#those 2 asleep? grand show

[skadren]

sephesis week day 2. hero / worship: "beloved by the goddess."

-

Getting into ShinRa is both easier and harder than Genesis expects.

Easier, because no one bats an eye at two teenage boys from the middle of nowhere asking to sign up to fight in ShinRa's war. Harder, because there are more barriers to joining Sephiroth's division, SOLDIER, than Genesis had expected. And yet still easier, because both he and Angeal pass the assessments with flying colors, with nary a whisper of the hardships that the older recruits pass among each other like horror stories, and they find their way into the prestigious program as newly-minted SOLDIERs Third Class with ease.

At the time, Genesis dismisses it as fortuity, as fate. The Goddess's guiding hand, showing him that his grand dreams are truly meant to be.

(At the time, Genesis is terribly, awfully, fatally naive.)

All the other SOLDIERs talk about Sephiroth in hushed tones: some admiring, some jealous, all full of awe. It seems that the young war hero had proven himself so soundly to be everything the papers spoke of that not even the older, more hardened fighters resent his position of authority—not anymore, that is. Genesis has pieced enough together that he wonders just how rough of a time Sephiroth had, those first few years before he was a name in the papers, and all it does is firm his resolve even further.

The days pass like old film through a reel, spotted and blurred. Each morning, he and Angeal wake in their small rented apartment at the crack of dawn, crowding into the train for the ride up to ShinRa Tower. The training program, too, passes in a haze; all Genesis wants is to finally be deemed battle-ready. To finally be deployed out to Wutai, where his dream and his hope and his fate lie.

Then, one day, things are different. Genesis can't quite put his finger on it, at first—just that the atmosphere has changed. Shifted. It's only later, during a break in training, that he learns from another recruit that his intuition must have been sent by the Goddess as well: Sephiroth is here.

Sephiroth is here, quietly returned from a deployment to Wutai, and for better or worse, there are unsubstantiated rumors that he's to attend the next assessment of their unit of new SOLDIERs. Genesis's imagination runs wild with the scenario—impressing Sephiroth with his sword skills, his eloquence, his magic. Impressing him enough that Sephiroth personally requests Genesis join him on his next mission. All fanciful, of course, given Sephiroth likely isn't to be impressed with amateur combat skills no matter how polished, and yet—

He's fantasized about his first meeting with Sephiroth before, of course, but this is suddenly far more immediate. Too much so, to the point where Genesis finds himself staying after hours in one of the training rooms to work off some stress—and maybe, maybe practice some sword forms he isn't quite confident with yet, on the off chance the rumors are actually true. Which they most likely won't, because how ridiculous would it be for Sephiroth to waste his time on such trivial things?

Genesis doesn't mean to lose track of time. He'd already told Angeal to go home ahead of him; by the time he lets himself out of his reserved room, the fluorescent lights in the hallways have already dimmed.

SOLDIERs aren't allowed to be here so late, supposedly to give staff time to maintain the cutting-edge and rather complicated VR technology. Genesis chews his lower lip, silently lamenting over the lecture he'll earn from both his squadron leader and Angeal if he gets caught, but then—

A flicker of shadow dims the light around the corner of the hallway as it ducks, covert. Not someone who's allowed to be here either, then, and he demands, "Who's there?"

A pause. Another flicker as the shadow shifts. Then footsteps sound, even and confident, and—

Sephiroth.

For a moment, Genesis thinks he must have gone straight home and fallen asleep instead, and this is just another of his wild fantasies. But he wouldn't fantasize about this— meeting his hero all mussed and sweaty and stinking from his training throughout the day, especially when he blurts out, "You're not supposed to be here."

Because this isn't how it was supposed to go at all, and Genesis is already lamenting a thousand lost chances as Sephiroth—Sephiroth!— looks momentarily taken aback, his fine silver eyebrows rising.

But then the corners of his mouth lift, and he laughs—faintly, but undeniably laughter. His voice is smooth and mellow as he points out mildly, "You're not supposed to be here either."

Genesis thinks he might be in love. No, he knows he is, because he's been in love ever since the very first photo, but the real thing is leagues better.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't," he promises, and when Sephiroth laughs again, Genesis thinks that perhaps his mouth has saved him, just this once. "Were you going to train? I suppose the curfew doesn't apply to you…"

Something flickers across Sephiroth's expression. "No. I was…. No."

As much as Angeal berates him for being insensitive, even Genesis can tell that Sephiroth doesn't want to talk about it. But that's easy enough to remedy; Genesis has always been good at talking. It's just others who tend to not want to hear him.

"Ah, you're quite considerate of the maintenance crew, aren't you? Where are you headed, by the way? You can claim you're escorting an unrepentant rulebreaker to be disciplined—yours truly, of course. I imagine there wouldn't be many people who would stop you, so it's entirely for my own benefit, to be honest."

When Sephiroth looks not unlike a startled young deer, Genesis decides to start walking toward the elevators, rather gratified when the other teen falls into step beside him only after a moment's hesitation. When they get on, Sephiroth pushes the button that will take them down to the lobby.

"You're rather familiar with the tower," Genesis notes. "Do you return here often from Wutai? What's your business here this time? There are quite a few rumors afoot that you'll be watching the new SOLDIERs do their assessments."

"I… won't be attending the assessment, no," Sephiroth says, words measured. Everything he says or does seems rather measured, in fact; Genesis adores it. "However, the results will determine who will be sent to Wutai during ShinRa's next deployment."

"You've heard all the gossip!" Genesis is so delighted he doesn't even mind that he's been far too obvious about fishing for information.

"I have." Sephiroth gifts him with a smile, small and secretive. "You'll be there, correct? Then I wish you good luck."

He nods farewell, a slight incline of his head, and it's only then that Genesis realizes they've reached the front entrance. But before he can respond, Sephiroth turns and walks back in the direction they'd come, gait just as strong and steady as before.

I wish you good luck, Sephiroth had said. A blessing of goodwill.

Genesis stands there long after Sephiroth is gone.

-

previous day | next day

#sephesis week 2024

[ohthatstragic]

Ghostin' - p.m

a/n: ok so i was having a shitty, moody day and wanted to try out 1986 maverick cos i reeeeeally wanted to write goose, he seems so fun to write with and i just love him. i might split this into two parts if people like it, just let me know :)

also pls don’t repost or translate any of my work.. i don’t give you permission to do that.

p.s i sort of obviously sped through the break up part cos ew and i just wanted to get to the good bit...

pairings: maverick x reader, platonic!goose x reader, brief iceman x reader

wc:  3,900 to 4,000

warnings: break up, argument, mention of cheating, alcohol, flirting with the iceman

summary: it's 1986, and you have a boyfriend of four months who you love, but you're really in love with the infamous maverick. this causes you to cry yourself to sleep for the past month, the guilt eating you alive. maybe you bump into a certain pair of pilots?...

read part 2 here!

if you couldn't tell this was heavily inspired by:

ghostin by ariana grande

The soft sniffles and cries that escaped your lips woke your partner up, his groans a sign of him stirring awake. You fisted the blankets that covered the two of you, desperately trying to wipe away any signs that you had been crying yet again during the night.

"Y/N/N?" He groggily asked, throwing a hand on his barely-awake face to rub the sleep out of his eyes. You sighed quietly, a feeling of embarrassment and guilt quickly enveloping your curled up body.

"Hm?" You hummed, hoping he'd assume you were half-asleep and just leave you be.

"Are you okay?" Dominic asked. He shuffled about in his current position but he didn't dare turn over to look at you, fearing that he would see what he had seen for the past month. You, crying your eyes out over a guy who didn't seem reciprocate your feelings. You never asked Pete whether he did feel the same way - but you doubted it, considering his playboy-like personality. 

It pained Dominic to know his girlfriend, who he loved deeply, was crying over another guy she had been - or was - in love with. However, it wasn't just any guy - it was her first love. And Dominic couldn't stand the thought of that. Despite his intense hate running deep for Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, his fervent love for his girlfriend overrode it and it gave him the motivation to power through this shit-show.

"Yes, why?" You quietly asked, trying to silence your whimpers as the pair of you lay back to back.

Dominic was silent for a moment, thinking. "I thought I heard you crying." He mumbled. You felt more tears prickle your eyes. The guilt was too much.

"No, I'm okay," You replied. "Go to sleep, Dom, I love you." It pained you to say those last three words. You felt hopeless. Embarrassed. Ashamed and sorry. You did love Dominic, but not as much as you loved Pete. It was gut-wrenching.

"Love you too." He muttered with a soft sigh, nuzzling his head into his pillow. Your glossy, tear-stained eyes gazed around the darkened room, landing on the window. Streams of the moonlight poured in through the lace curtains, casting a pretty doily-like shadows over the bottom half of the bed. You looked back up to your bedside table and landed on the digital alarm clock, showing twelve o'clock in big red blocks.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to rid any thought of the aviator in my head, desperately wanting to sleep.

****

It was a week or so later and you and your boyfriend were sat at the dining table on an early Saturday morning, attempting to eat breakfast as the pair of you ignored the significantly tense atmosphere surrounding you. "You okay?" You asked, your Y/E/C eyes flicking down to Dominic's limp hand which was idly swirling his cereal around in a bowl. His eyes remained on the table, and you could tell he was deep in thought about something.

"Yeah," He mumbled, looking up at you. Dominic flashed you a quick smile before rushing to stand up from the table the two of you were both sharing, shoving his cereal on the side. Your brows swiftly knitted together at the unusual action and you stared at him. He stared back, his hands coming to land on the counter behind him and he leant against it with his backside. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I have to tell you something, Y/N." He said, sheepishly looking up at you.

Your heart dropped at his serious, low tone. "What.. what is it?" You asked quietly, eyes still trained on him.

"I-I've been.. err.. seeing someone else." He muttered and your heart shattered. You swallowed, blinking rapidly, trying to comprehend what your boyfriend of four months had just said. "It's Sarah." He said again, not meeting your eyes. You couldn't speak, you just stared at your plate of half-eaten toast in front of you, your hands sitting as still as a rock. Tears began to well up in your eyes again.

You inhaled a sharp breath before you spoke, trying to swallow the sobs that threatened to escape. "My.. my best friend.. Sarah? That Sarah?" You asked, voice breaking at the end. Dominic's head shot up and he had an embarrassed look upon his face.

"Look, we haven't had sex in a long time, and I- you know how I am, I need a release, my work is too-" Dominic tried to reason with you, stumbling over his words like a new-born deer. You couldn't believe what was coming out his traitorous mouth. As his eyes found you, struggling to hold back tears, his face hardened and his brows furrowed, his mouth frowning. "Why does it even fuckin' matter, Y/N?! You're still in love with that fuckin' hotshot, Pete! All those nights you cried over him!" He yelled this time, and your heart hurt at the mention of his name. Dom spat out his name like it was some piece of shit.

"You know what, I'm sorry, Dom. I was wrong to rush into a relationship with you. I thought I was over him." You mumbled, tears flowing freely down your face now. 'This was my fault, I shouldn't have just used Dom as a distraction to my true feelings.' You thought to yourself, staring motionless at the ground. You loved your boyfriend, but it wasn't the same, pure love as you still had for Pete. "I'll do you a favour." You stated quietly, rushing to stand up from your seat, throwing the plate of toast beside the sink. "I should have just dealt with the pain, I shouldn't have made you feel like this." Dominic sighed at your swift movement, his head dropping as he felt the guilt of yelling at you start to engulf his body. He shook his head at me as he moved towards you.

"Y/N/N, I'm sorry," He begged, swiftly moving to catch your arm, his fingers tightening around it. "Don't go, please." Dom said, his dry eyes catching your tear-filled ones.

"Let go of me, Dominic." You muttered, trying to hold back your forthcoming sobs. He didn't budge, so you ripped your arm from him, walking to the front door as you grabbed my keys from the hook on the wall. "You won't hear from me or see me again." You said, throwing him an emotionless look. He looked hurt at the lack of feelings you had towards his dirty deed, thus making him scoff, the pained look on his face twisting into a face of anger. To you, this was your way out.

"You know what, this is your fault." Dominic chuckled dryly, his head lolling back as he folded his arms. "You were the one that pushed me to do this, you were the one crying over someone who didn't love you back, you were the one that made me do this!" He yelled, beginning to point his finger at you angrily, his face turning red with fury. You gasped at his words, lips quivering as you felt a wave of fear wash over you. You'd never seen Dom like this before and it frightened you a lot.

"What the hell else do you want from me?!" You screamed back, your hands clutching your chest. Tears fell down your cheeks again and you couldn't control your sobs. "I know I treated you horribly." You cried, in disbelief at the fact that he really said those things. "I'm sorry..." You quietly sobbed, turning away from him. "Goodbye, Dominic." You muttered, opening and slamming the front door behind you and running to your car.

****

"Y/N/N?" You heard a familiar voice sound from behind your sulking self and you quickly turned around to find the culprit. Through your teary eyes, you could make out a strawberry blonde set of hair and a moustache. Only one person you knew could rock that. Nick. Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw. Of course you bump into him after months. "I haven't seen you in-" Nick quickly stopped himself, noticing your tear stained cheeks. "What's wrong, angel?" He asked, the nickname making your lips perk up at the corners, showing a smile. You shook your head at him, averting your gaze to the ground.

"Nothing." You choked out, looking back up at him. A kind smile broke out on your face as you stared at him, the memories of him, Pete and you flooding back into your mind. Nick frowned at you, placing a comforting hand round your shoulders. He squeezed you, making you laugh through your cries.

"You know you can tell me anything, sweetie." He smiled down at you and you nodded, trying to breathe properly.

"Well, Dom cheated on me," You sighed, feeling Nick's grip tighten on your shoulders. His smile fell. "I was so heart-broken over Pete, I lost any interest in anything else. I guess I tried to drown myself in that relationship to get over him." You admitted, feeling the guilt coming back to swallow you up.

"Don't tell me you're blaming yourself for this?" Nick's voice lowered as he came to sit in front of you, placing a supportive hand on your knee. You couldn't meet his gaze. "Sweetie, this is not your fault. He could have left before doing such a scumbag thing." He said sternly, a finger coming to push your chin up so he could look into your wet eyes. "Dominic is a scumbag. And for the record, I never liked him. Neither did-" Before Nick could finish his sentence, another familiar voice perked up.

"Who didn't ya like, Goose?" A warm and familiar voice cut through the soft moment between Nick and you, making your heart stop. "Y/N/N?!" Pete gasped, his eyes lighting up as he saw you. His arms wrapped around you and picked me up from the chair. You swallowed back your sobs as he squeezed you. It felt like home in his arms, and you couldn't believe he was right here. "I haven't seen you in so long." He grinned, but it soon fell from his face once he saw your tear-stained cheeks. "Oh, angel, what's wrong?" His hands flew to your flushed cheeks, the pads of his thumbs wiping away your tears. Your heart skipped a beat at the nickname and you had to strangle another sob from escaping.

"It's Dominic." Nick simply said, making Pete glance at him. His eyes hardened as his RIO said the name he hated with his whole being. He could kill the guy, Pete never believed he deserved you. He believed that you deserved someone who called you beautiful every time you walked past them, each time you woke up and went to sleep. The guy was a complete manipulative asshole. "He cheated on Y/N." Nick said again, his eyes carefully watching his best friend. Maverick's whole body froze as he felt the rush of adrenaline spike through his body, anger bubbling beneath his skin.

"He what?" Pete spat, and you shut your eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Pete, it was my fault. It's nothing, don't worry about it." You mumbled as he looked at you, his eyes softening as he watched tears bubble against your waterline again.

"Sweetheart, I don't think it's nothing if it's making you upset," He sighed, feeling his heart break at the sight of you crying. "Do you want me and Goose to go teach 'im a lesson?" Pete asked, letting his hands fall to your sulking shoulders. You shook my head at his question and he frowned.

"No, he knows who you are and he could have you dishonourably discharged from the Navy," You protested, placing a hand upon Pete's one which was sat on your shoulder. Your body betrayed you and shivered at his touch. "Please, don't do anything. He'll get what's coming to him." You sighed, blinking away the remaining tears in your eyes. Maverick so desperately wanted to go and beat the shit out of Dominic for doing such a horrible thing to you, but his better half stopped him from doing so. It wasn't a good idea and you were right.

"Alright," Pete sighed, closing his mouth momentarily. "As long as you're happy, angel." He smiled at you, making your heart flutter. Nick glanced at the two of you and a smile of his own slipped on his lips, taking a sip of his drink. The RIO knew there was something between you two, but he didn't want to intervene unless he really had to. Carole would want him to.

"Thanks, Pete." You chuckled, laying your head on the side of his hand.

****

"I feel so out of place," You laughed, as Nick, Pete and yourself walked into the ballroom in linked arms. You stood in the middle, wearing a knee-length, strappy navy dress. The neckline was a cowl, and the skirt was flowy and crimped, with a matching navy string to define my waistline. You paired it with some strappy metallic gold heels and a simple black purse. "Maybe I should've gone to a party shop and hired a Navy officer dress." Nick laughed beside you, throwing you an amused glance. Pete only smirked, keeping his eyes trained on the room.

"And what would you say to the other Navy officers when they approached you, angel?" Pete asked as we reached the bar, sitting down on a free barstool.

"Um, I would just repeat your stories." You shrugged, smiling. Pete's eyes narrowed at you and he smiled, shaking his head as if you had just said something so incredulous. Your cheeks burned at his smile.

