#we get along now that they've grown up enough to want to talk to me

[thirteen-jades]

Finally got around to playing Armored Core 6 (thanks @self-loving-vampire!) and I’m loving it so far. The movement is a hell of a lot of fun, which is a good sign as movement is usually the first thing I start complaining about in a game (this is mostly a me thing, I just like being fast and zippy and it’s very easy for games to start feeling sluggish if they have fairly normal movement). The weapons feel nice, I’m getting a feel for how it plays, and I quite like the aesthetics. Mechs are cool!

I had some vague knowledge of the game before playing but even so I wasn’t really prepared for just how blunt and on the nose it is about the fact that you’re the bad guy here. In one of the early missions, you come upon a pack of trash mobs and a radio line plays of some guy talking to his comrades. He says something to the effect of "there's just one of them, we can do this!" in the wavering voice of a man who has never fired a gun before trying to find any amount of confidence before he puts his life on the line for his home. And then you unceremoniously blow him and all his friends straight to hell and move on. It doesn’t even tell you which enemy was talking, he’s just another faceless mook for you to brush aside on your way to destroying the objective.

Every now and then one of them will ask why you're doing this, and there's literally no answer to give them even if you could. The game doesn't even pretend that you're fighting a ~just war~ or something, they're just like "yeah, these guys are the Rubicon Liberation Front. They're getting in the way of our corporation exploiting their world, go destroy them" and then you do. And it's not even very difficult. They've got terrible equipment and no training whatsoever and just don't stand a chance. But you keep getting to hear their comms, and those comms keep painting an ever clearer picture that you’re not a soldier fighting a war so much as a grown adult beating a bunch of children to death. Nobody tries to justify what you're doing in any way whatsoever, your handler in the intro makes a comment like "y’know, if we make this job work then we'll strike it rich and you can buy your life back" and that's it. Regardless of what “buy your life back” is referring to here, it’s plain that you’re in this purely for selfish motives.

And that’s to the extent that 621 is even deciding to do this at all. So far it’s also done a great job of dehumanizing the main character completely, and you never really make any decisions beyond which of two missions to do first and how to build your AC. People keep referring to them as their handler’s dog, nobody expects them to have anything to say or any opinion whatsoever, and that’s great because as a matter of fact they don’t have any opinion about any of this. They’re just here to blow up whatever they’re told to.

The most memorable instance of this so far, and what really made it clear that this isn’t just the game not wanting to voice the MC or something, was one of the early mission briefings. You’re tagging along with some ACs from one of the corps, and the guy in charge of their in-house fighters at the end of the briefing says something to the effect of “now sound off!”, followed by a beat of dead silence. Then he says “eh, good enough” and ends the call. This makes it clear this isn’t just a pre-recorded message; it’s someone talking to 621, expecting a response, and not getting anything. It’s a little detail that I laughed about in the moment, but I really like how telling it is about your character as a person.

#ac6 #armored core 6 #armored core vi

[closetsof-backlogged-dreams]

opinions on morgwen

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDSJFH;DAJKSDJ

hot take of the day: morgwen, when looking at just the plot and its existing holes, actually makes more sense than merthur

ik!! ik!! outrageous. proposterous. INSANITY. but morgwen would actually ASSIST in fixing my biggest problem with the entire series, the biggest hole in morgana's very holey character arc: her hatred for arthur.

ive actually talked about this before, in this post:

"for example, when morgana began to hate arthur and want him dead and stuff—that development came out of nowhere. for the entire series up until that point, she had loved and cared for him. now, all of the sudden, she wants him dead?? now, it had made sense for uther. he had done terrible things to morgana and could very clearly see the line between her love and hate for him. you could to watch her tip-toe along it in real time until she began plotting his murder. that arc made sense. but arthur? there was no point where we saw arthur do anything that would make her hate him the way she did. he was just randomly lumped together with uther as another pendragon she had to kill to get the throne. but, again, it doesn't make sense! she never lumped them together. in the episode To Kill the King, morgana directly compares arthur and uther by telling him that, 'You're a better man than your father. Always were.' again, she never lumped them together! yet, later on, that's exactly what she does."

expanding on the beginning of that quote: in my opinion, this is what a character arc should look like: (and behold, the reason this ask took me a hundred years to answer... a CHART (made by moi))

^that is a very basic idea of a character arc, when a person starts one way and ends in another, all because of different inciting incidents forcing them to change. a slightly more complex version of this will look a little like this:

In this one, there is a very clear "Point B" where you can see that they've changed—that there is still more change to come, but that they have grown. this is how Morgana's character arc is shaped. in season two, you can very clearly see that Point B, and it's actually why it's my favorite season of Morgana's character development. season two showcases her gradual downfall as she struggles being a sorceress in the center of Camelot as Uther's own ward. everything you see her feel and struggle with feels very real.

season three is when it all starts to go awry. we obviously know that this is the season that she reaches that horrible Point C, when her character arc is complete and she turns into that wretched villainess we all know and love.

the issue with this is that there is a very important checklist-style of things she needs to believe in order to turn into this person:

✅find out about her magic

✅hate Uther

✅meet Morgause and believe in her goals

✅hate Arthur

i fully believe that she would not and could not change into the person she became without hating Arthur, because that was why she wanted to take the throne—she believed that both Pendragons couldn't be trusted to repeal the magic ban, and would continue the endless cycle of genocide. if she still cared about Arthur, still had faith in him, then she wouldn't have been so desperate to be crowned queen.

do i think that Morgana's faith in him was already wavering? absolutely. but i also believe that something HUGE had to happen to shatter her faith in him entirely. what could have been one of the best ways to do this?

eating away at her affections for him, slowly, with one or two issues before wiping out every good feeling she has ever felt for him with one big incident. how does morgwen tie into this, though?

it's simple: make arthur and gwen's relationship very obvious to morgana. force her to encounter it often. make her uncomfortable, because SHE loves gwen, has always loved gwen, and now her brother who spent years not even knowing who she was is supposedly in love with her?? that would be enough to eat away at anyone's affection for their brother. morgana wasn't stupid. she figured out their relationship very quickly, and was obviously disgusted with the idea. BUILD on that disgust. and then, once its obvious morgana is heart-wrenchingly jealous of arthur, make arthur do something stupid or harmful towards magic. shatter morgana's faith in him.

it would work so perfectly!! everything would fall into place!! all those weird plot holes surrounding morgana's downfall would make a million times more sense. imagine really only loving two people in the world: your best friend, your maidservant, the love of your life and your childhood friend, your ever-lasting nuisance, your brother. imagine them both falling in love while you can only watch helplessly. that's a perfect villian origin story, paired with uther's abuse, morgause's manipulation, and her own alienation from the people around her.

so, i know this was a lot, and took me a hundred million YEARS to respond to, but i'm literally so passionate about this its not even funny. if you want me to expand on anything or if you have any questions, please let me know!!! i love talking about this part of the show:)

#morgwen #merlin #bbcm #bbc merlin #merthur #arthur pendragon #morgana pendragon #gwen merlin #gwen pendragon #merlin bbc #merlin emrys #uther pendragon

[kharmii]

Someone posted more garbage blaming male isolation on 'white guy culture' and 'capitalism', and then, like a coward, they made it so a person couldn't reblog. I still wrote something in reply:

No, it's not the usual bullshit sheltered left-wing college kids want to blame it on. No, everything isn't the fault of 'capitalism' or 'eeebul white guys'. Again, secular progressivism has caused more death and misery worldwide than all religious wars combined. If anything, leftwing culture has made everything more effed up for men with screw around culture creating an environment where we now have the greatest percentage of unmarried men in recorded history. For sure, it's not healthy for men to treat their SO as their only source of emotional support, but now they don't even have that.

Everything started going wrong during the Carter and then Reagan administrations in the 70/80's. Before then, men could get good paying jobs in a factory near where they lived and make enough money to support a wife being a stay-at-home mother and a couple of kids. Pushing women to enter the workforce 'for independence' is a huge scam foisted on us, because now we have a culture where both parents often have to work to barely afford a couple of kids and a mortgage. Women find it more noble to be cogs in the machine. Some people can't even manage the kids, (or they are lazy and selfish) so they end up with a butt-licking poop-eating stanky dog-child to get extra weird about.

Next thing you know; they're leaving rude comments about Kristi Noem shooting a damn dog (it's a fucking dog, calm down weirdos) while gushing, "I love my dog so much! Look at my shit-breath baby that just got done eating its own ass and is now licking off my ice-cream cone! Isn't that cuuuuute!"

Anyway, another problem we have (that goes along with the point about men in social clubs) is that we don't have close knit communities anymore. We don't have neighborhoods where everybody knows each other. How many people live in isolation on social media and don't even know their neighbors? How often do you see block parties or guys inviting the other guys on the street over for a cookout? Less people have children, so you don't meet new people having other peoples' kids knocking on your door asking if your child can play. (I suppose theoretically you could meet new people letting your stank-beast 'child' run around a dog-park).

-So then you have isolated men who have to meet other male friends through work. How would that work out for me if I was a male? It sure didn't work out for me being a female. I married and had children with a man from the other side of the goddamn planet while the losers I worked with labeled me as no fun because I wasn't into the Dem voting blue state party culture.

If you are a man in my place of employment, you have to be into the casino boats, betting pools, smoking pot jokes, telling the same stupid stories about getting drunk at bars and ballgames during your long-ago youth....and it's no wonder half of them ended up childless, unmarried weirdos in their forties and fifties. There was the one lowlife into fuck-and-dump culture, (and even he lived with his mom until age 40) but most of them are incels who are getting fatter and balder. None of them have grown into mature role-models with great character. None of them are the elders at the church or the guy you'd go to if you needed advice.

Side note: The guy they've talked into stalking me doesn't fit in with the culture. Under better circumstances, (like if he wasn't a misogynistic patronizing asshole who isn't even attracted to me, and I'm not really sure what the deal is.....) I might be into him, because for an older man, he's physically fit. He's into one of those Sierra Club type groups full of people doing outdoorsy shit, such as camping, hiking, canoeing..etc. He belongs to a lot of co-ed social clubs where they play cards on Thursdays or whathaveya...

Meanwhile, the flabby lowlife goobers complain that 'there's nothing to do in a small town! This is why so many men are dying of fentanyl!'

I've taken the piss about this so much. The Kharmii be like.......you mean there's not enough lowlife shit for low lives to do in a small town? Low lives have to OD on fentanyl out of boredom because there's not enough for dirty rotten low life scumbags to do? You have to drive all the way up to the suburbs for strip clubs and casino boats, and the Biden economy has made gas over $4/gallon?

#capitalism #dog people #leftist culture #left wing culture #die incel! #socialism always fails #fentanyl #it's okay to be white #stop it #srsly tho #3 time losers #trash culture #drinkun and smokun and gamblun #kristi noem

[bebestay]

I think what upsets me the most about woojin posting about his departure and about everything is that it feels like he's using the SKZ name to draw up traffic and use them to promote himself. (Also please note that I could not stomach watching the video fully because I apparently have some unaddressed anger towards him that I should REALLY get sorted out.)

I honestly think he's releasing all of this to try and paint himself in a better light since he is now signed with an SM subsidiary and will likely be getting more opportunities to perform since he's no longer independent (?). Like this is damage control 101. However to do it 4 YEARS LATER AND PUBLICLY?! Like did you even talk to them or did you think this would be enough?

