention but why must you kill my notes whenever I log on?

The problem with grabbing your blood in the hours no one else did—which is to say, in the burning daylight of afternoon, first day of the week—was that, sometimes, you would run into unexpected difficulties.

It wasn’t anything new to Armaros that the day’s fresh shipment of blood hadn’t arrived yet when he graced the building with his presence. After all, most humans and a good number of supernaturals did their work in the day, so there was no reason to deliver the shipment of fresh blood to the Vida en Bolsa building too early. Especially when most of the creatures who needed it came in after the sun set.

What was new, however, was that this was the time he’d had to wait with the only other person being the new receptionist.

Right now, she was scratching away at a notebook and typing something on the computer behind the reception desk in the small waiting room. It was what she was doing every time he came to Vida en Bolsa, which was every week.

Usually, their interaction would go something like:

“Hello…I’m here to receive my donation…”

“Good afternoon! Good to see you again, Armaros! Yep, your shipment of blood should be here, maybe being unloaded into the fridge, but name and DNI number?”

Short response here.

“Perfect! Just wait here and I’ll go grab it for you!”

He would mutter a thanks, give her the bag where he could carry his blood subtly, and watch as she skirted around the half-circle reception desk and ran to the door opposite far left of the entrance. Then, she’d come back and hand him the bag now heavy with a week’s worth of blood bags.

She’d mutter a cheery, “God bless you!” like it didn’t make Armaros flinch every time, and that would be it.

That was a good routine. Armaros wished that routine could always be kept.

But alas, this was Spain. And even after five-hundred years, the virtue of punctuality was one that they still sorely failed to improve on—maybe it had been a more punctual culture when he was still technically alive, but years in the present had made the far past fade somewhat.

Nevertheless, typical Spanish lateness had been the cause of the apologetic, “Looks like they’ll be late again with today’s shipment” from the receptionist.

Speaking of, actually, Armaros assumed that Chae-ryeong was a receptionist. Or maybe distributer to the beneficiaries would be the right word for it? She seemed to do quite a few other things, if the forms on her computer were anything to go by.

The problem was, every time he walked past the building—which was often, even when not stopping for blood—he would see her form sat at the desk. Daylight or twilight, she was just…there.

Armaros wondered if she ever slept or ate or took breaks. The woman had bags under her eyes as permanent as her half-smile. The hair Armaros assumed was supposedly to be the typical straight, black, and strong East Asian hair was always in a frizzy (and more often than not, greasy) mess. And truth be told, whenever he spoke with her, the scent of her blood seemed to sometimes lack the distinct iron quality that most healthy blood should possess, which wouldn’t be that alarming—anemia signs otherwise—except that she was specifically working at Vida en Bolsa.

Personality wise, Chae-ryeong was the perfect receptionist. Appearance wise, she looked like she’d been run over by one of the delivery trucks he sometimes spotted in the parking lot.

“Hm…” Chae-ryeong suddenly broke the silence.

Five-hundredish years of life had still not trained Armaros to not flinch at the sound of another human voice. Especially when the owner of the voice was looking at him looking at her.

He blinked back, fighting not to break his stare.

“Sorry, did you say something?” Armaros questioned her.

…why did I start a conversation? he yelled internally. Curse me…no. I’m already cursed. I can’t bless me either—wait, she’s saying something.

He could have just pretended to be asleep or something.

Chae-ryeong, still wearing her usual half-smile, shook her head. “No, not technically,” he caught her saying. “I was just wondering at you staring at me, but maybe you were just bored like I was?”

Well, yes. He was bored. But boring was good. Boring was silent and peaceful and—wait, why was she bored?

“…aren’t you working on something though?” he asked her, briefly eyeing the laptop next to her covered in a weird assortment of stickers.

“Well, yes…but it is rather boring,” Chae-ryeong easily replied, the picture of nonchalance. “It’s just some work for another thing I’m doing, anyway. So why were you staring at me? Or were you just bored?”

“I, uh…” Armaros stammered, trying to follow the gunshots of conversation. “I’m not bored? I was just…wondering if you ever slept, since I walk around the neighbourhood a lot and always see you at your desk.”

