#plot always slows me down because i insist on making it this big grand thing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

make-me-imagine · 3 years

Text

Red Roses: “I Love You” - Natasha Romanoff Ending

Valentines Special: Day Nine

Day One: Morning Glories // Day Two: Blue Salvias Day Three: Sunflowers // Day Four: Pink Camellias Day Five: Yellow Tulips // Day Six: Violets Day Seven: Lisianthus // Day Eight: Daffodils (Post with rest of the character endings)

Plot: It’s finally Valentines Day, the day the reader will finally learn who it is that had been leaving them flowers and notes expressing their secret feelings.

Notes: Thank you again @trashywritestrash for helping me hash out this ending!! ❤️ And thank you to the anon who gave me the funny idea of the roof-clinging flower delivery. <3

Pairing: Gen!Neutral Reader x Natasha Romanoff

Triggers: Brief mention of alcohol/drinking; but I wrote it so the readers “favorite drink” could be anything.

Words: 1,396

Requested Taglist: @aquariuslavenderhoney, @thebookbakery, @fablesrose, @kitkatd7, @thefallenbibliophilequote, @beksib, @destynelseclipsa, @criminaly-supernatural, @tammythompson-singslikea-muppet, @belloangelus, @snarky--starky, @saintbootlegloras, @wecallhimbrowneyess, @empath-bunny, @okkulta, @katinthemoon, @ravennight41, @youcancallme-rae , @radhumandragonclam, @unfortunateidiotinadilemma, @past3l-w1ngs , @goinggoinggonzo, @mxxnmocha, @username23345, @theofficialzivadavid, @justejuste727, @normanijauregui, @euphouriaszn2, @the-most-unicorn-of-them-all (still couldn’t tag, sorry), @messhup

February 14th

You continued to breath out steadily as you tried to keep your pace, Steve and Bucky half way around to meeting you already, and Sam in pace next to you as you ran around the large monument again. “Damn super-soldier bullshit” Sam muttered breathlessly as you laughed at his joke, trying not to lose step.

Listening carefully and peaking behind you, you smiled “You’re right, it is bullshit. Maybe we should stop.” you said with an air of amusement as you glanced at Sam.

Who smiled “You know what, you’re right. Let’s stop.”

As both of you stopped quickly in place, you turned to face behind you, just in time to see Steve and Bucky’s eyes widen as they stumbled to a stop before slamming into the two of you, which they managed to do, barely.

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s what you get for trying to humiliate us again.” Sam said with a laugh. Steve and Bucky sharing a look of mixed disdain and amusement as you chuckled.

“I think we were done anyway” Steve said as he turned to walk towards where you set your water bottles.

As you all sat underneath a large tree you checked your watch, the morning had been going by so slow. You wanted the evening to come quickly, but just as much, you wish it wouldn’t come at all.

“You alright?”

You looked up to see the three staring at you, you must have zoned out “Yeah, I’m fine.” you smiled at them, trying to play it off. When you turned to grab a granola bar out of your bag the three of them shared a mutual look of understanding.

You were definitely not fine. The anxiety and curiosity that had built up over the last week was killing you. You were glad it was almost over, yet terrified at what that would bring in itself. The more you thought about each of the other’s and the possibility that it might be them who has been leaving you the flowers and notes, the more you didn’t want it to be any of them. Well, that was a lie. There was only one, you really wanted it to be. And unfortunately, they seemed to be the least likely.

- - -

Your thoughts proceeded to run wild as you continued on throughout your day, only occasionally being able to distract yourself with work. And the anxiety had built up once again as you got dressed about an hour before the party. You paced restlessly around your room as you fiddled with your hands.

Finally growing tired of circling around the room, you decided to leave, maybe you would head down a bit early, distract yourself with some of the others who would probably already be down there anyway.

This was proven incorrect, as you entered into the bar area, seeing only Natasha behind the bar as she made herself a drink. You hesitated as you looked around, was there really no on else down here yet?

“Hey” Natasha greeted, earning your attention again as your heart pounded in your chest.

“Hey” you replied walking into the room “I thought the others would be down here already.” you commented as you sat on a bar-stool.

“Me too actually, but, at least I’m not alone now” she said while smiling at you “Drink?”

"Sure.” you said as she immediately started getting you your favorite drink.

“You alright? You’ve seen a bit off all day.” she commented as she slid you your drink and leaned on the counter watching you.

Taking a sip you eyed her, wondering how much you should tell her. You had already figured it wasn’t her. Even though she was the one you wanted it to be. So, you figured it wouldn’t hurt anymore than it already does if you told her.

“I...I’m, supposed to find out who’s been leaving the notes and flowers today. Which I’m sure you already figured by now.” She gestured her head as you continued “But I...I’m just not sure, what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“The notes, and everything they’re so....genuine and beautiful, and I just don’t know if I deserve someone like that. I mean, what if I can’t see myself loving them? What if I don’t deserve that kind of devotion?”

Natasha looked down at her hands before taking a breath “You do deserve it Y/n.”

You let out an amused scoff “You’re just saying that because your my friend” you said with a bit of doubt and disappointment in your voice.

“No, that’s not why I’m saying it.”

“Then why?”

“Because...” she reached out and placed her hand on top of yours “Because of your grace, and elegance, your compassion, kindness and bravery. There is no way they could not absolutely adore every fiber of your being.”

You stared at her as you recognized the words, the words that had been typed out on third note that you had received. Words that you repeated to no one. Your heart began beating rapidly again as you remained speechless as a small smile formed on her face. “How- I never read you any of the notes.”

“No, you didn’t.” she straightened up before reaching for something underneath the counter “The whole, notes and flowers thing were a bit cheesy, especially for me, but...” she pulled out red rose from below the counter “I couldn’t help myself. I’ve always wanted to try some big grand gesture of admission.”

Staring at the rose as she leaned back on the counter taking your hand in hers as she placed the rose between your fingers and looked back at you “All these years being as close as we are...I guess it was inevitable.”

Finally getting a hold of yourself again you cracked a smile “Yeah, it really was wasn’t it. And...you knew didn’t you? That I felt the same?”

She gestured her head and smiled “At first I thought I was just imagining it, but...Clint knocked some sense into me and made me realize that I wasn’t, and that you did, actually feel the same way.”

You closed your hand around hers, as you continued to smile at her “It was pretty damn bold of you to deliver those flowers to me in the gym yourself.”

“Yeah, well. I wanted to see your reaction myself.”

“Who else knew? I mean besides Clint?”

“No one else.”

“Then...who delivered the camellias?”

She laughed “Well, I did.” you gave her a look of confusion as she continued “I thought I was being quiet enough, but I should have known better, so when I heard you coming to the door I put my assassin skills to the test.” she said with a sense of amusement.

“But...I looked everywhere?” she shook her head and you thought to yourself for a moment “I looked everywhere...except up. Please tell me you were not clinging to the roof above me?”

“Luckily the halls aren’t too wide.”

“Wh- Nat, oh my God” you started giggling at the thought as you facepalmed “I can’t believe you actually did that.”

She laughed as well “The things we do for love.”

You stared at her, still smiling in amusement “You were wrong Nat, I don’t deserve you.”

She leaned further over the bar as she stared into your eyes “After everything I’ve done, trying to make things right with SHIELD and the Avengers. You have been the only constant happiness in my life. I think I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. ”

“Agree to disagree” you countered as you grinned at each other, as both of your eyes began flicking to the others lips before you both leaned forward meeting in a kiss you had both been dreaming of.

As you pulled away, you heard voices approaching from the hall, recognizing it as the others. She glanced to the door and then back at you as you asked “Do you think they’d be surprised?”

“Probably not. But who cares either way.” she smiled, making you grin.

The others were in fact surprised, but happily so. Especially Clint, who, for the rest of the night, told the others about how painstakingly he had been trying to get you two to confess your feelings for one another for years now. While Tony insisted that he had known the whole time and had been debating setting you two up secretly.

xx xx xx xx xx

I struggled with how to end this, as I did with the others too, but this one especially.

Anyways, if you liked this, please consider reblogging it and checking out the other endings :)

215 notes · View notes

fireinmywoods · 4 years

Text

the heart of the matter (is Leonard McCoy)

Followers...friends. I come to you today, hat in hand, to ask for your support in a certain fandom matter, a trifling concern of little real consequence which nevertheless has been driving me absolutely cross-eyed bonkers for some years now.

Simply put: can we please all agree that Bones is the heart of the Enterprise???

In AOS, I mean. I’m not aware of any debate over this when it comes to TOS, where the roles of the triumvirate have always been explicit, though there are a few different ways to identify them:

Spock = logos = superego = head

Bones = pathos = id = heart

Kirk = ethos = ego = soul

So clear! So clean! So universally accepted by Trek fandom at large!

Oh, but things get murkier in AOS, and there are plenty of posts floating around which suggest that it’s Kirk, not McCoy, who serves as the heart in the Kelvin timeline. Even the writers of the first two AOS films have outright stated that their interpretation of the triumvirate had the original roles switched, with Kirk as the highly emotional one and McCoy as the arbiter between Kirk’s passion and Spock’s logic. It’s true that this technically counts as a Word of God pronouncement by the actual creators of 2/3 of the series thus far, which some would argue renders it canon. However, it’s equally true that those same creators also felt that Kirk was a fuckboi and that Benedict Cumberbatch wonderfully embodied their vision for Khan Noonien Singh, so honestly, who gives a hot hollerin’ fuck what those dingdongs think. This seems as justified a time as any to invoke Death of the Author, and in fact, it’s my firm belief that despite the writers’ intentions, Star Trek and Into Darkness both support the original triumvirate breakdown.

Under the cut you’ll find a long-winded and self-indulgent ~*~character analysis~*~ of the Kelvin-timeline incarnations of Jim Kirk and Leonard “Bones” McCoy, reviewing why Leonard is still unmistakably the heart, unpacking what the hell Jim’s deal is, and finally taking a look at some key examples from canon, because ya girl believes in showing her work.

Let’s get down to business.

[A quick warning, as this is starting to spread beyond my own followers: if you don’t like McKirk as a romantic pairing, you ain’t gonna like part IV, so I’d bow out before then or just take your leave now.]

i. Leonard

Independent of Jim’s characterization, it should be blindingly obvious that Leonard is the heart. He’s by far the most nakedly emotional of our seven core crew members, a trait we see writ large and small throughout the films. He’s reactive; he’s passionate; he’s humane. He cares, first and foremost.

Not about Starfleet, of course. Leonard doesn’t give a damn about playing the game or advancing his career, or even really about the Enterprise’s mission - he has no desire to explore strange new worlds, he’ll pass on seeking out new life and new civilizations, and he spends half his time trying to convince everyone else that boldly going where no man has gone before is a great way to die horribly. Fuck exploration, fuck space, and fuck the Federation while we’re at it. Leonard is perhaps the most improbable of the Enterprise’s senior officers for the simple reason that he seems to resent everything about the job.

Well. Almost everything.

See, what Leonard cares about is people. He cares about their lives, about their stories, about their hopes and dreams, about their suffering. That’s why he entered and has stayed in an extremely taxing caring profession, and it’s why he’s still on the Enterprise despite his incessant bitching about everything they do. He wouldn’t trust anyone else to take care of the crew he’s become so attached to, and he finds fulfillment in helping the people they encounter out there in the nightmare of space.

In every timeline, Leonard McCoy defines himself by what he can do for others: the pain he can ameliorate, the wounds he can heal, the diseases he can cure, the small amounts of good he can bring to a galaxy filled with so much absolute horseshit. Unlike most of his colleagues, he’s not motivated by curiosity or an adventurer’s spirit or a burning desire to make sense of the universe. (Fuck the universe, too, as a matter of fact.) Instead, he’s driven by the incredible depths of his compassion and empathy and concern for the people he serves alongside and those they meet along the way.

Sure sounds like the heart to me.

ii. Jim

I actually totally get why some people characterize Kelvin-timeline Jim as the heart. He’s quite literally a different man than the original timeline’s Kirk, and he definitely has more of the pathos qualities to him. Early on, he’s a total spitfire, fierce and hot-blooded, quick to anger and other sharp-edged emotions we’re not used to associating with James T. Kirk. Even as he grows into himself and leaves some of those traits behind, he remains spontaneous, passionate, protective, and self-sacrificing - easy enough to mistake for the heart if you squint.

But let’s not confuse having a heart for being the heart. Sure, Jim is more openly emotional and reactive than his TOS counterpart, but there’s still a marked difference between the way he and Leonard express and act on their emotions.

AOS Jim definitely has a lot of feelings - big ones - but at the end of the day, he’s not driven by his heart. He’s driven by his gut.

Whenever there’s trouble, Jim makes a beeline right for the center of it. He’s impulsive as hell, rarely pausing to think past his first instinct, because he just wants to be doing something, no matter the odds, no matter what it costs him. He explicitly calls himself out on this in ST:ID when arguing with Spock: “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I only know what I can do.” He doesn’t have the patience or the constitution to sit and debate all the options, either internally or with his crew. If there’s a path forward from where he is, even a bad one, Jim’s gonna take it.

[Sidebar: One could make the case that the roots of Jim’s instinct to act reach back to his childhood traumas - canonically ignored abuse and neglect on the one hand, and the Tarsus IV famine and massacre on the other - but that’s a whole post on its own and we ain’t got all day here.]

Jim can’t not act, and while that gets him into a lot of trouble, it also saves lives. Sulu probably appreciated that Jim’s gut drove him to leap off Nero’s drilling platform without a moment’s hesitation after a man he’d only just met. He may have been a real shithead about it, but Jim’s impassioned insistence on going after the Narada and not wasting time on the possibility of a better option was key to saving Pike and Earth itself. And I don’t know why Spock was so surprised that Jim intervened to save him on Nibiru, considering that the reason they were there in the first place was because Jim couldn’t sit back and watch the Nibirans die when there was something his crew could do to help them, even if it meant risking a violation of the Prime Directive.

Jim is a good man with a big heart, and he cares about people, absolutely. But he cares most of all about Doing The Right Thing - which in the heat of the moment often translates to Doing Something, Anything, Hold My Beer.

iii. heart vs. gut (i.e., time for some receipts)

I think one of the main reasons Leonard and Jim’s characterizations get confused is because they both tend to act on instinct, only lightly informed by higher reasoning. However, I’d argue that their motivations and the nature of those actions are super distinct, and those distinctions remain relatively consistent throughout all three films. (And y’all know I really mean this shit if I’m out here calling ST:ID consistent.)

Jim is a big picture guy, figuratively and often literally heaving himself full-body into the mix of whatever problem the crew has encountered for lack of any better alternative. That energy propels the plots of all three films: the chaotic path he carves through the events of Star Trek and ST:ID, and the slightly calmer but still undeniably bananas course he charts for himself and his crew in the second half of Beyond.

As the heart, Leonard operates on a more micro level. His concern invariably lies with the individual people caught up in those grand events Captain Chaos is busy dragging them all through. While Jim’s zooming around flipping plot switches, Leonard can always be counted on to bring it back to the personal.

We frequently see this juxtaposed right there on film. Think of that slow pan through medbay in the first movie after the Narada’s ambush and the destruction of Vulcan: while Jim is stewing over what to do about the Big Bad, Leonard has stepped into the CMO role without fuss or fanfare to care for the wounded crew and traumatized survivors.

Or jump ahead to Beyond: during Krall’s attack on the Enterprise, there’s a gorgeous cinematic shot of Jim sprinting down the corridor with two crew members to take on the invaders - and then we cut to Leonard moving slowly through those same ghastly red-lit corridors, searching for casualties in need of help, visibly affected by what his scanner is telling him about the downed crewman he tries to save.

Actually, Beyond as a whole does terrific justice to each of their roles. (Perhaps because it was not written by dingdongs.) The first act finds Jim flailing around for a sense of purpose and forward momentum - an understandable consequence of a gut-driven character having stalled out for too long - and he ultimately gets his mojo back by spending the rest of the film careening through one insane seat-of-his-pants ploy after another. Meanwhile, in the quieter moments between all the mayhem, Leonard serves as the empathetic sounding board for both Jim and Spock as they struggle with deep emotionally charged secrets and Big Life Questions, helping them untangle their feelings and reminding them of the emotional attachments which are ultimately key to their respective decisions to stay on the Enterprise.

More examples, you say? Don’t mind if I do!

Star Trek

GUT: Jim hurtles around the Narada, improvising almost every step of the way and paying the price for his and Spock’s scheme in bodily harm, and ultimately succeeds in rescuing Pike. HEART: Leonard calls out for Jim as he runs into the transporter room, overwhelmed with relief that he’s made it back, and takes Chris Pike’s weight literally and figuratively onto his own shoulders to begin healing him while Jim runs back off to the center of the action.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

GUT: Jim argues with Leonard, Spock, and Scotty in quick succession as he’s preparing to drag them all off to Qo’noS, immune to their attempts to reason with him because, unraveled as he is by grief and pain, he can only focus on his visceral drive to Do Something. HEART: Unlike the others, Leonard is upset not about the larger moral questions of whether it’s right to go after John Harrison or bring torpedoes aboard the ship, but about the fact that Jim himself is hurt and hurting and won’t accept help.

GUT: Jim makes a snap decision to sacrifice himself by hurling his body against the warp core to realign it and save his crew. HEART: Shellshocked by the emotional grenade of his best friend’s death, Leonard suddenly realizes, through the haze of his own numbness and upswelling grief, that he might still be able to do something for this lonely radiation-ravaged body he’s been brought and the life it represents.

Star Trek Beyond

GUT: At the tail end of an improvised plan to out-maneuver Kalara, Jim quite literally shoots first and asks questions later, igniting a fuel tank and setting off an explosive series of events which he and Chekov just barely escape. HEART: The next time we see Leonard, Spock is opening up to him about Ambassador Spock’s death and his own plan to leave Starfleet for New Vulcan - and while he’s empathetic toward Spock (I can’t imagine what that must feel like), Leonard’s thoughts go immediately to the emotional impact of Spock’s plan on the other people he’s closest with. (I can see how that would upset [Nyota]. / I can tell you, [Jim]’s not gonna like that.)

GUT: Jim frantically strains to reach the final switch in the life support hub, believing that he’s going to die either way since the vent has already opened, but spurred on by the knowledge that his ability to move that switch is the only thing standing between Yorktown and annihilation. HEART: Knowing exactly what’s at stake, with the fate of the station and millions of lives hanging in the balance, Leonard’s greatest concern is that Jim won’t make it out in time.

iv. never bet against the heart

Let’s wrap this up with a deep dive on one of the absolute best examples of Leonard as the heart: his decision to sneak Jim onto the Enterprise in the first movie.

As relentlessly as I drag him for the, you know, poisoning and kidnapping aspects of that whole deal, there’s no denying that it is a god-tier heart move. Is it logical? Absolutely not. Is it really the right thing to do for either himself or Jim, as far as he knows at the time? Nope. It’s 100% the wrong choice for his own job security, reputation, and relationships with his fellow crew, and it’s almost guaranteed to get Jim into even worse trouble. Leonard is a smart dude who must understand that this course of action will likely end up coming back on them both in a real bad way. For someone who argues loudly and often in defense of self-preservation, this is a shockingly bad idea.

But none of that matters, because Jim shakes his hand and tells him to be safe with that horrible empty-eyed smile, and it gets him right in the heart, one-two-three.

One: sympathy, worry, and affection for Jim - his best friend, his wild and troublesome stray, his only family.

Two: guilt over adding onto Jim’s pain, and the instinctive urge to fix whatever‘s hurting him.

Three: fear of heading out into the unknown by himself, the agonizing uncertainty of not knowing what’s coming, craving for the security and reassurance Jim’s presence would give him.

“Dammit,” Leonard says, as his heart wins out over his brain. He knows this is a garbage plan, and he doesn’t care. His heart chooses Jim. That’s all that matters.

So he goes back for Jim, and to his own surprise it turns out that this Very Bad Idea was actually a Very Good Idea because Jim’s impulsive instincts end up saving Earth, and Leonard’s not in the habit of fixing what ain’t broke so he figures he may as well keep on chasing Jim’s crazy ass around the galaxy for a while, through jungles and off cliffs and into the goddamn afterlife when need be, until finally one day Jim’s gut drives him right into Leonard’s arms and he suddenly realizes that this is what his heart was choosing all those years ago: Jim’s wide terrified eyes, Jim’s voice breaking over his name, Jim’s hand pressing hard against his chest, reaching out for what’s his.

