#no one expects Wille to forgive August ever

[justfriendsbestthings]

Something something empathy compassion even with the worst kind of people but also how some people just continue to disappoint us and it’s ok to take a step back from them but also something something empathy and compassion even for the worst of us. Not you, but maybe someone else.

#idk #no one expects Wille to forgive August ever #Micke providing a save space for Sara and then spitting in her face in broad day light several times #I just can’t #too many feelings #need 4-5 business days to process #will rewatch tomorrow #young royals #yr s3 stuff #yr s3 spoilers

[oneofthosebells]

SCREAMING.

Okay, initial thoughts: absolutely loved it.

Was it perfect? No. I've got a couple of niggles and nitpicks, and some things I wished they'd gone deeper on, but I was never expecting perfection so that doesn't bother me.

Did it give me all the feelings and address pretty much all the things I wanted addressed and give me several moments of full on squeaking at the TV? Yep. I'm happy.

Some more spoilery initial thoughts under the cut:

Felice as a chef?? YES. I've been trying and rejecting various future career headcanons for Felice for ages now and this one suits her perfectly.

(Could have done with more Felice in general, I do feel like she was done a bit dirty again, but I really loved the bits of her we did get.)

Absolutely LOVED the portrayal of Wilmon's relationship this season. They were just so teenager, it was glorious - swinging from big emotion to big emotion, from all-consuming love to hate and anger and shame. It's all so intense at that age and I do think the show does a great job of showing that.

Navigating that change from 'we want to be together' to 'okay, now we are together, how does that actually work in reality' was the main thing I wanted to see this season so I'm really happy we got that.

Simon's jacket on top of his checked trousers is the greatest thing I've ever seen btw. Still giggling about it.

Wanted more of an arc for Sara if I'm honest, but like Felice I really enjoyed some of the stuff we did get - the conversation where Sara was worried she'd end up like Micke was brilliant.

August...eh. I don't hate a redemption arc for August tbh as I personally believe no one is beyond forgiveness and redemption. I get why some people might hate it though.

Overall, this season felt much more low-key than the previous two? Which isn't a criticism - it took me a couple of episodes to get into it, but I started to really enjoy it once I did. Less of the soapy angst and plot twists of previous seasons and more focused on the characters.

Oh and as certain as I've ever been of Wilmon endgame. I'm absolutely sure Hillerska will close in the final episode, so it might be a bit of a bittersweet, trying long-distance kind of thing, but not a break up.

My personal theory/hope right now: Wille tells the Royal Court to fuck their prince school and he and Simon go with the girls to New York for the summer.

#young royals #yr s3 #yr s3 spoilers

[youngroyals-baby]

Sorry, this is gonna be long 😃 These are my random thoughts on season 3 after having watched it twice.

Overall, I LOVED the season so much, even though it hurt so much! I really get Omar now when he said that this season would be depressing! And tissues were indeed needed!

First my non Wilmon related opinions:

- Sara and Micke‘s plotline was interesting on the first watch, but I will most probably skip it from now on. When it was announced that the Micke actor would be back, this was not what I had in mind! I wanted Simon/Micke scenes, maybe even one with Wille too. I don‘t know, I expected everything except this, but it kind of worked, I guess?

- I loved how Sara and Simon’s conflict was portrayed! And it‘s heartbreaking that Simon wanted contact with Micke all those years and just remained distant because of Sara 😣. Their talk in the classroom (during the strike) was so, so so good! Poor Simon was suffering so much! Also, I really liked the scene when he forgave Sara (amazing acting by Frida here!). In short, the Simon/Sara storyline was so well done, I really enjoyed it!

- August: I see and acknowledge (to an extent at least) that he had emotional growth this season, but I don‘t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him. Also him and Sara, I‘m just not 100 percent invested in their story

- The school inspection and strike storyline was just used as a tool to separate Wille and Simon. I didn‘t like it but I didn‘t hate it either. It just wasn’t necessary I think. And I want my original headmistress back!

- The Queen: I hate her! Wille was right to say what he did in episode 5. I was hoping for a Kristina redemption arc but not anymore. Kristina really is the absolute worst mother who shows absolutely no interest in her son‘s life and just burdens everything on him. After all he‘s been through. And yes, Duke Ludvig sucks too!

And now my thoughts on Wilmon:

- Clearly they love each other so much! And I have such a deep understanding for both of them! I love these characters with all my heart and I just want them to be okay (and hopefully happy) in the end 😭

- I want to protect Simon at all costs! He was suffering so much this season. It was so realistic and his storyline was so well scripted and amazingly portrayed by Omar! Watching him was so frustrating at times, but I think not reading/responding to comments is so much easier said than done. Rosh‘s (or was it ayub‘s?) comment „we just don‘t want you to delete yourself“ gave me goosebumps and was like an eye opener to me. I don‘t want Simon to leave behind everything that makes him who he is, just for the sake of being with Wille.

- Poor Wille! Hasn‘t he suffered enough already? 😢 I think that he would never hurt Simon on purpose! But honestly, it‘s relatable (though heartbreaking) that he lashed out at times. His parents left him completely alone and the Erik thing crushed his world completely. Wille was relying on Simon too much (especially in episode 5) but that was also so relatable! He has so much on his plate right now and so much emotional baggage, I don‘t know if he is in a mental state to have a happy and somewhat normal relationship with Simon right now.

- I think that Wilmon communicated rather well this season in terms of not keeping secrets from each other. Wille told Simon about his mum‘s health condition and also about Erik (not instantly, but he told him). And Wille knew about Simon’s struggles too. They get better at bringing certain topics to the table.

- in the first episode Wille said that he could be both, crown prince and Simon’s boyfriend. In a later episode he told Simon that he just wants to be with him. I think this is what episode 6 will be about. Wille will have to decide between the crown and Simon. If he accepts his role as crown prince, I doubt that he and Simon will be able to work it out in the long run, at least not now. Those problems and restrictions will always be there.

- If Wille continues to stay crown prince, chances are he might forever be miserabel (with or without Simon). I was hurting for him when he told Kristina that he would handle it. But I think that after episode 5, and after finding out the truth about his idol Erik, he might be ready to put himself first and step back from this duty. Then their love would have a chance and Simon wouldn‘t have to hide who he really is.

- As I said, I have a deep understanding for Wille, except of when he shushed Simon, when he treated him like shit in the music room and when he ignored his phone call. That‘s just not our Wille that would cry his heart out for this boy in season 2.

- Wilmon intimacy was as amazing as ever! Their playful scene in the palace in episode 1 was beautiful! They were both so happy 😭.

-Wille‘s heart „tattoo“ was the cutest thing ever! Also him joining the choir just to be near Simon was so sweet! But Simon not enjoying singing as much as he used to, broke my heart

- their little making out session right after Wille joining the choir was breathtakingly beautiful 🥰

- the sex scene was incredibly soft, tender and passionate and full of love. Also their talk afterwards made my insides melt. Simon laying in Wille‘s lap and Wille playing with his hair 😍 That‘s all I wanted!

- Wille‘s picture of him and Simon!!! And his smile whenever he thought of seeing Simon again. He is so in love!!!!

- I also loved their waking up together scene during the strike. That was so, so soft 💜. And Simon‘s happy birthday song and the sandwich!!! Ahhhhh!!!

- I’m so glad we got not one, but two reciprocal I love you‘s! But: I want a reciprocal I love you where the viewers can actually see their faces. So them not saying it on the phone and not in a dark room. But I don‘t want to complain here, the I love you‘s were beautiful

- The last scene from episode 5 made me cry but it was nothing I didn‘t expect. When they teased the cliffhanger I knew it had to be them breaking up

- Apart from his outfit, Simon did so well during the birthday dinner! Wille really has an amazing and supporting boyfriend!

- Edvin‘s acting when shouting at his parents was insane! He is one of the best young actors I’ve ever seen, really! I was blown away completely!

I really want them to have their happy ending in episode 6! But above all, I want them individually to not be hurting anymore! No matter how it ends, I still think they‘re it for each other, their love just might be too strong to handle right now. Right now my bet is a „you are the love of my life but let‘s give us both time to heal and try again in the future“ kind of ending. I‘d rather have Wille let August take over and be together with Simon. I think that only with Simon Wille has a chance of true happiness and pure love.

#young royals #young royals season 3 #yr s3 spoilers #yr s3 #young royals s3 spoilers #omar rudberg #edvin ryding

[hoofusdoofus]

Posting this to tumblr, as well. Breaking my silence here because I am being accused of something fucking heinous. My ex is now claiming I "groomed" them when they were 16 and I was 18. This is mathematically impossible. We are 7 months apart in age. They were born April 2000, I was born August 1999. More evidence debunking this claim is presented below the readmore. Evidence includes unedited screencaps from our chatlogs over the years, my literal drivers license, and screenshots directly from their twitter.

They have also made claim that I manipulated them when we broke up. This is also untrue. As far as I was aware, the breakup was entirely amicable. As proof, here is our conversation on telegram, dated July 3rd, 2020. The last time I even interacted with them was on this date.

If you still have doubts at this, I am more than willing to submit photos of my driver's license with my date of birth as additional hard evidence. anything that happened between us was between two consenting people of similar age, again unless they lied to me about their age. In fact, just to help illustrate my point: Consent was and is important to me and always has been. Here is a conversation from 2018 (while we were still dating) in which I explicitly mention I would not do anything to them/with them without consent.

I am deeply, deeply hurt that our previous relationship is being twisted and taken advantage of like this. I cared a great deal about them and have wished nothing but the best for them. Please do not engage with them or harrass them. I am merely setting the record straight. EDITED AS OF 10:47 PM, 04/10/2024 I'm editing to add additional context and information, pulled riectly from my own twitter thread on the matter. Just one final bit of proof. since I was asked for it. Here is my license, with anything particularly vulnerable scrubbed for my own personal safety. I was born August 9th, 1999.

Just to again, provide absolute mathematical proof that their claim is straight up wrong: Based on the ages listed in their bio for the last several years and our own conversations, they were born in april of 2000. Making them 24 as of 3 days ago. I am 24.

Their claim is that I groomed them when I was 18 and they were 16. Here it is, directly from their twitter. Our birthdays are literally only 7 months and 30 days apart. There is literally no way for me to be 18 when they were 16.

Yes. This does mean I was underage when I joined the community, as I joined in august of 2016. It was something deeply wrong of me and I do apologize. Starting out my interactions with the community on a basis that I was older than I actually was was incredibly fucked of me It is one of my biggest regrets, but it is entirely self inflicted. I do not expect anybody to forgive me for that and if anybody wishes to no longer be in contact with me for that, I understand and do not blame you. I am bringing this all to light in order to clear my name against these accusations. I have done wrong shit in my past. I lied about myself for years and quietly adjusted when the guilt got to me. But I never once did anything to Nova with the intent to harm or groom them. I never manipulated or purposely mistreated them. I have records in the form of chatlogs to show that I tried to be there for them, doing all i could as a partner. I will not be sharing these unless necessary, as I do not wish to publicize their struggles with mental health. Ultimately, maybe this is a direct consequence of me lying when I was young. In a way I am reaping when I sowed. I dont know If I ever told Nova my true age, and perhaps this misunderstanding is the root. We were both minors when we started dating, in October of 2016. I do not blame nova for levying these accusations if that is the case. Nor do I wish any sort of ill will or harm on them. I've stated it before, and I will say it again: Please do not pursue them or harass or bother them. Leave them be. I simply wanted to set the record straight

[cerastes]

By the way, have you seen/reacted to the news, re, Gundam Evolution shutting down? It's not the most surprising thing in the world, but it's still kind of a shame. (At least we're getting the Zeta gundam in august)

Yeah, I saw.

I hate to say this about a game I enjoy but the signs were there and I was very much expecting the End of Service news for a few weeks before it happened. The player pool was so small that I kept getting the same people over and over on Quick Match practically every time I played. I did not manage to get into a single Ranked Match, ever.

The thing with Gundam Evolution is that it does not give you almost any incentive to play other than liking the game a lot, but even then I don't think the game lends itself to be something a lot of people will want to earnestly play just for fun. I need to elaborate on this, because as you well know, I'm a huge advocate for playing games because they are fun and that a game's main focus should be to be entertaining first and everything else second. Why would I think, then, that this was a negative when it comes to GunEvo?

Well, GunEvo took the Overwatch format of Hero Shooter With Unlockables... But it failed to implement any of the overarching things that made Overwatch stick with you until you really got into the guts of it and played it for fun: GunEvo fails to make a sticking impression.

Loathe it or like it, the lootbox system of Overwatch had a practical effect on the user experience besides trying to drive up sales: Every time you level up, you get something, and in between games where you don't level up, you get to be one step closer to another reward, potentially a big one. The fact that these are ever-present gives an incentive to the average player that they'll be able to get something new, so even if they are still not fully sold on the game's mechanics or are still struggling to get to the point where it seems natural to them and they want to just play the game because it's a good game, the allure of more rewards is always there. Ranked also allowed you to play with people that were trying to play at a higher level, around your own level of play, so that was always a fun option as well, with its own special rewards.

This doesn't cover all there is to it, but as a baseline, it lets us understand something GunEvo lacks: Any sort of rewards that aren't drip-fed, really. Once you complete the beginners' trials and get their rewards, your ONLY way to get rewards is that every couple of levels (not every level, every couple), you'll get a single pull for cosmetics (not even playable Mobile Suits (characters)), and there's also the battle pass, which as usual, comes in free and premium flavors, which, if you're not premium, only has rewards every 3 or 4 tiers. And there's no real extra incentive to play Ranked, like unique rewards or anything, so a lot of people just... Don't. It's a desert in there.

There's very little incentive to play other than liking the game, and that in itself wouldn't be bad, if the game wasn't so insistent on shoving on your face all the stuff you're missing. THIS is where it goes from "well, obviously, I'm going to play a game because I like it" to "oh, yeah, alright". Bandai Namco is one of the greediest companies, and they know that Gundam fans are quick to open their purses, so every damn time they make a Gundam game of any sort, you know it's going to have some sort of twisted monetization strategy, and GunEvo is no different: Every match, every menu, every log in, every time you go equip something new, every time you even want to collect what few rewards they give out, every single time, they take the chance to rub on your face all that you don't have and won't have unless you grind for years unless you're willing to spend.

Are they the first to do so? No. And that's a factor, in my opinion: People have just gotten more and more tired and less forgiving of this, especially when the game doesn't even have the decency of rewarding you every couple of matches with some sort of new minor trinket or color, when practically all other games of the genre do. And, man, in the West, the Gundam IP is NOT strong enough to drive such slavedriver design philosophy, the kind that expects you to, at face value, tolerate having all sorts of premium goods rubbed on your face that you and they know people will defend in the vein of "oh, but you don't NEED to pay, you can just get that all for free, provided you play daily for years".

Without knowing the devs themselves, I think GunEvo's demise is fully the fault of Bandai Namco and not the development team of the game: They made a good, fun game. But they unfortunately work for Bandai Namco, well known for making greedy games that are honestly fun but ultimately crash because they are so immensely aggressive in their monetization and how much you're not ever going to get in a reasonable amount of time if you don't pay. I don't think the game was shallow in the slightest, but neither was it truly deep, and with the constant look at all the stuff you'd never feasibly get, yeah, I can see people just not wanting to deal with it unless they really vibed with the gameplay, with a Gundam game, or a mix of both. And we have to talk about the fact that it was and still is region locked for a lot of places, lol.

So in the end, we have 400 concurrent players and we know each other by face and name. Some will tell you this is "comfy", I will tell you it's telltale that a developer somewhere in Japan is soon to be called into an office and be told that they have to shut down all operation of the game before the year ends.

#gundam evolution #tl;dr yeah I said this would happen months ago

[gulliblelemon]

Heeyy 🌻,

3,5, 6, 7, 17,18,27,28,29 and 30 for the ao3 wrapped ask game (i know i picked a lot of numbers so feel free to just answer the ones you want to answer)

Hi!! I love that you asked lots! I hope you don’t mind, but any duplicates I answered first and will link to here, then I’ll pick up the rest ☺️

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

See You (Soon). I was absolutely blown away by the response at the time and still now.

6. Favorite title you used

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

I don’t use song lyrics. My brain compartmentalises and I can’t insert fictional characters into songs. It’s no fun 😅.

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

27. What do you listen to while writing?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

But I’m going to do another because I thought of something else. This was an outtake from See You (Soon), in the early draft they got each other’s numbers much earlier and did a lot of chatting (and flirting 😏) and Simon challenging Wille. But this was a silly little bit that ended up being cut but was fun to write nonetheless. (Further proof my writing is not poetic 😂)

Wille (11.54)

It’s not just August that made me not want to go to Hillerska

When you get a group of people like August all together

They just end up competing for pointless things

One of which is favour with… the monarchy

Simon (11:56)

Which is you

Wille (11:57)

Which is me

Fine

But also Erik

And my Mamma

And it just becomes some big…

Dick measuring contest

And i just

Didn’t want to be just my title

I wanted to be a person

If that makes sense???

