#but that King the Land crossover was seriously surprising

[duahauuoplanh]

That’s it, Guwon is Yisan’s reincarnation and noone can tell me otherwise

#this is wild but I hope Deokim can come as she is in her next life so he will pass by her just like what she wished #how is it Yisan? how does it feel to be at your palace? does it still hurt? has it ever stopped hurting? loneliness is still all over you? #won has sarang now then who do you have? where is your person? #I really think I wouldn’t dare going anywhere near that drama again #I just got hurt and difficult breathing even just looking at Yisan #even typing these aches my heart #this is just how devastating TRS was #this is how much that drama has hurt me #but that King the Land crossover was seriously surprising #so here I am #I really think it's Junho's idea again #it's Guwon but it's still Yisan but it's Guwon #but srl the mountain is even in the same shape? #Lee junho #Junho #It’s Junho’s season now #2pm #King the Land #the red sleeve #I put my heart into every gifset I’ve made #always next to Junho

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: "Destiny"/"The Winter King" (Fionna & Cake, Eps. 5–6)

Airdate: September 14, 2023

Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Jacob Winkler, Sonja von Marensdorff

Directed by: Ryann Shannon (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)

One of my favorite moments from Adventure Time comes at the very end of season four's "The Lich" when we are introduced to "Farmworld" for the first time. When the episode aired, this reveal was positively huge, adding as it did a brand new reality to the already complex world of Ooo. The show would go on to expand our understanding of Farmworld in the season five premiere "Finn the Human"/"Jake the Dog" and the season seven episode "Crossover," but even with all those episodes, I never could shake the feeling that there was so much more the series could have done with Farmworld. You can thus imagine my surprise when I learned that Fionna and Cake of all people would be journeying to this strangely normal alternate dimension!

"Destiny" picks up with Fionna, Cake, and Simon landing in Farmworld, roughly 10 or so years after the events of "Crossover." Following the destruction of the Farmworld crown, things returned to their (post-apocalyptic) normalcy, and Ice-Finn (or, as the people in Farmworld call him, "The Snow Man") has grown into a strapping Man-Finn who is busy raising three children (his wife, it seems, has died). One of Finn's kids, Jay, overhears Fionna, Cake, and Simon asking around about the Farmworld crown, and so he steals them away to meet his father. Once Man-Finn discovers what it is Simon and Co. seek, however, he bids them to leave. Going against his father's wishes, Jay sneaks Fionna, Cake, and Simon to the crater where the Farmworld Bomb had detonated, where they all discover the charred remnants of the crown. At this point, Jay reveals that previously when visiting the crater, he had discovered one of the crown's jewels. The final act of the episode is a sees Fionna, Cake, Simon, Man-Finn, and Jay square off against the Destiny Gang and Scarab, who we learn has been trailing our heroes this whole time. After securing the jewel from Big D's turncoat daughter, Simon fuses it with Prismo's remote, zapping himself, Fionna and Cake to another reality just as Scarab stabs(?!) Man-Finn in the head.

First and foremost, I must stress that "Destiny" feels very much like an episode of the "original" Adventure Time. This is likely a result of the Farmworld setting: as a world, it is overflowing with an absurdist energy and out-there characters (e.g., Big D!) that I intimately associate with the adventures of Finn and Jake. And let me know emphatically state: This is not a bad thing. Not at all. I love how the producers have been able to weave the Adventure Time "feel" into something new. It is like meeting an old friend after a long time apart (only for that old friend to get stabbed in the head by a space-god).

OK, but seriously… did Farmworld Finn die? I hope note. If he did, that would mean that Jay's actions were directly responsible for his father getting killed. That's pretty dark. And considering all the bad dads in the Oooniverse, it would be nice if one of the good ones was allowed to live a (relatively) happy life.

Airdate: September 14, 2023

Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang

Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jim Campbell, Lucyola Langi, Nicole Rodriguez

Directed by: Steve Wolfhard (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)

After zapping away from Farmworld, Simon, Fionna, and Cake teleport to a reality ruled by the "Ice Prince"—an alt-universe Simon Petrikov who has somehow managed to avoid the madness that plagued Ice King. Simon quickly tells his fellow Petrikov the group's goals, and the Ice Prince gallantly agrees to help them by duplicating his own crown. Things are going swimmingly until the evil "Candy Queen" swoops in and snatches away both Simon and the Ice Prince. Fionna, Cake, and Ice Prince's guards dart to their rescue, brutally (but humorously) massacring dozens of hideously mutated candy citizens. Fionna and Cake rescue Simon and the Ice Prince, but once Fionna and Ice Prince share a kiss, the awful truth is revealed: Ice Prince is not some gentleman who overcame the madness of the crown through sheer will. No, he was a self-centered "wad" who used magic to deflect his madness onto the poor Candy Queen… who, as we quickly learn, is just an alternate universe version of Princess Bubblegum. Thanks to fairy tale logic, Fionna's kiss breaks Ice Prince's magic spell, which causes his crown to lose power. He subsequently crumbles to dust and everything he has created melts away.

So far, of the episodes we've gotten, I think "The Winter King" has been my favorite, largely because of the way it explores Simon's psychological character.

One thing that made Ice King’s story so tragic was how Simon, in his original form, was fundamentally a good person, buried deep within the mind of an outwardly "evil" wizard. "The Winter King" neatly conveys the opposite of this situation by showing us an Alt-Simon who, while outwardly "good," had long ago squandered his sense of morality for selfish gain. Not to get too analytical, but all of the good/bad talk reminds me of what the psychologist Carl Jung called the "Shadow." Put in simplest terms, the Shadow is a part of the unconscious human psyche in which repressed, rejected, or unrecognized aspects of the Self are contained, far from the light of conscious thought. The Shadow tends to seal away attributes of the Self that we wish to downplay or dismiss, making it "the home of the suppressed monsters of our inner world," in which "the energy of [our] dark side" bubbles (to quote Christopher Vogler). Furthermore, the Shadow exists as the inverse of our conscious Ego (meaning that, as Jung put it, "when one tries desperately to be good and wonderful and perfect, then all the more the shadow develops a definite will to be black and evil and destructive"). And because it is unconscious, the Shadow eludes easy detection. Nevertheless, its contents can often be ascertained by keeping an eye out for psychological “projection,” wherein a person denies their own foibles and instead recognizes those defects in others.

Now consider this topic in relation to "The Winter King." Let us start with Ice King, a hyperbolically crazy and "evil" wizard. I would argue that Ice King is a textbook of Simon's Shadow made manifest: He is everything that Simon consciously does not want to be brought to the surface in its entirety. The tragedy of Simon is that, while he doesn't often talk about it, he knows deep down that Ice King, while corrupted and warped by the crown, was an aspect of himself. In fact, this entire series feels very much like Simon’s journey to fully recognize his own Shadow.* And the fact that he starting to do this despite it being a painful process is, in my opinion, the clearest evidence of his ethical/moral character. Conversely, Alt-Simon is not like this. When presented with his Shadow, he does not choose to begin the painful recognition process. Instead, he projects it onto an innocent person; he builds up an elaborate "nice king" persona while literally condemning someone for his own sins. It is important to note that psychological projection is a pretty normal occurrence and thus not a surefire marker of "evil" or anything like that. What makes this instance of projection so bad is that Alt-Simon does this fully aware that it will cause someone to suffer for crimes they did not commit. Alt-Simon is like the "pious" archbishop who burns the "evil witches" at the stake all because he cannot come to terms with his own inner demons.

Now that is messed up!

But you know what isn't messed up? The voice acting in this episode. I do not say this to be hyperbolic: "The Winter King" may very well be Hynden Walch's finest performance to date. Her take on the Candy Queen is truly horrifying in a decidedly blursed way. So fundamentally different is her performance that at first I thought it was someone else! Also stealing the spotlight in this episode is Brian David Gilbert, erstwhile writer for Polygon and maker of many a wacky YouTube video. Gilbert's Ice Prince exudes the perfect amount of over-the-top flamboyance and faux chivalry. Both Walch and Gilbert get a song apiece in this episode, and both do a stellar job. (As an aside, have we ever had a true-blue PB song? Does the Candy Queen's song count?)

Oh, and as a quick aside: "The Winter King" features a few short scenes set in Fionna's non-magical world that follow Marshall Lee and Gary Prince as the latter tries to bake something that will earn him greater renown. Going into these scenes, I thought I would have found them a bit dull, but they were quite endearing. It's obvious that these scenes are a way for us to explore how Marceline and Bubblegum got to know one another, but from the parallax angle of a genderbent world, and I am here for it!

Final "Destiny" Grade: A

Final "The Winter King Grade": A

* My Prediction: Simon will attempt to become the Ice King, only to realize that a full-on transformation is not just necessary but ultimately dangerous. Recognizing one's Shadow does not mean you become synonymous with; it simply means that you know it's there.

#adventure time #atimers #fionna and cake #fionna campbell #cake the cat #simon #simon petrikov #ice prince #candy queen #princess bubblegu

[ginnyn]

Since we're having a new Donbros vs Zenkai trailer, time to scrub the thing again (Zenkai part because Tumblr)

I can only upload up to 30 images in this site, so, ah...

Link to Donbros Part

The narration here is Zocks going all He's the king of Kachiwa Mochi World and you better call him Goldtsuiker-sama.

Do not leave pirates alone for more than 1 year, they get crazy without constant attention.

By the way, in the first screenshot, Isao is there tied up.

Here the Zenkaiger are reacting at the fact.

I'm thinking they decided to do a repeat of Kachiwa Mochi World because the staff wanted more kachiwa mochi to bring home. Who knows really

Kaito is not happy one of his boyfriends went even more crazy than usual.

This parts has flashes. Meaning that maybe, MAYBE, Flint is actually shooting. Look, I would not put that like its OOC, but its OOC against Magine!

Why Juran has a flute. Like, Juran can play the flute? Like, I know that their mouths actually work eating, but they can breathe from there as well? Look, I have been thinking quite a lot about how Kikanoid physiology affected their society under Tojitendo rule, and the final conclusion is Soylent Green is kikanoids, but still.

By the way, I'm pretty sure they are just surprised for the amount of Kachiwa Mochi in Colorful. But the flute. Is it a Super Sentai reference? Maybe.

Gotta love how civilian kikanoids just need some high density foam and then you have a wide range of emotions.

Here's Flint torturing poor Isao, which is not something I'll consider OOC for her in general, but its OOC with Kaito's Dad!

Here's Kachiwa Mochi World in that goddamn lab which we know nothing about and probably holds all the secrets.

Here's Magine landing on the same conclusion everyone else was working on during the montage of Flint been OOC.

It seems the one responsible of getting Hakaizer back is Stacy. It make me anxious this are the only screenshots outside the crossover part we see of him, but, ehhhhh

Here's Zocks demolishing a Sentai team who doesn't want to fight him seriously. Still, he destroyed Magine magic with one punch.

Zenkaizer and Kachiwa Mochi World in that goddamn lab again.

Here's them hyping the Kaito vs Zocks aspect of it. It's the least interesting part to me honestly.

Let see if Tumblrs lets me!

It didn't for very little, oh well.

To the Crossover part!

#avataro sentai donbrothers #avataro sentai donbrothers vs zenkaiger #kikai sentai zenkaiger

[deeranger]

Fic Writer Questions!

@oddsocksandstuff tagged me in this, thank you so much, sweetie!  ❤️

 1) How many works do you have on AO3? I’ve got 40 so far (of which 25 are SPN fics). There’s more to come! 

2) What’s your total AO3 word count? 486,667, apparently. That tells me each of my fics has an average wordcount of 12,166.675… Seems about right. I was never any good at keeping things short.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Uhh… On AO3 I’ve written for Supernatural, Supernatural RPF, X-men (Cherik) and McFassy (James McAvoy/Michael Fassbender). But I’ve written a lot when I was younger that has never made it online, including NCIS, Pirates of the Caribbean, and lots of weird one-shorts starring everyone from Michael J. Fox to Kevin Sorbo from “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”. 🤨  

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos? “A Lesson to be Taught” – an SPN Wincest pwp fic where a dominant Dean fucks (and spanks) Sam and they discover that Dean apparently has a daddy!kink. Comes with a photo manipulation too! There be dick.    

“Taking Game” – a semi-dark medieval Cherik (Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr from X-men) AU. Basically, Charles is a poacher hunting on king Erik’s land to his great dismay. And so, he’s captured and gets the choice between losing his life or serving the king for a bit… Dubcon and smut ensues.   “Only Like This” – a little SPN Wincest dub-con fic about hopelessly pining Dean doping Sam just so he can touch and kiss his oblivious little brother. It’s okay. Sam won’t remember when he comes to.   “It’s Only Carnal” – A dark SPN Wincest noncon fic where soulless!Sam needs to blow off some steam. And when it comes to carnal activities his brother isn’t exactly a novice – so why not use Dean’s body to make them both feel good?   “Demonized” – a long and dark af SPN noncon fic written in collaboration with the awesome @palishere. Sam is captured by some nasty demons who use him to lure in his brother. At first it seems the demonic scumbags are just really perverted and have a weakness for sexual torture, but they turn out to have ulterior motives…  

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Yes, always. I think it can be a bit demotivating for a reader to leave a comment and get zero response – and so, they might not bother to comment on the next fic. At least, that’s how I feel personally. And besides, I really want to let readers know that I appreciate them taking the time and effort to actually tell me what they think.  

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Oufff… Seriously? How can I possibly pick just one when 99.8 percent of my fics are not only dark af but have gut-wrenching ambiguous endings as well? I, err… I’m gonna have to think really hard about this one, hold on… *Insert buzzing cicada sound*… Uhh… Well, I guess it might be… “Play or Pay” – a dark female!reader-insert Wincest fic where demon!Dean has you and Sam trapped somewhere underground. Sam ends up being on the receiving end of the demon’s cruelty when he tries to save you. Using Dean’s body the demon ends up raping Sam while the reader tries to escape to get help... There’s a little twist in the end. Loads of dead dove here, including death (not Dean or Sam).     “The Orange Hour” – where undercover inmate!Dean has to rape CO!Sam in order to save both of their lives and get them out of the jail in one piece. It doesn’t go completely as planned. (Comes with an nsfw photo manipulation).  “Demonized” – loads of bottom!Sam torture, full of hurt and absolutely no comfort... It’s just… I dunno, I think I and @palishere had a collective meltdown in the noncon and angst department. Sorrynotsorry.      

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written? Nope, I’ve never in my life written a crossover. Usually, I’m too laser-focused on 1 obsession at a time. I can’t multitask, okay?   

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yes, the fandom purity police has visited me on AO3. The usual self-proclaimed know-it-alls vomiting their bullshit all over the comment section about how “problematic” noncon is and how “sick” I must be. I thought about moderating comments for a while, actually – but I just deleted their follow-up comments until they left me alone. 😤

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind? Yes!! Gimme! Usually, I write noncon smut or just good ol’ pwps that feature some sort of dominance. That’s it. That’s my jam. In general, the only smut I don’t write is the cute, fluffy, feel-good, cuddly stuff… My smut’s usually pretty rough and/or some sort of dub/noncon.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes. Someone stole “It’s Only Carnal” and posted it as her own on some Portuguese fanfiction site. She even replied to comments, answered questions and talked about how much she loved writing it, etc… Luckily a sweet mutual on Tumblr let me know about it and I reported her for plagiarism. The stolen fic was taken down shortly after and the account deleted. Goddamn thief. 😡  

12) Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes. Honestly, I can’t remember which fic(s). But people have contacted me on AO3 and asked for permission to translate my stuff into Chinese. I have - of course - happily allowed them to. It’s such an awesome compliment to get, I think!  

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, 2. “Demonized” and the fluffy Ficfacers prompt fic “The Masks We Wear” starring Sam and Dean taking their pranks a step too far. Basically, the brothers get angry with each other and they need to talk it out… No smut in this one, can you believe it?!! But that was kinda the prompt we received. The prompt was literally: “Sam and fluff”. Anyways, both fics are co-written with the lovely @palishere. You can find her AO3 here. 😊

14) What’s your all time favorite ship? Wincest!!! Definitely. Gimme all the brotherfucking, please. No contest. And coming in on second place I guess there’s Samifer – never paired consensually, though. I just love Lucifer messing with Sam’s head and torturing him in all kinds of cruel ways.    

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Oh, that’s a mean question… I have a noncon WIP where Sam and Dean are in prison. I wrote a whole story outline, gathered my own little dictionary of prison slang, etc… But I never made it past page 10 or something. Sam was supposed to get jumped by a gang of inmates and then Dean was supposed to helplessly watch from the sideline, offering to trade places if they’d just leave his little brother alone… And after that it’s all about a mix of healing and vengeance… But the story has been lying on the shelf for more than a year and I doubt I’ll ever continue it. Oh, wait! I almost forgot – I have a long Cherik WIP sequel to “To Have and to Hold”! Just checked, its wordcount is 18,729! Holy crap…. What a waste, huh? But I honestly don’t think I’ll ever finish it, because I’m not into Cherik anymore. That ship has kinda sunk for me…. So, now I’m hyperfixating on Supernatural, yeah?     

16) What are your writing strengths? Description, I think. I just love details and setting the mood. I like to think I’m pretty good at writing in English too even though it isn’t my native language… I wish to be better and expand my vocabulary but I’m doing okay nonetheless.

17) What are your writing weaknesses? Description, I think. Yes, you read correctly. I often describe things TOO much. Sometimes to the extent where the pacing gets so slowed down that I feel like the scene loses its ‘feel’. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, but that’s my major concern about my writing. That and my signature ambiguous endings, lol.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Love it. It can be difficult to pull off, but if you get it right it can be magical. Just don’t overdo it and make sure that the reader can follow. I don’t think I have any fics online where I do it, but I’m not a complete stranger to it either.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for? Ack, my poor brain trying to go back to when I was friggin’ 13… You know how many years ago that was?! 25!!! Okay!? *Huffs*…. Anyway, I THINK it might’ve been Keanu Reeves’ character in “Johnny Mnemonic”. Or maybe David James Elliott’s character as Harmon Rabb in the early seasons of “JAG”. I dunno. Either way this question makes me feel really old and I don’t appreciate it. Don’t @ me. 😅   

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? That’s probably a tie between “The Orange Hour” and “It’s Only Carnal”. They’ve both got nice pacing and that’s my biggest challenge, I think. Also, I love the whole Morse code thing in “The Orange Hour”. I don’t even know what happened or how I came up with it, but hey, I can surprise myself if I want to, I guess! And of course there’s the smutty noncon and all of the hurt… So, those two fics are my personal faves. 😏  

I’ll tag @jackandthesoulmates, @pinkoptics, @palishere, @wrenseroticlibrary, @decadent-prince, @negans-lucille-tblr, @juinae and @impala-dreamer and everyone else who feels like doing it! Feel free to ignore, of course. 

#dee answers #fanfiction questions #personal

[thisblogisalsoboundforglory]

WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING LATELY

Kage Baker’s Company Series

In the Garden of Iden

Sky Coyote

Mendoza in Hollywood

The Graveyard Game

The Life of the World to Come

The Children of the Company

The Machine's Child

The Sons of Heaven

The Empress of Mars

Not Less than Gods

Nell Gwynne's On Land and At Sea

Black Projects, White Knights: The Company Dossiers

Gods and Pawns

In the Company of Thieves

Ø  Science Fiction written by a woman with Asperger’s. Wildly uneven. Main protagonist is female, but there are lots of POV characters, male and female.

Ø  Big ideas.

Ø  Lots of adventure, some action.

Ø   Small doses of humor.

 Neil Gaiman

Good Omens (with Sir Terry Pratchett)

Neverwhere

Stardust

American Gods

Anansi Boys

The Graveyard Book

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Ø  Neil’s books are a road trip with Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell and a baggie full of sativa.

Ø  Ideas are incidental. The Milieu’s in charge.

Ø  Adventure happens whether you like it or not.

Ø   Cosmic humor. The joke’s on us.

 Connie Willis’s Oxford Time Travel Series

Firewatch

Doomsday Book

To Say Nothing of the Dog (and the novel that inspired it – Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat)

Blackout/All Clear

Assorted:

The Last of the Winnebagos

Ø  Connie loves her historical research. Blackout/All Clear actually lasts as long as the Blitz, but anything in the Oxford Time Travel series is worth reading. Doomsday Book reads like prophecy in retrospect.

Ø  One idea: Hi! This is the human condition! How fucking amazing is that?!?

Ø  Gut-punch adventure with extra consequences. Background action.

Ø   I’d have to say that Doomsday Book is the funniest book about the black death I’ve ever read, which isn’t saying much. To Say Nothing of the Dog is classic farce, though. Girl’s got range.

Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash (After the apocalypse, the world will be ruled by Home-Owners Associations. Be afraid.)

Cryptonomicon

Anathem

Seveneves

Ø  Neal writes big, undisciplined, unfocused books that keep unfolding in your mind for months after you’ve read them. He’s a very guy-type writer, in spite of a female protagonist or two. Seveneves, be warned, starts out brilliant and devolves into extreme meh.

