#imagine the cw embracing this during the show's run

[temis-de-leon]

Love potion and Dateables - Part 3

Characters: Diavolo, Barbatos, Solomon and Simeon (x reader, separately)

Intro , Part 1 , Part 2

Masterlist

CW: fluff, hurt, insecurities, Barbatos is living in a horror movie for a hot minute, boys are crushing hard and MC is implied to be crushing hard too, pre-established relationship

A/N: I didn't know what to do for Simeon's part and it turned out to be the longest

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Diavolo

His extensive knowledge on etiquette begged him to knock the door, but his longing asked him otherwise. He didn’t have much time until Lucifer came looking for him and he really, deeply, needed to see you.

RAD’s latest festival had been a massive hit, various stalls displaying regional costumes, homemade food and games, and he had been naïve enough to think he finally had the chance to take you on a real date. A moment with no interruptions for him to show you how he felt and for you to, hopefully, love him back.

Sadly, spirit week passed by and Diavolo barely had any time to see you. All he watched, from your stunning features to your sparkling eyes, had been from afar. And now, days later, he still felt a tingle in his chest whenever he remembered how you looked during the festivities.

So he knocked once, twice, thrice, until his impatience got the best of him and made him open the door.

The room was dark, but your scent still lingered. It felt weird, however. What was it? Your blood and sweat? The products you used on your body and your clothes? Scented candles, perfume, food…? What was it? A mix of everything, it seemed.

The guilt of intruding your private space mildly subdued when he saw the cauldron on the table.

So that’s what it was. Surely homework for Solomon, although he’d had to ask the sorcerer what was the purpose of this particular assignment.

The potion looked like blood covered velvet and it immediately reminded him of his future: a rich fabric drowned in danger. On the other hand, its warmth soon embraced his face, allowing him to imagine your fingers caressing his cheekbones, your lips covering his in a smile with ridiculous care.

Diavolo sighed and walked away from the table, not sure of what to do. He couldn’t stay and risk being caught by you, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night if he went back to the castle without talking to you first.

He checked his uniform, straightening his tie before brushing his hair with his fingers.

If he was lucky, he’d cross paths with you on the hallway.

Barbatos

The House of Lamentation was introduced to a new routine the moment Barbatos saw that rat. Mandatory deep cleaning once a week and very recommended evacuation once a month for disinfecting purposes. Barbatos would refuse to enter the house otherwise, which was the last thing he wanted to do because he hadn’t spent any quality time with you in days.

There had been chit-chat in RAD whenever he saw you, as well as short trivial conversations on the phone. He’d also tried to invite you to his tamest shopping trips and as much tea parties as he was capable of organizing, but damn the brothers for being jealous and making everything so difficult.

Never in his life he would’ve believe he’d feel thankful for a rat’s existence.

However, MC, if you didn’t open your door in the next ten seconds he would open it himself.

Barbatos knocked again, mouth full of saliva and heart jumping out of his chest. He could feel something crawling up his back, whiskers and soft fur exploring his skin under the uniform and tiny claws scratching whatever they could.

Unable to keep waiting in the deserted hallway, wide enough for any rodent to run up to him without being detected, he rushed inside your room and closed the door with a bang. He felt deeply embarrassed, thankful that you weren’t there to see his dishevelled state, but his demeanour changed when he smelt the room.

It was something he was very familiar with: the tea blend he made just for you! Smiling softly at the realization, he created an image in his mind; you trying to do the blend on your own and succeeding. It made his heart soar in pride and apreciation.

His mood quickly changed without him noticing and soon the only thing occupying his mind was you. How thankful you were of his actions, MC, how happy you made him feel by simply existing.

Feeling stronger than ever and giving himself a few more seconds to breathe and regain his rationality, Barbatos opened the door and stepped out of your room.

His fears be damned; he was in dire need of your presence.

Solomon

Your smell vanished soon after your departure and Solomon had to grip the edges of the table to stop himself from grabbing the vial again. He knew what would happen then, as it happened before. He would lose himself in the potion and the memories within, every reason he had to love you and to feel loved by you.

Your humanity, tainted, but still present, the colour of your eyes, the softness of your skin; the lack of horns and wings and tail. How you trusted him against everyone’s advice, like you knew there was more to him that no one else bothered to see.

And he refused to feel threatened by someone like Mammon; Barbatos or Simeon he could understand, but why Mammon? Why did he have to sit and stare whenever the Avatar of Greed reached the limit of his jealousy? And why did that limit lower when Solomon was present?

He frowned in anger and frustration. Ironically, the thing he knew would make him feel better was the one he was viciously trying to avoid. Was he even an option for you, MC? Asmo did tell him from time to time to go for it, but he also inserted himself in those fantasies, so Solomon tended to take his words with a pinch of salt.

Unable to resist the temptation of your comfort, he walked towards the cabinet and grabbed the vial again. How could such a small container radiate so much warmth? For so many years he had it and in just a few months it grew stronger than ever.

Reinvigorated.

That’s how you made him feel. You may call him an old man and he may be an old man, MC, but he wasn’t one to bend the knee and he wouldn’t start doing that now.

Feeling determined, Solomon vaguely waved his hand and watched as his room tidied up itself. Books flying to the shelves on the walls, spell equipment returning to its original place in the table and clothes resting in hangers.

You once called him Mary Poppins and he had yet to understand, but never mind that for now.

He’d give you enough time to make your own potion during the evening and then he’d go to the House of Lamentation. Having your friendship was enough, but King Solomon the Wise never settled.

Simeon

The moment he heard Solomon’s door close, his heart went up his throat, blood rushing through his body in excitement. The table was full of vegetables, meats and fruit native to the Devildom, the result of experimentation as a cure to boredom, and he deeply hoped you could stay for dinner. He needed more testers other than Luke’s sweet tooth and Solomon’s destroyed palate.  

To his disappointment, the only thing you did when you entered the kitchen was wave goodbye.

“Gotta leave, Simeon! Enjoy dinner!”

“Wait! MC!”

You turned around, fighting to force your arm inside the jacket with your schoolbag tightly secured between your legs. You looked at him silently, embarrassed? Probably due to the unnecessary effort when gathering your things.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner? There’s more than enough for all of us”

You smiled back at him, suddenly bashful, before pointing at your bag.

“I have homework to do, blame your roommate”

He laughed and rolled his eyes, trying not to show his dissatisfaction at seeing you leaving once again, but he could try another time. Probably best to ask in advance, though.

“What did he ask you to do?”

His hands went back to the food, cleaning, cutting and slicing with carefulness, but his eyes were set on you. Simeon couldn’t help but feel anything other than delight when he noticed you leaving the bag on the floor and coming closer.

“It’s a love potion, he said it might come in handy in the future”

“Did he now?”

For what, he may wonder. He hoped you never felt the need to use it; your heart was more than enough to enchant anyone you encountered.

“He showed it to me once, too” he confessed, not really thinking through what he was saying “It smelled rather nice; although I suppose that’s its purpose…”

His mouth stayed open, unsure of what to say next, before finally closing with a snap. Simeon’s attention went back to the food once more, failing to see your uncertainty at his words.

“And what did you…?”

He raised his gaze when you stopped talking and your shy demeanour took him by surprise. Did something happen? Did he say something wrong? He was about to ask, worried at your silence, but you beat him to it.

“Forget it, it’s nothing. I’m going home, okay? I need to study”

“Stay safe, MC”

You nodded, then grabbed your bag again and left the kitchen. Barely a minute later he heard the front door open and close one final time.

Whatever happened? Everything seemed to be doing okay, although he did stop looking at you for a short moment. Did the love potion have something to do with it? Solomon better pray that wasn’t the case, otherwise he’d be learning a new method of teaching very soon.

Fortunately for the sorcerer, thinking about the love potion again made him remember what he smelled when he saw it for the first time. A faint scent of old books, like a memory, and a stronger coat of cinnamon, cocoa powder and whipped cream.

He had a great idea.

Maybe a couple of pastries would make you feel better! He’d need to notify Lucifer in advance so someone could hide the desserts from Beel until you were finished.

Or should he deliver them in person? Simeon couldn’t avoid imagining you opening your bedroom door, smile wide in your face upon seeing him and offering him to eat his baking together, like many times before.

He’d make sure to prepare your favourites; he knew them by memory.

.

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@hello-gloomy  @the-sassiest-toaster  @hero-nii-blog  @yourlocalyin  @elaemae  @eliciria  @darkflowerav  @zarakem  @yuuvis32  @anxious-chick  @commets-space  @deepestartisanhumanoidshark  @ourfinalisation

#obey me #obey me! shall we date? #om! shall we date #om! swd #obey me x reader #obey me x gn!reader #obey me diavolo #obey me diavolo x reader #obey me barbatos #obey me barbatos x reader #obey me solomon #obey me solomon x reader #obey me simeon #obey me simeon x reader #obey me hurt/comfort #obey me fluff #obey me writing #obey me x mc #obey me x gn!mc #obey me x gender neutral reader #diavolo x reader #barbatos x reader #solomon x reader #simeon x reader

[shedontlovehuhself]

The CW would nevah!

#misha collins #evah! #imagine the cw embracing this during the show's run #when misha and jensen were flirting on twitter and instagram like crazy on a weekly basis #imagine the power they could have had #yet they chose homophobia like the basic bitches they are #prime video uk #stud #jenmish #jackles #flirting #misha i luv you #never change

[azlrse]

Okay but hear me out: hollyberry and dark cacao with an s/o who's very soft-hearted and sweet, like they couldn't hurt a fly, but then actually go into battle and oh, they're powerful to a terrifying degree-

It was 10:50 at night when i wrote this so I hope it makes enough sense 😅

Sweet Yet Vicious (Dark Cacao Cookie/Hollyberry Cookie x GN Cookie!Reader hcs)

CW: none, just fluff!

A/N: been burned out lately but hyperfixated towards the ancients all the time. Sorry if this one sucked a bit 😅

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Dark Cacao Cookie 🗡️

Before Dark Cacao Cookie got in a relationship with you, he was a bit confused at first on why you were so nice to the others. He didn't get the concept of your personality that despite growing up from an environment where laughter and happiness doesn't even exist here, you were a soft-hearted and very sweet cookie.

But on the right hand, the king has gotten used to embrace your unique personality and was one of the many reasons why he really liked you. You are his sun and light, a polar opposite of him who melted his tough exterior behind closed doors.

Your boyfriend of a king didn't show much PDA during his reign during the day so it's up to you to show him simple bits of pieces of affection like holding his hand or saying encouraging words whenever he felt pressured during his kingly duty.

Imagine his shock when he caught you swinging a sword towards the dummy. Dark Cacao didn't know that his significant other knows on how to fight and was fascinated on each turn and swing you take, unknowingly that the king was watching your every move.

He doesn't tell you that he saw you fight in order for you not to feel embarrassed but also in respect. It must be you who must told him that you had experience when it comes to martial arts.

During your second date with your boyfriend, the both of you were ambushed by wolves and other predators that lurked within the village. Dark Cacao was about to give you orders to not engage in battle but you managed to bring a spare sword underneath the thick robe you wore.

You fought fiercely and shouted as you fought the wolves in spite. "Get your filthy paws off of my boyfriend! Or I'll stab your remains and throw it on the licorice sea!"

Overall, upon seeing this other side of his lover, he never thought he could fell deeply in love with you. You are definitely fitting to be the king's lover.

Hollyberry Cookie 💝

Being a cookie whose personality was almost identical as the ancient herself, you are on a ride to a relationship full of sweetness and fluff.

You are the type of cookie who would constantly brings her bouquet of flowers every time you visited her palace while Hollyberry Cookie would give you barrels of berry juice as a way to repay all of the expensive flowers you gave her. Hell, she even nags the royal gardener to plant all the flowers you gave to her and kept it as one of her most precious memorabilia.

The both of you would constantly show each other off to other cookies, from your friends to your immediate family members. Same goes for Hollyberry Cookie, she would talk all about you to the other ancients and to her own family.

"Have you seen my girlfriend?! I wish I could be strong just like her! I still remembered the time she won that berry juice drinking contest and gave me a kiss on the lips! I just loved her so much!!"

"Reader Cookie is definitely the best lover I could ever asked for! Look all of the flowers at the garden! The beauty that surrounded the palace gardens was just the same as my loving Reader Cookie!"

The time when she knew that your love for fighting and adventure shows up is when the two of you went to Cranberry Forest in search for one of the rarest berries had ever existed on her kingdom. You are so excited upon finding this berry that you almost slipped up here and there but luckily, your girlfriend was there to catch you from the mud slips.

Suddenly, a vicious tiger was running towards the both of you leaving no choice but to run. Your girlfriend refuses to run away in order to protect you. As she wields her shield, the tiger suddenly went limp as a huge branch was landed on its head.

Hollyberry Cookie was a bit stunted but realizes that you are the one who saved her, screaming a 'Shoo! Leave me and my girlfriend alone! Now shoo!!"

After you and your girlfriend successfully (and excitedly) find the rarest berry from the forest, you enjoyed it with an ice cold glass of juice while your girlfriend constantly teased you affectionately about your opposite personality.

Hollyberry Cookie loved that side of you, so she invited you another date but this time, to travel to all 4 corners of Earthbread. Or perhaps, she just wants this side of you more often...

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Do not republish, edit, or repost to other websites.

Reblogs and likes are appreciated! 💕

#cookie run x reader #crk x reader #cookie run kingdom #hollyberry cookie x reader #dark cacao cookie x reader #crk hollyberry cookie #crk dark cacao cookie #cookie run imagines #cookie run #cookie run kingdom x reader #cookie run kingdom headcanons

[gra-sonas]

CW viewers first met Nathan Dean as Jackson on the hit "Vampire Diaries" spinoff "The Originals." However, his werewolf stint on the series wasn't his first foray on TV. The actor starred in over 300 episodes of "General Hospital," later scoring roles on shows like "Bunheads," "True Blood," and "Once Upon a Time." Between his notable TV appearances, Dean appeared in movies such as "Teeth," "The Roommate," and "Pet."

Luckily for CW followers, the network frequently features actors from past projects in new endeavors, providing fans with plentiful reunions. After a successful run on the vampire show, Dean scored a leading role as Max in "Roswell, New Mexico." Sticking true to his supernatural roots, Dean plays an alien deputy (the outer space kind, of course). Early in Season 3, the CW greenlit a Season 4, with filming on the horizon.

Looper spoke to Nathan Dean in an exclusive interview, during which he dished on Season 3 of "Roswell, New Mexico," what he really thinks about UFOs, and what it was like working on "The Originals," "Once Upon a Time," and "True Blood."

Do you have a favorite moment with the cast on or off set?

I mean, I think this past year was probably just our first day back, being everyone was so locked down in the pandemic and just the fact that we were able to come back in October. I remember the first [day] we were trying out all these new COVID protocols. We had to wear masks. We had to do the thing, but just to see our crew again here.

I mean, the crew we have here in New Mexico is such a family to us. And being able to be on set, we had a day zero, and a day double zero, and test days. And the first day back was just the crew and me. And it was just so wonderful to see everyone again and realize it wasn't necessarily the apocalypse, the end of the world like we all thought, and we're back. We're back, and everyone was good, and everyone was very conscious of being healthy and staying in the bubble that we had, and just to see their faces again was fantastic.

The series recently changed showrunners. How do you feel about the new direction? And can you tease anything that fans might expect from Max's character arc this season?

Yeah. We did. I mean, Chris Hollier is our showrunner now, and he was a producer for us the last couple of years. And when he took over, we tried to move not only Max, but I think every character, into a more adult, mature way of operating. We spent a lot of time in Season 1 in particular, but Season 2 as well, flashing back to high school. And we all had a high school outlook on each other. And moving forward, we've been able to mature the characters, I think. And this year is a great year, I think, for Max in particular, because he has to literally look himself in the eye and become the person that he was meant to be instead of someone he used to be.

Were you a fan of the original "Roswell" before snagging your role on the series?

I had never actually seen it. I mean, I don't watch a whole lot of TV, and I was familiar with the show, and I knew the book series. So yeah, when we decided to reboot this thing, it was really, really cool to see the support that we got from the original show. And we've had some of the people back. Shiri [Appleby] directed episodes for us. Last year we had ... Jason [Behr] was back for a little bit. And it's just great to know that we're in this family. It's not like no one saw us as trying to take it over or rewrite history. We're just embracing the history that's already there and just building on it and spinning it into a modern world. So yeah, their support was wonderful, and we're excited to have more of that going forward.

What direction do you hope Max goes in the future?

Well, Max spends a whole lot of time this season having to look himself in the face — literally questions a lot of things. We've done a lot in the past, the high school flashbacks and this and that, but I think this year, not only for Max but for all the characters, we see this maturation happen where you're no longer looking backward into who they used to be. Now this season, we're finally looking forward to who we want to be. And I think Max and Joan embody that dynamic, but yeah, you see it with Michael, Isabel, Maria, Liz. You see every character really take a step forward this year, and that's a credit to our showrunner and to our writers for trusting us to take that leap and move the show, looking forward instead of looking back.

Are there any particular adult storylines that you're excited to maybe see him tackle or that you'd like to see him tackle?

Well, I think it's his relationship with Liz, really. We ended Season 2 in a pretty bad place. I mean, Liz runs off, Max goes all arsonist on her, it's a little bit of an immature response to something. You just have a temper tantrum and light everything on fire. But I think this year, yeah, we really see Max and Liz move forward in a way that is much more mature and adult and respectful. And they, I mean, obviously the elephant in the room is, "Well hey, you blew up all my stuff." "Yeah, sorry." But how do you come back from that? And I think we see them take a step forward in a big way this year, and I'm excited for people to see that this year because we haven't historically had a very adult relationship, and now we're moving towards that.

Is there anyone you'd love to see appear on the show?

I mean, I would love to have Jason [Behr] back, I would say. I mean, he wasn't with us for long last year, and it was just great to see him and learn from him and watch him work. So I would love to see some more of the 1940s flashback-y kind of stuff, learn some more of that. We have a little bit of that in season three. We have some of that, which is a lot of fun, and yeah, I mean, I'm always in for that.

I love flashbacks, other time periods, different things that shows do. Is there a time period that you'd love to see the show tackle in flashbacks?

Yeah. I mean, we get into it this year, more of the ... Because the crash was what? 1947, I believe. We get into that a little bit more, and that's always fun. I love that time period. I love being able to play in that arena, and hopefully, we get some more of that in Season 3, and hopefully, going forward in Season 4, we'll have some more of that as well.

Have you been able to direct yet?

I have not. I haven't tried. I haven't asked to. Actually Maria, Heather [Hemmens], who plays Maria on our show, she directed this past year. And I know Michael Trevino, who plays Kyle, he wants to get into directing. So hopefully, we'll have him this coming year. And I haven't looked to direct on this show. I would love to direct a short film or something like that, but on this show, I'll leave our show to the professionals. I'll find directing somewhere else.

"Roswell, New Mexico" actually films in New Mexico. How do you think that choice has positively affected the feel of the show?

Oh, it changes everything. I mean, New Mexico, I don't know if you've had a chance to come out here, but New Mexico is such an amazing place. I mean, they call it the Land of Enchantment for a reason. Growing up in Texas, I've driven through New Mexico a million times, but I never stopped. And when I finally got here and just took it in, I mean, the sky is huge out here. The air is different out here. It's everywhere you look: the sunsets are incredible. It informs so much of the show.

And also, having crew from New Mexico, having a local crew out here, you see it on our show, the turquoise, just the style, the whole thing. But we see that every day. That's just the people that we work with, and to be able to film here, I think, informs so much of what it is to crash land in this crazy place. And yeah, I don't think we could pull this off anywhere else. This is such a wonderful place, and yeah, we're very lucky to be here.

Speaking of crash landing, New Mexico has been a hotbed for reported UFO sightings for years. Have you ever seen anything weird yourself, or have you heard stories from other cast members or locals?

I haven't heard any abduction stories, but it's definitely ... we get on set every time there's an airplane or an airline will report that they've seen something weird. We're the first ones to know about it. I mean, the skies here are crazy — there are times when you look up in the clouds, you're like, "Is that something? I don't know." But yeah, I mean, we have all that here. We're very much in it, but yeah, I have not personally been abducted yet, but I'm hoping for it.

Fingers crossed? [Laughs] So in June, the government released a report confirming that they can't explain 143 UFO sightings, which is a wild revelation. Do you think that there's any credence to the idea that these might be actual extraterrestrial events, or do you think there's a simpler explanation to all of that?

I mean, I think it definitely it could be. I'm not writing it off. When you hear, you see videos, you can see video of Air Force pilots, and there's something on their radar that you just can't explain. I don't know if it's aliens. I don't know if it's probes or some sort of drone that someone sent out, I don't know. But it wouldn't surprise me if it was true. I mean, I think the universe is too big of a place for us to be all alone here. And if aliens are going to come somewhere, you should come to New Mexico because it's awesome and we're waiting for you.

So would you be team "Leave the aliens alone and let them do their thing," or "Let's initiate contact and see what happens"?

Oh, I would love to initiate contact. I would love to. I would love to go on a spaceship. I would love to go explore that. I think if ... There are all these movies, "War of the Worlds." There's all this stuff that imagines aliens are going to come here and destroy us. If you're going to travel all that distance, you're not looking to destroy anybody. So I think it would be a really interesting conversation. I think we would have a lot to learn from an advanced civilization that traveled all this way. I think we would have a lot to learn.

The series tackles a ton of critical social issues like immigration, ICE, and domestic violence. Have there been any of those subjects that particularly resonate with you and that you're proud of the show for homing in on? And is there something that you'd like to see them do in the future?

Well, for me personally, I mean, I'm a cop on the show. That's been a huge debate over the last couple of years, and this season, we get into the good and the bad of that. We see the good sides of it and what it can be, and then we also can see the bad side.