"Sweetheart, everyone knows our stories," He sighed, leaning against the bar with his arm. Your knees went weak at the pet name, and you thanked your lucky stars that you were sat down when he called you that. "You know why?" You wrinkled your nose and shook your head trying to shake off the feelings - and also in reply - staring at the pilot. He chuckled and his lips perked up into a smirk. Another heart flutter. "Because we're the only ones crazy enough to be able to retell them." Pete laughed and Nick joined him, his eyes crinkling. You couldn't hide the big grin that spread across your face.

"Even the one where you crash and burn after singing that god-forsaken song to a poor woman?" You teased, laughing. Nick joined you this time, his eyes falling to his co-pilot. Pete's eyes rolled as he stared at you and a joyful smile spread across his cheeks. You felt your heart begin to race as you stared back at him, a blush flowering across your cheeks. "I wonder if that'll happen tonight." You joked quietly, turning around to face the bar and Pete scoffed at your words.

"Hey," He said, poking his head around your shoulder to meet your gaze. Your eyes darted to his in shock. "For the record, that scene has a seventy percent success rate!" Pete stated, cocking his brow and folding his arms.

"Eh, more like fifty." Nick replied, trying to hide the shit-eating grin beneath his moustache. You snorted, and waved over the bartender. A lady dressed in a smart white shirt, black vest and a black bow tie wandered over and she smiled at me.

"Whatever, it's still a good move." Pete sighed and shrugged his shoulders, his eyes sliding across the room we were all stood in. His little tantrum made you giggle to yourself and your chest felt warm as your mind was flooded with thoughts about him.

"Can I get two beers and a whiskey and coke on the rocks with lime, please?" You asked politely, holding out your credit card. You flicked your eyes down to her name card, reading Nina.

"Any certain beer?" Nina asked, glancing between the backs of Nick and Pete's head. You leaned in and laughed quietly.

"Any run of the mill will do." You winked and giggled, in which Nina did too. "Thank you, Nina." A kind smile graced your lips as you turned back around to face Nick and Pete, although you were met with nobody. Your eyes glanced around the room, looking for a brunette and strawberry blonde duo, soon finding them stood with a blonde woman. It felt like your heart sunk a little at the sight. "Ugh, typical." You sulked and rolled your eyes, turning back around to face Nina who sent you an apologetic look.

"Here you go, and I'm sorry about your friends. Men never change." She smiled, and you laughed softly at her words, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, they sure bloody don't." You groaned, grabbing the two beer bottles and your glass of whiskey and coke. 'Time to sit by myself, I suppose.' You thought to yourself, holding in a loud sigh that threatened to escape your lips. "Thanks again, Nina. See you later hopefully." You threw on a fake grin and shrugged, wandering off to an empty table. The grin fell from your face as soon as you turned around. "Bloody men." You mumbled to yourself, the drinks thudding down on the table as you dropped them in a huff. You took a sip of your drink and ran a hand through your hair.

"Rough night?" A gruff voice said beside you, making you jump. You looked up to find another Navy officer dressed in his white service dress. He had blonde streaks in his hair, and a pair of black aviators rested on the bridge of his nose as he flashed you a stunning smile. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump." He said, offering you a kind smile.

"It's alright," You smiled back at him, almost sheepishly. You wonder if Pete and Nick knew him. "Pilot?" You asked, nodding at his smart attire. He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. The man looked to be handsome, even with his aviators hiding part of his face.

"Yep," The man smiled again, making your heart skip a beat. "You?" His fingers came up to his face, removing his sunglasses and revealing a stunning pair of green eyes. You almost lost your cool and let your mouth hang open.

"Oh, no," You shut your eyes, quickly shutting your mouth and shook your head, smiling a lopsided smile. "I just got dragged here by some friends. They thought I needed a night out." You said, looking up at the pilot.

"I'm Tom by the way, callsign Iceman." He held out his hand for you to shake and you accepted it graciously with a bright grin. "Who are your friends by the way? Maybe I know them?" Tom cocked a brow at you, his eyes quickly glancing at your dress, making your cheeks burn. He noticed and smiled again.

"I'm Y/N, and my friends are Pete and Nick- well, you probably know them as Maverick and Goose." You laughed, and shot Tom a bashful smile, looking away from him as you took another sip of your drink.

"Oh yeah," He chuckled, his eyes softening at you. "I know those two nutcases." He joked, his eyes crinkling at the sides as he laughed gently, his chest bouncing. "So, how does a beautiful woman such as you become friends with a couple of guys like Goose and Maverick?" Tom asked, taking a sip of his beer, looking into your eyes with a curious smile.

You couldn't hold back the coy smile on your face. "Oh, thank you," You blushed. "But I was neighbours with Goose back when we were younger. Him and Maverick a little older than me." Tom's face had a look of realisation on it as he looked at you, his lips picking up into another shining smile.

"No, that definitely explains it." He chuckled, placing a gentle hand on your forearm. A weird feeling settled in your chest, and you tried to ignore it, despite it being rather pleasant. Tom removed his hand, not wanting to make you too uncomfortable. Before Tom could ask another question, an arm was slung around your shoulders. Turning to the side, you checked who's arm it was in question.

"Ice," Pete greeted his shipmate, although it didn't sound friendly. Almost hostile in a way. You frowned to yourself, watching Tom and Pete share a glare between each other. "You look well." Pete followed up on his greeting. Nick stood awkwardly to the left of him. Pete turned to you briefly. "You okay, angel?" He asked and you swiftly nodded in response. What was his problem with Tom?

"I'm fine." You replied with a short sigh, a little miffed that he interrupted your pleasant conversation with Tom. Pete's brows knitted together at your answer and you shrugged his arm from your shoulders gently. "How did it go with that blonde woman?" You asked, feigning interest, deep down wishing the woman was you.

"Crashed and burned, didn't you buddy?" Nick finally piped up, shooting his best friend a cheeky smile. Pete only returned a weak smile, his chest bubbling with irritation at the fact that his rival, Iceman, was talking to you.

"Nothing new then, hey Maverick?" Tom joked, patting his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. He chuckled and looked at you, a smile slipping onto his lips. "It was an honour to meet you, Y/N. See you around, maybe." Tom smiled and began to walk off, but not before sending Pete a taunting smile.

A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you glanced between Pete and Nick. "What the hell was that all about?" You asked impatiently.

"Ice and Mav have this rivalry going on." Nick shrugged, eyeing the beer on the table. You rolled your eyes and nodded, saying he could take it. "Thanks." He mumbled awkwardly, watching you closely. Pete stayed silent.

"Did you have to ruin my conversation with Tom, Pete?" You clenched your jaw as you looked at him, trying to decipher what the hell was running through his head. "Just because you crash and burn doesn't mean you have to take me down with you, Pete." You stated, and Pete finally looked up at you.

"Ice is bad news, Y/N/N." He simply shrugged. You groaned at his brief reply. "He's not good for you." He said again, fuelling a raging fire inside you.

"Sorry? How do you know what's good and what's bad for me?" You seethed. Who did he think he was? "I don't interfere with your love life, so why should you interfere with mine?" Your eyes narrowed and you sighed in exasperation. "Just because you have some silly rivalry going on between you, doesn't give you the right to stop me from getting to know him." You said again, watching Pete just stare at the floor. Instantly, you regretted your tone. "Pete." You softly said, your heart wrenching at the sound of his name rolling off my tongue. He was someone you could never have, and the slight realisation killed you inside.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Pete mumbled, his jaw clenching. Nick looked at his best friend and sighed softly to himself, knowing the true reason why he had come over and interrupted. "I'm just gonna head home. Sorry for ruining your night, Y/N/N."

"No, Pete, don't go." You sighed, trying to grab his arm but he shrugged you off - just like you did with his arm. Your eyes remained on his smart, white outfit as he stormed out of the ballroom. You felt your heart sink knowing you might have hurt Pete. You were about to run after him but the sound of Nick's authoritative voice pulled you out of your insane daydream.

"Let him go, Y/N/N." Nick said gently, placing a hand on your forearm. You looked up at him, frowning as tears pooled in your eyes. "He'll be fine."

"Nick-"

"Trust me."

part 2

my masterlist

how to request something

#top gun #top gun maverick #maverick x reader #top gun imagine #top gun maverick imagine #top gun one shot #goose x reader #goose x you #maverick x you #maverick x y/n #pete mitchell x you #pete mitchell x reader #pete mitchell x y/n #young pete mitchell #iceman x reader #iceman x you #iceman x y/n #rooster x you #rooster x reader #goose x y/n

[erasermist]

One Piece Live Action Season 1 Stream of Consciousness (Spoilers):

This will be a suuuuper long post and will literally be a random string of thoughts and will probably make no sense as a lot will be without context. Maybe just random lines that I enjoy and random gifs that just showcase the random points I like but enjoy

Episode 1

I love this. I love that they didn’t make it the exact same. And having watched the anime, it just makes the subtle hints amazing and when they mention something that wasn’t brought up till later *chefs kiss*. Like they showed Zoro being recruited by Baroque Works when they didn’t even mention that till they were in the grand line I think.

And all of the small hints to the characters like when you saw Cabaji in the scene before he was actually introduced. That’s one of my favorite types of foreshadowing.

Luffy supporting Koby’s dream will always be awesome. And Luffy comforting Koby after see the bad marines is so kind of him. I love him.

The casting is perfect. Luffy. Zoro. Nami.

Nami is me. Everything goes wrong “This is fine.”

OH MY GOD!! Buggy!!

Episode 2

Buggy is just a great performer!

This is gonna get repetitive I know, but they are all such amazing actors and actresses!!

“Cut you down to size.” 😂😂

SHANKS!!!

Episode 3

“Stupid clown” Zoro’s hate of Buggy is hilarious

Already the crew (“not a crew”) are supporting Luffy’s whims haha

“Fans have gotten so toxic” I love this characterization of Buggy

I’m liking how this is a little darker than the anime was. And I love how they are introducing bounty characters. It’s so cool!

Zoro gets thrown in the well 😂😂 And Koby popping up at the end like that was very cool. Love the music they play throughout everything. It’s really making the show better

Episode 4

Zoro is my favorite. He already was in the anime, but it’s definitely true for the live action as well 🥰

MURDER MANSION!!!

Zoro’s lack of direction sense has finally been shown!

The grandpa revel being much earlier in this version 😂😂😂

Episode 5

“You just call that guy grandpa?” Oh Zoro, just wait for it 😭😭 and then his “talk” with Luffy after the fight.

Luffy sniffing his way to the good!!

Omg! This Sanji has so much class and the immediate jokes the rest pull on Nami after he leaves 😂 I feel bad for those who haven’t watched the anime. They are gonna think Sanji is this slick cool character (and he is) but they are gonna realize he isn’t that… smooth. But look at him… I forgive him and support all his decisions

Mihawk is just so bored. “You woke me from my nap”

Koby is playing a much bigger part than I thought he was gonna. And standing up to Garp like that.

Mihawk “though I do like your hat” 😍 I love this man!

Episode 6

Luffy just wants Zoro to get better 😌

Poor baby Sanji screaming for the ship

And again with the foreshadowing with the story of Mont Blanc Noland

They really have changed the way this goes. Arming came to them and Don Krieg died by Mihawk earlier. Not too mad about it though. I think it flows better with the way they made the show. Like I said it’s a little darker and I’m liking it. It’s different but a good different.

Also yum! lookie! Very respectfully of course but still

And there Zoro is being a great first mate vowing to stand by Luffy’s side!!! Done differently but still so beautiful! Tears!!!

Zoro: “Why are we bringing the waiter?” Usopp: “Cause we can’t boil water” 😂😂 Zoro so much happened while you were asleep

Luffy just pulls out Buggy’s head for a bag!!

Episode 7

The chains in Nani’s map room… this is gonna be sad

Nami is trying so hard to mean all the mean things. I’m gonna cry just like when I watch the anime. I just know it.

Zoro’s constant side eye of Sanji is awesome and very in character

Oh lovely. I somehow didn’t realize I would have to watch all the sad things in another format. It didn’t really connect that

And Zoro being first mate again. That’s always gonna be my favorite thing. Even when it’s for sad moments

Nami’s screams… that was so real and heart wrenching and that “help me” scene was so on point. The one scene that was practically the same and it was the one that causes tears 🥲

Episode 8

The blood and chains and pain little Nami had to go through

“Finally I get to cut something” Zoro is so done with emotions 😂 he just wants to do what he does best

So I’ve thought this from the first time I watched Arlong, but why would he think a revolution started from the “weakest” sea have any traction. I get “plot” reasons, but still….

“Round Two, Arlong.” Yes Luffy! Go!

Buggy! That was so funny! I love this Buggy!!

And Zoro’s immediate response “Fucking clown” 😂😂😂😂 I love this so much y’all

Go Usopp!!! “No one’s around to see it. It’s okay. They’ll believe me” loved it the first time I saw it, love it now too.

Sanji gets kicked backwards and Zoro just casually walks out of the way and around him. I’m so glad they are still the same Zoro and Sanji as ever 😭

Sanji says that all the best fighters call out their finishing moves and Zoro immediately gets flashbacks to Luffy saying the exact same thing!!

The Garp and Luffy confrontation!!!

“Be a good Marine.” “Be a good Pirate.” Love them.

The barrel scene!!! Yes!!!

And the sneak peak at Smoker!!

I absolutely loved this!!! I need a full adaptation of the entire show and I need them to keep the same cast for them all!!

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece netflix #iñaki godoy #mackenyu #emily rudd #jacob romero gibson #taz skylar #jeff ward #steven john ward #peter gadiot #morgan davies #aidan scott #vincent regan #one piece live action spoilers #spoilers

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls- Season 2, Episode 22 (Last Episode of the Season). "I Can't Get Started" Part 1

This episode may just be the ultimate game of memory roulette, because I remember nothing. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Zippo. except these two things:

I am told this episode involves a Lorelai-Crusty hookup and I have no recollection of that whatsoever. The mind has a way of bleaching itself sometimes. Can't wait to be retraumatized! The episode begins with Sookie playing wedding music choices for her coworkers and everyone falls asleep listening to the depressing songs she picked. Leave my girl Sookie and her emo music alone. She lives in Stars Hollow, of course she can relate to songs about pain, depression and misery.

Emily the Strange, seen on Rory's cast.

My conflicting emotions as I think about how Season 3 brings Jess to the forefront (that's good) but he rarely knows a moment's peace (that's bad) and in the blink of an eye we lose him to the California Wormhole (that's bad) but it also temporarily sidelines Dean (that's good) but it brings Crusty back (that's bad) but there's the debut of Dave Rygalski (that's good) but in the blink of an eye we also lose Dave Rygalski to the California Wormhole (that's bad) then we meet Alex who is cool and also hot (that's good) but then he disappears forever (wormhole?) and Max briefly returns from the California Wormhole (meh?) When Michel complains about the drudgery of wedding preparations, Lorelai reminds him she's in Sookie's wedding party so he has to oversee the entire wedding by himself, which is something he's never done before. Excuse me? Why don't you hire some more staff Lorelai, you fucking cheapskate. (We also learn later on that Sookie's catering her own wedding. WHAT? I know Sookie is a perfectionist when it comes to food but that's fucking bonkers). Rory offers to brainstorm with Lane to come up with wedding songs for Sookie and she agrees to let them do it because letting teenagers pick the music for the most important day of your life is a smart idea. This is where I realized I have no idea what kind of music Rory is actually into except that she has expressed she doesn't like the pop music/boybands of the day, which is fine. I just hope Rory wasn't one of those super annoying kids in school who were always coming up to me saying things like "You know, the Backstreet Boys don't play their own instruments." I was well aware. Anyway, Lane was definitely one of those types, as we see it happen on the show frequently, but as for Rory, that one is maybe up for debate.

Sookie asks Lorelai if she wants to invite Emily and Richard to the wedding. Uhh, may I ask why? Just 5 episodes ago, Emily was meddling in the wedding planning and blew up Sookie's budget and Lorelai had to intervene so she wouldn't go bankrupt. That's about the extent of any significant interaction between the Gilmore Grands and Sookie. After that mess, why would Sookie want her there? Sookie's all "Ah, that ol "almost bankrupted me" thing. She was so thoughtful to help me with the planning! Even though it was nothing more than a passive aggressive scheme to stick it to you for never getting married. She made me realize I love the color pink!" And then she giggles away the deep seated pain that anyone so relentlessly cheerful and forgiving has to be holding deep inside. Something historic just happened: I watched the Intro, instead of skipping it, which is something I haven't done in years. Let it be known I have nothing against the intro nor the song, and they're very nice and heartwarming, but I'm just not an intro girl. But I've been pretty down in the dumps and the theme song is like a warm cup of cocoa. It might behoove me to watch the opening credits once in a while so I know when to expect Dean, Crusty and other creatures from the deep.

More fine work from the Gilmore Girls fake food designer. Looks delish. She's still wearing that fucking quarter on a string, god damn. Rory is pestering Butthead to trade his pancakes for her fruit and egg platter.

You know, sometimes I start writing a joke, then realize it was funny, but it didn't make any sense and I have to scrap it, which makes me sad. Sometimes I don't even notice it after I've already posted and have to do a quick deletion (it just happened with LGD, in fact). Today, you're in for a treat because I'm going to give you one of my bloopers. Rory is incessantly asking Dean for his opinion on the pancakes. I decided she had poisoned them and she was monitoring his reactions, like when his breathing would start to become labored, or if he started to foam at the mouth, or if he would say something like that "huh, these pancakes taste kinda metallic." and then he would keel over. But then I remember they are at Luke's and she didn't cook the pancakes. But she could have sprinkled some rat poison on top of it when he had his back turned. I'm 100% convinced Lindsay had tried unsuccessfully to poison his meatloaf.

