#the girl(tm) has been on my mind lately and i just really think

[blackgirlsuperherorants]

Alright, thoughts on Kaos, after watching the first three episodes. I'm going to try to keep this more organized than it's gonna wanna come out, but no promises lmao.

I REALLY want to like the show. In fact, I don't hate it, strictly speaking. It's... interesting? But it's also a really frustrating watch, for me. I guess the biggest problem for me is that it very much feels like a show that would have worked better if it was made 15 years ago. Like, it's a very late 2000s, early 2010s show. Which isn't terrible, but compared to other recent shows in the fantasy genre, it just feels like... something that would've been edgy and boundary-pushing in like 2009, but falls flat in 2024.

And I hate to do a lot of comparing, but as a creator, as a writer, as a show runner, they needed to expect comparison to happen. Especially when they're dealing with figures from one of the most studied, most read, and most adapted mythologies in human history. And like, yes, please do your own take on Greek gods-- on Greek myth in general. I am not expecting a 1 to 1 interpretation, and the fact that the show is doing it's own thing with these figures is not a problem for me. It's just not hitting. And in a time when there are VERY POPULAR books, movies, shows, and plays using these same characters and telling versions of these same stories, like... you gotta compete. You gotta pay attention to what others have recently and popularly done with the stories, and yours has to be as good or better or it's just going to fall short. And for me, that's what's happened, here, with Kaos. I'm going to try to go into detail about what I think works well and what I think isn't working, so be mindful of spoilers.

Their version of Zeus... I dunno. I like him, I guess? But I'm not sure if that's just because Jeff Goldblum is very interesting to watch or not. I think the thing they got really right about Zeus, and many of the other gods depicted here, is the casual cruelty and indifference. A lot of shows and movies about these Greek deities are either afraid to depict them as too cruel (making them Good Guys TM), or make them just villains-- rarely is the balance met well. And, well, I think that's one of the things that this show does best. When Hera disguises herself as Zeus and fucks Zeus's little human lover, then makes the girl go through a full pregnancy in seconds and turns her into a bee and makes Zeus kill the baby-- that was GREAT. I hated it and loved it because it was so mean and cruel and Zeus just snapped the baby's neck like it was nothing, because it was nothing to him. A very good depiction, in my opinion, of how cruel these gods can be without even an ounce of remorse for the mortal they're being cruel to.

But, again, I dunno if I like what the show is doing with Zeus, in particular, or if I'd just enjoy watching Jeff Goldblum read the phonebook for 9 hours straight, you know?

Hera? She's wonderful. 10/10, no notes. I love this Janet McTeer as Hera, I love the way Hera is depicted, I love the way she looks. She eats.

Now, to my biggest problems with the series, and I apologize in advance because I have A LOT OF FEELINGS about it. I've been ranting about it every time I try to sit through episodes.

Let's start with my beloved Dionysus. Now, I want to be clear: Nabhaan Rizwan is great as Dionysus. He is giving such a good performance, it's just... something is lacking. Which makes me feel like it's on the creative side. Like, it's the direction or the writing or something that is off. So, they're obviously going for this... like... youthful boredom, with Dionysus. Dionysus is often depicted as, like, one of the youngest gods, and his whole thing is theatre, wine, debauchery, pleasure... so, yeah, having him be this kinda youthful party boy is perfect. I get it 100%. I just think the idea they had is SO GOOD and wasn't well executed at all. Here is where comparison is going to come in, so I apologize in advance if this is a problem for you--

We live in a time of very good television. Okay? And the trope they're going for with Dionysus is something we have seen done extremely well. Even, like... Klaus from Umbrella Academy fits that trope, and was done extremely well. The way they're trying to depict Dionysus is very pansexual, very life of the party, very "knows everyone who is anyone at all the spots", very "casual sex just because." And like, we LOVE those characters. Bratty disasters who live in the moment and are perpetually into some shit. And we've seen so many versions of them on recent television shows that, while ALL different, were all executed way better than this version of Dionysus. Lestat on AMC's Interview With The Vampire. Blackbeard on Our Flag Means Death. Klaus, as I mentioned before. The whole disaster bi/pan dude thing.

Dio, in comparison, seems very half-baked. Very 2009. I think out of all of the characters, he feels the most 2009, you know? Like, back when making a bi/pan character was edgy, and even then, it wasn't explicit or was even played for laughs. I know this is a comedy, but so is Our Flag Means Death, you know? And even when the whole Blackbeard/Stede thing was funny, it was never because being queer is funny. And like... this show DID THAT with Dionysus. There's a moment where he goes into The Cave with Orpheus and he casually orders drinks from the (male) bartender, and the bartender flips him off-- implying some prior knowledge of each other-- and then Dio goes off to have a quickie with the bartender. And like... he's getting fucked by the man, and in that moment it didn't feel like... like a male character having desire for a man and having a sexual tryst with him. It felt like "isn't it funny that Dionysus is getting FUCKED in the ASS?!" Which, like... no? Like, that's so 2009. It's so passe to play the gay for laughs. Like, even in other fantasy comedies, like What We Do in the Shadows and Our Flag Means Death-- the CHARACTERS are funny, but their same-sex attraction never is. It's not funny that Stede and Blackbeard fall for each other-- it's lovely.

And let's be clear-- I'm not expecting Dio to "fall for" the bartender or anything, but it's clear that they were going for "Dio is a fuckboy who has probably had casual sex with this man before, and probably scorned him in some way, and so he uses the casual quickie to make up with the guy and possibly get free drinks." Cute, fun, I like that. I don't like HOW they did that idea. Like, Dio did not react like someone who enjoys getting fucked. He reacted like a straight boy playing getting fucked in the ass for laughs. IDK.

To be fair, this version of Dionysus is very bored with his whole debauchery schtick and we do see him boredly getting his cock sucked by a girl in a club in an early scene, too. But even that looked more like someone who enjoys getting their cock sucked but is just bored, and less just... "it's funny because of what it is." Does that make sense? IDK.

Like, it feels like a direction problem. Because this Dionysus seems to work very well on paper, and the actor doesn't seem poorly cast, to me. It just seems... executed like it's directed by a dudebro older man who was very cool in the 2000s and still thinks the way dude filmmakers thought in the 2000s.

Then there's the Orpheus.

2/10. I do not... like him. And like, not because of the story-- we all know Orpheus and Eurydice. (Which is part of the problem.)

I think it's because he very much gives CHRIS MARTIN, gives COLDPLAY, and not in a good way. Like, yeah, I like Coldplay alright. They're fine. But for ORPHEUS? Orpheus' whole thing is that his music is supposed to be... extremely special. Like, nobody is touching him. His music is so beautiful it can like... literally change the world. Move the gods. All of that.

And they chose to make him... COLDPLAY? This man whose music is the most special, beautiful thing anyone has ever heard. Like, I don't understand that music direction choice. At all. Who... decided that this was the move? I need something otherworldly. Something ethereal. Like, when he's playing the piano at The Cave for the fates in an attempt to get them to allow him to go into the underworld to retrieve Eurydice's soul... as soon as he started, I was like "This basic ass piano." Like, THAT IS NOT "the greatest, most beautiful music-- music that breaks your heart so much that you'd let him defy the gods and get his lost love back." It sounded like he was playing Christmas hymns at the Christmas morning service. Basic as fuck.

And again, I hate, hate that I have to compare, but YOU CANNOT GIVE SUCH A MEDIOCRE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE IN A WORLD WHERE HADESTOWN EXISTS. Like, we cannot hear Reeve Carney give the most beautiful performances of the most heartwrenching songs in a hit Broadway musical as the same character, and then you give us Chris Martin playing Christmas hymns.

Again, you are allowed to make your own interpretations, and the showrunner did not need to try to copy Hadestown. That is not what I mean. But you need to pay attention to what perhaps the most popular telling of that myth OF ALL TIME did, and you need to try to match or exceed it. Why even both with Orpheus and Eurydice if you're not going to slay us with the music? YOU NEED TO SLAY US WITH THE MUSIC! THAT'S ORPHEUS' WHOLE THING!

Honestly, full stop, even though they have every right to tell their own versions of these stories and create their own versions of these characters, you're fighting an uphill battle when AMERICAN GODS, PERCY JACKSON, and HADESTOWN exist and have done EXTREMELY WELL and been EXTREMELY POPULAR touching this same mythology. You have to MATCH OR EXCEED. Because why would I want to sit through your mediocre Orpheus when I could listen to Hadestown and hear a far superior Orpheus?

Now, their Eurydice? She is beautiful. She is fierce. She is heartbreaking. I love her. Hera and Eurydice are the best characters on the show, and the only ones I just full-on like without much complaint.

And maybe the point is that the men suck? IDK. Like, I don't give a fuck about this Orpheus. I'm not sad for him. His reaction to Eurydice's death is selfish and not at all heartbreaking. I don't even believe him that he wants to go into the underworld to retrieve her. I feel like Dionysus wants it more than he does. But Euridyce. I feel so sad for her. She lost her mother to Hera's cult. She dies tragically. Her stupid husband took her coin, so she can't even pass through to be Renewed and have a new life. She wasn't happy in her marriage, and she isn't happy in her death, and all I want is for her to succeed.

IDK if their goal was for us to dislike Orpheus, but if that is the goal, they've succeeded. Like, I want my heart to break for Orpheus. But I just feel like he's shitty. And I don't care about him at all.

And the other thing was small, but Theseus and Nax being in love was brushed over and not fully explicit and the Nax actor didn't play it well enough. Theseus actor was believably in love and heartbroken that Nax might die at Minos' hands, but Nax was almost playful, like his whole purpose was to reveal that Theseus was not for Ariadne rather than to truly be Theseus' lover. Which, again, feels like a director problem. They WROTE "Theseus is revealed to be gay and in love with Nax, the secret prince of Troy". He DIRECTED "and then we learn that Theseus is actually gay and Nax sassily reveals it to Ariadne because lol they're gay and she doesn't get the man isn't that amusing?" Which, again, is very 2009. Very "see? It's EDGY, the character is GAY! But not too gay, because eww, amirite?" And like, again, in a decade in which we have OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, that just doesn't work anymore. We have pirates and vampires being openly gay and kissing and being casual about how in love they are with their partners... and you play your gay Theseus as if it's edgy just to imply he's in love with this prince and that you don't need to show us that he is because you let the prince call him "babe" and let their hands touch a bit and let Theseus cry for him. Like? Coward shit, man, it's so outdated. I don't know how else to say it. Like, even having Nax just show an ounce of empathy for his partner who is terrified that he is going to be executed would have been enough, but Nax was just sassy and smirking and resigned to his fate as if it was just words on a script. Even a man who knew he was probably going to die because of his actions to save his people should have more emotion and conflict than just "Oh well, I'm not afraid to die, lol, Theseus babe stop crying omg lol"

Anyway, I think this was more negative than positive. But... I like the modern setting. I think it's fun. Very "Romeo + Juliet", which is I think what they were actually going for. I love the Fates and the Furies. I think they look so cool, and I think the gnc Fates was a great choice. I liked their Poseidon. Didn't like their Hades and Persephone, but there's nothing wrong with them, actually. I just don't like what they did with them personally.

I like Prometheus, and I like that he's serving as the narrator. I think that's interesting. I like that Zeus keeps summoning him and sending him back-- again, that casual cruelty thing that the show does so well. (Also, when Poseidon drowns the servant girl for no reason. That was very fun. Just, perfect Poseidon behavior-- he's such a piece of shit, and I love that this show decided to show us that.)

I also like the story it's trying to tell, with the three humans who are prophesized to bring down Zeus/the gods. I'm interested in seeing how that works out, and especially in seeing Eurydice's role in it. The show has a REALLY good premise, and has some REALLY nice elements. It's just, honestly, the execution that leaves something to be desired. Like, I feel like I'm pulling my hair out every time I try to watch an episode. Like, I pause every few minutes just to rant about something.

