#but I am in fact internally screaming about the pirate show for now and the foreseeable future

[cutepastelstarsalior]

Clone high season 2 live blogging

Episode 6

:( the dinner is going to be sold

Yeah I can see why some people don’t like the dinner because of the racial segregation….

Did some guy just buy to eat the dead wife????

👀 disabled Joan!??? Let’s goooooo!!!!! Detective Joan!!!! Awe cute Joan had a cat <3

“Psylly legs is build up nostalgia the legs get psylly”

….So Joan is just stimming???? (I thought she’d had restless leg syndrome)

If people bullied Joan because of her medical stuff, why didn’t Joan help Ghandi when people hated on him for his adhd? Also man does this town have an ableist history…..

Blood pack!!!!! Same big mood with the doctor not handling blood 😩

Yay Joan’s weird French films!!!! DAVID FUCKING TENNANT???!!!!!! <3 ohmgggg I love him as 10

Heyyy trash Mandy Moore lady is back!! :0

Did I meant I love the colors in this show? I do…

Noooooo jfk cheating on Joan? Wait…or not? Hmmm I feel like kissing another girl is bad…..FUCK is this is Total Drama and the Bridgette and Geoff scene >:( damn it!!! (Yes I know that they are 2 different shows but listen……hyperfixation™️ also my mom thought CH was TD lol)

Yay jfk and Harriet told Joan the truth….oh no Joan is going through so many emotions and drinking :0 hmmm 👀 (idk why but the little montage of Joan going rapid through different emotions feels like something bpd???)

Episode 7

Confucius parents took his sister to Bali but not him :( awwww his family didn’t care if he got lost in the dessert. Man Confucius family sucks, no wonder he tried to hard to be popular online, he just wanted attention :(

:( Abe and Joan army friends anymore noooo. Damn. Abe lost Joan and Ghandi, this dude is going through it….

My favorite background clone is Cathrine the Great, I think her design is so cute <3

The bus crash and now JFK brain is bigger….i think you have internal bleeding there bud…

“As a woke straight male ally let me put my lips on this unconscious black women to show how woke and straight I am” ……..topher bud….

Why is George Washtion Clever peanut man getting bigger??

Mr b using a short to cover his head <3

Ew why is jfk vice like that….

“Lo-fi haunted ghost screams” 👀

Smart jfk…Joan taking the lead. I feel like something bad will happen OR this is a dream.

:0 DJ Mr b!!!!!!

Cannibal dessert zombies….. scary!!

JFK calling people darling is cute :) <3

If jfk brain is smarter while in hot weather/if he’s overheating why didn’t this happen when he’s in the gym or doing sports? 👀

Smart jfk face : ☺️🫤

The husbands trying to snort each other 😏👀

Arroyo are gully in southwestern us….meaning the clone home is somewhere between Texas and California….

Joan wants someone who is emotionally intelligent and emotionally available….she and Abe become friends again……I’m guess they’ll end up together?

Episode 8

Oh snap they actually broke up! Also they co-own a tortoise? Cute

..,,,making the whole school sexual……😬 interesting…

“Where do you want the seaman to drop their load”

“For starters in my mouth” HA….🫵🤨 I know what you are doc

Frida having a crush on Cleo! Was not expecting that…Cleo doing her weird flirting again…was DEFINITELY not expecting that….

Harriet x Confucius is a cute ship….their such nerds <3

😬😬😬 the teacher flirting with Abe…:ma’am that not ok

“Virginity is a social construct” asexual Abe real!!!!!!!

I was going to say seaman I love you but I realize that sounds absolutely horrible out of context….

Singing pirates I love you and you talking about lgbt identity..

Topher the pirates thing you’re into Abe….. 👀

JOAN DONT PUT THE TOURTISE IN THE WATER JOAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!! Oh thank goodness Abe rescued the pet

“It’s ok if a minor and a teacher are together” not the fuck it’s not lady!!! Topher why are you filming this???? Call the police????? Topher please 😬😬

Oh thank god she dead. But ahhhhhhhh still hella uncomfortable!!!!!!!!!

The “statutory-rape-death-by-orgasm situation is very troubling” MR B WITH THE FACTS!!!!!!

“So we’re not telling the police?” You can Mr b! Please call the police. Mr b I love you so much for looking out for the students.

Topjer blackmailing Abe because he (topher) is into Joan…..🤨🤨 are you topher?? Are you really??

One one hand, I’m like this is a stupid subplot, Abe just tell Joan how you feel who care about topher and his blackmail. But on the other hand, this situation kind of feels realistic? Like a weird way to talk about victim blaming?

Oh thank god something positive in this shit show….yippie Cleo and Frida got together!!!

Joan underwater with the emotional music…her screaming underwater…..cinema™️ :) Joan and jfk having a nice talk :)…:noooo rip Shelly the tortoise

Background gay couple yay :)

Episode 9

Noooo the husbands are fighting AGAIN….oh yay Joan and Mr b time!!!

Omg Mr b lore!!!!

He has a human twin brother??? HES RELIGIOUS????? Oh snap biracial Mr b 👀

Wait nevermind…. Awww Mr b didn’t know he was a robot :( and nether did his twin

:( noooooooo!!!!!!!! He left his brother 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

OH MY FUCKING GOD Mr b was a sex worker

Noooo Mr b please contact your brother!!!!!

Awew yay Mr b life getting better!!! :0 he got married!!!

Noooo his wife cheated on his and his son wasn’t biological his!!! :(

YES!!!! The twins reunited!!! :0 awew he’s an uncle now!!! Wow 2 nices and 2 nephews!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO HES BROTHER DIED!!!!!!

👀 Mr b was an actor!!!!

🥺 awww he thinks of Joan as his daughter!!!!!!

NO MR B DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!

Oh thank god doc saved him!!!!!!! 🥺

Oh my goddd…..the cliff!!! The choices!!!!!!!

THETE FAMILY AND HE CRIED!!!!

Favorite episode!!!!!!!!

Episode 10

Oh thank god, it’s the last one!!!!

Ponce’s dad is back!!! :)

It’s the last day of the school year…the teens are 16, so there sophomores???

Clone high college :0 oh!!! I was wonder what would happen to the senior class!!

West Dakota?????

Since the sisters didn’t make it into the death maze, do they life? Get immediate killed? I forgot that the government is trying to groom the most successful clones. So I guess this is a survival of the fittest….and since the OG clones were from the first project, this is a very new things. (Trying to make a mental timeline thing.)

The four amgias….

NOOOOO VINCENT DIED (maybe not?)

4 boys who are friends-ish

4 girls who are friends

Battle of the sexist 👀

Also both groups are the main cast….ok not topher he’s more of a side character…but still..

Yay Abe and jfk friendship :)

Ok so this is my 2 favorite episode.

This gives me minor hunger games vibes. The whole government watching kids fight to the death part; not the trying to stop the government and corrupt dystopia part…

Oh hey! That weird one type flute thing, forgot about that! :)

Frida has 2 different shoelaces :)

Joan leaving the group because Frida chose her girlfriend over Joan. I mean, that understanding to be angry, but I don’t think she should leave the group….

Yessss jfk breaking topher phone!! :) now Abe won’t be blackmail anymore!!!

Gay energy jfk x Abe

Lone wolf Joan….hmm maybe she is the most powerful/sussefual clone they made? 👀

Joan setting traps to capture her friends!!!! She IS the most dangerous clone!!!

Ok Joan keeps putting people into holes, either she doing that so she the only one to hit the button and go to college OR she doing that to save everyone from the death maze?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHJHH Joan foster mom standing by Joan, using her daughter and grooming her to be the next leader!!! AHHHHHH I love it!!!!!!! Sidhaisn

!!!!!!!!! Them using the clones as backups!!!! Me think how it was weird that the government would let a clone die so easily!!! They won’t!!!!! The government controlling them to be successful puppets!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! The angst, and tension!!! The betrayal!!!!! Love it!!!!!

👀🥺 doc think of the clones as his children!!!!!!

They lost their memories!!! But Joan giving it back!! Her caring about her friends!!!!

Oh my god the stupid little hands gesture!!!!!! <3

….

That’s it??? THATS the ending? The mother showing everyone what Joan did during the death maze? And everyone being anger at her?

Ok, I feel like the twist to that, if there a season 3 is that her friends will forgive her.

Ok! Thought time!!!!

Ok, the fist half of this so is ROUGH! Like it has an idea (government wanting to groom the kids to be a successful leader) but the comedy and drama got a bit out of hand for the plot. I think want to say around 7-8 is when the show gets more, lore like? Or as close to plot as possible.

This season is VERY Joan centric. It gave her SO much character development. At first I thought it wouldn’t work, it made Joan feel like one of those not like other girls, and loser girl gets popular troupe. The whole love triangle with jfk and Abe was a bit rough. It was weird that Joan decided to be with jfk, after sleeping with him on prom night. But I guess since Abe was with Cleo and Abe only paying attention to Joan after she change herself, it make a TINY bit of scene.

The writing try to make it seems like Joan still loves Abe with that sexual dream she had, but I feel like after that episode, it wasn’t brought up again until episode 7. When Joan wanted jfk to be more emotionally invested in her. Also the whole Abe being in love with Joan? Also the random Abe getting mistreated it felt…..odd?

As for the other characters; out of the OG cast (Abe, ghandi, Joan, Cleo, jfk) only jfk had some character development. At first he was sexual with some emotional intelligence (when he comforts Joan at prom, him and Abe talking in the thinking dock, the whole ponce situation)….in season 2 he was more sexual with some minor emotional scene. I feel like episode 7-10 is were jfk is the most emotionally here.

Cleo….she basically only has 2 episodes for her character development. Episode 4, and Episode 7-8. In episode 4, she gets the crown and gets power hungry, after Joan apologizes to Cleo, she and Joan become friends-ish. In season 1 Cleo and Joan spend a lot of time together, because their parents were dating. They mostly argue but were friends-enemy? So Season 2 feel both a continuation of their season 1 relationship AND just a way to re-write Joan and Cleo relationship.

As for the other episodes? It basically her and Frida because friends to lovers. To be honest while the ship is cute, I wish it was more slow burn?

As for the new clones Harriet and Confusious. I’m mixed. Togher they make a cute couple. But separately I like them more as individuals. Harriet is the most developed out of the 3 new clones. She was awkward and a bit anxious (I think?) around episode 1, then as the show progressed she only hang around Frida, then she became closer friends with Joan. In episode 5 it’s really were Harriet feels the most….developing? She gets angry and worried over feeling Joan about how she feeling about the play! But she expresses herself and that cool!! She also has a weird little friendship with Frida, the 2 of them make a weird little group.

Confusions. At first I didn’t like, he was just a random guy who I hate his outfit. By episode 5, he gets some personal! He wants to have people pay attention to him! And by episode 6- 7, that when you know I bit more about him! He has a rich family who ignores him! His family likes his sister more and seem to emotionally neglect him. He’s a bit lazy and like to go with the flow and not have to work.But besides that…..I can’t think of anything else to say?

Frida. She’s…..there. She hangs out with Abe and Joan and Cleo sometimes. She paints, skateboards, and is the most popular girl in school. Besides that? There not a lot of info about her. It seems like this season had a few too many characters so they made Frida fade into the background…

At first I hate the new Joan new mom. (Candid? I can’t remember her name) I felt like she was a random character that didn’t need to be there. I felt like she was just there to replace the doc and just be annoying? But as the show progressed she was more of a background character that was silly. As for the final; I feel that were she shines the most!! Her wanting her foster daughter to rule the world, that idea is so cool!!!!! I love how she talk to Joan, how proud she was, and how she was going to use the clones as backup or to try to make them more perfect!!! She’s a character a feel like could work If she wasn’t stuck in a comedy.

My b my beloved <3

Topher is a dick. Hate how he blackmails Abe and try to push him and the gross teacher thing. Hate hate the show decided to do that. Like man!! If topper was really into Joan and wanted to blackmail Abe he could have done it a different way!!!!

The humor in this show….don’t feel there? I had like, a few chuckles but that was mostly because from the Doc. Or like from physical gags like the slow float or the couch catching on fire. The animation is fluid and I could see it like, a few times. The colors are a bit brights but I love the background!!! As for the voice acting….its a hit or miss.

5/10

Very Rough start but love the final 3 episodes.

#clone high season 2 #clone high #my thoughts #long post #clone high spoilers #fandom

[transwhorefinn]

Assigning jrwi characters enneagrams: Chip

ohhh boy so. My first thoughts were: he’s either a 4 or 7. Hear me out here I heavily think he’s a 4 deep down (this is not because I, Chip kinnie, am a 4 haha). At first I went straight to 7 due to 7s having the materialistic uncaring for nothing but being constantly indulged euphoria stereotype which we see early on with Chip but then I thought about it and I was like “nah that’s so surface level of his REAL traits” which we’ve been shown. So let’s analyze this bad boy

I am going to be using the enneagram institute site because I find it pretty good at just calling the shit out each of the types so.

First off

This

Literally

Screams

Chip (maybe not the temperamental, though he probably is very emotional he’s just been suppressing it)

Now, can’t say we’ve seen Chip at his best so can’t attest to those traits but the “moody and self-conscious” definitely, despite his arrogant facade he has a lot of doubts about himself from his insecurities about being captain to his relationship with the term “bastard”, he knows his flaws and his confident facade is just a faucet of ignoring his insecurities.

(Random note:

What, I mean what little I know of Rumi they’re probably a 4)

Again with the Chip deffo has low self-esteem and his “I’m the best and I know what I’m doing” act is just covering for it. The “Fantasy Self” something Black Rose pirates, just like Arlin yeah yeah Chip doesn’t think he, himself, is good enough and he needs to be someone different or follow someone/something else to be Something.

Whatever the fuck Chip was doing during the Grimm arc murder mystery party thing. Chip taking on parts of Gillion now (the shape water and etc). He has disguise self too. Oh and he lit copied Arlin with the tattoos and clothes and yeah.

Holding onto the Black Rose pirates and Arlin despite the wonderful future he has in store with the Riptide pirates. Fours fucking love sticking to bad stuff and kind of victimizing themselves.

I think this is self explanatory….

So yeah… Chip is a 4. (Okay well I can’t exactly say he’s a 4 because there’s the fact that a lot 4’s turmoils happens internally (shit like fantasizing about other worlds yada yada, ofc not every 4 needs to do this but y’know) and we don’t get that many glimpses into Chip’s head and stuff, also most 4s have a creative artistic factor to them (ofc not required) and idk I mean if we consider his grandeur dreams such as when they were making the blueprint for the Albatross parts of that show)

So now onto the harder part! The wing!

Two options

4w5 and 4w3

I say 4w3 (deffo has no correlation with me being a 4w3 hahhaha)

So 3s are driven by the fear of being worthless and the desire of being valuable. They have a tendency to strive so much to be successful they become so separated from themselves they no longer know what they want, not what other’s want, but them. We see some of those traits of 3 during his conversation with Nicklaus, when he answers Niklaus’ question of what he wants, his first three answers are about other people. Finding Arlin, helping Ollie, win the war. And then he says “Be free, sail around the sea and mess around with a stick all day”.

To prove why he’s a 3 and not a 5 we also need to discuss 5s

So 5’s, their core motivation is knowledge, to understand the world around the, to know everything as a way of protecting themselves from the uncertainties of the world. Anyways I really don’t think Chip is exactly seeking knowledge. Also 4w5 tend to be the “artistic introvert” of the two with 4w3 being named “the aristocrat” think theater kid vs art student (Chip would totally be a theater kid omfg).

ONE LAST THING

I gotta put the Enneagram songs by Sleeping At Last to solidify my point

Listen to it. It’s Chip.

And added with 3

Anyways so thanks for coming to my TEDTalk I’ll probably do one for Gillion and Jay and probably more characters but y’know

Looking at my paragraph it’ll take a bit.

Further readings:

#i have a lot to say about my blorbo okay #jrwi #jrwi riptide #just roll with it #chip jrwi #jrwi chip #chip lastname #jrwishow #jrwi spoilers #Spotify

[randominagines]

Request: hiii love, could you write an ouat Peter Pan X fem reader in which they are fuckfriends and she gets hurt during a battle (against someone idk) and he saves her? Maybe smut? Idk you decide

Requested by: anon

Pairing: Peter Pan (ouat) X fem!reader

Warning: Whump, Smut, violence, blood, a lot of sex references

P.s. if you find any mistake please correct me, English is not my mother tongue and I want to improve. Reblog, if you can, it helps a lot, thank you💕

P.p.s. gif belongs to the creator

Carelessness

"Shit" Y/n said in the moment she noticed her sword was missing. Pirates were pretty tedious but it was usually almost funny fighting them. It was okay for Peter welcoming a random battle sometimes, he said it was good to keep all the boys alert and he had this capacity to turn everything into a game, but introducing in the camp and stealing some of their weapons? Mostly outrageous. Peter was mad.

"Bunch of idiots, no one steals from Peter Pan" He whispered between his teeth, his eyes looking at the empty wood box y\n and some others used to keep the swords in. "They must have suicidal thoughts, there is no other explanation" Felix said and shrugged, his scar shining in the light of the moon.

"Where is Y/n?" Peter asked with urgency in his voice; she immediately walked toward him.

"I'm here" She said and he turned to look at her.

"How many of them?" He asked. All the Lost Boys were quite; when Peter was in a bad mood things were always tensed up.

"This morning I checked and they were almost thirty" She said; she was one of Peter's closest member of the crew and she was his eyes around the island, not to mention that she was her fuckfriend.

"Good... Boys, go collect your weapons, we're paying a little visit to the pirates tonight" The boys started to cheer up and run all around the camp, they were exited about the battle to come. As soon as everyone came back to the center of the camp, Peter spoke again.

"I know you are looking forward to killing those bastards, but remember to be careful: this time they have our swords and I don't need to remind you of the Dreamshade we soaked them it. Don't let the blades touch your skin" The atmosphere suddenly got darker. The Lost Boys looked at each other in concern, but they would never had given up on a proper battle. As soon as Felix gave the okay and walked toward the beach, all of the Boys started to follow him.

"Y\n?" Peter gently grabbed her by her arm and pulled her toward him, she stopped walking and looked at him in confusion.

"Peter, what's wrong?" She whispered those words. They used to be very discreet, almost indifferent to each other when the boys were around, besides they didn't want anyone to realize: she considered all of the Boys like brothers, but she felt an attraction toward him that wasn't fraternal at all and he felt the same. Since she arrived, a year before, they started to fight a lot but also to admire each other, untill they ended up sleeping together.

"I'd love you not to show your usual carelessness toward your life, just this once" He said putting a finger toward her chin and raising her head, she chuckled looking at him: she had to admit she was pretty reckless, but the battle gave her such an adrenaline that she couldn't help herself but forget the safety rules.

"I'll see what I can do" She joked and winked at him, she also gave him a very quick kiss on his lips, followed by a teasing bite. "Don't worry about me, save your strength to fuck me later instead" She whispered bringing her lips closer to his ear.

"Don't tease me, babe, or you won't be able to stop screaming all night long" He said and grinned looking at her.

"I should tease you more often then" she said and bit her lower lip, he rolled his eyes in frustration: he wanted her now. She gave him one last look and turned around. He puffed in frustration as looking at her joining the rest of the boys and accepting a sword that Felix was offering her. That girl really was a pain in the ass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pirates were surely taller and more robust than all of the Boys, but they hadn't done a good job: the battle was almost over and the Lost Boys hadn't lost a single member while the pirates were almost all dead. Y/n was just looking around searching for the sword they had stolen from her: the one Felix lent to her was not bad, but hers was balanced in the perfect way, besides it was less heavy and with a smaller haft. She had just spotted her sword when she decided to go and get it back.

"Where are you going?" Her best friend, Tyler, stoped her; he was covered in sand and sweat. She cleaned his face from the dirt and pointed at her sword.

"I'll come with you" he said, he had an instinct of protection toward her. They walked toward the dead bodies. The corpse of a pirate was still holding her sword in his left hand, the blood colouring the whole blade. Tyler reached out to take it when the man's opened his eyes: before he could even realize what was about to happen, he used his last strength to raise his torso and he would have soaked the blade in his stomach, but y\n pushed him aside so the sword ended up thrusting in her left hip. She immediately looked down and opened her eyes wide, her own blood was dripping down her leg and she was so shocked she couldn't even perceive any pain. The man looked at her and gave her one last smile before letting himself go: while falling down on his back, he pulled the sword out and she finally screamed in pain.

"Peter, Y/n is hurt" Tyler called out for Peter in disbelief and before she could say anything she started to feel her legs weakening. She was kneeling down when she felt Peter's arm catching her.

