#excuse me i have a Latina queen to speak about this.

[adhdslugcrimes]

Imagine, the three farm boi's. Telling their partners to kiss on the Cowch.

#clark kent #loisclark #superbat #superwonderbat #timkon #timkonbart #damijon #superman #superboy #kon el #dc #jon kent #jonathan kent #Conner kent #I'm just saying. #excuse me i have a Latina queen to speak about this. #very important

[grapecaseschoices]

Representation in IF (or the lack thereof)

In recent days, the topic of race and ethnicity - as well as treatment of marginalized communities within IFs and their fandoms - has been the premier point of conversation. It has become paramount for people of color, lately, to advocate for themselves in regards to issues of white washing, stereotypes, and white people (...and sadly, other people of color) feeling too comfortable using slurs.

Nothing new there.

As I saw someone recently point out, this is something that crops up every two months. And if you’ve been on tumblr for that length of time, in more than more than one fandom, this is likely something you’ve had to deal with several times within that space of time. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of being a fan of color. (And, often, any type of minority, period.)

We don’t get to escape within the internet into fantasy the same way the “majority” gets to do so. If it isn’t toxic people in the community, it is being disappointed by content creators - either through their comments (or lack thereof) or what they put out in their work.

I can’t speak for every black person or every person of color, however, my fandom experience is one of hyper vigilance. And I’ve noticed that sort of attitude in others.  We have to cut away from certain parts of the fandom. Or cut out work we used to love because of certain outlooks or behaviors.

It is a protective attitude that I’m unapologetic about. By curating my content consumption, it’s pushed me to find, and support, artists that care enough to see people like me as people.  Someone mentioned to me that “as marginalized communities, we have a right to be choosy about our representation in media.” And I agree. We do and we should never, ever feel guilty about it. 

That being said, it can feel kind of alienating.

As I mentioned before, there’s been a continued - one I am glad for - movement in the IF/VN community in calling out bad representation (and treatment of fans).  Fans have pushed for accountability and gotten it. However, I’ve noticed - or at least, I feel - the call for change is sort of limited. There’s a hesitance in our community to ask for that same change of ‘indie’/smaller creators as we do of companies or more established writers. And, honestly, this hesitance has left me with a feeling that the IF/VN community isn’t really one for people of color, particularly black people.

Now, I’m one who tries to give credit where credit is due. The creation of ~interact-if … is probably one of the best things I have ever seen in any community (and I’ve been in fandom/written rpg since HS). I’ve also noticed an increase of writers of color feeling comfortable in writing for their culture or having characters of their culture as well as white creators holding themselves accountable. All of that is what keeps me hopeful about improvement regarding IF works but motivates me to one day do my own. That being said, there is still a lot that needs to be addressed regarding the whiteness of IF work and the depiction of characters of color.

I am going to start off by saying something that may come off as kind of harsh. If you know me, you know what I’m going to say, so you can clock out. If you don’t, take a deep breath, feel frustrated, and then let it go to move on: I don’t think uncomfortability with writing about a marginalized group or unfamiliarity with said group is an excuse. I don’t think “well it’s my work, this is what I know/this is what I want to write” is an excuse. 

IF works in the year 2021 are uncomfortably, awkwardly white (and able-bodied, cis, thin, etc). And I do not think there is ANY excuse, ANY actual reason for it to be that way.

I am sure there are several excuses coming to mind (as I said, I’ve been in RP and fanfic for years, I’ve seen them all—heck, I’ve thought them all. I still do think them at times). However, I’ve always held to the belief that every work that is put out into the universe matters. Everything has an impact.  NO work is too small, nothing is too insignificant. Every art has an effect. And if you’re writing a story, telling a tale, something from your heart to share with others you’re trying to affect your environment in some way, you’re trying to say something.

I feel a lot of us—as I said, I include myself in this too—do not consider what we’re saying to our audience when we create works that are mostly white (or when we can’t have a single character or work with numerous characters that are disabled, fat, mentally ill, trans, I can go on). 

If you’re writing a story, I don’t think you can give yourself any pats on the back for having one or two characters of color. I think we’ve moved beyond that type of ‘diversity by numbers’ … especially when the numbers are often piss poor.  I’m seeing IFs where there are three characters of color to six white ROs. Not only is that ‘ratio’ (for lack of a better word) shitty on it’s own, people don’t consider that the actual dynamic is 1:1:1:6. People of color are not a monolith. I, as a black Haitian-American woman, may have similar experiences as an indigenous woman from Canada and a persian person from Iran …. But we are not the same. Yes, it is great to have a diversity of characters. I’m not saying you shouldn’t include people from different backgrounds in your works.

But please consider why it is never the case that there are two Japanese-Brazilians, three black people from Manchester, and a mixed-race Indigenous/Afro-Latina from Queens, and one white person. It is extremely rare to see multiple of one race or ethnicity in an IF if that race isn’t white.

I feel not only is that problem, I believe it is a conversation that needs to be had. Both as a community and as something writers discuss with themselves, as they review their work. 

And that is the tip of the iceberg. We need to have discussions on the tendency of characters of color to have light colored eyes, or the preference of East Asians (and light skinned ones at that) over any other Asian, or the ambiguously brownness of descriptors. We need to talk about white-washing in face claims that directly oppose established descriptions, or how Artbreeder being bad at black people is NOT an excuse for your black character looking similar to the one in three different other IFs (put the effort in). 

We as a community need to have several discussions or else I feel it will be another five years before we’re dragging our feet toward better representation. And that shouldn’t be the case. At all. 

#interactive fiction #interactive novel #visual novels #representation matters #racism #fandom racism #in short i think a lot of people thinks criticism of representation and racism equals judgment / concrit regarding what is there rather tha #observing and commenting on what is NOT there and HOW it is not there #does anyone sit and ask themselves 'why did i not picture a dark skinned indian man as this ro?' #'why did i feel this character needed to be white rather than black?' #'why do i continously put / see only a certain type of black character or a certain look of latin@ as a ROMANTIC option?' #asking these questions are ways to press for better rep AND to challenge our own bias #and most importantly accountability isn't just for the big players -- we need it for our friends and ourselves (myself included) or else we #as a community and as a type of art are going to fall into the same wholes that other media before us are / have (ie video games and films #and television and etc) when i feel IF (like RP and fanfiction) have a very unique position and perspective #and i think that is why it is maddening to see us fall into the same traps we condemn when there is NO reason to do so #long post #longpost #grapecase posts

[strawberrykake]

Heyo! I have a suggestion that’s a little bit more of a request really but, it’s a totally ridiculous request anyways. But I was wondering( hoping really) if you could possibly write some HQ boys with a Latina! reader ?? I’ve seen a lot of things with other races, but reality is not a lot of representation with the Hispanic community. ( it would mean the world, even if you think it’s not great 😊) So feel free to ignore my crazy suggestion and have a good day!

Hi! i feel honored to have this suggestion!! Of course! I’m not too knowledgeable but I will try my best. And you have an awesome day, too <3

                                »»————-　♡　————-««

glad we met // Haikyuu x Latina!reader

Sugawara, Hinata, Osamu, Oikawa

Sugawara

sugawara isn’t one to easily give his heart to others

but then he met you

He learned Spanish way before he dated you just so he can impress you

“¡Buenos dias!” he would greet you everyday, smiling.

You can’t help but smile back

Your smile makes him clench his heart

One day he couldn’t take it anymore

He needed to tell you how he felt

And he did

He made a surprise with little notes each written in your native tongue

The gesture made your heart squeeze

“You make me happy, Princesa” is what he said before you officially became a couple

that nickname stuck

This time, he would greet you every morning  [“!Buenos dias, princesa!”] with a kiss and a hug

Though he called you ‘princesa’, he treated you like a queen

Practically fluent in Spanish at some point and converses with you casually

And whenever you started feeling insecure, he would remind you of your beauty and make you feel so beautiful

Hinata

he first caught an interest in you when you showed up as the new foreign student

he was very interested in how different you were from everyone

he even had the audacity to ask you questions about your culture

“I’ve always wanted to visit that country! We should go together someday!”

If anything, that made him more cute

He would teach you some things about his own culture in exchange for yours

What started as a cute friendship blossomed into something more

You practically hung out every day

 His little nickname for you: mi alma

whenever you meet, he would gasp “mi alma!” and rush to you

He would always find an excuse to hold your hand

or pepper hundreds of kisses on your face

es tan tierno

And when it’s time to go home: “No, stay a little longer?” 

He’d pout, playing with your hands

You give in to his puppy eyes

He is your sol 

Osamu

Tried your food at some potluck party

and oh my

“The Spanish chick who brings bomb-ass food”

is what he used to refer to you as

He would get slapped by Aran who says “Don’t be rude. Go learn her name.”

Eventually meets you and you both bond over food lol

“Hey, did you bring them?” He asks during a lunch.

You look up from your bag of frozen grapes. “Bring what?”

“Empanadas” he pronounces the word flawlessly. 

“You think I eat empanadas everyday?” You roll your eyes.

“Oh, then tell me the recipe.” He casually plops one of your grapes into his mouth.

You start spending more and more time together

He was initially interested in the food you made

But something about your aura intrigued him (plus u cute); he enjoyed your company

He finally asked you out one day while you spent time cooking together

“I’m so lucky to have you, hermosa” He says, hugging you from behind. His head lazily nuzzles into your shoulder.

Though he doesn’t express his emotions directly, he constantly reminds you how special you are whether it is through words, hugs, or cooking you food 

Oikawa

Always flirted with you from the beginning of course

In fact his first words when he met you:

“Perdí mi número. ¿Puedo tener el tuyo?“ He said with a tiny accent and smug look.

He had overheard you speaking in your native language on the phone

Of course he had to show off his little knowledge of Spanish

You remained in shock, wondering how the hell this hot Japanese man knows Spanish.

“So that didn’t work, huh. Let me try again.” He cleared his throat. “Si el agua fuera belleza, tú serías el océano entero.”

You just laughed it off and never really took anything serious

But he eventually started falling for you hard.

And then you fell for him

He would take you to all his vb games, calling you his “lucky charm”

His “estrella”

“There’s no one like you, estrella” he says before giving a loving kiss

At the end of every game, he will run to look for you

It was like a routine

When he wins, you give him a nice high five and he returns with a tight bear hug

When he loses, he gives you a hug with a sigh while you pat his head soothingly 

At the end of the day, you always turn to each other

And he is so grateful to have someone like you

                                »»————-　♡　————-««

Notes: + Please let me know if I write something wrong bc this is my first time giving reader a racial background and i don’t want to be offending anyone.

++ Not sure if I’m posting this (format) correctly. I don’t use Tumblr that much lol

#haikyuu x latina!reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu requests #sugawara x latina!reader #hinata x latina!reader #osamu x latina!reader #Oikawa x latina!reader #sugawara x reader #hinata x reader #osamu x reader #oikawa x reader #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x latina #requests

[abbyfreemansmind]

Let’s talk about Hazbin Hotel

So, I finally sat down and watched Hazbin Hotel. I’d heard so much about it and felt the need to launch myself headfirst into having my own opinions about it instead of just listening to other people talking about it. This is gonna be a long post, so I’m gonna put it behind a neat little read more. Please note that this is coming from someone who genuinely enjoys adult humour and edgy humour and themes. I’ve got no problem with something that’s all swearing and raunchy jokes. It just needs to be done right.

Point 1 - The Plot The plot is describes as the Princess of Hell trying to open a new hotel to rehabilitate sinners so they don’t get exterminated during the yearly heavenly extermination to deal with Hell’s overpopulation problems. This plot is quickly undone through a few things that anyone can notice during the first viewing. 1 - Overpopulation? WHAT population? The scenery is most often noticeably devoid of any signs of life, outside of when background characters are called for. The scene where Charlie’s doing her news presentation is the most notable example of background characters. After this scene, we see almost nobody outside of the main cast and those weird little egg things. There are a few throwaway demons but outside of that, the streets are devoid of people. There aren’t even the corpses we had just seen during that opening scene. 2 - Charlie may as well be a total nobody what with all the power being the Princess of Hell holds. Just look at how the other characters treat her. You’d think the Princess of Hell would have some kind of benefit that would sway people towards agreeing with this whole idea. Instead, she gets mocked by just about everyone for reasons I can only guess involve winning her sympathy points from the audience. 3 - At no point does she give any proof that redemption would work. She basically says, “Hey guys! I hate seeing you all die, so I have this idea that has no backing evidence, that may or may not work, to try and get you guys into Heaven! Let me sing a song about it where I insult you all!”

Point 2 - Presentation I applaud the animators. Must’ve been hard, especially for Charlie’s overly fast song that really didn’t need to be nightcored, or literally any time Angel Dust was on-screen. Frame by frame. No rigs. All those stripes. All those colours that blend if you stare at them too hard or squint even slightly while watching. All that unnecessarily constant movement. It’s no wonder the thing took four bloody years to animate. Outside of animation, there are too many unneeded details and not enough needed details. Seriously. 1 - The turf war. We didn’t need this. We didn’t need this at all. If you take out the entire opening to it and the entire actual fight scene here, the episode still flows smoothly and we get the same amount of information and worldbuilding. In a pilot/first episode, you should only give the audience necessary details. Leave them wanting more, yes, but make sure they actually know what they’re getting into from the first episode. Make every scene count. Make it mean something. Don’t just shove every detail you can think of together and call it a day, especially if you don’t actually give the audience much information from it. 2 - Why is Hell overpopulated? Why isn’t Heaven? Why can angels go from Heaven to Hell, but demons can’t go from Hell to Heaven? Why does nobody care about being redeemed if Hell is so overpopulated that Angels annually come down and kill people because of it? Why does everyone treat the Princess of Hell like she’s worthless? Why doesn’t Angel Dust know about Alastor if they got into hell within 10 years of each other? Where is this supposed overpopulation problem? Would redemption even work in the first place? Why should I care about most of these characters (who are mostly complete jerks with no redeeming qualities other than “PROTAGONIST”, especially when two of the fan favourites repeatedly sexually assault other characters and, in one case, is both sexist and racist at one point)? Why are there turf wars? I should not be having to ask these questions. Don’t hold the audience’s hand, but don’t leave every single question you present in the show unanswered. Some of the questions presented make absolute sense to leave unanswered. Why does Alastor want to help with the hotel? Why are characters like Vaggie and Niffty, who do nothing all that bad, in Hell? These are questions that make total sense to leave unanswered for now. 3 - What crime is too terrible to be redeemed for? Charlie seems to think that literally everyone can be redeemed. That means murderers, rapists, abusers, tormentors... Certainly her song holds some kind of key to figuring it out! “Inside of every creepy hatchet-wielding maniac” Hmm... Okay... “All of you cretins, sluts and losers, sexual deviants and boozers” Uh... “So, all your cartoon porn addictions, vegan rants, psychic predictions Ancient Roman crucifixions end right here All you monsters, thieves and crazies, cannibals and crying babies" Oh... Also, did she imply that mental illness, alcoholism, drug dependency, plant-based diets/lifestyles, rabies and enjoyment of sex were sins in that song?