And to be fair, I'm a mythology girlie. I read a lot of mythology. I watch a lot of mythology shows and movies. I listen to mythology podcasts. Like, it's my special interest. But also, I understand completely when people adapt these myths to tell their own versions, or use these characters in their stories in ways that don't match the mythologies. I understand, and I've even done it myself. And so does the mythology. There are so many different versions of these gods, of their myths, so many different ways they were worshipped and things they were worshipped for-- it's perfectly on-brand to change them in your own ways for your own purposes. I don't think that's my problem with Kaos. I just think... I don't like how it was executed. It's a very "sounds good on paper" show, at this point. And I feel for the cast, because they're not doing a terrible job. It really feels like the problems are on the director/producer side. I even think what the writers wrote sounds better than what the creative team did with it.

And... that's all I'll say. I'm still going to finish the season. Maybe I'll give final thoughts after I finish the season. Sometimes things that you think are problems are there to pay something off in the end. But some of these things, IDK, I just think they're problems in general. And, like... I'm kinda disappointed, because I really want to like this show, and right now, I can't say that I do.

[dilatorywriting]

hello ~ hello ~

Hope you're feeling better! I, personally, have been a bit dead to the world since late April. This past May was kinda odd, honestly. I think everyone I know and know of just. died for the month. Collectively. At once.

I actually wanted to slide in here and pick your brain about your ongoing Monster Mayhem stuff, if you're up for it? Just like a general status overview question, since I feel kinda out of the loop 😭 And also because I know that I tend to like talking about my feelings on my current wips, so I figured maybe you might too? If not, dw!

I'll put these in bullet points since it's kinda easier for me to organize my thoughts that way

Jack: I remember you saying awhile back that you expect Part 2 to be the final part. Is that still holding up, or does it feel like it'll be longer?

Rook: From the pacing, I'm getting the vibe that this one might be another 4 part story? mayhaps? Or maybe Rook isn't like the other girls TM and gets something different.

Vil: I haven't read this one yet, but I'm excited to sit down with it soon! What's the overall length/number of parts you're planning for at the moment?

I'm pretty sure this was asked at some point before, but what's your stance on epilogues? There has been... discussion. about a Leona epilogue before, I recall, but are you considering epilogues for all of them, or only specific characters?

What's like. your vibe, rn? With each of the stories? Like in terms of "I'm really feeling this, so I'm working on it and it might be posted in the nearish future, assuming no disasters" to like "I plan to continue this, but not rn. I've got a different worm chewing on the brain lettuce atm". Ik you literally just answered an ask similar to this, and said Leona part 4 & Vil part 2 are the one's you're focused on, so I guess this is more so geared towards the Jack and Rook ones? Or other stuff you're secretly planning. I have a vague memory of a "forgot your birthday" scenario that was on a poll a few months back

I'm honestly just curious, really. Back from the dead and wanted to catch up

Also I. have a third Monster Mayhem Azul brainrot. It's not a fluffy one. If I can wrangle it into something more coherent, I may send it your way. Not dissimilar to the fashion of throwing a pebble at someone's window to get their attention, but accidentally putting a hole through the glass, and taking off running.

-Reaper

I'm gonna put this all under a little cut thing just because I feel like there's quite a lot! So here we go~

Jack -- It would still only be two parts I think! I only had short plans for that going forward, and it's currently at the bottom of my bucket list so to speak, not for any big reason just because Jack isn't one of my favorites so he falls behind on what I actually want to write.

Rook -- Was a bit more up in the air in terms of what I wanted to do. Had started writing a third part for it, but Rook's in particular felt very like, episodic? If that makes sense? Rather than an overarching cohesive arc. So I could write so much more little random side stories! But aside from a bit I had sort of planned regarding Riddle, there wasn't too much specific I had in mind.

Vil -- Probably one or two more parts to wrap up what I wanted with him; most likely one of the same length as the first. But that one of all of them may get a separate little piece because I am such a sucker for mermaids/sirens soooo that may get some special love

Epilogues -- bit of a mish mash. Really depends how I'm feeling tbh. If I want to write something, I'll word vomit like no one's business, but if I'm not overly invested then I probably won't bother writing one. But again

Vibe Check -- I’m absolutely wiped. Not with these stories, because I do genuinely love them. But like, back to back tough placements on top of illness is a trip. So I’m a bit more tired and less motivated than I normally am, just because most of my brain is chewing on actual school work and case reports and trying to not make myself look like an idiot every time I’m asked for a diagnosis list and go “uuuuhhhhhhhh.” But! I have some brain worms. Right now — big thing I’m working on is the second half of a very long commission. Which is loads of fun but also there’s so much to chew over there, so that takes a lot of my brain. On the side, I was really also writing my Vil Siren Part 2. Because that’s also a lot on the brain and it’s very different Vibe to the commission, so like it’s a good one to go back and forth between depending on what mood I’m in. Jamil is also very On My Brain right now oddly enough. I think because I read a short little Naga piece a while ago and it reminded me how much I love them. So that's on my brain a lot. As for the others, Jack has sorta fallen to the wayside admittedly. Mostly because I adore him as a Bro, but he’d just not usually a character my brain swoons over, so he’s sort of just… existing. I also wasn’t entirely sure where I wanted to go with that other than just “oh wow we fixed it together!” And that’s a factor too. As for other things, the birthday one comes back and forth depending on my mood, but idk if that’ll ever go up. I have lots of it written, but not enough to post or really toss together straight away. If that makes sense

[troutfur]

Last night I was contemplating Bluestar/Rosetail/Snowfur/Thistleclaw and how much Bluestar and Thistleclaw’s hating each other and their having to raise Whitestorm together while hating each other would be heightened in a pfurr, so if you want to do anything with that, I’d love to see it!

Great minds gathering on my ask box it seems!

Bluefur/Thistleclaw/Snowfur is also one of the pfurr dynamics that I have Thoughts(tm) on and which I think illustrates an interesting aspects of this dynamics in play. Much as Thistleclaw and Bluefur may hat each other's guts they share custody over Whitekit by virtue of sharing a nest and the polite pretense that his siring is in any way uncertain.

Thistleclaw can't revoke Bluefur's custody by declaring his siring, that's not a privilege he has as a pipfurr --a non-birthing parent. And Bluefur can't split from Thistleclaw either, the custody battle is certain to go in his favor given that even if there is a polite pretense to uphold in siring uncertainty with regards to a cis molly, there is still a concept of right to custody by siring.

Now adding Rosetail to the mix though! I'm thinking the play here for the girls would be to try expulsion! So, here we are, Friday night and I'm writing cats strategizing divorce court tactics. What's my fucking life come to?

(If you want to accelerate my rapid descent even further, send a prompt. For the next few days I'm looking for dynamics that fit within the pfurr dynamic worldbuilding concept I have. So if you go with something like that you've got a good chance I'll pick yours.)

Bluefur dragged her paws behind her as she headed for the warriors’ den for a well deserved late-afternoon nap. Without a care she collapsed right on top of Rosetail, where she brought her paws to her face and let out a grumble of frustration.

“Tough day?” the molly under her ventured, soon slipping out to better accomodate herself around her empf --her nestmate-- where it would be more comfortable for her to groom her tired face.

“Take a guess as to why,” Bluefur replied.

In the moons since Snowfur’s death Thistleclaw had been wearing her down ever more. It wasn’t uncommon for them to have multiple fights a quarter moon, although no longer as had been their custom over his overly aggressive approach to border defense to which he hoped to convert everyone. It all came down to their son nowadays, how he’d encourage him to pick fights with the other kits, how he’d encourage him into recklessly aggressive games, how he himself played with him.

Ever since they’d lost Snowfur there was no recourse with him. She always had a way to assert herself against him (and Bluefur a way to voice her concerns so that they became her sister’s as well), to remind him that as wipfurr --mother, the one unique parent-- she had ultimate say. But now that all that Whitekit had nothing but pipfurrs --fathers, the interchangeable parents-- his equality in their position had emboldened him like nothing before.

Bluefur sighed. “Whty haven’t we expelled him yet?”

Rosetail frowned turning to Bluefur. “You’re joking right?”

Was she? “It at least wouldn’t be the worst idea. We could even make him a hug’koo,” the word means cuckoo but refers also to someone who has been kicked out of a pfurr --their peculiar form of family based on sleeping in the same nest-- “on the spot, just refuse him entrance into the nest when he comes by later.”

“Bluefur!” Rosetail chastised before giving out a sigh. “If you really want what’s best for Whitekit why don’t you try finding more of a middle ground with his ssuf ?” that’s sire, in their language, “Wouldn’t that be more helpful for him?”

“What would be helpful is that he stops trying to turn him into some sort of frenzied boar like him,” Bluefur retorted. “I know he is your brother, but surely you can’t stand him either as of late, right?”

Pointedly she ignored the question regarding her littermate. “How do you think it’s going to go if you just try to cut him off like that? Who do you think the Clan will side with as to who should be responsible for Whitekit?”

“I would think the side that can offer Whitekit more than a single pipfurr has a fair chance against an ul-arrapipfurr,” Bluefur argued. The word means ‘lone father’, something any kitten would be extremely unfortunate to only have one of. “Think about it. Please. I have seen you and I know it bothers you as well. We can end it easily, in no time.”

“Just go to rest, Bluefur,” Rosetail finally said, shoving her empfs face into their nest as she shuffled around in the nest.

[kowaindar0u]

1, 9, 16 for Yuichi, Sunao and Taikyuu, 18 👀 (@zantedeschia-praesul)

[ 20 QUESTIONS FOR MULTI-MUSE BLOGS! ]

putting under a cut cause it got long LOL

1. which muse is the easiest to write? i think yams, yuichi, and taikyuu are the easiest for me to write! i've been writing taikyuu in a couple verses since like 2019 so i feel like he comes to me easily. yuichi and yamatonokami i feel are quite similar to me LOL

9. what song do you associate with each muse? oh man. i have playlists for all of them i think so! letz go - Sengo: DDD by EXID i have always said that sengo would like exid a LOT, so here! (the lyrics dont matter just the VIBES and the DANCE) - Yamatonokami: Over the Sky by Dreamcatcher again i am always saying this song reminds me of tkrb in general but it REALLY reminds me of yams? (again, not rly lyrically, jsut vibes) - Fudou: It's Been a While by Staind typical grungey song lol but... any time it comes on when i put on his playlist i'm like. Dang. - Hachisuka: Two Princes by Spin Doctors not necessarily in any kind of romantic sense but naturally just the way he acts with regard to nagasone, the "pick me, why would you pick him?" kind of thing?? it doesn't really fit witht he specific lyrics just... again... vibes (noticing a pattern here...) - Taikyuu: ME by CLC i realized while looking at my playlist for him that a good chunk of it doesn't apply as much to him thematically in tkrb verse as it did in mortal kombat LOL (because indeed their backtories/circumstances/struggles are quite different) but this... i remember when this came out, during the time i was RPing him there for MK and just thinking how PERFECT it was for him. cause in all universes he is beautiful and he knows it - Sunao: honestly any song that feels like fall OR like laying in a sunbeam Put Your Records On by Corrine Bailey Rae honestly he's just a very mellow and sweet kind of guy, though sometimes he's got a just the teensiest twinge of sorrow. - Yuichi: lately it's for sure Talk Talk by Girls' Generation i already mentioned it on his playlist post but omg ...lately it's been really in my head a lot for... Reasons lol :eyes:

16. what is a plot you’ve been wanting to do for Yuichi? - I don't have any specific ideas in mind but it would be fun to do something where things get intense in, like, his capacity as saniwa. like shit is hitting, or about to hit, the fan so he needs to Do His Job LOL

16. what is a plot you’ve been wanting to do for Sunao? - honestly i think ANY plot would be good LMAO but i like the idea of him maybe interacting with either a less-than-friendly toudan, or one who's not in the best of moods. he's such a people-pleaser he'll do anything he can to help lol

16. what is a plot you’ve been wanting to do for Taikyuu? - HMMMM... perhaps one where he hurts someone's feelings and has to handle that, or vice versa. orrrrr ... hmmmm. i will always love him being protective of his fellow toudans, even if he isn't really fond of some of them... makes me soft lol. also maybe him dealing with some kind of Failure(TM) that kinda throws him for a loop

18. which two muses would immediately fight each other if they met? probably yasu and fudou LMAO

[gerudospiriit]

Headcanon: Gerudo Hierarchy

Just a few points I want to reiterate about my own personal HCs about how the Gerudo operate and Nabooru in general because it's been on my mind the last few days. Might be repeats for some of you, but it's been a good while since I've been here, and I might have some fresh takes to add to old ideas. I also just think it's important to have on file so to speak so people better know where I'm coming from with my portrayal of Best Girl(tm).

