#she’ll probably make us sit with mastermind for a week

[rachlou86]

I don’t think there’s going to be any pattern to midnight mayhem. Sometimes we’ll wake up to a new title, sometimes we won’t. Ultimate chaos just the way she likes it!

[fitzskmmons]

huge shout out to @futureoutoffocus on here and future_out_of_focus on Ao3!

Green Eyed Monster 3.1k words

EJ wasn’t sure why he had a pit in his stomach or why his first thought was to call Gina over to him for no reason. He was standing by his locker after the final bell rang waiting for Ashlyn and Gina as normal, when he looked over and saw the new kid – Kyle or Ryan or whatever; EJ didn’t care enough to learn it – attempting to flirt with Gina. At least that’s what it looked like. He could tell Gina was unimpressed by him, but that didn’t seem to stop the kid from talking to her. It also didn’t stop EJ from feeling that heavy pit in his stomach. Gina caught EJ’s gaze and did a subtle eyeroll.

EJ took out his phone and shot her a quick text. Luckily she realized she was getting an out and told what's his face that her mom was calling her. She said a quick goodbye and speed walked over to EJ. She grabbed his hand and tried to suppress her laughter. They made their way to an empty hallway before falling into the wall, giggling.

“So when’s the date?” EJ asked her with a grin on his face.

“You know I don’t think you can go out with someone whose name you don’t even know.” Gina shrugged her shoulders and leaned into EJ.

“I’m pretty sure it’s something douchey like Kyler or Max with 2 X’s.” This made them both laugh again as they went to find Ashlyn after making sure the coast was clear.

-

“So anything interesting happened while you were waiting for me? I may or may not have seen Gina getting kinda aggressively flirted with by Noah.” Ashlyn waggled her eyebrows at the now blushing girl.

“Oh! So that’s his name, less douchey than I thought. But Ash is right, it was a little aggressive,” EJ said, looking at Gina through the rearview mirror.

“I don’t think he realized that I didn’t enjoy being talked at. I think I said 10 words in the 5 minutes we talked. 5 of them were ‘oh my mom's calling bye’ and then I basically ran to EJ. So hopefully he gets the hint.” Gina caught EJ’s gaze for the second time today and gave him a grateful smile.

“Well, in that case I think a lemonade from Dutch Bros is needed after you went through today. Plus I’ve been craving it for weeks!” Ashlyn exclaimed and the other two agreed.

That wasn’t the only time EJ felt that way. In fact, it seemed to happen more frequently after that incident.

-

The next few times EJ realized the pit he felt was jealousy. At first he tried to deny it, claiming he was just feeling protective over his best friend. Especially when Gina was helping with the choreo for Beauty and the Beast.

They had been in the auditorium for close to three hours now, going over lines, Kourtney doing some more costume adjustments, and of course learning the choreography for the numbers. Gina was over in the far corner teaching some of the ensemble some basic waltz steps while EJ was sitting across on the other side of the stage watching her grace combined with their clunky movements. Every so often Gina would look over at EJ and give him either a small smile and wave or an eye roll and frown depending on whether the boys were listening to her or not.

Around 6pm, Miss Jenn announced that Big Red was on his way with pizza and that they would definitely be gone by 8 at the latest. EJ knew the last one was a lie, they never got out before 9.

There was a chorus of ‘Pizza!’ when Big Red and Ashlyn walked in 20 minutes later. Ashlyn must have asked Gina for help because the next thing EJ knew Gina and one of the main background dancers, Jordan, got up and headed out to Big Red’s car.

“Ash!” EJ yelled over at his cousin once Gina was outside.

“What? I’m right here.” Ashlyn rolled her eyes at him.

“So Jordan, huh? What’s his deal?” he asked.

Ashlyn could feel her smile growing as she looked at EJ. He was not as skilled at hiding his emotions as other people.

“You know I'm not too sure, but he must be nice enough if he offered to help,” she said with a knowing smile and a shoulder shrug. “Come on, help me pass out plates.”

Once everyone had their pizza and drinks it was time to find places to eat. Gina naturally made her way over to EJ but this time with Jordan in tow. Ashlyn and Big Red weren’t too far behind. They were all laughing about something when they got to the hallway outside the auditorium. EJ could feel that pit coming back.

“Hey! EJ, right? Jordan,” the boy said, extending his hand. EJ shook his hand, making sure not to squeeze too hard. “Nice to formally meet you after all these weeks.”

“I know, it’s been a little hectic! But I do have to say you have the best teacher.” EJ shot Gina a smile which she returned as her blush crept up.

“She really is! I didn’t know there were so many names for all the moves!” Jordan laughed as they took a seat on the floor. EJ couldn’t help but like the guy.

“Oh stop it! Or keep going, whatever you want.” Gina was laughing along while trying not to meet anyone's eyes.

They talked amongst themselves and ate their pizza until Jordan brought up how cute of a couple EJ and Gina are. This caused them both to blush and look at the ground.

Ashlyn was the first to speak up since the other two were too preoccupied trying to get their faces less red. “Oh, they aren’t a couple, even though we all know it’s gonna happen,” she said, giving them both a ‘you know I’m right’ look.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it awkward! I was actually gonna suggest a double date, but now I see that might be a future thing.” Jordan looked a little bit confused, which was to be expected.

“You remember Samantha, right? The cheer captain?” Gina asked EJ as he tried to remember.

“She’s got dark hair and she’s probably my height?” Ashlyn tried to get him to remember. EJ’s eyes lit up and they knew he remembered.

“She was the one who broke her ankle off the pyramid?” He cringed at the memory.

“Yes! Well Jordan here has been dating her since sophomore year and he was asking us about the perfect promposal for their senior year prom.” Gina could see EJ relax at the new information.

Miss Jenn came out just a minute later to tell everyone they have 20 more minutes before they ran through the first half of the second act again. Gina definitely scooted closer to EJ and he relaxed and put an arm around her as they discussed promposal ideas with Jordan.

Ashlyn could sense something was going to change between them sooner rather than later.

-

After opening night everyone saw the looks that EJ and Gina were giving each other all night and thought they finally got their act together. They learned they were wrong when they left for Slices in separate cars. Ashlyn, Nini and Carlos decided to come up with a plan.

Ashlyn promised Ricky that EJ wouldn’t hurt him too badly if he helped out with her plan. Ricky only agreed to go through with this because Nini gave him puppy dog eyes and Ashlyn did threaten him slightly. The plan was simple enough: go up to Gina, give her a small gift, ask her out knowing she’ll say no. Easy enough. The next school day was when the plan was going into action.

Ricky could feel his heart beating not because he was going to get rejected, (and hopefully not punched) but because his friends’ future is on his shoulders (he was only being a little bit dramatic). Ricky looked at the clock and knew it was go time.

“Uh, Gina hey!” Ricky knew his voice was shaking but hopefully that added to the drama of it all. “Can we talk real quick?” Her eyes got wide and Ricky got more nervous.

“Sure, what’s going on? What's with the bag?” She asked and gestured to the small bag containing her opening night gift. It wasn't anything big, just a bracelet Ashlyn heard her mention.

“Oh, it's for you,” Ricky was tapping his foot to keep him calm-ish. “Just a little opening night gift.”

Gina took the small bag and began to open it. “Wow, Ricky, it’s very pretty thank you. I just wrote a card, sorry.”

She only looked a little sorry about that. Ricky could tell the plan was going smoothly.

“No worries! I wasn’t expecting anything anyways, so thank you. But that’s not the full reason I'm here. I actually was wondering if you maybe wanted to get dinner later? Like a date?” Ricky hoped he sounded sincere enough and not like he was playing a part. He knew what was coming next and for the first time, was happy to be rejected.

“Ricky, I’m flattered but I'm actually-” she started until Ricky cut her off.

“No, no it’s okay I get it. You were really great tonight. I’ll see ya,” Ricky tried to hold back a sigh of relief as he walked away from here. He gave himself a high five as he rounded the corner.

Nini, Ashlyn and Carlos were all in the spot they set up as base and waited for him to round the corner.

Ashlyn was the first to speak “How’d it go? Did you get rejected? I hope so. No, that was mean but you know what I mean.” Ashlyn was talking almost too fast for him to keep up.

“It went exactly according to plan, now we just have to wait for Gina to tell EJ and he is the final piece of this, whether he knows it or not.”

They all had the same look on their face and hoped no one heard them.

-

Ashlyn knew the plan had been a success when she got a text from EJ asking to talk about something. She had to mentally prepare herself for the role of ‘inspiring cousin’ instead of ‘mastermind of the whole plan’. They planned to meet the day after the ‘Ricky Incident’ as she’s been calling it, at 4pm when Gina would be busy facetiming her brother.

Ashlyn heard a small knock on her door before it opened, revealing a nervous EJ.

“Hey, still a good time to talk?” EJ asked as she gave a nod.

Ashlyn turned her body towards EJ’s when he sat on the edge of her bed. “Of course, what’s going on?” she asked while trying to not sound giddy.

“Well, I’m not sure if you heard or if Gina told you, but Ricky asked her out last night after the show,” EJ’s voice faltered a bit, but Ashlyn couldn’t tell if it was jealousy or something else. “She said no, but now I can’t stop thinking about what would happen if she said yes. I would support her of course, but the thought of them together makes me sick to my stomach.”

Ashlyn scooted closer to him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m really proud of you, last semester you would have probably punched Ricky if you and Gina were the same way you are now. But, she said no, right? So no need to worry.”

EJ just gave her a small smile.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” EJ took a deep breath before continuing. “The last few months I've been confused about how close Gina and I are. When she told me about Ricky, the first feeling I got was dread. And the second feeling was that I missed my chance with her.”

EJ waited for Ashlyn’s reaction. Her face had the smile that she had been holding in this whole time.

“And by that you mean?” Ashlyn trailed off, letting EJ be the one to tell her.

“By that I mean, I like her more than a best friend way.” EJ prepared himself for her reaction, which came in the way of a bear hug while whispering ‘I'm really proud of you’ into his ear.

“So, now's your chance! Are you gonna ask her out?” Ashlyn knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t nearly as confident as he seemed.

“I’m not 100% sure she feels the same and I really don’t feel like losing her as a best friend for something I can try to ignore.” Ashlyn’s heart hurt at those words.

“Are we talking about the same Gina? The girl who goes out of her way to sit next to you, as close as she can get? You do realize that she went to you first to talk about Ricky, she still hasn’t brought it up to me.” Ashlyn was trying to get a read on his face, she could tell he was still doubting her.

“That’s just what friends do.”

“Have you ever seen me sit on someone’s lap who wasn't Big Red’s? No, because friends don’t do that, you only do that with someone you like.” EJ looked a bit more sure of himself now. “Look, you gotta trust me on this. Just believe in yourself.”

They hugged once more before EJ left her room to think for a bit.

-

It took a little over 72 hours after Ricky asked Gina out for EJ to find the courage to finally tell her how he feels. If this goes well, he would have to thank Ricky.

It was Monday around 3:30pm, school had let out about 45 minutes ago which meant the parking lot was empty, perfect for EJ’s plan.

His phone alerted him of a new text message.

‘hey almost at the car, sorry! mr. wills likes to make one question have a 30 minute lecture ugh’

‘No worries! I’ll have the air going!’

A few minutes later Gina walked towards EJ’s little red car, one of the last few in the parking lot. He saw her let out a laugh as he danced along to the song on the radio.

“Hey, hey!” Gina opened the passenger door with a cheesy smile on her face. “Having a dance party without me?”

EJ laughed at that.

“Just waiting for the life of the party is all!” Gina giggled at him and smacked his shoulder. “I mean it’s true! Did Mr. Wills do the whole ‘ohhh back in my day we had this and everything was better’ thing? I remember being stuck in class for an hour and a half last year all over the question ‘why is pluto no longer a planet?’ I meant it as a joke. He took it very seriously.” Gina was laughing hard at that story and nodding.

“He did! I asked him how long a year was on Jupiter and he had a lot of thoughts about it,” Gina said. “It’s ‘12 Earth years, but in my heart it’s only 11.5’” she said, imitating the teacher's voice.

EJ threw his head back laughing. She was grinning at him and he knew it was time. He lowered the volume of the radio and turned his body towards hers in the passenger seat. She gave him a confused look and then a surprised look when he took her hands.

“Eej, what’s going on?” She asked him as a shy smile made its way on her face. “Not that I'm complaining but I'm just a little out of the loop.”

She looked down at their joined hands and gave them a squeeze.

“Well after Ricky’s little stunt the other day, along with the hundreds of other times I was jealous of someone because they had your attention and I didn’t and not in a protective best friend way like I thought earlier in the year.” They were both grinning at each other, Gina knew what was about to happen and normally she would take control but she was curious this time.

“And after realizing that you are the most important person in my life, I also realized that I liked you in more than a friend way and I really hope you feel the same.” EJ had said the last bit in the softest voice, Gina couldn’t help but lean in for a hug. When they pulled apart she kept a fistfull of his shirt in her right hand, keeping him close.

“You know, I thought I was gonna have to be the one to confess. I was only gonna give you until Friday and then I was going to take it into my own hands,” Gina didn’t think EJ’s smile could get any bigger. “So to answer your question, I do feel the same and I'm trying really hard to not tackle you right now.” Gina knew her smile matched his.

EJ brought her back into a tight hug and kissed her hair. She relaxed against him and the pair stayed like that for a while just enjoying being close. When they finally pulled back Gina knew she could finally do what she’s been wanting to for months, kiss EJ.

They were both on the same page when Gina’s arms went around EJ’s neck and his hands found her waist. Gina gave EJ a small nod and they both leaned in.

Gina knew movies weren’t real but this was definitely her Disney moment. Her first kiss and it’s with the person she trusts most, which makes it even better. They both have matching shit eating grins on their faces when they pull back.

“My turn to ask the question,” Gina started but paused to give EJ a quick peck before continuing, “Would you, EJ Caswell, be my boyfriend? For real this time?” She knew the answer but she wanted to have her moment as well. EJ just gave a small nod but his eyes said it all.

They leaned back in for another kiss but broke apart when a car alarm sounded.

“So where do you wanna go on our first date? I’m thinking a picnic with Wendys and Sonic to drink?” EJ started his car fully as Gina thought it over.

“I’m down, as long as we go to the park with the duck pond!” She leaned over and gave him another kiss, she was allowed to do it and she was going to take full advantage.

“Of course! I even have a stack of quarters so we can get duck food!” Gina knew they made a great team and now they are going to make a great couple as well.

--

Ashlyn definitely woke up the neighbors when Gina and EJ came home holding hands.

Fin.

[literaryfic]

Chapters: 2/?
Fandom: 빈센조 | Vincenzo (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong/Hong Cha Young
Characters: Hong Cha Young, Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, vincenzo leaves, set five years after he left sk, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending


Summary: “She’d buried him next to the false hopes and broken promises he’d given her, growing her resentment and longing in the same garden as his missing corpse, taunting reminder of her failure to make him stay. Occasionally, she would revisit his empty tomb and greet his ghost, tormenting him with the same question over and over again; why?”

Chapter two is out! Read on ao3 or under the cut.

“Have you been well, Cha-young?”, the same deep voice she’d missed asks. The ghost that’s been haunting her came back in the flesh.

He hasn’t aged at all, his youthful face still handsome as ever. He’s not smiling per se, but she can tell he’s happy to see her. She gets up and walks away. This couldn’t possibly be happening.

He catches up to her after a few seconds.

“Cha-young-ah. Hong Cha-young. Talk to me.”, he urges her. Suddenly, she can’t control her anger anymore.

“Talk to you?”, she faces him. “You made it extremely clear five years ago that we had nothing to say to each other.”, she screams. His face is unreadable, years apart have made him a stranger. “And now what? You want me to talk to you? You disappeared on me out of nowhere and never looked back so don’t you dare ask anything of me, got it?”

Panting, the anger she thought gone felt just as hot as the day he left her.

“Fuck!”. She’s not done yet. How could he come back like nothing ever happened? He had given her shelter, just to make her homeless. He had made her believe in love and happy endings, built her a castle and set it on fire. She hated him, his stupid hair and his stupid face. “Why are you doing this to me now? I don’t get it. Why now?” She starts crying out of anger, out of frustration, out of exhaustion.

For years now Cha-young had spent all her energy trying to forget Vincenzo and what they could have been. She had fooled herself into thinking she was over him but even after all this time, even when she was this angry at him, all she wanted to do was to touch him. She felt like she’d been cursed by the Gods, condemned to have him in her sight, yet forever out of reach.

She’s shaking now, sobbing. Vincenzo slowly approaches her, his eyes full of anguish.

“Can I please hold you?”, he almost begs as a single tear runs down his cheek. She doesn’t remember a time where he’d sounded this desperate, and she nods, almost against her will.

He wraps his arms around her, her head falls on his chest. She takes a deep breath, filling her nose and lungs with his scent, the one she hasn’t been able to forget. Somehow, she’s crying even harder now and he starts stroking her hair. “I’m sorry,”, he whispers. “I’ve missed you so much.”

She can’t quite convince herself yet that this is not a dream, so she holds him tight, afraid that the ocean will swallow him and turn him into foam.

They stay in each other’s embrace for a while. It could be minutes or hours, Cha-young doesn’t really know. It seems that tonight, on this beach, her grasp on her reality is loosening. Dreams and ghosts come to her in waves, and she can’t help but wonder when the tide will recede.

In the beginning, she dreamt that he would stay with her. Cha-young thought herself strong enough to anchor Vincenzo, yet he had fled and renounced her. Then, she had dreamed of his return, punished to share the fate of a seamen’s wife awaiting her husband’s homecoming.

He had chosen to leave and, until now, had never bothered to come back, and so after a while she had declared him lost at sea. She’d buried him next to the false hopes and broken promises he’d given her, growing her resentment and longing in the same garden as his missing corpse, taunting reminder of her failure to make him stay. Occasionally, she would revisit his empty tomb and greet his ghost, tormenting him with the same question over and over again; why? The ghost stayed mum, mere fragment of a person who had once been alive.

Yet, here he was, the one she had lost at sea, standing in front her. There was no doubt that it was him, alive and well. She felt herself regain control over her emotions and stepped out of his arms.

“You owe me an explanation”, she demands, looking him in the eyes. He nods slowly, his face serious. He is about to speak when she cuts him off, “Not here.” Here, where dreams become reality and prayers were heard. “Take me to your room”.

And so he does. They walk back to the hotel in complete silence, the sea breeze clearing up her foggy mind. They go up to the very last floor and Cha-young almost laughs. Their rooms are exactly a floor apart.