…that wasn’t rude to say, right?

“Ha! Come on. I’m twenty-four!” Chae-ryeong scoffed, grinning at Armaros. “Uh. I think. BUT ANYWAY! I still have, like, a year left before my brain starts deteriorating. Who needs sleep when you’re young!?”

Armaros wanted to argue that he was five centuries old and still very much needed sleep. But he was the vampire awake in broad daylight—the time he should be sleeping in. Plus, he didn’t know much about human biology now, so…

His mouth didn’t seem to agree with his brain, as he found himself muttering, “Uh…I don’t think that’s how it—never mind.”

“Nah, it’ll be great,” Chae-ryeong assured him. “But yeah…come to think about it, I do work an absurd amount of hours here, don’t I?”

The expectant eye she was giving Armaros withered him a little bit as he felt himself forced to continue the conversation. “Um…how come you work that long?”

Chae-ryeong huffed. “Well, my parents are friends of the managers of this branch of Vida en Bolsa. And after their last few receptionists quit on them, I offered to take the positions until they found someone...s new. It’s great. I can do my master’s homework, be surrounded by blood, talk with vampires that sometimes want to eat me, serve God in some form of ministry, and earn money. Lots of it, too, given how I’m working almost all the shifts.”

“That sounds…unhealthy,” Armaros commented, at loss at what to say.

Was that rude? Judging someone he barely knew?

“Oh, it absolutely is! But if I ever need a blood transfusion, at least I’ll be in good hands with the medics here!” was her cheerful reply.

It was then when Chae-ryeong shut her laptop.

Armaros wanted to die, except he was already dead. Her shutting her laptop means she’s invested in this conversation. Send help, he cried internally.

“That’s…not really what I meant—hey, are you anemic?” he suddenly asked, catching a whiff of her scent with his enhanced senses. “Oh, uh. I ask because you always smell slightly less…metallic than most people.”

The woman rested her arms on the desk, tapping her fingers and wheeling her chair slightly back and forth, attention all on him. “Ooh…so vampires can smell that. Some of the others who come in the night shift tell me that too, but yeah, I am.”

“Doesn’t that make working here…unsafe? Hungry vampires can be…” he trailed off, forgetting the word he wanted to use to express the state of hungry vampires. He sunk deeper in his chair, knowing he should just stand and make the short trek to one of the chairs nearer to the reception desk but…not wanting to.

Well, Chae-ryeong seemed comfortable where she was as well, atrocious posture and all. And she didn’t seem to mind their distance either as she bobbed her head. “Yep! But who ever said ministry was safe?”

“Erm…”

Armaros didn’t really get it, but Christians—Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, whatever other thing there was these days that believed in the triune God and the cross and resurrection thing—they were a weird lot. After all, they were the first group to establish a blood donation system for the supernaturals who needed it despite their entire nature being lethal to his kind.

“Well…if it works for you, I guess,” he passively answered back.

“It does! I usually can take short naps during the slow hours. Most of the vampires already know me now and are nice enough to wake me up if I oversleep,” Chae-ryeong blissfully blabbered on.

“Can you even oversleep in your current lifestyle?” Armaros asked doubtfully.

“Yep! I usually get four good hours, but sometimes I overshoot to seven or eight from morning till afternoon!”

“…I see.”

“What about you? You’re pretty much the only Monday daylight regular,” Chae-ryeong offered him a question, something Armaros really hadn’t needed. “I mean, you say you see me when you stroll around, but I also see you a lot out in the sun. Isn’t that unsafe?”

“Yes…it is,” Armaros said, struggling to explain. “But…I enjoy taking walks…especially to stores. They’re never open in the night.”

“Ah…right. Why don’t you move to the nearby city, then?” Chae-ryeong suggested. Armaros noticed her head still bobbing slightly from earlier. “Places like Valencia have most of their establishments open at night for the nocturnal supernaturals. Smaller cities like ours don’t have lots of those, though I think we have a good number of them! I know the center has almost all the stores and the major groceries open in the twilight hours, at least.”

“…well, it’s not something that appealed to me.”

“Makes sense to me!” Chae-ryeong accepted easily.

