#“duke seriously you don’t want to get involved in this”

[alaffy]

The Gilded Ages, Ep. 2x06 – Warning Shots (Spoilers)

OMG, the moment that everyone has finally waited for has happened….

Are you ready? 

Here goes…

The alarm clock has been fixed!  Seriously, why is this dragging on?  Anyway, something about trying to get a patent and needing to be part of a guild. Skip.

Also, they bring back something to do with the butlers?  I don’t remember this storyline and I don’t care.

In this episode, Bertha kind of takes a back seat to the rest of the plots.  We do find out that Miss Winterton has decided to join team Met and is able to bring some of the other old families with her.  Of course, this mean she wants Bertha’s box as, as far as anyone knows, this means the Winterton’s have done more than anyone else for the Met.  Well, not so fast. It turns out that George, even though he swears that he didn’t give money to get The Met project started again, actually did give money.  A lot of money.  And while it’s fine to pretend that the Winterton’s are going to get the main box for now, on opening night Bertha will be in that main box.  If not, well, George is coming for his money.  Also, Bertha is not going to be happy he lied to her...again.

Also, the Duke of Buckingham is going to be at The Met opening night.  Ms. Astor is not pleased and has charged McAllister with finding a way to…buy off The Duke?  So that he will come to their opening night.

Oscar gets more involved with the investment and Miss Beaton. I'm still not sure where this storyline is going. Or rather, I can see three ways this story can go.

Peggy lets her parents know about everything that happened to her in the South (minus the kiss).  And I can understand her parents’ reaction (yes, both parents).  It’s not that they don’t think what she’s doing isn’t admirable, but she’s their daughter and she could have been…well, there’s many things that could have happened to her.  But Peggy’s mom has an idea about how Peggy can advance the cause, while staying away from the South.  It turns out that the School Board in New York is trying to shut down all the schools that were created specifically for black students, citing a bogus report that the teachers are unqualified.  Peggy agrees to run the story by Fortune.  And, of course, Fortune knows that, not only do they need to cover this story, but they need to rally the community.  It is also clear, in this interaction, that Peggy is trying to avoid spending time with Fortune.  Probably because, as Marion pointed out earlier in this episode, Peggy has developed feelings for Fortune.

Speaking of Marion, well long story short, Cousin Dashiell uses this party at the Botanical Gardens as an excuse to propose to Marion in front of all her friends, family, and his daughter.  Now I’m not a huge fan of Marion, although she’s not as annoying as she was first season, but I can’t blame her for her answer.  I mean, in that day and age, turning down that proposal in front of everyone pretty much would have been…it would be a scandal she may not have survived socially.  Although it is interesting to note that Larry seemed a bit upset by the proposal, even though I’m sure he couldn’t explain why.  But the proposal quickly flees Marion’s mind when….

Yeah, Luke is diagnosed with Cancer.  He’ll be dead soon, to the surprise of no one.  Still, we see how Agnes truly loves her sister as she immediately rushes to her side and tries to convince the two to come live with Agnes, so she can take care of both of them.  However, they decide to remain in their home.

As for George…so the biggest challenge with this show is the fact that George is likable and a Robber Barron; something that shouldn’t really go together.  Now, George’s workers are about to go on strike and have made it clear that they won’t let any “scabs” come into the factory to take over their jobs.  Meanwhile, George’s business associates are willing to use the army to keep the workers from preventing the “scabs” from coming in.  See, the workers are looking for better pay and 8,8,8 ( 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of what you will).  Now George is unwilling to budge on pay as, long story short, if he gives into the demands on pay it will create a domino effect that causes other business men to no longer work with George and possibly could ruin George's company …but the 8,8,8, that’s something he’s willing to consider.  Furthermore, after visiting the house of the Union Leader, he begins to realize that are other necessities the workers may want that he can provide, such as free school for the children; leading to better opportunities for those kids. Although, wouldn't this also create a domino effect? I mean, this all boils down to the writers trying to make George the middle men between the two sides and disbelief has to be somewhat suspended as, realistically, no real middle ground exists here.  

Anyway, the strike happens.  The workers are facing off with the army and it looks like the army is about to mow them workers down.  But, at the last moment, George calls off the army as he can’t bare the though of killing people who are trying to provide for their families.  Like I said, I have a feeling that the whole 8,8,8, and the school will eventually be used a bargaining chips to get the workers back to work, making George a (somewhat) good guy (or, at least, better than the other Robber Barrens). 

#the gilded age #the gilded age spoilers #George Russell #bertha russell #Larry Russel #Marion Brooks #Ada Brook #agnes van rhijn #oscar van rhijn #peggy scott

[magicmindless]

I need more headcannons! I really love reading some of them and imagining if that were real from the Flipverse characters! 💖💖

Well I guess as long as someone asks then I can keep making these

-During Mocharia Life, for April Fool's day Didar did the old “not prank anyone” trick, he just made everyone think he was gonna prank them but never did

-Speaking of which, for Halloween, the spotlight was placed on Didar. As much as Petrona dreaded it, she asked Didar to come up with a few elaborate pranks to play on passing customers. The best prank they played was similar to this prank

-Isadora wants to be an actor like Budwin formerly was, however, Budwin really hopes that she doesn’t due to his past experiences

-Koilee has fantasies about being a siren, luring men to her koi pond and killing them. She doesn’t hate men or anything, nor is she crazy about them, it’s just something she thinks about

-Back in middle school kids tried to bully Xandra and Xolo for their looks. It stopped very quickly due to them showing their capabilities on how quickly they can traumatize people

-Sue’s hair used to be a lot longer, but then she had a meltdown and cut her hair short. (Yeah she was one of those people), and now she keeps it at the length it is

Edit: Ok I kinda don’t like the reason that Sue had her hair cut (but if you do I’m keeping it up) so I made another reason

-The reason Sue had her hair cut was because she was getting her hair trimmed while Mindy was an amateur and she accidentally cut off a long piece of her hair so she was like “well time to cut the rest of it off” so then her hair was super short. But then it grew out to the hair length she has now

-Petrona secretly likes sex jokes. She’s mostly a sarcastic person with dry humor, however, any humor that involves sex is almost guaranteed to make her burst into laughter. For professional reasons however, this usually isn’t known

-While thinking about what to be for Halloween, someone told Sue (don't know who but it was probably either Trishna or Didar) that she was already scary enough and that she didn't need a costume. Later she was seen chasing said person with a knife. (It was a fake knife but it was still scary)

-While hiring, all Mocharia crew members (everyone in credits) had to sign a contract by Papa Louie saying that they will never mention how they got hired to anyone outside the production (hm…)

-NuMarcus doesn't sell NFTs. He takes screenshots of them and THEN sells them

-Foodini once collaborated with Duke Gotcha to make a game show called “Not-funny News” (which is basically “Don’t Laugh News” from College Humor). There was even an entire episode exposing Duke

-Nick has gotten to a point in his life where every time he gets hurt, instead of crying out for help or reacting much, he just lies on the floor contemplating his life for a few minutes

-Timm isn’t a good dance teacher. He goes way too fast for the person

-Each city and town in the Papa Louie universe has different stereotypes about the people. Mentioned below is basically what people will think about you if you grew up in one of these places

(DISCLAIMER) These are all stereotypes for a reason. They’re not meant to be taken seriously, and they’re not factual):

Burgerburgh: It’s so incredibly boring that you just have to do things. You’re really really good at one thing, but then you’re terrible at everything else. Or you’re just decent at everything

Calypso: You’re nice friend material but you wouldn’t be able to keep a partner. You’re either super sweet to tourists or lowkey a prick to them

Frostfield: You’re a huge pushover who is way too trusting of people, but you could throw hands if you must

Maple Mountains: You’re brutally honest and always on edge for some reason

New Pepperton: You are INSANELY into geek culture

Oilseed Springs: You may be slightly passive aggressive and you got bored of chickens super quickly, but you know how to work with your hands

Oniontown: You like to joke about your trauma and you probably need therapy

Portallini: You think love is super important and believe in something that involves some sort of spirituality or paranormal whatever

Powder Point: You’re rather laidback for someone who lives in an amusement park, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go crazy

Sakura Bay: You care about the environment and like to keep things clean and perfect. Also you just know how to make things look pretty

Starlight City: You are competitive over everything and like to indulge in alcohol and fancy parties

Tacodale: You have some sort of rags to riches story or sob story everyone pities you over

Tastyville: No matter how different you may be from others, you have this energy that just screams you’re from Tastyville. You probably have some sort of big-shot dream but you can’t quite make it yet so you’re just here for now (Edit: You know what? I agree with people saying Tastyville is Ohio-coded, and from the absurd memes, I guess these people live in super hell. Papa Louie’s here after all)

Toastwood: You like to constantly put yourself in danger for fun. Also you’re a general risk-taker

Whiskview: You’re either annoyingly charismatic or you’re super shy around people. Also you’re probably gay

#papa louie #papa louie headcanons #flipline studios #asks #I am going to milk headcanon lists to oblivian am I? #yep. I can feel it

[agentnico]

Nope (2022) Review

In the words of Katy Perry “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?” That’s what came to my mind when I finally bared witness to the mysterious entity in this movie. And no, that’s not a compliment.

Plot: Two siblings running a horse ranch in California discover something wonderful and sinister in the skies above, while the owner of an adjacent theme park tries to profit from the mysterious, otherworldly phenomenon.

The issue I find with Jordan Peele is that he is unarguably great at executing concepts, however not so much creating them. Aside of Get Out, he tends to never really figure out the full scopes of the concepts that he creates, and most notably how to end them. That was my main issue with Us - that ending made absolutely no sense. And for anyone who turns to me and says “oh man, you just didn’t get it!!” I assure you, I got it, but it had logic fallacies that made the whole thing lack any sense. However as a movie itself, Us is actually decent, with great moments of horror and suspense, killer performances from the likes of Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, it’s shot wonderfully and even the creative choices like the red outfits of the villains and the use of Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” are all amazing creative decisions. Again, the execution by Peele is very very good, however the actual narrative thread holding it all together doesn’t work. 

Now, moving onto Nope I see the same pattern occur. This is a gorgeously shot movie exhibiting the hilly plains of the American dessert, and features, again, real moments of tension that Peele is known for. In fact, there is a certain sequence involving a tube that manages to give one of the scariest depictions of claustrophobia/helplessness I’ve ever seen on film, and it was truly spine-chilling. However stripping the movie down to the bare basics, it has a very simple premise that tries to act more cleverer than it actually is by shoehorning in allegories that don’t actually have much pay-off. There’s this whole thing about a chimp that wrecked havoc on a film-set which is referred to in flashbacks a few times during the movie, and whilst those sequences themselves were truly incredible in actually creating a sense of dread and horror, their connection to the actual movie are very loose. I wouldn’t necessarily say pointless, but the way that event motivates a certain character in the movie doesn’t pertain to much as that character doesn’t actually play a major part. And the theme involving the chimp is, again, loose towards the rest of the film. It was as if it were two different movies meshed together.

Jumping back to the topic of Peele not knowing how to end his concepts. The mysterious entity in this movie is treated so well in the first half, with you only seeing certain glimpses of it, and that idea of not knowing yet wanting to know was done so well. That indeed sense of mystery and wonderment made me excited to see the pay-off, however that pay-off ended up being the detriment. Since once the entity is revealed fully (again, making me think of a plastic bag drifting through the wind), the movie becomes really silly and goofy and you can’t really take it seriously. I also understand the movie’s central theme/allegory of spectacle and people being blind-sided by wanting to be part of something big (Black Mirror anyone?), however the characters end up doing some flat out stupid things. For example, there is this film director who joins the main crew, and at the end he decides to ‘in the name of the impossible’ go on a suicide mission, after which you sit there thinking “why the fudge did he do that?”.

Cinema is all about being an experiential event. You go to the movies to feel something, to have that sense of experience. Nope truly provides that spectacle and blood pumping tension. It is indeed one to watch on the big screen, however it is also only valid for that one watch, as you start thinking deeper into the plot and that’s when it starts falling apart. But again, watch it for the experience. The cast are all great too - Daniel Kaluuya is tensely stoic; Steven Yeun is under-used but wears a cowboy hat which was great to see; Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott and a cameoing Keith David all do great work. I’ve heard a lot of rave reviews towards Keke Palmer’s performance, however though I admit she was very energetic and excited, she spoke way too fast for me to understand a lot of what she was saying. So yes, going to casually throw some shade at Keke Palmer cause why not. Anyway, Nope is better than Us, nowhere near as good as Get Out, but for a summer cinema flick it provides a suitable amount of entertainment.

Overall score: 6/10

#nope #nope movie #jordan peele #keke palmer #daniel kaluuya #steven yeun #keith david #brandon perea #michael wincott #nope review #science fiction #alien #2022 #2022 in film #2022 films #movie #film #movie reviews #film reviews #mystery #horror #cinema #spectacle #gordy's home #us #get out

[corruptedsilence]

Yes I have done something right and made a smart point Shit I made it so that Missi will have more confrontation

Task failed sucessfully

In all seriousness though yeah, guys, I’m really surprised no one has bothered to try and call Missi out on her BS when she calls herself a Duchess. Everyone just accepts it at face value and lowkey it’s hilarious but equally frustrating cuz no one bothers to say anything.

I understand why, people dont like confrontation and Missi does play up the act as a royal so it can be convincing especially when she’s proven to have connections with other hell denizens and stuff, But at the same time it is a tad frustrating for Missi to not have any challenges, she doesn’t have to earn anything in her RPs, she’s just given everything because everyone here is a sub (yes im calling you out) so when a dommy mommy vampire comes across everyone just folds.

