#the developing relationship and admitting their romantic feelings to themselves and getting together part is slow tho

[spekktors]

lengthy slow burn readers and writers I've gotta know: what even happens in the story after a slow burn goes over a certain length

[em-dash-press]

How to Write Characters With Romantic Chemistry

Writing great chemistry can be challenging. If you’re not super inspired, sometimes the connection between your characters feels like it’s missing something.

Here are a few steps you can consider when you want to write some steamy romantic chemistry and can’t figure out what’s blocking your creativity.

1. Give the Love a Name

Tropes have a bad reputation, but they can be excellent tools when you’re planning or daydreaming about a story. Giving the romance a name also assigns a purpose, which takes care of half the hard plotting work.

You can always read about love tropes to get inspired and think about which might apply to the characters or plot points you have in mind, like:

Friends to lovers

Enemies to lovers

First love

The love triangle

Stuck together

Forbidden love

Multiple chance love

Fake lovers turned soulmates

There are tooooons of other tropes in the link above, but you get the idea. Name the love you’re writing about and it will feel more concrete in your brain.

2. Develop Your Characters

You should always spend time developing your characters individually, but it’s easy to skip this part. You might jump into writing the story because you have a scene idea. Then the romance feels flat.

The good news is you can always go back and make your characters more real. Give them each their own Word or Google doc and use character templates or questions to develop them. 

You should remember to do this for every character involved in the relationship as well. Sometimes love happens between two people who live nearby and other times it happens by:

Being in a throuple

Being in a polyamorous relationship

Being the only one in love (the other person never finds out or doesn’t feel it back, ever)

There are so many other ways to experience love too. Don’t leave out anyone involved in the developing relationship or writing your story will feel like driving a car with only three inflated tires.

3. Give the Conversations Stakes

Whenever your characters get to talk, what’s at risk? This doesn’t have to always be something life changing or scary. Sometimes it might be one character risking how the other perceives them by revealing an interest or new fact about themselves.

What’s developing in each conversation? What’s being said through their body language? Are they learning if they share the same sense of humor or value the same foundational beliefs? Real-life conversations don’t always have a point, but they do in romantic stories. 

4. Remember Body Language

Body language begins long before things get sexy between your characers (if they ever do). It’s their fingertips touching under the table, the missed glance at the bus stop, the casual shoulder bump while walking down the street.

It’s flushed cheeks, a jealous heart skipping a beat, being tongue tied because one character can’t admit their feelings yet.

If a scene or conversation feels lacking, analyze what your characters are saying through their body language. It could be the thing your scene is missing.

5. Add a Few Flaws

No love story is perfect, but that doesn’t mean your characters have to experience earth shattering pain either.

Make one laugh so hard that they snort and feel embarrassed so the other can say how much they love that person’s laugh. Make miscommunication happen so they can make up or take a break. 

People grow through their flaws and mistakes. Relationships get stronger or weaker when they learn things that are different about them or that they don’t like about each other. 

6. Create Intellectual Moments

When you’re getting to know someone, you bond over the things you’re both interested in. That’s also a key part of falling in love. Have your characters fall in intellectual love by sharing those activities, talking about their favorite subjects, or raving over their passions. They could even teach each other through this moment, which could make them fall harder in love.

7. Put Them in Public Moments

You learn a lot about someone when they’re around friends, acquaintances, and strangers. The chemistry between your characters may fall flat if they’re only ever around each other.

Write scenes so they’re around more people and get to learn who they are in public. They’ll learn crucial factors like the other person’s ambition, shyness, humor, confidence, and if they’re a social butterfly or wallflower.

Will those moments make your characters be proud to stand next to each other or will it reveal something that makes them second guess everything?

8. Use Your Senses

And of course, you can never forget to use sensory details when describing the physical reaction of chemistry. Whether they’re sharing a glance or jumping into bed, the reader feels the intensity of the moment through their five senses—taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. 

Characters also don’t have to have all five senses to be the protagonist or love interest in a romantic story. The number isn’t important—it’s how you use the ways your character interacts with the world. 

-----

Anyone can write great romantic chemistry by structuring their love story with essential elements like these. Read more romance books or short stories too! You’ll learn as you read and write future relationships more effortlessly.

[dichromaticdyke]

when i first watched season 4, i didn't love it because it felt so all over the place, both tonally and storywise. i mean, season 4 felt like it was meant to be very lore-heavy, but the only episodes that actually felt important to the story of that season were "prankklok," "writersklok," "dethcamp," "going downklok," "dethdinner," "breakupklok," and "the church of the black klok." that's 7 story-based episodes in a 12-episode season, but they're placed so sporadically, it's very jarring.

all that being said, with the hindsight of both the doomstar requiem and army of the doomstar, i understand better how the five "filler episodes" of season 4 fit within everyone's character arcs.

"fanklok" - nathan is still so disconnected from the reality of how dating works and what romantic relationships shouldn't look like that he dates a fan (and he's not even initially concerned when he finds out she's allegedly killed a bunch of people, he's more concerned that she's cheating on him). and because this relationship ends so terribly, he doesn't have the opportunity to process it or take away any meaningful lessons on how to have an adult relationship.

"diversityklok" - despite being with dethklok for years now, toki is still isolated from them. even his best attempts to grow close with them fall short. also, dethklok is powerful enough to survive bad faith racism allegations, i guess.

"motherklok" - pickles realizes that his bio family are all garbage people and it doesn't matter that they're his family—they're not good for him, and he has every right to cut them out of his life and instead focus on the family that actually cares about and appreciates him.

"bookklok" - toki stands up to skwisgaar for once in his life, and skwisgaar finally has a reckoning with the fact that his methods of...i think he was trying to encourage toki to improve...weren't helping and he has to change his approach if he still wants to have toki in his life. and he does (we never see skwisgaar aggrandize toki's playing again, though he still does have a teeny bit of that tough love stuff going on).

"dethvanity" - william feels insecure with his place in the band, driving him to extreme measures in an attempt to prove that he's not ugly—which, in this episode, is presented as him trying to prove that he's not a monster.

and then looking at the character arcs of the doomstar requiem and army of the doomstar in tandem, what do we have?

nathan learning that he doesn't have to force relationships to go a certain way and he doesn't have to shut down when they don't go the way he wants; adult relationships are about mutual respect, not obsession.

toki being recognized as a brother in the band, arguably the glue that holds them all together; he is the sunshine rainbows marshmallow man, and the band all need a force like that in their lives to keep them from going off the deep end.

pickles helping to be the maternal figure in the band, the one to be there for everyone; having a family means supporting them when you can and helping them to be the best parts of themselves, and a true family will work past the rocky parts instead of turning cold.

skwisgaar...is also there. i'm kidding, his is just more subtle; learning to admit when he's wrong or when to drop the whole guitar god diva thing, even just briefly, to let others in and recognize their importance.

william learning that his place in the band is more valuable than he could ever recognize; any ugliness or dissent isn't a reflection of who he truly is, it doesn't make him a monster, because he's more than just what the surface shows.

i'm sorry, but it's actually crazy how well this worked out with season 4 having one episode dedicated to subtle character development or character arc progression for each of the dethklok members. i still think the overall pacing of the season is wack, but looking at it like this does help.

but seriously though, how the hell did dethklok manage to not get canceled after "diversityklok" charles what kind of NDAs did you force everyone at that event to sign

[tabithatwo]

Do you believe Jackie and Shauna have a codependent relationship in canon? and if you do, who do you think is who in the relationship ("giver"/"taker") dynamic?

i think this is a very interesting and difficult question to parse out, mostly due to the fact that they're teenagers when we see them together. being 18/19 really does mean heightened emotion, less frontal lobe development and therefore less impulse control and ability to moderate our interactions with others, more hormonal imbalance, just a perfect storm of codependency. i say this lovingly, as a lesbian who experienced what its like to be a teenage lesbian and did her fair share of insane shit lol, the type of crazy you can attain as a teenage sapphic is fucking unmatched. there is this deep and unyielding attachment that forms between girls in general at that age and when you add romantic love that spark of crazy easily transitions to a wildfire. i think so many people see themselves in jackie and shauna because it is a more shared experience than we like to admit and the show fucking nails it.

when you're in it, you think that you're the only one feeling that sort of intense obsessive consuming need for a person. often you don't see that the other person wants and needs you just as deeply, because we all do our best to hide what we know isn't acceptable. and its true. that sort of desperation isn't healthy at all. we should all strive to be more comfortable in ourselves and to stop putting all our happiness (not just happiness really, because when you're consumed by someone like that every emotion hinges on them) into external factors, especially one person. but learning to do that is a process. we don't come out ready to do that. it takes time and development and independence that you can't achieve when you're that young.

then we get older and we're embarrassed when we look back on those behaviors. we shove them down and pretend they didn't happen as best we can and we definitely avoid talking about them with other people. i can't tell you the amount of times a rush of just total abject horror at how obsessed i was with my high school best friend, turned homoerotic nightmare, turned girlfriend, turned ex hit me in my mid twenties. like your brain starts kicking in and you just go GOOD GOD!!! what was i THINKING??? but more years pass and time makes the sting of things lighter and now i can talk to her and sometimes (sometimes!) we can broach the really fucking deranged things we did and thought and its weirdly healing and horrifying all at once.

now, idk if you're still with me because that was a long intro that didn't even touch on the topic yet, but i promise i'm getting somewhere:

i think that jackie and shauna are fully and completely dependent on each other. i don't think that there is one giver and one taker. i think that they are a beautiful and tragic example of the crazy obsessive entangled love that happens between young sapphics. for me, watching them and discussing them and writing them is so freeing, because it allows me to actually face the harsh realities of unhealthy dependence.

neither of them could ever be whole without the other. and i don't mean that in a romantic hyperbole-fueled manner. i mean that in a truly horrifying way. i mean that to them functionally, they are girls who have body parts as real as any other, that are unattached from their nervous system. jackie's arms are shauna's arms and shauna's arms are jackie's arms. each girl has two hands that touch and do and create and destroy, without her brain giving the okay. each girl has to watch, as an extension of herself does something that she would never ever allow. when they're apart, when they're fighting and hurting, when shauna goes to sleep in the attic, its as though their lungs and their hearts are in another room.

who gives and who takes is hard to answer in specifics, though the simple answer is both for each. but the best way i can put it is that jackie gives more and more in the tangible real world. she tries to anticipate shauna's every need. she gives her the last bite of food. she gives her everything she has and then some, because jackie's biggest fear is shauna taking a seam-cutter to all the parts of them that are sewn together and becoming a separate entity. jackie squeezes shauna tight in her hands and shauna gives more pieces of her body and soul to their shared cache than she wants to.

shauna has an image of freeing herself from the dependency, but she doesn't like to reckon with herself and she doesn't like to see all the places that she expects jackie to be an extension of herself. so when she tries to make space, shauna doesn't even realize that she's not separating them at all. she's touching where jackie touches and kissing where jackie kisses. she is trying to be jackie, but not truly in a jealously way. not in a way that undermines their romantic love. shauna is trying to be jackie in a way that intensifies their dependence, because even if consciously shauna is aging and trying to forge a path for herself with a new school and a new life, like most of us tend to try and do at that age, shauna is still subconsciously trying to fuse them into one being.

and when jackie dies, shauna absorbs her. because she can be both. she's been practicing for this her entire life.

[princesssarisa]

What are your favorite romantic tropes in love stories?

Good question. This requires some thought...

I generally like slow-burn and friends-to-lovers, including childhood friends-to-lovers. Dislike-to-friendship-to love is fine, as are characters who like each other but feign dislike because they're too proud or afraid to admit it (e.g. Beatrice and Benedick), but full-blown enemies-to-lovers (i.e. people who are dangerous to each other) I don't care for. What matters is that there be warmth, tenderness, joy, preferably humor, and understanding between them.

That said, I enjoy classic fairy tale Love At First Sight in the right context, as well as grand, sweeping Romantic passion, just as long as it's handled in a way that feels sincere, not shallow or caricatured.

I like couples whose personalities contrast with each other in complimentary ways, but also couples who have qualities in common that most other people around them don't share. For the best couples, both of these things are true.

I also insist (for the most part) on egalitarian pairings with mutual respect, mutual feelings, and mutual power in the relationship. If one partner has more power in terms of status, wealth, or other external factors, then the other has to equal it with the emotional power she wields (or sometimes he, but usually she). Equal character development on both sides is good too, and a good balance between that development and acceptance of each other, flaws and all. While I love Disney's Beauty and the Beast, I do slightly dislike the fact that the character development is so one-sided, with the Beast changing so much more than Belle does, and he changes so much that I have asked myself sometimes if Belle really loves him or if she just loves a role she's taught him to play. And part of what makes Pride and Prejudice so good a love story (at least to me) is the balance it strikes: despite pop culture misremembering it as a "woman changes man" story, Elizabeth and Darcy are both flawed and both change, yet both keep the same core personalities they always had, and both stay imperfect (improved, but imperfect), yet come together anyway.

I like "jaded and innocent" pairings too. Not necessarily "grumpy and ray of sunshine," but someone who's had a hard life that's left them cynical about the world and about their own place in it, paired with a younger and more idealistic person who unexpectedly helps them rediscover their own inner idealism, and who sees the goodness in them that they had lost sight of in themselves. I especially like these parings when the jaded partner is a woman, though the more common pairing of "innocent girl, jaded guy" is fine too.

For that matter, I always like couples that subvert gender stereotypes; I adore strong women and emotional men. One trope that's sometimes especially therapeutic for me is when a woman adores her male love interest, but values other things (her responsibilities, her morals, her loyalty to other women, etc.) just as much, if not slightly more, while to him, personal relationships are everything, particularly the love he shares with her. They have to somehow resolve this difference, which preferably they do without teaching her to prioritize her man above everything. I enjoy this because more often, we see it in reverse: to the woman, love is everything, but to her man, love is just one aspect of life, and other duties matter more to him than she does. I think my desire to invert this trope is part of why I've written a gender-bent version of The Magic Flute. Let the girl be the one who sets out to find romantic love, but then finds a bigger community and calling, and let the boy be the one who temporarily gets pushed aside (until they finally unite as one in the end) for a change!

An element of rock-solid loyalty is also a plus. I don't care much for on-and-off romance arcs. Which isn't to say that I only ship couples who are perfectly functional. Far from it! But I like a sense of "even if we fight, even if we say terrible things to each other, even if you hurt me or we hurt each other, I'm not giving up on you; or even if I do leave, I still care about you and I don't want you to suffer." This is one thing I like about Heathcliff and Cathy from Wuthering Heights, that lets me see a sublime beauty in their love amidst the toxicity: neither one would ever dream of permanently ending their relationship (though tragically, neither fully realizes this about the other until it's too late), and while they sometimes say terrible things to and about each other, they don't do terrible things to each other. I'll die on the hill that in the book, Heathcliff marries Isabella for her inheritance to spite Edgar, not to hurt Cathy, because Cathy knows he doesn't love Isabella and he knows she knows. They care more about each other's wellbeing than pop culture thinks they do.

To me, nothing is sexier than when a couple cares about each other's wellbeing; that's what love should be. I loathe seeing selfish, possessive love glorified just because it's "passionate." Support, generosity, empathy, sacrifices... those are things I like.

I hope this wasn't too much of a novel.

[cl-plus-s]

On Ulrich and Yumi's relationship

Similarly to the canon events, Ulrich and Yumi both develop crushes on each other due to their common hobbies and tastes. Both like doing sport and are really athletic, both practice martial arts, Ulrich is interested on Yumi's culture which makes her feel accepted. The main difference with the main series is precisely that Sissi is part of the friend group. Sissi is actively trying to be a better person and abandon her diva persona, also she has found that while her crush with Ulrich is manageable and is getting over it and accepting that they can still be friends even if they aren't romantically involved and that's okay she now has a newly discovered crush on Yumi too. This creates not actual conflict but turmoil on Sissi's head. Due to her capacity to read people she is the first one to notice that Yumi and Ulrich have feelings for eachother, even before they admit it to themselves. And after a while and some serious thinking and restless nights she decides that is not worth it to put their friendship in danger yet again creating a love triangle. Instead, she tries to explain Yumi since she trust a lot in her. Something in the lines of ''Hey, I have this feeling, i don't want you to feel you pressured and i don't want to get between you and Ulrich. I would like to stay being friends since i value our friendship so much. I just wanted you to know because if i feel weird and awkward for a while is because i'm trying to process all this.'' After doing this, (Honestly that could be a chapter on itself, Sissi discovering that crush, acting awkward through the entire episode, having trouble in lyoko due to that and finally having the realization of what to do, deactivating the tower and having that conversation on the epilogue after the return to the past) , Sissi actually helps both Ulrich and Yumi get together in a better way than they originally would have. Letting Ulrich know that that the whole brooding, cold, not communicating his feelings is not that cool actually. That while is okay if he doesn't want to open to most people, he should to at least his friends, and mostly the one he wants to actually know on a deeper level. She can also act as a mediator when a discussion arises, so when William comes to Kadic Yumi and Ulrich relationship is more set, to the point that even if they are not an item yet, they are more openly flirtatious and William doesn't get in the way. TL;DR: Sissi has a crush on Yumi but decides to stay being her best friend instead of getting between her and Ulrich and causing more problems. To the point that she actually helps with their relationships making it stronger and smoother than in the canon 9

[triggerhappymilitant]

Can you list the romantic and/or sexual relationships with other muses and tell us something about about why are you shipping with them and how does this relationship look like? :)

I am 100% going to forget people. Mun is currently sick, so I apologize if I do. It doesn't mean I don't love our babies, it just means I'm slowly dying.

@hoodedchishiya is finally his goddamn boyfriend. This one had to be first, because this mf is the reason I created my Niragi account in the first place. Chishiya and Niragi absolutely love to antagonize each other, and even when they've done things to imply clear enough that they have deeper feelings for each other, their soft moments are still rare. However, when they are vulnerable with each other, you could just melt into the floor. These two babies have such amazing chemistry, and they're perfect for each other.

I've also got two other Nishiya ships, with @chishiya-the-cat and @chishiya-of-diamonds — Both are very undefined. With Diamonds, they've at least agreed that they're sexually attracted to each other. Cat, they haven't so much as admitted to it, as they've acted on it and keep telling themselves it's a one-time thing, but they constantly end up in each other's beds. There's an attraction there, a draw, but neither can figure out exactly what it is.

@daikichixkarube is another boyfriend. Niragi felt an immediate attraction towards meeting Karube (look, he has a thing for blonds, okay?) He was able to show the new guy around, and the flirting was pretty immediate. I think, to an extent, there's something in Karube that recognizes the part of Niragi that he wants to hide the most. Niragi has been willing to open up about the bullshit he went through with him, something I don't think he's truly been able to do with anyone else. They're very cute together, but also happy to roll around in bed together.

@aggwaseon Jihoon is a recently turned boyfriend of Niragi's. Despite the age difference, the two get along great. There's a big sexual drive there, but there are also feelings involved (having told each other they love each other.) Niragi is protective of him in a way he isn't with most; something entirely unnecessary given the age, job, and abs on Ji, but it's more of an emotional protectiveness. He wants Ji to feel nothing but happiness.

@your-sweet-cookie this man finally has a girlfriend. And we're also back to the blonds (I know, its silver/grey/etc. He likes people with very little color in his hair.) Niragi wasn't sure what to make of her at first. He always found her attractive, but he wasn't used to romance. Still, he quickly started developing feelings for her and wanted to spend all his time around her.

@yuzuhastrength While we haven't done anything with them recently, I will definitely still be adding her to my list. It's very undefined. There is an attraction there, despite their past. Niragi enjoys her company, her fiery nature, and the fact she can hold her own. And, of course, he finds her ridiculously attractive.

Not as active here on Tumblr, but I'm still shouting out @heartsking since we write a shit ton on Discord and they're my favorite person in the world. The first person I ever wrote Nishiya with - the person who watched me go from "eh, I could see it maybe being sexual" to "I will go down with this ship." And is happy to appease me for it. They're the most open with their feelings, and Niragi is a bit of a teddy bear with Chishiya. With have multiple universes, so it's hard to comment on all of them.

There are some that are sexual and/or just super blurry and undefined what they are. Again, I'll probably miss some, but some honorable mentions are @arisuthegamer (Niragi wants this man, badly. Arisu has actually admitted to having a crush, but they haven't done much with it yet.) @thebandanightmare (chaotic, sexy. Where's the "I ship it" Thor meme?) @spade-0-chan - they're flirty, unsure what's really going on with them, and I don't think they know either. @twentyfourhourtitts pretty strictly FWB. Put two attractive people with high sex drives together and boom, you've got these two. @k-y-u-m-a-clubs - Niragi adores this man endlessly. It's blurry as to what all exactly is going on with people, but Niragi enjoys his company nevertheless.

Again, I'm sorry if I missed anyone. I tried checking my following list to avoid it, but I'm sure I still probably did. You're free to yell at me.

[moonsdancer]

Only if you want and please don’t feel obligated to answer if it makes you uncomfortable or you just think of it as boring!

MelJay

Pre-relationship 3,4,5?

General 4 & 6?

Love 7

Melco

General 1, 6, 7

Love 10

MelJayVik

Pre-relationship 6

Love 10

Domestic Life 9 & 10

Thanks for your time!

Let's do this! Thank you for the ask!

Warning: I really ramble on too much, I'm so sorry but this was fun, and it was like a writing exercise for me. I did all three, yay.

meljay

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

3.Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?

Elora, if only because it's been endlessly tiresome to watch Mel make calf-eyes at the Talis boy wonder and flirting with him, sighing wistfully at the random advertisements that pop up all over the city with his grinning visage on them, and with increasing frequency and obviousness over the years. But part of her is really concerned about it because it becomes increasingly clear as the years pass that Mel's losing sight of their goal -- doing whatever it takes to gain favour and pardon from the Clan and return to Noxus -- taken as she is by Piltover, the person she's becoming in Piltover, and its other attractions of which Jayce Talis is undoubtedly one.

Viktor, because he can only take so much of Jayce getting distracted in the middle of presentations because he's too busy mooning at Councilor Medarda before it gets annoying as hell. He's also been forced to listen to several drunken rants about how there's "no way a woman like that" would look twice at him. And while Viktor's not an expert on these matters, he's a very good observer. It's fairly obvious the councilor isn't immune to Jayce.

Ximena has met Mel a few times over the years, at the launch of the Hexgates and a few balls and banquets to which Jayce tends to bring his mother as a date. The first time she witnessed her son in Mel's presence, she knew what was up. She doesn't push, after all, who knows how young people do courtship these days, but she hopes that one of them will see the light and get on with it.

Finally, Harold, who started working for Mel's personal office security detail after the events of episode 3. He's seen the young'uns around each other a time or two, and wonders when the Talis lad will put his big boy pants on already.

4.Who felt romantic feelings first?

Well, Jayce has been nursing a crush since the moment outside Heimerdinger's office but he convinced himself over the years that he didn't have much of a chance. Mel admitted to herself that she has romantic (not merely lustful attraction) feelings around year 3 or 4.

5.Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

Yup. Jayce, for aforementioned reasons. Mel because she's constantly aware of their differing social status, even as Jayce starts to ascend into Piltovan high society as the city's golden boy. She doesn't want to feel like she's taking advantage, or like she's doing the sort of thing she was taught to do back in Noxus. Maybe if Jayce wasn't Jayce, she could. But there's something about him that makes her not want to.

GENERAL

4.Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?

Nope. Mel's had liaisons over the years with people that run in her circles. Nothing serious or significant but enough to scratch any itches she might have. Before, in Noxus, before she was banished, there had been someone, a girl who was training as a healer for the Medarda armies but she'd been barely more than a child then.