When they get inside, Vincenzo invites her to sit on the couch while he settles for a nearby armchair. The suite is as big as an apartment and the view of the ocean is stunning. It suddenly dawns on Cha-young that he’d probably been living in luxury for the past 5 years, and why wouldn’t he when he was that rich, but the thought annoys her. As petty as it sounds, she had wanted him to be miserable, just as she had been.

“Why?”

The question that had been haunting her hangs in the air for a while, and at one point she thinks he might leave it unanswered.

“That time I ended up staying, I’d managed to take care of the situation in Italy, but it was temporary solution. I needed to come back to save our family from being killed off.” He explained, choosing each word carefully. She could tell he was nervous, his eyes scanning her face, looking for cues.

“That explains why you had to leave, but that’s not what I was asking, Joo-hyung-ah.”

He looks like she’d just slapped him across the face, and she might as well have. She had never called his Korean name in such a harsh tone before. No, this name had been reserved for their most intimate moments, when she made love to him and played with his hair afterwards, as he fell asleep in her arms, when he told her about the few memories he had with his mother, or described his life in Italy with his adoptive parents. It was the first she had used his name as a weapon, and he looked devastated. Good.

He takes a shaky breath and bites his lip, trying to hold back his tears. In that moment, he looks as old as the world and as weak as a child. Although it pains her to look at him like this, she shows no compassion. This man had destroyed her and she would hold him accountable.

“I left without telling you because I didn’t trust myself to go through with it.”, he finally manages to say after a while. “I had to leave but I just couldn’t bring myself to let you go.”

“You’re a coward, Mr. Cassano.”, she spits out his name, hoping the formality of it would hurt him too.

“I know.”

“Why did you have to leave me? I get that you needed to go back, but why did you have to leave me too?” Cha-young tries to stay as calm as possible, but it proves difficult when she keeps blurting out her most vulnerable thoughts. She feels defenceless against him, but it is the only way she’ll get the answers she needs.

“Turns out the situation was even worse than what Luca had told me, and I wasn’t sure any of us would get out of it alive. You didn’t deserve to have to wait for me indefinitely.”

“So dropping me out of the blue was the best solution you came up with? That’s the only thing the great Vincenzo Cassano, one of the best masterminds in the game, could think of?” Her words are met by silence. “Guess what, genius? I still waited years for you. How was I supposed to get closure when you just disappeared? Wouldn’t you, out of all people, know what it feels like to be abandoned?”

It was a low blow, she had to admit, but she was past that. She needed to bring him to his knees, she needed to shatter him, she needed to break his heart.

“The truth is, I thought—I thought I was freeing you. From me, from my sins.” He’s not looking at her anymore, head hanging down, tears falling onto the ground. She compels her heart to look away, just this once, to not care for him.

“And who do you think you are? Do I not get to decide for myself?”, she’s almost screaming again. Everything that was coming out of his mouth sounded ridiculous to her.

Of course, she had imagined this confrontation countless of times, coming up with all the possible reasons he would use to justify what he did, but none of them mattered. None of them were enough to appease her, to undo what had been done. Nothing would ever repair what he’d broken and they’d never be the same again.

“I have no excuse, tesoro.” She hears the plea in his voice.

“Don’t call me that.” He looks at her, visibly in pain.

It was bizarre, seeing him like that, so hesitant, so vulnerable, so scared.

She realises it at once; she’s witnessing his fear for the first time. She hadn’t been able to spot it at first but there it was. He’d allowed her to see his anger, his sadness, his unfiltered joy but he’d never been afraid in front of her. Vincenzo was scared to mess this up, scared to loose her again. She had to hold back a smile.

“Did you follow me here? Don’t lie to me.” She demands, reinvigorated by her newly found confidence.

“I’d never lie to you.” She rolls her eyes at that. “I landed in Seoul two days ago, but Mr. Nam told me you’d be spending the next few weeks here, so I hopped on the first flight I found. Meeting you here, tonight, was an accident. I didn’t know which hotel you were staying in.” He looks to his right, suitcase opened on the floor, near the bedroom’s entrance.

“Why are you here, Vincenzo?”, she’s trying not to let her emotions seep through her words, to remain distant. But he knows her well, and she can tell by the way his eyes suddenly look at hers that he hears it, the part of her that wants him to answer “For you, I’m here for you.”.

“To repent. I’m here to repent, Cha-young-ah.”. His words carry the same certainty they once did, his tone the one of a fearless man. Her heart threatens to leap out of her chest.

“Do I look like a fucking church to you?”, she forces out a laugh she hopes sounds bitter. Not letting him time to reply, she gets up from the couch, feeling dizzy. “Right, I’ve heard enough. Goodbye.”

She can’t tell if he calls her name or goes after her but she’s out the door before she knows it. She runs down the stairs, gets into her room and heads straight in the shower. The water’s freezing cold, but she finds comfort in not being able to feel the tears streaming down her face.

She tucks herself into bed, confused about whether she’d rather wake up from this nightmare or continue to live this dream.

[antiloreolympus]

6 Anti LO Asks

1. For me among the biggest issues with LO is it’s pacing and the contrast it has with the readers. It’s been 3 years since LO came out and there are now almost 200 chapters and yet the plot has been happening in 2-3 weeks? For a comic where there are a lot of sideplots and drama happening it sure moves in a very slow pace.. now this creates a contrast with the reader who has been reading this comic for years now.. if RS hadn’t said herself in a q&a that the timeline things have been going on is 2 weeks people would assume that this plot has been going on for at least 2 years.. As a reader with so many thing going on, so many characters being introduced and the plot moving so slow it feels overwhelming and tiring. Not to mention it is almost unrealistic ( i know that in a span of 2 weeks a lot of things can happen in real life)  and i wouldn’t say that so many things happening in two weeks is unrealistic but much rather what has been happening in LO in the span of two weeks doesn’t make sense and is out of touch. This is important bc RS claims that LO is a modern interpretation and has given the mythology an almost modern state and with the laws and everything. Persephone getting raped and then flirting with Hades and being comfortable with people and being so sexualised but only having issues when Apollos name is mentioned or he is near is not sth a SA survivor does ( again all in the timespan of 3 weeks max). Then her going on make out sessions with Hades and dancing with him and being flirty with him, and going on a rampage and killing Minthe and then acting like nothing happened and then meeting her friends and acting all too happy and buying lingerie for Hades and worrying she is not too good of a partner to him. Again these are way too many things happening in two weeks and it’s way too much emotional baggage for Persephone. If all of this has been happening in two weeks and has taken RS 3 years to upload I wonder how long it is going to take for LO to finish bc it is either going to take like 10 years and LO will have the timeline of 1 year or she’ll continue it for like 2-3 years max and it’ll only be like 6 months in LO timeline in which Hades and Persephone will probably get married (and maybe even have kids) which is problematic for so many different reasons 

2. i would have so much respect for RS if she pulled the "hades has been the evil mastermind all along" theory tbh. the absolute balls it would take to rope in millions of readers into thinking they're getting a cutesy romcom and it slowly turns into a twisted tale of greed and power and what he'll do to get it, even taking advantage of a young woman who wanted to hope he'd be her savior? Maybe even have it revealed the ~murderous~ Persephone takes over her body and is a willing weapon to evil hades? And they’re a dark, twisted romance that way? Oh it’d be so good. It’d be one of the best twists ever. she'd never ever do it, we know she wouldn’t, but in the slight chance she did? i'd suddenly be an LO fan lmao. Evil LO Hades rise 🙌🏽

3. lo hades also seems way too happy about making the dead into his slaves to not want persephone's power on his side once he realizes she has it. her queen visage is also connected to her murderous rage which tends to kill many mortals and decommission immortals, so it also connects her power being especially useful to him. also hades isnt dumb, what if he knows all those mortals died and demeter and hermes are wasting their time trying to hide it? It wont happen, but wow, what a twist it'd be.

4. the random ships in lo make no sense. why daphne and thanatos? they're only together as a plot point to persephone/apollo. wouldnt it make more sense daphne was a maiden in the TGOEM to explain why she doesnt want to be with apollo and give persephone an actual friend in the group? and there's echo. apparently rachel likes her with hera, but hera hates echo in myth? wouldnt for her non-zeus ship, hera and leto would be better? idk the random ships would would w/ actual thought put into them.

5. probs been said before but it will never ever sit right w me that persephone is depicted as a borderline child

6. i swear 98% of the dialogue in LO is stuff no one outside of middle schoolers trying to be risque would say. dos rachel actually say what she writes outloud? because if she did she'd realize how unnatural and goofy it sounds. her poor editor has the patience of a saint to not rewrite everything. also its just weird to flip flop on a lot of swears like fuck but then they use cutesy language all the time? i dont think she knows if shes writing for mature adults or 12 year olds.

[ninzied]

“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

for @fulloffeels.

kastle roommate au. 2.5k.

Living with Karen is one of the best, worst things he’s ever done.

He’d thought she was joking, when she first suggested it.

“Your landlord won’t stop raising your rent, and this way you’ll be closer to work.” She said it like it was a no-brainer. “Besides, you spend half your time stealing the beer at my place anyway,” and as she sipped on her drink Curtis gave Frank a look, eyebrows nearly shooting clean off his forehead.

Frank scowled at him before saying to Karen, “I appreciate that, but I wouldn’t want to, ah, disrupt your—you know—”

“Riveting social life?” Karen said archly, glancing around with a pointed expression. Even for a Thursday night, Josie’s didn’t have much going on. “Please. If anything, you’re so allergic to human contact that your social life will only make me feel better about mine.”

Frank shook his head with a laugh. “You’re really selling it now.”

“Great,” said Karen. “What does next week look like for you?”

Which is how Frank finds himself moving into Karen’s two-bedroom, 800 square foot loft, a steal by New York standards, sharing a bathroom, and making them coffee and eggs in the morning.

“Think I’m starting to get the real reason you keep me around,” he tells her, stirring in the cream and sugar just the way she likes it.

“Mm. I definitely got the better end of the deal,” she agrees, sipping, and smiling, and kissing his cheek before going about the rest of her day.

It’s fine. It’s fine.

And it’s—surprisingly easy, at first.

A lot of it is in fact not so different from what he’s already used to.

Karen’s never been fussy about how she looks in front of her guy friends, always changing into sweats first thing after getting home from work, washing her face clean of makeup, cracking open a cold can of beer. A typical evening still gets spent arguing over the merits of reality TV—or, when Karen’s bogged down by work, he’ll read through articles she’s drafted up, and talk through court cases with her.

“Are you sure you’re a former Marine?” she shakes her head at him on occasion. “Sometimes I think you must have been a criminal mastermind in a past life.”

“Yeah?” He tosses a couch cushion at her. “Next time you need my help, why don’t you go ask those two lawyer friends of yours instead.”

“They’re not as cute when they get flustered,” Karen shrugs, with a perfectly straight face as Frank scrubs a hand over the back of his head and mumbles something about getting another drink from the kitchen.

Frank doesn’t let her order takeout as much as she’s probably used to, but she doesn’t complain either, every time he cooks for them—only teasing him a little for wearing an apron, and flicking water at him when he points out the soap suds in her hair.

It’s easy. Almost too easy, how everything just falls into place, how living with Karen comes so naturally to him. Like it’s something he was always meant to do.

And then she starts seeing someone.

Frank tries not to notice the small signs.

The extra minutes she spends getting ready in the bathroom. The subtle dab of gloss on her lips, the rosy glow to her cheeks. The late evenings out. The way she’s always checking her phone, how her thoughts drift off mid-conversation with him.

She goes on a couple of dates with this guy. She doesn’t bring him home with her, at least, and she hasn’t spent the night at his place. Frank doesn’t know much about him at all. She tells him very little, and he tries not to pry—he doesn’t want to be that cliché who only knows what he has once he’s lost it.

Not that Karen was ever his to begin with.

After the third date—not that Frank is keeping track—she comes home earlier than usual. He tries not to think anything of it. It’s a weeknight, and they’re both always up before dawn for work.

Frank’s on the couch, nursing a beer as she toes off her heels and flops down beside him.

“You look nice,” he says, gaze not leaving the screen.

She sounds amused when she replies. “How can you tell? You look like your eyes haven’t left Regis Philbin’s all night.”

“You always look nice,” says Frank, the words out of his mouth before he can stop them. He clears his throat. “So, uh. How are you?”

Karen hums thoughtfully. “Now that’s the million dollar question.”

He finally glances sidelong at her. “Date not go well?”

She looks at him for a moment, and he can’t read the expression on her face. “Date went fine,” she says.

“That’s good.” He nods, then looks back at the TV. He stares at the screen without really seeing it. “That’s good.”

He takes another sip of his beer.

“Do we have any more of those?” she asks him, nudging her foot against his leg.

“Yeah. Hang on.” He hands her the remote and heads to the fridge.

The screen’s still on Regis when he gets back, handing her an open bottle.

“I don’t think this guy’s going to make it,” says Karen. The contestant is currently sweating it out over 32 thousand. He’s already used up two of his lifelines.”

“Think you’re right about that,” says Frank.

…

“So, have you kissed her yet?”

Frank goes still, his fork freezing halfway up to his mouth. “How’s that?”

“C’mon, honey. I told you. Look at him.” David’s talking about him like he’s not even there. “Does he strike you as a guy who’s been kissing anyone recently, let alone Karen?”

Frank raises a brow, lowering his fork to his plate. “You want to run that by me again?”

“Well have you?” asks David, and at Frank’s unresponsiveness he shrugs and says, “I rest my case.”

Frank spears up a small buttered potato, imagining it with David’s face for a moment. “Karen and I are just friends,” he tells them. “Living with her doesn’t change that. Besides, she’s—she’s seeing someone.”

“Since when have you let that stop you before?” David wants to know, wincing good-naturedly when Sarah cuffs him on the shoulder.

“For the last time,” she says. “It was just one kiss, we were in college, and you and I were on a break.”

David opens his mouth to argue, but Sarah’s already moved on.

“I didn’t realize Karen was seeing anyone.” Sarah wrinkles her nose. “She hasn’t mentioned it.” She looks back over at David. “Did she say something to you?”

“Of course,” says David, “because Karen and I like to gossip about our love lives with each other.”

Sarah reaches across the table and squeezes Frank’s arm sympathetically. “I’m sorry,” she says. “We just want you to be happy. Maybe if you told her how you felt—”

“It’s not like that,” says Frank.

But judging by the look the Liebermans exchange with each other, they aren’t any more convinced than Frank is on the matter.

“Well if that’s the case,” says David, with a triumphant little side-eye at his wife, “then I guess it won’t be too insensitive of me to point out that you lost our bet?”

“Unbelievable,” mutters Frank. “Remind me again why I’m friends with you two?”

…

It’s three months into their living arrangement, and three Fridays after Karen’s started falling off the face of the earth, when it happens.

He’s been out for drinks with Curt, trying not to think too hard about what Karen had been wearing when she left on her date, whether she’ll be home by the time he gets back, if this is going to be the night he doesn’t see her again until morning.

Shit. The Liebermans were right.

And if the look Curt’s giving him is anything to go by, he’s known all along, too.

“How you holding up?” he asks, even more delicately than usual.

Frank snorts, shakes his head. “Lieberman told you, didn’t he.”

“He might’ve said something,” says Curt, sounding almost apologetic about it. “Do you know anything about the guy she’s seeing? It’s not the lawyer she used to date, is it?”

“Nah.” Frank downs the rest of his beer, gesturing at the bartender for another. “I think she would’ve told me if it was.”

“Still,” says Curtis. “Doesn’t seem like her to be this secretive about it, does it?”

“No. You’re right.” Frank stares into his empty glass. The alternative, though, is—what? Does Karen know, too? All this time, and the tip-toeing around—was it all just her way to spare him and his feelings?

The last thing he wanted, when he moved in with her, was to make her feel like she had to hide any part of her life from him.

He thinks over what he wants to tell her as he’s walking home from the subway an hour later. “Karen,” he mutters under his breath. “If you want me to go, I’ll go. But if you want me to stay, I’m—I’m not gonna stand in the way of whoever it is that's making you happy.”

His chest is uncomfortably tight by the time he’s inserting the key in the lock. It only occurs to him then that she might not even be home; it’s barely nine, and it’s their fifth date at this point. If the guy she’s seeing hasn’t put the moves on her by now—

But the lights are on as he closes the door, the TV playing at low volume. There’s a cooking show that Karen doesn’t normally watch, unless he’s at home and has managed to wrangle the remote from her.

He walks further into the apartment, something lightening in his step. He pivots a corner out of the hallway, and his shoe crunches down on the unmistakable sound of glass.

He lifts his gaze, takes in the kitchen with the sense of one who’s not actually there—his vision swims, and it feels so surreal, like it’s not really his body that’s moving. Stepping over the glass. Picking up the bloodied knife on the cutting board. There’s another glass, this one intact, sitting innocently on the counter next to half a lime and a bottle of tequila.

Everything is spattered with blood.

Karen.

He swallows back bile, hands clenching into fists. She has to be okay. She has to—

“Frank? Is that you?” Karen’s voice is coming from the bathroom, and it breaks through his reverie. The knife clatters back onto the counter. He hadn’t realized he’d still been holding it.

He’s at the bathroom door in two seconds. “Where is he?” he thunders, in a voice he hardly recognizes as his own. “He hurt you? He do this to you?”

Karen stares over at him from her place by the sink. She’s holding a towel to her hand, and the basin is spotted bright red with blood. “What? Who?”

Frank’s not more than a couple inches taller than Karen, but his terror makes everything else look small, and he’s all but towering above her, gaze roaming all over to assess her for any obvious injuries.

It takes him a moment to recognize the shirt that she’s wearing.

“Sorry,” she says unnecessarily, tugging a little on the hemline. “It was the first thing I grabbed out of the laundry when I got home.” His shirt falls just short of her knees, and underneath that she’s all long, bare legs. But he doesn’t let himself stop to think about what any of this means to him, because it’s not the thing that matters right now.

“I’ll kill him,” he says. “I didn’t need to know who he was before, but now I think I need to kill him.”

“Frank,” she says slowly. “It’s okay. It was me.” She uncovers her hand and shows him a cut along the edge of her thumb. It’s long, but not terribly deep, and it looks like it’s stopped bleeding for now.

He doesn’t realize he’s reached for her until her other hand closes around his.

“But he was here.” Frank looks up, brow knitting in the middle. “I saw the other glass. I thought—”

Karen flushes. “That was supposed to be for you. Curtis texted me when you were leaving the bar, and I, um. I thought I’d—” Frank goes on staring at her, and she lets out a small sigh. “We should probably talk.”