They lapsed into silence, with Armaros aware that Chae-ryeong was looking at him, as if desperately wanting to ask a question. Sometimes, he wished he hadn’t become more aware of social cues…

“Sorry. I’m not great with conversations,” he said. “But…do you want to ask something?”

Chae-ryeong perked up, at least as much as one could without changing the permanent expression on their face. “Actually, yeah! But it might be rude…most of the vampires I’ve asked weren’t really willing to answer…or even let me ask when I mentioned it pertained to Christianity. Can I ask it anyway?”

No???

“Sure…this is a mission, after all.”

Why was he this way?

Well, she seemed happy at the allowance? Maybe? Again. Hard to tell.

 “To be honest, I just kind of am curious about how the whole Christianity thing and vampires works. I know vampires stay away from churches and the whole lot because, well, it literally hurts their very being. But like…I don’t know. A vampire classmate and friend of mine were talking and she’s always wondered how things would have gone if she’d lived during the time of Christ and had bit Him, capital H.”

…I’m having hearing issues, right? Armaros told himself. There was no way the receptionist had just—

He straightened, if only to lean forward and ask the woman, “Sorry?”

“…it’s a weird question, isn’t it?” Chae-ryeong acknowledged. And if she wasn’t wearing her polite half-smile, it would have sounded apologetic, but she was wearing it and the acknowledgment sounded too…nonchalant?

“I, uh…no. I’m really asking,” Armaros said, just to save himself the trouble of trying to admit anything.

“Oh, then my question was about—well, I don’t know if you believe in God, actually. But Christian items still hurt you, right? So…say you do. What would have happened if you had bitten Jesus Christ while He lived and drunk His holy blood.”

…huh.

This was a bit of a belated observation, but the new receptionist—new being relative given that she’d already been here for nearly two months—was insane, wasn’t she?

“I, uh…well.”

Chae-ryeong nodded in understanding. “Yeah. That’s about the response of the other vampires willing to consider the question.”

She didn’t seem disappointed, either. If anything, she looked resigned. And Armaros dearly wanted to ask, “Resigned to what?! What are you resigned to?! What kind of crazy question is that, woman? I just want my week’s worth of blood, please! Please don’t make me change to a 42-days shipment order!”

But he didn’t say any of that because he knew better.

Rather, Armaros did his best to sit back properly and meet Chae-ryeong’s curious dark eyes, glinting in the summer evening sunlight with…something expectant, maybe? With that, he found his mouth opening without his permission again.

“Well, most vampires believe in God. The ones who don’t, uh…don’t really end up living that long, to be honest. Some out of spite, others because they don’t really…take precautions for their safety. Some are still alive, I mean,” Armaros explained, feeling more and more self-conscious and doing his best not to pray (lethal idea) for the blood delivery truck to come already.

“The thing is, we don’t have…faith in God, you know? That might kill us, after all,” Armaros explained. His smile wasn’t too strained, was it? “So we just…I mean. I’ve never thought of that question? Maybe it would have killed us? I mean, I’m pretty sure a true Christian’s blood is lethal to us, so—”

“Wait, what?” Chae-ryeong interrupted him, her smile dropping for the first time in the conversation.

The change in expression was enough to throw Armaros into silence.

She didn’t seem to mind, as she continued. “What was that about Christians’ blood being lethal to a vampire?”

The question was enough to prompt the vampire to speak again, stammering out, “Uh…oh. Um. Yeah. Cause…I think it’s some theological principle?” He honestly knew even less about it.

A lightbulb seemed to light up over Chae-ryeong’s head, or maybe that was the setting sun—hang on, didn’t that mean it was nearly 9PM?

Armaros subtly tried to glance at the big owl-shaped clock on the wall in the reception area, which did confirm his suspicion that he’d been here almost an hour and a half.

“Well, huh…I guess now I know why that threat worked,” he thought he heard Chae-ryeong mutter to herself.

That…definitely didn’t sound like it was meant to be said aloud, so he simply decided to let it go.

“Hello?” another voice startled them out of their musings.

