#honestly it is a joy to get to relive the magic with you guys

[egophiliac]

So part four of book 7 is coming out soon in English, and I'm really excited because that means I can finally go read your comics about it! It's one of my favorite parts of getting new parts of the game because Then I don't have to worry about spoilers lol

YESSSSSS sink further into episode 7 hell with me! I have saved you a seat right over here and have all the reactions lined up and waiting for you. >:D

also, I swear I mean this in a good way, for some reason this is exactly what popped into my head

I live but to serve 🤵

#art #I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS IN ENG!!!!!! #literally every part is its own particular flavor of absolutely wild and i am SO enjoying it #honestly it is a joy to get to relive the magic with you guys #i've just remembered what part 4 is and i'm like :D :D :D :D :D #auuuugh there is so much i want to say but i cannot #(i know spoilers are impossible to avoid in this fandom but still) #(some of you are wizards who dodge every spoiler like an ant in a microwave and i am not powerful enough to interfere with that)

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

More Omega Appreciation

It's no surprise that I love Omega, I make that pretty apparent. After all, she's my sweet bean, my little sunshine. I adore everything about her. In fact, I'd put her in my top 10 fave characters because of the impact she's had on me. But what makes her so endearing?

To me, it's her hope and compassion for others. Omega is full of life and wonder. Every situation she's thrown into, Omega takes with full stride. I remember falling in love with her in the first few episodes of season 1 when she goes to Saleucami. I think most of us want to go back and relive childhood where everything new was exciting and magical. And while she's certainly matured over the course of this series, there's still so much wonder in her. We can call it filler, but don't deny how adorable Omega is when Phee tells her stories. The way Omega lights up around others and new situations is adorable and makes her incredibly likable.

I'll go back to my point about her hope and compassion. Omega truly sees the beauty and strength in others, no matter who they are. Where Hunter is always distrustful of Cid (and rightly so), Omega still tries to help her. Yes, Omega is child and she is naive, but I still find her traits endearing. With Batcher, she believes in the hound's strengths to survive even with Hemlock trying to tell her otherwise.

But the most important character that Omega's kindness touches in my opinion is Crosshair. She never gives up on him even though she could. All throughout her imprisonment on Tantiss, Omega keeps her hope alive. Not a day goes by that she doesn't look for a way out. Crosshair, however, has given up. Everything that's happened to him has broke his spirit. But then Omega shows up and the fight is put back into him. Throughout the entire show, Omega continues to believe in the goodness that Crosshair has within him. She's always the one to reach out to him. I love that about her. I feel that we need more people like her in the world. It's so easy to not care about something or dismiss someone who might have differing opinion. But Omega teaches us that a little kindness and persistence can go a long way. I honestly do see so much of myself in her as a result.

I don't get personal on here, but I'll just say that there are times in my life where I've been put in Crosshair's position. I've felt trapped in my own Tantiss. Yet, there was always an Omega in my life trying to help. Omega, to me, represents the pure love and hope that people, especially family, can have for each other. No matter how dark things get, she keeps fighting and hoping. She never gives up on her family.

She is the emotional core of "The Bad Batch." It's through Omega that the Batch begin to see life in a different lens. They realize that they don't have to be soldiers. They begin to grow in different ways. Tech and Crosshair become more emotionally vulnerable around her. Hunter and Echo become more paternal. And Wrecker gets to let out his inner child more around her. She shows them new ways to love and care for one another.

I hope sweet bean never loses her endearing traits by the end of show. Sure, she will have gained more life experience, but that light she carries better stay alive. It's so important. It's one of her best features and it leaves an impact on those around her. The Batch are lucky to have Omega in their lives. Guys, if you have an Omega figure, someone who's filled with love and joy and always supports you, give them an extra tight hug.

I'll get off my soap box now, but she is truly one of the best Star Wars characters to come out in recent years.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb omega #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #omega appreciation #michelle ang #i love my little bean so much #she truly is incredible #i feel that with all the darkness in the world right now #we could all use an omega to turn on the light

[hypexion]

It’s time for some season three Miraculous Ladybug thoughts. Now there’s more emotional trauma, extra convoluted secrets, new shocking twists and the same old Hawk Moth failures. Also there’s a worrying uptick of “stand around doing nothing while someone is akumatized“. In one case, Hawk Moth is literally right there! But I digress.

Marinette: After two seasons of the Adrien crush being a barely concerning issue, Marinette has finally slid into full-blown obsession. Which I suppose is a direction a character can go in, even if it’s a lot dumb. This dire shift in behavior is mostly targeted at Kagami, who has done literally nothing wrong. Indeed, Kagami even joins the crowd of people telling Marinette to get it together, blissfully unware that she’s in a superhero show, meaning Marinette simply cannot. The whole Adrien thing even bleeds into her Ladybug side, leading her to accidentally pour more problems onto him when she gives him the Snake Miraculous. Then after three seasons of Adrien pining, Marinette ends up with Luka. Which is perhaps for the better, since she can actually have a conversation with him.

Adrien: Someone get this boy some therapy. And away from his wretched excuse for a father. Now, I’m not saying it’s certain that Adrien’s need for approval caused him to spend months reliving the same five minutes in an attempt to impress Ladybug, just that it’s probably a contributing factor. Either way, the whole Aspik thing seems like it wouldn’t be good for anyone. However, Adrien’s only route for therapy is Plagg, who in spite of his occationally noble intentions, isn’t really enough. Consider the deeply worrying implications of Gabriel being suprised that there’s only joy in his home before continuing.

Also there is now an evil british version of Adrien which is hilarious. Somehow Felix being introduced in the episode after Chat Blanc makes it even more absurb, given the constrast between “abused child destroys France“ and “Adrien’s evil coustwin“.

Kagami: A new hero appears! Then she immediately leaks her identity to Hawk Moth. Kagami somehow appears to lead a sadder and lonelier life than Adrien, which means for a moment, Tomoe Tsurugi manages to come off as a worst parent that Literal Supervillain Gabriel Agreste. Eventually, however, Marinette gets over herself long enought to share the wonderful Friendship with Kagami. But is it just Friendship? Since that icecream scene reads less like “will Marinette choose Friendship or Love“ and more like “does Marinette love Adrien... or Kagami!?“. (It’s just Friendship since Kagami was clearly going to be paired with Adrien from her introductory episode.)

Luka: A new hero appears! You can tell Luka will be a better user of the Snake Miraculous than Adrien because Viperion’s costume doesn’t suck. I’m sorry, but it’s true. As secondary love interests go, he’s very much there, being a creative type to go with the creative type Marinette. Also is it just me or is his skin weirdly flat and smooth? There’s just something about him that just doesn’t look quite right.

Chloé: Who could have guessed that letting Chloé get away with her behavior with no negative consequences would itself have negative consequences? Truly her descent into villainy could not be forseen, not because it’s a sudden turn in her character, but rather the whole plotline needed an extra episode or two of setup somewhere. Now, don’t get me wrong here - Chloé is clearly a bad person, it’s just that there are some steps missing between “tears up a picture“ and “joins the baddies“. Honestly, Hawk Moth’s entire plan with the Bee Miraculous was really stupid and risky, since Chloé could have decided to prove she didn’t need Ladybug by immediately hitting Mr. Moth with her venom ability and taking his Miraculous. He should have pre-loaded it will an Akuma at the very least.

Lila: The other thing I knew about Miraculous Ladybug going in was that Lila exists and a lot of people hated her. Which is something I now understand, although she honestly comes off more as a malevolent narrative force than an actual character. Plus she’s only a threat because everyone seems to think “[She’s] not dangerous, she just craves attention“, ignoring that Lila’s need for attention is what makes her dangerous. She basically coasts on people’s underestimation of her, until she exploits Marinette’s seemingly irrational vendetta against her to “win“ the “war“ that only exists in Lila’s head. Although maybe Marinette should have put some effort into doing anything about the person who nearly got her skewered by Oni-chan instead of harassing Kagami. Can’t really complain about people with only in-universe knowledge thinking Marinette is reacting to Lila and Kagami for the same reasons, especially as to most people, it’s Lila who is nice and personable while Kagami is prickly and mean.

From a more meta perspective, Lila seems somewhat redundant if Chloé is still around and now an antagonist to both Marinette and Ladybug. If Chloé was actually trying to be a better person, Lila could slot into the role of “mean to Marinette“, but in a more subtle way. Alternatively, Lila could be a “reverse Chloé“ who hates Ladybug but who actually wants to be friends with Marinette for whatever reason. As it is now, Lila could probably be excised from every episode that isn’t Volpina, since the whole “frame Marinette“ thing could be done be Chloé, and the whole “Gabriel gets someone to spy on his son“ thing could also be done by Chloé.

