#will show the completed one l8r though

[skolarshipedition]

After 84 years I go back to digital drawing and the first thing I draw is lavmax 😁🤞 sorry they’re just on my mind a lot

I used a base since I for the life of me cannot do anatomy 🪦

[cherry-interlude]

Lana Del Rey Unreleased Ranked (2)

This is a re-ranking of Lana's unreleased songs, after making a first a few years ago. This is all my opinion, which I don't mind anyone disagreeing with but don't come for me for it - honestly, I like every song, despite any criticism, and this ranking is very vague. It's based on objective and subjective opinion.

This is the second of five posts, going past my least favourites.

Money Hunny

Lana details the downside of money, detailing the ways it ruins lives and causes more problems that good for some. However, it’s simplicity isn’t what makes Money Hunny fall short – it doesn’t resonate at all compared to Lana’s countless songs where she is either rich and famous or she is desperate for money (or men with money). As thought-provoking as Money Hunny is, it feels too twee and out of place in her money-adoring music to really hit hard. If Lana has spoken on the topic of how money can literally damage lives more, it would perhaps gel better with me, but with songs like Money Power Glory, National Anthem and Off To The Races (among many, many others), it doesn’t hit the mark as a Lana Del Rey (alternate names included) song.

Strangelove

Strangelove is hypnotising, from Lana’s mesmerising voice that gives her the impression of a Las Vegas desert temptress, seducing strangers and wishing for the simple pleasures of Christmas lights and mint juleps. It hits best for the first opening chorus.

Stoplight Delite

Opening with a tuneful mechanical whir, Lana’s song wouldn’t be amiss in a teen romance film. I’m not convinced by the mishmash of music – the more classical band instruments with unrelenting whirring begins to overwhelm the song. Lana’s at her sweetest in this however.

Daddy Issues

The music is a bit too harsh but it’s a nice enough song, referencing Baby Blue Love among others. It isn’t Lana’s best by far, messy with lyrics that go all over the place, but (yet again), it would be more promising if it was completely remade and produced properly. The demo, I Was In A Bad Way, is a lot more maudlin and less enthusiastic, so it does fall behind Daddy Issues.

Catch and Release

It’s another song that’s kind of creepy, with an eerie vibe thanks to the relentless, whining music and Lana’s razor-edged warnings in her lyrics. Lana is practically a megalomaniac in this song, completely selfish and unafraid to ask for – and get – what she wants. Yet it’s quite a hypnotising track that, with further production, could be more cohesive and dramatic.

Marilyn

One of her old live performances, Marilyn is too simple in its lyrics but is a strangely erotic tribute to Lana’s icon. Lana owns the stage in this performance, a more carnal honouring than some of her other outputs.

Noir

Lana really goes for it in this furious song of crushed self-esteem and badly treated lover. Lana lets her vocals rip and tear as she growls about her “papi”, her being merely his dolly to do as he pleases. It's not her most perfect song but she doesn’t hold back from letting her hurt and frustration spill over.

Bellevue

Lana utilises haunting harmonising in Bellevue and though she seems hung up on her lover not wanting her around (she repeats it, as if she can’t let go, throughout the song) she still convinces herself she could go back to the old days of drinking and not being hurt. It helps – her chanting – to bring out the emotion of the lyrics, and maintain that broken feeling she is so good at conveying whilst saying how happy she is.

Put Your Lips Together

Taking on the character of a femme fatale who can hold her own, Lana seduces the listener on top of a chilled instrumental. Her lyrics are little bit dirtier as much as her vocals aren’t their best in the choruses (of course, it being a rough demo might have something to do with that). It’s definitely a song that, if completed, could rank alongside Beautiful Player and Ooh Baby in her seduction library.

Starry Eyed

Starry Eyed is a romantic enough song, with a gentle plinking intro that leads to a rumbling, Born To Die-esque track – complete with Lana’s pretty vocals. However, it does tend to drag, a slow song that I find majorly skippable. The dragged-out choruses get tiring after a while of listening so I don’t frequently listen to this song.

Breaking My Heart

Lana is fully materialistic in this song, referencing multiple designer companies as well as her desire to be loved and party. It’s not too imaginative in its lyrics, instead pure pop with a mixture of lyrics that never quite come through with a particular meaning, but it’s a good enough bop.

Butterflies Part 1

A little love song about a tumultuous teen romance, Lana plays off the lovestruck teen ultimately in love with a guy not good for her perfectly. It’s heady and full of the rushes of love, emotive enough to get the feeling of a girl going mad from her relationship.

Ben

Lana, using the rain to her advantages, moodily comforts her executive love in the full femme fatale façade, quietly passionate. Lana, as much as she loves him, is still her own woman, insisting she will smoke if she wants and playing with her voice to showcase such control.

All Smiles

Lana puts on a happy smile as she mopes over Jimmy in this small-town, fifties-painted tale of a girl who wants a man she can’t have. She mostly hits the mark in this acoustic track and has the right foundations for a decent country ballad.

My Best Days

My Best Days is a short song of cleverly utilised trap beats, autotune and slowly layering instrumental in which Lana isn’t happy without her lover. The organ outro is gorgeous, and it’s a track that can perk you up or calm you down.

Get Drunk

Restless pace, whispered mocking and an overall darkly seductive tone – it’s unembellished and, in some ways, could play as Lana dealing with her past alcoholism (demanding whomever the song is directed to should get drunk). It’s a vibe Lana should explore more over a decade since Get Drunk and the like were made.

Let My Hair Down

A simple and spooky track, Lana has an acoustic jam session consisting of unsettled guitar, bongos and her voice. It’s rather repetitive but it’s something different that works well. It shows Lana doesn’t need too many fusses and frills on her tracks to make something captivating, much like her Sirens album.

Every Man Gets His Wish

The intro of upbeat whistling climbs into a lowkey track that goes from sensual stuttering and a sad chorus that still sounds like Lana has a smile on her face. The mood shifts along with the tune but it is altogether cohesive.

Dance For Money

As stripped as the pole dancer Lana plays, Lana gently teases and cajoles in her ode to older men, lemonade and motorcycles with little else.

Back To Tha Basics

Much like the title, this track is a little bit basic but it’s still zesty with a wonderful instrumental and some pop-inspired vocals.

Butterflies Part 2

Production isn’t perfect on this track but Lana has such promise in this song in which she compares to lured in girls to butterflies pinned to a wall, all at once melancholy, knowing and cheeky. It’s unfortunate that the lyrics are so hidden beneath the dominating instrumental, but with tweaking this stormer could be even better.

Children of the Bad Revolution

The kind of song that would be found on one of her albums, Children of the Bad Revolution is a pacy dedication to Lana’s life as a delinquent a la the 1950s starlets. It’s good but it’s not anything too impressive, instead a chilled track that is simply about being free.

Beautiful Player

Lana mopes in the track about a somewhat disliked girl (perhaps they’re all jealous of her) who is in love with one of her players, giving the feel of a villain club performer smiling with red lipstick on and black mascara staining her cheeks.

Lift Your Eyes

Lana takes control in this song, instructing her lover to lift his eyes, rise above his demons and join her in self-respect. It’s a fine alternative to her gushing and moping characters, and with machine-like music running under the song, Lana sounds stronger than ever.

Valley of the Dolls

In this compact track Lana is once again frustrated by her lover. It’s pained but pretty with her vocals once again taking the forefront.

C U L8r Alligator

Just an acapella demo, C U L8r Alligator is simply Lana’s voice with her beating a rhythm in time. However, I really do like this song. I think it would sound even better polished and complete, but for a rough demo it’s promising. The Kristijan Majic remix is the version I most listen to, which makes it sound even more eerie (and if anyone remembers the D1ETPUSSY video that went with it, you’ll get why this song doubly haunts me). It’s not Lana’s finest but it’s a song I would have loved to see developed.

In The Sun

In The Sun is so hot it burns, more heatwave than refreshing sunshine, as she scorns her ex-lover. It’s not the finest instrumental but Lana sticks her fingers up with incredulous shock that someone could betray her so. She keeps the vibe great paired with blue skies and swimming pools with the upbeat music.

Hot Hot Hot

Big Bad Wolf, a slightly different demo track, is what I favour – stripped back, sexily uneasy, the lyrics letting the vivid imagery of red skirts, red cars and devilish men shine. Yet Hot Hot Hot is a decent, if not cheesier, song too, the chanting great for singing along.

Trees

Lana and The Rich Whores strike out with this kickass band-driven track that showcases Lana’s feistier vocals strongly. The lyrics are sparse but the overall feel of Lana going nineties-rock-chick keeps me wanting more of her in this style.

Push Me Down

Rather than being like the controversial Ultraviolence, Lana keeps the ‘violence’ fun in this pacy song, demanding her bad boy treats her badly in the best way possible. With a mildly rock edge, it’s still distinctively party-Lana, reminding of a pop-ier True Love On The Side.

She’s Not Me

It isn’t particularly imaginative pop but Lana lets the guitars do the talking as she whispers her warnings to her ex-lover. Lana owns this track, and though it feels a bit amateur in comparison to her discography and some of her stronger unreleased music, it shows she would have been great even if she went for the noughties chart pop scene. Fun and punchy, it’s a song to play on repeat.