But that’s another story.

#mckirk #otp: bedside manner #fic related #palimpsest verse #@animetrashmuffin is a gift #several people messaged me when i vague-tagged about this a while back #but you're the one who had to listen to me rant at great length about this while i was sick so CONGRATS PAL THIS MESS IS FOR YOU #mccoy #kirk #star trek #aos #long post

245 notes · View notes

wondereads · 3 years

Text

Personal Recommendation (2/28/21)

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Why am I recommending this book?

I loved this one. I finished it in less than two hours and then spent an extra hour lying there thinking about how great it was. I think this is the first book I’ve felt this way about in a long time, so anticipate a very long, spoiler-filled review. (Please keep in mind, this review discusses things like rape, abuse, and extreme misogyny. If this is a trigger for you, please do not read this review! Also, if you’re looking to avoid spoilers, skip to the Overall section.)

Want something quick and short? Check out my tiktok

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In the land of Harding, it’s tradition that after the previous king dies, the prince will venture out, slay a dragon, and rescue a damsel. When Ama wakes up in the arms of Prince Emory of Harding, she has no memory of the dragon or anything before that. However, as she starts her new life as Emory’s fiancée, she starts to realize that life in the palace isn’t quite what it seems.

One thing you must understand is that this book is character-driven. There is no grand plan or kingdom-threatening evil. It’s all about Ama and how she deals with life in Harding. As such, the plot section will be a little short. The gradual transition that takes place in Ama from her arrival to the wedding is very well done, and the slow revelations that take place really begin to up the ante towards the end. Even if this wasn’t the most exciting book I’d ever read, I was entirely invested in Ama and her search for the truth.

There was also a very cool bit of symbolism in this book with the comparison of Sorrow, Ama’s lynx kit, and Pawlin’s falcon. The falcon represents what Emory wishes Ama to be, the perfect pet. An obedient creature that will always return to him. Sorrow represents what Ama actually is. A wild animal that was partially trained before eventually finding freedom again. Both Ama and Sorrow return to Harding with Emory, are trained to behave a certain way, and face pain and sickness before escaping.

Also, this was the most satisfying ending to a book that I’ve read in a long time. It’s a bit open in that we don’t know what the characters will be doing after or what will happen in Harding, but Ama gets what she wants and takes out the people who were keeping it from her, and even though I don’t know what will happen to her after, I know it’ll probably be something good.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Now, this is the section that will be quite long. Ama has her quirks and traits, but I believe that first and foremost she is average. She has the sort of compassion that you would expect from any human being, and she doesn’t always speak out. Sometimes, she’s scared, and she ends up giving in. As the story progresses, Ama begins to lose some of her fire, she begins to give up. It’s very easy to see how her treatment is having an effect on her character, and that’s why I felt so strongly about her arc. Seeing her gradually lose herself makes me all the more insistent that she will win in the end. And she does, and it’s a very satisfying win at that. I’m particularly fond of how she turns Emory’s words on him during her escape.

Emory is an incredibly well-written character. The transition from savior to captor is very smooth and convincing. When Ama first meets Emory, he’s very sweet. He showers her with compliments, he prioritizes her comfort over his own, and he protects her fiercely. He was so nice that I at first thought that he would be Ama’s ally in Harding. However, once Ama and Emory enter Harding, a place where he is now king, he changes. He expects Ama to fit the mold of the perfect bride; quiet, docile, pretty. He humiliates her, does whatever he pleases, and he can get away with it all because he has undeniable power there. To put it simply, Emory slowly begins to show the classic signs of an abuser. He exerts his power in every way, he cuts her off from the outside world, he tries to deprive her of Sorrow, her only protector, and he and his friends gaslight her at every turn. And it’s slow enough that by the time Ama is exposed, she’s already under the watchful eye of an entire kingdom. A realization of Ama’s puts it in perfect terms - he likes her best when she’s in need of rescuing.

Ama and Emory at first seem like the perfect couple. It matches what we have been taught, the brave prince and the beautiful damsel, and Emory is dedicated to the show. In fact, Emory never once physically abuses Ama. He loves to give her compliments, and it’s obvious he genuinely wants to marry her. Unfortunately, the reasons for marrying Ama are probably due to his coronation and his belief that, as king, he needs a damsel as queen. The psychological abuse on Ama is profound, and, because of the culture in Harding, he can get away with it no problem. It’s only through Ama’s own strength and the help she receives from other girls, such as Tillie and the queen mother, that she is able to escape.

The last major character I want to talk about is the queen mother. She is very important for Ama’s discoveries, and she’s a classic abuse victim. She has come to accept what happens in Harding as the norm, and she encourages Ama to accept it as well so she won’t get hurt. However, she still is an important character to Ama, and she still, perhaps on purpose, helps Ama escape what she had to experience. I have high hopes for her at the end.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This book is written in a similar style to a typical fairytale. It has similar language, and a lot of the descriptions, especially of Ama’s inner feelings, are rather abstract. It really does feel like an exceptionally long fable. Also, the pacing in this book, the way the revelations of Emory’s character and Ama’s memory are spread out, is perfect. It held my attention just enough, and once it began to pick up speed towards the end I was absolutely ready for it. It’s not hard to predict what the big secret is. Odds are, if you’re on Tumblr as much as I am, you could tell by the time you finished the summary. However, Arnold leaves it right up to the last moment to reveal what impact that secret will have. Although it was the ending I was hoping for, I wasn’t sure it would be right up until it happened.

Meaning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

There is some great commentary in Damsel on rape culture, psychological abuse, and the effects of misogyny. First of all, Harding is one of the most misogynistic kingdoms in the fictional world. The worst part is, most of it isn’t through actual physical threats to women. There is one scene where two men attempt to sexually assault Ama. However, her savior is Emory, her abuser.

The big problem in Harding is the absolute dehumanization that woman face. Multiple times, women are referred to as vessels, having no worth beyond the children they carry and raise. It is so heavily ingrained into the damsels when they arrive that the queen mother believes it to be true. All of the girls that have lived in Harding, such as Tillie, agree with it as well. Women are expected to sit quietly and look pretty while the men around them make crude jokes and treat them like objects. This is why Emory can do what he does. He can almost rape Ama and literally lead her around on a leash because the entire society of which he is king is filled with enablers and bystanders. Ama knows throughout the entire book that the way Emory treats her is wrong. It goes against her very nature, but she submits to it. Why? Because everyone around her acts like it’s normal. Because it’s better than being held captive by a dragon. Because it’s better than being on the streets where much worse could happen to her. Because it’s just the way things are.

Damsel has some pretty powerful statements on how rape culture can enable abuse and psychologically wear down women. It shows what horrible things a abuse victim can be subjected to. However, it also shows what happens when Tillie and the queen mother help Ama in the little ways they can. It shows that woman can stand up to their abusers and have a much brighter future; that they are not defined by what they have endured. And I think that’s why I loved this book so much.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I was wholly invested in the book. I absolutely loved it, and I will definitely be getting a personal copy for myself. Ama’s journey of self-discovery (literally) pulls the reader in, and Emory’s quiet transition is so subtle and powerful. The social commentary is amazing, and you will absolutely love Sorrow. Please do keep in mind that this book deals with some heavy topics such as rape and abuse, so do not read it if you have issues with that. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy fantasy, fractured fairytales, and people getting what they deserve.

The Author

Elana K. Arnold: American, also wrote A Boy Called Bat, What Girls Are Made Of, and Red Hood

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every two weeks, and I take recommendations. Check out my about me post for more!

#damsel #elana k arnold #fantasy #ya #books #recommendations #reviews #tw: rape #tw: abuse

3 notes · View notes

savsfm · 4 years

Text

madelaine petsch, twenty-three, cisfemale, she/her. — SAVANNAH WALSH was just spotted out and about in los angeles with their signature VINTAGE DENIM OVERALLS. the paparazzi tried to be subtle, but the ACTRESS caught them snapping pictures and DARTED INTO THE NEAREST SHOP. they jetted off to A SECLUDED, PRIVATE BEACHFRONT before getting asked about HER UPCOMING SERIES FINALE this time, which kinda coincides with their notorious WARY attitude towards fame, doesn’t it?

HELLO hello , i’m bay & this is my sweet lil savannah ! actress , sports fanatic , dog lover , confirmed adhd ball of energy ( as far as you know ) . if she had a label , it’d be the benevolent , and . . . well , let’s just get right into this !

· ☆ . 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚜 !

full legal name : savannah raine walsh . –– her mother had a hand in her middle name , and boy was that woman a hippie . age : twenty three . gender : cis-female . nicknames : sav , savvy , little walsh ( when in context with her older brother ) pronouns : ( she/her ) occupation : actress ; sophie turner career claim . inspiration : listen . . . there’s a reason i chose sophie . also jane sloane . details : growing up with just her father and her brother , for the most part , sav was very much the tomboy type , and despite her father’s history in the mlb , the walsh kids often spent time away from him and lived a relatively normal life . this made sav’s climb to fame a bit more of an adjustment , but people seem to love the down - to - earth way she has about her . after wrapping an iconic fantasy series ( think game of thrones ) and starring in a blockbuster ( think dark phoenix ) , everyone seems to be wondering what’s next for america’s favorite sweetheart .

· ☆ . 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 !

micah “mickey” walsh came from nothing . he was a natural born athlete with the drive of a kid who had nothing to lose and everything to gain , and he could’ve stepped right out of high school and onto a minor league baseball diamond , but his parents –– loony as they seemed –– insisted he go to college first , and he spent four years playing for vanderbilt , where he met his wife marnie . they fell in love , hard and fast , and by their senior year , they were throwing together a shotgun wedding in order to say their vows before her baby bump began to show .

the first few years were a whirlwind with mickey never giving up his dreams of having a family and having a professional baseball career. two years in , he was called up to the big leagues , and thus began the ICONIC career of mickey walsh , second baseman and a monster at bat . after three years in the mlb , the walsh family grew , and when SAVANNAH RAINE was born in chicago , illinois , wrigley field filled to capacity celebrated .

three years later , mickey was traded to the boston red sox , and the walsh family moved again . for some time , things were well , and they appeared to be living the dream . mickey loved boston , and boston loved the walshes , so much so , that contract after contract was renewed at fenway . when savannah was five , however , tragedy struck and her mother fell ILL . by the time sav was six , she’d succumbed entirely to her illness , leaving her and her brother , luke , to grow up without a mother .

the walsh family was devastated , mickey taking indefinite time off from his career to be with his children . his parents moved to boston shortly there after to help out with things around the house . mickey tried to keep a happy way about him , but after a season out , everyone could tell he was itching to get back , if only for the DISTRACTION of the game . . . so luke & sav grew up darting around fenway park . they attended every home game , stayed up to watch all of the away games , and they genuinely loved it . babysitters chased after them in exhaustion , and their grandparents did the most they could to raise them right .

savannah was always a FIERY little thing , and it had nothing to do with the red locks she’d inherited from her mother . she was joyful and playful , kind and a lot for any one person to handful . she asked too many questions and had QUITE a knack for theatrics . most of all , though , from a young age , she was simply good . . . and she really never expected to get into acting .

all of that energy had to go somewhere , though , and seeing as she was dramatic as is . . . she was enrolled in dance classes and school theatre projects . she took a liking to acting , starring in school plays and toying around writing her own short films . in high school , savannah was everywhere . . . spread far too thin . but hey ! keeping busy is what this girl lives for !

at sixteen , she enrolled at an acting camp during the summer in los angeles , and this is when she found out that her family and friends weren’t simply full of shit , like she’d assumed . she had talent , and she could make a career of acting . . . and unlike others , her rise was a bit too quick . she spent the summer going to auditions , and her BREAKOUT role was one of her first . . . v much a sansa on game of thrones type of deal .

sav finished off high school through a personal tutor and online schooling , but NOT going to college , for either of the walsh kids , was never an option . so she wagered a gap year from her father , so she could film seasons 2 & 3 of her show . other seasons were filmed during summer months , on breaks , and on long weekends . she SPED through her degree at new york university , and graduated in 3 , freeing up time to act full time .

there’s a GENUINE way about her that just . . . captures people , when she isn’t in character . in interviews , on talk shows , on red carpets . . . she’s just blatantly very soft , very sweet . skeptics think it’s an act , but anyone who KNOWS savannah knows that the only thing she fronts for the camera is constant energy . ya girl is tired . . . all the time , but will never admit to it !

after one of the most watched television series finales of all time and a franchise film –– along the lines of x-men/marvel –– stunning the box office , savannah is taking a moment to SLOW DOWN , because she’s never exactly done so . . . right now , she’s trying to figure out where to take her career next with a pile of scripts sitting at home and the world of the silver screen at her fingertips .

· ☆ . 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 & 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 !

like i said , miss savannah is very outgoing , very bubbly . she’s good with people . . . but let it be known that she’s an introvert at heart . my girl is queen of leaving parties early .

definitely the lost-in-a-daydream type , and she’s always been a bit of a QUIET hopeless romantic . less grand gestures and magnificent romantic adventures , more of just . . . a genuine believer in love . which . . . CERTAINLY lines up with the way her life threw her for a loop , just after nineteen , and one (1) nate carpenter absolutely turned her world upside down . it took all of one chance meeting , and sav was completely smitten . despite the fact that their dads kind of sort of ?? hate each other , they are happily planning on spending the rest of their lives together , dipping out of Famous People Things by 9:30pm at the latest .

painfully honest . . . maybe a little too honest. if she’s not careful , she can occasionally say too much and put her foot in her mouth . no amount of media training can REALLY rein it in . . . so her publicist is well paid and honestly . . . she has a hell of a time keeping spoilers to herself , so a lot of interviews regarding big plot lines are often with castmates aksdjfha

has a dog named hercules ! not named after the greek hero . . . or the disney movie . . . but rather named after the massive beast in the sandlot . her hercules is a mutt she rescued as a pup . they’re not really sure what he is . . . only that he’s kinda big and definitely has some german shepherd in him .

sports fanatic af . her dad played professional baseball , and now he coaches for the new york yankees . her brother is a household name for hockey fans . . . and , well , catch her in a bright blue dodgers jersey with the name carpenter on the back , every baseball season !!

she hasn’t TOTALLY grown out of her tomboy-ness . she still wakes up early to go surfing , still does far better in beat up converse than she does in HEELS , insists on the thrill of doing her own stunts , curses like a damn sailor , and loves a good worn in denim . queen ! of ! rocking ! overalls !

thinks about her mom a lot , but tries not to do to the fact that it just fuckin . . . makes her sad and anxious . the grief , she can handle , but the nerves ? her mother died of breast cancer , and savannah STUBBORNLY refuses to get tested to see if she’s got the genetic marker for it .

still visits her grandparents in boston often

has a very .. . strange relationship with fame . she knows it’s fleeting , and she doesn’t really care for her private life being prodded into . in fact , that’s the worst part of it all . it’s taken a toll on her self - esteem , here and there , but for the most part. . . . she tries not to let it get to her . if she could do the acting thing without the fame , she honestly would .

ok that is . . . my girl savannah . i hope y’all love her as much as i do bc i am vERY EXCITED ok !! HIT ME WITH A LIKE & I’LL COME SWOOPING IN FOR PLOTTING !!

#luxuria:intro #* / . . . INTRO . / *#this is a DAMN mess y'all

6 notes · View notes

peepingtoad · 4 years

Text

// @asaraltu 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐩).

『 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 𝟙 ... As you're reading this, please don't be alarmed by the suspicious stains. As it happened, that chakra receiver I stashed turned out to be useful, although the judgement behind it was questionable on the impulsive front… and unfortunately, just a touch messy. But don't worry—I only used it for that second you may well have already felt. I can only hope you didn’t take it as motivation to zap away to another dimension for good. That would make the frog delivering this rather irate with me.

So while I amend to ‘as you’re hopefully reading this’… please also rest assured that it won’t contain anything explicit to avert your delicate gaze from this time. I just… need my words to reach you in a way that can’t be muddled. There’s a lot to say that I wasn’t able to when you left me here, all soggy and crestfallen, and I hope you’ll bear with me because I don’t intend on editing these pages at all between now and sending. I want this to be from the heart.

Having said that, I’ll have to begin in earnest a little later. There are things I must do first. I apologise. ... 𝔼ℕ𝔻 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼』

______________________________________________________________________

『 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 𝟚 ... As you’re reading this, it’s now some time after I originally started, and I’m currently sorting through my possessions. Luckily Tsunade kept them when my house was sold off, although I effectively ended up moving back in when I offered the new owner double its worth. After all, one could consider this little place my ‘ancestral home’, by which I mean my mother bought the plot and built it with her own two brawny hands.

So I’m sorting through my possessions, most of which were kindly unpacked for me already by way of very direct contact with my person, or the surrounding ground. She isn’t happy with me, to say the least. But at least it’s not like these are things I’ve missed—well, except maybe for all the magazines…

I’d like to say that Konoha has changed, outside of the modernised elements. Well... I suppose it has, in that the kids nowadays aren’t quite so aware of the concept of dying in a senseless war. But as you probably know already, the system is still in place in a lot of areas. Thanks to Naruto, though, it seems to be improving. My only worry is that he still doesn’t fully appreciate the violent history that the village still needs to make amends for. He’s a little like me in that respect. Takes him a while to catch on... but once he does, he’s on it like wildfire.

I’ll have to write you properly a little later on—and before you start thinking anything like my old editor would’ve, I’m not procrastinating. ... 𝔼ℕ𝔻 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼』

______________________________________________________________________

『 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 𝟛 ... As you’re reading this, I’m in one of my favourite old bars on the main road, not far outside the village itself... on my way back from Otogakure, of all places. While I was surprised by Orochimaru’s turning of a new leaf, what didn’t surprise me was his response to seeing me on his doorstep, alive. ‘It’s about time’ he said, with that raspy chuckle of his, as if he somehow knew all along. No anger, no grand exclamations of how he’d grieved... just that amused glint in his eyes, and a factual rundown of what he’s been up to since—over a few drinks, of course. He’s always been a truly weird one. Difficult to read. But in this case particularly, it was more than appreciated.

This bar. It’s always been here—about as long as the village has, as far as I’m aware—and the seats are just as battered as I remember them. I spotted some graffiti I carved into the table from when I wasn’t by any stretch old enough to be here… gods, do I feel ancient now. I can’t help but wonder if you ever sat in this place once, too? Don’t be alarmed by the suspicious stains, by the way… I have company showing up and I’m already a good few drinks down...

I shouldn’t be writing when I’m like this BUT HERE I GO.

You are so obsessed with this phrase: ‘the villain of the story’. I’ve considered it every time you’ve said it—do you realise exactly how many times you’ve said it?—and it’s always like some last ditch effort to limit yourself more than anything else. It must be, because it doesn’t convince me one bit! How can it, when I’ve seen your smile? Felt how instinctively you lean into me, like you’ll sink into the earth if you don’t? Seen you nurturing those funny little fledglings like some walking, living, breathing nest? I’ve talked with you about the stories I want to write, and you’ve been interested in them, encouraged me all the way. You helped me grow stronger in ways I thought impossible for someone like me. I’ve still got that damn antler you picked for me, and my hair always looks great.

I’d just love to know, in what part of that story are you the villain??

It’s just frustrating to me because you’re not completely wrong, but at the same time you blind yourself to so many parallels.

I held myself back in Myōbokuzan because a certain task was fulfilled, and I didn’t know where to go from there. I still do believe that particular story is now complete, done and dusted. It was a tragic story, with a bittersweet ending. But this is a new one—and you’re the one who helped me realise it, you know that? You were the one to make me see that the past shouldn’t withhold me from what I want and need now, in the present. Only, you’re confusing your role within it, because you’re so rooted in your old tale even while you tell me that I’m stuck in a rut, stuck in my need to redeem both you and myself. As if it wasn’t both of us trying to find our way through each other, you kept being ‘the villain of the story’.

And where are you now? Still doing nothing to suggest you are that same old villain, as always. I have my ways of knowing these things, Madara. You told me a long time ago what you hoped to achieve, and I hear that things have progressed smoothly. So it seems a bit fucking ridiculous that I can’t be part of it. All of these people coming to this new haven of yours, they probably weren’t left unscathed by all your ill-doings either, and yet towards you they flock.

