#i've pretty much got a handle on harry

[ahgasegotarmy116]

He Doesn't Deserve You | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Chapter Two

Summary: You decide to finally do something for yourself and ease your mind Pairing: f!reader x Jeon Jungkook Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: Not too much for this chapter in particular besides mentions of domestic violence BUT yändere, manipulation, self harm, cheating, explicit language, smut, angst throughout the rest of the story a/n: Since you guys seem to be really liking this story I worked hard to get chapter two out quickly! Let me know what you think! p.s. Fuck me y'all I literally deleted chapter 2 but luckily I write on wattpad and I was able to restore it. I was literally about to cry Requested by the lovely: @kkusadmirer 💜

We had another fight. 

Honestly I don't even remember what it was about, something stupid like I left the door open after I came in with the groceries and forgot to lock it. Or maybe it was the fact that I actually left the house and got them instead of just ordering them to get dropped off on the doorstep. 

He always tells me it's too dangerous out there or that I should just wait for him to go with me instead. If I did that though we would never have any food here and I'm not about to order takeout for every meal. 

I don't understand why leaving the door open would be such an issue. We live in a relatively nice complex and our neighbors always make sure to look out for me so I don't understand why something as simple as that could set him off. 

But then again it doesn't take much to set him off these days, I guess it was something I should've expected. 

He hasn't been home for two days and at this point I've decided that maybe it's time I went out for the night. Nothing crazy or anything but just, out. 

Putting on yet another turtleneck I make sure that the old and new marks are covered. I've taken it a step further and put some makeup on to make sure that no one will notice. Although I doubt anyone would notice me anyways since I usually fade into the background. 

But tonight isn't about feeling insecure in myself. Tonight is the night where I finally do something on my own and get out of the house. 

Taking out my phone I look up the address for the local pub I've decided to go to, making sure to wear comfortable boots since it's a little ways away. I'm luck that it's winter right now so bundling up is normal, making my outfit even less suspicious. 

Taking a couple of deep breaths I reach for the handle, unlock the door and step outside. 

'Should I really be doing this?' I question but before I'm able to second guess myself I hear our next door neighbor unlock her door as well and step outside her door.

"Oh, y/n. What a pleasant surprise! It's been a while since I've seen your pretty face" she says scanning my features, clearly having heard the fight we had had the other day and making sure that I look okay. 

"Hi Mrs. Mitchell. How have you and Mr. Mitchell been?" I ask, returning her warm greeting but feeling awkward talking to someone that isn't Taehyung or my editor. 

"As well as we could be I suppose. Harry just turned 73 last month so he's been complaining about how old he his and how his knees don't work the way they used to. What can you expect when you get to our age?" she says, chuckling at her husband who is a few years younger than her.

"Seems like no matter how old men get, they still whine and complain whenever they get sick or injured" she continues, clearly trying to lighten my spirits. "I guess so" I say, not daring to bad mouth Taehyung since he's probably already gotten a pretty bad reputation around here with everything we've been through over the past few years. 

Sometimes I'm surprised by the fact that we haven't gotten evicted with all of the noise complaints we've gotten. 

He always makes me answer each and every call from our building even though he's the one responsible for a majority of the noise but he always makes sure to stand close by to make sure I don't ask them to send help no matter how severe things have gotten. 

"Where are you off to?" she asks taking note of the fact that it's getting late in the evening. "I figured I might just head over to the pub a few streets down and see if I can clear my head for a while" I say, not bothering to give more information than necessary. Not that there would be any more information to give. 

"Good for you dear! It's always good to go out and get a new perspective on life. Let me know anytime if you need any help alright? Oh and I'm so excited to read your next book!" she says and with that last part catching me off guard. "You've read my books?" I question, taken aback and almost embarrassed at the fact that a woman of her age would be reading the type of genre I write, let alone my own. 

"Of course dear! As soon as I found out that you were a writer I went straight to the bookstore and bought all of them! You really are very talented" she finishes, with a glimmer of admiration in her eye. 

"Thank you so much, your support means the world to me, truly" I finish and she quickly shoo me off, apologizing for holding me hostage. 

"Next time I see you I'll sign your copies if you'd like" I offer and the look on her face is absolutely priceless. 

"I'll make sure to have them sitting by the front door with a pen in hand!" she beams and I wave one last goodbye before I make my way to my destination. 

~~~~

Walking in the doors of The Blue Pearl I'm greeted by the sound of soft rock being played in the background and a low murmur of the small amount of people spread through out. This pub seems to be a little old fashioned so I guess it's not a big draw for the younger rowdier crowds. Which was exactly what I was looking for. 

Just a slow night to clear my head and a strong drink to drown my sorrows. Knowing me though I'll probably stop after one or two drinks. 

I decide to sit at the bar on the stool closest to the wall and wave the bartender over. 

"Surprise me, something sweet but something strong" I say trying to sound as confident as I can. "You got it" she says and comes back soon with a pink drink of some sort a few moments later. "What is this?" I ask after taking a sip, already dying for another one at the fruity but subtly sweet drink. 

"I like to call it The Slut Puppy" she says with a proud smile. I tilt my head when I look at her, confused as to how she came up with the name. "I'm still workshopping it to be honest but your reaction to the name definitely played true to the puppy part. I laugh realizing that I subconsciously played into her game and she laughs right along with me. 

"Long night?" she asks after I've settled in, using her bartender powers to see right through my act while walking away a bit to clean up the shaker she had used to make my drink. 

"Try long life" I say, rolling my eyes before taking a sip of my drink again, sighing in contentment. "That bad huh?" she laughs bitterly, knowing one way or another that what I'm dealing with is beyond fucked. "Let's just say the best part of my week so far has been this drink" I and steal a quick glance at her, embarrassed that my words are flowing so easily to a complete stranger. 

"But it's Saturday night" she say with her brows pinched together. "Exactly" I say and before I can even ask she decides to grab another shaker and makes me another drink which I accept with a somber smile. "I put some extra ice in this one so don't worry it's not gonna go straight to your head" she says, looking out for me as if she were someone I had known for my whole life. 

"I'm y/n by the way" I say, hoping to move from strangers to acquaintances at the very least. "Rae" she answers before tending to another patron. 

"So y/n" she starts as she makes her way back over to me "what do you do?" she asks, maintaining conversation but not trying to pry when it comes to what I'm clearly upset about. 

"I'm a writer" I answer and her interest is immediately peaked. "A writer? Really? What do you write about?" she asks, leaning up against the counter so she can hear me a bit better. 

"To be honest my stories are pretty fucked up romance novels" I say scratching the top of my head feeling a bit awkward at the confession. 

"Sounds like my type of book" she laughs. I let out a breath, thankful that I won't have to explain myself to her since this genre isn't everyone's cup of tea. "So what are some books that you've written? Maybe I've read one before" she says going back to cleaning up a few things, making sure to use her time wisely. 

"Well 'Trials of the Broken' is one of them. It's my best seller at the moment. I'm actually working on writing the sequel right now" I respond, embarrassed but proud of my achievements all the same. 

"I think I've heard of that one! My friends have been trying to get me to read it but I never got around to it" she says, surprised at her chances of meeting me. 

"If you ever get around to it then let me know what you think" I say, now kicking myself for putting on the pressure for her to read it. "I definitely will" she says and makes her way over to the other side of the bar to serve some more patrons that just made their way inside. 

Glancing over at them I notice one that is a few steps behind the crowd, making me question if he's come here alone but I go back to looking at my drink, trying my best not to stare. 

My eyes somehow manage to drag themselves over toward him as he places his order and waits for Rae to make it. 

He takes off his hood and I'm met with first, the sight of his sharp jaw, then his shaggy hair he ruffled as soon as the hood dropped and finally his lips, the bottom one pierced twice rested in a soft smile. I realize though that the only way I would be seeing his full on smile would be if he was looking back at me and I make somewhat panicked eye contact with him before quickly turning my head in the other direction. 

'Great job y/n, drooling over the first hot guy you see. He's probably going to think I'm some sort of creep now' my thoughts thought are interrupted with the sound of what I believe to be is a drink set down on the counter a few seats away from me. 

"Is it alright if I sit here?" a smooth baritone voice says, making butterflies fill my stomach. 

"Um yeah sure" I say, taking a sip of my drink before glancing at him, quickly looking away again before I start to stare again. 

"So how's your night going?" he asks, clearly in an effort to make small talk. 

"It's going. How about yours?" I question back and see that he's no longer looking at me, instead watching as he swirls his mystery drink around in his cup. "About the same" he chuckles, clearly amused with both of our lack of effort to divulge any details. 

We sit there for a second or two in silence before Rae walks over and gives me another drink. I watched her make it and I can tell she she went even easier on the alcohol this time and makes sure to question nonverbally if I'm alright to which I nod. 

"What are you drinking?" he asks, smiling at the visual of the bright pink drink with two cherries placed on top. "You're gonna laugh" I say, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear, feeling a little apprehensive saying words like this to a complete stranger (a hot one at that).

"It's-" "It's called a Slut Puppy" Rae interrupts from the other side of the bar, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was clearly listening. "Um yeah, that" I chuckle, taking a big sip of it to hopefully calm my nerves. 

"A slut puppy?" he asks, flashing an amused smile at me, sending my heart beat into overload. "Her name, not mine" I laugh awkwardly. Trying, but failing at sounding normal but from the looks of it he doesn't seem to mind. "Right" he says dragging out the first syllable before taking a sip of his drink. 

"Do you guys know each other?" he asks, curious as to who our not so secret eavesdropper is. "Kinda. We just met. Although it almost seems like I've known her my whole life" I say smiling at her, thankful for the fact that she was able to lift my spirits so easily. 

"It's nice when you meet people like that" he says and when I bring my attention back over to him I can tell that he's been looking at me for a while, making me shy all over again. 

"Oh, I'm Jungkook by the way" he says holding out his hand, and I turn my stool towards him and shake it, fixing what would've been an awkward angle if I had stayed in place. He after seeing what I had done decides to turn as well, angling his body towards me and I notice now that there's only one seat between us. A respectful distance, making me feel a bit more comfortable talking to him. 

"I'm y/n" I say and he gives me a soft smile, whispering my name under his breath, almost as if he were trying to keep it as a secret all for himself. "So y/n, what's your story?" he asks, withdrawing his hand at almost the same time I do and goes back to taking another sip of his drink, making sure to keep his sparkly eyes trained on me. 

'Sparkly? Y/n you are a married woman. You shouldn't even be talking to this guy'.

"My story? Well to be honest there's not much to tell. I grew up and went to school in the city and now I'm a writer. There's not much else to my life if I'm being honest" I say, doing my best to maintain conversation but also not give away too much. 

"That ring on your finger says otherwise" he says, nodding towards it and playing around with his straw. Not in an abrasive way but more as if to remind me of something else that I might've forgotten.

"Oh, um yeah" I say, showing him the ring up for a second to confirm his suspicions but pull my sweater down to cover it up a second later, hoping he won't ask anything else about that aspect but unfortunately luck is not on my side in that department tonight. 

"Is that why you're here? Needed to get away for a while?" he asks, curious but not insinuating anything that I would expect a guy of his age would be asking me. "I guess you could say that" I say taking a deep breath deciding that if he's asking I might as well get the male perspective while I can. 

"With being a writer and everything I'm pretty much cooped up in the house all day. Which for me is fine and it's been like that for a few years" I say, taking a second to try and figure out how to formulate my next words carefully, not wanting his to worry or judge the situation too much.

"I'm sensing there's a 'but' here" he chuckles and takes another sip of his drink and waves at Rae in an effort to get both of us both another drink without me noticing to avoid protest. "But" I start out, confirming his suspicions. "with my husband being used to me doing that all the time he tends to get a bit, how should I say this..." I trial off, still not sure how to phrase it. 

"Controlling?" he offers, a bit more blunt than his other responses. "Worried" I counter, although his word is more accurate than mine. He nods a bit, clearly not believing my words but doesn't press in hopes that I will continue. "He's worried that something might happen to me if I go out alone. That someone might recognize me because of my books and try to do something like kidnap me" I say, fully confident in my words.

I hear Jungkook snort beside me a second later, leaving me looking over at him with my brows scrunched up. "What's so funny?" I ask, confused and almost annoyed by his reaction. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry continue" he says doing his best to calm down. "No, what about that is so funny?" I press as I can clearly see that he's still trying to hold his laughter in. 

"I'm sorry y/n it's just, well isn't kidnapping a little bit of a stretch?" he says, clearing his throat and breathing through what he thought was a ridiculous excuse. "Woman and children get kidnapped everyday! Look up the statistics!" I retort, trying to convince him that there's truth to Taehyung's argument. 

"Yes, I know that it happens a lot, but you can't let that keep you from going outside and living life. It's a horrible thing and I don't understand why anyone would do such a thing but you can't use it as a way to cripple yourself from ever leaving your house" he says, this time being completely serious and trying his best to convince me that I shouldn't be living like this. 

"I'm out now aren't I?" I argue, and to that he nods his head but presses further. "How long has it been since you've been out like this though?" he asks and I just let my head droop a bit in response before taking a sip of my new drink. 

"Well I'm proud of you for coming out tonight and doing this for yourself. And look, you're completely safe. Plus seems like you've already made two new friends tonight" he laughs motioning to himself and Rae and when I look over at her all I can see is her bright smile, happy to see me getting more comfortable. 

"Who knows though, you might just be acting nice to me just so I'll let my guard down so you can kidnap me" I tease and at that he acts like he's offended, throwing his hand over his heart as if I had shot him. 

"You hurt me with your words. It's a shame though, I was just in the market for a new best friend" he says, wiping away a fake tear. "Or in the market for some fresh meat" I continue laughing at his act. "Twist the knife why don't you" he says, now resorting to pouting. 

"Aw, it's okay I didn't mean it" I say patting his shoulder in an effort to apologize. "You better not" he says looking at me, still pouting. "Come on, let's turn that frown upside down. Why don't I buy you a drink?" I ask as a way to make amends. 

"No that's alright, I've actually gotta get going" he says, pulling out his wallet and placing some cash on the counter to more than cover his drinks. "Let me get you some change" Rae steps in, quick to help since she is otherwise unoccupied. "No it's okay, use it to cover us both and then keep the change" he says as he straightens out his jacket a bit. 

"No you don't have to do that" I argue and go to take some cash out of my purse as well. "It's okay I got it. But if you want to make it up to me I'll always take your number as payment" he says with a cheeky smile. 

"Just as friends of course! I would never want to seduce a married woman" he says, jumping over himself, making me sure I know his intensions are pure. 

"Can we do email? I spend most of my time on my computer so it's easier for me" I say, making excuses as to not giving it to him. "As long as you promise not to mark my messages as spam" he jokes and hands me his phone so I can add it in. "I promise. It was really nice to meet you Jungkook" I say handing it back to him, our hands touching a few moments longer for it to be seen as something with the promise of being platonic. 

"Take care" he says giving me a soft smile and then waves at Rae, clearly seeing her not even bothering to hide that she's staring at us. 

"Bye" I say under my breath, not knowing how to feel about anything now that he's gone. 

prev / next Series Masterlist

Taglist: @jkslipppiercing @trina864 @kaitieskidmore97 @goddesofimortality @coolbluedude @00frenchfries00 @bangtans-momma @coralmusicblaze @pastelpinkjoon @joonwater @marvelbun @j3nni-rs @evidive @beomieboi @forevrglow @jesssssmaybankk @teugiie @chaconnelatte @whoa-jo @snehal @xumyboo @mindurbuzznezz @diorh0seokie @hehurst23 @caro134340lina @ye0nvibezzn @olimpiiaa @hrtsj1m @junecat18 @ellesalazar @babycandy111 @felixz4life @lively-potter @esther-kpopstan @gyukookswhore @koohrs @skzthinker @vminkookgf @kookiescupcake0109 @itsyoooeui @latinapoetbts @sisterstantas @euphriajjks @lady-belz @pamzn @aierixerxeez @kookssecret @akaligogrrr @pitchblack0309 @kouyoumarryme

Join my Taglist!

Feel free to fill out the form or just comment on any of my fics to be added :)

#jungkook fanfic #kpop #fanfiction #fanfic #bts jungkook #kpop fanfic #bts #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook bts #jungkook x oc #jungkook x you #jungkook and you #jungkook and reader #jungkook angst #bts taehyung #taehyung #kim taehyung #taehyung bts #bts fanfic #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #taehyung fanfic #taehyung angst #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #taehyung x y/n #taehyung x oc

[daisyblog]

YN Tomlinson & Harry Styles

Our Story Masterlist Summary: YN Tomlinson is Louis's sister and is in a relationship with Harry Styles. Louis discusses a small part of their relationship on a talk show.

Warning: swearing

A/N: I’m thinking of making this into a series. Let me know what you think.

***

“Alright I’m Louis Tomlinson..and I've just been on the Zach Sang show talkin’ ‘bout all sorts..check it out” Louis introduces the show whilst sitting on the brown leather sofa. ---

“We have Louis Tomlinson..It’s nice to see ya” Zach began.

“Hello hello” Louis announced.

“Does it still piss you off when people call you Lewis ‘cause that is not your name?” Zach asked.

“No because people back home..basically right..I mean my name is Louis but I didn’t luv’ it when I wer’ younger..once I was old enough..don’t know why just didn’t really luv’ it so I got known as Lewis, all me friends from home call me Lewis and then I get there on me..on me..first day at The X Factor wiv’ Simon and you know wha’ I mean all the judges and he called me Louis and like you know wha’ I mean there's 3,000 people there..I’m absolutely brickin’ me’self..I’m not about to say..excuse me a minute you’ve got me name wrong..even though it is me actual name..you know..so then it stuck..so I’m kinda both..kinda both..there’s a little story about my name” Louis explained whilst laughing about the pronunciation of his name.

The host laughed at Louis's response and continued to ask “Why were you not a Louis fan growing up..did you feel like Lewis was more serious..did it give you a..”. Before Zach could finish, Louis interrupted “Do you know what it was..when we wer’ younger..me sister YN would constantly say me name..like constantly Louis this and Louis tha’..and it was fookin’ annoying” both hosts laughed at Louis’ re-enactment of his sister “So one day..I told her me name was Lewis..and it just stuck to be honest wiv you”.

“So basically YN is to blame for why you didn’t like your name growing up” Zach continued to laugh.

“Yeah..pretty much” Louis laughed along with the host.

“Talking about your sister YN..” Louis began laughing and shaking his head, whilst sitting up straighter “Why are you laughing?” Zack asked.

“I..I just know what’s comin’ mate” Louis stated whilst readjusting the black hat on his head.

“Your sister YN is in a relationship with Harry Styles…right?” Zach confidently asked.

“Here we fookin’ go...ugh yeah she is..he’s a brave lad let me tell you” Louis began, again making the two other men laugh at his words “No..no…I’m only jokin’ but yeah they’re together”.

Zach asked, whilst continuing to laugh “What do you mean brave…brave because she’s your sister or..”.

Louis realised what he said could have been misinterpreted and began to explain “Ohh no..I..I..don’t mean brave because I’m gonna go all big brother on him..but..I..brave 'cause she’s sumit else man” Louis added with a laugh “..like she’s me sister remember so she’s like the female version of me..you know what I’m sayin”.

“Aw..I thought you meant like brave because she’s your sister and..you know the whole don’t go near her type of thing” Zack explained.

“No..no…if anything I should have had a rule for YN to stay away from Harry” Louis joked. “No..in all seriousness..even at the beginning I was..uh I don’t know how to feel about this..ya know..me sister and me bandmate..me best friend”. Zach interrupted “Yeah..it must have been a bit of a shock for you..like what do you even do in that situation?”.

“Do you know what..I didn't handle it too well at that start” Louis laughed.

“What do you mean?” Zack asked, curious as to what Louis meant by his statement. "Well...I found out at the same time as the rest of the world...you know wha' I mean...and I was just so angry because...you know she's me sister..and he's me best mate" Louis explained whilst picking at the skin around his nail, a nervous habit he had. "But..I..I eventually calmed down and..me Grandad had a bit of a chat with me about it all..and I won't go into detail...but he just made me realise that I had to let YN make her choices..and I'm so glad I did 'cause look at them both now" Louis ended with a chuckle. "So..you weren't suspicious or anything...like you didn't know?" the host questioned. "If I'm 'onest..no I didn't have a fookin' clue man" Louis laughed "But..when I think back..I should have seen it" Louis began to explain whilst moving the microphone closer to his mouth "like I remember her comin’ to stay at our flat in London once..and her eyes would literally fookin’ follow the lad…but at the time I just didn't realise…and then after the photo was leaked..she came on tour wiv us when we wer’ in the band…she was like our stylist's assistant type of thing..and..um…wherever Harry was YN was not far away…they’re the same age and liked the same kinda stuff so…yeah”

“What was that like having your sister on tour with you?”.

“Uhh..well she was too busy wiv me best mate” Louis laughed at his own joke “Do you know what…I loved having her there wiv us..It was nice to have that part of home wiv me you know”.

“You’re exposing her secrets Louis” Zach laughed along.

“She’ll fookin’ go crazy on me when I see her” Louis joked “No..If I’m being honest..I’m so grateful that she’s got someone like Harry..we’ve been through some shit times and..I..I’m just so glad that she’s got a lovely lad..that’s all I want is for me family to be ‘appy” Louis smiled at the host, trying to indicate that he wanted to move the conversation on “..and she is ‘appy”.

***

#harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harrystyles #harry styles #louis tomlinson #louistomlinson #harry x y/n #harry x you #harry styles x you #tomlinson #styles #harry #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #onedirection #one direction #harry styles fic

[the-badger-mole]

In the debate between pro-aang-kill-ozai and anti-aang-kill-ozai. Which side are you on and why? If it's the anti then did you like how it was done or do you picture something else?

I think I've mentioned before, but I am not inherently against Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. Some of my favorite heroes have a no-kill policy. I don't even mind the lionturtle solution itself. What I didn't like was how it was handled. There was plenty of time to address Aang's reluctance to kill before the second to last episode. I can think of three points in particular where it would've been thematically appropriate and given Aang's bland, two-dimensional character some depth.

First, right after the siege at the Northern Tribe. Aang may not have technically been the one who killed all those Fire Nation soldiers, but it couldn't have happened without him. You would think that someone who is both committed to pacifism and also the one the entire world is relying on to end a war that people have been fighting and dying in for a century wouldn't just be able to shrug off what happened. Aang did, though. Didn't even cross his mind when he was whining about people expecting him to kill Ozai.

What should have happened was the next season should've opened with Aang grappling with what happened and his part in it. He should feel guilty about it, not because he was actually wrong, but because it should feel wrong to him. Then, Katara and Sokka should comfort him and tell him he did nothing wrong. Build it up that their word are comforting him a little, then drop the bomb when they start talking about how cool it was. How amazing it was to see all those soldiers running in fear for once. How relieved they are that so many of them died. Then have Aang snap on them about the sanctity of life. He needs to be angry and hurt, and this should be the point where he decries the powers of the Avatar. He'd call himself a monster, and maybe he would call Katara and Sokka monsters, too. Then they (probably mostly Sokka) would argue with him that they aren't monsters, they're just trying to survive, and the Fire Nation is a threat to be taken out. This would be the first time it's brought up that Katara, Sokka...the entire world expect Aang to kill Ozai. I think it would be perfect as a season 2 opener. Season 1 was light and goofy, and Zuko was their biggest immediate threat. The siege raised the stakes, and season 2 should continue on that rising. Aang should also have started looking for another solution here. In the library, Aang should've asked Wan Shi Tong if it was possible to end the war without more violence. We should've seen Aang coming to terms with the fact that the world is suffering and he is the one they are looking to to save them. One thing I think the Harry Potter movies in particular did well was that shift from goofy and whimsical to darker and more frightening (as far as kids movies go) as the story went on and the stakes got higher, and the danger felt more real to the characters. Aang never gets that realization. He has moments when the danger feels real, but he's goofy and whimsical for pretty much the entire series until the plot of an episode needs him not to be.

The second place they should have brought up his reluctance to kill was DoBS. This really should've been a no brainer. Aang was loosing sleep over facing Ozai. He had his anxiety about losing- though not really what losing would mean for his friends and the world- but he didn't even consider what winning would take. If DoBS had been successful, there's no way Ozai would've been able to be taken alive. Logistically, killing him would've been the easiest, safest option. You mean to tell me no one brought it up? No one asked Aang how he was planning to take Ozai out? No, instead we get Aang proving he knows what enthusiastic consent looks like and taking away his excuse for what happened later, but nothing about Aang weighing his personal beliefs against the needs of the world. That training montage and confrontation that he has with his friends in the second to last episode should've happened here. This should've been when his tendency to run away should've been challenged, too, because half a season before he was crying about how he abandoned the world again. Now his instinct would be to run, but his friends would challenge him, calling back to that moment. They could demand that he present an alternative to killing Ozai. I don't think any of them would object to him living to stand trial, but Ozai is a rabid dog, essentially. He needs to be put down. Aang's got nothing, but not for lack of trying. When he tells his friends about all his efforts to find a non-lethal way to defeat Ozai, they are unmoved. They are at the doors of the Fire Nation, and now is not the time to be indecisive. He has to go face Ozai. And he's probably relieved when the plan fails. This whole situation would have the added bonus of skipping that first Kataang kiss because no way would Aang want to kiss Katara after her insisting he terminate Ozai with extreme prejudice.

The third place Aang's no-kill policy should've come up is TSR when Zuko asks him what he's planning to do when he faces Ozai if he's so against killing. This should scare Aang, and it should be his focus for the rest of the season. He should be more withdrawn from his friends, because with all the training he's doing (and he would still be training on all the elements because he's not that good at any of them), talks about the most efficient way to kill would be unavoidable. Katara might actually try to teach him bloodbending. Toph would just tell him that a big rock is just as effective as some fancy bending move. Zuko would be warning him about his father's ruthlessness and cunning. This would be where Aang looses his patience with his friends and insists that he's a pacifist and Ozai doesn't deserve to die. This would piss Katara in particular off because by this point, Aang knows what happened to her mother. He would get an earful about how Ozai's plan is to do to the Earth Kingdom what his grandfather did to the Air Nomads and how he's going to let millions of people die because of his refusal to kill one. Now, Aang can take off, only instead of just running away from his friends because he doesn't want to hear them anymore, he could be making one desperate last ditch attempt to find a solution that both ends the war and keeps him from having to kill Ozai. EIP could still happen in this circumstance, but instead of getting mad that he's being played by a girl, he would focus more on how eager for his death the Fire Nation is. That would come up in the argument about killing Ozai.

Now, for the lionturtle. I'm about to blow some minds. I have been vocal about my hatred of the Lionturtle/Rock of Destiny desu-ex-double team, and I do still hate it with a passion. However, as a concept, I don't mind the lionturtle. This is a fantasy adventure. You expect a bit of magical intervention. What I wanted was Aang grappling with this problem for more than half an episode. I wanted him working on a solution the entire time, starting from right after the siege. I wanted to see him take initiative. To actually think about the problem. Maybe have him specifically looking for the lionturtle. Then when it shows it, it could be because it knew Aang was looking and decided he was worthy of a meeting. Aang could still have his meeting with his past lives, and that could still go the way it did. Then the lionturtle could speak up. Instead of poo-pooing the idea of killing Ozai, it could agree that it was the most effective way to make sure that the war would end. Then, when Aang is despairing that he'd wasted all that time trying to find a different solution, the lionturtle could offer the spirit bending. But it would have to come at a cost, and it might not work the way that Aang hoped. Now Aang has to make a choice. Sacrifice something for this spiritbending ability (I'm thinking he loses his airbending, because it seems poetic) that might not have the outcome he's hoping for, or give up his pacifism- one of his few connections to his heritage- and kill Ozai. He chooses the spiritbending. Instead of the conveniently placed rock, Aang would actually have to give up his attachment Katara. I think he would be half-way there, having finally realized how little he understood her. He "loved" her because she was pretty and took care of him, but he's come to realize there's a lot more facets to her that he hasn't gotten to see because they don't fit his narrow view of her. He also understands what Guru Pathik was trying to tell him about one person not being able to replace everything Aang has lost, and he realizes how unfair to her he had been. He still loves her, but as a friend and caretaker. This will actually lead to a deeper friendship between them. Aang defeats Ozai without killing him, but now he has to deal with the loss of his airbending, which only now does he realize was a much of a connection between him and his people as his beliefs. He still has spiritbending. He can still airbend in the Avatar State, but he's effectively cut off a limb to keep his integrity. He will go the rest of his life wondering if it was worth it, especially after Ozai goes to trial and is sentenced to execution anyway. The effects of that on his children could be explored in LoK.

TL;DR I don't have a problem with Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. I just wanted to see him deal with it before the last minute. I think the show would've been better for it, and Aang would've been a more interesting character.

#atla #anti-kataang #aang #how it COULD have gone #he would've been a much better protagonist if we actually saw him struggle with his destiny #spiritbending should have consequences #that's too much of a power up to just give to the hero #and ozai should still die #it just doesn't have to be at aang's hands #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

[karenandhenwillson]

I've seen so much discourse about Bucktommy and especially Tommy and it is so wild. I just want to write down some of my thoughts over all of it because that tends to help me to stop thinking about it.

"Oh, how can anyone just abandon Buddie for Bucktommy?"

Has anyone really abandoned Buddie, though? Or are they just for the moment very excited about a new and so very carefully portrait queer story line? Just because some people talk more (or for the moment only) about Bucktommy, doesn't mean they don't like Buddie anymore. They just have something shiny and most importantly canon to fawn over for the moment.

Also, I'd like to give that question back: Why aren't you all excited for a carefully and softly portrait new queer storyline about a character a huge part of the fandom—including the actor himself—hoped for years would get a queer story line?

And it's a pretty unique queer story. Of course, we had Michael figuring out his sexualtiy and growing comfortable in it right at the beginning of the series. But there are some huge differences between Michael's story and Buck's story.

For one, we ended up in the middle of that story. Michael had already done a huge part of the work of getting to know himself. He was ready to live as a gay man. And second, nothing of what we saw until season 3 was from Michael's point of view. It was all from Athena's point of view. 

So it was a "coming-out late in life" story line, sure. But it was a queer storyline from a straight perspective. And in some instances, from a very hurt perspective about it all (which are, of course, very valid emotions for Athena, May, and Harry, but it still gave the queer side of the story line a certain taint). And they did that beautifully, too, no doubt. I especially liked that the family didn't break over it, that they grew with that experience, and that Michael and Athena became great friends over the years.

But now we also have a "coming-out late in life" story line from the queer perspective! 9-1-1 is pretty much the only series I'm following right now, so I have no idea if we had something similar recently. But from all the talk I've seen, it's pretty damn unique, especially for a male bi character. So, of course a lot of people are super excited about it. Because it's honest and good representation that the writers and the actors are handling with a lot of care.

"Oh, if it were a female love interest, you'd all hate her again!"

First of all, go back read that paragraph about many people being excited about getting a queer story line again! I think that's about 40% of the answer for everyone wondering about it.

And then, of course, Tommy has now already more depth and character and background than we ever saw about Ali or Natalia. And despite some people claiming he didn't have any kind of redemption arc, he truly had a lot more of a redemption arc than Taylor ever got even if only glimpses of it were ever shown on screen. (Maybe I'll get into my thoughts about that in another post.) Not gonna talk about Abby, because I think most of the dislike for her came long after that relationship was over after she ghosted Buck (and after Eddie had shown up).

One huge difference between every love interest of Buck or Eddie we have seen in the past to Tommy is also, that Tommy gets along really well with Eddie. We've already seen a friendship develop there. That never happened with any of the women either Eddie or Buck dated before. We saw that one dinner Buck and Taylor had with Eddie and Chris, but it was very clear it was the first time, and that was over half a year into Buck and Taylor dating, probably more like nine months.

If you wear slash googles around Buck and Eddie or not, their deep friendship is undeniable. It's very much canon that they both have a hand in raising Chris. Any love interest coming in has to deal with that, and has to somehow fit into that friendship. Tommy is the very first love interest in canon we have ever been shown to have that potential at all.

I'm personally part of the fandom that thinks that Buck and Eddie have great potential in a romantic way, BUT that they are first and foremost soulmates, no matter if platonic or romantic. And at least the Bucktommy fics I've read so far have all acknowledge the friendship of buck and Eddie and Chris' role in Buck's life. With Tommy being very accepting and supportive of it. (Though, I admit I’m very careful in my selection process.)

"Oh, Bucktommy is only a steppingstone for Buddie anyway! Don't get so invested in it!"

Who are you tell anyone what they should get invested in? I also think, with the excitement right now, even if Bucktommy break up, the ship itself will live on in fandom.

And also, didn't any of you learn out of the cheating story line they settled Hen and Karen with?

There is barely any content for Henren*. And I've been looking! Most stories they are tagged in don't really focus on their relationship. And those who do focus on their relationship get barely any attention. And you know why that is? Because a lot of people can't or don't want to deal with the cheating. (I deal with it by trying to ignore it or seeking out content where it's fixed!) Do you all really want to have a second queer story line that centers around cheating?

And even if none of you care for Henren (which... I know many don't *shrugs sadly*), have you all already forgotten the real pain over Buck kissing Lucy and then not fessing up to Taylor about it right away? (Once again, I deal by either ignoring it or seeking out content that fixes that bullshit.)

I'm honestly pretty disgusted by all the speculation about 7x06 that has anything to do with Buck and Eddie cheating on Tommy and Marisol during the bachelor party. And even more so about all the fics one can find about that, or that use Tommy as a device for Buck and Eddie realizing they are in love. (Honestly, even filtering out the other relationship tag while looking for stories in one relationship tag doesn't prevent one from stumbling over those stories right now, no matter if one is currently looking for Buck/Tommy or Buck/Eddie stories. It's so fucking annoying. I've turned to only reading old Buddie fics for the moment.)

Aside from the whole cheating of it all, why do any of you think the next episode will focus on anyone else but Maddie and Chim?

"Bucktommy is so racist! But really, no surprise in this fandom!"

What's no surprise is that "racist" is once more used as a buzzword in this fandom. To the point that BiPOC fans of Bucktommy are being told they are racist for the ship they like. (Nothing new about that in this fandom either.) Honestly, half the arguments about why the ship is oh so racist either make my head hurt while I try to follow the many, many, many mental loops people are making to get there, or they just make me laugh outright.

Do some of you really believe it when you say "Buck got together with a White man instead of his Latino best friend, so of course that's racist!"??? I'm just... Are you okay? Do you maybe need something warm to drink, a snack, and a nice place somewhere in the sun far away from the internet to just enjoy nature for a little while?

As I said, I'll probably make another post about Tommy's redemption arc over the whole "He is an unrepentant racist and misogynist". That redemption arc exists and has been baked in since season 2 (even if some of people clearly lack the media literacy to see it). Though, other people already put together great meta posts about this. But maybe if there are enough of it, some people will for once acutally read and start to think instead of continuing to spew their hate.

*PS: If anyone has good Henren contant, especially fanfiction, feel free to drop me a DM. I'm always looking!

#911 abc #tommy kinard #even buckley #bucktommy #hen wilson #karen wilson #henren

[be-with-me-so-happily]

Not What We Bargained For

PART 1 of 2

|| PART 2 ||

<< Request >> "If it's possible, could you make a story about harry hating you and you didn't know why and then one day you have to share a hotel room with him and you find him jacking off in bed!?! Smut obviously and a fluff ending please?" @pandisasterthatlived

