#so of course then i was like 'YOU THINK PB NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG? YOU THINK IT'S DIANE'S FAULT?'

[iceinwhb]

Me, and my opinion. Last post.

Ok, I am simply amazed that there are comments on whb. Ha. When they were complaining about Levi and his new card, I thought it was because of how childish and silly it had been. I didn't expect them to give him the real P solely because Mc was younger.

So, at some points, with some posts talking about it, I thought I was going to be really rude if I got into an argument, “over nothing”, but now that I'm justified...

1.- We are adults.

And as adults that we are, we don't get to invent, or assume. We resolve ourselves with facts, and with coldness. We do not launch stupid and unverifiable accusations. If we want to point out a fact, you must demonstrate that Leviathan, as a character, is a pedophile.

2.- Do I really have to explain it?

For the people who accuse Leviathan of being a pedophile, where the hell do they get that from? Are they guided only because they wear a uniform? Mc may very well be over the legal age of consent for sexual relations in any country, not only that, Mc's nationality is Korean. In South Korea, they enter college at between 18-19 and finish between 22-23. At no time was it specified that Mc went to high school, or anything like that. Another point, are they really going to discuss the age of Mc when Leviathan biblically exists since the beginning of creation? Really? I don't know if those people will feel better if Mc is at least five thousand years old.

If don't have enough…

Well, let's say Mc was 16-17. You, player, are between 19-30. Do you know what age the game is geared towards? +18 in case we forgot the LITTLE detail. What if they know that Mc is the player's representation? Idk what they want. Especially BECAUSE THEY ARE ADULTS who know how to tell the difference, separate fact from fiction, separate a game from real life. Leviathan is not out there on the loose, looking for 18-23 year old “babes”, my god. And no one who plays the game, is going after a minor just because Leviathan likes the Mc who is probably 20 YEARS OLD. And more, of course. The story is based ON A DREAM, MADE OF MAGIC. Where do they find sense for they to want to complain about it? At this point I am indeed laughing at how absurd it sounds, because that's what it is.

Last but not least.

Okay, let's ignore all of the above. If you don't like the game, because it has certain themes, stop playing, go to Play Store, and look for the thousands of Otome games you like so much. There are millions, even those that touch only a sexual plot. There are hundreds and hundreds of different games for all tastes, but don't ruin the experience for other players just because other people think Leviathan is a pedophile. The game is PB's, and they can do whatever they wants with it as they has always done.

Really is the last.

With this point, it is where we delve into the fact that PB never gently implies when they talk about abuse, nor do they leave it implicit. They never did, they never would, they know the topics they touch on, how they use them and they never romanticize them. We are all aware of when it happens, and we are consistent enough to know that it is wrong, and that we are not going to replicate it in our daily lives, nor idealize as if we were 13 years old.

So, person who thinks they saw the worst of the worst, and you expose it as if no one has three fingers in front to understand it, question it and know it's a game, you're not helping anyone. Those of us in fandom are not idiots to not know what we are consuming. We know what whb is, we are aware of the complicated issues, and no, we are not 14, much less 16, we can think for ourselves and know what is wrong. You don't have to stress what we already know, please. If you want to complain, don't make a pointless war out of the issue, show that you have reading comprehension and do it on a reasoned basis. (Although I don't promise that anyone is going to take any notice of you for it, because no matter what you say, I repeat, we know what we are consuming).

If someone has to send this to one of those who can't even research for a minute, do it. Because it is truly fucked up to be at the expense of a daily absurd complaint.

Clarification.

I am not implying that no one is complaining. In fact, we should understand, learn, and tolerate all opinions, but it's one thing to say that Leviathan is an unprecedented jerk, abuser, and manipulator (and I would totally agree with the point), and quite another to accuse him of seriousness, spread him thin, and have more people, who don't know about the subject, want to play along, to the point that they get to PB.

I knew that whb had the potential to grow

And reach the public, even the wrong audience. But for certain types of people to make such a big deal over a card, especially over something as trivial as the Leviathan card it's absurdly stupid.

My prediction of all this is that Pretty Busy is going to be criticized sooner or later. We accept it, but we know it's not going to come from fandom, because we're not teenagers with attention issues.

It looks like PB is going to have to post more warnings and cautions about its content and the kind of themes they can find in it even within the game itself. I, what I fear the most, is that they will end up censoring it. (Because it's not enough for X and Play to have it labeled as C content.)

[rpmemes-galore]

random misc dialogue … sentence starters

tw: mentions of rejection, death

“You sound like my dad.”

“Are you hurt or are you scared?”

“He looked like a Gilligan’s Island extra.”

“You might be a doofus, but you’re my doofus.”

“I’ve never been more afraid of anything in my life.”

“Are you trying to creep me out? ‘Cause its working.”

“He gave me flowers... and I panicked and ate them.”

“How many chocolate truffles does it take to kill a man?”

“Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t ever talk to me like that.”

“You’ve given me too much power and I am already corrupted.”

“I just want to be every animal’s friend, is that too much to ask?”

“There’s a lot going on here. More than I can deal with. I’m sorry.”

“I mean, I was only legally dead for a couple minutes. No big deal.”

“I don’t think there’s any way we’re getting out of this in one piece...”

“I think I was born in the wrong era... I mean, I was meant for hunting mammoths.”

“Our course tonight includes a PB&J... because it’s all I know how to make, enjoy.”

“Are you finally ready to talk? Or are you going to keep throwing temper tantrums?”

“There was absolutely nothing I said that should’ve made you think I approved this.”

“In all seriousness, do you want to get married so we can claim more on our taxes?”

“When did I get elected Resident Mom Friend? I don’t remember putting forward my candidacy.”

“Maybe you should worry less about what others think of you... and more about what you think of yourself.”

“I didn’t think anyone could ever make me fall in love... and I was right, they still haven’t. You give yourself too much credit.”

[my-mt-heart]

About JDM. I agree that in a ideal world no one should be talking on behalf of everyone else, show business or not, "normal work place" (ah ah) or not. But we re not in an ideal world, and people are bound to make mistakes in the heat of the moment..people are human and flawed, even tv super stars.

Also, not to blame her because she does what she wants of course, but MMB never spoke herself publicly on the matter so its kind of hard to know what she thinks.

Also again, the pb for me should not be, as i 've read, that he's a man talking on behalf of a woman. Im not saying there isnt mysogyny or sexism in hollywood or "the real world" (ah ah), but as far as im concerned (and im not a man before anyone comes at me for this), he spoke as a collegue abt another collegue . Well, former collegue, now. Also, apparently he's one of NR best friend, so if ur best friend is attacked and u feel its unfair, yeaaah u re gonna publicly defend him.

Mind u: NR didnt speak himself for quite a long time after the inital mess, i think the first thing he said was after a few weeks with an answer to a fan on line who was like "eh norman have u seen whats being said" blablabla, and he answered something like "what did i miss? 😎" in a sort of ironical/cynical way. Correct me if im wrong.

But my point is that i personnally saw a collegue speaking for a collegue, and a friend defending a friend. If it had been Lauren Cohan saying "eh guys your wrong!" Would people have been more kind to her because its ok for a woman to talk on behalf or another woman?

JDM might no be super close to Melissa but last time we checked, they were more than fine with each other (i still think abt this lovely bts picture of both of them for 10.12, yes, its just promo but still).

And he didnt say anything bad abt her. He just said "they love each other, they re both very sad abt the situation and Norman's not the bad guy here". Maybe he knows them better than we do?

Was it clumsy of him? Yes. He might have actually been hurt for Norman and didnt think straight, who knows?

Was it inappropriate? Not his role? Probably. But the argument of him being a man here, while i do in a way understand where its coming from, still cant help but feel uneased by it. I for one think if we are going to be outraged, we should be outraged at whoever is speaking on behalf of Melissa, but im pretty convinced that if Lauren or Danai had defended Norman, nobody would have bat an eye. We are complaining because he's a man, and because he's supposedly the closest to Norman amongst the cast. Feel a bit unfair.

Its ok if u or your followers disagree of course. Again, im not saying that there isnt a pb with men vs woman in hollywood or the world in general, i just think that in this case, this is not the pb.

The idea that Melissa needed a break is inherently sexist because it implies she couldn't keep up with the same workload that her male colleagues had been given. Also, blasting it on Twitter has major ramifications for Melissa because people are far more likely to accept that a woman needs a break vs. a man needing one. You may recall that Andy said himself that being overseas, away from his family, became too difficult, yet no one criticized his fans for demanding Rick back for four years.

Even if contracts allowed a lead actress to back out that way (they don't), even if it was true that Melissa needed a break (-_-), it makes her look flaky and weak to other studios who might consider casting her on another project. Melissa and AMC legally agreed to announce that the location was "untenable" for her, nothing else. That's important. Regardless of whether or not JDM said what he said to defend his friend, it went off script and that's unprofessional.

Do I like that Norman was being cast as the evil villain? No. Do I think he was the evil villain in all of this? Ultimately...no. I'm frustrated because usually when a show is dealing with a controversy, the go-to strategy is to not say anything until the situation is further assessed, yet AMC and one of their male leads acted pretty fast to directly address the backlash in defense of another male lead. Melissa didn't get the same treatment. In fact, she's been dealing with fans saying sexist and ageist things about her and Carol for years without anything being done about it. And for the record, that doesn't have to mean calling out every fan who insults them. It is worth noting though, that the one person who did come to Melissa's defense last April (in an appropriate way) was Laurie Holden, who is no stranger to mistreatment herself. That should tell us something.

So in conclusion, anon, the issue here might not come down to a man speaking for a woman, but there is absolutely a gender bias in this whole mess. JDM's actions have unfortunately changed my perception of him, and while I might be able to support Norman again eventually (provided Melissa does too and provided I don't feel alienated as a Caryl fan), it's probably going to take a lot more than a Narol tweet for me to support JDM again (not that I had much interest in watching the same drama unfold between Negan and Maggie anyway). Every time I see someone insist that Melissa needed a break and try to scold others for "robbing her of her choice," it makes me angry all over again because how can you ever really undo all that damage?

ETA: If a woman had jumped the gun like JDM did, she would've been fired so fast. JDM still has his show.

[servants-hall]

10 Questions for Rachel Shenton

Over the course of All Creatures Great and Small‘s four seasons, Helen has gone from farmer to wife to soon-to-be mother. In a Season 4 interview with MASTERPIECE, actor Rachel Shenton discusses Helen’s pregnancy, what she learned from the real James Herriot’s children, and filming a scene that overwhelmed her emotionally. Plus, we get her take on the Mrs. Hall and Gerald relationship (hint: it’s probably very similar to yours). All this and much more in just 10 questions! Contains Season 4 Episode 6 spoilers.

MASTERPIECE: Helen’s pregnancy is central to her storyline and character in Season 4. Can you talk about the challenges she’s facing along with the joys?

RACHEL SHENTON: I think this is a real journey for Helen. She’s usually the emollient in Heston Grange, is very much a central character in Skeldale, and is really good at being busy, being there for everybody, and coping—that’s very much her identity. And I think that this season is actually the first time that she needs other people—and towards the end of the series, quite literally, because she’s not as mobile and she needs help from Mrs. Hall and James to get around and do things for her.

But emotionally, as well, there’s a sense that her world’s rocked this season. Being pregnant with her first child is a big thing, and especially as an independent woman. Then, being a farmer, she’s like, “What’s that going to look like?” And then there’s the added pressure of James is going to war, and ultimately, the question that is on every partner’s mind in these situations, will he come back, and if he does, will he be the same? So that’s very real for her.

MASTERPIECE: In Episode 6, when Helen is terrified that something has gone wrong with the baby, Siegfried finds the baby’s heartbeat and she hears it. Did that moment move you, and what was it like to create?

RACHEL SHENTON: Yeah, completely, because Helen was very much on her own. James and Helen have got such an unshakeable union—they’re a really brilliant team, and it’s something that Nick and I always try and recreate, because it’s stuck in our minds from when we first got cast and we talked to Jim and Rosie, who are Alf and Joan Wight’s—that’s the real James and Helen’s—children. They spoke about this brilliant union that their parents had, how they were a force to be reckoned with, and how they were always the caretaker of each other’s emotions. It was something that we really felt strongly about getting right.

In Episode 6, she needs James, and he’s not there, because he can’t be; he’s away at war. So there’s a moment where she comes downstairs, just before they go to Heston Grange, and Siegfried checks Helen’s belly. Helen goes into the lounge with Mrs. Hall, and it’s almost like a blind panic. As I’m playing that role—and I’ve played it for four seasons now, and I’ve never played that [panic] before, because she doesn’t get there. I think she usually doesn’t get there because, one, she’s very measured, and two, James is always there. It was a marker that actually, she’s on the verge of not being okay. And so when that moment happened, when they did hear the baby’s heartbeat, it was just complete overwhelming and ultimate relief that she’d managed to keep both of them safe.

MASTERPIECE: Did you learn anything from Jim and Rosie about this time in their parents’ lives when they were expecting their first child?

RACHEL SHENTON: We learned that when Alf signed up, Joan wasn’t pregnant yet, and then, of course, she was. I think they wove that into the story really well, the sense that actually, had Helen been pregnant, who knows what James would have done. Would he have gone? Who knows? That wasn’t the case, and they dealt with his departure like they dealt with everything: as a team.

But that actually was one of the few scenes that has ever really rocked me—I almost couldn’t get through it, when he was going to war in Episode 5. I was so emotional from the moment I first read it because I just was so invested in this story, and James was leaving. Helen said, “Do you mind if I don’t come to the bus stop? I can’t face it,” and there was that real moment where you can put yourself in that position, like, “Oh my goodness—this person might not come back. That’s the reality.” And that was so overwhelming for me. I was very grateful that our brilliant director, Jordan Hogg, managed to do it in one take, because I was falling apart, so I’m glad that they didn’t make me do it again and again.

But in answer to your question, I think they felt a huge sense that they were both bereft when they were apart and desperately wanted to be together. They were a real team.

MASTERPIECE: Helen’s relationship with Mrs. Hall deepens in Season 4. They’re different ages, they’re different backgrounds, and yet they have become real friends. Is there something of a mother/daughter element, too?

RACHEL SHENTON: Oh, without a doubt there is. We’ve seen it a couple of times when she’s really needed it, when there’s no one around Helen to say, “Are you okay?” You very much feel that absence, and getting married and having a child are two of the biggest, so it’s really nice that Audrey’s there. And Helen is able to create a sort of safe space for Mrs. Hall, as well, who also doesn’t have anybody really that she can share some things with. I think it’s really interesting that Helen’s the only one who isn’t on the payroll at Skeldale, and there’s a bit of a fear through the house of Siegfried, but Helen doesn’t subscribe to it, because why would she? So I think that it’s a safer space for Mrs. Hall as well, which is nice.

MASTERPIECE: It’s such fun to watch Helen and Siegfried’s relationship play out. How does she keep her cool with him and maintain their mutual respect?

RACHEL SHENTON: I really like that she calls him out. She can roll her eyes, raise her eyebrow, or make a cheeky comment, and she’s been like that from the very beginning. The first scene I shot was with James and Siegfried, and there was even back then a mutual respect between Helen and Siegfried. I think that’s because she takes no nonsense. She’s known him since she was little so she’s completely unfazed by his shouting, and quite frankly, she’s used to Richard Alderson, so Siegfried’s shouting is nothing. She’s used to these strong men that throw their weight around and shout—she’s royally unfazed by it. And he doesn’t pay her wages, so I think if anyone was to really get on his nerves, it probably would be Helen, because he’s got no power over her.

MASTERPIECE: What has it been like to see Imogen Clawson, the actor playing Helen’s sister Jenny, grow up alongside her character?

RACHEL SHENTON: Well, I’d like her to stop growing now, because she’s actually taller than me, so I’d like that to stop. We joke about it all the time—I’m like, “Could we just do scenes where she’s sitting on a chair, because she’s so much taller than me?” Oh, she’s gorgeous, absolutely lovely. She’s a joy to be around. She’s so bright, and a pleasure on and off set, and to see her grow as an actor. And we hang out outside of work, go to Nando’s sometimes, which is a sort of cheesy fast food place around here, and have a burger and chip. We catch up on life as well as work, and so we’ve got that relationship, which is really lovely.