Either way if you don’t want your muse to call her out, send anons. Honestly the best way to get at Missi is through anons. Whether it be of demons or random NPCs or *use the voices in her head*

I implement a fun little idea that you can send anons that are Missi’s hallucinations, you can influence harm or help her mental state because it’s all in her mind and no one else can see it so no one else has to be involved but the anon and Missi. I do try to get people involved as much as they can, people can influence my muse, change her, progress or regress what she wants to do and influence how much Anger has control over her.

Use that to your advantage. I want to encourage blog interaction, anons and blogs alike. I just am pushing anons in case people don’t want to start things with characters that have established relationships. You can play NPCs, you can play her hallucinations and just have fun with it.

The main point is though: Challenge her. Give Missi something to work towards, a task she has to overcome or prove herself, a challenge mentally or by status, anything rlly

I’ll be honest the main reason I am so invested in Duke and Patrick’s stuff (lilly included) is because Patrick is the only one who challenges Missi substantially and so I get more invested because that impacts my character, that influences her and makes her think and change, and influence her thought about those around her and how she has to act going forward.

I don’t mean to shit on people when we have fluffy cute threads and non-angst confrontational ones but I just, want something more about Missi, give missi a reason for being here, give my muse a goal they have to achieve because one major thing is I need a new blog event or some long-term thing Missi can work to that then can evolve into more threads, and actually have character growth--

#Out for a Bite // OOC #Screams from the Abyss // MT #;; sorry if i sound rude or ungrateful #;; i dont mean to come off like that hfejwk

[screenmaven]

Made for TV Movies - A Killer Among Friends

I started down the Rabbit hole on these type of movies the other day. First it started with a Frat College movie called Freshman Fall. I sometimes just pick something random and see where it takes me. We all remember those tv films from the 90s on network television or lifetime, that dealt with an either based on a true story plot line, or some suspense mystery drama. I’m probably just aging myself by saying this. None the less there are many good ones out there, and I will probably stay on this genre off an on, because I like real life things being told through movies. The reason I decided to write a blog about this film in particular, is because it struck up some emotions in me and was in some ways related to a tragic crime within my extended family in the early 90s. I don’t talk a lot about it, because I was in the fifth grade at the time, but that horrific incident was done by jealous crazy girls, and this film I watched today involved two.

I don’t think I’ll ever understand how people can hate others so much, just because maybe someone is more popular or sought after. So many crimes and betrayal have come from lovers or friends. There have been so many films and real life situations like this happen and it’s really sad. People get this mentality that if they can’t have someone, then anyone who gets that person is somehow an enemy, and this jealous rage comes about. The way I look at things is if someone doesn’t want you and wants someone else, let them go. No one is worth that kind of damage. We all have felt betrayal, but getting all cray cray is just insane! Don’t be on the 10pm news please. No thank you!

PSA: If you’re insanely jealous of a friend or anyone and have any ill harm towards them, you need to get help, like seriously! If you know someone who gives you these vibes, trust it and break away.

As girls if we’re honest, we all have gotten a little jealous at times over other girls who have had more, or maybe have made you feel inferior. This may have caused you a little resentment, but in both of these cases it is never okay to let those feelings be anything more than just flighty. Move past them and find love within yourself. You’ll see the world and people a lot different.

I don’t do that jealousy song and dance and don’t care to associate myself with anyone who does that type of thing either. I’ve had my share of people who have plotted ill will against me, and even one person in particular that stole a bunch of my poems and portrayed it to be hers. That’s a story for another day and boy do I have some stories.

In this movie A Killer Among Friends (based on a true story) several of the main girl’s friends are involved in killing her over stupid jealousy that involves their boyfriends or ex’s. In a series of events that play out horribly, I am pleased to say justice is served for the crimes. I love me some good justice! The diabolical nature of seeing someone so close to home being a bad person is all too true many times, and I think the actors in this film all did good portraying their characters. I however saw the culprit from the beginning, but not everyone realizes that, so I think movies like these give people a chance to spot these things from happening to others, or people we love. If you want to watch something in the crime drama genre that��s decent, give it a go. It stars Tiffani Thiessen and the late Patty Duke.

As for the other real life story I mentioned, (not related to this movie) that this film triggered memories for me is attached here in a link if you want to read about that. I didn’t want to really get into it, but always as a writer I like to sight my sources for why I write.

I also want to say that by sharing this additional link and story of Shanda is not to promote any type of crime or glorify it, I’m fully against that. I am sharing this with the intention to pay respect and honor to my extended family and to Shanda, and to shed light on the pain that jealousy and hate cause, and to prevent it from ever happening again.

Until next time - screenmaven

Also if you’d like follow me on my socials (starrymayx), and feel free to send me any film suggestions that you may think I’d be into checking out.

#film #true story #a killing among friends #tv movie #90s #true crime

[longitudinalwaveme]

Ron Pearle's Lear: Act 2 Review

Random lady (taking the place of an equally random dude from the original) gave Edmund some exposition, kissed him on the cheek, and then left. Girlfriend, sister, friend, or mom? 

Edmund is a delightful villain. 

Poor Edgar. He’s so cute. 

Cue the world’s lamest-looking fake sword fight. 

Surprisingly, I actually believe that Edgar would trust this Edmund. I think it has to do with the fact that they actually seemed really close earlier. 

Gloucester’s in his pajamas. 

Maybe it’s just because “my son tried to murder me” is a lot worse than “my daughter doesn’t cater to my every whim!”, but I’m only slightly annoyed with Gloucester and very annoyed with Lear. 

I think the Duke and Regan are coming to escape Lear...and who can blame them? 

And Regan comes on and basically immediately sounds like a villain. I guess she’s making up for how totally rational and not at all evil Goneril seemed earlier. 

Edgar is too good for Lear’s horrible knights. He needs better friends (although if he was hanging out with them to spend time with the Fool, I couldn’t blame him). 

Cornwall sounds about as bored here as Lear did in the first half of the opening scene. 

I take back what I said about Regan sounding excessively like a villain. She’s actually putting on, at the very least, a convincing act of fondness for Gloucester. 

Kent is the best. But I think he may have picked the wrong guy to be excessively loyal to, because, as noted, this Lear is the worst. 

Cornwall still sounds bored. 

Oswald has an A+ goofy nervous smile. 

Kent is the best. 

Cornwall is finally emoting! Yay!

Kent is the best. 

I know this is a big no-no from a historical standpoint, and Kent is way too awesome to deserve being put in the stocks, but really, the fact that he serves Lear is probably the last reason I don’t want to see him put in the stocks. Because they really went out of their way to make this Lear unlikable.

And Regan sounds evil again.

You know, Kent, you did kind of prove Goneril’s point about how disruptive the knights are…but still, poor guy. 

Although Regan does make a good point...Kent did kind of beat up Goneril’s servant for no particularly good reason (based on what we’ve seen so far). Not that he deserves being put in the stocks, because he’s awesome, but still. 

Aww, Gloucester is adorable. 

Edgar’s “disguise myself as a crazy person” plan evidently involves stabbing himself. 

MORE SINGING! 

Kent and the Fool are the best. 

I still really can’t blame Cornwall and Regan for wanting to get away from Lear. 

You know, I think it’s less that Oswald turned them against Lear and more that….Lear turned them against Lear. 

Kent is super chill, and it’s amazing.

I love the Fool’s singing. 

“HOW DARE THEY NOT COME AND SEE ME IMMEDIATELY!!” 

Poor Gloucester. He’s stuck between Cornwall and Regan and Senile Narcissist Lear. 

The King. Would speak. With Cornwall.” King Lear, talking down to Gloucester despite the latter’s reasonable nervousness. 

The Fool has a yo-yo. That’s amazing. 

So...ordering someone to be put in the stocks also automatically means that they aren’t sick and/or tired from traveling all night? 

Lear continues to act like a toddler. 

And now he’s being a sarcastic jerk. And insulting his late wife, too. What a guy. 

I am glad to see that poor Kent’s out of the stocks, though. Run, Kent! And take the Fool with you! 

I shouldn’t be completely in agreement with Regan about Lear. Right now, I am almost completely in agreement with Regan about Lear. 

Although I will say that Regan doesn’t come off quite as sympathetically as Goneril. 

Hahaha, she can’t wait to get rid of him. 

This Lear should definitely apologize to this Goneril. 

Dude, it’s not that you’re OLD….it’s that you’re a narcissistic bully! 

Seriously, is Lear going senile? The only thing Goneril said was to, very reasonably, ask him to either get his knights under control, or to get rid of some of them so that they aren’t constantly harassing her servants. At no point did she insult him personally (except insofar as “How dare you request anything of the king?!” is an insult). 

It doesn’t matter what’s going on...unless you call him ugly, Cornwall doesn’t care. 

This comes off less as a terribly dysfunctional family of arrogant, power-hungry people, and more like “this arrogant creep abuses all three of his daughters.” 

Lear continues to whine about how mean Goneril is. 

WHY AM I STILL IN TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH GONERIL AND REGAN? 

Now he’s stomping his foot like a toddler, too. 

Cornwall STILL sounds bored. 

“I’D RATHER BE HOMELESS THAN AGREE TO SOMETHING THAT MILDLY INCONVENIENCES ME!” 

“Feel bad for me as I attempt to emotionally manipulate you and then insult you!” 

Lear’s the wrong kind of pathetic in this scene…

Why does he think Goneril will be like “Oh, yeah, I’d LOVE to have you back!” after he’s repeatedly cursed and insulted her? 

I think I would feel more sorry for him if he hadn’t a) been such a jerk to random servants and b) didn’t still sound like a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum. 

Cue the storm. 

Okay, fine, I finally feel (a little, tiny bit) bad for him. 

Regan’s “ugh” kind of sums up the way I’ve felt about this Lear so far. Let’s see if Goneril and Regan being even more horrible can change that!

 Cornwall continues to sound uninvested in everything around him. 

Gloucester is adorable. 

What Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall have now done is objectively terrible...but he’s been such a colossal creep for two straight acts that I’m still not horrified by their lack of concern for him. It’s distasteful and morally wrong, but it isn’t the completely monstrous act it usually comes across as.

#king lear #shakespeare #review #kind of

[batmans-cheerleader]

i really love your fic and can’t wait more more!! in the meantime, you you have any recs? not necessarily jason and bruce but batfam

thank you!! and it was so hard to not make this list miles long but here it is!

Stargazer | rated M, 47k | LemonadeGarden

warnings: injuries, violence, ptsd, nightmares

Jason Todd is seriously injured during patrol one night, and is forced to stay at the manor to recuperate until his injuries are healed. To pass the time, he makes a list of things he never got to do before he died. Except there's one small problem: most of them involve Bruce, and Jason doesn't really think Bruce cares all that much about him anymore.

This is a story about how wrong he is, but I made it sad anyway.

Asimov's Integral | rated T, 18k | sElkieNight60

warnings: emotional whump, angst, character death/revival, mentioned/alluded abuse & neglect, abandonment issues

Tim is an unwanted android, a Robo-Child. After being sent back by his parents, his last and only hope rests in the hands of a man still grieving the loss of his own son.

“I didn’t ask for a replacement,” Bruce barked. “I don’t want a replacement! You can go back and tell the RCO I don’t need a replacement.”

Bruce Wayne didn’t want him. If Bruce Wayne didn’t want him, he’d be sent back and dismantled.

sometimes you make mistakes | rated T, 10k, WIP | MrMich

warnings: canon typical violence, blood, misunderstandings

The thing was, Duke was almost positive that his neighbors were criminals.

He wasn’t sure they even counted as neighbors. There were way too many of them to actually be staying in the tiny apartment next door and he could hear them coming and going at all times of night, so he was pretty sure about the fact that none of them actually lived there. Except maybe Jason Todd, but he was definitely a criminal, so that was a point in favor of Duke’s criminal conspiracy theory.

Or, In which Duke fights crime, wages a petty war with his criminal neighbors, and entirely fails to put two and two together.

Inbox | rated T, 9k | audreycritter

warnings: grief, loss, angst, canonical character death/revival

When Jason Todd died, Bruce Wayne had a hard time letting go or dealing with any reminders of his son.

When Jason Todd came back, what he needed to know was how much he had mattered. Fortunately, these things overlapped.

Or, the story in which Jason listens to some voicemails for a dead boy— the boy who was him.

Executive Assistant to the Batman | rated T, 76k, WIP | heartslogos

warnings: none

“So what’s someone like you doing working for someone like Wayne?”

“We’re star-crossed,” Tim answers, because clearly this job has only improved his ability to mouth off with a complete and total lack of self-regard.

(Rewrite of my old Assistant!verse)

ballare | rated T, 1.5k | Periazhad

warnings: canonical character death/revival

Jason thinks he's good at being scary by doing the unexpected.

A Meditation on Railroading | rated T, 24k | eggmacguffin

warnings: child abuse, gaslighting, homophobia, hurt/comfort

When he ends up ditched in Atlanta after a fight with his dad, Tim decides to do the only sensible thing: Tell no one and make the 800 mile journey back to Gotham on his own.

Because the "call Batman when you're in trouble" rule only applies when he's Robin, right?

cards | rated G, 1.8k | almondrose

warnings: none

steph has to make father's day cards in school & she doesn't care to make one for her own garbage dad, so she decides to do the next best thing:

make cards for batman.

sweet child o' mine | rated G, 4k | Nokomis

warnings: none

Steph said cheerfully, “Bruce, from now on, consider yourself in possession of one Steph-mom.”

“Absolutely not,” Bruce said.

Steph took a bite of her cake, undeterred.