You’re just afraid of what might have been, had we faced these new horizons together, and I don’t think it’s just the fear of having it all stripped away. If that was the case, you would be withering away alone instead of surrounding yourself with loved ones. Look—I was afraid, too. Still am! But I’d still look that fear in the face and tell it to go screw itself if it meant we could—

…

Fact of the matter is, this story of mine—it started off so slow and directionless, a stream of consciousness going endlessly onwards to nothing. But I woke up, and it became something real and vital and new… because of you. Someone who was previously nameless, faceless—the big plot twist last time, somebody I didn’t know or even consider…

You are the face of my story now, you get that? You. And I can’t get that face of yours out of my head.

Just

wake up.

【𝕊𝕀𝔻𝔼 𝟚】

As you’re reading this (extremely long piece of paper—which no way am I gonna reread), I’m really feeling the punishment for last night. You know that feeling of an encroaching hangover while you’re actually still drunk? Well, maybe you don’t. But it’s fucking dreadful. Tsunade goes as hard as ever.

... Is it strange to say that she and I have too much history, comparing it to all those things you told me you’ve done? Last night, after she begrudgingly forgave me for staying away for so long, we were exactly the way we always were. You don’t know what that means, but I’ll take this opportunity to explain it to you.

We’re those friends that constantly abuse each other, but only because we know each other so well, and know exactly how to avoid opening up too far at the risk of all those messy emotions running riot. We’re the friends people would constantly look at and marvel at the fact we weren’t already married. Once upon a time, I was insistent that we would eventually be together—at least, until she met the love of her life, only to lose him within a short few years. This was one of the most devastating things to witness, both as one who was in love with her and as her best friend. Something within her was broken. I think she might even have secretly loved me, but she would never consider it because of the pain she was growing all too familiar with. The pain of losing a brother, a lover… it creates all sorts of impenetrable barriers inside.

Throughout all the times I was rejected by her, it never hurt too badly because we were friends. I always had her in the way that meant the most, that I treasured most, and the way it always will be. ... 𝔼ℕ𝔻 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼』

______________________________________________________________________

『 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 𝟜 ... As you’re reading this, I hope you’ll forgive me for going back on my promise on the first page of this letter.

I can’t help it. Whenever I find myself with a lapse in activity, you come to me in the smallest and most maddening ways. The smell of your hair, your nails pressing into my skin, the tang of sweat on your face and neck. I’m consumed by the phantom heat of your body, a constant weight of longing that grips my bones like a demon perched on my rib cage, sucking out my soul in the night.

If that sounds dramatic, that’s because it is.

Nothing ignites me the way you do, even while being deprived of you besides what my stupid, sad mind taunts me with. Nobody provokes in me that same, raw, sweltering heat that comes over my entire body in a deluge. But more than that—more than the fact I need to be inside you like I need air—it’s everything afterwards that I miss the most, that hurts the most to remember. Your lips, bruised, curling into a smile that you think is cocky, but is much too soft every time. The lazy kisses as we come down from that glorious high, melting bonelessly into each other like a whole new being made up of tangled limbs. Gazing into your eyes and feeling that profound connection deepen further and further, seeping into my very foundations.

How could you—scratch that, how dare you—tell me that you love me, but I was confused?

You don’t think I know love? I’m a man who has spent his life in love—if not with somebody, then with love itself. I’ve expressed it in books to fill the void of something real and tangible, pages upon pages of vulnerability that I wasn’t ever capable of sharing with anyone in the flesh, only for you to tell me that all you were to me, all I opened myself up for, was a fantasy. A distraction. A project. And look at me now—still here and still very much alone because I’m so wrapped in a love that can’t be fulfilled, an absence that has manifested once more as a few feverish lines on a page to ease an ailing heart.

You said it yourself once: nobody makes me feel so possessed. ... 𝔼ℕ𝔻 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 』

______________________________________________________________________

『 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 𝟝 ... As you’re reading this, it’s been over twelve months since you left, and seven since I started putting pen to paper. That was also about the time I decided to take your advice, leave Myōbokuzan myself, and reconnect with my loved ones in Konoha. I’d actually hoped this would be sent long before now, and certainly before your birthday, but as you can imagine there was a whole lot of other things I had to work through. I was glad to be informed that my gift made it to you and you were found well (at your age, one can never be fully certain of these things).

More than anything else right now, I want you to know how proud I am of what you’ve done. I don’t need to elaborate much further on that, but it leads me to something I remember telling Naruto a long, long time ago: that ‘home’ is where someone thinks of you.

Looking back, I think that was rather naive of me to say, placing importance on the place itself rather than the people within it. People drift. Not always far, but others have callings to distant lands that can’t be ignored—I know this better than most. What you’ve created… yes, that certainly is home to you, isn’t it? You have people there, all of whom think the world of you.

But that home could be somewhere entirely new, and it would still be home because those who hold you dear will always bear a part of you, and you them. The place doesn’t matter. Konoha is my home, but between here and this place in the Land of Lightning that I’ve yet to even see, my heart is painfully stretched due to circumstance. Just as I know that Konoha is no home in your eyes, yet as long as I’m here you are always, always here with me—whether you like it or not.

Am I still with you, too? Is this path one-way? Is there only one of us who wants to ‘return’?

I have to know. ... 𝔼ℕ𝔻 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼』

#asaraltu #¯\_(ツ)_/¯#time 2 die #{verse:hitoabura | asaraltu}#{letter | asaraltu}

3 notes · View notes

taylorhardybby · 5 years

Text

sweetener // ben hardy x reader and bestfriend! Lucy x reader.

hi so basically the reader is a famous musician (shes pretty much based on Ariana Grande with syle elements from kylie jenner but picture her as anyone you like) this is pretty long and I realised everything I've posted has had the same sort plot kinda so ill be changing that up I promise.

5.7K words.

also I've linked the songs that I mention and ideas of the outfits I've mentions just cause i can I guess. enjoy xo

_____________________________________

You were 19 when you first met Lucy. She was 22 and you met at a charity gala. You were new in the industry, barely knowing anyone. You and Lucy became instant best friends. She was like your big sister, your mom and your best friends rolled into one person and you couldn’t be more thankful for her. Fast forward three years and Lucy was working on one of her biggest projects yet. Bohemian Rhapsody. You had just released your lasted album and were only weeks away from tour, but when Lucy asked of you would come visit her you were on a plane within the hour.

You had barely seen your best friend in almost two months due to your album blowing up then your surprise world tour, for the last 10 weeks you spent every waking moment rehearsing, doing chorography, or at costuming fittings if you weren’t preparing for tour you were doing a interviews or attending events and award shows. You were completely exhausted. But you were new and young, and your record company had almost complete control over you. You were terrified if you said no, they would drop you, and you had worked too hard for that.

Your plane landed in London and you went straight to your hotel, Lucy would be filming until 9pm tonight then she was coming straight over to spend the night and in the morning you would both head over to the set. You were beyond excited, queen had been such a inspiration both musically and just in general through your entire life and to see even a tiny bit of the movie about them would be an honour.

It was 6pm when you got to your hotel, so you had three hours to kill, you considered just going for a walk and exploring but you had seen a few paps at the airport so you were sure there would be more. So you started rehearsing, you played the backing track to your newest song, Everytime. The choreography was fast and you kept messing up the steps during the chorus.

Time slipped away as you rehearsed, and your phone ringing brought you out of your trance.

“Hey sorry, ive bene so distract-” you were cut off, not even bothering to see who was actually calling, until you hear her voice.

“ive bene knocking for ages come let me in baby” you smiled at the nickname, lucy always called you baby, maybe it was because you were younger than her or she said it’s what her older sister would call her.

“oh my god sorry I’m coming lulu” you ran to the door of the hotel room apartment, the door swung open and Lucy was standing their champagne in hand and overnight bag in the other. She dropped her bag and pulled you in for a hug.

“I missed you so much lulu ”

“mee too, baby. I’m so sorry I miss everything” you had come inside and closed the door by now,

“your album release and the Grammys, you won and I wasn’t even there I’m so sorry” you shook your head,

“its fine trust me its been crazy busy and this is important for you. I’m just so happy that I get to see you now”

“yes me too now I want all the gossip”

You popped the champagne and shared not only that bottle but another you had found the mini bar, you spoke about your ex Kevin, and how he was inspiration for a few songs on your album. Lucy insisted on listening to your album from start to finish you didn’t mind. You loved your songs and you loved that your best friend sang along to every single word. Your tour was still a secret. Your record company wanted to announce it a week before you actually left, in the same way they kept your album a secret until a week before its release date. You were sworn to secrecy and you had told nobody but your mom, and when Lucy asked how you were, really truly, you broke down.

“I’m a mess luce, I’m going on tour, surprise!” Lucy congratulated you but she knew you weren’t finished “I’m running myself ragged, if I’m not rehearsing im at a costume fitting I’m doing promo for the album or I’m at an awards show or event” you flopped back onto the bed trying to just let your body rest.

“I’m so tired I never stop. And thank god you called because this three-day break is such a blessing you have no idea” Lucy pulled you into a hug reassuring you it would all work out,

“what about with Kevin, how are you in realm” you sighed, you and Kevin broke up for a good reason, he was having personal issues and it was hurting you physically and mentally, so you left.

“I miss him so much, but I know that I did the right thing for me, I was so unhealthy always looking after him I forgot about me” you paused and thought for a moment “I think he’s better, from what I’ve heard, I still speak to his mom every now and then” Lucy nodded

“you did the right thing Y/N I know you loved him, but you need to look after yourself first” you nodded. The conversation turned a little lighter and you decided to pop another bottle of champagne just because you could,

“to us, successful women who are making shit happen” you made a toast and Lucy shouted back “to us” you changed the music and danced, laughed and just had fun with your best friend.

You woke up to the sun in your eye and Lucy’s alarm blaring, your head was pounding, and you looked around. Lucy was slowing waking up in the bed next to you. You had clearly tried to find pyjamas but you both looked like a mess. As you stood up out of bed you looked down at out outfit, a pair of black hotpants and a large oversized grey shirt tied in a knot and one blue sock. Lucy didn’t look much better and as you looked each their up and down you both laughed. The apartment was a mess. There was pillows and blankets everywhere, you counted 5 champagne bottles, all but one were empty the last was about three-quarters gone.

It was 7 am and Lucy was needed on the set at 8:30 so you both got ready, Lucy ordered breakfast- more specifically coffee, very strong and lots of it.

Once you looked presentable, Lucy looked you up and down raising an eyebrow,

“heels? Really Y/N” her tone was mockingly, and you just shrugged

“you know I love my heels, they make a statement” you twirled, and Lucy laughed at you

“also, I like to feel taller, it’s not easy being tiny”

Lucy drove you to the set, stopping to get more coffee on the way. You had music blaring the whole time just laughing and smiling. The set looked pretty normal and when you got there you followed Lucy to her trailer where you both set down your stuff. Her first costume of the day was already hanging so she got changed then wrapped herself in a coat. You followed her to hair and makeup, and to your surprise Rami was already there when you walked in and Lucy introduced you of course.

Rami was very sweet and you felt much more comfortable knowing at least one more person liked you here. He mentioned your music and you blushed. These people knew who you were holy shit.

“I actually brought you album the day it came out, I love it” you laughed,

“thanks rami that’s really sweet of you, its still kind mind-blowing that people other than Lucy and my parents listen to my music” everyone laughed and the conversation flowed. Rami left soon after and Lucy finished not much later,

“okay so my the first scene today isn’t until later but we can go watch the boys film if you want” she checked her watch,

“they start in 20 so that heaps of time for you to meet them and what not” you nodded and just followed her into the sound stage.

From the moment you saw him you were breathless, you of course had googled all of Lucy’s co-stars as soon and she knew them but seeing him in person was something else, you eyes met his and you felt you cheeks heat up. You turned your face towards Lucy, sending her a smile but she sent you a knowing look. When you looked panicky, she giggled a little,

You walked over, and they group of four men turned towards you,

“hey Lucy, oooh who’s your friend” the man you assumed was playing john deacon spoke first.

“Joe, Gwil and Ben this is my best friend Y/N” she gestured to you and she spoke “Y/N this is Joe, Gwil, Ben and you of course know rami who you met earlier” you nodded and shook each of their hand but before you could say anything you were cut off,

“Lucy why didn’t you tell us that your Y/N was THE Y/N” Joe playfully pushed Lucy and she tried to explain, but before you could get to deep in conversation the boys were called to their scene.

The scene was a short one and soon enough Lucy was whisked away to work so you sat there just on your phone, you felt someone come over towards you and you looked up. It was him. Ben Hardy. To say that you were in love was a bit much, but he was so gorgeous it was hard not to. As he walked over to you smiled but internally you were panicking. You just kept telling yourself don’t make a fool of yourself, don’t do it

“Uh hey Y/N, where’d Lucy go” of course, he just wanted Lucy not you,

“oh she went to do some filming I’m not sure how long she’ll be”

“Okay cool so um are you hungry” you internally died omg what was he going to say holy shit

“I’m starving” he invited you to go with him for lunch, it was just Kraft services but you didn’t mind.

You spent the entire lunch hour just talking and laughing, it was so refreshing for someone to talk to you as just Y/N not THE Y/N.

You spent the next three days surrounded by the BoRhap boys and Lucy having the time of your life. You and Ben had gotten quite close and even while you were still in London if you weren’t with each other you were texting. You decided against telling Lucy, not wanting to make it weird between her and her co-stars.

Two weeks after arriving back in LA the tour was announced, it sold out almost everywhere and you were glad to see that your London tour date was the same weekend that BoRhap wrapped filming, Lucy had already texted that she was coming and that she would need six more tickets which you gave her no questions asked.

You went on tour and it was marvellous, the adrenalin you felt as thousands of people sang along to your songs was thrilling and you never wanted it to stop. You played shows all across the US, you were halfway through the US leg of the tour when you got a surprise. You had still been talking to ben every day and although you hadn’t put a label on it you felt pretty committed. You were in your dressing room, your show started in three hours, so you were slowing warming up your voice when you heard a knock.

When you answered the door there stood Ben his gleaming smile beamed from ear to ear, and he was holding a bunch of flowers, your favourite of course.

“holy shit what are you doing here” he pulled you into his arms and you hugged back excitedly,

“we had a few days off from shooting, so I thought I’d come visit you” you pulled him into your dressing room and placed the flowers down, your eyes met, and the world felt like it melted away. He pulled you closer and whispered so quietly,

“Y/n can I please kiss you” you nodded,

“please” you barely got the word out from your mouth and your lips were on his.

Everything moved so fast and he fell back onto the sofa and you moved, straddling his lap. Every move felt like it was perfectly practiced and every touch felt like fire and you both shed yourself of clothes, ben of course being the perfect gentle mean continued to ask for permission before doing anything you were to in the moment to speak so nodding sufficed.

Time passed, and you were lying in bens arms on the sofa, a random sheet covering you as you just held each other. You lazily shared kisses and spoke about your time apart. The sound of your manager knocking on the door made you jump apart,

“Y/N they need you in hair and makeup” you jumped up and threw on your panties, bra and covered up with your robe.

“shit sorry ben, I totally lost track of time, stay here and I’ll send someone to come and get before the show”

“ill be waiting” you kissed him before closing the door behind you and walking down to hair and makeup.

You were in your first costume, as you walked towards the under stage your makeup artist fixed up the bright red lipstick you had on and you had you Mic in hand. You were ready.

You had never felt so pumped for a show before, partially because you knew Ben was there the other part was probably your post orgasm bliss. You snickered to yourself as you thought about it.

The show was a smash, the crowd were full of energy and so were you. As you walked off stage ben was waiting in the wings for you, he picked you up and spun you around, your lips connected as he did.

“what did you think of the show”

“you were bloody fantastic, I loved it the music, the dancing, the costumes” his kissed you again, “and I thought I was the rock star” you laughed at that one,

“you’ll always be a rock star” you walked hand in hand back to you dressing room, your meet and greet outfit was already laid out and you apologised to ben as you got changed.

“I’m sorry the meet and greets only go for 45 mins then we can go back to the hotel and I’m all yours I promise” he shook his head,

“it’s fine doesn’t apologise I need to make some phone calls anyway, you better keep that promise” he teased, you zipped up your dress. It was short red and left little to the imagination and you loved how ben eye you as you spun and asked his opinion.

“Y/n your making it hard from me not to rip that off your right now” you bit you lip and whispered into his ear,

“I promise you can rip it off later” you kissed directly behind his ear then giggled as he groaned when you walked away.

The meet and greet felt like it dragged on for hours. Now you loved your fans but the torment knowing exactly what was going to happen afterwards was enough to make you a little frustrated.

Finally you were back at the hotel, it was a short drive from where you had performed so the car ride wasn’t as tormenting as it could have been. But from the moment you stepped foot in the hotel room the door was locked, and your lips were on Ben’s and your legs were wrapped around his waist.

It was early morning before you had stopped. You both finally so exhausted that you fell sound asleep. Ben woke you up at around 11:30 the next morning apologising as the directors had called him and he was needed back on set ASAP. His flight left in an hour, so you said goodbye, and a little more very quickly and he left. Your next show wasn’t until tomorrow night, but you were flying there later this afternoon.

Three months after Ben had left your US tour was finished, you had gotten so sick and exhausted for weeks now you had been nauseous and your whole body ached. Your period was late, it was the stress. It had to be the stress. You now had two weeks before the European leg of the tour started, and you were going to stay with Lucy. She had about a week and a half left of filming and although you really wanted to go visit the set you just so sick you could barely move.

Lucy picked you up from the airport and she took you back to her apartment. She brought it up first, after you had been explaining your sickness she blurted it out before she could stop herself,

“Y/N what if your pregnant”

“don’t be ridiculous how could I be- oh shit”

“oh shit what. What do you mean oh shit”?

“he-h came and visited it was months ago fuck why didn’t I think of this” you were rambling and so distracted you did even see your best friends face,

“Y/N who visited who are you talking about Kevin” by now you were crying, you shook your head

“no not Kevin, ben” Lucy gasped,

“ben who, Y/N”

“Ben Hardy” Lucy had that smirk,

“I knew it, I knew you were who he had been talking to”

“your not mad” you were so worried, that she would think you were unprofessional or soothing,

“not at all I don’t care I saw how you too looked ta each other when you first met, it was bound to happen”

So you explained to her when he came and surprised you three months ago and how you spent all night together alone in the hotel room, she was happy for you. That you had moved on form Kevin, but the looming issue was still there. Were you pregnant or not? Lucy disguised herself and drove down the street to the local pharmacy and brought a few tests.

You were terrified, your career had barely even begun and here you were at 21 and potentially pregnant to a man who’s 7 years older than you. You thought about your options, but you knew you would keep it. You had once promised yourself if something like this were to happen you would only get rid of it if it was going to harm you or if you weren’t going to be able to support a child. From what you knew it wasn’t hurting you and you had plenty of funds to support a baby.

You tried to think and work it out, the European part of your tour was only 3 months long. By the end you would be six-ish months pregnant. That’s not too bad. If you altered some of the choreography and costumes, you could probably hide it from the fans until then. It would all work out in the end.

You were brought out of your dream land when Lucy came back. She passed you the first test and came with you into the bathroom.

So you sat. three whole minutes. 180 seconds. The timer went off and Lucy grabbed your hand.

“no matter what that says, I’m here for you we can work this out” you nodded, took a deep breath and turned the test.

Positive.

You don’t even know how long you spent sobbing into Lucy’s arms. But eventually you got up and tried to fix yourself up. You and Lucy were meant to be meeting everyone for dinner tonight and it was 5 pm and you were a hot mess.

So, you showered, fixed your hair and did your makeup. You weren’t even sure how far along you were but now that you knew you were so paranoid that you look pregnant, so you put of two different pairs of spanx and threw on your least fitted outfit.

The dinner went well, considering you entire life had just changed an hour before and you were acting like you were perfectly fine. On the inside you were dying. You sat next to ben and he asked if you were okay more time than you could count. You felt horrible. You wanted to tell him, you really did but you couldn’t put that pressure on him. You could handle this own your own. Lucy surprised everyone with tickets to your London show at the end of dinner, and you were happy but terrified. Lucy had invited all the BoRhap boys as well as Roger and Brian. THE Roger Taylor and Brian May. You were shitting yourself.