Jayce has had some relationships but he was always so focused on his research and cracking hextech that nothing's ever developed beyond the casual. He has had a number of hook-ups, though. I like @eddawrites angle on this - all those conference are festivals of f*cking, and sometimes he's just got to let off some steam, and the forge doesn't quite do the trick. Also, as he'd gotten more famous, a lot of people threw themselves at him, so he went through a bit of a rake phase but got over it eventually.

6.What’s their relationship with each other’s families? Do they share a friend group?

Well, Jayce is lowkey scared of Elora because he's never quite understood whether she's just Mel's companion, or a secretary, or a bodyguard but either way it's like she can see right through him every time he made excuses to come to Mel's office for some "advice" during the time skip. And well, he's just met Ambessa, but yikes. The more he gets to know Ambessa and see how Mel is around her, how much smaller she sometimes seems, the less he likes her. And he didn't like her much to begin with.

Mel's obviously met Ximena but they don't have a close relationship yet. Mel's charmed by how kind, gentle yet brave Ximena is, right from the day she stepped up to save her son, something her own mother never did for her. She's seen how close Jayce is to her and sometimes she feels twinges of envy. Eventually, they'll be very close, and Mel will get to experience motherly hugs that don't feel like they're serrated.

LOVE

7.What are their favorite things to do together?

Jayce loves watching Mel paint. Sometimes he brings out one of his instruments, and strums gently while she does so. They're both constantly busy so having moments of quiet intimacy is important. Cuddling is key for a somewhat touch-starved Mel. Attending starchy high society functions so they can find a comfy spot to talk shit about everyone in attendance is also a top fave activity (see: ep5) -- if they tend to disappear at some point during these events for some private time, well, hopefully no one marks it.

melco

(I'm using maybe elements of the unfinished AU for this)

GENERAL

1.Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

Mel. She can be very pushy. Almost every step of the way it's been her inserting herself into Silco's orbit with the aim of making herself indispensable in some way so they can work together to build an empire and destroy Piltover. Of course, she doesn't initiate it with any romantic delusions, this is about power, and they both understood that. And Silco unexpectedly enjoys the oddity of being both the spider and the fly in this strange dynamic of theirs.

6.What’s their relationship with each other’s families? Do they share a friend group?

Jinx, who has been observing her father's weird relationship with the piltie woman, makes an assassination attempt on Mel. Mel, who's been fending off such things since she was barely out of diapers quickly neutralises the threat and befriends Jinx. She recognises little bits of herself in this little girl, and they form a bond. Mel shows her cool ways to braid her hair and they do a lot of messy painting in Mel's studio.

In this AU, there's no Elora, so Mel is very much alone.

7.Who takes the lead in social situations?

They're both dangerous, brilliant, savvy operators in their own right and both have their distinct domains. Mel leads in Piltover, Silco does the same in Zaun. In spaces where they're both players, e.g. the illicit underground parties that Amara holds, to which both of them are invited, they work as a deadly team.

LOVE

10.Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

This is interesting because they have a kinship somewhat. While Mel is touch starved but was raised in a martial society where affection was not easily given or received, Silco is somewhat touch-averse and has lived the kind of life where he understands most touch to be accompanied by some form of violence. Of course, when he adopted Jinx, he started to open up more but she's his daughter. With Mel, their physicality is raw, kind of needy when they allow it, with underlying violence that works for both of them.

These two are probably the most talkative characters in this show besides Heimer - as in, they know how to play with words, to threaten, to convince and manipulate, to cajole etc. But while they do engage in wordplay, they rarely show affection with each other verbally. That would be too much. Too vulnerable. They're both too cunning and ruthless for that.

meljayvik

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

6.If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

Jayce would be over the moon, and completely unsurprised. These are two people he cares about a great deal so of course they're his soulmates. And he's going to keep them. FOREVER.

Viktor would be lowkey confused and irked. He's committed to science, to building a legacy of his own, to proving everyone who told him he'd not amount to anything wrong. He has survived as long as he has by avoiding messy emotional entanglements and now he has not just one but TWO soulmates?? What on earth is he to do with them? But maybe, maybe, underneath, the lonely kid who had no friends or companions - maybe that kid is thrilled.

Mel would be somewhat alarmed because soulmates are deemed a serious liability in Noxus. To have a person who is your greatest weakness personified means they can easily be a weapon used against you, to compromise you. But there's also a part of her that's relieved. The part of her that's still the girl who wanted to paint the world in gold, the girl who's deeply heartbroken because her own family didn't love her enough to protect her. And that girl dreamed of a soulmate, and now, she might have two.

LOVE

10.Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

Jayce is so at ease with offering affection, both verbally and physically. It's one of his greatest superpowers. Him being so open and generous in that way creates space for Viktor and Mel to learn. For different reasons, Mel and Viktor are starved for physical affection, although Viktor is much worse at asking for/reaching for it - so it's up to the other two to tug him in close, or rub at his aching shoulders, or rest their heads in his lap.

DOMESTIC LIFE

9.Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

Mel is a cuddler, and she's never really had to keep early hours like academics do, so she's pretty good at convincing both of them to come back to bed and let her be the middle spoon.

10.Who’s the better cook?

Jayce, without a doubt. Ximena made sure her son had two things to carry him through life - excellent hygiene and decent cooking skills. Jayce also likes being quite adventurous with his palette, experimenting with flavour and inventing strange combinations that often work out pretty well. Viktor has some recipes that his parents used to make, and he does a fair job at them but he tends to be very pedantic about following recipes. Because of all the medication he takes, he's not got the best palette either so sometimes his stuff can taste... questionable. Mel cannot cook, she's never had to learn, really. But she's good with a knife (her weapon and painting implement of choice) so if they're cooking together, she gets put on chopping duty.

[fardiorin]

Richard v. Esteem

So, I think I’m going to explode.

I’ve never felt this kind of surge of thoughts like this before, and they’re so intense that containing them inside my ridiculously shaped head wouldn’t be possible anymore. I need to talk to someone to let them all out, at least to subside them so that I wouldn’t do the unthinkables. However, I don’t really think that telling them would make them understand me, or they could frustrate me more so that’s why I’m writing this. I don’t know whether I’m going to be successful in organizing my thoughts and feelings because they’re like an ocean of chaos at the dawn of time. Nonetheless, I must try to numb these before they get worse.

I recently explicitly came out in Instagram about my gender identity of not having any. Some gave a mildly positive reactions, undying supports, or relatively silent thoughts. I was free, to a certain extent, that I didn’t have to use Spanish or Norwegian to conceal the true meaning of my coming out letter (as I knew for a fact that they wouldn’t lift a single finger of tapping translation button nor read the entirety of my lame emotions). My coming out isn’t exactly the main point of this storm of dysphoria that I have right now, it’s just that it provides a background as to why I would feel like this. So yeah, I’m agender and that’s a big part of my identity right now. For some people, their sexual/romantic attraction might be their most defining features of themselves, but for me, my genderless-ness is what makes me, well, me. However, it adds to an extremely painful layers to my attraction because at some degree, they’re very closely intertwined. I’m freed by letting my gender identity runs wild in the world, yet at the same time I’m being tortured by my attraction and the influence it has on my self-esteem.

It goes like this: I am attracted to biological males (as they outnumber and are more present than transmasculine individuals), or in a lay term, gay. As I have written before, I’m not a male so technically, I can’t be gay. You understand it and it’s really not that hard to wrap your head around. I like the masculinity that biological males exude, and femininity to balance it out because admit it, hypermasculine males are disgusting. I am certain about this since probably I was a toddler, so my attraction hasn’t ever really changed but it develops with time. My attraction for them for the longest time has been only that, an attraction without connection. There haven’t been any times when I feel redamancy, reciprocity, or any approach from any guys at all throughout my adolescence up until my turning position to young adult. I wouldn’t call myself pathetic in this context, but from outsiders’ perspective it really is strange. Even when some people do not end up together officially, anyone has had really someone that is attracted to them back, gay or straight or queer. Speaking about gays, not one single gay I’ve encountered is still a virgin, mentally or physically; either they have had an ex before even in high school, they have had sex, or they’re currently in a relationship.

As you might grasp, this really destroys my self-esteem and eventually my self-worth and self-concept. It makes me hyperconscious about my own self about the things I must be lacking in for me to never be “appreciated” by anyone truly. I have never felt wanted enough throughout my years of growing up, and it doesn’t have to be romantically even if it really comes down to it. I have been truly wondering whether my friends see something special or worth liking/loving in me. If my friends can’t stay long enough with me, it sure is a sign and affirmation that I indeed don’t have anything of value within myself. Also, if my friends wouldn’t stay with me, then what are the chances that someone out there see something more in me? These are the leading up moments where my self-esteem hasn’t exactly ever been good, and it gets ridiculously low and stops existing altogether from then on.

Back to what I was saying. I like guys, and I’m not technically gay nor can I love or be attracted to women completely (romantically or sexually). The most excruciating realization is that I can’t ever have guys who are gay attracted to me because I’m not exactly male, even when at some point I’d hoped that my biological sex will help with that. Gays everywhere, especially what I have seen on social media (don’t you dare say or think that social media is not real, it’s very much real), really have the best dices to play. They are insanely attractive or successfully making themselves to be with their glistening blemish-free skin, toned torso, stern limbs, and traditionally pleasing-to-look-at face. On top of winning the genetic lottery, they have all the resources available in this world (money, time, power, and energy) to:

go to the gym to further assert and define their attractiveness;

purchase ludicrously skin, hair, and body products to maintain their beauty;

hang out at bougie places every time so that they can encounter each other in a classy way;

 listen to every female popstar albums without the repercussion of being called a sissy;

watch every movie on Netflix due to having all the time in the world;

maintain their hobby, just because they are able to;

savor every expensive or latest meal and snack to prevent them from FOMO and post it momentarily on their socials;

travel to any destinations without worry in a glance to temporally escape with their partners;

or, you could check their Twitter or Instagram accounts for further elaborations and examples (which are far detailed).

They are very much conforming to the societal (or to some extent, homosexual) expectations of what being a masculine male must be, and they do it without any experience of existential dysphoria. And dumbly, I find every single one of them very attractive every single day even when they don’t necessarily check all the boxes of facts I just spitted. As expected, they are appealing to each other, and they at least have one less burden of thoughts running in their psyche. I am nothing like any of the factual statements I said. My gender expressions—or lack thereof—are none of the points above. Now I’m not going to have a self-pity party running by telling you how I’m not good looking, underweight, poor, etc.; but for me as an agender, I can’t and don’t have to do or be any of those. As a consequence, I’m next to impossible to be attracted by guys of whom I have been feeling attractions toward.

To put it simply, gay guys only like other guys (straight or gay, but that’s a whole different debate) and they don’t want anything to do with me, even though they’re the ones whom I realistically can be with at present. You can say that there are pan guys out there, but this is what I feel right now. Feeling unattractive to anyone regardless of your attraction definitely destroys your self-esteem. However, this situation alone could not contribute to the destruction of my self-esteem and self-concept; but, knowing that either way I can’t also have boy-friends due to my gender identity is the one that really tears my very existence apart. Some straight guys really avoid befriend any guys (or people, like me for example) who aren’t masculine enough, and gay guys don’t see me as someone who can form deep affections with (as previously written reasons). One impetus stands out from the rest, and that is my newest friend whom we can call Richard.

Richard conforms to basically everything I said before, so deductively, he’s perfect in my eyes. He is the very first and real literal description of a boy who checks all the boxes and I’m friends with. Previously when Richard didn’t enter my life, I have been at thorough peace of my gender identity and attraction by knowing that though said boys are real, they’re still a fantasy to me because I know they would never enter my life, not with the social class and circles I am in and own currently. I don’t have any romantic attractions towards Richard at all, but I am insanely platonically like him. I want him to be my friend, to be one of my closest and the one that could support me through my last years of college. But, every time I’m around him or checking his socials, my insecurities really don’t want my self-esteem to survive. I am feeling completely inadequate and failing whenever I see him in all of his glory, which to be honest means he is simply existing (I know it’s desperate, but moving on). He reminds me of everything I am not, and why I will never be attractive enough. He can get any guys that he likes if he wants to, and that frustrates me. Perhaps I can say that I’m a bit jealous because at the end of the day, he’ll ditch me for whatever guys he’ll eventually encounter as he probably wouldn’t care to create a deep and lasting platonic bond with me. Sometimes I’m silently shrieking, “he deserves to be with him; not me,” of which him refers to yet another perfect (in a common term: average) guy that essentially possess the same total conformity as Richard. I know it all sounds that I’m lacking self-respect and self-awareness, which I probably am, by not leaving Richard soon and return to my girlfriends but deep within the abyss of my heart, I can’t compensate the complete lack of philia of boys from girls. I really, really, really don’t want to lose Richard as he's too precious for me but with the current state of being I’m in, I don’t know if picturing Richard and I together in one frame for our graduation is possible.

All these situations remind me of why I chose to be a nurse in the first place. I innocently and foolishly thought that the service I’d endlessly perform, the length I’d do, the million miles I’d go, and the ocean of tears I’d shed for people would make people be attracted to me or at least make them stay with me, even for a while. I would totally devote my soul and body to someone by caring for them throughout their lifespan, but none has been evident enough for me to feel like my love and affection is returned in any shape or form. Right now, I’d wake at 3 am in the morning to make a meal for Richard but I’d know better that he would simply respond with a nice thank you (it’s sincere as well, but that’s pretty much it). I know that nurses are supposed to be selfless, unlike me who from what I write am essentially selfish. Is it selfish when I just want some people to have a place in their mind for me after everything I’d done for them? Is it selfish that I just want them to at least notice how much they are at the receiving end from me with all the soul I poured for them to be happy? This act of service and nursing are the only ones I’m holding on to for me to feel adequate and attractive, though they have done nothing to prevent my self-esteem from being nonexistent which has been tormenting me for years now.

In summary, it feels like I’m just a whiny immature child who can’t control an aspect of their life. Maybe that’s it, I don’t have the ability to control it and that’s why all these things are happening to me. I must lay my feelings out for me to breathe easily, at least. I have no absolute clue as to what I should I do to reclaim my self-esteem and self-worth and balance my gender identity and attraction. Some would say that I should continue to slay like I usually do without having to worry about boys, but when Richard is real and next to me, I can’t slay as hard as I used to. I wouldn’t call Richard the problem here, but he has awakened something (a catastrophic dysphoria, to say the least) that eventually might arise later in the future when I’m stepping into the real world after college even when it’s already as hyperrealistic as it can be. I just wish that someone could hold me so tight that all my broken pieces will get whole again, and so I don’t have to pay any mind to impress and attract any other person more out there.

And to Richard if you’re ever reading this, to you I say, “thank you for breaking me in order for me to ponder the ways I could repair myself everlastingly.”

[042502]

─ Sex Scene . chris sturniolo !!

⋆·˚ summary. You and Chris are the protagonists of a movie inspired by a fanfiction.

⋆·˚ content. Sexual relations, sexual performances, sex, female masturbation, blowjobs, kisses, actors, dirty talk, spanish-english.

⋆·˚ writer's note. My first language is not English, so if you find any grammatical errors you already know why :) w.c. 5.4k | m.list

"I am very excited that we can work together, Your scene partner is a new guy at acting. I hope you do well together.

Those were the words they told you when you started working on this new project.

What was it about? Well, as an actress with a good track record, you have acted in different extremely important films, Your beauty made you get various interesting roles.

You have been wanting to star in a literary novel for a long time.

I guess the law of attraction granted you your wish.

You were excited about the role, It could be a little complicated because your scene partner was new. At first they didn't tell you much about who he was, but as the days went by, They informed you about him.

"Christopher Sturniolo, a young man in his twenties, he dedicates himself to making videos on YouTube."

That worried you a little, This was someone who is not familiar with acting at all, He was a simple YouTuber. You were very upset about your partner.

"The boy was requested by the writer of the novel, She told us that the novel was inspired by him physically, so if we get him to accept the job I would be more than satisfied."

That didn't help you feel better, he only got the role because he had a pretty face.

On the day of recording you finally met him. He was drinking a bottle of water while chatting with Roxana the director.

He was wearing baggy pants with a dark sweatshirt.

His profile was attractive, straight nose, pink lips, bright eyes and messy hair.

You could not continue with your analysis since the director invited you to join the conversation.

"Good morning."

You said hello and they both said good morning to you. The director began to explain how they handled themselves during the course of the recording. You hope everything turns out well because you will work together for several years.

In part that was true, Normally the recording would last from six months to a year and then they would have to share press and publicize the film. Later they would have the premiere and if the film is good it will probably be in various awards.

The recordings started and it was not a big problem, Christopher managed to adapt quickly, It even seemed like he had been doing this for a long time.

You've even asked him, but he just shook his head and explains that he has never done anything like this.

They connected very well, The scenes came out impeccable. They didn't have very complicated scenes yet, just some dialogue and some discussions between the characters.

"Attention kids" The director approached the scene.

You had the wardrobe girls fixing the last details of your outfit, while your partner had his face makeup touched up.

"Today we have a kiss scene, You probably already read it in the script. Give your best, There will be two recordings from two angles, let's get to work!"

I shout walking away to go behind the cameras. I had developed a good relationship with your scene partner, They were not close friends, but they were already colleagues.

You had to admit that you've been uncomfortable reading the script, It was the first "romantic" scene in the story and that meant that the following scenes would be more of the same.

You felt like you still needed many more scenes to be able to feel free with your partner, but you had to show professionalism.

The scene began, The cameras filmed the empty room, the door opens and you enter the scene, you slam the door behind you, but your partner stops her and enters the scene behind you, now slamming the door.

"I told you to go away!" You shout towards your scene partner.

"I'm not fucking leaving! What the fuck is happening to you?! We were supposed to be fine, out of nowhere you come out and make a fucking scene. How old are you?"

"How old are you?! You played with me and Rachel at the same time, you're unhappy, get out of my house" With both hands you put pressure on Chris's chest, pushing him towards the exit.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" your pushing continues. "I have exchanged nothing but words with her" more and more pushes. "Can you stop pushing me?!" He held your hands tightly.

"Let me go!"

"Listen, listen."

You continue to scream about Christopher's words and struggling with his grip.

"Let me go Lion because otherwise...!"

"Otherwise?!"

He stretched out his grip on your hands and moved closer to his chest, a tense atmosphere had been created, that was probably because of the scene or perhaps also because of the discomfort of kissing him.

"Let me go..."

"Do you really want that?"

Their gazes connect and you can feel him slowly approaching you, the grip in your hands becomes more present, you close your eyes and instantly feel the pressure on your lips.

But the kiss was not a simple touch of lips, Their mouths began to move over each other, with intensity and desire.

Your hands were still held by his, on Christopher's chest.

The scene comes to a cut and they separate, The director congratulated them both on how well the scene turned out, Have them take a break and then record the kiss from another angle.

During the break you have not exchanged words, No glances with your scene partner. You didn't want it to be uncomfortable for him, but it seems that it was not. He approached where you were.

"Do you think we did it right? It's strange to me that they are recording me while I kiss someone, you already know, I'm used to having a camera in front of me, but in intimate moments."

They nod their heads and smile, he really does it well, He would have a future in this if he wanted to dedicate himself to acting.

"You did it well, You should consider dedicating yourself to this."

"I like, I wasn't going to accept the job because I don't do this for a living. But the writer was so insistent that she would like me to take it that I considered it. I do not regret, but mine is recording videos on YouTube with my brothers.

"I haven't watched a video of yours yet."

"Please don't do it, it's embarrassing."

"Whats? But if we just filmed a kiss scene, Are you embarrassed that I watch your videos?"

"Yeah, I don't know, I would like you to see me as your scene partner and not as the YouTube guy."

He wanted to separate his life as a YouTuber from his now actor version. It was confusing, because they were both about him.

"I'll still watch those videos."

So it was, Later that day you were in bed with your computer, You quickly type your partner's channel in the search engine and select a random video.

You are surprised to quickly identify your partner, You think it's because you see it every day.

They had already been filming for several months, You had never sat down to investigate Christopher's life.

This is new, as if you knew him a little more. He is having fun with his brothers, chatting about various things, Sometimes they cause arguments and other times he is hit by one of his brothers.

You put aside your computer and take your cell phone, You look up your partner's number and type a quick message.

You close the chat and as if it were black magic, different videos of Christopher begin to appear on your tiktok, they were all very cute videos of him, as if it were a small child. 

"He is so cute..."

Your finger slides nimbly across the screen and suddenly the videos become darker, They are stronger editions, focused on Chris's muscles, in their facial expressions. Most of them were clips taken out of context, but they looked so... 

The notification of Christopher's message brought you out of those dark thoughts that you were able to think after a short clip.

The following months the scenes were more of the same, with drama, kisses and couple moments.

"I do not like history" Chris shrugs.

"Whats?!"

"I have read the book, so I can do it better" He explains and you nod. "But it's shit, Lion treats her like his girlfriend and even fucks her when he hasn't even asked her out."

"Do you need to go out with someone to fuck?"

"I wouldn't fuck someone who isn't my girlfriend."

"You're weird. You know you would, you're just trying to look good."

"Maybe or maybe not."

They both laugh at the answer and then you ask:

"How long until Lion and Eider fuck?"

"Don't know, soon I guess. Haven't you read the book?"

"I did, I thought it was stupid that they would fuck during an argument."

"Their first kiss was during an argument."

"Yes fuck. They are so stupid."

"What is it like to film a sex scene?"

"Don't worry, you shouldn't fuck me."

"Oh of course not, I know it's not like that."

Chris was embarrassed.

"It's pretty funny, you have to pretend absolutely everything, not even our bodies will have contact."

"How boring. That's why it looks so fake in the movies."

"What are you saying?"

"Whenever I see one of those scenes on television. You can see how false it is."

"Have you seen any of my movies?" you ask and Chris looks away.

"Just a few, but I haven't seen your sex scenes."

"Because?"

"I don't know, I just haven't done it.".

"you should see them. Maybe then you can see how we could make the scene more real."

"We are not filming either 365 DNI" chatters.

Later, that day, Christopher came home and decided to watch one of his scene partner's movies. Got some fritos and a Pepsi, ready to go to his room when one of his brothers interrupts him.

"Are you leaving already, Chris?"

It was about Nick. Christopher nods and points to his room.

"I'm going to see a movie."

"Ohh I want to see a good movie" Matt adds. "They recently released a good action movie."

"Since you are filming this movie you are watching a lot of movies" Nick scoffs.

"I have to study, I'm not going to see just any movie."

"Shit, I really wanted to see the new release. What will we see?" Matt asks.

"I will watch the movie, I don't know what you'll see in your room."

"Come on Chris, let's watch the movie together."

And that's how Chris is now in the living room with his brothers watching his partner's movie.

In this film she did not have a leading role, her scenes were few, but Chris knew that of those few scenes she would have a sex one.

"I just realized that girl with glasses is your partner! Se is beautiful!" Nick shouts at the screen.

"Is that why you wanted to see this movie?" Matt scoffs.

"They told me that I should study with this film..."

The movie was boring, ok, Chris found it boring only because he didn't appreciate it enough for his taste.

That's when you appear on stage with your acting partner.

The scene was the following, You were a university student who had a hot relationship with her foreign language teacher.

You provoke your teacher with your words.

"Teacher... I've been studying a lot lately" Your fingers caress the shiny wooden desk that divided the bodies of both actors. "But I would really like to practice my new knowledge with you... Could you help me?"

You sit on the desk making your tight skirt press so hard on your thighs.

"Of course I will help you miss West" The teacher stands up, walking around the wooden desk, and stands in front of his student. His hands are placed on the sides of the delicate female body.

Their faces were extremely close, They moved their lips talking and could collide at the slightest.

"I would like to know... The meaning of Méteme tus dedos... (Put your fingers in me) I have read it a lot, It feels so good on my lips to say it... But I really want to know its meaning, teacher.

"I should give you some examples, but you should improve your pronunciation... Please repeat."