Bundle of Joy | rated G, 7k | DawnsEternalLight

warnings: deaging

When Damian is accidentally turned into a baby each of his family members gets a chance to take care of him. Cue adorable baby faces, Dick being delighted, and Bruce surprised at finding out just how much all his kids have grown.

the scientific method | rated G, 20k | orphan_account

warnings: none

5 stupid ways Duke's siblings discovered how his powers worked, and 1 time he figured it out for himself.

"You have no idea," Dick said. "I had to live through all of their teenage years. They were each independently obsessed with Mythbusters at separate points in their life. I'm pretty sure Cass and Tim have wanted a meta to experiment on since they were 14, but Bruce always said no."

#my recs #jason todd #bruce wayne #dick grayson #stephanie brown #damian al ghul #cassandra cain #duke thomas #batman #dcu #dc comics #batfam #fic recs

[allandoflimbo]

Ashens (Part 24)

Summary: She falls in love with Bucky Barnes from the moment she sees him. Bucky, still in love with a woman from his past, hates Y/N and plans to make her life miserable. To both their dismay, they are assigned together to go undercover into The Capitol for six months. There, they develop a heartbreaking friend with benefits agreement. Dystopian.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 4,700

Rating: M for Mature, E for explicit. Enemies to lovers trope, sharing a bed trope, friends with benefits trope, temporarily unrequited love, heavy and angry sex, heavy on the angst, and very strong language.

Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat

I hope it's gonna make you notice

“…I’m in the military, sir…”

“…James, that’s my father, okay? If anything, let’s just be glad he didn’t kill you. He’s like that with everyone…And the soldier thing, he’s weird about that. I’m not sure why…”

Bucky lies awake in bed, fluffy pillow behind his head and one leg peeking out from the blankets, as random memories knack away at his brain in pulses. They weren’t new memories, but they were memories that he never looked at the way he was now.

He doesn’t know why now, he doesn’t know what triggered it, but they were clicking together.

After years of replaying the same moments in his head, there was a nagging feeling that was telling him that there was something not adding up.

He doesn’t know if it’s because he’s seeing things differently, if he’s feeling things differently.

Whatever it was, he knew there was something…off.

There was something off about Daisy’s story about her dad’s story, something was off about the way he was against Bucky fighting in the military, and her death was coinciding so much with his capture.

He doesn’t like the feeling in his stomach as he remembers.

When Bucky asked about her brother and what that whole commotion back at the club was she was blatantly honest with him.

“My father’s not a good guy. He’s been wanting some something from one of these performers that was suppose to be there last night, but turns out they weren’t even on the set list. He had lied about it, we don’t know where he is.”

Bucky raises a brow at this, “You do his dirty work for him?”

“No, I don’t like to get involved in that. It’s a dangerous lifestyle. I have to think about my future family. I was only there yesterday because my brother wanted to get me out of the house for once.”

Bucky isn’t too gleam on the fact that her family are borderline criminals and that she basically supports it, and for a fraction of a second he almost doesn’t buy it, but he decides to mention this later on, not wanting to ruin their moment.

Bucky shifts his leg as he continues to remember that conversation. Why was he not against it? Why did he never question the crimes? Was he that distracted by her?

Bucky smiles at her comment, but then his brows furrowed together in an adorable way that made Daisy giggle and bring her hand to his cheek, “What is it, James?”

What is it, James?

Bucky looks over to see you laying next to him, sat up with your back against the headboard reading some book with a beige cover.

You hadn’t taken notice of his self discomfort yet, emerged in your reading, tucking your bottom lip into your mouth.

Why was he remembering all of this now? Why was he feeling sick?

When they pulled away she slowly dragged her thumb across his plump bottom lip. He watched her like she was the most gorgeous and interesting thing on the planet.

“James?” He responded with a sound on confirmation and she continued, “do you think we are moving too fast?”

He grabbed her hand that was on his face and for a fraction of a moment she thought that that was it, they were over. This was clearly too unrealistic. But instead he brought her hand up over both his lips and he kissed her gingerly.

“Yes.” He whispered behind her hand, making sure he was making direct eye contact with her.

Her face dropped. “Yes?” Her voice was worried, cautious.  

He started trailing kisses down her hand, her wrist, her forearms. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck making her groan.

It wasn’t that Daisy didn’t like being pampered but she wanted to take this very seriously. With a reluctant sigh - because what he was doing to her flesh just felt so good - she delicately removes her arm from Bucky’s grasp. He narrowed his eyes as she moved away towards the head board, suddenly wondering if maybe he said the wrong thing.

Her eyes trickled his features and down his perfect little nose.

“I knew it since the moment I laid my eyes on you. That’s how you know it’s real. This isn’t crazy, it’s ludicrous. But it works for us. I want to be with you.”

After his little speech Daisy looked him dead in the eye, not batting one lash.

“Then come have dinner with my family.”

Was it too fast? He had barely known her and she was asking him to meet her family. Criminals.

But why would she give away such dire information if it were true?

Bucky sat up slowly, as if if he were to move too quickly, the bed would collapse underneath him.

His eyes had a far away look in him, and he was as pale as he felt.

You feel him shift and your eyes flicker up to him.

You frown.

Her blue eyes glisten with gentle tears, probably thinking the same exact thing. None of it still feels real.

Her, she, doesn’t feel real.

They spent nearly every night together just talking about what Bucky would do when he came back home after camp. Things like how they would have to go see the stars on the back of an outskirts farmhouse, how they would have to go to every club in the city and laugh their night away, how he would take her to coney island with him and Steve and show her a “good time” on the ferris wheel, and how they would definitely have to meet her family.

“They’re great, you’ll love them.” She had said as they laid in bed together just hours before, merely cuddling with clothes on.

“Oh, come on doll, even your Dad?”

Daisy hesitated for a moment and her hand that was rubbing his chest stopped suddenly.

Bucky noted this and they met eyes.

Bucky feels his heart palpitate and he opens and closes his right hand, sitting up.

“Bucky, what’s wrong?” You ask softly, closing your book.

“Dad has been gone for four weeks and I don’t know why. Jimmy has gone with him- it’s just me and mother. I overheard her saying something about Germany but I’m not quite sure.. Or maybe it was something else. Though none of that matters to me, James- I want you. Please come home to me.”

For some reason, a chill ran down his back as he reread the words “something about Germany”.

Like an awful memory that has never happened, he sees a child in front of him. It was a little girl and she screamed in agony for mercy. She was getting strangled to death by his own hand, a silver glint caught his eye-

“James!”

“Bucky.”

Your voice pulls him out of his trance for just a moment.

He looks up to you, your eyes interlacing in a silent conversation of understanding.

He was revealing something to himself and you could tell that whatever that was it was leaving him overcome by feelings.

At the end of the day, he knows that he’s just insanely protective of Steve. Which is why his arm instinctively goes around him when Rogers almost gets hit by a speeding vehicle that abruptly stops to halt in front of them on the curb. With his mind far away, he hadn’t realized they were already standing on the sidewalk in front of one bright sign labeled Cotton Club.

Had Bucky known better, he would’ve had him on his left.

After that introduction, the two boys look over to the object that almost killed them.

It was pure black, the countless lights coming from the surrounding buildings and cars bouncing off its surface. The rain must’ve made it even shinier, the lights made a reflection so bright that it had everyone staring. Men looked in awe and a young paper boy, standing on the corner working over time, wondered if that would someday be his future.

With a look of disgust, Steve was repulsed by the obscurity of the man’s driving having nearly hit him. He wondered why people had no respect and he desperately wanted to punch his face in. Either that or give him a pep talk about general safety.

“What a twit.” He snarls, dusting off his small suspenders and kicking the invisible debris off his lapels.

Bucky’s face held something different. It explained why the woman staring had looked on in pure jealousy. He stared forward completely emotionless. He was neither annoyed at the fact that he almost just got run over and killed and nor in obsession over the Duesenberg J.

It was the beautiful goddess emerging from the passenger seat that caught his full attention.

On her left hand was a pearl and diamond bracelet and she used it to skim over the top of the priceless car door for leverage to push herself gracefully up from the leather seat. Her other hand was wrapped up in a prestige white glove. It held onto the hem of her silver sparkling gown, a long white cigar between her digits. Her gorgeous dress looked heavy, you could tell it was so properly made and expensive because it must’ve weighed as much as her petite self. The reason being that it hugged her body at just the perfect places, showing off her curves gracefully.

Her perfect blonde hair was pulled slick back by a diamond hair clip to the side in huge voluminous waves. The dress showed just enough back, the material dipping down towards the floor, the dip ending just above her bottom. The entire thing was held by two tiny silver straps on her shoulders.

In a sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington seemed to have played perfectly in sync with the exact moment she shut the door behind her. She looked up to read the sign, her perfect profile looking up in awe.

Bucky stands up from the bed, back rigid and face hard with anger.

No.

It couldn’t be.

He swallows thickly, gaze going towards you again.

He doesn’t know why he keeps looking at you.

Ironically, beneath his anger and betrayal, he also began to feel embarrassment.

He’s momentarily startled out of his trance when he feels a small hand grab his elbow.  He looks down and his eyes meet a small concerned Steve. Well, to be fairly honestly, he looked more pissed than concerned.

Bucky doesn’t feel the patience to deal with talking anything out, he’s too busy thinking about Daisy. But he feels like he should at least say something so he can get everyone off his back, “What is it?”

Steve looks at him likes he’s crazy and then manically gestures towards the entrance of the club, probably pointing to where Daisy just left through.

“Bucky, what the heck was that? Who was that? You know her?”

“I didn’t know her. No.” Bucky doesn’t realize he’s saying it out loud.

He’s shaking his head to himself, mumbling.

“Bucky, who are you talking to?” You’re growing even more concerned by the second now.

The silence was broken by his strong voice.

“You’re real.”

She smiles in a way that makes him smile too. It was contagious and bright. He caresses her skin one more time.

He felt her own hand come over his and she whispers, “I’m real.”

“Not real.”

You are more than concerned at this point.

“What are you talking about?”

“Maybe it was the fact that my body had finally developed into a women’s body. My breasts were now fully perked and my legs were long and porcelain gorgeous; all I knew was they figured I could be put to good use.”

He shook his head and Bucky blinked away heavy tears.“I-“

The pretty woman rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, revealing a long slit that ran up her dress. It was just enough skin for Bucky’s hand to get sweaty.

He waited until the perfect opportunity when the man had walked towards the direction of the stage, making his way into the back behind the curtain.

“It wasn’t real.”

“You do his dirty work for him?”

“It wasn’t real.”

“My father’s not a good guy.”

Bucky remembers them poking him with IV drops and then sticking his head in a blender. His owns screams fill his head. It was so painful.

“Reason unknown, ongoing investigation"

“I wasn’t going to let you keep her. She enticed you. She won you. It was always supposed to be you.”

“…blonde 21 year old was found shot…”

“Daisy,” he whispered. He traced her features with his hand, and just like that the fear escaped his eyes, and instead of scared he was now feeling complete love and he was ready because knew this is what he wanted forever. He wanted her, “Will you marry me?”

“…Her family has been under investigation after her father’s disappearance —…”

“But you jeopardized it, Soldat. It wasn’t real.”

The memories are sucked out of him like a vacuum and his dark eyes meet yours, again, across the bed.

You had never seen his pupils so blown before.

You were terrified.

Your eyes go down to his flesh hand that is twitching against his thigh.

“Bucky.” You say cautiously, one more time. It was almost like you were afraid to get closer to him.

“I—“ his voice was hoarse.

He looks away and clears his throat. He blinks away the heavy daze, allowing it all to sink in until it settles in his stomach in a surprising pool of acceptance.

He sees you again and for some reason he feels okay.

It scares him.

It scared him how you took something that had been bothering him for so long, away that quickly.

In that moment he knows.

“I remembered something.” Your eyebrows came together suddenly. Nearly moments ago he looked heartbroken but now he just looked shocked and angry.

“What did you remember? I thought you had your memories back. In Wakanda.”

“I-I did,” he squeaks out running a hand through his hair, “maybe I’m just remembering differently, or adding pieces together, I don’t know, I can’t tell. It has to be, because it makes sense. It makes so much sense now, and I can’t—and she—”

“Bucky you’re rambling,” he stops and you continue to look at each other. His face drops all traces of anger and it softens, “Talk to me, I’m right here.” You whisper.

Bucky looks down at you and nods. No hesitancy.

“Give me your hands.” You say, reaching for him. He doesn’t hold back from doing so, and once you have his hands in yours, you pull him up onto the bed so he’s kneeling on it next to you.

Bucky takes a few minutes to compose himself before he says it:

“I think Daisy and her family were Hydra.” He says it like he’s afraid of his own words.

As if every word in that phrase was a curse word.

Somehow, it relieves him.

His chest feels light, shoulders worn. He can breathe.

+ + +

“I should’ve known it was too fast. Too perfect,” you’re also stunned as he tells you everything, his hands still in yours, “but—but I don’t think she was always hydra. I think she wanted out when I was captured and they killed her for it.”

You don’t deny it, that hurts. Despite never knowing the girl and secretly holding envy for her, it pains you.

“Oh, Bucky.”

He shakes his head, eyebrows furrowing together.

“But it was a lie. She enticed me, she fucking—“ Bucky sucks in a deep breath, “she was trying to lure me in. There was nothing real about it.” He says the word like it’s venom on his lips.

You feel him rub his thumb over the back of your hand.

“You don’t know that -”

He shakes his head again, “She was Hydra!” He doesn’t say it angrily as much as he says it in a way to announce it to himself.

He needed to say it out loud. He needed to let it sink in.

You watch Bucky as he becomes completely numb, and somehow free, in front of you.

For some reason you expected more heartbreak from him for discovering something so horrible about a woman he claimed he loved so much, a woman he wanted to marry, but instead all you got from him was anger and acceptance.