And for me personally, that's been something that I think we've talked about a little bit that I'm very happy with. And also, I mean, everyone just went through this huge pandemic. We can't ignore that. So that's something, when our character of Kyle, who's a doctor — what he's had to go through — I think that's one of the things that makes our show relatable and makes our show ... we're not shying away from the cop controversy. We're not shying away from the things people had to go through with the pandemic.

We're willing to talk about it. And thankfully, we have such a great platform to do that with this backdrop of aliens and all this stuff. We can really home in on the human aspects of that world, given the fact that we're an alien show. It makes talking about the human stuff much more, I think, palpable. And yeah, that's something that we've always done. And going forward, we'll see what the world has in store for us the next year or two, and we'll talk about that, whatever comes up, we're here for it.

Several other actors from the "Vampire Diaries" universe have also come to "Roswell." What was it like working with Riley Voelkel and Steven Krueger again — and getting a chance to work with other "TVD" alums, like Michael Trevino and Kayla Ewell?

It's great. I mean, CW does a great job of keeping the family together. Working with Trevino is fantastic. He's a great guy, and I've known him for a long time. Same with Jason Krueger and Riley. I've known them for a long time, and just to have those familiar faces around is always nice, but it's fun too then to see these people who, we come from this vampire-werewolf world, and now we're in this alien world. It's fun to see that transition and get to see what else they can bring to the table.

Definitely. So you've been a werewolf, you've been a vampire, you've been an alien, and you've even been a fairytale character. Do you have a favorite? And do you gravitate more toward shows with supernatural undertones, or did it just sort of happen that way?

It just sort of happened. I mean, I would say for me, my favorite is always just being a human. That seems to be the hardest job to get, but no, I mean, it just sort of happened. And it's fun because, like I was saying, having a backdrop of something supernatural highlights the humanity.

I mean, if you have this ... There are aliens, and there's this, and there's that, but then you have these human moments, and those are the ones that you hold precious because sure, you can throw people around and you can jump out of trees, and you can do all this crazy supernatural stuff. But at the end of the day, it's about the human moments. And I think that's what supernatural shows tend to bring out the most.

"Roswell" isn't your first time being on a CW show. You also starred in "The Originals." What was it like working on set with Phoebe Tonkin and Joseph Morgan and the rest of that cast?

Oh, they were great. I mean, we were out in Atlanta, and I mean, geez, that was like five, six, seven years ago now.

Really? That long?

Right? Crazy. But it was great. I mean, every set is going to be different, and we were in Atlanta for "The Originals." And so we had the Atlanta crew there, and we got to know that city a lot. And then moving out here to New Mexico, it's a completely different landscape. It's a completely different setup.

Thankfully it's nice to always have the familiar faces, but yeah, we have a New Mexico crew, and this platform is totally different because we're not talking about supernatural witchcraft and this and that. We're talking about sci-fi. We're talking about aliens. We're talking about all this other stuff. So I mean, they're both different. I mean, I loved Atlanta. I will always love Atlanta, but yeah, I'm just grateful to be out here in New Mexico now.

Is there anything you wish that Jackson did on the show before your storyline ended, and how do you feel about your character's first ending and then getting to meet Hope and Hayley again at the end?

I think that was a really sweet way to go out. Jackson was always a passenger on that ship. The story was about the vampires and about Phoebe's character, and Jackson was always just sort of a bystander. So, to have that kind of closure with Hope at the end and have that moment, it was nice. I think Jackson serves his purpose. The story wasn't about him, but yeah, it was nice that they brought me back, and I was able to have that moment.

To that end, "The Originals" birthed the backdoor pilot for the "Legacies" spinoff. Would you come back for something like a flashback episode if given the opportunity? Or are you happy with where it ended up?

I'm happy where it ended up. I think "Legacies" is on its own journey now. And I know the actress who plays Hope, and I know that they're on their own path. Jackson doesn't really have a place there.

The great thing about the entire "Vampire Diaries" franchise is its deep roots in history, culture, and folklore. Do you have any favorite storylines, time periods, or pieces of folklore that the show tackled throughout its run?

Yeah, I mean, I think when I was doing the vampire/werewolf stuff, it was fascinating to learn so much about where those legends came from. The origin stories of, you have, what was it? Vlad the Impaler was one of the first people thought to be vampires and these horribly dark stories that gave rise to these myths and legends.

And it was really, really fun to just learn about all of that and to learn the history of where these myths come from and why they're so compelling today. I mean, why do we still talk about this stuff? What is it that draws our attention to it? So it was just fun to learn, I mean, from an intellectual standpoint, just get into the mindsets of people that may have thought these bloodthirsty sorts of things. It was kind of wild, and yeah, it was a lot of fun to learn about.

You had a stint as James in the last season of "True Blood." Was it difficult coming on so late into such a beloved show? Were you nervous, or did you feel welcomed right away? And what was your biggest takeaway from that series?

I definitely felt welcomed. I actually knew Deborah Ann Woll, who played my love interest off the top. I knew her from way long ago. We actually go way back. So I was familiar enough with the cast and crew. They welcomed me in. It was weird coming in at the end of a show because they had been together for seven years at that point, that cast.

And stepping in, I got to see a lot of the heartbreak and the sadness of it coming to an end, but I was grateful to be a part of it. And I learned a lot from Stephen [Moyer] and from Anna [Paquin], and it was a great environment. I wish it had gone on longer, but I was grateful for the year that I got there.

You played another classic fairytale character in "Once Upon a Time" as Hansel. What was that experience like? And how do you feel that the show handled its own spin on the Hansel and Gretel fairytale? And do you have any fond memories of that set and that cast?

Well, I love that set. I mean, actually, our current showrunner, Chris Hollier, was one of the writers on that show. And I was in a situation this year similar to the one I was in when I was on "Once Upon a Time" — getting to have this dual life, this secret life. And I like the direction that they went on "Once Upon a Time," it was a lot of fun, but it was a great crew. It was a great cast. And it was fun to play a little darkly twisted version of a fairytale character. You think fairytales, you think happily ever after, but yeah, I didn't have one of those kinds of characters on that show, and it was really fun. It was very fun to play the dark side of all that.

Is there any other franchise that you'd like to break into? "Star Wars"? Marvel? Anything like that?

Oh, any of it, all of it. Yeah, sure. I mean, I would love to, Disney+, they're doing a lot of great stuff with Marvel and with the "Star Wars" franchise. And I mean, I would love to be any part of that because Marvel's just awesome. So, that would just be fun, but "Star Wars" is cool because it's a time period in and of itself. They really have created this out-of-time universe that there are spaceships, but they also have lightsabers, and they're sword fighting, but they're flying through the galaxy. So it's this weird mashup. That would definitely be fun. I mean, I would love to get into any of that.

Would you want to play an alien? A Jedi? Or a Sith?

Ooh.

That's the real question.

Maybe a Sith. I don't know. Yeah. I think that would be fun. Yeah, yeah. You just don't have rules at that point.

I feel like the Jedi don't follow any of their rules either. [Laughs]

That is true. They have a lot of rules, they just don't listen. Yeah.

Is there anything else that's upcoming for you that you want to talk about?

I don't know. I mean, right now, I'm just focused on Season 4. We get started in a couple weeks. I'm curious to see how we springboard off of Season 3, because Season 3 is wild, and I hope people enjoy it as much as we did filming it. So I'm excited to tackle Season 4, and then beyond that, we'll see if we get to Season 5.

We'll be lucky to do that, but yeah, I mean, there are always projects. There's so much happening in the world of TV right now and in film, and there are so many different avenues that you can take. We had actors on our show that were directing their own short films this past year that were doing all this. So there are tons of avenues for it. And I'm just focused on Season 4 right now. I'll be doing that for the next six months, and then beyond that, we'll see. We'll see what comes down the pipe.

Is there anything else about the show or anything else you want to add?

No. I mean, not really. I mean, I think I'm excited to hear feedback and to hear what people think about the different, the Jones, Max difference, this sort of dichotomy that we have in Season 3. I'm excited to see what people think about that and what that reveals going forward. And then, yeah, again, I'm excited to see these characters take a step forward in terms of their maturity with each other and respecting each other and Liz and Max finally figuring it out and finally getting on the same page for the first time. So that'll all be fun. That'll be fun looking forward.

Definitely. Well, congratulations on getting a new season before the current one has even popped off. I love seeing that.

#nathan dean parsons #max evans #rnm cast interviews #rnm spoilers #roswell new mexico s3

[witcherslittledove]

Home is Where the Heart Is

A Joey/Henry lockdown fic - AO3

Rated: T

Words: 7k ish

CW: RPF, covid, far too much pining?

_______

“I’m sorry, Joey,” Madeleine sighed again, pressing her head into the crook of Joey’s neck, her hair tickling his cheek.

It was pulled back into a messy bun, flyaway strands surrounding her face in a halo, and as the sun shone from behind her, she looked like some kind of angel. Joey wondered, not for the first time, how he’d even been so lucky to have Madeleine as a friend. She truly was a wonder, his favourite person and light of his life. Everyone should have a friend like Madeleine Hyland.

He laughed and pressed a kiss to her temple as he pulled back from her embrace. “Nah, it’s alright, Madeleine. Your parents need you, much more important than little old me.”

“Oh fuck that, you bastard, stop fishing for compliments,” she laughed, swatting him on the arm.

“Aww,” he pouted, “Oi!”

She’d hit his arm again, barely a tap but he pretended it hurt, rubbing his arm and pouting even harder at his friend.

“Come off it, Joey. You’re staying with Henry for the rest of lockdown, that’s hardly a trial,” she teased, poking him in the chest.

Ah yes.

Henry.

The bane of Joey’s existence, mostly because of the fucking ginormous crush he had on his co-star. He hadn’t known Henry had been signed on for Geralt until his audition, really he hadn’t known much at all, just that he’d be auditioning for a bard and that he should probably take his lute to the audition. A spur of the moment decision that had turned his life upside down. He’d gone from a nobody to... well, not exactly famous but people had started to recognise him, much to his despair.

And then there was Henry.

He’d been admiring Henry from a distance for a few years now, watching him in the Tudors had sort of been Joey’s bisexual awakening, and then he’d suddenly been thrust into the most bizarre experience of having to work fairly closely with the man.

Joey would never forget the feeling of Henry throwing him over his shoulder as if he wasn’t almost the same size as Henry.

Fuck, that had been hot.

And now, Joey had to cohabit with said crush for an indeterminate amount of time, preferably without making a fool of himself.

He was doomed.

Of course, he could have said no when Henry had offered his place when Joey was grumbling about being alone during lockdown after Madeleine's parents got sick, but no… Henry had stared at him with such shining hope in his eyes that Joey never stood a chance.

Joey just needed to keep reminding himself that Henry was straight. He was practically the poster boy for heteronormative; classically gorgeous, action star, gymrat, lover of sports and building fucking computers.

Okay, maybe Joey was generalising a tad, but it was a form of self-defence.

Christ, the mere thought that Henry could be interested in men… interested in him.

It was too much.

So here he was, saying goodbye to his best friend whilst waiting for his biggest crush to pick him up. Madeleine bundled into her car with the last of her bags, and Joey was left waiting on the pavement. In all honesty, he would have preferred to drive to Henry’s place himself or at least get the tube, something where he felt like he was actively doing something. The waiting was killing him, making his thoughts run out of control. Maybe he shouldn’t have packed his guitar. He could have at least been tuning it, or plucking out some meaningless melody, anything to keep his hands busy and his mind distracted.

When the black car pulled up, Joey let out a sigh of relief before realising that it was very much frying pan, fire. Luckily, before he could really start to panic, the back door opened and Joey was almost bowled off his feet by a large bundle of fur that Henry claimed was a dog and not, in fact, a bear.

“Kal!” Joey greeted warmly, burying his fingers into Kal’s neverending fur, and letting the dog lick all over his face.

“He’s missed you,” Henry called in lieu of a greeting.

He was wearing a grey henley that looked like it was two sizes too small and his dark blue jeans seemed to strain against his quads. Henry’s arms were crossed in front of his chest and he looked down at Joey with a blinding Hollywood smile that made Joey’s heart flutter. Dark curls seemed to have finally recovered from the weeks stuck under Geralt’s wig and they fell in front of his so very blue eyes.

He was bloody gorgeous, and it wasn’t fucking fair.

So Joey did the only logical thing, and started to coo at Kal instead. “I’ve missed him too,” he trilled happily into the dog’s fur, scratching Kal behind his ears. “Such a good boy! The bestest, cutest doggo.”

“He’s not the only one who’s missed you, you know,” Henry groused, although when Joey looked up, he was still smiling so Joey didn’t feel too bad for paying far more attention to Kal than the gorgeous specimen of a man that is Henry Cavill.

“Aww, you sap,” he chuckled. “Well, I still haven’t forgiven you for those cruel and terrible words you cursed me with the last time we met.”

It wasn’t the last time they’d met. They’d had a few scenes after the argument in episode six. Scheduling had meant that it wasn’t filmed entirely in order, and then there had been reshoots and post-production parties, premieres and the table reads for season two, but it was a sort of in-joke. Joey liked to tease Henry about the argument, they’d both lurked enough online to know that ‘the mountain’ was a big fucking deal to the fans of their characters.

Henry rolled his eyes and opened his arms out for a hug which Joey eagerly returned, inhaling the soft musky cologne that Henry wore and enjoying the strongs arms that wrapped around him. He loved hugs, but most of Joey’s male friends would do that god awful hug and pat thing, then pull away too soon. Henry had never been like that and it was delightful, even if it really didn’t help the not so little crush that Joey had on the man.

It was cliche but it really did feel like coming home.

Fuck.

He was utterly screwed… and not even in the fun way.

The drive to Henry’s place was quiet, Joey spent most of the time watching the streets of London roll past as they weaved through bendy roads that webbed across the city. The traffic was weirdly non-existent, a side effect of a global pandemic, and he couldn’t help but be reminded of the ghost towns from films and books.

It was truly haunting, spooky in just the right way. Horror and the Wild had very much had woodland magic vibes, but driving through the dead streets of London, Joey wondered what happened to the fae when a city sprung up near their home. Did they adapt like the wildlife did? Urban spirits that lurked in the shadows, in the alleys, behind the bins and cobbled streets at the back of theatres.

Most theatres were supposed to be haunted, Joey had always wondered just who the spirits were that glided through the aisles when the shows went dark.

Henry didn’t feel the need to fill the silence which Joey was grateful for. On set, with Jaskier on his fingertips, Joey was happy to joke about and laugh and banter, but he was nervous about the move to Henry’s and the silence gave him time to get lost in his own imagination, a reality that wasn’t quite the one they knew.

He was almost disappointed when the car pulled to a stop in front of a rather grand house. It was part of a terrace but that was unsurprising, most places in London were, but it was much nicer than the shitty little flat that Joey shared with Madeleine.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

They were poles apart. Even being friends was unrealistic. How the hell was Joey supposed to even pretend they were in the same league? It was fine. Everything was going to be fine. Joey just had to be a perfect house guest, no clumsy mistakes, no setting fire to any ovens, and no slipping in the shower and messing up his ankle.

He’d just have to spend all his time with Kal lest Henry find out just how much of a walking disaster he could be.

Henry had only offered because he was a caregiver, selfless and kind in everything he did. He would have done the same to anyone else if they’d mentioned spending lockdown alone. Joey was just the lucky one.

Or unlucky.

He hadn’t quite decided yet.

Yes, he would just have to spend his days with Kal and his guitar, stay out of Henry’s way and then everything would be fine.

Right?

___

Joey’s plan went according to plan for almost an entire week. He mostly kept to his room and occasionally the living room. Henry wanted to show Joey some films he liked and it would have been rude to say no, so Joey curled up with Kal on the floor to keep some space between them. That way he wouldn’t be tempted to snuggle up against Henry’s chest the same way he did with Madeleine, only it wouldn’t be the same because Madeleine was his best friend and Henry was… well… Henry.

It was such a mess.

And he was probably being an arse.

They’d gotten along so well on set in between takes, but now, without Jaskier there as a crutch, Joey’s anxiety was getting the better of him, and all because of a stupid crush. This would all be a lot easier if Joey were straight; no awkward crushes, no pining for a man he couldn’t have, no… whatever this was?

He could flirt and tease and banter just like he would with any of his friends because it was harmless.

If only.

No.

He had to do better. The reason Henry had invited him to stay was so neither of them would be alone, and despite all his cuddles with Kal, Joey was really starting to feel touch starved. He’d never gone so long without human touch.

The problem was that Henry was just so fucking sweet. He was so bloody understanding that it made Joey just yearn even harder. There was never any pressure to hang out, just gentle suggestions, and the most amazing home-cooked meals that Henry said could be heated up another time if Joey wasn’t hungry. The wine Henry picked out to go with the meal was heavenly, and fuck, the man could cook.

He felt like he was being seduced; wooed with the most gorgeous culinary delights that were truly to die for.

What was a poor bisexual to do?

So every evening Joey would sit across from Henry at the table, trying to joke and laugh just as they had before, but even to his own ears it felt flat. Madeleine’s voice in his head reminded him that that was probably his anxiety speaking but, of course, he ignored it. They ate their food and then Joey would either retreat to his room with his beloved guitar or Henry would suggest a film.

Until Henry decided enough was enough.

Joey was lured from his room with the sweet delicious smell of pizza, and when he came down the stairs he found Henry already on the couch, two boxes of pizza and a couple of beers already opened and ready to go.

There was no sitting on the floor, not with pizza and a Kal. Joey wouldn’t get to taste the greasy wonders of his takeaway if he sat on the floor, and the pizza box was already being guarded by Henry on the couch.

He had to break his rule.

Fuck.

“Kitchen table not good enough?” he teased with a quirk of his lips.

Henry scoffed. “Who eats pizza at the table?”

It was a fair point and sighed, resigning himself to an evening pressed up against his friend when his cuddle instincts got too much. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing, maybe it would help get him out of his head and into the moment… maybe he should just let Jaskier out of the box and pretend that all was fine?

No.

He could do this. Just… be himself?

“Before I open this box, there is one very important question I have to ask,” he said far too seriously, barely able to hide a smile as he scooped the pizza box into his lap and sat down next to Henry, keeping a safe distance between them.

“There’s no pineapple.”

“Oh thank fuck for that,” Joey laughed and opened the box. It was a standard pepperoni pizza, not his go to, but it was a safe option and one that was always yummy regardless of the restaurant. “Garlic dip?” he asked with a cock of his head.

“Damn, I hoped you wouldn’t like it,” Henry grumbled and pulled a small green topped tub from inside his own box.

“You!” Joey said in mock outrage, “keeping the beloved dip from me. It’s like the mountain all over again.”

“It’s not like the mountain,” Henry grumbled. “I didn’t make the script, you can’t keep blaming me for that.”

Joey’s heart sank as he wondered if he’d taken the joke too far, but when he met Henry’s gaze he saw the man was smiling despite his grousing. “I can,” he insisted.

“Hmm,” Henry replied in his most Geralt-y voice.

And with an internal sigh of relief, everything seemed to be okay. Yes, Joey was pulling some of his energy from his beloved character, but so was Henry, and it seemed to smooth out the edges of his anxiety. The beer helped and everything seemed a lot more relaxed with the takeaway pizza and the film already starting to play on the TV.

“I’m sorry,” Henry whispered after the pizza was finished and the credits had started to roll.

Joey’s head was resting on his friend’s shoulder but he’d managed to keep himself from koala hugging… so far. The vulnerability caught his attention though, and he sat up wearily to peer at Henry.

“For what?”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by inviting you here.”

Joey wanted to swear, to stomp around the room and tear the place upside down. He’d fucked up. He knew he’d fucked up, his damn anxiety keeping him from being the person he wanted to be, the person he knew he could be if his head just shut up! He didn’t do any of that though. Instead, he slumped back down to lean against Henry and took a deep breath.

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“I didn’t?”

“No. I’m just- it’s hard for me, being somewhere new,” not a lie, not entirely the truth, “and I didn’t want to encroach on your space. This is your home, and I- umm- I didn’t want to get in the way.”

Henry laughed, running a hand through his hair, pushing the curls back off his face, and Joey was entranced for a moment, wanting to reach out and feel the soft hair between his fingers for himself. It was a miracle that he managed to keep his hands in his own lap.

“Joey, this is our home, for now at least,” Henry said with such conviction and warmth that Joey made a sort of strangled noise in the back of his throat.

“Our home?”

“We have no idea how long this nightmare is going to last. It could be months, Joey. I want you to feel like you can relax here,” Henry insisted, wrapping his arm around Joey’s shoulder and pulling him into a sideways hug.

“Right- yeah, no, I know,” Joey mumbled, trying and failing not to blush.

Now that Henry wasn’t really having to watch what he ate and stay dehydrated for dear old Geralt, he was big.

And Joey was weak.

It was like all his wet dreams were becoming a reality, one by one.

He was just monkey-braining over the fact that Henry was one big, large, strong man that wanted to take care of him. It was pathetic. Joey wasn’t exactly small himself, and he could, should the role require it, hold up pretty well in a sword fight with Henry and not look entirely ridiculous.

“And I know Kal is very cute,” Henry teased, nodding to the dog who was sprawled on the carpet in front of them, “but if you ever need a hug, he’s not your only option.”

Joey definitely didn’t squeak this time. Instead, he finally let himself snuggle up to Henry the way he’d been wanting to all evening, every evening since he’d arrived. “Like this?” he teased.

Henry chuckled, and just squeezed his arms tighter around Joey, “Exactly.”

“I’m sorry,” Joey mumbled. “I was being an arse.”

“No, it’s not your fault.”

Joey scoffed.

“I should have been clearer on day one,” Henry sighed, “although seeing as you live here now, maybe you should cook?”

Joey laughed nervously, burying his face into Henry’s jumper. “Neither of us want that,” he muttered. “Trust me.”

“I’ll help?” Henry suggested, which of course brought forth a dozen images of cooking together, dancing in the kitchen to whatever songs fell past Joey’s lips, lazy early morning kisses as they waited for the coffee.