Oh no, they traded breakfasts. Eat AROUND the poison sprinkles, Rory. Rory and Buttzilla are observing someone who is repeatedly walking back and forth in front of the diner without coming in. *Sniffs the air* I smell unhealthy boundaries. It must be Lorelai.

I actually forgot that Luke and Lorelai were still "fighting". In fact, I just realized there was no Luke whatsoever in the previous episode. Okay, okay! I plum forgot about Luke completely! Anyway, can we please resolve this nonsense before season 3? How is Lorelai hooking up with Crusty going to end this stalemate?

Ya'll, she really blurted out "Dean don't leave me", not "Don't leave me, guys" or "Rory don't leave me." I CAN’T! I'm dying! Poor Rory, shows where she really ranks on the list of her mother's priorities. Anyways, sucks to suck Lorelai, good luck with solving this fucking mess completely of your own making.

lolbye

That's a wild under-exaggeration for how you acted after that car crash. Just wild.

There is no quicker way to get Lorelai’s goat than to act Pleasant Neutral towards her and not entertain her quirkiness! it is aggravating her to no end that Luke isn’t entertaining her stupid doughnut jokes! Hahahahaha! He isn’t groveling at her feet over her half baked fake bullshit apologies either. Sucks to suck Lore! Luke being so indifferent to Lorelai's bullshit is glorious, no one has ever deserved it more.

Meanwhile, Paris is running for student council president. Her campaign promises include mandatory recycling, clearly gendered bathrooms and gluten free options in the cafeteria (hey, as long as Rory can still order her favorite Chilton lunch, The Prison Special, two slices of white bread with nothing in the middle). After Madeline and Louise poll 150 students in the span of about 1 minute, the results are in: While the People think she would make a competent politican, nobody actually likes her. So she strong arms a very reluctant Rory into becoming her running mate. Paris feels Rory's nice girl image will soften her own. She puts the fear of God into Rory that she will end up going to Connecticut State instead of Harvard if she doesn't take this opportunity to pad her college resume with school politics. I mean, she's not wrong. Rory is still pitifully lacking in extra cirricular activities. Until they showed Rory writing in the audience, I had completely forgotten she was already on the school newspaper because it hasn't been mentioned in ages. And now I just remembered that horrid school newspaper storyline in s3 is approaching. The one with the redheaded mean girl, Francie. Ugh! S3 is going to be such a rollercoaster. Wait, isn't Connecticut State where Dean was considering going to school? Heheh.

Out of context Gilmore Girls.

Hmmm.

You know who else AmyShermanPalladino said this about?

AmyShermanPalladino wrote Paris to adore Rory as much she adores Milo, I'm just saying. Rory is getting her cast off.

Emily Strange again...

SECURITY!!!! No, but what kind of medical office is this where anyone can just barge in to a child’s appointment and be like "it's okay I'm the Dad" and the Dr is like “sure I believe you have a seat”. Not like Crusty is ever around that the doctor would recognize him. He drove down all the way from Boston to watch Rory have her cast cut off but can't be present for anything important? Alright. Anything to get into Lore’s pants I guess.

Yeah. Love is in the air at their child’s medical appointment.

Their nauseating attraction clouded their minds enough that they both resisted the urge to get in one last jab about Jess being the cause of Rory's injury. Miraculous.

Hur hur hur! You're so funny! Drink drain cleaner.

Honestly? They deserve each other. R: “If I become vice president, I'll have to spend my summer at some junior leadership program in Washington."

Oh, you would HATE That.

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 2 #season 2 finish line #thank fuck #rory gilmore #crusty #buttzilla #paris geller #geller + gilmore #PariMore #luke danes #I Cant Get Started #Denise Rewatches Gilmore Girls

[chiquititaosita]

monster trio reacting to you playing chicano hip hop, and lowrider jams part 1

post type: headcanon

reader: latina reader

summary: you show them new music and they’re reactions are unpredictable.

ft: monster trio luffy,zoro, and sanji

bear note: the second songs that I link are for part two’s future post 🤭

Luffy

‣ totally interested into the music

‣ “I LIKE THAT PART!! OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!” he loves the talk box 😭❤️

-dances like a fucking idiot with you, and makes you dance with him.

-he’ll be screaming these specific lyrics

-“you stood out from the group across the room! I had to keep my attention on you!!!!”

‣ he’s definitely a fan! Of nb ridaz. For sure will go to any concert if they’re performing at any island the straw hats land.

‣ “eres la princesa qUe Me VUELE lOCOOOOOO!!!!!!” HES even got chopper, usopp and sanji on this song 🤦🏽‍♀️

‣ the minute y’all play this song after a while, luffy will scream on the top of this lungs to every song that’s on. it’s adorable 😭❤️

-“HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU BABY!? THAT YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!! A GOOD CRAZY!” he was just singing random lyrics from this group. Since the group had made new songs. He follows MC Magic (the guy who does the talk box) and loves this one song which I’ll link here

‣ you do not understand, you’ve showed him a new world to Chicano music and lowrider jams…. he didn’t even know that was, until then he’ll stick to it.

‣ His mixtapes are full of 90s rap and hip hop and some cumbias

Zoro

‣ he’s just like….what?

‣ “ I hate it.” he lied he loved

‣ he snickered at the part where chino grande says “baby gorl don’t cry 🫦”

-he wanted to do that for Halloween the makeup so y’all did that.

-hums the tune when sharpening his swords.

‣ “why are you playing it again?” You ask him?

‣”you like the song don’t you?”

‣”yeah-“

‣”then don’t complain.” He pouted because he secretly loves it

‣ “is youuuu.. and I wouldn’t trade it…” he’ll bop his head to the song, and tap his feet to it..

bear note- since tiktok ate this song I’ll give you part two.

Sanji

‣ “how do you know that song?” He was shocked and his heart was fluttering

‣ he’ll ask you because his mom would always sing a certain song to him when he was little. He told you it would always have him sound asleep, or leave a smile on his face.

‣“I’ve always heard this song playing when I was little. It stuck with me.” you sigh in nostalgia and happiness where you had those moments at the flea markets with your family eating elotes, tacos and street food.

‣“dance with me.” you’ll grab his hand and hug on his sleeve.

‣”as you wish my darling, just let me start it over again.” He puffed out his cigarette placing it on his ashtray. Starting the track over on the speaker.

‣ “remember when I told you about my mother singing me a certain song if I ever felt sad, or frustrated?” he gazed at you eagerly. You nodded in response and smiled at the fact you knew what he was going to say

‣”is this the song?”

‣”yeah…..” he explained how it was a comfort to him after him opening up to you about his family. you never felt so bad for such a man who has such a loving presence and a very big heart.

‣”ill try my best to sing it for you as often as I can.” He’ll whisper into your ear before kissing your temple, and tell you how lucky he is to have you.

‣ after a few days ago by when y’all land to a new island, the song plays again from a live band. You smile at him “may I have this dance amor?”

‣ he giggled and took your hand “yes yes you may.” He’ll kiss the tip of your nose, and sing in your ear. The way this man sings is heavenly 🥰

‣ “my angel baby is what I am going to call you from now on..” he’ll mumble as a blush appears on his face.

‣ it’s now your theme song. because he sings it or hums it all the time when he’s with you.

‣ so now anything with angels, or anything that says angel baby he buys it for you 😭❤️

‣any song with oldies he’s in love for real 🥰

#Spotify #one piece imagines #sanji x latina reader #sanji x fem reader #zoro x reader #luffy x reader #one piece x reader #roronoa zoro #pirate hunter zoro #sanji fluff #sanji x y/n #one piece x black!reader

[inbabylontheywept]

A Strange Non-Fiction Essay on American Alcohol Consumption

TW: Drinking, alcohol, alcoholism.

I made this because I grew up Mormon, so I had no idea what normal drinking looked like. First party I went to, some people had two drinks, one guy had 8 and fell asleep, and I just... I didn't know how to judge the normalacy of the two groups. I didn't know what to think. So I looked into it, and truth was stranger than fiction.

If you're young and new to drinking, this can help you see the camps in American drinking too. Figure out where the safe limits are, and what's just different approaches to fun.

So, first fun fact: 30% of adult Americans don't drink. Ever. Period. There is a huge dry presence. If you don't want to drink, don't feel weird about it. The Mormons are weirder for refusing to drink coffee than they are for refusing to drink alcohol.

The next 30% up over the zero-consumption-group averages something like one drink every two weeks at most. They're basically dry as well. Another huge population. If you want to go to a party and have one drink, you're in good company.

The seventh decile of Americans drinks something like 2 drinks a week. If you have a beer on Friday when you get home, and grab another with your boys, you're in the top 60% of American drinkers. You're also totally safe, so don't sweat it, but I want you to use this as part of your thermometer for safe and normal drinking: 2 drinks a week is in the top half. Two beer guy at the party is fine. Don't get pressured into drinking more. Don't get pressured into drinking less. You're not abnormal.

The eighth decile is 6 beers a week. If you have a beer every single day, minus Sunday because it's sacred, congratulations, you're in the top 70 percent of American drinkers.

Hank Hill drinks more than 70% of America. If you drink as much as Hank Hill, you're in good company. If you decide to drink less than him, that's fine too. Hank Hill is abnormal, but he is not unhealthy. He's just a guy who like beers more than most.

The ninth decile has around 15 drinks a week. The high end of safe, for anyone, is around 14 drinks a week. 15 is basically at the point that guarantees some slight degree of permanent liver damage. Don't panic if you're at this level, but going beneath it would be wise. Like, noticeably beneath it. The recommended levels are 14 for men, and 7 for women, and that just seems weird to me. I don't think my gender gives me twice the resistance to alcohol that women do, I think that's some weird social malarkey. Maybe 10 is good? Unless you're tiny or something. Just, be careful, this is the here-be-dragons part of the map.

And for the grand finale, the tenth decile consumes...75 drinks a week. There's not much to be said on this, it's just a mind boggling number.

So the two strangest details I can point out are that every decile drinks more than every decile beneath them combined, and the tenth decile drinks three-quarters of all alcohol sold by mass. Alcohol consumption is not any kind of linear curve, it is extremely weighted. If you're trying to find out what normal drinking looks like, you will be disappointed. It's much easier to figure out what problem drinking looks like, and stay the hell away.

First big bullet point that I'll throw into this for people just entering drinking culture: You're probably fine. If you drink too much and you get sloppy, or even blackout, your mistake was probably in not knowing your limits, not being an addict. Don't panic. Don't keep doing that, but also, don't panic. That being said, with only 40% of America really regularly consuming alcohol regularly, and half of those having a relationship with it that impacts their health, please, be careful. That top ten percent provides a baseline for how severe alcoholism is (ten beers would put me on my ass) but this also shows how health-impacting drinking does not have to be relationship-impacting drinking. Two beers a day is probably not going to ruin your career and your marriage, but it will sneak up on your liver. You don't have to be an alcoholic to be worried about how much you drink, and you shouldn't tell everyone that is drinking too much that they're an alcoholic. Source: Paying the Tab, Phillip J Cook. Really, almost all of the information in this can be pulled from this graph.

And my citations for health recommendations for drinking: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20%22Dietary%20Guidelines,in%20a%20day%20for%20women%2C

#mini essay #alcohol #america #american drinking culture #exmormormon

[misty-zzz]

Chapter 8

😨

     “Long story buddy,” said Dragong. “But here’s the short story; I was too dangerous and put into this weird curse to be asleep for a long period of time, now I’m stuck here. Any questions, no? Okay good.” He explains. “We already know your life story, you’ve said it too many times, Dragong.” Auglur didn’t want to hear this story again. “I want to hear it!” Said Fiddlement. Auglur groans. “If you insist,” sighs Dragong. Tootoo sits down, to listen to his story. “A long time ago, who knows how long. I was a simple Dragong, back then ethereals had magic. One day I decided to fly off of the island, for fun, y’know.” Dragong starts explaining. “When I came back, apparently the mythicals came by. They want to be the most powerful monsters in the world, and restrict their magic. The ethereals were scared of me, with my magic, I never used it for bad, I did have some of the highest types of magic, but never for bad. But anyways, they were scared. Without their own magic, they had to get the mythicals to come back, and put that stupid curse on me. It drained away most of my magic, and put me asleep. Well now I’m here.” Finishes Dragong. Dragong didn’t seem bothered by telling the story. 

     “That’s sure is an interesting story.” Tootoo says, processing. “There’s got to be a connection between this curse that they put on you and the titans.” She thinks out loud. 

     “Titans?” Dragong looks down at Tootoo. “What are you talking about?”

     “The titans? The magical islands.”

     Dragong thinks for a moment, “Magical islands? What did I miss…” he looks at Auglur, she shrugs.

     Dragong moves around the room. “Maybe if I show them who I am now, they’ll trust me…” he mutters. He looks above him, knowing he doesn’t have a way out. Anger grows on his face, remembering what they did to him. He quickly takes it away, trying not to explode on them. He sighs, such mixed emotions.

     “What do you want?” Wubbox asks him. “A way out and to find those mythical creatures.” Scoffs Dragong. “We can find a way.”

     “I’ve tried, it’s too small for me, and below the slime, it’s rock solid.” 

     “Don’t you still have magic?” 

     “It’s not strong enough for anything useful.” 

     “Still got some magic!”

     Dragong suspiciously looks at Wubbox, unsure what this plan is. “We can train back your magic! I don’t have a touch of magic in me, but you can train that magic back to what you had. Or atleast to get out of here.” Suggests The Wubbox. “I’m not going to relearn magic in a day. But a piece of magic I can learn quickly that will help are explosives.” Nods Dragong.

     “What do we need?” 

     “If I am correct, topaz, ruby, and some of that amber. This magic uses lots of gems and such.” instructs Dragong. “Where would we find those around here?” murmurs Wubbox. Tootoo thinks back to above, “That shop! The one with those crystales! I can go there and get them!” She exclaimed. “That's all the way up there, it would take hours, plus what if you get lost.”

     Tootoo, ignoring these dangers, begs wubbox. “I’m the one going, I know the way, I have a flashlight, you 2 stay here.” Wubbox points its finger down, empathizing on the ‘stay here’. Tootoo quietly agrees. It walks off into the caves, to gather the ingredients. Dragong watches it dissolve into the black ink of the darkness, “Welp, now that hunk of metal is going to be gone for a couple of hours.” He comments. Fiddlement turns around suddenly, staring at him. “What are you staring at, my grand beauty?” He stands tall. “Ew, no,” Fiddlement backs away. Dragong rolls his eyes.

     Tootoo and fiddlement play around, even with some of the other monsters. Gaddzooks makes a little crown of goop, for fiddlement! Blarrit gets some good chin scratches from Tootoo. “That’s my job!” Interferes Auglur. Immediately giving Blarrit more scratchies.

     On the other hand, the Wubbox had found its way out of the caves. Ghazt wasn’t too far off, and noticed Wubbox. He floats along to it, and questions “Alright who died? I bet it was the flashlight one.” Wubbox stares down at him. “No- what?” It's caught off guard by this comment. “I’m here for Jeeode, for her, well, geodes, I guess.” Ghazt nods. “Oh yeah, Jeeode, not at the shop currently. She's collecting some rocks, usually on the outskirts of the town.” He points around mindlessly. “Thanks, then.” Wubbox scurries off. 

     Around the town, Wubbox finds the pink crystal monster. “Excuse me, Jeeode?” She is shocked by her name being called. She turns around, with a basket filled with gems. “Oh it's you, Wubbox, how can I help?” she offers. “I need a couple of gems!” 

     “Which kind? I’ve got plenty!” Jeeode starts to float back towards her shop. “Topaz, ruby, and amber, that’s what I need.” Wubbox follows her. “Amber? Despite there being a whole island for amber, it’s hard to get it here. You know, being cut off from the rest of the world? I should have a small batch of some.” She enters her shop. Wubbox waits outside, it’s too small for it to enter. A few later, Jeeode comes out with arms of shinies. “These are the ones!” She lifts them up for it to get. “Thank you!” Wubbox places them in the bag, running back to give Dragong these.

     Fiddlement and Tootoo had asked just about every question they could think of. Of course, very stupid questions. And eventually got to ramble on about Delta to Dragong. Which they also realized, Dragong is practically Delta, but with a different curse. “I’ve had enough with this, ‘Delta’!” Cries Dragong. “She’s like a cheap copy of me.” He slams his cymbal like feet, the ground shakes a little. “You're not too different with that deep backstory of yours.” Auglur comments. “Not true! Yooreek, defend me!” 

     “I’m with Auglur.” Said Yooreek. Dragong pretends he didn’t hear that. “Okay, now I want that robot to come back, I need to get out of here.” He complains. Unsurprisingly, Wubbox did not walk in right at that moment. Dragong looks at the entrance, and sighs. Although, Dragong would like to get out of here, what would the ethereals think of him? He looks above him, yet more of those mixed emotions. Now that he knows he has a chance to actually be above 600 feet underground.

     Tootoo and fiddlement talk on, and on. Dragong got so used to it, that he filtered out the noise. The only one that is almost as talkative as them is Gaddzooks, but his stems have a brain of their own, almost. Dragong seems to like to talk to Auglur the most. A dub-step, well, step comes closer. 

