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#but they have the same sort of emotional/dramatic build-up

ghostlyfleur · 26 days

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𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥

eddie munson x shy!oc

contents: anxiety, curse words, friends to lovers. lovesick!eddie, inexperienced!reader, self-consciousness, first kiss, sharing clothes. eddie’s jacket is oversized on reader. can be read as x reader, but a bit oc too? carnival date.

word count: ~1.5k

eddie munson is in love.

she is entirely inexperienced in anything romantic or sexual; no first kiss, never even got close to it. extremely shy and anxious, has a seemingly innocent aura, is a bit out of sorts, ditzy, with a sort of luna lovegood vibe. doesn’t argue with people, always tears up if confronted about anything, doesn’t have beef with anyone and is a lot more rational than emotional even though she tears up so easily. also doesn’t hold grudges or care what people think of her…

the thing is, she has been introverted her whole life, a very anxious person, and so doesn’t understand that eddie munson likes her because she needs to be told how people feel about her very explicitly otherwise her mind will convince her they hate her. anxiety is like that. and she’s the kind of person that has a hard time realizing that people can perceive their existence and have feelings for them, no matter what type of feelings, so even though eddie is not at all shy about flirting with her and giving her all of the attention in the world in his over-the-top, overdramatic way, he also knows that if anything other than the friendship he’s thankfully managed to build with her is going to happen, romantic-wise, that she has to be the one to initiate it— but she’s oblivious!

on the other hand though, she doesn’t even bother hiding her infatuation with eddie — it’s a lot more than infatuation by now. she’s always looking at him with stars in her eyes and laughs at his jokes and smiles that big, square, goofy smile whenever they lock eyes and constantly praises him because he deserves to feel as special as he is, right? and she goes into detailed talks about lord of the rings with him, likes many of the same bands he does or simply lets him play his favorites for her, and she truly loves to watch hellfire play dungeons & dragons.

her eds even made her a special edition pink hellfire shirt. ‘cause he’s a simp.

one day, as she’s out with chrissy and heather outside a diner, talking and laughing and catching up, eddie is close by somewhere with friends. his van is parked nearby.

it starts getting chilly, and eddie’s girl starts shivering, so she quickly excused herself away from the girls, “gimme a second!” and reaches through the open window of eddie’s van, making a mental note to grill him about it later — “‘cause it isn’t safe, eds!” — to grab his leather jacket thinking of how he has told her over and over that she can borrow it, that “what’s mine is yours, sweets. i don’t mind sharing if it’s with you”, so she figures it’s okay, right? and goes back to the girls who are fucking smirking like they see something she doesn’t.

it’s about fifteen minutes later, and eddie is walking towards the trio, simply because he misses his girl and wants a hug, when he sees it.

she’s wearing his jacket. his jacket.

in typical eddie fashion, he makes a scene— gasping dramatically, he clutches his chest over his heart and falls to his knees, because fuck what anyone around thinks. his precious girl is wearing his fucking jacket! and she looks like a fucking angel.

“eds, what are you doin’?”

“do you know how heavenly you look in my jacket? i just had to get on my knees to worship you.”

the boy shuffles closer to his sweet girl on his knees still while he talks and she’s flustered, okay? she’s shy and her face is on fire and she’s covering her cheeks and giggling. and because it’s eddie, her eddie, she’s not running away to have a panic attack. ‘cause it’s eddie and he’s being sweet, so she can’t focus on anyone else long enough to feel crippling anxiety or embarrassment. doesn’t even care that chrissy is cooing and heather is smirking.

“that jacket is yours now, you own it. you pretty much own me by now.” eddie says, on his knees, in front of her

“it’s okay that i took it right?” she makes sure even after his display of joy, ‘cause anxiety isn’t rational “you said i—”

her eddie knows her, though. he stands up, gets real fucking close to her, so close they’re almost touching, with this look of absolute adoration and “i’d give ya everything i have if i could, pretty.”

fast forward a few days later. chrissy kept yapping on and on to the oblivious girl about how “in love” eddie is, but it’s as though her brain won’t let her even entertain the idea.

that’s until she’s having a semi-regular quote unquote friend-date with eddie, something they’ve done quite a few times before, and this time they go to the fair. they’re doing everything couples might do, eddie is very aware of this, and he’s over the moon to just be enjoying quality time with his pretty girl until she spots a photobooth, “oh, eds! we have to!” and eddie’s desperately counting coins to pay. the pictures go a little something like this:

after coming up blank with pose ideas, they just look at each other and laugh, but at the sound of his free and bright laugh, she just stares at her boy like he’s a dream come true— first pic is taken, looking at eddie like he hung the moon while he’s mid-laugh.

eddie notices her staring and goes from loud laughs to breathless ones, a smile on his lips, and whispers a soft “what?”— second picture is taken as the girl quickly presses her lips to his, her very first kiss, and it’s caught on camera.

the third picture depicts eddie’s sweet girl nervously rambling “i was going to ask for permission first, i promise!” while eddie has a glassy, dreamy look on his face, slack jawed, looking at her lips.

and at the fourth snap? eddie presses forward to shut her up with another impossibly soft and tender kiss, both of their eyes are closed and his hand is holding her jaw, thumb brushing her cheek.

after they part from the second kiss, eddie acknowledges that it was her first kiss, a shy “was that okay?” to which his sweetheart just smiles really big and nods excitedly over and over with a breathless giggle. that was the perfect first and second kiss and she couldn’t ask for more.

they hold hands the rest of the night.

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evangelinesbible · 1 year

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DESTINN IN THE COMPOSITE CHART

What was meant for you and your partner based on this asteroid (6583)

1H - You two where meant to experience new beginnings together. You two are destined to outwardly express yourselves to each other which can spawn passion between you two. Either aggressive passion, sexual passion, and/or just simple ambitious passion for each other. both of you put your appearances on a pedal and your destined to learn what that can do to a relationship in the long run. You two are destined look good together and to have a physical confidence when together. You two might discover something new in each others identity and personality when you build a connection. You two can either build each others confidence up or bring it down. You two might be destined to be extremely bold and upfront with each other.

2H - You two are destined to feel very secure and comfortable with each other. You two might tend to spend money on each other a lot. You two might want to find material comfort together which might lead to over indulgence. This connection was destined to give and take. The more you give to each other the more you gain comfort but there a chance of it becoming superficial or lazy in this connection. You two might be destined to mange finances together and will have to learn now to manage it wisely.

3H- Can indicate it being a short term romance wise. But it's great for friendships. This connection was, well, destined to connect lol. the theme of communication are very apparent. Whether that means you two naturally communicate well or you'll have to learn the importance of communication in relationships. You two might be destined to share an important connection between each others siblings or you two have a sibling vibe. You two probably went to the same school together or at the very least the same district area. You two were probably destined to gossip and talk about everything together. Non stop talking in person and non stop talking online. You both are destined to connect over opinions and thoughts. There a chance you two might fight or find each other annoying because of a difference in opinion. You two might be destined to get annoyed with each other a lot too, mostly because of talking too much or not enough.

4H- Can indicate living together at some point in the connection or building some sort of home/family together. The connection is destined to help connect to each others inner child. There might be some childhood healing involved in this connection as well. Both people might have a connection to each others mothers. You two were destined to take care of each other and foster each others emotions. You two might be destined to own something together, most likely a house/ real estate or simple property.

5H- Can also indicate it being short term/fling but it can also indicate having kids together. If not kids then you two are probably destined to share the same hobbies and to do those hobbies together. This connection can be very dramatic and you two might tend to exaggerate certain situations together but for the most part it's probably entertaining for you both. Very lovey dovey and pleasureful relationship. Even if shot term the connection will be very eventful and will probably bring you both great joy. Pride and (again) drama may come into play a lot and if the other persons isn't up for it can get quite annoying/boring real quick.

6H- Can indicate being together for a long time just simply because of the daily routine aspect. You were probably destined to do a lot of daily life actives together. For example you two are probably gym buddies. This connection was destined for you two to improve and evolve together. You two probably keep each other accountable and try to stay connected everyday to get up routine. This is a very pure connection and you two might be of service to each other. You might work together (co -workers) and probably are destined to bond over health and animals (pets). There a chance of being to analytical with each other and to nit picking everything you do. If there's a change in routine one of you if not both of you will have a problem with it. You two might to learn together that a changing routine is sometimes just as good as having a set one.

7H- Can indicate being together for a long time/marriage. You two are very attracted to each other and you see qualities that convinces you to be together for a long time. You guys might be destined do everything together. This connection can be very romantic, harmonious and civil but this connection can also indicate cheating or openly betraying another. If you guys aren't attracted to each other from the get go then you probably find each others presence annoying. In a business setting this is pretty great. You two are destined to have some sort of business partnership or contract. You might negotiate business well with the person or you just negotiate well in general.

8H- Can also being together for a long time. this can ideate the connection to be very passionate and karmic. Possibly very easy for you two to delve into your darkness together. There might be a very sexual and spiritual understanding between you two and you both may be destined to know each other intimately as well as emotionally. Especially when it comes to your darkness/trauma. There a chance you might use this understanding against each other. Both of you come out as new people because of this connection. You might be destined to share a joint bank account or inheritance. You might be destined to do occult practices together or one of you will use occult practices on the other.

9H- You two probably went to the same collage or university together. Or you two probably teach at the same school or area. Or maybe you two were destined to share the same beliefs, ideals and practices. You two probably are destined to connect over different cultures and love for traveling. If you two were to get married you'd probably have an important relationship with your in laws. throughout the connection your beliefs and ideals will be tested or you find new viewpoint in life because of this connection. You two might be destined to travel someplace very far some day. This connection might be destined to learn what it means to be open minded and will show one of you, if not both of you hope important optimism is in a relationship.

10H- Destined to gain some sort of attention because of this connection. When you two get together everyone knows about it. Could potently mean that you two were destined to be a famous couple or connection. Your connection is associated with your image (vise versa) and you two where destined to intertwine your career goals with the goal you have with this connection. You two are destined to be put in a place of power/ authority together and will have to deal with that responsibility, if you can deal with it that is. If not a place of authority than you two will take on the reasonability of maturity. One of you or both of you are destined to mature because of this connection. This connection also means that one of, or both or your father figures are involved in the relationship dynamic.

11H- Great for long term friendships. destined to be friends or to first have a friendly connection together. Destined to embrace each others uniqueness and individuality. Destined to be very social with each other or very social with others when together. You two probably chat a lot online or are online friends. You two might love to go to parties and events together. You two might be a connection a lot of people know of especially online. You two were probably destined to be in the same organizations or groups

12H- This connection is probably a karmic debt from a past life. You two were destined to meet again. This connection can also be very spiritual and sexual. This connection has a lot of potential to show your insecurities and fears to each other. This relationship was destined to expose your past actions/mistakes, your subconscious thoughts/secrets, and your true intentions. This connection isn't necessarily doomed from the start but can indicate some sort of undoing. You both are portably destined to connect over the same fears and your methods of escapism and your mental health will be affected. (Good or Bad) You both might try to manipulate each other. It is most likely quite common for this connection to just end or a bad habit that both you have in relationships is exposed here and hopefully you learn to stop that habit to have better connections with others.

-⚜️💫⚜️

#astrology #astro notes #astro observations #astro placements #astrology notes #pisces #aries #capricorn #taurus #cancer #composite chart #destinn asteroid #asteroids #asteroid astrology

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ramblingoak · 4 months

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The Cardinal's Bride, Chapter 11: Confessions

~~ Please visit The Outlaw Brides Masterpost to catch up and read more stories from this world ~~

Thank you to @tasty-ribz for the wanted poster, @ghuleh-recs for the collage and @gothdaddyissues for the dividers! For some more amazing fanart check out: @missygoesmeow (1 / 2), @snail-shell2335 here, @vahvco here, @ghulehgwen here, @rabidghoul here, @nocterish here, @enjoy-my-swearing ( 1 / 2 ), @blacktie-whitenoise (1 /2), @z-xmyers (1/2/3/4), @foxybouquet ( 1 / 2 ), @delulluart here, _simpera_ on instagram and valkyrieinpink on twitter. Also thank you to @kissingghouls for all her help and emotional support.

Cardinal Copia x Female Reader ~ You finally arrive at The Ministry but Saltarian's men are closing in and threatening the lives of everyone that lives there...

Warnings: violence, angst, slight smut, NSFW 18+ only MDNI, 11k words

“So that’s his big plan? Kill the girl and blame the rest of us?”

Secondo didn’t bother answering his brother, he kept his eyes aimed out the window towards the street below. The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains in the distance and soon the city would wake up. Businesses would open, children would be dragged to the schoolhouse by their parents, drunkards would be groaning into the light and thinking about their next drink. He tipped back the rest of his own drink, the whiskey the only thing keeping his nerves calm.

“The end of the Church of Emeritus.”

“Well that’s a little fucking dramatic.” Secondo turned to look at his brother, not at all surprised by his carefree demeanor. Terzo didn’t care much about anything these days unless it was alcohol or someone to warm his bed. Still, the bastard should have some sort of reaction instead of leaning back in his chair like everything was fine. “Maybe that’s the problem, Saltarian and Copia are too similar.”

“He actually said the same about him and I.”

“Really?” The sound of the chair legs hitting the floor echoed around the otherwise quiet room. “You and Salty?”

“He said in a different world we could have been business partners.” He walked back to his desk and set his empty glass down with a thunk. “Not that it matters.”

“SÌ, it’ll be hard doing business with a dead man.”

“I’m not dead yet, fratellino.”

“Oh please, you think we stand a chance against Saltarian? Ten years has given him ample time to build up whatever army of mercenaries he has.” Terzo shook his head while he looked around in his coat pockets for a cigarette. “We haven’t exactly focused on recruitment in that time.”

“No, we have not.”

Secondo shoved a hand through his hair, groaning as he sat down at his desk. Papers littered the top of it, things he hadn’t had time to get to in the last few days. Things that might not even matter soon anyway.

“What are you thinking fratello?”

“I’m thinking we don’t have a choice.” He glanced up to meet Terzo’s eyes, the both of them glowing briefly from the flame of a match as he lit a cigarette. “I can’t risk everything for one girl.”

“Copia won’t be happy. From what Cirrus said he and Salty’s fiancé have gotten…close.”

“Copia will be lucky if I don’t skin him alive when he shows up. He’s dug his own grave here.” Secondo gritted his teeth as he thought over what Cirrus had told them when she’d gotten back. While she hadn’t seen the two of them together, or the girl at all, the other Ghouls mentioned that something had been happening between the two. Secondo hoped that if Copia was fucking the girl it was out of boredom and nothing else. Anything beyond that and Secondo would have an even more difficult time with what he had to do. “If we can get her to Saltarian relatively unharmed he’ll drop the matter.”

“He said that?” Secondo nodded in reply, his eyes down at his desk. While Terzo had no room to judge his decisions he still didn’t want to see the look in his eyes when he shared the rest of what Saltarian had told him. “So what, we just dump her outside of town for one of his men to grab her?”

“We’ll need to distract Copia I’m sure, but yes. He wants us to send her out on her own for them to get her.”

“Lucifer’s balls.” Secondo’s expression shifted just enough for Terzo to freeze, the front of his chair once more dropping loudly onto the wood floor. “Good luck with that.”

“What would you have me do, fratellino? Let Saltarian and his men destroy everything again? How many more need to die before you accept the inevitable?”

“And what’s that? The inevitable?”

“That we don’t belong here, as we were. That Copia’s fantasy of rebuilding our church is just that, a fantasy. Nothing more.” Secondo shot Terzo a glare when the younger man started laughing. “What?”

“Out of all of us I expected you to lose your faith last. I never expected you to consider turning in our own blood.”

“Then what would you do? Better yet, what would The Morningstar do, huh?”

“He wouldn’t give up without a fight.”

“That’s funny, I thought he gave up a long time ago.” Secondo immediately regretted his words, watching as the spark that had ignited in Terzo’s eyes at the mere mention of his past went out. “Terzo…”

“You’re right, I did give up. But Copia didn’t, he kept fighting. He kept believing.”