Simon (12:00)

Okay I’ll never forgive you for bringing up August’s dick

Thanks for that

But yeah

I think I get it

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

I’m doing a bonus couple since so many got answered elsewhere (sorry!).

10. What work was the quickest to write?

I wrote Making Music in two days because @purplehoodiesandclementines was looking for something low on angst. I have never written anything that quickly (and I’m sure I never will again 😅). It was great fun, but I can’t usually plot that fast…

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

I’m most of the way through the longest thing (by my standards) I’ve ever written at the moment. And I’m SO EXCITED. I’ve had it in the back of my head for months and months and have finally started shaping it into something I’m pleased with. It’s an alternate meeting AU that starts with them at 16 and follows them through their 20s and I love it.

So that ended up reeeeeeaaally long 😅

Thanks for asking!

#ao3 wrapped #yr fanfic #writing

[thiswontbeforever]

Hi, I do not know if anyone asked you about this but what do you expect to happen in a possible S3? To each characters, not just Wilmon. I would like to hear your thoughts. Have a nice day ahead, sending love 🫂

hi lovely tysm!! 🫂🥺

ahhh s3. i think there’s so much room for a s3

first with august & sara

i think sara calling the police is going to f*ck everything up especially now that wille has gone public.

i don’t hate sara, though i definitely had a lot of moments this season where i was angry at her, i understand lisa’s writing and frida did a great job portraying the complexities of sara’s story. & while we’re all screaming OMG NO DONT CALL THE POLICE, sara is truly trying to make things right with the information she has. so i desperately need her to keep reflecting on what happened with august, why she did what she did, & to see her & simon’s relationship because i truly think they’re going to have to fall apart & simon is going to be completely torn apart about wanting to forgive her & missing his sister but not being sure how to do that with all that’s happened. betrayal and hypocrisy. so i’d love to see a lot happen with sara & simon and lead into simon’s life and storyline because it was lacking this season. we truly need longer seasons and eps. so for simon i want to see him break. i want him to finally feel safe enough to cry, to scream, to let someone else take care of him and feel all that’s really happened to him. i think he will i think that’s what s3 would focus on. him and wille really talking to each other, simon explaining the drugs & what started as just wanting to help & take care of sara & wille really listening and being there for simon for a change.

i’m not entirely sure what i want for august. just for him to face some kind of punishment & be removed from simon & wille’s lives. and sara’s. for sara to realize the consequences of what she’s done. for august to lose the opportunities to get power back. because i don’t ever see full redemption for him. he’s still selfish in his core, power hungry and loves the games the monarchy and the elite play to stay on top, to “protect” their own & i don’t see him changing. so i want simon & wille to get justice, for the tape to be brought back up in the sense of all its consequences. what it really did to simon, to wille, what august has to face for it, sara keeping the secret once she figured it out…

felice. FELICE. give me more felice. she needs more scenes more of her gaining her independence and being a boss girl who doesn’t need someone to prove something to her parents or others. i’m not one way or other about her sexuality or anything, but i think the concept of her only falling for wille bc he’s the prince and what her mom pushed on her her whole life does leave room for some potential story line (whether she’s a lesbian, or maybe on the ace/aro spectrum) but i really just want her “love” life to be put away. not every teen is in a relationship, has a crush, etc. i would honestly love to see her sing more bc nikita has an incredible voice & she’s stopped horse riding! so if choir is what she loves, i’d love to see that on screen.

wille & simon. there’s so much. SO much.

i want their communication. i want their silly goofy we’re 16 & in love & dating moments. dates. hand holding. wille finally being free and simon being openly wanted in an environment and society that has done nothing but judge him & try to push him out. i think the fallout of sara calling the police and wille admitting the tape is gonna be chaos, but i want to see wilmon get through it together, on the same page like we started to see them in eps 5&6. i want to see wille continue to see boris and for simon ! to! talk! to! someone! professional ! holy ! fuck! give my boy therapy !!! i want simon to be able to PERFORM HIS SONG. or another song. literally so furious they took that opportunity away from him. more of him & the choir teacher. i want simon opening up to wille about his life & the pressure he feels & for them to finally learn all about each other & the parallels in their emotions & experiences WE see but they don’t know yet, despite their extremely different upbringings and circumstances. i want wille to keep defying traditions, to see how simon has been treated and to stand up for him - not bc simon can’t himself (but to an extent he can’t bc he’ll always be the one at fault/in trouble) but bc wille should anyway & has the protection & privilege to do so. i think that’s what S3 needs to be. the discussions amongst every relationship of all the mess that happened so quickly & wilmon really understanding each other. but i think it will still be chaos & pain. the police involved, if simon gets found out, after wille’s speech of tradition & protection, will he be a kind of hypocrite and turn right around to use his power to protect simon? will the queen try and separate them again or is she going to give up trying to control wille? will the royal court be pissed & try & get wille to abdicate? (still a bit upset at the unrealisticness of august next in line/no one else in the succession but i get it it, it’s a tv show, i’ll suspend my beliefs) but anyways will it go that way or, public response is positive, people appreciate wille’s honesty & they let him & simon be?

idk like i said there’s a lot of room & im 99% sure by the way Lisa has talked about S2 that it is not all she had planned. especially bc she’s always said she knew what the final shot of YR was going to be, and based on her live & the final of eps2 & the bts pics we got, i don’t think at all that was her final image so i think there’s always been a plan for s3 & that’s why s2 is the way it is. i’m sure i’m forgetting a lot and there’s so many characters but this is just off the top of my head!

#young royals #omar rudberg #edvin ryding #yr s2 #asks #wilmon

[randomsmilingpotatoes]

2 x 01 commentary that nobody asked for!!!

- why am I emotional and feeling suspense over the four minutes THAT IVE ALREADY SEEN😭😭

- okay that was TOO soon to introduce Marcus to Simon what😭 Simon stop smiling like that it’s too early😭

- Sara I would be happy for you if you DIDNT BETRAY US

- felice!!! looks like she’s actually going to get an arc of her standing up against her mother and I’m so proud of her for that🥹

- hmmm looks like Sara and felice may have some friendship issues living together??

- OMG forgot people have to be initiated HAHA

- I fucking LOVE the playlist for this show it’s never what I expect but it’s such a vibe

- okay simon has no business looking that pretty when he’s literally just gaming

- okay was NOT expecting August’s evil smile to be THAT early in the show

- OMG THIS IS THE PARTY THEYRE GONNA SEE EACH OTHER AT

- wille using his power against august to get into the party?? we love thattt

- also I love that the boys in his year are actually like friends ?? yay???

- wille helping Simon find Sara first without talking about them, goodd😌

- “I got a haircut” oh god WILLE hahaha

- omg Marcus texting him WHILE he’s talking to wille NO

- LESBIANS

- I FOUND HIM ON GRINDR. I - NILS!!!!!!! but also fuck wille didn’t need to know Marcus is GAY ALREADY

- okay that’s interesting, it’s good they’re not putting it down to sexuality and that it’s also the class difference

- LOVING felices hair

- Vincent and nils are everyone during school assemblies lmao

- “if you hadn’t refused to talk to the Queen” UGH fuck her

- as much as I want wille and simon together, I’m glad to see ayub and rosh talking genuinely from a friends perspective and saying he’s toxic . bc rn, he is for simon- I just hope wille can prove them wrong

- YES ROSH CANON SAPPHIC

- them IMMEDIATELY jumping to rebounding with Marcus LMAO

- not simon immediately considering it tho?? dude calm down ???

- ALEXANDER

- fuck wille is going to face the consequences of framing him isn’t he

- felices friends whose names I always forget are so pretty

- hmm. I do feel like Simon deserves to know but if wille can ruin his life then?? probably the better way to do it

- “were they together for real or is he bi?” .. what?

- Eric with that only fans girl omg we’re getting the tea

- fuck sara going to spend all that money on little things like coffee

- SIMON SINGING A SOLO YAY what an adorable reaction too

- not the only spare seat being next to wille help

- YES wille USE YOUR POWER also simon liked that

- omg no. Alexander thinking wille is different😭 I wish😭

- august. The only way you will ever have someone even ACCEPT an apology is to publicly come clean

- sara why the FUCK are you STILL helping this man

- omg she got off on that???? fuck sara THERE ARE OTHER GUYS IN THE WORLD

- “fuck, wille, don’t you realise you hurt me?” This is what he needed to hear. Good

- I just know wille has one of those phones purely so he can snap his mother shut lmao

- it makes me so happy to see Simon happy🥰

- fuck that would hurt seeing that

- the way he immediately looked to august!! yes!!!

- not him finally calling his mother to blame her and saying simons on a date with someone else I’m sorry but I laughed

- yes!!!! I’m so glad he IS this angry and is STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF! and it’s not just kept between him and his mother!!!

Fuck I am SO EXCITED for this seasonnnn

the only thing I do wanna say is that I hope wille does accept that even if he leaves the monarchy it doesn’t change what he did to Simon- he’s not automatically going to forgive him just bc he’s no longer crown prince. I’m so happy to see him angry bc it all does come down to the constraints and control of the monarchy, but his relationship with Simon and also his friendship with Alexander both come down to his own decisions and I hope he does take responsibility for that within those relationships

#young royals #young royals season 2

[purplehoodiesimon]

Alright I've been tagged in this 3 times now let's goooooo thank you @levok @eypril-eypril and @zeichenlily

YR s2 Predictions Quiz

1. What month will season 2 be released?  - Either July or September.

2. What episode will Simon and Wilhelm have their first s2 kiss (who will initiate the kiss)? - It's either going to be ep 1 or the final episode depending on what they do their relationship. And I think it's going to be Simon. I like the idea of Wilhelm initiating in contrast to their very first kiss, but realistically, I want it to be 100% on Simon's terms when he gets back together with Wille.

3. How will Simon find out about August being behind the leak? - I have had so many fucking different scenarios go through my head for this, I swear to god. I can't pick one. Wilhelm telling him and it coming out in an argument with Sara are my top 2 though, so I'm answering one of those.

4. Will there be snow in s2? - There better be. If there's not I'm boycotting. (not really but pleaseeeeee I want my s2 snow)

5. Will there be any physical fight (if yes, who will be involved)? - If no one bitch slaps August at least once, what is the point of s2?

6. Will Wilhelm abdicate? - I agree with @eypril-eypril. If it's the last season, yes he will. If there's more, he might not. (speaking of, I lowkey don't want YR to continue much past 3 maybe 4 seasons. it gets harder to keep storylines good the further you drag it out)

7. Will Wilhelm make a new public statement about his sexuality? - Right so I have also had many thoughts about this. I think there's a good chance of it happening yes, but I don't think he's going to mention Simon in it. As in like, he's not going to take back the statement on denying the video. That would be a PR nightmare, and not just what Kristina thinks is a PR nightmare. Taking back the video denial would completely degrade trust in what anyone in the Crown says and would remove a lot of ability for Wille to do anything regarding the monarchy afterwards, or anything about August. So I think it's possible he could come out to the nation, but he won't mention the video or Simon at all.

8. Will there be introduced another queer character (can be a s1 character - if yes, who)? - Realistically? Probably not. If they do, my bet is on bisexual Madison or the new character they're introducing. YR is one of the best queer media pieces I've ever seen but I never put my faith in anything to add more queer characters after already introducing some. It just happens so rarely that I don't let myself expect it.

9. Will Sara become a boarder student at Hillerska? - I think so, yea.

10. Do we get a forehead kiss between Simon and Wilhelm (if yes, who kisses who)?- WE FUCKING BETTER. Wilhelm kissing Simon duh. (unless they're lying in bed or somewhere else together and Simon can kiss Wilhelm's forehead 👀)

11. Will Simon and the queen exchange any words (if yes, who will speak first)?- Please Lisa hear my words: we need this. Idk who will speak first though, it could go either way. I'm going to say Simon, just to have an answer.

12. Will there be clothes exchange between Simon and Wilhelm (if yes, what item)?- PLEASE LISA HEAR MY WORDS WILLE IN THE PURPLE HOODIE.

13. Will Sara speak any spanish?- I can see her yelling something out in Spanish during a really fucking heated argument with Linda or Simon. Like, if one or both of them were to find out about her knowing it was August and got into a huge fight about it, I can see them yelling at her in Spanish and her getting increasingly frustrated until she yells out something like "¡Para! No me importa, ¡quiero ser más que esto y no me comprenden!" (forgive me if my grammar is off) and that just kinda like halting everything for a minute as they process what just happened. She clearly understands it, not speaking it is a conscious choice on her part and sometimes things get so emotional that you say fuck it to self-rules like that. I hope makes sense.

14. Will Simon become aware of Wilhelm's anxiety?- Hmmmm. I would hope so. I hope we see more of them trusting each other on a deeper level like this.

15. Will Wilhelm break the 4th wall at some point? - It'd be a weird stylistic choice to not have him do so.

16. Will Alex get some sort of revenge (if yes, how)? - See I'm always a bit wary of storylines like this that are left not quite fully resolved. It's possible they won't come back to it, YR seems to be that very realistic type of show where sometimes shit happens and that's life and everyone moves on without it needing a nice bow put on it, but I also recognize that this is media and usually people like it when storylines are wrapped up with a nice bow on them. It could happen, it could not.

17. Will Erik appear in any form (letter, flashback, etc.)? - LISA HEAR MEEEEEEEE. I think he will. Like I said, YR is a very realistic type show, they capture the intricacies of real life really fucking well, and in real life you don't get things broken up neatly into seasons where you can pretend a dead character doesn't exist anymore after their season. I think it'd be really weird to not have Erik still existing in some form in s2, whether that be through Wilhelm's memories or remnants of his life.

18. How many characters will cry (with tears) - LET SIMON CRY 2K22. Probably Wille at least once. And I think we could have some possibilities with Sara, or even August crying. Like just picture him fully realizing how much he's fucked up Wille's life and his chances of ever being the person he wants to be (favored by the Crown) and just having a full on breakdown. I think they could do it really well, it doesn't even have to be in a redemption arc way. I just want August to see he's fucked up big time and cry about it.

19. Will Simon and/or Wilhelm say 'Jag älskar dig' (if yes, who says it first - will they both say it)? - Yes, but I don't think Simon will say it until the last episode to parallel Wille saying it in the last episode.

20. How many times will we see Simon eat pasta? - Very specific question, for funzies I will answer with a very specific answer that will not be right at all but idc. 5 times actually eating it, but 2 more times when he just has a bowl of it in front of him.

21. Who will have the first kiss in season 2 (named characters)? - I'm going to have to agree with eypril again here, I think it'll be Sara and August.

22. Will Simon and Wilhelm have any PDA (if yes, what kind)? - Many a thought has been thunked about this within the place I call my brain. I think yes, but I'm not sure what type. I can see it ranging anywhere to more hugs, to casual hand holding, to kisses in front of people.

Tagging uhhhhhhhhh @starboywille @angelbabysimon @i-love-semicolons @randomlyverbosemar @aro-of-artemis @prince-simon @omar-rudeberg @ungaroyals @royalwilmon (y'all don't have to tag as many people, I'm just tagging a bunch to get this more out there)

#YR2quiz #yr2quiz #young royals #dont know how im going to win this when half my answers are 'hmmmm maybe this OR that OR maybe even this'

[epicstuckyficrecs]

Weekly Recap | August 10-16th 2020

Complete

💙 With Only You by brucespringsteen (Time Travel | 47K | Explicit): Steve, semi-retired and still a bastard who doesn’t follow rules, touches a cube that sends him to 1938, eighty-six years in the past. He takes it well. Bucky, twenty-one and baby-faced, takes it even better.

Forgive, Yet Never Forget by Kalee60/ @kalee60​ (Post-Endgame | 8K | Explicit): Steve Rogers was a broken man. He'd failed to keep his friends alive, had lived through the snap, the blip, Thanos, whatever that torrid time of his life full of blood, fear and pain had been. Yet the one good thing to come out of the worst years of his life - he had Bucky back. And a head full of issues along with it.Issues that meant the only way Steve could get out of his overbearing mind is to fall into oblivion by paying one night stands, use people he never had to see again, people he couldn't let down.So what happens when Bucky accosts him after a mission and wants answers, wants only to help Steve? Can an old weary supersoldier, whose self worth is nonexistent, start to heal and find happiness, when he truly believes he doesn't deserve it?

Love Me, Hold Me, Squeeze Me by musette22/ @musette22​, paperstorm/ @paper-storm​ (Evanstan PRF, PWP | 4,5K | Explicit): Chris grabs his junk when he's anxious. Sebastian notices.