~~~~~

Summary: Harry dislikes YN. She dislikes him. As long as they avoid each other, they can manage to be in the same office. But an unexpected work trip creates more tension than anticipated.

A/N: This was fun to write! I've been wanting to do an enemies to lovers story and this was the perfect way for me to dip my toes into that trope. Hopefully you enjoy it. Might do a pt. 2 later?

>> Warnings: some explicit language, workplace rivalry & jealousy, sexual tension, self-pleasure, oral (male receiving), mild fingering, unprotected penetration

~~~~~

She isn't supposed to be here.

Harry is cursing Doug for his weak immune system, which is currently being attacked by the flu. He should've sucked it up, this is too important. Of course, that's a selfish thought, and Harry knows that, but he can't stop it from popping into his head ever since he was told that YN will be the one to take Doug's place.

He can't stand her. He basically hasn't since the beginning. When she first walked into the office, it seemed like she would be a pleasant presence to have around, another pleasant person to work with. But he was wrong.

Right off the bat, she is rude, and ignores Harry if there happens to be a moment that they are near each other, which he tries to avoid as much as possible. He is one of the top associates. It would only help her career if she was willing to work with him. She doesn't seem to care about anyone else's ideas, she just presents her own as soon as a question is asked in a meeting, and she is constantly taking assignments that could be covered by anyone else. She just comes across as so arrogant, and it does nothing but annoy him at this point.

Why would he want to work with someone like that? To work with an outside hire who thought she was better than everyone else as soon as she got tnere? He wouldn't. He doesn't. And he can't stand the fact that he is being forced to work with her now. He can't stand her.

"Have you gone over the presentation? Read the notes?"

"Yes, Styles. I have. I am prepared."

She will have to prove that in the meeting. However, he doesn't really want to give her much of a chance to do so. This was his assignment. He deserves to present it. He deserves the credit and recognition.

"Just so you know, I'm taking the lead on this."

"I figured as much."

"Good." He responds. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

She sighs and out of the corner of his eye, he catches YN rolling hers.

"If you don't think you can handle it-"

"Seriously? I've done this plenty of times before. This isn't my first presentation!" She snaps back, taking him a little by surprise. He's never heard her raise her voice, but then again he isn't around her much to hear it.

"Sure. But I won't need much help, yeah?"

"Whatever. Fine by me." She responds, crossing her arms and staring out the window.

He rolls his eyes at the way she is pouting. She obviously can't handle that she isn't in charge of this assignment. It serves her right, always trying to one-up everyone else and not being a team player. This is a taste of her own medicine.

"I can pretty much close this deal on my own."

~~~~~

"What our company is presenting to you is an opportunity to grow your business with-"

"Growth, Ms. YLN? Can you guarantee growth?"

"Well, yes-"

"Thank you, Ms. YLN…" Harry clenches his jaw in her direction. "Mr. Tills, the data speaks for itself. What Downings & Co. can guarantee is that your business is worth the risk for the company. And if you consider the ramifications of a drastic change in the financial climate, I believe it is worth the risk for your business to let Downings & Co. oversee things."

Harry glares right at YN as soon as the other members in the meeting are distracted in conversation with each other.

How dare she? This was his presentation. He was the lead and she had no right to add anything else. In fact, she caused doubt and more questions to be raised. He just hopes that she has not ruined his chance to acquire this client.

"Let us have a moment to converse, if you don't mind." Mr. Tills requests.

"Of course." Harry agrees, gathering all of his notes and throwing another quick glare in YN's direction.

They both walk out of the conference room and take a seat just outside.

"What the hell was that?" He scolds.

"Excuse me?"

"You did not need to add anything to the pitch, YN! I had it under control." He begins to raise his voice, taking a deep breath as he notices the receptionist's quick glance in his direction.

"I was just trying to help."

"I told you that I don't need your help."

Although she is quiet, he can hear her scoff, and her body turns to face him.

"You know what, Styles?" She whispers, her eyes scanning the lobby to be certain that no one else is in earshot. "Fuck you."

"What?" He replies, his brow furrowing deep at her astonishing statement, especially in this professional setting.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I said fuck you."

"Me?" He pulls his lips in and does a scan of their surroundings too. "I had this. It was going perfectly, until you caused them to question the growth of their company."

"You weren't doing as well as you think." She quietly chuckles.

"Oh, because you think you can do everything better than anyone else?"

"No…" She huffs. "Because I saw what they-"

"I don't want to hear it, YN. You better hope we don't-... I don't… lose this deal now."

She turns her body away from his and they sit in silence, waiting for the board's decision to be made.

A few minutes later, the conference room door opens and the pair are motioned back inside.

"Mr. Styles and Ms. YLN, we have considered all you have proposed and have agreed to take up the offer."

Harry manages to keep his composure and continue with professionalism.

"Fantastic. I believe that this will be a very beneficial partnership, Mr. Tills."

Another meeting is set up for tomorrow to go over and sign paperwork, so the job is finished for tonight, and they both head back to the hotel.

~~~~~

As the silverware clanks against their plates at the hotel restaurant, the silence feels refreshing to Harry. At least he doesn't have to hear her speak or engage in any kind of awkward conversation.

He whines to himself as he hears YN suddenly clear her throat. He's not surprised she can't keep her mouth shut, or her opinions to herself.

"Look, I really tho-"

"Honestly, I'm not in the mood to talk about it. Yeah?" He interrupts. "I'm just glad it worked out in the end."

"Yeah." She responds. "Now you can celebrate."

"No." He shakes his head.

"Wait, what? You're not gonna celebrate because… why? Because you thought I was going to ruin everything for you? Even though I didn't…"

He wants to argue with her so badly. This is not all about her, as she makes everything out to be. But they are in public, and he is not about to make a scene. So, he decides to bite his tongue and give her a quick honest answer as politely as he can. He lowers his fork, wipes his hand on his napkin, and clasps his hands in his lap.

"No." He reiterates. "I don't celebrate 'til the deal is fully done."

"But we-... I mean, you…"

"I wait 'til everything is official. Signatures and stamps and all that shit."

"Oh." She sits up straighter in her chair.

"What?" He asks sternly.

"Nothing." She pulls her lips inward and drops her gaze. It might be the first time Harry has ever seen her look like this. She almost looks insecure.

"What?" He asks again.

"I just…" She shrugs, gaze still downward. Her new demeanor is completely throwing him off. "I celebrate too early, compared to the 'Styles way'... I guess."

Harry returns his hands to his utensils, shoving a large fork full of his dinner into his mouth.

"That's 'cause you're too cocky." He mumbles, enjoying the fact that his food is muffling his words.

"What's that?" She asks, leaning closer to potentially make out the statement she hopes he will reiterate.

"I said… I said that I guess I'm too cocky." He lies, starting to clench his teeth as he notices that her reaction is giving away that she agrees.

"Well…" She shrugs. "We have our own ways of doing things."

"Certainly do." He replies, beginning to see her shoulders relax a bit, but he quickly straightens up and pushes his plate to the side. "I'm finished."

"Oh! Okay. I'm almost done too." She replies, stabbing as much food as she can with her fork.

"No, please, don't rush." He holds his hand up to reassure her that she doesn't need to hurry, hoping she will listen so that there isn't an awkward elevator ride and walk back to the room. He shudders at the odd thought of how that scene would look to others. As if they were a couple. "M'just gonna take a shower. I'll see you back in the room."

"Right." She nods. "See you back there then."

~~~~~

With a shirt and sweats on, and a towel drying his hair, Harry walks out of the bathroom and almost collides into YN.

"Bloody hell!" He blurts out.

This obviously wasn't the original plan. Harry was supposed to be sharing a room with Doug, someone he would most likely have been spending time with at the bar, being wingman to each other whenever someone caught their eye.

But Doug isn't here, it's YN instead, and because the universe seems to hate Harry, the company wasn't able to find her a separate room.

"Oh shit!" She responds, taking a few more steps away from him. "I just got back. I didn't realize you were right there."

He is thankful he didn't risk it and walk out in a towel, or how he usually walks around. Naked.

"Right."

She places her jacket and bag next to her suitcase, and sits on her bed to remove her heels.

"Stupid fucking things." She states, tossing them to the side and massaging her feet. "Is the bathroom free now?"

He simply nods and she swiftly grabs some clothes, heading straight in there and closing the door.

While he hears the water running, Harry sends a quick, scolding text to Doug, and puts an alarm on his phone.

He puts it down on the nightstand and turns his lamp off before he brings his hands up underneath his head.

His eyes close, and he replays the meeting in his head. He critiques himself on the areas he could have improved, still mentally patting himself on the back for the win, and clenches his jaw as he remembers YN's interruption. One thing pops in his mind that he didn't think anything of before. It was the look of embarrassment on her face when he glared at her. He attributes it to the fact that she couldn't handle a bruise to her ego, but he can't seem to shake the small feeling that it may have actually been genuine.

The bathroom door suddenly swings open, with the scent of lavender and vanilla floating through the air as she returns her work outfit to her suitcase. He subtly opens his eyes, curious to see what YN looks like in a normal setting. Well, in a 'not-the-office' setting.

Harry can't help but notice the way her wet hair falls down and frames her face, no longer being confined into a ponytail. He notices the freckles on her cheeks that are usually hidden by her makeup. He also notices how smooth her bare skin looks, now that it's showing off as a cotton shirt and shorts sit nicely on her body.

He had already admitted to himself, on the first day they met, that she was attractive. She has always looked presentable and professional, and attractive. But this is different. He has never seen her look so natural, there's no reason he would have, and he is taken back by how much he likes seeing her this way.

He is brought out of his thoughts as soon as he hears the creaking of her bed. She turns off the lamp closest to her, but with the city lights peeking through the small opening of the curtains, he can just make out her silhouette.

"Goodnight." She softly speaks.