I Don’t Wanna Go

The tentative and tight intro gives me the vibe that Lana wants to avoid going home rather than simply wanting to hang out with her lover, and her pain-tinted vocals in the chorus only add to the theory. She compliments her fascinating guy throughout the verses, a little more restrained but ultimately tense in delivery, before confessing how much she wants to stay out.

St Tropez

This is a great track for dancing and a celebration of being a party girl with plenty of attention. Best played when you want to imagine yourself as the main character.

Summer of Sam

Lana has yet another song of being a cutesy bad girl, comparable to the likes of Dangerous Girl and Playground, but it’s still fairly generic, standard pop fare. Summer of Sam is still quite fun however, drenched in pop and even with a hint of rap-talking keeping the song lively.

I Talk To Jesus

Lana returns to her religious roots in a less blasphemous way (Body Electric, for example) and instead sings a sad ditty about wishing she could have her old life. Solemnly it remembers her past (as seen in her older music) where she had the trailer parks, Christmas lights and her equally holy boyfriend.

Axl Rose Husband

The imagery is rich and gorgeous, not to mention the reference to one of Lana’s idols, but Axl Rose Husband doesn’t always do it for me – despite her strained, desperate vocals that perfectly exemplify her emotion.

Ooh Baby

Sampling Sexual Healing, Lana ramps up the sex appeal as she lets the listener know how much they want her, all while keeping it a little but more upbeat than the original song.

Other Woman

Lana’s tired of being the other woman in this track, and I like the way the lyrics flesh out the story a bit more rather. However, the chorus does get a bit tiresome sometimes.

Girl That Got Away

Lana shows you exactly what you’re missing as she mopes for her ex-lover with a smile on her face, taking the reins and knowing she has something he misses in a bubble-gum pop song about being the it girl you’ll regret letting go of.

[rudysrings]

Okay but if you’re still taking requests how bout one w Jeff wittek w the whole billboard thing w Todd and Natalie but instead it’s Jeff x y/n and David accidentally exposes their relationship and maybe have y/n be the drunk texted since Jeff doesn’t drink 👀 I hope that made sense lol.

A/N: I’m totally still taking requests :) This is one of the best ones I’ve seen yet… thanks for the awesome idea and hope you enjoy! 

David had finally gotten his filming done for Monday’s vlog and was currently editing. As usual, it had involved several extreme events, some of which ended up with Jeff covered in crow feathers. Hence, Jeff was in the shower. 

David noticed Jeff’s phone light up where he had tossed it on the couch. He noticed that the contact was not just Y/N, but it had a tongue and red heart emoji next to it. (As well as the squatting monkey looking creepily over to the side and a clown, but David figured that was a joke.) On some weird impulse, David tried out Nerf’s birthday and found that it worked as Jeff’s pass code. A wide, scheming grin spread across David’s face as he read what you had sent Jeff. In essence, you were asking him to pick you up, but the way you asked made it obvious that you were wasted. 

Giggling, David took a screenshot and sent it to his own phone, deleting any evidence before Jeff came back. When Jeff picked up his phone, flopping down on the couch to scroll through it, David continued editing, looking for a reaction in his peripheral.

Jeff’s eyebrows furrowed, before he chuckled softly. He got up, grabbing his jacket and keys. He was halfway out the door, before he called out, as if it was an after thought, “Gotta go feed Nerf, David.”

Sure you do.

Jeff found you at the bar you often frequented on karaoke and trivia nights, today being the former. You were singing some god-awful rendition of a Katy Perry song, clearly drunk off your ass. Jeff smiled, walking over to the stage.

He gulped as he realized he could see up your miniskirt if he wanted to, not that he would. His eyes were hooded as he took in your halter top and the thin belt you wore over your hips. That fucking belt. You didn’t even need it. It rested on your bare skin, but you loved the way it made you feel all the same, not to mention the way it drove Jeff crazy. He wanted nothing more than to grab onto it, or even bite the sliver of skin it hid. Maybe you would let him another day.

Your eyes lit up with an elated smile as you saw your boyfriend of only a few weeks, pointing to him as you swayed your hips. 

“ ‘Cause baby you’re a FIIIIIIIIIIIreewOOOOOork!”

Jeff was forced to watch, completely smitten, as you finished off the song with drunken splendor.

Once you were done, Jeff couldn’t help but notice the sleazy looks and overenthusiastic cheers and applause you were getting. It was karaoke night, for Chrissake, he thought.

Giggling, you let yourself fall into Jeff’s arms. He held you tightly, helping you down from the stage, struggling with his self-control as he took in the now familiar smell of your body wash and realized that your top was backless, his hand meeting the smooth skin of your back, making him shudder. 

You sighed into his ear, furthering his lustful haze. “Hey, Jeffrey. You came…”

Jeff had his arm around your waist, and yours around him as he guided you to the exit. “ ‘Course I came, doll,” he whispered into your hair.

Once you got outside, he led you to his car. Jeff backed you up against the door. He looked at you for a moment, and it seemed to you that he was fighting an internal battle.

You eyed his lips, which were full and red from him biting them during your performance. “Can I kiss you?” 

“I thought you’d never ask…” Finally, you heard him curse under his breath and bring his hand up to the back of your head, the other to your waist, pulling your lower half against him. His mouth covered yours completely, his tongue slipping into to stroke yours. You gasped at the sudden entrance, grabbing at his hair and tugging, eliciting sinful noises from him. 

You slid your hands down his neck, gripping his collar and trying to bring him closer. His lips trailed away from yours, down to your collarbone where he forcefully placed kisses.

In the mean time, you softly kissed his neck, trying not to leave any marks, but couldn’t help yourself from nipping at him, soothing the abused skin with your tongue immediately after.

A catcall from a passing stranger brought the two of you to your senses and you pulled apart. Jeff’s hands remained at your hips and he leaned his forehead on yours, catching his breath. 

“Wheree’d that come srom Jeffrey?” You slurred.

Jeff shook his head at your state, chuckling. “I hope I haven’t overstepped. It’s this fucking belt, doll.” He fingered it, and you let out a bubbly laugh at the ticklish feeling. 

You’re phone dinged with a message and you pulled it out, seeing that it was David. “He wants help editing.”

Jeff shook his head. “You’re in no state to drive to David’s right now.” He sighed. “And I can’t drive you, because I just left him saying I had to feed Nerf.” He slumped his head onto your shoulder. “Fuck, I wish we could just tell everyone.”

You played with the hair at his neck and said, “We will. Just not right now?”

Out of respect for you, he nodded against your skin. “Just ignore the text and say you were asleep if he asks tomorrow. I’m driving you home.”

Jeff wouldn’t meet your eyes. You pulled his chin up and despite your intoxicated state, managed to say convincingly, “Dontchyu ever doubt how I feel about you, Jeffrey. I don’t wanna hide you. I wanna celebrate us when iss right, ya feel me?”

Jeff smiled, bending slightly to nudge your nose with his. “Fuckin’ right I feel you. You’re fuckin’ adorable.”

***

David really took Erin’s idea of putting the texts up on a billboard seriously. Within a couple of days, he had it up in Hollywood and was inviting everyone to come see it. He invited you and Jeff at the same time, along with Todd, Ilya, Jason, Zane, and Carly.

You were confused as to why you were in the middle of a random street of Hollywood, but with David, you never knew what to expect. You shot a look at Jeff, who had his arm around Todd, as if to say What the fuck is going on.

Jeff simply shrugged, biting his lip as he looked you up and down, telling you subtly that he really liked what you were wearing. You had on a romper that had really low sleeves, so your lacy underwear was clearly visible. You checked him out too, your arm looped in Carly’s, fluttering your eyelashes dramatically and smiling, fanning yourself subtly as joke, to show him how much you liked his current outfit, a sleeveless shirt and joggers. When David asked you guys to turn around, you turned while smiling, but your jaw immediately dropped as you saw a giant billboard with your smiling face on it, beside it, a series of texts. As you began to recognize the messages, your heart dropped to your stomach.

“No,” You whispered.

Y/N: Jeeeefffreyyyy

karaoke nigh

i miss you

i hate that i can’t show you how much

akchually maybe i can… if you come pick me up, then maybe i can show you just how much i miss you l8r 2nite?

or not… if u don’t want that then that’s cool 2 :)

i dranked too muhc

“You muthafucka…” Jeff was smiling for the camera but it didn’t reach his eyes. He pulled you into him, tucking you into his chest. 

You pushed him away, accusation in your eyes. “Why would you send him that, Jeff?” You asked low, so that the others wouldn’t hear.

Jeff flinched. You always called him Jeffrey. Though he hated it at first, it had grown on him. He shook his head. “What? No…I didn’t…” He looked over at David. “How tha fuck d’you get that, ay?”

David giggled. “You were in the shower when you got the texts, bro!”

The others had gone quiet.

Feeling humiliated beyond belief, you began walking away from everyone, pulling your car keys out.

A/N: I think I might make a part two to this… sorry it got really steamy. I didn’t mean for it to happen but it just did i guess. Let me know if anyone would read a second part?

[imtrynnawriteshit]

Jacob Frye x Female!Reader (2! Looks like I’m actually going through with this! Hooray!)

Oh wow it’s been uh a while

This is v conversation heavy? Is that how you describe things??