Closer by musette22/ @musette22​ (Evanstan RPF | 5K | Teen): The relief that floods Sebastian at seeing Chris alive and well is intense, lifting some of that debilitating weight that’s been pressing down on his chest all evening, but it’s short lived. Because Chris looks... Well, he looks unfairly gorgeous as always, with his beard and his soft, cerulean eyes, but he also looks nervous and just a little bit shifty.The feeling of unease grows when Chris shoots him a smile that’s tense around the edges and says, “Hey, Seb. Can we talk for a moment?”

💙 a question of worth by Deisderium/ @deisderium​ (Post-Endgame | 30K | Teen): In which Steve and Bucky return the Infinity Stones, and return to a world drastically changed from the one Bucky left five years ago, and Bucky has to struggle with the knowledge that his best friend held Mjölnir, and at least briefly had the power of a god. So where does that leave an ex-brainwashed assassin?

Adorably awkward by darter_blue/ @darter-blue​ (Shrunkyclunks | 32K | Explicit): The one where Bucky uses Steve’s car window as a mirror and Steve can appreciate the view…

Extra Sugar, 32. the future by luninosity/ @luninosity​ (Evanstan, Dom/Sub AU | 112K | Explicit): Sebastian's feeling anxious about a change. Chris will always want to help. (Part 6 of 💙Like Sugar (Spell It Out))

💙 Songbird by chicklette/ @chicklette​ (Singer Bucky, Fake relationship | 66K | Explicit): At 43, James Barnes is a washed up old man. He’s got a dozen Grammys in the hall closet, an agent that can’t get him a deal, a decade-old case of writer’s block, a moody teen-aged daughter, and the gorgeous actress Natasha Romanova for an ex-wife. Enter Steven Grant Rogers, struggling twenty-something, orphan, and someone who has no idea who Barnes is. The two men meet by accident, doing nothing more than passing the time in a quiet bar. But when a pap gets a shot of the two men embracing, Bucky takes it as a chance to finally come out as bisexual, and his agent makes him a proposition: Ten new songs and one very sweet boyfriend will get him a new record deal that will maybe, just maybe put him back on top. Now all he has to do is write the songs, convince the kid, and not fall in love. Should be easy, right?

💙 Heirloom by 2bestfriends/ @addyetc​ (Royalty AU, Arranged Marriage | 21K | Explicit): King Steven Grant Rogers of Aphekion is only 20 years old. He relies on the wisdom of his advisors, the strength and honesty of his people, and the love and kindness his mother left to him. He wants nothing more than to honor them all by bringing peace to his kingdom. So much has been sacrificed already. If he must sacrifice his hope for love, then so be it.

WIP

💙 Querencia by SinpaiCasanova (Royalty, ABO AU, Tudor Era | 4/6 | 14K | Explicit): “Oh no, Mother, not another courting ceremony,” Steve protests, a whine slipping into his voice that he’d be rather embarrassed about if anyone other than Sarah ever heard it. “I beg you, no more. I can’t go through that puffed up charade again, being paraded before a dozen worthy Omegas like I’m some prime cut of meat. She probably won’t even like me.” “Well, Steven,” she gently corrects, “she is a he, and the only one you’d be ‘paraded’ in front of.”

💙 Sergeant Barnes and Colonel Rogers: Lessons in Lust, Longing and Inappropriate Erections. by darter_blue/ @darter-blue​ (Shrunkyclunks | 3/4 | 17K | Explicit): Bucky Barnes is a decorated (though young) Sergeant in the United States Army, a Ranger with the 75th regiment, a sniper of unparalleled skill; he still expects his first day as an Avenger to be challenging. He is not at all prepared for the greatest challenge to be one hot as fuck, steely eyed, Colonel Rogers. More specifically, he is not expecting the greatest challenge to be keeping his dick under control whenever Colonel Rogers, with his broad shoulders and his authoritative command and his fucking thick, gorgeous beard, enters into Bucky’s immediate vicinity.

💙 (i will) leave a light on by crinklefries/ @spacerenegades​ (Post-Endgame, Canon Divergent | 4/7 | Explicit): Twice a day, every day, Steve lights the lantern at the top of the lighthouse.One day, every year, a door opens and Bucky steps through. This is the story of how Steve and Bucky reclaim all of the years they've lost and what Valhalla means to someone who's willing to wait for it.

💙 Tender is the Ghost by Hark_bananas/ @harkbananas​ (Post-WS | 8/12 | 97K | Explicit): This thought is uncontrollably followed by another one: I’m not alone anymore. He looks over his shoulder, through the kitchen door, to where Bucky is sitting at his usual place at the head of the dining table, and he feels an unconstrainable smile breaking out across his face, the barest hint of threatening tears along its bright edge. Bucky is still looking past Steve’s left ear, but slowly, gingerly, one side of his mouth quirks up. Steve feels giddy, he wants to shout, or faint, or something to relieve the carbonated pressure that is bubbling up inside of him. Instead, he laughs, short and cheerful, and opens the oven door. (Part 2 of Tender is the Ghost)

💙 sharpen your teeth (tell yourself that it’s just business) by voxofthevoid/ @voxofthevoid​ (Post-WS | 1/2 | 8K | Explicit): He stays because it’s safe, because Hydra cannot get to him here, because Rogers—still waiting for his dead friend to claw his way out of the Winter Soldier’s broken psyche—will go to the ends of the earth to find him if they do. So he watches Rogers watch him, and Barnes doesn’t know what he’s looking for, but he knows he has found it the first time he sees Rogers’s eyes drop down to his lips and dart guiltily away. Barnes pretends he doesn’t notice and unlike Rogers, he can act. The Red Room made him well, and Hydra could ruin only so much. He changes his act, a few weeks in. He starts looking back.

💙 Revenance by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel​, SinpaiCasanova (The Old Guard AU/The Song of Achilles AU | 4/? | 11K | Mature): And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Or, the one where Steve and Bucky are immortal and used to be known as Achilles and Patroclus.

Re-read

Leg Day by Brokenpitchpipe (Shrunkyclunks | 12K | Explicit): Or: The one where Sam is Bucky's long-suffering roommate, Bucky is a hot mess of a millennial, and Hot Steve spends far too much time on the Lat Pull-Down machine.

the sound of rain on tin by luninosity/ @luninosity​ (Stucky & Evanstan Crossover | 3/4 | Teen): Okay, Bucky thought. He could deal with sudden universe-hopping. He’d seen weirder things. Hell, he himself probably counted as a weirder thing, brainwashed cryogenically frozen former legendary assassin and all.Chris, who looked like Steve, but who wasn't Steve, stared at him some more.

#stucky #stucky fic #stucky fanfic #stucky fanfiction #stucky fic rec #weekly recap

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Ninety Seven

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

October 12th, 2001

Remy laughed in the guy’s face, causing him quite a bit of confusion. “Girl, of course I’m gay!” he crowed. “Emile’s my boyfriend, duh? It’d be a bit weird if I weren’t into boys and he was my boyfriend. Now listen,” he purred. His smile was as cheery as ever as he leaned into the guy’s face. “You ever try and make Emile uncomfortable again and I’ll make your life a living hell, and I won’t hesitate to ruin your reputation. Understood?”

The guy paled, nodded, and scurried off. Remy smiled to himself and spit his gum into the nearest trash can. Playing the stereotypical gay had its perks. Namely, it made it all the more scary when he tore into someone, and it was a convenient mask he could always fall back on should something go wrong. Because he always knew how to play dumb and cute as hell. He could use this to his advantage, surely...

  March 28th, 2004

Remy’s grip on the steering wheel was tight as he drove the car towards Emile’s parents’ house. Emile was sitting in the passenger seat, trying to hide the fact that he was doing deep breathing exercises. Clearly, they were both nervous about seeing Emile’s grandfather again. Emile was nervous enough that he had gone to Mass earlier that morning, presumably in case his grandfather asked about the last time he went to Confession. Personally, Remy was fairly certain Emile had nothing to confess, but he wasn’t Catholic, so he wasn’t going to pretend to know.

Emile made a concerned whine as they got off the highway, and Remy took a deep breath, pushing as many homicidal tendencies as he was willing to out of the way to grab Emile’s hand with one of his own. Emile blinked, looked down at their intertwined hands, then over at Remy.

“You whined,” Remy said. “Like a kicked puppy. I was concerned.”

Emile blew out a breath. “Your tone suggests annoyed.”

“My tone is nonexistent because I’m incensed,” Remy said simply. “Not at you, though.”

“At my family? That’s kinda worse, Rem,” Emile said.

“Well, your grandfather certainly hasn’t endeared himself to me any,” Remy growled.

Emile flinched. “Rem, please,” he said softly.

Remy’s tone softened but his eyes didn’t leave the road. “I don’t want you dragged through the wringer, mio amore.”

“I volunteered,” Emile said weakly.

“Willingly? That’s kinda worse, mio amore,” Remy shot back. “What would Sue say about you willingly putting yourself in harm’s way?”

“Actually, Sue and I talked about this and the ways it could go after my panic attack,” Emile said, straightening in his seat. “She said that as long as I wasn’t going into this with the goal of hurting myself, then it was worth talking to Grandpa. How would Fern feel about you jumping to the conclusion that I’m doing this to hurt myself?”

“She would say it’s your choice,” Remy said. “But given the facts I told her... she also called you a bit of a hopeless romantic. And a dumbass. She also gave me full permission to drag you out of the room if I heard raised voices or crying.”

Emile blinked. “That’s why you asked?!”

Remy smirked, just a bit. “Well, she said her permission meant nothing if I didn’t get yours, too.”

Emile laughed in disbelief. “No wonder you took a shine to her; she’s enabling you.”

“Oh, no! No, she takes no one’s shit. That includes me, mio amore. No, she doesn’t let anyone pull the wool over her eyes, and she tells it like she is. She took one look at her notes, plus Kim’s when she got them, and looked me dead in the eye, promptly asking, ‘So, how long would you say the abuse has been going on?’” Remy laughed. “I love her so much. As a therapist, of course. I will not run off into the sunset with her. I’d prefer to do that with you, Emile.”

Emile shook his head, swallowing. “She sounds like a good therapist.”

“Yeah. What did Sue tell you? Beyond talking about possible outcomes, of course,” Remy said.

Emile blinked back tears. “She said...” Emile’s voice grew thicker. “She said...to be realistic. To not put all my eggs in the happy basket, because based on what she heard, and her past clients’ experience, this usually doesn’t shake out well.” Tears were falling down his cheeks and Remy pulled over to the curb in a flurry. “I don’t want him to be mad at me, Rem. I don’t.”

Emile sounded like such a lost little kid in that moment, that Remy couldn’t help but hug him close. “It’s gonna be okay,” Remy said. “Even if you don’t get the outcome you wanted. It’s gonna be okay.”

“How can you...be so sure?” Emile sobbed.

“Because I’ve been there, Emi,” Remy said. When Emile looked up at Remy, Remy’s heart broke, but he continued. “I’ve been there. And yeah, it hurts like hell if your family doesn’t accept you. I’ll be honest: even if your grandfather acknowledges you’re bi and I’m his grandson-in-law, odds are he won’t be happy about it. Take little victories where you can, and if he comes to the wedding? Great. Work on him being happy for us at a later date. He can grow to love the both of us together, but it will most likely take more time than just three months.”

Emile looked at Remy like he had all the answers in the universe, and Remy was a little terrified. “Now, your parents are expecting us, and we don’t want to keep them waiting too long. But if you need a second, or a minute, even...”

“Yeah,” Emile said softly, shamefully. “Yeah, I need a minute.”

“There’s no shame in that, understand?” Remy asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Emile said dismissively.

“I’m serious here, Emile,” Remy said sternly.

Emile sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know,” he said. “But I can’t accept that right now.”

Remy nodded, opened the glove box, and passed Emile some tissues. Emile dabbed at his face while Remy flicked the channels on the radio. He would kill for some slow, smooth, jazzy song that he could slow-dance with Emile to, even if that was a tad impractical in the car.

When Emile had composed himself, Remy kept driving. He fiddled more with the radio, observed the same five restaurants that were staples in every city, and contemplated calling August at Sleep Easy to ask how things were going, just to stall the inevitable. But if Emile was ready, then Remy had to be ready, too. Remy was going to back Emile one hundred percent, even if he was a bit of a hopeless dumbass when he picked his battles.

Remy drove up to Emile’s parents house, but when he turned to Emile, he realized he may have wanted to make the drive longer. Emile was ash-white and shaking, staring at the house like it was on fire, and he was just told to run in without any protective gear to save two kids on opposite sides of the second floor. Remy unbuckled his seat belt, and put a reassuring hand on Emile’s arm. “You’ve got this,” he said softly. “I’ll go in first, you come in when you’re ready.”

Emile swallowed, nodded.

Remy mirrored the nod, looking far more confident than he felt as he stepped out of the car, onto the curb, and closed the car door. He leaned against the car a minute, observing the house. He never really had before, but then again, he never had reason to stall either. Remy popped a piece of gum in his mouth and kicked off the car, putting on that “flamboyant, unflappable gay” persona he used when he needed to pretend he couldn’t care less about what was going on.

His shoes sunk into the grass, but the front yard wasn’t a swamp. Remy dimly remembered Mom mentioning something about it raining yesterday, before they had gotten to the heart of their conversation about Emile and his grandfather...

“Look, Mom, I’m worried about him. Emile cares about him a great deal, and either his grandfather takes that for granted, or worse, he just doesn’t care. I don’t want Emile’s heart to be crushed come tomorrow.”

Mom had tutted and reassured Remy the best she could, but Remy could hear the doubt in her own voice.

Mom and Dad had come to the door to greet him, and he grinned, all big and flashy and fake, but he did pick his head up a little more as he saw them, and he noticed Dad’s smile relax a little bit as Remy straightened. Dad knew what he was doing, and Emile had no doubt warned Dad and Mom both about Remy acting off in defense of this well and truly anxiety-inducing situation.

He hugged them both with a laugh, sharing the usual pleasantries. Remy straightened and saw Emile’s grandfather standing behind them, and he pulled down his sunglasses, peering over them to glare at Emile’s grandfather. “You hurt Emile, my guy, and I’ll make you wish you had never been born, m’kay?”

As Emile’s grandfather twitched, Remy smirked inwardly, continuing to chew his gum. “Surely, you’re not the same... boyfriend Emile had at that Christmas?” Emile’s grandfather asked.

Remy laughed and took off his sunglasses, walking inside. “Oh, that’s me, sweets. I just don’t act nice around people who hurt my fiancé.”

Emile’s grandfather flinched at the word fiancé, and Remy grinned, all teeth. Good. Let him be uncomfortable.

“Remy,” Dad warned, and Remy turned to him, prepared to continue being snarky and sarcastic until he saw the warning look he was getting. The fight drained from him and he sighed. Dad put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you’ve had similar hurts in the past, but there’s no need to go full feral right out the gate.”

Remy felt like he might pass out. “I guess you’re right. Forcing Emile out of the car before he’s ready because I instigated a fight would not leave a good impression.”

“No,” Dad agreed softly.

“Similar...hurts?” Emile’s grandfather asked.

“Well, yeah,” Remy said, swallowing his gum and sighing. “Not that it’s any of your business, but my mother came to my and Emile’s house, berating me and calling me slurs, exclaiming that I was going to Hell for being gay. So when you pull the same shit that manipulative, abusive witch pulled...well. Forgive me if I get a little twitchy.”

Emile’s grandfather looked mildly horrified, and wanted to say something, but Emile ran across the yard. “Remy! Remy!” he exclaimed. “I just realized you took that gum out of your pocket, please tell me Grandpa is still alive!”

“He is,” Remy said. The implied For now might as well have been verbalised.

“Okay,” Emile breathed, grabbing Remy’s hand. “Thank you. For, uh, not killing him on sight.”

“You didn’t do it to my parents, I figured you’re owed that same courtesy,” he said, glancing at Emile.

Emile’s grandfather flinched again. “Do you...truly see me as so abhorrent that I deserve to be killed?” he asked.

“I believe that those who hurt others shouldn’t be allowed around those they hurt,” Remy said, stepping closer to Emile. “And while we can argue about the morals behind murder all day, it is still illegal in the eyes of the law, and I’d like to be married to my fiancé outside of prison.”

“That doesn’t...answer my question,” Emile’s grandfather said.

Remy laughed hollowly. “All due respect, but Dad told me to pull the reins back on the hostility. If I told you what I truly think, I’m pretty sure we would fall right back into hostile territory.” Which was more or less a fancy way of saying yes, and everyone in the room knew it, as the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

Emile’s grandfather gave Remy an unreadable stare. “Very well,” he said stiffly. “Given what you’ve said to me, I think it’s safe to presume that you would rather not deal with me. As such, I’d like to cut straight to the chase and speak to Emile. Alone,” he added, when Remy opened his mouth to speak.

Remy flushed red, but Emile squeezed Remy’s hand. Remy turned to Emile and silently asked, Surely, you don’t expect me to take this sitting down?

I’ll be fine, Emile said with a downward tilt of his chin.