"Yeah. Goodnight." He replies, turning away onto his side and letting his mind wander as he drifts off to sleep.

~~~~~

Harry wakes up and notices that the sliver of the window he can see still displays a dark sky. He checks the bedside clock to confirm that he has only been asleep for a few hours. He is annoyed that he has randomly woken up, but more so than that, he is annoyed that he has woken up with his dick stiff and throbbing.

He's a man, this has obviously happened to him before, but tonight's is painfully desperate for some relief and he knows he will not be able to return to sleep without taking care of himself.

He turns over to evaluate YN's current position and finds her asleep, facing the other wall. He begins to weigh his options, but his hand uncontrollably makes its way down to the bulge in his sweats, and it feels too good to discontinue those motions.

He glances back over to YN, letting out a heavy breath to test her ability to stay in slumber. When she doesn't react, he slides his hand into his briefs and continues to palm himself, breathing out heavily at the touch.

It feels too good, and he is desperate for relief. He needs it now. He can be quiet, and can stop if he suspects she is waking up. Plus, the risk of getting caught is surprisingly making this all the more enticing for him right now.

He brings his hand out of his pants, pulling them down to free his throbbing dick from its confines, and spits in his hands for some lubrication.

As he checks on YN's position once again, becoming more aroused at the sight of an attractive woman laying there, he begins to stroke himself. The immediate pleasure that his motions create cause him to bite his lower lip and buck up his hips. His thumb rubs over his tip and he can feel himself leaking already. He manages to pull his other lip inward just in time to muffle a moan, and he begins to thrust his hips up to the rhythm of his strokes.

But as good as it feels, he can't seem to get himself over the edge. He spits in his hand for more lubrication and pumps faster, and an uncontrollable, but quiet, moan is released from his lips.

"Come on…" He whispers, tilting his head back further against the pillow and squeezing his eyes shut even tighter.

"Can't close the deal?"

"Shit!" Harry immediately stops stroking himself and his free hand flies up to slap his face.

This is just perfect. Not only does he need release from such an intense erection, but now the one person he can't stand has caught him in the act. Everything about this moment is painful.

He turns his head and peeks through his fingers, just making out her figure and her face staring back at him.

"I… fuck… I…" He stumbles, his ego fading and being overshadowed by embarrassment.

"Need some help?" She chuckles. "I can help."

"Oh fuck off, you're not making this any better for me." He states, an intense blush raging in his cheeks as the intense erection rages within his grasp.

"I could make it better. If you want me to."

"You're not serious! Are you?" He asks, astonished by what he thinks, and also sort of hopes, that she is offering.

"Well, if you can't do the job yourself…" She laughs. "I might as well take the lead on this."

He groans, aching for release.

She shrugs. "It's funny how you didn't need my help earlier in the meeting, but now you clearly do."

"It's not funny." He frowns as he experiences her arrogance yet again.

"It's just too damn bad I don't have the right skills for the job." She adds.

His frown turns into a smirk, actually delighted by her teasing nature. "I can sense your sarcasm."

She shakes her head, looking his body up and down as he lays there on the bed.

"And I can sense your desperation."

Harry clears the lump in his throat. He knows she is being witty, giving him the same back talk that he's given her, but god he thinks it's sexy. Saying she'll help him cum almost makes him explode right there, but he suddenly realizes that he wants what she is offering. Wants and desperately needs at this point.

"I'm very good." She chuckles. "But if you don't think you can handle it-"

"I can!" He interrupts. "I want to."

YN crawls her way onto his bed and closer to him, making her way to lay over his legs, as his breathing picks up its pace.

She gets positioned over his tip and flickers her gaze up to him as she bites her lower lip. He squirms as he lays there, desperate for her to please him.

Her gaze drops down to his dick, and she grabs ahold of his base as her smooth tongue glides up his length. He moans out, not meaning to make so much noise, but the way it feels against his skin sends him into a tizzy already.

"Oh my god."

She licks up one more time, before pushing her lips around him and taking his dick in her mouth. From the feeling alone, one hand jolts down and entangles in her hair, causing her to hum against him.

"Fuck, it feels good." He admits. And it does. It feels better than he would've thought. She takes him in so easily, her soft lips sliding around him as his dick enters between them.

She suddenly pulls off of him and sits back on her knees, pumping him slowly with her hand.

"You know, you're a major asshole to me."

His gaze immediately shoots down to meet hers.

"Umm…" he begins to pant, his dick twitching in her grasp and his heart racing at her statement.

"I haven't done anything to deserve that." She frowns.

He would assume she is furious, except he notices the way her teeth are digging into her bottom lip. Instinct wants him to argue, but his body wants him to shut up so she will continue the pleasuring she is giving him. His body wins over.

"No." He replies, his strong palms moving down to grab onto the part of her knees that are just within reach. "You haven't."

"And you haven't really done anything to deserve this…" She proclaims, squeezing her hand just enough around him to cause a buck up of his hips.

"No, I… haven't…" He breathes out.

"Good. I'm glad we're on the same page."

She quickly drops herself back down and wastes no time taking his dick back into her pretty little mouth.

The sensation flows over him and he throws his head back into the pillow.

"Fuck." He whispers.

The way she begins to use her mouth is as if she knows what he needs. She swirls her tongue exactly how he likes it, and moves her hand to cup his balls, which causes one hand to grab onto her hair again as the other grips onto the pillow underneath his head.

"YN… you're…" He grunts. "Fuck, you're good at this."

Once again, she hums against him, and the vibration ignites his body. It feels so good for him, and he feels his body tensing. He wants to last longer, but with his hand having started things off, and her amazing oral skills, he knows he cannot hold back much longer.

"Shit!" He growls.

"Hm?" She hums, her eyes snapping up to his as her mouth continues to do its work.

"I usually… last longer." He growls. "But m'bout to cum."

By the look in her eyes, he can tell she is smiling around his dick, and his body bucks up.

"Where… can I…" He tries to breathe out.

YN gives his balls a subtle squeeze and moves her hand on top of the one grabbing her hair. She stops her motions, stabilizing herself with her hands on his thighs, and he begins to thrust.

"Oh my god." He moans out.

He continues to pump in and out, as she effortlessly takes him as deep as he can go. It's perfect. She whines out, and his eyes shoot down to her in concern, but he sees her eyes closed. She isn't resisting. She isn't uncomfortable. She's enjoying it, and that sends him over the edge.

His movements get sloppy and his entire body clenches. He squeezes his eyes shut and bites his lower lip as his release rapidly spills down her throat.

He slows down his pace and hears her whimper as she keeps her mouth surrounding him, massaging his thighs as he works through the sensational orgasm coursing through him.

As he finishes giving her every last drop, he releases the hand grasping her hair, and she sits back up onto her knees.

"Fuck." He pants, eyes still squeezed shut. "That was..."

"Outstanding?" She chuckles, and he opens his eyes to see a wide grin displayed on her plump-lipped face, instantly matching it with his own. Usually her arrogance would annoy the hell out of him, but she has every right to be. It really was outstanding.

"Yeah." He nods.

She begins to move around his body, but he gently grabs her wrists and pulls her closer, causing her to straddle his waist.

"What are you doing?" She gasps, propping herself up with her hands on his chest.

"What if I told you… that I want to flip you over right now and give you a good fuck?"

Her mouth drops open slightly. "What?"

Harry's eyes take in her body. She's still wearing her cotton shirt and shorts, and he is so tempted to see what's underneath. He begins to softly glide his palms against her thighs, running them over her hips and up to her waist.

Her breath hitches and he smirks.

"You did something for me…"

"I did it out of necessity…"

"Really? It's not part of your job description to wrap those pretty pink lips around my dick and suck me off."

"Well, it was a lot of work." She smirks, causing his own breath to hitch at her quick wit. He's finding her sexier by the minute.

"Well, you have one satisfied customer."

"Of course I do! That was some of my best work. I knew you'd like it." She smirks again, causing him to grab tighter on her waist and she lets out a sweet subtle gasp. He can tell she is pretending to resist, because by the heat he can feel between her legs, he knows she wants it, and it makes him want it even more.

"I fucking loved it."

His hands dip under her shirt after seeing her smile, and he is enticed by the smoothness of her skin. Without warning, she grabs the hem of her shirt and swiftly pulls it over her head, tossing it to the side.

Harry licks his lips at the sight of her beautiful body, his eyes taking in every inch of the smooth skin. Never in a million years did he think he'd ever be watching her half naked body as it slowly begins to grind on him.

His gaze moves up to her lips. Those pretty, plump lips that were just taking him in and pleasuring him moments ago.

He can't help himself, wanting to know what they feel and taste like, so he pulls her down on top of him, their chests flush with each other.

One palm reaches around to the back of her head, and there is absolutely no resistant as he smashes their lips together. They do taste good, just as he thought.

An arm wraps around her waist and he swiftly rolls over, keeping their lips together as he hovers over her.

His index finger runs down her body and teases the hem of her panties. She bites her lower lip and he slips his hand inside, running it over her center.

"You're already so wet." He whispers, leaning down and placing another kiss on her lips. He smirks when she responds with a whimper, as he swipes his fingers along her folds once more.

He begins to circle her clit and she moans out, causing a twitch in his dick at the sound.

"Oh my god."

He plays with it one more time, then slides his fingers inside of her and curls them up. She moans again, bucking up her hips as he pumps his digits in and out.

"Fuck, YN, I need to be inside you." He exclaims, with a low and deep exhale. "I need my dick inside of you."

"Please." She whines. "I need it too."

He chuckles at her pleas. He has to admit, he likes seeing her like this- squirming at his touch, yearning for more of him, laying there exposed underneath him.

"You were so cocky before, YN. Now… it looks like you're the one who needs the help…"

"Come on, Harry, please!" She proclaims.

That's the first time she has called him 'Harry' and suddenly a rush of euphoria washes over him. It was such a beautiful sound. The desire to hear, see, and feel more from her begins to overwhelm him.

He sits back and grabs the sides of her panties, slowly removing them from her legs. It's a thong. A sexy, little thong. He's glad he didn't know that she was wearing this during the meeting, because he would've been dazed by the thought, and he's confident he will be distracted tomorrow thinking about another one sitting right down the middle of her ass cheeks.

Another twitch of his dick brings him back to the physical activities, so he quickly removes his sweats and briefs.

He teases his tip at her entrance, coating himself with her wetness before pushing himself in.

It feels good. Being inside her feels really good, and he immediately begins thrusting, as if he is smothering his dick with the feeling of her tight, coated walls.

She lets out a strong whine and he is instantly snapped out of the bliss.

"Shit. Y'alright?" He asks, keeping his voice tender with concern.

"Yeah." She pants. "It's just… I knew you were big, since my mouth was just on you, but… I just need a second… to get used to it this way."

The compliment leaving her lips makes his dick twitch yet again, and he adjusts himself so he can slowly, steadily slide in and out of her.

"That better?" He asks, gazing into her eyes to gauge her level of comfort.

"Yes." She nods in response. "And I want you deeper."

"Yeah?" He smirks. "Want my dick to fill you up?"

"Yes!" She moans, her chest moving quickly with each of his movements.

He pushes her knees closer to her chest as he begins to thrust in deeper.

"Yeah." She moans again, the sound inflating every part of his ego. He actually likes knowing he's pleasing her more than he thought he would. More than be usually does during sex. "Just like that, Harry. Oh my god."

"You're so fucking tight, YN. You're squeezing around me perfectly."

"It feels so good." She whimpers.

"How good? Tell me how good I'm making you feel."

"So good, Harry!" She moans, locking her eyes on his as the praise spills out of her mouth. "You're making me feel so good!"

"What else will make you feel good, baby?"

"Faster." She bites her lip for a moment. "Faster and harder."

Her request sends shivers down his spine. She wants it all and he is so intoxicated by her that he's ready to give it all to her.

"Fuck, YN." He grunts, feeling her straighten her legs to rest on his shoulders. "Fuck I'll do it all for you."

He grabs onto her thighs and begins to pound into her.

"Oh god, Harry!"

"Mmm. So fucking good."

He gives everything he has with each thrust in, pulling out quickly so he can do it all again.

He looks back down at her and feels the indescribable desire to be closer. He wants to feel every inch of her.

He maneuvers his hands between her legs and lowers himself down, resting one forearm on the side of her head, as he uses the opposite to hold onto the back of her thigh.

Both of her hands reach around and tangle themselves in his curls. As he continues his deep, hard, fast thrusts, his breath quickens at the intense desire to take her completely.

"God, I want to ravish you." He admits, unsure how his confession will be perceived.

"I can't guarantee I won't scratch and bite…" She replies, causing his hand to instinctually grab tighter onto the back of her thigh.

"But I can guarantee you'll cum."

His lips swiftly move to her neck, sucking every spot he comes in contact with, not worried about the marks that might show during tomorrow's meeting.

She grabs his shoulders and runs her nails down his back, shooting a sensation through his entire body. Once again, it's as if she knows exactly what he wants, likes, and needs.

He kisses back up her neck to her lips again, parting them with his tongue and gliding his in.

Their tongues move in synchronization, as his hands roam her body. His fingers meet with her nipple, and the high-pitched whimper that leaves her lips is enough to encourage him to play with it.

She squirms and moans, causing him to remove his lips from hers and join his hand. His tongue immediately licks her nipple, and a pleasure-filled shriek echoes through the entire room. His palm grabs her breast and provides a better vantage point to suck all around the breast.

Her breaths and whimpers are all he can hear as he moves over every inch of her smooth skin, and gives everything his dick can provide her.

"Ohhh. Harry, I'm…"

"Tell me." He grunts into her ear.

"I'm gonna cum."

"Cum… YN, I wanna…" He grunts again as his movements get sloppy. "I wanna feel it!"

He props her leg on his shoulder and brings that hand up to her jaw, pressing his lips firmly against hers again.

She lets out a vibrant moan, one that could set every fiber of his body ablaze.

"Oh my god, Harry!"

"Yes. Fuck yes."

Her hands run up and grip his hair, tugging on it as her body squirms beneath him.

"H-... Har… oh god!"

Her hips suddenly buck up, getting him as deep as he can go before she drops down onto the bed after one last, beautiful moan of his name.

"Harry!"

"I'm close, baby, I can… in you?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck I'm gonna give you… all of it."

"I want all of it." She whispers.

With that, he spills into her once again, reducing his thrusts as he melts down on top of her, kissing her neck as they both work through their orgasms together.

"Harry, that was…"

"Outstanding?" He chuckles against her skin and she breathes out a laugh of her own.

"Yeah. Outstanding."

He rolls off, leaving them both laying on their backs in bliss, and trying to catch their breath.

"You can, umm, stay in my bed tonight… if you want."

She rolls onto her side and props herself up on her elbow.

"Mr. Styles wants to cuddle?" She giggles.

The sassy, yet sexy expression on her face causes a blush to cover his.

"Forget it." He responds, embarrassment filling him as the reality, and original cause, of what happened reenters his mind.

She scoots closer, running one hand through his tossled hair, then cupping his cheek as she places a gentle kiss on his lips.

He can't fully comprehend what he's feeling, definitely not in any coherent matter at the moment, but he melts at her touch. Then he melts more as she looks into his eyes with the sweetest gaze.

"You want to be big spoon or little spoon, Harry?"

~~~~~

Harry is pulled out of his sleep to the sound of beeping and YN calling his name.

"What?" He asks.

"Can you turn off your fucking alarm?"

"M'sorry." He fumbles around on the nightstand next to him, barely opening his eyes enough to silence his phone.

"Thank you!" She sternly exclaims.

He finally blinks his eyes open to find YN laying in the other bed, hands covering her face and she begins to blink her eyes open. He frowns, not remembering when she left his bed, and a little confused as to why.

"Well good morning to you too." He chuckles, propping his head up on his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, happy that this deal will be done and that I can go back home…"

"Well, yeah." He chuckles again. "But, I mean, how are you feeling about last night?"

She twists her head in his direction and gives him an unsettling frown.

"Dinner was fine."

"Right…" He dramatically rolls his eyes.

"I had a good sleep… if that's what you mean..?"

His heart sinks and stomach twists into knots, as she raises up and gets off her bed, walking towards her suitcase and grabbing her toiletry bag.

Does she regret it? Was she actually disappointed? Or is she just that heartless? She can't be. Not the way she was treating him last night. That definitely wasn't heartless.

"Right, but-"

He scoots closer to the edge of the bed and his hip slides over a large damp spot on his sheets. He looks down and feels around for a clue as to what it is and why she is suddenly acting a little cold towards him.

He examines the bed, the room, and her figure as she heads towards the bathroom.

He suddenly realizes what's going on, and his heart stops as he buries his face in his pillow.

She is in her bed. She is wearing her cotton shirt and shorts. He is wearing his briefs and sweats, and there's a damp spot on his bed.

They didn't have sex.

He looks up to catch one last glimpse of her before she walks into the other room, and his stomach drops.

Nope, they didn't have sex.

He just had a wet dream.

~~~~~

If you like what I post, and want to just send some extra support, I have a ko-fi account. Even the smallest amount is greatly appreciated. There is no obligation or expectation to donate, because I am honestly just so grateful that you're here! 💗 Bee xx

~~~~~

Main Masterlist

Overall Taglist: @watermelonsugacry @tw1nflamebruis3 @slut4lilyrose @pinktakeaway @hopefulwastelandcreation @tenaciousperfectionunknown @his-only-angel-1989 @queenmadi2 @runway-to-my-aid @theekyliepage @be-yourss @harryistheonlyoneforme @b-reads-things @behindmygreyeyes @michellekstyles @a-strange-familiar @yousunshineyoutempter @buckybarnessimpp @spicyscorpsag @msolbesg @sleutherclaw @katiebaxterrrrrr @percysaidnever @thatbitch2828 @mrspeacem1nusone @thurhomish @sushiabby @woanderry @harrystylesrecs @robotrry @vickiii17 @itsbebeyyy @divalovesyou @bxbyysstuff

#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x reader #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles smut #harry styles x you #harry styles enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers #rivals to lovers #enemies to friends to lovers #enemies to friends trope #rivals to friends #harry styles story #harry styles concept #harry styles one shot #harry styles au #au!harry #be with me so happily

[harrysmimi]

CEOrry Pt. 3

Synopsis: One where things get messy but Patience is a virtue

Series Masterlist | More of my work

YN was nervous.

Very nervous to talk to Harry. He haven't got to see her because of her finals, apart from checking up on her through calls and texts. But her convocation is tomorrow and she's got a doctor's appointment for the 12th week.

She's started to show up pretty prominently now, especially to herself.

He's going to be excited, that's bound to be. He's also going to ask if he can feel the baby, though there's a doubt there's anything to feel and that inevitable that he won't ask that. YN's been feeling very uncomfortable in her body lately. Especially when she's gained a little weight. Healthy weight. But on the video call the other day her step mother was the first and very excited to point that out. That caused her father to ask her questions but nothing made him suspicious about anything.

But YN's also gotten obsessed her little baby bump. She should get used to this because she'll have to leave the little one growing in her womb. Which is not something she's really looking forward to. Her friends have been bugging her wanting to touch her belly, which she doesn't really have a problem with but she also doesn't want to be touched. Especially when she's been insecure about her body lately.

It's not the first time. But she's learnt a way to over come it and be confident in who she is and how she is.

Anyway she got into her knock off branded Adidas sweats, an old T-shirt and her dad's jerkin she stole years ago before she was on her way down stairs.

To her surprise, Harry came to pick her alone today. No Jeremy.

"Hey!" Harry beamed watching her get in the passenger seat.

"Hi." She smiled back as she buckled up her seat belt.

"How are you doing? Been long since I saw you." He pulled out of the parking spot, headed to the way of maternity clinic for her scheduled check up.

"I've been good." She shared, "morning sickness here and there, but I'm doing good."

"Why didn't you tell me, YN?" He scolded, lowkey.

"Is there anything you can do about morning sickness?"

"We would have figured something out." He looked pissed now, sort of, "or I could have called Dr. Wilson to see if there is something we can do."

"It's fine, Harry, I'll ask her about it today." She sighed in defeat.

YN have been feeling way too emotional lately. She cried last night because there was no milk for her tea at midnight. Poor Josh had to make a run to the grocery store last minute. Now she usually doesn't cry but she can't help it lately. And she felt bad for even letting her friend go out in middle of the night to get her some milk.

She sat there in silence the whole ride to the clinic, waiting for their turn. Just lost in her own thoughts.

What is she even doing?

Her dad is going to be upset with her, even though she's sure he'll come around and make peace with it. But disappoint someone who's always been so kind and loving and patient with her, her whole entire life?

It is going to be inevitable to hide from him. As her cousin is getting married just two and half months after she's due for delivery. And she has to be there because she's really close the cousin who's getting married. It js hard being around her relatives as it is, and her changed appearance is going to cause a lot of questions.

The truth is going to raise a lot of eyebrows towards her character. No one will understand why she's done what she's done. Nor does she expects anyone to. It's just that she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle all of this.

And surely her step mother is going to be using this against her. She has to tell her father before he hears it from someone else.

It was going to be just like when she started therapy at the age of thirteen. People in her family thought she was going mental. She really had to pull out of it because the bickering and gossiping was getting too much.

And it wasn't like therapy was working for her either way.

Loss of her own mother and her dad marrying again withing two years, shocked her. But she's made peace with it all now. Or has she really?

"YN?" Harry gentle touch on her shoulder brought her back to earth.

"Yes?" She gasped, "is it my turn?"

"No it's not. Not yet." Harry looked st her concerned, "YN, hey love, is everything okay?"

She realised she was crying again, "yeah, everything is fine." She assured him, laughing softly to make the vibe lighter around her. "I'm getting very emotional lately."

"That's okay." He rested his hand on her back, "you can talk to me if anything is bothering you, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded. "I just can't help it. I'm sorry!"

"Hey, come here." He cooed as he pulled her into a warm hug, "it's okay, you can cry. You sure there's nothing bothering you?"

"Mhmm." She lied.

"Okay. We have to wait ten minute, just a little heads up for you." He whispered to her. And she swore she felt a feathery kiss being placed on her hair!

"I'm going to ruin your white shirt, my mascara is not waterproof." She sniffled pulling away politely from him.

The bare minimum is gonna get her in deep trouble here!

He just nodded and sat there. Soon enough ut was her turn. Everything was fine, the baby is growing perfectly, YN's healthy too. No complications as well. Well, her tiny bump was no longer secret to Harry. He didn't say anything though.

And they got new pictures!

"Hey, are you mad?" She asked when they reached his car in the car park.

"No, I'm happy that the baby and you are healthy." He looked at her confusedly and concerned. "Let's go to my place, yeah? We can talk it over lunch. Just not here."

"Yeah."

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

His place looked slightly different.

YN's been to his house just a couple of times. Very humble looking for a millionaire. Just a four bedroom, three story house in a quiet and gated community.

She was very nervous to go to his house the first time when he asked her to meet him there for their agreement. She was also very intimidated by him the first time.

He stood almost a feet taller than her, bulky with his piercing green eyes and serious look. He is always wearing suits, which added to the intimidating vibes. YN found out he's got dimples just about few weeks ago!

Turns out he's a real softie in reality.

YN was very nervous obviously. She looked tired and shaken up. Desparate for help.

Now that he thinks behind he was too harsh on her. Like way too harsh. Interviewing her like he's going to hire her to hold all of his secrets to the grave. Part of him wanted to know all about her because the surrogacy thing doesn't allow him to read much about the personal choices she makes which may affect his future child.

Now, YN had partial idea of what she was getting herself into. She was stood in front of a giant front door to a fucking mansion. Shiny and expensive looking door handle. Two expensive looking pots with actual live plants in them on either side of the door.

She missed the huge dog by the gate which had two security guards dresses in all black who checked her stuff before she was allowed past the gates. She could see the flecks of what was the back yard from the side of his mansion.

Not realising she was stood there for more that several minutes as the door was opened even before she could get s chance to ring the door bell. There he stood, dresses in a baby blue shirt with a white sheer button down underneath it, a black Gucci belt held the pants to on his upper hips, a gold buckle on it. His shirt was partially open with a display of silver cross necklace he wore, and flecks of his chest hair. He stood about a foot or half taller than her there. Piercing green eyes and lucious eye lashes. Straight a prominent nose with lips of the softest shade of pink she has ever seen.

She shook off her thoughts knowing there is 98% chance he's married, wanting kids with his wife or husband or spouse.

"Hi, please come in." He stepped aside so she can get in.

YN clutched onto handles of her bag hung over her shoulders tightly as she walked in. She was expecting the partner to show up any time. She was more nervous for that. Harry asked her to take a seat as he walked in the kitchen asking if she would like anything to drink.

"Just water please." She shared. It didn't take him long to come back out with a glass of cold water and a mug of black coffee for himself. It was almost six in the evening and he was having a coffee.

YN was already sat, carefully on the expensive looking leather sofa clutching onto her bag for her dear life. She's never been this nervo before. Not even for her job interviews. She worked as a teacher at a pre-school for now and worked a second job on weekends and even on week days if she got time. She even saw a green and black files lying on the coffee table with a fancy looking pen.

"So you're really sure you want to do this, Ms. YLN?" He asked.

"Please, call me YN." She said nervously, "and ummm, aren't we going to wait for your partner..." She dragged out the word trying to figure out right words, "... spouse?"

"We won't have to, because I don't have one." He set his coffee mug down. "These are the agreements you can take this and read it please. And we'll work from there."

"That's it?" She was shocked. "You called me all the way here for this?" And now she's confused, because she already agreed to the online agreement she signed on the surrogacy site.

"You might wanna read that, Ms. YLN." He pointed out.

"Yeah, yes, I, I am gonna read it. Obviously." She still couldn't stop stuttering. "I thought you had me over because you wanted to ask few things, that's what your manager told me." She was very scared in that moment.

"Yes, but I figured it wouldn't be necessary." He shared.

YN opened the file to have a read at the agreement which didn't look that long. But it hit her.