Master Fu: Local boy accidentally destroys Ancient Order. Or rather, Ancient Order destroys itself by giving local boy access to powerful magic items. Yes, it turns out Master Fu’s dubious infosec is because he wasn’t a true Guardian, and also that the Guardians are idiots. I really can’t think of another reason why they’d use a real Miracle Box containing the most powerful Miraculous as part of a training exercise. Did they really think that no acolyte would ever be tempted by the powers of the Miraculous? Having ruined Fu’s life, the Guardians manage to flip him off one more time by erasing his memories when he gives up the Miracle Box. Seems like that would cause more problems than it solves.

Gabriel: But what if the worst parent in Paris could sink to even lower depths? With strong competition from both Audrey and Tomoe, Gabriel needs to step up to keep his trophy, by destroying his son’s relationship just so he can akumatize a heartbroken Marinette. Then when it doesn’t work, he akumatizes his own son. He also sends Akumas after teenagers he doesn’t like, flips out when Adrien suggests he might be moving on from his dead* wife, and is now performing his post-defeat rants to his comatose wife. At this point, he’d probably be more successful if he got Nathalie to akumatize him immediately after Ladybug and Chat Noir win.

Hawk Moth: Starting to feel creeped out by just how many of this guy’s plans revolve around teenaged girls. Sure, the genre of “teenage superheroes“ means he’ll be akumatizing a lot of them, but still. He launches a harassment campaign against Chloé, is a little too exicited to akumatize Marinette, and hires Lila to basically be his minion, then apparently starts calling her his muse. Perhaps if he spent less time using teenagers as chess pieces and more time review which Amukas were good and which weren’t, he’d actually succeed at things.

Speaking of success, Hawk Moth finally finds Master Fu and seizes the Miracle Box. Then instead of taking it home and finding a non-deadly Miraculous for Nathalie, he proceeds to give it to Miracle Queen then lose it. As a pity prize, he at least gets the translated grimoire, which allows him to fix the Peacock Miraculous. Now he can accompany every useless Akuma with a Sentimonster, instead of just Reflekta.

Mayura: If I had a Miraculous that slowly killed me when I used it, I would simply not use it unless I literally had no other option. Nathalie thinks differently, and uses the Peacock Miraculous for great plans such as “bring back Reflecta and give her a robot“ and “fail to convince Chloé to join you“. Not only does Mayura fail to achieve anything, the damage to her body means that the actually good plan of “let’s just do Scarlet Moth again“ fails. It would probably be tragic if it weren’t so stupid.

#miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Wet Sugar” [Part 26 of 30]

Summary: Erik and Yani’s time comes to an end...

NSFW. Mature. Smut.

"Every morning, every evening

Oh love, love, love, love, loving you

I can hear you when you're calling

Oh, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon

Take me with you

Take me with you

You'll break my heart and soul

If you left me behind

Take me with you

Take me with you

Don't want to stay around when you're gone…"

Blundetto Meets Booker Gee—"Take Me With You"

Yani dropped Erik off at the compound after ten in the morning. He stood in front of the compound gate and allowed the retina scan to gain him access onto the property. Meandering down the walkway to the main house, he ran into Jerome who dangled precariously close to the end of a tree branch hanging over the middle house roof. The iguana's eyes were shut tight in a peaceful looking pose, and Erik took a moment to watch the creature snooze in the sunlight.

To think his woman adored that overgrown lizard.

"Jerome."

Erik called the reptile's name and Jerome opened one eye.

"Lazy ass," Erik said.

Jerome closed his eye again and ignored him.

Erik thought about taking a swim in the cove but decided to sit and meditate on the balcony overlooking the sea. Climbing the stairs, he saw Linda sitting on a lounger holding a mug of coffee up to her lips. Dressed in a beach robe with her wet hair jumbled about her head, she turned to look at Erik.

He gave a deep sigh. He was not prepared to see her again.

Their conversation the night before was uncomfortable for him. When Yani told Erik that Linda was in love with him, he scoffed at the idea. Linda? In love with him? She was a woman with a sex drive as high as his, and she often stayed out late sowing her wild oats like him. He knew she liked him, respected him, trusted him…but love?

Thinking on it, he knew she still had the hots for him, but that was because he put that thang on her so long ago and it was only natural that she'd want to have sex with him again if she could. He did enjoy it…for what it was. Just sex. He had no deep affection for her because his heart had already made a connection to Yani.

He should've been stronger, more discerning with where he laid his pipe. Hooking up with Linda had been a flippant mistake on his part. He assumed that she was a confident woman who played the field too. She had fucked him while she had a man and didn't regret it. Allowed Erik to humiliate her boyfriend in another country. He had no clue that her wanting to sleep with him on different occasions was her way of showing love for him. He thought it was just lust and horniness. Boredom from the other mercs and not having access to other men while they were stuck in various places doing the bidding of Klaue. If Yani hadn't been in the picture, he and Linda would probably be fuck buddies as well as colleagues. But love? Nah.

Perhaps her drinking too much all the time was a way for her to cope with his lack of interest in her. She could be hard to read. Perhaps her overconfidence and need to one-up the other mercs was her way of trying to impress him. Make him notice her more. She acted like Yani was beneath her and made fun of him when he came back from trysts with his woman.

To see her so upset in the kitchen of the middle house, her eyes blazing with anger and jealousy, was a sight to behold. It was a complete crack in her façade.

He knew what Yani said was true when he went to get his overnight bag and he found Linda crying on the balcony, her chest heaving and her eyes shiny with tears. He had never seen that woman emotional like that before. Didn't even know her powerful aura could even shed tears. She held her own with the deadly male company, her brilliant mind a joy for him to tangle with during their free time together. Nothing about her was ever soft with him and so he treated her like one of the guys at all times. To see her weeping because of Yani threw him.

"I wish you looked at me the way you look at her."

That's what she said when he tried to slip away with Yani.

He took the plunge and sat next to her.

"I tried to play it cool with you, Killmonger. I thought that's what you liked about me. I thought…I thought we had so much in common. I thought you would see me as something more…"

He let her talk. Tried to be a good listener.

"I didn't know," he finally said.

"You know how to read people so well, but you couldn't see how I felt about you?"

"We work for Klaue. He takes so much energy to keep up with. Maybe I just didn't want to see that. Or even deal with that. I don't feel that way about you. I'm not looking for that right now."

"I'm just one of the guys…"

"Yeah."

"I tried to play it that way for a long time. But those nights together in South Africa…before the raid…shit. As wild as it sounds, those were some of the best nights of my life. Talking under the stars all night. Arguing about shit in front of the fireplace and drinking so much together. Laughing so hard with you. Watching bad movies together. I thought of us as friends and then I just…wanted more. I should've told you then, but I thought we'd have time here to relive that magic like we had in South Africa. But once I got here, I realized that you wouldn't be with me like that. And then when Neal said you were fucking her…"

She wept and Erik could only sit and listen to her. No words of comfort came to him except sincere apologies for not loving her.

Staring at her on the lounger in the morning light, her eyes looked better. Less red and less puffy.

"Hey," he said. He sat next to her again.

She sipped from her mug.

"Back early," she whispered.

"A lot to do today before y'all head out."

"Yeah. I'm not sure if the Sweden adventure is a good fit for me."

"You quitting the team?"

"Doesn't seem to be a good idea since our misunderstanding."

Her head bowed down and she stared at her coffee mug.

"I acted a fool last night. None of the guys will take me seriously again. They'll look at us like a soap opera."

"It's a four-unit team now. Limbano and Klaue don't care—"

"But I do."

Her eyes regarded him with deadly seriousness.

"I love you. I can't change that, Killmonger. Yani saw through me like an open book and I was so pissed at her. She apologized for the fact that you didn't love me. Ain't that some shit? Apologized to me. That's fucking rich…"

"You're a big girl, Linda. You can work around feelings—"

"I can't. Not when it comes to you. Best to leave the team. Keep the drama at bay."

Erik felt the itch of panic in his belly. They needed Linda. It was too late to vet a new hacker or even a new team member. Tahir wasn't available. None of the other mercs were trustworthy.

"Yani is just a distraction for me."

"Liar."

"I made a mistake mixing business and pleasure with you. That's on me. I've had other women on this island too. You ain't the only one out there getting it in."

"Don't play me, Killmonger. You love that girl—"

"I love fucking her. Pussy too good to turn down. It's there when I want it. Think I'm gonna pass that up? She was just showing off yesterday. Tryna get a rise outta you because you always dog her out. And you fell for it. I got a million things to deal with that are far more important. Like getting this C.I.A. money. Getting into Wakanda so I can ghost this life."

