#because life is hell from that moment on... Wow he was so real and seemed so... sincere? But who knows. He sure is alive | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tangledinink · 8 months

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I told y'all I was still working on this project! >:3c Chapter 26 of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is out! Thank you so so so much to everyone recently who's taken the time to comment/send asks/etc etc etc, it makes me very happy... ; w ; The Hamatos are slowly improving upon their ninja skills, and the latest mission goes off without a hitch...! Mostly...? Read it on ao3 or below the cut.

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If you had tried to describe this scene to April a few months back, there’s no way she would have ever believed it. Hell, if you had tried to describe it to her a few weeks ago, she still probably wouldn’t have believed it, because the concept was just so… alien. Even after she knew about her brothers’ ‘mutant origins,’ it still felt alien. She couldn’t help but see them as anything but… people! Those were just her brothers. And the right way to see them was just the way she had always known them; as humans. And seeing them in ‘turtle mode,’ as Mikey had taken to calling it, felt so strange and uncomfortable. Not just because she wasn’t used to it, but because she knew that they weren’t used to it, and the way they had held themselves just always seemed so… unhappy. Like their own skin was burning them. She couldn’t help but look at them and the way they moved and how they held themselves and think, oh my god, they’re sick. Something is wrong. I have to help them. I have to take care of them.

But jesus, the way Mikey moved now? It was the most natural thing in the world. It was like he had been this way his entire life, and he couldn’t possibly seem more comfortable or at ease. All April could really think was, wow. He’s in his element, isn’t he?

She had been vaguely aware of this new ‘thing’ the guys were working on for a while, but this was the first time they actually tried it out for-real-for-real, out in the field, on some low-stakes outing. There wasn’t even a Dark Armor piece here or anything; they were just staking the place out because Foot Shack merchandise trucks came in and out of this parking garage a lot, and they were looking into it, just in case. Just practice, more than anything, with Raph leading the way and Yoshi once again on standby…

It was just so fluid. April watched in silent awe as her littlest brother slipped in and out of two different bodies like water, seamlessly transitioning from one to the other as he moved. Five fingers would be conjured to undo a latch on a grate, and then tucked back away again as if they had never been there. He’d flit from form to form to match each shadow and blend in.

At one point, even, when they were ascending a fire escape, making their way up to the roof to get a bird’s eye view, Mikey misstepped and he slipped-- and he fell. Every single person had jumped for a moment, and April could tell that all her brothers were about ready to dive after him. She was, too.

But they didn’t need to.

He was tucked into the safety of his shell before he even hit the ground.

And by the time the hard carapace was bouncing back up after smacking against the pavement, eliciting only a short clack with the impact, he was a human again, his feet under him, jumping back onto the fire escape to catch up again as if nothing had ever happened.

Raph and Leo were doing it, too, but… God. Not like Mikey.

But April had to admit-- even Raph and Leo were beginning to get the hang of it. They all were.

Well… All of them except for Donnie.

“You know,” she mumbled at some point once they got to the top of the roof, heaving her way upwards. Donnie reached over to grab her arm, helping hoist her the rest of the way up. “If either of us fell, we’d be totally screwed.”

“Yes, well,” they muttered in a deadpan. “Just trying to offer some solidarity to you, our sole human team member. I know it must be very difficult to be a minority.”

April scoffed softly, but didn’t push it.

Leo grinned big, stretching his arms over his head as the whole group made their way up to the rooftop. “Okay, uhhh, I don’t wanna jinx it--”

“Then don’t--” Donnie hissed.

“But this is actually going, like, really well?”

“Why would you say that?” Donnie sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Oh, psh. As if you believe in all that, anyway,” Leo scoffed, waving him away with a flick of his wrist. “I’m just saying, like, we’re kind of being badasses!”

“All we’re doing is sneaking around an empty parking garage,” Donnie pointed out dryly, quirking a brow as he crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not exactly high stakes.”

“See, Dee, this is your problem,” Leo sighed, shaking his head as he placed a hand on his hip. “You’re always focused on the negatives…!”

“Both of you shut up,” Raph said. “Leo is right--”

“HAH! Suck it--”

“Shut up,” Raph pressed, smacking a large palm over his little brother’s face in order to quiet him. “He’s right that we did good. Or. Well. We’re doin’ good so far. And Dee, nice job figurin’ out the bracelet thing! It’s way easier to swap back and forth without having to actually take it off.”

Donnie puffed up his chest a bit, seeming smug. “Yes, well, it isn’t a terribly complicated mechanism, it just took a bit of studying for me to unravel, truly no great feat--”

“Don’t get carried away,” April mumbled, leaning over to hip-check her brother briefly. Donnie huffed.

“Sooooo… now what do we do?” Mikey asked, turning to glance over the side of the roof, resting his elbows on the ledge. “‘Cause, uhhh, no offense? But this place is… suppperrrr boring!”

“Well,” Raph said, seeming a bit unsure of himself. “We, uh… We didn’t find anything evil or anythin’. Which is good! So I guess we…”

“Document the hell out of everything!” Donnie declared happily, moving to join Mikey’s side with a grin. “Snag pictures of the layouts, all exits and entrances, stairwells, and anything else that may be pertinent, and I can reverse engineer blueprints of the entire place with some beta software I have back home-- this would be the perfect chance to try it out. And then, if anything evil does ever happen here, we will be completely prepared!”

“Uh, yeah!” Raph agreed after just a beat of hesitation. “What Donnie said! That’s what we’re doing.”

“Impeccable leadership as always, dear Raphala,” Donnie sang, wasting no time at all in slinging his backpack from his back, beginning to unpack a cacophony of tech. “Now, I have HD, nightvision, two different drones, one macro and one micro, body cams, magnetic sonogram machines, patent pending, and a RED, which no, Mikey, you may not touch--”

“Aw, what!? No fair!”

“Ask Dad for your own!”

“But you already have one--”

April sighed deeply, rolling her eyes and resisting an exasperated smile. Oh boy. Donnie came prepared prepared.

That meant… This might take a while.

---

Casey had been told her entire life that she was too loud.

So she was well aware of the fact.

Her mother had told her, back when she was in contact with her. Her teachers had told her, back when she went to school. And her Senseis had told her, too, over and over again, gently informing her each time her volume got away from her that she needed to dial it back a bit. She was aware. She knew she was too loud.

But no one ever had anything to say when she was quiet.

Because she was capable. She had dedicated years of her life training to be a ninja-- obviously, she could be quiet. And really, she had always known how to be quiet. She had been good at it ever since she was small.

It was just that when she was quiet, no one ever had anything to say.

No one ever looked at her when she was quiet.

She’d fade away.

So it was easy, really, to find hiding places around the Foot’s hideout any time she had free time on her hands to burn away. She was quite good at tucking herself into little cracks and crevices, and always had been. The layout of their base really only lent to this. And she had only gotten better at it as time passed.

Perched up on the catwalk, curled up small and bent over, she could watch members of the Foot returning from their latest mission, greeted excitedly by the rest of their clan. They had been gone for some time now-- one of the many elite strike teams sent out to fetch more far-flung armor pieces. They weren’t all just conveniently clustered in New York, after all.

They had started sending these teams out months ago. And now, one by one, they all slowly returned, each with another piece of the armor in hand to add to their growing collection.

Every day, they got closer. She could feel the energy in the air, ever pitching higher and sharper the closer they got to their goal. Even her senseis were infected by it, brighter than she had ever seen them before.

And that was amazing. That was wonderful.

She remembered the praise she had gotten after that one mission-- after she faced down the Hamato Clan in a department store of all places. How pleased they had been with her. And god, that had been amazing.

But now she simply resented its absence.

And even though she had always known that there wasn’t really any chance that she’d be sent to join any of these special teams-- to be sent out to join them in the field and contribute to something greater, to be a true part of the clan and show them what she could do…

Every time another came back, it just sealed the reality of the matter that that door had closed. And she wasn’t going anywhere.

---

“Donnie, seriously--”

“What!? Do you want the 3D model to be accurate, or don’t you!?” He cried, whipping around to face her, and April groaned loudly, dragging her hands down her face.

“Why do we need a 3D model again!? Just make a blueprint!”

“Ah, yes, well, I could…” Donnie said, spinning on his heels with a grin. “But why have an inferior, two-dimensional recreation of a space when I could make a far superior, three-dimensional recreation!? That’s a whole entire other dimension!”

“Donnie!” April barked, scowling. “We have been here for hours. Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

“No, not really.”

“Well how about you check!?”

“Fine, fine, yes, the time is approximately-- Oh, sweet Galileo. Is it actually that late?”

“Yes!” All four of his siblings chorused, and Donnie scowled, a little pout blossoming on his face.

“... But… My model…”

“Donnie, you’ve already documented nearly every square inch of this place--”

“I’m sure the model will be fine, Purple,” Yoshi’s voice crackled over the radio. “It is time to go home.”

Donnie sighed deeply, giving a dramatic heave of his chest… but he reluctantly began to pack his gear away. “Okay, okay, fine. I will concede. But if there comes a time when we are in desperate need of a one-hundred-percent accurate third-dimensional model of this establishment, I hope you will all be prepared to eateth thy--”

“Shush. We’re on a stealth mission, remember?” Raph muttered, swiping at his head lightly. “C’mon, you guys. Leo, wake Mikey up, let’s go.”

Leo sighed, allowing the video he was playing on his phone to wrap up before he pocketed it, beginning to nudge his younger brother, curled up and slumped against him.

“C’mon, Angie, we’re going home,”

“Whaaaaa…” Mikey mumbled, blearily beginning to open his eyes-- blinking away the few stray rays of orange light that fluttered around his eyelashes even when he was just dozing. “Did we… win…?”

“Yep, we totally won. C’mon. Get up.”

Raph sighed deeply. “Do you want me to carry--?”

“No! I can do it!” Mikey woke up properly now, quickly scrabbling up to his feet.

April sighed deeply. “My parents are going to kill me for being out this late,” she grumbled. “And when they kill me, I’m killing all of you, just for the record!”

“Don’t kill me! Kill Donnie!” Leo protested.

“Oh, like any of you were keeping track of time and keeping him from going totally Donnie about this whole thing!”

“Hey--”

“Neither were you,” Mikey pointed out, and April scowled, grinding her teeth.

Dammit.

She hated when he had a point.

“Whatever. C’mon, let’s get out of here,” she said with a huff. “You good, Donnie?”

“All set,” he replied, tossing his bag back over his shoulder. “Let us bounce.”

And so they did.

The good news was that Leo was getting a lot better about this whole portalling thing with the help of the weird mystic sword he had! Which was cool, so the commute home? So do-able!

The bad news was that it was still way past her curfew. She quietly cursed herself for letting them be out so late. She hadn’t even realized the time until she glanced at her phone and noticed all the texts… and the missed calls.

“You good, April?” Raph questioned, frowning a bit as she hurriedly gathered her things, having traded her certified Ninja Gear for street clothes, quickly shoving things into her bag and toeing on her shoes.

“I’m fine, it’s all good,” she muttered.

“Do you want me to walk you home…?” Yoshi questioned, his brows furrowed. “I’m sure I could talk to your parents--”

“It’s fine, Yosh. Don’t worry about it. They’re chill! They probably, like… barely noticed I’m late!” She said, forcing a smile.

“Alright, well, if you need anything--”

“Right! Got it, thanks, bye!” She chirped, throwing herself out the door and slamming it shut behind her before she could look at their sad, guilty faces any more. Ugh. It wasn’t their fault, really. I mean, it was, but no more than it was her own.

I should have set an alarm, she thought bitterly.

On a stealth ninja mission? So it can go off in the middle of you trying to sneak past a bad guy or something? Yeah, brilliant plan, she thought immediately after.

When April quietly crept back into her own apartment, slipping her key into the side door, the house seemed quiet. The kitchen lights were off, and there was no screaming or yelling right off the bat. That was a good sign.

The living room lights, however, she could already see from here… were on. That was a less good sign.

Drawing in one last deep breath, she darted the rest of the way inside, bumping the door closed with her hip.

“Hey, guys, I’m home…!”

“April!” Her mom responded to the call almost immediately, and half a second later, April was no longer alone in the kitchen. Warm yellow light flooded the space as a light switch was clicked on, and April winced slightly, blinking a few times to adjust. “There you are-- where in the world have you been?! Do you have any idea what time it is?!”

“Uh, yeah, my bad!” She laughed nervously, throwing her hands up as if to surrender. “Kinda lost track of time, uh, I was just over at the Hamatos doing homework and stuff…”

“Oh, were you?” That was her dad, now, and April winced a tiny bit at the tone he used, which meant that she had fucked up. “Because we went over knocking on their door ten minutes ago to come and get you, and no one answered.”

Oop. Fuck.

“Oh, yeah, we ran over to the corner store to get some snacks, so…?”

“In the middle of the night? By yourself?” Her mom protested, and April huffed softly, rolling her eyes.

“Uh, no? I literally just said that I went with the Hamatos--”

“Hey! Watch the attitude, miss,” her dad immediately cut in, and April winced. “I don’t think you have any room to be being huffy at us when you’re coming home two hours past curfew, and wouldn’t pick up your phone… Do you have any idea how many times we called you!?!”

“I’m sorry!” She said, throwing up her hands. “I forgot I had it on silent, I just, I wasn’t looking at the clock…!”

“For two hours?” Her mom cried. April bit the inside of her cheek, feeling her stomach flip-flop in response to the slight crack in her mother’s voice. “April, baby, you-- you can’t do that! This isn’t okay!”

“It was an accident--!”

“You can’t just disappear!” She continued. “You can’t just leave us not knowing where you are, we can’t--!”

“I know! I know, I’m sorry, okay? It was an accident!” April pressed, her face flushed. “I know, okay? I really, really didn’t mean to…! I just… I wasn’t paying attention. Okay?”

She frowned, wrinkling up her nose and glaring at her feet.

“Sorry.”

For a few long moments, the kitchen was silent.

Her father heaved a long, shuddering sigh.

“No more phone on silent,” he finally said. “When we text or call you, we expect you to answer right away. Understood?”

“... Yeah. Okay,” April grumbled softly, kind of toeing at the kitchen tile. She was sure Donnie could help her… figure out a way to make that work when they were out on missions and stuff…

“And this is the last time you miss curfew,” he added in, his eyes narrowed. “Full stop. We are not doing this again. Understood?”

“... Yeah.”

“April.”

“Yes. Understood, Dad,” she sighed loudly, tilting her head back and resisting the urge to roll her eyes, frustration prickling at her stomach.

“... Go to bed,” her dad finally said, his arms still crossed over his chest. “And you come straight home after school tomorrow.”

“Wha-- but Dad! I was gonna--”

“Do not argue with me April O’Neil,” he snapped. “Bed. Now. We’re not discussing this any further.”

April really, really thought about discussing it further.

But she didn’t.

For a lot of reasons. One being that she valued her life and freedom.

The other being that she couldn’t stand to look at her mom’s face anymore. Not when she was staring at her like that.

It wasn’t like she had never lied to her parents before. Of course she had! What teen doesn’t? She had fibbed about plenty of things before. Yes, I did brush my teeth already. No, I didn’t unlock all the parental controls on the computer. Yes, I am going to Bailey’s to study for chemistry and not anywhere else or for any other reason. Etc. etc. etc.

But she had never lied… like this before.

April ground her teeth, kicking her door shut as she threw her bag down, flopping down onto her bed and burying her face into the nearest pillow with a scowl. She suddenly felt unwelcome tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and she tried to will them away, though with mixed success.

A little part of her thought, they’d understand if you explained everything to them.

But a much larger part of her said, are you literally insane?

Because, really… how do you explain something like this? How would she even begin? What would she say? And even if she did try, even if she did think it was a good idea, even if she did want to, she…

She couldn’t.

Because it wasn’t her secret to tell.

April had known Raph, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey since she was six. She used to go over to their house every day after school until her parents came home. Their families went on day trips together. They celebrated holidays together. Her parents knew the Hamatos nearly as well as they knew her. They had always had this… weird, amazing blend of Hamato and O’Neil, pressed close in such a way that it was hard to see where one started and the other began sometimes.

And she had always loved that. She had always adored this.

But she had never felt a pull like this before.

She had never felt like she had to choose between being an O’Neil or a Hamato before.

---

“Daddy!” April shrieked.