"Wait, you clearly don't have a wife or a girlfriend or a partner or whatever!" She couldn't fathom what she was getting herself into, "this baby would be mine as well, unless you have an egg donor. Please tell me you have that sorted?"

"No, I don't." He admitted way too casually for her liking.

That didn't sit right with her. That baby would be hers as well then. She wouldn't want to give up her baby, and in future go on to pretend as if she doesn't have her first born somewhere in the world with her own kids she gets to keep.

Her mind was racing a hundred thoughts per minute as she read the agreement. The clauses had her feel more anxious. She has to quit her fucking job?!

He wad ready to agree on whatever amount she wanted in return!

There is no questions to be asked from the recieving party, where as she is obligated to answers every question. Especially questions related to her health and medical problems or history. It was for the safety of the child.

She can't see the baby after they're born.

"I'm sorry, I, I can't do this." She closed the file and placed it back on the table in from of her. "I can't give up my child like that. I thought you just needed someone to carry your baby for you and your partner. And, and I can't even ask questions?"  She was also on verge of crying. "I, I hope you understand."

"You'll get anything you ask for." He shrugged as if he was making a fucking business deal, "can sign you a cheque for a hundred thousand pounds now and we'll sort out the rest later."

"What? No!" She exclaimed, "you-- can I ask why you want a baby when you're clearly single?"

"You can't." He's very blunt with his answers. "No questions. Just let me know by the end of this week."

"You don't have to wait for the end of the week, I won't be doing this." She stood firm to her decision, "hope you find someone who's ready to work on your conditions, but I can't."

Harry was disappointed but he can't be really. She doesn't agree with it. He can't force her. And YN just left that day.

Just for her to call his manager back up ten days later, in desparation of agreeing but she wasn't going to quit either of her jobs. And that was final. To which he clearly agreed as he had no more patience in him.

And here they are.

His beige sofa and ottomans were switched to yellow sofa and a burgundy and blue side sofa chair thingies. A natural wood stock coffee table with a glass top was set in middle, on a Moroccan rug underneath. Apart from that everything was same.

"You got new sofa?" She asked.

"Yeah." He closed the door behind him after following her inside, "my god daughter, Ruby was over the other day and she spilt her blue paint all over me sofa. It looked like someone murdered a Smurf there." YN laughed at that.

"You want to take a seat whilst I go heat up the food?" He suggested, walking over to the dining area he pulled a chair for her.

"Yeah." She nodded. Placing her bag on the sofa she made her was to the dining area. "You can cook too?"

"No. No, no I can't." He chuckled sheepishly there, "Lizzie, my housekeeper and chef looks after this all."

"You have a personal chef?" YN couldn't believe what he said which shouldn't be surprising in the first place. He hummed to answer her. "Wow you're rich!"

"Well, I like to think that way." He shrugged.

"Some of us have to make our meals and sometimes that doesn't happen too. I'm so jealous of you!" YN groaned, "I want to be mega rich too someday."

"What do you mean that doesn't happen sometimes?" He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her.

"What?" She looked at him nervously. She shouldn't have said that.

Her friends have been there for her recently. At least one of them is to make sure she's had all her meals. Even if that meant cooking for her (she's getting spoilt). YN haven't had to skip a meal because of anything since she found out she's pregnant. But before she could explain all of this, he snapped.

"I told you to move in with me!" He exclaimed, "at least you can have something to eat on time for fucks sake." His voice raised. YN was taken back because she's never heard him this loud.

"Harry, I can't just move in with you." She said, "I'd end up fucking homeless, I have no family here."

"So you think I'm going to kick you out after the baby is born as if I'm some kind of heartless monster?" He scoffed in disbelief, "you think that low of me, YN?"

"I, I never said that." She choked on her breathe trying not to cry, "I'm done. I can't cry in front of you again." She barged out to the living room and grabbed her her bag ready to leave. She lost her patience because he raised his voice again.

"Run away like you always do." He yelled from the other side of the room, "you're so scared of confrontations and talking, aren't you?"

"Learnt from you." She slipped on her shoes.

"YN you step one foot out." He warned her.

"Yeah? Watch me!"

"YN, stop!" He rushed to stop her from leaving, he grabbed onto her hand taking in a deep breath to calm himself down. "Hey, look I'm sorry. I, I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. Let's talk okay?"

"I am not scared of confrontations or talking, okay?" She laid it out clear in front of him, "you jump to conclusions without even listening to the person in front of you."

"Hey I'm really sorry." He whispered, "I wouldn't-- that won't happen again."

"No, stop." She whispered slipping her hand out of his. "Don't talk to me."

"I, I won't. Just please don't leave, okay?" He suggested, "we can just sit here and talk whenever you feel alright."

He heated up the food his chef made and left in the fridge. He usually eats the same thing for dinner so there was enough for the both of them. Eating in silence was really not something he enjoys but it's a better option than to leave things unsaid.

He noticed she barely ate anything, so he ordered something she eats usually. The handful of time they've had meals together and she gets the same thing.

"I don't want you to baby sit me, Harry. I'm not going to share a word!" She warned him. "This is so stupid. It's not like I'd die after skipping one meal. I made a freaking joke!"

"I'm not baby sitting you." He shrugged simply.

"You're making me eat forcefully, you're not letting me go back home alone. That's baby sitting."

"I'm looking out for you YN because I'm your friend, if that's what you call baby sitting then fine." He picked up his empty dishes and walked back into the kitchen, he frustratingly started cleaning the counter top, "I'd rather baby sit you than you passing out on an empty stomach. You know how bad being pregnant takes a toll on your whole body?" She sat there with her head down, still playing with her food and fork.

Of course he's going to look out for his baby.

"I've seen my friends and cousins go through this YN. Whilst I might have not everything but I know." He walked back to her. "I want you to be healthy as well. I want you to know that I don't back off my friendships. I shouldn't doubt you for looking after yourself, I apologise for that."

"Hmm." She sniffled. "And I'm crying again!"

"It's okay." He assured her, "it's alright."

"I, I, I need to tell my dad." She sobbed, "he can't know from anyone else."

"You can tell him." Harry wrapped his arms around her, "it's okay."

"I don't know. He's going to be so disappointed!" Her breath shuddered as she was crying so much.

"I'm sure he's not going to, YN." Harry rubbed her back gently, "you just need to explain it to him."

"You think so?"

"Mhmm." He nodded.

"I want to go home now, please."

"Yeah, I'm gonna take you home." He placed a kiss on her head before he was off to get his keys, "come on."

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

YN contemplated till it was too late for her to video call her dad. So she cried herself to sleep.

The next thing she heard was someone calling for her name softly, feeling a warm hand running up and down on her arm.

Wait... Is she dreaming?

Realising that made her wake up gasping.

"Hey, hey, you're okay." The familiar deep and raspy voice got her back to earth. It is Harry.

"Oh my god!" She sighed. "Please open the window. Please!"

"Yeah." He got up quickly and opened her windows to let the fresh air in and just as quickly got back to sit on the edge of her bed. "I didn't mean to scare you. Kayla let me in, wanted to come in and check on you."

"The baby is fine Harry." She sighed falling back in bed, pulling up her blanket to her chin as she tried to fall back asleep.

"YN, you still think I don't care about you?" He sounded so defeated, "you matter more, YN, okay? I've come in to check on you because you seemed so upset and anxious yesterday. Please, I need you to understand I'm not doing this just because I only care about my baby. You're my friend now!"

"Right." She nodded, "I want to sleep more still please, I'm very tired."

"Don't you have a convocation to go to?"

"It's today?" She asked, "oh my god, it's today!" And she realised it herself. "What the fuck, what the fuck!" She got out of bed in panic.

"Hey, be careful." He warned her.

"Get off my bed, I need to fix it!" She scolded him.

"Let me do it." He stopped her. "You go get ready. You've got barely three hours."

"No, it's fine let me—"

"I said go get ready, YN." He grabbed onto her arms to steady her, gently. "I'm going to be your escort for tonight."

"I don't an escort."

"Trust me you will, when Kayla and Julia are busy with their dates." With that he left her room.

"Harry, I don't need an escort!"

"I know." He called from the living room, "now chop-chop darling. You're going to be a Doctor of Philosophy today."

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

YN got ready as fast as she could. She couldn't waste much time.

Being pregnant is already getting to her head, she could barely imagine how she'd be when she's much further in. She was locked into her bathroom getting ready.

Her bedroom door doesn't lock up as the previous boy who lived there had it broken, some drunk college students were hooking up in his bedroom. Josh was super mad for that giy to even throw a party whilst the other three of the roommates were gone out of town.

Least to say, YN never got it fixed nor did their landlord. He's a dick!

Just as she was about slip on her dress, she glanced at herself in the mirror. She hates looking in mirror but she saw the little bump.

Well, she's practically naked, stood in her mismatched knickers and bra. Usually she's feel sexy, without even looking at the mirror. Mirrors are just self-districting weapons.

But she felt different there. Her body was growing another life inside of her. It was part hers. She shouldn't and she couldn't help but her resting her hand on her bulging belly.

Wait... She can't let this happen again. This time it's going to be worse, she'll have to give up the baby. They will live and she won't ever get to see them again.

Taking in a long breath she quickly put on her dress and fixed her already styled hair. She's not going to let this ruin her special day. She was out of her bathroom and room immediately gathering all her stuff like when you don't think you need a basket or a trolly at the store.

"You want me to help you?" Harry rushed to gather her jacket and her bag she uses everyday. "What have you got in here?"

"I am perfectly capable of taking my own stuff." She rolled her eyes and walked to kitchen to fix herself a sandwich real quick.

"We're going to get breakfast on the way love, don't worry about it. Now come on." Harry ushered her out.

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

Least to say, Harry was happy seeing YN all bubbly and happy today. She was giggling with her friends, and he didn't quite felt like an outsider. Especially with Julia and Kayla shooting daggers at him with their eyes.

"Hello, Dr. YN YLN, nice to finally meet you. I'm Harry Styles." Harry introduced himself formally.

"Likewise, Mr. Styles." YN shook his hand but ended up in fit of giggles and went in to hug him tightly. "Oh my god, I can't believe this!"

"I know." He wrapped his own arms around hers, "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you!" She squealed, "thanks for saying that!"

"Of course, darling." He pulled away to look at her beaming at him. He knew she was about to tell him something but someone called for photos. But at the end she came to him asking him to take her pictures on his iPhone.

Later he found out YN and her friends were skipping on partying lile crazy tonight, they had to go and start working their butts off for Kayla and Josh's wedding. YN being the maid of honour and Julia being the only brides maid, they both had many responsibilities.

Now Harry wanted to talk to about some things. He also wanted to ask her if she's feeling any better about this situation she's in. He could clearly see how much her father matters to her. And most importantly she still seemed mad at him this morning.

The party was getting intense and if he was being honest he missed going out to parties. Corporate parties loose all their glory after a certain period. But he was also enjoying seeing YN so happy, seeing how her friends were taking care of her despite being a bit tipsy at this point.

Well, the girls were drunk their arse off when he first found YN at one of his clubs with her friends, they wouldn't let go of her. He craved that kind of friendship!

But the place was becoming more crowded, though he didn't wanted to take YN away from the fun he kept an eye on her side. He saw YN carefully making her way towards him to where he was sat by the bar.

"Hey." He beamed at her. A glass of red wine in his hand which looks like it's untouched. That was his trick so no one asks to buy him a drink or try to flirt.

"Hey, can you please take me back to my place?" She asked, "I would stay but I'm very tired and I want to sleep."

"Let's go then, yeah?" He kept his glass on the counter and stood up buttoning his blazer, lead her to the back door.

"How do you know this way?" YN was confused.

"I just know." He shrugged. "You want to get anything before we drive to yours?"

"No, I'm good." She nodded.

Harry turned off music in his car as he saw her falling asleep there.

He had a nice day with her. But he was still not able to get out the feeling he has been feeling from yesterday. She haven't said a word about it to him, maybe she forgot?

He reached her flat way too quickly for his liking. He parked his car on the side of the road, contemplating if he should wake her up. She looks so peaceful whilst sleeping.

"Hey, YN?" He called for her softly which was enough to wake her up luckily, "we're here at your place."

"Oh, I'm sorry I fell asleep." She shook her head to wake herself up properly, "thank you for driving me back."

"Of course, darling." He smiled, "do you want me to help you with that?" But he still got out quickly and got her graduation gown, cap and her bag for her from the back seat. "Come on, I'll walk you upstairs."

"Sure." She shrugged.

Honestly, she was too tired to even walk herself up the stairs alone with that much stuff in her hands. She could use the help he was offering.

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

"YN, can I have a minute with you before I go? Please?" Harry requested as he set down YN's stuff in her room.

"Mhmm." She nodded and sat down on her bed to take off her shoes. She had swelling in her feet even this early in the pregnancy.

"I want to talk about yesterday." He crouched on the floor in front of her to help her taking off her shoes, "I didn't mean to make you upset YN, I promise. I, I, I guess I've been so bad with protecting people my relationships in my life. I, I don't, I don't want anything to happen to the little one, or you. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you've become a good friend of mine. And I know food can be a bit of a sensitive subject for some, I'm sorry if I hurt you in anyway like that. I didn't mean to take the joke in a wrong way."

"Why would you say it like that?" She was confused. "I mean the relationships thing, or am I still not allowed to ask you questions?"

"Let's just say I'm too scared to let people in my life." He smiled sheepishly as he looked up at her through his lashes, "even though I manage to annoy you-- unintentionally!-- I'm sorry for that."

"It's just my hormones going all haywire. I'm very patient, I promise." She smiled at him, "and I get it now, so you don't have to apologise. In fact I am sorry, I overreacted yet again, and you have to put up with my shit."

"Yes, I have to apologise, but you don't." He said with a firm tone as he set her shoes aside. "Whilst I can't know what you're going through, the least I can do is try to understand. I just hope I'm good enough of the little one."

"You'll be an amazing dad to this kid, Harry, I'm sure of that." She assured him as if she can look into future and she sees him and this kid living the happiest life imaginable.

"I'm going to hang onto that." He nodded, he can have that hope with him.

He knows, he shouldn't be doubting himself now even though he's been ready for this for years. He isn't doubting about anything, but he's just nervous, that's all it is. He has everything he could, read every parenting book under the sun, talked his friends who are parents and even his own mother; who always told him that she can never be fully ready to be a parent. No matter how many books his reads or how many TedTalks videos he'd binged.

He's heard that some people don't feel that instant connection with their new born, he's afraid of all the what ifs? which comes along with it.

"Do you want to feel your baby, Harry?" She asked.

"You, you sure you'll, you'll be comfortable with it?" He was a little surprised to say the least.

"Yes, I am." She nodded.

Harry hesitantly placed his hand on her baby bump. He gasped, even though he couldn't feel the baby yet, he'd yearned for this moment for years. It hit him that the baby wasn't moving until he realised his thumb was rubbing circles on YN's stomach.

"Can, can you feel them move?" He panicked.

"Not yet, I read that babies start moving for about sixteen to eighteen weeks." She explained, "there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay." He sighed in relief, "I can't believe this." It was pretty evident he's happy that his eyes were tearing up quite a bit, tip of his nose turned a light shade of pink.

"Well it's happening." She tried not to laugh at his adorable reaction, "I'm so happy for you, Harry, and thank you for helping me."

"Don't have to mention that, darling," he gave her squinty eyed smile to keep his tears from escaping. "Thank you for letting me... you know, feel the baby bump."

"Your welcome." YN chuckled.

"Did that come out wrong?"

"No, you're very cute that's all." She shut her eyes for a moment as realisation set in.

"You think I'm cute?" He smirked cheekily.

"I meant to say annoying." She straightened her posture, failing to make the situation less awkward for herself.

"Hmmm, sure." Harry chuckled. Dimples denting deep in his cheeks as little crinkles become more prominent at the corners of his gorgeous eyes, his bunny teeth showing. He smiled truly from within in front of her. Maybe it was the first time. "You need me to get you anything before I leave?"

"Yeah, can you get me a bottle of water from kitchen, please?" She asked sheepishly.

"Sure." He stood up from his place on the floor.

He padded his way down to the kitchen and grabbed a reusable bottle of water for her from the fridge, it had her name on it, and many other reusable bottles with her and her friends' name on it. He closed the fridge door, just as he was about to leave he saw a picture of YN stuck on the door with a rose magnet. Along with three more pictures, but this one intrigued him more.

It was a picture taken with a disposable camera, a man who looked to be YN's dad. She looked to be about twelve to thirteen years old in her school uniform and her hair tied in two braids with red ribbons, a little six year old boy who looked exactly like her sat in her lap in his own school uniform, everyone smiling wide for the picture. Her dad was wearing the same jerkin she's got with her.

He wondered where her mum was.

He made his way back to her room after all, keeping his thoughts and questions to himself to not unintentionally make her upset with his curiosity. He placed the water bottle on the night stand.

"Oh my god!" He got scared when he felt something rubbing against his leg, it was a ginger cat. "You scared me." He scolded the cat as if she's going to give a fuck about what he says.

The feline jumped up on YN's bed and curled up into a ball, paws tucked under her chest as she fell fast asleep.

"You have a cat?" He asked once he saw YN come out of her bathroom in her PJs.

"Oh no she's not mine." YN smiled, "she's Noodle by the way, Kayla's fur baby. She likes to stay with me."

"I've never seen her." He was so fascinated by the cat.

"She's a senior cat, she's likes to stay in Kayla's room. Noodle is a smart cat, she knows when I'm getting ready I'll be heading out so she's in her mother's room." YN explained. "She probably came in here noticing that I'm here. I don't go anywhere much so we became good friends."

"I never knew I had a competition!" He chuckled.

"Unlike you, she doesn't piss me off. Especially when I'm all hormonal." She scoffed jokingly, rolling her eyes.2

"Did you just rolled your eyes at me?" He looked genuinely surprised and mildly offended.

And she did it again!

"Did you eat my chocolate cake or something, took you long enough to get a bottle of water?" She asked sitting down on her bed.

"There was a chocolate cake?" He acted as if he was going to go devour it in that moment.

"Don't you dare!" She warned him earning a few laughs.

"Your picture caught my eye. On the fridge." He shared.

"Mhmm." She nodded taking a sip from her water. He took a seat next to her when she said nothing else, being careful of the cat of course!

"Do you mind me asking what are you doing tomorrow?" He asked, hesitant and mildly scared.

"I have to teach a crowd of teenagers tomorrow, like everyday." She shrugged.

"No, I meant after." He corrected himself quickly, "I should have worded that right."

"After I'll be going out with Kayla for her wedding dress shopping, and after that... I have nothing to do, why?"

"Do you maybe want to come over to mine?" He tried to be subtle, "I, I, I'll have my god daughter over as her parents will be going out. She, uhhhh, she can be handful some times."

"You baby sit too?" She was intrigued, but she's also pulling his leg.

"I'm her god father so I have some responsibilities." He shrugged, "but I could use some help."

"Hmm, sure." She nodded.

"Okay, I'll ask Lizzie to make something for you too for dinner." He tried his best to hide his excitement there. "I think I should leave now."

"I'll walk you to the door." She offered.

"You don't have to, I'll see myself out."

"I have to feed the cat and lock the door. Those bastards aren't coming home tonight, I know that." YN explained as she followed him out, almost bumped into him when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"You'll be alone all night?" He turned around.

"I'll be fine."

"YN, I can't--" he sighed, "I don't want to leave you alone this time."

"I'll be fine. I promise." She assured him.

He didn't wanted to force her but he also didn't wanted to leave her alone. After what happened that night, he doesn't want to leave her alone. It is going to bug him all night now.

He bid his byes with her for the night, before he was headed back to his place.

It was nearly two in the morning and he couldn't sleep. Even after drinking two cups of sleep tea. He almost picked up his phone to call and check in on her but soon realised she must have falled asleep. He doesn't want to disturb her.

She'll call him if she needs anything. She did last time.

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

Tag list:

@vrittivsanghavi @buckymydarlingangel @sweetwritingfanficfriend @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @sleutherclaw @melllinaa @michellekstyles @sunshinemoonsposts @marialikescherries @japanchrry @onlyangelrain @supersanelyromantic @tenaciousperfectionunknown @haarrrys @originalsoulcollector @harrysgirl-1d @lomlhstyles @im-an-overthinker @moonys-star @blackbookwhore @tenaciousperfectionunknown @stilesissaved @allthelovehes @novalunosising @sunshinemoonsposts @harryssky1

Lemme know if you want to added to the tag list

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles writing #harry styles imagine #harry smut #harry styles fic #harry styles abo #harry styles blurb #harry styles concept #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fiction #ceorry #ceo!harry #ceo!harry styles #dadrry #dad!harry styles #dad!harry #boyfriendrry #boyfriend!harry #Mimi's ceorry #desi harries #fluff

[justice4canyonmoon]

I’m begging you for a smut where either Y/N or Harry comes home with something sexy pierced (nipples, tongue, etc) and surprises the other.

soooo uh this request might have been sent in almost two years ago... I'm so sorry! But I've been in a writing type of mood, and we're finally here! thank you @victoria-styles for sending this in, even though it took me ages to answer. I hope it's worth the wait

warnings: smut!!!! 18+ only :) nipple play, piercing kink? handjobs, sub!harry, softdom! reader

wc: 830

Harry has a lot of tattoos. That’s a well known fact. Every time he came home with a new one, you would just smile and shake your head.

“How do you even have space for any more of those, H?”

He would just smirk and say, “Know yeh like ‘em, baby.”

But he had never had a piercing, and he was sort of curious about it. He didn’t want to do something boring though, like his ears, but he didn’t know what to get. 

“Think ‘m gonna get a piercing,” he mentioned to you one day.

“Should pierce your nipples,” you joked.

He laughed, “Yeh know how damn sensitive they are. Don’ think I’d be able to handle it.”

But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted it. He imagined what it would feel like to have your tongue swirl around the cold metal, and the more he imagined it, the more it made Harry desperately need to feel it.

Mitch went with him to the tattoo/piercing parlor that he tended to frequent, and he could only snort in laughter when Harry told him what he was going to do.

“You sure about that, man? Feel like it would feel weird.”

Harry shrugged, “Can’t hurt much more than the tattoos.”

Though he usually came home late, Harry came home even later than you were used to. You were practically asleep on the couch when he came home, but you were startled awake by the sound of the front door opening and his keys jingling in his massive hands. 

“You’re late,” you mumbled sleepily as he scooped you up in his arms.

“Sorry, baby. Was at the parlor.”

You rolled your eyes, “Another tattoo?” “No,” he replied, “the piercing I was tellin yeh about.”

“Show me in the morning. ‘M too sleepy.”

You were asleep in his arms before he even made it to the bed. Harry chuckled softly and pressed an affectionate kiss to your forehead. He got ready for bed, choosing to sleep shirtless so you’d see his little surprise in the morning, before crawling in beside you and wrapping his arms around your waist.

You woke up to sunlight streaming through your open curtains. You glanced over and saw Harry perched in one of your chairs, sipping tea while texting someone. While his pretty face and gorgeous curls shone in the daylight, you could only focus on one thing.

“You actually got the nipple piercings?”

He turned toward you with a mischievous grin, “You told me to.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” you walked over to him, “how much did it hurt?”

“Not too much,” Harry answered honestly, though his eyes were trained on your face, taking in the darkening of your eyes and the way your tongue slowly wet your lips.

“Kind of hot,” you murmured, “mind if I touch?”

He swallowed, nodding as you sat in his lap, placing his tea on the bedside table. Your pinkie finger trailed from his shoulders down to his chest. Very gently, you hooked just the tip of your finger into the small ring and tugged ever so slightly. You were pleased with yourself when you felt him bite back a moan, trapping his bottom lip with his teeth. 