☀ We'll start it off with a maybe spicy take: I really didn't like that they made the Gerudo basically a monarchy in which the role of chief is based on a bloodline. Outside of it clashing with the HCs I had before Breath of the Wild even came out, it just...doesn't make sense to me personally and leaves us so many questions. The whole male born every century becoming king was bad enough, and I don't feel this was a step in a better direction for the Gerudo. Thus, this will not be the case for the Gerudo on my blog.

My headcanon has always been that the leader (though I will probably go ahead and adopt the title "Chief" to be in line with at least the naming conventions) outside of the one male thing (which I think I've mentioned my HC on that, too, but maybe I'll hit on that while we're here), was chosen more or less on merit. For the Gerudo, that often means their prowess as a warrior as a top indicator, along with other measurements such as their capacity as a potential leader, their intelligence, and their devotion to the goals of the tribe in general to name a few considerations. In other words, one woman wasn't named chief and then her daughter was immediately handed the title when the current chief passed or stepped down. Instead, another would be selected by the Gerudo Elite, which is basically the top council of the Gerudo and the governing body just beneath the king/chief.

☀ Due to some issues arising from the singular male being automatically crowned king, the Gerudo eventually adopted a series of tests and challenges--physical, mental, and intellectual--that the prince would need to successfully and adequately complete to actually be crowned. If they fail, the top leadership role remains in the hands of the current chief. The prince is allowed to continue his training to eventually attain the crown, but, if they aren't able to live up to the standards set by the Gerudo by adulthood (so like late teens to early 20s, probably), faith in him as a leader might not be stellar.

☀ The Gerudo second in command is hand chosen by the chief or king themselves. While there usually isn't any kind of challenge or special vetting process for this selection, as the crowned king or chief is usually already trusted to make that decision, due to the whispers of favoritism from other Gerudo, Nabooru insisted that a series of tests were also established to decide Ganondorf's second in an open invitation, both to shut people up and prove herself to the haters who doubted her.

☀ Nabooru's first priority is ALWAYS the Gerudo. This comes before Hyrule as a whole and before her duties as a sage. It's what drove her to stand against Ganondorf, as she felt his violence against the rest of Hyrule endangered their people who were already in a tenuous position, and will continue to drive her as chief. Plenty of this probably overlaps, but she makes it a point to let Zelda, the Hylian monarchy, and the rest of the sages know that this is the case for full transparency.

☀ Additionally, one of her first diplomatic tasks as leader is to change the language/power dynamic set out in the treaty signed after the Civil War. Due to Hyrule's victory, the language of the treaty suggested "uniting" Hyrule under one banner and one government, i.e. Hyrule's. In no position to bargain, the Gerudo took the deal to end the fighting that, if it continued much longer, would have eventually annhiliated them. After Ganondorf's defeat, Nabooru (and probably the other sages tbh) discuss with Zelda how she wants the Gerudo to maintain their sovereignty as their own nation/government/etc. rather than being forced to swear absolute fealty to the Hylian crown. She assured her that the Gerudo would still aid Hyrule against threats like the one Ganondorf or other bad actors might pose. With time, this is what became the new norm for all the races in Hyrule, and it also began to help relieve the long-held tension between the Gerudo and Hyrule.

☀ Bonus Edit: A Gerudo woman was only ever given the title queen if she married the king. This often placed responsibilities similar to a second in command on her shoulders, but a king could still maintain a true second in command as well. If the king passed, however, the queen was not automatically named chief unless the Elite decided she deserved it. If a king married outside of the Gerudo, the spouse would not be allowed to be called queen or have any governing power whatsoever.

[hexonthepeach]

I'm the same anon from the deliciously painful ask. This isn't meant to pressure you or anything– I just really wanted to share what I was thinking. If this gives you just a little bit of joy, then I would be honoured.

I'm really excited to read the next chapters, and I'm getting giddy just thinking about what you might have in store for us. If it's anything to go by, I haven't read a fic in ages that made me giggle and kick my feet up like a school girl with a crush. Whatever the chapters may entail, I'm sure I'll enjoy it anyhow. I can never know what to expect when I read AGTBTB, and I am always pleasantly surprised with the depth of each situation and the events that occur within.

Anyway, I hope you have a good day/afternoon/night. Don't forget to be kind to yourself today, too!

i know this is so late and i am so sorry but thank you! your original message made me kick my heels up as well and this follow-up is just so sweet. even when things are overwhelming i go back to these message as inspiration to keep moving, never as pressure, so never worry at all

"I can never know what to expect when I read AGTBTB, and I am always pleasantly surprised with the depth of each situation and the events that occur within" - in addition to making you giddily excited it's so nice to hear that you are open to the weird and surprising parts of this because it's genuinely gone there, and has been one of the hardest things i've ever written in scope/scale/story in decades, in a month where Life(tm) is happening too quickly to do anything but sleep otherwise (radical self care sometimes is sleeping and catching up on kdramas to reset the mind).

thank you so much for your patience, i am so excited to start up again with this last rising action/denouement for arc 1 and so appreciative you are on this ride with me.

[honeysidesarchived]

— VARYA SIONIS née astakhova. ( x )

flames burn / in my imagination / hate, hurt / that's where i feel the safest / play, destroy, the badthings bring me joy / play, destroy, the badthings bring me joy

[aetheternity]

Hard Pass P3 (Levi X Reader)

Synopsis: Levi is forced out of his comfy dorm room and in a strange twist of events right into your arms at a college party.

Levi was relieved for the silence as he clicked away at his keyboard. Mike had gone to his only late class of the entire week. Which meant Levi could actually study in his room.

The scent of tea and the small aroma diffuser on his desk as well as the open window in front of him welcomed a nice calming smell that was normally masked by Mike's gym bags and sweaty clothes. Which reminded Levi of the laundry he would have to do soon.

He pressed his tea cup to his lips feeling a twinge of irritation as he was interrupted by two knocks on the door. He looked down at the time. 6:15. A little too early for Mike to be back complaining that he'd forgotten his keys.

Then it was probably one of his girls complaining that she'd left her shit in the room. If Levi had a dollar for the amount of times that had happened he could pay for a new roommate.

The next couple knocks were a bit louder. "Levi? It's Y/N.."

Y/N?!

His face practically exploded. He stood far too fast because just as quickly he was flopping over his stupid desk chair and hitting the floor with a hard thud. He gasped audibly tugging at his knee and gritting his teeth.

"Levi? Are you ok?" Came her voice again.

He pulled himself up with a huff and staggered over to the door. Unsurprisingly he had to limp. With a quick turn of the lock he yanked open the door right into his forehead. God fucking dammit.

He groaned in a mix of fury and disgust partially because he'd idiotically stood so close when opening the door and partially because he hated the stupid inanimate object.

"Oh my god! Are you ok?" Y/N gasped, squeezing herself inside and shutting the door behind her. "Let me see? Did you hit your eye?" She asked

Her fingers were so delicate as she brushed aside his hands. So close.. Her thumb traced the already appearing red spot on his forehead. Soo close.. She brushed his hair to the side cupping his cheeks to gently reposition his head towards the light. Close....

She breathed out a little chuckle. "It's probably gonna bruise."

Levi barely registered her words. Occupied with her beautiful eyes illuminating moonlight and the dim lights in his room. His lips parted ever so slightly. When her hands fell away he gulped and jerked his head back. Trying to find literally anything to take the edge off.

"I'll.. go find you an ice pack, ok?" Y/N began already heading for the door.

"K-knee.." Levi tried and mentally cursed himself.

"Huh?" She asked, turning back.

"M-my.. t-two please.."

Her smile was gentle, "Two ice packs. Got it." And with a little wave she was out the door. Her lingering touch still causing heat to pool in Levi's chest.

~~~~

"Aww sweetie, are you sure you're ok?"

He was not. Definitely not. One of her hands was on his uninjured knee and the other was brushing his hair away from the ice pack. He didn't even know if he'd breathed in the last 20 minutes. His brain echoing the word sweetie.

The two of you had been sat on his bed as he uncomfortably laid his head back on the wall. Trying and failing to not fixate on your touch. Every brush of your fingertips was downright intoxicating.

"You look kinda red. Do you wanna try seeing a doctor or something?"

"N-no.." It was barely audible but he knew she heard when she nodded.

If there was a hole nearby he would crawl into it and never come out. Though he also didn't wanna move as the fear of making this situation worse for himself stayed ever present.

"Let me see?" He partially removed the ice pack from his forehead, spine tingling over the way she sucked in a breath. "You should be more careful."

Levi didn't answer. Just squeezed his legs closer together and sighed. In all the time he'd been in this room he'd never hit himself in the face with the door. Just what kind of power did this girl have over him.

"I know because my little cousin has done stuff like this but you should put some cream on the bump so that it doesn't get redder and it'll go down faster."

Little cousin? That wasn't a fair comparison. Little kids do stupid things cause they're kids. Did she think about him that way? Uggghhhh.

He was yanked from his thoughts by her hand coming down to squeeze his. "Are you positive you're ok? Do you need anything else?"

"I-I'm fine.."

Just as Levi said that his attention was brought to the door. Mike had barely stepped into the room and he was already grinning like a fucking idiot.

"Well, hello." He greeted, stepping closer. "Levi, you didn't tell me you were inviting anyone over. Especially not a pretty girl."

Y/N's chuckle was nervous, "Hello, you must be Levi's roommate." She stuck her hand out which Mike immediately took placing one hand on top of their joined hands.

"And you must be Y/N." He said "I've heard so much about you."

His teasing was met with a glare that could slice concrete. If Levi had known Mike was gonna come straight back to the room he definitely would've gotten rid of Y/N sooner.

"Oh? Really?" Y/N turned to look at Levi behind her. "You told him about me?" It was a split second thing but Levi could've sworn her features softened.

"Oh, no I meant Hange." Mike replied

"Oh."

Oh? Was she disappointed? It sounded disappointed? Did she want Levi to talk about her?

"But at no point did Hange tell me you were this pretty. Neither did Levi honestly, I'm kinda disappointed."

Alright that's enough of that. Levi stood. Placing the ice packs on his bed.

"You should probably leave." He gritted his teeth at how harshly it came out.

Now Mike was letting go of Y/N's hand. "Oh wait! I came to get my phone. Hange said you had it."

Levi blinked. He'd almost forgotten about that. It had been sitting on his desk since yesterday. His knee was screeching in absolute horror as he staggered his way over to his desk.

"What the hell happened to you?" Mike asked, clearly trying to hold back a snicker.

"Aw, it was an accident. I scared him."

Levi returned with the phone shooting daggers into Mike who pretended not to notice.

"Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Y-yeah.."

"Did you put your number into it?"

Levi's face perked up a little. "Yes."

"Ok, then I'll text you later." She assured, brushing her finger tips over his forehead once again. "Goodnight boys." And with those last words she took off.

"Faking an injury?! I didn't think you had it in you!" Mike celebrated as soon as she was gone.

"Dickhead." Levi scoffed.

"Hey, is that any way to talk to the best friend who just confirmed your biggest fear moot?" Mike plopped down on his bed with a playful huff.

Levi flopped down into his desk chair, staring up at the ceiling. "One you're definitely not my best friend especially after that shit. And two I'm not you I don't fake shit to get girls."

"That would totally be hurtful if it wasn't true." Mike shrugged "I meant the fact that she doesn't have a boyfriend."

Levi practically flipped himself out of his chair. "How do you assume that."

"Simple. Hange told me about her ex boyfriend. By the way it was probably that guy that took her from the library that day. And Hange says that a lot of guys find Y/N attractive. Because of this her ex got too overprotective and they broke up. But he had no reason to be because Y/N would always tell people she had a boyfriend or at least around Hange she did."

Levi stared at his barely drunk tea. The liquid probably cold after being left on the table so long. So she had dated that guy.. He had been so tall and pretty muscular looking, was that her type? She didn't seem like she was going to get back together with him.. but he was still around.

"All I'm saying is she seems loyal. You better snatch her up before someone else does or she gets back together with her ex."

His attention was drawn away by his phone softly buzzing on his table. He pressed the on button, swiping his pin and clicking the notification as it popped up.

Hey Levi, it's Y/N.

Listen ik you said you're ok but I bought you some cream just in case. I'll bring it to you tm ;)

His heart fluttered and ached remembering her touch and her kind words. If he didn't full blown know Mike was staring at him he would probably hug his phone.