Erik prayed that his words would get through to her.

Linda gazed out at the water.

"You don't see yourself when you're around her."

"The fuck that mean?"

"You glow—"

"Girl, please—"

"You do. Look like a big ole puppy—"

"Shut up."

She laughed.

"You're not a good liar. So stop trying to convince me otherwise."

"When we get to Sweden, you'll see how ridiculous you sound right now. Good pussy will make any nigga glow. You didn't see me shining with you after I hit it?"

Linda stood up.

"Good luck with Wakanda—"

Erik grabbed her arm and pulled her back down next to him. Klaue would rake him over the coals if this woman left them.

"You never said anything to me, Linda. How am I supposed to know your true feelings when you don't say shit? We gotta keep focused on the job at hand. We need you. Don't fuck up a fortune. You smarter than that."

"It's not easy for me. I'm not this person. But here I am."

"Do the job. Make these coins, Ma."

"I can't—"

"Please."

He pulled her into his chest and let his lips nuzzle her neck. Her body shuddered against him.

"I can't even look at you without wanting to cry. And I hate it. Fucking hate it. I'm better than this."

"I know you are."

She pushed back from him and he pulled her even closer.

"I can't force myself to be where you are. Don't hold that against me. It's not fair. I need you. I need your skills. You'll love being a multi-millionaire more than you love me, I promise."

She laughed into his neck.

"Come with me," he pleaded.

He stressed the word "me". Not "us" or "the team". He had to make it about them. Corral her into his control. She was making it hard. Linda had pride and she was so damn stubborn.

He ran his fingers up and down her back. Her robe loosened up and he stuck his hand inside the material so that his hand touched her side. She was naked underneath and her sighs from his touch danced in his ears.

"Killmonger…don't…."

His hand dipped lower and rubbed her hip.

"Don't be stupid girl. I'm 'bout that work. Always have been."

His fingers rested in the cleft of her thigh and hip, dangerously close to dipping down…

Linda pressed her face into his chest, her breath hot on his shirt.

"Okay," she whispered.

Erik's eyes closed with relief.

"We'll have fun in Sweden like we did in South Africa. Maybe you'll open your mouth and talk to me honestly for a change?"

"Whatever," she said pulling her robe tighter together.

He walked a fine line of manipulation. Gave her enough to draw her in, but not enough to commit to anything with her.

"I'm so embarrassed about everything."

"Who cares? Forget it. It's done. We'll be gone from here and it won't matter."

"My feelings won't change."

"That's all you, Ma. I told you my position. You packed up?"

"Yep. Bags in the S.U.V. Separate flight times and airline carriers confirmed."

"Cool."

He stood up.

"I'ma take a nap. See you at departure?"

"Yeah."

She sank back into the lounger and curled her legs under herself. She looked a whole lot better. Relieved.

Erik strolled into his room and after he locked the door he jumped on his bed and covered his face with a pillow. Fuck. So close to losing her over some bullshit. He texted Yani with his cell.

Will contact you soon when everyone is gone.

###

"Dat's mi fuckin' friend, we is trouble!"

Yani was loud and grabbing onto her friend Lesonne's arm as she screeched out words to a group of women who tried to provoke a fight with Yani's other friend Milah. She spilled a little of her rum drink on her white pants as she swayed against her other girlfriends Aisha and Caypri. From the side of her eye, she saw Erik at the bar stirring his glass of brown liquor as he spoke to the male bartender leaning over to listen to him.

Since she didn't have to drive, Yani decided to drink to her heart's content. She was so ready to hear Kendall perform live. The audience was bigger, the venue was bigger, and his popularity had grown to greater heights since his travels to Florida and New York. He had quit his gardening job with Klaue and moved into an apartment with two other rappers, finally getting his very own bed to sleep in. He no longer rode his motorcycle since he now had a new car to tool around in. Nothing too flashy, a two-year-old red Honda S2000. It was enough to make Kendall feel like he had arrived.

The boisterous women who had the nerve to accost Milah for looking at one of them a little too hard peeped Yani's whole crew, including Twyla who arrived on the scene late with her newest boyfriend. They hesitated to go any further with their backchat. Flouncing away with her girls, Yani tossed her empty drink and headed out to the dance floor and joined her cousin Dulan in swinging hips and throwing up party hands. She kept an eye on the bar as Erik was approached by different women. He was engaging but focused on his liquor and his view of the stage where Kendall would perform.

Yani danced with her friends among a group of men who tried to show off for them. Two were from St. Croix and Yani was stuck with a Trini who wanted to talk her ear off asking questions about Kendall. She eased off the floor and stood to the side to watch the action. Tapping her left heel with her arms folded across her chest, she enjoyed the gyrating bodies.

"Booty out here jiggling."

She felt Erik ease behind her, his right hand caressing her waist and pulling her back against him.

"I'm not even dancing, hush."

"It don't take much to make them yams bounce, Ma."

He kissed the side of her face and she reached up and stroked his new locs. She thrust her backside against him and he eased back.

"Nah, you not getting me in trouble right now."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the floor with her and he held his drink above her head with his left hand.

Yani felt up his chest while enjoying the stares of others as Erik let her nails rake up and down his pecs that strained against a white cotton shirt. They both agreed to wear all white and her own form-fitting pants and shirt complemented his outfit. The lights of the club made them glow on the dance floor.

Erik sipped on his drink and watched her bring back old dancehall moves, her butterfly a bit raunchy for the crowd. Her friends swarmed around them making the affair more hyped. The energy in the room was high octane and so ready for good live music. Erik finished his drink, tossed the cup, and moved them deeper into the dance mix.

Her eyes took in Erik's face and the happiness she saw there made her spirit burst. The man could dance his ass off and entwining her fingers with his made her feel possessive of him. When dub mixes came on, she usually left the dance floor, but Erik made her appreciate dancing to the dank sounds, especially when she rubbed up against him and he matched her move for move. Winding on him, he gripped her hips and let the room see how he handled all of her. She noticed a lot of women watching him work her body over with dreamy expressions on their faces. There were a lot of stone faces from the men though.

They touched one another openly as they danced, and several times she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him while they swayed.

"Having fun?" he asked after releasing her lips.

"Mmmhmm."

She shook her hips and he slapped her butt playfully before pulling her close again and lifting her off of her feet to swing her around in another direction.

She couldn't keep her eyes off of him, nor could she stop touching him. His hands rested on her lower back as she gazed up at his face. His eyes darted about taking in the couples on the floor and his dimples flashed whenever she squeezed on his ass. He smelled so good that she constantly nuzzled her face into his neck so that her nose could take in his scent.

"Why you keep licking on me?" he asked.

Her tongue flicked along his neck and he leaned back from her.

"Tickles…" he whispered.

He lowered his mouth to hers and they kissed for the thousandth time that night.

"Hey, Killmonger…"

The woman's breathy voice caught Yani's ear as Erik released his mouth from hers and swiveled his neck to see who was talking to him on the dance floor.

"Still around I see," the woman said.

Yani sized her up.

She was only a few inches taller than Yani, a yellow-brown gyal with cat eyes and wanton lips. The woman danced with her man, but her moves were for Erik. Big titties… way bigger than Yani's…were thrust out for the world to see and her hips were made for men like him. Yani didn't like the way the woman licked her lips at Erik before her eyes fluttered to see what he had on his arm. She recognized Yani but chose to act like she wasn't there.

"Harlee," Erik said.

His tone made Yani's lips scrunch up with annoyance.

He had fucked that woman and it had been good to him.

"Tend to yuh man," Yani said to her with some attitude.

Harlee smiled and Erik pulled Yani closer into him.

"No disrespect, Black Mermaid," Harlee said.

Yani sucked her teeth and Erik slapped her butt.

"Stop being mean," he said.

Harlee moved with her partner further behind some other dancers.

"Her meant disrespect. She didn't have to say one word while I'm here."

"Chill—"

"Waving her titties in yuh face. She letting me know she fucked my man to get mi vex."

"Girl, stop."

"For true, man. But me nuh vex. For real. She rude. Yuh rude! Frog face, bitch!"

Yani felt spittle fly from her lips. Erik only smirked and twirled her around.

"Thought you had taste," she teased.

"She not ugly. Don't tell that lie."

"She not cute."

"You trippin."

"Step your game up. Yuh suck them titties good?"

Dimples. Big pearly white teeth flashed at her.

"Yuh did. That's the only thing cute on her."

Yani was amazed that she could joke about a woman he had sex with, but the way Erik held her let her know it was so long ago and probably a one and done hook up. She just wanted to be petty and he let her.