“Why you trying to be quiet on me?” you teased, gently tugging on the other ring, “make all the pretty noises you want.

“Fuck,” he exhaled, “gonna be the death of me.”

Your lips copied the trail your fingers created, until your mouth was right above his left nipple.

“But what a way to go,” you whispered against his skin before giving him what he wanted.

Harry couldn’t help the whimpers escaping his lips even if he wanted to. The feeling of your tongue on the sensitive bud was making his cock spring to life. You tugged on the piercing with your tongue, swirling it around the bud before sucking every so lightly.

“Fuck,” he cursed again, “so good.”

You smiled, dipping your fingers below the waistline of his pajama pants, “Definitely glad I suggested this.”

He swallowed again, nodding as your hand stroked his cock with teasing, feather light touches, “Y-yeah. ‘S nice. So horny.”

You giggled, “Can barely even make words already, sweetheart. I’ve barely even started.”

“It’s too much-” he cut himself off with a moan as your thumb swept over his swollen head before latching onto his other nipple, sucking lightly around the cold metal.

Harry was on the edge before he knew it, but when he opened his mouth to tell you, all that would come out were desperate whines of pleasure. He came hard, gasping your name in broken syllables as ropes of cum coated your hand. You worked him through it, letting his nipple fall out of your mouth as you murmured sweet nothings to him.

“Shit,” he gasped as he came down from his high, “we’re doing that more often.”

You smirked, “Was already planning on it.”

#harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles story #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles fandom #harry styles blurb #harry styles writing #harry styles one shot #harry styles smut imagine #harry styles request

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! Really enjoyed the Harry is gay post, very well researched! Are there any other characters in the series you would also think are gay? Don't wanna say anyone just yet, just want your unfiltered opinion

Hi!

Thank you so much!

Can't say I have other characters I feel as strongly about their sexual preferences. A large part of it is what Harry chooses to pay attention to. So, I don't have much evidence for anyone else, but I can say who I think is likelier to be gay (or at least not straight) from textual evidence. Some of them go into headcanon territory, but here they are, off the top of my head and in no particular order:

1. Dumbledore and Grindelwald

I'm pretty sure these two are canon, so I don't need to say much. But:

“Yes, even after they’d spent all day in discussion—both such brilliant young boys, they got on like a cauldron on fire—I’d sometimes hear an owl tapping at Gellert’s bedroom window, delivering a letter from Albus! An idea would have struck him, and then he had to let Gellert know immediately!”

(DH, pages 308-309)

Gellert— .... (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) Albus

(DH, pages 309)

“Grindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to someone just as bright and talented he was. And looking after Ariana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans for a new Wizarding order and looking for Hallows, and whatever else it was they were so interested in.

(DH, pages 480)

2. Sirius Black

I think Sirius might've been gay, or at least bi. It goes into headcanon territory, but I think Sirius used to be in love with James. He just always gave me that vibe. (I don't think they were ever a thing, I think Sirius took his feelings for James with him to his grave).

Here are some quotes that gave me the feeling Sirius is not interested in anyone but James:

Harry saw Sirius give James the thumbs-up. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.

(OOTP, page 642)

“He kept messing up his hair,” said Harry in a pained voice. Sirius and Lupin laughed. “I’d forgotten he used to do that,” said Sirius affectionately.

(OOTP, page 670)

Plus, Sirius' general fixation on James and his constant reminiscence about him. And the two-way mirror they made just for them cause they couldn't handle an hour apart in detention:

This is a two-way mirror. I’ve got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you’ll appear in my mirror and I’ll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.

(OOTP, page 858)

But we don't really know about any romantic interests Sirius may have had. So, it's more of a headcanon than anything.

3. Dean Thomas

I think Dean Thomas is bi (not gay, I think he did like Ginny). And I have only one qoute evidence for it, but it's a really funny one and I don't think I've seen anyone mention it so I'll put it here:

He certainly wasn’t the only one who was sorry to see Professor Lupin go. The whole of Harry’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation. “Wonder what they’ll give us next year?” said Seamus Finnigan gloomily. “Maybe a vampire,” suggested Dean Thomas hopefully.

(POA, page 429)

Dean Thomas clearly read whatever 1990s version of Twilight that exists in the HP universe and wants a love triangle paranormal romance with a werewolf and a vampire.

4. Draco Malfoy

I think he was a little too obsessed with Harry. Like, I don't actually ship Drarry, but I can definitely confess Draco was way too interested in Harry for it to not appear a little gay.

He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum. “Oh wow,” said Neville enviously as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand. “We saw him right up close, as well,” said Ron. “We were in the Top Box —” “For the first and last time in your life, Weasley.” Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Evidently they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar. “Don’t remember asking you to join us, Malfoy,” said Harry coolly.

(GOF, page 168)

Draco literally comes to find Harry on the train, uninvited, every year (except 6th). Throughout their time at school, he also makes an active effort to seek out Harry to a level that is kind of ridiculous. It always looked to me like Draco was desperate for any sort of attention from Harry.

Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione’s had done.

(DH, page 444)

Considering how loyal unicorn hair wands like Draco's are, it seems Dravo feels more friendly about Harry than he likes to pretend.

5. Aunt Muriel

It sounds weird, I know, but I have a reason here. So, Muriel is from the same generation as Dumbledore, more or less, from her words in DH. And we know, back then she had expectations to marry and have children as a (seemingly) pure-blood witch. Those expectations would've been prevalent when she was a young woman in the early 20th century, even among the less blood-purist families.

The fact that she didn't seem to have settled down with a husband and children implies she wasn't interested in doing so. This allows a reading of her as either interested in women or not interested in sex or marriage in general.

6. Alphard Black & Cassiopeia Black

For the same reasons as Muriel. Neither Cassiopeia (born 1915) nor Alphard, Sirius' godfather (born circa 1927-ish) married or had children. This is something that would be expected of them, so the reading of them as not straight is very plausible.

So, that's it. These are all the characters that off the top of my head I could give textual evidence for a not straight reading of. I don't have as much evidence, and that's why I consider this more headcanon than theory. Obviously, people can headcanon wherever, these are just the ones that I could recall evidence for.

#harry potter #harry potter thoughts #hp #hp thoughts #hollowedheadcanon #asks #anon asks #anonymous #sirius black #dean thomas #draco malfoy #albus dumbledore #gellert grindelwald #alphard black #cassiopeia black #aunt muriel #hp headcanon

[longitudinalwaveme]

My Thoughts On Each Long-Term Writer of the Flash, Part 1

Over the years, the Flash comics have been written by a huge number of writers, with their own strengths and weaknesses. In this post, I am going to give a rundown of all the major Flash writers and talk about the high points and the low points of their runs. In order to qualify as a major Flash writer, the writer has to have written at least four or five issues of the Flash (so fill-in writers don't count).

Keep in mind that much of this is subjective and based solely on my personal opinions. Also keep in mind that I will be harder on the more recent writers than the Gold/Silver/Bronze Age writers, since the older writers were writing during a time when there was much less editing and continuity than there is today. As such, I don't expect as much from their stories as I do from more modern writers.

I'll begin with the original writer for the Golden Age Flash, Gardner Fox, and move forward chronologically from there.

Gardner Fox

Positives

First, and most obviously, Gardner Fox was responsible for creating the Thinker, the Shade, the Ragdoll, the Rival, Jay Garrick, Joan Garrick, and the Flash identity itself. Without Gardner Fox (and artists Harry Lampert and E.E. Hibbard), there's no Flash. This pretty much makes him Flash's most important writer by default.

Introducing the Multiverse. When Gardner Fox started writing the Silver Age Flash, one of the first things he did was introduce the new Flash, Barry Allen, to the original Flash, Jay Garrick. He did this, of course, by establishing the concept of the multiverse. Earth-1 and Earth-2 existed in the same place in space, but vibrated on different frequencies, and each world had its own Flash. It was a brilliantly ridiculous sci-fi way to have both Flashes coexist, and it enabled Jay Garrick, and the rest of the JSA, to return to the DCU.

Writing female characters. For a Golden/Silver Age comic book writer, Gardner Fox generally handled female characters really well. Notably, during his run on the Golden Age Flash, he had Joan Garrick in on Jay's secret from the start, and he was also the writer responsible for ensuring that Barry Allen would, in turn, tell his wife Iris about his secret identity (by having Jay and Joan come visit Barry and tell him to stop keeping important secrets from his wife). He's also Iris' best Silver Age writer, insofar as he made her the most supportive and least nasty. So thank you, Gardner Fox, for being better at writing female characters than most of your contemporaries. (If you want to see the worst example of female characters in the Silver Age, check out Robert Kanigher's Wonder Woman. It's something else.)

Utilizing humor. This was especially noticeable during the Golden Age, where the Flash's adventures often resembled slapstick comedies, but Gardner Fox was also good at using lighthearted humor in the Silver Age (as highlighted by his particular affinity for the Trickster, whom he wrote four separate stories for).

Writing plots. Golden and Silver Age comics have a somewhat justified reputation for being wild, random, slapdash affairs, but, in spite of their light-hearted humor, Fox was actually good at writing solid plots. "The Flash of Two Worlds" is an all-time classic, and I've never read any story of his where it didn't feel like he was putting in effort to create an entertaining, internally consistent story.

Negatives

Honestly, besides being bound by the comic conventions of his time, Gardner Fox doesn't really have any noticeable weaknesses as a writer. The only thing I can think of that isn't something that basically applies to all Golden/Silver Age comic writers is the fact that he might have been a little too reliant on slapstick humor sometimes. That's how we got "The Real Origin of the Flash" (the story that attempted to give the Flash his own Mr. Mxyzptlk style character, but failed miserably) and some of the more tiresome Three Dimwits plots. But still, all in all, Fox did a really solid job on the title.

Robert Kanigher

Positives

Kanigher wrote Barry Allen's origin story, and created him, Iris, and I guess the Turtle Man (not the Turtle---he was created by Gardner Fox) as well. The lightning bot/chemicals origin is absolutely iconic, and may in fact be the best superhero story Kanigher ever wrote.

Before that, during the Golden Age, Kanigher also created Jay Garrick's foe the Fiddler.

Kanigher is....well...he's definitely got some original ideas. Totally nuts ideas, but original ones nevertheless. If you want the perfect example of Silver Age insanity, Kanigher is your man.

During the early Bronze Age, he managed to put out some well-meaning, if very awkward, stories that addressed social issues. They haven't aged well, but at least he tried. And to be fair, his female character do get slightly better in this time period as well.

Negatives

His female characters are painful to read. It's not as though this was something unique to him, but even by the standards of other Golden and Silver Age writers, he was pretty bad. Again, see his run on Wonder Woman for proof. More specifically as far as the Flash is concerned, he's the one who got the ball rolling on Mean Silver Age Iris.

With the exception of the origin story, where he seemed to catch lightning in a bottle, all of his Silver Age Flash storylines fall into one of two categories---they're either boring and generic, or they are completely bonkers, off-the-wall insane. Silver Age Flash is actually one of the more restrained Silver Age comics, so Kanigher's off-the-wall stories stick out like a sore thumb. For the best example of this, check out the first story in Flash #161, "The Case of the Curious Costume". And then, to maintain what's left of your sanity, check out the much better second story in the same issue, Gardner Fox's "The Mirror With 20/20 Vision". (I bet you can't guess who the villain in that story is.)

"Iris Allen is FROM THE FUTURE!!!!" Admittedly, there are several stories that came out of this reveal that I do like....but this revelation would end up tying the Flash Family tree in knots later on down the line. And it's also just an insane revelation in general, especially for the early Bronze Age.

John Broome

Positives

95% of the Flash's main villains. Captain Cold? Mr. Element/Dr. Alchemy? Mirror Master? Gorilla Grodd? Pied Piper? Weather Wizard? The Trickster? Captain Boomerang? The Top? Abra Kadabra? Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash? Heat Wave? All of them were created by John Broome (alongside artist Carmine Infantino). All of them. And all between 1957 and 1963!

The Rogues. John Broome was also the first writer to have more than two of the Flash villains team up into an organized group. (Gardner Fox had had Captain Cold and Trickster team up in an earlier story, but Broome was the first writer to bring together the team that would eventually become the Rogues we know today). He was also the man who created the Rogues' tailor, Paul Gambi.

Developing Barry's supporting cast. Broome introduced Wally West as Kid Flash (and wrote his hilariously lackluster origin), his parents, Nora and Henry Allen, his childhood sweetheart and current movie star, Daphne Dean, Iris' absent-minded father, Ira West, and Dexter Myles, the ex-Shakespearean actor who would become the curator of the Flash Museum. He also introduced Ralph "The Elongated Man" Dibney and Ralph's wife Sue, who would go on to to get their own stories but who would remain long-time friends with Barry and Iris, and Rita, another friend of the couple's, who would marry a reformed Dr. Alchemy/Albert Desmond. (Broome wrote Albert's reformation story, and also introduced his friendship with Barry.)

Solid plotting. While Broome's stories are still full of wacky "science" and questionable character decisions, as all Silver Age stories tend to be, he was quite restrained by the standards of his era (compare Silver Age Superman comics to Silver Age Flash comics and the difference will be apparent immediately.) He actually writes very solid and entertaining stories most of the time, and "The Doorway to the Unknown" is one of the best Silver Age stories I've read, period.

Negatives:

The whole "Should I Tell My Wife I'm the Flash?" thing. The relationship between Barry and Iris is easily the weakest link in Broome's lengthy run on the Flash. Iris is often excessively mean to Barry (up until around the time when they get married and Broome thankfully has her mellow out), and Barry refuses to tell Iris that he's the Flash---even after he marries her! Granted, she finds out on their wedding night because he talks into his sleep....but still! He doesn't consciously tell her that he's the Flash until they've been married for a year! It's not always terrible---there are some comics where Broome writes them well together (especially after 1964 or so), but on the whole he kind of dropped the ball on their relationship. I would be harder on Broome for this if it wasn't for the fact that I know what was going on with Superman and Lois Lane in the Superman books (which Broome was not writing, so far as I know) at the same time. That relationship makes even the worst moments of Silver Age Barry and Iris' interactions look healthy.

Too many alien invasion plots. I know it was the Silver Age, and everybody was fighting aliens, but hoo boy did John Broome write a lot of stories where the Flash fought off generic, interchangeable aliens. They're not all terrible stories---a few are even pretty good---but having the Flash fight such generic foes gets quite tiresome when it happens about once ever six or seven issues.

Frank Robbins

Positives:

Uh...Flash #184, "Executioner of Central City", is an interesting enough story with some fun time-travel stuff.

Without "The Threat of the High-Rise Buildings", we never would have gotten the amazing lying Silver Age cover that is hippies beating up the Flash:

Negatives:

Flash #180-181. The Flash visits Japan. Incredibly painful stereotypes abound. And, on a less painful but still cringeworthy note, so does bad slang. Just skip it. You'll be much happier for it.

Flash #184 is his only good story for the Flash. Admittedly, he didn't write that many...but still.

Mike Friedrich

Fleshed out Barry's personality a little more. Namely, he established that Barry is afraid of roller coasters, and wrote a hilarious story where Barry plays every role in Hamlet at once after the rest of the cast gets sick (I'm partial to this one because I love Shakespeare).

Wrote a really solid Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash story called "Time Times Three Equals----?", in which Sargon the Sorcerer tricks Eobard into thinking the Flash is dead for convoluted mystical reasons, and Eobard promptly takes off on a round-the-world and through-time crime spree. It's actually kind of awesome.

Negatives:

I can't think of anything off of the top of my head, other than the fact that his stories don't really stand out to me. With the exception of the Professor Zoom story, he didn't really get the chance to use any of the major Flash villains. So he's not bad, he just didn't write enough to really make an impact on me as a Flash writer.

Cary Bates

Positives:

Arguably the first true fan-writer. He grew up reading the Silver Age Flash, and he clearly loved and knew a lot about the characters. Fanboy writers don't always work out, but in this case, Bates' knowledge of the characters helped him write them really well, and flesh out most of the character well beyond what personalities they had had up to that point.

Wrote a very solid Barry/Iris marriage. They felt like a real couple, with real arguments and disagreements, but they also clearly loved each other and relied upon each other to get things done.

Used the supporting cast well. In addition to ensuring that Dexter Myles, Paul Gambi, Daphne Dean, and Barry's parents continued to make appearances, he also added many new supporting cast members, including Stacy Conwell, a college student who boarded with Barry and Iris for awhile, Barney Sands, Barry's 12-year-old neighbor who was just as big a fan of comics as Barry himself, Patty Spivot, Barry's fellow police scientist, Frank Curtis, an undercover detective who became friends with Barry, and, after Iris' death, Barry's neighbors Mack and Troy Nathan (Mack was a scientist at S.T.A.R. labs), Police Chief Darryl Frye, and Barry's almost-second wife, Fiona Webb. Bates did a really good job a creating a full supporting cast for Barry and Iris, and it helped make the world seem more inhabited.

Bringing back the Rogues. As Broome and Fox had retired, the Rogues had started being pushed to the wayside before Cary Bates brought them back into the spotlight---and then gave them some of their best stories ever. For a few of the Rogues, he's still the best writer they've ever had. Also, while the Rogues had technically become a team under Broome's pen, it was Bates who really solidified them as friends, rather than just the Flash's Secret Six. He had them have conventions together, attend funerals for each other, bail each other out of trouble, and fight the Flash together. They still operated independently sometimes (a fact most modern writers neglect to have them do), but they were now inextricably linked with one another in a way no other team of comic villains ever would be. I also really like the dynamic Bates' Barry has with the Rogues. It's this sort of bemused, mildly impressed frustration that's just great.

Introducing the Golden Glider. Cary Bates created what was, for the time, a downright terrifying villain in the Golden Glider, and, in doing so, subverted (probably inadvertently) a lot of the tropes that tend to accrue to female villains. She was meaner, smarter, and more ruthless than all of the male Rogues, and it's a bit of a refreshing change of pace to see a woman seeking revenge for the death of her boyfriend rather than the other way around. She was also one of the first Flash villains, and the very first Rogue, to uncover the Flash's secret identity. In spite of this, however, she was still quite feminine in a lot of ways, being very beautiful, quite flirtatious, and fond of jewelry. It's a unique combination of traits that you don't often see even today, and it's a bit sad that Cary Bates remains the best writer the character has ever had.

Creating other new villains. Besides the Golden Glider, Bates also created Rainbow Raider, whom I adore, the Clown, Colonel Computron, Clive Yorkin, and the Eradicator, the last two of whom are actually very effective and scary in their respective story arcs.

The Top is alive and well in Henry Allen! It's the best Top story ever written, and I love it.

Able to write both very serious and very humorous stories. Cary Bates was totally nuts sometimes, but he definitely had range in terms of tone, and could write humorous stories and very dark stories with equal effectiveness.

Negatives:

I'm honestly not sure whether this is really a negative or not, since I find the story to be kind of hilarious, but there is this one issue early in Cary Bates' run where he literally writes himself into the comic and has himself help the Flash defeat the Trickster. (We also learn from this issue that in the Bronze Age, Central City was located where Athens, Ohio is in the real world. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cary Bates is an alumni from Ohio University in Athens.)

"Joe Scudder and Roscoe Neyle". Cary Bates was awful at remembering characters' names. He called Mirror Master both "Sam Scudder" and "Joe Scudder" in multiple separate issues, called the Top "Roscoe Neyle" once, called Patty Spivot "Pam Spivot" a few times, changed Albert Desmond's father's first name from Peter to either Herbert or Herman, called the Pied Piper's mom, Mrs. Rathaway, both "Rachel Rathaway" and "Hazel Rathaway" (within the span of like three panels!), combined the Pied Piper's real name (Hartley Rathaway) with his alias name (Henry Darrow) a few times, gave Barry's dad Henry a new first name at least once, and called the Reverse Flash "Eobard Thayne", "Eobard Thawnye", and "Professor Adrian Zoom". And there are probably more examples I can't remember. This is really only a minor gripe, and it is fun to play the "let's see whose name Bates messes up in this issue" game, but still...Bates forgot a ton of names.

A few too many supernatural shenanigans. Cary Bates was really interested in the paranormal when he was writing his run on the Flash, and while it often led to good stories (like the Top ghost story and the story that introduced Alvin Desmond), I feel like he still fell back on the paranormal a few too many times. The best example of this is the psychic girl, Melanie, who was in the "Death of Iris Allen" arc and just felt out-of-place in it, but it popped up a few other places as well.

Fiona Webb. Fiona Webb was introduced as the Flash's new love interest after Iris' death, and her story was basically one giant trauma conga line. She wasn't a terrible character (she wasn't annoying and seemed nice enough), but her relationship with Barry didn't get enough time to develop organically, and it felt like they got engaged far too quickly. Maybe it would have been better if they had continued dating for awhile, first, even if it meant delaying Eobard's dramatic attempt to murder Fiona at her wedding. I am, however, at least relieved that she ended the first Flash run fully recovered from her mental breakdown. It would've been pretty unpleasant if he'd just had her have a breakdown and then never spoken of her again.

Big Sir: While I'm glad the story goes out of its way to establish that he's a good person whose disability and mental problems don't make him evil (he has to be manipulated by the Rogues into fighting the Flash), this character was handled very poorly for the most part. He was also part of the broader...

Trial of the Flash Arc: There are a lot of good individual stories during this arc (the last four issues in particular are great), but as a whole, it just drags on for way too long. It's not entirely Cary Bates' fault, since he was in the middle of the arc when he found out that the book was getting cancelled, and his only two options were to end the arc as he had planned and try to wrap up the entire series with a truncated new storyline, or to drag out the trial plotline until the series ended. However, that doesn't change the fact that the trial quickly becomes the least interesting part of the actual Trial storyline, or the fact that this story lasted for something like a year and a half in real-world time---which I guess does make it the most accurate fictional representation of a trial in terms of the length of time it took to get to the trial. Aside from its length, however, the courtroom drama is both unrealistic and not especially exciting (the looming threat of the Flash going to prison for murder is exciting, but the legal drama is not, in part because the prosecution lawyer isn't very interesting). Also not helping things is the fact that by the time the Trial arc began, Cary Bates was editing himself. Thus, there was no one around to help steer him and the story in a less drawn-out direction. It's just a big, padded, drawn-out mess of a storyline---though I am thankful that it at least had a really solid, satisfying ending.

Mike Baron

Positives:

His first issue, where Wally runs a heart across the country to a patient who needs it for an operation, is excellent.

Baron writes a good Vandal Savage.

Wally is instantly memorable as a character. He's not necessarily likeable for most of Baron's run (more on that later), but he does at least stand out in your mind.

Introducing the Chunk (a living black hole who became Wally's friend) and Kilg%re (a living computer program). Both of them were fun characters.

Negatives:

Baron's Wally is a real jerk most of the time. He's overbearing, he's arrogant. he's obnoxious, and he's frankly kind of sexist at points. It makes him a little hard to read sometimes.

Wally's parents are humongous jerks. I actually don't mind the Wests being abusive parents (especially since we really didn't see that much of them Pre-Crisis, and we know that Wally has a lot of problems with Impostor Syndrome and depression), but they were very prominent in this run, and neither of them were likable---or scary/intimidating/cool---enough for you to want them to get as much page time as they did.

In fact, almost no one in Baron's run is particularly likable most of the time. It makes for an unpleasant read.

Wally having an affair with a married woman who's got to be at least ten years his senior is...uncomfortable. Mainly because I'm not sure that Baron thought this was a bad thing or not. Messner-Loebs writes it as a mistake on both characters' parts, but I don't know if Baron thought it was, too.

William Messner-Loebs:

Positives

Messner-Loebs made it clear that the reason Wally was acting like a jerk was because he was suffering from depression and impostor syndrome, not because he was shallow or selfish. He also dialed the sexism waaaay back (thankfully) and had Wally develop out of his jerk tendencies over time and learn to become a better hero.