They both turned to the speaker, a woman who looked to be in her late thirties—brown hair, Mediterranean complexion, healthy blood, maybe recently sick, also carrying a clipboard.

Chae-ryeong’s smile immediately returned as she waved out her greeting. “Hi, Sandra! How are you?”

The woman smiled at Chae-ryeong, slightly false but not unkindly. “Very tired. Sorry about the delivery being so late today. Do you want some help unloading it?”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. I hope you can go home to rest.”

“I know I will!”

“And now, don’t worry about unloading. Carla, Leo, and Adele are already taking care of it, see?”

Three pairs of gazes turned outside to see an older woman and two youths in their twenties starting to unload crates from the white and red truck parked just in front of the entrance. One of the women—Adele, Armaros recognized from her dirty blonde hair—waved when she spotted their gazes.

Armaros just stared ahead, like he hadn’t seen them.

Honestly, he didn’t think he could take any more interaction at this point. Thank…not God. But thank goodness that he could now move on from this evening.

“Armaros, do you want your blood delivery now?” Chae-ryeong’s voice interrupted his relief.

He tensed again and nodded. “Thanks, yes.”

[pinkykats-place]

Bakugo Katsuki x Reader

Tumblr Recommendations

Disclaimers!

None of the stories linked below are mine.

Some contain mature content.

Note: If you read any of these stories and like them please like, comment and/or reblog their work!

▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️

Female Reader

bakugou speaks in actions, not words, but sometimes he'll give in and reassure you with sweet nothings

natural beauty 

katsuki bakugou x fem!reader 

Bakugou gets a haircut

The Language of Flowers

Stay with Me

Summary: Bakugo thinks his gf is losing interest in him.

say so.

Summary: Bakugou can't roller skate so he sulks while watching his friends have fun without him. That's when he sees a very beautiful girl called y/n and just can't stop staring at her.

I won’t say I’m in love

katsuki bakugou x idol!fem!reader

SUMMARY: s/n y/n is a popular idol in japan, but there is just one important thing worth mentioning… she is still in high school! but she doesn’t go to any school— she is a student at u.a. high where she has captured the special attention of the arrogant and short-tempered bakugou

Clingy

Husband!Bakugo x Wife!Reader

Fluff w/ slight angst

Secretly Spying

Bakugou x Fem!Reader

Summary: No one suspects you and Bakugou have anything going on, until you both go on a date and three of your other classmates are there and two decide to follow you and Bakugou around.

Happy Father’s Day

Bakugou x wife!reader

Katsuki “asking” you to move in with him

First ‘I love you’ from Katsuki

here, just for you

bakugou x fem!reader

summary: you give bakugo flowers, and he can’t figure out why

𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 ↣ bakugo becomes sleepy and asks you to shave his face for him.

Boxer! Bakugou x Sports Journalist! Reader

SFW ft. Female Reader

oh baby!

warnings — fluff, suggestive but no smut, minors dni, mentions of trying for a baby, love-sick!bakugou can’t resist your baby fever

matchmaking

bakugou katsuki x fem!reader

synopsis: pro-hero dynamight likes to do one (1) type of pr event, and that's going to schools and talking with kids. when dynamight visits your twins' school, the twins hatch a "perfect" plan between dynamight—bakugou katsuki and you—their mother

“YOURE SWEET, so you seem like you’d like sweet things like this.”

Katsuki Bakugou x shy!fem!reader

summary: in which katsuki figures out he is not the only student in class 1A that likes a certain, sweet food every once in a while.

Smut

Gloryholes

Khal Bakugo x female Reader

Caring

Bakugo x fem!dom

Summary: In which Bakugou is turned into a child, and you have to take care of him. 