"You were still being mean to me when I got with her."

She caressed his chest again and he ran his fingers up and down her spine.

The movement on stage let the patrons know it was about to be showtime. Erik clasped Yani's hand and led her back to the bar where the best view was while Yani's friends headed to the left of the stage.

Posted up against the bar counter, Yani leaned into Erik, his hard body supporting her frame. She turned around to hug him a bit and his right hand drifted down to grip her right butt cheek. He rubbed it knowing people were watching, thirsty locals wishing they were in his place and squeezing soft handfuls of the Black mermaid. She tilted her head up and puckered her lips. Erik lowered his head and their lips touched. Yani slipped her tongue in his mouth and felt dizzy tasting cognac. His fingers rested on the cleft of her ass. She tried to keep her tongue in his mouth but his lips traveled up her neck and he nibbled on her earlobe.

"You 'gon take care of Daddy tonight?" he whispered.

"All night," she sighed.

"You 'gon sit that fat pussy on my dick all night?"

Yani's lips quirked and she felt her eyes water. His words were hot in her ear making the nerves tingle from his breath. Erik's hand dropped down and cupped her mound. He didn't care who saw him do it. The tips of his pointer and index finger tapped against the outline of her opening.

"…get you all wet wet. Let Daddy fuck you in your ass?"

"Oomph…Killmonger…"

His fingertips pressed a little too deep into her slit and she felt like she was about to cum in front of everyone. His soft taps along her pussy lips had her wiggling on his hand.

She could feel her clit thumping with his tongue dipping into her ear.

The lights on the stage flashed and the music switched to Kendall's "Fiyahbun". Yani's voice filled the entire club as they heard her sing the chorus. A big grin spread across her lips as she saw Erik giving serious appreciative stank face to the thunderous bass carrying her voice all around everyone. A few patrons stared at her as they sang along with her vocals. Yani twisted around to face the stage as she listened to the new remixed version of the song.

"Baby, you sound wavy as fuck," Erik shouted above the music.

"Queen Mary, ah where you 'gon burn? Queen Mary, ah, where you 'gon burn?"

Yani moved her neck in time to her own voice, impressed with the new version.

"Queens don't vibe, hear me now? With no fuck niggas!"

She felt Erik moving his hips dancing to the song. He gripped her waist and rocked into her as she let her ass cheeks rub against him in time to the music.

"Shit is dope," Erik whispered into her ear.

There was something epic about swaying with her man to her own song. The heat from his mouth on her ear had her turned on all the way. She wanted him to drag her to the car and fuck her in the backseat while listening to her voice in surround sound crooning to him.

The speed of her voice was slowed down in reverb creating a haunting sound as Kendall took to the stage. So much swag. So much confidence. So much command of the stage. Yani felt like his first performance over a year ago where he had an anxiety attack and almost vomited on himself was a fuzzy memory. The young man controlling the stage and audience now was acting like a seasoned professional while her voice backed him.

"Queen Mary…fiyahbun…fiyahbun…fiyahbun…"

Her voice seduced the audience and Yani stood still watching the crowd react to her singing as Kendall rapped a few bars on top of her lyrics. Kendall had asked her to perform live with him, but she wanted this night to be about him.

The last echoes of her voice faded as the live band behind him fired up and played the intro to his latest track. A mash-up of all the sounds they grew up with as children. There was nothing like live musicians feeding into the energy of their vocalist, and Kendall gave them all a taste of his true vocal prowess. He sang the chorus himself and his backup singers, top-shelf beauties who swayed in sync behind him, backed him up smoothly as the funky sounds reached a crescendo.

"Your cousin done come up!" Erik shouted.

"Mmmhmmm, him choice. He ah star now!"

Kendall's set was a glorious triumph and Yani felt so proud of her cousin. She hooted and hollered for him along with everyone else and when he finished, Yani knew for certain he was going to make it big. The charisma and talent and star power were right there in front of everyone.

A new performer took to the stage and Yani clung to Erik's arm as it wrapped around her chest holding her close. The seductive female vocalist put everyone into a sexy state of mind after Kendall's fiery intro and Yani arched her back and thrust her backside against Erik once more.

"Stop teasing'…" he whispered trying to ignore her ass by being still.

The crowd around them was busy holding up cell phones to capture the performers on stage and Yani felt bold bouncing her thickness on him openly.

"Yani—"

His left arm pulled her tighter against him.

Her mouth formed a tight "Oh" expression when his right hand slipped down into her pants, bypassing her panties. She gripped his arm in a panic as his fingers dipped into her slick opening.

"That's what you get for teasing me. I'ma play in this pussy now…"

Yani tried to squirm away from his hold, but he clutched her in a solid embrace, his fingers wiggling against her walls.

"People can see…"

"Think I care?"

Yani's eyes swept to her left. One man around Erik's age was the only person not watching the stage, his horny eyes glued to Erik's fingers turning her out.

Erik's teeth gripped the sensitive tip of her ear. Yani panted, her eyes darting about. Only the stranger to her left was paying attention to their public debauchery.

"A man is watching—"

"Let him."

Her eyes tracked back over to her left and the stranger's lips were pursed, his eyes fully taking in all the pleasure she was receiving. When Erik's fingers flicked her clit, Yani's body jerked back and her mouth flew open again. Her eyes latched onto the stranger's and the illicit connection made her pussy pulse around Erik's fingers. She widened her thighs and Erik went deeper and she moaned much to the stranger's own pleasure at watching her. The man's right hand held a drink, and he let it drop down in front of the clear bulge that poked out in front of his pants. He tried to be sly about it, but Yani could tell he was rubbing himself while watching her get fingered.

Tight circles teased her hard clit and when she felt the uncontrollable release of her orgasm clutching Erik's fingers when he inserted them once more into her gushy slit, the stranger's eyes closed tight.

"Jesus, man…yuh killing me…" she hissed.

Erik pulled his sticky fingers from her pants and grabbed her hand. She straggled behind him as he guided her out of the venue and to Klaue's S.U.V.

Erik opened the back-passenger door of the car and helped her get in. He jumped in after her.

Pulling down his pants and boxers to his ankles, she could see his rock-hard erection waiting for her. She kicked off her heels, pulled off her pants and panties for him and crawled onto his lap.

"Ride this dick."

He held her up by her waist and she lined her wet opening with his tip.

"Fuck yes!" he shouted when she slid down to his balls.

They had the car bouncing with their fucking and Yani couldn't stop squealing when held her still and pounded his dick up into her hard and fast.

"Lemme cum in your pussy—"

"No—"

"Why not…oh shit…pussy wet as fuck…fuck…Yani…I wanna cum in this pussy—"

"Cum in my mouth. Mi wahn see the rest of the show…yuh fill mi pussy up too much…ooh love…right there…I feel it deep…shit…yuh soak my panties up and I'll be a mess all night."

Erik grabbed her throat.

"I'ma bust in this fat pussy—"

Yani pushed on his chest.

"Killmonger…don't—"

"Pussy too good baby…"

He choked her tighter.

"Don't… mi nuh wahn walk around with soggy pants."

Erik burst out laughing and released her throat. She lifted off of his dick while he kept laughing.

"For real, man. Yuh like ah volcano. Cum heavy…then it flows back down."

"You don't like it?"

"I love it… at home."

He kissed her and she stroked his length.

"Too much," she whispered.

His eyes regarded her with humor until her thumb circled around the fat head of his glans.

"Let's go home," he said.

She rolled her eyes.

"Open your mouth."

Yani shifted next to him and put her face down by his tip. She let him tap his dick on her lips before she separated them for him.

He had her slurping on his dick while he cradled her head. She moved to her knees in front of him, head steady bobbing. He hit the back of throat roughly and she released his length to catch her breath and rest her mouth.

"I make too much cum?"

His thumb toyed with her wet lips and Yani nibbled the tips of his fingers before dropping her head back down to his lap.

His eyes burned into hers as she sucked around his frenulum. The tip of her tongue teased his slit. Playing with her nipples through her shirt, Erik closed his eyes.

"You should let me soak them panties…"

She groaned on his dick and he let the back of his head fall on the headrest.

"You know how to take all my cum…lick my balls…"

Her face lowered further and she suckled each nut sack for him.

"Yeah…put those balls all in your mouth…"

She sucked, licked, kissed, and fisted his erection until he lifted her back up and made her ride his dick in reverse. He squeezed her breasts and thrust up into her.