Ø  Big. Fucking. Ideas.

Ø  Battles, crashes, fistfights, parachute jumps, nuclear powered motorcycles and extreme gardening action. Is there an MPAA acronym for that?

Ø   Humor dry enough to be garnished with two green olives on a stick.

  Christopher Moore

Pine Cove Series:

Practical Demonkeeping

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror (Okay, yeah, Christmas. But Christmas with zombies, so that’s all right.)

Fluke (Not strictly Pine Cove, but in the same universe. Ever wonder why whales sing? They’re ordering Pastrami sandwiches. I’m not kidding.)

Death Merchant Chronicles:

A Dirty Job

Secondhand Souls (Best literary dogs this side of Jack London)

Coyote Blue (Kind of an outlier. Overlapping characters)

Shakespeare Series:

Fool

The Serpent of Venice

Shakespeare for Squirrels

Assorted:

Island of the Sequined Love Nun (Cargo cults with Pine Cove crossovers. I have a theory that the characters in this book are direct descendants of certain characters in Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon.)

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal (So I have a favorite first-century wonder rabbi. Who doesn’t?)

Sacre Bleu

Noir

Ø  Not for the squeamish, the easily offended, or those who can’t lovingly embrace the fact that the human species is pretty much a bunch of idiots snatching at moments of grace.

Ø  No big ideas whatever. Barely any half-baked notions.

Ø  Enthusiastic geek adventure. Action as a last resort.

Ø   Nonstop funny from beginning to end.

 Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London Series

Rivers of London

Moon Over Soho

Whispers Under Ground

Broken Homes

Foxglove Summer

The Hanging Tree

The Furthest Station

Lies Sleeping

The October Man

False Value

Tales From the Folly

Ø  Lean, self-deprecating police procedurals disguised as fantasy novels. Excellent writing.

Ø  These will not expand your mind. They might expand your Latin vocabulary.

Ø  Crisply described action, judiciously used. Whodunnit adventure. It’s all about good storytelling.

Ø  Generous servings of sly humor. Aaronovitch is a geek culture blueblood who drops so many inside jokes, there are websites devoted to indexing them.

  John Scalzi

Old Man’s War Series:

Old Man’s War

Questions for a Soldier

The Ghost Brigades

The Sagan Diary

The Last Colony

Zoe’s Tale

After the Coup

The Human Division

The End of All Things

Ø  Star Trek with realpolitik instead of optimism.

Ø  The Big Idea is that there’s nothing new under the sun. Nor over it.

Ø  Action-adventure final frontier saga with high stakes.

Ø  It’s funny when the characters are being funny, and precisely to the same degree that the character is funny.

Assorted:

The Dispatcher

Murder by Other Means

Redshirts (Star Trek, sideways, with occasional optimism)

Ø  Scalzi abandons (or skewers) his space-opera tendencies with these three little gems of speculative fiction. Scalzi’s gift is patience. He lets the scenario unfold like a striptease.

Ø  What-if thought experiments that jolt the brain like espresso shots.

Ø  Action/misadventure as necessary to accomplish the psychological special effects.

Ø  Redshirts is satire, so the humor is built-in, but it’s buried in the mix.

  David Wong/Jason Pargin

John Dies at the End

This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It

What the Hell Did I Just Read?

Ø  Pargin clearly starts his novels with a handful of arresting scenes and images, then looses the characters on an unsuspecting world to wander wither they will.

Ø  Ideas aren’t as big or obvious as Heinlein, but they are there to challenge all your assumptions in the same way that Heinlein’s were.

Ø  Classic action/adventure for anyone raised on Scooby-Doo.

Ø  Occasional gusts of humor in a climate that’s predominantly tongue-in-cheek.

 Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s Series

Just One Damned Thing After Another

The Very First Damned Thing

A Symphony of Echoes

When a Child is Born*

A Second Chance

Roman Holiday*

A Trail Through Time

Christmas Present*

No Time Like the Past

What Could Possible Go Wrong?

Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings*

Lies, Damned Lies and History

The Great St Mary’s Day Out*

My Name is Markham*

And the Rest is History

A Perfect Storm*

Christmas Past*

An Argumentation of Historians

The Battersea Barricades*

The Steam Pump Jump*

And Now for Something Completely Different*

Hope for the Best

When Did You Last See Your Father?*

Why Is Nothing Ever Simple*

Plan For The Worst

The Ordeal of the Haunted Room

Ø  The * denotes a short story or novella. Okay, try to imagine Indiana Jones as a smartassed redheaded woman with a time machine and a merry band of full contact historians. I love history, and I especially love history narrated by a woman who can kick T. Rex ass.

Ø  The ideas are toys, not themes. Soapy in spots.

Ø  Action! Adventure! More action! More adventure! Tea break. Action again!

Ø  Big, squishy dollops of snort-worthy stuff.

 Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell Series

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Letter of Mary

The Moor

Jerusalem

Justice Hall

The Game

Locked Rooms

The Language of Bees

The God of the Hive

Beekeeping for Beginners

Pirate King

Garment of Shadows

Dreaming Spies

The Marriage of Mary Russell

The Murder of Mary Russell

Mary Russell's War And Other Stories of Suspense

Island of the Mad

Riviera Gold

The Art of Detection (Strictly speaking, this is in the action!lesbian Detective Kate Martinelli series, but it crosses over to the Sherlock Holmes genre. If you’ve ever wondered how Holmes would deal with the transgendered, this is the book.)

Ø  Sherlock Holmes retires to Sussex, keeps bees, marries a nice Jewish girl who is smarter than he is and less than half his age and he’s mentored since she was fifteen in an extremely problematic power dynamic relationship that should repulse me but doesn’t, somehow, because this is the best Sherlock Holmes pastiche out there. Mary should have been a rabbi, but it is 1920, so she learns martial arts and becomes an international detective instead. Guest appearances by Conan Doyle, Kimball O’Hara, T.E. Lawrence, Cole Porter, and the Oxford Comma.

Ø  Nothing mind-expanding here, unless the levels of meta present in a fictional world that is about how the fictional world might not be as fictional as you thought come as a surprise to anyone in the era of tie-in books, films, tv, interactive social media and RPGs.

Ø  If these two geniuses can’t catch the bad guys with their dazzling brilliance, they will happily kick some ass. Adventure takes center stage and the action sequences are especially creative.

Ø  Amusement is afoot.

 Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next Series

The Eyre Affair

Lost in a Good Book

The Well of Lost Plots

Something Rotten

First Among Sequels

One of Our Thursdays is Missing

The Woman Who Died a Lot

Ø  In a world where Librarians are revered and Shakespeare is more popular than the Beatles, someone has to facilitate the weekly anger-management sessions for the characters of Wuthering Heights, if only to keep them from killing each other before the novel actually ends. That someone is Thursday Next – Literature Cop.

Ø  Mind-bending enough to give Noam Chomsky material for another hundred years.

Ø  Adventure aplenty. Action? Even the punctuation will try to kill you.

Ø  This is a frolicsome look at humorous situations filled with funny people. Pretty much a full house in the laugh department.

 Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Series/City Watch Arc

Guards! Guards!

Men at Arms

Feet of Clay

Jingo

The Fifth Elephant

Night Watch

Thud!

Snuff

Raising Steam

Ø  If this were a game of CLUE, the answer would be Niccolo Machiavelli in Narnia with a Monty Python. Everything you think you know about books with dragons and trolls and dwarves and wizards is expertly ripped to shreds and reassembled as social satire that can save your soul, even if it turns out you don’t really have one. Do not be fooled by the Tolkien chassis – there’s a Vonnegut-class engine at work.

Ø  Caution: Ideas in the Mirror Universe May be Larger Than They Appear

Ø  The City Watch arc has plenty of thrilling action sequences. Some other of the fifty-million Discworld novels have less. Every one of them is nonstop adventure. Most of the adventure, however, takes the form of characters desperately trying to avoid thrilling action sequences.

Ø  Funny? Even though I’ve read every book in the series at least ten times, I still have to make sure I have cold packs on hand in case I laugh so hard I rupture something.

[amarabliss]

Oath and Hearts... - 3 (Ignis Scientia/Reader)

So this is a crossover between FFXV and Dragon Age Inquisition.

You fell through a rift into the fade fighting the demons you swore to protect your world from. When you popped out you were no longer in the lands of Ferelden instead trapped in Insomnia. The gracious king allowed you to say recognizing power when he saw it. One thing led to another and now you were part of the procession of the prince to his wedding years later. Before the final battle, after years of fighting, losses, and love…your friend…your king…Noctis has asked you to change it all…

Part 1 Part 2

“I can’t do this again.” You spoke quietly as you stared up at the ceiling. You pulled the sheet up around yourself as you heard rustling next to you.

Nyx hoisted himself on his elbow and looked down to you, “Does this mean you have accepted an invitation to a date with someone you actually find yourself attracted to?”

“I have.” You smiled at him brushing your hand through your hair.

“Oh…do I know this gentleman and or lady?” You laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows smiling at you.

“You do.” You weren’t going to make this easy for him and he knew it.

“Is it a Glaive?” You shook your head and saw a bit of relief fill him, “Hmm…is it… oh! It’s Laval, isn’t it? He’s always fancied you since I brought you to his food truck all those years ago.”

You laughed sitting up pulling your knees to your chest, “No, this gentleman works in the Citadel.”

“Is he a paper pusher?” Nyx sat next to you rubbing his chin.

You thought about it for a moment, “He can be, but that’s not what he does.”

“Is he a guard guard or Crowns Guard?” He prodded more.

“The latter…” You could feel your anxiety beginning to build. Nyx was really your only friend who stood by you this entire time and you knew how he felt about this specific gentleman.

“Gladio!” He snapped his fingers at you smirking.

Rolling your eyes, you stood up looking for your clothes, “No…”

“Come on! He’s a nice guy, good name behind him too.” He defended, “Gladiolus Amicitia, it has a very nice ring to it.”

“Yes, but…” You found your trousers and began pulling them on “isn’t he a bit…boorish?”

“Boorish!…Shiva you your ladyship is showing again, and I for one would not call him boorish…a flirt maybe…” He smirked at you as you swept up your hair, “Well if it’s not Gladio, who you deem boorish…is it the young stallion named Prompto?”

“Heavens no!” You watched him laugh a little, “Are you done guessing?”

“Maybe Cor? If you like them a bit older…” This was too far. You grabbed a discarded pillow and threw it at him, “You’re no fun…fine, who is this gentleman caller?”

You froze and swallowed as you began to turn from him, “Ignis…”

“Scientia?” The pitch in his voice rose.

“Well I don’t know any other Ignis.” You mumbled picking up your shirt.

“Really? That cold bastard asked you out?” Nyx stood up from the bed a look of disdain plastered on his face.

“Dinner, yes.” You pulled your shirt over your head.

“And you like him?” Nyx cocked his jaw a little.

“I do. We have good conversation…” You explained as you sat down on your bed, “He’s not that bad…”

“He is that bad…” Nyx sat down frowning a little, “He practically oozes disgust when he sees us…”

‘Us’ meaning anyone from Galahd. You sighed looking at him, “You give him very little credit. He is more in your corner then you think. He doesn’t hate your people.”

“So, you’ve talked about this?” Nyx looked at you seriously.

“Yes…Nyx you’re my best friend and the only one besides the King who trusted me without a doubt when I landed here.” You took his hand in yours squeezing it tightly, “I wouldn’t want anyone in my life who didn’t accept you.”

He smiled a lot before it transformed into smirk, “So…when is this encounter happening?”

“This weekend.” You took in a deep breath staring at him, “I was actually really surprised he asked.”

“You shouldn’t be, you’re an amazing catch.” Nyx ended up pulling you in close for a hug. He  ran a hand through your hair a kissed your forehead, “And if he does anything to insult your ladyship’s honor, just tell me and I’ll set him straight post haste.”

You smiled letting your eyes trace over Ignis’ sleeping form. It had been a very long time since you thought of your good friend Nyx. When you had found out about the Insomnia attack you had tried for days to get in touch with him…you never did.

God you missed him…

But when you saw Ignis relaxed next you, you could hear Nyx in the back of your mind picking fun at you for your happiness. It made you both sad and glad.

Your relationship with Nyx wasn’t a complicated one. You both didn’t belong in Insomnia and everyone reminded you of it. You both were good at what you did, protect others at any cost, and you found companionship because of it. So…when you fell into each other arms one night after drinking an entire fifth of bootleg Galahd whiskey, it wasn’t too surprising. It became a thing you two had with one another, and you both had agreed it would stop if you had interest in someone.

You hummed a little as moved closer to the man in your bed placing your hands on his chest as you leaned in kissing his neck. You were greeted with pleased noises before his warm hands found your sides.

You paused looking up seeing his green eyes peering down to you as he spoke, “Don’t stop on my account.”

You giggled before laying your head against his chest listening to his heartbeat. It pulsed through you reverberating through every vein, “We’re going to be late if we don’t get up soon.”

He took a deep breath in letting his chest rise and fall, “You’re quite right…”

You waited for him to release you, but it never came. You felt a knot tighten in your throat suddenly overwhelmed in his presence. You tried desperately to get yourself under control.

“Are you alright? You’re absolutely shivering.” He reached down pulling the blanket up around the both of you.

“Yes…I’m alright. I’m right where I need to be.” You replied as you began tracing circles on his chest.

“You say that as if you should in fact be somewhere else…” His hand fell over yours getting you to stop, “Is there something on your mind?”

You sat up looking down at him, “What makes you think that?”

Ignis let his eyes look you over calculating his response, “You’ve been rather distant lately…as if something is weighing you down. I’ve noticed it since we’ve left Lestallum, since you fell ill.”

“I assure you I am fine.” You smiled at him, “But I get the sense that you’re not going to let this go…is there some way I can ease your mind?”

“Hmm…” He reached up touching your cheek gently stroking it with his thumb, “Let us forego out dinner plans with the group and instead spend in evening alone in Altissia.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” You quirked an eyebrow.

“I know we agreed to keep things more business like on this trip…but…with our little liaison…” He began.

“Oh, I wouldn’t call anything little about our liaison…” You smirked seeing a blush come to his cheeks.

He cleared his throat continuing, “…while that may be… it seems silly to let our presence in such a lovely city go to waste. We never had much time to go out again. It seems so very long ago…”

It was, so long ago…You had to think really hard about it. It had nearly been six months since he’d last taken you out. You remembered it slowly, but it came back to you.

“You took me to that awful opera.” You smirked at him.

“In my defense, it said nothing about being in the archaic language of Tenebrae…nor did it mention being three hours long before intermission.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well I do recall enjoying the aftermath…finding that little Galahd café where we had the best spice tea I’ve had in ages…” You grabbed onto his hand that hand absently kept stroking your cheek.

“I remember how your face lit up.” You listened to him intently as he described the event, “I had never seen your smile so bright before when you took that first sip. You said it tasted like home. You stared into that cup for a long time before your smile faded again. You tried so hard to keep your spirits up after that, and you did well.”

“But I could see how much you missed home. So from that night on I vowed to do everything I could to make you see home here again.” He smiled at you bringing your hand to his lips kissing your fingers, “Through cooking, since it’s the one thing I can do well…”

You didn’t know that. He never told you. Suddenly so many encounters made since. The stop in Lestallum, his insistence that he needed your help purchasing supplies, and the constant pester of smelling herbs and spices. This man…this wonderful, intelligent being, did everything in his power to make you feel comfortable when he didn’t need to.

“You sell yourself short.” You smiled leaning down kissing him, “You have many qualities that you do well. Shall I name them?”

“I wish wouldn’t.” He sat up resting his forehead against yours, “It will waste precious daylight if you list them all.”

You laughed as he boasted. You loved this side of him. He would put up this very large protective wall when out in the world, but with you he became relaxed and foolish at times, “Oh…I love you.”

You felt your chest tighten after the words past your lips. It wasn’t a lie… he would be able to tell…but you knew it would change everything.

His head tilted slightly as his eyes met yours. You were afraid. You knew eventually, years from now, that he would tell you the same…but…it was so different from now. There was no light…he couldn’t see you…yet you laid next him letting him trace your face with his fingers…

It startled when he reached up tracing your lips with his thumb. It burned and sent everything inside you on fire. You expected some sort of answer from him, but instead he kissed you. Over and over again until he pushed you back into the bed.

Finally he pulled away nuzzling your face as he spoke, “I’ve longed to hear you say those words…and they are sweeter then I could have imagined.”

Your breath caught in your throat when he bit your earlobe continuing in a whisper, “I love you.”

Every kiss after he whispered the three words burning them into every inch of your skin. All plans of leaving the hotel vanished as you melted in his grasp. Not even the constant vibration of your phones didn’t coax  you out.

You could practically hear Nyx dripping with sarcasm, “So, highborn Amicitia isn’t your type, bad boy immigrants aren’t your type…you go for beanpole librarians? You’re definitely from a different world…you and Scientia are perfect for each other…”

#oaths and hearts #ignis scientia x reader #ignis x reader #ignis scientia/reader #ffxv ignis #ignis #ignis scientia #ignis reader #ignis/reader #ffxv fanfiction #ffxv #ffxv imagine #ffxv fic #nyx ulric #nyx ulric/reader #kingsglaive #kingsglaive final fantasy #gladio #gladio amiticia #prompto #noctis lucis caelum #regis lucis caelum

[morathicain]

1, 2, 6,11 ^-^

OMG, thank you so much! =^^= I was happy to do this!

1. What is your favorite fic you have under your belt?

Phu, that’s a difficult one since I usually love the ones I’m working on the most. For 3wbf it’s literally impossible to choose one. For My Engineer it’s “The meaning of ink” and overall it’s a fic I wrote for a Czech fairytale movie (kinda like Cinderella) ^^ but it’s a close race tbh

2. What is your favorite snippet of dialogue?

Same problem as above, so I’m gonna take snippets from different time periods and fandoms <3 Kudos to anyone who knows which is which XD

Shin buried his face into his hands, ready to vanish from the spot, but Miw only laughed, ruffling through his hair.

“Don’t”, he grumbled, “I’ll see him later.”

“You’re worried he might not think you’re cute?”, she grinned.

“We’re having a shopping date for people to see us. So there can or might be more rumours already. I should look a tiny bit presentable.”

She cocked her head to the side: “If I ruffle it a bit more you’ll look very fuckable.”

He glared at her now, through his fingers: “I’ll look as if I just fell out of bed and didn’t care enough.”

“Yes. But with him by your side, people will know why you had no time to care.”

AND

„A clock?“

Another shrug: „Time is running.“

„Well, if that’s the case I’m gonna turn back time now“, King stated as he moved his thumb anti-clockwise, „So we can have this day again and again for eternity and you can forever lie in my bed, naked and beautiful.“

AND

“Tell what?”

Murayama grinned. “He’s with us.”

“Seriously?” ,Cobra stopped to look at him closely, “Did you promise your first born or what?” “

Nah, he was quite willing.”

“Then why do you bleed as if he’d tried to gut you?”

AND

She looks up. „How did you survive this?“

„Are you sure you want to talk about this now?“ After a moment of silence I add: „I had a speeder. It’s lying over there.“

She turns towards the rest of my speeder, crushed on the ground: „You should work on your landing skills, seriously.“

3. What’s the detail you wait on bated breath for readers to notice?

Oh, that’s different for every fic. Sometimes it’s something minor and sometimes more major. Like Alex being nb in “It takes you by surprise”.

11. What’s a fanfic idea you haven’t done yet?

My idea-list is 36 items long atm, so there’s a LOT XD what I really want to write soon are two RamKing-fantasy-AU ideas. They might get a bit longer, which is why I’m still letting them steam a bit ^^ and a 2gether/3wbf-crossover with Man/PP ^^°

#ask #writing #thank you!!!

[ambidextrousarcher]

10 Sentences Meme (Harry Potter, Molly Weasley, Sansa Stark)

Asked by @shellweed. Thanks for the ask, di!

Harry Potter

(Favorite) color

It might be strange for a Gryffindor to like green, but green it is. Emerald Green, because that colour reflected in his eyes tells him that he is his mother’s son. For all that he does get tired of being reminded of that by all and sundry, it’s not because he doesn’t want to be her son. It’s because he alone wishes to savour that fact. That he is Lily Potter’s son, and her eyes live on in him.

Crossover

Harry winks at Merlin, hidden once more behind Arthur. It is a wink that says I know. I am also like you. Merlin winks back. “Harry, Merlin!” They grin at each other before they face Arthur. “I am aware that I look amazing like this, but do you need to stare so?” Harry stuffs his fist in his mouth to stop from laughing. Drunk Arthur is so fun!

Fear

Harry fears nothing more than fear itself. He fears being afraid of anything, of not tackling a situation head-on. After his 5th year, he fears being unprepared and misled, but he has no choice but to keep moving forward, however unprepared he may feel.

