#but really it just put Megan on her radar

[triviareads]

Trivia's Monthly Book Round-Up: March 2024

Definitely a better reading month this March! I had a lot of fun with the historicals as well as the contemporary romances I read this month (including some pretty out-there finds like Beg For It by Megan Hart which I ended up adoring. I also got to read some fabulous ARCs like The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian (reviews to come).

Daddy Crush by Adriana Anders

Exactly what it says on the tin, just a really well-executed age-gap romance that's tender and sexy and has a daddy kink; Jerusha grew up in a rural conservative Christian environment and moves out because she never could quite fit in with her family. She develops a crush on her new neighbor Karl and ends up asking him for sex lessons. I love how unapologetic and joyful Jerusha is about exploring her desires after not being able to do so in the past, and Karl provides her with that safe space all while feeling juuuuuuust enough guilt about being an old lech (he really isn't) to provide further entertainment for me.

Also, I appreciate the realness of the way Adriana describes their bodies— the softness, stretch marks, dimples. It's one of those things I wish we saw more often in romance novels that weren't specifically advertised as having fat rep.

Beg for It by Megan Hart

A super hot femdom romance; Corinne and Reese were in a relationship for in their early twenties, but he eventually left her to move to the Big City. Now they're middle-aged and Reese is a successful businessman looking to take over the company Corinne is CFO of. I loved reading about how the D/s dynamic just clicked for them when they first met in a flashback scene. As with all great second chance romances, their mutual resentment upon reuniting is real ("I'm not your boy anymore!"), but they're also grown-ass adults who know how to handle themselves.... for the most part. You get the sense that while both of them technically moved on, they were never able to get what they wanted from later partners; Reese loves to serve Corinne and gets off on punishment just as much as she enjoys making a meticulous (mental) list of infractions and doling the punishment out. Also, I do appreciate a book where pegging isn't treated as a one-time *special* thing (or worse, a bonus scene).

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

At long last I decided to retry Jennifer Ashley and I ended up adoring this book! After years of no contact, Eleanor approaches her ex-fiancé Hart to inform him someone is threatening to leak his nude photos. Hart is a gruff, growly SCOTTISH duke who's trying to become Prime Minister so.... this is inconvenient. For all of Hart's posturing, he never got over Eleanor and the man is Obsessed with her. There's so much I loved about this story— there's such a valid reason as to why Eleanor broke off her previous engagement with Hart and I feel like they both learned and grew from it in the following years. BUT that doesn't mean the chemistry isn't there— it was always there (as shown in the flashbacks) and it will always be there, and it's bonkers hot. Like, Eleanor hoards Hart's blackmail nudes in her Hart Scrapbook (I know) and when she's found out, she asks for more nudes (which are taken. in a veeeery hot scene that is very female gaze-y). Obviously he asks for hers in return, which he also takes, eventually.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

@mermaidsirennikita had already put this one my radar, so when the hero Sinclair McBride aka The Scots Machine aka BASHER McBride was teased in The Duke's Perfect Wife in that specific way where you know he's a future hero because he made the current hero (Hart) jealous, I had to read about this hot blond widower barrister next. The heroine Bertie is a pickpocket who tries steal Sinclair's pocket watch but he catches her and she ends up stealing a kiss instead. Then she highkey stalks Sinclair because she's FASCINATED by him and accidentally ends up as his children's governess. In classic The Sound of Music style, she gives the kids an unorthodox but well-rounded education, and on the side she's adorably seething when a widow tries to put the moves on Sinclair. She and his son successfully cockblock him and what follows is the most EROTIC finger-sucking scene I've read like, this man fully shoves 3 of her fingers in his mouth and goes for it. It's so great. I'd absolutely recommend.

The Home Wrecker by Sara Cate

I'm gonna be real, I was not impressed by the last few books Sara Cate put out, but I actually ended up really enjoying this one. Kudos to Sara for actually writing cheating into the romance, and I also thought she handled sensitive subjects like Briar and Caleb's fertility struggles (and the decision they make by the end), Dean being a sex worker, and homophobia in conservative Christian families, quite well. And the emphasis she put on family (lost, found, estranged, having children) was actually really moving by the end.

And on a romance level, the cheating stuff worked— It was kinda great to read both Caleb and Briar being galvanized into acting once they've both been with Dean, especially when you see their their intense apathy towards one another earlier on with this super cringy sex scene. I also like how we were given three distinct personalities with distinct viewpoints in the three main characters; it's something I felt was missing with the throuple in Madame. Here is my full review.

Out of Office by A.H. Cunningham

This is suuuch a sensual, tropical romance split between Panama and Miami and it's out on April 23rd. Here's my review.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

A sweet, sexy sapphic romcom for the zillenials that's out on April 16th. Here's my review.

#trivia's book round-up #book recs #romance novels #contemporary romance #adriana anders #jennifer ashley #megan hart #sara cate #a.h. cunningham #mazey eddings

[lostcontrolfreak]

Thank you all for coming. My name’s Megan and I’m part of the market research department at Anheuser-Busch. I’m very happy to report that if you’re here, you’re part of a special group that’s been hand selected to test a line of our products.

Everything that you try today will be almost entirely alcohol-free.

Now, why would you be interested in that? I’m glad you asked. You see, all the men selected for this study ended up on our radar because they seem to have the same... problem.

No, not a drinking problem. This isn’t an intervention. Far from it.

According to our list, while you can all be classified as moderate drinkers, each of you is -- how should I put this? -- somewhat accident prone when out at bars or restaurants or in other social settings.

I can already see a few faces turning red, so I take it you understand what I’m getting at.

That’s right, everyone in this room -- except for me, of course --  has pissed in their pants at least once after consuming one or more of our products. Some of you have done it many, many times, but I’ll leave it to you to wonder who holds the record.

Our research indicates that none of those little accidents can be attributed to a medical condition or any other extenuating circumstances. But each of you has tried, at one time or another, to blame your mishaps on alcohol.

We’d like to test that hypothesis today. At the same time, we’d like to test a different hypothesis.

Now, I can’t help but notice that a lot of you seem unable to avoid staring at my tits. And now that I’ve mentioned it, some of you are already starting to shift around uncomfortably. You’re probably confused about why I dressed like this to lead a professional market research study! Well, that’s just part of our methodology.

Our files indicate that apart from alcohol consumption, the one common feature of all your pants-wetting incidents is that they occurred in the presence of beautiful women. Either you were trying to hit on a girl at the bar, or a female staff member raised her voice to you, or you just found yourself in the wrong place on ladies’ night -- whatever the case may be, your outings ended with women laughing at you while you ran away with piss streaming down your legs.

My department has looked into these incidents – thanks to smartphones, a lot of them are on video! -- and we dispute the notion that Anheuser-Busch products alone were responsible for all of you tinkling on yourselves like excitable little boys. Therefore, this study seeks to reproduce the conditions that led up to your accidents, with one important difference: none of you will have alcohol to use as a scapegoat if you end up pissing in your pants.

Over the next three hours, you’ll be interacting with dozens of women while you consume the full array of our non-alcoholic beverages. Many of those women will be my colleagues collecting data, but most will be volunteers tasked with making you as uncomfortable as possible and monitoring your crotches for any signs of wetness.

Let me tell you, the response to our casting call was overwhelming. I’ve never seen a group of volunteers more excited to see the results of a study. And fellas, if you think I’m hot, which... I can tell some of you do, then just wait until you lay eyes on some of the women who will be serving you drinks and engaging you in conversation.

We’ve told them they’re pretty much free to mingle with the test subjects as they wish. You might even get a date out of this! Probably only if you manage to keep your pants dry, though.

You can still back out of this study if you want to. Just exit through the door right behind you. But bear in mind that our volunteers are waiting just beyond it, and if you leave now, you’re pretty much admitting that you know you’re going to end up pissing your pants this evening, even if you’re not drunk.

I can see that some of you look a little indecisive, so let me see if I can sweeten the deal. As incentive for each of you to really try your best, compensation for this study will be scaled according to how long you last before giving us another data point that confirms it’s fear of women, and not intoxication, that makes men like you wet themselves in public.

Make it to the end, and not only will you be well-paid for a few hours’ discomfort; you’ll get yourself taken off the marketing list that identifies you as a nervous little pants-wetter. At that point, we might recommend you switch over to one of the non-alcoholic products you try here today, so you don’t end up getting drunk and disgracing yourself again.

If, on the other hand, you don’t make it, then maybe these products aren’t for you. But in that case, you’ll be given an opportunity to enroll in another lucrative study with one of our corporate partners, Kimberly-Clark, which you may or may not recognize as the manufacturer of Depend and Goodnites protective undergarments.

Now, before we begin, I’m required to inform you that this session will be subject to video and audio recording for future analysis and quality assurance, and also so the women in my department can re-watch it whenever we want, while we laugh and laugh and laugh...

Any questions?

[triplexdoublex]

Girl like right after her manager statement came out another blind item came out basically telling people to read between the lines bc Sophie isint innocent. This would all be cleared up if Megan or someone on her team would just address it and be like oh no Megan was joking. So it's making me wonder why she and her team are refusing to clear Sophie's name. I know Sophie woudint sleep with colson, she's seems like an amazing person but Megan and Colson can do a pap sighting but not clear his band mates name?? It seems like Megan's team wants Sophie to take the fall and to be blamed for this. Not to mention there is a Facebook post hating on colson with over 900 comments calling him a pedo, an abuser and really really awful stuff. And it's all Megan's fault, not exaggerating, she's the one that put all of this in people's heads and is refusing to even make a statement about it so even if they do another couple sighting neither colson or Sophie's name will be cleared and they will continue to get hated on for something Megan started

Not gonna lie we all joked on here when Sophie first joined that Colson was gonna cheat with her and some even shipped them ect. But I feel like that was just the kind of innocent fun that comes with being in a fandom especially when it’s just done with in the confines of a fandom blog or fanfic ect. But to comment that type of stuff on their posts crosses a line in my opinion BUT the fact that Megan’s petty ass acted like a child and commented back “maybe I got with Sophie 🔥” made it 100x worse. That fans comment probably would have flown under the radar and nothing would of come from it if Megan herself didn’t reply to it and call attention to it therefore causing the media attention it gained to the point where Sophie’s team felt the need to make a statement about it. Megan 100% should issue an apology to Sophie and clear her name about “getting with” either of them. And I understand Colson’s probably extremely embarrassed by all of Megan’s antics right now But Colson could just as easily also make a statement in support of Soohie. I’m sure Sophie feels a little hurt right now that only her own team has made the effort to clear her name.

[nityarawal]

9/22/23

Jessie's Boys

Morning Songs

Militia Says

She Was A Romanian

Gypsy

X-Boyfriend

Prison Shower Guard

Dorian

Thought She Was Ukrainian

Pete- Her Last Boyfriend

Trying To Plan A

Getaway

Make A Baby

Said She Was

Actually

American Romanian

Not A Gypsy

At All

LA

Golden Skinned

Blond

Just A Young 2nd Generation

34 Year Old

#FreeBritney

Trying To Be A Mom

Barred From Insulin

By Jealous exes

Like "Killing Of Mr. Green"

By Louis Duncan

Horrors

Crime "Ya"

Teen Mystery

Hell

"Lord Of The Rings"

Conspiracies

American Romanian

From LA

Discriminated Against

At Airbnb 

And Idyllwild "Gay" Realty

By Jessie's Sothby's 

Property Manager

Mary Schmitz

Who Couldn't Triangle

My Kids

After She Wrongfully Evicted

Me

And Scott

Couldn't Get

Me Jessie's Treehouse

Or Rescue Her

On His Motorcycle

Just Another Lady

Almost A

Mom

Smeared In Her Pretty

Prime

Like Marilyn

On Lies

Discriminated 

Against By

Klu Klux Klan

Militia

Triangulated

Skinheads

Jealous Exes

Another Nazi "Mistake"

In A Long Line

Of Killings

Domino Effect

Addicts

Triangulating 

Michael Thompson

Her "X" Boyfriend

Was There

When She Was Found

Gripping Keys- Stressed

Trying To Escape

Him

Taught Knuckles

Dead

Hands Clenched

Naked

In Bed

Was She "Barred"

From

Her Diabetic

Medicine

Insulin

Tortured To Death

Or Did She Die

On Fentanyl

Like Militia

Mitch

An Old Neighbor

Vanessa's Old Man

And Scott Clarke

Locals

Wanted You To Believe

Sheriff Jeremy Parson's

Proud Boys- Pine Cove

Enablers 

Or Was It Staged By Gay 

Trans-Moderators

From Florida

On Meta Facebook

Crime Watch

Social Media

Gossip

Post Apocalypse 

Data Theft

A Play

Book

They

Want You To Believe

Collin

A Roomate

Was There

Reporting 

Lies

Who Was He

Another Of Shane Stewart's

Impotent Latino Gay Lovers'

Addicts

Spying

Triangulating 

Nazis

Jessie

Only

34 Years Old

Innocent

Before She Could

Bare 

Her Babies

No obituary

Or Legacy

Pictures

To

Propagate Her 

Soulmates

Prodigy 

Just Pete

Possibly 

Selling Her

Life

Who Was Collin

He Was There

Tabloid Columnists

Say Triangulated

In Affair

A Gay

Perhaps

Speculating

Who Was Collin

Did He Know Our

"Token" Black

Rastafarians

Blamed

Scapegoats

Sick

With Lymes

Who Was Collin

A Roommate

Planted

Did He Make Up

The One Liners

When He Got

Michael Thompson

Put Under

Forever

3 Months Later

Dead

Supposedly

Murdered

The Tree House 

Pinecove Owners

Are Dead

But "Hurrah"

His Sons'

Might Have Said

Sarcastically

Dennis Glorified

Nymph-Happy-Endings

Prostrate Orgasms

Gluttony 

All Forgotten

In "Pride"

Who Inherited

Homestead

Like When 

Emily Pearson Died

A Property Manager

To Over 400 People

And Her Forgotten

Husband

Idy Folk

Wrongfully Evicted

In Covid

Rejected On

United Way 211

Silenced

Forgotten

Like When

Emily And Her

Husband Died

8 Hours Apart

No One Could Testify

What Really Happened

No Autopsy

Swept Under The Rug

Like So Many

Idyllwild Real Estate

Gay

Murders

For Shane Stewart's

Gangs

Swept Under The Rug

A "Hasbeen"

"Midnight In The"

Woods

Some Say 

Scientologists

Took El Salvadorian

Wives

Daughters

Missing Persons

Victims

Alibis

For Megan's Law

Scares

At Lumber Mill

6 Other Restaurants

In Idy

Wanted To Write

About the "Garden

Of Good And Evil"

Like Savannah

Georgia

Writers

Eyes

We Got

Transvestites

Blooming

A Restaurant 

Owner With

8 Pedophile

Charges

Louise Expected "Life"

Now Running Free

Yet Cops Come Running

For His Chef's

Humble

Car

Compounding

#CampCalifornia

Pimping Radar Out

And Golden Pitbull

Ryder

Pigs

Rape His Widow Friend

Liz

Charity Project

On Petty Crimes

For Addicts

Silencing Lies

Big "Stories" About

Shane Stewart's Lovers

Facts Omitted

8 Pedophile Crimes

Never Syndicated 

News Stories

Butterfield's Brokers 

12 Teachers At The Art Academy

Countless Students

Teachers Fired

Children Incarcerated

Silenced

Caged

Peace,

Nitya Nella Davigo Azam Moezzi Huntley Rawal 

[daysofourlivesrecaps]

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

We got some real good blorbo action today, friends.