~~~~

Too much time had passed and suddenly the whole school was on break. Levi had been dreading this. Not because he was a workaholic like Mike claimed but because he knew Hange was gonna drag him away and make him vacation.

And no form of vacation could possibly be more relaxing for him than curling up in bed with some books, doing some casual cleaning, and drinking tea with light music playing at all times. Mike was definitely going home during this time so it'd be the perfect way to spend his break.

But Hange's family owned a couple lodges and that meant another year of begging for Levi to come ski and freeze his fingers and toes off.

"Come on, Levi!"

"Absolutely not."

"Erwin!" Hange called to him where he sat on Levi's bed, scrolling through his phone.

"You knew he was going to say no." Erwin replied

"Which is why I brought you to help me make my case." Hange complained

"You clearly made an error in judgment then." Erwin retorted

Mike laughed from where he was laying on his own bed. "Might as well give it up Hange, Levi is just too stubborn about this. We all know he wants to be close to all my junk while I'm gone cause he'll miss me."

"I wouldn't hesitate to tell your stalker where you're going over break." Levi spat

"She'll figure it out anyway. She's a high class stalker. And I'm not her first." The room fell in uncomfortable silence but Mike just leaned back giving his full attention to his phone screen.

"That disturbing remark aside.." Erwin began shaking his head. "I'm going."

"And that's supposed to change my mind? How'd Hange force you into it?"

"It may stun you but I chose to go through with this all on my own. There are studies that claim it's good for the mind to get away from normality during breaks or away from your comfort zone to properly clear your mind. It'll also help you make less mistakes when classes resume."

Hange smiled, "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking."

Levi rolled his eyes. "If I go you can't beg me next year." Hange's loud shrill screeching made Levi's heart drop out of his ass.

"Finally!!" Hange screamed in excitement as she wrapped her arms around Levi's neck.

"Get off already! You're such a pest!"

And that was how Levi ended up on a train for almost three long hours with Hange blabbering on about nothing and Erwin sat in the seat across from the two of them listening to podcasts while staring out the window of his own very sad music video.

And all of the crap Erwin had spewed about getting away being more relaxing proved to be completely from the ass as Levi shivered along wrapped in two scarves, a pair of gloves, his long green coat that fell around his ankles and a winter hat plopped over his ears.

"Walk faster Levi! Is that the best your little legs can do?!" Hange called, somehow racing her way up the slope with three bags. One that wasn't even hers

Levi grunted in irritation. Not only were they walking up a hill but it was covered in snow so deep that every step felt like he was falling.

"Do you need help?" Erwin asked, not waiting for Levi to respond as he hoisted the overnight bag off his shoulders.

Levi just huffed. "I swear Hange was made in a lab."

"As possible as that is, Hange was basically raised in the snow so this is the equivalent of dust for her." Erwin replied as the two of them trudged along.

"Her parents own multiple ski lodges why the hell did we go to the one up a fucking hill."

"The other closest one was more than 6 hours away. Did you really wanna be stuck on a train with Hange for more than 6 hours?"

Levi just groaned as they finally walked through the surprisingly big doors of the huge ski lodge. Hange raced over to the front desk as Erwin slipped onto the lobby couch, followed by Levi who was still kicking snow off his boots and his second bag.

"What's in that bag?" Erwin questioned, nodding to the luggage Levi had yanked over his lap.

He exhaled loudly giving the bag a couple soft pats. "Clothes, extra boots, extra gloves, two bottles of cleaner and a small box of tea as well as some light reading material."

"When are you gonna have time to read? We're going to be skiing most of the time we're here."

"If you think I'm getting on a ski lift you have less working brain cells than Hange."

Erwin smirked with a roll of his eyes, "Alrighty then, what's in this bag."

"All of the shit that didn't fit in this bag, toothpaste, toothbrush, cologne, extra pairs of underwear-"

"Woah, Levi you can't just talk about your underwear in a public space." Erwin chuckled at his own joke.

Levi rolled his eyes, "It's bad for your health to hang around Mike as often as you do."

"How is it you're not dead yet then?" Erwin retorted

Hange had been chatting up the receptionist for almost 15 minutes, bouncing up and down in front of the desk and indulging him in the stories of their travel up here. The man just gave her a sheepish grin and honestly Levi felt a little bad for the man but a little less when he thought about how it wasn't his problem anymore.

Moblit.. his name tag read. Somehow Hange's mannerism seemed more crazed with him if that was even possible.

"Yeah.. it has been so long." He heard the man say. You got.. taller..

"We're never getting out of this lobby are we?" Erwin sighed as the two continued to chatter on. Levi and Erwin stared as Hange continued on about her car with a surprising amount of engagement from the other party. "You know they kind of remind me of you and-"

"Hey, Hange!" Erwin cut himself off as a brown haired girl that Levi instantly recognized hopped down each step, a bald boy following her. And Levi believed he remembered them from Y/N's stories as Connie and Sasha who he remembered from the party.

"Hange, what're you doing here?" He asked as the brown haired girl gave her a hug.

"My family owns the lodge so I brought Erwin and Levi for the break!" Hange said, pulling Connie into side hug that he immediately reciprocated.

"Oh god! Why didn't you tell me your plans for break? Jean would've driven all of us up here and you wouldn't have had to waste gas."

Hange just shook her head. "It's quite alright I was already out of gas so we just took the train up here."

"You didn't put gas in your car again?" Connie asked

"Wait, if you guys came then does that mean Y/N is here?" Hange asked completely dodging Connie's question.

At her name Levi bounced out of his seat. Almost launching himself into the spot next to Erwin. Pulling his hat over his eyes and sliding his back as far into the chair as he could.

"What's up with you?" Erwin questioned

"I embarrassed myself last time I was with Y/N.."

"What? Didn't she buy you cream like a month ago?"

"Y-yeah." Levi shimmied his feet together as he slid further down in his seat.

Erwin's chuckle next to him made him grimace. "I know you don't really get it Levi. But uh, making an ass out of yourself in front of your crush is the first real hurdle to knowing you've got it bad."

"Shut up.."

"It could've been worse.. You could've accidentally injured her. Or got caught by the loud mouth in your class while writing her first name and your last name in a notebook."

"Sounds like a personal story.." Levi replied, inching the hat off his eyes to look up at Erwin.

Erwin scoffed, "Point is it happens." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Levi let out a little snicker that instantly got caught in his throat. It had never occurred to him that he'd actually paid attention to the romance movies he'd seen a hundred times with his mother. But now that Y/N was walking down the stairs it was like a scene from all of those movies combined.

Her smile just as warm as always. Turtleneck sweater hugging her features along with dark blue jeans and brown boots. Each step felt slower than the last as if everything in this particular room had been put on the slowest speed imaginable.

The butterflies in his stomach swarmed like they were all chasing after one specific thing. Everytime she appeared somehow it was different.

"We're still going skiing today right?" Connie questioned as Y/N stopped on the last stair.

"If Jean's up to it sure." She replied, her cheeks flushed like she'd just walked in from outside.

"Well this is gonna be a fun weekend." Erwin said but Levi didn't even register his words. His heart stammering in his chest. "Go make a fool out of yourself." Erwin nudged

"Hey Jean! Come on!" Connie said

"Yeah, Jean I'm hungry!" Called Sasha

Levi's heart stopped, his chest crumbling in on itself. The same guy from before.. just as soon a loud crash sounded and everyone turned all at once.

"Oh god are you ok?!" Y/N was the first person by Hange's side followed by Moblit from behind the counter.

Hange let out a laugh, wincing as she pulled herself up with Moblit and Y'N's help.

"I'll be ok. Just took a little spill." She continued to laugh.

Erwin was soon standing by her side. "Are you sure, you're alright? Your face is super red.."

A momentary lapse in Hange's facial features made Erwin step back a little. "Shut up Erwin." She huffed

"You fell on your side. You should rest a little bit." Moblit said, coming closer. "Just.. in case."

"Ok.." Hange replied

Y/N seemed to relax at this information. Her gaze immediately falling on Levi surprisingly. He really hoped he didn't outwardly wince.

"Hi, Levi." She spoke plainly giving Erwin a small greeting as well before her, Connie, Sasha, and Jean were leaving the lobby.

Hange and Erwin unsurprisingly crowded into Levi's room about five minutes after the whole ordeal. But Levi couldn't even bring himself to wipe one thing down like he'd wanted to. He just laid still on the bed, eyes planted to the ceiling.

Surprisingly Hange had also stayed silent. Her eyes shut where she laid next to Levi.

"I can't believe you broke the handle on my luggage Hange." Erwin called still sat on the floor holding his luggage in one hand and the handle in the other. Pressing the broken part of the handle to his bag as if it'd be that simple to fix.

"Now what am I supposed to do?"

"It broke my fall Erwin. Be grateful."

"For what exactly?"

"I don't know!"

Levi blinked, his gaze falling on Hange for the first time since she took that spill in the lobby. Her hands were crossed over her stomach, thumbs rubbing the spot where she fell.

"Are you alright or not?" Levi questioned

"I'm fine."

"Ok, I know why Levi's upset but why're you?" Erwin chimed up

"What's Levi upset about?"

"What else? Y/N."

"Uggggghhh Levvviiiii why don't you just ask her out already?" Hange said

Levi sat up on the bed pulling his feet into his chest. Shoes long gone, pushed up against the wall as soon as they'd walked into the room.

"I'm not talking about this shit anymore this week."

"Levi, if we're staying here all of this week and next then chances are she's also staying here all week and next. Which means somewhere in here is a perfect opportunity to-"

"Get in her bed." Hange interrupted

"Or something less crass." Erwin suggested "You did pack condoms in your emergency undies bag right?"

"Did you pack a spare handle in yours?"

Hange's obnoxious laughter was almost loud enough to muffle the low knocks on the door. Her irritating jabs to Levi's shoulder quickly halting when Levi grabbed her fingers.

"Who is it?" Erwin asked, one hand on the door.

"It's Y/N.."

Now Hange stopped laughing. Erwin shrugged as he looked back at both of them before pulling the door open.

"Hey, here." Y/N sounded filled with fatigue as she handed over a small bottle to Erwin.

"Oh! Thank you! Where'd you get this?" Erwin smiled with delight immediately flopping back down next to his bag.

"Jean carries around extra strength glue because Connie always manages to break something fragile." Y/N replied "I doubt it'll work but maybe it'll help a little?"

Erwin nodded happily as Y/N turned to look at Hange. Her hands balled up and her fingers fidgeting where she was pulling at them.

"How's your rib Hange?"

"It's ok now, thanks for asking."

Y/N nodded and at this moment everyone in the room was looking at Levi who automatically felt extremely naked.

"Levi um.. can I talk to you? In the hall?"

Levi didn't know if he had nodded in his head or in real life but he was swiftly moving across the room. Passing Y/N where she stood and then holding the door open as she walked out just behind him. The door shut behind the two of them and if Levi felt naked before the feeling out here was somehow worse.

"What happened?"

Levi could hear the slightly muffled footsteps on the other side of the door and even a whispered Hange as Y/N spoke. His hands felt both too dry and wet all at once as he looked into her mildly menacing gaze.

"Wh- where wh-when.."

"You barely said anything to me after I brought the cream for your forehead. What happened? Did I do something wrong?"

Oh god how can she possibly assume that? Levi felt his stomach clench. He had never had it easy with text, which was why he pretty much always called everyone.

"I-I didn't mean.. it um.." He shuffled his feet a bit now remembering that he still had no shoes on.

Y/N sighed. "I wanna be your friend Levi. Please tell me you want that too."

With a deep breath he replied, "Call me."

"When?"

"Anytime.. I'm a bad t-texter.."

When her facial features softened Levi felt his shoulders finally sag for the first time since he'd heard her name in the lobby. "Ok.. oh ok, that's all it was? I thought I did something wrong. I'm glad we talked."