Mythological Creature

Dad has a really nice friend, thinks Harry. His dad is laughing. “Seriously, Padfoot? The Grim? You must have scared so many people off.” Padfoot is laughing too. “Prongs! But of course.” Harry stumbles over to Padfoot and tugs on his shirt-tails. “Padfoo’! Doggie!” He’s safely lifted onto a giant black dog seconds later. Harry laughs.

Nature

The feel of a breeze through his hair, lifting him high above all worries, is enough for Harry. 

Prophecy

Harry is tired of prophecy. He does not want to be the Chosen One. He does not want to scare people like this. Harry swears that he’ll triumph over the prophecy.

Religion

Harry doesn’t think much of religion. He’s hardly been to church. However, after the war, he keeps memorial services of all those who were lost.

Role Model

His father. Harry’s always wanting to hear, from a genuine person ( which means not Snape) , that he is his father’s son. Once he comes to know Sirius, Sirius too is a role model for him, just like his dad.

Scar(s)

The infamous lightning bolt. He is beyond grateful that he lives to a time where children do not recognize the significance of that symbol. For others, it signifies Voldemort’s defeat. For Harry, it symbolizes his parents’ sacrifice. The slashes on the back of his knuckles. I must not tell lies. Years into the future, he makes up whoppers of lies to explain that scar to his children.

Seven Deadly Sins/Seven Cardinal Virtues

Justice. The Wizarding World called for Justice in the War against Voldemort, and Harry had no clue how he could give them what they sought.

Molly Weasley

(Favorite) colour

Red. Ever a Gryffindor at heart, red ruled Molly’s senses. The red that she could see splashed on her family, head to toe.

Crossover

In another life, she was Eleanor of Aquitaine. She’d stood by her son’s side whenever he needed her, and lost him too, the staff of her old age.

Fear

Molly’s worst fear is the death of those she loves. She stays away from Boggarts as much as she can, for she does not need those images percolating her head.

Mythological creature

In school, Molly was besotted with the idea of vampires. Something about the way they were portrayed in literature seemed terribly romantic. Unfortunately, she found the truth of them the hard way.

Nature

Not for Molly any fancy scents, she is happiest closer to the Earth, digging in the mud, gardening and maintaining her solace.

Prophecy

Molly believes in omens. In divination, in the omens of the tea leaves. Harry and Ron have a gala time scaring her with their portents of doom in their divination homework.

Religion

Molly keeps pagan traditions as well as Christian. She celebrates Yuletide with great enthusiasm, and spends weeks preparing for Christmas.

Role Model

Molly’s role model is her own mother. She remembers all the lessons that mother has taught her and tries to live by them as much as she can.

Scar(s)

Miscellaneous burn scars litter Molly’s hands, a legacy of years of hurried, frazzled cooking.

Seven Cardinal Virtues/Seven Deadly Sins.

She loves Harry as much as her own children, and strives hard to make sure that Harry does not feel the want of a mother.

Sansa Stark

(Favorite) Color

Sansa thirsts for bright colours in her childhood. She searches for gold, and red, bright crimson. Her years in King’s Landing teach her the falseness of these gaudy shades, and she finds herself longing for the simple grays and blues of her childhood.

Crossover

Sansa pirouettes, leaps and lands after executing a perfect arabesque. She dips into a curtsy, exulting in her own elegance as the patrons call ‘encore, encore!’ so loud that it echoes in her ears.

Fear

Sansa fears losing her own identity. That is why, in spite of being Alayne Stone, she has tried her hardest to keep Sansa Stark alive inside her own self. 

Mythological creature

Sansa takes heart from tales of the phoenix, the bird that can rise from the ashes of its own. She too, can find the strength to rise above her troubles, to rise from the ashes of her old life.

Nature

Sansa loves everything about nature. She loves the sunshine, she loves the snow. Snow reminds her of Winterfell, of home. Sunlight gives her hope.

Prophecy

Sansa knows naught of any prophecy. Cersei knows that, and yet, she can’t help wondering ‘What if the she-wolf is the Queen younger and more beautiful than I?’

Religion

Sansa sincerely believes both in the Old Gods and the New. She prays with all her heart that one day, she will be reunited with those she loves.

Role Model

Sansa’s role models keep changing. Once, she had longed to be as queenly and gracious as Queen Cersei. Once she knew the truth of the Lannister Queen, she turned to admiring Margaery’s grace and charm. But she too, turned out to be false. Sansa stops looking for a role model, and turns to Lady Catelyn Stark, her mother, for solace.

Scar(s)

The scars Joffery left on her, the scars that made her physically ugly, also serve as a reminder of her resilience. Sansa does not treasure them, she cannot, but she learns from them

Seven Deadly Sins/Seven Cardinal Virtues

“Gentle Mother, font of mercy, keep our sons safe from war we pray...” Sansa is herself surprised that she prays for all those who are risking their lives at battle, even some of the Lannisters, her avowed enemies. What was each man risking his life out there but someone’s son, someone’s brother?

#harry potter #molly weasley #sansa stark #shellweed #asks #ten sentence meme #nila writes #scribbler scribbles #hp #asoiaf

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 13: A Journey to Roman’s Kingdom - The Ultimate Sanders Crossover

This is the 13th episode in the Aspects & Fanfics blog, based on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders & Joan. It’s incredible to think how from a tiny little idea I had two weeks ago, a 29 page story could have been created. This is by far the new record for the longest episode in the fic, Virgil’s Revelation was only 22 pages long.

This episode is a homage, not only to Sanders Sides, but to all of Thomas’ career as a whole, as it is a crossover that features most, if not all, of his characters, from the Vines, the Shorts, Cartoon Therapy... I’ve been following his work back since late 2014, after all, and I haven’t seen many fics about things different from Sanders Sides, so I thought that they also deserved their place of recognition. There will be absences, like Sleep, but since he’s already appeared on his own in a previous episode, I don’t think it would be much trouble.

Okay, I’m not making this even longer with a long intro, so here we go. As usual, you can read previous entries of the Aspects & Fanfics blog right here. And I hope you enjoy this rollercoaster that has happened to be this episode. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: After casually mentioning that Roman has indeed his own kingdom inside the Mind Palace, the Kingdom of Sandersia, populated with all the characters that Thomas has ever created, Thomas and the others decide to take on a journey to visit the kingdom, which will let them know in person characters like the shorts guys, Dr. Picani and many others. However, Roman is hiding a secret about his past in the kingdom that hasn’t told any of the other Sides.

WARNINGS: There’s more Prinxiety in the fic as the story goes on, and more unrequited Anxceit. As I said, this is a rollercoaster. It has moments of happiness, moments of fun, moments of emotion, and moments of angst, including mentions to the death of a beloved one for Roman and hints to homophobic reactions from Roman’s family against his coming out in the past.

In memory of Spanish director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (1935-2019). You were such a huge influence in my life. Thanks to you I discovered my love for Broadway-like musicals and my love for editing. You and your work will never be forgotten. Rest in peace.

EPISODE INDEX

[Thomas and Joan are sitting on the couch. Thomas has just finished reading something on his laptop to Joan]

THOMAS: And so, this is the outline draft for the next Cartoon Therapy episode. What do you think?

JOAN: Well, it definitely has some good things… I loved the topic we’re discussing…

THOMAS: Okay…

JOAN: I loved the cartoon show that’s going to be the base for that…

THOMAS: I thought you’d like it.

JOAN: I also loved your ideas for the new patients that join Dot, Larry and Elliott. They’ll make a good story and they look cute. [takes a deep breath] But…

THOMAS: But?

JOAN: I don’t quite get the redesign you’ve applied on Dr. Picani, Thomas. I mean, he would look cool and all, but… having him wearing eye-shadow, his hair over his forehead, a purple necktie and jacket and suddenly speaking with a groveling voice… isn’t it a bit out of character for him?

THOMAS: Mmm… maybe?

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: What is up everybody?

JOAN: Again doing your videos?

THOMAS: Yes, Joan, you’ll have to get used to it.

JOAN: Okay, okay, you’re your own person…

THOMAS: What you have said about that redesign, Joan, it’s got me thinking. I certainly thought it looked cool while I was writing it…

JOAN: It made more sense in your head, right?

THOMAS: …sort of, now that you’ve said it. Now that I’ve seen it written, I can see it wouldn’t have worked at all. I don’t know why I’ve written that… well, to be honest, I think I do, but I’d have to check it out first, because this is not the first time this happens.

JOAN: Does that mean that you’re calling them again?

[Thomas leaves the laptop on the couch, Joan and him get up and go to Thomas’ usual spot]

THOMAS: Yep, exactly that. [yelling] Roman? Could you come here for a minute, please?

[Roman rises up, he’s showing a distracted starry eyed face]

ROMAN: Did you call, Thomas? Oh, greetings, Joan.

JOAN: Hi, Roman.

THOMAS: As a matter of fact, Roman, yes, I called you.

ROMAN: How may I serve you?

THOMAS: Where exactly did you get your idea for Dr. Picani’s redesign in the draft that I’ve just written?

ROMAN: It looks cool, doesn’t it? I knew you would like it.

THOMAS: Come on, Roman. Proofread it. We can’t use that design, it’s out of character for Dr. Picani.

ROMAN: [a little offended] Excuse me? I think he’d look like the prettiest creature in this world, other than me, [pedantically] but my design is unrepeatable.

THOMAS: Let me guess… You’re talking about your boyfriend Virgil?

JOAN: [surprised] Boyfriend?

THOMAS: It’s a long story, Joan, I’ll tell you later.

ROMAN: [smiling] How did you guess, Thomas?

VIRGIL: [rising up] I’m sorry, Thomas, I really am. I told him that it didn’t seem right to send you that design, but he wouldn’t listen.

ROMAN: Virge, honey, I have set as my supreme quest to make you leave your self-deprecating issues behind, and as my name is Roman Graham Alexander McDonald Carlos Sanders III, Prince and Heir of the Kingdom of Sandersia, I’m gonna fulfill it. Even if I have to put your marvelous face all over the world so that everyone can admire your beauty…

VIRGIL: [distressed] Please, Roman… Don’t… I mean it… Don’t do that.

JOAN: Thank God we don’t have to memorize Roman’s full name…

THOMAS: Okay, Roman. We get it. You love Virgil more than anything in this world, and that’s sweet and all, but you can’t let love blurry your common sense. You can’t redesign all my characters to look like Virgil, as if there was some sort of failure on the Matrix from my stories’ universe. Don’t you see it doesn’t make any sense?

ROMAN: [reluctantly] Okay, maybe you’re right, I guess…

VIRGIL: [relieved] Thank God…

THOMAS: Wait a second… did you say earlier… Kingdom of Sandersia?

JOAN: Your abilities of attention to details and memorization will always blow my mind, Thomas…

ROMAN: Yes, Thomas, it’s my homeland, and one day I’ll be its ruler.

THOMAS: You had never spoken about your homeland, Roman. Up until today, I didn’t even know that you had your own kingdom.

ROMAN: Well, Thomas, there’s no royalty without a kingdom, right?

JOAN: Tell that to the French Bourbons… Or the Greek royal family… Or the Burger King…

THOMAS: And how does your kingdom look like, Roman? Is it beautiful?

ROMAN: Very beautiful, but in a way, you already know it, Thomas.

THOMAS: What? What do you mean?

ROMAN: Let’s see if I can convey it in words… Have you ever heard about “The Neverending Story”?

THOMAS: Yes, I loved the first movie.

ROMAN: I don’t mean the movies, but the book by Michael Ende.

LOGAN: [rising up, with a squeaking yell] BOOK!?

VIRGIL: [jumps scared] WHAT THE F…! [putting his hand over his heart] Holy sssshoot… you scared me so bad… Again…

LOGAN: [ignoring Virgil, rising his hand, doing little jumps, overexcited] I did read it! I did read it! Pick me! Pick me!

ROMAN: Okay, okay, Teach, do your thing…

LOGAN: [with a face of contained happiness over sharing what he knows, masked with seriousness] It tells the story of a young boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux, who enters through some special book titled “The Neverending Story” into the land of Fantasia, which is made up of all of humanity’s fantasy. Every dream any human had, any wish, any fantastic creation they made or anything they wrote… Anything any human had ever conceived, it existed in Fantasia.

THOMAS: I see…

ROMAN: Sandersia follows the same principle, Thomas. It is made up of all of your creations. From the first poem you wrote as a teen to the latest Cartoon Therapy episode you created just now, including the Vines, the shorts, the fictional one-off YouTubes… any character you created, they’re all my subjects and my royal family rules them with wisdom.

LOGAN: So you’re like their Childlike Empress? It suits you… cause you’re a brat sometimes…

[Roman emits some offended Princey noises]

THOMAS: Man… I’d love to see that place.

JOAN: Me too…

[Joan and Thomas look at each other, both of their faces lighten up and they show a wide smile]

JOAN: Did you have the same idea I just had?

THOMAS: I think so… there’s some leftover pizza in the fridge and I’m hungry. I’ll share.

JOAN: [beat] I guess you didn’t. [sighs] I was thinking if we could go to Sandersia to see how it looks. Could we, Roman?

THOMAS: Hey, that’s a good idea! Could we?

ROMAN: [shows a little worried face] Sure. Joan can enter the Mind Palace, so they can also enter Sandersia.

VIRGIL: Is there any risk we should be worried about, Roman? You looked concerned.

ROMAN: [hiding his concern] Nah, I don’t think so. Everything should be safe there. And it could be fun. [frowns] But we must stay away from the Royal Castle.

THOMAS: Why?

ROMAN: I have… personal reasons, Thomas. I’d wish to keep them private for the moment if you don’t mind.

THOMAS: Okay, as you wish, Roman.

DECEIT: [appearing] I’m not missing it either. A world made of things that in the end are all lies? It looks like a paradise…

ROMAN: I don’t like the way you’ve described my country, Deceit.

DECEIT: Sorry. I think we should call the others. Honesty got really angry when we didn’t call him the last time. Patton, definitely won’t want to miss it, and it could be a good group experience for Wrath to get fully integrated into the team.

THOMAS: I agree with Deceit. Is it okay if we all go?

ROMAN: Of course it is, Thomas. Be my guests.

THOMAS: Okay. Patton, Honesty, Wrath! Everyone come here now, please!

[they all rise up]

PATTON: Hi, kiddos! I was baking some cookies, but I never reject the opportunity of seeing you all.

HONESTY: I was in the middle of preparing a teapot with a new tea mix I just invented…

WRATH: And I was watching “Jesus Christ Superstar”. I was in the middle of the “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” song…

ROMAN: Okay, if you want, you can go back to your chores, but I was wondering if you wanted to visit my homeland, Sandersia. We’re all going on a trip there.

PATTON: Yay! I have some cookies left in my pocket, so I can wait.

HONESTY: And I didn’t put the pot on the stove yet, so I’m ready.

WRATH: And it’s like the 57th time I watched that movie anyway, so I can join in too.

ROMAN: Very good.

THOMAS: So… how do we get there?

ROMAN: First, we need to get into my room, the door to Sandersia is over there.

THOMAS: Okay. Let’s go, then.

[everybody sinks down. There’s a white flash and they appear in Roman’s room. The room looks exactly the same as the last time, except that the forest of thorns in Virgil’s spot has been replaced by a huge rose tree full of purple roses]

THOMAS: I like the rose tree, Roman.

ROMAN: [sighs, looking at Virgil with a romantic glance] Me too. Purple roses started blooming one after the other when we…

VIRGIL: [nervously diverting the conversation, while blushing at the same time] Umm… Where is the door to Sandersia, Roman?

ROMAN: Oh, right, right. Well, the door to Sandersia is the front door of the apartment, of course.

JOAN: That’s it? So easy?

ROMAN: What did you expect?

JOAN: I was expecting some sort of magic portal full of light and beauty… like in fairy tales.

ROMAN: Well, sorry, but I thought that a good old door was the most practical thing to use. Besides, magic light is so expensive nowadays. And Thomas can already tell you that portals are a little bit dangerous by experience.

THOMAS: True. I almost broke a knee the last time. Don’t ask…

JOAN: [confused] Okay…

THOMAS: Well, if Sandersia is behind that door, let’s go.

[Thomas and Joan go to the front door. There’s a close-up shot of Thomas’ hand opening the door. Then a close-up of his face looking at the exterior. Then another one of Joan’s face of surprise]

THOMAS: Oh, my goodness…

JOAN: This is so… f… [bleep] ...ng… beautiful.

[camera zooms out quickly far away. Roman’s door is installed in what looks like a huge tree in the middle of a prairie, everything looks like taken from a Pixar movie, in CG animation. Thomas, Joan and the Sides go through the door, close it behind them and take a few steps forward]

PATTON: This is all so beautiful!

VIRGIL: It really looks like a Pixar movie or a recent Disney feature, like Tangled or Brave. It’s all really gorgeous.

ROMAN: I’m glad that you like my homeland, guys. It fills me with pride.

PATTON: [looking upwards, he gasps] Look, Thomas! Look at the sun! But be careful or you’ll get blind.

ROMAN: [invokes some special glasses for eclipses and gives one to Thomas and other to Joan] There you go.

THOMAS: [wearing the glasses] Thanks, Roman. [looks upwards to the sun, then overexcited yell] WOOOOOOOW! It’s Sun!

JOAN: Holy sh… [bleep] ! But it was me who created the special effects! And there he is, exactly as I made him in my laptop! Incredible!

THOMAS: I know! How can he be here in the flesh? Well, in the helium…

SUN: [from the sky] Greetings! Nice to meet you, Supreme Creators.

THOMAS: That’s… us?

ROMAN: Of course it is you, Thomas. You and Joan. You created him, didn’t you?

THOMAS: Um… Hi, Sun!

MOON: [rising up from behind a mountain, with a happy childlike voice] Hi, Thomas! It’s me, Moon!

THOMAS: [taking his glasses off, with a happy voice] Moooon!

SUN: [lashing out] Not again! This was my time! He was talking to me, now!

THOMAS: Okay, don’t fight, guys, you’re both celestial supreme entities, you need to be kind to each other.

MOON: [happily] Yes, let’s be friends!

SUN: [reluctantly] If you say so… Oh, there are some clouds coming to cover me. Well, I’m powerful, but not enough to defeat the powers of Florida weather, so I’m afraid it’s time for me to go…

THOMAS: Florida weather? I thought we were in Sandersia.

ROMAN: Thomas, Sandersia is in the Mind Palace, and the Mind Palace is in you, and you are in Florida, so Sandersia is in Florida right now.

THOMAS: Got it, a little complicated, but got it.

SUN: Until next time.

MOON: Bye, Sun! Bye, Thomas!

THOMAS: [waving his hand] Bye, guys!

[The clouds cover Sun, and Moon goes back behind the mountain]

THOMAS: That was wild!

ROMAN: Well, Thomas, it’s just the beginning. Let’s go.

[Thomas and the others start walking through a little road. After a while they get to a little neighborhood full of houses, each with its own front-yard]

THOMAS: This looks a lot like my town of Gainesville.

ROMAN: Maybe because it was inspired on it, Thomas… Oh, look who’s coming.

THOMAS: But… that’s me! Well, it’s been ages since I last wore that shirt with red and navy blue stripes, but still…

ROMAN: Don’t be fooled, Thomas. Of course everyone is going to look similar to you, you’ve played most of the characters in your stories. But here, each is their own person.

THOMAS: Then who is he?

STORYTIME GUY: [with his trademark narrator voice] Storytime! Thomas was confused because he didn’t know who I was until I nailed this narration.

THOMAS: Oh, you’re the Storytime Guy! Oh, it’s so weird, I feel as if I was talking to myse… never mind, I’ve just realized I already do this everyday with you, guys.

STORYTIME GUY: What’s up, Thomas? How are you doing?

THOMAS: Oh, I’m fine, I’m fine… And you?

STORYTIME GUY: Well, I’ve been out of work lately, but I don’t complain. It’s good to have some me time. The Vine years were so frenetically busy…

THOMAS: Yeah, I know. Viewers still love and remember you and would wish for you to keep on appearing in the shorts. It’s too bad that people don’t fall so easily into the narrations anymore. Now, they see me coming from miles away, so I just stopped trying. I guess it’s the price of getting known online. It was easier to sneak into them in the early years. Now the only potential victim I have left is my own mom.

STORYTIME GUY: It’s okay. I’ll always be here, as long as the Vines keep on existing and people remember me. Well, gotta go now. Have a nice day in Sandersia, guys, and I hope to see you again soon.

THOMAS: And I hope I’m able to give you more material to narrate soon. Bye, Storytime Guy…

STORYTIME GUY: [leaving] Bye, Thomas! Take it easy, guys and non binary pal!

PATTON: Wow! The Storytime Guy is so nice!

JOAN: He was played by Thomas and based on the real life Thomas, what else did you expect?

PATTON: True.

THOMAS: Aww! You’re too sweet, guys.

ROMAN: Okay, let’s keep going.

[the gang keep advancing around the neighborhood. After turning a corner, another person bumps into Thomas]

THOMAS: Awe! I’m so sorry.

TRAILER VOICE: [with his low voice] In a world, where you think you can cross a corner safely, and some fool bumps into you anyway…

PATTON: Oi, no need to be rude, it was an accident!