She waited a moment, pausing to see if she’d get a reply, but after five seconds passed without a response, she breathed in deep, repeating the call with the volume cranked up.

“Daddy!”

That one worked. Her dad’s head popped out from the apartment a moment later, peering through the door that was always kept propped open when she played in the alley like this. “I’m comin, I’m comin, baby, hang on--”

“Come look!” April bade, waving her arms hurriedly. “Hurry up!”

“I’m hurrying! I’m hurrying!” Her dad laughed, quickly toeing on some sneakers before venturing out into the concrete jungle, half-jogging his way over to where she was crouched in the alley, moving to squat down next to her.

“What? What is it?”

“Lookit what I found!” She squeaked excitedly, pointing to a single feather resting on the asphalt. “Look! A feather!”

“Oh, wow! Good find, sunshine.”

“Can I pick it up!?”

“... Yeah, okay, so long as you wash your hands afterward.”

April absolutely wriggled with excitement, immediately snatching the feather up from the ground, turning it over in her hands a few times to examine. One side of it was this pale, cloudy gray, all fluffy and soft, but the other side was a sleek, shiny shade of cobalt blue. Just holding it made her grin, and she looked up at her dad with wide eyes.

“What kinda feather is it?”

“I dunno,” her dad said, shrugging a bit, resting his elbows on his knees. “But I bet we could find out.”

---

“Casey.”

Casey whined softly, curled up a bit further under the covers. Was it time for school already…? But she didn’t wanna get up…

“Hey. C’mon, Casey. Wake up.”

Wait, wasn’t it a Saturday…?

“Noooo…”

“No?”

“Noooooo.”

“What’s wrong, Case?”

“I’m sleeping, Daddy…”

“Oh, you’re sleeping?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,” her father exclaimed with faux surprise, drawing back slightly. “Well, if you’re sleeping, and you don’t want to go hiking up on Newton Hill with me--”

Casey’s eyes shot open.

“You’re going out into the woods?!” She gasped, immediately upright in bed, her eyes wide.

“I am,” her dad confirmed, this big, wide grin growing on his face. “I was hoping you’d come with me, but, I mean, if you’re still sleeping…”

“No! No, I’m awake!” She squeaked, just barely managing to contain herself and keep her volume down. She threw her covers back, scrambling quickly from bed. “I swear I’m awake! Please can I come hiking with you?!”

Her dad laughed.

“Ah, how can I say no to that face?” He teased, reaching down to ruffle her hair. “Hurry up and get dressed, sunshine, and let’s get out of here.”

---

April gasped, jumping over her dad’s arm so that she could point at the screen of his laptop.

“That one! That’s the feather!” She exclaimed. “It looks just like ours!”

“Hmmm…” Her father hummed appraisingly, leaning into slightly to squint, before he gave a firm nod. “I do concur, April, I think that is our feather! Here, let’s double-check. Are the colors the same?”

“Yeah!” April said, grinning wide as she held the feather up. “Look! It’s the same blue.”

“And the same shape, right?”

“Uh-huh!”

“And we measured it--”

“And it’s twelve centimeters! Look, Daddy! It’s this one!” She insisted, and her father laughed.

“Yeah, okay. You’re right. Definitely our feather.”

“What bird is it!?”

“According to this, it’s a mallard feather.”

“A mallard?” April echoed. “What’s that?”

“It’s a type of duck!”

“A duck!?” April cried, her eyes widening, holding her prize up in amazement. “This is a duck feather!?”

“It sure is, sunny girl.”

“Whoa! That’s so cool!”

“You know,” her dad said. “I bet if we went down to the park, we might be able to find some more feathers…”

---

Cassandra was absolutely alight with energy, bouncing from foot to foot as she scampered around, practically doing laps around her dad. The drive over had been equal parts exhilarating and tortuous, with Casey wriggling in her car seat the entire time, her face pressed up against the window.

This was her favorite thing in the world.

She loved Newton Hill.

“Daddy, I wanna go all the way to the top!!!” She exclaimed, bouncing up and down, grabbing onto his pants leg to yank at him.

“All the way to the top?” He echoed dramatically.

“Yes!”

“Alright, you got it,” he hummed, fishing something from his pocket before kneeling down next to her. “All the way to the top. I think we can do it.”

“We can,” Casey agreed excitedly, leaning against his knee and leaning over slightly so she could peer at the item in his hands.

“Alright. Let’s do it,” her dad enthused. “But first-- I have got a job for you, Casey.”

Casey blinked in surprise as her father pressed the stopwatch into her palm, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“I have a job?”

“You have a job,” he confirmed. “You are gonna be in charge of timing us.”

“Timing us?”

“Yep! Here, you press this button to start the time-- and this button to end it. And you--” He pointed to her decisively, this big, mischievous grin on his face. “Are gonna find out how long it takes us to get from here to the top of the trail.”

Casey tilted her head to the side.

“Why?”

“Because,” her father declared, his hands on his hips as he rose back up to his feet. “David from work bet that I couldn’t get all the way up to the top in four hours. So now I’ve gotta prove him wrong.”

Casey stared at her father for a second.

And then she gasped.

“He bet we couldn’t do the whole trail in four hours!?” She shrieked in offense.

“He sure did, Case.”

“HOW DARE HE!” She wailed, throwing her head back.

This was the other best part of Newton Hill. She could be as loud as she wanted out here.

“Exactly!” Her father sighed, throwing out his hands with a dramatic shake of his head. “I knew you’d understand. So obviously, we have to show him up! You up for the challenge, sunshine?”

“Yes!” She cried, immediately setting off-- hesitating only long enough to run back, grabbing onto her dad’s pants leg and yanking at him. “Come ON! Hurry up! We are gonna WIN! Let’s GO!”

---

“Come on! Hurry up! Let’s go!” April squealed, yanking at her Dad’s hand impatiently. “Look! I see one!”

“I’m coming, April, I’m coming!” Her dad laughed, jogging slightly to keep up with the enthusiastic five-year-old. “Hang on, sunshine.”

April darted across the lawn, hopping over wayward twigs or stones until she got to the water’s edge, waving her arms excitedly as she knelt down to pluck the feather from the ground.

“Look!” She said, beaming as she turned to show her dad. “Do you think it’s another duck feather?!”

“Might be. Or it could be a goose.”

“I hope it’s a goose,” April said, scampering her way back over to her dad, who knelt down to hold open the ziploc baggie for her. April deposited the feather inside, along with the several other specimens they had already collected. “We already have a duck feather.”

“Yeah, but maybe it’ll be a different kind of duck,” her dad countered, zipping the baggie back up once their prize was safe inside. April paused at this, tilting her head to the side slightly. Oh! Another kind of duck? She hadn’t even thought about that!

“Well, then, I hope it’s a different kind of duck. Or a goose,” she declared, grinning big. “When we get back home, can we show Mommy all the feathers?”

“Of course we can,” her dad said. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled for you to show her. Especially if you can tell her which feather is which!”

“I will. I’m gonna look it up. I’m gonna do research,” April declared proudly, grinning as she spun around on her heel. “Come on! We gotta find some more. I wanna have a bunch for mommy.”

---

Casey froze in place, her body going rigid as a tiny little gasp caught itself in her throat.

“Daddy!” She whispered, her voice hushed, but fervent. “Daddy, lookit! Under the rock!”

After hiking for two hours now, Casey only occasionally electing to ride on her dad’s shoulders rather than racing up the trail, poking at every leaf, stone, and mushroom they came across, the pair had finally elected to take a break, settling down on the stones of a creekbed to rest and munch on the snacks her father had packed along. The stopwatch she was wearing around her neck was still ticking away-- but they were making good time. Certainly enough time to catch their breath.

And it was here that Casey spotted a tiny black-and-yellow snake-- just barely poking its head from beneath the shadows of a stone just inches away from them. Its little pink tongue flicked out a few times as it examined the world hesitantly, turning its head from side to side, as if checking for something.

“Whoa!” Her dad breathed, keeping care to keep his voice soft once he spotted the creature. He slowly moved to place a hand on her shoulder, patting her gently. “Nice eye, Casey.”

“It’s a real snake!”

“It is.”

“What kind is it?”

“Probably a garter snake, I’d bet,” he whispered, grinning ever so slightly. “I bet he wants to come out and sun himself on the rocks.”

“Why?”

“Reptiles are cold-blooded, Casey. They’ve gotta warm themselves up with the sun, or else they get too cold.”

“Oh,” she said, her eyes wide. “... He’s so cool…”

“He is,” her dad agreed, shooting her a small grin. “Good job, sunshine. I never even would have noticed that little guy! I would have totally missed him.”

Casey absolutely beamed. “Really?”

“Yep!” He confirmed, chuckling softly, leaning over to ruffle her long black hair, carding his fingers through it briefly. “But you’re so smart, of course you saw it… Alright. You ready to get moving again? I bet that little dude would be pretty excited if he got to come out in peace and warm himself up.”

She nodded excitedly, wasting no time at all in beginning to get herself back to her feet. Despite all the running and jumping and climbing she had already done, she was suddenly filled with energy once more.

“I’m ready, Daddy!”

---

“And this one is a pigeon…”

“Mmm-hmmm…”

“And this is a pigeon…”

“I see…”

“And this one a pigeon feather, too…”

“Ah…”

“And this is a starling!”

“Oh!”

“And this is a pigeon!” April exclaimed excitedly, spreading the feathers out on the paper towel slightly, grinning big. “... There are a lotta pigeon ones.”

“That does make sense,” her mom said, smiling a tiny bit. “Thank you so much for showing me, baby! This is so impressive! I can’t believe you found all of these all by yourself!”

“Nu-uh!” April protested, turning to grin big up at her mother. “Daddy helped me! Except for the first one. I found that one all on my own.”

“Well, then, good job to your Daddy, too,” her mom remarked, and April just caught her shoot a smile across the kitchen to her dad, who was busy preparing dinner. He smiled a tiny bit, too.

“I’m gonna make a chart for them and stuff. In a book,” she declared proudly, beginning to climb her way up into her mom’s lap, absolutely beaming as she did so.

“April, sweetheart, you need to wash her hands--”

“Will you help me make it? Pleasseeee? I wanna make it look cool.”

---

Casey was so tall.

Every time they got all the way up here, to the very top of the hill, up as high as they could go, she would always think, wow. This is the tallest we can get. This is so tall.

And then every time, her dad would pick her up and put her on his shoulders, and then she’d be even taller.

And it had only taken them three hours and forty-two minutes to get here.

“There’s not even any clouds!” Casey marveled, eyes absolutely sparkling as she leaned back slightly, clinging to her dad’s head to keep her balance. “It’s just blue!”

“Yeah, it’s a nice day, isn’t it? Perfect for hiking,” he declared, grinning. “Can you believe David said we couldn’t make it!?”

“David is WRONG!” She declared, just as loud as she possibly could, and she grinned at how her voice carried. It made her feel all shimmery. Her dad laughed.

“You wanna yell?”

“YES!” She gasped. “You do it, too! I wanna do it together!”

“Okay, okay. We’ll go on the count of three. You ready?”

“Mmm-hmmm!”

“Okay. One… Two…”

Casey took a deep breath in.

“Three!”

Throwing her head forward, her eyes shut tight and her hands balled into fists, Cassandra reached as deep into her little six-year-old chest as she could possibly reach, and she dredged up the biggest, longest, loudest howl that she could possibly conjure. It always hurt her throat a little, but it never hurt more than it felt good. It made her entire body vibrate. And her dad was screaming, too, holding onto her hands with his own big ones, the two of them harmonizing together as they screamed out into the woods from the top of the hill, their voices echoing out into the sky.

She kept going until there was no more left in her, running out of air entirely and left with just shaking, heaving breaths, her shoulders trembling as she panted.

And for a second, both of them were both quiet. And then finally, her dad chuckled, tossing his shoulders a few times to jostle her slightly.

“One of these days, you’re gonna shatter my eardrums, sunshine. I hope you know that,” he laughed, and Casey just grinned, hanging onto him.

“I like yelling,” she hummed.

And for a bit longer, it was quiet again.

Just the two of them on the top of the world.

And then Dad’s cellphone began to ring.

Casey paused, frowning slightly as she watched her father fish the device from his pocket, glancing at the screen and scoffing in such a way that Casey already knew who was on the line.

“Damn. Too bad we still have service up here, huh?” He tsked, and Casey frowned.

“Don’t be mean to mommy,” she muttered petulantly. “I don’t like it.”

“Sorry, Casey. My bad,” he sighed, crouching down so he could ease her down off his shoulders and back onto her own two feet. “Here. Just gimme two seconds to talk to her, okay?”

“Can I talk to her when you’re done?” She asked, and Dad hesitated.

“Uh, maybe! Lemme just talk to her real quick first and see what she wants. I promise it’ll be fast. Here, hang on. You can time me, okay?” He said, returning the stopwatch back to her hands. “Think you can do that?”

“Yeah…”

“Good girl. I’ll be right back,” Dad said, offering her one last crooked smile before turning away, looping off a few paces before finally picking up his phone.

“Hello?”

“Yeah?--”

“Yeah, I know.”

“No, we just went up hiking--”

“I know that, but it’s just one day. Yeah, I know that… I’m going to!”

“She loves it up here!”

“I will, just-- Could you please just listen to me?-- No, I didn’t--”

Casey frowned. She settled down to sit in the grass and hit the ‘start’ button on the stopwatch.

[ next ]

#sorrywhatnowau #sorrywhatnowau fic #sorrywhatnowau fanfic #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #tmnt 2018 #rottmnt au #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt human au #fanfic #writing #rottmnt april #rottmnt casey jones #rottmnt cassandra jones

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drconstellation · 6 months

Text

"Not Even At Gunpoint!"

Future Echoes of the Past #3

I didn't plan this meta. Well, maybe...just a tiny, weeny bit...I had been keeping a parallel in mind for a while...but not in this context. But it was kind of one of these moments:

Lets start at the beginning.

@beebopboom has been exploring the three magic tricks that appear in the S2 opening sequence recently, and speculating how the third one might appear in S3, and I've been exploring the paintball fight scene at Tadfield Manor in S1E2 and how that relates to the Great War in Heaven that formed Hell, and the events around the Fall. The two topics intersect, as you have echoes of the Bullet Catch magic trick from the 1941 minisode in S2E4 appearing not once but at least twice at Tadfield Manor.

But...then I realised, there's more than one pointed gun. Way more.

I'd always liked this throwback line from Crowley in S2E1, when Nina asks him if he is a bookseller as well:

Who would want to be a bookseller when this could happen to you?

Shadwell, turning up at the book shop in S1E4, disturbs Aziraphale contacting Heaven through the portal (a modified Solomon's magic circle) under the oculus, and breaks in to confront him. The historical implications of Aziraphale's lines here are that before homosexuality was decriminalized in the UK meeting places for such people were often disguised as respectable looking book shops. Which makes Nina's question in S2E1 and Crowley's denial to her all the more...loaded? Ah, well, you can't fool Nina, now, can you?

Anyway, mah point is...Shadwell literally has Aziraphale at gunpoint, er, fingerpoint here. Loaded fingerpoint.

But then, this isn't the first time Aziraphale has had a gun pointed at him. He had one pointed at him in the church in 1941 by the Nazi agent double-crossing Greta. His biggest fear, as always, isn't actually "dying," or standing in front of the guns, its the paperwork that he knows will go with getting a new body from the Ineffable Bureaucracy.

Crowley turns up to rescue him, because he "didn't want to see [him] embarrassed." With a bit of equivocation between the two of them, all the time while at gunpoint from Greta, they team up to save each other.

This was even before we got to the Bullet Catch - his "show stopper!"

Back to Tadfield Manor.

As they enter, Crowley is lined up in the crosshairs.

Er, wait a minute...

Only Crowley is shown this way here, not Aziraphale. He's a target. I'm starting to ask what point in time this is referring to - the present or the past? Both. Yeah, why not both! The work I did in this previous meta in this series showed that Crowley was considered a target for early removal by the other demons-to-be prior to the Fall.

Then they are both shot.

I pointed out Aziraphale gets shot by blue paint, representing Heaven, but its a colour we don't see used again by any one in the fighting to come. But what I didn't talk about was WHERE he got hit - in the back. That's synonymous with treachery. Heaven has stabbed Aziraphale in the back, so to speak. wow. Nice - not.