Little did you know, Bucky was in the same boat as you.

Why wasn’t he as heat shattered as he’d expect?

“I-“ he’s speechless as he looks around, trying to find something, but he does’t know what.

You think you’re more shocked than him and you quickly grab his arm, bringing him against you for a tight hug.

He hugs you back immediately, hand running up your shoulder blade and onto the back of your hair.

Minutes pass by. Many minutes.

“It was all a lie,” he whispers still holding onto. you, “All of it. I really was alone. I thought I finally had someone, but—It wasn’t real.”

You don’t know what to say as you run your hand up the back of his head.

It’s not until you pull him in tighter that he realizes it.

It was you.

You were there reason this didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. His heart no longer wanted to be with someone who was long gone.

It wanted to stay here.

Here.

He never thought he would ever feel this way ever again, and he never thought he would trust this hard ever again.

Realizing truth relived him of buried pain, and he wanted you to keep holding him, to keep helping him go through this.

He says your name softly.

“Yes?”

“I want to talk about everything.”

You stiffen for a moment as you let his words sink in. You weren’t exactly sure what he was talking about.

“What are you talking about?” You ask.

“All of it. Everything that I did. I need to get it out, I can’t keep doing this, holding it in, keeping it inside —”

The euphoria through your blood is addicting.

“Tell me.”

He loved slow dancing.

He loved the Yankees.

He loved math and Howard Stark.

He went to the Stark Expo every year.

He loved The Hobbit and he loved jazz.

He loved New York City.

He loved Brooklyn the most.

He misses flat hats.

He loved telling jokes.

His mother died when he was young.

His sister was taken away from him.

He cried when he couldn’t see her.

His father died not too long after.

He never enlisted despite his love for the military.

He was drafted.  

He experienced World War II but on the enemy side.

He fought with Hitler’s and Hydra’s men.

He was loved by the KGB.

He loved Prague.

He trained the girls in the red room.

He remembers every young girl.

He was told to kill four kids on a mission once in Bucharest.

He was tormented, beaten raw, and kept in a concrete cell between cryo periods.

He was only occasionally fed, most years spent asleep.

He was treated like an animal. They tied him to the wall once in the cell, with a chain around his neck.

He was brain washed.

He was sexually assaulted by Hydra.

He doesn’t remember if he was raped, which could be his brain’s way of protecting himself from more trauma.

He reminds you that loved Howard Stark.

He killed Howard Stark.

He killed Maria Stark.

He was the one that stole the super soldier serum from the Stark’s and provided it to Hydra.

He was the fist of Hydra.

He killed many other good men. Over two dozen assassinations.

He killed JFK.

He never wanted to do any of it.

He remembers all of it.

They named him a hero on the Wall of Valor before S.H.I.E.L.D fell.

He was taken into Wakanda, freed of his trigger words.

He still loved New York City.

He was pardon him, despite everything.

They named him an Avenger.

He remembers it all.

You’re laying down facing each other and you continue to watch him as he tells you everything.

It’s one of the most surreal experiences of your life and you find yourself in total awe.  

This was the Bucky Barnes you had been longing to see. This was the man you knew was hidden beneath layers of hurt and anger.

You had seen it before he even told you.

The fact that he even trusted you enough to be this transparent with you is what makes you so happy.

His eyes brightened as he played with a string on the blanket between you.

“And Friends,” his voice is small and there’s a little smile on his mouth. Your heart swells as you watch it, “I love Friends.”

You bite your tongue as you smile.

Bucky stared at you, just as amazed at himself as he was at you. He couldn’t believe he told it all to you.

It was as if Daisy’s image had begun to dissolve and he was finally seeing clearly.

He didn’t hate you. He never hated you.

His fingers peak out slowly to take a hold of your pinky.

It was the opposite. He wanted you.

He feels himself breaking when you pull away from his touch. His smile falls.

“I’m proud of you,” you say quietly, sitting up again, “For finally talking about it.” You mean it, “Thank you.”

It takes him a few seconds to eventually look away and he turns onto his back. Bucky drapes an arm over his stomach, letting out a long breath of contentment.

He felt free.

To do what?

He looks over at you again as you pull your book back out.

This. This is what freedom got him. You.

But it you weren’t his. He clears his throat.

“How are things with your boyfriend?”

You don’t like talking about Pietro with Bucky.

“It’s fine,” you answer anyway, “We only had one date. And I got sick, so hopefully the next one will be better.”

Bucky swallows thickly. Why was he feeling like this? He should be happy for you. You wanted this. You deserved this.

“What do you plan to do when it’s time for us both to leave and go back?” He asks.

You don’t miss the way he mentions both of you to leave and your eyes quickly flicker to him.

“I don’t know yet,” you say hoarsely, filled with unexpected relief.

+ + +

Bucky doesn’t remember experiencing this kind of happiness since he was nineteen and him and Steve went to go see a baseball game after scoring a date with two pretty girls on the F train.

He’s happy.

Ashen peaks up at him from behind dark lashes, smiling so hard his eyes peak up at the side, turning them into thin slits. Bucky’s aren’t too far off as he mimics the boy’s laughter.

“Connect four?” Bucky asks, chuckling.

“Yeah, you’ve gotta try it. It’s so fun.” The Ashens says happily, pulling out the little game from underneath his bed. Bucky wants to ask him why he has it hidden, but he doesn’t. He just reminds him that they need to stay quiet, “plus, it’s the only game I have anyway. But it’s fun Mr. Bucky.”

“Haha, alright lets try it.” Bucky says.

They sit across from each other on the floor, setting up the little game and dividing their colored chips. Ashen’s goes first, dropping in a yellow one.

Bucky picks up a red one with his flesh hand and drops it right next to the yellow. They continue for a bit until Ashens notices Bucky isn’t connecting his colors.

“No, you have to try to get a straight line and connect it!” He laughs, “you suck at this."

“Oh, no! What did I do?” Bucky exclaims, laughing.

“You’re not very smart for an Avenger.” Ashens remarks.

“Okay,” Bucky points at him playfully, smiling, “That’s mean.”

“I’m sorry but it is true.”

“Cut me some slack.” Bucky says, smiling.

They play for a little longer until Ashens ends up beating him.

Bucky sticks his tongue out at the boy, but smiles. He eventually caught on to the game and let him win. But he doesn’t need to know that.

“Mr. Bucky,” Ashen says after he slides the game back under his head. He brings his legs up to his chest and hugs them, "Will you tell me now why you are here to save me?”

Bucky licks his lip and sighs. He looks out Ashens' high rise window and then back to him again. “Not yet.”

“Should I be afraid.”

“No. I won’t let anything happen you. I promise.”

Ashens doesn’t say anything as he lets his Mike Wazowski slippers hit each other.

“Do you have any kids? Like my age?”

The question surprises Bucky, and for a moment a feeling of longing hits him. “No. I don’t.”

“Aww okay.”

Bucky stares at Ashens little sad face and his heart breaks.

“I always wanted to, though,” Bucky whispers, “But that was years ago.”

“When you were in world war one?”

Bucky smiles.

“Two, not one, but yeah,” it’s not a lie, Bucky knows that if his loved would’ve went a different way, he would have definitely had kids. To know he could never go back to such simplicity broke his heart, “Something like that.”

There was something, that even so many months later, still bothered Bucky. It was something so small, and it probably didn’t really affect you as much as it affected him, but it was something you said to him.

It was one of your many fights and the way you had spatted at him about buying you plan B after you had sex.

He didn’t want to burden you. What you two had done had been irresponsible. An atmosphere like this was no place and time for an unwanted baby.

You weren’t ready for one, let alone his.

At the time, it wasn’t that he wouldn’t want the baby, if you were to have gotten pregnant, he would have loved that child with everything. He was thinking about you.

He hated to think that he gave you that pill as a gesture to say that he wanted nothing to do with you.

If so, you were wrong.

He wanted you to be happy, just smart.

He cared about you.

And now, possibly more.

As he continues to watch Ashens giggling over his slippers, that feeling of longing washes over Bucky again.

He knows he needs to tell you.

+ + +

You still weren’t feeling well. Maybe it was your nerves. The end of the mission was getting closer by each day and you never expected you’d have to leave with a little kid. You still hadn’t met Ashens, but Bucky says he’s a delight.

Ashens has changed him. You took notice immediately and it made you happy. This whole experience would be good for him.

After Bucky had poured out his heart to you, you knew you needed to get away again. That was the dance now. You get pulled, you take a step back. You couldn’t let yourself go there anymore, no matter how hard it was.

Pietro would be the driving force to help you.

You just wish Bucky would stop doing things that he probably realized he wasn’t even doing. The way he touches your face and your hand, or some times the way he looks at you, was not appropriate for two fuck buddies who stopped…fucking.

You were still convinced that he wanted you two to go your separate ways at the end of this mission. Him indirectly saying he was going to walk out with you made you happy, it could’ve been Ashens that helped him have a change of heart, whatever it was, this thing between you had to dissolve anyway.

You couldn’t keep doing that to himself, even when he would blur your lines.

You really wished he would stop doing that.

That night you after the ball, you were almost sure that he was developing feelings for you - finally - it’s why you tried to get him to finally tell you why the kiss bothered him.

Bucky never told you the truth, and you were too tired to keep digging.

You were glad that was the last time.

It was over. All of it was over.

Your stomach churns again and you decide to make yourself some tea and head to bed.

@snakeeatery17 @utterlyhopeful-fics , @marvelfan1017, @iheartsebastianstan , @annathesillyfriend , @redhairedfeistynerd, @perksofbeingabookworm, @amyrose051, @meegggoooo, @morganclaire4 , @captainchrisstan, @bxndys , @shoesonpointe ,  @writerwrites, @rainbowkisses31, @lindatreb , @littlemissner98 , @dezzylou24, @ayeitslelee , @hardygal69 ,  @emmabarnes , @redbarn1995@thequeenreaders@ilovemysupersoldiers@maximumplaidzonknerd@ceapa-mica @s-trawberryv-eins@buckysknifecollections@sobangie@lindatreb@theseuscmander@nervous-plant @wildmoonflower @aya-fay@appreciating-fanfics@kaitlynisinfinite@justreadingfics@kaitieskidmore1 @mrsdancing​ @everythingiloveandcherish @shinykoalacat​ @dragongirl31 @kaitlynisinfinite​ @alwaysclassyeagle

#bucky #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #Bucky Barnes fanfic #Bucky Barnes smut #Bucky Barnes fanfiction #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #tfatws fanfiction #winter soldier fanfic #Bucky Barnes x reader series #enemies to lovers #sharing bed #fwb

[frost-the-ice-dragon]

So what else is going on during the Elemental Fighters AU?

Hi anon! Just wanted to say that my day has been going absolutely horrible and this ask cheered me up, so thanks for that!

Honestly, this AU kind of just started out as a joke, so I don’t have many actual plot points, but I’m more than happy to talk about what I have currently!

Okay so I already mentioned to @prime-pulse that I think it would be really funny if when they’re all dropping out of the plane onto the island to hunt Nya, Chen didn’t add any extra parachutes for Clouse. So when it gets down to the last parachute, the only ones left without on are Clouse, Garmadon, and Lloyd. Naturally, it turns into a free for all. Garmadon is fighting Lloyd to get him to take the parachute, Lloyd is fighting Garmadon to take the parachute, Clouse is fighting both of them for the parachute, etc.

I want to have lots of Garmadad and Garmason angst with them now being pitted against each other and Garmadon dealing with this new chaotic power that encourages him to fight and get involved in conflict when he really doesn’t want to fight anymore, but so far most of the AU is just season 4 except Garmadon and Clouse are duking it out in the background the whole time (well more than usual for that season anyway).

One thing Leaf and I wanted to make a comic about is Clouse (unknowingly) being the buffer between Garmadon and Lloyd being pitted against each other because every time Chen turns his back, Clouse is rearranging the fights so that he and Garmadon are opponents. Chen probably noticed after like the 10th time and is just like…. Well I wanted drama and to create strain in the father-son relationship, but this is so much better

Hmmmm another thing I want to be apart of it is maybe some Clouse angst? Like towards the season finale (this is @prime-pulse’s idea btw) Chen kind of lumps Clouse in with the other elemental masters and betrays him (cue Garmadon dragging Clouse kicking and screaming into a redemption arc and by redemption arc I mean becoming the weird uncle who only appears during family reunions and reads in the corner the whole time)

I would also want to explore Clouse vs. Garmadon fighting styles. Garmadon practices the art of the silent fist, but Clouse is freakishly fast and strong, not to mention his dark magic. Add in the fact that Garmadon’s powers feed on conflict and hatred and he could potentially exhaust himself quicker while refusing to fight because of that, etc, etc.

Honestly at this point I’m just throwing everything at the wall and I don’t really have a plot. I would absolutely love to finesse the story and possibly make an Elemental Fighters AU ask blog, but right now motivation has been in low supply and I got kneecapped by a new fandom, so I hesitate to do that in fear of creating an ask blog, posting 1 or 2 things and then just vanishing. But feel free to send in asks because I still have a lot of Thoughts about this AU and I would love to share!

(Oh and I should add that when Leaf and I first thought of this it was seriously just Garmadon and Clouse throwing hands every ten seconds, but then @keliharuza opened my eyes to the Garmafam angst! Thank you, it’s really helped the AU grow)

#ninjago #frost screams into the abyss #ninjago sensei garmadon #clouse von haust #lloyd garmadon #Elemental Fighters AU

[blade-liger-4ever]

G.I. Joe: Resolute Review

So, this is my first time watching a G.I. Joe film all the way through, folks, so expect both good points, brutal honesty, and a tad bit of biased thoughts.  I’ll begin with what I enjoyed, what didn’t work, and what was absolutely wrong.