In the next two weeks you and Lucy went to the doctors and it was confirmed, you were 14 weeks pregnant. You had a meeting with your head of costuming and she agreed to fix your costumes as discretely as possible, so far only four people knew. Lucy, your doctor, your manager -Angela and your head of costume and makeup -JayJay.

Your London show came so fast, everyone had come backstage to see you. You were in your first costume once again . So far you hadn’t needed to fix the sizing you just wore a waist trainer and spanx underneath. You checked with the doctor who said it should be fine for a few hours for your shows, but you shouldn’t do it all the time. When you walked into your dressing room in your outfit Lucy gave you a worried look but she was confused when she saw no bump. You gave everyone hugs as they wished you luck, you thanked everyone for coming and promised them that this would be one of your best.

The show opened with one of your favourites on the album, God is a woman. It was followed by breathin’ you spoke to the crowd and in a split second you had a costume change. You were wearing a sparkly red outfit now and your boots were now tan. You had changed your finale so when you changed into the lilac dress and boots, the first few beats of your new song filled the arena.

Breakfast at tiffany’s and bottles of bubbles,

Girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble,

Lashes and diamonds, ATM machine s

Buy myself all my favourite things

This was the first time your new song was being heard and the crowd loved it, 7 Rings was a hit and you finished the performance on a high like no other.

You came off and Lucy was there first screaming with joy

“WHERE THE HELL DID THAT SONG COME FROM ITS AMAZING” “it was a surprise its brand new I literally flew to LA the day before I came here to record it and we did the choro this morning” everyone was in awe of your work ethic and you were passed flowers and small gifts. you excused yourself to get changed. Lucy came with you.

“I can’t believe you went to LA to record the day before you came here, you were so sick that day”

“I know but they won’t let me perform songs until live recorded them in studio and I wanted to perform it for you guys” Lucy picked out an outfit for you before you both headed back to where everyone was.

Backstage the party was growing; your management had thrown a party to celebrate the start of your European tour. Against all your wishes against it. Champagne was spilling, and the music was loud. You took a glass of champagne just for looks, you had no intentions of actually drinking it.

You found ben almost instantly and he embraced you, you still hadn’t told him but you were going to. Tonight. Its was selfish, you knew you were leaving on tour tomorrow and at least if he wanted nothing to do with you, you would be distracted. Heartbroken but distracted.

It was almost one and the party was still going strong, you took ben’s hand and asked if he wanted to back to your hotel room. You saw Lucy smile as you left, you had to do this. From the moment you were in the car the partition went up and all your plans went out the window. It was cruel, to keep the secret from him but a few moments of bliss before it could all potentially disappear was all you wanted.

You stopped it before it got too heated, one part of you said it was because of the paps and another was because you felt so guilty. Ben didn’t mention it. You went in through the back entry of the hotel and you went straight up to your room.

“Y/n what’s up you’ve been just a little off these last two weeks, Lucy said you’ve been sick” he paused, fuck. He knew. “are you okay, like are you really sick or something, last time I checked the flu doesn’t last for weeks” you sighed and ran you hand though your hair,

“no its not like that I’m not dying or anything I promise” you took a deep breath

“but there is something need to tell you” you sat down trying to calm your nerves, “now just know before I tell you I expect NOTHING from you okay but you deserve to know” Ben looked terrified, you were pretty sure he could have put two and two to bet but just to be clear you said it,

“I’m pregnant, 15 weeks to be exact and its yours” he didn’t move you swore he barely even breathed. Tears were slipping down your cheeks you wanted him to do something, scream or yell anything was better than silence.

“please. Please say something I’m so sorry it took this long to tell you-“ but he cut you off when he attached his lips to yours.

“I love you Y/n I really fucking love you, and I was going to ask you tonight anyway, but will you be my girlfriend officially”

You nodded, not trusting your words.

“I love you to ben, I really fucking love you too”

You decided to announce your relationship to the fans the next day, as much as you wanted to keep it a secret the longer, they know about it the less of a shock the pregnancy should be. Hopefully. You posted a selfie of you and Ben, he was kissing you sweetly and it was obvious what had taken place earlier. You had taken the picture month ago and you both loved it.

Now that Ben was finished filming BoRhap and his next project started in 3 months, so it seemed logical that he would come on tour with you. You decided that he was going to head home and take a few weeks off just relaxing and what not then he would meet you when you got to Paris. It sounded perfect.

It worked. Tour was hard, each day your bump grew, and it was getting very difficult to hide it in the end. But with lighting and costuming you finished tour with a six-month-old baby bump and it was still a secret. A few weeks into the euro tour you changed all your costumes to from body suits and peplum to flouncy dresses. They all looked gorgeous and you were totally going to be using then in your other tours.

Ben was a god send. You loved having him with you and when tour was over, he was moving to the states. After a hard decision he decided to move to your house, instead of you moving in with him. Living in LA would probably benefit him in the long run anyway, so it wasn’t too hard of a decision.

You had decided to announce your pregnancy at the BoRhap Premier. Your dress was ready. It was the first tight dress you had worn in a while and it perfectly showed your 7-month-old baby bump. The fans were loving your relationship and you hoped the reaction to this would be as happy.

The day of the premier had arrived and you had spent hours In hair and makeup, you were nervous. Excited but nervous. You swear you heard the gasps as you stood out from the car. You were sure it was already world wise news,

“Americas sweetheart Y/N pregnant at 22 to her 28-year-old boyfriend”

You spent the night being questioned about your bump; why it was kept a secret, how far along were you blah blah blah.

By the time you got inside you were exhausted. Your feet hurt, because you were wearing your beloved heels of course. Your face hurt from smiling and your back was killing. Ben tried to look after you, and he got you everything you wanted. Lucy and Rami had also announced their relationship tonight, so the press was buzzing with all this new information. Lucy sat next to you laughing at all the notifications you were getting,

“hey baby I think you broke the internet have you checked anything”

“im too scared, can you. Check my twitter” Lucy nodded, and she gasped

“they love it. Everyone loves it. Look your fans they did the maths and realised you were pregnant on tour and they love you for it” you started crying. Fucking pregnancy and its hormones . what a relief.

The premier went well and once you flew home, you were on the plane with all the BoRhap boys and Lucy because as they had promo for the next few weeks. You had already decided to do another album, and you had a few songs ready to go, that you were recording then once you had the baby you would take three ish months off and you would be back in the studio. Your record company had decided instead of doing another tour if your album was received well you would do more events like award ceremonies and music festivals. You agreed. You knew that you wanted to continue with music and your baby would always be your first priority.

On the exact day you were 39 weeks, you were standing in the recording booth, it was your last day and you had one last verse to record. Ben had promo all day and you were meeting for lunch in about and hour. As you sang your last lyric everyone clapped, and you were beaming.

“fuck” this caught the attention of your manager,

“Y/n is everything okay?”

You shook your head,

“my waters just broke”

You were rushed into your car and Angela your manager drove to the hospital as you called ben. He was in the middle of an interview when he was ushered off stage,

“what wrong,”

“Y/n’s waters broke and she son her way to the hospital this interview finishes in about 5 then you’re going straight away”

When Ben arrived with Lucy in tow you were in the hospital bed trying get through another contraction.

At 3:21 pm your gorgeous baby boy was brought into the world. Noah Benjamin Jones was perfect in every way. He was a carbon copy of his father, much to your disgrace. Nine months of pregnancy and he looks like his father. Typical male.

Noah was the perfect baby, and as you went back to work, he came along and was an angel. When Noah was three you toured again you took your little family with you. Noah loved to see all the new cities and he became a crowd favourite when he would come out and dance with his mamma on stage for his favourite song. History seemed to repeat itself and you found yourself pregnant again in your last few weeks of your second tour.

Your family grew, your second child was born, a little girl Lucia Rae Jones, named after your best friend of course Lucy. When Lucia or Cici, was six months old you and ben finally decided to get married. It was a quite a large wedding, but it was full of love and that mattered to you.

#bohemian rhapsody imagine #ben hardy x reader #Lucy bouton x reader #famous reader #low key Ari #queen imagine s #joe mazzello #gwilym lee #rami malek #my writings

10 notes · View notes

milliebeeweasel · 6 years

Text

Draco Veritas: the anticlimactic conclusion to the fanfics that made Cassie Claire famous

This is the worst one. The worst one.

You can read my adventures through Draco Dormiens and Draco Sinister through those links.

And thus begins my spork, as promised.

Before anything else, there’s a small detail I forgot from the end of Draco Sinister: at the big finale party, a ~mysterious benefactor~ gifted Harry a magic red bracelet, called a runic band. That turned out to be kinda plot important, so yeah. Sorry about that.

Draco Veritas, it beginneth thusly.

Harry Potter and da Crew are all back at Hogwarts for their last year, sitting in a potions class that immediately gives me flashbacks to Draco Dormiens, back when I was young and naïve and had no idea what shit I was getting into.

But I actually like this opening! Draco and Harry are abusing this psychic connection they’ve developed since the first fic to cheat through the class. Snape gets annoyed as Draco keeps secretly giving Harry the answers, until naturally Draco gives him a very wrong answer to mess with him, and … IDK it’s funny and in-character, and a sweet callback to the first fic to show character development. It’s good.

Draco has a dream/vision about Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy, who’re nattering about “four worthy McGuffins”. I mean OBJECTS. Four worthy objects. Yeah. (Take a brief moment to celebrate because holy shit, Voldemort is actually IN this fic!)

However, the plot rapidly dissolves as we discover that, despite the heavy Draco/Ginny shipping at the end of Draco Sinister, Draco is now dating Blaise Zabini. Blaise, in this fic, is a redheaded girl and not …

Hindsight is 20/20 when a character’s gender isn’t confirmed until several books in, I guess.

So Harry and Draco are now captains of their respective quidditch teams, and—because for some reason they don’t want anyone to know they’re friends, because god forbid anything possibly ever unite the houses of Slytherin and Gryffindor—they stage regular arguments and fistfights in order to keep up appearances. And by “stage” I mean “actually knock the stuffing out of each other”.

Despite the sweet, fluffy Harry/Hermione ending of Draco Sinister, it turns out Harry and Hermione are now having relationship problems for nonspecific, aggravating reasons, and spend all their time moping or having wild domestics. Draco and Ginny also kinda hate each other, and basically act like bitter exes despite having barely dated, and Harry’s feeling constant, generalised RAEG and … look, if you’re wondering about Voldemort and the four worthy McGuffins, buckle up because we have several hundred pages of this soap opera bullshit before the plot is even remotely addressed.

But don’t worry.

Rhysenn Malfoy is here to make it all worse.

(Screenshot straight off my phone of the fanart included in the fic.)

This Amy Lee looking motherfucker pops up throughout the fic to bother everyone, pass on cryptic messages from Lucius, and grope at Draco. Her “cousin”.

Gross.

Anywhoo, Draco realises Harry is having a bad time, and goes to his staple solution for everything: alcoholism. By which I mean a trip to a wizard strip club called the Sleazy Weasel. This isn’t even close to the weirdest thing to happen in this fic.

Help.

While they’re getting merrily wankered, it turns out Ron has a ~secret girlfriend~, with whom Cassie plays the pronoun game for half the fic so we can’t guess who he’s illicitly fucking in every other POV swap. Make your guesses now. If you get it right I’ll … I dunno, write you a ficlet or something.

Meanwhile, Ginny reads a trashy romance book called Passionate Trousers, the text of which takes up huge chunks of the fic. (Uh, Cassie. I, uh, I don’t think you’re in a position to parody or criticise trashy romance stories. Just saying.) She also starts dating Seamus Finnegan, aka the only decent person in this story, and meanwhile Harry asks Sirius if he can visit James and Lily’s grave but Sirius says it’s too dangerous and Harry storms off in a huff, and …

PLOT? VOLDEMORT?

HELLOOOOO?

Nope, still more soap opera.

A random Slytherin catches Ron doing the sex with his ~mystery girlfriend~, but then passes out and suffers an immediate bout of amnesia, so that comes to nothing. Rhysenn keeps pointlessly bothering Draco, and reveals that, on top of being goffick and beautiful, she’s also immortal.

You could say … My Immortal.

Harry and Hermione’s domestics get to such a ridiculous point I start to long for Order of the Phoenix Capslock Harry, as Hermione screams at him in the Great Hall for not paying attention to her, and Ginny falls off her broom and hurts herself—

And finally, a tiny wee bit of plot shows up, when someone shoots Draco Malfoy with an arrow, throwing him off the Astronomy Tower.

You’d think this would kick-start the plot in earnest but … no. Draco’s up and about in time for the Yule Ball (which is now apparently a yearly occurrence, and not just an event for the Triwizard Tournament), and apparently he’s feeling perky enough to be a cheating whorebiscuit and snog Ginny in the rose garden. Not a euphemism. Honest.

Meanwhile, the golden trio go to the pub and have a snowball fight and general, wholesome fun, and Hermione makes them promise to always be friends, which is fanfic code for “we’re about to be totally fucked”.

250 pages in, and we have barely scraped the edge of an inciting incident.

By this point in Draco Dormiens, Draco and Harry had swapped bodies and were wreaking havoc. In Draco Sinister, Salazar Slytherin had kidnapped and date rape drugged Hermione.

This is supposed to be the grand finale. The epic third episode in this trilogy.

And it’s just … relationship drama. It’s slow and it’s boring.

So Harry and Draco sneak off to visit James and Lily’s grave, a scene which sounds good but is actually dull and stupid and utterly pointless. In Deathly Hallows, Harry seeing his parents’ grave at Godric’s Hollow breaks my heart, and guarantees a little tear every time.

‘And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.’

In Cassie’s version?

She literally says he “feels nothing”.

Yeah, Cassie. I’m sure Harry would suffer all this melodramatic angst over his love life, and not feel a single scrap of pain or loss or regret at seeing the graves of his parents. His parents, whom he wanted to know so badly in Philosopher’s Stone, he saw them in the Mirror of Erised—the “deepest and most desperate desire of [his] heart”.

And of fucking course, Rhysenn Malfoy then shows up and proceeds to molest Harry a few feet from James and Lily’s grave. And since Harry goes to putty in her presence, and immediately throws up after Draco chases her off, you can probably guess what Rhysenn is long before Cassie deigns to explain.

She’s a succubus.

Yeah, gasp, ahh, whatever.

Dear Cassie,

GIVE ME SOME FUCKING PLOT.

Where are the stakes? The carefully interwoven mysteries? What is the goal of this fic? I thought you were good at plot, Cassie! I praised you for it! Where did it go? Where is Voldemort? Is he knitting socks to go with Nagini’s jumper from Draco Sinister? She doesn’t need socks, Cassie! She’s a snake!

(Just let me stare at this adorable tiny snek until I’ve calmed down.)

Phew.

OK. Draco realises his wound from the arrow is now glowing, and his blood’s turned silver. That’s … healthy. And left unaddressed for another fifty pages.

Hermione realises the plot probably should’ve kicked in by now, so she researches the four worthy McGuffins from Draco’s dream. It turns out, in the time they’ve been pissing about doing nothing, Voldy’s got his act together and already collected the Mirror, the Scabbard, and the … something else? IDK the third item wasn’t important. The important thing was there was one item left: the Cup. So Harry P and da Crew decide they need to get it before Voldemort does, by stealing it from the wizarding museum where it’s on display at Stonehenge.

Several pages of build-up are wasted on planning this heist, but I’m so glad plot’s arrived I’m willing to be forgiving. At the museum, Draco causes a distraction by kissing Ginny, prompting Seamus to punch him in the face. While their fistfight ensues, the golden trio replace the McGuffin Cup with a fake.

And it all goes down flawlessly.

Because god forbid we might get some external conflict.

When they get back to Hogwarts, Hermione hides the McGuffin Cup. Meanwhile, Draco becomes seriously poorly from a combination of whatever that weirdass arrow’s done to him, and the thorough shit-kicking my boy Seamus gave him.

Harry shows Ron the Christmas present he’s got for Hermione: a ring. Ron freaks out because you CAN’T give your girlfriend a ring, she’ll assume you’re PROPOSING and that’s CRAZY. (And here I sit, wearing the two rings my boyfriend gave me on separate occasions, howling with laughter.)

Anyway, Ron’s epic bitchfit comes to a dramatic end when he reveals the identity of his ~secret girlfriend~.

Hermione.

(Those of you raising your hands for your ficlet right now … just hold on a second. You’ll see.)

Because Hermione is completely dumbfounded by this reveal. She insists it’s not true, while Ron gets angrier and more distraught. Harry finally uses the veritas spell to make Ron tell the truth, and Ron confirms that yeah, he’s for defo been fucking Hermione on the sly. Hermione screams that it isn’t true and Harry storms out in a rage.

If you, like me, are currently shrieking, “POLYJUICE POTIONS EXIST YOU FUCKING MORONS!” … I am sorry. I am sorry for all of us.

Hermione goes to Draco in tears, and Draco once again falls back on his reliable solution of alcoholism. They get drunk and snuggle up in bed together because, uh, that’s … not cheating?

Ron meets up with his ~mysterious girlfriend~ again, and strangely, she has no clue about all the domestics that just occurred. At this point, Ron finally twigs that this isn’t fucking Hermione. Draco and the real Hermione also burst in, but because everyone in this fic is an idiot, the imposter gets away. Following this is even more relationship drama, as Harry and Hermione break up and everyone now hates Ron for backstabbing them in spirit, if not technically in reality.

Hermione and Ron toddle off to their separate homes for Christmas, and Draco, apparently the only one with two brain cells left to rub together, works out who the fake Hermione is:

Pansy Parkinson.

So, if you guessed “Pansy Parkinson, with the Hermione Polyjuice potion, in the Astronomy Tower”, you may now request your fanfic. Please be patient, as I have to pause every time I remember this detail, and nearly crack a rib laughing.

Meanwhile, Ginny tells Seamus about the events of Draco Sinister and he is … one hundred percent accepting and supportive, and gives Ginny a magic bracelet for Christmas, and invites her to visit him in Ireland.

I maintain Seamus is the only decent person in this fic.

The only one.

Harry and Draco get up to shenanigans at Christmas at Malfoy Manor, in which for once Harry is the one getting plastered and not Draco, and … I swear, this fic feels like it’s aiming towards a Harry/Draco ship 90% of the time. Harry spends so much time waxing lyrical about Draco’s beauty, his elegance, his perfect perfection, and it’s weird, because when Sirius and Narcissa get married they’re basically going to be stepbrothers so—

CASSIE. PUT YOUR INCEST KINK AWAY.

I’M NOT JOKING, CASSIE. PUT IT AWAY. I’VE READ MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, I KNOW THERE’S WEIRD INCEST SHIT IN THAT, TOO. AND I KNOW IT’S NAMED AFTER THAT ONE ACTUAL RON/GINNY INCEST FIC YOU WROTE. AND ALL THIS RHYSENN/DRACO AND DRACO/HARRY—

PUT THE KINK AWAY.

PUT IT AWAY.

SHAME ON YOU.

Sirius and Narcissa throw a wedding rehearsal dinner, and it turns out both the entire Weasley family AND the entire Parkinson family are invited, so Draco decides to be a vindictive little shit and announce to everyone that HEY, PANSY AND RON HAVE BEING DOING THE NASTY.

Charming.

AND THEN.

PLOT ARRIVES.

By which I mean Lucius Malfoy and all his cronies crash the party, kidnap Harry, Ron and Draco, and magically boot everyone else out of the manor. And just a sec, I might need to go lie down and weep after slogging through that entire crappy first half of the fic.

So Lucius locks Harry and Draco up on some balcony, and demands they give him the McGuffin Cup. He even offers to trade it for an antidote to that poisoned arrow currently fucking Draco up in all kinds of ways. Unfortunately, Hazzer and Drazzer don’t have a clue where Hermione hid the Cup. So Draco basically yells, “I don’t want your stinking antidote, and fuck you anyway,” and smashes the antidote to pieces.

He’s a … smart boy.

Meanwhile, Ginny uses her time turner from Draco Sinister to do some convoluted time travel, including going to Malfoy Manor in the past and meeting baby wee twelve year old Draco. She also takes Tom Riddle’s diary from Lucius’s desk (which has a fat hole in it from where Harry stabbed it with the basilisk fang) for … some reason? She also nicks another book of dark magic, because in for a penny I guess. Then she finally travels into the present, where she rescues Harry and Draco. They’re chased out of the manor by hellhounds, and Harry uses that plot-important runic band to scare them off, and there are actual stakes and there’s pacing and I’m practically sobbing with relief at this point.