John and Marlena begin to engage in their long-established foreplay ritual of eating strawberries and cream. (This is, admittedly, barely a blip on the Kink Radar but I legit love that these two septuagenarians are still so into each other.)  John even whipped the cream himself! Also he brought 5001 strawberries, which is a completely arbitrary number that you really shouldn't try to read anything into.

Then Brady (John's son, Marlena's stepson; easily in his 40s and still living with these two) comes home and completely interruptuses their coitus. He whines about how he and Boring Chloe broke up and will there ever be a woman as good and pure as Boring Chloe and can you believe Boring Chloe got an apartment with Hot Xander? What does she even see in that guy, anyway?

John, meanwhile, tries to be as subtle as he can as he checks his watch and tries to remember just how long that blue pill he took is supposed to last.

(If you ever wondered if I thought I was too good to make a Viagra joke, I guess you know better now.)

Speaking of BC and HX, they are indeed still cohabitating. Chloe is lecturing Xander on the proper way to hang a picture frame (since they're all falling off the walls now) and Xander is convinced that it's not his shoddy workmanship but an actual ghost.

And sure, you may mock this notion. I did for a minute, until I remembered that the character who got *by far* the most screentime on this show in 2022 was Satan. Yes, that Satan. From school. I mean, Hell.

As he talks this out, we realize that it's *kind* of a ghost in the Scottish play sense of the concept. He's still feeling guilty about his role in the death of Susan Banks (our cat's namesake). Which is valid. We did kinda gloss over that when it happened and it's not a bad thing to circle back to.

But I immediately jumped to *we never saw her body! She could be the Mystery Hostage aboard the USS Lobsterfest!! That's gotta be why the show is reminding us about her, right?!*

Wrong. It's not Susan *or* my dark horse theory, Jan Spears. Why did I even bother hiding that in a spoiler tag yesterday?!

Von Leuschner, who is getting hotter to me with each passing day, reveals that his hostage is, in fact, Andrew. A character we've only recently met and who I'm only a little interested in because he's part of a gay couple and the show is running dangerously low on boys who kiss each other right now.

But I don't particularly care that he's being held hostage . Not when I thought of two much better possibilities right off the top of my damn head.

We also spend some time with Megan and Kristen in prison. Being, as they are, ostensibly sisters (albeit sisters who only recently met and weren't even aware of one another's existence before this year), they do what adult siblings do and pretend to show interest in each other's personal lives.

Kristen reads a letter from her daughter, Rachel, who gloats about finally breaking up her dad and That Bitch Chloe. (These are essentially eight year old Rachel's words. I would never.)

And Megan reveals that she's connected to Von Leuschner who, *btw, is actually your nephew, Kristen*. I then spent 5-10 minutes going through all the DiMeras we know and trying to work out whose kid he is. And then we find out *Megan* is his mother and I feel like a real stupid.

Having gotten the Salem Resurrection Phone Tree started to inform her massive network of relatives that she's still alive, Kate now settles in to enjoy some alone time with Roman.

"I want something," she says, and waits patiently as Roman cycles through food ("I had lobster on the boat"), a shower ("I showered on the boat, before I got into this fancy dress to eat lobster") and sleep ("not tired.")

Roman. Buddy.  She hasn't seen you in *months*. She made exactly one call before turning her phone off and putting the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the hotel room door. *She wants. To. Fuck.* What in god's name is wrong with you, man?!

#Days of Our Lives #DOOL #soap opera #Peacock

[uswnt-has-my-heart]

the usoc media day where megan made the joke about being ready for the game was in November 2015. Which means that she made enough of an impact with that stupid joke that sue recognised her and made the connection between the lady making that joke and the one at the table in rio in August 2016, which says a lot about the impression megan left and also that you're probably right about sue having a type 😂

Sue saw Megan in 2016 and was like “wait that’s the adorable idiot that made me swoon that one time”

#she pretends like she thought the joke was dumb #but really it just put Megan on her radar #bc it fits her dorky type perfectly #which also I thing DT has mentioned Megan is sooo Sue’s type #sue bird #megan rapinoe #ask #fave #binoe #megan and sue

[harryissuchalittleshit]

@harrypotterjelly asked for some headcanons of Victoire/Dominique/Louis Weasley!

Victoire:

She’s the oldest of both her siblings and all the Weasley grandchildren

She is seven years older than Dominique and eight years older than Louis

James/Freddie/Roxanne are five years younger than her and the next oldest Weasley grandchildren

Other than her parents and Percy/Audrey’s wedding she has been a flower girl is all of her aunts and uncles weddings

She is very smart, stubborn, and has a rebellious streak, Bill thought that she was an obvious Gryffindor and was a bit upset when she was sorted into Ravenclaw

She plays the drums and together with Teddy they form a band at school

Teddy and Victoire are best friends, and see each other more as siblings than anything else

They constantly bicker and fight with one another, but they would kill for the other if it came to it

Victoire loves to visit her grandparents and aunt in France and goes abroad as often as she can

She does have trouble with the language at first, but makes a point of practicing with Fleur when she’s at home

She falls in love at fifteen, and he’s different than anyone else she had dated before

SJ sees her for her, not her beauty, not her family, just Victoire and nothing else

She does get pregnant when she’s sixteen, but has an abortion which she regrets

When she finds out she’s pregnant again a year later just after graduating, she runs away and gets married to SJ

They are both really immature and stupid about the whole situation

Victoire ends up giving birth alone and her parents bring her and SJ back to England

Once they are back on their feet, Victoire moves her family out and never looks back

She rarely visits the cottage and doesn’t really attend any family events

She does make a point to stay in contact with Dominique and Louis though and have them involved in her children’s life

She has four children, Regulus, Arcturus, Megan, and S3

Dominique:

She is seven years younger than Victoire and seven months older than Louis

She was planned, or at least as planned as possible

She is a rainbow baby, having been born four years after Fleur miscarried a little boy (Jacques “Jack” William Weasley)

Dominique is the wild child, she’s very careless and has a sort of evil genius energy to her, but she just uses it to get gossip out of people

She is the second youngest girl, with Lily being the youngest of the Weasley grandchildren by eight months to Dominique

They are both the smallest, Lily is an inch taller than Dominique, or would be if Dominique’s hair wasn’t so crazy (very long and curly)

Dominique is a definite tomboy, the “son” that Bill always wanted, especially when she was sorted into Gryffindor

She knows how to doll herself up, but she only does it for special occasions, she doesn’t want to be a girly-girl

She also isn’t the best with languages, all of this puts a strain between her and Fleur

She’s very close to her cousins Molly and Lucy as Percy and Audrey are her godparents despite Bill and Percy never getting along

She has one of the highest detention counts of her cousins, only second to James and Freddie (who somehow managed to get an equal amount)

She has been in love with Lorcan since she was fourteen, and finally makes a move on her sixteenth birthday (despite the two year age difference)

Or so she thought

She gets pregnant by Lysander, Lorcan’s twin brother and it ruins her year

Lots of stories and rumors go around about her and she causes the end of a very important relationship

She eventually leaves the school in shame and to have her son without prying eyes around

She gives her baby and finally gets together with Lorcan and realizes that everything will be okay

After graduating from Hogwarts, she goes to a Muggle University to study photography and advertising

She married Lorcan after graduating and they start their family

They have three daughters, Clarice and the twins Riley and Rhyane

Louis:

He is the youngest grandson with Lily as the absolute youngest six weeks after him

He was born three month premature and it really scared Bill and Fleur

He lived at St. Mungo’s for the first four months of his life, until he was big enough to go home

He was a very warm and cuddly baby, but started to pull away and become more fussy when he was a toddler

He was diagnosed as autistic when he was five, he has light/sound/touch sensitivities that Bill and Fleur never adapt to

He’s very artistic, even at a young age, he loves to draw and paint and is really good at it

He plays football/soccer with Hugo, in an attempt to get him more socialized, he plays goalie

He’s sorted into Ravenclaw at school, like Victoire and she’s really happy for him

He keeps up a very consistent correspondence with his Uncle Charlie who he is also named after

Louis is perfectly happy to just fly under the radar and be a fly on the wall

He joins the school newspaper as their cartoonist his first year and keeps it up all seven years

He becomes prefect his fifth year and Bill is really proud of him

Louis always knew that he wasn’t the son his parents (especially Bill) wanted, he doesn’t like quidditch or wrestling around or all the dumb things his cousins do

He picks up French the easiest from Fleur and he loves going to France!

He starts dating Anamika Nott their seventh year, and his parents get a bit nervous about it

They don’t know if he could handle a rejection if she broke up with him, not knowing that Anamika isn’t his first girlfriend

The way they act about his relationship is the reason why he never tells them that he eloped with Anamika

It’s about a month or so after they moved in together, Hugo and Dominique and two of Anamika’s little sisters are their witnesses

Anamika gets pregnant that following winter and they are so excited but hide it from their parents as long as they can

Louis is scared to be a father at nineteen, but Anamika wanted to have a baby and so did he

Navya changes something in Louis, and all of the things that bothered him before don’t when it’s for her

They have four more children, their only son Rohan who is four years younger than Navya, Prisha two years younger than Rohan, and the twins Chantel and Rochelle who are nine years younger than Prisha

The twins were a very big surprise, but well adored by their parents and older siblings

#head canons #harry potter #victoire weasley #dominique weasley #louis weasley #autistic louis weasley #autistic characters #I love these characters #family #bill weasley #fleur delacour

[catdadeddie]

Right?? There was so much potential in that relationship, even if they never intended to have it go anywhere. (Actually, i personally think there was potential in there because it was never intended to be a love story, but could have been one of growth and character development. As a love story, EddieAna would have been so damn boring either way).

I agree with your point about the red flags, and i think it would have been so interesting to explore that? Also, and i feel like i‘m the only who thought that that was a deliberate choice and not only down to COVID safety measures, but Eddie dodging Ana’s lips in the final scene? Like she was going in for an actual kiss and he moved his head? Could have been at least a good hint as to where this is going if they actually focused on it for a second. Could have also been a good plot point, her being actually into this relationship and him having to figure out why he really isn’t. But they cared so little about Eddie and his storylines this season, it’s actually sad.

Yeah I definitely think it had potential for Eddie as a character. He hasn't dated in over a decade and is a single father and I just really wish they took those into account more. Eddie also had a messy marriage where he felt like a failure as a husband and a father. I just feel like we rushed through all of that though and they lightly mentioned it but never really did anything with the EDDIE of it. Its more focused on Christopher (and I love the attention to Christopher because he is Eddie's priority, but I wish we got more stuff that does focus on Eddie).

As for the kiss, yeah I think its interesting they avoid it and love to clown on it being intentional. I don't really think its covid tbh, Buck and Taylor/Oliver and Megan kissed multiple times and near kisses and cheek kiss are still close contact. I would honestly believe that not having them actually kiss is unintentionally showing to how Eddie feels about her. (The unintentionally being Eddie not being aware).

And yeah, they really just said "follow your heart, but pause on that until season 5" and I'm just annoyed by it. They should've done something with it. Had Eddie be rethinking his relationships after almost dying. They didn't even need to be definite on what was happening. They could've just hinted that Eddie was questioning it and needed to think about it all. I keep seeing the show do things and the cast or Tim needs to explain what that meant because they didn't show their intentions at all.

But I don't know that I'd say they cared so little about Eddie and his storylines. I think they got rattled by covid and the shortened season and didn't do things the best they could've. I'm annoyed by it all but it is what it is at this point. I'm hoping getting asked about Eddie and the aftermath of the shooting will put it on Tim's radar and we might see a deeper dive into it in season 5.