MASTERPIECE: Do you have a favorite or funniest animal moment from Season 4?

RACHEL SHENTON: When they put scenes with Anna [Madeley] and me together, usually we giggle about something and then can’t stop. That’s just kind of what happens, even though it’s often nothing related to the script. But there was a great scene with the little cat when he had to be in a bad way because he’d been knocked over. They were trying their best to make him look as unhealthy as they could, but he was so lively that he just kept popping up with these beautiful, big, bright eyes in the middle of a take. We were like, “Cut! Reset!” I’d be talking about, “Oh, poor little thing. He’s in a bad way,” and then he’d just pop up, all bright-eyed like, “Who, me?” That was quite a funny moment. It was great.

MASTERPIECE: It was heartbreaking to see Mrs. Hall and Gerald part ways. How do you feel about it?

RACHEL SHENTON: It’s so emotional, wasn’t it? I’m very invested in Gerald and Mrs. Hall’s relationship. I’ve said it on the record plenty of times, that watching Mrs. Hall and Gerald’s stuff is usually my favorite, and maybe it’s because of two reasons: one, I’ve usually got a hand in the other stories—I’ve either read them, I’m in them, or I’ve understood them a lot because there’s a crossover with Helen’s character in other stories—whereas the story between Gerald and Mrs. Hall, I’m never involved in, so I can really just sit back and enjoy it like a viewer. Even at the read-through, I try not to listen too much, because I like to just be surprised by it. And two, I really liked them. I really liked Gerald. I thought they had something good. But he needs to go and look after his sister, and she can’t leave Skeldale, and I get it. So maybe it’s one of those things when life’s sometimes a bit unfair.

Also, Will [Thorpe, who plays Gerald] is just bloody hilarious. He’s such a great guy to have on set—he’s brilliant at telling the jokes, he’s got such good comedy timing. He’ll be missed.

MASTERPIECE: As for your adorable little Maltese, Rosie, which dog from the show is she most like, and who would be the most fun play date for her?

RACHEL SHENTON:

Dash, the little ginger head cocker spaniel in Skeldale, has got such a beautiful temperament. She always wants a cuddle, and Rosie just wants a cuddle, so I’d say in personality, she’s probably most similar to Dash. As for a play date, I think it would be Tricki because he’s so chill and Rosie’s quite chill—she likes to just be with you, lie around a bit. If you get some chicken or some treats, she’s happy, and he’s the same, so I think that they’d be soulmates.

MASTERPIECE: What can you tell us about the scripted podcast Gladstone Girls that you’re creating, and that draws from some All Creatures Great and Small talent? It’s not out yet, but we can keep our eyes and ears on alert…

RACHEL SHENTON: Well, it’s a comedy drama, really, and a labor of love. I’m from three generations of pottery women. It’s set in 1972, in a Gladstone pottery factory in a lithograph room. Every Friday in the factories, the girls would basically turn the factory floor into a hairdressing salon to get ready for their big night out. So it was all hairspray, makeup, and curlers, and they’d put their hair, famously, in “pickle,”—where I’m from, you’d say you put your hair in pickle instead of in rollers. It was coined Curl Friday, because that’s what happened every Friday. Then, a new floor manager arrives, played by the brilliant Adrian Rollins, who played Hargreaves in Season 3—he wants to put a stop to Curl Friday, and the girls end up going on peaceful protest every day. I got Anna Madeley to play the lead, because she’s just fabulous and she can’t get away from me that easily, so she did it, whether she wanted to or not! And Dorothy Atkinson’s [All Creatures Great and Small‘s Diana Brompton] in it too. The women were so tough, so strong, and so funny. There was a real sense of togetherness, camaraderie, community. So it’s good fun, and it’s about curlers, but actually it’s about sticking together and standing up for what you believe in, and that feels relevant even now.

It is just a celebration of the potteries industry, really, of an industry that I don’t think many people know much about, this entire industry that came from this tiny little place in the middle of England. We interviewed over a hundred pottery women, so it’s based on true stories and real life. It’s a skill that people don’t know about much. They were so rich in artistry. My grandma used to say that when she first held a paintbrush, she knew that’s what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She was just as much as an artist as I am, but she never earned the right to be an “artist” because she was in a factory. I feel very protective of this story, more so than probably anything else, because I know the people so well, and I feel very strongly that they’re depicted in the right way. I’m very proud of it.

[thatone-highlighter]

Hiiii bestie, I’m gonna infodump to you about come along with me and adventure time so hard right now (this is not a request, you WILL listen to me shhdhsjsjfhdh)

Sooo the intro !! I LOVE the intro, firstly it’s just really cool in general but it also has SO MANY Easter eggs and stuff that clues us in to what happened to many of the people of ooo, I just love it a lot. We see two adventurers in ooo, a familiar sight, we see a ton of familiar stuff but it’s all different in ways, (I’m gonna go into this more in a second, promise) seeing bmo surrounding by all their friends stuff is very sad in a way ? Bmo is one of the few immortal characters in the main cast and seeing them forgetting Finn’s name is just,,, sad,,, but bmo has gone through this plenty haven’t they ? We see this is the first distant lands episode ‘BMO’ although I won’t spoil it since I don’t think you’ve seen it yet.

Ofc we see Finn and Jake and everyone else,, I don’t have muchhh to say about the war stuff at least right now, 

“Nah, man, she's wrong. This is all wrong. Even if she wins now, this is never gonna end; I can feel it. It's like the whole world's going crazy, man, like we're living in, one, big...” obviously this relates to the whole war n stuff but I also feel like this connects to the whole them of this episode (and just at in general) with everything going on and on but still staying the same, Finn’s definitely gone through that type of stuff haven’t he ? Especially with the lich,,,

 “PB! He sees that you're serious! Maybe he'll back down now. Please listen to me! We've been friends for a long time” and PB getting reminded of Shoko from Finn this also 100% connects to that, they have been friends through even reincarnations, which is a long, long time (judging from the state of the candy kingdom and PBs bit more care free attitude I think the flashbacks in ‘the vault’ happen pretty early on) 

Jake is mostly just hanging out with jermaine in the nightmare realm lmao, although he did dig up Finn’s and ferns truama vault which is Important. 

Fern and Finn are dealing with their truama together in the nightmare realm, they have to work through their shared truama, and the grass demon that is connected to Fern, I loveeee analyzing fern so I’ll probably infodump to u ab him sometime if u would like lol. Finn hears PB voice again, this happens a lot in major parts of his life dosent it ? Breezy, hall of egress, and of course this episode. Fern and Finn kill the grass demon together.

PB and Gumbald are doing a fun (not fun for them tho LMAO) switch-aroo thingie, Gumbald experiences what it’s was like for PB almost get dum dum juiced and the stress that the candy kingdom puts on someone’s shoulders, while PB sees what it was like for Gumbald seeing his dream get built in front of him, ruled by PB, and fall apart without being able to do anything, it’s super intesting to me !! Especially on PBs side just seeing the stress weigh down on her from the candy kingdom (obviously this happens to gumbald in the dream but it’s switcharoo)

Now we see Finn and fern sitting on that island, although fern is now Finn again  “ I'm me again. It feels like it's been years.” This line just makes me very sad, ferns been living the last year (+?) as not himself,, (like I said I have THOUGHTS about fern I could go on sooo long ab him, but I wanna focus on CAWM rn) and now we see pb and gumbald, although when pb touches fern he starts disintegrating just like the grass demon said.

PB and gumbald apologize to eachother, but lolly trips gumbald and his dum dum juice dummifys him again, “  He never was the epiphany type. But I am willing to let bygones be bygones.” Like I said,,, things change but also stay the same,,, PB and gumabld sees what they each went through but Gumbald still stays the same, and turns into the punch bowl once again.

And now we get into the end of the world, as BMO puts it,

We get a flashback to Simon and Betty before the mushroom war and everything else, (I don’t have a ton to say about this scene but it’s very funny that Betty accidentally fucked simons eye up by throwing a jar of cherries at him)

Ice King of course does not remember Betty. But now we get the golb monsters, can I just say these monsters are sick as fuck I love them. “Obey my command! Flee for your lives! If you fight, the demon will just add you to its mass!” PB character development <3. 

Alll the main characters standing together to try and defeat golb,,, mmm it’s good it’s good, (also I find it cute that the gum ball guardians call PB mom lol) 

Ice king , king man , Finn and Jake go to try to stop Betty yippee ! Although Jake jumps off to eat (??) those birds (which leads to time adventure ofc <3<3<3) lumpygrab ! It’s cute, not a ship I think ab a ton but it’s cute. Betty seeing ice king as Simon, even if only for a moment is,,, mmmm, part of Betty’s whole thing is that, she can never except ice king as he is, maybe they could be happy if she could but, he isint Simon, he is just the ice king, and it leads her to madness trying to save her. This especially ties in with what she says right after “What... You're trying to stop me!? When I'm this close to harnessing the most powerful force in the universe and finally saving you!?” Oh and Maja fucking explodes.

Finn Betty and IK go into glob,,, Finn loses his robot arm, just as we saw at the start of the episode, it’s destined to lay there for 1000 years after the war huh ?

BUBBLINE YIPPEEEEE !! Seeing Marceline turn into the cloud form is sick as fuck btw, anyways this scene is just,, so good,, especially with just seeing how their relationship builds up again throughout the series. And how it was in the past in distant lands: obsidan.

Finn Betty and Simon reverte to their primal forms, Simon and Betty are back to normal human while Finn is the same, I also love how he does not get his arm back, since it’s been shown that not having an arm is just, his natural state, if he is in a life where he can’t have an arm, he will eventually lose it or just not have it, it’s his natural form.

Jake goes to fight those dudes for Finn,,, god this scene man.,, the treehouse is crushed by the golb monster and Jake just can’t handle it,,, seeing the place that he and Finn and bmo lived since they were young completely destroyed crushes him, BMO finds him of course “It's okay, Jake. You always try to protect me and Finn. But sometimes we are going to get hurt. How about today, you let me be the papa?” God man I’m just thinking about this,,, Jake has always been dadding for Finn  and bmo throughout the series, of course they had their parents but Finn was only 12 at the start of the series and we know their parents died before the start of the series, Jake has been taking care of those 2 for so long, in the treehouse that they lived in for so long,,,

And of course,,, time adventure,,, MAN

I think time adventure captures exactly what adventure time is about along with ‘come along with me’ and ‘everything stays’ 

Everything will happen again and again,,, the cycle of life and death goes on, everything stays but it still changes,,, just like 5e futures,,, 1000+ ooo is so different and yet, we have our 2 young adventurers still going off and exploring ooo,,, change is what adventure time is all about imo,,,, 

And everyone singing together to defeat glob,, it’s just so good,,,, having everyone working together to defeat glob and save Finn and Betty and Simon, many of these characters have had strained relationships in the past and yet they still all join together,, they’ve all changed throughout the series leading to this moment,,, god,,

“I always figured I'd go out saving somebody.” This line by Finn always gets me, because, of course he would think that, he is a hero, of course he would want to go out saving someone, doing what he does best, and also this line is just so sad since,,, Finn genuinely thinks he is gonna die here yknow ? He has stared death in the face many times but few times has he genuinely thought that he was gonna die,,,,

Betty makes the ultimate sacrifice, she can’t make up for what she did as magic Betty, she does feel guilty for what she has done,”I’m sorry for messing everything up” , so she wishes to banish glob, eventually fusing with it to keep Simon and the rest of everyone,

And then Fern,,, he finally got to be the hero,, just like he was when he was Finn,, and all he ever wanted was his identity and family and friends back to be honest, something that makes me sad is just,, how calm fern sounds when he is dying,,, I can’t explain but it’s just,,, yeah,, he asks Finn to promise to plant him there,, of course he wo.uld want to be planted there, it’s the place where he grew up with Jake, his best brother and friend, and even if he dosent get to be Finn again he would at least like to be connected to the place that meant so much to him.

Finn and Jake plant the fern seed at the remains of the treehouse, which, you know, it’s a lot like what happened with Shoko, it’s changes but still stays the same huh ? Finn and PB just being friends is soooo sweet I just love themm a lot.

And so Shermy and Beth go off to find that Fern Tree they heard in the story. While Finn and Jake far in the past from those two, sit next to the music hole, as she starts singing come along with me,, the iconic ending song as we see how everyone lives went on after everything, the cycle of life and death and change continues. Even after all of that characters still live their life, similar to before but not excatly the same.

And at the very end,, we see those two adventurers climb the fern tree, shermy pulls out the Finn sword and holds it up high, ending the final episode on the same iconic pose at the start of every single episode, 

and like I’ve said over this whole rant,, it changes but still stays the same, the cycle repeats again and again, never the same but still similar,  and I feel like that’s the whole point of adventure time, it’s about change, everything changes so much from the start to the end, we see these characters grow up and change, we see them die and reincarnate, not the same, but similar, ooo and everyone in it goes on and on,  and yes, someday golb and the lich will succeed at their goals, bringing death to everyone, but why not fight for it ? Yes it will happen eventually, someday some Finn and Jake reincarnations will not be able to kill the lich, but they still have all their friends and family and everyone, so why shouldn’t they try ? They could just give up since it’s inevitable but also, they have so much to fight for, everybody who cares about them, even if it’s just the two of them, Finn and Jake, they will always have eachother, and isint that enough to fight for ?

Adventure time just means so much to me in a way I can’t describe, its part of me, and I don’t think even amphibia (which I love so much) reaches the same connection adventure time has with me, it’s just so important to me, it’s such an inherent part of me that I can’t imagine who I would be without it to be honest, where would I have ended up without this show ? I don’t know, but I did find this show and I love it so much that words can’t describe it. Obviously you don’t have to respond to this rant, but it would mean a lot to mean to just, talk about what I talked about here with you, (but no worries about making it as long as this,), I just want to share my love of this show with you, and even you just watching it makes me so so happy. So yknow, thank you for being my friend and watching stuff I like, I appreciate you a lot.

