#I just think it's funny how quick they make that verdict

[aechii]

₍⁠₍ GOOD LUCK CHARM ₎⁠₎

{read part 2}

PAiRiNG ?! childhoodfriend!kylian x black!femreader

GENRE ?! romance , angst if you have 30/30 vision

SYNOPSiS ?! based on the prompt "you still wear that little bracelet i made you?" "it's like my good luck charm.." by @novelbear because i need fuel rn haha 😞

A/N ?! i was listening to infrunami by steve lacy while writing this, if it's too fluffy im sorry blame him. i think i need to stop writing in 2nd person pov cos it's NOT IT. so yh, this isn't good BUT i feed my consumers so yuuuuurp, HERE YOU GO 💀

~°~

if someone had told 8 year old you that your friendship with kylian, in all its deep-rootedness and proclamations of 'forever's, would meet its demise just short of your 17th birthday, you would've cackled like the wicked witch of the west herself, bearing your gapped teeth in complete humour.

your bond was imperishable, derived from unyielding interlocked hands and taut, warm hugs that you longed to ever drown into. everybody knew, if kylian was there, you would be stood right beside him as if you were his right hand man- no, but you were.

his second mother, you were called; as sweet as he was, he was hardheaded and stubborn, and there was never a week that didn't go by where you weren't, even as young as you were, chastising him for having an unrelenting mouth or fisted hands. it was his nature, no matter how much you told him to stop and he vowed that he would, but it made him, kylian, so really and truly, there was nothing that could be done.

as you both matured, entered highschool with newfound tribulations that you swore you would conquer together, you began to realise that maybe, he had priorities that, inevitably, meant that your time together was diminishing. it was glaringly palpable, to him, to you, and everyone that was on the outside looking in.

but you could see just how much he tried balancing the two. football and you, occupied so much space in his life that dropping one would leave a gaping intrusion, begging to be whole again. so, after evening training, you two found yourselves basking in the soft buzz of the 20th hour within the confinement of your room, music droning in the back with a gentle hum. it was times like this that made you appreciate kylian; just a growing boy from bondy, fighting to make a name for himself in something he loved so much, yet still had time for you. his other half, as he called you. it made your heart swell everytime.

"kylian, i swear, if you've taken the last é-"

he was quick to defend himself, "look! i took e not é." he showed you the small bead and you hummed in approval. he rolled his eyes, "always quick to accuse me of shit."

you gasped, taking a pillow and throwing it his head. he screeched, quick to rip it off him.

"no swearing, you know that! my mum's gonna hear you."

he looked down, noticing that his efforts had been chewed and spat right back out, "[y/n], you ruined my bracelet!"

you shrugged, continuing yours, "sorry, not sorry."

his glare was evident in your peripheral and you tried to hold back your laugh.

"if this is so funny to you," he threw the empty threaded strand unto the carpet, "i'm not doing it anymore."

he knew he had gotten to you as he noticed your eyes widen, stopping the task at hand.

"bro! i'm not gonna have one then, that's not fair!"

he snickered, "should've thought about that first." his arms were crossed, smirking.

you debated whether or not to stop and leave you both bracelet-less, or sacrifice your dignity and apologise. in the end, the latter ruled the verdict; this was something cute that you both hadn't done in a while, and this ocassional get together was supposed to be fruitful.

"fine, i'm sorry."

he grinned, picking up the string once again to begin his, "there you go, wasn't that hard, was it?"

you gave him a look, muttering his words as you mimicked him before saying, "just continue the damn thing."

2 hours later and you were sure enough to say that your fingers were absolutely aching, kylian vocalising his pain. god, were his whines so irritating.

"kylian, please just give me your wrist," you sighed. he shuffled closer to you, arm stretched out. you tied yours securely, making sure to keep the word you had put facing down. you both agreed to make it a suprise.

with his tightly tied to your skin, in which he later had to loosen due to your discomfort, you counted down before sliding them against your wrists to see.

"chef? that's cute," you beamed. it didn't matter that you were younger than him, you were always telling him what to do, and he had always jokingly called you 'boss'.

he smiled back at you, but then it fell as he looked at his, "[y/n]?"

you struggled to hold back your giggles, "what? you don't like it?"

he looked at you from the corner of his eyes, "petit frèrot? really? out of everything you could've used, you used that?"

laughing, you gripped his wrist, turning it to look at it yourself, "it suits you, kylian!"

"i'm not shorter than you anymore," he whined. it was a memory he hated being brought to light; you always had an inch or two on him up until you both hit 14, and somehow, you remained stunted yet he had grown to be a whole head taller than you.

"it's for... memory's sake, ky."

"i don't want to wear it."

you frowned, "don't be stupid, kylian. you're never taking it off."

his tone is indignant, "don't be too sure about that."

+_-

it may be fraying and fuzzed at the edges. it may be fading, colours that were once bright and vivid now ghosted and phantom, but you swore that if it was ever cut off, it would be the end of you too.

yes, you both no longer talked. it was an occurence so vigorously impactful that even your parents had ceased contact because if their kids didn't talk, why should they?

you knew that with the life that kylian had planned for himself, as much you both ignored it, there was no space in it for you. he had to travel to play in clubs that didn't reside within the borders of paris, or even france. your academics strangled you with deadlines and projects that had you begin to fade into the distance of kylian's mind, so he couldn't take the full blame for it. you were the reason why too, and you wished you had fought harder to sustain such a friendship.

no hard feelings were established, you presumed. the drift was gradual and something that couldn't be helped. you knew kylian wouldn't hate you, and he knew you wouldn't either.

you kept your tabs on him, however. he didn't know where you were anymore, hell if you were even alive, but with a name as big as messi's and ronaldo's, you would've been living under rocks if you didn't know how he was fending.

once every few months, you search him up. you would see he was doing well, and you would smile, pained with nostalgia, fiddle with the aging bracelet that seemed to burn its imprint into your skin, and close the google tab. it wouldn't leave your mind for the next few weeks, but you didn't mind. as long as you knew he was okay, then you were too.

+_-

football, as much as it was your ex best friend's, wasn't your forte. you didn't know a single team to name, or a player that wasn't the two infamous rivals, so finding yourself, clad in the white jersey of real madrid was completely unusual nature.

"it'll be fun, [y/n]," your friend had urged. it wasn't the first time kalani had begged you to watch a game of her favourite team, but this time, you decided to give in to her pleas and see for yourself.

"sure," you stated dismissively. you needed these 3 hours to pass as quick as they could, essays weren't going to write themselves.

the stadium atmosphere was suffocating, to be entirely honest. it was filled to the absolute brim with the blue and white opposing colours, to which you had no idea which team the blue was supposed to represent. you were only here for support, not the experience.

you could see the players training and preparing themselves on the pitch, seriousness punctured with banter and playful chasing. it reminded you of kylian again. you smiled at that thought.

then, as if time itself were a blur, kick off had started and instantaneously both team were hungry for the ball. you were, of course, rooting for madrid, and everytime the ball was in their possession, couldn't fight down the urge to scream with passion. it was like football had ignited something deep and buried within you, and it took you back to the days were you were screaming for kylian to score until your voice grew hoarse and dessicated.

+_-

you didn't even support the damned team yet you were completely drunk off victory. won with 2 goals to your name and the smile that had found its way unto your and kalani's faces hadn't left.

in a haze of excitement and thrill, she had left you to go to the toilet. you had no idea where you were, and you thought the safest place to go was back to the entrance.

"fucking hell."

the stadium was bigger than you thought, and with your short memory span, you had found yourself lost. how you couldn't even get the exit was beyond you.

in the distance you heard a cluster of voices, and your brain immediately thought to go in that direction, where there was people, there was help. your steps were hurried, you're sure you looked absolutely frightened out of your mind, and you quickly take the sharp left, colliding into a body.

"oh shit- i'm so sorry," you hurried out apologies. the person in front of you was quick to stop you, "no, no, you're good."

you stilled. age did absolutely nothing to the distinct accent of his. and it's then you drank in the sight of him fully.

"kylian?"

his face morphed into one of familiarity and utter shock, then his eyes widened.

"no way- [y/n]?"

you airily chuckled, still stupified, "in the flesh, ky."

his arms were quick to take you in them, embrace muscled and strong. your arms wrapped around his neck as you swayed from side to side.

a cough from beside you dragged you both back down from your reverie.

"kylian? who's this?" their voice was playful and the man rolled his eyes, grinning widely.

"achraf, this is [y/n], my best friend from early-"

"until you ditched me."

"i did not," he defended.

achraf chuckled, "won't be surprised if he did."

you laughed wholeheartedly, kylian groaning at his two best friends tag teaming against him.

"you two literally just met," his gaze was on you, fully coming to terms with the fact that you were standing right in front of him. no longer 16, but now 8 years later, unrecognisable but in the best way possible.

"how did you get here?" achraf asked, and you grinned sheepishly.

"got lost. i came here with my friend to watch real madrid and she ditched me to go to take a shit or something, i have no idea."

kylian huffed at you revelation, "siding with the enemy, i see. i thought you were my supporter."

you tried not to react to his words, but the growing seansation of butterflies made you feel nauseous.

"suck it up, ky. don't be a sore loser," you jeered, punching him softly in his arm.

he raised and eyebrow, "i guess i'll leave you here."

achraf was quick to deflect it, however, "no you're not. you're going to help this young lady and see her out, kylian," he tutted, "be a gentleman."

you smirked at your best friend, "listen to him, ky. he has wisdom to share."

he kissed his teeth, turning around to walk away. you grabbed his wrist to stop him, "okay, okay, i'm sorry!"

you laugh, squeezing his flesh as you felt something thin line his skin. you looked down and the sight of your sentiment, its state just like yours, left you breathless.

"you still wear that little bracelet i made you?" you couldn't stop smiling.

he looked at you, straight in your eyes as if his following words weren't enough. he needed you to feel the genuineness of it all.

"i could never take it off. it's like my good luck charm."

chef- boss

petit frèrot- little bro

#work de aechii 🫧 #kylian mbappe x you #kylian mbappe x reader #kylian mbappe imagines #kylian x reader #kylian imagines #kylian mbappe #x black reader #x black fem reader #footballer x reader #footballer x you #football imagines

[trainingdummyrabbit]

okaaaaaay. ranking the library's floors based on how nice it would be to take a nap there. graded by ambiance and comfort. trying not to let too many of my own biases shine through but also no promises. im sleepy. ok 👍

> Lobby/Halls: im counting it because itd be funny. the ambiance is not unlike a hotel hallway; kind of really unsettling in its uniformity and undefinedness, but it Does make you sleepy if youre brave enough to risk it. feels like there'd be a chaser monster in there. and there is, if you count angela, i guess. 5/10 ambience. im pretty sure it is like 60-70% stairs if you look at it, which is deeply funny. where do the stairs go. i guess the better question is where Don't the stairs go. there are also no chairs or Anything; just bookshelves and lamps. its pretty clear you arent supposed to be in there long. dim lighting's pretty nice at least. 3/10 comfort. VERDICT: 4/10. At least it's got presentation.

> Floor of General Works: the vibe is pretty nice, if you can get past feeling like a tree on a prairie. a hawk could swoop in and snatch you or something. the towers of books could be kinda comforting for the right people, though. 4/10 ambiance. this is books. 3/10 comfort. VERDICT: 3.5/10. Don't Fall Off.

> Floor of History: its pretty busy, but the kind of busy where it just kinda turns into comforting background noise. its like the equivalent of having on cafe noises to study or sleep to. less of a "lulling you to sleep" sort of deal and more of a "i am so tired i could literally pass out sitting up." and then you do. might be a little much, but if you can find a nice corner somewhere it might be refreshing. nice little power nap. 7/10 ambiance. not Really the most conducive to taking a nap physically-- best you've got is facedown on the desk. which, honestly, isnt too bad. theyre nice desks. could make yourself a little hidey hole with the books sitting around. just be careful not to let anyone spot you. 7/10 comfort. VERDICT: 7/10. Respectably cozy for a quick pick-me-up.

> Floor of Technological Sciences: the light from the windows is probably jarring as hell, but away from that is pretty nice honestly. a bit uniform for my own liking, but the dim light looks like it'd do wonders. cant imagine how anyone doesn't already get sleepy working in there. 7/10 ambiance. the geaaaarrrsssss.... good luck getting any actual sleep with That nonsense going on 24/7. also i dont think theres a Single non-90 degree angle in the entire floor besides the gears, (which you Really shouldnt be sleeping near,) which i cant imagine does anyone's backs any favors. not a single good desk in sight beyond yesods, and i dont think hed take kindly to sharing this way. also that is the most uncomfortable looking couch i have ever seen. 2/10 comfort. VERDICT: 4.5/10. Almost, buddy. Bring your own pillow. And earplugs.

> Floor of Literature: the little ceiling lights are absolutely Lovely. could argue for it being too bright, but honestly that's an easy fix. its comfy in the way a school library is-- honestly one of the more inviting floors to be on. its practically Begging for a nap tbh. very neat and comfortable. 8/10 ambiance. girl how small is that table???? even with leniency for art style with the size, the chair backs barely reach th edge of the table. looks like youd be ppppretty squished sleeping there. doesn't look like theres many other notable spots to sneak your way into either, so its the table or the floor. one way or another you are waking up as if youve been hit by a truck. 3/10 comfort. VERDICT: 5.5/10. Very polite and comfy, but oh Man is that gonna mess you up later.

> Floor of Art: YEAH BABEY!!!!! very dim but with several soft light sources, the loose and comfortable feel of the place-- this is what its all about honestly. the paintings and such are a nice touch as well. chances are, no ones gonna really bat an eye if they catch you asleep here. it just feels like the place for it. the natural look must be very nice after everything, too. 9/10 ambiance. those floorboards are Going to kill you. cant imagine trying to walk in there without tripping. not a lot of obvious places to set up, but if youre feeling brave you can probably nest up in a pile of books somewhere. on the other hand, theres probably all sorts of little spaces and nooks to tuck into if youre crafty. as someone who would enjoy sleeping in a cabinet, can approve. 6/10 comfort. VERDICT: 7.5/10. He gets a 10/10 in MY heart. Taking that back pain like a CHAMP.

> Floor of Natural Sciences: the same kind of comfort as an old ladys guest room. aka i Wish i could take a nap there. only caveat is the blinding light coming in from pretty much everywhere. its like trying to sleep with an open curtain, but like... all the time. looks like itd smell nice in there, at least. 7/10 ambiance. has actually comfy-looking chairs! seems like thered be a few places you could manage to tuck into comfortably in a corner someplace with a cushion or something. also one of (maybe the only?) floors that actually has carpeting! so no getting woken up by footsteps, or having to sleep on floorboards. 7/10 comfort. VERDICT: 7/10. Probably like sleeping in a sunbeam. Equally disorienting when Tiph inevitably gets at you for slacking off.

> Floor of Language: its kinda scruffy looking, but if youre not bothered by that it looks like it might be pretty comforting actually. i wont explain. lightings pretty nice as long as youre not looking directly out the window. soundscape might not be horrible, its a bit of a coinflip with the industrial look though. caveat? cigarette smoke... 7/10 ambiance. Comfy! Looking! COUCH!!! you Are passing out on that thing whether you want to or not. also you could probably have a nice time tucking up against the windowsill if you can handle the brightness. might even be warm. im kinda surprised actually. 8/10 comfort. VERDICT: 7.5/10. I could swear I've fallen asleep here before. Minus the um. Lava. But you get what I mean.

> Floor of Social Sciences: this place looks like a memory. this is the type of sleep youd get where youre briefly kinda disoriented on where you are for a while. ive gotta imagine the water sounds pretty nice too. and the coffee smells! can you imagine?? theres probably all sorts of small talk going on in the background, just a few people stopping by here and there to exchange pleasantries over a drink. i gotta stop here, i Will just keep going. 10/10 ambiance. i need to bump this up at least a little due to the theme alone. im listening while writing these and the sheer wave of peace it always brings is indescribable. howeverrrrr... return of The Couch. you Cannot convince me that thing is made of any sort of remotely soft material. at least its got pillows. on the other hand, you get good windowsill access (REALLY good windowsill too,) AND bar access. must be nice to find a quiet corner in, too. 8/10 comfort. VERDICT: 9/10. Is anyone honestly surprised. (But still, jeez dude.)

> Floor of Philosophy: the dim lighting AND the ceiling stars??? dude... its a bit quiet, but quiet in the way a classroom is after-hours. a silent sort of welcoming. if youre able, Nothing is going to bother you in there. this is where you go to Rest. 9/10 ambiance. girl there is NOWHERE to sleep. other than like the table. also is that just... water? on the floor? i appreciate the aesthetic deeply, but um. i dont think thats very nap conducive. the floor is probably wood but it looks almost like stone with how its shaped. cant imagine your back would thank you after that one. table's not too bad at least. 6/10 comfort. VERDICT: 7.5/10. The equivalent of passing out in a therapist's office. Hope you're ready for an in-depth personal conversation when you wake up.

> Floor of Religion: this looks like a principals office. cant shake the feeling of mild yet stern disapproval coming from this place. on the other hand, it Does feel Very secure. id imagine thered be at least faint clock ticking-- That has to be pretty nice. if youre the right person, i guess. the occasional ceiling light is pretty nice, but its already pretty bright in there. youll fall asleep in here and either feel like no time has passed at all after several hours or feel like its been an eternity after 5 minutes. no in-between. 5/10 ambiance. there is Nowhere to Sleep. maybe the stairs if youre cool with having to sleep against the railing, but also that Is a tripping hazard, and nobody likes a tripping hazard. has a similar problem to yesods floor, in that everything is Very straight-laced and proper, meaning there is like... nowhere comfortable to sit. other than like one desk and a table or two maybe. 3/10 comfort. VERDICT: 4/10. I'd say you rank better in my heart, but this is honestly about as expected. in conclusion: chesed's floor once again remaining the people's favorite. if you need me ill be tucked into a cubby at netzie's. come get me in like 3 hours or so, i will almost Certainly get stuck up there. ok 👍

#piktalk #projmoon #feel free 2 tag w ur own takes ilike reading them :] we r having a sleepover. dont tell angela. #itried my best t gather asmuch info as i could; but also if i missed anything: Oops(tm) 👍

[invisiblegarters]

Micro (or not) BL Reviews

It's that time again. Seeing as how a couple of things have ended recently and I let my obsession with a certain drama sort of take over everything else of late, I dedicated this week to catching up on all the things I've been missing and doing a quick round up (or not so quick, as it's me).

So let's get started, shall we?

Recently Completed

Stay By My Side - Oh Taiwan. I just love you. I think we had like eighteen "fall into you" moments in the first three episodes alone. The premise was fun - it reminded me a lot of Master's Sun, but the execution of course is totally different. The leads were cute. The chemistry was chemistrying. I loved the sister and that basketball boys. It was mostly fluff, which I am not complaining about because I love me some fluff. That said, I don't think it did anything particularly revolutionary and it never really did manage to grab me.  7.5/10

Wedding Plan - A MAME offering, but…not bad? I mean, not great either, although I will put up with a lot for the premise because I eat shit like that up, but I've seen way worse from MAME. However, it's not going to become a guilty pleasure show like LITA or an unexpected comfort show despite myself (at least the AePete parts) like Love by Chance. It was fine.

Things I really did like:  Nuea's family and his workmates (I loved how fiercely both sets of people stood by and supported him through everything from his huge mistake in sleeping with the groom to running back home to deal with it to basically adopting Lom into the group when they worked it out ("we have a new brother in law"). The lesbians - I could have used a bit more heat but I'll take it for now. Let's work on normalizing GL in our BL (frankly I'd love it if we started doing more of that and less of the token straight couple or three)! Was a little annoyed by how they had to fix everything but I won't pretend that the bits with them in episode 6 didn't get to me - I may have teared up a little when Marine was being treated so horribly by Yiwa's mother - that whole thing was so upsetting on a number of levels. And I was happy for them that they could afford to run away to their own happy ending. Also the gag of Lom pretending to be devastated when he was anything but was kinda funny, I will give the show that. And I did like the way that Lom's mom came around - realizing with time that losing her son the same way Yiwa's mother lost her could be a very real result if she kept being rigid. I also liked that she didn't just suddenly become a PFLAG member (or whatever the equivalent would be here) but simply told her son that she would work on it, because that felt more realistic.

The show also got me with how fucking lonely it must have been for both Lom and Yiwa, to know that they were gay and that they could never say anything, and how overwhelming and relieving it must have been to find someone who understood in each other. No fucking wonder they'd do anything for each other. I would have too, if I'd had someone like that growing up.

So yeah. It was fine. I mostly had a good time, even if I got a little bored once or twice. Frankly when it comes to MAME, being a little bored is preferable to feeling like the top of my head is about to come off because I'm so annoyed. Final verdict 7/10

Jun & Jun - Korea keeps making office BLs and I will continue watching them until the end of time. Especially if they keep on serving good kiss while they do it. And this one had bonus scent kink! I honestly don't know what's gotten into Korea lately but I am very much here for it.