Well, it is now hehehe

Something I forgot to mention the last time: the slang that I’m using is not entirely period appropriate? I mean, it somewhat is, but I’m also mixing up years and classes of people who used them (because I cannot be arsed to sit and sort everything out class and period wise)

If it seems like I only stick to a couple of letters worth of slang, that’s because I’ve only just gotten to ones that start with D. It’s a whole process and I’m lazy

Also, I know absolutely nothing about business and I like to think I can be clever, so if the whole thing just sounds way too dramatic, I’m srry, I cannot business at all

But I tried and that’s what counts, right? :D

Hope u enjoy luv u

Words: 1608

Warnings: One (1) damn, not properly edited (maybe I’ll do it l8r though), might get v pretentious (I’m trying to channel my inner Victorian) :((

Fandom: Assassin’s Creed (Syndicate)

Characters: Jacob Frye, Reader

Relationships: Jacob Frye x Reader but like, still business-y (as if I know what that means)

Fortunately, you'd managed to avoid Mr. Starrick finding out about your unexpected little detour. Rather unfortunately, though, your driver seemed to have left town - you'd seen neither hide nor hair of him for the past week or so.

Not that you had the time to look for him, of course. You'd been entirely focused on building the company up again, regaining all the profits you'd lost after Pearl's death, so much so that you'd even forgotten Mr. Frye was due for a visit.

Until he showed up in a manner suited to one of his particular disposition.

You'd visited one of your friends that afternoon for a cup of tea, briefly putting aside the contracts and accounts you were constantly pouring over. Your departure soon after found you feeling lighter, the tension not weighing down your shoulders for once.

Though you did your best to counter it, of course. God forbid it ruin your posture.

Mind immediately wandering to the paperwork you had left, you approached your carriage (which, despite having been discreetly sent off to get fixed up, still bore a few scratches from your misadventure). The new driver already held the door open, arm extended to help you in. It was only when you glanced at him, nodding your gratitude, hand firmly in his grasp, that you realized it wasn’t, in fact, your recent employ.

It was Mr. Frye.

You let out a rather un-ladylike groan as you sat down.

"Please tell me you didn’t scare this one off too. I can't exactly afford the habit of interviewing for drivers."

His eyes widened in mock-innocence before he shut the door, getting on to the bench and taking the reins, all the while running his mouth about how he'd "never" and he was "appalled" you thought so little of him.

Good heavens.

"Yes, alright, but will he be back?"

"He'll meet you at Trafalgar Square in an hour," he sighed, urging the horse into a steady trot.

You frowned, "But that's only five minutes away."

"Which gives us fifty-five to talk, doesn't it?" he said, sounding rather exasperated. You chose to ignore that, instead peaking out the window, trying to figure out where you were headed.

"Mr. Frye, where exactly are we going?"

"Why, to the cosiest alley the district has to offer, of course!" he said, turning into one just within reach of the Square, hopping into the carriage almost as soon as he brought it to a halt.

"Well, this certainly won't rouse suspicion," you remark, peering through the window, eyebrows raised, before drawing the curtains and turning to look at him again. "Now, I presume you have something for me".

"Yes and no."

You narrowed your eyes, "That's not how it works, Mr. Frye. You either have an offer or you don't. Which is it?"

"There is something I can give you, but I'll need time to deliver on it."

"And that something is?"

Frankly, you didn’t expect much. There was barely anything he could offer that you couldn’t acquire (if you didn’t already have it) anyway.

"Complete ownership of Attaway Transport, without the added burden of Starrick's overbearing and ever-looming presence."

Or so you thought.

He managed to shock you into silent for a moment, before you shook yourself out of it and huffed out a small laugh.

"I have to say: I didn’t quite think you'd manage it, but you've captured my interest. Tell me, then; how exactly would you go about that? Mr. Starrick isn't one to just give up power."

"Luckily enough, we're looking to provide a more permanent solution to the problem of - well, him."

"Are you now?" your eyebrows shot up again, this time in intrigue, and you could feel the anticipation and excitement brewing within you at the thought of the possibilities his death could bring. If the way Mr. Frye's brow twitched in return was any indication, you weren't doing a very good job hiding it. "That certainly changes things. Though I suppose I should've known, you haven't been all that...subtle about your intentions, the way you've been running around London wreaking havoc."

"There you have it, then," he grinned, throwing an arm up over the back of the seat. "What do you say?"

You took a moment to deliberate, Mr. Frye letting you take the time you needed to come to a decision once you shot him a look when he started getting antsy, stopping him before he could get much further than "I don't mean to badger you but-". You could see the eagerness in the way he'd leaned ever so slightly towards you, in how his eyes remained trained on you, analyzing every shift in your features, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on in your head, of the decision you'd come to.

Well, there was certainly no doubt about what your answer was going to be. It was, however, quite endearing, the way he impatiently awaited your response.

Probably best you put him out of his misery, though, and so you offered him your hand.

"It appears," you smiled, "you have yourself a deal, Mr. Frye. I do hope you can hold up your end, and as shall I to the best of my abilities."

His face relaxed, and he took your hand, shaking it firmly. Though you expected it, the warmth of his grip, even through both his and your own glove, still left you pleasantly surprised.

"I must admit, however," you withdrew your hand, "I am curious: why trust me? After everything that's happened? Some might think you all the more barmy for it."

"Crotchetty as I may seem," he shot back, "I'll admit, I'm not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to allies who can provide me better insight into Templar plans. You don't seem to care for the Order either, which is reassuring. To an extent. Naturally you'll have to earn my trust before I let Evie know about this little arrangement-"

"You haven't told your sister?"

"'Course not," he scoffed, "she'd never agree to it. Not after your mother. Besides, what my dear sister doesn't understand, is that sometimes you need to take a chance. Like I did, with the Rooks. And now with you."

You supposed that made sense.

"Besides," he continued, "it doesn't hurt to have powerful friends close to your nemesis-"

"As I've already mentioned," you injected, stifling a chuckle at how affronted he looked at being so unceremoniously interrupted, "I'm neither powerful nor am I close to Mr. Starrick. He doesn't trust me. Which means, more often than not, he'll ensure he bears witness to every move I make."

You shifted towards him.

"It's not just my business that's on the line here, Mr. Frye. It's my life. If he ever suspects me of consorting with you, I'd lose everything. My agreement is me trusting you to kill him and deliver on your end of the bargain."

At that, his eyes softened, and when he spoke next, sincerity was carefully woven into every word. "You needn't worry, Miss Attaway, you have my word. I will do whatever it takes to rid you of Starrick and his control."

Nodding softly in lieu of thanks, you cleared your throat, embarrassment burning in your chest at having let yourself be so vulnerable (for lack of a better word) with someone.

And a man you barely knew, at that.

"I apologise, you must think me utterly mercurial, and-"

"On the contrary, I think you're rather bricky," he said, and his damned gaze was still so gentle as it rest upon you, his tone somewhat similar to the one often adopted by strangers when they learned of how you came to live with Pearl. The thought of being pitied by him for having gotten into this situation, even though it was mostly his fault, left you feeling angry and humiliated.

You didn't need nor ask for his commiseration.

Choosing not to dignify that with a response (you knew anything you'd say would be in bad form), you immediately carried on like nothing had happened. "Right, I'll need a few weeks or so to get everything up and running again. In the meantime, you encourage any competitors that are not affiliated to Mr. Starrick. With a rival around, I could try and-"

"-blame your lack of profits onto them?" at your affirmation, he let out a low whistle. "Clever. That might just work."

The admiration in his voice didn't go unnoticed. You shrugged, "I know, and I'm counting on it. Of course, if it doesn't alleviate suspicion, we might have to resort to drastic measures, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, this is all we need to focus on."

Your sentence was punctuated by the chiming of Big Ben, indicating that your hour was up. With a "by your leave, Miss Attaway", Mr. Frye leapt into action, getting back onto the bench and driving the carriage to where your actual employee was to meet you. In an attempt to look a bit more inconspicuous, you drew open the curtains. Nothing like the hidden interior of a carriage to get people gossiping.

Dismounting, Mr. Frye glanced around, making sure you hadn't attracted any unwarranted attention, before tipping his cap to you and stalking off. Thankfully, it was crowded enough that no one paid a briefly unattended carriage any mind, and it gave him the opportunity to blend in with the locals, seemingly vanishing from sight.

You watched him go, and thinking your decision over for the rest of your journey, could only hope you'd made the right choice.

Slang used:

Crotchetty - eccentric, unexpected

Bricky - brave, fearless, adroit after the manner of a brick

Other:

Glove etiquette - whenever a gentleman had to shake someone’s hand, he would take off his glove (that he always wore when outside) before doing so. If he had to leave it on, he’d apologise while shaking the other person’s hand. Women, however, had to keep their gloves on at all times when they were out and about, except when at the dinner table during a party, because it was considered bad form to wear gloves while eating (mainly because the gloves were delicate, especially those made of kid, and wearing dirty gloves was “tacky”). However, when giving his hand to a woman whose own hands were gloved, a man wasn’t supposed to take off his. It was necessary to do so if hers were off too, though.