He swallowed, blinking away the fantasies. “How about you cook, and I’ll help?”

“Lazy,” Henry said with a chuckle but just pulled Joey closer.

“Only trying to keep you safe, darling.”

Darling.

Fuck.

“I mean, Henry, sorry, slip of the tongue. I mean- fuck. I call Madeleine darling all the time?”

“Joey, it's okay,” Henry reassured him.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

With a sigh, Joey untangled himself from Henry’s arms and gathered up the pizza boxes and empty beer cans. Booping Kal on the nose as he went past, he busied himself with clearing up. It wasn’t much and didn’t take long, so sooner than he would have liked he poked his head back around the door.

Henry was sitting on the floor, rough-housing Kal, chuckling as the dog kept licking at his face. The sight made Joey smile softly, and he almost didn’t want to leave, but he was getting tired and he really didn’t want to slip up again. He couldn’t blame every mistake on Madeleine. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

“I’m going to bed,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his hair. “See you tomorrow, Henry.”

_______

After that, things started to get easier. Joey would flop down onto the sofa next to Henry in the evenings regardless of what they were doing. Sometimes he’d lie with his head in Henry’s lap whilst they both read a book, other times he’d pluck at his guitar and laugh over stupid limericks that he could make up about his co-star. True to his word, Henry made Joey start helping with mealtimes, although he soon regretted that decision but refused to back down. The food still tasted good but the presentation was lacking. They spent an afternoon trying to bake bread together… Joey’s did not turn out so well and Henry’s attempt was thankfully less than perfect but still edible. The little flaws made Joey feel a little less inferior, and made Henry seem all the more human.

Kal still got a lot of Joey’s attention. How could he not? He was just so fluffy and adorable, plus Joey loved the little pout that Henry did whenever Kal got more hugs than he did. Joey could pretend that his friend was jealous, and that just helped him sleep a little easier at night.

Cuddling on the couch had become their usual routine, and it settled something deep inside of Joey that had been becoming restless. Mornings were spent watching Henry workout. Joey joined in occasionally but usually he would just cheer Henry on from the sidelines sipping his cup of tea. It was a sight to behold, and Joey thanked the lord that the gyms were currently closed otherwise he would never have been allowed to enjoy the view.

Henry’s arse was truly spectacular.

Despite his morning workouts, Henry had definitely gained a rather lovely layer of fat over his previously tightly toned muscles. He looked stronger. He looked cuddlier. Joey’s crush was only getting worse by the day, wanting to run his hands over the broad muscles of Henry’s back, thighs, arms… wherever he was allowed, but he just settled for the cuddling each day.

Joey tried not to think about the fat building over his own stomach and filling out his cheeks, barely noticeable unless you’d had a lifetime of his mother breathing down his neck about his weight. He was cuddlier too, that’s what he told himself whenever the familiar buzz of anxiety started to build up.

And anyway, Henry didn’t seem to mind.

Kal certainly didn’t. The beast of a dog had started to share the sofa with them in the evenings, squishing between them for maximum cuddle potential until eventually he got bored and retreated back to the floor.

It was really starting to feel like home. There were signs of Joey around the house, sheet music left on the TV cabinet, a set of spare lute strings in the kitchen, the bastard instrument tucked away in the corner of the living room until Joey could bring himself to pick it up. Two sets of keys now hung up by the front door so they could both take turns walking Kal without having to worry about getting locked out if the other was busy. A fluffy worn blanket was now strewn over the big armchair where Joey liked to sit during the day. Even the fridge now stocked Joey’s favourite rosé wine.

All in all, Joey wasn’t hating lockdown. It was frustrating but he enjoyed being inside anyway, and well, the company was pretty great.

The two of them were curled up on the sofa watching the Great British Bake Off on netflix, gin and tonics flowing a little too freely, and Joey felt like he was on top of the world. He had the best cuddler in all of England, nay, the world, a big fluffy puppy to boot and some bloody brilliant booze in hand.

The best thing was that Henry’s hoody had shifted up at some point during the evening, and Joey couldn’t take his eyes off the soft but defined muscles that were often hidden under Henry’s clothes. The dark hair that dipped beneath the exposed band of Henry’s boxers was tantalizing, and Joey longed to reach out and touch…

Only he was drunk enough that his inside thoughts had his hand moving before he could realise, landing on Henry’s stomach.

He froze and stared up at his friend with wide eyes.

“Oops,” he slurred.

“That’s my stomach,” Henry pointed out.

And still Joey didn’t remove his hand, relishing the bare skin beneath his fingertips, but he knew he needed an excuse, so he did the only logical thing and launched his attack. Henry was stronger than him, but Joey had the element of surprise as he tickled his friend, fingers dancing across the exposed skin as Henry desperately tried to shove Joey away. They were both laughing, too busy pushing and pulling at each other, that neither of them quite registered that at some point in the tussle, Joey had straddled Henry’s waist in an attempt to keep him pinned down.

Until suddenly their lips were barely a breath apart.

Oh.

“Hi,” Joey mumbled, smiling coyly down at Henry, the longer strands of his fringe falling into his eyes.

“Hi.”

It wouldn’t take much to lean down and kiss him, maybe Henry would even reach up first. There was no denying the sudden pull between them, and god, Joey wanted it. He’d wanted it for so long now.

So close.

The warmth of Henry’s breath brushing against his lips.

Eyes closed.

Hearts racing.

A soft whisper of a moan.

And then a bark rang out in the room, startling Joey and shattering the moment. He cursed as he fell to the floor, the world spinning from the gin and giddy burst of adrenaline. Kal jumped up into Henry’s lap, barking and whining excitedly at his owner, checking that he was okay following Joey’s tyrannical tickle attack.

Joey felt like an ice bucket had been dumped over his head, feeling far too sober, far too fast.

He’d almost kissed Henry.

He’d almost kissed Henry.

Fuck!

“Right,” he slurred as he pushed his hands back through his hair- too long, needed a haircut. “Bedtime, sleep. Yup.”

“Joey?”

“See you in the morning?” he mumbled, although glancing at the clock, he wondered if that was a little optimistic. “Tomorrow,” he amended.

“Tomorrow,” Henry agreed, looking a little disappointed.

Joey refused to think about it. He wouldn’t start to hope. It would hurt too much if this all went wrong.

______

They didn’t talk about it.

Or rather, Joey, didn’t talk about it.

Henry tried to bring it up the next morning but Joey just laughed it off before his heart could get torn to pieces. He didn’t need confirmation that his crush was a no go. He already knew, but he really didn’t need to hear the words. Not to mention his hangover was an utter bitch and all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and feel sorry for himself, which is exactly what he did.

After a few days, or was it weeks, months, years? Time seemed to stop existing, all Joey knew was his clothes seemed to be tighter than before and he was in desperate need of a haircut, but after a lockdown-eque period of time, all was forgotten. They fell back into their usual routine, and Joey’s crush continued to simmer just below the surface, unnoticed by Henry.

He’d started to facetime Madeleine most evenings just before bed now that the novelty of living with a bloody filmstar had worn off. He missed her terribly and she seemed to be going crazy at her parent’s house. There was a twinge of guilt stabbing in his chest when he realised he’d all but forgotten about her the first few weeks of lockdown, but it was nice to catch up with her again.

Henry was brilliant, but he was no Madeleine Hyland. He wasn’t Joey’s best friend.

And sometimes Joey just needed to vent about Henry’s stranger habits. Like seriously, why wass there that weird sponsored water just stationed around the house? And what was with the weirdly staged selfies on instagram. It made Joey feel a whole lot better about his own lack of media presence. He’d rather be a mystery online than this boomer energy than Henry had going on.

Venting to Madeleine helped too, he got less frustrated about the shit hole that was life during a pandemic. A little less angry, a little less depressed, and a little less pathetic with his pining over Henry, although Madeleine would probably disagree.

She was probably right.

The sudden cold turn in the weather hadn’t helped. It wasn’t too bad but Joey had mostly brought summer clothes with him because he honestly hadn’t thought he’d be staying more than a couple of weeks. Thankfully he’d thrown in a couple of onesies for comfort reasons so he spent most his days dressed like a tiger and hoping that Henry would find it endearing. The best part was his onesies were a bit looser and fit him more comfortably than his normal clothes. A lockdown diet was brilliant, but not exactly what he’d had in mind when he’d gone shopping all those years ago.

What he hadn’t expected, was for Henry to rock up to dinner wearing the stupid bunny onesie that Joey had left in his room.

“There,” Henry greeted him with a broad smile, “Now we match.”

It wasn’t fair. Joey wanted to kiss him so badly. The white onesie was a little short on Henry, pulling up just above his ankles, and it still managed to stretch at his shoulders, but it was so fucking adorable and Joey could pin point the exact moment his crush tumbled over the edge into love.

It was the crinkles at the corner of Henry’s eyes as he smiled, the slight tilt of his head, the sparkle in his ocean blue eyes.

Except they weren’t just blue. No, there were specks of golden brown in one eye, that were just captivating. Joey felt like he could so easily get lost in Henry. Every time he looked at the man he found something new and exciting.

“Darling, you look adorable!” he cooed, before he could get too distracted by the fluttering of his own heart. “Very cuddly.”

Henry chuckled and opened his arms wide, allowing Joey to barrel into them. “That was the idea.”

“So, what’s for dinner?” he asked, hoping that Henry would have forgotten that-

“It’s your turn to cook.”

“Bugger,” Joey whined. “Cheesy pasta?”

“You made that last time,” Henry teased.

“I’m very good at carbonara!” Joey countered.

“Melted cheese on pasta isn’t carbonara.”

Joey scoffed. “Eh, close enough.”

“Fine, make your cheesy pasta.”

“Carbonara,” Joey said with a wink. “I’ll add bacon this time.”

The pasta was overcooked and the bacon was a little chewy, but it was dinner, and afterwards Henry made them both extravagant hot chocolates made from actual chocolate rather than powder shit that Joey used. It was covered in whipped cream and marshmallows and had a healthy amount of Baileys to top it off. They curled up on their usual spot on the sofa, buried under blankets and held the warm mugs close to their chests.

If it had been snowing, then Joey would have thought he’d walked into a Christmas film, all it needed was a fireplace and some fairy lights. It was cosy and warm, and a little bit romantic, or it would be if Henry was interested in men and Joey was his type.

No, he couldn’t think like that.

They were friends, good friends, good friends that liked to cuddle and almost kiss if the dog hadn’t interrupted.

It was fine.

Everything was fine.

He took a long gulp of his hot chocolate to stave off his anxiety, not noticing when his nose dived straight into the whipped cream until he looked up to find Henry staring at him with a fond expression. Warmth flooded through Joey’s chest as he returned the smile, feeling high on love and sugar.

“Hi,” he breathed, sounding as love sick as he felt.

Henry’s smile brightened, filling the whole room with light and Joey could have sworn he could hear the swell of violins in the soundtrack of his life.

“Hi,” Henry replied easily as if he hadn’t stolen Joey’s breath, heart and soul. “You- umm, cream, here!”

Henry tapped his own nose.

“Oh cock!” Joey hurried to wipe his nose, almost spilling his hot chocolate in the process, “Fuck! Bugger, shit balls!”

Henry, the bastard, just laughed, his arms reaching out to steady the mug and stop Joey from falling to the ground. “I think you made it worse.”

Joey snorted “I got that, yup, thanks.”

This time he could feel the sticky sweet cream clinging to his cheek, the subtle taste of vanilla on his lips. He pouted up at Henry, gazing through his eyelashes in a way that he hoped could be played off as friendly, but also maybe a little bit seductive. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips and he barely resisted the urge to wink.

Maybe there had been more Bailey’s in his drink than he realised.

Instead, he just wiped his face and snuggled back up to Henry, pulling the blanket up to his chin. They settled on watching Always Sunny, so Joey didn’t really have to concentrate. He let the tension drain from his body as he listened to the familiar TV show and then closed his eyes. Warm, happy and wrapped up in the arms of the man he loved-

Joey fell asleep.

He didn’t notice the way Henry was staring down at him as if he hung the fucking moon and stars, or the inner turmoil his friend was plague with as Henry resisted leaning down to kiss Joey in his sleep.

No, Joey was blissfully ignorant, sleeping better than he had in weeks.

________

The rest of lockdown went by in a blur. Their routine started to seem normal and any doubts Joey had about spending so much time with Henry faded away. They bantered easily like they had on set, laughing and giggling over whatever stupid thing one of them had said. Henry would spend hours playing his video games whilst Joey zoomed Madeleine to work on their new album together. When the regulations relaxed they started to walk Kal together, enjoying the quiet summer days and fresh air. The cuddling never really stopped, and some mornings Joey would wake up still curled up against Henry’s chest, their limbs tangled from the night before.

Those were Joey’s favourite mornings. He’d be stiff all day from sleeping on the couch but he could pretend, for just a few moments, that things were more than they were.

The pining never went away but it was truly the sweetest torture that he’d ever had to endure. The domestic bliss being barely a step away from everything he craved.

And when the time came for Joey to return to his flat with Madeleine, he felt like shit. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay in the strange fantasy world he had with Henry, eating too much food and drinking too much wine, cuddling and watching crappy Netflix shows.

Which was why he was sat, staring at a messy pile of clothes on his bed, clothes he’d not worn in weeks. Over the chair were his onesies and a collection of jumpers and hoodies that he’d stolen from Henry over the last few months and weeks. Kal stared up at him from the floor, tail thumping against the carpet.

Joey sighed and ran his hand through his hair, trying desperately to ignore the ache in his chest that was growing more painful with everything second that passed. “I don’t know, Kal. I should be happy about going home.”

Kal didn’t respond, his tail still wagging away just like it always did whenever Joey paid attention to him.

“I miss Madeleine, of course I do, but living with Henry has been great. And you, I love you, big fluffy puppy!” He cooed with a big smile as Kal barked happily and jumped up onto the bed. Joey laughed as he tried to keep his face away from the attack, wrapping his arms around Kal’s neck and pressing his nose into the fur.

“If I tell him how I feel that’s just going to make season two really really awkward, but I just feel like I’m missing a chance, you know?”

If Kal knew, he either didn’t care or just enjoyed watching Joey suffer. There was no reply and Kal just rested his head in Joey’s lap.

“Yeah, right,” he muttered, still running his fingers through Kal’s fur. “You’re no use.”

Kal snorted at that and Joey rolled his eyes.

“But I love you anyway, yes I do!”

“Ready to go?” Henry asked from the door.

“Shit!” Joey yelped. “How long have you been standing there?!”

Henry chuckled, striding into the room and perching on the bed opposite Joey. He reached out to scratch Kal on the head with a dazzling smile. Joey felt his cheeks warm up and he buried his face in Kal’s fur to hide the blush. So many months and he still couldn’t stop his heart from racing whenever Henry smiled. He was pathetic.

And he was running out of time.

He knew it was a bad idea, even entertaining the thought of dating a co-star, but he’d regret it if he didn’t give it a shot. I mean he could always blame the mixed signals if it went wrong. They’d nearly kissed twice and Joey didn’t even cuddle Madeleine as much as he’d cuddled Henry. They were probably the only people that were less touch-starved during the lockdown than before.

So Joey was going to tell him.

Just three words.

He could do that.

Fuck!

He couldn’t do that.

“Joey?” Henry said, reaching out to squeeze Joey’s shoulder.

Joey blinked. Had Henry been talking to him? He’d asked a question so that would make sense. God, his anxiety had gone through the roof, it was like that first day all over again.

“Need to pack,” he mumbled, gesturing at his clothes.

Henry let out a long and heavy sigh, sounding just as thrilled about the idea as Joey did. “I suppose you do, yeah. When is Madeleine due over?”

Joey hummed, glancing at his watch. “Ten minutes ago. Lockdown traffic must be a thing of the past.”

“Pity.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Henry sighed.

Neither of them moved, both staring glumly at Kal who was happily nestled between them. It was strange but Joey had almost begun to think of Kal as his, theirs. Their home, their life, their dog. He would miss Kal very much.

He would miss Henry even more.

“Do you have a start date yet?” Joey asked, the restrictions were lifting and there were talks about getting back to work again, but it was all up in the air.

Henry shook his head. “Should be getting a call from my agent some time this week. I need to make sure my other projects can work around the schedule.”

Joey smirked, “Or my dear witcher will have a new face next time we meet,” he teased.

Henry scoffed. “Not a chance, you’re stuck with me, bard.”

“You still owe me an apology,” Joey shot back, not quite realising how close they’d gotten during their mock argument.

He swallowed and licked his lips, one hand reaching up to scratch the stubble on his cheek. His face was burning right up to the tips of his ears, his heart thumping in his chest. There was a spark of electricity crackling between them, the scent of coffee lingering on Henry’s breath.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Henry promised, voice hoarse and low, making heat spread through Joey’s body and the world around them seemed to disappear.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Henry breathed, the words shaky.

Joey longed to reach out and brush his fingertips along the strong line of Henry’s jaw, to feel the scratch of stubble beneath his skin. He longed to tangle his hands in the dark mess of curls, to see if they were really as soft as they looked. It felt as if there was a magnetic force pulling them closer, a string tying their souls together, binding them as one. Joey couldn’t ignore even if he wanted to, and he was over that. He couldn’t live inside his head any longer, not when there was a chance.

Hope.

Deadly, poisoning his very soul, until he could think of nothing except Henry’s lips on his, hands roaming bodies, pulling at hair, unable to resist the promised pleasures of sin. Tongues tangling. Hearts singing. One breath shared between two. Heat. Lust. Love.

Just Henry.

His love.

Joey closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Henry’s, their lips barely ghosting over each other, you really couldn’t call it a kiss; not yet. One more breath, a millimetre to close the gap.

A horn honked from outside and they pulled apart before they could cross the bridge, past the point of no return.

Joey let out a slightly manic laugh and ran his hands through his hair, whilst Henry went back to stroking Kal as he cleared his throat.

“Bollocks, I still haven’t packed.”

“I’ll invite Madeleine in for some tea,” Henry chuckled, stretching as he stood up.

Kal barked happily and jumped down, wagging his tail as he sniffed at Henry’s socks.

And Joey was left alone once more.

“Fuck!” he groaned, covering his face as he flopped back onto his pillows.

By the time he finished packing, Madeleine and Henry were laughing away in the kitchen like old friends.

Like Joey and Henry had so many times.

He wasn’t special. Henry was just that guy.

Hope.

Dangerous and lethal, stabbing into the heart and tearing the soul apart.

“Ready,” Joey mumbled, holding up his suitcase and guitar. “Might take a couple of trips, I have another bag upstairs and the damn lute.”

“Not sure I ever heard you play the lute?” Henry teased.

“Yeah well,” Joey grumbled and turned away from the kitchen before he could start crying.

He really really didn’t want to cry in front of Henry. What was a little heartbreak between friends? At least he could channel that into Jaskier whenever they finally got back onto set. God, he was a fucking mess.

“I’ll help you,” Henry volunteered because of course he would. He probably just wanted Joey gone sooner.

The poor bloke probably couldn’t wait to have his own space back without Joey’s inedible attempts at cooking, non-stop music and chatter, lazy slobbish evenings in front of the TV.

He wasn’t going to cry.

He wasn’t.

Fuck!

Joey sniffed and stumbled out the door, his hands gripping his suitcase so tight he thought he might break the handle. Back home with Madeleine, to his life, and his bed, and nights spent drinking too much wine and lurking on social media.

He’d just about managed to throw his suitcase into the boot when he heard a loud bark behind him, followed by Henry grunting. Joey was almost knocked off his feet as Kal bundled into him, circling around as he jumped up, winding the lead around Joey’s body and pulling a poor Henry with him.

Not that Joey was particularly complaining about having Henry pressed up against him, but did it have to be when he was crying?

Henry cursed, struggling to keep hold of the lead. Their faces were close and they had to wrap their arms around each other to keep steady. Joey laughed through his tears, reminded of a similar moment from one of his favourite Disney films.

Only Kal was a lot bigger than a Dalmatian.

“I don’t think he wants you to leave?” Henry said, smiling sheepishly.

Joey smiled back despite his broken heart. “Doesn’t look like it.”

“I- I don’t want you to leave either,” Henry whispered so quietly that Joey wasn’t sure whether he’d heard it at all. “I- umm, I like having you here… with me.”

“Oh,” Joey replied stupidly.

“Fuck, I- Joey… Can- can I kiss you?”

The world turned upside down. Joey's heart stopped and everything started to spin. He tried to process the words but nothing seemed to make sense. There was no fucking way that Henry had said that, that he wanted to- wanted to…

Fuck!

“Oh,” he repeated, blinking at Henry as he licked his lips. “I mean. Fuck. No, I mean… Christ. Yes. Please. Yes.”

Henry chuckled and cupped his cheek, pressing their lips together in the most tender of kisses, taking Joey’s breath away right there on the pavement. Joey just giggled when they parted and then swooped back in for another kiss, and another-

And he never wanted to stop.

He didn’t need to breathe, he just needed this; Henry’s lips on his.

Henry had other ideas though, pulling away with a blinding smile.

“Stay with me?”

Joey nodded and threw his arms around Henry’s neck. “God, yes.”

And then they kissed some more. They had months of lockdown to catch up on, after all.

#the witcher rpf #henry cavill rpf #Joey batey rpf #Joey batey/henry cavill #Joey/henry

[blackjewles]

“Happy New Year!”

Summary: Denki confesses his crush to Hitoshi on New Year’s Day

(Confession, first kiss.)

Cw: no content warnings apply

Late into the evening they sat- Hitoshi and Kaminari- surrounded by a blanket of stars in the cool night air. Trees poked up towards the moon, singing their sweet song with every burst of wind. Beneath the pair was the cold concrete of the dorm roof. Pools of water had accumulated in naturally eroded dips, with pine needles and old leaves drifting about. There wasn’t many, though. Simply splattered spots of water. They decorated the roof haphazardly; as if when they where painted it was by the flick of a brush and not a stroke.