Point 3 - Edgy for the sake of edgy Hazbin Hotel tries to be an adult cartoon, but comes off as something a mentally disturbed teenager wrote during their emo/scene phase. 1 - The swearing and sex jokes. Oh boy. I’ve worked with children under the age of 15 who swear and crack sex jokes better than the adults in this show. The swearing and sex jokes are the only reasons this show couldn’t be aired as a Cartoon Network show aimed at edgy teenagers. It’s so poorly done that it in and of itself takes away from the quality of the show itself. Also, we have a character who’s name is an actual sex joke itself. Vaggie, full name Vagatha - a lesbian sex worker, of course. Fun fact for those who don’t know, but all of her previous character drafts had her name as some form of joke on the word vagina. This isn’t an accident, this is blatant and intentional. Also, here’s a pro tip for you! You can make an adult-oriented show without having swearing, slurs and sex jokes taking up a solid third or more of your script. 2 - The... “Representation”. Yes, Hazbin Hotel has LGBT+ characters! Yes, it has biracial and Latina characters! Charlie is bi, Vaggie is a Latina lesbian, Angel Dust is a gay man, Alastor is ace and biracial, Husk is pan, Niffty is Japanese (YIKES). Except none of it actually matters. No, really. Vivziepop was all like, “btw you can ship w/e, idc! also, i rlly like the fanon version of human alastor (who is whiter than marshmallow fluff even though he’s supposed to be half black)! :)” and threw all that out the window because... Who knows at this point. Now, if you look at the connected series, Helluva Boss, you get Moxie and Millie - an extremely obvious and loving couple. In Hazbin Hotel, you get Charlie and Vaggie who you probably couldn’t tell were a couple without somebody telling you that in the first place, what with all the loveydovey-ness going on with them. In fact, the biggest hint we even get is literally one line. “Life ain’t a musical, hun.” But then again, I’d be more apt to believe Charlie and Vaggie are friends, or Vaggie is pining after Charlie. Also, Charlie is a really bad girlfriend! She lets Vaggie get abused by practically the entire cast without so much as a single word in her defense and ignores everything Vaggie says. It came as no surprise when I remembered hearing about how the only reason these two are a couple is because one of the people on the team thought they were during storyboarding and Vivziepop just went with it. Also, fun fact, Vaggie fits both the angry lesbian and fiery Latina stereotypes. Charlie fits the stereotype for the bisexual cheater, what with how she seems to actually like Alastor more than her own bloody girlfriend. Alastor is canonically ace because he’s too full of himself to be with anyone else. Speaking as somebody who’s ace... WHAT?! As much as I don’t like Charlastor, it’s partially more popular than Chaggie because Vivziepop actually made them act like a couple for an entire musical number. Also, he’s annoying. He not only kept telling Vaggie to smile (heck you dude), he also smacked her butt, which is a form of sexual assault, people. This was all played for laughs, along with Vaggie’s (actually very reasonable) anger. Niffty is Japanese. A yellow-skinned demon who’s boy crazy and obsessed with cleaning... Big yikes. Finally, Angel Dust. The kinky gay man porn star/drag queen/drug addict/prostitute who verbally sexually assaulted two guys. Where do I begin. When it came to this guy, Vivziepop must’ve been like, “Imma throw every stereotype for gay men on this guy and call it a character!” If you look a Helluva Boss again, you get Stolas, who verbally sexually assaults Blitzo over the phone and also cheated on his wife with him in the first place, so this isn’t a one-off. Also, he was originally AFAB, so that whole line about “Why are you all women?” is more than a little heinous and in extremely poor taste.

In conclusion, this show is terrible. Everything about it. It needs some serious reworking, because as it stands, it’s really truly not that great of a creation.

tl;dr: Needs a lot of work and “ThEy’Re In HeLl!!1!!one!!!eleven!!!11″ isn’t even remotely an excuse for the genuine problems in it. Remember, at least one actual human being on Earth, not in Hell, wrote this garbage fire. Also, the animators deserve a higher wage than whatever they’re getting to deal with these designs. I shudder just thinking about animating them, with or without a rig.

#hazbin hotel #hazho #hh #vivziepop #helluva boss #longpost #long post

[hoodharlow]

OOO LET ME HOP ON THIS ROSALIA BULLSHIT white people are only ok with latinxs when latinxs are white and speak english they dont even care if they’re not latinxs and the amount of times i’ve had to listen to people calling her a latina queen like excuse me as if europe didnt do enough colonizing as it is back the fuck OFF white people holy shit. white people: stop liking and praising only light/white latinxs and if you disagreE LOOK THAT SHIT UP POPULAR LATINOS NOW THEYRE ALL LIGHT anyway—

TEA!!! My friend and I had a whole ass conversation about this a while ago. It’s sooooo frustrating to see that latinx artists are paving their way and then we have someone like her swoop in and claim she’s all about it. Then people like Kylie Jenner hype her up and shit. Don’t get me started on white passing Latinx celebs like Lele Pons and Camila Cabello. They only claim being latinx when it’s convenient for them.

[dearemma]

charmed anon: okay i'm all caught up on charmed now so i'm just gonna reaction vomit in your askbox i apologise in advance! 1st of all: maggie is kind and sweet and doesn't deserve any of the pain she's been going through!! also, she fucking just made up a new spell ON THE SPOT that was strong enough to send alistair running???? boss ass witch!!! idk how i feel about parker and her...on the one hand i want maggie to be happy in love and she clearly love(s/d) him and he cares for her but

on the other hand i'm a little tired of the trope of 'he manipulates her but then falls in love with her for real and then she finds out and is really hurt but eventually she gets over it and they live happily ever after' you know? (i kinda see lucy as having a crush on maggie and secretly want them to get together but that'll probably never happen

GETTING ASK AFTER ASK WAS SO MUCH FUN. HONESTLY, PLS ALWAYS VOMIT IN MY INBOX. NOW THAT YOU ARE ALL CAUGHT UP I EXPECT YOU TO REACT AFTER TONIGHT’S EP AS WELL!!

MAGGIE IS A POWERFUL QUEEN WITH AMAZING POWERS WHO IS GOING TO DESTROY ALISTAIR AND HIS CHILDREN ONE BY ONE AND SHE IS GOING TO LOOK FABULOUS WHILE SHE DOES IT.

[ i am putting the ask under a read more because there is a lot ]

about her and parker, i am not really passionate about them but his arc of manipulating her was actually one i enjoyed because it was better written then most. his motives were interesting, and him turning away from his father?? i am cheering him on. coming from an abusive household doesn’t excuse what he did, but it’s interesting.

THO I DO NEED TO CHECK AGAIN WHAT HE DID AS A SHADOW DEMON BECAUSE I THINK HE DID SOME SHADY STUFF. 

 look, maggie is bisexual. like, i know canon hasn’t told us that, but i am bi and i feel it in my heart. lucy is cool but i would rather have someone else as a love interest for her.

) 2nd of all mel going through harry's stuff in his private study right in front of him while he only mildly scolds her about it violating his privacy made me think of that meme about her being his favourite and it made me laugh. speaking of mel you could cut the tension between her and jada with a freaking knife!! i have no idea what's up with the s'arcana but jada is cool (and also half witch half whitelighter whaaat???) and i was so happy when they kissed! but nico!!! what? how? what's going on??? is that girl that the s'arcana are trying to heal fiona?? also who is mel's dad??? i ahve so many questions!

dfghjkl i don’t remember that scene?? i am going to need to go back and check it because wow i that brother-sister duo. 

JADA AND MEL HAVE SO MUCH CHEMISTRY. IT’S INSANE. AND NOW NICO IS BACK, WITHOUT HER MEMORY OF MEL BUT SHE IS A COP LOOKING INTO JADA AND ??? I CAN’T TAKE IT, IT’S TOO MUCH, I NEED LIKE 3 EPS IN ONE GO TO BE ABLE TO PROCESS ALL OF THAT.

the arcana plot line is definetly my favorite!!! i hate the elders, ever since the original charmed and seeing a group of witches banding together to disobey them gives me so much pleasure!! they are so cool and honestly their aesthetic?? the crows??? they are dramatic, just as witches should be.

Who is Mel’s dad and who is Maggie and Macy’s dad?? is the dad that Maggie loves but Mel hates also Macy’s dad?? or is it just Mel’s??? which would be such a good twist.

also, the casting finally makes sense. the show was like “it’s three latinas!!” but Macy and Maggie aren’t played by latina’s, they are both half-black!!! so!! that’s something to think about!

3rd of all: macy, queen of my heart! protective big sister, my favourite lil science nerd! she is sweet but not a pushover, she is smart but not arrogant about it. i just adore her! and galvin's little celebration when she invited him out for a drink made me smile like yes son appreciate her!! i also really love that she's 28 years old and still a virgin not for any particular reason other than she just is. and galvin just rolls with it all, witchcraft, virginity, all of it bless him

Galvin!!! Honestly, I loved how they wrote him the last ep, it’s how he was supposed to be written all season long. The fact what finally broke him was the virginity part was hilarious. And he wasn’t more shocked that she was a virgin, it was just the block that tipped over and made him be like “THIS IS A LOT” but he dealed with it and continued to support macy.

he is a sweet boy who adores Macy and people should appreciate him more.

BUT YES MACY IS BIG LITTLE NERD WITH SO MUCH HEART AND BEAUTY. also, like, Macy is tall and tho she is thin, she is not model thin. most shows would have made her be more aggressive and imposing because of racist bias but nah, macy is definetly the most delicate girl out of the sisters even tho she is the tallest and i love the show for that. she is cute and feminine!!

4th of all: harry my sweet lil boy! his christmas sweater!! his forbidden romance with charity!!!! (i love her outfits too btw couples who dress well together (and fight demons together) stay together) HE HAS A SON??? are we gonna meet him?? and WHO THE HELL ARE THE GIRLS' FATHERS??? today's episode cannot come soon enough! and i just saw that it's directed by gina rodriguez from jane the virgin, the other show that gives me serious feels about female family relationships whaaat

i don’t like Charity very much but... honestly, you are right. her wardrobe is incredible. If she and Harry lived together half of their house would just be the wardrobe.

YES. HE DOES. A SON WHO IS PROBABLY AROUND 80 RIGHT NOW AND WILL PROBABLY DIE AFTER HARRY MEETS HIM (we can’t have nice things) AND IT WILL BREAK OUR HEARTS. 

TONIGHT’S EP??? WITH GINA DIRECTING, AND JAIME CAMILL GUEST STARRING??? JAIME IS GOING TO KILL IT AND WE KNOW IT. i can’t wait to see it. 

look, usually I’d say we are going to learn who the girl’s parents are in the season finale, but this show moves so fast that we’re probably meeting them next week.

#charmed cw #my fav anon is back #Anonymous

[featherwriterweather]

A concert to remember

I know its long and the date was a month ago, but I was too inspired. Read to the end.

I woke up not as early as usual. Today was 8th March, the International women’s day. Renato was really kind and let me take the day off to celebrate me being a woman. It felt so good to sleep until the sun has actually risen. I woke up with my hair up on a bun, blankets neatly over me and one beautiful white rose on the side of the bed where Christopher was usually sleeping. He was so sweet to me, making me feel like a real queen. It was the best thing to wake up and see one beautifully scented rose next to me.

Christopher had already gotten ready and gone down to the hotel lobby to join the other four for breakfast before they head out to do some radio interviews and the sound check for the concert they had the same night. Six years had gone by since I met Christopher and the fire between us exploaded. The way we met was a litle funny, yet incredible. I had just arrived to the US and finished my makeup artist course. I applied everywhere I could. Probably it was fate, but a month after I applied for a boy band travelling makeup artist, I got called up. The day I went to my interview I was nervously shaking for some reason. The interview was in Sony Music Latin in Miami. I entered the hallway still being nervous. I saw five boys playing European football with a ball made out of paper wrapped in duckt tape. Three of them were with their back to me. One of them started walking backwards, he didn’t know I was behind him and that’s why he was just as surprised when he bumped into me. He turned around to catch me from falling, but slipped instead and we both fell on the floor. He quickly stood up and helped me, saying he was sorry in the mean while. The other four were laughing so hard that Renato, who interviewed me at the time, came out of his office to see what was happening. The boy, who was Christopher, was turning red of embarrassment. Something between us clicked at that moment. He looked into my eyes and smiled kindly. He let go of me only when Renato cleared his throat loud enough for all the building to hear him. That day was, in a matter of fact, 8th March. And here we were, six years later. I was their makeup artist and travelled the world with them and I was calling myself Chris’ girlfriend. My life had changed so much since, but for the better. And today not only I had a celebration, we also had an anniversary.

I got out of bed, took a shower and got ready. Then I went down for breakfast. The boys were still eating and about to leave in a few minutes. I approached them and smiled. They had ordered me coffee and my favourite veggie breakfast. They knew I would come down on ime to eat together. They all smiled back at me as I sat down.

“Feliz día de la mujer!” They said in one voice as each pulled out one white rose from under the table. My eyes watered up. I was shown one more time how lucky I was to have them in my life as my friends, as my co-workers and as my brothers. Looking back, who would have guessed I would be known as travelling makeup artist, let alone having breakfast with the hottest boy band in Latin America and holding the roses they have given me. I quickly brushed my tears and put the rosses carefully on the chair next to me. They had to go do their interviews and sound check, they stood up and excused themselves. Before they left me alone I got a kiss from all of them. Richard kissed my forehead, Erick kissed my cheek, Joel placed a kiss on the top of my head, Zabdi kissed my hand and Chris gave me a quick peck on my lips.

I wasn’t mad that I had to finish my breakfast alone. They had to do their resposibilities and yet they had the time to buy me flowers, order my favorite food and, of course, tag me and their moms on their IG stories. How could I be mad at them for such thing? After I finished eating, I made sure to call all of the moms and sisters in our extended musical family, as well as my mom. Working with so many latinas, I learned spanish really fast. Of course, I went to my IG and recorded a quick video for my fans and friends.

The rest of the day went by fast. I had forgotten what it is like to be free all day. Their interviews were over, as well as the sound check, the fans were already piling up in the stadium. I spent my time at the hotel trying outfits and makeup looks while my team got the boys ready behind the scenes. An hour before the concert started, Renato came and took me with his car. I was starting to feel something was happening behind my back. Little did I know how right I was. 

We arrived at the stadium just in time. I went behind the scenes, we did our traditional good luck hand over hand salute, they all gave me the usual cheek kiss good luck and I sent them on stage. Renato insisted I should go up front and watch the concert. That was strange, though. He never insisted on me doing things like that, because he knew I would do it anyways. Even though, I did as I was told. The concert was more than amazing. As usual, fans were pulled on stage, roses were given as a present for being such dedicated fans. One of the girls pulled up on stage even got a proposal. I was thinking to myself that this day couldn’t get any better, I was wrong, of course. You know how it happens exactly the opposite when you think it can not get any better or any worse. There are the Murphy laws.

I continued watching the concert and admiring the sweet proposal this girl had. Almost at the end of the concert the music didn’t transition from song to song, but stopped. Christopher looked at me, smiled and brought his mic to his mouth and started talking. “Before we sing the last song for tonight, which is also very symbolic to us, to me, I want to thank you all. Miami has always been a place of memories and emotions to me. Seven years ago I came to this country to work, a year later I came here, in Miami, and auditioned for La Banda. That’s when I met the most amazing woman in my life, my lovely girlfriend. She was new to the country, too. I would like to bring her here, on stage, but you have to help me. Call her up with me, c’mon!”