What Was Good - The Animation

I mean seriously, just look at this stuff (more under the cut).

The animation is drop-dead GORGEOUS, and the designs of the Joes are so faithful that it would make the MCU look like low budget cosplayers.

Heck, even Cobra’s redesigns were done with care!

It’s truly mouthwatering animation, with all the characters looking just fi -

......Okay Zartan looks like a bleached turd, but he’s the only character whose design I wish had been scrapped and redone.  All in all, though, the animation is top notch, and I would dearly love to see more shows animated in such a style.

The Voice Acting

This one was honestly a bit of a mixed bag, and I’ll explain.  Because the studio wanted to save on money, they only hired four voice actors: Steve Blum, Charlie Adler, Eric Bauza, and Grey Delisle.  Due to this budget constraint, dialogue for multiple characters was cut and switched around, leaving us with silent cameos for numerous characters, including some who hardly got any time in the original cartoon.

cough Airborne cough cough

Now don’t get me wrong, I love hearing these guys in animation as much as the next fanboy, and they all managed to make their characters sound relatively distinct.

Relatively.

Charlie Adler, as always, gave a great many performances, and I had to double check to make sure he was the voice behind Gung-Ho in addition to Flint.  Eric Bauza was similarly outstanding, and I am truly amazed that he pulled off such an authentic Scottish accent for Destro.  But while they came off well, the performances of Steve Blum and Grey Delisle were...unfortunately lacking.

While their acting as Duke and Scarlett was excellent, their performances for the rest of their characters was spotty.  Outside of the Baroness, Grey Delisle wasn’t very effective in differentiating her roles, and the Baroness only skates by because of the accent.  Dial-Tone could have easily been mistaken for Scarlett, and Cover Girl sounded like Scarlett but with that missing Southern twang.

Steve Blum, while a superb actor who infuses his characters with his very being, is painfully recognizable.  His Ripcord sounds like Duke but with his voice pitched to sound younger, while Zartan sounds more slithery and Australian, but trust me when I say the difference falls short once you hear Duke speaking literal seconds after Zartan makes his evil speech.  That said, Blum’s Mississippi dialect was convincing - so much so that I mentally did a double take when I heard Roadblock speak for the first time.  Bravo, sir.

What Didn’t Work - The Arashikage Subplot

Look, I love my American Ninja as much as anyone else, but with an already decent plot with Cobra’s Particle Cannon (don’t worry, Geno Saurer, you’re still the best), the story involving the famed ninjas was truly unnecessary.  About fifteen minutes of the film is devoted to Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow’s feud, and while that precious time was better spent and more faithful than the Snake Eyes film, it was still a clear attempt at fanservice.  Now I’m not finished with Storm Shadow yet, so expect more on that later.

Zartan’s Presence and Sudden Death

Seriously?  You give the world renowned assassin who killed the freaking Hard Master less than five minutes of screen time and off him practically immediately?  Without it being at the hand of Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow?

Really, Zartan’s presence was so last minute and left field.  His role could’ve easily been handed off to Firefly, who got a silent cameo, and it would’ve worked better.

Cobra Commander’s Escape (image below is fan-made)

While I do appreciate how menacing CC is here, having him mysteriously evade death from a Particle Cannon aimed directly at him while trapped inside a super bunker was severely unfulfilling.  If you’re gonna make him a complete monster, then have the decency to kill him off for real, people!  Ugh....

What was Wrong - The Overhauling of Established Character Traits

inhales deeply

Alright, for those of you who don’t know, Storm Shadow was never as vile as they portrayed him in Resolute.  In the original comics, Storm Shadow was training to be a ninja alongside Snake Eyes when Zartan, hired by Cobra Commander, killed the Hard Master using one of Storm Shadow’s arrows.  Storm Shadow was thought to be the killer when he was seen escaping the scene, when in actuality he was attempting to hunt down the real murderer.

Framed for murder and seeing a nearby Cobra jet, Storm Shadow joined Cobra in order to find the real killer and clear his name.  What Resolute gave us was an evil man with no honor and no sense of familial bonds - a very obvious step away from his previous portrayals, and an outright slap in the face to his traditional characterization.

Roadblock suffered too, though not nearly as much as poor Storm Shadow.  Roadblock was originally conceived as a gentle soul who is a master chef and the overall most cheerful man on the team.  Here, he’s far more serious and growly; now while I’m willing to chalk that up as a result of Cobra killing over ten million people, that does not excuse the frightening visual of Roadblock shooting Cobra soldiers while laughing like a maniac.  I like Blood Knights, but there’s a reason they’re separate from the Gentle Giant trope, and I will not stand by and let people get away with exchanging two totally different archetypes and expecting the audience to be unbothered by it.

Introducing the Characters

If it weren’t for my previous knowledge of the franchise, I wouldn’t have had a clue as to who the characters were.  The Joes aren’t subtly introduced like they were in Renegades - they’re just there, and it’s like the writers are expecting their viewers to be G.I. Joe fans specifically.  When you tell a story with any previously established franchise, you have to make it work for all movie-goers/readers/etc, not dump it on them and expect people to figure it out on their own.

The Sour Tone

While a franchise featuring war shouldn’t be as juvenile as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero occasionally was, the show made an impact because while it had serious moments and episodes (There’s No Place Like Springfield, anybody?), its characters weren’t stone-faced about their situation.  They faced death on a daily basis, and it was their willingness to smile in its outraged face that made them memorable.

Because of this, the Joes were allowed to be approachable, so that when someone like Gung-Ho made a crack about Cobra troops, it made the characters endearing and taught the kids watching to stand up in the face of danger not with a Clint Eastwood glare, but with a smile and quip to show that they wouldn’t bend to the enemy’s whims.  Resolute clearly tries to copy the war films of the early 2000′s, and it only serves to undermine what could’ve been a splendid movie.

Conclusion

Despite these flaws, G.I. Joe: Resolute is a good watch.  It’s not the best, but it is far more considerate of its source material than its live-action counterparts.  If you wish to watch something with G.I. Joe in its title, a low budget war film, or just something with good acting/animation, then I recommend Resolute.  Until next time -

“YOOOOO, JOE!!!!”

#gi joe #gi joe resolute #gi joe airborne #gi joe flint #gi joe lady jaye #gi joe scarlett #gi joe wild bill #gi joe ripcord #gi joe roadblock #gi joe gung ho #gi joe dial tone #gi joe duke #gi joe doc #gi joe bazooka #gi joe stalker #gi joe beach head #gi joe snake eyes #gi joe storm shadow #cobra #cobra commander #destro #baroness #zartan #gi joe tunnel rat

[misplacedgamer]

MHA Chapter 320: DvK3, the Initial Deku/Kacchan Fallout, and Friendship

!!SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 319 , FYI!!

So it looks like we are in fact getting an upgraded version of DvK3 next chapter (Deku vs the Dekubowl, very nice~). Assuming Aizawa is not hiding somewhere where Deku can't see and they are actually going to duke it out, here's a theory on what's going to play out thematically during the fight (spoilers: it involves baby Deku/Kacchan feels and crippling inferiority complexes).

First off, I've always been a little suspicious of how exactly Deku and Bakugo stopped being friends. The justification we're given in the manga is that Bakugo was so PO'd at Deku for acting like a hero, despite not having a quirk and despite Bakugo not even being hurt that he fell in the river, that he just up and rage quit their friendship. Chronologically, if I'm remembering it right, the next time we see Deku and Bakugo together is when Deku's watching him beat up some fourth graders.

But honestly, that does not make any sense to me. Deku, just like Bakugo, has always been a stubborn little shit, so if Bakugo just stopped talking to him, there's no way Deku would just go along with it. He'd definitely try to fix things, which we haven't seen yet. Also, next time we see them together, Deku knows to hide while he's watching Bakugo, so he's either been severely warned or already been caught once.

Also, what kind of four year old already has an inferior superiority complex that high? If they were late grade school age I'd buy it way more, but four year olds don't hold grudges like that. This one is probably just an exaggeration for the story though, and I do not want to open the can of worms that is Mitsuki Bakugo, so I'll just move on from it

Secondly, most of Bakugo and Deku's significant moments in the manga have had flashbacks. Both DvKs and the fight with All Might had a flashback to them as babies, and Bakugo's self sacrifice was preceded by an extended training flashback where Bakugo semi opens up about his feelings towards Deku. Hell, even the BKDK movie itself Heroes Rising had flashbacks to baby Kacchan while Deku was narrating why Bakugo deserved OFA. So basically, whenever there is a super emotional moment (which I'm sure the Dekubrawl is going to be), we tend to get baby flashbacks

Third, this chapter is a parallel to Deku's situation in the first few chapters of the manga. Starting out, Deku had no friends (not even Bakugo). No one wanted him around, but more than that no one ever took him seriously. The only person in the first chapter that we see give Deku any kind of encouragement (except for All Might) was a random passerby on the street who didn't know a thing about him. Butmnow Deku has a whole class full of friends who not only respect him, but love him enough to chase him down and save him from himself, and leading that charge is the very boy who one year ago was so afraid of being weak that he tormented his quirkless childhood friend.

Deku is also in a very similar spot that Bakugo was in the first chapter: riddled with self doubt and anxiety. Deku is pushing everyone that actually gives a damn away the same as Bakugo, only reinforced with the knowledge that a lot of his friends almost died (which Deku absolutely blames himself for). Now it's Bakugo's turn to rescue Deku.

So here's where I'm going with this: I think we're going to see the Deku/Kacchan fallout interwoven throughout this next fight, however many chapters it takes. These chapters are going to focus on how far Deku has really come, and how foolish he'd be to throw it all away now, and its going to have the Deku/Kacchan "breakup" as the counterpoint parallel. I think we'll also see some parallels with the sludge monster attack, and I'm hoping Bakugo gets to pull the "you looked like you could use saving" reverse card, I would die.

Alternatively, we will get a proper DvK3 after this fight and some simmer (kind of like how we had to wait until after the provisional license exam to unpack the events of Bakugo's kidnapping), and we'll see all of this then.

Or I'm reading way too much into this and this is a battle shonen, not a drama manga for talking xD

#bnha theories #mha theories #bnha meta #mha meta #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha 319 #izuku midoriya #midoriya izuku #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bakudeku #bkdk #katsudeku #dekubowl #dekubrawl #i may or may not have even more thoughts for a separate post #it'll be much shorter though #please come cry with me #these chapters will destroy me #my ask box is open

[walkerismychoice]

Queen of My Heart - Chapter 38 (The End!)

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake X MC, Liam X Olivia, Hana X OC Lydia

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The show comes to and end, and Riley contemplates her future

Author’s Note: I can’t believe I’ve finally brought this series to an end. There was quite a long time I thought I may never finish. I want to thank all the readers and friends who’ve read and encouraged me along the way. I want to especially thank @debramcg1106 as of late for helping me work through the ending and pushing me to finish it out. This is the technical end of the story, but I do have an epilogue planned as well.

Tag List: @khakie4 @dreadpirateemma @ritachacha @blackcoffee85 @choices-fanatic @boneandfur @butindeed @simplyaiden-blog @bobasheebaby @traeumerinsworld @theroyalweisme @umccall71 @lizeboredom @debramcg1106 @enmchoices @withice @viktoriapetit @mfackenthal @drakesfiance @drakelover78 @speedyoperarascalparty @silviasutton1989 @krisnicjack @devineinterventions2 @choiceswreckedme @notoriouscs @blackcatkita @hamalu @akrenich @drakewalkerfantasy @jamielea81 @andy-loves-corgis @jlouise88 @jovialyouthmusic @sleepwalkingelite @i-miss-trr @dragonball-luver @gkittylove99 @lovingchoices14

Word Count: 2230

Queen of My Heart Chapter Index

Due to everything that transpired, filming of the finale was delayed two weeks. Riley was grateful for the time and hardly left Drake’s side during his recovery. He was sent back to the palace after a couple days, and Riley had to convince him that whiskey was not a suitable replacement for the antibiotics and pain medication the doctor prescribed. Reluctantly he obliged. He worked with physical therapy, and by the end of those two weeks, you’d have hardly known he’d been injured at all.

Olivia was salty her ball had been ruined, but the production staff made up for it, giving her and Liam an overnight filmed at Olivia’s northern Lythikos retreat. She was still worried the country would favor Riley with Liam, but Kat assured Olivia between her heroic actions, personal growth, and some favorable editing, it would be hard for most people not to be on her side.

As for Madeleine, it was still unclear if she would be charged criminally or would be incompetent to stand trial due to her mental health, but either way, she wouldn’t be a danger to anyone for quite some time. It was questionable if Jo’s involvement in the whole thing broke any laws. She wasn’t Cordonian, so she couldn’t be charged with treason for skirting security and endangering the life of the crown prince, but authorities were looking to see if there was anything they could make stick. At the very least she was blacklisted and would never work in television again.

So finally, on a calm, clear, day, there was only one obstacle left. Riley met with Liam, adorned in a stunning, body-hugging, Swarovski crystal filled dress, to put on the performance of a lifetime and act as if he’d shattered her heart. Of course, it wasn’t that easy. There were a couple of takes where neither of them could keep a straight face followed few that were unbelievably dramatic, but ultimately Riley was able to tap into her vulnerability and the tragedy she had faced to bring genuine emotion and tears to light. It didn’t matter that it was unrelated to what was happening in the scene, it was real. Kat said it was perfect, and Liam was free to propose to Olivia.

-----

Now that all is said and done, who will Liam choose to be his future Queen? Will it be the fierce Duchess Olivia, or the plucky newcomer Riley? Stay tuned for the finale of Queen of My Heart.”