(Tumblr's an ass, so I'll reblog this post in a bit to link the articles I used as a reference because they're much, much better at providing a comprehensive explanation to how glove etiquette worked)

[louu-7]

everything  don’t know

on wattpad

CHAPTER 9:

I jump as my heart skips a beat before I look at Alyssa, shocked that she scared the hell out of me this way. “Girl... you freaked me out…”

“What the hell are you doing he-” Her face falls down when a though seems to cross her mind, her hand catch mine and she draws me towards my room before almost shutting the door with anger. I look at her, speechless, as her eyes are starring at me with rage. “What did I do? I just wanted to drink water, it’s the fourth time I wake up because of Dad’s footstep.”

“Why were you sitting on the stairs? Thara you can’t keep tabs on Dad, even less in the middle of the night.”

“I wasn’t listening, look at my face, I’m tired and I look like a damn zombie, and why would I listen to him, I don’t care of his little business, he does whatever he wants I don’t give a damn.” Her eyes don’t get off of me until I reopen my door to show her the exit.

I just wanna sleep, and yes I wanted to listen to these guys but obviously I can’t. And Alyssa’s gonna have me in her sight if I try again to listen to their conversation. “Well. Sweet dreams.”

“Maybe more sweet nightmares, let’s not forget that strangers are I in our house. But good night...”

~

I’m pacing up and down since half an hour, my legs are making the moves by themselves and I don’t need to think about walking because it became automatic. My brain is flat out, I can’t stop thinking about everything strange that’s happening lately, in other words, a lot of strange things.

My father’s and these men, the family meeting in the forbidden office and this stuff about rejecting me out of the business, I don’t know, it’s weird.

I have to talk about it to the group, even if they don’t believe me about the gold, which is completely intelligible because I don’t believe in it myself. My eyes are starring at my phone for a few minutes before I can’t stop my hand to take it and call Sarah. She’s certainly with the crew, we’re in the middle of the afternoon. “Heyy what’s up babe?”

“I have to talk to you all about something, are you with the crew right now?” I continue to walk in my room, agitated. “Yeah we’re all together. Something’s wrong?”

“Kind of. Let me go outside so nobody will hear me, I feel like they all have eyes on me lately, that’s fucking stressing me.”

“Thara is it serious like... I never felt you that tensed…”

“Gimme a sec.” I go downstairs to join the garden and be as far away as possible of the house. If they know that I suspect something I can say goodbye to my phone, computer and everything that can help me to communicate with the outside world. “OK, so, I surprised my whole family having a conversation in my Dad’s office last night, without me, and-”

“Are you calling because you think you’re neglected or because you really found something interesting to say?” JJ takes part in the discussion and I smile bitterly by hearing his remarks. “Just shut up and let me talk, it could be kind, thank you. So I was saying, they were together and, they talked about somethin weird, I heard a lot a whole stuff around some gold, and I know it’s crazy I didn’t understand any-”

“Wait what? Gold?” Sarah’s voice kind of shout out through the phone, making me wincing. “Yeah, gold. I know that’s not possible but-”

“At least we’re OK, that’s not possible, so why are you calling, really?” JJ’s cold tone got me gritting my teeth as the others make him stop. “Two men came in the middle of the night to talk with my Dad, I don’t think every parents are having little coffee with strangers while their family’s sleeping.”

A long silence follows my speaking and I can hear them letting out some sighs and, I also can feel them disturbed, kind of concerned. “OK and, what d’ya think ‘bout all this?” John B’s calm voice is making me raise my shoulders even if they can’t see it.

We all seem to start thinking about this weird stuff. I know there’s way weirdest things in life, but, they’re all strange lately in this house, and I don’t know if I can feel secure and in an honest family.

“Sooo, what do you wanna do?” I slightly sigh and whisper a little ‘I don’t know’, because I really have no idea of what should I do. Either I ask my parents, so they answer me, and I take the risk to only have lies as answer, or I look for answers by myself, and maybe with the crew’s help.

We talk about it for a little bit of time, more than I expected, and they kind of encourage me to make my own inquiries and find answers by myself. They’re even ready to help me, for the majority of them…

The call comes to an end and I come back inside of the house. They all seem to be gone, and it’s better this way, I don’t even know if I can trust them anymore, Alyssa’s behavior was so bizarre last night. Even if she helped me on the afternoon. I don’t understand her��

An open door in the corridor at my right catch my eye, and I frown. “What the…” I whisper in a sigh. One time is possible, not two times in less than a month. This door is never ever opened, and now it’s always opened. “It’s a fucking bad joke…”

“What did you said Miss?” Lucy asks from the kitchen. “Nothing, don’t pay attention to me, Lucy.” Because of her I have to be careful, but I can’t see this door totally opened and miss my chance.

I walk to the room, get in and close the door with kindness to look at everything around me. There’s this whole bunch of shelves, with so many old books, documents that comes from another century and… a lot of… I don’t know, it’s like my Dad’s looking for something.

To be honest, it feels like he’s completely crazy about this… thing that he’s looking for. The ‘gold’ maybe… I don’t know what to think anymore. My phone’s ringing in my back pocket makes me jump of surprise as I hang up the call. Sorry, Sarah…

‘girl why did you hang up on meee??’

‘sorry babe i’m in my dads office right now...’

‘omg, find sth?’

‘maps, documents, books and… i just notice sth, the name of my great great great great great grandfather’s a lot on the papers… idk why, weird…’

‘take pics and get out of here, ur in shit girl i’m stressing for uuuur lil ass’

She’s not wrong, I can take pictures of everything and observe it later. My heart is ready to stop at any moment if I’m not leaving this room right now, but there’s so much thing that it takes me almost ten minutes to take pics of everything I want. Then I get out, the silence is so loud in the house that it puts me under pressure…

I close the door and already have a plan, perfect to show my family that I’m not the bad little capricious girl, and that ‘I don’t care’ about their little business.

‘got pics, i’ll text u if I find sth weird, l8er’

I join my room and lock my door to be alone and peaceful. Now I have to figure out what all this means, because if I stay out of this little business any longer and that I know they’re constantly lying to me all along the day it’s gonna drive me crazy.

Like I said, the name of my great grandfather appears a lot. And with what I’m reading, I can say it’s only because he owned the vineyard between 1820 and 1905. He built this business with his father and son, and he was… pretty famous in this town. So the Abrams are living on this island since more than three centuries, that’s insane…

The fact that his name is everywhere is holding my attention, but I move on to something else. These documents are ‘proofs’ that there’s gold on this island, apparently, but, there’s nothing more. No name associated with this gold, no location, we don’t even know if it’s here, I mean, maybe it’s a trap so no one can find it. But it would be so stupid to hide a treasure and let nobody find it.

My phone vibrates as I receive a message from Kie.

‘giiirl!!! there’s a kegger tonight, ur in?’

‘my parents aren’t gonna let me come but enjoy it w/o me ;)’

‘nooo, ask ‘em anyway maybe they’re ok?’

‘ok i will, i let u know’

‘what bout ur dads office?’

‘not much except the name of one of my ancestor, weird stuff i think, have 2 look deeper into his history, i already have a plan’

‘great, we talk bout it tonight, i’m sure ur gonna come, l8r!’

I smile and sigh as I let myself fall on my bed, exhausted. What the hell is this family…

~

“Oh, Dad, your office was open today but I closed the door, I don’t think anybody get in.”

“And you, did you get in?” I look up at him and see in his eyes a bit of fear crossing his regard. “No, of course no, maybe that I sometimes break the rules, but not that one, I’m not crazy.”

“That’s my girl, thank you Thara.”

I smile a little and start to stare at him so he can understand that I wanna ask something. “What” He asks as if he already knew what I wanted to ask.

“Can you do me a favor? So there’s basically this party tonight, at the beach, and I would be so happy to go, even kooks are going say yes please! Just this time.” They all look at each other as the ambiance in the room suddenly change, becoming like they’re all on the same wavelenght. I frown and their silence is killing me, making me giving up as I walk to the stairs. “Thara, come back.”

A touch of hope is setting fire to my body, I need to go there to see them and let them see what I found and what’s strange, and also tell them about my plan.

“Alyssa’s coming with you, and you come back before 2pm.”

The smile on my face is getting wide and stop me from saying anything, I’m hugging my Dad before joining my room to text the crew and say them I’m coming. I can’t wait to see them, it’s been a few days that I can’t get out because of my Dad. Or because of me, and my little escape on John B’s birthday. But that’s OK.

‘i’m coming guys i’m so excited!!!’

I let my phone down on my bed and go get simple clothes in my closet because I didn’t put anything else but my pajamas today so… let’s say it’s only another unproductive day in my life. I choose denim destroyed shorts and a black bikini top. I shove a sweater in my bag, add my key because we never know maybe we’ll be locked outside, and I also put deodorant even if it’s never useful because I forget about it every time.

“When are we leaving?”

“Now, ready?” Alyssa arrives in my room, smiling and apparently really happy to come with me. “Yeah of course girl!”

We’re leaving the house, I ask the chauffeur to turn up the volume and we’re singing off key as the car’s running through the rich streets of Figure Eight. Once we’re arrived at the Cut, my smile widen as the music gets louder the more we move closer to the beach.

The sun’s setting in a beautiful color scale of red, orange and yellow. The sky is amazing and the party seems to be awesome. “Are your friends here?”