And Crowley? He gets hit in the heart - just like the Norman/Lucifer parallel on the Yellow Team does a short while later during his "fall" scene - with the red paint, betrayed by the Red Team who represent the management in Heaven.

Seems the Ineffable Bureaucracy wanted both them out of the way during the Great War...it get more and more interesting each time I look closer at it...

So was Aziraphale ever in the crosshairs? Yep.

And, as @vavoom-sorted-art points out, this is a time Aziraphale chooses to pick a weapon, and to fight. He didn't want the simple, safe deception trick with the ropes - he wanted a weapon. He really is much more the warrior than Crowley. Aziraphale, I think your nature as a principality is showing!

Firing that gun made Crowley sick to his stomach, and so did this metaphorical loaded gun - the Book of Life.

As soon as he found out from Beelzebub it was a real possibility of being played he went back to protect Aziraphale. Crowley hates fighting - watch how often he will try shut it down as quickly as possible or try to escape it when he can. To him everyone has free will, and the person picking the fight with the other is imposing their will on them. That's 'not on' in his books.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, is still reacting with his ingrained Heavenly instincts - that he should follow his morals because they are 'right,' and more sophisticated weapons add weight to the moral argument. He thinks. Maybe. (Yeah, keep working on that doubt, angel.)

Az: Impressive hardware. I've looked at this gun, its not a proper one at all. It just shoots paintballs. Cr: Don't your lot disapprove of guns? Az: Unless they're in the right hands. Then they give weight to a moral argument. I think. Cr: [laughing] A moral argument? Really? *tosses gun away* C'mon. [Heads into the Manor.] [later, after Crowley changes the paintball guns to real guns...] Az: But there are people out there shooting at each other! Cr: Well - Lends weight to their moral argument. Everyone has free will, including the right to murder. Just think of it as a microcosm of the universe.

I'll think I'll end this here and leave you with a small montage of the aftermath of all this gun play - everything going up in flames and smoke.

Bring on S3!

If you didn't follow the links in the meta, and want to read the first two in this series, they are here:

#1: The Great War of Tadfield Manor

#2: The Newton/Crowley Mirror-Parallel in S1

#good omens #good omens 2 #aziraphale #crowley #good omens meta #good omens analysis #not even at gunpoint #loaded gun #bullet loaded #miracles blocked #in the target #aim for my mouth shoot past my ear #stabbed in the back #shot in the heart #tadfield manor #you've got the wrong kind of shop #going up in flames

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klbwriting · 2 months

Text

Broken Prism

Chapter 11

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Toddxfemale!Reader

Warnings: none for once, this is just fluff, I needed fluff

Summary: Jason decides to go see YN

Jason paced the alley next to YN’s apartment. He had parked his bike, picked up his duffle bag full of gear and no couldn’t decide if he actually wanted to go up or not. Should he go to her window like she said? All dressed for a fight? Or should he knock on her door like a normal guy going on a date? Wait, no, this wasn’t a date, they were going to be…friends. That word sounded ridiculous in context. She literally brought color to his life how could he just be friends with someone who did something like that? He sighed and hiked the duffle bag up on his shoulder and went to the door. He could do this, hang out for an evening with his friend. He was insane. He was a zombie walking the streets thinking he could date, what in the hell? He laughed at himself a little but then the Joker’s laugh burst through his ears so clearly, he thought it was real. He frantically looked around the hallway before realizing he had imagined the whole thing. He closed his eyes tight, trying to will the sound away. He considered turning back but pressed on, now wanting to see if she could make it go away again. He knocked on her door, the laugh seeming to get louder, taunting him, then the door opened, and he saw YN and the laugh vanished, his mind felt clear for a moment. She looked surprised before smiling at him.

“Wow, dear Lord that armor hides a lot,” she said, looking slowly over him in his combat pants and fitted long sleeve athletic shirt. He felt a blush on his cheeks, not remembering the last time someone had flirted with him. Being dead and then an assassin didn’t really allow for flirtation. If you had needs you could find someone to satisfy them, but there was nothing behind it, lest someone be told to kill you in the morning. This, flirting, was new and he actually found it pleasant.

“I thought I’d dress for going out, just in case,” he said, holding up his bag. She nodded, understanding and opened the door. He noticed she had dressed casually, leggings and an oversized long sleeve t-shirt, she looked adorable honestly. He looked around her place slowly, running the checklist in his head of exits, vulnerabilities, weapons he could use in case someone attacked. YN locked the door and stood near the kitchen counter, watching him. He realized he hadn’t said anything, lost in his thoughts. “Sorry, uh, do you have somewhere I can put this?” She reached out to take the bag and he pulled back. He didn’t trust her that much yet.

“Come on, we’ll hang out in my room, if my roommates come back and see you they will ask questions that I’m not ready to answer, like who is he and what does he do for a living?” she said, turning and moving through the connected living room. She opened her door, and he walked in, stowing his bag right by the window in case he needed a quick getaway. She locked the door, turning and looking at him. He knew he looked strange; fists clenched as he assessed this room now. He couldn’t relax, always thinking about the next move. He vaguely heard her voice and startled.

“What?” he asked. She sat down on her bed and patted next to her.

“Come on, let’s play a game, you like 500 Rummy?” she asked, pulling out a deck of cards from her nightstand drawer. He almost laughed at them being Batman cards.

“Really?” he asked as she dealt. “And why would I want to play with these?”

“Because you can lose twice with Batman around,” she shot back. He stared at her for a moment before she started laughing and Jason found himself laughing. It was strange, something he hadn’t done in years, not like this. God, he was enjoying himself too much. She was going to be in such danger if he didn’t pull back. He frowned then, looking back at the window, thinking about leaving again. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” he asked, turning back and seeing her watching him closely.

“Don’t go, don’t…don’t sit there and think that just because you know me, that we spend time together and I’ll be in danger,” she said. Jason shook his head.

“You will, constantly, if anyone figures out who I am, who you are, what we are. You will never be safe,” he said. She shook her head. “What if you were killed? I don’t know what I’d do…”

“I do,” she said. “You’d survive. Like I had to.” Jason’s next words died in his throat. He had never thought of that. She was the one with the knowledge that he had died. She knew faster than Bruce did. Her world had gone dark when his did and yet here she was, she had survived.

“What happened, when I died?” he asked softly, setting his cards aside. She looked down but he reached out and touched her chin, guiding it to look at him again, almost to remind her that her memories were not real now, he was here again.

“It was hard, I mean, I was watching a nature documentary, they were just starting the ocean. I loved the part about the ocean, its so beautiful, but then everything went gray, I stupidly thought I could blink and it would be back to colorful, but it wasn’t. And I’m not going to say it was easy. I was so upset, about your death yes but even more so because I never got to know you. I mean, I didn’t even know your name. I wanted to know who I was missing, because I missed you so much,” she said softly. “But, if you were to go off and die, again, I know you now, a little bit at least and I would probably feel better because now I at least have memories of you to think about when I miss you.” Jason looked down and wondered if he would have been this strong had the roles been reversed. He honestly wasn’t sure, but the way she talked he knew he agreed, he wanted memories of her if anything happened. He wanted to know her.

“Do you know what my final thoughts were before I died?” he asked. She shook her head. “Your eyes. All my regrets about not talking to you, not finding you, and then your eyes. And honestly, those eyes haunted me when I came back. I saw them in my dreams, and they calmed my nightmares. Then I am in this alley, trying to get information on what Batman is doing and you run into, look at me and those eyes again.”

“Is that why you just vanished on me?” she laughed. He nodded, somehow feeling even more embarrassed about the event now. Jason moved a little, leaning to the side on her pillows, trying to get comfortable. It was strange, how he was feeling. He normally didn’t talk so much, didn’t try so much to stay around someone. “Jason, take your boots off and you wouldn’t feel so awkward probably.” He looked down at the shoes he was trying to keep off her blankets and sighed again. He was a mess. He turned, undoing the laces and looking out the window. He saw a shadow across it and stood up, walking over and looking outside. He could see across the street to the fire escapes where Dick was sitting as Nightwing. He waved to his little brother and Jason flipped him off.

“O, Bruce out there? Or Dick?” YN asked, peeking around Jason’s shoulder. He grunted and went back to taking his shoes off. YN saw Dick and also flipped him off before closing her black out curtains. “Better.”

“They probably want to make sure you don’t tell everyone who Batman is,” he grumbled, finally sitting back on her bed and leaning to the pillows. He looked at the nightstand beside him and picked up the book, The Outsiders. “I never got to finish this one.”

“O, I’ve read it a few times, I kind of keep it as a default book,” she said. “You can borrow it if you want, any of my books.” She motioned to a small bookshelf and he stood, going to peruse it, not noticing her pulling a rather large suitcase from under bed. “Or these.” She opened it and there were dozens more inside. Jason stared at them. There was everything, classics, YA, horror, mystery, romance.

“You read a lot,” he said, stooping down to look over these, picking out a couple copies of things. She nodded.

“Sometimes I have to wait for information, or targets if I’m following someone, always good to have something to appear like you’re not paying attention,” she said. “You can take them.” He looked at her.

“Can we read together?” he asked, actually blushing again. If he spent any more time with YN he was going to become a lobster. She smiled wide and nodded eagerly. She turned to her shelf and grabbed another book, Six of Crows and then laid down, leaning against her pillows. Jason grabbed The Outsiders and laid next to her, starting the book over. He listened as he read, his mind divided, alert to everything around him so he wouldn’t get taken by surprise. He found himself listening to her, turning pages, letting out a laugh or a gasp at parts of her book. He was aware of when the book came to rest on her chest, her head sliding down to his shoulder as she fell asleep. He didn’t move for another hour, reading and enjoying the feeling of his soulmate against him, her soft breath tickling his neck a little. It was the most amazing feeling he’d ever had. Finally, he closed the book, leaving it on her bedside table. He put her book away, spread a blanket over her and wrote her a note on a post it, attaching it to The Outsiders, asking her to keep his place for when he came back. Jason grabbed his duffle, took one last look at YN, sleeping peacefully and climbed out the window into the night, feeling lighter than he had since he emerged from the pit.

#jason todd x y/n #jason todd x you #jason todd x reader #jasontodd #jason todd #red hood x you #red hood x reader #redhood #red hood #red hood x y/n #brokenprism

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the-s1lly-corner · 6 months

Note

Seeing Kinger stuff is so nice gosh! Would it be cool to get the rest of the fluff alphabet with him please? Or if that's too much the ones you'd like to write about most

Kinger fluff alphabet! the whole thing!

two things one is more so one of my personal woe things unrelated to you but i deleted my masterlist immediately after finishing it because i didnt like the layout of it; 3 hours down the drain SOBS other thing! imma go ahead and link the other fluff alphabet stuff so its a complete list! actually third surprise thing, WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I ACCIDENTALLY FORGOT TO PUT P IN THE FLUFF ALPHABET/lh/nm i fixed it now but i cant believe i skipped a letter i feel so dumb

ABSTRACT- if you were to ever abstract he would probably abstract himself. i mean if the things about queener/queenie are true and they were close, then that would mean this guy would lose a loved one TWICE. that would most definitely break someone, and kinger is already on the edge as it is. if he somehow doesnt abstract, he probably becomes even more paranoid; kind of shutting everyone out almost because he sure as hell knows he cant take a third heartbreak. rarely ever leaves his pillow fort, unless hes physically dragged out? sometimes he forgets you're gone, because he just refuses to believe the truth. sad stuff

BONDING- will rattle on and on about cool bug facts, if he has his own collection in his room he will show you it! maybe, if you want, he will let you hold some of the critters! tells a lot of stories, nicer ones from when things in the circus arent so... bad.. usually when hes in a good headspace! you get the feeling he embellishes his stories... not too different from a grandfather trying to make his experiences seem more glamorous and action packed than they really were

CUDDLING- he is very hard, due to him being a chess piece, but his clothes do a really good job at softening him! no arms :(... usually rests his hands on your back, or maybe has one on your shoulder and the other on your hip. switches between being big and little spoon, sometimes he wants to hold and sometimes he wants to be held

DATES- you can find them here!

EMOTION- kinger is... odd... im not sure where he lies, because i think sometimes he does have moments where he remembers thing and it overwhelms him, so that may be the main time hes the emotional one. however, i guess this entire time for emotional ive been focusing on more.. 'bad' emotions, but i think kinger would gush about how much he loves you, like WOAH! he is just overflowing with feelings right now

FAMILY- honestly he gives me dad vibes, if this dude doesnt already have kids in the real world (wow thats a sad thought... dude is like MIA probably and his kids are left to wonder where he went. double owie if queener/queenie was his real life wife before things happened) so if you guys make it back to the real world and unite, you're gonna be a step parent! would he like to have more kids with you? i think it depends, he would want it, though!

GIFT- you know how some people put bugs in like, cases to preserve them or something? i feel like he would give you those with some of his prettier bugs! loves anything you give him, he always keeps them stored safe in his room!

HARSH- you guys dont really get into arguments, i dont think! kinger doesnt like hiding things from you unless its something deeply personal, but otherwise hes an open book to you

IN HOUSE ADVENTURE- here!

JEALOUSY- its not so much as him being jealous as it is him being paranoid that something is going to happen to him or you, so! even if he wasnt worrying himself half to death he doesnt exactly seem like the jealous type to me, tbh

KISS- its time for my favorite thing for characters with no mouth!!! he boinks his face into yours, i actually wrote something for this! not gonna link it since its so short and i can easily relay the idea: but he would internally hype himself up (usually does this if this is the beginning of the relationship, he gets more confident as time goes on!), and just lightly 'pecks' your cheek before pulling away. loves kissing your cheeks as well as the back of your hands. loves being kisses where his mouth would be as well as his cheeks

LOVE LANGUAGE- quality time!! this man follows you around like a love sick puppy, because he loves you so much but also because again, he worries.. he also likes doing acts of service for you, makes him feel like hes capable of doing things on his own (which he is!). loves it when you return the favor via words of affirmation

MENDED- is he dreaming? is he imagining things again?

nope, its really you. somehow, you've recovered from abstracting, and you're now out of the cellar. he wants to hold you and never ever ever let you go, out of fear that hes going to come to his senses any second and youll be gone. wants to keep you in the pillow fort with him, or at least within his line of sight

NO- its less of an active dealbreaker and more of a "hey this is going to stress him out and probably hurt his mental health" but like, i dont think he would pair well with a really really intense person. like sure caien is pretty intense, but its not like caine is going to be spending a significant amount of time with him everyday, but like. you know? like i talk about some characters enjoying being on their toes and left guessing in regards to their partner, but kinger is NOT one of those people. he needs stability

PDA- less of a case where he actively and knowingly indulges in PDA and more so a case where he subconsciously holds onto your hand to keep you at arms length and to feel you. due to his lack of arms he has probably wandered off without you (and his hand) at least once. is not opposed to PDA, though, so long as its not like. insane

QUIET TIME- quiet time between the two of you is very rare. sure kinger can be very quiet when hes alone, but when hes alone with someone else, someone he cares so much about.. he cant help but fill the silence with words, to keep the ringing in his ears at bay .. so really quiet time is talking time

ROSES- ill mention it again in V (i wrote v before this section), he loves giving you roses especially on special occations! loves receiving flowers as well, he seems like a rose kind of guy as well

SHH- the one thing he doesnt like talking about is queener/queenie, well, more so the last few days leading up to her abstraction. it brings up. well, memories. on one hand he doesnt want to forget her, but on the other hand he doesnt want to bare the pain of those terrible memories

TUNES- THIS THIS THIS THIS ONE ALWAYS COME TO MY HEAD WHEN I THINK OF ROMANTIC HCS FOR SWEETIDEAS FOR OLDER GUYS IDK WHY

youtube

UPSET- im going back and forth with a lot of these as i fill in the list so! tying this in with E, i mention one of the only times he gets emotional is when he remembers some unfortunate events that took place in the circus. you're going to need to console him and bring him back to the present moment :(. when you're upset he tries to distract you, takes you to his fort, and tells you stories

VALENTINE- on the chance that he remembers what day it is, hes going to give you the most sterotypical date he can give to you. i think it might be because i can kind of see kinger as like, a classic/stereotypical romantic when it comes to you. flowers, he cant take you out to dinner so he takes you out to the digital lake to gaze at the clouds and watch the bugs pass

WANT- he wants a companion, he wants stability, and thats something he needs. he wants someone to be compassionate about him, his wellbeing, and his interests

XOXO- here! as well as Yearn!