VIRGIL: It’s the Trailer Voice Guy… My, I wonder how they can identify each other here in Sandersia. The same car drive license could be equally valid for everyone, it seems, they all have the same face…

THOMAS: Something tells me that perhaps I should try to do more shows with different actors…

JOAN: Well, we’ve already started. But you’ve done so much acting all on your own… I don’t know how you can cope with having so much weight over your shoulders, Thomas.

THOMAS: I’m surrounded by a good team of incredibly amazing friends and incredibly talented people, you can be certain that helps.

JOAN: I’ll take my share of that compliment, thank you.

THOMAS: Oh, where’s the trailer voice guy?

[They realize the Trailer Voice guy left while they were speaking and is nowhere to be seen]

THOMAS: Okay, never mind. Let’s just keep going.

VIRGIL: Roman…

ROMAN: Yes, sweetheart?

VIRGIL: Firstly, don’t call me like that until we’re alone. And secondly, what’s that shadowy hill that can be seen in the distance?

ROMAN: That’s beyond our borders, we must never go there, Simba… I mean, Virgil.

THOMAS: Why?

ROMAN: Well, that area is where your impression characters live. You know, Stewie Griffin, Kermit the Frog, Stitch, Goofy… It’s also home of the characters you portrayed on-stage, like J.D., Prospero, Javert, Don Lockwood, Ko-Ko, Leo Bloom, and so many others. We don’t hold the copyright of these characters, so it would be tricky if they appeared on this video…

LOGAN: Talk about meta…

THOMAS: But… isn’t Sandersia the place of my own creations? Why are these characters here if I didn’t create them?

ROMAN: Thomas, don’t underestimate an actor’s labor. Do you think that a character is created solely on what a writer has written? That’s a solid base, but it’s just the beginning. The director with his vision of the character, and the actor with his work of bringing life into it, adapting himself to the character, but also adapting the character to his own range and needs… that’s also a part of the creative process of a character. So you have been a part of the creation of these characters, at least of your versions of the characters. It’s only natural that they live here.

THOMAS: Okay… [sighs] It’s a pity I won’t get to see Taylor’s Herbert. That would have been great… But you’re right, Roman, we don’t want a copyright strike. Let’s go.

[they keep walking, and after a while, they get in front of a house that looks quite familiar to Thomas]

THOMAS: But… that’s my house!

ROMAN: No, it isn’t, Thomas. Look carefully, and you too, Patton.

PATTON: Me?

[they all sneak on a window, they see that the Dad Guy, Mom and the children are there inside having lunch]

PATTON: But… that’s me!

ROMAN: No, Patton, that’s the Dad Guy. A character that appears on the Vines. Like the Prince Guy and the Teacher Guy. People think that we were inspired on them… but in fact it’s them who were inspired on us. Thomas has known us for all of his life and he used our likenesses to design these characters. [to the camera, breaking the fourth wall] You didn’t see that one coming, did you?

LOGAN: Well, Thomas, perhaps we should start sharing a piece of the shorts’ royalties, shouldn’t we?

THOMAS: I mean, the Vines don’t give much, since they’re defunct, but anyway, you all are me, so in a way we’re already sharing royalties, aren’t we?

PATTON: Oh, I love that scene. A beautiful family all gathered around the table, telling dad jokes… Oh, I wish I had a family like that…

ROMAN: Patton, aren’t we family already?

PATTON: Of course we are, kiddo. But I mean with a partner and children of my own to raise. I’ve always called myself a dad… but  I have the feeling that it’s only a nickname Thomas placed on me. The truth is I have no recollection of my children or the supposed couple that gave birth to them or adopted them with me, whatever. I called myself a dad just by inertia, and I tried to live up to that name being a dad for you all guys. However I’ve started doubting lately if I’m really a father at all and I should just back up a little bit and just be more grounded.

VIRGIL: Wanna know a secret?

PATTON: What is it, kiddo?

VIRGIL: I… am your son.

PATTON: [little bittersweet smile] Thank you, kiddo. It fills me with joy that you would consider yourself as such, and I’ve always considered you as such myself, but at the end of the day I always remember we’re just best friends…

VIRGIL: I’m not just being kind… dad. I really mean it. Think about it. When I was a Dark Side, I was mainly anxiety, and anxiety is a feeling. And who’s the one that gives “birth” to feelings in this house? It’s you. So, technically, you are my real father.

PATTON: But that can’t be, kiddo. You appeared in Thomas’ life way before I did.

VIRGIL: So did Roman, and I was in the Mind Palace way before him, I only took more time to rise up before Thomas. The same happened to you. Feelings are the first thing that a human has when they’re born, they’re nothing but an 8 pound ball of feelings…

LOGAN: [disgusted retching] Huurl… [after Honesty frowns at him] Excuse me.

PATTON: Then… you are my son… for real? [tearing up] Why didn’t you tell me earlier?

VIRGIL: Because I wasn’t sure yet. After all, I was a Dark Side and you were a Light Side, so it didn’t make sense that I was your son… But now that we’ve discovered that in origin I was a Light Side… Suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle started fitting in… just like you said in the puzzle song.

PATTON: I wish I would have been there to take care of you all of your life, to rise you as my son. Oh, all you’ve been through in the Dark Realm without me to take care of you and defend you… I’m so, so sorry, Virgil. I wasn’t there when you needed me…

VIRGIL: You have nothing to be sorry about. Ever since we finally met, you have put yourself into your father role, even when you didn’t know the truth. And even when I tried to resist it, there was always… how to describe it… this sort of “pulling sensation” inside of me that made me want to be closer to you, that made me feel better when I was with you more than with anyone else. I guess you were bound to take care of me, and I was bound to love you, dad, ever since the first time we met.

[Virgil hugs Patton and Patton squeezes his son]

PATTON: I love you, my emo son.

VIRGIL: And I love you too, my wonderful dad.

JOAN: This emotional moment just came out of nowhere… [cleaning a tear from their eye] Warn a dude next time, for f… [bleep] …k‘s sake!

ROMAN: Well, be warned then, Joan, because here comes another round of tears… [to Patton] If you’re really his father, Patton… then I must take this time to ask you and Virgil something.

PATTON: What is it kiddo?

VIRGIL: Roman?

ROMAN: Patton, would you… give me your son’s hand?

VIRGIL: [in shock] What?

ROMAN: And Virgil… [taking a little box out of his pocket and kneeling before Virgil, who covers his mouth in shock] … I know you don’t like weddings, but… [opening the box and revealing a golden ring with a shiny purple amethyst on it] it would make me the happiest aspect on the Mind Palace if you would marry me.

VIRGIL: [overwhelmed, unable to react] I… I…

THOMAS: Oh, my gosh…

PATTON: Answering your question, Roman, whatever Virgil decides, I will support it no matter what, but if it was up to me, of course I’d give you his hand. I couldn’t think of a better son in law for me. But it’s Virgil’s choice and only his.

ROMAN: Virgil?

VIRGIL: I mean… you know I don’t like weddings, at all…

ROMAN: [showing a little dejected face] I understand…

VIRGIL: …but I certainly want to spend the rest of my life with you as my husband. If there’s no choice other than going through a wedding to achieve that, I’ll willingly take the sacrifice. Of course I’ll marry you.

[Roman shows a face of endless happiness. Then puts the ring on Virgil’s finger and kisses him, then they hug each other. Deceit looks at the scene from the back, showing a smile as if he didn’t care but with a single sad tear sticking out of his human eye. Honesty and Wrath stand next to Deceit, discreetly put their hands on his shoulders and give him a friendly smile. Deceit gives a grateful but bittersweet smile back at them and doesn’t say a word. While hugging Roman, Virgil notices this exchange, but says nothing]

THOMAS: [happy yelling] Congratulations, guys!

DAD GUY: [from the window] Yes, congratulations, your Highness!

ROMAN: Oh, I’m sorry, Dad Guy, we didn’t want to bother you.

DAD GUY: It’s okay, it was like watching a good romantic movie right on our window, I won’t complain. Oh, you must be Patton!

PATTON: You know me?

DAD GUY: Of course I do. I was created on your image. But don’t stay out there, I know you’re cool but that doesn’t mean you must catch a cold to prove it.

THOMAS: Oh, we wouldn’t want to bother you. Besides, we need to keep going on our way.

DAD GUY: Oh, okay. If you say so. Enjoy your visit through Sandersia, Thomas.

THOMAS: Thank you, Dad Guy. It was nice meeting you.

PATTON: I have to come back here some day, we could share some dad jokes when we have the time.

DAD GUY: I’ll be waiting. Bye, kiddos!

[Thomas and the others get going. After some time, they get in front of what looks like a school]

THOMAS: I have the feeling I know who we can find in here. Don’t you, Logan?

LOGAN: I think I know who you’re referring to, Thomas. If it’s him, I can’t wait. He wears a necktie like I do, so he must be the most serious, level-headed individual you could ever mee…

[the Teacher Guy passes by in front of them, running. He’s carrying some balloons in his hand, laughing uncontrollably, while some students follow him running too]

LOGAN: [in shock] I mean… what? [nervously] Oh, well, I’m sure he’s using these balloons to explain some laws of physics, maybe the properties of helium gas. It has to be that. It has…

TEACHER GUY: [still running] I said I don’t wanna go to school!

STUDENT: [running behind him, trying to catch him] But you must! You are our teacher! Moreover, you’re the principal! And we need to know our exam results! Come back heere!

[Virgil looks at Logan’s face of shock and chortles]

LOGAN: [in frustration] Okay, I have seen enough of this…

THOMAS: I had forgotten how much different the Teacher Guy was from you, Logan…

LOGAN: Well, as far as I’m concerned, Thomas, you can forget that… tie-traitor again.

PATTON: Well, I like him.

THOMAS: Don’t get mad, Logan.

[a person approaches them. He looks at the Teacher Guy, still running in the distance, balloons in hand]

PERSON: What a freak…

THOMAS: Excuse me?

PERSON: [yelling] ...iiiing amazing bunch of balloons that charming fellow is carrying over there! [giggles] Colorful!

[then the person leaves running]

THOMAS: I think it was the Misleading Compliment’s Guy, wasn’t it?

VIRGIL: Yes, I think so.

THOMAS: Okay, let’s go, there’s still so much to see.

[the gang keeps on walking. After some time, they reach an office building]

THOMAS: Oh, my goodness… Joan, look at the sign at the door.

JOAN: [reading] Dr. Emile Picani, therapist. [gasps] Whoa! That’s amazing!

THOMAS: Should we come in?

JOAN: We don’t have an appointment, Thomas. It may be rude…

[the door opens. Elliott comes out of it, they almost trip on Joan]

ELLIOTT: I’m sorry…

JOAN: I’m sorry too…

ELLIOTT: Are you waiting to come in?

JOAN: Oh, we don’t have an appointment.

ELLIOTT: That’s okay. Dr. Picani has some free time, my session today has been shorter than expected.

JOAN: Really?

THOMAS: I hope it’s not for anything bad…

ELLIOTT: No, it isn’t. Today my sister is moving to college. I had an appointment set beforehand, so I just came in to warn Dr. Picani. We did an express session and that’s all. If you want to see him, you can right now, before his next patient.

JOAN: Okay, thank you. I think we will.

ELLIOTT: You two make a cute couple.

THOMAS: Oh, we’re… we’re not dating, we’re just friends.

ELLIOTT: [shrugs] Okay. I think Dr. Picani could also be efficient in solving issues between friends. Now, if you excuse me, I must go, or I’ll be late to my sister’s farewell. I hope we meet again, bye!

JOAN: That was weird… it felt as if I was talking to myself…

THOMAS: Tell me about it… Okay, we’re too many to enter the little office, how do we do this?

ROMAN: If you want, Thomas, we can get inside of you while you’re there.

THOMAS: I you want to, It’d be great.

ROMAN: Okay, we’ll be watching, Thomas.

[they all sink down]

THOMAS: Okay, let’s get in.

[Thomas and Joan enter the office. There’s a secretary in the reception]

SECRETARY: Do you have an appointment?

THOMAS: Well, as a matter of fact, we don’t, Elliott had told us that Dr. Picani had some free time and…

PICANI: [from the therapy room] It’s okay, Quill, let them in.

SECRETARY: Okay. Could you give me your names for the register?

THOMAS: Sure, I’m Thomas Sanders.

JOAN: And I’m Joan S.

SECRETARY: Very well, you can come in, it’s that door over there. You won’t get lost.

THOMAS: Thank you.

[Thomas and Joan cross the door and they find themselves in Picani’s office. Picani is there, smiling at them]

PICANI: New patients. Do you how do? Sit down, please.

THOMAS: Good afternoon, doctor.

JOAN: Hi.

[Thomas and Joan sit down]

PICANI: I couldn’t help but hear you from my window. You know Elliott, right?

JOAN: Oh, yes. You could say we’re almost like family.

PICANI: Yes, I see the resemblance… Is this your first time in therapy?

THOMAS: Well, not for me, I had to go to some therapy after a rough break-up I had a couple of years ago.

JOAN: For me, it’s the first time.

PICANI: And how would you describe the relationship between you two?

THOMAS: Oh, we’re just friends of many years, we’re not dating or anything. We also work together.

PICANI: I see… Are you currently in a relationship?

THOMAS: Not me. I’ve been single since the break-up.

JOAN: I am, with my partner Talyn.

PICANI: Oh, and it’s a happy relation?

JOAN: Yes, certainly. It’s them, their kittens their pet-rat and me.

PICANI: Aww! Just like Cinderella had their mice before she met her prince charming…

JOAN: Yes, you could say so…

PICANI: We don’t have much time, and Joan seems to be doing okay, so I wanna concentrate in you Thomas. How would you describe the outcome of your relationship.

THOMAS: Well, it was hard. It’s not easy to give up to your first love, you know?

PICANI: Was it a source of anxiety?

[Suddenly, Thomas is replaced on the seat by Virgil, it seems that only Joan notices the change, Picani doesn’t sport any reaction]

VIRGIL: Yes, it certainly was. Both in the time before and after the end of the relation, angst was pretty the norm in my life.

JOAN: … Virgil?

PICANI: I see. It seems that you loved this person, right?

[now it’s Patton who sits in the couch]

PATTON: Yes, all of my heart was devoted to him. That was the hardest part, allowing my heart to let him go. It took time, but I finally did it.

JOAN: …and Patton?

PICANI: And what do you hope to get from life in the love department, Thomas?

[Roman appears in the couch]

ROMAN: Oh, I’m still a sucker for romance, you know. At first I thought I would never get to experiment that feeling again, but little by little I have recovered the hope that there’s someone for me and that I will find him someday, when I least expect it. And if that doesn’t happen, it’s okay. I’m also lucky today to say that I love myself, and that’s enough.

JOAN: What is going on here?

PICANI: Do you have any plans for your future?

[Logan appears on the couch]

LOGAN: Of course I do. I mean, no one can plan his future in the long term, but I have some things planned for me in the short term, like trying to do bigger steps in my career, making sure that I have a proper, healthy lifestyle, et cetera.

JOAN: Okay, will anybody tell me what’s happening here?

[Thomas reappears on the couch]

THOMAS: What’s the matter, Joan? Are you okay?

JOAN: You tell me. Your Sides have been appearing in your place all of the time.

THOMAS: Have they? I didn’t even notice.

PICANI: I did, but I assumed it was some eccentricity of you, non Sandersians.

THOMAS: I guess I was projecting them while I was speaking with Dr. Picani. It may have something to do with being in this land. It’s okay, Joan.

JOAN: If you say so…

PICANI: Okay. Time is running out. My next patient will be here in just a few minutes. Since this hasn’t been a full session where we didn’t have really much time to discuss any real issues, and you are friends of Elliott’s, you don’t owe me anything. Elliott has payed for the full session already, so it’s okay.

THOMAS: Oh, thank you, Dr. Picani.

PICANI: But I hope to know about you in the future.

[Thomas and Joan rise up]

THOMAS: Yes, I hope so too, Doctor. Goodbye.

JOAN: Goodbye, Doctor.

PICANI: Goodbye, patients.

[Thomas and Joan get out of the building. The Sides rise up or appear around them]

THOMAS: Well, that was refreshing.

JOAN: It was.

ROMAN: And you were right, Thomas, it doesn’t make sense to place eyeshadow and purple garments on Dr. Picani. I’ll scrap that when we get back home.

THOMAS: I’m glad you understand, Roman…

[suddenly, an army of Thomases, all dressed with the Steven Universe star shirt, comes out of nowhere and surrounds the gang]

THOMAS: [a little afraid] What’s the meaning of this?

VIRGIL: [concerned] We’re surrounded, there’s no possible escape route.

[one of them approaches them]

GUARD: At last we found thou, your Highness.

ROMAN: [concerned] Oh, no…

THOMAS: What is going on, Roman? Who are these?

ROMAN: These are all the different Thomas characters you have played in your Vines and shorts. They work in the Royal Palace, doing chores, being our entourage in protocol expeditions, being our guards, like the ones here…

GUARD: Thou must come with us, your Highness. Thy father has been looking for you everywhere. Thou shouldn’t have just disappeared like that.

ROMAN: I’m the prince of this land! I decide when I disappear and for how long! Now I command you to let me go!

GUARD: I’d wish to follow your command, your Highness, but alas, our orders come from the King, your father, themselves. Thou must come with us right now.

ROMAN: But…

GUARD: Please, your Highness, don’t make a scene. Do not resist us. We’d hate to use violence, but we’ll do to enforce your Majesty’s command if we must. Ye are surrounded and outnumbered, thou know thou have no choice.

ROMAN: [sighs] Okay… If there’s no choice, I’ll go with you… But my friends will come with me as my own personnel, they’ll stay with me all the time.

GUARD: Do as it pleases thyself, as long as thou come with us.

ROMAN: Let’s go then. Let’s get over with this already.

[they start walking, they talk to each other in low voice trying not to be heard by the guards surrounding them]

ROMAN: I’m so sorry, you guys. I didn’t expect that they would find us so easily. I thought if we stayed away from the Royal Palace, we’d be safe, but I guess I was wrong. My father must have eyes and ears everywhere.

LOGAN: Ew… That’s gross…

DECEIT: It’s a metaphor, Logan.

VIRGIL: But I don’t understand, Roman. What’s going on?

ROMAN: You see… when I first appeared in front of Thomas the first time, I told him that some day I’d be a prince, remember Thomas?

THOMAS: How could I forget?

ROMAN: I am Creativity, and I had the power of making anything that Thomas imagined through me come true in the Mind Palace. So I wished hard for me to become a real Prince… and it worked. One day I woke up in a royal bedroom, and I was Prince Roman, Heir of the Kingdom of Sandersia. Everything I created as Thomas’ creativity, made Sandersia bigger and more prosperous. I also had a royal family of my own, with a King that ruled the Kingdom, which was my royal father. I lived with him so many years, I got fully immersed into the story I created for myself, and became his son for real. He raised me, after all, so he was my father in all the sense of the word. But then, the problems arose.

THOMAS: Problems?

ROMAN: Well, it was in a time when you, Thomas, got really afraid and uncomfortable with your own sexuality, and that fear was a big influence on all of us. I didn’t escape that influence as, suddenly, my father, the King, started demanding me to marry a princess to secure a lineage. I was horrified. I told him that I was gay, and that I would never marry a woman, princess or not, but that only infuriated him. He just locked me in my bedroom, forbid me to get out of the kingdom, so I couldn’t see you, Thomas, and started looking for eligible maidens all over the land to choose one himself and force me to marry her.

VIRGIL: Oh, yes, you mentioned that, but not with so much detail.

ROMAN: So, in the end, one night, when everybody was sleeping, I grabbed my sword and ran away to my room in the Mind Palace. I created a barrier between my room and Sandersia so that they could never know where I was, and so that no one could get in or out without my authorization. And I stayed in my room from then on, never returning until today. I even removed the shields from my royal uniform out of fear of being uncovered… then I realized that was impossible as long as I didn’t return, so I brought them back when I updated my outfit. I should have taken them off before coming back. No wonder everyone recognized me as Your Highness…

THOMAS: But you’re Creativity. You literally created them all. You could as easily modify them or make them disappear, why so much fear?

ROMAN: I can’t, Thomas! They’re my family. I literally grew up with them. I’m too attached to them, it would kill me to do that. I would never do that. I want them to keep on existing, just the way they are, and if they change, I want them to change on their own free will, because they’ve listened to reason, not just because I forced them to do so. I may dress in white, but I’m not White Diamond, you know?

THOMAS: I see. But if you knew this could happen, why did you take such a foolish risk and return to Sandersia? We would have never put you in such a danger just for some… fun trip.

ROMAN: I always felt incomplete, Thomas. What’s a prince without a kingdom? I’ve always missed Sandersia, and I had hoped that they would have forgotten about me after all these years, especially since now you are more than comfortable with being gay… I guess I was wrong. Now they’ll force me to go back to the Royal Castle permanently… maybe even carry on with their plans and make me marry a princess of their choice… [looks at Virgil with an angsty face] I don’t want to do that! I love you, Virgil, I just want to be with you and no one else!