This was a fun little office BL.  I liked how flirty it was from the get go, the way that both Juns danced around each other with the full knowledge that they were flirting. The intern group was fun, too. I really enjoyed the boyfriend episode at the end.

Everyone was very cute in this, but Simeon was my utter favorite. He totally stole the show for me. Him and Young. Young especially was a surprise, since she drove me bonkers when she first showed up. But she grew on me. I liked how fast she decided to embrace Lee Jun, and her and Choi Jun's friendship was cute.

I shipped Simeon and Hyung Hyun Jae too. Hard.

All in all this was cute, even if it didn’t manage to grip me as hard as I hoped. Like I said before, I'm not sure what's gotten into Korea lately but I hope it continues. 8/10.

Laws of Attraction - When I first saw the trailer for this, I decided to skip it. The leads were attractive enough but to be honest it seemed kinda poorly made and like it didn't know what it was going to do with itself. And I was feeling surly and judgmental and decided that it just wasn't for me. Also it was on iQIYI and I had no interest in signing up for another subscription.

But then I saw someone had stuck it on youtube and I was bored one Saturday an there were a few eps already out, so I thought, eh, why not?

And I've not regretted it for a moment.  I loved this show so much my god. Even when OF started (and you all know how much I obsess about OF) this was still the thing I looked forward to most on Saturdays. I adored Charn and his shark smile from moment one, and that adoration did not cease throughout the entirety of the show's run. His character development was by far the best on the show, and I loved the slow, stumbling way he regained the person he used to be, while still keeping the ruthlessness of the man he allowed anger and bitterness to let him become (up to a point). I loved that the show began and ended with his shark smile, but for very different reasons. And he and Tinn were adorable.

I appreciated them banging the marriage equality drum, too, and especially Charn's very pragmatic reasons for wanting it to be legal (as a lawyer, he would think like that, and I appreciate that the show kept him in character even when he was sappy). I also loved his wedding jacket I want four.

I also loved Tinn, and I have to give credit to Jam for the way he portrayed him. While Film totally ate as Charn I do think that in some ways a character like Tinn is harder to portray, because it would be very very easy for him to become preachy because of his morality and rigid sense of justice. But Jam played him with enough nuance that he never slid into that for me - he was willing to occasionally be at least slightly underhanded when the situation called for it, and while he expected Charn to be better (and read him to filth when he caught him out lying to and manipulating him), he thankfully also seemed to understand the fine art of compromise. Plus he's really pretty. Both of them are really pretty.

But the thing that I never expected was just how hard I turned around on Thaenthai. He drove me absolutely bonkers for the first few eps, and I was loudly annoyed by the fact that after about ep three (if not sooner), it became clear that he was not the one who had hit Tonkhao but that he was being made to take the blame. It felt to me like the show wanted me to excuse how vile he was (acting like Tonkhao's death was nothing, beating the crap out of Tinn when he was already tied up and helpless, just generally acting like a spoiled, entitled, horrible shitstain of a human being) because his father beat him. And while that was horrifying and I wanted him to get the hell out of there as soon as possible I still felt that a worm is a worm is a worm, even if the worm's father happens to be worse.

But then the show went and did something I did not expect it to do: it didn't just tell us that Thaenthai was lashing out because he was caught in a desperate limbo of wanting to run away from his and wanting to please him, but it went and did the work to show it. I started turning around on him after he found out about the gardener his father used as a scapegoat once things started getting heated, because we finally got to catch him before he had time to put on his mask. And it just kept coming, because now we knew what to look for. He's still an ass for beating the shit out of Tinn when he was tied up though, lol.

Another thing I really loved that this sow did with him was show him loving his dad in spite of everything. This man beat him, nearly drowned him, let him take the blame for a murder he did, tried to kill the only person Thaenthai felt was really on his side (because I do think that the intent was always to kill Thee - I'm just not entirely sure why it didn't happen as soon as Thaenthai got on that plane. I guess because we needed a happier ending. I am not complaining), and told him to his face that he could never love him because he killed his mother, and yet Thaenthai still loved him, still wanted his attention and his respect and his love in return. And it just rang very painfully true to me. You don't stop loving your parents because they're shit, and humans for some reason tend to be wired to try harder for love that is hard to receive (or impossible, in this case).  It did not surprise me that Thaentha tried to visit his father in prison, or that he was sad when he died. But neither did it surprise me that something in him seemed looser in those scenes as well, because even though he loved his dad there's a part of him that's glad he's gone.

I love stuff like this, because it's so complicated and realistic and it hurts in a way that only something that resonates with reality can. I ate it up.

Shout out as well to Not Vorarit, because he really did a good job with Thatthep. The way he slowly unraveled as the show went on was pitch perfect, every little nuance from his first intro as the shady but possibly not *that* shady "concerned" parent right up until that last scene with Charn where he's just a cackling monster. Kudos, you created an excellently detestable character. Watching him get his comeuppance was certainly a highlight of the show for me.

I was also really into the way that Tonkhao was very much a main character despite the fact that she died so early. One of the best strengths of this show was the way that it never let us forget what started this whole thing, it showed Tinn and Grandma grieving for their little girl, talking about her, missing her. Being reminded of her around every corner. They kept her in the forefront of our minds exactly the way that they should have, and I was delighted by it.

Other fun notables are himbo ex Nawin and Rose and Maya, our GL couple that I wish had gotten a little more screen time *as* a couple but either way were fabulous. I will love this show forever for introducing Nawin in the final hour and making him such a great combination of ridiculous and ruthless. And the way they let him breathe as a character - they really just stood back and were like "look at this ridiculous man stealing the show" and it was amazing. And Rose was just - she was such a good friend to Charn the whole way through, and both her and Maya's utter delight for him when he found Tinn (and them welcoming not only him but grandma into their little family so readily) warmed my cynical heart. And I will watch Sylvie Pavida in pretty much anything, I think.

All this raving and yet I still have to go with a final score of 9/10. I recommend this show, it's way better than I thought it would be, but there are some questionable choices made, the CGI and the fight scenes are laughable (the fire at Charn's office made me laugh so hard I had to pause), and they pulled out a guitar and sang not once, but twice. And they don't even have the excuse that one of them is supposed to be a singer. Also frankly nowadays every Thai show I watch I have to ask myself "did I enjoy this more than Moonlight Chicken?" which I only gave a 9.5, and for this one, the answer was no. So 9 it is, but a highly recommended 9. This was so much fun and it will be very missed on Saturdays.

Currently Watching

Be Mine Superstar - I really do  not get why they have decided to give the doom eleventh episode to this drama. It makes such little sense from this couple, who are the least dramatic pairing possible. They should have just left the angst to Muang and the doc.

Speaking of which, I have been disappointed with that storyline. I feel like we went from nothing to boyfriends with no real development, and now that they're not boyfriends again we're supposed to care, and I just don't.

Also Title is really out here doing the most. My dude, can't you just bow the fuck out gracefully? Blergh him and the manger stuff is still really annoying. Kevin was a delight though. Even though that's one too many dudes thirsty for Ashi for my personal taste (although he is very pretty so I totally get it).

Hidden Agenda - I actually kind of loved how ridiculous the conflict between Joke and Zo wound up being. Oh sure, Pat helping Joke along was a betrayal of trust or whatever, but it just felt perfect for the kind of drama this is. I get the idea that it felt like a betrayal of trust, but I also don't really get how it was too much different from what Zo was trying to do with Nita. Whatever, I love my low stakes drama on Sundays, keep it coming Hidden Agenda.

Kiseki: Dear to Me - This show is doing what I wanted from Only Friends and giving me all the cameos. The way I yelled when I saw the two from history: make Our Days Count. I think my favorite is Ai Di - poor little ball of adoration and pettiness and jealousy. I adore him. Oh, and that scene in the spa was great - I loved how everyone was looking at everyone else while the episode's guest stars (HI, Be Loved in House I Do guys! Good to see you) side eyed the lot of 'em. Me too, my friends. Me too. They're all messy and in love with everyone else and I am here for this weird quadrangle.

The main couple has less of a chokehold on me, but I like our uptight, traumatized doctor to be. And okay, yes, it got me with his unwilling return to a solitary life after Ze Rui disappeared on him. My guess is we're gonna speed run to the imprisonment and amnesia in the synopsis, and I'm good with that. I hope the cameos continue, but even if they don't I'm really enjoying this.

Taikan Yoho / My Personal Weatherman - I saw this called live action yaoi and at first didn’t really believe it, but no. No, it really is. And I am *here* for it. I can't say it's my favorite thing airing right now but I'm enjoying it.

The Jungle - (not a BL, so I'm cheating here, ah well) I don't know who thought that what we needed was four entire episodes of Pine's manpain, but they were very wrong. At least for my money. On the bright side, August is gorgeous and Pat is killing it. The series has been uneven for me and I'm a little annoyed they apparently want to wrap up Pine's BS, Nathee and Florence, *and* address Hunter's backstory in just two eps. But eh, whatever, I was only ever really watching for the women and Mix and thankfully Hack and Irin gave me all the mess that was promised (and not really delivered on, unfortunately. Not that I wanted a bunch of assholes womanizing, but aside from freaking Pine everyone's stories wrapped up in a couple of episodes of mostly no mess at all). 

Looking Forward To

23.5 - Come on GMMTV get this thing out already I want it. I have been patient but come oooooon. I had three highly anticipated dramas for this line up and this is the only one that hasn't been released yet and I want it. Gimme my GL.

Absolute Zero (Sep 27, iQiYI)- this is gonna hurt but at least I know it going in?

The Box (Sep 22, not sure about where) - Not a BL, but looks like a good time. Plus I'm interested to see Prem in a thriller - I think he'll do well.

I am also wondering what will replace the Monday/Tuesday hole The Jungle will leave when it stops airing or if they plan to do reruns.

And apparently we're getting the GMMTV 2024 lineup in Oct this year, which seems really early but maybe I'm wrong. I didn’t actually pay attention to the 2023 lineup until way after it came out so I can’t be trusted. *whispers* please let Midnight Museum have a season two, please let Midnight Museum have a season two.

#stay by my side #wedding plan #jun & jun #laws of attraction #be mine superstar #kiseki: dear to me #hidden agenda #taikan yoho #the jungle #23.5 the series #absolute zero #the box #midnight museum #my personal weatherman #not really micro micro bl reviews

[archivalofsins]

It will forever be wild to me that everyone else in Milgram had to stand on their own merit, but Kazui and Amane just teamed up for a fucking bit voting wise. Kazui was over there suffering until Purge March came out. Then Amane was just suffering in general. They're both the lowest innocent percentage.

They're just in here, "Yeah, that's good, I guess." We both got fucked over by a majority of the audience just wanting us to get worse at the end of the day so it's whatever. I hope they're both petty enough to go, "Oh, you wanted worse huh let me give you that real quick."

Both of their trials were like objectively the funniest in hindsight. Because it boiled down to a bunch of people for Kazui going what's worse, causing direct and purposeful harm to someone or telling a person the truth. Telling the person the truth, he should've kept lying if he started off that way.

Which is literally what he said when he fucking got here-

Q.18 Do you regret your “murder”?

Kazui: I regret it. I wish I could’ve just kept lying.

Then, he reiterated that throughout his second voice drama. So, anyone who was using that logic to find him guilty was just agreeing with a mindset he already had. Which wouldn't have made him worse it more than likely would have made him go,

"So you've finally saw through all the nonsense. I guess I didn't overestimate Milgram after all."

Since he's paired with Amane because, in contrast to her, he wants a guilty verdict while Amane wants to be found innocent. They both admit to being disappointed with Es and Milgram in their second voice dramas. Because they can't see how a system like this isn't coming to what they believe is the right conclusion.

But Kazui is unlike the other prisoners in the fact that he's not really committed to either verdict. He's literally half in half out. If he's innocent, he's just as willing to sit back and enjoy the ride rather than complain like Yuno does.

Then, with Amane it's literally like okay she's gonna get worse regardless. Milgram isn't going to become a safer environment because this one person is guilty. Definitely didn't make it safer last intermission. So, what do individuals personally want their impact to be?

Is it about the crime like with Kazui? He just did something bad, so it suddenly doesn't matter that he's guarding people in the prison. Or is it about the impact the character can have presently? Amane may attack Shidou, which would not only negatively impact Shidou but Mahiru and anyone else who happens to get injured later as well.

The double standards in reasoning when it came to both of their trials really emphasizes what Yuno, Futa, and Mu implied in their second trial songs. That the audience actually doesn't have any morals, and most people are just doing this for fun because they're bored. When really they should be minding their own business if they don't want to think about it that deeply.

It takes absolutely zero energy to not engage in something that one does not want to engage with. All of trial two can be summed up as either mind your business or keep enabling me. Kazui and Amane's second trials highlight this the most, in my opinion.

Something that won't stop being funny to me.

#gunsli rambles

[catchyhuh]

If each of them would ever have YouTube / Tik Tok account... What would their content be?

i tried so hard to really and truly answer this but i just kept thinknf of this throughout

lupin: started as a joke but he IS having fun with it. he’s mostly just fucking around there’s like NO production quality there it’s just. viddy oe. and thats the case whether its youtube OR tiktok, either way it’s going to be quick cutesy spur of the moment junk. if he ever really went all out, he might make some kinda digital calling card (he has made video cards before to inform his targets he’s about to rob their asses lmao) but it’d be some stupid hilarious shit. like imagine those video wedding/graduation invitations with the poorly animated stock resources and generic acoustic guitar music. text slides in that says “i want that statue dumbass” (cymbal fade sfx) “so yeah i’ll be taking that” (dramatic text pan) “seeya thursday, can’t wait :)”

jigen: no profile pic no real username. just like jigen76943 with the blue j icon. NO tiktok. NO tiktok for our guy. insists lupin shouldn’t be using tiktok either as its shortening his already horrible attention span. jigen doesn’t really post videos too much, but if he does it must be something very important to him, really only uploaded so he doesn’t lose it. there’s a handful of videos from some of their vacations (whether its an intended vacation or just ‘oh shit we’re in spain. we should have fun with this’ type deal) but it’s almost all privated. he’s not really showy about stuff like that

fujiko: she had a momentary lapse of judgment when making it, because she thought, easy way to sucker in idiots and make some money off that ad revenue. but also… do you REEEALLY want the world knowing exactly where you are, what you’re doing, at any given moment? well. no. but if you heavily screen every tiny fraction of your video before even THINKING of posting it, maybe nobody will be able to tell you’re literally sitting inside the taj mahal. posted a makeup tutorial once while she was already wearing a full face of less obvious makeup just because it was funny to her to see comments insisting she was so much prettier “without makeup.” so yeah like everything else in her life she’s found a way to rig this for money and her own personal entertainment

goemon: Nay. you know i don’t personally subscribe to the “goemon cant understand ANY technology he’s so archaic teehee” philosophy, but this ain’t even about that, it’s about the fact that goemon is the only one who’s initial reaction was “you want me, a wanted criminal, tagging the people i have been around and locations i have been to? for ‘clout’????” at best he just uses jigen’s phone to watch random stuff that interests him, and like, he’s not PHYSICALLY RECOILING when fujiko tries to show him a funny tiktok, he enjoys the fun of it. but he’s not making one, and if he has anything to say about it, he will not be featured in lupin’s bullshit

zenigata: doesn’t even have his own. he’s like a background feature when (SURPRISE YATA SNEAK ATTACK) yata posts. yata will be like “wow the louvre!!! look!” and take a lil video and zenigata’s just in the background looking bored out of his mind. in the louvre. he’d never BULLY zeni into participating, but once yata becomes aware of the fact people are playing where’s waldo with his stuff, he might try to have fun with it. q&a with the inspector. share some life advice with the audience. and the whole time zenigata’s like “um. uh. don’t break the… law?” and the commenters eat it UP. zenigata thinks its stupid but he tells yata he’s doing it because yata enjoys it, and that's it. however secretly you know he’d fucking love the attention

so final verdict: unfortunately i believe all of these people would be baffled and horrified if i explained how many times i've rewatched defunctland's disney channel theme video in full. but they could have a little fun with it

#also if this is formatted strange and weird compared to the other posts um. don't tell me <3 #lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin #jigen #fujiko #goemon #zenigata #yata #asks

[recapcrew]

Week 10 Transcript

Intro

Extra extra, read all about it! Welcome to the Empire’s Recap, and today we will be going -over the chaos and drama of our (somewhat) respected rulers!

This week it's time to equip your elytra and grab some rockets, because we have a lot of lore on the horizon - and it doesn’t matter how you spell it!

Multiple Empires - Court Case

We have a special report this week, covering the proceedings in the Gobland Small Claims Big Claims Court - the first trial in Empires history was a lively one!

With the honorable Judge - er, Loremaster Pixlriffs presiding, Jimmy's lawsuit against Joel for copyright infringement and defamation came to the floor. With no other peers actually responding to the jury summons, it became a bench trial, and the decision would rest entirely on Pix's judgment. Turns out both sides tried to tip the judge in their favor, but with bribes of equal value, the scales of justice stayed balanced.

Fwhip acted as Jimmy's lawyer, laying out that the Sheriff was a respected member of the server, and that Joel's business was a continuation of his slanderous attempts to undermine the Sheriff's authority by making everyone see him as a toy.

Joel, acting pro se since no lawyer would represent him, pled not guilty to all charges and spent most of the trial making a frankly terrible case on the defamation front and skirting a charge of contempt of court. But, as much as I respect my goblin king and all his allies, I don't think people should get in trouble for objectively funny crimes.

[FWHIP] The Sheriff is a loyal sheriff, who has been the empires favourite-

[JOEL, INTERRUPTING] Objection, heresay your honour, he's not loyal he's an absolute moron!

[PIX] Mr. Beans, if you object one more time out of turn, I will have to... send you outside. Please continue, Mr. fWhip

To be fair, this is why you hire a lawyer, folks.

[NARRATOR] On direct comparison, the toy was found to resemble Jimmy -- or is it the other way around? Joel's claims that the toy was either just because he liked sheriffs, or meant as a parody, fell apart, and neither the judge nor Jimmy seemed interested in his offers of trial by combat.

The verdict came down: Joel's toy business was found in violation, and the settlement was all of his profits from selling the Sheriff's likeness. Jimmy's celebration was short-lived, however, as he heard the next case on the docket, and court was abruptly adjourned.

[FWHIP] Yeah.

[JIMMY] Yeah? Judge?

[PIX] It's funny you should mention that, because the next case we are actually judging here is, um. Let me check my notes, um, the case of, uh, 'Is SolidarityGaming a toy?'

[JIMMY] No! Fwhip, fWhip lets get out of this one.

[JOEL, OVERLPPING] Ooo...

[PIX] I will be residing over this case, with Mr. Beans here as the witness.

[FWHIP, OVERLAPPING] Yeah, yeah I think we won that one.

[JOEL, LOUDLY] Yeah, because you know you can't win that one, ya toy! You little toy!

[JIMMY, OVERLAPPING] No, I'll leave, I'll-- I'm not a toy! I'm not!

Joel

[NARRATOR] Joel’s making an effort to be more friendly to his viewers today, which is nice and not at all vaguely unsettling.

Hermes is back! It seems that Hermes already has a home in Sanctuary, and now he just needs one in Stratos. He’s also come up with some… interesting nicknames for his parents.

[JOEL] My gosh, thank you... Meat Dad. Meat dad? Since when was that a thing? Meat dad, why is he meat dad? I don't know, guys, please help me.

[NARRATOR] Since it seems like no one’s going to return the missing pieces of the Stratosphere, Joel refills it himself with some more fountain-dunked gold. At least it’s easy to make.

Then, it’s time for an aggressively happy material gathering montage, grabbing what he needs to build Hermes a hilly island right next to his own home - complete with fun bouncy steps down.

A quick trip to Animalia for legal assistance has his hopes high, and short-lived; Lizzie is the kind of lawyer who doesn’t take a case that sounds like it can lose. But don’t worry, Joel has everything under control.

[JOEL] And if not, I have a plan B! No, Plan B isn’t murder, ok.

[NARRATOR] In happier thoughts, Joel builds Hermes a wonderful house, almost as big as his own. It’s purple, it’s got a gold floor, and it’s even got a fish named Hooty; what more does a growing god-child need?

Joey

On the other side of the world, a gift awaits the “God of the Sea”.

Curiously, Joey’s video is a little laggy at the start. Hmm. Anyways, it seems that Joel is finally apologising for exploding his ship, by giving him a boat-

That kills Joey several times before revealing itself to be a cove-filling number of boats all on top of each other. Not a gift at all, but a prank!

Joey would’ve honestly kept the free fleet, but his frame rate obliges him to clean them up.

He decides to take a page out of Pix’s – er, Skeletron’s book, by giving Joel back his gold (taken from his gold farm once again) with a little bit of rigging, and that requires another trip to Tumbletown. The shop is completely empty, so Joey goes straight to the source, leaving his payment right in the farm’s output chest – at least he’s paying for stuff now.