Everybody started scanding my name. A heatwave spread along my body. I had a tangling sensation in my stomach. I had the feeling this would not be only a thankful speech. Anyways, I tried to caml myself down as I walked up on stage. When I got there, the audience started clapping and cheering. Chris stretched his hand out for mine. I went up to him and took his hand as he continued talking. “This woman, that I have the priviledge to hold hands with, is the best thing Miami could have given me. I remember the first time I looked in her eyes. I knew nothing would ever be the same again. Today not only we celebrate her being a woman, we celebrate our sixth anniversary.” At this point I was already crying and shaking. He turned to me, looked me in the eyes and went on." The way we met was so funny. I bumped into her, practically I fell on top of her. That was the best thing I could do. It changed my life forever. I am who I am because of you. You made me believe in everything I do, in everything I dream of. I can’t believe I had gotten so lucky to have you by my side. For six years we built a life I was used seeing only in movies. We have a beautiful home, that we rarely have the chance to enjoy. I hear ‘I love you’ everyday and that makes me the happiest man. You share my smiles, my tears, my dreams, my ups and downs. My life is perfect the way it is. There is only one thing missing, mi amor. That is a ring on you finger” as he said that he pulled out a velvet ring box from his pocket and got down on one knee. I started crying even more. My hand went up to my mouth. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. My feeling was right, there really was something happening behind my back, but all was worth it. The boys started jumping behind me, everyone started cheering. I looked at Chris, he was crying, too. I have imagined this moment so many times, but I never could have thought it would be that perfect. Chris started talking again, his voice cracking “Bebé, mi amor, mi vida, te casarías conmigo?”

My makeup was already ruined from all the tears. I couldn’t think, nor speak. I nodded and managed somehow to shout “Sí” before I threw myself around his neck. Everybody started cheering again. I was still shaking as he slipped the ring on my finger. He stood up and hugged me, sweeping me off of my feet. Zadbi screamed on his mic “She said yes”. The crowd was screaming, the band started to play ‘Primera cita’. As Chris put me down I saw Richard coming towards us shaking one big bottle of champaign. He opened it and started splashing it on us. At the same time Joel came towards me with one big bouquet of red roses. I wasn’t really realizing what had just happened to me. When I first came to America, when I went to Sony Music for my interview I never knew my life would change so much. But I wouldn’t trade for the world. That was the best night in my entire life. 

As we were walking down from the stage I looked up to the sky and saw a shooting star. “Make a wish” Chris said. “I have everything I could ever wish for.” I said. But I did make a wish upon the shooting star. I wished that every woman out there, no matter from where she is, would meet a man like Christopher one day. And that this man would take care of her and treat her like a queen, because all women deserve nothing less.

#christopherimagine #christopher velez #romanticimagine #sweet #cnco imagines #cncowners #cnco #romance

[justanoutlawfic]

Your talk with queen-of-the-merry-men got me thinking...Confessions!Plot Twist...Regina doesn't tell Robin about the switch.

I think there’d have to be a very, very good reason for Regina to 1) not tell Robin about his biological child and 2) for her to not reach out to Bryony. The only way I can see this working out is if Cora had been alive when she found out and had confessed in person a few years in, yet manipulated Regina to believe that Robin could take both girls away from her. In this case, I think Regina’s life would have to be in a very, very different place. She would have Sidney follow the Locksleys and take photos, so she’d always be up to date. This would go on for 3 years.

Robin would eventually want to be able to legally adopt Bryony, but in order to do that, he’d have to take a DNA test. Surprise, surprise, she’s not biologically his-which he already figured because this half-Latina child born supposedly from two fair skinned, blue eyed parents looks nothing like him. What is an actual shock, is how surprised Zelena is by this revelation. She does a DNA test as well and it turns out that she’s not her biological mother.

He looks into it and the hospital discovers that two babie were switched at birth. They’d contact Regina and I think from there, she’d struggle with how to handle it. Does she tell Robin right off and make him angry, instantly suing for custody of both girls? Does she lie and pretend like she’s a victim in all of this too?

She decides to be closed offish at first. She wants Evie to get to know her father, just as much as she finally wants to get to know Bryony. Yet, she doesn’t really connect much with Robin, outside telling him what Evie is like and listening to him talk about Bryony. He can tell something’s up and doesn’t trust her, assuming that she’s trying to work on full custody. Eventually, Regina realizes that she can’t enter this co-parenting relationship on a lie and comes clean, about everything.

Robin is rightfully hurt and angry. Not only did Regina keep his own child from him for 3 years, but she also didn’t seek out Bryony? He doesn’t understand any of it at first. They’ve built up a custody schedule with the girls, so for awhile, he refuses to speak to her outside anything regarding them. Regina understands and knows she deserves it. It hurts even more though, because she’s developed feelings for him. She fears what this will to do to not only their relationship, but their ones with the girls as well.

Then Robin meets Cora for the first time. Regina has long since pushed her out of her life, but Robin wants to confront the woman responsible for all of this. It’s then he realizes just how manipulative Cora really is and just how she could’ve gotten to Regina and talked her into making the choices she did. It doesn’t excuse anything, but he gets it.

It takes some time, but he warms up to Regina again. They start talking more during drop offs and pick ups. Eventually, he suggests they take a family vaction together, with all the kids, to get to bond more. One of the nights, Henry watches Roland and the girls so they can have some quiet time. They go on their first date and Regina apologizes once again. Robin forgives her and they are able to start their relationship.

Why don’t we play PLOT TWIST? Send me the title of one of my fics and a plot twist you think would never happen and I’ll tell you how the characters would react to it.

#confessions verse #outlaw queen #outlaw queen au #oq #oq au #anon answers #asked and answered

[leoninapelliolovesconchitawurst]

ENGLISH TRANSLATION (by me)

ELMUNDO.ES 11/23/20

Interview: Andrea M Rosa Del Pino

https://www.elmundo.es/loc/celebrities/2020/11/23/5fb7b5f6fc6c8333448b458d.html

Icon Music LGBT

The truth about Conchita Wurst's supposed death: Eurovision star is reborn with another name and image.

Tom Neuwirth, 32, has gone from a ball gown to a tracksuit and today comes with a whole different personality. However, this is not a fortuitous development, but a new character, who - as he himself mentions - has the soul of a stripper.

Six years ago, Tom Neuwirth (32) - an artist from Austria - revolutionized Eurovision and, therefore, the world. The reason? He came to Copenhagen dressed in drag, wearing a golden gown and with long hair blowing in the wind. However, it was his thick beard that made him popular: the press went crazy for his look, the LGBT community applauded him standing and the Russians were so angry that they even asked to be removed from the scene of the festival show. Despite this, Conchita Wurst, the great character of Neuwirth, stoically resisted and, to fans' surprise, won the contest.

Since then, Neuwirth has traveled for years, posing as Conchita. However, in 2016, the performer hinted that he didn't want to continue playing the diva, who had already become more relevant than her creator. Plus, many believed the singer was actually a transexual, not a drag queen. But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, today, Tom Neuwirth prefers to break away from the identity that made him famous and no longer wears a wig or a ball gown, but rather a tracksuit and sneakers ... Or golden blazers and endless boots. It all depends on the occasion. It all depends on whether you meet the artist or Wurst, his other alter ego, with whom he has lived for some time.

La Otra Crónica spoke to Tom, who - along with his character Wurst - has just released a new version of the classic Smalltown Boy song, in collaboration with Mallorcan Ricky Merino. "Ricky reached out to me on Instagram and told me he wanted to collaborate with me on a version of the classic. And of course I said yes. His voice is amazing and Smalltown Boy is a wonderful song, it has always been,' replied the singer from his house in Vienna, where the remains of Conchita can still be found. The character who in 2017 Neuwirth said he intended to 'kill'. But ... is Eurovision's brightest star really dead?

Tell me, when and where did Tom Neuwirth give birth to Conchita?

It was around 2011. A friend of mine was going to live in Germany and we had a farewell party for him. I thought “I'm going to say goodbye to him the way he deserves and I'm going to do it in drag him”. So I asked other friends for the name of a Latina they would all like to date ... and Conchita was born.

It means “vagina” in Latin America… do you know?

I know! But it hit me much later. Also, Wurst is a German word for the penis. But the truth is, I didn't think of coming up with a name like this. It just happened.

What were the first challenges you faced as Conchita?

The controversy, which I knew it would generate. But I said “come and challenge me” because I felt very confident in myself. This is something that happens to many drag artists. Because when you dress up and do your makeup, you feel like a superhero.

After winning Eurovision, the LGBT community elevated you to idol status. Did that make you feel some kind of obligation to your fans?

I think in 2014 the relationship between the media and the queer community was completely different. Before, we didn't have as much visibility and I felt that having the opportunity to speak, I had to say the right things. But I don't insist on it anymore, because there are so many amazing artists fighting the same battle.

In 2018, to avoid blackmail from an ex-boyfriend, he revealed on social media that he was HIV positive. Do you think it was a good decision to share it?

At that time, I received a lot of positive vibes. It was overwhelming and I could see that we are at a time when talking about this issue is no longer a problem. I think that as a society we are going in the right direction. In fact, I have to say that the American elections have given me hope.

Since 2014 you have been making the headlines because many do not understand when you are Conchita Wurst and when you are Tom Neuwirth. Also, in 2017 you mentioned that you "wanted to kill" the diva. Can you clarify this problem for me?

It's a lot of fun, because everyone was very nervous about that answer. I didn't kill anyone, to be very clear. But the truth is, I got bored with Conchita. I think I gained a lot from her and then it was like "what's left to do?" It's because I'm bored a lot and want to do new things.

It still doesn't clarify anything. Maybe you didn't kill Conchita, but she died naturally ... Honestly, does Conchita live and breathe in you?

Of course! Although before she was a little more cordial and these days she's a bit of a bitch ... (laughs). I love being in drag, but it's true that it's not as common as it used to be.

May I ask you if you, Tom, are you ever confused with the character of Conchita? I'm talking about an identity crisis.

No. For me, Conchita was an excuse to show other aspects of my personality. For example, when wearing the wig, she may be more impatient or angry. I think we all have different sides and I love to explore all of these emotions and sometimes some of them are so strong that they have to have their own unique look. And that's why I need Conchita and Wurst.

Today you sing on stage on stage as Wurst. But ... will you stay with this character permanently?

I want to create a new character. I can't plan much, but I'll tell you I'll get back to glamor a bit. I've been playing a stripper with Wurst for a year and now I'm back in fashion.

#conchitawurst #wurst #tomneuwirth #singer #artist #esc2014 #escwinner #music #performer #lgbt #celebrity #newsong #new video #smalltown boy #article #spain #translation

[truthofherdreams]

long and lost. (chapter 9)

In which Emma doesn’t meet her dad, and has to deal with a moron (ao3)

Emma spends the following two weeks with her ankle in a cast, unable to move away from the station. She gets some paperwork done, answers the phone, sorts the archives, and is otherwise so bored out of her mind that Graham makes fun of her at least five times a day for it. They’ve taken to playing darts together, Emma leaning against a desk as she lines a shot – she’s terrible at it, and Graham is way too good, but it keeps them busy and entertained.

She falls into the routine nicely enough, taking care of breakfast before Mary Margaret drives both Henry and Leo to school, coming back home at five just in time to check on their homework. They eat and watch tv, before she gives Henry his bath and reads him a bedtime story. Rinse and repeat every day, with visits to Granny’s in the weekend and hours spent at the park. Leo has taken to teaching Henry how to play soccer, and soon half a dozen other kids are playing with them too. Leo has never looked more happy, like he lives off the social interactions – or perhaps because his not-boyfriend is always sitting on a bench, pretending to read while he sneaks glances Leo’s way.

By the time the third week rolls around, Dr Whale still refuses to take Emma’s cast off, but discharges David Nolan. His wife decides to throw a party to celebrate, and both Emma and Mary Margaret are invited. (“You saved his life! Of course you’re invited!”)

Emma wonders how much longer she can go along with Mary Margaret’s kicked puppy attitude. Surely it must not be healthy for her, all the pining and sad faces, but Emma has no idea what to do or say to comfort her flatmate and convince her to move on from her unrequited crush.

Instead, she buys a nice bottle of wine at the liquor store, asks Leo to put on his best shirt, and drives them all to the Nolans’ for an evening of awkwardness. Dr Whale is here, smiling at Emma, then her foot, then Emma again – and with him all the town it seems. Emma only recognises a handful of them, and can put names on even less faces than that, so she sits on the bench by the stairs and makes herself as small as possible while Leo goes hunting for drinks and food. He has no problem navigating the crowd, saluting this and that person as he makes his way toward the buffet, Henry happily trailing behind him.

Emma smirks a little at the two of them, before she focuses back on her phone. Graham and she has been stuck in a passionate game of Words With Friends for a week now, with Emma putting as many dirty words as possible just so he will use his ‘oh youth’ voice on her while he rolls his eyes.

“So you must be Emma.”

She’s startled away from placing ‘nookie’ (10 points, not bad) and raises her head to find David Nolan standing in front of her, in all his nice-guy-smile-and-flannel-shirt glory. She makes for standing up, falling back on her ass ungracefully when she puts too much weight on one foot and loses her balance.

“Yeah, hi. I would stand up, but…”

“Don’t worry, stay there.” He grins at her, charming as always – not that she knows, but Mary Margaret has been talking about him a lot, so Emma feels like she kinda knows anyway. “I wanted to thank you for the rescue, but it looks like you’re making a habit of it.”

Emma finds herself blushing under the man’s praises – a little voice whispers to her, ‘under your father’s praise,’ and she isn’t quick enough to shut it up. The idea is already making its way into her heart, which beats a little faster at the thought. Wouldn’t it be nice?

She forces herself to chase it all away.

“I hope not to make a habit of it, actually,” she grins back. “You’re welcome.”

David keeps smiling, swaying on his feet a little, before he moves closer and leans forward, as if sharing a secret with her. “This is a crowd of unfamiliar faces, and you’re the only one I’m sure I don’t actually know.”

Emma’s eyes widen a little at his confession, her own fears rising as a knot in her throat. She swallows it down with difficulty, willing herself to forget about how every face was a foreign one until Ingrid, and Henry. About how she could have walked past someone she knew on the street, and wouldn’t have even reacted, wouldn’t even be aware of the fact. Dr Whale said that David’s amnesia was more due to the shock than anything else, and that his memories will come back eventually, and he just has to let his brain rest a little.

Emma wishes she was that lucky.

“I know exactly what you mean,” she admits. He offers her a questioning raised eyebrow, and she nods to the spot beside her on the bench. He sits by her side, and waits. “I have no memory of my life before I was seventeen. The doctors have no idea why, it’s just… gone.”

David’s smile is gone all of a sudden, his eyes full of compassion. Only he could understand, she thinks, but then again nobody will ever understand. Emma doesn’t even know why she’s telling him all that, even with Leo’s voice in her head whispering to her that David is their father and will make all her worries and pain go away.

“At least you have your brother.”

“At least you have your wife,” Emma hears herself shooting back, bitterly.

David’s scoff is rolling on his tongue, ready to come out, before he swallows it down quickly. Emma doesn’t comment, her own lips in a tight line. She wants to tell him not to fuck around, that she cares very dearly about Mary Margaret and could he not play with her heart if he doesn’t mean it. But it’s not her place, and so she just shakes her head a little before she focuses back on the crowd in the living room.

“I care about her a lot,” David goes on after one too many silent beat. Emma doesn’t have to ask who her is. “But this is a difficult situation and…”

“None of my business?” she finishes for him, offering him an out that he doesn’t take.

“She’s your roommate; you’re worried.” Another beat then, “I’m trying to do right by her. By both of them.”