      “I’ve got the materials!” Exclaims the Wubbox. “Finally, I’ve had enough of these 2.” Dragong flies over to it. “Gimmie!” He says, greedily. The time had come to start with magic. Even with the small amount of magic Dragong had, it’s a good start, more than most monsters.

#my singing monsters #msm #Msm au #msm broken titan au #Chapter 8

[kayhi808]

Challenge Accepted -Part 3

You and Billy nap until early evening. You were expecting him to be gone when you woke up but he's still there. You slowly slide out from under his arm and throw on an oversized shirt. You go around picking up Bill's clothes and leaving it at the foot of the bed.

Today was fun. Being with Bill is always fun. And that's the problem. All Bill wants is fun. Manhattan is his playground. Society pages & gossip sites show him with models on his arm, party girls...and it's socially acceptable for Bill to go around and do that, but women are held to different standards. You uprooted your life in Washington DC for this opportunity to work at the United Nations. You can't fail at this. You want to be successful, but you aren't going to make it if people see you as one of Bill's gold-digging groupies.

Looking through your fridge, you try to find something quick to cook up. You're starving. If that romp with Billy didn't work up an appetite, round 2 did.

In a while, you see Bill moving around. He grabs your pillow & brings it to his face. You break out in a smile because you've done that so many times with Bill's pillows. You like the smell of him, too. You giggle and Bill whips his head around to you with a sleepy smile. "Slept well?"

"Never better," and he snuggles down deeper into your bed. He's silent for a good 10 minutes, so you think he's fallen back asleep. "Am I allowed to stay for dinner? It smells good."

"Of course. Pasta Primavera. I made enough for us both & then some." You dig around one of your moving boxes looking for dinnerware. You've been lazy and been working off a single serving set since its just been you. Finding what you needed, you look up to see him buttoning his jeans and making his way to you. You can't help but appreciate a shirtless Billy with jeans riding low on his hips. Fucking hell. Its as if he can read your mind because that impish smile is back on his face as he draws you against him for a kiss.

"Am I allowed to stay the night?"

"No, sir." you untangle yourself from him.

"Why not?!" He crosses his arms across his chest, leaning his hip against the counter.

"Let's just have a nice dinner & call it a day. Today was too good to spoil it now." He just gives you a dark stare. You know this conversation is not going to go well. "Do you really want to get into it now?" He cocks an eyebrow at you. "Fine...What am I to you, Bill?"

"What do you mean?"

You frown & shake your head, "Its a simple question." He doesn't answer but you see that muscle in his jaw tick. He's annoyed. And now you're annoyed because he doesn't answer you. "I told you. We should have just enjoyed dinner." You pour yourself a glass of wine & walk away from him. You start unpacking books & placing them on a shelf, ignoring Bill.

Bill passes you as he goes to pull on his shirt & grab his things from the box by the bed. "What do you want me to say?"

"Its not what I want...it's what you feel. I don't know how you feel, that's why I'm asking."

"I...like you. You're...my friend."  

Well, fuck, don't let those words choke you. "And now that I moved here, where do you see this going? What do you want from us?"

Deflecting, "I don't know why you are making this so complicated."

"Well, I'm trying to figure out how much of myself I should invest in you. Do we keep things the same? Hook up every other month?" You shake your head, "You confuse me. You were so adamant about us getting together again. I gave you an easy out when I saw you at The Campbell. No, you kiss me at the Soho Grand. You stalk me & break into my building. You convince me to spend the day with you and...it was perfect." Bill starts to take a step towards you, "And now you can't give me an honest answer. You barely choke out calling me a friend."

"Maybe I don't know what I want from you."

You nod, "That's fair. Why couldn't you just say that? Instead of riling me up and making me angry? Jesus, Billy. I can handle the truth of you not knowing what you want, rather than you blaming me, telling me I'm making shit complicated. Life is complicated!"

"Well, what do you want??"

"I'm trying to figure that out as well. I don't fit into your eligible bachelor lifestyle; and I don't want to. My job is important to me. I want to establish a strong reputation in this city and I can't do it being lumped in as one of your party girls. I won't. If that's who you think I am, we should end things here, no hard feelings, we'll be friends."

"Your not like them, I know that."

"Ok. Then if we kept seeing each other casually, its lowkey..."

"So we'll fuck but you don't want to be associated with me," starting to sound offended.

"Why? Did you want more than that? You told me you don't ever do relationships." Billy remains silent. Ouch. "Can you try looking at this from my point of view? I think there's more at stake for me than you. I like you, Billy. More than I should, really. Am I superficial for caring about what others think? I have to be. I'm not a man. I don't have a successful business. I dont have enough money to tell people go to hell. I'm not you. I don't have that luxury. Is it your fault? No. Is it still something I have to take into account? Yes."

"I'm going to head out."

I say all that and that's his response?? "Um. Ok, bye." You roll your eyes and lock yourself in the bathroom until you hear the door shut. He's such an idiot! You wipe away your tears. Complete idiot.

@idaofinfinity @e-dubbc11 @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x you #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfiction

[crones-trash]

Asteroid City, A Personal Review

Movies by Wes Anderson are an acquired taste. Most people don't like them but those of us who do really, really love them. His style is beyond quirky, way-out-there bizarre unrealistic plots, constrained performances, & brazenly artful scenery. Anderson doesn't even try to make commercially-viable movies. He makes ART! And he employs large casts of serious actors putting them in circumstances that turn straight actors into comedians & comedians into drama stars.

Under his direction, his ensembles are forced to conform to his insistence on them doing a parody of normal speech & behavior. They drone in emotionless monotones w deadpan demeanors, which puts the emphasis on the content of their speeches. His clever scripts are laugh-out-laugh funny when you listen to the words. But, if you don't, their performances can look utterly boring. And this leads your eyes to feasting on the background details. (I confess I've sat thru a couple of his movies only absorbing the set designs & camera angles but came out feeling refreshed & happy.)

Asteroid City is The Most Wes Anderson movie EVAH! He's got an All-Star cast including Tom Hanks, Scarlet Johansen, Brian Cranston, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, and many, many more. Even the bit players have recognizable faces like Margo Robbie appears in only one scene that blows your mind. And Jason Schwartzman as the central character is amazing! He was allowed to project surprising micro-bursts of real emotion within the straight-jacket of Anderson's usual affectations.

The plot is impossibly convoluted: a 1950's B&W TV show about the writing of a play about a Technicolor movie w B&W Behind-the-Scenes inclusions of the play's actors behaving more naturalistically. This might actually be a first for Anderson & he uses it to press against the boundary of his usual creative methods. Leading up to the Grand Finale, Schwartzman steps outside of his primary Technicolor role to confront the writer of the play in B&W & demands to know what the story means!

In this moment, Anderson confronts his critics because one of the main complaints about his work is "WTF was that about!" I often recommend to people who have no previous experience w his movies to enjoy the snappy dialog & lush scenery; don't even try to make sense of it; simply let it roll over you & feel whatever you feel. Usually, after the fact, I examine what I felt & find some meaning for myself.

But, this time he has the entire cast arranged in tiered seating & they crash thru the 4th Wall by directly chanting at the viewer,

"YOU CAN'T WAKE UP IF YOU DON'T FALL ASLEEP!"

My eyes flooded w tears & I felt what Anderson intended me to feel—GRIEF! Yes, indeed, the Technicolor movie is centered on a story about a man processing the death of his wife, having to tell his children their mother is dead, & making peace w the father-in-law who never liked him. It's about letting go & moving on w the rest of your life.

I realize the chant is open to interpretation &, after the fact, I googled what others thought it meant. Most of them got the message about grief from it but have varied explanations for was the literal statement means.

My interpretation is: Movies are like dreams & the best way to watch them is to suspend your disbelief & enter a semi-conscious state to allow them to "happen" to you. Then you wake up when the movie is over & apply your critical thinking to what you experienced. If you obstinately remain self-conscious & busily critical, you simply won't get THE FULL EFFECT!

And, ya'know what? Grief is like that. And so are all traumatic events. If you don't give into the process of feeling your emotions, you'll never get over it. It will always be like a ghost haunting the back of your mind that spooks you until you confront it.

As someone who has experienced traumatic grief for going on 2½ years that evolved into a state of confusion since moving to Portland, I think this movie helped me "wake up".

Hey, look! I'm writing from my heart again!

#Asteroid City #A Personal Review #About Grief

[lampmanliveblogs]

Mid-Season Intermission

Where I talk about a bunch of stuff

So now that I’ve finally watched episode 10, I’ve reached the rough halfway point of the season and I wanted to take a moment to talk about a bunch of stuff.

Mostly, I wanna go over all of the plot points and threads that have been brought up, established and left hanging, as well as some of my theories, predictions and wishes going forward.

A reoccurring sentiment I’ve brought up several times is that this season so far has felt like the writers are constantly poking me to make sure I don’t fall asleep by introducing new things or developing the plot in exciting ways every single epsiode. Based on what I know of the show’s development and that they’re working with very limited time, this is not all that surprising.

If you look at season 1, that season had a lot more low-stakes episodes or more comedic episodes. Sure, there were hints at bigger things to come, but The Plot really didn’t start picking up properly until the second half of that season. Compare with season 2, which has been basically all plot and character development.

This development is not necessarily a bad thing, I’ve liked every episode so far and I have very few complaints. It’s just different and I wanted to point it out. 

Anyways, let’s get into the real meat of this post. These points are in no particular order.

Chiroptera Queen (a.k.a The Bat-Queen)

Back in season one, Luz promised the help the Bat-Queen rediscover her past which she has forgotten. As seen in S2E6, we saw that Eda still has the whistle Bat-Queen gave her previously, the one that lets her call for help. I would like to see at least one of these two things used or explored by the end of the season. The whistle in particular seems like it could come in clutch during some escapade where they get trapped and need rescue.

As for my current theories… we know Bat-Queen once belonged to a grand staff which belonged to a giant thousands of years ago. The obvious conclusion to jump to is that she used to belong to the Titan before it fell… although I think she’s a bit too small for that, unless the Titan walked around with a palisman the relative size of a mosquito. But if not the Titan, then who? I recall seeing one giant student at Hexside in one episode of season one, so there might be some race of giants out there. In S2E3 we also saw what looked like a giant creature holding a staff fighting King’s dad or ancestor. The Crescent Moon figure we saw in S2E8 was also pretty tall I guess.

This is all to say that I have no idea. I will say this though; combining Bat-Queen’s origin with another already established plot point, whether it be the Titan’s origin, the history of King’s family or whoever Crescent Moon is would make for effective storytelling, which is why I bring them up.

A Little Too Close To Home (a.k.a Camila, Vee & Gravesfield)

I wanna see my snake daughter again!

That’s it.

Well, okay, I guess there are some other things to talk about. S2E10 saw us return to the Human Realm properly for the first time since the very first episode of season one. We’ve seen a few short glimpses, but those were only that; glimpses. In the last episode we got to see an entire story unfold in the Human Realm, with our main character Luz only able to watch and give guidance from afar. We learned the tragic story of Vee and Camila became aware of what is going on with her daughter. Jacob Hopkins unfortunately also learned a little too much for his, or anyone else’s good.

We also learned a bit about Luz’ hometown of Gravesfield. In particular, that there were two brothers that, according to Jacob (who is not the most reliable of sources) were brought by a witch to a realm of pure evil. The to me obvious implication here is that Philip Wittebane and his brother were both taken to the Demon Realm. But more about them in a minute.

The thing I really want to talk about is that I think we’re gonna return to the Human Realm again. Exactly how I’m not sure. They might build another portal to the in-between so Luz can talk to her mother and Vee. Maybe they build a functional portal or make use of Belos’ to get back. Either way, I think that there are significant revelations to be had in the Human Realm in regards to Philip Wittebane that will prove important. Hopefully, Jacob doesn’t have to make a return for those revelations to be had.

I also wanna see more of Camila and her newly adopted daughter. I wanna see her reunite with Luz and for them to work through their issues. I also wanna see Camila and Eda meet. I think some fun and emotions to be had there.

The Parents Blight (a.k.a the Blight family)

Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Amity’s parents and that they still have some part to  play. For one thing, I wanna see their reaction to finding out that Amity and Luz are now officially dating (and by that I mean Odalia’s reaction). If nothing else, I’d expect the twins to eventually out Amity when they accidentally tease her within earshot of Odalia. I also want to point out that while Amity started gaining some independence for herself in S2E2, her upbringing still left some deep marks, as we saw in S2E9 with her interactions with Hunter.

However, I also think the Blight parents have a role to play in the overarching plot. The Emperor seems to trust the Abomatons and allow them within his deepest chambers, close to him. But if push comes to shove… if Amity keeps causing trouble and Belos threatens her… well, I’m sure Alador left a backdoor access for him to take control over all the Abomatons. He’s a mad scientist, not a stupid scientist. Darius also mentioned Alador by name, implying some rivalry and possible conflict between them. That might be something that comes into play in the future.

The Nine Heads of the Dragon (a.k.a the nine coven head witches and their role in all of this)

Speaking of Darius, I expect to see at least him and Eberwolf play some part during the rest of this season. I also think we’re gonna get proper introductions for at least some of the other Head Witches before the end of the season. Considering the fact that they seem to be vital for Belos’ plans during the Day of Unity, I’d be surprised if we didn’t learn a little more about some of them.

For now, my current theory is that the Coven Head Witches are needed to drain magic from the witches in their Covens in order to power the spell that will merge the Demon Realm and the Human Realm (if that really is what the Day of Unity is about). We do know the Emperor’s Coven studied/studies basilisks to figure out how they drain magic. so that too will probably play a part in that event.

Rainestorm (a.k.a Raine and maybe also the BAtTs)

I just want Raine to be safe and happy and also maybe dating Eda. Is that so much to ask for?

It’s not entirely clear if Eda knows Raine is in captivity or not. She left Raine in the forest with two very powerful witches. Eda might think Raine is dead.

Now, granted, Eda does know that Belos needs the Coven Head Witches for his little group project, but still. They are important, but still replaceable. As far as Eda knows, they killed or petrified Raine and went on to find a replacement. Which is also why I’m holding out the hope that the Owl House crew might attempt a rescue operation to free Raine from… wherever they are. Maybe if they had someone on the team with a bit of insider information…

Oh, and I guess they could free the rest of the BAtTs while they’’re at it. Luz did say she could break in/out of the Conformitorium again if she wanted to.

Prey (a.k.a Hunter)

Hunter, my boy. What do we do with you? I’m not sure if I’ve ever said it outright, but, ah… I kinda know the general direction of his story. That being, he joins the Owl House crew. Also, he gets shipped with Willow. Now, I try to avoid spoilers because I feel that knowing things that are going to happen beforehand can take away from the experience in the now. Those details end up hanging in the back of your mind and you don’t experience the story as the creator/s intended. I don’t mind too much in this specific case. I’m still very invested and interested in his story and curious about what it is that’s going to make him betray Belos.

I can’t say that I have many theories about Hunter, I mostly just have questions. Like what happened to his father, who is his mother, when was he born, how wild magic supposedly played a part in their ill fate? And perhaps the biggest question, why is he so important to Belos and the Day of Unity? Belos did say that he could find a replacement, but that it would be a hassle. Which is almost the exact same thing Kikimora had to say about Raine. With Raine and the other Coven Head Witches, I speculate it’s because they’re needed to drain magic, but what of Hunter? Is it to drain the magic of those in the Emperor’s Coven?

I could go on, but I think its safe to say, Hunter’s story this season is far from over and by the end, he will have a difficult choice to make…

Long Live the King! (a.k.a King and his family)

Our weird little skull dog boy has come a long way since season one, where he was more often than not relegated to comedic relief or inducer of episodical plot events. Now he’s all that AND a potentially very important character to the lore of the show. We haven’t really learned much more about him since S2E3, aside from that there is some relative or similar looking demon out there trying to get ahold of him.

What we do know is that his father, (and potentially a long line of his family) lived on a magically shielded island with ruins that according to Lilith are very old. Which implies that King’s family has a long history. They are also implied to have been very powerful. Most people who live in large towers filled with strange guardian creatures on magically shielded islands are very powerful. I know from experience.

What exactly this history is we don’t know. It might’ve been that they were some form of rulers or at the very least a powerful tribe on the Boiling Isles that have since then been driven to obscurity. My current working theory is that Belos is the one responsible for that, taking out a group of powerful rivals that threatened his crusade to take over the Isles. King’s powers, which I believe to be some form of wild magic might also have something to with it.

King believes his father is out there somewhere. I think he’s dead. History will be our judge. But it is obvious that the search for King’s father and whoever the relative is are going to be VERY important plot points going forward.

…granted, part of the reason I say that is because I happened to see the name of the last episode of the season, and know it has to do with King.

Like I mentioned before, I think that whatever King’s power is, it’s some form of wild magic. It appears powerful but primitive, unrefined, untamed. And we know Belos has some hangups when it comes to wild magic.

A Clawthorne in My Side (a.k.a Eda and her family)

At the end of S2E4, Eda’s relationship with her mother Gwendolyn had been repaired, or at least on the path towards healing. That doesn’t necessarily require more development, but I feel like there are some things they could do with Eda and her mother, especially considering the whole ”Eda as a mother figure” thing brought up in S2E7. If we see those themes developed further, I’d like to see Eda going to her mother for advice or maybe just someone to talk to. Gwendolyn had a lot of faults, but she might still have a few nuggets of wisdom to share.