In my own eyes, I don't like him. Honest to the above when I say that I forgot he was even active. I stopped following him when instead of just denying his allegations, he used that post to promote his solo debut. Literally one line of "hey its not real" and three lines of "my debut's coming please continue waiting" in the same post. Then I just dropped my support of him altogether when he used those allegations and turned them into a documentary for his debut. Like it was punch after punch.

-

As someone who went through that dreaded period of October 2019 and saw how torn up the group was, it is an absolute dick move to do this. The boys and JYPE have already wiped their hands of woojin, but he seems to be clinging to that one thread with an iron grip cause it keeps him relevant. Do I hope he finds success? Yes because he's a very talented vocalist and performer. Do I want him to get the success by allowing the media to continuously connect him to his former group? No. Absolutely not. Like what use is it to go out to make your own name if you allow them to keep you attached to something you've said you want no part of. Do I hate him? No but I don't like him either.

Something I always see pointed out is that it seems like Woojin always wanted to be a soloist but knew it would be tougher to gain recognition as an unknown . So he accepted Chan's invite and the rest was history.

-

SKZ wanted to leave us with the good memories they had as 9. Chan even let him say goodbye one last time on Channie's Room before the month of radio silence. He wanted us to remember the good in him. Then everything happened and we got the re-recordings in 2020. They had officially changed their story and dropped him. District 9 became Bay 8. The lore was rewritten. The world was restarted.

Whatever bond the group had from pre to post survival show, it was gone after the first year. Sure they got along on camera, but that could've been just that. There are videos that I go back and watch, and I get this energy that he's not a friend but a coworker. Like, I can't imagine the pain that must have gone through Chan as he built this group, chose each one of them, and got hit with a big betrayal. He even apologized for woojin's departure! Something he shouldn't have had to do!

After woojin left, I saw a change in the group. The boys were more open and energetic with each other. They were happy, but also scared. A lot happened in a short amount of time with little time for recovery. Sure, they still find it tough to look back at that era with smiles but they know that they've grown from it and are even stronger than before. They've grown into their sound, finding a tone that fits their voices - a sound I fully believe would not fit woojin.

The eight of them have moved on and are thriving, but he still seems to be clinging to that one line of connection and it's starting to fray and give.

I won't forget what he did. I will not forgive.

That's all for now.

This is the last time I will talk about my feelings towards woojin and his history with Stray Kids.

#stray kids

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Modern AMEW

Not today, writer's block! I'mma write a THING even if it is stupid and short and just exists to say I wrote a THING!

-

"Mama, I can't find the kittens," George pouted, looking under the sofa.

Mary sighed. Sybbie had wanted a kitten, so for her birthday Tom had taken her to see Mr. Mason whose cat had just had a litter. Of course George and Marigold had come along and by the time the birthday girl had selected her new pet, the others had fallen in love with two of it's litter mates. Fortunately Marigold's kitten went with her back to Brancaster, but given that it was a litter of four, none of the children could abide the idea of the last kitten being left all alone, so it had been taken for Caroline, even though she was too young to care. It had all gone well enough, so far, but George was having problems with the notion that kittens, unlike toys, could move and therefore wouldn't always be there when you wanted them. "They've probably fallen asleep somewhere, Georgie, and you should let them be. Kittens need to play, but they also need a lot of sleep."

The boy sighed, but obediently stood and nodded. At least he was old enough to understand things the first time he was told.

Mary smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'm sure they'll turn up. Why don't you see if your father has time to play a bit of cricket? He normally has a bit of free time about now. And speaking of finding things, I need to find Thomas. We were going to do the roof inspection today."

"Alright, Mama!" Apparently concern for the missing kittens was easily overruled by the possibility of maybe hitting the ball this time. He was getting better at it. He started to run out of the room, then immediately checked himself to a fast walk, apparently remembering the rules about running in the house.

Mary watched him go with fond pride, then, checking her watch, went in search of her third butler. They'd agreed that three o'clock would be the best time for the inspection, so it was odd that Thomas wasn't already there. Although he had his faults (although he'd grown out of the worst of them, thankfully), he was normally Johnny on the spot when it came to punctuality. He wasn't in the office. Thinking that perhaps he'd gotten talking and lost track of time, she checked the staff break room, but he wasn't there. Andrew was there, though, so she asked him.

"Last I knew he was going to the library, m'lady," the young man replied. "There was something he wanted to look over for the event tomorrow."

'The event' was Edith giving a reading from her most recent book. It was being held at Downton rather than Brancaster because the book was set in Yorkshire...and, Mary was quite certain, because her sister wanted to drive her insane. Really, she wasn't always popping up to hold events at Edith's house! Still, that wasn't Andrew's problem. With a nod and a word of thanks, she turned and headed to the library.

As she walked through the door, Mary immediately spotted Thomas sitting on one of the sofas. "There you are. I've been wait-" she stopped, her notice moving beyond 'butler' and 'sofa' to take in the entirety of his situation. She sighed. "Oh. Oh dear."

Thomas gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry. I sat down." He grimaced. "In my defense, my shoe had come untied and I just meant to lace it up, but before I was done the grey one got me and...well."

"Yes, I see." Mary looked at the butler, firmly pinned in place by a small pile of fur in his lap. If you knew the colours you were looking for, you could pick out all three kittens - grey, black, and multi-coloured. They were clearly all asleep.

Thomas simply looked at her. She'd never seen the man look so helpless in her life.

After a moment of debate, she did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. Shaking her head, she sighed and looked at the mantle clock. "I suppose we can do the inspection a bit later. They're kittens, they can't sleep that long." She gave the butler a smile that was probably more confident than she felt.

"I'd think not," Thomas replied, although he didn't sound as certain.

"Right then, aim for four?"

#downton abbey #downton abbey fanfiction #stupid thing but i'm making rude gestures at my writer's block #modern au #thomas barrow #mary crawley #lady mary #george crawley #fluff #so much fluff #ALL THE FLUFF

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Another snippet (this time from El's POV):

"Never been in trouble before."

That's what my mum said when I told her. Shows how much she knows... because that isn't actually true.

I had a lunchtime detention back in Year 8. Which was nearly five years ago, so I guess it's understandable that my parents wouldn't remember that all too well. And it likely wouldn't bother me quite as much as it does if they weren't so busy with being all successful that they forget other pivotal moments in my life. And my brother's, when he used to live here. I know they never mean to push us aside, and to their credit, they've gotten better at not doing that. But they straight up forgot to do anything for my 17th birthday last year. I brought it up the night before, and Mum was actually shocked! Which is just so... bad. I told Adam over the phone later that day, and he just laughed and was all like, "Glad I don't have to put up with that crap no more!"

I'm glad somebody was able to enjoy themselves that day.

As for the rest of us at home, we had to order some last-minute food and cake. We ended up pulling off a nice little super short-notice party just for us. And then the following weekend, Steph put together a surprise party at her place which cheered me up.

Mum and Dad did make it up to me at Christmas a few months later, though. I got a ton of cool stuff. Including my car!

I love my parents so much, and I appreciate everything they've done (and continue to do) for me. But sometimes I almost feel envious of Adam. The freedom he has now. Even though it has come with the price of never seeing or talking to either of his parents ever again. And not being with me anymore. Since I'm still stuck here and all.

Life is so complicated for no reason... Why can't we all just get along?!

But yeah... I've been in trouble before. It's not a common occurrence for me, but it has happened before. I remember that day so clearly. Not even really because of the detention, but because of the conversation I had during detention. It was the first time I made a connection with Alice Johnson. She was a relatively new student at the time, and we're still friends to this day!

___

Here's how the conversation went (more or less):

Mr Peters (our main supervisor for the hour) had briefly left the room, and I used that as an opportunity to go talk to B. Alice had apparently overheard our conversation, because as soon as I got back to my seat next to her, she immediately felt the need to address it.

"Wow," she murmured to herself, her tone dry.

I turned my head to face her for the first time since I got there when I heard that. "What?" I asked, wanting her to elaborate.

And then this... imp, this short, ginger-haired little brat has the nerve to elaborate with this: "Watching a wholesome nerd pretend to be all cool for the sake of flirting is always the saddest thing ever…"

Can you believe her?! There are so many problems with that sentence... like for one thing, who the hell is she calling a nerd?

But there's also the implications behind what she's saying. The hidden meaning. The unspoken words. The innuendos, if you will.

“Hey!” I immediately pushed back. Admittedly, I was at a loss for words... but I still tried to argue. Because that's just me sometimes. The debate team captain spirit has always been with me, I guess.

Alice, smug as ever, retorted, “Oh, come on, Elise. You know I’m right."

"Right about what?"

"You’re a nerd that can’t flirt to save your life. And there’s no shame in that.”

Can you believe that this was one of the first real conversations I ever had with this girl? She barely knows me, but she believes she knows enough to know what my intentions are when going across a room to talk to a friend.

"I wasn't flirting," I argued.

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Ellie. Honey. Sweetie," Alice chirped in her chillax-it's-not-that-serious tone that she often uses in situations like this. I've grown to be quite used to it over the years, particularly when she's jokingly criticising someone. "We all know you’re into Bret. It’s obvious.”

This comment had me shook for a brief moment, because... well, I had never thought about that. I didn't think that I was being "obvious," or that others might pick up on a change in my behaviour or anything. It wasn't even obvious to me before this point (which I guess is another reason why this conversation has stuck with me for so long, I suppose. This was the moment I realised my true feelings towards Bret. Not that I properly admitted it or confirmed Alice's theory to her in the moment, but still).

“What?!”

“Yeah. I mean, for what reason, I’ll never know," Alice went on. "But people have picked up on it. I bet everyone in school knows except for him. Cuz he’s an idiot.”

At this point, I felt the need to defend B, since I know him well enough to know that he isn't nearly as hopeless as the majority of people seem to think he is. “Ok, stop. Bret isn’t an idiot. And again, I’m not flirting with him. Nor am I 'into' him.”

Alice frowned. “Really? You’re not even the slightest bit interested?” She looked somewhat disappointed with that. Good. I mean, she was right. I know that now. But this is why people shouldn't make assumptions.

“No! I… I just care about him. A lot." I shrugged. "He feels like home to me.”

"Oooooh-"

"Stop."

Alice laughed at my deadpan cutoff. “Sorry, sorry. But like... that sounds like love to me.”

"Right. And what would you know about that? You're 12 years old."

"Uh, I know more than you think. I've seen all the best romcoms."

Like that means anything... she didn't stop there, though.

"I've read all the best chick lit!"

Which, me too! I love to read a good love story. Still doesn't mean anything, though.

"And I just believe in true love, you know?" Alice continued. "I'm a romantic at heart."

"Mmmm." At this point, Mr Peters had returned to the room, so we all settled down and got back to work. But Alice wasn't finished yet...

"Meeting your soulmate is like finding home in another person," Alice whispered to me. "Or so I've heard."

“Shut up," I whispered back. I tried to explain myself. "I didn't mean anything when I said that. It's just that we grew up together. We went to the same primary school, so I’d see him every day. And before I met you and Dylan, he was, like, my only real school friend.”

"AW! I'm your friend?!"

At this point, Mr Peters chimed in and lightly chided Alice for her little disruptance of the quiet room. Fortunately, she was able to brush it off, and we were both able to laugh at it. Quietly, of course.

"Sorry about that," I mumbled.

"Oh, it's alright. It's not like it was ALL your fault... it just mostly was."

"Hey!" I gently nudged her arm and pretended to be offended.