They sat upon a naturally cold quilt of goose down. It almost completly eradicated the sense of hardness underneath it. They sat on opposite ends, watching the stars and patiently waiting for the fireworks to start. It was the perfect night. Beneath them, way down on the ground, they could hear the voices and laughs of peers and other students around the school. Part of Kaminari wanted to be down there with them, but he had a mission he had set out to complete. Even going as far to announce to his classmates that he would need the roof for himself; for today would be the day where everything changed. Would his heart drop and his stomach sink, or would his face heat up as he felt the warm embrace of the other boy when he said he liked him too? There was no way to tell, the only way was to find out.

Kaminari peered over at Shinsou. He loved to observe him. He would study every feature. Shinsou usually used gel to keep his hair out of his face, however, today he wore it down. The purple haired boy had a tendency of doing that when they hung out. The reason being was that Kaminari liked his hair down. Kaminari thought it made him look vulnerable, showing a true, trustful connection. He truly valued the privilege to see anyone without their usual school look. Kaminari wanted to know Shinsou. Everything about him, not just his deepest secrets. He wanted to see what he looked like when he first woke up. He wanted to hear what he sounded like when he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to feel the soft touch of his hand when he’d try to get his attention. He wanted to know all the stupid, lovely, domestic things that existed. The first step to learning that was to confess.

“Shinsou?” Kaminari asked. His heart thumped within his chest. Shinsou looked over to him, and Kaminari reverted his eyes back to the sky. Shinsou studied his face, the freckles that lightly dusted his cheeks and the way his hair framed his face perfectly. Shinsou tried not to think it, but he thought Kaminari was beautiful. Every word and every smile made him ache for something more than a friendship. Yet he could never muster the courage to tell him. Shinsou brushed a lock of hair away from his face and behind his ear.

“Yeah?” He replied. Kaminari was silent for a few seconds. His heart pounded, but he inhaled a deep breath and smiled.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Every ounce of air in Shinsous lungs left, his eyes widened. He didn’t know what to think.

“What?” He muttered, out of breath. He doubted his ears. As if what he had heard had come from the whistles of the wind or a passing messenger bird. His face felt uncomfortably warm.

Kaminari exhaled quickly, almost as if he was laughing, “You heard me.” He replied.

Through Shinsou’s eyes, he looked collected and calm. Almost as if he was performing a rehearsed play. It was surreal to finally hear those words out of his mouth. Shinsou knew he felt the same way. In fact, he’d watch Kaminari in class and dream about having something more. Late at night, he’d lay and fiddle with the ends of his blanket and imagine what it would be like to have him laying next to him. Even though he’d try to stop those thoughts, they always came back. However, finally hearing it and having the opportunity to make his dreams a reality was like dunking his head into cold water. Some of the air returned to his lungs.

“I-“ Shinsou began, but was cut off.

“I understand if you don’t feel the same way, Shinsou.” Kaminari stated. He tilted to his head and looked over at Shinsou who sat with his body fully turned toward Kaminari, his face red and eyes wide. Meanwhile, Kaminari seemed strangely calm. That was an illusion, though. The back of his neck tingled with heat and his heart pounded like the mad flapping of a butterfly’s wings. Shinsou attempted to straighten out.

“I think...” Shinsou began, but again, Kaminari cut him off.

“Ah. Wait. I want to tell you why.” Kaminari said, throwing his hand up in a signal to stop. Shinsou’s mouth closed and he nodded. Kaminari muttered a thanks and turned back to the sky. He was unsure on weather or not he was doing this right. Maybe this whole thing was a train wreck Bakugou would flame him over later. He swallowed hard. He had doubts, but yet again, he wouldn’t run away.

“Do you remember that walk we went on? The first snow of the year. Where you leant me your scarf?” Kaminari asked. Shinsou nodded even though Kaminaris eyes where in another direction.

“Yes.” He muttered.

“That’s when I knew for sure. I mean, I thought it before but-“ Kaminari fiddled with the ends of the quilt as he spoke, an unconscious sign of apprehension, “that really let me know for sure. I started to notice how I felt more. When I’d come up to you in class and feel my heart pound for no reason, or when I’d see you smile and suddenly everything would focus on you and only you.” Kaminari chortled before continuing, “It’s surreal.”

Shinsou sat patiently. He didn’t say anything yet, because he knew Kaminari had more on his mind. He watched as Kaminari opened his mouth, then closed it again. Hesitating on what he wanted to say. The world around them melted. It was just them right now, the starry night sky, the puddles of water, the whispers of the wind had faded. Right now, Shinsous full attention was on Kaminari.

“I told my friends about it. I’d get weird texts when we hung out, suggestive looks when I’d sit by you during class but sit a little too close. That’s only made it worse.” He said.

“I know.” Shinsou replied, and suddenly, every component that had been blocked out returned. Kaminari swiftly looked over, his hair moving briskly with him. For the first time that evening he looked unprepared.

“What?” Kaminari stuttered.

“I know you told them. I knew about the texts too. I read one.” Shinsou stated. A smirk tugging at his lips. Kaminaris neck flush spread to his face. He wasn’t prepared for this outcome. He’d run tons of other scenarios in his head day and night, but this wasn’t one of them. Kaminari looked to the opposite side of Shinsou, completely turned from him.

“You read one...?” he questioned, almost like a statement.

“Yeah. You gave me your phone passcode so I could check the weather and I opened it to a message from Sero.”

Kaminari whined under his breath. He was embarrassed. It was never his intention to have Shinsou read one of those. They where silly conversations, teasing at best. Yet it would’ve looked different to an outsider. Kaminari and Sero had even discussed how awful it would be if anyone saw, not just Shinsou. Yet here they where.

Below them where shouts of their classmates. If only they knew how this situation had developed. What else could he say?

“What did he say?” Kaminari asked, his confidence completely drained.

“Ah... I think he said something like “spending a night with the pretty boy? Don’t get ahead of yourself, Kaminari.”” Shinsou replied. Shinsou was also a bit flustered. Not in the same way Kaminari was, but, still flustered none the less. He didn’t know where this would go next, should he make a move? At this turn of developments it almost seemed like Kaminari was ready to call this a mistake and run away. His careful facade of a planned confession had evaporated. Kaminari was left with his heart, his emotions, and all the words he knew in his mind and no way to know how to put them together next.

Kaminari didn’t respond. He just sat, completely turned away. He thought he heard Bakugou say “1 minute!” below in reference to the fireworks going off. Was this how his New Years would go? Thoughts ran through his mind at a thousands per millisecond. He almost left until he felt a cold hand grasp his shoulder. Slowly he turned and saw Shinsou there. He was close, close enough that if Kaminari tilted his head a bit more their lips would be touching. On Shinsou’s end, this was fully intentional. He wasn’t ready to let this moment go unsolved. Shinsou felt the exact same way as Kaminari. He was in love too. So it was his turn to take a step and admit it too.

“You never let me finish what I was going to say, Kaminari.” He spoke softly. His tone relinquished any air that had gathered in Kaminaris lungs. He reddened again, but this time, it was because of this sudden situation and not embarrassment.

“Right. What did you what to say?” Kaminari muttered, his eyes more focused somewhere else; his lips.

“I...” Shinsou began, his heart pounded, “think I’m in love with you too.” He finished. There it was. The deal had been done. All the pieces of the puzzle had been dropped out onto the floor, now, they just needed to put them together.

Below the pair, now unbearably close, where rushed shouts from their peers. They where setting up the fire works. One called for Todoroki so they could light the fire works.

“Really?” Kaminari asked. He later would determine this move as idiotic. Shinsou wouldn’t of lied about that, so, asking for confirmation was rather tedious.

“Yes.” Shinsou replied. Kaminari studied him, the crease of his jaw, the discolored skin just below his eyes, the way his eyelashes almost hid his eyes, but most of all- his lips. The shade of pale pink that he just couldn’t help but admire. Suddenly, Kaminari inhaled deeply and exhaled. He was relived, things where staring to look like they’d be okay. Below them, a countdown from 10 started. A harmony of voices shouting with excitement, almost at the same tempo as Kaminaris heart pounded.

“7!” Kaminaris eyes fully focused on Shinsou’s lips.

“6!” He began to lift his hand

“5!” His hand found its way to Shinsou’s jaw.

“4!” He rested his hand gently against Shinsous jaw and cheek.

“3!” Kaminari started to tilt his face towards Shinsou, he responded in the same way.

“2!” He whispered, “Happy new year, Hitoshi.”

“1!” Their lips met.

A loud shout of “Happy New Year!” rang from below, and soon, fire works where all around them. They lit up the night beautifully, splotches of colour thrown into the air. Suddenly, Kaminaris phone buzzed in his pocket rapidly; it was Sero. However, he was preoccupied.

Shinsou’s lips where cold yet soft. Kaminari savoured the moment, every bit of warmth that spread within him. Shinsou did the same, observing how warm Kaminari was. Satisfaction spread through both of them. Then, Shinsou pulled away, there faces still close enough for a second kiss if they desired.

“So.” Kaminari said.

“So?” Shinsou stated, he smiled softly.

“Would you do me the honour of being my boyfriend?” Kaminari asked. His heart thumped like a rabbit signalling. He knew the answer, yet, he was undoubtedly nervous

Shinsou smiled again, “Yes.”

They both looked towards the sky, suddenly having the ability to be aware of themselves and their surroundings. The blanket of stars disappeared every few seconds with the loud pop of fireworks illuminating the sky, their sparks falling immediately after to reveal the stars once more. Everything co-existed in harmony. They heard shouts of peers laughs and cheers, and, they felt the warmth of each-other.

He became his. In the beauty of the New Years light.

Fin~

WAAAAAAHGHHHH I FEEL LIKE A BIG STUPID BABY I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. No shame, probably one of my favourite concepts that roams in my kind. And now, I’ve made it REAL. Shinkami tumblr, I really hope you enjoyed reading <3

Disclaimer: This is set with my New Years traditions in Canada. I did this because it would be very hard and inaccurate for me to write about Japanese traditions when I don’t know anything about it. I have a lot of respect for Japanese traditions and culture and this is in no way shape or form me trying to strip that away or ignore it. In fact, I highly encourage you to read about it!

Secondly, in case you didn’t notice, Denki called Shinsou “Hitoshi” at one point in the story. If I’m correct, I believe this is a sign of a trustful connection when one calls another by their first name in Japan. So just so you know, that was my intention!

OKAY BONUS TIME MI AMIGOS THESE ARE THE TEXTS SERO SENT KAMINARI ON BOTH OCCASIONS

1.

From: Serooo at 5:56pm, November 21st

WOAHHHH Kaminari, spending the night at pretty-boy-Shinsous house?? Don’t get ahead of yourself ;)

2.

From: Sero ‼️ at 12:01am, January 1st

KAMINARI DID U KISS HIM

KAMINARI?!:)/&/7/7

DID U TELL HIM

PLS COME BACK IM VERY ALONE RN

I’m watching Bakugou and Kirishima eat eachothers faces this is very disturbing please come back. Or don’t actually, you can kiss Shinsou if u so please

KAMIIIIIIII ANSWER MEE

#bnha #mha #denki kaminari #shinsou hitoshi #hitoshi shinsou #kaminari denki #sero hanta #shinkami #kamishin #fanfic

[waystobuild-blog]

Top 7 CN Shows That Would Work Better in Live Action than PPG

So I think everybody’s talked about why CW Powerpuff Girls doesn’t work, whether or not it’s a real thing or not? Who even knows. But while thinking about how this:

is kinda awful for Powerpuff Girls, I got thinking what shows that this style of a reboot would work for. In which it’s live action, the character is depressed and has sort of resentment towards their childhood now and that sort of thing. 

So what are the top 7 shows that I think this

Number 7:

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

At Number 7 we have Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Seems fitting that we’d start the list with another one of Craig McCracken’s biggest hits. Why do I think the premise of “Oh, life sucks now and I kinda wasted my childhood” would work for Foster’s? For the plain and simple fact that for a few episodes of the show, there was a focus on Mac growing up and whether or not he should leave his friends at Foster’s behind him. You could play a lot with that concept combined with the live action reboot thing. Maybe an older version of the character is dealing with whether or not to let go of both Bloo and the past and move on with his life. Frankie being a young adult during the time of the original show could also be a pretty instrumental character since it was a matter of living there, caring for the friends, having that job and balancing this life with the life that she had outside of the house.

Not quite a coming of age story but a sort of “Hey, my life has gone nowhere and where could I go with this now? Do I keep the friends I loved and cherished as a child or move onto other things? Is there a way to do both?”

Only thing I wouldn’t want though is CGI monstrosity friends. Those would be kinda the worst…

Number 6: 

Okay, let’s actually talk about a real superhero show this time around. Or would this count as a superhero show? Well, they certainly do a lot of cool time travelling so I’m gonna say it’s a superhero show. Of course, I mean Time Squad.

Now if you haven’t guessed, I don’t have the most experience with this show but I know enough to think that this is something that could actually work well. I mean, Otto was a kid who was basically running around all over history protecting the balance of time with a stuck up robot and a dude who is a little too into all of this. Imagine if he just sorta did this for all of his childhood and realizing as a young adult that “Crap, I didn’t really have a childhood.” With the dynamic of the squad, the potential to expand the greater organization as a whole and just all the time travel shenanigans that could happen, I don’t see a reason not to do it.

Plus, CW already has Legends of Tomorrow and that’s awesome so even less likely to screw it up if they’ve already got a model to do it off of right?

Number 5: 

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

Yo ho ho, it is a sailor’s life for me. And in this sailor’s life we’re coming in with Number 5: The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Now this is a bit of an odd choice, right? But hear me out.

Flapjack as a child kinda had only Bubbie and K’nuckles as guides for his life. While they mostly spent their lives at Stormalong Harbor, they also constantly spent their lives looking for Candied Island. What if they never stopped looking and eventually, little kid Flapjack is a grown up now and he’s like “Oh wow. I wanted adventure but I was kinda manipulated to follow this creepy old man’s dreams of candy.” I think going heavy and hard on this sort of found family between them would be kinda fun. How K’nuckles wasn’t the best role model and how they’ve still only got each other in this world, that sort of thing.

Plus, a live action Stormalong would be sooooooo cool.

Number 4:

Ben 10

As the old saying goes, it started when an alien device did what it did, stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid, now he’s got superpowers he’s no ordinary kid, it’s Ben 10.

And unfortunately in CW’s Ben 10, he’s not a kid who just wants to have fun. Nah, he’s got a lot of emotional stuff to deal with and all of that depressing stuff. Isn’t it great? Now I do think that this could work especially if you work it in where maybe Ben enlisted into the plumbers after his summer vacation and it just kinda escalated from there to the point where here he is now.

Say what you will, but at least with Ben 10, we’ve seen it hit a more grounded and emotional place with Ben 10 Alien Force and Ultimate Alien so I don’t believe that this would be too far of a stretch with how that show worked and a lot of people happened to really like those iterations of the show.

Granted, I actually do want a CW styled Ben 10, but less edgy Arrow style and more along the lines of The Flash, but I’d still take this too.

And now before we get into the top 3, let’s get into a few honorable mentions.

First up, we’ve got Steven Universe. Now honestly, this could work really well, the only issue with that is that we’ve kinda already seen this story told and that was with Steven Universe Future. Good stuff and a lot of potential, but we’ve seen it and I don’t think we need to see it again with a live action coat of paint.

Next up there’s Codename Kids Next Door. Honestly, I think the only real spinoff we need for Kids Next Door is Galactic. That’s it. Anything else is unnecessary. Still, with this sort of concept an older KND who has been decommissioned and feels like there’s something missing in their lives that they just don’t understand would be really cool. Although maybe that would work as like a movie or special or somethin’ I don’t know.

And finally for the last of the honorable mentions we’ve got Teen Titans. While I am trying to keep this list to CN Originals, I couldn’t help but bring this one up. How Long is Forever is one of my all-time favorite episodes of the 2003 series so I think seeing a series taking place in that timeline or something similar would be a lot of fun maybe for like a miniseries or something. And honestly, anything’s better than Titans.

With those three out of the way, back to the list.

Number 3: 

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee

In a world full of monsters and demons, June is the only one who sees them. This is the Life and Times of Juniper Lee and it makes number three on my list.

Now, like Time Squad, I didn’t watch much of this show. But what I do know about this show is that June is cool and she’s got this whole legacy and destiny by being the newest Te Xaun Ze, which are basically the magical protectors of her town. Only problem, and why I think that this direction for this show would actually be kinda cool, is the whole thing that the Te Xaun Ze is never allowed to leave the town at any point in their lives and oh boy, you could actually go really hard on that with this format since it’s literally built into the show.

Juniper Lee all grown up and just straight up depressed because she’s got the cool powers and grabs all the monsters but everyone around her has moved on in their lives. Friends have gone off to college and started all their lives and she’s got nothing but her family in Orchid Bay. You’d have a story of someone who once was big on their destiny who has accepted it but wishes that it wasn’t theirs anymore. I do know the show dealt with this a bit but with a new continuity and an older version of the character you really could just go in and deep on this.

I stand by that this would actually be pretty cool and kinda want it. Honestly, I like this idea so much that I wasn’t sure whether to put this in the number three or the number two spot, but y’know what? The next show told me a little secret that gave it the edge.

Number 2: 

The Secret Saturdays

That’s right, it’s the Secret Saturdays. 

Zak Saturday went all around the world with his parents discovering ancient cryptids, protecting the world and everything. He got some cool siblings in Fiskerton, Komodo and Zon. And then to add on top of that that he’s also the reincarnation of an ancient cryptid set to rule and control all the cryptids in the world? Yeah, that’ll do it. Definitely not the type of life he asked for and kid went through a lot because of it especially after losing those powers and apparently getting them back if we’re to count the Omniverse crossover TGIS to be canon.

But having parents like Zak’s, everything with the community of Secret Scientists and not really having many friends his own age or well, his own species will do that.

Exploring Zak and maybe Argost coming back for powers he might not want anymore and learning to embrace his destiny while also trying to patch up the Saturday family would be awesome.

Number 1:

Dexter’s Laboratory

Now while I know we already have a live action Dexter and it was an incredible hit, I- Wait, not the same show.

Ahem, Dexter’s Laboratory makes the top of this list. Partially because of it being PPG’s sister series but also partially because of the whole thing of there’s a lot you could do with Dexter’s character in terms of depression. If someone with such a high intellect were to somehow lose it all or just in some way, never really got forward in life, that would do it. Dexter could be a type of character that’s too stuck inside his own head in order to move forward. Alternatively, maybe Dexter is highly successful but has found there’s something missing in life or something. I dunno.

But whichever way you decide to go with Dexter’s character, you could have Dee Dee be pretty much the opposite of that. Maybe she’s found herself a place in life that she’s content with and Dex doesn’t understand why but wants it. I think going deep on this sort of emotional aspect of his life while also having all sorts of fun crazy science stuff would be a good watch.

All in all, gimme a Dexter’s lab show but we gotta make sure he keeps some form of an accent. No accent is a dealbreaker.

Although, I think that at the end of the day, animation should really just stay animated and that we don’t need to go live action for anything. All of these ideas I’ve presented, I’d of course rather prefer as cartoons with a more balanced tone more than anything but I figured with the announcement of a PPG show, this would be a silly but fun idea to talk about rather than ranting about it like most have. Granted, I’ve got some rants of my own since I still think it’s a bad idea. Haha. But you know how it goes.

At any rate those are all the shows I think would make better CW PPG style reboots than CW PPG. When it comes to the edginess and potential for drama, I feel these shows fit the bill better than the innocent, buttkicking action that was the Powerpuff Girls.

But what do you all think? Do you have any shows in mind that I haven’t mentioned? Do you think I’ve opened Pandora’s Box and given The CW more awful ideas? 

Now, this was originally a YouTube video so you can probably see that in the way that this post, especially the ending was written, but I just still don’t really have the energy to edit stuff so have this post instead. It’s something I really wanted to discuss and just decided, hey, why not make it a Tumblr post?

#Cartoon network #PowerPuff Girls #live action remake #cw powerpuff girls #Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends #time squad #The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack #ben 10 #steven universe #steven universe future #kids next door #codename kids next door #codename knd #knd #galactic kids next door #Teen Titans #The Life and Times of Juniper Lee #secret saturdays #dexter's laboratory

[samstree]

You are too well tangled in my soul (5/5)

(Geraskier, 1.6k, time travel, hurt/comfort, soft geralt, now complete, cw: mentions of abuse)

Inspired by The Time Traveler’s Wife. 

Read on AO3

Yennefer comes in a whirlwind of buzzing magic, a portal opening up in the middle of the empty courtyard, blowing up the melting snow everywhere.

Of course she can come through the protective ward around the keep like it’s nothing.

She steps onto the ground of Kaer Morhen with her usual poise, all shiny raven curls and sparkling eyeshadows, breathtaking as ever. Only her proud demeanor shifts into something marginally softer when those enchanting violet eyes fall on Ciri.

The princess approaches the sorceress in tentative steps, before picking up the pace and running into her embrace. Yennefer is visibly taken aback by the sheer force of it but soon gives back a loose hug. The girl, being a head shorter than Yennefer, steps back and smiles brightly.

“I saw you in my dreams.”

Those violet eyes become more curious.

Beside Jaskier, Geralt’s voice rumbles deeply. “Yen, this is Ciri. My Child Surprise.”

The corner of her lips quicks up. “Nice to meet you, Ciri.”

*

In the main hall, Jaskier sits in front of the fire and watches the three of them talk quietly at the table.

A lost princess with immeasurable chaos in her body, a witcher who protects humanity with nothing but two swords on his back, and a sorceress so powerful she scorched an entire Nilfgaardian army all by herself.

They make a perfect family, beautiful, powerful, and well-matched.

Lost in thoughts and the wine in his cup, Jaskier never notices the young princess going off to sword lessons with Vesemir or even Geralt settling down on the thick carpet next to him.