Maxwell draped his arm around Riley’s shoulder. “What do you think, sis? How did I do on my television debut.”

Maxwell, Bertrand, Savannah, Hannah, Lydia, Liam, Olivia, Riley, and Drake were all huddled in the palace screening room to watch the finale as it aired.

Just about anyone would have been an improvement over Chad,” Riley teased, ”but the squid suit was definitely a nice touch. Your delivery was great, but did you have to call me plucky?”

“You know I had to play it cool,” Maxwell explained. “Plucky is good, but not over the top. Don’t want anyone thinking I’m playing favorites because you’re my sister.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “The suggested ‘noble newcomer’ would have been sufficient.”

“It was a stylistic choice.” Maxwell made a gesture with his hand indicating a mock hair flip.

"Ugh, enough about Maxwell," Olivia groaned. "I'm ready to get to the good part. Can we just fast-forward through any mushy Liam and Riley stuff? Nobody needs to see that."

"I second that." Drake raised his hand in rare agreement with Olivia.

Liam just shook his head. "I know nobody watches live network television anymore, so you must have forgotten how this works. There's no fast-forwarding. Not even through commercials."

"That's fine with me." Lydia chimed in. "More time for making out."

"Lydia!" Hannah's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.

Lydia pecked her on the lips. "Sorry babe. You're just too damn cute when you blush."

Hannah remained quiet but her smile gave her away. Lydia, with her outgoing, bold, and slightly unpredictable personality, was the perfect complement to Hannah being so shy, proper, and focused. They brought out the best in each other, and the difference in Hannah between when Riley met her until now was night and day.

The friends watched the show and Riley only cringed at herself in a few places, which was much less than she thought she would. Things did get a bit awkward during the montage of kissing scenes between Riley and Liam, and Maxwell and Bertrand made a show of covering their eyes for the steamier parts. They all laughed inappropriately when Liam dumped Riley since they knew it wasn't real. And then finally when Liam proposed to Olivia, everyone cheered.

Riley thought of her friends and family at home. She pictured aunt Susan, Sarah, and Daniel all rooting for her and how disappointed they must have been that she "lost." She couldn't wait to tell them, however, she hadn't lost at all.

"Wow, Livvy." Drake quipped, bringing Riley out of her deep thoughts. "How much did you have to pay them to give you such a flattering edit?"

Olivia threw a pillow at his head which he deftly dodged. "Fuck off, Walker. You were so desperate to get on the show, you leapt in front of a bullet."

"Now, now children." Liam said in a mock scolding tone. "Let's all play nice."

"Yes, father," Drake and Olivia replied in unison, causing laughter to erupt around the room.

Riley still didn't have all the answers about what her future would hold, but she had found her people. Where she was in that moment was where she needed to be.

Savannah yawned. "It's getting late. We should probably go and relieve the sitter." Riley hasn't wanted to pry into Savannah and Bertrand's relationship, but they were working together to parent Bartie and things seemed to be falling into place for them.

"Yes, yes." Bertrand agreed. "Time is money!"

"Oh my god, Bertrand." Savannah rolled her eyes. "Life isn't all about money."

"She’s right." Maxwell propped his arm on Savannah's shoulder. "Besides, now that the show is over, we'll be getting some money, and Kat said if viewers responded well to me, they would probably offer to extend my contract in the franchise. By the looks of these tweets, I'm going to be rolling in dough. 'That Maxwell guy is so hot...ridiculously funny...just what the show needed.' Should I read more?

"Please no." Bertrand groaned. "We can talk finances later. Goodnight, all."

As the rest of the crowd dwindled, Liam asked Drake and Riley to stay behind. He kissed Olivia and promised to join her when the conversation was through.

"So what's up?" Drake got right to the point once only the three of them remained.

Liam cleared his throat. "Well as you know, I highly value your loyalty to the crown."

"Heh." Drake let out a terse laugh. "I don't really give a fuck about the crown, but I do care about you."

"In any case, you take your job very seriously and I could see you as head of the guard one day, once Bastien retires." Liam paused before continuing. "However, I do have another proposition for you."

Drake raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Go on."

"How would you like to be the head of Valtoria?" Liam asked expectantly.

Drake' eyes narrowed in contemplation. "I thought Valtoria was unoccupied. Is there a new Duke or Duchess there now that needs a security detail?"

"No, no." Liam laughed. "Well, there could be. That's what I'm trying to ask you. I would like to give Valtoria to you."

"No fucking way. You have to be kidding me. Did you sign up for some royal version of a prank show now?" Drake scanned the room as if searching for hidden cameras.

"I'm serious, Drake. I think you would make a fantastic duke."

Drake scoffed. "I'm a commoner who despises most nobles and everything the monarchy stands for."

"That's exactly why you'd be perfect for the role." Liam explained. "Cordonia needs a fresh perspective - someone who can resonate with the people the monarchy serves. Just think, you could have a real voice in creating change. I don't want to rule like my father has and his father before. I want the people to have the representation they deserve, and you are a key to that."

Drake sighed deeply. "I don't know Li. Even if I could do this - if I wanted to - what makes me worthy? What's everyone going to say when they find out you gave an average dude the title of Duke just because he's your best friend?"

"I'll tell them that Drake Walker is anything but average. He's smart, capable, and fiercely loyal. He's saved my life more times than I count and has more integrity than anyone I know. Public policy can be learned, but these qualities cannot be taught. He may not be noble by blood, but he is my family, and he belongs."

'Wow, Liam." Drake ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say."

"You're quiet over there." Liam directed at Riley. "What do you think?"

"Me?!" Riley had been as shocked by this as Drake, and she didn't know what to think. This was about Drake, not her. Did her opinion really matter? "I, uh.... think this is really Drake's decision."

Drake took Riley's hands in his. "But it's yours too. I mean, if we are going to be together..."

"Oh, well..." How was Riley supposed to help Drake decide such a life altering thing when she didn't even have her own life sorted out?

Drake didn't leave her fumbling for too long. "Liam, I really don't know if either of use is equipped to answer this question right now. It's a very generous offer, and the fact that I'm not totally shutting you down for suggesting such a ridiculous thing as me being a Duke should tell you I'm genuinely willing to entertain the idea."

Liam chuckled. "I completely understand. This life is new to both of you in different ways, and to navigate a new relationship on top of all that is a lot to ask. I'm in no hurry to fill the vacancy. Consider it an open-ended invitation. I trust that you'll be ready to make your decision long before the public pressures me into making a new appointment."

"Thanks, Liam." Drake gave him hug and patted him on the back. "Now get back to your fiancé before she blames me for keeping you too long."

-----

Back in her palace guestroom, Riley nestled into Drake, her head resting on his chest. "It's been quite a night, huh?

"You could say that again." Drake pulled her tighter against him.

"I kind of feel like we're moving so fast, we're skipping steps - like we're being asked to decide the rest of our lives before we even know what we want to do tomorrow." Riley knew nobody was outright asking for an immediate decision, but she felt the weight of everyone's expectations. Whether she stayed in Cordonia or went back home, she'd probably be disappointing someone.

"Who says we have to?" Drake asked. "You heard Liam. He doesn't need an answer right away. I Know you haven't decided what you want, and I sure as hell don't know what I'm going to do yet. Why don't we take some time together to just...be. Do normal couple things and see where the relationship takes us."

"Normal couple things... I mean I don't know how I can go back to my normal peasant life after attending weekly balls dressed in couture gowns," Riley teased, "but I think I could make that sacrifice for you, my commoner boyfriend."

"Hey, watch who you are calling commoner." Drake pinned Riley down and tickled her sides until she begged him to stop, and he collapsed beside her again. "I just may outrank you soon if I so choose."

Riley laced her fingers through Drake's. "It's crazy to think how our lives have changed in a few short months. I don't think I could have made it through all of this without you, and not just because you kept literally saving my life."

"You may not have taken a bullet for me, but you've saved me too. For once in my life, I see multiple paths with meaning and purpose. I've seen so much of myself reflected in you, but it id the version of me I want to be, not the one I was. You've shown me trials and hardships don't have to make you bitter, and that you don't have to fit the cookie cutter mold to find your place here... Oh, God, listen to me. What have you done to me Bennett?" Drake shuddered in mock disgust.

Riley softly pressed her lips to his and pulled back with a smirk. "I don't think I can take all the credit, or the blame as you might put it. But enough talk about the future. You said we should focus on the now, and right now all I need is you."

"Well then, your wish is my command." Drake pulled Riley tight to him and then they lost themselves in each other, completely unencumbered by any decisions about their future. Those could wait for another day.

#playchoices fanfic #drake x mc #drake walker #the royal romance #choices trr #qomh #my fic

[hlizr50]

Update: Revelations

Chapter 3: Midnight Conversations

Finally an update for Revelations, where Hawke finally finds out about Poppy's experiences with Lord Mazeen and gets big ragey mad about it (because that's what we live for).

Read on AO3

Hawke stalked down the hall mentally checking off the list of things he needed to address with the fire-haired woman he had just caught on the Rise. Gods, where to even begin?

How did you learn to fight?

Why did you learn to fight?

Why were you on the Rise?

Are you absolutely mad?

Do you have no sense of self-preservation?

Do you own no proper clothing so you aren’t fighting Craven in a nightdress and satin slippers?

He’d taken a few minutes to rinse the blood from his armor and his face and out of his hair. The guard had begun his trek back to the Maiden’s chambers as soon as he’d stowed his broadsword.

Yes, they still had so much to discuss. Those questions – and others – swam through his mind as he reached the heavy oak doors. Using a surprising amount of restraint he raised a fist and rapped on the wood. After a few moments the door cracked open, revealing the lady’s maid – Tawny.

“The Maiden is sleeping –“

“Doubtful,” Hawke interrupted, amused at the untruth. He lowered his chin and gave the lady a pointed look, but she didn’t open the door wider. So he pushed through the opening, mouth quirking as Tawny stood agape. He kicked the door closed and fixed his gaze on Poppy, who’s jaw had also dropped in apparent astonishment. As if she should be surprised to see him there. “It’s time for that talk, Princess.”

The guard cast a glance toward Tawny, jerking his chin in the direction of the door. “Your services are no longer needed this evening.”

“You don’t have the authority to dismiss her!”

Hawke turned is gaze back to the Maiden whose pale cheeks and emerald eyes were alight with ire. He raised a brow. “I don’t? As your personal Royal Guard, I have the authority to remove any threats.” He barely suppressed a dark chuckle at the notion that Poppy’s lady’s maid could pose any real danger.

“Threats?” Tawny’s lips curled down. “I’m not a threat.”

“You pose the threat of making up excuses or lying on behalf of Penellaphe. Just like you said she was asleep when I know for a fact that she was on the Rise,” Hawke retorted. The maid inhaled sharply and whipped toward the Maiden.

“I have a feeling I’m missing an important piece of information,” she accused. An amused grin lifted the corner of Hawke’s lips.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you. And it wasn’t that important,” Poppy argued. Not that important? Oh how she wounded him.

He snorted. “I’m sure it was one of the most important things to have happened to you in a long time.”

“You have an over-inflated sense of involvement in my life if you really think that.”

“I think I have a good grasp on just how much of a role I play in your life,” Hawke deadpanned. Indeed. Her first kiss, the first time she’d even been touched by a man. But it was more than just the carnal urges that had brought them together that first night. He was, as far as he could tell, the only person who was willing to address what the Duke had been doing to her. He felt… drawn to her, felt a nearly overwhelming need to protect her inside this structure of stone and cruelty – one place where she was not able to protect herself.

“Doubtful.” She turned the word back on him and he could barely keep from rolling his eyes.

“I do wonder if you actually believe half the lies you tell.”

“I am not lying, thank you very much.” Gods, she was so stubborn.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Princess,” he breathed with a grin.

Poppy scowled. “Don’t call me that!” she exclaimed with a stomp of her foot. The guard lifted a brow at her, pouting his lips.

“Did that make you feel good?”

“Yes!” she cried. “Because the only other option is to kick you.”

There it was again, the need to fight roiling beneath her skin. That did something to him, sparking a flame deep in his belly. He chuckled. “So violent.”

“You shouldn’t be in here.”

“I’m your personal guard. I can be wherever I feel I am needed to keep you safe,” he stated. Hawke wished she weren’t so argumentative. He just wanted to talk to her, to understand her – dig deeper into her strength.

“And what do you think you need to protect me from in here?” She flung her arms out, gesturing to the empty room. “An unruly bedpost I might stub my toe on? Oh, wait, are you worried I might faint? I know how good you are at handling such emergencies.”

The Atlantian smirked. He knew she had been irritated that afternoon in the atrium, as the ladies in wait resorted to ever escalating heights of ridiculousness to garner his attention. He was like a shiny new toy, a handsome new Rise guard from the capital. If only Poppy knew that his attention was ever only centered on her.

“You do look a little pale. My ability to catch frail, delicate females may come in handy,” he countered, earning an enraged inhale. “But as far as I can determine, other than a random abduction attempt, you, Princess, are the greatest threat to yourself.”

“Well…” her lady’s maid drew out contemplatively. At least one of them was reasonable. “He kind of has a point there.”

“You’re absolutely no help,” Poppy spat.

Hawke softened his voice slightly, keeping his eyes fixed on her gaze that was green like Atlantian spring. “Penellaphe and I do need to speak. I can assure you that she is safe with me, and I’m sure that whatever I’m about to discuss with her, she’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Yes, she will, but that’s not nearly as entertaining as witnessing it.”

She was quite the spitfire, as well. The Maiden sighed.