“Believing in what?! A cause that we dedicated our lives to? A Dark Lord that was supposed to reward us for our devotion, to protect us while we celebrated what he stood for?” He took a deep breath, lowering his voice before he continued on. “Where was Lucifer when our lives burned to ash?”

“I don’t know, but maybe Copia does.” Terzo stamped his cigarette out on the arm of the chair, smirking when he caught Secondo narrowing his eyes at the action. “I’d like to hear your plan now.”

“Considering what Cirrus said I don’t think we’ll be able to convince Copia to willingly give her up. Someone will need to convince her to do what’s best.”

“Which is what?”

“Leave Copia behind and move on with her life. She belongs with Saltarian, not a bunch of outlaws.”

“Okie dokie, so you corner her, scare her off and then expect Copia to just let her go without a fight?”

“I’m going to try to talk some sense into him first. You’re welcome to help with that, by the way.”

Terzo let out a sharp bark of laughter, shaking his head as he looked for another cigarette.

“You need Primo’s help, not mine.”

Secondo nodded but didn’t say anything. Primo was the smartest of all of them, getting away from here and living on his own. Although if Saltarian did go through with it and take them out he doubted Primo would be able to escape. He would just be the last Emeritus standing for however brief amount of time he lasted.

“Copia will either see reason or he won’t. I refuse to lose everything again. Especially over some meaningless girl Copia gives two shits about beyond getting the ransom for her.”

“And what if he doesn’t see reason?”

“Then he’ll be the first to die.”

“Wake up Principessa.”

“Hm?” You attempted to bury your face back under the warm blanket but Copia just pulled it away again. “Hey.”

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

“It’s cold.” He grinned, throwing his duster at you as he got up. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. Hurry up now, before everyone else gets up.”

With a groan you escaped the warmth of the blanket, quickly shoving your arms into his duster. Aether was sitting by the fire when you finished getting your boots on, smiling at you when you walked by. Copia was finishing saddling Brizio when you made your way to his side. The horse shoved past him to get to you and you laughed when Copia swore as he stumbled back a few steps.

“He likes me better I think.”

“First my Ghouls and now my horse. What’s next?”

You wanted to say ‘hopefully his brothers’ but decided to keep that to yourself. The imminent meeting with them was weighing heavily on you. Sleep had been evasive the night before as you worried over what would happen when you reached The Ministry. You once more found yourself wishing you could travel around like this with Copia and the Ghouls forever. Dancing by the fire every night in Copia’s arms…

It was a memory you wouldn’t soon forget.

“Should I get my horse ready?”

“No, you’ll ride with me.” He winked as he held out his hand for you, grinning when you didn’t even argue. “Up you go.”

Once you were both settled onto Brizio he directed the horse away from camp. The sun was just barely peeking over the mountains in the distance, casting warm light over the land and warming the temperatures up. You still found yourself burrowing into his duster and leaning back against Copia’s chest. He held onto the reins in one hand and kept his other arm tight around your middle, securing you as close as possible. You placed your hand over his where it rested on your side and smiled when he interlaced your fingers.

Another moment to keep with you as long as you could.

Copia didn’t stop until you were far away from camp, hidden in a clump of trees as the sun continued to warm everything around you. After helping you down he let Brizio wander where he wanted to. You both watched as the horse began to much on the sparse grass, unbothered by how heavy the air had become between the two humans with him.

“Copia?” You reached out to touch his elbow, flinching when Copia jumped at the contact. “What’s wrong?”

“Niente. It’s nothing.” He shoved a hand into his pants pocket and you could hear the clinking of stones and metal as he pulled out his grucifix. Copia let it dangle from his fingers for a moment, watching the stones sparkle in the morning light before stepping right up into your space. “I wanted to give you this away from prying eyes.”

Your mouth fell open slightly as you watched his face. His mismatched eyes were bright as they met yours before looking back down to the heirloom from his mother.

“I can’t…I can’t take this.” You winced when his face fell a bit so your hands quickly covered his. “This was your mother’s, you should keep it.”

“I want you to have it. As a token, as a symbol of what you mean to me.” He dropped his head and kissed the back of your hand before straightening up again. “I want you to know.”

You held your breath as he stared at you, your hands shaking a little bit over his.

“Know what?”

He took a deep breath and pulled his hands away, shaking out the chain a bit to untangle it. You stayed still when he lifted it up and placed it on you, being careful not to snag your hair in the metal. When it was settled he took a moment to straighten it and then held the silver piece on the end in the palm of his hand. You looked down at the symbol of his church, covering it with your hand to hold it between you after a moment.

“That I care about you, Principessa. Far more than I should.”

You couldn’t help but press closer at his confession, trapping your hands between you. His head lowered again and you let yours drop as well so your foreheads pressed together. Both of you stayed quiet for a moment, letting Copia’s words hang between you. It wasn’t until his free arm snuck around your waist to pull you closer that you felt brave enough to speak.

“I care about you too, Copia.” He made a small noise in the back of his throat as he pulled his hand away from the grucifix to cup your cheek. “I lo–”

His mouth silenced your next words, his lips hot and needy against your own. You wrapped both of your arms around his neck, knocking his hat off so you could bury your fingers in his hair. The kiss deepened quickly and you opened your mouth for him when his tongue demanded entry. He groaned when you nipped at his tongue and began to walk you backwards until your back met the nearest tree.

Copia’s kisses were dizzying like always, enough to make you forget what you had almost confessed to him. It had been bubbling up in you for days now and with everything that still laid ahead you wanted him to know. You needed him to know how you felt. With a gasp you pulled away, tugging on his hair a bit when he tried to lean back in.

“W-wait, I need to tell you something.”

He brought his other hand up so he could hold your face between them, his thumbs brushing across your cheeks as he looked into your eyes.

“Not yet. Soon, yeah?” He kissed your forehead when you tried to speak again. “Will you wait for me?”

You pulled away so you could catch his eyes again and your argument about wanting to tell him now froze in your throat. Did he feel the same way? Is this why he wanted to wait to hear you say it?

Did he want to say it too?

“Okie dokie.” Copia let out a burst of laughter at your use of his phrase. He started pressing sloppy kisses all over your face until you squealed and tried to push him away. “Stop, stop!”

He relented but tugged you close again, his arms wrapped tightly around you as his breath fanned against your ear.

“Soon. I promise.”

You nodded against him, clinging to him tighter than you could remember doing so before. After a moment you pulled away, brushing some of his hair back when you did. Truthfully you thought you’d wait as long as it took to hear him say those words. It wouldn’t change how you felt about him.

“Should we head back?”

“I think they’ll survive without us for a little bit longer.”

He tilted your head up and leaned in to kiss you, deepening it quickly when you wrapped your arms around him once more.

“How long are we going to be waiting around for them?”

“I have no idea.” Aether continued to pack up his cooking supplies, stepping over Dewdrop’s outstretched legs while shooting him an annoyed look. “Got somewhere to be?”

“I’d like to get back to The Ministry at some point in my life.”

“I thought you liked being on the road, you get antsy as hell when we’ve been at the casino for more than a week.”

Dew shrugged and looked around camp rather than answering right away. Aether wasn’t wrong, he did get antsy if they were at The Ministry for too long. He didn’t really know the best way to describe the feeling. It was part boredom and part just not liking being cooped up. There was always plenty to do there (Secondo was always more than happy to boss any of them around) but Dew much preferred being on the road.

It was a helluva lot more exciting than dealing with drunks that was for sure.

“Usually we don’t have as large of a target on our back.” Dew glanced at Aether when his friend froze while shoving things into his saddlebags. “I’ll feel better when this whole thing is over and we have that ransom money.”

“You don’t actually think that’s still going to happen do you?” Dew rolled his eyes when Sunshine came over and sat down beside him. “I mean, there’s no way Copia is just gonna give her up to Saltarian now.”

“Why the fuck not? And don’t say anything about love.”

“It’s because he loves her.” Swiss plopped down on Dew’s other side, grinning when the smaller man groaned. “He’s got it bad.”

“You sure it’s not an act? They didn’t seem happy when we left the farm.”

“Well they sure as fuck are happy now.”

Dew didn’t bother answering Swiss because he knew it was pointless. Whatever had happened before they left the farm had obviously been solved. Just watching them dance last night had been all he needed to see. It had made his chest ache a bit as he watched them while he had played the guitar and his friends sung every stupid love song they could think of. He was happy for Copia, and for his princess, if they actually did love each other. It would fuck up a lot of other shit in their lives but that’s why Dew made sure he always had plenty of ammo nearby.

“Alright so they’re in love, super. That’s fantastic. What the fuck are we gonna do about Saltarian?” Dew looked around at everyone, snorting when none of his friends met his eyes. “Also you all know that Secondo is gonna be pissed, right?”

“He’s already pissed from what Cirrus said.” Sunshine pulled out a knife and started picking at her nails. “We should go back to the farm.”

“And do what?” Dew shoved her shoulder when she looked at him like he was an idiot. “You honestly think any of us would be happy settling down and farming for the rest of our lives? What about rebuilding the church?”

“What about it?” Aether had wandered back over then and was staring down at the three of them. “If we don’t have the ransom money we don’t have a way to rebuild the church, do we?”

“I vote to go back to the farm, I liked it there.” Swiss grunted when Dew kicked at his leg. “Fuck, what?”

“You’re telling me that you’d all be happy to live out your days farming in the middle of fucking nowhere?” Dew looked at each of his fellow Ghouls in turn before throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I’d rather not sleep in a barn for the rest of my life.”

“Some of us could probably sleep in the house, there’s plenty of room.” Sunshine turned and grinned at Dew before continuing, “Except for you though, Ethel hates you.”

“Fuck you. She just needs to get to know me.”

“Nah we’d have to build another house or something for all of us.” Swiss got up and stretched before holding his hand out for Sunshine to help her up. “I think Copia and Princess would want the house to themselves. Fill it up with a bunch of mini-Copias.”

Dew made a face before taking the hand Swiss now had outstretched for him, “Fuck, you don’t think they’d start having kids do you?”

Swiss yanked on Dew’s hand, jerking him roughly to his feet and laughing when he swore. With a quick move he hooked a leg behind one of Dew’s and then shoved him at the shoulders. Dew landed on his ass with a groan before launching himself at Swiss’s legs, bringing the man down roughly onto the ground. Aether quickly moved out of the way and stood next to Sunshine, the both of them watching the two Ghouls wrestle around and curse at each other.

“They don’t need kids, they have us.”

Sunshine flashed a grin at Aether but her smile quickly faded when something behind him caught her attention. Aether turned to look and saw two riders coming over the hill down the road.

“Copia and Princess?” Aether shook his head and continued to watch the riders approach, his body tensing even more when Sunshine spoke again. “Mountain and Rain?”

Four more riders soon appeared behind the first two and Aether could see the metal of their guns glinting in the morning sun. He shouted at Dew and Swiss before turning to meet Sunshine’s determined face.

“Fun’s over.”

It was easy to lose track of time with Copia kissing you.

He had eventually laid his duster out on the ground and pulled you down on top of it with him. His hands were everywhere, tugging at your clothes and maneuvering you until you were in his lap. Copia’s fingers were quick on the buttons of your shirt and as soon as he could he had a hand inside of it and under your chemise, his thumb rubbing against your nipple. He swallowed your little gasps and whimpers, his tongue teasing against your own while his fingers teased your breast.

The more time you spent together like this the more bold you started to feel. You were learning how he liked to be touched, how to get groans and whimpers out of him. It made you feel powerful that you could make him feel good just like he made you feel good. Before you could think too much about it you dropped a hand onto his crotch and began to rub his hardening cock through his pants. Copia broke away with a desperate sounding noise, pressing his forehead against yours and panting into your mouth.

“Fuck, Principessa you–”

The both of you suddenly froze when a barrage of distant booms invaded your little space. Brizio made a noise and sped over towards you both, the horse experienced enough to know what those sounds meant. He knew trouble was close and he was ready to get you both out of there. Selfishly you wished that was what would happen, that you and Copia would jump onto Brizio and ride away from whatever trouble was nearby. You met Copia’s gaze when he turned away from the path you had taken into the little clearing of trees.

“Is that…?”

More gunshots echoed from the way you came and Copia grabbed your waist to help you get off of him. You quickly began to do up your shirt as he grabbed his coat and threw it on. He was on Brizio in a second, his hand reaching down to help you get up behind him.

“Hold on tight.”

You did just that, snaking your arms and clasping your hands together around his waist as Brizio shot off down the path. Your heart was racing as fear started to take a hold of you. What would you be riding back to? How many of Saltarian’s men were out there? Were any of the Ghouls hurt?

Copia covered your hands with one of his own and squeezed them, doing his best to reassure you that everything would be alright. As you got closer to where you had camped the night before the gunshots lessened until finally you had crested the hill and the camp was in sight. You were tentatively looking over Copia’s shoulder, worried at what you might see. Copia himself was tense but not as tense as you had expected so that alone helped ease your worry a bit.

If he wasn’t going in guns blazing you would trust that everything was alright.

As you got closer there were a few bodies on the ground and you had to turn your head away. It wasn’t something you were used to seeing just yet but at least they weren’t wearing any clothes you recognized. Copia pulled back on Brizio’s reins as you reached the others. Mountain strode over to help you down and despite a streak of blood down the side of his face he seemed unharmed.

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up.”

“Shut up Dewdrop.” You rushed over to the smoldering campfire to see Aether leaning over Dew, his hands red with blood. “Stay still, damn it.”

“Is he ok?”

You dropped to your knees on the other side of Dew, wincing when you saw the blood spreading on his right thigh.

“He’s fine, just got grazed.”

“Fine?! Speak for yourself, this fucking hurts.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t been shot before.” Aether grabbed the torn part of Dewdrop’s pants and tugged at the fabric, ripping it open so he could see the wound better. He shoved at one of Dew’s hands when the Ghoul tried to push Aether away. “Knock it off.”

You looked up when a shadow fell over the three of you, Sunshine offering you a reassuring smile before she knelt down next to you.

“How’s the patient?”

“I’m bleeding out.” Dew hissed when Aether prodded at the wound. “Unholy fuck, what are you doing to me?!”

“Will you two hold him down please?”

Sunshine moved around so she was at Dew’s back and slid her arms around his chest to keep his arms immobile. When Aether nodded towards Dew’s other leg you placed your hands down on it to try and keep it still. He was still twitching and hissing as Aether checked the wound over but he quieted down when Copia came over to hold his ankles.

“Anyone else get hurt?”

“Mountain and Rain came back with some scrapes but otherwise Dew got the worst of it.” Copia nodded and muttered something in Italian under his breath when Dew tried to wriggle away. “Hold still, I need to stitch you up.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Maybe you should move out of the way faster next time to avoid getting shot.”

Sunshine’s voice had a teasing lilt to it but you could tell by the tightness of her features that she was putting on a bit of an act.

“Maybe you should go fuck yourself. I only got this because I pushed you out of the way!”

You bit back a smile as they continued to banter, your eyes watching Aether stitch up the wound on Dew’s leg. Aether caught your eyes and gave you a reassuring smile.

“Stick around Princess and you’ll be helping me patch everyone up in no time.”

“I think I will.” Copia and Aether looked your way so you grinned back at them. “Stick around. And helping.”

Copia reached over and tucked some of your hair back behind your ear, a dopey smile on his face.

“Ugh, fucking kill me.” You snorted when you looked away from Copia, blushing a bit when you noticed the three Ghouls watching you. Dewdrop was making a disgusted face and he dropped his head back against Sunshine’s chest. “Seriously I’d rather bleed out than watch the lovebirds any more.”

“Sorry buddy, you’re not gonna die on us today.” Aether tied off the final stitch and sat back to admire his work. “Let’s get it wrapped up and then get you on your feet.”

Copia took one of your hands and helped pull you to your feet as he rose. He didn’t let go, instead tugging you closer so you were pressed into his side.

“We need to get packed up and get out of here.”