“Yeah, I’ve to talk to them, that’s confidential sorry babe.”

“What is it about?” She laughs a little and I do little more than raise my shoulders, with a little smile on my face. “Nothing. Don’t worry and have fun tonight, you’ll see that pogue kegger are really cool.”

“Yeah, OK, but don’t go to far away from this place please, I wanna keep an eye on you.”

“No problem.”

I hear my name the minute after we go through in the crowd, dancing and singing to the loud music, and Sarah, with Kie, run to me and grab my hands to take me to their spot where we’re gonna be able to talk in peace. “Later girl, have a great night!” Sarah shout out while looking at my sister as we leave her.

I can see the boys some meters away, John B’s making us signs with his arms, Pope’s doing the same, like idiots, and JJ’s… looking at us like a zombie would do. As usual when I’m here. I don’t know what’s wrong with me so he hates me that much, I never said anything nasty to him. I guess it’s because I’m a kook, but the girls are too…

“Boys we have to talk, right now.”

“’Bout what I think?” John B’s looking at us, waiting for an answer, as I raise my eyebrows.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking about but I think it’s what you think.” We smile and all sit in a little circle.

I take my phone in my back pocket and start my little recap of everything, and then I find the pictures in my gallery and show them as I continue with my theory, with my grandfather. They’re surprisingly all listening to me, and I all of a sudden feel important, and… not loved, but maybe that I’m part of this group more than I though. Great feelings in this blurry situation…

“So, you think your great great great great great grandpa’s involved in this gold thing?” Pope asks, looking at me as he raises his shoulders.

“Before I answer, can you tell me if you believe in this ‘gold thing’?”

They’re all looking at each other and finally looking back at me, their concerned and haunted eyes diving in mine give me goose bumps and I frown before I look away. “OK. Maybe don’t tell me... yeah, don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know.”

“I’ll tell you, but for now, we have something else to mind…” I agree by a nod of the head and we pay a little more attention to the pictures I took earlier in the day.

~

It’s been a while since we stopped talking about this ‘gold thing’, but the look of my sister’s constantly on me make me think she’s not enjoying the party at all… she looks like she’s waiting for something, or maybe someone… but I don’t think her Prince Charming is going to come here, in the Cut, to enjoy a kegger with pogues…

I’m about to stand and go talk to her to see how she’s doing when a hand grabs my shoulder with harsh, making me wincing and spinning around to see who’s behind me. My eyebrows are raising instantly when my eyes land on Nate. “I’m busy.”

A little smile’s drawing on his face as I feel all the eyes staring at us like a spectacle was ready to begin. What’s wrong with all of them, because the more I look at all the faces, the more I notice that they’re all kooks. “Did you hear me? I’m busy guys, leave us-”

“So after spitting in these fucking pogues faces you’re spitting on us? Fuck you Thara Abrams.” He snaps at me and the silence goes wild. “What’s your problem? You’re with ‘em now?”

“Why does it affects you, you never liked me and I never did so go back to your peaceful life of kooks.”

“Go fuck yourself dirty bitch!” A voice yells at me as others are doing the same, my heartbeats gets quicker and the voices end up by making me feel as little as shit. I’m standing here, surrounded by angry kooks, what a surprise when you think that I never spit in their faces of freaking rich. I’m one of them anyway, why would I do that…

“Shut the hell up and don’t forget where your asses are.” The booming voice of JJ resonate and is hushing everyone up. I shiver and an evil laugh comes out of Nate’s mouth, looking at me with rage and a bad smile on his face. “Listen I never said anything bad on you all so just have fun tonight.”

“So who said that we were rich assholes without brain?”

“Yeah, or that you were the only kook who were good to others?” The remarks go strong and everyone is adding his own comment on what I apparently said on them. “I heard that your parents locked you up because you were as dumb as a rock, so they were scared that you do something worthy of shit. I don’t-”

My brain stop to listen to these nasty comments that make a tear running on my cheek, slowly, as my feet take me somewhere I don’t even know. I walk, through the mob, shaking and in shock. ‘Slut’. ‘You disgust me, how can you say that on us and hang with these shit’. ‘You didn’t deserve to be born’.

~

hii! i'm so proud of this chapter i hope you liked it!! i'm doint my very best to write something great and this chapter makes me so happy!! moreover some plot ideas that i get lately are finally gonna b revealed so i hope it makes you as excited as i am, love uu, byye!

ps: sorry if i seem as excited, it's just that i'm really proud to challenge myself this way, it's something i never did, and i'm a lot under pressure bc of me, i'm scared not to be good enough so, tbh it could really help me to get your opinion, thank uu anyway for reading this story, and i hope you like it :3

[katsukiboom]

Hellooo can I request a Katsuki x reader, where bakugou and reader is supposed to go on a date but she gets stood up, like she waits for an hour and then he texts her saying he’s not coming and she gets really upset cause this isn’t the first time he’s done this, you can decide whether the ending is angst or fluffy. I just love feels!

Sure my dude! Here it is, I’m super sorry about the delay but May is not being nice to me at all lol I hope you enjoy it!

You should’veknown that it wasn’t going to be any different than the other times.

Why should it havebeen?

Your boyfriendfor over two years, Katsuki had set up what you thought would be the date ofyour dreams, one that you were sure he would not miss this time. Why did youthink that? He had stood you up many times during the last five months claiminghe was busy with work and that they could make up for the lost time in the nextdate, something he had always promised yet still had to fulfil and that leftyou feeling… alone. Every time you tried to tell him how you felt, however, heused sweet words to say he was sorry and that it would be the last time ithappened.

He had made areservation at one of the best restaurants in town for that night; you hopedthis would be the one time he’d decide to drop work for a moment and paylong-due attention to you and your relationship, and you had actually gone outof your way to look gorgeous even to yourself - you even practised your make-upenough for it to look amazing, choosing a dark eyeshadow and a matte lipstickto go with your new black dress, one that hugged your form in a way you knewKatsuki wouldn’t be able to resist.

What you didn’t counton were the many stares you got as you walked into the restaurant – you knewyou weren’t bad looking at all but the way some of the businessmen there gazedat your form made you feel uneasy to say the least. You announced yourself tothe maître and surprisingly enough the table was empty, just as your heart feltas you sat down and immediately ordered the most expensive bottle of winewithout even looking at the menu, knowing that things would be charged toKatsuki’s name. Whether you did that out of spite or not was something you’dnever get to fully figure out as you drank alone and waited.

Time passed and passedand after 40 minutes and some grilled salmon with salad you found yourselfdoing anything you could to keep your mind off the thought that, maybe, thingshadn’t changed at all. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw two guys clad inblack suits gesturing as if one of them wanted to go up to you and saysomething, and you decided to text Katsuki to ask just where the hell he was.You waited some more, deciding that a bit more couldn’t hurt, when your phonevibrated on your hand and you rushed to see who it was.

‘I’m sorry;’ Katsuki texted, ‘work is hell right now. Sorry I can’t makeit, but I’ll see you at home l8r.’

Not even an ‘Ilove you’, not even a more sincere apology – you felt your heart sink evenlower as you bit your lower lip in an attempt to hold back the tears, one ortwo escaping despite your best efforts and rolling down your cheeks. You raisedyour hand after wiping them away, calling a waiter and telling him about thesituation and that the money had already been taken care of, and after a quicktrip to the restroom to make sure you still looked good you walked out of theplace while ignoring the few whispers of the other customers and stopping ataxi to go back home as you stepped outside. You stared at the little screendisplaying the words that broke your trust for the millionth time, trust youkept re-building slowly by telling yourself it wouldn’t happen again; there youwere though, trying your best not to break down while on a taxi and dressed inwhat you thought was the classiest outfit you had ever worn. All of that, goneto waste.

The ride home wasquiet and you were thankful that the driver had made no attempt at small talkwhatsoever. Once you arrived, it was both joy and disappointment you felt whenyou noticed the dead silence that filled the apartment you shared with yourbeau; you locked the door behind you and made your way to the kitchen, whereyou made some tea before heading to your bedroom and leaving the steaming cupon top of your nightstand before going to the bathroom, the image you were metwith in the mirror feeling completely different to the one you had seen earlierand leaving you with a sadness you were sure would be hard to shake off.

After wiping yourmakeup away, you walked back into the bedroom and threw yourself on the bed whilestill wearing the dress. You wanted to cry, you sure did, but it felt a bit toolate for that – it had been partly your fault for trusting again, for believingempty words that at the end of the day left you in a spot where you were alone.Wondering what it would take for Katsuki to finally understand just how much hehad been hurting you the past months, putting your relationship at the bottomof his list (or at least that’s how it felt to you), and soon your eyes startedto close, your consciousness slipping away as weariness overcame you, the cupof tea slowly getting colder and colder much like his side of the bed.

-

You weren’t surehow much time had passed, but you definitely remembered that the bedroom’s lightwas still on when you fell asleep, and when you opened your eyes again it tookyou a moment for them to adjust to the darkness that now reigned in theapartment. Sighing, you tried to get up only to be held in place by an armaround your waist, the familiar scent of cologne mixed with shampoo reachingyou from behind. You wondered how long ago he had arrived, and as you turnedaround to face him his grip on you tightened. “I’m sorry I’m such an ass,” Katsukisaid with a quiet voice and sounding as apologetic as ever. “I should’ve cancelledbefore so you wouldn’t have to go through… that again.”