"Oh my... fuck!" He almost shouted while slowly laying her on the ground. Y/n felt the cold sand behind her back, almost a shocking contrast opposed to the warmth of the blood running down her leg and soaking her trousers.

"What the fuck happened?" Peter asked, his voice filled with terror and madness. Y/n was starting to realize that she was about to pass out: her view was clouded, she felt drops of cold sweat running down her forehead and she couldn't perceive her body with clearness anymore. It took all of her strength to raise he torso and look at the wound: the black of the poison was drawing spirals around the deep cut, the Dreamshade was running through her body already. "Stay still" Peter commanded her while working his magic on her, his hands were shaking. "Fuck fuck fuck, the battle tired me out, my magic is not on top; besides she is losing too much blood, I can't close the wound with the poison still inside. I need to take her back to my place" He said, frustration dominating his every word and move. As always, his bad mood was reflecting in the weather: big dark clouds were massing over them. She looked at his hands: they were red, red like the fire, she knew that it was her blood colouring them. He raised her from the ground by taking her body into his arms, it was almost like she weighed nothing. She realised that they were flying and smiled, she always wanted to fly like him.

"Don't worry, I'm going to fix this" He tried to reassure himself more than her, she held him with her hands crossed behind his shoulders and nodded.

"I am sorry.... Looks like I've acted carelessly again" She whispered while closing her eyes, she felt tired and cold. He chuckled while flying over the forest.

"I wasn't expecting anything different" He nervously joked. He tried to focus on what to do but he seriously was worried, what if magic wouldn't have been enough? No. It had to be enough. He wouldn't have lost her. She smiled and slowly fell asleep, he gave a quick look at her and couldn't stop thinking about the fact that if he wasn't going to be successful he wouldn't have been able to live with himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun. It was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. Rays of sunshine were penetrating through the roof made out of branches. The brightness of the sun made the leaves look almost white. She was in Peter's house. She squeezed her eyes and tried to stand up but, in the moment she raised her torso, an excruciating pain crossed her hip and stomach.

"Shit!" She exclaimed and laid back down. Her hands touching her wound, it was warm.

"Don't move, you could get hurt" Peter's voice made her turn left: he was sitting in a chair, his green eyes fixed on her and his hands crossed under his chin. He looked relieved.

"Thank you, I noticed" She said and he chuckled. He stood up and walked toward the bed. Before she could say anything he lifted her shirt and checked the bandaging.

"You need another couple of days to get back on your feet, at least the wound is not bleeding anymore anytime you move" He said and looked at her, she nodded and tried to sit up with her back against the wall. It was a bit painful but totally bearable if done slowly. "Good girl" He said and smirked at her, she rolled her eyes.

"Why would you say such a thing right now that I can't fuck you?" She asked in frustration, he chuckled and got closer to her; he caressed her cheek and runner his fingers toward her neck, then closed them around it and pulled her toward him. She moaned before he kissed her: the kiss was urgent, deep, passionate. He had seriously feared that he could have lost her, he never stopped thinking that he cared about her more than how he believed. Sex was amazing with that girl but almost losing her gave him the certainty that she was so much more than that for him. She was caressing the back of his head while pulling his hair, her body barely moving because of her pain but he knew her, she wanted more and he wanted more too, but that was not the time.

"Babe, stop..." He whispered on her lips, she gave him one last kiss before puffing in frustration. He looked at her and gently moved a lock of her Y/c/h behind her ear.

"I want you" She said, her voice filled with desire. He cursed internally.

"Y/n, I want you too, more than anything, but we must have a little patience" He said and caressed her lips with his thumb, she nodded and kissed it.

"Thank you, you saved my life" she said and put her hand on his chest, he smiled while sitting next to her and gently pulling her in his arms, she felt safe.

"And you saved Tyler's, you have been brave" He said and gave her a kiss on her head, she shrugged while caressing his chest.

"I admit that I hadn't realized that pirate was still alive" She confessed and looked at him, he kissed her quickly.

"I admit that the idea of losing you almost drove me crazy" He confessed and she looked at him in confusion. Did she really matter that much to him? She couldn't imagine... She always had feelings for him, since they started having sex, but confessing them? She thought she was just a fuckfriend for him.

"Really?" She asked, pure amazement in her voice, he nodded.

"Y/n, I really care about you" He said and she frowned in surprise before speaking. "I thought I was just..."

"Sex? I thought so too, but seeing you on the floor, all of that blood on your legs, the Dreamshade turning your hips and stomach black, your face as pale as the moon... It made me realize that I don't want to lose you, nor now neither never" His voice was gentle as it had never been before. Y/n was pleasurably surprised of that much sweetness, she didn't even know this version of Peter Pan existed, but she liked it.

"So, we're not fuckfriends anymore?" She teased him and he shook his head laughing.

"I'm still fucking you, babe; but we can see how it goes from now on and being open to eventual feelings" he said caressing her hair, she smiled and bit her lower lip, she couldn't been happier.

"I love the idea" She said while running her fingers between his neck and chest.

"Of me fucking you or the part about the feelings?" He asked joking and she pulled him toward her lips.

"Both" She said and grinned; before she could say anything else, he kissed her again.

#peter pan ouat #ouat #peter pan imagine #Peter pan x y/n #ouat imagine #ouat peter pan #peter pan x reader #Peter Pan x fem!reader

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Revelation Part 2

Harry Potter Marauders Era- Post Hogwarts 

Link to Part 1 

Pairings: Regulus Black x Reader 

Rating: M 

Credit: Song in chapter: I forget where we were Ben Howard and a clip taken from the TV show Rescue Me (it was so fitting)

_________

You stormed back into the house muttering about how much you wanted to kick Regulus in the shins.

“Did daddy already piss you off?”

Sirius said with a smirk as he looked up from his place at the kitchen table. He clearly could see that you were in a less than happy state but he needed answers. The scowl on your face told Sirius that he was lucky to not be killed.

“You know if I didn’t adore you so fucking much I would bitch slap the hell out of you and yes he made me mad.”

You said before sitting down across from Sirius. He smiled innocently before making a drink appear in front of you.

“Is there booze in this?”

You questioned. Sirius nodded.

“It appears that is what you need.”

You laughed bitterly. Hell yes, you needed booze and Sirius needed to make sure that the drinks kept coming. If you got drunk, that would be just fine. Harry wouldn't be waking up anytime soon and if he did, Sirius could tend to him.

“You have no idea.”

You muttered. Sirius was quiet for a moment before finally deciding to speak again.

“Y/n, I normally don’t pry into your life mostly because we know everything about each other but I am feeling a bit left out and confused at the moment.”

You took a drink, knowing that it was time to tell Sirius the truth. All of your dirty and most passionate secrets were about to come spilling out to your best friend.

“We dated for three years.”

You replied. Sirius was clearly surprised. How did he and James not pick up on this? Were they that distracted that they didn’t notice you with Regulus? The better question was what did you really have in common with his little brother (other than an impeccable gift of sarcasm)?

“Wow...so was it some weird sex thing or an actual relationship?”

“It was an actual relationship combined with mind-blowing sex that would make Satan himself blush. Do you remember my friend Samantha?”

Sirius internally gagged at the word “mind-blowing sex.” To him, you were the funny girl that tagged around with the Marauders. Sure, Sirius was aware that you had lost your virginity but he wasn’t for sure to whom it was...now he knew.

“Yeah the girl from Ravenclaw, you used to study with her a lot.”

You shook your head.

“Samantha was actually your brother and I can tell you that there was no studying going on. Most of the time when I came back to the common room I was wondering if I had remembered my underwear.”

You had to stifle a look at the expression on Sirius’ face. He was quiet for a few moments longer before speaking again.

“So both of you are into some freaky shit, huh?”

Taking a sip of your drink, you only batted your eyes at Sirius.

“It depends on how you define the word freaky.”

You said replied with a sly smile. Had this conversation been with James there probably would have been a lot of yelling and screaming. With Sirius, it was a pleasant yet uncomfortable experience that both of you should look back on and laugh.

“Well, you call my brother daddy. That is some information that I could have totally gone without knowing. Now I can’t look at my little brother the same way. I'm going to call him daddy now just to witness his reaction.”

Sirius was relieved when you smiled.

“And that doesn’t surprise me. Let me make sure to find a camera because that will be an uncomfortable experience for both Regulus and myself.”

Sirius grinned.

“It was a very uncomfortable experience for me to hear earlier. Well...more like the rug being pulled out from underneath me. So, all jokes aside, what happened between the two of you?”

Your face darkened. This wasn’t a memory that you ever wanted to think about...the break up a week after graduation. It was like having the rug pulled out from under you. You still felt that way when you thought about it. Something had you convinced that Regulus was the one for you and maybe you still felt that way.

While you were in America, you had tried dating others but it never worked out. You always compared them to Regulus. They were always annoying you, talking too much, and didn't know how to touch you. Unbeknownst to you, you were the lucky one. You hadn’t been bitten during a moment of what was supposed to be exciting.

“Regulus decided that he didn’t want to disappoint your parents. They would never accept me because I am a blood traitor so bye bye Y/n.”

Sirius frowned.

“Is that why you took off to the states?”

You nodded.

“That would be the reason.”

Sirius’ was quiet again. He was trying to think of some “big brother-like” bit of advice that he could give you that might be helpful but he couldn’t think of anything. Everything that he had to offer sounded a bit condescending or downright cold…

Positive one, Walburga Black won’t be your mother-in-law Positive two, we don’t have to worry about James rolling over in his grave. Positive three,...

Sirius was sure that there were positive number three and if you gave him time he could come up with more.

“Why are you sitting here in my brother’s coat if you are so mad at him?”

You realized that you were still, in fact, still wrapped in Regulus’ coat. In your subconscious, you were enjoying having Regulus’ comforting scent around you.

“We were outside talking and he put it around my shoulders before pissing me off. I told him that he wasn’t getting his coat back and he isn’t. I’m a petty bitch and am going to keep this coat like that gold-hoarding dragon from The Hobbit.”

Sirius chuckled. He again realized how much that he had missed you over the past year.

“Alright Smaug junior, go take your gold and hide upstairs because I hear the front door opening.”

You jumped up and ran up the stairs as Regulus stepped in. Sirius took a sip of his tea before meeting his brother’s face. Regulus’ cheeks were pink from the chill of the evening.

“Is that hot?”

Sirius nodded.

“Just pour it on me.”

Sirius smirked as Regulus grabbed the blanket that was on the back of the couch and curled up in it.

“You know, a lesser man would have come back in for his coat. How are you doing, daddy?”

Regulus glared at Sirius before going to pour himself a cup of tea. It took all that Sirius had not to burst out laughing at the sneer on his brother’s face. Regulus looked like Sirius had force-fed him a lemon.

Y/n just missed a fine moment.

“Never call me that again! Maybe I don’t want to get punched in the face. Y/n is mad and I’m an idiot.”

Sirius shrugged.

“You said it.”

Regulus groaned sitting down. He wanted to apologize to you but he knew at the moment he would be better attempting to baptize a feral cat.

“I was trying to do her a favor.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t do Y/n any favors and let her make her own choices or possibly use the balls between your legs to tell mum and dad to fuck off?”

Regulus’ lip twitched at this brother’s comment. It was so easy for Sirius to talk about telling Walburga and Orion to fuck off. He wasn't the one that had to be “the good son.” That was all on Regulus’ shoulders. Sure, now his efforts were shot to hell but Regulus was doing the right thing...the noble thing.

“Have you forgotten what is on my left arm? Y/n is an auror and she is going to be working for Moody soon. What a fucking joke we both would be. A death eater dating an auror...and the other way around. I did her a favor.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you aren’t a death eater anymore. You are just acting like you missed your little nap.”

Regulus crossed his arms, reminding Sirius of the little boy that would turn Grimmauld Place into a literal nightmare on Elm Street when he didn’t have a nap during the day.

“She said...well screamed at my face...that she should have dated you because you would have been so much better to her.”

Sirius winced.

“Ouch. To be fair, she and I would kill each other. I would be better off dating you...with our family history no one would bat an eye.”

Regulus didn’t want to think about his family's pureblood history at the moment. He had enough on his plate.

“If you were dating me, I would kill you. Now I get to sit back and watch the two of you play house with James’ kid. Just a thought but you two may want to save some money for the therapy that child is going to need.”

Sirius stood up and shook his head.

“Nah, the little tyke is going to be just fine.”

Regulus wanted to make a snarky comment but decided not to.

“Where did Y/n go anyway?”

Sirius pointed to the stairs.

“Upstairs with your coat that is no longer yours. I would suggest leaving her alone unless you want to lose an eye. If you do bother her and lose an eye, I will forever compare you to a pirate.”

Regulus stood up and moved to leave the room.

“Yeah, well, fuck you.”

Walking upstairs, Regulus poked his head hesitantly into what was your room. When nothing was thrown at him, Regulus figured out that the room was empty. He had no idea what he was going to say to apologize to you. If you didn’t want to hear what he was going to say, you would let whatever words that he has to offer go in one ear and out the other. It wasn’t like things were before. He couldn’t just grab you and have his way with you anymore. Things were different and Regulus wasn’t sure if they would ever be the same.

Regulus stopped outside of Harry’s nursery at the sound of your soft voice singing. Looking into the room, but not making his presence known, Regulus watched as you cradled Harry. He stepped back outside the door with his back against the wall. Had Regulus forgotten how peaceful it sounded to hear your voice? When you weren’t being sassy (and things weren’t tense) you were the most calming person that Regulus had in his life.

Don't take it so seriously, no. Only time is ours . The rest we'll just wait and see. Maybe you're right, babe, maybe. Oh no, and that's how summer passed. Oh your, great divide and range of green green grass. Oh, maybe I hold on fast, to you . Hello love, my invincible friend. Hello love, the thistle and the burr. Hello love, for you I have so many words but I, I forget where we were

Stepping away from the room, Regulus knew it was best that he walked away for now.

Regulus didn’t see you the next morning either. You were gone before he woke up. It was Remus that told him “gently” that you had decided to go back to work as an auror. Regulus hated the thought of that altogether. You had no reason to go to work With the Potter family fortune, you could live comfortably and raise Harry. It wouldn’t be your style though. You were probably doing this just to spite him.

Your choice of being an auror was the topic of the first fight that the two of you had as a couple. It was funny, especially now, for Regulus to think that the first fight happened weeks before the breakup. Now he should have seen it was the beginning of the end.

“You’re what?!”

Regulus snapped. The two of you had met at the top of the astronomy tower. Graduation was a few weeks and you decided to drop the bomb of your career to be.

“You heard me. It's what I want to do, Reggie.”

“You do realize what I am right? I don’t think that it will be looked upon very highly for you to have a boyfriend that is a death eater.”

You smirked.

“No one technically knows anything right now as it is so…

Regulus pulled himself out of his memory when you stepped into the kitchen with Marlene McKinnon on your heels. Sirius quickly leaned over and playful elbowed Regulus in the side with a smile that said, there is your woman.

“I’m an idiot. I never should have broken up with him, Y/n. I’m just a mess.”

Regulus watched as your eyes fluttered in his direction before looking away...as if he were not even in existence.

“Marlene, there is hope. It comes with batteries. Trust me, no man is worth that much aggravation. I understand why Dorcas loves women. Let me tell youI am a big supporter of the lesbian community. I wish that I was a lesbian.”

Sirius, Regulus, and Remus both looked up at that. It took all that you had not to laugh at the expression on the face of every man in the room.

“What?”

Remus questioned. You put your bag down before turning to face Remus and a very amused Sirius.

“Like gay guys, they really have it made. So think about it, you’re a guy and your with a guy who has the same interest as you that's like a win-win situation. First of all, you both like to have a lot of sex and if you’re both interested in sports you can go to hockey games, football games, quidditch matches. It's all blowjobs and ball games.”

Sirius immediately started laughing so hard that he almost fell out of his chair. This was going to be one of those Y/n conversations that he had missed so much over the past year.

“Blow jobs and ball games?”

Remus questioned, stifling a laugh, before turning to Sirius wondering if his lover was going to make it through this conversation. You, meanwhile, smirked over the top of the drink that Marlene handed you.

“Sweetie, no matter the sexual orientation every relationship goes great until the both of you start having secret evil plans to piss each other off. This doesn’t apply to Sirius and Remus because you two are the perfect relationship having freaks.”

Sirius grinned.

“You think so??”

You groaned.

“Buzzkill, Marlene. So what you are saying is even if you and I were doing each other, we would be doomed?”

Marlene nodded before deciding to use your comment.

“There is hope. It comes with batteries.”

You were watching Regulus out of the corner of your eye. He was only blinking with a small amused smirk on his face. Clearly, he had no idea that this was the conversation that everyone in this room had on a regular basis.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

Sirius stood up to take his empty cup to the sink.

“Remus and I are taking Harry clothes shopping. Do you have any requests on what not to buy?”

You shook your head.

“I think that you two will be just fine. Marlene, what are you doing tonight?”

Marlene was gathering up her sweater and handbag.

“Going to find a new boyfriend that runs on batteries.”

You gave her a thumbs up before turning and walking out of the room.

(1 hour later…)

You lay awake staring at the ceiling. From the time that you had laid down, your mind was on Regulus. Being back in the same house was quickly wearing on you. Every moment that you looked at him, you wanted nothing more than to get your hands back on your former lover.

Face it, princess, you still love him and want nothing more than to fuck his brains out.

You could take your own advice and invest in a good vibrator. It wouldn't be good enough though. Nothing would be as good as the real thing.

There is nothing wrong with teasing Regulus and let him see what he’s missing.

That could be the most promising advice that you could give yourself at the moment. Sitting up, you let your eyes fall to the trunk that was in the corner. It was the one trunk that you hadn’t unpacked yet. You knew inside was one of Regulus’ school white dress shirts. After one very steamy sex meet up, you may have just taken it back to the Gryffindor tower with you.

You didn’t want to think about how over the past year that you would wear that shirt when you wanted to feel close to Regulus again.

Don’t be a buzzkill.

You thought as you shook the thoughts from your mind. Grinning evilly, you slid your dress, bra, and knickers off before opening the trunk and looking for the article of clothing that you needed.

Stepping outside of your bedroom door, you stood dressed in only Regulus’ shirt unbuttoned halfway with nothing else underneath. You had sent Sirius a message and told him to take Harry out for ice cream. This would be enough to keep Remus and Sirius out for a bit longer. You would have enough time to work your “magic.”

You peaked your head around the corner before walking into the living room. Regulus sat rather unsuspectingly minding his own business with a book on his lap. You weren't sure what would happen after this incident took place. Were you ready to take Regulus back and risk having your heart broken again? You weren't sure 100%. Time would have to tell on that one but getting laid for the first time in years sounded nice.

Time to put this plan into action

The moment that you walked casually through the living room you were never more thankful to be such a good actress. You were able to keep your face straight without blushing when Regulus looked up and dropped the drink that he was holding in his free hand. The only regret that you had was that you couldn’t see the expression on his face. You have paid money to be able to see what his face looked like.

Casually, you walked into the kitchen acting as though you didn’t see him. You had no idea what you were going to do in the kitchen. After standing still for a moment, you opened the refrigerator to look for some mystery item that would catch your eye. You had been pawing through the refrigerator for all of three seconds when you heard Regulus’ voice.

“One question, is that my shirt?”

_________

@amelie-black @regulusheadcanons @truly-insatiable @fandomsxxregulus @realgaytrash @quuenofblacks @lucasfilms77 @exhsle @hazncalsgal @jessyballet @knreidy1 @teletubiswszpilkach @mimisparkle12 @acciosiriusblack @fific7 @rubyroscoe1 @bennyberry @criminalyetminimal @whymyparentscheckmyphone @brokencasbutt67-writer @authoressskr @fandom-trash-worth-it @hankypranky @summer-novak @emiwrites3reads @shaylybaby2032 @marichromatic @stuckinsaudi1 @untoldshortsofthefandoms @sprnaturallover @wontlookaway @shitfaceddaniel @deanwherescas @mycuddlycorner @shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @knight-of-gleefulness @sparkleofpizza

#Regulus Black #Regulus Black x Reader #Sirius Black #Remus Lupin #James Potter #Lily Evans Potter #Marlene Mckinnon #Dorcas Meadowes #timothee chalamet as regulus black #ben barnes as sirius black #aaron taylor johnson as james potter #andrew garfield as remus lupin #regulus x reader #reader x regulus #Remus x Sirius #Wolfstar #former death eater regulus #the ancient and noble house of black #the potter family #potter sister reader #Harry Potter #harry potter marauders #marauders au #marauders post hogwarts #regulus arcturus black #sirius orion black #walburga black #orion black #Revelation #Revelation part 2

[mego42]

Shamelessly stealing @foxmagpie​’s monthly rec thing without the ability to get my life together to do these on a monthly basis so, seasonal recs! So excited to see if I manage to do this again with anything remotely resembling consistency but i’ve been keeping the notes for approximately 43 years (or since ~september, whatever that means) so by god i’m gonna use them. 

found my thrill - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe​

Turner POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guys turner is SO OBSESSED with Beth and Rio

both canonically and in this fic

it’s gr9

also features a weirdly soothing and relatable cord untangling moment as a metaphor

truly disturbingly relatable turner pov tbh

relentless boomer disdain, always a plus

led to the creation of this monstrosity, not sure what kind of a monster would do that

War In My Mind - mintletters16

Backread!!!!

post-213, gorgeous character study 

guaranteed to make you feEl stUfF

I really love the like, cyclical, fractured pattern of Beth’s internal monologue, it gives the whole thing a really affecting at times dreamy, at times haunted vibe

the end twist is *chef’s kiss*

mourning bells - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet​

Backread!!!!