ZZZ- if you guys go to sleep together its always in his room, where hes more comfortable. he also has a thing where he insists on being the one closer to the door; almost as if hes offering himself as protection to you should someone unwanted to come in. huh. always sleep holding onto you, snores like a dad

#tadc x reader #the amazing digital circus x reader #digital circus x reader #kinger imagine #kinger x you #kinger x reader

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gayuu-the-necromancer · 2 months

Text

｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Ellis: ".....That's because of the promise."

Harrison: "Promise?"

Ellis: "Yep."

-----FLASHBACK------

I guess, it happened 4 years ago.

On the night I drifted into London town, he was looking up at the moon as I was passing the bridge looking for a place to stay.

I looked at his vacant profile and thought he was going to fall straight into the river after he finished his cigarette.

So I asked...

Ellis: "Are you happy?"

Jude: "Huh?...What if I am?"

Ellis: "I will make your happiness....last forever."

Jude: "Hah? What the hell are you saying? Are you crazy?"

I was used to people thinking I was joking.

But that person, gave me a serious answer.

Jude: "..'Make your happiness last forever', huh? The happiest moment of my life......was probably when I went to the moon."

Ellis: "The moon?"

It was so out of the blue, but his voice sounded very serious.

Going to the moon, huh?

Long time ago, I used to say something like that to XXX.

When I thought about it, the words naturally came from my mouth.

Ellis: ".....I want to go there too."

Jude: ".....You're really crazy, aren't you?"

Even though I said it in a serious tone or I thought it was a serious tone, that man nevertheless poked my forehead.

The next second, I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I was still on the bridge.

The moon had dropped so far that it looked like it was going to hide behind the buildings.

And that person was there too.

Ellis: "How many cigarettes is that?"

Jude: "I don't know. How many hours did you sleep?"

It seems that this man did not fall into the river after finishing his cigarette.

Thank god, is what I wanted to say.

Ellis: "Do you also have strange powers like me? I can do this....see?"

Jude: "Huh!? Tch!! Hey! What the hell!!?"

It didn't look like he was pleased with me demonstrating my abilities though.

Jude: "Ah! I dropped my cigarette! Don't do that again!"

After scolding me, he invited me to his house since I didn't have a place to stay. I didn't know what he was thinking.

When I said 'I want to go there too', I thought he's laughed funnily.

I wanted to see that face again.

------FLASHBACK ENDS------

Harrison: "....Hey Ellis, you there?"

Ellis: "Eh? Ah...Oh..Yes yes, the promise."

Ellis: "I said I'll cooperate with Jude until the happiest moment of his life comes by."

Harrison: "Does that mean, you gain something from this too?"

Ellis: "Ah...Yes."

Jude: ".........."

Harrison: "Hmmm....well anyways, as long as both you and Jude are okay with each other, that's fine."

Alphonse: "I'm curious about one thing."

William: "Why don't you clear out all your doubts at this point?"

Alphonse: "How much does Mr. Jude make for his services to the Crown?"

Elbert: "You mean salary....?"

Victor: "Not much different from everyone else."

Victor: "Oh but I've added a condition of continued financing for Jude's company."

Roger: "You're very smart."

Jude: "I know."

Victor: "However, the real reason he agreed to signing the contract is because he adores me!!"

Jude: "If it's in your dreams, then maybe."

Victor: "Eeehh? But you signed this contract straight away too."

Ellis: "Wow, how nostalgic."

William: "Do you always carry everyone's contracts with you all the time, Victor? That's very careless."

Victor: "Of course not! I brought this here with me today because I thought something like this would happen."

William: "So Jude, you still didn't trust Victor when you signed this?"

Jude: "Someone with money, power and position offered us a contract on terms we could only benefit from, so...."

Jude: "It's normal to think they're definitely up to something."

Victor: "Eeeh!? So you signed this while still doubting me?"

Jude: "I mean, look at you. Would anyone completely trust you at first sight? You overly auspicious weirdo."

Victor: "Awww..."

Jude: "I don't know what you're up to, but I signed it thinking you'd make a fuss someday."

Victor: "Did Ellis also think the same.......?"

Ellis: "I was told to 'write my name here', so I did."

Victor: "Thank god....No actually no!! You should never do that! You must always make sure you go through the contract before signing one!"

Alphonse: "Well...if one can easily trust someone, one wouldn't have a hard time."

Roger: "Those of you who didn't trust Jude and Ellis enough to make this report, have no say."

William: "Ahaha, I guess so."

William: "Well, it seems like this 'Mission' has helped them get used to the Crown at least-----"

William: "Can't wait to see what the future holds for you?"

.............

The night is falling and two busy shadows step out of the Crown Castle.

Ellis: "Now that Mr. Wilson's case is behind us, I think it's time to start our first mission as the Crown members."

Jude: "Ah? Ahh, I guess so. I don't know."

Ellis: "Jude, are you happy?"

Jude: "Of course not. I feel like shit for being forced to play best friends."

Ellis: "Hmmmm?"

Jude: ".....What?"

Ellis: "I mean.....I don't know about making friends."

Ellis: "But I guess, ever since I came here, it was fun."

Jude: "....Then what's the reason to make everyone happy? As long as you're having fun, that's what matters."

Ellis: "I wish Jude could also have fun."

Jude: "Don't drag other people."

Ellis: "Maybe I'll get to see Jude's happiest face while living in this castle."

Jude: "Don't get your hopes up."

Ellis: "They all said it's natural to have difficulty trusting others without a reason."

Ellis: "Still Jude trusted me when we first met."

Jude: "Huh? I don't remember."

Ellis: "That's a lie. I know you have good memory."

Ellis: "Hey, why did you want to make such a promise to someone you've never met before?"

Jude: ".......No reason. I was feeling crazy."

Ellis: "Hmmmm?"

Jude: ".........What?"

Ellis: "Nothing. I just felt like trust without any reason might be the happiest thing."

Jude: "You...shut up already."

The footsteps of two people did not approach or leave, but simply echoed side by side into the darkness.

Ellis: "......Shall we buy some souvenirs to take home."

Jude: ".......Do what you wish."

#ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #cybird #ikemen villain #ikemen villains #ikemen villains jude #ikemen villains ellis

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adhdslugcrimes · 11 months

Text

The batfam finally making Dick commit to something.

Jason: it's getting ridiculous you haven't committed to Star or Barb, not even arson!!

Dick: not true, I am very committed to arson. I burned down joker's new hideout with him in it.

Tim: well, you need a relationship.

Dick: so we're not allowed to be acearo no more? Very unprogressive of you Tim, being bi and all I excepted support from at least you of all people.

Tim: are you acearo?

Dick: no, but it was bold of you guys demand me in a relationship not knowing if I wasn't or not.*

Tim: okay well, are you going to choose already, Bruce put more money on his betting pool and I want to win, so please choose Star!

Dick, gasp dramatically: you better on my love life to be a cishet man!? Also already in a relationship, so sorry but none of you are winning.

Damian: you are?

Dick: I am.

Stephanie: who is it then if not Star or Barb?

Dick: ... Since you are a lesbian I feel less offended you thought it was women for some reason, anyways it's your babysitter. Wally. For years now.

Bruce: it not Wally, I would have known it was him.

Jason: kinky.

Dick: yes, I forgot I live with the greatest detectives of all time. So me sitting in his lap any chance I got didn't set it off?

Bruce: friends do that too, Tim in Stephanie's lap all the time.

Tim: because she calls me her child and force me to sit there because I'm only an inch shorter than her!

Stephanie: Hun, inches matter, and it's like five inches shorter now.

Tim: stop growing!!

Dick: okay, how about when he's sleeping over I make him sleep in my bed.

Bruce: you've done it since you met him, that's easily written off.

Dick: what about the time I got caught making out with him in the cave.

Bruce: you were 13, hormones.

Dick: the batmobile?

Bruce: rebellious stage was strong with you.

Batsibs, grabbed the popcorn:

Dick: the medbay, mount justice where I slept in his room my entire stay, oh and every picture of me in pride.

Bruce: ... It's all coincidences! How was I supposed to know you were dating him!? You were sewed at the hip and you called him baby for years, there's not a single moment that would have told me you were —

Dick: you caught us in the action when you decide not to knock coming into my apartment, I know you have friends with benefits but there was candles and stuff.

Jason: oh shit, B you are blind!

Damian: or in denial it seems...

Stephanie: denial is a river in Egypt, your son is gay.

Cass: cool, I won the bet.

Tim: Bruce how could you failed us!?

Duke: couldn't even knock, is that why we have a knocking rule now?

Jarro: *confused and disappointed starfish noises*

Bruce: ugh okay I might be in denial, but only so you see there's a better choice out there like Barbara, she's smart and you get along and she-

Dick: a lesbian in a relationship with Kara.

Bruce: ... Really?

Dick: yep, that's why Kara knew Jim.

Bruce: what about Star? You have a kid with her so you must've broken up with Wally for her just a bit, and you flirt with her a lot—

Dick: dating Raven, and I was a donor since she wanted to have a kid and ask if it was okay if I helped. All done at a doctor's office.

Bruce: well date Roy!

Jason: hell no, I got dibs on him!

Tim: wow, he's homophobic. So you must've hated my mom married to little demon's mom huh?

Bruce: I'm not homophobic! I'm irisphobic... She's a scary woman...

Dick: yeah be a real shame if she knew you used Wally as a shield, huh.

Bruce: dick, please, for your old man date a different redhead.

Dick: no~

* being acearo doesn't mean you can't be in a relationship, a person can choose if they want it or not regardless of sexuality but def in the ace spectrum like acearo. this is a joke.

Also sluggy finally schedule post for once bec he doesn't feel good, not on my 2023 bingo card,,,, only have two more after this,,,, more in tags

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arguablysomaya · 1 year

Note

Oooo, so you have more fic recs? (if possible any where Jason Todd jsut gets that hug he so desperately need, violently or not I will take anything)

Of course!! here's a bunch of jason fics that I adore <3

by RedHeadedWoman

Jason has decided to move back into the Manor at least part time (or so he says) but there's just one problem. His bedroom has not changed since before everything so now he has to redecorate it with some help from his crazy as hell family.

Jason was going to regret this. So very much.

this fic is very old but still doesn't get the respect it deserves wtf!!!

by @daedalusdavinci

There are moments when the… everything of Dick's life catches up with him, and exhaustion sinks deep into his skin. However, when he goes dark on everyone else, Jason doesn't quite get the memo. Rules never seem to apply to little brothers.

After two weeks of little more than clipped texts, Jason shoves his way into Dick's life and gets him up and moving again.

jason tricks dick into taking care of himself yayyyy

by sophene

Jason decides to take Tim with him on a road trip. Tim has no say in the matter.

LMFAOOOO. just read it you'll see

by @thingr1

(In which Jason is hiding but Dick seeks him out anyway.)

mutual hurt/comfort baby!!!

by darkesky

“‘M fine,” Tim said and somehow missed both of their incredulous looks. Tim could be actively bleeding out—and hey, he might be right now—and he’d still find a way to insist he was fine and would be fine.

Jason spoke first (which proved how out of it Dick was because most days, he needed to beg Dick to shut the fuck up). “You’re such a dumbass.”

“Hey!” Tim swatted at him weakly. He couldn’t even beat a butterfly in a fistfight right now. “You can’t be mean to me. I’m injured.”

“Thought you were fine,” Jason said.

Tim paused, blinking. Then, he groaned and hid his face again.

Jason has to deal with his dumbass brothers.

jason indeed deals with his dumbass brothers

by @badacts

“This is a real novel moment for me,” Hood says. “I’m savouring it.”

“Savour it quietly,” Bruce replies. They’re here for a purpose, and he may not mind it in the strictest sense, but the GCPD lockup is not the place or time for Jason’s irreverent humour.

a tumblr fic wow!! also i love the characterization here

by @chuuyanakahra

"It’s easy to find it, if you know what you’re looking for. And Tim knows exactly what he’s looking for; when you work with Batman, you always do.

So he finds the small apartment, breaks in, and sits in the surprisingly comfortable couch. And waits.

Waiting’s the worst part of the job, though."

or, alternatively, Jason survives Ethiopia, and things change, while staying more or less the same.

tim is a stalker fan!!

by @unavenged-robin

The man looks at him as if Jason had an answer. But Jason has no answers. He’s bewildered just like him. They’re two men with no idea whatsoever of what the hell is happening to them.

cass takes care of jason, and jason is Confused

by @jyanadavega

"Jason snarled his teeth at his brother. Nightwing, damn him, simply smiled more, his hands still on his hips, expression deeply amused despite the groans of pain behind him.

Jason really wished he hadn’t been the one to be tied up to this altar. He immediately shoved the thought away, because he really didn’t want any of his siblings in his position anyway. Damn. Who authorized him to have these feelings?

“So,” started Dick. Jason immediately cut him off.

“Don’t.”"

OR: Red Hood gets kidnapped by some cultists, and Nightwing rescue him.

a cornerstone fic of ace!jason

and one last one!

by NightOwl1600

Jason doesn't quite understand whats going on. All he can tell for certain is that Tim is injured behind him, and Damian is standing in front of him, telling him to shoot. And for some reason, he really really wants to kill them both even though he knows he shouldn't. He would never kill his brothers, not now, at least, since they'd really grown to become brothers. Would he?

brainwashing fic :( but the fluff prevails!

#fic rec #batfam #batfam fic rec #batfam fanfiction #dc comics #batman #batman fanfiction #batfamily #dc #dcu #shut up somaya #dc universe #jason todd #red hood

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fazfacts · 3 months

Text

HOT DAGA SENTENCE STARTERS

it's actually criminal that nobody has done this before. feel free to change as needed!

❝ If you don't like it, you can kiss my buns. ❞

❝ Oh, he looks all pissed off 'cause his hat's still gone. ❞

❝ Good, I'm glad he's pissed. ❞

❝ I hope he crashes into that wall. ❞

❝ Oh shit, he crashed! ❞

❝ Wow! They look like a happy couple. ❞

❝ She's not happy with his driving, I'll tell you that. ❞

❝ Oh, he's on fire, he looks like he's hurting. ❞

❝ What a horrible occurrence that just happened! ❞

❝ What the fuck? ❞

❝ He's gonna come back like Michael Myers. ❞

❝ I can't really tell what it is, but it went by real quick. ❞

❝ Why did you run from me? ❞

❝ I...I didn't know how to tell you, but...we have a son now. ❞

❝ Wait -- I'm so confused... ❞

❝ Hello, [name]. I'm your father, [name]. ❞

❝ Why did you try to shoot me and leave me for dead? ❞

❝ That wasn't me. ❞

❝ It's me, [name], your evil twin sister. ❞

❝ I won't have you two together. You know I love [name]. ❞

❝ Now it's time to die. Mount your crab. ❞

❝ [Name], step aside! ❞

❝ Do you remember where we were? ❞

❝ Who are you? ❞

❝ Nice to meet you. I love you. ❞

❝ Promise you'll never shoot me, [name]. ❞

❝ Let's cover ourselves in mustard and get craaazy! ❞

❝ I hope you never get eaten on the Fourth of July like my parents. ❞

❝ Your words are making me happy, so I am smiling. ❞

❝ Always love each other, no matter where your paths take you. ❞

❝ We are siblings, but also best friends. ❞

❝ Why would we ever fight? ❞

❝ I have seen it in my special dreams. ❞

❝ Let's go eat the rest of Amelia Earheart for dinner. ❞

❝ My funding...my precious funding... ❞

❝ It's all over now. I suppose I'll let myself rot. ❞

❝ I'm in urgent need of your services. ❞

❝ What a shame...I was so close. ❞

❝ That's a good hashtag. ❞

❝ Like my dear old dad used to say, there's no free condiments in life. ❞

❝ Most condiments are free, actually. ❞

❝ How dare you! ❞

❝ Please, respect my father. May he rest in peace. ❞

❝ This talk of your father seems very shoehorned into this conversation. ❞

❝ I'm your son! From the future! ❞

❝ Hoooly shiiit. ❞

❝ Why did you do it, [name]? Why'd you do any of this? ❞

❝ Because, [name], I'm straight-up evil. ❞

❝ That's bad for the fabric of reality and space-time, I think. ❞

❝ Okay, it's technically not murder or anything. ❞

❝ This is what you get. This is the law of the wild. ❞

❝ I can't bear to watch this inevitable carnage. ❞

❝ I just want a picture of this moment. ❞

❝ I need your help to avenge my death. ❞

❝ We're a family again! A real family! ❞

❝ That's a terrible name. ❞

❝ I'm pretty sure this is a trap... ❞

❝ A crow ate one of my eyes at the bank last Labor Day, by the way. That's why I have an eyepatch now. ❞