Then try harder, she wants to say, but someone calls David’s name before she can speak up. They both raise their heads at the same time, only to find a Latina woman walking toward them with a grin on her lips. Her curly hair falls freely around her shoulders, her nose and cheeks peppered with freckles, and she looks overall so beautiful that it takes Emma a few seconds to recover.

“Whale says you probably don’t remember me,” is how she introduces herself, and Emma wonders if he gets that a lot, people who have known him for a while having to go through everything all over again. Sounds exhausting. “Arizona. Your boss.”

“Oh yeah,” he replies with a grin and a shake of the head, like he suddenly remembers her despite the fact that he very much doesn’t. Sounds exhausting too, this game of pretending not to offend people. “Sorry about missing work for so long.”

Arizona offers a flick of her wrist. “More puppies for me to pet, can’t say I mind.”

The dots connect in Emma’s mind at the mention of puppies, mostly because Mary Margaret has told her on several occasions about how great a man who works with pets must be. Because David worked at the animal shelter, before. Because Emma knows more about him that she would like.

“Looks like a meeting for Asocial Anonymous,” the woman goes on as she looks between David and Emma. “Mind if I join?”

Not that she lets them much of a choice, scooting between Emma and David on the bench before either of them has time to react, let alone answer anything. She introduces herself to Emma next, and only then does it click - Emma has seen her a couple of times at Granny’s during the weekend, bickering with Ruby about this or that thing. Graham told her a few days ago that she should get more familiar with the people of Storybrooke, now that she serves them, but it’s a long, tedious process.

Arizona then starts a conversation with David about the animal shelter, explaining what they have been up to lately and which animals they’re taking care of at the moment, so Emma stops listening at some point. She looks back to the party in front of her, wondering if people would mind her slipping away only half an hour after she arrived, when she notices Leo in a corner. Arms folded on his chest, he’s glaring at something (someone?) she can’t see and looking more pissed than he’s even been.

Neither David nor Arizona mind that she excuses herself and walks away, stopping by Leo’s side. She scans the room for Henry, finds him eating cheese cubes on the couch, and deems him safe enough for her to focus back on her brother instead.

“What’s up?” she asks, way too cheerfully to simply be checking in with him.

Leo, thankfully, is no fool and doesn’t make it difficult for his sister. “She’s plotting something.”

Emma follows his line of sight to the open kitchen, to find David Nolan’s wife discussing with Madam Mayor while dropping finger food on a platter. Emma forces herself not to make a face at the sight of the Mayor, if only because she is in public and knows her manners. “So what? They’re friends.”

“No, they’re not. She has no friends.” Leo frowns some more, and Emma finds herself mirroring him. “Aunt Abigail would never be friends with her.”

“Aunt Abigail?”

Leo glances at her before he sighs. Emma knows him well enough by now to recognise it as a ‘oh right, you don’t remember’ sigh. She may remember what he told her about the woman, when she appeared at the hospital after David woke up from his coma, but she hadn’t realised that they were close enough to consider their father’s almost-wife to be their aunt.

Putting all the pieces together proves itself complicated. Gosh, she’ll need a diagram for that family tree, or something.

“Anyway, yeah. Don’t you find it weird that Prince Charming suddenly wakes up from a coma, and then the Evil Queen is all friendly with his fake wife?”

“There are a lot of things about all of this I find weird, little brother…”

Leo offers her his most unimpressed stare, to which Emma replies with a little smirk. While she doesn’t mind his fantasies, it is always good to remind him that she still doesn’t believe them, lest he gets too carried away and starts actually doing something crazy. Like asking her to bite into an apple just to prove a theory, or something.

“Listen, I hate the woman as much as you do, but it doesn’t mean she isn’t allowed to have friends.”

“She’s plotting something,” Leo reitters.

“Well good thing I’m the police then. If something happens, I’ll take care of it.”

Leo seems to be hesitating then, his eyes traveling between Emma and the scene unfolding in the kitchen, before he gives up with a deep sigh. Emma may have won this battle, but it doesn’t mean she’s won the war, and she knows to keep an eye on him from now on. The last thing she wants is to have a Mine Accident 2.0 on her arms in a couple of days because her brother is too reckless for his own good.

“Can we go home now?” he asks in a mumble, teenage angst kicking back in.

“Sure thing,” Emma replies, too happy to get away from here to complain about her brother’s sudden sour mood. She calls for Henry, who perks up at the sound of his name and comes trotting toward her instantly. It’s another five minutes before they manage to say their goodbyes to David, now deep in a discussion with Arizona and another man, and then the three of them leave the house without looking back. Emma wonders if it’s rude to go without thanking Mrs Nolan for welcoming them, but then again it would put them in the Mayor’s crossfire. The least she sees them, the better.

Leo is still sulking by the time they make it home, so Emma gives him some space.

 …

 “I need your counsel.”

Emma forces herself not to drop into the heavy chair, instead lifting her skirts to sit as properly as possible. In part because Queen Abigail has always been strict about manners, and in part because it is an important matter on which she wants to be taken seriously. The older woman looks up from the missive she was reading, and must notice the grave air on Emma’s features, for she puts the letter aside and folds her arms on the table.

“What is troubling you, my darling?”

She bites on her lip, pondering on her words. Even though she rehearsed her speech only minutes before entering the royal office, her stomach is in knots and she suddenly can’t remember what she was supposed to say. She isn’t afraid that Queen Abigail will judge or mock her, for she has known her since she was a babe and trusts her with her life as well as her heart, but her confession is one that is not easy to make.

“When you were betrothed to papa,” she starts, and those words almost have Queen Abigail pinching her lips. They never truly discussed it, but Prince David told his children many a time before of the tales that had led him to Snow White, of the sacrifice he and Queen Abigail were ready to make for their kingdoms, before they both decided to follow their heart. “You did it on your own free will, even though you loved another man.”

Queen Abigail frowns, just enough to create two wrinkles between her eyes. “Where are you getting at with this, Emma?”

Emma frowns too as she looks down to her hands in her lap, fingers playing nervously, before she takes a deep breath. “What I mean is, how were you able to put your own happiness aside for the good of your kingdom?”

“Ah.” Queen Abigail doesn’t say anything else after that, an uncomfortable silence stretching between them until Emma glances up, only to see the older woman holding back a smile, her chin resting in her hands. A quiet snort of laughter escapes her when her eyes meet Emma’s, and the princess tries her hardest not to be offended, but finds herself failing.

“Are you mocking my pain?”

The queen does laugh this time, smothering the sound behind her hand and shaking her head slightly. “Oh, of course not, my darling. I simply believe you are making a mountain out of a molehill. Now, tell me what is this happiness you want to renounce.”

Emma finds herself opening her mouth wordlessly, before her cheeks heat up. She tilts her head as to hide her face behind her hair, which does nothing to quiet the queen’s little puffs of laughter. “There is a man…”

“So I’ve heard.”

She looks up, mouth and eyes widening. “You know?”

Queen Abigail does laugh out loud this time, but she also stands up to walk around her desk and stops next to Emma. Her hand finds Emma’s shoulder, squeezing it, before it goes up to cup her face and angle it so she is staring up at the queen.  “I am afraid a lot of us are indeed aware of Lieutenant Jones, my darling.”

Emma didn’t think she could blush even more, but her skin feels as if it is about to combust, and she wants to dig herself a hole into which she will disappear. Queen Abigail must take pity on her, though, for she smiles kindly and caresses her cheek.

“Oh my child, did you really believe you had to give up on him for the good of your queendom, when it was your mother introducing you to him?”

Emma blinks, once, twice, before it dawns on her. “The meeting was on purpose.” It is less of a question than a fact, now that she thinks back on it, now that Queen Abigail’s words put everything from the past few weeks into perspective.

“That it was. Now, do not find underlying meanings to my words, for I never said your mother planned everything. But if she did not approve of the idea, never would have she introduced you to a bachelor.”

Emma purses her lips, thinking. “Is he a good prospect?”

“Does it matter?”

The words resonate with her, of course. Her parents would never force her into a marriage of convenience, neither would they go again her heart’s will. But a maiden’s mind can play tricks on her at times, and she found herself worried for days, wondering if her attraction for the young lieutenant was mutual, and if her parents would approve of him.

“He is from a good family, is rising through the Navy and, from what I have heard, his wit is as delightful as his face.” Emma laughs at the words, and blushes once more. “Believe me, your parents would approve of him, regardless of their will to let you choose your own happy ending.”

The knot that was bothering Emma’s stomach has now traveled to her throat, and she finds herself swallowing around it, and the tears at the back of her eyes. She hadn’t thought of it that way but, the more she ponders on it now, the more sense it makes. She understands the secret smiles her mother shared with Lady Jones, now that she has acquired a new perspective on the subject.

“Worry not, my darling. Your father may huff and puff all he wants - and he will - but at the end of the day they will always embrace whatever makes your brother and you happy.”

The smile on Emma’s lips feels more genuine now that her spirits are lifted, and she even allows herself to grin at the queen. Queen Abigail smiles back, and caresses her hair, apparently satisfied with ending the conversation on such a high note for she goes back to sitting at her end of the desk.

“Now, my darling. Would you like to talk about how to best separate your royal duties from your personal life?”

Emma chokes on her own saliva at the implications, and hides behind her hair once more, before she softly answers, “I would love that, yes.”

 …

 It is yet another week before Dr Whale agrees to take Emma’s cast off, much to her relief. She leaves the hospital with empty promises of being careful and not putting too much pressure on her foot, too happy about her newfound freedom to be contradictory. It feels weird, no longer walking with a limp, but Emma makes the best of it and walks all the way from Granny’s to the station on the following morning, just because she can. The weather is starting to really get colder now that winter is just around the corner, and she had to swap her leather jacket for something a little more padded.

Mary Margaret told her that winters in Storybrooke are usually wet, and then you wake up one morning and find ten inches of snow in your garden. Emma looks forward to the latter, if not the former - Henry will be delighted to be able to play in the snow instead of jumping in the slush like in Boston.

The warmth of the heating system bites into Emma’s cheek as she enters the station, a sharp contrast with the wind, and she smiles a little as she gets rid of her scarf. Her joy is short-lived, though, when she steps into the main room to find one of the cells occupied. She sighs as she shrugs off her coat and walks toward her desk.

“You should get our loyalty card. Ten stamps and you get a free arrest.”

James snorts loudly, standing up from where he was lying down on the cot to lean against the cell, his arms dangling between the bars. There is a bruise blossoming under his right eye and, along with the fact that he looks like a mess and obviously spent the night in, it takes Emma about five seconds to conclude he got into yet another fight at the Rabbit Hole. How the place doesn’t go out of business with how many pieces of furniture get broken during the weekly melees, Emma has no idea. Nor does she care all that much, truth be told.

“Would it help to say I’m innocent?”

It is Emma’s time to scoff, her laugh as loud as it is sarcastic, as she sits down at her desk and switches on her computer. It starts purring like a very upset cat, and she glares at it. “Not really, no.”

“It’s quite the story.”

“Wow. I don’t care.”

James chuckles once more. Emma doesn’t look up, but the creaking noise is all she needs to know he’s back to lying down on the uncomfortable cot. She is used to his shenanigans by now - either she or Graham arrest him once a week, sometimes twice if James is in a particularly festive mood - and to keeping him locked all through the morning. Maybe it will stick, at some point, and he will stop getting into trouble. Not yet, though.

“Can I get a cup of water?”

Emma doesn’t look up from her screen when she points to the break room to her left. “Just go and help yourself,” she says with a shit-eating grin.

“Ah-ah, very funny,” he deadpans, which makes her laugh. It’s all about the little things in life. “I’m pretty sure that’s borderline police brutality. Wouldn’t want to get into trouble for my dry throat now, would you, lass?”

She raises an unimpressed eyebrow, but doesn’t look up from her emails. Graham will show up soon with breakfast from Granny’s for all of them, James included, and he’s more than aware of that. It’s the Sheraton of police cells, when he’s in it, so he has no right to complain about being treated wrong.

She scans through her emails, grateful for the silence that always accompanies James’ sulking - half of her messages is either Graham or Leo sending her spam in the form of funny videos and cute pictures of kittens, and the other half usually is people contacting the station about minor problems they could resolve by themselves easily. One of them, though, makes her frown.

“Why are the nuns contacting me to say they’re not pressing charges against you?” She looks up at him, and he sits up in his cot, looking sheepish for the first time since she met him. “Did you break into the convent? What is wrong with you?”

He hesitates, just for a moment, before a smirk stretches his lips. “Let’s say one of them used God’s name in all the wrong ways last night.”

Emma struggles to swallow down her disgust, but it shows on her face and makes him laugh. It takes her longer than should be necessary to understand he’s only making fun of her, and then she wants to punch him all over again. The asshole.

“I hate you.”

“I know!” he answers with a gleeful giggle. “Bloody hell, that was too easy.”

For a moment, Emma pictures herself pouring him the damn glass of water, if only to throw it at his face. But she quite likes the idea of a stable job with a good pay, so she forces herself to remain professional in the face of stupidity. She can’t give up on saving for Henry’s college fees because of a moron with a penchant for crude humour.

She puts Mother Superior’s email aside, electing to let Graham deal with it on his own, and keeps going through the other messages. A bunch of them are about the Miner’s Day Festival, one or two from elders complaining about a birthday party being a little too loud (Emma rolls her eyes), another from a mother scandalised by how short the uniform skirts at Granny’s are. This one gets a silent chuckle out of Emma, and she forwards it to Ruby for the hell of it.

She’s thinking on how best to tell Leroy to piss off about his complain of the day, when her police station roommate decides to interrupt her. “I kicked some homophobes’ arse.” She looks up from her computer screen, and waits for the rest of the story. She didn’t expect that at all. “Your brother’s boyfriend was at the bar, and they decided to take the mick about… You know. Poor Fabian doesn’t look like much as it is, and they were twice his size. Nobody else was doing anything, because that’s Storybrooke for you, so I stepped in. Took a swing. All hell broke loose. Got kicked out for starting shit, and they somehow managed to make it look like I was the asshole in the story. Graham showed up and tada.”

He stretches one hand to encompass his cell, a sad smile on his lips. Emma joins the missing dots on her own - Fabian (Gideon?) is a ward of the state, and lives with the nuns for some reason she still doesn’t understand. Leo had talked about meeting him at the Rabbit Hole, just for a drink, but he had a maths test today and Emma isn’t too fond of letting him go out on a school night. Which explains why the other boy was alone, and why Mother Superior was the one contacting her. Surely Fabian told her everything as soon as he made it back to the convent.

“That was… chivalrous of you.”

“Chivalrous is my middle name,” he replies, which makes her snort. “I may be an asshole, but I won’t ignore bigotry.”

“Still an asshole, though.”

She grins, and he replies with a smile of his own, a little crooked and more sincere than any of their interactions before that. Her eyes linger on his face for longer than is truly necessary as she tries to associate this piece of information with everything she already knows about him, and so she gets startled by her phone ringing.

She lets out a breath, willing her heart to stop racing, as she picks up Mary Margaret’s call, if only to be welcomed by her roommate’s frantic voice. “Emma? Emma! Emma, it’s - there was - it’s an emergency!”

“Okay, calm down.” She leans back against her chair and closes her eyes at the dread rising in her throat. “What happened?”

She can hear the other woman breathing loudly in the phone, before she manages to find her wits again. “It’s Graham. He just showed up at our door ten minutes ago and I - I think he was drunk, or something. He asked for you, and then he passed out. Leo and I managed to pull him to the couch, but he’s burning up and he still hasn’t moved. I’m really afraid he’s going to… Should I call 911?”