"Méteme..." (Put me in)

The teacher's hands make their way between his student's open legs and remove his female underwear.

"Tus dedos" (Your fingers) The girl arches her body when her teacher's fingers sink inside her. "Please teacher, I need you to explain..."

The professor's fingers moved slowly inside her.

"Quiero tus dedos dentro de mí..." (I want your fingers inside me).

"Do you want my fingers inside you? Thus? You want it?"

"Alright, this is raw." Nick pauses the scene and starts fast forwarding.

On the other hand, Chris couldn't believe how real that scene felt, the bad words that came out of his partner's mouth, the expressions on his face and his movements.

"What were you supposed to study?" Matt's question brings Chris out of his dark thoughts.

He licks his lips and thinks about her words before speaking.

"I have a sex scene soon, so since I am an amateur actor they recommended that I study my partner's scenes. Maybe to be able to attach myself to her" explains Chris looking at the frozen image of his partner, She had such a lascivious expression as if she were asking him to use her as she pleased.

"It honestly can't be that difficult to film these scenes." this time Nick speaks. "It's not like you really have to have sex with her you know?"

The tone Nick used was one of sarcasm, like he usually used.

"Nick is right, sex in movies is very false. But I have to admit, that scene looked so..."

"Real" Chris finishes his brother Matt's sentence and the three of them nod.

Matt took his cell phone and moved his fingers quickly over the screen, then his expression changes, his eyes widen and he looked at Nick in shock.

"This scene was real... It's not a performance" Nick opened his mouth and let out a "oh my god" when he heard his brother's words.

"It looked so raw..."

"Did she really do that scene?" Chris walks over to his brother and looks at the screen.

"He says that they interviewed both of them and confirmed that they recorded the sex scene many times, she quoted "We did not feel satisfied with the results, everything looked so false that we did not like the viewer to have that feeling" his partner also explained "It was our proposal with the director, If I agreed that the scene was real, At first he doesn't like it because it could be considered porn. But after a long talk they accepted, "It wasn't difficult for us because we are in a relationship." Matt finishes reading the interview.

"Well, they're a couple, it's not that bad..." Nick adds.

"When was that interview?"

Chris asks his brother, He had his heart beating at high speeds.

"Two years ago, She was about 18 and he was 29. They met while filming the movie, or that's what it says here" Matt continues to slide his finger across the screen. "Ooh, they just broke up, just a few months ago."

"Haven't they given reasons?" Nick asks, intrigued. "I bet because he's an old man."

"Please Nick, he's only about 32," Chris says and Nick gives him the middle finger.

"They did not give details about why, but the media speculate that he has been unfaithful with his ex-wife."

"Who is the ex-wife?" Chris hit Nick for being so curious. "Ouch! I just want to know the whole story!"

"A certain Roxana Poglo."

"She is our director..."

"That's really uncomfortable, I bet her ex picked her up and they saw each other." Nick hits Matt's arm causing his cell phone to fall from his hands. "It's quite a drama! I'll become an actor too! "

"That's not funny, she must be extremely uncomfortable..."

"I doubt it, I would have quit," Matt says.

The movie night ended and the following days of recording Chris has not had scenes with his partner, so they haven't spoken. To her surprise she has seen the director talking on the phone so she assumes that Chris is her ex-husband.

He ignored the talk and returned home, He was exhausted, he couldn't stop thinking about his partner.

He remembered the talk he had with the screenwriters...

"Chris next week your schedules return to the normal routine, by the way, The scene we are going to record is a sex scene, don't forget it. Give the best of you.

Chris was lying on his bed when he reached for the remote control to turn on the television, He put back the movie he had seen with his brothers and looked for his partner's scene.

"Quiero tus dedos dentro de mí..." (I want your fingers inside me)

"Do you want my fingers inside you? Like this? Do you want it?"

The teacher's hands move, penetrating the girl, She throws her head back, with his mouth open releasing delicious moans.

The professor's lips attack the female neck, and the girl's hands cling to her teacher's clothes.

"I need it teacher... I seriously need it."

The words coming out of the red painted lips felt so exciting. Chris had his hand on his abdomen, but he could still feel his member throbbing for his partner.

"Get on all fours."

The male actor ordered and the girl obeyed, The teacher lowered his pants and placed his member at his partner's entrance, beginning to penetrate her mercilessly against her desk.

"Can you say 'fóllame profe'?" (fuck me teacher) he asks his student as he penetrates her.

The female body moved frantically thanks to the pushes it received, He had his hands gripping the desk tightly and his eyes closed while his teeth bit down hard on his lower lip.

Chris's hand goes down his abdomen finding his erection, He puts aside his boxers and his hand takes hold of his cock, he began to pump it.

"Say it!" he spanked her, which slowly left the hit area red.

"¡Follame profe! ¡Follame!" (Fuck me teacher! Fuck me!) shouts the girl between moans of excitement.

The teacher increased his speed and Chris did the same with his hand, He had a perfect shot of his half-naked partner asking to be fucked, while her facial expression was that of a whore.

"You know what it means?" The teacher asks between grunts near his student's ear canal.

She doesn't respond, she just lets out little murmurs, then the teacher holds his cheeks with one hand and spits in his mouth.

"I asked you a question, you damn bitch."

"Yes I know..." The girl responds and her teacher lets her go to slap her, she moans excitedly.

"Such a slut, you only know those dirty meanings, right?"

"I'm sorry professor... I want to cum, please..."

Chris could feel his orgasm coming just by hearing her speak, I really wanted her to cum.

"Words!" the teacher asks.

"Please Daddy."

That was enough for jets of cum to shoot out of Chris' cock, his hand was completely dirty with his semen.

It would be a completely crazy week...

"Good morning partner" You approach Chris with a wide smile.

"Hello, long time I have not see you" not exactly, you saw her last night in her movie... Chris thought and smilednot exactly, you saw her last night in her movie... to avoid thinking about it and being embarrassed.

"I know, my scenes without you have been extremely boring" you comment as you walked to the set together.

"And those clothes?" Chris couldn't help but notice the childish clothing his partner was wearing.

"Before I have a scene with dad" Explain. "Are you looking forward to the scene?"

"No, I just hope I do well."

"I've already told you that it's all a matter of perspective, They will place the cameras so that it looks like we are fucking."

"Yes I know" sighs. "But you already did this."

"Oh yeah, Don't worry, just humor me. Well see you in bed" She says goodbye and goes to record her scene.

Chris goes to his dressing room to get ready for the scene, They gave him his change of clothes and for the first time in his change of clothes they gave him underwear.

"Can't I use mine?" He asks and the locker room girls deny.

Once it is ready I wait for them to call it to record, read his lines. It didn't seem to be difficult, both would be influenced by the magic of a joint, They kissed as they have done in other scenes and gradually undressed.

The scene called for oral sex by his partner and masturbating his partner with his fingers. Not literally, it would be a simulation, obviously.

"Chris is all ready" They called him and he nods to leave seconds later.

To her surprise, the director was talking to her ex-husband or her now husband again, it's confusing.

Would he be present during the scene?

"Hey" Chris approached his partner.

"Hey, Ready to fuck?” you joke.

"I waited for this all my life" Chris also jokes.

They all positioned themselves to start, quickly explained how it would be recorded and gave the indication to start the scene.

They were both in bed smoking a joint together, looking at the ceiling while talking stupid things.

"Since I broke up with Roy I haven't done anything sexual.”

"Do you want me to tell you when the last time I fucked was?" Chris asks, laughing.

"No, I just wanted to say it."

"Anyway…” there is a brief silence. “The last sexual thing I had was a blowjob at a stupid party, I don't think I could even finish,” he confesses.

His partner next to him settles down, leaving his body on his side and his arm supporting his head. He looked at Chris smiling.

"I'm too good at giving blowjobs.”

"Chatty.”

"I really am!"

"I think the joint is making you hallucinate," he puts the cigarette away and sits in front of her.

"Do you want to bet?" She challenges him by raising her outlined eyebrows and Chris laughs in denial.

"My huge cock wouldn't fit in that little mouth of yours." He quoted those words passing his thumb over the small feminine lips.

"If you believe it."

You move towards Christopher your hands are placed on his clothed member, giving small squeezes and stimulating massages to the area.

"Apostate you don't? Then you'll lose." Your face was so close to Chris's.

"¡Cut! Perfect guys, we change the cameras and continue" they order.

"Your hand" Chris speaks and you notice that your hand is still on his member.

"You should stay there."

"What?"

"To pick up where we left off, does it bother you?" At that moment his hand feels a push and Chris moves your hand away from his member.

"I'm sorry."

"It's normal Chris, don't worry" you pat Chris's thigh.

Once the cameras were positioned, they gave the action signal and resumed the scene.

"you will lose” You say and join your lips with Chris's, your hand takes his member again, you could feel it hard under your touch.

Chris's hands hold your face, deepening the kiss. You break the kiss and go down to lower his pants, your hips move sexily and you fearlessly lower his pants.

"Do you still think I'm bad?"

"You haven't proven anything." Chris replies.

And this is where they simulate the oral sex situation, Chris couldn't help but wish it was real.

The scene is cut and the instructions for the next shot are given, where the hands would be under the sheets to simulate female masturbation.

You and Chris were in bed already tucked in, you give him instructions to cling to each other more.

"I think it would be better if he is behind me" You explain and they give you approval.

They change positions, Chris sits with his legs spread, you would be between his legs and take Chris's hand to move it over you.

"It's a very good position, don't you think?" you ask him and he hums in response.

They give the signal for action, and as if by magic you enter your role, your head falls back, resting on the shoulder of your partner Chris.

Chris's free hand moves awkwardly and they cut to the scene. They give new directions to Chris, so he whispers to him.

"Touch my breasts."

Before Chris could object to anything about it, they give the signal for action and you repeat your previous action again, this time Chris's hand goes towards your neck and his other hand simulates penetrations.

Your moans were annoying to Chris, he couldn't stand them being so fake, he wanted them to be real.

"Please... Give me more”

His hand leaves your neck and makes its way under your clothes as he cups one of your breasts.

"Jesus... Lion” moans at the sudden touch. “I love it."

Your body moves and you feel your partner's erection hitting your ass, with a sudden movement you make your partner's hand touch your clothed womanhood.

"Touch me, please touch me” you ask, hoping he would understand that you weren't acting and that you really wanted to feel his fingers on you.

Chris hesitated a little, but relented and rubbed his fingers over the fabric of your underwear.

"Just like that!"

For the cameras it was the simulation of an erotic scene, but under the sheets the simulation disappears.

Your legs were spread wide open, giving way to Chris's hand, his fingers circling your clit. Your hand went around Chris's neck, holding him by the nape of his neck, tangling some of his hair between your fingers.

Your head rests on Chris's bare chest and you stretch your neck when you feel his fingers go lower, bury themselves inside you, go in and out, penetrating mercilessly.

Chris lowers his head making your mouth meet his. They kiss carelessly and obscenely.

"Jesus!"

You scream in ecstasy reaching your climax, the scene comes to an end and Chris removes his fingers from inside you. You release the strands of hair that were trapped between your fingers and quickly adjust your underwear.

"Great kids! The scene turned out wonderfully!" The director approaches, excited by the results. "The expressions on their faces have been so satisfying."

Chris smiled with his ego high and touched your shoulder, pressing your body against his.

"We are an excellent duo."

You look at your partner and you catch that flirtatious smile that was plastered on his face.

They gave them a robe to cover their bodies and invited them to rest until the next scene. Chris saw his partner in the distance talking to the director's husband.

He seemed to be upset, had a wrinkled expression and moved his hands exaggeratedly.

"Lion is looking for his cute Eider!" Chris sings the prayer like a melody as he stands next to you.

"Hey!” You greet your partner. "Does Lion still want to keep sticking his quick fingers inside Eider?"

Funny jokes talking about the characters.

"Oh you don't know how much I want it" Chris wasn't kidding, but you didn't need to know that.

Chris finally looks at the man you were talking to, showing his perfect teeth.

"Hello, I'm Christopher played Lion, but of course you already know that.”

He extends his hand and the man shakes it in a formal greeting.

"A pleasure Christopher, I do know very well what your character is. I'm Javier Harper."

"If I know him, I saw his role in the movie "Prejudices."

You immediately looked at Chris in surprise, since that's where you act too.

"Really? What did you think?"

"I don't think I'm in the right place to judge his work, I'm just an amateur actor."

They both laugh, but you could feel a tension in the air.

"It was a pleasure for me that his wife Roxana will work with me, she really does her job well."

Javier looks in the direction of his wife, who was still making some arrangements at the scene.

"Yes, she knows what she's doing," he looks back at the two young men in front of him. "She has told me a lot about your work as an actor, you are very charismatic. Lion's personality is so annoying, it must be difficult to cope with."

"It's not difficult, the role of Lion is actually based on me."

"Oh really?"

Javier seemed surprised, you nod nervously.

"It's a fanfiction, they thought about Chris when it was written and well the girl asked that if he could star it would be an honor."

"Brilliant, now it's all thanks to fanfiction."

The awkward conversation ended and the recordings continued, the rest of the film was recorded without difficulty. The tension between both co-workers was intense.

You had to admit that you had fucked several times in the dressing room with his partner Chris, or the thousands of times that you had gone to a nearby hotel to spend the night.

Right now they were doing the typical promotional interviews for the film.

They were both sitting next to each other.

"It is an honor to have Lion and Eider with us, for our channel."

The interviewer greets, you and your partner also greet excitedly.

"What expectations do you think the story will leave for our protagonists?"

"I think Lion and Eider start out as cliché, but they develop into a different relationship."

"I would call it something more natural, a normal relationship” Chris adds to your words. "Honestly, I think that Lion is a guy who refuses relationships because of something that went wrong in his past and he only intended to fuck Eider, this is something problematic for him…”

"Because both generate a sexual bond, it is something constantly tense."

"If from one moment they hate each other they go on to love each other and so on."

"What do you think of Lion?" The question is directed to you.

"Lion is a boy with a very strong ego, I think he knows very well that he is a handsome boy and that he could have everyone at his feet. But it's more than that, he has feelings that he represses to protect himself.”

"What do you think of Eider?"

"I thought Eider was a fool, you know she is always there for Lion and I was desperate that she wouldn't stay away from him, when she knows it's terrible for her. But he is quite intelligent and is always thinking about others and how to help them.”

"Favorite movie couple?"

"I hope it's the same" you look at Chris and he nods. “My favorite is Braian and Taylor, I love that they are a gay couple outside of stereotypes.”

"Yes, I like it but my favorite is Lion and Eider."

"How does it feel to know that you just played yourself? Because this is based on a fanfiction of yours."

"Well I didn't like that they wrote these kinds of things about me, it's not that I wouldn't like it, it was just something crazy that seemed impossible to me. But it's something that the fans like and beyond that it doesn't hurt me on a big level, I thought the story was cheesy, but I was interested in doing something new like acting.”

"How did you feel when it was confirmed that you would be working with Christopher Sturniolo?"

"I found out on the first day of recording, I didn't know who he was," you laugh nervously. "I wasn't very familiar with this YouTuber thing, but now I'm definitely a bigger fan."

Your work is finished, you will no longer see each other except in awards problems.

"What's happening?"

"I'm going to miss you," he responds to Chris as you hug him.

"What makes you think this is a farewell? You have my contact, a ring and I'll come to see you."

"Chris…”

"Unless you want it to be a goodbye."

"No, I don't want it."

"We are fine then."

He joins his lips with yours and you laugh between kisses. A few months later, the romance between both protagonists appeared on all Internet portals, all social networks exploded and even more so with the rumors that the sexual scenes recorded were.

⋆·˚ writer's note. Remember to hit the heart and share it with your friends! Thanks for reading^^

⋆·˚ taglist. @luverboychris @l34n @sturncakez @imwetforyourmom @hotreaderliin @tillies33ssss @sturnioloxlver @jnkvivi @stvrniolowh0re @adirtylittleheart @ilovechrisssturniolo-deactivate @melonjollyranche @sssoniaswiftt

[achoonihaachu]

I don't know whether or not you take NSFW prompts, but if you feel up to writing this— I've seen a lot of women coming to the scary realization that men can actually feel their lady parts throbbing when they sit on those men's laps.

Is it possible that we could see some reactions from the brothers when this kind of scenario plays out? Ignorant MC trying to keep themselves together without knowing they've already been given away. And can this be set before any romantic relationship develops? Thank you so much!

Older Brothers React to "Feeling" You...

(Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan)

a/n: i've literally had this planned for so long! >:(( i'm not too good at writing nsfw yet so i hope you still end up liking this >< i'll upload for the younger brothers soon! ilya! take care and have fun getting a tad spicy ;D

warning: nsfw prompt! read with caution!, not proofread!

Feelings don’t always have to be said. Sometimes you look at the object of your affection and you just know. They’d smile at you with a smile that insinuates something more than a friendly relationship, stares linger, touches heat you up from the inside and burns hotter the longer time goes on.

Lucifer:

You and Lucifer grew closer when you came back for your second year in the Devildom. He’s always been closed off and unwilling to open up to temporary people.

He says it’s to save himself from the hassle, it’s truly to save his heart from the ache when they leave.

He lets you grow close to his brothers before he takes his time in the spotlight. He wanted to sort of “feel out” how your relationship was going with his six younger brothers because though he’d never admit it out loud, he’d always put them on top of his list of priorities.

But when you grew close, you grew close quickly.

He’d invite you to lunch, the pair of you would go on strolls, and he’d let you have full access to his room and his office (even when he wasn’t around).

You’d normally hang out in his room during days when none of the other Avatars are vying for your attention; It’d normally be on the days when Lucifer tries to call for family meetings regarding the weekly spending and the overall average grades of the family.

For some strange reason, you’d be the only one at his door when the time came.

You’d take the time to just chill together, maybe watch a few movies when the eldest finishes his pile of paperwork early.

He loved catching you off guard. You’d be sitting in a swivel chair beside him and he’d suddenly stand up, carry you bridal style and carry you to his plush bed with the satin sheets.

He’d sit you on his lap or between his legs and he’d hold you tight while you hold your breath.

He smelled like sin incarnate; so intoxicating and teasing and you were afraid you’d get drunk on him if you breathed in too much.

You’d normally quickly pull away, face burning red and chest heaving and he’d simply stare at you in confusion.

But confusion’s a strong word… He’s what some might call a uh- “actor”.

He’s well aware of your quickening heartbeat; the arousal was practically dripping off your soul and if he were any other demon, he’d probably pin you down on the bed and take you the way he wants you.

But he wasn’t just any demon; he’s Lucifer Morningstar.

And this cocky motherfucker had a nasty habit of teasing.

You were lounging in Lucifer’s room again that day. The other boys were doing their own things so you were left to your own devices with the eldest. You were somewhat repressing your feelings for him- I mean, he’s this almighty being, the literal Avatar of Pride, why in Diavolo’s name would he ever be attracted to a simple, weak human? Right?

Right…

Your eyes would wander from your D.D.D screen, linger on his form and your collar would feel too tight around your neck. For some reason, you wanted something else wrapped around your neck. Unbeknownst to you, Lucifer was well aware of your stare; in fact, he would steal glances at your lying form on his bed. He was all alone with you, he was done with the work Diavolo assigned to him and now he was getting quite… bored. He watched as your thighs rubbed together ever so deliciously when the most brilliant idea popped into his mind.

He made a show of filing the papers away into one of the many drawers his desk had and he took his sweet time in walking toward you. Your hair splayed against the sheets, your body looked tiny in his king-sized bed. Your eyes were demure but he could see past the faux innocence; A little devil disguised as the purest of angels. He smiled at you as he reached down to lift you effortlessly into the air before sitting you down on his lap.

You were straddling him.

You sucked a sharp breath through your teeth; well fuck it all then. You were trying so hard to not fall victim to his charms but being in such close proximity to his boyish smirk and those ruby eyes of his that were… Absolutely mesmerizing. You tried to calm your racing heart but you could feel your body heat up in more ways than one.

Before Lucifer could even tease you, he felt it. The light thrum, a sort of pulse rhythmically beat lightly against his upper thigh; it was such a faint feeling, he almost missed it. His eyes widened ever so slightly, he scanned your face for any trace of embarrassment or even discomfort but your shallow breathing indicated otherwise.

A low chuckle rumbles in his chest as he grabs your face in one of his large hands, “Well, then… What’s with the look on your face, my dear?” His voice made the fire burning in your core burn hotter. You were stuttering a lousy excuse as he nodded mindlessly.

The pulsing only grew stronger, quite frankly. It was irregular and he quickly grew addicted to the feeling of it. You couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped your lips. An airy sound akin to a whine that had his devilish grin grow wider. Your arms snake up to wrap around his neck and you wriggle around helplessly as Lucifer made no move to push you off. You whined about how embarrassed you were but he could tell from your body that… Well, you were far from embarrassed. You seemed to actually enjoy this.

He bucks his thigh up and the sound you made…

Well, well well… Who knew you were capable of sounding so much sweeter?

Mammon:

Mammon could go one or two ways with you. He could either be incredibly clingy; he’d say that only he deserves cuddle privileges, only he gets to take you out on joyrides, only he gets to do things with you because why? Because he’s the Great Mammon, your First Man, obviously.

Or, he could also be the colder than the fucking icy tundras. He’d feign disinterest in you and whatnot but don’t let him fool you; Seeing you look the way you do is almost always enough to drive him closer and closer off the edge and he’d have to excuse himself from the room you’re all in to deal with his little– big? – problem.

He was “forced” to babysit you the moment you walked into the Devildom but he grew incredibly fond of you. He bordered on obsessed, honestly.

He’d never admit that he seeks you out more than you seek him out.

You felt most comfortable with Mammon of all the brothers; You were able to hold his hand and you found refuge in his arms when you were scared.

You’d never admit it out loud, but he was your favorite.

And he’d never tell you but… you were his favorite too.

He’s much more easily flustered than his older brother and out of the seven, he ranks rather low on the seduction— not because he isn’t seductive!

He’s just so sweet and shy so he never gets to try his charm out on you.

You were pure like freshly fallen snow, as perfect as you were uncorrupted.

Holding back has proven to be a hefty task on his end but he’s managed to be the perfect best friend so far… He’s not weak-willed like his other brothers.

Instead… He’s greedy.

And the way your plush thighs peeked out from your tight little skirt made him want to devour you– body and soul.

Drinking isn't really your strong suit and Mammon learnt that the hard way; A few months after you came to the Devildom, he had taken you out to go bar hopping in hopes of using you as a scapegoat when he wanted to come home late. He very quickly regretted that decision when he had to drag you up the stairs of the House of Lamentation at 1 in the morning after you drank your water weight in expensive liquor. You puked in his car and the damage you had done to his wallet with all the drinks you had… It wasn’t worth it.

That was such a long time ago now though, surely you had gotten better at holding your liquor… right?

No. Mayday, mayday– Abort the mission!

In the crowded club, you were so intoxicated by the swaying bodies on the dance floor, the addictive burn of alcohol as you threw back shot after shot; Your body seemingly moved on its own to the heavy bass of the music.

You were sitting at a large booth and only you and Mammon had decided to go out that night. He had left begrudgingly to get more shots after you hogged the first round he had got. He specifically told you to stay put but when he had come back with a tray of about 6 different drinks, you were grinding up against some low level demon–

The way the bastard’s hands gripped tightly on your hips as he pressed his body up against yours– All Mammon could see was red.

He dropped the drinks on the booth table and stormed over. To your defense, though, the drinks were particularly strong that night! You couldn’t even deny the delicious burn of the way Mammon pulled your arm toward him. He was so strong, so capable of breaking you but choosing to be delicate with you like you were fine china…

You let him drag you away from your (equally drunk) dance partner. He forewent the drinks and dragged you to a quiet, secluded corner. His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw ticked in uncontrollable jealousy. He glared down at your smaller frame; Fuck, the way your eyes glazed over in your drunken state. Your lips, parted in shallow breathing, glistened in the dim light of the club and it took everything in him to not kiss you in that moment.