#nova answers #anon #anti eddieana #to be safe

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #433

“i really wish that you could help, but my head is like a carousel: i’m going ‘round in circles”

Would you rather visit Rome or Spain? Rome. Do you really care what’s going on in celebrities' lives? Depends on the person. If I have a big interest in them, like Mark, then yes, because I care about that person and want to know they're well. Have you ever broke a plate/bowl? Accidentally. Has anyone ever drunk called/texted you? I don't think so. Can you do a backwards London bridges? Hell no, I'd bust my ass and spine. Are any of your pets “overweight”? Why the quotations? But anyway, no. Has anyone ever bought you a ring? Yeah. What has been the most traumatic experience of your life? Does it still bother you? The breakup with my first real bf. And well yeah, it resulted in PTSD. It sounds so overdramatic, I know, but I'm not even remotely exaggerating. Live a day in my head and tell me it's not actual trauma. If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? God no, not right now. I am not in a position to be married right now. Think back to your most important relationship, was it all your fault it’s over? My damaged side wants to say yes, but I know to be realistic, we both failed in unique areas. He didn't communicate, and I just put too much weight on him. What was your first alcoholic drink? A Mike's Hard Lemonade. What were the first lessons you ever took? Ummm I want to say choir? Did you ever go to a mental hospital? Multiple times. Do you believe that weed should be legalized? Yes. Have you ever had a significant other with a mental disorder? Yes. If you could transform into something, what would that something be? Uhhh idk. Maybe a cat? Out of 10, (10 being really shy) how shy are you? Oh, easily a 10. When was the first moment you discovered love? I actually don't really know the moment I realized I was in love w/ Jason. It was a gradual thing, so no one occasion stands out. What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made? Well, I suppose accepting Jason's Facebook friend request because I thought he was a different Jason. I can't think of many good mistakes I've made... Even the one I mentioned, it's debatable how good that one was. I really do wonder how different my life would be if I declined it. What do you think of frogs? I love frogs! They're so cute and derpy. :') Who did you last worry about and why? My cat, because he was apparently hiding somewhere and Mom couldn't find him. Who did you last feel sorry for and why? Sara, because of health stuff she's dealing with. Is there a name that you can’t stand but it’s the name of a loved one? It sucks, I feel like this burning in my stomach a lot of the time when I hear "Ashley" because that was Jason's girlfriend after me. But I have a sister with the same name. Are you currently looking for a new place to live? I'm not, and I don't think Mom actively is, though we both want to move. When did you last make up a baby’s bottle? I don't think I ever have. Well... maybe once? idr Do you believe there’s a devil? No. Have you ever felt an earthquake? No. Have you ever been on an island? Yes, actually. Did you watch the last presidential inauguration? I've never watched one. Have you ever been a fan of The Killers? I don't consider myself a true "fan," no. I only like two songs that I know. Do you have your own lighter (why or why not)? No, because I don't need one? Do you believe in miracles (why or why not)? No. I just don't. Everything has the have a cause and reason. How often do you sleep naked? Never. Are you looking forward to your prom? If you already went, how was it? I went twice, and it was fun. I especially loved having the pictures taken that I regret wiping from the face of the earth. Prom itself was pretty bland each time, like you can't hear shit and they just play awful music, but still. I was a teenager with a very fairytale outlook on love and wanted to just feel like I was in one I guess. Do you prefer Quizno's or Subway and why? I don't think I've ever tried Quizno's, actually. What’s one of your best memories from during a rain storm? I don't know. Why did you need your most recent x-ray and what were the results? It was to see if I broke my foot, I think? If that's the one, then no. I also had my legs x-rayed at some point to see if they could find any damage there because of my extreme weakness in them, but there wasn't. Do people more often mistake you as being younger or older than you are? I actually don't know. Have you ever made out with someone you weren’t dating? No. Do you know anybody who was abused? Yes. Have you ever touched an elephant? No. How many siblings do you have? I have five I "count," but I do have another half-sister on my dad's side that I don't know. I want to, but yeah... it just hasn't happened. Do you get bored of your girlfriend/boyfriend easily? I've never gotten bored of any s/o I've had. Who do you want for president? I voted for Biden. Do you think abortions are horrible? No. Forcing someone to undergo what can easily be considered a traumatic experience is horrible. Do you enjoy drama? Ugh, no. Have you ever had a guinea pig for a pet? I've had a few. Were you/are you popular in school? No. I was very much under the radar and mostly stuck to myself and a small group of friends. What brand clothing do you wear the most? No clue. Have you ever studied any new age or occult religions such as Wicca? Yes, actually, when I was leaning towards Neo-Paganism. I did research into some of its branches, such as Wicca. Are you a wrestling fan? Not at all. I honestly think it's dumb. What’s the longest movie you’ve ever watched? I want to say Troy? It never felt THAT long to me though because I love it. Have you ever been on a subway? No. Do you think spending a ridiculously large amount of money on one designer item is stupid? It sure as hell isn't for me; I lean towards people can spend their hard-earned money on whatever they want, BUT I do feel that they could still spend their money on more important things. Do you find baths relaxing? No, they gross me out. Do you have any hats? I probably still have the hat Dad got me at a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game somewhere, but idk where. Has any part of your house ever been flooded? Not on the interior, no. Have you ever been interested in learning about murderers or murder cases? Not especially. Is there anyone that you’re worried about right now? Who and why? I'm just about praying Sara's new med for her POTS helps. I think me worrying how Jason is doing after his mother's death is gonna be a permanent fixture in the back of my head... If you won a lot of money, would you donate any of it? To what organization would you donate it? Oh, absolutely. I'd have to do some research first, but the Trevor Project comes to mind immediately, as well as ones that protect wildlife, help the mentally ill, fight cancer... Are you a competitive person? What are you most competitive about? Not really, no. I have my areas where I'm more likely to feel it than others, but it's generally mild. I'm not too sure what I'm most competitive about, but maybe outdoing other hunters in WoW since that's my main class that I've played religiously for years. Have you ever adopted a stray animal? Yes. What do you appreciate most about your parent(s)? The fact they somehow still support me even though I'm like... this. I feel like I should've exhausted their faith by now. Do you believe America should legalize drugs? If you think they should legalize only some drugs, which drugs do you think they should legalize? I only support the legalization of weed. What is your biggest turn-off of a person (besides physically)? Arrogance, probably. Or being aggressive/explosive. What song cover do you like better than the original? "Sound of Silence" by Disturbed, for one. That one's easy. If you could find one long-lost friend of the past, who would it be? Megan. I want her to know I forgive her and miss her friendship. What holiday do you enjoy the most? Christmas. (: Were you born in the state you live in? Yep. Have you ever lived in a house that has been broken into? No, but almost. Who do you know that watches the most sports? Probably my dad? Idk. Do you like South Park? Not really. Are you good at bowling? No. Made out for more than 3 minutes? Three minutes is nothin' lmao. Have you ever gone snorkeling or scuba diving? If yes, what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen? No, but I'd love to. What’s your favorite filling in chocolates? Caramel. What do you remember from sex ed class when you were younger? Abstinence was the only option. Heteronormativity. What’s the first instrument you ever played? Ha, a recorder back in elementary school. Have you ever had a friend break up with a bf/gf for you? Essentially. We didn't date, but that's why he broke up with her, because he wanted me instead. Do you see a bright light at the end of your tunnel? I don't like thinking about this. I can only hope there is, but I doubt it a lot. Have you ever waited in line overnight for something? No. Is there such a thing as being too rich or too poor? "Too poor" is very obviously a thing??? "Too rich" is more complicated to me, as I can see both sides to it. Like it's your hard-earned money, but at the same time, is it really necessary at a certain point? Like start donating regularly or something. Do something good. Do you think having an expensive phone is a good investment? Depends on how expensive, I suppose, and what you use it for. What’s your largest bill? Electric, gas, phone, etc. I don't have any of my own bills. It's embarrassing by this age. Do you like your job? I'd like to even have a job... What is your favorite song and why? "False Flags" by Massive Attack, because it's so poetically haunting in its message of how fucked up politics are. Its monotonous tone also adds another layer of sadness to it, like a reminder of how "normal" and bland and unsurprising everything is, no matter how horrible... I could honestly probably write an essay on how I interpret the song, especially if you add in the incredible symbolism of such a simplistic music video. Are you introverted or extroverted? I am very introverted. If you’re married and your spouse cheated on you, would you forgive them? Nope, byeeeee~ Who knows the real you the most? Sara, really. How old is the oldest person you’ve had sexual relations with? He'd be 27 now. Have you been upset the past few days? My PTSD has been kinda vicious the past couple days, especially today. Then earlier at my nephew's b-day party I had to nearly bite my fucking tongue off with that family's political bullshit. My anger really flared up a few times hearing despicable shit, but I think I concealed it fine by just not saying a word. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever thought of doing for a job? Nothing "crazy," really... Who was your first celebrity crush? Jesse McCartney had my young heart, ha ha. When did you last see or speak to someone you dislike? Why do you dislike this person? Today, at my nephew's aforementioned b-day party. I in specific don't like my sister's husband because he's sexist, racist, homophobic, bigoted... I could go on and on. We don't just have "different opinions," we have different morals entirely. When you listen to music, do you generally sing along, or just listen? I almost always just listen. I don't sing a lot. Can you remember the last time you felt emotional? What was the reason? Today. PTSD is a bitch. What if you were told that your life has to stay exactly as it is right now, and nothing will ever change? How would you feel about that? Quite honestly, I don't think I would want to live anymore. Have you ever been to the hospital for something really serious? I'd consider an OD on cold medicine to be serious, but then again, I experienced almost no effects from it. Idk if I just got fluids fast enough or what, but whatever it was, I'm thankful for. Are you excited for winter? UGGGHHHH BRING IT ONNNNNNN. Have you ever had a moment with someone you like that seemed like a movie moment? Many. What are you listening to right now? "Down In The Park" by Marilyn Manson. What’s your favourite flavour of iced tea? Tea is gross. Have you ever been to a casino? If so, which one(s)? No. Have you ever visited a sex shop? I haven't. Have you ever ridden a bicycle through a busy city? NOOOOOOOO. I could never do that. What’s your favourite place to get pizza? Literally Domino's, lmao. I am so basic. Do you have a lock number or pattern for your phone? No. There sure isn't anything important on it. What’s the most number of people you’ve ever lived with? Five.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''happy song'' by bring me the horizon

[zukofenty]

just my luck

➜ Summary: The one where Katara whisks away her picture-perfect life the night she kisses a stranger with the worst luck in the world.

“I lost all my good luck!” Katara screams. “Everything I touch turns to shit!” 

“I mean, have you considered fucking a leprechaun?”

➜ Genre: Modern!AU, Journalist!Katara, Girl group manager!Zuko, Music Producer!Zuko

AO3, @zutaraweek

“I am too pretty to be punched!” Katara yelps, ducking and clenching the holding cell’s bars until her knuckles turn white. 

  “And I thought I was too pretty to commit tax fraud, but here we are.” Ty Lee rolls her eyes. “That’s just how the pussy crumbles.” 

  “First, you need a gynecologist. Second, I think the saying goes ‘that’s how the cookie—’” Nothing in life could have prepared Katara for the tiny girl to deliver a resounding punch that has her head rattling against the jail cell. 

  “I lost all my good luck!” Katara screams. “Everything I touch turns to shit!” 

  “I mean, have you considered fucking a leprechaun?” 

  Katara sighs, still recovering from the intense nosebleed Ty Lee bestowed on her. “Where the fuck would I even find a leprechaun?” She promptly shoves wads of tissues up her nostrils. Of course, the next one she reaches for actually had a spider in it, and she thinks killing herself just might be easier on her soul at this point. 

  “Just say you like Megan Thee Stallion and all of a sudden all the men under 5’7” start giving you a 5’11” attitude. Easy peasy.” 

  She’d managed to limp her way back to Suki and Toph’s apartment from prison, after getting a call that her apartment had flooded, destroying everything in it. Only her apartment. She was barely holding on to her broken YSL pump in one hand and her pride in the other. Emphasis on limp , because while calling taxis to instantly stop for her was always her thing , now she was nothing but an ant (in head-to-toe Prada) on their radar. If they do stop, the taxi either gets snatched up by someone else, or the drivers tell her, not so kindly, to eat a dick. 

  Nevertheless, she’s still determined to have a positive day, walking and humming a Rihanna song to try and calm her nerves. But, because this day was sent by Satan himself (Jeff Bezos), she was drenched, face to booty to toes, in drain water by the seemingly hundreds of Uber Eats whizzing by, trying to get someone’s Buffalo Wild Wings order to them quickly. 

  “I can’t believe you guys actually think all that stuff’s real!” Suki scoffs, diligently painting her toenails a pretty pastel purple and not giving any mind to the conversation. 

  “Tell me, how would you explain this bitch’s life?” Toph points an accusatory finger in Katara’s way. “Katara has been living life as the main character. For fuck’s sake, you won prom queen five years in a row at Ba Sing Se High!” 

  “A lot of people win prom queen—” 

  “We went to Omashu High!” Toph adds with frustration. “You even won the year after you graduated!” 

  Toph and Suki could never quite wrap their heads around Katara’s life. 

  For as long as they knew her, she was always the luckiest girl in the world. 

  At seemingly every turn, the girl had all the luck in the world on her side. I mean, just the other day she was accidentally delivered Rihanna’s dry cleaning, because of course she lives in the same fucking building as Rihanna, the goddess herself. See, Katara was the type of person with the luck to manage to find an upscale apartment on their shitty salary in the city for nearly half of what Suki and Toph were paying to sleep next to inbred cockroaches. 

  “Bitch, you do not have the range for that.” Toph snatches the dress away before Suki or Katara could make a face and whimper a soft ‘gimmie gimmie’ that surprisingly always worked.  

  “I might not, but at least we could clone Rihanna now.” 

  Toph pauses. “Say what?” 

  “I’m getting the girls and gays that album, no matter what.” 

  Katara went to return the dress after getting in a helicopter with her date of the night, People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, Haru (before the mustache). On top of all that madness, she said Rihanna, in the shimmery, Fenty Beauty Body Lava coated flesh, even complimented her makeup. Suki almost shit herself when Katara was added to the Fenty Savage PR list. 