Night, Duck.

the intro is so cool! when i watched it i meant to go back and look at it again and especially look at bmos little house to try and spot a couple little easter eggs because it looks So Full of them.the main things i noticed was i think bmo had the helmet that glob and his brothers or whatever had that stuck out and also the fact that they called themselves the King of Ooo. i hope bmo is okay living up there all by themselves its played for a joke but the fact that they Have forgotten Finn's name is so hhhhhh. (is it specified how log its been? because if its been like a Long Long time its both more and less sad i think) that one episode after elementals with Marceline and bmo gived me hope that for however long they end up living bmo wont be completely alone, their friendship with Marcy was so nice in that episode i hope it lasts.

i am so interested in the whole thing of adventire time being a show about things constantly changing and yet staying the same. it seems like Such a clever way to encorporate that shift from an episodic adventure of the week sort of show it was at the start to the more serialised show with big character moments and over arcing plotlines it became a bit later on. it also kinda juat makes me think about Everything Stays again which you know. yeah

man finn and fern having to deal with their shared trauma together is so ! the bit when theyre fighting and Fern is like "im tormented!" and finn goes "im also that sometimes!" just something about that little interaction gets me theyre both so sinsere and like. i cant find the sords for what im trying to say augh. you get what im trying to say hopefully

oooo the switchy scene!! that was so cool i was really intreuged by them swapping places and getting to experince what it all was like from the other side. it could have made it so easy for them both to come to a peaceful conclusion at the end now that they first hand know what the other went thru and can epathise with eachother in a way they couldnt before. unfortunately gumbald is gumbald and screwed that over but you know you can hope. Bonnie did tho, she saw that she was wrong and she was willing to admit it which is a Huge growth for her character from the start of the show.

the scene of finn and fern on that island is so nice. its so peaceful but also very like, cathatrtic i think is the word for it? the two of them finally getting a chance to just sit there and Be for a moment after all that theyve been thru. its nice

asdfghjk yeah that fake out is so good where even the banan guards think shes gonna get them to fight for their lives to save ooo but then shes juts like. get the fuck out of here right now you cant do anything to help but leave Please save yourselves. PB character growth so true <3

YES THE GUMBALL GUARDIANS CALLING PB MOM WAS SO GOOD it was so funny and also has Implicaions i feel but idk

i cant believe you would remind me of the lsp lemongrab kiss like this that was the Worst part of the entire episode why did that happen im so confused

betty and simon are so ! i have No Idea how to explain my thoughts on them but they unlock shrimp emotions. theyre such a loving tragedy, both driven to madness trying to save the ones they loved most,,,,,,,,,,

bubbline kiss my beloved. its such a sweet scene and Marcy just Losing Her Entire Shit and turining into the sheep cloud thing because she think Bonnie is dead,,,,,,,

asdfghgfds "finn not having an arm is his natural state" why is that so Right tho. au where he never lost his arm and gets reverted to his original state and loses his arm then. imagine

hhhhhhhhhhhhhh Jake older brother/dad-ing BMO and Finn,,,,,,, like sure he isnt always the Best at it but hes Trrying anf i feel like you cant expect him to be perfect at it hes not really much older than finn in the first place but hes Trying to take care of them as best he can and thats what counts

TIME ADVENTURE TIME ADVENTURE TIME ADVENTURE-

something about the power of music bringing everyone together to make one final stand to save the world and it Working is so important to me. i love music so much as an artform, as a method of self experssion, as a tool to bring people together, and Adventure Time does such a good job doing those ideas justice, its big proper songs are so meaningful and powerful and even the littler ones and the fact that so many characters will just Start Singing, just whenever for the sake of it for no other reason than they feel like it. its so good man

"i always figured id go out saving someone" and then Simon Immidiately jumping in to try to comfort him. they all think theyre gonna die, they all know theyre not gonna make it out this time. so in the face of all hopelessness Simon still tries to comfort this kid and like. i dunno Simon straight away jumping to try to comfort FInn even tho really he has No Idea who tf this kid is man

im glad Fern got to be planted outside the treehouse. he sounds so resigned while hes dying, he knows hes going and hes accepted it, a much nicer ending than he had the first time, and now he gets to be forever immorialised and in some kind of irony manages to outlive everyone else through his tree

i think i get what you mean. i think Adventure Time is to you a lot of what Steven Universe is to me. i started watching SU when i was about 8 and it was a Huge part of my life basically until i ended. i used to rewatch peridot episodes when i was sad, i would sings the songs to myself to pass the time, i would think about theories while walking. so many of my memories are full of steven universe, i legitimately feel like if an alternate version of me existed who had never seen an episode of SU, i would be unrecogniseable to myself. that show means so much to me and i watched it at such an influential age it has had ramifications and left marks on me i dont think i could ever begin to find them all. its… fundementally shaped me as a person, my opinions on things, my morals, so much of Who I Am. so if Adventure Time is to you even slightly what Steven Universe is to me, then i get it. stories have such a power to effect people, we rely on them to learn about the world and the stores we hear or have avalible to us effect us in so many different ways. its incredible really

thank you for being My friend, if it hadnt of been for you i probably wouldnt have sat down and watched adventure time like this, maybe ever, and i only really did it at the start because i wanted to engage in something that clearly means so much to one of my friends, and im so glad i did so thank you it was so much fun

[pebblysand]

2 and 30, please & thank you! 🤸🏼

aw, thank you!

2. Anything that you'd like to write but feel like you're unable to?

it's funny, i was kind of hoping someone would ask me this question cause like, yes, of course, there's so many. i think, at this stage in my life, time is probably my main blocker - more than willingness or ability. time is unfortunately a finite resource and as i've said about a month ago, i've decided to sort of put all non-castles projects on hold this year, which means that there are a lot of fics i wish i could write, but can't at the moment.

i think most of them are ROAR projects: hermione (HP), the black sisters (HP), ada (PB), may (PB), will (TGW), maybe draco for HP as well. i would also still love to write the aoife post-TFIFM story that is in my head and Never Going Away. but yeah, most of these have been de-prioritised because i've been working on castles for there years now and like it's time to fucking finish it. i also think i will probably move on to original writing after castles is out and so keeping these fandom one-shots to write will be a good escape, by then, do dip back in whenever i want to.

30. Describe a fic that almost happened, but then it didn't.

as i've said before, i don't think projects for me ever get truly abandoned, they get parked to the side until such time i can give them the attention they deserve. i mean, castles itself was the fic that almost happened but didn't for over a decade, until it finally did happen so, you never know.

i do think one thing that will cause me to abandon an idea is often the realisation that i have nothing to bring to it, or nothing new to truly say about it. so, like, one that is a little bit in a limbo at the moment is the ROAR hermione fic because i'm starting to realise that a lot of the post-war plot elements that i had in mind for it can already slot into castles, and i'm not quite sure what will be left. her childhood? possibly, but is that groundbreaking? her thoughts? there's a couple of elements and takes that would be new, but i'm not sure they would truly warrant a fic of their own. so, as much as i like the idea of the hermione fic, it might not happen.

and, don't get me wrong, i know some people out there will read this and be like: but we don't care if it's not brand new, we just want more content from you. like: doesn't matter if we read 50 iterations of the same thing, we love it. but, let me object to that: you think you do. when, the fact of the matter is: my fics are the way they are (and you like them the way they are - some people don't, of course, and that's okay, but assuming that if you're reading this, you do) because i'm very careful about choosing the topics i want to talk about, and because i know when to drop an idea when it's repetitive of previous work. it's like: do i have headcanons about bill and fleur after ce ne sont que des cailloux that could make a nice fic if i wanted to? of course. would those headcanons be demonstrating something dramatically new that wasn't in that fic to begin with? probably not. so i choose to leave them in my head.

and, i know this because i definitely used to write everything that popped into my head. i mean, look at my fics for TGW, it's like - some of them are good ideas, and the writing is fine, but they could have been condensed into one, maybe two big ideas, instead of being published as 20 iterations of the same concept, you know? and, while i think there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing everything that pops into your head (it's definitely fantastic for practice and engagement), that's not really the way i choose to write anymore. and, i think the characteristics of my writing, and the things that make people love my content, is that i make those choices. my fics wouldn't be my fics if i wrote them differently.

but again, we shall see.

[kagaintheskywithdiamonds]

on the one hand I LOVE the fact that all the characters in BoJack Horseman are so morally dubious (like not in an edgy way but just... like, the way people are in real life, not 100% good or bad) that you can totally have long discussions and debates about who’s in the right at certain moments and who’s in the wrong and you can typically see both sides of it and even when I might disagree with another fan’s interpretation of a character I can still usually say “yeah I see where you’re coming from though”

HOWEVER if you think Mr Peanutbutter was always in the right in every argument he ever had with Diane and that it was always Diane being a bitch and PB never did anything wrong?? then those are fighting words my dude

[twinklelilstarkey]

can i request an angst rafe imagine where he’s just in a really bad mood and the reader is over at his house trying to do anything she can to make him feel better (baking him cookies, buying him this watch that he’s had his eye on, etc.) but he ends up snapping at her and saying some really hurtful things towards her, resulting in her ready to leave with tears running down her cheeks and rafe barely even realizes what he’s done before it’s too late

A/N: I really liked this request, so I’ll incorporate an idea that I had a few days ago [Best Friends].

Hurt - Rafe Cameron

Pairing: Highschool!Rafe x Highschool!BestFriend!Reader

Words: 2.9k+

Type: Angst

Warnings!!!: Mentions in use of drugs. Cursing. Abusive Friendship. Possible self-harm (biting the cheek). Female!Reader. As always, no race of the reader is mentioned.

DO NOT REPOST, REWRITE OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORK!

“Good evening, my sweet little chicken” You say loudly as you enter Rafe’s room.

You and Rafe have been best friends ever since 5th grade. You two met at the cafeteria when you decided to share your PB&J with him, since he looked very disgusted with his salad. Ever since then, you two were always in the same classes and always doing group projects together.

So, we can all say that a friendship was easily born.

Rafe is an ass, yes, that is very true. Many people believe you’re too nice to even talk to him, but you try your best to never listen to them. But, honestly, if you won a dollar every time people told you ‘he’s gonna hurt you’, you would be as rich as Rafe by now. And you’re already, indeed, a full Kook.

“I’m occupied” Rafe warns in a low tone voice, not taking his eyes off his screen.

“That’s fine” You say with a shrug and your smile, noticeably not budging with his words.

You crouch to pass in front of the TV, trying your best not to intervene with his video game. You throw your bag to the ground, beside Rafe’s bed, and then lay down next to where he’s sitting.

You snuggle into his pillow, almost sighing at how comfortable it is, and Rafe continues to stay silent and focus on the screen.

Not even 10 minutes later, he lets his controller fall to his bed, under his hands, and lets out a loud groan of annoyance.

You lift your head to look at him and you see him covering his face with his hands.

“You good?” You ask in almost a whisper.

Rafe breathes in, still not answering, and uncovers his face to look down at you.

He looks extremely annoyed.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, changing the subject, with his annoyed expression.

Damn. That was harsh. His expression and tone make it seem as if you’re not only welcome but wanted here.

“Uhm...” You start, but as your voice cracks a bit, you clear your throat, “I just came to hang out. Just like. Every weekend...?”

You sit up as you stop talking, unsure of your words.

Were you supposed not to come today? Did you forget to read one of his messages asking to stay alone?

“Why?” You ask.

He shrugs, looking away as he pulls his phone of his pocket. “No reason”

(...)

Saying Rafe is in a bad mood today is a big understatement. Not that it is rare, but you’re usually able to make him feel better.

Today is different.

“Can you please get the fuck out of the way?!” Rafe shouts, making you jump on your feet and you look at him with widen eyes.

“I literally am out the way!” You shout back.

How can he be so fucking annoying?

You’re literally just grabbing your laptop from your backpack, so you can actually be entertained with something other than his God-awful gameplay. You even made sure to run and not stand in front of the TV for too long.

“Fucking bitch” Rafe whispers under his breath.

You throw your laptop to the desk, making it loudly fall onto the wood.

“You have some fucking nerve” You say while turning to look at Rafe.

He looks at you quickly before looking back at his TV, swearing under his breath as he notices that you heard him.

“How am I a fucking bitch, Rafe?” You ask, sounding more than pissed at him, “What could I possibly have done for you to call me that?”

“Nothing” He answers, not bothering enough to look at you.

“Oh, fuck no” You say louder, “You are not going to play the ‘I don’t want to talk now’ card with me today. That’s for god damn sure”

“Y/N, can you please just sh-”

“Shut up?” You tell him, already knowing from a mile away what he was about to tell you.

He doesn’t say anything, but he does pause his game.

“What do you want me to say?” He asks, looking at you, leaning his hand on his fist.

“Why did you call me a bitch?” You ask slowly.

“Because you’re obviously acting like one” He answers as slow.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah!”

“You’re saying that me coming over like every single fucking weekend and bringing you cookies is me being a bitch?” You ask, confused with his words, “You really do love to make sense, don’t you?”

He clenches his jaw.

You stare at him, waiting for at least a word to come out of his mouth, but nothing.

“Well,” You start, “Since my presence is so unwanted here, I’ll start making my way home, then”

You bite the inside of your cheek and grab your laptop from the desk, biting the hurt and pain, that Rafe is starting to cause, away.

“Thank you” Rafe whispers to himself as you pack up.

You zip up your backpack and look at the glass of water sitting beside you.

You turn back around, sliding the bag over your shoulder, and grab the glass.

“Have a nice rest of your day, dickhead” You say before throwing all the water right as his face.

You didn’t exactly see his reaction, since you walked right passed him and out of the bedroom, but you know that he’s mad.

You could already feel a metallic taste over your tongue, but you still felt numb to any physical pain.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Rafe shouts from his room as you slam his door closed.

Sarah stands in the hallway, innocently walking over to her bedroom with an ice cream in her hand. She looks over her shoulder as she hears the loud sound of the door and her eyes widen at you.

The door behind you opens and you walk over to the stairs, trying to keep a distance from Rafe.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He screams, repeating himself.

“With me?!” You shout, now letting the whole house hear you as you turn around to look at him, “What the fuck is wrong with you, Rafe?! You’re unbelievable.”

“I didn’t even do anything”

“Of course, you didn’t. You never do anything. Other than fucking insult me and make me feel like shit”

“Do you think you made me feel any better? You always get out of these arguments as if I’m the bad guy. You’re not a fucking saint, Y/N”

“Are you serious, right now?” You ask, “What drugs could’ve you possibly taken that messed up your mind this bad, Rafe? You’re the one in the bad mood, insulting me and making me know that you don’t want me close to you, but in some way, in your cocaine filled brain, you feel like I was also making you feel bad?... Give me a break”

That struck a nerve in him. Hard.

“You’re such a fucking bitch, and this is not even me insulting you. I’m just describing you as a whole person. Why do you think people don’t want to hang out when we’re together?” He pauses and your heartbeats quicken, “Uh? Oh yeah, because everyone fucking despises you on this island”

You stay quiet. But he’s still not done.

“I’m the only fucking person that has ever cared for you. Nobody has ever blinked an eye your way. Because you’re not fucking special, okay?” He asks, anger boiling on his veins, “You aren’t as nice as you like to believe you are. You’re annoying, and really fucking clingy”

You open your mouth to speak but he doesn’t stop.

“I’ve looked out for you for years. Beaten up people that talked shit about you. Protected you from everyone. But, shit” He scoffs, “Maybe they were fucking right after all”

Your eyes start to fill up with tears.

“All the shit they’ve said about you. You know what I’m talking about? That, firstly and obviously, that you’re a bitch. That you’re a whore, a fake, a girl that just wants my fucking money-”

“Rafe, sto-” Sarah tries to say.

“Oh, you better shut the fuck up, Sarah. This has nothing to do with you”

“I don’t give a fuck!” She shouts louder than him, “You aren’t going to say anything else”

Rafe takes his eyes off you to look at his sister and you try to control your unstable breathing just so you don’t start falling apart right in front of him.

Sarah’s soft hand holds yours carefully and she pulls you to her side.

“I’ll take you home” She whispers, only to you.

Rafe scoffs at you two looking at each other and holding hands and shakes his head.

“Are you going to manipulate her now too, Y/N? Now that you don’t have me anymore, you’re going to use my sister as your way to have at least a single friend?”

“Just stop” You say, voice shaking and cracking, “Please”

And he does.

Sarah pulls you towards the stairs and you two walk down them, letting Rafe upstairs with himself.

At the lobby of the house, Ward, Rose and Wheezie were looking at you. They were probably coming out from the living room when the argument started.

Your hands are shaking, your breathing is getting out of control and the tears are making it hard to see what’s in front of you.

The looks of pity that everyone gave you came unnoticed to you. Even Rose felt affected with the argument and how you look like now. Ward shows pure disappointment. And Wheezie? She just wants to run to you and give you a hug.

You and Sarah walk out of the house and she pulls you towards her car.

“Sarah,” You start, “I think I want to walk home”

“Okay, I’ll walk with you”

Walking on your way home was painful, his words were sinking into your brain, making you want to hide from the world and just scream. You cried silently. Sarah, not wanting to make anything worse, just laid her hand over your back, comforting you silently.

When you walked to your bedroom, all the pain broke loose.

You screamed into your pillows, cried into your bed, and let everything out.

Sarah stayed. Hugging you while you cried, whispering to you what he had said wasn’t true.

But it wasn’t enough to stop your crying or even your pain.

The sight of you in this much pain made it seem to an outsider that, maybe, your boyfriend broke up with you or worse, even, something bad had happened to that boyfriend or friend.

But it was worse. You lost your best friend. The only person you have ever completely trusted and truly loved. And you lost him over his hurtful words getting the best of you.

People had warned you about this for years. You lost friends over him... for this. For this day to come and your best friend to be ripped out of your hands by his own words.

And you know that he’ll be fine without you, you’re sure of it. He’s Rafe Cameron. Everyone would kill to hang out with him and be on his group. And his side is now empty, ready to be filled by another someone.

You, on the other hand, don’t know what will happen. You have Sarah and Wheezie. But other than that? Nobody. Not even a soul.

(...)