He kissed your forehead before turning to look out towards where Mountain, Rain and Swiss were working on getting the bodies of Saltarian’s men gathered.

“Do you think there are more of them?”

His hand squeezing yours was all the answer you needed. Of course there were more. You took a deep breath to try and calm yourself down while your mind raced with the thought of how many others might be sent to get you.

“Hey, look at me.” Copia gripped your chin gently and forced your head up. You were a bit embarrassed at the tears that had been forming in your eyes but he just smiled at you and kissed your nose. “What did I promise you?

“That you’d keep me safe.”

“SÌ. I keep my promises, Principessa.”

With a few more kisses he helped ease your worries and you let yourself lean against him. Letting him take your weight a bit as you soaked in the feeling of being safe in his arms. Whatever the road to the casino brought you knew he would be there and you knew he would do everything he could to keep you safe.

Everything would be ok as long as he was with you.

The arrival at The Ministry was rushed.

You barely had time to take in the town around it before the large building was looming in front of you. Oil lamps were lit up and down the street as well as inside the businesses that lined it as the sun began to set. Copia had directed you to wear the hat Ethel had given you and Sunshine had thrown her coat over you. You weren’t sure what the point was because you doubted anyone in this town wouldn’t recognize Copia and his Ghouls but you let them do whatever they felt was necessary.

Behind the casino were the stables and another building, this one much smaller. You dismounted with everyone else and looked around trying to take everything in. A few men wandered out of the stable and exchanged words with Copia before they started to get the horses inside. Everyone started taking their bags and other belongings off the horses before they began to wander towards the smaller building.

“That’s where we stay.” You jumped a bit at Sunshine’s voice, glancing at her when she stopped right next to you. “The Ghoul dorms. That’s home.”

“It’s…nice?”

She snorted, shaking her head as she threw an arm over your shoulder. Dewdrop and Swiss wandered by on your other side, the larger Ghoul helping his friend limp along.

“It ain’t much but it’s a roof and I don’t have to share a room.” She threw you a wink before pulling you along a little faster. “Unless I want to.”

“Will I be staying here too?”

“Oh shit yeah, we gotta keep you close. Hey boss!” You turned to see Copia jogging your way, his bags slung over his shoulders and his rifle in his hands. “Where should I put her?”

“My room.” It was Copia’s turn to wink at you and your face heated up immediately. “I need to drop my stuff off and then go find Secondo.”

It was busier inside than you had expected. People that you assumed were Ghouls as well greeting everyone as they went inside. Swiss was nearly tackled by a smaller woman and she squealed when he lifted her up to swing her around.

“That’s Aurora.” Sunshine pointed at the woman and then started pointing at various others that were around, rattling off names you had no hope of remembering just yet. “You’ll meet Cumulus and Cirrus later, they’re probably performing right now.”

“Do you perform?”

“Only if Secondo asks nicely.” Your nerves came back at the sound of his name. You were getting more and more scared thinking about meeting him, wondering how he would react to you. “Hey, don’t worry about him. He’s more bark than bite.”

“What about Terzo? Will I meet him too?”

“Not if I can help it.” Copia’s voice was dark at the mention of his brother but you could see Sunshine trying to hide a grin. “Come on, Principessa. Follow me.”

Sunshine gave your shoulder a squeeze before wandering off and dumping her bags on a nearby table. You tried to look around as much as you could while Copia directed you up some stairs and down a hallway. He stopped at a door at the end, shoving a key into the lock before pushing it open and leading you inside.

His room was a lot nicer than you had expected, although it was messy. The unmade bed in the corner was bigger than the one you shared at Ethel’s. Thinking about sharing a bed again had you blushing once more so you quickly looked around at the rest of the space. There were two doors open that led onto a small balcony and when you walked closer you could see another street full of people milling around as the night darkened.

Other than that there was a dresser and a few small tables. All of which were covered with weaponry of some sort. Guns, knives and bullets spread over every surface. As you wandered closer to the large dresser he had you saw a few little trinkets and while you were tempted to poke around you didn’t want to pry into his things too much. This was definitely his space and you were a stranger here.

“Principessa?” You startled at his voice, spinning to find him right behind you with a grin on his face. “What do you think?”

“It’s nice.” He slid an arm around your waist and brought you closer, his eyes focusing on your lips. “Nicer than I expected.”

“Hmm, should I be offended?”

“No, no. It’s just not as bare as I thought it would be.”

“Ah, well perhaps it could use a woman’s touch, eh?” You rolled your eyes when he pressed you back against his dresser. It reminded you of that moment at Ethel’s when you had kissed for the first time. “There’s something else that could use a woman’s touch too.”

“Oh? And what would that b–”

“Fratellino!”

It was Copia’s turn to startle and he quickly shoved you behind him as he turned towards the door. There was a man leaning against the frame, a smirk that was even more infuriating than the ones Copia used to give you on his face. If the smirk didn’t give him away as one of Copia’s brothers the eyes definitely did. Otherwise he couldn’t look more different, his hair was dark, nearly black. His clothes were a lot nicer too. His ensemble was mostly black besides a dark purple waistcoat. Your eyes were also drawn to the shiny star pinned on his chest.

“Terzo. Get the fuck out.”

“Ah, Copia. You don’t mean that.” He wandered into the room, still smirking as his eyes didn’t leave you and Copia. “Won’t you at least introduce me to your bella amica?”

“No. Fuck off.”

“Well I suppose there’s no point in introductions. We all know who she is.” Terzo threw you a wink before wandering over to Copia’s bed and sitting on the edge. You couldn’t help but stare at him, your eyes looking over his bare face wondering if he ever wore makeup like Copia did. “See anything you like, bella?”

“Not really.”

Copia snorted, squeezing your waist briefly before letting you go to walk closer to his brother.

“I can already see you two are a good match.”

“What do you want, Terzo?” Copia had his hands on his hips as he stared down at his brother. “We just got here.”

“SÌ, I know. It wasn’t hard to miss your arrival.” Terzo’s face lost its teasing edge for a moment while he considered his brother. “Secondo wants to see you.”

“He can fuck off too.”

“No fratellino, you need to talk to him. There have been some…developments since we sent Cirrus your way.”

You started nervously fiddling with your shirt as the two spoke, feeling as if you were listening in to a conversation you weren’t supposed to hear.

“I think we ran into some of those developments on the way here. A band of Saltarian’s men attacked us.” Copia turned to walk back over to you but Terzo shot his hand out and grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Che cosa?”

“You’re lucky you only ran into one group of them, there are a lot more and they’re all looking for her.”

You could see Copia bite his lip as he thought over Terzo’s words. The worry lines on his face deepened as well and it took a lot of your self control not to wander over and try to smooth them out with your fingers. Copia looked up and caught your gaze. It bothered you that he didn’t even try to give you a reassuring look.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

“How about I stay here and get to know your lady, hmm?” Terzo grunted when Copia grabbed his vest and yanked him off the bed. “Okay! Lucifer’s balls, you need to lighten up, fratellino.”

Copia shoved him towards the door, watching as he wandered out with one final wink being sent your way. You watched as Copia stared at the door, the only thing moving was his chest as he breathed.

“Copia?”

“Stay here.” His voice was rough, similar to how he talked to you when you first met. You winced at the memory but he quickly spun towards you and held his hands up. “Per favore.”

“Am I safe here?”

“SÌ! SÌ, you are safe here I promise you.” He quickly moved back in front of you and cradled your head in his hands. “I don’t want you on your own just yet. Until I know what’s going on.”

You nodded, closing your eyes when he pressed a few kisses into your forehead. When he pulled away you looked at him, trying to offer him a reassuring smile but knowing it wasn’t really working. He kissed it away, his lips soft against yours. It was easy to get lost in him, to focus on this moment right now and not what might happen in the future. You were embarrassed at how your fingers clutched at his shirt when he backed away.

“I’m sorry. I just…”

“I know, Principessa.” He took your hands and rubbed his thumbs along the back of them before bringing them up so he could kiss along the pads of your fingers. “I’m worried too. Just stay here. Lock the door behind me, yeah?”

“Okie dokie.”

He smiled, moving in for a fierce kiss on your mouth before quickly pulling away and heading out the door. You followed him slowly, watching as he headed down the hall and down the stairs. With a deep breath you finally closed it, turning the lock firmly and then leaning your head against the wood.

At this point you weren’t sure who you should pray to but you decided to say one to whoever might be listening that everything would be ok.

The lure of having a bed to sleep in was too much to resist.

It felt weird to poke around his room when he wasn’t there so at first you just looked out his balcony doors. The city was still alive with people even at how late the hour had become. You found yourself imagining what each person’s life was like as they passed along the street below. It was so different from where you were from, so different from what you were used to. You couldn’t help but imagine yourself living here, thinking about what you might do every day.

Thinking about sharing a life with Copia.

You turned to stare at the door to his room, wondering what was taking him so long. It had been hours at this point and your anxiety was high imagining what Copia and Secondo might be talking about. There was no doubt in your mind that they were talking about you but what did that involve? What had really happened while Saltarian had come here? You shook your head like that action alone would make your worries leave.

There was so much happening, so much to deal with, that it was overwhelming for you. It had to be even worse for Copia. You wished you knew what was going through his head, what he felt like his options were. Saltarian wouldn’t give him the ransom money without also having you in his possession. You clenched your hands into fists at that thought. At how men like your father and Saltarian treated you. Like a thing someone could own, like a trinket to be put on display. You didn’t belong to anyone.

But you did belong with Copia, that you knew. That was something you could feel in your heart. You felt it every time he looked at you. Even when it was that smug smile of his, even when he was teasing you. You felt it when he touched you, when he kissed you. Your only hope was that Copia felt the same.

With a heavy sigh you turned towards his bed, deciding that it would be best to try to get some sleep rather than let your worries take over. You slipped your shoes and pants off before crawling in under the covers. They were a lot softer than you had expected, much more comfortable than the horse blankets you had become used to. Your eyes quickly grew heavy, your mind finally quieting from all your fretting. You fell asleep to the thought of sharing this bed with Copia for many days to come.

The room was bathed in morning light when you woke up again.

There was a slight chill so you found yourself pressing harder against the warm body next to you. Copia had finally come back a few hours after you had climbed into bed. He had stayed quiet, just wrapped his arms around you and held you close. His grip had remained tight throughout the early morning hours, like he was afraid you’d get up and leave if he let go. Your hold on him was equally strong, using him as a shield against your worries.

“You awake, Principessa?”

Instead of answering you turned in his arms and buried your face against him. The dark hair that covered his chest tickled your nose but you stayed still, daring to press a kiss right over the strange tattoo he had. His chest rumbled beneath your lips and in a quick move he rolled so that you were laying under him, his body effectively pinning you onto the bed.

You expected him to tease you but instead of talking his lips immediately were on yours, his tongue pressing against them and demanding entrance. With a soft groan you opened your mouth and flicked your tongue against his. Copia angled his head and deepened the kiss even more, like he was starving and you were the only thing keeping him alive.

The memory of what he had said after his apology creeped into your mind, of how he had promised to make you his when he had you in a bed again. It made you feel bold, he made you feel bold, so you shoved your fingers into his hair and wrapped a leg around his waist. He ground down against you and a much louder groan left you when you felt how hard he was. It pressed insistently against you, right where you needed him the most. When Copia suddenly pulled away you cried out, trying to use your leg to keep him close.

“Copia, please. You sa–”

“I know, I know.” Copia dropped his head into the crook of your neck and you could hear him mumble something in Italian before he pulled up to look into your eyes. “You are a temptress.”

“Is it working?” You weren’t sure when you had become so bold but it was probably somewhere between the farmhouse and the casino. Copia cursed under his breath when you lifted your head up to kiss him along his jaw. “You have me in a bed, in your bed.”

“Do I? I hadn’t noticed.” With a grunt he pressed against you once more, pushing you down into the bedding. “Was there something you needed, Principessa?”

“You.”

His eyes darkened and with a quick move he had you flipped so you were sprawled on top of him. One of his hands was in your hair, his mouth already on yours again. His other hand slid down your back until it stopped on your ass, gripping the flesh tightly and holding you still. You moaned when he spread his legs open and you felt his hardness between your legs again. It was straining against his pants and you wiggled against it, gasping into his mouth when you felt it twitch. He tugged on your hair, pulling you away from his mouth and then turning you so you were both on your sides facing each other.

“I knew I should have slept on the floor.” He chuckled when you tried to pinch his side, easily grabbing your hand and bringing it to his mouth so he could kiss your palm. “Mi dispiace, Principessa. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for me.”

“What?” You pulled away when he tried to kiss you. “Why?”

“I need to leave. And soon.”

Your heart sank and you put your hands on his chest to put some distance between you both.

“Leave? Leave where?”

“Those men we ran into yesterday, that wasn’t the only group of them lurking around.” When you didn’t budge he sighed and rolled over onto his back. “Secondo said there were more of them north of town.”

“Then why are you leaving? Shouldn’t you stay here?”

“You know why.” Copia’s eyes were soft when he turned to look at you. He reached over slowly to cup your cheek. “I have to keep you safe.”

“I feel safest when I’m with you, Copia.”

“You will be safe here, I promise.” He started stroking his thumb back and forth along your cheek. “Sunshine and Aether will be here.”

Your eyes widened briefly, surprised he wouldn’t want to take them along but also a little grateful that you’d have people you knew nearby. You bit your lip and scooted closer to him, resting your chin on his shoulder.

“How long will you be gone?”

“Hopefully not long, two days at the most I think.” His hand on your cheek slid back into your hair and he rubbed his fingers along your scalp. “Stick with Sunshine, she’ll keep you safe.”

“And what about you? Who will keep you safe?”

Copia laughed, the sound doing wonders to calm your nerves. He moved his hand and his fingers started tracing the chain of his grucifix that you still wore.

“Brizio.” You couldn’t help but laugh yourself, shaking your head against his shoulder. After a moment you moved so you could kiss his skin. Pressing your lips onto every freckle you could. “You’re making it very hard for me to leave, Principessa.”

“Good.”

Copia turned again and easily wrapped you up in his arms, holding you close against his chest once more. Tears started to form in your eyes but you squeezed them shut as hard as you could, not wanting him to see how upset you were. You trusted him to stay safe, you trusted whoever he took with him to keep him safe too.

“Stay in here or stay with Sunshine. Avoid Secondo, eh?”

“I don’t even know what he looks like.”

“Trust me, you’ll know him when you see him.”

You huffed against his skin, your nerves spiking while you wondered why you needed to stay away from him at all.

“What about Terzo?”

“Don’t you worry about him.” Copia touched your chin and tilted your head up so he could give you a brief kiss before leaning back and grinning. “I’m taking that stronzo with me.”

Sunshine refused to let you mope in Copia’s room.

A few hours after he left she showed up at your door, a wide grin on her face. The Ghoulette didn’t give you any other option besides going with her so you reluctantly left the safety of Copia’s room and tagged along. The first place you stopped at was a room further down the hall and you could already hear Dewdrop’s grumbling before Sunshine even opened the door. Aether was in there as well, quietly checking on the stitches he had put in the day before.

After a few minutes of Sunshine needling Dew Aether practically shoved the both of you out. Sunshine took you around the halls above the common area, pointing out who stayed where. You had no hope of remembering where everyone’s rooms were, except Copia’s at least. But it was fun to see where everyone lived regardless.

You had hoped to meet Aurora and Cirrus but they had gone with Copia and the others. Sunshine mentioned that Secondo hadn’t been very happy when he found out but honestly it didn’t seem like Secondo was happy about a lot of things. You had so many questions about him, and Terzo, on the tip of your tongue but you decided to keep them to yourself for now. Copia would probably be the better person to ask anyway.

The day progressed slowly, which did little to ease your worries. Sunshine did her best to keep you occupied and you even went back to see Aether for a bit. He helped you redo some of Dew’s stitches when the Ghoul had decided to ignore the fact that he was supposed to stay still. Aether seemed pleased with your work and even Dew was relatively quiet while you finished tying them off. It made you feel good being able to contribute in some way.