Oh, like hell you will, Remy scoffed.

“Remy, that’s rude,” Emile said. “I can handle my own. I’ll be fine. Besides, you have permission from me and Fern, remember?”

That did make Remy feel marginally better, but not better enough to fully accept the situation. Mom walked up and gently pulled Remy away from Emile. “Let the boys have their discussion, Remy. Can you show me how to make one of your famous cups of coffee, provided we have the stuff that you use to make it?”

“You two, don’t touch my stove!” Dad squawked, following Mom as she dragged Remy to the kitchen. Remy watched as Emile’s grandfather awkwardly put a hand between Emile’s shoulder blades and together they walked to the living room.

#if there's a place i could be #sanders sides fanfiction #remile #emile picani #ts sleep

[falcqns]

an apostles redemption

Pairing: August Walker x OFC (Grace Walker)

Warnings: fluff, swearing, family angst, mention of nuclear weapons and firearms, facial injury, mention of anxiety disorder and anxiety attacks, implied smut 

A/N: hope you enjoy!

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three |

Ragged Night 

When Grace awoke the next morning, August was not laying next to her, as she had hoped. When she sat up, shed noticed Kal wasn't in his bed either. She put on some socks, and headed down the stairs to find her husband and dog.

He wasn't in the kitchen or living room,  but the door to the basement was open, and Grace immediately knew where he was. He was in the gym.

She ventured down the stairs, and into the large home gym. August was wearing a grey muscle tank and red gym shorts, with his Adidas running shoes on his feet. He had his red boxing gloves that were monogrammed with the words 'The Hammer', a Christmas gift from Erica Sloane. He was aggressively punching the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, his AirPods blaring some type of heavy metal.

Kal was laid by the mirrors opposite August, watching his dad take out his energy on the bag. Kal's ears perked up when Grace walked into the room, and stood up to go and get pets from his mom, which alerted August that he wasn't alone anymore.

He turned his head and smiled when he noticed Grace. He took out his AirPods and placed them back in the charging case, before walking over to give his wife a kiss.

"Good morning, love," Grace said, as she wrapped her arms around her husbands sweaty midriff.  

"Good morning," August responded, as he took off his punching gloves.

"I'm going to make breakfast, so why don't you go and shower and we'll eat together?" Grace offered. August smiled. It had been weeks since he had had his wonderful wife amazing cooking.

"Sounds good to me, angel." He pressed another kiss to his wife's lips, before Grace led Kal upstairs with the promise of food. August cleaned up the gym from his morning workout, and headed up to their shared bathroom. He had wished Grace would join him, but he knew she didn't trust him enough for that amount of affection. August understood, and was going to do anything to earn that trust back.

He had a quick shower, and put on a t shirt that had Geralt of Rivia on it, from his favourite video game, The Witcher. He also pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants, and made his way down stairs, following the smell of bacon.

He walked into the kitchen but stopped in the doorway. Grace was stood at the stove, tending to their food. Harry Styles was playing from her phone, the sounds of 'She' echoing through their large kitchen. Two plates were sitting on the island, and there was a stack of books sitting on the same stool where he sat last night while Grace stitched him up. He walked over, and picked up the books, looking through them.

'What We Owe To Each Other , T.M. Scanlon,

A Treatise Of Human Nature, David Hume,

Groundwork in the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant,

No Exit, Jean Paul Satre,

Fear and Trembling, Soren Kierkegaard,

Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle.'

Ethics books. He knew these books were in the house, as he gave them to Grace for her birthday. She loved The Good Place, and wanted to know more about ethics, so August bought her all the books mentioned in the show, and she had read them all. He knew he would have to read ethics books when he came home, but he didn't expect it to start so soon.

Before he could think about anything else, Grace turned around, and emptied eggs on both of their plates, and smiled at him.

"You look much better," She said, as she turned back to the stove to grab the pan with the bacon.

"I feel better, other than I'm hungry, and my face stings a little still." He said.

Grace placed the bacon on their plates, and walked over to the medicine cabinet. She grabbed the creme she had put on his face last night, and handed it to him.

"My hands are dirty from food, so just put this over the whole scar tissue area. It'll help it heal and help with the pain." He nodded, and did as he was told.

A few minutes later, his face didn't sting anymore, only a cooling sensation, which felt amazing.

They were sat at the breakfast booth, with Kal laying underneath, on their feet.

"August, I have to tell you something," Grace said nervously.

"What is it?" August replied, slightly afraid of her response.

"Sloane is coming over today, with Hunt and his team."

He immediately dropped his fork. "What? Why?"

Grace immediately recognized he was starting to panic, and she reached over and grabbed his hand.

"I'm doing it to help you. I'm going to sit them down, and I'm going to explain to them that you want to redeem yourself and that you will do anything to win back their trust."

August stood up to pace, which scared Kal, who nuzzled his head into Grace's lap.

"What if they shoot me?" He asked.

"You know that I don't allow weapons in the house, other than our shot gun. They are aware of that rule too, and will not be bringing any weapons. It's going to be fine, Auggie."

August felt his anger bubbling up. "How can you be so sure Grace? How?"

Grace stood up, got in his space, and wrapped her arms around his waist. She decided to ignore the face that he called her by her actual name. "Because, you're going to go into the basement and stay there. I am going to tell them that you are alive and willing to do anything to earn back their trust. I will tell them that they are allowed to be mad at him, but to at least allow you to try and prove yourself. I know that Ethan is going to be the first one to trust you. You need to be his friend."

August rolled his eyes, sighed, and then placed his bandaged forehead on to hers. "Okay," He agreed. "When do they get here?" He asked as he pressed a kiss to her cheeks, which make Grace blush.

Grace glanced down at her Fitbit. "It's only 8:30, they're not coming until noon, so we have a few hours. During that time I want you to start reading," She said, unraveled herself from August, and walked over to where the books laid.

"We'll start off with Scanlon. You don't have to read this whole thing today, but I want  you to read as much as you can while I go and get groceries." She said, handed him 'What We Owe To Each Other', and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she headed to the door to the backyard to let Kal out for a pee.

He nodded at her and took the book into the living room to begin to read, clearly not hungry anymore.

'We all believe that some actions are morally wrong. But when we claim that an action is wrong, what kind of judgement are we making? Judgements about right and wrong cannot be straightforwardly understood as factual claims about the empirical world or about our own psychology. Yet they do seem to make claims about some subject matter, claims which are capable of being true or false. Moreover...'

'God this is going to be a long few hours,' August thought to himself, as he began to read.

Grace finished eating, peeked into the living room where she saw her husband reading the book, and she smiled to herself. She grabbed her keys, and left the house. She made sure to lock the door behind her, so no one who wasn't invited could get in.

She religiously checked her security app on her phone to ensure Augusts safety, and to her surprise, he continued to read the book. She knew he didn't want to read moral philosophy and ethics books, but she also knew that he realized he had to if he had a chance to gain back not only her trust, but his country's as well.

She grabbed all the essential groceries she would need, as well as a few treats for August. She decided to reward him for his good behaviour, much like a child, but she knew that would work.

August did not have a good childhood. He was an only child, but his parents barely paid attention to him. His dad also worked in the CIA, and was killed when August was 8, just a day before his 9th birthday. His mother became distant and cold almost instantly, and told her little 8 year old that 'she had nothing, and no one left,' after her husband died. August tried to please her the best he could, but nothing he ever did was good enough for her. On his 18th birthday, he had had enough. He told her that he didn't appreciate that she was not a good mother to him. That nothing he ever did was good enough. That he always had to do hard physical labour, and wasn't able to enjoy his teenage years. His mother, on that same day, told him that she wished he had died instead of his father, as she could replace him, but not her husband.

August didn't  forgive her for many years, and he still fully hadn't. He talked to her on her birthday, and only to wish her a happy birthday. The only time she was proud of him was when he joined the CIA. He had joined to figure out who killed his father, and subjected him to so many years of abuse and neglect.

Once he found out his father had gone rogue and was killed by the IMF, he became angry, and shut himself off from everyone in his life. He became what the world see's today. The Hammer. The guy who gunned down every single Syndicate agent he came across. The man who almost wiped out India, Pakistan and China, with two nuclear bombs.

Sometimes Grace couldn't believe how different their lives were before they met. Grace grew up in a loving and nurturing household. Grace was the youngest of four, her older sisters Melissa and Julia, and her big brother Rick. Melissa had moved out before she was born, but Julia and Rick were still in school, and both living at home. The only trauma that she had experienced in her life was when Julia was kidnapped, and she moved in with her sister Melissa so her mom could focus on finding Julia, and she was only 6 years old. Her sister was found soon after and everything went back to normal.

She had noticed August had severe childhood trauma just 5 weeks into dating. It was the first time she had spent the full night with him, and he woke up in a cold sweat, and screaming. He was inconsolable for multiple minutes, and only when Grace got him water and rubbed his back, did he calm down. He told her a little bit about it, but only his fathers side, not about his mothers abuse. His mothers abuse came out when they were planning their wedding, and Grace kept bugging him to invite his mother.

'"She's your mother August! She has a right to come and see her son get married!'"

"That doesn't change the fact that her and I don't get along, and I don't want her ruining our day."

"Why? Why don't you get along? She's your mother, she loves you."

"NO SHE FUCKING DOESN'T! I HAVE NEVER, IN MY ENTIRE TIME OF BEING ALIVE, HEARD HER TELL ME SHE LOVES ME! THE LAST CLOSE TO 'I LOVE YOU' WAS 'IM GLAD YOU JOINED THE CIA TO MAKE YOUR FATHERS MEMORY PROUD'! SHE NEVER WANTED ME, BUT WAS FUCKING STUCK WITH ME AND SHE MADE SURE I KNEW THAT!"

Grace immediately stood up and enveloped him in her arms. She felt his head hit her shoulder, and his sobs began to spill out.

"It's okay my lovely. I love you. I'm sorry you went through that, but the beauty of being an adult is you can make your own family. It's going to be okay."'

He had never expressed himself like that before, and Grace knew that marrying him would have its challenges, and the challenge she was currently facing was the biggest of them all.

She wrapped up at the store, and headed home. While she drove, she attempted to figure out how she was going to explain to Sloane and the IMF that August deserved a second chance, when she didn't fully trust him again yet. Although, he had begun to prove himself worthy of her help, even in less than 24 hours.

Just before pulling into the driveway, she remembered she needed to check the mail. She drove to the mail box, and checked their slot. There were a few bills, other junk mail, a package from Amazon for Grace, and package from Julia, which was also for Grace.

Her and Julia had stopped talking after she got engaged to August, who Julia didn't trust. Every once in a while, though, she would get letters and packages from Julia on holidays, and sometimes it would be something to give to Ethan. She put the mail in the passenger seat of her car, and headed back to the house.

She arrived home, and August took a break from reading to help her with putting away the groceries. She managed to hide his treats from him, and locking them up in a a secret compartment she had installed in the pantry while he was in Kashmir. She felt that if he knew she bought those for him, he wouldn't earn it.

She gave August a hug and kiss, told him she was proud of him, and went to her office to work on a binder to help Auggie, the package from Julia in tow.

She made a book tracker, and even made assignments based on the books he'd be reading, and what he'd be learning. She would add more when and if Sloane told him what he needed to do. He had a long few months, or possibly years ahead of him, and he would need all the structure, support and love he could get. She thought about reaching out to his mother to let her know that her son was not dead, but decided to wait and ask August, although she knew what his answer will be.

Her gaze drifted to the package, and decided to open it. She ripped the tape off, and the folds popped open. On top was a letter, labeled with Grace's name. She opened the letter and read the contents.

'My angel Gracie,

I heard about August, and I'm sorry. I know I never trusted him, but that's not why I'm writing.

I've been in your place. Maybe not exactly, but I've lost a husband too. It sucks. I can't imagine the pain and heart break you are feeling right now, and I wish I could be there with you.

I was in Kashmir at the time, and he looked very determined. I know that's not what you want to hear, honey, but I thought it was important to tell you. He also gave me a letter to give to you, which I've included. I don't know what it says, I didn't read it. I want you to know I'm back in the States, at Mom's house. If you want to visit, or if you want us to come to you, we can. Just let Mom know, okay?

I love you sweet girl,

Julia'

Grace felt tears fall onto her cheeks. She didn't know what to think. Finding out her sister knew what August was planning should have made her angry, but it made her sad. She placed the letter down on the desk, and picked up the other letter, which was labeled 'Baby girl" which was August's name for her.

She opened it, and began to read.

'My sweet angel.

I love you, baby. I'm so sorry for what I'm doing, and I know it means I may never see you again, especially after you find out I did it. I don't want you living in a world that is this cruel. You have so much of your life ahead of you, and you deserve the best.

I won't be coming home. You will get everything. The house is paid off, the cars are paid off and there is several million dollars in our bank account, provided to me by the Syndicate and Lane.

They will not hurt you. They will not touch you. Sloane and I had an agreement that if I was to be disavowed or killed, you would be protected no matter what. Both you and I know that if anything were to happen, Ethan will do anything to make sure you stay safe.

I never wanted to hurt you, and I know I promised not to, but I have to do this. I love you with my whole heart. I wish I could have given you a family like you wanted, but I couldn't bring a child into such a world.

You will never forgive me, but let me tell you this.

Julia is here, and I will make sure she is safe. I will try to get her to come with me, but there's no promises. I understand she could never trust me, and never will. I never wanted to hurt you or your family. I'm so sorry my love.

I hope you have an amazing life, and find someone who can love you like I couldn't, and gives you what I couldn't. I love you with all I am baby, and you'll be the best mama ever, when your time comes. Give Kal all the treats for me, and tell him that his Daddy loved him.

Auggie.'

Grace had tears pouring down her face now. All he was trying to do was protect her, but he was doing it in the wrong way. She wished he could see the good in himself, but he just wasn't there yet. He would be one day though.

There was also a picture of Julia and her on the day she was born. On the back, in Julia's handwriting, said:

' You and me on the day you were born. You were so innocent. I prayed you would stay that way. The moment I held you I told myself I would never let anything harm you. You're so special to me, and I love you angel. You're my favourite sibling, but don't tell Rick, he doesn't know ;)'

Grace giggled, and placed the picture on Julia's letter. It was pretty obvious to everyone that being the youngest, Grace was the favourite to all her siblings.

Julia had also included some other pictures throughout her life, like Julia's grad from med school, Grace's high school graduation, and their trips to Disney that they took. Julia had included some Kashmirian snacks and a bracelet that was hand stitch-monogrammed with her name. She smiled at everything she had been given by her big sister. She didn't talk to her, so she treasured everything Julia gave her.

There was another letter. Grace opened it to find similar bracelets with Ethan and Ilsa's name on them, as well as a Virginia post card. On the back of the post card read:

' Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us.'

Grace put that envelope to the side, knowing it was meant for Ethan and Ilsa.

Her phone buzzed beside her to let her know that Sloane, Ethan, Ilsa, Benji, and Luther would be arriving soon, and Auggie needed to get to the basement.

She rushed down the stairs, and headed straight to the living room.

"They're gonna be here soon, come with me, bring the book." She said. She grabbed the gun off of the coffee table where she had dropped it the night before, and she headed to the basement, with August tagging along behind her.

They went to the basement, and headed through the gym, to a false door, which led to their emergency bunker. August had this installed incase of a threat of a terrorist attack. Being they lived in Washington, they knew a large enough terrorist attack could and would put them at risk as well.

He sat down, and took the gun from her hands.

"I will open the door when it is time for you to come up. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR UNTIL I SAY SO. Okay?" She said, her voice shaking with nerves. August noticed this, and put the book down.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her body, and rested his head on hers.

"It's going to be okay, baby, alright? I'll be fine, you'll be fine, and if it all goes to shit I can get us out. You know that." He felt her nod, and he pressed a kiss to her lips, before she pulled away from him.

"I love you," She said.

"I love you too." He whispered, and watched her walk out of the bunker. He returned to his seat, and continued reading. He actually managed to admit to himself that he was liking Scanlon's book.

Upstairs, Sloane and the IMF team had just arrived and were sitting in her kitchen.

"Why are we here?" Hunt asked.

Grace took a deep breath and began.

"Before I begin, I need all of you to promise you will listen and not act without thinking about what I am going to propose greatly."

They all nodded in agreement.

She took another deep breath. "Okay. August is alive." All of their eyes widened, and Ilsa gasped but no one said anything.

"He is alive, and safe, and him and I would like to know if there's anything he can do to earn all of your guys's trust back. He is willing to do anything."

Everyone looked as Sloane, as her opinion was most important.

Sloane got very serious. "Yes there is. We do have a protocol to follow for rogue agents wanting to gain trust back again, but they have to request it in person, with proof that they are truly serious about it. Where is he currently?" She asked calmly.

"He is here." Grace said. "He came home last night. I would have called you but he had a large burn on his face, and a badly stitched forehead wound so I was more preoccupied with making sure he got fixed up."