❝ Did it ever occur to you, [name], that I loved you and your mustache? Well, I don't anymore, and I see you've shaved your mustache, you idiot. ❞

❝ The day we broke up was the best day of my life. ❞

❝ I saw him do a magic trick once where he sat on his own lap. ❞

❝ I'm suddenly afraid my wife will leave me for him, but he's a nice guy, so that's okay. ❞

❝ Wait a minute, you weren't invited! ❞

❝ It's me, [name], and I'd like to welcome you to Hell. Time to die! ❞

❝ I am displeased! But that does sound narratively rich. ❞

❝ Will you press pause on your shit for five minutes? ❞

❝ I now have to imagine a thing I don't want to imagine, under any circumstance? ❞

❝ Are you proud of yourself? ❞

❝ But I cannot attempt to process that at the moment, for the fear of the emotional toll it would take on me. ❞

❝ How'd we survive? ❞

❝ Ooh, what a plot! ❞

❝ We could go back in time to stop it all. ❞

❝ No need to explain that, we'll remember it always. ❞

❝ Thank you for your service. ❞

❝ Enough talky-time, more spacey-time, idiots. ❞

❝ We threw them into a volcano. They're gone. ❞

❝ I don't negotiate with assholes. ❞

❝ I can't believe it -- I'm alive! ❞

❝ Oh, no, no, hey, c'mon. Nothin' to worry about here. ❞

❝ That doesn't make any sense. ❞

❝ My parents were very juicy and I am, too. ❞

❝ You...don't seem trustworthy. ❞

❝ Oh, I'm plenty trustworthy. ❞

❝ So what's your deal again? ❞

❝ Hm. Makes sense if you actually track the story, probably. ❞

❝ I wonder if Earth's tasty. ❞

❝ I'm not one for decision-making. ❞

❝ I'm both the mayor and the sheriff. ❞

❝ Don't worry, you will soon go to jail. ❞

❝ I want to get perfectly sane, haha. ❞

❝ You're getting more and more sane by the day! ❞

❝ Everyone's dying and the world is basically over. ❞

❝ Sometimes your life don't go exactly as you planned. ❞

❝ The fact that I doubted myself for even a split second is some military-grade bullshit. ❞

❝ It's me, [name], and I'm pissed. ❞

❝ I can't die, I'm beloved! ❞

❝ Question: what the hell's going on? ❞

❝ If you do anything dumb, I will kill you with my hat. ❞

❝ You didn't need to do that, by the way. That's cruel. You understand that? ❞

❝ I didn't ask to exist. In fact, I was very content not being. ❞

❝ Look, I'm sorry about doing you dirty. ❞

❝ We've got some things to discuss, you and me. ❞

❝ Ohhh, okay. We're both dead, then. This is for sure a place where we're both dead. ❞

❝ My last memory was me putting a goldfish in my mouth to make my children laugh. Then I choked to death. ❞

❝ Play shitty games, win shitty prizes, [name]. ❞

❝ I was so consumed with hate and anger that I lost sight of who I was. ❞

❝ Are you just, like, checked out of this conversation now? ❞

❝ I'm just a guy in a void. ❞

❝ I got murked and it chilled me out. ❞

❝ That's my catchphrase, now that I'm fun. ❞

❝ Tell you what, I hate this planet. ❞

❝ There's a small part of my funky, no-good heart that's like, "hell yeah." ❞

❝ Hey, you want some money? It's got my face on it. ❞

❝ The one thing I've always said is, "you can definitely trust someone who repeatedly insists that you can trust them," you idiot. ❞

❝ I'm the queen of deception and straight-up dirty tricks. ❞

❝ Game recognize game, however inferior. ❞

❝ I've just had a tremendously confusing dream. ❞

❝ I'm not in the habit of taking drinks from strangers. ❞

❝ But I'm beloved... ❞

❝ I. Don't. Caaare. ❞

❝ It's almost Friday, the day for kissing! ❞

❝ If you value your life, you might consider staying out of mine. ❞

❝ Is there any way we can put this all behind us? ❞

❝ Are you fucking kidding me? You shouldn't have asked that question. ❞

❝ Oh, thank God. I was about to flip my shit. ❞

❝ Full disclosure, no offense: you seem nuts. ❞

❝ My mind is so clever, some describe me as a God. ❞

❝ My name is [name], and I'm here to say: you'll soon straight-up die today. ❞

❝ I'm perfectly sane, so now it's time to play my funny little game. ❞

❝ Where'd you go to college? Detective school? ❞

❝ I'm gonna save your life for my own benefit. ❞

❝ I have no beef with you. You're clearly dealing with some stuff. ❞

❝ Don't worry, I will murder you. ❞

❝ I feel like you're not being receptive to literally any of my shit. ❞

❝ I was hypnotized for many, many years and frankly, I'm not too happy about it. ❞

❝ Well, you can't blame me for that. I'm dead. ❞

❝ I think you could maybe choose not to be complicit in the destruction of the universe. ❞

❝ Jesus Christ, take a breath. ❞

❝ If you don't stop this instant, I'm gonna hug you. ❞

❝ I feel like a happy sunshine person who always wins. ❞

❝ I feel as critically-acclaimed as I always do! ❞

❝ You should know by now, nothing exciting ever happens around here. ❞

❝ Hey, you ever think about what happens after we die? ❞

❝ Sorry for my dad being a dick all the time...and for following his orders without question. ❞

❝ I hate you and I'm glad you look all fucked-up! ❞

❝ Namaste or whatever. ❞

❝ I just wanna chill 'til I'm dead. ❞

❝ Whoa, okay. I think I'm gonna die. ❞

❝ Those were the bad guys! Why were you, like, chilling with them? ❞

❝ Man, you really pooped the bed on this one. ❞

❝ Okay, your tone is appropriate and I apologize. ❞

❝ I will miss you, [name], the biggest baller of them all. ❞

❝ I'd actually be double-dead, which is the worst kind of dead. ❞

❝ What can one do in the face of such monumental loss but breathe a weary sigh, for the world is a little quieter now. ❞

❝ Sometimes your death don't go exactly how you planned. ❞

❝ I tried the best I can, but I ain't got the stuff. ❞

❝ Frankly, life's been pretty dope. ❞

❝ I know life's been crazy, but believe me, you'll be fine without me here. ❞

❝ There's really no need to cry. ❞

❝ I know things seem kind of shitty and that the odds aren't looking pretty, but what's the point of quitting now? ❞

❝ I won't be here to see it, but you bet your ass that I believe that you'll still save the day somehow. ❞

❝ If I had a fuckin' bucket, then I got a hunch I'd kick it. ❞

❝ Sorry for the cursing, but I'm feeling worse and worse. ❞

❝ I don't wanna die, but I'm probably gonna die. ❞

❝ I'm dying now, just so we're clear. ❞

❝ Holy shit, this is it, I'm gonna die. ❞

❝ I'll see you later, pals, I'm outta here. ❞

#buzzfeed unsolved hot daga #hot daga #hot daga rp #hot daga starters #sentence starters #rp prompts #rp memes

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darklydeliciousdesires · 1 year

Text

Runaway - Chapter Fourteen.

Wow, besties! You reached that unlock at speed! Something tells me that you’re going to be exactly the same with this chapter, too :D Thanks for your engagement as usual, and I hope you enjoy!

Previous chapters - Prologue One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen

Taglist - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed

Words - 1,638

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, minors DNI!

Ahhh, stories from respective pasts. A fantastic way to get to know someone, and be thoroughly entertained throughout. At that point in the evening, and with the storm showing no signs of abating, they were covering the school years.

“So I ask her again, and she predictably tells me no, but by this point I feel like my fuckin’ bladder is gon’ burst, so I just said to her, ‘fine, you asked for this’, got up, walked over to her plant in the corner, and pissed right in the pot. She starts screaming at me, I calmly told her that she should have just let me go to the bathroom, but at least with my way, she got to see the fact I had a real big dick, so it was a win win scenario.

“The entire class went crazy laughing, she reported me to the principal, but it was only the comment I made about my dick I got in trouble for. Turns out the principal’s wife was a urologist, and so because he knew how bad it was to hold a piss in, she got in deep shit for not allowing kids to go to the bathroom.

“That ain’t even the wildest part of the story, though. I saw her in a bar years later, and gave her hell about what a tyrant she used to be. She just stood there and took it, then said that since I’d grown up to be such a knockout, I should let her make it up to me. I went home with her that night and fucked her until her bed broke.”

Hannah almost choked on her wine. “Oh my god!”

“What?” he laughed, his dirty chuckle filling the room. “She was a bitch, but she was hot!”

“I’d say I can’t believe that you fucked your former teacher, but it’s you after all.” She nudged him with a teasing foot, Manny grabbing her leg and tickling behind her knee, where he knew she couldn’t bear to be touched. “Get off me!” she cried, her giggles sending sparks of happiness through his insides. It had been a while, since he’d been playful like that with a woman.

“Oh and I bet you were nothing short of perfect at school, right?”

She fought against him, kicking his thigh until he finally let go. “I was, actually. About the worst thing I did was let the fire alarm off to get a guy I liked out of a test. He never really noticed me like that before, until I walked past him when we were filed up outside, whispered ‘you’re welcome’, winked and walked away. I’d like to think that was one of my smoother moments in life.”

“And did it work? Not that you should have needed to resort to such, being as gorgeous as you are.”

She nodded, dropping her head for a moment, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, it worked. We dated for four months before I broke up with him. Me and my poor impulse control struck, the impulse being that the quarterback of the football team asked me out, and I looked at him as a better option.”

Manny leaned forward slightly, arching an eyebrow as he lifted his glass to his lips. “And was he?”

“Nope! I never seem to learn my lesson there. Then again, the last time I acted on impulse, I got something wonderful.” He gestured for her to continue, watching her smile grow. “I got Lola.”

“And you didn’t end up married to an asshole either,” he observed, draining his glass, Hannah hauling herself up to fetch the second bottle from the kitchen. “Anything more there, or is he sticking to his restraining order?”

“I’ve had a few phone calls come through where no one talks, and I know it’s him. I block all the numbers he calls me from just as I always have, but he’s persistent, uses pay phones, I think at one point he was using cheap prepay phones as well. I just have to keep a diary of it, but it’ll be hard to prove it’s him unless he talks. It’s a nuisance, but what can I do?” Sitting down again, she topped up their glasses, setting the bottle down on the table. “I heard through the grapevine that he moved away recently, he’s gone up to northern Cali somewhere, so as long as he isn’t a physical presence in my life, I don’t mind so much.”

“I do,” he stated with vehemence. “I mind him bothering you. If he ever does turn up again, you tell me, okay? Fuck the police, fuck the courts, you come and you tell me. He’ll leave you alone for good.”

Her eyes widened a little. “You wouldn’t...” she made a gun motion against her head, her thumb pulling an imaginary trigger, “would you?”

“No! Don’t be crazy, of course I wouldn’t. But I’d make him believe I would.” That was only half the truth. If he ever physically came near his daughter in a threatening way, Michael would cease to breathe, although that wasn’t a truth Manny was quick to share with her mother. “And I’d probably smack him around a little, just for daring to fuck with someone I care about.”

He couldn’t help but add that, the wine getting to him a little. Anything stronger than beer, and it was essentially like giving him truth serum.

“Manny,” she warned gently, reaching for his arm. “Please, don’t.” It took him a moment to answer, the feel of her hand upon him, her skin on his, even though so innocently placed there making a jolt run straight to the pit of his belly.

He raised his eyebrows, recovering himself. “He’ll be fine, unless he breaks his restraining order. I saw it, when you broke down and revealed it all, just how fucking stressed out the motherfucker had made you. That don’t happen on my watch, Hannah.” Pausing, he leaned forward, reaching for her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Don’t matter how unique it all is, our relationship as parents, what could have been, if the circumstances were different. I meant it when I said I care about you.”

Perhaps he hadn’t recovered himself sufficiently enough, the blue of her eyes like cloudless skies he wished only to sail through, shining through the candlelight. His mouth felt dry, taking another swig of wine, his heart beginning to pound. No. He couldn’t act. He had to shove it down again, but the lure of her. Oh, the lure, his loins burning at the memory of how it felt, when he was with her. Fuck.

In turn, the pull she felt to him was intense, like he’d lassoed her insides, as only an accomplished cowboy could, the rope being wound in with every statement that passed over his lips, every compliment, her foundations feeling shaky in the presence of him. Despite herself, her hand covered his, the light of her gaze meeting the dark of his, both paused, perhaps for too long... or not long enough... the wine clouding them, the memories of one another returning. As if that attraction had ever been far from the surface.

The storm outside swirled with all the potency of what they’d both tried to push down, the sky illuminated as Manny set his glass down, taking hers from her hand, moving up the couch, his hands gripping her knees, opening them enough for his body to slot between them, the boom of thunder rocking the ground as their mouths met.

Any reservations they might have had were swept away as they fell headlong down the rabbit hole, the tempting promise of what they would experience in their own Neverland of blissful sin tugging at them too strongly, dragging them down, until all that was left was them. There was no Carmen, no time between their only night together and then, no reason why not. Only them.

A scattered path of kisses scorched her skin, the firm grip of his hands moving to pull at her vest, Hannah suddenly stopping him.

“I... I look... different.” Her stammered words made him pause, searching her eyes, resting his forehead to hers. “I don’t look as good as I used to, since the baby.”

“Let me be the judge of that.” His kisses landed softer, his haste calmed as he slowly lifted her vest, pulling it from her body, her sweats next to go, Manny sitting back on his heels as he looked down at her, his gaze finding the nerves in her eyes. “This body is beautiful. You know why? It’s the body that grew my child safely for nine months, and if you think just because it’s a tiny bit different to how I remember that it’ll put me off, then you’re crazy. Now, lie back and let me show you just how goddamned beautiful I think you are.”

She’d be lying if she said her confidence had been truly bolstered in the wake of his praise, no matter how lovely his words were, but still, she felt desired enough to pull him back to her, their mouths locked together, undoing his shirt as kisses of sugared embers grew hotter, the feel of his skin on hers torridly enchanting.

“Wait.” Sitting up, he lifted her, Hannah wrapping herself around him. “I need more room than a couch has to really fuckin’ enjoy you, darlin’.”

As soon as the bedroom door closed behind them, so did the chapter of them entitled ‘Two parents trying desperately to convince themselves there was only a child connecting them.’ And lord, the chapter they would write together to follow, only legible until the flames that roared between them threatened to burn each word off the page entirely.

#manny mayans mc #manny mayans mc fanfiction #manny mayans mc smut #manny mayans mc imagine #manny mayans mc x ofc #manny montana #manny montana fanfiction #manny montana smut #manny montana imagine #manny montana x ofc #mayans mc #mayans mc fanfiction #mayans mc smut #mayans mc imagine #mayans mc fanfic #mayans mc fic

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27emailsicantsend · 10 months

Note

Gina Porter for the character ask! ❤️

Favorite thing about them: I love her ability to ride with wherever life takes her. She doesn’t seem afraid of standing up for herself or taking big risks because, “as a new kid, you either eat or be eaten”. There are so many scenes I can think of where she said a line and I was like “whoa, that was confident ma’am”. I know this comes a little bit from a trauma response on her end, moving around as much as she has, but as someone who struggles standing up for herself and doing things that require bravery, I really look up to Gina Porter. Both she and I can be stubborn, but hers is to help her “push through” challenges and continue on with life, whereas I can end up getting stuck in my problems. I know I’m using a lot of comparison to myself in this ask, but I do see a lot of myself in Gina Porter, so watching her take traits that I want to improve on and make them her heroic qualities, turns her into an outstanding character for me.