“I told you to stay put. You could’ve been harassed by some drunk sicko.” His grip on your bicep never relaxed, if anything it tightened as he raked his eyes hungrily over your body…

By chance, your legs give out. You stumble into his arms and he’s quick to catch you, of course, but your thighs envelope one of his legs and he freezes up. Your hands grip onto his forearm lightly to balance yourself and the way you glance up at him so shyly– He thanks every good thing in the Devildom for the dim lights and he turns away to keep his growing problem under tight wraps. He’s about to push you away from him until he catches it– the way your breathing hitched and the rapidly quickening beating of your heart.

Throbbing. Light thrumming against his jean-clad thighs.

You would’ve visibly seen the way he gulped but you couldn’t even catch it with how intoxicated you were. You were too focused on suppressing the moan threatening to rip out your throat to notice the way his eyes darkened with lust. His thigh rubbed against you so delectably– Pupils dilated, he smirks hungrily at you. You smelled so sweet.

Maybe just for tonight, you’d forgive him for wanting to be more than your best friend.

He shakes your hands off lightly and places them against the wall behind you, ultimately caging you under him, “(MC)... You like this don’t you? Being in the arms of the Great, Strong Mammon…”

You couldn’t help but melt into his arms as you felt one of his hands snake around your waist.

You’d never kiss and tell but you did wake up in his bed the very next morning…

Leviathan:

Levi’s a very shy boy; He doesn’t do it on purpose, he just feels that you might enjoy the attention of other men is all and… Well, a thought process like that has long lasting effects on a person’s self esteem!

What you aren’t aware of though, is the complete 180 he does when he’s Grand Admiral Leviathan.

Your shy boy melts away and is completely unrecognizable and quite frankly; it’s such a sight.

You never see his serious side. He’s envious, too aware of the difference in respect he gets as Admiral Leviathan and as Otaku Levi.

He met you during his down time– he didn’t really tend to Hell’s Navy as much and he didn’t want you to expect that side all the time.

Levi found it simpler to be the shy, awkward one.

So you, unbeknownst to him, fell in love with the shy, awkward Levi.

You never let your blossoming feelings for him affect the way you treated him. There were obviously days when he made the coil in your stomach tighten from some small act of skinship–

In a way, you felt a tad embarrassed and pathetic even about getting off on the bare minimum from him…

You weren’t aware of how he was doing the exact same thing.

Every night he’d invite you to play video games with him or binge watch an anime and he’d always have to excuse himself at some point.

You were quite the cuddler so you’d climb onto his lap to cuddle him once you started getting sleepy.

He’d almost always push you off lightly about 20 minutes into your tired cuddles to go to the washroom.

He’d always come back sweatier and with flushed cheeks.

At times, Levi gets a little frustrated; Why can’t he be more assertive? If he tried a little more with you, your friendship would have already turned into something more by now…

Don’t worry though, Levi… You don’t have to worry about making the first move.

Game nights with Levi always turned into more of you watching Levi play games on his computer as you relaxed in his bathtub. You loved seeing him so focused; It was the only way you got to catch a glimpse of serious Levi; and serious Levi made you feel some type of way. His grip on his mouse, the way his fingers flexed and moved oh so nimbly across the keyboard of his desktop setup– You start wondering how else he could put his skilled hands to use.

You laid back on his plush blankets, your head resting on his Ruri-chan body pillow as loud music you could only describe as a combat soundtrack boomed on his speakers. He was in a long round of the game he was obsessing over and you were getting really bored; scrolling on your D.D.D could only entertain you for so long.

You were on Devilgram and you stumbled upon a trend of sorts. It was a pretty simple concept on paper: Play a sexy song, walk over to your significant other, or your best friend in this case, and sit on their lap. Okay. You could totally do that.

Boy were you wrong.

You decided to do it when Levi won the most recent round he had joined. You could finish it in 2 minutes tops anyways. Putting on a random playlist, you slowly walk over to the third born. He had his back towards you so you decided to have a little fun with the trend. Grazing a hand on the nape of his neck, you felt him tense up under your touch, “W-Woah! (MC)!” He yelped, spinning around to look at you with a bright blush on his face. Your smile was demure, you raise a finger to your lips and motioned for him to stay quiet. Your other hand was busy playing around with the fabric of his collar. My, he was heating up so quickly.

He was silent and stiff as a board (In more ways than one). His eyes stay locked on your face; He was afraid that if he looked at the way you were touching him, he’d implode. Shallow pants and quiet music played in the air, you were having a grand old time messing with him. You circled him and paused when you stood between his spread legs. You could feel your confidence falter when you saw how intensely he stared at you like you held his world in the palm of your hand.

Oh shit.

You hesitate, your hand that was trailing up and down his forearm paused and you swear, you heard a shameless whine from him. You eye him down and take a shaky breath; You’ve already gone this far… Might as well…

You push him further back into his gaming chair as you sit on his lap, your arms hanging off his shoulders. Your face was dangerously close to his, “Hey, Levi… I-” Your throat was dry and you couldn’t look at him without feeling the blood rush to your cheeks. Your body warmed like a teapot; you were worried you started developing a fever of sorts.

“W-W-What is all this about, (MC)—”

As he stuttered out a sentence, he couldn’t help but focus on the sensations he felt. He was hyper aware of his heavy breathing, your honeyed voice was almost too much for him to handle. Every micromovement was exemplified tenfold and he… could feel you.

The light beating against his thigh, like a faint heartbeat. He felt blood rush down south at the very thought of what it could mean.

However, that leaves him in an awful predicament; What should he do in this situation?! What in the world had gotten into you?! He could almost feel the way your chest rose up and down, almost against his own and the way he could hold you if he just had the guts to–

He recalled an adult anime he watched quite recently… Funny how similar the situation was– How did it end again? Oh– The sex scene–

“H-Hello? Earth to Levi? I said I saw this trend on Devilgram—Holy shit! Levi, your nose!”

You had kept your eyes on his chest, too shy to meet his gaze from the utter embarrassment you felt from what you just pulled but the moment you look up, you see— drip, drip, drip–

He was having one of the most intense nosebleeds you’ve ever seen.

What started as a silly little trend turned into you, panicking as you rushed around the house trying to tend to Poor Levi and his bleeding nose.

Don’t ever ask him why his nose started bleeding though… He took care of his other issue the moment you stopped fretting…

What he’d give to have you sit on his lap like that again…

[musclesandhammering]

Every Single Issue I Have With S*lki (It’s Not Just The Selfcest)

Here goes. I threatened to post this a few days ago and never did, but I just saw a s*lki stan Twitter account claim that Loki caring about Sylvie more than the whole multiverse was a Good And Romantic thing and it pushed me over the fucking edge, so now you all have to read this. I’ve divided it into categories cause there’s just THAT much.

OOC Bullshit

• First and foremost, no amount of mental gymnastics you do will ever make me believe that this specific Loki- the one that just invaded New York, that just came off a year of Thanos Torture, that just got done being influenced by the sceptre, that was literally in the middle of a crisis already, and then on top of that went through all the trauma of Ep 1- would even be worried about a romantic relationship. That would be the furthest thing from his mind. Go back and watch how he acted in Avengers- you think that guy would abandon his previous mission to become a snivelling simp for a girl he’d just met 3 days prior? Yeah, there’s no universe in which that makes sense.

• “It’s very in character for Loki to fall in love with himself lololol-“ NO, it’s literally not. Out of all the characters in the mcu, I don’t think I can think of anyone that genuinely hates themselves more than Loki. He even referred to all his other male variants as “monsters” and said meeting them was “a nightmare” in this series. He’s got so much self-loathing, plus the fact that he genuinely thinks himself to be an evil backstabbing scourge- so there’s no evidence at all suggesting that he would ever develop a fondness for, or even be inclined to trust, another version of himself, after only knowing them for 3 days.

• Building on that, the whole concept of Loki falling in love with a version of himself just feeds into the annoying ass misconception that he’s a narcissist. No matter which way you stack it, he’s not. If you’re referring to NPD, he doesn’t fit the criteria, and if you’re saying “narcissist” just as a slang term meaning “selfish and arrogant”, that still doesn’t accurately describe him. But when creators like Waldron and Herron do things like having him fall in love with himself, it makes it so much easier for casual viewers to think that he is.

Shitty LGBT Rep

• It’s kinda sus that Loki’s are allegedly genderfluid and yet the only female-presenting variant we see (and apparently the only female-presenting variant there is, cause the male Loki’s all seemed unfamiliar with the concept) is treated as some kind of mind-bogglingly special paradox. Also very sus that, out of all the Loki variants, the one our Loki falls in love with just so happens to be the only female one. What a coincidence.

• The fact that the creators of the show went around bragging about Loki’s bisexuality and Marvel purposefully (lbr) allowed stories about Loki possibly having a male love interest to circulate, specifically enticing queer viewers to watch the show (you know, the definition of queerbaiting), and then instead of having a male love interest (Loki was the first queer main character, so it was the perfect opportunity) they gave us *gestures to this dumpster fire* this… it’s just a middle finger to LGBT fans. The fact that they would rather have this relationship with all its myriad of problems than have a gay relationship is just……. Very telling.

• While him being with a woman obviously doesn’t refute his bisexuality, the fact that they showed/talked about him being interested in 3 different women (flight attendant, Sylvie, Sif) and never even hinted at him being attracted to a man, definitely makes it seem like they were trying to cover up his bisexuality to smooth things over with the more homophobic viewers. You know? It’s like “I know you’re pissed that we sorta confirmed Loki as bi, so we promise we’ll never mention it again! Or even hint at it! As a matter of fact, we’ll give him lots of female lovies and make him seem as straight as possible! That’ll take your mind off of that horrible crumb of queer rep, right? Please please please keep giving us your money!!!”

• Aside from all the other issues, at its core, the biggest reason why I think I’m so irritated with s*lki is that it took one of the most interesting, complex, and diverse characters in cinema atm and squished him into a tired ass unnecessary heteronormative subplot…. Like literally every. single. other. protagonist. ever. Loki is such a unique character, and it’s so so so incredibly disappointing that they stuck him into that same boring cookie cutter romance that happens to every other character in every other movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a disservice, and it’s honestly just not compelling or entertaining at all.

Thematic Issues Galore

• His arc didn’t need a romance. With anyone. It was unnecessary and it didn’t make sense plot-wise. In fact, one of the reasons he was my fav prior to this was because he was the only big-name mcu character whose story wasn’t muddied-up by a romance that didn’t need to be there. So much for that.

• He wasn’t emotionally ready for a romantic relationship with anyone. Hell, just a genuine friendship would’ve been pushing it for him at this point. He was in such a bad state that any relationship he got into would’ve been toxic and unhealthy for both him and the other person, and it doesn’t make sense why the writers would want to put him in one when there were so many cons and essentially no pros (other than “Uwu aren’t they cute together”).

• Sylvie’s character in general was unnecessary and Loki’s character was robbed just by her being there. The whole show became about her post-Ep 2. They spent most of the time giving her backstory, building her up, telling us how awesome she is, trying to convince us to like her, etc when what they really needed to be doing was building Loki up- cause I gotta say, if I had to describe TVA!Loki in a few words, they would be Flat, Boring, and Weak.

• The romance overtakes the plot. They spend time portraying their supposed connection that could’ve been spent adding depth and complexity to literally any of the characters. They make the big Nexus Event them giving each other googly eyes on Lamentis when it could’ve been so many other way more profound things that speak to the fundamental nature of Loki’s. They have the climax of the finale be “oh no she betrayed him to kill He Who Remains” when it could’ve been something way more compelling (Loki having a moral crisis over whether or not to kill HWR, Loki contemplating the state of the multiverse and weighing the pros and cons of freedom vs order, Loki looking into some What If situations and getting emotional about what could’ve been regarding his family, Loki realising the gravity of HWR’s offer and finally coming to terms with how important he is to the universal cycle, etc etc). The entire plot suffered in favour of a romance that half of us didn’t even want.

• It essentially reduced all of Loki’s potential character growth down to “He did it for his crush.” He seemed to at least have some motivations of his own in Ep 1-2 (feeble as they were) but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, literally every action he took was just him being a simp for her. Why did he lie in the interrogation? To try to protect Sylvie. Why did he fight the minutemen and Timekeepers? To survive kinda, but mostly cause it was important to Sylvie. Why did he get pruned? Cause he got distracted trying to confess his crush to Sylvie. Why did he try to get out of The Void? Cause he thought Sylvie needed him. Why did he stay in The Void? Cause Sylvie was staying. Why did he try to enchant Alioth? Cause Sylvie told him to. Why did the multiverse get cracked open, leading to an infinite number of Kangs waging war on all of existence? Cause Loki didn’t wanna hurt Sylvie in their fight at the Citadel and then get distracted by her kissing him. It’s uninteresting and honestly pretty embarrassing.

• Throughout their “relationship arc” the writers do their absolute damndest to convince us that we should like Sylvie more than Loki. And you know what? It’s the most hypocritical shit I’ve ever seen. They preach and preach about how Sylvie’s life has been so difficult/we should feel bad for her/she had it so bad/poor poor sylvie/she had it SO much worse than pampered prince Loki…. But then they never even touch on any of Loki’s trauma of hardships (the ones that have been ignored for literally 3 movies now). They frame Sylvie as a good person and a Freedom Fighter after she spent literal decades/centuries mass-murdering brainwashed TVA agents and showing exactly zero remorse for it….. but then they make it their mission to constantly remind us that Loki is a terrible person and constantly put him in situations where he’s forced to acknowledge his wrongdoings/show remorse/admit to how “evil” he is for being a mass murderer for like 2 years. They show him on-screen having a wider range of powers than her, and perpetuate his whole shtick of being a “master manipulator” or whatever….. But then they make Sylvie “the brawn” more competent, intelligent, and physically capable than him. Tell me how it’s a good thing for a ship to be so narratively biased toward one character.

Missed Opportunities

• If they absolutely had to have a romance subplot, then they could’ve paired Loki with one of the characters that have already been established OR one of the characters that were a big part of the whole TVA storyline anyway. It would’ve been so interesting if they’d revealed that Loki had a history with some of the players from previous films (Sif and Fandral both come to mind). It also would’ve been really interesting if they’d given Loki a love interest that actually had some allegiance to the TVA as a whole (Mobius maybe, but not necessarily. It also could’ve been Renslayer or B-15). Hell, imo it would’ve been cool if they’d followed through with that “See you again someday” line that he said to the flight attendant in Ep 1. ALL of these characters have way more chemistry with him than Sylvie, and they were also already relevant to the plot without wasting half the show to give background info on them.

• If they absolutely had to have a hetero-presenting love story involving an enchantress-type figure, then there’s a whole Enchantress (Amora) that was actually Loki’s love interest in the comics. Plus, fans have been screaming for Amora to appear in the mcu for years. Plus, Tom literally pitched an Amora/Loki storyline way back in 2012-13. Also, Lorelei (another enchantress) is also one of Loki’s love interests in the comics, and she already exists in the mcu (she was on Agents of SHIELD). There were several different established characters for them to choose from. Creating a whole knew amalgamation of a character and going with the “she’s a Loki variant” storyline was just completely unnecessary and made no sense.

• They completely robbed us of a Chaos Twins dynamic. Had they handled Sylvie better and not forced her and Loki to smooch, the two of them could’ve had a really really complex and interesting sibling relationship. Loki could’ve stepped into Thor’s shoes and sort of used that new role to gain some self importance, and Sylvie could’ve finally had somebody to look out for her/teach her magic/be there for her. It would’ve been very aesthetically pleasing, the vibes would’ve been out of this world, it would’ve been way more profound than this bs, and frankly it would’ve been much more entertaining to watch.

• Loki’s relationship (read: obsession) with Sylvie completely overshadows all Loki’s other relationships in the show. Loki and Mobius were literally the focal point of the series in Ep 1-2, but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, they barely had any interactions with each other, and Mobius pretty much faded to the background entirely. Loki had the beginnings of a pretty interesting antagonistic relationship with Renslayer (with her wanting him pruned, then arguing with Mobius that he couldn’t be trusted), but after Sylvie showed up the dynamic shifted to focus on the history between her and Ravonna. Loki and B-15 started off very badly and openly disliked each other throughout Ep 1-2, and then in the end of Ep 2, Loki showed a little bit of concern for her when she was possessed, hinting that they might be inching toward a reconciliation- especially considering how obvious it was that Loki was gonna uncover the TVA’s sins eventually. There was so much potential for him to be the one to give her her memories back and convince her to change sides, but no, of course that honor went to Sylvie. In fact, after Sylvie showed up, Loki and B-15 never even spoke to each other again.

Various S*lki Fails

• If they were trying to convince us that this affection was mutual, they completely failed. There’s nothing I’ve seen that even hints at Sylvie feeling the same way about Loki that he does about her. At most, I’d say she has a slight endearment to him. She finds him likeable and she’s grudgingly fond of him, but she definitely isn’t in love with the guy. Maybe she thinks he’s cute and hopes that he gets out of this mess alright, but her mission obviously comes before him- whereas, it’s been confirmed multiple times that Loki cares about her above anything else. She doesn’t trust him, she looks at him like he’s an incompetent fool half the time, she shows little to no reaction during most of his confession moments, and she kissed him as a means to distract him so that she could get him out of her way. Look, all I’m saying is, when you get into a relationship where one of you is way more invested than the other, it never ends well.

• This goes without saying for a lot of us, but the selfcest is just straight up odd and cringey. If you’re cool with that sort of thing, fine! People can ship what they want! But don’t pretend it’s not at least a little bit uncomfortable. Yes, I know they’re not technically siblings so it’s not technically incest, and they’re also not technically the exact same person, but they’re similar enough that it makes things weird. And yes I know selfcest can’t happen in real life, so there’s no way to judge it morally, but neither can most of the other stuff that happens in these shows/movies (the Snap, Loki destroying jotunheim, superhero with powers being held accountable, mind control) and yet we still find ways to judge their morality, because they all mirror real-world events. (The snap= genocide; Loki destroying Jotunheim= bombing other countries; superhero accountability= weapons accountability; mind control= grooming and coercion). And lbr the closest real-world mirror to two versions of the same person (who may or may not share DNA, family, backgrounds, physical and emotion characteristics) being romantically involved with one another is incest. And you can be ok with that if you want- that’s your prerogative- but don’t get pissy just cause a lot of us are squicked out by it.

• The whole mirror metaphor (learning self love via each other) thing just fell completely flat. First of all, having Loki learn to love himself by looking at someone who mirrors him did not, in any way shape or form, require them to be romantically involved. But they were. Of course. Secondly, the creators have contradicted themselves so many times on whether Loki and Sylvie are the same or not, that it doesn’t even really register to the viewer that the mirroring thing was what they were going for. Finally, Loki and Sylvie are shown to have so little in common- and to have only the most bare minimum of similarities personality-wise- that it doesn’t even make sense that Loki would “learn to love himself through loving her”. Like? They’re nothing alike. So how would he make the connection that he himself is actually pretty cool, based on her alone? There’s virtually nothing in her that reflects him.

• I know the objective of the entire show was to convince us of how awesome and unique Sylvie is, but honestly her relationship with Loki just did the opposite. A hallmark of a Mary Sue is having her constantly upstage the male lead, and then having him instantly fall madly in love with her anyway. And that’s.. exactly what happened here. Everything they’re doing to try to force her character to be more stan-able is really just forcing her to look more like their self-insert OC. Which is exactly what she is. It would’ve been so much more satisfying if she didn’t have to try so hard to look cool, if they didn’t have to try so hard to make her backstory tear-inducing, if they didn’t have to turn our protagonist into a snivelling simp just to prove how incredible she supposedly is. Very much #GirlBoss energy and we all know how performative and cheap that is.

• The entire thing was too rushed, there was too little build-up, and it was nowhere near believable. As stated above, it’s ridiculously unlikely that Loki would canonically even be interested in Sylvie, and this show did nothing to explain why he was. He just suddenly was. There was nothing they showed us as viewers that would justify a guy as closed-off and preoccupied as Loki falling head-over-heels for a girl he just met. Their was no explanation, no big revelation, no reasoning, it just… kinda happened. And I’m also severely skeptical of any love story that has the characters go in this deep after only 3 45-minute episodes of exposition.

I’m sure there’s other stuff, so if anyone thinks of anything, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to add it. Tagging @janetsnakehole02 @raifenlf @natures-marvel and @brightredsunset800 for expressing interest. This is all your faults.

[streets-in-paradise]

No Space for Loneliness

Troy (2004) Reader Insert Fanfiction - Part 19 

 Masterlist 

Word Count  +17 K

Characters (Most Mentioned): Hector, Paris, Mycenaean Princess!Reader, Odysseus, Penelope, Ereny (OC),Telemachus, Melantho. 

Relationships: Platonical -  Hector and Paris being siblings, various kinds of friendships among different characters.

                         Romantical - Odysseus x Penelope, Achilles x Mycenaean Princess!Reader ( mentioned or implied.)

Warnings: None. (this is one is pretty chill.)

Summary: As the formal welcome of the trojans takes place on the ithacan palace, the clueless mycenaeans seem themselves forced to develop a processing strategy. While their princess tries to figure them out, Hector and Paris intend to do the same with her for completely opposite reasons. The eldest prince wants to decipher the contradictory messages that her attitude towards him implies, but his brother seems completely fixated on the task of getting her attention. On the context of their first day together, surprises began to emerge on both sides. 

Notes:  In this i included a story inspired in a headcanon I have explaining the blue outfits seen in the film. I get the impression that the style in those costumes fits much better as something Paris would wear, and this was the startpoint for those headcanons. 

Tags: @yerevasunclair @mysticaldeanvoidhorse​ @spideyanakin-interacts @spideyanakin @awakenedevildays​ @alaysha-of-middleearth​

The walk to the palace was quite tense and the mycenaeans tried to be less talkative, but it was impossible because Paris was walking in the middle of them and constantly bringing up things for conversation. The princess wanted to hear what Odysseus and Hector were saying but she only managed to catch fragments of their conversation because the younger trojan was being a very tenacious and effective distraction. 

For the little she heard, she guessed that they were already discussing politics. Hector was quite angry and his way of showing it was going ríght to the point he cared the most. However, he wasn't accomplishing much because Telemachus impeded him for quite a while. His interventions worked as a softening agent because watching him trying to keep up with the grown ups was distractive for his mood. The little boy was trying to get a “prince to prince talk” with him and it was hard to keep a serious stance near him, which worked indirectly for the benefit of Odysseus. She heard him laugh once at his infantile occurrences while trying to avoid deviants in the topic. 

She wanted so badly to make her contribution on it, especially after catching Hector mentioning something about attacks on ships of the trojans and allied kingdoms. What at first seemed like a taxing issue could be potentially more complex and she wanted to get involved, but Paris wouldn't let her simply because he wouldn't stop creating a separated conversation among the three of them. 

She guessed that he was trying to entertain them, but it didn't make it less annoying. Only when he asked about Odysseus and his uses with the arrival of foreigners as an attempt to understand the mock he pulled on him did the talk make any sense to her at least. 

" Being the smartest person in the room sometimes can become his favorite game, but I can't complain because it is a flaw we share. " She briefly explained to him.

Ereny was providing the most compelling replies because she didn't mind being truly involved in a casual interaction with him. She didn't have any immediate need to worry about politics. 

" It was a nice revival of our childhood games. We grew up together and back then we used to pretend to be sisters to confuse visitors who never saw us before. You wouldn't believe how many people we have fooled with that." 

" It still works, I'm very impressed." He easily admitted. " For two girls who aren't sisters, you pretty much feel as such in every act, I wouldn't have suspected otherwise.”. 