…

He brings her tea, and a first aid kit for her hand. She props her feet up on the coffee table, leaning back into the couch and watching him quietly as he cleans around the wound and carefully bandages it up.

“Might not ever let you back into your kitchen again.” He winds some more gauze around her thumb.

“Does it look like I’m complaining?” says Karen.

He’s turned into her, knees ending up under her legs as he works, but she doesn’t move away from him, and doesn’t let go of his hand when he’s finished.

“So, don’t be upset,” she starts by telling him, and he looks up at her then, jaw tensed, bracing. “But I’ve…been meeting with an informant.”

He stares at her, not comprehending.

“You’re not—?”

Karen shakes her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want to lie to you, Frank, but I didn’t want to worry you either.” She laughs, looking rueful. “Which I guess I managed to do just fine anyway.”

Frank swallows, and has some difficulty looking her in the eye when he says, “You always seemed like you were…you know. On your way to do something else.”

“I figured it would seem less suspicious.” She bites her lip. “And…I would really be lying if I said the thought of trying to make you jealous didn’t cross my mind.”

Frank takes a deep breath. “That obvious, huh.”

“Yeah.” But the smile she gives him is gently teasing, and then she’s the one glancing down at their hands, their fingers curled loosely together. “I’ve, um. I’ve seen the way you look at me, when you think I don’t notice.”

“I’m always lookin’ at you,” he replies, and it’s as much a confession to her as it is to himself. “You want me to stop?”

“No,” she says, softly enough that he could’ve imagined it. But he doesn’t imagine the way that she leans closer, until their foreheads are almost touching, and the way she’s looking at him couldn’t be mistaken for anything else, either. “No. I don’t.”

…

The following Friday, they’re walking into Josie’s hand in hand.

“The usual?” asks Karen, laughing as he snakes a hand around her waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss. “I’ll meet you over there.”

His friends are a combination of smug and astonished as Frank walks up to their table.

“Hey,” is all he says, and sits down.

Sarah takes a calm sip of her drink. She lasts there for about three more seconds before excusing herself and heading briskly off toward the bar where Karen is standing, beaming at Frank as she goes.

“If you’ve got something to say,” sighs Frank, “feel free to get it done with now.”

“All right,” says Curt, and then he’s turning to David, both of them grinning from ear to ear. “Looks like the next round is on you.”

[rvmmm21]

. you’re gonna spaghet it .

summary : a home-cooked meal and a baking show is too much to ask for. but only when the person asking is seungwan.

small note : i'm tentatively back. and here's the worse news. you get this pile of 'what-the-fic-is-this?!' before i start clonking you over the head with my leg of yandere ham.

think of it as your pre-christmas coal in your stocking.

(this sat in my drafts for so long its not even funny. if i had a cent for every second i spent thinking about whether i wanted this out here, i'd have accumulated enough for the plane ticket, the lawyers and the hospital fees to fly over to SM to clonk them myself.)

just for tumblr. if you want to read this but in pretty, it’s here.

tw : tickling, probably many grammar errors because i do not know how to write anymore, and my cretinous knowledge of how tv recordings work.

[irene x white-winged dove!wendy]

. . .

[6:15pm] A mischievous smile tugs at her lips when she sees how Seungwan struggles.

. . .

Bae Joohyun blithely watches her girlfriend titter around the kitchen preparing vegetables for the chopping board. When the sound of water beginning to boil reaches attentive ears, she secretly smiles at the melodious hum of a happy tune.

Everything is going as planned!

However.

Pangs of guilt are beginning to tweak at Joohyun’s conscience. Because what she really wants to do is not to be a good girlfriend and offer a hand at stirring the pot. She doesn’t even want to sit patiently and wait to hear Seungwan sing out for her when dinner’s ready.

No. Joohyun wants to play. And she knows who she wants to play with. Even though it’s going to be a complete setback to the lovely night she’s sure her Wannie has planned out for them.

It was Seungwan’s idea to cook tonight, then eat together while they watch their favourite TV program. Pfft, ‘their favourite’. What Joohyun really means is she’ll happily watch the season finale of the unorthodox cooking show her girlfriend is currently obsessed with.

. . .

“It gives me ideas, unnie,” Seungwan had explained when, about a week ago, Joohyun had walked in on a very experimental game of muffin-making.

The latest episode of “Baking for the Seoul” flashed through Joohyun’s memory.

“Don’t the ingredients have to be… in the bowl, though?” she asked incredulously, eyes searching for any part of their countertop that was actually visible.

“Hm?” Seungwan looked up, wiping the frosting off her nose… with the wrong hand.

Joohyun raised an eyebrow. “And which one are we putting in the oven, your sludge mix or you?” She inquired, now searching for any part of her girlfriend’s face – that was actually visible.

When the girl in question stayed concentrated, apprehension bubbled in her gut at the state of that exceptionally thick bowl of frosting. She surreptitiously strained to peer behind a thoroughly battered Seungwan, trying her hardest to not actually step foot into the kitchen.

Her girlfriend has this… ‘thing’ about work space. Especially the kitchen.

“Wan-ah,” Joohyun’s tone was equal parts warning and concern. “You didn’t get any on your wings, did you… that frosting looks too thick and last time you got yourself all mucky, remember we had to – ”

“It’s fine it’s fine, look! I’m being careful!” Seungwan quipped cheerfully, pirouetting round to give a worried Joohyun a glimpse of her wings which were nicely folded through each designated slit in the back of her sky-blue jumper.

The latter breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them; all white, fluffy and – most importantly – clean. She inwardly shuddered at how much of a nightmare that bath was. Thank god she’s behaving this time, she thought.

Although momentary relief didn’t stop her from contemplating an alternative method of keeping her mind at ease.

But the thought of having Seungwan wear her wing guards in their own home tugged at her unpleasantly. It was bad enough she had to have them on when they were out in potentially stressful situations. So she wouldn’t accidentally hurt herself or anyone around her… which had unfortunately happened once or twice before. It was clearly a burden to go about so obviously restricted, and despite Seungwan’s insistence on having grown used to them, Joohyun could always feel how upset she’d get whenever she was helping to do the clasps up behind her.

Definitely no wing guards then. And if that meant Joohyun would be bruising her knees for hours on end trying to keep dense baking mix and her messy baby bird two separate entities, then she’d happily do it.

Whatever kept Seungwan chirping.

Plus, her little chef looked damned determined, so she thought it appropriate to slip in one last passing remark before plucking a banana from the rack. “Yah, Wannie! Let me know if I’m gonna have to pick out birdie feathers from my cupcakes, okay?”

Seungwan grumbled something along the lines of a ‘hm, yeah whatever unnie’ in response.

Joohyun just laughed, heading back to their room and leaving the mastermind to her latest trial.

> > > > > 

[7:00 p.m] Seungwan doesn't know which she finds more horrifying: what Joohyun intends to do to her or the fact that they're going to have to have take-away two nights in a row.

. . .

It should’ve been a simple mission.

Retrieve a fresh packet of spaghetti from the topmost shelf.

Her attempts are… laughable. She’s clearly doing her best.

Though she doesn't realise it yet, she’s still being watched. From the living room, Joohyun is watching. And she isn’t laughing. Hands ball into unconscious fists as a tight wave of numbness washes over her at how adorable Seungwan looks.

Just… like that: both wings tucked against her back, beautiful and neat as their owner. Strained muscles from reaching for something Joohyun already knows she’s going to have to help out with. And the tiny grunts when fingertips barely graze the edges of the packet.

Seungwan looks so soft, so frustrated. So vulnerable.

A small spike of inexplicable adrenaline leads Joohyun to head over to the huffing, moon-hopping girl.

She really needs to teach her little dove that being this cute comes with a price.

. . . 

When a lithe body slides up behind her and presses against her back, Seungwan’s wings give a gentle flutter to mimic the stutter in her heart. She sighs affectionately at the pair of hands resting low on her hips.

The task is almost forgotten. Almost.

Unnie’s here to help, Seungwan thinks… ever so mistakenly.

“Hyun – ahh,” she’s interrupted by a slight shiver when the tip of her right wing is stroked between a finger and a thumb, delicately running across pure, downy feathers. A tried and tested (Bae Joohyun-certified) method of getting the girl absolutely weak.

Judging by the sound of strained breaths filling the space between them, it’s working.

Alas, dinner hasn’t been cooked, the sun’s setting and Seungwan’s time-management brain is screaming at her to get a move on. She points to the shelf, trying her hardest to block out the dangerously wonderful feeling. “Could you – could you please get that for me?”

Instead of complying, Joohyun chuckles, moving her hands from her back to glide them lightly up and down her sides. She isn’t surprised that Seungwan is already shivering, terribly overwhelmed from that alone.

Her smirk twitches when she feels the smaller girl squirm.

Seungwan has always been like this… so responsive, so susceptible to touch. Her touch. She’s jelly in her clutches, and even Joohyun has to admit that sometimes she really doesn’t deserve to be.

Sneaky hands grow bolder, finding their way under the hem of Seungwan’s fleecy jumper to continue tracing teasing lines against soft, sensitive skin.

“But it’s so cute to watch you struggle, baby,” Joohyun coos, beginning to rest more of her weight into Seungwan’s hips, keeping her trapped against the kitchen counter.

“U-unnie,” Seungwan tries, half-heartedly writhing against Joohyun’s hold, torn between wanting to cook dinner and wanting to be dinner. “Not – ah… not right now… it’s already late, we have to – ”

“And you smell so nice. Is this new shampoo?” Joohyun presses her nose into her nape, cutting her short, nuzzling into that pleasant fruity shampoo scent. She then pauses to nudge Seungwan’s legs suggestively ajar with her knee before leaning in to whisper into a ruby-tipped ear. “ Should I give you a reason to shower again later, hm?”

The younger’s eyes widen at the sinful implication.

Gosh, really? Right now? In the kitchen?

The kitchen. The place she cooks and handles food? (Sure, Joohyun will – once in a blue moon – dice the odd carrot or something, but that certainly does not give her the right to be making any unauthorised, hormonal messes for her to clean up). She must be off her rocker if she thinks Seungwan’s going to allow her precious workstation to be tainted by what she can already foresee to be copious amounts of bodily fluid just because someone can’t keep it in their pants.

It snaps something inside her. And – with all the strength neither of them knew she possessed – Seungwan wrenches out from under Joohyun’s weight with a firm “YAH! Stop fooling around!”, sending the older woman stumbling a few steps back.

For a second, they’re just as stunned and disbelieving as each other; Seungwan at her own apprently dormant Herculean strength –

– and Joohyun at the sheer audacity.

Then again, could this be any more timely?

God, Joohyun could kiss herself.

She straightens her blouse, putting on her best ‘I-can’t-believe-you’ve-done-this’ expression, and turning to lock the now slightly (and rightfully so) terrified-looking Seungwan with a stare. This is the best part. The part where she just glares, secretly gleeful as the other girl absolutely crumbles with apprehension.

The part where Seungwan thinks it’s her fault.

“Uh oh,” she tuts, sporting a grin to match that mischievous glint in her eyes, “someone’s in trouble, aren’t they?”

Seungwan is, of course, at a total loss for words, but she fumbles around anyway, desperate to justify whatever the hell she’s just done. It’s almost too much for Joohyun to handle, watching her dig her own grave like this.

Finally, Seungwan tries to back up, only to let out a sharp gasp when she trips over her own feet in her haste. She’s on the floor in seconds with Joohyun immediately following. There’s hardly a chance for her to get her bearings before she’s stuck on her back with a weight straddling her hips.

Seungwan goes wide-eyed. She might as well kiss the prospect of a candlelit dinner bye-bye… for tonight, at least.

“My clumsy, clumsy Wannie,” Joohyun mocks, holding herself above the smaller girl on her hands and purposely tangling their legs together. “Tonight was very thoughtful of you, baby, but I’m postponing our dinner plans to tomorrow night. I think we should order in, don’t you?”

“Ah unnie...” Seungwan groans, failing to ignore the way Joohyun’s predatory expression crayons her cheeks a soft pink, “we had take-away last night! I don’t wanna eat chicken aga – ”

“Then let’s get pizza,” Joohyun offers unhelpfully. She’s clearly got her own agenda that she’s determined to follow through with. “Okay? Hm, let’s see… you have to the count of five to agree with me or…”

She pauses to savour the panic in those deep brown eyes. “I’m going to have a very tired little birdie to take care of.”

That satisfied smirk leaves nothing to the imagination. Seungwan can practically read her fate on her girlfriend's rosy lips before they delve into hers, causing her eyes to roll back as they melt hotly into each other.

Seungwan hardly notices Joohyun lacing their fingers together until her eyes flutter open and she finds herself held down, arms stretched securely above her head. Joohyun adjusts her grip so she has both wrists pinned under one hand and the other free.

Ah, fuck, not again. Seungwan laughs emptily, fidgeting with high-strung premonition. When her one final struggle proves useless, she resorts to asserting herself with her voice. “Yah, unnie, I’m cooking tonight. Stop being annoying or you’re not getting fed.”

Ah, too easy.

Joohyun contemplates elaborating further. But she’s said enough. Besides, Seungwan doesn’t even deserve a response to that. That was a threat, wasn’t it? The prospect of starvation is a serious threat that should be promptly dealt with. And what do you do when you’re faced with a threat? Be that a burglar, a murderer or a very flustered Son Seungwan.

Tickle them. Obviously.

Joohyun leers over her, wiggling her fingers in anticipation. “Five…”

Seungwan’s eyes blow wide, and – with miserable luck – she renews her efforts at breaking free once again. “Hyun! Seriously?! You – I can’t believe you’re d – ”

“Four.”

“HYUN!”

“Three.”

“Okay! Okay! Let’s get pizza tonight! There, happy?! You can even choose the flav – ”

Seungwan hears a scoff above her. “Nope. Sorry Wannie. I made that decision. You’ve changed nothing.”

“YAH, YOU TRICKED ME YOU BIRDBRAIN! LET ME UP. YOU’RE SO DEAD!!”

One click of a tongue and Seungwan has never retracted any statement faster in her life.

“Okayokayokay! Sorry that was super mean! Please I – ”

“Two…”

Too late. She’s dead. She’s one hundred percent about to be on the list of the unfairly deceased.

Seungwan whines hopelessly. “Unnieeeee, you’re not being fair!”

It’s a ditch attempt, but one Seungwan doesn’t intend to miss. “OKAY SERIOUSLY I MEAN IT, GET OFF!”

Joohyun snickers. “One.”

With five fingers and wicked intent, she dives in.

. . .

A pair of pretty wings and an even prettier face make for an impossible choosing.

Even now, as she has Seungwan flat on her back with her eyes screwed shut and tears streaming down her face, she wants to flip her over so she can be blinded by white insulation. So those feathers can brush against her as she drives their owner to the brink of sanity.

She wants to feel her dove respond to what she does to her.

“Hyu – Hyun, p-please!”

Joohyun smirks down at her victim, who’s weakly pawing at the front of her blouse in what she can only assume is an attempt to get her to stop.

Pathetic.

Seungwan never fails to struggle. But then again, she never fails to forget that Joohyun, too, is much, much stronger than she looks.

All that tiresome squirming is easily dealt with. Only a fraction more pressure from Joohyun’s fingertips, and Seungwan’s arms fall to either side, limp and useless just like the rest of her. The only indication she’s even conscious is the violent trembling and – when she’s able to muster up the lung space – the occasional plea for mercy.

Even the laughter is silent.

Joohyun loves it this way. She loves having Seungwan all sweaty and flustered beyond belief; whenever and wherever she pleases, the younger girl is reduced to a quivering mess, trapped beneath her cruel dexterity.

So instead of getting the pasta boiling for a romantic dinner, Seungwan is graciously letting Joohyun have her one-sided fun while she’s forced to cough, splutter and laugh so hard her insides hurt. The reflex to try to buck Joohyun off or twist out of her clutches nips at her incessantly.

Although she really shouldn’t worm around like that, because it’s only making Joohyun’s job easier with how her jumper rides further and further up with every inch she wriggles away.

It almost makes Joohyun think her little songbird wants to be tickled.

“Aw,” she coos, playfully tweaking unintentionally exposed ribs. “So cute, Wannie. You want it here, too?”

Seungwan is breathless from the tickles before she’s even processed what Joohyun’s said. Those tantalising touches never linger on any part of her long enough for her to develop a resistance to them. Not that she could even if she tried. She’s as sensitive as Joohyun is skilled. And Joohyun strikes with dreadful precision, switching between light skittering and then deftly kneading her fingers into every spot that wrings Seungwan’s lungs for all they’re worth.

The smooth tile is cooling against her feathers, even if her wings are twitching beyond her control, trying their hardest to flip her over to give her some shot at escaping. She barely manages to crawl a few inches away before there’s a firm grip on her ankle, all but dragging her back because Joohyun sure as hell isn’t done with her that quickly.

Trying to get away? She cocks an eyebrow, scooting up to sit on Seungwan’s butt, pinning her hips to the floor.

“Oh no, my poor birdie’s flipped herself over,” she feigns concern, gently resting her palms on Seungwan’s wings, stilling their fluttering and holding them steady. The sight of them unfolded, outstretched from the struggle and completely exposed has Joohyun catching her bottom lip between her teeth. “Did you hurt yourself here, Wannie? You need unnie to kiss it better?”

Seungwan shrieks at a pitch that’d have every dog in the neighbourhood cowering when she feels a pair of pillowy lips settle on that excruciating spot right where the arch of her wings meet her back, where she absolutely cannot stand to be touched.

Even under normal circumstances, Seungwan had made her swear to never spring upon her like that. And of course, by virtue of that alone, it quickly became one of Joohyun’s favourite places to touch her.

Luckily she’s too distracted now to protest.

The ‘kisses’ aren’t any less torturous than ten fingers going all at once.

Poor, tired Seungwan hardly has the energy to writhe as Joohyun continues to press her hellish butterfly kisses all along the length of those oversensitive appendages, nosing into her feathers and ruffling them gently with her breath. The younger’s expression contorts into silent agony when she feels the fingers return, this time digging into her armpits. 

Fresh tears well up in the corners of her eyes as she lays there, flailing like a fish out of water, face down with zero leverage to combat her girlfriend’s merciless onslaught.

She’s as defenceless as a turtle on its back (or rather, a dove on its tummy). Her squirms are getting weaker, the laughter more strained, but it’s all so rewarding to her loving tormentor.