However.

If you’re wondering where Ron is …

Ron gets to play chess.

With Voldemort.

For basically the whole of the rest of the fic.

See, apparently the reason Ron is so good at chess is because he’s a seer, so he unconsciously reads the future and predicts his opponent’s move. And Voldemort needs like, a really, really powerful seer for this ritual he wants to do. So he takes Ron to a secret castle in deepest darkest Eastern Europe, and essentially forces him to grind his seer ability up to level 100 as fast as humanly possible.

So the whole crew, except Ron, head back to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore tells Snape to make a fresh antidote for Draco. Which Draco SHOULD HAVE DONE as soon as he realised he was POISONED. I don’t care how “independent” you are, if you are seventeen and you suspect you might be dying of a fucking glowing wound inflicted by a wierdass arrow from nowhere, you get help.

Meanwhile, in Voldemort’s secret castle, Ron is tortured in the most horrific manner imaginable.

He is made to listen to Rhysenn’s backstory.

Allow me to sum it up for you:

RHYSENN: “Dad’s a Malfoy. Mam’s a succubus. Bit of a shock for him when he found out. Also now I’m doomed to servitude in the Malfoy family forever.”

See? That doesn’t need to take twenty flipping pages.

The fic goes back to Draco lounging dramatically in bed contemplating death, interspersed with other characters waxing lyrical about how beautiful Draco looks even when he’s dying and—

On Christmas day, Harry gives Draco the Marauder’s Map, and Draco gives Harry a copy of the Malfoy Family Code of Conduct—a running joke throughout the Draco Trilogy stolen directly from Red Dwarf’s Space Corps Directives. (The joke was better in Red Dwarf.)

Hermione does more book-reading (specifically, that dark magic book Ginny nicked), and realises why they haven’t seen Ron in effing forever. Voldemort’s going to drain Ron’s blood for his evil plan.

After everyone falls apart with even more friendship drama, Seamus decides he’s too good for these assholes and breaks up with Ginny, who immediately fucks off back in time. Gotta love that coping method. “Yeah well screw you, time travel!”

So Ginny goes back to when Tom Riddle was still at Hogwarts. Tom turns out to be an unapologetic sadist (no surprises there) and follows up breaking Ginny’s wrist with … weird, rapey advances.

Then, in the ONE AND ONLY Moment I Unironically Enjoyed in this whole shitfest of a fic, Ginny spits in Tom’s face and gut-punches him. Satisfied with her fistfight, Ginny lets Dumbledore take her away and returns to the present.

However, this begins a reoccurring trend in this fic: everyone being an absolute fucking shitweasel to Ginny Weasley.

Dumbledore proceeds to tear Ginny a new one for her time travel shenanigans and for daring to try and change the past. Ginny points out she wasn’t going to change the past—she only wanted to take one of Tom’s hairs so she could make an epicyclical charm and use that to kill Voldemort in the present. Dumbledore then rips her another new one because apparently an epicyclical charm requires a soul to work, and Voldemort doesn’t have one of those. Also, Ginny accidentally left that dark magic book in the past, giving Tom the whole idea to do this ridiculous blood ritual in the first place.

So to punish Ginny for this mistake, which was technically preordained and had to happen somehow since time travel in Harry Potter is a closed loop, Dumbledore tells Tom Riddle in the past Ginny’s full name, so Tom can go gunning for her in Chamber of Secrets. Because of course eleven year old Ginny totally deserved to be punished for shit she hadn’t even done yet.

Ginny runs up to her room and smashes everything in sight, and then collapses sobbing on the floor. In the process, however, she manages to cut herself, and her blood and tears get on Tom Riddle’s diary.

I’m sure that won’t come to anything.

Meanwhile, Snape orders Harry to leave Draco once he gets his antidote, because he thinks their psychic connection is super unhealthy for poor woobie Draco. Harry reluctantly agrees, and shortly overhears Snape telling Dumbledore he’s got an antidote. Then, because no one ever sticks around to eavesdrop on an entire conversation, Harry legs it before Snape points out the “antidote” is only temporary and just gives Draco a few more weeks to live rather than curing him completely.

So Harry leaves goodbye notes for Draco and Hermione, and fucks off to finally go and fight Voldemort.

You know, that thing this whole fic was supposed to be about.

Later, Ginny’s sulking in the Gryffindor Common Room when Seamus finds Tom Riddle’s diary—and is instantly possessed by the ghost of Tom Riddle.

“The ghost that Harry killed with the basilisk fang?” I hear you say?

Yes, that ghost.

“But—”

No, no. But nothing. Cassie has finally realised this fic is boring as shit, and chosen to introduce Tom-Possessed-Seamus in a desperate attempt to add some external conflict. I am not going to bitch about things making sense as long as something is finally happening.

So Tom finds the letters Harry wrote for Draco and Hermione, and decides to fuck with everyone in the vicinity by burning Hermione’s and magically rewording Draco’s to be full of backhanded compliments. He then nances down to the Common Room and finds Ginny. She works out pretty sharpish that this new, creepy “Seamus” is actually Tom screwing with her, and for a few paragraphs, this fic reads like M rated torture porn waiting to happen. Then Ginny sticks her arm in the fireplace, causing her charm bracelet to go haywire and explode all over the place.

This would be cool, except:

There was absolutely no indication before now that bracelet + fire = explosions

Why didn’t Ginny just toss the bracelet in, rather than setting her own hand on fire?

So Tom flees and Ginny passes out. Meanwhile, Draco takes his kinda-antidote, which actually gets him out of bed. This is surprising, considering the fic claims it contains both belladonna and nightshade, each of which are poisonous.

Cassie … what the fuck.

Anyway, Draco and Hermione find unconscious, lightly charred Ginny and rush her to Madame Pomfrey, and then discover Harry’s remaining letter. This naturally results in a slew of drama I can’t be bothered to recount, but suffice to say Draco is pissed. They decide to hunt Harry down, presumably so they can kick the shit out of him in person.

When Ginny recovers, she explains the new Tom Riddle plot thread, and follows it up with, “Fuck this shit, I’m out.”

Yeah, she literally just … goes home. This actually didn’t annoy me, because it seemed like the only sensible decision anyone in this entire fic had made so far. “There are dark wizards fucking everywhere and every time I try to do anything helpful I screw it up and get yelled at. Yeah, fuck you guys, I’m going home.”

Meanwhile, Tom sets up in Diagon Alley, where he reads up on his future self’s adventures and decides “Screw that guy, I can do better.” He runs into Harry and, rather than killing him on the spot, he directs him to a nearby friendly Death Eater establishment.

So Harry flees the Death Eaters, and winds up bumping into Draco Malfoy down a quiet alley. And um. This happens.

Well, no, OK, it’s not really Draco Malfoy.

It’s a polyjuice prostitute.

A prostitute who takes polyjuice potion … in order to look like Draco. For customers.

I’ll uh … I’ll just let that sink in.

Anyway, the polyjuice prostitute takes him to safety. By which I mean a brothel. A polyjuice brothel. O-of course?

Meanwhile, back at the Burrow, Ginny gets a visit from Ben Gryffindor and Gareth Slytherin—the respective sons of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin she met when she time travelled in Draco Sinister. It turns out Gareth has a bracelet that looks suspiciously similar to Harry’s runic band, and apparently it repels demons. However, Gareth can never take it off until the day he dies.

So Ben and Gareth give some vague, unhelpful advice, and the plot grinds to a halt as we cut to several tedious pages of Hermione reading Teen Witch Weekly, followed by Draco having EMOTIONS.

And the emotions of these characters. The melodrama. They randomly fly off the handle over the smallest, most meaningless little things. Like, Harry could be stuck on his homework and mutter, “Ugh, I don’t understand,” and Hermione would leap up and scream, “NO, YOU NEVER DO!” and run from the room weeping.

One exchange is literally:

DRACO: You look cold. Shall we go back?

HERMIONE: No … we can never go back …

HE MEANS “GO BACK INDOORS” YOU MELODRAMATIC LUNATIC.

And SO MUCH drama is built on this pointless little exchanges. It’s infuriating—the characters just can’t seem to ever have a normal conversation. I know teenagers can be emotional, but they’re not like this. Jesus.

Meanwhile, Blaise Zabini—oh yeah, she’s in this fic—figures out that Pansy Parkinson is the one who shot Draco with the poisoned arrow, on Lucius Malfoy’s orders. Pansy confirms that there was only one vial of antidote, and Draco’s pretty much doomed at this point. Man, isn’t Pansy just a giant pain in the ass in this fic?

Anyway, back at the Polyjuice brothel, while Harry hides out, Tom walks in with Ginny’s hair. And if you can guess where this is going … I’m sorry.

So while Tom tortures, murders and rapes a polyjuice prostitute pretending to be Ginny (yes, in that order), Hermione and Draco break into the brothel looking for Harry. This involves Hermione dressing up all slutty, because undercover. Of course.

Naturally, they find the dead fake Ginny, but Tom escapes, and Draco theorises that Tom is in love with Ginny and … isn’t coping well. I guess murder is a pretty serious case of not coping.

Draco then finds Harry, and they bicker briefly before Harry runs away again. Because no one in this fic can sit down and discuss their problems like rational adults. Draco and Hermione go back to their hotel room and get down to their own unhealthy coping, which means copious snogging. I guess cheating is at least a healthier outlet than murder.

So Tom finds Lucius, who is like “Yeah I’ll totally help you kill your older, uglier self, no problem bud,” and they merrily get down to hunting all the Death Eaters who betrayed older Voldemort. Tactically, you’d think it would be smart to recruit them, but no. Tom just murders them in revenge. Or … pre-venge?

Meanwhile, Harry manages to stumble through the floo network to Victor Krum’s house, where Fleur Delacour also lives because apparently that ship is a thing now. Harry then travels to Prague, and Hermione and Draco show up to Victor’s house too late, and Draco collapses because oh yeah, he’s meant to be dying, isn’t he?

So Fleur tucks Draco up in bed, and … unbuttons his shirt … while whispering to him … while he’s unconscious …

Damn it, Cassie, why you gotta put me through this?

Well, it turns out she’s not JUST sexually harassing Draco. She also gives him some of her Magid powers so he can continue with Mission Kick the Shit out of Harry in Person. (Yeah, I also completely forgot Magids were a thing until now.)

Over in Prague, Harry’s caught out after dark by vampires, but luckily Draco and Hermione show up in time to scare them off … by using two swords to make the shadow of a cross. The shadow. Of a cross.

Draco then knocks Harry the fuck out before he can escape again, takes him inside and ties him to the bed. Luckily, Cassie puts her incest kink away before Harry wakes up, and they all take turns talking about their feelings for several pages and ultimately resolve nothing.

Meanwhile, Ginny discovers that Tom is gunning for Pansy Parkinson’s family, and decides, ugh, fuck it, fine, she’ll join in on this shitshow. By the time she arrives, Tom’s already murderkilled the whole Parkinson family, and is busy torturing Blaise Zabini. Tom drops Blaise in favour of torturing Ginny, but then realises he can’t. Every wound he inflicts on Ginny also appears on him, because something, something blood magic connecting them. This is actually kind of a cool concept, and I’d love to see where it could go in the hands of a skilled writer

Ginny, however, decides bugger all this for a lark and tosses herself down the stairs.

I mean. That’s one way to kill Tom.

Meanwhile, Death Eaters show up and attack Harry, Draco and Hermione. Harry kills a Death Eater and has a minor existential crisis over it, which apparently distracts him enough to let the Death Eaters capture Hermione.

The Death Eaters drop Hermione off with Ron in Voldemort’s Evil Castle of Doom, where Hermione and Ron immediately start formulating a plan … oh wait no, they just bicker pointlessly. It turns out Ron’s got pretty sweet digs in this castle for a prisoner, so Hermione gets to take a bath, and then Ron makes out with Rhysenn pretending to be Hermione and … ugh, this is all just so unbelievably stupid I want to die.

So Draco and Harry finish their own pointless bickering and fly after Hermione on thestrals. Where did these thestrals come from? No idea, but Cassie wants thestrals, so here they are.

Meanwhile, back at Voldemort’s castle, Rhysenn calls out Hermione for being an indecisive slutmuffin because come the fuck ON, woman you gotta pick Harry or Draco at some point, and I thought we’d been THROUGH this already. This rant is all the more bizarre coming from a succubus, of all things.

And then Voldemort shows up and shoots a cruciatus curse at Hermione, because I guess today is just Beat Up Hermione Day.

Harry and Draco stop off in a vague European village for a light lunch of crusty bread and cheese and brandy (because Draco’s alcoholism continues), and I laugh because Cassie seems to think Europe hasn’t invented fucking sandwiches.

We get a few paragraphs of Lucius Malfoy poncing around doing nothing, before Tom bursts through his window clutching a half-dead Ginny and screaming at him to heal her. Instead, Lucius locks them both in a magic marble tomb and buggers off to tell grown-up Voldemort about this whole debacle.

By the way, POV swaps at this point are so swift I am lumping two or three chunks together in a somewhat helpless attempt to make everything flow better than Cassie did. I’m also hacking away huge chunks of pointless, meandering text. You’re welcome.

So we hop back to Harry and Draco walking up to Voldemort’s castle. Draco at this point is going blind because, oh yeah, he’s totally dying isn’t he? And they finally, FINALLY address Harry’s letter. The one that pissed off Draco so much. The one that Tom Riddle tampered with.

And.

AND.

*Deep breath*

Christ doing handstands on a unicycle at the fucking circus, Draco’s whole problem with this stupid goddamn letter is so obnoxious and pathetic I want to scream. Chapter upon chapter of drama over some vague fucking backhanded comments that just aren’t that fucking upsetting, OH MY GODDDD.

Draco realises Harry doesn’t know he’s still dying, but chooses not to tell him because???

Thankfully for my blood pressure, a plot hole … um … black hole opens up in the ground and swallows them up, which is pretty fucking satisfying at this point, let me tell you.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the cruciatus curse (or “excruciating bane” as Cassie calls it, because she has access to a thesaurus and zero common sense) totally didn’t work on Hermione! The McGuffin Cup apparently protects its holder from curses. How neat.

So the baddies guess the flask on Hermione’s belt is defo the Cup, and take it off her, and I am SO convinced they are right and the obvious decoy is not, in fact, an obvious decoy.

At this point, Lucius shows up and tells Voldemort all about wee babby Tom, and then teleports Tom and Ginny over so Voldemort can meet himself in person.

That was a weird sentence.

Ginny has spent the interim since she tried to off herself having fever dreams about Passionate Trousers, that crappy romance book she was reading before. This, apparently, is her equivalent to the river of the dead that Draco saw in Draco Sinister when he almost died. Yeah … Draco gets a spooky river of ghosts, and Ginny gets a thematically inappropriate bodice-ripper.

Lame.

But whatever, she wakes up in time to meet Old Voldy … and promptly faints again.

Our heroine!

At this point, Harry and Draco are traipsing through an underground tunnel when they run into those weakass vampires again. Draco’s like, “You really don’t wanna bite us, bro,” but a vampire bites him anyway, and then instantly dies from all the poison in Draco’s blood. The weakass vampires all run screaming, and Harry FINALLY realises Draco isn’t actually cured.

With tears of exhaustion, I reach the penultimate chapter, and pray to the powers that be for a finale that was worth slogging through all this crap for. But really, deep down, I know I’m just tumbling further and further into the sunk cost fallacy with every page I read.

So Ginny wakes up in a big fancy bedroom, where Tom tells her that he’s working with Old Voldy now, and I gigglesnort because all I can think of is Nega Scott the end of Scott Pilgrim vs the World. “He’s not that bad when you get to know him. We actually have a lot in common.”

On the bright side, Ginny get to be Tom’s special prized concubine forever while the rest of the world burns. Yay? Tom leaves and Hermione appears, and continues the tradition of bullying the shit out of Ginny. She victim-blames the hell out of her, because it is just so GROSS that Tom is obsessed with her and that’s all totally Ginny’s fault, and never mind the fact that Hermione was in exactly this position with Salazar Slytherin in Draco Sinister.

So Hermione finishes yelling, “How dare you seduce Tom Riddle, Ginny!” and proceeds to tell Ginny her plan for defeating Voldemort, which involves … Ginny continuing to seduce Tom Riddle.

UGH.

So Hermione finally fucks off, and pretends Rhysenn has killed her. Because reasons.

Outside, Harry and Draco finally reach Voldemort’s castle. Harry tries to gently Wingardium Leviosa Draco over the battlements, and ends up tossing him through a window. Harry is then chased by a bunch of Voldemort’s guards, but his runic band lights up and murders the shit out of all of them … and then crumbles into dust. Not sure why it chose this specific moment to die, but I guess Cassie got tired of Harry carrying around a get out of jail free card.

It turns out Draco coincidently burst through Ginny’s window. AND AGAIN, the instant he sees her he’s like, “Oh fuck off, what’re YOU doing here?”

Like. BITCH.

Ginny only fucked up in this fic because everyone was such an unapologetic shitweasel to her. And then she tried to fix her mistake, even to the point of attempting suicide. Jesus Christ, what do you all want from Ginny?

CAMPAIGN BE NICER TO GINNY 2K18.

I didn’t take very good notes over the next part, mostly because I was skimming but also possibly because my hand was occupied with the glass of rosé I sorely needed to get through his hellfic unscathed. But basically everyone winds up having a big battle; Draco, who couldn’t stand unaided one page ago, is suddenly able to charge into a sword fight no problem; Hermione’s “play dead” plan lasts exactly 0.1 seconds and amounts to nothing; and everything utterly fails and Voldemort captures them all anyway.

So Voldemort kills them all and gets on with his spell, right?

Nope.

He keeps them alive.

Why?

Because Cassie Claire is too cowardly to kill a protagonist and too lazy to invent a decent explanation for how they survive, that’s why.

So Voldemort chains them all up around a whacking great pentagram with the four worthy McGuffins, and I roll my eyes because we’re back at the end of Draco Sinister. Draco and Tom have an argument about Greek mythology which is supposed to show how smart and cultured Draco is, but actually just shows that Cassie’s only research into Greek mythology was watching Clash of the Titans because she thinks the Kraken is a Greek monster … and I slam my head against a wall because JUST LET THIS BE OVER ALREADY.

So Voldemort cuts Ron open to get at that delicious seer blood, and the ritual kicks off with Cassie stealing the “close your eyes!” gimmick from Indiana Jones.

Guess what happens next?

It’s OK, I’ll give you a second.

That’s right! The McGuffin Cup wasn’t really the McGuffin Cup! Hermione pulled the old switcheroo, and it totally wasn’t obvious even slightly at all.

So Voldypoldy gets trapped in the pentagram, screaming his guts out, and Tom does a runner. Draco goes racing after him, because Ginny decides not to tell him that killing Tom will also kill her. This lack of communication would piss me off, but after how fucking horrible everyone’s been to Ginny I’m not surprised she’s suicidal. And frankly, I am also ready for death.

Meanwhile, Harry dives into the pentagram to fight Voldemort, while Ron and Hermione fight Lucius. The pentagram cooks Wormtail alive for some reason, and Voldemort tries to stab Harry but—

The Malfoy Family Code of Conduct in Harry’s pocket stops the dagger.

Seriously. We are pulling a “Bible stopped the bullet” here.

Voldemort then remembers he’s a fucking wizard, and throws a killing curse at Harry. The curse bounces off the McGuffin Mirror, one of those other worthy objects we all forgot about, and kills Voldemort instead. And then Harry cuts Voldemort’s head off for good measure. Because everyone loves unnecessary violence.

Meanwhile, Draco gets thiiiiis close to killing Tom, before Tom points out Ginny will also die. So naturally, after knocking Tom out and tying him up, Draco realises what a douchecanoe he’s been to Ginny and apologises—HAHAHAHA no, he just berates her some more.

Ron and Hermione apprehend Lucius, and all is looking good. Voldemort’s dead, the others baddies are dead or captive … surely there’s not much left, right? I check the page counter at the top of my screen.

260 A4 pages left.

So it turns out the whole reason Lucius was such an unapologetic dicknozzle this whole time was because he sold his ability to love to Voldemort. For like, power? Or something? And now Voldemort’s dead, Lucius suddenly loves Draco, and realises he poisoned him, and has Some Regrets. Unfortunately, Draco doesn’t give a fuck, and in some of the most awkward, out of character dialogue in the fic, he tells Harry to just kill him if he wants.