The witcher adjusts the blanket draped on Jaskier’s knees absent-mindedly. “By the way, Yen, what did you think of our ward?”

“It’d be a good idea.” The sorceress looks down at Geralt, posture elegant from the vantage point of the chair. Her hand flattens the folded wrinkles on her embroidered dress. “Don’t worry, Geralt. I’ll enhance it for you so no mage can get through. You child will be safe in here.”

Geralt’s voice turns solemn. “Thank you, Yen. And thank you for coming.”

“I came for her.” Yennefer’s gaze studies Geralt up and down with a piercing curiosity, and softens ever so slightly. “Fatherhood looks good on you.”

Geralt hums without answering.

“Did you ever doubt destiny’s decision?” Jaskier challenges her, regrettably drawing attention to himself.

Yennefer finally looks at Jaskier for the first time since she arrived, amusement creeping into her expression. Geralt sighs long-sufferingly next to Jaskier, braced for the usual snarky jabs between these two.

“Bard.”

“Witch.”

Yennefer raises an eyebrow. “The gray hair suits you.”

“Not being tortured by Nilfgaard suits you.”

From his peripheral, Jaskier sees Geralt tense but keeps his eyes on the sorceress. Framed by the flickering candlelight, everything beautiful about her now is a sharp contrast to the last time Jaskier saw her – tied up, depleted of magic, and covered in blood.

Her lips curve dangerously. “Still saved your sorry ass, didn’t I?”

This time when Jaskier returns her smile, it’s genuine. “You are right about that one. I never got to show any gratitude.” Geralt’s questioning gaze is burning a hole on Jaskier, but he’ll have to wait. Jaskier continues the peace-offering. “So thank you, really. It’s good to see you again, Yen.”

“Don’t call me that.” She takes a jab at him but there’s no malice. “And destiny often makes shit decisions. You should know.”

Yennefer looks between the two of them and Jaskier’s breath hitches. Somehow the sorceress knows about their bond. Jaskier turns to look at an equally startled Geralt. “Did you tell her?”

“Oh, please,” She cuts in, “The temporal magic is all over you two. I felt it the day you first barged through my door.” She pulls a sealed letter out of nowhere and holds it before Jaskier’s face. “I only meant this.”

The Pankratz insignia carves into the scarlet wax seal.

The buzzing of the world drowns Jaskier’s heartbeat. It’s been years since he received news from home. Distantly, he knows Geralt is asking if he’s alright, the warmth from the witcher’s large hand seeps through the fabric on his back.

He reaches for the letter and tears through the seal in an instant, and pauses.

“You know what it says.”

“The news traveled faster than a letter.” Yennefer offers a tight smile. “My condolences, Jaskier.”

*

Jaskier is perched on their shared bed while Geralt paces around the room. He clutches the thin piece of paper, reading the words again even if he’s stared at them for so long they’ve begun to blur.

…Alfred Pankratz, Count de Lettenhove, passed away in his sleep three days ago.

Taking a deep breath, Jaskier rubs his eyes when they lose focus, and that’s when he notices how stiff his joints are for staying in the same place for too long.

He blinks and Geralt has come to sit next to him on the mattress, gently prying the letter away from Jaskier’s tense fingers. His knuckles are turning white for gripping it so tightly.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Shaking his head, Jaskier buries his face in the crook of Geralt’s neck, who instinctively wraps an arm around him. “I don’t know.” He adds, “Not yet.”

“I’m sorry,” Geralt murmurs.

“Why?” Jaskier nuzzles, seeking comfort. “You never had kind words for the man.”

The pain from childhood flares up again. Memories of sitting by the lake crying and nursing his hurt as a child almost make panic bubble up Jaskier’s throat. He has to calm down by focusing on Geralt’s solid touch and the rise and fall of his breathing.

It does the trick, as always.

“You still mourn him, despite everything.” Geralt answers, drawing circles on Jaskier’s back slowly.

Jaskier lets out a tight chuckle. “I should hate him, and maybe I did for many years. But…in the end, he was just my father.”

They sit in silence. Jaskier melts into Geralt’s continued soothing touches, letting reality sink in. A plan comes together in his head.

“I should go back.”

“To Lettenhove?” The movement on Jaskier’s back stops.

When Jaskier pulls back, there’s apprehension in Geralt’s eyes. His brows furrow in distress so Jaskier eases it away with the pad of his thumb.

“I’m still the heir. There are things that require seeing to. I don’t want his title, so I’ll have to be there to renounce it. The estate and all the fortune will go to my cousin – Ferrant is quite a natural leader. He will do well being the head of the family. As for my mother, she’ll want to see me. It’s been too long since I wrote her.”

Geralt frowns again at the idea but reluctantly agrees after a moment.

“I don’t like the idea of you being back there.”

“Oh don’t you worry, my love,” Jaskier says. “It just got me thinking. My father died and they didn’t even have a way of reaching me. If Yennefer hadn’t come across this funeral invite at some random court I would still be in the dark. Not that I’ll be back in time for the funeral of course. It takes too many days just to get down this mountain. Still, it could be nice to see my family again. I’ll be fine, really.”

“Hmm.” Geralt runs his fingers through the hair at Jaskier’s temple, where he knows a strand is peppered with silver as Yennefer so kindly pointed out. “Speaking of. Since when are you best friends with Yen?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Jaskier teases him. “I’m sure you’ll have all the time in the world to get the story out of her, now that she’s around to give Ciri magic lessons. I’m sure she won’t paint me in a heroic light in our little Nilfgaardian prison adventure. Too bad I won’t be there to save my image.”

“Jask.” Geralt blinks, taking Jaskier’s wrist in a gentle hold. “You know I’m going with you, right? You are not going alone.”

“But Ciri’s training…”

“Yen is taking her to a safe house just outside of Novigrad. Triss will be there too. The chaos Ciri carries is raw power. It’s so complicated they’ll be lucky to figure it out within a couple of months.”

“Don’t you need to go as well? To stay with them and protect your daughter?”

Geralt smiles at the word daughter. No matter how many times everyone or even Ciri herself uses it, the word still brings him so much joy.

“I’ve had her all winter, taught her a lot about being a witcher. Now she needs to learn from real magic users. Besides, I think she’s getting tired of being cooped up with five men for this long. Staying with the ladies might do her good.”

Jaskier stares at the warmth flowing in those ember eyes, suddenly feeling lighter like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He doesn’t have to do this alone.

“You’ll come with me,” he muses the sentence.

“You’re hurting, Jask. I would never leave you like this.” Geralt’s tone is so casual it’s like he’s stating the weather. Gods, this ridiculous man has no right to make Jaskier’s heart swell three sizes like this.

He picks up Geralt’s hand and presses a kiss to his calloused palm. “We’ll go straight to Novigrad soon as business finishes at home. Even I’ll miss her too much.”

Jaskier gets pull into Geralt’s embrace again, breathing in the smell of the chamomile soap he insists on the witcher during baths. It feels like Geralt is marked by him somehow, covered in his signature scent.

“I love you, Jask.”

“Mm-hmm. Enough to face all the nobles for me.”

Geralt hums, perhaps surprised.

“You know there’s gonna be a lot of them, right? Many will be there to pay respect. I’m a noble, in case you forgot. If you can barely tolerate me, imagine the chaos when we get there.”

The laugh rumbles deep in Geralt’s chest, and soft lips press on Jaskier’s hairline at his temple.

“Only for you, Jaskier.”

*

(Feedbacks are much appreciated! Tell me what you think of it!)

#geraskier #geraskier fic #the witcher #the witcher fic #jaskier #geralt x jaskier #geralt of rivia #it is finally finished! #there's still a sequel but it counts as finished #hooray! #geralt/jaskier

[falling-feuilles]

Chapter 3

CW/TW: N/A

Early the next morning, Y/N woke; alone in the sitting room. The teaset sat undisturbed, save for the small, folded note addressed to her. Its familiar, slanting script informed her of the message’s author: Pierre. He was nowhere to be seen; all that remained of his presence was the empty teacup, placed neatly back on its saucer. 

She reached for the paper, noting the looseness of her bandages as she did so. The note was simple, and the ink wasn’t completely dried; it was written recently, and in somewhat of a hurry. On the paper, Pierre expressed his gratitude for her hospitality and companionship. She smiled, reading through the note a second time, noticing he had scratched out a word. Despite his best efforts to remove the letters, Y/N could still see their outline when held up to her window. They read “Your love friendship is, as always, a great comfort…” the note continued on after that, but her eyes kept going back to the word. Love. She loved Pierre deeply, he was her closest friend, so why did she keep focusing on that word? Why did Pierre cross it out? She shook her head, blinking back into reality. Those were thoughts for another, less busy, day.

Y/N, after carefully refolding the paper and, after slipping it into her pocket, examined her wrist. The fabric was fraying slightly, with a few ink stains on the piece between her thumb and forefinger. She gently unwound the binding, carefully maneuvering the remaining cotton between her fingers. The mark was dark indigo in the center, ringed with green. She rewrapped the sprain with a clean roll of cotton, not as neatly or as tightly as Alexandra would have, but enough for the bandage to function as it should.

Her carriage was to leave at eight in the morning, arriving at the Bolkonsky residence well before noon. The dull ticking of the grandfather clock to her left reminded her of this prior commitment. Its hands read as just before seven, giving her plenty of time to prepare for the day.

The morning passed in a blur, despite the dullness of the carriage ride. She spent the majority of it worrying for Pierre and the influence Prince Vassily might have on his future. This type of thinking, she decided, wasn’t of much use; and, although she tried to think about what these next few months had in store for her, Pierre was never far from her mind.

It had been a number of years since she’d last visited the Bolkonskys, the last time being for the purposes of seeing Marya, Andrei’s sister. Marya was one of the kindest, most gentle people she had met, and it pained Y/N to see her so meek and trodden on by her father. As the carriage pulled up to the steps, Y/N saw Tikhon, the butler, outside the house awaiting her arrival. He opened the carriage door, offering her a gloved hand.

“My lady,” he began as she placed a foot on the ground, “Your sister and the Princess are in the sitting room awaiting your arrival.”

“Tikhon, you’re looking well.”

“Thank you, my lady. You are as radiant as ever.” She smiled, moving inside the large manor. The familiar lilt of conversation aerated throughout the entrance hall, originating from the open doors to her left. As soon as she entered, she was greeted with a hug from her sister.

“N/N! Finally, you’re here!” Lise was clearly adjusting well to life with Marya and Mademoiselle Bourrienne.

“Yes, yes, I hope you haven’t missed me too terribly in our single day apart.” Y/N chuckled, kissing her sister’s forehead.

“Y/N…” Marya stood from the couch, moving to embrace Y/N.

“It’s been far too long, Marya. I hope you’ve been keeping well?”

“As well as I can,” she sounded sad, and Y/N couldn’t blame her. Marya quickly smiled, attempting to change the slightly somber mood back to the joyful one it had been mere moments before, “But, much better now that you and Lise are here.”

Y/N squeezed her shoulder gently before turning to sit next to her sister, who hadn’t seemed to notice Marya’s momentary distress. They talked for a while, catching up on all the recent developments in Lise and Marya’s lives. Y/N, however, found it hard to focus on anything the two said. Her hand, subconsciously, slipped into her pocket, occasionally running Pierre’s note through her fingers.

“Y/N, are you alright? You seem… distracted.” Marya noted, halting her conversation with Lise.

“Yes, I’m fine…” Marya and Lise clearly didn’t believe her, both knowing the woman too well.

“What is it?” Lise placed her hand on Y/N’s. The pain, while not nearly as intense as the day before, was still present and showed on her face. Lise looked confused for a moment, before noticing the unusual bulkiness of her sister’s wrist. The bandage peeked out from under her sleeve slightly, catching the eye of the two other women. Marya moved to sit on Y/N’s other side, carefully rolling up her friend’s sleeve. Y/N pulled away, but a sharp look from Lise stopped her.

“Are you hurt? What happened?” Lise was clearly concerned. Despite Lise’s usually gentle nature, she was easily upset when it came to anything hurting Y/N. She was equally as protective of Y/N as Y/N was of her.

“No, no, it’s nothing,” she dismissed the thought, biting her lip before continuing, “It’s… it’s Pierre…”

“What about Pierre?” Marya had met Pierre before; he had always treated her kindly.

“Did Pierre do this?” Lise gestured to the bandage, growing more furious by the second. As protective as Y/N was of Lise, Lise was equally as protective.

“What? No, no. His… father, the Count, passed away last night…”

“I’d heard he was getting worse, I just… never thought it would actually happen, poor Pierre,” Lise sighed, while she wasn’t nearly as close to Pierre as her sister or husband, she still considered him a friend.

Marya was very far removed from most of society and hadn’t heard that Pierre’s father was ill; still, she felt bad she didn’t know. She had lost her mother when she was young, so she could imagine how he was feeling.

“What about his will? I imagine the old Count left him something, he cared for Pierre greatly.”

“You could say that,” the confused looks on Lise and Marya’s faces urged her to continue, “The Count named Pierre as his successor.”

The two’s eyes went wide, mouths parting in shock. Lise struggled to speak for a moment, taking in the vastness of this information.

“You mean to tell me that... Pierre is Count Bezukhov?”

“Yes, but it’s not that that worries me. Prince Vassily tried to destroy the will, luckily Anna Drubetskaya and I put an end to that. But Pierre is spending the day with the Prince, and I shudder to think what he may convince Pierre to do.”

Lise, who’d had encounters with the Prince in the past, knew what she meant. Not only was he very manipulative, he also had a number of friends in high positions in the government.

“I understand your concern, N/N, but I think he’ll be fine. Pierre isn’t stupid, he’ll see through Vassily’s deceptions.” Y/N didn’t agree with her sister's assessment; yes, Pierre was smart, but he was too trusting, too naive to the way high society worked. He desperately wanted to believe that the world, and all the people in it, were good.

“I suppose you’re right…”

“Besides,” Lise continued, “What’s the worst he could do?”

~

The next few days were uneventful. However, she quickly remembered why her last visit had been so long ago. Prince Bolkonsky. He was so insurmountably irritating. Shortly after she arrived, he had called her into his office, much like a headmaster would call in a misbehaving student. He made a number of degrading remarks about Y/N and Marya, but nothing more than talk which, although infuriating, Y/N could easily dismiss.

While he would never take out his frustrations on her, she could tell that he would very much like to do so. During the first week of her stay, Y/N joined Marya and Bolkonsky for Marya’s geometry lessons. Y/N found that Marya did significantly better when positively encouraged, and told Bolkonsky her thoughts on the matter; he did not take it well. She wasn’t allowed to help with geometry anymore.

Luckily, Marya and Y/N’s bedrooms were directly across from each other, which allowed Y/N to teach Marya in secret during the evenings.

Lise remained healthy, much to the relief of the household. Despite her initial reservations about staying in the country, Y/N could tell it suited her better; for the time being at least.

Y/N also had her reservations, and, although they weren’t as far from her mind as Lise’s were, they had been somewhat soothed. Luckily, she had had the foresight to bring Emil along. The Bolkonsky estate was large, and had much room for riding. No one ever joined her, and she preferred it that way. Life was simple and happy. Until it wasn’t.

Pierre wrote her often, first telling her of his vague plans for the considerable fortune he’d acquired, then telling her of Prince Vassily’s plans for the money. She knew the Prince wouldn’t throw money away for no reason, so that served as some comfort. Then, he began telling her of his outings with Helene; ice skating, cards, anything and everything he could do with her, he would. Y/N didn’t tell him of her feelings about Helene, she knew he was blinded by her beauty and interest in him, or, as was most likely the case, his money. Helene wasn’t one for the “misunderstood intellectual” type of man. She spent many hours dwelling on thoughts like these. Although she knew that thoughts like these were a waste of time and energy, it was hard not to think of them. But, she kept them to herself, bottling them up like she did with so many other things.

~

Y/N wrote him often, keeping him updated on the health of her sister and the activities of the household. He had been very busy these past few weeks. Between the exploration of his new wealth and social status, he’d had very little time to do much else. However, he always made time to write to her.

Pierre sat in his office; an elaborate room filled with the many extravagances of Russian wealth. A large, mahogany desk sat in the center of the room, holding the haphazard papers and writings of the young man. Directly in front of Pierre, a thick, sealed letter sat, unopened, in his hands. He’d finally made it through the considerable stack of letters on his desk, most of them being invitations for gatherings of some such, the kind of gatherings a newly rich, eligible bachelor would attend. Although he enjoyed the opportunities his new status had given him, gatherings such as those took up much of his energy. Today, for example; It had been long, but enjoyable. He had spent the late afternoon and early evening playing écarté with Helene.

Helene. She was beautiful. Pale skin, dark hair, perfectly feminine features. But, best of all, she seemed to care for him. He became lost in these thoughts, until the soft, gold seal caught his eye. The stamp was shaped as a very ornate, calligraphic Z, denoting its sender as Y/N. He broke the seal, splitting the Z into two, uneven pieces.

Dearest Pierre,

I hope you are keeping well! Lise is in good health. She would never admit it, but the country air suits her. I’ve discovered that our dear Marya is quite the artist! I’ve included a few of her drawings, they are wonderful! The old Prince Bolkonsky still despises me. He says I am no longer allowed to assist in Marya’s lessons. He says it is because it distracts her, but it’s truly because I criticized his teaching style. Now, Marya and I  have secret geometry lessons in the evenings and the Prince is none the wiser. I’ve written to Andrei a small number of times, he hasn’t responded but that’s to be expected. I am certain, however, he is receiving the letters as none of them have been returned to my hands. Mary and I fear for his safety, as I’m sure you do as well, but we must appear unaffected for the sake of Lise’s sanity. Have you written Andrei at all? I feel as though he would be more inclined to write you than me, considering the last time we spoke I berated him. Alas, I can’t take back what I’ve said and, frankly, I don’t want to. I hope the lovely Helene is keeping you social while I’m away, I hear she’s made quite the companion for you. Keep well, Pierre.

Your Friend,

Y/N Zhudova

He smiled softly, running his fingers through the envelope to find the sketches. They were, as far as Pierre could tell, done with pencil and charcoal, and done very well. Two were of animals, Emil and an old, mangy barn cat. The other two were of people; one being of Lise and Y/N sitting on a sofa in the household, laughing and smiling. The brightness in the pair’s eyes was displayed perfectly, making the picture seem truly alive. The second image was less bright, but just as realistic. Y/N sat with her back to a tree, dress splaying out over the grass; hair loose, it cascaded over her shoulders like running water. She clearly had not been aware of the drawing as it was being made; there was no effort in her pose. It was too natural. Too her. The bandage on her arm had been abandoned, revealing the still-healing bruises on her wrist. Her hands, delicate, held the book in her hands loosely. Lips slightly parted, he could almost see them moving as she read the words on the pages below. She looked so at home, more peaceful than he had seen her in quite a while. Although Pierre had seen her in relaxed states before, it wasn't a common sight for him. He scanned over the image again, taking note of the intricate details captured in the image. The individual pages resting between her fingers, her mother's necklace she always wore, even the shading of her eyes. It was just so… her.

Pierre hadn't realized how much he missed her until he saw her face. Even though there was no color in the image, he could almost see it. E/C eyes studying the words below her, H/C hair tucked away save for the single stand over her right eye, it was all too real.

Pierre did have some form of company in Helene and the other members of the aristocracy, but there was no company like Y/N’s. His eyes lingered on the sketch a few moments longer before he placed the letter, and its contents, into a drawer, on top of a neat stack of other letters he had received from her. The door shut with a small click, drawing him out of his thoughts.

~

It was dark. Ornate halls lit solely by the moon, silvery beams glowing softly on the floors. Y/N moved through the hallway, bare feet gliding through puddles of moonlight. Soft light moved across her bare skin as she walked, robe cascading behind her. She slowly disrobed, leaving silken garments on the floor. Pierre followed behind her, unable to look away. His eyes caught hers, causing her to giggle and gently push open his bedroom door.

"Touch me…" she whispered, moving to the center of the room, where three beams of moonlight converged. Finally, the robe fell from her shoulders, exposing her bare flesh to his eyes. He moved forward, hand reaching out to touch her, shaking as he moved closer. The whispers became louder, reaching their climax as he ran a finger down her spine, feeling her shiver beneath the touch.

"Touch me…"

He woke, gasping for breath.

#pierre bezukhov #bbc war and peace #war and peace

[puddygeeks]

Wᴇ Cᴏᴍᴇ Rᴜɴɴɪɴɢ - Tʜᴇ 100 Bᴇʟʟᴀᴍʏ x OC - Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 20: Cʜᴀᴏs Iɴ Cᴀᴍᴘ

Masterlist

Episode: Day Trip

Rating: Mature

Summary: During her time in the Skybox, Indigo formed a precious friendship with fellow outcast Octavia Blake, the girl under the floor. At first they thought their departure from the oppression of the Ark was a blessing, but quickly came to rely on Indigo's keen survival instincts. The 100 struggle to meet the challenges of Earth whilst Bellamy strives to lead the wavering teenagers and his irresponsible attitude fuels constant conflict with Indigo. Their only shared interest is in protecting Octavia and Indigo beings to suspect that there is a deeper cause to Bellamy's seemingly irrational choices. As the consequences of his actions mount up around him, he finally begins to confide in her and she discovers more than she ever bargained for. 

Fandom: CW’s The 100

Pairing: OC x Bellamy Blake

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

Warnings: Mature content. Non-consent, language, sex, self harm, suicide, anxiety, helplessness, torture, captivity/confinement, alcohol/drug use.

Chapter Twenty

Although it was crowded and the atmosphere was still tense from the storm, I was pleased to return to a solid structure for the night. Octavia and I bundled up some supplies in a corner and after some persuasion, she agreed to stop obsessively guarding the grounder and to actually try to get some sleep. It was hard for either of us to relax, especially when I saw Bellamy head up the ladder for his turn watching our prisoner as Octavia dozed on my shoulder. I was starting to feel the strain of worrying about the Blake siblings; any time I was busy with one of them I could almost guarantee that the other was getting into trouble. I barely managed a few brief cat naps throughout the night despite my exhaustion. Instead, I was one of the first up and about in camp working on repairs in the morning. 