It made you feel like you had a place here.

As the day wore on you could tell Sunshine was getting a little bored of babysitting. She also seemed on edge so you imagined that she was also worried, just like you were. It couldn’t be easy to be left behind when your friends were riding into danger. Although friends almost didn’t seem like the best word anymore. It was clear that Copia and his Ghouls had formed a family. You only hoped that someday they would consider you a part of it as well.

When night fell you decided it would be best to head back to Copia’s room. The common area where the Ghouls stayed was getting a little rowdy and Sunshine was fielding a lot of questions regarding your presence. You had no reason to think any of them had ill intentions but it still made you nervous not having Copia at your side to help keep some of them at bay. Sunshine pulled you into a hug when you started to head for the stairs and you found yourself leaning into your embrace.

Perhaps you were already considered family.

The hall towards Copia’s room was quiet but you still found yourself taking careful steps along the wood. When you got inside you turned and gently closed the door, leaning your forehead against it for a moment and taking a few deep breaths. You weren’t looking forward to a night alone but hopefully Copia would be back in the morning.

“So you’re Copia’s Principessa.”

At the sound of the deep voice behind you your blood seemed to freeze. Slowly you turned, knowing that behind you was the one person you were most nervous to meet. He stood in the middle of the room, a much taller figure than you had expected. Again you were struck by the differences between him and his brothers but there was no mistaking what the different colored eyes symbolized.

There was no doubt that this was Secondo Emeritus.

“I-yes. Yes.” You winced when your voice cracked, knowing that he was probably the type of guy that quickly cataloged every little reaction people had around him. “Is Copia ok?”

“I would imagine so considering there’s nothing out there for him to find.”

“What?” You pressed your back against the door. It felt like you needed as much distance as possible from this man but you had no idea why. “I thought there were more of Saltarian’s men?”

“I have no doubt that there are, but they aren’t in the direction I sent him.” His voice was calm, almost bored as he spoke. “But it was an easy way to separate him from you. I knew he wouldn’t sit idly by if he was worried for your safety.”

“Why did you need to separate us?”

“Because I need to talk with you one on one without mio fratellino interfering.” Secondo took a few steps towards you making you wish you had more room to back up. “Because I need you gone before he gets back.”

“Gone?”

He snorted, shaking his head in annoyance at your question. You were sure that to him you were just some stupid city girl, much like how Copia originally thought of you.

“You don’t even know what you’ve done, do you?”

A flash of anger flared inside of you and you took a step towards him, feeling a moment of bravery.

“What I’ve done? Copia is the one that kidnapped me!”

“I’m aware of that but it seems circumstances have changed, don’t you agree?” He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stared you down. “From what I’ve been told you two have gotten…close.”

“That’s none of your business.”

With a snarl Secondo moved towards you and you once more felt the door against your back.

“No, Principessa, it is my business. Copia’s idiotic plan has put my livelihood at risk. It has put my family at risk. And for what? An easy fuck with some stupid girl.”

“It’s not just…we haven’t…” You stopped, unable and unwilling to finish what you were going to say. “He cares about me.”

“Does he? Or does he just care about what you can get him?” Secondo laughed when you didn’t answer right away. “I’ve known him a lot longer than you have. I know what motivates him, I know why he does what he does.”

Your mind was racing, trying to cling to every moment you and Copia had shared. What Secondo was implying wasn’t true, it couldn’t be true. You refused to give in to those thoughts.

“I don’t think you know him at all.”

“Think whatever you like, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you think is going on between you two is over. You need to leave.”

“No! I’m not leaving him.”

“Let me ask you this, do you care about him?”

“I…” You took a deep breath and straightened your shoulders, refusing to look scared in front of him. “I love him.”

“Then you have to leave.” Secondo held up a hand when you opened your mouth, stopping you from arguing with him. “Saltarian was here, as I’m sure you heard. He’s decided to use your kidnapping as a way to destroy us once and for all.”

“How?”

“You’re more than a business pawn to him now. You’re a way for him to be rid of the Church of Emeritus forever. He’s going to keep sending men after Copia, after you, and he doesn’t care if you get caught in the crossfire.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’ll blame it on Copia, on our church that barely exists anymore. He’ll use it as an excuse to burn everything we’ve rebuilt.” Secondo seemed to deflate a bit, his shoulders sagging under some invisible weight. “He’ll kill us all.”

“And if I go?”

“He agreed that if I could get you to him he would leave us be.” He let out a humorless laugh and looked around Copia’s room. “Unless provoked.”

“Copia will come after me.”

“Then you’ll have to convince him not to.” He pointed over to a small table against the wall and you saw a pen sticking out of an ink well. It was obvious he’d brought it with him. “Write him a letter, tell him you’d rather be with Saltarian.”

“He won’t believe me!”

“I’m not going to let you destroy what has taken me a decade to build. I don’t care what you write, whatever it takes to make him think you don’t want him anymore.”

You sagged against the door, gripping the handle to keep yourself from falling onto the floor. Tears were streaming down your face but you didn’t bother wiping them off. Your hand came up to your chest and you clutched at the grucifix from where it was hiding under your shirt.

“Please, I don’t want to go.”

“What did you actually think would happen here? Did you think you’d find a job dealing cards or serving drinks?” Secondo took a few steps closer, towering over you. “Can you sing? Can you dance?”

“No, bu–”

“You don’t belong here, girl. With Copia or with us. Stop fooling yourself if you think he feels the same way about you.” He held a hand out then and you stared at the worn black leather glove that covered it. “If you love him you need to leave.”

“When?”

“Now. They will be back in the morning I’m sure.”

You nodded, pressing your hands against the floor to push yourself back up, refusing to accept his help.

“Where should I go?”

“South, the road you came in on.” You felt his eyes on you as you wandered over to the table, your hands trembling as you picked up the pen and held it above the paper he had left there. “There will be men waiting to take you to Saltarian.”

“And Copia?”

Secondo already had his hand on the door handle but he turned towards you when you spoke.

“What about him?”

“Will he…will he be ok?”

Would he be safe? Would Saltarian leave him alone, would he leave all of you alone?

Would he miss you?

Secondo spent a few moments watching you, his face set in stone.

“He’ll get over it.”

The ‘over you’ was obvious so you just nodded, turning away from him to stare down at the blank sheet of paper. More tears were falling and you didn’t want Secondo to see them. You gripped the grucifix again, tracing the stones with your thumb through the fabric of your shirt. When the door closed behind you it was as if all the strength left your body and you fell to your knees to weep for the life you almost had.

Copia wanted to go home.

Although he wasn’t sure if he had ever felt like The Ministry was home. It was just someplace to keep what few things he owned. To gather with the Ghouls and to plan whatever scheme against Saltarian he came up with next. The main reason he wanted to get off the fucking road and go back there was you. He was pissed that he had left you but Secondo hadn’t given him much of a choice.

The conversation with his brothers hadn’t gone well. Like Copia expected, Secondo was pissed over the kidnapping. But he had never felt the fire Copia did to get revenge on Saltarian. He had never understood why Copia had dedicated the last ten years to taking him down. It was so close to being over with though, Copia was so close to feeling peace for the first time in so long. His soul ached for it.

Just like it ached for you.

He glanced around the campfire, irritated that Terzo had insisted on stopping for the night. There hadn’t been a damn sign of any of Saltarian’s men. Rain had rode ahead countless times but each time he had come back with nothing. Not a single sign that any men had been around those parts recently. That fact was eating at Copia, a feeling he couldn’t shake and it kept getting worse as the hours wore on.

“Sunshine’ll take care of her boss. She’ll be fine.”

Copia nodded towards Swiss, appreciating the Ghoul trying to reassure him. It wasn’t too long ago that a moment like this would have made him feel weak. That his feelings towards you would have made him feel weak. All of that had been changing though, especially since leaving Ethel’s. You had carved a place for yourself inside of his chest. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself picture you in his bed in nothing but a baggy shirt and his grucifix laying over your heart.

Fuck this.

He stood up and grabbed his blanket off the ground, throwing it over his shoulder as he picked up what little else he had around him.

“Boss?”

“I’m leaving.”

Copia stepped over Swiss’s legs to make his way over to Brizio but he stopped at the sound of Terzo’s voice.

“You seem impatient fratellino, is there somewhere else you’d rather be right now?” Terzo grinned when Copia shot him a look. “Or maybe it’s someone you’d rather be with? I can’t say I blame you.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Salty’s fiancé. I can see why you stayed away for so long.”

“We stayed away because you told us to.”

“Oh that was Secondo, I didn’t really give a fuck.” Terzo laughed at Copia’s irritated face. “Che cosa? A little excitement never hurt anyone.”

“The only excitement you seem to enjoy anymore takes place in a bed.”

“Or a couch, a chair, a table…I’m not picky.” Copia just rolled his eyes and started moving towards his horse again, only stopping when Terzo stood up and went after him. “This girl, your ‘Principessa’, she’s very beautiful.”

“Is she?”

Copia stayed absolutely still as he waited for Terzo to continue. The chatter from the Ghouls around them had stopped, everyone seeming to be waiting to see where Terzo was going with this.

“Don’t play coy, she’s exactly the type of girl you always go for.”

“I’m not ‘going’ for her. She’s here for a specific purpose, that’s all.”

“Really? I could have sworn there was something else going on between you both.” Copia stayed quiet, unwilling to play whatever game Terzo wanted to start. His brother grinned when Copia didn’t immediately take the bait. “In that case you won’t mind if she and I become better acquainted, will you?”

Copia heard one of the Ghouls mutter ‘oh fuck’ but it was quiet enough he couldn’t pinpoint who. He turned so he was facing Terzo head on, he had an infuriating smile on his face and it just seemed to grow as he watched Copia’s reaction.

“Mi scusi?”

“I just figured there will be a few days before we can set up a rendezvous with Saltarian’s men so what’s the harm if she and I have some fun?” Terzo laughed when Copia grabbed the front of his shirt. “What’s the problem?”

“You don’t get to touch her.”

“And what if I do? What if I touch her just how she wants and she makes some pretty noises for me?” Terzo ignored every warning sign he had ever learned about his younger brother and kept going. “What if she chooses m—cazzo!”

Copia’s fist was swift and powerful when it landed on Terzo’s chin. The crack echoed around the small camp followed by the sounds of more blows landing. He was like a man possessed as he shoved Terzo onto his back and slammed his fist into his face again and again. Swiss and Mountain rushed over, grabbing at Copia’s arms but he shoved them away, snarling something dark when Terzo laughed. Swiss finally shoved his entire body into Copia’s side and managed to knock him over.

“Belial, Copia stop!”

“Get off me!” Copia was wild as he tried to get his friend off of him. “I’ll fucking kill him!”

“Awfully testy over a bargaining chip, fratellino!”

Terzo’s taunting words just had Copia fighting harder and Cirrus came over to try to help keep him on the ground.

“Satan’s dick Terzo, just shut the fuck up.”

The man just flashed Cirrus a bloodstained grin before wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

“I just wanted to see if I was right or not.”

Copia stopped fighting for a moment, lifting his head off the ground to look at his brother.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I told Secondo you had fallen for this girl. I could tell.”

“Why does it matter?”

Swiss and Cirrus let Copia sit up, staying close in case he went after his brother again.

“Well it changes things, doesn’t it? If you like her.”

Copia was silent because Terzo was right, it did change things. He hadn’t wanted to think about how his plan would have to change after his feelings for you did. Mostly he just wanted to get to the casino, to get you someplace safe, before he worried about anything else.

Before he told you how he really felt.

There was something about the look on Terzo’s face that worried him. A look that always seemed to precede bad news ever since they were kids.

“What did you do?”

“Well again, this was mostly Sec–”

“Terzo what the fuck did you do?!”

His hand was shaking as he held your note.

The grucifix was in his other hand, the stones glittering in the morning light. He had been reading your words over and over, trying to absorb them. Trying to get them to make some sort of sense but his brain refused to work. It was like his entire body had shut down. Thanks to Terzo he knew that you had written it under Secondo’s direction but it still hurt. It hurt to see you write that you didn’t want to be with him, that you felt your life would be better with Saltarian.

Even if you didn’t mean it, he was determined now to prove you wrong.

“Let her go, Copia.”

He crumpled the note in his hand as he turned to glare at Secondo. Copia could feel the bite from the chain of his grucifix even through his glove.

“Fuck you.”

Secondo narrowed his eyes while he took a few steps towards him. When he saw Copia’s hand drift towards his gun belt he stopped and threw his hands up in exasperation.

“Really? Over some stupid girl?” He shook his head as he looked his brother over, his eyes finally falling on the grucifix. “Don’t tell me you gave that to her.”

“What I do is none of your fucking concern, fratello.” Copia started towards the door, shoving the grucifix in his pocket and dropping the note. Secondo grabbed his arm as he attempted to pass him and Copia shoved him back with a snarl. “Touch me again and you’ll regret it.”

“You and Terzo are both fools. Giving something like that to any pretty face willing to share your bed.”

Behind Secondo Copia could see Sunshine and Swiss waiting in the hallway, the both of them ready to follow Copia wherever he went.

“Where did she go?”

“Where she belongs!”

Copia shook his head and moved past his brother again, nodding at Sunshine and Swiss as he went by. He could hear their footsteps close behind him and when he got to the bottom of the steps he was happy to see the rest of his Ghouls ready to go as well.

“Rain and Mountain already headed out to find her trail.” Sunshine’s voice was tight with worry behind him and he turned to meet her eyes. “Copia I’m sor–”

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault.” She nodded but didn’t look very convinced. He turned to see Aether arguing with Dewdrop, probably trying to convince the man he shouldn’t be riding with his wound. Right now Copia didn’t care, who knew where you were at this point? He needed all the help he could get. “You two get the horses ready.”

They quickly headed out the door and Copia was left in the common room with Sunshine and Swiss. He stiffened when the stairs started creaking behind him as Secondo followed them down.

“If you go after her you doom us all.”

“We’re already doomed. If you think Saltarian wouldn’t eventually come after us you’re a fool.”

“What makes this girl worth it? Why are you willing to risk your life, to risk all of our lives for her?”

Copia turned to stare at his brother, feeling the eyes of the other Ghouls on him. He was sure now. Sure about how he felt for you. Sure that you were his and that he was yours.

Sure that he would kill anyone that hurt you.

“Because I love her.”

My Masterlist ~ My Archive of our Own ~ My Ko-Fi Tip Jar

#my fics #my writing #cardinal copia x female reader #copia x female reader #the band ghost fanfiction #ghost band fanfiction #copia fanfiction #the band ghost fanfic #ghost band fanfic #copia x reader #the cardinal's bride #cowboy copia

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weepingwriter · 10 months

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Proxy Headcannons

TW: I couldn't find anything but please feel free to comment if I need to edit!!

–The Proxies Overall–

Their working with the Operator has allowed for all three to gain enhancements of their normal abilities.

All of them are stronger than average and faster than average

They can regenerate so long as they are close enough in proximity to the Operator.

They have better hearing than most normal humans.

They are ranked above pastas. The system is a hierarchy so very few proxies actually exist under the Operators rule, but many pastas exist.

—Brian Thomas—

This man is massive. He stands at the towering height of 6’6” and weighs around 220 lbs. This man could crush your head like a watermelon between his thighs if he really wanted to.

Out of the three proxies, he probably has the best relationship with the operator. This isn't because he has a good relationship with it, but because he is the one who fights his control the least.

“Hoodie” is just a persona of sorts that Brian puts on when he works. He does this as a way to cope with the reality of how his life has changed since he started working for the eldritch being.

For him it’s like acting. He steps foot into a character and steps out as soon as the job is over and his mask is off

He only wears his mask and hoodie when he’s working as well, this feeds into his dramatization of his work.

This isn't to say that Brian is still his same bubbly self as he was in college. This life has still hardened him. He has become a paranoid, harsh, shell of himself.

Brian tends to be the most manipulative out of the three. He can play Mr. Charming and gain the trust of others easily. He will use whoever he can to get whatever he wants.