Eventually, the hour came to an end. Alice and I left the classroom together since we both had biology class next.

"So, yeah. There's nothing going on there," I reiterated on the way there. "We're just very good friends. And I mean... lately, things have been feeling a bit different with him, but-"

"Right. That's because you're in love!

"STOP."

I love Alice. I did back then, and I still do to this day. But she needs to learn when to shut her mouth. She's going to get herself in some serious trouble one day.

(This snippet is an early draft of book 1. El is recounting her small bit of history of getting into trouble in school, as well as the beginning of her friendship with Ally.)

#rickie-the-storyteller #writerblr #steph's crew #Elise #original content

[marvellouspinecone]

Hey :) I have a River/Doctor related question and thought maybe you would like to help me by giving me a second opinion?

So, the thing is, you might remember my post that I would have chosen the sunrise on Darillium for 13's regeneration for angst reasons? I have written a few too many words following up on that now (because of course I have) and obviously River reacts to the old new face. And the first thing tenteen does is hurt her - because the Doctor is an idiot and because it happened to me on accident and then I quite liked it and decided to keep it.

And then I realised that generally 10 must be the face that hurts River the most because of the way their timelines flow (and because of that one big finish audio book I listened to) and I want one of the two to comment on that. Something along the lines of meeting the doctor was always the most heartbreaking in [10's] body. It would have been surprising to see that change.

Until now I have River make that comment and in my opinion she absolutely deserves saying it. But I feel like she might not do that for hiding the damage and because it is a pretty cruel thing to say and all that. Then again, this is Darillium!River, she might feel safer showing the damage.

But also 13 has become more self-conscious (I think?) and might realise this and 10 is self-loathing enough to make such a comment. So now I am considering giving it to them instead?

Anyway, what I wanted to ask is: Could you see one of the two (River and the Doctor) saying/thinking something along those lines and who?

Thus is a tough one. The trick is, i can totally see them both thinking it, but i don't know if any of them would voice it. The Doctor might be more self-aware since Thirteen, but Thirteen is also the one who never talks about how she feels, and even though we kinda know Tenteen's character from Ten, i doubt that all those lives wouldn't leave a mark.

I think a way around that would be to have the Doctor say it out loud when they think that River can't hear them (from your description i didn't really get if they hurt her physically, like with regeneration energy, or emotionally by being a jerk, but if it's the physical hurt situation, she might be unconscious/semi-conscious), the Doctor tends to be very chatty alone with themself. I think it's unfair to the Doctor to say that they need to be more self-aware to recognise the hurt they deal on River, they've always known, but because of how their story is told it's hard to 1. not see it as unavoidable and 2. talk about it because of what the Doctor knows about River's future. The hard part is, of course, to admit it to River directlydirectly and to apologize.

River, on the other hand, is a more probable candidate to say something like this to the Doctor's face, we see her expressing her hurt in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (whether it's bc how she has grown to trust the Doctor and be vulnerable with them or bc her pain there is too much is unclear). She would absolutely say hurtful things to the Doctor if she thinks it's for their own good (see The Good Man Goes to War), and this situation can kinda be interpreted both ways, so River being the one to express this idea for them both would be realistic.

While River absolutely deserves to say it, i'd argue that she deserves as much, if not more so, to hear it. I don't think the Doctor ever admitted the damage they make, but we do see River kinda voicing it in The Angels Take Manhattan and The Husbands of River Song. Giving this line to River would be an easier road. I suggest giving it to the Doctor instead, partly because it's harder for them, and partly because it would have much greater impact on both of them and their journey. River deserves to hear that the Doctor realizes how hurtful their behaviour is and how sorry they are for everything, the Doctor needs this moment of emotional honesty, to get at least this one thing off their chest, and i think it would make their relationship go one step up, being open with each other in a way they weren't before. It would provide an opportunity for growth for them individually and together.

So here are my thoughts on the matter. I'm so honoured that you've decided to ask my opinion on something like this! I hope it would be of help, this is just my thought process, i'm sure that you can make your fic work beautifully regardless of the perspective you choose. I'm so looking forward to reading the complete story!

#river song #doctor who #conical thoughts

[the-trinket-witch]

Practically Perfect Ch. 4

(Ch 5|Ch 3|Ch 1)

"Ace and Deucy legit challenged Riddle to a duel?! You for real?" Cater called between Trey and Albert off on the sidelines. 

"I tried to stop 'em," Trey muttered. 

"Neither could I. - sigh- I'll have to leave early to prepare one of the rooms for good, it seems…" Albert lamented. 

     It seemed by the time the three turned to move attention to Crowley and the others, starting the match, the collars that had been removed were immediately placed back on. 

"Damn, we didn't stand a chance, did we?" Ace whined.

"Didn't even take five seconds. I told you: rulebreakers are useless. You thought to challenge me? How embarrassing. Mother was right…" Riddle chided.

Deuce growled, "Yeah, rules should he followed-but enforcing such absurd ones just makes you a pedantic tyrant!" 

     Riddle gritted his teeth at the defiance. "Excuse me?! Break the rules and you have no one to blame for losing your head but yourself!"

>That's Completely Wrong!

>You don't get to do what you want just because of some 'rules'!

" I decide who's wrong! You can't follow simple rules, I can't imagine what kind of education you must have grown up with!" Riddle continued, "No magic, no sense of order-pitiful."

" Riddle , please-" Albert finally stood to intervene. The tone of his voice came off a little harsher than he wanted. He didn't get far walking over, as Riddle's attention being diverted opened him up to a fist right across the jaw.  

"Shut your damn mouth!" Ace barked. "I don't even care anymore; being dorm leader, this stupid duel, none of it! Kids aren't their folks' trophies, and what they do doesn't reflect on the parents. It ain't your parents' fault you're a little bastard-that's your own damn fault! No wonder you can't make a friend with the balls to tell you off for being a little dictator!" 

"Hey!" Albert snapped. "You're crossing a line I'd really advise you don't cross." His eyes burned, almost daring Ace to take a swing at him next.

"You're not helping any! All you've done is coddle him like a baby since you two met!"

"A-a baby?! You know nothing about me! " Riddle shrieked. 

"We don't, but we can-" Albert tried to say but was cut off.

"Enough Enough ENOUGH! Mother was right-so that makes me right!" His eyes could bore holes in those he oversaw with their intensity.

Crowley injected, "Mr. Rosehearts-please! The duel is over. They've  been disqualified!"

      An onlooking resident yelled, tossing out one of the croquet balls, "I'm fed up with this whole thing too!" The projectile rolled out landing at Riddle's feet, breaking up the argument. 

"WHO THREW THAT?! You're fed up? I'm fed up with all of YOU! All you rule-breakers just keep breaking them no matter how many times I take off your heads! Nobody wants to come forward for this?" Riddle pointed towards the ball, "Nobody wants to come forward?? Fine. Nobody? Then I'm taking off ALL YOUR HEADS!" 

     Riddle flung his arms out, pointing out targets to shackle with the magical collars. His face twisted with his increasing anger. Cater voiced concern for Riddle’s overuse of magic, but all too late as a surge of magic ripped the hedges and trees from their roots. Riddle’s fury directed the projectiles, and everyone braced for impact. When the crash of trees didn’t connect, everyone stared back to find the deadly timber replaced with cards. 

“What? What’s happening?” Riddle howled. Grim noted the collars being gone, along with the floating foliage changed to cards. Riddle’s breathing quickened, trying to stem another screech.

“I told you, my ‘Doodle Suit’ can override anything for a small time-I overwrote Riddle’s magic with my own,” Trey explained. Riddle skeptically tried slapping collars back on everyone, only to find the collars be transmuted to cards. “Riddle, please, stop this; we can talk!”

“So...your magic is stronger than mine?”

“No, but please, let’s talk it out.”

“I’ve endured and endured…We upheld the rules here together… And now you want to tell me that I’m wrong?! I. AM. IN. THE. RIGHT!”

     A small miasma surrounding Riddle’s crystal erupted into a flame of darkness, replacing his form with something entirely twisted. Ink dripped from wherever it could, his body hung suspended in air by sheer force of magic, and a large fiend that hadn’t been there before towered over his form with a large inkwell in place of its head. 

“Those foolish enough to defy me have no place in my world! I am the Law, I am the Rules. I AM ORDER INCARNATE. No other response than ‘Yes, Lord Riddle’ is acceptable!” Riddle bellowed with a reverberating cackle. 

“What’s happening?!” Grim yowled.

“Young Rosehearts has Overblotted! He’s been caught up in a whirlwind of negative emotions and overusing his magic!” Crowley explained, “His life is in danger if this continues-I have to evacuate the students!”

     As Crowley disappeared, Ace took to slinging flames at Riddle, with Deuce at his side summoning a cauldron of all things. Trey stepped up to further provide time replacing Riddle’s magic with his own. Albert snapped to attention with his umbrella at the ready like a sword, ready for battle. 

“Riddle! You have to be in there-you’re better than this!” Albert called. 

“I am already better! That guy, this guy…Even you, of all the nerve-I’ll have all your heads!” Riddle shrieked before attempting to attack again.

     Trey’s magic was able to stave off most devastating attacks, and Albert’s hold over time was able to allow more opportunities to attack the viscous figure behind their friend. Fire, cauldron, magical swap, time stop, repeat. Their attacks seemed to do some kind of damage to the figure; the movements between it and Riddle seemed to interchange between who was the puppet and the master. Trees flew when Trey couldn’t change them to cards, one sending a resident flying, another almost impacting the main group before Albert halted its trajectory with time, pulling it out of the way. The crowd volleyed magical shots at Riddle, with one seeming to make the final deciding impact.

The spell dropped its target out of the air, at last felling the inky beast. At last free, the tether the monster had over Riddle cut, sending him dropping to the ground. Albert took one last opportunity with his magic to throw himself under Riddle to lessen the impact of gravity. He propped him up in his lap and flagged others over. The crowd surrounding the redhead, who hadn’t come back to consciousness, but seemed more wrestling with a nightmare. Al directed a resident to get first aid equipment, as the only thing else he could do was watch his friend fight with something in his own mind. Beads of tears mixed with ink welled in his eyes, before said eyes sprung back open with a gasp.

“Wha-what happened? What’d I-?” Riddle pleaded.

“Hey, now-don’t worry about it now-how do you feel?,” Trey assured. 

“You keep coddling him like this, and this is what happens! He goes berserk just by getting a little mad!” Ace muttered to Trey. “Look around. The place is a disaster and I’m sure we’re in big trouble now.”

“Really-it ain’t any good bottling your stress like that,” Grim chided alongside everyone else. 

     Riddle diverted his eyes from everyone around him, more tears beading in the corners of his eyes. The garden was in shambles. porcelain lay shattered and tossed around from his outburst. Shrubs and furniture lay twisted and torn from their original positions.

“I-I really did want to eat that mont blanc," Riddle sniffled. Everyone looked between each other in confusion. “The roses were fine white…I even like honey over sugar cubes in my tea. I don’t even like lemon tea-I like milk tea. I really want to try that rose syrup you gave me in it. And-” he choked out, “I wanted to spend more time with Cater, Trey, Albert…” His confession opened the floodgates, unleashing the tears he’d been holding back. He buried his face in Albert’s chest as he wept; his shoulders shuddered with each sob.

“Woah…Didn’t think there’d be a day I’d see Riddle cry like a lil kid,” Cater muttered. 