TEENAGERS DON’T TALK LIKE THIS.

However, Harry decides not to kill Lucius, instead interrogating him for information about Draco’s antidote. Turns out they’re missing one ingredient: argent dragon’s blood. Too bad argent dragons are extinct. This might’ve been a clever twist, if argent dragons had ever been mentioned before this moment.

Harry then leaves Lucius alone with Ron, who proceeds to prophesise the fall of the Malfoy name and the loss of everything Lucius holds dear. And because Ron is a seer and couldn’t possibly be making shit up, Lucius freaks out and kills himself.

For complicated, nonsensical reasons, Rhysenn now becomes Draco’s servant. Draco’s like “Bugger it all, I’ll free you if you kiss Tom Riddle’s soul out of Seamus’s body,” because apparently succubi work just like dementors. So Rhysenn does that, and then leaps out the window, presumably yelling, “DOBBY IS FREEEEE!”

Draco makes some long, sad speeches about how very hard he is dying, and then does what he’s been threatening to this whole fic, and stops breathing.

Well. I wish.

The final chapter begins with a funeral, but as anyone with half a brain can guess, it’s not Draco’s funeral. It’s Pansy Parkinson’s. Draco is actually in a coma. And despite the fact Pansy poisoned Draco and tricked Ron into shagging her and basically ruined everyone’s lives, they all show up to her funeral. Possibly just to ensure this bitch is deep in the cold, cold ground.

Well, except for Harry, that is. Harry has apparently sat motionless at Draco’s bedside for three straight days. This I do not buy. A man does not go three days without needing to get up to piss.

Meanwhile, Ginny is busy looking after poor, shell-shocked Seamus Finnegan, who claims to remember nothing about being possessed, but who wakes up from nightmares screaming for people to run, or begging someone to stop. You know, totally normal, not at all PTSD stuff. And naturally, Ginny is patient and understanding, because this isn’t something you just “get over”, and she treats Seamus with the same kindness he always showed her—

HA, NO. Ginny resents Seamus for making her look after him, and acts like an absolute martyr for showing a single ounce of human decency.

God damn it, Ginny. I defended you.

Anyway, apparently it took three effing days for anyone to have the bright idea that Harry should try and contact Draco through telepathy. This essentially amounts to psychic Harry dramatically begging Draco to “Hold on!” while psychic Draco acts surprisingly millennial and yells back, “LET ME DIE, I’M FUCKIN’ TIRED.”

Meanwhile, Ginny realises Harry’s runic band had argent dragon blood it in. A shame, since the damn thing poofed into a million pieces, but luckily she knows someone else who’s got one. So she does a few time travel trips, and winds up arriving at the moment Gareth dies so she can take the runic band from him.

Snape manages to get the argent dragon blood out of the runic band, but then points out it needs to brew for 1,000 years. So they make two vials, and Ginny does more time travelling. One vial goes to the Malfoy family (that’s the one Lucius will eventually have), and one vial is hidden in the Hogwarts library.

Ginny also passes Gareth’s now-empty runic band to Rhysenn in the past, so Rhysenn can be the ~mysterious benefactor~ who gives the band to Harry at the end of Draco Sinister. If all this sounds like a really confusing episode of Doctor Who … yeah, I’m sorry. I can only guess that Cassie realised the time travel shenanigans worked well in Draco Sinister, and so she decided to cram WAY MORE time travel into Draco Veritas.

So Ginny gets to the present, but it turns out time travelling that much is kinda bad for you so she starts coughing up blood and passes out. (Side note: I love fanfic, where coughing up blood is a symptom of basically any generic illness, as opposed to reality where it means “punctured lung”.)

So they manage to tip the antidote down Draco’s throat, and he wakes up fine and dandy, but now Ginny’s dying instead. There’s some drawn-out angst, until Seamus marches in, grabs the time turner from Ginny’s neck and smashes it, which somehow magically makes her well again.

So uh … the end?

No, no, no.

Time for an epic Cassie Claire epilogue with pages and pages of pointless friendship drama and romance angst. Because we haven’t had enough of that already!

Ginny hangs about with Seamus, bitching at him for being miserable (yeah Seamus, how dare you be traumatised by Tom Riddle possessing you and using you to rape, torture and murder and bunch of people!), and eventually she asks Hermione for a love potion so she can try to actually enjoy the rest of her miserable life with Seamus. Hermione reluctantly gives her a potion, but then Ginny spends the next several pages mooning about wondering if she should take the bloody thing.

Meanwhile, Cassie pulls “Dumbledore the master manipulator” out of her arse and claims Dumbledore had Snape deliberately mess with Harry and Draco’s polyjuice potion way back at the beginning of Draco Dormiens, with the intention of them swapping bodies and gaining these psychic powers and—

THIS MAKES NO SENSE.

If Snape and Dumbledore knew about the bodyswap thing back in Draco Dormiens, why would they allow Lucius to take Harry back to Malfoy Manor, thinking he was Draco? Why wouldn’t Snape be keeping an eye on Draco all the time at Hogwarts? Surely, if the whole plan was to ensure they were best buddies in time to kill Voldemort, the safest and most responsible way to do that was with them both at Hogwarts, where Snape and Dumbledore could watch over them.

AAUUUGHHHH.

Well, whatever. Snape and Dumbledore say they have an antidote for Harry and Draco’s psychic connection, so they can separate and go back to being their own individuals again. This means Harry and Draco spend the next several pages angsting over their imminent separation.

Draco takes Harry to the bottomless pit from Draco Dormiens, and chucks his two epicyclical charms down it. I guess this is meant to be symbolic, but since the epicyclical charms did fuck all in this fic … meh. Then again, when you consider that Cassie’s username used to be “Epicyclical”, this scene has some frankly hilarious connotations.

So Seamus once again decides he’s too good for these assholes and fucks off, leaving Ginny and Draco to finally fucking get together again. Harry proposes to Hermione, and astoundingly, she shows half an ounce of common sense and tells him they’re too young for that bullshit. Also Ron and Blaise are a thing now. Apparently.

Ginny tosses the love potion away, and then finds out it was never a real love potion anyway. Harry and Draco refuse to take their antidotes, instead choosing to go on an EPIC PSYCHIC ROADTRIP.

And this monstrosity of a fic finally fucking ends when Harry and Draco stop off at Hogwarts so Draco can look in the Mirror of Erised, because Cassie is sodding obsessed with mirrors. He sees himself exactly as he already is.

So, overall thoughts?

It was shite. Godawful. This was a behemoth-sized fanfic of absolutely nothing sodding happening. Draco Veritas commits the worst sin any writing can commit. It’s BORING. Friendship drama can be fine and enjoyable, but not in a fic that’s meant to be an epic whirlwind fantasy adventure. By this point, I would expect the characters to have their shit together, but instead they’re bickering and falling out and weeping more than ever.

The first half is definitely the worst—so bad I almost gave up several times. In the second half, Cassie seems to realise the characters should be doing something by now, so she starts throwing in heists and kidnaps and Tom Riddles for conflict. But it’s all just swallowed up in more pointless, meandering drama. If anyone else reading this has waded through Draco Veritas, you’ll know what I mean when I say I’ve cut out over half the shit that happens in this fic to try and boil it down to an actual plot. Writing out this spork was like doing a fucking archaeological dig. “I know the good shit’s down here somewhere, but there’s about six meters of mud to shovel out before we can see it.”

I can’t believe Cassie Claire became a BNF on the back of this. I can’t believe she got a publishing deal and was a roaring success on the back of this. Accusations of plagiarism aside, the whole fic is just plain bad.

And honestly, as much fun as I had laughing at the Draco Trilogy, I’m glad I never have to read any of Cassie’s writing again.

Well … until I dig out that Ron/Ginny fanfic, anyway.

#draco veritas #draco trilogy #cassie claire #spork #harry potter

31 notes · View notes

ritebeforeyoureyes · 6 years

Text

Confessions

This is now officially the longest multi-chapter fic I’ve written ever! Sorry it took so long to get out! I have just started juggling two jobs and university, so my free time is limited. I promise I’ll try and upload/write whenever I can x

Masterlist – Plot: Zendaya and Nikki talk.

Confessions (Chapter Twenty Five)

“What’s with that?” Zendaya glanced between Tom and Nikki, witnessing the evident hostility between mother and son for the first time. It was the day after the premiere and the closest cast and crew had gathered for a more intimate dinner before everyone was set to go their separate ways. However, within seconds of seeing Tom and his mom interact, Zendaya could tell something was up.

“Nothing.” Tom turned his attention towards Laura, who was talking about a future project that she had lined up and Zendaya glared at him, completely dumbfounded. She wasn’t born yesterday, and deep down, she knew the reason behind Tom’s strained relationship with his mother was her fault and she couldn’t help but feel guilty. The only reason Nikki had said what she had about Zendaya was because she was looking out for her son. Zendaya understood that. She was exceptionally close to her own mom and she was certain hers would have done the exact same if the shoe was on the other foot.

“Hey, do you want a hand?” Once Zendaya was sure that Tom was completely engulfed in his conversation with their co-stars, she snuck out from beside him to help Nikki with the dishes; he hadn’t even noticed her leave.

“No, sweetie, it’s okay … you relax-“

“I insist.” Zendaya took a stack of plates from Nikki’s hands and wordlessly followed her into the kitchen so that they could speak alone. Tom was stubborn, incredibly so, and Zendaya knew she needed to help break the ice between him and his mom before the drama escalated. If Tom wouldn’t talk to her about what was going on between them, maybe Nikki would.

“Thank you, dear.”

“Mrs Holland-“ After everything that had happened, Zendaya wasn’t sure if she was comfortable calling Nikki by her first name. But, from the mocking glare that was sent in her direction, she knew Nikki wanted her to. “Sorry, Nikki, if you don’t mind me asking … is Tom off with you because of me?”

“No, don’t be silly, sweetie-“ Nikki knew Zendaya, poor girl, had suffered through enough recently and she didn’t want her to blame herself for the strained relationship between her and Tom. Zendaya may have been the route of the problem, but it wasn’t her fault. Nikki just found it hard to grasp the concept of her eldest son growing up. She still pictured him flailing and pink in her arms, a curly head of hair. She knew that letting Tom make mistakes was a part of his growth and she was wrong to have interfered in his relationship, but she also wasn’t going to sit by and watch as he ruined his future. And as a result, she wasn’t going to apologise for having his best interests at heart. Regardless of how things went down, Nikki’s interference had been in Tom’s best interest and she wanted him to understand that.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie to me.” Zendaya huffed dryly. “I’m sorry for having gotten in the middle-“

“Don’t apologise, Zendaya.” Nikki put her dish towel down to grasp Zendaya’s forearms in a loving manner. Her hands stroked at her skin in a motherly fashion, a genuine smile imprinted on her face. “I’m the one who should be apologising to you. I know what you’ve been going through is hard and I can’t commend you enough for staying so strong through it all!” Zendaya returned Nikki’s smile with light tears in her eyes – happy tears. Loads of people sympathised with Zendaya after the whole stalker ordeal, they pitied her, and it seemed Nikki was the first person who had acknowledged how put together and strong she still was. It was definitely nice to hear out loud. “I want to say sorry for everything that happened with you and Thomas, I just wanted to protect him-”

“Please don’t embarrass me, Nikki, you have nothing to apologise for! I broke up with him because I agreed with you. I wanted to protect him too. That was a decision I made on my own and he can’t blame you for that.”

“Tom’s just stubborn … he gets it from his father.” Nikki joked and Zendaya laughed. “I know my intervention in your relationship was probably uncalled for but when you’re a mother, you’ll understand why I did it.”

“I think I understand already, my mom would do anything for me too.” Zendaya had spent her adolescent years without her mom. It wasn’t the most ideal of situations, but Claire had parted from her only child so that she could live out her dreams of being an actress. Whilst Claire still kept her teaching job in Oakland, Kazembe moved to L.A. with Zendaya. Claire had spent many a night by herself, yearning for a cuddle from Z. She missed her beautiful face and her whimsical cheer, but her feelings didn’t matter, not in the grand scheme of things. Claire was happy to let her bird fly out of the nest – really prematurely – if it meant she could got to live her life. “Caring for your son isn’t a crime, Nikki, and I also want to thank you. The fact that he wanted to honour our relationship and stick by me through everything is partly because of your upbringing. You raised him to be a gentleman and it’s admirable-”

“Okay, now you’re going to make me cry.” Nikki felt the bring salt water trickle down her face involuntarily and she wrapped Zendaya’s tall frame into a hug. “Thank you for making my son happy. I couldn’t be prouder of his choice in companionship.” The two were hugging so tightly, they’d barely noticed Tom make his way into the kitchen. “Welcome to the family, darling.”

“What … what’s going on?” Tom stuttered the question but the smile on his face was inexcusable.

“Get over here, jerk.” Zendaya instructed sternly, Tom obliging wordlessly. “I want you two to sort out whatever it is that’s going on here,” As she walked past him to re-join her co-stars, Zendaya whispered a, “please.” Into his ear.

It was hours later when Tom returned from having spoken to his mother. Zendaya had been the push that they’d needed, and she’d seemingly helped them iron out their issues. Nikki wanted Tom to respect how much that she cared for him and Tom wanted her to respect his independence. Things were easier said than done but it was nice to know that both parties were trying to take an active role in changing their behaviour. But, in the time that Tom was gone, he’d missed Toni and Jacob’s pancake eating contest, Toni’s consequent vomit and the departure of many of his friends. In fact, he’d only made it back to Zendaya just moments before her eyes closed for bed.

“Hmm.” Tom quietly snuck out of his clothes and crawled into bed with her; he was big spoon, his body enveloping her warm frame. She snuggled back into him, her legs pulling up into her chest. “How did it go with you-“

“I love you.” Before she could finish her sentence, Tom cut her off, his lips placing gentle kisses against her exposed shoulder. This ‘I love you’ was different to his first, this time, it was loaded with a double meaning. He loved her because he did but he also loved her for actively trying to repair his relationship with his mum. Despite all the drama and the arguing, Nikki was an important part of his life and Zendaya had clearly been aware of that. If it were possible, Tom was now more in love with Zendaya than he was a few hours ago.

“I love you too.” Zendaya giggled softly, her brain nonverbally understanding the magnitude of meaning behind his words.

“Be my girlfriend again, Zendaya.” After moments of pregnant silence, Tom’s words echoed throughout the room. However, he didn’t get the answer that he was looking for when Zendaya’s loud laughter filled the space. Her body hunched forward, and she turned her head to look back at him.

“I thought this meant we were back together?” She motioned between them two of them in bed with her finger before letting her lips dictate his.

Their kiss started off slow, her trying to reassure him that the thing between them was real before the speed (and the intensity) increased. Instantly, Tom was a goner, letting her take the lead of their kiss. He felt every inch of her mouth with his tongue, the distinctive taste, smell and sight of her enrapturing all his senses. Their hands roamed each other’s bodies as a consequence, the desperation evident in the both of them. And as their desperation increased, so did the need for air. Zendaya’s chest was heaving violently against his own and he reluctantly dragged his mouth away from hers so that they could catch their breathe.

“I want to do this properly this time - you and me.”

“Yes.” And finally, it seemed like all order was restored in the world of Tom and Zendaya once again.

If you enjoyed this piece and would like to help further me and my work, please support me whilst I try to raise money to do a ‘walk for charity.’ The money you donate will help create awareness for cancer research and will allow me to have added support throughout my journey. It is one hundred per cent a voluntary pursuit and greatly appreciated, however, your lovely comments and votes are always welcomed too. Thank you for being the greatest: https://ko-fi.com/D1D072V0

#tomdaya fanfiction #tomdaya #tomdaya fan fic #tomdaya fan fiction #tomdaya fanfic #ritebeforeyoureyes #confessions #confessions chapter twenty five

27 notes · View notes

vieuxnoyesrp · 6 years

Photo

Chris, we were positively delighted to receive an app for Jaxon (Admin Awilix may have shed a tear or two), but even more so as we read. You’ve hit the nail on the head when you mention his (deeply) hidden depths, from his complicated relationship with Lydia, to his internal struggle regarding his adoptive parents and his sexuality, you really brought him alive for us. and for one of the supposedly most shallow characters from all of our source shows, we cannot wait to see how you play this out.

Chris, thank you very much for applying. As for Jaxon…

⚜ ~ WELCOME TO VIEUX NOYÉS!!! ~ ⚜

Wondering what to do next? Click here and let the good times roll!

⚜ Roleplayer:

⤜ Name/alias: Overlord is my preferred name but the masses insist on calling me Chris, sooooo.

⤜ Pronouns: She/Her

⤜ Age: 20 (and ¾)

⤜ Timezone: EST

⤜ Activity: I want to say about a six but you guys can be the judge of that. I’m really hyped about possibly having a new character though, so I definitely am going to be around as much as I can so I can toss him in as efficiently as possible.

⤜ Best form of contact: Here on Tumblr.

⤜ Any Triggers? N/A

⤜ How did you find Vieux Noyés? Been a member for a few months now!

⤜ What drew you to the RP? The actual loves of my life are here so that was a pretty convincing thing. But as I said before, the bios are gorgeous and I love that so much attention is paid to the plots.

⤜ What is one subplot/element from the Plot page that you are particularly looking forward to seeing in this roleplay? Look i’m a fucking sucker for witches, if you don’t know this yet bless you because you have yet to be on the receiving end of my tangents. I really really want to see the Salem witches integrated into the plot, how things change, how they get along with the Nola Coven, etc. My other loves are the Hunters and i’m so hyped to see what they do with the Lost Relic they have in their midst.

⚜ Desired Character: Jaxon Whittemore.

⤜ Why do you want this character?

I’ve never given too much thought about Jaxon as his own person. I admired him, loved him a little but he was always just Lydia’s boyfriend and Scott’s rival. But after a conversation regarding him with Rose a few weeks back I ended up watching some clips on Youtube of him and honestly… Look at this snarky, damaged, angry boy? (He sounds like a rich slytherin version of Isaac, lmfao. Or just a blend of Tyler and Isaac, I love it!) I’m not sure how it never crossed my mind to play him before now. He’s a huge dick 101% of the time but there are rare instances that he’s vulnerable and they just blow my mind. I used to think of him as someone who was only complex when it came to his feelings for Lydia, but i’m starting to realize he actually has a shit ton of layers that i’d love to explore. Plus I don’t think that i’ve ever played a teenager before and I feel like there’s something so oddly entrancing about that? Like he’s just this kid in the grand scheme of things with a lot of growing up to do and plenty of room for development.

⤜ What are your future plans for this character? Antagonize the shit out of McCall and maybe Stilinski. Laugh about it. A lot.

⤜ Put yourself in your character’s shoes. Give us a few lines to describe a day in the life of your character… Where do they live? Where and how do they spend their time?

Come hell or high water Jaxon is getting up every morning at five a.m. He has a daily routine he likes to stick with you see, sleepily staggering into the shower before brushing his teeth and simultaneously checking his messages. On weekdays after getting dressed and eating breakfast he’ll have a little workout if he’s got the time or if he’s still not completely awake he’ll start watching whatever game was on the night before.

He leaves a little early when he heads out to pick Lydia up, she takes forever to get dressed so he knows he’ll have to be there to nag her into getting into his car so he’s not late for practice. Be it Swimming or Lacrosse, morning practice is always a given, then he takes yet another shower and meets up with Lydia to walk her to their first class. (And to each of her other classes as well) Big shocker, there’s also afternoon practice and school work to be done afterwards.

On weekends, after his morning routine he’ll first go for a jog around Audubon Park before heading to the nearest gym to do some laps. Sometimes he’ll take Lydia out for lunch afterwards, sometimes for dinner depending on how long he was at the gym, and usually at least one day of the weekend is devoted to date night…Which usually consisted of watching The Notebook for the millionth time. Basically, his whole schedule is Lydia and sports, with the occasional break being made to hang out with friends or to study.

⤜ Give us three headcanons regarding your character of choice.