Grinding 

Bakugo x fem!Reader 

daddy katsuki x bunny reader

Edging

sub!bakugou x dom!gn!reader

ft. Restraints & Praise

A LITTLE DRUNK ON YOU

ProHero Bakugo x fem!reader

Summary: sending naughty vids while he’s working has its risks and rewards

truth or

Bakugo x fem!Reader

Summary: after being dared to call a sex hotline, bakugo can’t believe his luck when it is you who answers

Daddy Lessons

Step-Dad!Katsuki x Reader

Smutty Fic … Warnings: Step-cest, age-gap, daddy kink, quirk-play, spanking, implied power/authority dynamics, implied cheating, rough sex, bruising, biting, marking, possessive actions, light degradation, lots of praise, creampie, aftercare

Call Me Daddy

Dilf!Katsuki x Reader

Smutty Fic - Warnings: daddy kink, breeding, age gap, authority/power dynamics, praise with a dash of degradation, rough sex, mention of bruising, claiming, belly bulge, size difference, creampie

Smut ft. Mommy Kink

Bakugou x fem!Reader

Lush

Bakugou Katsuki x f!reader w/ implied Sero x f!reader, Kaminari x f!reader & Kirishima x f!reader

Summary: It’s no secret to Bakugou that his friends think you’re hot, but he’s never allowed them to act on it before. Until they catch him using a remote controlled vibrator on you—

Smut ft. Bath Sex

dom!Katsuki Bakugou x sub!fem!reader

Katsuki fucks like he can’t live w out you

Bakugo x fem!Reader

CW:unprotected sex, spitting in mouth, cum eating, pussy licking, creampie, squirting, reader has acrylics, biting

MOTH TO A FLAME

Bakugo x fem!reader + kirishima

summary: kiri is staying at bakugo and his girlfriend’s house when he catches them having sex through the crack of their bedroom door. kiri discovers he’s into voyeurism.

phone calls from far away

Bakugo x fiancé!reader

synopsis — katsuki get's grumpy when he's away from you - but luckily his groomsmen know just who to call to make him feel better

katsuki sending voice messages of him masturbating

Headcanons ft. DILF!Bakugo

Shower Sex

Succubus in Training

Summary: Class 1A has a Sex-Ed class that teaches them about a new species of humans that have sexual quirks and can be summoned. The Bakusquad decides it would be funny to test it out on an unsuspecting Bakugou. However, after you show up and rock his world, Bakugou is the one who will have the last laugh.

Caught

Aged Up!Bakugou x Fem!Reader

Summary: your kids walk in on you and your husband’s mommy and daddy time

Pillow Humping

AgedUp!Bakugo x Wife!Reader

Just thinking about soft and loving sex with Bakugou

Bakugo x afab!Reader

College AU

Bakugo x afab!Reader

Bad Enough for You

Bakugo x fem!Reader

Summary: the bathrooms at house parties are really only used for one thing    

Old man Bakugou

Warnings: 18+, retired!Pro-Hero Dynamight, Bakugou is 50, reader is like half his age or more or less

Bakugo falling for a 'popular' girl

Katsuki x fem!Reader

Katsuki loves sex with his mask on

Bakugo x fem!Reader  

Say My Name

Bakugo Katsuki x afab!Reader

werewolf!Bakugo x fem!reader

how do you imagine bkg’s first bj went

Masterlist of BK fics

[gayuu-the-necromancer]

Hi!

I'm so glad you opened a new blog for this game!

I can't wait until it gets out!

I actually understand a little bit of Japanese vocal (but not the kanji lol)

So to what I get of the character relationship with eachother (it might not correct though!)

William-

Liam: says that will is their and doesn't want be hated him

Victor: says tha he and will are the head of the CROWN but their relationship doesn't go to be so close and advise to be careful around him

Harrison-

Liam: says that the 2 of them are partner and That he is a bit of a troublemaker but still kind but for some reason Harry looks at him with sad eyes

Victor: he likes him and finds him cool!!!! But it one-sided love...

Liam-

William:(his lines are so complicated!!!) He finds him cute and says that Liam is ready to hurt someone or himself for love (not so sure about this one!)

Harrison:he doesn't not think of as a partner but as an acquaintance but doesn't think he's evil at all

Elbert-

Alphons: Since the first time they met he thinks he's a weirdo

Ellis: says that Elbert is always searching for beauty and he wants to help him and wonders when will he be happy

Alphons-

Elbert: thinks that Al know him better than himself

Roger:(i really had a hard time to get what he says) Al has the mirror of snow white which mean he can see through people (really not sure about this, but anyway Roger seems an expert of curses!)