In my time here I’d already become quite efficient at sewing and so I was quickly assigned to repairing the damaged tents. I had a brief cheeky visit from Jasper and Monty on their way back from their successful foraging adventure to offer me some nuts that they’d found. I declined the food, feeling too stressed to eat and I promised to join them for a proper meal later on. I settled into a quiet corner near the edge of camp to work and enjoyed the peace of the alone time. After spending time on the Ark living isolated in a cell, I realised that it was a challenge for me to adjust to the constant presence of so many people. I keep my mind from wandering over what trouble Bellamy and Octavia could have gotten into by now and instead reassured myself that both of them tend to make a big enough scene for me to notice. I spent a couple of relaxing hours sewing and watching the bustling activity of the camp as people woke and were assigned to various tasks. We’d managed to assemble a food line with people organising portions into neatly packed rations so that we could keep track of our supply levels.

I noticed several people heading over to the area where we’d been keeping prisoners and I watched their activity with interest. I assessed that they carried enough supplies to indicate that repairs needed to be done to the makeshift cells we’d created and I wondered where they would put the two attackers whilst they rebuilt. I continued sewing as I waited anxiously for someone to escort the two men past, but no such movement happened. After a while, more assistants arrived with shovels and two large sheets filled with a human shape were carried past me to the gate. I overheard the people who hauled them out discussing how glad they were that the storm had only killed the rapists of camp and I was relieved to hear that no one else had been hurt. I was conflicted on whether it was appropriate to feel no sadness at the death of two members of our camp, as I knew in my gut that I would have argued against killing them for their crimes. I decided to allow myself to feel relieved that the decision on what to do with them had been taken out of our hands and I tried not to feel guilty about it. Once I’d accumulated a pile of repairs, I made my way back into the fray and took them to add to the pile of fixed items that were waiting to be set back up in camp. As I organised the pile, Clarke approached me with a nervous manner and I struggled not to roll my eyes. 

“Hey Indigo, I couldn’t find you earlier. I don’t know if anyone’s told you yet but we’ve got video contact up and running with the Ark. They’re sending all the families in for a chat so if you’ve got anyone to contact-”

“Nope, my only family is down here.” I cut her off abruptly, not wanting to engage in personal conversation. I was honestly still frustrated with her for getting swept up in the torture last night, but I was too exhausted to confront her for her part in it right now. “Anyway, I’ll go back to the orphan corner. The Ark’s quite good at creating us, I’m sure it’ll be crowded in no time.” I spat coldly as I stormed away from her.

I returned to my sewing and tried not to be bitter as I watched people being called to the tent one by one for time with their families. I struggled not to picture my mother and when I failed, I imagined what she would look like now. My mind filled with images of her, the warm tone of her short auburn hair, her fair skin always a fawn white coated in hundreds of tiny amber freckles. It was one of the most beautiful, fascinating things about her to me, the little sporadic pattern on her skin that sadly never passed to me. I remembered the blue lagoon of her eyes, glistening with a multitude of hypnotising shades and if you paid enough attention, a miniscule ring of hazel right around the pupil. I saw them every time I looked in the mirror and it was still haunting for me even years later. It was only worsened by the fact that my eyes never sparkled like hers had in her happier years, in the memories of her that I cherished most desperately. Instead, mine were dulled and depthless, the same way hers looked after years of pain and suffering endured at the hands of the guard who destroyed both of our lives. The eyes that I inherited from my mother were a constant reminder of the state that she had been in the last time I ever saw her and I suspected it was a large cause of the self loathing I felt whenever I dared to look into a mirror. I was relieved to be pulled from my thoughts by the sound of footsteps nearby and I glanced up to see Clarke and Bellamy making their way out of camp. I casually approached them, trying not to show my concern and Bellamy seemed relieved as he saw me. 

“Hey, you heading out?” I asked with an interested look as I noticed the supplies they both carried.

“Yeah, the Ark mentioned some supplies nearby so we’re going to scout it out.” Clarke replied, whilst Bellamy watched me with a tense air about him that seemed to come from nowhere.

“Oh, well that’s promising. You sure you’re okay with just the two of you? I can back you up if needed?” I offered earnestly, but as Clarke opened her mouth to answer Bellamy abruptly cut her off.

“No I need you here.” He spoke firmly and I stared at him in confusion. He glanced over to Clarke reluctantly, then took my arm and walked me slightly further from her, lowering his voice. “Look, I appreciate you coming after me last night and I’ve been thinking about what you said. I will try to trust Octavia more, you have my word on that. But for now, I trust you. Can you keep an eye on her for me?” His expression was deeply serious, more so than the situation warranted and I felt like there was something more to his request that he wasn’t sharing with me.

“Of course I can.” I answered, considering him suspiciously. “Is there something else going on Bellamy?” I asked in a vain attempt to encourage him to be honest with me.

“No, I just…” He trailed off unconvincingly and I raised a brow at him. “I’m on edge with that grounder in camp. I’m trying to trust her not to do anything stupid, but if I’m honest, I’m expecting it. Just...tell me that you’ll keep her safe for me?” His eyes were strangely intense and he still gripped me tightly as he spoke.

“You know that I will.” I breathed with a confused tone, feeling nerves settling in my stomach as I assessed him. “So you just make sure that you come back safe, deal?” I replied, compelled to reassure myself that he would be coming back as I embraced the feeling that something was wrong. He didn’t answer me, turning to walk away without even a nod of acknowledgement. I grabbed his arm firmly to stop him from leaving. “Bellamy, I mean it. Be careful out there, please?” I added, my words quickly fading from assertive to pleading. He nodded reluctantly but it did nothing to relieve my fear. I watched him and Clarke make their way out of camp with a knot in my stomach and I had to force myself to return to the dropship instead of staying there to wait for their return.

As I entered the ship and searched around for Octavia, I wasn’t at all surprised to find her anxiously waiting on the second floor, under the hatch where the grounder was being held. I was walking toward her when Connor pushed past to bang on the hatch and yell up. 

“Hey Miller, Roma’s parents are waiting for you on the radio.” He called before turning on his heel to walk straight out without waiting to see if he had been heard.

My stomach lurched at the mention of her name but I tried to concentrate on the task at hand. From Connor’s words, it sounded like they were about to leave the grounder unguarded and I could already feel Octavia desperately staring at me. I diverted my path to avoid looking suspicious and fiddled with some supplies in an attempt to look busy. Fortunately Octavia understood my strange move and she quickly did the same on the other side of the space as we tried to look casual whilst Miller made his way down the ladder and stomped outside. Octavia immediately dashed to the ladder and I ran over to meet her. 

“Hey, Bellamy’s out of camp so I’ll try to keep the goons out of your hair. I’ll give you as long as I can but please don’t do anything reckless. I know you trust him and I’m on your side that this whole thing is wrong but you still need to be careful. Don’t let your guard down. Now go.” I rambled in a hurry, before practically pushing her up the ladder to speed her up. I knew in my gut that Bellamy would be furious with me if he knew what I’d just done, but our methods of protecting Octavia were different and I found that allowing her to make her own decisions and mistakes was working well for me so far. She was growing, which she needed to do in an environment like this and I maintained her trust. In my mind, it was most important that she always continued to trust me with her problems so that I could help when she got herself into trouble, instead of sneaking around behind my back like she did with Bellamy. I waited nervously on the spot whilst Octavia was upstairs and I expected to run into trouble at any moment. It wasn’t long at all until it came. Miller approached the ladder with a furious expression and I steeled myself for a conflict. 

“Miller, how were Roma’s parents? I can’t imagine that as an easy conversation to have. If it helps I can speak to them? I was with her when…” I trailed off, unsure of what else to say. I wasn’t even sure if what I’d offered would be of any help at all, and felt guilty for even trying to use it as a distraction.

“No Indigo, that wouldn’t help at all. Now get out of my way, I need to get back to guarding the piece of shit whose friends are killing us.” He spat, pushing past me. I jumped back in front of him to try to block him and he looked up at the hatch in frustration. “Oh goddammit, Octavia is up there again isn’t she? Will you two ever give it a fucking rest with getting in the way?” He growled and I shifted awkwardly. I was disappointed that I hadn’t been able to think of a better distraction and instead had to resort to reasoning with him.

“Come on Miller, she’s not doing any harm and Bellamy isn’t even here. She’s just treating him like a human being.” I answered in an attempt to diffuse the situation and I already felt in my gut that I was wasting my time as he viewed me with disgust.

“What about our people, the ones they killed? You think they treated them like fucking human beings?” He spat as he continued to try to get to the ladder, but I remained in front of him to block it.

“We don’t even know if he had anything to do with that. We don’t know anything about Earth, we didn’t even expect there to be people here! We can’t hold one man responsible.” I argued, trying to reason with him despite his growing anger. I couldn’t tell which of us would lose our temper first as he looked down on me and I felt my stomach turning in frustration.

“Get out of my fucking way Sloan! Bellamy isn’t here to shield you today, don’t fucking test me!” He growled, attempting to pull me out from the ladder but instead I instinctively pushed him away from me and held my ground.

In an explosion of anger he swung at me; his fist collided with my jaw and caused me to stumble back. True to my assurance to Bellamy that I could protect myself, I rammed into Miller, tackling him at his waist and splayed him out on the floor. I pulled my arm back to punch him but before I could complete the movement I was interrupted by frantic yelling as Jasper stumbled into the space. 

“Octavia! Indigo! Octavia!” His tone of blind panic caused me to let go of Miller and instead of continuing my assault, I jumped to my feet. As I did this, the hatch opened and Octavia frantically started climbing down.

“Jasper, what’s wrong?” I asked worriedly and as his gaze fell on me, he rushed over to my side. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see that Miller was back on his feet and that he was in the process of reaching up to violently pull Octavia from the ladder. I felt my temper combust inside my chest and I turned on my heel, throwing all of my weight behind the punch that met his face like a bulldozer. Miller collapsed onto the ground unconscious and I shook my hand with a grimace.

“Fuck, Indigo, that was extreme!” Octavia breathed as she viewed me with a hint of amusement and I shrugged back. “Jasper, are you alright?” She asked as she gently placed a comforting hand on him in concern.

“I...I think I’m going crazy.” He spat as he reached out with a desperate grip on her shoulders. “Or the grounders are here, or I’m going crazy!” His voice was frantic and terrified and I raised my brows in surprise. Octavia gently released herself from his grip and she began to lead him to the entrance to the dropship. 

“Okay, just slow down.” She breathed, encouraging him to match her relaxed pace. “Just tell me what you saw.” As they reached the entrance and gained a view of the camp, Jasper seemed to hyperfixate on one point with wide, horrified eyes. I approached them, standing at his other side from Octavia and I watched him closely. 

“Him!” He whispered, his voice trembling as he pointed to an empty spot. Although it was obvious to us that he was pointing at nothing, the conviction in which he stared out and pointed insistently caused me to become concerned.

“Jasper, there’s no one there.” Octavia replied firmly as she tried to take control of the situation. 

“He’s right there!” Jasper yelled wildly back, finally losing control of his panic and I jumped at the sudden change in his demeanor. “We have to run, we have to run, why isn’t anyone doing anything-” He grabbed Octavia and tried to pull her but she dug her heels into the ground in resistance. I grabbed his arm to keep him with us and he stared at me in shock.

“Jasper! Are you on something?” Octavia asked and was unable to keep the annoyance from her tone any longer.

“Stay calm with him Tavi. He might be having a trauma flashback.” I spoke softly and slowly, as Jasper watched me with an expression that showed that he wasn’t really seeing me. He turned back to face Octavia with a slightly calmer manner, but instead I could sense a hint of slurring in his words.

“I love you.” He stated, causing us both to raise our brows in surprise. “And I just want you to know that we’re all gonna die soon, okay? I love you.” He rushed his words but also tried to cram food into his mouth at the same time. Octavia grabbed his hand midway to his mouth and revealed the nuts that he and Monty had offered me earlier. 

“Is this all you’ve eaten today?” She questioned, fixing him with a serious expression as I watched with a feeling of dread as I recognised them.

“It is but who the hell cares now?” He breathed, waving his arms around in a dramatic fashion and I had to stifle a snigger at his out of character behaviour.

“You’re totally bombed.” She sighed, glancing over at me for assistance and I looked back at her with concern as I shook off my amusement.

“Him and Monty offered those to me this morning when they found them.” I clarified as I met her eyes and she looked back at me with relief. “How many other people in camp did they give them to?” I asked, glancing around with a knot in my gut and her eyes widened as she realised the implications.

“I don’t know but we need to find out, fast. For now we need to deal with him before he causes a panic.” Octavia whispered, indicating to Jasper who was now hyperventilating and causing quite a scene. She stepped outside by just a few steps and I had to grip his arm to keep him from following her. She picked up a fallen branch and returned just inside the ship to hand it to him purposefully. “Here buddy, take this.” She breathed and I sensed a hint of sarcasm in her voice despite her best efforts to conceal it.

“It’s a stick?” He questioned as he took it and stared at her in bewilderment.

“No, this is an anti grounder stick.” She argued in a forced tone and I struggled not to snort at her prosperous plan. “So as long as you hold this and you sit right here, grounders won't be able to see you. See?” She spoke softly and encouraged him to take a seat inside the dropship.

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll just stay right here.” Jasper nodded, settling into his seat and accepting her lie far easier than I’d anticipated. Octavia looked at me and rolled her eyes, and I had to stifle a giggle. I was sympathetic for Jasper; he’d been through so much since we got here that I thought he was doing incredibly well to still even be functioning.

“I’m gonna do the rounds of camp and just check no one else is freaking out.” I stated as I glanced out at the seemingly calm space anxiously and Octavia nodded in agreement.

“Good idea. You take one side, I’ll take the other and we’ll meet back here.” She answered and I smiled at her responsibility.

I stuck my head into multiple tents and everyone on my side seemed to still be their normal selves. From what I could tell, people were still efficiently working on their duties. After checking most of my side, I decided to find Monty and I hoped that he’d be in a better state than Jasper had gotten himself into. When I entered their tent, I found Monty laid flat out in a pile of sleeping bags and staring up at the ceiling of the tent with a fascinated expression. 

“Hey Monty, are you good in here?” I asked gently as I stepped properly into the space and surveyed him. He turned to face me with a dosy smile and widely dilated eyes. 

“Hey, it’s the pretty girl!” He answered cheerfully and I chuckled under my breath at his strange demeanour.

“So, I’ve just been chatting with Jasper and he was telling me about the nuts you found in the forest this morning.” I approached slowly and sat beside him. I was careful not to startle him after Jasper’s earlier panicky behaviour and worried that I could inadvertently spiral him into a similar state.

“Oh the nuts! Yeah, they’re super good, they’re so tasty, I think they might be the best thing I’ve eaten since I got here.” He raved, smiling widely at me. “You should make sure you get some.” He added and I knew that baiting him would be easier than I had anticipated.

“You know, I really want to try them, they sound amazing. But everyone liked them so much that no one will share with me.” I said coyly, and his face fell into a profoundly sad expression as he considered my words. I struggled not to snigger at his dramatic reactions.

“What?! That’s so greedy! I’ll share with you pretty girl.” He smiled, pulling a small supply of the nuts from his pocket and handing them to me without any resistance. “It’s not much, but those are all I have left.” He admitted and I was warmed by his kindness.

“Thanks Monty, you’re the best.” I replied, forcing a wide smile back at him in an attempt to not be suspicious. The effects of the nuts seemed to be different on Monty, maybe because he hadn’t endured quite as much trauma as Jasper, or maybe he was usually a chilled, happy drunk. I reflected on what he’d been arrested for, and decided I wouldn’t be surprised if the latter was the case. 

“Oh you’re welcome Indie! I’ll always share with you. You’re nice, and cool, and pretty. So pretty. Did you know that? Bellamy doesn’t deserve you.” He rambled quickly in a slurred fashion.I struggled not to laugh now, wrinkling up my nose as I smiled at him. 

“Well it’s a good thing that Bellamy doesn’t have me then, isn’t it.” I replied earnestly as I appreciated his kind words, even if they were caused by blatant intoxication. “You know what Monty, you’ve done so well today gathering these delicious treats that I think you’ve earned a break. Why don’t you take a nap?” I suggested encouragingly as I got to my feet.

“Yeah, a nap sounds great. I love naps.” He smiled as he shuffled himself into a comfortable position and quickly dozed off. I smiled at his peaceful form resting in a self hugging pose before I crept out of the tent. I made my way back to the dropship and found Octavia waiting for me. 

“Hey, just so you know Miller’s back up and being a dick as usual.” She groaned in annoyance and I rolled my eyes. “He went straight back up there to guard Lincoln-I mean the grounder.” She added before dropping her gaze to her feet.

“Please tell me you haven’t named him? He’s not a puppy and no you can’t keep him.” I stated firmly, with only a small hint of playfulness. I hoped for a laugh but instead she stared back at me in an awkward manner.

“No, that’s his name. He told me.” She lowered her voice to a whisper to divulge this information and I froze to the spot in shock. 

“You said he didn’t speak English?” I asked in a hiss as I felt unnerved by this revelation.

“I didn’t think he could, but turns out he can.” She replied casually and I got the impression that she didn’t understand the gravity of this discovery. I stared back at her in horror, as I remembered how much of the conversation between Bellamy and I had been in front of the prisoner. I desperately struggled to think whether I had said anything that could endanger Bellamy if it were to get out and felt my heart hammering as I considered it. 

“Jesus, Octavia, did you tell him anything?” I grilled her with more aggression than intended and she seemed to be confused as she stared back at me.

“No, of course not, he didn’t want to know anything. I just told him I was sorry about what happened.” She explained and I could tell that she was insulted in the way that she spoke. “How was your side of camp anyway? Any more freak outs?” She asked in a crude attempt at changing the topic. I sighed but allowed her to guide me, as the nuts situation was a more pressing issue.

“No, everyone’s pretty normal, except for Monty who’s totally baked. But I took what he has left so at least he’ll start coming down.” I answered in a matter of fact manner. “Your side?” I questioned nervously.

“No weirdness at all, maybe Jasper and Monty just ate too many?” She thought aloud and I shrugged back at her. I was hopeful that she was right, as I couldn’t imagine the chaos we’d be met with if these had made their way around camp.  “Raven and Finn haven’t come out of their little love den so they should be fine.” She added with a hint of bitterness and I fixed her with a scrutinising look. 

“Did you check them?” I asked, eying her suspiciously. She avoided my gaze, shifting awkwardly and I sighed deeply in disappointment. I understood why she didn’t want to be around Raven, but I trusted her to be more mature considering the circumstances. “Fine, I’ll deal with Raven. Don’t do anything whilst I’m gone.” I added as I stepped away from her. She cleared her throat and I paused to turn to face her again. “Unless...you already did something?” I asked hesitantly. She looked incredibly guilty now and was barely even facing my direction any longer. “Octavia, what did you do?” I hissed in annoyance. I knew her too well for her act to fool me and I could tell from her face that there was something she was trying to hide.

“Nothing!” She exclaimed defensively. I raised a brow at her and she quickly crumbled. “Nothing undeserved.” She added with a coy smile and I felt my stomach lurch at her wording. “I may have had a part in ensuring that Miller got his rations.” She smiled and I groaned loudly as I understood that she had drugged him with the nuts. “Look, I’m just saying, if the guards were too high to keep an eye on him then it would be easy for him to just accidentally escape.” She explained her logic and I stared at her in disbelief. 

“I just...what?” I stuttered weakly as I processed her words. “I know I agreed with you that he should never have been brought here, or tortured, and I have absolutely no intention of allowing anyone to execute him, but we can’t seriously be talking about letting him go?! That’s a huge risk Octavia, you don’t know him, what are you going to do if he comes back with an army?” I ranted as I felt the nerves brewing in my stomach. As I was in the middle of glaring at her, I realised that she was looking over my shoulder and I turned to see a commotion growing in the camp. It seemed that the effect of the nuts had simply taken a while to kick in as people were now starting to behave strangely all over the camp. “Shit, we’ve got bigger problems right now, I can’t talk to you about this just yet. I know you have drama with Raven and I get it, but Finn is injured and still very early in his recovery, so I need to make sure he’s not high as a kite and busting open his stitches because you dumped your responsibilities over a grudge. Stay here, and don’t do anything reckless whilst I deal with this, and we’ll talk about it when I get back.” I spoke quickly, allowing my tone to convey my stress before I rushed to Raven and Finn’s tent.

It was a struggle to even make it through the chaos of the camp. I was stopped several times by random people in varying states of confusion and panic. I struggled to part from each of them as I worried over reaching the person who I felt was most vulnerable. When the tent finally came into view, I could hear raised voices from inside. I quickened my pace to deal with the conflict and saw Monty stumbling out of the residence.

“Monty, what are you doing? I thought you were having a nap?” I asked frustratedly as I caught sight of him. I couldn’t believe that the one person I thought I’d dealt with was already back out and causing trouble. He turned to face me with an overly cheesy smile and I scrutinised him with an unimpressed manner. 

“Oh hey Indie! Well I was trying to have a nap but the tides kept interrupting me so I need to find the moon so that I can change the tide.” He explained in a manner that was so articulate that it was almost believable. I stifled a laugh as I assessed that even whilst drunk Monty was trying to solve problems and studying things in his scientific mind. I smiled at him fondly as I formed a plan to get him out of the way without having to scold him. 

“Oh, the moon?” I replied in a fascinated tone. “You know I just saw it heading into your tent, but if you go in there you’ll have to close your eyes so you don’t get blinded by it. So maybe lie down with your eyes closed whilst you talk to it.” I made up whatever I could think of on the spot and waited anxiously to see if Monty believed me. Although he was intoxicated, I doubted that he had become any less intelligent and I worried that he would see through me.