It was only thenthat you felt the need to tear your walls down, show your true feelings to him,but instead you buried your face on his naked chest and murmured against hisskin after letting out a yawn, “It’s okay – as much as I hate to say it, I’vegrown used to it, Katsuki.”

“It’s not anexcuse.” He felt angry, that much you could tell, but you were questioning howmuch of it was placed upon you. “I should know better by now; I don’t likeleaving you alone and that’s all I’ve been doing recently. I’m a shittyboyfriend, and you should be mad at me so I don’t get why you w-”

“I am mad at you,” you cut him off with aharsh tone. You felt him stiffen, his heartbeat picking up but then he sighedand you knew he understood. Placing a soft, defeated kiss on the crook of hisneck, you cuddled as close to him as possible before adding, “But I’m alsotired, and since I have you here I’d like to use this time to spend it with youas closely as possible. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

He wanted toreply, even breathing in to do so, but then he let it all out as he put hisfree hand on the top of your head and caressing your soft hair while humming arandom song just as softly, something he had picked up during your first fewfights and that had always calmed you down both because it was him doing it and because it felt justnice. Come morning, however, you knew you’d hear the same excuses, the samethings, the same promises, and as you fell asleep once more on your lover’sarms you couldn’t help but smile sadly as you thought you’d accept it all justto be at peace with him.

It would be thestart of yet another cycle.

[fcllenflowers]

Past the point of no return

Characters: Seth Fanning, Steel Spencer(Frisk Chett/Garsonist)

Words: 2.269

Trigger Warnings: (see tags)

Description: Progresssion drabble for the arc. A big turning point.

For a long time now Seth had been the friend that would always pick Martha up after school and help her on her way home. She could move around fine on her own, of course, but someone usually had to help her up the front stairs of her house, since her parents were usually at work the time she’d come back. For an even longer time, that friend had been Steel. But after his hangout with the popular girls, he hadn’t joined Seth and Martha on the way home ever since.

 That had left quite a bitter taste in Seth’s mouth. He’d already been losing sleep ever after seeing his friend carry those suspicious empty milk jugs to his place. Steel’s behavior now, hanging out with the popular kids even though he’d get his ass kicked every once in a while, was even more suspicious. Deep down, Seth knew very well what was going on. He’d have to be stupid not to have pieced it together by now; the weird obsession with inflammable objects, the jugs, the odd hours Steel would be up at nights posting, the fact all these fires had started just a little while after he moved into town, after he showed up at their school one day! Of course it was very obvious for anyone that had paid some minimal attention.

 Martha was still in denial about it, refusing to give up believing in her close friend. But Seth now doubted that he’d been anyone’s friend to begin with. The more he thought about it, the more it made his insides boil. He wasn’t a hot tempered boy, but when he thought about how Steel had betrayed both him and Martha and this entire town...how they’d taken the lives of people to satisfy this sick hobby of theirs...It was just so unfair! It was drowning him!

 And thus day after day his eyes would become shinier, glistening with fresh madness about to lash out. He’d spend more time cleaning his father’s gun at night, the same gun he’d once wished to use against their classmates. He’d spend more time watching the news, clenching his fists so hard that his nails left scratches behind on his palms. And most of all, he’d spend more time wallowing in self-pity because he was too weak to admit that the only thing that’d kept him back from taking Steel to the police up to now...were his own feelings for them.

 His life had never been very interesting. He was born into a broken home, his father running off with some other woman whose name he didn’t even know. His mom was constantly drunk and not in touch with reality. She hid all of their problems under the rug, and thus Seth was forced to be a responsible adult when he wasn’t even through with school. He’d always been a loner, awkward, not particularly interesting or handsome. Yet, in his newfound friendships this last year he’d found a glimpse of hope. Martha, a caring and loving friend, was very affectionate and a good listener. He felt like he could tell her almost anything. Steel was pretty cold but they knew all the interesting places around town and they could be a lot of fun to hang out with. What had attracted Seth to them was probably that false sense of security he felt by their side; something about them lured him in like a magnet, like his own heart was magnetized by theirs, something about their perception of the world and what he’d interpreted as a sensitivity to injustice, something about their wild spirit, the promise of adventure in their mischievous smile; a superficial charm, a trap.

 He’d taken the bait hook line and sinker.

 Now he had to face the consequences of his ignorance, he had to face the scared child inside him desperately searching for someone to cling to; because Steel just couldn’t be that someone. His heart told him now, he had to do what’s right and distribute Justice!

 Taking them to the police station wouldn’t be good enough anymore. If he wanted this to end, he had to make sure Steel would never be able to hurt another human ever again. And he’d sacrifice his intergrity for that. The distribution of Justice became his new Purpose. And, to him, it felt crystal clear what he had to do now, what his Fate was.

 He’d give them a taste of their own medicine.

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[Hey can we meet up]

*....

[i aint gon b home till l8r]

[What r u doing out]

[feedin cats]

[Can I join? xD]

*...

[may b l8r]

❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ 

 The air was cold and dry that fateful night of January. It was the end of a beautiful, quiet, Sunday early morning. Most of the city was still dark, enjoying their last few hours of sleep before the start of another blue Monday. Street lights were still dimly illuminating the empty pavements and a serene silence had fallen over the sleeping town; save for the blinkering of a few, scarce neon lamps over 24 hour convience stores.

 Inside a particular one the cashier was nearly falling asleep on her counter, while a single customer was looking around the hygiene section; pharmaceutical rubbing alcohol, spray cans that would immediately combust when heated up -and the best part, it was right next to some open cartons filled with styrofoam -the underpaid employee had been too unmotivated to finish stacking the shelves and just dumped them there. Steel had, of course, pulled these ones closer to the rubbing alcohol because they’d be easily ignited and burn enough to heat up the spray cans. To ease the process though he’d placed his special device -cigarette with matches and paper wrapped around it- in not one, but three different places around the store, spots that would easily light up once the first flame caught on. Before the employee would open her eyes, the entire place would be ablaze.

 It’d only be a matter of seconds.

 He stepped out with a casual nod of the head and threw a penny her way, but she barely reacted. The poor thing was out cold. Steel nearly hesitated and almost wanted to wake her up for a second...but his latest clumsy failure had only made him twice as unemphatic. He couldn’t afford to grow soft, not now, not when he was so close to fulfilling his Purpose.

 He started counting as he exited the store, hands quickly sliding into his pockets. He felt the cool metal of his phone and debated texting Seth to meet up after all. But, a familiar voice stopped that thought before it was completed.

“Don’t tell me, you were actually gonna answer.”

 Shades of maroon danced in his single eye as it slowly trailed from the phone screen to the boy before him. Seth’s long, black bangs were dancing in an eerie night breeze that’d just decided to make an appearance -as if God itself was attempting to assist Steel’s action. His eyes, though, were what scarred Steel the most; that image of his glowing yellow pupils would burn a mark into their Soul. What they saw in his eyes was nothing other...than DETERMINATION.

 And the gun in his hand betrayed what he’d need that for.

 The street was empty save for the two of them. Steel swallowed hard and kept his hands in his pockets, shoulders relaxing. He was still trying to focus on counting right. At that distance from the store, debris could still get to him. But he’d have time to make an escape. Time wasn’t his problem here.

“‘Da fuq’ bro. ‘Chu had a bad dream too or somethin’.”

“Shut up.”, the response came cold and harsh. It froze the blood in Steel’s veins. That was very unlike Seth.

“Wow. An’ I thought we had somethin’ ‘ere.”

“I said shut up!”, he swung the gun, finger wrapped around the trigger. Steel couldn’t tell if it was cocked, but he instinctively jerked his hands up over his head, palms open.

“Daym...”, he whispered under a raspy breath. His heart was beating faster now. Would he *Pause fast enough to escape a bullet?

“I know it was you!”, Seth continued. His voice was already cracking, shoulders shaking lightly. That was good for Steel, they wanted him to have shaky hands. “You think I’m stupid?! I knew it the second I saw those milk jugs! You...you freak! You lied to my face! And Martha’s! All this time! You psychopath!”

 It could be said that his words failed to elicit an emotional response out of them, however it would be partly inaccurate. Because, deep inside, guilt was spreading like corrosion.

“I trusted you! I didn’t turn you in! But you..you’re just beyond saving! And to think Martha still thinks something good of you! Asshole, do you even care about the people you killed with your sick game!? You’re always blabbering ‘bout how bad people made the world a hellhole, well, you’re one of them! YOU! ARE ONE OF THEM!”, He held the gun up, steadier now. Steel was very quiet, listening calmly, breathing slowly. He was focused on the gun and ready to *Pause when the timing was right. He wasn’t going to die here. That’d be...quite the loss of p r o g r e s s.

Seth knew he’d have to act quick. He knew Steel had probably already plotted something in that convenience store, why else would he’ve been out that late? He’d tracked them down through the phone texts, tracking the signal down with a deep-web undernet tracker. That hadn’t been the hard part. The hard part was now, that he had to make the *Choice, to *Act. He had to pull that trigger and watch their brains splatter and know he did the right thing.

And, once again overwhelmed by his emotions, he was stalling.