  Katara would walk outside and the clouds seemed to part as if on her command. She could wear all-white in the city without a bird unloading one on her shoulder, or one of those guys on the street flicking feces in a pudding cup her way. Jammed streets or congested traffic never ceased her from being ten minutes early to every meeting, event, or even accidental movie set she walked on and got cast as an extra instantly. The lead actor, Academy Award winning Bolin, is still sending her detailed DMs about the various ways he would harvest her toenails because it reminded him of her. 

  And you know those Airpods or laptop scams that go around on social media you have to train your grandparents not to click on? Or those princes that email you promising to marry you after you send them your banking information? Guess which bitch manages to actually win over a prince’s heart and his inheritance? 

  Katara had the universe wrapped around her finger, and it didn’t seem to mind bending to her will. 

  Fresh out of college, after much clawing and fighting and miraculously switching coats with an editor at a restaurant, Katara managed to snag a job at Nyla magazine and secured spots for her best friends, too. They’d been reading the entertainment magazine before they could even process solid food. While they were all saddled with a mailroom job, Katara’s quote unquote irresistible charm had landed her as a scribe to record meetings when their original conveniently broke a nail. 

  Of fucking course, the day their entire team is stuck in a broken elevator is the day the CEO of White Lotus Records was coming into the office to discuss Nyla ’s next cover star. 

  Their next big thing, teen singer, Song was still hesitant to work with a magazine aimed at young adults with unhealthy coping mechanisms, compared to the J14s and Tiger Beats with the foldable poster at the back you could steal if you were quick enough at Walgreens. 

  “ Young lady.” Ugh, why do old men always sound so fucking condescending? You know how easy it is to push an old person? “You know how much dough I make so I can regularly spend it on drugs? Every minute of my time is worth $964.” While Piandao gets up for his assistants to put on his fur coat, Katara slams her hand on the table. 

  “I promise you this cover story will be worth every minute of your time. I’ll even pay you $965 at the end of my presentation if you hate it.” 

  And who could say no to that sweet (and scary) face? 

  When editor-in-chief June waddles back, glazed with sweat after someone farted their entire Del Taco Thursday three chicken soft tacos for $2.49 deal in her face , their cover story was booked. The carnival themed, masquerade party to celebrate Song’s new cover was already scheduled in Google Calendar. Soon enough, Katara was handed her own office, Tesla, and platinum corporate card to start planning the entire event. 

  Everything was going fine . There were acrobats doing flying yoga in the sky, a fortune teller she hired at the last minute that everyone loved. Music was playing, people were dancing without a care in the world, and everyone was having a good fucking time. She even snagged her bitchy boss a date with her hot neighbor, and her Painted Lady costume was designed by Vera Wang herself. By the end of the night, her brain was scrambled from the paperwork and yelling and pen marks all on her hand. Yet, with her luck, she still managed to kiss the cute guy who asked her to dance. 

  Well, at least she knew he felt and smelled like a cute guy, considering half his face was covered by a mask. 

  He was a bumbling thing, managing to stomp on her feet a few times even when she reassures him at the end of the day. Despite being all broad shoulders and muscles, he seemed to shrink in on himself at that moment.  “I’m really, really bad at dancing.” She gave him a weird look and Zuko had to remember that he had stolen a backup dancer named Lee’s gig for the night to sneak into the event.  

  Katara rolls her eyes. Dancing, much like nearly everything else, always came easy to her. “So what if you gave a girl a black eye and another guy a concussion?” Her laugh is so pretty and her waist between his warm fingers just felt right. 

  He lets himself laugh, too. Wrapped up in the girl’s spell. Forgetting any thought of trying to win over the White Lotus CEO. 

  She leaned in first, and he was more than happy to reciprocate. Zuko didn’t have time for impulsive decisions, not when the universe was actively always trying to kill him. For some reason, he couldn’t help but be drawn in. Her soft lips against his felt like a plush dream, and all he didn’t want to wake up to reality. Not when in that moment, there were sparks and blood rushing to his head and soft skin peeking out of her expensive dress he wanted to discover more of. 

  One minute, Katara was throwing back a margarita in case she had dumb bitch breath that caused her mystery man ran off. The next, she was choking to death, only spitting out the olive on Suki’s face after Toph delivers a quick punch to her sternum, right between the titties. 

  “Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a stupid whore by her throat!” 

  “Stop choking me, June!”

  “No!” June screeches. How was Katara supposed to know she accidentally set her boss up with the ‘ King Kuei ’? The FBI’s most wanted illegal animal trader by day, male prostitute by night? And who knew that would land her a night in jail? 

  “The universe is a stupid fucking whore!” Katara sniffs, still trying to detangle the chunk of hair embedded deep into Suki’s blow dryer. Katara managed to not only break a mirror with the blow dryer in her mere ten minutes in Suki and Toph’s place, but also rip out a section of her hair after throwing said blow dryer in their bathtub which promptly caught on fire. The icing on the dog shit cake of the day was when she managed to cause the building’s power to short circuit, shutting off everyone’s lights.

  //

  The universe, for the first time in his life, was finally on Zuko’s side. 

  For as long as Zuko could remember, rain clouds suddenly appeared when he walked outside, even despite what Alexa told him earlier that morning. 

  “Alexa, what’s the weather like today?” 

  “Completely sunny with a chance of naive bitch,” the smart speaker might as well have said. 

  Zuko was sure of four things in life. 

  Adderall and 7 up were never a good combination 

Alexa was always watching for an opportunity to strike fear in his heart

He could never catch a fucking break

Having a waterpark poncho always on hand never hurt

  He heard from his Uncle Iroh his family was perpetually cursed. Something about a fame-hungry witch with the last name Kardashian in the past life, and one of his relatives eating said witch’s ass that inflicted the present day curse on his family.

  Everyone he knew was impossibly clumsy. Random flooding accidents, cars always running into you, bugs trying to get their fuck on in your ear. It was like the universe said yeet! On their good fortune.

  What does he wish for every year on his birthday? For it to be easy just to be him . To be easily liked, like Adele, or Dippin Dots. He wished life could be easy enough for him to take a shit without the toilet bowl accidentally caving in, or a lightbulb somehow always falling on his good eye.

  Zuko had always been relatively clumsy, worse than what Iroh’s seen before. After so many years of being shit-out-of-luck, and having literal shit on you at all times, he was used to being alone. 

  It stopped stinging a few years ago. Besides, he had his half-sister Kiyi to keep him company these days. 

  Nobody wanted to be around the guy who constantly smells like dog shit because he always manages to find a shit covered dollar bill flowing down the street. No one wanted to be associated with the guy who, without fail, splits his pants open every time he bends down.  Saddling him with yet another public indecency charge. 

  Like clockwork, at least two times a week, he was getting his face shoved into the concrete and handcuffs slapped on him. He started investing in a mouth guard about five years ago.

  It was like a safety hazard, just being him. There were so many times you could get struck by lightning before you were banned by the nation from buying umbrellas. 

  Predictably, he has been rejected from every job he applied to. His laptop has been hacked by so many Hentai porn bots he doesn’t even bother upgrading his Dell from 2013. He even started a conversation with the guy monitoring his keystrokes. Landlords chucked his application out the window before he could even give them his soul and a deposit, and while the doctors didn’t think he’d do it, he found out that yes you can survive being hit after someone throws a piano out their window while you leave the leasing office. 

  Sure, he came to the city with dreams of making it big, loving music since his mom taught him the difference between a treble and bass clef. But when he’s always accidentally setting his tsungi horn on fire? Breaking his nose open trying to put resin on his violin’s bow? Somehow getting a reed stuck in his throat and his sphincter (on the same day)? No chance in hell was anyone willing to risk their lives to let him play anything on stage. 

  So he stuck to writing and producing, watching YouTube tutorial after tutorial to learn mixing, because he thinks it’s safer for everyone involved. 

  “Zuko, someone tried shoving Nutella up their ass and shat it back over the bathroom.” He looks up from his laptop to see a plunger too close for comfort near his face. 

  “Why?” 

  “Some weird sex thing! I don’t fucking know.” Jet points to the elderly couple nearby. “You ask them why!”

  Zuko takes a deep breath in. “No, I’m asking ‘why?’ because my shift doesn’t start for another two hours.” 

  He was a janitor at the bowling alley across the street (it was the only place that would hire him, but he thinks they felt bad for him after he ugly cried and ate out their supply of shitty, frozen curly fries). 

  “You know I love you, Zuko! But these!” Jet cups Zuko’s chest with two, oddly gentle, hands.  “Make our alley’s world go round.” He even gives them a squeeze for emphasis. 

  “Let go of my man titties,” Zuko glares at Jet. “ Now .” 

  “You’re the breast.” 

  Zuko’s eye twitches. 

  It wasn’t all bad. After all, the alley does let him make music in his free time, and the girl group he was “managing” can perform their sets on Fridays. 

  “We’re firing you!” Mai pokes at his chest and has him readjusting his glasses from the force. 

  It was a Monday and his week was starting off better than most. He was scraping green colored poop from the walls and was already being threatened at 9 a.m. without any weapons in sight. 

  “You don’t pay me!” He points out, which only seems to get everyone in the room angrier. His sister and her friends formed Shooters 4 Rihanna when they were pre-teens. They wanted to be a group trying to make it big in the pop scene, and quickly signed to a record label together. The girls were promised all their years of childhood training would pay off when they would debut as young adults. That was, until their CEO was broadcast on TLC’s My Strange Addiction for his habit of collecting Mark Ruffalo’s nose hairs, and confessed to killing someone for it. 

  Investors weren’t too happy. 

  While all the girls could see was repressed childhood trauma, Zuko saw that and potential star power. 

  Every single member already had years of dancing and singing lessons under their belt. They could play their own instruments, write their own songs, and had the stage presence. A few Twitter DMs later (from his multiple accounts, because they thought his profile picture made him look like a fucking creep and blocked him years ago) they were dumb enough to trust him with their future. He’d been trying to get them signed for months to no avail. Somehow fucking up, or electrocuting himself in the process of showing an executive their new single. 

  “This was a mistake!” Jin shoveled the curly fries in her face. 

  While Yue was always one to stay positive, her sad ‘ I miss pickled fish ,’ had the rest of the girls wanting to leave, too. Going back home, just give up seemed sensible. Why waste your prime years on a pipe dream?   

  He stopped them, plunger in hand. Against all logic, and partially because they could smell the desperation, the girls gave him one week . 

  One masquerade party later, he managed to throw Piandao out of harm’s way, taking the brunt of the taxi running into him. 

  “ Are you fucking stupid !” The CEO screams. The boy had blood flowing from his scalp, but looked as alive as ever handing over Shooters 4 Rihanna’s demo CD. 

  “A little.” Zuko admits. He could feel his bones still intact, and judging by the blood it wasn’t anything serious. Piandao gives him a call the next day after listening to the tape. 

  By some miracle, or Kardashian curse lifting, the girl group and him were shuffled into the city’s upscale penthouses, and their debut single was slated to be released on the radio the next day.

  While he headed for lunch at a nearby cafe (one he couldn’t afford to eat at just last week) he can’t help but notice her . 

  //

  “Ma’am, I have already told you our restaurant’s motto! No eat, no shit!” The waiter glares down at her. “Either pay up or get out, broke bitch.” 

  Katara was caked head to toe in mud, tissues shoved yet again up her nose. Haru had invited her out to his dad’s art show the night before. After insulting the literal piece of shit art, she tripped over the clump of clay on display and landed face-first in his million dollar creation. 

  Of course, it would land her in prison, and of course Ty Lee would be there, too. “Move bitch, I’m gay! ” When Katara was too exhausted to budge, the girl, yet again, socked the shit out of her. 

  Katara just wanted a plate of steaming breakfast foods, but of course all her cards declined. And of course, she has a meltdown because she was fucking tired, hungry, and was about to throw hands.

  She grabbed the salt shaker. “Look, I’m just going to try one thing before I go!” 

  “It’s the bath salts,” she hears one woman whisper. “Those fashion bitches are always on bath salts.” 

  “Just smile politely. We’re witnessing mental illness.” 

  She didn’t expect that throwing salt over her shoulder would land in the waiter’s eye, or cause him to collapse on the table of Mormons nearby. Or something to catch on fire, or someone to get stabbed with a fork with a pancake on it. 

  She certainly didn’t expect a (cute) stranger to be so gentle with her, helping her escape the madness and handing over his turkey on rye. Or him following her as she tried to save face and sit on a random bench away from any nearby birds’ tiny assholes. 

  “You look sad.” He’s not mocking in the slightest.

  “What does that even mean?” She went from sad to affronted in just a second. 

  “What’s wrong?” Fuck this guy and those eyes that were so damn enchanting . 

  “I don’t look sad.” She says with the roll of her eyes. “I am fucking sad.” She was blackballed from every newspaper in the Four Nations, the prince she was talking to did indeed end up stealing her savings, and on top of all of that, her undereye concealer was creasing. 

  “You!” Katara points her finger in the fortuneteller’s face. 

  “Me?” Aunt Wu looks beyond irritated. “Look, I can’t predict when you’ll get a fat ass, just buy a resistance band and leave me—”

  “You’re the one who told me whatever Wheel of Fortune would spin back on me! And Alex Tribek would take away my good luck or something!” Katara was crazed and running on two hours of sleep, but she had a bone to pick. “My perfect life is gone.” 

  “Wow, that was a lot to unpack.” Aunt Wu locks her shop’s door. “Look, can you think of anything strange that happened that night?” 

  “Besides someone telling me to make them toilet wine in prison, no I don’t think so!” Katara grunts out petulantly. 

  Aunt Wu smacks her with a stack of tarot cards. “No! Jesus! What else happened?” 

  “Can’t you just tell me? Childhood trauma has really fucked with my memory.” 

  “You kissed someone, didn’t you?” The fortuneteller scurries to her Kia Soul before Katara could retaliate. “Maybe he needed that luck more than you do!” 