Roger-

Alphons:he say he is cruel and very egoist and for that reason to be careful around him

Jude:(I'm in love with his accent but it's to damn hard to understand every single word!!!) Roger is a messed dude and he used to do experiments on people (not sure! Cause this dude speaks kansai!)

Jude-

Roger: they used to do the same profession (so doctor i guess?) But he decides to stop, still he didn't quit the habit to smoke

Ellis:the day he met him Jude made a promise and for that reason they are together! Doesn't say he is a good person but hoes he can find happiness

Ellis-

Elbert: says that Ellis gives him a lot of things and it hurts him that he can't reach ellis' expectation

Jude:(he sounds like his dad lol!!!) Says that he might seems like quiet but is actually pretty stubborn and because of that he is a pain in the ass and he doesn't want to be with him forever

Victor-

William:(i really have a hard to understand the lines of this beautiful dude) since the day he met him he's free (not sure!) But is suspicious about the queen from Victor's story (maybe she might be dead JUST A THEORY)

Harrison: Vic puts a lot of tension on him, he is a pain, and a big liar! He can continue to talk bad about for the rest of the day!

First of all, thank you for this! This can be helpful for everyone!

William: I'm happy that William sounds dangerous. Please remain dangerous forever.

Victor: I agree with you! Even I think that Queen Victoria is dead and Victor hiding this truth from the others and is giving orders in her majesty's place...and if the male leads demand that they want to see Queen Victoria, then Victor can pose as Queen Victoria...that's why he grew that long hair, right? Victor? lol

Harry: Sounds like a free-spirited guy, who doesn't care about anything and is cool. Nice! Also, no pun intended.

Liam: This guy looks to be veryyyyyyyyyyyyy self-giving and I don't like those kinds of people. I don't mind if people are a little selfish about themselves. I hope he's not too selfless.

Elbert: I can imagine a scene where Elbert calls MC beautiful and keeps her locked inside his cage as the most beautiful thing in the world.

Alphonse: Still is a psychopath and I don't know why, but out of all, he is the most forgettable character for me. Sorry, Alphonse fans...

Roger: Jude has an accent? Since when? Am I racist for not noticing?

Jude: Okay, I came back after listening to Jude's voice lines and.....i didn't notice the accent, feel free to call me racist... I mean, it's not as noticeable as Yoimiya's accent. I'm sorry. When the trailer comes out, I might notice it. Sorry Japanese people, IF I'VE OFFENDED YOU.

Ellis: Sounds like he's very innocent and clingy?

[sugarcubetikki]

How are you doing?

I'm gonna go ahead and assume this about Vol 2 and Byler and god everything that happened because what else-

I haven't watched it properly skimmed through it but I did watch most of the scenes with Mike, El and Will and I have many thoughts.

Firstly, if M*leven is endgame, I'm just saying it's a horribly-written ship. So badly written like it's like the writing of this ship keeps getting worse and worse every season. Especially this season. Nothing in terms of their entire arc even made sense remotely. Literally nothing.

The whole point of their arc this season was to ridiculously build up to another grand love confession that saves El's life at the end of the day. It's so ridiculous I'm not even joking.

The arc they gave to justify that sole purpose of the love confession was more like El, you know, she lost her powers and everything, doesn't know who she is, moving away has been hard, and after the Angela incident and all the uncertainty in her mind abt possibly killing the lab kids and the oh god way Mike looked at her when she did that she's afraid she's the monster here and she's the bad guy. And she feels like Mike views her as such and he has to prove to her that he doesn't and that she's a superhero in his eyes and he can do it by saying that he loves her but just can't say it because she's special and he's just a weird nerd and he's scared about the fact that one day she'll realise she doesn't need him anymore and he's just oh so afraid of losing her.

It sounds ridiculous but this is exactly what they did all to lead to Mike eventually giving El a grand love confession so she can break free! That was the only development their relationship got and it was so rubbish because it didn't even fix the real issues in their relationship: the lies and their inability to communicate properly and oh maybe how Mike treats everyone else like garbage when El is around.