I’m also curious about Dell. It was mentioned in S2E8 that he travels a lot and the implication is that Eda might not have seen him since the night she transformed and attacked him. So I’d definitely love to see a reunion between them.

We also have Lilith. Her and Eda’s relationship seems to have been repaired well enough, There is certainly possibility to develop things further, but things are good as they are. Really, I just wanna see Lilith again and see her interacting with Hooty, their friendship was so cute. I’m also curious about how the curse interacts with her. Specifically, if she too has an Owlbeast within her and if she might be able to do something similar to Eda’s harpy form.

Moonlight Shadow (a.k.a Eda’s curse, the Owlbeast & Crescent Moon)

S2E8 taught us a lot about Eda’s curse and at the same time, it made things so much more complicated. My current theory is that the Owlbeast either existed as a curse before Eda and had a previous host, or that it was its own creature. At some point, it encountered the figure I’ve dubbed Crescent Moon who tried to capture it. The Owlbeast managed to escape, but fell into the Boiling Sea. It turned into the curse scroll, which washed up on the shore where it was picked up and eventually sold to Lilith.

Eda and the Owlbeast are at a truce, but will it last forever? The imagery in S2E8 suggested they are truly bound together forever, inseparable quite literally till death do them apart.

There is of course also the mystery of Crescent Moon. Who are they and what did they want with the Owlbeast? I have no idea so I’ll just have to wait and see.

Familiar (a.k.a Luz’ palisman)

Luz still has that piece of palistrom wood that she has yet to carve a palisman out of. She decided to wait with doing so until she can figure out what she is gonna do with her future. Which means it might take a while. I mean, I’m twenty-three and still looking for the manual Miss Li sung about.

The day Luz figures out her heart’s truest desire will probably be an important one so that is something to look forward to.

There’s Magic in the Air (a.k.a wild magic, glyphs, and the Titan)

Emperor Belos claims that he and he alone can communicate with the Titan, the Titan whose corpse makes up the Boiling Isles. The Titan that gives the power of magic to the people clinging to its body. Belos claims that everything he does is in accordance with the Titan’s will, that it is all part of the Titan’s grand plans.

By now, you should be well aware that I am more than skeptical of Belos’ claims. I think that it’s gonna turn out that he’s a fake. A false prophet. A sham. But that does raise the question; is there a piece of the Titan’s soul left, some shred of consciousness preserved deep within the rotting corpse? Does the Titan still have a will, and if so… what is it?

Even if it turns out that the Titan has long since passed away to the great unknown beyond, i’d still love to see an origin for the mighty giant. This might tie into the Bat-Queen, it might not. Eitehr way, I’ll be here for it.

I also feel like we’re gonna learn more about wild magic and more specifically why Belos hates it so much. As of this moment, I don’t really have any theories.

The Day of Unity Comes and Your World is Already Lost (a.k.a just what is the Day of Unity actually about?)

What is the Day of Unity really about? is the big question. Emperor Belos says it’s going to merge the Demo Realm and the Human Realm together. But as should be well established by now, I don’t trust much of what he says.

But let us entertain the idea. What are the benefits of merging the Human and Demon Realms together? Belos claims that this will (somehow) get rid of wild magic. But like… how? Why? Maybe doing so would actually remove magic or spread it so thing that no one could use it.’

One idea I’ve thrown out is that whatever curse or affliction is Belos suffers from can be cured if the realms merge together and that’s why he’s doing it. Or maybe it really is just to get rid of wild magic. Who knows? You do! Probably. But I don’t.

There are some questions regarding the physics of merging a large landmass like the Titan’s body with the Earth that concerns me, but this is a fantasy series for kids. There is literal magic. The laws of physics are more of a suggestion.

The Brothers’ Grim Fate (a.k.a Philip Wittebane, his family & Belos)

In the year 1635, a town called Gravesfield was founded in what is today known as Connecticut. At some point after that, two brothers were, according to the legend, brought to another world, implied to be the Demon Realm, by an evil witch.

One of those brothers was Philip Wittebane. Philip set out to find a way back to the Human Realm. What happened to his brother is unknown. Philip did eventually manage to build a portal to the Human Realm. What happened to him after that is unknown.

Roughly fifty years ago, some time during the 1970s era, the man that would become known as Emperor Belos seized power over the Boiling Isles. He claimed to be the messenger of the Titan and instituted the Coven system, which he said was the will of the Titan. He began working towards the Day of Unity, which will supposedly merge the Demon Realm and Human Realm together.

At some unknown date, Belos’ nephew Hunter was born. It is also implied that Hunter’s parents died at some point after his birth due to an accident involving wild magic. Belos took his nephew under his wings.

I’ve hinted at it a few times, but I’m pretty sure Philip Wittebane is going to turn out to be Emperor Belos. Like, there’s always room for error, but I’m like at least 109% sure.

That said, there are a number of questions this brings up that I’m having a hard time answering. If Belos is Philip, then how is he still alive after four hundred years? What’s up with weird curse/affliction he has? Why does his ears look like that? What’s his deal with wild magic? What happened to Philip’s brother? When was Hunter born and who was his other parent? How did Philip get the idea to become a tyrant and initialize his Day of Unity plan? If he’s human then how can he use magic without glyphs?

The list goes on. I’ve speculated about the answer to some of these questions. The weird curse and his ears may be due to prolonged stay in the Demon Realm and exposure to magic. That might also explain his long lifespan, or that might be caused by consuming the life force of palismen. There is also the possibility that he draws his magic power from his staff, like Hunter does.

It’s pretty much a given that we’ll be given answers to at least some of these questions by the end of the season. I just hope I’m ready for it.

In Conclusion There’s A LOT of stuff to look forward to in the second half of the season. Maybe not all that I discussed here, there’s gotta be some material left for season three after all, but it’s still going to be a lot. Which means I better get going! See you all next time! Until then, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

<--Previous Episode: Yesterday's Lie

Masterlist

Next Episode: Follies at the Coven Day Parade-->

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #toh s2 intermission

[itsbrandy]

Burnout Dieter POV 2

Summary: Takes place between chapters 9 and 10

Word Count: 8.3k

Dieter floated through the rest of his day. From interview to interview, he put on his best show of not being a totally hopeless, utterly lost lovesick puppy. The questions were all the same: easy softballs to launch, and the interviewers were well-trained and professional, but there was something about his experience with Bee that had something intangible. Something other.

Something that Dieter worried might have ruined promotional interviews for him for the rest of his life.

After his day and by the time he’d navigated through the familiar stop-and-go of L.A. traffic, he already had a mental list of ways to see Bee again. The list was totally insane, and there wasn’t a single good option on it, but Dieter was desperate.

He wanted to send her something at her work or show up there. Some grand gesture, something to make her see him. Flowers or a cake or maybe a request for another tour? Maybe he could do something subtle and send her a letter. That way, she could open it privately.

Plus, he’d have to include his phone number if he wanted Bee to get in touch with him afterward. As much as he liked her from their brief interactions, he wasn’t sure if he could trust writing his private cell number down like that. The chances that a receptionist or office assistant opened the mail at the office and sorted it were too high.

So, Dieter pictured all the possible outcomes. Some were positive, and some were negative, but at the end of his pro and con list was one glaring issue: Bee could turn him down—she was still in a relationship, after all.

And that was it. He couldn’t contact her. Not while he knew that she was still in a relationship. Dieter readied himself for bed with the weight of his decision sitting on his chest.

Still, the Google search bar called his name. He wanted to know more about her, even if he couldn’t have her. But all he had was a nickname. He wouldn’t even know how to find her.

Instead, he Googled “how many people in LA,” and when the search result showed 3.849 million, he locked his phone and rolled over. Unless there were some act of divine intervention, Dieter would never have a chance with Bee.

On a whim, right before he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he texted his agent.

[Dieter]: Do you think Disney would be open to a part two? Had a great time today.

**

The next two days were miserable. He was late to an interview on Thursday and completely forgot about a photo shoot on Friday that he made it to on time only by the goodwill of no accidents on the freeway. But Dieter wasn’t familiar with this feeling—was he depressed?

Dieter had been ignoring his phone, and by the time he’d made it back to his house on Friday evening, he hadn’t checked his email all day. He didn’t feel up to cooking. As soon as he’d thought about cooking dinner, he wondered if Bee was as good of a cook as she was a baker. While he knew that the skills didn’t always necessarily translate, he couldn’t help but be romantic when he thought of her.

Most of his emails were boring, and for many of them, he simply clicked so that the notification would go away. He had no idea why so many people copied both him and his agent on interview and audition offers. If there were anything worth his time, his agent would let him know.

Further down in his inbox, a message caught his eye. It was from Sam, the director of the Netflix project he was going to be working on next.

Hey Dieter,

Attached is a list of actresses who will be auditioning for us in person tomorrow at HQ.

We’ve got a new list of options for you to look at for Celine. Some of them have headshots, and some of them have video auditions also.

There are also some other minor roles included. I’ve marked those. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Thanks,

Sam

“Finally,” Dieter said aloud.

Forgetting about his takeout, he headed straight for the stairs to retrieve his laptop from his bedroom and take a look at the options. Everything about this project hinged on finding the perfect leading lady for the brand. She had to have the wow factor they were looking for. Otherwise, what were they even doing this for?

There were 12 files attached to Sam’s email. Dieter was a big believer in “eating the frog,” or doing the most difficult task first. So, he started with the video auditions.

They were all awful. No, that was harsh. They weren’t awful. Each of the women had talent, and it was clear they were chosen to audition this weekend for a reason. But again, none of them had that star quality. There was no emotion in the way they spoke, and the words didn’t quite reach their eyes.

Dieter felt guilt for judging the women so quickly by the way they looked, but it was what set the Bridgerton series apart. The casting was race-blind, filled with unique beauty and not the standard Hollywood look that everyone was used to seeing.

Next, he turned his attention to the headshots. While looking at headshots wasn’t a great way to see if an actress would be a good fit or not, he could still make a determination based on look.

The first headshot was an alright option. The actress was only 22, but she could definitely play older. She was Black and had expressive eyes that were more than capable of telling a story.

Dieter could also picture her in the costuming for the period. He wrote her name down in his notes as his favorite so far. He’d be excited to see her audition in the morning. Hopefully, she aced the screen test—they needed to cast someone quickly.

He navigated to the next option, finding the headshot and information of a white girl with brilliant red hair and freckles. She had an angular nose rather than the typical button nose of Hollywood, so Dieter thought she was an okay option as well. Dieter listed her as another potential option.

This batch of auditions would be very interesting. The casting agents were finally giving them exactly what they’d asked them for. Rather than feeling dread at the early morning call time, Dieter was excited, and he still had two more headshots to go.

The third headshot made Dieter dizzy when he looked at it. The actress was stunning, effortlessly beautiful. She was Asian, with sleek black hair. But best of all, or perhaps worst of all, Dieter knew her.

The woman in the headshot was Bee. Even though she wasn’t wearing her Disney uniform or primped with camera-ready makeup, she was Bee. There was no doubt in Dieter’s mind. And when he checked the details alongside the photo, he saw her first and last name proudly displayed. Except, the first name listed wasn’t her first name.

She’d listed Bee, the nickname he revitalized for her from her childhood. It almost felt like she was communicating with him. Her childhood dream was to become an actress. What was it she’d said in the interview?

“Yeah, but of course, it doesn’t work out that way for everyone. Dreams change, and my dream changed to making amazing creations for Disney lovers of all ages,” she had said.

So then, what are you doing in my list of auditions tomorrow, Bee? Dieter thought.

There was no way she knew he was involved in the project and magically scored an audition just to see him again—that was just too farfetched.

What was this then? Was this the divine intervention he’d been waiting for?

He put Bee at the top of his list without a second thought. She’d need to prove herself in the audition, but she’d caught his eye more than anyone had ever before. Bee fit every item on his list of qualities needed for the role of Celine—every single one.

He closed his laptop without looking at the fourth and final headshot and typed out a message to Sam on his phone.

Hey Sam,

These options are incredible. I’m so excited for the auditions tomorrow. This batch is definitely better than the previous one. Do you think we can do screen testing for chemistry too tomorrow?

Let me know,

Dieter

It was selfish to ask for chemistry testing just because he knew Bee was going to be there. He knew it was, but if she made it through the first round of auditions, the next round would be chemistry testing anyway, and he was too excited to wait. If he was going to see Bee again tomorrow, he wanted to have the chance to act with her.

Sam responded right away with a simple I know, right! And sure, a screen chemistry test sounds great. We should have enough time.

Dieter typed back Great! and set his phone upside down on his bedside table. If he picked it up again, he’d do something stupid like Facebook stalk her or text a friend about her. He needed to focus. His takeout was getting cold downstairs, and he needed to prepare himself to meet his dream girl for the second time this week.

**

When Dieter awoke on Saturday for a day full of casting at the Netflix HQ, he had a text from his agent. The Disney bakery follow-up segment had been approved by higher-ups. He’d almost forgotten about the request he’d sent his agent to look into it. It was a last-ditch effort to try to see Bee again, but now it was totally unnecessary.

Today, he would see Bee. She would show up for her audition, and she’d knock it out of the park and then—

Well, he wasn’t certain what would come after that. What were the odds that she’d broken up with her boyfriend in the last three days?

Dieter knew that he was attractive. He was obviously a catch, but he wasn’t worthy of ending a long-term relationship over, even if that relationship was on the rocks. So, maybe he could be her friend instead. That would satisfy his curiosity, at least. And then maybe if he waited it out, then he could be there for her when she made her choice.

If they stayed together forever, he would have to be okay with that too.

Ugh, when did he get so hopeless? Unrequited love was so not Dieter’s thing. Hell, love wasn’t even Dieter’s thing. He was sure he wanted to fall in love someday, but he’d never put much thought into what love would look like for him. As a celebrity, things were different.

People coupled and uncoupled regularly just for the headlines more than they married as a true love match. He would probably date an actress here, a musician there, have a couple of star-powered children just to make a legacy, and then work until he died.

But what if that didn’t have to be his fate? What if Bee achieved her dream of becoming an actress and then she chose him? Then, he could marry for love and have kids that weren’t just for the purpose of staying relevant. He might be able to have a family—a real family.

Dieter showered and prepped himself to see Bee. He needed to be there early to help Sam and Claire anyway. This audition was a make-or-break for the show. If they weren’t able to cast anyone this week, the show was at risk of being dropped by Netflix.

He drove to the studio and made it there before 9, with plenty of time before the auditioner’s call time to get his bearings.

They were casting several roles today, with Celine being the priority. The smaller roles didn’t matter nearly as much as the leading lady.

Dieter watched as the production crew set up the cameras for the day. Each audition would be recorded and reviewed separately to see if the actors could convey to the camera what they showed off for the room.

Then, he sat in his assigned seat and waited for Claire, Sam, and the others to show up.

When they did, Dieter greeted Claire, Sam, and the other producers and settled in for a long day of watching prospective actors try their hand at landing a huge role in a Netflix show.

The first round of auditions was primarily for the smaller roles in the show, followed by a trio of auditions for Celine. Two of the three had submitted video auditions that Dieter found lackluster, but their in-person performances were better. Still, they didn’t quite have the uniqueness that they were looking for.

When Sam asked if the first two were ones he was interested in performing a screen chemistry test, he declined. They were desperate to cast the role of Celine, but they weren’t that desperate. The third Celine audition was much better. She was the freckled redhead who only submitted a headshot.

For her audition, they went forward with a compatibility test. She was almost as tall as him, and they looked awkward in the frame together when Dieter reviewed the footage afterward. No, she wouldn’t do either.

By then, it was nearing 11 a.m., and Dieter was starting to grow anxious that Bee would be arriving soon. They broke for a union break and ducked behind one of the screens to get away from the view of auditioners. Dieter tried his best to spend time reconnecting with Claire and Sam, settling in for what would be months of filming out of the country.

He liked Claire, remembering her fondly from their shared years in the spotlight. Sam was one of his favorite directors, and soon they were easily cracking jokes and laughing until the minutes of their break were over.

“Quiet, everyone!” a production assistant yelled, signaling that it was time for them to return to their seats. “It’s time to start round two of auditions, starting with the role of Celine!”

Dieter searched for Bee as soon as he followed Claire out from behind the screen. She would be in this next round of auditions, according to the schedule, and he could feel his heart thundering in his ears.

Sam’s walkie-talkie went off, and through the muffled speaker, a PA asked if someone could let Dieter know that a compatibility test was needed on this audition. Of course, it was.

Dieter hadn’t been the only one to notice Bee’s unique beauty. The higher-ups at Netflix had too—and she was their favorite.

His palms went sweaty at the thought. Which scene would they pick? Would he have to kiss her?

Why was he so excited for it? She had a boyfriend—he couldn’t be excited about kissing a taken woman. But yet he was. He was just so curious about her. Despite his reservations, he still wondered what her lips would feel like against his, how she would taste, how she would smell.

And then he saw her. Bee was walking with an assistant, who was guiding her toward them. Her head was held high, so confident that Dieter almost didn’t recognize her. She smiled effortlessly and walked in front of the white backdrop to film her audition.

“Hello, everyone, my name is Bee, and I am auditioning for the role of Celine. I am currently represented by Mark Carter,” she said.

Dieter had to think to avoid letting his jaw drop open unconsciously.

Sam was speaking to her, giving her instructions on which side to read, but Dieter couldn’t even hear her. It was like there was the fuzziness of a TV without a satellite signal in his brain. Claire stood up from her seat and joined Bee in front of the camera, and Dieter suddenly realized which scene they were doing. He sat still, trying to keep his face neutral as he followed along with the script and watched them portray the scene.