Emma is already on her feet, grabbing her keys and her jacket, when Leo snatches the phone away from Mary Margaret to talk to her. “Don’t call 911. It’s not - Emma, it’s not normal. I think it’s magic.”

“Leo, now is not the time.”

“Trust me. Just this once, please, trust me.”

The pleading, panicky edge to his voice is what does it for Emma. She has never heard him so upset before, on the verge of tearing up, so she knows he is not playing around. Whatever he believes is happening, he believes it hard enough to make it the truth in his eyes.

“Okay, I’m coming. On my way. Just - keep him warm, lots of blankets, maybe you’ll break his fever before I arrive.”

“Okay - yeah, okay, we can do that. Please, be quick.”

“Promise.” She terminates the call and puts her phone in her pocket, looking up to find James standing up once more and looking at her with wide eyes. It only takes her half a second before she makes her decision. “You know anything about first aid?”

“The basics.”

She throws him the keys to the station, glad when they don’t collide with the bars and he catches them instead. “Good. You’re coming.”

Emma doesn’t look back as he struggles with finding the right one and opening the cell, nor when he jogs to follow her out of the station. It is only once they are outside and walking toward her car that he finally asks, “What is going on?”

“I have no idea.”

And perhaps it’s the worst part.

#cs ff #captain swan #emma swan #killian jones #beautiful duckling #captain sex #ouat #otl: as you wish #fanfic #ff: ouat #ff: long and lost #guess who's bACK BITCHES

[thekrazykeke]

wRoNg (Release the Beast) Part I {Revised}

Fandom(s): DCEU, Suicide Squad

Relationship(s): Joker x reader

Rating: Mature

Summary: What would you do out of love and self-preservation to protect your family? How far would you go to keep your secrets?

Warning(s): Mind games and emotional manipulation. Mystic-y stuff. Power plays. Violence. Smut. 

Tagging: @ashmuck @alexisbagans143 @toxic-ink @kirsty-lou666 @coppercurlzz @snow-massacre @suckerforsmilex  @lovelylittlekittn @melaninharleyquinn @roneykuni @twilight-loveer @ms-clown-queen-of-crime @jokers-queen-of-hearts @keya168

Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three (Part I) Chapter Three (Part II)  Chapter Four Chapter Five

A/N:  When you see this §, it means that J and the reader have temporarily linked up, so to speak, or synchronized. Some Assassin Creed fans may recognize this terminology, which is basically, the reader experiences what J feels, he feels what she does, etc. More shall be revealed as the story and plot continues. 💋

~

Chapter Six

An angry man’s power will shut you up Trip wires fill this house with tip toed love Run out of excuses for everyone So here I am and I will not run

Time had a strange way of progressing in a rapid and sluggish manner when in the presence of the Joker. He moved about in this manic, illogical rhythm, never fully staying true to the script he laid bare for everyone else to see. After Marisa’s death and subsequent proclamation that you were his Queen, he swiftly hid you away again.

You can still remember how he called out the few goons he’d hired to patrol the area, lined them up in a straight line before opening fire on them with his customized AK-47.

“Y/N, get in the car. Please, get in the car.” Leo was speaking to you with patience only a hair’s breadth away from collapsing. Not once in the entire time he’d been working for your family had you given him such trouble and now you were just rebelling for the sake of it.

“I will. In a second.” You murmur, trying to peer around the taller man’s body to see what J was doing.

“Well, boys and girl, it’s been a wiiiiiiiiild ride for some of you…” J’s voice rang out.

“You don’t need to see this.” Leo insisted grimly.

“Moving at the drop of a hat, protecting my assets and being lots and lots of great fun. I have not fully shown my appreciation for your, ah, s a c r i f i c e.”

“Mr J, please do–”

With a firm hand, Leo grabbed your elbow, opened up the passenger’s side door, shoving you inside just as gunfire broke out, along with J’s maniacal laughter and the cries of panic, fear, and pain.

It’d been three months since then. The current location you’d been moved to closer to the heart of the city and meant for disgraced high society family members, celebrities desiring anonymity, corrupt politicians, etc. Even if people knew your face, no one was stupid enough to oust their neighbor, fear of scandal or retribution, depending on the person, enough to silence another’s wagging tongue.

“Miss Y/N, please come away from the window.”

Blinking, you lifted your head off the clear surface of the windowpane, turning to see a man in his early to mid twenties had stopped about an arm’s length away. “I was just trying to find something to occupy my time, Toby.”

“It’s Tobias.” he corrected automatically. “And Romina is here for your daily lessons.” Beckoning with his fingers, Tobias encouraged you to follow him. “All work and no play makes Toby a very dull boy.” You whispered in the boy’s ear before taking off with a chuckle, amused with how he froze for a second before hurrying to catch up with you.

Sad as it was to say, you’d been reduced to one of those bored housewives on reality TV, seducing and playing with the staff’s minds just to pass the time. Unlike most, you hadn’t done it in a truly malicious way, it was just to prove a point, if only to yourself, that you weren’t afraid of a man like the Joker and he didn’t control you. Steadfastly, you ignored the faint voice at the back of your mind scoffing and pointing out the constant hypocrisy of your actions and beliefs. You knew exactly who to push and play with so that they wouldn’t go running back to J to tattletale.

The two of you walked down the hallway in silence for the most part. You had one-sided conversations about anything you could think of while he tried to be a decent foot soldier.

“You’re dismissed.” Flicking her fingers in a ‘go away’ gesture, Romina pushed off the wall she was leaning against, barely sparing the youth a glance as he flushed subtly in indignation but ultimately walked away. “We’re working on sit ups and push-ups today.”

“But we did that last session.” You pointed out.

“And in a street fight, you would be dead.”

“You always say that even if it’s not a relevant topic.”

“Clearly, the truth hasn’t sunken into your thick skull then.” Done with the conversation, in an imperious tone, Romina commanded, “Come.” Stalking off towards the plaza’s basement which had been transformed into a training center. Grudgingly, you followed after her.

While the Latina made no secret that she didn’t like you, the two of you reached somewhat common ground on the fact that you were a walking target and if you weren’t brought up to speed on self-defense, you’d be dead in less than five minutes once the news that you were the Prince of Genocide’s significant other, just like the news of your father’s dirty dealings were leaked.

Everything in the dark had a way of coming to the light.

As soon as we stepped through the basement doors, a chorus of greetings were directed at Romina, some rowdy and jeering while others were packed with innuendos and playful. Gaze darting all around, once again marveling at what money and fear had gotten a man like J.

“Come on. We can practice over there, it’s quieter.” Gesturing vaguely, Romina firmly grabbed you by the elbow, a floor mat in hand. Without waiting for your agreement or disagreement, she led you to a wide open area with natural lighting, placing the mat onto the floor, next to a woman who was doing her own exercise.

Romina gave a pointed cough and you flushed, realizing that you were shamelessly staring though the woman didn’t glance at either of you. Deciding you’d made a fool of yourself long enough, you did as Romina wished, getting in position for some push ups.

“Okay, just like we practiced. Tuck your elbows…”

Normally, the bar was set for ten push ups, fifteen max, but today she made you do an extra five. Your abdominal muscles were on fire, your arms were throbbing and felt like wet noodles. Romina was pleased though, so you supposed your suffering either amused her or she was genuinely happy to see you not act like a total wimp.

It might have been both.

To reward you for your success, she made a humongous batch of pancakes and eggs with a pitcher of chocolate milk, when you’d first started this workout type of thing, you’d balked at the idea of eating so much, but the meal was entirely too delicious to ignore. Seeing that no one else batted an eyelid at your intake also helped with your confidence as they ate just as much, if not more than you did.

“Alright, alright, alright.” Leo clapped his hands sharply. “Look alive, people. Mister J is on his way back to this site and we know–”

When the room began to clear, ready to return to their normal stations, or suddenly invent something really important to be doing, you snuck away from the household’s staff members and bodyguards, filled with cautious excitement at the thought of seeing J first. He hadn’t seen you in awhile either, so maybe, just maybe…

“Y/N, what are you doing out here?” Closing your eyes briefly, you resisted the urge to stomp the ground with your foot out of frustration. “Y/N, we need to go back inside, to your quarters preferably.”

“Aww, Toby, I knew you were trying to get me into bed.” You teased.

“H-Huh? NO! Of course not. I respect Mr. J way too much to even think of–”

In a moment of pure happenstance, you caught a flash of signature, neon green hair before the gangsta himself came into view.

You were paralyzed. Utterly transfixed by the sight of him after weeks and weeks without his presence.

True, most of the time, you couldn’t even stand him. He loved to poke fun at your former comfortable, cushy lifestyle. He mocked your emotional moments of weakness. But there was just this presence that radiated from his very being. He exuded his will into the universe and made everything in his sight kneel in submission.

“What is she doing out in the open like this, vulnerable and exposed for everyone to see?” Like a whip, J’s voice pierced the silence that had enveloped the area. “Boy!” Tobias flinched at the snarl. “I’m talking to you. Explain to me what’s she’s doing out here.”

“B-Boss, that is…”

Feeling a tendril of pity, you spoke up over the brunette’s stammering. “I was getting claustrophobic, staring at the walls of my room all day.”

“Wha-?” he cupped a hand to his ear, pretending to barely hear. “You got bored, basically that’s what you’re saying, yes.” Leaning up, he laughed though there wasn’t any mirth in the tone; the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. “Do you think your brains would look better splattered all over the kid’s face or the pavement near the pool? Because, honey, I can list at least five tactical positions a sniper, or even just a lucky son of a bitch, would have to be sitting in order to kill you.”

You skin paled and you swallowed but said nothing as J made a slow circle around you, stalking you almost, a continuous growl rumbling in his chest. “Boss, maybe you should…Calm down? You’re scaring Y/N.” Tobias spoke up, hesitant but hopeful.

J’s head snapped around, eyes wild as he stared at the younger brunette.

“I-I mean…”

“Did you just…Did you just call my…Who gave you the right to call Y/N by name?” Tobias was silent at J’s question and the green haired crime lord whipped his head to stare at you. “Oooh, I see.”

“Baby, no–” You tried to reach out and cup J’s cheeks, make him stop and see sense but he dodged your touch, teeth grinding.

“Are you fucking her?” J’s eyes widened a little, breathing becoming more labored.

Tobias blanched.”W-Wha?”

“A-Are you fucking her, or maybe you just want to, hmm?” J repeated himself, putting special emphasis on ‘fucking’, enjoying the way Tobias flushed slightly and shrunk in on himself.

“No sir! No, I swear I wouldn’t. I-I-I don’t want any beef.”

“Oooh, you don’t want no beef? You don’t want no beef? Don’t want no beef?” He was getting more and more agitated, that much was clear, to you and to Tobias.

“Sir, please! She’s not, we’re not, I have no interest in her, like that.” Now Tobias was babbling, making excuses to calm a raging beast.

“Why, is she ugly?” He ran his hands through his hair, a small smile appearing on his lips.

“No, sir! She’s, she’s beaut–” In a fluid motion, J pulled his gun from the gun holster and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

You covered your mouth to stifle the scream as Tobias’ corpse fell into pool. J grabbed you by the nape of your neck, eyes swirling with mania, “That’s your fault.” Turning to Frost, always a shadow to his boss, Joker stated in a frigid tone, “Get that thing out of my pool – it's contaminating the water.”

“Yes, Boss.” With a decisive nod, Jonny whistled and a couple men appeared from various locations, ready and willing to help with the cleanup and disposal.

J glanced back at you, running his tongue over his silver teeth. “Get your ass in the house before I kick it all the way there.”

As soon as he let go of your neck, dropping you that small distance to the ground, you stumbled to your feet and took off like a bat out of Hell, occasionally glancing back. J prowled after you, his features might as well have been carved from stone.

You were going to get it. You were reaaaaaalllly going to get it.

Dread swirled around in your stomach as you perched yourself on the bed, Joker’s bed, to be precise. His room was only slightly bigger and more extravagant than your own. You felt uncomfortable, as if you were invading some sacred territory as silly as it was to think, but it was true. Even though the two of you were married, he never brought you in here. You fucked in your room, against the wall, the floor, in the bath or shower, but it’d never been here. Clenching the violet silk sheets in your fist, you tried to will yourself to stand. To run out the door and keep running but your feet didn’t budge.

Hearing a door open and close, you turn to see J coming out the bathroom, he was dressed and looked extremely well polished in black slacks and a white dress shirt. Wait, he was leaving, again? Before you could ask, he ordered in a curt tone, “Face down. Ass up.”

“What?” Dumbfounded, the words slip free of your lips without permission.

“Since you persist in acting like a child, causing problems for everyone around you, I’ll treat you just like the unruly, disobedient child that you are by disciplining you.” He raised nonexistent eyebrows. “Face down. Ass up.” Hearing in his tone that he wasn’t going to change his mind, your lips firmed and slowly, ever slowly, you did as he commanded. Laying on your belly, your mind drifted as you heard him take off his belt, the leather brushing against your blue jean clothed buttocks.

WHAP!

The first hit was just a swat, deceptively soft. Hands clutched at a pillow, and you breathed in, trying to relax, because wow, that didn’t hurt.

WHAP! WHAP!

The next two, in rapid succession, stung a little bit more and reflexively, unable to help it really, you made the aborted motion to rise up.

Big mistake. He pressed the palm of his hand against the dip of your back, forcing you back down again. Then he pulled your jeans down. Embarrassed, you tried to use your hands to shield your panty clad behind. J let out an enraged snarl, roughly forcing your hands out of the way so he could get a better look at what you were wearing and you knew that you were in for it, as you never had the time to really dress up before he ambushed you for sex. Today, you’d felt daring and donned the lingerie. He would assume that it’d been done to further tease Toby, not because you just wanted to feel pretty and sexy.

WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

Legs twisting and fingers trembling, you gripped the pillow to you in a death grip. These hits from the belt hurt even worse and internally, with all your might, you prayed that this was the end of the punishment. The gods weren’t listening because soon Joker hauled you over his legs, one hand circling the nape of your neck and easily held you in place as he yanked your underwear down to reveal your bare bottom.

You couldn’t even utter a word of protest before J’s hand descended on the soft flesh.

SLAP!

Once again, humiliation burned through you, because while it hurt, your body was having a decidedly different reaction to the pain than expected.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

As soon as it’d started, it was over.  Trying to prove yourself independent, you attempted standing but couldn’t even manage to half sit up right so Joker ended up depositing you on the bed.  With all that touching, of course he would notice your predicament. “You’re wet for me.” It's a statement, not a question and you both knew it to be true as your pussy lips were drenched in your juices. Soaked. “Tell me what you want.”

Silence stretched out between the two of your for a few seconds then several minutes. He scoffed at your stubbornness but just before Joker could get up, in a hoarse tone, you whisper, “I want you. Please Daddy.”

“The crap I put up with for you, I swear...” The words are growled and the sound created a fresh wave of moisture. You cried out as his tongue ran across your nether lips, lapping up your juices before swirling around your clit. Moaning, you tried to hold of the inevitable, but when he sucked your clit in his mouth, nipping it, you came with a scream. While you were coming down from the high of your orgasm, Joker was stripping of his clothes, and you couldn’t help gazing at his lean, muscled form. The tattoos that covered practically every inch of his skin. Well, you amended to yourself mentally, licking your lips as you looked at his cock; long, thick and hard, most every part. Ignoring your nerves, you decide to return the favor. 