  She tried kissing every single dancer that was working that stupid party, and came up with nothing but mono and the feeling of defeat.

  “Did you know, I even fucking sharted myself today!” She smacks her forehead repeatedly. “At twenty-fucking-three! How fucking embarrassing . All I could do is run to the H&M with my cheeks out to buy a pair of sweatpants.” 

  “I know a job looking for someone,” he says and even when he’s staring at her with nothing but understanding, she’s still apprehensive.  

  “Don’t care, didn’t ask, plus you’re a colonizer.” If she had any energy she would’ve put more force into the shove. “Why are you even helping me?” 

  She looked like shit on a dick and he was just smiling at her. “Let’s say, I just know what it’s like to be SOL.” 

  “What’s the catch?” She stares at him down and pouts. He’s wearing an Armani shirt with an Off-White belt, which was already offending her senses, but on top of that he dared pair the atrocity with a pair of knock-off Converse. He couldn’t have sprung for a real pair, he just had  to get the off-brand from Costco that made everyone’s ankles look like cankles. 

  New money . “I am not letting anyone suck my toes for money, again. Try a different girl.” 

  Zuko grows positively red, but at least it brings the ghost of a smile to her face. “No toe sucking. Only on Wednesdays.” 

  She delivers a well-aimed kick to his crotch. While she’d expect him heaving and puffing, he’s unphased. He’d put on his MMA fighter grade, groin protector out of habit, even though he’s getting kicked a lot less in the ball bags lately. 

  “So, you’re trying to convert me to Scientology?” Katara scoffs. “I’ll pass, Asian Tom Cruise.”

  “Not that either.” He sees the defeated look in her eyes, the same one he’s seen in himself. There’s a spark there, though. A willingness to just keep going. Something he lost years ago. “Trust me.” 

  “No.” 

  “All good.” He shrugs. “Can I at least help you up?” Before she could bite back, she turned to the spot on the bench where he was pointing.

  Wet paint. 

  He’s taking her mustard covered hands (the sandwich exploded in the foil) in his soft ones without question, and peeling her off the bench. 

  “Of fucking course,” she huffs. 

  //

  She thinks he knows. He knows the fact that she wants him sticking around. Even with her adamant protests against it, he’s persistent. 

  Stopping by after long days at the studio to her shit job, handful of first aid supplies at the ready.  

  He’s just always there . 

  He’s there when she’s scraping gum from under the alley’s tables and almost swallows one that had “Live, Laugh, Love” carved into it. He quickly stops her from choking, practically an expert at the heimlich with how many times he’s almost died from drinking boba. 

  There when she electrocutes herself changing the alley’s light bulbs to catch her as she falls straight off the ladder. He’s not even phased, pushing a fried piece of hair sticking up the heavens and staring at her as though she squirted cupcake frosting from her nipples. 

  He’s there with his first-aid messenger bag, all duct taped and falling apart and it makes her want to say sorry to Alexander Wang for daring to wear it with his Spring 2019 boots after Zuko forces her to carry it around. But then he’s pulling out a tube of toothpaste from the bag while she’s cooling her burnt fingertips on a 10 year old Yerba Mate can, and she’s reminded why he’s so firm about it. 

  “Earth Nation trick to heal burnt skin.” He’s too concentrated on rubbing the paste into her flaming skin to notice her staring. She remembers that he included her favorite Fenty gloss in the bag after handing it off to her, and blushes. 

  “I don’t need your help, you know.”  Katara was always the one fighting for her own dreams. She didn’t want to stick back living the life other people imagined for her. Even all the luck in the world couldn’t help her escape a sleepy town or an unsupportive family. 

  When they came to the city, she knew her friends let her take care of them on purpose. It was second nature, what she grew up on. She’d always been the one looking out for everyone, even if they didn’t ask, and they let her do it because they all needed a coping mechanism. Toph’s is cake cutting videos, Suki’s is practicing her crying face because she always wanted to be a pretty crier, and Katara’s is being overbearing. 

  She was confused. As many times as she tried drilling through his thick head that her grandma was a nurse, that she could easily wrap up every cut, bruise, and swollen toe, he never budged. For the first time in a while, someone was there, stubbornly making sure she was okay. 

  “I know?” He says it as though it was obvious. “I’ll make you a deal, though. Just let me help you out, just this one time?” He gently taps her fingers wrapped in Minion bandaids he got her just because he knew she hated them in public, loved them in private. “I won’t do it again.” 

  He’s teasing and it’s obvious he knows she’s putty in his hands. Though, his newfound look (she helped with) balancing boy-next-door with heartthrob is not working on her heart. Her pussy, sure. Not her heart, though. She swears. 

  “That’s what you said last time,” Katara protests, without any energy behind it. 

  He sends her a lopsided smile. “I know.” 

  Zuko wasn’t about to let any hair on her pretty head get hurt. 

  While Kiyi already had enough of a bad case of bad luck, considering all the Power Ranger figurines she had super glued to her face by fourth grade boys, Katara’s was just something else. 

  It reminded him of him . Whatever stroke of good luck he had, he knew the universe takes in ten-fold what it might give. So he’s taking advantage of every bit of luck he has for a girl without any. 

  While he’s been stabbed many a time walking back home at night, somehow he’s in the clear when he escorts Katara back to her apartment. Or the times he buys her Water Tribe take out because she’s still figuring out how that prince managed to spend $10,000 on Swampbender diet pills. Or when he sneaks in before her shift to do some of her tasks for the day (he still has the keys), so he doesn’t have to worry about her bruising her pubic bone with the vacuum, or breaking the ceiling with a slippery bowling ball. 

  He wasn’t all used to his new life. The designer shoes, the fancy parties, the attention . Girls in the past would look at him as though he wasn’t more than shit at the bottom of their Jimmy Choo, but his good luck brought this newfound female attention that was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. Especially when, all he wanted was to catch her eye. 

  She was his good luck charm and didn’t even know it. 

  Since he’s met her, everything just was going right . She brought Toph over with her guitar to string together a few verses the day they were in desperate need of new lyrics to go with the beat he’s spent the last few nights cranking out. The day after they released it on Apple Music, the song went #1 on Billboard. Piandao had even booked them to play the Hard Boulder Cafe for their first performance, and tickets were sold out. 

  Even when things just seemed to get better and better for him, the universe doubled down in its punishment for her. 

  He’s there when she’s walking back from work, drenched to the bone because she missed all trains for the day, a taxi said her face looked stupid, and she was just tired of it all and wanted to go home and eat processed frozen food and die. 

  Zuko’s there, though. Without fail.

  He’s there with his fucking Tesla and personal driver and Chanel top and she couldn’t be any more embarassed. 

  “Get in!” He hesitates before approaching. “Also, maybe let’s put down the umbrella?” It was inverted anyways, and looked three seconds from whisking her away into the storm. 

  “No, I’m good!” Katara insists. She was afraid that falling for Zuko, going to bed and waking up thinking of him was messing with her brain and she didn’t know if she wanted it to stop. 

  “You could get hit by lightning.” 

  “That can’t—” She ponders it for a second. “You know what, fuck you.” 

  He throws his expensive jacket over her to quell the shivers, and when she protests, seeing as it was a Valentino Lacquered Nylon Jacket, he bundles her even deeper in the thing, buttoning it up until she’s complaining from the warmth.  

  “You’re laughing at me.” She pouts.

  He’s covered completely in bubbles. Not her fault he decided to strip off his shirt to throw in the cycle with her wet clothes, and she got distracted by the abs and dumped the whole bottle of laundry detergent in the washing machine. 

  Zuko shoves her face into a pile of the suds. “I am, yeah.” She looks upset and he stops the mirth growing on his face. Reaching out to her, instead. “Katara, I’m sorry did I—” 

  She might’ve leaned out to accept his embrace, but then she’s flipping them over, pinning him down to the floor. Her warm, still soaking wet body, pressed against him and her arms coming out to pin his hands to the ground. 

  He gulps. 

  “This would be more fun if you let me peg you afterwards.” 

  Her laugh vibrates her whole body and he couldn’t help joining in, too. 

  He let her have her pick of his dress shirts, and she looked so much at home. Little strands of her bangs framing her face and growing curly with the addition of water. Her brow furrows when she mentions her leave-in conditioner washing away with the suds, and he takes advantage of the momentary distraction. Flipping her and placing two hands at the sides of her head. 

  She knows he’s covered in the bubbles, just so she wouldn’t feel anymore of a stupid bitch than she already does. He never seems to mind it, even when Katara was frustrated and just couldn’t figure out why all this was happening to her and dragging him into every single accident. 

  “What would you say to the universe, right now?” She’s curled up on his couch and he’s massaging the balls of her feet she presses in his lap. 

  “Welcome to your tape.” 

  “Katara, no.” 

  “That bridge off of Fourth Street? Looking really easy to jump off of right about now, universe.” 

  He lets her take his bed that night after he cooked up his famous komodo chicken and both Kiyi and her complain about having a food-baby.

  “Hey, Katara.” He whispers while her eyes could barely open. He tucked her in those blankets all ethnic people have, the super fluffy ones with a tiger on them that are always wrapped in a plastic bag.  “You’re cute.” 

  “Yeah?” She breathes out, crinkling her nose and blinking those long lashes and making his heart skip beats. “Hey, Zuko.” 

  “Yeah?” 

  “I think I like you.” 

  He pinches her cheek. “I think I like you, too.” 

  //

  He was right. As soon as life blessed him with everything he’s wanted and more, it whisked it away just as fast. 

  He’d mustered up the courage to invite her to a studio session after everyone in Shooters 4 Rihanna insisted on meeting her. Their songs were getting a little too emotional and they wanted to meet his muse. It was going well, too well. He even catches all the lamps she knocks down. When she rights herself, she manages to knock down the table with their food. Double bagging existed for a reason, just like he warned her! But, of course, the bags holding the takeout she was supposed to surprise him with broke from the bottom. He’d go hungry, that day. But, anything for her, though. 

  She looked so into the session, asking him if she could play with the buttons, leaning into his chest when he hesitantly surrounds her space. His two lean arms coming out to steady her waist when she trips on herself and sends him a sheepish smile that has him hypnotized. 

  Katara normally felt lightheaded around him, but she felt absolutely faint as soon as Piandao walked in to finalize the details of the performance, and Zuko started talking about some lucky masquerade ball. 

  She couldn’t hear much else, body getting up before she even registered it. 

  Before he could fully get into his chair at the mixing console because just one little note in their new song “Rihanna Impregnate Me” just sounded off, she’s tugging him up. 

  “Can I kiss you?” 

  “W—what?” She’s holding him up by the collar of his shirt. 

  Katara smirks. “I really want to kiss you.” 

  “I mean, uh, yes! Definitely a ye—”

  It’s everything he’s imagined, hoped, prayed for the last few months and more. She’s sweet and soft and tasted like lip gloss and the toothpaste he had stowed away in her bag. When he’s leaning in for more, ready to do things like give her his heart or do her taxes for her because he couldn’t think straight and his heart was guiding him through the motions, she’s gone. 

  //

  Katara’s gone when Ty Lee somehow gets into, yet another, tax fraud case and can’t make their performance. 

  She’s gone when he needs her by his side because even though he’s not performing he still manages to feel fucking sick. He wants her holding his unnaturally sweaty palms and telling him it’s going to be okay, just like what she does during his late night writing sessions where she stays up and refuses to sleep until he does. 

  She’s gone when the band has to answer to an angry crowd, an angry CEO who already sees the articles lambasting the girl group’s unprofessionalism and was ten seconds away from pulling the plug on his dreams. 

  “Zuko!” 

  He hates his heart rushes, even when it was about to break because of her, too. 

  She's gotten her perfect life. She’d gotten the job back, her apartment back, Rihanna even sent her a secret song for fuck’s sake. 

  She must really love this fucker, because she was giving up a chance to stalk Rihanna so he could be happy. 

  “Maybe he needed that luck more than you do!” Was running through her head the entire week she avoided him.

  “I don’t know what to do, Suki!” 

  “Why don’t you both fuck leprechauns?” She says between bites of string cheese. 

  Katara sighs. “Why are yours and Toph’s minds built like that?” 

  “I heard my mom tried punching her stomach every day, hoping that I wasn’t going to be a result of St. Patrick’s Day sex. That’s why my head’s lopsided.” 

  He felt nauseous. Not only did 3 of the girls just spew their lunch into whatever container they could get their hands on, of course Azula has gone missing. “Katara not now I—” 

  She comes to him flushed, extensions stuck to her hand after running too fast and accidentally grabbing someone’s hair. Her feet hurt, her heart hurt, but in this moment she knew. She knew he needed this more than her. He was soft and kind and took people in and cherished the moments with his half-sister because he missed all the ones with Azula. He worked so hard now because he was afraid she hated him, and even when he was on the verge of giving up, he still pushed through. He gave people chances, even when the universe was never as kind to him. 

  After she presses her lips to his, suddenly Azula presses a button from the underground room she was trapped in, appearing on stage in front of their very eyes. They have the best show the Hard Boulder Cafe’s seen in decades . Their contract is extended, and he opens a bottle of champagne to celebrate without taking his eye out. 

  He was the luckiest man in the world. 

  Though, when he turns, he realizes. 

  His girl’s missing. 

  //

  “Katara!” She tried shuffling away, but accidentally slips on a few drug needles someone threw carelessly on the ground. 

  She’s still nursing the sore spot on her forehead, where the champagne cork hit. “Zuko, please just...go.” She waves him off with a bandaged hand. 

  “I know you’re going to be stuck here for the next three hours. Because trains never come on time for you no matter what.” 

  Even in the middle of the nearly dead station, he was right. Every stop flashed to delayed .  

  “Then you’ll be robbed by someone on the train, and then you might even get spit on by the guy with the imaginary dog who’s afraid of whoever gets too close to it, and then you’ll get an eye infection.” 