And Justice should be quick.

“You never really liked me, did you? Or Martha. Or anyone.”, he growled, in between quiet sobs. Tears were running down his cheeks. Steel’s posture remained calm, expressionless. Was he even listening? Seth couldn’t tell.

“Did you? Did you!? Do you have feelings at all!?”, he screamed. He knew he should just pull the trigger. But the injustice, it was eating at him. Not because of the people that died because of Steel, but because of those that died because he let his feelings get the best of him and didn’t point that gun to the right person. Not until now. And even in these moments he was still drowning in doubt, shattered from the overwhelming emotions and his twisted love for the other boy, his obsession and his wounded pride.

 Yes, letting Steel live was unfair for those he’d killed.

 But killing him was unfair for himself.

 And he had to make a choice that he didn’t have enough time to think over. He thought he’d been ready. Maybe he just wasn’t cut out for it. His sobs caused his shoulders to shake. He cocked the gun, in hopes that would edge him on to pull the trigger. His finger was wrapped around it and could press a little more any moment now...he could end it. The choice was his. He managed a final rasp, voice broken now and throat burning.

“Do...do you have any remorse for your actions?”

*...

 Silence.

  Deathly silence, and Steel’s unyielding cold stare.

3...

2...

1!

                                      B  O  O  M !

 Pieces of melting metal and debris flew around them. Dust particles and flames floated around them. The stench of burning plastic surrounded them. The only sound after the explosion was the discreet crackling of fire devouring the store.

 And then a deafening scream.

 Steel’s eye blinked slowly. Within a matter of those few seconds, he missed Seth’s hand moving. Seth’s stare had stuck on the flames embracing the building. His golden eyes were lit up with the flame, reflecting them perfectly on their glossy surface. And, as if in slow motion, he turned the gun towards his own head and pressed it against his temple. As Steel’s eye opened again, he faced the boy’s frozen expression, as if he were in awe of the evil before his eyes. And just as slowly, pale yellow light shone underneath his chest, as if his skin was suddenly sheer.

 Through that light, Seth’s soul emerged. A yellow soul of Justice, burning bright. And in one fraction of a second he pulled the trigger.

 The soul shattered into a million little pieces as light left the boy’s eyes. They rolled back in his punctured head and brains spilled out and stained his skin before he collapsed on a puddle of blood. Soul shards lingered in the air, reflecting light like tiny pieces of glass, fading into a beautiful, fine, golden dust. Just as an immaterial sign popped up and floated over Seth’s corpse.

*GAME OVER.

 Steel cupped a scream into his mouth. His eyes were both fixed on the dead boy, wide open in shock. His pupils shrank into tiny dots. He envisioned the flames embracing him from behind, planting a soft kiss on his neck that sent shivers down his spine, as a lover would; as Satan itself would.

 Soon enough, sirens joined the fire’s cackling and broke the night’s silence. The flames behind his back were still dancing, but the screams had hushed long ago. The vocal cords of the cashier trapped inside had melted by now. Tears were evaporating from Steel’s cheeks. His hand was still cupping shaky breaths and muttering.

 Sirens got closer. They had to go, now!

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Musclecup”

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Kyle Neswald, Benjamin P. Carow

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Buttercup used BULK UP! It wasn't very effective...

The episode starts with a superhero flexing his butt cheeks. Let that set the tone for the rest of the episode.

That aforementioned butt belongs to Totally Not Terry Crews from the old Old Spice commercials, or Abs Man for short, a superhero that loves to advertise his Muscle Maxifier. He's opening up the Briepot Depot, a cheese store, and cuts the "now opening" ribbon with his abdominals. That cheese store ends up being a running gag that doesn't really go anywhere.

Buttercup makes it quite clear that she is a super fan of this character of the week. No real reason in particular, though it's implied that she loves those muscles as she slowly flies across them in an exaggerated pan. She tries to introduce herself in a way that makes her look like a dork.

They introduce themselves as The Powerpuff Girls, Townsville's superheroes. Hey look, they found a use for the hearts after getting rid of the Narrator! Bubbles adds that they are not to be confused with Townsville's Super Gyros. We get an advertisement for those gyros, because we needed a scene where Blossom "noms" a gyro in an off-model way. Much more needed than actual superheroic acts.

Abs Man isn’t swayed by this, and starts to mock them for being so tiny. I will say this is not going to be a total ripoff of Members Only. One will wish this was ripping off Members Only.

Abs Man: (practically bullying these poor little girls) Who are your villains, hmmm? Insects?

It's a good thing Buttercup initially likes this guy; the last time someone Buttercup never met did something similar, Buttercup destroyed an entire Renaissance Fair over it. Buttercup instead politely tries to correct him by saying they have real villains to fight. Before she can talk about that silly monkey with the silly hat, the pink fuzzball that actually cameos in this episode, and that shadow guy that whines about his toys, we get a gnat riding on a giant hairspray can.

Specifically, the Gnat, who proclaims himself to be the Powerpuff Girls’ most notorious arch-nemesis. He even gives a flashback on his last encounter, where he was just a tiny gnat getting sprayed by the Professor. I may have problems with this episode, but this gnat isn't one of them. Sure, he seems to be only here to prove Abs Man correct, but they sure make him ham it up.

Another part of the reason is that Buttercup just swats him away into a airplane that happened to be flying by. After all the Monster Punch, Girls Down scenes, it’s so refreshing to see a Girl Punch, Monster Down instead. Despite her easy victory, Buttercup realizes that Abs Man was right: she is puny. Blossom tries to reassure her and offers her some of that soft cheese, but Buttercup made up her mind. She's going to a gym to become a beefcake, in her own words. And not just any gym...

...JayDeep's Gym Jam! It's very fitting for something that could turn Buttercup into a monstrosity to have the name of one of the people behind that Buttercup muppet shot from the last episode. Don't think this name on the sign is just an one-off case of writer vanity, either.

It’s also the name of this character of the week! The writers sure like to write in their co-workers, and I feel I should just stop there because it's not that bad here and the original did it too. JayDeep asks Buttercup why she wants to be welcomed to the Gym Jam, and Buttercup practically blurts out one of the lessons of this episode.

Buttercup: Don't say peer pressure, don't say peer pressure...PEER PRESSURE! I mean...fitness! Totally fitness.

A week passes by, as told by a title card that says "one week l8r". Is txt talk even relevant in the age of phones with touchscreens? One would think they would know this when they gave the Powerpuff Girls smartphones. Blossom and Bubbles, chalk this up as another episode where two Reboot Puffs are playing the same role, open the refrigerator to find nothing but Muscle Maximizer.

I knew from this scene that I was going to see something horrific. Maybe it won't be that bad?

No, that's not my rating for this episode, that was a representation of my face. Because somebody really wanted it, we get an overly buff and swole Powerpuff Girl, complete with stubby "hands" that make her look like an overly muscled chicken. We even get gratuitous use of photos to show off these muscles, which I won't screenshot because I don't hate you that much. I guess it's supposed to be disgusting, but intentional disgust is still disgust.

Blossom tells her she's taking this too far, but Buttercup assures her that this is what she is now. Blossom tells Buttercup that she doesn't have to look like a superhero to be one, a general lesson the Powerpuff Girls prove by existing, at least in the original. Buttercup just walks away, busting through the door as if the Powerpuff Girls busting through walls wasn't a normal aspect. I guess it isn't in this reboot.

Also not a normal aspect of this reboot, Blossom gets a call from the Mayor, telling her that the Gnat is doing the same evil deed downtown. Bubbles asks if they should get Buttercup, but as the strong independent superheroines that they are, Blossom decides they don't need Buttercup. Well, except for those last six times the most boyish one had to save the two girly ones. I counted.

The Gnat is back, and he's doing the same plan he was trying to do earlier. Of course, he was thwarted by a single Powerpuff Girl, and now there's two of them to take him on. Unfortunately, by the time they get there, Townsville is covered with clouds of hairspray. You would think something would come of this, like a funny hairstyle joke, but it doesn't. It does lead to Blossom and Bubbles getting lost in it, making them targets for the Gnat's other plan.

With his sinister knowledge on where to get giant terrariums and how to lift and drop them, The Gnat drops a giant terrarium on Blossom and Bubbles. As revenge for humans feeding gnats to their pets, he intends to feed the Powerpuff Girls to a pet of his very own: a giant horned frog. Blossom and Bubbles narrowly avoid his tongue and charge towards it to "make this frog croak", but, guess what?

Frog inflate, girls down. Womp, womp. Buttercup easily dispatches monsters, while Blossom and Bubbles are victims. Okay, even in the original, they had trouble with a giant fish balloon monster. Granted, that fish balloon was about 10 times bigger.

I would also ask how these girls can smash through walls, but not through this glass. There's no mention that this is a special superhero-proof terrarium. Maybe they’re afraid of smashing through the glass because they could get stabbed by giant glass shards! Huh, if only there was a way for them to make some sort of giant protective barrier around them. An aura, if you will.

The overly-muscled Buttercup shows up to save those poor little girly ones with her strong muscles, which the Gnat is completely disgusted by. Another reason to like this guy! Buttercup treats this as him being jealous, and tries to fly towards him for another beatdown. Unfortunately, Buttercup falls into a problem. Literally, she falls because can't fly with her overly-large muscles. I shouldn't get into the science of little girls flying, because there isn't one, but I feel like they're just trying to find excuses to make those muscles not work.