" I'm her handmaid. My name is Ereny." 

He looked adorably surprised. 

" Thanks for revealing yourself to me, I wouldn't have guessed it so easily even when you have already affirmed to be a servant. " 

" I don't see why not." She hesitantly replicated. 

" Look at yourself, Ereny. We are in Ithaca... Who can afford you here??" 

He made her laugh and he had to insist.

" Seriously, you are splendid and whoever decided to give you responsibility over your lady's beauty took an excellent choice. " 

She didn't mind the relatively innocent flattery, but her friend wasn't going to tolerate it easily. 

" Don't mess with Eny. " She cutted him in a menacing tone. " You can't do it, never. She is completely off limits for you. "

Paris noticed how quickly he got her full attention back and couldn't resist pointing it out. 

" Don't worry, princess. I just want to be my nicest with your friend. "

" Is that your answer? Are you going to assume that I'm a princess now?" 

" It's my nickname for you until I can figure out how to call you. " Paris clarified, unaware of how close he was to the truth. " Your game is exciting. My brother isn't interested, but i want to play with you. " 

She didn’t want it to sound as such, but his tone made the last sentence feel like a tease. The spice in his attempts of teasing was starting to escalate and she had no idea of how to properly react to that. Normally, no man other than Achilles would dare to be so shameless with her. When being in public with him she would limitate to silently enjoy it and pretend otherwise, but that wasn't the case then because she wasn't looking for the attention of Paris. She tried to rush her mind into remembering any of the evasive strategies she saw Helen using for unwanted interactions with men, but in the hurry she couldn't think of anything useful. 

She opted for being herself and hushing him in her way, acting like the protective friend she has always been.

" Keep bothering me, I don't care, but stay away from her. As soon as you make her uncomfortable, we are done. " 

" Don't worry, Paris. I will let you know if you cross the line." Ereny warned him kindly. " I'm not afraid of doing it, you seem very easy to talk to. " 

" I see, talking is no problem with him. " Her friend added in a subtle mock, directing her words back at him later. " Let's keep with the game. Do you have any more questions for me?"

The prince chose his words carefully. 

" What does a man have to do if he wants to be interesting to you?" 

She should have seen it coming, but didn't. 

" Really?? Everything you asked before, i could answer. I'm not going to tell you that. " 

" The rules don't specify any limits on the asking. " 

" How is that going to tell you anything about who i am?" 

" You have me so confused, I want to figure out which one of the two girls we knew today is the real you: the one who gave that anti heroism speech to Hector or the protagonist of that tavern tale about a hero, that I sincerely hope to be a lie. " 

Her priority was protecting herself from the consequences of the verbal accidents that Telemachus caused. She couldn't prevent him from making that comment, but now she had to make sure to leave no suspects. 

" I'm both of those girls and also neither of them. " 

Answering in a riddle was  vague enough, a way to be honest without exposure.

" Please, no more riddles! " He playfully complained. " You know exactly what I meant. " 

His disconcert was quite cute and she decided to give him a bit more information in order to calm him. 

" He is a friend of Odysseus who barely acknowledges my existence. " A blatant lie of reply. " His name is intimidating and part of the scheme was intimidating you, that's why Telemachus included that reference. He must have thought that it was a good idea because Achilles is the last person you want to know about when you are getting threatened. Any greek knows that. " 

It was enough, a satisfying half lie for him.

" Of course, he is the attack beast of the mycenaeans. The country's worst fear, I guess. "

Instead of making her angrily defensive, the offensive take provided her with an excellent motivation. In a completely accidental way, Paris inspired her into a change of focus. A great idea crossed her mind, making her see that her initial inability to think coldly made her face the issue from the wrong perspective. 

Instead of worrying about Hector's fame among the greeks as the most qualified hero in the competition for the spot of Achilles, she was going to work on the myrmidon warrior's fame among the trojans. The excitement about all the possibilities changed her attitude as she started thinking about all the tasks she had ahead, the first one being getting to know and analyze the trojan perspective on him. 

The goal wouldn't be that time about getting people to like him, it was about making him be better known by the foreigners. His name getting more mentions, the tales of his feats being shared overseas once the crew would take her tellings with them to Troy. They would be talking about him. It wouldn't matter if they would do it out of fear, disbelief or real curiosity. 

" Is that a personal opinion or is that how you all see him in Troy? Achilles can be accused of many things, being mindlessly loyal to Agamemnon isn't one of those. " She pointed out to the prince, keeping the needed distance in the affirmation. " I will have so much fun fixing all your misconceptions about Greece." 

Paris kept deviating the point of the talk, making it about her taste as he was trying to figure out his chances with her. 

" You are a smart woman, I guessed that your taste would be more refined. I don't see you seeking the company of brute soldiers and, apparently, I was ríght." 

" I do like men who are willing to stick to their words and defend what they say with actions. "

It was the most polite way that occurred to her to explain that she wasn't into him. 

" That was hurtful, but fair. '' Paris quickly striked back. " What you saw wasn't me at my best... I still have time to surprise you.`` 

She didn't bother trying to not seem careless about the warning, proceeding to ignore him in favor of making her desired entrance on the improvised political talk.

" Greeks shouldn't be a problem to you after what you did to the spartans. " She casually commented to Hector, a controversial stance giving some push to the discussion. 

" I'm trying to explain to him that, if my father were a pirate king, my mother would have already noticed it and she wouldn't be happy about it. " Telemachus replied instead. " My parents never argue, so he must be wrong. " 

His simplistic interpretation was quite cute. Still, he managed to understand that Odysseus wanted to incentivize the conversation between the mycenaean and the trojan. 

Following his father's directives, he stopped distracting them and allowed the adult talk to flow better. 

" Go ahead, dear. Don't be shy. " The Ithacan king encouraged the young princess. " Speak your mind, delight us with your guesses. " 

With the given permission to speak freely, the girl let herself go. 

" You trojans may be insanely rich, but it doesn't justify it. Those men have to be blinded by greed or just extremely stupid to actively come for you. Let me remind you, Hector, that you accomplished what was once impossible: expelling the spartans and breaking their king's will to keep trying more incursions. " She calmly explained. " In these conditions, the only greeks fearless enough to consider looking for troubles with you are the myrmidons, but I wouldn't bother in making them suspects. The kind of attack you described isn't their style. They are brave to a point that looks crazy and their strikes are always frontal. Who you are looking for are greedy cowards taking it on the little cities in the shadow of your greatness. " 

The precise amount of detail in her advice was astonishing. 

" How can you assure all of this?" Hector asked, slightly surprised. 

" Femenine intuition... and an accurate knowledge of how things work around here. " She joked, keeping the mystery just to mess with him. 

" I want to make it stop without having to result in the loss of lifes. " 

" In that we agree, but I have to say that your conclusions are a bit insulting. Are you here looking for answers because you think the Ithacans are the thieves? Under which proofs? Don't bother using old times reputation as evidence, i want facts. " 

" Ithaca is involved in clandestine commerce and I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way to avoid us and Agamemnon with the same efficiency. I'm not blaming them for those particular crimes, but this is a great place to start asking the ríght questions. " 

Against any predictions on his behavior, Paris intervened to strengthen the point of his brother. 

" We aren't here to blame anyone, but because we know of Odysseus's consulting role in greek politics. Since he took the lead on inviting us first, asking for some wise advice and information can't do any harm.”

The two circumstantial sides of the argument, the lady and his brother, found themselves surprised at the same time. In her case it was with the warning still fresh in her mind while in his,it was because he started wondering if they may have found a way to make him focus on what needed to be done. 

On his part, Odysseus was sure of having everyone exactly where he wanted them to be. 

" If I accept this proposal, would you be willing to discuss your tax policy? The honest merchants of my island are struggling because of your taxes. You count Greece as one single homogeneous territory while the truth of living here is drastically different. " 

With the talk deviated to the main point they wanted to make, the princess made her part and collaborated with further argumentation. 

" Stop punishing them and everyone else for Mycenae and Sparta.The situation in insular Greece ain't like theirs. " She simplified. " By taxing every greek ship with your enemies as reference all you accomplish is winning more enemies. Keep ruining places like this and the moment Agamemnon decides that he has had enough with Troy, he will find supporters. " 

The king couldn't help smiling to himself, satisfied with her words. 

Hector was starting to get suspicious in the ríght direction. In the heat of the discussion, her way of speaking about Ithaca changed. As if she was trying to defend the point of a king who wasn't hers, talking of the ithacans with certain distance. 

Still, what truly triggered it for him was her last sentence. 

" Do I have to take that as a threat?"

" No, it's some of the advice your brother says you are asking for. It didn't come from Odysseus, but I would use it if I were you." 

" This is wonderful, dear. I love to see you so committed. Are you willing to help me out with this? " The king asked, playing the fool like it wasn't his plan all along " You don't have to if you don't want to. After all, you are here just to see family." 

It was her time to pretend a shocked agreement of his proposal, but she decided to take advantage of the situation. 

" Allow me to attend one council meeting and I'm in. "

It was too much, but she had the guts of asking it anyways. 

" You know I can't do that." 

" If he finds out, I will be the one who would have to stand his anger for the longest time. Even if you have the courage to face him with me, you will go and I will have to stay and deal with him. Make the punishments that he will surely apply on me feel worthy by giving me a chance to be part of something I would love to do." 

Once more, they ended up in a short altercation. 

" It's against the law either with him or here." Odysseus was trying to explain to her. " Even if I could, he would kill me for doing It. " 

" If you can evade taxes, you can also make this for me. You broke the law once. What's wrong with breaking it twice?" 

" It's tradition.I can't fight it." 

" If you want my help, risk something. "

Listening carefully to them, Paris thought that it was his time to shine. It occurred to him that he could indulge the request to impress her. 

" Give it for granted, princess. If he doesn't, we will take you. " 

The little ray of hope Hector thought he had was extinguished and he had to stop him before he could do something extremely foolish.

" Paris, even in Troy it would be forbidden. " He added. " Getting in serious trouble for supporting her will accomplish nothing. Either for her or us, it's pointless. " 

The mere idea of how much he almost risked without noticing it was surreal to her. 

" I have to say I'm impressed. " She commented ríght back at the young trojan. " Risking breaking the organizational core of law for a woman you don't know at all just because you are attracted to her? I know you have spent some time on the sea, but i didn't imagine you were that desperate. " 

The clever joke almost managed to make Hector laugh, but he restrained himself for the sake of Paris and his honor. 

" I want to do something nice for the real you. " The lad excused himself. 

" And I could be manipulating you into making me get what I want, but I choose not to. Instead i'm showing you how dumb you would be if you do that while representing your country. " She líed, knowing well that on another occasion she would have done it. Paris seemed to be so politically naive that she simply couldn't do that to him. 

Of course, he insisted. 

" I can take the personal blame because it was my idea. Whoever wants to complain can do it individually." 

Odysseus intervened again to avoid bursting into laughter after imagining how that could possibly go. 

" Are you serious,lad? " He asked in a mischievous tone, making the girls feel that he was close to hinting at the last reveal. 

" Of course I am!" Was the prince's determining reply. 

"... Would you personally and individually present yourself in front of the mycenaean king to tell him that you encouraged his daughter to break a fundamental law in a country you don't rule? How do you think that he would react while witnessing a son of Priam disrespecting his authority as greek King of Kings and father of this girl?" 

Paris was shocked and disconcerted, but in awe of the surprise while Hector was horrified. Not by her, because he only saw his worst suspects confirmed with the clarification. He was thinking back on his brother's reactions during their encounters and the danger within his every action. 

" Don't say a word." He ordered him

The princess smiled innocently at both, who wouldn't stop staring at her. 

" Welcome to Greece, your majesties!" She improvised as an entrance speech. " I'm a bit shier than what i look like when i'm playing to be someone else, but i'm pleased to meet you as this sort of unofficial mycenaean representative i think I have become. Until today I had no idea that you were on your way here and Agamemnon isn't here to ruin it. Fortunately for you, it's only me. " 

" She is my wife's second cousin, we haven't seen her in a long time. " Odysseus commented. " You don't know how hard it was to bring her here. He only trusts her to his brother in Sparta. My Penelope asked me to plead to Agamemnon for her and get a visit, I couldn't say no to her. 

" Everyone loves her, not even him could say no. " She completed his tale, knowing that it was most likely for Penelope to have been on board with her husband's plan the whole time. " The arrangements for your invitations and mine were handled separately at different times, he forgot to tell me because i'm not a political visit... and because father wouldn't have allowed me to travel alone if he knew of two foreign princes wandering around at the same time. " 

Paris couldn't resist the temptation of doing his kind of commentary, even knowing it would piss off Hector. 

"... Are we being spoiled with a free glimpse of the most precious jewel in Agamemnon's treasure? Odysseus, what a welcome! Your hospitality is the weirdest, but it rewards you for it. "

" In fact, Paris, your affirmation is correct in at least one aspect. '' She replied, looking for words that could neutralize the tone. " Despite that I don't like it, seeing me alone is a privilege because i'm not usually allowed to travel without him or my uncle." 

" This has been a very strange day... '' Hector limited himself to comment. " Everything was unexpected, but this goes beyond any possible or imaginable expectation." 

" I can't agree more and I'm glad to be myself again. " 

" ... At least I can see now the reasons for that disdain... Understandable. " 

She owed him an explanation for her horrible behavior and the specific targeting she made of him. Since she couldn't tell him the truth, she faced it from a different angle. 

" Do you think that I hate you because the men in my family told me to? The Atreides only nurture their hatred into masculine descendants who can keep the circle with actions of impact. They don't bother with doing it to me because I'm useless. " 

" You spoke of my leading in the last battles against the spartans. " Hector reminded her. " As the niece of their king, I can expect some hate coming from you. "  

" Please don't! I can't let you assume that. " She felt obliged to correct. " Your role there doesn't bother me in the slightest. Menelaus got what he deserved with you beating his men so easily. Sure, it cost spartan lifes... but think how many could have been lost if he wouldn't feel reluctant to come back for more like he did before? He will think twice before making another try and let me tell you that this is a great achievement. My uncle is stupidly stubborn, he never thinks anything twice." 

Her words got the approval of the prince, who wasn't expecting a reasonable answer. 

Odysseus chose to see it as a small sign of success.

They reached their destination and found Penelope already waiting for them at the entrance of the palace for the receival. A slave girl slightly older than Telemachus was acting as her company, since the queen intended to use the oportunity to train her in the discretional management of special ocassions like that one. The kid was fascinated and excited in equal amounts, but they were supposed to work on how to control those emotions for an appropriate formal receivement of the special guests. 

A quick glance from afar as they were reaching them was enough to put Penelope’s remarkable capacity for discretion at risk because of the amusement that she got from that very first sight. In awareness of her husband’s intentions and some manifested preferences of her young cousin, that first look was hilariously ironic to her. Both mycenaean girls saw it in her eyes right away; she noticed the same detail they did before in the dressing style of the trojans. They were wearing matching blue outfits that looked like the princess herself could have picked for them, as if they would have accidentally dressed up for her. A subtle sharing of glances between the three women made her participate in the joke that Ereny came up with earlier that day and, probably later, of her challenge. 

That was the sign for their game to begin. Taking the needed distance that the new introductions required, Ereny and her lady used that space to observe and make their preliminary judgments. 

Neither of the Ithacan royals behaved with the extreme protocol caution that could have been expected of them. Telemachus abandoned all pretensions of demureness as soon as he saw his mother, running towards her with a happy face. This caused the unfortunate unleashing of the little slave’s regular ways and she started chuckling,what made him stop inmediately and right he could give the yearned salute. 

“ Why are you laughing now?” He complained directly to the amused slave. 

“ You look like a baby. Can’t you wait until you are out of sight to look for the love of mommy?”  She mocked him. “ The princes of Troy aren’t going to pay their respects to you if you keep embarrassing yourself like that. “ 

“ I’m braver than Paris.” Telemachus announced with full pride. “  Atta says I’m doing great and the girls think I’m too smart for my age.” 

“ Of course they will say all of that! People are always nice to babies.” 

Seeing the frustration in her boy’s semblance, Penelope procured to fix the issue intervening directly in it. 

“ Melantho, that is enough! “ She reprimanded her. “ There is a line between friendly mockery and harsh insults. Right now, you are at the edge of it.” 

“ She always is.” Her son observed, intending to mock her as well. “ We should tell the trojans to beware of her snake tongue.” 

Telemachus was speaking from his anger. The right thing to do in order to calm down both was to go in the opposite direction. 

“ It stops being a joke when the people you are joking with don't find it funny anymore.”  Penelope patiently concluded in her explanation to Melantho. Softly but severely, a consistent way to make her see the mistake. . “ You must apologize right now. “ 

Telemachus smiled at his mother, wishing to show himself stronger in her eyes. 

“ Don’t worry, I don’t need it.”  He calmed her. “ I know that Melantho is jealous because I didn’t invite her to my beach walk today. She wants to get to know the girls, but you always send her away when they stay with you. “ 

Her talks with her second cousin weren’t meant for the ears of any servant, not even her most beloved. Penelope wasn’t able to properly explain to Melantho why she saw herself forced to exclude her, so she tried to comfort her. 

“ Our guest prefers privacy, that’s why I do it. She is not used to living among strangers on foreign courts, we are the first kingdom that she is touring alone. “ She excused herself.” … She likes your father’s work in the gardens, perhaps we can invite her to spend an afternoon there with us, like Telemachus did when he took her with Eumaeus. “ 

The proposal satisfied her and she was all smiles again, but Odysseus didn’t need to hear what happened to make a correct approximation and comment about it. 

“ You are the land’s peacemaker, my love.” He told Penelope. “ I don’t know what would be of us without you.” 

The queen was bright with joy, but would still want to play with him. 

“ What took you so long? Did you have to mess around with those poor young men? Playing tricks on everyone is not a good way to make friends.” 

He gifted her a little cackle and followed her lead. 

“ It works for me, we just had a very interesting talk. They wouldn’t have opened to me so easily if i wouldn’t have tested the limits of Hector’s legendary patience.”

She couldn’t help laughing while picturing in her mind what he could have possibly done to them. 

“ Well, boys. I ran out of tricks for now. “ He told the princes as he headed in the direction of her, setting the space for the introductions. “ This beautiful smiling woman is the one who stole my heart.” 

The mycenaeans observed them in great amazement. They looked more in love than any other married couple they could remember. Odysseus took both of Penelope’s hands, tangling them lovefully with his to resist the indecorous impulse of kissing her right there.  

Paris made a silly joke that could have ruined the ambience, but fortunately didn’t. 

“ It’s nice to meet her. What do we tell your wife?” He inopportunely commented, knowing the obvious answer but still choosing to mock them just because they looked cute. “ It’s her, I know it and that kind of attitude doesn’t represent me in the slightest.” 

The princess was imagining the opposite. 

“ He is trying to emulate your clever takes, that’s all.” Hector clarified. “... Everytime you notice this, assume that he wants to be nice.” 

“ I’m taking the mental note on that, thank you. “ Penelope replied, showing to not be disturbed. 

Odysseus concluded the presentation without wasting time in further teasing; the lad had enough with the prank he pulled on him and was probably nervous. 

“ It’s fine, París.. and you are right. She is Penelope. My wife, the mother of my son, queen of this land and the love of my life.” He pridefully explained. “ A very busy woman, there are many roles for her to fill.” 

The young prince felt teased by the fact that the king’s joke was actually funny. To some extent, his quick mind started to impress him. 

It was very hard to tell, but the detailed observation that was meant to make the game help the princess to notice something odd about Hector's reactions to the royal couple. Unlike Paris, who was all about bad joking and cute cheering, there were glimpses of deep introspectiveness in him. His mood improved and there was a warm sparkle in his intensely brown eyes. She thought that it had to be a feeling on the long scale from situational admiration to wishfulness. Odysseus' advice on not hearing rumors was backlashing on her. She started wondering if the prince felt nostalgic over a woman he left at home or if his expression showed his craving for someone he didn't have then.

His rather severe expression seemed slightly dulcified, probably while unaware of being catched in those sweet thoughts.That Hector, she thought, was a bit more interesting that the struggling leader that she met at the port. Ereny was spying on her examination, waiting for her to admit that the eldest son of Priam was better looking than what they expected him to be. It was true, but it wasn't saying much. Hector was handsome in the way of a royal, better looking than many greek princes she had met. His kind of beauty was slightly more appealing to her taste than his brother's and he was closer to what greeks would imagine a prince should look like. Quite nice compared with her suitors, not the worst choice for an awkward enforced date. Besides,the blue clothes were giving him a plus of attractiveness.   

To make things fair, she tried to base her judgment thinking on the first sight of Achilles that she got during their meeting in Sparta, trying to evoke some preliminary judgments on both. The trojan prince was fine, but just by looking at him he wasn’t making her feel the same weakness that she felt ríght away with the myrmidon warrior. 

Her opening verdict on Hector was merely daring to admit that he had his own amount of attractiveness. He was more objectively handsome than what she imagined him to be, but that was all. 

The princes were introducing themselves to Penelope, Hector taking the lead to stop Paris from messing it up. Things were going good, but his brother could not be stopped from being himself. 

" You are extremely lucky, she is a beauty." He commented to Odysseus. " What kind of low trickery did you pull off to marry this woman?" 

" I can give political advice, but I don't share my seduction secrets. " He mocked back. " ... The truth is that I don't even know what I did. She fell for me and it all happened so fast that i can't think of what i did ríght." 

" At least he is aware that you are too cute for him. '' Paris joked with Penelope, his careless freedom for it making her laugh more than the joke. " I'm honored to be your guest, Penelope... and to meet you and your splendid cousin. You two are the living proof that beauty can run in the blood of a family indefinitely."

" Thank you, Paris. I'm glad to see that your meeting turned out fine. I was worried because i know it is not easy, but my husband handled it appropriately for what I understand from you." 

" His methods are not conventional, but I see the point now. " Hector added. " A good warning scare to get him ready for what was coming...  Not enough, unfortunately." 

" Neither King Odysseus or Agamemnon are being disrespected by my comments. They are related by a nearly invisible string of beautiful women, that is a surprising fact that i can't ignore because i'm an admirer of femenine beauty. "

Penelope tried to stop a possible altercate derivative of Hector' attempts to control the tongue of Paris. 

" The end of the string is in Sparta, Helen is my youngest first cousin. Not many people think about it, but we are family and most would agree in considering her the most excellent exponent of your theory." She added, closing Paris' conclusion." She is not with us today, I plan to visit her by myself soon. Convincing Agamemnon to let this girl come to see me was very hard already, asking Menelaus to let me see his wife at the same time is nearly impossible." 

" It's a distant bond, we are only related through the girls. '' Odysseus helped her conclusions. " I agreed with the choice. One at the time is good, the two of them would be chaos. They are well behaved ladies until one crosses the path of the other. "

The mycenaean lady answered the claim with a shy smile, playing the fool and refusing to directly confirm or deny anything. 

Paris knew the intentionality of that gesture, he would often use it when he wanted to hide something. He answered with a very dissimulated smirk that would let her know of his awareness. 

" I'm familiar with that feeling. " Hector answered for him to Odysseus. " I would never want to make anyone else deal on purpose with the mess that Paris and Briseis can create"  

The young prince admitted his guilt and provided context for the small teasing. 

" She is our cousin. We are very different but we get along amazingly. " 

" Everytime the stars align and they agree on something they teamwork into whatever they would be up to." Hector followed his trail of tellings. 

" She is the mind, I'm the instigator. '' Paris pridefully added, apparently confirming a long date suspect of his brother. 

" I would never bring them anywhere together, one at the time is good. " 

The joke was a clever way to express the emulation of feeling, managing to make the king and queen laugh spontaneously. 

Penelope spoke first after ending the chuckles. 