"I just want to hit it a little bit more…fuck this pussy right…get you ready for more later…"

The loud sound of him slapping his body into hers filled the car. She threw her head back and took it, the build-up of a new orgasm tightening the nerves in her clit that was feeling the strong tugs from his pounding. She loved what he was doing to her. She loved the liquor still coursing through her. She loved it so much that it made her mouth reckless.

"You fuck Linda like this?"

He slowed down.

"What…why would you ask…"

Her mind thought of her and Erik on the dance floor together, all the eyes of the other women watching him, watching his tight body rub against her front and back. She liked the longing she saw. All that desire. It was the same look Linda had on her face, and Yani wanted him to remember her pussy that had him begging to cum in it. Linda wanted what she had, and Yani wanted Linda's sex with Killmonger wiped from his mind.

"Answer me."

"Nah."

"Whose pussy yuh wahn cum in?"

His moans thrilled her ears and the hard needy gasps he emitted every few seconds let her know he was desperate to spurt inside of her.

"Yours girl…yours…," he grunted.

She leaned forward and shifted her weight. Erik shouted and slapped her rump.

"Godammit! Bounce on that dick!"

"She nuh give it to yuh like this?"

She slowed down and flexed her walls around him, doing her best to hold his erection as tight as she could.

"Fuck her, Yani…stop talking 'bout—"

"This be yuh pussy forever, hear me? No one love mi like yuh do, man. No one…"

"Yani…"

Erik stroked the back of her neck. She turned around to bounce on him face to face. Her wrists draped around the back of his neck.

"Love me always, Killmonger?"

"Yes."

Wet kisses joined them together even more and she leaned her face against his as he held her tight giving her everything he could in the backseat of the vehicle.

"I'ma cum…lemme cum in you, baby."

Yani sat still and just let her pussy muscles work Erik's thickness.

"I told you I wahn see the show."

"You betta lift up then cuz my balls are tight and I'ma—"

"Hold it—"

"Girl…the fuck…I can't just—"

"I wahn feel your dick all thick and juicy in this pussy—"

"Yani…I'm fuckin' serious…you betta—"

"Big dick…all in your fat pussy—"

Erik's eyes rolled back and he lifted Yani up from his dick. Her labia rested on his length as a hot lava flow of cum shot all over his chest and dripped down to her mound drenching them both.

Erik fell back against the seat gasping and stared down at the semen overflow. He touched his shirt.

"Damn, I messed up my shirt," he said.

Yani glanced down at his lap and lifted up. She felt his semen pooling under her ass. She gave a big sigh and stared back at him.

"Hey, I didn't cum inside you, so don't blame me for what happens outside your pussy."

The smirk on his face made her giggle and slap his chest.

"Guess we're going home after all," he said reaching for his pants.

###

They picked up Sydette from her parents.

Since they had left the club so early, there was no point waiting until morning to get her. Yani held her sleeping daughter in her arms as Erik drove them to the compound. She took a deep breath when they walked into Klaue's main house.

"You alright?" he asked.

She nodded.

They were back in their home again.

It was Klaue's property, but only the three of them made the house a real home.

Erik showered first and while he dressed in clean loungers, Sydette woke up and walked out of her room looking for Yani. Erik watched her while Yani showered, and instead of the nasty sex he thought he would have with Yani again, the three of them piled onto the bed together.

Sydette slept between them and Erik just stared at Yani's face as they watched one another. It felt good to have them both back with him.

He had food prepared for their last two days together. The next day would be a cove day and swimming with sunbathing. The following day had even more chill around the house time until he had to fly out. He planned a surprise birthday party for the three of them. He would miss both their birthdays again, so he wanted to have a celebration to end his time there.

Yani's eyes watched him so intensely that he reached out and stroked her cheek. She didn't want to sleep. So afraid he would suddenly disappear probably. They held hands on the bed until Sydette half woke up and crawled onto his chest, her head resting under his neck. Yani tried to pull her back between them but Sweet Pea whined until Erik made Yani leave her alone. Yani stroked her daughter's shoulder until she dozed off herself.

He listened to both of his girls' breathing and tried to stay awake for a long time so he could remember that sound.

He woke up in the middle of the night with Sydette shaking his face.

"I have tuh go bathroom, Baba," she said.

He helped her down from the bed and walked her into her room's bathroom where her potty seat was. The bright lights in the room woke him up fully as he waited for Sydette to finish.

"Make sure you wipe yourself."

She reached for the toilet paper next to the adult toilet and he had to keep himself from chuckling when she did her best to clean herself.

"Throw it in the big toilet," he said.

He helped her wash her hands after flushing the toilet.

"I wahn juice."

He walked with Sydette into the kitchen and found an unopened bottle of apple juice waiting. He poured a little inside a plastic cup and handed it to her.

"More, please," she said holding the cup up to him.

"It'll make you pee again."

"No—"

"Yes, it will."

"I hold it."

"No don't do that. Just a little bit."

He poured just enough for her to get three good sips.

"Thank you," she said handing him the cup.

"You hungry?"

"No."

His eyes took in her small form. He felt a small lump in his throat as he thought about the exact moment he first saw her on his bed fast asleep. No teeth. Tiny curls plastered to her scalp. Chubby belly making her shirt ride up. She could only babble and point back then, but now…

"We all good now?" he said swallowing hard.

Sydette nodded.

He wanted the best for her. If Yani ever married or formed a new relationship with someone, Erik wanted this little girl to know she was loved and would never want for anything. He didn't want Sydette to forget him, but she was so young. Erik tried to think of the many people from his past that his own parents knew and sometimes there were blanks when he tried to go back to when he was two.

Two.

Damn.

Sydette was just nine months when he first stepped on the island. She would be two so soon.

Her face stared up at him, probably wondering why they were still standing in the kitchen.

"Back to bed, Sweet Pea."

Erik guided her to the master bedroom. She fell back to sleep quickly against Yani's arm and Erik got up to go stand out on the bedroom balcony. The roar of the surf sounded loud and he stood there until dawn broke. The hours were winding down too fast for him.

When sunlight struck the room, he turned to see his love wide awake and watching him. Sydette was still asleep. Yani held out her hand to him and he walked back inside. Spooning around her he gave her kisses for over an hour until they both slipped away into the other bedroom to make love. He held her legs with his arms as he balanced her on the edge of the bed. Plunging into her, the only sound they released were soft sighs and the wet suction of her walls gripping and releasing him. She slathered his morning wood with so much frothy slickness that he had to bite his own lips to keep from yelling and waking Sydette. He didn't spill into Yani until they were under the covers spooned together once more, his hips rocking into her backside as he fondled her breasts. He bit her neck during his release and the new mark was deep enough to stay for a few days. A harsh shout escaped Yani's lips when he sank deeper to drown her with all of his seed.

A loud "Fuck!" jumped from his mouth and he pushed his face into her shoulder to laugh. He could never be totally quiet with her. It was impossible.

Sydette came looking for them and luckily, they were under the covers and already finished when she found them huddled together.

"Waffles?" Sydette asked.

"I guess I'm making waffles for breakfast," he said.

###

He had gumbo simmering on the stove early in a large crockpot and made them cranberry chicken sandwiches and salads for their time spent on the beach at the cove. Yani was relaxed on a beach chair and deep into a new medical journal on global pandemics while Erik built sandcastles with Sydette and dipped in and out of the water when the mood struck him.

They ate at their leisure until the sun was high overhead.

"I'm so full," Yani said rubbing her belly, "I won't have room for gumbo."

Sydette was tipped over on a blanket fast asleep, her fingers still clutching a pink plastic shovel.

"Here, put this over her."

Yani unwrapped a rayon beach cover she wore over her waist and Erik draped it over Sydette to keep her skin from burning.

"I should move her to the shade—"

"She's fine. It's not too hot right now. Give yourself a break."

Yani stood up and stretched. Her eyes surveyed the water and Erik watched her take off her blue bikini and wade in. She dove under a lazy wave and floated on her back. Her deep brown body drifted away from shore. He felt that automatic pull to go to her. Eyes checking for Sydette, Erik stood from the blanket they shared and followed Yani out into the water. He circled her and she tread in place.

"Sneaky face," she said.

He splashed water on her and she splashed back.

He ducked under and grabbed her legs pulling her down.

Rising back to the surface together, Yani wiped droplets from her face. They moved closer to shore until he could feel sand under his feet. The aura around her face had him entranced. Without make-up she was a natural beauty, her youth so apparent to him. A decade older he wondered how he would've been with her had he been in his twenties again. That time in his life was wild. Certain women from his past came to his mind and he was so glad that this woman swimming before him came at a time when he could really appreciate her. He broke a lot of hearts, but he could always say that he was honest with the women he hurt. So many tried to scoop him up. Lock him down. Domesticate him. He was a dog. A good dog. But still a dog. He may have run all through Yani and felt no guilt when he stepped. That's just how it was. His Uncle Bakari told him he had his father's nature. His Aunt Serah concurred whole-heartedly.