Messner-Loebs also introduced a bunch of great supporting cast members for Wally. He brought back Joan Garrick, made frequent use of Chunk, reintroduced the Pied Piper as a reformed champion of the downtrodden, had Tina McGee and her husband reunite with one another and become friends with Wally, and introduced Mason Tollbridge, an old jack-of-all-trades who helped Wally out from time to time, and Connie Noleski, whom Wally dated for awhile. An at-the-time-reformed Captain Cold, Golden Glider, and Heat Wave rounded out the cast. Most importantly, though, he introduced Linda Park, a no-nonsense TV reporter who would help Wally grow up and who would eventually become his wife.

Flash #19. The whole thing. Wally partying with the Rogues (after the Trickster invites him to their party as a gag) is one of the best comics ever written. It's hilarious from start to end.

"No One Dies" is one of the greatest Flash stories ever. It's so good.

Tackling social issues well. Messner-Loebs' run is one of the few comics I've seen handle mental illness with any grace (his story about postpartum psychosis is really good, and Wally actually goes to therapy!), and his handling of homelessness and the importance of helping people in need is very well done. Messner-Loebs seems to have a lot of compassion, and it's very cool to see it represented in his stories.

Hope. In Loebs' run, people---and situations---get better.

Negatives:

Mary West makes a few too many appearances. I get that she's supposed to be obnoxious, but....she's really obnoxious. Also, the plot where she falls in love with and marries a secret agent was confusing.

After her first appearance in Flash #19, Messner-Loebs begins to write the Golden Glider as though she's bordering on "comic book crazy" (i.e., erratically violent and somewhat unstable). It's at least somewhat restrained under his pen, but it's setting the groundwork for later writers to write her very poorly.

This one isn't really Messner-Loebs' fault, but his run does get interrupted by unnecessary crossovers several times, which have a tendency to disrupt his storylines and are generally not particularly well-written (likely because he didn't really want to write them in the first place). It's especially notable because most of his run is relative quiet and domestic.

Mark Waid:

Positives

Mark Waid knows his stuff. He is a fanboy writer, and it shows in his delightful references to older Flash stories (The Life Story of the Flash is a particularly good showcase of this fact).

Waid writes an excellent Wally. Wally goes through a ton of character growth and development over the course of his run, and I love the snarky sense of humor he has.

Linda Park and Pied Piper are both handled very well by Waid---especially Linda.

Waid writes a very solid relationship between Wally and Linda. Like Iris and Barry under Bates' pen, they have realistic arguments and disagreements, but also clearly love and support one another.

Waid's use of the Speedsters as a team works very well. Wally, Jay, Max, Bart, Johnny Quick, and Jesse Quick all play off of one another well, and all of them are likable. The idea of a Speedster lineage that spreads across all of time is also cool.

The Speedforce. It's so important to the mythos that I can't not include it, even if a lot of later writers misused it.

Waid properly introduced the second Mirror Master, Evan McCulloch into the Flash comics, and in Flash vol. 2 #105, no less!

I appreciate that Waid brought Iris back to the present from the future, since that made it easier to use her in stories and let Wally talk to his aunt more regularly.

Many of the stories have very high stakes, so there's usually a lot of excitement during Waid's run.

"The Return of Barry Allen" storyline is excellent. I think it's one of the three best Wally stories (the other two being Flash vol. 2 #19 and "No One Dies", the story where Wally throws himself out of a plane to save a falling stewardess).

Waid writes my favorite Trickster (James Jesse). I love the reformation arc he gives him, and his mischievous nature is a delight. He also introduced Mindy Hong and James' son, Billy Hong, both of whom sadly only appeared once.

Waid's Kadabra is effective, cool, and scary----most of the time (more on this later).

Even though he was never properly utilized---and I'm not sure he ever could be, given how overpowered he is--I liked Tony Gambi (aka Replicant) a whole lot. The idea of Paul Gambi having a nephew whom the Rogues treat as a surrogate son is adorable.

Savitar was a very threatening villain, and the idea of a speedster cult leader was interesting. His design was ugly as sin, but he was Waid's best original villain.

Negatives:

Too much Kadabra. I like Waid's Kadabra, but he shows up as the main antagonist of big story arcs on at least three separate occasions.

Wally and Linda got separated from one another a lot. It was impressive when Wally escaped the Speed Force to save Linda the first time, but after the third or fourth time he escaped something similarly unescapable to save her, it did get a little repetitive.

Many lackluster antagonists. It really says something that both the soulless Zombie Rogues and the stupid brown-haired Chillblaines were more interesting as characters than a lot of the villains Wally fought during Mark Waid's run. Like Razer. Or the Alchemist. Or those alien guys. Or those other alien guys.

Having Kobra be the main antagonists for the storyline that included vol. 2's 100th issue also seemed a bit strange. Why not have Grodd or some other pre-established Flash villain be the antagonist for such an important milestone? Admittedly, this one is a bit of nitpick.

Waid doesn't seem to know how to write McCulloch. In Flash vol. 2 #105, he writes him as being very violent and grim, and in all his other stories, he writes him like he's Sam with an accent.

"Barry Allen had a SECRET EVIL TWIN!!!!" I would've loved this plot if it had been established in the Silver Age, and tolerated it if it was from the Bronze Age. But this plot twist was written in 1999, and it's accompanied with this weird sense of grimdark gravitas that just makes the whole thing impossible to take seriously. It also doesn't help that "Cobalt Blue" is a terrible villain name, or that Cobalt Blue's biggest achievement is being the ancestor of two guys---Eobard Thawne and Inertia---who are way better villains than he is.

Everything about how he handled Lisa. Waid really seemed to have no idea how to write the Golden Glider. First, he leaned hard into Messner-Loebs' take on her and made her completely comic-book crazy, and then he pointlessly killed her off to make the blonde-haired Chillblaine look scary for an issue before killing him off too. It was such a pointless waste of her character.

The Top. Weirdly enough, "Top possesses the body of a senator, becomes the running mate of a popular presidential candidate, and plots to use his position to eventually eliminate his running mate and become the President himself" sounds like an amazing Top story on paper....but in practice, Roscoe just feels off for the entire storyline. He doesn't really act like himself, and, as if that wasn't annoying enough, Wally and James both act like there's no way Roscoe could come back to life or be a threat. Even though he tried to blow up half the world, tried to blow up all of Central City, and once came back to life by possessing the body of Barry's dad. Why are they acting like he was a harmless joke?! Trickster worked with Top on a regular basis and was there when the Top posthumously revealed his "I'm going to blow up Central City" plan! They should not be so casual about this!

In fact, except for Trickster and Pied Piper, Waid didn't seem to know what to do with any of the Rogues. He killed them off in Underworld Unleashed, and, while he had the good grace to admit that was a bad idea and bring them back to life a year or so later, he still didn't seem to know what to do with them. For some reason, he was convinced that there was no way to write them seriously (even though he didn't have the same problem with Trickster or Kadabra).

I wasn't a fan of the way Waid discarded so much of Messner-Loebs' supporting cast. A lot of those characters were interesting, and it's a bit sad to just see most of them discarded in favor of the new cast of mostly speedsters (even though, as mentioned, I do like the speedsters).

Grant Morrison and Mark Millar---Obviously, they're two separate writers, but their year-long run was a team effort, so I'm talking about them together.

Positives:

Grant Morrison's "The Suit" and "The Human Race" are both totally bonkers, but in the best possible way. I'm particularly fond of how much "The Suit" feels like a Silver Age issue.

Similarly, the story about Jay Garrick is heartwarming and sweet. Morrison does a really good job writing Jay.

Morrison gets to write Evan McCulloch, which is always a delight. No other writer ever quite manages to capture the magic of Morrison's McCulloch and his perfect Glasgee burr.

The Black Flash is a really cool concept.

Negatives:

The Black Flash storyline, unfortunately, is kind of a confusing, disjointed mess. It's really hard to follow what's supposed to be happening.

The "Three of a Kind" storyline, which features Heat Wave, the Green Lantern villain Sonar, and some guy I've never heard of named Hatchet sinking a cruise ship and killing a bunch of people in an attempt to revive Dr. Polaris for some reason, is terrible. Mick is very out-of-character here. He's usually not nearly so violent. Even setting that aside....how and why did he start working with Sonar and Hatchet? He's never worked with them before. And why did they want to revive Dr. Polaris? I know they said they needed a leader, but why did it need to be him? Why not just go find Lex Luthor or somebody? I'm sure Lex Luthor wouldn't turn down three guys with high-tech guns. And joining him wouldn't have required them to sneak Dr. Polaris' comatose body onto a cruise ship and then forcibly take said ship to the Arctic Circle. Ugh, so many questions...

Geoff Johns

Positive:

Geoff Johns does a really good job of making the Twin Cities feel distinct from the rest of the DCU.

Geoff Johns also does a really good job writing the Rogues. He fleshes them out and gives several of them detailed backstories; he's also the one who created Captain Cold's Rules and the one who really brought the team back to prominence. He also really amped up Weather Wizard's powers.

Johns introduced a lot of cool new villains, including the new Trickster (Axel Walker), Captain Boomerang Jr. (Owen Mercer), Peek-a-Boo, Fallout, Double Down, Murmur, Girder, Plunder, Blacksmith, Tar Pit, and Cicada. I like some of these characters more than others, but all of them have a definite narrative purpose, none of them are completely boring, and they expand the Flash's villainous roster in a good way.

Officer Chyre and Detective Morillo are great supporting characters for Wally. I love their odd couple partnership.

It's cool to see Cyborg in the Twin Cities and helping Wally in the first half of the run.

Warden Wolfe and Iron Heights Penitentiary are good additions to the mythos. Wolfe is a great antagonist in that you really want to see him taken down a peg.

Wally and Linda's relationship continues to be solidly written.

I liked the way Geoff Johns established Hunter Zolomon as a supporting character, then gradually turned him into Zoom through a series of tragedies, mental problems, and bad choices. It made for a very effective---and scary ---antagonist.

Wally's twins are born (after an initial miscarriage). Jai and Irey are adorable and I love them.

The idea of Iris Allen raising Weather Wizard's baby son is adorable. In fact, Weather Wizard having a baby in general is a hilarious idea that a more comedically-inclined writer could have used to great effect. But instead....well...more on that later.

Wally continues his character development.

Negatives:

While I actually enjoy Johns' "Wonderland" arc, I also think it's weird and confusing in a lot of places, and it's doubly weird that he later retcons about a quarter of what he establishes here.

Johns' Magenta felt slightly off. Not so much so that she was totally out of character, but I've never felt like Johns quite had a grasp on what she's supposed to be like.

Pied Piper's trauma conga line was....a bit much. Granted, not all of his suffering was Johns' fault (Flash: the Fastest Man Alive and Countdown, I am looking at you), but it was still a lot, and it seemed almost like Johns wanted to break up his friendship with Wally by putting Piper through said conga line.

James Jesse...FBI agent. Another concept that sounds amazing on paper, but was executed very clumsily. The issue with FBI James isn't that he's with the FBI...it's that he suddenly starts acting like a self-serious bureaucrat for no apparent reason. And that he's dumb (and cold) enough to think that making a zombie Captain Boomerang via corpse desecration is a good way to defeat the Rogues. It just doesn't seem to mesh with what we know of James...and that's not even going into the retcons....

Backstory Retcons. Geoff Johns likes retcons. He really, really likes retcons. And he especially seems to like retcons that involve adding murder into the Rogues' early history for some reason. Like how Mark killed his brother (albeit by accident). And how Digger killed his stepdad at his mom's funeral. And how Sam Scudder apparently killed some random person during a burglary before he became the Mirror Master. And how the Top apparently killed more than eleven police officers during the Bronze Age. And how Mick Rory burned his family, another kid's family, and everyone in the circus he worked in alive in fires (this one's not technically a retcon, since strictly speaking it doesn't contradict anything that we already know, but it definitely doesn't mesh smoothly with Mick's origin as it was presented in the Bronze Age). And how Evan McCulloch shot his father (without realizing that it was his father), which caused his mother to commit suicide (again, not really a retcon, but included for completion's sake). Sometimes I worry about Johns....

Roscoe's Mind Control. And then there was the Mother of All Grimdark Retcons, in which we learned that Barry Allen had had the Top brainwashed into being a good guy, that the process had driven him insane, and that he had then attacked the other Rogues and tried to brainwash them into becoming good guys too. Wally has Zatanna lift Roscoe's brainwashing, which makes him sane again, and shortly thereafter he lifts his own brainwashing on James, Mick, and Piper (though Piper manages to stay good through Wally's help). All that character development Mick, Piper, and James have had? Forget that, it was all just Roscoe's mind control! Even though Roscoe never had mind-controlling powers before this story. And even though the way this timeline works, Roscoe would had to have been brainwashed, go crazy, brainwash his friends, commit ghost suicide by exiting his host body, somehow become sane and escape the influence of Zatanna's mind control, return to life by possessing the body of Senator Thomas O'Neil, almost become the president, get attacked by the soulless zombie Rogues, go crazy again, and then somehow fall back under the influence of Zatanna's mind control (because she can't have removed it if it was no longer there). That makes no sense. And that's not even going into the fact that, while you're looking at the timeline of events, only Mick actually reformed around the time that Roscoe possessed Barry's dad. All the other Rogues didn't even start flirting with reformation until after Barry was dead. It's one of those retcons that kind of makes sense on the surface, but makes less and less sense the more you think about it.

Posthumously Fridging the Golden Glider. I really love Captain Cold's spotlight issue. It's a great story for him. The problem is that Lisa's function in the story (the dead little sister he's sad about) is the only role Johns seems interested in having Lisa play. He thinks she's more important to be dead so Len can angst than alive to actually---y'know---be a character. Also, he seriously downplays her romance with the Top, as well as how fiery and mean she could be.

Everybody hates Roscoe, apparently. Johns doesn't much care for Roscoe. That's fine. Everyone has characters they don't like. The problem is that Johns deliberately writes the character to justify his dislike of him, and then has him killed off. Now, to be fair to Johns, Roscoe is indeed a jerk. The problem with Johns' Roscoe isn't that he's a villainous jerk----it's the fact that he's treated as uniquely separate from, and worse than, all the other Rogues. It's also implied that the Rogues never much liked him, but they all seemed to get along with him fine back in the Silver and Bronze Ages (with the apparent exception of Len, who was probably already bitter about Roscoe dating his sister---and even Len didn't hate him in the way that he does under Johns). Also, Roscoe really isn't that much nastier than Evan, or even Mark, and both of them are Rogues in apparent good standing. And, while I actually like the idea that Roscoe is something of an elitist and likes literature and classical music and fine wine, it's a bit odd for Johns to add that to the character, treat it like it was always a part of his character, and then have Len kill him for it. Basically, the issue isn't that he's a jerk....it's the fact that he's at odds with the other Rogues in a way that he never was shown to be before (the only exception was when he died and tried to blow up the city out of revenge/spite, and even then we saw them remembering him with some fondness after his death---toasting him, naming a anti-Flash device after him, etc.).

Needless grimdark deaths of important supporting characters. There are many examples, but the worst ones were, roughly in order of increasing horribleness, Blacksmith shoving a painting into Rainbow Raider's chest and killing him, the whole Captain Boomerang subplot of Blackest Night: the Flash, and having Inertia kill Weather Wizard's infant son.

In speaking of the horrible Blackest Night Captain Boomerang subplot....having Owen suddenly decide that he's A-OK with killing women and small children and feeding them to his zombie dad (I just realized that Johns wrote two different plots featuring a zombie Digger. That's a bit weird). Prior to this point, he had pretty much become one of the good guys, so this sudden shift into horrible evil just came out of nowhere and made no sense.

Captain Cold: Spotlight Thief. So, Geoff Johns really, really, really likes Len, and he writes him well (for the most part). The problem is, this means that he has a bad habit of focusing on Cold at the expense of the other Rogues, and that he sometimes writes Cold as though he's the only Rogue capable of being intelligent or competent (Flash: Blackest Night is probably the worst in this regard, but it shows up elsewhere in his comics too). It gets a little frustrating after awhile, no matter how great Johns' Len is. Worse, this habit of Johns of writing Len as the most important Rogue would eventually lead to other writers focusing on Len even more, and to them treating the other Rogues like they're Len's henchmen instead of his teammates. It's all very frustrating.

#flash comics #flash rogues #long post

[autumnbrambleagain]

edit: rant edited to reflect how Snoot Game treats gender identity b/c i hadn't really done more than look at a few convos about it

I'm GBH, Goodbye Volcano High got like, the worst fucking shake

Disclaimer, I haven't played it (there is a very special irony in this that i'll get into in a bit), but I've watched people on youtube play it, and I think it's. Fine? It's fine. But everything surrounding this game, everything that happened to and around it, it's fucking wild. I've never seen a game get such a poor serve-up on the tennis court before.

It gets put up on the big console premier along huge AAA budget games. That's rough. A small intimate-scale VN about the end of the world as a metaphor for growing up and leaving highschool and changing and also a non-metaphor for the world ending as itself a metaphor for the new generation entering into what feels like an absolutely hopeless, pointless future (spoilers: the future is pretty fucking dire (the present is already fucking bad))?

Those are some rough themes! That isn't doomchief and master slayer punching guys! And not to denigrate doomchief! These are some ROUGH themes and the trust that those themes will be handled WELL isn't something you want to give out so readily! Those are themes that are easy to fuck up! Fair! But still. Oof!

To have your relatively small scale game put up as a launch title alongside mass-consumption AAA games. Ouch.

I'll admit: the art style was pretty rough, it's really rough on first look. I made fun of it too.

Then it comes out the MC is enby, that it deals with queer themes, and 4chan-esque folk go nuts over it. Snoot Game comes out which, apparently, seemingly, actually not bad! A lot more ironic but with serious themes handled, apparently earnestly, and it's overall... good!? Even some critical accounts suggest it isn't, at least, bad? Whichever: it comes out faster than GVH does, so it now has a parody-competitor dealing with the same themes, but not just as a JOKE but actually putting effort into it too. Like. That's the thing. Snoot Game DEALS with strong themes of growing up, of becoming a person, it DEALS with the themes GVH is saying it will deal with... and it uses the characters to do it too.

And it does it, by some accounts, WELL.

Ouch!

Granted Snoot Game is from 4chan and apparently I'm now reading one of the themes is Fang accepting they're a woman and they were just being enby to try and be different, and while it seems like it DOES handle it very seriously, and like, the game seems to penalize you for being shitty about their gender, and like, detransitioning IS a thing! I don't want to give TOO much trust to a 4chan-derived game either. I'm literally enby, but I also wasn't always enby, but like. Having a game where the message of "you were only trans because you were pressured into being different", it's, ehhhhhhhh not great no!

TBH without going through Snoot Game I can't really speak about it but Snoot Game overall isn't the main point, the main point is:

Some people are already now primed with associations and expectations, you already have a doppleganger as your competitor. OUCH.

So like.

Pretty rough.

And while Snoot Game, from the compressed summaries of it I've seen, seems to actually have honest heart and love in it in its final form, a lot of people just seem to be along for the hate-ride against GVH at this point because "eww the alphabet rainbow furries."

And then the writer has to step down because they found out she's into child por--wait, it was just 3d animations? That someone else made? That she was watching and criticizing as part of an article on how dumb video game porn is?

Oh. See, there's a difference between "the author is an active pedophile" and "the author watched a Harry Potter porn animation to write an article on the concept of video game porn," but in our modern era there's really never a distinction. Drawing something bad is the same as doing it in real life. Looking at it at all is the same as doing it in real life. If you see a woman's ankle on the street, make sure to head immediately to confession or God will judge you for the rape you have committed in your heart.

We live in such a media-literacy dead-end zone that people are calling the original Lolita book child porn. We live in such a media-literacy dead-end timeline that people are saying the only media that should be permitted to exist is happy comfort fluff where nothing bad ever happens because if you make bad things happen in fiction it means you're an evil villain :3 i'm not an evil villain, though, i don't watch bad media!

So of course it's fine to ruin careers because that's not EVIL. I didn't look at the BAD media so I CAN'T be evil. So you know, we have this modern purity pandemic of people thinking they're heroes for getting people to kill themselves because they drew or wrote "the wrong kind of thing" and are therefore EVIL and we're in a post-DnD world the cultural well got poisoned by DnD's secular take on evangelical protestantism's absolute morality of saved-vs-nonsaved. You're Lawful Good, you know you're Lawful Good. Whatever you to do Chaotic Evil people? That's fine. You can do whatever you want to them. You're Good.

Anyway, then it gets delayed to remove all her influence from the game, because at this point, even admitting you know what sex is online seems to be enough to ruin anything you touch tbh. Humanity's doing great, btw.

Like I can find twitter posts of her apologizing for "hurting people" by having seen harry potter porn. Your species is insane, just btb.

GVH finally comes out quietly and everyone's so fucking. MAD at this game. Hardcore 4chan whateverfolk hate it because there's queers and highschoolers. Other people dislike it because Snoot Game already came out and now GVH feels like fanfiction of THAT to them. They already met these characters, enjoyed them written like they were in Snoot Game, so how they come off in GVH feels worse. And you know, sure! That's a rough fucking shake when a fanfiction comes out before your actual release and it's good! For others it's tainted because a ""sex perver"" had worked on it. For others the art style and that it premiered alongside big name AAA games as a launch title was enough to slot it firmly in the derision zone. For some, because the queer community cannot NOT devour its own tail, it's doing queerness wRONG (Fang's parents MISGENDER and DEADNAME them!!! you can't put that in a game that deals with gender as a theme!!!!)

And then you have people who don't care about ANY of that, who are upset that everyone dies in the end and "your choices didn't matter", despite your choices affecting your relationships with the other characters. Granted? Sure! More actual endings beyond the end-of-the-world concert would be great! But comparing it to Mass Effect 3 where NOTHING mattered because the Reapers destroy everything and you pick one option at the end and their implied consequences before like 4 different changes to the ending came out to retcon "oh yeah everyone in the galaxy is stranded, everyone probably dies anyway, you accomplished nothing everyone's still dead" ? ?

The world's ending. That's the point. It's what you do with the time left that seems to be the point? Yeah? No? I'm not saying it HIT that theme well, and I'm not saying it actually failed at it either. I honestly think it did FINE. The criticism i keep seeing is "everyone died so nothing mattered." Buddy. Buddy. YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. Please do not let that convince you that nothing you ever did mattered.

Among all that it came out buggy, apparently, and the music minigame isn't like. Super. Good. Doesn't matter too much if you do well or not. Not greatly designed? So you know. The game also has just general internal problems too mechanically, so people without a dog in the race just don't enjoy playing it? Like, the art style was all on the creators, like, it's... it's not GREAT I'll be real! It's really weird. It's humans in those latex dolphin masks the memes weren't off base even i was laughing at it and groaning at yet another piece of media whose theme was "leaving highschool is like the world ending"

but like.

GVH isn't like. I dont' think this is some great amazing the best game ever. The art style's grown on me but in the way where you learn to ignore how it looks. But like, I see people complaining it's too whiny--wait, the characters aren't depressed ENOUGH about the world ending--honestly, honestly,

I think I like it? I haven't played it but I've watched it and I think I like it. I'm not like, this is probably the last day in a while I'll ever even think about the game, it isn't going to stick with me for years and years, it didnt' make a big impact on me--but I liked it well enough???

At this point, my default assumption at this point is if someone strongly openly firmly dislikes this game it's not at all for any good reasons--or rather, that it's not on the value of the game in-and-of-itself. This poor game was saddled with all this WEIGHT on top of it. Can you even dig it clear of this external context and examine the game itself for what it is anymore?