Ace interjected, “Oh quit, we ain’t forgiving you just ‘cause you start bawling like a baby!” Al whipped his gaze to stare daggers at him; Deuce gave him a reminding elbow to the side to remind him about reading the room. 

“I’m sorry, too,” Trey said, “I saw you suffering with all this but I just assumed you could handle it, but, I gotta say it: You’ve been going about this all wrong. I think you owe a lot of folks an apology.” 

“I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Riddle choked out between sobs. He attempted to catch his breath from his crying. Al could only help by keeping a hand to his friend’s back, rubbing it in reassurance and grounding. 

Ace spat, “There’s something I’ve been wantin’ to say to you if you ever tried apologizing for everything: WORDS DON’T FIX EVERYTHING. Don’t think I’m willing to forgive you so easily!” Cater chided him like Deuce before, but he continued, “Why not? He put us through the damn wringer! He threw out that mont blanc we took all that time to make; why should I forgive him so easily?”

Grim muttered, commenting about how he’d never met someone who could hold a grudge like him before. 

“But, what should I do? What can I do?”

“Well, my birthday isn’t for a bit-How’s this: a Revenge Unbirthday? We didn’t even get to enjoy this last one. This time, you make the tart. No help from Trey, either, got it?”

Albert rolled his eyes while Yuu chastised Ace for his hypocrisy. Riddle fumbled out of Al’s lap to hold his hand out to shake. 

“Got it.” Riddle replied. His hand was met with Ace’s in agreement.

     With the agreement, everyone’s attention diverted to the state that the dorm’s garden sat in. Most sighed in resignation that they would have to clean up. Albert picked himself up to help assist, making a mental note about Grim wolfing down some black rock off of the ground. He just rolled his eyes with the assumption that beasts’ digestive tracts were just built differently. 

______________________________________________________________

     Days had gone by before Heartslabyul’s garden was in fit enough shape to host an Unbirthday Party again. Decorations had been set, Trey and Albert helped Riddle along as he was still recovering from the other day, and roses were being finished painting, albeit with the Dorm Leader’s help and direction. 

“How’re you feeling?” Albert asked. He had been kicking himself internally for not doing what he thought would be more, for the past couple of days. He and Trey worked closely in hand making sure Riddle had been taken care of; Trey brought food, Albert retrieved homework and other materials. 

“I’m fine now. Thank you, again, for helping with the tart, as well. You really didn’t have to, but I appreciate it all the same,” Riddle said.

“Ace said you weren’t allowed Trey’s help, but he didn’t mention mine,” Al beamed with a signature cheekiness. 

Trey noted, “It does look good for a first try-you got the strawberries glazed beautifully, even if the rest is an…interesting shape.”

     Everyone seemed to chomp at the bit to try the tart, after Cater had his way with photographing it, of course. A toast with forks, and all took a bite…only to immediately spit it back out. 

“Salty?!” Everyone remarked. Ace wondered if Riddle had somehow trapped the ocean into the thing.

“Albert measured all the ingredients, I added them. WAIT-is it because of the oyster sauce?” Riddle mentioned. Albert’s face twisted in confusion as he didn’t add any, but was cut off. Riddle noted, “You didn’t measure out any so I thought you’d missed that part of the recipe; I took to adding it while you prepped the oven.” Albert tried stifling a giggle, but erupted into a burst on the realization. 

“I’ve heard a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down, but never oyster sauce !” he smiled. 

“Trey said all good tarts have it as a secret ingredient,” Riddle tried explaining. 

     Ace shook his head, telling Riddle to try using his own. Cater wondered how much he’d put in, noting it wasn’t as bad as everyone seemed to make it. Trey could only laugh at the confirmation of his suspicion. As everyone had a moment to laugh, a familiar giggle joined in. Riddle and Albert turned to recognize a splash of purple hair and cat ears. 

“Che’nya, what’re you doing here?” Riddle asked.

“Oh! Alchemi, it’s erm, good to see you,” Albert greeted stiffly, as if his presence had been caught red-handed.

“Nya, I came to celebrate an Unbirthday Party; congrats, Riddle,” Che’nya replied. “Oh, hey, Nya’lbert, how’ve ya been? New school treating you okay?”

“Well, yes. I’ve got to meet a friend of yours too, it seems,” Al replied. 

     The attention paid to Che’nya by the group had also attracted the attention of other Heartslabyul residents, who protested a student of Royal Sword in their midst. 

“Oop, time to go-got my tart anyways,” he sang before disappearing piece by piece. 

     The rest of the afternoon was filled with conversation, tasting sweets, and the first time Riddle had been able to enjoy tea with rose syrup instead of sugar cubes. Albert was more than glad to offer Trey the recipe, with the two diverging from the group to talk further about cooking and swapping recipes. Afternoon turned to evening, and signaled the party to eventually close. Yuu, Grim and Albert made their way back to their dorm, with Ace and Deuce’s status as residents of their original dorm finally restored. 

“It’s going to be a bit quiet without those two living here full time, though I have a feeling this won’t be the last they’ll be over. Do keep me informed if they do, I have to make sure I make enough food for everyone,” he smiled. He took notice of the green flickers of light dancing through the headstones as they passed, “Hmm, the fireflies seem rather lovely tonight. Any thoughts, yet on a name for this Ramshackle Dorm of ours?”

#practically perfect fanfic #albert eastwind #twst fanfic #twisted wonderland

[the-firebird69]

Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus - Doctor (Work It Out) (Official Video)

We don't want to miss this but we're having a hard time here it's very hard but it's going to be harder and it's going to get more difficult and we're throwing everything we have at it and doesn't do anything and we keep doing it and this guy is nuts next door and the other guy is nuts and they don't know anything really weird stuff facing some really weird stuff soon enough. The max are unkind and mean and have huge facilities gigantic ships and we're in a lot of trouble. He was going to say something and that he's grown five and he's growing to 5'9 and a half from 5.8 and a half and everybody is talking about it going over the math checking it and I said I want a concourse with you said where'd you hear that word is it on the internet and he said okay it's over this height change so start talking to the pseudo empire people and now it's going on everywhere to argue with them and it's kind of our way and we're doing it cuz we have a problem and it's mutual and we noted it they're getting hit too. Not the same people and I came up too his height is really helping you didn't think it would but it is and they're going over over and over it and Big Joe is finally happy and he thought it was funny that you guys got a candy bar and he grew and he started remembering and yeah I'm kind of annoying but the robot could be taken over and the technology taken and yeah they would follow them up there and take stuff and that's what they would be up to. So you explained it on the radio I do tell you something this is working this method and it really was a lot to overcome and thinking things and he's trying to help himself and he's working through it and he might have a force like us though we're part of other people's Forest as rebels we have to learn to get along together I'm going to work on it and really he grew an inch fairly later on in a human's life is not normal and people are checking the hormone and some people have samples of hair eyelashes and those hold the hormones and he doesn't have any in him that are foreign and spit a lot of that okay it spits all the time and sometimes expensive put it in the trash and people take it out we don't have any samples of his special stuff poop they've been testing poop and sometimes he misses sometimes he flings it by accident I don't know how the hell that happens he's got really fast fingers he says and makes a mess and he moves real fast sometimes and doesn't know it he's trying to control it he's a child he's doing a funny thing like he wears diapers and he says sometimes the stem cells make tons of antibiotics and I noticed something he's having trouble with it now and it's true he thinks the other way around it could be and we're testing it and yes maybe he's on Pepto because of that but there aren't many of them because there's nobody drinking Pepto like it's fuel but it is hilarious it's kind of hilarious because people say look he grew an inch and tell us something because he's been that height for a while about 2 months he says and he thinks that that's what I think it's not that long but he's getting bigger and if he takes in coffee for a while he would be 6 ft almost one and he says maybe 6'1 because the disc get bigger and the bone gets bigger and they say almost 6 ft 1 and it's been trying to break that barrier for a long time and it's kind of funny because he says I don't think so though like 3 in or something 2 and 1/2 in and you're right he was thinking something else I guess almost 6 ft 11 okay 5'11 he says he's tired and he is tired and I'm tired so I'm going to sleep on it but really that's going to be a mess out there and we shouldn't fall for it but we do but he says there's some chips in there or something and it's true so to all I say good night and this is me

Miley Cyrus

Hope you don't get too happy when I get hurt and he thinks that she puts her liquid in it makes my brain solid and we have that stuff and I went off into the right and shrunk that's how it works good

Brad

Olympus

#Youtube

[joyliiejolly]

Future Spouse Reading - ENHYPEN's Sunghoon (spread by @bluerabb)

Disclaimer: This reading is for entertainment purpose only, so please take it as a grain of salt and live laugh love all the way besties!!

This reading is done by one of my dearest friends @bluerabb (biggest shout out to her!!). She also gave me permission to post it here. I took note during her reading and added some of my own thoughts along.

Without futher ado, enjoy the reading!

This reading focuses more on the current energy of Sunghoon's future spouse. Their energy will/might change in the future, since we as human being are always on the go.

They are creative, it's one of their most standout traits and they have many potentials to achieve well in the creative field. They have a lot within themselves and they know it.

They know that they are good, they see their own possibilities and what they can do, how far they can reach. They're not cocky about it though, they just have a certain level of faith in themselves (as they should!). Sometimes, they might think that they're a little bit delusional about their abilities, but they aren't, they really really can achieve that much if they try. And the fact that they are not at their limits yet (do they even have one?!?!). They are still growing, they can still get better. There're still more rooms for development, more rooms to unlock. So much will power, and so much patience at the same time. They will be one hell of a successful individual later on in life (what a goal).

They have the tendency to plan things out, a future-focus person. They expect a lot about their future. But the funny thing is, they just like to make plan, they don't want act on it :D A planner, not a do-er. This explains why they are in a delay mode at the moment, and why they are not the best version of themselves yet. They're still waiting for something, a chance, an opportunity, but the truth that they don’t really need it. They already have more than enough to be successful, they just need to act on it. And again, they know this. They know that they should do something about it, hell they might even have all their goals figured out, they just don't know what to do first, what should be their priorities.

Another reason why they are not in their best elements yet is because they restricted themselves. They might have grown up in a strict household/environment. They feel that a part of them is really stiff, rigid from all the strictness they've gone through, they worry that it will take over their whole personality once they let loose and they will become a bossy person to others. They know how bad it feels to be bossed around, to feel stuck, and they don't want other to go through it like them. Their mind is so strong, so logical. It keeps their bad side down so well, too well that some of their good sides are undercover, too :D They're trapped by their own mind. This makes it their biggest enemy for now. They know that they have to change, but the thought of changing frightens them, they don't see themselves being able to adapt. There is a frame, an image that they desperately want to keep. But the truth is, they're already more than that image, their own selves have out grown the frame they put on, they can actually go with the flow real quick. I think that they need to do some shadow works to deal with all of these childhood traumas, and some moving, too. Where they are living now is definitely not a good place for them to grow.

They're a problem solver. They prone to think logically in most situation, even in emotion matters. If you come to them, talking about your struggles, the first thing that they'll do is not to ease you, but to analyze your problems, go down to the core of your problems and find a way to resolve it (big INTJ vibe from here). This make them great at giving advice to others.

They're definitely more knowledgeable than most. They're intelligent and have a great work ethic. They can learn many different things from different areas, somes even totally opposite from each other, as they have each personality for each subjects. My friend gave an example like this: There is a practical side of them who love science, this side allows them to learn and excel in practical matter like math, physics, biology,…. At the same time, there is a part of them that interested in spirituality, so they enjoy diving in things like tarot, astrology, psychics,…To them, knowledge is knowledge, whatever it is and wherever it comes from.