Joey brings a few stacks of dirt with him to put his “gift” on a separate island, to not damage the rest of Stratos – until he sees the Stratosphere replaced after he gave it to Katherine. Did Joel steal from Joey’s *girlfriend?*

That’s it. No more Mr. Nice Pirate.

[JOEY] OK, I was going to play nice, and build a nice secluded little island for your sweet precious gold, but no. We're not playing that game anymore. We're putting it right here, and if it explodes the stratosphere, so it will.

[NARRATOR] Back home in the Forgotten Cove, Joey expands the dock to make room for more ships.

And then he *makes* more ships.

The first boat is a whimsical shop space for a paper shop. If Jimmy ever remembers to restock his gunpowder, then he and Joey can become partners in the rocket business, especially with Joey’s fancy redstone sugar cane farm tucked in the basement.

The second is just for show, though the sail catching the wind already looks ready for adventure. Now these are better boats than Joel’s “gift”.

Pixl

Pix’s morning is full of gifts - first Pirate Joe stops by to offer unlimited access to the prismarine shop as thanks for the treasure map, and then he finds a Mountain Repair Box from fWhip despite having already repaired said mountain. He won’t say no to emerald ore, of course.

A stroll down the Greatbridge shows that several more empires have claimed their towers, and Pix supposes the bridge should actually lead somewhere if people are going to be using it now. He “digs up” more of the old streets, and lays out his plans for the old castle - after a quick break to go be a judge since people seem to trust his judgment so much.

[PIX] I’m full of advice, and some of it is good.

[NARRATOR] The first castle tower, serving as his access to the nether, goes up, and is in mostly good condition. Pix lets us in on his design philosophy, inspired by Elden Ring; using sightlines and limited visibility to direct the view of his work. Smart stuff!

Since the twelfth tower on the bridge now belongs to Oli, Pix’s contribution (besides the bridge itself) becomes a massive gatehouse at the end, complete with heavy doors made of the only wood that has survived the old empire’s decline. The archaeologist gives us a bit more history of the savannah, with a tale of it being abandoned as opposed to destroyed, and yet we still wonder - what made them leave?

Scott

[SCOTT] I sound like I smoke 60 packets of something a day!

[NARRATOR] Unfortunately, the coloUrful man himself, Scott Smajor, is sick this week, but that won’t stop him from getting up to some mischief - Chromia stops for no man!

The plan is to build something to represent Chromia - Pix’s bridge is lacking a few embassies! He explores the ones already there, and throws the frog in Shelby's tree a steak for good luck - although it didn’t please them, as it immediately starts storming afterwards.

Scott claims the tower next to Sausage because, of course, and what better representation of Chromia than a llama statue!

He heads back to Chromia and takes two llama volunteers to represent Chromia at the new build! He brings them into the pen under the statue, and decorates it with some flowers to add some more colours!

[SCOTT] Empires so far has been pretty peaceful! I have been a pretty nice fellow, I have not done anything particularly bad to anyone, it’s been great! But It’s time to change that.

[NARRATOR] It’s mischief time and the unfortunate victim today is Shelby - Scott flies over and builds a sort of forest spirit deeper into the Evermoore.

The interpretation is up to Shelby, the statue could be a blessing or a curse!

Back in Chromia, Scott checks his wagon for profits and comes out with a good amount of diamonds to add to his collection. Chromia is getting richer!

For some upgrades to Chromia, Scott wants to add some colourful lampposts to the area so he can get rid of the torches all over the ground. It looks so much better, especially in shaders!

Shelby

Great witch Shelby has other things to worry about than pranks this week *not that she’s seen the prank yet anyway!* - she has another customer for her potions! fWhip has arrived in the Evermoore hoping *for the second time* that Shelby can try to make a potion to help him fly!

Unfortunately, even though it’s made of entirely different ingredients, fWhip’s ears only grow more! In fact, they’re so large they now allow him to fly!

[SHELBY] Hello?

[FWHIP] Potion shop, potion seller!

[SHELBY] Is this a customer?

[FWHIP] I demand your strongest potions!

[NARRATOR] Halfway through building a new potion area, she starts getting haunted.

Ominous music plays around her empire, and even when she finds the jukeboxes it continues to play.

[SHELBY] If I hear from you one more time, I’m gonna curse you, and your sons, and your son’s sons. Yeah. AND your daughters. And your- and your dog. No not the dog, I'm sorry that was too far.

[NARRATOR] An evil laugh and the sound of a firework rocket shooting into the sky appears to be the end of this witching hour, and the final build is done! When she turns around though, her old shop has disappeared! Other dimension Shelby must’ve wanted it back from this Shelby.

She’s just going to have to set up a tent to sell potions from, for now. She’s got to work on her PR though, ear growth isn’t the most lucrative business I hear.

Sausage takes a trip to enquire about weird magical visions. She trades him a regeneration potion in hopes of helping his memories…

[SHELBY] Hello? Are you having one of those visions now? That one was supposed to be non-alcoholic, I swear!

[NARRATOR] The vision was a nice memory, and luckily he doesn’t seem to have any side effects! She tells him of an accident with the bomb he gave her and plans a lake in the crater - Sausage is only excited to come over with Hermes to play!

The anti-ghost candle he gave her is placed pride of place on the table, and she wants to study a wither rose in potions. She needs something to help with her ghost problem so visits Animalia - they come to an agreement over amethyst and things they do not talk about. Nothing suspicious there at all…

Lizzie

Speaking of things that should not be talked about, Lizzie starts her episode with the reveal that she’s a cat! Not that we are really surprised…But she has a reason to hide this important fact about her.

[LIZZIE] Once upon a time, my jungle cat ancestors were ruled by a human! They were trapped in cages, and forced to wear silly outfits. I don't want that to happen to me!

[NARRATOR] We don’t want the other rulers to *pet* her, that’d be inhumane, or maybe more in-feline.

She decides to build a moat to protect Critter City and with lore, fill itself with water from the melting glacier.

After making 3 bridges as the only passage for entering the city, Lizzie adds more defenses with the help of an old history book, an army of axolotl in her moat but it doesn’t go as planned.

After regaining her ability to fall on her feet with Feather Falling III boots, she decides to take on the world and do her gadget and conquest bundle. Filling it with 3 goat horns, a shulker box, a lantern, a sheriff toy and an ender dragon carpet with the design of SEVEN’s Minecraft.

As she bought her Law toy she thought of a prank for our dear sheriff, making a claw machine with aliens that would be eternally grateful if they were saved from The Claw. Let’s hope The Law doesn’t mind it.

Jimmy

It’s a busy morning for the Sheriff - that pesky god won’t distract from his other duties!

The Tumbletown Railroad may not be finished yet, but at least there’s a barrier now to keep people from hurting themselves in the construction zone. And it comes with a handy sign of how long it’s been out of commission!

Worry not, citizens, Jimmy has heard your complaints, and finally builds a proper storage building to house all his chests. He’s only partially moved in, but he’ll get to it. Eventually.

He takes a flight over to the Greatbridge to show off his statement piece - a lovely little water tower surrounded by a piece of desert. A little home away from home, and handy for a drink while crossing.

While he’s there, Jimmy notices that Joel’s stuck one of Jimmy’s heads on his tower piece! How rude, he is taking that BACK, thank you very much.

The Sheriff gets a call from Fwhip, and it’s time for one last meeting before the trial. Jimmy’s a little unsure, but Fwhip seems certain that his bribe and his speaking abilities will get them through.

Wait, did he say he bribed the judge?

After the trial, Jimmy takes his bittersweet profit to the bank - sometimes victory is hollow, and he doesn’t like the sound of that second lawsuit on the docket.

But with the trial done, the Sheriff can finally look to the future, and he’s got plans to make Tumbletown into a proper farming community - it will be nice to not be so alone out here.

Sausage

In Sanctuary this week Sausage starts at his automatic tree farm - it’s a little too out of the way though, so it’s time to create a decorated pathway to link up the farm with the rest of the empire!

Hermes our beloved is back in Sanctuary, and Sausage gifts him the toy he bought last week. To shame Joel for not having built Hermes a house already, he sends Hermes to Stratos with some wood to build with and a picture of Sausage and Hermes in front of the house!

In Chromia, Scott is about to do a tour of his tavern and Sausage loves tavern hopping so of course he decides to pop on by to see what’s going on!

Jokes about the Sheriff and dancing, apparently.

Now Eddie has had a very long break from blacksmithing, but it’s time to get back to work! Sausage goes around and collects all the materials he needs to build a wonderful blacksmith just for Eddie, and gives him the materials and magic needed to create the best of the best tools and weapons in the whole of Sanctuary.

Eddie transforms the tools with magic and hammer, and creates tools fitting for the leader of Sanctuary! Sausage is astounded, and admires them greatly before remembering he forgot his shield!

Eddie tells him he should do it himself, that he believes in him to make the best shield to defend Sanctuary. The shield looks amazing, and Sausage is excited to get to work on a bow and crossbow!

Sausage wanted to decorate the streets of Sanctuary more, but ran out of froglights - and who has more froglights than Pix! Sausage flies in over to the catacombs and wanders around looking for the man, before coming across a strange spiral staircase tucked into the wall.

Curiosity overcomes him and he sneaks down the stairs to enter a room with a beautiful mural on the wall, and a labelled grave to the side with his own name on.

[SAUSAGE] Am I supposed to be here? Woah, what it’s this, this is beautiful. Pix? …Here lies MythicalSausage— oh no not again.

The mural brings back memories. A vision of a woman called Pearl and their friendship in another life. The mural looks like her - the sunflower queen. He doesn’t remember her, but he takes a sunflower and goes home. It’s been quite the day for him, after all.

Outro

And with that join us next week for more chaos and shenanigans! Thank you for watching, liking, and subscribing, and thanks to everyone helping out with the project, check them all out below!

#empires recap #empires season 2 recap #transcript

[nyxreads]

Elain as Taylor Swift

A Place In This World (in NC)

"Maybe I'm just a girl on a mission, but I'm ready to fly"

I'm Only Me When I'm Wih You (to Az)

"Through it all nobody gets me like you do"

"And only you can tell"

Superstar (to Az)

"I'd be breaking all my rules to see you"

The Other Side of The Door (To Az)

"So babe if you know everything, tell me why you couldn't see that when I left I wanted you to chase after me"

Fearless (to Az)

"But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave. It's the first kiss. It's flawless."

Lovestory (to Az)

"So, I sneak out to the garden to see you. We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew."

"This love is difficult but it's real"

The Way I Loved You (to Lu/ien)

"He can't see the smile I'm faking and my heart's not breaking 'cause I'm not feeling anything at all"

Change (to Az)

"These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down"

Mean (to her antis)

"You, with your mean words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me"

"well, you can take me down with just one single blow but you don't know what you don't know"

The Story of Us (to Az)

"Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking, and I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?"

Enchanted (to Az)

"All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you"

"The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes in secrecy"

Ours (to Az)

"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves. They'll judge it like they know about me and you. And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do. The jury's out but my choice is you."

"So don't you worry your pretty, little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine. And life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough. But this love is ours."

I Almost Do (to Az)

"I bet this time of night you're still up. I bet you're tired from a long hard week. I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city. And I bet sometimes you wonder about me."

Stay stay stay (to Az)

"You took the time to memorize me: my fears, my hopes, and dreams. I just like hangin' out with you all the time. All those times that you didn't leave. It's been occurring to me I'd like to hang out with you for my whole life."

Begin Again (to Az)

"And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid. I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did. I've been spending the last eight months, thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end. But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again."

Shake it Off (to her antis) (Prolly whole lyrics but this is my fave)

"Got nothing in my brain, that's what people say"

"And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate"

"I never miss a beat, I'm lightning on my feet and that's what they don't see,"

Nothing New (to Antis)

"Girls, go out and have your fun" then they hunt and slay the ones who actually do it. Criticize the way you fly when you're soarin' through the sky"

Wildest Dreams (to Az)

"He's so tall and handsome as hell, he's so bad but he does it so well."

"I said, "No one has to know what we do" his hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room. And his voice is a familiar sound. Nothin' last forever. But this is gettin' good now."

"Say you'll remember me standin' in a nice dress starin' at the sunset, babe. Red lips and rose cheeks say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams"

That's How You Get The Girl (to Az)

"Pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks, and say you want me"

End Game (Elriel)

"I wanna be your endgame"

"You and me would be a big conversation, ah"

I Did Something Bad (to her antis)

"They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one. They got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and reason."

Don't Blame Me (Elriel)

"For you, I would cross the line. I would waste my time. I would lose my mind."

Delicate (to Az)

"My reputation's never been worse, so you must like me for me"

Look What You Made Me Do (to antis)

"I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams"

So It Goes (To Az)

"You know I'm not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you. So it goes."

King Of My Heart (To Az)

"Is this the end of all the endings? My broken bones are mending. With all these nights we're spending."

Dancing With Our Hands Tied (to Az)

"I, I loved you in secret"

"My, my love had been frozen. Deep blue, but you painted me golden. Oh, and you held me close. Oh, how was I to know what."

Dress (Elriel)

"Our secret moments in a crowded room. They got no idea about me and you."

"All of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation. My hands are shaking from holding back from you."

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things (to antis)

"So why'd you have to rain on my parade? I'm shaking my head and locking the gates."

Call It What You Want (to Az)

"My baby's fly like a jet stream, high above the whole scene. Loves me like I'm brand new"

"All my flowers grew back as thorns. Windows boarded up after the storm. He built a fire just to keep me warm."

"I want to wear his intlitial on a chain 'round my neck. Chain 'round my neck. Not because he owns me. But 'cause he really knows me."

Cruel Summer (To Az)

"Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price you know that I bought it."

"And it's new, the shape of your body it's blue, the feeling that I've got and it's ooh, woah oh."

"I don't want to keep secrets just to keep you and I snuck in through the garden gate. Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)."

Lover (Elriel)

"My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue. All's well that ends well to end up with you."

"And at every table, I'll save you a seat. Lover"

The Man (to her antis)

"And I'm so sick of them coming at me again. 'Cause if I was a man, then I'd be the man."

Paper Rings (To Az)

"Darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this. Uh huh, that's right."

You Need To Calm Down (To antis)

"And I'm just like "Hey! Are you OK?""

"That stressing and obsessing 'bout somebody else is no fun'"

"You need to calm down, you're being too loud."

"You need to just stop. Like, can you just not step on my gown?"

"Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD?"

"And we see you over there on the Internet COMPARING all the girls who are killing it."

Daylight

"I wanna be defined by the things that I love not the things I hate. Not the things that I'm afraid of. Not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night."

The 1 (to Az)

"But it would've been fun, if you would've been the one."

Mad Woman (To antis)

"And women like hunting witches, too. Doing your dirtiest work for you. It's obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together."

Ivy (to Az)

"My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand. Taking mine, but it's been promised to another."

"He's in the room, your opal eyes are all I wish to see. He wants what's only yours"

Ready For It? (AZ TO ELAIN)

"In the middle of the night, in my dreams, you should see the things we do, baby"

I honestly don't have the energy to write Az version but feel free guys haha.

#elriel #elain archeron #pro elriel #taylor swift

[amazingmsme]

Well if You Really Don’t Like Him...

AN: Here’s that fic about Godot flirting with Phoenix just to get at Edgeworth. This was seriously SO much fun to write! Ugh I love all these dorky ass lawyers, I need more content. So here you go, have some jealous Edgeworth, flustered Wright, & a very flirty Godot, all served to you on a silver platter!

Godot sat in the prosecutions office, reading over some old case transcripts. Detective Gumshoe was mulling about the room, browsing some of the books on the shelf. Godot snickered to himself, drawing Dick's attention.

"Something funny Prosecutor?" he asked with a curious smile. It was rare that he heard the other man laugh, so it warmed his heart to hear the sound.

"Yeah, actually. I can't help but notice... Is something going on between Edgeworth and Trite?" he asked, holding a page closer as he inspected the words. "I mean, it's hard to pick up a person's tone just from text, but I can't imagine another way to interpret this," he mused.

"Who? Oh you mean Wright! Yeah, we've all been wondering the same thing. He and Prosecutor Edgeworth have more chemistry than a chemical reaction!"

Godot smiled and shook his head. "Your analogy is weaker than decaf, but your point still stands."

"Hey!" Gumshoe shouted defensively, pouting at the other man's words.

"So I'm not crazy? Do they actually like each other? Because I can't possibly find any other meaning behind, "Court is no place for such fanciful stories. But if you drop by my office, I'd be more than willing to... indulge you?" Did Miles actually say this shit?" he asked, barely containing his laughter. One hand pressed against his forehead, fingers curling in the white locks as his shoulders shook with his chuckles.

"Heh, yeah I remember that. Poor Nick blushed redder than a ripe tomato!" he exclaimed, smiling at the memory.

"Hm, so Trite embarrasses easily? That's interesting," he hummed.

Detective Gumshoe shrugged. "Yeah, but he seems to get flustered a lot more when Edgeworth's involved," he explained. He found the book he'd been searching for, and bid him ado with a nod and quick wave. Diego was left pondering the new information, a sly smirk forming on his face.

The next day he strode into Edgeworth's office with even more swagger than usual. He sat on the corner of his desk, crossing one leg over the other. He slurped his coffee loudly to gain the other's attention. Miles sighed and glanced up at him.

"May I help you?"

"Who me? Nah, I just came in here to chat," he said, but the grin on his face told of an underlying motive.

"Please, you of all people are the last to want to chat while working. What's really going on?" he asked, cutting to the chase. Godot shrugged.

"A little birdie told me you might have feelings for Trite."

Miles stiffened, but other than that showed no outward emotions. "His name is Wright, and that's preposterous. I merely admire his skill in court and respect him as a peer. You would be wise to do the same."

"Really? 'Cause Dick sure thinks there's something more to it," Diego said. Edgeworth snorted out a puff of air in lieu of a laugh.

"And you believed him? Gumshoe is a well intentioned man, but he can let his imagination get the better of him."

"Transcripts don't lie bud. And I can smell the truth like a fresh pot of coffee." Miles rolled his eyes.

"Of course you can," he said sarcastically. "Now if you're done reciting your little fairytales, I'd love to get back to work," he said, opening a thick binder and smacking Godot's leg with the front half as he opened it. He stood, getting the hint.

"You know, that reminds me of something you said to Trite in court," he spoke as he began to pace the room. He piqued his interest, so he continued. "Something about fanciful stories, and him stopping by your office to "indulge" you," he said using air quotes.

Miles abruptly stood, slamming his hand on the desk. "That's out of context!"

Godot shrugged, swirling the coffee in his cup. "Trust me, the context doesn't make it sound any better. I'm surprised the two of you ever manage to reach a verdict, what with all the flirting going on."

"It's not flirting! It's merely playful bickering between childhood friends, nothing more," he reasoned.

"Is that what you call it?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and stuffing his free hand in his pocket. Edgeworth practically growled at him, shooting a harsh glare his way.

"What exactly are getting at Godot?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"So you really don't like Trite?"

"For the last time, his name is Phoenix Wright. The fact that you don't refer to him as such is wildly immature and petty."

Godot smirked in triumph. "You sure are defensive of him."

"Of course I am; he's my friend and a talented attorney who, might I remind you, proved my innocence and convicted my father's true murderer. So I won't stand idly by while you blatantly disrespect him," he snapped. He turned his back to him, busying himself with straightening stacks of paperwork.

"You misinterpret my intentions," he said, holding up his hand placatingly. Edgeworth looked over his shoulder, watching as he sipped his coffee.

"Then enlighten me."

"I admit I've been giving him a hard time. But most guys do that when they have a crush," he bluffed. Miles whipped around to face him.

"Ha! You're lying through your teeth, I know how much you despise him," he said, seeing right through the lie.

"Do you? Or was that just a front I put up to hide my feelings?" Edgeworth paused, considering the possibility.

"I don't know what your angle is, but you should stop while you're ahead. If you're only doing this to get at me, then I'm telling you right now it will all be in vein. But please, don't bring Phoenix into this if it's only a farce. He's had his heart broken before, and I won't allow you to needlessly toy with his emotions."

"Aw, how noble. Truly a knight in shining armor. But if you aren't in love with him, why should you care?"

Edgeworth recoiled, a pink tint coloring his cheeks at the L-word. "B-because he's my friend!"

Godot smiled softly, staring at his reflection in the dark liquid inside his cup. "I wondered what had happened to the hard ass prosecutor I knew. What made you go soft. But then I met Mr. Wright," he said, complying with his wishes and using his actual name.

"Don't act like I was someone to admire. I had lost myself and forgot what justice really meant. He merely opened my eyes," he explained.

"Now that's sounds like a love confession if I've ever heard one. You two go together like coffee and cream: he sweetened the dark bitterness you're known for and made you more palatable."

Edgeworth straightened to his full height, hair falling in front of his face. "Excuse me? I refuse to be insulted in my own office!"

"Well that was hardly an insult."