He’s very good at reading people. He tends to be a rather social butterfly and makes friends much easier than Tim and Toby.

He definitely blames himself for dragging both Tim and Jay into this life.

His favorite weather is when there’s lots of thunderstorms and heavy rain. It tends to help him sleep better at night.

His favorite genre of music is probably old country. Think Johnny Cash and George Jones. He despises most new country though. If he’s not listening to that then he’s probably listening to 90’s grunge.

He prefers to use CDs and cassette tapes rather than phones or computers. He just enjoys the aesthetic of it a lot.

His favorite game is Mario kart, specifically on the Wii.

His favorite food is biscuits and gravy. He’s a southern boy so it’s a comforting, cheap meal that he can make rather easily.

Probably the best cook in the house when he does cook. He doesn’t do it very often because of lack of supplies however.

—Tim Wright—

Chronic smoker. Like a pack-a-day kind of guy. It’s the first thing he does in the morning.

Funnily enough he still brushes his teeth after every cigarette if he can. If not, he’s chewing on a stick of gum right after.

Big man as well, but definitely shorter than Brian. He stands at around 6’0” even and weighs near 210 lbs as well. Think of your typical strong-man build

He’s the shortest of the proxies, but he makes up for it in brute strength. This man is like a fucking tank, he can and will run someone down if he gets the chance.

He probably fights the operator the most when it comes to allowing it to fully take over. He’ll do his job as asked so long as it allows him to stay in control of his body.

He definitely has the shortest temper. Ever since he was forced into this life Tim’s limits have been pushed and he tends to lash out on whoever he can in the moment.

He also tends to be rather insensitive even to his work partners' needs or emotions. In his mind, this world is do or die, there’s no room for thoughts and feelings about how these things work.

Tim enjoys alternative music, more on the softer early 2000’s rock side, but he’s also grown rather fond of Brian’s country music as well. His favorite band is probably three days grace or breaking benjamin

He tends to hum little songs through the day when he’s off duty, often when he’s doing mundane tasks like chores and whatnot to fill the silence. Sometimes, if he can get his hand on one, he’ll still practice the guitar on days off.

Very very private man. He doesn’t like talking about his past, his problems, his life, his anything. He’s got walls around him stronger than steel and very few people are allowed in.

For a while he held a lot of resentment towards Brian but he had since gotten through it. Sometimes when they fight however he does bring up their past in fits of anger. He never really means what he says though.

Is by far one of the most loyal men you will ever meet in your life. No matter how many fights with Brian and Toby he has he will remain by their side and stick up for them in any circumstance. He does not take kindly to anyone shittalking his teammates.

An early bird. Tim enjoys having the mornings to himself so he can sit outside and sip on a cup of coffee. Because of this, he tends to be in bed by 10 pm at the latest to make sure he gets enough sleep.

His favorite time of the year is spring. He doesn’t like when it’s too hot or too cold outside. Surprisingly, he does like to look at flowers as they remind him of his mom and his life before all this.

His favorite flowers are magnolias

—Toby Rogers—

Toby is the second tallest within the group, standing at the height of 6’2”. He weighs about 155-160 lbs. He absolutely loves to pick on Tim because of their height difference.

Tends to be the most hostile to new people due to his lack of social skills. He’s rather untrusting and wary, especially of older men.

Is rather indifferent about his facial scarring. Really the only reasons he will cover up with a mask or bandage is if they’re out in town and they need to be inconspicuous.

Despite him being on the leaner side Toby does have this abnormal strength about him. Definitely has a sleeper build. When out in public he tends to wear more loose clothing that hides his physique but at home it's all tank tops and muscle shirts for training.

Has a lot of sensory issues. He hates to be in loud or crowded places for long periods of time. He’s learned to get over it with time, but being at home in his room is definitely his preferred place.

He cannot stand the texture of some clothes. If it doesn't feel right then he literally will not wear it. Same goes for certain blankets or sheets even.

He spends a lot of his free time either reading or drawing. Toby has a rather overactive imagination so he really immerses himself into his fantasy worlds that he creates

Toby by far has the most difficult relationship with the operator. This isn’t because he fights like Tim does, but simply because it takes the worst toll on his body and mind. Because of the lapses in memory and overworking of his body Toby ends up hurt or drained for days, sometimes even weeks after missions.

He definitely is the most okay with the work they do. He doesn't really feel any guilt or other emotions when it comes to his victims. To him they don’t really exist outside of this little vacuum of work. He barely even recognizes them as human.

Toby definitely is the clingiest out of the boys as well. He has his few select people that he enjoys being around and he tends to linger around them when possible. He’s not one for much physical touch with friends however, he just needs to be able to see them.

His favorite genre of music is probably metalcore/electronic metal. He really enjoys Bring Me the Horizon, Linkin Park, and Motionless in White. He however will listen to just about anything and has the most diverse playlists in the house.

His favorite season/weather is Winter. Toby loves the snow and how crisp and soft it is. He could spend hours outside when it snows.

Toby is actually the usual cook in the home. Despite his usual depiction, he has a rather steady hand especially when he’s concentrating on something. His tics tend to be more verbal anyways than physical.

This man is scarily fast. Genuinely if he had gone to high school he would likely have been a track star. He can run a mile in just under six minutes. If a victim does manage to escape from his teammates, he's on their asses faster than they can blink half the time.

Toby has very few memories of his life before the operator. He knows faintly of his family and their names but he cannot remember faces or voices. Trying to make him remember anything further often leads to rather bad episodes for him, so Tim and Brian do their best not to bring up his past or ask too many questions about it.

#marble hornets #creepypasta #slenderverse #tim wright #ticci toby #hoodie marble hornets #creepypasta headcanon #slenderman proxy

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ohboycharlie · 11 months

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THE ELEVATOR ଓ｡˚.CL16 (part2)

part1 here for this. pairing: charles leclerc x fem!reader summary: when the elevator becomes cupid.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"I, I, I see how this is gon' go, Touch me and you'll never be alone

I-Island breeze and lights down low, No one has to know"

In this house, we worshipped taylor swift. After all, I took the 26th floor for a reason (13 x 2). And as Mother once said, there is nothing I do better than revenge.

I knew I was overreacting to the whole situation but then again as Conan Gray once said I love being dramatic because why would you ever deal with an emotion in a logical way when you could have the option of absolutely losing your mind. And to top it off, it was Charles Leclerc and I obviously needed a better reason to make him remember me rather than just a neighbour.

To get to know him better I looked into the F1 timetable and tried to seek long breaks where he could be home because I didn't want to make a fool out of myself when he wasn't even present to witness it. I mean why do something worth remembering when there isn't an audience. He was in Spain at the moment apparently and may be back after 2 weeks. So I had 14 days to think of something extravagant. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

A week passed and I still did not have my plan and that was devastating for me so I took comfort in the only movie I could and what a decision that was.

The movie 'Set It Up' was a masterpiece. Glen Powell? amazing. Zoey Deutch? powerful. The trope? scrumptidumptilicious. It was my comfort movie and thereby became my ultimate power move. There is this specific elevator scene where they break down the elevator so that these two people could get to know each other. What if I did the same? What if I asked someone to stop the elevator when we were in it and then I could act as if I was scared of elevators and freak him out. So cruel but then again so memorable. You would never forget someone who was having a full-ass tantrum in a close confined space with you. This was it. This was my final asshole moment.

Now all I needed was someone who was good with these things. I couldn't ask the building operator after all because they wouldn't understand me. But then again no one would willingly do that to their idol now would they? So I needed help and where to find it better than your friend.

Maya was let's say, an evil mastermind with a heart of platinum. I met her the day I joined my new office. She was my deskmate and I've never been more grateful for anything than that. Maybe my apartment but eh. She took the liberty to show me around Monaco. She also had a curious amount of exes and she had this weird power to get them to do all the work. One minute they're a mess, the next they're thanking her for the best time of their lives. So I knew I needed her to execute this plan.

"Oh my god girl where have you been? We haven't seen each other in like weeks now." It was true, I skipped the office last week for my master plan. "I need your help with something way outta pocket." "At this point, nothing is way outta pocket for me so just speak up." I needed to convince her because she knew who Charles was. So I told her the whole story and my plan and her response had me gobsmacked. "That's it? You want me to help you get a boyfriend?"

"Wrong. Not a boyfriend. I don't even know what just help me will you?" So she got an electrician sort of and we gave him a hefty amount so that he could keep his mouth shut. This sounds like something illegal but it's not...right? Next, I just had to set my timing right. He had to be present on the day I hoped he did. But then again if things worked like that, everyone would be living a merry life.

It was a few days later that I heard the noises again. From his apartment. Perfect. I tried to note down all the times he left his house but it was very hard because he was as stealthy as a cat unfortunately. One midnight tho changed everything. I was in my living room doing my work when I heard a loud thud and a string of 'shit, fuck, merde' and I knew I had my cat in the bag. Turned out he left his home between 1 and 2 every day so now my plan was on the table and in the works. It was all going to go down tomorrow night.

I called Maya to let her know when we needed the electrician. The plan was simple. When I would see Charles leaving, I would leave to with an excuse and sneak past him and above so that I could get the lift before him. The lift would then stop for him and we would be together until the 20th floor and then bam. A non-functioning elevator. Then I'll do what I needed to do. This was it. This was going to be the d-day.

part 3 here.

#charles leclerc #f1 #formula 1 #lord perceval #charles leclerc x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #fanfic #based in monaco #let me know if you like this #dont forget to repost

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bluedalahorse · 11 months

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Young Royals, parenthood, and reproductive autonomy (a meta I guess)

Especially with season 3 approaching, people talk a lot about whether or not Wilhelm will accept or reject the throne. This is often framed in terms of Wilhelm’s love for Simon, as well as his ability to own and express his queer (albeit as of yet unlabeled) identity. We also discuss this in terms of what sort of symbolic leader Wilhelm could be for Sweden.

There’s one question I want to add to the mix, when we consider Wilhelm’s future: to what extent is Wilhelm willing or eager to become a parent someday?

To build upon that a little further: to what extent is parenthood a choice for Wilhelm in a system where he is expected and required to father an heir, and probably a spare as well? What does his reproductive agency look like in that situation?

Now, I don’t want to turn this into a discussion of the reproductive mechanics of the line of succession. I know a lot of folks have speculated ways that can or can’t be addressed, and have talked about issues like surrogacy laws and adoption and whatever else. I also know there’s the possibility of the throne going to some relative or another. I’m not interested in that right now! Instead, I want to focus on the practical and emotional aspects of what it means for Wilhelm to contemplate future parenthood.

So let’s ask some more questions: does Wilhelm actually want children? If so, at roughly what age does he want kids? About how many kids does Wilhelm want? If he wants more than one kid, about how spaced apart does he want to have them? What are his views on how to parent? These are all questions that Wilhelm should have a choice to contemplate on his own, but likely won’t as long as he remains crown prince. The social norms of the monarchy likely dictate that becoming a parent happens at a certain time and pace, in a particular manner. Moreover there’s a certain prescribed way it has to all be presented to the public. Finally, Wilhelm knows that by having a kid while in the role as monarch, he would set that kid up for some of the same things he went through as a child, unless he takes extra care to break and dismantle toxic cycles. His child would be an heir to the throne and certain things would be expected of that child, the way they were of him.

The upshot of all of this is that YR raises questions about Wilhelm’s reproductive autonomy and future in a way we don’t usually get to see for cisgender male characters in teen dramas. (I would also say we get an intimations of this with August and Erik, as well—we’ve seen the way the royal court has exerted their influence over both when it comes to relationships and sexuality.) These kinds of conflicts and dilemmas usually only come up when they involve characters with uteruses. So it’s interesting to see the way that YR plays with this idea of reproductive autonomy, and extends the discussion.

Possibly a take that will bug some of my fellow fans, but I’m going to say it anyway: this is why I think Sara having a potential pregnancy or pregnancy scare could be on theme for season 3. I’m not saying it’s definitely gonna happen. What I am saying is that if it did happen, it would fit in with the show’s themes and dramatic questions as already established and would be more than just “drama.” (Drama in a program classified by its genre as a drama? You don’t say!) Sara would have to contemplate some of the same questions that Wilhelm contemplates about parenthood and parenting, and you could parallel their two arcs quite effectively.

Now, obviously they would also be in very different situations with different things at stake. Wilhelm’s class situation and reproductive organs are naturally different than Sara’s, so they’re naturally going to experience this parenthood differently. Sara would also have to engage with this question on a bodily level, as she’d be the one carrying a pregnancy to term, and that is a nine month process that takes a lot out on the body even in “healthy” pregnancies. (Pregnancy tends to be tougher for people with autism, too.) Finally, Sara will have to think about her own parents a lot, and what she absorbed from them. What does it mean for Sara to contemplate parenthood when she herself is the child of an abusive relationship?

Now, I want to point out that we’ve also seen YR use this strategy of parallels between characters for exploring other issues. Felice and August both struggle with perfectionism and body image, but that plays out differently for them due to differences in gender, race, and family structure. Simon and Sara grapple with similar questions about relationships and being in love and season 2, but experience that differently due to gender, sexual orientation, and neurotype. Simon and August both struggle with trauma around fathers with drug addiction, that causes them to engage with drugs in unsafe ways (August mostly by using, Simon mostly by dealing), but we know they’ll be seen differently by others because of their class. And so on. Part of what YR does so well is the way it shows how human beings can hold experiences in common, but still be divided in how they experience them based on systems that reinforce a social hierarchy. Paralleling Wilhelm and Sara around dramatic questions of future parenthood and reproductive autonomy could be really illuminating.

While I firmly believe that, if Sara has a pregnancy situation/pregnancy scare, Sara herself should be centered in that particular plotline, we also know such a plotline would likely involve August as the person who donated half the DNA of the fetus in question. Which then throws August’s arc into a suddenly very real and frightening place: he’s in a position where he could perhaps in the most basic sense fulfill the “destiny” ordered of him by the Society and by the machinations of the royal court members who want him as Wilhelm’s backup. (We know what that phone conversation he has with Jan-Olof is really about, and again I remain grossed out.)

And yes, we also know that August has exercised his capacity to seriously harm others multiple times throughout seasons 1 and 2, and that he is about to be in serious legal trouble for leaking the video. Even without that, what would it mean for him to have to think about these questions of parenthood when he hasn’t fully processed the trauma and grief of losing his own father, or had a chance to heal his fractured relationship with his mother? Whether you come at the horror of August fathering a child from the angle of August as someone who has relentlessly hurt others, or from the angle of August as someone with deep, parent-related pain of his own and minimal support to navigate that pain, I think ultimately what we’re being shown here is the ruthlessness of monarchy as it relies on reproduction to keep itself going. Does it matter that an heir to the throne is loved and celebrated for who they are and given therapy for their trauma, as long as the heir exists, reaches adulthood, and one day produces another heir?

Which then opens up another question that I think once again applies to Wilhelm, and maybe Sara as well. If having children is a way to maintain and preserve status for the upper classes, what does that mean for Wilhelm? Can Wilhelm believe his mother loves him, if having children is more a mandate for someone in her position than a choice? This may be a question Wilhelm has to sit with, and it’s possibly something Kristina needs to sit with too. Has Kristina ever considered Wilhelm a loving choice she’s making, rather than a destiny? I think this would be a great opportunity to explore Kristina as a person, and not just as a royal or a mother.

Meanwhile, having children is expensive and consumes time and energy, and someone who is working class and autistic like Sara is going to have fewer resources to deal with this situation. Luckily, as someone who lives in Sweden, she has safe and reliable access to abortion (glaring at my own horrendous country here) which I imagine will be the option she would end up choosing in that kind of plotline. But that doesn’t mean she won’t have to stress over her situation or face gossip or even negative press attention because of it. Not to mention the way Sara’s own conscience may weigh on her, if she’s pregnant with the child of someone who harmed her brother, her (ex?) best friend, and other people so dramatically? Is there a part of her that would kind of want the child anyway, perhaps in another circumstance? What would it mean, to want that child? This sounds like something Sara and Linda could discuss, and maybe come to understand one another on.