Seungwan is kept laughing till the hollow ring of the doorbell sounds through their apartment.

. . .

[An hour post stuffed crust pepperoni pizza with extra cheese]

 Joohyun enters their room just as her girlfriend is getting dressed for bed, freshly showered… again. She lets out a low chuckle when Seungwan catches sight of her in her peripheral vision and hastily pulls the loose necked pajama t-shirt over her head.

“How was dinner?” she asks, arms folded and leaning against the door.

Seungwan rolls her eyes and releases her hair from its bun. “Too much cheese. We need to drink lots of water tonight or we’ll be pufferfish in the morning.”

“Aw, is someone grumpy?” Joohyun gives an uncharacteristically exaggerated pout and the latter hides a shiver.

Good god, please someone save her.

“Unnie, of course I am. We’re going to eat reheated carbonara sauce tomorrow no thanks to you,” Seungwan bluntly retaliates. “You’ve had your fun, now can you stop talking to me like I’m five, please?”

Naturally, her request falls on selectively deafened ears.

“Yah, seriously,” she punctuates the severity by manually unfolding her trembling left wing and pointing at it. “Look. I’m still shaking because of you. Now you're done, I really – ”

That’s all the grumpy talk she’s allowed before Joohyun jump-tackles her onto their bed, pinning her to it and watching sheer panic etch into deep cinnamon irises.

“When did I say I was done?” she asks, suggestiveness tracing the edges of her tone. She hovers above her, bringing a hand up to cup her face.

Seungwan hisses a laugh. “Unnie, I have a limit too, you know. You can’t just keep finding excuses to tickle the crap out of – ”

She chokes on a gasp when she feels a hand – the one she’d been as good as tortured under not two hours ago – trailing down her stomach… slipping past the elastic of her panties and –

– it just reminds her why she’ll always let Joohyun have her fun.

Because no matter how much she laughs, screams, cries or begs, there’s always a reward. Much sweeter than anything Seungwan thinks she could ever bake. Their sex life is anything but stagnant, however this is, more often than not, Joohyun’s way of making it up to her afterwards (much to her approval).

Or maybe she just wants to drive Seungwan to the brink of losing her voice so she won't have to hear the nagging about the next episode of Baking For the Seoul.

Which, by the way, came out tonight. And Joohyun made them miss it. She had better be praying they’d be able to find a copy online somewhere.

Either way, it’s so much more gratifying after an eternity spent howling your lungs out on the floor. Seungwan’s full attention is lasered down to where Joohyun is now softly caressing her under the thin cotton barrier. The warm ache beginning to settle in between her thighs prompts her to try to squeeze them together, but Joohyun catches on and wedges her knees in between them, spreading her even further.

“Ah,” she raises a smug brow as she leans in to press her lips to the base of her ear. Her own eyes darken with lust in response to her little dove writhing helplessly below her. “Be a good girl for me, okay, baby?”

It’s late. Seungwan can barely keep her eyes open. Oh, but she aches so badly.

“Still grumpy, hm?” Joohyun murmurs questioningly, hot breath fanning over Seungwan’s neck and echoing goosebumps over her skin. She glances down at the bulge of her hand stretching the fabric, fingers already coated in slick. Her index finger rubs against Seungwan’s clit. “Feel good, Wannie?”

Hopelessly turned on, it’s all the other girl can do to whimper in agreement.

The pleasing sound of those soft whines escaping right into her ear turns Joohyun’s grin into something downright wolfish. She gives the swollen bud a few more leisurely strokes before retracting her hand completely, leaving Seungwan squirming in anticipation with whatever energy she has left.

Joohyun tastes the arousal on her fingertips. “Mm, I love how small you look right now, in my hands. So small and needy.”

Seungwan pants out a quiet “please, unnie”, clasping a shuddering hand over Joohyun’s and guiding it back down to the heat in her panties. She rolls her hips up into her palm, silently begging for her reward for being such a ‘willing’ participant in the one-sided games they played today.

After letting her gaze linger for a second, Joohyun shifts so she’s lying next to Seungwan. She slips her hand back in and squeezes firmly, revelling in the hoarseness of the girl’s voice. Velvety lips delicately map out her shoulder, and Seungwan has to fight to keep her eyes open to drink in the image of Joohyun pressed up against her, right hand cradled under her neck, propping her head up so they can both see the other one teasing her down her underwear.

It’s when Seungwan turns away to frustratedly pout at the suspense that Joohyun smiles and gives her a quick peck on the nose.

“I’ll continue if you promise not to pass out this time, okay baby bird?”

She bites back a snort watching Seungwan nod like she’s ever been able to stay awake after.

Then she has to bite back another because since when has she ever not continued even after being fed these empty promises, time and time again.

Anything to keep her precious Seungwan happy.

[once-in-a-blue-moon-rising]

So I just finished watching Money Heist/La Casa de Papel yesterday and OH BOY do I have some thoughts

I’m going to have to write a few of these posts probably because this ended up way longer than intended, but here are my Serquel musings 

Spoilers up to and including Part 4

Sergio/Raquel (Serquel)

This ship has consumed me pretty much since it first appeared.

It’s so compelling. 

One of the reasons for that is that it seems to be so obviously doomed from the start: how the heck can a criminal mastermind - the criminal mastermind in charge of the biggest heist in history - and the inspector trying to catch him ever be a successful couple? They can’t. If he cancels/sells out the heist for her he betrays his friends and goes to prison anyway. If she covers up for him they both go to prison - or, at the bare minimum, he’ll go to prison and she’ll lose her job. It’s a lose-lose.

What makes us care about all this is that - this huge conundrum aside - this is not a ludicrous pairing. We gradually see how they fit. Both are fantastic at their jobs, and obsessed to varying degrees. Both want to defeat the bad guys (although they initially disagree who the bad guys are). He’s sweet and vulnerable and cares intensely - no matter what his rules might forbid - and she is passionate, a little burned, and needs someone genuine. They both thrive on excitement and pressure and puzzles.

And the relationship stays seemingly doomed for a long time. Even after the polygraph, when they’ve pretty decisively established that they have feelings for one another despite being on opposite sides, it still seems impossible. The Professor might be steadily ruining his own plan, but Raquel Murillo is not going to let him get away just because she happens to have developed feelings for him. Not to mention the fact that she feels - rightly - pretty betrayed at this point.

But then things change, and even as Raquel stands accused as a co-conspirator she still can’t kill him, and not just because of all the Serbian mafia in the room. And then he explains his idea to her, properly, and she finally decides he’s worth switching sides for. 

I’m going to go into less specific detail for Parts 3 and 4 (Part 3 was SO GOOD for this ship though), and more use those series as a way to respond to some anti-Serquel ideas I’ve seen. 

So, I’ve seen a few people being like: yep, Serquel is cute and all, but he basically ruined her life and continues to put her and her family in danger, so she’d probably be better off leaving him.

And you know what? I had this wobble too, in the episode where Alicia is interrogating Raquel and mentions all the things she’s done for him (moving across the world being the primary example) and how Raquel has a habit of choosing men who humiliate her (a reference to her physically abusive ex-husband, but also provoking flashbacks about her and Sergio: ‘you’re the weakest link’ and the argument where he frames their relationship as him ‘winning’ the negotiation game). (Sidenote here to say that I do not condone blaming abuse victims for their abuse in any way - this was an extremely manipulative move on Alicia’s part, but I guess that was the point.)

So here’s the thing: Sergio did ruin Raquel’s professional life - that’s indisputable and given how important her job was to her, it’s no minor betrayal. He also deliberately targeted her because he thought the abuse she’d suffered would make her more vulnerable, which is pretty gross. 

B U T

Everything past that point, Raquel chose. She is not a passive love interest in this story - she is recklessly in love with him. She knew this man for what - all of a week? - and in that time fell in love, was betrayed, tried to kill/capture him, committed to him, betrayed him, and then - AND THEN - after an entire YEAR - got out the postcards that he’d given her when he still hadn’t even told her his name, found some coordinates and flew to the Philippines to reunite with him. After a year. There was a good chance that he was no longer there, and an even better chance that, if he was, he wouldn’t be interested anymore. A year is a long time when you’ve only known someone for a few days.

And here’s the thing: judge her all you want (except don’t, because we don’t hold male characters to these standards), but Raquel’s mother and daughter have never been her priority. She loves them, of course she does, but even before Sergio she prioritised her job over them. They only become her priority when there’s a chance her daughter might end up with abusive ex-scumbag.

Which means that her work on the second heist isn’t a sign that she’s giving up everything for love and that Sergio is expecting more than he’s willing to give in return. She wants to do it. When he tells her to leave when Tokyo arrives, she basically tells him to fuck off, and you know what? She fits right in with that gang. Although I feel concerned that they dropped her into the Bank of Spain at the end of Part 4 instead of reuniting her with Sergio, I think she’s really suited to that side of things. She’s so not interested in sitting on an island babysitting and waiting for him to get back. 

Finally, to address the couple of hurtful things he said to her while they were on the road together: it is strongly established that he struggles with interpersonal relationships and self expression. For that reason, I really think it’s a stretch to infer that he was trying to hurt her - he was calling it as he saw it, and perhaps didn’t realise that what he said would hurt her. I also think (to contradict myself) there was a little bit of the classic subconscious ‘if I hurt you, you’ll leave but at least you’ll be safe’. Not to mention that said scenes are followed later by possibly the most sincere apology I have ever seen. TL;DR THIS SHIP IS PERFECT AND I WILL FIGHT YOU

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Gimme a K Street Job

leverage 5.05

lemme just start by addressing the episode synopsis: “to take down a competitive cheerleading company which profits by putting teenage girls at risk, the team must tackle their most corrupt foe yet: congress”

y’all they went SO HARD for 2012 and I stan them SO HARD for that

- - - - -

Parker (into video camera on phone): Do you hate me? You hate me. Is that why you’re making me—

[Leverage Headquarters]

Parker (on display): —do this?

Nate: No, Par-Parker, these girls... they need a coach, and you’re the best gymnast I know.

Hardison: Besides, it puts you on the inside at Pep H.Q. In D.C. They’re running cheer camp for the next week up until championship.

Parker: But they’re teenage girls. What do I know about teenage girls?

Nate: You were a teenage girl?

Parker: Only sort of

parker I guarantee you’ll be in your element soon enough

but, in the meantime, parker complaining to nate like an offended child to a parent is everything

- - - - -

Sophie: Look, did you know about this? Girls being dropped from 20 feet. It’s unbelievable.

Parker: I know, right? 20 feet? Psh! Walk it off.

Sophie: Parker, you do know that normal people don’t just “walk off” a 20-foot fall, right?

Parker: So... all those times I pushed Hardison off a building and he was all “aah!”... he wasn’t just being funny?

(Hardison shakes his head)

Eliot: I thought it was funny, Parker.

Hardison: No way in hell was it funny.

Eliot: You’re always upside down, man.

Hardison: I fell off a building. I was upside...

Eliot: Like a Himalayan tree frog.

Hardison: You calling me a frog? You calling me a damn frog? Say it again. Say it to my face

I’d die for this chaotic ot3

eliot “I thought it was funny” spencer made sure to both reassure parker and fuck with hardison in the saME B R E A T H

- - - - -

Nate: Ah, there’s the crux of the problem right there. Technically, legally, cheerleading is not a sport. It’s an activity.

Sophie: What’s the difference?

Eliot: A sport has legally mandated safety standards.

Nate: Yes, and a for-profit company cannot run a sport, which is why pep wants to keep Competitive cheer from becoming a sport.

I don’t know why I was expecting someone to bash cheerleading the show had never ever let me down and I should have known better

- - - - -

Sophie: Ah, I love government. Shady deals, back-room meetings... It is grifter paradise.

Eliot: This is wrong. We work outside the law, not smack-dab in the middle of it.

Nate: Relax, Eliot. Elected officials are the easiest marks in the world. Between their ego, the greed, and the politics... More hooks than a bait shop

another fucked up government episode let’s go

- - - - -

Eliot: Right. Assuming it passes.

Hardison: Assuming what? It’s a bill to keep high-school girls out of wheelchairs. Who’s gonna vote against it?

[Congressional Meeting]

LeGrange: Ladies and gentlemen, this bill is a staggering... I say a staggering overreach of government power.

Eliot: You were saying

eliot is smug and loves proving hardison wrong on principle

- - - - -

LeGrange: Now, I was a quarterback in high school, so I think I know a thing or two about cheerleaders. And one thing I know is that they do not want big government getting all up in their business.

(Barron and Snyder enter the room)

LeGrange: Cheerleaders are strong, independent young women. They don’t need a bunch of white-haired old men from Washington telling them what to do. They don’t need a nanny state dictating their every move

this whole thing was so gross wtf

- - - - -

(Hardison uses his phone to create feedback on the sound system. A technician struggles to fix it while Hardison hands Eliot his phone)

Hardison: Just press this button.

LeGrange: I said, who knows what...

(Eliot presses button and the feedback gets worse)

they lowkey grinned at each other when they did it ,,,

they’re a chaotic duo that thrives on fucking with people and I stan them so hard for it

two words: assholery boyfriends

- - - - -

Nate: No, not... not marks. Elected officials. We do this right, we’ll have them eating out of our hand by dinner.

(hours later, Hardison enters looking exhausted. The others are seated around looking tired as well)

Eliot: “Eating out of our hand by dinner,” huh?

Hardison (sits down): Anybody else feel like we’ve been chewed up and spit out

and that’s government, people

- - - - -

Sophie: I like stealing things that are real. Cash... of course. Land... sure. Art... yes, please. Corn subsidies? Not so much.

let sophie steal expensive art from rich snobs pls it’s what she deserves

- - - - -

Girl: Um, coach?

Parker: Right! Okay, who’s up for some basic gymnastics drills?

(Parker presses a button and LASER light lines shine between orange cones. A girl in the back raises her hand)

Parker: Yes. You. What are you called?

Madison: Madison. Can I be excused? I don’t feel well.

Parker: But... We have... laser grid, Madison. Laser grid. Huh?

(on phone call)

Parker: They’re so jaded

I hope they still learned how to dodge lasers at the end

also ,,, THEIR PERFORMANCE WAS SO GOOD AT THE END PARKER TAUGHT THEM SO WELL

- - - - -

LeGrange: No, no. Listen carefully, son. Now, people don’t donate to me to buy my vote. People donate to me because they already know how I’m gonna vote. People donate to me because of my integrity. Now, if your people are interested in me, I’m happy to have your money. But if you think you can buy a vote off of J.J. LeGrange, well, you got another think coming.

[Empty Office]

Sophie: You mean...

Eliot: Yeah, I mean the guy’s got integrity. Elected official or not, you can’t con an honest man

congressman: *is honorable*

eliot:

sophie:

hardison:

nate:

*team collectively embodies the surprised pikachu meme*

- - - - -

Nate: Okay, so what’s your next play?

Eliot: Well, you’re supposed to be the mastermind. He doesn’t want power. He doesn’t want money. Maybe he really is an honest man.

Nate: Everyone has a hook, Eliot. Everyone has a weakness you can exploit.

Eliot: Do you?

Nate: No. You?

Eliot: No. Look, maybe this doesn’t fit into your world view, Nate, but there are some people out there that just want to serve. Trust me. I served with them.

Nate: Okay. Well, if all they want to do is serve, you can exploit that, too.

they totally have hooks and it’s the team but smh act like y’all are untouchable whatever

- - - - -

(Parker turns on a light in Ashley’s face)

Ashley: Madison talked to me in confidence.

Parker: A big word for a little girl.

Nate: Where’s Madison?

(Parker leans down into Ashley’s face, growling)

she literally G R O W L E D LMFAO

- - - - -

Parker: Madison? Madis... (sees Madison) Madison, hey, what are you doing down here? (helps Madison up) Everybody’s freaking out. Come on, we got to get you to the competition.

Madison (jerks away): I don’t want to compete.

Parker: What? Why not?

Madison: I don’t want to mess up again.

Parker: What are you talking about? When do you mess up? You’re great.

Madison: Seriously?

Parker: Oh. You were Marcy’s spotter.

Madison: I don’t know what went wrong. We’d done it a hundred times. Everything was going perfectly. (sits down) I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.

(Nate clears his voice. Parker sits beside Madison)

Parker: Look... I’m not afraid of heights or falling or... Anything I probably should be. But do you know what I am afraid of? Letting down the people I care about. Look, you don’t have to compete if you don’t want to compete. But I think your friends are gonna feel a lot safer knowing that you’re there, instead of having no one there.

(Madison nods)

Parker: Right? Did, uh, that work? Because I kind of got to get all the way up to the roof, so... (leaves the area)

parker NEVER would have been able to be vulnerable and understanding like that in the earlier seasons and we are SO PROUD of her and her character growth

+

“But do you know what I am afraid of? Letting down the people I care about.”

SHE LOVES HER FAMILY SO MUCH AND NEVER WANTS ANYTHING TO HAPPEN TO THEM

also ,,, nate’s fond look at her when she’s saying this ??? im soft

- - - - -

Cheerleader: Ready! Ready!

Announcer: Let’s hear it for the MHS Badgers!

Announcer: Ready! Ready! Let’s go!

Nate: Ready?

[Congresswoman Berkus’ Office]

Hardison: Ready.

[Sophie’s Office]

Sophie: Ready.

[Hallway]

Eliot: Ready.

[Pep Athletics Headquarters]

Parker: Ready.

Nate: Let’s go.

they’re so extra I love them

- - - - -

Ashley: Where’s coach?

Madison: She’ll be here. She won’t let us down.

Man: Wolves, you’re up.

Female announcer: Let’s give it up for the Wolves.

Parker: I’m here! I’m here! I’m here! All right, let’s huddle up. I bet you guys could use a pep talk right about now, huh?

(cheerleaders agree)

Parker: For Marcy?

Madison: For Marcy.

Parker: Go, wolves.

All: Go-o-o-o, wolves!

(cheerleaders perform an outstanding routine. Barron approaches Nate as he watches)

parker THRIVED during this episode and you can’t change my mind

- - - - -

parker watching over the cheer team with pride is my religion

- - - - -

also BIG PROPS to the producers that showed male cheerleaders too

- - - - -

LeGrange: Hi. (to Parker) How are you? J.J. LeGrange.

Parker: I don’t vote.

parker is chaotic and we love her for it

- - - - -

Hardison: And what was that about?

Sophie: Huh? Oh, I was j... I was, um, just planning a little trip to the gulf. The military are breaking ground on Fort Devereaux.

Hardison: Fort Devereaux?

Sophie: Mm-hmm. I love government.