Immediately, he knew that Bee was good.

He’d wished, for her sake and for his, that she’d pursued her dream of being an actress sooner. She was flawless—punctuating each word that needed emphasis with the exact emotion that the scene called for. Her eyes were glassy with emotion, filled with the anger that Celine had built up, the frustration she had with her closest friend.

Bee shook her head and rolled her eyes in a way that sent chills down Dieter’s spine.

“You’re selfish, Willa. You want me to believe I can’t marry him so that you can instead. Well, you can have him.”

“Thank you, ladies,” the director said—interrupting the scene midway through. They usually only did that when they didn’t like what they saw. “Can we move to the next side, please? Number 4?”

Dieter panicked. He didn’t know Side 4. He’d only prepared one scene for today’s auditions. He was a good actor, sure, but even good actors had limited brain space for characters and lines. There was only so much a human could remember.

“They weren’t asked to prepare for that one,” one of the producers piped up.

“Well, can someone get me two scripts, please?” Sam asked, snapping her fingers. “One for Bee and one for Dieter. I need to see them both in this scene.”

Sam sounded eager, and Dieter knew exactly what that meant. He was on the same page.

Bee had been far and away, the best audition they’d seen for Celine so far. Her interaction with Claire was on point. Her look was divine.

“I guess we could’ve just given them the other printouts, but I love the look of a good old-fashioned script binder,” Sam laughed as Dieter faced Bee, the hulking script heavy in his hands.

Bee laughed, too, and Dieter thought the sound was hypnotic.

“Which page is it?” Bee asked.

“I think it’s 57. Let me just find it,” Sam wet her fingers with her tongue and flipped through, and Dieter flipped through the pages of his own script to try to locate the scene sooner.

He was so nervous. He couldn’t look at her, but he played it cool. Maybe things would feel better when he was in character. If he were Duncan and she were Celine, then maybe he wouldn’t feel so spooked.

“Not sure if I remember this one,” Dieter said, trying to break the awkwardness.

“What? You’re not studying the script day and night?” Claire teased.

Dieter shook his head. “Absolutely not. It’s too early.”

“Not for me,” Claire said. “I’m so excited. I can’t stop reading it.”

The rest of the team agreed with Claire vehemently, but Dieter didn’t. He hated overreading a script. It made him second-guess himself about how he was portraying the role.

He’d only read the pieces that were necessary for getting through these auditions so far. It wasn’t until they were closer to rehearsals that he’d start memorizing for real.

“What?” Dieter asked. “I get too nervous if I’m overprepared.”

Claire looked at him like he was crazy, and even Sam was a bit skeptical, but it was Bee who spoke up in his defense, much to his surprise.

“I actually relate to that,” Bee said. She flipped to page 57 of the script with a delicate twist of her wrist.

“See?” Dieter joked, gesturing to Bee. “I’m relatable, too.”

As soon as the words exited his mouth, he regretted them. Was he flirting with a spoken-for woman now? Or was he flirting or just being friendly?

“Okay, okay,” Sam interrupted his thoughts. “It’s actually page 58, so just one over now. Starting from where Celine says, ‘I hate you.’ And I’ll give you both a minute to read over it and make sure you kind of get the feel for it. This scene is where Duncan, aka Dieter, has stolen Celine’s dance card, which is her list of gentlemen who wish to court her for the evening. She has approached him by the lemonade station to demand it back, which is very unladylike, and as the fight occurs, Duncan decides that he thinks she is very beautiful.”

Dieter had already decided that he thought Bee was very beautiful. In fact, while Sam was speaking, he was only half-listening.

While Bee had her head turned toward Sam, listening closely to her every word, Dieter was looking at Bee’s side profile, observing every peak and valley of her face—where her cheekbone jutted out and then created the soft curve of her cheek, the gentle slope of her nose, and the curve of her chin.

“Got it,” Dieter said. “I do remember this part.”

And he did. It was a pivotal scene in the show. This was important to get right, and half the work was hiring actors who had enough chemistry. He read over the scene, noticed the spikes in emotions, and formulated a plan for how he would portray Duncan in this moment.

“I’m ready,” Dieter said when he was done reading over his lines. He looked up at Bee, but Bee kept her eyes focused on the page in front of her.

“I’m ready,” Bee said, rolling her shoulders back.

“Alright, I’ll read you two in!” Sam’s enthusiasm was almost contagious. “The music fades a bit, and we see Celine at the edge of the dance floor. Every other lady in her vicinity is being led onto the floor by a young gentleman except for her.”

“I see that my dance card is missing,” Bee said, snapping into character.

She met his eyes, and he almost broke character when holding her gaze. There was so much that he wanted to say to her. Even just so much as ‘Hi, how are you?’ or ‘Nice to see you again.’

Only the guilt and shame of knowing she had someone at home reminded him of what he was here to do.

No, Dieter. You have to focus. You are Duncan, and she is Celine, he told himself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dieter read his lines aloud and gave a casual shrug of his shoulders. “Gentlemen aren’t given dance cards.”

“I didn’t give you anything,” Bee said, turning up the sass. “You know that I didn’t give it to you. I wouldn’t even add you to my dance card if my mother begged me to on her knees. So, give it back.”

Dieter smiled at her and held her eyes. It was easier this time. He refused to let himself think that she was Bee.

“Do you really have so many men on your dance card that you’ve forgotten all of their names?” he taunted.

“Maybe,” Bee said.

Her cheeks even flushed! On command!

“Are you sure?” Dieter teased. He took a step closer to her, and that vanilla cupcake scent caught him off guard. With the script binders in their hands, they were nearly touching. Did he want to touch her?

He did. He decided against his better judgment. And as his eyes scanned along the page to prepare himself for the next emotional beat of the scene, he realized that there was a kiss at the bottom of the page, and Sam hadn’t yet called for them to stop.

Would Sam stop them? This was work, after all. This was a kiss for a multi-million dollar contract. If they were testing compatibility, they might as well test compatibility. There were so many kisses scattered throughout the script.

“I am asking you to give me back the dance card that belongs to me,” Bee said, her voice low and quivering. “And if I have to continue to ask you, then soon it won’t be asking.”

“Will it be begging then?” Dieter challenged.

“No!” Bee gasped, taking a step away from him.

“Hm, that’s not as interesting as what I was hoping for then,” Dieter said. “I suppose you can’t always get what you want, though.”

“I want my dance card,” Bee said. “Give it to me, now.”

“Will you ask me nicely?” Dieter stepped toward her again, making sure there was no distance between them anymore. “Will you?”

“No, give me my dance card,” Bee said, and Dieter took another oppressive step toward her.

If Sam hadn’t stopped them already, Dieter knew that she wasn’t going to. No, they wanted to see the kiss.

“Can I propose that we make a trade for it instead?” Dieter asked.

Mentally, he was counting down the lines until he would get to feel how her lips felt, to weave his fingers through her hair. Maybe that’s not how the kiss would be on-screen—Bee would have her hair up in an updo instead of gently brushing her collarbones.

Dieter closed his binder after memorizing his next line, and he swore his body kicked into autopilot. He was a man possessed as he took another half-step toward her.

“I propose,” Dieter said. “That I get something in return for your dance card. A token of the evening of sorts.”

He took hold of her script binder, trusting that she’d done the same, and glanced ahead at the next lines. He slid the binder from her grasp and closed it before bending to drop it on the floor gently. Bee looked frightened, but her lips parted. Dieter’s pulse thundered in his neck and pounded in his head. He could hardly hear her as she delivered her next line.

“What’s that?” she squeaked.

“A kiss,” Dieter said, bending his neck to hover his face before hers. He paused for a second, giving her time to step away and call off the scene if she needed to, but when she didn’t, Dieter tangled his fingers in her dark hair and pressed his body against hers as their lips joined.

He could feel where each part of her fit against him, like the perfect puzzle piece he hadn’t known he was searching for.

And as she breathed him in and wound her arms around his neck to hold him impossibly closer, Dieter shuddered as her touch sent electricity up his spine. No one stopped them—no one yelled “CUT!” or interrupted them, so Dieter deepened the kiss, exchanging the featherlight touches of lips with firmer presses.

He couldn’t remember a kiss like this, real or on-screen. And it was just a kiss! Not anything more than that, but he kissed her like he knew her. Fuck, he was kissing her like he was Dieter, and she was Bee.

“Woo!” Sam called out, and the applause and cheers broke out amongst the people in the room. Dieter wanted to laugh—she couldn’t even bring herself to say “Cut.”

This was in the bag. Bee was Celine—Dieter knew it the moment they started the scene, but if it was a compatibility that Netflix was looking for, they were not going to find a more compatible actress for him than Bee.

Despite his wish to stay close to her, Dieter pulled his hand away from Bee’s neck and took a large step back.

“How’s that for a compatibility test?” Sam joked, jotting down a note that Dieter could only think of saying, ‘THIS ONE YES.’ “Thank you, Bee, thank you, Dieter.”

Sam continued to talk to Bee, but Dieter had to get out of there before he said something stupid. There were many options of idiotic things that sat right on top of his tongue. The brutish, male side of him wanted to ask her if her boyfriend ever kissed her like that—and how insane was that???

No, he had to get out of here. So as Sam told Bee that Netflix would be in touch with heragent, Dieter made a break for behind the screen, where he could get a grip on himself and reality.

To calm himself down, Dieter made a checklist in his mind of things that were true and false.

True:

● That kiss was the best kiss he’d ever had in his entire life.

● Bee was an amazing actress.

● Bee deserved the role of Celine.

● Bee has a boyfriend.

False:

● Bee felt the same way that he did.

● Bee and Dieter could be more than just friends.

But after a moment of taking a selfish pause away from reality to sort out his feelings, Dieter couldn’t help but feel bad for disappearing on Bee. He should have thanked her for performing with him and should have reassured her that she did great during her audition. But when Dieter returned from around the bend of the screen, Bee had already left the building.

Despite the mental list he’d just made, he still wanted to be her friend. Especially if they were to be coworkers, he needed to be kinder to her. She didn’t deserve him coming off as rude or uncaring just because he couldn’t get his damn emotions under control.

So, with the two ‘False’ entries on his list in mind, Dieter chased after her, hoping to find her still by her car. Of course, he wasn’t sure what her car looked like, but this part of the parking lot was on the small side.

Dieter stepped out of the cool air conditioning and into the dry heat of Los Angeles in pursuit of Bee. His steps were hurried, taking full advantage of his long legs—until he drew up short.

Bee was parked right out front, and Dieter had only made it down the steps, and he was right upon her. He’d already planned the words out in his head—a white lie. Something along the lines of ‘Sorry, I had to take a phone call. Just wanted to tell you that you did a great job!’

Except, he’d planned to say those words to her before he saw that she wasn’t okay.

She was standing outside of her car, tears dripping down her face, snot bubbling at her nose, and her hand was shoving her key into the door lock but repeatedly missing. And despite his mental list, poor, hopeless Dieter needed to help her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Bee looked up at him. Welling tears turned her dark eyes glassy, and her nose was pink at the tip.

“I just really miss my dogs,” she choked out. The tears as they spilled over the edges of her eyes and created a river down her cheeks.

Fuck. Losing a pet is the worst. Dieter hated sad animal things, but he stood firm.

“Oh no, did something happen to them?” he asked. He tried to think of something else he could say to make her feel better. But when you lose an animal you love, there’s not much that can help to ease the pain—going to pet other dogs? The worst. Ice cream? A temporary fix.

Bee laughed, and more tears fell from her eyes as a result. “No, I just might have to give them up to my ex. It’s fine, though. It’s really not your problem.”

Ex.

Now, that word challenged everything for him. It was completely reasonable that Bee could have a different ex she was referring to. Hell, she was gorgeous. She could have most men—most people—in the world. But could this also be explained by his other theory? Could Bee have broken up with her boyfriend after the Disney promo shoot?

But giving animals up to an ex could also be a sign of something seriously wrong. Dieter set his selfish thoughts aside and focused on the woman before him.

“Oh,” he said. “Are you safe?”

“I’m safe,” Bee said. Her tears slowed. “Just a little sad, is all.”

Dieter didn’t know what to say. If she was safe, he didn’t need to help. If she was sad, he could help, but he couldn’t do much without blurring the lines and boundaries he knew needed to be put in place.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I just wanted to let you know that I think you killed it in your audition, Bee,” Dieter said. “I think you are a really good fit for the part.”

“There’s more to audition still,” Bee said with a shrug. “But thank you.”

She was right. There were more auditions for the role of Celine, but Dieter doubted any of them would hold a candle to her performance. Dieter couldn’t tell her as much. There were too many people involved in the decision of casting for him to get her hopes up like that. It wouldn’t be fair, especially if it were something as silly as paperwork that denied her the role.

But at the same time, Dieter did want to give her hope. She deserved to know how he felt about her performance.

“Don’t be humble,” he said. “I really think that this role was made for you. I’m going to recommend that they cast you, just so you’re prepared.”

“Wow, thank you, Dieter. I don’t even know what to say,” Bee said. She wiped at the tears on her cheeks to dry them off.

“Well, it’s not for certain, but I just thought you should know that I think it should be you. Even if you don’t get it, I want you to keep going. I could even text you the projects I’m auditioning for. I really want to work with you sometime,” Dieter said. He hadn’t planned it, but he couldn’t help but ask. They could be friends. That’s all they needed to be. He pulled his phone from his pocket. “What’s your number?”

Bee looked unsure as she said her number, which only confirmed Dieter’s doubts. She definitely still had a boyfriend. But they would be friends. He could help her with the industry and still get to see her.

She deserved that much. She had talent, and her dream job was well within reach.

“Got it! I’ll text you so you have mine,” Dieter said. “Get home safe, okay? And let me know if you need any help with your dogs. I might be able to pull some strings.”

He didn’t have any dog custody lawyers on file, but he did have a lawyer and a scary security guard he knew. But even though his offer of help was weak at best, Bee started crying more.

“Thank you,” Bee said. “That really means a lot to me, Dieter.”

“It’s really nothing,” Dieter said with a wave of his hand. “Anything for a friend.”

Dieter had to say it out loud because if he didn’t call her his friend, he worried he would scare her off. What he really wanted to do was hold her close like he’d just done in their scene. He could kiss it better. They could talk about her ex and how much of an asshole he was until dawn, for all he cared.

“Thank you,” Bee repeated. “I really appreciate you, Dieter.”

The words took his breath away, but so did the frantic text messages coming through from Claire and Sam.

[Claire]: Where are youuuuuuuuuu?

[Sam]: Next Celine is waiting on you.

[Sam]: Hello?

[Sam]: Gotta stay on schedule, Dieter.

He typed out a quick “Be right there.”

“And I appreciate you, Bee. I gotta get back inside. You take care,” he said.

He waved at her this time, guilty that he had to go so soon and leave her with her tears and stressful situation. He’d rather skip the rest of the auditions to help her. There was no way they would recommend another Celine for casting. Okay, maybe there was a way. There was still a chance that Sam liked another actress better than Bee—but still.

Dieter made his way back inside and made sure to text Bee so she had his number in case she needed anything.

[Dieter]: Hey, Bee! It’s Dieter. 🙂

Her response came quickly, as the next Celine was receiving instructions from Sam on which side to perform. He felt guilty checking his phone, but he couldn’t resist making sure that Bee had given him the correct number.

[Bee 🐝 ]: Hey! I’ve got your number saved now. Thank you for being so kind!

He texted her back immediately, needing to put his phone away before the actress began.

[Dieter]: Hope we get to work together on this project! Fingers crossed.

And that was the last time he’d had a moment to look at his phone until the afternoon rolled around. There were other actresses he was asked to perform with for compatibility purposes, but none of them were as good as Bee was, and Sam always cut off the scene before they made it to a spot where a kiss was indicated in the script.

He thought she had it in the bag, which was great news for Bee, but Dieter was starting to second-guess his excitement. Of course, he wanted her to get the role. He wasn’t the type of guy to selfishly wish bad outcomes on a person just because they were taken. But still, now, he wasn’t so sure if it was a great idea for him to be in such close proximity to Bee over months of filming and making out for the camera.

Dieter sent Bee a text after the conclusion of the last Celine’s performance. She was a bottle blonde who put on an overaggressive British accent for her audition that sounded like a caricature more than a character.

[Dieter]: I still stand by it. The best audition of the day. How’s your afternoon going?

There were still more auditions to go for the other minor roles, so Dieter sat and observed them while he waited for Bee to text back. Claire took off halfway through the second half of the audition day. Something about a family emergency, and before she left, they briefly discussed the role of Celine.

“I think Bee,” Sam said.

“Absolutely,” Dieter agreed. “I don’t think anyone else came close.”

“That was some kiss,” Claire said. “But I think she’s great for it. For full disclosure, I sort of have become personal friends with her in the last few days. We have the same agent.”

Claire looked at him as if she knew something when she spoke, but Dieter thought better than to fess up about asking for Bee’s number after the audition. There was no foul play here. This was Hollywood.

Everyone knew each other, kissed each other, and slept with each other. Hell, nepo babies were less than a joke and more of a reality. Besides, no one could even make an argument that Bee was favored for the role because he and Claire knew her. She was just that talented.

After Claire left, he continued to monitor his phone for a response from Bee. She never did reply, though, not through the hours of auditions or Dieter’s drive home or even around dinner time. He started to grow worried. Was it him, or was it her? Was she okay, or was she just not that into him?