And Levi was barely registering her hands wrapping around his shoulders. Her body pressing oh so comfortably close to his. Hand sliding over his back, scent overwhelming his nose. And then just as soon it was all being taken away.

"I'll call you, ok?"

"Ok.." Levi's hand was still waving long after she'd already disappeared out of plain view.

"Oh god you're her friend!" Hange laughed the door suddenly yanked open behind Levi.

"It's as cute as it is sad." Erwin clicked his teeth.

"Tch, shut up." Levi stomped back into the room.

"Levi, you're in the friendzone!" Hange huffed as Erwin shut the door. "And if you don't get out of it. You're gonna be the short shoulder to cry on when some big dude with an invalid drivers license, a shit ton of tattoos and a porn addiction breaks her heart."

"That's oddly specific.." Erwin retorts

"All of you keep assuming I wanna be her boyfriend. I don't!"

Erwin rolled his eyes, "That tall guy that she was with actually. I think he'll be the guy who has her running to Levi's shoulder."

"Oh you mean Jean?" Hange nods "But they broke up a while ago."

"Then why is she still hanging out with him?"

"He's Sasha and Connie's best friend. So they've all known each other a while. They're a set, don't separate type deal."

"Then it's only logical that Y/N will marry Jean someday. You know if they all stay so close."

"Yup, definitely."

"You can both eat shit."

~~~~

Day one

Levi strained awake, blinded by the harsh sunlight stabbing his eyes through the uncovered window. He couldn't even remember when he'd fallen asleep last night but he could already tell it was too early for everyone else to be awake.

He could recall a couple things from last night. Hange overstaying her welcome in his room, Erwin suggesting that Hange pay for his fucked up luggage and somethings he would rather not think about.

Preferably the others joining in his room to discuss breakfast plans. At which Sasha had suggested the diner they had already planned to go to early in the morning. Levi's heart sank as he recalled Y/N's gorgeous smile directed to Jean who had stood behind her rubbing her shoulders and whispering in her ear.

He squeezed his eyes shut, standing from his bed and immediately working to straighten out the sheets before eyeing the book he'd unpacked last night.

Maybe he could get some reading done before Hange inevitably came to annoy him.

The one he was currently holding was of a dog wearing a big floppy hat in the mist of sunflowers. He quickly matched it with his black and white sweatpants. And with a small sigh he headed to the bathroom.

He thumbed at the spine of the book, sliding his finger between the pages to the current bookmark. A shower would probably be a better start to the morning though. He set the book down unzipping one of his bags and pulling out the first pair of clothing folded at the top. Levi hadn't remembered packing one of his mother's many silly birthday gifts to him. She had always bought him shirts with pictures on them that confused him.

He didn't even remember the last time he'd had a shower that was hot for more than five minutes. Or the last time he could look down at his feet without seeing a hair monster in the drain.

He took a couple extra minutes to completely wash his hair, combing his fingers through the strands before shutting off the water and quickly getting dressed.

As he reentered his room he remembered the random gaze Jean threw his way. The smirk on his lips, the taunting glare and then just as quickly it was over. And he was talking to her like nothing had happened.

Levi had never once in his entire life thought about having a girlfriend. It just wasn't something that absorbed his thoughts but he knew the second he saw that smirk on Jean's face what he wanted to be to Y/N.

He just couldn't imagine how.

His fluffy towel hugged his head as he popped open the book he'd discarded a couple minutes ago. He pulled his feet in closer to his body tracing the letters on the page, delving into the story-

"Levi!"

Two fucking seconds.. that had to be a new record.

A barrage of harsh knocks sounded outside his door and he yanked it open to see Hange standing there out of breath with a barely alive looking Erwin behind her. Excitement flooding her features as she pushed past Levi with Erwin in tow. A blue toothbrush almost falling from his lips.

"You couldn't let him finish brushing his fucking teeth?" Levi grunted, shutting the door behind the two of them. Erwin sighed his eyes shut, toothbrush dangling from his mouth. "Why're you here?"

"We're all going for breakfast remember?"

"Not for another thirty minutes." Levi narrowed his eyes and leaned back against the tv table.

Hange smiled, "Yup and that means we have enough time to figure out a game plan to get you and Y/N together by the end of today." Hange clapped excitedly though both Erwin and Levi couldn't possibly look less enthused.

"I don't need your help."

"Erwin, back me up here!"

"I'm not doing shit since you didn't let me spit and I had to swallow toothpaste." Erwin remarked, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

Levi's face scrunched up and Hange let out a snort. "Why did you swallow it.. you could've just spit it out in the hall or something."

"That's fucking disgusting." Levi grunted

"Why the hell would I do that?" Erwin asked

"You're not supposed to swallow toothpaste duh!"

Everyone huffed all at once and Levi flopped down next to Erwin on the bed. "If I need any help I'll ask.." He mumbled already feeling heat fly to his cheeks.

"We're finally gonna get you a girlfriend Levi!!" Hange squeezed his body in a tight hug.

Just as Levi was about to push her away a couple of soft knocks sounded on his door again, "We're leaving a little earlier, hurry and come downstairs."

~~~~

Before the car had even pulled up back at the lodge Hange was already screaming about going skiing. Erwin had asked if Levi wanted to which he'd replied with a scoff.

"Really? Cause there are plenty of chances for Y/N to fall on you. Or you to fall on her." He shrugged.

Levi just rolled his eyes and at that Erwin gave up and now he was standing at the freezing cold railing watching everyone go down the stupid slope for what had to have been an hour or so. How'd he end up with bag watch? He didn't even wanna come outside.. He blew on his fingers trying and falling to warm them. At this point he felt exhausted, absolutely none of his clothes were keeping him warm.

With a sigh he pulled Hange and Erwin's bags up onto his shoulder along with Sasha and Connie's belongings. If he could manage to get upstairs he could warm up at least a little. A hot cup of tea practically beckoning him.

It took him only a couple seconds to realize he didn't have Y/N's bag. He looked around for a couple seconds. Did she bring a bag outside? Did he lose her bag?? He'd only left once to got to the bathroom. Did someone steal it.. Shit. He grumbled in disgust. Where could he have left it?

Feeling a bit panicked he headed towards the stairs. Blood running cold, his eyes practically bouncing out of his skull. His heart stopped at the display in front of him. Jean's hand on Y/N's waist as she leaned forward on the railing. Their lips pressed together..

(Hey Siri, play Heartbreak Anniversary by Giveon.)

[magictehnique]

One Wish

Jax Teller x Reader

Disclaimer: I do not own SOA or the song. Just the plot.

This little idea came to me the other day. I hope you guys like it!

As a matter of fact I was the one who said I love you first.

It was about eight years ago don’t act like you don’t know. 

Y/n and Jax first laid eyes on each other in high school. Y/n was brand new to Charming and caught the blonde biker’s eyes walking through the halls in ripped jeans, combat boots, and a rock band t-shirt. Throughout high school, she became close to both Jax and Opie. Spent most of her time after school at TM. From day one her and Jax felt there was something other than just friendship between them. Hell, the club and school peers could see it. Many women tried to win over Jax, Tara Knowles included, but none of them could seem to catch his heart like y/n did. 

At one of the infamous Friday night parties, the two friends escaped up to the roof, for some time away from the rowdy men and women. By this point, Jax and Opie dropped out of school to prospect for the club. The two of them sat for awhile, just enjoying each other’s company. Jax being the first to break the silence, “so, you thought about what you are going to do after you graduate?”

Y/n thought for a minute. “I don’t know Jax. I know my family wants me to go to college, but I don’t know what I even want to do. Your mom has offered me to continue working in the office and tending the bar. Couple of the guys said they would teach me mechanics.”

Jax smirked, “they love having you around. You may not have grown up in the club, but you understand this life as if you did. I know it’s your choice but I know I would love to have you around more.”

Y/n smirked back and met his baby blue eyes, “what’re you saying, Jax?”

“I’m sayin’ I love you too much to let you go Darlin’.“

If I had one wish, you would be my boo

Promise to love you. Trust me I’ll trust you.

Y/n and Jax were married five years after the night he confessed his love for her. They didn’t have the easiest of relationships. The club had gone through a lot of shit in those years and theirr relationship was tested numerous times. In the end, y/n and Jax always pulled through. 

The wedding took place during one of the many lockdowns at the clubhouse. Y/n and Jax had been engaged for a few months. Both were sitting at the bar with Jax and Gemma, y/n looking around at all the family and friends gathered here. Gemma looked over at them and said, “so, have you guys set a date yet for the wedding?”

Jax was first to answer, “nah not yet. Been waiting for all the shit to die down. Not only have we had the Mayans starting pissing matches, the other charters have been going through shit.” Gemma nodded in agreement.

“What about now?” y/n said, breaking the silence. Both Gemma and Jax’s heads snapped to her.

“You mean like now? Here?” Jax asked.

Y/n shrugged her shoulders. “Why not? Our friends and family are all here. Chibs is ordained and could marry us. Nows as good as any. I don’t need some lavish wedding Jax. As long as I’m saying vows and kissing you at the end, I don’t care how it happens.”

Jax broke out into the biggest smile she had ever seen. He grabbed her face in his hands and gave her a passionate, and loving kiss. Gemma was beaming at the pair in front of her. She couldn’t have picked a better girl for her son than y/n. 

Jax separated from y/n and whistled, getting everyone’s attention, “hey everyone! Y/n and I decided that instead of waiting, we’re going to get married right here, right now. We love all of you so much and want you to be apart of our big day. So Chibs, you mind marrying me to my best friend?”

Everyone starting clapping and cheering for the couple. Chibs walked over and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “I would be honored brotha.”

The rest of the night was spent celebrating y/n and Jax’s marriage biker style.

If I had one wish, we would run away

Making love all day. Have us a baby.

Three years had passed since the wedding and y/n picked up more hours at the office while Gemma took a step back. Clay was getting close to stepping down as president and the two wanted to have more free time to enjoy their “retirement”. Jax’s demands and time with the club had started to increase. Y/n knew it would happen, but it didn’t stop her from missing her husband. She made the best out of the time they were able to spend together.

She was sitting at the desk in the office, rubbing her temples to ease the headache she woke up with. Gemma walked in the door, “hey baby how are you feelin’?” For the past couple of weeks y/n hadn’t been feeling well. She was always nauseated and tired. The past few days she spent her mornings hunched over the toilet seat throwing up. 

“Awful. I haven’t been able to shake the nausea and the headache,” she replied leaning back in the chair.

Gemma looked at her for a second before replying, “when was the last time you had your period?”

Y/n’s head snapped up. “I don’t know, maybe a month ago? I think. I don’t actually rem... wait, you don’t think I might be pregnant do you?” Y/n replied.

“Only one way to find out,” Gemma reached into her purse and pulled out a  couple pregnancy tests. “I got these the other day at the store. Wouldn’t hurt to do them.”

Y/n grabbed the tests and headed towards the bathroom. A long three minutes later she was staring at all three tests bearing the same result: positive. 

Gemma let y/n take the rest of the day off and relax at home. She was happy Jax had been taking care of club business and hadn’t been at the shop that day. As soon as she got home, she was pacing back and forth, thinking about how she was going to tell him. Sure, they had talked about babies and how much they wanted kids. Any other time she would be ecstatic, but the club was going through shit and Jax already had enough on his plate. He had been getting home late at night and leaving before she woke up in the morning. She couldn’t think of the last time they shared a meal together. 

The rumble of a bike pulling into their driveway pulled y/n out of her thoughts. She turned around right as Jax was opening the door. He looked at her with a smile that quickly turned to a look of concern when he saw her face. “Hey darlin’, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

Y/n took a deep breath before answering. “You know how I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately? Well I found out why. I’m pregnant Jax.”

Jax stood in shock. She could see various emotions flashing through his eyes; shock, confusion, fear, and happiness. “Wait, really? You’re serious, like hundred percent sure?” He asked, walking to her and cupping her face with one of his hands. 

“Yeah. I took three tests. They all came back positive.” Jax leaned down and gave her a hard kiss. He didn’t have to say anything else, the kiss conveyed everything.  