Bonus: I almost forgot about this 🙇‍♀️, but the whole spread has no cups cards. Relationship is certainly not on their priority list. At present, Sunghoon’s future spouse doesn’t really have room for romance in their life. Or, they do have thoughts about romance, but it’s gonna be about the future, like thinking about their person (in this case, Sunghoon, but they don’t know it yet), how will they met them, how will it be once they’re together,…I get the feelings that even if there’s someone who comes at them with a love offer now, they wouldn’t be able to tell and wouldn’t care much in general 😆. They already got so much on their mind.

Some advices for them from the oracles:

Don't let others stop you from achieving your goals. You’re different from them, and it’s okay. Don’t let their standards tie you down.

Embrace the self. Do whatever you want to do. Be whoever you want to be. You got this!!

#enhypen scenarios #enhypen tarot #enhypen imagines #enhypen sunghoon #enhypen

[crimsonbubble]

Biker Boy and His Lady

(warnings: slight 90s au, strangers to lovers au, biker!Wooyoung, fem!reader, waitress!reader, brief moment of sexual harrassment, light suggestive themes, mentions of beer)

*more and taglist after the cut*

note: this fic is the reason why I posted this video beforehand

---

When Wooyoung became a regular at your diner, you felt like the days got brighter. He ignited a spark in you that made you slowly fall for his charms. But you weren't going to give in so easily, you gotta make him work for it. He was notorious for flirting; yet when he met you, you were everything he wanted.

As the regular customer he was, he always walked through the door for a cup of coffee and some pancakes; then come back later in the evening for a few beers with friends. You've met a few of his friends and they've grown quite fond of you. Anyone at the diner could tell just how much you captivate him; he was head over heels for you.

As Wooyoung slowly got to know you, he found himself denying other women who threw themselves onto him; that alone made you fall just that bit deeper in love with him. He knew he wanted you when you didn't give in so easily to his flirty and borderline lame pick up lines. He liked the push and pull, and he wanted more.

---

From the few years you've spent waiting tables, you've never met anyone like Wooyoung. He was good looking, almost too good looking. His easy going nature and flirty attitude made it easier to find yourself infactuated with him. "Well if it isn't the man himself." Another regular had exclaimed as he walked through the door. The bell singing as he pushed open the door. Wooyoung smiled, giving the man a pat on the back as he walked to his usual morning seat by the bar stools.

"Good morning, biker boy." You set down the mug of steaming coffee, tucking a napkin under it. "Good morning, pretty lady." He smiled brightly, sending you a quick wink, making you scoff playfully. "Did you want your usual?" He laughed softly, a bright smile on his face as he leaned forward on his arms. "You always know how to start off my mornings, don't you, sweetheart?" You hummed gently, walking off back into the kitchen to grab the plate you had already set for him.

You brought it out, setting it down in front of him, before walking around the counter to take people's orders. "Enjoy your food, darling." He whistled lowly, a smug smile on his face. "Will do, beauty." You shook your head laughing, before greeting customers at the tables. You took orders quickly, bringing them back to the kitchen. You went to walk back out to take more orders, before being called. "Hey, can I get a refill on my coffee please?" You stopped one of your coworkers, gesturing to the table behind her.

"Can you take the order for table 4 while I refill his coffee." She nodded, walking back out to the table with a gentle smile. You carried the coffee pot to the man, taking the five off the table before filling his cup. As you went to step away and head to the kitchen, the man sitting beside you decided to slap your ass. You jolted, nearly dropping the coffee pot. "Honey, I have a steaming pot of coffee in my hands and if you don't want to end up with third degree burns, I suggest you pay and leave right now."

The man scoffed, pushing a five into your outstretched hand. You stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "The full price, not just the coffee." The other workers and customers watched in awe at how the man quickly shoved a twenty into your hand before scurrying off. The diner burst into loud cheers and claps, making you step back in surprise. "Alright alright, settle down now folks. Finish eating your breakfasts please."

The cheering quieted down, yet the chatter between people was as bustling as ever. You walked to the counter picking up the mans dishes and bringing them behind the counter, setting the coffee pot down before making your way into the kitchen again. "I gotta say, that was pretty cool." You laughed along with the others before nudging them back to work. "Alright, let's focus here, we can talk after work."

---

Wooyoung had left shortly after you came back out, sliding you a ten before hurrying off to god knows where but not before saying how hot you looked telling off that guy. You took his plate into the kitchen, placing it by the sink before letting out a tired sigh. You plastered on a smile as you walked back out greeting new customers and leading them to open tables.

---

The work day had gone by and the busy bustling of the diner was now nearly empty and a lot quieter. "You can close up for me, right?" You asked one of your coworkers who smiled and nodded. "I know where the keys are, go and enjoy your weekend, sugar." You gave her a quick hug, waving to the others as you slung your bag over your shoulder. "I'll see y'all on Monday."

As you stepped out of the diner, a voice called out to you. "Need a lift, pretty lady?" You turned to the voice, visibly relaxing when you see who it was. "And what makes you think I do?" You quirked an eyebrow, smiling softly at how he laughed. "Come on, I know you want to ride it." Wooyoung held an infamous smug smirk, leaning forward on his bike. "Whether you're talking about you or your bike is the question." You walked over to him, leaning closer to him just enough to brush your lips over his. "And my answer is yes."

Wooyoung grinned softly, tilting his head to the head with a light giggle. "If I kissed you right now, would your answer still be yes?" Your eyes were hazy as you looked into his. "Kiss me and find out." Wooyoung pushed forward that small bit to slot your lips together, letting out a soft sigh. You pulled him even closer by his neck, moving your hand over to cup his face. You smiled into the kiss, making Wooyoung smile as well. You both pulled away with smiles on your faces, your cheeks feeling too hot after that kiss. "So, about that bike ride.."

Wooyoung patted the seat behind him, scooting forward to make proper room for you. A sudden breeze made you shiver lightly, the small movement not going unnoticed by Wooyoung. Wooyoung shrugged his jacket off, pulling you to his side to give it to you. You went to argue but he had turned you around and slugged it over your frame. "You're cold and I'm not gonna let my pretty lady get sick." You laughed at his words, turning on your heels to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Wooyoung."

He smiled gently, planting another kiss to your lips before motioning behind him. You swung a leg over his bike, adjusting yourself behind him. You wrapped your arms around him, resting your cheek against his back. Wooyoung nearly freaked out as you tightened your grip on him, starting his bike before he could let you see how flustered he was. He drive off into the night, a small smile on his face as he felt you drawing circles on his stomach.

He couldn't ask for someone better, he wanted you and only you. You became the sole reason he wanted to get up in the morning. You became his sun and in return he became your moon. Showing you the way when you thought you were lost. Guiding you through the night to escape the world of harsh realities.

He was the biker boy and you were his lady.

---

@a-soft-hornytiny @berryberry-joongie @cometoceantrenches @ddeonghwva @hanatiny @hyetiny @multidreams-and-desires @minhyukmyluv @serialee @strawberry-joong @woowommy @yungisstar1117 @yunhofingers @yunhospuppy @yunsangoveryonder

#ateez fluff #ateez fluff drabbles #ateez fluff imagines #ateez x reader #ateez au #ateez wooyoung fluff #ateez wooyoung fluff drabbles #ateez wooyoung fluff imagines #wooyoung fluff #wooyoung fluff drabbles #wooyoung fluff imagines

[belphies-cuhm-sluht]

Hi! I love your writing 💖 and since your requests are open, could we getvthe brothers with a plant-loving MC?

I personally really love my plants and am so proud whenever I see that they've grown or have a plant baby and show them to everyone who's willing to listen to me ramble about my plants 🥺

Brothers With A Plant Loving MC (Headcanons)

Lucifer

Keeping plants alive in the Devildom is a hard task, at least it is when trying to keep human realm plants alive.

There’s no sun, so, there’s no way that the plants would be able to thrive. So Lucifer does the next best thing he can think of.

He buys you a little light thingy, it’s kind of like an artificial sun for your plants, he also, unbeknownst to you, does a spell to help give them the nutrients that the artificial sun lamp can’t give them.

He loves listening to you talk about your plants though. He finds it interesting and he’ll always listen when you excitedly tell him about new sprouts or how much they’ve grown.

He had never found interest in plants until you came along, but you sparked a new joy in him.

Or maybe it’s just that he finds joy in seeing you happy…

Mammon

He knows absolutely nothing, nothing about plants. Nothing at all.

What he does know though is that they make you happy, and that’s all he needs to know.

He’ll definitely try to get involved in some way, just so that he can share that happiness with you. He wants to be a part of the things that make you happy.

Watering the flowers has become his self appointment job, but please let him know if he’s over watering or under watering because he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he just knows they need water because he watches you.

He doesn’t notice the small changes, not as much as you do. He’ll only notice if new leaves start sprouting and things like that.

When you get excited though, he’ll ask what happened and then he’ll get excited with you. You both are the best plant parents in the entire universe because he said so.

Leviathan

He doesn’t know much about plants that grow outside of water, that’s not his forte. He does know a lot about aquatic plants though, although they’re not very similar, but he thinks he can help, which is pretty cute.

Finds out that the plants that you’re growing are not at all like aquatic plants… You can’t just stick them in Henry’s fish tank and call it a day.

Realizes that he actually knows very little about how to care for plants, and now he’s watching you take care of yours because he thinks it’s neat.

You give the plants so much love and attention, he wishes it were him. Yes, he slightly envies the plants for making you smile so much, for making you so excited, but he also really likes them because they do make you smile so much and make you excited.

He will ask to keep one in his room so he can sit it on his desk. It makes him think of you, and whenever he looks at it it makes him smile, and since having it on his desk he’s won a lot more games, so it’s like a lucky little plant now.

Also having it in his room means that you stop by every day to take care of it and check how it’s doing, so it’s a win win for him.

Satan

There’s books for this, and he’s read them. He knows all about plants from all three realms.

He is highly interested in what kind of plants you have and if he’s ever seen them in any of the books he’s read, and if he has, he’ll even tell you the scientific name for the plant and the subfamily it comes from.

Honestly though he just wants to seem smart about it all so that maybe you’ll want to have him around more often when you’re working on your plants.

It’s nice being around you when you’re happy about them, and your excitement about their changes is contagious, he feels himself getting excited whenever you tell him about them.

He’ll even start recommending Devildom plants (that aren’t dangerous or poisonous or lethal to humans because he doesn’t want you hurt or anything) that he thinks you’ll do a great job at taking care of.

He just genuinely and thoroughly enjoys being around you because he can talk about the books that he’s read on the subject, and you’ll actually listen to him and you seem interested. It’s nice to have someone who’s interested in the things he reads about.

Asmodeus

He absolutely loves your plants! They’re beautiful, and they smell amazing, and they make you happy! How could he not love them?!

Only thing he won’t do is touch the dirt that they’re growing in, but he really admires that you do. He’s got no problem with other people getting their hands dirty, that’s sometimes the price for beauty, he just doesn’t want to pay it.

He does know a lot about certain plants and their benefits for hair and skin care. He’s not as knowledgeable on the matter as Satan is, but he does always make sure to read the back of his beauty products to see what’s in them.

Please do tell him all about your plants though, he loves listening to you talk about them. If you have no news to give him, he’ll actually get really sad.