VIRGIL: [holding Roman’s hand, with determined voice] If that’s so, I won’t let them force you into doing something you don’t wanna do! We’ll try to convince them to understand, and if they don’t listen, we’ll make them listen! I won’t let them take you away from me! Jeez… love can really change people down to the core. I never thought these kind of determined words would ever be coming out from my mouth. That’s the effect you’ve had on me, Roman, and I’m not giving you up!

ROMAN: [with a sad smile] I love you, so much…

THOMAS: And we’ll help in any way we can. It’s not fair that for some… stupid law, they force you to be in an unhappy relationship for the rest of your life. We’ll think of something.

GUARD: Okay, we’ve arrived.

ROMAN: [with a painful, sarcastic, voice] Oh… good…

[the gang looks at the castle that lies in front of them. It’s huge, in white color with red roofs, and with Roman’s shield above the front door. The door opens and they enter a huge corridor with another door at the end of it. When the front door slams behind them, all the guards except the main guard leave them to guard the door and the gang walks to the end door]

GUARD: Wait here till I announce thou.

ROMAN: Yes, I know how this works, I used to live here, remember? Don’t teach me any lessons and go ahead already.

GUARD: You must know that I sympathize with you, your Highness. I do not like at all having to do this, but it’s the king. I must obey. I wish you the best of luck.

ROMAN: Yes, yes, whatever…

[the guard opens the door and closes it behind him, while the gang stays outside]

ROMAN: I’m scared, you guys…

VIRGIL: Who wouldn’t be?

ROMAN: I mean, who knows what my father’s going to do to me? The more I think of it, the more scared I get… I wish we could be back in the living room right now…

THOMAS: And why don’t we? Let’s just teleport back, like when we get in and out of the rooms.

ROMAN: We can’t teleport out of Sandersia, Thomas. Remember that I placed a barrier at the door. No one can get in or out of Sandersia unless they cross that door. We’d need to get physically across the door to my room first to be able to get back to the living room, but it’s too far away… and we’re trapped in this castle with no escape. And I’m not wiping out anything or anyone, before you make the suggestion. No innocent Sandersian will be erased in any plan we conceive.

THOMAS: It’s okay. We’ll think of something else. In the meantime, don’t be afraid. We won’t let anything bad happen to you.

PATTON: If the king treats you bad, I’m ready to physically fight all the minions he tries to throw upon us to defend you. It would be the first time I’d have to do it for real, but I don’t care. I’ve got a future son in law to protect.

ROMAN: Thank you, Patton. Thank you guys…

[the door starts opening]

ROMAN: [swallows saliva and shows a scared face] Oh, no… [takes a deep breath and masks his fear with his usual regal bearing] Okay… dignity. I’m still Prince Roman. I’ll stand my ground. I won’t give in.

[once the door is fully opened, the guard yells from inside]

GUARD: Prince Roman Graham Alexander McDonald Carlos Sanders III, Prince and Heir of the Kingdom of Sandersia!

[Roman starts walking and the others walk a few steps behind. He shows his regal bearing, and he would have fooled everyone into thinking he was confident, if it wasn’t for how much his hands were shaking. After a few steps, Roman looks at the throne room. To the surprise of everyone, at the throne there sits the Prince Guy]

ROMAN: What? You?

PRINCE GUY: Glad to see you again… brother.

THOMAS: What the… Brother? The Prince Guy is your brother?

ROMAN: Where is dad? [to the guard] You said that my father gave you the orders.

PRINCE GUY: I commanded him to tell you that, Roman. You wouldn’t have listened otherwise.

ROMAN: [sarcastic] And of course, the fact that you sent a whole army to get me wasn’t a stronger way of convincing me, I guess…

PRINCE GUY: You never know…

ROMAN: You still didn’t answer my question. Where is dad?

PRINCE GUY: Roman, our father… died seven years ago.

ROMAN: [in shock] He… died?

PRINCE GUY: When you left, he went really angry. He searched Sandersia for you far and wide. But you were nowhere to be seen. After a couple of years of search, he stopped looking for you.

ROMAN: Because he gave up on me?

PRINCE GUY: Because he went ill, Roman. When he saw that his end was nearing, he realized how bad he had been with you. In the end, I confessed…

ROMAN: You confessed? What did you have to confess?

PRINCE GUY: …that I had been covering your escape.

ROMAN: [in shock] You… what? I didn’t know…

PRINCE GUY: I had always known where you were hiding. That night, when dad was so harsh on you, when he called you all those horrible things… I went to your bedroom to try to comfort and support you. And I saw you sneaking out of the castle and running away. I followed you up to that door in the tree where you placed the barrier.

ROMAN: I never noticed anyone following me… And why didn’t you give me away?

PRINCE GUY: How could I do that? You are my big brother and I love you. I've always looked up to you as an example for your courage and gentleness, and for your strong will that wouldn't let anyone stand in your way to your dreams and happiness, and I admired how sometimes you would be bent by dad’s words, but never broken. I knew dad was wrong and I wanted to make sure that you were happy, even if that meant I would never see you again, and even knowing how much I was gonna miss you. In his last moments, dad understood it too. He wrote you a letter, that I was to give you. But I couldn’t cross the barrier, so I couldn’t deliver it. I tried to knock sometimes, with no luck.

ROMAN: Oh… I remember someone knocking at the door years ago… But I didn’t open out of fear of getting caught. If I had known…

PRINCE GUY: It’s okay, I understood that at the time, and I just resigned to wait until the day you decided to come back. And I left… Sun and Moon guarding the door day and night to warn me when you decided to show your face here again.

ROMAN: So it was these two who gave me away. And they looked so innocent…

PRINCE GUY: Don’t be mad at them. I’m glad that they gave you away, brother. Otherwise, I couldn’t have given you this. [takes a golden envelope from a pocket in his suit, gets up from the throne and approaches Roman to give it to him] These are dad’s last words for you. Here you are.

[Roman opens the letter and starts reading the also golden paper inside. After a few moments, he bursts in tears]

THOMAS: Don’t keep us in suspense, Roman, read it to us too! If it’s not too personal, of course.

ROMAN: [sobbing] Oh, sorry… it’s not. But I fear I’ll get choked up if I read it out-loud…

PRINCE GUY:  I already know the content, as I wrote it myself on his dictation, because he was too weak to hold a quill, but, as you can see, he stamped his royal insignia so that you knew I didn’t write it myself. I’ll read it if you want.

ROMAN: [giving him the letter, still sobbing] Yes, please…

PRINCE GUY: [reading] My dear son Roman… I don’t know how to start these lines. How does a father start apologizing to his son when he thinks what he’s done is unforgivable? Some things I think of come out as fake, others come out as weak. I guess I’ll just have to allow myself to be myself, and start with the most simple, yet most difficult word to say: “Sorry”. I regret so much everything I made you go through. I have paid the price of my wrongdoings, because I lost you. Now I know I’ll never see you again in this world. I’ll pay the price and think it was worthy if at least you managed to find happiness away from me, wherever you are, and with whomever you choose, whether it’s a woman, or a man, or anything in between, I don’t care anymore, as long as they’re a good person who loves you as much as you deserve, as much as I failed to do in the end. I hope that when you read these lines, you can find it in your heart to forgive this stupid old man that is on the verge of leaving this world. That wouldn’t change what I’ve done, but at least it would give me peace.

[Virgil gets closer to Roman and holds his hand. They look at each other and tears start running from both their eyes, while the Prince Guy keeps on reading]

PRINCE GUY: There’s a problem on what we must do with the throne after my departure now that you’re gone, though. Even though your brother would also be a good king, I still think that you’re the best ruler this kingdom could have. Your brother agrees with me on that as he doesn’t want the crown. So, for the time being, until you make a choice, I have decided to make your brother the regent of the Kingdom of Sandersia, and he will govern in your name while you’re absent. In the case you decide to return, he’ll immediately resign in your favor and you’ll take your place as King of Sandersia. It’s up to you what you decide to do with the crown afterwards. I know that, whatever you do, you’ll make the right choice. You were educated in wisdom and intelligence, and you developed the most creative mind because of that. At least in that, I think I wasn’t so bad.

[the Prince Guy makes a short pause, then proceeds to read the final part of the letter]

PRINCE GUY: It’s time for me to end these lines now, as my strength is starting to fail me and my vision is getting blurry. I don’t think I’ll last much longer. Goodbye, my dear son. I hope that my love reaches you and guides you for the rest of your life. I’ll always be with you if you look into your heart. I love you, my son. Even if I failed to show it properly, I have always loved you. Farewell.

[the Prince Guy gives the paper back to Roman]

PRINCE GUY: And then he signs with his name and his royal stamp. Dad wrote another document proclaiming this last part, which was read in his funeral. You were proclaimed back then as the new king, so there’s no need for any more formalisms. Welcome back home, King Roman Graham Alexander McDonald Carlos Sanders III, ruler of the Kingdom of Sandersia.

ROMAN: I… I didn’t expect this. So I’m… the king?

[another guard brings the Prince Guy the royal crown]

PRINCE GUY: Yes, your Majesty. [placing the crown on Roman’s head] The throne is all yours.

THOMAS: [emotional] Oh, my goodness… Congratulations Ro… I mean, Your Majesty!

VIRGIL: I’m so proud of you…

[the rest of the Sides and Joan start cheering and applauding, even Logan gets a little carried away]

PRINCE GUY: Now, I think it’s your turn to speak. Say whatever’s in your heart, Your Majesty.

ROMAN: I… I don’t know what to say… Yes I do. I hereby announce that you, my brother, will keep on being the regent of Sandersia.

PRINCE GUY: [surprised] What? But I…

ROMAN: My wish was to be a prince, and if I’m crowned as king, that means I’m no longer a prince. I’m not giving up my nickname Princey. Kingy just sounds… weird, and I don’t even know how to spell it.

THOMAS: But the purpose of a prince is to become a king. Isn’t it?

ROMAN: Don’t get me wrong, Thomas, I’m not giving up the crown. But I just had an idea. I don’t have to stop being a prince if I do a little tweak to Sandersia’s Constitution, and as a king I have the power to do that… From this day on, I proclaim that the Kingdom of Sandersia becomes the Principality of Sandersia, and I remain being Prince Roman… and the rest of the names, ruler of Sandersia.

PRINCE GUY: But why do you want me to keep on being the regent? You’re back, the crown is yours. Being a king or a prince is irrelevant to that.

ROMAN: You have been here, governing the kingdom in my absence all this time. And look how well you’re doing it. I’m so proud of you. Besides, I still have work to do somewhere else, brother. I’m still Thomas’ Creativity. I can’t properly rule a country and fulfill my creative duties at the same time. That’s why I want you, brother, to help me. Be my eyes and ears in the throne. Also, I know that, unlike me, you’re capable of having descent in wedlock, because you like both men and women, I’ve seen it in Thomas’ Vines and shorts. So you won’t have the trouble that I have to find someone with whom bringing a new heir to Sandersia. When the moment comes, I’ll abdicate my crown into your son, or daughter, and they will be the next ruler. That if you choose a woman as your wife, of course. If you decided to be with a man, or decided not to be with anyone at all, we’d find a solution.

PRINCE GUY: I don’t know, it’s too much to assimilate all of a sudden… Are you sure, Roman?

ROMAN: I have never been more sure of anything in my life.

PRINCE GUY: Then… it shall be as you commanded. I’ll try to keep on making you proud, your Majesty… I mean, your Highness.

ROMAN: And please, call me Roman, we’re family after all, aren’t we?

[the two brothers share a hug]

JOAN: So many things have happened in so little time… I think I’ll just give up on keeping up and get carried away with it. I’ll think about it tomorrow.

ROMAN: Now, I want to introduce you to someone, brother. Virgil?

VIRGIL: Yes?

ROMAN: This is Virgil. He’s my fiancee, I asked him to marry me just today, and he said yes.

PRINCE GUY: I’m honored to know you, Virgil.

VIRGIL: The honor is all mine.

PRINCE GUY: It would be my biggest pleasure if you decided to celebrate your wedding here, in the Royal Palace. I wouldn’t want to miss it.

ROMAN: Oh, it would be great. What do you think, Virgil? Oh, I know you don’t like pomposity on weddings…

VIRGIL: It’s okay, Roman. When I decided to be with a prince, I accepted everything that comes with it.

ROMAN: But you don’t have to do anything that bothers you just to please me, Virgil. You have equal weight in our relationship and your word must be heard as much as mine.

VIRGIL: Thank you, Roman. I promise to tell you everything I can think of for the wedding, when I come out with something.

ROMAN: That’s better. Now, brother, we must go. I’ll tell you in advance when we’re ready to start preparing the wedding.

PRINCE GUY: I’ll be waiting, brother. Please, don’t take another seven years to come back.

ROMAN: I promise. And I’ll keep contact, even if by letter.

PRINCE GUY: I have a cell phone, you know? Sandersia is not so out of the world.

ROMAN: That’s great, here’s my number… so call me maybe?

PRINCE GUY: You bet I will.

ROMAN: Well, it’s gonna be a long way back…

PRINCE GUY: Why walking? You have the royal carriage at your disposal. It’s big enough for you and your personnel, and it will take you there in no time. It’s already waiting at the door.

ROMAN: Thank you, brother. I was so afraid when I entered the castle, and I’m leaving it so happy and fulfilled.

PRINCE GUY: Glad to hear that. Have a nice trip back home, all of you.

THOMAS: It was an honor to meet you. Goodbye.

ROMAN: Goodbye, brother, until we meet again.

[the gang leaves the room and jumps into the royal carriage. The Prince Guy was right, because they have little time to react and they’re already at the door to Roman’s room]

THOMAS: Wow! Thank God they don’t put speed tickets here in Sandersia. Your brother was right when he said we would be here in no time…

ROMAN: Yeah... [looking off-screen at Patton in the car] Watch out, Patton! Don’t throw up in the car, the upholstery is made of...! [off-screen sound of puking, Roman cringes] ...cashmere...

THOMAS: Roman...

ROMAN: Yes, Thomas?

THOMAS: Why is there so much trouble with your offspring? Aren’t you going to marry Virgil? Technically if you two adopted, it would be a child of your own in wedlock. Even if you decided to surrogate, Virgil could adopt him.

ROMAN: I know. It’s absurd, but it’s the protocol. The heir of the Kingdom... or Principality now, must be the biological son or daughter of both the ruler and their legitimate married partner.

THOMAS: Then, change the protocol! Aren’t you the king, I mean, the prince of this land?

ROMAN: It’s not that easy. Laws can be changed, but protocols are written in stone. It takes much more time to implement changes and to make them be accepted. Why do you think so much royalty people feels miserable, despite being rich, famous and powerful? It’s the price to pay for our position, unfortunately... Well, let’s get back home.

[they cross the door and get back to Roman’s room]

ROMAN: Home, sweet home.

VIRGIL: It’s good to be back. For a moment, I thought we’d never return.

THOMAS: Okay, it’s time to get back to the living room. Are you coming, guys?

ROMAN: Um, no, I’m tired, Thomas, so if you excuse me, I’m staying here.

THOMAS: Okay. What about you, Virgil?

VIRGIL: I’m staying here for a while too. We need to have a conversation about the wedding, after all.

THOMAS: [smiling] As you wish guys. Okay, let’s go. Bye, guys.

ROMAN: Bye, Thomas, bye guys.

[Thomas, Joan and the Sides sink down, then they rise up in the living room]

JOAN: What a cool adventure… Seeing all our characters alive in front of our eyes… I think it’s the best experience a creator could ever have.

THOMAS: You’re right…

PATTON: Well, kiddos. We’ve been out for so long that the dough I made for the cookies must have got rotten, so I’ll start over.

WRATH: Do you need some help, Patton? I’d love to make cookies with you.

HONESTY: Me too. I can bring the tea I was preparing earlier.

PATTON: As you wish, kiddos.

[Patton, Wrath and Honesty sink down]

LOGAN: I’m also going to my room. I need to start writing down the plans I mentioned to Dr. Picani earlier. [sinks down] See you later, Thomas.

THOMAS: Don’t work too hard, Logan.

DECEIT: I must go too, Thomas. It was great being in a world so delusional, but even the deceitful ones like me need some time to put their feet on the ground. [sinks down] Bye.

THOMAS: Bye, Deceit. Well, Joan, what do you think of this?

JOAN: It was enlightening, an experience I will never forget.

THOMAS: Yeah, me too. [to the camera] And I hope that anything you out there have seen has been useful for you too. Until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[Deceit is in his room in the Light Realm, reading a book about optical illusions]

DECEIT: Who would have thought. Even nature is a liar sometimes…

[Virgil rises up]

DECEIT: Oh, hi, Virgil. I thought you were staying with Roman discussing the preparations for your wedding.

VIRGIL: I had that planned. But something got me worrying all along, and didn’t let me focus, so I left early.

DECEIT: What is it?

VIRGIL: Are you all right, Deceit?

DECEIT: What do you mean I’m all right? I’m happy as can be.

VIRGIL: Cool. Because, earlier, when Roman proposed to me… I couldn’t help but notice your face.

DECEIT: My face? What face?

VIRGIL: Your face of sorrow.

DECEIT: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

VIRGIL: And I’m sure Honesty and Wrath know something too, they tried to be discreet, but I saw them comforting you.

DECEIT: Look, it’s normal that a wedding can be stressful, but don’t you think it’s too early to start imagining things?

VIRGIL: Lately, you only lie when you get nervous. So I think I’m hitting close home.

DECEIT: Listen, I…

VIRGIL: Listen, Deceit. We’ve been through a lot, both good and bad. There were times when we were closer, other times when we couldn’t stand each other. Now that we’ve regained our friendship back, I don’t want to be unable to know if I can trust you or not again. Please share your feelings with me.

DECEIT: Believe me, Virgil. There’s no use in me sharing my feelings with you. That would only blurry the happiness you’re living in right now, and I don’t wanna do that.

VIRGIL: There’s only one reason you could be so secretive with me, but not with Honesty and Wrath. Do you… have any feelings towards me, Deceit?

DECEIT: [nervously] No, I don’t!

VIRGIL: Got it… Listen, Deceit. I love you, but not in the way you’d wish.

DECEIT: [sighs] I know… That’s why I didn’t want you to know my feelings ever.

VIRGIL: I will always be your friend, and I hope you never stop being my friend. But please, try to…

DECEIT: I wish it was so easy, Virgil. But you said it yourself. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve known each other for so long, and I’ve been in love with you for so long. Even in the moments when we were enemies, I still loved you, but I covered that feeling with my lies. I don’t know how I can expel from myself this feeling so rooted in my heart, without tearing my heart itself apart.

VIRGIL: You must try. I love Roman.

DECEIT: I know. And I hope you live happily ever after with him, Virgil.

VIRGIL: It’s painful to see you so dejected, Deceit. I wish you could feel otherwise…

DECEIT: See why I didn’t want to share my feelings with you? What has been the use, other than bringing clouds into your happiness? Now, please, I want to be alone.

VIRGIL: [sad voice] As you wish.

[Virgil sinks down]

DECEIT: [sighs, with a trembling voice of pain] It’s all falling apart… I must go back to the Dark Realm and never return. No one would miss this stupid liar anyway…

[Deceit sinks down and then the room’s lights turn off, leaving the room in darkness]

#sanders sides #fanfic #sanders sides fic #ts fanfic #thomas sanders #thomas sanders fanfic #prinxiety #romantic prinxiety #anxceit #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #sanders sides virgil #deceit sanders #aspects and fanfics

[ao3feed-lokiangst]

Beyond the Horizon

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2B8IoxQ

by GuardianAngel07

"Skyrim legend tells of a hero known as the Dragonborn, a warrior with the body of a mortal and soul of a dragon, whose destiny it is to destroy the evil dragon Alduin."

  The folklore had been passed down onto you from your father, but long gone were the days where you would believe in the tales of living, breathing dragons. Life was cruel, and only the strongest could survive in these bitter lands. When fate deals you a bad hand, you find yourself on a cart being charted to Helgen. Now, you must come to terms with the fate that the gods have bestowed you with. Of course, you're not alone in this endeavor.

Your path has been revealed, Dovahkiin...do you have the courage to follow it?

  [Reader x Surprise]

Words: 68, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, South Park, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, One Piece

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Eren Yeager, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Christophe "The Mole" DeLorne, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Edward Elric, Ciel Phantomhive, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Loki (Marvel), Craig Tucker, Damien Thorne, Brynjolf (Elder Scrolls), Vilkas (Elder Scrolls), Reader, You, Alduin (Elder Scrolls), Nocturnal (Elder Scrolls)

Relationships: Eren Yeager/Reader, Christophe "The Mole" DeLorne/Reader, Edward Elric/Reader, Kyle Broflovski/Reader, Stan Marsh/Reader, Ciel Phantomhive/Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader

Additional Tags: Multiple Crossovers, Reader is Dovahkiin, Also in heavy denial, reader is a thief, Smitten Eren, Edward is King of Sass, Protective Christophe, Unlikely Friendships, emotinal distress, So much denial!, extreme loyalty, Victory or Sovngarde!, Thief Code, The Daedric seriously have it out for you...