"You just called me bitter an insinuated that I was intolerable," he deadpanned.

"Heh, I did, didn't I? Well I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever. I request that you leave my office so that I may get back to work," he said, sitting back down at his desk.

Godot snorted in amusement. "That's the kindest way I've ever been told to get the hell out."

"Now."

"Alright, alright." He turned to leave, but paused at the door. Miles sighed deeply.

"What now?"

"If you really don't like him, then you shouldn't mind if I flirt with him, right?" he asked smugly. Edgeworth's head snapped up with a gasp. He made to stand, a protest already on the tip of his tongue, but Diego shut the door before he could say anything.

Miles was left in his office, seething with a quiet rage. He couldn't go after him, that would only prove his point. So he did the only thing he could think to do. He pulled out his phone and texted Franziska.

be mean to Godot

A few minutes later, his phone dinged with her reply.

lol ok. Why?

because we're mad at him >:(

what did that fool do now?

He thought about his answer carefully before sending it.

he's going to break Wright's heart

No, he couldn't send that.

he accused me of being in love with Wright

He shook his head, deleting the message and starting over.

nothing. Just let him know you're angry

haha got it. I'll whip his mask clean off his face! >:)

He chuckled softly at his sister's antics.

maybe not that mean

By the next day, Miles had mostly forgotten about his conversation with Godot. That was until he walked into the courthouse and was greeted by his stupid smug face.

"There you are Edgey boy!" he greeted enthusiastically, coffee sloshing in its mug.

"Don't call me that."

"Right, only Phoenix can call you that," he teased. Miles allowed a smirk to grace his features.

"Or Larry. He was the one who came up with the nickname after all." Godot hummed as he walked beside him. For a moment, the only sound was their shoes clacking in unison on the linoleum tiles. Then they spotted Phoenix and Maya come out of a debriefing room. Miles shot Godot a glare.

"Don't you dare," he threatened.

"Oh I dare," he said, trotting away and over to his target. Phoenix spotted him coming his way and quickly turned around, grabbing Maya's arm and speed walking away. He kept his head down and eyes focused on the ground. Maya let out a small "ope" sound as he dragged her along. She looked over her shoulder to see what made Nick turn so abruptly down the hall.

"Uuuh Nick? Godot's jogging right towards us," she whispered.

"I know," he said, keeping his voice down.

"Well what did you do?" she asked before plastering on a wide smile to hide her confusion when the man approached suddenly. "Heeeey!" she waved, coming off as overly friendly in an attempt to hide the fact they were just talking about him.

"Hey Trite, whatcha been up to?" he asked, sidling up next to him. He slung his arm around his shoulders and pressed into his side. Phoenix made a small noise of shock, body going rigid.

"Umm, I was in a briefing," he said, casting a glance towards Maya. She merely shrugged.

"That's nice. So what's this case about?" he asked, letting genuine curiosity seep into his voice. Edgeworth was grumbling to himself as he stormed after him. He needed to intervene somehow.

Phoenix was slightly taken aback by the question. "Oh! It's nothing too exciting, just an assault charge."

Godot clicked his tongue, tipping his mug in his direction. "That's a real shame, your best work is on murder cases."

Wright blinked in surprise. "Really?" he asked skeptically. "I thought you said that I was a sloppy rookie who didn't deserve to be where I am today," he sassed, crossing his arms and looking him up and down.

He winced slightly, hearing his own words said back to him. He needed to try to smooth this over to seem sincere.

"Oooooo," Maya said in typical childish fashion, like when another student is called to the principal's office. She shut herself up when Godot shot her a look. A small, guilty smile was still on her face however.

Edgeworth had been able to hear most of the conversation and was eager to hear the prosecutor dig himself out of that one.

"My opinion of you is starting to change amigo," he said smoothly, taking a sip. Phoenix's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm truly shocked to hear you admit that you've changed your mind," Miles spoke snidely. He purposefully stood closer to Phoenix, subtly separating the two. Godot noticed and smirked.

"What can I say? It's called growing as a person," he snarked back. Godot reached out and grabbed Edgeworth by the shoulder, then had the gall to shove him out of the way. He leaned into Wright's personal space, posture lax with one hand in his pocket. Phoenix had a nervous grin on his face, cheeks growing pink.

"Aaah I'm- glad for the personal development," he said, arching his back a bit to lean away. He gave a quick and confused glance towards Miles, as if to say "what the hell's going on?"

"Didn't anyone ever teach you about personal space? I'm sure he would prefer not to have to smell your coffee breath," he scolded, and this time it was Godot's turn to blush from embarrassment.

Maya snorted and giggled softly, and Phoenix had to plaster his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. His cheeks were puffed up with air as he struggled not to chuckle along. The sight was utterly adorable, and Miles felt pride in the fact that he made him laugh.

Godot's lip twitched in an angry sneer as he straightened his tie. "For your information, my breath is perfectly fine. I make sure to always have gum on me," he explained. Maya and Phoenix shared a look somewhere between amusement and annoyance at their exchange.

Godot looked over at Phoenix and flashed his most dazzling smile. "After all, you never know when you'll need fresh breath."

He let out a quiet gasp, eyes shifting down to his mouth for a split second. Godot pulled out his pack of gum, flicking it open with his thumb. "Care for a piece?"

"Oh! I-um- sure," he stuttered, reaching out and taking one.

"Sweet! Can I have some?" Maya asked, batting her eyes. Godot looked down at her, deflating slightly as he remembered she was there. "Oh, yeah I guess," his voice didn't have near the same tone as when he was addressing Phoenix. She either didn't notice or didn't care, snatching two pieces of gum. She offered one to Edgeworth, which he accepted with a soft smile.

"Thank you Maya. I think I'll save mine for later. Like you said, I never know when I'll need a fresh mouth," he said, looking at Phoenix as he finished the sentence.

He smiled and looked down at the floor as his cheeks got redder.

Maya didn't know what was going on exactly, but she could definitely sense the awkward tension between Edgeworth and Godot. And it was clear that Phoenix was caught in the middle of their exchange.

"Um, I'm just gonna pick Pearl up from the play room," she excused herself, heading to the courthouse's daycare.

"Oh good. Maybe Edgey would like to go with you," he volunteered the other to leave. Phoenix quirked a brow hearing the nickname leave Godot's mouth. "Since when did you start calling him that?" He only received a shrug and a crooked grin in return.

"No offense Maya but I would not. Wright and I have plans for lunch," he bluffed, making said plans up on the spot.

"We do?" Phoenix asked, brows furrowing. Then his eyes widened as he caught on. "Oh yeah we do!" He stood next to Edgeworth, his shoulders releasing visible tension as he did so.

"Oh really? Where are you eating?"

They responded in unison, but with different answers.

"Jack's Burger Shack."

"Sashimi Temple."

Godot smirked, catching them in their lie. "Well? Which is it?"

"We haven't decided," Wright said, looking at Miles for "confirmation."

"Right. I'm good with whatever you want," he said, smiling at Phoenix.

"How can you tell when he's agreeing with you and when he's just saying your name?" Godot teased. He couldn't help but giggle at the question.

"Heh, I don't know, I guess I've just learned how to tell the difference," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a half smile on his face and eyes squinted shut. Godot couldn't help but notice the strain on the fabric of his suit as he stretched his arm.

"Whoa, you been workin' out Trite?" he asked and before he could answer, he reached out and squeezed his bicep. His face flushed at the contact.

"Oh y-yeah, you noticed? Glad to see it's starting to pay off," he said, admiring his own arms. He flexed again, striking a new pose.

"Mind if I start calling you espresso? 'Cause you sure can pack a punch," Godot all but purred. Edgeworth couldn't believe that Phoenix was falling victim to his sleazy charm. Who was he kidding, if someone as attractive as Godot hit on him, he'd cave just as quickly. He had to refrain from sneering.

"Ha! If you want I guess you could. But don't start calling me short," he said pointedly, but with just enough playfulness to still be considered flirty. Miles's eyes were still transfixed on Wright's admittedly large biceps. Godot saw the opening and took the shot.

He snapped his fingers right in his face to gain his attention. H blinked and flinched, attention drawn to his smug face. "Earth to Edgeworth. You copy?" He scoffed and shoved the hand out of his face. Phoenix nudged him gently.

"If you wanted to feel them too you could've just said so," he teased.

"That's not-" but his denial died on his tongue when he was met with both of their knowing looks. He turned his head away but still reached out to feel his arm. There was no way he was passing up that opportunity.

"Hard as a rock, huh?" Phoenix asked and yes, he was totally fishing for compliments.

"I was going to say like sculpted marble," he said smoothly. Miles couldn't let Godot be the only one flirting with him. Said man only smirked wider, seeing as he was proven right. Regardless what Edgeworth said after this, it would be undeniable that he had feelings for the defense attorney.

"So, you got room for one more or are you dining at a table for two?" he questioned, subtly inviting himself. Edgeworth was ready to shoot down the request, but Wright beat him to it.

"Uh, sure you can join." Curse his kind nature.

"Sweet. Not as sweet as you, coffee creamer," he let his voice drop an octave, flashing another dazzling smile. Phoenix giggled and hid his face in one hand.

"Oho man, that was like, really stupid."

"Made you laugh, didn't I?" he teased, propping his elbow on his shoulder as they walked. Miles walked behind them and watched the prosecutor like a hawk, gritting his teeth all the while. He was relieved when they got to the parking lot.

"Wright, would you be a dear and ride with me? I'd like your opinion on this case I'm working on," he requested. He immediately perked up and walked over, leaving Diego's side.

"Sure, I'd love to! It'll be nice to give my legs a break from all the pedaling," he joked, walking over to his car and pulled the door handle. When it didn't open he frowned and tried again. And again. He kept pulling, making the annoying clicking noise each time it failed to open the door. "Miiiiiles," he whined.

He shook his head with a fond smile, chuckling softly. He unlocked the car just as Phoenix tugged again. He wasn't expecting that and stumbled a few steps backwards. Godot, never one to miss an opportunity, purposefully knocked his foot out from under him, just so he could catch him in a dip.

Edgeworth gasped as he saw him fall, clenching his fist as he watched Godot swiftly catch him like some kind of techno prince charming. Phoenix let out a small yelp as he fell, gripping onto his vest as he was caught.

His mouth was slightly agape as he stared up at Godot. He wore a sly yet heart-melting grin. Phoenix stuttered out a quiet thank you.

"It was no problem. Be sure to watch your footing next time though," he said, clicking his tongue. The ace attorney felt his heartbeat quicken and butterflies fluttered inside his stomach. Edgeworth's eye twitched in anger and he cleared his throat.

"If my eyes serve me well, which they do, it was you who tripped him," Miles called him out. Godot shrugged guiltily and helped steady him on his feet.

"What can I say? It was just too tempting, just like how you look in that suit," he went on to compliment him. Phoenix's eyes widen, cheeks flushed. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"M-me?" Godot nodded.

"Mhmm. It really brings out your eyes. Not to mention how nicely tailored it is." He bit his lip, looking him up and down. "You're about as enticing as a hot steaming cub o' joe," he flirted, laying it on thick. Wright's face turned beat red and he looked at the ground, flattered giggles leaving his lips. He tugged on the collar of his shirt. Edgeworth was by his side in an instant, ushering him closer to the car.

"Where you off to in such a hurry?" he taunted.

"Jack's Burgers," he practically growled, walking around the front of his car. He plopped in the driver's seat as Phoenix closed his door, waving at Godot as they drove off.

Edgeworth's jaw was set and he gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. Phoenix placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he relaxed slightly.

"Miles what's wrong? You've been in a bad mood since I've seen you. Is it the case? Is that why you've been so grumpy?" he asked, concern clearly written on his face.

He sighed deeply. He should probably be honest with him- or rather halfway honest. He couldn't possibly tell him the whole truth.

"Actually I lied about that. I simply wanted to get away from him." Phoenix snorted in amusement.

"What's this? The great Miles Edgeworth lying? This must be serious," he chuckled, bumping their shoulders together.

He seemed to relax now that it was just the two of them. "He was really starting to get on my nerves."

"Yeah I noticed. He seemed to be in a lot better mood today, especially towards me. I don't know, but I can't help but think he's after something," he pondered aloud. Miles glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"He's a top prosecutor, he's always after something."

"You're not," Phoenix said gently. Edgeworth took a breath to steady himself.

"How do you know we're not after the same thing?" They reached a red light and he turned to look at him.

"I'd ask what it is, but I have a feeling you won't tell me," he smirked.

"You're right, as usual."

"Well it is my name after all," he joked. Miles chuckled and shook his head.

"That was awful. Why did I laugh?"

"Because you love me," he teased. Oh if only he knew how accurate that statement was.

"Heh, I suppose I do somewhat."

"Nah you adore me. Admit it, I'm your favorite person," he goaded, leaning into his personal space. He even went as far as to lay his head on his shoulder.

"You're tied with Franziska," he admits.

"Wow, that's high praise." He hummed in agreement.

When they arrived at the diner, Godot was already waiting for them. Miles rolled his eyes as  he spotted him leaning against the wall near the entrance. And where the hell did he find a toothpick? One leg was propped against the brick, arms folded across his chest and fuck he looked cool. If Edgeworth were a lesser man, he'd want to slap him.

"There you are! For a hot second there I thought you might've changed your mind and tried to ditch me," he taunted.

Miles wore a bored expression. "Don't tempt me."

"Hey, what happened to the Edgeworth that was in the car? All relaxed and smiley?" Phoenix asked, even poking his cheek to try and break the stern facade. He couldn't help but grin at the playful gesture.

"Ah, probably 'cause I'm here," Godot waved him off.

"Yes, that's precisely it," he answered with a rude smirk. Phoenix gasped.

"Miles!" he scolded.

"No no, it's completely my fault. I barged into his office and gave him a rude awakening of sorts. Please, allow me to make it up to you. Edgey."

He scoffed and Godot wrapped his arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer. "Lunch, my treat." When Miles turned to look at him, they were practically nose to nose. And Godot was so smug, it was infuriatingly amusing. He cracked a smile and shook his head.

"I'd be a fool to pass up a free lunch."

"Atta boy!" he cheered, pulling Phoenix closer in the same manner.

They were seated at a booth in a corner. Godot motioned with a bow for Phoenix to sit first. He chuckled and slid into the seat. Before Miles could make it to the seat next to him, Godot sat down in the empty spot in one fluid movement. He shot Edgeworth a victorious smirk.

Wright picked up on the tension, drumming a rhythm on the table and whistling quietly. He tried to make small talk.

"Sooo Godot. Saying you like coffee would be an understatement. I'm curious, if you could make your own coffee, what would you call it?"

He perked up at the question, scratching the stubble on his chin. "I couldn't just make one coffee, I'd have a whole brand. It would be an assortment of the darkest roasts and combination blends out there. I think our signature brew would be called Laser Beans. Ya get it? Like laser beams but it's coffee beans," he rambled on about his imaginary coffee business.

"Please, you do not have to explain the elementary concept of your pun," Miles quipped. Just for that, Godot scooted closer to Wright.

"Another popular blend: number 162, the Phoenix. Strong and sweet, with an unexpected fiery kick that rises from the grounds. Just what you need on those long, rough days." Phoenix gulped, staring at the red lines of his mask. Godot cocked his head, looking over at a furious Edgeworth.

"Wouldn't you agree Miles?"

"Yes- I mean no- I mean- I'm not much of a coffee person," he fumbled over his words. He jerked his head to the side, focusing on a crack in the wall.

"I think he's just too embarrassed to admit it," he whispered loudly, making eye contact with Miles as he said it.

"Heh, yeah you got him good with that one," Phoenix agreed.

"Ngh- who's side are you on anyways?" he asked defensively.

"My side," he said, clearly proud of himself. Miles softened at those words, unable to stay annoyed at him.

"Of course you are."

The waiter came and took their drink orders before leaving them be.

"I'm surprised you got water. I was expecting coffee," Phoenix mused.

"It's important to stay adequately hydrated," he explained, browsing through the menu.

"With how much you drink it, I would've thought you'd drop dead asleep without it," Edgeworth teased, looking at his own menu.

"Nah, I could drink eight cups and go to sleep right after. I'm used to the caffeine," he said casually.

"Wait, then what do you do when you need to stay up? Drink a whole pot?" Phoenix asked, bumping their shoulders together. He turned to him with his most charming smile.

"Well, instead of coffee keeping me awake, I could just have you," he said in a sultry voice. Phoenix flushed a dark crimson with an embarrassed, lopsided grin on his face as his eyes shifted between Godot and Miles. He was rendered speechless, the only sound he was able to make was a drawn out "uuh."

Godot grunted in pain when Edgeworth swiftly kicked his shin.

"Quite forward, aren't we?" he growled.

"You know I am," he said, snapping his fingers at him.

"And has your vulgar cockiness ever gotten you far?" he countered.

"Sure it does. I always make it to home base," he teased. Miles was relieved when the waiter came to set their drinks down, disrupting the conversation. They asked if they were ready to order yet, but Godot had spent so much time flirting with Phoenix, that he'd barely looked at the menu. And Miles was so busy keeping him in line that he didn't know what to order either. So they asked for a few extra minutes.

"You should really consider using your time wisely," Edgeworth advised. Godot snorted and mumbled something about him doing the same.

"I think I'm gonna have the Jack classic, what about you?" Phoenix asked, looking across the table at Miles.

"I think I'll have the same," he said, offering a warm smile.

Godot's smirk grew. "I'm leaning more towards the thhhick patty," he said, drawing out the word. Phoenix arched a brow and chuckled.

"You really put a lot of emphasis on the word thick there," he teased.

"What can I say? I like a lot of meat on my buns," he leaned closer, placing a hand on Wright's knee and squeezed gently. Phoenix giggled and scooted away in the seat.

"Hey, watch it. I'm ticklish," he admitted. Godot grinned like a shark.

"Oh Trite, don't you know that's not something you admit?" he teased, repeating the motion. Phoenix barked out a laugh, pushing the hand away playfully. Miles was glaring daggers at them and grit his teeth. He was the picture of jealousy.

When Wright moved his hand away, Godot purposefully interlocked their fingers so that they were holding hands. Edgeworth let out an angry huff and held the menu up to block his view. Or maybe to prevent them from seeing the sneer on his face. The world is cruel however, and Godot is even crueler. Which is exactly why he grabbed the top of the menu and pulled it down to meet his eyes directly.

"Thought you said you knew what to order. Why're you hiding from us?" he asked, elbows propped on the table as he leaned forward.

"I... I'm not! I simply thought I saw someone I don't particularly like and didn't want them to see me. But looking at them now I realize my mistake," he easily lied.

"Yeah, you and I have made a lot of enemies," Godot agreed. He looked between Wright and Edgeworth. "At first I thought you two were. But now that I've gotten to know you both a little more, I realize that couldn't be farther from the truth." As much as he loved riling Miles up, his ultimate goal was to make him admit his feelings for the other.

They both flushed a pale pink, looking away. After the waiter took their orders, Phoenix excused himself to the bathroom. Godot was smiling smugly as he watched him leave.

"It's times like these that I'm grateful for my visor. It would be a real shame if I wasn't able to watch that ass leave, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, looking at him with a shit eating grin. Miles slammed a fist on the table in anger.

He spoke low so as to not cause a scene, but his jaw was still clenched. "I order you to stop this at once."

"What, the flirting? You said you didn't like him, so why should it bother you?" he asked innocently.

"You speak out of your ass, you use crude and childish humor, you're completely insincere, your pick up lines are cheesy and all coffee related, and you're invading his personal space constantly!" he scolded quietly. Godot shrugged.

"He sure doesn't seem to mind. Maybe he likes the attention. People tend to enjoy my company," he bragged.

"You have no intentions other than making me angry," he pointed out.

"And it's working," he boasted. Miles's mouth gaped open as he thought of a response.

"So what if it is? I could just as easily be angry due to the fact that he's my friend, and you're nothing more than some- some playboy who's trying to prove a point!"

"Aww you think I'm a playboy? That's my new favorite compliment," he said, resting his chin on his hands.

Edgeworth raised an unamused brow. "It really shouldn't be. You're classier than that, Diego."

He snorted in amusement. "Even after all those things you said about me?" Miles rolled his eyes fondly.

"Yes, even after all that. So be the bigger man and put an end to this," he reasoned.

"Depends. You got a crush on Wright?"

"I still don't see how that's any of your business."

He shrugged, halfway triumphant. "Hey, that's better than the harsh no I got earlier. You'll admit it sooner or later."

"Not to you I won't," he growled. Edgeworth fiddled with his napkin and laid it across his lap neatly.

"To be honest, I don't care if you admit it to me."

He cocked his head, looking at him skeptically. "You don't?"

Godot shook his head. "No. I just want you to admit it to Trite."

Edgeworth's eyes widened and he recoiled slightly at those words. "Are you insane? I can't possibly tell him that!"

"Tell me what?" Phoenix asked as he walked up. Miles stuttered out an answer.

"Oh! Um, I-I'll tell you later. Now isn't... a good time."