" Please, come in. All your well needed comforts are being prepared. " 

" We can't accept your excellent offerings yet, kind queen. '' Hector politely declined, which didn't seem to be in the taste of Paris. " We can't allow ourselves to rest while our men are still waiting at the beach. Your husband caught us while doing the primary exploration of the territory. " 

" Safety reasons, my brother is insanely cautious. " Paris pointed out. " We also have to get back for the sacrifices. I hate having to leave, but our father would be very upset if he finds out that we neglected the honors of the gods who brought us here in safety." 

" Those are being performed by our priests as we speak." Penelope informed, which was a nice surprise for both. " I was told of the particularly dedicated importance that religious rituals have in your culture. Those are very important to us as well, of course, but someone once told me that the strength of trojan religiousness makes the greek look like superstition. That's why I thought on making it part of the hospitality arrangements. Apollo and Poseidon, right? Your patron gods, for what I heard. "

" If it is all wrong, you can correct my source, she is ríght there. " The king clarified, speaking of the mycenaean princess. 

The stares of the princes were back on her again and she wished that her friend would stop including her. 

" No need to do it, you can consider that correct.” Hector stated. " Although that is a very specific comparative observation for what I can't object yet. I don't know the characteristics of greek religiousness. " 

" It's a literal claim I heard her saying, perhaps she can explain it to you later. " Odysseus insisted. " She speaks about you all the time, you wouldn't imagine how. Don't let that sudden shyness deceive you. From all of us, she must be the most excited with your visit. It was an accidental coincidence, but it became a bit of a special surprise for her. " 

Hector wasn't sure of how to correctly interpret his words. Odysseus was being purposely ambiguous and the persistent staring that he noticed on her part was starting to confuse him. Despite a while after she seemed to hate him, he was fearing that the hostile attitude could have been a hiding tactic for something worse. It wouldn't be the first time that would happen to him, but it wasn't a good occasion for that sort of problem. He knew how to kindly reject the interest of ladies enraptured by the image of him they would get to know, but having to disappoint the daughter of Agamemnon was too much of a dangerous task. 

The worries over the possibility, wondering how he was supposed to handle the heartbreak of a mycenaean princess, inspired him to be more open in his answers. 

He replied with a critical said. Something that he would have saved for later if he would have had intentions of being liked, but that he had no need to shut.

" She ownes a trojan woman, i'm aware of that. I wouldn't be proud of the source for knowledge in that condition." 

Even when that comment  was meant for the lady, Ereny felt personally attacked by the implications.  

" Hesione is our mother." She claimed in a challenging tone, not realizing immediately of the full meaning of the phrase due to the anger. " ... Well, not literally speaking because we weren't born from her " 

The princess wouldn't have wished to keep talking, but he forced her to. 

" She raised us, we love her in the way daughters are supposed to love a mother." She corrected him, following the rude explanation of her friend. " The excitement is not about you, prince. It's about her and everything she has taught to us, how happy we are for getting more contact with the culture that she clandestinely inculcated in us all our lives. Hiding her cultural legacy would be like denying the spot she has in my life, i will not do that just to make you feel better with the choices that your father took before you. I have to live with the blame that Agamemnon will never take. I think you must accept the convenient political abandonment that Priam had to do of her cause and let us be. " 

" Darling, that is no way to speak to my guest.'' Odysseus sweetly corrected her. " Leave the controversies for later." 

" His father will never risk going to war for the fate of one woman and that is understandable, but in that palace we have to live with the consequences everyday. I don't want to be judged for something I can't truly be blamed for, her captivity was a reality since before my birth."

Her responses were tranquilizing and polemical for drastically different reasons. Hector found relief in having no reasons to fear about being a secret crush of hers or anything close to that, but his rush of open honesty cleared the way for an uncomfortable discussion.

" It's good to hear that, at least by you, she is treated fairly. "  

A relatively innocent thing to say in such a context, but it anyways contributed to her exasperation. 

" Queen Clytemnestra, my own birth mother, fought alongside Hesione to her last breath. You must know that she was your father's main supporter when he went to Mycenae intending to rescue her, but that's nothing. You know nothing. " She grimly replicated. " It's not simply ' fair treatment', I love that woman. If I would have found a way to send her home where she could have a full life, I would have done it years ago." 

She was angry and it made her ignore that it was impossible for Hector to have the complete dimension of her reasons. Her love for Hesione was part of who she was and she hated to hear him questioning it. 

Feeling guilty for such alteration in her state, he tried to help her calm. 

" I would like to keep this conversation in a more propitious moment, if that doesn't bother you. The subject deserves the best of us and I think we are not at our best ríght now. It has been a strange day, we were all affected by that. " 

Paris was absolutely amazed to witness the short argument. 

" My brother is the best spokesman I know and he is retiring from a verbal altercation because of your answer ... You have to teach me how to do that. " 

" I did nothing more than stand up for my truth." 

" Excuse me for being fascinated by the way in which you did it. " 

Knowing of Hector and his rational worries, Odysseus opted for joking with him. 

" He will be well surveilled, my men will do the job for you. There are also some mycenaeans doing nothing around the palace, that has to be enough. "

" Clearly, you don't know my brother. " 

Melantho laughed in strong chuckles that brought the attention to her. Self identification, she had heard many times similar comments about her. 

Telemachus copied the same strategy of Hector and rushed to the presentations. 

" She is the daughter of Dolios, our gardener. Her name is Melantho. Sometimes she can be mean, but we are used because that's who she is and we appreciate her despite that. " 

The kindness in the choice of ignoring the pettiness of their fight to say something nice was the pride of his parents. They were both very happy at everytime they would get to see signs showing that they were managing to raise a compassive boy. 

Paris noticed that Melantho wasn't laughing particularly at him. 

" Let's hope that she will be less mean to me than you were. " He joked with Telemachus before switching the direction of his speech to her. " What do you say, Melantho? Do I have better chances to get along with you? He is completely on Hector's side, but that is normal. I bond better with girls, it happened to me all my life. 

The slave girl answered with a shy giggle and everyone, Odysseus included, were shocked by it. Paris, of all people, saved himself from her mordacious tongue. 

The perks of being a pretty boy, Telemachus thought. 

" We love her, but Melantho is one of the reasons why I'm relieved of never getting visits of Agamemnon. " The king began to explain the collective mood of the family. " She mocks everyone, no one escapes her... Not even myself. You have no idea of how lucky you are, Paris. “

The young prince seemed pleased to hear that and he thanked her for her kindness with a friendly smile. 

Penelope intervened before she could make a mess out of herself. 

" Let's not demorate them any longer, my love. We would be terrible hosts. " She advised her husband. " Why don't you take a chariot and accompany them? Hector uses the same method you do when you are the strange man in distant lands. It's a good way for them to meet you and by your return everything would be ready."

" Don't you love her already? She is in every detail. " Her husband praised her in front of the guests and later approached his son for a question about the last thing he had to do. 

" Would you mind staying with the girls for a while? We will be back quick." 

The mischievous little kid had an outstanding replication ready. 

" Let Paris stay behind, if he wants it so badly. " Was his comeback. " I will go with you, mom can handle him alone. " 

" Are you offering to do the work for me? That would be amazing, I'm exhausted. " Paris shamelessly claimed, joking with him. " After all,is the least you can do to compensate me for that trick you pulled on me. Very thoughtful solution, Telemachus. I forgive you. " 

The little prince was up to take it as a truce. 

" Try not to get punched until we get back, the mycenaeans look very strong. They must punch hard."

Paris was warned, it was up to him to decide if he was going to take the risk.

The princes took the proposed paths, one with the king and the other following the queen. Paris was comfortable as a fish under water among the femenine group, what was a bit atypical for them in the context of the interactions. Penelope, Melantho and the mycenaeans were more or less wondering the same thing. How could he be so relaxed about staying with them while the men were gathering somewhere else?  Wouldn't he be shamed for it later? Did he care for shame... at all? A prince who preferred to observe and engage with the simple mundanity of femenine domesticity before joining the actions of the men was a rarity. It wasn't only about winning more time to spend with the princess, he was feeling genuinely good with all of them. Paris seemed absolutely careless for his masculine honor and that was hard to understand at times. 

The truth was that, despite his quirks, he was a likable man who would take personal pride on being a pleasing company. Penelope found it surprising while Melantho was completely charmed by him. She was acting as a girl would do when crushing on some famous person and it was probably the case, an innocent childhood crush in development. 

The mycenaean girls examined him with the strange reminder in mind about how he was once considered by the princess as a marriage choice to escape her father. Thinking that the man in front of her could have been her husband was odd, particularly because she didn't have a clear mental image of him being made before. All she knew was about his physical beauty and the charming sweetness and frivolous irresponsibility that characterized his behavior. She never thought about him for real, he was part of a bargain plan and the strategies imagined were more contextual. Getting to meet him was a strange experience and his ways with her weren't helping to change that. Her imagined scenario of how the political marriage could have been pacted between them was completely different from how their actual meeting ended up developing. Paris wasn't supposed to find her attractive, she never expected him to flirt with her like he was. 

His interest wasn't serious and it was easy for her to see that. Knowing that there would be no hurted feelings was the only bright side of the situation, but she still would have prefered to go unnoticed. The irony was killing her: a man she once selected as her safe candidate for a cold wedding transaction turned out to be wanting her for his commitment-free entertainment. In the polar opposite of her imagined use for him, what Paris wanted was a warm spot on her bed. 

She sensed it in the undertones of some of his comments; there was something else beneath the praise. It made her think of the mockfull warnings that Achilles made her... Maybe he wasn't the only one who noticed her and saw beauty. Perhaps, despite all the efforts, she wasn't absolutely invisible to the unwanted eyes of other men. The personal disgrace of Helen came to her mind. Through his playful flirting, Paris was making her experience a more innocent glimpse of her everyday struggle and it didn't feel as good as people would like it to be. She was flattered, maybe, but not pleased. Thinking about how her aunt had to stand thousands of similar situations, sometimes with very despicable men like the very same she was forced to marry, helped to put things in perspective. 

At least the trojan prince was likable, funny and handsome, probably not the worst option for a man giving her the Helen treatment. In honor of her disgraced aunt, she had to stand him with dignity. If Helen was able to do it all the time with worse men than Paris, she had to be able to deal with him. Eventually, she would find the way to make him stop. Until then, all she had to do was come up with ingeniously sarcastic comebacks for his comments.

Even when receiving him was an obligation of her cousin, she agreed to make her company on the task and so did Ereny. After his first tour around the palace, Paris chose to start with the most elemental requests in order to wait for the arrival of his companions: a comfortable place to sit, a fresh drink and some more time with all of them to have entertaining conversations. 

Her two confidants found a way to make the asks that they all wanted to be solved. Penelope praised Paris's clothes in what looked like a way to make small talk. It was a deliberate attempt of making him talk, knowing that her young cousin would never ask about it herself. Ereny joined forces with her to start a conversation about fashion that could explain the incredible coincidence between his dressing and the princess' taste. 

They gave him the craved chance to talk about himself beyond the implications of being a trojan prince. He told them that the indiscrete blue outfit was a dressing choice that he imposed on Hector. His brother would have prefered to be seen for the first time wearing his armor, but it wasn't the first impression that Paris wanted to give. One of his conditions to join the crew was that they both would be wearing clothes of his own design. He shamelessly confessed to enjoying being the model of his own creations, enlightening his servants with the vision of the exact sort of garment that he wanted to be made for him in each occasion. That odd fact brought him some positive attention from the princess, who was more than willing to understand the use of fashion as self expression. 

Hector was the main víctim of his creative impulse. Paris tended to order new clothes to be made for him very often, but he sometimes gifted him matching versions of his clothing. The designs were a delight for the sight of the women in Troy, but tended to not fit with his preferred style. After a few failed tries of encouraging him to wear his gifts, Paris realized that the only way would be making small modifications. The result had to feel more like him, reinterpretations of his concepts could be made to fit better with his brother.

He got carried away with his explanations as he pointed out multiple small differences in those very same matching outfits they saw them wearing that day. Ereny ended up encouraging her friend into talking about their experiences going through the full process of clothing creation. The princess tried to avoid entering into great descriptions of her own self made items, but Paris would keep insisting on his wish to hear more. He showed admiration for her craft because he never learned to sew. His clothes were made for him with precise indications but he wasn't part of the confection process. Her tellings made him curious and he couldn't wait to see if there would be any chances for him to watch her wearing at least one garment of her finest wearing. 

Fearing that the very pleasant talk could be deviated into flirtatious territory, she continued telling him about things that wouldn't be made for herself. Ereny mentioned her strong belief about how one of Agamemnon's favorite clothes was something they made for him. He would never admit it, doing it would be encouraging his daughter in a way that wasn't part of his parenting style, but the slave girl affirmed to be almost sure that the king actually appreciated this quality of her. 

She never thought about it, but it would make sense. The few artworks made by her that were officially gifted were some tapestries destined to Menelaus and Nestor, only the two persons whose opinions he cared about the most. Perhaps, Agamemnon considered that only his closest relatives and friends were worthy of a gift made with the skill of her hands. 

Thinking about that made her feel even better about her impulsive choice of gifting Achilles the tapestry that she made using him as inspiration. . 

At his return, Hector had to hear some unexpected and inconvenient news. The fashion talk concluded with a deal being made between his brother and the queen. He promised her design assistance on her work for a new garment meant for Odysseus and he wasn't going to leave until she would have finished it.

 It happened too fast. The loose boundaries of the ambient that the prince created around him impulsed Penelope to talk about her most recent work in progress, an attitude that she would have never imagined to have adopted in front of a man. Paris was commenting on his bravely seductive sense of style and she couldn't help to admit that it was the precise kind of masculine perspective that she wanted for that work. He understood immediately the intentions behind her concept, but didn't make it a big deal so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. Instead, he offered himself as a consultant designer, claiming it as a fair pay for the political consulting of Odysseus. A trade offer, his husband's help to Hector in exchange for the help he could be giving to her. Paris was so excited while doing the proposition that he made it sound reasonable and Penelope agreed, in disbelief with herself for doing it.

In a matter of moments during their interaction, the charming young trojan managed to make a hidden side of her come out so subtly that she didn't realize her mistake until it was too late. He spoke to her as a woman, not as the queen of the land he was visiting. Instead of talking trivialities about life in the island, Paris incentivated her into telling him about her self indulgent work inspired by the desire for her husband. Even more unbelievable than that was his avid interest in helping her despite understanding the subtle implications. It was evident that the concept of femenine desire was no mystery to him, but Paris seemed to be oddly celebrative of it even when he wasn't involved in the results. It was an attitude that made the three women listening to him weirdly curious, enough for the two mycenaeans to forget presenting objections to her agreement of the deal. They were too busy to complain with logic, trying to understand the prince and his incredible affinity with femenine sensibilities.

The trojans were disappointingly shocked because their prince's recklessness would force them into what could become an indefinite stay. Hector was inclined to think that it was a trick of Paris to buy himself more time with the mycenaean, an absurd delay created to serve his selfish interest of seducing her. In any case, the damage was done. Breaking a promise made to Penelope was not an option, it would be rude and a great mistake because she had a good amount of influence on Odysseus. They had no choice but to follow his brother's whim, something that was very disappointing for someone who intended to get out fast from the assumed compromise with the king of Ithaca. With the whole crew gathered in the palace, at least he could find comfort in the relaxing receivement that was prepared for them. Warm baths, great food and the arrangements for their good rest were the beginning of itacan hospitality. 

The host king had a drastically different opinion on the weird news. Things were going even better than what his plans established; the unexpected delay would buy him time. Enough to deal with his primary objectives without having to simultaneously worry about the secondaries. Thanks to it, he would be able to be a politician first and a friend later. He won more time to dedícate into solving the political issues, but it will also be more time that mycenaeans and trojans would spend together among his people. 

The great coincidence playing on his favor made him suspicious of his wife, guessing it to be a strategy developed by her to help him out. Imagining that it would be easy for a clever woman like her to come up with a way of manipulating Paris, he was up to praise her for the move. 

" What a strange lad is that Paris, don't you think?" He casually commented to her once the foreigners wouldn't be able to hear them. " Offering help in domestic labor? Nice, but not quite proper for a prince. What or who may have inspired him the deal? I know that he has no shame and would do anything for time with the girls, but I doubt that he came up with that idea on his own. " 

Penelope smirked, amused by the unusual innocence in her husband's assumptions. The communicative aspects of the deal didn't include any descriptions of what was being made. Until then, she didn't find a calm moment to share with him her full first impression of the visitor. 

" Don't underestimate him, he may not be the idiot you believe him to be. There has to be something lying beneath the cowardice and vanity, i wouldn't judge him harmless so quickly. " 

He started wondering what made her change an assumption that they initially seemed to share. What happened during the short time the prince was left alone in the palace? 

" What did I miss? Is he bothering you as well? Do I have to protect all my dearest women from his unstoppable flirtatious spirit? " He lovefully teased her. 

The guess seemed to amuse her even more. 

" He has one clear target and it isn't me, but we all felt safe in his company despite that. What we discovered, I mean us because I think the girls catched it with me, is that Paris can be very ingenious for absolutely hedonistic reasons." 

He understood the direction that her advice was taking. 

" Hidden resources that he could be keeping for his own means. " He summarized. " He acts like a fool in front of me, but he would use his whole arsenal for a determined hedonistic emprise crossing his mind... Let's say, sleeping with a beautiful princess. "

" Precisely. It is an unexpected complication that your strategy has to consider. Your target may get eclipsed by his brother, he will not let them time to be alone. Paris wants her to get closer, i don't think he cares for who she is. On the other side, Hector does and that is a double obstacle for you. " 

“ Repel one and attract the other towards her. “ He concluded with her. “ I can work on two fronts, something will occur to me. "

" I was going to suggest that you could for once make use of those protectiveness inducing feelings. Instead of thinking about the ranting speech that you are going to give to Achilles the next time you will see him, focus on keeping an eye on Paris. " 

The recommendation was alarming, but he tried to take it lightly. 

" He may not be trustable, but I trust her. She would not allow a man like Paris inside her bedroom. " 

The amount of tenderness that his way of speaking caused her was unbelievable. 

" In that you are ríght. He is not her type. '' Penelope joked, keeping the route of the chat while sweetly messing with him. " But Paris doesn't know that yet and perhaps knowing it wouldn't make any difference. High difficulties could be his stimulation, finding out who she is didn’t stop him. The invocations to Agamemnon’s name don’t mean much to him, but he may get a vague sense of danger that could be exciting. After all, she has a reputation as an unattainable woman given her highest royalty origins and assumed virtuous behavior.” 

There was some truth in her advice, but she was also trying to see how far he was willing to let the worries escalate. 

The fast mind of Odysseus was fabricating a detailed scene for the situation.

" ... Why didn't I think of this before?? That bastard wants to bed her for bragging!! His brother is a war hero, he has nothing to bring any positive attention to himself.  " He exclaimed, acting as if he would have received a crucial revelation from the insight of his wife.

Penelope limited herself to listening to his assumptions. 

“  He thinks that he will come back to Troy victorious to tell his friends about her ruined virtue and claim the authorship for this criminal feat. He would not get glory for it, but the closest equivalent feeling without having to step on a battlefield while believing himself to have accomplished something impossible. ´Hector may have expelled the spartans with the strength of his arms, but with his charm he deflowered the princess of the mycenaeans ' That’s what he is up to.... How could I have almost let this pass?"

Penelope couldn't hold her chuckles anymore. 

" He doesn't know who he is messing with! I will accomplish my purpose and he will be in the front líne witnessing his brother's wedding. " 

" Whatever you say, my love. " 

Her reaction made him realize the main point in her playing: taking things to an extreme so he could gain awareness. 

" I'm worrying again, the controlled environment that I hoped for my intervention isn't what we got and the political tensions are worse than what I expected."

She knew him well, losing the sense of control over the multiple situations was the aspect affecting him. 

" How much worse?" 

" It's not only about angered merchants, the consequences of their heavy taxing are escalating. For now, it started to manifest into deliberate pirate attacks on their trade ships, but who knows when they could start landing to attack towns. Hector answered my call for him so diligently because of this, they suspect  greek islanders. It is unclear if they think I know something or if they just came for advice, but they want me to solve this with them." 

She was always up to show him a bright side. 

" It's the perfect opportunity to elevate complaints to their king with a justified cause. " She reminded him. " They are bringing it on themselves, they must be aware that any applied policy brings unwanted downsides." 

" They want me to find the guilty ones, or at least give them any clues of where to head in order to find them." 

" A punctual punishment wouldn't be enough, more will keep coming." 

" I know, but they may be hoping to turn this into an example for all the rest." He shared his guesses with her. " I wanted to discuss policies, not to solve some mystery that they can't on their own."

" We can do both, nothing stops us from serving our interests while they expose theirs." The queen contributed. " This is good.The trojans could have seeked for the help of Crete, the biggest islander realm in Greece, but they came to us: to you. The fame of your resourcefulness will slowly reach the asians." 

" I'm Odysseus, not Achilles." He mocked her despite knowing that the intention of the comment wasn't to insufflate pride. 

" It's not about winning glory and gratitude among the trojans. If we do good diplomatic work, it would set a good precedent for future interactions into the eradication of tensions. Isn't that the final goal of your crazy plan to bond their crown with the mycenaean?"

" It's one implied goal among many driving my will. " He clarified. " Peace is my goal as king. My goal as a friend is finding a good, caring and responsible husband for that girl that would count with her father's approval. " 

" Things will follow the intended course of fate. Nothing will stop you if your goddess inspired you,in some alliance with the son of Aphrodite, to intervene in the setting of an union that is meant to be. If she didn't put that in your mind and it's just your will to manipulate destiny into what you consider as the best outcome, you are settled for failure and there isn't much you can do about it. " 

" Wait until you witness more of their talks and tell me later if i'm settled for failure. "  He insisted, with visible excitement. " It wasn't needed, but she jumped into our defense as soon as Hector mentioned the remote possibility of attributing any blame to this kingdom. In less than what I expected they were building theories together, she was helping him to eliminate suspects and sharing her insights with him." 

" ... Like she would do with anyone willing to listen to her. " Penelope cutted him off. " She craves to be heard and Hector respected her opinions. As a singular episode, it means nothing. " 

" She has shaken his expectations, I can feel it. At some point I heard them talk of the spartan wars, a tense topic to bring up so early. Hector thought that she was going to defend her uncle's point but, Instead, she praised his role in the last one. We got him when she rambled about the preservation of lifes that his conclusion of the war cycles brought. He liked that, I bet he didn't see it coming. " 

" You would need more than a good impression if you think you can make them fall in love. You can't do the work of the winged bowman, or undo his preexistent labor." 

" I have to push them in the ríght direction, help to awake the interest of Hector and let him find his way to her on his own. "

She began to play with his hair, a loveful and relaxing gesture as she tried to realistically shake his worries away. 

" Love isn't predictable and counting with his interest is not enough. " She remarked before bringing on her own experience. " I remember to have recognized genuine interest in a few of my suitors back in the day, but that didn't stop me from picking you in what I consider the best choice of my life. " 

He couldn't help smiling. 

" I waited, I left myself to be chosen by you, but I always knew that you were the one for me. " 

" We didn't know ríght away that things were going to end well. We had obstacles, doubts and fears, but we overcame all of that together. " 

He understood the path that her thoughts were taking and intended to object.

" It's not the same, you can't compare us with them. I may not be the man that your parents wanted, but i knew from the start that I wanted to make you my wife " Odysseus began his not so objective rambling. " She would be ruining her life or risking to get killed for a man who doesn't dream with a home and a loving wife. There is nothing indicating that he would be willing to do the right thing for her. Take, for example, the fact that Achilles is a kingdomless prince with a mercenary lifestyle, affording the modest comforts that what he obtains from war spoilings allows him to. It's a good life for a single man, but not comfortable for a marriage. He is not planning to get married any soon and I can't encourage her romantical illusions." 