When they finally broke apart, he crouched down and lifted up her shirt, placing a few soft kisses on her stomach. Y/n ran her hands through his hair, eyes tearing up at her husband’s actions. 

He looked up at her and said, “you don’t know how happy you just made me.”

If I had one wish, I’ll make you my whole life.

Sitting on the picnic bench, Jax reflected on his life and how it’s turned out. He had no clue what he did to deserve the life he had. He looked across the lot where y/n was talking to his mom. She had their youngest child on her hip, the second oldest was playing with other kids in the play area, and his oldest was in the shop, learning how to work on cars with their uncles. Y/n was his rock in this life. She kept him grounded, always his support to lean on, always willing to help the club when she could. She never once tried to change him. Never once asked him to leave this life. She trusted him to turn the club around make it safer. Legitimate. And that’s what he did. 

If he had one wish, to go back and redo his life, he wouldn’t. Y/n, the kids, and the club were his whole life. He already has everything he could have ever wished for. 

[missjennskiario]

Hello HSMTMTS nation and hello Portwell nation,

Long time. First of all, we got the season 3 announcement yesterday!!! Exciting!! A few things to unpack. First, with the news of a renewal came a brief synopsis about the plot of season 3: 

“That seems like the reasoning behind the next season of Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which will send its characters off from their regular lives and to “the ultimate summer at sleepaway camp, complete with campfires, summer romances and curfew-less nights” when it returns for a third season.” (from this Vulture article https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/hsm-tm-ts-season-3-will-head-to-the-theater-camp.html)

I FINALLY get to share my summer camp prediction/headcannon that I’ve been stirring around since it was rumored back in early summer:

The summer camp the Wildcats end up at is the camp EJ and Nini met at. I think this could open HUGE doors in way of character development for both Nini and EJ. First, during Nini’s last stay at that camp she was boy-obsessed, and unsure of her talents. Now, she has realized her own self worth outside of boys and has a record deal in the works. During EJ’s last summer he was selfish, vindictive, guarded, and willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Now going into this summer, he’s discovered new hobbies (hey, AV club) and been able to step outside himself and become a much more grounded, and humble person. 

I think it would be wonderful to see both of them struggle with keeping their heads about them and confronting being in this familiar place as these new people. However, I want to see them succeed. This should be a plot device to solidify their development not have it backslide. Maybe old camp rivalries test them to see just how much they’ve changed, and maybe new ones will too (I would love to see North High end up at the same camp and be forced to work with the Wildcats but more on that later). 

I definitely see EJ and Nini being driving forces in this season. Not in a pushing other people to the background way or anything like that, but in a “they know the camp the best and they’re two team leaders for different recon missions” way. 

Speaking of recon missions and rivals, let’s revisit the East/North high alliance. I see a really fun and interesting “unlikely alliance/the enemy of my enemy is my friend” dynamic playing out here, especially if the writers really wanna push Ricky/Lily. I think there could be great set-up for this in the first episode alone. Stay with me here:

It starts with the East High kids on a bus to camp. There’s some banter and Ricky seems too engrossed in his phone to keep up with what’s going on. We see he’s texting Lily and he’s trying to keep it a secret from the other Wildcats cause he isn’t sure how to tell them. They show up and as they’re unloading they see another bus pulling in and out pour the North High kids. They argue and groan at each other and Mr. Theatre Dad Mazzarra plays peacemaker (along with the poor unwitting camp counselor). There’s a scene between Jenn and Zack where she tells him that if the North High kids sabotage this for the East High kids there will be hell to pay. There’s cute little moments with the couples, friend banter, etc. as they settle in. Ricky sneaks off to meet Lily and they turn up at the all-camp meeting late walking in exactly 30 sec. after each other (Kourtney and Carlos timed it). After the meeting, another group of kids approach them. They’re from a performing arts school that just opened up and is VERY prestigious (or I even see them being from YAC interesting. There are more interesting dynamics with Nini that could play out there). The other kids talent and experience threaten even the most seasoned kids of the groups and they go back to their respective spots in camp feeling uneasy. There’s a similar situation with their director and Jenn/Mazzarra/Zack. 

Later that night, the girls cabin is talking and freaking out about these new kids, then they get a knock on their door. The boys are having the same thoughts. They sit in the cabin talking when there’s ANOTHER knock on the door. This time it’s the North High kids lead by Lily and Antoine. They suggest a truce and an alliance to take these other kids down. The East High kids agree and the episode ends on a tight-shot of a handshake between two of the kids. The rest of the season, hijinks ensue.

(tim, hire me!)

I think this could open doors for interactions between characters we don’t normally see together or would usually have no reason to be together. Maybe Big Red and Antoine get stuck on a recon mission together. Maybe Lily and Gina put their power to good use to take the other kids down (Gina 1.0 moments but for good this time). I also see it offering new conflicts that don’t heavily center around love-triangles and relationships. It would be interesting and fresh. 

As for guest appearances and new characters, Kevin McHale has said he’d love to be a camp counselor and I FULLY endorse that. I’d love to see him as the nervous mediator between the grumpy and dramatic directors. I don’t have any casting choices in mind yet for new characters but like I said I’d love kids from EJ and Nini’s summer to show up and if the rival school is YAC, I’d love to see Nini have to confront those kids too. 

That’s all I have for now but I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts the more information we get, so stay tuned. 

[cascadingrays]

I’ve had several PAFL Thoughts(TM) bouncing around my brain this week but the most fully formed one is about Dmitry and touch, and similarly care and affection. I imagine Dmitry and Katya had a lot of culture shocks coming out of the facility but I’ve been thinking about this specific one a lot lately.

Touch is a tool in the facility. It ushers you from one place to another, it calls your attention to things, it’s crowded corridors and unwanted manhandling and physical restraint. Most of the time it doesn’t involve other living beings: it’s cold glass and sharp metal and unyielding concrete. It can also really, really hurt. 

Care is something which keeps you alive and compliant - nothing more. You receive nutrition. The roof shields you from the weather. You have clothes. You receive medical care to the extent that it keeps you functioning at the capacity required for testing.

Affection doesn't exist. Not from those responsible for your "care" anyway. Not unless you’re better than most - then you might get something resembling respect, something that, once upon a time, seemed friendly.

But in the outside world? Oh boy. Things are wild out there.

Outside, touch can be a girl you just met scooping up your weary body in her arms and lamenting your untimely passing - even though you are still very much alive, and (you can’t stress this enough) you do not know her. It can be a woman you just (again, just!) met supporting your weight and bringing you into her home, then cleaning and dressing your wounds - even though you never asked her to, even though she doesn’t have to. It can be gentle, and considerate, and kind. It can also be the absence of touch when it isn’t wanted - when they respect your personal space, or recognise you need a moment, or hear you say ‘please stop’ - despite yourself, despite learning long ago that the only option is to endure - and they stop. 

Care can be warm food, freshly prepared with your preferences taken into account. It can be somewhere to put down your belongings and a place to lay down your tired body, set up just for you. It can be the freedom to use that space as you wish, for studying or relaxing or anything you might fancy. And you can leave whenever you want! It can even be someone you just met arguing and bargaining and begging for you to get those things in the first place.

Affection is - well this one makes the least sense. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it - one moment you’re just standing there, the next you’re staggering from the force of her tackling you with a hug. You’re sitting on the couch, lost in thought, and suddenly her weight is resting against your side and her arms are wrapped around your shoulders, and whatever you were thinking about is lost to the wind. It can be needlessly dramatic compliments, or small but meaningful gestures - when someone has so little to give but gives some to you anyway. You can't figure out a pattern to it - it just happens, and often. You don’t think you mind.

It’s not all good outside, of course. Getting physically beaten up was certainly unpleasant. But you’ve endured far worse pain than that before. When you compare the best of what the outside has shown you so far with the best you had on the inside, well. 

It’s given you a lot to think about.

[yellowloid]

Terra incognita is suuuuuuch an amazing story!! I've read it so many times!! 😍🙏😍🙏

- What inspired you to write it?

- What was your thinking process in terms of the way their relationship evolved?

- Was there anything else you had thought of doing but ended up scrapping?

- What was the process like in chosing thunderstorms as his phobia?

- What happens next? 😘

Thank youuuu you're an amazing writer!

aaaah can't believe you've even reread it multiple times, thank you so much!!

(possible spoilers ahead in case anyone reading this hasn't read the fic in question)

- first of all, the inspiration behind it... i started writing it late august/early september. i'd spent all summer working on another wip, a vampire fic that ended up not convincing me at all; so i just dropped it, and i could've started working on some other ideas i still have in mind (which will, eventually, get written) but instead i got hit with this random vision of alex being afraid of thunderstorms and miles comforting him, which then of course turned nsfw because why not? it was a rainy day and i just had to look out the window to have the revelation lmao + i'm a sucker for hurt/comfort, i'd say it's probably my favourite trope ever, so i immediately got really into the idea.

- i really liked the idea of alex being like 'well my heart does strange things whenever i'm around miles and i definitely check him out and smile like an idiot at his texts!! that is bizarre😳 what could it be??🤔' and other oblivious bullshit. i'd say he knew, subconsciously, what it was, but he'd brush it off thinking it was just A Moment TM or being afraid that it'd damage their friendship if miles knew. speaking of miles, i wanted him to be his usual protective and casually flirty self when it came to alex.

add the thunderstorm to give them a push in the right direction, and miles' protectiveness + their casual intimacy would finally make alex realise that no, it wasn't just a momentary feeling, and that it was reciprocated, so why not go for it? miles was a bit reluctant at the end bc he was afraid he'd have his heart broken, but for once i wanted alex to be the one who pushed for them to give it a try (and of course bc i needed to toss some more hurt/comfort in there lol)

- i'm really not sure if i understood what you mean with this question, so sorry if it's not what you meant! if you mean other wips i was working on before focusing on this fic, then definitely that vampire fic i mentioned earlier; if you meant other possible developments for this fic instead of the one i ended up going for, then i'd say not really, no. in my head i had a clear idea of what i wanted to happen, so i just needed to get it on paper!

- idk if it counts more as an influence in my choice for his phobia or as inspiration, but the idea actually reminded me of a girl i knew in middle school - which was a very long time ago, so i don't really remember the details, but basically she was really scared of thunderstorms, to the point that she would start crying, shaking and overall panicking whenever she heard loud thunder. some people in our class made fun of her for it, and even though we weren't friends i felt a bit sorry for her. when i was a kid i used to have the same fear, so yeah, that probably also influenced me.

- it's a bit of an open ending, isn't it? obviously everyone can imagine whatever they want to happen next, but i'd say there will definitely be a lot of talking, since they'll need to make things clear between them to avoid misunderstandings. sharing something like ~that~ with your best friend isn't something that happens every day, especially if it means you both find out it goes much deeper than that, and the pining you thought was unrequited turns out to be very much reciprocated instead. here we've seen alex's pov, but miles has been wanting him for who knows how long! my man was so shocked alex wanted him too that he almost couldn't believe it, poor guy

basically these oblivious idiots need to learn how to communicate, but i'm sure they'll get there sooner rather than later. just like with his phobia, something he's hidden for a really long time, i think this experience will help alex to be a bit more open about his feelings. of course miles will be there for him no matter what, which will undoubtedly make it a bit easier :')💞

thank you so much for your questions and for your appreciation of this fic, it really means a lot!! ❤

[doux-amer]

Okay, so I no longer have the energy to discuss Marvel stuff at length, but I enjoyed Black Widow, to my surprise. I went in with low expectations, but it ended up being solid. Was it a groundbreaking movie? No. But I’d rank it as one of the best MCU films and it felt like a nice change of pace from your standard MCU fare. The film avoided prioritizing action over character arcs and didn't interrupt the story with unnecessary and often distracting humor.  It's become increasingly obvious over recent years just how much the MCU has started to suffer from what made it unique and innovative in the first place—an interconnected cinematic universe. Everything feels like it's a stepping stone to some big event (hah, in that way, it's emulating the comics well), with characters's stories hastily and sloppily pushed aside for The Main Team Event TM. 