Sam called him around 6 p.m. to let him know that Bee had won the role of Celine, and Dieter only felt dread. Still, he asked Sam if he could be the one to break the news to her, and Sam agreed.

If only she would text him back.

By the time it started to get dark out, he decided he should text Claire and ask just to make sure she was alright. In his defense, she had reported some concerning circumstances when they’d last spoken. It was well within his right to double-check and make sure that she was okay.

Besides, he had good news for her—news he wanted to be the one to share to cheer her up if she was still upset. He was sitting at his kitchen counter, putting off making dinner, when he finally typed out his message to Claire.

[Dieter]: Hey, I just wanted to know if you knew if Bee was okay. I spoke to her after the audition earlier, and she seemed a little upset.

Claire started typing immediately, and Dieter held his breath in his chest while he awaited her response. The message came through with a chime that startled him, even though he knew it was coming.

[Claire]: Yeah, she’s okay! It’s been a tough day. She crashed on my couch.

On Claire’s couch? Why is she at Claire’s house and not at her own? He couldn’t ask that, though. Instead, he asked if he could come over. That way, he could see her in person and be the one to make her day. Maybe he would even make her life. This was the role of a lifetime.

He’d never been to Claire’s house, but they had hung out plenty at parties for other projects, award shows, and general Hollywood shenanigans. Dieter liked Claire. She was fun and friendly, and she didn’t mind that Dieter preferred to stay away from getting close to Hollywood types.

[Dieter]: What a funny coincidence. I have news for her. Do you think I could come over to share it?

Claire’s response was a bit delayed, and he imagined the two of them squabbling over it.

[Claire]: Yeah, as long as you don’t make fun of her for her puffy eyes. She’s been crying, but she seems okay now.

But then Bee’s text came at the same time, and he knew that Claire and Bee were definitely talking about him. It made him nervous. Butterflies in his stomach, nervous.

[Bee 🐝 ]: Sorry! Long day, I crashed on Claire’s couch unexpectedly. I’m glad to hear it, though.😀 How was yours?

The text made his heart soar, but Claire’s message was much more important to respond to. If he could see her, then he could tell her that she got the role. He’d be the one to save the day.

[Dieter]: I promise I won’t. I figured something was up. When I talked to her earlier, she was crying too, but I’ve got news that will cheer her up, hopefully.

[Claire]: By all means, come on over then.

In the next message, Claire sent the address to her condo, and Dieter rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror. He looked alright. A little tired. There were definitely dark circles underneath his eyes, but nothing that a rush of adrenaline wouldn’t fix.

He sprayed his cologne on his neck and ran his fingers through his hair before departing for Claire’s condo. It wasn’t a far drive, but with every minute that passed, Dieter’s nerves were becoming more and more frazzled.

Finally, he pulled up outside the building and parked on the street before sending a quick text to Claire that let her know he’d arrived. He still hadn’t responded to Bee’s message, and he considered doing so but then thought better of it. He’d see her in minutes, seconds, maybe. Dieter stepped out of his car and walked up to the door.

He knew what he’d say when he saw Bee, and that made him feel more comfortable. In his head, he rehearsed the line over and over so that it felt normal in his mouth.

He expected Claire to open the door, but it was Bee who stood there. Her dark hair was messy, and her eyes were puffy, just like Claire had warned him. She looked as if she’d been through hell and back, but she’d done so well in her audition.

When he realized it was Bee who opened the door, he grinned and said, “Congrats, costar.”

“Congrats?” Bee asked. She looked adorably confused.

“Breathe, Bee,” Dieter said. It was so easy to playfully tease her, just like he had at the Disney promo shoot. “Maybe you need to pinch yourself too to prove that you aren’t dreaming. Whatever you need to do, just do it.”

From the couch, Claire laughed loudly. “Surprise, bitch! You’re a star, Bee!”

Then, there was the sound of dogs barking, and Dieter couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t sure what had transpired throughout the day, but for Bee’s sake, he hoped those were her dogs.

“I think I’m going to pass out,” Bee said.

She looked incredulous, like for her entire life, she’d doubted herself and never thought she’d be capable of securing a role like this one. Dieter remembered that feeling. He’d been there one day, young and impressionable and hopeful but also so filled with self-doubt.

Bee had talent, though. She had the look. She was born to be a star.

“Are you going to let me in, or do I have to stay outside all night?” he teased.

“Oh shit, yes, come in,” Bee said. “I’m just surprised, is all.”

You shouldn’t be, Dieter thought. You’re that good.

But he didn’t say that. He didn’t want to lay it on too thick.

“Who are the puppies?” Dieter asked. He crouched down to pet a dark brown dog who had approached him. The other one, a white, fluffy thing, was still seated atop Claire’s lap.

“They’re mine,” Bee said, and Dieter was so happy.

He didn’t want to pry, but he wanted to know everything. Why had her ex almost taken them? Why was she at Claire’s? How had she convinced him not to keep them?

“This is Fudgy, and Marshmallow is over on Claire’s lap,” she continued, pointing out who was who.

They were adorable names for adorable dogs. Named by a frustratingly adorable woman.

Claire laughed. “He’s my baby now.” She gently nudged Marshmallow off her lap and stood with a stretch. “Want something to drink, Dieter?” Claire asked, making her way to the kitchen. “I’ve got wine, beer, spirits.”

“A true Hollywood bartender,” Dieter joked. “I’ll have what you two are having.”

“We haven’t started drinking yet, so it looks like a whole big glass of nothing is in your future.”

“Well, then nothing is fine,” Dieter said. A flush rose to his cheeks. He was just trying to be agreeable.

“I’ll have a glass of wine,” Bee said, saving him from his embarrassment.

“Better to celebrate,” Dieter said to her with a wink.

She was so pretty, even after what looked to be a day of hell. He couldn’t help himself but flirt with her, even if it went against his mental checklist.

“Finally, you guys get the right idea. We’re having champagne, dammit. Bee just got a lead role in a Netflix original!” Claire shouted.

Her voice was so loud that Dieter almost worried for her neighbors before remembering that it was Saturday and it wasn’t very late at all.

“Wait, but how do you know?” Bee asked, flinching as the cork popped off the bottle that Claire had just opened. Both dogs started barking immediately but quieted with a stern shh! from Claire. “Wow, Claire, you know how to get them to behave.”

“I am mother now,” Claire declared. She poured three glasses of champagne from the bottle and distributed them between herself, Bee, and Dieter.

“The director called me. She should have texted your agent, too,” Dieter said. “I told Claire when I asked to come over, but I wanted to be the first one to tell you because we have history and all.”

History. When he said it, it sounded like he meant romantic history when he’d only meant that they knew each other from the Disney promo.

Claire caught onto the double entendre immediately and waggled her eyebrows.

“Not history like that, oh my god, Claire,” Bee groaned. “He’s talking about Disney. He came to my work, and we filmed some segments about the new Star Wars desserts that I designed.”

“It was a great time,” Dieter said. He was minimizing. It was the best time.

“Are you going to quit your job, Bee?” Claire asked, saving him by changing the subject. “You probably should.”

Dieter frowned. He hadn’t considered that Bee wouldn’t be able to bake anymore.

“You’re going to have to,” he said.

“Really? Like, actually quit it now?” Bee asked.

“As soon as this gets announced, there’s no way you’re going to be able to work there in peace. Plus, with the commitments of this project, there’s no way you’ll be at work long enough to actually get anything done,” Claire said.

Bee looked stunned and a little upset. “Wow, it’s that much time?”

“Yup,” Dieter said. “It’s part of why Netflix pays so well. You can’t really be in anything else while you’re filming for them. They don’t want too many titles coming out with your name attached when you’re working on a Netflix original. I’m in Star Wars, and this, that’s it for the next five years or so.”

“Five years?” Bee’s voice went high-pitched. “This show is going for five years?”

While Claire explained the current plans with the show, Dieter thought about how torturous it would be to spend the next five years of his life in such close proximity to her without being able to be with her. They would grow older together and further apart as they dated different people but came together each year to film lovesick characters in a fantasy world.

But then there was Bee, making a self-deprecating comment, and Dieter couldn’t help but intervene again.

“Do you think that I would take on a project that was likely to fail?” Dieter asked her, making direct eye contact with her.

She looked away, and Dieter fought the urge to put his hand under her chin and pull it toward him. He wanted to see her eyes, wanted to see what she was thinking. He wanted to tell her that she was amazing and that he’d known her for only two days, but he was already falling for her faster than he should be allowed to.

#dieter bravo #dieter bravo fanfiction #dieter bravo x oc #dieter bravo x ofc #agentbrandy #Dieter and Bee Universe

[writer-and-artist27]

[Image Description: Four screenshots from Fate/Grand Order showing in order, (1) the Bond Level Up screen for Assassin Mata Hari, where her Bond Level has gone up from 9 to 10; (2) the “Craft Essence Extracted” screen that shows Mata Hari’s Max Bond Craft Essence of “Worthless Jewel”; (3) a screenshot of Mata Hari’s Servant card, with emphasis on all 10 of her bond diamonds in the level screen being filled and about to be enhanced to Bond 11; and (4) a “Bond Level Limit Released” screen that shows Mata Hari’s Bond Level limit being broken to reach Level 11. End Description.]

It's been a while since my last bond achievement (and this one happened on July 18, darn work fatigue), and to make a milestone like this with one of my first Servants after the tutorial (I checked, I summoned Mata Hari a week after starting the game), it feels more meaningful.

So, with yet another song in mind, here's a story for one of my first Assassins. Thankie, Margaretha.

---------------------------

Mata Hari already knew she didn't have much compared to the other Servants in her class. Even for an Assassin, the distinct lack of Presence Concealment as a skill was one of many things that made her not even close to a good fighter, so why wouldn't she give up on her wish for the Holy Grail?

She never was able to achieve a happy family life when she was alive. Trying again as a Servant felt like a faraway pipe dream at best.

But when looking into the teary, star-filled eyes of the girl named Vy Duong, she started to reconsider.

Maybe it was the first few days Vy had come to Mata Hari in the middle of the night, scared from the occasional nightmare and wanting to talk about makeup and jewelry experience to fall back asleep. Maybe it was those moments in the early morning soon after, when Mata Hari would find the girl sleepy with unbrushed hair; how the simple act of easing tangles out of those brown strands started to become a comfort to her too. Or perhaps it was when Chaldea had tried to save Paul Bunyan, and even when facing that other Mata Hari, Vy had hugged her so much harder since. Or even in Salem, when Vy asked her oddly-timed questions and even cried over her faked death because Mata Hari meant something to her.

It felt like a glimmer of hope in the first time in forever.

It's why Mata Hari couldn't find herself doing anything but smiling shakily once a rainbow flame is being offered her way in the Enhancement Center of Novum Chaldea, the mana warm and soft just like the girl who summoned her. She should've known it was coming, but seeing it was different from imagining it.

"...You... you really are serious about this, hun?"

Even when a little taller, a little tougher, Vy's smile didn't change from their first meeting — appearing bright and happy as she held the Bond Chalice up to Mata Hari's eye level. "Aye. You've been with me for almost forever, Margaretha," was the warm response back, the words seemingly making the rainbow flame glow even brighter between them. "And I'd like you to stay with me. You're one of my honorary big sisters and I love you, Margaretha. Even if," a self-deprecating giggle left her lips, "I'm kinda out of Holy Grails right now to give to you at the moment, you're still on the top of the gifting list once we restock. Because it's you and I wanna thank you."

The jewels in Mata Hari's arms felt like nothing once the words registered in the back of her mind, and looking into those star-filled brown eyes had her own start to itch. "Honey..."

"Aye." Even when her own arms started to shake, Vy carefully put the Bond Chalice on one of the nearby tables to reach over and take Mata Hari's hands in hers to squeeze. "I hope it's not too much...? Because you really have helped me a lot, Margaretha. I feel like I couldn't have gotten through everything without you, so I couldn't help but love you. And I love you very very much."

It takes Mata Hari a moment to realize the worthless jewels in her arms are falling to the ground with loud clink clink noises akin to rain, her vision blurring as she tugged on her Master's hands. Because why would she need them now? Vy merely giggles once she's tucked into a hug, her nose resting against Mata Hari's neck in a clear sign of trust as the first sob leaves Magaretha's lips.

This is what I always wanted.

"I... I love you too, Vy. Honey. I love you too. Very very much."

"Aye!"

#mata hari (fate) #mastersona vy #bond 10 #short story #fate grand order #writing #passing days #unedited #long post #nice things #happy things #thank you mata hari #you really helped me a lot when i started the game #and even now i'm still glad you live #so thank you

[alwritey-aphrodite]

2. Fresh Flowers, requested by @creatively-analytical

2022 Summer Blurbs

It almost seemed crazy that after all these years, Frankie was still able to give you butterflies. The two of you had been dating for four years, engaged for one, and married for two, bringing the grand total of time together to 7 years.

It wasn’t always perfect and the two of you definitely had your fights, big and small. You’d fought when he failed that drug test and lost his job, and after he came back from the ‘boys trip’ almost a week later than he told you, with one of his friends in a body bag. Sometimes the two of you fought when he forgot to take out the trash or keeps putting off mowing the lawn.

But you always forgive him. After those big fights, your friends had told you that no one would blame you for leaving him, but you couldn’t. It wasn’t that you weren’t strong or that you let him walk all over you, but that you really did love him, and couldn’t imagine living without him. So you stayed, and he went to therapy, and the two of you are happier than ever.

Frankie shows his love through acts of service, doing little things for you that tell you just how much he appreciates and loves you. Sometimes that was buying your favorite snacks that he knew you were craving or taking your car into the shop after you’d mentioned it was making a funny noise.

Today, it was flowers from the farmers market.

Normally, the two of you would wake up earlier than normal on Sunday mornings over the summer and drive down to the farmers market, spending the mornings leisurely strolling around before it got too hot.

But, Frankie knew you hadn’t been sleeping well, and when he saw that you were still asleep after he woke up to get ready, he just couldn’t make himself wake you up. He knew you’d be bummed about missing the market, but he planned on buying all your favorite fresh fruits and vegetables to make it up to you. So, he planted a kiss on your forehead and wrote you a note saying that he let you sleep and he’d be back soon.

It was practically the afternoon when you woke up. Seeing the clock had startled you, combined with the lack of Frankie, but you calmed down significantly once you read the sweet little note he left you. You wandered downstairs and opened the windows to let in the warm air. You were in the middle of making yourself breakfast when Frankie opened the door and slipped off his shoes before setting down the groceries and wrapping his arms around you.

“How was the farmer's market?” You ask, voice scratchy from just waking up.

“It was nice,” he pulls you closer and starts to sway gently, with you in his arms, “I found the strawberries you like. And the honey stand was there today. And…”

He walks away, taking quick strands to grab the reusable bag that held his haul, “I found these.” As he says this, he pulls out a large bouquet of flowers, of oranges and pinks and yellows, the perfect summer colors.

“Frankie, that’s huge, where would we even put that?” You ask, but can’t refrain your grin. He looks bashful, as if he knew he went overboard but couldn’t help himself.

“I thought we could split it up, put it in smaller vases around the house.” There’s a blush creeping up his cheeks that sends those butterflies in your stomach into an absolute frenzy.

“I love them,” you say as you cross over to him, throwing your arms around his neck and planting a soft kiss on his lips, “and I love you. And thank you for thinking of me.”

“I’m always thinking of you, honey.”

Those damn butterflies again.

#frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales #frankie catfish morales x reader #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfiction #2022 summer blurbs

[calypso-finale]

Hundred Nine. Part 2

Tianna had to shout that, now I keep getting looked at by the family “what was on my face by the way? See I don’t trust you” he showed me his finger “oh some fluff, you’re so dramatic” Oakley side eyed me “how dare you say that, you literally been running because you didn’t trust me. I am the same guy that was digging holes in the ground so you can pee” he is right “I am sorry but after the fucking picture you posted you shouldn’t even be speaking to me, you nasty for that” he is so rude “everyone liked the picture besides you, stop it” he says that but like the way I was so confused “so what time you want me to come tomorrow? Like early? Shall I come early” Oakley asked “erm, well the party starts around one ish, so like you can come early. He will love to see you anyways, if you come about nine, you can have breakfast with us. Not like we have anything to do because the planner is doing it all. Come actually, for breakfast” I mean my dad will love seeing him anyways “cool, I will. Erm, look Rylee. The whole threesome thing, I don’t want you to be upset about it. Like you didn’t deserve that I get it, at that moment I didn’t know what was happening. I do regret it, I do. Like it isn’t the best thing to know, I just rather you admit it to me that you are mad with me about it” Tianna must have said something because she was speaking to him “I am not mad at you, I think it’s more hurt because like you was planning it and I wasn’t even there” he put his head down “I didn’t know where we was going, I can’t lie. You were young, you were in New York, you was partying and shit, you was with others, and I was here. Yeah we were dating, like I get that, but I really didn’t believe in us at that moment” he paused sighing out “I didn’t think we would get any further then we did ok, I didn’t think I would catch feelings, I promise you now. I didn’t. You was at an age where I just thought, we will be friends and it will fizzle out, and I regret it. I am sorry, from the bottom of my heart Rylee, I am. That is the honest truth from me, I didn’t think we would be more. And you got to see that, we are opposites right?” looking over at him “I agree, Oakley I am not mad because it’s the past, but it just hurts that is all, and I will get over it, but Oakley I get it. Like nobody would put us together, I am not mad at you, and I rather speak on it then just hold it for another time” he nodded his head “I just think I didn’t expect to be feeling the way I did, it’s weird you know” he laughed, I am not mad at him, and I get the reasoning, I accept that, but it stung.