Later s2 era, Rio’s at a funeral, gets drunk and calls Beth

V short, kind of…..mmm, not sweet, but almost? Idk

It’s got a wistful sort of almost/i can be quiet with you vibe that i go extremely bonkers for

delinquents - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Lol are any of you actually not reading this yet?

g o d ch 8 where do i start

First off how ABSOLUTELY VERY DARE for the tragic angst that is delinquents!beth boland. This poor baby, this precious bean. MUST PROTEC

SHE’S TRYING HER BEST AND I LOVE HER

zero percent deserves dean’s clammy hands, no i have not forgotten, tattooed on my brain, will never forgive

I also love love love love LOVE the ruby/stan subplot happening

(and ruby’s mom!!!!!) (seriously though you write the best moms)

oh god and baby beth starting to have confusing feelings about rio?????? *chef’s kiss*

p sure i was just like, straight screaming the entire end of the chapter

the dugout is like, pure serotonin

I can’t even talk about the closet

tHe teNsiOn

thank you i will take eleventy billion

don't give it a hand, offer it a soul - medievalraven / @medievalraven

am a desperate heaux for any fic that features rio and mick friendship

you are all incredibly shocked i know

still would not be mad if this swerved into rio x mick fake dating but beth x rio is cool too i guess

Speaking of things i am a desperate heaux for: DIANE!!!!!!!!

and DATING ANNIE???????????? Blessed

honestly this fic is worth it purely for the assertion that mick watches queer eye

Why don't we go to Venus? - watermelonriddles / @bensonstablers​

another grief study! 

apparently i was working through some stuff in september, idk, that was like 4 years ago

considering it’s the premise of the fic, i don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this fic is canon divergent and working with the premise that rio killed beth in 302

he is uh, not coping well

extremely haunted you might say

lots of marcus and rhea which is a delight!

rhea is to good for him tbh

i said what i said

truly top notch dream (nightmare?) sequences

the conversation at the end is extremely uncalled for

drop the game - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet​

Backread!!!!

Am going to die mad Beth and Rio didn’t hook up in 211 but luckily this fic scratched the itch 

(temporarily, it’s a fairly permanent itch)

Bonus rec: missing scene series i wanna do bad things to you featuring 2x02 and 2x04

Viva Voce - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx​

Whoops we woke up married Vegas shenanigans!! 

So cute!!!!! So sexy!!!!! 

What more do you want?

am desperately obsessed with how beth can’t help stalking rio

feels right, feels organic

this makes me feel a lot of stuff about how they could be without their canon garbage between them

🎶 we could’ve had it aaaaaaaaaaall 🎶

you showed me colors (i can't see them with anyone else) - gild_fire / @gild-and-fire​

really into the use of color to illustrate beth’s emotional state, i feel like there’s a word for that but idk what it is

UNIMPORTANT

really nice job capturing beth’s inner vulnerability balanced by her outer stubbornness

am DESPERATELY into Mick playing matchmaker

more please???????

Both Sides of the Law - JoeyLee / @joeyjoeylee​

LAW SCHOOL AU! I suuuuuuper love Beth and Rio here (alt pov!! a gift!!!!) I love how initially prickly they are, I love how it’s evolving into a grudging respect, I love how INCREDIBLY AND HILARIOUSLY OBSESSED WITH EACH OTHER THEY ARE and neither one of them seems to see it

listen I know we’re all already foaming at the mouth over this one but as it’s gonna go down as one of my all time favorites it bears repeating/rereccing

cannot stress enough how masterful the use of POV is here, both voices feel completely true and distinct and I love how the alternating chapters revisit, reveal and emphasize pieces of each other

i can’t talk about this fic without hyperventilating

I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU GUYS

the slow burn is going to ACTUALLY KILL ME

rip, no regrats

Earned It - wakeupflawless / @wakeupflawless​

spanking

that’s it that’s the pitch

H O T

living for beth’s exit in the first chapter, rio and i are both incredibly into it

second chapter also features violently possessive Rio who cannot deal with anyone messing with his girl so if that’s your thing boy howdy get on it

shake, baby, shake - openhearts

backread!!!!!

according to my bookmarks this was a reread but ???????

must’ve read it in the fugue state that followed reading for a moment we were strangers which is gr9 and I believe I have recced it before. If not, horrible oversight, reccing it now

beth and Rio POV lead up to the bathroom break, beautifully done, low-key feel bad reccing it bc the end point of both chapters makes me want to throw things but it’s super worth it for the tEnsiOn. ENJOY

What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have - flashindie / @pynkhues​

I’m assuming all of y’all are already reading this

If not OH MY GOD FIX YOUR LIVES

P I R A T E  A U

I’m sorry maybe you didn’t hear me piRaTE aU

meticulously researched, brain-meltingly vibrant, already painfully sexy slow-burning PIRATE AU

god where to start okay so first off, the world-building here straight up breaks my brain, sophie’s put in the work and it SHOWS

second, the atmosphere. i’m generally a pretty like, vague mental picture sort of reader but the sensory detail here grabs you by the throat and like, forcibly hauls you in whether your brain’s wired that way or no

and hey speaking of throats if you, like me, go a little funny about the knees at the idea of beth holding a knife to rio’s throat (he’s fine, calm down), there’s a v excellent beth-in-a-barrel moment for you

oh christ and the sexy tension

it’s gonna be a race to see which slow burn takes me out first, this or law school

Stunner - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Another high school AU, this time with baby Rio absolutely head over heels for his older sister’s bff

stunner!Rio has an emotional earnestness about him that I feel like delinquents!Rio has already outgrown and it’s so SWEET I can’t get enough

Desperately cute!!!!!!

alL he waNts iS foR beTh tO bE hiS girL

also unreasonably angsty???????

ANN ARBOR IS NOT THAT FAR MEGAN

A Heart's A Heavy Burden - tooshyforthis / @bathroombreaks​

Howl’s Moving Castle AU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Howl’s!!!!!!!!!!!

perfect opp to roast Rio for being a Dramatique Heaux 

and it’s gonna be 9 chapters?????? H Y P E

author’s note boldly presumes I did not know I needed this AU when the reality is I did in fact know I needed this AU, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to deliver

so blessed

author also claims to not be team nose stud and yet it features prominently in all its magnificent glory

what is the truth dot gif

A Bit of a Stretch - septiembre / @septiembur​

SO????? CUTE?????????

would be on this list for Rio calling Beth E alone tbh

really really really really really love this Rio POV of being settled into a relationship with Beth

It manages to be sweetly domestic af while still holding the edge that makes brio brio which is a neat trick

@septiembur may be a witch

beth’s approach to getting rio to do yoga with her is hilarious and exactly right, canon-typical amounts of subtlety 

1000000/10

Post Break-Up Sex - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs​

stg this was called Hit Shuffle

no matter

h O T

with a side of damn i’ve made some questionable choices in my life haven’t i introspection

(no regrats tho)

(esp not with this fic)

not the point of the fic by a long shot but i’m also extremely obsessed with Weed Eddie, so real

She drains my soul... she drains it not - niham87 / @niham87​

ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS CONCEPT

am a complete sucker for paranormal world building that satirizes bureaucracy 

Is that a trope? If so that’s my favorite

I did it. I’m picking a single favorite. You know what that is growth dot gif

ANYWAY i love the concept, i love the humor, i love beth instantly clicking with annie

I love her and mick’s sort of grudging professional courtesy

Love beth as a champion of environmental responsibility and all of the underworld being like …...okay??

cannot wait to see where this goes

Nine-Tenths - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

sometimes i think about rio putting beth’s hair in a ponytail and have to go lie down

science please explain why this rUinS mE

wait hold on i skipped ahead

HEY KIDS DO YOU LIKE UNBEARABLY CUTE DOMESTIC TENDERNESS

opens with rio sleepily holding beth’s hand to his heart so that’s the kind of thing you’ll be dealing with

uGH theY’RE sO CUTe

idk why precisely but rio adding hair ties to his bracelet collection is my undoing every time

Missed Call - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Rio doesn’t come home from a job when he’s supposed to. Beth (and I!!!!!!!) slowly loses her mind

Truly a masterpiece of rising tension

Will literally never forgive her for calling this light angst

I was SO STRESSED OUT

The first person to point out there was an author’s note at the beginning I obvs didn’t read is getting blocked

crush - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Listen even though this is centered around two OCs, they are OCs FROM a (n iconic) brio fic AND Beth, Ruby and Rio all make cameos (I mean, Rio’s pretty present since he lives in Mar’s mind rent free bc they are THE SWEETEST MOST ADORABLE BEST OF FRIENDS so idk if i’d call it a cameo but whatever)

and even if it didn’t feature any official GG characters I’d still rec is bc that’s mY SON AND this fic is TOO CUTE

I have so many feelings over mar and rio growing up and not knowing how to cope with girls becoming a Thing in their life and how it affects their friendship and mar feeling left behind but (SPOILERS) at the end of the story rio starts feeling that too and it’s so poignant knowing how that’s going to continue in delinquents

while mar may be my son, i also claim elena’s #1 stan status

before you’re like meg you’re only reccing it bc it’s a bday present ask yourselves do i really strike you as the kind of person that wouldn’t be equally obnoxious about this either way?

truly cannot fathom how hard i have fallen for these OCs i don’t normally do that

@foxmagpie is definitely a witch

The Ottoman - Niham87 / @niham87​

look i will be the first to admit that i don’t go near as bonkers over the ottoman line in 308 as y’all do

(don’t get me wrong, i love it!!! I love that he laughs and i love that she’s pleased it just doesn’t hit my lose my whole mind button like idk, the dubby or the 306 convo, idk why)

BUT i v v v much love the context this delightful Rio POV pwp gives it

am also absolutely feral for 209 missing scene fic

and anything that captures the complexity of Rio’s s3 feelings for Beth and how twisted they’ve become

so this scratches a bunch of itches, is what i’m trying to say

Bet On It - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

That’s what my brain does when I think about Beth and Rio meeting in ch 1

am DESPERATELY OBSESSED WITH the tension between the two of them in this fic

I love how it plays with the ways they have to rely on but don’t trust each other

plus FAKE DATING and BED SHARING (fair warning hasn’t happened yet but the set up is there)

originally supposed to be 2 chapters, already up to 4, prayer circle it goes on forever

do you like drugs (tonight) - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe​

v important focus on hydration, other fic should take note

extremely about the use of cut to and then flashback to enhance the ‘we were on drugs’ vibe

speaking of, beth and rio absolutely would take ecstasy to prove they are fun bc they are the exact kind of idiots that would peer pressure themselves

so glad beth kept her purse, got a bit stressed there for a second, clutches in that kind of circumstance are A Risk

not that i would know

FLAWLESS USE OF VOICEMAIL TBH

really love the ongoing denial that they are remotely into each other while proceeding to demonstrate how they are in fact, extremely into each other, great vibe

rio dances

I know my brain broke too

mmmm bacon

Navigate A Broken Path - flashindie / @pynkhues​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

I have a long standing tradition of getting unreasonably obsessed with side characters so i’m not like, entirely surprised by how obsessed i am with both Mick and Mary Pat but i never in a million years considered them as a ship

AND Y E T

they fit????? so perfectly?????? It’s amazing how she developes them individually enough that i look at them together and think ah yes this makes perfect sense for both characters

and they’re such an amazing foil to Beth and Rio? 

can ships have foils? do i know what a foil is? 

unimportant

GUYS you dON’T uNDERStAN d 

hell i don’t understand

how absolutely very dare you make me care about YET ANOTHER set of gg ‘verse children

do not read this fic if you have no interest in feelings you zero percent asked for

wHA t hAPPeNED iN aLASkA?????????

A Moment’s Silence - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs​

*makes sign of the cross*

y’all are gonna make me rediscover religion

extremely appreciate the author’s note approach to backstory top notch prioritization

listen it’s basically 3k of beth deep throating rio idk what more you need me to say about it

it is…..good stuff

bless the kinkmeme or fest whatever we’re calling it

praise - civillove / @blainesebastian​

I mean you had me at “three times rio calls beth a good girl and one time he really means it”

ephemeral rio

I left that note for myself in here in the middle of the night and haven’t the foggiest what i was thinking but i stand by it none the less

okay okay i think i know what i meant, this fic (as do all of my fav civillove brio fics) has this sort of like, liminal, in the quiet moments feel to them that makes the moments and feelings somehow feel like i’m catching a glimpse of something secret and precious???

idk i just really like it okay

Heart and Soul - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo​

oh look more unbearably sweet domestic tenderness, this time to music

thank you ma’am for my life

rio remembers beth used to play piano and gets her one and revoltingly cute shenanigans result

also hilarity

and sexiness

this fic has it all, truly

shout out to mick who sees no reason to keep rio’s feelings to himself

good girls tumblr fic - prettylittlementirosa / @hypermania​​

cheating and reccing a whole series

It’s my list and i can do what i wanna

stop crying about it, it’s four fics and they’re all AMAZING absolutely impossible to pick a fav

truly flawless characterization, next level ability to capture evocative mood, cannot get enough

three’s a crowd: who knew ballroom dancing while dean watches and grinds his teeth could be so sexy 

(trick question everything about that premise sounds A++++ and boy howdy does it live up)

feel it on the way home: rio tries to break up with beth, it goes about as well as you’d expect

(thE angSty tenSioN)

i want to play the game: [from the floor] i’m still not ready to talk about it

(rio/turner, missing scene, 10000000% a taste of what went down in that hotel room)

june after dark: pitch perfect annie pov, really really love the take that Annie is the baby whisperer, can’t fully explain why but it feels incredibly right

(ANNIE X NANCY COULD WORK SO WELL YOU GUYS)

#fingers crossed these links are right i did not double check #i like to live on the edge #truly mind boggling amount of fluff on this list i surprised myself on that one #no i will not at any point get my shit together enough to write out thoughtful commentary this is a shit posting blog first last and always #fic recs #gg fic #nbc good girls #i'll come up with a tag for these if i ever do them again #check back 37 years from now #or ~~~~~~march #whatever that means

[justletmedomyou]

short ones

some rec that no one asked for

Buried Like Treasure by QuickedWeen

Words: 8k

Prince Harry Styles is very private. He chooses to keep himself out of the public eye but feels lonely and isolated while surrounded by people in his hectic royal life. When he finishes his dissertation, he decides to take a solo holiday to one of the royal family's properties in the Swiss Alps.

Semi-retired thief Louis Tomlinson has been pulled in for one last job: steal a painting from an uninhabited mansion. Neither one of them expects a natural disaster.

Works like a charm by falsegoodnight

Words: 18k

Ever since Louis joined the team in fifth year, a few facts have become set in stone.

One: Louis is the best chaser in Hogwarts.

Two: Harry is the best beater in Hogwarts.

Three: They do not get along.

So it’s really unfair of Liam to think that forcing them to spend time together as Louis recovers from his injury will make them the best of friends. The last thing Louis would do is get along with that git.

The devil’s in the details by raspberryoats

Words: 25k

He squeals when Harry smacks his bum as he bends over to pick up his bag, swinging it over his shoulder. Harry smiles smugly at him, bottom lip caught between his teeth. “When are you going to start calling me professor?” He asks.

“When you actually are one,” Louis says with his hand on the doorknob. He cocks his head to the side in curiosity. “Isn’t that how words work? You did study English, right?”

Louis’ quick to slip out the door before Harry can smack him again, his laugh echoing through the hallways as he makes his way to his next class with flushed cheeks and a bright smile.

or the one where harry’s on his way to becoming a professor and louis is the smart, bratty student

At your fingertips by falsegoodnight

Words: 27k

He finds himself wrapped up in sheets in bed on Thursday night, staring at the familiar name on a new story that was posted the night before.

His fingers twitch, ready to hit play and surrender to his impulses, saving the regret and turmoil for later.

And still he hesitates, internally praying that he’ll somehow gain the strength to exit out within the next few moments before he inevitably loses his patience and hits the button.

Three…

Two…

One.

Play.

-

Or, Louis really should have seen it coming.

Sweet like honey by falsegoodnight

Words: 33k

Weeks of flat shopping with their limited budget with Louis as a librarian aid and Harry as a barista and arguments about whether a balcony or extended bathroom suite were more important (Harry wanted to be able to feel the crisp night’s air and watch the sun set and Louis just wanted to take long bubble baths) led to them stumbling across the perfect fit. A small flat only ten minutes from campus with a cramped but lovely balcony and an included bath.

It’s affordable too… well, sort of. But they always manage. Louis picks up more shifts as an aid, adapting a habit of bringing his Psych textbooks and homework with him to finish in between duties, and later his script so he can quietly practice lines with little distraction.

Harry also increases his number of shifts at the cafe and valiantly endures the nasty customers who for some reason flock to their establishment like moths to a flame.

For a while, it’s enough.

-

Or, Harry and Louis need money and they find an unconventional solution in the form of PornHub. It’s not supposed to be a big deal.

Haven by xxPayne

Words: 35k

“I take it you’re not a new student?” “What?” Harry mumbles, caught up in the way his eyes are quite literally sparkling in the light. “Oh—No. Not a student.” “Are you a sub?” Louis asks. Harry clenches his hands into fists, holding them behind his back as he stumbles a bit. “I don’t, uh—I mean. I’ve never really gotten a chance to be a true sub, you know? My ex-partners were always scared they’d hurt me. But, like—If I trusted someone a lot, and if we used a, a safeword. And talked about, you know, boundaries, then—Yes, yeah, I-I’m a sub.” Louis’ eyes are so wide, his cheeks puffing out in the effort to not burst into laughter. “Oh shit, oh my god,” Harry whispers. “You meant—Oh god.

Reduce Me To A Pleading Cry (Break The Skin and Tantalize) by taggiecb

Words: 37k

Or Harry is a broody submissive boss, Louis is a natural dom who works in the mail room at Styles & Styles, Niall is a matchmaking oracle, and a slender, dark haired man stands mute at the coffee stand encouraging others to spill their secrets.

The Pirate and The Piper by jacaranda_bloom

Words: 38k

Banished from Neverland by Captain Hook and the evil Siren Minerva, Louis is forced to live in the Other World. He makes a life for himself, resigned to the fact he’s never going to see his beloved home and Lost Boys again. Five years later he’s kidnapped and returned to Neverland, only to discover a far worse fate awaits him. But with an unlikely ally by his side, can he overcome those who seek his demise and restore freedom to his homeland?

Or the one where Harry is Hook, Louis is Pan, and nothing is what it seems.

Before we knew by falsegoodnight

Words: 39k

“C’mon Lou,” says Zayn after a moment, He sounds even more exasperated than before. Louis sort of has a knack for exasperating people, especially people like Zayn who aren’t usually bothered by his brattiness. “Can’t you give this guy a chance? Harry Styles? Aren’t you curious about him at all?”

Despite his best efforts, Louis still flinches at the name. He really shouldn’t be so affected after all these years. He’s seen the name printed down the curve of his waist in obnoxiously and uncommonly large loopy letters every single day since his sixteenth birthday eight years ago. He’s very familiar with the name Harry Styles.

It sounds pretentious and Louis hates it.

He hates everything about his supposed soulmate.

He hates his large handwriting that stands out like a claim on his skin whenever he’s walking around shirtless. He hates his pretentious name. And now he hates his supposed curls and green eyes and dimples.

-

Or Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed onto his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

Bruise you like a peach by falsegoodnight​

Words: 40k

There’s two reasons Harry despises Econ.