Two months went by. Summer break ended and you’re back in school, finally finishing high school. You’re more than ready to get the heck out of the Outer Banks.

No, you haven’t seen or talked to Rafe ever since the argument. You believe he tried to call you 2 times for these past two months, but you didn’t answer any of them (thinking that probably it was a drunk miss-dial).

You had grown to be very close with Sarah. She helped you through the whole way of hating Rafe and not caring about him.

But other than her, you’re on your own.

Which is fine. You’re okay with that. You couldn’t care less, honestly.

“See you after class” Sarah says, before kissing your cheek and walking to her class.

You smile at her as she walks away, and you close your locker. You look through the hallway, filled with people, and decide to also start walking to class.

The room was mostly empty, some people are on their phones while sitting at the front. So, you decide to do the complete opposite and sit at the back, next to the window, ready to just listen to some music before hell begins.

You put on your air pods and start your playlist as you pull your books and notebook off your bag, curious on what the heck you’ll be studying this year.

You just want to be prepared for it before it begins, you know?

Not even 5 minutes later, the whole classroom is almost full. Nobody has sat beside you yet, thankfully. And you’ve been scribbling on the sides of your notebook for the time being.

The chair beside you is pulled back but you don’t look up to see who it is. Big mistake. The person sits beside you, but you continue to slightly bob your head to the music, unfazed by whatever is happening.

A wave of laughter makes you look up at your class, but you flinch when you notice Rafe, on his phone, sitting right beside you.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, pulling your air pod out of your ear.

Rafe looks up from his phone and shrugs before answering.

“In school or next to you?” He asks playfully and you don’t even blink an eye, you’re not in the mood for jokes, “The seat was empty, and I always sit next to you”

“Well, can you leave and go sit next to Topper?” You ask, “I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to be sitting beside you”

“Kelce is going to sit there”

“Well, then tell Kelce to sit next to me. It’s not that hard”

He doesn’t move at your words, making you roll your eyes and lean back onto your chair, already tired and ready to leave this class.

“You’re still mad at me over what happened?” He asks and you scoff lightly.

“Take a guess” You answer him.

Rafe opens his mouth to speak but a louder voice stops him.

“Alright everyone, let’s start this class! I hope everyone had an amazing and eventful summer” The teacher starts, and everyone quiets down.

(...)

“Can we please just talk?” Rafe asks as he stands beside you, waiting for you to finish packing your stuff.

“No”

“Y/N, please. Just let me explain something to you”

“There’s nothing to explain”

You throw your bag over your shoulder and make your way to the hallways, going to grab your books for next class. And Rafe is standing right behind you.

“I really didn’t mean anything that I said that day” He says, leaning on someone’s locker, beside yours.

“Sure, Rafe”

“I’m serious. I was high and angry out of my mind, I couldn’t control what I was saying” He explains, and you continue to not look at him as you look through your schedule, “You have to believe me”

“No, I don’t”

“Y/n, please, you’re my best friend”

“Was your best friend, Rafe. Was” You correct him, “Now, can you leave?”

“Nothing that I said was true. I don’t think you’re a bitch, or any of the things I said. I made all of that up”

“Interesting” You comment sarcastically.

Rafe sighs and closes your locker, so you can look at him.

“Please, just hear me out” He starts, “I just want our friendship to go back to normal, okay? I’m the worst at this and you know it. I hate that I made you feel the way you did. I didn’t mean it; you have to believe me”

You look at him silently.

“No” You say in a low tone, shaking your head at him, “I’m not forgiving you”

“Y/N, pleas-”

“Rafe, no” You repeat, “You had two fucking months to do this. Where were you, uh?”

He stays silent.

“You’re only my friend whenever it’s convenient for you, Rafe” You say and he shakes his head, “You don’t give a shit about me and how I feel. We both know that. And these two months of silence just proved enough for me to not want to talk to you ever again”

“Can you just give me another chance?” He asks, “So we can start all of this over and I promise you that I’ll never do anything similar to this again”

“No, Rafe. I’m sorry but you don’t have any chances left” You say, shrugging.

You open your locker back up and grab your last book. Rafe stood there, looking at you with an expression you’re not too familiar with. Sadness.

“Have a nice life, Cameron” You say before closing your locker back up.

You turn around and start walking over to your next class.

Rafe doesn’t move, he just stands there. Watching you walking away from him without your usual smile and wave.

A pain is slowly settling over his chest, weighing him down into the ground, making him want to crumble in shame. This pain isn’t familiar to him, at all.

But he’s hurting.

And this time,

He’s on his own.

- - - - - -

I love this ending. Is so angstyyy!

[homoose]

Enter With Abandon: Part I

Summary: Reader accidentally orders three meal kit boxes. Spencer takes one off her hands.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category: fluff

Warnings/Includes: none

Word count: 1.4k

a/n: I just love a good meet cute, you guys. This is part one of four. ☺️

———

She had come to terms with the fact that she was a terrible cook. She’d grown up just above the poverty line, with parents who worked long hours on odd schedules. That meant that she and her brother had gotten by on a lot of PB&J, hot dogs, and TV dinners. They certainly didn’t learn how to prepare and cook meals. So when she became an adult, with a real job and an actual salary and without a college dining hall at her disposal, she began ordering a lot of takeout.

It didn’t take long for her bank account to remind her that delivery four days a week was above her pay grade. As a compromise, she’d ordered a HelloFresh box. It was still kind of expensive, but it was a far cry from what she’d been spending on Postmates. She tried a Blue Apron box, and those were a little too advanced for her skill set, but she kept the account open just to look. HomeChef quickly became her favorite service— the meals were ridiculously easy and tasted pretty good once they were doctored up with various spices.

She had just started to level up into mediocre cooking territory when she came home to not one, not two, but three meal kit boxes in the mailroom. She frantically pulled up the apps to see that she had somehow missed the day to skip the box for the HelloFresh and BlueApron boxes that week. She now had nine meals to cook in the next seven days (five when accounting for produce freshness).

She hauled the boxes upstairs to her apartment and pulled up the app to check what meals she had even ordered. The BlueApron recipes were thankfully not too difficult, and she opened the box and unpacked the ingredients into the fridge. She did the same with the HelloFresh box, actually excited to try out a mahi mahi recipe that she probably wouldn’t have been adventurous enough to pick on her own. The recipes in the HomeChef box were fine other than a cavatappi recipe she wasn’t too thrilled about, but she ultimately decided that there was no way she’d be able to cook everything from all three boxes without something going bad.

Which is how she ended up in front of apartment 23, huffing out a breath. Apartments 20 and 21 had been… less than friendly. She’d never actually seen anyone enter or exit this apartment, so she wasn’t even sure anyone lived there. Still, she knocked three times and waited, box in hand.

There was some shuffling, footsteps, and the click of the deadbolt. She opened her mouth to start her spiel, but the sound died in her throat at the man in front of her.

Her neighbor stood in his doorway, all fluffy curls and glasses and stubble, and she forgot why she was even standing there. He was wearing a navy cardigan that looked incredibly soft, a white collared shirt underneath, the top two buttons undone, and heather grey slacks on his long legs. On his feet were mismatched socks— one bright green and the other rainbow striped.

“Can I help you?” he asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and drawing her out of her ogling.

“Oh— I, um.” She held up the box. “I’m your neighbor, um, unit 22. I—I do these um, meal kit boxes and I— well, I’m signed up for three different plans, and you have to remember to go into each individual app and skip the week if you don’t want a box delivered, and I thought I did that, but apparently I didn’t, and so now I have three meal kits and that’s way more than I need because I’m only one person so—”

She paused to suck in a breath. The very corners of his lips twitched into the start of a smile and she about spontaneously combusted. He waited for her to continue, one very cute eyebrow raised at her rambling. She gave herself a mental thrashing and a get it together before continuing.

“So. I’m trying to give away this box, because I don’t want the food to go to waste. However, as it turns out, people are not keen on taking food from a stranger, even when it’s in a sealed package from a reputable meal kit service.” She shrugged. “That said, um, do you want this box? Of food. For you.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I— I don’t know if I’m the best candidate for the box.” He bared his teeth sheepishly. “I’m not a very good cook.”

“Oh! Well, this is the easiest kit, actually. Like, they even pre-cook the pasta so all you have to do is add it in, which I think is kind of ridiculous because who can’t boil noodles? But you know, it’s good if you like, work long hours or whatever.”

He considered her for a moment. “Okay, I’ll take it.”

She was so shocked that he hadn’t closed the door in her bumbling face that her mouth dropped open. “You will?”

“Yeah, you convinced me. Do you wanna…?” He held his hands out and she nodded.

“Yeah, of course, sorry.” She handed him the box. “Thank you so much for taking it off my hands,” she said, dusting imaginary particles off of them. “My conscience feels a lot lighter knowing I won’t be contributing to our nation's issue with food waste. Like, did you know that the average person throws away 219 pounds of food per year, and that most of that food gets sent to landfills where it decays and produces nitrogen pollution, which causes algae blooms and dead zones?”

He pressed his lips together. “I actually did know that.”

“Oh. Well. Good.” She crossed her arms. “It—It’s good that you know that, because, you know, maybe you’ll be more mindful of your own food waste.” Her eyes went wide and she held out an apologetic hand. “Not that I’m saying that you’re not mindful or anything. I just—it’s—it can be good to know things.” It can be good to know things?!

“It certainly can be good to know things.” His lips were turned up in the sweetest smile, golden eyes crinkling at the corners, and she didn’t even care if he thought she was a complete idiot, because she just wanted him to smile at her like that for the rest of eternity.

“Absolutely. Knowing things is… awesome.” She wished the floor beneath her would open up and drop her straight into hell. “Okay. Well, bye.” She turned and took two steps, then did a 180 just as he was closing the door. “Oh, just— you might wanna add more spices than they write in the recipes. I think they write them with the intention of being kind of bland to appeal to a wider audience, but you know, they can end up being kind of… well, bland.”

He smiled again and she couldn’t stop staring. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“You’re welcome. Okay. Well, really bye this time.” She turned and walked as calmly as she could back to her apartment. When she heard the click of his deadbolt she dropped her head into her hand in complete and utter mortification at the sheer lack of chill she’d just exhibited. “What in the actual fuck is wrong with you?”

…

It quickly became obvious why she hadn’t known if anyone lived there— because he was hardly ever home. She listened a little more purposefully to the footsteps on the stairs and the noises through the wall. She wondered if maybe he worked odd hours or had a significant other whose apartment he stayed at.

She was busy enough with work and cooking the other six meals that she had almost forgotten about the humiliating encounter with the man from apartment 23. By the following Friday, she was so tired from the week that she didn’t even glance at his mailbox like she’d been doing all week, S. Reid scrawled across the label. She dragged herself up the stairs and across the landing, fishing her keys out of her bag.

She stopped in front of her door to see a small glass container sitting on her doormat. She looked up and down the hallway before bending to pick it up. There was a paper note taped to the top, written in the same chicken scratch from the mailbox. She saved the note, opting to pop open the lid on the pyrex to find four perfectly baked scones with some sort of citrus glaze. She balanced the dish in one hand and shuffled the note open with the other.

I’m not a great cook, but I’m a pretty good baker. Thanks for the box.

Spencer, Unit 23

P.S. You were right about the spices.

———

Permanent tags: @andiebeaword @averyhotchner @saspencereid @pinkdiamond1016 @shadyladyperfection

[flowerpowelltales]

Like Fall, Like Spring

PART TWO

A/N: Oh my goodness, I can’t believe so many of you liked the previous chapter and wanted more 🥺 Thank you, all! You literally inspired (and motivated) me to write more. Hope you’ll enjoy this one as well! Characters belong to PB.

They were sitting by the dining table eating the giant turkey Bianca prepared for her guests. Even though Bianca’s cooking skills were out of this world and the turkey was exceptionally good, Riley had no appetite. Her morning conversation with Aunt Leona was replaying in her head like that annoying song you can’t stop mentally singing. Everyone else was chatting and laughing and Riley smiled from time to time so no one would notice her mood and ask her what was wrong. 

“And for dessert we have a very yummy apple pie made by our very own Riley,” Bianca announced happily at some point and everyone’s eyes were on Riley all of the sudden.

“You did?” Drake asked surprised and Riley nodded.

“Our little blossom is a woman of many talents!” Maxwell chipped in.

“Ohhh, Aunt Leona loves apple pies!” Savannah added and Riley’s eyes shyly met with Leona’s.

“I’m afraid I can’t stay for the dessert, I’m meeting the mayor,” she said and Riley’s heart sank. Why couldn’t this woman at least pretend?

“Well, your loss, Aunt Leona! More pie for us!” Drake kissed the top of Riley’s head and she noticed Leona flinched at the sight. 

No one seemed to find anything peculiar about Leona’s or Riley’s behaviors and they continued chatting until the time of dessert came and Leona had to leave. Had to probably wasn’t the best term for it - Riley was sure she didn’t have any meeting and she wanted to avoid eating something Riley made. 

She didn’t understand it. What did Leona mean when she said Riley ruined Drake’s life? Was she missing something? Despite the older woman’s coldness, Riley was determined to find out exactly why she didn’t like her. 

~~~~

“I’m so full I could burst. You pie was delicious and I hope you’ll make it again sometime soon,” Drake said as he was getting into bed with Riley.

“Was it really okay? The pie I mean?”

“Mhm, the best pie ever. I wish Aunt Leona could try it, she loves apple pies,” he murmured, closing his eyes and pulling Riley towards him. 

“Maybe next time I should make it with different apples, huh? More sour? Do you think your aunt would like it?”

“Sour?” Drake opened his eyes. “Aunt Leona would never eat sour. She hates sour. Today’s pie was the best. Don’t change anything.”

“Mmm, if you say so,” Riley replied absent-mindedly, trying to hide her disappointment. Leona lied. It wasn’t the apples, it was the fact that it was made by Riley. She sighed.

“Hey, is something wrong?” Drake asked studying her.

“No. Not really. I don’t know.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

“I know. I just... I don’t know, I feel like your aunt doesn’t like me.”

“Because she didn’t eat your pie?” 

“Not just that. She doesn’t want to talk to me. She looks at me like I’m a criminal. That is, of course, on rare occasions when she actually looks at me.” Riley sighed and Drake pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to complain about her.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Aunt Leona is... difficult. Especially when you first meet her. She’s very protective of our family and she doesn’t like new people. I’m sure she’ll love in no time. She’ll see what a brilliant, amazing woman you are and she’ll love you just like I love you. Or actually not, there’s no way anyone could ever love you more than I do, but you get the point.”

Riley laughed, relaxing in her husband’s arms. “I love you, Drake. You always know how to make me feel better.” She kissed him and he eagerly retured the kiss. 

“Anything for my wife. Now... are you tired or...” Drake raised his eyebrows suggestively and Riley chuckled. 

“Come here,” she said as she kissed him again. Drake was happy and Riley didn’t ruin his life. Leona would see it soon and she would accept Riley in her life. She just had to be patient.

~~~~

“Good morning.”

“Mmmhm, morning,” Riley mumbled, opening her eyes and seeing Drake standing in front of the bed, putting his shirt on. “What time is it?”

“You can go back to sleep, it’s only six thirty. I’m going for a run.”

Riley sat on the bed. “I could go with you.”

Drake smiled warmly at her and kissed her head. 

“I know you hate running and I know you like your beauty sleep. Go back to sleep and when I’m back we’ll wake you up, okay?”

“Okay,” Riley answered and watched Drake take his empty water bottle and blow a kiss. When he left the room, Riley collapsed on the bed again.

She did like her sleep. Was she like the nobles Leona described? She wasn’t like the Walker family, waking up every early and managing to accomplish hundreds of things before noon. No, she would rather sleep in and be productive later. Was that what Leona meant? Was Leona right?