Maturity brought reflection. Wisdom.

He was old enough finally to have someone like Yani for the short time he did. And it was worth it. She made him remember his heart again. Made him feel once more. He was losing that side of himself through anxiety. Depression. Killing. All the anger he held deep inside.

"I like it when you smile at me," he said.

"I always smile at you."

"Not that first time I came here. You yelled at me."

"This is all my territory. Can't have some strange man out here."

He imitated her voice in a teasing high-pitched whine.

"Hey! You out there! What are you doin' here?"

Yani splashed water on him.

"I didn't say it like that!"

"Yes, you did! Gave me stank face and everything! Hand on your hip. Sucking your teeth. Pointing your finger at me—"

"Yuh lie, man!"

Her soft laughter warmed his spirit.

His Black mermaid.

Yemanja.

"The second time I saw you…you were naked and the water fell from you like… jewels. I walked away from you…"

Yani wiped seawater from his cheeks. He kissed her hand.

"My father…my Baba…he said the first time he saw my mother he knew she was his life…"

He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her and floated for them.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?

Erik looked away from her bright eyes.

"This chance…"

A wave pushed them and Yani let go of him. They tumbled closer to shore. Water splashed in her eyes and she turned away. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Erik kissed the back of her neck. Tracing his fingers down her shoulders, he cupped her breasts and circled her tips with his index fingers. Yani turned suddenly and jumped on him, knocking him back into the water. He felt the drag of the tide sucking sand back under his feet and he reached out for her. Lifting her high in the air, he tossed her out toward the sea and the big splash blew back on his face.

"Mama! I wahn play!"

Erik saw Sydette bouncing on her feet, the water licking her toes at the shore.

"Come out here, Sweet Pea," he said.

"Cold!"

"It's not that cold," Yani yelled.

Sydette hopped on one foot and then the other. She was so cute in her little blue bikini.

"Come get me!"

"Swim out here," Yani called.

Sydette hopped up and down.

"Baba! Get me!"

Yani grabbed his arm when she saw Erik moving toward her.

"Let her swim," Yani cajoled.

"Baba…"

Erik was torn. Sydette's hands were spread out toward him. They heard the whine in her voice and watched her stomp her feet with annoyance.

"Baby girl, swim to us. I'll meet you halfway, okay?"

Erik waved her toward him.

Sydette took a tentative step forward and tested the water again with her right foot.

"Cold…"

"Be a big girl, Sweet Pea. Show me you can do it."

It was obvious to her that no one was coming, so Sydette ran really fast toward them.

"Ow…ow…ow!" she huffed out as if the cool water was really hurting her.

A small wave pushed her back and she went under only to pop back up dog-paddling toward them. Erik stepped toward her, keeping his promise and moving halfway to her. Her body was buoyed up by a new wave and he reached out his right hand.

"A little further, Sweet Pea," he encouraged.

The closer she got, the more determined her face was until she reached out to grab his hand.

"There ya go! Big girl!"

Erik held her against his chest as she wiped her face.

"I did it, Mama!"

"Yeah yuh did!"

Yani kissed her forehead and Sydette jumped from Erik's arms to hers.

They played in the water together until rain fell upon them. Sydette looked up toward the sky and stuck out her tongue to taste the rainwater.

"Well, at least we were able to get a few hours down here," Yani said as she gathered up her bikini.

They packed up their lunch basket and towels. Erik carried their beach chairs and once more found himself trailing Yani and Sydette. Yani bent down to adjust the bikini top that Sydette wore that matched her own.

"Queen Mary what yuh bun…" Sydette sang.

Yani glanced back at Erik with a big grin on her face.

"Who taught you that, Sweet Pea?" Erik asked.

"Auntie Twyla."

"No bad words I hope," Yani said to him.

Taking shelter from the rain in the main house, Erik made tea while Yani cleaned up Sydette.

"Are you yawning?" Erik asked when Yani padded into the living room wearing an orange baby doll dress.

"Water made us sleepy. I'm going to lay down with her. Want to come?"

"Y'all rest. I'm gonna chill a minute. Check on this gumbo. Take a nap with the baby. I'll wake you up later. Okay?"

"Not too late," she said.

Yani kissed his nose with a loud smooch and sashayed back to the master bedroom.

Erik checked their food and debated about making cornbread. He baked a small cake for their birthday celebration and let it cool on the island counter.

His personal cell rang and he saw Marisol's avatar. Padding back into the living room, he closed the hallway door that led to the bedrooms. He accepted Marisol's call on the viewscreen and lowered the volume.

"Yo, what it do cuz?"

Marisol's eyes didn't look playful like they normally did. In fact, they looked tense.

"JaJa."

The Portuguese accent on his family nickname let him know no English was going to be used.

"What is it?"

"Change your mind," she said.

Marisol's face loomed large on the screen. She was in her apartment alone.

"Don't start—"

"I'm begging you—"

"I'll call you when I get to my next spot—"

"You make me carry this burden. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want you out there doing that shit anymore."

"Lower your voice."

"Don't tell me to lower my voice, JaJa."

She burst into tears and Erik stood up from the couch and moved in front of the viewscreen.

"Marisol—"

"Grandpa Dante told me that you are planning visits to everyone soon. That some kind of Tour of Duty?"

"I visited you and Aunt Serah back in December—"

"He said everyone, JaJa. Like a farewell tour. You're going there now, aren't you?"

"I'll talk to you later—"

"Don't you hang up on me!"

Her shriek was more explosive with her face so large in front of him.

"Killmonger…"

Yani stood in the open hallway door. Her eyes were wide staring up at Marisol's crying face.

"Go back to bed, baby. I'll get you in a few minutes. I need some privacy right now—"

"You're Yani, right?"

Marisol's English was good, but when she was stressed or excited, her accent came out thick.

"Yes."

Yani stepped further into the room.

Marisol's eyes gazed at Yani with compassion.

"Yani, I said go back into the bedroom—"

The rumble in his voice made Marisol's eyes focus hard on Yani.

"Yani, talk to him. Convince him to stay there…with you. Please! He's about to —"

Erik shut down the viewscreen.

He kept his back to Yani.

"Killmonger. What was she talking about? Who was that?"

"My cousin. She is upset with me because…"

The words wouldn't come the way he wanted.

"Finish. Why is she so angry? Scared?"

He heard the fear in her voice now too.

"We've had a disagreement for the last six months and it makes her upset to talk about it. It's personal Yani. Nothing to do with you."

"She knows my name. Looked at me like she knows me well—"

"I was with her and my Aunt. Before Sydette was sick. I told her about you. Us. Just forget it!"

"Why are you so angry right now?"

"I'm not angry Yani. Just irritated. That's all. You know family shit gets people agitated. Give me some space right now and I'll come in the room in a minute—"

Her arms went around his waist.

"She's scared for you. She was crying over you. Yuh going off to do something bad. Like before…"

She touched his keloids. He rested his hands on top of hers.

"Don't go," she whispered into his back.

It was the thing he didn't need to hear. The thing he dreaded coming from her. It was bad enough to see Marisol crying over him. He didn't need Yani falling apart too. Not now.

Twisting around in her arms he held her against his chest.

"Let's go lay down."

She shook her head furiously.

"C'mon."

He eased her backward and she went along with him.

###

"Happy birthday, baby."

Yani couldn't help but grin ear to ear when she saw Erik walk into the dining room with a blue and white frosted cake. Three light blue candles flickered on top. Sydette sat on Yani's lap and clapped her hands when she saw the birthday treat. He placed the cake in front of them on the table.

"Make a wish," he said.

Yani's eyes held his gentle gaze and she looked away before she said something to make herself start crying again. She closed her eyes and made a bargain instead. Something she would keep to herself.

When her eyes went back to his, he was watching Sydette touch a tiny corner of icing and taste the sweetness.

"Happy birthday to you…" he sang, and Sydette joined him.

"Blow?" her daughter said looking at Erik with excited eyes.

"Go ahead," he said.

Yani blew the candles out with her and Erik clapped his hands.

He didn't bother to bring out plates, just three forks. They dug into the cake and watched Sydette smear frosting on her cheeks trying to eat a forkful that was bigger than her mouth. Chocolate was their favorite and the small cake was gone in a matter of minutes.

"Dang, I forgot the ice cream," he said jumping up and running back into the kitchen. He returned with small bowls of vanilla ice cream and they ate that quietly together.