Oakley has been around me a lot, like I think it’s time he goes to sleep and when I say he I mean Aziel because he has a big day tomorrow “Aziel, you going to let dad go now” he is holding onto Oakley tightly, but he is also falling asleep, he is tired. He has his eyes closed too “great, you can put him in the car seat then, I am going!” I announced, my family can party all night, but I rather rest for tomorrow “is he asleep” oh not Taylan here “yeah, I think he needs to go to bed now. He is tired” I just smiled at him “your home is amazing, I was not expecting such a grand home, you must miss it” he pointed at Oakley “erm I go there anyways, so I can’t miss something I am there at anyways” Oakley is being sassy, I like it “true, I seen the cars out there. How much? You don’t drive” he is nosey now “she for them for me, and because the apartment I am at, only a space for one car, I don’t want to park them outside, it’s never good to keep those card idle there, so Rylee let me keep them here, I switch up cars anyways” he has a nasty smile “understandable, it’s nice to see you in a better place. You look well” I am waiting for him to say something stupid, and he hasn’t yet “yeah, yeah, thank you. Ready for marriage now” I am glad Oakley is caught up in it and not me “need to make her an honest woman, Tianna is really wife material, I think having a baby outside marriage is a little degrading” see what I mean about him “so is a divorce, that sucks too” Oakley retorted “true” Taylan laughed “we need to go” I announced, “you both fucking again?” shaking my head “friends” I smiled at him as I walked off “guy wants a punch” Oakley said behind me “and we not doing that, we are just going to be cordial for my sister ok” I am so glad Oakley was there for that “I been around you for that reason” I was thinking why he was, and to know the reason why, that warms my heart.

I am half asleep and I have Imani in bed with me just talking, she jumped into my bed as soon as it turned eight, not even Aziel is awake which I know he will be “we haven’t brushed our teeth and you’re speaking on dick” Imani giggled “listen to me though, let him court you on that. Make sue you do it and you’re happy with it, he better be romantic too. And just let it flow, stop stressing on it” she seems so giddy about sex, she seems very happy though “I can’t wait to meet him, he is coming in the evening right?” she nodded her head “good, I will grill him too. Is that Aziel!?” I know his footsteps “a whole five year old Rylee” she said it out loud and it feels so weird to hear it because what the fuck and where has time gone “mommy!” he ran into my room “awww morning my prince, come here” waving him over to me, he ran ever so fast and then jumped onto the bed “awww my handsome boy, I love you” hugging him close “Imani, whose birthday is it?” looking at her “I don’t know, there is no birthday Imani said, Aziel smiled at me “it’s mine!” he smiled “really?” I pulled a face “your birthday” he nodded his head “my birthday” he smiled so wide, my handsome man “oh I didn’t know, how old are you going to be” he is giggling “five!” he spat “oh, but baby I forgotten though” he does not believe me “we didn’t know Aziel” Imani agreed “why?” he questioned “because it’s boring” now he is going to be mad with me “I tell papa” I grabbed him before he moved “I remembered! I would never forget when I gave birth to a rascal like you” I tickled him, I will never forget how shit that experience was to me.

My home is open has the team came in and out to set out the house so I had to get security out front, you can’t really trust anyone when the gates are fully opened and they can only come in if they have invites because honestly, I don’t trust anyone. London can be hell too, the robberies too that can happen, so I made sure to have security here and around the home too. I am glad I got a chef to do breakfast because ain’t no way I could be feeding this many mouths in the morning, even Taylan and Ti came, I like it. This makes me happy, to see everyone getting along and no arguments in sight “couple of the year will be here” Oakley said “let me guess Wyge and Halle” he nodded his head “he mentioned it, I mean back then I invited Wyge, can’t take it back now right” he has a point “it is what it is now really, we just going to have to deal with the new parents. Are your family coming?” be nice if they did “they are, they are better anyways. It will be good, I just peeped that your dad sitting next to Taylan” I chuckled “I know, my mom said he has to make an effort. Try and talk to him about the name thing, my mother is planning everything, her mind just doesn’t shut off. Like she is planning you future, you Fenty boy” Oakley pulled a face “don’t” he is saying that, but he accepted his fate “but then she has her daughter there too, you go where I go” I kissed my teeth “put that big head away, please” he is full of shit “but she is right, one plus one equals two. You been a little invested, you chatting it Rylee right now” he is so annoying “am I wrong? You know I am not, Fenty boy my ass, she got her eldest daughter back in the cut and I was the ploy, I just made money out of it” I have no words “I hate you” he laughed out “nah you not even funny, you getting a little too above yourself now” I hate his face “simp” I said turning my head.

If it was up to Oakley he would have Aziel in tech fleece, but I had to make sure he looked extra handsome, but he is not in the mood for whatever reason now, I am having to carry him “you too big for this you know” I said lifting my dress up, my boobs about to pop out “Aziel, everyone is here for you too, look. Go to your dad, he wants to be picked up” thank god really, he was pulling my dress down “what is wrong with you now” Oakley asked, “is everyone here now?” I asked fixing my dress “yeah, yeah. Is this your party or his?” rolling my eyes “just say I look good and be done with it” walking off “well” he just said, walking off to go to the back yard because everyone is waiting for Aziel “look baby” I said, this whole back yard has been done up for him, all car themed too, hot wheels or whatever he likes “Jordan is here too” I pointed, his friend from nursery, I had to invite his little nursery friends and he just smirked, he is happy now “body on hundred bitch” Halle spat “oh I didn’t see you girls there” hugging Halle “I see you bought the second man” I said looking at Wyge “the baby daddy now, come on” she is blooming “girl that baby about to be big” already poking me “hey Wyge” smiling at him “we didn’t get nephew anything because we want to take him out” Lillian explained “no, don’t! Just being here is enough” hugging Lillian “the parents are looking cute, saw you both laughing together” I chuckled “it’s annoyance really” I laughed.

I am a little emotional because my son is starting school in just a matter of days after just turning five now, I am glad just one boy out of his little kindergarten class well nursery is going to the same school as him and I think it’s low-key his best friend but Aziel says his best friend is his dad so there is that. I told Oakley he has to watch the kids too because I am not having this bad behaviour to these cute little girls, like these boys be plotting on these beautiful girls because they don’t like them “I forgot to ask did you manage to get Aziel uniform” turning to Prudent, I have never in my years on this earth have known a person called Prudent until now, British are different, she is a mixed race girl. Her family has money like mine really, her son is a terror like mine and is Aziel bestie “I did actually, I went there, and I got him everything. Like even down to the shoes, they are really fussy with that” she nodded her head “they are because I said can he just wear black air forces and they said no, straight up what is in that store is the only things they can wear. So they are very strict on it, has he tried it on yet? I cried I can’t lie” I cooed out “and that is why I haven’t tried it on yet, I’m sad really. I think this is where he will just grow, he’s not my baby really now, his dad didn’t want him to go to private, so like he’s a little disinterested with it. He said it’s pointless, but it’s protecting him, he needs it” Prudent nodded her head “he does, he has that name and the connection you have. My partner was against, he said look he will be the only black child there but now, he’s seen Aziel. He’s calm, I just hope they take it all the way to college” smiling “I hope so, but they said they will determine which school I they think is best for them after year 2. We going to have to ignore what they say personally” only my uncle Herb would be with the kids on the bouncy castle “I agree, Jordan loves Aziel, even though I said you both play rough, but it’s boys for you” she is right, and that is what worries me when they play “my sister always seems to be the main target, I’ll be back Prudent” I made a quick run to the pool, because I see what my son is doing he isn’t being nice to Emi at all, who needs men to look after kids because they are busy playing themselves “no thank you son” picking Emi up “you was about to push her in the pool” he shook his head “mhmm your got your arm back ans acting brand new, be good. I am serious” if only that cast came off a little later “Emi, you need to get it together, your nephew isn’t it” I am always saving her ass “and thank you Jordan!” Snatching Emi hair tie from him “Lee” Emi hugged me, I feel so weird that I have a sister this tiny “yes little miss Cookie Monster” let me fix her hair since my parents forget where she is at times exist.

It’s hard work doing an actual kids party and inviting kids, I mean we always do parties, but this party is having his little nursery friends here and it’s hard work just pleasing others “Aziel, let’s dry you off now and then you can eat, come. Your friends are eating too” waving him over, I didn’t expect these kids to want to fucking go in the pool but here we are “good boy” helping him out “this is my eldest sister Rylee” looking at Imani “oh” Reuben actually came “hi” shaking his hand “hi, nice to meet you. I’m Reuben, your home is amazing. I just never seen something this big, I also got him a gift” I cooed out “you didn’t have too, Aziel. Rueben bought you a gift, what do you say” he held it out to him “thank you” wrapping the towel around him “thank you so much, Imani. Please put it with all the gifts because I just want to get him changed” Imani smiled “ok, I will” picking up Aziel “no more pool, I am serious” Oakley appeared out of nowhere “you’re supposed to help me” I said to him “you been hanging with the boys” he laughed “that were strong you know, just stood there with them I got high from the fumes” rolling my eyes “come with me” I said to Oakley placing my free hand on his arm “go ahead of me” he is high, I can tell but who gave then the right to do that but what is new with the boys in my family “aye, guess what” Oakley turned to me laughing “come here” he waved me over “what?” Frowning at him “they got Taylan high as shit, I walked away because he was talking shit” letting out an oh “that’s not good, Oakley don’t laugh. Take Aziel, get him dressed. I need to tell Ti, it’s not fair on Ti” Oakley is laughing but I don’t want the mess, god knows what kind of man he is with weed and maybe dad might be playing a game “fine” he took Aziel and I just walked off to find Tianna “Jah!” I spat, he is with Ti “get Ti for me” I said, he pointed at me, and she looked, waving her over. I just do not want drama on my son birthday party with people that aren’t family, these are guests, and I can’t have them fighting like that “what’s up?” Ti asked “does your man do weed? Because he is doing it, like I don’t want him acting a certain way” Ti looked over at him “I will check actually, why is he even having that” she walked off, following behind her. My dad isn’t with Taylan now, he is with some other guys, I think they may be the partners of the kids that have come “Taylan, can I speak to you” he is laughing already at nothing, I mean if he can’t drink what will weed do. Standing behind Tianna “you have been having weed?” she asked him, he looked at me “let me guess that unwarranted man told you, and you went chirping to Tianna” he pointed “well I do not want shit at my son party, if you can’t handle yourself” I said “I would do a better a job at being a parent drunk” he laughed “Taylan, shut up right now. Rylee, I can handle it, just leave us” glaring at Taylan “you got issues with me” walking off, did I decline him in the past life because what the fuck is his problem.

Aziel being fake shy is the funniest, my dad doing the most as he they sang happy birthday to him “Happy Birthday big A!” my dad shouted, looking at Aziel “blow the candles out then, carefully though” Oakley said to him “close your eyes and make a wish too” he squeezed his eyes tight “you done the wish?” he nodded his head and then opened his eyes “ok blow the candles” he bought his head closer but I wanted them to be blown out so I did it at the same time “yay!” we all clapped “Wow, mine” he pointed at the cake “you like it? Dad chose it” he nodded his head “family picture real quick!” Mika shouted on behalf of the photographer “he couldn’t shout” Mika said to me, I laughed “just closer please” the photographer said to us both, Oakley moved over to me instead “look at this guy, stood there like some OG roadman, my guy!” Halle spat which made Oakley laugh “perfect” the photographer said “Hey! Can my family and Oakley family come over please!” I half shouted “just family” I looked at Taylan “mom, Juke. Come” Oakley said to his family, they are very small compared to mine “dad” he came up behind Oakley and I and wrapped his arms around us both “papa” Aziel jumped up and down on the seat “dad my makeup” like everyone is just taking either pictures or videos, I am about to be pulling ugly faces “this still my baby” my dad hugged me “oh my god” I spat, he is so annoying for this.

#Chrianna #Chrianna FF #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Chrianna Fanfic #Chrianna Fanfiction

[lesmislettersdaily]

Tranquility

Volume 1: Fantine; Book 2: The Fall; Chapter 5: Tranquility

After bidding his sister good night, Monseigneur Bienvenu took one of the two silver candlesticks from the table, handed the other to his guest, and said to him,—

“Monsieur, I will conduct you to your room.”

The man followed him.

As might have been observed from what has been said above, the house was so arranged that in order to pass into the oratory where the alcove was situated, or to get out of it, it was necessary to traverse the Bishop’s bedroom.

At the moment when he was crossing this apartment, Madame Magloire was putting away the silverware in the cupboard near the head of the bed. This was her last care every evening before she went to bed.

The Bishop installed his guest in the alcove. A fresh white bed had been prepared there. The man set the candle down on a small table.

“Well,” said the Bishop, “may you pass a good night. To-morrow morning, before you set out, you shall drink a cup of warm milk from our cows.”

“Thanks, Monsieur l’Abbé,” said the man.

Hardly had he pronounced these words full of peace, when all of a sudden, and without transition, he made a strange movement, which would have frozen the two sainted women with horror, had they witnessed it. Even at this day it is difficult for us to explain what inspired him at that moment. Did he intend to convey a warning or to throw out a menace? Was he simply obeying a sort of instinctive impulse which was obscure even to himself? He turned abruptly to the old man, folded his arms, and bending upon his host a savage gaze, he exclaimed in a hoarse voice:—

“Ah! really! You lodge me in your house, close to yourself like this?”

He broke off, and added with a laugh in which there lurked something monstrous:—

“Have you really reflected well? How do you know that I have not been an assassin?”

The Bishop replied:—

“That is the concern of the good God.”

Then gravely, and moving his lips like one who is praying or talking to himself, he raised two fingers of his right hand and bestowed his benediction on the man, who did not bow, and without turning his head or looking behind him, he returned to his bedroom.

When the alcove was in use, a large serge curtain drawn from wall to wall concealed the altar. The Bishop knelt before this curtain as he passed and said a brief prayer. A moment later he was in his garden, walking, meditating, contemplating, his heart and soul wholly absorbed in those grand and mysterious things which God shows at night to the eyes which remain open.

As for the man, he was actually so fatigued that he did not even profit by the nice white sheets. Snuffing out his candle with his nostrils after the manner of convicts, he dropped, all dressed as he was, upon the bed, where he immediately fell into a profound sleep.

Midnight struck as the Bishop returned from his garden to his apartment.

A few minutes later all were asleep in the little house.

#les mis #les mis letters #volume 1: fantine #book 2: the fall #chapter 5

[askatriangleandastar]

Been watching The Sun and Moon Show for awhile now but thinking about The Eclipse Duo, the Creator, and his impact on Moon specifically tonight.

The fact that this man and went with a design for an animatronic that had to be insanely complex to account for not only a dual AI but for shifts in form and function. To work without the expectation of a human needing to be present to assist or ensure functionality. The Daycare Attendant isn’t made to need an assistant and given everything needed to be balanced for that, that’s incredible.

That being said, for as cruel as it seems now [Given Sun and Moon are fully sentient and sapient] there’s not a bad logic for their set-up. A machine meant to care for children, to play games and keep them safe, would be more likely to develop quirks due to those functions. To have a need to work, as to never get tired of the children, to have a want to play no matter how simple the games.

To not be alone, because if it were to be alone there might be distress at an inability to entertain and care, to be unable to be useful. It could be in part why Sun is so unyielding and full of energy, and in parallel why LUNAR is so solely driven by the pursuit of such outlets.

Eclipse gave him the chance to grow, yes, but he’s grown from what Sun was for Moon: Someone to play games with, to spend time with once the children were asleep or had left for the day. Calming like a nightlight.

Back to Moon and the Creator: Moon has EVERY reason to not want to see this person. A person who, from his perspective, irresponsibly trapped him since the beginning with Sun. Who’s “grand design” for Moon’s existence was distorted when the Attendant became a physically separate duo, and who’s objections could threaten that current norm.

It would be very, very easy for this inventor to see the 2 being separated as something like a car crash in slow motion. That the little stability there might be is unsustainable and going to lead to a corruption of systems. If he finds out about Eclipse and Lunar and sees them as such. If there being a reflection of the other, as barebones are they might’ve been at initial separation, was to him a clear sign that their systems are unable to function without a secondary to balance them.

Eclipse’s behavior has honestly made me wonder if he might end up expressing a resentment SUN has for the Creator, like Moon openly has before. If a part of the threats, of wanting the Star, of messing with the 2 was to draw their Creator out from wherever he was. If there’s an anger there not only in being left behind by Moon, left alone, but at the one responsible for why being alone can’t be enough for him. 

I’m genuinely excited to see how the Creator interacts when in person, if he even sees Sun and Moon AS people. His reactions to Moon’s innovations and modifications, to the state the boys have gotten themselves in after everything that’s been happening, to possibly the recognition of magic and its affect on the capacity of artificial intelligence. To Lunar, to Eclipse. It’s almost certain to go sideways and that’s a ride I’m all for on this countdown to the final deadline of October 31st. 

#Octa Talk #the sun and moon show #the sun and moon show theory #it just took over my entire focus while refueling and heading home #might write something down for the potential au that is the poppy playtime pals crossover series of episodes #found that living rent free like stumbling across a racoon cronching on ritz crackers in the attic when you go up there for some decorations #its such a chonky racoon of an idea. going nowhere fast but very defined.