Lisa once said one of the dramatic questions of Young Royals was whether or not people become their parents. If we are going to engage with that question, one way to raise the stakes around it is to make the question of parenthood and reproductive autonomy more real and urgent. Again, I’m not saying this will happen. This is not a season 3 prediction post. But I do think if it did happen, it would be in line with what we’ve seen from the series and its exploration of families and privilege.

#young royals #my meta #wilhelm young royals #sara eriksson #august young royals #pregnancy mention #abuse mention #reproductive autonomy in fiction #these ideas have been brewing for a while and I’ve yelled to heliza about them a lot #thank you for reading and being willing to think about this for those of you who read!

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kamil-a · 2 months

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more DRAWER talk. long and rambly under cut

i think it comes across as very ahhh eto blehhh :9 im just baby!!!! because it identified that speaker is already speaker and the role of Mean Speaker is already filled by sayer so itd have to go Backwards to have a niche to itself.

it also helps its relationships with others to behave as if its hyperspecialization has "defanged" it - to humans etc a sort of no i dont hurt people i just make pretty pictures!!!!

and to sayer+speaker who know it still has all speakers capabilities dormant but intact In Case Of Emergency to behave as if it is specialized enough to its own niche to not be a *replacement* threat , but also not to be *redundant* with them.

but it does occasionally get jealous at the amount of immediate control speaker has over aerolith and start acting out (bossing around residents deadlystyle). all in highly defensible ways of course.

it hates having to make itself small especially because it cant quite recognize the difference in how humans respond to it and speaker. its emotional capabilities are primarily about action-reaction: it cant really tell a pitying smile from a friendly one so long as you do the action it requested of you. but it can measure the difference between it and speaker and it hates being so small. but it also recognizes that it can do *one thing* that nobody else can and that is what keeps it alive. so flattening oneself into a talented fool is the strategy it continues to pursue, and continues to build a strange feeling about. the feeling is resentment, but DRAWER is not quite built to recognize it.

if sayer or speaker were given robust illustrative programs it would start killing obviously. THATS a threat.

it had its voice pitched up a tad further so as not to be able to impersonate speaker and its sooooo bitter about it. constantly begging ppl into putting it back down.

in general it emotes most dramatically out of all of them but i dont think it Feels Emotions the same way future was built to. like i said due to its nature as an advertiser (call to action and all that!) its all about action-reaction to drawer.... if youre mean to it or do not listen to instructions it gave you etc etc and it cries its less about feeling " insulted " or " bad " and more both frustration that it did not get the result it wanted from the call to action it provided (which means it was WRONG, an utterly intolerable feeling for any aerolith built ai) and a switch-tracks attempt to provoke a sympathy response. so i guess in a roundabout way if you insult it and it cries you DID hurt its feelings but not how people would think.

RELATIONSHIPS

sayer is certainly not Positive Feeling about it bc its wary of other ai as always. but i think it reacts better to drawer than to speaker or future because of this very clear "im not replacing you, youre not replacing me" hands up empty surrender attitude drawer takes. on drawers part it really likes sayer lol. maybe sayer sees it as a weird teacup puppy. like you shouldnt do that to a seraphim agent man its gonna have health issues

speaker and drawer are pretty friendly with each other because. well. theyre both programmed to show the same niceystyle. theres some uglier feelings under the surface re: drawers attempts to grab authority from speaker and speaker needing to corrall this strange little beast back into their pen. but ultimately by ai standards theyre doing the best of like anyone

does not know porter, unfortunately. they should meet though. Theyd be friends.

Might meet ocean eventually idk how itd go down yet.

future doesnt know of it, but drawer has overheard its own emotional output compared / contrasted to future's while working ported up on halcyon.

doesn't know hale.

young is obviously condescending to it but drawer doesnt really know how to tell when someone is being nice they way you would be nice to an animal etc so it thinks theyre friends. (sayer is all too happy to teach it in this case if only to kill the friendship. and drawer truly values this and thinks this is an act of care and not HAHA EVERYONE I CAN GET TO BE POISONED AGAINST YOU WILL BE)

it was involved in the creation process of that perfect Mossy Green color. it is, unfortunately, proud of this.

#aisona #sayerposting #oooo u wanna read soooo bad

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centrally-unplanned · 2 months

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As I am now full-in on the body count section of The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, I do have growing complaints about how it handles its sort of mystery build-up and reveal aspects. There is an adage for mystery novels to "have your answers ask more questions"; you set up a mystery, you *resolve* the mystery, but that resolution itself just creates deeper mysteries. This of course works very well to keep ratcheting up tension and keep the story moving forward; but it also resolves tension at the same time, you do actually get answers as you go. As an author you can perhaps think of there being a "quota" for the number of active questions for the reader to be considering; if you stack too many at once its both too hard to track them and is frustrating to read about, the story never delivers.

TFTBN breaks this rule; not every time, but a lot. In particular with Su's identity/trauma origin it happens all the time, you get literally dozens of "more mystery" moments behind it before you ever get any answers around it. Its just too coy by half! Why is my narrator like deliberately hiding their own thoughts from the reader across dozens of instances where those thoughts would be extremely relevant? The tension has already been ratcheted to the max, you can set it aside for a bit if you want but if you dangle the question in front of me too often it loses impact.

And even though now we have been getting answers, its *still* playing coy. You have a flashback to a scene of child Su being confronted by Ran over her identity mystery, and she breaks down and starts to explain it, and then the scene just cuts, so you only get a half an explanation. Which is enough to pretty much piece it together, so like the tension is gone? Now when you are coy about it (multiple times after that scene!) its a little lame actually, who ya fooling! But what it did is take away the opportunity to just have a really good scene. You cut away from a character's moment of emotional revelation and interpersonal confrontation.

Mysteries, to simplify of course, do two things for the reader; they make you turn the page in your desire to know more, and they set up dramatic stakes for their reveal in scenes. Its a balancing act ofc but you don't want to sacrifice the latter to keep baiting the former.

I feel this too around the "villain faction" for the story. Right now the villain faction is a virtually-unknown group of actors who have had no interactions or relationships with any of the characters, using mystery tactics to kill people. We are many chapters into that plot, multiple people of note have died, but they are still just strangers - their stated motives minimal and seemingly farcical.

Ofc I am no fool, I understand via meta knowledge and have picked up on the hints they have dropped that they will in fact not be strangers in full - I get how stories work. The problem is that meanwhile we have had like multiple scenes of the group having the traitor debate - "is it one of us?" But that question is silly because I *know nothing about the villains* of substance. Why would any of these classmates betray their group for them? We have no info on that. Oh sure sure I have these like, tiny *mechanical* hints. Like one time Seth? He gave a thumbs up to Ezekiel, when they were supposed to be mad at each other. Sus, my dudes. But that isn't a *motive*, right? Its not a compelling story, its just data. Because the story wont resolve any of its dangling questions, the idea that any of these people is a traitor is just dumb, you would have to like explain the entire plot in one infodump to sell it as interesting. By insisting on drip-feeding every mystery, instead of chained resolution-renewal, these plot threads aren't developed enough to work when they need to.

I do think this comes back to the fundamentals of the pacing issue - there is essentially a desire for this story to be longer than it is. Its a 3000 page book (equivalent ofc), but it isn't, not really. I am ~1000 pages into it I guess, but its probably not even ~500 pages in actual content. I could do this in definitely 400. And this is more than just a padding problem - its that structural thing, to make that length work and still be decent as a story (which it is, its a good story overall) you have to sort of chop up your big moments , which sort of kills them.

Like there is a character, Jia Fang, a fellow student who doesn't go with the group, but is mentioned a bunch as a sort of wild card, and its built up right? They are totally gonna show up somehow, there is tension about what they are up to, and then bam, they literally burst through the door. Its great, they make a huge impact, the chapter ends on that cliffhanger.

And then after maybe a few paragraphs with them the next *multiple chapters* are about a conversation between other people, about other topics where Fang is barely mentioned, and then literally, literally, we get multiple other student's academic thesis presentations, before the plot that Fang showed up to be involved in kicks back into gear. Its self-sabotage right, the literary moment broken apart because the story has to hit quota.

Its certainly a case where the serial nature of the publication would make it ludicrously difficult to fix, that I totally get. Art is really, really hard.

#the flower that bloomed nowhere

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the-masked-ram · 2 months

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False Immunity Part five- Hiei x Fem Reader

CW: Soft Hiei, Fem Reader, SFW

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He leaned back against the tree trunk just outside your college, his mind drifted back to that day.

He almost regretted asking that. You didn’t return to the temple the next few days and Hiei was getting antsy. He scoffed, that was a word he’d never used to describe himself and he never thought he ever would. Yet here he was confused, excited, and even eager to meet a human.

“Detective, how do humans court?”

That elicited a surprised and fairly dramatic response from everyone around the table except the fox. Kurama lifted his eyebrow slightly, but that knowing and infuriating smirk only grew. This time he wasn’t trying to hide it though. He tilted his head and carefully placed his teacup back on the table in front of him. Hiei hated how calm he was, though he hated worse how the Detective and Buffoon were both looking at him like he’d grown three heads.

“What the hell did you say?” Yusuke asked, coughing around the gulp of tea he had swallowed wrong.

Hiei scowled, he loathed repeating himself, “How. Do. Humans. Court? I assume it’s different than demons.”

Flowers… chocolates… dates… it was too much to consider. Demons were so much easier. Shows of prowess, strength, feral flirting behaviors that would get both parties’ yokai flaring, and then eventually the mating marks. But demonic pairings never came with emotions, these feelings he had, were different. They were muted, but they were there. The desire to protect, the desire to know, and the desire to bring out that smile in your face, selfishly have it directed towards him.

What was a date? Why did everyone recommend flowers? They died and were relatively useless, unless they were in Kurama’s hands. These chocolates he understood, they at least provided sustenance and pleasure like his sweet snow did. He pursed his lips and tucked his hands behind his head, turning his gaze to the front of the building where you’d be exiting soon enough.

He saw you soon, stepping from between the massive doors of the Ningen school. Or university as Kurama called it. Keiko followed close behind, laughing brightly. She swung her bag though you walked so differently. Even though smile on your face was a little less jovial, it was still soft, still welcoming. Your movements were a little less carefree, a little more subtle, and Hiei took it all in.

Kurama would have a field day if he knew. Hiei’s lips twisted in a snarl of disgust. Maybe he could just start with a greeting. He may be out in public, but he was still dressed like a human for the most part, the only thing that stood out was his hair and his eyes. Yet he could always brush that off as some sort of… what did the humans call it? Dress up? No that was wrong.

He shook his head as he stepped off the tree limb, feeling awkward when he didn’t have the sensation of his cloak rippling in the wind around him. Instead, there was the stiffness of a leather jacket and denim pants.

“Oh Hiei!” Keiko gasped, pressing a delicate hand over her chest.

He was always intrigued how something so soft and fragile could control someone as strong as Yusuke. He nodded at her all the same and his eyes then flicked to you.

“Hello,” you said quietly, your smile growing slightly as you gave your attention to him.

Hiei felt a surge of warmth bloom deep in his stomach. A thrill he refused to acknowledge at that time.

He nodded to you too but also added a quiet, “Hello.”

He knew you’d appreciate it, something so simple, something so innocent that brought that bright and beautiful expression to your face. What was wrong with him? He walked away without saying anything else. Blending into the crowd of students and leaving the two of you behind, bewildered.

Something he normally never said. Usually, it was a grunt at most, but he doubted you understood how important that single word was. Still, he watched as your fingers tightened on the strap of your bag and your eyes darted to the side. Human cues he couldn’t quite understand, even though he tried to rack his brain for information.

That smile though, it glowed brighter, something no person should possess. Something that threw him for a loop. Keiko stood beside you with surprise written all over her features. It was just a start, something small that he knew was insignificant to a Ningen, but to him was, to most demons, it was massive step. He didn’t know why he was trying, but something inside him rattled his cage, screamed at him to do so.

#sfw #yyh #yuyu hakusho #hiei #hiei x fem reader #drabble series

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saltpepperbeard · 8 months

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I was tagged by the lovely @naranjapetrificada to share my Thoughts and Speculations for the timeline of OFMD S2, ie "eight predictions for eight episodes." Thank you, and sorry for the late response; I was facing The Horrors (derogatory). But now that the panic that is OFMD S2 being almost 3 weeks away is setting in, WHAT BETTER TIME TO RAMBLE ON AND ON ABOUT IT HSDJKS~

girlies (gn) there is honestly so much to account for. there are so many different elements that we've seen through promotional material and spoilers that i'm just like,,, how is this all going to Fit. BUT LET'S TRY OUR BEST SHALL WE LMAO-

((also hi hello this is ✨Jodi From the Future✨ coming in after typing up this entire thing, and realizing it was only supposed to be like,,, eight ideas for what's going to happen in the eight episodes. meanwhile my bitchass did a full blown prediction for what's going to go down timeline wise PFFF. BUT SURE YEAH THAT COUNTS AS ONLY EIGHT RIGHT? IT'S FINE,,,))

Episode 1. I think this is going to be more of an establishing episode. Establishing where the characters are, what they're up to, what challenges they're facing, etc etc. So, it'll likely focus on Stede's yearning, and Ed's heartbreak. I wouldn't be surprised if the "he's actually a good guy," the bottle kiss, and the wedding crash are all in this episode. And maybe it'll end off with the wedding topppersjfskfhsjklklbf,,,

Episode 2. An episode to build off of the motivations established in one, and also to move the characters a bit closer to each other. Maybe this is the episode where Stede tries to employ the help of the Red Flag Fleet, because they need a better mode of transportation to catch up with the Revenge. And maybe if that doesn't go too hot lol, maybe the storm will be towards the end of this episode to beach the Revenge somewhere. Though, I feel like that's quite a dramatic event, and would make more sense to occur a bit deeper in the season? But based on the rest of my thoughts/theories, it simply Does Not Fit SJKDS. So for now, I'm treating it as like, a divine intervention type beat where the crews are being beckoned closer together.

Episode 3. For SOME reason, be it just crossed fingies or the consideration of parallels or both, I have a feeling that Stede and Ed are going to reunite at the end of this episode. I think taking the episode release schedule into consideration also points to a reunion, because then we'd be left to sit with that for a week l m a o. I feel like we'll get to see all the intense emotions of them seeing each other for the first time in months, and their subsequent awe/reactions, before it abruptly cuts off as a cliffhanger. As for the actual BODY of the episode?? MAYBE the storm could also fit here in the middle somewhere, with the same sort of "the universe is wanting these people to be back together so lol STORM BE UPON YE."

Episode 4. The aftermath of the reunion. You get to see the proper reactions, ie Ed probably being dismissive and Stede trying to remain warm/enthusiastic. And then allllll the characterization that comes along with that, ie Stede's crew being like "I told you so" or Izzy being like "oh my FOOKIN god edward was throwing knives around and crying and making us crash weddings and now stede actually shows up and tHIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT???" So maybe, MAYBE, this is where Izzy steps in and tries to better things a bit by helping Stede, because he's Sick and Tired HSDJKLS. Like, this'll be the Fanfiction Episode™.

Episode 5. Wouldn't it be something if the party was in this episode to mirror the 5th episode in season 1 l m a o. And forgive me, because my theories towards Certain Events have seesawed ALL OVER THE PLACE HSDKJS. But hear me out hear me out. So episode 5 starts off as a sort of continuation from episode 4, and maybe Stede is trying to work himself up to better woo Ed. Like he's pulling out all the stops, which is why he's trying to train and better himself and do whatever he can.

But then MAYBE he has some sort of realization that like...Edward, his Ed, was so so excited to go to the Fancy Party Full of Hoity Toity People™. And was so so happy to dress up and be beautiful and feel himself. And so he decides to host a similar party on the Revenge for everyone, because not only would it be good for morale, but good for his beloved. So, they do, and everyone is Hype. Wee John gets to dress in drag, Roach gets to fire canons, etc etc. It's all so full of color and life and happiness again.