Everyone nodded. They may not like or trust August, but as agents, they understood how important physical health was.

"Understandable. Bring him in, and we'll discuss it." Sloane said, and gave Grace a comforting smile, which let Grace know she wasn't going to pull any stunts.

Grace rushed down and got August, and headed back up. Grace saw Ethan's eyes darken in anger almost immediately upon August entering the kitchen.

August took a deep breath, ad began to speak. "I understand that you all probably hate me, and are angry at me, but I need your guys's help. I will do anything and everything to gain your trust back." He said, in a quiet tone of voice August had never used before.

Sloane was the first one to speak to him. "Walker, we are willing to help you, but you must do everything you are told. It's going to be a long few months."

August nodded. "I know. I'm already working to gain back Grace's trust, and she's helping me to be a better person, and as I said before, I am willing to do anything to gain that trust."

Ethan, Ilsa, Benji and Luther looked at each other, before they turned to August. "We'll help you too. I believe that everyone's capable of change, so we'll give you a chance," Ethan said. "But only one."

August nodded. "I understand." He looked up into Ethan's eyes. "Thank you." Ethan gave him a small smile.

They began to talk about what needed to be done, and how Grace was helping him. A few hours later, Ethan and Ilsa were getting ready to leave. Just before the headed to the door, Grace stopped them.

"I received a package from Julia this morning, and this was in it. She's back here, and she's safe." She said in a low voice to him.

Ethan smiled, and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Grace. If you happen to talk to her, let her know that I hope she's doing okay, and to stay safe. I appreciate you being able to make sure that she is always safe."

Grace smiled, and nodded. "She's my sister, and you're still my brother, wether or not you and Julia are together. It's my job," She said.

Ethan smiled, and gave her another hug, before Ilsa walked in from using the bathroom, and the trio said their goodbyes, before the door closed behind Ethan and Ilsa.

Grace ran up the stairs into her office and grabbed the letter. She headed back down to the living room, where she found Auggie reading. She took a seat next to him, making August look up.

"What's that?" August asked, and pointed to the paper in her hand.

"It's the letter that you gave to Julia to give to me, I got it in the mail this morning."

He put the book down, and turned towards her, his features portraying anxiety.

"And, um, what did you think?" He asked, nervously.

Grace smiled and looked at him.

"It made me cry. I know now all you care about was making the world a better place, but you were going about it the wrong way. You knew Julia would be there, but you wanted to make sure she was safe, all because she was my sister. It made me fall more in love with you," She said, tears coming to her eyes as she maintained eye contact with August.

August smiled, and reached a hand out for hers. Grace let him take it, and she ran her thumb on the back of his hand.

"All I ever want to do for you is to make sure you are safe, and you are happy." August whispered, and looked down to his lap, where Scanlon's book was laying.

"Auggie, I know. But I don't need you being taken away from me for the world to change. I read that manifesto, and yes, in certain situations, you must struggle before you succeed. But not the way you and Lane wanted to do it, honey." Grace said, quietly.

"I know, and I'm sorry," August whispered, as tears started to fall from his eyes. Grace immediately looked up at the tone of his voice. Noticing his tears falling, she let the letter fall to the ground, and wrapped her arms around August, who sobbed into her shoulder.

"Auggie, shhhh, calm down," She said, as August's tears became louder and closer together. She ran her hands up and down his back, and whispered in his ear how much she loved him. a few minutes later, his tears started to subside.

Grace looked down, and saw his tired eyes begin to flutter closed. She sat up and lifted his head.

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't sleep yet," She began, brushing a few curls off of his forehead bandage. He groaned slightly, but opened his eyes. "I have to change your bandage on your head, and we need to put some more creme on your burn," She said, and helped August up.

He grumpily walked to the kitchen, and sat on a stool. Grace watched him as she gathered her tools, and laughed to herself about how child like he can become when he is tired.

She quickly took off the bandage, and looked at his stitches,

"They're healing, just slowly. They shouldn't leave too big of a scar, if a scar at all," She said. August nodded, too tired from todays events to talk.

She replaced the bandage and moved on to his burn. It was still noticeable what had happened, but it was healing. She gently lathered on the burn creme, and took a photo of his burn with her phone, in order to track it.

"Okay, baby, all done." She whispered to him. "You head up and go to bed, I'm going to put this away and let Kal out for a pee, and then I'll join you, okay?"

August smiled at her, and stood up. He wrapped his arms around her, and pressed a kiss into her hair. "Thank you, my love. I love you so much." He whispered into her ear.

Grace giggled and gave him a kiss on his lips. "I love you too, Snuffles," She replied, and used his nickname.

He gave her one last hug and kiss, and walked over to the stairs.

Grace began to clean up her medical supplies, and let Kal out for a pee. She walked into the living room, and saw the letter laying on the ground. She picked it up, placed it on the table. She then pulled out her phone and made a reminder to call her mom to talk to Julia and let her know what was happening and why she hasn't answered her lately.

She let the Akita back in the house, who went to his water bowl for a drink before heading up to the bedroom, where his dad was.

Grace made sure all the doors and windows were locked, and the alarm was armed, before she followed her boys.

"Kal! Leave Daddy alone!" Grace whisper yelled upon entering the bedroom, and seeing Kal nudging August with his nose for pets. Kal huffed at her, but then stalked over to his bed, immediately settling down.

Grace changed into her pyjamas, which consisted of one of August's shirts, and a pair of spandex shorts, before snuggling into bed with August.

She quickly fell asleep, and stayed that way until she was awoken at 5:30am by August shooting up from where he was laying. She rolled over and saw his shoulders shaking, his large hands covering his face. She shot up, and crawled so she was kneeling in front of him in the bed. She pulled his head from his hands, which forced him to reveal that he was crying and hyperventilating.

"What's wrong?" Grace said. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. She pressed a kiss to his forehead before running to the bathroom to get him a cup of water. She returned to his side, and placed the water down. He had a hand on his chest, and was hyperventilating to the point where Grace knew he couldn't breathe. She reached into his bedside drawer and grabber his 'bcalm' inhaler.

She bought him this inhaler after a particularly rough day at work, a few months previous.

He had come inside the house, and immediately walked up to where Grace was in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her, and began to breathe quickly. Grace, thinking he was just tired, gave him a hug, and continued to work on dinner when he released her. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and followed Kal into the living room.

A few minutes later, as Grace was chopping up vegetables, Kal came running into the kitchen and began to bark and jerk his head towards the living room, before he ran back to August. Grace knew something was wrong, and followed him. She found August bent over on the couch, shaking, and his head in between his knees. Kal was nudging him, and attempting to get his face up unsuccessfully. Grace dropped to her knees in front of him, and lifted his head.

He looked up at her with pure fear in his eyes. His hands were on his chest, crumpled in his shirt. Grace immediately recognized what was wrong, and tried to calm him down.

'Baby, I need you to listen to me. You're okay, you're safe. Breathe with me." She said, and began to breathe calming breaths with him. "In through your nose, out through your mouth."

They did that for a few moments, but his breathing barely calmed. She held her finger up in front of his mouth. "Pretend you're blowing out a candle, small, deep breaths."

August did as he was told, and his breath quickly slowed, and returned to normal.

Grace knew then that he had an anxiety disorder, but he had never gone to a doctor for it, and likely never would. She opted to educate herself on ways to help him, instead of forcing him into a situation where he wouldn't be comfortable.

She placed the inhaler up to his lips, and instructed him to breathe in. She removed the inhaler to allow him to exhale, before returning it to his lips. After 6-7 breaths, he was calm, and rested his head into Grace's neck.

"Here," Grace said. August lifted his head at her voice, and opened his mouth to drink from the cup that was presented at his mouth. He drank half the glass, before he wrapped his arms around his wife's waist.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Grace said in a quiet voice.

August took a few breaths, but began to explain. "I-I dreamed that Ethan didn't stop me in Kashmir, and Julia died. I was sent to prison. You visited me and told me how much you hated me, and wished you never married me. It scared me so much," He said, shakily.

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm here, I love you and you're going to be okay. You're safe." Grace said. She felt Kal's wet nose poking at her leg, and she looked at the dog. He had anxiety written all over his face, and knew he was scared for his dad.

Grace moved out of the way, and allowed Kal to climb up and put his large body where Graces once was. He rested his head on August's shoulder, and Grace put her hand on the back of his neck. August wrapped his arms around Kal a few moments later.

"Hey, buddy, daddy's okay." August whispered to the dog. Kal made a little whimper, but didn't move. After Kal was satisfied his dad was okay, he moved off, and settled his large body at the end of the bed. Grace laid down, and motioned for August to do the same. She wrapped her small body around his larger one, and they drifted off the sleep not long after.

Grace woke up before August the next morning, and allowed him to stay asleep. She walked into the bathroom and began to run him a bath. He was usually very clingy after an attack that bad, and she wanted him to feel calm, the way he calms her down.

She put a few drops of Lavender essential oil into the water, and Lavender scented bubble bath as well. Once it was full, she turned off the tap. She placed some fluffy towels on her vanity, and made her way to the closet. She grabbed sweats and a t shirt, as well as his superman boxers that he loved. Those were placed on top of his towels. She grabbed her laptop, so he could watch Netflix while he was in there.

Once everything was ready, she made her way back to her sleeping husband in the bed.

She knelt down beside him and began to run her fingers through his hair, gently coaxing him awake. "Auggie baby, wake up," She whispered. He groaned, but opened his eyes. Once his eyes landed on hers, his mouth molded into a smile.

"Good morning," He said, groggily. He reached out a hand and placed it on the side of her face, and he rubbed his thumb back and forth.

Grace leaned into his touch. "I ran a bath for you, follow me." She said. August smiled and got out of bed to follow his wife into the bathroom.

"It smells lovely, baby girl, thank you." He said, as soon as he entered the bathroom. Grace smiled, and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"I have Netflix queued up on my laptop. I'll make us breakfast, and then I'll join you, okay?" She whispered in his ear. August nuzzled into her neck, and pressed a few kisses there, which made Grace smile. She missed his touch so much.

"Mmmm, sounds good." He whispered into her neck, which caused a shiver to run up and down her back.

She left him to get in the tub, and ventured down stairs. She made a quick breakfast of Eggo waffles, syrup and cold water bottles for the both of them. She made her way back up stairs, and found August settling into the tub.

Grace peeled off her clothes, knowing full well August was admiring her, which she loved. She got into the tub, settling herself in between his legs, her back pressed to his chest. She lifted the plank of wood she used to watch Netflix in the tub, and placed her laptop, and their food on it.

"What do you wanna watch?" She asked him, as she signed into Netflix.

"Mm, New Girl," He said quietly, and he ran a hand up and down her side, admiring his beautiful wife.

She put New Girl on, and settled back against August. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and began to pepper kisses on her neck. Grace moaned, and leaned back into his touch. Her hands ran up and down his thighs that had her body encased in his. August hit a particular spot that he knew would drive Grace crazy. She arched her back, and moaned out loudly. August felt himself begin to lose control, and removed his mouth from her.

"Why'd you stop?" Grace groaned out. "I was liking that,"

He chuckled. "I want you to trust me fully before we're intimate again. I don't want to make you feel like I'm being selfish."

Grace turned her head to look at him. "You won't baby. I love you, and miss you." She whispered.

August began to move his hands to her stomach. He immediately felt her body react to his, and that encouraged him to keep going. He removed his hands for a moment, in order to move the wood that had their food and laptop on it, to the ground where it couldn't be harmed.  

Grace turned around in his arms, and swung her right and then her left over his legs, so she was straddling him. She pressed their foreheads together, and moaned at the feeling of Augusts hands exploring her body. It had only been a week since the last time they made love, but somehow it felt like it had been a lifetime. Grace brushed her lips against his, and felt his hand slow to a stop. He reached up and enveloped her lips in a loving kiss. Her hands moved from his chest to his jaw.

His tongue swiped on her bottom lip, and she immediately allowed him to deepen the kiss. His right hand moved from her lower back, over her hip, her thigh, and then in between her legs, and Grace allowed her self to be lost in the pleasure.

For many minutes, time seemed to stop for the couple. Inside their little bubble, no one could harm them. No ethics reading needed to be done, no trust needed to be gained, and Kashmir never happened. All they felt was love, and passion.

As Grace rested her head on August's chest, she felt his heartbeat slowly return to normal. August had his right hand rubbing her back, and his left playing with her hair. She sighed in content, and tilted her head up at August. He smiled town at her, and gave her a kiss.

"That was amazing," August said. He noticed pure happiness on his wife's face. "I love you so much, I can't even believe it," He said, a stray tear falling from his welled up eyes. Grace lifted a hand and gently wiped it, being careful not to hit his burn area.

"I love you too. You've amazed me with how far you've come, even in just two days. I'm so proud of you, baby." She whispered to him. She noticed the tears escaping his eyes, and she knew that he was happy to hear her say that. That she was proud of him, that she loved him. Words he never heard from his parents.

She sat up and wrapped him up in her arms. "I'm proud of you. You make me proud to be your wife as every day goes by. You're so worthy of all my love. You're doing amazing," She whispered, tears came to her eyes, and she praised him over and over, meaning every word.

"I make you proud?" He whispered, clearly not believing her.

"Everyday angel. Marrying you was the best decision of my life." She said. Instantly, his sobs intensified, and his arms squeezed her closer.

She knew he needed to hear every word of praise she could give him, that he needed every kiss, hug, touch, and he needed her.

He may not be the perfect citizen, but Grace would be damned if she couldn't admit that he was on his way. And she would protect him, and guide him, until he didn't need it anymore. When that time came, she would stick by him, and love him.

#august walker #mission impossible #henry cavill #henry cavill smut #tom cruise

[wrestlingisfake]

All Out preview

Here we go with AEW's annual Labor Day weekend show in Hoffman Estates, just like the original All In show three years ago. I have been going to wrestling shows for days, and it all comes down to this!

The show starts at 8pm EDT, streaming on Bleacher Report (in the US and Canada) and Fite.tv for $49.99. A free pre-show will be available at 7pm EDT.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin - This is CM Punk's first pro wrestling match since January 26, 2014, when he spent 49 minutes in the Royal Rumble working with a staph infection and a possible concussion. The following night he walked out of WWE, leading to seven and a half years of debate about what is next move would/should be. Two weeks ago he debuted with AEW and declared that he wanted to help the younger talent, starting with a match against Allin. Allin, for his part, took some exception to being the first opponent, as if he's just a stepping stone to bigger matches.

The big issue here is seeing how well Punk, 42, has held up after seven years away. I've seen reports that he's looking good in training, but you just don't know until the bell rings. Regardless, I expect the hometown crowd to be very forgiving to Punk, and Allin is good enough to carry the match if he really has to.

I feel like I ought to have more to say about this, but it also feels like everything's been said. I can't believe Punk would lose his first match in. But I can believe that if Punk insisted on doing the job, AEW would let him do that. It'd be unusual for the returning guy to come up short, but New Japan does that sometimes and it can work as a longer build to the first win. Still, it is Chicago (sort of), so my gut says Punk wins to let us feel special.

Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage - Omega is defending the AEW men's world title. For months, Omega held four different belts, representing championships in AEW, AAA, and Impact Wrestling. But on August 13 Christian defeated Omega for the Impact/TNA world title (and later retired the TNA belt), leaving Kenny more vulnerable than ever. The AAA and Impact titles aren't at stake in this match, so no matter who what happens the winner will be a double champion.

Cage is a great wrestler, but not a great challenger for this match. For months the storytelling pointed towards Hangman Page in this spot, but Page was abruptly written off television so he could take paternity leave. I don't think anybody resents Christian for filling in, but nobody really expects the 47-year-old, recently returned from a seven-year retirement, to win the big one. It's also a rematch of something we already saw a few weeks ago, which isn't a big deal but it's a bit of a talking point when everyone is always dogging WWE for excessive rematches.

The big go-home angle on September 1 was that Omega, the Young Bucks, and their buddies destroyed Christian, the Lucha Bros., and their buddies. After the show went off the air Tony Khan promised that this kind of bullshit interference wouldn't happen in the Bucks-Lucha Bros. cage match. Well, okay, but this match doesn't have a steel cage, so I have a feeling there will be plenty of bullshit interference. And I'm willing to bet that interference gives Omega the win while somewhat protecting Christian.

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix - The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick) are defending the AEW tag team title. The Lucha Bros. won a four-team tournament to earn this shot. The Bucks have relied on a lot of outside interference from their entourage lately, so to counter that this match will be held inside a steel cage. In AEW, the only way to win a cage match is by pinfall or submission.

I was at All Out 2019 when these teams last met in a crazy ladder match (which feels like a million years ago). Everyone raved about it, and also worried that the Bucks damn near killed themselves. Personally I had a really shitty view of the ring, which made it hard to follow the match. This time I've got a much better view, so I'm looking forward to some good karma.