He’s a great player and sometimes more than a decent leader, but he thrives in lone sports which is why he enjoys swimming so much. It’s one of the few times he can really relax and think on his own; no girlfriend or coaches or parents trying to tell him what to do. (He mostly practices for swim meets on his own so he doesn’t have to deal with Coach whatshisface annoying him)

Has slight OCD. This boy cannot stand anything being out of place and hates when things don’t go according to plan. His family has a housekeeper but she’s never utilized because he keeps everything about as clean as it can be. He even has to have his hair cut down to a certain length (he measures) and refuses to drink after anyone. Lydia’s the only exception sometimes, and that’s because they’ve swapped spit enough times that he feels his body should be used to her germs by now.

He’d just started middle school and a girl in the grade above him had asked him out and Jaxon was internally and externally freaking out and begging Josh to help him because what if she wanted to do…stuff… and he’d never even kissed anyone before and would have no idea what to do, and so the the older boy leaned down and planted one on him right there. Jaxon broke apart red as a tomato and let out a muttered thanks in response. It wasn’t a bad kiss by any means just very awkward, and Jaxon still hasn’t figured out if it was because Josh’s a guy or because he was a close friend. (Of course i’ll ask Wills if this is an acceptable headcanon and I added an extra just in case!)

Jaxon is not much of a drinker really unless he’s going through serious emotional turmoil. It makes him too slow and groggy and he’s barely able to think rationally; sometimes it just gets him really really really angry for no apparent reason and he always ends up taking it out on those close to him. Instead, he occasionally takes drugs that instead of hindering him, benefithim. Things that make him faster, stronger, better in the water and on the field. Performance enhancement sort of things. But he gets regularly drug tested and though he knows he could make a positive result go away with a little money, the risks aren’t worth it when the drugs only seem to slightly enhance his abilities so he tries not to make a habit of it.

⤜ What are some plots you’d like to explore with your character?

I’m not so sure if it would work out but i’d really like to see Jaxon become more of a team player and to learn to accept that just because his parents adopted him doesn’t mean he’s not wanted - him being adopted proves he was wanted but this boy has some serious abandonment issues now and can’t see that yet.

Also werewolves and Vampires. He’s seen them in action even though he hasn’t realized it, and i’m dying to see him trying to get to the bottom of it. Maybe even him recruiting some help instead of snooping around all on his own?

And obviously i’m pretty hyped about the question marks in Jaxon’s bio where his species should be. I know what he’s supposed to be in the show but I feel like you ladies are going to have an amazing spin on it that I cannot wait to see.

⤜ Para sample:

(Retained for privacy.)

⤜ Would you like to be considered for another character if not accepted as your primary choice? Probably. Not sure who yet but I want you all to be forced to see me on the dash twice as much.

⤜ Have you read the rules?: Yes.

⤜ Anything else? Nope, I think i’m good!

#Colton Haynes #Colton Haynes FC #Jaxon Whittemore #Jaxon Whittemore RP #teen wolf rpg #Accepted

6 notes · View notes

fanfic-inator795 · 7 years

Text

WoY Oneshot: The Cool Guy(s)

Plot: A lot has changed in the past several months, and it’s pretty obvious that his ex-rival isn’t quite as ‘lame’ as he once thought. In fact, he may just be cool enough for another night out. (Well, that and, Awesome just needed someone to hang out with.)

((Part of the Awesome Arc. Finally got around to getting back into this, thanks to some encouragement from @paperbooart. Check out her WoY art, it’s really great! ^v^ Anyway, enjoy!))

“Ugh, come on! I know I packed it when I moved in! It’s gotta be here somewhere!” There was plenty of stuff he did still have, despite Peepers’ insistence that he ‘not move his whole limo into their ship’. His spare make-up case, about a dozen pairs of shoes, old tickets to various events, a feather boa that he had decided to keep just in case they went back into style, CD cases, hats, tees, belts, even a few protein bars!

All of it got tossed over his shoulder and onto the bed as he continued digging through his suitcases, until - finally - he found what he was looking for. “THERE you are!” Grinning, he held up the pair of pink headphones victoriously. Of course he always had to bring a spare pair of headphones, since they usually had an annoying habit of breaking. And, with the Skullship having a ‘no loud music’ policy for everyone but Lord Hater, Awesome knew he couldn’t just hope that one pair would last the entire time he was there. He had to plan ahead.

“Can’t live without my tunes, after all.” Standing up, he carefully placed the back-up headphones on his dresser and tossing the old ones (ones that had just started only playing through one side. UGH, so annoying) into the trash. “Heh, that was a close one.” But now it was time to just lay down and chi-

He stopped, and looked down at his almost completely covered bed. “...Oh. Right. Ugh...” Not so awesome... But hey, he could fix this problem too. So, with little concern for organizing, he began tossing the various items back into his closet, not really caring where they landed just as long as they were off his bed. If he was back at his limo, he would have just simply told Handy to put it all away for him.

But he wasn’t at home... But, he could deal with that. As long as it was worth it in the end, he could deal with it.

“Tc’ch, besides,” he started to tell himself, “What’s it matter if my clothes and stuff are buried if I hardly wear them.” He was stuck on the Skullship most of the time. Stuck in a uniform. And, while there were certainly worse things, it was still aggravating at times. “But it’ll be worth it.” He just had to keep telling himself that. “Once I get stronger... I just have to get stronger. Be a better fighter. Be truly Awesome again! And then-”

He felt his hand touch something, and glanced down at it just before he could toss it away. “Then...” He blinked, staring at the object. It wasn’t anything too cool, really. Just a pair of dark red, shutter-shade sunglasses. Seriously, those weren’t even in style anymore! Which was probably why they had been buried at the bottom of his fashion collection.

...However, it wasn’t any of that stuff that caught Awesome’s attention. No... Instead, it was the memory that came with the sunglasses. “...Heh.” The shark-man began to smile, just a little. “Maybe I should just give these to Hatey, then... They did work pretty well on him.” Honestly, he had nearly forgotten about that night. The night that, for the most part, had actually been pretty enjoyable.

Rather than complain or try to control the night like Awesome would assume he would try to do, Hater had just followed his lead. Going to all the clubs and parties that Awesome had wanted to go to and happily joining in on all the cool activities without a single glare or groan. Honestly, it was the first time the Emperor of Awesomeness had ever seen his rival actually enjoy himself and not just be an angry, annoyed, sad sack of bones.

And really, it was nice. It had actually been fun! ...Well, up to the part where Awesome had started messing with Peepers and pretty much got electrocuted for it. Hard to forget that part.

Awesome sighed. And, after one last look, he put the sunglasses to the side and continued with his ‘cleaning’. “...That really does seem like forever ago...” So much had happened after that, and so much had changed since... Grop, he knew he had thrown or went to parties after that night but, had that been the last time he had a wild and crazy night out on the Galaxy before-

He froze. But just for a moment. Still, he made sure to take a deep breath afterwards. “...I guess that was the last time I had a night out. Huh.” Though, as he flopped down onto his now-empty bed, his mind reminded him of one other, more recent (and much less thrilling) night out.

“...Just let the party end...”

Scowling, Awesome clenched his fists. No... No way. He couldn’t let the party end. Not yet, anyway... Not yet...

And, in one fluid motion, the shark-man was back on his feet and heading down the hall.

()()()()()()()()()

“...Wait, what? You... You’re serious. You are serious, right?”

“Yeah Hatey!” Awesome grinned, “I mean, I’ve got a day off coming up and you- tc’ch, well, you can pretty much take whenever off since you’re in charge so, why not go out? You know, for old times sake? Come on Hatey, I remember how much fun you had LAST time~”

The skeletal lord scowled, a slight green blush crossing his cheeks. Okay, yeah, Hater had to admit... That night HAD been pretty fun. Jumping through hoops, carving their faces into moons, partying with cool and really pretty ladies, even playing pranks on people! Needless to say, it had all been pretty amazing. However, the way their night ended had been anything but... Hater’s glare deepened. “This isn’t just something you’re doing to get back at Peepers or something, is it?”

“No way, man! Peeps and I are co-” He paused, thinking about it. “...MOSTLY cool with each other. I don’t really have any beef with him at the moment. Heck, if you’re sure he won’t slow us down, he could even come with us!”

“Come with you to do what, exactly?” a familiar, nasally voice asked. Both of them looked towards the door where Peepers now stood, the usual stack of papers and plans in the commander’s arms.

“Just have an awesome night out,” Awesome explained, crossing his own arms as his smile widened, “You know, go to clubs or parties, meet cool people, do cool, sweet and/or crazy stuff, that sort of thing.”

Peepers’ look flattened. It took all his willpower not to roll his eye. Instead he just replied with, “I see...”

“And like I said, you could come with us. You know, just to show there’s no real bad blood between us, bro. Just, you know, don’t act like a chaperone.”

“Hmm...” Keeping an eye on them would probably be a good idea. However, dealing with all the loud music and obnoxious laughter would NOT be worth it. “Ugh, thanks for the offer but I think I’ll pass... Just promise me that it’ll actually be a NIGHT out and be back at the ship by around midnight.”

“Suit yourself, dude,” Awesome shrugged, “And yeah, heh, we’ll try not to stay out too late.”

That time, Peepers did roll his eye. “Just make sure you try as hard as you can, Private.”

“Yeah yeah. So-” He turned his attention back to Hater, “Are we doin’ this, Hatey?”

“Well...” Hater furrowed his boney brow in thought. The idea was pretty tempting, and Awesome had become less of a jerk... “Alright alright, fine. I’m in, but-!”

“YES!” Awesome yelled, grinning as he threw up a ‘rock on!’ gesture, “Great! I’ll see you back here on Friday, say at six or so?” A bit earlier than when he usually started but, hey, if he had to get home around midnight, he’d have to get a head start if he was going to make their night as great as it could be. “Trust me, dude, this is gonna be AWESOME!” With that, the shark left Hater’s room practically in a run (or maybe even a dance, just by how excited he was) already planning what they would do on their big night.

And this night WOULD be awesome, he would make sure of it!

The rest of the week seemed to go by at a space slug’s pace, but Friday eventually did come. Once he finished with his training and chores for the day, the shark-man went straight to his room. Handy had already wired over a couple hundred bucks to his account (much less than what he usually worked with, but he could deal with it), so all Awesome had to do now was just get dressed!

After about half an hour, he decided on a neon purple v-neck top with dark blue pants and his favorite pair of white heeled boots. He also grabbed a tiger striped blue and green down vest, just in case wherever they went was a bit chilly. A quick sweep of pink lipstick and some purple eye-shadow, and he was ready to meet his ride/bro for the evening!

Unsurprisingly, Hater had decided to wear his usual cloak. But hey, Awesome wasn’t going to judge. After all, he wanted to stay on the skeleton’s good side. “So dude, as it turns out, there’s a club over Stratusoose 4 that’s having it’s grand re-opening tonight, so you know it’s going to be rockin’! We’ve definitely got to hit that place up!”

“I, I guess, but-” Hater started to say, but Awesome wasn’t even looking at him anymore, instead choosing to look at his phone.

“And, after doin’ a bit of snoopin’ around, I’ve found some great places we can go if we wanna get a bite to eat! Really top notch eats, trendy AND tasty!”

“But Awesome-!”

“Oh, and after the club, we can totally head over to Stratusoose’s moon! There’s supposed to be all these great bars and a water park and-!”

“AWESOME!”

The former emperor flinched, and finally looked up from his phone. “...What, dude?” He asked.

Hater crossed his arms. “Just because last time was fun and cool doesn’t mean it’s going to be EXACTLY like last time!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m going to pick some of the things we do, since you picked everything last time!” He then added with a mumble, “And when I DID start suggesting things, that’s when you were ready to go.”

Tc’ch, can’t help it if those ideas were lame and not worth staying out for. He didn’t dare say it outloud, but Awesome certainly thought it. Comic book stores? Pizza eating contests? Night riding?! SO lame! ...But, what choice did Awesome have? He was sure he didn’t have any fans that would see him and want to join him, and he definitely didn’t want to go out alone... “Ughhhh, fine. You can choose some of the things we do,” he agreed reluctantly, “Heck, I’ll even let you choose the first thing we do, alright?”

“Hmph, good.” Satisfied, Hater slammed his bedroom door shut, and the two of them headed towards the ‘face’ of the ship.

“So Hatey, you’ve got personal transport for us, right? You know, like a hot rod or van or-”

“Not the van,” Hater said suddenly, “That’s just a me and Peepers thing.”

“...Uhhh, okaaay...”

“But, we do have mini skulls that can go just as fast as the main skullship.” “Eh. Works for me, bro.” The style of the ride didn’t really matter, just as long as they could easily take it around the Galaxy.

Speaking of which... “So Hatey,” Awesome said, glancing back over at him, “Where are you planning on taking us first?”

“Hmm...” He thought for a couple minutes. It wasn’t until they reached the mini Skullship port that Hater finally replied. “I think I have an idea.”

()()()()()()()()()()

“...Seriously, dude?” Awesome stared at the sign with a flat, VERY unimpressed look. “We’ve only got, what, five hours until Peeps starts textin’ and telling us to get back to the Skull, and this is what you want to do with part of our time?”

Hater looked back at him, equal parts confused and offended. “What’s wrong with going to the movies?!”

“Dude, you have, like, two movie theaters in your ship! You could watch movies anytime!” He then added with a scoff and a mumble, “Besides, we’re supposed to have a night out, not a night sitting on our butts in a dinky theater.”

“Yeah well, THIS theater has a movie that I’ve been waiting to see for forever!” the skeletal lord retorted, pointing at a nearby poster of a pretty intimidating demon guy who was shooting electricity out of his fists and riding a skateboard that made electric tracks wherever it went. In other words, it wasn’t too hard to figure out why Hater wanted to see this movie in particular... “And you said that I could pick the first thing we could do, and this is what I pick!”

Awesome groaned, dramatically slouching back. For a moment, he wondered if just being alone would just be better. But, eventually, he gave a reluctant “Fine, whatevs,” and followed Hater inside the theater. At least the movie was only about two hours along, so even if he was bored out of his mind, it wouldn’t be for too long. And then it would be back to what they were supposed to be doing - what normal, cool people did on their night out.

With that problem taken care of, the two of them bought their tickets. And, once he had his in hand, Hater made a beeline for the concessions. “One extra large, super buttery popcorn, and two cherry slushies too! Hey-” He looked over his shoulder, “You want anything?”

Awesome shrugged. “I dunno, does this place have shrimp cocktails or jello shots?”

“Uhhh, there’s cherry and blue slushies. Pop too, I guess, but...”

“...” The shark man gave another sigh. “...Give me the blue slushie.”

Eventually, the pair of villains (well, former villains, really) made their way to their seats, with Hater insisting on sitting in the middle of the row for the best view. Thankfully, the theater itself wasn’t too full - and therefore not too noisy - and after a few minutes, the curtains lifted and the film began.

“Mm, so-” Awesome whispered, once he took the last sip of his slushie, “What’s this movie even abo-?”

“SHHH!” Hater shushed him, “It just looked cool and it took forever to get released and I just want to finally see it, so SHH!”

“Ugh...” Rolling his eyes, Awesome slouched in his seat, putting his feet on the back of the chair in front of him. “Yep, deeeefinitely starting to regret this...”

The movie began typically enough. Some dude with a bad attitude made a deal with a devil, and now he had to hunt demons and bad guys for a living. Still, in exchange he got lightning powers so, not that bad of a deal. But, even so-

“Pfft, dude, did you see that?” Awesome snickered, “You could practically see the string dragging his skateboard along! What, could they not afford an actual electric skateboard? So weak!”

“And did you see his lightning?!” Hater replied, pointing up at the screen, “Look at that! It’s so fake! It doesn’t even look like it’s touching his hands!”

“Tc’ch yeah! And- OH MY GROP LOOK AT THAT GUY! Dude, who looked at that costume and thought ‘Yeah, okay, a bad guy would TOTES wear that’!”

“And he’s not even the main bad guy! Just some dumb grunt! Come on, Bolt Boarder! Zap him already!”

“Um, excuse me, guys?” Awesome blinked. Glancing over to the side, he could see a teenage theater worker now standing in the aisle. “Sirs, I’ve been getting complaints about some rowdy movie goers and-”

Hater sat up a bit straighter and leaned forward, allowing him to send the worker a quick glare. The teenager gulped. “A-And, uh, if you two could just, just tone it down a bit i-it would be greatly appreciated!” he quickly told them before running off.

The skeletal lord huffed, turning his attention back to the screen and grabbing another handful of popcorn. Though, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Awesome staring at him. “...What?”

“Nothin’. Just, kinda thought you were doin’ the whole ‘good guy’ thing now, so-”

“Hey, if I was still a total bad guy, I would have just zapped him,” Hater argued, “And besides, just because I’m a good-er guy now doesn’t mean I still can’t get annoyed at peoOH YEAH! GET HIM, BOLT! WOO!”

Awesome snapped his head back to the screen, just in time to see the badly dressed villain explode in a huge, sparking explosion. “Ohoho, NICE!” he grinned.

Other than a couple quick scenes with Bolt Boarder moping around or talking to his one dimensional love interest, the rest of the movie followed the formula of introducing an over-the-top bad guy, having an action-filled fight scene with effects ranging from alright to downright laughable, and explosions. And honestly, that was just what Hater and Awesome wanted.

“Alright, alright,” Awesome chuckled as the credits began to roll, “That was actually pretty fun.” He stretched slightly before standing up from his seat and heading down the aisle, with Hater right behind him.

“Hmph, told’ya it’d be great,” Hater smirked, “...Well, obviously not GREAT but, you know what I mean!”

“Heh, yeah bro. I know.” The shark-man still couldn’t help but snicker to himself as he thought about all the terrible scenes, though admittedly some of the action (the bits that didn’t need CGI) was pretty well done and pretty cool to watch. In between these thoughts, Awesome’s legs seemed to move automatically. Entering the lobby of the theater only gave them more room to move, allowing him to walk and practically dance circles around Hater.

“...Okay, what are you doing?” the skeletal lord finally asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

“Sorry bro, can’t help it,” Awesome shrugged, still strolling and twirling along, “Unless I’m in a hot tub chillaxin’, I’m not used to just sitting and watching for so long.”

“Then fine,” Hater crossed his arms, “It’s your turn anyway. Find something for us to do that involves moving and just stop circling me already!”

Reaching the theater’s outer doors, Awesome glanced back and grinned. “Can do, Hatester~!” He then led them outside, looking all along the city streets for familiar details and keeping an ear open for dubstep and electronica.

After walking about a block, he found what he was looking for. It was a medium sized building, two floors. Definitely enough room for at least a bar and a pretty decent dance floor. There was no line or bouncer outside, so it wasn’t too exclusive. But eh, it still seemed pretty cool. Besides, beggars couldn’t be choosey. “Of course you’d want to go to a club next,” he heard Hater mumble behind him as they went inside, though at least he didn’t seem too annoyed by it.

The club actually had a pretty nice rainbow-like aesthetic to it, with the bar area being yellow while the lounge and sitting areas were red or orange. The dance floor had emerald green tiles on it, and near the upper half of the club - which featured a karaoke machine - were blue and purple lights. The disco ball and the multi-colored swivel lights on the dance floor just tied everything together.

Awesome smiled, his body relaxing as if he had just stepped into warm waters. Maybe it wasn’t as wild and crazy as the clubs he usually went to, but it was still a club. It was still a type of place that he was used to, a place where he could cut loose and enjoy himself. A place that felt like home.

With light steps and a bit of a shimmy thanks to the music pumping all around him, he strolled over to the bar. “Think you could rustle us up some snacks, brah?” he asked the bartender, flashing his teeth in a grin, “Maybe some fries and your best margarita?”

The green skinned, multi-legged man behind the counter gave him a bit of a look, but before he could ask any questions, Hater added, “And just a Thunderblazz for me. Uh, thanks.” At the sight of the infamous skeletal lord, the bartender’s expression instantly changed. But it wasn’t like before with the theater worker, the man certainly didn’t look scared of Hater. ...In fact, it sorta looked like the opposite, like he seemed happy to see him. Honored, even! Admiring Hater like he was some sort of he-

...Oh. Right. He was a hero.

“Of course, Lord Hater, sir!” the bartender chimed, with two of his hands giving the skeleton a thumbs up, “And it’ll be on the house, of course!” “Really? Cool, thanks.” “Yes, and thank YOU!”

“Heh.” Even if the music in the background wasn’t his cup of tea and the club was a bit too colorful for his tastes, Hater still managed to give the man a smile and a small nod as he sat down. Awesome on the other hand just focused on holding back a sigh.