They watched a little television, Animal Planet, and Sydette sat wide-eyed watching giraffes run wild in a pack until she yawned and sprawled out on Yani's lap. An hour later Erik lifted her daughter from her lap and carried her into her room.

Yani stretched, took a moment to use the restroom, then waited for Erik to return. She was still rattled from Marisol's call. Couldn't get that woman's face out of her mind.

Erik sprawled out on her lap in Sydette's place and she stroked his hair. His eyes eased shut and his body relaxed on her. His bare chest enticed her to touch it and his warmth was nice to feel.

"Where are you going, Killmonger?"

He ignored her at first, turned his head toward her stomach and tried to pretend he didn't hear her.

"I have the right to know this time. Yuh never come back…I have the right to know…"

"Let us have this last night in peace, Yani. Please."

"You gave us so much. I don't want to spend the rest of my life…"

She felt his body tense.

"I don't want to start a fight or upset you—"

"Then leave it be."

"I want to…for you…but…"

He rolled over and looked up at her face.

"Don't make me hurt more than I already do. Don't hurt yourself more by asking. You're right about me. I'm a killer. That bad man. I just want to be a good man for these last few hours. Be a good man for you…"

He stroked her cheek and she held his hand against her chest.

"You can be a good man for always, love…please…"

He turned away from her and watched the tv.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

She touched his temple and smoothed back a few of his locs. His eyes shut tight and he reached back to touch her cheek.

"I'm the one that's sorry, Yani. I can't give you what you want. There ain't no promises I can give that can make you feel good or make you think we have a future. I have nothing—"

"You have me."

"I have you," he whispered.

She bent down and rested her plump lips on his fuller ones and let the skin there lightly touch before she opened her mouth to let her tongue taste his.

He fondled her nipples through her dress as they kissed.

"Take this off," he said tugging on her dress.

She did what he asked and he rested back on the wide couch.

"Sit on my face."

Always direct. Demanding.

She crawled above him and sat her vulva on his lips.

The heat from his mouth had her sighing before he even licked up and down her folds. She felt her labia plumping up fully, and when the tip of his tongue flicked her clit, she was already dripping onto his lips.

He flattened his tongue and Yani wiggled her waist to get the full lavish flourishes of his wet mouth. Leaning forward, Yani exhaled hard into the couch. He ate her pussy like it was a fine art to be mastered. His hands reached up and held her ass cheeks as he plunged his tongue into her opening. Hot puffs of breath from his mouth excited her more as deep groans had him stop every few seconds to gather himself. She lifted up and gazed down at his face as she writhed above him. She felt his hands release her ass as he pulled down his loose sweatpants and freed his erection. His right hand gripped his length and tugged hard.

She dropped her ass onto his face and he moaned into her pussy.

"Shit…Yani…"

His tongue traced patterns into her folds and her keening above him spurned the movement of his hand jerking off his dick. That wide tongue of his, interchanged with his big lips rubbing all over her labia, made her cry out his name. She pressed her pussy hard on his mouth.

"I'm cumming!" she yelled.

Erik groaned so loud and his body went stiff under her.

When she looked behind her, she watched him ejaculate all over his hand.

"Fuck! I want to cum in your ass Yani."

She crawled off of his face and sauntered into the master bedroom. When she returned to him on the couch, she handed him a bottle of lube and some tissue to wipe up his semen.

Lying next to him, she allowed his hands to roam all over her body before he squeezed a generous amount of lube onto his fingers. He kissed her with slow deliberation as his fingers took their time inserting into her anus, massaging her there. He slickened up his new erection with even more lubrication. Yani leaned forward while gripping the couch cushion and lifted up her leg a bit so he could get his tip pressed into her anal opening. She held her breath and relaxed with a deep exhale as he inserted three inches into her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Rubbing her waist, he waited for her consent before he pressed in further. She could only handle about four inches at that moment and he eased back out to use more lubricant. When she was ready, he pushed back in until she was comfortable with more from him.

He gave short thrusts that she liked and inserted his fingers into her pussy. Stroked from both openings, the tightness pulling her close to the edge of another explosive release, Yani endured the nasty words spilling from his mouth and into her ear as he fucked her good and long.

"…just letting me fuck you in your ass like this…"

"…yes…"

"…nasty…I'ma put cum in you like this…"

"…please…"

"…'gon nut all up in you like this…deep in this ass…fuck girl…letting me do this shit…"

She chewed on the sensitive skin of her lips.

"Who else you fuck like this?"

"Just you…and Chez…"

"Goddamn, I'm in there deep!"

His head fell forward onto her shoulder and she knew he was done whenever he couldn't speak anymore. His fingers had her pussy sticky. His dick had her anus stretched with pleasure. Slow. Deep. Gentle. Just how she liked it with him and only him. "I feel your balls, Killmonger…"

"All in this ass…tight…ah fuckkk—"

His orgasm rendered him speechless and he jerked against her as he spurt hot jizz.

"…nasty bitch…cumming in your fat ass…"

Yani felt tears of sexual release drip from her lids as her pussy spasmed around his fingers. When he removed his slick digits from her, he held her tight and kissed the back of her neck and shoulders. They were both covered in sweat.

"You can bring a nigga to his knees, swear to God."

Yani grinned and held onto him as he brushed his lips over her clavicle. She felt his penis soften and he pulled out from her.

They watched tv a bit longer until Erik removed himself from her and took a long shower. She took one after him and when she finished, all he wanted to do was lay in bed with her for the rest of the night. She asked him no more questions about his destination.

She focused on the now.

###

"What are you two doing?"

Erik sat still on the floor with his back against the vanity mirror drawer. Sweet Pea stood in front of him with her left hand on his forehead and her right hand smearing bronze lipstick on his lips. Yani clutched her stomach and laughed hard when she saw his entire face when Sydette stepped back from her handiwork.

Bronzer, cinnamon eyeshadow, false eyelashes, and liquid foundation rounded out Erik's features.

"Makin Baba pretty Mama, see?"

Sydette returned to her work tracing the lipstick outside the lines of his mouth.

"How I look?" he asked.

"A hot mess," Yani said.

Erik stood up and looked in the mirror. Sydette crawled onto the vanity chair and patted his arm.

"I have tuh finish your lips. Put more on…"

She held up the lipstick and he bent down so she could add a little more.

"There," Sydette said.

"All done?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Clown face—"

"Hush, baby girl worked hard to perfect this look. You just jealous cuz you can't get your face like this."

"Tuh."

Erik ran his fingers through his hair to fluff out his locs.

"I look good, don't know what you hatin' on. Jealous."

He walked into the living room and grabbed his sandals by the door.

"Please tell me you not wearing that face—"

"We're going for a walk. Join us if you want."

Sydette still held the lipstick in her hand and rolled it along her mouth. Yani took it from her.

"Fifty-dollar lipstick…for playtime," Yani said.

"You can afford it. Let's go Sweet Pea."

"We pretty, Mama."

"I see."

Sydette held Erik's hand and they walked around the compound.

They visited Jerome and watched him chase off another iguana from the pool. Moving through Klaue's prized flowers, they observed butterflies resting easy and caught a gentle breeze on their faces as they walked down to the cove.

Yani trailed behind them, still laughing at his overly made face, and Erik just acted like it was normal to have a face beat to the two-year-old Gods of cosmetics. He picked up seashells with Sydette and dipped his toes in the water with her. She chased him when they returned to the house for lunch.

"You are really going to keep that look?"

Yani served them leftover gumbo and cornbread. She kept shaking her head each time she looked at him.

"Hater," he teased.

They napped together on the couch until it started raining again, the soft patter of water striking the roof. They played with Sydette's toys until Yani couldn't take it anymore and made Erik clean off his face. He could hear Yani's snarky laughter while he did it.

Yani cooked their last dinner together, made him all the island foods he loved, and Erik ate until he was stuffed.

As the sun made the journey down from the sky, Erik grew somber.

They put Sydette to bed early and Erik read her a book and stayed with her until the little girl fell asleep.

"Here."

Yani handed him a glass of white wine and they sat outside on the lounger to watch the stars pop out across the dark velvet sky.

Yani crawled onto his lap and he held her close, nuzzling his nose into her neck. A dragonfly drone flew past the balcony, its movement a little off-kilter. The battery was probably running down.

Yani wiggled on his lap, hungry for him once more, and he stripped out of his loungers for her and gave her the dick she craved. In his favorite spot. In his favorite position with her.

"Fuck, I don't want nobody else in this pussy…." he chuffed into her neck.