" Be honest with yourself... Would you have given up just because my father used to say that you were going to ruin my life? Were you ready to let me go?" 

He hushed, silence speaking for him. 

" What makes you think then that Achilles will do it?" She wisely remarked. " He may not have been looking for love, but he could have found it accidentally. What stops you from believing that he could be in love with her? If you think that Hector, who is a total stranger to us, can be driven into developing feelings for her…  Why not your friend?” 

" I'm committed to protect her. Who else is going to do it? We know that it will not be Agamemnon.  Should I trust then in Menelaus's judgment, after what he did to Helen? I don't care if he is her direct family, I can't! " His ranting showed more of his caring love than worry. " Hector has the pragmatic potential to be a good husband and Troy is far away. She would be safe and time would help her to forget. " 

Penelope stopped what she was doing to grab his face with both hands, cupping his cheeks and forcing him to look at her in the eye. 

" No amount of time would make me forget you. Never, regardless of the circumstances. " She stated, her stare loaded with love as she spoke from the bottom of her heart. " I wouldn't have been able to stand the pain if my father had given me away to someone else." 

The issue wasn't closed, but he couldn't think of one single clever argument to replicate.

In the meantime, the mycenaeans were collectively processing the changes that happened during the course of one single day. The men in the crew accompanying the princess were deliberating over how to proceed with their own cluelessness. They guessed that their king wasn't warned of the scheduled trojan visit or otherwise, they would have been instructed about it. The mere thought of operating against Agamemnon's wishes terrified them and they were considering returning to Mycenae on the next morning.  The lady was moderating the discussion, a role that she claimed for herself under the excuse of being the cause of the issue. 

The state of alarm incentivized a strengthening of the security near her, a spontaneous measure that they took to face a situation that they weren't prepared for. With the full arrival of the trojans to the palace the sense of threat intensified among them and she was escorted away after a brief formal introduction between crews. 

Then, they were trying to decide what to do about it. 

At first, the most accepted option was the return, but it wasn't a viable option of her liking. She disencourage it by claiming that it would make them all look like cowards, not regarding the disobeyance to their king, but in front of the trojans themselves. In what was half an attempt to read ahead the mind of her father and partially a manipulation tactic, she convinced them of thinking that Agamemnon would prefer to risk her before giving Hector the impression of being afraid of him. They had to stay to prove that Mycenae wasn't afraid of Troy. 

Leaving Odysseus with an empty setting for his trick would have been fun, but she didn't want to leave. There was nothing that she wouldn't stand to be away from her father and she was loving her time in Ithaca. She loved to be living among the royal family In such a beautiful place as that quiet island was. To make her wish to leave it would require something worse than Paris and his flirty approaches, an inconvenience that she was feeling capable of dealing with. Besides, knowing of Odysseus' intentions didn't extinguish her respectful curiosity about the trojans. She craved for years for a chance like that one, literally impossible to have in her palace. She would be living among a big group of Trojan people in an ambiance that assured her freedom to ask anything she would wish to. 

It was obvious that the Itacan king wouldn't be accomplishing his plan for her. Before the visit would be over, Hector would be sick of her constant questioning.

Escaping the situation would leave an open space for speculation that her friend could use indefinitely; she had to stay and prove him wrong. Her approach shouldn't be about avoiding the prince. Instead, she had to bond with Hector and show Odysseus that they were able to get along in a meaningless way. No more hatefulness, she was going to be the nicer version of herself with him and show that, despite that, nothing would be going on between them. 

The shifting of meaning on the new thought strategy was about bonding from the side of her who was somewhat amazed to be meeting him, his little brother and their men. Being with them and for them the sweet girl that Hesione raised, not the daughter of Agamemnon. With that attitude as core, she could still find ways to be the secret helper of Achilles subtly working for his interests and his enamored woman secretly proving her feelings against the disbelief of the Itacan king. 

Before they would all go to sleep without arriving at one clear path of solution, the princess made them accompany her to present herself in the section of the palace destined for the trojans. 

The goal was reducing the threatening feelings of her men while putting the best of her into a relatively integral understanding. She showed up to wish them good night and apologize for the odd circumstances of their initial meeting, setting a space for a different encounter where she would put some effort into making everyone else feel comfortable with her presence. 

Paris, as expected, made it harder than what it needed to be.

" My lovely, you came back to me once more!" He cheered to the mere sight of her, confusing the mycenaean guard. " I missed you, I almost got to think that you would be forced to hide from us by some command of your tyrannical father. " 

The princess had to put in a big effort to stop herself from giving a mean reply.

" Paris, I was away for a few hours allowing all of you to settle comfortably. " She replicated. " My men are doing their duty, it's understandable that they will not trust more alone interactions between us untill comproving that it's safe for me. We were unprepared, atta sent me under a request of Penelope... Remember?" 

" I believe you. '' Hector concluded for his brother. '' Agamemnon wouldn't lose an opportunity to brag and threaten us. Now that I'm sure that he isn't with you, I know that you were saying the truth. " 

" You forgot to say that he wouldn't send a woman to do his work, he only humiliates himself when he is not aware of doing it. " She playfully completed his guess. " Getting to see those shame shows are the best part of being his subject... The worst is actually being ruled by him. " 

They witnessed how her men laughed at the joke in relaxed freedom, as if it was born from some common sense shared by everyone. Hector was disconcerted by that. Paris, amazed at how similar her humor was to Odysseus'.

" Did you come to wish me goodnight?" He sweetly asked her. " That is so sweet of you, darling. Would you stay up late to sing me some lullabies?"

Confusion reigned among the mycenaeans. Was the youngest prince making jokes or was he really trying to flirt with their princess in their presence? 

It had to be a cultural thing or he was mocking them for being worried, no one would be that foolish. 

" I want us all to meet without making Ithaca pay the price. If we are going to argue, it will not be on Odysseus' table. " She simply explained, ignoring his teasing. " Tomorrow it's most likely that there will be a welcome party in your honor, let's try not to ruin it. Our issues as confronted nations don't have to impact our hosts. " 

Once more, Hector was surprised to be agreeing with her. 

" It's an excellent idea, your highness. What do you propose?"

" Mutual accountability, spot the sources of conflict before they could explode unexpectedly. We can later choose which ones to avoid and which ones could be approached maturely. " 

Paris rushed into making the opening asks.

" I will go first, I don't want to disappoint the greek expert in conflict management. " He mocked her with certain praise. " My doubt is very simple... Is this how it is going to be between us for now on? I had so much fun talking to you before those gentlemen arrived to pull you out. " 

" Don't blame them for doing their work. '' Hector replicated. " The lady is here to see her family, not us. We just have to find a way to coexist peacefully and you are also part of that. Facilitate their work and they will not be hostile towards you. " 

Paris didn't answer him, he went straight to her. 

" Am I doomed to see you only through a wall of vigilant men who hide you from me like if you were a treasure I could steal? " He complained. " I can't shake myself out of the pure amazement that causes meeting you, princess. Does that make me a criminal?"

" Give yourself some time to adjust and you will make it. " She kindly advised him. " Don't beg me to convince them for you, they are ríght there. Prove them that you aren't an obstacle for their labor." 

As they all awaited expectantly to see how it would turn out, she directed a mischievous glance towards Hector. Both were equally interested in examining his reaction. 

Paris tried to get some sense of complicity out of them.

" I know how this works, my cousin is one of the prettiest girls in Troy and I have seen men humiliating themselves for her in this position. " He commented to them. " You are no different from the palace guards who custody her whenever it's necessary and I'm aware that your job is to crush the hopes of men like me, but let me ask you something. Don't you get entranced by the beauty of your own princess? Who among you wouldn’t like to get the attention of a woman like her?” 

The questions made everyone uncomfortable. The mycenaean men were equally amused and doubtful, not wanting to risk giving any answer. 

" We can't answer that." One was brave enough to excuse all of them. " It would be very improper. " 

" Ignore your duty for once, we are all men. " The young prince insisted. " I bet many of you would melt to a sweet smile of hers, or a warm furtive glance.  She is gorgeous... Are you going to tell me that she isn't the city's crush?" 

She answered to avoid laughing. . 

" I'm nobody's crush. In normal circumstances wise men are afraid of talking to me. Any interest shown to me coming from a man that my father has no regards for is considered an insolence. Even the manservant who pours wine for him gets nervous if i simply smile at him and i can feel that he is fearing of losing his head. " 

The grim, comedic tale wasn't scaring him. 

" You are exaggerating, like with all those lies you said before to help the king pull a trick on us. " 

" I'm not, Agamemnon is crazy." She simply stated with no one daring to contradict her. " You seem like a sweet man, Paris. For your own good, stay away. It's what most men do and it works well for me and them." 

It was a useful warning, but Hector couldn't help to find it a bit sad. 

" I think you will not find space for loneliness here, there are just too many of us. " He joked, slipping a subtle hint of comfort in the mock. " You may start craving for it later, when our presence would tire you and overwhelm you. " 

He had no obligations to do it, but he still chose to be sweetly welcoming with her. The gesture impressed her and she started to feel very bad with herself for being so awfully mean with him on their first meeting. 

" I can get used to it. '' She said as a way to show how much she enjoyed that sign of acceptance. " I can't wait to properly meet everyone. I'm good at remembering names, but not so much with faces. However, I would like to be able to personally address every single one of you at least once during our time here. It's my way to go with everyone I know, regardless of rank. "

" I guess I can allow it as long as it wouldn't bother anyone. " He agreed. " Are there any reasons behind such specifical task that you are setting on yourself?" 

" Everyone likes to be treated as people: being called by their names, told to have a nice day, asked about themselves and allowed to ramble about whatever they feel passionate about. They notice,even when it looks like they don't. " 

Her kindness was unusual. The collective mood of the crew was to feel, at best, disconcerted and, at worst, impressed. Of all of them, Lysander was the one who kept the longest talking with her. The girl was easy to talk to and her demeanor was inviting, words flowed without worries because she allowed it. Paris watched the interactions happen and knew that he wouldn't be supported by his companions, but he was one step closer into being understood. 

There was something adorably charming in her and most would have agreed to blame it on the contrast created between her kind ways and the horrible reputation of her family. No one there was fully capable of understanding how that sweet girl could be the daughter and niece of the Atreides, Troy's cruelest adversaries. The respect, her willingness to listen and to be questioned was the opposite of mycenaean policy. 

Feeling stimulated by the open communication that she initiated, Hector saved for himself a very special question to ask her. It was on the mind of most of his men, but none dared to do it directly. 

" I have only one doubt about you that I would want to ask without compromising Odysseus. It's a matter that has the potential to make us argue, so I prefer to deal with it now. " He politely introduced it to her. " ... What does Troy mean to you, princess?"

She knew precisely what he meant and was very excited to answer. 

" I was wondering how long it was going to take for any of you to ask that. It doesn't offend me, it's a fair thing to question me about. I know where i come from: my father has seeked to destroy you for decades, my uncle has been his main helper.  " She introduced her reply. 

At that moment, it was hard to tell for the listeners if her words started to flow under self thought inspiration or if there was something or someone else driving her into a wonderful speech. 

 " If you are asking me and not them, Troy is an ancient living emblem of resistance that doesn't cease to amaze me. Enemies come and go, but your walls always stand strong as the last hope for everyone who dreams with a different world than the one my family wants to build. A leading power accomplished in the peace of trade by a nation that has the military power to crush anyone on it's way, but still chooses to use it only to protect what it has built. Do you have any idea of how unique that sounds for a greek woman, a mycenaean like me? The countless years of my life that I have spent under the care of my beloved Hesione may have induced me to idealize Troy, but I think that what you have is worth keeping. I'm not your enemy.. Or you can think I am and, from all your enemies, i'm the only one who wishes you well because i choose to remain in awe with the culture of your country. I love my city and respect the legacy of its history as any other mycenaean would, but I'm convinced that ours doesn't have to be the only way. As a nation that believes itself in ríght to rule the world because it's king convinced it of that, we could be doing so much better and there you are...May your walls stand high forever, keep challenging us to do better! Mycenae needs an opposed power for the sake of it's own improvement, a contrary force pushing our development and pointing at our flaws. For the wellbeing of Greece, my father needs to be reminded of his own mortality. "

Even her own men were amazed as if they would be hearing her speak for the first time. They weren't used to seeing that side of her. Despite the many glimpses of her hidden self that they got to discover during the journey, she never got political on their talkings or announced any speeches for them. It was a privilege, the mycenaeans realized what the trojans wouldn't. 

Hector felt obliged to reply, but it was hard given the flawlessness of her words. He opted to speak frankly and give her his sincere impression. 

" I never would have expected for a greek to speak in those terms about my country, even less that those praiseful words would come from a mycenaean. The image of us that you have pictured isn't faithful to our entire history, but it describes incredibly well the goals of my father's rulership. "

The route of the talk incentivised her curiosity and she found herself asking him her first question. 

"  Well, there are a ton of things that I always wanted to know about you... Historically speaking, was Laomedon that greedy or is that a greek invention? Hesione says that everyone was after his magical horses, but Agamemnon claims that he refused to pay the builders for their work. We all argued about that once, it was fun to see him losing his mind over the narration of a trojan tale. " 

Lysander answered for the prince, being a bit amused himself while imagining the described situation. 

" Both claims are true, but not mutually exclusive. " He kindly explained to her. " The builders wanted to be paid with his most beloved possession and King Laomedon refused. " 

" Would you give to anyone a gift that you got from the Gods?'' Paris interrupted him and decided to follow the narration into his favorite part. " His family, our family, got those horses from Zeus thanks to my favorite ancestor: Ganymede. Have you heard about him?" 

"  The trojan equivalent of Europa. He had a better fate, being the replacement of Hebe on Olympus when she got married. " 

" A young man of irresistible beauty, Zeus  made him his only male consort. Ganymede reached immortality and left for us the gift of those magnificent horses. He was the prettiest man of his time and my inspiration in life. I like to think that I inherited the power of his beauty."

" Be careful. I have seen beauty appearing to be a blessing while hiding a terrible curse." The mycenaean girl warned him, thinking of Helen because he happened to remind her of her in a very strange way. He seemed to be unapologetically admitting that he dreamed of being her male counterpart. 

Her words didn't affect him.

" Not to me, I'm a worshiper of Aphrodite." 

His answer indicated how convinced he was of embracing his beauty as an identity that he built for himself following the tracks of his ancestry. She found it creative, but disconcerting.  Paris was capable of finding freedom in the very same cause of Helen's imprisonment. 

For as weird as it sounded, the fact intrigued her. She would have liked to keep a meaningful conversation with him about it where he could explain her the roots of his philosophy, but that wasn't the time for that. 

" I don't want to brag, but It's most likely that I will be the prettiest man you will ever see. My ancestry and divine affinities confirm it. " 

She rolled her eyes and the men bursted into laughter. 

Since he was putting them in a good mood with his strange attitude, they decided to mix their mockery with some well intentioned words for him.  

" Give up, trojan. Even if we would leave you all alone, you will never make it. '' Aphareus honestly advised him. 

" Do you really know who you are talking with?" One of his companions followed him. " From all the greek ladies you could bother, you picked the only one who would never care to pay you any attention." 

Eurybates provided the last punch. 

" Not even Achilles got anything from her... What makes you think that you will?" 

To his shocked face, she gave a briefly invented explanation. 

" Knowing that I rejected a man who is your complete opposite shouldn't encourage you, that's why I didn't want you to find out about that story. "

" if there was a tale about him after all and it ended in his disappointment, I have to hear it." Paris requested and she knew that he was thinking it as a confirmation for all his wrong assumptions about her and his chances of success.'' Dealing with that barbarian must have been exhausting, give yourself the merit. "

" It would be rude to be pushing the telling of my insignificant acts before you two could get any chances to tell me of your remarkable feats. " She pointed out, wishing to deviate from the point quickly. " When we will have time and a comfortable setting to talk for hours , after Hector and your mutual friends would have started to narrate to me anecdotes of the war against the spartans, I may share with you the details of that single act everyone keeps praising me for. " 

" But I'm intrigued now. " Paris childishly complained. " Can you do it for me??" 

He was making that adorable expression again, his soft features looking even softer as he tried to convince her of staying and telling him the omitted story. 

She smiled at him, but remained inflexible.

" Goodnight, Paris. See you tomorrow. " 

His exaggerated sad frustration inspired him to make a middle ground offer. 

" Can I at least get a kiss on the forehead to bless my rest ?" 

Hector was the one rolling eyes then, pretending to not be hearing the nonsense of his brother because trying to stop him had proven to be pointless. 

The princess turned back at her men, who were still evidently amused. 

" What do you say? Can I do it or is it against the rules?" She joked with them. " We have to improvise some choices.  It's not like Atta has an instituted code to deal with this. " 

Some of the trojans also laughed with her then. Guessing that all the ideas on the greek side would be mocks to the prince, she continued.

" It's fine, I will solve it myself. " 

Gesturally asking for space to head ríght at the expectant man, she seemed in willingness to fulfill the request. 

" May Morpheus concede you a good night of sleep, young trojan lord. '' She said kindly and formally, but didn’t immediately pose her lips over the top of his forehead. " Sweet dreams. " 

The look of frustrated child that he had inspired her to salute him as such, her kiss resembled the ones given to children at bedtime. 

He was so dramatic that she couldn't help feeling a bit flattered. Having that effect on a man, with it being unwanted and not expected, was too strange for her. Still, unlike in their other flirtatious interactions, she felt something powerful in the way things played out. The room was full of men, but she was the one who took control of the situation and her farewell to the prince wasn't different from the one she gave to Telemachus before he went to bed. It felt like a powerful move, the main difference making her feel great afterwards. 

The strong rush of confidence was nice, but she still had to think of a way to put a stop on the situation because she didn't want his attention. Joking a bit was alright, but Paris had to learn to stay away from her. 

" Of course, I also wish to all of you a satisfactory rest to heal the marks that the exhausting journey left on your strengths.  To get here I had to make my first sea voyage in a really long time and I arrived very tired. I had not boarded a ship in years and I never do long trips, so I can’t imagine how tired you must be now. " She said her general goodbyes to the crew and smiled afterwards. Most of the men in front smiled back at her. 

Before doing her reverence for the exit, she made one last simple petition to the trojan leader. 

“ Would you mind going outside with me? I will make it quick. There is something else we need to talk about and I fear it can’t wait, but it has to be in private.” 

Hector guessed the topic and agreed anyway, following her out on the walk with her escorts until she gave them orders to give them space for their talking.  A few of her men stayed in close proximity so that they could not hear them, but still keep an eye on her. 

The lady spoke first, since both remained silent until she felt safe to do it. 

“ Should I be worried about this? I want your personal opinion. Tell me your truth as the brother of Paris, I don’t want to hear the Prince of Troy.” 

He tried to be honest and sound tranquilizing, but both goals were hard to handle on the same level.

“ He claims to have fallen in love with a different woman every week, what he calls love is definitely something else. He doesn’t mean bad, but hasn’t learned yet to differentiate love from passion. “ 

“ I don’t want to get involved with him in anything passionate. He has no idea of the implications in his attitude, the blissful ignorance warms my heart.” She confessed to him before proceeding to do a sad warning.” You know as well as me that Agamemnon wouldn’t tolerate it. It really doesn't matter if he is here or not, if he would see it with his own eyes or if it would be told to him … He would go crazy anyways, he has killed for less. I need to know that Paris will stop acting like this, for the sake of all of us. Please, you are the only one who can help me.” 

Her good sense was good news for him. She seemed to be a wise woman, aware of the dangers that his brother wouldn’t care to spot. Even if he wouldn’t succeed in exhorting him to give up, she was willing to resist him as long as it would take. 

“ Paris is persistent, but he accepts negatives. His problem is that he is pretty unused to getting one, so you will have to be consistent and patient until he will realize that you truly mean that. It’s most likely that he will wait until running out of seduction tactics.” 

“ He must be used to getting anything he wants, I may have shaken him with the surprise of finding out that he can’t ask for the same treatment everywhere.” 

The comment brought a short chuckle out of him, subtly letting her know of how right she was. 

“ I need to be efficient at repelling him while watching over my manners. Do you know how hard is that to sustain? It’s too much pressure and you don’t deserve to stand my rudeness only because I don’t want your brother to think I’m into him. It’s just who I am! I like to be nice whenever I can, the world is already full of rudeness.” 

" You can also be very rude at times. " The prince teased her, referring to her immediate reaction to him and waiting to see if she was going to finally give him a straight answer. 

" Only when I'm mad... and I was mad with Odysseus because he didn't tell me that you were coming. " She confessed, opening a bit of her reasoning with him. Not much, but enough to be understood in at least one aspect. " He didn't have to tell Agamemnon, he just had to tell me!!" 

The comment weirded him, it didn’t seem reasonable. Why would the king of Ithaca obviate Agamemnon and reveal crucial information directly to her ? 

" Do you have that kind of relationship? Would he tell you things that he wouldn't tell him?" 

" He knows plenty of things about me that I wouldn't tell him. " She gave a short explanation. " But he wouldn't risk his anger just so I could send Hesione back to her home. He knew that I would have tried it and he didn't wish to take chances. "

" A very noble feeling... but how is that less reckless than what Paris intends to do?" 

" Because I know the consequences and I have guts to face them. " She replicated. " We have a very special bond that is hard to understand, I would do anything for her happiness. " 

" Were you thinking about her during your speech? I couldn't help noticing that there was something very heartfelt in your way to speak about Troy. It's hard to understand how someone who has never visited my country can speak like that. " 

" Nobody understands it. They have spent my whole life trying to get it and failed. " She playfully admitted. "  Agamemnon thinks that it is a rebellious whim and Menelaus only understands the surface of it. He curses himself for being the one who brought her to Greece, you can think that she found her vengeance in the woman that I grew up to become. " 

" The rumors that reach my gates don't mention anything of this." He confirmed it for her. " My father says that she was made your nurse, but I never believed it. To be honest, I thought that it was a tranquilizing lie that he told everyone when he came back from that failed rescue because he could do nothing more about it." 

" I know what you are thinking, it wouldn't offend me to hear it because it is true. That version didn't fit for you because it doesn't fit their style. " She cut him off. " Menelaus wanted her to be a plaything for his brother, but I got in the way of their wishes. My mother chose her for me and it is the only of her orders that remained respected because we fought to not be separated." 

" You must have fought too hard, because that sounds unbelievable. How could the mycenaean king have been convinced of letting his daughter be raised by a trojan slave? " 

" He wasn't convinced, he never wanted that for me but when he had the opportunity to change that, it was too late. He tried to separate us, but i resisted and he didn't have the patience or interest to deal with me so he resigned to let us be. It's true that everything I love about Troy comes from her, but keeping her in any way was more important to him than the risk of my cultural corruption. She is everything he accomplished to steal from you. " 

" This means that in your opinion, he only keeps her as a political message. " He summarized, gathering his conclusions with hers. 

" ... It's also the personal punishment that he chose to inflict on her because he never got to touch her when she was young and desirable for him. " 

He sensed the shame she was feeling while saying the last sentence. She couldn't even look his way, repulsed with herself for having to admit in front of him that her father was a rapist.

Hector showed once more his great capacity for empathy. 

" If you helped in any way to stop that from happening, you don't have reasons for sorrow."

" She leads the domestic slaves now, its the best i could do for her once i became old enough to stop needing nursing.  I couldn't give her freedom because that's not a choice he would let me take, but i make sure that she gets the respect that she deserves. My uncle is terrified of her. I think that she creeps him out and I love her for it, but he pretends to be fine because it doesn't look good." 

"... Like when he pretended that i really didn't win the last of the spartan wars and he just retired because he was tired of fighting and wanted a break to get married? " 

His joke relieved a bit of the inner tension that she was feeling. It was a non invasive way of showing kindness. 