Phoenix gave him a look as he sat down next to him. "You sure you're okay? You're acting, I don't know, weird."

Edgeworth was going to come up with something to say to that, but Godot beat him to it. He held his hands up in surrender. "You got us. There's no reason to lie to him any more Edgey. Truth is, he's planning you a surprise party."

Phoenix's brows shot up. "Wow really? But it's not for another two months or so."

"Yeah well, you know him. Always so organized, and he thinks three steps ahead. Sorry about ruining the surprise," Godot apologized for wrecking the fake party.

Wright rubbed the back of his neck and offered a shy smile. "Don't be! Knowing me, I'll probably forget about it by then. So-"

He was cut off by Godot's phone ringing. "Sorry, one sec." He checked the caller ID, brows furrowing. "That's weird, it's Gumshoe. Hope everything's okay." He answered the call with a flick of his wrist, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hey Dick, everything cool?"

"IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT COOL!" Gumshoe screamed into the speaker. Godot winced and held the phone away from his ear. Edgeworth and Wright shared a look of slight concern.

"Is everything okay?" Phoenix asked quietly. Godot nodded and waved a hand as if to say "all good."

"Hey keep your voice down will you? You're about to burst my eardrum," he said with a small chuckle.

"NO I WILL NOT! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GETTING BETWEEN PHOENIX AND EDGEWORTH LIKE THAT?" Both men in question went stiff as a board, faces turning red.

Godot paled as he was chewed out. "Uuh hey this really isn't the time-"

"I DIDN'T TELL YOU THEY HAD THE HOTS FOR EACH OTHER JUST SO YOU COULD SWOOP IN AN' TRY TO STEAL WRIGHT AWAY LIKE THAT!"

Godot offered them an embarrassed grin. "Uh, can you excuse me?" They both refused to meet his gaze and just hummed in agreement. The prosecutor slid out of the booth, holding the phone up to his ear, speaking in a hushed yet firm tone.

"Listen Dick, you got it all wrong. I was just-"

"No you listen to me pal! Maya told me the whole thing!"

Godot walked into the bathroom of the restaurant to have a more private conversation. "Look, it's not like that. I'm not trying to hook up with Trite or whatever you think is going on."

"... You're not?" Gumshoe asked, sounding skeptical.

"No. In fact, I'm trying to get them together." Gumshoe snorted.

"You sure got a funny way of showing it."

"I'm making Edgeworth jealous so that he'll admit his feelings," he explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ooooh, that's smart!"

"Yeah, so don't go blabbering to Phoenix. I know you can't keep a secret."

"Hey I can totally keep secrets! I just don't want to very often!" he defended himself.

"Alright, are we done here? 'Cause we're out at lunch, and our food should be getting here soon."

"Okay yeah, sorry about the mix up. I'll let you get back to lunch," Dick said, hanging up. Godot heaved a sigh of relief, wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead.

Meanwhile, Phoenix and Miles sat in an awkward silence as they watched Godot leave. Miles was sitting rigidly, staring at the napkin in his lap. Phoenix twirled the straw around in his glass.

"C-can you believe him? Heh, Gumshoe sure does have an active imagination," Wright said nervously, desperate to break the silence. Miles was quick to agree.

"Yes, he does," he allowed a soft smile to grace his features. "I suppose he's a romantic at heart," he reasoned.

"Uh, yeah. I guess he is," he agreed. The expression on his face was a mixture of nervousness, confusion, and a touch of sadness. Edgeworth took a deep breath. It was either now or never.

"But is he wrong?"

Phoenix whipped his head over to look at him. "What?" He tried to mask the hopefulness in his voice.

"While what he says may seem odd or far fetched at times, he's usually right." He spared a glance at Wright, trying to read him.

"Miles, a-are you saying-"

"I like you Phoenix. As a friend, yes, but... also more," he finally admitted.

Phoenix practically lit up. "Really? Wow that's- I mean- I've liked you since the third grade!" he blurted out, relieved to finally get this off his chest.

"I... also had a bit of a crush. And when we met in court that first time, all those feelings I thought I'd left behind came flooding back." Wright reached out, holding his hand. They stared at each other, warm smiles lighting up the room.

Miles started chuckling softly, and Phoenix cocked his head, an amused smirk on his face. "What's so funny?"

"Godot was doing all this to make me jealous, so that I'd admit my feelings. And it worked."

He nudged him with his elbow teasingly. "Well then, I guess a thank you's in order." Edgeworth groaned, though it was just for show.

"If I thank him then I'll never hear the end of it," he complained lightheartedly.

"Maybe that's not the worst thing. You're cute when you're annoyed and embarrassed," Phoenix cooed, propping his arm on the table to rest his chin in his hand. Miles blushed softly.

"S-stop it, that's supposed to be my line," he grumbled playfully, looking away. Phoenix smirked and pecked his cheek, relishing in the way his blush darkened considerably.

Godot was watching from around the corner of the hall, letting them have their moment. He wore a satisfied smirk as he walked up to their table. Both Wright and Edgeworth scooted away, acting as though nothing had happened.

"Don't play coy you two. I knew my plan would work. You're welcome by the way." They were both rendered flustered and speechless, even as the waiter set down their food.

#phoenix wright #miles edgeworth #godot #diego armando #godot ace attorney #phoenix wright ace attorney #ace attorney #ace attorney fic #i didn't really know how to end this #but i think it's sweet #flustered!phoenix is the cutest fucking thing ever ok #jealous!edgeworth #ok but writing godot's flirting & teasing flustered the hell out of me

[horansqueen]

New Angel - Chapter 16

story masterlist [x]

chapter 1  ☆ chapter 2  ☆ chapter 3  ☆ chapter 4  ☆ chapter 5  ☆ chapter 6  ☆ chapter 7  ☆ chapter 8 ☆ chapter 9 ☆ chapter 10 ☆ chapter 11 ☆ chapter 12 ☆ chapter 13 ☆ chapter 14 ☆ chapter 15

NOTES

☆ written from Niall’s pov ☆ i don’t proofread, I never do, I hate it. ☆ AU comedy/fluff/smut/romance ☆ 2.6k ☆ i accept requests and ideas for this story, so message me in my inbox! ☆ if you want to be notified when this story is updated (or be taken off the update list) CLICK HERE

NIALL

I blinked a few times as I stared at my best friend who was simply raising her eyebrows at me with a begging face. It was the third day of us spending time together and if I wanted to be honest, I was not completely over the fact that we had seen Grace the day before. I couldn't take it out of my mind of all evening and Millie and I didn't have a long night. We just ate, watched a movie, and I went to bed. I knew my friend was totally aware of what was happening and I suspected that she didn't mention it because she also needed some time alone.

Last night, right after we ate, Louis had came back. He was alone, fortunately, but he barely talked to us. He just grabbed a bag of chips and locked himself in his room, resulting in Millie and I both a bit confused, angry and sad after seeing the person we still had feelings for on the same day.

That's why today, I wanted to do something else and stop thinking about Grace for a while, but Millie's suggestion was not something I would have thought about, ever.

"Mill, I can't dance."

"Oh yea, I'm not really good either. That's why they call it a dance class."

I rolled my eyes and sighed but she took a step closer, intertwining her fingers together in an attempt to beg me.

"Please please please!" she continued, moving her chin up as she sent me puppy eyes. "I have a wedding to attend in a few weeks and I'm gonna have to dance!"

"Like the way you dance in sweatpants in the living room?" I joked, my lips curling into a smirk.

"Exactly! What if a pretty boy asks me to dance and I keep stepping on his feet?" she argued, getting closer again and tilting her head before grabbing my arms. "Please, Niall! Maybe I'll dance with the love of my life! Do it for the pretty boy!"

Her arguments made me chuckle and I rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine! But I don't do it for the pretty boy, I do it for my best friend!"

"How lucky are they!" she replied, smiling more.

"It's you, silly!"

Her eyes roamed on my face for a few seconds and I held my breath when she threw herself in my arms. Her arms wrapped around my neck, choking me slightly as she jumped a bit, bringing me up and down with her.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"Yea yea," I replied, trying to hug her back without much success. "Now please I can't breathe!"

I cleared my throat when she pulled away and frowned for half a second at the odor reaching my nose. It smelled like candies, a mix of sugar and fruits, and I just smiled when I remembered how much Millie loved candies. She had probably eaten a few not so long ago and the smell had stayed. I didn't know why but I liked it. It was a good change from the very expensive perfume Grace was wearing.

"What do I have to wear?"

"Clothes, preferably." she let out with sarcasm, a smile on her lips.

"You're missing out, I look amazing naked."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Yea, I'll never know." she pointed out, making my lips curl more. "Just bring comfortable shoes, I guess."

I expected the evening to be long and boring, but dancing with Millie was actually quite entertaining, like everything we did together. I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to make her twirl, and surprisingly, the movement was graceful and in perfect rhythm. She ended up facing me with a large grin as I stopped her with my hand on her waist. She laughed, shocked by what we had just accomplished, but I sort of thought it was only luck. In fact, I highly doubted we could do it again,

"That was great! You're so good at this!" she let out.

Her hand was on my shoulder and her thumb brushed lightly against the skin of my neck, making me shiver.

"Thanks, but I don't think we'll be able to do it again." I admitted with a chuckle, shaking my head.

"Don't be a party popper okay?" she argued, raising her eyebrows and tilting her chin down. "You need to stay positive!"

Once again, I rolled my eyes as the music started again. We tried dancing one more time but I had a hard time remembering where to put my feet and after a while, we just started laughing together. In the spur of the moment, I moved farther, holding her hand, before pulling her back to me and making her twirl again. When she stopped moving, facing me, my hand squeezed her waist slightly and she chuckled, her eyes getting bigger, once again amazed by how perfect that movement was.

"See? We did it again!"

"Okay, you were right, we're really good at this!"

"It's a gift!"

---

As soon as we stepped foot out of the building, I reached for Millie's hand and made her twirl again. The smile she was now permanently wearing grew even bigger as mine did the same. She giggled and squeezed my fingers before letting go of my hand and we walked to my car in silence.

I waited until she put her seatbelt on to start the car and as I drove, I could feel her gaze on me.

"Thanks for coming with me, Niall." she let out gently, leaning her head on the bench.

"No problem, T'was fun!"

I was surprised of it myself but this evening had been pleasant and my stomach actually hurt from laughing so much. I glanced at my best friend as I turned on our street and realized that it was always fun with Millie. We got along great and we made each other discover things that we definitely wouldn't have by ourselves. I liked that. I liked knowing Millie was helping me becoming a better version of myself, and I hoped I was helping her do the same thing.

"You promised you'd cook for me." she pointed out as I unlocked the door.

I chuckled, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge. "A promise is a promise!" I let out loud enough for her to hear as she joined me. "What would you like to eat?"

"Spaghetti. I'm in that mood."

I got back up and turned to her, raising my eyebrows and sending her an amused smile. "Are you serious?"

"Very."

"I'm ready to cook for you and you literally ask me the easiest meal ever thought of?" I argued before shaking my head and chuckling low. "Alright!"

Millie sat on the counter while I cut a few vegetables for my sauce before boiling water. I handed a mushroom to my friend who grabbed it and quickly ate it, making me smile again.

"Are you gonna help me at all?"

"No."

"You're such a lazy ass!" I laughed, making her shrug.

"I was always the one cooking with Louis when you weren't there. I hate cooking."

I looked up at her and my lips curled on the right sadly. It was the first time on that day that one of us talked about a love relationship and it made me feel a bit down. We were doing so well without them, yet we couldn't help ourselves from mentioning them. It made sense, after all. We used to spend so much time with them that we could link many memories, activities, discussions and thoughts to them.

"You should add that to your list."

Millie scoffed but still sent me a small smile. "What? That I can't cook?"

"No, that he wouldn't do it."

Millie stole an other mushroom from the plate and I slapped her fingers quickly, making her frown as she let out a quick 'ow!'

"You need to find yourself a boyfriend or a girlfriend that can actually cook."

We remained in silence for a few minutes and my gaze kept moving from my sauce to my best friend. I could see emotions appear and leave on her face and somehow, I wished I could read her mind.

"Actually, Louis didn't do much of the things I enjoyed." she admitted, making me frown a bit. "I asked but most of the time he said no, or he canceled, or he didn't show up. That's why it means so much that you came with me today, Niall. No one else would have done that for me."

I felt my heart break a bit in my chest and turned to her, placing my hands on each sides of her thighs before tilting my chin up to look in her eyes. She seemed sincere, sad, and slightly embarrassed, and I moved closer until my stomach pressed against her knees.

"Louis is like a brother to me, but he was an ass with you. He never treated you like a real girlfriend and it's a fucking shame. Mill, you deserve so much better, do you realize that?"

Her eyes traveled gently on my face, her traits softened and she moved a lock of her behind her ear. I was staring at her, making sure she knew how serious I was, and she finally nodded very slowly.

"Now." I let out louder, pushing myself away with my hands before turning back to my sauce. "You taste this and tell me if it's good."

I grabbed a spoon quickly and gathered some sauce in it before bringing it up to her, my hand right under it in case it would drip. I stared at her as she tasted it slowly, licking her lips and tilting her head on the left.

"So? Verdict?" I insisted, raising my eyebrows up.

"Perfect."

"I would have been insulted if you hadn't used that word." I admitted with a smile. "This is the easiest thing to cook.”

Millie laughed and got down from the counter to help me prepare the plates and we finally sat together at the table. I ate slowly, watching her do the same, and when she leaned against her chair, I grabbed my beer and took a sip.

"Okay, it's time." Millie let out with a sigh, taking a paper out of her pocket and unfolding it.

I found it a bit funny that we both kept our lists in our pockets. I thought it would end up obsessing me or that I'd always feel it burn against my thigh but most of the time, I forgot about it to enjoy my day and I was pretty sure it was the same for my best friend.

I moved closer, leaning slightly on the table to see what she was writing.

'He can't cook'

'He never did things that would have made me happy'

I breathed in and reached out for the sheet, sliding it slowly to me. Millie looked up and frowned but I just had to do it. I didn't know much about the relationship Millie and Louis had together. I knew they were close, I knew sometimes they were very cute with each other, and that other times they barely acted like friends, but I didn't know how hurt Millie had been through this whole relationship and somehow, I felt like she didn't know either. I felt like she was just realizing that she was better off without him.

I took the pen from her hand and quickly scribbled something.

'You deserve better. You deserve the best.'

I added my name right next to it to say it came from me and when she read what I had written, she smiled fondly and tilted her head. I could read in her eyes how grateful she was and I mirrored the same loving smile to her for a few seconds before taking my own list out of my pocket.

"Okay, my turn."

I stared at the name of my ex girlfriend written on top and sighed low, closing my eyes for a few seconds. The more I thought about it, the more I found it ridiculous to go back and date someone who's only good point was that I actually loved her. Love was not everything and despite what everyone thinks, it doesn't heal everything, especially if the person you love is the person who also broke you.

What actually took me out of my thoughts was the sound of my phone. I jumped slightly, a bit too deeply lost in my thoughts, and searched my pocket quickly. I held my breath and felt my lips part when I saw the name written on the screen. Summer. Suddenly, I felt extremely guilty. Once again, I had sort of forgotten about her. I only had written one bad thing on the list about her and had been too focused on the way I felt for Grace and spending time with Millie to even take the time to message Summer. I could always pretend I just didn't want to bother her but I couldn't lie to myself.

'I miss you, I can't wait to see you'

The words made me swallow and the cute little emoji with hearts around its head made my heart skip a beat. Unfortunately, it was out of guilt, and not out of excitement.

"Who is it?"

"Summer." I replied low.

"Oh."

Millie had only whispered her word and it made me believe that she had realized too that we had barely talked about Summer in the past few days. I held my thumbs over the letters, not really sure what I should type back. I didn't want to lie, and I didn't want to say the truth either. It made me remember that I hadn't even touched myself at all since the last time I had sex with Summer and it surprised me.

"D'you miss her?"

I looked up at Millie who was raising her eyebrows at me, waiting for an answer. If I could be honest with someone, it was definitely her, and I shrugged a shoulder.

"I mean, not really." I confessed, making my best friend's lips part too. "I'm not to the stage that I actually have feelings for her, and sex with her is good but not... flabbergasting, you know? Plus, we've been super busy doing a bunch of things, I didn't really have time to miss her."

"But you had time to miss Grace."

I sighed and looked down before nodding. "I guess."

"You know, Niall, you don't have to justify yourself with me. You feel what you feel, and that's it. It's not like you can control your feelings. You can only control the way you react because of those feelings. That's what shows who you are as a person."

I closed my eyes and swallowed hard, trying to keep my tears in. It was the third day and I only had about four more to decide who I wanted to be with. Of course, I could always take more time, but how unfair to both girls would that be? I couldn't just keep them around for weeks until I make a decision. The problem was, I had no idea who I wanted to be with. I had no idea what to do.

"Tell me, Mill, which one should I pick?" I asked in a murmur.

I felt Millie's hand on mine and my eyes fluttered open to stare at her fingers squeezing mine.

"I can't choose for you Niall, you know that." she explained softly. "Just don't force yourself to do anything. It's your life. Your feelings. In the end, you need to take this decision for you."

I looked up in her eyes and held her hand tighter. She was right, I knew it, but I felt like I would never be completely happy, no matter which choice I'd make.

#niall horan #niall horan smut #niall horan fluff #niall horan story #niall horan love story #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan writing #niall horan au #my fanfics #newangel

[wyn-n-tonic]

Golden, Like Daylight -- Part II

Word Count: 1,846 Warnings: References to drug use. PTSD. Ben Affleck. As always, if I forgot anything please message me and I'll amend this warning. A/N: Protect Francisco Morales at all goddamn costs, honestly. 

MASTERLIST | PART: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX

“Fish?”

He cringes inward at his military nickname, it rips at his heart hearing it drip from his best friend’s mouth now. This man he would die for, almost has died for. None of the others had called him that in years, he insisted on Frankie with them. But he’d barely heard from Santiago, had no way of telling him.

He hears the words he’s saying, same shit he always says:

“I need a pilot. I can’t do this thing without you."

Years of that shit pulling him into another tour here. A deployment there. Again and again. Long after he served his sentence and was free to go.

“I don’t know, man. I got the new baby now,” he beams. Santi didn't know Luna and all Frankie wanted to do was tell him about her but he holds back, opting instead for, “And my lady isn’t into my doing this kinda shit anymore.”

He looks back at Will, a knowing look exchanged between the two. He is begging for his brother to step in, say something. Save him. He’s throwing Leah under the bus but, fuck it, it’s true. She isn’t into him doing this kinda shit anymore. And she wasn’t the biggest fan of Santi, always coming up with shit to get the rest of the boys into.

“Wha—what does that mean?”

Frankie lets out a breath he feels like he’s been holding all day and stands, knowing he’ll start shaking if he doesn’t. The knee bouncing is getting out of hand but he was hesitant to seek out anti anxiety medication while detoxing. He’d just sweat it all out anyway. Santiago’s droning on behind him, hell bent on staving off rejection.

“Did you read the text? This can change you and that baby’s life forever.”

Leave it to Santi to exclude Leah, he wasn’t necessarily her biggest fan either. But to just gloss right over her? Didn’t even fucking ask Luna’s name.

He crosses his arms, “What happened to that bullshit about going back to your mother’s homeland and empowering the people to police themselves?”

Santiago stares him down, a power grab of a laugh escaping him.

“Anyway, I lost my license. I can’t even fly right now.” Please just drop it, please just drop it, please just drop it.

Benny’s wrapping his knuckles. William’s looking between the two. And Santiago? Santiago is closing the space between them.

“I don’t need a pilot with a license, I’m in with the army down there,” he says as if that makes things better. It doesn’t. He knows it, Frankie knows it, the Millers know it. But if there’s one thing Santiago Garcia gets, it’s his fucking way.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Frankie’s firm, he’s not fucking doing it this time. He’s worked too goddamn hard on everything. Built a life out of rubble and was this close to pissing it away, he’s not gonna seal the deal on Leah’s promise to go.

Santi paces, frustrated, “Lorea is destroying that country. So we get to take out a very bad man, and, oh, by the way, there’s a winning lottery ticket stuck to the bottom of your cowboy boot.” He says that last bit with a mock tone and he’s smiling, believing he’s got Frankie now. A bit of a tease to rile his best friend up, get him laughing, get him in it. “Every guy in that gym would jump at this.”

“Come on, focus, guys! It’s fight night.” —————

“Hey!” He catches up with Santi in the hall, “I didn’t mean to call your shit bullshit.”

He didn’t, really. He knows where Santiago’s coming from but he can’t be the one in the thick of it anymore.

Another of those cool, indignant laughs, “It's all right.”

“I got busted,” Frankie says coolly, like he’s letting you know he left the light on, “it’s not a big deal.”

Santi’s head snaps to the right.

“Actually,” the taller of the two continues, “It's a big deal.”