Parker: Missed you guys this week. Good game.

I WANNA SEE FORT DEVERAUX

also parker wrapping her arms around sophie and hardison, happy to have her people and admitting that she missed them? the pOWER

- - - - -

Nate: Good job on this one.

Eliot: I know what you’re trying to do, Nate. You could have told me how to hook LeGrange the whole time, but you wanted to see if I could figure it out on my own. I trust someday very, very soon, you’re gonna tell me what kind of game you’re playing.

Nate: Good job on this one.

(Nate walks away. Eliot smiles, but watches him walk away)

eliot’s bashful little smile at the end is everything

[amarabliss]

Oaths and Hearts - 17 (Ignis Scientia/Reader)

So this is a crossover between FFXV and Dragon Age Inquisition.

You fell through a rift into the fade fighting the demons you swore to protect your world from. When you popped out you were no longer in the lands of Ferelden instead trapped in Insomnia. The gracious king allowed you to say recognizing power when he saw it. One thing led to another and now you were part of the procession of the prince to his wedding years later. Before the final battle, after years of fighting, losses, and love…your friend…your king…Noctis has asked you to change it all…

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11  Part 12  Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

You felt distant from the world around you. Perhaps it was the ordered bedrest…or your trip to the Fade that was hazy and like a fog. No matter what you tried you couldn’t put all the pieces together.

You let out a long sigh staring across the city. Rebuilding was beginning and it was going to be a long road. Thankfully the citadel itself was mostly intact. Noct quickly motioned to have everyone set up a base there. Everyone eagerly agreed.

The first floor was converted into a hub and strategic center. Second floor a medical wing, and the third a place for recreation. Most of the kids who began returning with their families over the last few weeks roamed around there. Anything above the third floor was turned into temporary housing.

Lucky for you, your room had always been in the citadel, and that is where they put you. You stood up looking over the railing of the balcony at the dozers moving in to clear the roadways. Getting transportation running again was a priority one. It would allow assistance to be brought in and more importantly bring people home.

“I heard you’re supposed to be resting.” You turned seeing Tor walking over to you, “Forgive me, I knocked but you didn’t answer. I got worried.”

“Sorry, it’s hard to hear with all the banging down there.” Your hands rested on your belly, “He’s excited about it though, practically dancing in here…”

“I bet…all the more reason you should be sitting…and resting.” Tor waved his hand over to the chair.

“Did someone send you to check in on me?” You rolled your eyes as you walked back to the chair, he held still for you as you sat down.

“…not exactly…” He walked over to the balcony looking down at everything, “I’m kinda in a pickle and…well there’s only two people I can talk to. You just happen to be the only one available at the moment, Cor is busy with the rebuild.”

“I…don’t follow…” You felt your brow come together as he turned around looking at you.

“Noctis hasn’t had a lot of time to rewrite a contract…” He spoke quietly looking down for a moment, “As soon as his feet touched Insomnia soil everyone felt the gift of Kings leave them. Everyone but me…”

“…but that’s not possible…we were careful about the wording…” You shook your head, “We never wanted a division…”

“No, we didn’t, but I can’t help but feel…” He held out his hand flame igniting from his fingers began dancing around, “very protective of you and your child…and I didn’t take the second oath…”

“Then we amend the contract made with you.” You told him firmly, “Our allegiance is to Noctis…”

“Yes…it is…but my allegiance is also to Ulric and only he can release it because the tie is to him. His power is my power.” Tor frowned closing his fist extinguishing the flame, “We were desperate to get our home back…that’s why I volunteered…it’s why I became a Glaive in the first place…it doesn’t change that I will follow King Noctis’ orders, but I will have this pull in the back of my mind wondering if I’m truly giving a hundred percent to his orders. I will always wonder if I’m fully committed. I will always worry for Ulric.”

You looked away from him staying silent. You knew how felt…in a way…

“What is it?” You looked back at him seeing concern fall over his Galahdian features. There was something about them that put you at ease. The same way Nyx would.

“Nothing…I just understand what you’re feeling.” You put a hand to your face massaging your forehead.

“Divided.” He watched you nod as he took in a deep breath, “What do you do help it?”

“That’s kinda my pickle…” You let your hand drop looking at him, “You’ve heard where I and Ignis went a month ago?”

“Yeah…crazy shit.” He crossed his arms leaning against the railing, “You had like…an outta body experience or something?”

“That’s one way to explain…It’s more like, like waking up in a fractured world that preys on your dreams and desires, changing them into nightmares.” You shook your head, “I can remember a bit of it…arriving was cold…I saw faces I hadn’t seen in a long time, but I knew they weren’t real. Then the mastermind behind it all showed his face…his favorite thing is to choke people…”

Your hand went to your throat feeling the fading bruise. Dr. Reed had explained to both you and Ignis that during your sleep you suffered wounds. Some of which you both confirmed were things you experienced within the Fade. Some you both were still healing from.

You looked up to Tor’s face as you teared up, “And then he found Nyx in my mind and uh…I stopped fighting so much. Nyx always felt like home…”

Tor sighed grabbing the other chair placing it in front of you before he sat down leaning on his knees taking your hands in his, “We all miss him…all of them…”

You sniffed as tears went down his face, “Yeah…but this place made me question every feeling I had…everything I knew…everything I thought I knew…and I’ve done it before and I almost lost then…and now…”

Tor squeezed your hands again looking you in the eye, “I’m gonna tell something that I probably shouldn’t, but I don’t know if Nyx would have told you…but I hoped he would.”

Nyx sat at the bar spinning the beer between his hands, “If you look at that drink any harder, it might press stalking charges.”

Nyx smirked shaking his head a little, “Artorius…I didn’t think you were due back for a few weeks…what happen? You take care of the Empire all by yourself, with your bad comedy act so we don’t have to fight anymore?”

“Ha, if only.” Tor slapped him on that back, “Things got a little hot, our unit played it safe to get the intel back intact.”

“Good…I’ll drink to that.” Nyx raised his beer toward him before taking a drink.

Tor smiled and watched as Nyx put the beer back on the bar. He ordered a round before he spoke again, “So what’s her name?”

“What?” Nyx scrunched up his face and looked at him, “What are you talking about?”

“You look like someone killed you dog.” Tor winked at the bartender when she set the drinks down, “And everyone knows only a lady could make a man that miserable.”

Nyx rolled his eyes shaking his head, “Yeah, okay…whatever.”

“Man…wow, whoever she is, she did a number.” Tor took a drink staring at his friend for a long time, watching him shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Finally, he took a deep breath in, “Well, I-”

“She’s going out with another guy…” Nyx finally blurted out before sighing.

“…like she dumped you and …” He picked up his beer watching Nyx slowly deflate.

“We weren’t dating…” Nyx slumped until his face laid on the table looking at Tor, “We had an arrangement, that happened after a long night of booze and ranting…”

“And it became more for you than just good sex…” Tor shook his head setting his beer down with a thunk, “and you never told her…”

“I’m an idiot…” Nyx shut his eyes.

“Yeah…yeah you are.” Tor nodded a little smirking as Nyx’s eyes snapped open.

“Gee thanks asshole.” Nyx picked himself up wiping a hand over his face, “I really screwed up…”

“So, tell her.” Nyx gave him a side eye as he went on, “Tell her that you like her…maybe she’ll end it with the other guy, and you’ll live happily ever after.”

“She really likes him…and he’s good for her.” Nyx sighed thinking about it, “Really good for her…”

“And you’re not?” Tor punched him in the arm making Nyx wince and glare, “Don’t sell yourself short. What is it you always say…you’re the hero, right?”

“Not a very good one, when I can’t even take care of the woman I love.” Nyx sighed reaching for his beer.

“Whoa…the L word.” Tor’s eyes widened some, “Wow this is a bit more…complicated now.”

Nyx looked at him sadly, “…yeah…yeah, I love her. She sees me and not where I’m from or what I am…just me… She’s amazing, and smart, and god the way is able to pick up on what I’m thinking…we’re really in sync…”

“Wait…is this the chick you had to babysit for like a year?” Nyx nodded slowly as his eyes widened slowly, “The mystery girl…everyone has talked about her, but I’ve never seen her. No one really knows her story.”

“You don’t need to know.” Nyx got defensive looking at him seriously, “All you need to know is she save the king and she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Tor stared at him and nodded slowly, “Alright, then my suggestion still stands. Tell her, tell her everything. We only get one life Nyx, and the way you talk about her…it’s obvious to me that she means everything to you.”

Nyx stared at him for a long time before running a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair, “Maybe I will…”

“’atta boy.” Tor patted him on the shoulder ordering another round.

“Nyx, sacrificed a lot for his people…all the time, but he was also the first to stand up for King Regis. He knew how to read people. He knew he could trust you.” Tor told you with smile, “Maybe knowing that he loved you and just wanted you to be happy and cared for…maybe…you can find comfort in that.”

“He told you that?” You sniffed wiping at tear away as he nodded, “He never said anything…”

“Would it have mattered if he did?” Tor tilted his head watching you carefully.

You sat there a moment looking down to your hands before you looked up at him shaking your head, “No…it wouldn’t have changed anything…I loved him…I did, but it couldn’t have worked for us. We’re too much alike.”

“Then everything you’re feeling, is just that place messing with you. I gotta go…you know act normal…” He smirked as you chuckled. Standing up he looked down to you, “But if you ever need anything…you’ve got my number…and I will stand by my oath to protect you and your child.”

“Thank you Artorius.” You reached up taking his hand before he was able to walk away completely, “For everything that’s been unspoken.”

He took in a deep breath nodding slightly, “It’s not my business to tell the world how royal bloodlines are carried on. For that matter, you man wouldn’t be who he is today if he knew his parentage all along. For that, I think we’re all grateful.”

You smiled thinking of Ignis, “He really is something isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is.” He smiled at you, “You have a good day now, and rest…I mean it. I won’t hesitate to warp up here and babysit you.”

“Don’t worry, I tire easily now…and Ignis comes home every night.” You told him with a smile, “If you see him, I would really like something salty if possible.”

“From Glaive to messenger…” He chuckled as he left. He joked but the request was compelling. Not only did he find Ignis and inform him of the request, he also found chips, pickles, and crackers.

“He was very insistent that I bring these home for you.” Ignis watched you open the crackers, “I trust this is what you wanted.”

(Image Credit to @ipromptography​)

“It was, very much…I think Ulric is working out, cause my desire for salt is high.” You told him popping a cracker into your mouth before looking at him. He was smiling at you, eyes twinkling. You swallowed the cracker, “What?”

He took the crackers from you setting them down before he took your face in his hands, “You’re shining today.”

You flushed instantly, “Stop…I’m huge and bloated…”

“Heavenly and beautiful is more like it…” He caressed your cheek before he kissed you.

You stared into his eyes when parted from you. God…he was wonderful. You reached taking his face in your hands as you lips found his again. Every instinct inside of you ran straight into overdrive.

He pulled away placing his hands on your arms, “Perhaps we should slow down…I…wouldn’t want…”

His forehead rested against yours as you both took in deep heavy breaths. You stared into his eyes as you spoke, “I love you.”

His eyes brightened at the words, “And I you…forever…”

Ignis stepped away from you smiling as he did. He walked over to a duffle bag he’d dumped in a corner when everything settled down, “Ignis?”

“I didn’t want it to be likes.” He began searching through his pack, “I actually had a great plan, until circumstances tore us apart.”

“You are a planner.” You spoke softly as he finally pulled something out clutching it in his hand.

He walked back over to you slowly, “I love you. Deeply and with everything that I am…I never want to be parted from you.”

He took your hand in his gently placing a dark threaded bracelet with green and purple beads woven into it. You stared at it tracing a finger over each bead, “Ignis…”

“I love you and I want you to be my wife…if you’ll have me.” He took in a breath holding it as he took a small step back.

A tear fell down your cheek as you nodded looking at him, “Yes…a hundred thousand times yes.”

The breath escaped him as relief washed over him. He stepped back to you putting the bracelet on your wrist, “I know it’s not very pretty…but I…”

“It’s perfect.” You smiled up at him, “I will always wear it, until the day I die, and forever in the beyond.”

You hugged him tightly. He had no idea how much it meant to you. The brief moment you’d told Noctis you custom…he listened. For you a ring was a simple symbol of union…but a bracelet or necklace made by the one you loved was so much more. It represented the same thing, but also how much that person promised to work with you.

Most women wore bracelets and necklaces that looked like a toddler had made them. Men weren’t required to learn the craft of jewelry making like young girls, but their wives would wear it proudly knowing how long it must have taken to make. How much they needed to set their pride down to learn how to make it. In the end, husbands would get something very detailed and ornate.

Ignis was a detailed person. Perfectionist to a fault sometimes. His braids were tight and every bead was wrapped tightly and securely. Any woman back home would have been jealous, and woman here should be.

His smile brought you back to the present as he whispered against your lips, “You make me so happy.”

That night was blissful…and you finally felt like you were at peace. You watched Ignis sleeping next to you and it made you smile. He had a few new scars that he had yet explained to you. Running a hand through his hair he sighed letting out pleasant sound as he leaned into your touch.

You smile vanished as pain rippled through. An audible gasp escaped you as you sat up. It was enough to wake Ignis up, “What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

You clenched your teeth gripping the sheets in your hands as you tried sit up with his help, “Oooo…”

“I’ll get the doctor…” Ignis began to stand up but you reached out stopping him.

“No…” You shook your head taking in a deep breath letting it out slowly, “No…this is normal…”

“Normal!?” He stood there looking at you in disbelief.

You laughed a little before you smiled patting the bed, “Yes…very normal…it will probably happen a lot more over the next couple of months, until it’s more frequent and regular…we have nothing to worry about.”

He sat down and began rubbing your back, “Will you at least see Dr. Reed in the morning for my sanity if nothing else?”

“Of course, I will.” You leaned over resting your head on his shoulder.

“Your gender…” he spoked after a while, “is undoubtedly so much stronger than mine.”

You laughed nuzzling closer to him, “Let’s not go that far yet…”

[pandemicthestory]

10: confused

Fake it til you make it.

In the middle of the City, fairly close to the Academy, there is a chrome-colored building that is taller than almost all of the rest. Night and Sugar stand in front of its doors, wondering how they’re going to get in.

The building is called “Mecca.” It’s filled with headquarters for top companies--mostly builders, but also fashion and interior designers, medical technicians, and game developers. Thousands of civilians report here for work 5 days a week. But since it’s Friday, as soon as it’s 5 o’clock, these workers will leave their desks and head to the top floor. 

At the top floor of Mecca is LOUNGE, an exclusive night and day club where windows are always blacked out and the passing of time can’t be measured. A night club meets speakeasy meets casino, this is where the elites go to unwind. After a long week’s work of building, the business men and women of Mecca can swipe their membership card at the top floor and indulge themselves in the darker parts of life. 

And this is exactly where Sugar intends on taking them.

“There’s no way we’re getting in.” Night mutters, hitting his forehead with his palm. This situation feels seriously illegal and seriously stupid. As he and Night stood at the front of this massive building, Night begins to wonder if he’s made a big mistake. 

“Hold on now, don’t give up just yet, man. Listen, the separation medical facility is in this building.” Sugar explains. 

“So..?”

“People think we’re Vacaters. So, we’ll tell security that we have appointments today, they’ll let us in, we’ll head to the facility and…” 

“And what?”

“And figure it out from there? Let’s go dude!”

*buzz*

*buzz buzz buzz* 

Suddenly, Night’s phone starts blowing up in his pocket. He can’t ignore it, because it just keeps going. 

“Hold on a second, Sugar…”

Night reaches into his pocket and sees that he has several missed texts and calls. From Julian. 

Oh god, what does he want from her so desperately? What could be so important that it can’t wait? 

This is why he’d tapped Emma’s phone. It wasn’t because he’s creepy or trying to infringe on her privacy, though, he’ll admit, that’s exactly what it looks like. No, it’s because she’s unpredictable, and surrounded by people who don’t know what’s best for her. And because he really needs her to make it here. 

JULIAN: where are u 

JULIAN: stopped by your house and u weren’t there 

JULIAN: ur mom said u were out for a walk, but i don’t think that’s true. Tell me what’s happening

(3 MISSED CALLS)

JULIAN: your friend zoe says that you’re out somewhere with her boyfriend. Care to explain? Wtf is going on...we’re leaving in a few days Emma

(2 MISSED CALLS)

JULIAN: we’re leaving tomorrow

Leaving?

Leaving where?

Night had known that Emma was planning something, just not what. Apparently Julian does. 

Sugar taps his foot impatiently while Night composes a response to Julian. With the software he installed on his phone, it will be rerouted through Emma’s number. He’ll have no idea.

“EMMA”: Going where?

A pause, and then Julian is typing. 

JULIAN: there you are. Fuck. don’t do that to me 

“EMMA”: where are we going, julian? 

JULIAN: what are you talking about? Are you trying to distract me from the fact that ur out chilling w Gabriel? The fuck?

Now Night is actually confused. Is this why she didn’t answer him? Because she was busy with Gabriel? And for that matter, who the hell is Gabriel?

What’s going on Emma? Everything you need was sent straight to your doorstep. Couldn’t have been easier. All you had to do was get the mail. So what went wrong?

Sugar yells to him, “DUDE, NOW.” 

“Ok ok, I’m ready!” Night says, while composing and sending one last text.  

“EMMA”: i’m not going anywhere with you julian. I’ve changed my mind. Don’t contact me again

Night runs after Sugar. He wonders to himself...what does such a smart girl see in such a profoundly stupid guy? Is she that starved of attention that she’ll settle for anyone who gives it to her? Note to self: that question will probably be offensive to her if he were to ask it. So he will not.

But hopefully he’ll at least have the chance. Soon. 

Sugar storms ahead, and Night basically has no choice but to follow. 

Sure enough, they head through metal detectors on their way in, and are then greeted by a squad of security guards. A guard steps in front of them. How many times is this going to happen today?

“Please swipe ID cards on the way in.” 

This guard is nicer than the last one, he said please. He’s still in the way though. Sugar steps up. 

“Hello sir, we don’t have ID cards because we don’t actually work here. We’re merely here for our appointments at the separation facility. We’re wearing our uniforms to indicate our status.” Sugar says, oozing with professionalism and aggressively overdoing it. Night fights a laugh under his breath (“merely..?”) and Sugar elbows him discreetly. The guard frowns.

“Is that so? We weren’t told of any separation appointments scheduled today...in fact, it’s rare that they’re ever scheduled on Fridays. What’s the reason you’re here for the service today instead of Monday?” 