" Exactly like that. " She confirmed, feeling a bit at ease and reflecting it on her tone. " You know, I have a few ideas learnt from her that may work with your brother. Do I have your permission to give him a good scare?" 

It was a surprising proposal. He would have never imagined himself joining forces with a mycenaean princess on the task of instructing Paris into less destructive choices. 

" Do you think that you can make it better than Odysseus?"

 " Nobody ever sees it coming. They see me choosing niceness and they think I can't be rude. " She snarked back. " You have seen me at both, so i guess i don't have to hide from you. " 

Hector gave her a smile of approval. 

" There is one last thing I need to get clear. It must be obvious to you by now that Paris doesn't have the same limits for fear of Menelaus. If you get an idea for a trick that could be potentially scary for your uncle, don't try it on him. Measure yourself, please. He is still my little brother. "

She nodded in agreement, giving him a sweet smile that was nothing more than her spontaneous reaction to his caring commentary. Shortly afterwards she saluted him with a respectful bow of the head and wished him goodnight, the act that closed the conversation and made both part ways. 

The balance of the interaction was positive, it was good to know that he would be helping her to keep things in order during their stays. She also got the impression of reaching a basic point of mutual understanding with him. 

The good feeling ran out to the sound of intruder chuckles. Melantho was the source, she was still awake and spying on her but didn't mind coming out from her hiding to take the credit for her mischief. 

" Odysseus thinks that he is going to be your husband." She playfully commented about Hector. " He doesn't know what I know, but I hear many things here and there. " 

The princess was horrified and fascinated in equal amounts. 

" What are you doing here?" 

" Eny asked me to be part of her explorative research on the new ones. " The slave girl claimed innocently. " ... Well, we stumbled across each other in our own separated ones." 

" Let me guess, you were investigating Paris. " 

" More or less. " She vaguely admitted before stepping into completely improper territory. "  Are you excited for the party? Who are you looking forward to dancing with tomorrow: Hector or Paris?" 

" Neither of them. I may be a grown up, but i'm too busy for boys."

" Bussy with what? It's not like they let you do much back in Mycenae. " Melantho teased her carelessly. " Too bad that you wouldn't answer, I know things you may find interesting. Stuff that Telemachus would never find out for you and, even if he would, you would never get to hear from him." 

She smiled out of pure joy while hearing the news, despite that it came from a certain attempt of blackmail from Penelope’s favorite that also implied some degree of jealousy that said girl felt regarding her son. 

That girl wasn’t a completely trustable source, but she was desperate for information that could help her to be one step ahead of her friend for once. It was clear to her that Melantho wanted her attention and found on that a way of getting it. 

" Do you have any insight on Odysseus' plans? I could use some clues. " 

Melantho bited her lips to hide the excitement and restrained herself to turn the gesture into a devilish smirk. 

" Make me a good offer and we can start a negotiation."

[pale-silver-comb]

So I know absolutely nothing about Leverage except what I've been seeing you post lately and I have to admit you're making it look tempting to watch! Can I ask what are some of your favorite things about the show/reasons you would suggest people watch it? And is there really a poly relationship that is canon?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I am going to do my best not to just “asdfghkjl” at you and answer coherently.

In a nutshell, Leverage is about 5 people. 4 are criminals (Parker, Hardison, Eliot and Sophie) with different and unique skill-sets and 1 is an ex-insurance investigator (Nate) who, at one point or another in his career, has tracked down (or at least attempted to) the other 4. The whole show is essentially: man reluctantly reforms 4 criminals to use their criminal powers for good and 4 criminals move into man’s life and stubbornly refuse to leave because, goddammit, now they have morals. 

I’ve got a lot of favourite things about the show but the main ones are as follows:

1. Found family. And I’m not talking about loners who come together to fight crime and happen to co-exist to the point where they realise they happen to have found themselves a family. I mean, Nate and Sophie are the Drunk Uncle and Wine Aunt who somehow become Mom and Dad to 3 beautiful criminal children. Mom and Dad love their criminal babies and the kids love them (as well as each other, but we’ll come to that in a moment). You get amazing family moments such as: Mom and Dad packing the kids lunch before sending them out to kick corporate greed’s ass; Mom and Dad giving the kids ridiculously expensive and personal Christmas presents causing their most Grumpy Kid to go very very quiet and soft as he runs off to gleefully play with his new murder toy; the kids interrupting Mom and Dad’s big Movie Style Kiss to ask if they can please keep their new underground layer and huffing and puffing when Dad tells them no.

2. Found family: the OT3 edition. To answer your question, the OT3 is indeed canon, confirmed by the creator. Now, usually, “confirmed by the creator” infuriates me because most of the time it’s a way for a creator to be seen as “progressive” without doing anything to actually be progressive. That isn’t the case here. The OT3 are built up carefully and while it is obvious the creators didn’t originally intend for all 3 of them to become a relationship in the romantic sense, by mid-season 5 we are given a very clear picture of where Parker, Hardison and Eliot are heading in their relationship. There aren’t any kisses at the end to signal this but there are solid marriage vows in not only one but two episodes. (And by marriage vows I mean literal equivalents of marriage vows: “for better or worse” and “’til death do us part”. I’m not even exaggerating). The OT3 also doesn’t need explicit romantic narratives to convey how much they love each other. Their love is laced through the whole show, from the way they teach each other things to the way they respond to each other and work as a unit. The way they fiercely protect and admire each other. Like someone once said, if you need characters to kiss or say I love you to let the audience know they love each other, you are writing them wrong. 

Aside from that, each of the parings in the OT3 are just. Gah. They are so well done, with friendship being the solid basis for them all. The creators never expect the audience to assume anything about them or fill in the gaps. They give us their relationships on screen and reference many things off-screen to show us how these relationships continue to build in between episodes.

Hardison and Parker are a canon couple and date in the show: it’s approached slowly and they are so goddamned sweet. They are basically every fluffy slow-burn trope with a healthy dash of mutual pining in the mix. They are basically that quote “love is patient, love is kind”. (I would like to add their romance never becomes the focus of the show or overrides the importance of any other relationship they have with the other characters, especially Eliot.)

Hardison and Eliot are the Old Married Couple and from day one are already bickering and looking at each other/making comments that are found in every UST fic ever (not to mention Hardison has a very good knack for making Eliot grin like a little kid, when usually he’s basically an Angry Little Chef Man). They argue, they play, and love each other plain as day. 

Parker and Eliot are more subtle but every bit as wonderful. They have an unspoken connection and understand each other on a level no-one else can. Parker and Eliot are not good with giving themselves over to affection for different reasons (and Hardison plays a central role in helping them realise it’s okay to want it and have it- that boy has endless patience) but there is something so beautiful in the way the two of them come together on their own and develop their own special bond that works for them. Parker and Eliot are that trope where the characters don’t need to speak to understand each other perfectly. They just do. Their love language is a lot of the time non-verbal but speaks volumes. (Parker also likes to annoy the hell out of Eliot and Eliot....just.....lets...her. Because he’s soft. The softest, grumpiest boy.) 

I could go into so much depth for each pairing and their dynamics as a 3 but that's for another post.

3. Subverting stereotypes. There is the occasional hiccup in the show regarding stereotypes but ultimately, Leverage gets an A+ when it comes to writing characters and making them 3 dimensional people who are not defined by certain characteristics or events. Nate could so easily fall into the White Man Pain trope where he uses the trauma of losing his kid as a reason as to why he is entitled to act like a dick. Nate is a dick but he doesn’t use his pain to excuse it and I appreciate that. Hardison is a black man who is soft and nurturing. Easily the most empathetic and patient of the group. He’s nerdy, an actual genius, and has the biggest heart of all the characters. Nate is maybe the glue but Hardison is definitely the heart. Media’s usual aggressive, amongst other, racist stereotypes can fuck right off. Parker is canonically autistic (I am sure this was confirmed by one of the creators) and she is not defined by it. It’s not written as some kind of singular personality trait. It’s part of what makes up Parker but it’s only one facet of who she is and not once is her actions, thoughts or feelings treated like a joke. Sometimes people don’t understand why she does and says the things she does but it’s met with patience and fondness over the course of the show. Equally, it’s not met with over-caution. Parker is just Parker. No-one tries to change her. The other nice thing is Hardison, who always makes sure Parker knows she’s amazing because of who she is and not in spite of it. Finally, Sophie is in her 40s. She’s not treated like she’s past her prime. Ever. She’s sexy, smart and never is she pitted against or compared to Parker (who is younger) for anything. Sophie is amazing and there’s never even a conversation of “I may be older but I am still *insert adjective typically associated with younger women here*”. Sophie is possibly the first female character I’ve ever seen who isn’t just unapologetic about her age but has never had to apologise for her age. It’s a non-issue and that’s that. The women on the show are written so well, right down to secondary characters and it’s beyond refreshing.  

4.) It’s just fun. The show has a “monster of the week” type format. Except instead of a ghoul or a ghost, the monster is some corrupt wealthy and powerful individual or organisation. The show draws on real-life individuals to do this and therefore closely parallels real-life people and events. It addresses important political, economical, social and environmental issues while at the same time remaining fun and light-hearted. The characters constantly get the chance to play dress up and by GOD do they have fun with it. You get to watch Eliot beat up bad guys in the most delightful of ways, usually after a witty non-sequitur and with a weapon you’d never think could be a weapon. The dialogue and back and forth between the characters is everything. And finally - my favourite thing- the team can never resist striking a dramatic pose after they’ve taken down the bad guy, making sure the bad guy sees them. I mean, they COULD just walk away, satisfied they’ve taken the person down, but nope. They gotta be dramatic bitches 24/7 and pose like they are models for every single month of this year’s Criminal Calendar.  

5.) Competence Porn. So. Much. Competence Porn.  

Honestly, I could list a thousand reasons for why Leverage is amazing but to list them would to be spoiling so many amazing moments you’d get to discover for the first time on your own if you do choose to watch it. It’s the kind of show you can watch with an eagle-eye and sink your teeth into. But it’s also the kind of show if, you would prefer, put on in the background for something entertaining while you do something else. Each episode is about the job at hand but it’s made up of so many moments between the characters that show how much the creators and writers care about them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do whatever it is you do when something Soft and Wonderful happens that makes your heart melt. I am so beyond grateful for Leverage. It’s everything I always wanted in a show. Nearly every show I’ve watched in the past 10 years has disappointed me in some way, usually either because the writers run out of steam or characters who I love are treated poorly or given some kind of unnecessary “shock value” arc. Leverage doesn’t do that. Leverage is what it says on the bottle. Fandom isn’t something I joined because I needed canon fix-its. Fandom only enhances and celebrates an already excellent canon. 

[mk-wizard]

Hellboy Films: Why animated did better than live action

Hello, friends

Many of you may not know this, but out of all the superhero comics, Hellboy is my favourite. What can I say? As a little girl, I was a misfit, so a misfit hero like Hellboy was right up my alley and the concept of someone being born to be bad to turn out so good because he had a loving father to show him the way is beautiful. My introduction to Hellboy was the first live action film in the 2000s and at the time, I liked it, but then I started reading the comics. Once I got to know the real Hellboy and series, the more I fell in love with the comics yet at the same time, the more I go to not like the live action films and not just because I found the sequel and reboot in 2019 bad. There are many problems with the three live action Hellboy films which rub me the wrong way and not simply because they are live action. Most superheroes started off as cartoon drawings, but were well done in live action, but Hellboy missed all the notes. Now as a mature adult woman who is experienced at storytelling as well as analyzing, I rewatched some of the live action and I took time to watch the animated films. The difference in quality is night and day (no pun intended and I will give links to the animated films because they are stunning). I will now tell you all where the animated films went right and how live action went all wrong.

1- Hellboy’s design was better in the animated films. - I am more than willing to be forgiving when it comes to taking artistic liberties. Sometimes, the results can be beautiful, but in the case live action Hellboy, it was all wrong and I have to blunt, we can do so much better with graphic design now than just simply taking a tall buff man, putting make up and props on him. I hate sounding mean, but both versions just look like a guy wearing a cosplaying as Hellboy. It would have been much better if Hellboy was completely and entirely CGI or perhaps even an elaborate puppet costume like the ones used in the Jim Henson films. It may sound like enough to give the hero red skin, a stone hand, horns, a tail, cloven feet (which are covered), amber eyes, pointed ears and be very tall. He STILL looks too human compared to the comic and compared to what movie makers can do, it’s lackluster.

Now, we turn to the animated version which did more than just the obvious. Hellboy isn’t inhuman looking just because of the said traits before. He is inhuman because of his proportions and shape especially his face. It is a confirmed fact that he is not just not human. He is ugly and animalistic looking. His features are the combination of a satyr and gorilla especially when you look at how thin his legs, jaw, shoulders, posture and so on.  Also, his eyes aren’t just amber. He has no pupils, no schlera (the white part) and no irises. The entire eye is nothing, but amber which makes them disturbing to look at. He cannot simply cover his face, tail and hand, then simply blend in. He cannot even wear most human clothes hence why Hellboy is always shirtless and his hooves are exposed. In other words, animated Hellboy looks like Hellboy.

2- The animated plot was clean, to the point with no filler. - While I admit the first live action film kept it pretty simple, I find that it still had a lot of filler and too much subplot. If you ever read a Hellboy comic, you will know right off the bat that Mike Mignola is a master at the art of pacing without fluff. Yes, he respect that character development and buildup takes time, but he doesn’t drag things. Ever. And he does not make everything so angsty either. Yes, he hints that the characters have issues, trauma, emotional pain and at times, depression, but he did so without making them into whiners. For the most part, the cast and hero would pick themselves up and do what they had to like adults. If anything, they were also each other’s emotional support and they don’t hate people. The animated version captured that completely and even showed us that the cast did not consist of malcontents who played the “poor me” card to death. In the beginning of Blood and Iron, Abe, Liz and Hellboy were happily talking about a bakery they had found once which reminds us that with all their hardships they do seek and accept joy in life even from something as simple as good pastries.

Moreover, the plot of the film was to the point with some amount of subplots, but without getting complicated and without the subplots contradicting each other. Everything had a way of coming together neatly and even though we did sometimes get surprises, they didn’t feel like filler. They felt like things that were always there, but now, we are aware of them. Most importantly, there was no cheap or silly selling point tactics like relationship drama or the stereotypical father-son bickering (more on this later). Hellboy is not that kind of story.

3- The subtle messages and morals in the animated films were deeper and better. - Being the mature adult I am now, I can say that the first Hellboy really was just Beauty and the Beast while using the Hellboy cast instead and it presented in the message in all of the outdated and bad ways. Don’t get me wrong, I find the idea of Hellboy falling in love romantic and I admit that underneath all of the darkness and action, everything about Hellboy comes back to love. However, it is not romantic love where the end all be all is to be accepted by humanity by getting into a relationship with a human, then turning into a handsome prince even if only metaphorically. The deeper and more important kind of love Hellboy tries to teach is self love how you are regardless how strange people deem you. If you have done something with your life and made something of yourself, then it is ok to be you and are already more loved than you realize. The other kind of love that has always been important to the series is family unity. You see, Hellboy, Liz and Abe are like siblings to each other and Prof. Bruttenholm is an incredibly loving father figure to all of them namely Hellboy who he raised since he was a baby.

He made the big red guy into the man he is today. In fact, even as an adult, Hellboy and Bruttenholm are a very sweet and kind father and son duo. They are not at each other’s throats, they don’t snark at each other or are incapable of agreeing on anything. There is no spite, there is no anger, there is no resentment and there is no ingratitude. There is only love and honestly, THIS is the love that ought to be showcased more in the films.

With that all said and done, the animated films also had their subtle deep messages which we not only understand clearly, but we also appreciate more. In the first movie Sword of Storms, it was all about finding a balance between persevering and knowing when to let go. In other words, keep doing what you must if it is still relevant and making a difference, but if it isn’t and is the reason you’re stuck, by all means quit. There are many roads to closure. In the second one Blood and Iron, it was clear from the beginning that the message was to not underestimate the elderly. They may not be as strong as they once were, but their experience and wisdom gets them and you out of tough spots. They have been through everything before and know what to do. By all means, aid them and help them, but don’t treat them like helpless babies. I also have to say that when I look at the messages the two animated films were telling us, they are not only clearer, but pretty underrated ones too. In the case of the live action films, the messages were muddled if not done before.

In short, I look at the animated films and I’m impressed. If another live action Hellboy does come along, I hope that this time, it will be done right and I really don’t want to see relationship, gore fests, snark or family drama again. Of course, this all my opinion and I would love to hear all of yours.

Thank you for reading and stay safe.

EDIT: Wouldn’t you know it? I forgot the link to all things Hellboy Animated. Here it is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellboy_Animated

[allnewalldifferentwildspider]

Zuko & Katara's Relationship Dynamic

This is like the third or fourth time I've tried to write up this post so please bare with me.

Oh wow. That video. Hopefully everyone has seen it now. Not only did it articulate arguments I've been making for years, but it also brought up ideas I had never thought of or noticed before. Watching that and watching the second half of Book 3 again (because it's my favorite) made me want to redo my zutara dynamic post.

I'm going to be using the tiny bits and pieces the show gave us to see how Zuko and Katara's relationship looks and how it would look if they gave us more because...Bryke really fucking hated zutara. I mean, I guess they did.

Katara is compassionate; Zuko is empathetic

A lot of anti-zutara arguments have said that Zuko and Katara could never be together because they would constantly fight and hate each other and it end sooner than later. Not only does this actually describe maiko, but that argument would need to ignore the characters' actual character.

One of Katara's biggest character traits is how compassionate she is. She has a drive to help others and ease their pain. Whether it's getting Aang out of the iceberg or healing a Fire Nation fishing village, Katara will go out of her way to help someone in need.

Katara: No. I will never ever turn my back on people who need me.

Zuko is very emotional and passionate person. As much as he tried to hide it to appease his father, Zuko does want to open up and connect with people. Unfortunately, aside from his uncle, most of the other people he knows are like Zhao and Azula. Not the most understanding of crowds. But because of this he can pick up what people are really thinking and feeling. Think of it as a defense mechanism he developed growing up around people like Azula.

Get these two kinds of people together and you get the crystal catacombs scene. Katara lashes out at Zuko until she breaks down. When she does Zuko opens up with empathy since they have something in common. This creates the beginning of an understanding between the two. Zuko uses that to finally open up to someone who isn't his uncle and Katara listens and reaches out to help. Contrast to the first episode of Book 3 when Zuko tries to voice his thoughts and concerns to Mai and she...doesn't really care.

Something similar happens during The Southern Raiders. Zuko figures out that Katara is taking out her anger of being separated from her father by The Fire Nation onto him and even connecting her mother's death to him.

It's not the first time Zuko has done this either. He easily figured out that Sokka was planning on going to The Boiling Rock. He does it again during Sozin's Comet when he tells Katara that Aang needs to figure out what to do about Ozai by himself.

There's a noticeable pattern of behavior by the time Sozin's Comet arrives. Zuko voices his concerns about meeting his uncle again and Katara is right there to help him through it.

Zuko's empathy combined with Katara's compassion creates almost a cycle of understanding and emotional vulnerability that the two can't really get with anyone else. One notices the other having concerns or problems and goes to give comfort by words or by actions.

Zuko still has a temper but so does Katara

Even after Zuko's fever dream character change thing, even after The Day of Black Sun, he still has it in him to yell at anyone who commits even the slightest transgressions against him:

Aang: That one felt kinda hot. Zuko: Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like. Aang: Sorry, sifu hotman. Zuko: And stop calling me that!

Sokka: So all we have to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough. *pokes him with his sword* *annoying laugh* Zuko: All right! Cut it out!

Maybe it's the firebender in him or maybe he really is just like that. Basically if you annoy him, he'll let you know. What people sometimes overlook is that while it takes Katara a bit longer, she also gets worked up when people upset her.

Toph: What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy Britches? Katara: Oh, sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?

And remember, it was Katara getting angry at Sokka that even broke the iceberg that revealed Aang.

Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka: Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!

The point is that it is both Zuko and Katara that are very passionate and emotional people. One of them isn't emotionally dominating the other because they both wear their emotions on their sleeves.

This also comes in to play when they set goals for themselves. When Zuko sets a goal, he puts everything into it. Katara is the same way. The difference is that Zuko's drive sometimes gives him a one-track mind while Katara is more flexible. Like for example Zuko being so focused on finding Aang before Sozin's Comet that he ignores Toph's story about her childhood versus Katara wanting to go to the North Pole but taking time to stop and help whoever they come across.

This passion also fuels their values and how strongly they stand by their beliefs. I already put The Painted Lady quote up above but Zuko's morality is what is making him so angry at himself during The Beach. He knows what he did was wrong, but he couldn't face it yet.

Sometimes their emotions get the better of them, but it's only because they are passionate about what they're doing.

Their natural teamwork is amazing

I can't provide a lot of clues in this bit because it's more of a visual thing. Just consider how flawlessly their plans worked during their attack on The Southern Raiders. Especially when you consider that it was a stealth mission so they barely even said anything to each other during and it still went incredibly well.

You could see it again during their mock battle with The Melon Lord. Sokka must have noticed because he paired them together to deliver some "liquidy-hot offence." And they pulled it off, again, without having to say anything.

They've only been a team for a few weeks(?), days(?) but they act as if they've been doing it for years.

They trust each other's judgment

Piggybacking of the previous point, Zuko and Katara have only been a team for a while but there seems to be a level of understanding in terms of judgement. They both know that whatever the other chooses is going to be a well-thought out decision. Maybe it's because they see each other as the mature members of the group even though Sokka is the same age as Zuko? I don't know.

Aang disappears right before they embark on their fight against the Fire Lord, and out of nowhere, Katara puts Zuko in charge.

Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away. Katara: What should we do Zuko? Zuko: I don't know. Why are you all looking at me? Katara: Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang.

and that wasn't the first time in that episode that she went along with one of Zuko's decisions

Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this. *She begins to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.* Zuko: Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.

As a lot of people have pointed out during the entirety of The Southern Raiders, Zuko never gives a suggestion on what he thinks Katara should do. Aside from making it a stealth mission, he follows her lead the entire way.

Katara teases Zuko (and he lets her)

The fun one. This one has two parts: pre and post The Southern Raiders.

Before The Southern Raiders, Katara was tolerating Zuko. She was still angry with him about the betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Getting little jabs at him was the only thing that was really helping her from loosing her cool around him.

Katara: I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago? Zuko: Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason. Katara: Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are. Toph: Ouch.

He just finished yelling at Aang and Sokka but all he does is glare at Katara. She does it again, but to be fair, he kind of set himself up for it.

Zuko: It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old! Katara: Oh yeah? What's your little form called? Zuko: ...The Dancing Dragon.

Then comes post The Southern Raiders and...yeah, she's still picking on him and he still lets her. Granted it's a lot more playful this time around.

Zuko: They make me totally stiff and humorless. Katara: Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on. Zuko: How could you say that? Actor Uncle: Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages. Actor Zuko: How could you say that?! (Cut back to Katara wearing a satisfied grin on her face and she looks to an expressionless Zuko as he slouches in his seat.)

I love pointing it out every time. She teases him and he does nothing about it.

Katara: Er, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this. Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute? Oh lighten up, I was just teasing.

And she admits it!

-

So what can we take away from this? From what little time they were given together (thanks, Bryke) it seems that Zuko and Katara really understand each other on an intimate emotional level. They can sense when the other is distressed and offer comfort. They're both passionate in and out of combat, for better or for worse. They're comfortable with each other as if they've known each other for years even though it's such a short time. Katara also likes to add a little bit of playfulness in there with Zuko letting her have her fun, again, showing how comfortable they are with each other.

I do think their relationship could have gone to romantic sooner than later if you would have given it a bit more time. Like first half of a hypothetical Book 4.

To me, at least.