“Coke?” Santiago’s trying not to let Frank’s addiction shock him, scoffing, “Jesus, Frankie.”

“Technically, it’s a suspension, I’m still under review but… it fucked everything up with Leah. I’ve been detoxing in Will’s spare room for weeks.”

“You’re telling me she didn’t know before the suspension? I don’t buy that.” Frankie tried to ignore the venom in his words.

“No, she knew. We’ve been in couple’s counseling while I’ve been getting clean, she said she didn’t know it was as often as it was. Just thought it was a hit here and there.”

“So things are good still?”

Frankie takes a deep breath, “We seem to have gotten back to good but that’s not where I wanna be, Pope. I wanna be great.” He looks to Santi and then Will, “What about you? What are you gonna do?”

There was no doubt in the world where Benny stood. He’d follow Santiago into hell. He pretty much had on more than one occasion but Benny always was a wildcard. Will was too calculated for that bullshit, he needed a plan. He needed foundation under his feet, not just charisma and Frankie would follow him. Frankie owed him his life. Will was the one to convince Frankie to hang it up. The one putting a half dead Frankie in cold showers and pumping his fucking stomach on no sleep. Will was the one Leah called when Frankie got too close to the edge. His brother, Luna’s godfather.

“I said if Redfly’s in, I’m in.”

Fuck! Fucking Tom. Frankie takes his hat off, adjusts his hair. I fucking hate Tom. —————

“Tom is not in our wedding,” Leah glared down the kitchen island at Frankie, arguing again about the goddamn wedding party. She didn’t even want it anymore. Had thrown her hands up, on more than one occasion, and begged to just run down to the courthouse.

And it all circled back to Tom fucking Davis.

“We served together for ten years, Leah! It’s a bit fucked up to have the rest of the boys up there in tuxes, Tess as our flower girl and Tom is,” he flails his hands out, “Three rows back with that one coworker who brings you coffee every Friday.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d let Tom sit that close to the altar, Francisco Morales. And next to Alexa? She is my angel and Tom Davis will be nowhere near her, do you understand me?”

“Then marry Alexa, babe!”

Leah put her hands on her hips, “Bitch, I might.”

He breaks and laughs, lifting his hat to rub at his forehead, “What do you want me to tell him then? You have plenty of friends who could be a fourth bridesmaid.”

“How about you drop Benny too?” She shrugs, “Just keep Will and Santi and I’ll keep my sisters. Two and two.”

He throws the hat on the counter, “YOU LOVE BENNY!”

“You're right, baby,” she laughs, eyes bright. A challenge on the tip of her tongue. "Drop Santi.”

He charges after her, ready for her words, and chases her through the house. Their house. Still nowhere near unpacked after a month and he’s cursing the unintended obstacle course he’s laid out for himself. She’s making quick work of it but, fuck, he’s out of shape.

He runs up the stairs, back screaming with every step as he gains on her. It helps his legs are much longer than hers.

She makes it to the bedroom, spinning to close the door but he grabs her before she can, pinning her down with all his weight. She insisted on the nicest sheets they could find and almost never made the bed, preferring to fall right into the softness without much work.

He ran his hand down her body, drumming his fingers in a soft rhythm until he reached her thigh, hitching it over his hip.

Her heart was still racing from the chase but Frankie felt it tick upwards as he placed his lips on her neck.

“Francisco,” she whined, “we can’t do this right now. We have to do grown up things.”

He smiles into the soft skin, “this is grown up things.”

“You know what I mean.”

He looks up at her, “hmm…” He’s got her right where he wants her, none the wiser as he reaches down to her knee and—

“Frankie, what are you doing?” Her voice comes out an octave higher, panic in her eyes pleading with him not to when the corner of his mouth crooks upwards and—

He digs his fingers into the soft flesh at the bend of her knee, smile blown wide as she screams out like a hyena.

“Stop! Stop!” She laughs through labored breaths, “baby, it was just a joke.”

“You're not funny,” he lulls with a kiss.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” her eyes filled with hurt and conviction, “I'm hilarious so… ya know, jot that down.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“But Tom fucking Davis is not in our wedding or I swear to god, Francisco Morales, I will call the whole goddamn thing off. It is my day and I’m not having his big Irish head in my wedding photos for the rest of my life.”

He laughs again, “Fine. But what should I tell him?”

“Tell him I fucking hate him.”

“You don’t hate anybody, baby, I don’t think you’ve got that in your heart. Be serious with me, please. What do I tell him?”

“Tell him,” she thinks for a second, because she absolutely does have the capacity for hate in her heart, “that I can’t choose amongst my friends for a fourth bridesmaid and so I just want to keep the party small with only my sisters.”

He seems satisfied by that, nodding his head. “But I am keeping Santi.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“But…”

Her stare is like daggers, “I’m not talking about Tom anymore.”

“No. No, it’s not that,” he’s laughing, his life is all laughter now. “I just still think we should set Pope up with Kristyn.”

She’s pushing out from under him, sitting up for the higher ground. Her finger is in his face, her words are measured, “If Santiago Garcia even so much as looks at my little sister, I will do what so many have tried and failed to do before.”

“And what's that, sweetheart?”

“I will kill him.”

The whole bed is shaking with his laughter now, “You're right, baby, you’re hilarious.” —————

Will’s in front of them now, hands on his knees, “What's the verdict?”

Tom looks at Frankie, then to Will, “I'm in for the recce if you guys are.”

The world goes quiet, replaced by a high pitched ringing in Frankie’s ear as he downs the world’s shittiest beer.

Fuck.

“Fish?” Santiago’s voice cuts clear through, always had.

Frankie lowers the plastic cup, “When is it?”

“We leave Thursday.”

Fuck.

Again, he lets go of a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, staring off into the ring. Staring off at nothing and everything.

“Okay.”

This could change his family’s life forever.

Fuck.

TAGLIST: @justanotherblonde23 | @greeneyedblondie44 | @icanbeyourjedi | @notcookiebelle | @princess76179​ | @bbuckysbeardd​

#i believe in francisco morales supremacy #francisco 'catfish' morales #okay but frankie was actually baby #frankie morales #triple frontier #god i'm really posting another fanfic before bed and dipping i love y'all #fanfiction #pedro pascal #santiago 'pope' garcia #william 'ironhead' miller #benny miller #tom 'redfly' davis #charlie hunnam #oscar isaac #oc #ofc #original character #original female character #fanfic

[milkypompon]

𝕁𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕪 | Bokuto x Reader

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | How would Bokuto react to a jealous Y/N?

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | Thank you for this request anon, it was really entertaining to write! I was going to write for other characters, but this became way too long than originally intended. If you’d like to see other jealous HQ characters: SEND IT THRU MY INBOX!! (And maybe make a mini series ohoho)

WARNINGS: Fluff, Suggestive at the end if you *squint*

.・゜゜・ℙ𝕥.  𝟚・゜゜・．

[ℍℚ ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋𝕊 𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝕆ℙ𝔼ℕ] 

𝔹𝕆𝕂𝕌𝕋𝕆 

When you and Bokuto first started dating, there was not a single slither of doubt in their relationship. They’ve spent much of their free time with one another, languidly tangled up in each other’s limbs at 3 am watching Korean baking ASMRs and quick trips to a konbini to grab nikuman because Kou’s stomach is an endless hole.

Unfortunately, volleyball can get in the way of dates that were planned a week ahead to avoid any interruptions. But of course, the coach’s call was always the last verdict. You and Bokuto weren’t in control of last-minute volleyball practices.

You’re always very understanding, especially with Kou’s large, owl-like eyes that always shined with sadness that stared at you as he apologized over and over. He’d pepper you with kisses, you were always weak to those.

Since Bokuto is the captain of the team, he’d give you an option to stay at their practices. Y/N hated the smell of Kou’s gym socks, so being in a room with well over five other pairs was a daunting idea. But, Y/N always seemed to saunter over to the gym after school.

Y/N cheered him on, giving Kou an extra boost of confidence, as a result he gave bone-chilling spikes. Even Akaashi acknowledged this, he’d mouth Y/N a small “Thank you”. 

“Y/N-chan! Did you see that? The ball went flying past his arms!” Bokuto jabbed a finger to his chest with a beaming grin, “I did that!”

Y/N gave him a light clap and smile, “Good job Kou-kun!” A yelp caught their attention.

“‘Kaashi, stop pinching my ear!” He gave him a pout, “I just wanted to see if Y/N saw my spike…”

“I did Kou, now go back to practice or else Coach’ll kick me out!” Y/N warned.

The whole team knows that the coach could never kick Y/N out of the gym, they just bring more spirit to the team.

Bokuto feeds off of people praising and congratulating him. Not in a sense that it twists his mind to the point of thinking he’s the best of the best, but he just loves hearing your words specifically.

During games, when Bokuto hears his fangirls and fanboys giggle, “Ganbatte!” and “I know you’ll win!”, it really riles him up. 

Occasionally, there would be persistent fans of his waiting outside of the arena or school gym.

Y/N sat cross-legged on the sidelines of the volleyball court, dwindling their thumbs as they looked beyond the door. The orange sun leisurely pulled itself down further into the ground. There were a few shadows nearing the gym, it almost resembled like a wolf pack.

“Heyo, love!” Bokuto shouldered his gym back and trotted up to Y/N. “Thanks for waiting for me! You look so adorable today with your little uniform,” He gave them a crooked grin.

Y/N hauled themself up, dusting off the dirt from their bum. “Don’t ‘love’ me, it’s your turn to buy snacks today!” they snickered.

Bokuto bumped his shoulder onto theirs before wrapping an arm around their shoulders. The pair waved goodbye to his teammates.

“You’re a little sweaty,” Y/N stuck out their tongue.

“Aw, c’mon. You know you love me regardless,” Bokuto leaned in giving Y/N a kiss on the nose, as he lifted them up by the waist. Y/N giggled, giving in as they awarded him with a brush of the lips on the cheek.

“Is that all I get-”

“Bokutokun~” soft voices lingered in the air, as the pair was met with three girls.

Bokuto gently set down Y/N and stood in front of them. “Heyo! What can I do for ya?” He greeted them with the famous ace smile.

“We just wanted to thank you for always bringing a great game for us to watch!” A brunette with an ear-piercing voice made Y/N scratch the nape of their neck. Each of them produced a bento box or trinket from their bags.

He thanked his fans, being the kind person he was and gave them gentle hugs.

Y/N cringed behind him as the girls caressed his toned arms. Bokuto innocently allowed everything to play out. He never knew when his fans became too friendly, he just wanted to get to know those who supported him from the stands.

Pft! I get to touch more than that!

The same squeaky-voiced brunette caught Y/N’s eyes, giving them a stern glare. Y/N gawked at her straightforwardness.

The nerve!

Y/N knew this would happen coming into the relationship. I mean, who wouldn’t fawn over Bokuto Koutarou? Captain of the Fukurodani volleyball team, a great friend…

And a great lover.

Another girl piped up, “Who’s that over there? Your manager?” Y/N lips drew into a thin line at this comment.

Bokuto pulled away from them, walking to Y/N’s side and placing a loud smack of the lips onto their cheek. “More than that!” He casually placed his large hands onto Y/N’s hip, giving it a light squeeze.  “Y/N’s my lover!”

Y/N’s cheeks seared their skin, eyes drifting to the floor at Bokuto's confidence. It’s not that their relationship was a secret, if anything everyone knew about it because he’d always say “Y/N this” or “Y/N” that. But there were those snakes that got off at testing Bokuto’s love for Y/N.

The brunette, who introduced herself as Ainu gave a final comment before walking away with her posse. “Well, you know where I’ll be if anything happens… Toodles!” She waved her fingers.

“OH, THOSE BI-” Y/N groaned as they planted their face into Bokuto’s broad chest.

Bokuto weaved his hands into Y/N’s hair, massaging it to cool them down. A few moments past and they felt him shake a little, then some more as he began to giggle. Y/N pulled away, scrunching up their nose and folded their arms. “What’s so funny?”

Bokuto couldn’t help it, he was laughing at this point. “You’re so cute when our cheeks puff out like that when you’re jealous!”

A light dusting of blush decorated Y/N’s cheeks as they were called out. “I-I was not!”

Bokuto brought his lids down halfway and shoved his face close to theirs. The pair’s noses were almost touching. He had his hands casually tucked in his pockets, as he stared into Y/N’s eyes.

“You know you’re the only one I’d ever want,” Bokuto said with a smirk.

Y/N pushed his annoyingly handsome face with the palm of their hand, as they grew increasingly hot.

Long story short, Bokuto doesn’t really know when fans are getting to handsy, but he DEFINITELY knows when you’re being jealous.

He’d apologize for his teasing, it might seem half-hearted because he says it in between laughs and pinching your cheeks. But just take his word for it because this boy just wants you to know that he loves you WAY TOO DAMN MUCH.

This fuckin boy might even lean into your ear and whisper, “I’ll show you how much I love you tonight.” Then would have the audacity to trot forward and yell about how excited he is for snack time. Leaving you hot and bothered, with your mouth agape.

𝔼𝕟𝕕 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | SMUT PART 2?? If the people ask then I will deliver.

#bokuto #bokuto imagines #bokuto x reader #bokuto smut #bokuto kotarou #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu self inserts #haikyuu smut #hq #hq x reader #hq imagines #hq smut #hq!! #haikyuu!!

[twstismymuse]

Hello hello!!

Alrighty so this piece right here is based off this J-drama I watched called Homeroom! It’s really funny and honestly so crazy, I definitely recommend!!!

{Title: Her Knight In Shining Armor}

{Pairing: Aoi Cho x Yandere Dire Crowley}

{Summary: It’s weird how trouble seems to follow Aoi wherever she goes, but thankfully Headmaster Crowley is always there to save her!}

{Warnings: Yandere, Toxic mindset, One sided obsession towards a student}

———————————————————————

“Alright alright, settle down everyone!” Professor Trein barked at his rowdy students. “We’re going to go over the reading I assigned last night so I sincerely hope you all completed it dutifully!”

“Maaaan, I didn’t even open the textbook,” Ace whined, sinking into his seat in an effort to hide from Trein’s stern glare.

“I did!!” Deuce beamed, smoothing out his paper and straightening his spine.

“Tch, what a goody two shoes-”

“Quiet! Now then, our first question-”

“Yoohoo!” All heads turned toward an unmistakable masked face that was currently sticking through the doorway of the classroom.

“Headmaster Crowley? This is certainly a surprise.”

“Ah, it’s a surprise check in! It’s normal for a supervisor to want to see what his lively students are learning in class!”

“Yes but this is visit seems rather impromptu-”

“Oh don’t mind me! I’ll be as quiet as a mouse! You won’t even know I’m here, Mozus!! Everyone! Make sure to pay close attention to your teacher, yes?”

Trein sighed, not really having a choice in the matter, “Very well then. We’re currently reviewing the reading I assigned last night of pages 54-60 of the textbook.”

“Ah, excellent! Carry on please,” Headmaster Crowley stepped back dutifully and with a snap of his fingers, conjured up a simple wooden chair and took a seat in front of the blackboard much to the awe of the students.

“Whoa…”

“He didn’t even use a magic pen for that spell!!”

“Yes yes, we’re all aware our headmaster is a distinguished and very powerful magician,” Trein stated, a hand stroking Lucius’s fur absentmindedly. “We have more pressing matters to take care of, starting with question one…”

Turning towards the blackboard, Trein grabbed a piece of chalk and read along with each word he wrote down. Facing the students again, he asked, “Are there any brave volunteers who wish to come up and attempt to write the answer for us all to see?”

No one came forward.

“No one? Hm, most disappointing. I suppose I’ll have to call someone then.” Scanning the sea of nervous faces, his eyes landed on one magicless student who was avoiding his gaze.

“Miss Cho! You’re one of my best students in this class. Why don’t you come up?”

“Ah, is that so? I’m pleased to see that you’ve adjusted to student life here! I would so love to see what you’ve learned!” Headmaster Crowley encouraged.

Yet Aoi didn’t make a move to stand up.

“Psst, Aoi, get up there! What are you waiting for?!” Grim hissed, nudging the girl roughly.

“Cho? I hope you have a good reason for keeping us waiting.”

Aoi kept her head bowed, struggling to keep her cool as she stammered, “P-professor Trein, Headm-master, I’m really s-sorry but...I…I can’t get ou-out of my seat.”

“What? Whatever do you mean-”

“They did it again, Headmaster Crowley!” Deuce cried out. The man leapt out of his seat and ran to the row the prefect was seated in, the girl trying her hardest to stand up yet it seemed as though her legs had melded with the cushioned pew.

Upon closer inspection, Headmaster Crowley bellowed, “An adhesive charm! Outrageous! To use this on another student for impure reasons is simply unforgivable! Don’t any of you have any shame, targeting a prefect like this??” He kneeled next to Aoi and muttered a quick spell under his breath. “There! Try getting up now Aoi.”

Aoi cautiously got up, breathing out a sigh of relief upon finding she wasn’t stuck anymore.

“Thank you so much, Headmaster!”

“Of course!” Turning to the rest of the class, his glowing yellow eyes narrowed behind his mask. “I am deeply ashamed of you all! If the culprit is in this room, stand up and reveal yourself!”

Murmurs rose among the male students, but no one made a move to follow Crowley’s orders.

“I see...Mozus!”

“H-Headmaster?”

“Please dismiss Aoi Cho from this class! This is a serious issue that can’t be ignored!”

“Yes, yes of course!” 

Crowley faced Aoi again, taking her by the hand, “Come with me Prefect. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“B-but Headmaster-”

Ignoring her protests, Crowley began leading Aoi out of the classroom, Grim hopping onto the ground and following behind, “Wait up, Aoi!! I’m coming too-”

Whirling around, Crowley held out an open palm, causing Grim to stop in his tracks. “It pleases me to see that you care for the prefect, yet this matter only concerns her. You must stay in class.”

“Eh?! But Aoi-”

“I’m sorry but you must stay behind! Come along now, Aoi.”

“O-ok!! Sorry Grim, I’ll meet back up with you at lunch!”

“AOI!!”

🕸🕸🕸

“Now tell me, how many times has it been now?” Crowley questioned, taking a seat behind his desk inside the Headmaster’s office. Aoi fidgeted in her seat, feeling like a little kid awaiting the principal’s verdict.

“W-well...I’d say that was the third time this week.”

“Just this week?!”

“Yeah…”

“And there was the incidents in your Potions and Flying class...Do you have any clue who could be doing this to you? Anyone who could have a vendetta against you?”

“N-no...there’s no one I can think of.” 

“I see…”

“Um...Headmaster?”

“Yes?”

“I...um...I just want to thank you for all the times you’ve helped me. I’m really sorry for all the trouble I keep getting into, I don’t mean to cause any problems but...I just don’t know why this keeps happening to me. I-” Her eyes began tearing up as she inhaled sharply, shoulders trembling.

“Aoi…” Noticing the state the poor girl was in, Crowley stood up from his chair and walked around to kneel down on one knee before her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he pulled her into his chest, then wrapping his arms around the prefect as he cooed softly.

“Aoi. Do not be afraid. I merely want to protect you. It’s awful that anyone would do this to someone as sweet as you yet I assure you that I am here for you. This isn’t your fault, not one bit. Please, don’t hesitate to come to me when they target you again. As long as you are in Twisted Wonderland, I will watch over you and keep you safe.”

Struggling not to bawl like a baby in front of an adult, Aoi returned the hug and quietly smiled to herself, “Th-thank you, Headmaster. That...that really means a lot.”

Pulling back, he grinned,“But of course! After all, it’s-”

“Because you are so kind, right?”

Crowley paused, his mouth gaping open then bursting out into jubilant laughter, “Why yes! Haha, you already know me so well, prefect!”

“Pfft, only cause that’s like basically your catchphrase!” Aoi giggled, her unease from before forgotten. 

“There we are! You look much better when you’re smiling like this!” Crowley exclaimed, enjoying the sight of pink dusting her cheeks and how she averted her eyes. 

How cute...

“Well, I’ve taken up quite a bit of your time,” He remarked, rising up from the floor and flashing the girl a warm smile. “You can go to your lunch period now.”

“R-right!” Aoi hurriedly stood up, politely bowing her head and heading towards the door.

“Ah, Prefect!” Crowley called out just as Aoi had one foot out of the room.

“Yeah?” 

“Do take care to remember what I said.”

Blinking once before responding with a bright grin, “Yes, sir!” The door slammed shut behind the girl. Crowley waited for a moment before returning to sit at his desk, taking his feathered quill out of its inkwell.

It was a good thing he made sure that the adhesive charm wouldn’t be too strong when he cast it before Aoi’s Magical History lesson. He never wanted to harm his dearest student, heavens no! All it took were a few nudges here and there in her classes, and he was able to finally get through to her. Oh the sight of her tears and her radiant smile was simply beautiful! To think he’d lived for so long without knowing what true beauty looked like!

All in due time, he reminded himself, quill scratching against parchment paper. He had to be patient. Honestly, what did she expect? A magicless human girl, all alone in an unfamiliar world, helpless with no one to turn to when a hidden enemy reared its ugly head.