The first is that it’s boring as fuck. The second reason is a bit more personal, a bit more focused in a way. As in it’s focused on one specific thing, or in his case, person.

His name is Louis Tomlinson.

Things have gotten closer to the sun by starsea

Words: 49k

it’s strange, making the choice to face his past—it almost feels like he’s heading for the sun straight on, like he’s screaming come on and burn me, i deserve it.

-

when a solar flare is announced to end the world in twelve days, harry reunites with the people that he used to know better than the back of his own hand.

Just a flicker in the dark by falsegoodnight

Words: 57k

Harry Styles is his case partner. High and mighty, annoyingly smug Harry Styles who’s known him for years and has fucking seen him naked for fuck’s sake.

He glances at Venus who’s blinking up at him with curious eyes, no doubt sensing the agitation sparking in his magic.

“This is not happening,” Louis says loudly. “This is not fucking happening. I am going to kill Liam, oh my god.” He doesn’t even know if Liam is responsible for this but it feels like something he’d do to drive Louis absolutely insane - exes don’t just show up to your assigned haunted house out of nowhere. “Fucking fuck!”

He nearly jumps when Harry knocks again, his muffled voice carrying through the wood. “I can hear you, you know,” he drawls, sounding frustratingly amused.

Louis exhales, resisting the urge to scream.

-

Or, Louis is a struggling witch desperate to prove himself after yet another magic disaster and finds a calling in the haunted house of client Niall Horan. Things get more complicated when he’s assigned a case partner: acclaimed medium and ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles.

Like cabbages and kings by you_explode

Words: 60k

When Louis was a kid, he had a series of very vivid dreams about a place called Wonderland. There were rabbits wearing waistcoats and talking cats and ridiculous tea parties, and amidst all the absurdity, there was a boy. A boy with dimples, big green eyes and the sweetest soul Louis has ever known. Louis has always kept a place in his heart for that boy and for his funny dreamworld, and when he’s twenty-five and his life falls apart, it turns out Wonderland might not be so imaginary after all.

#ao3 #fanfiction #fanfics #fic rec #short

[mythrilhusk]

Korosensei Never Dies - Chapter 6

Words - 1967 Ao3 Version Chapter 5 (last) Chapter 7 (Next)

AN: Just wanted to note (although it’s already in tags) that there are no ships in this story. The characters may be affectionate with each other, but it’s all platonic. 

====

Exams are the worst part of school, but the end of the first term approaches fast. Tommy determines he will not fail. Philza has promised to teach them how to fight, and by the ever-loving stars, Tommy wants to show off his mad skillz. 

He's so intent on getting fighting lessons that he's dragged his friends into group study sessions. Wilbur insists on leading said sessions, and somehow the schoolwork gets entwined with role-playing battles with fiercesome monsters. 

"The answer is forty-two!! I pull out a bazooka and blast everything to smithereens!" Tubbo cackles. "Nothing shall stand in the way of world domination." 

"Tubbo," Wilbur sighs for the fortieth time. "That would kill all of your teammates." 

"Do I care?" Tubbo grins innocently. "Less competition, big man!" 

"I lay down and die." Ranboo says drily, leaning against the wall with his arm around Tubbo's shoulders. 

"Not you, Ranboo, you're going to be my puppet queen. Every world-dominating super-villain needs a puppet queen." Tubbo says, quite matter-of-fact.

Tommy scrawls messily on his workbook, determined to complete the next answer first and get a turn. "Ha! Fucking x equals twenty-nine!" He crows. "I shoot my nets at Tubbo and capture him!!" 

"Stand-off." Wilbur says with a grin. "Who wrote Frankenstein?" 

"Some woman with a boring name." Tommy retorts. 

"Anne Rice!" Tubbo cries. 

"Tommy, you got the closer answer. It was Mary Shelley." 

"Alright, I win, and I say 'Hahaha, you fucking imbecile, you are no match for me!' and then I drag them to jail." 

"I completed my worksheet, Wilbur." Eret pipes up. Wilbur takes it, then nods for Eret to complete his bonus action. "I stab Tommy and release Tubbo, saying, 'The world is yours for the taking, but allow me to oversee a portion of it.' and then I kneel and plant my sword in the dust." 

"Oh! Oh!" Tubbo waves his worksheet in the air. "Ranboo, stab him for me!" 

"As you wish." Ranboo sighs with a wicked grin. Eret protests weakly in the background. 

"Ranboo, you need to answer a question correctly, first." Wilbur steeples his fingers. "Or else there will be penalties." 

"I, uh, I think I got this one correct." Ranboo shows his study sheet to Wilbur, who nods curtly. 

"Fine, go ahead." 

Ranboo turns to Eret and says in a dark tone, "You betrayed your friend. I can't trust you, Eret." Then he turns to Wilbur, "I run him through with my dagger." 

"Eret, you're now a ghost." Wilbur shuffles through his game notes. 

"Aw, man. Can I haunt anyone?" 

"Yes."

"I haunt Ranboo to remind him of his crimes." 

"Aw, dang, another voice." Ranboo groans playfully. 

"Whaddya mean, another??" Tubbo cries. "Am I being replaced, Ranboo??" 

"You- you are the voice." Ranboo laughs nervously. "Even when you're dead, I'll still hear you, shouting at me to not kill the bees." 

"You better not. I worked hard to cultivate our apiary." 

"I won't, I won't." 

Tommy finishes his worksheet, ignoring the chatter of the others. "Ha!" He turns it into a paper plane and throws it to Wilbur. "I want twelve actions now!" 

"Okay, Tommy." Wilbur replies with a sly smile. The others protest, but Tommy has Wilbur wrapped around his little finger, so they won't be winning this battle. 

"But! I want to split them up between us, because I'm a fucking nice person who loves women." 

"Go ahead." 

"My first action as King de facto of the world is to declare peace between the Moon and Mars." 

"Wait, wait, you're king?? Eret, you didn't even kill him properly!!" Tubbo throws up his hands. "Ranboo, kill Tommy for me." 

"Hypothetically, what if I didn't?" 

"Ranboo. Are you betraying me??" 

"No, no, I said hypothetically." 

"Then, hypothetically, I would nuke your entire homeland and make you watch as I killed your family before your very eyes." 

"Oh! Oh, no." 

"And then I would torture you to death." 

"Oh, man. That would not be good." 

"So are you going to betray me?" 

"Apparently not." 

"Aw, man. I wanted to torture somebody." Tubbo sighs. 

Ranboo gives Tommy a look that says 'help me'. 

"You both lost your turns for talking too long." Wilbur decides. "Tommy and Eret, you both have an extra turn." 

"I turn corporeal using necromancy, and I use Tubbo's soul as the energy source, draining him of life." Eret says, his cheerful eyes belying his dark tone. 

"No! Ranboo, avenge meeeee!!" Tubbo cries melodramatically to the heavens. 

"Oh no! I'll avenge you!!" 

"I kill Ranboo." Tommy cackles at the horrified look on Ranboo's face. 

"Oh, that's not good." 

"How do you kill him, Tommy?" Wilbur asks. 

"I stab the bastard through the fucking eyes." 

"Oh. Man. That sounds painful." Ranboo winces.

"It is. You're screaming like a fucking bitch." 

"Am I? Oh dang, that's not fun. Am I a ghost now?" 

"Ghostboo." Tubbo laughs. "You're now Ghostboo." 

"You're Toast, you don't get to mock my name." 

Tommy frowns. "What's my ghost name?"

"Ghommy." Ranboo laughs. "Eret is Gheret." 

"Tommy, you think we're ready for the exams?" Wilbur gathers the papers scattered across the floor.  

"Fuck yeah, we are. We'll crush those bastards to dust. We'll get the highest grades of anybody in the entire school!"

++++

"What do you mean, you can't transfer me?? My grades are the worst they've ever been in years!!" Jack cries, stomping his foot on the polished wood floor of the principal's office. 

"I'm sorry, duckie, but I can't let anyone transfer between classes this year." Puffy-- rumored to be a pirate in a past life and therefore always called Captain-- frowns as she flicks through Jack's portfolio. "Why did you want to be transferred, anyway?" 

"No reason." Jack grumbles, then stomps out of the office, slamming the door behind himself. 

"How'd it go?" Niki hops down from one of the pillars. 

"Terribly. Those bastards in 3-E must've told Captain Puffy to not let anyone in. They're probably planning to take over the world now, using Techno as bait!" Jack cries, his eyes burning with furious tears. 

"That's awful!" Niki wails. "What will we do?" 

"What do heroes do to villains? We bomb them." 

"Bomb them?" 

"I don't know how yet." Jack grins, filled with burning rage. "But we'll think of something." 

"I know a man." Niki says decisively. "He'll get us supplies. If they really are planning to end the world, we need to stop them." 

++++

Exams roll around, and 3-E joins the the main school buildings for the tests. Quackity and Sapnap both leap on and hug Karl Jacobs. Tommy strides through the testing auditorium like he owns the place, with Wilbur glaring at everyone and Tubbo whetting his dagger with a placid smile. 

Fundy watches the chaos from the sidelines, chewing on caramel taffy and bubblegum at the same time. He doesn't recognize the quiet boy huddled in a corner and writing. Before he can creep over and look at the boy's words, Eret accosts him. "Hey, man." 

"Oh, hey!" Fundy grins and hugs his friend. "What've you been up to?" 

"Oh, just trying to stop the world from ending and make a profit in the process, you know, the usual." 

"Right, right. What's up with that, anyway? This guy, Technoblade? He must be really hard to kill if nobody's done it yet." 

"We have till the year ends." Eret says gravely. 

"Right. But why hasn't anybody, I don't know, tried to get in on the action?" 

"The government is supposed to be keeping his location a secret." Eret adjusts his sunglasses. 

"Weird." Fundy pops a bubble between his lips. 

"Indeed. I know there must be a weakness. But I'm not sure what it is."

"Maybe it's something like technical immortality! Maybe he can only be killed if he lets it happen!" Fundy theorizes, chewing more intensely. 

Eret grimaces. "Perhaps. Threatening his friend, Philza, directly is out of the question. But perhaps we can get the kill switch from the president." 

"Woah, woah, back up!" Fundy laughs. "There's already a kill switch in his friend and the prezz hasn't thought to use that??" 

"Well, he's a hostage, but- oh." 

"Exactly!! If the prezz actually wanted him dead, all they'd have to do is threaten to kill this Philza dude if Techno doesn't let himself be killed!" Fundy blows another bubble and pops it with his teeth. "Damn, I'm good." 

"That's assuming Technoblade would die if he allowed it. What if he can't?" Eret muses. 

"He has to have some weakness. How was he even created??" 

"I- I don't know." 

"The only way a mutant like that could be created is through Human intervention, aka a laboratory and scientists!!" Fundy claps his hands together excitedly. "But why would scientists create a creature who can destroy the world?? Unless he can't, and this is all just a damn test." 

"Hmm." Eret doesn't sound convinced. 

"So, they're trying to develop immortality, and they're testing it on Technoblade-"

"Why him?" Eret asks. "And if it is a test, why here, with a bunch of students?"

"He got loose before the tests could be finalized, and they're trying to contain him again!" Fundy starts pacing. "He was a terrorist, yeah? I remember him in the news. The Acolyte." 

"Blood for the blood god." Eret reminisces, paling. "That's right." 

"He only ever went after important government figures! But, five years ago, he disappeared, and nobody ever heard from him again. Until now..." Fundy grins wildly. "This is amazing, I can't believe I get front row seats to a conspiracy!" 

"Wait." Eret groans. "He had a partner." 

"Oh! He did?" 

"Technoblade was the Acolyte. But his partner was the Angel. What if that was-" 

"Philza!!" Fundy cries. "Oh god, we have both of the most deadly international terrorists in my school!! Why couldn't I have worn better clothes??" 

"I don't think that should be our main concern." Eret steeples his fingers. "I think we should worry more about what they're planning to do." 

"I'm going to talk to Captain Puffy." Fundy decides. "Come with me?" 

"I'll pass. Good luck." 

"I've got the best luck in the world." Fundy crows and skips off. He glances back once, briefly, only to see Eret watching him with an unreadable expression. 

++++

Tipsy, Schlatt lounges on one of the pristine metal tables. In the background, HBomb sweeps up the shards of a broken whiskey bottle, the remnants of a drunken tantrum. 

"Heyyy." Schlatt greets the mercenary waiting in the doorway. "Come on in." 

"How much do I get paid for my trouble?" The mercenary asks, slouching in a too-large purple hoodie and baggy pants. 

"Fifteen billion, take it or leave it." Schlatt grins. 

"I'll take it. But this is the last time." 

"Sure, honey." 

"How'd you lose him again?" 

"Bitch killed half my fucking scientists." Schlatt shrugs genially, hiding his irritation. "But we've got a neutralizing agent, now." He tosses a capsule to the mercenary, who catches it and inspects it. "Inject that and he'll be as harmless as a two-ton hippo." 

"That's hardly what I'd call harmless." 

"Eh, semantics. He won't be immortal." 

"Hmm." The mercenary pockets the neutralizer. "I'll do it. But you'd better pay me exactly what you promised, or he dies." 

"C'mon, darling, what do you take me for? A scam artist?? Nah, that's not my fucking style. Return him safe and sound, and everything will be just fine." Schlatt lights a cigar, takes a deep drag, then lets it all out in a slow plume. "Do as I say and nobody gets hurt." 

++++

Eret opens his buzzing phone and answers, "Hey." 

"Crocodiles don't cry often." The familiar voice says coldly into their ear. 

"Crocodile tears are worthless." Eret replies. 

Purpled laughs on the other end. "What do you say, partner? Ready to make some dough?" 

Eret grins, baring her teeth. "Always." 

Chapter 7 (Next)

#eret #purpled #ranboo #tubbo #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #fundy #jack manifold #niki nihachu #no ship #fanfiction #dream smp au #dream smp #assassination classroom crossover #tw violence #tw threats #not rpf

[chikabika]

I wanna talk about Whole Cake Island too!

So, I’m reading Whole Cake Island right now. And I have THOUGHTS about Sanji and Luffy’s “”””fight””””. And it’s probably nothing anyone hasn’t said before but I’m gonna write it out anyway.

(TL;DR Sanji and Luffy fight and it hurts because they both go for the throat. Also Nami has been through this shit I am surprised she’s putting up with Sanji trying to leave in the slightest.)

So first, yeah, I’m screaming into a pillow because this shit is rough. Let’s get those personal emotions out of the way first. 

Sanji’s whole thing is that he cares and serves, right? His love language is acts of service and that’s primarily shown through feeding people. When we meet the Vinsmokes (I shall not be referring to them as his family) we see pretty quickly that they are the antithesis to everything Sanji is. 

The men are literally said to lack the ability to sympathize or empathize. Not only do we see this is the case, but Reiju says so herself:

They do not value cooking nor food. Judge tells Sanji to never cook again, Niji wastes food.

And, of course, the brothers have no qualms about hitting women. The whole chivalry/won’t hit a women thing is a huge can of worms I don’t feel like unpacking in part because I don’t feel like I could talk about it without discussing women’s power levels and roles in One Piece. And I’ve already digressed too much.

So yeah, the Vinsmokes are the opposite of Sanji and hold none of his values. In fact, they may be why he holds some of his values, because they are as far from the Vinsmoke’s values as possible.

Okay so the two chapters in particular when Luffy and Nami find and confront Sanji! 

Pretty immediately we see that 1. Sanji was not expecting them, 2. He’s distressed that they’re here, and 3. It complicates things for him.

Like, that is not a face of someone happy to see his friends who have come to save him. That is an “oh fuck” face. (And as a sidenote, yeah, it’s a whole lot harder to sacrifice yourself when you’re confronted with the people you’re leaving behind, HUH, SANJI????)

Luffy’s all happy to see him, feels like they’ve accomplished their goal, doesn’t question that Sanji would want to come back. And he’s got things to do! Like save Wano and beat up Kaido! Chop chop Sanji let’s go on adventures! Plus, I would think that Luffy would also have the expectation of his crew that they understand that no one gets to leave if they’re doing it to sacrifice themselves. He’s already shown he’s gonna come get you and Sanji knows this. Sanji’s first arc with them after Baratie was going to save Nami from Arlong and her self-sacrificial bullshit! Luffy’s modus operandi is saying “Oh, you thought you were in a lose-lose situation and the only solution was to sacrifice your happiness and well being? Fuck that! You’re my nakama, let me save you!”

Both Luffy and Nami aren’t questioning Sanji’s wanting to come with them. They’re here, it’s time to go!

And so then we see the surface level reasons why Sanji would say “No, I can’t go with you.” And we also see that he knows Judge is watching him.

I don't think Nami's buying it either. She's done this. She knows what it's like to be trapped by circumstances, to have your loved ones held hostage. And she did this shit too! She fuckin laid it down, lied to her nakama about it all being a farce in her efforts to keep them out of her dangerous situation! Maybe the words sting, but I think this face of hers is even more from her thinking about how they all know eachother so much more, and know how Luffy wouldn't leave one of them behind. So Sanji must be under some real duress right now. Like, I feel like she could extrapolate a lot from what he's saying because she knows that's not who he is. And because she's tried the same shit. And, I wonder if she’s hurting for him because she knows what it’s like.

Every chance she gets, she reiterates that there was nothing between them, that she doesn’t care about them, that she tricked them, and even uses her supposed killing of Usopp as support of her betraying them. She is desperately trying to get them off this island. Arlong is well covered, we all know what’s up.

And, the parallels are pretty clear for Sanji. He’s got family being held hostage (Zeff, and the Strawhats too), and he couldn’t leave anyway because he’s got explosion bracelets on. Plus he’s got his own self-sacrificial streak (which I could guess comes from being raised in a household where you’re told you don’t have any value and everything you do is wrong-the fact that Sanji still cried at Judge’s rejection of him right before his escape speaks to how as a child he still wanted Judge’s approval and love as a father).

So, he comes out swinging with the thing that we previously established would be the shittiest thing to say, that Luffy rejected the possibility of him saying.

And then he starts on this buckwild speech that is so fucking hammed up I almost questioned if Sanji meant for them to understand the opposite of his words, and was just putting on a show for the Vinsmokes.

Nami only says he’s going too far when Sanji starts insulting Luffy’s dream, which the whole crew believes in and supports. 

Also, as a side note, it doesn’t really make sense to me that Nami would just take on the role of “you’re going too far, you can’t believe what you’re saying!” Maybe Chopper would do that cuz he’s gullible and shit. BUT NAMI FREAKIN DID THE SAME SHIT. I would almost expect a “...” speechbubble from her and later her saying something like “He really tried his best to make that look convincing, didn’t he? He’s not very good at it.”

Nami’s savvy!

But anyway, yeah, Sanji tries to go for the throat to push thme away saying shit about Luffy not being able to become the Pirate King. My first reaction to this whole thing was: 

“WOW HE'S REALLY DOING IT, HUH? HE'S LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH TO SAY THE MOST HURTFUL SHIT HE CAN TO HIS LOVED ONES SO THEY'LL STAY AWAY SO HE CAN SACRIFICE HIMSELF TO STOP ANYONE FROM GETTING HURT”

Usopp has tried to leave too, but his situation was different. His reasons were stated clearly and he didn’t try to pretend that all the shit they’ve gone through together and the bonds they’ve formed were fake. Nami, Robin, Sanji? They try to do the “ah, I never loved you” bullshit. 

But Sanji’s is the first time that from the get-go, the audience knows before the confrontation everything that’s going on for the crewmember trying to fake betrayal. With Nami and Robin, we didn’t learn their backstories until after they tried to push people away. With Sanji not only did we get it beforehand, but when Luffy and Nami show up, we are shown the three pieces of information that Sanji thinks about and that motivate him to push his crewmates away:

His hands (his treasures) are bound and threatened.

His nakama are threatened.

Zeff is threatened.

He’s backed into a freakin corner! And he know’s Luffy’s track record on crew members trying to leave! So he goes for the throat and when that doesn’t work (or for the whole performance he’s putting on for the Vinsmokes) he attacks Luffy.

Luffy says he won’t fight Sanji, and I wonder if this is because of Water 7 and Usopp. That fight was so fucking painful, I wonder if Luffy vowed to never fight someone like that again?

Clearly he isn’t getting through to Sanji, even though, to him, Sanji should know what the deal is by now.

So he goes for the throat himself! Which is honestly just heartwrenching on Oda’s part and pretty unfair on Luffy’s part. Though, when has Luffy ever been fair lol. His whole crew agrees his selfishness levels are above emperor!