Least favorite thing about them: this didn’t happen often, but especially in season 2, she had a really hard time talking through things if someone else asked if she was ok. She would say she was fine and then when she couldn’t hold it in anymore, she would finally speak her truth. I just wonder if her showing a little bit more vulnerability in the moments where people asked if she was ok, would have helped her put down her walls a little sooner. And even then, this is such a small thing because the ask requires it. I genuinely love Gina as a character, so this was a bit hard to write!

Favorite line(s):

“You’re not a maybe, you’re a yes” (no one is surprised)… actually let’s just do the whole speech with this line standing out the most

“But we’re not dating”

*insert Gina’s entire break up speech with EJ*

EJ: We’ve just got to wait for the fireworks to start Gina: “is that a metaphor or…?”

“Don’t get me started”

“I wouldn’t quit on us if I wasn’t moving away”

“I meant what I said about, at the skate park, about you having your own style. I don’t even think I knew how much I meant it when I said it”. “Good night, Ricky”. “No. Awkward? Could not be us”

“Could I hear that acoustic song idea? It sounded cool” Ricky: You serious? “I mean, we’ve got the time” (Ricky had been told by so many people up to this point, especially Nini, that he was just causing problems and taking up space. Gina created more space for him.)

“Come on, then. Let’s watch”

“You just acted like an old version of yourself, I get it. Or maybe it’s just the real EJ of Shallow Lake”

“Hell yeah, we are” (in response to being an awesome pair of wonderstudies)

“Mr. Bowen, would you like to dance?”

“Chicken”

“Walk on the moon… hilariously grounded, Ricky”

“I-I-have it, like-like if you-“

“Open it.”

“I’m your sister, right?”

“I have my eyes set on one thing this summer and one thing only” Ricky: *head empty, crickets* “And I’m gonna get it”

OTP: Rina 💕🥹 (is anyone shocked, just asking the crowd)

nOTP: P*rtwell

brOTP: S1 EJ and Gina (them getting together was necessary for Gina’s development, but wow they would have been so much better off as friends. I truly loved the “Wonderstudies!”)

Something I expect from them season 4 (if applicable): where do I begin… ricky and gina dating, gina and ricky dating, ricky and gina as a couple, rina, rina, rina… lol :)

Rina related:

-Can I Have this Dance where she leads

-the puppy in her arms in the trailer is hers

-she has to spend a lot of time convincing Ricky Mack is harmless

Gina related:

-she is told she won’t have to move again

-she becomes really big because of being a main in the movie (I’m talking famous Hollywood actress)

-I doubt this will be straightforward, but I do think there will be hints about where Gina is going after she graduates and I think she will go to the same city as Ricky, but I could see them putting her in a different school like Troyella OR Ricky goes to college in LA and Gina acts there for her career (skipping college)

Random Headcanon:

-Because Sofia Wylie is celiac and her character makes gluten free treats, Gina is gluten free in my mind too

-In S1, Ricky and Gina were already seeing each other frequently, that’s how come Gina knew where Ricky lived and thought she could “walk him over” to EJ’s. That is also why she said “there is no point of calling me anymore, do you”, because they had already been hanging out and calling each other on a regular basis. We as an audience didn’t see it though. Along these lines, Gina definitely put in a bit more effort to hanging out with Ricky, so when she pulled away it made him sad because he wasn’t seeing her like he was used too.

-Also Gina definitely helped Ricky move into his new apartment^ because how did she know where he lived after the move (while there were still boxes in his living room, mind you)

Unpopular Opinion: Gina was never a lead before moving to East High. Don’t believe me? Go back and rewatch the part where she talks to Nini about “never being an understudy”. A lot of people say Gina going “this is my first time getting the lead” is a plot hole because she says it s1. She actually never does. She only says she was “never an understudy”, with no dialogue about being a lead too. My personal headcanon is that she omitted that part so she could come off more intimidating, when she knew good and well she hadn’t had either. Maybe she was a background character up until that point too.

Song I associate with them:

(They’re all rina related, ofc)

-Bad for Business, Sabrina Carpenter

-Nonsense, Sabrina Carpenter

-Timeless, Taylor Swift

-I Can See You, Taylor Swift

-All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before, Taylor Swift

-Hits Different, Taylor Swift

-Story of Us, Taylor Swift

-Make You Stay, Girl and the Dreamcatcher

-Not Like I’m in Love with You, Lauren Weintraub

-So Good, Halsey

-Better Man, Taylor Swift (the only one not rina related because the second verse/chorus feel directly aimed at EJ)

-Message in a Bottle, Taylor Swift

-Boys like You, Megan & Liz

-Handsome, Megan & Liz

-Jump then Fall, Taylor Swift

-Just a Friend to You, Megan Trainor

-Before I Let You Go, Colbie Caillat

Favorite picture of them: (I tried to find the photo of her in her yellow SOGAE premiere dress on the balcony, but couldn’t :( that was one of my faves. Also, I genuinely considered just posting her entire insta feed because Sofia Wylie is one of the prettiest humans to exist and I will take that to the grave… but here’s my top 5)

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #rina #ricky bowen #gina porter #ricky x gina #sofia Wylie #wow this was long #i just love her #i could write about gina porter for 10 years and it wouldn’t be enough

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sketching-shark · 1 year

Note

I'm guessing you've seen all of LMK Season 4 (excluding the Special obviously) in English by now. Thoughts, comments, concerns?

Monkie Kid spoilers below:

Thoughts & Comments:

So many of the yaoguai have Cockney accents...

Kind of surprised that no one's mentioned Tang's "I have DEVOTED my life to this man!" in regards to Zhu Dachu haha

And in terms of different kinds of relationships involving the pigman it is pretty neat that Dadsy is definitely canon :)

There were a number of genuinely funny moments.

Super awesome that we got Sun Wukong talking about making multiple regrettable life choices though :(

Also I've got to agree with others in saying that it was a real stretch for Qi Xiaotian to take on all the blame for the calamities in seasons past. In that regard it was messed up of SWK to agree with Qi Xiaotian about those things being his fault. IDK if that's yet another example of "SWK is a terrible teacher" or if he's uniquely terrible to mentor Qi Xiaotian because they share a tendency to blame themselves for things that aren't their fault but I also don't know if that will ever be explored.

Also also super awesome that we got even MORE figures from the Monkey King's past who hate his guts because of the violence he put them through. The plot definitely did seem to be be giving itself enough wiggle room so that their animosity might end up being the result of a massive misunderstanding and/or manipulation of memories and/or SWK being forced to do things through headband torture times. But again I'm not really getting why Azure Lion or even a good chunk of Team Monkie--who it must be remembered have no idea the headband torture even happened--would consider SWK getting trapped in the Memory Scroll a bad thing given what they've suffered because of his decisions and failures. Like wow I've seen people say "He was sorry!" but sorry is not going to cut it when you've trapped your besties in an ink hell dimension for a millennia :[ That said the Monkey King did seem to be given a teensy break in the "SWK sucks" parade in terms of Azure Lion describing his failure to take down the Jade Emperor as a defeat, implying that SWK tried his best even if his best wasn't good enough.

Very confused with Qi Xiaotian's deal in terms of him maybe coming from the same stone as Sun Wukong but also maybe not. We'll see if this changes but I actually kinda liked it better when he was just some guy :]. That said it is a kind of neat idea that the stone itself regenerates & produces more monkeys besides the Monkey King; it could explain where the other World-Wreaking Monkeys come from.

Honestly out of everyone it was Sha Dali who was my favorite this season. That blue giant is so cute :3

Kind of seemed like this season was making some digs as Xiyouji's set-up and maybe people who have said that season 1 was their favorite given that the "monsters-of-the-week" format was repeatedly mocked...

I am wondering if and when they're going to explain why Li Nezha seemed to think keeping the old Jade Emperor on his throne was worth more than his own life...given that the sky started to crack after he was killed it seems like that celestial might have literally been holding the heavens together. Although if that's the case haha wow not sure how they'll manage this situation where an oppressive figure was literally necessary for the functioning of reality. Maybe that will give that mysterious hooded figure who instigated all of this a chance to step in...I have seen some people predict that it's Erlang Shen, and that could potentially be interesting if he managed to arrange things so that the uncle who killed most of his family was deposed through the demigod's manipulation but not by his hand, thus leaving Erlang Shen to reclaim heaven from a mere rogue yaoguai. And also with the one guy who was his equal in strength locked away in ink hell world.

Wild that the Six Eared Macaque finally achieved his dream of replacing the Monkey King lmao

Concerns:

Same as usual for me, so that would be: worried that they might just keep doubling and tripling down on what a thoughtless failure SWK is; worried that we're going to get 'end of the world' fatigue soon in terms of the relentlessly high stakes; concerned that the 'revolutionaries against a legitimately unjust system are going to have their actions condemned because they 'went too far' and/or made everything 1000 times worse' trope is going to be recycled here; are we ever going to get bonding moments between SWK and Qi Xiaotian again

---

EDIT: So it does need to be noted that I was being too harsh on the Monkey King with my wording implying that Sun Wukong agreed completely with Qi Xiaotian about the calamities being only his fault so I'll take the L on that. Even so, and even if Qi Xiaotian messed up in a couple of things, I still wish SWK had pushed harder against the idea that all of the catastrophes were only because of his tudi's actions like Qi Xiaotian seems to believe, which I guess he kind of does by noting that the Demon Bull King, Spider Queen, and Lady Bone Demon were angry at the Monkey King first with Qi Xiaotian getting caught in the crossfire. I think he could have done more to point out that these villains were their own agents, or if we got some more down time I think it would be nice to have a shifu-tudi bonding moment of them going through strategies on how they might work together to halt potentially world-ending calamities before they get that catastrophic. After all, making a mistake is one thing, but when it's in the context of "the entirety of the world could end" situations one right after another that does call for some contemplation on what you could do differently!

#monkie kid #monkie kid spoilers

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angelasscribbles · 2 years

Text

Star Crossed Chapter 7: Into the Maze

Series: Star Crossed

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Drake

Rating: NSFW

Warnings: Language and Lemons 🍋🍋🍋

Song Inspiration: Hold On To The Nights by Richard Marx

Word Count: 3,179

A/N: I have been made aware that @DCBBW has also given her Riley Brooks the middle name Renee. It is entirely possible that the name Riley Renee Brooks was kicking around in my subconscious because I have read her work. She and I have discussed this, and I offered to change my Riley’s middle name, but she graciously told me she was fine with it. (Side note: this was not the original middle name I had chosen for her, but once I had her give Drake the name Ren, I had to retcon her middle name to fit.)

A/N 2: There is a line in here that is a nod to the one-shot "Between Friends" by @harleybeaumont. You'll know it when you see it (it's at the end of the NSFW bit.) Thank you @harleybeaumont for letting me use your line!

My other stuff: Master List.

He paced nervously outside the entrance to the hedge maze, unsure if she would show. A million things could interfere with her ability, and her desire, to sneak out of the palace.

He raked a hand through his hair as he asked himself for the four hundredth time what the hell he was even doing. She was married. To his best friend. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear her approaching.

“Drake?”

He spun at the sound of her voice, “You came!”

“You sound surprised.”

He was surprised and elated and terrified all at the same time. He instantly decided his reaction was ridiculous considering they’d known each for barely twenty-four hours, so he covered with humor, “You didn’t have to climb down a wall, did you?”

“No.” She said with a soft smile. “Nothing as dramatic as that. Not this time.”

“I should have thought of that…you don’t really know your way around yet. It would have been easier for me to come to you. Which room are you in?”

“The big one next to Liam’s.”

“Of course. That makes sense. I’m right down the hall from you. That would have been easier, maybe. I’m sorry I asked you to sneak out.”

“It’s ok, really. I like it out here in the gardens.”

“Yeah…” His eyes took in the surroundings, then he tilted his head toward the entrance to the maze, “Why don’t we get out of sight?”

“Oh!” She visibly startled, “That’s probably a good idea!”

“I’m sorry,” She said as they stepped into the topiary, “I’m not used to having to sneak around.”

“It’s ok. Neither am I.” He admitted, guilt swirling in his stomach. He should tell Liam.

“You sure you know your way around in here?” She asked as she glanced around at the literal maze he was leading her through.

“Like the back of my hand. I grew up at the palace, we used to play maze tag in here.” He assured her, taking her hand so she didn’t stumble in the darkness.

“We?” She took his hand and moved closer to him.

“Yeah, me and my sister Savannah, Leo, Liam and Olivia. And sometimes the Beaumont brothers when they were visiting.”

“Wow, so you really did grow up here, with Liam?”

“Yep.”

“You didn’t mention any of that last night. If you had, I would have figured out who you were.”

“Then I’m glad I didn’t. If you had figured out who I was, then what happened between us might not have happened.” He shot a sidelong glance at her, her expression confirming his statement.

They walked in silence for a moment, then she asked, “Why didn’t you mention it though? Seems like a huge part of your life to leave out.”

He tried to formulate the right words to explain it to her, “That’s because those other things, Texas, the military, they feel more real in a lot of ways than all…this. More meaningful.”

“That makes sense, actually.”

“Plus, when women find out I’m Liam’s best friend, suddenly it’s not about me anymore, it’s about getting an introduction to Liam or Leo.”

“Oh, that’s terrible!” She gave his hand a little squeeze before another thought occurred to her, “Did you think I would be like that?“

He shrugged, “There’s a lot of precedence.”

Her reply died on her lips as they entered an open area near the center of the maze that contained a wishing well. It was beautiful, draped in twinkling starlight, all the shrubs in the clearing were in bloom and the cobblestones glistened in the moonlight. The well at the center was made of stone and mortar, dotted with smaller, more colorful stones, shimmering in the dim light of the clearing.

He guided her past that to a stone bench and released her hand, gesturing for her to take a seat, “I thought we could sit here and talk, if that’s ok. No one comes in here at night.”

“This is fine, thank you.” She said as she sat.

He sat next to her, “Uh…you sure you won’t be missed? I mean it is your wedding night and….um….” He trailed off unsure how to complete that sentence.

She flushed as the implications sunk in. She shook her head emphatically, “No, no. We haven’t…I don’t want to….not yet…maybe ever…I mean, we don’t know each other, really. Not that I knew you when we….I mean, I felt like I did, somehow, but…. I know Liam is my husband now and it’s to be expected, eventually…. but I don’t want to think about that, not right now, not while I’m sitting here with you…..”

She dropped her head into her hands, face beet red, “Oh my God, I want to die right now. That was mortifying. I’m sorry.”

“Hey!” He reached for her hands and lowered them from her face, “It’s ok. I know what you meant. I know this is an….unusual situation-“

“I just don’t want you to think I’m the type of woman to have casual sex the night before my wedding, even though that’s exactly what I did…” She turned her head away.

“That’s not what I think at all.” He said quietly.

“It’s not? But-“

“Ren…Riley, look at me, please.”

She turned her head back and lifted her eyes to him in question.

“You can tell me I’m crazy, if you want, but I don’t think anything about last night was casual. At least it wasn’t to me.”

“It wasn’t?”

He shook his head, “No.”

“So, you’ve never….”

“Well…I didn’t say that!” He blew out a loud sigh as he raked a hand through his hair, “I want to be honest with you, Riley.”

“Okay…”

He shifted on the bench to face her, taking her hand in his, “I absolutely have done stuff like that….like, a lot. In fact, my relationship history consists almost entirely of one night stands.”

“Oh! I-“ She tried to pull her hand back, but he tightened his grip on it, pulling her a little closer in the process.

“Let me finish, please. I can’t explain what happened between us last night, but it wasn’t the same, at all! I felt a connection to you that I’ve never felt before. I know it sounds crazy, but when you touched me, something inside me….I…..shit, I don’t even know how to explain it. It sounds crazy, even to me.” He let go of her hand and leaned back, thudding back a little too hard causing the rough stone of the bench to feel abrasive even through his shirt.

“I felt it too.” She whispered.

His head snapped around in surprise, she had said it so quietly, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he hadn’t imagined it. “Really?” He held his breath as he waited for her reply.

She nodded, “Yeah. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have….you know. I mean, I still shouldn’t have, but-”

He sat upright, turning back toward her, “I don’t regret it. Do you?”

“No. I told you last night that I didn’t.”

“But you said that you should.”

“Yeah, well, I mean, for obvious reasons.”

“Right. Married. To my best friend.” He turned his body away from her again. The cruel irony of it all.