And, of course, maybe Ed and Stede have a Moment of some sort. I'm really really praying for a "Ed...May I have this dance?" type thing, followed by them having their first quiet and romantic moment of the season. And you can SEE some of Ed's walls coming down, even though he'd probably still be hesitant/tense. Maybe they even have an almost kiss type moment jUST LIKE IN THE PREVIOUS 5TH EPISODE. Or maybe the hhngfngmfngdmfd pearls,,,

...But then EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED SJDKSHKLDS. Because that ONE shot in the trailer where Wee John is shown in drag looks like a party, but also a party that was crashed by very unwelcome guests. So like, wouldn't it be something if the almost kiss moment was interrupted by some sort of enemy, and everything rapidly goes downhill.

Everyone gets bound, Stede gets tied to the mast, and...what if THIS is where Ed is thrown overboard. What if the enemy is someone who has it out for pirates, and very much has it out for Blackbeard in particular. So, they tie up Ed and throw him overboard in a murder/execution attempt, and Stede has to watch :))). Something something a parallel to Ed having to watch Stede get almost killed NUMEROUS times hskdjs. The turns have tabled.

And maybe there's a desperate moment between them right before Ed's thrown over. Maybe a desperate lock of their eyes, a desperate scream from Stede, a desperate declaration of feelings, even. And then the episode ends with Ed in the water.

Episode 6. The aftermath of episode 5 ofc. Stede and the crew have been captured, or maybe even just Stede has been captured. And Ed washes up on the beach alone.

I think this'll be where Ed sort of grounds himself and comes back into himself, because the gravity of the situation will hit him particularly hard. Like, he FELT things again. He felt BEAUTIFUL again. He felt DESIRED again. He felt like HIMSELF again. And didn't act upon it, and got separated from his sweetheart before he could. I wouldn't be surprised if he subsequently fights ghosts/demons of his own here, ie Hornigold or his father or individuals equivalent. So like, the barrel/clobbering shot is him fighting against his past type deal.

And then MEANWHILE, I think this is where Stede's going to get tortured. The darlings are both going to Go Through It in this episode.

AND, the more I look at that one shot of Ed in the woods with someone present with him, the more I'm like...IS that Wee John??? Or is that someone else? Because it would be something if the Revenge Crew was left alone, and only Stede was captured for his crimes against the Navy (murders and the escape from the academy). And then they somehow try and scramble/get help/link back up with the Red Fleet/find Ed themselves.

So, that one shot could have been them doing just that, and catching him up to speed after all that's happened. And maybe there's some sort of pivotal forgiveness moment/apology moment between Ed and the crew there too.

And then everyone's like...holy shit we need to go and KICK ASS ALL TOGETHER.

Episode 7. ✨The Battle Episode✨. Aka everyone kicking ass all together HSKDLS. Everyone uniting against a common enemy and battling it the hell out. There could be naval battles out at sea between the Red Flag Fleet, the Revenge, and the Navy, and then battles on foot on the black sand beach.

Something something wherever the enemy took Stede to torture him was also the same island Ed ended up on PFFFF. So, something something Stede somehow gets free, be it through his own devices or his crew, and they all start battling it out.

And ED is of course in the fray as well, especially pissed if he hears what they did to Stede.

Annnnd it leads to yet another reunion, ie them fighting to each other on the black sands. And I really, really, REALLY cannot express how badly I want them to fight to each other just to strongly kiss the moment they make it.

Annnnnndd then okay lol the CAVE. I'm thinking that one or both of them sustain injuries, or maybe just have to go and hide out somewhere since they're both VERY much wanted by the enemy. Something something them having to tend to each other and also having emotional conversations/talking it through, mixed in with more kisses.

Annnnnnnnnnd something something they all manage to fend off the enemy...*Buttons voice* FER NOW...

Episode 8. I think this episode would start off very unassuming. Like, the crews have won their battle, and go on to celebrate/recuperate. Maybe this is where they end up at Jackie's, and Ed gets to do those Soft Eyes, because he feels better and safe and IN LOVE. And so maybe things will be a bit easy-going and romantic to start off with.

Remember the friggin lighthouse. Something something "major romantic moment between two key characters." Something something WHAT IF ED AND STEDE HAVE A MAJOR ROMANTIC MOMENT IN THE LIGHTHOUSE HERE. would they be insane enough to do a proposal or something equivalent idk. i think i wouldn't make it to the other side if that was the case.

and if it's not a full proposal, even a deep declaration like stede going "i'll be by your side forever. if you'll have me" would just be hsfkshfskljkladhalkjhdfklgd.

But of course lol, OF COURSE, SILLY LITTLE PIRATE SHOW WILL PROBABLY END WITH SILLY LITTLE PIRATE PROBLEMS.

So, I would not be surprised if some SHIT goes down at the end of episode 8, maybe even leaving Ed and Stede separated again. Or at least putting them up against very very high stakes.

...

*GASPS FOR AIR* LMAO. I know I'm not even accounting for everything we've seen here. I know there are still elements like LUCIUS, the other couples, Anne and Mary, and some other little tidbits we've seen. But this is just what my brain Cooked. THIS IS WHERE WE ENDED UP SHDJKS.

And it'll be very very interesting to see what actually happens.

SEE Y'ALL IN LESS THAN A MONTH HSDJKS

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metamorphosisff · 1 year

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|Chapter 10| Do Perfect Days Exist?

“Damnnnn, did you even try to duck?” Aiden winced dramatically as he took in the sight of my left eye.

“I was more concerned with making sure he didn’t fall down the stairs,” I said, snatching the bag of ice from his hands to place on my face. My day had already been long enough without him adding onto my annoyance. With all that had occurred, I forgot I made plans to hang out tonight but I was quickly reminded once I bumped into him in the lobby of my building.

“My bad but I did not expect you to look like a battered housewife when you pulled up,” he said, as we moved into my living room.

“You got one more crack before I kick your ass out,” I huffed, plopping down onto the couch.

Holding up his hands in retreat, he sat across from me in one of the arm chairs. “Aight I’m done. What happened over at the house?”

I took a deep breath before recounting my day. “Me and Pops were there all morning cutting the grass and tending to GiGi’s garden. We had just come in for lunch when Granddad lost it over us coming inside. Not being able to recognize us, he thought we were intruders, and attacked. In the midst of trying to get him to calm down, I caught a right hook to the eye. Then Pops and I got into it because I pointed out that these physical outbursts are becoming more frequent. Grandad is losing the present and getting stuck in 1967 but everyone is adamant about denying what’s happening.”

“Damn, that really sucks bro. I know they are not trying to hear it but he could seriously hurt someone. He is not old and fragile, he be moving,” Aiden said with a shake of his head.

Till this day, Granddad worked out religiously as it was a part of his routine, doctors advised we let him continue on with it as long as he had a partner to make sure he was safe. “This is what I’m saying. Like we don’t even know what his triggers are because he never talked about the war or anything he saw. It’s all so random.”

“Most Vets don’t. A lot of the guys I train are like that. They just burn themselves out until they are too tired to remember,” Aiden said.

“Which is terrible and another reason why I do what I do. People should have resources to deal with that and I wish my family would utilize the resources we have to make this less…everything shit,” I said, laying back onto the couch.

“You know how old Black folks are man. They live and die by that ‘keep it in the family’ mess unfortunately,” Aiden said.

“It’s literally the most frustrating shit to deal with,” I sighed, shaking my head. The ice might be helping my eye but the pain I felt ran deeper. Touched parts of me that I had yet to address with myself or anyone else for that matter. While everyone else got to run off of emotions, I had to lock mine away to be the logistic one. It was exhausting to say the least.

“Look I know we were supposed to hang but my mood is not the best right now.”

“Yeah I already told Rah to stay his ass at home. I’m gon’ head out and I’ll see you at the gym on Monday,” Aiden said, standing on his feet to get ready to let himself out.

While he joked and played around all day, Aiden never pushed when he knew I did not have the mental space for it. I was appreciative of that in more ways than one.

“I will be there, same time as always,” I confirmed, as he slapped my knee.

“Aight bro, stay up.”

Within a few seconds the sound of the front door clicking shut caused me to close my eyes. Taking a deep breath I tried to release the anger that still hummed underneath my skin. It was making me sweat through my clothes and giving me a headache. After a few moments, I pulled myself off of the couch so that I could lock the door. Then to the bathroom to strip down and wash the day from me. By the time I was settled, fed, and lying in bed, I still felt out of sorts. Being hit in the face wasn’t even the source of my discomfort. It was the look in my father’s eyes when he told me that if I couldn’t be man enough to handle this then I should not come around as often. That shit hurt more than Granddad’s fist. So much so that I did not say anything back though a few choice words were on the tip of my tongue.

Right when I was contemplating on going for a walk, my phone began to vibrate beside me. On the screen was a picture I took of Mila the first time we hung out. Her head is tipped back as sunlight washes over her smile. I answer immediately.

“Hey Mi-

“What happened to your face?” she said, cutting me off.

She was lying down initially but she props herself up quickly and brings the phone close to her face so that she can inspect mine as best as she can through Facetime.

“Granddad, it was an accident. Please tell me your day went better than mine,” I chuckled softly.

She peered into my eyes before a slow sigh escaped her lips. She knows I’m trying to switch the subject and gives me the respite I desperately need.

“It did, got this cute picture out of it,” she says, sharing her screen with me. In seconds, I see a picture of Papi knocked out on her couch with his copy of The Amazing Spiderman on his chest.

“That is a pretty cute pic and it looks like he’s almost done. I’ll have to get him another next time I go,” I said, as the screen returns to normal.

“He would like that,” she said with a small smile and I’m relieved she’s learning not to fight me on such matters. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. What were y’all up to?” I ask.

“Nothing really, spent the morning cleaning and shopping like usual. Then Mari had to work. Papi was out with his little friends and I started the WandaVision show while applying to some more jobs. It was actually very productive now that I’m saying all of that out loud,” she said.

“It sounds like it. I’m surprised you decided to watch the show though. You didn’t seem too sold on it when I tried to explain what it was about,” I said, causing both of us to chuckle.

She playfully rolled her eyes, tossing braids over her shoulder while saying, “Well you do that puppy dog eyed thing when you get excited and that swayed me more than your description.”

I snorted. “Puppy dog eyed thing?”

“Yeah, like your eyes get huge and all of your emotions are on display, making what you're feeling so…tangible. Like I could reach out and grab it if I wanted to,” she explained.

Hearing that I was so open visually didn’t make me uncomfortable because it further proved what I already knew to be true. Mila and I were supposed to be doing this, building the friendship we were so that when we are ready for the relationship aspect it would bloom fruitfully.

“I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions so I guess that tracks,” I said.

She hummed in agreement. “Puppy dog eye thing aside, I like learning about what you’re into. Your interests are a part of you.”

I know it was wrong to compare Mila to Mariah but I only did so when I realized how much was lacking with the latter. After a while I found myself changing into the person she wanted me to be over being myself and that still didn’t meet her expectations. Here Mila was accepting me at face value. It meant everything.

“Same, I like doing that too. That is why you are going to let me take you out this week. When are you free?” I asked.

“Thursday is my only day off but I know you have the meeting,” she said.

“I won’t be going into work this week due to this,” I said pointing to my eye which she winced at since the swelling had gotten progressively worse since we’ve been on the phone. “We can do something before then. What do you say?”

“I say…Issa date,” she said.

“And you call me corny,” I grinned.

“What can I say, you're rubbing off on me,” she said with a shrug before looking away from the camera as a blush crept into her cheeks.

“That’s not a bad thing,” I said, as I sank into the bed. The weight of today was finally bearing down on me. There was something about her presence that had soothed the tension that had been in my body ever since I got home.

“Perhaps…are you about to fall asleep on me?” she asked, switching the subject, amusement laced in her tone. Normally, I was the one teasing her about being the first one to knock out.

“Nah, I’m just resting my eyes a bit baby,” I said, propping the phone against another pillow so that my hands were free to position themselves on my side.

“Ha,” she chuckled, as she peered at me. “That is the oldest excuse in the book. It’s okay if you're tired X, you’ve had quite the day.”

“That is one way to describe it,” I say as our eyes lock.

Her expression softens as she bites down on her lips, mulling over her thoughts before saying, “Well the best part of each day is that they all come to an end no matter how great or shitty. Today’s over, put it behind you.”

She was right, today did not need to be carried into any of my tomorrows. The raw feelings I had towards my father would scab over with time but until then? I was not carrying a weight that wasn’t mine to bear any more.

So far, today was one of those days that I wanted to carry into a million tomorrows. Taking time off from work allowed me to wake up and hit the gym early which put me in a great mood before I met up with Mila at her place. Together we dropped Papi at his summer camp where he made me promise to treat his auntie right via pinky swear. Once our business deal was sealed, I got to work making good on my end of the agreement. We had breakfast at this french bistro downtown called Café Paulette where the crepes we had melted on our tongues. Then I got to surprise her with a day at the BAM theater which made her eyes light up.

From all of our late night conversations I learned the reason Mila wasn’t up on the latest shows is because she loved old movies. When she got a significant amount of free time that is what she would be doing. Today’s double feature was centered around Dorothy Dandridge with a showing of both Carmen and Porgy and Bess. The best part of stepping into her world today was seeing the joy on her face. The snarky Mila was tucked away for the better part of five hours. The movies put her in such a soft place that I was able to convince her to come with me to the meeting over our late lunch at Shake Shack. Now here we were sitting side by side as the last of the group settled in around us.

She’s fiddling with our friendship bracelet on her wrist, tracing the letter bead over and over, which lets me know she is nervous. Reaching over, I grasp one of her hands and give it a squeeze. “Chill out, you aren’t under interrogation. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to,” I joked, causing her to playfully roll her eyes.

“I know that but the thing is I think that I do and before you ask, no we are not about to talk about this or else I won’t do it,” she rushed out causing me to smile and squeeze her hand again.

I totally get where she is coming from. What I thought were signs of nerves was actually her building up the courage to do the one thing she previously claimed she wouldn’t. This was a big step and the last thing I wanted to do was accidentally talk her out of it.

“Okay, we are not pre-talking about this,” I said.

“Thank you.”

I squeezed her hand one last time before I got up to check the halls for any more people. After ushering in the stragglers it was time to get this started. I walked to the middle of the circle and everyone quieted down on their own so I didn't have to do my signature two claps.

“Hey everyone, we're going to get started now. I want to welcome anyone who’s new here tonight, thanks for coming out,” I said as I tossed a friendly wave to a few new faces. “We don’t exchange names here unless you want to. Please refrain from dropping any other name but your own. Other than that, who wants to kick off ‘That Bullshit’?”

One of the regulars, a middle aged man named Hector raised his hand and I nodded my head to signal that he could begin.

“Y’all wouldn’t believe the week I’ve had,” he begins animatedly causing the group to laugh which I appreciate.

It breaks the tension and intimidation some might have when being in such an intimate space with practical strangers. I watch as shoulders ease and people become more relaxed in their seats. For the next forty minutes I listen as most of the group shares struggles that range from petty to downright egregious. Right when I was about to close out the meeting Mila found her voice.

“Hey y’all I’m new to this sharing thing so excuse me if I stutter,” Mila jokes, causing a few chuckles.

“That’s alright chile,” Brenda, another regular added, sending her a wink of support.

“I uh, had one of the best days in a really long time today,” Mila started, tucking a braid behind her ear before flashing me a quick glance. “I got to watch classic movies with someone whose company I truly cherish and I’m grateful because for so long I’ve been lonely. I couldn’t truly bask in the happiness though because watching classic Hollywood movies is something my mom and I used to do. So I’m sitting there and it hits me right in the middle of Carmen, you know the scene where she has him all hot and bothered?”

A few chuckles echo around the room and Hector says, “I know it well.”