In theory the Bucks have sworn off doing the dangerous shit from the ladder match, but technically this is a cage match so maybe they'll just do different dangerous shit. Personally I'm more intrigued by seeing them change their game to fit in the confines of the cage, which doesn't lend itself to springboard flips off the ropes. But the cage has places to stand at the top, which will encourage the idea of setting up crazy highspots.

I feel like a title change is possible, but I could just as easily see the Bucks hold the belts for another six months. Santana and Ortiz seem to be next in line for a shot, and honestly I think that would work with either of these teams. But I guess I'll lean towards the Bucks retaining.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF - MJF defeated Jericho on November 7, 2020, to earn entry into Jericho's stable, the Inner Circle. MJF inevitably betrayed Jericho and formed his own stable, the Pinnacle, which beat the Inner Circle on May 5, 2021. Jericho was so determined to get revenge that he accepted MJF's terms to perform five "labors" to earn a rematch, but MJF beat Jericho once again on August 18, 2021. So now MJF is 3-0 against Jericho. (For some reason we're counting the ten-man match on May 5 but not the other one on May 30, which Jericho's team won, but whatever.) To get this final rematch, Jericho has put his career on the line.

Suddenly everything else in this storyline has taken a back seat to the idea that this may really be the end of Chris Jericho's 30-year in-ring career. There are plenty of fans who think Jericho, 50, should hang it up, but now that it might actually happen I think people aren't so sure they're ready for it all to end. The timing for Jericho to tease this is perfect, because he could easily just win and go another couple of years, or he could easily just finish today.

Part of what makes this work so well is MJF. I think everyone recognizes that MJF is going to be a top name in the 2020s, and that Jericho wants to make this guy. So it's like, if Jericho can get retired by anyone he wants, why wouldn't he pick MJF? I think the match will feel a little flat if Jericho comes up short yet again, but if it's the end of his career it suddenly doesn't matter if he's lost too many times, y'know?

Still, something tells me this isn't the end. Something tells me Jericho has more he wants to do. And something tells me, in a few years, we may be wondering if it would have been better if he retired on this show.

Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander - Baker is defending the AEW women's world title. I expect to like this match but there's not really much to it. Baker was feuding with Red Velvet a while back and then Statlander made the save for Velvet. Baker and her crony Rebel have brought in Jamie Hayter to stack the deck against Statlander and Velvet. I think it's way too soon for Baker to drop the title, and I don't expect Kris to be the one to take it from her. So this is kind of a formality to kill time until Baker vs. Thunder Rosa down the road.

Miro vs. Eddie Kingston - Miro's AEW TNT championship is on the line. Somehow in the past year Miro has gone from Kip Sabian's gamer buddy to a monster heel who thinks God has anointed him to beat the shit out of people. Kingston has gone from a gutless heel to the most beloved guy in AEW. Wrestling is great.

Anyway, I love both of these guys, but I can't just bet that all the wrestlers have a good time. If Eddie's going to win a championship, it really ought to be in New York. I realize Chicago is AEW's favorite and we get all the good shit, but I've had my CM Punk ice cream and I'm maaaaaybeee going to get the Bryan Danielson debut too, so I'm willing to let New York have this one thing. Just this one time.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima - Moxley is the new GCW world champion following a surprise appearance at last night's GCW show; I assume that does not turn this into a title match. Moxley told top contender Nick Gage "you know where to find me," and it's anyone's guess if Gage will show up here to accept that invitation.

Mox is a busy boy making friends everywhere he goes. For a few weeks he was angling for a match with a top New Japan Pro Wrestling star on this show. The leading candidate was Hiroshi Tanahashi, but several other interesting names were discussed by fans and pundits alike. After that buzz, Kojima is a bit of a letdown.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool to get a guy who's held the IWGP heavyweight title, the All Japan Triple Crown, and the NWA world title. Kojima's a legend. But at this stage of his career, he's the guy New Japan sends when the real stars aren't available. Besides which, my cup runneth over when it comes to 50-year-old guys showing up to prove they can wrestle like they're 40. And I don't think anybody really believes Kojima can beat Moxley.

Ideally, this match should end with a video message from a bigger New Japan name calling out Moxley. I'm not confident that will happen. Then again, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Moxley showed up in NXT UK to pick a fight with WALTER.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall - Formerly the Giant in WCW and the Big Show in WWE, Wight debuted with AEW earlier this year as a color commentator. QT and his goons were picking on Wight's broadcast partner Tony Schiavone when Wight intervened, setting up this match.

I was actually kind of into the idea of this until Marshall showed photos of Wight's recent hip surgery. Up to that point, they'd managed to keep me from noticing if Wight could move okay, and I was willing to accept he could do a basic squash match without a problem. But now I just assume he's broken down and he'll need a lot of smoke and mirrors to do even a simple match. Maybe that's the plan, to get me to lower my expectations and be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope it works out.

I'm about 95% sure Wight clobbers QT and just wins handily. There's a chance QT's squad pulls enough shenanigans to get a bullshit win, but I'm not sure what the point would be.

21-woman Casino Battle Royale - This is AEW's funky concept for a gauntlet battle royale. Five women start the match, and then every five minutes another wave of five enters; the 21st entrant gets to come out alone. Eliminations can occur at any time, by exiting the ring over the top rope to the floor. The last woman left after the others have been eliminated is declared the winner, and receives a future title match against the AEW women's champion.

AEW has announced 20 participants: Abadon, Anna Jay, Big Swole, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Jade Cargill, Jamie Hayter, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Leyla Hirsch, Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, Rebel, Red Velvet, Riho, Skye Blue (a late substitution for Julia Hart), Tay Conti, The Bunny, Thunder Rosa.

The 21st spot has been left open for a surprise. Ruby Soho (formerly Ruby Riott in WWE) is widely expected to join AEW, and this would be a sensible spot for that to happen. But there are other women who could potentially debut here as a swerve.

I always want to pick the surprise entrant to win these things, but they really haven't done all that well in AEW battle royales. I could see them giving the win to, say, Big Swole, and just having Britt Baker beat her a few weeks later on Dynamite. Or Thunder Rosa could win to set up a major program for the next pay-per-view. They have a lot of options, which makes it hard to predict but fun to watch.

Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA & Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy & Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy & Jack Evans & Angelico - This is booked for the pre-show. Hardy's heel group has been feuding with most of the midcard babyfaces for months. I don't expect this match will blow off the feud, but it'd be nice if it did so we could move on to something else. Orange's team should probably win.

#aew #all out #cm punk #darby allin #kenny omega #christian cage #the young bucks #lucha bros #cannot *believe* i managed to get this done

[hp-crossgenfest]

2020 HP Cross Gen Fest Anonymous Masterlist

Here is the complete Anonymous Masterlist for the 2020 @hp-crossgenfest! Reveals will be going up in a few days on Friday, August 28, so you've still got some time to make your way through any entries you might have missed. Don't forget to leave some love for the wonderful authors and artists! <3

ART

absolution [Aberforth/Severus | Mature] Snape is released after a couple of years in Azkaban; the terms of his parole include apologizing in person to Albus Dumbledore’s brother. His stoicism falls apart in the face of Aberforth’s forgiveness.

A Portrait with Someone New [Luna/Remus | Teen] Luna and Remus happily expecting (in 2004).

Extra Credit [Hermione/Teddy | Explicit] Teddy has trouble concentrating in Prof. Granger-Weasley's class. However will he manage to make up the extra credit?

A day in the sun [Harry/Severus | General] Severus has been turned into a merman without his consent. Harry still accepts them and helps them reconcile the change, see its benefits, and get some of their own back.

One Bright Day [Amelia/Tonks | General] Amelia and Tonks meeting under an umbrella and a rainbow.

What Lily Knew [Draco/Lily Luna | General] Draco and Lily attend the same adult art class, but it isn't until he sees her finished piece that he understands what Lily knew all along.

FIC

Talk to Me [Harry/Severus | Explicit] Sentenced to serve his time in Azkaban after the Battle of Hogwarts, Snape is startled out of his depression by the inevitable fights during Potter's frequent visits. What will he say to the man when he is free to walk out into the Wizarding World and speak his mind?

Everything he's ever wanted [Harry/Teddy | Explicit] Teddy had hoped that a few years in Australia would be enough to cure him of his feelings for Harry, but when he returns home and gets some unexpected news, he can't stop the feelings rushing back. The only difference is, this time he might actually have a chance.

The Apprenticeship [Draco/Lily Luna | Explicit] Prompt: Draco always gets what he wants. Even if he has to take it by force.

Battleline [Draco/James Sirius | Explicit] The wizarding world believes James Sirius Potter works for his uncle as a Curse-Breaker, but the truth is that he's one of the Auror Department's most effective undercover agents. After months of waiting he's finally got a new case, but this assignment involves him going in as himself, without the disguises he's come to rely on. More importantly, he's meant to be taking down the one person long-suspected of being the most influential wizard in Britain's criminal underworld: Draco Malfoy.

Truth from Dare [Harry/Scorpius | Teen] During a late night game of Truth or Dare after a fun Saturday out with Albus, Rose, and their friends, Scorpius finds himself being kissed by Harry Potter as a dare. But it's just a game, right?

we who walk in shadows black [Harry/Lord Voldemort | Mature] In which Harry Potter is a vicious little gremlin who knows too much, and Lord Voldemort adores him for it.

Advanced Lunacy [Harry/Severus | Mature] Luna accidentally discovers something, and now the whole Wizarding World is abuzz about it. Meanwhile, Snape keeps appearing in Harry's dreams frequently.

There's No Such Thing as Getting Out of Hand [Narcissa/Pansy | Explicit] When Narcissa Malfoy finds herself confronted with a tempting treat all grown up, will she quash her appetite or sink her teeth in?

The Most Expensive Date [Harry/Scorpius | Explicit] Harry just wanted a quiet evening at home, instead he is being auctioned off at a charity event like a piece of meat. Prepared to have a terrible night, Harry is incredibly relieved when the highest bidder turns out to be none other than Scorpius Malfoy—a nice boy who couldn’t possibly have an ulterior motive... right?

the gentleness that comes [Harry/Severus | Explicit] There's something bothering Severus, and Harry wants to help. It's easier for Severus to let go when he's exploring his submissive side, so Harry plans a weekend to show him just how loved he is, and how much Harry wants to care for him.

A Technicality [Hermione/Rabastan/Regulus | General] A ritual to cleanse Hermione's new house has unexpected consequences.

a little bit of grit [Draco/Severus | Mature] Draco is a contract potioneer who specialises in medical research. Severus is... not dead, for one.

Vacanze Romane [Harry/Scorpius | Explicit] When he let Scorpius help plan his vacation, Harry had no idea just how involved he would be.

Her Pleasure [Draco/Lily Luna & Harry/Narcissa | Explicit] He likes to please his woman.

no wrong answers [Harry/Remus/Sirius | Explicit] It's almost five years since the war ended, and after an intense bout of aimless wandering and travel, Harry's come back home and is living at Grimmauld Place with Remus and Sirius. Their relationship fills him up with warmth - they deserve to be happy, and it's obvious that he wants what they have. But maybe, just maybe, Harry wants more than a relationship like the one Remus and Sirius have. Maybe he wants that relationship. Maybe he wants them.

Gouge Away [Millicent/Victoire | Teen] The Weasley girl has developed a keen fascination with Millicent's woodworking shop. Millicent can't seem to get rid of her, no matter how hard she tries.

Late One Night [Hermione/Kingsley | Explicit] Late one night, Hermione finally makes her move.

Hyperion [Harry/Scorpius | General] Scorpius is a Veela and Harry is his mate.

Summer Rain [Harry/Regulus | Explicit] A rainy day gives Harry the perfect opportunity to seduce Regulus.

Summer Heat [Lily Luna/Luna | Explicit] A unexpected visit from Lily's godmother makes a boring summer weekend suddenly a lot less boring.

On the Deficiencies of Translation Spells [Harry/Severus | Explicit] Divorced, single, and free, Harry lives a completely unapologetic life in Paris. Between casual hook-ups and an easy, comfortable job, he likes to think he is as close to happiness as he'll ever be. And when he gets offered a teaching job at the prestigious Académie Beauxbâtons, he thinks he may have found exactly what was missing. But Harry is thoroughly unprepared for what he finds there - a familiar face that's been haunting his dreams for six years.

Save Me From Her Stone-Cold Gaze [Harry/Tom Riddle | General] Tom Riddle has spent years looking for the Chamber of Secrets, and he's glad he can finally purge the school of Mudbloods. At least, that was the plan. It turns out the basilisk wasn't happy to be controlled, and Tom is forced to make a deal with the Master of Death (and maybe fall in love with him).

break on me like light [Charlie/Sirius | Mature] When the Order brings Sirius Black to Charlie, the man is still covered in the grime of Azkaban. A story wherein Sirius is still a little broken, calls Charlie kid, and Charlie is far too sweet.

Fire for You [Harry/Scorpius | Explicit] Nothing can make them keep their hands off each other.

Waving Through A Window, Suddenly [Harry/Severus | Explicit] Severus Snape was alive and free and perfectly satisfied with his life. He stayed away from other people and he did what he wanted. And if he felt like he was looking through a window at everyone else, that was alright, because he didn't need them anyway. Until Harry Potter moved in across the street, that is. Suddenly, just looking through the window wasn't enough for Severus anymore.

Trying not to think [Hermione/Teddy | Explicit] She couldn't even remember the last time her and Ron had left the lights on during sex, let alone the last time he’d complimented her, so watching Teddy struggle to keep his hands to his side while she stepped out of her dress was quite the ego boost.

Puddlemere’s New Man [Oliver/Teddy | Explicit] Teddy is willing to put in the work. He’s willing to practice twice as hard as anyone else, except that no one can out-work Oliver — a fact that Teddy finds he doesn’t mind in the least.

Maybe I'm Amazed [Albus Severus/Draco | Explicit] Albus Potter never set out to fall in love with Draco Malfoy. A small story telling how Albus and Draco came to be married. On their wedding night they dance, talk and make love.

Learning to Fly [Harry/Severus | Mature] Post-war, Severus is found not guilty, but due to the stigma in the Wizarding world, he decides to live life as a Muggle, leaving everything (but his wand) behind. Harry is overwhelmed, barely having any time to grieve, he keeps being recognised in the street and strangers ask too much of him. He finds solace in the Muggle world, finally exploring who he is without the threat of death, he finds himself in a Muggle kink club watching Severus Snape tying up a young man, and he wants.

Best Man [Harry/Scorpius | Mature] In the years since his divorce from Ginny, Harry Potter hasn't cared much for dating, let alone had feelings for anyone strong enough to pursue. Now that his son's wedding is on the horizon, the Best Man, Scorpius Malfoy, has been spending extra time getting input from the Father of the Groom. And Harry finds he doesn't mind Scorpius' constant company one bit.

The Ache For Love Was Palpable [Lily/Minerva | Mature] Lily once had a crush no one ever knew about. She thought it was just a schoolgirl pash on a favorite professor, but working for the Order throws her and McGonagall constantly together. Even though she's a married woman now, Lily's feelings for Minerva come back in a rush, even stronger than before. "I didn't know then what I wanted, but the ache for it was palpable." - Sue Monk Kidd, The Mermaid Chair

Fields of Strawberries [Harry/Remus | Explicit] As much as Remus has done for Harry over the years, this is the least he could do. Little did Harry know what he would discover about himself when he volunteered to marry Remus so he could keep custody of his infant son Teddy.

Writing Harry [Harry/Severus | Explicit] After the war, Harry Potter begins writing letters to Severus.

#scarry #snarry #dralbus #drames #cross gen #hpcrossgenfest #hp femslash #hp crossgenfest #harry potter cross gen #hp cross gen #mod post #2020 fest #anon masterlist

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: King-Size Annual Avengers #11: In Honor’s Name!

August, 1982

“Why do the AVENGERS battle the Defenders?”

I dunno, man. Is it Tuesday again?

“And who is the mystery woman Nebulon has fallen for?”

Nebulona? She’s clearly just him but a woman.

Oh, hey Beast. So this is where you got to after quitting the Avengers.

Soooo.... Annuals, amirite? Pain in my butt. I actually forgot to cover this one and #12 is going to be somewhat plot relevant soon so I’ll shove this in wherever.

Its a blast from the past of the previous year.  Back when the Avengers were fantastic but only numbered four: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Wasp.

And the Defenders seem to number many so this isn’t a very fair fight at all.

This issue starts with a PRELUDE

(J. M. DeMatteis again? Is this going to be weird?)

Nebulon the Celestial Man and damn fine dresser fades onto a hilltop shaking his fist and yelling that someone can’t do something to him.

Nebulon is mostly a Defenders villain and the major thing I know about him is that he’s supposedly exceptionally handsome but the handsomeness is a ruse and that the Squadron Sinister stopped helping him destroy the world once because they discovered he wasn’t as handsome as he was letting on.