However, she had nothing to fear. He’d never let any harm come to his little songbird, he’d keep her safe inside his academy. 

He’d make sure to be her sworn protector, her knight in shining armor. 

It’s because he was so kind, after all.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #character x oc #yandere #yandere dire crowley #yandere dire crowley x oc #aoi cho #ace trappola #twst grim #deuce spade #mozus trein

[imaginejamesandsirius]

Can we get like. A pirate AU where James is the captain of a ship and Sirius is like a Private in the Navy on a ship that James's crew attacks. But instead of killing Sirius James is like 👀 and Sirius joins the crew and they're in love❤️❤️?? You are doing gods work carrying this rarepair on your back.

((A/N: Warning for mentions of slave trade and past child abuse)) 

Sirius knew that he could've thought through his escape plan a little better, but he'd been desperate to get away from his family, by whatever means necessary. He needed to do something that they couldn't pull him back from. Joining the military had been the easiest, most solid answer that he'd been able to come up with. It was bad for their image if they pulled him out of that, but they could do it. Their reach was long and powerful, and Sirius knew that. Military wouldn't just be enough; he needed to get away. 

So he joined the navy. Sailors spent all their time on ships, hardly ever in port. With no war on, they didn't even fight. They were little more than guards to merchant ships carrying valuable cargo, and Sirius didn't mind that at all. 

He sort of minded being told what to do all the time, but he figure out that the better he got at his job, the less he was ordered around; there was no point in telling him what to do if he was already doing it, after all. 

He kind of hated his fellow crewmates, but that wasn't a surprise. Sirius didn't get on with other people, and he was still content to be away from his parents. 

Sirius wouldn't describe himself as being happy with his new life, but he'd never been very happy to begin with, so it was no real loss. He knew that freedom was a dream that could never be attained. He'd been born into a prestigious family, and while he'd reaped the rewards, he wasn't willing to deal with the consequences. His father had called him spoiled, and his mother had said he was being ungrateful. The truth was that Sirius was plenty grateful for what he'd had growing up, but not who he'd had it with. 

He hadn't been a part of the navy for a full year when it ended. He'd always thought that if he was pulled out of service, it would be because his parents yanked him out, or maybe that he finally lost his temper and assaulted a superior officer. In a way, the latter is what happened. He just... didn't get discharged for it because there were bigger events at work. 

Pirates attacked them, and that was around the time that Sirius learned the 'valuable cargo' they were guarding were slaves-- it suddenly made sense why a single ship had needed an escort, but it didn't make it any less reprehensible. They were under attack and the chances of any of them making it out of this were slim, so Sirius figured it was well within his rights to be the shite out of his captain. 

Whether it was considered improper conduct or not-- which, to be clear, it definitely was-- Sirius was rounded up with the rest of the sailors that still lived when the attack was over. The worst they'd do was kill him; pirates didn't have time to be inventive torturers, and any way they could kill him would be quick. Even the more frightening ideas would only last for a couple hours before he died. That being said, he didn't want to die. He rather liked living. They were on their knees, waiting for the verdict as the pirates deliberated. 

He could hear one of the pirates talking to his captain, but he couldn't hear what was being said. All he knew that was one second, they were talking, and the next, the captain was squat down in front of Sirius, peering at him curiously. Sirius met his gaze evenly. "You're not like the others," the captain said. "What's your name, love?" 

Pirates were weird. Who called someone 'love' before killing them? "I'm pretty sure you don't need to know someone's name to kill them." 

"Who said anything about killing you? I know I didn't. What's your name?" he asked again. 

Sirius didn't have a good reason for why he refused to answer. Best he could figure was that he just didn't like being told what to do, and if he was about to die, there was point in being accommodating. This pirate captain could say as much as he wanted that he didn't plan on killing Sirius, but he knew that pirates didn't take prisoners; it simply wasn't feasible. He didn't want to answer, so he just stared into the captain's eyes and raised an eyebrow; if there was one thing he was good at, it was being annoying. According to Regulus, at least, but he had plenty of evidence to back up that claim. 

After twenty seconds or so, one of the other sailors next to him muttered, "For fuck's sake," before saying, loud enough that the captain could hear him, "Sirius Black. His name's Sirius Black." It was one of the lieutenants, which meant that he'd almost certainly known about the slaves in the merchant ship.  

Sirius had the urge to kick him, but he couldn't do it without falling over, what with his hands tied behind his back and all. He settled for glaring at the man. He didn't turn his head quickly enough to catch the spark of realisation in the captain's eyes. 

Instead of the pirate captain saying anything about his family or the hefty ransom he could try to get for giving them back Sirius, he just said, "Like the star." Then his gaze slid over to the lieutenant and down to his shoulder where his rank was displayed, and his face hardened. He looked back at Sirius, his expression clearing again. "Moony?" he said, pointing at the lieutenant. 

The next second, there was a sword sticking out of his chest and he made a horrible gurgling sound. Sirius flinched, and he wasn't the only one. The sword pulled back out, and he fell, lifeless and face first, on the deck. 

"Don't worry, Sirius Black," the captain said quietly, like this was something just for the two of them, "that's not going to happen to you." 

Sirius clenched his jaw. It wasn't the reassurance the captain wanted it to be. Going back to his parents and that sodding house was nothing short of a nightmare. 

All the same, the captain was true to his word, and Sirius wasn't killed. The same couldn't be said for the rest of his crewmates, but a few of them did live to see the next day. 

None of them were prisoners, and that was as strange as everything else about this had been. It made sense that they wouldn't have jailcells, but it didn't make sense that they let them roam free. That just wasn't safe. And it certainly didn't help that Sirius had no idea why he hadn't been killed. The captain had been dead by the time the battle ended-- and it had been a short lived battle-- and the rest of the higher ranked officers had been killed. All that was left of the original crew was Sirius and a handful of other privates. Did the pirates think they were harmless because they were new? But that theory didn't hold because from what Sirius had seen, these pirates weren't stupid. They had a reason for keeping these particular crewmen alive, and he wished he knew what it was. Sirius? He was obvious. Ransom, a grateful reward for transferring him safely, whatever they went with, that was smart. The rest of the privates didn't have those sorts of family connections, though. 

Sirius had never liked being idle, and when he had more reason to be cowed, he had a tendency to act out-- or, as Regulus always said, act stupid. As far as stupid ideas went, this was harmless. He went on deck, and when he saw someone struggling to keep hold of the rope and get down where they needed to tie it off, he went over and said, "Want a hand?" 

"Tie this off," they said, tossing the slack rope down to him. After he did, they gave it an experimental tug, then hopped down. "You must be Sirius," they said with a grin. 

He blinked. "How d'you know that?" He hadn't met any of the pirate crew, and he certainly hadn't been introduced to them. 

"You're not on our crew, and James only cared to mention one of our passengers to me. I believe the phrase he used was 'devilishly handsome'." Now that they were closer, Sirius could make out all the freckles dotting across pale skin. He guessed that some people tanned, and other people just freckled. He caught sight of coppery red hair tucked under their hat, and that explained the resilient paleness, at least. 

Sirius blinked some more. "Who's James?" 

Their grin widened. "He must really be in it if he forgot to introduce himself. He's the captain. I'm Lily. Normally, I would follow that up by saying that I'm available to someone like you, but I think James would get pissed with me if I even thought of stealing you out from under him." 

"I'm supposed to think fondly of someone that kidnapped me?" Sirius said with a snort. "He'll be waiting a long time for that to happen." 

Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "We kidnapped you? That's news to me. The way I see it, we saved your life. You would've been around slavers for years before they realised you weren't one of them. When that day came, they would've killed you." 

"I find it hard to be grateful when I'm about to be delivered into the hands of my family," he said, even though he was grateful for the save; the Navy crew would've tossed him overboard. 

"You don't miss them?" 

"Not one bit," he said immediately. 

She hummed, then glanced out at the ocean. "If you're going to be up here, you might as well help me. C'mon." 

*

"You did what?" James asked, staring at her, dumbfounded. 

Lily rolled her eyes. "It's not like I went into his cabin and pulled him out with my feminine wiles. And, in case you forgot, you never introduced yourself to him. He asked questions and I answered them. I wouldn't be surprised if he confronted you about it tomorrow," she said with a sly smile. She liked to meddle. Normally, James thought it was funny, but that was because normally he wasn't involved. It was so much easier to find her funny when it didn't effect him. 

"Please tell me you're joking." 

"Why would I joke about something like this?" Lily asked innocently. 

James narrowed his eyes at her. He couldn't tell if it was genuine innocence or if she was faking. Knowing her, it could easily be either one. "You did not tell him that I thought he was cute. Right? Lily, tell me. I need to hear these words from your mouth, right now." 

She cocked her head. When she had her hair down, it did a fair job of distracting him from the point. With her hair tied back though, James was not so easily deterred. "I thought you told me to stop lying to you." Definitely fake innocence. 

"You are such a pain in the arse. Why do I keep you around?" 

"Because I'm your second best swordsman." She crossed her arms and leaned forward. "Man to man, James. What're you planning on doing with the privates from that ship? We aren't going the direction we do to drop people off. We're going straight to the free colonies." 

He looked at her for a moment, debating if he wanted to tell her or not. Eventually, he settled on not. There was a certain amount of push back he was willing to deal with, but it would be more than that if he told her the truth. "It doesn't matter what order we do it in, Lils. It's the same end result. I'll see you in the morning," he said, heading to his cabin. 

*

As Lily had predicted, Sirius came up to him the next morning. It's what woke him up, actually, which meant he wasn't fully dressed when he stumbled to the door. 

"What?" 

Sirius's eyes tracked over him before flickering back up to his face. It was, admittedly, gratifying, but it didn't explain why he was here so early instead of waiting until after they'd gotten some food in them. "You have some questions to answer." 

"Do I?" James asked, rubbing one hand tiredly over his face. 

"Am I prisoner?" 

"What? No, of course not." 

"Then where are you taking us?" 

"You'll see when we get there," he said grumpily, then he shut the door. He was not a morning person, and what he hated even more was getting woken up before he was ready. If it was an emergency, that was one thing, but this was decidedly not an emergency. 

It took him about thirty more minutes of being awake to realise that he'd been an arse to the bloke he wanted to impress. Wonderful. He meant to apologise the next time he saw him, but Sirius glared at him before he could get close, and he figured some time to cool down might do him good. 

*

James had made mistakes. In life, generally, but specifically he meant today. The way he'd started his day with Sirius had been getting off on the wrong foot, and it had only gotten worse as time passed. Sirius knew how to hold a grudge, that's for sure. 

As much as James would like to say that it was an annoying aspect of someone growing up rich, he liked it. Sirius was bloody fit, and no amount of him glaring at James changed that opinion. In fact, he thought it might've made it worse. His crew respected him, and he was friendly, so there was a decent amount of smiling. As captain, his word was final, so there was a certain amount of distance. Even Remus and Lily, his closest friends, knew that there was a limit to how far they could push him. But Sirius didn't care; he didn't care in a way that didn't take away from James's authority, so it's not like anything had to be done. James had double-checked by telling him to do something, and all Sirius had done was nod and go off to do it. In hindsight, not his best idea, but at least he knew that he didn't have to turn on captain mode with him. 

James was full of bad decisions, but he couldn't get himself to stop. He looked at Sirius, caught sight of his jaw or his thick black hair or his piercing grey eyes, and all rational thought left him. Sirius was hardly the most experienced sailor that James had met, but his competence was hot. He had big hands and he knew exactly how to use them. James knew that getting hot and bothered over one of his crewmen was a recipe for disaster, but he looked at Sirius and he wanted. He didn't know how to turn it off, and he wasn't sure he would even if he did know how. Fancying Sirius put a fire in his stomach that made him feel alive, like a reminder of all the things he loved in life. 

After dinner, James was manning the wheel while Peter got ready for his night shift, and that was when Sirius approached him. He tried not to show how surprised he was, but he wasn't very successful. 

Sirius didn't say hello or give any lead up. He just stomped over to him and said, "You're giving me back to my family, aren't you?" 

"That was the plan," James said, even though he didn't want to and he normally wouldn't have bothered. If anyone asked-- and people had requested it before-- he told them that he couldn't risk it. Which was the truth. He wasn't putting his ship and his entire crew at risk to deliver someone right to their doorstep. Hell, even with Sirius, he wasn't bringing him all the way; he'd never make it back out if he did that. 

"Is there-" Sirius swallowed thickly "-something I can do to change your mind?" 

James blinked at him. Every point of Sirius's posture screamed that he was uncomfortable, but it sounded like he was propositioning James. And this, Lily, is why you should keep your big mouth shut, he thought. "I'd have thought that you wanted to go home," James said, ignoring what Sirius was attempting to offer. "Most people do." Even the people that no longer had homes. It wasn't something they could attain, but they wanted it all the same. It honestly hadn't occurred to him that Sirius might not want to go back. 

The ship gave a long heave, and James braced his foot on the bottom of the railing. Next to him, Sirius put his hand on the bannister, moving easily with the motion of the larger waves. 

"Do you not want to?" James asked. 

"I'd rather die," Sirius said, his answer plain enough that James knew it was true. 

"Then we won't bring you back," he said easily. "Was that all you needed?" The unease was gone from Sirius's posture now, but there was no chance that he wanted to stick around and chat with James. That being said, all he wanted was for Sirius to want to stay and talk to him. Talk on the deck, in the dying light of the sun, and feel like he was falling in love all over again. He didn't expect it though. He knew that Sirius would probably say yes and then leave. 

"Yes," Sirius said, but he didn't leave. He didn't say anything further, not yet at least. He just stayed there, looking at James. 

He'd always thought that he was pretty good at reading people, but Sirius's expression couldn't be described as anything other than closed off. 

Sirius stayed there for several minutes, only leaving when Peter started making his way up the steps to relieve James. As he left, James was struck with the feeling that something important had transpired. Hell if he knew just what it was that had happened, though. 

*

James's interest in Sirius had never been a secret onboard, and not just because Lily had told Sirius flat out that James fancied him. James always let his eyes linger too long, and the frequency with which his eyes strayed to Sirius made it quite obvious. 

What came as a shock to everyone was when Sirius started returning that interest. It wasn't in any way that was as obvious as James's feelings, but it was there. No one was more surprised by it than James, to the point that even when Sirius was kissing him desperately and grabbing at bare skin, he almost didn't believe that it was happening. 

"You like me," James said wondrously. It could've been a dream. He would've been convinced that it was a dream, actually, if not for the little details that dreams never contained. The swollen lips, the too-dry hands, and the fact that there was no amount of practice that made snogging someone new on a ship easier than doing it on land. Until they learned to move together, there was going to be a certain amount of awkwardness that they had to deal with. 

Sirius grinned at him, happy and utterly unashamed. "What gave it away?" 

"You used to hate me," James said, as if Sirius hadn't said anything. 

"I didn't hate you," he denied, tugging James a little closer. 

"It felt that way to me," James said. He wasn't judging. He'd killed a lot of people that Sirius had worked with during their rescue. 

"I thought you were going to send me back to my parents," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "And you were acting like a total arse by ignoring me and acting like you were better than me." 

"What if I am better than you?" he asked curiously. 

"Don't worry. You're not." 

James laughed, and then Sirius was kissing him, and thoughts about Sirius having hated him at one time was far from his mind. Even if he was right and Sirius had at one time hated him, it was a thing of the past, now. 

*

"Potter!" 

"Which one?" Sirius called down, leaning out from his perch with a shit eating grin. He wasn't holding onto the wood with his hands right now. He was prevented from falling only by his legs wrapped around the nest and linked together, and with the way he was hanging, it made his thin shirt cling to the taut muscles in his abdomen. From where he was standing, James could see a patch of familiar tanned skin because of the way his shirt fell. The spyglass he'd been using dangled from one hand as if carelessly, but they all knew he had a firm hold on it. James looked up at him and could only think of how much he loved him. 

"You know damn well I meant the captain," Remus yelled back. 

"Then just say captain!" Lily said from the front of the ship where she was looking through her own spyglass. "We do this every time!" 

The crew amongst all of them laughed to themselves as they went about their jobs. 

"You bloody well know why," Remus groused. 

"Did you actually need something, mate?" James asked, even though he was always amused by these conversations-- and had been since the very beginning, when him and Sirius had gotten married. He continued working on strapping his sword on; they were preparing for a battle, after all. 

"We're running low on gun powder. Unless you want to buy more from Rosmerta the next time we're in her bay, but there's no point when they should have plenty." 

"We'll check on what they have and see how much cargo space we have available," James said. Fresh water was of the highest priority, of course, and it took up most of their space below deck. That they had to plan for any people they rescued didn't make it easier. The fact was that they didn't often fight in a manner that required gun powder, but if Moony requested it, then he'd check. Plus Rosmerta's blend was more powerful than what the British Navy carried, so sometimes it wasn't worth getting it for free. 

Sirius winked when James glanced up at him again, then pulled himself to a normal sitting position. 

"How's it look up there?" James asked Lily. 

"Looks to be a barge, Captain." she said. 

"Sirius?" he checked. 

"Not seeing anyone guarding them." 

"This'll be easy. Like finding rum in a pub," Remus said, and James couldn't help but agree. Stealing from the government, even when the ship in question wasn't running slaves, wasn't exactly something he would lose sleep over. And, he thought with another glance up at his husband, there was no one else he'd rather be doing this with. 

#prongsfoot #marauders #fanfic #james potter #sirius black #lily evans #remus lupin #filled #no magic au #post hogwarts #getting together #pirates au #siriuslystarbucks #the-best-url-on-this-site

[abigailnussbaum]

The Watch 1x01 - 1x02

The first two episodes of BBC America’s The Watch aired this weekend, and I’ve seen basically zero discussion of them on my twitter and tumblr feeds. Which I assume is because most of the people I follow are Pratchett fans who have been horrified by the press releases and the trailer (or, for that matter, the lackluster reviews) and decided to write the show off before it even started airing. To be clear, this is an entirely reasonable approach, but there’s nothing else on right now and I was bored.

Quick verdict? It’s not dire, but also not so interesting that you’d feel compelled to keep going with it. In fact, my most powerful reaction after the first two episodes is puzzlement - I can’t understand who the intended audience for this show is. The thinking seems to have been “everyone will be interested in a brash, in your face, rudely comedic fantasy cop show!” And maybe that’s true, but The Watch isn’t particularly brash, in your face, or even that comedic, so what’s left are fans of the genre(s), who are reasonably spoiled for choice right now (the show The Watch most closely resembles is Carnival Row, which is not amazing but still has a greater depth of emotion and a more interesting world). Why anyone would go out of their way to watch a show that seems to be working so hard to stamp out anything original about itself is a question the creators don’t seem to have asked themselves.

More thoughts below the cut.

First, something positive: I quite like the look of the show. There was obviously a lot of pressure from previous adaptations, not to mention the famous illustrations associated with the books, to strike out in an original direction, and I think the show really found one. Instead of fantasized-medieval-through-Victorian, The Watch’s Ankh Morpork combines those period and genre elements with modern ones. So The Mended Drum is now a seedy nightclub with DJ lighting and an open mike stage, and the city’s walls are covered with graffiti tags. The more distinctive settings - the Patrician’s palace, the Unseen University library - are not as interesting, possibly because the budget wouldn’t stretch to make them look really spectacular. But the core approach of the series, that Ankh Morpork is an old but modern city where there are also a lot of fantasy elements, is a fun and refreshing one.

Second, despite all the prevarication and spin in the run-up to the show, this is a Pratchett adaptation. It isn’t merely “inspired by” Pratchett’s novels, as the show’s title screen insists. It isn’t taking Pratchett’s ideas and making its own things with them. I can only assume that these claims were made in response to the backlash against stuff like “Sybil Ramkin, young, hot vigilante”. But despite changes like that, this is actually a fairly straightforward adaptation of Guards! Guards!, which also incorporates elements from Night Watch, plus some rather deep cuts from the rest of the Discworld corpus (the second episode, for example, implies that the ultimate villains of the series are the Auditors of Reality). So yeah, The Watch doesn’t have the excuse of being its own thing. It is a Discworld adaptation, but a bad one, that fails to understand a lot of fundamental thing about the world and the characters.

Third, I think the thing that most strikes about the show is how low-energy it feels. Despite billing itself as something outrageous, and despite some work on the visual front (and in Richard Dormer’s Jack Sparrow-esque performance as Vimes), the show itself feels almost bland. You see this in particular when it comes to the humor. It’s not that The Watch isn’t trying to be funny. There are jokes, and a few of them - mostly the ones original to the series - are mildly amusing. But when it comes to Pratchett’s own humor, the show simply has the actors deliver the gags and references in the most low-key way, and unsurprisingly the result is that hardly any of it lands.