Riley quickly got up and put on her clothes. She’d prove Leona wrong. She’d prove being worthy of Drake.

~~~~

“Good morning,” Riley cheered as she entered the kitchen. Both, Bianca and Leona, turned and smiled (Bianca) and raised an eyebrow (Leona) at her. 

“Good morning, darling. Why are you up so early? You could sleep a bit more; you looked so tired yesterday!” Bianca hugged her tightly.

“Oh no, I’m fine. I love waking up early, I can do so much more with extra time,” she lied. Bianca nodded. 

“Can I help you with something? Breakfast?” Riley offered, ignoring the look Leona had been giving her since she entered the room.

“You’re a guest, you shouldn’t help!” Bianca protested.

“I think she should. There’s no use for her if she can’t make food for our Drake,” Leona finally spoke and Riley felt even smaller than before.

“Leona, you’re too harsh. She’s a Duchess, she doesn’t have to do anything!” Bianca patted Riley on the back in a well-meant manner. She had no idea she just confirmed all the prejudices Leona had against Riley. 

“I wasn’t born a Duchess. I can make food.” Riley said and took a knife from Bianca’s hand. 

“As you wish, honey. Cut those tomatoes and cucumbers and I will go collect some fresh eggs. Be right back!”

The first two minutes passed in complete silence. Leona was doing her thing and Riley hers. From time to time, she could see the older woman shaking her head.

“You’re cutting them too thin.”

“Excuse me?” Riley asked, noting Leona was standing next to her and watching her cutting the tomatoes.

“We’re not nobles, we like our tomatoe slices thick. No one enjoys eating food thin as paper.”

“I didn’t ruin Drake’s life,” Riley said but started cutting the tomatoes a little bit more thick. 

“That’s what you think.”

“He’s happy.”

“That’s what you think.”

“And why do you think he’s unhappy? Has he complained or what?” Riley stopped cutting and tured to face Leona. 

“Has he ever complained?” Leona answered with a question. “Drake’s not the one to complain. You could break all his legs and arms and he wouldn’t say a word.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You’ve made him miserable and we all can see it. All but you; that only shows how little you know about him.”

“I know him very well! He’s my husband and I love him!”

Leona huffed, “You love him so much to force him into having kids?”

“What?” Riley asked shocked. But before Leona could say anything, Bianca appeared with a basket full of eggs. The ladies continued working in silence, interrupted from time to time by Bianca, fully unware of the tension in the kitchen.

~~~~

“Drake, are you happy?” Riley asked Drake as they were lying on the hay, snuggled under a big blanket. 

“Oh yes, I am,” he replied with his eyes closed.

“No, I mean in life. With me. After you married me.”

Drake opened his eyes and looked at Riley so insightfully that Riley felt even more naked. 

“What’s going on?”

“I’m just wondering if you’re happy. Because if you’re not we could work something out, you know,” she babbled.

“Riley, what happened?”

“Your aunt might have hinted that you don’t look as happy as you used to,” she admitted.

Drake ran his hand through his hair. “Aunt Leona is very protective, I already told you that. She’ll say things like this but don’t take them seriously, okay? I know better what makes me happy. And that something is you. Just ignore her.”

“If you say so.” Riley pulled the blanket a little higher. Fall in Texas wasn’t very cold but lying naked in the hay at nine in the evening wasn’t exactly helping her keep warm. Drake pulled Riley closer and started peppering her shoulder and neck with kisses. 

“Do you want me to talk to her?” He asked finally. “I could tell her to give you a break.”

“No, it’s fine.” She bit her lip. “It’ll pass as you said."

“If she ever tries to say anything like that again, I’ll talk to her, okay? No one messes with my Riley,” he said and kissed her. 