He heard that talking to plants helps them grow, so if you ever see him having a full conversation with your plants about how pretty they are, he’s doing it to help.

He might nonchalantly bring the prettiest plant and place it in his room because with the prettiest plant comes his favorite gardener in the house… you!

Beelzebub

Plants are nice, sometimes he stops on his way to the gym to look at the flowers that grow along the sidewalks in the Devildom. Your plants are nicer though because you come with them.

They also smell really nice too. Some of them even smell sweet, really really sweet and he has to keep himself from taking a bite out of your flowers because he knows it’ll upset you if he ruins them.

He likes to hear you talk about them, your smile is really nice when you get all enthusiastic about them. It’s really nice.

He also likes to be around you when you take care of them, especially if you talk about what you’re doing while you work. He takes it all to heart, and he remembers every single thing you say.

He’ll even start taking care of them too once he thinks he knows enough to not ruin them. He wants you to be proud of him like you’re proud of your plants.

He really enjoys spending that time with you and doing things together that make you happy because your happiness is important to him, it makes him happy.

Belphegor

He doesn’t know much about plants… but what he does know is that there are some plants that can help people sleep better, and that’s pretty cool to him.

He also doesn’t really like having to leave the house to see nature, so the fact that you brought it along with you is nice.

He’ll ask you to bring the plants up to the attic, and he’ll say it’s so that Mammon doesn’t mess with them or so that Beel doesn’t eat them, but really it’s because he likes looking at them, he likes having them around.

Having the plants around means having you around, and sometimes he’ll even pretend to be sleeping when you come up to check on them, hoping that you’ll talk to yourself about how good they’re doing because it’s just so precious and he loves hearing it. But you don’t know that.

He doesn’t trust himself to actually take care of them, but he does enjoy watching you take care of them. While your back is turned he’ll be smiling the entire time, especially if he sees you get excited about something. Please tell him about it.

He’s not really the best at showing that he cares, but he does, he really does, and things that you love and things that are important to you, they’re important to him and he loves them too.

#obey me #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #obey me! #obey me! swd #obey me! shall we date #om! swd #om! shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me scenarios #obey me Lucifer #obey me Mammon #obey me Leviathan #obey me Satan #obey me Asmodeus #obey me Beelzebub #obey me Belphegor #lucifer avatar of pride #mammon avatar of greed #leviathan avatar of envy #satan avatar of wrath #asmodeus avatar of lust #beelzebub avatar of gluttony #belphegor avatar of sloth

[not-poignant]

Pia I'm curious, FFS feels so unlike a traditional story, sure it's got it's arcs and ups and downs but it feels like we're just following alone in someones life. How do you wrap up a story like that? Or do you plan on just continuing it until it stops working for you or a natural conclusion presents itself?

Hi hi!

(Just a heads up there's some spoilers for future plot points in this).

The story is actually slowly already starting to wrap up. While I don't have a concrete final chapter in mind, I do know that we have very few beats left to hit basically before the end.

I always knew this story would end around the point where readers could feel like Efnisien had grown enough to basically keep growing in the 'right direction.' I.e. We can trust that he's reaching out to his support network, he's better at communicating, he has a positive hospital experience which sets him up if he needs future ones, he gains not only one therapist and another partner, but friends (and groups) he likes outside of that.

Because this story is ending on a hopeful ending, it's important to me to end where basically it's possible to feel like Arden and Efnisien have a handle on things.

So the few beats we have left to hit are things like - I'd like Efnisien to visit Professor Adayemi, he needs to have his talk with Gwyn (in fact this was probably one of the biggest signs that FFS is ending sooner rather than later - we came full circle on something introduced in chapter one as an open and unresolved plot point, that is now approaching its resolution), there needs to be at least one more scene with Arden, and there needs to be a couple of specific conversations with Dr Gary. And then... well, that's it! (That's not the order, they're just the beats I'm looking for before the end).

Idk how many chapters that will take, but I do know we're very much heading towards the end now. That's why the tone of the chapters recently have been a little different, even when things are stressful. There's always support there, things are working out, even when Efnisien is crying or upset, someone is caring for him, slowly but surely, we're seeing that Efnisien's life has kind of radically changed from where he was at in the beginning. He's safer, he's more resilient, he's more emotionally authentic, he doesn't shame or hate himself in the same way for crying anymore, he admitted he's a person, he's admitted he doesn't want to be abused or treated badly by Gwyn anymore.

A lot of my stories - both those with traditional and non-traditional structures - always tend to end around the point where my MCs are mature enough that once they get their hopeful or happy ending, you can generally trust they're going to keep going in the right direction. So even if everything isn't resolved it's like 'oh that's okay, they've got this, I believe in them.'

As a result, I've actually been getting a lot of comments from people along the lines of: 'I feel like this is going to end soon' or 'I feel like this story is winding down' and that's exactly what I'm going for. It is winding down, Efnisien is not the same person he was, and he's got a pretty clear road towards becoming a much more comfortable and self-accepting person, slowly, and with time. He'll never completely heal, so that was never my aim. I just wanted to get to a point where we could all have some faith in him and his support network, and then...shore that up a little.

Once Falling Falling Stars is over (which I suspect will be around the 150-160 chapter mark, which sounds like a ton of chapters, but really isn't in the grand scheme of FFS), I've definitely left myself open to writing kink oneshots and more for this story! It's such an open and expansive story I don't plan on 'leaving it for good' (though I absolutely am not writing a sequel), I think there's a lot of potential to explore Efnisien/Arden's kink life, for example, that might weight down FFS itself, but might be really fun to read anyway.

So yeah! That's basically it! I do kind of know how I'll wrap it up because I'm doing it. FFS gets a long, comfortable denouement with some angsty and hurt/comfort moments. There's going to be nothing as painful as the bridge/hospital breakdown coming up, we hit the most painful part of the story, the one that really tested Efnisien to make a choice between life and Dr Gary, or death and Crielle.

A few more beats to go, and then the story will reach its own natural conclusion. :D

(ETA: I should probably add that I write more like someone writing a TV drama than a novelist. So I actually am following a pretty traditional structure in terms of serial TV storytelling with A/B/C storylines! It's probably important to mention here that if you think I'm writing like a novelist, when I'm not writing novels, and I'm writing serials, you'll come up against a 'how is this working.' It makes way more sense if you look at it like a TV show broken down into seasons and episodes - and then in that sense, I do actually follow quite a few structural rules).

#asks and answers #falling falling stars #pia on writing #fae tales au #fae tales #efnisien ap wledig #arden mercury #dr gary konowalous #gwyn ap nudd #my history in scriptwriting has benefitted me way more for serials like this #than my history in creative writing and specifically novel structures #i rarely write traditional format novels #but i definitely write TV drama-style serials #complete with cliffhangers and A/B/C storylines #and seasonal arcs #you could say #that the hospital season #is the final season/arc lol #but i'm making sure people get a longer and more comforting ending #for the folks who feel like they need that #it's weird that this is gonna be over soon though! #it'll probably end up finishing before The Ice Plague!

[pinkposies]

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐜 3

"Mariposa! Is that seriously you!" A voice yelled from across the hallway, seemingly becoming louder with each word. Mariposa closed her locker, seeing a beaming Caroline speed walking her way to Mariposa.

Mariposa was close friends with Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline from a young age. Every time she visited, she always made time for the trio. Throughout the years she kept in contact with them. Speaking over a group call at least twice a week.

Even though they knew everything about each other, Mariposa was the first person Bonnie told about her powers. They filled her in with all the supernatural business over time, trusting her enough.

"Caroline!" Mariposa cheered, walking in the blonde's open arms, "God. I can't explain to you how much I've missed you!" She cried out squeezing Caroline tightly.

Caroline nuzzled her head in the crook of Mariposa's neck, "Why the hell didn't you tell me you're coming back!?" Caroline told off, but Mariposa knew she wasn't serious.

"I'm sorry, I forgot so much was happening at once, and I thought Bonnie would have told you," Mariposa explained, pulling away from the hug.

Caroline narrows her eyes, "I guess I can forgive you," she joked, "But you have to let me give you a tour of the school."

Caroline took her arm and dragged her along the halls, pointing out the numerous pamphlets posted to the bulletin boards as they passed. "Cheerleading! You have to give it a shot! I'd be delighted to have you onboard."

"Yeah, no thanks." Mariposa laughed, "We both know I'm not cut out for that."

"Come on, give it a shot!"

"I'll try out."

"Perfect! We have practice later this week, why don't you come and just watch for now and I'll get you a uniform for next time." Mariposa nodded. The rest of the morning went by fairly quickly.

Students aside from Tyler had grown bold enough to try to talk to her, introducing themselves. They didn't linger for long, most likely put off by her strong voice and short responses rather than the boisterous version of her they had expected.

Luckily Bonnie and Elena were in one of her classes, so she had someone to talk to. As Mariposa made her way to the lunch line in the cafeteria, she was joined by Caroline who sat next to her in Geometry. She prattled on about teachers and classes, speaking more than enough to fill in the spaces caused by Mariposa's silent nods and tight-lipped smiles.

She sat with Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline at an outside table, "All you have to avoid are the Mikaelsons." Bonnie told her, as they were catching Mariposa up on the newest drama.

"I was planning on it after everything they've done to you guys. Hell, they might as well be the ones avoiding me." She joked.

Caroline giggles at the comment, "You'll be bond to meet them at some point, they are everywhere." She paused to take a sip from her juice box, "And there's been two more added to the equation." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah and Kol's probably the worse out of them besides Klaus." Elena scoffed, looking back on the memories of the vampire.

"So, what exactly are these Mikaelsons like besides being sadistic and impulsive?" Mariposa questioned the trio, knowing so little about the Mikaelsons personalities.

"They're vampires, the first of its kind," Bonnie explains, "Finn the eldest is quiet and reserved, so we don't know much about him. Elijah's the smart and noble, he the one you go to if you want to make a deal."

Caroline spoke up, "Then there's Klaus he's a hybrid, mixed with vampire and werewolf. Which makes him freakishly strong."

"Kol fits the stereotypical vampire. He's menacing, unpredictable, and cocky. Rebekah, the only girl, she's stubborn and erratic." Elena said, moving around her food.

Mariposa dusted her hands on her pants, "At least they don't go to school with us." Mariposa spoke with a mouthful.

Elena sighed, "Sadly, Kol and Rebekah go here, but surprisingly they aren't here today." The brunette explained, groaning at the thought of the two popping up. Soon lunch ended and the four girls split ways.

There had been nothing but canned soup and cereal in the pantry so she'd written down everything she needed to make a meal and took some money from a jar labeled Food Money. Mariposa gunned the engine and pulled up into the line of cars waiting to exit, fiddling with the radio and ignoring the looks being sent in her direction.

The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. The inside of the supermarket was warmer than it was outside, well lit, and she couldn't hear the pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof.

The trip was fairly short since she knew what she was coming for and wasted no time in getting home to unload the groceries and start dinner. Mariposa carefully wrapped two potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake before seasoning a pair of steaks and letting them marinate.

Mariposa took her math homework downstairs to do while the steak was cooked on the stove. She turned on a timer on her phone.

Brandy came in just as she was flipping the steaks after finishing up with her homework, the meat sizzling enticingly on the skillet. She set down her briefcase and stepped out of her boots before sniffing the air appreciatively. Mariposa bit back a grin, "Welcome home, Ma."