At this moment, both Sugar and Night are hoping that the other one has more knowledge of who the hell Vacaters actually are and what the hell the separation facility actually does. Unfortunately, neither of them do. Night realizes that he’ll have to throw another hail mary pass and hope for the best.

“Well it’s because, the...service...is going to be followed by a session with some other associates at LOUNGE.” 

Now it was Sugar’s turn to try not to laugh. That was officially the dumbest ass response ever, which is why he is the resident debauchery mastermind and Night spends every night in front of a computer and a dead plant. 

Night tries to remain confident. He couldn’t bank on these guys not understanding Vacaters, like the last pair of idiots, but he gambled that he could bank on them not knowing much about LOUNGE. From the look of it, these guys don’t seem like the type to be invited to an exclusive, glamorous party. They’re wearing jumpsuits. 

“What? Really? That’s so...unusual.” One guard says. The other nods in agreement. They actually seem a bit...jealous? As in, why have these two bratty teenagers been invited to the top floor when we who have worked here for five years never will?

“Well yes, my father is a builder and it’s, uh, a sort of rite of passage for me to be vacated, er, separated, alongside him. In a celebratory way. After work.” 

If Night got away with this, he’d owe the forces of the universe one. 

The guards just nod in admiration while Sugar looks incredulous. 

“Well then, good luck young man. We hope your last night will be a special one.” 

The guards exchange nods with Night and Sugar, who head forward to the glass elevator. 

“Separation facility is on 43!” Calls one of the security guards from behind, almost wistfully. Maybe one day he’ll get the chance to see what’s up there. But not likely. 

Once inside the glass elevator, Sugar hugs Night around the shoulder. 

“Ok honestly, I’m a bit shook that you’re a bad ass. Was pretty sure that you were just a virgin computer nerd.”

Night laughs to himself. That’s all that anyone has ever expected of him. But right now, seeing himself through Sugar’s eyes as a genius lawbreaker feels good. Intoxicating, even. 

“What floor’d he say? 45, was it? Sugar asks. 

“Why not go straight to the top?” Night asks, with a mischievous grin.

He hits the number “100” without waiting for an answer. 

* * * 

Emma crashes through the front door of her house, ready to have to explain herself to her parents and hoping to get through it painlessly.

But they don’t seem to be home. “Mom? Dad?” 

They must be out looking for her. Now it all makes sense...her neurotic mother was blowing up her phone because she couldn’t even trust her daughter to take a walk around the damn block. Then her phone got destroyed in the parking lot. And now, since she hasn’t answered, they’re out looking for her. And when they eventually get back, she’ll probably be sent to prison. Cool.

Emma decides to take this time as a gift. Tune everything else out. This is her shot to save Isabel. 

Emma runs upstairs to her room and tears the cardboard off the headset. She tosses the instructions aside because she has enough knowledge to put one of these together without them. 

Does it need to be charged? It does not. It’s ready to go. 

Now, to check on the download…

7 HOURS REMAINING

She groans. It’s speeding up, but not enough. She needs to plug in now, not in 7 god damn hours. She sees on her computer that there are a shit ton of unread G-chat messages from Zoe. Ugh, she’s probably dealing with some sort of jealousy moment right now and Emma just doesn’t have time to deal with it. So she doesn’t open them. Sorry Zo. You’ll forgive me.

Emma wracks her frazzled brain--there’s gotta be a way for her to get online and contact Emma.

Wait. 

Emma runs across the hallway to Isabel’s room, carrying the headset and headphones. Isabel is still slumped over in her chair, alive, looking the same as before. Well at least she’s alive, which is cool. Emma examines the game on the computer--scanning the twisted map view of a city for any sign of her sister. None. Hm, guess it doesn’t work like that. 

Emma looks at the game settings. 

Ah, input/output. Yes. This is it. 

If she can’t join from her own game, maybe she can join Isabel’s.

Emma sits down on a pile of clothes in the back of Isabel’s closet. She might as well get comfy, she could be here for a while. She puts on thick noise-canceling headphones and the headset, and everything goes dark and quiet. 

Power on. 

Emma wirelessly connects to Isabel’s computer, then sees the icon for the Universe game pop up in front of her eyes. With a nod, she selects it.

Black becomes blue. 

Silence becomes ambient drone music. 

Isabel’s done VR before, so she expects this. She still feels excitement. This technology never ceases to amaze her. 

It’s when the feeling of the laundry beneath her fades away into a rush of cold air... 

This, she does not expect. 

[magewriter]

Lazy Mornings

Lazy Mornings

Kalex Week Day 3: Polyamory

Tuesday, 11/19 - Polyamory - Any combination as long as Kara & Alex are in it

Pairing: AgentSuperCorp (or Kara/Alex/Lena)

Words: 1,770

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Kara yawned, stretching out like a cat before turning over to take in the sight of her lovers curled together. She normally woke first, especially on lazy days like this where neither workaholic had anywhere they needed to be. She stretched just enough to be able to brush the bangs from Alex’s face, ghosting down to tuck a few fly away strands of Lena’s hair behind the woman’s ear.

Neither even twitched. She grinned, hovering carefully to get out of the bed. Kara gently tucked the covers tighter around her humans and left them to their slumber.

Picking her way quietly around the apartment, she turned off the alarm so she could go out onto the balcony. Standing full on in the rising sun, a wide smile took over her face.

It had been a stress-filled week for all of them. Lena had been fielding late-night calls from halfway around the world talking to various investors about some of L-Corps newest tech. Alex had been cooped up in either the lab dealing with paperwork or the training ground with new recruits. Snapper had been on Kara over one thing or another on top of a serial bank robber with meta-powers that she and Alex had been chasing down.

Today, however, was not going to be like that. It was Saturday, day one of a long lazy weekend. Kara had managed to work a minor miracle in order to get it, but in the end she had. She and her favorite humans had three whole, glorious days in which to do nothing but be with each other.

If someone tried to end the world, she was going to be very cross with them.

Looking at the clock on the wall in the kitchen, her grin got wider. She had just enough time to get to Noonan’s for their first sticky buns of the day. Setting the coffee pot to begin brewing, she was dressed and gone before the first drops began to fall.

Alex woke to the scent of fresh coffee filling the apartment. Lena was tucked beneath her chin, a common enough occurrence whenever the three of them all managed to make it to bed at the same time. Lena was a regular cuddle-bug, constantly seeking out sources of warmth and comfort. It was why the middle was her spot.

“Mm, Kara?” Alex blinked open her eyes to see if she could locate the blonde. Since they weren’t wrapped up in the heavy warmth of the Kryptonian, the woman was probably already up.

“Time?” Lena murmured, rolling out of Alex’s loose hold to stretch.

“Almost nine,” Alex answered, having already rolled over to look at the clock on her nightstand. That was late for them.

“Kara’s at Noonan’s,” Lena held out her phone. “She’ll be home soon.”

Alex took the offered object, reading the text from their girlfriend. She chuckled at the partial scolding that they weren’t to go to their labs or offices. She yawned, covering her mouth with one hand while using the other to hand the phone back. She was perfectly content to remain in bed for a little bit longer.

She yelped when Lena threw the covers back, letting the cooler air of the apartment beneath the blankets.

“Mean,” she muttered, rolling out of the bed. She shook herself, stretching to try and wake herself up. “Just for that, the first cup is mine.”

“You’ll have to beat me there,” Lena said, already heading towards the door. She had the slight advantage that her side of the bed was closest to the door.

She did not expect Alex to jump across the bed to clash with her in the doorway. They both tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“Morning,” Alex pecked her cheek before regaining her feet.

“Cheater,” Lena grumbled, reaching out to try and trip the older woman.

Alex dodged it, grinning wider as Lena scowled at her. She did wait to further move until Lena was back on her feet. Either way, she was reaching the coffee pot first. They both missed Kara returning.

“What are you two doing?” Kara was looking at them in confusion, head cocked to the side as she studied them. She held two boxes of pastries, undoubtedly still warm.

“Racing for the coffee,” Lena replied, using the distraction of Kara’s arrival to edge around Alex to get closer to the kitchen.

“You pulled the blankets off, I get the first cup!” Alex dashed down the hallway, fully willing to shoulder check the shorter woman.

“Really,” Kara huffed, using her speed to beat the both of them to the kitchen. In the time it took her humans to get there, she had both cups fixed just the way they enjoyed. “Can we please eat breakfast together, or are you going to turn that into a competition as well?”

“Sorry Darling,” Lena pecked her cheek and took the monochrome cat mug from the blonde. “We’ll behave.”

“Sorry Kar,” Alex kissed her opposite cheek, taking the rainbow DEO mug. “Thank you.” She eyed the cup for a moment. “Do I even want to know where this came from?”

Kara smirked. “Lucy lost a bet.”

“Don’t,” Lena shook her head. “You don’t want to know.” She didn’t want to know, nor had she wanted to walk in on that.

“One thing,” Alex made a mental note to question Lucy the next time she saw her friend. “Who did she lose the bet too that it resulted in this?” And how had they gotten it past J’onn?

“Sam,” Kara replied. “Vas has one as well.”

“…right.” Alex decided that perhaps she didn’t want to know after all. Sam could be just as terrible as Maggie when it came to making ridiculous bets. She snatched up a sticky bun before Kara consumed them all. “So what are we going to do today?”

“Yes, since you already banned us from our labs and offices.” Lena daintily nibbled on her muffin. Mornings like this were meant to be savored, especially when they included fresh apple-banana muffins.

“Movie day!” Kara replied. She already had the living room set up for them to cuddle. “I have Ocean’s 8, Charlie’s Angels, Lion King, and a whole bunch of others already set up!”

“Movie day it is,” Alex had been meaning to watch the first two but had never gotten to it. “Lena?”

“Sounds like a good way to spend a lazy Saturday.” Lena agreed.

“Good, because tomorrow we’re going to the Science Museum for the opening of their new engineering exhibit.” Kara announced. She grinned at their faces.

“Kar, how did you get tickets to that?” Alex asked slowly. She had been trying for months. Lena had been trying for months. The tickets had been scarce to begin with, sold out almost as soon as the new exhibit had been announced.

“I know the curator, and the main donor.” Kara explained. “When I told them that my girlfriends would be ecstatic when it was announced, they gave me the tickets.”

“You’ve been sitting on tickets to this for nearly a year,” Alex was shaking her head as she spoke, “and you kept it a secret.”

“Well, I’m impressed.” Lena admitted. She had donated to the museum several times for various reasons. There were even a few pieces of tech and interactive displays from L-Corp, but none of that had garnered her even a single ticket. She and Alex had attended the gala for it together, but that was close as they had gotten.

“How do you even know them?” Alex was curious. “Lena?”

“I know Yvonne because we went to boarding school together, but even I don’t know who the main donor is. They wanted it kept quiet. I’m not even certain Yvonne knows.” She turned to Kara expectantly.

“I’ve interviewed Ms. Velcir several times for CatCo, and I’ve set up meetings between her and Ms. Grant several times when I was Ms. Grant’s assistant.” Kara explained. Being Cat’s assistant had often meant meeting people in high positions with connections everywhere. “As for the mystery donor…” she blushed hard.

“I know that face,” Alex snickered. “Who was it?”

Lena frowned. “I’m going to find a way to mark you so that people will stop flirting with you. Both of you,” she glared at Alex. She wished the woman would take the threat of someone poaching Kara away from them seriously. She was their girl, and they only shared with each other. Kara had already agreed to it.

Kara blushed harder. “She only does it because it gets a rise out of both of you.”

“Narrows it down, it being a ‘she’,” Alex teased. “Now, the question is: criminal mastermind or masked vigilante?”

“Oh Rao…” Alex was never going to let her live that one down. “It wasn’t Jamie! Last I knew, she was perfectly happy doting on her wife and terrorizing their shared friend.”

Lena rolled her eyes. Their blonde knew some very interesting people. “Not all of them wear masks,” she pointed out. “Nor are they considered vigilantes.”

“Well, what’s your guess then?” Alex took a donut this time, settling back to enjoy it.

“It was Kate, okay?” Kara burst out. “You can stop the teasing now.” She pouted, arms crossed. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t always realize someone was flirting with her. Humans could be just as oblivious!

“Should have known,” Lena settled back with a second muffin. “She was entirely too smug at the gala.”

Kara groaned. “Can we just watch some movies now, please? No more making fun of the alien for not recognizing human flirting. I still hold that none of it actually was.”

“Sure Kara,” Alex patted her shoulder, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll leave it alone.” She smirked at Lena. “For now anyway.”

“Not helping,” Lena told her. “We only do it because we know you don’t know what it is, and we’re very certain we know which bed you’ll be in at the end of the night.”

“Right,” Kara hoped her face would return to normal before tomorrow. “Just for that, we’re watching Disney movies first.” She got up, snagged the last two sticky buns, and dashed into the living room.

“No, not that-” Alex stumbled after her. “Lena, some help!”

Slowly, Lena stood from the table with her coffee. She deliberately walked as slowly as she could to the living room. Her girlfriends were already tangled together in front of the couch fighting over the remote.

“Now, why would I do that?” She smirked, sipping her coffee. “This is a delightful view for me.”

[matrixaffiliate]

Gumshoe

NEW STORY! FFN and AO3

I’m posting early because it’s @thisismegz birthday today and I want her to have a birthday one-shot. Happy birthday beautiful! Luv you girl!

Ron knows that something is up with Ginny and Harry is in on it. Of course, he's going to figure out what's what.

Gumshoe

Ron has always been the closest to Ginny, even as adults, they see each other at least once a month. And Ron loves that. Ginny's right brilliant and Harry is his best mate. So when Hermione was sent to Canada for a week, Ron was happy to accept the invitation for dinner with the Potters for every night Hermione was away. Ron appreciated the company, he missed Hermione when she was gone and having the guarantee that he would have Harry and Ginny with him for dinner made Hermione's absence a bit easier.

"I really appreciate you two inviting me over." Ron smiled at Harry who looked very preoccupied. Harry didn't respond.

"Mate," Ron waved his hand in front of Harry's face.

Harry started, "Sorry, yeah, we're happy to have you. Hermione would kill us if we let you go crazy by yourself. Let's get going, I'm cooking tonight."

Ron followed Harry out the Auror office door. "I thought Ginny cooked on Tuesdays."

"Er, sometimes yeah, but I'm cooking tonight."

Ron shrugged. Harry was as good of a cook as Ginny so he wasn't going to complain.

What surprised Ron, though, was that Ginny was home when they stepped through the fireplace. Ginny was never home before Harry on a practice day.

"Hey Ginny," Ron gave his sister a hug, "did you get out of practice early?"

Ginny shrugged, "Sometimes we get lucky."

Harry coughed.

"So tell me about your day," Ginny bumped Harry with her hip.

Ron added to Harry's account of their day of following up on leads. He was about to tell her about Harry trying to control his temper with one Robards when Ginny bolted from the kitchen.

"Ginny?"

"I'll check on her, Ron," Harry was already following her path.

Ron hesitated only a moment before he followed. If something was wrong with Ginny he wasn't going to just sit by and watch. He still had nightmares of frantically moving rocks as he tried to get to where Harry was trying to save Ginny in the Chamber.

"It's fine, Harry," Ginny groaned and Ron stopped short of the master bedroom, listening in.

"Is it normal to randomly be sick?" Harry's voice dripped with his concern and Ron thanked Merlin again that his best mate ended up with his sister. No one else was good enough.

"For the first little while yeah, sometimes through the whole thing. Gwen was really excited for me but I didn't make it through all of practice today. She gave me tomorrow off to go see a healer and get some potions to make it so I can practice and play until I'm required to take leave."

"What can I do, Gin," Harry's voice had dropped low and Ron had to employ all of his Auror training to slip into the room so he could keep listening.

"Go distract my brother, he can't know yet." Ginny groaned again, "Make something up and I'll pull myself together."

Ron moved as quickly as he dared back to the kitchen, barely sitting back at the bar stool when Harry strolled in.

"Is everything alright?" Ron observed Harry closely. He washed his hands before returning to making dinner.

"Gin just remembered an owl she was supposed to send. She'll be right back."

"What about?" Ron pressed.

Harry bristled, it was a small gesture, his shoulders straightening for a fraction of a second before he immediately relaxed.

"I didn't ask," he shrugged and then changed the subject.

Ron went with the change, but the moment Ginny came back in almost ten minutes later, he jumped to question her before Harry could say anything.

"What was that about?"

"I forgot to do something important," Ginny shrugged.

"Yeah? What was it?" Ron observed his sister and brother-in-law. They shared a short, barely there glance before Ginny smiled at him.

"I forgot to send an owl to Gwen with some paperwork I forgot to bring this morning. It's for our next photo shoot and she wanted it before the end of the day. I think I just made it."

Ron's eyes went wide. If Harry and Ginny wanted to become criminal masterminds they'd probably be unstoppable. He knew they hadn't said anything after he slipped out because Harry had been hot on his heels as he snuck out. But they'd both pulled the same story out for him somehow.

Dinner was strange. Ginny didn't eat much of Harry's chicken soup, which Ron knew was one of her favorites. After dinner, she said she was tired and went to bed early. Harry acted like this was completely normal but kept spacing out through the rest of the evening.

Ron went home very confused that night.

And he experienced deja-vu the next night, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next. At some point in the evening, Ginny would bolt from the room, Harry would follow. Ron would sneak and listen to them at the master bedroom door. He had figured out that Ginny was somehow sick. She had medicine for it, but she was only supposed to use it for practice and games since her body could develop a resistance to it. Harry kept spacing out, even when they were in the office. If he didn't have something specific to focus on he would get lost in his head. Hermione seemed to think he was stretching things.

"I heard her say that she needed a healer," Ron insisted into the phone.

"Ron, she probably got hit by a Bludger," Hermione sighed. "I'm sure she and Harry have everything under control."

"A Bludger hit is easy to fix, why would she have got sick about a Bludger injury? And I think she's sick every time she runs out of the room." Ron knew if Hermione were actually there with him she'd see what he saw, but when he described it he realized it sounded rather mundane.

"Ron, I love you, and I love that you're worried about Ginny, but if she was injured during practice and the potions they're giving her are making her sick then that would explain everything. Harry always gets distracted when it comes to your sister." Hermione's voice softened. "Now, I want to hear what we're going to do when I get home tomorrow morning."

Ron chuckled, "I'm going to make the most of our time before we have to go to the Burrow for dinner."

And when Hermione walked through their grate, he did just that.