Rolling her overly "swole" body, apparently heavier than buildings full of people, to the gym, and she cries out to her idol of the week. The short answer, he doesn't help at all. The long answer is actually pretty clever. Her idol betraying her, she finally realizes she's just not built to be a muscle-woman, but she was good the way she was.

JayDeep, infuriated that Buttercup used his building for selfish purposes but easily forgiving her, offers a new "fitness" plan with his brother Sundeep. He represents the "Jam" portion of the Gym Jam, and they meant the preserves. Not the ''Come on and slam! And welcome to the jam!'' kind.

He’s going to try to make Buttercup lose all of that muscle mass by making her lazy. We get a workout montage showing some sort of workout equipment, which immediately pans to Sundeep and the overgrown chicken sitting down and watching television. How does this new way of working out help out Buttercup? Well, I'm sure somebody was happy to see this.

Buttercup: Nooow I can saaaave my siiiisteeeeers! (slumps)

Overly large muscles, inflation, and now weight gain. I guess they realized this reboot wouldn’t be popular enough for that kind of “special interest” art, so they decided to do it themselves.

JayDeep, the character, not the storyboarder, is insulted by this conversion of muscle fat to regular fat, and forces Buttercup to do some cardio. Persumably, with no weight lifting. Meanwhile, how are Blossom and Bubbles doing?

Ah, yes, the classic "if only Buttercup can save us" scene! I would say they took the "Buttercup, she's the toughest fighter" line too seriously if they were still using that ending theme song. Maybe it's a good thing Bis has nothing to do with this. This reboot doesn't deserve them.

Buttercup shows up, all back to normal outside of a spray tan and some flabby arms. She is a superheroine, maybe her metabolism is super, too. Gnat gets punched into the aquarium’s walls, spurting out the closest thing to blood they ever shown outside of those unicorn hearts in The Last Donnycorn. Buttercup then lifts the terrarium to let her sisters out, and The Gnat gets eaten by his own frog in an ironic death. Why couldn't Blossom and Bubbles lift it from the inside? Pineapples.

The episode ends with Buttercup opening her mouth super wide and eating Blossom and Bubbles whole. With the way this episode went, would it even be surprising if that wasn't a total lie?

Does the title fit?

The title promised us Buttercup with muscles, and it gave us that.

How does it stack up?

It’s a bad idea done as well as they could. I said the same about Wrinklegruff Gals, but it's more true here. I certainly want to see more of The Gnat, and I can't exactly say they were not creative. The characters of the week aren't too horrible, either.

However, outside of the muscles, this is just another "Buttercup does something wrong, the other Powerpuff Girls get into trouble, and Buttercup has to learn the lesson to save them" episode. The reboot has done far better episodes with that concept, and they should have done something new instead. It's not the worst, but it's no Man Up 2.

Next week, it's a special Father's Day episode about the Professor. Hopefully it's more Fashion Forward and The Big Sleep than any of his other major appearances.

← The Tell-Tale Schedule-Bot ☆ Take Your Kids to Dooms Day →

[magicmalcolm]

how bout sumthing where person a finds out person b is a wrestling fan. hilarity ensues.

As the front door closed behind the final customer of the day, Fergal and Rebecca let out a soft sigh that was an all too familiar mixture of half-relief and half-tired.  Their little family-run coffee shop was steadily doing more and more business, which whilst good for their bank balances wasn’t quite as good for their exhaustion levels.

“I t'ink we’re gonna have to talk to da about hiring more staff again,” Fergal sighed, letting his head fall ungracefully onto the counter, “Dis all in the family lark isn’t gonna cut it much longer.”

“Yeah…” Becky agreed, “Plenty o'college kids lookin’ for part-time work out dere.  You wanna lock the door or…”

“I guess I can’t just lie here forever,” Fergal grumped, reluctantly lifting up his head and heading towards the door, “Let’s hurry and get dis place tidied up…don’t wanna miss RAW ‘cause dis place isn’t spic and span enough for da’s likin’.”

“One day we’ll get it right first try,” Becky grinned as Fergal theatrically flipped the sign to 'closed’, “I swear more coffee ends up on the floor than in the customers…I’ll get the mop and bucket, then.”

Luckily there wasn’t too much of a mess for the siblings to tidy up.  Tables were quickly wiped clean and chairs were stacked to the side to allow full access for floor mopping activities.  Becky was just about to set aside the last set of chairs when she caught a glimpse of something white underneath the table.  She blinked in surprise as she knelt down to retrieve the object, a tablet that had obviously been knocked off the table unnoticed by the owner.

“Hey Fergie, you remember anyone sittin’ at this table usin’ a tablet earlier?” Becky queried as she waved the tablet gently in the air.

“Uh…” Fergal frowned as he continued to wipe down the counter, “Not anyone in particular?  That’s Sami’s usual table though.”

“Is it really, now?  I should be less surprised you noticed,” Becky chuckled to herself whilst ignoring Fergal’s huffy pout, and trying to remember if she saw Sami today or not, “Suppose you’d know for sure if he was in earlier?”

“Yeah, but that was at lunchtime…don’t t'ink it could’ve lay there all dat time without someone noticin’…” Fergal wandered over, his hand outstretched, “Lemme see?”

“Sure,” Becky handed over the tablet, “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if somebody comes lookin’ for it tomorrow?”

Fergal nodded absentmindedly in agreement, turning the tablet over in his hands looking for any identifying marks and finding nothing obvious.  He pressed the on-button and gasped in surprise at the image that greeted him.

“Huh, guess it must be Sami’s after all,” Becky smiled as she caught sight of the lockscreen; a selfie of Sami and Fergal standing beside the poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Fergal had the biggest excited-looking grin on his face, whilst Sami was pulling a silly face, “Don’t you two look cute?”

“Dat was from our first date…” Fergal smiled dumbly, his eyes never leaving the screen, “I looked like a nervous wreck.”

Fergal’s somewhat dumbfounded smile made way for a more wistful one, his fingers trailing over the picture onscreen.  He blinked in surprise as the picture scrolled up, the lockscreen making way for the actual tablet contents.

“…he hasn’t set a password?” Becky frowned, “That’s a bit risky in t'is day and age.”

“Gonna have to show him how, I guess,” Fergal shrugged, moving to shut the tablet off again, “At least he was only on YouTube…”

“No snoopin’ around your boyfriend’s tablet,” Becky admonished jokingly, “Was he watchin’ anything interestin’?”

Fergal frowned at Becky momentarily, before shrugging and taking a proper look at the paused video onscreen.  His gasp of surprise caught Becky completely off-guard, “Becky!  It’s…he was watchin’ Jushin Liger versus Owen Hart from New Japan!  I love that match!  So ahead of it’s time for 1991…gosh I wish Owen could’ve busted out some of this style in the WWF…although I guess it would’ve been too flashy for a baddie…”

“You didn’t tell me Sami was a wrestlin’ fan too,” Becky grinned excitedly, “You should have him over to watch with us!”

Fergal bit his lip gently, a contemplative smile slowly overcoming his features, “…I…didn’t know he was a fan?  Den again, I never told him I was into it either…”

“Figures, even in dis day and age it’s still a bit guilty pleasure-ish…” Becky patted Fergal on the shoulder, “Well at least you can bring it up next time you see him without worryin’ about it being some kind of dirty secret.”

“Yeah…can’t exactly admit I opened his tablet to find out his big secret,” Fergal chuckled as he turned the tablet off, “Dis is great though…I t'ink I might be fallin’ for him all over again.”

“Well before you fall completely head over heels, how 'bout we finish cleanin’ up?” Becky nudged him gently with the mop handle.

“S'ppose we should, yeah…” Fergal sighed softly, placing the tablet down on the main counter.

—

They had just about finished their final chores of the day when Fergal felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.  He grinned to himself as he gently placed the mop in the bucket, before retrieving his phone to reveal the cause of the vibration.  One unread message from Sami; 'Hey sorry to bother you but did anyone hand in my tablet today?  Can’t find it?’

Fergal smirked to himself, stealing a glance at the tablet resting on the counter; 'Well we did find one with a lockscreen picture of two goobers.  Might be yours?’

Sami had replied by the time Fergal had finished emptying the dirty water into the drain outside; 'Sounds like mine yep 😉 I’ll come get it 2morrow.’

“Is dat Sami?” Fergal blinked in surprise as he looked up from his phone, seeing Becky looking at him with a knowing expression, “Hurry up and invite him over!”

“Yer not allowed to be more excited to see my boyfriend than I am,” Fergal huffed as Becky walked away chuckling to herself, before turning back to his phone to text Sami back.

'You doing anything tonight?  We have some leftover cranberry muffins… 😋’

Sami’s reply came back swiftly, 'As enticing as your muffins are, I have early classes 2morrow 😞 Save me one for l8r?’

'Darn, forgot it was a school night 😉’ Fergal grinned, 'Tomorrow then.’

'Can’t wait!  See you Fergie-Ferg.’

Ah well.  Tomorrow was certainly shaping up to be interesting, at the very least!

'Night Sambo. ❤️’