“It’s okay, Tawny. I’ll see you in the morning.” She almost groaned.

Tawny was incredulous. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. I have a feeling that if you don’t leave he’s just going to stand there and drain precious air from my room –“

“While looking exceptionally handsome,” Hawke interjected. “You forgot to add that.” Poppy rolled her eyes, but her lady’s maid giggled.

“And I would like to get some rest before the sun rises,” she finished. Likely story that was, coming from the woman who had just left her bed to fight monsters on the city walls.

Tawny heaved an exasperated sigh. “Fine,” she muttered. Hawke glanced at her as she moved to leave. “Princess.”

His lips curled up in a devilish smile. Spitfire, indeed.

“Oh, my gods,” Poppy groaned. He waited for the lady’s maid to exit through the adjoining door before showing his delight.

“I like her.” Hawke grinned.

“Good to know. What is it you wish to talk about that couldn’t wait until the morning?”

As he looked back to her his breath caught. He’d always known that she was a lovely specimen, but seeing her before him in that thin nightgown and red hair unconfined and falling wildly above her shoulders. She truly was magnificent.

“You have beautiful hair,” he murmured. She just blinked, and he could see that she hadn’t been expecting that. He was glad to have been able to take her by surprise.

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Not exactly,” he shrugged and then allowed his eyes to very obviously roam over her barely-clothed body. The skin of her shoulders looked so soft, the dip at the base of her neck between her collar bones so inviting. The swells of her ample breasts were barely hidden, and the soft fabric clung loosely over her stomach and hips. And of course those pretty thighs and sculpted calves. She looked absolutely delectable, and the way the flush exploded over her flesh as she felt his gaze feel every curve caused his pants to tighten. She moved to grab the robe that was strewn across the bed and the corner of Hawke’s mouth curved devilishly.

And then she stopped, a challenge settling into those emerald pools as they met his. Ah, yes, she knew he’d already seen most of what her sleeping gown revealed, and a tremor of admiration rippled through him when she straightened, choosing not to hide herself from him.

“Was that all you were wearing under the cloak?” Hawke asked, balking at how utterly insane she must be. Truly.

“That’s none of your concern,” Poppy answered hotly.

“Feels like it should be.” His voice was raspier than he’d intended, throat tight from the vision before him. “I meant what I said that day. The Duke and the Lord told you that it was a lie, but it wasn’t. You are absolutely beautiful.” He noticed the widening of her eyes, the pace of her breathing increase. Again he had caught her off guard, although rage boiled through him with the knowledge that no one had allowed her to even consider the truth of her devastating beauty.

Poppy’s body seemed to sag all at once as she sighed and turned away from him, padding to one of the chairs by the fire. Hawke followed her with a burning gaze, unable to avoid how the slit in her nightgown revealed nearly her entire leg when she walked. Gods, she was going to be the end of him. He fucking knew it.

He followed and stood next to the chair across from her, watching as the reflection of the fire made her eyes appear to glow silver, how her body seemed to now bow into itself. She had fought so well – had knocked him on his ass – but it had only been two days since her punishment at the hands of Duke Teerman.

And Lord Mazeen.

The guard was determined that he would get answers this night. He would find out what the lord was doing in that room, what his interest in Poppy truly was. The oily, heavy feeling deep in his stomach told him that he wouldn’t like the answer.

But he knew he couldn’t just come out and ask, not considering how she’d try to deny the obvious torment even when he could see it with his own eyes and scent it on her skin. He would have to weave his way expertly through their conversation, through her defenses and over her walls.

“I’ve been thinking. About what you said.” Poppy turned her chin to him, the emeralds in her gaze finding him as he remained standing. Hawke was stunned that she had initiated the conversation, and even more taken aback by her quiet, steady tone. It was so unlike her.

“What I said?” he urged before gesturing to the chair. “May I?”

“You told me to think about the things they did. The Duke, the Ascended. To trust my instincts. And I,” she paused, turning her stare back into the fire, “I think Lord Mazeen had something to do with Malessa’s death.”

Hawke had settled into the chair, forearms resting on his knees, when his eyes snapped up. “Why do you think that?”

“He had… he had just come into the hall from that direction. Before she was discovered. He smelled of jasmine, and there was a petal left there. And he seemed… enthralled. He wouldn’t stop staring at her, with her skirts hiked up and her corset pulled down.” Poppy continued boring her eyes into the flames, as if the fire might give her the answers. He observed her with narrowing eyes, absorbing every word, every implication. “It felt so wrong, the way he stared at her. Nobody did anything to shield her, to give her even the smallest shred of dignity in death. But Lord Mazeen… he couldn’t seem to look away.” She looked down at her hands, then, alabaster fingers fidgeting in her lap. Hawke looked down at them, too, carefully considering her words. And only one thing continued to echo in his mind as the silence around them seemed to swallow him whole. One thought that needed only a spark to ignite a killing rage, one question that needed to be answered even though he knew it might boil him alive to hear it.

“How do you know what he smelled like?” Ice laced the words, a quiet promise of torment and death.

Hawke’s voice was usually warm, mirthful. He enjoyed their arguing, liked getting a rise out of her. But this question… the answer that could confirm that the lord – with his reputation for lust and degradation – was close enough to Poppy so she could smell him…

His shrewd eyes noticed everything, like the predator he had trained himself to be since his return to Solis. Her fingers stilled, jaw clenched, shoulders tensed. The redhead was immediately on guard, and Hawke understood with disturbing clarity that the lord would be a difficult subject.

“Poppy.” He whispered a warning. He could see the noiseless tells as she was trying to work through an explanation to feed him, to placate him. With a snarl he rose and strode the short distance between them. Grasping her chin between his thumb and finger he jerked her head to face him. “Don’t you dare lie to me.” Those green eyes flashed in promising defiance, then guttered to a dull, fathomless dark. And for a moment the Maiden before him was just a girl – lost, confused, alone, abused.

Gods, that look broke his heart.

Hawke released her chin and lowered to his knees in front of her, their eyes still locked on the other’s. He hesitated for a breath before reaching to cover her hands with his.

“I swore to protect you, Poppy. But if I am to do that, I need you to be completely honest with me. I can’t protect you if I don’t know what or who is causing you harm.”

She laughed bitterly, turning her gaze back to the flames. “Nobody can protect me from the Duke. From Lord Mazeen. The power they wield, the way they manipulate. I told you before – there’s nothing to be done.”

“Just because nobody has protected you doesn’t mean that I cannot,” he urged, nearly growling with her unwitting admission that the lord was yet another danger. His heart pounded in his chest as he murmured desperately, “What has he done to you?”

He could feel her racing heartbeat in her fingers, could hear it echoing through the hanging silence. His grip tightened, and Poppy’s spring green eyes slid to him.

“Please, Poppy. Let me help you.”

He was in too deep with her, he knew. But there was something about her, something he couldn’t understand. Sure, he could write it off as a decent man seeing a woman who needed help, who wouldn’t stand by while someone innocent was mistreated.

But it was more than that.

And after he’d seen her cutting down Craven on the Rise? A goddess of violence and beauty. He was irrevocably tangled in her web.

“The night Malessa died, Lord Mazeen stopped me in the hall coming from that direction. I had been on my way to the garden with Rylan, but he said he wanted to speak to me. Privately.” Poppy walked through her story with firm determination, nary a tremble detectable in her voice. “He pulled me into an alcove to the side of the hall and began his games. He knew that I knew that I didn’t have a choice. As the Maiden I am not supposed to linger or speak with anyone, but it would also be disrespectful not to participate in the conversation. One word to the Duke for either offense and…”

“And you get called to his study to satisfy his sadistic whims,” he finished the sentence after she trailed off, earning a terse nod. He hated it, hated them. He would kill the Duke for what he’d done, as slowly and painfully as he could.

“Lord Mazeen was taking the opportunity to… remind me… that his position was such that he was above reproach. He… he lifted his hand to my face, touched my cheek, my lips, down over my jaw and neck and… lower.”

Hawke breathed a curse, rage coiling tightly into a spring poised to snap. He squeezed her hands tighter but then let go, fearful that his grip may become painful as his ire grew. Instead he gripped the cushion on either side of her knees, trying to reign in his immortal strength as he kept his gaze fixed on eyes of shimmering green. Her throat bobbed.

“I tried to excuse myself and leave, but he pulled me back to him. His hand was still at my chest, my back against his front. I could… feel him.” Poppy took a deep breath, as if to steady herself. “I always knew he delighted in making me uncomfortable, but I don’t think I realized…”

She shook her head, finally breaking the link between their eyes as her lashes lowered. “That’s how I know he smelled of jasmine. I was able to run away when someone screamed – when they found Malessa.”

Hawke looked down at his hands, knuckles white has his fingers dug into the plush forest green upholstery. Would Lord Mazeen have dared to go further? It wasn’t much of a leap from his slimy touch to further violation. His vision blurred, his chest a chasm of disturbing realizations and maddening what-ifs. He only knew that he was still breathing because he could hear it – labored, sawing breaths. He grounded himself by focusing on her face – the raised pink skin of the Craven scars, the full luscious lips, the smooth porcelain of her flesh that he reached out to touch. Fingers traced over her cheek and jaw before pushing gently under her chin, her eyes raising to look back at him.

“And what about when you are summoned by the Duke. Is he always there, too?”

Poppy’s breathing stuttered, eyes widening as they lined with silver.

“I told you I heard everything, Poppy,” he murmured as his thumb drifted over her skin. “What was he doing there?”

When a tear escaped over her lashes, it was like the world shifted under his feet. When had everything become so fucked up and twisted? He’d always known the Ascended were monsters, but knowing that those two beasts took such great pains to back the Maiden into a corner, with no possible way to escape their sadistic attention… It made his stomach roil.

Slowly, so she would not be caught off guard, he lifted his fingers from her chin to wipe away the droplet that slowly fell over her cheek. Taking a calming breath, he encouraged, “You can trust me, Princess. I know it’s hard to do, and I know that I have only been at your side for a few days. But it is abhorrent that nobody in this Godsdamned castle has tried to shield you from these predators and I will not let it stand a moment longer. I swear it to you, Penellaphe. With my sword and my life, I vow to protect you. Not the Maiden,” he spat, “not the Duke or the Duchess or any of the lords and ladies, not this Godsforsaken castle or anyone else in it. I said your name. I promised you.”

She stared at him, expression calculating, weighing his declaration. Hawke pulled his hand away, resting it against her knee. He braced himself as she swallowed, preparing to speak.

“Lord Mazeen began taking a special interest in Duke Teerman’s lessons a few years ago. He likes to watch.” The redhead paused, gaze returning to her hands. She had started wringing her fingers again when she continued, “The Duke requires me to disrobe to my waist. He prefers to strike bare skin.”

Holy fucking gods. Hawke forced himself to breathe, keeping his eyes trained on her reddening cheeks and dreading that she had more still to tell.

“I lean against his desk to support myself, and in my state of undress I will hold myself up with one arm and try to cover myself with the other as much as I can,” her voice cracked. He could feel the heat wafting from her skin, face flushing with shame. He never could have prepared himself for how complete her degradation had been at the Duke’s cruel hands. “The last time,” she whispered, “it wasn’t enough for Lord Mazeen to just sit there. He… stood in front of me. Leered at me. He pulled my arm away from my chest and held my hands to the desk… so he could look his fill as the Duke took the cane to my back.”

Hawke was frozen, staring at Poppy’s bowed head. He could smell the salt of her tears as they silently coursed down her cheeks, glowing gold in the firelight. Gritting his teeth, nostrils flaring, a snarl rose from his throat. His head was empty of all thoughts, save for the need to massacre the monster. But the shimmering of her crimson locks grounded him, and he lowered his forehead to her knees as he struggled to calm his racing, raging heart. Air hissed from between his teeth, the sound of his ragged breaths roaring in his ears, and he could feel his fingernails clawing through the fabric that covered her cushioned seat.

“Poppy,” he groaned desperately. “I need you to talk. About anything else. I need – I need to find a way to calm down.” The guard’s shoulders tremored with coiled rage.

“Hawke?” Her soft voice pierced through the night. “I don’t understand.”

“The only thing keeping me from finding that worthless pile of refuse and tearing him limb from limb is knowing that I can’t protect you if I’m swinging from the gallows,” he seethed through clenched teeth. “Please, Poppy. I need–“

Any remaining air whooshed out of his lungs when he felt timid, trembling fingers combing through the ends of his hair. Immediately his muscles relaxed, shoulders bowing in. When he lifted his gaze she snatched her hand back, cradling it to her chest.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped. The corner of his mouth tipped up.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

Poppy’s breath caught, but her eyes stuck on his. Green, like an Atlantian spring. They were beautiful and clear and shining. Hawke felt like he couldn’t look away, and he wondered for a moment – maybe even hoped – if she felt just as entranced as he did.

“What is?”

“How it feels like I’ve known you longer. You feel that, too,” he answered. That gentle tickle of her fingers in his hair, a caress of care and a promise of… whatever this was. It was as if they had always shared such familiarity. But then her hands dropped into her lap, eyes following. “Why were you on the Rise?”

“Wasn’t it obvious?”

Hawke’s grin grew. “Your motivation wasn’t. At least, tell me that. Tell me what drove you to go up there to fight them.” She paused, casting her stare into the fire as she contemplated.

“The scar on my face. Do you know how I got it?” she asked.

Of course he did. It had been one of the many, many things Vikter had seen fit for him to know. “Your family was attacked by some Craven when you were a child.”

“Vikter filled you in?” Poppy smiled slightly, but it didn’t crawl into her eyes. “It’s not the only scar.”