"Thanks." Her dark brown eyes strayed to the cooking meat, "What's for dinner?" Brandy asked almost eagerly.

"Steak and potatoes. They're just about done, but I was going to eat at the Mystic Grill." Mariposa enquired after checking the steaks' temperature and turning off the timer for the potatoes.

"Can't you just eat here then have something small there?" Brandy replied, she tossed some chopped lettuce and tomatoes in a bowl, adding a sprinkle of shredded cheddar.

"I could because I worked so hard on this dish."

They sat together at the table and ate in comfortable silence for a while. "So, how did you like school? " Brandy finally spoke up as he served himself more salad.

"Well," Mariposa began after swallowing a piece of warm steak, "I have seen Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie today and Caroline showed me around the school." She added as an afterthought, scooping up a forkful of buttery potatoes.

Brandy bobbed her head in a nod. "I'm glad that your first they went okay." She pointed out.

"And Caroline offered me a spot on the cheer team." She told her mother.

"I'm sure that'll be a good idea," She said with a mouthful, "We need to focus on finding out more information about getting rid of the spirit, but if that's what you want."

She went upstairs to take a quick shower. Mariposa changed into a blue stitching ribbed crop top and low-waisted blue washed pants.

"Okay, ma I'm leaving!" She yelled from the door, struggled to put on her white shoes.

Brandy walked around the corner, "I'm going to go visit Shelia so I might be home late." She explains to her daughter, while passing Mariposa a jacket."

"Tell grandma I said hey."

#mikaelson x reader #rebekah mikaelson #kol mikaelson #the mikaelson siblings #klaus mikaleson imagine #klaus mikaelson #the originals #klaus mikealson x reader #elijah mikealson x reader #kol mikaelson x reader #rebekah x reader #poly!mikaelson

[alirhi]

...goddess help me...

This fucking episode. *deep breath* This... This episode is where I'm expecting to get some serious hate. Let me just get this out of the way right up front:

I. Hate. Zemo.

I do not find him sympathetic, or funny, or charming. I find him creepy and annoying. I did not like him in CA:CW and I do not like him in TFATWS. If you are pro-Zemo, you are not going to like my version of this show from here on out. Just find something else to read and don't bother me about it. You've got the actual canon, so go enjoy that.

Got it? Good. Now, on to the main event!

Episode 3: The Power Broker

First of all, Sam doesn't let Bucky walk in there alone. No matter Bucky's (flimsy and nonsensical) argument, Sam's like "hell no. I go in with you, or you don't go in." The main reason for this isn't to keep Bucky from breaking Zemo out of prison (with decent writing, he would never do that) - it's so that Sam witnesses Zemo taunting Bucky with/about the trigger words. because Zemo is a piece of shit.

Since he doesn't know the full story, Sam is confused, but he files this interaction away to ask Bucky about later. He's listening to Zemo acknowledging that Bucky was "not conscious for most of [his] imprisonment" (which, yes, clearly refers to the time he spent frozen, but can also mean while he was under their control as TWS/"The Asset" - also, key word: imprisonment) and when he calls Bucky a means to an end, Sam scowls, looking ready to go off on him, but he waits. They've got more important issues.

Neither of them entertains the thought of breaking Zemo out for even a nanosecond. He does that shit himself. And literally the only reason I'm sticking with him getting out at all is because I want to address some truly egregious moments linked directly to him in the show. Zemo makes them think he's setting them on the trail when really he's just sending them to his motor pool. Bucky and Sam are confused until they see Zemo in his stolen guard uniform, then they're both angry and want to ship him right back to prison, but he strikes a deal with them: "My help for my temporary freedom. Creating super soldiers cannot be allowed to continue; let me finish my work, and then do with me as you will." He has no intention of going quietly back to prison, obviously, and they're not stupid enough to believe otherwise, but they believe they can keep him on a short leash, so they agree for now. Anything to bring down the Flag Smashers and whoever created them.

After the title, we cut to Raynor on the phone in her office. She's agitated, fiddling with things on her desk. "No, sir," she's practically growling, "it was disrupted. - Walker did! - It's not my fault your new attack dog got off-leash!" She pauses, huffs, and says more calmly, "No. Of course not. I'm sorry. - Well, I don't see how, with the new Cap strutting around barking orders! - What am I supposed to do? Tell Captain America in front of a dozen witnesses that he can't have his predecessor's favorite pet because we're not done reprogramming him? I didn't see that going over too well. I made a call. - No. No, no, no, we can still use him. The work's not finished, but he still trusts me. He'll be back." A pause as she listens. Angry again, she snaps, "What do you want me to do, shove a tracker up his ass? He'll be back, and we'll pick right back up where we left off! - Don't worry, sir, the Asset will be fully compliant and ready to use soon. I'll make sure of it. - Yes, sir. You, too." She hangs up and tosses her phone on the couch, grumbling, "Dick."

Cut back to Sam, Bucky, and Zemo getting going on their trip to Madripoor. On the plane, Sam wants to talk to Bucky about what he's learned so far, but doesn't want to bring it up in front of Zemo... until the notebook incident reminds him that Zemo already knows more about Bucky than he does.

After Zemo's line about the list, Sam angrily corrects him: "You mean people HYDRA used The Winter Soldier to hurt." When Zemo shrugs and his response is basically along the lines of "what's the difference" Sam is like "oh hell no."

"Those words you were reciting at him," he reminds Zemo, "what were they, Russian? They clearly meant something. They were supposed to do something. What are they?" "Sam, let it go," Bucky pleads, unable to look at either of them. "It's nothing." "You wanna drown in your guilt, that's fine," Sam snaps, "but make sure it's for the right reasons." He turns back to Zemo, who's smiling at this exchange because he's a monster and thinks Bucky's suffering is fucking funny. "I asked you a question, Zemo. What did those words do?" "They activate the Winter Soldier programming," Bucky grudgingly admits. He doesn't want to talk about it, but he's sure as hell not going to let Zemo speak for him. "Or, they did, before the Wakandans got all that shit out of my head." "It's a shame," Zemo says with a smirk. "Imagine the possibilities that come with perfect obedience." "I think you mean 'slavery'," Sam growls, "and I think you're in the wrong crowd to be looking so pleased about it. Remember that we can send your ass back to prison any time." "Of course," Zemo agrees, but with an arrogant smile that shows he doesn't believe for a second that these two have any real power over him. Still, he bides his time and sits back quietly, watching Bucky fidget with the notebook. Sam turns back to Bucky, seeing his discomfort; he won't let the topic go, though, not yet. He just softens his tone. "So, they 'activated the Winter Soldier'? What exactly does that mean?" Bucky shrugs, still not looking up. "Pretty much what he said - perfect obedience. What little consciousness they left me between cryo and the chair was squashed down, locked away. And I did whatever I was told, exactly the way they told me to." It finally clicks. He'd had his suspicions before, of course, but now Sam gets it. Visibly horrified, he stares at this quiet, broken man, and finally sees the truth of what he'd been through for 70 years: "They stripped away your autonomy. Shit, Bucky, they didn't even let you be a person. That's..." He swallows, looking like he'll be sick any minute. "That's awful, man. I'm so sorry." When Bucky tries to shrug it off and downplay it again, Sam gets angry. "Look at me!" He waits; it takes a few seconds, but Bucky reluctantly looks up and is surprised to see just how upset Sam is on his behalf. "It wasn't your fault. None of it. When Steve said you didn't have a choice, I had no idea... You really, truly had no choice; not even the ability to choose. That's horrifying." "I doubt it would make much difference to the people he's killed," Zemo points out snidely. "Or their families. Let's ask Tony Stark, shall we?" "You shut the hell up," Sam growls. He watches Bucky flinch and make that face - the face he's starting to really fucking hate - that says he agrees with Zemo. Bucky still can't see things the way Sam does; he still feels the guilt and shame, and even when he himself pointed out his lack of agency under HYDRA, it didn't click for him that Sam is right, not Zemo.

It's too much, too soon. Sam sees that and decides to change the subject, to give Bucky some time to process. He nods at the notebook, and they have their little Marvin Gaye debate, where Sam is over the top about it on purpose, because Bucky needs the distraction.

Of course, Zemo ruins it by opening his big mouth again and reminding Bucky of more trauma: his time fighting in WWII. That's why Sam latches onto the bit about Madripoor; to keep the focus not only on the task at hand, but off of Bucky's past that he clearly still can't cope with.

"James... You will have to become someone you claim is gone." Sam is officially ready to throw Zemo out a window. 😂 The only reason he doesn't jump to Bucky's defense again and basically tell Zemo to fuck himself (in a PG-13 way 🙄) is because Bucky's, as Sam pointed out in ep2, a grown-ass man, and because he's just learned how few decisions this poor man has been able to make in his life. Sam doesn't want to come across as another "handler," deciding everything for him, even if he does think this plan is stupid and needlessly cruel.

At the bar, when asked if he wants "the usual", Sam just casually waves the bartender off like "nah". Zemo already said they had business to attend to, so it's not like anyone would be suspicious that now's probably not a good time to be doing weird shots lol. (wtf even was that? I'm not sure I want to know, but...what part of the snake did he drop into that drink?)

Sam's not an idiot (I'm really so sick of this trend of turning intelligent characters into morons because the writers can't think of any other way to move their plot along) so his cell phone has been off this whole time. No sudden call from Sarah to put them all in danger. There was really no point to that, anyway; Sharon likely would have killed Selby for talking about Nagle with or without the excuse of "saving" Sam and Bucky. I mean, it's not like they know who fired that shot, ever.

"They cleared the Bionic Staring Machine," Sam still jokes, but he follows it with, "and they think he's a mass-murderer." "They think?" Sharon stares at him incredulously. "Didn't he kill pretty much everyone he's ever met?" "Wow." Sam glances back at Bucky. "She really is awful now." To Sharon, he adds, "You met Steve; do you really think he'd have defied 117 countries to protect someone evil?" "He did it for Bucky," she points out. "Let's face it - Bucky could blow up half the planet, and Steve's loyal-to-a-fault ass would still take a bullet for him." "You know I'm sitting right here, right? I can hear you." "Look, I don't think you're evil, Bucky," Sharon assures him. "But I know you killed a lot of people for HYDRA." "I'm not denying it." "He didn't have a choice," Sam snaps, glaring at them both. "But we're not getting into that right now. My point is, the government's afraid of Bucky, and they still pardoned him. All you did was steal something. I'm sure they can be persuaded to see reason." "The day the US government sees reason," Sharon quips, rolling her eyes, "is the day I sprout real wings and fly off into the sunset." "Careful, Icarus," Bucky mocks with a smirk, "the sun and brand new wings don't exactly go together." Then he shrugs and glances at Sam. "But she's not wrong."

At the party that night, it takes a few minutes (grumpy old man Bucky's not sure how to feel about the music lol) but a peek of pre-war Bucky comes out to play: they were told to "blend in", so he dances. At first he's just bobbing around alone looking stoic and out of place, but soon he's smiling and dancing between two attractive people - one male, one female. Sam is surprised, but before he can tease him for it, Sharon comes to get them all. Even she's a little "wait what?" at Bucky having a little fun lol. (recovery is not linear, guys. trauma doesn't mean "perpetually miserable, no fun, doesn't even know how to smile." in my TFATWS, Bucky gets his lighter moments; real ones, not humor at his expense)

When they find Nagle, Bucky's the one who notices and opens the secret door, while Sam keeps an eye on Zemo. Bucky catches Zemo trying to grab that gun; closes the drawer on his hand before opening it and taking the gun away. "Nice try." Nagle tries to get away while there's only one person watching him, but Sam catches him and forces him back into his seat. With a bruising grip on the back of Zemo's neck, Bucky drags him back over to where he and Sam can both keep an eye on him. Nagle is killed in the shootout as they're trying to escape; Zemo still runs off, blows shit up, and comes back with the stolen car so he's not totally useless.