I'm writing all these words and like. I haven't PLAYED it i've just watched other people play it. I'm not even BIG into the game it's like... it's okay!

But oh my god I cannot get over what a fucking. BAD serve-up the game had leading to its release and just beyond. Oof. Ouch. God. That's real rough, buddy. I have never seen something get this POOR a serve. What an absolute rough, ravage, unfair birth for a thing into the world!

I think if the game congealed out of the aether (and maybe with a more... better art direction?) it'd be fondly remembered in small quantities?

Instead it's just... the actual game itself is just BURIED under all this mess.

It's fucking fascinating to me, honestly. It's far more fascinating what happened to this game than the game itself at this point, and that, too, isn't very fair to the poor game. I, too, am here not to talk about the game, to care about the game, to have anything to say about the game. I am PART of this problem I'm talking about. Instead of addressing the game I'm talking about the context that was built around it.

I'm here because I remembered the drama, looked into all the drama, then went to watch the game and, after seeing ALL of that, EVERYthing I read through to get to the game itself, actually seeing the game was just... like... for this? All of that, for this?

Huh.

#long #autumn says things #autumn rambles

[madamegemknight]

I've finally watched the Muppets 2011 with my dad, and it was a blast!! I love its sense of humor (seriously, that Muppet man joke had me CACKLING), and it's so heart-warming in its simplicity and having a good time despite the trials the Muppets went through... I feel like I can't wipe this smile off my face (ehe)

Do you have any other Muppet or puppet media you'd recommend? I thought I'd ask you since you're the resident puppet expert, and I've been wanting to get into more puppet-related stuff :P

OH YAYYYY I’m so glad you liked it!!

And I do have other Muppet/puppet media I would recommend, thank you so much for asking (and gosh I am incredibly flattered you consider me the resident puppet expert). This is going to be LONG (sorry about that in advance), so under the cut it goes!

First off, I’d recommend the sequel to Muppets 2011, Muppets Most Wanted! It’s about the Muppets going on a world tour after getting back together in the previous movie, only for a criminal mastermind named Constantine (who looks exactly like Kermit) to hijack the tour, sending the real Kermit to prison and pretending to be Kermit so he can hide from the law and use the tour as a chance to steal the Crown Jewels. It’s a really great comedy heist that’s also an INCREDIBLE musical, and it has the same humor and sense of heart that Muppets 2011 has. I haven’t seen it in a while, but I have incredibly fond memories of watching it with my sibling when we were younger, and I think you would really enjoy it.

I would also recommend the original Muppet Show! I haven’t finished watching it yet (I’m on season 4 of 5 at the moment) but it’s a really fun show that serves as a love letter to old vaudeville theater and is just consistently entertaining. There’s no overarching plot and you can pretty much watch any episode in any order, though I would suggest that if you’re interested in checking it out, you watch the Harry Belafonte episode first - it’s regarded by a lot of fans (including me) as being the best episode of the series, and gives a very good idea of what the rest of the show is like.

(Also I HIGHLY recommend you watch the pitch reel for The Muppet Show, which you can find on YouTube here. It’s not essential viewing by any means, but it’s very funny and gives a bit of context for what the field of entertainment was like at the time the show was pitched)

The original trilogy of Muppet films are also absolutely stellar. The Muppet Movie is the story of how the Muppets got together, The Great Muppet Caper is essentially an AU where Fozzie and Kermit are brothers working for a newspaper and trying to prove Miss Piggy innocent of a jewel robbery, and Muppets Take Manhattan is essentially an AU where the Muppets were all friends in college and are trying to put on a show in New York. The original trilogy films are really fun in my opinion because they play fast and loose with what’s real and what’s fake; Kermit admits at the beginning of The Muppet Movie that it’s only an approximate retelling of how the Muppets actually got together, and the other two movies in the trilogy are telling completely separate stories than the main Muppet timeline, with The Great Muppet Caper even having an entire song devoted to telling the audience that it’s just a movie and that it isn’t actually canon. They all have INCREDIBLE soundtracks, too, the songs from these movies are some of my favorite Muppet songs ever.

Fraggle Rock isn’t really considered a piece of Muppet media anymore, since when Disney bought the rights to the Muppets they didn’t bother buying it as well, but it was originally a Muppet production and all of the stuff I watched as a kid referred to it as a Muppet production, so I’m counting it as a Muppet production still lol. Fraggle Rock is an absolutely amazing show on all levels; the puppetry is great, the songs are all stellar, the characters are so well-written, and despite being a show aimed at kids it never talks down to its audience, handling serious issues like death and prejudice with the respect they deserve. It’s probably best to go into Fraggle Rock as blind as possible (unlike The Muppet Show, there is an overarching story, though you don’t really find out that there is one until towards the end of Season 1) so all I’ll say is that it’s probably one of my favorite Muppet productions ever and that the finale, without exaggeration, made me cry for 30 minutes straight. There’s also a Fraggle Rock reboot called Fraggle Rock: Back to The Rock, and while I personally don’t think it’s as good as the original series, it’s still REALLY amazing and you can tell that the team working on it really cares about the og series. If you do end up watching Fraggle Rock, I’d recommend the reboot as well!

Getting into a bit more obscure territory here, but Tales From Muppetland: The Frog Prince is very near and dear to my heart. It’s a Muppet retelling of the Frog Prince fairytale, with the twist that the princess has been cursed by the same witch that the frog prince has been cursed by! The relationship between Prince Robin and Princess Melora is really cute, and it’s clear that the two of them really care for each other. I love the changes that it makes to the original fairytale, too; I mentioned the twist of Melora also being cursed, which gives her and Robin the chance to bond and leads to a very sweet song about finding someone who understands who you are and what you’ve gone through, but the story is also altered so that Robin explains why he needs Melora to kiss him instead of hiding the fact that he’s a prince from her - she doesn’t believe him, but I’m glad they made that change regardless. The witch is also a really fun villain! She’s reused from a previous Muppet production (Tales of The Tinkerdee) that was meant to be a pilot for a planned show but was never picked up, and I’m really glad she got a chance to shine in something that was actually officially released.

Sam and Friends is the first ever Muppet series, debuting in 1955, and while most of it is unfortunately lost media there are a couple episodes you can find online! I really like Sam and Friends (I have a book all about the making of the show), and I would recommend it both as a way to look at how far television puppetry has come and as just a genuinely very entertaining show in its own right - plus, the episodes are only 5 minutes long, so you can get through all the available episodes pretty quickly. My personal favorite episode is “Powder Burn,” a parody of the show Gunsmoke.

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas is probably one of my favorite Christmas specials ever, despite me only watching it for the first time this past December. It’s a very earnest and emotional story about a family (Emmet Otter and his mother Alice Otter) living in poverty after the death of Emmet’s father. Both Emmet and Alice want to be able to give each other a good Christmas present, so they both enter the local talent contest on Christmas Eve in order to win the cash prize without telling each other. The soundtrack is done by the same man who did the soundtrack for The Muppet Movie (Paul Williams), and is just GORGEOUS - it manages to be silly and heartfelt at the same time, and does some really interesting stuff with the instrumentals, like having a kazoo solo during one of the more somber songs which somehow actually works! Like Fraggle Rock, it it isn’t afraid of tackling serious issues like death and poverty, and like Fraggle Rock, it made me bawl like a baby.

Finally, I would recommend both the documentary Of Muppets and Men and the Jim Henson Hour episode “Secrets of The Muppets” (I sadly haven’t watched enough of The Jim Henson Hour to give a proper recommendation, but from the little I’ve seen it’s very good). Both of these tackle the behind the scenes of working on the Muppets, with Of Muppets and Men being about the making of The Muppet Show specifically and “Secrets of The Muppets” being a general overview of the stuff the Muppets had done up to that point. I completely understand if you don’t want to see the behind the scenes workings of the Muppets (my mom doesn’t like seeing that kind of thing either and I get why), but if you do want to see it I can’t recommend these two enough. They do an excellent job at introducing and highlighting the skills of the troupe of Muppet performers, detailing specific tricks of puppeteering, and showing how everything comes together.

There’s definitely more Muppet media I want to recommend, but if I did so we’d be here FOREVER, and I still haven’t gotten to the puppet media recommendations! This list does serve as a pretty good starting point though - if you like Frog Prince and Jug-Band Christmas you’ll probably like the rest of the Tales From Muppetland specials, if you like one of the original trilogy of Muppet movies you’ll probably like the others in the trilogy, if you like Sam and Friends you’ll probably like the Muppets’ appearances on shows like the Ed Sullivan Show or the Jimmy Dean show that they made during that period, etc. Most of this stuff is on YouTube or the Internet Archive, but if you’re looking for something specific and can’t find it, let me know and I’ll do my best to locate it 👍

AND NOW AFTER 50 MILLION PARAGRAPHS WE ARE ON TO THE PUPPET MEDIA IN GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

I have to start this list off with my favorite movie of all time, The Dark Crystal. It’s a fantasy epic done entirely with puppets, and it is utterly gorgeous. All of the puppets are so detailed (I had the absolute blessing to see some of them when a local museum held a puppetry exhibit and the sheer amount of tiny details you can’t even SEE in the film are incredible), the world is so richly developed, the soundtrack is absolutely top-tier, and the amount of innovations in puppetry that this film causes are mind-blowing. There are traditional puppets, people in suits, radio-controlled puppets…the list goes on! I cannot recommend The Dark Crystal enough, it means so much to me and is probably the reason I’m so obsessed with puppets in the first place. It also has a prequel on Netflix called Age of Resistance - like the Fraggle Rock reboot, I don’t think it’s as good as the og, but it’s still absolutely stunning and the team working on it clearly cares about the world of the original film. Sadly, the prequel was cancelled after only one season :( I still recommend it if you like the film, but just go into it knowing that it’s gonna end on a cliffhanger.

The Little Shop of Horrors movie has an absolutely AMAZING puppet in the form of Audrey II, the film’s main antagonist. There are multiple Audrey II puppets, as the character grows throughout the entire film, and the biggest one required over 50 puppeteers to operate. There are no opticals or blue screens used for Audrey II (except for one scene at the very end of the film that they had to reshoot), and the effect is mind blowing. Little Shop is an absolutely incredible film overall, too, and thankfully doesn’t use Audrey II as a selling point or a gimmick - the puppet is incorporated very naturally into the film, and you appreciate the puppetry much more as a result.

I haven’t watched Labyrinth, but my sibling has and they really like it! From what I’ve seen of the puppetry, it’s really well done, and the movie seems very fun. Sorry I can’t give a better recommendation than that lol.

If we’re counting stop-motion animation as a form of puppetry (which I personally do considering the models are typically referred to as puppets), then I absolutely recommend checking out the work of LAIKA, which includes productions such as Coraline and Kubo and The Two Strings. I also highly recommend Wendell and Wild, made by former LAIKA supervising director Henry Selick, as well as Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. All of these films are stunning, and they absolutely deserve the hype that surrounds them.

This one is a bit more preschool-centric, but when I was very little I was OBSESSED with Johnny and The Sprites, and having watched a bit of it again recently, I feel it still holds up somewhat for older audiences. It’s a show about a musician named Johnny who moves to a house in the woods in order to focus on his music only to find that the house is next to Grotto’s Grove, where a species of fairy-like beings called the Sprites live. The series is focused on Johnny teaching the Sprites about human stuff and the Sprites teaching Johnny about Sprite stuff in turn. It’s a very cute and charming show :3

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is Mystery Science Theater 3000, a show about a man trapped in space with 4 robot companions and forced to watch bad movies as part of an evil science experiment. It’s very goofy and very immature at times, and 99% of the time you need a guide to understand the stuff they reference, but it’s great regardless, and despite being very simple the puppets are really well-designed. Unfortunately, one of the characters is named after the ethnic slur used against Romani people in the show’s original run; it wasn’t done out of any intentional malice and the creators changed her name when the show was revived and viewers expressed their concern, but if that sours your opinion on watching the original show I completely understand.

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is a classic, and for good reason - both the original webseries and the tv show riff off of and play with the stereotypes of traditional children’s puppet shows, while still clearly respecting the art of puppetry and giving it their own unique spin. It’s definitely on the spookier/gorier side of things, so MASSIVE content warning if you want to check it out, but DHMIS is very good and I adore it.

And with that, this very very very VERY long list comes to an end. I definitely didn’t mention everything that I wanted to - there are some excellent pieces of puppet media, like Starkid’s Starship, that I just haven’t gotten around to watching and thus can’t properly recommend - but like with the Muppet section, I’d suggest using this as a starting point. There’s a TON of puppet media out there, and this is just scratching the surface!

I hope this list helps, and that you find something on here that you enjoy :D

#I am SO SORRY for how long this got akabwkrnsalsk once you get me talking about puppets I cannot stop

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Weren't Victoria Jackson and Bill Guthy the Republicans the Harkles were hanging out with?! Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm not sure, so I did some research on this.

Victoria Jackson is a makeup guru who got her start selling on QVC. Bill Guthy is her husband who owns a direct-to-consumer marketing company that represents several beauty/make-up brands, including Cindy Crawford's and JLo's, and the company is thought to be one of the first to successfully market celebrity influencers.. They owned the house where Meghan did her photoshoot for The Cut. Victoria and Bill have a daughter that died young from an autoimmune disease and now they run a charitable foundation to fundraise for research on that disease.

Victoria was also on the Archetypes podcast. She was a guest on the 'bitch' episode. (Which, can I just rant about that for a second? What the fuck is Meghan's deal pretending to be so offended by the word that she can only call it "the b word"?)

Supposedly Meghan and Victoria were introduced through Gloria Steinem. They were hanging out around the time that Meghan's PR was teasing a possible beauty brand/influencer deal so I think she was trying to get a deal with Victoria and Bill, which didn't work because six months later she signed with WME and we've heard zilche about them hanging out.

Further, I'm not sure that they're the Republicans that the other anon was asking about. Victoria is currently a cabinet member of the White House Historical Association's council/cabinet, which is traditionally a nonpartisan organization so they don't usually like to hire/staff with people in partisan politics. (They're the ones who do the annual White House Christmas ornaments, which commemorates the historical legacy of the White House and the presidency, never the current occupants of the White House - which was very surprising to learn.)

Beyond that, they do keep their political affiliation very quiet so if they are Republican, well...who's Meghan to care when they have a private jet that she can use?

It's also speculated that their home was used for the Oprah interview too. It seems pretty plausible to me. I bet we'll find out in Meghan's memoir, if she ever writes it.

There is another Victoria Jackson who is much more outspoken in her support for Trump. This Victoria Jackson is a former SNL star from the '90s. In addition to sharing the same name, the women share similar internet brands - SNL Victoria Jackson is on social media with handles victoriajacksonofficial and victoriajackson while Makeup Victoria Jackson's website is officialvictoriajackson - so that could be where the confusion is. It's an easy mistake to make; I've found several articles that did it too.

But long story short, I can't find a record of Victoria Jackson and Bill Guthy's political activisim so I can't say with any certainty that they're the Republicans that Meghan and Harry have been hanging out with.

#ask #sussexes #brf

[medicallymercury]

Haunted (24/02/24)

I feel ill and tired but I watched the episode when I woke up, so.

I know I normally post this after the episode airs but I'm not worried about spoiling anything because all my discussion of the actual episode is below a cut. Just don't read below the cut if you haven't watched yet. Also, I'm only talking about what I can be bothered to write up (so I’m extremely focused on a few characters) because I'm really very tired and my brain is melty.

Is that really it for Paige? It felt like a pretty un-final final episode. Whether that's actually goodbye or not, PAIGE DESERVED BETTER, she's been treated like a side character in another person's life (yes, I know that person is my fave but I get to give him preferential treatment, the writers probably shouldn't) since the start of AHOV but she at least should've been the absolute focus of this episode, not the love triangle. Maybe Barriers set my standards for final episodes too high with how well they handled Sah’s exit.

The patient plot they had going on with Paige and Jodie didn’t feel like it made sense for the two of them as much as it might’ve made sense for Sah and Teddy during the original iteration of the love triangle. Like, since when are Paige and Jodie comparable to ’rush into a burning building’ friends?

I’m sure there could’ve been a way to make Teddy and Jodie interesting, I still wouldn’t have like shipped them or anything but I might’ve accepted them in the same way I accepted Teddy/Paige happening immediately after I thought we were finally getting our Sah/Teddy storyline in With a Bullet, but they have not done it and I want them to break up immediately.

The crowd's reaction to the explosion sounds like an obvious and very silly added-in sound effect and that isn't a complaint because I found it funny. Also the explosion-y scenes we saw today only represent half the explosion-y scenes in the trailer.

Jan and Teddy can have one scene together and I will love every second of it. Di Botcher and Milo Clarke play them so well, they've got the dynamic on point and I just love them so much. I completely believe, as Jan is dragging Teddy away from running into a burning building, that she has been been putting up with him for 24 years. As silly as that can be, I also think it really adds to their storylines (when they get them...), being able to believe that Jan has known Teddy his whole life fuels the I-need-to-lie-down feeing I get any time I think about Teddy and Jan when Teddy was younger.

I’m interested in Tariq. It must be hard to introduce a new main character who already has a relationship with another main character because you have to really hit the ground running, it's probably why the Holbyverse is so full of estranged families. But they did it well with Jan and Teddy and I hope they do it with Rash and Tariq too.

I think I like Siobhan but in the sense that when I was giving my non-Casualty friends the weekly Casualty update, the overwhelming response to "there's a new clinical nurse manager and she's older" was "GIRLFRIEND FOR JAN??????" which I doubt will happen but it's a brilliant suggestion.

She’s what the ED needs, though. Everything is exploding all the time and she has shown up to try and stop that a bit and I love her for it.

With the Harry and Mel stuff: Stevie will be obviously fucking right and they’ll (Charlie and FAITH) all be like “omg Stevie is overreacting fr” IS SHE???? hhhhhhhh… SIOBHAN KNOWS SHE’S RIGHT THOUGH (I’m happier with how this stuff has been this week, actually, just because the show isn’t also treating her like she’s unreasonable anymore)

I’m sure other stuff, important plot stuff, happened but I've not got much brain power left for words so I'm leaving it here.

OH, WAIT, YEAH. “Must have a hell of a bromance going on to go back in there." Theodore, my love, you got shot for your best friend, though that wasn't really a 'bromance' situation, was it? Aughshsh... I miss them and the get-a-room-losers way they used to stare at each other so much.

#spoilers for haunted AHOVx09 below the cut #bbc casualty #cas ep: haunted

[siriusbeingserious]

DETENTION WITH DOLORES

Hermione had agreed to meet her at the Come and Go room for their third date. They'd started going out a few weeks ago, and Ginny was happy to say that she had been on some pretty romantic dates that even Harry and Cho were jealous about (and we all know how much of a disaster that was).

Ginny wanted to get there early but someone with black robes, a beaky nose and greasy hair had decided to keep the Gryffindors in for ten extra minutes because she had spoken out of turn. But any other Gryffindor would have too, if they'd heard what Summerby said about Harry.

She used to fancy Harry, then started going out with other boys in her third year (Hermione's advice). She went out with Michael Corner from Ravenclaw, but he was too much of a bad loser, so she dumped him. After Michael came Dean Thomas, a boy in Harry's dorm, but he was too insensitive and just couldn't handle a serious relationship. So she broke up with him too, several times.

Then she started noticing just how intensely pretty Hermione Granger really is. She started feeling flustered around Hermione, her ignorance about the whole thing making it worse. After talking to Harry, she finally decided to confess her feelings and take the reaction for what it was.

Unexpectedly but pleasantly, Hermione was completely supportive about Ginny's attraction to girls as well as boys. She was, admittedly, a bit speechless and open-mouthed when Ginny confessed exactly which girl she fancied. Then, to Ginny's surprise, Hermione kissed her fiercely. She kissed back, if it was possible, even more fiercely.

And now here they were.

Hermione probably worried and slightly annoyed about her lateness. Ginny tearing through the corridors as fast as her legs could take her (which was quite fast). When she finally arrived at the agreed meeting place, Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

'Damn,' Ginny cursed.

She must've gone back to the dorm room. And so Ginny started the miserable trip up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. But as she reached the fifth flight of stairs, she bumped into someone with curly brown hair. The girl turned, her eyes flashing dangerously.

'Where in God's sake were you?' Hermione hissed at the redhead, grabbing her arm and positively dragging her downstairs.

'I'm sorry, Snape just kept us in because I did something I shouldn't have,' Ginny explained in such a hurry she was positive her girlfriend hadn't understood one word.

Hermione just sighed. 'Sometimes I wonder whether or not I should do something about you.'

'Do something about … do you think something's wrong with me, 'Mione?' asked Ginny, slightly offended.

'Of course not,' said Hermione absently. 'I just meant that maybe you shouldn't be so much like Harry, you know, not knowing when to hold your tongue. Be more like Fred and George. Actually, completely forget I said that - just be more like Ron. Minus the cowardice.'

That had Ginny sniggering.

They walked back to the Room of Requirement in tense silence. Ginny sensed the slight disappointment Hermione was feeling and became slightly downcast. She knew that Hermione was right. Harry acted like that around Umbridge and look where that got him. In detention, doing who-knows-what. She made a mental note not to speak out of turn, no matter how unfair the circumstances are. That was gonna be hard.

'Ginny?'

'Hmm?' Ginny responded.

'You will think about controlling what you say, won't you? I mean, I know how it feels to be bullied by Snape, believe me. But I've never said something that got me in any serious punishment.'

Ginny shuffled her feet uncomfortably and stared at the ground. 'I understand.'

'I'm not angry, Gin-Gin,' Hermione said soothingly. 'I'm just worried about you.'

'Yeah, I know,' said Ginny, still downcast. 'I'll behave. Promise.'

'I love you, Ginny. You know that, right?'

'Only hear it about fifty times a day, I must have missed it,' she teased.

And then Hermione's lips were on hers - Hermione's sweet lips, tasting of chocolate. Ginny wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck, one hand straying into the brunette's hair. Hermione pressed her left knee up into Ginny's crotch, earning a small moan from the redhead. Ginny wanted to scream as Hermione's knee did illegal things to her core, but she was focused on making as little sound as possible.

Hermione, on the other hand, wasn't satisfied with the sounds her ginger girlfriend was making (or trying not to make). She decided to take the make-out session up a notch by sneaking a hand into Ginny's shirt and teasing her breast through the lacy fabric of her bra. This caused new mewls of pleasure to escape the ginger girl's mouth, and caused a new warmth to pool between Hermione's legs.

Hermione pulled away and started sucking on the exposed, sensitive flesh of Ginny's neck, causing the adorable whimpers that escaped the redhead's mouth to become noticeably louder. Hermione smirked and sucked harder, determined to leave a hickey. She had minor qualms about the possibilities of Filch skulking around the area but dismissed them as highly unlikely.

Involuntary gasps of pleasure were escaping the youngest Weasley's mouth as Hermione's lips tormented her body in the most passionate way. Ginny was getting incredibly wet, wetter than she'd ever gotten watching stimulating scenes on Hermione's phone at The Burrow. And thinking about those obscene images was not so much helping her arousal ebb away as much as making it even more unbearable. She'd never thought she'd want anyone as desperately as she wanted Hermione now.

Hermione loved how Ginny was letting her guard down, gradual though the process was. It was also increasing her arousal to know by the dampening spot in the middle of Ginny's legs that her ginger girlfriend was aroused as well, perhaps even more so. And the feeling of Ginny grinding against her thigh in a desperate, hormone-driven attempt to satisfy her hungry, perverse desires was only clouding her vision and judgement.

Hermione's lips claimed Ginny's suddenly, catching the redhead off guard and making her arousal start rising to its peak. Hermione brushed her tongue against Ginny's bottom lip, requesting for permission to invade her girlfriend's wet, warm mouth. Ginny parted her lips immediately, beginning a very hot battle as their tongues danced and wrestled with each other.