In fact, Ron was so caught up in having Hermione back that he completely forgot about the Potter's strange behavior. Until he walked into the door at the Burrow and watched Ginny bolt for the bathroom, Harry hot on her heels. Ron looked at his mum, whose eyes were calculating.

"She's been like that all week." He announced.

"All week?" Bill asked, his expression a perfect replica of their mum's.

Ron nodded. "I overheard her tell Harry she went to a healer because she wasn't making it through practice."

"How often have you seen her this week, Ron?" Percy asked, sharing a long look with Bill.

"Every day this week."

"You boys stop right now," Molly turned on them. "It's not your place and you know that."

"She's right," Fleur nodded as she broke up Victoire and Dominique's argument. "You keep it to yourselves."

"Wait," Ron's brain started to put everything together, "bloody hell!"

Hermione's hand clapped over his mouth, "You heard your mother!"

Harry and Ginny came out at that moment, Harry's arm protectively wrapped around Ginny's shoulders.

"So, er, I was hoping to tell you before that happened," Ginny sighed and leaned into Harry, "but we'd like to announce that we're having a baby."

"I told you something was up!" Ron grinned at Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I love you dear, but I knew before I left for the trip."

"How did you know?" Harry asked.

Hermione smiled, "I saw the test in the trash can when I stopped by with those books for Teddy before I left."

"Thanks for keeping it to yourself," Ginny hugged her.

"You really need to thank me for not letting this one figure it out." Hermione winked at Ron. "If I hadn't kept telling him nothing was going on he would have found you out in two days."

Harry chuckled, "That's part of what makes him the best partner."

Ron pulled Harry and Ginny into a hug, "Next time fill me in and buy my silence."

"You watch your mouth, Ronald," Molly laughed and pulled them all into a hug. "Grandma's should always find out first."

It wasn't until thirty years later when Rose came to tell them she was expecting, that Ron realized his mum had been right. Grandparents should always be told first.

[let-it-raines]

Second in Command - Extra

Original story can be found | AO3 | or | Tumblr | 

Here’s 2,100 words of a little scene that happens in November 2026, which means that Andy is five, Sutton is about to turn three, and Emma is pregnant with Linnie. I’ve been watching the news and how insane it is that reporters are being sent to watch day and night for baby Sussex, and somehow this happened, even if it’s not like that at all! I hope you enjoy!

PS: If there’s an extra scene that you want at any point in time of the original story, the sequel, or sometime in the future, don’t hesitate to ask me | here | ❤️

“Mummy,” Andy prods, pulling at her shirt as they walk through the park, “why are there those people again?”

She stops pushing Sutton’s stroller and looks to where Andy is pointing. There’s a group of photographers just outside the perimeter of the park, and as much as she knew they were going to be there, she was kind of hoping to avoid them today. She’s kind of hoping to avoid them every day, but she knows that isn’t really possible. Mostly, though, she’s not interested in having to explain to her five-year-old why people are always trying to take pictures of them when they’re out in public. She and Killian had just gotten all of the craziness at Andy’s school to stop when her bump finally started to show and all of the craziness began again.

More people are interested in her reproductive system than she ever thought possible, and honestly, it’s so much worse now than when Andy was born, which is not something she ever thought was possible. But she’s also more used to it, understands it more, and isn’t quite so terrified of everything. It doesn’t mean she’s not terrified at all, but she’s prepared for the fact that people are going to ask her a million invasive questions and try to get pictures with her stomach protruding. Really, it’s a little weird, but she understands that her face (and her stomach) makes money.

That doesn’t mean she likes it.

And it really doesn’t mean that she gives everyone easy access to it. She spends more time in the privacy of their home in Bucklebury than anywhere else, but when they’d been visiting her parents today, Andy and Sutton had decided they wanted to go stroll in the park. And by stroll, she means that Sutton is asleep in her stroller while Andy alternates between running around like a madman and complaining about why he can’t be pushed around. It’s normal for her and for them, but she’s kind of fatigued today and wishes that Killian were here instead of working.

“They want pictures of us,” she answers simply. They still haven’t told Andy why exactly, wanting to keep him as normal as possible for as long as possible, but she knows that they have to tell him sometime in the near future. She just doesn’t know how.

“Why?”

“Because you’re the most adorable little boy in the entire world.”

“I guess that’s true.”

She laughs at that and reaches down to ruffle his hair. He needs a haircut, but she’ll get that done once they’re on Christmas holidays. He also probably needs to be wearing a hat today, but it’s kind of unseasonably warm for it to be late November.

“It’s definitely true, and Sutton is the most adorable little girl in the entire world.”

“But what about the baby in your tummy?”

She clicks her tongue, buying time for her to think of an answer as they walk across a bridge, the water babbling beneath them and Thomas following behind them. “Then it’ll be a tie whether it’s a boy or a girl.”

It’s a girl, but she and Killian aren’t telling the kids that.

Killian is so dang excited even if she is constantly complaining to him about how much her heartburn is bothering her or that she has to pee a lot.

Like, a lot.

This is a not so fun time…even if she is so damn excited for her daughter to be here.

And maybe she’s a little extra annoyed because everyone has called this a geriatric pregnancy, and she is so not on board with that term.

“Can I go swimming?”

“It’s cold, Andy,” Sutton mutters, obviously waking up from her sleep. How she can be sassy even in her sleepy states Emma will never understand. It’s like she’s all of her personality and Killian’s personality combined in a little body and multiplied. “Swimming is for summer.”

“Not if the pool is inside.”

“We’re outside.”

“Guys,” she sighs, pushing the stroller with one hand while reaching out to intertwine her fingers with Andy, letting him hold onto her, “be nice to each other. Do you guys want to keep walking or do you want to go home so we can get something to eat and see Daddy?”

“Can we get something to eat and not see Daddy? He saw me steal a biscuit last night.”

“Andy,” she laughs, tugging him closer to keep his face out of the view of the photographers and because she wants to, “you know you’re not supposed to do that.” “But they’re yummy.”

“How’d you even get to them, kid? They’re up high.”

“I got a chair to get on the counter so I could get them.”

“You evil little mastermind. What if you had fallen and gotten hurt?”

“I still would have had a biscuit.”

Priorities.

She slowly makes her way back to her parents’ house and loads all of the kids into the car so that she can drive the thirty minutes home. The walk really wore her out, and she could use several cups of coffee that she can’t have right now. It’s worth it, she reminds herself. It is.

Killian is in the yard raking leaves when she pulls up, and she knows before she even unbuckles the kids from their car seats that they’re going to run into that pile of leaves. And they do, Andy getting their first and jumping into them before Sutton’s small body follows him. She can’t imagine that falling on the hard ground is comfortable, but they bounce back from a lot of things that would hurt an adult. It terrifies her, but they’re fearless.

Last week Andy tried sliding down the banister to the staircase, and she’s so glad she stopped him beforehand.

“Emma, love,” Killian calls, looking over at her as she walks his way, “I seem to have lost the kids. There were here, and then they disappeared.”

“How did that happen?” she laughs, playing along with him as she steps into his side and meets his lips for a brief kiss. “Do you think they went inside?”

“Maybe. I’m simply not sure. I think it’ll be okay if we lose them for a little while, right? We can go eat all of that cake inside by ourselves.”

She gently slaps Killian’s chest, looking up at the cheeky smile on his face before she glances down to look at Andy squirming in the leaves, the thought of cake obviously on his mind all the while Sutton stays still, likely plotting some kind of revenge or something else insane that a three-year old should not be able to do.

“Don’t we have some chocolate cake, babe? I could go for some chocolate cake.”

“I could too, but I think I’m going to have to pack up all of these leaves first. I’m thinking about throwing them in the lake.”

“Daddy, no,” Sutton shrieks, scrambling up from the ground and running to his legs, hugging onto his calf, “it’s too cold to go into the lake.”

“What about the cake?” Andy asks, popping his head up, leaves stuck in his black hair, and staying sitting up on the ground.

“Oh Buttons, love,” Killian sighs, reaching down and scooping her up and holding her to his chest while her arms wrap around his neck and he rubs his hand up and down her back, “I’m not going to throw you into the lake now that I’ve found you.”

“Andy wanted to swim at the park.”

“But it’s too cold for that.”

“I told him swimming is for summer.”

She laughs at that, especially when Killian raises a brow at her, and she can simply shrug. This is all very much like their conversations in the park, and she wonders if Killian knows just what he’s stumbled into.

“Swimming is for summer,” he agrees, kissing Sutton’s forehead. “Andrew, get out of that leaf pile, and we’ll talk about this cake.”

“Yes sir,” he mumbles, quickly getting up and rushing inside, leaving a little trail of leaves behind him.

Andy does eventually get his cake, even though they need to cut back on his sweets a little for the rest of the week, and after running through their evening routines of making sure that everyone is bathed and their clothes are set out for the next day, they do get Andy and Sutton to bed. Sutton is always easier, mostly because of her age, but Andy exhausted himself so much today that he was out like a light.

She enjoys those nights.

When she closes Andy’s door behind her, Killian is resting against the hallway wall, his arms crossed over him and his legs crossed at the ankle, an expectant smirk on his face.

“What?” she whispers, stepping over to him.

“Nothing. I’m just damn excited to kiss you right now.”

“Oh my God,” she laughs, stepping into him and wrapping her arms around his neck while pressing up on her toes so that she can reach his mouth, their lips slowly gliding over each other. He tastes like the chocolate of the cake they just ate, and she’s really kind of craving some more. She’s definitely craving some more. But right now she’s going to let Killian’s kiss cause gooseflesh to break out over her skin while his teeth gently nip at her bottom lip before he soothes it with his tongue.

Damn he’s a good kisser.

“I missed you today,” she whispers when she pulls back, and Killian simply nods his head in response while his hands stay steady at her hips, thumbs rubbing circles into her skin over her sweater. “Mom and Dad did too.”

“I’ll call them tomorrow, yeah?” he asks, dipping his head to kiss her nose, making her eyes flutter closed for a moment. “And I missed you all too. Did you have a nice time?”

“It was good. We went for a walk in the park afterwards, which was nice. There were some photographs, though.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Isabelle told me,” he answers before moving his hands and nudging her to turn so that they walk down the hallway to their bedroom. “She showed me a few of them. They’re mostly of you, but they got some of Andy’s face.”

“He asked why they were there again.” She sits down on the bed and unbuttons her pants, which may very well be the sweetest relief. She’s about three weeks of this pregnancy away from completely switching to dresses and leggings even though it’s about to be winter.

She’ll freeze. It’s fine.

“Yeah?” Killian asks, bending down to kiss over her belly, whispering a few words to their daughter, before sitting down next to her. “What’d you say?”

“I said it was because he’s cute, but I don’t think that excuse is going to work for too much longer. Maybe a few years. I’m just kind of scared that one of the kids at school, or maybe even Alex or Lizzie, are going to spill the beans before we can explain it the way that we should.” “Aye, but…let’s not quite yet. Let’s give him more time. I don’t think it’ll change anything, not for who we are, but I want him to be a bit older so that he can better understand who his family is. He doesn’t need to know he’s a part of history just yet. Neither does Sutton. She’ll likely try to overthrow my father or parliament or something.”

“She really will,” Emma laughs, twisting her head to the side. “So you don’t think we should tell him?” “Not yet.” Killian reaches over to grab her hand, bringing her knuckles up to his lips and kissing over her wedding ring. “But if you want to go talk to Liam and Abigail about it, I’m sure we could pawn all of the kids off on my mother so that the four of us could talk.”

“I like that plan. Will you go get me some more cake to eat?”

He nods his head and smiles, his eyes crinkling in that way that she loves, in the way that always makes her heart flutter. “Of course, but you have to be the one to explain to Andy why it’s all gone when he wakes up in the morning.” “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

[consultingsister-aa]

❤ [ love, Sebastian ]

FOUR AND ONE // @asteriananthologies

❤  five four times my muse says they don’t love yours, and the one time they admit it.

I. Cecelia’s life has improved greatly the day she realised it didn’t need to be anyones birthday to buy cake. During the awkward ten minutes between her getting out of work and Charlotte getting out of school she had picked out a three layer chocolate cake, grin on her face from tesco. Of course, Charlie had chastised her for the decision, although it didn’t stop her digging in when they got home. Probably because she knew this was the closest thing Celia got to making dinner. Perched against the breakfast bar in the kitchen, while Charlie sat in one of the spinning chairs, they each attacked the cake with forks, enjoying the almost rebellious feel of not cutting it up into slices. “Do you think you and daddy would ever get back together?” Innocent eyes look up at Celia, as if she was just asking if she had a nice day at work. She knew what she was doing, Cee was sure of it. 

As she chews on her mouthful of cake, she pretends to consider. She can understand her daughter’s desire. It would be nice to have a settled home life. “No. We’re very different people now. Does that make you sad?” 

To her mother’s surprise, Charlie shakes her head rather vigorously, swallowing her cake before admitting, “I like having two christmases.” Celia points her fork towards her with a lazy flick of her wrist, as if to say, that’s my girl. “I know why you don’t want to be with James though. It’s because you love Sebastian now. That’s okay by the way, I know I should be sad about it but I like Seb too.” She gets it all out in one breath, obviously it’s been on her mind for a while. Now Cecelia really does choke on her cake; coughing and spluttering as she meets the younger girls look, shock etched into her own watering eyes. “Charlotte, I do not love Moran. What the hell?” 

II. “You do know that if- when this all goes to plan, your boyfriend shall be going to prison as well, Cece?”

221b Baker Street was a mess of files, papers, documents, crime scene photos and half drunk cups of tea. No seat, surface or inch of wallpaper was free from some sort of proof that James Moriarty was, in fact, the world’s most evil man alive. Or at least, in the opinion of the rooms occupants. Sherlock lent against the mantelpiece, looking tired but satisfied while Mycroft and John had managed to clear enough space on the dining room chairs to sit. Celia, on the other hand, stood in the middle of the room, looking around their compiled evidence with barely hidden glee, only for her smile to fall at Sherlock’s words. “And who exactly is my boyfriend today?” 

But it was John who offered up an answered, muffled slightly by the hand covering his face. “Sebastian Moran is my first guess.” He peaks through his fingers to see Celia’s look of shock mingled fury and grins at her. “Cee, we’ve been following Moriarty’s staff for weeks. You think we didn’t know you met up with him? We actually considered you might be working for Moriarty at one point. They Sherlock noticed you were twirling your hair around your finger whenever you talked to him. Classic Cecelia in love move. Mary confirmed it for us.” All three of the men seemed to get more and more satisfaction from her, as Cecelia stared about, open mouthed. She actually hadn’t known they were following Sebastian. They had considered that as risky as following Moriarty himself, but obviously they had worked around that. Without telling her! Maybe this was back when they thought she might have been a double agent. She’s actually sort of pleased with that vote of confidence from them all, but the idea that she was in love with Sebastian Moran? Fucking ridiculous. She stutters over her words. “I don’t– I’m not– for fuck sake!” They’re all grining now. “I do not love Sebastian fucking Moran!” 

III. Celia has never been good with blood. The fact she only gets vaguely nauseous these days is actually a grande improvement. Having completed one year of medicine at university though seems to have given people this idea that she’s practically a doctor. What most people don’t seem to realise is she spent every second class outside the lab breathing deeply in an attempt to get the corrider to stop spinning. She’s half convinced that this ‘turning up on her doorstep bleeding to death’ thing is her friends idea of exposure therapy. She also doesn’t totally buy that she was the closest safe house to Sebastian when he got stabbed; surely Moriarty has better places for his staff, and his second in command no less, to get stitched up than her house. Still, apart from all the blood, she’s pleased to see him. It gives her a little rush to know that he would come to her when in need. She’s always liked to be needed. “I want you to know,” Cee begins, breathing through her mouth as she pokes him with her needle, wincing herself, “that I’m not doing this out of love or compassion or anything, I’m doing it so you don’t bleed all over my carpet. Medical care is free in England, ya know? I’m charging you.” 

IV. What might be for the first time in her life, Celia looks awful. Her whole face is completely drained of blood and dark bags underline her eyes; a mess of lack of sleep and waterproof mascara not coming off. She can’t exactly sit up to greet him, three broken ribs will do that to you, but she does offer Moran a grin. Maybe it’s the fluorescent hospital lights, but even this small amount of effort seems to flush her cheeks and sickly green. 

She knows what he did. Moriarty would have likely gone the full hog and killed her the night previous if it wasn’t for him. Cee would have liked to say she didn’t give the criminal mastermind what he wanted but her threshold for pain is very low and she’ll cry at the drop of a hat these days. She’s not sure how long Moriarty got alone with her. It felt like hours but it could have been minutes for all she knows. He had sweetly explained to her that he was going to hurt her with the intention of causing the most pain he could, without allowing her to pass out or become unconscious from lack of blood. You can imagine the mess Cecelia was in then when Mycroft finally showed up with an army of policemen and ambulance crew, no Moriarty in sight. But she knew, she knew who had talked Moriarty out of his plan, and she knew who had called her brothers. He had appeared above her last night, in a haze of tears and pain like a guardian angel, willing her to stay awake. It was so hazy now she could not have been sure it was even him, but his visit to her sick bed confirmed it for her. He can’t stay long, she knows that before her says it. The only thing worse that Mycroft finding out would be Moriarty finding out about his visit. She’s starting to understand now. “It wasn’t just because of our case against him,” she whispers, her throat dry and scratchy from all the screaming and begging the night before. “He thinks you–” tears are rolling down her cheeks already. “He thinks we love each other.” She forced a smile. “I assured him we did not.” 

V. It had been months of rain. She knew that was impossible, if the rain didn’t let up for months they would probably all drown or something, but that’s what it felt like. New York City was as grey as London was when she left it. The whole world was grey without Charlie in it. Pointless people leading pointless lives, going about their business like the world didn’t end when Charlotte Holmes did. Cecelia’s world ended. She’ll carry on for the sake of carrying on but her hearts not really in it anymore. She tries to find passions in other things; persuading herself that Charlie wouldn’t have wanted her to just give up. In truth she doesn’t know what Charlotte would have wanted. It probably doesn’t even occur to a nine year old what she would want for her mother after she died. Parents shouldn’t have to bury their children; it was one of life’s sickest jokes. In a shallow attempt to remove herself from her own grief, Cecelia had uprooted her life in London and gone across the pond. New York had always held a sort of fantastic distraction for her before, but the grey cloud had followed her over to the States and hung above her head as a permanent fixture. Everyone was getting bored of her depression, she could feel them judging her silently, it’s been a couple months now, she should be over it. 