I had no problem with Zemo being the one to kill Nagle; Nagle was the worst and def had to die, and Zemo has never had an issue killing anyone. Where I took issue with this scene was Bucky and Sam being dumb enough to let Zemo wander and get his hands on a gun. Nope. Not happening.

Anyway, shootout! Explosions! Funny banter! The seat thing, which is my favorite nod to CW ever lol... And then the conversation on the plane...

"You okay?" "Yeah." Sam sighs. "Just thinking." "About how to get Sharon that pardon you dangled in front of her?" He shakes his head. "About how Nagle referred to 'The Winter Soldier Program" like it was some kind of after school club; like you weren't standing right there. And 'the American test subject' like... Like Isaiah wasn't even a real person." He turns to face Bucky, looking angry and weary. "Makes me wonder how many times... How many times are we gonna run around in the same circles before people learn? And how many people need to get crushed underfoot in the meantime?" "Did you really just equate me with Isaiah?" Bucky frowns, not sure how to react to that. "That man is a hero." Sam opens his mouth to say something, but his phone goes off and Zemo approaches at the same time, effectively cutting off their conversation.

When they get to Riga and Zemo tries to guilt trip them over Sokovia, Bucky deadpan reminds him, "Neither of us were involved in that fight." "I doubt you'd have been much help if you were." He shrugs. "Probably not. But I like to save my guilt for events I was actually present for. It's a thing." Zemo laughs. "Fair enough."

Bucky goes on his walk, and meets up with Ayo.

#how it should have gone #tfatws #tfatws critical #if i'd written it #episode 3

[peterrparrkerr]

Royal au - read on ao3

Tagging: @lokitonypeter @just-things-things @thegreenmetblue @someonepostedart @andacheesyoneliner @bluestarker @lilcoffeecup @useless-fanfictions-for-mcu @tnpt @sarcastich

Reign au!!

*-*

Peter was nervous. He hadn't seen prince Steve in years. Not since they were both children.

He hides the shaking of his hands at his back as he walks towards the castle he once spent his summers in.

It seems smaller and more daunting all at once. Before, he hadn't known about the arranged marriage.

Now he does.

And with an attempted assassination at his back, Peter's only slightly overwhelmed at the prospect of calling this place home.

There's a welcoming party for him. Servents and maids, stable hands and kitchen staff all standing on either side of the gravel pathway that leads to the castle doors.

Peter takes a deep, shaky breath as he sees the king and queen step out. The king looks much older. Deeper wrinkles along the sides of his mouth and eyes, the skin of his cheeks not as plump as before. They sag just enough to be noticeable. And his hair is graying at the temples, thinner than Peter remembered.

"Is that what I have to look forward to, when I am king?" Peter murmured quietly, nerves getting the best of him.

"Of course not," Mj spoke at his side. "King Joseph rules with an iron fist and decite. Not to mention he has lived past two quarters of his life."

"I should hope I live that long," Peter huffed, looking from the king, to the queen. "We should have postponed until after the wedding."

The queen -Sarah- was just as Peter remembered her to be. Short, fair skinned and blond, just like Steve.

"Nonsense," Ned said, giving Peter a small nudge. "The festivities will take your mind off of all that comes with being the future king."

Peter huffs again, but begins making his way towards the royal couple. Mj and Ned are both behind him, on either shoulder.

"Where is the prince?" Ned asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," Peter said, grasping his hands more tightly. It had been so long, he wondered if Steve would even recognize him.

"Is that him?" Mj asked. Peter glances from the king and queen to the left, behind the wall of servents.

Peter blinked, a quiet exhale forced from his parted lips.

"No," Peter shook his head, eyes never leaving the man that made his way towards the welcoming party, taking his spot in the crowd.

"No, that's Tony," Peter breathed. He couldn't believe how Tony had grown.

"The king's bastard?" Ned asked, aghast. "He lives in the castle?

He was no longer the gangly kid with dark hair. No, Tony had grown into his limbs. His dark hair was styled artfully, and he even had facial hair now.

Peter almost stumbled from staring.

"Oh."

Peter pulled his attention from Tony to where Mj was looking, and his eyes widened.

Steve was walking towards them. He had grown too, in ways other than his half brother.

His shoulders were broad, hair even more blond than Peter remembered, and he had grown so tall.

Peter couldn't help the giddy smile that pulled at his lips, and he nearly broke out into a run to reach Steve.

It took everything in him not to, and the two met in the middle.

"I can't believe it," Steve spoke first, looking Peter over. "You've grown."

Peter doesn't know why that makes his cheeks burn. He shakes it off though.

"So have you, your grace," he replies. "Obviously. You didn't look like this ten years ago."

He hears Mj snicker behind him and he inwardly curses. But Steve just smiles.

"You can just call me Steve," he hums.

"I'm Peter."

A smile pulls at Steve's lips. "I remember."

*-*

It takes Peter a couple days to really settle into the new routine and scenery. Mj and Ned usually keep him company in his chambers, though they've been put to work helping out around the castle when their services aren't needed.

Peter feels a little misplaced still. He's used to running through the hallways with Steve, laughing and playing and being with each other from the time they woke up to the time they went to bed.

But Steve is the future king, and he has responsibilities. They speak during meals, and sometimes Peter catches him during the day and they talk -reminiscing about their shared summers.

But for most of the day, Peter is alone. He can't help but feel a sad sort of melancholy for the months before. It just reminds Peter that he's no longer a child.

He's the future king as well, and there's been many attempts on his life since he was young and naive.

"What are you doing out here all alone, Prince?"

Peter jumps, dropping the rocks he had been picking up from around the lake.

He turns to see Tony, the reins of a black horse in his hand as he makes his way over.

Peter blushes, noting his current state of undress. His belt, shoes and stockings are all on the grass, leaving Peter in nothing but a tunic.

His feet are covered in mud, shins wet from walking into the water.

"I, uh," Peter started, brushing his hands off on his tunic, transferring the dirt onto the fabric.

"I was just exploring," he winces. Not something a future king should be doing.

Tony smirks, and Peter's heart skips a beat. He had grown into a fine man.

"I see some things don't change," he says. Peter steps away from the lake and into the grass.

"What does that mean?" Peter asked, bending down to collect his things.

Tony gives a small shrug.

"Only that I remember you used to bring in little rocks and frogs when you were younger," he said. "You always gave the prettiest stones to Steve, and the frogs to me."

"If I remember correctly, you liked frogs," Peter countered, unsure why he felt the need to get defensive.

"I did," Tony agreed. "It is good to know you haven't changed."

"You have," Peter can't help but respond. "You've grown into your legs."

That makes Tony huff a laugh. Peter blushes deep red, cursing at himself and his mouth.

"Will I see you at the wedding?" Peter asked when Tony turned to leave.

Tony smiles and gives a small nod. "It is my half sister's wedding," he said. "Of course I'll be there."

Peter can't help but smile at that, and Tony climbs onto his horse. "I would get back to the castle soon, it'll be getting dark soon."

*-*

The wedding is wonderful, and it does exactly what Ned said it would. Peter forgets all about his troubles as he dances.

At first, he dances with Mj and Ned, but Steve sweeps him off, practically pulling Peter off his feet.

Peter can't help but smile all night. He doesn't know the sister very well, seeing as she had a similar arrangement with her own betrothed. She was visiting her future husband's home in the summer months too.

As the night draws near its close, Mj grabs Peter's hand, a wide grin on her lips as she tugs Peter from the dance floor.

Ned is close behind, the three of them running down the dark halls.

Peter doesn't know where they're going, but he can't help but be relieved at the reprieve from the festivities.

The room Mj takes them to is small and cramped. Hidden behind a curtain. Peter has half the mind to ask Mj how she found it, but before he can, Mj pulls the small painting from the wall.

What lays behind it has Peter's eyes widening. Its the groom and bride, standing in a candle lit room with four other men.

There's a bed and a bath, and its easy for Peter to deduce whats happening.

"We're not allowed to see this," Peter whispered, turning to Mj. The girl rolled her eyes and nudged him.

"Dont you want to know what to expect on your own wedding night with Steve?" She asked.

Peter's already shaky resolve crumbles, and he turns his eyes back to the room, swallowing thickly.

"They have to watch?" Ned asks, on Peter's other side. Peter doesn't take his eyes off of the two newly married as they begin to pull at their clothes, soft and gentle.

Peter feels his cock fill at the sight of the man taking the princess -soon to be queen- to bed.

"They have to watch, to consumate their marriage," Mj whispered back, her eyes also transfixed.

Peter's aching in his tunic, and he can't help the flush to his cheeks, watching as the man pushes in gently, pushing out a breathy moan from the woman.

The three of them watch until the man cums, and Peter almost cums himself at the sight.

"Go, go, go," Mj whispered, quickly hanging the painting back up.

Peter does, rushing from their hiding place and taking to the stairs. He doesn't think he can make it back to his chambers. He may burst if he doesn't find a release.

He takes a right, then a left until he's so deep in the castle that the only people who might stumble upon him are the servents, and they're all busy with the festivities.

Peter gasps desperately as he leans into the wall, lifting his tunic up and pulling at the drawstring of his pants.

He closes his eyes and bites his lips as he finally gets his hand around his throbbing cock. It feels so good, Peter's knees nearly buckle.

He's so close to cumming in his pants, so focused on getting himself there, that he doesn't realize someone's walked in on him until a hand joins his own.

Peter's eyes snap open and he removes his hand, gasping as his eyes settle on Tony.

The man is close, his breath smelling like wine, dark eyes glinting and smirk tugging at his lips.

His hand squeezes around Peter's cock and he can't help but mewl, eyes rolling up into his head and hips pressing closer.

"Tony," Peter whimpered, rolling his hips. He can't help it. He's stupid on the need to orgasm, after watching the groom and bride, thinking about himself and Steve in that same position.

Its too much for Peter to handle.

"Shh," Tony murmurs, stroking Peter as he leans forward. "I'll take care of you, Prince."

Peter kisses Tony when the man's lips land on his. Hes worried he'll crumble to the ground if the wall weren't there for him to lean on.

Tony's facial hair scratches at Peter's mouth, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine.

Tony moves in closer, practically supporting Peter's weight as he snakes his free arm around Peter's waist.

Peter tries to warn him, but all he manages to get out is a desperate keening noise that Tony eats up.

Peter cums hard into his pants and Tony's hand, which slicks up his movements further, drawing more pleasure.

"There you go, Prince," Tony praised against his mouth before moving to his jaw, still stroking Peter through his orgasm. "Thats it."

Peter doesn't know what came over him. He leans back against the wall, trying to catch his breath. Trying to collect his thoughts.

Tony removes his hand, now covered in cum, and smirks down at Peter.

Peter can't help but whimper at him, unsure of what exactly he should be feeling.

Tony grabs Peter gently by the chin, tilting his head up ever so slightly to plant the softest of kisses to Peter's kiss bruised lips.

"Good night, Prince."

#marvel #tony stark #peter parker #starker #ao3 #my writing #SFSummerBingo21 #steve rogers #spidershield