Ginny pushed her girlfriend away long enough to say, 'There are so many places I want your tongue right now, Granger,' before Hermione's lips were on hers again, their tongues brushing against each other's. Ginny savored the sweet taste that was her girlfriend as she continued grinding against Hermione's thigh desperately, thinking all the while, Good Lord, Hermione. Please, please, please, PLEASE have mercy and screw me. Screw me so hard I can't walk without my legs giving out. Make this hormonal torture end. Please.

'WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?' shrieked a sickeningly sweet, girlish voice that both of them recognized - with a rising sense of alarm and terror - as Dolores Jane Umbridge's.

They jumped apart and looked around at her. She was staring at the two with an expression of the utmost disgust and shock. They didn't linger on that for long, being used to getting the same look from a couple of students since they came out.

'What do you think you're doing?' she repeated, in a lower and more dangerous voice.

'Making out,' said Ginny simply.

Hermione shot her a dirty look that made her feel slightly ashamed. That was the promise gone out the window.

'To my office,' said Umbridge, her gaze jumping from one to the other.

'No,' Hermione said defiantly.

Ginny looked at her like she'd grown another head. 'Did you just say -'

'Yeah, I said "No",' Hermione said clearly. 'We are not doing anything wrong.'

'I wouldn't say that, Miss Granger.' Umbridge had an annoying habit of remembering the names of people who annoy her. 'You and Miss Weasley here' - well, well. It seemed like Ginny was in her list of troublemakers too - 'have committed an abomination.'

'Displaying affection in public isn't breaking the rules,' Hermione said defiantly.

'Be that as it may, and it isn't, you still deserve to be punished.'

Ginny bit her lip to prevent herself from hurling a string of choice insults at the toad-faced Ministry official. You're an abomination, you homophobic prick. Luckily for her, she kept those words to herself and walked quietly after Hermione, who was following Umbridge to her office.

Umbridge made the mistake of arranging for Hermione to sit right next to her girlfriend. She handed both of them identical quills. Due to Harry's ranting, both girls knew exactly what the quills did, and said nothing as the parchment scrolls were placed in front of them.

'Do you have any questions, girls?' asked Umbridge sweetly.

Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other for a split-second, then shook their heads.

'Are you sure?'

They nodded.

'Very well, then. I want you to write "I must not commit abominations".'

'How many times?' Ginny said grudgingly.

'As many as it takes, Miss Weasley.'

As soon as Ginny put quill to parchment so that she could write the first word, she hissed in pain. Hermione shot her a look that clearly stated, Don't make another sound. Regretting her outburst, Ginny bit her lip and stared down at the red "ink" on the parchment.

Umbridge's voice rang out clearly as she said, 'Is there a problem?'

Without looking up, Ginny shook her head. The stinging pain built, making her bite her lip harder, but she refused to give in. She wrote the sentence one, two, three times. An invisible scalpel was cutting into her skin, making the cuts deeper with every letter. After writing the sentence for the fiftieth time, biting her lip a little harder each new beginning (she had been counting), she tasted the metallic tang of blood.

Hermione. Think of Hermione. She and you under the tree near the lake. She and you in the Room of Requirement. Your first kiss. Your first make-out. Your first …

Hermione's hand snaked over her left leg and up her skirt. Ginny refrained from inhaling sharply as her girlfriend's fingers started playing with her already-dampening folds. She sneaked a pleading look in Hermione's direction, but the brunette wasn’t even looking her way; she had the same pained expression Ginny herself had abandoned a few seconds ago and replaced with pleasant surprise. She was completely focused on the parchment … but then how did one explain what was happening under the desk? And was that a smirk playing at Hermione's lips?

Ginny, who was good at hiding her feelings, masked her face in a look of suppressed agony and frustration, a look that was mirrored by the brunette sitting right next to her. She started writing the sentence for the fifty-first time, ignoring the strong metallic taste in her mouth. She almost dropped the quill, though, when a sudden intensely hot and ecstatic pleasure rippled through her whole body, making her almost - almost - drop the quill. She shot Hermione a warning look, but her girlfriend didn't even seem to be looking at her. Ginny looked closely, and confirmed that Hermione really was smirking, though it was so discreet you had to be looking for the smirk to notice.

Focus, Ginny.

She wrote the condescending sentence again, not knowing how long it'd been since she'd been out on the Quidditch field. Feeling relieved at finally finding a decent distraction, she seized on the subject of Quidditch eagerly and spent about twenty minutes thinking about their next game.

A soft moan escaped her lips as her girlfriend's index finger entered her. How she could get Hermione to stop without telling her, she didn't know. And she wasn't sure she wanted the brunette to stop.

Hermione, who had jerked off countless times and had almost incomparable expertise in how to pleasure a woman, started hitting Ginny's pleasure points, smirking every time she heard that adorable suppressed moan escape the redhead's mouth, unheard by the toad-faced professor sitting at the desk.

Hermione was pleasantly surprised at her girlfriend's tightness. She moved her finger slowly in and out of the younger girl, marveling at the way Umbridge remained deaf to Ginny's cries of pleasure, despite their steadily increasing volume.

Ginny inhaled sharply whenever Hermione's finger lightly touched a particularly sensitive spot inside her, and would be screaming in pleasure whenever the brunette roughly pressed into a sweet spot if it wasn't for the possibility of Umbridge overhearing.

'Yes,' Ginny hissed, her eyes unfocused as she tried in vain to concentrate on the scroll of parchment in front of her. 'Yes, Hermione, yes … oh fuck, that feels so good, yes … fuck, my love, keep going, just like that, oh God, yes … shit, shit, shit, fuck … bloody hell yes, my love, keep going … I'm so bloody close, so close, just keep going just like that, FUCK!'

The last word was screamed out as Ginny arched her back, the orgasm overwhelming her, ripping through her body. She fell back down onto the seat, panting, sweating like she'd been out on the pitch all day for three straight days.

Then Umbridge looked up. 'What is going on?'

Without her girlfriend noticing it, Hermione had pulled her finger out of the redhead's core and was now seductively sucking it, keeping her eyes on the redhead beside her. Ginny felt the orgasm ebb away, leaving her in a state of relaxed ecstasy and bliss.

She answered for them both. 'Nothing, Professor.'

Umbridge glared at them both, then smiled as she looked down at Ginny's left and Hermione's right hand, which were bleeding profusely. Ginny had almost forgotten the throbbing agony when she was being fingered by her girlfriend, but winced as it came back in an almost unbearable surge.

'You may go now,' said Umbridge.

The two girls got up slowly, put the pieces of parchment away, and walked out of the room. Once they were certain that they were out of earshot, Ginny exploded with anger and righteous indignancy.

'I hate her!' she exclaimed. 'I thought I hated Snape, but now I think he comes in second.'

'I know,' Hermione said. 'I hate her too. But, to be honest, it wasn't all bad, was it?'

She winked at the younger girl, who looked confused for a second, then grinned, a blush creeping up her cheeks. They headed towards the stairs to Gryffindor Tower and started climbing slowly, because neither was in a big hurry to get to the dormitories.

'Never thought we'd have our first time in detention, let alone a detention with Umbridge,' Ginny laughed. 'Incomparable.'

'I saw how miserable you were. I had to do something.'

'You have quite a lot of confidence nowadays. Are you sure you aren't some impostor posing as my amazing girlfriend?'

'It took me all my courage to do that, and now you're calling me an impostor?' exclaimed Hermione, mock-angry. 'The nerve of some girls.'

'But damn -' Ginny winced '- this hurts like mad.'

'Essence of Murtlap will do the trick, trust me.'

Ginny said the password lazily and the portrait swung aside. They clambered through it and collapsed into the armchairs closest to the fire.

'Can't believe I had detention with a literal toad, today,' sighed Ginny.

'But it wasn't all bad, eh, Gin-Gin?'

'You can say that again.'

FIN.

#hp femslash #ginny weasley #ginny x hermione #harry potter #ginmione

[justice4canyonmoon]

Hi! I love your writing sm 💖 could u write something where H and Y/N are new parents and they finally have some alone time? And maybe she's a little insecure about her body? I feel like Harry would be so cute in this 🥺

hi!!! thank you for saying you love my writing, that's very sweet ❤️❤️feel bad that it took me so long to answer this, but I got a huge bout of inspiration yesterday and today!!!! I didn't know whether you meant fluffy alone time or smutty alone time, so I did a bit of both lol. this is the longest thing I've written in a long time bc I really liked this prompt, so I hope it's worth the wait and the read!!!

warnings: smut!!! 18+ only!!!!! oral (fem receiving), soft sex, body image/body insecurity, separation anxiety (a little), also lots of fluff

wc: 2.7k

Four months ago, you gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Mara looked almost exactly like you; her hair, skin tone, nose, and ears were just like yours, but her eyes were bright green, just like her father’s. You and Harry were instantly attached to your sweet little girl, and you would both do anything to protect her. 

But you were both exhausted. You both knew that caring for a newborn would be hard work, but somehow it was even harder than you anticipated. Constantly waking up in the middle of the night to feed her, changing her multiple times throughout the day, and of course, having to hide her face from paparazzi or nosey fans made raising your child quite difficult. You and Harry hadn’t had any alone time during the four months that Mara came into your life. Neither of you could remember the last time you had been on a date or had sex. 

When Harry brought up your lack of alone time with his mother on a video call, she offered to let Mara stay with her for the weekend. You were both apprehensive, never having left your baby girl alone for that long, but Anne managed to convince you that having your alone time would help you both be better parents to your kiddo.

“If you aren’t at your best, you can’t raise your baby to be her best.”

And of course, you knew Anne was right. That’s what led you to right now, handing your mother-in-law a large bag of baby supplies. Harry was gently cradling your daughter in his arms, with her tiny hands gripping her favorite stuffed animal: a soft, pink, stripey kitten, as well as her yellow baby blanket.

Anne could sense the anxiety radiating from you both and softly told you, “I promise you she’ll be fine for the weekend, she’s in good hands. You and Gem turned out pretty well, didn’t you?”

“I suppose we turned out alrigh,” Harry chuckled.

You smiled, though it didn't quite reach your eyes, and picked up Mara’s car seat, joining Anne and your husband on the short walk to her car parked in the driveway. Anne put the baby supplies with her in the passenger’s side as you placed the car seat in the back. Harry set his daughter into the seat, strapping her in with nothing but love in his eyes.

“I’ll be back Sunday evening. I hope you both enjoy your weekend!” Anne said, bringing both you and Harry into a warm embrace.

You smiled, “Thank you, Anne.”

She returned your smile, telling you both how much she loves you before getting into her car and disappearing out of the driveway and down the road. 

Your heart was pounding in your chest, the anxiety of being separated from your baby welling up inside of you.

Harry took your hand and led you back inside, “‘S okay, love. Mum’ll take great care of her.”

“I know she will,” you told him, your anxieties spilling out, “it’s just the first time we’ve been away from her. What if some kind of emergency happens, and we won’t be there?”

“If something happens, Mum will handle it and call us. I’m anxious too, my love, but she’ll be okay,” Harry murmured comfortingly, wrapping his arms around your middle and pulling you into him, gently running his fingers over your back.

Harry’s reassuring words put you more at ease, until he murmured in your ear, “Since we’ve got a little alone time now, was hopin we could spend most of the weekend in the bedroom.”

The anxiety of being separated from your baby morphed into an anxiety of a different kind. The brand new stretch marks and flaps of skin that adorned your body since you gave birth had almost completely dissolved your confidence. The idea of your husband seeing you naked now, though you would love to have sex with him since it had been a few months, terrified you. What if he didn’t like what he’d see anymore?

“Maybe later, H. Right now I’m starving.”

Which was at least true. You were so anxious about Mara leaving that you hadn’t eaten much all day.

Harry nodded understandingly, “Let’s get some food in yeh then, darling. Wanna go out or order in?”

“Order in,” you replied, “maybe that Indian place we like if that’s okay?”

“Anything yeh want is okay with me, lovely.”

You ordered your food quickly, not taking too long to decide what you wanted and then flopped onto the couch, tangling your limbs together as you picked out a serial killer documentary to watch to pass the time.

“I don’ understand why yeh like these s’ much. They’re so dark,” Harry commented.

“They’re fascinating,” you responded, “it’s grim but interesting to see into the mind of someone so messed up.”

“Whatever yeh say, lovie,” he said, pulling you closer to him, “I’ll watch anything yeh wan’ as long as I get to hold m’ pretty wife nice and close.”

You couldn’t help but smile at his words, even if you didn’t quite believe the pretty part anymore. You ended up getting so engrossed in the documentary that you didn’t even notice the food arrive.

When Harry got up to get the food, you whined in protest, enjoying the heat his body was providing you.

He laughed, “Be right back, lovely. Jus’ gettin’ food f’ my favorite person.”

“Didn’t know you were just getting food for yourself,” you quipped.

His eyes narrowed, “I know I’m a narcissist, but I love you just a little more than I love myself.”

“Wow, thank you, Harry. I feel so loved,” you said in a monotone voice as he grabbed the food from the delivery man.

Harry set the bag down on the coffee table and looked at you. As you were trying to figure out what was going on in that crazy brain of his, you suddenly got the wind knocked out of you, as a suspiciously Harry shaped figure threw himself on top of you!

“H!” you shrieked between bouts of laughter, “what the hell?!”

He laughed loudly, then moved to press kisses along any exposed skin he could reach, “Feeling loved yet?”

You snorted, trying to push him off of you, “You’re so annoying, Harry.”

“But yeh love me, right?”

You rolled your eyes, “I guess.”

Harry placed his hand over his heart, “Ouch! That stings!”

“I’m so sorry, Harry,” you said sarcastically, “however can I make it up to you?”

Harry wiggle his eyebrows suggestively, “I can think of a few ways.”

“We have food to e-eat, Harry.”

But your voice wavered at the end as the quick kisses from before turned into slower, sloppier kisses around your neck.

“Not that interested in the food anymore, lovely. Haven’t been with yeh like this in four months,” he murmured, trailing his fingers toward the hem of your shorts.

But you grabbed his wrist, “Stop, H.”

He looked at you quizzically, but listened, pulling his hand away, “Everything okay, sweetheart? I’m sorry, I didn’ mean t’ overstep at all.”

You shook your head, “It’s okay, Harry. Not you, it’s me.”

“Talk to me, lovely,” he replied, cupping your face in his hands, “let me inside that pretty head of yours.”

“I’m not pretty anymore, not since I had the baby…” you trailed off.

Harry looked shocked, “What the hell are yeh talkin’ about?”

“I mean, my body looks awful! I haven’t lost any of my baby weight, and I have all of these gross stretchmarks and other blemishes that I didn’t have before! My boobs are all saggy and sore from having to feed Mara, and I always have bags under my eyes now. How could anyone still find me pretty?” you rambled, tears beginning to spring to your eyes.

Harry listened to you, looking quite upset. He certainly didn’t agree with you at all.

“Lovely, y’ the most beautiful person ’ve ever seen. All of those things yeh said before are perfectly natural! And how could I not find yeh beautiful? This body gave birth to our child, and that makes it the most beautiful thing in the world. I’m so lucky y’ mine, darlin, and even when we’re 80 years old and our hair is falling out, I will always think y’ more beautiful than the sunset, than diamonds, or than anything else,” his lips softly pressed to yours, then he pulled away again and looked you in the eyes, “can I show yeh how beautiful I think yeh are?”

You nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.

“Yeah? Yeh sure?” he questioned again as his hands traveled to the hem of your tank top.

When you nodded your assent once more, he slowly lifted it over your head, giving you any chance to stop him. But you didn’t, so his lips trailed down to your chest, murmuring sweet nothings as he did so. When he got to your breasts, he massaged them gently, not wanting to make them more sore than they already were. It felt like heaven, having his massive hands softly rubbing on the tender flesh.

“Feels nice,” you told him, making him smile.

“I’ll give these more often then,” Harry replied, “gives me an excuse to hold y’ boobs.”

You rolled your eyes again, but there was a fond smile on your face, “Annoying.”

“Loving,” he shot back, kissing your chest lightly.

“That too,” you said, your smile growing.

Harry grinned at that, and he continued to make his way down your body, stopping at your stomach. You tensed up, and Harry noticed.

“Love your tummy, baby,” he said, kissing and rubbing your pudge, “love it s’ much.”

You didn’t know how he managed to make you feel so loved, but you were grateful for it. Tears came to yours eyes once more when you took in the moment, your husband lavishing his attention on your body and helping your insecurities slowly melt away. How did you get so lucky?

Harry noticed your wet eyes, “Still okay?”

“Yeah,” you whispered, “just love you.”

That almost made Harry want to cry too, “Love yeh too. More than anything.”

His affections moved to your thighs then as he shimmied his way further down on the couch, lips trailing across the stretch marks that adorned your flesh. 

“So pretty,” he said softly, “always love y’ thighs, baby. Especially when you let me in between them like this.”

He nudged them further apart and sucked marks into the sensitive skin of your inner thighs.

“H,” you breathed, wanting more.

“Can I take y’ shorts off, baby? Wanna taste yeh s’ bad,” Harry asked.

You quickly nodded in agreement, and your husband tugged off your shorts and panties in one motion. He spread your lower lips apart, smirking in satisfaction when strings of your wetness began to coat his fingers.

“Such a pretty pussy,” he said almost to himself, “and so wet f’ me. Been a little while since ‘ve gotten t’ touch yeh like this, hasn’t it?”

You nodded, “Too long. Please touch me, H. No teasing.”

Harry knew that now wasn’t the time; your bodies missed each other too much. So he leaned in and sucked your clit right away, making your knees buckle.

“Shit, H,” you moaned as he lavished your clit with attention, not taking your time today.”

He pulled away temporarily to say, “Missed y’ pussy too much t’ wait,” before diving back in, licking at your slick hole.

You gasped and whined, instinctively closing your thighs around his head. Harry’s hands gripped your thighs and gently pulled them apart, not wanting to get rough with you today, but still needing a little space to work.

You breathed out a soft apology to which he said, “s’ alright. Jus’ try and keep them open f’ me.”

He squeezed your thighs gently before going back in again. The motions of his tongue on your depraved body made you want to cum already. You tried to hold off since you had barely been underneath him, but it had just been too long, and your pussy began to clench on his tongue. Sensing your impending orgasm, Harry took one of his hands off of your thighs and rubbed your clit expertly. 

“O-oh, Harry. Harry!” you cried out as you saw stars, your hips gyrating against Harry’s mouth.

He groaned softly at his first taste of you in so long, eagerly licking up everything you had to give to him.

“God yeh taste fuckin incredible.”

Your cheeks grew warm as he leaned in to kiss you, your taste still lingering on his tongue.

When he pulled away, the look in his eyes softened, “Convince yeh that y’ beautiful yet?”

Your cheeks became even warmer as you gave him a bashful smile, “Not quite, but I feel much better than before,” your hand ran over his cheek, “I’m so lucky I have you.”

“Think ‘m the lucky one,” he replied, kissing your forehead.

Harry lined up his cock with your waiting hole, but not before putting on a condom at your request (“I’m not letting you knock me up again so soon, Styles!”). 

“Ready f’ me?”

“Always.”

He pushed in slowly, giving you plenty of time to adjust since it had been a while. Your pussy clenched around his cock, not used to being full anymore. But it was making it tough for Harry.

“Y’ gotta stop doin’ that, or ‘m gonna blow m’ load before we even get started.”

You giggled, “Now we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“Definitely not,” he replied, “need t’ fuck m’ pretty little wife.”

You leaned toward his ear, “Then do it.”

His first thrust had you moaning, and so did the one after that, and the one after that. It was gentle, soft, but so fucking hot. With every move he made, it was like he was showing you how deeply he wanted you, and how much he loved you. Your lips moved together sloppily in an imitation of a kiss as he gently yet passionately thrust into you. He murmured sweet nothings against your lips the whole time, reminding you how beautiful you are. It was truly making love in the best way possible.

“Close, H,” you gasped out after he started rubbing your clit.

“Can tell yeh are. Always know y’ gonna cum when I rub that little clit,” Harry said almost cockily.

But you knew he was right. Harry always knew what made you tick.

“Come with me, darlin,” he told you, his thrusts losing their previous rhythm as he approached his orgasm. 

You couldn’t help but listen as your orgasm stole your breath from you. You could vaguely hear him moaning into your ear as his cum filled the condom stretched around his cock. 

When you came down from your highs, he kissed you sweetly, telling you once again how much he loved you without using his words. 

“Let me get a cloth and clean us up,” Harry said as he pulled out of you and took off and tied off the condom.

“Hurry back,” you replied, “that serial killer documentary is calling our name.”

You heard him laugh as he climbed up the stairs. He returned with a damp washcloth, and the condom had been disposed of. He spread your thighs open and wiped you clean, kissing you as he did so. 

“Gonna run the cloth back upstairs,” he told you.

“Guess I should re-heat the food.”

He chuckled, “Probably. I don’ fancy eatin cold Indian takeaway.”

“Hey,” you said, pointing your finger at him, “cold takeout is delicious.”

“Whatever you say, honey!” he shouted as he went back up the stairs.

You got off of the couch reluctantly and popped your food into the microwave for a few minutes. Harry returned from upstairs and wrapped his arms around your waist, rubbing patterns into your stomach as you waited for your food to reheat. When it was done, you took your plates and sat back down on the couch. Once you set your food down, Harry pulled you into his lap and you resumed the documentary as you ate.

“Didn’t realize how badly we needed this until it happened,” you mentioned.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, it’ll be nice t’ just spend the weekend lazing around the house. I’ll have fun doing anything yeh want, as long as it’s with yeh.”

You smiled, kissing him softly before returning your attention to your documentary. Yeah, you definitely married the right guy.

#harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles one shots #harry styles writing #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fandom #harry styles imagines #harry styles imagine #harry styles dirty fanfiction #harry styles dirty imagine #harry styles blurb #harry styles blurbs #harry styles writings #harry styles one shot

[thetrashbagswasteland]

I’ve got a fun one: would you ever transport Avitus and Castis to another universe to cause all sorts of mayhem, and if so, where would they land?

Actually seriously sit down and write it? Most likely not in all truth. As solely theorised crack? Hell yes. Let's be quite honest, overstressed cop and rambunctious legal warcriminal out to cause chaos sounds like incredible fun for all involved (aside from maybe Castis, he just wants a break). Pretty much any universe you can think of would be hilarious to dump these two into; my top pick would have to be Cosmic Bullshit™️ causing them fall through a tear in the fabric of spacetime to wind up terrorising the crew of one of Star Trek's many many ships. Y'know, let Avitus chew on the ship's wiring a little bit and maybe scare a few ensigns. The normal stuff. That or stick them into Doctor Who as a villain-of-the-week style pair where one is hunting down the other, with the rug-pull at the end being that oh no, this is actually just foreplay. It's alright this is the beeb we can think of a child safe way to phrase that as it actually just being a game between (checks smudged note on hand) good personal long time friends. Alternatively and hear me out here, they would do incredibly well stuck in the universe of a gritty police drama as an AU - those two solving a murder with some deep underlying horrific plot that involves terrorism or past crimes committed decades earlier; the in-fighting and UST of an uptight cop who's chosen his career over literally everything he loved clashing with a morally bankrupt special agent the cop had once called his best friend would just be DELICIOUS (to me at least). the emotional crescendo is, naturally, facing down their own failings and separation by handling a villain who's from their shared past. Yeah no I've never dedicated any thought into how well they'd fit a Midnight Sun/Trapped/Harry Høle-esque plot nope not me never.

#ask meme #I'm very tempted one day to write that latter AU #no I haven't finalised any part of its details but #i want to