  Katara wipes the snot at her nose. “So?” 

  “So?” He laughs, tucking his hands in his pockets. “I’ve lived a whole lifetime of bad luck, and I can’t let you do that for me.” 

  She lets him turn her to face him, lets him gather her up in his arms and hold her like she’s delicate and irreplaceable, and not just a girl with mascara running down her face and her heart stolen by someone she couldn’t love. 

  “Even in a lifetime of being shit out of luck, I still got the chance to meet you.” 

  “Zuko, stop.” Katara wipes at her tears. “Our luck will just get switched, and I always figure things out, I always do. But, I just want you to keep this. You put it to better use than I would’ve.”

  Zuko shakes his head. “I don’t want it anymore.” 

  “I said that to my bladder infection, and that didn’t work. What makes you think that will work now?” 

  “I can live without it.” He smiles. “A few bumps and bruises are the price I’m willing to pay for you in my life.” 

  She’s blushing, hands coming up to bring his head closer to hers, to see every little detail of him.  

  “You’re so fucking stupid.” She whispers, millimeters away from his lips. 

  The grin splits on his face without his permission. “I am, yeah.” 

#Zutara #Zuko #Katara #Zutara Week 2020 #Celestial #Day 4 #atla #avatar the last airbender #Zutara Week #Zutara fanfiction

[thewellzine]

Some books I’ve acquired or read (or both) during quarantine.

By William Page 

Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith

I recently added a bunch of middle grade speculative fiction by Black authors to my list because 1. I’ll never outgrow good middle grade fiction and 2. I want to be able to give better recs to young Black readers. The blurb told me that the main character’s name is actually Hoodoo (Hatcher). Wasn’t expecting that. It also alludes to a central conflict between Hoodoo and a sinister stranger with “black magic,” a characterization that Courtney Reid-Eaton long ago brought to my attention as problematic (equating blackness or darkness with evil). Still, I haven’t come across many middle grade books dealing with Black folk magic, and I’m interested in seeing what the author does with it.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Has been on my radar for a while. I’ve heard it described as a collection of feminist retellings of “traditional” fairytales and myths, which I can definitely get down with. It does make me think about conversations we’ve had during the course of the DDP re: subverting the “canon” vs. forgetting it/making a new one.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

I can’t overstate my love for this person. The Underground Railroad blew my mind. The Nickel Boys was great in a completely different, often more subtle way. His oeuvre makes a case for him as the most versatile writer writing. I also had a chance to hear him give a talk once, and can personally attest to his wit and humor. I’d never read this one, and reached for it as a relevant quarantine/pandemic read (i.e. it takes place in the aftermath of a pandemic that has turned most people into zombies). Unfortunately, though, the beginning didn’t grab me, and I eventually put it down. This has happened with books that I’ve later come back to and loved (most notably One Hundred Years of Solitude), so I’m hopeful that this just wasn’t the right time.

Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter’s Saga by D. O. Fagunwa

Marlon James put me on during an episode of his podcast with his editor, Jake Morrissey (“Marlon and Jake Read Dead People”). He sighted it as one of the works that influenced his Black, queer, epic, epic, epic fantasy masterpiece, Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Fagunwa’s novel is considered the first ever written in Yoruba, and it predated fantasy “classics” like Lord of the Rings. It’s strictly episodic in form, and I most enjoyed the rich depictions of the mythological beings inhabiting the forest.

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Same as with Hoodoo, I want to read this partially because I want to be able to recommend more Black, speculative works to young Black readers! The blurb told me that it’s a retelling of a classic Haitian folktale, “The Magic Orange Tree,” which I’m not familiar with. Rather, I was drawn by the title, which reminded me of the mako jumbie that makes a brief but memorable appearance in Nalo Hopkinson’s Midnight Robber. Haillee Mason also recently introduced me to moko jumbies. So, I guess I’ve been thinking a fair amount about jumbies.

Meji: Book One by Milon Davis

Milton Davis writes what Charles Saunders coined “sword-and-soul,” or sword-and-sorcery (a fantasy subgenre) centering African histories, cultures, traditions, mythologies, etc. (Davis wrote a short sword-and-soul primer that can be found at https://www.miltonjdavis.com/post/a-sword-and-soul-primer.) Sword-and-sorcery/soul isn’t typically my go-to speculative subgenre, but I’m excited to give it a try.

Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke

I just started reading this collection of stories. The first, “Walter and the Three-Legged King” (which surprised me with the collection’s titular phrase[?]), was just okay to me. The second, “Purse,” was really short and disturbing (not a bad thing). The third, “I Make People Do Bad Things,” was a well-rendered, somewhat morbid period piece (definitely Harlem, seemingly sometime in the early part of the 20th century, though I don’t think it’s stated explicitly) with several big characters. The fourth, “The Unremembered,” was very tender and fed my interest in explorations of legacy and inheritance. All were undoubtedly unique in concept. I’m looking forward to the rest.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

I don’t read a ton of brand-new releases by author’s I’m not already somewhat familiar with, but this one drew me for whatever reason. I saw it described as a story about a group of travelling, queer librarians in an unambiguously fascist, dystopian, near-future American West. The story moves pretty quickly (with lots of action), and I found myself wishing it was longer. Still, the author develops the two main characters well and I was at times audibly rooting for them. The depiction of the various forms that resistance can take and the ways in which community underpins it all felt very relevant.

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

Land, who owns the bookshop where I work, brought me this advance copy from the American Booksellers Association’s 2020 Winter Institute. I didn’t get around to it for a few months, and therefore didn’t realize that he got her to sign it to me :) It (the book) was chilling primarily because of how plausible it felt thanks to our country’s long history of race-based medical experimentation and violence.

The New Moon’s Arms by Nalo Hopkinson

Nalo Hopkinson is one of the O.G.s of Black Caribbean speculative fiction. I have a bunch of her novels (including the aforementioned Midnight Robber), but had never heard of this. The blurb doesn’t give much away regarding the mechanism of the main character’s power, and that makes me really curious about it. The power to find lost things sounds ideal, but it’ll clearly be much more complicated than that.

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

I don’t post much on IG, but The City We Became brought me out of the woodwork. Since I already wrote that, I’ve copied it below.

It's like she wrote a love letter to NYC and let us read it. And by "love letter," I don't mean trite, or even always that warm, or rooted in romanticization. The city I met as a reader felt genuine, with a definite edge. Also taut, maybe? Somehow still very tender. Gritty (this one might be trite, but, if so, charge it to me, not her). Frustrating in ways that rang true and which were often tooooooo familiar. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that soul-sucking gentrification, general anti-Blackness, the ways that capital and power operate in art spaces, and a host of other ills not unique to any one place figure prominently in the story. And in this case, they become magnified in an interdimensional way, become harbingers and footholds for something incomprehensible and deeply unsettling (her imagery for this element, in particular, is striking). The story was also, at times, kind of hilarious. And thrilling. And everything but simple or straightforward, which makes sense given that it's a meditation on cities (which are neither of those things). What are they, then, really? What gives them their soul? In what ways are they strong, and from where does this strength flow? And what might one do or sacrifice for their own? It's not difficult to get some sense of how she feels about hers (in her acknowledgements she says she's both hated and loved the city, and I immediately thought about Jimmie Fails iconic quote from The Last Black Man in San Francisco: "you don't get to hate it unless you love it.") It definitely caused me to reflect more on mine. At this point, I have her to thank for way more than a few trippy and magnificent reading experiences. How lucky I feel to be living in the time of N.K. Jemisin.

#quarantine #books #reading #black speculative fiction #william page

[skippyv20]

Lion king premiere my thoughts.

First question Same week IT looks skinny with a just a little weight

The rest please read carefully took a while to get all my thought together for this one ☝🏻

Look at lion king yellow carepet pictures look at her chest and rest of her body and face thoughts what happened. Because just a few days before at Wimbledon alone Meghan looks skinny but with just a little bit of natural weight put on .

Her back and arms and face you see some weight

Question about the back possibility of backside padding Meghan used to gaslight everyone into thinking she was really pregnant with Archie that there was no surrogate?

Now my thoughts on Wimbledon Meghan showing up Un invited and then last min guest at lion king premiere when Prince Harry was surposed to be alone .

Ok lion king yellow carpet event Harry was playing a good actor as the in love husband ordered to by LG for the suargers fans of MM because things are getting nasty with them .

Meghan excited about Beyoncé dream come true so she plays the look have not lost my baby weight card . Beyoncé and J Z dream died for them because they thought Meghan would be the sweet polite duchess from the USA that her sugars made her out to be . Beyoncé and J Z notice that Prince Harry is in deep conversation with the president of the Walt Disney company. The president of the Walt Disney Compampy was in line first to talk Prince Harry and Meghan before they reach Beyoncé together BUT Meghan Ignores the president of the Walt Disney company let’s Harry talk alone with him because Meghan wants Beyoncé and J Z alone . They see her lack of matters and no royal prodical or really matters period.

Then Beyoncé and J Z greet Prince Harry with happiness because they where expecting him alone in the first place and most likely heard all of the conversation that Prince Harry was having with President of the Walt Disney company. I say all that to say this the rest of the night the hand holding and body language showed true nature of there relationship the Megan claw arm swinging , for Meghan to make sure that Harry did not leave her side .

Then the worst thing that could happen the talk with Parnell ok his question was fine , Meghan IT’s answer to the questions he asked and Meghan said oh “THEY “ make it so hard . The saugers take as the media one media outlet said . The statement confirmed she lied says oh Meghan reads all the social media comments and tabloids . Harry kelp his cool but there was nothing he could do while Meghan played victim card .

I stick by what my heart and soul said from the beginning my best friend thinks the same so does my gradmother . My heart and soul says this Prince Harry was cornered blackmailed And the situation has to play out . I saw from day 1 . Prince Harry is miserable it’s in his body language and eyes. Meghan thought she was going to big red carpet event she was pissed at Harry so she ditched the president of Walt Disney company just to embarrass him , then come the answers to Mr Parnells question another victim card and revenge tactic . Meghan might also see walls closing in on her expecally after the polo match.

Several days after the lion king gaslight again for her saugers . Headlines of possible adoption (thank you God for radar online for taking that down ) BUT we have another gaslighting headline that keeps popping up other baby next year Megan and Harry want to get pregnant again ( yikes Meghan’s PR team aka backers she has left working overtime. Not only do I believe with my entire heart that this about a bribe but SOMETHING MUCH DEEPER, Marcus Anderson and her backers wanted more so did Meghan. Once this out Meghan will show ties to many things SHE WAS ALREADY INVOLVED IN NO SHAME FOR HER. One thing I know she thought she would tople Catherine and William and be queen & she thought she had Prince Harry in her corner Meghan thought she would change the BRF , MEGHAN HAS NO SHAME ABOUT HER BACKERS OR WGAT SHE THOUGHT THE MONARCHY WOULD NOT CARE ABOUT.

I will be so glad when Meghan faces justice and justice just slaps her and her evil mind and her backers justice is coming for Prince for those that think that Prince Harry Is an addtic or wanted a mommy figure For a wife nope not true Prince Harry has not been happy since 2016 . What ever you see if you think at times that Prince Harry is high on some occasions no he is not on cocaine or smoking joints If you see dilated puples at times on Prince Harry that comes from prescription ANI ANXIETY MEDICINE. Prince Harry has admitted to taking ani anxiety meds in the past along with therapy and has admitted during a heads together campaign to having high anxiety problems. Everyone high anxiety problems are no joke and I have had personal experience with friends who have anxiety problems and take prescription ani anxiety medicine and I see what it does to there puples in there eyes.

Justice is coming for Prince Harry he will learn from this , his family is beside him and so is God . If anyone wants to Bash Prince Harry for past mistakes in public believe me Prince Harry is Paying the price now . He is human just like the rest of us . DEEP DOWN PRINCE HARRY HAS A GOOD HEART AND WANTS TRUE LOVE AND SOME ONE TO LOVE HIM FOR HIMSELF AND THE MONARCHY that woman is out there and God is paving the way for her .

Give Prince Harry and Prince William and Catherine and all the BRF all your good wishes and prayers I know I am praying every day for Prince Harry To be happy again and see justice and Prince Harry to have true love . The BRF needs justice they where attacked also having to all deal with evil Meghan.

Yes...pretty well what we say here....great job....thank you😁❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#Ask Skippy #submission

[fysebastianstan]

"At some point, I've got to ask you about some of your guilty pleasures out there," Sebastian Stan says off-hand to his Destroyer director, Karyn Kusama. "Because in my head, I feel like you're watching, like, super f--king amazing horror projects..." Though Kusama may be best known for her own horror films, including the "really disturbing in a great way" (as Stan put it) The Invitation and the campy Megan Fox cult classic Jennifer's Body, her tastes are hardly confined to the genre; one of her early films was the Charlize Theron sci-fi spy action flick Æon Flux. "I don't have guilty pleasures," she shrugs. "I think Point Breakis a masterpiece. I legitimately think it's a masterpiece." In fact, her latest film is most like the latter, a pulpy detective drama about LAPD officer Erin Bell (a bewigged Nicole Kidman), who goes undercover to investigate a gang of bank robbers with her partner, Chris (Stan).

(For his part, on the topic of guilty pleasures, Stan shared, "I was working out today and because of this thing with a Boston accent that I've been looking up, I ended up watching the Housewives of Boston and I was like, Oh, my God, this is so insane!") (I pointed out there is no Real Housewives of Boston.)

With Destroyer opening in select theaters on Christmas Day, Kusama and Stan sat down with ET to discuss leaving their comfort zones, what it took to make Kidman look like a meth addict and how hot Stan looks covered in tattoos.

What put this guy [Stan] on your radar?

Sebastian Stan: Our agents.

KK: Our agents, but also, you have a lot of nice friends.

SS: Oh, good!