Pulling him close, you kissed him, running your hands over his chest, down to his hips and penis. Running your fingertips gently from the base to the tip, you swiped your thumb over the pre-cum gathering at the tip. He groaned. Wrapping both hands around his shaft, you were about to take his cock in your mouth, but he stopped you, pushing you back. He got in the bed on his knees, reaching for your hips and pulling you to him. You felt him slide against your heat and you both moaned. Lifting you up slightly, he aligned himself with your heat. Then you rolled your hips backwards, taking the tip inside of you. He went in slow, letting your body adjust. You rocked your hips against him until he let out a low growl that made your inner muscles clench. He began moving and you met him thrust for thrust as he got a little bit rougher, then he brushed up against your g-spot and it was just too overwhelming. You came with a short scream for the second time that day. He snarled as you clenched around him, slamming into you a few more times before going still, hot jets of his release spilling inside you.

~

§ It was late evening but dark enough to pull off an ambush. By the last account, both sides were down to a handful of men each. He and the boys would come in from behind and mow them down.

“Boss, we’re pulling up to the area now.”

As if he couldn’t see that. Idiots, the whole lot of them. Still, sometimes it paid to reward idiocy.

“Good.”

He noticed the driver’s shoulders lost their tension at that single word and didn’t bother to stop the slow smirk that spread across his face.

THUMP!

“What the hell was that?”

Oh? Could someone have actually shown a bit more of a brain and managed to figure out about his arrival? Goody. It’d make the bloodbath all the more entertaining.

“It’s the Bat! Oh God, shoot it! Shoot it shoot it shoot it shoot it–”

A bubbling feeling welled up in his chest. First, he snickered quietly, then giggled and changed into a slow, high pitched, insane cackle as he saw the Dark Knight standing in the middle of the road.

“BATSY BATSY BATSY, COME AND PLAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

Reaching over, Joker stomped his foot on the gas pedal, hands on the wheel. “Boss, what are you doing? Boss, Boss?!” The car was on a direct head long collision for the dark armored vigilante. Mere few feet from hitting him, the Bat threw three batarangs at the vehicle; two projectiles hit the windshield, and the first broke the glass and another struck the driver in the throat and narrowly missing Joker’s face, while the final took out the car’s wheel. The vehicle swerved. J kicked the dying individual out of the driver’s seat, trying to regain control of the car by grabbing the wheel and force it back into the proper lane, but it was too late. It hit something and the world t i l t e d. The screech of sparking metal, putter of an engine dying, was annoying. Oh. Dying.

Laughing again, that’s how ol’ Batsy Batsy Batsy, found him. Or dragged him out of the tin can of a car. 

“It’s over Joker.”

“Then do it! K-Kill me!” Suspended in mid-air, held up by the throat, J spread his arms in an arcing motion. “DO IT!” He could see the indecision. The rage. And something so dark and delicious, that all it needed was a push. “COME ON! Put me out my misery, just like I did your precious little R-OOMPH!”

He was punched in the gut. Dropped unceremoniously to the ground as he vomited his lunch back up. “O-Oh, hit a sore poin--” A right hook to the jaw shut him up. Then a left. An uppercut. Joker was laying on the ground, groaning and laughing with pain as Gotham’s supposed savior sat on his chest, repeatedly punching him in the face. The world went dark after the seventh blow. § 

You didn’t know what it was that woke you up so suddenly, except an acute feeling of wrongness. Your face felt swollen and bruised although no one had hit you, your limbs bound by something tight; you processed this all in a few seconds, the exact amount of seconds it took to realize that there was a stranger in your, J’s, bedroom and he was about to stab you. In the span of a single breath, time was suspended as attempted killer and intended victim stared at each other, then, without even thinking twice, you rolled, hitting the ground hard and landing on your shoulder.

Shock waves of pain rolled up and down, as well as through you. The pained scream that tore from your lungs was loud but the assailant would not be deterred. He approached you quickly again and was about to swipe at you when the door was kicked in.

It was Leo.

He didn’t waste a second telling the person to stand down and just started shooting. Romina, where the hell she even came from you didn’t know, seamlessly moving around the dark haired man, getting you up on your feet and hustling you out of the room. Leo covered the two of you, which was more than necessary as more men were coming from each which way. You didn’t know who they were but as they were cutting down the staff and some of J’s men, you knew they weren’t friendly.

“Get in there!” With firm hands, Romina shoved you into a room, slamming the door shut. Frost was already inside, features placid and calm, gun out and at the ready. His large frame dwarfing and almost blocking the sight of a pregnant red haired female.

“What’s going on?” Frost said nothing, merely unbuttoned his suits jacket, draping it around you. “What the fuck is going on?” He raised a finger to his lips, a wordless command to shut the hell up and normally you would protest but when a thump hit the door, you went quiet.

For hours and hours and hours, gunshots rang out followed by the screams and yells of the dead and dying. It was early morning, maybe dawn, when the walkie talkie, sitting on the desk let out some static and then you heard Romina saying that she and Leo were coming back.

“Is it over?” The redhead inquired in a trembling voice. “It’s over, right? That means that I can go home.”

“What even happened? I’m completely lost here.” Waving my hands around with agitation, I glanced at the taller man who, after saying ‘Copy’, into the device, had clicked it off and set it back down. “Someone tried to kill me. How did that person even get inside?”

“They just came out of nowhere. They, they, they knew the hidden passageways and emergency exits. Frankie didn’t even…” Overcome with emotion, the pregnant lady couldn’t continue.

“We have a snitch.” That’s the first thing that came out Leo’s mouth when he burst into the room, ignoring how Frost had a gun leveled on his forehead, finger on the trigger, and the small scream the pregnant woman let out. You had jumped too but feeling safer in the daylight, you thought her reaction to be a little dramatic. “Or at least we had one until Lucy Liu here got all overzealous with working him over.”

“Say that to my face, and I’ll come over there and kick your ass, you self righteous pussy.” Romina snapped, getting all up in Leo’s space. It should have been intimidating, but as she was an inch or two shorter, it just seemed silly. “You’re just upset that I had the balls to do what you couldn’t.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if you did have a cock underneath those jeans. Wanna whip it out and see who’s bigger?”

Frost whistled sharply, causing the bickering duo to pause. “The boss is gone. I noticed some of Penguin’s guys, a few of the Riddler’s and the one who got into the boss’ room is Two-Face’s specialty. Did you kill them or not?”

“We got them.” Romina spoke firmly. Looking at the pregnant woman, her tone gentled. “You can go, Myra. Would you like an escort home?”

“No, I…No, thank you.” Despite Myra’s weak protests, Romina took her by the arm, saying something that was probably comforting in a too low voice, closing the door behind them both as she left, most likely to be an escort for her anyway. Looking at the remaining two men in the room, Jonny’s feature placid, while Leo couldn’t hold eye contact, the feeling of wrongness increased. 

“Where is J? He wouldn’t miss the chance to be apart of something like this.”

For a long time, neither said anything. “The Bat got Mister J.” Leo rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s in Arkham Asylum.”

Again, there was this long period of silence. “…What?”

“It’s an institution for the criminally in–”

With an impatient hand, you cut him off, “I know what it is! Mother and Father used to funnel money there all the time to pay for better security, better staffing. I know… What I want to understand is what happened, why attack us in this specific place, at this time?” As you spoke, you paced back and forth. “There was a snitch, as Leo said. Who was it? Who are our enemies, who are our allies?” Taking a deep breath, you glance at them both. “Tell me everything.”

And so the explaining began. Jonny even brought a couple maps, blueprints, anything current and relevant to the situation currently happening. During that time spent talking, Romina came back with clothes for you to change into, obligingly standing guard while you used the bathroom and got dressed into something presentable.

Then the conversation continued.

“So, to summarize, Two-Face, the Penguin and Riddler are all making moves to seize J’s territories while he’s locked away in Arkham?” Looking at Jonny for confirmation, only to receive a single nod. “I…” Breathing in deep, glancing around the room at Romina, Leo, and Jonny. These were the people who knew how to fight best, who would do their best to support you. “Letting them do that is obviously not going to happen and I have some ideas but implementing them might be tricky, a little bit scary and crazy.”

“Girl, we got you. Just tell us.” the black haired woman said in a gruff tone.

“There are abandoned buildings here and here…” Pointing at the map on the table. “And a sewer connected to both areas here…” Grabbing a marker, you start circling little points. “If we do this just right, we can come up from behind and ambush them while the ‘peace talks’ are happening.”

“I feel there’s a ‘but’ in there.” Leo commented wryly.

“Killer Croc lives down there and I don’t think he’d appreciate the boys dropping in unannounced into his home.” Leo stared at you with blatant horror. Jonny’s features were serene. 

Romina...Romina looked thoughtful.

Before you could try and further explain your point, Jonny’s cellphone rang. Glancing at the brunette, you watched a practically one-sided conversation occurred, with him occasionally grunting and making affirmation noises to signify that he was listening. Once the call ended, he glanced at Romina. 

“The Penguin rescinded his claim for the Smile and Grin Club. He still wants to talk to....” He crooked his fingers. “‘Joker’s woman’.” Crossing his arms, he gave you an indescribable look. “Says he has valuable information.”

“Oswald doesn’t want any backlash. He’s always been afraid of J.” Romina explained, taking note of how confused you still looked. Nodding, you accepted that. “If we meet him right now in a neutral area, it’ll be showing that you understand he made a mistake.”

Leo scoffed. “A ‘mistake’? This guy knew exactly what he was doing, He’s pussying out because everyone knows that Arkham doesn’t hold the Joker for long.” Romina rolled her eyes. He glanced at you. “Meet him at the very club he was trying to claim, then you show him that nothing is forgiven.”

“Must you do everything in your power to one-up me? Is your masculinity that fragile?”

“Excuse you?”

“Last I checked, neither of you were the Boss’ woman.” Jonny cut in, ending the escalating argument before it could change into an all out screaming match, as it was known to do. “Miss Y/N, what’s your next move?” Caught like a deer in the headlights, you had the attention of both Leo and Romina, both of them were your protectors, but they had very different view points and valid concerns. 

“....Tell him to meet us at the Smile and Grin.” Although you were looking at Jonny’s face, you heard Leo crow with delight and could practically feel Romina radiating disappointment. “We’re not going in there to break his arms or legs but his actions cannot be ignored. So, only one of you will accompany me.”

“Wait, what? No!” Just as easily, Leo’s good mood evaporated. Romina didn’t look very surprised. “It’s my job to protect you.”

“I’ve said what I had to say.” Looking at Jonny once more, you asked, “What time is the meeting supposed to take place?”

“Midnight. I’ll tell him the location has changed.”

“Good. That gives us time to clean this place up. Get reinforcements to move to this house to secure it.”

Although you didn’t know it at the time, this is the pivotal moment where Jonny, Leo and Romina started to see you as Joker’s Queen, and not the little girl bequeathed the title but really didn’t know anything. They watched, quietly impressed, as you actually participated in getting the scene of the carnage and destruction cleared away. You didn’t turn your nose up at the arriving goons who also joined in to help get the place looking decent. 

That took the better half of the day. 

Once everything was fixed up and tidied as best it could, the time was nearly eleven p.m. Romina hurried you through the showering process and you dressed quickly. That all done, you were seen off by a stoic Jonny and agitated Leo. There was no time to reassure either of them that things would be fine since in a squeal of tires, Romina drove away, the motorcycle pretty much hidden underneath darkness of the night.

Arriving at the Smile and Grin should have taken twenty minutes, tops, with the speed she was going. The two of you never made it there. He never had any intentions of letting you arrive at the meeting place. The creature you thought was a myth but was whispered about even in socialite circles.

The Dark Knight. Batman.

You could only vaguely make out his figure standing in the middle of the street and saw him throw something. Whatever that was, it exploded, flipping the bike, and subsequently, Romina and you, off and suspended in midair. Time seemed to slow down as you met the eyes of the caped crusader, in your peripherals, you could see Romina reaching out, futilely trying to catch or shield you. Then you closed your eyes and your body hit the ground with an unforgiving vengeance. 

“Y/N!!!!” The yell of your name was the last you heard and the Batman’s cowl as he leaned over you before you lost consciousness.

The next time that you woke up, it was in a comfortable bed. These sheets, that ceiling...You knew this place. But, that meant...No. Shaking your head, you threw the covers off of you, seeing the expertly applied bandages on your arm, leg and torso.

Knock-Knock!

Grabbing the clock off the bed side dresser, you launched it at the door just as it opened. That didn’t stop the individual from entering, revealing it to be Bruce Wayne. The bad feeling in your stomach increased and you glared at him. 

“You were in an accident.”

“That you caused.”

“Batman caused the accident.”

Snorting, you laughed a bit hysterically. “Dissociate much? Bruce, you are Batman. The same vigilante that tried to murder me in the street, like a mongrel.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be you. The woman, Romina, she was meant to be alone. Meet Cobblepot by herself. By the time I noticed that you were also on the bike, it was too late. Besides, we have something else to address.”

“More than you needing to be administered to Arkham for possible psych evaluation? Do enlighten me.”

Bruce, tired of the games, reached out and snagged your wrist, the one that wasn’t injured. “Do you think I’m a fool?”

“What the hell are you doing? Get off!”

“I know your parents made a deal with the Joker.”

The expression, ‘you could hear a pin drop’ is appropriate after his declaration. There wasn’t any need for you to say anything, judging by his darkening expression. “He’s not a good person, Y/N. Why can’t you wake up and see that?” Bruce yelled right in your face but you didn’t flinch away.

“So, you think that you’re the city’s savior? Wearing a suit of a flying rodent, beating up criminals and throwing them in jail just so they can break out later, you think, you think that makes you superior? Why don’t you open your eyes, the Gotham that you’re trying to protect doesn’t exist. It never did!”

“You’ve changed.” Bruce said with growing horror. “He’s gotten to you, warped you.”

“No. I just… I’m awake now. The Wayne family, my family, several other elites, we were supposed to be the pillars of the community. To give to those in need. Throwing a couple million dollars at a charity or orphanage doesn’t make you…” Placing your hands on your head, you do a little spin, exhaling explosively. “Have you even seen the Narrows, the West Hills? We have failed.”

“Just because one part of the city is rotten doesn’t mean the entire city deserves to be painted in the same brush.”

“I can see that I might as well be speaking a foreign language to you because you just don’t get it. Even I still struggle to understand but you’re not even trying and… Never mind, Bruce. Batman. Whatever you call yourself when you fight crime in your pajamas.”

Backing away from you, shaking his head, Bruce walked back towards the door he’d entered, slamming it on the way out. Running over there, you twisted the knob but it was locked. 

This arrogant little fuck boy didn’t know who he was dealing with if thought a locked door was going to cage you. Glancing at the window, a slow smile spread your full lips. 

#dc #joker #dc imagine #the joker #black reader #the joker imagine #joker x reader #dceu #jared leto joker #suicide squad #dceu imagine #suicide squad imagine #thekrazykeke

[metalshootingstar]

How I would Fix OUAT

Ok, so the finale of OUAT is almost upon us. But it’s only the season 6 finale you say? Well tbh, I’m quitting the show after this season. To me, the series ends with Season 6. I loved this show at the beginning, and it’s allowed me to meet lots of cool people and even got me into RPing. So without OUAT I wouldn’t have met my friends on AskOnce, or even thought of RPing and branching out into other fandoms. I love the characters..most of them, and a few of the arcs. But every god thing must come to an end. So, before I leave and stop watching the show, here are a few things I’d change. 