Plus, you think it couldn't get any worse, but the development to the love confession and their "journeys of personal growth" aren't even interlinked with each other.

El's journey does make sense according to her whole arc of digging deep down into her memories, learning the truth about what happened in the past to overcome her trauma and insecurities. Her arc was more definitely more about personal growth as whole and not only in terms of her relationship with Mike which is good. If you want to speak in terms of her relationship with Mike, she gets over her insecurities about feeling like a monster which is good and there's less of that influencing her relationship but that's broad in terms of her character not really too much in terms of her relationship.

For Mike, his "journey of personal growth" was solely about El. And it's supposed to be about him having to contemplate and sort through his insecurities so he can tell El that he loves her at the end of the day. Which is so annoying how they limit Mike's character to El this entire season. It's presented that way and it sucks. And the worst part is that Mike doesn't come to these realisations himself. It's Will who prompts them. It's Will who's there to reassure Mike about everything. It's Will who literally DOES M*LEVEN'S DEVELOPMENT FOR MIKE I'M NOT EVEN JOKING.

When Mike's expressing his insecurities about El feeling like she won't need him anymore because he feels that she's so so special whilst he's just some random nerd and he's clearly feeling unworthy of her love so that contributes to him not saying it, then we have Will be the one to reassure him that El will always need him. We have Will be the one to show him the painting he made of all of them (and him lying tha El commissioned it of course). We have Will point out the heart he drew on Mike's shield and how Mike's the heart of the group and how they'd all fall apart without him. Especially El.

And that's supposed to be build up to what encourages Mike and helps him to confess to El, like we have Will even telling him "you're the heart" as El is on her death bed and then he can finally do it.

It's so so weird. Mike's insecurities are about him and El. Why are we bringing Will into this? Why is Will the one that helps him in overcoming these insecurities only for it to go back to serving a M*leven purpose? If the purpose of Mike overcoming these insecurities is to say I love you, narratively speaking, it's something he has to do by himself or El should've been the one to reassure him that she does need him and he's more than just a random nerd because this is about him and El.

But what the hell we literally have Will saying it instead of El? And all the things Will was saying didn't actually refer to El's feelings but his own feelings he was merely using El's name to express them and this conversation is later what builds up into the M*leven love confession. It LITERALLY MAKES NO SENSE. NO SENSE. AND IT'S MESSED UP IF THIS SHIP IS SUPPOSED TO BE ENDGAME. IT'S MESSED UP FOR THE SHIP. IT'S MESSED UP FOR WILL.

Like, ultimately the buildup to Mike overcoming his insecurities around their relationship and being able to carry out this grand love confession to El is because of Will confessing his own feelings under El's name and I'm not even kidding I'm sure Mike thinks that everything Will said is what El feels. The notion that leads to the entire love confession is so deceptive. If this is literally supposed to be one of the main ships of the show like what? And then they don't even have El talk to him after it. It's very messy. I don't trust M*leven and I'll probably keep saying this even if they end up together at the end of the show because what we've been saying for ages is right either Byler is endgame or the show has very messy writing and right now it is leaning more toward the latter and it's disappointing.

Plus if Byler is never going to happen and M*leven's endgame, not only did they mess up the everything about their endgame ship, they used a gay kid's feelings for his best friend to push that best friend to confessing to his girlfriend which is not okay AT ALL. It's horribly problematic. God, it's so problematic. They're using a gay character and a gay character's feelings to push a straight ship forward. They're feeding his pain and suffering through that. They're giving him no reasonable closure if this is never ought to be brought up in S5 again. They're telling us that gay people need to suppress/camouflage their feelings in order to appeal to heteronormativity. It's horribly messed up.

It's very frustrating. I do have some hope for Byler because of how weird M*leven was and the parallels to Robin, Vickie and her bf this season (also Steve literally embodying us Bylers the entire time throughout the Robin/Vickie situation) and I think the end of this season strongly applied that Vickie/Robin will be canon the next season at least I hope because god I'm confused with what they're even trying to do at this point.

I'm not going to try and build up too much hope for S5 though because being baited with all the marketing they did about clarifying things in terms of Will being gay and building up Byler in Vol 2 and that never properly happening used up my mental energy.