And that's why Black Widow worked. It didn't have world-ending stakes. It wasn't about one Big Bad (the big bad in this story, much like in CA:TWS, is the system which is why the "main boss" didn't have to be impressive and intimidating on his own). The story felt quiet and contemplative in between the action scenes. It was very intimate and the story benefited tremendously from that. What happened in this movie was something that would mean very little to anyone other than the people directly involved and would go unnoticed. 

This isn't something that the whole world will know about and praise her for, and no one treats it as such, both in terms of the characters and the people behind the film. With the exception of a few lines and moments, this film isn't cringeworthy, in-your-face, and ultimately shallow GIRL POWER GIRLBOSS OMG FEMINISM which Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman (and that one stupid as hell scene in IW) both leaned into and imo, were either hindered by or even suffered from. This story is very much one about the patriarchy, misogyny, agency, etc., but it tries to see what the personal ramifications are and how sickening and even banal it all is. It’s about how the world works and treats women, no matter who they are. It’s about how Dreykov, for all his power, is a dime a dozen. The world made it possible for men like Dreykov to exist and do harm. The world goes on without him there, and in the wake of his death and the destruction of the Red Room, his victims still have to deal with all the pain and figure out what they want to do, how they want to do it, and who they want to be afterwards.

Obviously, we also got to see more of Natasha and who she is, what makes her tick, and how her past formed the person she is now. And yes, I dislike Scarjo so I was ready to not care about the movie, but god, I love Natasha and miss her so badly. I ended up unexpectedly crying when the film started and didn't stop until the opening credits ended, not even because something was sad but because that was Natasha! When kid Natasha whipped out her gun and shielded Yelena, I recognized both that skill and heart instantly and it hit me hard. You got that repeatedly throughout the film, and it knits together all the little pieces of Natasha we got throughout the decade. It gives her consistency and strengthens what we already know drives her: her desire to atone and protect and her yearning for a family.

The supporting cast was good too. You could tell they had fun and you could tell they had the acting chops. I get very leery of actors who go over the top in the MCU because almost all the time, it ends up backfiring and undermining their character, but David Harbour had a lot of fun with Alexei and it never bothered me. And I think that's because, behind all of the bombast, there was real emotion behind it that he took seriously and the others did as well. Rachel Weisz...I mean, I don't think I need to say anything more. You expect her to be good and of course she was. And Florence? Yes, this might not be 616 Yelena in many, many ways and I can see how that's upsetting to people (this applies to the Taskmaster as well), but if you see MCU Yelena as her own person, man. Florence overshadows Scarjo which, well, isn't surprising considering her brilliance, but I will say, though, that part of it is because Yelena is a much more energetic character whereas Natasha is more introverted and even a little awkward and shy at times. 

I loved the relationships and they all felt real to me. When they said they were a family? I believed them. When you saw them grapple with what they'd done in the past and what they did to each other and to other people? That felt real too. 

And the action scenes! Wow, did I miss actually good fight choreography after three horrible shows full of goofy af fight scenes that had bad choreography and were terribly shot (the less we talk about Loki, the better, though TFATWS, which probably should have had the slickest shots had by far the worst cinematography). The fights were engaging and you really sensed the urgency and danger in every fight. I felt like Natasha was in danger, that she would get hurt. The hits HURT and you could tell how painful that walloping was (with the exception of the ridiculous scene where Dreykov punched her repeatedly in the face and there was no sign of impact). Everyone felt very human and very easy to break. 

The flow was great and maybe it was slow for some people, but I liked that. I liked that the story took its time to unfold. I liked that you didn't sense any impatience or panic. Everything happened in its own time, but it never dragged for me. There was a great balance between emotional, quiet moments and bursts of action, and neither felt like they undermined the other, a frequent issue I have with MCU works (yet again, one of the best examples and most recent ones is Loki; I hated the fight sequences because they felt so unnecessary and they truly disrupted the flow of things).

Were there things that I wish we got more of or thought could have been tightened up better? Yeah. I wish we got to see more of the Widows, for one thing. I also think it would have been interesting for Natasha to mull over the brainwashing she had versus what Yelena went through; what Yelena went through was much worse and similar to what Bucky went through, but Yelena has the excuse of being a victim with little to no free will whereas Natasha? She was psychologically messed with, but she wasn't being mind controlled. It would've been interesting to see that explored more in depth. I wish we got to see more of the Taskmaster. Etc. etc.

More than anything, though, what left me sad and disappointed after my initial joy and feeling of enjoyment dissipated, was the fact that this came too late. This is a movie that should have come right after CW, and we should have gotten a Black Widow movie right after the Avengers and before TWS or at least after TWS. This is, by far, the most unanimous take and it makes me wonder how everyone at Marvel feels about that, that this is, more than anything, the opinion that's being echoed consistently amongst reviewers and moviegoers alike. And it will never ever ever ever ever fail to piss me off that Markus, McFeely, and the Russos didn't know the Black Widow movie was going to even happen and they ended up offing her. That's a massive decision and I don't know, MAYBE you should have had some more communication! Maybe if that happened, Natasha wouldn't have been fridged (she shouldn't have been in the first place, and one of the things I deeply appreciated about this movie was that it pushed back on the wrongs that male directors and writers have done to her (e.g., Whedon's awful approach to her forced sterilization in AoU, the Russos and M&M saying Clint couldn't die because he had a family as if someone who isn't a parent is less important and less deserving to live and as if Natasha's relationships didn't matter)). Maybe we would have gotten more solo movies with her. We can still get more BW movies, sure, but Natasha herself deserved more. 

And that's why, despite thinking this is one of the best movies of the MCU even if the story itself isn't particularly sensational and not being blown away by it (again, I didn't think it was impressive, but I thought it was very solid), despite being pleasantly surprised by the fact that I enjoyed a MCU movie which is rare for me and walking away with barely anything to be disappointed about let alone upset about, despite thinking that this is the story Natasha deserved and being relieved and happy that this is what she got and this is how she's going to go out, I was still left sad for what could have been and what she deserved. 

[heytheredeann]

So your Black Sails posts (Max for the win) got me to go back and check out Black Sails again so I've been down that rabbit hole for the last few days. Thanks for that ;) and now I've got a question for you. What are your thoughts on how Dean Winchester, Captain Flint, and Geralt of Rivia would get along with each other?

Hello! Sorry for answering late, but I love imagining crossovers so I wanted to give this some thought when I was in the headspace for it

Maybe I should apologize for dragging you back into Black Sails looool but it's so good, and YES Max is amazing and I love her very much

As for your question, here are the thoughts that pop into my head:

Geralt and Dean are both monster hunters, so starting with some solid common ground at least LOL. They can talk about their job and Dean can introduce him to fancy weapons like guns and the likes, considering Geralt makes do with his swords. On the other hand, he has potions and mutations in his favour, I’m sure Dean would appreciate having him on a hunt to help LOL (although I’m assuming they have VERY DIFFERENT monster lore and knowledge, it’s going to be a mess lol)

(I’m going for Dean as being late in the show, so he isn’t going to bat an eye at Geralt being a mutant or from another universe LOL)

Flint would probably be the one who is the most weirded out and out of his depth when it comes to interacting with people from other universes with supernatural elements BUT I’d love for the crossover to take place either in the SPN or TW world because Flint is adaptable and full of rage so he would probably get on board with the fighting anyway

I feel like there could be some Bonding(TM) over the “I am a monster” theme, which they all have in one way or another, but this is assuming that they are going to sit down and have Deep Talks(TM) at some point. I can definitely see them having drinks together LOL.

Flint starts the barfights, Dean joins because Well He Has To Now, Geralt is like *sigh* and then helps finishing the barfight (basically they are that post that’s like “every OT3 has three roles, person a that runs headlong into crazy bullshit, person b that pretends like they are too smart to run headlong into crazy bullshit but really is just as bad as person a and person c who would rather avoid the crazy bullshit but keeps getting dragged into it by the other two)

If this takes place in the TW universe, Dean is going to have the time of his life cosplaying to fit in with the environment. Same with the BS universe. I highly doubt that he’s going to take this as seriously as he should

Geralt and Flint having to deal with technology in the SPN universe. Both of them refusing to get rid of their sword(s) no matter where they are and ganging up on Dean when he tries to tell them to maybe NOT scare the locals so much uh

Flint would have a field day with the library in the SPN bunker, and since Geralt is also an introvert who likes to introvert there’s a good chance they are going to end up sitting quietly and minding their own business together

Unfortunately, I don’t think Dean Germophobe Winchester is going to have fun with the sanitary conditions in either the TW or the BS verse, and if Flint and Geralt appeared in HIS world the first thing he would to do when he met them would probably be shoving them in the nearest shower LOL

Also, consider: Flint bonding with Roach. Geralt has to approve of him now

I JUST REALIZED. ALL THREE OF THEM HAVE A LOT OF DAD ENERGY. Imagine Dean and Flint meeting Ciri. Now they are ALL her  dads. Like especially Dean, who is CONSTANTLY bonding with kids, he would immediately click with her. Little traumatized girl? Right up his alley. And Flint would be super gentleman-y as soon as he was told that she’s a princess, she would have so much fun with that

[rosesgonerogue]

How to be a Dad 101

Chapter Four - Villain AU

Jasonette July Day Five

Masterlist

“Marinette, Alya is here!” Sabine called up the stairs.

“Thanks Maman, I’ll see you later!” Marinette called back, launching herself down. Sure enough, her best friend was waiting for her at the bakery’s front door. “Nino isn’t with you?”

“He’s helping Chris get all of the kids settled, the sucker,” Alya said, though Marinette couldn’t tell which Lahiffe boy was being called the sucker.

“Are we sure that Chris can handle all the kids at once?” Marinette asked, admittedly nervous.

“No,” Alya said matter-of-factly. “But Nora is going to drop in on then to make sure everything is okay.”

“But are you sure? I just feel bad, you know Jules has been biting. Maybe I should—”

“If you were going to finish that sentence with ‘stay with the kids,’ I will strangle you, Marinette. I love you girl, but it has been three months since I’ve gone somewhere and not taken a diaper bag with me, and I know it’s been way longer than that for you. Give me tonight.”

“Okay, okay, I get it, Alya,” Marinette said, holding up her hands. “I will leave things in Chris’s questionable hands.”

Alya softened a bit. “Look, I get it. Next time we’ll try to plan for a day when Manon is available, she’s really good with the kids.

“Deal. So have we heard if everyone is going to make it tonight?”

“Almost everyone. Adrien and Kagami might be a little late? Rose has a fundraiser she has to be at tonight, but other than that I think we’re a go.”

“Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve all been together like this,” Marinette said. “It’ll almost feel like old times.”

“It sounds like Max is finally letting us meet his wife. I think Kim has a running bet on whether or not she’s a robot.”

“Kim is still on that? He’s probably just jealous that Max beat him to getting married even though he hasn’t known Camille very long.”

“Hold up girl, you know Max’s wife’s name?” Alya demanded. “Spill.”

“It was nothing much, I only know her because I made her wedding dress,” Marinette said, pausing at the sidewalk corner. “Do we go left or right?”

“Right. But how did you not tell me this?” Alya demanded.

“Even though we’re school friends, I still have to maintain a certain level of professionality. I can’t go tell Paris’s most promising reporter about one of the world’s most promising computer programmers personal life. Besides, Max really wanted to surprise everyone,” Marinette said, smirking. “The dress was one of my finest creations yet.”

“Fine, I suppose I can’t compromise one of the world’s most promising young designers,” Alya huffed. “But she has good taste? This gets more mysterious by the moment.”

“So who picked the place this time? I know we’re trusting Chris with the kids, but you know how Kim gets when we go to his bar, and I don’t know if I trust Chris to watch them all night because we got a little tipsy or something.”

“Well, it is at Kim’s bar, but don’t worry, he’ll be too distracted by Max, so we won’t even be tempted by all of the free alcohol. Besides, you always seem like such a pro at resisting temptation.”

Getting to Kim’s bar didn’t take long, even on foot. Once there, a good portion of their high school class yelled greetings from the back of the bar.

“Alya, Marinette! Good to see you, but where’s Nino?” Kim asked, opening the door for them.

“He’s helping Chris get the kids situated, he’ll be here soon,” Alya said, hugging the muscular man. “Is Max here yet? I hear we get to meet the wife.”

“Yeah, she’s way out of his league,” Kim said, jabbing a thumb towards the corner of the bar.