Riley sighed with relief as she lay in her husband’s embrace. Drake looked, seemed and sounded perfectly happy. Maybe Leona was overreacting a bit and maybe Riley was overthinking it.

~~~~

It was well after two in the morning when Riley, as quitely as possible, left her warm bed and went to the kitchen to get water. It was only her luck to find Leona drinking tea there.

“Hello.” Riley said politely and the woman nodded in acknowledgement.

“I see you complaied to Drake about me,” she said.

“I didn’t complain-- I just--” Drake said he wouldn’t talk to her, why would he do that?

“If you’re trying to break our family then I’m sorry but you can’t. We’re stronger than that.”

“I-- What? I’m not trying to break anything! I even told Drake not to tell you anything! And I didn’t complain, I just said you didn’t like me. Which is clearly true.”

“True, indeed.”

“Why though? Why are so awful to me? I didn’t ruin his life! I don’t force him to have kids. Why?”

“You’re more stupid than I thought then.” Leona said and Riley froze. Oh, how she wished she could be in Cordonia. Far from Leona, far from Texas. Far from all of that.

“If you truly loved him, you’d see how miserable he is. How miserable you are making him. Of course he wouldn’t tell you anything. He never complains. But as for someone who knew him from the moment he came into this world, I know him better than anyone else. Better than his own mother. I raised him. When Bianca was too depressed to take care of him, it was me who did. I know his every emotion, even when he can’t name it himeself. Ever since he met you, this boy is miserable.”

“That’s not... true. Stop, please.” Riley wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek. 

“Too painful to hear the truth?”

“What do you want me to do?!” Riley raised her voice.

“Leave.”

TAGS: @mymandrake @thequeenofcronuts​ @alesana45​ @texaskitten30 @iaminlovewithtrr​ @mskaneko​ @gardeningourmet​ @delightfullypinkglitter​ @gkittylove99​ @kingliam2019​ @angelasscribbles​ @ladyangel70​ @differenttyphoonwerewolf​ @nestledonthaveone​ @tinkie1973 @lovingchoices14​ @walkerdrakewalker​ 

*let me know if you want to be off or on the list*

[openheartthot]

Be Mine

Pairing: Open Heart [Ethan x f!MC (Camille Prescott)]

Word Count: 1,764

Rating: T

Warinings: Brief mentions of sex/sexual content 

Category: Fluff :)

Summary: Ethan and Camille make it official on Valentine’s Day.

***

I know it’s been like 2 months since I last posted a fic but I’ve been feeling a tiny bit more positive about OH3, plus it’s Valentine’s Day and these two idiots are in love. Don’t mind me making Ethan the insecure one as payback for what PB does to us haha

Ethan has been so buried in work that, lately, all the days seem to blend into one another. He can’t remember the last time he took a day off-- he’s been living, eating, and breathing Edenbrook.

And then there’s Camille.  

On the rare occasion that he manages to tear himself away from the hospital… he’s been living, breathing, and eating her, too. 

Ethan tugs slightly at his collar, a sudden flush working up his neck at the reminder of her soft blonde hair and even softer curves. 

The airy sound of her laugh has his head instinctually jerking up and in the direction of the residents’ lounge. 

As Ethan turns on his heel to follow the familiar noise, he can’t help but take note of the pink decorations adorning the walls and hanging from the ceilings. No matter how lost he’s been in his work lately, the universe just won’t let him forget about Valentine’s Day. 

It’s a stupid holiday, really. He’s always thought so. The boxed chocolates are a sad, chalky, affair, and the brightly colored gifts are gimmicky at best. The whole thing is little more than a capitalist cash-grab, and there is nothing Ethan hates more than capitalism. 

He forces himself not to roll his eyes as he spots two nurses exchanging cards in his periphery. 

It’s not that he dislikes love, but he does dislike the showmanship and theatricality that seem to surround February 14th. 

It’s just another day to him. In his thirty-seven years, he hasn’t once deigned to involve himself in such a tacky display of affection, and he sure isn’t going to start now. 

Except…

As he opens the door to the residents’ lounge, Camille is elbow deep in a pile of pink tissue paper. The excitement in her wide smile is nothing short of arresting, and of course, he should’ve known that she’d live for something like this. 

“Aww, look at it!” Camille squeals, her eyes shining as she lifts a stuffed bear from the mountain of gift wrapping. Her eyes dart over to Ethan, noticing him in the doorway, and her smile grows. She wiggles one of its fuzzy arms in an imitation of a wave. “It’s so cute, isn’t it?” 

“It’s something,” Ethan says tactfully, crossing the room to slip an arm around her waist. He catches a whiff of her light floral perfume, and can’t resist leaning down to peck her on the cheek. “Did Sienna buy that for you?” 

He may not be a fan of Valentine’s Day, but neither does he wish to offend Sienna Trinh, especially not after the basket of homemade scones she delivered to his office that morning. 

“Nope, one of Camille’s patients has a crush on her.” Lahela teases from the couch, where he is sorting through a thick stack of cards from his own extensive list of admirers. 

A strange itch works its way up the back of Ethan’s spine at Bryce’s words, and his arm tenses instinctively around Camille’s waist. 

Just because he loathes Valentine’s Day does not mean that he wants another man buying her tacky trinkets and writing sappy notes. 

Camille doesn’t seem to notice his displeasure, her lips pitching into a smile as she holds up the card to show him. 

“Medically speaking, you make my pulse race. Isn’t that adorable?” She laughs, and Ethan narrows his eyes at the obnoxiously pink card. The card that someone else gave to Camille. 

Her green eyes dart over the surface of the card once more, and Ethan feels something tight and uncomfortable building in his chest. 

“I think that’s the most brainless thing I’ve ever heard.” Ethan says sharply. “Which patient sent this?” He needs to know, so he can reassign them to another resident. 

“Relax, Ethan, it’s Jake from the pediatric ward.” Camille says with a breezy laugh. “He’s twelve.” 

“Oh,” Ethan shifts his weight, embarrassed. The sound of his pager is a welcome reprieve, and he glances at it gratefully. “Are you coming over tonight? I can meet you in the atrium.” 

It’s become almost routine for them, on the rare occasion they both have a night off. After the stress of the past few weeks, Ethan can’t wait to get her alone. Even if it’s only to watch a movie and drink that horrible cheap wine she likes, he just wants to spend time with her. Even the thought of a proper Valentine’s Day date, oddly, holds a new appeal when he considers Camille across the table, her smile lighting up the room...

“I think we’re gonna do a Galentine’s Day thing tonight.” Camille says with an apologetic shrug.

“Galentine’s Day?” Ethan asks, unable to keep the disgruntled edge out of his voice. It seems a new term is invented every time he turns his back. It’s deeply perturbing. 

“Yeah!” Sienna chimes in. “Me, Camille, Aurora, and Jackie, since we all managed to get the night off and none of us have significant others-- except Camille, I mean, you and her…” Sienna trails off, looking unsure. 

“It’s okay, he hates Valentine’s Day, anyway.” Camille interjects quickly. “And we’re not official or anything like that.” 

The look she shoots him is equal parts hopeful and nervous, as if she’s waiting for Ethan to correct her. He wants to, God, how he wants to correct her. To say that they are very much a official and serious relationship.

Instead, he freezes on the spot. 

“My pager…” he says pathetically, before turning and abruptly striding out of the room. 

***

All day, Ethan is a black storm cloud drifting sullenly through the rose-colored halls of Edenbrook. 

It’s clear to the rest of the staff that something is wrong, but no one is quite sure what. He hasn’t been in such a bad mood in months, not since he started seeing Camille. The rumor mill churns out a steady stream of speculation, doing nothing to improve Ethan’s mood. 

Finally, Naveen corners him in front of a bulletin board covered in construction paper hearts.

“Do you think I’m enough for her?” Ethan asks, staring pointedly at the board rather than making eye contact with his former mentor. 

“I’m not sure I follow.” Naveen says mildly. 

“She’s so...vibrant. Loving.” Ethan reaches out and touches one of the paper hearts. Camille organized the project, helping every pediatric patient decorate a heart and hanging them up with painstaking care. “I’m the opposite.” 

“Are you?” Naveen asks, “I’ve seen you with her, and you seem happy. You two are good together.” 

“She doesn’t want to spend Valentine’s Day with me,” Ethan admits, feeling foolish even as the words leave his mouth. “Because she thinks I hate it, which I do, of course…” 

“But you wouldn’t hate it with her?” Naveen prompts.

Ethan nods with a rueful smile. He shouldn’t be surprised, the man was considered the best diagnostician in the country for a reason. 

“It’s okay to seek happiness, Ethan. You can let go of the cynicism if you want to.” With that, Naveen turns to leave, but not before pressing a small cardboard box into Ethan’s hand with a wink. 

***

Camille lingers as Baz finishes gathering the last of his papers and shuffles out the door of the diagnostics office. 

Ethan doesn’t look up as he fumbles with the tiny cardboard box in his lap, but he can feel her warmth hovering in front of his desk. He thinks he would know the feel of her even if he was blind, deaf, and dumb. 

Finally, finally, Ethan manages to tear open the little cardboard flap and maneuver his fingers into the narrow opening.

“I’d like to speak with you--” he begins. 

“--Can we talk?” Camille says at the exact same time. 

“I’d like to go first.” Ethan says, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry. For my behavior this morning. I have never liked Valentine’s Day, that’s true, but I do like you.” 

He pauses, and glances up at Camille’s face to gauge her reaction. Her expression is soft, and the fond look in her green eyes makes Ethan’s heart stutter in his chest. 

Emboldened, he reaches into the box and sets a piece of candy on the desk with a decisive nod. 

Camille leans over, a curtain of blonde hair falling over her shoulder as she tries to get a better look at the candy heart. 

“Sweet talk?” Her laugh is bright and clear. “Ethan you actually have to try and sweet talk me, this is a cop out!” 

Ethan can feel a hot blush pricking at his cheeks and he shakes his head. 

“No, dammit, that’s the wrong one.” He stands and pours a few more hearts into his hand, ignoring the dusty residue that is surely being shaken all over his desk. It takes a few moments of searching until he finally finds the correct saying on a yellow heart.

“Here,” he says, brusquely handing her the candy.

“Be mine.” She looks back up at him with glittering eyes, her teeth sinking into the soft pink of her lower lip. 

“I know we haven’t defined our relationship yet, but I want to be with you. Officially.” He clears his throat when Camille doesn’t immediately respond. “I understand if you need some time to--”

“Shut up,” Camille breathes, stepping forward until she can loop her arms around his neck. Her command is unnecessary, considering how Ethan has already been rendered speechless by her proximity.

He can feel her smile against his mouth as she meets his lips with her own. He groans as her fingers anchor in the hair at the base of his neck, tugging softly. 

The kiss deepens as Camille’s lips part beneath his, and Ethan’s hands work underneath her blouse, sliding against the bare skin of her back. 

“Is that a yes?” Ethan asks, his voice gravelly as she plants a trail of kisses along his jaw. 

He is thirty-seven years old, and for the first time he has reduced himself to a lovesick adolescent. It’s strange how willing he is to embarrass himself in front of her, how willing he is to do anything for her. 

“Of course it’s a yes! I’ve been waiting forever for you to commit to me.” Camille says with a radiant smile. Ethan cups her face gently.  

“So, what now? I have a standing reservation at a restaurant downtown. I’d like to take you out on a real date.” 

“That sounds nice,” Camille says, toying with one of the scattered candy hearts. “But first, I found this…” 

Cheekily, she holds out the blue candy. 

Kiss me. 

***

Tagging separately!

[argylemnwrites]

Some Definition

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Cassie Vanderfield)

Book: Open Heart (post book 2)

Word Count: ~2000

Rating: PG

Summary: Cassie is done being the “cool girl.”

Author’s Note: Well, I know a ton of the fandom is looking forward to OH3 coming out later this week, but I’m just... not. I hated the majority of OH2, and I just don’t have faith in PB to write OH3 in ways that I don’t find wildly frustrating. So, I’ve decided not to read it. I think I’ll be a lot happier not having to rationalize why Bryce and my MC haven’t defined their relationship, why my MC is consistently asked to care about Ramsey’s personal problems, and why Bryce’s residency is only four years when in should be five (or seven, if he takes research years, hahaha).

So, from here on out, I’m just going to be writing fic that is canon-compliant through the end of OH2. I had assumed that Bryce and Cassie would be in a committed relationship at this point, and I really don’t have interest in their dynamic if they aren’t committed to each other after two years (and a near death experience, smh at you, PB). So, everything I write that is set after the end of OH2 will just ignore whatever nonsense PB gives us, and this little fic serves as my personal break point.

Written partially out of frustration with the direction PB took this series, but also for Day 16 of the @choicesfebchallenge - Confession.

Cassie sat on the edge of Bryce’s bed, twisting her fingers around in her lap. She was supposed to be getting undressed. At least that’s what Bryce had hinted she should do when they got back to his place while he grabbed them both glasses of water. But she couldn’t. Her conversation with Elijah from Ines’ housewarming party earlier was stuck in her mind.

“Needless to say, my parents were pretty thrilled when I said I was looking at U of Chicago and Northwestern for fellowship. What about you, considering heading back to the Midwest?”

“Oh! Umm, I don’t know,” Cassie said, her eyes jumping to Bryce over by the keg before she could stop herself.

Elijah followed her gaze and let out a little sigh. “Well, you’ll have to make some choices pretty soon.”

His words haunted her for the rest of the party, worming their way into her thoughts over and over again. He was totally right. Not just career choices, but personal choices. Because after two years, she and Bryce still weren’t anything defined or official.

She’d tried to be cool about it. She’d tried to just enjoy what they had. But she was going to be applying for fellowship very soon. And she knew that if she made decisions about where in the country she was applying because of a guy who she couldn’t even legitimately call her boyfriend, that would make her so foolish.

The door swung open, revealing the man in question, taking a swig of water from one glass and carrying another. He did a little double take when he saw her just sitting there, placing both glasses on his dresser once he finished his drink.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, crouching down in front of her.

“Bryce, what are we doing?”

“What do you mean?”

Cassie closed her eyes. “I need to know...” she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, before opening her eyes and continuing, “I need to know what we are.”

Bryce frowned, coming to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. “Cassie, you’re so important to me,” he said, grabbing her hand, tracing his thumb over her knuckles. “You mean so much to me.” He leaned over, tracing his thumb across her cheek, leaning in and briefly pressing his lips to hers before pulling back. “I care about you so much.”

It would be so easy to give in, to let it stand at that. But the fact was that those words, as heartwarming and flattering as they were, didn’t really answer her question. So instead of getting swept away, she scooted further down the bed, shaking her head as she pulled her hand from his.

“I know you do, Bryce. But that wasn’t what I asked.”

“Where is this coming from? I thought we had a good time tonight?”

“We did.”

He stared at her, obviously trying to read her, trying to figure out what he was missing. “I don’t get it, Cassie. What’s wrong?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to stay steady and calm. She didn’t want to come across as some pathetic, needy girl whose happiness was dependent on some guy. But she also was coming to the realization that if Bryce didn’t want an actual relationship, it was probably time to end whatever they had. Spend her last year at Edenbrook just focusing on her career, getting some papers published, going to conferences, that sort of thing.

“I guess I just need to make some decisions, with my fellowship application coming up soon.”

Bryce nodded, “Yeah, I get that. But trust me, you’ll have your pick. Every diagnostics program in the country is going to want you.”

She smiled at that, but she knew it was a hollow one. Sure, she had her fears about the whole process, but fellowship match was so much less stressful than residency match, at least in diagnostics. Her worries were so much more personal. “And what if it’s a program in Georgia or Texas or Washington where I end up?”

“If you want ‘em, you’ll match there. I’m sure of it, Cass. You are brilliant, and your CV is a perfect one for diagnostics. All the other applicants are going to hate you.”

Cassie had to close her eyes, not wanting him to see the tears starting to pool there. He looked so eager and hopeful and joyous and pretty, sitting there, a giant grin on his face. He was so supportive, but it was clear that her being close to him wasn’t a priority for him at all. And after two years, after everything they’d been through, it stung. Badly.

“I think I’m going to get going,” she choked out, pushing herself off the bed, not chancing opening her eyes until she was facing away from him. Tears were already starting to track down her cheeks, and she needed to get out of there before she had a total meltdown.

“Cassie!” he called out. She heard rustling behind her and felt his fingers grasp her wrist, but she kept going, knowing he wouldn’t actually physically stop her. Sure enough, those same fingers peeled away the next instant as she didn’t slow down. She swiped her hand under her eyes as she bolted through the living room towards the front door of his apartment. How she was going to explain this later she had no idea, but she needed to get out of there, get a grip, and start to move on with her life.

Suddenly, Bryce appeared in front of her, his hands gently resting on her shoulders. “Cassie, what’s wrong? We can fix it; I promise.”

His eyes were so wide and earnest, he looked so determined and sure, but all it did was break her heart more. She just shook her head, even more tears flowing. “I don’t think-” her voice cracked, so she took a breath before she continued, “Please just let me go home, Bryce.”

Bryce stared at her for a tense second. “Is that what you really want?”

She shook her head as she swiped away more tears with the back of her hand. “It’s what I need, Bryce.”

He dropped his hands from her shoulders and ran one through his hair as he stepped back. He looked so lost and confused. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Obviously, I upset you. I’m not sure how, but clearly I did. So, I’m sorry.”

Cassie shook her head. “You don’t need to be sorry. You’ve never led me on or anything. I guess I just hoped that maybe… But, it’s fine. You did nothing wrong. You aren’t obligated to care where I end up for fellowship or anything.”

“Cassie, of course I care where you end up!”

“Right. As a friend. But you don’t care if I end up near you.”

“I shouldn’t be-” he took a breath and started again, “What matters is your career, Cassie. That’s what you should consider. Not me. I’m not a factor here.”

“I know,” she shook her head, wiping her eyes yet again, wishing she could stop crying, wishing she’d been able to hold it together a little better. “I just wish you wanted to be.” She gave him a little watery smile and shrug before heading to the door. There was nothing left to say.

“Cassie, wait!” Bryce cried out, brushing past her and standing in front of the door. “I promise, I’ll let you go,” he said, holding his hands up in front of his chest. “But you need to know it’s not that I don’t want to be a factor. I’m just not gonna be so selfish that I ask you to make me a factor.”

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out if what he was telling her mattered at all or not. “Bryce, I… Even if that’s true, I can’t keep doing this. Just rolling along, being a cool girl, pretending like I don’t need to label anything.”

Bryce was quiet for a second, so Cassie moved to step past him, but he shook his head, stopping her in her tracks. “Why didn’t you say anything?” His voice was quiet, subdued. He didn’t sound like himself. 

“Bryce, I confessed that this meant something to me over a year ago. I wasn’t going to drag you into a relationship you clearly didn’t want.”

“Didn’t want? Cassie, I didn’t want to burden you.”

“What are you-”

“I’m a mess, Cassie. You know that. I just figured you would have the good sense to not want to get involved with my drama beyond some fun.”

“How are you a mess?”

“Well, my parents-”

“-You aren’t them. You distanced yourself from them.”

“And my sister-”

“-Is a teenager you took in and did your best to help raise and support and love. Your relationship with Keiki is wonderful, not a downside at all.”

Bryce smiled briefly, glancing down at his feet, but kept going. “I’m a workaholic.”

“I don’t think there is a way to be a resident and not be a workaholic, Bryce.”

 “I couldn’t even make pasta, for god’s sake!”

Cassie couldn’t help but chuckle at that, a few more tears spilling out even if she had largely stopped crying by this point. “Alright, I’ll give you that one. But you learned, Bryce. You learned and grew, and that’s enough.”

He shook his head, his eyes still locked on the ground. “Last time I was someone’s boyfriend, I was pretty bad at it. And I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this, but I don’t do well when I’m not excelling at something. I don’t like being mediocre at things.”

Cassie stepped forward, linking her pinkie around Bryce’s. He glanced at their hands before making eye contact. “I don’t need perfect, Bryce. I just need… more. For you to at least try. And for the record, I think you were probably better at being a boyfriend than you give yourself credit for.”

He shook his head. “Nah, you know me. I’m not exactly shy about my strengths. It was bad, Cassie.”

She shrugged. “Well, then work on it. Get better. You learned how to cook. You figured out how to provide stability for your sister. And although you might try to deny it, I am pretty sure you weren’t born a surgeon. You learned how to do those things. This doesn’t have to be any different.”

He stood there, but he didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity. Cassie felt her cheeks growing warm as embarrassment settled in. He was probably just being polite, and she had to go and corner him, make things awkward. “Of course, if you don’t want to, I understand. I just-”

Her words died as Bryce turned his hand and fully interlocked their fingers, tugging her close and kissing her. After a few seconds, he pulled back, sliding his free hand to her cheek. “Only an idiot wouldn’t want to be your boyfriend, Cassie.”

A strange little chuckle bubbled out of her at that. “So, are you saying…”

“That I want to be your boyfriend? Yeah, I want that. Do you still want that? I’m not exactly off to an auspicious start here, what with making you cry and then after that making you console me and give me a pep talk and-”

It was her turn to cut him off, kissing him soundly, placing her hand behind his neck and holding him close. After what could have been seconds or minutes or hours, she pulled back, her eyes flickering up to his face, please to see a wide grin and pure joy in his eyes.