- Give Regina a consistent arc. Either she stays redeemed or she stays a villain. No more flip flopping around, and having her do horrible things. Only to turn around, and say she’s trying to be a hero. No more having her blame everyone else for the horrible choices she’s made in life. If she’s a hero, she’s going to have to work to earn that happy ending. If she’s a villain, no trying to come up with excuse after excuse to whitewash her. 

- Give Rumplestiltskin a consistent arc. Either he stays a villain with shades of grey or he stays a hero with shades of grey. But don’t whitewash his actions. 

- No more Queerbaiting. This show deserves healthy representation, so we’re going to give Mulan a girlfriend (I’m thinking Merida since they had good chemistry), Keep the Ruby Slippers relationship, and establish Red as Bisexual (since she did have a boyfriend before).

- No more Rumbelle. Maybe keep “Skin Deep” but then have Belle leave Rumple after  realizing that he’ll never change. She deserves so much better, than someone whose done nothing but abuse her. Maybe have Rumple be just RumpleStiltskin and have Belle find her true Beast. The real Beast, who fell for Belle because of who she was, who let her go because he loved her, who changed for her.

- Less Regina-centrics. Instead make Emma Centrics, or Red centrics, or Snow centrics, idk give someone else the spotlight. There are more characters on the show than Regina, and only 22 episodes per seasons that are split up into half seasons. With each half season having to rush to tell the whole story, Regina centrics at this point are nothing but filler. Instead give that screen time to Emma, or literally anyone else. 

- Let Snow be a mother to Emma. They have not had a good and proper heart to heart in a good long while. They’re mother and daughter, but they act like strangers. They need to interact more, and instead of having Snow coddle Regina. Have her talk to Emma, have them try and understand each other and be more open with the other. Have them actually spend time together, talking about something other than relationships and Regina. Because that really is all they talk about. 

- More Emma Backstory, we’re six seasons in and we still know next to nothing about Emma. Who is the main character, so yes she deserves to have her story told. Explain the importance of her tattoo, of her jacket, of her past in the foster system, just explain! Emma is the main character, and she deserves to have her story told background and all. 

- No more Rumplestiltskin and Regina whitewashing. Self explanatory, stop having their victims apologize to them for being afraid of them. Stop having them not have some comeuppance for the bad things they’ve done, stop making them seem like the innocent victims when their the furthest thing from it. Stop making the pain they’ve made other characters go through about them. 

- Speaking of whitewashing. Cast a Latina actress for adult Lily, since you used a Latina actress for teen Lily. Don’t cast a white actress, just because you want to retcon her as Maleficent’s daughter. If you want to go with that plotline, then have Maleficent be Latina. 

- If you’re going to bring in Will Scarlett, actually give him something to do. Don’t just make him a prop. Maybe even give some closure as to the fates of Ana, Alice and Cyrus. 

- Give closure to Guinevere and the Camelot cast. How did Guin react to Arthur’s death? Her being under a spell? How about her reaction to Lancelot’s death? Is she now the queen of Camelot? Even if it’s one season, show us what happened. 

- None of this splitting up the Evil Queen and Regina in two. The Evil Queen is not a separate entity, she is Regina not some Weird demonic spirit possessing her. 

Ok this is a long list, but if anyone has any addons they want to put be my guest. 

#once upon a time #ouat #anti regina mills #anti rumplestiltskin #emma swan

[viscountessevie]

Where Are They Now? Eady’s Elite Edition: Kile

The Elite: Henri | Hale & Ean | Fox | Gunner

Kile

Kile and Alice’s story was the most simple yet tragic out of all Eady’s Elite. They had met during Kile’s banishment in Bonita. They also started off on the wrong foot. Well, for one, Kile thought Alice was a boy the first time they met.

***

“Hey man!” Kile clapped his Head Engineer’s back after Julian Henry had directed him to his boss. Julian was an old friend from Eady’s Selection. He was the candidate from Bonita and also the boss’ cousin. Kile decided to get friendly. Unfortunately for him, he misgendered her. She turned to him slowly, taking off her cap to reveal long thick dark hair and glared at him. She had icy blue eyes instead of Eady’s sharp brown ones. The two ladies looked scarily similar with their dark, all year round tan and the fire in their eyes. Engineer Lewis had softer features, in contrast to Eady’s sharp ones, Kile noticed.

“Excuse me? Do I look like a man to you?” She growled. Alice Lenore Lewis had dealt with this kind of men long enough. She was sick of it.

“I just thought –“ Kile gulped, he couldn’t think of any way to make this situation better. “Thought what? That a girl couldn’t do this job because it’s ‘a man’s job’?” She pointed a crowbar at him, “Well Mister, I am very capable at my job! If you are going to question that, you can leave right now.” She stormed off, her long hair whipped in the wind and hit her cousin, Julian in the face. Kile laughed once, Alice was out of earshot.

“You deserved that.” Kile voiced to Julian, “A warning about your cousin would have been nice.” One glance at Julian’s mischievous expression and Kile knew he had been set up. He lightly shoved Julian.

“She’s funny when she gets riled up.” Julian admitted sheepishly. Kile shook his head at Julian, disappointed in him. “Her anger is not your entertainment. We should go apologise.” Kile saw the panic in Julian’s eyes and grabbed him before he could make a run for it. “Do you know what my Ma will do when she finds out I’ve been messing with Lenore again?” “You really should have thought this through then.”

Julian kept cursing the entire time on the way to Alice’s office. He even struggled against Kile’s hold a couple of times. Kile was as strong as his father. Training occasionally with the guards came in handy. When they reached Alice’s office, Kile practically threw him in.

“Hey Lenore, Julian has some explaining to do, afterwhich I would like to speak with you privately.” “My name isn’t Lenore.” She said menacingly, “It’s Julian’s stupid nickname for me, it’s Alice and noted.” As he closed the door, he caught a bit of their conversation.

***

“What the hell did you do now, Jules?” Alice was already tired of sexist men in the workforce but her cousin was a whole other level of exhausting. He gave his usual sheepish laugh. He was always a deer caught in the headlights.

“I may or may not have set up Kile to think you were a boy…” Alice rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and let out a frustrated sigh.

“You made me look like a bitch!” “You are a bitch, though.” “YES! But that’s not the point, Julian! God, what am I going to do with you?” She then grabbed him by the ear and dragged him out to where Kile was waiting to have a word with her.

“OW LENORE! Not my ears, they are my best feature.” Julian whined. Both Kile and Alice rolled their eyes at the same time and shared a smile at the gesture. She let go of him and he stumbled for a while.

“You both are horrible people.” Julian spat. Alice just raised a single eyebrow. Like she hadn’t heard that one before.

“I believe you owe Kile an apology, Jules.” She said sternly. Julian huffed and mumbled an apology. “I can’t hear you, Jules.” At that Kile lost it and burst out laughing. “She calls you Jules. It’s funny, man.” He offered an explanation when Julian glared at him. To get away from Kile’s laughing and Alice’s pressure, Julian yells an apology and goes off. The former two were taken back but Alice quickly brushes it off since this was a regular occurrence with her cousin.

She gestures for Kile to follow her into her office. She poured herself some coffee, the Lord knows she needed it after that whole fiasco with Julian. She poured some for Kile and turned to pass him one. What she didn’t notice was that Kile was standing right behind her and the coffee cups crashed into him, spilling all of its contents on him.

“Shit.” Alice was efficient, she quickly discarded the cups and took paper towels and started wiping his overall. “I’m so sorry!” She apologised profusely. Kile smiled down at her. She was much more pleasant when she wasn’t yelling or glaring at him. “I don’t think it’s going to come off. It’s okay, we are even now.”

She looked up at him, trying to figure him out. Alice has had dysfunctional men in her life, her father was a drunk and ran out on her family, Julian was… well Julian and her ex-boyfriend Luc was no better. She laughed remembering her reaction to him breaking with her. Kile was surprised at her laugh that he stumbled back and fell into the trashcan. Alice couldn’t help herself and started laughing. She went to help him up.

“Sorry for startling you, I was thinking of how I threw a pipe at my ex-boyfriend when he broke up with me after cheating on me…TMI sorry.” She waved her hand, to disregard the subject and rummaged through her cabinet for Julian’s old clothes that Kile could wear.

When she handed him the clothes, their hand brushed ever so slightly and they both feel a spark. Cheesy as it was, that was how their love story began.

***

“Sarah, I’m home!” Alice called out to her sister. “Go wash up before you touch me.” Alice rolled her eyes at her OCD-ic sister. While washing up, Alice yelled across their apartment about the day she had.

“So I met a pretty boy today. He questioned my gender and I flew off the handles as usual.”

“Typical you.” Sarah called back. By then Alice had done washing up and went over to her sister for an inspection. Otherwise the younger Lewis sister would never let her be near her. “You’re clean.” They settled on their couch and Alice recounted her story.

“So basically it was Jules’ fault and Kile’s really cute.”

“His name’s Kile?” Sarah questioned suspiciously. Alice nodded and all the questions came raining down on her. “Is he blonde? Blue eyes? Is his last name Woodwork?” “Yes, yes…I’m not sure. Why all the questions, S?”

Sarah shook her head, disappointed at her older sister. “You can be such an idiot sometimes, sis.” Sarah went to their DVD cabinet and pulled out the recording of Princess Eadlyn’s Selection from a year ago. The video starts playing and Alice spots a familiar head of blonde hair and her cousin’s dark hair and signature green shirt. She gasped and pointed at the two of them.

“Kile was in the Selection? Jules too? Is there where he went for a while?” She was genuinely surprised. “Al, this is what you get for burying your head in a book all the time.” “They aren’t just books –“ Sarah cuts her off with an eye roll.

“My point is, can you set me up with Kile Woodwork? He’s my favourite.” Alice immediately scoffs and protests. She lists all the reasons why Kile and Sarah can’t date. He’s too old for her, it would be awkward for him to work for Alice if he was dating her little sister and she kept this reason to herself but Alice liked Kile.

Meanwhile, in Kile’s temporary apartment, he was thinking the same of Alice. The mean way her eyebrows furrowed when she frowned at him the first time when he called her ‘man’. The gentle curl of her smile when she smiled at him when they were both annoyed with Julian.

They don’t know how but they fell in love with each other within a day. They didn’t come to terms with it until they were given a push.

***

Their push came in the form of Julian and Sarah.

Months into Kile’s banishment and their meeting, Kile and Alice were making it all too obvious that they fancied each other but never had the courage to tell each other. This was due to two reasons. 1) They were oblivious to each other’s affections and thought it was one sided and 2) Kile was intimidated by the fact that she threw a pipe at her ex-boyfriend, he couldn’t imagine what she’d do to him if she didn’t reciprocate his feelings. Alice was scared off by the fact that he was literally the Queen’s ex-boyfriend. She watched the whole of their Selection. Alice has seen how Queen Eadlyn looked at Kile before she realised she loved the translator, Eikko. Who could ever live up to the Queen of Illéa? The thought of not being good enough for him scared Alice away completely.

Sarah figured it out when Alice refused to take her to the construction site to meet Kile. Julian put two and two when he noticed Kile’s faint blushed whenever he was around Alice. He was even worse when he had to talk to Alice. Kile was usually a well-put together guy but around Alice, he became a babbling idiot.

The ironic thing was that everyone noticed what was happening to them before they themselves even knew.

The opportunity for Julian and Sarah to give the inevitable couple their push arose during Alice’s birthday. Since it was so close to Christmas, the sneaky pair of cousin set it up to be a Christmas themed party. They hung up mistletoes everywhere so that it would be impossible for Kile and Alice not to kiss. They prepared lots of eggnog with extra alcohol for Alice because the only way to loosen up the uptight Latina was get some drinks in her.

Invitations were sent out and to make it even more fun, Julian encouraged everyone to make bets as to how and when Kile and Alice – or Kalice  as everyone called them now – would end up together. All bets had been place before Sarah caught him. That didn’t stop her from giving him a tongue lashing.

***

A week later, the party was set up at the office because you’d have to be crazy to pry Alice Lenore Lewis away from her work. Even though, it was a ‘surprise party’, Alice knew Sarah would pull a stunt on her like this, she learnt from the last time. So this year, Alice wore something prettier than her usual overalls. She slowly walked into the conference room and as always, everyone jumped out from their hiding positions and yelled ‘Surprise!’

As per routine, she faked a smile as she greeted everyone in the room. She just could never enjoy her birthday because it was the day her dad left. She also hated spending time leisurely when she could be working. With every minute that passed, she just became more grumpy. Then Kile came to her side and she instantly lit up and forgot about work. It was all too evident on her face and everyone gave a little ‘awwh’. Alice just looked at them confused.

Then both of them were pushed against each other and Julian yelled,

“MISTLETOE! You two know what to do.” Both of them mirrored each other by widening their eyes. Kile leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“We don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” She melted right there. He was such a gentleman. She pulled back a little and gave him a smirk before murmuring, “Well, if it’s a show they want, we’ll give them one.” She put her hand at the back of his neck and pulled him to her.

‘His lips felt soft,’ were Alice’s first thoughts. ‘She’s a great kisser.’ Kile was in awe.

Julian and Sarah’s plan worked, in an instant Kalice’s feelings were magnified. Then the illusion was shattered when Alice came to her sense. What the hell was she doing? She can’t like him! He’s Kile Woodwork, he probably has relationships on a pedestal after dating the Queen. She pulled back sharply and ran out of the conference room. She wanted to lock herself up in her office but they’d knew they would find her. She hailed down a cab and started to get in when Kile came out shouting for her.

Crap, she thought. She was going to have to end up facing the music anyways, why not now. She apologised to the cabbie and turned to face Kile. She kept her head down, terrified to look at him.

“Has anyone told you that you look gorgeous in red?” She still stared down, examining a loose thread. She picked at it. It was a stupid dress. A red version of a ‘little black dress’. She finally tilted her head up to face him. “If you came to comment on my dress, I suggest you go work for your friend Hale and don’t waste my time.” She stated coldly. This has always been her defense mechanism, pushing them away until they leave.

Kile Woodwork wasn’t one to give up. He stepped forward and cupped her face.

“Must you always be mean?” “I am not –“ She starts to protest when the expression on his face tells her that he knows she’s lying to herself. Her eyes started to well up, thinking about her father and Luc and how they hurt her. She was tired of being hurt.

Kile kissed her once again and she let him. In that moment, all her worries about being hurt and work all disappeared. How did he do that? Manage to completely sweep her off her feet and distract her.

“Tell me you didn’t feel anything and I’ll leave you alone.” “I’m scared.” She whispered, finally deciding to tell him the truth. “What are you scared of, Alice?” He asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I’m scared of being hurt. I like you so much, it terrifies me. I mean the Queen of our country is your ex-girlfriend. Do you know much I have to live up to?”

Kile laughed at her confession. It wasn’t a pretty polite laugh either. It was knee-slapping, tear jerking kind of laugh. “Yes, please find the time to laugh at my insecurities.” She barked. Immediately he stopped but still had a goofy smile on his face.

“Oh please, Eady is just my best friend. If we loooved each other so much as you claim, why am I here?” The question caught Alice off guard. Why was he here? While watching their Selection, she was so sure Kile was going to win.

“I don’t know.” She admitted sheepishly. “It’s so that I could meet you.” He said seriously and it took her a moment before she began to laugh out loud. “Oh my god that was horrible. Which movie did you get it from?” He gave her smirk.