This page pretty much sums it up:

Also, throughout this entire encounter we get glimpses of Sanji thinking about the crew and meeting Luffy, which is cool to see his internal world somewhat.When Luffy first shows up. I mean. Look at the pain on his face.

This is not a “we have a difference in ideals and are fighting over it and I’m thinking about how we met because I regret that it’s come to this.” fight. It’s not even a fight. It’s Sanji desperately saying “Please leave before you die because of me!”

Actually, maybe it is kind of a fight of ideals because Sanji is fighting to say “leave me behind I’m not worth it” and Luffy’s saying “yes you are.”

For all the extremely clear things going on emotionally for people in this scene, I’m surprised Oda just left Nami’s responses at this. But, since he did, it means I get to interpret them how I please!

This could simply be read as her feeling betrayed and shit. But again, they all know the history of the crew. This could just as easily be her saying “You went too far.” or “I can’t believe you wouldn’t believe in Luffy enough to come back with us.”

I said she could probably guess at him feeling like he’s stuck, backed into a corner. And if I remember correctly she is aware that the Strawhat’s lives are threatened if Sanji doesn’t comply with Big Mom’s wishes. But she probably wouldn’t guess at the bracelets being bombs and doesn’t know (but might guess) at the Baratie being threatened too. Nami knows all about people who claim “family” as an excuse to hurt and bind you.

But basically, I would think for her, it would be a situation of her feeling like at this point Sanji should know Luffy well enough to know he won’t give up, and to trust Luffy enough to take Sanji home. So why the fuck would he try to play this game when they’ve all seen that it doesn’t work? Why say the most hurtful things he can think of? And why not just come home now?

I don’t think she’s angry at him for the betrayal he’s trying to act out, I think she’s angry at him for the betrayal he’s committing for not trusting the crew to get him out of there.

(Again, haven’t read past this part but I could absolutely see later Nami saying “do you think we acted hurt enough for them to buy it?”)

And then of course, the last four pages of the chapter where Luffy clearly calls bullshit on Sanji, saying Sanji felt the pain of his kicks more than Luffy did. And Sanji is just starting to fucking lose it. (panels from right to left)

Like, Luffy. Chill. It hurts so much! But no, he can’t just call Sanji out. He’s gotta go for the kill, present Sanji with an unacceptable situation he knows he can’t refuse. Or at least hopes he can’t refuse. Because for Luffy, Sanji leaving is an unacceptable situation.

Not only will he not eat (which, god, using that against Sanji is almost too much, fuck, Luffy), but he won’t even fucking move so get your ass back here soon before I starve, Sanji.

To use the two very deeply entrenched facts about these characters this way is sure something, huh?

Sanji will feed anyone who is hungry. He cannot stand hunger, almost.

Luffy eats all the damn time and lots and never refuses food. For him to say “i’m going on a hunger strike, I’m not eating until it’s from you” IS JUST SO MUCH.

Also side note god what cruel people to laugh at Sanji’s pain as Niji and Yonji are doing.

Sanji thought he could get away with thinking he’s expendable (just like Judge has said in every time period we’ve seen him on the page) Luffy flat out rejects that. Sanji is essential, an required part of the crew and a required part of Luffy’s dream. Just like the crew have adopted his dream as a part of all of their own ultimate goals, so Luffy is saying that they are all part of his ultimate goal. He has adopted them into him becoming the Pirate King.

And goddamn if this arc isn’t about found family. The blood of the covenant is thicker, don’t cha know.

#Sanji #Vinsmoke Sanji #black leg sanji #luffy #nami #one piece #one piece meta #sort of #whole cake island #one piece ch 844 #one piece ch 843 #i just had a lot of feelings and needed to talk about them in 14 pages of a google doc #opthots

[mainly-kpop]

A pirates life for me

Part fifteen

pairing: BtsXfemale reader Summary:  They just wanted ransom money for a princess, you just wanted to be free of palace walls. You are not what he wanted and he was nothing like you anticipated. Word count:2k Warnings: none to note, maybe some swears

It took Lucas three days to march to the palace. Through villages and towns, through markets and hoards of people. He trudged, fuelled only by his unfiltered rage. Arriving at the palace was most definitely easier than getting in however, standing in front of the gates, two guards on either side, he tried to get in.

‘Let me PAST! Do you even know who I am?!’ He sneered, the guards rolling their eyes as he huffed and barged.

‘You can’t enter without authorisation from the royal family, without that you have to leave.’ The guard punctuated almost every word with a shove, trying with all his might to be rid of this filthy peasant.

‘The advisor, does he still work here? Fuck what’s the lowlife’s name. ROBERT, is Robert still here.’ He tried to calm down, realising he wasn’t getting past them with the attitude he had right now. The guards looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. Wordlessly, one turned to walk through the gates motioning for him to follow. He didn’t speak to the man, nor the man making any effort to speak to him. He didn’t mind, would rather let the rage burn inside of him than talk to someone useless. After all, this man was but a single guard, only able to throw him out or let him in. Without command from the royals, he couldn’t do him any harm. Finally, he reached a meeting room, only knowing due to the desk surrounded by books. He pulled one off the shelf, flipping the cover open, flicking through the pages. Books, how ridiculously mundane. He sighed, placing it back on the shelf, running his fingers over the desk. Some expensive looking things sat along the top of the expensive wood, he wondered if anyone would notice if he just-

‘I heard you were asking for me?’ Robert spoke, throwing the door open, motioning for the guard to stand outside. He nodded, closing the door for the advisor. Robert eyed the man in front of him, trying to figure out who he was. Clearly, he knew him, asking for him by name, but he wasn’t sure if he really knew the person before him.

‘So nice to see you after all this time.’ The man standing in front of Lucas had not changed at all. If anything, he had more grey hairs, tidier facial hair, he was older, rounder. Yet facially, he was the same bitter old man who threw him out that night. Truthfully, he would admit he wasn’t in love with you. It was infatuation, you being the only girl to ever look his way. He liked the idea of you, of being able to spoil someone, but any whore would do that for him. Any bitch would take whatever he offered for a pretty little bracelet. You were almost one of those, if this dickhead hadn’t showed up that night. At least; that’s what he continued to tell himself.

‘Do you not remember me? How upsetting.’ The man taunted, putting down the paperweight in his hand. He sat in the chair, swinging his legs up on the desk. Robert squinted, trying to place the man, still failing. Whoever he was, he smelled like the back of a donkey, looks not fairing too much better either.

‘I was the old stable boy. Lucas?’ He sneered, basically spitting at the man standing across the room at him. Robert finally caught on, still not actually sure where this was going, what the man wanted with him. He raised his eyebrow, laughing internally, externally natural.  He was almost proud of himself, chasing the boy away that night.

Lucas had potential to be a beautiful boy, to be warm and kind hearted. Had the potential for all of that, with you. Without you, he went down a lonely path, setting up a shop at a young age, he stole from near islands, little towns and grabbed a few things from the palace before he ran. He set up his shop a few islands over, staying far from you and the palace, not wanting anything to do with it. He became a slob, stopped trying to be perfect, stopped waiting for the right girl to come along, he stopped waiting for you. You should have run together, should have come to find you, should have hid. He didn’t need you, he always told himself. Always drilled into his head you were just a girl, just a stupid little girl. He almost believed it to, almost believed you were nothing to him. Until you appeared that day, he really hadn’t recognised you. Really growing into yourself, a confident and beautiful young woman. He was intimidated by you, not sure what you were doing in his little store. Then you showed him the bracelet, clearly not looking for a match. You were a distraction, a ploy. You were never there for him, even after you figured out who he was, you didn’t care.

‘Why are you here Lucas?’ He groaned, skimming through the books behind the desk, not worried about what the man wanted. You weren’t here anymore, and if that’s what Lucas wanted, he was out of luck. Well and truly.

‘Let me tell you of something that happened three days ago.’ He began, recounting the whole story.

‘Princess?’ A voice spoke after three consecutive knocks. She nodded for the maid to answer the door, letting the guard in. She smiled at him, urging him to continue.

‘Good afternoon your majesty, I apologise for interrupting you.’ He bowed, Amelia smiled, standing in front of him. He stood straight once more, not looking her in the eye.

‘What brings you here today?’ She questioned, giving him a moment to gather himself. He wasn’t one of the regular guards she dealt with, so she assumed he might be a little bit anxious.

‘A gentleman came to the gates today. He requested to see Advisor Robert instantly, we are not sure what he is after.’ He told her, the princesses eyes narrowing. Not at the guard, but more at the fact this man just demanded to see someone, yet no one knew what he wanted yet.

‘Where are they?’ She stoically replied, letting the maid pull her robe off her shoulders, slipping on a different dress. This seemed like formal business, not really something she could just run to in her pyjamas.

‘The small office your majesty, with the library.’ He replied, regardless of leading the way for her. He went to open the door for her but she put her hand up stopping him. She placed her ear to the door, trying to listen in to the conversation.

‘So, you want what from me?’ Robert replied, clearly bored out of his mind. Was he conducting a trade meeting without her? In an old library?

‘I want, you to pay me back for this. She fucking cracked me across the head!’ The other man yelled; she recognised the voice quickly. It was hard to not to recognise the voice that she heard for four hours every day. That was until he vanished.

‘This isn’t funny! Listen, I could have loved her but you chased me away. You did this to me and now you will pay for it!’ He yelled again, deciding enough was enough, she motioned for the guards to swing the doors open. This was her favourite part, she felt powerful, important. She was, but it was nice to have it made obvious sometimes. The second the doors swung open both men turned to look at her. Robert bowed instantly, Lucas on the other hand smirked over at her, looking her up and down. She scoffed at the man, crossing her hands over her chest, thank god you didn’t end up with this man.

‘Have some respect Lucas. Wont you bow to the future queen. Especially since you are trying to get something from us.’ She replied, looking the man up and down, slightly more judgingly than he had. The man scoffed, stepping towards Amelia, trying to be threatening, but she was not the little girl that would back down, she wasn’t what he remembered her to be. Where as before, if Lucas had yelled at her or told her off, she would cower, maybe even cry. He was her teacher after all, it made sense. Now however, he was nothing but a store owner, she was a princess.

‘That’s not the point. He threw me out on the streets because I loved his-‘

‘Stop speaking. Your voice is not something I’m remembering enjoying.’ She replied, waving a hand at the man, he seemed to get more infuriated, Robert trying his best to hide the laugh bubbling in his throat.

‘Princess!’ He yelled, frustration and anger fizzling over. She rolled her eyes, hushing him one more time.

‘Speak out of place one more time and I’ll have to locked away.’ She fumed, done with this insolent man who didn’t know his place.

‘With regards to us owing you, we are required to give you nothing. You do not belong to this island; therefore, this family has no obligation to help you. Also, with regards to how you became banished from this palace. It is none of my business, nor, quite frankly, do I care. However, it would have been for a good reason, I wish to hear no more from you. Please sir, do have a good day.’ She replied, clapping her hands, standing off to the side. Letting the guards escort the man out, he kicked and screamed, not happy with the decision.

‘I was chased out! This is preposterous!’ He kicked and screamed, she held her hand up one more time. The guards stopping and turning the man to face her.

‘You’re the one who ran. She loved you and you lost your chance. I don’t care the circumstances; a man stands his ground.’ She spat, looking down her nose at him. When the man was fully out of the way, Robert tried to explain himself.

‘I’m sorry princess, I wasn’t sure who it was so I assumed I could handle it.’ Robert spoke instantly, bowing once more. She requested him to stand, as she sat on the couch.

‘Sit with me Robert, we must chat about something.’ She spoke, patting the cushion beside her. He gulped, doing as he was told regardless.

‘She knows.’ The words fell from her lips before she had the chance to think them over. She could have phrased it better, but by the look on Robert’s face, he knew exactly what she meant. Even if he was going to try to pass it off.

‘What do you mean Princess?’ He questioned, voice wobbling slightly. Amelia rolled her eyes, almost tutting at the man.

‘You know what I mean Robert. Y/N knows you’re her father, you made it pretty obvious.’ He sat back on the couch, letting the information sink in. Amelia on the other hand, sat upright as usual, not letting herself relax for a second.

‘How long?’ He questioned, voice no more than a whisper, unable to make it reach any further. She thought back, realistically how long have you been gone? She wasn’t actually sure, not wanting to really put a time on it.

‘I can’t tell you an exact time. She knew for sure just before she was taken. If it’s any conciliation, she wasn’t mad, more upset you never told her sooner. Do with this information as you will, I just thought you aught to know.’ She clarified, standing to leave the room.

‘Princess?’ She turned to look at him, already half way out the door. ‘Thank you.’ She smiled kindly at him, bowing her head to leave him alone with his thoughts.

He didn’t need time to think though, the second he was sure you knew; he was certain he was leaving. Quickly he went to the nearest pub, finding the men he was looking for. Slamming his hands down on the table, he startled the group of men before him.

‘I need you to help me. Please.’

#bts #bts fic #bts writing #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #smut #fluff #angst #bts fluff #bts smut #bts angst #mainly_kpop #pirates #pirate au #bts pirates #A pirates life for me #captain yoongi

[psychedelic-ink]

Arrival at the Maiden Island

We talked for I don’t know how long, sitting on opposites ends of the couch facing each other, our legs lying by each other’s sides over the cushions. We talked about things that mattered and things that didn’t, letting it hurt only a little at a time. He told me about his sister that ended up leading to him saying he despised bread. I had to laugh but that brought up Makino and how she’d make me and my brothers nice little snacks once in a while and how once Ace pretended there was a spider in my hair and my food went all over the place. It was his turn to laugh as I mimicked my panic state. This brought up Cora-san and how he was a walking disaster, clumsy as they came but how it was that man that saved his life… There was a silence for a moment before I mentioned Shanks and how he liked to act like a goofball but was really the greatest man I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was baffled that I knew one of the 4 Emperors of the sea so casually, I shrugged reminding him that they were people. From the Emperors we ended up talking about Whitebeard and how I never really got a chance to talk to him before the war but from what Ace had said and from the little bit that I did talk to him, he seemed like a great man – not just anybody gets Ace’s respect like that and for my brother to call him father…? I knew better than most what that meant to him… I tried, as casually as I could, to ask if he knew how the newspapers had heard about the connection between Ace and Gol D. Roger, Law explained that Sengoku had announced it to the world before Whitebeard arrived at Marineford.

And Vice-Admiral Garp let them.

Law must’ve caught on with my annoyance as he said that I was making the same face he did when people tried to feed him umeboshi. I reflexively shook and tucked my tongue out, thinking of the horrible taste, my reaction must’ve been amusing since he laughed so much that he had to hold his belly. I liked the sound of his laugh… I didn’t even notice that I had leaned my head on the back of the couch that was actually to my left as I chuckled, watching him laugh.

How long had I known this guy…? How long had he known me?! And we were chatting like old friends, like we’d known each other for years. Makino once told me that it might sometimes be easier to talk to a stranger than to an old friend, I didn’t really understand. Still, it had been what I told Nami after we took down Arlong and his goons, despite the fact that I considered her a friend before I think that’s when our friendship solidified. How long ago had that been…? Even so, I just understood it that moment, that moment when Law was laughing and my heart was light despite everything that had happened.

“I’m scared…” I admitted as his laugh died down, his golden eyes finding my grey ones as my head remained on the couch’s back “There’s nothing I want more right now than my brother to wake up… Nothing. And nothing I wouldn’t give to make it happen…”

“But…?” he asked, his deep voice calm and kind.

I took a deep breath “But what am I gonna say when he wakes up…? How’s he going to react…?” I saw Law frown in confusion “It’s the second brother that I can’t save… The second time that I’m too weak… The second time that all I can do is watch…” I took a deep breath to stop the tears that I felt brimming behind my eyes, I shift my gaze from his eyes to my hands, remembering the warmth of my brother’s hand on mine “I didn’t hold on to him… What if Luffy hates—” I stopped when he reached out to hold my hands.

“Hey…” I looked up at him, still feeling his thumb caressing my fingers as his hands held mine “I don’t know Straw Hat, I met him once and we ended up fighting some marines. And I also don’t know the specifics of what happened with Fire Fist.” He paused for a moment, licking his lips “But from what I’ve seen, I doubt there is anything you can do that’ll make him hate you.”

I meant to pull my hands away but he didn’t let me “You don’t know that.”

“I know that I’ve cut him up, touched his internal organs, stitched him back up, disinfected his wounds and more and I didn’t hear a peep out of him. Know when that changed?” I shook my head “When you’d scream. When you’d have a nightmare so bad you’d scream and then he’d react.” I saw him smile a bit “It’s not like he could do anything really, the guy is out for the count, but I’d say that says a lot about how he feels about his little sister.”

I smiled and I was about to say something when the door opened and Bepo came barging in “Captain!” he looked at us, blushed furiously, then left again closing the door behind him “Sorry!”

Me and Law looked at the bear, the door, then at each other. I saw his cheeks flush a soft shade of pink before he stuttered out some incoherent sounds and placed my hands over my knees before getting off the couch “Bepo! Stop being an idiot, what’s wrong?”

“Uh…” he started as Law opened the door, but I saw him glance between me and his captain a couple of times. Wonder why he’s being so weird “We’ve arrived at the designated area by the Pirate Empress.”

My eyes went wide “Hancock?!”

Law glanced over his shoulder and nodded “We met her and the Kujas on her way out of the war, while you were still out. She insisted in giving us shelter why you and your brother recovered.”

I raised him an eyebrow remembering the commotion it was to just have Luffy in the island “And you guys were allowed to get on the island…?”

He scoffed “No. This old lady was with them and made sure we weren’t allowed in the actual village, they arranged a bit off the bay for us to set anchor while you guys need my medical care.”

I smiled “Sounds like Granny Nyon.”

He nodded then turned back to his friend “I’ll go to the bridge for the surfacing of the sub and to meet the Empress.” He then turned back to me “Wanna come?”

I nodded without even needing to think “Yes! I have to talk with Hancock too.” I got off the couch as Law grabbed his hat and sword off the side. I followed the two through the halls, the sub seemed a lot smaller when you actually knew where you were going – not that I did, but I was with people that did. I hadn’t been in the bridge yet, there wasn’t much to see, Law took his seat, told me to hold on then started giving orders as I felt the submarine tilt then level out again. Law got up with his sword and tilted his head for me to follow them out, I did. A BIG door opened, letting the sunlight touch my skin for the first time since that fight with the marines and as I stepped out, it dawned on me that me and Law ended up talking the night away. The brightness of the day blinded me a bit, but as I blinked a couple of times, I could make out the island just beside us, some curtains with the Kuja mark blocking the view deeper into the island and Hancock standing with some of her warriors waiting for us.

The Heart Pirates brought a plank from inside the sub and connected the submarine with the shore, out of respect, I disembarked behind Bepo that followed behind Law. I hadn’t even stepped on land when I hear Hancock’s voice “How’s my darling Luffy and his sister? Any changes?”

“Straw Hat is still the same.” Law replied and I stepped out from behind Bepo “Tiger Luna’s been doing better though.” It was strange to hear him call me by my nickname, but I guess that the weird thing was that I’d started us on first names right off the bat. I wasn’t that different from Luffy in that.

“Hi Han—” she had her arms wrapped around me before I even finished.

“I’m so sorry, sweety.” I felt my heart jump at her words, then she pulled back to look me up and down “How are you feeling? How are your injuries? Have you been eating properly? Sleeping?”

I nodded “I’m alright, Hancock, thank you.”

“You’re welcome to come with us to the castle.” She invited immediately “I’ll have a room prepared for you and my warriors will be at your disposal.”

I lightly raised my right hand as she spoke “It’s alright.” I replied “I think I’ll stick here.” She seemed to go to speak again, but I beat her to it “I couldn’t bear to leave my brother.”

“I understand but—”

“She also still needs medical care.” Law interrupted the Empress with a stern voice that turned her attention to him “The fact that she’s walking around is actually worse since her worst wound can open back up at any time.” His golden eyes then glanced over at me “Plus she has the bad habit of not standing still.” And back to Hancock “So it’s better if she stays here anyway.”

She nodded “Alright.” Her voice now devoid of any of the emotion it had when she was addressing me “You won’t have to worry about supplies, I’ll have my warriors bring you food while you’re here.”

“That’s appreciated, we’ll need our own supplies for when we leave.” Law said.

Hancock nodded at him then stepped over to me again “While the men might be restricted to staying here, you’re always welcome among us, Luna dear.”

I nodded “Thanks.”

“Whatever you need, just ask.” She emphasized and I nodded again.