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2B8IoxQ

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #loki #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #marvel cinematic universe #angst

[amylillian22]

Like Father, Like Son - Part 2 (Teen Wolf & Supernatural Crossover with Theo x Reader)

Based on the request and headcannon by @theoraekendeserveslove 

Word Count: 2,029

Warnings: None

Author’s Note: I had to change a couple of details in order to make this crossover work.

[Part 1] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

[My Teen Wolf Master List]

Theo sat quietly as his eyes flickered between different photos. They were pictures of a young Dean around Theo's age. At first, Theo didn't believe Sam’s assumption, because looking at Dean now, Theo didn’t think he looked like him. However, with the evidence in front of him, he couldn't help but at least accept the possibility that Dean could be the biological father he never met.

Y/N sat next to Theo as they stared at the pictures on the huge, thick wooden dining table in Dean and Sam’s bunker. As she studied the photos, she noticed how much her boyfriend resembled the hunter. She looked away from the pictures to Theo. His face was expressionless as his eyes flickered back and forth between the pictures. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she could sense his chemosignals. Even though they've been together for over a year now, she had never felt Theo feel so confused, sad, and overwhelmed all at once. Around other people, Theo wasn't one to show or act on his emotions. Although it wasn't easy at first, Theo never lied about his feelings towards Y/N. He was immediately drawn to her. Eventually, he let her break down his walls.

If Dean were Theo's father, Y/N wouldn't know what to say or do. Theo had mentioned before he didn't know who his biological father was. Theo only knew he walked out on him and his mother. After that, Theo never brought up the topic anymore, and Y/N never pressed him on it either. She knew it was a difficult topic for him. All she could do was be there for him whenever he was ready to talk.

She slid her hand under his. Theo immediately intertwined their fingers together and held her hand tight. He was so glad she was with him. He didn't know how he'd react or what he would do if she weren’t there with him.

"I thought we got rid of these pictures," Dean said, obviously annoyed Sam had busted out the old photo album. "Did you keep them to use them as blackmail someday? Or show my future fiancé my embarrassing photos?"

"Yes," Sam admitted with a small smile. "But that's not the point." Sam looked back at Theo, who hadn't moved since Sam placed the photos in front of him and sat down. "Theo? Are you okay?"

Theo didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. All he could do was stare at the pictures.

Dean sighed as he sat on the chair across from Theo. “Look, son-"

"I'm not your son," Theo finally spoke as his head snapped up to look at Dean. The word hit him hard. A man who walked out on him and his mother wasn't a father. Anger began boiling in his veins and Y/N didn't need to be a chimera to know he was about to snap.

"Okay," Dean whispered before clearing his throat. "We can ask your mom to sort this out. Where is your mom by the way? Does she know you're sleeping in a truck?" Dean's eyes flickered to Y/N. "With your little girlfriend? Are you two running away or something?"

Theo's hands curled into fists, his knuckles turning white. Y/N wrapped her hand around one of his fists. Theo was very protective of Y/N, granted she could take care of herself, but he didn't like it when anyone tried to provoke him with his girlfriend. Knowing this, she leaned in and whispered, "Calm down, baby." She kissed his cheek, which caused his muscles to relax a little bit. She pulled back and looked back at the hunters. "Let's talk this out, calmly," she said before looking back Theo. She only hoped Theo wouldn't lose control not knowing what these hunters are capable of.

"Agreed," Sam said before he sat down on a chair next to Dean. "Would you both be open to taking a DNA test? Just so we know for sure," he quickly added, hoping he didn't offend either Dean or Theo.

Before Theo could answer, Dean spoke up. "No," he looked at his brother, before he looked back at Theo. Dean's eyes softened a bit. "Look at him, Sammy. He's literally the splitting image of his mother and me. He's my son. I know it. I can feel it in my bones when I look into the kid's eyes. He's mine."

Sam sighed. "That's what you thought about Lisa and her son, Ben-"

Dean shook his head. "This," he sighed once more, his eyes never once leaving Theo's, "is different. I’ll only do the test if Theo wants to do it.”

"I don't want to do it either," Theo finally answered.

"Really?" Y/N, Dean, and Sam asked in unison, surprised by Theo’s decision.

Theo nodded his head. "Because I know he's not my father-"

"Son-"

"Don't!" Theo said sharply. "A father wouldn't walk out on his kid."

Dean's eyebrow furrowed together as he shook his head. "I didn't walk out." Theo looked at him confused, almost as if Dean was speaking a foreign language. "I didn't walk out on you," Dean repeated again, but this time more firmly, reassuring Theo with the truth. Theo shook his head, refusing to believe what he was saying.

However, Y/N paid close attention to Dean’s heart the whole time he spoke. He was telling the truth. "Baby, listen to him," she pleaded. Theo's head snapped to look at her with a look of disbelief. He couldn't believe she was siding with someone she just met an hour ago instead of him.

Knowing what was running through his mind, she shook her head. "He's telling the truth. Listen to his heart." Dean looked confused as his eyes flickered between the couple. Y/N looked back at Dean. "Trust me, we'll explain after you continue what you were going to say," she nodded, encouraging Dean to continue. “Please continue.”

Theo swallowed hard before he looked back at Dean. He focused on Dean's heart as he spoke. "I didn't walk out on you," he repeated. "Hell, I didn't even know you existed. Your mother never told me. Trust me, if I knew about you, I would have been there for you. I would have found a way to be your dad."

Theo looked back at Y/N. "Did you hear him lying?" Y/N asked Theo even though she knew Dean's heart didn't indicate he was lying. He was being honest and he meant every word. Knowing how stubborn her boyfriend was, she still felt the need to ask.

"No," Theo answered.

"I didn't either," she said.

"You can tell when someone is lying? Is that part of your chimera abilities?" Sam asked. Y/N and Theo nodded. "What exactly is a chimera?" Sam asked.

"Long story short, we have two sets of DNAs," Y/N answered.

"Two?" Dean asked surprised.

"Okay, one set of DNA is your human side. What's the other half?" Sam asked.

"We're werewolves," Theo answered.

"Shit," Dean said. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be a werewolf?! How easily it is to die with just a touch of silver?!" Dean’s voice almost shouted with worry.

Theo chuckled. "It takes a lot more than silver to slow us down."

"Silver doesn't kill you?" Sam asked.

"Not exactly," Y/N added. "Besides, we've been through far worse. Some of us even went to hell," she swallowed hard as the memory of Theo being dragged down by his sister crossed her mind. She was absolutely devastated and lost for three months. She never wanted to lose Theo again.

"You went to hell too?" Dean asked as his eyes landed on Theo.

"Too? You were there?" Theo asked.

Dean nodded. "A few years ago. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"Same here," Theo mumbled as Y/N grabbed for his hand again.

"Again, where is your mom? Does she know all about this?" Dean asked.

Theo shook his head. He sighed. "You might as well get the cliff notes of my life story. She died a few years ago. I killed my sister to be a chimera. I wanted power and become an alpha with a pack of my own. That all backfired because I got sent to hell for it-"

"Crowley sent you to hell?" Sam asked.

“Who’s Crowley?” Y/N asked.

“The King of Hell,” Theo and Dean answered in unison. Theo shook his head. “No, he didn’t send to hell. My sister did.”

“Your dead sister sent you to hell? Sam questioned.

“Are you seriously questioning that?” Dean asked his brother. “After everything we’ve seen and done, it surprises you that his dead sister came back for revenge?”

“Look, I appreciate you showing me your pictures, but we’ll be going now,” Theo stood up from his chair with his hand still intertwined with Y/N’s.

Dean sat up from his seat, “Son-“

“Don’t!” Theo snapped again as he shook his head.

Y/N saw the hurt in Dean’s eyes. She could tell he was really trying and she wanted to help somehow, but she didn’t know how. Although he would never admit it, she knew deep down Theo would want to get to know Dean. He just needed some space and some time to adjust this new life changing information.

“Theo, why are you sleeping in your truck?” Dean asked.

Growing frustrated by Dean’s interest in Theo’s life, he finally let it all out. “Because I have no one! We have no one, okay?” Theo finally snapped. “Because I have nowhere else to go! I’ve done some real shitty stuff, stuff I know that will send me back to hell the day I do die. I have no friends. The only person I do have is Y/N,” Theo turned around to see tears formed in her eyes. “God, and for some unknown reason, this beautiful and amazing woman loves me enough to be with me. I don’t deserve her. She deserves so much better-“

“Shhh, baby,” Y/N cooed as she reached to cup his cheeks and make him look her in the eyes. “Please don’t say stuff like that. I don’t care about what you’ve done. I love you too much to lose you again, baby,” she whispered with a shaky breath.

Dean cleared his throat. “Look, um, I’m not trying to overstep here, but we have plenty of extra bedrooms. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

Theo felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and fished it out. His eyebrows shot up when he saw a text message from someone he wasn’t expecting. He showed Y/N and she was surprised to see Scott reaching out to Theo.

Theo opened the message.

Scott: Come back to Beacon Hills. I need your help.

Theo looked at Y/N, who gave him a simple nod. She knew he tried to call him a couple of times, but he backed out. She never had to ask why he didn’t go through with it. She knew he believed Scott wanted nothing to do with him.

“We actually have to go,” Theo said before putting his phone back in his pocket.

“It was nice meeting you both,” Y/N said as Theo reached for her hand once more.

Before they turned around to make their way to the stairs, Dean stopped them. “Theo?” Theo turned around to face Dean. Dean walked up and hesitated for a second. “Can I see your phone?”

“What? Why?” He asked confused.

“Just do it,” Y/N whispered, kind of getting the idea of what Dean wanted to do.

Theo pulled out his phone and gave it to Dean. Dean held it up for Theo to punch in his passcode to unlock it. When he did, Dean put in his phone number before handing it back to Theo. “If you ever need me, for anything, day or night, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”

“Don’t bet on it,” Theo just mumbled before he led the way up the stairs, to the front door and back to his truck.

Dean couldn’t help but watch his son walk away. He wanted nothing more than to go after him. He wanted to get to know his son better. He wanted to be a father.

“Why didn’t you get his number?” Sam asked.

Dean sighed. “The kid doesn’t want anything to do with me. So, I didn’t want to push him. I’d rather have him decide when he’s ready to talk to me...” he trailed. “Even if that may never happen.”

Sam sighed. “It’ll just take some time.”

“I hope so, Sammy.”

#theo raeken #Theo Raeken imagines #Theo Raeken imagine #Theo Raeken fanfiction #Theo Raeken fan fiction #theo raeken fanfic #Theo Raeken fan fic #Theo Raeken fic #Theo Raeken x reader #theo x reader #teen wolf #teen wolf imagines #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf fan #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fan fiction #teen wolf fanfic #teen wolf fan fic #teen wolf crossover #Supernatural #Supernatural imagine #Supernatural imagines #supernatural fanfiction #Supernatural fan fiction #Supernatural fanfic #Supernatural fan fic #Supernatural fic #dean winchester #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester imagines

[leveragebigbang]

Leverage 2017 Big/Mini Bang Master List

a chair is not a house by greenurr Cover art, Art, and NSFW Art by steverogersisbi  Summary: After the war, Eliot moves back home, and gets a dog. There’s more to it than that. An AU in which Eliot returns home from the army missing a leg and an eye, Hardison is a slightly famous internet gamer, and Parker runs a circus. A story that involves dogs, and no crime, unless you include the dogs stealing our heroes’ hearts.

Dead Man’s Hand by meils121 Soundtrack and Cover Art by poppetawoppet Summary: Eliot lets himself slip away, away from the pain and the hurt and everything else. He finally allows himself to die. An old enemy of Eliot’s threatens everything he cares about. With Eliot badly injured, it’s up to the team to take this enemy down before they can do any more damage. Eliot struggles with the guilt he feels and the need he has to protect his team.

The Freedom Job by Telaryn Fanvideo and Gifset by IndigoNight Summary: In a world where vampires and things that go bump in the night and deals with demons are real, the Leverage team has in recent years been playing on a larger and darker stage than they ever expected to be. They've adapted, of course, with knowledge of their own pasts unearthed to help them along. And to the outside observer, they might even look like they're thriving. These days though, they're driven by a secret. One they can barely talk about amongst themselves - in order to save the lives of Sophie, Eliot and Hardison, Nate allowed himself to be roped into a deal with the King of Hell, with his soul the price. It's a deal they may be forced to live with - for now - but one the Leverage team will never settle for. And when a man from another world, with the powers of a God, comes to them looking for help, the team will confront Heaven, Hell and Death itself in order to find a way out.

Hearts Wrapped in Clover by BabylonsFall Video and Cover Art by benjaminrussell Summary: Hardison, Parker, Nate, and Sophie have managed to successfully run Leverage, Inc. on their own, for three years running now. But when the bullet meant for a mark strikes a little too close to home, and outside pressures start threatening the team, they decide to split up, to lay low, running from both the Italian’s threats and Moreau’s attention. Nate and Sophie head out to provide a moving target, Hardison and Parker disappear into the countryside to the very last place anyone would think to look for them. And, just their luck, the neighbor’s even weirder than they are.

If You Ever Want to Be in Love (I’ll Come Around) by serenelystrange Fanmix by MorningStar461  Summary: In which Hardison finds himself falling for both the quiet but charming baker, and for the quirky ice cream shop owner that works on the other side of the street. The only problem is, he can’t seem to make either one of them realize how perfect they could be together, until he bites off more than he can chew!*

Make Way For Ducklings by page_runner Art by ponderosa121 Summary: It’s been seven years since Nate and Sophie walked away; two since circumstances forced Hardison, Parker, and Eliot into retirement. Meanwhile, the kids they met during jobs have grown up, influenced by the strangers who briefly entered their lives, and who are about to make a reappearance.

My Perfect Thief by kawuli Art by magnetgirl Summary: “Kid, you’re lucky you ended up here, nobody else would put up with your shit.” Parker’s latest foster family is just like all the rest. Maybe they’re right, maybe no one will put up with her. Fine. Fuck families. Parker doesn’t want one. New York City is far enough away and big enough to get lost in, and Parker knows how to survive on her own. And then she runs into the strangest thief she’s ever met. Archie Leach has a plan for Parker that for once she’s happy to go along with. She’s going to be the best thief ever.

on a wing and a prayer by treepyful Art by bloodinamug Summary: “You’ve seriously never heard of Ravens?”

Once Upon A Time (we fell in love) by chewingonpearls/Reallife Art by cuartist Summary: That was the day Hardison and Parker realized, when Eliot was threatening to punch people for them what he was really saying was “I love you.”

The Ophidiophobia Job by Glinda Art by IllustratedJai Summary: Leverage/Stargate SG1 Crossover. Team Leverage discover that their mark has access to lots of highly classified alien technology. Eliot calls in some help from a 'buddy in the business' and it turns out he worked for the Stargate programme. Conspiracies are discovered, bombs are defused, aliens are fought, and part of the team get stranded offworld.

The (Other) Fairy Godparents Job by RyLee Art by BuckytheDucky  Summary: Even before Leverage, Parker, Eliot and Hardison find themselves helping the helpless. Once a upon a time, in a faraway land, a prince and a peasant girl fell in love and had a child, a healthy baby girl. But their happiness was not to last, as the prince’s family disapproved of the union and invoked evil forces to conspire against them. Death took the new parents before their daughter ever had a chance to know them. She was left all alone the world, at the mercy of the same evil that stole away her parents. The child may have met the same ill fate had she not had the good fortune to encounter three blessed benefactors.

The Present Job by ourdarkspirits Art by Idwart Summary: The team decides to take a break from work and Hardison plans a surprise.

the soul of the matter by SafelyCapricious Art by InklingDancer Summary: Everyone is born with a way to find their soulmate, but fate is rarely so simple or so kind. The team faces a soulmark-forger con-artist as well as truths about themselves. Just how important is fate in the hands of five fair criminals?

Steal that Swing by coppersunshine Podfic by ramblingandpie  Summary: “It was something like desperation that led Eliot to start looking up dance organizations in the area. At this point it was either punch or dance, and the punching hadn’t worked out so well. The first search result took him to a well-designed, minimalist site. “Lindy-Hop, West Coast, and East Coast Swing, Wednesdays at 7pm. Free Drop-in Lesson! Dance $5.” Eliot glanced at his watch. 7 o’clock already, but he’d still make the open dance. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.”

Taste of Freedom by SassySnowperson Food: a schematic (companion art) by magnetgirl Summary: Eliot finally found the gumption to break free of Moreau, but the scars a man like that leaves don’t fade easily. Eliot’s in a bad place, and cooking is the only thing that brings him any sort of peace. But then a tiny blonde thief thinks he’ll make an lucrative mark and breaks into his apartment, intent on robbing Eliot blind. Parker’s so surprised to find a mattress and…nothing else that she’s determined to fix things. A story of families of choice, food, and figuring out how to be a person again.

Trained Monkeys and Doughnuts by keepitdreamin Art by sarah-likeaboss Summary: “It’s the first time they all sleep together without actually sleeping together, and it marks the shift of something fundamental in their relationship. Something, Eliot considers later, that he wouldn’t change back for the world.” How the trio get together featuring stupid feelings, a trained monkey and cuddles.

The Troll in the Dungeons Job by the_afterlight Summary: October 31, 2007, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland In an echo of fifteen years past, Hogwarts students are enjoying their Hallowe'en feast when a professor comes into the Great Hall with news of a troll in the dungeons. Back to back at their separate tables, fourth-years Alec Hardison and Parker share a glance before slipping away in an attempt to find the creature, only to be caught on their way by fifth-year prefect Eliot Spencer – who is only out and about because he noticed that another student, seventh-year Sophie Deveraux, was absent from the feast. Hoping to find her before the troll does, the three find themselves following her trail into a long-forgotten section of the castle. What secrets does Hogwarts hold? What is Sophie after? Who let the troll into the school? And what will the headmistress say when she finds out?

An Unwanted Job Offer by Nonesane Art by alexiane250  Summary: Alec and Parker’s lazy morning at home is cut short as they realize they haven’t seen Eliot all day. It’s been a long time since Eliot went MIA without leaving a note or a message. Where could he be?

Sweet Home Kentuky Fanmix by dazebras

#leverage #leverage bang 2017 #leverage big bang #leverage mini bang #master list #master post

[thelastspeecher]

Some Untitled Stansort AU Nonsense

I wrote this a while back, and it’s almost 4k words, but my recent Laptop Issues have been impeding my ability to post it.  So, here it is: the start to the Stansort AU, which is like a crossover of the Modern Royalty and Stay-at-Home Stan AUs (because I cannot control myself when it comes to AUs), but with a dragon.  Enjoy~

              Ford bowed to the king and queen.

              “Your majesties,” he said carefully.  As he straightened up, he caught sight of another person, standing just behind the queen’s throne.  He frowned.

              “The crown princess is with the king and queen today,” one of the royal guards supplied.  Ford nodded.

              “Ah, I see.  Your highness.”  He bowed again.  The crown princess left out a stifled giggle.  “Your majesties, are these handcuffs really necessary?” Ford asked. The king’s eyes narrowed.

              “You broke one of the most sacred laws of our land, young man,” he said in perfect, lightly accented English.  “Criminals of the crown are to be kept in restraints.  First, tell me your name.”

              “Stanford Pines, PhD,” Ford said.  The crown princess’s eyes widened.  She cleared her throat.

              “Where are you from, Stanford?” the crown princess asked.  

              “The United States of America.”

              “Where?” she probed.  Ford blinked, surprised by her insistence.

              “A small town in New Jersey called Glass Shard Beach,” he answered. The crown princess nodded, as though this didn’t surprise her.  She whispered something in the queen’s ear.  The queen said something back, just as quietly.  The crown princess left her spot behind the thrones and exited the room through a door on Ford’s right.  “Uh, what- what was that-” Ford started.

              “You’ll see,” the queen said regally.  She sighed.  “Stanford, why did you trespass into the royal forest?”

              “For my research.”

              “Trespassing is trespassing, no matter the reasoning behind it,” the king said.

              “I tried to go through the proper channels.  I made multiple appeals to be allowed into the forest,” Ford explained. “But each one was denied.  I had no choice but to trespass.”

              “No, you did have a choice,” the king rumbled.  “You had the choice to either follow the law or not.  You chose not to.”

              “My research-”

              “There are many forests in the world,” the queen said.  “Why were you so insistent on going into this one, knowing full well you’d be breaking the law?”

              “Well, you’re going to think I’m crazy,” Ford began.  He was cut off by the sound of the large doors behind him opening. A voice said something very loud in Lironian, the language of the country.

              His accent is familiar.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was-

              “…Ford?” the voice said quietly.  Ford turned around.  His jaw dropped.

              “Stanley?”  Standing in front of Ford, the crown princess holding onto his arm, Stan nodded. “What- what are you doing here?” Ford asked his estranged twin.