Goes to show where their priorities lie. Also, the experience was so jarring that the evil Nighthawk decided to join the Defenders much to their chagrin.

So basically I know nothing about Nebulon. Hi, Nebulon.

An angry yelly fish head with the Rocky Horror Picture Show lips inside its fish lips shows up (I think this is what Nebulon realy looks like) and tells Nebulon that his punishment for constantly dicking with Earth is to be stranded on Earth with his powers reduced to half and stuck in his handsome-to-some-but-grotesque-to-fish body.

Okay. That clears things up.

Although I wish all of space would stop using Earth as their place to dump stuff or exile people. Its bad enough when Asgard does it. Its worse enough when there’s a whole crossover about all of space deciding to make Earth its supermax jail. And its a medium amount enough here.

But apparently the shouty fish people have a Prime Directive and Nebulon keeps breaking it, specifically on Earth. But a Prime Directive that also lets them dump troublemakers on planets where they’ve been troublemaking.

Nebulon tries to defend himself that, hey, Earth makes you do crazy stuff. But the yell fish is hearing nothing of it and just tells Nebulon to kill himself if he doesn’t want to be on Earth so bad.

... Eesh.

In his rage at being stranded on Earth, Nebulon teleports inside the Sanctum Sanctorum and starts yelling at Wong.

Wong tells him, dude, Dr Strange isn’t even here. So Nebulon starts beating up Wong.

How dare you, sir. Wong is a great guy!

Nebulon: “Then Wong shall die -- just as your master shall soon die -- and his accursed Defenders with him! They shall all pay for bringing this tragedy down on my head! For, if they had not risen up to thwart me. If they -- if they... Listen to me. Listen to the words of -- a fool! Forgive me, Wong! Neither you, Strange, nor the Defenders are responsible! The blame belongs solely to -- NEBULON!”

And then he teleports away, no doubt leaving Wong very confused.

CHAPTER 1: IN HONOR’S NAME!

Later, Thor flies over the Himalaya mountains and over the chapter title.

He has come for some peace and quiet sitting on a mountain away from the bustle of mortals but what does he find but someone already in his thinking spot!

Thor lands to see who would be sitting on a mountain with no pants on and its Nebulon, of course.

But I have to say. He’s sitting and hugging his knees. That’s advanced brood. That’s, in fact, verging on pout.

Although lets not let the fact that Thor flies out to the Himalayas to be alone sometimes slip on by uncommented.

Thor asks what brings the guy out here and Nebulon has a dramatic exile speech ready to go.

Nebulon: “For hours now I have sat, lost in thought, pondering that very question! What is it that brings any creature to the depths of despair, the edge of doom, but... himself?”

And since he senses a kindred spirit in Thor, one who is as different from the Earthly masses as Nebulon is, he unloads his full story onto Thor’s ears.

Upon hearing all about this dude who tried to take over or sell the world multiple times, Thor is like ‘this guy has got to meet the Avengers!’

Nebulon thinks Avengers sounds like Defenders and he’s not into that but Thor says that the Avengers are way cooler than the Defenders.

(Ooooh, shots fired, Thor)

Thor: “No, my friend -- there are none in all creation to compare with the Avengers! A hardier band of warriors hath ne’er been assembled! Where else could a god walk among mortals and find -- his equals?”

If Nebulon has truly repented of his past deeds, the Avengers will help him make a home on Earth.

And with a manly armclasp, like the one from Predator, Nebulon accepts and Thor takes him AWAY!

While the person who looks like Nebulon but a woman and with better boots watches them go and disappears in a bright flash of light.

CHAPTER 2

Yes, already.

“Avengers Mansion... Over the years, many fantastic beings have walked through the doors of this august Manhattan townhouse: Gods, mutants, androids... even a were-woman. But, of all these unique individuals, few -- if any -- have been more honored, more respected... More willing to serve the cause of freedom, wherever the place, whenever the time.. than the living legend whose only powers are his wits, his daring, and his years of hard-won skill... Captain America!”

And we see Cap leaping and gamboling about the exercise room, exercising.

Cap: “Ah -- there’s nothing like a good workout to make a man feel truly alive! It might pay to run through it once more, though --- my timing was a hair off on the parallel bars!”

Wasp comes in to... well, its Wasp. She comes to eye the eye candy and flirt a little, in a friendly fashion.

Wasp: “I see you’re here early for our meeting -- as usual! Don’t you ever slow down?”

Cap: “I seem to remember catching a few winks back in 1942 or so!”

Wasp: “Why, Cap -- that was two jokes in a row! I didn’t think you had it in you!”

Cap: “Oh, come on, Jan -- I’m not really that serious a guy, am I?”

Wasp: “I was just kidding, handsome.”

Cap: “Oh.”

Heh.

So, Thor called a super special emergency meeting of the Avengers to introduce his cool new friend.

Iron Man (secretly Tony Stark, true believers) is a little tense about the meeting because he had to cancel three business conferences, an address to foreign stockholders, and two dates.

Geez, for one meeting? You ever consider your calendar is way too packed, Tony?

Thor arrives with his cool, new pal and introduces the Avengers to NEBULON -- THE CELESTIAL MAN!

And Iron Man lunges out of his chair to get into better pointing distance.

Thor: “What irks thee, comrade? Why art thou so angered?”

Iron Man: “What irks me, Thor? He does! Haven’t you ever bothered to study our computer-file on alien threats? Your ‘newfound ally’ almost totalled the Earth -- several times!”

Nebulon: “Don’t you see, Thor? They react as I predicted they would!”

Also, geez. I know Tony is frustrated about all the schedule juggling he’s had to do but in this and the Black Knight two-parter he’s a lot ruder to Thor than you’d expect considering how close they are.

Some writers just don’t get the Avengers, I guess.

Cap and Wasp try to get Iron Man to calm down.

Wasp: “I’m sure there’s a darn good reason why Thor brought Nebulon here -- isn’t there?”

She’s downright staring daggers at him when she asks that.

We’ve jumped back in time a little from where I was covering but Jan is still the chairperson of the Avengers. It happened right when she returned from her divorce related hiatus and this four person group has to take place post-Tigra leaving and pre-membership drive.

So, she’s the boss and she just gave angry boss eyes at Thor. And Thor did his default squinting always-looks-pissed look back at her.

Thor tells Nebulon’s whole sad story off-panel.

And damn if it doesn’t hit the Avengers right where they live.

Wasp tells him that they all know what it means to lose something precious “whether it’s an entire world... or the love of one person -- it makes no difference! It hurts to suddenly find yourself -- alone!”

And Captain America sympathizes because when he was defrosted after twenty years, it was like a strange new world!

They’re both on team ‘give Nebulon a chance!’

Iron Man is more reluctant but decides to give Nebulon one chance.

Then the Defenders bust in.

Beast, Valkyrie, Silver Surfer, and Gargoyle who is not Etrigan at all.

And they’re here to kick Nebulon’s ass. Which is entirely fair considering that they’ve been the ones who keep having to stop Nebulon’s planschemes.

Since the Avengers seem to not be beating up Nebulon, obviously they’ve all been mind controlled. Nebulon is clearly planning to blow up half the Earth and use the Avengers to control the rest.

Cap: ‘what’

Silver Surfer: ‘HE’S MAKING A HOSTILE MOVE!’

And then Silver Surfer blasts the floor, sending all of the Avengers sprawling every which way.

MEANWHILE, IN SPACE

There’s a huge spaceship, in space. And within the huge spaceship in space, the lady who looks like a lady Nebulon watches the fight on a screen and cries.

Hey, I get it. Doing the Avengers vs Defenders Again But Worse makes me sad too.

CHAPTER 3

See, that’s more of the length for a chapter. You could learn something from chapter 2, chapter 1.

Anyway, the clock winds back a little for the Defender’s side of the story.

Valkyrie returns to the Sanctum Sanctorum in a good mood and also on a flying horse.

For a long while, Valkyrie’s status quo is that she was inhabiting the body of Barbara Norris, a woman that Dr Strange accidentally drove insane. But she’s gotten her original Asgardian body back so she’s stronger than ever and also not bodyjacking someone else.

She flies into the window, alarming Gargoyle, Beast, and Wong.

Gargoyle tearfully flies up and hugs Valkyrie saying that he thought she was leaving for Asgard forever.

Hey, um, who dis?

-wiki- Ok so he’s an elderly man who was trapped in a gargoyle body by some demons who he broke an agreement with. Cool, cool, cool. I would have guessed much younger based on how he acts here.

Valkyrie also smooshes Beast’s hand when he gives her a handshake hello, because she’s much buffer than she was when she left. Also, she talks more like Thor.

Valkyrie: “I am, at long last, the true Valkyrie! What more need be said?”

Then the Lady Nebulon teleports in and introduces herself as Supernalia. She tells the Defenders that she’s here to save the world from the evil of NEBULON!

Beast doesn’t recognize the name but Valkyrie definitely does. What with all the existing history that I keep alluding to.

Supernalia: “Indeed! I am a bounty hunter from Nebulon’s homeworld come to bring him to justice! He has fled to your Earth, taking sanctuary among the so-called Avengers! Using celestial mind control, he has usurped their will, and -- after decimating part of your world with four pre-set anti-matter bombs -- he plans to use the Avengers to take control of the surviving population!”

Beast goes ‘uh cool story but i’mma verify this real quick by ringing them up’

But then he remembers he already did do that and they were very rude to him!

He remembers this interaction very clearly even though it didn’t happen at all.

Ironically, the Defenders are the ones who are being mind-controlled into accusing other people of being mind-controlled. Yes, I’m pretty sure that’s irony.

Wong suddenly remembers that Nebulon rushed in the previous night but he can’t remember how that interaction actually went.

AH HAH, decides Beast. Clearly proof that Nebulon mind-controlled Wong. Lets go half-cocked everyone.

No, no. Beast decides they’ll need more than just the three of them and wonders who they should call to bolster their numbers to a whole four Defenders. Dr Strange is busy chasing Daimon Hellstrom and Namor soooo...

Valkyrie suggests Silver Surfer because he kicks ass but they have no way to get in contact with him.

Supernalia goes hey allow me.

Supernalia: “Although my planet’s laws forbid direct involvement with alien cultures -- and thus my need of you Defenders -- I can help!”

And she baps Valkyrie in the forehead and instantly transmissions Silver Surfer right to the Sanctum to his existential annoyance.

Silver Surfer: What force has swept me halfway ‘round the world? Who toys with -- the Silver Surfer?”

Valkyrie explains off-panel because this is very much “let me explain! No, there is too much. Let me sum up” kind of day.

CHAPTER 4

We cut back to right after the Silver Surfer knocked everyone on their ass with a warning shot.

Thor: “Surfer -- art thou mad?! Thy ‘warning’ came close to slaying us all!”

Thor gets up to kick Norrin’s rad ass but Valkyrie grabs his arm. She tries to convince him to trust her that Nebulon is controlling the Avengers. She appeals to their shared history, their shared love.

Thor: “Brunnhilde -- thou art truly the one blinded... by thine own prejudice! Because, once, Nebulon stood as thine enemy -- thou takest him for that again!”

Valkyrie: “Thunderer -- once I loved thee -- but now I see -- that thou art -- A FOOL!”

Then she just up and tosses him.

It’s pretty great.

Thor just rights himself midtoss by helicoptering his hammer and tells Valkyrie that she’s the fool. And also that because she fucking threw him, now he knows that its her group that are under some kind of control.

Nebulon starts yelling too because he’s not going to sit by while other people fight his battle so he’s like ‘come on if you’re hard enough, dickfenders’ and Beast is like ‘ok.’

Wasp, team leader, thinks Thor is onto something re: the Defenders being against some kind of influence and asks Iron Man to create a distraction so the Avengers can skedaddle.

Iron Man has the perfect distraction and fires the UNIBEEEEAM. At his own roof, collapsing it on the Defenders.

Iron Man: “Wait till Tony gets the bill for this!”

... so depending on the time frame, either only Nebulon or both him and Wasp are the only ones who don’t know Iron Man is Tony so who are you putting on a show for, Tony?

Or maybe you’re just so used to grousing about the Avengers breaking your shit that you do it even when you do it.

Anyway, since Thor has a hunch that the Defenders are being controlled, he decides that the best thing is to teleport somewhere safe and make a plan.

So Nebulon teleports himself and the Avengers to the Himalayas where he and Thor first met.

The effort nearly kills Nebulon, since his powers have been curtailed by the yell fish. But now they have some space.

Wasp: “And don’t think we don’t appreciate it, Nebulon! But couldn’t you have zapped us to a more temperate climate -- like the Bahamas... or the French Riviera? It mean, it’s COLD here!”

Cap hopes that the Defenders won’t find them somewhere so remote and isolated but Thor, whose idea this was by the by, isn’t so sure because they don’t know who is pulling the strings.

Iron Man: “Good point! Are we dealing with one of our old foes -- one of the Defenders’ -- or perhaps someone out for Nebulon’s head! Let’s face it: we’ve got a wide field to choose from!”

Annnnnnd thennnnn, the Defenders just show up anyway so trying to get some breathing room was a waste of Nebulon’s efforts.

Beast: “Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Jan! You’re all my friends... more than that -- you’re family! So why won’t you believe me when I tell you that this nut’s gonna wipe the whole planet out in a matter of hours! Please -- hand him over or --.”

Nebulon: “Or... NOTHING!”

Then he shoots an energy blast at the Defenders.

Which sadly arcs to the ground with a SHOOOM! and does little more than splash some snow on the Defenders.

But awwww, Beast considers the Avengers family! Shame that once the X-Men pull him back into their orbit, he only hangs out with them and decides never to ask the Avengers for help, either when Professor X gets shot by Stryfe or when trying to solve the Legacy Virus.

I think that social group is a bad influence on Beast. He never broke time or pretended to be gay to dunk on his ex when he was an Avenger. He just got high, practiced polyamory, and yukked it up with his bffsie Wonder Man.

Anyway, Silver Surfer gets up and disses Nebulon for his sad laser blast.

Silver Surfer: “Like all who seek conquest, Nebulon -- you refuse to recognize truth! You alter reality to serve your own malefic ends! But the power you no wield, tyrant, is as nothing compared to that which you once had! You are weak -- as Supernalia said you would be!”

Nebulon is aghast to hear that Supernalia is the one behind all of this. And also aghast when Gargoyle shoots a bio-mystic bolt at him.

Apparently, Gargoyle can shoot bio-mystic bolts. Are there mystic bolts that are not bio? Shrug.

CHAPTER 5

Hey, some of these chapter divisions feel arbitrary. We go from the fight to the fight. At least some other chapter divisions had scene or temporal shifts.

Cap begs the Defenders to fight off Supernalia’s influence. Or the Avengers will fight off Supernalia’s influence for them. Probably via punches.

For whatever reason, this makes Valkyrie go stickycaps.

Valkyrie: “The hour of Earth’s doom draws ever closer -- and, to prevent that doom, we will do whate’er we must! wHaTeVeR wE mUsT!”

Mystifying.

Anyway, with both sides thinking the other side are dumb easily mind-controlled doodoo heads, they both get to the slugfest that neither side wants but thinks there’s no other way to reach the other side but by punching some sense into them.

This panel feels like a microcosm of a lot of Marvel events.

And as this goes on Nebulon just watches the fight with calculating eyes.

I’m sure that’s fine.

Thor and Valkyrie continue sparring verbally, as well as with punches. Valkyrie asks how Thor can let Midgard be destroyed when they both love it so much. And Thor is like ‘for the last time, there’s no danger except from your mysterious new golden pal’

Meanwhile, the Defender’s mysterious new golden pal Supernalia is monitoring the fight from her spaceship. And monitoring the Defenders’ brainwaves.

Thor is actually making Valkyrie doubt. And Supernalia can’t have that.

Supernalia: “I cannot afford to lose control of the Defenders now! For honor’s sake, their rage must grow! And more -- they must retain a psychological surety that cannot be breached! In Valkyrie’s case, the introduction of something... familiar -- something to increase her confidence -- would seem appropriate!”

So Supernalia teleports Valkyrie’s sweet flying horse Aragorn to just. Appear on the Himalayas. Between Valkyrie and Thor.

Valkyrie doesn’t know how her horse suddenly appeared but she’s not going to look a gift teleporting winged horse in the mouth. She jumps on his back and takes to the air.

Thor gets pissed and hammerflings himself after her.

While Thor is chasing Valkyrie around the sky, Iron Man squares up with Silver Surfer.

Silver Surfer tells Iron Man that “you see to halt one who has outraced comets! Soared faster than light itself!” and basically that he rules, Iron Man sucks. And then to prove it, he blasts Iron Man with the power cosmic.

Just that one attack nearly tore Iron Man apart and he’s pretty sure that Silver Surfer was holding back. Oof, that’s some power gap.

BUT MAYBE just maybe if Iron Man puts all of his might into one staggering punch...