“Yeah, you’re right. That was cheesy. If I was meant to be Prince Consort, I would have been. But that’s not the life for me. I’ve always wanted to get out of the Palace and Eady knew that so she sent me off. Then I met you, you make me feel like The Selection didn’t even happen. I know we’ve only known each other for a few months but by Gregory, Alice. Falling in love with you has been a whole another wonderful experience.” Alice pressed her lips into the tiniest smile to prevent herself from exploding in a huge ‘Awh’.

“You know, you could have just asked me out like a normal person.” She teased, nonchalantly. He rolled his eyes and pulled her close.

“Well, what can we say? You’re a special girl, Alice.” They walked back to the party, with interlaced hands.

***

Here they were. One year later. Kile’s banishment was over. His mother was dying to have been back. He really had to go this time. Alice and him had six blissful months together. They were now on their last date before he goes back to Angeles. Alice laid her head on Kile’s lap as they recounted everything that happened over the six months.

Their First Date. Sarah thought it would be fun to go ice-skating and dragged Julian and the couple along. She thought it would be a romantic first date where Kile would catch her when she falls. In theory it works but their ice-skating outing ended in snowball fights and finding out Kile’s middle name which no one knew until now.

Kile had stuffed snow down her coat and Alice was pissed. She rolled up the biggest snowball her tiny hands could muster and ran around trying to catch Kile in close range to hit him.

“COME BACK HERE, KILE WHATEVER-YOUR-MIDDLE-NAME-IS WOODWORK! This means war!!” He was laughing so hard, he knocked himself over and Alice got her victory snowball in his face.

“It’s Maxon by the way.” He said casually as they were drying themselves off. Alice quirked an eyebrow. “What’s the King?” “Not the King. My middle name is Maxon.” He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed as he recounted the equally embarrassing reason behind the middle name.

“Uncle Maxon saved Mom and Dad’s lives and so Mom being Mom insisted that I was somehow named after him so there went my middle name.”

“I still find it hard to believe that the King is your 'Uncle Maxon’.”

*

Then there was the 'Meet The Parents’ on Alice’s side. Her family really just consisted of Julian and Sarah since her father ran out on her and her mother died a few years after that. To make it all the more dramatic, Julian and Sarah dressed up to look like old rich parents. Julian exaggerated his voice as he took Kile’s hand in a firm handshake.

“So what are your intentions with my daughter, young man?” “Ohmygod, Julian! You’re embarrassing me!” Alice intervened before Kile could even think of giving a serious answer. “That’s the whole point of parents, sis.” Sarah laughed and they enjoyed the rest of their dinner peaceful.

Well…until Julian thought it would be a good idea to balance an egg on his nose.

*

The Actual Meet The Parents with Marlee and Carter Woodwork. Kile created a video calling software on his laptop and his parents’ when he left for Bonita so that he could call them anytime any of them missed the other. Four months in, Kile decided to introduce Alice to his parents.

It was safe to say that it did not go too well.

“A girlfriend?!” Ms. Marlee made it all too clear she wasn’t happy with Kile having a girlfriend. “Yes…is that okay with you?” Alice said unsurely. She had heard all about Mama Woodwork and how she freaked out about Kile’s banishment. She gave Queen Eadlyn quite the tongue lashing for sending her precious son away.

“If you are going to tie him down there, then absolutely not!” At least she was honest, Alice thought. She smiled serenely at her. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Woodwork. It’s not long term. He’s leaving in three months.” She seemed delighted at this while Kile just stared at his girlfriend with a frown, trying to figure her out. He gruffly said goodbye to his parents and slammed his laptop.

This led to Their First Fight.

“It’s not long term? What the hell, Alice?!” was the first thing he yelled. She glared at him.

“Don’t yell at me. Did you see the relief on her face when she realised I wasn’t going to keep you here. Your mother loves you, Kile. Yes, she might be a bit too overbearing but at least you have a mother.”

Both of their eyes flashed. They knew that last line was a touchy subject. Kile immediately tried to calm himself down. Even though he was still upset, he opened his arms wide for her to step into them. She silently obliged and hugged him back.

“I’m sorry for yelling.”

“You’re forgiven and I shouldn’t have ambushed you like that. We never really did talk about what is going to happen after your banishment has been lifted…” He sighed, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“I don’t want to be sad anymore. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

***

Here they were. Contemplating how to cross the bridge.

“I say we burn it!” Alice laughed manically when Kile brought up the fact that they were indeed at their crossroads bridge. He rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair.

“Very funny, Alice. Come back to Angeles with me?” He suggested. She parted her lips in shock. For once she was at a loss for words and she was the writer. She gave a little sigh, remembering that special dinner with Kile. This was her attempt to remain looking back in their own little world.

*

The Dinner.

When she emerged out of the room in her gorgeous red gown, Kile’s jaw dropped. Quite literally. It was their three-month anniversary and they wanted to do something special. So Sarah forced Alice into that dress. All throughout dinner, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. This was the first time Kile realised and entertained the idea of falling in love again. They were comfortable around each other but haven’t gone as far as to say those three little words. So he decided to test the waters and gave Alice a sort of initiation to get through. He already liked that they had the housing unit in common.

“If you weren’t an engineer, what would you be?”

“A writer.” When she saw the surprise on his face that she replied so quickly, she proceeded to elaborate, “I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but my parents didn’t think it was a stable career so they made me take up engineering and here I am. I still do write from time to time but not as much as I used to or would like to.” Her eyes lowered sadly at that last bit.

So they went back and forth like that. Kile talked about how his mother’s overbearingness almost stopped him from pursuing the housing unit project. Alice asked of his thoughts on settling down and he shared that he’d like to travel the world for a bit before settling down to start a family. This was when Alice became excited because she felt the same way and they discussed of the places they’d visit.

Little did Kile know that Alice was performing her own initiation through this conversation as much as he was. Sarah had been their Cupid, silently working behind the scenes. She had given each of them, hints as to what to get the other. Kile pulled out her perfectly wrapped present while Alice’s one for him was messily taped all over the place.

“Wrapping presents is not exactly my best suit.” She admitted, sheepishly. He smiled, his lips quirked up a little. It amused him endlessly that Alice was so adorable sometimes.

“Nobody’s perfect. Could you open mine first?” He requested. She nodded and was careful to unwrap it. Sarah may have been the sister with OCD, but when it came to unwrapping presents, Alice was just as bad.

“Al, we aren’t getting any younger here.” She huffed and quickly stripped her present off the wrapping paper. She gasped, with tears in her eyes. “Sarah told me you’d like a notebook. I think you should get back into writing, Al.” She ran over to him and threw her arms around him.

“I love it! Kile, this is amazing!” She kissed him all over the face and hugged the notebooks to her chest. He got her three of them, all with velvet covers and a special quote printed on them. He also sweetened the deal by getting her a stationary set to go with it. He laughed at her joy and kissed her before pulling up her chair next to him. Being across the table was just too far away from each other. Alice watched excitedly as he ripped the wrapping paper off her present to him. She slightly cringed at his method of unwrapping. Her joy of him getting his present overruled that.

He gasped when the book underneath the wrapping paper was revealed. He choked up a little. He understood the thought she put into this.

“Alice, I can’t take this. It’s your favourite first edition.”

“Well I want you to. You know I’ve told you that I would give this to the person who matter the most. I’m giving you a piece of my heart, Kile Woodwork.” She had given him her favourite book and she knew all Kile ever wanted was to get out of the Palace. So when their 3-month anniversary came around, she had no idea to get him. He didn’t need anything else and he was a hard person to get a gift for. So she opted to give him the precious part of herself.

No words could ever describe how elated the couple felt with their gifts and how their counterpart loved the gifts given. Nothing could hurt them in the moment.

*

Alice sat up abruptly, with that memory fresh in mind. Kile was startled. She moved her head to face him ever so slightly. She gave him a demure smile. It said everything but he wanted to hear it from her lips. He nodded, prompting her.

“Yes, Kile Woodwork. I’ll move to Angeles with you.”

***

Alice was nervous. A month ago, she along with Julian and Sarah had moved to a small apartment near the Palace in Angeles. Today, she was going to meet Kile’s family. That didn’t just include his parents and sister. The Royal Family were involved. Alice’s heart was beating so far, she feared it would run out of heartbeats and she would just drop dead.

“Al, relax. It’s just my family. They won’t bite.” Kile rubbed her back comfortingly. She gave a snort.

“Just your family, my ass. The Schreaves are our sovereigns. I’m just a commoner to them, oh dear lord. What if I mess up horribly and am banished? Queen Eadlyn did banish you for near nothing!” Her boyfriend chuckled and she slapped lightly across his chest.

“Not funny, Woodwork!” “If it makes you feel better, I invited Sarah and Julian.” Her eyes widened in panic when he mentioned Julian. “Julian Henry?? Do you want us to be embarrassed?” Kile could only shake his head at her. “He’s been Palace groomed before, remember?” “Oh…” Suddenly Alice felt very inadequate for the Palace. Kile sensed this and hugged her close.

“You can just pretend that its just the two of us. Just us, having our normal dinner.” “Yeah, with the Royal Family as an audience.” “They aren’t that scary, you’ll see.” He pulled her into the dining room. They weren’t the only couple there. Kile and Alice did not recognize them, mostly since they were making out. Until Kile caught a flash of familiar blonde hair.

“JOSIE?!” His sister pulled back sharply, accidently biting on her boyfriend’s lip.

“OW!” Kaden cried. “Shit!” Alice found this all too amusing and started laughing until she saw Kaden. She immediately dropped her stance into a curtsey.

“Your Highness, I apologise.” Now this made Kaden giggle.

“Oh please, I’m just Kaden to you. You are Alice, right?” She nodded slowly, not comprehending how he knew her. Her explanation came in the form of a shrieking future sister-in-law.

“YOU MUST BE ALICE! I’ve been dying to meet you! Kile would never tell us about you, it’s almost like he was keeping you all to himself.” Josie practically ambushed her and both girls fell into the floor because Alice didn’t gauge how well she could catch Josie. As if to sweeten the deal, Queen America and King Maxon came in. She noticed that she walked forward and the King trailed behind her happily. This was a different dynamic from what she’s seen on the screen.

The King and Queen stared down at her quizzically. She immediately stood up and helped up Josie before falling into another curtsey. “Your Majesties.” Queen America gave a little giggle before turning to Kile, “You were right, Kile. She’s absolutely adorable.”

Did the former Queen of Illéa just call her adorable?

They all took their seats as Mr. and Mrs. Woodwork came in. Marlee seemed more happy with Alice now that they were both actually in Angeles. Now everyone was here…except Queen Eadlyn and Prince Consort Eikko. The one person Alice was dreading to meet.

“I apologise for my daughter and her husband’s tardiness, I think they wouldn’t mind if we started without them.” King Maxon announced just as Queen Eadlyn threw the doors to the dining room open and ran in. She seemed to be panting and her dress and hair were slightly crumpled. Prince Consort Eikko trailed behind her with a smug expression.

“Sorry I’m late! I was doing stuff…” She walked to the head of the table as the Prince Consort giggled something to himself in a foreign language. Kile caught its meaning and gave a small laugh. He leaned towards his girlfriend and whispered,

“So remember how I picked up Finnish because of Henri and Eikko? He just said ‘I’m stuff’.” Without realizing, Alice bellowed in laughter. Everyone stared at her, confused.

“Oh um… excuse me. I just think that Prince Consort Eikko is hilarious.” Kile and Alice simultaneous turn to him and he winked at them.

He actually winked at them and that set off another laugh from Alice.

***

Overall she had a grand time with Kile’s big family. Queen Eadlyn wasn’t as intimidating as Alice pictured her to be. Josie was a sweetheart and by the end of the night, Eikko and Alice were best friends.

This was over two years ago. Now, after three years of dating, Kile and Alice were married. Alice just went through an intensive 14 hours of labour.

Warren Owen Woodwork was brought into the world.

Everyone was flocking to see the latest addition to Woodworks. Alice, of course was the first one to see her little man. She cooed at him.

“Who’s my little man? You are!” Then Alice gently placed little Warren in his father’s hands. “Oh my god, Alice. He’s beautiful.” She smiled sleepily. “We made him.” She yawned and was knocked out. Understandable considering the last 14 hours.

“No, Josie! I’m the Queen of Illéa and his best friend. I get to see the baby first!” Kile could hear Eady before he saw her. He stood there, watching the door in amusement as Josie and Eady wrestled to get to the baby first.

“I’m his sister! And possibly the Godmother!” They both came to a halt when they saw both little Warren and Alice were sleeping. They immediately shushed themselves and the incoming family.

***

15 Years Later

Kerttu had a brother named Laden after a six-year wait. Little Warren became not-so-little Ren and he along with the Schreave siblings were thick as thieves.  Ren also grew up to be a big Mama’s boy and was very close with Alice. He was their pride and joy.

He was very shy and slightly awkward but he was mostly comfortable around the Schreaves’ company. He was smarter than both his parents’ combined and they knew this when he picked up an encyclopedia at the age of 3. Now at 15, just like his Uncle Kaden, Ren was very knowledgable in various areas of studies but just like his mother, he picked up writing as his forte. He was a natural at it. He was so brilliant that he had gotten his first deal to publish one of his works at 15. He had gone with his Uncle Gunner to look over the contract since his Uncle Gunner was already a published author.

Everyone was happy but we all know too well that you can’t always get what you want.

He practically ran back home, dragging Uncle Gunner to the Palace with him, so that he could break the news to his parents. “MAMA! POPS! You’ll never believe what I did today!” He reached his parents’ room, panting frantically. He caught sight of his father and ran up to hug him.

“Hey Pop, you’ll never believe what happened to your Little Man!” Ren stopped bouncing excitedly when he saw his father’s sullen face and eyes brimmed with tears. Ren’s heart dropped to his stomach. His father was always a happy man.  Ren was confused as to what could have made him so upset. His mother…

He looked around for Alice, panicking.

“Pop, where’s Mama?” With that question, Kile collapsed onto the floor, breaking down. “She…went…to…surprise…you….” He barely managed to choke it out.

*

Alice had gone to pick Ren up from the publishing firm after Gunner had helped him do up the contract. She wanted to surprise him with congratulatory ice cream. Her car swerved the wrong way and it twisted itself around a tree. She was killed on impact.

Ren learnt this from his father after Kile had composed himself. Ren then broke down, blaming himself. Kile pulled himself together to be strong for both him and his son. He firmly reassured his son that it was no one’s fault. The father and son spent the next few days curled up in bed, mourning their loss. Today was the funeral and all they had to do was pull themselves together for a couple of hours.

‘I can do that.’ Ren thought to himself as he put on his suit for the wake. There was a soft knock on his door and he mumbled for them to come in. The door opened to reveal the youngest Schreave, Laden. Ren immediately felt comforted by his best friend’s presence.

“Ren, are you ready? It’s about to start.” Ren nodded solemnly once before turning to his best friend. Without prompting, Laden pulled him into a hug.

“I’m always going to be here for you, Ren. Never forget that.”

***

Kile and Alice’s love story was a simple and powerful one but it ended in tragedy. Alice had no regrets as she died, she was proud to have had a son like Ren. She had loved Kile more than life itself.

What is a legacy?

It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.

#The Selection #The Selection series #The Heir #The Crown #Where Are They Now? #Eady's Elite Edition #Kile Woodwork #Alice Woodwork #mrtflr