              “I could ask you the same thing, Sixer,” Stan said, shoving his hands into his pockets.  Ford looked him over quickly.  Stan was clean-shaven, well-kempt, and wearing a T-shirt and jeans that somehow seemed slightly formal.  

              They fit him so well.  And they’re clearly made of good material. Stan raised an eyebrow, waiting for Ford to speak.

              “He trespassed,” the crown princess interjected.  Stan groaned.

              “Ford…”

              “I had no choice!  It was for my research!”

              “Where’d you trespass?” Stan asked.  Once again, the crown princess answered for Ford.

              “The royal forest.”

              “Dammit, Ford.  Why?”

              “We were just getting to that, Stan,” the king said in a carrying voice. The crown princess muttered something to Stan in Lironian.  He nodded.

              “You do what you gotta do, Ang,” Stan said quietly.  The crown princess smiled and kissed him on the cheek before walking back to her parents.  Ford gaped. “Well?  Why did you go in the forest?” Stan asked.

              “Why did the princess kiss you?” Ford asked.  One of the guards standing nearby scoffed.

              “That’s how people act when they’re engaged,” the guard said.  Ford stared at Stan.

              “…What?”

              “Answer the question, Sixer,” Stan said tiredly.  Ford shook his head.  “Okay, fine, I’m engaged to Angie.  Now will you answer the damn question?”

              “You’re engaged to a princess?”

              “Young man, tell us why you went into the forest,” the king said.  Ford abruptly remembered he was being questioned by people with the authority to have him executed.  He turned back around to face the king, queen, and crown princess.

              “Of course.  Like I was saying, you’re going to think I’m crazy when I tell you why,” Ford said. “But I went in there to study the dragon.”  The king rose up off his throne and stared Ford down.

              “How do you know about that?” he hissed.  

              “I, uh- wait, you know?”

              “Of course we know about the dragon,” the crown princess said, waving a hand.

              “Your people certainly don’t.”

              “They’re not supposed to,” the queen said.  “The dragon is a secret, not meant for the non-magical folk of this country to know of.  Should knowledge of Fenestra’s existence come to light, it would have devastating consequences.”

              “Fenestra?  That’s her name?” Stan asked.  Ford looked back at Stan.  Stan shrugged.  “Yeah, I know about the dragon.  But seriously, how did you find out about her?”

              “Through meticulous research,” Ford said.

              “That’s not good enough,” the king said.  “Until we find this potential leak, you are not to leave the castle.”

              “You- you’re not going to take me to the dungeon, are you?” Ford asked.

              “You broke one of the greatest laws of this land,” the queen said.  “Where else would you expect to go?”  Stan stepped forward.

              “Sally, Mearl, look, I- I get where you’re coming from,” Stan said.  “And trust me, I’m not on very good terms with him, either.  But Stanford’s my brother, and in a couple weeks, he’ll be Angie’s brother, too.  I dunno, I don’t think the dungeon’s the right place for the crown princess’s future brother-in-law.”  The crown princess looked at her parents.

              “He’s right,” she said quietly.  The king sighed.

              “All right.  Guards, take Stanford Pines to one of the solitary rooms.  I need to speak with my daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law.”

              “Thanks, Mearl,” Stan said.  He nudged Ford slightly.

              “Oh, uh, thank you, your majesties,” Ford said with a bow.  

----- 

              The door to Ford’s room opened.  Ford looked up from his book.

              “Stan?”

              “Yeah.”  Stan took a seat on the bed next to Ford.  “Pretty sweet digs, huh?  I mean, not as nice as mine and Angie’s room, but still a step up from sharing a bunk bed, am I right?”  Stan looked over at the guard standing in the open doorway.  “Marley, you can leave us alone.”

              “I’m not supposed to,” the guard said.

              “Ford won’t attack me.  And even if he does, I think I can handle it,” Stan said.  The guard sighed.

              “Fine.  Shout if you need anything.”

              “You got it,” Stan said with a wink.  The guard closed the door.  “Sorry about that.  I got guards following me everywhere now.”

              “Yes, because you’re engaged to the heir to the throne,” Ford said flatly. Stan nodded.  “How on Earth did that happen?”  Stan rubbed the back of his neck.

              “Well, after I got kicked outta the house, I took the Stan O’War out to sea. But, uh, I got lost pretty quick, and she ended up drifting into a nasty storm.  I ended up washing overboard.  Next thing I knew, I was being pulled outta the water by Mearl and his oldest son, Harper.  Good guy, both of ‘em.  Not afraid to get their hands dirty.

              “Anyways, it turns out that I had been near one of the royal family’s tiny island territories in the Atlantic.  They were taking a boat there, saw me about to drown in the water, and fished me out.”  Stan shrugged.  “They offered to get me a plane ticket home, but when I said I didn’t wanna go back to New Jersey, they told me to stay with them.  All of this, by the way, was before I knew they were royalty.  Up until I saw the castle, I just thought they were rich foreigners.”

              “But you got engaged to the crown princess,” Ford said.  

              “When I first met Angie, she wasn’t the crown princess.  Just a princess.  Her older brothers gave up their claims to the throne while we were dating.”

              “Just a princess,” Ford said drily. Stan rolled his eyes.

              “Shut up.  She helped me get my GED, and she and one of her brothers, Lute, taught me Lironian. So we got pretty close, and then, I dunno, we just sorta ended up together.”

              “But you’re a commoner.”

              “Nah, I’m a knight.”

              “Wait, really?”

              “When I got my GED, the king knighted me as a graduation gift.”

              “Damn.  I wish I’d received a knighthood when I graduated.”  Ford eyed Stan’s clothes.  At some point, he had put on a hoodie, which, like the T-shirt and jeans, seemed more formal than it had any right being.  “And I assume your clothes are tailored?”

              “You can tell?” Stan asked, tugging at his hoodie.

              “Nothing fits that well without it being altered to do so.”

              “The royal tailor – can you believe that’s a thing – says that I’m the first person he’s ever worked for that wanted hoodies and T-shirts.”  Stan grinned crookedly.  “Angie actually likes ‘em.  Pretty sure that’s the only reason the rest of the royal family puts up with me not wearing suits or polo shirts or capes or whatever.”

              “Are all your clothes tailored?”

              “Nah.  I managed to hide some of my old clothes in my room.”  Stan’s small grin grew wider.  “Angie likes wearing my old hoodie when she’s reading.”

              “…That sounds nice.”

              “Yeah.”  Stan sighed. “Look, Ford, I talked to the king and queen, and here’s the deal.  If you sign a non-disclosure agreement, promising you’ll never tell anyone about the dragon, you can go home.  We’ll get you a plane ticket back.  First class.”

              “I can’t do that, Stanley.  It’s for my research,” Ford said.

              “If you tell people about the dragon, it’ll majorly fuck up my fiancée’s family,” Stan said firmly.  “There’s a lotta stuff you don’t understand about this situation.”

              “I’m a scientist.  I have to share my findings with the world.”

              “You can’t tell people!  Angie’s-”

              “Your fiancée comes before your own twin brother?” Ford interrupted.  Stan’s face reddened.

              “This is such an easy fucking thing to do, but your head is so far up your own ass, you won’t,” Stan said.  “If you don’t tell people, it won’t hurt you.  If you do, it’ll hurt Angie big time.  She might not be anyone to you, but I- I love her, and hell, she’s gonna be your sister-in-law soon enough.”  

              “Like you’ve ever cared about anyone except yourself,” Ford snapped, old grudges bubbling to the surface.  A sour look settled on Stan’s face.

              “Are you really gonna bring up the science fair thing?”

              “You ruined my chances of-” Ford began angrily.  Stan stood up, cold anger emanating from him.

              “These guys are gonna officially be my family in two weeks,” Stan said.  He walked away.  “I thought maybe you’d understand that I want to protect them. Guess not.”  Stan paused at the door.  “Enjoy your nice prison, asshole.”

----- 

              Someone knocked on the door.  Ford got up and opened it.

              “Stanford, I am not pleased,” Fiddleford McGucket said, shaking his head at him.  Ford rubbed the back of his neck.

              “Fiddleford, I’m sorry they dragged you into this.  You had to fly across the Atlantic and-”

              “I had to come back home for my lil sister’s wedding anyways,” Fiddleford said with a shrug.  “The travel’s not what I’m upset about.”

              “Oh, I forgot you were Lironian.”

              “Mm-hmm.”  Fiddleford crossed his arms and stared Ford down.  His look felt familiar to Ford, but he couldn’t quite place it.  “Why did you insist on breaking a federal law? And why won’t you sign the dang form so you can leave?  This is a really good deal.  You shouldn’t turn it down.”

              “I trespassed specifically so I could publish my research.  I can’t let it go to waste!” Ford protested.  “You of all people should understand my reticence.” Fiddleford sighed.

              “Stanford, you make things so difficult-”

              “Fidds!” someone shouted.  Fiddleford looked over.  The frustration on his face was broken by the appearance of a broad grin.

              “Banjey!” he shouted back.  Fiddleford was promptly tackled in an immense hug by someone Ford quickly realized was the crown princess, Angie.  He gaped as Fiddleford affectionately noogied the heir to the country.  Angie wiggled out of Fiddleford’s hold and began speaking in rapid-fire Lironian.  Fiddleford let out a good-natured laugh.  “Now, now, not everyone here speaks Lironian, Banjey.  Be polite and speak English so Ford can understand you.”  Angie scowled at Ford.

              “Oh, that’s right.  Your work associate never bothered to learn a single word of your native tongue,” she spat at Ford.  “How long have you known Fiddleford?”  Ford opened and closed his mouth several times, at a loss for words.  Fiddleford chuckled softly.

              “Oh, dear, I see what’s going on,” Fiddleford said jovially. “Stanford, I never told you, but I’m one of the princes of Lirone.  I gave up my claim to the throne years ago, so I could move to the US.”  He smiled fondly at Angie.  “And now my sweet baby sister’s going to be the queen, and she’s got such a wonderful man to be her consort. Speaking of, where is that fiancé of yours?”

              “He’s having lunch with Ma and Pa,” Angie replied.  “But ever since Stanford got here, Stan’s been acting squirrely.”  Angie narrowed her eyes.  “Stanford, what did you say to him?  He was excited and happy before you showed up.  Now, I keep catching him talking to himself about the wedding.  And not in a good way.”  Fiddleford frowned at his younger sister.

              “You think he’s getting cold feet?” Fiddleford asked quietly.  Dread filled Ford.

              I’m pissed at Stan, but I wouldn’t want to break up his engagement!

              “What did you do?” Angie asked.  Her blue eyes bored into him.  

              What did I do?

              “I-” Ford started.

              “Seeing Ford probably just brought up some less-than-nice feelings and memories,” Fiddleford said smoothly.  “Why don’t you go to lunch with Ma and Pa.  Reassure your fiancé a bit.”  Angie nodded. With another withering glare, she walked away.  Fiddleford turned to Ford.  “Stanford. Start talking.”

              “I- I don’t know what I could have said that made Stan want to leave your sister.  We just talked about how he wears tailored clothes now, and-”

              “He hates the tailor,” Fiddleford muttered.  He kneaded his forehead.  “Lute called me when he was getting fitted for his suit.  For the wedding, y’know.  Lute said that Stan didn’t say a thing the entire time he was there.  When the tailor told Pa what the suit was going to cost, Stan just…ran away.”

              “It’s a big change,” Ford said.  

              “I suppose.”  Fiddleford bit his lip.  “A person from his past, bringing up one of the things he hates the most about royal life…that’s not a good combination.  I’d better go talk to Pa.  See what he thinks.”  Fiddleford frowned at Ford again.  “Don’t think that you’re getting off the hook.  Your problem just isn’t as pressing.”

              “I’m flattered,” Ford mumbled.  Fiddleford put his hands on his hips.

              “Do you want to get a dressing-down?”

              “Not particularly.”

              “Then count yourself lucky.  For now.”

----- 

              “Uh, guard?” Ford said cautiously.  He knocked on his door.  “I need to use the bathroom.  Guard?” There was no response.  Ford cautiously tested the handle of the door. It was unlocked.  He opened the door and poked his head out into the hallway. His guard was nowhere to be seen. But he could make out the sound of a familiar voice, muttering something.  Ford exited the room.  Now that he had a better view, he could clearly see Stan pacing back and forth near a large painting of the king and queen.  “Stan?” Ford asked, walking toward his twin.  Stan’s head jerked up.

              “Oh.  It’s you.”

              “Are you all right?” Ford asked.  Stan laughed hollowly.  He was completely disheveled, wide-eyed, and wearing old stained clothes Ford recognized from high school.  “That was a stupid question.”

              “No shit, Sixer,” Stan snapped.  He ran his hands through his hair.  “It’s 2 fucking am, I can’t sleep, and I-”  Stan sighed.  “I packed a bag.”

              “You packed a bag?”

              “I can’t stay, Ford,” Stan burst out.  “I- I’m gonna fuck up.  I’m gonna fuck everything up.  I was- I was getting a bit worried, ‘cause my first big diplomatic thing was supposed to be convincing you to sign the goddamn form.  And I couldn’t get you to do it.  But, y’know, you’re a stubborn ass, so it was whatever.  But then- but then I heard that fucking tailor say how much money Angie’s dress is gonna cost and- Ford, her dress is more money than Pops could make in five years.  I can’t be trusted with someone who- who’s in charge of a country, and buys a dress for one goddamn shindig, and it’s that much.  Angie- Angie’d be better off without me.”  Stan finished his long-winded ramble softly.  He gestured to Ford.  “But you know that.  You know that I only fuck everything up.”

              “Stanley…”

              “At lunch,” Stan said quietly, “Sally – the queen – she started talking about how Angie’s coronation is gonna be a few months after the wedding, and it’s that way because if it was much later, she- she wouldn’t be able to fit in the dress she needs to wear for it.  You shoulda heard them.  They’re all expecting me to knock Angie up right away, so there can be an heir.” Ford nodded silently, unsure of what to say.  “But I can’t- I can’t do that to Angie’s family.  I can’t do that to her.  She deserves better than getting stuck with my dumb kid.  The papers definitely think so.”

              “Could they have been joking?” Ford asked.  Stan stared at him.

              “Joking.”  Stan clapped a hand to his face.  “Fucking- duh, they were joking.  That’s why Angie got all worried afterward and kept telling me that it was okay, and kids aren’t that big a- dammit.”  Stan laughed, but once again, the sound had no real humor to it.  “I’m an idiot.”

              “No.  Stan, you’re having a natural reaction to a major, life-changing event.”  Ford looked down at his feet.  “If I’d known you were feeling these…doubts, I would have gone easier on you.  I wouldn’t have brought up the science fair.”

              “Not everything’s about you, Stanford,” Stan said shortly.  “I’ve been feeling weird about this whole thing for ages. You just- you broke the camel’s back.” Stan looked off to his left.  Ford followed his gaze and saw a familiar, dingy duffle bag.  

              “Oh, Stan.”

              “I told you I packed,” Stan grunted.  Ford sighed.  

              “Stanley.  I realize that I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now.  I should probably go find one of your fiancée’s brothers; you seem fairly close to them.  But…do you love Angie?”

              “Hell, yes,” Stan said firmly.  

              “And she loves you?”

              “Yeah.”

              “People say that that’s enough.”

              “I dunno,” Stan mumbled.  Ford grimaced.

              Okay, try again.  You can’t be the person who ends up breaking Stan’s engagement to a literal princess.

              “Think about it this way,” Ford said, suddenly inspired.  “If you weren’t going to be a good fit for Angie, her parents would have said something.  If they thought you wouldn’t be able to handle being king, they would have stepped in.”

              “Technically, I won’t be king, I’ll be king consort,” Stan mumbled.  “And before Angie’s coronation, I’ll be prince consort.  I don’t really have a noble title, so I wouldn’t be allowed to rule the country.” Stan shook his head.  “But, I get it, no, you- you have a point.  Sally and Mearl like me, but they still ran me through manners and diplomacy lessons and things like that before they said that Angie and I could be together in public.  Maybe- maybe I won’t fuck it up.”

              “You’ll do more than that.  You’ll do an amazing job,” Ford said.  Stan scoffed. “I’m not just trying to make you feel better.  I’ve seen how the royal family acts around you.  And you’ve got a natural knack for diplomacy.”

              “So you’ll sign the thing now?”

              “No.”

              “Worth a shot.”  Stan looked down at his feet.  “It’s probably for the best, anyways.  If you signed the thing, you’d be outta here.  And...it’d be tough to go to the wedding if you were back in the States.”

              “What?”

              “I’m inviting you to the wedding, Sixer.  Don’t make it weird.”  Stan cleared his throat.  “Uh, I’ll have Lute get you a suit.”

              “Stan?  Stan!” a voice shouted.  “Angie, I found him!”  Stan and Ford looked over.  The guard that normally stood outside Ford’s room, Marley, was rushing towards them. Marley frowned.  “Dr. Pines, what are you doing outta your room?”

              “It’s all right, Marley,” Stan said.  “We were just talking.”

              “Do you feel better?” Marley asked quietly.  Stan groaned.

              “Marley.”

              “Oh yeah, you have to be all macho or whatever,” Marley said with an eye roll.

              “Stanley!”  Stan was tackled with an overwhelming hug by Angie.  She kissed him deeply.  “Are you all right?” she whispered after breaking off the kiss.  Stan nodded.

              “Ford and I talked through it a bit.”

              “…Oh.”  Angie looked carefully at Ford.  “Thank you, Stanford.”

              “It was no problem,” Ford mumbled.  

              “I invited him to the wedding,” Stan said.

              “I suppose that makes sense,” Angie muttered.  “Even if security looked through his belongings and didn’t see a stitch of formal attire.”

              “I’ll tell Lute to find him a suit,” Marley said.

              “Uh, no, you should probably escort Ford back to his room,” Angie said.

              “Right.  Come on, Dr. Pines.”

              “I’ll see you at the wedding then, Stan,” Ford said.  Stan nodded.

              “I’ll be the one in the crown.”  Angie cleared her throat.  “The tall one in the crown.”

#this has been sitting around in a Word Doc for far too long folks #I have so much writing backlogged #I'm gonna try to get most of it posted this week #and the stuff includes ANOTHER long-ass ficlet #Stangie #Stanford Pines #Stanley Pines #Angie McGucket #Fiddleford McGucket #Ma McGucket #Pa McGucket #Stansort AU #fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #speecher speaks

[splashmommy]

Ronda Helped Me

Guys, I just ran two miles in the freezing fucking cold. Full disclosure, I speed walked them. Also it was only one mile, I just checked my pedometer because I have major OCD and can’t stand being inaccurate. So here’s the accurate story, I spent the last three solid hours of this afternoon laying on my couch eating pretzels, chugging coffee, and slowly crawling to the end of Christine (a Stephen King book which I’m ashamed to admit has taken me almost two months to finish. Sorry, there was just a lot of football and mechanics to push through in the beginning before the love triangle kicked in). Believe you me, I did not want to get off that couch. I could have continued sitting there in my five year old christmas jammy pants for, at the very least, another eight hours, and I would have, had it not been for Ronda Rousey.

Y’all. I watched wrestling again last night for the first time in a long time. Let me set the scene for you. I had just gotten home from a long day of work and I wanted nothing more than to microwave a Kashi meal and dive deep into The Tank (this is what I call Shark Tank) to see what disparaging things Mr. Wonderful had to say about Barbara or the retail industry as a whole while I dug deeply into some Chimichurri Quinoa. I had yet to change and unwind fully from my work day when my life partner, Craig, dropped the bomb. He told me that the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view that had been blaring from the living room was about to close out with a Women’s Main Event Royal Rumble. Wait, hold the fuck on, you mean the ladies are closing the show? HEADLINING AN EVENT?!

Then he told me that there were rumors that Ronda Rousey might surprise debut during the match.

Fuck. And yes.

So I sat my ass down, right there, on our grey cat scratched couch and proceeded to fall deep, deep into the world of, what we now call the WWE Women’s Division. Now full disclosure again on me here, I’m not what you would call a “lifelong wrestling fan”. I have dipped my toe in and out of the ring over the last decade since falling in love with a massive self-proclaimed monday night rasslin’ nut (Craig’s still got it!). I’ve been to Monday Night Raw two or three times. I attended Wrestlemania in Atlanta in 2011 (although honestly I slept through some of it because, again full disclosure, it was kind of a weird time for me). My husband and I once yelled “BAZINGA!” while waving a hot yellow hand made sign that said “BAZINGA!” at Daniel Bryan while we jumped up and down over a fence in the backlot of a Raleigh arena. He was getting inside his truck to leave, he did a little chuckle and an eye roll when he saw us before pulling out of the parking lot. It was pretty neat. We have since referred to this moment as “The time we bazinga’d Daniel Bryan.” We are still very proud. 

Now that I think of it, there was also this brief period in the late nineties where I got really into The Wolf Pack. I had a crush on a new kid in my sixth grade class at church named Jonathan who talked a lot about the NWO. I tentatively watched a couple of matches with my big bro, initially just so I could understand my crush a little better and have something in common to talk about if I ever got the courage to speak to him. I kept watching it after I was over him though, because there was something silly and really cathartic that I liked about watching magnetic people beating the fake crap out of eachother. I also liked recreating the moves on my older brother.