“You’re a genius!” He smiled eagerly and I let out a breath that I didn’t even realise I was holding. He gave me an exaggerated high five before running excitedly in the direction of his tent. Raven stepped out of her tent, pulling on her jacket and looked around. 

“What the hell is going on?” She asked as she surveyed the chaos that surrounded us with confusion.

“Monty and Jasper found some nuts earlier that seem to be hallucinogens. Everyone's losing their shit.” I explained, watching closely for any strange behaviour from her. “Did either of you eat any?” I asked to confirm that she wasn’t going to fool me as the rest of camp had.

“No, thank god.” She breathed, widening her eyes as someone ran past bare chested and waving their shirt in the air like a flag. “I was with Finn so didn’t collect any rations.” She replied, rubbing her head in a stressed manner. “Does the pressure ever stop here?” She groaned as she met my eyes with an exhausted face. I was surprised to find that her tone was the same as it had been before she brutally tortured the grounder and then tried to fight me.

“No, welcome to Earth, the bullshit is constant.” I spoke coldly, no longer able to bond with her as I had over Finn’s unconscious state. I couldn’t pretend that last night hadn’t happened and I didn’t have the time to deal with the aftermath just yet. “Now, we’ve got around 90 dellusional teenagers to keep alive, so we’re gonna need every set of hands we can get.” I requested and Raven sighed deeply, sticking her head back into the tent.

 “Scratch that, get out here.” She spoke into the tent before straightening back up. 

“Thank you. If you could start gathering any stragglers at the edge of the camp and bring them back in that would be great. Octavia and I will gather the ones near the dropship.” I instructed and Raven immediately nodded in agreement.

As I approached the dropship I witnessed Octavia creeping back in with supplies bundled in her arms. I broke into a jog to catch her up and I could tell that she hadn’t spotted me nearing her. I cleared my throat just before I fell into step beside her and she jumped in response.

“What are you doing?” I spoke firmly and she turned to face me like a deer caught in headlights. I studied the items that she was carrying and easily identified some clothes and rations. I surveyed her with a mixture of disappointment and disbelief. I’d barely been gone for ten minutes and I couldn’t believe that she’d made such a dramatic decision in that time. “I said we’d talk about this. Are you really sneaking around to do this behind my back?” I asked with a hurt tone as I met her eyes. For a moment, she looked genuinely remorseful, but she quickly flipped to defensive behaviour. 

“Oh right, of course.” She breathed, squinting at me with annoyance. “You say we’ll talk about it and you expect me to just sit and wait whilst our best chance of getting him out of here is passing us by?! We’re not going to have a better opportunity than this, ever!” She spat and I was surprised to find her pressuring me at such an impossible time.

“Yes, it’s our best chance to free him, but how do we know that freeing him is the right thing?” I asked and she rolled her eyes. I dropped to a scolding tone to try encourage her to realise the seriousness of the conversation and I felt more like I was parenting a bratty child than discussing something with my best friend. “It’s a risk Octavia, what will we do if he comes back with an army of grounders? Will you still feel so justified in your decision when they are killing us in front of you?” I pressed back, in an effort to make her understand the gravity of the decision we needed to make.

“That’s not going to happen! He saved my life!” She argued and I half expected her to stomp her feet as she spoke in an indignant tone.

“Don’t be fucking naive! You don’t know him!” I yelled back as I lost my temper with her ridiculous behaviour. “He may have saved you, but then he chained you to a wall like a fucking pet.” I jabbed and I saw the flicker of offence crossing her face.

“If I’m wrong and he has an army of grounders, they are going to come looking for him! If we let him go, maybe he’ll show us mercy in return.” She suggested and I scoffed at her. “You need to ask yourself this: when Bellamy comes back and we have to make a decision about what to do, how are you going to feel watching him get executed, knowing that you could have saved his life?” She reasoned and I paced around in an attempt to manage the stress that she was piling on me. I knew that we had little time to make a decision one way or another, but I couldn’t judge which option was the most sensible. After all of my time preaching about survival skills and being tactical, I didn't know the answer. “Indigo, sometimes you have to take a chance and have faith in people. I have faith in Lincoln, I can feel in my gut that this is the right thing to do. Now I’m just asking you to trust me.” I stared at her in uncertainty, and my recent words to Bellamy repeated in my mind, much to my frustration. If there was one thing I never wanted to be, it was a hypocrite.

“Fine, fine!” I spat as I snapped under the stress. “But this is on you, this is your choice. Don’t make me regret this!” I added as I jabbed a finger at her and she nodded back thankfully. “You get him out, I’ll keep the few sober people distracted.” I instructed as I tried to form a plan within the limited time constraints. “Come and find me when he’s gone.” I sighed, furious at her for putting me in this position. 

#the100 #cw #oc #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #indigo #originalcharacter #bellamy blake #bellamy x reader #bellamy x oc #bellamy x you #bellamy blake fanfiction #bellamy blake the 100 #the 100 fanfiction #bellamy blake series #the 100 insert #the 100 rewrite #clarke griffin #octavia blake #raven reyes #finn collins #jasper jordan #monty green #lincoln #john murphy #wecomerunning

[thatesqcrush]

Mr. In Between

Rafael Barba x Reader. Brief mentions of Rafael Barba x Olivia Benson. Prompt inspired by @sweetsummertime99: “ I was watching friends and it was the episode where Ross writes the pro/con list for Rachel and Emily. I’d like to see if someone would write the same kind of scenario not with a waitress but other attributes. Rafael Barba x Female Reader where Rafael writes the list and the reader finds it. Possibly comparing to Olivia?”

CW: slightly NSFW, some angst. AN: I am the biggest FRIENDS fan - I still get really angry at this episode. My heart breaks for Rachel when Ross makes the comparison list with her and Julie. I blame Chandler and Joey - they don’t take any responsibility for their involvement.

AN2: Thanks to @melsquared79 for all of the help with bouncing ideas and feedback!

Tags: @madpanda75 @ottosuricato @delia26 @dreila03 @sass-and-suspenders @melsquared79 @mommakat32 @glimmerglittergirl @garturbo @southern-magnolia @niyashell @tropes-and-tales @imjustreallynosy @whyissvuruiningmylovelife @sweetsummertime99 - anyone else just ask.

***

Three Months Ago

“Can I get you anything?”

You and Rafael looked up at the waitress who had approached your table. “I’ll have a dry cappuccino,” Rafael requested. The waitress nodded and turned to you.

“Matcha soy latte for me, thanks,” you replied.

“Biscotti for the table too, please.” Rafael looked at you and smiled. “You look lovely tonight.”

You smiled in return. “Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself.” And Rafael did - he always did regardless if he was in a three piece suit or in a polo shirt and fitted jeans, which was his current ensemble. You shifted in your seat and tucked your hair behind your ears, showing off the teardrop earrings the hung off your lobes.

The two of you made small talk, catching up on the week’s happenings while waiting for the food and drinks to arrive. The waitress soon returned, placing your drinks down along with a small plate of assorted dipped and non-dipped biscotti in the middle of the table. When you reached across the table to grab a piece of biscotti, Rafael used the opportunity to reach across and take your hand into his.

“I brought you here tonight because I wanted to talk about us and our future,” he began. “I want you to know that you’re a very special person in my life.” Rafael shifted in his seat and leaned forward to stare into your eyes. 

Your heart began to beat harder. You willed yourself to be calm and collected. “You’re very special to me too, Rafi,” you replied.

Rafael took a deep breath before he began speaking once more. “I want you to know that I really like you: I love spending time with you. But, I just want to continue to keep things casual,” Rafael gave your hand a gentle squeeze and you nodded, in response. 

“Sure,” you replied softly, feeling your heart sink and shatter. You turned your head and stared off at the waitress who was now drying coffee mugs with a cloth.

Your stomach lurched and you did your best to ignore the lump in your throat that began to form.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I just want to be honest about where we stand; I am not ready for a relationship at this time.” Rafael stated. His question fell on deaf ears. “Y/N?”

“Hmmm?” You turned to face Rafael. “Oh! Yes, it’s fine.” You tried to seem confident and cool, as if his decision had no effect on you. However, you were certain that the shakiness in your voice betrayed you.

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing; of all of the places for Rafael to drop his non-committal line, he chose the coffee shop that you two had your first date at. You had hoped that Rafael was going to make a declaration - and he had - just not the one you wanted.

You glanced down at your watch, and pretended to be alarmed at the time. “Look at the time, I have to go; I have an early work meeting,” you replied, standing. You ran your hands over your clothes nervously before leaning over to your purse.

As you moved to stand, Rafael grabbed your hand once more, causing you to stop.

“Please, lets talk; let me take you home,” Rafael replied. His voice was pleading and you could see the worry etched on his face.

You shook your head and Rafael‘s pilled his hand off of yours. “Call me or I’ll call you...goodnight Rafael. Thanks for the coffee.”

That night, you had gone back to your apartment. Rather than sob into your pillow, you raged cleaned, cranking up the music so loud you were sure your neighbors were going to complain. There was nothing like a bottle of lemon-scented oven cleaner and DMX to help you process your emotions. You ran the details of your relationship- if it even was one - with Rafael Barba - through your mind as you scrubbed the spider grates on your stove.

You had met Rafael during the end of intermission of Hamilton. The lights began to dim, and the throngs of theater goers began to file back to their seats. You tried to move right, he tried to move right; the same thing happened as you moved to the left. You both laughed awkwardly, and eventually Rafael moved out of the way so you could walk past. As you did so, your hands just barely grazed each other’s. You felt a spark and as you headed down the hallway, you turned your head and you could see Rafael watching you, a goofy smile on his face.

After the show had ended, you bumped into Rafael once more on the sidewalk while trying to hail a cab. From there, you exchanged phone numbers and subsequently started seeing each other. With his line of work, Rafael had warned he would not and could not be the ideal boyfriend. You had accepted that at first. You had broken up with your partner a year prior, so you weren’t looking for anything serious. Not at least initially.

But with matters of the heart, you had a tendency to let your feelings, which were carried on the wings of a very vivid imagination, get away from you almost immediately. Rafael had hinted that he was seeing someone else in addition to you. Olivia - something. But you tried to not let it bother you. You enjoyed spending time with Rafael and didn’t want to ruin what you both had going.

****

A few days later after the coffee shop incident, Rafael called you and you reluctantly made plans to get together later that week.

You had finished your day early with work as you needed to run a few errands. It was cold that day; Fall was transitioning to Winter in New York City. The wind was whipping, causing leaves to scatter on the sidewalk and street. You shivered as you exited the cleaners, your arms full of freshly cleaned clothes. One of the hangers slipped from your arms as a huge gust of wind blew as you rounded the corner of the block. You bent down to pick it up and as you stood back up, you saw Rafael across the way. And he was not alone. Holding onto his arm was an attractive brunette. You could only assume it was Olivia. 

Rafael hadn’t spotted you and you felt like some kind of voyeur - you knew you shouldn’t watch but you were too transfixed to move. You watched Rafael pull Olivia into an embrace; his gloved hand pushed away the hair that had fallen across her face - the same hand that had done the same to you countless times. He leaned down towards her face and you turned away, unable to watch any further. You hurried back to your apartment with your freshly dry cleaned clothes. You tried to remove the image from your mind but you couldn’t do it.

You canceled on Rafael that week. And the week after that. But eventually, you caved and returned Rafael’s calls with a weak excuse that work had you swamped. To your relief, he bought it. 

****

Fast Forward to Present Day

The night had gone wonderfully. You were at the NY Legal Assistance Gala held at Tribeca Rooftop. You had danced all night, had a few cocktails, followed by a meal so good it should’ve been illegal. And you had the most handsome man hanging off your arm.

You leaned forward against the railing, taking in the scene ahead of you - it was late, but Manhattan was still a-buzz. The music had drowned most of the traffic, but you could still make out some of it if you truly listened carefully.

“You know, I may be biased, but you’re the most beautiful person here,” a voice murmured in your ear from behind, before two large arms enveloped you. You turned around, and came face to face with Rafael. You searched his sea-foam green eyes and smiled. You reached up and smoothed the wisp of dark hair that had fallen across his forehead.

Rafael took your hand and kissed the inside of your wrist. “Y/N, I know I had told you I had wanted something casual, but these last few months...it’s made me realize something.”

Your heart leapt in your chest as you listened intently.

“I broke things off with Olivia. It was getting too complicated and I couldn’t give her what she wanted and she couldn’t give me what I wanted.”

You stood there dumbfounded as Rafael continued his declaration. “You are so important to me. You are so wonderful. Cuando era niño soñaba con conquistar el mundo, ahora me doy cuenta que tú eres mí mundo y me has conquistado,” Rafael rushed out.

You blinked. “What does that mean? You know my Spanish isn’t perfect.”

Rafael stepped closer to you, effectively closing the gap between you and him. “It means, when I was a kid, I dreamed of conquering the world. Now I realize that you're my world and you have conquered me.”

“Trying go get into my pants counselor?” you teased, gently pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.

“More like out of this dress,” was the husky reply. You looked down at your dress - a fitted, fiery red off the shoulder gown that hugged your curves in all the right places. A hand trailed from your shoulder, towards your décolletage.

Your cheeks turned pink and you felt an ache develop between your legs.

Rafael cupped your face. “I mean it. It’s you. It’s always been you.” You searched his eyes once more. You leaned up to kiss him, and Rafael used one strong, muscled arm to envelope you in a tight embrace; you could feel the evidence of his desire against your belly. His lips captured yours and he used his other hand to tilt your head so that he could deepen the kiss. Your tongues dueled and you could taste the remains of the scotch he had earlier.

Rafael nipped your bottom lip with his teeth, gently pulling, before moving to your neck, sucking on your sweet spot. You groaned and melted further into his embrace. Such a public display would have normally flustered you; but instead further spurned you on.

Looking around over Rafael’s shoulder, you noticed people were too busy wrapped up in their own world, enjoying the gala’s festivities. Rafael’s back was to the gala, and so discreetly you reached down and rubbed his erection.

“Mierda,” Rafael groaned against your ear. “Do I need to remind you of penal code 245, Y/N? Can’t have the Manhattan ADA getting arrested.”

“Then let’s get out of here,” you murmured in Rafael’s ear. “Your place.”

****

The night should have ended with you in Rafael’s bed making love until the sun rose. Instead, you were fleeing his apartment; your face was red hot and your eyes were filled with tears. You could hear your name being shouted, but you didn’t dare turn around as you ran out of the apartment building onto the Park Avenue street.

You were humiliated. Shaking, you waved your hand wildly trying to signal a cab. Fortunately a cab came pretty quickly and you hopped in, ordering the cab to step on it.

Rafael approached the cab, but the door was already closed. He knocked on the winodw, pleading for you to not go. You looked at him, your face streaked with mascara and you shook your head. Rafael watched helplessly as the cab pulled away from the curb. He slumped down, his hands resting on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath from running down so many flights of stairs.

It was too late. You were gone. And Rafael could feel his own heart break.

TBC.

#my fics #my writing #rafael barba and reader #barba and reader #rafael barba fanfic #barba x reader #rafael barba x reader #reader x barba #barba imagine #rafael barba imagine #barba x olivia #rafaelbarbafanfic

[theliterateape]

The Power of Selective Care: How to Survive the Wave Pool of Everyone Else's Causes

by Don Hall

He's on the sidewalk just out in front of the Smith's grocery store, gesticulating and having an argument with someone no one else can see.

I approach him. He seems to be having an argument about the number of cars in the parking lot and how they aren't from America. He's really worked up about it.

"Excuse me? Can I take a second of your time to ask a question?"

He stops and looks both at and through me with a sense of malevolence and hostility usually reserved for family members on the wrong side of the Thanksgiving conversation.

I smile. It has no reactive response. "I'm just curious how you feel about whether the new MCU Ms. Marvel will be more like a CW show or more like the current shows on Disney+?"

He stares at me as if I had slowly grown a baby's foot out of the side of my neck.

"I'm a huge MCU fan," I continue. "So far, I pretty much love everything they've put out—I grew up reading the comics so seeing them come to life as it were is a real blast—but I wonder if, in order to capture a youth market, they're going to start making the shows more kid-centered?"

He stares for a beat and then barks "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T CARE! I. DO. NOT. CARE!"

For the past few years, I've been trying to understand why Donald Trump is considered such a danger to democracy, a blight upon our crops, a monster who occupied the Oval Office. People on my side of the political fence don't just despise him as I did Bush Jr. and his disfigured Emperor Cheney—they HATE him with the white-hot hatred of a child grown up to avenge her mother who was killed by the local rancher and now she has a pistol.

I'm not suggesting the man was anything but a wholly incompetent head of state but the hatred is so palpable. I try to figure out why he is so hated when all he did was pack the SCOTUS with zealots and completely fuck the COVID response (although, seeing how half the country won't get vaccinated anyway indicates that he was just the tip of the COVID-denial iceberg). He did foment a riot against Congress, so there’s certainly that.

He was (and continues to be) a complete narcissistic asshole but that can be said for 78.98% of everyone with a Twitter account of Instagram and we don't collectively hate them, right?

I believe our horror over Trump has more to do with his active apathy to anything we think is important and that he answered so much of what We the People decided required serious thought with a simple "So...?"

"Mr. President, you're a racist!"

"So...?"

"Mr. President, you're a rapist!"

"So...?"

"Mr. President, you're a crook!"

"So...?"

He didn't even pretend to care.

And it infuriated us. What a complete dick. An amazing fucker. How dare he brush off our concerns and accusations? We have just realized the power of our collective Tweets to influence society and this asshat comes in and does it better than us? WTF?

I remember having arguments on Faceborg (back when I gave a shit about that non-discourse vacuous wormhole) and being told (amongst insults) that people could care about more than one issue at a time. Wrong. It takes so much energy to solely get up in the morning, read the news of ongoing impending disasters on all fronts, and prevent yourself from blasting a 9 millimeter hole out the back of your head. To assume that with all that you can then devote attention and action to solving more than one big problem with any hope of forward traction is absurd.

I imagine that issues in the world are like writing tasks. Do I spend time today working on marketing copy for the company that employs me? Blog posts for them? Going over notes for the casino book I'm writing? Researching some philosophy for a Literate Ape piece on the absence of evil in the world? FUCK. If I don't practice some selectivity, some prioritization, some discrimination on which thing I focus on, I'm going to sit in the stew of my own inactivity and do absolutely nothing.

Hell, maybe I go on social media and bitch about the trauma all of it causes me instead of doing any of it?

I do and am assaulted by causes: #BLM, #METoo, #StoptheSteal, #VoterRights, #COVIDVaccines. There are people angry about mask mandates, police reform, the attempt to hold accountable Republicans for the January 6th insurrection, DaBaby's homophobic comments (who the fuck is DaBaby?), reproductive rights, transgender issues, cancel culture, whether Simone Biles was brave or simply choked, and I suddenly understand my friend in front of the Smith's screaming "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T CARE! I. DO. NOT. CARE!"

Ever since Trump came into office in 2017, I've felt that those on the left side of the national parking lot decided to adopt his strategy and become the biggest cunts in the party, insulting, yelling, over-simplifying complex issues, and embracing their inner bullies. My reaction has been to eschew any tactic used by that shithead.

I was wrong.

The strategy I believe can be mimicked to our advantage is that practice of Selective Care. Decide which issues matter, which solutions are feasible, and ignore everything else.

Choose the thing you want to zero in on—say, income inequality.

"You believe in biology? You're transphobic!" "So...?" "You believe that looting is not legitimate protest? You're racist!" "So...?" "Biden is a Chinese agent put into power by the Chinese!" "So...?" "The government can't tell me that I have to get vaccinated! It's my right to refuse!" "Huh? Were you talking?"

"The minimum wage has been stagnant for decades!" "Yeah! Right? Let's talk about that."

Refuse to be distracted by anyone else's bullshit and spend your time and energy running one race at a time. If your issue is important enough to you, everyone else's cause can slide into the background.

This is not about self-care nor is it about avoiding important issues in the world. It is about recognizing how effective you can be during your tiny, insignificant presence on the planet. Funny that, in earlier days in America, most people did not feel they were terribly important or that their opinion mattered so much as their support of the unity of society and today 7 out of 10 believe they are very important and their opinions are essential.

Most of us are not important to many more than a handful of others and your Faceborg friends are mostly not your friends.

Pick and choose those issues you deem important because that issue is more interesting than you are.

#choice #selective care

[wellesleyunderground]

Wellesley Writes It: Chatting with Kate Erickson ‘05 (@katefromky), (Writer for SNOWPIERCER), Part II

It is such an honor to catch up with Kate Erickson ‘05, who has written for AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, BBC America’s Copper, and USA’s Mr. Robot, for which she won a Writers Guild Award. Her fiction has been recognized as a finalist in the 2007 Glimmer Train Winter Fiction Open as well as the 2006 Summer Fiction Open Contests. Outside of TV, Erickson worked as an assistant producer for The Moth and as a writer for several non-profit organizations. Her essays have appeared in Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, Wellesley Magazine, the New York Press, and on Medium (@ericksonkate).

Interviewed by Dr Rebecca Danos; image used with permission by Kate Erickson

WU: Thanks so much for doing a follow-up chat with WU, we’re so happy to interview you again!  It was a blast interviewing you here last year.  What have you been up to since we last chatted?

Thanks for having me! I’m happy to be back. Last year we spoke as I was beginning on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead. Since then I helped write the stories for the fifteen episodes Fear’s season two. I wrote the scripts for the fourth and eleventh episodes of the season, and I was in Mexico for a total of two months to prep and produce those scripts. After we wrapped, I moved over to the writers’ room for TNT’s adaptation of the film Snowpiercer.

WU: Tell us about Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer and your work on it as a TV show.

I can’t say too much, as our work has only recently started. I will say that I love the movie, and I hope that we are on our way to doing it justice. Our showrunner, Josh Friedman, who wrote the pilot, has a passionate, organized, thoughtful take on the material, which has allowed the rest of us easily to jump aboard his vision. Also, we’ve learned there is no end to train puns.