“Do you still want to go home? Because I would love to show off my relatively new-found breakfast making skills for my girlfriend in the morning.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm as she was able to genuinely smile for the first time since her conversation with Elijah. “I’d like that,” she said, looping her arms around his waist and relishing the feeling of him pulling her into a hug. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Good,” said Bryce. “Me too.”

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Bryce x MC: @weaving-in-words  @anotherbeingsworld  @chaotichuman0090 @fortunatelywaywardsandwich   @dreaming-of-movies  @choicesarehard  @srta-give-me-my-jax-rl  @sunnyxdazed​

[catxsnow]

TRUTH BE TOLD D.G & J.T.

Request:  Alright homeslice hear me out: dick x reader x jason love triangle. And reader is so oblivious and doesn't realize it. One night they're fighting someone and reader gets hit with like a love/truth spell and BAM angst and fluff galore

Warning: Fluff, Angst, swears

A/N: I hate love triangles but I made an exception just this once. I’m sorry about this ending. 

Also if you don’t know, Klarion is a bratty Witch Boy. Pretty much all you need to know for this lol. Also I love Zatanna, okay I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST HER it was just for the plot. 

GIF not mine

Word count: 4.2k

Damian was tired. He was tired of seeing his brothers so ridiculously pine over you. First off, you were far too beautiful to stoop as low as them. Secondly, they continuously tried to gain your attention that has made them look like narcissistic idiots. Whether it was trying to show of their muscles with some sort of cool move or prove their intellect, they tried everything.

You didn't work with Batman full time until moving to Gotham. It was the occasional team up that got Dick and Jason absolutely infatuated with you. When they heard that you were moving to Gotham for good? Well, they were in the least to say, very, very excited. Even with Dick in Bludhaven most the time and Jason off fighting around the world, it was a hell of a lot easier to see you when they came home.

Much like Bruce and his family, you were just human. No powers, no magic, just someone who wants to see the world a better place. Maybe that was the reason that Batman trusted you so easily - well as much as he trusted anyone. Being human meant that you had weaknesses, a lot of them.

One of those weaknesses included being completely oblivious to people's feelings about you. Most of your life you were cut off from emotions. If you wanted to do a good job of cleaning up cities from crime, you couldn't be distracted by caring for others. Year after year you told yourself it was just part of the job.

Until you moved to Gotham. Becoming part of the Bat-team made you realize that it was okay to let people in, even just a little bit. If the great Batman himself cared for a select few of people, why couldn't you? Damian had become the annoying little brother to you, Tim as well. It was with Jason and Dick where things became more complicated.

The two men had obvious feelings for you - everyone was aware about it except for you. They were allured by your skills, beauty, talents, and genuine selflessness. Night after night they had an endless war of trying to see who you would choose. You hadn't noticed either of their attempts at this, to you they were just being friendly.

This was why Damian was tired of it. You didn't even know about their feelings and yet they still fought about it when you weren't around. Jason and Dick would yell at each other, trying to prove who deserved you more. Bruce and Alfred had to pull them apart before things got escalated nearly every time.

It had been going on for years, and even though they both had been in and out of relationships over the years, it seemed that the end goal was always you.

"I'm getting really fucking sick of this guy!"

It was supposed to be an easy mission, in and out before anyone could even see you. Of course, things had to go wrong. Klarion the Witch Boy had been hiding within the shadows and the second that he laid eyes on you, all hell broke loose.

Objects were thrown in your direction constantly and it was becoming a struggle to continue to dodge them all. There was no way that you could get a clear shot on him with his force field protecting him and his stupid cat. No matter how many explosives and sharp objects you threw his way, there was no chance of getting to him.

It was against your wish that you had to call in for back up. After being on your own for this mission, you were quick to realize that Klarion was far too powerful for you to take down on your own. Bruce and Damian arrived as fast as they could to help you, the others were unfortunately busy with missions and couldn't come to you even if they wished to.

Their entrance had distracted you for only a sliver of a second, but that time was all Klarion needed to cast the first spell he could think of off the top of his head. A red blast protruded from the palm of his hand and went straight towards you. It hit your right in the chest and the force of it pushed you painfully into the nearest wall.

Your head smacked against the cement and black spots covered your vision because of it. As you tried to push yourself up off the ground, you could see Klarion getting away. He wasn't prepared for a fight against Batman himself. Your arms collapsed from below you and you didn't have the energy to even sit up.

The last thing you saw was Robin running towards you with worry on his face.

><

You woke up to bright lights. The small med bay that Bruce had in the cave was always lit up and each time you were stuck there you always wished he'd get different lights that didn't hurt to look at. The groan that you admitted while sitting up caught the attention of those who had stuck around for you to wake up.

Jason, Dick, and Damian were all there waiting for you to recover from the spell that Klarion had cast upon you. They were still unsure what he had done to you, but if you didn't seem to be in any danger from it, at least nothing that would be permanent. They wouldn't know until you woke up.

The three boys hovered over you, watching your every movement. "The last thing someone wants to see waking up is your ugly faces," you joked. The three of them rolled their eyes nearly in sync as they gave you some space. "What happened?"

"Klarion hit you with a spell," Damian informed you. "How do you feel?"

"My headache feels worse than the time that I showed up hungover for patrol with Bruce. Also, I’ve got the weirdest craving for a PB and J," You blurted out. Your eyes were wide at your answer - you definitely didn't mean to say that out loud. "What the fuck. I didn't mean to say that. What did that Witch Rat do to me?"

"We don't know," Jason answered. He glanced between you and Dick. Both of them wanted to hold you in their arms, to make sure that you were safe with them. Neither of them made a move to do so, not when they didn't know what was wrong with you. "Do you feel any different?"

You shook your head. You felt fine. Your body wasn't that sore and you didn't feel sick in any sort of way. Hopefully, his spell was nothing but a distraction to get out of there and not something that would leave you suffering for the rest of your life.

"Maybe we should call Zatanna, she might be able to figure out what he did to you. What do you think?" Dick offered. If anyone could figure out a magic spell, it would be her. Your thoughts immediately went to the time that she and Dick had briefly dated and your mind went sour.

"Zatanna was never good enough for you Dick, you always deserved better than her. She's a liar, and a sneak," you said aloud. This time, your hands physically covered over your mouth from what had just come out of it. There was no way that you intended to say that out loud.

"Whoa, (Y/N)," Jason held his hands up in defense. You were never one to be snippy with other people. There were the time that you got annoyed and flipped on them, but never behind their backs like this. What the hell was going on with you? "Tell us how you really fell," he continued to joke around.

"I feel like sometimes I meant to be alone in this life. That I'll never be good enough to have someone love me because of the things that I've done, the people I've killed. It's come to the point where I don't feel like I deserve to wear this suit because of how aggressive I've become while in it."

You one again held your palm of your mouth. Where did this come from? Why did you just reveal your darkest insecurities to them? Insecurities that you could barely admit to yourself, much less someone else. Even if you did trust these boys with your life, you didn't always trust them with your feelings.

"What the fuck!" you screeched. Whatever Klarion had done to you, it was taking effect. You would never say anything like this, everyone knew that. You were reserved when it came to any emotions, maybe just as bad as Bruce himself. The surprised look on the boy's face had made you feel even more embarrassed for what you said.

The shock quickly turned to pity. They had no idea that you felt that way about yourself. Dick and Jason both wanted nothing more than to just tell you how they felt, to assure you that you were worthy of love. They might not have had the cleanest slates either, but you still deserved to have someone love you.

"Klarion put a truth spell on you," Bruce had joined the four of you. You hadn't even noticed him arrive and wondered how much of that he had heard. Bruce knew that you had killed before, but he also knew how it tore you up at night and that it wasn't something that you were proud of. "You're lucky he didn't kill you."

"Because you think I can't do things on my own, don't you?" You questioned with hostility in your voice. "I didn't mean that. Yes I did. Bruce! Fix this!" You had a turmoil within you. No matter how hard you tried to stop yourself from blurting out how you truly felt, you couldn't do it.

Bruce said nothing else, but nodded once before leaving. As soon as his father left, Damian gained a bit of an evil look in his eyes. Before you could even try to stop him, he had already started talking. Truth spell that you couldn’t resist answering? He was going to have a lot of fun with that.

"Did you eat the last slice of cake and blame it on Jason?" Damian asked. There was no way that he wasn't going to take advantage of this situation with you, but he wanted to start off with easy questions to see how powerful this spell really was. You should have known that he was going to do this.

The list of questions that any of them could ask you was horrendously long. The more you thought about it, the more you really did have to hide from them. You were pretty secretive and without being able to hold back the truth, they could find out everything from you if they wanted to.

"Yes," you told them. Jason's gained a look of hurt at your words. "Damian was holding a knife! What else was I supposed to say. He scares me." Damian looked content with your truth about him.

"When I lost my helmet a month ago, was it you that took it?" Jason narrowed his eyes. It had disappeared only for a day. When he checked the next time, it was in the exact same spot that he left it. For a while, he assumed that he had just been too sleep deprived but the more he thought about it, the more he knew that someone had to have taken it.

"Yes," You told him. "I wanted to see what the tech was like but then I kind of was having fun and didn't want to take it off. I also stole your sweater when I went over too, it's still in my room but I don't want to give it back. And I took the left overs in your fridge and left the note so you would think it was Roy."

Jason scoffed and shook his head at your answer. He wasn't expecting you to admit so much to one question but he was glad that he asked. The things he was dying to ask you, he knew that he couldn't with everyone else there as well. He had to restrain himself from asking, the answers that were just at the ready for him were so tempting.

"Why does Alfred the cat hate you?" Damian leaned his body closer to you. You felt intimidated under his stare but no matter how hard you bit your tongue you couldn't stop yourself from answering again.

"He wouldn't leave me alone so I threw him in the water fountain in the garden."

Dick and Jason couldn't help but laugh at that one. Damian looked furious at your answer but you had paid for your mistake. Cat scratched lined your arms for the next week.

“Do you sleep naked?” Jason raised an eyebrow. The questions were surely going to get a lot more personal and if they weren’t surrounding you, you already would have made your escape. Unfortunately, you felt too weak to push them away and there was no way you could outrun them. 

“Sometimes,” you answered. The truth spell didn’t seem to be quite content enough with that answer and made you spew out more unforgettable words. “Yes, all the time.” 

"Wait, wait," Dick stopped his brothers as they both opened their mouths to ask even more questions. Though there was so much that he wanted to ask you, he knew that it was wrong to do so. "This is mean, we can't take advantage of (Y/N) like this. She has the right to her own privacy."

"Thanks, Dick," you half smiled at him. You appreciated that someone stepped up to stop anything from happening that you would regret.

"But," Dick continued. Your eyes widened at what he was going to say next. You were sure that they could hear the rise in your heart rate and the see the beads of sweat form on your forehead. being unable to hide what you wanted to say made you more scared than half the missions ever did.

Dick wanted nothing more than to ask you the question they had all been thinking: Jason or Dick? He wanted to know once and for all who it was that you cared for more and which one of them had a real chance with you. This back and forth arguing with Jason was tiring him out. He didn't, it didn't seem right to ask you this question against your will.

"You hooked up with Roy when we were part of the Teen Titans didn't you?"

"After every mission."

Between Damian's disgusted face at you, along with Jason wondering how Roy ever managed to hook up with you, and Dick's disappointment, you could tell that this was not the answer that they were wanting to hear. They wanted to know why you had hooked up with Roy rather than either of them.

Truth was, they just never asked.

><

It had been days and the spell still hadn't worn off. Everyone in the manor kept forgetting about your truthfulness. It was the simple, mundane questions that they didn't expect you to be so open about.

How was your sleep? Who forgot to make coffee? Why is there no milk left? You had openly admitted to them that you were on your period and would much rather take a bullet to the chest than go through this every month.

The worst time had to be when Steph asked about her outfit. She simply wanted another woman's opinion and had completely forgot about your open honesty. After that morning she vowed never to ask about an outfit from you ever again. You felt terrible for saying such awful things to her.

Each question got a very snippy, very truthful answer which you felt bad about. Thankfully, no one teased you anymore about asking ridiculous questions about yourself that you weren't wanting to share. Bruce had scolded his kids for being rude to you - you were a guest in their home until all this was over.

Since you were staying there, that also meant that Dick and Jason had decided to hang around as well. Although you were worried they were still going to ask you certain questions, you were glad to have their company. It had been a while since you had spent time with them outside of missions.

The two heroes were starting to lose their patience with each other. Jason wanted to ask you how you felt about them, it was the perfect time in his eyes to ask. There was no way that you could lie about your feelings and they would finally know the truth after all these years. Whoever you picked, would put an end to this war.

Dick on the other hand, saw this as too much of an invasion to your privacy. If you were going to pick one of them you either would have said something already, or weren't ready to admit it. Forcing you to reveal your feelings seemed like something you would hold against them forever.

Which had brought on another fight between the men. They yelling had caught your attention from your room, but it was the loud crash that followed that made you run downstairs to see what the fuss was about.

Damian stood between Jason and Dick, both of which had a vicious look in their eyes. If there was nothing blocking them, you were sure that they would be right in the middle of a fist fight. Damian looked relieved to see you standing there.

"I'm tired of this useless nonsense," Damian scowled. "(L/N), if you were going to date either of them, which on of these imbeciles would you choose?"

That was a question you had been dreading to be asked. Both men played an important role in your life. They were your best friends, your family. Each of them supported you in their own ways and you would always be thankful for everything that that have done for you. But having to pick a favourite? You didn't want to have to do that.

Jason was the kind of person that would stand up for you no matter what. After everything that he went through with Bruce, he knew that he could be a hardass at times. Jason protected you from things that you didn't even realize you needed protecting from. He kept you sane in this crazy world that you lived in.

Dick managed to always brighten your day on the worst lows you had. He had his ups and down in life and he knew how hard it was to get out of those valleys just by yourself. Without him, you weren't sure what kind of endless pit of self-destruction you would be in. He was there for you when you needed him most.

"I..." you stuttered over your words. These past few days, you hadn't had the choice to think about what you wanted to say. Whatever you felt deep within your heart and mind was the only option that you were allowed to say out loud. Now, you felt a relief in your chest, the ability to say whatever you so choose, not the deep, hidden truth within.

"I don't have to answer that," you told the three of them. Jason and Dick had egarely been waiting for your answer, it was all that they wanted to know within the past few years. Who would you pick? You did you think would treat you better. The questions had been on the tip of their tongues all week and it was finally Damian who had caved. "I think the spell's worn off."

"What?" All three of them nearly screeched. This was the one question that they had been dying to ask you and now that they finally did it, they would never get the real truth out of you. They had missed their shot.

"No, there's no way," Dick argued. He looked panicked, Damian had admitted that the two fought over you and now that they got the chance to see what your choice really was, it was taken right from the palm of their hands. "What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you out on patrol?"

The tightness in your chest that you felt when you had been asked questions didn't appear. You didn't feel the need to blurt anything out either. The spell that Klarion cast on you was finally out of your system, and just in time too. You didn't want to know what would have happened if you had answered that question.

Truth be told, you didn't even know the answer.

You shrugged to answer Dick's question - of course you could remember the most embarrassing things that happened to you, it was engraved in your mind for the rest of your life. Without another word, you grabbed your mug of coffee and headed over to the three of them. You kissed the top of Damian's head - to which he grumbled about it.

Damian left the three of you - there was no way that he wanted to be part of whatever was going to happen next.

"(Y/N)..." Jason trailed off. He didn't even know what he wanted to tell you. He wanted to be honest, to tell you that he loved you since the day that you had told him off. He loved the way that you protected everyone no matter the cost but still ruthless against your foes. He loved everything about you.

How was he supposed to compete with someone like Dick? The golden child. Mr. Perfect. There was no way that you would ever pick him over Dick, so why did he keep getting his hopes up? Why had he fought for so many years for your affection? That was what love was all about, he just didn't know it.

"How long has this been going on?" You asked. For years, you had no idea that they had feelings for you. Dick was the biggest flirt you knew, you had just gotten used to it. Jason was always kind to you, you assumed that he was just being the protective friend over you. All these years you were oblivious to how they felt.

"Years," Dick answered briefly. Just like Jason, he wanted to tell you his true feelings. There was nothing more that he wanted than for you to pick him. But how was he supposed to compete with someone like Jason? You were more like his younger brother than you were ever like him, that was how he assumed that you guys got along so well.

Jason was always the person that you leaned on when things were getting rough. He knew how to make you feel better about the terrible things you had done because he had done just the same. Dick was never able to fully understand the difficulties that you went through, not like Jason. After all these years, why did he keep trying?

You sighed, followed by rubbing a hand down your face. That wasn't the answer that you wanted to hear. After knowing them for half your life, you felt like an idiot for not knowing that they were feeling this way. The answer that you gave them about Roy, their reaction to it, it finally made sense. They weren't disgusted, they were disappointed that it wasn't them.

Back then, when you felt like your heart couldn't be broken and that you would never break someone else's, you would have happily had put either of them in Roy's place. Now? Now, the three of you were adults, vulnerable to heartache and mistrust. You were glad that neither of them had gotten the chance.

"I would take a bullet for either of you - I have taken one," You sat down on one of the stools that sat at the kitchen island. Both of them stood before you, waiting for you answer. The anxiety in the room had never been so high before and for the first time in your life, you felt uncomfortable under their gaze.

"And you both know that I care about you, a lot. That's something that's never going to change," you continued on. "There is no one that I trust more with my life than the two of you... But I don't think I could ever trust either of you with my heart. I'm sorry."

You stood up from your spot on the chair. The heartbroken look on their faces nearly broke you. You didn't want either of them to hurt from your answer. The last last thing that you ever wanted to do was hurt them. You loved them both, it was just never the way that they wanted to be loved by you.

With as much delicacy as you could muster through your shaking hands and wobbling chin, you placed a kiss on each of their cheeks. The men leaned into your touch, soaking up every ounce of you that they could get.

"You know that I love you both," You spoke once more just before exiting the room. Your back was facing them, turning around meant that you would have to put on a brave face and that wasn't something you were sure you were capable of. Tears threatened to spill down your cheeks - whatever friendship you shared with them, it was going to be different now. 

You were all adults, something like this shouldn’t change a friendship that had been lasting for years. Yet, if they had been arguing over you since they were young, you were sure that their teenage mentality of this whole situation would overpower their adult intuition. 

"You deserve better than me, you deserve someone that's going to love you unconditionally. I want you both to be happy, without me."

Truth was, they never would be.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

450 Followers: Meet The Writer

Hello there! We’re back with another Meet The Writer Q&A and it’s our pleasure to introduce a fellow Brazilian fanfic author for our ninth interview:

Blog: @julia-highstorms​ Name (or petname): Julia/Ju Birthday: July 9 Nationality: Brazilian 🇧🇷 Current residency: I'm one of the 12 million people living in São Paulo, Brazil Languages you speak: Brazilian Portuguese, English and a bit of Japanese Masterlist: Julia’s choices fanfiction masterlist

1. Is there a meaning behind your url name? Yes! For those who have been following me for a while, they already know that I used to change my URL according to the Choices character I was stanning at the time but it was a PAIN to fix all my fanfics links 😩 so I decided to finally create an unique URL that I wouldn't get tired of. So I mixed my two surnames together and it (basically) means Highstorms. I loved it 😌