It’ll do jack shit to the Surfer.

Well, damn.

Gargoyle fights Wasp but says its not proper for a man to fight a lady. Wasp points out ‘hey you’re fighting me anyway so maybe someone is making you do it.’

Gargoyle: ‘.... NUH UH’

Cool. Good talk.

Supernalia: “This Gargoyle is too... soft! His mind accepts -- but his heart rebels! These beings are not like us! Their minds are filled with too many questions! Their souls overflow with conflicting emotions!”

I can’t believe humans (and Asgardians) have too many feelings and emotions to be easily controlled.

Well, I can believe. It really checks out.

So Supernalia increases the celestial mindwaves to shore up her control, even if it means burning out the Defenders.

Rude.

Thor blasts Valkyrie off of Aragorn with lightning and then catches her, saying he won’t let her fall. So, reasonably enough, Valkyrie elbows him in the face for treating her like a damsel.

They both fall toward the ground. Aragorn catches Valkyrie and Thor catches... a cosmic bolt from Silver Surfer.

You had one job, Iron Man.

And that job was to sneak up on Silver Surfer while he’s self-flagellating for doing a shameful opportunistic attack on Thor.

Iron Man uses those... hip... power pod... things. To zap Silver Surfer’s temples and siphon off some of his power.

And with that power, Iron Man tips a chunk of the mountain on top of Silver Surfer.

This doesn’t keep the Surfer down for long. Despite the fact that trying to contain the incredible surfing energies he absorbed threatens to damage his armor, Iron Man absorbs more when Silver Surfer blasts him, to try to turn the energy back at the Surfer.

Instead, they both explode.

Double KO.

Elsewhere in the fight, Gargoyle blasts Wasp with his bio-mystic bolts, knocking her into the snow.

Gargoyle panics because his bio-mystic bolts are supposed to drain off a fraction of a person’s life-force, not up and kill them.

So Gargoyle shouldn’t have been surprised when Wasp pops back up and zaps him in the chin. And Wasp shouldn’t have been surprised when Gargoyle zaps her back.

She passes out. But so does Gargoyle, to his confusion. His hide should be tough enough to take a truckload of punishment, yet he suddenly feels so weak.

I mean. Wasp is strong enough to blow up a house with her own zaps. But this is probably intended to be Supernalia’s mind control burning him out.

I choose to believe that its Wasp’s cool house-blowing-up might. She’s kicked bigger ass than Gargoyle.

Wasp’s defeat scream momentarily distracts Cap from where he’s fisticuffsing with Beast.

Beast: “Holy cow! I hope she’s not badly hurt!”

Cap: “You hope she’s not -- ?! You can still say that after all you’ve done today? After all the pain this Supernalia has driven the Defenders to cause?”

Beast: “We’ve caused? You’re the ones harboring the lunatic with the anti-matter bombs --.”

There’s no guilt-tripping some people.

Cap throws his mighty shield but Beast must not have heard the song because he not only doesn’t yield, he also catches the shield with his feets.

Then he sleds on it down a snowy incline and tackles Cap.

Beast: “It’s time we quit all this clowning around!”

Cap: “That’s right, Hank! This is serious business -- so hit me! Hit me, blast you! HIT ME!”

Beast: “Hey! wHaT tHe HeCk Am I dOiNg?”

Cap: “Coming to your senses, I hope!”

Beast realizes that Cap dropped his guard and let Beast beat the shit out of him on purpose, let Beast almost kill him.

Cap: “You’re no killer, Hank! And no force, however great, could make you kill! I counted on that fact to snap you out of it!”

Wow, good going, Cap!

Out of everyone here, you’re the only one who successfully snapped anyone out of anything. Although I think Wasp coulda if she had played possum and let Gargoyle think he killed her instead of popping up to zap him.

But Cap has insight into Hank. That probably helped.

Me and Jan know jack about Gargolye.

CHAPTER 6

With exactly two people conscious but not fighting anymore, Nebulon is like ‘hah eat shit Supernalia’

So Supernalia appears.

Beast feels like he’s about to keel over even though he beat the shit out of Cap and Cap feels weaker too. They blame Supernalia because its very easy to blame someone whose fault everything is.

But Supernalia blames Nebulon.

Nebulon slams a drama bomb in response.

Nebulon: “Do not seek to reclaim the upper hand with more lies, Supernalia! Such sophistry is unbecoming in... my wife!”

I heard that in Borat voice and I hate myself a little.

But now that Supernalia’s relation to Nebulon has been established, Nebulon is like ‘but why are you trying to ruin my exile?’

Supernalia: “You were convicted of high crimes, my husband -- and the sentence was a choice of honorable death by your own hand... or ignominious exile! In 500 generations, none of our people have ever chosen exile! All have proudly faced extinction! But you, lacking courage, brought shame upon your wife and children!”

HE HAS KIDS??

Anyway, she came to Earth to just. Kinda. Kill him. To restore honor to their family.

But when she got there, she found that he had already made friends and decided well I need some pawns of my own. So I can kill him.

Nebulon isn’t really impressed because in his one day as an exile, he’s had some epiphanies.

Nebulon: “Unlike you, I have traveled far across this universe! I have learned to see in new ways! Our concepts of honor are archaic! Our laws are cruel! I now dare to dream higher dreams, for I have learned what it means to have -- friends!”

Supernalia: “I have been your friend... and much more! Since our childhood betrothal have I stood by you -- despite your constant avoidance of responsibilities! Despite your failure to achieve glory or rank!”

Oof, imagine if your childhood friend and spouse told you that being exiled on Earth taught him what friendship really means.

I have to imagine that Cap and Beast are just listening to this like ‘god why do cosmic people always have to dump their relationship baggage on Earth?’

Supernalia then tries to tell Beast and Cap that Actually Nebulon is up to no good.

Beast is like yeah nice try.

But this time Supernalia has actual proof evidence.

She dispels the invisibility cloak hiding the Ennui Device that Nebulon left on a prior trip to Earth and is now using to drain energy from the Avengers and Defenders to beef himself up.

Now, Cap and Beast turn to Nebulon like ‘but buddy, why?’ and also to punch him a little bit, in a friendly manner.

Nebulon: “I did what I had to -- to survive! Believe me -- I truly wanted the friendship you offered -- but observing the unfolding battle, I realized I could never find peace on this or any world -- without the POWER!”

And this rude boy who doesn’t understand what friendship means punches both Cap and Beast.

Beast sprawls right at Supernalia’s feet completely burned out and goes hey feel like stepping in??

Supernalia: “I can do nothing directly, Beast. I am not permitted to interfere!”

Beast: “You... stupid... self-deluding... idiots! Don’t you understand that all this has happened... because you already have... interfered?!?!”

Supernalia: “So           I              have!”

And since now she’s done the big bad transgress of the Prime Directive, she decides that unlike her shitbird husband, she’s going to do the honorable thing and kill herself.

I. Have no words. At this entire exchange.

Its too much.

Nebulon is distraught so slaps the gun out of her hand and begs her to instead of killing herself, not do that. She could stay on Earth and rule at his side!

This latest bout of cosmic interpersonal drama gives Cap the opportunity to muster his strength and throw his mighty shield.

It deflects the ray emitter of the Ennui Device so it hits Nebulon instead of the Avengerdefenders.

Except, oops, the Ennui Beam was calibrated for “humanoid physio-psycho energies” so instead of draining his energy, the Ennui Beam just straight up starts killing Nebulon.

Amazing how you can stretch vocabulary to encompass humans, Asgardians, mutants, power cosmic imbued Zenn-Lavians, and whatever demonic biz is going on with the Gargoyle.

It sure is amazing how it affects all these different things as intended but its accidentally fatal in a way that will help wrap up the story.

Beast wet noodle jumps to try to redirect the beam and save Nebulon but Supernalia shoves him out of the way and then jumps into the beam herself.

Supernalia: “Thus, I join my husband -- in oblivion!”

Geez, when she sets her mind to killing herself, she sticks with it

.__.

Nebulon agrees that Actually This is the Right and Correct Course for them, I guess because couple counseling is a hassle.

Then the Ennui Device overloads and explodes and Nebulon and Supernalia turn to their true forms of giant weird fish people with Rocky Horror Picture Show lips inside fish lips.

Beast laments that Supernalia didn’t just let him save both of them but she’s like ‘HONORRR’ and then dies.

Thor: “I called Nebulon friend and he decieved me! Yet now -- Thor mourns his passing!”

Silver Surfer: “What manner of beings were they, to cherish honor so much... and value life so little?”

Cap: “Perhaps, Surfer -- not so different from us. Not so different -- at all!”

Okay, shut up your face, Cap.

First off, I don’t think much of an honor code that says its okay to mind control and lie to people and use them as pawns in a way that could kill them but then also goes ‘this is an honorable death’ when you stupid yourself to death.

And neither should you! Don’t put a poetic, poignant spin on things! This whole affair was a weird couples spat that two space weirdos forced you to participate in!

Follow @essential-avengers​ because I went back and covered an inconsequential annual and now I can’t go back and not do that. I wasted my time for you. Also, like and reblog. I need positive reinforcement. It makes me happy.

#Avengers #Defenders #Nebulon #Supernalia #Thor #Iron Man #Captain America #the Wasp #Beast #Valkyrie #Silver Surfer #Gargoyle #whoever that is #essential marvel liveblogging #essential avengers #this is like when a couple tries to get you to choose sides in a very public fight they're having #its unnecessary and uncomfortable and awkward for everyone

[starwarsfic]

I.37

Originally posted August 30, 2020

Summary: Kenobi has always been the best of the Jedi generals, Alpha-17 finds out why.

Details: Alpha-17 & Obi-Wan. Hurt/comfort.

xxxxxx

Alpha-17 didn't think much of the Jedi, for all they'd been made for them. He'd had too much instruction directly from Jango Fett to think they'd be worthy of the army they were getting.

It was why he was pleasantly surprised when General Kenobi ended up...not being completely worthless. He'd understood war like it was an instinct for him, slotting into the army like a perfectly sized space had been planned the whole time.

That gave Alpha-17 hope...up until he started working with the other Jedi. Skywalker was one thing, he was a cadet and Kenobi coddled him on top of that. But the other Generals, the ones who were older than Kenobi, who had higher ranks than him in their Order, were something else.

Whenever he had to work with one of them, there were betting pools among the Vod'e of how long they'd last. It wasn't as if Alpha-17 was killing them himself, he just didn't feel the need to point out their mistakes to them. As long as it wasn't getting any of his family killed, he'd let them throw themselves into whatever fucked up situation they'd completely misunderstood.

Even though he was never to blame, eventually he just started being assigned to Kenobi all the time. It was what he wanted and it was what Kenobi deserved, an ARC Trooper at his side who would push him away from his useless Jedi morality and help him become even better than he was.

The curiosity over why Kenobi was so much better was natural, even the rest of the Vod'e whispered theories in their bunks at night. Some thought he might have come from some warrior race (when they found out he was fluent in Mando'a, some even wondered if he'd been Mandalorian all along, stolen or lost). Others thought there might be some secret sect of warrior Jedi among the Order, but Kenobi was the only one bold enough to reveal himself so early.

Alpha-17 was no coward, but it still took him months to finally ask.

From the look Kenobi gave him, he almost wished he hadn't.

"When I was a Padawan, my Master and I were tasked with rescuing another Jedi who was being held hostage on a wartorn planet," Kenobi finally stated, long after Alpha-17 thought he might just ignore him. "A local insurgent group who was trying to stop the fighting assisted us and when we had our charge and were ready to go...I couldn't. I couldn't leave them there, seeing how they were being slaughtered by the armies. So I stayed."

Kenobi gave a wry smile, a look Alpha-17 had grown to know well. "In those days, Jedi didn't fight in wars. We were peacekeepers, negotiators, not soldiers. I had to leave the Order to fight. I spent months there, living underground, traveling through the sewers, fighting. Eventually, we won." His face spasmed, some emotional too strong for his usual calm trying to break through that mask, before settling. "For a certain measure of 'winning.' I ended up back in the Order, though I was ostracized for much of the rest of the year."

"'In those days'?" Alpha-17 repeated, raising his eyebrows--Kenobi was in his mid-thirties but was talking about the whole situation like it had happened a long time ago.

He took a deep breath, shrugging off his next words like they wouldn't be a punch to Alpha-17's gut. "I was thirteen, at the time."

Thirteen. Natborn thirteen. A Vod'e would be six. Alpha-17 would expect them to be able to fight, to defend themselves and their home, but even he wouldn't deploy them to an active warzone without backup.

"Don't look at me like that, I was a Padawan, I'd grown up in the Temple and knew how to fight. Most of the others were younger than me."

"The Jedi just left you there?"

He'd heard the stories from Jango, about just how awful the Jedi were, but his impression so far was that they were inept, not...not this. It put a whole new perspective on the Padawan Pack, on how desperate Kenobi seemed to keep those kids together with some semblance of supervision. Who knew what the Order would have done with them, what they would have gotten thrown into alone, if he hadn't.

"I had left the Order."

"You were thirteen, I know how young that is in the Republic." He'd had to study all sorts of Republic laws during his training, had chafed at many of them compared to what he'd learned of Mandalore. "Fuck. Fuck."

He got up, hands clenching and unclenching into fists at his side as things fell in place in his head. Kenobi's Master had abandoned him in the worst way, no wonder he was so tender and forgiving of Skywalker. And whatever had happened to get the Jedi to take him back must have done a lot to keep him from questioning--from even looking like he was questioning--their Council.

"Alpha, there's no need to get worked up." Kenobi telegraphed his movement as he placed a hand on Alpha-17's arm, clearly knowing better than to take him by surprise even though they'd never had a single interaction to warn him about it. "This all happened long ago. Some of the people involved aren't even alive anymore. And I believe you've been praising the results, as much as you can."

And wasn't that a slap in the face? Knowing everything he'd liked about Kenobi, all the reasons he found himself unexpectedly wanting to be around a Jedi, came from something like that. It made Alpha-17 feel dirty, thinking about it.

"That shit making you a better general doesn't excuse it, Kenobi," he growled. "There's a middle ground between being kriffing useless at war and being good at it because you were a child soldier."

Kenobi tried to dismiss his words with a gesture and Alpha-17--Alpha-17 wouldn't stand for it. He caught Kenobi's wrists, holding them as gently as he could without letting him easily break away. Sometimes, watching him fight, he forgot how fragile Kenobi was, but at the moment he couldn't help but notice. He might be a touch taller, but Kenobi was more slender in build and thinner still from an emphasis on lean muscle and a willingness to skip rations for the soldiers.

He must have been a tiny thing, as a child. Even moreso after a few months of war.

"I know it's too late for us to do anything about it. But after this war is over? You need to do a lot of hard thinking about just how much the Jedi are willing to use you, sending a former child soldier to the front like this."

His face collapsed. "Alpha...you're all child soldiers."

"It's not the same thing and you know that. We weren't just created for this, we were raised for it. And we're fully mature when we get out here, our brains and bodies all the way developed. And we're not alone." Even as an ARC Trooper, trained for solo missions, Alpha-17 was always with someone out here, normally Kenobi.

He'd have to make sure Kenobi was never sent out solo. And more than that, that he wasn't ever sent out without a Vod, because the way the Padawans were being flung around the war, he doubted the Jedi knew the first thing about battlefield trauma. The Vod'e did, were trained in how to deal with it. Thinking about it now, Alpha-17 could see the little hints behind the Jedi facade where Kenobi's had shown through already.

To think he'd given the Jedi the benefit of the doubt on something and they'd turned out to be even worse than he'd thought they could be.

"It was my choice."

Alpha-17 grimaced. He knew how Kenobi (and Skywalker) felt about the Vod'e and they weren't exactly wrong. But he wasn't about to let that be used to excuse what happened, either.

"You were thirteen, you shouldn't have been given that choice. You should have been dragged back to Coruscant and talked down." When Kenobi opened his mouth to protest, Alpha-17 played an unfair card of his own, "Would you have left Skywalker there? In the same situation?"

The stricken look was all the vindication Alpha-17 needed. Kenobi didn't have to say anything, because they both knew he could barely stand to part with his nineteen year old Padawan when they were both on the same planet with all the resources of the Republic war machine at their fingertips.

Kenobi's shoulders slumped, his arms going lax. With a gentle pull on his arms, Alpha-17 brought him into a firm hug. He wished he wasn't in armor, that they were somewhere safe to do this, but he doubted they'd have many opportunities like that during the war.

This was a secret he'd been entrusted with, but not one he could keep. He'd tell the other Alphas, fold this into their plans. Maybe tell it to the rest of the Vod'e that he knew could be trusted with it, destroy their worldview, their hero worship of the Jedi, a little more, and keep them alive just a little bit longer.

#character: alpha 17 #character: obi wan kenobi #theme: melida daan #ship: alpha 17 & obi wan #theme: hurt comfort