She bit into her bottom lip in an effort to not cry. She wasn’t going to cry. He was sitting right there and all she wanted to do was reach out and touch him, kiss him, feel his arms around her again. But she couldn’t. How could she? She might not feel any emotional attachment to Liam or particular loyalty to him, not of the romantic variety anyway, but he was Drake’s best friend. If Drake and Liam had been strangers to each other, maybe she could have seen her way clear to just have the affair. It wasn’t unheard of, after all. It was rather tolerated, especially among royal couples, wasn’t it? Almost expected, even.

But she could see the very real struggle he was fighting with himself. It was right there, clear as day, telegraphed across his face when he’d said that last sentence, when he’d pulled away from her. He felt loyalty to Liam, he felt guilty, and how could she let herself be the cause of that?

She looked down at her hands in her lap and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

He spun back toward her with a blink, “Why? For what?”

“For putting you in this position…”

“Hey.” He scooted closer and cupped her face in his hand, “You didn’t, ok? You didn’t know who I was, what I was to Liam. And if you had, you wouldn’t have done it. So, I’m glad you didn’t know. Because I meant what I said, I don’t regret it. At all. I can’t explain what happened between us last night. I’ve never felt a connection like that to anyone before but it’s there now and I don’t think it’s going away.”

“So, what do we do now?” She asked.

“I….don’t know.” He sighed, resting his forehead against hers, “Do you want to run away together? My bike is out front.”

The tension broke as she snorted out a surprised laugh. “I know you’re joking but you really shouldn’t tempt me. You have no idea how appealing that idea is.”

“Oh, yeah, I think I do.” He answered.

“I just…I don’t want to cause problems between you and Liam.”

“You’re not.” His own feelings and actions were to blame, not her.

“Well, if you’re sure about that….”

“What?”

“Do you…maybe want to….you know…kiss me again?”

A soft laugh erupted from him as he scooted even closer and gathered her in his arms, “Do I want to kiss you again? What kind of question is that? It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I dropped you off last night!”

“Except you didn’t drop me off, did you? You just brought me back here, where you were also going.”

“I guess that’s accurate.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that last night?”

“Because you seemed determined to get away from me at the time. And because I wanted to surprise you when I found you tonight but, ah….well, I guess you really turned the tables on that one because I’ve never been more surprised in my life!”

“Shit!” Her hand flew to her mouth, suppressing the giggle that threatened right along next to the tears that threatened. “That’s the most I don’t know whether to laugh or cry statement I’ve ever heard in my life!”

“Hey.” He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head back, “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I know that.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I feel like I know you…which is silly, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think it’s silly.” He answered.

She looked at him in wonder as she asked, “How is it possible to feel like I’ve known you forever when we just met?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know, but I feel it too. It’s almost like we’ve fallen in love before, a million different times, in a million different ways, in a million different stories.”

“Wouldn’t that be something? Parallel universes, or multiple lifetimes maybe?”

“Or characters in a story, millions of different stories!”

“Well now you’re being ridiculous.” She laughed.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, his arm around her, her head on his shoulder. Neither one mentioning that the L word had just been thrown around. A thought occurred to her, “Last night you said you might reenlist. Is that still something you’re thinking about doing?”

She wanted him to stay. She shouldn’t want it, and he definitely shouldn’t do it. But she did want it. Desperately. More than she’d ever wanted anything.

He considered that thoughtfully before replying, “I have three months to decide. I was going to reup, then last night happened and I threw that idea out the window. But now….”

“But now?”

He ran a hand down his face with a sigh, “Now I don’t know. I guess a lot depends on what’s happening here, with us. Are you…will there be a honeymoon? How long will you be gone?”

He had a million other questions he wanted to ask but was afraid to. He assumed sex would be happening on the honeymoon even if it didn’t before. Producing heirs for the throne was a clear objective of any royal marriage. Could he let his best friend consummate his marriage without knowing the truth? Was there anyway she could get out of it before that happened? Did she even want to? Those were burning questions whose answers terrified him, so he’d settled for the easiest one.

“The honeymoon is scheduled for two months from now. It had to be fit in around royal business you know. We’ll only be gone for a week.”

They sat with the weight of what that meant between them for a moment. Finally, Drake asked, “Don’t you think we should tell him?”

“I…don’t know. What would we tell him, exactly?”

“I don’t know. I mean, what exactly is happening here? Are we having an affair or was last night a one time thing?” He knew what he wanted, but he understood if she didn’t want to risk her new marriage. Was there even anything to tell? Maybe he should just reenlist and get the hell out of their way.

As if reading his mind, she responded, “If I’m going to risk my marriage, such as it is, it should be for more than sex. But…It’s only been twenty four hours since we met, how can we be sure-“

In her heart, she was sure, but her head had always had a habit of getting in the way of her own happiness and logic dictated that she at least try and be sensible about this before she threw the newly forged alliance between their counties out the window. It wasn’t just about her after all, or even Liam. It wasn’t even about just Cordonia and Monterisso, It was about the very delicate balance of power in the entire region. Lives could be at risk, countries teetering on the brink of war were at issue, carefully negotiated treaties, fragile alliances, precarious cease fires all hung in the balance. She shouldn’t even be considering this.

“Ok, yeah, I see where you’re going with that.” He nodded solemnly. He already knew, but if she needed time to figure it out then they’d take the time. “We should get to know each other first, on a personal level, make sure all these feelings aren’t just from crazy, amazing sex or that we don’t have some basic incompatibility that we haven’t found yet.”

“And we probably shouldn’t have sex while we’re doing it.” She said, “It will just cloud the issue.”

“Absolutely. No sex.” He agreed. “But you did ask if I wanted to kiss you, and I said yes.”

“I guess one kiss couldn’t hurt.” Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “But no sex, we agreed, right?”

“No sex.” He confirmed, capturing her in his embrace and engulfing her body in fire.

The kiss started slow and tender but quickly built in intensity, his lips becoming more demanding, their tongues thrusting harder into each other’s mouth, a soft moan escaped her as she ran her hands across his chest.

As his lips devoured hers, one hand trailed down her body, stopping to caress a breast that was straining against the silky fabric of the sheath dress she had changed into for the reception before continuing on its way to her knee, where it slid upwards again, pushing the hem of her dress up as it slid underneath.

“Oh!” She gasped against his lips, “But we said we shouldn’t-“

“We’re not.” He murmured in reply, his lips still touching hers. He resumed his merciless assault on her mouth.

His fingers glided across the thin material of her white lace panties. He took his time, stroking his fingers slowly back and forth between her legs, playing with her as his lips trailed fire across her neck, lightly, gently pushing her desire higher and higher.

“How the fuck are you so wet?” He groaned.

She shuddered as his fingers pushed under her panties and found their way inside her. Her breathing became labored, her chest heaved with passion, and she bit softly into his shoulder to muffle her moans of pleasure.

He leaned his forehead against hers as his fingers began tracing soft circles around her clit. “Look at me.” He told her.

She lifted her eyes to find his boring into her, his gaze ardent, fervent, and impassioned, as his fingers continued to swirl over her, “Cum for me, baby.” He ordered.

She had thought that cumming on demand only happened in books or porn videos, but when that deep voice of his commanded her, when she heard the strain of desire in his voice, while staring into the deep burnished copper depths of his eyes, his pupils lust blown, she lost control of her own body.

She pitched forward, bucking up into his hand as her teeth found his shoulder again, this time digging in hard as she cried out in ecstasy, her release flooding her senses. She stayed there, and he held her tight against his body, as the orgasm pulsed through her.

“Good girl.” He murmured into her hair before kissing the top of her head.

She unclenched her teeth as she inhaled deeply, committing his scent to memory. “Jesus, Drake, that was….fuck.”

A satisfied smirk spread across his face, “Good. You won’t forget me.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I could forget you if I tried. But, I was the only one that got something out of that, I should-“

“No!” He grasped her hand before she could get it near his pants, “Trust me, I got something out of it and as for the rest, believe me, I’ll be taking care of that later tonight, when I’m alone. I won’t be able to sleep until I do.”

“But I could just-“

“No. We said no sex. That was just…a hand job between friends. I wanted to do something just for you. Just let me have it, ok?”

She shook her head, “You’re not like any man I’ve ever met, Drake Walker.”

He scoffed, “I’m just like every man you’ve ever met. The only thing that makes me different is these feelings you inspire in me. That’s all you, baby.”

“I sincerely doubt that. You are different, Drake.” She told him as she snuggled deeper into his embrace with a sigh. His arms instinctively tightened around her as her head rested on his chest. They stayed like that for a long time, watching the stars and talking into the wee hours of the morning.

By the time they parted ways, he knew it was all over for him. She was it. If love at first sight was a real thing, then he was pretty damn sure they’d found it. He just had no idea what they were going to do about it.

#star crossed #angelasscribbles #trr #choices #drake walker #drake x mc #drake x riley #riley brooks #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #the royal romance #the royal romance fanfic #choices stories you play

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to-know-how-it-ends · 2 years

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Hadestown Thoughts

- .Hello fellow humans (and intelligent cats) of tumblr! I saw Hadestown on Broadway exactly 12 days ago and I have some thoughts. It was my first Broadway musical in my entire life and it was absolutely the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed/heard since... December last year when I saw Wicked on tour. Let’s go song by song to show just how much of a masterpiece this is.

Road to Hell:

- All of the actors just burst from the entrance door thingies and the wings! wowww. It felt so casual but so awesome

- T. Oliver Reid was Hermes and he had such a remarkable stage presence, like gosh, that’s good.

- I was a bit confused about the setup because it kind of looked to me like Hermes was a teacher and the chorus and Eurydice (Eva!!!!) were high school students. Maybe it’s just me. But then it all made sense.

- Hermes stops at every member of the chorus, doing handshakes, fistbumps, etc., and then he stops at Eurydice and puts his hand on her shoulder, and lingers for a moment, as if he’s regretful for the story having to happen yet again

- then he faces the audience, does that little lapel thing, unbuttons his suit (really shiny and i want it), puts his hands on his hips, and goes “alright!” to the chorus and then to the audience who repeats it back. Instantly drew us in, the fourth wall has officially been obliterated. I know Andre de Shields did an “aight” as opposed to “alright”, but it still had the same effect

- T. Oliver Reid’s mustache.

- the trombone player is a gift to this world

- It’s a sad song -- in the jumpiest tune ever

- this is really random but I really liked the yellow dress that the violin player was wearing

- when Hermes calls Orpheus and he misses his cue because he’s so focused on that red shmata and then he gives that cute little wave

- when Reeve and Eva pause in front of one another and Orpheus just has plain heart eyes

Any Way the Wind Blows

- the fates! the harmonies! my god. They were fantastic! Soara-Joye Ross was Atropos, and she had such a beautiful low voice. Jessie Shelton played Laechesis (hope i’m not totally butchering the spelling) and she had such an interesting mixture of joy and haunting. She had this huge taunting smile, and she seemed to love it whenever she could manipulate people. Literally amazing. Kay Trinidad (nothing like the OBC) was Clotho, and I feel like she brought the group together. She was mystical and creepy. And also seemingly very cold.

- Eva Noblezada is a blessing unto this earth. I mean it. And her voice! Ahhhh! From the literal heavens.

- I don’t know why this part always sticks out to me and some people might not notice it, but there are 3 notes in the word “blows”, and when Eva sings it they all flow together seamlessly, like pouring water into a glass. She could be a disney princess and outshine all of them. She can do amazing belts and also go very low and high. She can do anything. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m just a little bit in love with her.

- also if you look really close, on the candle that Eurydice lights there are flower designs -- my inner English teacher says good symbolism and also foreshadowing

- also, (wow i say that a lot) the acting in this (and the rest of the show) is incredible. I’ve seen a bunch of musicals in person before this (never on Broadway though), and while, granted, the acting is good, they act the relationships well, it’s very clearly acting. I don’t know what makes this so different but here it feels real, not fake. Maybe because Reeve and Eva are actually dating lol.

- ooooooh.

Come Home With Me

- Orpheus is a sweetheart. I’m also a little bit in love with him too. You know that a musical is good when you’re in love with both of the leads.

- I didn’t think I’d like him originally, but (like Eurydice) I fell in love in spite of myself

- Orpheus is adorable

- You can sense Hermes’ admiration of him, even if Orpheus is always like this

- when the chorus starts singing behind Orpheus. Someone said this in another review, and it’s very true: (i’m paraphrasing) It’s cool to see the balance of how awkward Orpheus is alongside how he commands attention with every note he sings

- also another thing -- in ancient greek epics, it was common for a chorus to sing behind the hero so I liked that symbolism

- That little scooch across the table Eva does when she’s like “oh, he’s craaazy”

Wedding Song

- I love the balance between Eurydice’s teasing and Orpheus’ earnestness and naivete

- Have I mentioned how adorable Orpheus is?

- when Eurydice is like “you wanna take me home?” and pulls down her coat to show her shoulder. tee hee. and orpheus totally misses the innuendo and is like Yes!

- He’s such a sweetie

- Reeve’s falsetto! I swear everyone in the cast has a voice straight from the heavens.

- La la la la la la la...

- When the chorus moves the tables for Orpheus to walk on in his ethereal state as Eurydice just looks on in awe

- I’ve watched a bunch of slime tutorials by now (only 12 days wow), and I know that the flower comes out of his hand, but I have to admit that when I was watching it I must have not been paying good enough attention because at first there was nothing in his hand, and then I blinked and there was

- that flower is beautiful by the way. I was recently visiting my grandparents and my Zaidy (grandfather) has a beautiful garden. I asked him if next year he could plant carnations but he wrinkled his nose and said that carnations were tacky flowers that don’t have a smell and that if you gave them to somebody it would be like an insult. But my mother likes them so I’ll get them for her. They will always be beautiful to me.

- And then at the end Eurydice’s face when she looks at him like, “Maybe he is everything he’s all cracked up to be. And even if he’s not, it’s kinda cute.”

Epic I

- I don’t have a lot of notes on this one except Reeve’s gift-from-god voice

- and also the sweet Orpheus/Hermes father/son relationship

- another difference i noticed from the soundtrack and seeing it live is that a lot of the words blend together when he’s singing in falsetto. Like when he says “And he fell in love with a beautiful lady” It sounds kind of like “beautifalady” but I actually prefer that because to me it sounds more raw, like it’s coming entirely out of him and not a songbook

Livin’ It Up On Top

- Jewelle Blackman as Persephone is a force to be reckoned with. I’m not going to compare versions as to which one is better but I will say that the way Amber Gray and Jewelle play Persephone differ greatly

- Jewelle used to play Atropos, so you know she has a MUCH deeper voice than Amber’s, but she does the same gritty things with her voice during certain lines like Amber.

- Eurydice’s reluctance to dance and then her getting right in the middle of it

- Persephone instantly clinging to Eurydice and giving her some alcohol from her flask, and then Eurydice’s surprised gasp lol

- The way Persephone lovingly touches Orpheus every time he passes her

- The way Eurydice looked at Orpheus when he gave her and Persephone cups, like “Oh, he’s so thoughtful...”

All I’ve Ever Known

- The mother of all love songs except perhaps As Long As You’re Mine. Actually no. This one is better

- The way they hold one another! Ahhhh my heart

- Like they simply can’t stay apart from one another, they live for the other

- that violin solo and the love ballet

Way Down Hadestown

- I knew this song was in the musical before I saw it because it’s in all the ads but I had no idea of the context

- How Orpheus and Eurydice are lying on the ground and holding one another for half the song and then the other half just hugging and making out because they’re totally oblivious to the change

- Basically singing that everything’s going wrong to the tune of sesame street

- the umbrella

- Jewelle’s forced smile when she says “you’re early”

- When Hades says “I missed ya” in his crazily low voice. It’s even lower now, probably because Patrick Page has aged. hehehe that rhymed

- When Eurydice says “Kinda makes you wonder how it feels” and then Hades lowers his shades and turns to her, and then Orpheus literally jumps in front of her

skipping a gathering storm because it’s like three seconds long and it’s usually always the same except Eurydice sounds more understanding and trusting in this than she does in the soundtrack and slime tutorials

Epic II

- when I tell you how much this song broke my heart

- And Orpheus’ empathy my gosh. How he’s able to empathize with Hades who is so different from him. It sounds like he’s the only one who truly understands how Hades is feeling

- La la la la la la la

- la la la la la la la

- that’s it

Chant

- by far the best song in the musical

- highlights every single perspective:

Persephone -- in shock of how much has changed in the underworld and how unnatural all this manufactured light and heat is so she’s trying to numb herself from it with wine, she cannot believe that this is what has become of the man she once fell in love with “I don’t know you anymore”

Hades -- the fact that he’s doing this all out of love for Persephone, to mimic the sunlight on earth so that she’ll want to stay, but he’s so blinded that he’s allowing himself to go down a very dark and dare I say evil (but somewhat i don’t want to say understandable but like you see why) path and he’s sort of jealous of her devotion to the people on earth

Orpheus -- trying desperately to finish the song, all he wants is to protect Eurydice with it, all he wants is for her to be safe and have everything he promised her because he feels she deserves it so much that he himself has also blinded into oblivion and can’t get the focus off the song. What he doesn’t realize is that they need food and shelter and fire now, but he’s just so swept up. Was that wrong? Yes, but he’s not to blame though he will blame himself. If I hear any hate for Orpheus I have an orange belt in Tai Shin Do -- that’s all I’m saying

Eurydice -- Orpheus showed her the way the world could be and she’s trying in spite of her gut to see that, to trust that Orpheus is going to “shelter us”, but she knows how the world is. She’s more cynical, but also more reasonable, and Orpheus isn’t helping to provide because he’s so stuck on his song which leaves her as the main provider until his song is done. She’s losing everything, and as the wind grows, her hope lessens and she becomes more desperate, and as everyone knows, desperate times call for desperate measures...