“Thanks Hancock.” She was about to turn away, but I grabbed her wrist, making her turn back to me “Not just for this, for everything.” I added as her eyes met mine again “We wouldn’t have made it to Ace without your help, I’ll never forget it. Thank you.”

She took my bandaged rough hands in her soft ones and smiled “I wish I could’ve done more.”

“You did more than you were meant to.” I replied honestly before I pulled my hand back behind my back, I could feel myself shaking even as she turned back to Law.

“If any of your men are caught beyond this point, they will be killed.” She warned in a cold tone.

Law grinned “Sounds fair.”

The Kuja ended up leaving and I hurried back into the submarine as everyone enjoyed the fresh air outside, I could tell by my shadow that my ears had shifted and my tail had appeared, I also felt my claws scratch he wall I was holding onto. It was happening again, I could feel my heart trying to jump out of my chest. I tried breathing like Law had showed me before but I still wouldn’t stop shaking “Hey.” I turned to find the captain walking over to me “You’re doing ok.” He slowly came closer, my eyes wouldn’t leave him for a second, I could tell it was my predatory instinct taking over but I couldn’t shake it “May I?” he slowly reached for my hand and I let him “Here.” He took my wrist to my eye level and showed me as he took my bracelet off, putting it in my palm and closing my fist “Hold onto this and close your eyes, try breathing then…” I found myself doing as he instructed, with my eyes closed, all I could see was the memories in the darkness, slowly, my heart calmed down and I opened my eyes again to find that Law was still there, I don’t know why that surprised me…

“Thanks…” I whispered looking at the silver bracelet in my hand.

“Do you know what triggers it?” I shook my head “C’mon…” I looked at him to see him walk back out “You need some fresh air.” I quickly caught up to him, feeling my body shift back into human as my predatory instincts slip away with the panic, then he raised me an eyebrow “How do you know the Pirate Empress?”

I smiled, it seemed so long ago “Me and Luffy crashed into her bath once.” He made a half surprised half impressed expression that only made me chuckle.

Once I was outside, Bepo, Penguin and Shachi pulled me over for a conversation over the fantasies that surrounded the island “Is it true that they’re all women?” “Yup.” “Do they ALL dress like the pirates?” “Yeah, but they can also break you in two with ease.” “Are there any female bears?” “No Bepo, I’m afraid not.” “It’s an island of women! Human women, you idiot.” “I’m sorry…” “Don’t Bepo, it’s a normal question.” “Stop enabling him, Luna.”

Ikkaku saved me from the eternal conversation with the boys by asking me for a tour of the island, which I obliged. I was sure Hancock wouldn’t mind, Ikkaku was a woman after all. We walked around, loads of the women on the island would talk to me and I tried to be as polite as possible, I noticed that the Kuja were at the bottom of the castle with those curtains raised and I knew what that meant. They greeted me and asked their questions, everything sounded the same “How are you?” “How’s Luffy?” “I know he’ll be alright, don’t worry.” “I’m sorry about your brother.” I was starting to regret coming into town. Ikkaku seemed to read my mind and pulled me over to other parts of the island. It was a nice stroll as my time with Ikkaky tended to be – made me miss Nami.

We returned to the sub at around dinner time, Law didn’t ask us where we’d been or what we’d been doing so I suspected that he had been the one to ask her to take me for a change of scenery. Poor Ikkaku, had the patience of a saint.

At dinner, I again noticed the absence of the captain “Penguin?” I called his attention from the bowl of pasta he was stuffing in his mouth, he glanced over at me “Where’s Law?”

He shrugged “The captain rarely joins us at meal times, he loses track of time easily when he’s working.”

I raised him an eyebrow “Is that so…?”

He nodded “Yeah, we take him dinner later to be sure that he eats something.”

I set my jaw “Huh.”

“I feel like you’re planning something.” He said and I grinned at him before getting up “Luna? Where are you going?”

“Infirmary!” that’s where I’d find him, I was sure. If there was a path I knew was from the infirmary to the mess hall and reverse. I opened his office door and there he is, eyes in a book with five other books opened around him, he was so in thought that he didn’t even look at me. Oh, he was asking for it.

I came up behind him and pulled the back of his chair until it tipped him behind “FUCK!” his eyes met mine upside down but I didn’t give him time to realize what was going on, I start pulling the chair with him still sitting on it “HEY! HEY! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Dragging you to dinner, you clearly can’t get there yourself.” I blankly replied.

“Put me down!” he demanded as I dragged him and the chair behind me.

“No.”

“Room. Shambles!” I looked over my shoulder to see he had his sword in his hand instead of a book “Amputate!”

I dropped his chair quickly enough to avoid the attack. I grinned through my sharp canines as he regained his balance after the chair fell. I held out my arms on my side, feeling the air shift around us “Tiger’s grip!” I shifted the air around his body so that I could hold him in place. He wasn’t happy but my white and black tail kept casually swinging from side to side as I held him in place “Grumpy panda, I was raised by mountain bandits with three unruly older brothers in a forest with giant animals.” I smirked “You lose the moment you’re not willing to go all out on me.”

“Shambles.”

I was where he had been before I knew it, feeling his sword to my back made my tiger ears perk up “You shouldn’t boast. It’s rude.”

I spin to my left, shove the sword out of the way and make him step back “This is fun. Shame you’re pulling your punches.”

He shrugged “I can be a bit sadistic and you’re still injured.”

“Oh, I can be very sadistic.” I grinned “Comes with package.”

He grinned back and I used my powers to lift his chair beside me, putting it straight as I sat on it. I motioned over to his sword as he sheathed it “A bit dramatic, no?”

He flipped me off “It’s called a fight or flight reaction.” I laughed before flipping him off too.

“Come on captain grumpy, it’s dinner time.” I said putting my hand down.

He started walking over to me “I’ll be there later.”

“No, you won’t.” I retorted, looking up at him “I haven’t seen you, even once, eat with your crew.”

He crossed his arms over his chest “How is that any of your business?”

“How is it not?” I counter and I see him blink a couple of times, with a lack of response I continue “Come to the mess hall, eat with your crew. The world feels less lonely when you eat with your friends, you know? Plus, the work will still be there when you come back.”

He sighed, rubbing his face “You’re not gonna stop nagging me until I say yes, are you?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head once “Nope.”

“Fine then. Fine!” he looked at me “Get off the chair, I’ll meet you there.”

“Heck no.” I grinned “The chair can stay here, it’s not gonna run away.” I got up and hooked my arm on his, basically dragging him to the mess hall.

“You’re a pain in my ass!” he grumbled but I only grinned up at him.

“I have that effect on people!”

#burntsubmit #one piece oc #oc #monkey d luna #lunna-star-8 #submission

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapter 223; a current critique on the opioid crisis [?] and some of the boys have a sleepover.

This chapter of GK starts out with an update on the status of Nikaido as he runs through the hospital on the title page for “Nikaido cheers up” with a tagline of Nikaidash at the bottom.  Ienaga doesn’t look pleased with his dashing about while perhaps Ariska is excited or wants to punch him - I really can’t tell personally.

Let’s move onto the first full page.  Nikaido greets Koito and Tsukishima with a booming shout with huge action lines declaring good morning to both of them.  Tsukishima still appears deadpan as he holds a portable urinal in his right hand (ugh, not a job I’d like to help Koito out with).  Koito politely comments that he’s looking sharper and Nikaido screams it was the new medicine that Arisaka gave him.  And then repeats good morning again with a huge shout.

Koito looks a little interested and he’s got some bags under his eyes, so clearly he’s not as keen on Nikaido as Inkarmat’s company.  Arisaka then shows up to show a vial of methampetamine and it was developed by a personal friend.  Nikaido then yells good morning to Ariska as he vibrates in the background.

Ariska then comments on Nikaido’s hyperactivity being the opposite of his depression as Tsukishima looks unimpressed and over everything.  Of course Arisaka is thinking of all of the money they will make with meth.  Ienaga then enters to check on Koito’s progress, which is improving well and then begins to hungrily lust over his youthful and beautiful skin.  As she’s about to take a bite out of Koito, Tsukishima puts a pistol to her head.  Nikaido is running around in the background.  Tsukishima is still deadpan.  I really am beginning to wonder if something in him broke when he had to threaten Koito in Karafuto.

Ienaga argues that skinning her isn’t much use since everyone has a copy of her tattoo, but Tsukishima states he’ll make a wallet of her.  I guess to replace the wallet he may have lost in the fire in Edogai’s house . . .  as I recall, he forgot his wallet on his way to the public bath when Ogata went in and the 27th burnt down the house and he didn’t have time to grab it as he fled from Ogata in search of Edogai.

Ienaga states she’s valuable to Tsurumi and that is all that matters.  The page ends with Arisaka commenting on Nikaido running around like a cat after it takes a dump.  I have to admit that is a hilarious statement to use and shows that Noda is clearly a cat lover and observer of cats.  I don’t mean to mock Nikaido’s condition, yet that term is a unique way to describe something.

My own cat loves to get the cat zooms after he goes to the litter box. Why he feels this need to be liberated after a poop is beyond me, but pretty spot on behavior.

The action then turns to Hijikata’s group as Ogata states that they should move to a new location as Ienaga was captured by Tsurumi.  It is interesting that Ogata refers Ienaga as both a geezer and he; is this a form of disrespect of Ienaga or is Ogata acting in the time period and just unsure of how to refer to her so he defaults to biological descriptions?  Saying geezer is pretty impolite so, I would think that Ogata isn’t keen on Ienaga as a person and therefore speaks rudely of her.

Nagakura saw Ienaga as a transient member of each faction and Kadokura thinks she won’t know the exact location since she was injured at that time.  Not thinking, Ushiyama assumes that Tsurumi would have killed him and taken the skin.

Ogata flat out tells them that they are all underestimating Tsurumi.  He will pick up on their trail and find this location.  He smiles as he tells them it is hard to escape from a Shinigami with a Cheshire cat smile.  Oh how I’ve missed his cat smile.  He likely knows even if they’d disagree with his firm statement as the most junior man in the room, he’s right.  Hijikata even agrees with him as he puts down a book.

I really wonder how Hijikata feels about having the team/faction with less clever people.  He gained Ogata for the time but if you stop and think about it, he really doesn’t have any intelligent planners on his team save for himself. . . .

There is then an excellent transition page where Ogata tries to shoot a mallard for dinner.  He’s now using his left hand on the trigger and right hand supporting the rifle and lining things up with his left eye.  He takes a shot and - misses the duck completely.

His reply, clearly in his own internal conversation with himself is “ . . . .” as we see him work the bolt on the rifle as he has a slight twinge of a frown as he seems to think about his last shot.

Does this mean Ogata is no longer a sniper?  Honestly, I’d say he’s re calibrating.  There are enough historical examples of snipers losing vision in one eye and retraining to use the other so it isn’t like he’s 100% lost his skills.  He’s a tough and stubborn character, I predict he’ll find a way to snipe again.  Is he disappointed?  Obviously, he’s been using a rifle since he was a kid and he’s going to have to learn everything again, but he’s a smart guy.  I think he’ll be fine.  It is more interesting to see his struggle as he has to come to terms with the fact that he’s alive and he may need to think more deeply about how he fits in the quest for the gold.  Ogata has long relied on his sniping as his #1 skill.  He has more than that, but it was the skill that defined him.  This should drive his character development.

Just like Sugimoto’s #1 skill is being able to fight like a demon and ignore his injuries.  He’s just as bad as Ogata, neither of them can afford to be one trick ponies.  They will both have to come to terms with how they look at their own skills and abilities.

The group then takes Ogata’s advice and they stay at a temple showing where a few more of their group are; Kirawus, Toni, Ushiyama, Ariko and the wee babe Kantarou.

Kantarou thinks they’ve found a good hideout with people moving through frequently.  Or it makes it harder to track those observing you as you can’t pay as much attention - I predict if they stay in the temple, Tsurumi easily slips a spy in their midst.

Kadokura then is chatting with Hijikata and Nagakura.  Despite being a sad old tanuki, he’s still in the jail employee loop and is able to explain that prisoners were sent from Kabuto prison to Abashiri to help with rebuilding.  Someone was able to find them in transit and facilitate the escape of prisoners and they are all associated with a pirate. Boutarou the pirate!  So a maximum security prisoner who is a pirate just broke his comrades out of jail.  He apparently is a very *ahem* accomplished pirate and was one of the 24 tattooed convicts. 

Hijikata then comments that he’s “making his move” so Boutarou must be interested in the gold for himself and his fellow pirates?  Hopefully, he’s a smarter convict who will make things interesting - I mean pirate, yeah.

The temple door then opens to reveal that Ogata has brought a gift home for dinner, a whooper swan which is about 5ft in size . . . soooo yeah Ogata is not a tall man.  Ah yes, the cat is proud of its kill.

This is the exact opposite of when Ogata shot the woodcocks for Asirpa.  Those were small and hard to shoot, while this is a bird with a giant target on it.  I wonder if Ogata is now working on the concept of starting with a large target and working his way down to smaller ones?

Ushiyama is the first to remark that Ogata doesn’t have to hunt for supper all the time.  It is clear that Ogata feels the need to provide for a group - I don’t think it is a whole “I must kill all the animals.”  more like “I can practice and get a free supper.  Someone please notice and love me.”

Ariko then looks shocked at Ogata’s entrance with the swan.  The middle panel is one of complete shock as he says “Superior Private Ogata”.  Oh ho!  Ariko knows Ogata even though they did not serve together during the war.  This is very interesting!  This also likely means that Kikuta will become more important and will have an encounter with Ogata.  There needs to be something that happens between the sniper and the close range marksman. 

Ariko’s reaction is such a Tanigaki reaction - he clearly does not like Ogata and he is immediately uncomfortable with him.  What is very interesting is how he touches him just like how he touched Tanigaki when they started their sniper battle.  Ariko is completely freaked out and sweating as Ogata asks him if he’s the same [betrayed Tsurumi].  The Cheshire grin as he asks if he betrayed Tsurumi’s group followed by a you never can tell.  Ogata likely knows that Ariko is similar to Tanigaki and looks even more nervous only able to reply he didn’ imagine Ogata betraying them.

So, Ariko doesn’t have a good grasp on the Ogata midset, well even Tsurumi doesn’t putting him in the same camp as the rest of the cast.  Clearly, whatever Ariko does know about Ogata implies that he was under the indication that Ogata was loyal to the group and would do his dirty work.

I really want to think that Ogata knows that Ariko has to be a mole for Tsurumi - he knows how Tsurumi thinks and I’m sure he’ll bail when the time is right.

Kirawus then is the transition to the discussion about eating the swans and adds you don’t even need to shoot one if you want to eat it when they are fattened up.  Maybe Ogata just pounced on it like a cat, but swans and geese are total assholes so I’d personally still shoot it to avoid being poked at by it.

There is an Ainu belief that if you eat a swan your hair will turn grey so Kirawus will not eat it, most of the guys decline.  Kadokura declines and is mocked by Kirawus since he already has grey hairs and Toni had not idea that he had gone grey.  Kantarou is concerned about his looks so he passes and even Ushiyama won’t do it. 

Nagakura and Hijikata enjoy the swan nabe as they describe it as tasty and dumb to pass on eating something worrying about death.  It will happen at some point in time so why not.  Ogata who is one of the youngest members of the group, then replies “hah” in agreement with both Nagakura and Hijikata as he enjoys his swan nabe.  Does this mean Ogata doesn’t care what he will look like?  That he won’t live long enough for it to matter?  Or is it his total lack of religious/superstitious belief?  Hell it could be all of these.  Ogata is not one to worry about stuff that doesn’t directly matter.

They all go to bed in one room making it an awkward slumber party as they discuss the swan nabe.  They sound like a bunch of gossiping schoolgirls and they try to decide if they should eat the nabe since they are clearly hungry.  Ogata blankly stares at the ceiling - it is clear he is judging all of them.  Look at his disengagement as he listens.

They clearly decide to eat the nabe and the next morning Nagakura gives them a hard time, teasing them about it.  Ogata looks so over it as Kantarou and Kadokura look back at Ogata uncomfortably.  The best Kadokura can come up with is the cheesy line that, they figured going grey is better than going bald.

Ogata just stares at Nagakura while Kadokura and Kantarou look a bit nervous.

It really seems like Ogata is sizing Nagakura up - everyone else then laughs (Ogata is not in the panel, but he’s clearly not laughing) and he’s back to silently watching and observing everyone.  The final page ends with Nagakura’s internal rage as he spits and his eyes are completely black.  Best not to enrage his inner fire . . .

This chapter has been quite useful and is staring to fill in more information as the factions shift.

1.) Koito is recovering well and Tsukishima has kept his dead on the inside and outside expression since Karafuto.  I wonder if Tsukishima has broke.   Helping Koito piss into a jar isn’t a fun job, but he’s at least keeping Ienaga at bay with no Kantarou to tie up.

2.) Nikaido is a one man military experiment.  Now he’s been given meth in addition to his prosthetic limbs.  It seems like no matter what will happen, his fate is a terrible one to have.  Perhaps with the death of his brother he really is a dead man walking and just doesn’t care anymore.

I wonder if this is a current critique on the opioid crisis in the industrialized world, or the fact that another way to control people is through big pharma?  Arisaka and Tsurumi already discussed morphine which Nikaido was previously addicted to and now they’ve switched him to meth.  I really honestly feel bad about his character - he really has become a means to an end.  I’m also not sure what is worse - his previous addiction to morphine or what will become his current addiction to meth. I’ve had friends that I’ve worked with use it or other friends have dealt with roommates using it.  It is a complicated situation - I can’t tell if this is just a quick toss in there concept or if it will become more fleshed out as the story develops.  A part of me would like to see this go further. 

A quick search reveals that meth addiction and use is a problem in present day Japan and the first epidemic started after WWII as it shifted from the military to civilian hands.  I wonder if some manga artists also have used meth or may have considered it based on their rough schedules.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/08/23/lifestyle/dealing-addiction-japans-drug-problem/#.XfmVU-t7l0I https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/japan-place-with-strangest-drug-debate-in-world/ http://www.mhfmjournal.com/pdf/emerging-risks-of-new-types-of-drug-addiction-in-japan.pdf

I am not the type of person to even remotely try to examine this as a whole, but having Golden Kamuy introduce a sensitive topic is par for the course by this point.

3.) Ogata is re-calibrating and being quite blunt and forward with Hijikata’s group.  He really isn’t trying to change very much in his interactions.  He is critical of the lack of concern by several people and flat out tells them to take Tsurumi seriously and to not underestimate him.  It looks like Hijikata seems to believe him to some extent.  I will say he tries to ease over relations by bringing home dinner.  I wonder if he is disappointed as Asirpa, Kiro and Shiraishi were a lot more thankful of his skills than this group.

4.) Ariko is in a tight spot.  God, it is like Tanigaki all over again.  What does Ariko know about Ogata? He clearly knows him from Kikuta - is he also someone who dislikes him based on what he knew about his past working for Tsurumi?  Ogata has to know that Ariko is a double agent for Tsurumi.  The question is will he even bother to warn the others or he just doesn’t care.

5.) There is a pirate convict!  Oh ho!  I look forward to this - it seems the pirate wants to form his own faction looking for the gold and must have been waiting to see how the hunt for the skins has gone.  A new faction would be very interesting?  Will he team up with others or go it alone with his crew?

Overall, this was a very informative chapter.  I felt like it had a good balance of information and action.  The Hijikata slumber party scene was quite hilarious.  I predict we will see more Ogata, silently watching those guys.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #nikaido #koito otonoshin #tsukishima hajime #arisaka #Ienaga Kano #ogata hyakunosuke #hijikata toshizo #nagakura shinpachi #ushiyama tatsuma #kadokura #kirawus #kantarou #ariko rikimatsu #Toni Anji #boutarou

[jq37]

oh my GOD the new ep!!!! like!!!!!!!!! SO MUCH happened but then also the preview for the next ep looks SO GOOD

**spoilers for first kisses and last words**

Hoo boy this was, as I predicted, a BIG one. Not that I needed to be an oracle to figure that out since there’s only a few eps left but man did it deliver.

I still think that Cool Kids, Cold Case had the most off the wall nonsense happening in the shortest period of time but this ep I think was overall the most consistently wild ep.

So let’s take it from the top.

I think I forgot to mention it before but Adaine’s, “I go into a rage,” hardcore cracked me up.

“I have hold person.”/”I stuff a sock in her mouth.” Insult to injury Adaine. 

The entire group dunking on Aelwen, forgetting that Riz is literally bleeding out, half dead.

“sausage festival” 

Adaine really was dead serious about her snitching threat huh?

Ally miming a boom mic.