WU: How do you know when a story has the potential for the longevity of a TV series as opposed to a film?

Stories meant for features usually have an end within sight, right from the outset, and fit within more compact framework (and a few hours of airtime). Stories meant for television likely have an end within sight, but usually the framework is less defined (or mutates over time). They benefit from several stories running parallel to each other, can be segmented into weekly units, and embrace conceptual challenges without letting that concept define the project as a whole. But then, for every rule, there’s a magnificent disruption. So who knows, really?

WU: What about your new job excites you?

The Snowpiercer writers’ room has more women than any other I’ve worked on — six women, two men, including the showrunner. I think a few of us had a moment when we walked in the first day, looked around, and realized that none of us were the token lady on staff. Second exciting thing: everyone is confident, respectful, and dedicated. Everyone enjoys thinking about the show after hours, and we all look forward to walking in and sharing our ideas every morning. This sounds like a small thing, but it’s not. Some shows — as a result of any unfortunate confluence of elements — wear their staffs out, and by the second month, everyone’s dragging themselves in, racking their brains for something useful. Third exciting thing: on the lot, there’s a 24/7 gym which we can use for FREE.

WU: You seem to be involved in a lot of political activities.  What do you see is the role and relevance of writers in the current global political climate?

What a question! If I had a great answer to this, I might feel like I had a firmer step through the world right now. Writers are communicators, so I think we should be among the first to find words for our frustrations, and we should be leaders in dialogue across barriers. What form that takes, I don’t know. Some people will make great and moving works of art — allegories, direct commentaries, portraits of people and situations. That’s wonderful, because a reality star is the president-elect of the United States. If we were confused before, we now know for sure that a large percentage of Americans are seduced by the screen. We writers should be creating the place for powerful, nuanced characters of color. For all sexualities to experience honest, complicated relationships. For stories about the actual challenges of this world to be engaging, interesting, and, yes, entertaining. Maybe we can seduce America into greater compassion.

Other TV writers (increasingly more, I hope) will step from behind the camera and engage with the world directly. TV stories are made in a writers’ room, with groups of individuals arguing, agreeing, brainstorming alternate directions, conceding. During production, we learn the languages of a dozen different departments, and we problem solve across department lines. We develop skills which should translate to political organizing and outreach. I would ask more writers: please, make space in your schedule to regularly lend the world these skills.

WU: Your involvement in Wellesley also follows the non ministrari sed ministare motto.  Can you discuss what inspired you to be involved in founding a prize for Wellesley undergrad writers?  What other Wellesley and alumna activities are you involved in?  How would you advise alumna to become more involved in our alma mater or other venues to embrace our alma mater’s motto via writing?

I can’t take all the credit for founding the screenwriting prize. Our subgroup of film and TV professionals within the WCLA brainstormed the thing all together. I’ve been very excited about it, because I don’t think enough Wellesley alums are graduating with a writing sample which would help them apply to fellowships and get representation. I hope this competition will encourage the completion of such a sample. I also hope that the awards package of the prize (a trip to LA, with small stipend, for several days of meetings with industry professionals) will encourage creative alums to embrace and develop their business skills. To current students or alums who graduated within the last year — please apply! The English Department and Career Education (formerly CWS) have the application packet.

I’m involved in a few other alumna activities: planning ongoing events for film and TV professionals in LA, contributing to a committee organized by the Alum Association and Career Education to envision a new/ongoing mentorship model for alums, helping the English Department organize their “Working Writers” series, which brings professional writers to campus to speak to students about their paths into their careers.

For alums looking to embrace Wellesley’s motto, http://www.idealist.org has a good database for finding ways to give back with whatever your skill set. Also, though this article was written in reaction to the election (and focuses on NYC-based organizations), all of these organizations can use writerly assistance, no matter the president (and some have branches in cities other than NYC): https://electricliterature.com/lets-get-to-work-practical-ways-for-writers-and-teachers-to-get-involved-right-now-79d6d6b9af29#.x1s3amjgw.  

WU: Are there any writers who serve as role models for you?

Alice Munro is a queen of invention and grace. Sometimes I read a page of her work and try to imagine the feeling of having written it. Then I weep in self pity.

I met Vince Gilligan at a party once and blurted, “Everyone says you are the nicest boss!” What I meant to say was, “I respect your storytelling and leadership, and I aspire to your integrity. Please give me one piece of concrete advice so that I might take the first step toward even halfway becoming you.”

On a daily basis, I turn to my mentor, Tom Fontana, and my writer friends, including the best of them, my fiancee, to lead by example. Does Kyle know how closely I observe his decision making, Jen her perfect execution of restraint, Jared his discipline? Hopefully not. Hopefully they do not read this.  

WU: What are your go-to films, TV shows, and books that inspire you?

I rewatch over and over Tomorrow We Disappear, a documentary film co-produced by fellow alum Fazeelat Aslam. Everyone should download it here: http://www.twdfilm.com. The questions it raises about the purpose of art and the definition of an artist bring me back to what matters every time.

WU: How do you practice self-care to cope with the stresses of your career (or the LA freeways, for that matter)?

I get outside. I drive east, on Highway 2, and I go into the mountains and hike until I have a nice view. I try to have a chunk of the year on hiatus, so that I can write my own stuff and deep clean my house. I make sure that my life always holds more than writing, so that I don’t feel frantic if I don’t get a job or if I make what feels like an irredeemable mistake on the job.

WU: You went on location this time to Mexico for some of the filming of Fear the Walking Dead.  Was this a new aspect of your job description?  What was it like?

Shooting in Mexico was new, but going on set for prep and production was not. I covered my scripts on set for both of my previous shows.

Production hours are longer than your hours working in the room, but being in touch with the production process is invaluable. So many elements of the story are decided during prep (What type of backpack should a character wear? An army surplus? One that’s pink plastic?) and so many more during the shooting (If the characters are standing across the room from each other, will the audience understand their intimacy? Let’s get them closer to each other. Etc, etc). You have to juggle a million decisions at once, and your brain is fried at the end of the day. But, god, do you learn a lot about how to make a story come alive, and do you ever have a chance to make sure this particular story is told well.

WU: You write a blog.  When did you begin this project, and what inspired you to start it?  What is your goal for the blog?

I’ve written personal essays ever since I started telling stories at The Moth. This past year, I brought some of them together in one place, on Medium. I wrote some more, and then realized that, really, they could tell one unified story, so I stopped posting them and started a book proposal — which may go nowhere. I hope it goes somewhere.

WU: What are your other writing projects?

I have three unfinished pilots on my desk. One is much closer to being done than the other two. I really, REALLY need to finish that one.

And I am always writing a commencement speech. No one’s asked me to deliver one, but doing so is my ultimate life goal. If anyone ever mistakes me for someone worthy of that, then I'm going to be ready.

WU: What would you tell a younger Kate who wants to pursue TV writing?  What do you wish you had known?

Younger Kate did not know TV writing was a thing, so I would first tell younger Kate that TV writing is a real job which involves creative writing almost all day, almost everyday, and so you do not necessarily have to “write on the side.”

To mid-twenties Kate I would say, you may not get the job, so maintain your other passions, and keep practicing both how to write on the side and how to get your work into the world (see the databases on http://www.pw.org, the SLAM schedule at http://www.themoth.org, the columns open for submission in various papers, screenwriting fellowships and contests at http://www.wga.org/the-guild/advocacy/diversity/writing-programs-conferences-festivals).

To the younger Kate of a few years ago, I would say, turn down opportunities which don’t put you farther down the path you seek, respectfully maintain all your professional relationships, read a lot, take nothing for granted, and for god’s sake, finish your pilot.

WU: What would you tell emerging writers if you could convey to them one or two lessons you’ve learned from your career?

Write everyday, and maintain a list of your “projects,” even if you are embarrassed by the word “project.” Seeing your daily work as part of a greater whole will help galvanize when you wonder if all of this is worthless.

Learn a new, non-writing skill every year. (Productive procrastination/new skills are research into new worlds.)

Treat the friends, colleagues, readers, and performers you’re surrounded by now as lifelong collaborators, because they might be.

Save distinct drafts of each day’s writing so that you may fearlessly rewrite — and recover lost genius if the rewrite is a step in the wrong direction.

Embrace whatever journey you took to get to the place where you are now.

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[aion-rsa]

Stargirl Villains: A Guide to the Injustice Society

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This article contains Stargirl spoilers.

The Injustice Society has been terrorizing the heroes of the DC Universe for over 70 years. Although they might not be as well known as their more famous counterparts, the Injustice League, and definitely aren’t as criminally insane as their predecessors, Shazam villains the Monster Society of Evil, the members of the Injustice Society have made their stamp on comics history. They’re also about to be discovered by a much wider audience as they’ve been revealed as the dangerous rogues in the new Stargirl TV series, which is airing on both DC Universe and The CW.

Created by Sheldon Mayer and Bob Kanigher, DC’s maniacal supervillain super-team debuted in 1947’s All Star Comics #37. This makes them one of the earliest supervillain teams in comicdom, though they were beaten out by Mister Mind’s Monster Society four years earlier. Seeing as we’re having fun with comic book history here, I’m going to point out that the Injustice Society and Monster Society were both predated by another team of bad guys who were the first ever super-villain team, and the reason they’re relevant is that they faced off with the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy too! 

In 1941’s Leading Comics #1, Green Arrow, Speedy, Shining Knight, Star-Spangled Kid (and his striped sidekick), Vigilante, and Crimson Avenger took on a group of villains collected by a man known only as the Hand, introducing the first real supervillain team! Alas, the gathering of villains was never named. Although the heroes who fought them would unite to become the Seven Soldiers of Victory, this original evil team of foes was forgotten. 

But evil cannot be defeated so easily and seven years later the Injustice Society would be born. Why were they created? Well, that’s still unclear. But when All Star Comics #37 hit shelves, they were already trying to take over the world. On a striking cover that showcased the villainous team portioning out a map of the United States with knives, the famed heroes of the JSA were shackled to the walls behind the Injustice Society. In some classic Golden Age shenanigans the team was assembled by the Wizard, who utilized them to capture the Justice Society of America.

The original lineup differed pretty significantly from the antagonists of Stargirl, with the Wizard joined by Brain Wave (both of whom have made their way to the show), Vandal Savage, and lesser knowns like the Gambler (he’s here too), the Thinker (who you may remember from The Flash season 4), and Per Degaton.

With all of that history dug up, let’s get to the matter at hand: the Injustice League as they exist in the world of Stargirl. The most interesting thing is that just like the series is re-imagining their own Justice Society they’re also setting up the legacy versions of some of the Injustice Society’s villains too. Most of this section will be focused on the original versions, but as we’ve seen, the series is seeding new versions of these characters as well. 

Icicle 

The leader of Stargirl‘s Injustice Society is Joar Mahkent (Neil Jackson). In the show we know little about the character except that he killed Starman, he’s European like his comics counterpart, and he has recently moved back to Blue Valley at the behest of Brain Wave.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t in the first comics iteration of the team, he was introduced in the same year in All-American Comics #90. In the pages of that book he uses a Cold Gun similar to the weapons that Mr. Freeze and Captain Cold use, but in the show he seems to have powers more like those of his son, Cameron.

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The only child of Joar Mahkent, Cameron takes on the mantle of Icicle. But due to his father’s excessive exposure to his own Cold Gun, Cameron’s genetics enable him to turn to ice without any aid.

Speaking of Cameron (Hunter Sansone), he’s already been introduced to viewers of Stargirl, so it’s possible that he’ll be heading up the young Injustice Society when they inevitably assemble.

Brain Wave 

Henry King Sr. is the ginger telekinetic who spent the first few episodes causing havoc for the familial super team. First introduced in 1943’s All-Star Comics #15, Henry has long been battling the Justice Society of America. He’s also one of the founding members of the original comic book Injustice Society.

But there’s also the matter of his son Henry King Jr. (Jake Austin Walker). During his stint as Brain Wave in the comics, Jr. tried to reinvent himself as a hero only to lose his mind when his father died, eventually becoming a villain. Could we possibly see him develop powers here? The show seems to be hinting at this in recent episodes. If we’re going by comic book history it’s not the craziest leap. 

The Wizard 

William Asmodeus Zard (Joe Knezevich) is a genius. He’s also a talented magician who trained under a mystic in Tibet who he later murdered. Like the Injustice Society he debuted in 1947, just three issues before his team in All Star Comics #34. We saw him briefly in the opening battle, but he was properly introduced in Stargirl episode 2 (before being dispatched in episode 3)

Solomon Grundy

Probably the most famous rogue in Stargirl is the iconic Green Lantern villain Solomon Grundy. Over the years the character has shifted–most recently into an anti-hero in the DCAU–but from what we’ve seen in the show he’s a stone cold killer. He also seems to have been controlled and imprisoned by Icicle.

Grundy first popped up in 1944’s All-American Comics #61 as the resurrected corpse of a wealthy businessman who was killed in the idyllically named Slaughter Swamp, located just outside of Gotham. Like his namesake, he lives a cyclical life of deaths and rebirths. Post-Crisis he’s mostly a Batman villain, and his resurrection ability is connected to the Elemental Plant magic of Swamp Thing. Here all we know is he’s big, bad, and an impressive digital creation. With Icicle back in the picture, Grundy’s ready to wreak havoc again. 

Tigress

Easily beating out her other team members here for longest running rogue is Tigress (Joy Osmanski). The first iteration of the character appeared alongside Krypton’s blue eyed boy in Action Comics #1 as a foe for Zatara. However, the version we see in Stargirl is Paula Brooks. In the comics she was originally a heroine but Roy Thomas turned her into a criminal mastermind.

During her stint in the comics she married fellow bad guy Sportsmaster and they had a daughter named Artemis. She did eventually become the third Tigress, so we could see her on-screen iteration (Stella Smith) suit up.  Tigress and Sportsmaster are a delight on the show as over-achieving sports helicopter parents.

Sportsmaster

Speaking of Sportsmaster, Blue Valley’s favorite muscle hungry dad is Laurence “Crusher” Crock. In a hilarious turn of events he runs the town’s gym and goes by his Golden Age nickname Crusher.

Sportmaster first showed up in 1947’s All-American Comics #85 as an antagonist for the original Green Lantern. We’ve covered his familial ties in our Tigress entry, so what about this for a cool twist… could Artemis actually follow in her father’s footsteps and become the next Sportsmaster? It actually makes a lot of sense. In Stargirl episode 2 we see Paula boasting about her daughter’s athletic prowess and her hopes that she’ll be the first woman drafted into the NBA, and later episodes established that she’s the best player on the Blue Valley High football team. Could that dream not come true, leading to her disenchantment and villainy just like her father? 

There’s also the chance that the American Dream project the Society has been working on is just a way to channel their children into super-villainy? This seems like a particularly likely route for Artemis as Stargirl seems interested in upending expectations, plus Sportsmaster had a rivalry with Wildcat who has established herself as a member of the new JSA.

Dragon King

A classic Star-Spangled Kid villain who was first introduced during the Bronze Age of superhero comics–1981, to be precise–Dragon King was a WW2 era Japanese spy. Here it looks like we’re getting a comics accurate version of the villain, who spliced his genes with that of a lizard becoming a man-monster in the process (notice how his eyes blink behind that creepy hood!).

Something that’s made the early episodes of Stargirl so special is the way the show embraces the colorful chaos of comics. The Injustice Society is a truly great representation of that, and if the show sticks to these outrageous origins, crazy costumes, and strange stories, then the Injustice Society could become a super-villain team for the history books.

The post Stargirl Villains: A Guide to the Injustice Society appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Anyone who’s even loosely familiar with Scottish history always knew this one was destined to end with a decisive swish of an ax — but that doesn’t mean it was easy to watch. After four seasons of bloodshed, heartbreak, deception, and binding corsets, Mary, Queen of Scots’ Reign has come to an end on the CW. At least the bonnie lassie went out with a showstopping (if a little rushed) series finale that included explosions, threesomes, and — of course — a beheading. Once you’ve mopped up your tears from that flashback-laden closing montage, check out what showrunner Laurie McCarthy had to say about bidding farewell to the rightful queen.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Mary and her great love Francis are reunited in Mary’s afterlife! Was it always the plan to bring Toby Regbo back for the end of the series? How did that come about? LAURIE McCARTHY: It wasn’t the plan from day one, but by early in their second season, their chemistry convinced me that there would be no love as great for Mary, now matter how we wrote the show. Mary faced so much strife, darkness, and betrayal once she returned to Scotland. She was altered by more and more difficult events and choices, and knowing that the facts of her death were indisputable, I wanted to return to the joy she had known in her life and believed she might mentally want to imagine herself there as well. The idea and filming of the final scene came before Toby Regbo departed the show, and long before we knew how many seasons the show would have.

Since we know from history that Mary Stuart’s life was full of so much tragedy and bloodshed, how important was it for you to find some way to give her a happy ending? Very important. We explored some very dark territory, playing things that really happened to her, plenty that might have happened, and a few that either occurred or were rumored to occur at other points later in her life. Those scenes were hard to write, and we all felt our lead character’s pain. We wanted to feel her joy as well reflected even in her final moments.

How did you go about planning out the final season? What was behind the decision to tell a pretty full arc about Mary’s marriage to Darnley as opposed to fast-forwarding the timeline? First of all, Darnley was such a complicated, flawed character, and I was so happy to have Will Kemp agree to play the role, that we really sunk our teeth into her second marriage and how Darnley’s weaknesses played into Mary’s downfall. But also, her marriage to Darnley was a bold move that could have worked. It could have brought her power in England. It might have undermined Elizabeth in such a way that Mary could have joined both nations (not, decades later, her son)… it was a strategic risk, which also angered Elizabeth and was part of her undoing. How could we not tell it?

When you began the series, did you have an idea of how much of Mary’s story you wanted to tell? How you would pace it out? Were there parts of Mary’s story you really wanted to tell but didn’t get the chance to? Yes. I wanted to tell all of it: her third marriage, her time on the run… there was a Western in another season, really, that would have been an interesting contrast to the machinations in France (a bloodbath, of proportions we had not seen before, was coming), and I would have loved to see Elizabeth’s rise in England. That said, there are indisputable economic considerations, and the CW supported the show as long as it could in every way that it could. They and the studio were incredible partners, always opening the gates wide creatively, and I’m deeply grateful for the time that we had.

So much of this final episode, and the series as a whole, really, was about these women in powerful positions fighting against men who don’t think they’re capable simply because they are women. They have to work twice as hard to get anything done or anyone on their side. It all sounds very familiar! Was it a coincidence that these stories about female monarchs in the 1500s would feel so applicable to today, or were you hoping people would make that connection? Either answer breaks my heart. Is it a coincidence if, at the top levels of power, very little has changed? I’ve read some comments about the show that implied that all the men on it were jerks — that the show was somehow “man-hating,” and that always amazed me. We had heroic, if complicated, men around all of our female leads throughout the show, but we did see them face some brutal male foes. I suppose I’m glad people see the portrayal of men who dismiss or want to take down women as “hateful,” but that is certainly what Mary, Catherine, and Elizabeth had to face. And yes, this year it resonated deeply. We didn’t squeeze in dialogue that also fit our times — we wrote for our characters in their time — but I wish it weren’t all so relevant.

Reign is known for some of its crazier moments (King Henry humping a woman out of a window, the prince of Spain being impaled by a sex horse), and the finale provided one last crazy moment: the queen mother, Catherine de Medici getting involved in a three-way with a witch. Was there the feeling in the writers room that you needed to go out with a bang? We loved doing crazy things, and we were writing characters who were both relatable but also lived in a world of privilege that is difficult to comprehend. Also, you’d be shocked how much of it actually came from, or was very inspired by, history. Sometimes, particularly with King Henry, we toned down what we’d read in our research (or in one case of blowing up ships filled with his own men, cut it in half). But we also took incredible license and as a group cackled merrily at some of the things royals, running amok, might do…

Over the series, was there anything pitched that was too crazy for Reign? I’m sure there was, but upon reflection, it’s hard to imagine what that might be. If it didn’t result in something, serve the story, and grow the characters in some way, we usually didn’t do it. The window-sex, for example, was only the beginning of Henry’s madness that led to Francis murdering his own father. Which led to a secret that drove Mary and Francis apart, for example.

Reign is also known for it’s amazing costumes. More than just being lovely to look at, the costumes also helped reveal character — like Mary wearing more plaid and heavier materials once she arrived in Scotland, or Elizabeth putting on her suit of armor. How closely did you work with your costume designer? Did you keep anything from the wardrobe department? If by working closely with Meredith Markworth-Pollak you mean me saying, “Wow, yes, that’s brilliant, let’s do that!” then yes, we collaborated. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but as the show went on, only slightly. We had very clear discussions at the pilot stage, even about beads for the girls’ hair, and I reviewed costumes for every episode. Meredith and I would talk about things coming down the road… Mary needing to show her power more, or embrace her culture. Battles we would need to build dozens of costumes for, pregnancies, and especially weddings. Oh, those wedding dresses — amazing. But what I really wanted was a pair of beat-up riding boots (sadly there were none in my size).

Elizabeth donning her armor and rousing her troops is a moving scene — as if the Elizabeth we’ve been watching on this show is finally becoming the Elizabeth we know from history. Were you there during filming? What was the feeling on set that day? I wasn’t there, I was busy with editing and wrapping things up in LA, and the fact that I missed it kills me. Let’s not talk about it, or I’ll get sad.

I was so happy to see Catherine choose herself over her children in the end. What were you hoping to say with Catherine’s story? We were gearing her up for her next chapter, when she would really have to play her children against one another and realize that some of them should never, ever rule. It also worked as a series finale, as a culmination of an arc for her. At the start of the series, she would have done everything for her children (and for Francis she did), but as a hardened pragmatist, and a survivor, even she realized some sacrifices might not be worth making.

17 June 2017 | 2:00 am

Maggie Fremont

Source : Entertainment Weekly

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