The fries would be a bit of a wait, but their drinks came quickly so neither one of them really minded. “You know, Hatey, there are other drinks out there that aren’t Thunderblazz,” Awesome lightly teased, “That aren’t even soda!”

“Hmph, then you can drink those,” Hater told him before chugging about a third of his pop.

Awesome shrugged. “Suit yourself. But I’m tellin’ ya, bro. You’re missing out.” Though, despite this claim, Awesome only took a couple small sips of his own drink. Not really to enjoy it, but just enough to bite back any nerves he might have had...

He glanced over at the dance floor, already feeling like it was calling his name - especially since there were only a few people on it. The shark-man smirked. Heh, perfect time to get a crowd and show off. Maybe bust out an old routine, or try to see if the owner would let him plug in his MP3 player. Oh yeah, if anyone here thought this place was rockin’ now, they hadn’t seen nothing ye-!

“Oh wow...” he heard a waitress say as she walked behind them. On instinct, Awesome turned to look at her, but the woman was already walking back towards the lounge area. Oh wow... Tc’ch, what had that been about? Had she been referring to him? Maybe she had been a fan? Though, her tone didn’t exactly sound fanatic, or even amazed... At most, it just seemed like she had been surprised to see him.

And, as his eyes followed the waitress while she worked, Awesome quickly noticed that she wasn’t the only one there surprised to see him...

He could spot people stealing glances, raising eyebrows, and some even rolling their eyes. No one dared to say any of their comments out loud, but Awesome could see them whispering. ...Maybe they weren’t talking about him. But then, what else could they be talking about?

The infamous party shark who had been captured, quit being a villain, and hadn’t even gotten on social media since his disaster of a comeback party was now suddenly just at this random club? No wonder they were surprised to see him. Heck, he wouldn’t have even been surprised if there were some people who thought he simply OD’d after the party or something like that. “Hmph.” What a way to go...

Seeing as he was looking at them now, most people quickly looked away, focusing on their drinks or decor and trying to look as innocent as possible. Conversations put on hold, but interests not forgotten. Part of him told him to just ignore the ‘haters’, but these guys weren’t exactly haters. Nah, they were just curious critics. A galaxy that had witnessed the hard fall of one of its biggest stars in terms of both villainy and coolness, and that wasn’t something people just forgot about overnight, unfortunately... He could easily imagine what they were (or would be) saying.

“Whoa... Isn’t that Emperor Awesome?” “I guess so. Not much of an emperor now though.” “I thought he died.” “I thought he ran away.” “I heard he went crazy.” “Why would he come here?” “Yeah. Not like anyone cares about him now.” “Maybe he’s trying to win back some fans?” “Ha, good luck with that.” “After everything he’s went through? He’s better off retiring.” “Might as well. He’s hardly the emperor of anything now.” “Heh, no doubt about that.”

“So Awesome, how long did you want to stay here? Cause I think I saw a-”

Awesome set down his drink, hard enough make a loud *clunk* on the counter while still not making the glass break, thankfully. Hater blinked. “...Uhh, Awesome? Are you-?”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Huh? But, I thought you wanted to- And, hey! We haven’t even gotten our fries yet!” Hater argued. But Awesome just ignored him. He got out a handful of credits, not even bothering to count them before putting them down by his drink. With that, he stood up and walked straight out of the club. He knew they’d be whispering again. More rumors, more of his reputation ruined. But what did it matter?

...What did it matter?

“Hey! HEY! Awesome!”

“What, Hater?” Awesome asked, stopping for just a moment as he stuffed his hands in his vest pockets.

“Hmph, well for one thing, thanks for waiting up!” Hater glared, but Awesome could only offer a shrug and a mumbled apology. Perhaps that was what made the skeleton’s gaze soften, just a little. “...You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Awesome replied, despite his tone saying otherwise, “Come on, man. We’ve only got a couple hours left. Go ahead and pick the next stop.” Hater still didn’t look too sure, but it was obvious that the shark-man wasn’t in the mood to talk. So, Hater took the lead once again.

By this point, they were in the center of Stratusoose 4′s entertainment district, so they didn’t have to walk nearly as far before Hater found something that caught his interest. It was a three story building, with bright letters on the front of it that read “WOWSER’S”. From the windows, they could see several game machines and big wheels filled with numbers, as well a few game tables where rounds of blackjack or air hockey were being played.

A casino/arcade, huh? Well, Awesome could believe the arcade part at least, and he made no arguments as Hater took them inside. Neither of them made a move towards any of the gambling related games. Awesome didn’t really have the money to spare on them , and Hater- Well, save for a few victories, Hater just had bad luck in general. So instead, the skeleton went straight to the nearest fighting game while Awesome simply hung back and observed.

"Heh, I can ALWAYS beat these things," Hater insisted as he selected what looked to be the strongest character in the game's roster (a monster with fire powers and a giant sword).

"Oh, really?" Awesome asked flatly.

But Hater barely noticed the shark's tone, his fingers already on the buttons and at the ready as the game loaded. "Yeah! So just stand back and get ready to be blown away!" In a flash, the screen revealed a colosseum-like background with Hater's character on the right and his opponent, a dark haired knight, on the left. And, as soon as the game's countdown reached one, Hater began to mash the machine's buttons as hard as he could.

"Go go go! Yeah! Get 'im! Fireball! Haha, yeah! That-! Wait! Seriously?! Oh yeah well-! GRAH! Stop using your shield, you stupid knight! Come ooooon! Come- NonoNOOOO!" From behind him, Awesome simply raised an eyebrow. So, exactly when was he supposed to be blown away again?

After about five rounds of the fighting game (with three of those rounds being losses for him), Hater decided that it was time to move onto other games. After all, the arcade had plenty of them. Racing games, throwing games like skee-ball, claw machines, shooters, even some VR games! ...And yet none of them seemed to interest Awesome whatsoever, nor did the shark bother to make any comments.

He just followed Hater around like a shadow, and it was getting to the point where even Hater couldn't ignore it. "...I thought you said you didn't like to just 'sit and watch'?" he finally questioned after making his way through about a dozen different arcade classics.

"Yeah well, I'm not really the gamer type, dude." Awesome replied as he casually leaned on a pinball machine.

"Hmm... Oh yeah? So, you don't want to play ANY game here?" Hater started to smirk a bit. "Not even... that one?"

He pointed across the room, and Awesome followed his direction - and immediately groaned when he saw the machine he was point at. Standing near a wall, with a huge plastic platform in front of it. "Ugh, DEFINITELY not. FYI Hater, DDR is for people who don't know how to dance, not for people who are great at dancing."

Hater humphed, crossing his arms. "So, if you DID actually play it, are you saying that you'd get a hundred percent score or whatever just cause you're 'so great' at dancing?"

"Uh, yeah bro, I would," Awesome insisted, taking a step forward.

But Hater's smirk just grew. "Then prove it."

"...Fine." Sticking his nose up slightly, Awesome coolly strolled over to the dance machine. "...Oh, and hey, don't think I don't know what you're doing," he added as he selected his song and difficulty (expert level, naturally), "Trying to get me to join in on the fun or whatever by challenging me to play one of these games? Heh, way to take a page out of the furball's playbook, Hatey."

Hater shot him a glare. "Just shut up and dance. And don't complain when you get less than a perfect score!"

"Tc'ch, not gonna happen, brah." It was at that moment that the game began, with the the electronic, Zetuon music now playing as various directional arrows began flying upwards at what looked like lightspeed. But Awesome didn't even flinch! He just jumped right in, his feet as light as an orbubble as he tapped each space beneath him. He was in perfect sync with the game, even bobbing his head along with the beat of the song. At least the game had good taste in music.

"Not bad, I GUESS," he heard Hater say after about a minute. Awesome grinned slightly.

"This is nothing!" He shouted back, "Watch what a real dancer can do on one of these things!" Raising his arms, Awesome began using them, throwing them up or waving them slightly to make it look more like an actual dance rather than simply jumping around on light-up tiles. He even a added a couple high-jumps and spins, and did all this while still keeping an eye on the screen.

The song was nearing its end, there were just a couple dozen steps to go. But Awesome didn't let himself lose focus, not even for a second. Back, forth, left, left, right, back, back- jump, hip thrust, slide to the next step, do a twirl! He was completely in the zone! And honestly, he couldn't have been happier. The final note played, and after hitting the last step, Awesome fell into a split and threw his arms up in a victory pose while Hater clapped and cheered.

...Wait, that wasn't Hater. And that definitely wasn't just one person.

Quickly getting back onto his feet, he looked out at a crowd of about a dozen or so people. Though thankfully he wasn't stunned for too long. He just gave them a quick wave and a charming smile before hopping down from the platform.

"Guess you can still attract crowds, huh?" Hater asked, trying not to look TOO impressed, or too happy for the shark for that matter.

"Yep. Guess so," Awesome nodded. He took a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead before looking back up at the dance machine. "Oh uh, say, dude? Could you tell me what it says on that DDR screen? That one right up there? In big bold letters?"

"..." Hater sighed, his scowl deepening. "It says 'perfect'."

"Oh yeah~ What can I say? I-" Awesome stopped, grimacing. He put a hand on his stomach as he felt it contort and growl. "...Can work up an appetite, apparently."

"Ugh, then let's go find something to eat already before we starve to death!" Hater told him, already making his way back towards the front of the casino with Awesome soon following his lead, still clearly pleased with his 'performance'.

If all else failed, at least he would always have his dancing...

()()()()()()()()()

Balancing himself to keep from spilling his dish, Awesome went into a squatting position, leaning up slightly against the parking lot’s chain-link fence. Without further ado, he picked up his food and took a bite. “Mm... Not bad, Hatey. Not bad.”

“Ha! Told you food trucks were good!” “Yeah yeah, heh.” Change or no change, the skeletal lord would probably always be smug about being right. But whatever, that wouldn’t stop Awesome from enjoying his meal. Quickly, he took another, much bigger bite of his calzone, humming happily at the mix of anchovies and cheese.

Beside him sitting cross-legged, Hater was nearly finished with his meat lover’s calzone, and already eyeing the food truck and wondering if it would be worth it to buy another one. “You know, if we hadn’t left that rainbow club place before we got our fries, we wouldn’t be as hungry,” he complained.

“...Yeah man, I know,” Awesome admitted. He broke the remainder of his calzone in half and tossed one of the halves into his mouth.

“So then... Why did you want to leave?” Hater asked, his annoyed tone now replaced with a more curious one, “What, was it not cool enough for you?”

“Nah, it was pretty cool... It’s just- Look, I wasn’t- Ugh.” Awesome huffed. “Dude, it’s complicated, alright?”

“Oh yeah? How complicated?”

“...” The shark-man sighed. “Okay, okay... This is the first time I’ve really gone out since my epic fail of a comeback party, you know? So... Now when people see me, that’s the first thing the think about. First thing they talk about...”

“Then make them talk about something else,” Hater told him, “That shouldn’t be too hard. I mean, you did a pretty good job of doing it back at the arcade.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Awesome’s face at that. “Heh, yeah, I guess... But, one sweet performance on a DDR machine isn’t gonna fix my rep, bro. And like, I know it’s not gonna happen overnight, but...” He groaned again, moving his head back in frustration and fatigue. Opening up at the murky sky above, he stared at the few stars that dared to be bright enough to be seen in spite of the bright city lights.

“...Come on, Awesome,” Hater insisted, “What’s going on?” Awesome didn’t answer. “Ugh... If you’re worried about being called a loser or whatever because of what happened, then stop. Because it’s not going to happen. ...Remember all those months ago? When you first asked us to train you?”

“...Yeah,” Awesome eventually replied, though he still kept his head pointed up.

“Yeah, me too... And you said you wanted to get some power back, to stop feeling weak. Well, you’re doing that! You actually know how to fight now! You’re stronger, and Peepers even told me that you’re starting to run lava bot simulations without freaking out! So, yeah, if you’re think that you’re still the same fish-man that you were after that party, then knock it off. Cause you’re not, alright?”

“...Heh.” Awesome’s smile grew a bit. “Heck of a pep talk you give there, Hatey.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled back, though even he couldn’t help but smirk a bit, “So yeah... I mean, it’ll probably take forever but, people will forget about all that other stuff, you know?” It had happened before, Hater knew that first hand. So why couldn’t it happen to Awesome? “And then you can just, you know, show them how you are now! Stronger, better, and... Well, I GUESS still kinda cool and awesome.”

The shark-man chuckled. “...Thanks, man. And yeah, I know that things have changed. ...I know that I’ve changed. But... I dunno. Maybe that’s part of the problem...”

“...What do you mean?” Hater asked, confused yet concerned.

“I mean that... that it’s not just my rep that’s changed, or my fans, or even the whole Galaxy. It feels like my whole life is changing... And there’s nothin’ I can do to stop it. Sure I can try to get back in the game, be able to fight people for planets, maybe even manage to win people back, but...”

Hater scowled. “Awesome, just spit it out already! What are you talking about?!”

Silence fell between them. Awesome felt the last of his dish getting cold in his hand. He dropped it on his paper plate and crossed his arms, holding himself close.

“...’Let the party end. You’re never as cool as you think you are. Eventually people will leave. You can’t force them to stay, and you can’t keep it going on your own forever, otherwise you’ll just be stuck in the spotlight all alone. So just let the party end’... That’s what my dad told me that morning before I got back to the Skullship.”

“...” Hater could only stare at him. “Awesome... I, I don’t-”

Awesome choked back a laugh. “This has been my life for so long. For, like, forever! It’s the life I’ve wanted ever since I was crowned Emperor! Yeah, sure, maybe it wasn’t the greatest. Maybe I wasn’t the greatest, but it was still what I wanted! But now... Heh, now everything’s just so different and so flarped up. No matter what I do it’ll never be the same, and I don’t know which new parts are good and which are bad! ...I don’t know if I can keep living the life I wanted before, or if I even should. But... But if I shouldn’t, or can’t, then... then what the hell AM I supposed to do?!”

“...I...” That was all Hater could really say. Part of him suddenly wished Wander was there with them, if only because the nomad would surely know what to say to something like this. Even Sylvia would probably be better at this than he was.

“...So, yeah,” Awesome said after a moment, “Long story short, that’s what’s wrong... And it’s sorta what I’ve been hoping to forget about and why I was so desperate to have a night out. Tc’ch, guess that turned out well, huh?”

“Right...” Hater’s horns folded down. “...No offense but, that was sort of a jerky thing for your dad to say.”

Awesome’s expression didn’t change. “But he’s right, isn’t he?”

“...Not really.” Setting his plate down, Hater stretched his legs out, and looked up at the skies as well. “Sure, you shouldn’t party all the time but, there’s nothing really wrong with still partying some of the time, you know?”

The shark-man rolled his eyes. “Hater, that’s not-”

“I’m still me.” Awesome stopped, looking at him. “Yeah, I’m a ‘good guy’ or whatever now, but I definitely haven’t been Wanderized,” Hater told him, his voice quiet, yet still as confident as ever, “I’m still me. Still do what I want and try to get what I want, I just do it in a better way. That, and I try not to hurt people who don’t really deserve it. Which is waaay harder than you’d think, especially when people are annoying or huge jerks. But... It’s also usually worth it, I guess. I feel a lot happier now, but I don’t feel like my life is totally different. I’m just being me while doing different things. So... maybe that’s what you need to do too?”

“...Huh.” Awesome thought about it. And then, he smiled. Just a little. “You know what, Hater? You’re a pretty cool guy.”

Hater’s eyes widened slightly. “...You’re being serious, right? You, you’re not just saying that?”

“Heh, yeah man. I’m being totes serious.” Taking a deep breath, Awesome let himself actually sit on the ground, dirt and dust stains be darned. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re still sort of a dork - no offense. But... Your powers, all the stuff you’ve done, the guy you’ve become... I’ve gotta respect it. Heck, I’m actually sort of jealous-”

“Okay, now I know you’re lying!” Hater accused, raising an eyebrow, “You? Jealous of ME?” Sure, it’s something he’s always wanted, but-

“Believe it, bro,” Awesome nodded, “You’ve got a lot for people to truly be jealous of. A lot to be proud of. And, like, you did just take the time to try and cheer me up so, yeah. You’re pretty cool.”

“...Hmph. Yeah well, I still think you’re pretty cool too,” Hater mumbled.

The two smiled at each other. “Thanks, dude...” “Yeah. Whatever.”

Before continuing their night out, Hater did end up getting one more calzone, eating it as they walked down the city streets and passing by numerous stores and stops.

Awesome hummed, glancing over at a small make-up kiosk. “...Say, Hatey, you ever think about changing up your look a bit?”

“Hm, why? What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothin’! But there’s also nothing wrong with a bit of eye candy to catch a special girl or guy’s attention~”

Hater blinked. “Eye candy? But what do the Watchdogs ha-”

“Like, I could totally see you with some gold eyeshadow, bro,” Awesome grinned, “Gold goes great with green, so it’d match your eyes perfectly, helping them stand out even more! It’d also go with red, plus your horns, so it’s pretty much the perfect color for you. Though, I guess silver could work pretty well too.”

“Huh. I guess...” Though by this point, the skeletal lord wasn’t even looking at the kiosk.

“You could probably do some pretty cool stuff with eyeliner too. Add a bit of color, or even just some accents. Make your eyes sharper, you know?” His grin widened. “And you know, if you’re gonna get a new look for your face, you might as well go all out and get a new look for your bod too! So, what do you say we spend our last hour or so shopping around? Get us some new digs, see what works and-”

“Orrrrr we could do THIS instead!” Hater yelled, practically shoving a flyer he had found right in Awesome’s snout. Not having much of a choice, the former emperor quickly read it: Howard’s Hoverkartz trackz! Half price admission Tues. and Thurs.!

Awesome made a face. Hover go-karts? Really? But they could fly and race ACTUAL ships. And even if they couldn’t, he was certain the track would just be some dinky little thing with karts that barely went over twenty miles per hour. Ugh, it would be so weak! So lame! So-!

He looked back up at Hater, who was smiling as if he had just found the coolest and most fun thing ever. And soon enough, Awesome found himself mirroring that smile. “Heh. Sounds good to me.”

()()()()()()()()()()

It was a widely (yet reluctantly) accepted rule that everyone on the ship should be up by 7 am. Of course, there were still the stragglers and the ‘Five More Minutes’ers, but Peepers was more than happy to give them a personal wake-up call.

“Come on, come on! You all know the drill,” he told them firmly, ignoring the muttered comments and yawns of his troops. Once everyone was out of their little oven-beds and the Commander was satisfied, he then started to make his way towards his lord’s bedroom.

Of course Hater was totally excused from the 7AM rule, but Peepers still wanted to check up on him. And besides, there was still one private who needed to wake up...

According to the security camera footage, the two former enemies had been about an hour late getting in, though they had seemed to be in good spirits. Happy, rowdy and a bit loud, but not drunk at least. “And thank grop for that,” Peepers mumbled as he reached the door.

The commander knocked, but (as to be expected) there wasn’t an answer. Feeling a bit cautious now, Peepers slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

Awesome’s MP3 was sitting on Hater’s bedside table, quietly playing some pop song. There weren’t any Thunderblazz bottles or beer cans on the floor (another good sign) but there was Awesome, lying practically facedown in a pile of pillows and blankets while Hater (as well as Captain Tim who slept on Hater’s chest) took up the bed.

Peepers rolled his eye slightly. “Sir? Awesome? ...Hey, Private Awesome? Lord Hater?”

Both of them groaned slightly, sinking further into their respective beds before relaxing once again. Of course. Whatever they had done last night must have been exhausting in some regards. But, also satisfying... A truly fun night out, just like Awesome had promised.

“...You get half an hour,” Peepers quietly told the sleeping shark-man, his gaze softening a bit, “At most. And this is the last time you’re going to be allowed to sleep in on a work day, so enjoy it while it lasts.” And with that, the commander quietly shut the door, allowing the two new friends to just get a few more minutes of peaceful slumber.

THE END

((Heh, hope this was worth the wait! Also, it’s not part of the Awesome Arc, but Hater’s speech did end up relating to what he learned in another fic I wrote - “Better” - which is basically focused on Hater’s redemption and how he tries to work inside his new ‘hero status’ after saving the galaxy. So yeah, check it out if you’re interested, and thanks again for reading! ^v^))

#wander over yonder #emperor awesome #lord hater #oneshot #the awesome arc #my writing #fanfiction

17 notes · View notes