KK: No, but you do. You have a lot of nice friends that I think are nice people and good actors, so when your name came up, I'd be like, "Oh, that's cool." And then I watched I, Tonya, and I felt like, that's so interesting to see a guy who in real life, frankly, has a leading man vibe and leading man looks -- in a great way, not holding it against you. You're a very handsome dude -- but to see you play a character who was capable of so much smallness and shame and ugliness, I just thought, "My God, that takes bravery." After our first Skype session, I was like, let's just figure out how we're going to work together.

Had you read the script by then?

SS: I had read the script and then we had a Skype session about it. I just love that it felt like you were never really figuring out entirely what was happening or who these people were. It didn't explain anything, it just kind of--

KK: Put you in their lives.

SS: Yeah, and you're there as a witness and it's as if you're walking by and you're turning and you're seeing that scene happen. That felt very real to me. I always feel like, as an actor, you're always looking in the writing for rhythms, and those scenes were written a certain way. It's a very direct, frank nature that they have with each other, at least in the scenes that I was involved with Nicole. And I was like, here's an opportunity to play a completely different character by not doing anything. By almost just letting--

KK: By not indicating anything about the character. By just being, they told so much story.

SS: Exactly. And I just knew it was going to be a very special movie. The idea of protagonist and antagonist was always flipped around here, and I think that in life, good people do bad things and bad people sometimes end up doing a good thing for that moment, or whatever. This movie was so straightforward about that. And to have a female character that had no excuse for anything in a way that didn't apologize but also, you understood where she was coming from, because all the flaws were so... Nobody shied away from any of that. And then you get Nicole to do it and then you're like, "All right, well, now it's going to be a whole other thing!" [Laughs.]

I do love that you took the guy you said has such a leading man look and shaved off half of his hair and threw him in a denim vest.

SS: But that was a blessing! It was a blessing!

KK: You looked so hot. I truly mean it. But literally, my whole editing crew would just be like, "Oh, my God, this scene again? Bring it on!"

SS: I continued to shave my head for a good six months after that. But it was one of those things where it takes you out of your comfort zone, from what you're used to seeing yourself do. I don't know how it is with directing, but with actors, I honestly feel like you have, like, a program that's always trying to go back the way that it's always been and you're always having to turn a sharp left and keep making those lefts away from the road that you're always going down.

KK: I think [that's true] for directors too, though. I personally like the idea of doing things or going into territory that's a little bit frightening or unfamiliar. It's exciting.

There are those memes that say, "You have the same amount of hours in the day as Beyoncé," but I think it needs to be switched to Nicole Kidman, because the number of projects she fronts is incredible. What were those early conversations you had with her about this?

KK: It was May of last year, because it was Memorial Day weekend, that I had heard that she wanted to talk to me about it. She was in Cannes and had four things in Cannes and still managed to have time to read this script and get in touch with me and say, "Can we talk about this?" Because, to be honest, her name had not come up yet. So, we talked on the phone the first time and one of the first things she had talked about as a driving force for the character in her mind was shame and what does shame do to your mind and body and how does that affect your entire countenance?

I appreciated that so much, because to me, shame is not a judgmental quality. She wasn't talking about being an antiheroine or being a character that is typically male. She wasn't really applying any of those assumptions to the role, she was just seeing this person as a person and she said, you know, "When you live your life in shame the way Erin Bell has, it starts to destroy you." And I just thought, God, that's so interesting. You're looking at it with this total compassion. I know that's how actors -- the great ones -- always look at their characters, but there was just no hint of judgment.

SS: Because shame is different from guilt, right? Because guilt is "I've done something wrong." Shame is "I am wrong." Like, "Something is really bad with me."

KK: Exactly! So, even the past [Erin] couldn't control made her feel she was wrong, and then the past she could control, she was like, "I am wrong." You're so right.

Did it all come together fairly quickly? Or did you go through different options before you decided this is Erin Bell?

KK: One of the things both Bill and I had talked about -- and I actually had this same process on Jennifer's Body, funnily enough -- where there was just a database of what happens with particularly meth addiction and how quickly the physical deterioration shows up. In some cases, it can be, like, six months and you see a person going from looking pretty together to looking like a ghost. So, we thought, let's scale that back and think about what time and the sun and alcoholism and stress and lack of sleep and not eating well, what does that do over almost 20 years? And it's not pretty.

SS: My God...

KK: It's really not pretty, if you think about it. Because we were using as our baseline: Here is what meth addiction can do to you in a year. What does 17 or 18 years look like of more benign but long-term habits that can wreck you?

Karyn, was there a moment from filming with Nicole, or Nicole and Sebastian, that really surprised you? And Sebastian, was there a moment filming with Nicole when she surprised you?

KK: Something happened between the two of you in a scene that is the emotional crux of the movie, where we see the genesis of her explanation for this plan. We get some emotional access into why she needs to convince Chris to go through with it with her. There is a moment that I always just understood to be true, but what Sebastian did, he said, "Do you love me?" And you realize he doesn't know the answer. Like, I just assumed, Oh, they're crazy in love and everybody knows it, including each other in the scene.

But then I saw, this was the first time you asked it and needed to hear the truth of it. Even in screening it, friends and family screenings and the moments where we shared it with a wider audience, that moment is the moment where they're just like, "Oh, my God, she does love him! Why are they doing this?" And it's precisely because they're in this crazy, crazy love affair. That was really interesting to me while we were shooting to realize, Oh, I don't know the answer.

SS: It makes it all the more confusing and crazy, because then it's like we're [undercover] and you're going, like, "Are you asking me? Or are we pretending?" Because you just get glimpses of it here and there, in a way it made every one of those scenes all the more intense to experience.

KK: More potent.

SS: But the surprising thing was probably day one, for me, when we shot this first scene [where] we meet and sort of suss each other out. My first day was that, and it was the first time I'd ever met Nicole. You just never know what to expect, especially when it's somebody of that caliber. You have no idea whether you should back away, engage, what's the deal. And she was so generous [in] whatever was happening in the scene and also, like, in life, in the sense of us getting to know each other. That's when I was like, "Wow. This is going to be very easy for me." [Laughs.]

KK: Because also she had to kiss you in that scene! And you were just like, "Hello. Nice to meet you. Let's kiss!" But that was what the scene was, too, so it kind of created this frisson of, like, what's going to happen?

SS: You wait to get to set and you're like, "Well, I know that they have to have this thing and how are we going to find it?" And when it happened, I was like, "Oh, OK. It's going be very easy."

One of my favorite things about the film is that Nicole's final line of the movie is telling you that you have a nice butt.

SS: Oh, yeah! But that was a great thing, also. We had a little improv here and there, but that was in the script. All these little moments were always there on paper.

KK: Yeah, even meant to be thrown away, pretty much every single one of them are on the page.

SS: And they all made it, so it's great. You don't always get that.

KK: No, I know. Some of the other characters in the movie don't always get [that]. We were like, "How are we gonna get more Chris?"

Sebastian, we talked about how much Nicole does, but especially considering how many Marvel movies you've been in the past few years, you've done your fair share of other projects, too.

SS: I've been trying! I've been very lucky the last couple years, especially. Like, before 2015, I'm hesitant to look back at what was happening. [Laughs.] But I was very lucky. In the last couple years, I feel like I've really gotten much more clear about what makes me operate at my best, and then it's just about really great directors and being opposite other people that are going to force you into showing up. Because it's so easy to fall into that line of comfort and go back to it, and the business is almost structured that way. You do one thing well, you can continue to keep doing that thing. Why break the habit, you know? But I feel more specific now, with wanting to be part of interesting experiences that I'm learning from rather than... Sure, it would be great to be a lead. But you get so much more out of the whole experience, if it works. It has to be a team thing.

There are reports that you could get one of those leading roles in a Bucky and Falcon series. Are you worried Chris [Evans] will feel left out?

SS: I don't know if he will. As far as I know, the only conversation I've had with Anthony Mackie has been about Miami Vice and how we should redo that. [Laughs.]

#sebastian stan #karyn kusama #long post #sebstannews #interviews #''i pointed out there is no real housewives of boston'' oH MY GOD LMAO

[fratboykate]

Papi, it makes me really sad to see you like this? Is someone taking care of you? Is your wife around? Do you have anyone to talk to? Do you want to say what happened? I'm sure none of us would mind listening if you do need to vent. Love you Papi.

1. Lol, no. I have three “best friends”. I texted one two days ago and I told him I was basically dying and he hasn’t texted back even though I see him on IG stories and I know he can see me watching his stories so that’s cool. I was talking with the second one yesterday because he texted me about our plans for a wedding we need to go to in Greece next year and the moment we finished addressing what we needed to and I was like “...hey btw I’m fucking whatever is seventy steps beyond rock bottom” he disappeared. Also see him on IG stories. Also know that he knows I’m seeing him posting so...that’s also very cool. I’ve talked to Megan like twice this year I think so pretty sure that’s off the table too. I’ve thought about texting her tho because I just...can’t do this? Like...I’m done??? But I don’t even know if she’s in town or in the east coast with her family so whatever. Anyway, that’s it. That’s the list of people I supposedly could talk about anything to but don’t care enough to listen I guess. 

2. Nope. She’s gone for the holidays to see her family and before people start sending questions: yes she spends all holidays with her family and no I never go. It’s complicated. Don’t ask about it. 

3. Refer to point one. 

4. I mean my life is a dumpster fire 99% of the time so there’s that...but here’s the cliffnotes of what’s been sitting atop the list for a while now:

-“It’s not that I'm afraid I'm not enough for her”...nope...definitely was and it seems like it was more than justified. Turns out I was right. I wasn’t even a blip on the radar, nothing more than a “symptom to a problem”. That’s all I ever was. I was sitting right around -2 on the list of relevant things. 

-“I got you this rose and I need to know, will you let it die or let it grow?” It wasn’t just left to die. The vase was smashed on the floor, then set on fire, then the ashes were stomped on, and when I leaned down to try and pick up the dust that was left I was kicked in the face for good measure. Just to really drive the point across. 

It’s just been shit piling on top of shit piling on top of shit for so long and I feel like the weight of it finally made me cave. I don’t know. I genuinely don’t fucking know. All I know is that I can’t stop crying no matter how hard I try and that I literally can’t breathe because it actually feels like there’s a weight on my chest that won’t let me. It’s like someone is putting pressure on it. Maybe the house is haunted. Perhaps I just have a ghost problem and they’re trying to kill me but sitting on my torso and suffocating me to death lol. 

I’m not even sure if they’re working this week but if they are I’m going to kill my doctor tomorrow for not giving me the meds I basically begged for last week. If they’re not working that’s going to be interesting because I can’t spend however long it takes them to get back into the office sobbing on my bed. I can’t. I refuse to. 

#the past year and a half truly is the rotten cherry atop the shit pie that is my life #i've never spent this long constantly crying #only to find out I was never even important #just a symptom #guess they're taking antibiotics now so I'm going to be rid of in no time #symptom will gone and forgotten about #that's how important i am to people #easy to get rid of after two tylenol and a nap lol #just a symptom nothing more #i wish i could explain how this one feels #but despite the amount of words i know i cant find one to do it justice #all i know is that ive never cried this hard in my life lol #this one physically hurts #like just at the center of the chest and the pit of the stomach #i hate it lol #anyway...guess ill go back to my hole and let the ghost kill me idk #my rants #Anonymous #KG Answers

[ozmontague-blog]

Revelations | Megan & Oz

Parties: Megan Capulet and Oz Montague

Location: Primarily the Penthouse of the Tower

Date: November 21st

Summary: Endings

Triggers/Other Notes: Only if breakups really trigger you. Mentions of Valentine Alonso and Maria Romano (with consent of players)

@megcapulet

Oz

Maintaining his composure in front of the imperious and far too observant Commander of the Watch had been challenging. There had only been one moment, one that he was sure Valentine Alonso saw, when Maria and Megan headed down the hall. Together. He recognized that look. The one on Megan’s face. It wasn’t the desire that troubled him. No. It was the happiness. A true look of genuine happiness. It sliced him open in ways he could not describe.

The meeting concluded with a caveat that he shouldn’t leave town while the investigation was ongoing. Oz nodded in agreement with the Commander’s warning. He had his own resources looking into the matter but this time, for once, he did not object to the Watch’s investigation. He had no idea why that name in particular was smeared on his building, no idea why that particular name merited the arson attempt. From his own research, she was just some random girl and Montagues did not kill randomly. So she was not on his particular radar and he couldn’t figure out the why.

He had been so distracted that he hadn’t noticed the other incident right under his nose. He was a fool. He felt ridiculous and yet, he was not surprised. It seemed to be one disaster after another since their honeymoon. Reeling from problem to problem through most of the year.

Arriving home, he poured himself a large drink, nearly filling the tumbler. Then he waited. Waited for the most painful discussion of his life.

MEGAN

Megan had been surprised to be asked to the Watch office and even more so to find herself sitting in a small room with a truly terrible cup of coffee for what felt like hours waiting for someone to come and talk to her.  However once the Commander did appear she quickly found herself wishing that she were still waiting.  The questions were bad enough but it was the cctv footage that made her pale.  How could she have been so stupid to not even think about the cameras?  Tears welled in her eyes as she watched herself stumble down the corridor laughing and smiling with Maria, not a care to be had.

Had he seen it?  That thought took hold and throughout all the carefully framed questions and comments that thought dominated.  She did her best to focus on the questions but all she could think was about the fact she had to face Oz after this and really what could she say?  Nothing had happened with Maria but it certainly didn’t look that way from the footage and again she cursed herself for being swept along with the domme who saw her as just another form of entertainment before the next submissive came along.

Finally released from questions Megan had no recollection of actually making her way to the car and back to the Tower.  Heading up in the lift, and with no small relief that her pass still worked, she knew she had to tell him.  In some small way she hoped that he had seen it because she really didn’t know how she was going to start the conversation.