I might just read fanfiction and interpret things the way I want to Byler is canon in my head screw whatever the Duffers end up doing next season.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

I think what some anons don't understand is that while I would love it to be a Diaz Buckley family show.... It is not. It is an ensemble action show filled with very powerful actors. You have people like my brother who do watch it to see a truck go over the cliff. My parents who are huge fans of the Angela and Peter. Me who love Buck and Eddie.

And my point is yes sure that like it would have been cute to have Buck and Eddie sit to together but they aren't always catering to us you know. It's not a personal slam against us. Deeper meaning to me means the constant circling of call backs to Eddie and Buck. And there are a million so I'm confident.

But I will say just one thing. Your biggest clue is the fact tha theyt torched both Eddie and Buck relationships that were seasons in the making. I may not have loved Taylor but the audience didn't totally hate. She would have been a useful side character of a GF. Some one I didn't have to see often but comes in handy. Yet.... They torched the relationship. Both are single now and the bigger question you have to ask yourself is why. Why as a writer do you do that in S6 of a show. A show that we now know had always been building Buddie foundation. Why have Eddie say in the end of 4 I made you Christopher's guardian all the way back at the well, then have a reconciliation arc with his parents you know. They always knew they were going there so why do that. Because it will all come into play again.

But again if it doesn't bring you joy don't watch. Hopefully one day you can come back and enjoy the arc.

Hey Nonnie

I can't even remember what this was in reference to as it was so long ago, but I'm guessing it was related to some of my other nonnie's being worried about Buddie going canon and the Lucy of it all. You make excellent points and I agree with what you've said, except my hatred of Taylor goes beyond not loving her( 😂) and even there you speak the truth in terms of her existence on the show - she would have been a useful side character and in a job which had the potential to provide a different perspective on things, but torching that relationship was always going to happen - as soon as they didn't make any attempt to give her story arc the redemption it needed - if they wanted to keep her she would have realised the error of her ways, apologised to Buck, Bobby (especially) and the firefam for her behaviour in S2 (and S4).

That relationship gave Buck growth - a lot of growth - we get to see him realising that he doesn't have to settle, that what he needs and wants does matter. I wish they hadn't had it go on for as long as it did, but it did give us some really important aspects of Buck and his relationship with himself, his self worth and it acted as an amazing juxtaposition with his relationship with Eddie - something we wouldn't have been able to see if they had broken them up earlier - and that in and of itself makes it important. As an aside the Buck Taylor relationship going on for as long as it did, also gave Eddie time to work on himself in a way that wouldn't have been possible if Buck had been single - its hard to put into words what I mean exactly, but it needed to be set up in such a way that Eddie 'couldn't lean on Buck' in a more intense way - Eddie wouldn't have been able to put himself into such an isolated position if Buck had been single because Eddie wouldn't have been able to try and get Buck to move on - its such an interesting thing (which I am not explaining well at all) to have the Taylor part of the equation built into the shooting and will - in a way that Ana never was - it isn't so much about the concept of a love triangle, but her presence and how that presence came about through the shooting and Bucks vulnerable emotional state (which links into all of his relationships if you look at them in context!). That is also a part of the building blocks of Buddie - it is the moving of more chess pieces because it allowed Eddie to go through his breakdown and head into S6 with more work to do, but in a far better emotional place - one he can continue to grow from and continue to unrepress himself. And now Buck has recognised what he actually wants from a relationship and that he doesn't have to settle, he's moving towards a more emotionally stable place (he still needs to go through some stuff to really and truly be in the right place but he made some big strides forward in S5 through his own sort of breakdown it was just done in a much more subtle way and isn't yet over) a place where he will be ready to be in a real and loving relationship.

Like I said - all the chess pieces are being moved with such deliberate intention since the beginning and we're only just now, getting to see and appreciate the earlier groundwork as we get ever closer to Buddie canon!

I too hope the Nonnies who are unhappy and have stepped out can come back down the line and enjoy the full arc because I really do think its being done with such love and care by the writing team (even if I don't agree with all their choices!!)

so thanks for your great message and the support of my stance on things!