At this point I feel like I need to mention that the WWF Superstars performance of “If You Only Knew” from the 1987 Slammy Awards is my favorite thing on the internet. I literally dare everyone to try to watch it without getting up off the couch to side step shuffle.

So you could say I’m a casual, medium-rare-to-medium wrestling fan. My interest has waned in the past due to personal issues I have with bad storylines, uninteresting characters, negative stereotypes, and just the over-all regressive awfulness that’s been associated with the empire Vince McMahon built. However as I’m not an expert in the field, I’m going to kick my soapbox to the side and let you guys form your own opinions of the franchise/network that is Wrestling Entertainment. I’m just here to say that once that Royal Rumble match started, my ass was glued to that couch for fifty-seven solid minutes. Guys, I had to pee. I wanted that hot Kashi when I sat down but once the match set in and that buzzer started sounding I was hooked like an addict. 

It was more than just the lure of landing a possible crossover Superstar like Ronda Rousey, although yes that was a major pull. The thing that had me transfixed was the women duking it out on screen. They looked real. There was diversity in their style, shapes, sizes, personalities, presence, moves, motivation, and attitudes. They were kicking eachothers asses, but that wasn’t the thing that was surprising me. What really got me giddy was hearing the announcers commenting on their individual training, hobbies, stats, and accomplishments as wrestlers and people. It felt like I was watching the cast of GLOW acting out a live in ring performance, as if the Royal Rumble had somehow morphed into a real life extension of my favorite Netflix show. Y’all before I get on my feminist soapbox here, which yes admittedly I’m already standing on, can I just say one word that might make everyone understand where I’m coming from? Here goes,

Divas.

Jesus, without going into the full history let me just say that the WWE’s decision to evolve what was referred to as the Divas Division into the WWE Women’s Championship, thus rebranding “Divas” as “Women Superstars/ Superstars” is phenomenal. I mean, is the term “Superstar” phenomenal? No not really, it’s super corny. But that’s what they call the guys, so at least it’s equal. That’s what I dig. Equality. Equal playing ground for badass, ripped AF, war-painted, teeth baring, rage-fueled, gladiatrices who don’t give a fuck about spray tans. That’s what I mostly saw, and loved on my TV screen two nights ago.

I thought I had had my fill. My just desserts. I was nibbling on a secret stash of maple fudge couch-side at this point to celebrate. I thought it was all over. I got up, went into the kitchen, searched the freezer, only to figure out that I was totally out of Kashi Chimichurri Quinoa (BUMMER), and was about to ransack the cupboards when I heard Craig yell, “ABB GET IN HERE SOMETHING’S HAPPENING!”

So I ran. As I was crossing over from kitchen to living room I heard it. “I don’t give a damn ‘bout my reputation…” I was air guitaring now. “Never been afraid of any deviation” full on running in place. “A girl can do what she wants to do and that’s what I’m gonna do,” at this point I did my famous mid-air spin kick and which shook our living room furniture so hard that Craig yelled at me and told me I needed to calm down. “An’ I don’t give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation!”

No. No. No. No. FUCK ME!

Dude. Y’all. Guys. I LOVE RONDA ROUSEY. I’M IN LOVE WITH RONDA ROUSEY AND I DON’T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

Seriously though folks, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion after running/dancing/karate-chopping my couch and cats in excitement over this empowering series of events. First off, we have this whimsical beast named Asuka win the whole thing, we all think it’s over, then wham-bam-thank-you-MISTRESS we get a surprise pop-in from the Queen Boss herself, former everything weight champion, Ronda Rousey. I ran in place for the entire segment. I shook the furniture. I ignored Craig’s pleading. Naturally I spent the following morning reading the entire Rousey wikipedia and her full Reddit AMA. Naturally I am obsessed, inspired, and stoked that my interest in a fandom that I’ve been hot and cold is officially rekindled. Oh it’s more than just rekindled- it’s ON FIRE!

I was on the WWE website looking up tour dates first thing this morning. I ordered an officially licensed “Hot Ronda” ladies tee shirt off the WWE website.You can check my search history. Wait. No, don’t check my search history (at least give me like five seconds before you check it). I considered watching The Expendable 3 and Furious 7. Seven. Just to catch a glimpse of my muscle-bound muse. I already mentioned my soap box earlier, so I’m not gonna spend any more time than I need to up here. I do need to say though, that after reading up on Ronda Rousey’s life it’s safe to say that she’s tough as nails and authentic as fuck. She’s lived through shit, pushed past difficulty, and carved a place for herself in the universe with her own two, very powerful hands. She’s also beautiful and I want to smell her hair. In a respectful way.

Thinking about Ronda Rousey, reading about Ronda Rousey, and getting jazzed on life in general as a result is what got my ass up off the couch today. Sometimes I think about the main girl from the third Child’s Play movie doing push ups during that military camp scene when I need yoga motivation, today it was pure Women’s Division. Pure Rousey. I’m glad I got out there and hit the pavement today. I’m glad Ronda’s back and I’m beyond ecstatic to see where this new era of women’s professional wrestling entertainment will lead. Wait, we haven’t even talked about the fact that there’s an actual steampunk women’s wrestler currently on the roster. Her name is Becky Lynch, she travels through time, I just checked. While checking, I noted that the term “diva” was still in use on the official WWE website. Guys, I realize that not everything can or will change all at once. I’m just grateful that we’re moving full speed ahead and with Ronda Rousey on our side.

#ronda rousey #wwe #royal rumble #women's wrestling #girl power

[poorshadowspaintedqueens]

Top 5 and bottom 5 fics by kudos

Tagged by @bitchfromtheseventhhell.

What are your five most popular works? (in descending order)

As @bitchfromtheseventhhell pointed out in her post, fic popularity depends so much on the size of the fandom. Also, none of my fics are especially popular by any standard, but that’s not what fandom is about.

1. A Spell of Deduction (Harry Potter / Sherlock crossover co-written with @bamfinacuddlyjumper)

Newly returned from fighting Death Eaters in the Middle East, Healer John Watson gets a new flatmate and discovers he's exchanged one battleground for another in postwar London.

This is a crossover between two of the largest fandoms on AO3, so not remotely surprising. Granted, it has a tiny following compared to the big fics in either of those fandoms, so it just seems huge to me. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to count it since it’s co-written with the excellent @bamfinacuddlyjumper, but I don’t see why not since it’s on my AO3 page.

I also think it’s legitimately well-written casefic that has a lot of fun with both universes, and those are not easy to find. Also we started it back when Sherlock was still good. Those were the days...

2. False Sorrow’s Eye (ASOIAF, Elia Martell/Lyanna Stark, 18k one-shot, sequel forthcoming)

AU. Two women survive Robert's Rebellion and everything changes.

I have mixed feelings about this fic. On the one hand, I love 95% of it, and I am full of sparkly hearts about the central pairing. On the other hand, the first comment I got on AO3 was a screed about how terrible and unrealistic it was. And I fully admit that I really don’t like the ending, and it does handwave a lot of stuff it shouldn’t, but I remind myself that I was attempting to finish it for an exchange while attending an academic conference and also had just found out I was pregnant, so...um. Sometimes RL will ruin the ending of a fic. These things happen.

But I am solving this problem by retconning that ending in the sequel (currently in progress for @fandomtrumpshate​). And, shitty comments notwithstanding, I stand by my interpretation of how things might have gone in a universe where the sack of King’s Landing was averted at the last minute.

3. The Death of Kings (ASOIAF, prequel, 155k, 35 chapters)

It is a story from a song--a fair maid stolen in the dead of night, and her brothers and her betrothed riding to her rescue. They will tear a kingdom apart, pull a king from his throne, and crown another in his place, all in the name of the fair, stolen maid.

It is a tale that comforts men and reassures them. Even though the knight is too late to save his lady, he gains a kingdom and a queen even fairer than the maid he lost. But the truth is not so simple. A war is not one story; it is thousands speaking at once. We do not know what the maid thought, or the prince’s wife, herself a princess by birth. And other ladies too, whose parts in this tale are further obscured, as often happens when histories are written by men.

This is their story. This was their war.

This fic has more hits than False Sorrow’s Eye, but fewer kudos. On the other hand, this is a behemoth of a fic and I’m very good at losing readers by being the world’s worst updater.

4. The Sticking Place (15th Century RPF/Hunger Games crossover)

Nobody talks about the Fifth Annual Hunger Games. There are good reasons for this.

That time I got drunk on margaritas while visiting my dad and wrote a crackfic for Yuletide Madness.

I kind of wish I hadn’t chosen the RPF category just because I got a few complaints about how Richard was too much in the Shakespeare camp, but seriously, it’s a Hunger Games crossover. Of course I was going to choose the most murdery version of every single character. 

5. Reap the Whirlwind (ASOIAF, Stannis Baratheon/Cersei Lannister)

The circumstances under which Cersei Lannister finds herself Princess of Dragonstone are not the ones she anticipated.

More crack AUs! This was a pinch-hit for @gotexchange​ and I remember agreeing to take it partly because I wanted a scene between Cersei and Rhaella Targaryen. It’s mostly a fun bit of fluff (as much as one can write fluff in this universe), but I like it as a universe where Cersei potentially has more to do.

What are your five least popular works by kudos? (in ascending order)

5. Menas and Menecrates are Not Dead (Antony & Cleopatra)

What do you do when your employer refuses to use the skills for which he hired you?

Two minor characters from Antony & Cleopatra drink and gossip. That’s about it. Oh, also they’re pirates.

4. The Bear and the Shooting Star (Henry VI, Parts 2&3)

John de Vere learns lessons in kingmaking and treason from the best.

Who’d have guessed a fic with the tag “Portentous Heraldry” would be at the bottom of my kudos? It’s a shame, because I rather like this fic. It’s about two characters who barely interact in canon but hate one another all the same. Also it involves one of the craziest actual things to happen in a fifteenth-century battle, so that’s fun.

3. Nothing Gold Can Stay (Richard II, Victorian AU, Richard/Aumerle)

Edward York makes a deal with the devil.

I wrote this for @shredsandpatches​ and she loved it, so I don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. :-)

2. All Soul’s Day (Richard II, Academic AU)

Richard Bordeaux sits the All Souls Fellowship Exam. Chaos ensues.

Another fic that falls into the tiniest of niches. I wrote it partly as catharsis because I too sat the All Souls Fellowship Exam and felt compelled to inflict that lapse in judgement upon someone else who richly deserved it.

Also, just as a bonus, it does include the tag “Robert de Vere’s tongue”

1. As brittle as the glory is the face (Richard II / Gossip Girl crossover)

"I am Richard II, know ye not that?" Where better for a dethroned queen to gain some perspective than from a dethroned king?

Bwahahaha, least surprising thing ever. This fic probably makes no sense to anyone who isn’t familiar with

1. Blair Waldorf’s Season 2 arc in Gossip Girl

2. Jonathan Slinger’s bravura performance as Richard II during the 2007-2008 Royal Shakespeare Company’s Histories Cycle.

Which makes me, I believe, the only person to have posted Jon Slinger RPF on AO3. You’re welcome. 

#fanfiction #askbox meme #kudos #ao3 #ASoIaF #Shakespeare

[teaberrii]

Kings & Queens

A Kuroko No Basuke & Prince Of Tennis Crossover MultiChapter Fanfiction. [Various Pairings]

Summary: Street sports had an uncanny way of bringing people together. 

Rating: M

Warnings: Adult Situations, Language, Mild Violence, OCs

Genre: Slice Of Life & Romance

Chapter One: When Worlds Collide 

Days after Kuroko’s birthday celebration, Seirin’s  intensive routines had been reduced to casual get-togethers on the court. But while they weren’t burdened with the stress that felt during the Winter Cup, they were now saddled with uncomfortable publicity, a questionable feat that burdened the team with mixed feelings. It was as if they had miraculously become celebrities overnight as each of the members saw a chilling change in the attitudes of their classmates. Kuroko became everyone’s favorite and was now frequently associated with the word ‘cute.’ On the other hand, Kagami had seen an increase in test scores from his popularity. Suddenly, everyone wanted to help him, the majority being surprisingly males. Kiyoshi had gotten confessed to but politely declined. Hyuuga’s endeavor was to simply persevere until the chaos died down.

Daily practice was happening in the gym like always but with the absence of Riko’s guidance. Instead, her eyes were trained on her phone, her thumb bobbing on the screen with the occasional pause. Hyuuga was the first to notice, and frankly, it was beginning to bother him. His attention on Riko had him miss the light footsteps of Kiyoshi coming behind him.

“Hyuuga, is something wrong?” Kiyoshi followed his friend’s gaze and laughed softly. “Why don’t you just go ask her what she’s looking at?”

“Nah,” said Hyuuga, with a slight attitude he hadn’t meant to let slip out. “She’s probably playing one of those lame puzzle games.”

Sera Azusa. Following yesterday’s events, Riko was more or less determined to get the name of the girl who rescued her last night through a single hit toward her harasser’s face with a tennis ball. The man’s steps swayed side to side, his face flushed as he wanted to reach for her. Riko had side stepped him and was about to quicken her pace until a strong hold on her left arm restrained her movements.

“Let me go,” Riko had said angrily.

“Do you–happen to know–where the nearest–station is, little girl?”

Besides reeking of alcohol, the hiccups were another obvious sign that the man was drunk beyond belief. Riko had wormed out of his grasp; she had managed to get a few steps in before the man had grabbed her again. He was surprisingly strong for a lanky salaryman.

“I’m just–asking where the–nearest station is, little girl. Why are you being–like this?”

The devilish look in his eyes had frightened her, but Riko firmly stood her ground and was about to get physical before a flying object had snuck between the narrow gap of the man’s legs and struck underneath his chin. The impact had been strong enough to lift the man centimeters off the ground before he fell hard on his back. Riko’s attention had been on a rolling tennis ball when a stern, feminine voice told her to run. As the man groaned in pain, Riko looked forward and caught the name Rikkaidai Fuzoku High on the girl’s tennis bag before making her escape.

The first-ever tennis nationals for females had been held in the same time span of the Winter Cup, Riko had been informed via the sports article that she was currently reading. Coming out victorious was Rikkaidai Fuzoku’s female tennis team with pictures and a brief profile of the members. While Riko wasn’t familiar with the school, she had heard rumors of their student population being a force to be reckoned with.

“Coach, practice is over.”

Riko’s body jerked slightly at the sudden interruption from a calm and monotonous voice. Then, she noticed Kuroko standing in front of her with his usual calm countenance.

“What were you looking at all this time?” asked Kagami as he approached his friends.

“It’s nothing,” replied Riko. Kuroko and Kagami gave each other a glance when she snapped her phone shut. “What are you guys looking at? C’mon, class is about to start!”

“Even if you say that,” uttered Hyuuga, annoyed.

“Will we be able to get through that crowd?” joked Kiyoshi, referring to the cheers of fans and fanatics crowding the outside entrance of the gym.

To prevent unnecessary disturbance, Riko had secured all doors to maintain the diligent atmosphere. Yet, they still received large and loud spectators loitering in front of doors. Perhaps, Riko thought, she should really implement her ludicrous business idea by charging a small fee to the gym during the team’s practice session. Maybe even handshakes, signatures, and merchandise. The possibilities were endless. It was exploitation at its finest.

“Okay, Kagami-kun, you’re on the offensive,” ordered Riko.

“Huh? W-what are you talking about?” asked the confused red-haired player.

“Riko… you aren’t seriously thinking–” began Hyuuga.

The doors swung open and Kagami was swiftly pushed into the crowd where he instantly attracted the attention of many females and males. It was in this chaos that the rest of the team had managed to sneak by without too much notice. The attention that they did receive, they were able to work with thanks to, ironically, sacrificing the second biggest magnet of the team, Kuroko Tetsuya.

~x~

Kagami got chills just from thinking about it: an entire summer that revolved around English. While his grades did improve, English, ironically, was the subject that could cost him his entire summer if he didn’t perform exceptionally well on the next test.

“Kagami-kun,” said Kuroko suddenly. “Would you like me to help you study?”

Kagami jumped a little despite knowing his friend had been walking right beside him since school ended. Perhaps it was because his mind had been focused elsewhere. The red haired basketball player sighed loudly and debated on the subject: it sure wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest in Kuroko’s help as he clearly understood far better than he. In fact, Kuroko seemed to have a knack for languages. But with Kuroko’s help came with the inability to take breaks whenever Kagami wanted which was arguably every fifteen minutes or less.

The sound of a basketball hitting against a rim rang loud and clear on a nearby court the boys had been passing, followed by a masculine voice that uttered a single vulgar profanity that resonated uncomfortably with the small crowd. While the boys would never bat an eye toward situations like these, they couldn’t withstand the allure of knowing basketball was somehow involved.

A tall male brunette stood at the center of the basketball court, his hands balled into fists and staring angrily at the basketball that continued rolling until it hit the small wall that separated the bleachers from the court.

“Wait a minute,” the boy snapped, then he turned to look at the girl standing ways away from him. “This is a basketball court. We had the right to ask you to leave.”

“Hey, excuse me,” said Kagami to a worried looking bystander who was just as tall as he was. “What’s going on here?”

“You should watch your language,” said the girl, as her dark blue eyes glared at the boy who was tossing a basketball into the air and catching it with the same hand.

“You’re on the wrong court, little girl.”

His derisive smirk bothered her immensely. The urge to send the tennis ball flying towards his face was strong, and it took every ounce of power left in her to restrain herself. And she would have left quietly if she didn’t catch the inappropriate and vulgar remark about women the boy had made as she picked up her tennis ball from underneath the basketball hoop.

“Hey, don’t say that–” his friend had urged cautiously.

A yellow blur suddenly flew their way. By how fast it was traveling had left an evident mark on the boy’s right cheek, blood seeping through the sharp wound.

“W-what the hell?”

“I don’t really know how it turned into this,” the male said to Kagami. “Suddenly they’re battling for  the court with who can get the most shots in.”

“Someone just couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut,” muttered another who Kagami assumed was the boy’s friend.

“Is that your way of saying you’re  giving up?” asked the girl.

“Kagami-kun,” said Kuroko sternly.

Before the violent boy could take a step forward, Kagami placed a cautious hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, “Hey, stop it.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“I said stop it,” muttered Kagami angrily.

The boy swung his fist toward Kagami’s face but the latter dodged it with ease. Holding his fist in one hand, Kagami had to use significant energy to keep himself from getting violent. However, the determined boy then raised his leg and aimed to kick Kagami in the stomach until the lad suddenly doubled over in pain. With his face contorted, he held onto his knee where the strong impact of a tennis ball had struck him.

His friends somewhat hesitantly went to his side and picked up the groaning and moaning mess of the once confident boy. “Hey, we’re really sorry about this,” said one, his gaze landing on first the girl then Kagami.

As the injured boy was ushered out of the vicinity, the girl turned to Kagami and said, “Thanks for that.”

“Yes, Kagami-kun, you were very cool.”

The corner of Kagami’s eye twitched, and he uttered quietly, “I don’t need to hear it from you, Kuroko.”

The girl picked up her tennis ball and dropped it into her pocket. Observing her, Kagami remarked, “That was a good shot you did.”

“Appreciate the comment,” said the girl, smiling, then added, “Kagami-kun.” The obvious shock on Kagami’s face and Kuroko’s swift look of surprise almost made the girl laugh. She then turned to Kuroko and said, “Kuroko-kun.”

“H-how do you know us?” asked a frightened Kagami.

The girl had begun putting away her equipment into her tennis bag. Once she zipped it up and swung it over her shoulder, she turned to the boys and said, “Kagami Taiga and Kuroko Tetsuya from Seirin High, the champion of this year’s Winter Cup. Your final match was very thrilling to watch.“

Kagami turned a hint of pink before saying, “W-we appreciate the comment.”

The girl smiled and said, “Maybe we’ll see each other again,” and exited the court.

It wasn’t until a moment later did Kagami blurt out,” Wait, we never got her name!”

“Tachibana An from Rikkaidai Fuzoku High,” Kuroko then he turned toward his friend and continued, “Honestly, Kagami-kun, this is probably why your grades are so low. You don’t notice things right in front of you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? When did you even see that?”

“It was on a small name tag attached to her tennis bag.”

Kagami was about to retort but was silenced by the bzzz that came from his phone. He fished his mobile out of his pocket and glanced at the new message. Kuroko couldn’t help but be slightly curious to what caused the small grin on his friend’s face.

“Is everything okay, Kagami-kun?”

Kagami’s marginally delayed reply of “Huh? Oh, yeah, everything’s fine,” was then followed by “C’mon, let’s get out of here. I still need to study for that exam.”

Kuroko was utterly speechless.

#kuroko no basket #kuroko tetsuya #kagami taiga #prince of tennis #tachibana an #oc #seirin #aida riko #fanfic #anime #kingsandqueens #chapterone #tenipuri #shinpuri