The doors opened and she stepped into the apartment her heart was in her mouth.  Megan stood and listened but there was no sound and no obvious lights on.  “Oz?” she called out as she laid her purse on the table.

Oz

When the door finally opened, he let out the rush of air it felt like he had been holding for hours. The time had arrived. At last. The blade was close now. The executioner at hand. Oz was standing in front of the broad expanse of windows, just a shadowy presence overlooking the city’s twinkling lights below.

“Hello Megan.” He greeted quietly before throwing back the last of his drink. He set the glass down on a low table as he turned to look at her. “Please. Have a seat. May I get you a drink?” He asked quietly, the picture of contained temper and smooth delivery. Would Megan be fooled? He hoped so.

He poured her the usual and set it beside her typical seat. Such a small domesticity. Your usual seat. It was a painful thought to say the least. How quickly something could shatter. A life. A claim. He turned on the lamp and took a seat opposite the beautiful submissive. “How long?” he asked quietly.

MEGAN

Megan took a few steps forward when she heard the greeting, half expecting him to scream and shout but the calmness was far more disconcerting.  Following his order she took her seat, not even replying to the drink question before he had gone to pour it, a drink she knew would remain untouched.

Had he yelled, grabbed her even  - something tangible she would have known what was happening but the softly spoken question made her breath stick in her throat.  Her head dropped as she struggled to find the words.  “Nothing happened,” she mumbled though the words seemed pitiful even to her.  “We talked, that’s all.”  

Oz

That lie gutted him. A sharp intake of breath followed but that was his only visible reaction to her words. Omissions were one thing. He knew how those could so easily occur. “Megan. I saw the video.” he replied softly, a world of condemnation in those four little words.  “Please just stop.”

Oz held the glass of liquor in his hands, slowly rolling it between them but not drinking, letting the silence fall again. “This has been one hell of a year hasn’t it? For you at least. I am no fool, even if it may seem that way. I know you are not happy. I don’t think you have been happy since the honeymoon. I tried to warn you I was a difficult man.”

MEGAN

The admission that he had seen the video hit her harder than any punch could have and stopped her objecting.  It didn’t look good and she knew it but she also desperately wanted him to know that she hadn’t cheated on him.  She gazed down at her clasped hands, obeying that simple order seemed like that only thing she could do in that moment.

Her tears started as he tried to put the blame on himself.  Slow, silent drops trickled down her cheeks and she made no effort to hide them.  “It’s not all on you.  I pushed back every time you tried to keep me safe and I’ve struggled to come to terms with so much.”  It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy, it was that they had gone through more than any couple should in a short time and had never got onto an even footing.

Oz

Sighing, Oz set down the glass on the coffee table. “Yes … I am aware and I also recognize that the demands on my time and attention mean that I am an ill-fitting choice to be anyone’s Dominant. It is why I remained without a claim for so long. Well, one of the reasons.” Each of his words were weighted, painful, as if pulled from deep within. A soft smile flickered over his lips as he thought of the first time he met Megan, “But you were just such a temptation.” The smile faded as he looked over at the younger woman, tears on her face, tears still falling. Those tears were salt on open wounds.

“I think it time to stop.” he stated flatly, “We cannot do this to each other any longer. When I saw that video, the part that hurt .. really hurt … the most was that I had not seen you happy like that since the date of our claim. I’m sorry Megan. But I can no longer bear the weight of this … it has to end. For you. For me too.”

MEGAN

She choked out a sort of strangled laugh at the idea of being a temptation.  That first night with him was still so fresh in her mind and she swore she had never felt a connection as strong but it just didn’t seem to be enough.

The words she didn’t want to hear came from his lips.  Megan wasn’t unhappy, she was sure of that but she certainly didn’t feel like it was the happy ever afters from the fairytales she had enjoyed as a child.  She always said she wouldn’t leave him and now the choice was out of her hands.  Her chest was tight though for once she didn’t think it was anything to do with her condition.  Biting her lip, tears continuing to fall she raised her head to look at him but unable to say a thing for a moment.  The doctor in her, her practical self kicked in.  “I’ll go and pack,” she muttered as she stood, so much to say but not able to find the words yet and in need of some time.

Oz

Oz looked up at the od sound she made but did not comment. “Wait.” he murmured as he tugged off his watch and pried open the back, revealing the key to her collar. He held it out to her and despite himself and his years of practiced calm, his hand shook with the effort of restraint.

“I’ll get your keys to your vehicle. Since I no longer have the right to forbid its use.” he continued as he rose to his feet. An acknowledgement that his heavy-handed nature had a role to play in the end. “They are in my office. Please excuse me for a moment.”

MEGAN

Her own hands trembling just as much as his she took the key, wrapping her delicate fingers around it and clutching it tight as a lifeline.  Her eyes widened as she hadn’t even got as far as thinking about her car but it gave them some relief from each other for a moment.  Megan gave a small nod as he turned and she reached behind to unfasten her collar, barely able to fit the key in the lock with the shaking of her fingers.  

As she pulled it off and laid it on the table she collapsed down on her knees, her head in her hands and sobbed.  She knew she could only give herself a minute, he would be back soon but in that moment she needed to let it out.  

Taking a shuddery breath she pushed herself up and went to the doorway, turning for a moment to put down the monitor watch that she wore, she was no longer his concern and he certainly didn’t need to monitor her heart any longer.

Without another glance at the table containing her collar she hurried through to the bedroom and grabbed a bag to start packing.  She just needed a few days, surely he wouldn’t expect her to take everything in one go.  Her ears buzzed as she dashed around just wanting as far away from it all as she could but with no plan in her mind.

When she had finished she came out into the kitchen, two bags in her hands and her purse still to collect.  “I can’t take it all today.  I can come one day while you are at work or if you prefer to have someone send it on to me….”

Oz

Oz fled the penthouse and hated himself for his own cowardice. He just couldn’t watch her pack. He couldn’t. May the Gods forgive him for it. It was the middle of the late evening and there were few in the office. However, the few that were still around took one look at him and made quick excuses to leave.

Oz opened the file drawer that contained personal items and withdrew a thick envelope. In it were the deeds to the properties and other paperwork arising from their claim. Beside it was a small box containing her car keys and a few incidentals. He removed these items and then, with a heavy heart, removed the cuff that had been on his wrist for not even a year. He set it in the drawer, which was now empty.

The symbolism was not lost on him as he closed it.

He then sat in his desk chair, just for a few minutes, unable to bear the thought of going upstairs just yet. More minutes ticked by than he intended before he finally forced himself up to his feet. With lead in every step, he returned to the elevator and then the penthouse. He walked into the kitchen and waited for Megan to join him. The envelope and box containing her keys were on the counter.

“I’ll have someone pack everything and deliver it. I assume to your parents’ home?” he replied quietly. He hated the way she looked without her collar. She wasn’t his … not any longer. Perhaps she never was.

“I’m so sorry Megan.” his voice broke unexpected at her name and he had to hold himself back with considerable effort.

MEGAN

She looked at the box, wondering how it was possible to make this hurt further yet somehow it did.   The mention of her parents made her nauseous,  everyone knowing, finding out that she couldn’t even keep her claim for a year.   “Erm yeah, I think that would probably be the best.”  In truth she had no idea where she was going, her grand gesture only a few months before of selling her house and proving her commitment had backfired on her spectacularly.

“I just need….” she gestured to the drawer in the kitchen containing her medication.  Taking a bag over she emptied the contents and closed it again.  Pulling an envelope out of her bag she laid it on the counter before she made her way back round.  Inside were the deeds to the lodge and the villa, her birthday present she had never even visited but then it had always seemed like some sort of dream.  

She picked up the car keys and replaced them with her penthouse ones and her pass for the elevator.  Making her way to get her purse and her coat she was amazed her legs would move.  Part of her just wanted to throw herself at his feet and beg but somewhere deep inside she knew he was right.

Once she was ready she turned back to him, “I never cheated, whatever else I did I never cheated.”  Then she left making it as far as the car before she collapsed in tears again.

Oz

Oz nodded at her confirmation. Stepping back, he allowed her the space to collect her medication. He watched as she pulled out an envelope and had a sneaking suspicion as to the contents. As if transferring back real property was quite that easy but that part bothered him less than the rejection of the gift. Once more how little he offered was valued. Perhaps they were the wrong things. Was that where it all went wrong? He wasn’t even sure. He felt exhausted to his very soul. It all seemed too much. Nat was still missing, the Princess was gunning for him and the tension in the City seemed only to be escalating again. Perhaps she was right to flee, to get out and away from him, before he cost her more than a year of her life. Before knowing him cost her more than she could bear to part with.

His mouth opened to reply to her words but he closed them again. It didn’t really matter. Infidelity or not, it was a symptom and not the disease. He was the disease that corrupted her life. She would be better off without him. Oz felt as much as heard the door close, recalling that bleak day not so long ago when she had left him. He had been a man living on borrowed time. Now it was over.

Perhaps he should have told her he loved her.

#google doc para #megan capulet

[uncannygears-archived]

Dead girl walking: the battle of Citadel and Megan’s death.

I finally came up with the nitty gritty details of Tech’s death, so I’ll have a very short summary here and a longer more detailed sum up under the cut.  All of this plotted with and thanks to my mate @classical-crowbar so if you want some quality Classic Scout roleplayer you should go check out their blog right now!

Long story short, while tinkering with a teleporter, Megan accidentally teleported herself back in time, to the 1930s and the Classic mercenaries era, where she met the Classic Scout. After finding her way back to the present, she improved her system and made more trips to the past over the years, unknowingly prompting him to develop romantic feelings for her. Unfortunately, Megan and feelings don’t mix well and she handled it very poorly (some could say in a cruel and manipulative way, but more below the cut) which resulted in him deeply resenting her after she finally rejected him when he was in his 40s in his timeline. Fastforward to 1972 and the Classics storming Citadel: a somewhat deranged Classic Scout decides to hunt down an already injured Megan, and finally kills her by strangling her as she bleeds out. 

More detailed breakdown below. (warning: manipulation && nice guy syndrom && toxic behaviours below)

- Due to a ‘failed’ experiment with a teleporter, Megan was sent back to 1930 where she ran into Classic Scout. With his help, she manages to get back to her time period, unaware that she had left a strong impression on the then young and eager boy. Because she is a curious person by nature and she had just invented time travel for God’s sake, she decided to travel back some more, not really caring about the consequences of her actions. 

- She always put a few years between her visits in his timeline, so while she barely aged and visited every few months, he experienced it as a visit of a few hours every few years. Very quickly she became the mysterious time traveller who always came back for seemingly no other reason than wanting to see him. Boy fell hard on his head and never got back up.

- Somewhat unconsciously, Megan was aware of this boyish crush, but failed to realise the extent of it or the impact it was having on him. She deliberately decided to ignore it, somewhat returning the infatuation (though to a much lesser degree) as he got older, but knowing nothing could ever happen for the sake of her present  - and of the work she still had to do there. She never had any intention on acting on her beginnings of affection and fully expected him to follow the same reasoning, because, y’know. Long-distance is tough enough, long-time-distance is even more of a bitch. But, part of her, selfishly, did want him to like her, and she never tried to make sure he didn’t nurture illusions regarding to the future of their ‘relationship’.

- Unfortunately, Classic Scout didn’t see it that way, and although his feelings for her faltered when she was away, they came back full force whenever she would pop back up on the radar. Eventually, he confessed to her after 20 years of this little game (for him) and asked her to stay in his timeline so they could start a life together.

- Naturally, Megan absolutely did not want this and told him so (arguably a little late, after 20 years of playing the ambiguity card), coming up with every excuse she could think of as ‘no’ wasn’t enough: the risks of tempering with time travel (which she had no qualms doing until then), her life in her present which she could not just abandon, etc. Most notably, she told him she was already engaged to someone back in Wales: her biggest lie, as she hasn’t lived in Wales for over 10 years, and she and her ex-fiancé haven’t seen each other much since and have agreed to call off the marriage long ago. But, in order to deter him, she is more than willing to use her ex as an excuse and a shield against this situation, instead of insisting on a firm “no”. 

- What she didn’t know was that Rory (C!Scout) had been dumped a few days earlier by a woman... who was off to marry someone else. This second rejection due to yet another man in the picture was enough to set him off, and she’s not quite sure what would have happened to her had she not left to go back to her time period in a hurry.

- Fastforward to 1972 and the attack on Citadel. The base is under assault, and Megan winds up with several bullets wounds in her chest after an encounter with the Classic Heavy, and a severe concussion after a run-in with the Demoman and his explosives. She’s trying to make a run for in and get to her teleporters to get out, but Rory has been following her, deliberately looking for her and hunting her down, knowing she was around, and has no trouble catching up. 

- She puts up one hell of a fight but the pain, blood loss, and concussion have weakened her too much and she can barely stand at that point. Her negociations attempts with the Heavy have failed, most if not all of her teammates are either dead or dying, she doesn’t stand a chance of surviving at this point. 

- He pins her to the ground and strangles her, making it very clear by his final words to her that this is personal and entirely due to the way she had deceived him all those years ago. Her last action is to spit in his face (something she’s pretty proud of, go try and spit in someone’s face when you have a concussion, your brain is not getting anymore oxygen, and you’re bleeding out >:( ) before he, in a furious reaction, knocks her head to the ground, effectively knocking her out moments before she actually dies. 

- So, all in all, Megan was bound to die because she was tagged as enemy by the Classics, like the rest of her team, but the way she died became personal when she lied to reject someone, and when that someone took it way too personally and out of proportions.

#death tw #strangulation tw #toxicity tw #probably??? #aka mistakes were made and death happened #just to make it extra clear they were NEVER in any kind of relationship but she did toy with his feelings to a degree #and she would have died regardless of this plot #i feel like i'm forgetting stuff but this is long enough as it is rip