She’s been so numb to everything lately she isn’t even worried her door is unlocked, even though she is sure she did leave it locked this morning. It’s not like her to be so forgetful, although she’s not been herself of late. But the light on the living room… that is wrong. The man on the chair in the corner? Definitely out of place. She didn’t leave that here this morning. “Oh my god, what do you want?” She throws her purse to the sofa, heading directly to the drinks cabinet. He’s already got there before her; doors open; glass missing. “I have nothing–” her voice breaks and presses her hand to her mouth to cover a sob. “I have nothing else to give you Sebastian!”

It’s sick how much she’s missed him. She’s wanted to hate him, tried to with all her heart. But, as hard as she tries, she can’t. She can’t even blame him. He didn’t want her dead, she’s vaguely aware he’s as cut up about it as anyone. Maybe not her, but surely she gets some sort of mothers-privilege. She gets to be the most sad. 

“What happened? Did she go with you with willingly? That’s how much that little girl trusted you. She left her own home with you because– because I said she would always be safe with you. I did. I promised her.” This has been bubbling for weeks. The grief has given way to anger, finally. It makes her even more mad that he’s going to just sit there and take it like a wounded puppy. That’s all he is, he’s a dog on a leash, Moriarty giving commands. Sit boy, come, fetch Charlotte Holmes and lead her to her death! It makes her sick. 

“I trusted you.” Her voice is thick with tears. “I did more than that, I loved you. I loved you so much.” 

[veryangryhedgehog]

“God is Dog Spelled Backwards”, an Ede Valley story by Hedgehog.

Jilli felt like she was falling.

A week ago she’d been so confident in her plan, but now that it had finally been executed, an unwavering sense of unease began to linger in the air around her. This whole take-over plan had been to give Jilli control over her life, but now more than ever she felt like a rat trapped in a maze.

It was because the Director was missing. After discovering her office to be empty, and devoid of any clues or information, Abigail had brought her back to the girl’s bathroom, and decided to give Jilli some space. Quite of her own accord, Jilli’s legs took her wandering. Nearly the whole night she’s searched blindly for where the Director might be before Doug found her around three in the morning and took her back to her room.

“She… I think she’s watching me, Doug,” she’d confessed as she buried her head in his chest.

“Who?” he asked, confused.

“The Director. She could be anywhere, just waiting, watching to see what I do next. Where is she, Doug? Where is she??”

“Whoa, whoa, Jill, calm down,” he grabbed her shoulders as she began to scream. “Of course she’s watching you; she’s watching all of us. But now you’ve shown them that they can stand up to her. If she even lifts a finger at you, she’ll have a whole school to answer to.”

That helped, a little bit, but Jilli couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched for the rest of the night, and slept poorly. She kept wondering back and forth, over and over again in half-delirium, what would happen in the morning, when the student body would awaken to find itself alone? The gates were shut, the fence electrified. No one was getting in.

But with the morning sun came a newfound determination. She was the mastermind behind this coup, so now it was her job to lead the newly liberated sheep, right? It wouldn’t be too difficult. Jilli had watched Sakura lead the idol group for years.

When she entered the cafeteria, Doug to her left, Abigail to her right, the rest behind her, she witnessed growing insanity. The students were a hive of bees, humming incessantly to each other, glancing over at the vacant lunch lines. They were beginning to realize that something had changed.

They passed their normal lunch table, and Jilli motioned for the others to sit which she continued to the front. A queen had to address her subjects.

She jumped up on the platform at the far end of the room, the metal beams above her seeming to dangle over her head. The students gradually hushed and turned to her. They were looking for an answer, any answer, and she intended to give them one.

The microphone was dead, but it didn’t matter. Jilli had a voice that carried. “My name…” she began, and stopped as she caught the eye of a few hundred students and her voice hitched. “My name is Jilli Nakajima,” she began again, “and I am the new Director.”

Needless to say, the floor erupted into a flurry of confusion and panic. Jilli just stood there, and waited. Eventually, they realized that she was holding her explanation, and they hushed once more. And so Jilli began to speak.

Afterwards, she wouldn’t even remember what she’d said. She knew that she told them what they’d did, that now there were no adults at St. Adelaide’s, and the students were in charge. And Jilli would lead them.

“I will not pull strings from the shadows, but be forward and honest,” she said, hoping that the Director could hear her. “I will also not keep you here. If anyone wishes to leave. I will be opening the gates on Friday for five minutes.”

After that, she thanked the crowd and got down. She could feel all their eyes on her. They all probably thought she was insane. But everything was fine now. It was all fine. No one, not the Director, or her manager, or her mother, or Kyoko could hurt her now. She was in control.

Jilli sat down at the usual table with all her friends around her. Abigail was discussing who-knew-what with Victor, highly animated as the rims of her round glasses glowed in the harsh light, Sonia was staring off into space while Gil studied her, mildly concerned, and Doug… Doug was only picking at his food.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Why wasn’t he happy? His torture was over.

“It’s just…” he looked at her, as if he wanted to say something, then he shook his head, and said something different instead. “Mike never came back to the room last night.”

“He didn’t?” Jilli leaned forward, concerned. “Come to think of it, where is he now?”

The others at the table began to take an interest. “Who was the last to see the lad?” Gil asked.

“Well, he was at the Director’s office with Abby and I,” Jilli said. “But I had to leave and I haven’t seen him since. Abby?”

“I went back after I dropped you off but he had already left.” Abigail thought for a second. “Oh, but you know, I left the library unlocked. He’s been spending an awful lot of time there. I bet he just fell asleep.”

Mike had been getting a little strange lately, like an undertone she hadn’t noticed before  taken the forefront of his personality.

Doug sighed heavily. “I’m gonna have to be the one to drag his ass out of the creep zone, aren’t I?”

“Hey,” Victor frowned. “She’s sitting right here, you know.”

“I didn’t name any names,” Doug raised his hands in surrender.

“It’s alright, Victor. I take it as a compliment,” Abigail cut in, her smile shark-like.

“It was not meant as one.”

“I don’t care.”

For an instant, it seemed just like everything was normal. But still, the tight lump in Jilli’s gut remained. She couldn’t help feeling numb, unreal, disassociated, like she was floated two feet above her own head.

She hoped Mike was okay.

 ~~ o ~~

Mike was not okay.

The world returned to him slowly, gradually. First as light, then color, then shape. One by one these elements came together to form coherency. He felt numb, unreal, disassociated, like he was floating two feet above his own head.

For an instant, it seemed just like everything was normal. He was lying in his bed in the dorm. But slowly, he began to feel the cold metal on his wrists. It was that cold that brought him back to himself, a least a little. And he didn’t like what he saw.

He was strapped to some sort of table by his wrists and ankles. It was at a forty-five degree angle so if he turned his head he could see a little to the sides.

This room was small and dark, more like a cell than anything. One light shown down from above him, striking him directly in the eye, which made the rest of the room harder to make out. But from what he could see, the wall were padded.

That was somewhat worrying, but he didn’t begin to panic until he saw the IV in his arm. Then he freaked. First he tried to scream, but the best he could manage was a little whimper. Then he struggled against the restraints but his limbs wouldn’t quite obey him and his movements were sluggish.

Where? Why…? Mike couldn’t think clearly enough to form a coherent question.

“He… hel…p,” he managed with intense concentration.

“Even if you managed to scream, no one would ever hear you all the way down here.”

The harsh familiarity of her voice sent shivers down his spine. It was undeniably Abigail, but there was something wrong with it; an undertone he hadn’t noticed before taken to the forefront of her personality.

He stopped struggling. He was too weak to do so anyway.

“There’s a good boy,” her converse made a squeaking sound against the concrete floor as she came around to stare at him, the rims of her round glasses glowing in the harsh light.

“Wh… wha…”

Abigail tilted her head in mock concern. “Do you have something to say?” she asked. “It’s okay, take your time. That tranquilizer I stabbed you with was meant for horses, I think. Sometimes I get so confused.” He could tell by her shark-like grin that she hadn’t been confused at all.

“W… who are you?”

“Oh Mike, please,” she tittered, the sound practically filling the small cell. “I know you’re not that much of a dumb shit. I already told you who I am. Oh, wait, I know what it is. You just can’t believe that I’m the one who put your dear friends through so much suffering. I seemed like such a good girl. Unfortunately, people just aren’t as good as you’d like to think they are. I didn’t lie to you, Mike.” And here she put a small receiver to her mouth and spoke into it. “I’m the one who pulls strings from the shadows,” he wondered what was so funny about that as she began to chuckle. “I am the Director.”

As much as he wished he could, even Mike couldn’t deny it now. That right there was the voice he’d grown to dread over the last month, right in front of his eyes. But even addled though he was, something still nagged at him.

“Bu…” he tried, his words slurring. “The Director has… dir…ected the school since…”

“1976. That’s right!” she beamed. “I see all that research paid off. Yes, I am, in fact, much older than I appear. Well, mentally, at least. By my calculations, I am physically about nineteen years old, give or take a few months.”

“How?”

She shrugged. “Well, I had to test the Project’s theories on someone, and at the time, the only someone I had was myself.”

Mike’s eyes widened. “The Project.”

“I’m sure you know the story by heart now,” Abigail waved him off. “It was the Cold War, there were rumors that the Russians had created the perfect soldier so the government opened up St. Adelaide’s Research Facility to experiment on children and—” she paused, grinning gleefully as Mike’s eyes widened. “Oh, but you didn’t know that last part, did you?”

Mike shook his head. “No… no.”

“Oh, Mike. Did you really think ‘Buttercup’ was a flower? You can be awfully dumb for someone so smart. Buttercup was a nine-year-old girl. Many of the scientists almost balked at the idea of using children, but it was necessary, you know.”

“How is… something like that… necessary?” Mike couldn’t think straight. Everything was wrong now, it was all wrong.

“Project Paragon works in three stages,” she held the requisite number of fingers in front of his nose and they blurred across his vision. “Mind, body, and soul. The mind element in particular requires… extensive surgery. You see, adult minds are already well formed, in control. But a child’s—or a teenager’s—mind is incredibly spongy. It can change its ways. Thusly, children. Thusly, you.

Mike’s stomach did a somersault, and the metaphorical motion nearly made him puke. He strained against his restraints. “No.”

“Yes.” Abigail’s eyes gleamed. “I know I won’t fail this time. Your mind is the spongiest I’ve seen in years. It adapted remarkably well to the large amounts of antihistamines that I slipped into your Red Bull.”

So it wasn’t Red Bull that gave you wings. It was just drugs.

“The process will take maybe a week, and most of that will be devoted to altering your biology form this inside out. This time… it will be perfect. You will be perfect. I’ve learned from the original Project’s mistakes, oh yes.”

Mike pulled so hard at the restraints that he nearly dislocated his shoulder.

“You see, I’ve discovered the problem with the first paragon, Paragon Alpha. They let her keep her memories. She remembered who she had been. She mourned the loss of her own innocence and proved uncontrollable. Now, I can’t ‘erase’ your memories, per se, that’s impossible. But I can put them somewhere you’ll never find them.”

“You’re… you’re insane.”

All she did in response was stare at him, a curious smile plastered on her face.

“I never said I wasn’t.”

Skipping, she fiddled with the IV on his arm, despite his struggling. After a second, a strange, green liquid began to flow through the IV and into his arm. “Now, to do a little altering to that DNA of yours. I won’t lie, it’s going to be quite painful. Essentially, your whole body is going to die and be replaced, one small bit at a time.”

She gave him a pat on the cheek before she turned and opened the door to his cell. “I’ll be back in a few hours to check up on you. Don’t go anywhere.” Her cackle echoed down the hall.

The silence was deafening as Mike waited for unconsciousness to claim him again. But as the seconds passed, his stomach fell. He realized that there would be no mercy. Whatever future that green liquid was bringing, he would feel every second of it.

The pain started slowly, just a tingling and slight numbness of his extremities, but with growing horror he knew that it was only going to get worse.

Mike felt like he was falling.

[thegregorybruce]

April 23, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

What the heck? Did I leave the door unlocked again?! You’re no doubt a new subscriber and I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to let yourself in! Do you like music? I do and listen to a wide variety of it while creating each newsletter for you. Today you need to know that “I’ve read dozens of books about heroes and crooks and learned much from each one”! Who’s hanging out with me here in my cave?

You! You’ve been here so long that you know how I feel about winter in New Hampshire. Winter here is like that relative or friend you have who has no concept what time it is and blabbers on in your house long after he/she should have said goodbye and gone home.

FUN Quiz

I decided to try something different this week. See if you like it! How about a one-question fun quiz each week where you might discover something new? Look at this photo and ponder it for a moment:

CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you know why a certain Midwest State Park is important.

Be sure to answer the second Yes/No question so I know what you think about the quiz.

Copper Strips, Mold, Algae, and How to Clean

Ron went to the Ask Tim page on my website and here is his question:

“Tim, you mentioned using copper strips to take care of the mold up on roofs. Where do you get these and how do you apply them? Also, are you familiar with the product "Wet and Forget" to clean mold? Is it a good way to get rid of dirt and mold on my roof or house?”

Let’s go in reverse order with Ron’s questions.

Imagine you work in your yard all day. You’re hot, sweaty, and filthy. It’s date night and you need to get gussied up for your sweetheart. It's time to get up out of the wheelbarrow you were napping in. What? You've never done that?

Here’s what you DON’T do. You don’t stand in your garage and have someone spray your naked body with some solution and then wait until you air dry before getting dressed in your clean clothes.

I’m quite certain you probably get in the shower, soap up, RUB your skin with your hands or a soft brush, and then RINSE off all the body oils, the dirt, etc. that were DISLODGED from your skin by the RUBBING action.

When you wash clothes, here’s what you DON’T do. You don’t throw your clothes in a giant clean tub, pour in soapy water, and let the water and clothes sit for hours or a couple of days. After the soaking period, you don’t drain the tub and throw the clothes in the dryer.

What you do is put them in a washing machine that has some sort of AGITATION ACTION and allow the machine to go through the wash cycle.

Get the point? If you want something truly clean, you must agitate the surface and rinse off the dirt. You can do just that using my Stain Solver, the MOST AMAZING cleaning product you can purchase in the USA. Plus, it’s certified organic.

Copper is a natural biocide. This is why it was put on the hulls of famous clipper ships like the Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae. Copper plating is also on Old Ironsides. The copper prevented the growth of barnacles. Barnacles create lots of drag and slow the movement of a sailing ship.

Copper will keep mold and algae off your roof. It will ALSO slow the aging process and allow asphalt shingles to last 30 or 40 years. You can read about how I was the first person in the world to discover this in my Roofing Ripoff book. It’s a very easy and fast read.

I told Ron that he could purchase the copper strips from ME.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see how I’d install copper on your roof and to purchase it for your roof.

Soil Strength - Fred’s Shed

Fred sent me a very detailed email about a 10x20 prefab shed he wants to have at his home.

He was concerned about the strength of the soil and if the piers he had in mind would work. He doesn't want the shed to shift and sink.

Look at this photo and tell me if you understand its significance and how it helps solve Fred’s conundrum:

Are you stumped? I thought so! CLICK or TAP HERE and I GUARANTEE you’ll come away much more informed as was Fred after he WATCHED a very important VIDEO about soil maps at the above page.

Donna’s HOT Kitchen Sink Water

Donna emailed me a few days ago. She had a perplexing problem with the hot water at her kitchen sink. It would run HOT for a bit then go lukewarm.

It was such a good question, I decided to talk about it! CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you came to the same conclusion that I did.

The answer will most likely surprise you!

Cleaning and Sealing My Cedar Boat Dock

In the last issue, I said I'd share the details about my wood dock sealing project. If you own a wood deck or wood boat dock, then you MUST LOOK AT THIS PAGE.

I’ve got a 40-foot boat dock at my house. The flooring is made from solid cedar and the sun punishes it each summer day here in New Hampshire.

That’s the first cedar dock panel cleaned and sealed.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see how I’m cleaning and sealing the cedar this season.

Long Overdue Shoutout

I started Ask the Builder in October of 1993. I’ll never forget standing at the end of my driveway WAITING for my Cincinnati Enquirer carrier to deliver the paper so I could see my first column in print.

In March of 1994, I started my call-in radio show on WMOH. Long about October of 1995, I launched AsktheBuilder.com. The bottom line is it's been quite the journey and I’ve had all sorts of help from quite a few who are behind the curtain of Ask the Builder.

I want to call out three today, Ellen, Marty, and Roger. Ellen is the first employee of Ask the Builder. She started by opening envelopes that people sent in to get one of my old print Builder Bulletins. My buddy Chuck in Michigan sent for one long before we became friends in a secret Internet mastermind group.

She then started to help with the Stain Solver business and in a fit of frustration threw an empty bottle at me late one afternoon as I took an over-the-phone order for our Stain Solver deck cleaner. I told the customer we’d put their box on today’s UPS truck that was to arrive in just minutes. It had been a very busy day and everyone was very tired. The last thing Ellen wanted to do was process yet another shipment of Stain Solver - the MAGIC deck cleaner!

Marty is a superbly talented graphic designer who’s helped me over the years. Just after the AsktheBuilder.com website launched, Marty created the animated GIF that we used on pages “Under Construction”. It was very common back in the late 90s to do this.

You can see this cute animated GIF file on this page at the top just under the BLACK iTunes logo. I’m starting to put this animated GIF on all my new podcast pages in honor of Marty.

Marty also created the stunning 3D image of my linear french drain design over twenty years ago. CLICK or TAP HERE to see it.

It’s such a great illustration, MANY other websites have STOLEN the image and put it on their websites! I don’t have the time to police this piracy. Over the years, Marty has helped me look good, but his skills stop short when it comes to making my bald spot disappear in videos!

Roger is my go-to guy for all the daily heavy lifting that gets done on both the AsktheBuilder.com and StainSolver.com websites.

Roger has the patience of Job. Believe me, you need that when you’re around me for any length of time.

I want to thank Ellen, Marty, and Roger publicly for all they’ve done in the past and continue to do to make sure you have a positive experience with Ask the Builder and Stain Solver.

If you call in an order to Stain Solver, ask Ellen about the day she threw that bottle. I’m pretty certain she’ll laugh about it now. It was plastic and wouldn’t have hurt had it hit me. Remember, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?

That’s quite enough for a Thursday.

Tim Carter Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com BEST CLEANER on the Planet: www.StainSolver.com Hear Cool Waves - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. Max is remodeling his son’s home. He wanted to talk to me about the size of a return air duct in the house.

What do you know about return air? My guess is NOT ENOUGH. CLICK or TAP HERE now to be MUCH COOLER this summer and WARMER next winter.

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