Now, to be fair, this has been a problem with Pratchett adaptations since the 90s. Most of Pratchett’s humor is based in what his third-person narrator tells us about the world, and is hard to convey in a dramatic presentation (Good Omens tried to solve this problem by putting a lot of Pratchett’s narration in its voiceover, with only limited success). But even the dialogue-based jokes are so arch and stagey, that to deliver them successfully would require committing to a lot of very specific, demanding choices from the actors and writers (off the top of my head, the only show that even comes close to that kind of humor is Brooklyn Nine-Nine). It would have to be a high-concept, meticulously executed sitcom, whereas most Pratchett adaptations have been fantasy dramas with jokes. 

So it’s not entirely The Watch’s fault that it isn’t managing to convey the zany energy of Pratchett’s novels, but at the same time, it also clearly isn’t trying to. Its attitude seems to be that simply the existence of things like troll cops or assassins’ guilds who leave a receipt are funny in their own right. And sure, even in a media landscape in which fantasy has been mainstreamed by Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings movies, and Game of Thrones, not a lot of fantasy settings have an orangutan librarian who only says “ook”. But what makes The Librarian funny isn’t that he’s a librarian who is an orangutan. It’s that he’s a librarian who is an orangutan who still behaves exactly like a librarian (while also doing ape things like swinging from the bookshelves and eating bananas), and that “ook” can convey almost any concept in existence. The Watch doesn’t seem to realize this. It seems to be assuming that just putting that stuff on screen, or parroting Pratchett’s lines, will be hilarious in and of itself, while leaving out a lot of the specificity of setting, character, and tone that made the books sing.

You see this also in how it handles its characters. Everyone fixated on Lady Sybil when the promos came out, because that’s the most egregious misreading of the original (and rooted in the most boring assumptions about what audiences want and will respond to). But it’s everywhere. Take Carrot, for example. In the books, Carrot is fascinating because he’s never entirely what you take him for. He’s innocent, but not naive. Principled, but not a zealot. A goody-two-shoes, but not a prig. He’s always a lot smarter than you think he is, and most importantly, he genuinely likes and is interested in people. 

The Watch delivers none of this, and instead makes Carrot your basic hothead rookie who just wants to take down bad guys and sees the more seasoned, cynical officers who keep trying to slow him down as hopelessly corrupted. There’s none of Carrot’s openness, or his genuine love of the city, in this character. Instead he’s sullen and judgmental. And look, we could have a long conversation about which one of these characters is more useful to us and our ongoing conversation about policing (as well as a much shorter conversation about which one of them is truer to the ideas Pratchett was trying to convey about policing). But what feels more important to me, when coming to evaluate a new series that is trying to make an argument for why you should keep watching it, is the simple fact that there are a million places where you could find a character like The Watch’s Carrot, and hardly anywhere where you could find one like Pratchett’s. 

Again and again, it feels as if, in the pursuit of what it thinks of as outrageous, risk-taking storytelling, The Watch jettisons the unique characters from the books and replaces them with ones that we’ve seen a million times before. Angua in the books is kind of neurotic, and extremely thoughtful about the way her condition can incline her to see other people as objects to be used and consumed (which Pratchett later develops into an aspect of his theme of monsters-as-aristocrats). In the show, she’s obsessed with how her lycanthropy makes her “the real monster”. Oh boy, I’ve never seen a werewolf worry about being a monster before! I’ve never seen a scene where they send their friends away just as they’re about to transform! This is cutting edge stuff, I tell you. And while we’re on the subject, it gives me no pleasure to report that Anna Chancellor as Patrician Vetinari is thoroughly meh, because no effort has been taken to convey the character’s intelligence, near-omniscience, and constant scheming. Vimes is intimidated by her because she’s his boss and she’s posh, not because of anything specific to her. She feels almost identical to a million other posh rulers whose job it is to infodump to and threaten scrappy, working class heroes.

Which brings me back to my original observation: that I do not get who this show is for. It’s not for Pratchett fans, because it deliberately drops a great deal of what made his writing and characters special in favor of the most generic, predictable choices. But I can’t help but feel that anyone who is into this sort of extremely familiar cop story will be put off by the dragons and the wizards and the orangutan librarian, not to mention Dormer’s gurning performance. The whole thing is almost fascinating to watch - a work that clearly believes itself to be boundary-pushing and different, when really it’s just dull but with dragons.

#the watch

[wilbdhm]

The life of a copy printer paper

A short story about life told from the perspective of a copy printer paper 📄

It all starts in the forest.

I am still a part of something bigger, not my own individual yet. Something disappears in my consciousness; I leave the earth and are taken high up into the air. A connection is broken, and I can no longer feel the presence of my friends in the root system. Darkness envelops me and I slip into a dreamless coma. I am torn from my slumber by the feeling of layers upon layers being ripped from me. My exterior bleeds and the sound of a working woodchipper cut through me like a saw.

The torture leaves me in pieces, literally. The pain numbs my senses and I have a hard time orienting myself. I have no idea for how much time passes or where I am, but I quickly realize that it must be outdoors. Because, sometimes the sun shines for what seems like days, resulting in a rough sunburn. Sometimes it rains and the water cools my sore exterior. I have just started to get used to my new life when it all shifts on its axis. Everything happens so fast and I do not know where I am to be sent. The ground beneath me moves and suddenly I am being brought down to hell. I am getting burned alive, then out of nowhere, cold water is cascading over me and I am grateful for a few seconds before I realize that this is just the beginning. Thanks to the water, it is possible for my kidnappers to deconstruct me from my simple wood shavings past, into this new, hot, and gooey wood mush.

For the time being I am but a runny brown batter of wood carcasses. Against my will, they drench me in bleach until I lose all my natural complexion. I guess this is how the society’s norm wants me to look like. Maybe I am hallucinating, but it seems to me that everything around me is getting smaller for every second that passes. Compressed between two metal cylinders, I am rolled out and feel dehydrated for the first time since the scorching hot summer of 1947. This new torture device is used on me for ages before I make my debut, just a few 100th of a millimetre thick and white as chalk. I am still a small part of something bigger, but once again the connection between us is broken.

Now, I am a single individual. I am the three hundred and seventy - fifth paper in the pile.

This is when the real adventure can begin, I thought. But not one second after I have been presented for the world to see, I am being surrounded by darkness. I stay awake for hours and wait hopefully for something, anything, but nothing happens. Abandoned, I close my eyes and succumb to my monotonous existence and zone out. When I wake up and have no idea for how long I have been asleep. It could be hours, weeks, maybe even years.

For the moment it seems that I am situated in a so-called "copying machine" if I am to believe my fellow co-papers. According to them, it is some type of device that is used to tattoo our, for the time being, unblemished skin. I hear gossip that some get cool illustrations and others long meaningful texts. To say that I never think of my turn, would be like lying straight to your face. Of course, large parts of my days are spent on ideas and fantasies about what my future tattoo will look like. I secretly hope that it will be a beautiful poem, preferably one by Sappho.

Unfortunately, not all dreams come true. So instead of beautiful Greek words, I am in the end, inked with just the plain old English ones. Not even a poem, but some weird made-up story about what it is like to be a copy printer paper. That is just about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Who would even want to read that? I will probably just end up in the paper recycling anyway. The more I think of it, the more I find myself almost yearn for it. At least then, I will become a blank slate. Get to turn a new page and get a new chance at life to get something nice tattooed on me. There is still hope.

My daydreams around the prospect of paper recycling are snatched away from me when a hand grabs me. I am, once again in my lifetime, brought up into the air. This time, to end up beneath the searching gaze of two pair of eyes. Their penetrative gaze makes my skin crawl as they read through me from head to toe. When they have finished reading, I am put to onto a small stack of papers. Before I get the chance to utter a word, I am being muffled by three or possibly four papers being dumped on top of me. I give up trying to make sense of it all when It is proven too difficult to even try to determine how many lies beneath me. I am, once again part of something bigger than myself.

Caught off guard, I feel two razor-sharp cuts in my left side. I find a pair small metal pins sit in the margin; they shine dimly under the fluoresce lights. It was about time for me to get myself some piercings, I thought, trying to be positive. After the sudden pain wears off, me and my fellow papers take off, destination; unknown. We level up until we find ourselves on the sixth floor. Once arrived we change owners and end up in the hands of a new stranger, the second for today.

Inside the office, I am seen for the single paper that I am. Still a small part of the bigger story but with no less integrity. I am read through several times and find myself in disagreement of my reader’s opinion regarding the black ink that covers me. Instead of snorting in disgust, my new owner seems to think it is funny, rather than stupid. How, I will never understand. Unexpected but welcome, nonetheless. In the aftermath, I feel at least a little better about my tattoo, even with the newly added red supplements. But as my story always seems to come to, I inevitably end up in the dark again, this time in the form of a drawer.

Time passes without me noticing. I have grown accustomed to my simple living by now. But today will be different, I can feel it. Today will be the day when I get to see the light again. I am proven right when the drawer slowly gets pulled out. I am mentally preparing myself to end up in the paper recycling bin, buzzing with prospect of what could be. Waiting anxiously for the final verdict as I am picked up. The anticipation is at its peak and then just as quick as the build-up, I plummet face first to the ground. I almost start to cry as I slowly descend into the regular trash can used combustible waste. I guess that is the tragic end to my dream about beautiful Greek tattoos.

When the day is over and all the lights have been put to sleep, I am in a garbage bag on my way to the local district heating. The grief that has deafened my senses since the traumatic event, subsides as the sunrise arrive. I am of my full awareness when I am burned alive for the second time in my existence. I desperately hope that the water, that the other time washed over me, will make a comeback appearance, but to no avail. Not a single drop of water comes to my rescue to extinguish the flames that lick my charred body. In the end, when there is nothing more for the fire to take away, I find myself ascend with increasing speed up the chimney. I come out, like a dark grey cloud filled to the brim with coal and dust.

The wind carries me up across the country, over cities, fields, and lakes. My height above land decrease exponentially with each passing day. It is a cloudy Wednesday morning when I softly touch down among the treetops in heart of the woodland. Just one moment later. I am being inhaled by a particular chlorophyll rich leaf. With the help of the sunbeams and some water absorbed from the ground, I transform into definition that is energy. The connection with the root system has been re-established and I have never felt happier.

It all ends in the forest.

#my writing #mine #short story #creative writing #shoutout to the OG title; livet som ett A4 papper

[patandpran]

Coffee and Coding 

A PangxWave Coffee Shop Au...

Wave was on the hunt for Wifi. That’s all he needed. He was in the middle of an extremely complicated coding assignment when his internet crashed at his apartment. If he didn’t get the assignment done in time, there was no telling what his Professor was going to think of him and he certainly wasn’t going to get the TA position he wanted so badly.

He stopped out of his apartment building and stalked the streets for a ‘free wifi’ sign. The first place he came across was a coffee shop. He wasn’t particularly a Java consumer but he was kind of desperate so he walked inside, his computer bag slung over his shoulder and walked up to the counter. He looked up at the menu and decided to order something completely at random because he had no idea what all of the different drinks were. To Wave, coffee was coffee. There didn’t need to anything fancy about it.

And yet, when he looked down from the menu, he almost dropped his computer bag and his order flew from his mind. The young man standing behind the counter was smiling at him so openly and unabashedly that it made Wave’s breath hitch. No one, especially not a complete stranger, had looked at him this way before. Wave’s eyes fell to the Barista’s name tag, which read: ‘Pang’.

When Wave did not immediately share his order, Pang smirked slightly and muttered, “Do you know what you want? I know our menu can be kind of overwhelming…”

“Uh….” Wave usually prided himself on being articulate but he could not seem to string a coherent sentence together.

“I’m going to be honest with you, I just started working here but, if you trust me, I can just make something and bring it out to you.” Pang suggested gently, noticing that Wave seemed to be indecisive.

Wave nodded slowly and held out phone to pay by ‘tap’ but Pang held out a hand to stop him. Pang explained, “You seem stressed. It’s on me. I’ll just cash it out as one of my practice drinks but, in return, you have to tell me how it is. Deal?”

“Deal.” Wave confirmed, still in a bit of a haze because of Pang’s kindness.

Pang nodded toward the tables in the coffee shop. “Go get set up and I’ll bring the drink to you in a bit. Our wifi password is ‘CoffeeisaGift’”

Wave nodded again and made his way over to a table to set up his computer. How the hell was he going to be able to focus on his work when Pang was so naturally distracting? Wave cursed himself for finding the Barista so interesting.

As much as he knew that he needed to get work done, Wave couldn’t help himself. He kept staring back at Pang who had an adorable look of concentration etched across his face as he worked on Wave’s drink. There was only so much Wave could do about concentration when a cute guy was going out of his way to make a drink especially for him. But, alas, he had work to do so he finally refocused and got to work on his assignment.

“Sorry it took so long. I wanted to practice some foam art.”

Wave looked up from his screen to see Pang hovering behind it, a steaming cup of coffee clutched between his hands. Pang had a nervous look on his face, his brows knotted together, and Wave had the sudden urge to reach up and smooth them out. There was no reason for Pang to be nervous - Wave would gladly drink anything he made.

“No problem. I was able to get a lot of work done.” Wave shared and a grin spread across his lips as Pang set down the mug to the side of his computer. “Thanks again for making me the drink.”

Wave looked down and saw a smiley face floating in foam at the top of the drink. . When he looked up, he saw Pang studying him expectantly. Pang obviously wanted to get Wave’s verdict on the drink and even though Wave was not a coffee connoisseur, he was the king of opinions.

He brought the cup to his mouth and took a small sip, making sure that he didn’t burn his tongue. The taste was sweet but subtle and shockingly the taste of coffee was not too prevalent, which Wave actually preferred. He put the cup down and looked up to Pang, “That is delicious. What’s in it?”

A look of amusement crossed Pang’s face and Wave wondered what could possibly be so funny about what he had said. Pang noticed Wave’s confusion and clarified, “You have a foam moustache. It’s kind of adorable.”

Before he could even process Pang’s words, Pang had grabbed a napkin and was wiping Wave’s upper lip with foam. No one, especially a stranger, had been in Wave’s space like this before but Wave was shocked to find himself completely comfortable with Pang’s presence. When Pang was done, he pulled away the napkin.

“It’s a latte with coconut milk.” Pang explained. “Natural sweetness from the milk and because I wasn’t sure if you were okay with lactose or not, I thought I’d go with an alternative.”

“T-thank you.” Wave managed to get out, sliding his hands around the mug once again. “It really is good, though. How long have you been working here?”

Pang seemed surprised that Wave wanted to continue the conversation and he checked behind him to see if there was any new customers lingering. When he saw none, Pang pulled out the chair and sat across from Wave at the table.

“I’ve been working here for just a few weeks.” Pang explained. “I go to Ritdha University so I live in the area too.”

“I go there too!” Wave expressed with a bit more enthusiasm than he probably should have. “What’s your major?”

“Oh, cool! I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around. Political Science.” Pang answered. “I want to be a lawyer or maybe work in government some day. What about you?”

“Computer science.” Wave responded and took another sip of his drink. “Actually, that’s why I’m here… my Wifi from my apartment went down so I had to come here to complete an assignment on time.”

“Oh, you mean you didn’t just come for the coffee?” Pang teased and leaned over to see what Wave was working on. “What’s the assignment?”

“Coding…” Wave felt his cheeks get hot. “Uh… it’s not that interesting…Geeky stuff.”

“That’s not geeky.” Pang sat back down and respected Wave’s privacy. “I think there’s nothing more intriguing than someone who is openly passionate about what they do, especially when it’s something that most people might not understand.”

Wave felt himself relax significantly because of Pang’s words. Wave tried to recall a time where he had instantly felt so connected to someone and couldn’t think of anything. There was something about Pang’s smile and energy that put Wave at ease.

“Why do you want to be in Politics?” Wave wondered, wanting to divert the conversation away from himself but also wanting to know more about Pang.

Pang got a serious look on his face and chewed his lip for a moment, clearly trying to put his thoughts together before sharing them with Wave. This was a quality that Wave couldn’t help but admire. Pang was really thinking about his response before he shared it.

“I want to help people.” Pang finally answered. “I think that sometimes people don’t have a voice because of certain societal limitations. I want to help people find that voice and help the world become a bit more just and equal.”

Wave was surprised by how mature Pang’s answer was, considering how young he looked. Wave figured they were around the same age. Pang had really thought about it while Wave had chosen technology because he had an affinity for it and had always been told that it would be a lucrative career path. His answer compared to Pang’s seemed juvenile and selfish.

“Wow, we’ve been talking this whole time and I still don’t know you name…” Pang prompted when Wave did not respond right away.

“I’m, uh, Wave.” Wave spat out, having been planning his response and compliment about Pang’s initial answer but felt more comfortable answering Pang’s question anyway.

“I’m Pang.” Pang shared, pointing to his name tag. “But I, uh, guess you already knew that. Anyway, sorry for chatting your ear off, I guess you probably need to get back to work instead of being distracted by an annoying Barista.”

“You’re not annoying.” Wave protested, wanting to make sure that his awkwardness was not coming across as disinterest. “The drink is amazing. Thanks again.”

Pang got up to his feet and smiled at Wave, “Well, I’m glad to hear that I’m not as horrible as I thought I was at making coffee. I should probably get back to work anyway…”

“O-okay.” Wave murmured, slightly disappointed, but he tried to keep his composure neutral.

Pang nodded and made his way back behind the counter and returned to his work tasks. Wave returned to working on his assignment, sipping away at the drink Pang had made him every so often as he got closer and closer to completing it. He was so lost in a world of binary that he did not even notice how dark it was getting outside. When he was finally done, he looked up from the screen and noticed that there no other customers left behind in the coffee shop.

Wave went to take one final sip of his drink and was surprised to find that it had gone cold. He drank it anyway and started to pack his things up, trying to see out of his periphery if Pang was still behind the counter or had already gone off shift. Wave picked up the mug to return it to the counter.

“All done?”

Pang appeared in front of Wave so suddenly that the mug slipped through his fingers in surprise. Thankfully, Pang reacted quickly enough and was able to catch the mug in his hands. Wave winced apologetically as Pang placed the cup on the counter.

“Not so good with your hands, are you?” Pang shared in a suggestive tone and Wave’s eyes grew wide in shock. Pang registered Wave’s reaction and quickly clarified, “I was kidding. Sorry. I shouldn’t be making jokes like that when we’ve only known each other for, like, five minutes.”

Wave’s gaze dropped to the floor to avoid Pang’s but after a quick breath, he looked up again and shared, “No worries. And, yah, I got the assignment done so I can sleep easy tonight… speaking of… are you supposed to be closed already?”

Pang smiled sheepishly and shrugged, “You just looked so focused and I did some extra deep cleaning. I really didn’t mind staying behind a bit later than usual.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Wave muttered, a bit embarrassed that he had received special treatment and likely inconvenienced Pang.

“I know.” Pang confirmed, staring intently at Wave. “But I wanted to.”

“Oh…” Wave, once again, was taken aback by how straightforward Pang was. There was no BS, Pang seemed to the type of person who went for what they wanted, when they wanted. Wave was quite envious of that.

“Sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable.” Pang shared, “There’s just something about you that makes me want to get to know you more. You’re kind of an enigma, like a mystery I want to solve.”

“N-no it’s okay.” Wave assured him and a soft smile played on his lips. “I’m just not used to this kind of attention, especially not from someone like you…”

“Someone like me?” Pang echoed, clearly confused.

Wave considered his words carefully before responding, “Someone so confident, kind, friendly… I usually only get approached by people who want something from me… like, help on an assignment, want me to fix their computer, that kind of thing….You don’t need help with homework, do you?”

Pang chuckled lightly. “No, I think I’m okay. I’m sorry that’s your experience though. It probably makes it hard for you to trust people…”

“Yah…” Wave agreed, shocked by how quickly Pang seemed to be able to figure him out.

“Well, if you’re willing to take a chance on me, I would love to earn your trust.” Pang stated plainly. “Coffee’s great and all, but, would you maybe want to grab a drink with me sometime?”

Wave was at a complete loss of words. Was Pang, the adorable Barista, asking him out? He didn’t want to jump to conclusions too quickly so he tried to play it cool. He managed to get out, “Um, sure.”

Pang pulled a napkin from the dispenser on the counter and scrawled his number on it before passing it to Wave. “No pressure. Call or text me if you’re interested.”

Wave nodded, in a bit of a daze, and Pang guided him to the front door of the coffee shop, obviously needing to do some other last minute duties to close up the coffee shop. Wave walked through the door and turned to face Pang, who was hovering on the threshold, beaming at Wave.

“Thank you for the drink.” Wave murmured, and felt his cheeks grow hot before he blurted out, “I’ll text you later on tonight.”

Pang’s eyes lit up before he nodded, “See you soon, Wave. I look forward to getting to know more about you…”

With that, Pang disappeared back into the shop and locked the door behind him.

Wave, who had been so determined that the universe was against him when his Wifi stopped working that morning now was quite sure that he was meant to stumble upon that coffee shop on that particular day…

The universe might have taken his Wifi but it had given him the gift of Pang.

#pangwave #pang x wave #the gifted graduation #tgg #the gifted #my writing #cass writes