I love how everyone including Siobhan mess up Aelwen’s name or mix it up with Adaine’s half the time.

And speaking of, wow. What a rise and fall for her in 3 eps (and about an hour in game time). She’s queen of the nerds. She’s not even cool at her own school. And terrified of whoever she made whatever shady deal with. I know she literally tried to kill the whole party last ep and that she’s the worst but I almost feel for her.

Almost.

“This is not on you. This is on the world within which you inhabit.”

I love Adaine’s semi-indigent, “We’re not going to kill you,” because Alwen was 100% ready to murder them which, side note, imagine how much on an international incident that would have been.

Lol at the group tag team bullying Aelwen about going to Mumple and Adaine using her magic jacket for super petty BS.

“Hey mom!”/”GodDAMMIT honey.”

The parent/kid relationships are so good in this show.

Everyone but Kristen parkouring off the roof when Sklonda specifically set up a ladder. 

“The put a girl in a palimpsest,” followed immediately by, “She went to a party,” as if those are on the same level.

Sklonda Gukgak DUNKING Aelwen into the squad car with a technical assist from Adaine. I knew she was gonna be my fave parent from her intro scene and I love her even more than I thought.

“With all due respect, (A/N: Which is none), suck my dick, fuck you.”

“She tried to murder me.”/”BE THAT AS IT IS.”

“Eh, you carry a gun.”

“No one who’s detecting maidens is a maiden.”

I feel like I’m quoting a lot today but there were so many money lines this episode. 

Everyone always loses it when Brennan starts doing the Identify spell voice and I love it. 

Adaine’s dad is T R A S H

Adaine’s mom on the other hand…I’ve been wondering about her for a little while because usually the outright emotional abuse has been from her dad while her mom is either not there or not saying anything. So I’ve been wondering was her deal is and we finally got the start of an answer. I know we only have a few eps left but I hope we go a little deeper into what exactly is going on there. It seems like Adaine’s parents are gonna be a big factor in whatever endgame is planned so fingers crossed,

Everyone cracking up as Emily backs Fig into a corner talking to Penelope. 

I love Gorgug so freaking much. Just his good natured, lumbering self. EVery time Zac opens his mouth gold falls out. 

Emily MAXED out her deception huh?

I think Siobhan must have forgotten that she took the crystal with Ostentasia away from Aelwen at the end of last ep. Either that or they willingly gave it to the cops and I forgot (but I think it’s the former because she said in this ep that it was in Aelwen’s pocket when at the end of the last ep she def took it).

My autocorrect keeps wanting me to type Ellen for Aelwen. I WISH.

I knew it! He’s a PIRATE. Suck it Fabian. (lol at Adaine stirring the pot. That was like Adaine being sincerely polite and Siobhan trying to cause problems and I love mixed motive player/character decisions). 

I wonder if the banker is named after John Hughes. 

I can’t believe the dumb bank is actually a huge plot point.

Yikes, re: Bill and Fabian. That got tense. Though I’ve kinda been waiting for some kind of blowout for a while. His dad runs very hot and cold and I figured it would only be a matter of time before we saw some of the cold.

Also, Lou breaking character in the middle of that very intense moment to clarify a plot point. 

Sidenote: For a hot sec after reading the title of the ep and remembering how Sklonda is competent to the point of (probably) breaking the original plot, I was so concerned she was gonna eat it this ep. So glad she didn’t.

Anyway, the idea of swinging sadly on a rope is so freaking funny.

Fig: Can I offer you a sad song in this trying time?

Huge portrait of Bill Seacaster in Fabian’s room. 

Adaine is gonna bring up him kissing her sister very time she needs to get out of something w/ Fabian for the rest of her immortal life. 

Another sidenote: This is a little thing but I always think it’s interesting when fantasy worlds have the same months and days as us when they’re named after like Norse Gods and Roman statesmen that wouldn’t exist in their world. Same with Roman numerals and Irish coffee. 

“Am I allowed to smoke in here?”/”Of course.”

I really like the character detail that Adaine is always really polite to everyone, including/especially people like Fabian’s maid and Basrar. People that she wouldn’t necessarily “have to” be polite to, you know? It’s like she’s trying to make up for the fact that her family is a bag of dicks. 

“Fantasy Google”

The whole bit with Fabian’s porn stash was so good. This group is so good w/ yes-adning each other.

“Privateer me a new one.” Emily is so good.

“Special investment” Suspicious  

I was thinking “I can’t believe looking at a bank’s FAQs is part of this game,” right as Brennan said it.

So I went back and watched Siobhan’s face from when Emily first mentioned Kal Vaxis to when she got the connection to KVX and it took her 22 seconds. I also missed the quick cut to Brennan when Gorgug asks, “What is Kal Vaxis,” and you can tell he knows they’re so close to breaking it with the little grin on his face. I wish we had gotten a reaction shot right after she got it. Anyway, great team solve w/ the MVP trophy to Siobhan/Adaine. 

I loved when Zac, Emily, and Siobhan all whipped out their laminated maps in tandem to figure out what was happening. 

The hard mood change from Adaine dropping the bomb about Riz’s dad and to forming a committee to help Gorgug flirt with Zelda was wild.

Kristen telling anyone to be suave is hysterical. 

What a DISASTER of a committee Gorgug’s friends are. Well meaning but so trash

Fig: Tell her you got a SICK tattoo

Adaine: Bring her to see art in the middle of the night

Fabian: You cannot date this person (Kristen: You absolutely have to)

Kristen: Actually not garbage advice but she is in no position to be giving dating advice to anyone 

Riz: Having a literal existential crisis 

“Who else is he gonna date?” WOW, savage Adaine.

I meant to say this before but I love how Adaine’s go-to is immediately ice cream and she’s always on board to go to Basrar’s. Like how when she texted everyone 2 eps ago she was like, “Let’s get ice cream now.”

Mmm, don’t love that Gorthalax isn’t answering his phone. I have been waiting for a significant adult to die for a while now.

OK, look, the whole thing about Penelope and Dayne being eternal prom king/queen. Is it wild? Yes. Is it implausible? No. No it’s not. Even Murph, most veteran player, was kind of like, “Wait, does that make sense?” Because, in this setting, it kind of would? I’m not sure it fits within the story so far and I’d have to go back and listen to the more lore-y stuff again but the conceit itself is like the exact right amount of crazy to fit in this setting? And they never cut to Brennan like I wanted so I could judge his face for any kind of tell. But anyway, you guys know I’ve been predicting a prom finale and this would fit right into a prom finale. 

The girls giving Gorgug a pep talk before his date was ADORABLE. 

Gorgug having to check his phone to remember three words, “You look nice.”

“Your friends are popular and loud” True

Zelda’s a BARBARIAN! She’s a MEGA BARBARIAN! 

I know they mean ecstasy like intense emotion but I kept thinking, like, molly.

Hmm, so Penelope wanted to know if Zelda had hooked up w/ Gorgug, ie: if she was a maiden. Can they only palimpsest maidens? Or (as we will get to later) does nice guy Biz only want virginal maidens for his creepy reverse Weird Science arcade setup?

Zelda listing off every type of metal and then Gorgug’s, “Same stuff,” was perfect comic timing on Zac’s part.

Imagine the Hangman screaming down the road on fire, Zelda completely terrified. 

I love the Hangman so freaking much.

“DO NOT GIVE TREATS TO MY MOTORCYCLE.”

I can’t believe everyone is living at the freaking crappy apartments. I knew they were all gonna end up hanging at one persons’ house but I kinda figured it would be Fabian’s house or Gorgug’s house. 

I”m also concerned about Bill. I feel like we keep getting reminded that he’s mortal a LOT.

Did Gorgug’s parents have indoor fireworks on tap for Gorgug’s first date?

Oh my God the whole docking conversation. Never play chicken with Brennan because the dude will not blink.

“We didn’t do that.” That’s his other best comic timing moment of the ep.

“Polishing my axe”

Kristen this episode 

I really wish they’d made the roll to find Ragh later in the ep. Fig is so ride or die for Gilear now and I love it.

“I fall asleep.”

Adaine almost making her parents dunk on Gilear but then pulling back.

But also, Adaine and Gilear going off the the oracle together.

“Fig pack it in.”

Affirmations with Fig and Gilear.

Fig, do you really think platonically cuddling with Kristen is the move?

Riz setting himself up for a dramatic entrance is so fantastic.

Hmm, so Biz and Zayne were attacked at the same time. That’s why that cold pill detail was in there way back. I’ve been trying to figure out what was always planned and what was quick re-working but Brennan is so good I can never really tell.

Are multiple unrelated groups just getting into palimpsests at the same time? Or mostly unrelated groups tied to one person?

“We are not gonna get our security deposit back.”

RIZ’S DAD IS JAMES BOND! YES! I didn’t know I wanted that to be the case until it happened and now that’s the only acceptable option. 

Riz didn’t get the 20′s he needed when fighting Aelwen but man he got it at the best story moment this week.

Oh man that home movie

The pearl is grey. Interesting. 

“Mom our family is so awesome Mom we’re all so badass, I thought it was just us but Dad is awesome too, why didn’t you tell me Mom?”

Sklonda: Internally screaming. 

Man he went full Inigo Montoya.

“I’ve got nimble escape so…”

“I guess we have a two bedroom,” I think was a really underrated funny line.

Did Riz ever tell his mom about the time of death thing.

Everyone inundating Gilear with overlapping chatter.

lol the Hangman likes Zelda’s family

Ally’s panicked, “FUCK” is always hilarious. 

Why are all the adults in Gorgug’s life trying to get him laid?

OK so the elementals were conjured by Aelwn’s magic Brennan said. He said by Aelwen’s magic, not by Aelwen. I wonder if that turn of phrase was specific or arbitrary. Like, we were told where Aelwen is but we don’t know. Was she forced to do it (either by threat or by magic)? Clearly someone (Biz?) is pulling her strings to at least some degree. 

“It’s probably about marriage.” “WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED.”

That happened fast

Fun fact from my International Law class: When a government kidnaps someone, it’s called rendition. 

“There’s a war, fuck school.”

Yeah it is wild that Adaine’s parents didn’t call her.

OK so did the Elves get Aelwen back but also go, “But you still need to go to jail.” Because they cut Brennan off before the end of that sentence which might have had more clues in it.

“I text my mom k”

I also wanna know who gave Kristen a slushy marg (It’s war times. I bet things are looser now)

Murph’s face when Brennan said, “Lucky Stones” was so good. That was so Riz.

S/O to Ally for pre-casting Guardian of Faith. Good instinct. 

AHHHHHH BIZ

As I said in an earlier conversation s/o to Adaine for DUNKING on him at every opportunity because he DESERVED IT. Also, her instincts for who sucks in this game have been spot on.

Another s/o to Riz for having the presence of mind to not pull a Star Lord and to pretend to be on the bad dude’s side for long enough to gain some kind of upper hand.

OK, wow was not expecting that twist. I feel like I need to go back and rewatch some stuff to get a better handle of the timeline and stuff. Like, when exactly did the girls start going missing again? And what year is Biz? Has he been masterminding this whole thing? I feel like no but I feel like he’s masterminding his own thing which happens to a puzzle piece in something bigger? BUT IT’S A PRETTY DAMN BIG PIECE. Who opened the new arcade? Is it connected to the bank?  How did Biz get involved? Who’s his supplier? Did someone hook up Biz, Daybreak, Penelope, and Aelwen with Palimpsests to do their own separate things, hoping that at least one of them would succeed which would somehow be good for the mystery person? I am so excited to find out and I really hope Brennan and the cast do a Q+A sesh after S1 is over to hash some stuff out.

Siobhan’s face when Biz said he was going after Adaine.

ALSO, you’re just gonna TELL RIZ and you wanna PUT ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS into a MAGIC CRYSTAL???? AND YOU THOUGHT HE’D BE ON BOARD? Like, even if he was, what about the 4 other people who are there?????

(sidenote, wild Gorgug’s parents just left them alone, no questions asked)

Theme-wise, this is the fight ep I’m most excited for. It seems rad as hell.

All that yelling in the promo for next week. Either the raddest thing possible happened or there was a TPK. There is no other option.

Wow, that was a stellar ep and this is a really long post. I really can’t wait for next week’s!

Edit: I meant to say before, is Penelope’s FB album like…a hit list? Like does whoever’s doing the actual dirty work (Biz? S/o else?) know that whoever she takes a picture with is who they should target?

#fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #asks #anon #Anonymous

[beatlebrainiacs-blog]

Issue Number 20, Part One

A glorious closeup of George and Ringo graces the cover of Issue 20 of The Beatles Book! One thing we really love about these magazines is that they give equal time and attention to George and Ringo as they do Paul and John. It seems that far too often the latter pair gets the bulk of the attention.

(Of course, we follow that little spiel up with a photo of Paul and John being interviewed by a DJ from Montreal!)

Issue 20 starts, as they all do, with a letter from editor Johnny Dean. 

The letter discusses the band’s latest movie shoot (They were shooting “Help!” at the time, spending several weeks on location in the Bahamas and a bit of time in the Alps). Dean explains the lads recorded 14 new songs for the film, 2 of which were written by George, the rest by Paul and John.

The magazine emphasizes that the film will be complete by mid-May (of 1965) and will be in COLOR!

This month’s installment of “Beatles Talk” is between Ringo and Paul. They start off the recorded, dressing room conversation with a series of goofy, rehearsed jokes.

They then move on to discussing a fan’s letter asking if they prefer doing concert tours or films.

Paul comments that he enjoys doing films for the change of pace they provide, but that time on set can get very slow. There’s a lot of waiting around for camera and scene changes. etc.

They both agree they prefer doing concert tours (which, to us, sounds a little facetious, since we all know now the concerts were kind of torture for the lads. All the screaming from fans pretty much drowned their music out. The more popular they became, the more difficult live concerts were).

The pair did make sure to announce they’d be doing another American tour that summer, starting in August!

Paul then asks Ringo his opinion on “pirate” radio stations like Radio Caroline. 

(Pirate radio stations are stations that broadcast without proper licenses. Radio Caroline, specifically was a British pirate radio station founded in 1964 by a man named Ronan O’Rahilly. The purpose of the station was that it enabled the broadcasts to circumvent record companies’ control over where, how and when popular music was played.

Radio Caroline was broadcast from international waters on five different ships over several decades, between 1964 and 1990. The station is still in operation today. It was awarded an AM license in 2017.)

Ringo takes the opportunity to joke around yet again, not saying how he feels about the stations at all. He gives a, let’s just say, very political response! 

Ringo says, in part, “I would like to emphasize the fact that I hold very strong opinions on the subject...” He obviously never says what those opinions are, but says his mind cannot be changed!

Paul then changes the subject as both lads claim to be dancing The Monkey around the dressing room. 

And that is where the conversation ends!

Here’s a shot of John enjoying a cuppa tea and a smoke. The caption on the photo says that despite the fact the Beatles were now famous, they often preferred drinking tea over champagne.

All of the issues of the magazine provide fans with opportunites to connect with one another. There is a whole list of “pen pals,” encouraging them to write to one another.

This photo shows the list of overseas fan clubs for folks to be able to join their more “local” clubs. It’s really neat to see how many countries from all over had large fan bases.

Some of the countries on the list like Yugoslavia don’t even exist anymore!

We’ll end this installment of the blog with a shot of, what appears to be, John blowing up a balloon!

Please be sure to check back in next week for the second half of issue 20!

#the beatles #the beatles book #john lennon #ringo starr #paul mccartney #george harrison

[handers-time]

Day 3 - Judgement - Just One More

Title: Just One More

Author: eijentu

Prompt: Judgement

One more, Anders thought. Just one more. There was a song that went like that, wasn't there? Anders wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. Three days. Three days the Blind Auditions had been running now, and Anders had seen it all: the songbird nun in leather pants, the crooning Qunari with the eye-patch, the young guy who had been more hat than voice, in the end. And worse than that, Anders had heard it all now too: the soaring high notes, the clumsy rapping, the vocal gymnastics that, inevitably, fell as flat as the voices trying to produce them.

And there had been genuine talents too - the pub singer with the guitar, and, well, that nun had been rather good, actually; Isabela snapped her up with a smug grin for Team Bela - but after three days of it, Anders had had enough. It seemed as though every song ever penned in Thedas was jumbling about in his head. All the faces blurred together, all the voices melted into a single tuneless dirge. And now all Anders wanted was peace. A quiet room, a cup of tea, and his cat sprawled over his lap, purring her contentment while he read the music blogs online.

(A memory came back to him then, quick and unbidden, in that sly way memories do, of nights when he used to do just that; when music blogs were actual music papers that furled out over his legs - tangible in a way that things weren't anymore - and of strong warm hands kneading the soles of his feet. Karl used to do that quite often, Anders remembered: used to sit him down and rub his aching feet after hours of interviews and rehearsals and singing his heart out. Used to make him stop and just be for the first time all day.

"Look after your feet, they'll look after you," Karl had always said, laughing. Anders wasn't sure whether that was true, in the end.)

But now wasn't the time for that. In the years since he'd lost Karl, the raw grief of it had settled into something quieter, more muted; it was something Anders had learnt to live with, but it still came to the surface sometimes, and he really didn't want to risk his eyeliner just then. It was meant to be waterproof, of course, but Anders had heard that before. Waterproof meant nothing. He still remembered the paparazzi snaps after he'd sniffed that raw heirloom onion at a farmer's market in Lothering, face smeared with make-up as his eyes set to watering. Erratic Anders's breakdown over 'murdered vegetables', read the accompanying article. Some Kirkwall entertainment writer had outdone themselves there. Friends say the Grey Spaces singer, famous for his aggressive animal rights stance, has been a strict vegan for many years, but he has now taken things too far - by refusing to eat what he calls murdered vegetables. "Anders was in tears when he saw the onion," confided one long-time friend. Sources say the singer - who was fined 1,250 sovereigns for an anti-fur attack at Fereldan Fashion Week last Kingsway - bought the onion to "give it a decent burial".

Anders had, in fact, given the onion a decent burial in an eggplant bolognaise - but his trust in waterproof mascara had been shaken ever since.

All that aside, though, he just didn't have time. Not to stop and fix make-up, not to wallow in the warmth of times past. Three days. Three days of wobbly singing and forgotten lyrics and voices that stayed in tune until they didn't. Three days of achingly soft melodies and big, bold voices and sensitive arrangements that genuinely caught his attention. Three days, and Anders had almost a full team behind him now. But there was just one more space to fill. One more, he thought. Just one more.

Sadly, it wasn't to be the man on the stage before him now. Less sensitive arrangement, more bleach-blond Macklemore wannabe who thought that volume equalled goodness, that one. He'd belted out every note at the top of his voice, and even Merrill, who hadn't so much as flinched at the death metal grandfather (pure white dreadlocks and gravelly growl, that one) had twisted up her kind face in dismay at the din.

None of the other judges turned either, to Anders's complete lack of surprise. Merrill already had a full team, so she was out anyway - not that she'd been tempted, it seemed - but Isabela and Fenris shook their heads as well. Anders caught one last glimpse of the man's curiously noodlelike hair before the chairs swung back to their blind position.

'Shame,' said Isabela. 'He probably could have been a model, that one.'

Fenris grunted. 'Yes. If he'd had a different face, he probably could.'

Anders closed his eyes. He could hear the tap-tap of heels across the stage as the artist moved into position. A woman, then, or likely, at least. Anders didn't like to assume. One more, he thought. One more.

And then: a sweet, clear, pure sound. A little bit breathless around the edges: probably nerves, Anders thought, but it sort of worked for the voice too, gave it the kind of vulnerability that made you listen, drew you in.

His hand twitched towards the buzzer. The voice went on sweetly, staying mercifully in tune. Not much training, he'd say if he had to guess: she needed more control in places, but the right elements were there. He could work with this. If the artist would listen to him, he could work with this...

Merrill's chair creaked beside him. He opened his eyes and looked across: she was kneeling up in her seat to watch the singer, chin resting on her hands like a child. She was smiling hugely, and when she saw him looking, she flicked her eyes towards the stage, still smiling, and nodded enthusiastically.

'Kitten, how could you fraternise with the enemy?' Isabela laughed. Her strong, heavily-ringed hand came down on her buzzer, turning her chair, and that was enough to galvanise Anders as well; he pressed his own buzzer a split-second later and found himself staring at indisputable talent show gold: a pretty young woman with dark hair and eyes, cheeks pink with excitement as she brought her song to a close.

There was a moment of quiet as the remaining two judges - Merrill, with her full team and Fenris, with his complete lack of taste - turned their chairs to be part of the action.