As much as Marinette had complained, she couldn’t help but smile upon coming into the bar. Kim had fallen into the role of bartender easily, amusing his patrons with tales of akumas and the Miraculous team – although tales of King Monkey were definitely the most popular. It was a clean, warm space, decorated with murals and framed newspaper clippings about any akuma incidents involving their class.

“You must’ve been desperate if Chris is babysitting,” Adrien said, sidling up next to her. “Manon was busy?”

“She had a study group,” Marinette said, bumping his shoulder with hers. While she considered Alya her best friend, Adrien still was, and always would be her partner, the black cat to her ladybug. He knew her mind in ways that no one else ever could. “You caught me. So what do you think of Max’s wife? I think she’s absolutely adorable.”

“Marinette, you knew about Max’s wedding?” someone yelled, positively betrayed.

“I think it’s time for s to join the others, but for the record I completely agree with you.” Adrien offered her an arm to escort her to the rest of the group. “By the way, Kagami says hello.”

“How is pregnancy treating your lovely wife?”

“Oh, the normal. The cravings, the irrational anger, average pregnancy-type things. The last time I mentioned you she nearly skewered me with a fire poker and told me that if I spoke about any other woman that way she would kill me where I stood. After that she cried for a few minutes because she missed you.”

“It sounds like I need to pay her a visit,” Marinette said brightly.

“So we’re just ignoring the part where my life was in danger, typical. I should have known that you would side with her,” Adrien pouted.

“You can complain to me when you’ve been pregnant,” Marinette said, patting his cheek.

“I’d like to think I’m a fairly decent husband, so I would say I’m allowed to be a little offended by threats of homicide.”

“No, that’s just pregnancy,” Nino said, his version of a grand entrance. “The more violent they are means you’re taking good care of them.”

By this point they’d gotten to the larger group, and Max’s wife, Camille, a sweet, auburn-haired woman, brightened. “Marinette, it’s lovely to see you again!”

“Wait, you really did know about this too, Marinette?!” Kim demanded.

“Client confidentiality, Kim,” Marinette said with a wicked smile. “Rose can’t make it, so everyone is officially here, Camille.”

“Oh, perfect,” she said, clapping her hands. “Max and I have an announcement to make!”

“Don’t tell me you’re already having a kid!” Alix groaned. “All of you are making it even more sucky to be single right now.”

“We came to invite you to our wedding,” Max said, pushing up his glasses.

“Excuse me, what?” Chloe asked.

“What we did before was just a little ceremony in England for Camille’s parents. Did you guys really think I could get married without all of you?”

There were a few beats of silence before chaos erupted. Kim had Max in a headlock while at least three of the girls were asking Camille about wedding plans. Nearby Alix was still sulking about being single.

When everyone settled down, Mylene said, “We’re getting old, aren’t we?”

“I’m going to die alone,” Alix lamented.

“We’re still in our twenties,” Marinette reminded her. “We’ve got time.”

“But if you’re still single how do any of the rest of us stand a chance?” she demanded.

“Oh yeah. Sometimes I forget that Marinette is still single because of the whole…” he waved his hand, indicating things he couldn’t put words to, “… situation.”

“Exactly!” Alix spat. “She’s perfect, she makes a perfect mother, and she’s handling everything better alone than any of us can with a significant other! I’m doomed!”

“But Marinette is still looking, just like you, Alix,” Mylene pointed out. “She just did things a little out of order.”

“And I’m not perfect, I promise you,” Marinette said with the weariness that could only be a product of parenthood.

“Is Jules still in a biting phase?” Sabrina asked.

“Unfortunately yes,” Alya said with that same weariness.

“Since we’re on the topic, what was the baby daddy even like?” Kim asked. “We haven’t heard much about him, and from what little I’ve heard, I can’t help but picture him as one of those old cartoon villains twirling his mustache and preying on young girls.”

“Villain works. Although I would have called him a lying, scheming—” Adrien cut off, glancing at the young parents he was situated between, Marinette in particular was known for body-checking people if they used any sort of questionable language regardless of if there was a child present, “-scheming meanie pants,” he finished lamely.

“It’s okay, Adrien, this is a safe zone,” Alya said, patting his shoulder. “You can tell them that Jason is a bastard.”

Nathaniel inhaled sharply, choking on his drink. “Wow… I just… What would you say about him, Marinette?”

“I wouldn’t call him that,” Marinette said, ignoring Alya and Adrien’s protests. “Really, I had no misconceptions about the way things were. We never gave each other our numbers, or even our last names. Something bigger than both of us brought us together, and I don’t regret it. If I’m lucky, maybe it will bring us together once more.”

The class fell silent until Alix groaned once more, burying her head in her arms. “I’M GOING TO DIE ALONE!”

Taglist: 

@jasonette-july-2k20 @ira-sairain @myazael @pawsitivelymiraculous @nik-nak-3 @dast218 @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm  @vixen-uchiha @momothefemur @toodaloo-kangaroo

Note: 

I thought this chapter would barely meet the word limit I’ve set for myself, but that was not a problem. If you want to be tagged, or if I forgot to tag you, just leave a comment below. Also just leave a comment below regardless, I’ve been helping my family move all week and I need something to keep me sane. In all reality, though, I write like this mainly to improve my skills as well as get feedback on them, so I appreciate any comment you send my way. 

This story is also really different from what I normally write. Despite the premise, it’s WAY more slice of life than I’ve ever done long-term like this, so I especially want to hear your reactions on this! 

[daisy-day-dreams]

A/N: Hey everybody I hope you’re doing well ❤️ Here’s part one of Little Lies! I hope you enjoy and pease let me know what you think!

Little Lies Masterlist

Word Count: 1,461

*gif not mine*

Annie sat back in the chair in the office of Teller Morrow. She took a sip of the tea Chucky had brought her earlier this morning. The hot liquid burned her tongue then her chest as soon as it sloshed out spilling onto her. Cursing she set the cup back down. She grabbed a tissue dabbing her skin until the sting passed. She didn’t know why she was still drinking hot tea in this California heat, force of habit she guessed. She really needed to find a new drink.

The rumbling of the motorcycles pulling into the lot pulled her away from her previous thoughts. She quickly tossed the tissue into the trash bin before standing up.

It was time.

Gemma passed through the office smiling at Annie. “They’re here.” It finally felt like home once again to Gemma. The past 14 months were rough without Clay or Jax or a full clubhouse. There was definitely a change in the atmosphere while most of their men were locked up. “Come on sweetheart, the boys will be eager to meet the new secretary.”

Annie followed after Gemma to greet the guys. What Gemma didn’t know was that Annie already knew one of them. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her or remember her but she recognized him the first time she saw his mugshot up on the wall of the clubhouse. She’d never forget him and she’d never forgive him for how he broke her sister’s heart.

Annie watched him as he took his helmet off before hanging it up. He was immediately pulled into a side hug by Chibs who had the biggest grin on his face. She couldn’t hear what the older scott said but whatever it was made him laugh. It sounded exactly the same as she had remembered.

She almost didn’t notice the handsome blonde man, Gemma’s son she had recognized from pictures, approach her and Gemma. Gemma gave him a big hug before turning him towards her. “Annie this is my son Jackson.”

“You can call me Jax, darlin’.” He grinned looking her up and down.

“I’ve heard lots about you.” She smiled back at him giving him a good once over as well. She had seen plenty of pictures but none of them could compare to seeing him in person. His hair was now shorter, suiting him much better in her opinion than the longer locks she had seen in the photos.

“And I’ve heard not nearly enough about you,” Gemma never told him the new girl was smoking hot.

“If you’re good you just might learn a hell of a lot more.” Annie sent him a wink. What could she say? The man was hot and she wasn’t shy when it came to being flirty.

“Alright kids that’s enough flirting for now.” Gemma teased the two. “You’ve got plenty of time for that later and I think there is someone who is really wanting to see his daddy.”

Just then Neeta came out of the clubhouse with Abel. She laughed as Able broke away from her running into Jax’s arms. Jax scooped him up with the biggest smile on his face holding him close to him.

Annie couldn’t help but feel her heart warm at the sight. She had come to care for the small boy herself while working for TM and from spending time with Gemma.

Gemma was the first person who she and Delilah befriended in their move to Charming. They were currently renting a little place from her just a block away from Gemma’s place. Gemma was actually the one to tell Annie about the opening position at their garage. With Jax being locked up Gemma had less time for working there while becoming Abel’s sole guardian.

Her older sister Delilah had a job at the hospital already but Annie still needed one herself. She wasn’t good with being idle, it gave her too much time to think. The offer was perfect for her. She fit in perfectly and never felt more safe or welcomed than she did with Gemma and the MC.

“See? I told she was hot.” Kozik bragged as he approached with Tig just behind him. He had been talking up Annie to all the guys, bragging about how she would be his date for Opie and Lyla’s upcoming wedding. “And she’s all mine for the night.”

“Yep all yours.” Annie leaned into Kozik’s side as he wrapped his arm around her waist. In the six months she had been working with them she had become closest to the big, goofy, man.

“Nope, still don’t believe it.” Tig shook his head. “Now why would you want to go with him when there are clearly plenty of better options? It’s still not too late to change your mind, doll.”

“You must be Tig.” Annie giggled. “Kozik has told me so much about you.”

“Anything he says, all lies.” Tig made sure to tell her. “You can’t believe a word out of his mouth. Come find me later and we’ll set things straight but for now I have some shit to catch up on.”

“Make it quick,” Clay called out after him. “We got church in ten minutes.”

“Oh it’ll be quick after all that time with no pussy.” Bobby joked before introducing himself to Annie with a hug.

She was then introduced to Happy who just gave her a grunt with a nod of approval before both followed behind Tig into the clubhouse.

The last was Juice walking towards them with Chibs. He was looking down still smiling when Chibs made the introduction. “Juicy boy meet our very lovely Annie.”

Juice looked up to meet the new girl he had been hearing about all day. His smile immediately fell when he saw her. The last time Juice had seen her she was still just a gangly teenager. Now she was everything but that.

“Hey Juan, long time no see.” Annie said.

Chibs and Kozik exchanged a look before looking at Juice. Neither one of them knew anything about Annie knowing their Juice. Chibs remembered catching her looking at their wall of mugshots. Her gaze had landed on Juice so Chibs told her about him and the rest of the guys but he never thought the reason she stopped on the younger Son was because she knew him.

“What are you doing here?” Was the first thing he could think of to say.

“Delilah got a job offer here, I thought I’d come join her on her new adventure.” Annie watched all the thoughts run through Juice’s mind.

“She’s here?”

Just as she figured Juice was still in love with her sister, she could see it in his eyes. “Yeah, small world huh?”

“We’ll let you two kids catch up.” Chibs spoke, excusing him and Kozik feeling as if they weren’t welcome to this little reunion. He looked back once more at the two pausing at the door before disappearing into the clubhouse.

“Does she know I’m here?” He couldn’t help but wonder how she was feeling about all this.

“She knows you’re here.” Annie crossed her arms. Her gaze hardened on him. “I know what you’re thinking but this isn’t some sign or fate or some second chance bullshit. You had your chance with my sister and you gave her up,” she emphasized, “so keep your distance from her, yeah?”

“Delilah is an adult Annie, if she wants to see or talk to me that’s up to her. And we both made that decision to split up.” Juice clarified. Yes he left Queens but she also chose not to join him and together they decided long distance would never work, that splitting up was the best option for both of them.

“Like she had much of a choice?” Annie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “She loved you Juan, more than anything. Of course she wasn’t going to make you stay! Certainly not for herself and not even for the damn baby!”

“Baby?” Juice barely got out as his mind started replaying the moments just before he left and then started running wild with the image of his child.

Annie knew what she was doing. She had him right where she wanted him. “Don’t worry, you’re not a father. She didn’t keep it.” She wanted to hurt him, just like he hurt them.

Juice didn't have the time to fully process what was just said before Tig ducked his head out of the clubhouse yelling out. "Juicy church now! Get your ass in here!"

Juice looked back at Annie once more. He had a million questions he wanted to ask but he knew now wasn't the time. He had church, he had his responsibilities with the club, that had to come first right now.

Tagging: @starrynite7114 @carlaangel86