Hawke didn’t respond to that, but he mentally scowled. More scars meant even less perfection, more opportunities for the Duke and the rest of the Ascended to remind her that she was somehow less. It grated at him.

The Maiden told the story of her family. How the town only had a short wall to protect them, but that it hadn’t seen Craven in decades. That seemed odd. And then how someone had somehow saved her and her brother.

“I woke up days later, back in the capital. Queen Ileana was by my side. She told me what had happened. That our parents were gone.”

He’d had to carefully school his features at the mention of the Blood Queen. To Poppy she had been a guardian, someone she could trust. To Hawke she had been a nightmare. He hoped to the gods that Poppy would understand one day. Regardless, he understood what it was to lose people that he loved. And for her to have been so young. It was truly tragic.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I truly am. It’s a miracle you survived.”

“The gods protected me. That’s what the Queen told me. That I was Chosen. I came to learn later that it was one of the reasons the Queen had begged my mother and father not to leave the safety of the capital. That… that if the Dark One became aware of the Maiden being unprotected, he’d send the Craven after me. He wanted me dead then, but apparently, he wants me alive now.” She laughed bitterly as Hawke quietly analyzed what she’d said. The implication of the Dark One in her family’s attack stood out to him, as he had never been able to control the Craven, much less send them to kill an innocent red-haired girl.

“What happened to your family is not your fault, and there could be any number of reasons for why they attacked that village,” he urged softly as he reached up to tuck a loose tendril of fire behind her ear. “What else do you remember?”

“No one… no one in that inn knew how to fight. Not my parents, none of the women, or even the men. They all relied on the handful of guards,” she explained. It wasn’t necessarily surprising – yet another way the Ascended were able to keep the mortals under their heel. “If my parents knew how to defend themselves, they could’ve survived. It might’ve been just a small chance, but one nonetheless.”

It made so much sense. So much so that Hawke scolded himself for not understanding sooner. “And you want that chance.”

“I won’t… I refuse to be helpless.”

“No one should be.”

And it struck him, then, the double meaning behind his reply. She had taken the steps to ensure that she could defend herself. She was highly skilled, enough to have knocked him on his ass. And brave to the point of recklessness. And yet, inside that hellish study, she may as well have been any lady in wait – with no skill or training or hope of escaping whatever the Duke planned for her. It was so, so wrong.

“You saw what happened tonight. They reached the top of the Rise. If one makes it over, more will follow. No Rise is impenetrable and even if it were, mortals come back from outside the Rise cursed. It happens more than people realize,” Poppy rambled. The guard tamed his expression, careful not to react to yet another unintended confession. He had heard rumors that the child of the gods would assist in providing a dignified passing to those who had been bitten. A day or two ago he never would have believed that it was the Maiden, that the chosen one would commit treason to ease the suffering of those cursed. But now… he truly wasn’t surprised. “At any moment, that curse could spread in this city. If I’m going down-“

“You’ll go down fighting,” he finished for her. When she nodded he mirrored it. “Like I said, you’re very brave.”

“I don’t think it’s bravery,” she muttered. “I think it’s… fear.”

“Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.” And he knew which one she was, without question. Hawke leaned back, settling himself to sit before her on the ornate rug. It took her longer than usual to respond.

“You sound so many years older than what you appear,” she answered quietly. Gods, if only she knew.

“Only half the time. You saved lives tonight, Princess.” He leaned his forearms upon his knees and peered up at her.

“But many died.”

“Too many,” he agreed. “The Craven are a never-ending plague.” Poppy sighed.

“As long as an Atlantian lives, there will be Craven.” It was all he could do not to roll his eyes. He would have to be as patient as he could for her to see the truth. But that didn’t mean he had to listen to the slander.

“That is what they say,” he answered dryly, turning golden eyes to the fireplace. “You said that more come back from outside the Rise cursed than people realize. How do you know that?”

“I’ve heard rumors,” she offered, voice slightly higher than normal. He could hardly suppress a grin. She really was a terrible liar.

“It’s not spoken about a lot, and when it is, it’s only whispered.” Hawke’s eyes drifted back to find blazing, defiant green.

“You’re going to need to be more detailed.”

He lifted a brow. He already had her backed into a corner, but if she insisted… “I’ve heard that the child of the gods has helped those who are cursed. That she has aided them, given them death with dignity.” The guard studied the Maiden, mussed hair waterfalling over her shoulders and burning against her ivory skin. Her body was rigid with tension, an easy indication that she had been caught. And yet all he could really think about was how her flesh would feel beneath his fingers, against his lips.

“Who has said such things?”

Hawke shrugged. “A few of the guards. I didn’t believe them at first, to be honest.” And that was the gods-honest truth.

“Well, you should’ve stuck with your initial reaction They’re mistaken if they think I would commit outright treason against the Crown,” Poppy huffed, earning a snort from her guard. She lifted a defiant eyebrow in question.

“You’re a terrible liar, Princess.” Indeed, it was any wonder she was ever able to placate the Duke and Duchess. He continued before she could argue, “And I understand why you would. Those men speak of you with such awe that before I even met you, I half expected you to be a child of the gods. They would never report you.” He wondered for a moment if there truly was more to her, somehow. That she could be beautiful and courageous and strong and also… more.

“That may be the case,” she retorted, “but you heard them talking about it. Others could hear them, as well.”

“Perhaps I should be clearer in what I said about hearing rumors. They were actually speaking to me,” Hawke explained, fixing her with a pointed golden stare. “Since I too have helped those who are cursed die with dignity. I did so in the capital and do so here, as well.” Her plump lips parted in surprise, and he desired so badly to touch them with his own.

“Those who come back cursed have already given all for the kingdom. Being treated as anything other than the heroes they are, and being dragged in front of the public to be murdered is the last thing they or their families should have to go through.” Hawke lifted himself from his seat on the floor, brushing invisible lint from his breeches as he basked in the light of the surprise shining in her emerald eyes. Rendered speechless. How unusual. “I’ve kept you up long enough.” With a dip of his chin he started toward the heavy wooden door. He had made it a few paces before her voice called to him.

“Can I ask you a question?”

He paused and turned back to her, but she was still facing the fire. All he could see was the fiery mane above the back of her chair.

“Of course.”

“I know that what Duke Teerman and Lord Mazeen do to me is wrong. I know that. And I know that I am trained, and that I could fight back – but I don’t, because it would be catastrophic for Vikter. But…” Her voice trailed off a moment as she seemed to search for words. “I… I could have stopped Lord Mazeen. I could have cut off his most precious, private possession when he tried to touch me. But I didn’t.” Another long, heavy pause. She turned her head so he could see her profile, a silhouette before the flames.

“Does that… what does that say about me?”

Hawke’s shoulders sagged, heart cracking yet again. “The only thing it says, Poppy, is that you are in an impossible situation. That you are locked so tightly in a cage that they have given you no hope for escape. And yet you still stretch your limbs to protest it, in your way, and with great and grave potential consequence. And that is extremely brave.” The guard ran a hand through his unruly dark hair. “And the fact that you bear those consequences – not willingly, but to protect someone you care about – is perhaps even more courageous. You should feel no shame for that.”

With a nod she turned back to the fire. He was hopeful that he had convinced her that it meant nothing beyond the notion that the Ascended were monsters, and that they did nothing but abuse her and use her as a symbol to keep the citizenry in their thrall.

“Get some rest, Princess.” His paces carried him to the door, and as it creaked open under his had he paused again. “And wear better shoes the next time you go out onto the Rise. And thicker clothing. Those slippers are likely to be the death of you, and that dress… the death of me.”

#FBAA #fbaa fanfic #poppycas #poppy balfour #casteel da'neer #hawke flynn #from blood and ash #fbaa fanfiction #ao3 #ao3fic #fanfiction

[leupagus]

It's the Mileage pt. 3, aka seriously Zach can't catch a break

More from the Twink Nightingale Verse (Nightentwink? Twinkengale?) because I'm waiting on betas for my next It's Complicated chapter and I might as well write this scene that I've been imagining in some form or another since Peter mentioned it back in The Hanging Tree:

*

Another problem I’d started to notice was how Tommy would sort of… randomly not be able to do the job. Or if he did, the consequences were so catastrophic that I had to do everything, anyway.

It wasn’t laziness, whatever you might think about the aristocracy (he swears up and down to this day that he’s not any sort of a minor duke or anything, but I’m understandably suspicious). It was flat out just — well, it was weird, is what it was.

The first time it happened was a couple months into our probation. We’d been called to deal with some sort of argy-bargy at a pub near St. James’s (or maybe St. James’, I can never remember the rules about the apostrophe), but once we’d arrived Tommy had balked like a scandalised goat.

'I can’t go in,' he said.

'I… think you’ll find you can,' I said. I could hear shouting and, worse yet, I couldn’t hear music. Usually they only cut the sound once the fighting has progressed to things that involve words like 'contusions.' I wanted to avoid contusions, but that wasn’t going to happen if Tommy was about to reveal a sudden-onset phobia of belligerent drunks.

'Yes, I suppose I can, but it would be an extremely bad idea for me to do so,' he said, with the kind of rapid-fire clipped speech that I already recognised as him being nervous about something.

'It’s a bunch of chavs having a bad Friday night.' Somewhere in the pub a glass broke. 'Or a bad Tuesday night,' I amended. 'I promise to beat up anyone who has a go at you.'

'No one will make any such attempt, of that I can assure you,' he said, fiddling with his shirt cuffs — he wore the standard uniform shirt, but he’d gotten them altered so that they could take cufflinks, which by the time I noticed, didn’t surprise me. 'Kay, please trust me when I say that you would be far better off going in there by yourself.' And he lifted his chin to show that he really meant it.

The thing about Tommy, though, is that he folds like wet cardboard if you give him any kind of pleading look. I hadn’t asked but I’d reckoned that he was the youngest of his family. Older siblings catch wise to this kind of emotional manipulation.

So he came down with me after all. It was the worst kind of fight, the kind where two people are sincerely trying to kill each other and the crowd’s egging them on. I started wading through, tossing spectators out of the way so I could get to the two in the centre. One of them was a skinny ginger arsehole with, of course, a broken bottle in his hand; the other was a short squat guy with his hair in unflattering cornrows, holding a crowbar. I didn’t really fancy getting in between them, but the stab vest has gone from stab-resistant to stab-proof in the past few years, and most of your run-of-the-mill drunken sots don’t know where the gaps are.

Still, I thought I’d try some vocal calming techniques first. 'Oi!' I bellowed. 'Put the fucking weapons down!'

I’m used to people shouting back at me, or even taking a swing. But neither of them even seemed to notice. Nor did the audience; the people I’d pushed out of the way had swarmed back, and I was swallowed up into the crowd. Not just figuratively, either; I felt like I was being consumed. Violence and blood and fear and excitement — I could feel it in the pit of my stomach, in the stutter of my heart. The fighters were closing with each other again, ready to strike, and I had to watch, I couldn’t look away, couldn’t do anything but wait for it—

'Drop your weapons,' came a voice from behind me. 'Now.'

To be fair, they did — not just the fighters, but everyone in the pub, a clattering rainstorm of knives and blunt instruments and several firearms which, thank fuck, didn’t go off. I almost dropped my fucking baton before realising that the voice must’ve been Tommy’s, even though it hadn’t exactly sounded like him.

There was a pause while the crowd, the fighters, the bartender, everyone turned toward Tommy, stood still in the doorway. He wasn’t doing anything, just standing there, but the whole pub backed up a step.

And then another, and then they fucking stampeded out toward the back of the pub, knocking over tables and chairs and smaller patrons. There was yelling and a few screams and someone shouted 'the nightingale!' Then they were gone, like water down the tub drain. I could almost hear the faint sucking sound as the last of them scrambled off.

I hadn’t managed to grab hold of a single one of them, but I noticed the bartender was still here, glaring daggers at Tommy with his arms over his chest. He was another skinny guy, in his mid-forties maybe, the kind who never learned to sit still and so had made a career out of being high-strung and twitchy.

'Ten years,' he squawked, flailing his hands as he came out from around the bar. ’Ten years and not so much as a fucking postcard, you know there was a dead pool going round? And now I’m out of pocket five grand because you wanted to make an impression?'

'Dead pool?' asked Tommy, with the sort of polite interest he usually uses when he’s pretending to listen to our governor talk about his beagles.

The bartender wagged his finger in Tommy’s face. 'You tell your boyfriend that I’m putting all of this on his tab, all right?'

'We are not romantically involved, regardless of whatever rumours you and Stephen put about,' said Tommy. 'And if you want to bill the — police, you’re always welcome to open a small claims dispute with the Department of Professional Standards. However, please remember that I have a witness that can verify I merely asked that people drop their weapons.'

The bartender looked around and seemed to notice me for the first time. Which was a new experience for me, I’ll admit. I tend to get noticed right off. 'Oh — oh,' he said, and gave me a broad smile. 'Well, hello there, darling.'

'Zach,' and now Tommy’s voice sounded different, a bit like before but not exactly. It worked, though; the bartender gave a huff and went off to, I guessed, find a broom.

'Who’s that?' I asked, once he was out of earshot. 'And what was he talking about, ten years?'

'That,' he said, 'Is Zachary Palmer. An old friend of the family, I suppose you’d say,' He gazed after him for a few moments before turning back to me. 'So — what is a dead pool? I thought it was a comic book character or a film or some such.'

'You’re like the world’s shittiest time traveller,' I complained. Later on, Tommy would do some tests to see if I had some sort of clairvoyance ability or something. Jury’s still out, but I think mostly he was just pissed off that I’d managed such a sick burn without even knowing it.

#rivers of london #ficcage of interest #it's the mileage #this story feels like the ultimate 'have little a twink verse as a treat' meme #fuck me I can do magic