'What's your name, sweet thing?' Isabela called in a velvety voice. Anders rolled his eyes. Isabela might be reigning queen, her artist having won last season, but Anders was having none of it; she wasn't going to steal this one away from him too.

Unfortunately, the girl looked rather awed at having Isabela address her. 'My name is Bethany Hawke,' she said, and there it was in her voice too, that slight natural breathiness. Isabela just about licked her chops. 'I'm 19 and I'm from Lothering, Ferelden.'

Isabela nodded. She leaned back in her chair and considered the girl a moment. Then, 'Well, you're very good, and I want you,' she said. Anders groaned. Bethany went a sudden blotchy red. 'Would that be alright, do you think? Could I have you?'

Bethany said, in a strangled sort of voice, 'Erm...'

'Er, just a moment!' Anders cut in. 'Don't let her fool you, sweetheart,' he said to Bethany. She did, at least, look pleased to be addressed by him as well, if less awed than she had been by Isabela. Anders went on, warming up his pitch. 'She's a cutthroat underneath all that, you know. A real pirate.'

A wave of laughter went through the arena. Quite a bit of it came from Isabela herself. Anders said, 'Listen, you've got a beautiful, vulnerable sort of quality to your voice,' and then Bethany looked at him, really looked at him, and he thought, I've still got a chance here. 'You've got a storyteller voice, a voice that draws people in, and that's exactly the kind of voice that interests me. I can help you develop that in your singing, help you connect with people through your music.'

'Bethany, I will teach you to connect like nobody else,' Isabela countered, and Bethany laughed, nervously. 'Total connection, I promise you that. I am available for my artists all hours, day or night.'

Isabela winked. Bethany reached up to play with her hair.

Damn it, Anders thought. It was all over, but he could have one last dig, at least. 'Bethany, can you trust a woman whose boots have caused more international incidents than Antivan diplomacy?' he said, his voice conspiratorially low.

Isabela laughed at that too. That was probably one of the reasons, Anders thought, he liked her so much. 'Oh, sweetheart. Can you trust a man who once posed naked for PETA with only a few strategically placed...roosters? Do we have a picture of that? Can someone find that?'

Anders said, 'That was for a bloody good cause and I'd do it again tomorrow,' but he was laughing now too and putting up his hands in defeat. The audience broke out into laughter and chatter; producers were moving about, directing cameras to move in for Bethany's close-ups and to nab family reaction shots, just out of sight at the edge of the stage. In a moment Bethany would accept Isabela's offer and then they'd all take a break while the crew set up for the next artist.

Perhaps the next one would be right. One more, Anders thought. One more.

And then, while Isabela was still calling for someone to find the poster to put up on the big screen, and Anders was still defending his roosters, Bethany said, quite suddenly, 'Oh, I know that one!' All eyes swivelled back towards her, but she was focused on Anders now, her pretty face lit up. Maybe I haven't lost this after all, he thought. Then, 'My brother has that poster; he used to kiss it every night before bed.'

The arena erupted. Anders could barely hear above the noise of the audience, screaming and laughter and hooting all blended into a glorious, deafening cacophony. Fenris was speaking, but his words were lost in the din. Merrill smiled, leaning up to shout in the ear of Isabela, who looked like her nameday and Satinalia had come all at once.

Anders couldn't hold back his smile either, try as he might. It was such a sweet, genuine sort of thing to say; exactly the kind of thing that someone like Bethany - and he didn't know her, but he felt he did somehow; he'd got a sense of her from the way she sang her song - would say. There was something lovely about it, though, the image of some young man kissing his poster faithfully night after night. It made Anders's heart flip over in a way...in a way that it hadn't for a while. Staggeringly touching, when he thought about it, the intimate, heartfelt ritual of it; and Bethany had been willing to share her brother's secret, not to flatter or embarrass anyone, but just to connect.

Anders tried not to think too hard about it. Waterproof counted for nothing, after all.

Embarrassment, however, was probably unavoidable for the brother, Anders thought. And evidently the producers had the same idea, because seconds later a trio appeared on the big screen: Bethany's family, waiting just out of sight off-stage. There was an older woman, presumably her mother, and two men who might be brothers. One was laughing, wiping his eyes from the effort of it, and the other...Anders swallowed. It was ridiculous, because he hadn't even had time to formulate what he might have expected, but this man, somehow, wasn't it: he was tall and beefy, with lines around his eyes and a nicely shaped beard. Anders's heart flipped over again, and then again.

The brother had, at that moment, the look of a nug caught in the headlights of a monster truck; red was creeping up his neck, into his ears, his cheeks. He was going to cover his face or walk away from the camera any minute, Anders realised, and he ignored the way his heart sank because that was just silly. He didn't know this brother. It was something the poor man had probably forgotten long ago. And so Anders ignored his lurching heart and started to think instead of something to say, some suitable quip to save face all round.

Then the brother smiled. It was a small smile, at first, uncertain - it made him look like his sister when Anders had first turned his chair - but then it bloomed across his face, bright and true. The lines around his eyes crinkled. The nicely shaped beard revealed a row of white teeth. He grinned into the camera and waved - almost casually, as though he couldn't be more at ease; but his face was fully red, brow shiny with perspiration, and it was the most charming thing Anders had seen in a very long time.

---------------------------------------------------

But peace did come for Anders, eventually. It came later, long after Isabela had clasped pretty young Bethany Hawke to her bosom - literally, in fact - and disappeared off-stage to bewitch her family as well. Anders caught one last glimpse of the brother as Isabela leaned in close to say something, then the big screen changed and they were lost. The show went on, the final buzzer sounded. The audience made their way out of the arena, filtering slowly to the car parks and streets beyond. The crew packed up the set, the dailies went to post-production. Anders went to his dressing room and asked a runner to bring him some tea. That, it seemed, had been that.

Just as well, Anders thought. Might've been messy.

His feet ached. He brought one of them up into his lap to rub at it, but it wasn't the same as when Karl used to do it, somehow; he gave up on it, let the foot fall again. It was eerily quiet in his dressing room, despite the whirl of activity he knew was still going on outside. His phone lit up, some message or reminder flashing across the screen, but he left it for now. This was his moment: the moment he'd been waiting for all day. To sit quietly and enjoy his tea: enjoy the absence of producers squawking in his ear or Fenris snarling in the other one or crestfallen looks from those who hadn't made the grade.

In theory, Anders loved the premise of the show: to judge artists based purely on their voices, without any other bullshit getting in the way. It was the kind of chance he would have given his soul for when he was a young queer artist, just starting out: a six-foot-two beanpole with eye shadow and a feather boa. Everyone told him he would never make it, that he needed to play by their rules, fit their moulds first; and if he did that, then one day, once he was famous enough, once he was respected enough...one day, perhaps he could actually be himself.

Anders had told them to fuck themselves; he'd carved out his career with his own nail-polished fingers, and now it was Dragon 42 and nobody blinked if a man wore eyeliner at the Grammys. That didn't mean there wasn't still a long way to go. Discrimination still ran rampant. Kids still got told they would never make it because they were too fat or too dark or too gay. It made Anders's blood boil. And so Thedas Voice might be just another cheap reality show in a sea of cheap television, but Anders believed in that part of it, at least; talent before image, opening doors to diversity.

He would drown the industry in blood to keep that dream safe.

And so the last thing he needed was a distraction, he thought. He looked around his dressing room, with his cooling cup of tea and flashing phone and his cold aching feet bare against the carpet, and he thought, Good. Quiet, simple. Exactly what I want.Because the last thing he needed was a tall, good-looking man with a nice beard and crinkly eyes having some sort of thing for him...

Anders bit down on that train of thought. Stuffed his feet back into his socks with more force than necessary.

Then: knock, knock.

Perhaps it was another runner, one who could bring him a nice hot refill of tea.

'Come in!' Anders called out. And then, a few seconds later, when the familiar owner of a nice beard stood in the doorway, he managed to say, 'Oh, it's you!'

'Um,' said the brother. He looked away down the hall, and then back at Anders. The little line deepened between his brows. 'It's me, yes. Yes. You're...not the toilet, though.'

And at that, Anders had to laugh, out loud, in fact, because it was either that or cry. Waterproof counted for nothing. He said, 'How sweet of you to say so. Not everyone shares your opinion, I'm afraid.'

The brother closed his eyes briefly. Then, 'Well. That probably wasn't the kind of first impression I was hoping to make. Perhaps I could go out and start again?'

Anders grinned. This really was too easy. 'Your sister made your first impression for you much earlier in the evening, I'm afraid,' he said, and watched as the man froze.

'Or perhaps I could go crawl under a mountain. Yes, that sounds like a much better idea.'

Oh, he's funny, Anders thought suddenly. For even as he watched the flush creeping up the man's neck, across his cheeks, he could see his twitching mouth. There was a twinkle in his eyes that hadn't been visible on the big screen.

He's got a nice voice as well, Anders thought.

'How about you come in and tell me your name instead?' Anders said out loud, and ignored the way his heart skipped at the naked joy on the other man's face.

'That's a very easy thing to say yes to,' the brother replied. As he came in, he made a quick gesture with the door, as it to say, open or closed?; there was something so endearing about that, so wonderfully unassuming, that Anders just stared at him for a moment before he gestured back, closed, and motioned at the other seat in the room.

The brother dragged it over and sat down. He smoothed his palms against his T-shirt - wiped them, more likely, Anders thought, but who cared? - and said, 'It's Hawke, by the way. Garrett, really.'

Anders said, 'I thought you were trying to tell me you were Hawke Hawke for a moment there. I was going to have to have a word with your parents.'

Garrett laughed at that. It was a light, easy sort of laugh, that matched his nice voice. Anders didn't mean to notice that. 'Not sure that's actually worse than Garrett, to be honest,' Garrett was saying. 'Bethany's alright, I suppose. My brother landed with Carver, though, so he's the worst off.'

Garrett's eyes twinkled. There was a funny, bubbly sort of feeling trying to work its way out of Anders's chest. He said, as casually as he could, 'I guess I should be glad hewasn't kissing my poster each night. He might've come in looking for the toilet with a chainsaw.'

Well, now the elephant in the room was well and truly awake. Anders expected Garrett to go red at that; to bluster and shut down, maybe edge back towards the door, but instead the man just nodded, a wry look on his face. 'Yes. For that and many other reasons, you should be glad it wasn't him, honestly.'

Garrett's eyes were still twinkling. Bloody hell, Anders thought.

Somehow, without meaning to, Anders found himself saying, 'Did you really do that?' His cheeks were starting to feel warm. 'Kiss the poster every night?'

'Yes. Bethany is appallingly honest, I'm afraid. I warn you now.'

Anders tucked a piece of hair back behind his ear. 'But you don't still do it?' he said lightly.

And that was a mistake, he realised immediately, because Garrett was shaking his head firmly no. 'I don't still do it.'

Oh. Oh.

At that, the small, hopeful feeling in Anders's chest flickered out, and it was silly, he knew he was being silly, but he felt...let down. His phone flashed again: he reached across and picked it up, scrolled through his notifications, and so he sounded completely unaffected - like he always did - when he said, 'Well, I don't look like that anymore, of course. Not a spring chicken anymore.'

It was his favourite joke to make about the rooster poster; somehow, this time, he didn't feel like laughing at it.

But, 'You're still super hot without the roosters, trust me,' Garrett said. Anders nearly dropped his phone. When he looked back at Garrett, the man shrugged. 'I mean, that's not why I stopped kissing the poster. Obviously.'

'Obviously,' Anders echoed.

'Just that I realised maybe it wasn't very respectful,' and for the first time, Garrett looked a bit sheepish. He stared down at his large hands; there were guitar calluses on his fingers, Anders noticed for the first time. 'But it wasn't just that.'

'Good,' said Anders, 'Because I don't mind about that at all. It's an authorised poster. What was it, then?'

Garrett smiled softly. He was still looking down at his hands, and he was going red again, but when he spoke, his voice was steady, certain. 'Because I realised I wanted to thank you every night instead.'

Anders's breath caught somewhere in his chest. 'For what?' he said.

'For being brave,' and now Garrett did look at him. He was grinning massively. Anders's heart gave another skip. 'For being out. For being who you are and telling me, when I was 17 that it was OK to be me as well. I used to play my dad's old Strat and dream of being a musician and I never thought it could happen.' Garrett made a vague sort of gesture with his hand. 'Because I could be that or I could be this. But I couldn't be both.' He shook his head. 'Then you came along. Not that much older than me. You were beautiful and insanely talented,' and here Garrett gulped, but he went on anyway, 'and you still are. So, thank you.'

It was difficult, Anders thought, to know what to say to that. He had a feeling he might be staring, though, because Garrett grinned, and looked away again, and laughed, and ran a hand through his hair.

It wasn't as though Anders hadn't heard that before; he was a rock star, he was a living legend; hell, even the trailer for Thedas Voice blew more wind up his arse than Garrett just had. But somehow...somehow...

Anders swallowed. 'But you're a musician now,' he said. Garrett nodded. 'Why didn't you audition, then? I could have you for Team Anders!'

'You've actually got a full team now,' Garrett reminded him dryly, 'but I'm not a singer; I stuck with the guitar. I'm a session musician now. Working to get my break. It's good. I love it.'

An idea began to take seed in Anders mind. He began to smile - he couldn't stop - and Garrett smiled back, though he didn't know about Anders's idea yet.

'How many of  my songs do you know lead guitar for?' Anders said.

Garrett gave another little shrug. 'Hard to say. Is 'a lot' a number?'

Anders picked up his phone again. 'It's a very good number,' he said. He opened up a new contact page and passed it over to Garrett, who looked down at the phone and then back up, his eyes wide. 'Perhaps you could give me another good number. One I could call you on about a band audition? My band, just to be clear.'

Garrett looked back down at the phone. Anders could see the bob of his throat as he swallowed, the pink of his tongue as he licked his lips. Wordlessly, he entered his information and handed the thing back to Anders.

And then, 'Just about rehearsals? Or about other things as well.'

Anders raised his eyebrows. It probably would have looked convincing if he wasn't still smiling uncontrollably. 'Other things?'

Garrett was smiling uncontrollably too. So it was probably alright. 'Other things,' he said. 'Like coffee. And...roosters.'

 ~the end.

How did I do? Rate me!

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Leave your vote for Day 3: Judgment here!

#eijentu #2017 handers olympics #modern au #hawke/anders #contest fic #submission #dragon age 2

[infinitehouseofbooks]

BLITZ - The Sun God's Heir

  The Sun God’s Heir: Return

The Sun God’s Heir

Book One

Elliott Baker        

Genre: Historical Fantasy/Action and Adventure

Publisher: Hypatia Press,

Piscataqua Press

Date of Publication: January 18, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-9978322-0-4

ASIN: B01MS3RCE0

Number of pages: 347

Word Count: 108,000

Cover Artist: Kelly Shorten

Tagline: To defeat a brutal pharaoh re-embodied in 17th century France, René Gilbert must fight his way through pirates and slavers to Morocco and reclaim the power of his own ancient past. To succeed, he must remember. Book Description:

For three thousand years a hatred burns -In seventeenth century France two souls incarnate, one born the child of a prosperous merchant, the other, determined to continue a brutal incarnation begun long ago.

In ancient Egypt two brothers are disciples of the pharaoh, Akhenaten. When Pharaoh dies, the physician takes the knowledge given and goes to Greece to begin a new mystery school. The general makes a deal with the priests and becomes pharaoh. One remembers, one does not.

The year is 1671. René Gilbert’s destiny glints from the blade of a slashing rapier. The only way he can protect those he loves is to regain the power and knowledge of an ancient lifetime. From Bordeaux to Spain to Morocco, René is tested and with each turn of fate he gathers enemies and allies, slowly reclaiming the knowledge and power earned centuries ago. For three thousand years a secret sect has waited in Morocco. 

After ages in darkness, Horemheb screams, “I am.” Using every dark art, he manages to maintain the life of the body he has bartered for. Only one life force in the world is powerful enough to allow him to remain within embodiment, perhaps forever. Determined to continue a reign of terror that once made the Nile run red, he grows stronger with each life taken.

Get it Free April 19th  Amazon  –    Kobo –  B&N –  iBookstore –   Google Play –  Pronoun

Excerpt:

The boatswain, a large man with scars on his arms and face, walked over to stand in front of René. “Chain him to the mast.”

Their gazes met.

“Don’t look at me, boy,” he said, backhanding René in the face. “Look down at the deck when I talk to you. You’re some over-fed nobleman’s kid thinkin’ you make the rules. I’m surprised you ain’t cryin’ for your mama. You got a mama, boy?” he asked and laughed. When René didn’t answer, he hit him again. “I asked you a question, boy. Don’t try my patience, cause I ain’t got none.”

“My mother died when I was born,” René said, watching the man’s feet to see how he moved. He was cataloging everything he could see out of the corners of his eyes.

“Well, not to worry, you’ll be seeing her soon.” The boatswain turned to walk away and then turned back and hit René again. “I had to do that,” he said, and walked away laughing.

Though they had chained him in a way that didn’t allow him to sit, René had enough slack to turn and see most of the ship. He was aboard an English slave ship. She was an older carrack in design, still with the large forecastle. She had seen better days, though. The fact that she was still on the seas suggested either a cutthroat reputation or an experienced captain. Under the wear, the ship was surprisingly clean, her ropes and sails newly repaired and in good order. Second rate though she might be, she was seaworthy. This was a veteran crew, competent in their tasks. It wouldn’t be easy getting free, and even if he could, where would he escape to in the middle of  the ocean? Don’t rush fate. One thing at a time. Do what you can do, he heard the Maestro say. It was clear he would have to pick a fight, and hope he could survive long enough to begin creating allies. The next time the big boatswain walked by, René laughed.

“What are you findin’ so funny, boy?” The boatswain stuck his face within inches of René’s.

René had noticed the boatswain had one leg shorter than the other, and was certain the big man would be touchy on that point. “You walk funny, that’s all,” said René, raising his voice. It was of no use to him if he got beat up and no one knew why.

All work within the sound of René’s voice crashed to a complete stop. Silence reigned. René had guessed right. Now he could only hope he would survive his insight.

The boatswain stood in absolute disbelief, his face turning redder by the moment. “What did you say?” Spittle flew from his mouth.

Even the captain had turned to watch. René counted on the fact Gaspard’s agent had given the captain a great deal of money, along with explicit instructions that didn’t include throwing a dead boy overboard. What he didn’t know was how close to dead the agent considered acceptable.

“I said you walk funny,” René said—louder this time, so there would be no mistaking it.

“Do you know what a cat is, boy?” the boatswain said, clearly beyond rational thought. René could see the veins standing out in his neck and temples, his eyes shot red with blood.

“A small animal?” René asked.

There was a laugh from the men standing around the mast. The boatswain took one look around, and the laugh died.

“You, James, bring me the cat. I don’t think this boy has ever seen a real one. Your education has been sadly incomplete, boy. You’ll be thankin’ me for this. I promise you.” The boatswain’s voice was a rough whisper.

James walked over and handed the Cat-O-Nine-Tails to the boatswain. As he caught René’s eye, he sadly shook his head. The cat had nine long thongs of blood-encrusted leather dangling from a handle, knots tied along the length of each thong.

“This here’s a cat, boy. As you can see, it ain’t no small animal. Now, there’s a skill and a talent to usin’ a cat, both of which I’m proud to say I have. You see, you need to take care the thongs don’t get all stuck together with blood and skin, which they’re wont to do. If that happens, the cat’ll take yer organs right out, and that’s always a bad thing. So you need to run your fingers between the thongs every couple of strokes, to keep ‘em separate. I gotta tell you—as much pride as I take in usin’ the cat, sometimes I’m forgetful. I try to keep count, but before I know it, I plumb forget to clean the damn thing. I surely hope that don’t happen today.”

“I also have a skill and a talent, and I will kill you with it,” René said quietly.

  For one second, the boatswain paused, confusion written across his face. “Turn him around, and chain him up. You there, strip off his shirt.”

About the Author:

Award winning novelist and international playwright Elliott Baker grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. With four musicals and one play published and produced in the United States, New Zealand, Portugal, England, and Canada, Elliott is pleased to release his first novels. The Sun God’s Heir: Return, book one of the trilogy, was released this past January, and book two, Rebirth will come out in April, followed in July by the third and final book of the series, Redemption. A member of the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild, Elliott lives in New Hampshire with his wife Sally Ann.

https://www.elliottbaker.com

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8423737.Elliott_Baker    

        BLITZ – The Sun God’s Heir was originally published on the Wordpress version of SHANNON MUIR'S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS.

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