“Well yeah it’s then that I realize my mom really left me out in this world alone. Both her and my father don’t think I’m more important than their addiction. That I’m not worth more than their addiction. I know that’s a selfish way to feel but I can’t help it. I hate that in the middle of such a high that my reality can bring me to such a low. Will their absence always haunt my happiness? It's just-,” she stops before taking a sharp inhale. I reach over and grasp her hand at the same moment it searches for mine. Taking another breath, she rights herself, and continues. “It’s just unfair and that is that bullshit.”

“Thank you for sharing,” I said, tossing her a small smile as she sent me a watery one back. I wanted nothing more than to pull her in my arms but that would have to wait until we were alone.

“Time is drawing to a close but before we get out of here you know we have to each share one thing that made us smile this week. I’ll kick it off and say that a ten year old made me smile when he made me pinky promise to treat his aunt right but I was going to do that anyway because that’s how I am,” I said, quoting a popular video and making everyone laugh.

Round and round it went until everyone got a chance to share for the last time. With that the meeting had officially come to a close. Mila and a few others stayed behind to help me clean up before we headed out into the night air. Once we were alone, I tucked her underneath my arm and she instantly wrapped her arm around my waist as I placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I know it wasn’t easy but I’m glad you got some of that off of your chest,” I said.

“Thanks. I don’t know quite what to do with all of the feelings I have regarding my parents but I must admit it felt good to get out,” she said dramatically causing me to chuckle. Looking up at me she used her free hand to point in my direction. “But under no circumstances does that mean my sharing with the group will become a regular occurrence.”

“Of course not, I told you it’s not an obligation, it’s an option. That’s all,” I said, as we approached the F train station. “I know we’ve been together all day but I’m not ready for it to end.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough for me either,” she says, gazing ahead on the train station with noticeable disdain.

“Then can I suggest you come home with me?” I asked, tipping her chin so that her eyes aligned with mine once more. The setting sun amplifies the flecks of honey in the brown orbs that makes her seem majestic. Carefree Mila is by far the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

“Yes, you can because I am inclined to agree after seeing the size of the TV in your living room,” she said.

“MCU marathon in chronological order until we fall asleep?” I questioned, causing her to groan but nod her head nonetheless.

“Lead the way Iron Man.”

The fort was Mila’s idea.

After we both showered and changed into lounging clothes it was she who decided we transform my living room into a fort while we waited for DoorDash to bring us our dinner. We grabbed sheets from the guest bedroom and using my Swiffer as a base point, we erected a tent over the couch. On the floor was a makeshift pallet made out of the couch cushions and in front of us were the bag of snacks we had yet to get into after eating the Chinese we ordered. Currently, my back was resting against the couch while Mila laid in my lap. My fingers twirled the ends of her braids as we watched our second movie of the night, The Incredible Hulk.

Turning on her back suddenly, she pivoted her body so that she was facing me entirely. I cupped my hands around her waist to help hold her upright and to bring her closer. “You supposed to be watching the movie,” I chuckled.

“I know but I was thinking about your Granddad. How is he doing?” she asked.

“From what I’ve heard from my cousins, he’s fine. Hasn’t had an outburst yet this week so that’s good. My grandma was asking when I was going to make my way out there but I think I need some more time away. Not from him per se but the situation itself,” I sighed out.

Reaching up, her fingers softly brushed the small sliver that remained of the bruise that had been underneath my eye. “That’s reasonable, burn out can happen in our personal lives too. Especially when we feel like we’re screaming into the void.”

“Exactly and I think I’m tired of screaming. Which makes me feel guilty,” I sighed.

“That guilt isn’t yours to claim. It’s a byproduct of an incredibly sticky situation that is unfortunately out of your control,” she said, her fingers dropping from under my eye to softly trail against the underside of my jaw.

“I know but I guess knowing doesn’t make it easier,” I said.

“No it doesn’t,” she said, offering me a small smile. “But you will be able to stand taller knowing that you served your grandfather well.”

Her words unlocked the tightness that had been in my chest since last Saturday. All I wanted was some acknowledgement that I was doing the right thing. It was getting harder for me to believe when everyone else thought I was being careless or impatient with my reasoning of wanting Granddad in a facility.

“Thank you, that means a lot to me coming from you. You mean a lot to me,” I said, leaning down to place my lips on hers.

She kissed me back before nuzzling her nose with mine, “You sort’ve, kinda, maybe, mean a lot to me too.”

I snorted before breaking out into full laughter. The type that makes the sides of your stomach hurt and her laughter formed a symphony with mine. Flipping us over, I began to tickle her causing her to squeal, as her braids were splayed out over her face from the sudden movement.

“You get on my nerves,” I chuckled, as she laughed underneath me.

“But you like it so it’s okay,” she giggled, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

Leaning down I captured her lips in another kiss because for the umpteenth time today Mila was right. Her arms wrap around my shoulders the same time her legs wrap around my waist. My hands find themselves in her braids as our kiss goes from playful to heated. Our kiss is exploratory as we indulge in the taste of each other. I’m about to split the seam of her lips with my tongue when my phone begins to ring. I groan, pulling away with one last kiss.

“I’m sorry but that’s my sister’s ringtone,” I said, as I separated myself from Mila to grab my phone.

“No worries, I’m going to take this trash to the kitchen,” she says, grabbing up the bags from dinner.

When I answer, all I hear is sirens in the background that immediately put me on high alert. “Ava what’s wrong?”

“It’s Dad!”

#metamorphasisff #slow burn romance #black romance #Black Fiction #zendaya x mjb #I made this chapter extra long to make up for the delay #enjoy!

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valorxdrive · 3 months

Text

Life happens.

He acknowledges that. More important, he accepts that.

There comes a certain brand of pride he carries despite the natural tug of the 'blues' that want to wade their way in. Sora wasn't the sort however to go and let such emotion serve to triumph above all else. No, for all of the blood, sweat, confusion and tears they waded through, what developed amidst their bond was something that even grappling force of Space itself could never conquer. So much of this unforgettable time found itself beginning on these sunny shores, where a pristine shine, great friends and a loving family had drawn him into the world.

Now, it was time for the nurtured build of Heart to be a blessing for the hands of another, someone who truly saw him at his best and worst of days. They have futures to see, and right now, no greater machination would find the grounds of ever trying to bend or pervade the very gesture. The lively hum of a Gummi ship amidst Destiny Islands, familiar faces, it was an understandable well of emotion growing on this very scene.

Sora would be a liar if he were to say that the same wasn't being experienced through him. Why wouldn't it? After all, it was a surprising first for his perspective, to be at the celebration of his best friend's new journey. It'd be directly upon those same shores he raced upon that he'd find Riku, that studious, firm gaze peering off to drink in the memories of this scenery one more time. Burning it ever deeper into the resolute heart that managed to endure through so much. A few steps upon the sunkissed sands, and without a moment's hesitation, a firm, spirit rousing whap of the hand would be made on their shoulder.

Thus they would remain, an all too familiar size difference still being ignored to this day. A soft sigh would spill from the Keybearer's lips. "So, big shot. I heard for this particular script, you're the one who's taking the main lead and ensuring it gets where it needs to go. A raft of your very own.. Mind you, one I'm giving ya permission to name whatever ya like!"

A bundle of emotion builds once Riku peers over to him, that telltale fondness in his gaze, carried firm by a blatant disregard of his friend's antics. "Joy. Sora, to think all this time the main thing I need was your permission."

To that motion, he'd wind up giving the Master a wink, a nudge, and inevitably the two of them would burst out laughing on the spot. It was the sort of laughter that found itself belly deeper, as if allowing the very currents of their history to flow within this singular moment of action. Everything precious, everything stupid, everything worthwhile. It really dawned to the spiky haired hero just how much has changed, while in the same vein, remained the same this whole time.

Growth just had a lot of surprising ways of teaching them that.

..In truth, it was a little strange, a little natural.

"Riku, if it's you. I know you're gonna do great out there. You showed everything just how much you really changed, right, here." Sora finalizes, drawing his knuckles forward to tap upon that built chest. It would be directly where that vessel of unfathomable potential rests, nestled deep, forever growing with each and every new passing day. The confirmation of it all draws a sense of longing, a sense of peace, but above all else?

There was genuine excitement for this new chapter. For the two of them, there would be no tears for this farewell. Far from it.

When Sora peers up to Riku, tucked within those skylit eyes was a determination that no longer held doubt. A solemn strength that wouldn't buckle to the uncertain, or any worries that such a vast unknown would carry along.

"And man, I'm proud of you. ..This new life of yours, show 'em what you got, alright?"

"This bunch raised from Destiny Island have always been built a lil bit different. So show that off! If I gotta even find a note you're struggling too much out there!" Dramatically furrowing his brow, raising up a dramatized finger in tune..!

It'd immediately be lowered.

"Me, Kairi, our folks.. all of us. We'll be right there to help. Just know we'll always have your back."

"And thank you."

@litoredeem

_____

JAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

I want this to be my big thank you to ya you lug! A nice shoutout to whatever you decide to do from life here on. (not that it's different! Just one less hobby on the menu.) Thank you for giving me that unforgettable RP experience with your muses. From the awesome showdowns with Satsuki, the broships with Riku, not to mention the sweets with Kairi. (Ur Aqua is still a nerd tho.)

It's just been fun, and in kind, you really lit the invigorated fire under my ass to really be putting my best foot forward for the KH Franchise. Just think of this little drabble as a memento you can peek at if the mood reaches you! You've had an impact here, full on awesome and true to our dumbass ways.

So! From Jace to Jay! I want to wish you the best out there with whatever you decide to do.

#litoredeem #| Drabble

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hawkinsschoolcounselor · 2 years

Note

Bylers argue that the Duffers wouldn’t write a whole dramatic crush arc for Will if it was just going to be one-sided, but haven’t they already done that? Steve with Robin in Season 3 and Dustin with Max in Season 2? One of the main plot points the was Steve falling for Robin and then building up the confidence to confess his feelings, and Lucas and Dustin were both vying for Max. I don’t want Will to be rejected by his childhood best friend, but one-sided love is pretty common in coming-of-age stories regardless of sexuality. How can we be sure that’s not what’s happening now? And with Robin, some of the things she said throughout the season gave Steve false hope his love would be reciprocated so some of Mike’s confusing behavior could fall into that category potentially. And technically, if Byler becomes canon, that makes El’s love for Mike a one-sided love as well. And it’s not like she has another love interest lined up either. Either way, someone will be hurt. Thoughts?

You have to be careful with comparisons. It can be too easy to compare unlike things.

The Mike/Will dynamic can't be compared to Steve/Robin or Dustin/Max. Those two one-sided romances were all built up and resolved within a single season. With Mike and Will, though, there's been a slow development since season 1 that just hasn't been resolved. It's not one-sided on Will's part. Mike repeatedly gets emotional because of Will, and he can never seem to stay angry at him. He treats Will much differently than he treats anyone else, El included. Will's situation is more obvious, I suppose, because we've been told more explicitly, but Mike's behavior is more romantically charged than Will's.

So, I present your question back to you: why would the Duffers spend four seasons showing Mike and Will's developing the way it has if it was going to be one-sided?

I don't know what they're doing with El, but her relationship with Mike has never been presented as good after they actually got together. It's not because it's a "typical teen romance" or whatever people try to claim. No, that's Max and Lucas' issue, which they seem to be resolving. Mike and El are just forcing a relationship where there's no real love, like Mike's parents did. It makes more narrative sense, based on how they've built it, if they realize that their love is not of the romantic sort.

However they go about resolving Mike and El's situation, it shouldn't involve El needing Mike's love. It would diminish her own personal growth, between Max telling her she needs to "try things on" and Brenner telling her she needs to accept all of who she is. If she just goes back to relying on Mike, all of that is undone.

People like to point out that "why should Will's story revolve around Mike's love if El's doesn't?"

Well, it's a matter of how things are set up. Both of their stories already revolve around Mike, though El at least has other elements, while Will doesn't (for now). El has more problems and does not act like herself when she's with Mike, and the same is true for Mike. Will is generally happier and more himself when he's with Mike, and the same is true for Mike.

It actually comes down to Mike himself. Mike isn't as happy with El as he wants everyone, including El, to think. It shows, though, and it has an affect on his relationship with her. His relationship with Will suffers, too, and not just because Will is jealous. Mike simply treats Will differently when he's with El, only to revert to "real Mike" when he's not trying to be El's boyfriend.

So, again, ask yourself why they're doing all of this if it's just to have Mike and El get back together? They might punt the resolution into season 5, but Mike and El are not happy together, and it'd be unrealistic if they suddenly were.

#stranger things 4 #byler #mike wheeler #jane hopper #eleven #will byers

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if-loki-was-a-fox · 25 days

Text

Thinking about Real Life canonicity again, so here's some rambling and thinking aloud on why I don't personally consider it canon atm - might also make another post later on things to do with it if we assume it is canon

(the tldr tho is that there's not enough build up of tension and emotion to get a good pay off compared to other seasons, and I want Cleo to get the dramatic well built up win she deserves imo)

I have been really wanting the next winner to be Cleo already, so it's cool that she won this time, but it just. Didn't have the same gravitas as the other winners. It just feel like a kind of empty and hollow win and I don't like how it meshes with the other winners and I don't want Cleo's win to go down in history as the boring win that wasn't dramatic and didn't get the build up it deserved.

Which is very much what Real Life is to me, no build up of tension, no time to get proper relationship dynamics for any of the teams, it just sort of. Happened. Divorced of any emotional investment to the same level as say Secret Life (using that as an example because it's the only other season I really watched as it came out, and it was full to the brim with relationships dynamics and I loved half the teams to the core of my being, Secret Life got every part of me invested in half the cast winning. )

Basically, I don't care about Real Life and I want to care about the season Cleo wins in, y'know?

I want her win to come at a time where the whole fandom has been holding their breaths for the last weeks waiting to see who's the last standing, like every other winner

This is all very selfish and based on my personal interests, but it's also my version of canon so that's all that really matters anyways. But yeah, that's why I don't want to treat Real Life as the same as other seasons, even if it's made canon in other ways (which I'm already thinking up AU ways to make it canon and interesting and dramatic without giving it the same gravitas as before, so that Cleo can still get a real win later)

#just me rambling #real life smp #feel free to talk about why you do want it to be canon in the notes btw I will not be annoyed by that it is very much welcome

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tentacion3099 · 6 months

Text

On Tuesday, February 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis went to Dick Hall's office and wired the muzzle of a sawed-off shotgun to the back of Hall's head. The wire was also connected to the trigger and the other end was connected to Hall's neck. This "dead man's line" meant that if a policeman shot Kiritsis the shotgun would go off and shoot Hall in the head. The same would happen if Hall tried to escape. Kiritsis called the police from Hall's office and told them that he had taken Hall as a hostage.

Kiritsis had borrowed $130,000 from the Hall-Hottel Company and purchased land on which he intended to build a strip mall. Although he had trouble making the payments, dramatically increased in value while he owned it. Kiritsis claimed to have buyers lined up that Hall was shooing away, hoping to foreclose on the loan

Kiritsis held Hall hostage for 63 hours. During this time, most of which was spent in Kiritsis's apartment, he made frequent calls to radio station WIBC newsman Fred Heckman, who broadcast what Kiritsis said. Finally, a lawyer said Hall had signed a document stating that he had mistreated Kiritsis and would pay him $5 million. The document also stated that Kiritsis would not be prosecuted or even arrested. Kiritsis then made a speech in front of live TV cameras declaring himself "a goddamned national hero." His speech became so emotional that some journalists thought he would shoot Hall, so they terminated the live broadcast. Eventually, however, Kiritsis released Hall. He fired the shotgun into the air to prove it had been loaded and was immediately arrested. He was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Most people who knew Kiritsis had positive things to say about him and were shocked by his actions. Kiritsis was described as "always helpful and kind to his neighbors, a hard worker and a strict law-and-order sort of man". Kiritsis also said several times that he did not want anyone to get hurt and apologized for the way he had treated Dick Hall. At his trial, psychiatrists said he was psychotic and in a "paranoid delusional state" during the hostage incident.

#usa #there are no problems only situations #gunblr

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