Hermes -- trying to get Orpheus out of his head, perhaps I can change the direction of the story, maybe it can go right this time, but I feel like by the time Orpheus has the a-ha moment and says “The gods have forgotten the song of their love”, and Hermes turns away, he knows that Orpheus has lost himself completely and there’s nothing he can do

The Fates -- acting as the doubt in Eurydice’s head and the wind, taking away everything she and Orpheus has, and you feel awful as they pull off Eurydice’s coat

The Workers -- Their chant is so ominous “Keep your head low” and that fact that the reason they are working is because of how much Hades has been changed because of his blindness and jealousy because of his love for Persephone

- I just love that all the parts blend together. Visually, it’s a masterpiece, with all the turntables being used and the thingy that brings people up and down in the middle

- eva’s pure desperation

- the way it seems like orpheus is really trying to get the sound right, he’s repeating himself and scrunching up his face desperately

Hey, Little Songbird

- Oh man, Patrick Page’s voice is like a massage on your brain

- But it is so, so creepy

- as is the song which is kinda the point

- It makes it look like he’s trying to seduce Eurydice

- You really get a sense of Eva’s range in this song. In four lines, she basically uses all of it, and I feel like that’s sort of the symbolism for Eurydice giving everything she has if you think about it but that could just be me.

- Like the low part in “Wasn’t it gonna be the two of us?” and then the high “weren’t” in “Weren’t we birds of a feather”

- I love all the bird analogies in it, like of course with the songbird thing, but then “I wanna fly down and feed at his hand, I want a nice soft place to land”

- The pure grief and desperation (i use this word a lot) in her voice

- “songbird vs. rattlesnake” kinda interesting when you think about it that the reason Eurydice went down to the Underworld in the original myth was because she was bitten by a snake on her wedding day and now she’s being lured down by a metaphorical “snake”, Hades

- “see how the vipers and vultures surround you” - this song is very reminiscent to me of Eicha (איכה) where it basically uses metaphors like this to describe the exile of the Jewish people

- Hades is also doing this as a kind of petty way to get back at Persephone

- God, Hades is so creepy

When The Chips Are Down

- there is so much I love about this song

- the vocals! Ahhhh! they were perfect! PERFECT and so spicy!

- the taunting, ooh. You never know whether or not to love or hate the Fates in this, but it still stands that they have the best harmonies in the show

- When they say “You got a knife in the back”, and then Eurydice acts like she’s literally been stabbed in the back. You can actually see the pain and tears on her face and feel it in your chest. Or, at least I could.

- “you can have your principles when you’ve got a belly full” -- there was an interview with the cast where reeve was saying something like “The point of the show is not that people say, oh that’s what she would do, that’s what they would do in hadestown, but can you honestly say that you would?” Someone said this somewhere, can’t remember, but if the choice is between x and survival, it’s not really a choice. What they’re really saying in this song and actually throughout the entire show is they’re using the characters as a vessel to challenge you, would you really have been able to do it any differently, honestly? Can you say that you’d be better?

Gone, I’m Gone

- not many notes, just the single tear that fell onto the stage. Like gosh. That’s not acting, that’s real

- Hermes wears glasses

Wait For Me

- I knew this song from the ads but, like Way Down Hadestown, I didn’t know the context.

- Visually a work of art

- the swinging lanterns! Oh my gosh.

- Hermes gets very stern in this. It’s almost like he’s mocking Orpheus a little bit, idrk what to think. Because like after he does that, he’s immediately helping him.

- i wonder what it tastes like to have your mouth stuffed with cotton

- orpheus’ desperate “noooo” when hermes is like, “But I guess you weren’t listening”

- The flower and how lovingly and desperately (there I go again with desperate but it seems like the main word of the musical) orpheus holds it out, like that’s his piece of Eurydice and he needs to be back together with her, he can’t bear to be without her

- The fates starting to also be a part of Orpheus’ story, acting as his doubt “who are you? where do you think you’re going? who are you to think that you can walk a road that no one’s ever walked before” and he’s like screw you, anything for my love

- the lights start swelling as Orpheus sings la la la la la la la

- when the stage opens up... the whole audience collectively gasped

- the last verse and everything about it -- “I’m coming!”

- I was a bit confused why this wasn’t the end of act 1 because it was a showstopper, and I still am a little bit confused, but I think the next song is worth it for the last song of act 1 and i will tell you why.

Why We Build The Wall

- what I think is so funny is that this song was written in 2006

- and it’s a kind of political musical. How did anais kind of prophesize Trump?

- that low voice, holy cow

- the fact that Hades refers to his workers as his children

- and the fact that the thing they are building to keep out poverty is the same thing they think that poverty wants

- But. I want to repeat something that Reeve Carney once said in an interview (he says the most meaningful things): “Oftentimes, physical walls are merely manifestations of emotional walls within oneself”

Carney: “Walls that we build against intimacy, togetherness, unity, all those things. I mean, there's so many walls you can build that prevent you from feeling something. That's where I think it starts. And our show deals those themes. I mean ... love, fear, hope, trust, doubt." and then Patrick Page: "And the world now is so complex and moving so fast and so scary, that it's not surprising to me that people would want to think, 'Oh, well there's a solution. We will simply build this barrier and will keep all of the good people inside and we'll put all of the bad people on the outside and we'll be safe.' That's what Hades is appealing to.”

I don’t think I can add any more, what they said is so perfectly true.

Wait one more Patrick quote:

"Any time you have someone who's trying to hold onto power, which is what my character is doing, he's trying at that moment to build up his own sense of himself, his own sense of power, because his relationship is threatened. Political things come from personal things, so he's feeling threatened in his personal life. He goes out and holds a rally in which he gets everyone to chant about building a wall."

- oh and this is why it’s a good ending - we set the scene for act 2 and Persephone gets to say “Anybody want a drink?” before intermission

end act 1

Our Lady of the Underground

- Jewelle and the vocals! wowww!!!!

- there’s a CRACK IN THE WAaaALLLllLlL!

- I wonder if Hades knew anything about this. Like there’s no way he’d allow his wife to run a speakeasy for his workers

Way Down Hadestown (Reprise)

- we see Eurydice in her worker’s uniform, but she doesn’t have the head-cover-goggly-thing that the other workers do.

- Eurydice doesn’t understand why they’re working -- she introduces herself to the workers and is like what are you doing, we’re free?

- then the Fates reveal what Hadestown really is -- freedom to spend eternity as basically a slave

- “your eyes will look like that someday” -- and Eurydice is like i have to go back and then the Fates mock her for already losing her memories of the past

- the fact that they sang this already but they sing it slower and then Eurydice understands -- no hate to Eurydice of course, but it’s kind of like when you say something slower so a younger person can understand. it’s sort of meant to be played as taunting and condescending

Flowers

- gut-wrenching

- my god

- so so so sad

- and the one thing she remembers is flowers and the fact that she has a lover. the symbolism!!!!!

Come Home With Me (Reprise)

- Literally two seconds after Eurydice sings her grief ballad and says come and find me, Orpheus runs through the audience and goes up to the stage and comes and finds her. I was in the mezzanine, so I didn’t see him run through but that must have been a treat for the people in orchestra seats

- I love the repetition, and of course the “It’s you,” “It’s me,” “Orpheus,” “Eurydice!” and then they rush into an embrace, they have longed to hold each other for so long and now they can’t let go.

- “You heard me?”

“...no.”

- Orpheus thinks he can get her out and is so confused why they can’t just leave

Papers

- The look of complete betrayal and fear and grief when he says it isn’t true and then Eurydice confirms that she belongs to Hades

- Orpheus still presses on, and immediately asks to take her home

- Hades’ laugh. An evil laugh if I ever heard one. But I started laughing too. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know why.

- Persephone’s trying to defend him but to no avail

- Everybody beats up poor Orpheus! noooo. Also, during the beatup scene, were they like smearing red makeup on his face that we couldn’t see? Because I am pretty certain he has more cuts and bruises after the fight and he doesn’t leave the stage once during that whole encounter

Nothing Changes

- the fates and their vocals can never be topped

- they are always taunting everyone. They’re like the murphy’s law voice in your head -- anything that can go wrong will go wrong, why try to fight it

If It’s True

- I’m pretty sure this is what you call the 11 ‘o clock number. Like No Good Deed in Wicked. Even if it’s not, it has the same effect.

- so incredibly inspiring.

- sweet little orpheus has seen how the world is but still he clings to the hope that things can change and unintentionally starts a strike

- a song of hope, resistance, and resilience

- reeve’s voice, ahhh like powerful magic

How Long

- This is the song I repeat the most because it’s pretty much the only female song I feel comfortable singing with the voice that I have

- with jewelle how long is very very very low and it sounds amazing

- It’s so beautiful

- The metaphors!

All of his sorrow won’t fit in his chest - figurative

It just burns like a fire in the pit of his chest - simile

And his heart is a bird on a spit in his chest - metaphor

How long, how long, how long

- I also love the repetition of chest chest chest, bed bed bed, and sky sky sky

- and how they duet at the end

- “The sun must go on rising” and the riff on rising is another brain massage

- shows how they both feel about their relationship and also as a parallel to orpheus and eurydice’s

Chant (Reprise)

- is almost as good as the first chant and is still amazing

- I wish they still kept Persephone’s part in it though so she could add to Eurydice’s parallel

- the worker’s singing

- you can’t really detect that much of a tune from Hades’ voice live, probably because Patrick Page aged, but still it sounds awesome

- “I CONDUCT THE ELECTRIC CITY!!!!”

- Hades is very scary

Epic III

- the best of the epics in my opinion

- you get the whole finished la la la song with all the parts come together, and with reeve’s voice and the entire company singing backup it is vocal gold.

- talk about killing them with kindness.

- like how a poor, young, beaten up boy in love manages to break down the shell of a mighty king simply by empathizing with him. he really did have a gift to give.

- and the parallel “It was like you were holding the world when you held her” to “suddenly I’m holding the world in my arms” and just the two love stories coming together

- when Hermes says, “and brother, you know what they did” the way t. oliver reid says it, it sounds like an innuendo. the audience cracked up.

- the cello and violin during Hades and Persephone’s dance and Orpheus accompanying them

- when the flower appears for Hades

Promises

- orpheus - “now what do i do?”

- re-affirming their love for one another

- Orpheus immediately doubting that Eurydice would want to stay with him after he wasn’t able to keep the promises he made in the Wedding Song and All I’ve Ever Known, asking are you sure you want to come back, I wasn’t able to provide for you -- “take me home”

- Eurydice immediately reassuring him

- the fact that it’s to the same tune as “say that you’ll hold me forever” in all I’ve ever known

- Hades and Persephone hugging and dancing the entire time

Word To the Wise

- Hades faces a dilemma here -- if I don’t let them go, i’ll be seen as a heartless man and my workers will view him as a martyr for their cause and will continue to fight, and if i do let them go, I’ll never get my workers in line again and will be considered spineless

- also, orpheus’ song touched him so much that it rebuilt his relationship with Persephone, so of course he feels pity for him and wants to let them go, but how can he do so without letting a revolution happen?

- fates vocals are of course top notch

- It’s kind of funny that word to the wise only has that line in it once and that doesn’t really have anything to do with the song

His Kiss, the Riot

- Hades makes his decision -- he will let them go but make it a journey that he doesn’t believe a even a god could ever face -- it’s a very difficult challenge, but it can still be beat with the right amount of trust

- interesting tidbit - the tune to “Who lays all the best laid plans” is the same tune that acts as sort of a theme whenever Hades comes in instrumentally.

Wait For Me (Reprise)

- I really love the line that Hermes says “the dog you really gotta dread, is the one that howls inside your head, it’s him who’s howling drives men mad, and a mind to its undoing”. He is, of course, referring to doubt, and how one can get stuck inside their head. This is fOrEsHaDoWiNggg....

- Orpheus and Eurydice holding each other for as long as they can until they have to let go.

- All the workers following Orpheus

- Persephone and Hades -- “Wait for me?” “I will.” We see their story end on a hopeful note, which I really like.

- and then everyone sings WAIT FOR ME and my god the emotion

- eva’s belt!

Doubt Comes In

- originally, when the fates start making him question himself, that’s just how it is but now when orpheus sings them out loud it shows he’s giving voice to these thoughts

- like what if this is a trick. I can’t see or hear or feel the presence of eurydice and the workers? What if Hades took them all back without me knowing, why would he, the king of the underworld, willingly let them go for a poor boys song. we know from greek mythology that the gods are not above tricking mere mortals, they’ve done it plenty of times for this to be a valid doubt. It could also be, why would eurydice even want to follow me? I wasn’t able to provide for her, why would she want me anymore, he blames himself for her going down to hadestown in the first place

- eurydice’s calls to him sound so beautiful, clear, and reassuring, and really highlight eva’s voice in all the best ways, but can orpheus actually hear her? i don’t know if that’s actually ever specified.

- when orpheus says “is this a trap that’s being played on me,” the vocals are so so good, another brain massage

- and when he says “I used to see the way the world could be, but now the way it is is all i see” he’s lost all hope, his experience has broken him, he can’t be naive or hopeful anymore, he feels so compelled that he must...

- he looks back and the audible gasp from the audience as the ground beneath eurydice starts sinking once more, and their final words to each other “it’s you” “it’s me. orpheus!” “eurydice...”

- gut punch. I’m dead, I’m crying, they’re crying, Eurydice is gone and Orpheus is knelt to the ground where she sank.

Road to Hell (Reprise)

- It’s a sad song.

- It’s a sad tale.

- It’s a tragedy.

- But we sing it anyway. (gaaaahhh the tears)

- Cause here’s the thing.

To know how it ends

And still begin to sing it again

As if it might turn out this time

I learned that from a friend of mine

- I liked how they started it again - Eurydice comes back in and asks for a match. It feels very full circle - which is the point.

- He could make you see how the world could be

In spite of the way that it is

Can you see it? (the trombone here, beginning, swelling, signifying hope and new beginnings)

Can you hear it? (more trombone -- everybody bless the trombone guy)

Can you feel it! (the way T. Oliver Reid says this -- kind of like Andre, but also with a lot more vigor)

Like a train... Is it coming?

Is it coming this way?

- and then we see that orpheus has indeed brought spring back -- just as he promised, and the chorus are back on stage in their normal clothes -- not as workers, as people starting once more

- and persephone comes back.

- It’s a love song

- orpheus and eurydice have the repeat of their bump into one another at the beginning

- and everything begins once more

- and we’re gonna sing it

We’re gonna sing it again.

And that’s just the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I can’t get it out of my system and I don’t want to. If you’ve stuck long enough to read this entire thing, bravo. I worked two days on this, so I appreciate it.

#hadestown #orpheus hadestown #eurydice hadestown #orphydice #hermes hadestown #hades hadestown #persephone hadestown #fates hadestown #reeve carney #eva noblezada #jewelle blackman #t. oliver reid #patrick page #soara-joye ross #jessie shelton #kay trinidad

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