2. When did you start playing Choices? What's the first book you played? 2017 I believe. TRR book 1 was about to debut. YEAH. It was the Freshman Book 1.

3. When did you decide to join Choices fandom? December 21 2017. ILITW was in its last chapters and I was obsessed with it. I wanted to talk about it with other people, but I didn't know anyone who also played Choices. So I found the fandom on Tumblr and decided to join. I miss all my friends I made back then and we all went nuts with ILITW finale together 😩 Good times

4. Go back to your archive and tell us what was your first post on your Choices blog was about. My first post was about how I loved ILITW and how everyone was fucked up sjddndossok also a lot of reblogs about MAKE NOAH AN LI 🗣️

5. How long have you been writing fanfiction? I started writing fanfictions in my senior year of high school, although I attempted to write my own stories when I was younger, around 12-13.

6. Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it or would you change anything about it? My first fanfic ever is about The Maine, it was my favorite band back then slfjdfodj but my first Choices fanfic is If Jane Was Here (ILITW told by Noah) Chapter 1. I AM SO PROUD OF IT. Of course, there are some things I would change. Like adding even more angst. Having finished writing it way sooner. But I'm super proud of it overall. My first (and so far only) Choices long series I've ever finished. Wow.

7. What are your favorite Choices books to write about? Definitely Open Heart just because of Bryce Lahela and Rei (my MC). OPH has become a mess, but I love Bryce too much. I loved the It Lives anthology too and enjoyed writing about. And I'm hyped for my upcoming Blades AU series!

8. What is your specialty as a fanfic writer? Oooh I guess it is rewriting certain scenes or events of the books or thinking about AUs. Since ILITW I have enjoyed doing this. Writing on another character's point of view of the events that have happened (the whole If Jane Was Here series, that is ILITW told by Noah's POV). Or adding some depth to a certain scene (did something like this with Julia, my ILB MC, and Tom's relationship. And with Rei and Bryce's). Or even rewriting the story to fit better with my MC's personality (Rei, OPH MC).

9. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised? When people say they like my MC's, Rei (OPH MC) and Luxia (Blades MC). Before, whenever I played Choices, I didn't care much about the MCs because they're all generic (which makes sense because we're the ones playing it). They're always the happy go lucky friend that tries to fix everyone's problems and every LI is in love with them. Boooooring. Rei was my first MC that I created a whole non-canon personality to her, and that's why she's my baby 🥺 and when people commented that they felt represented by Rei, that she felt more realistic than PB's usual MC, well, that was my peak as a writer lol so they're basically OC's, with their own personalities and temperaments.

10. Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them? I do, but I wish I could participate more often! The prompts are what I like the most, because they give me ideas that I'd have never thought to write about before.

11. Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing? Meg Cabot was my favorite author growing up and I read some of Sophie Kinsella’s books too, so probably my love for adding a bit of comedy, silly little things in my fanfics came from them. I love Jane Austen too. And last but not least, my flair for angst definitely came from reading Fruits Basket, my favorite manga ever. There’s so much angst in Furuba dodksdishd Takaya Natsuki-sensei really enjoys it. I recommend reading her other manga series, Twinkle Stars, too.

12. What element of writing do you struggle with most? Actually writing lmao. You know, taking the plot out of my mind and typing it down on Google Docs. Writing is hard, takes too much time and I'm lazy 😩 I wish I could just transfer my ideas to a document and it's done. No need to write, no need to revise, etc. I love the final product, but I hate the process.

13. Do you have any abandoned WIPs? What made you abandon them? A BUNCH OAJDSKDKD 🤦 Either because my inspiration to write it has faded or because I don't want to spend my whole time writing.

14. You’re applying for the fanfic writer of the year award. What five fanfics do you put in your portfolio? Oooooh great question! I must put:

If Jane Was Here - Alternative ending (ILITW): this is the only finale I accept sorrynotsorry

Too Little Too Late - Jax x MC (Bloodbound): I wanted to feel hurt. People cried. I loved it sclkdsdjsops

The Loudest One - Bryce x F!MC (Open Heart): I wrote this one for CFWC Kinktober! And honestly, this is the best smut scene I have written. I’m quite proud about it.

Satisfied - Jax x Lily (Bloodbound): it was fun writing for my crack ship! My babies. And the first smut scene I have ever written. I’m glad it was with these two. I still can’t get over the fact that either one of them dies in BB’s finale. I cannot accept skfjdpd

Lullaby - Tyril x Elf!F!MC (Blades): don’t get me wrong, I love Tyril and his goth lordling mysterious elf boy personality and the first time he and MC made out was HOT but… I missed a bit of clousure before, you know? It felt a bit sudden to me, so I wrote a couple of fanfics showing their growing interest and attraction towards one another. This one is a light cute one and I really like it.

15. Do you create original content aside from fanfiction (original stories, art, etc)?  I sometimes draw some fanarts in which you can see by searching for #occasional drawings on my Tumblr.

Do you want to contribute with questions/ideas for the next Meet The Writer Q&A? Send us a message.

Thanks for reading! Reblog to share your appreciation for @julia-highstorms​ ❤️

[wlntrsldler]

No Clue (Bucky Barnes Imagine)

PROMPT: Y/N and Bucky hate each other. Nobody knows why. Whenever someone asks, the pair just say, “I have my reasons.” Some think that something happened between them when Bucky was in hiding. Some think that Bucky did something to Y/N when he was the Winter Soldier. Some think that there’s no actual reason- they simply hate each other.

MASTERLIST

-

There was an ongoing bet in the Tower. What was the real reason as to why you and Bucky hate each other? The problem is, nobody really knew exactly why you two did. It was like an unspoken truth that you both kept to yourselves and promised to take to the grave. The only thing people knew about you two was that you knew each other before you both joined the team. But of course, everyone on the team had their own experience with Bucky and yourself, individually, more so terrible and potentially life-threatening experiences over a pleasant ones. 

“Can you not fight in front of the food?” Nat rolled her eyes, taking another spoonful of cereal to her mouth. “Your energy is upsetting me.”

“It’s not my fault Barnes doesn’t know how to say excuse me.”

“Who the fuck stops in the middle of the hallway?” Bucky hissed. “Like seriously? Who walks then just stops?”

“Who the fuck doesn’t look at where they’re going?”

“Again, your energy is upsetting me.” Nat said again, this time her tone harsher. “Stop bickering.”

“He started it.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did no-”

“I give up.”Nat stood up, taking her bowl of cereal with her to her own room. 

Bucky stared at you from across the table, his eyes burning holes through your skull. His nostrils were flared and you could see exactly where the coffee stain hit his white shirt. “So you’re not even gonna apologize for spilling coffee on me?”

You didn’t mean to make him spill his coffee. He ran into you, not the other way around. “I didn’t do shit to you, Barnes.”

“You spilled my coffee on me!” He exclaimed, waving his arms up and down to emphasize the stained state of his shirt. “And it was hot too. It burned me.”

“That sucks.”

Bucky sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. “You’re such a bitch, Y/N.”

“Thanks.”

He shook his head one more time before picking up his half-empty coffee mug and walking out of the dining room. You giggled under your breath, loving the way you were able to piss him off with the smallest things. He was so fun to mess with.

You can’t lie. Sometimes you purposely did things just to piss him off. What can you say? It was funny. Bucky always reacted so dramatically whenever you were involved and it was more fun pushing his buttons than doing the paperwork you were meant to be doing. You had a way of getting under his skin. You were the only one that had that effect on him so naturally, you took advantage of it. 

Bucky’s skin got irritated by this one brand of dryer sheets. He’d break out in small patches of rashes and he would always end up having to go get medical ointment to calm his skin down. Bucky was shy as is, so him, a 100+ year old super-soldier, chunky and built, having to make himself as small as possible to go unnoticed to buy some ointment was the highlight of your long, long days as an Avenger. So of course, whenever you did the shopping, you made sure to pick up that exact brand just to make him take that humiliating trip.

He also hated Strawberry jam, stating that it was too sweet for his tastebuds. You’d joke about how he probably had diabetes because of his old age- to which he would reply with his own witty comment. Just to spite him, you always picked up Strawberry jam, even if you were a Grape jam lover yourself. He would curse you, irritated that he wasn’t able to have his PB&J sandwiches because of your practical joke. The man was attached to the snack, it was borderline unhealthy. 

But, as fate has it, he was also the only one who had that effect on you, too. Just as much as you bothered him, he bothered you. He would purposely embarrass you in front of important people and find ways to make your life just that bit harder so he could have the final laugh. 

You were the only one in the team who drank almond milk, not being able to stand the taste of regular cow milk, so whenever Steve went grocery shopping, he always made sure to buy you a carton for yourself. And low and behold, you would drag yourself out of bed at around 11AM to make yourself some breakfast and you’d find Bucky in the middle of the kitchen, a smirk on his stupid face while he drinks out of the carton of your almond milk. 

You’d start yelling at him, calling him an asshole, a dick, and just about every name in the book. Steve would come rushing in, worried at all the commotion just to walk away disappointed because you and Bucky would be arguing again. Steve would just slide you a $5 bill to buy yourself another carton of milk, just for the same thing to happen the next day. 

You and Bucky had a special relationship, indeed. And only the two of you understood it.

- 

“Sam,” You laughed, wiping the sweat off your forehead. “Give it up. I’m not telling you.”

“Come on, Y/N,” He whined, trailing behind you as you walked out of the training room. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“I am not telling you why I hate Bucky.”

This was a phrase you grew to memorize. It seemed like everyday someone from the team would practically beg you to tell them exactly why you hated Bucky. You were sure that they also bothered Bucky with their annoyances after they bombarded you. Thankfully, Bucky was smart enough, shocking to you, to not tell them a thing either. The team was frustrated at your stubbornness, wanting nothing else but to know what lies behind the mutual hate and absolute resentment for one another. 

You bid Sam a farewell and walked to your room, ready to take a shower. You looked down at your bruised knee from a mission for one second, not realizing someone was in the middle of the hallway to your room. You looked up to apologize but your sympathetic smile quickly turned into a scowl when you realized who it was. Bucky. “Get out of my way.”

“It’s not fun when you’re on the other side, huh?” Bucky smirked, referring to your encounter in the morning. “Now imagine getting burned by scalding coffee with that too.”

“Did you seriously wait in the hallway just for me to bump into you?” You tried to shove past him. His hard chest made that difficult. His feet were planted on the ground he stood on, not showing any signs of leaving any time soon. “You don’t have anything better to do?”

“I just wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine.”

“Fuck off.”

“I actually had something to tell you, if you would just shut your pretty little mouth for one second and let me talk.” You could practically feel his smugness. It was dripping off his voice like sweet, poisonous honey. “We have that mission together tomorrow. Or did you forget?”

“I’m a professional, Barnes. I don’t forget.” You replied, you took a sip from your water bottle, nearly moaning at the refreshing feeling of the cold drink. “I don’t get why they choose to pair us up knowing we don’t like each other.”

He finally moved out of the way, leaning against the wall to let you pass. “They know we work well together.” 

That was true.

Despite the way you two were at each other’s throats all the time, no pair could ever accomplish a mission as efficiently and flawlessly as you and Bucky. You shrugged before walking away from him, disappearing into the dark hallway, but not before you raised a finger up in the air for him to see. 

And yes, it was that finger.

Bucky chuckled when he saw you raise your hand to flip him off. You were truly something. He was about to retreat to his own room for the night when Sam saw him, running towards him excitedly. Oh, great, Bucky thought, here we go again. 

“Buck nasty,” Sam started, cocking an eyebrow. “Will today be the day when you finally tell me the history between you and Y/N?”

“Not a chance, Wilson.”

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” Sam groaned, punching Bucky’s metal arm in absolute annoyance. “For two people who hate each other, you two seem to have a mutual trust pumping through your veins. You remain loyal to each other over the rest of the team.”

“What can I say? Me and Y/N are an unusual pair.”

“You two are the devil’s incarnates.”

Bucky just laughed at the comment, silently agreeing. There was something devilish about the way the two of you kept your secret between just the two of you. There was a rush, like you were in on a secret that would blow the team’s minds. Quite frankly, if they knew why the two of you despised each other, they would be shocked. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Sometimes Bucky thought that the reason was so obvious, basic even, but other times he laughed silently at the reactions the team might have upon finding out. Such a shame that he’ll never know if they’ll actually respond as he imagined because the team would never find out about the truth.

-

“Okay, now that they’re off on a mission, any updates?” Tony asked, looking around the room. 

It became a tradition in the tower to hold these meetings whenever you and Bucky were off to a mission. The team did their own individual research about your past lives and reported back to the team before you two got back home. Sure, maybe, it was a bit overboard for them to basically hold a town-hall meeting just to find out information that they truly had no business even looking into, but what were they meant to do? You and Bucky both had hard exteriors that nobody could ever crack. 

Even Steve, Bucky’s oldest pal, was left in the dark by his best friend. Every time Steve brought you up, Bucky would just get up and walk away. Even when they were in potentially dangerous situations, midst missions and all. 

There was a time when Bucky and Steve went to Russia to capture a HYDRA agent. They hid behind a shipping container for a few minutes to get some protection before running back into the field of gunfire. Steve thought that there was no way Bucky could avoid answering the question now. But he was mistaken.

“So Buck,” Steve started, checking the surroundings to make sure they were safe for the time being. “What’s the story between you and Y/N?”

Steve stared at Bucky long enough to see the brunette roll his eyes. Steve heard some shuffling behind him so he turned to look, only to find nothing. When he turned around to face Bucky, he had already emerged from behind the shipping container into the open space, blocking bullets with his arm. 

Steve sighed, “If you didn’t wanna answer, you could’ve just said that, Buck.”

Because of that story, the team understood just what great lengths the both of you would go through just to avoid answering the question. So since neither of you would ever give them the time of day, they had to do their own research.

“Nada for me,” Nat groaned, throwing a stack of papers that lead to a dead-end onto the coffee table. “It was like Y/N was a ghost story, just like the Winter Soldier.”

“Okay, whatever they’re hiding might just be the cause of the possible end of the world because this is just ridiculous.” Sam stated, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Why are they so adamant about not telling us why they hate each other?”

“Who knows?” Wanda chipped in, shrugging and returning her attention back to her phone. She was one of the few who completely gave up on trying to figure things out, following Steve. She accepted defeat, realizing that the two assassins simply did not like each other. It never bothered her personally so she let it go. “Why are we still trying to figure this out? It’s been months. I say we give it a rest.”

“I agree.” Steve replied, nodding towards Wanda’s direction. “It’s their business, guys.”

-

You leaned back on the back seat, chest rising up and down, a bead of sweat rolling off your temple. You shifted your leg to get more comfortable in the small space in the car. You looked over your shoulder to look at him, a smirk displayed on his face as his breathing mimicked yours. 

“You good?” You asked, giggling after catching your breath. 

“Perfect,” Bucky nodded, reaching over your waist to pull you closer to his body. “Always so good with you.”

You playfully shoved him off, starting to clean yourself up. You would never admit it to him but you always loved to relish these short, yet sweet, moments that you two shared. Your shirt was on the floor, next to his pants and your hair was in disarray. The windows were fogged and the car smelled distinctly of sex and fresh pine, the car freshener that Bucky picked up in the liquor store on the way home, knowing what will happen next as it always happened after every mission. You looked out the tinted window seeing the outline of the Avengers tower. “How long do you think it will take for them to finally realize we’re fucking?”

You felt him shrug behind your skin. “Who knows? I thought we’d only have to keep this up for a few weeks but it’s been a few months now and they still have no idea.”

“Some Avengers they are.”

Bucky laughed at your comment, leaning over to leave a quick peck on your lips. “Agreed.”

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Landry should have been the one to join the diagnostics team

Long post incoming.

Remember when @playchoices made stories that actually told a story? When there was a slow build-up over the course of several chapters, drawing us in? Remember when everything happened for a reason? Remember when stories actually had a satisfying conclusion (because I don’t actually remember the last time Choices gave a book a satisfying conclusion)?

Landry joining the team would mean the drama would relate to MC and co, centring them to the story, possibly coming full circle to book 1. MC has spent this whole book like Jiminy Cricket: the conscience in someone else’s story.

Having just finished the penultimate chapter of what is likely to be the last book in the Open Heart series...all I feel is emptiness and I think it might be largely because I didn’t care about what was going on.

At the beginning of book 3 (I thought it was a strong opening chapter, but it was all downhill from there) there were a lot of points about things not being what they seem: Bloom’s unsettling attitude, all the shiny new upgrades, Binx, illusion cakes, cutting corners in research to get to the results quicker. I thought this could lead to something dramatic happening in the hospital: a collapse due to shoddy building work, or a fault in the electrics causing a fire (think the subway crash from book 1 chapter 14; dramatic but grounded). MC gets hurt and their LI goes crazy worrying about them and takes care of them for a couple of chapters (maybe the LI gets hurt as well, but I can’t stand the idea of Rafael going through the ringer for a third time) and then this leads to a court case against Bloom, he’s declared unsuitable to run a hospital or something and has to leave but court rules he has to keep funding Edenbrook or something, and then life can finally go on as normal.

Instead, we got a lot of plotlines that ended up dropping off to nothing, and a court case that appeared out of nowhere two chapters ago. Wow, PB, considering how much you’re worrying about funding, you’ve sure wasted a lot of filler on this book. You ruined Ethan for me as an LI by forcing him down my throat in book 2, and now you’ve ruined him as my MC’s mentor with book 3. And then I had to care about this court case that happened ten years prior to the start of the book? No! I still feel like I’m waiting for the main plot to get going and the book has reached it’s end! 

I don’t have high hopes for chapter 16. I don’t think I even have hopes.

Why were you so weird about locking down our LI, given that one of the MAJOR complaints throughout 2 and 3 has been the distribution of screen time? And even when we had the chance to spend time with our LI you glossed right over it: my MC and Raf were about to get it on at the end of the last chapter and they forgot about that in favour of researching Ethan’s case. Would it have killed you to put a scene in before that? Heck, you could have ended the scene with MC looking for comfort, cue a diamond scene with the LI OF OUR CHOICE.

Why did you gloss over Bryce and Jackie’s storylines? Bryce’s family could have been handled better in book 2, and book 3 we see Keiki and his mom for one chapter and Bryce is forced to forgive and that’s that. Alternatively he gets too cocky in surgery, makes a mistake, accepts the mistake and moves on. Jackie had moments in book 2 that make me think she has self-esteem issues: “Go easy on yourself, OK?” “I’ll try” and everything about her chapter 12 diamond scene, but they were never brought up. Book 3 has her thriving as chief resident but one chapter she’s ignoring Jade’s strengths and in the next she realises she’s wrong and that’s all wrapped up. Storylines are usually a little longer than two chapters.

I’d ask why you glossed over Rafael but I already know he was supposed to be dead and a lot of his scenes were just there to keep us from complaining again. I see you @playchoices

Why did you try and set up this jealousy/insecurity plot with Harper and Ethan when that was going to go nowhere except for villainising Harper?

Why was there no PTSD from last year?!?!?!

Speaking of last year, all that drama with Esme boiling down to a scene where she either says hi or gives you the cold shoulder. Somehow I knew that would happen. Her entire character deserved better.

Caroline? I feel like her illness might have been part of the rewrites resulting in a few hastily added lines to remind us that she’s allergic to Bloom.

And the book 1 hearing didn’t have an effect on anything, not even someone being slightly suspicious of MC, and as far as we know Landry got away with all the shit he did. In hindsight, I shouldn’t be surprised that nothing else had consequences.

On the lighter side, the best parts of chapter 15 were Rafael reminding MC of how much he cares, and the chinchilla sensing when MC was upset and nuzzling their cheek. I would die for Spooky.

But I’m tired. I’m so very tired. I can’t even gather up enthusiasm for LoA or AVSP. I don’t want to spend diamonds on them, because LoA might not go anywhere, and AVSP is a one-shot. You have recently developed a pattern of badly-written, disappointing books, and now you’ve destroyed what could have been your crowning glory.

Damn, I thought I’d be angry writing this post but I don’t have the energy for that. Ah well, anything I forgot to say I can save for the finale I guess. In the meantime, I’m off to eat pizza, watch Friday Night Dinner, and write fanfiction to fill the gaping holes you have left in your story.

@playchoices I get that you can’t tell us everything. But you have GOT to do something soon or you will have no fan base left, and you’ll only have yourselves to blame.