Lifting her up, Erik stood with her legs slung over his biceps. His eyes watched the water far down below as he thrust. The mewling from her throat had him on edge and he locked his legs in position to hold her up while his length pumped up into her. He needed to work his back into it and carried her on his dick back into the house and into their bedroom.

Her legs spread wide and her toes pointing toward the wall, Erik pressed his muscular thighs into her thick ones as they both watched his dick plunge in and out of her gripping folds.

"I'ma be in this pussy all night. You know that, right?"

She nodded vigorously, her lips pressed tight as they heard the sloppy noise coming from their engorged lower parts.

"You want all of Daddy's cum now, huh girl?"

"Hmmmph…"

"Want me to fuck you in your ass again?"

Her head fell back onto the pillow with her mouth dropping open and when his dick slid out, he saw more sticky wetness spilling from her slit. He sank back in again hitting the side of her walls. The bed was bouncing with his thrusts. Yani's eyes went back to watch their joining.

"Oh shit…Yani…ah fuck girl…I love you…"

"Erik…"

"Say my name again."

"Erik."

He groaned as he slammed into her hard to punctuate the pleasure he received hearing his real name drip from her lips like honey.

"Erik…love…you feel so good. Making my pussy feel so good…God!"

"I see you squirtin' baby. I see it!"

Yani's legs shook even as Erik pressed down on her thighs to keep them flat on the bed.

"You tryna make me nut right now? Huh?"

He dug in her deeper and she took it like he knew she could.

Forcing her onto her hands and knees, he made her face the wall mirror so he could enjoy hitting it from the back and watching her face while he did it.

"All night, baby," he whispered.

All night indeed.

Every position.

Every nasty word he could think of in six languages.

Yani was panting, screaming into the sheets, squirting and cumming from every angle he could twist her into. Front. Back. Side. Diagonal. He held off from ejaculating, wanting to marinate in her juices for as long as he could, trying to savor and remember every moment of that night with her in their bed.

"Ah…baby…'bout to make a big mess…"

"Please!"

She held her breasts, her fingers circling her areolas.

"Wish I could suck milk out them titties again."

His head dropped forward and his right hand clutched her left breast and held it.

"These big titties…"

"Cum in my pussy, Erik."

His eyes narrowed looking down at her face.

"Want me to cum in your pussy, baby?"

"Yes."

He moved slow, so slow that her legs wrapped around his waist to get more friction from him.

"Tell me you love me again," he begged.

Yani clutched onto his back, her harsh pants tingling his ears. He knew that look and reaction from her. She was at the tip of her orgasm. A large one.

Her big eyes looked up at him as she clung to him, the look on her face taking him back to the first time they ever made love.

"Erik!"

"Yes, baby. I'm here."

"Erik…God…!"

Her voice hitched and Erik froze with her as her vaginal walls quivered against his length.

He couldn't breathe.

Tears slipped down her face.

"I love you, Erik. I want you here with me forever—"

Her head fell back as her pussy spasmed tight.

"Erik! Erik!"

"I'm cumming with you! Goddamit I'm cumming so fucking hard!"

There was no shame in his yelling out loud. Every hard spurt into her pussy made him yell out her name and how much he loved her. She only clung to his body as all of her softness pressed into the hardness of his body. When he felt the last of his semen leaving him, he bit into her shoulder and squeezed her tight. His toes cramped up and didn't want to let her go.

Their bodies cooled with the hot sweat evaporating from their skin.

Pulling her on top of him, Erik cradled Yani in his arms until she needed to go pee. He listened to her take a quick shower before she returned to his embrace.

"All night, remember?" she whispered to him.

"I remember. But a quick respite."

He shifted down until his head was on her stomach.

Yani whispered how much she loved and needed him until he fell asleep cradled in her arms.

###

Sydette's crying woke him up.

"She's probably having a bad dream," Yani said.

Erik shifted and Yani pushed him back on the bed.

"I'll take care of her. I get back and yuh give me some more."

Her eyes twinkled.

Jumping off the bed, she pulled on her panties and threw on one of his t-shirts.

"Big nipples poking through," he said grabbing his dick.

She kissed his lips and bounded out of the room.

It was late. If Sydette was up, she'd want to get into bed with them unless Yani could get her back to sleep fast.

He rubbed his belly then scratched his balls waiting for her.

His mind wandered to trivial things until he noticed things were too quiet.

"Yani. Everything okay?"

His hand swiped the security cam feed and he immediately sat upright. There was nothing there, which was impossible because he should see an image of Yani and Sydette…

Erik slid his hand to his bedstand drawer and pulled out his Glock. He slipped his loungers on and crept to the door.

The hallway was empty.

He checked Sydette's room. It was empty. He checked the hall bathroom and Klaue's bedroom on the far end of the house.

Easing toward the living room, Erik noticed a light pop on. He stepped into that light and saw Huntsman sitting on the couch with Sydette on his lap, his own Glock pressed into her little chest, his other free hand covering her mouth. Across from him standing near Klaue's wall of African masks was Shipley strong-arming Yani with his weapon pressed into her temple. His left hand fondled Yani's nipple.

Neal stepped into view with an AK-15 pointed at Erik.

"Now see, you shouldn't have been here, Killmonger," Huntsman said.

"Let them go," Erik hissed, keeping his eyes on Sweet Pea who had big shiny tears in her scared eyes.

"No. We can't do that. It's too bad though. Now they get to die with you."

Chapter 27 Here

###

Tag List:

@fd-writes​ @soufcakmistress  @cherrystainedlipsbaby @tclaybon  @thadelightfulone

@allhailqueennel @bartierbakarimobisson @cpwtwot @shookmcgookqueen @yoyolovesbucky

@raysunshine78 @the-illllest @terrablaze514  @l-auteuse @amirra88 @jimizwidow @janelledarling

@chaneajoyyy @sweetestdream92 @purple-apricots @blackpinup22 @hennessystevens-udaku

@scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @bugngiz @stariamrry  @honeytoffee @meilintheempressofdreams

@tyees @eye-raq @writerbee-ffs @chocolatedream30

#wet sugar #killmonger #killmonger fanfiction #erik stevens #n'jadaka #klaue #black panther fanfiction #uzumaki rebellion's pantherverse

[popculturebuffet]

Close Enough Reviews: First Date and Snailin’ It

We’re in the home stretch thank god! Seriously while I do love this show, doing 13 reviews in one day, even as most are easy to bang out, has been exausting. But the thank god is also because we’ve arrived at my faviorite episode so far and.. er another one but at least it has Noel Fielding! That’s really awesome!  This time around Josh and Emily try to recapture the magic of their first date only to end up in one of the good Blumhouse movies, while Bridgette brings Josh along on an awkward first date. Then Emily gets the help of a snail’s magical hat to juggle work and life. Snail yeah under hte cut. 

First Date: 

A fourtune teller is at the fourplex, another review of the series I recently read revealed that’s what their buildings called and I like the sound of it so i’m using that, predicting a weird romance for bridget, who belivies it’s a guy she’s been texing, and sometimes sexting in her words not mine, who she has a date with tonight while said psychic also reveals to Emily that things with her and josh have gotten bland, something emily realizes via a hilarous flashback of them making out while falling asleep repeadtly before both just conk out. Also randy has thunder pants, aka pants tha tmake thunde rnoises and have a giant lighting bolt cod piece. Your the second best randy. Andt hat’s only because Alex is still a character. 

So we have our two plots and unlike previous episodes and one future one the plots.. don’t dovetail. Which I like and I like a show being able to do two seperate plots in eleven minutes. We frankly need more of that. Bridgette has her date and Josh and Emily end up having theres. As such i’ll cover both seperatley. And since their plots a bit simplier let’s start with Josh and Emily.  Emily tries flirting with Josh before explaning it’s because she wants to bring the spice back. After josh bungles his response trying to say what she wants but just.. you know asking emily what she wants him to say which is never a good move in any conversation, Josh does near instantly rebound, texting emily to come to the close tfor a suprise. Granted since Josh, self admittley right after, admits he has no game, it come across as weird and creepy, but Emily appricates him trying and is touched when he reveals his real bring the sparks back romantic plan: a recreation of their first date, which was at a haunted house. Also for some reason Josh thought mr magoriums wonder emporium was a best picture contender. Never change josh, never change. But I genuinely like this: having a couple that while relaistically having a dry spell still lvoes each other: instead of worrying the relationship is dead as these plots tend to do they simply want to bring back the magic that’s sometimes lost when you work two jobs, raise a kid full time and live with two weirdos with little sense of personal space.  So they go and the reason it’s pretty simple is their subplot is the two having a mind screw being chased by various horrors in the house. As i’ve said I feel the series has more of a horror bent at times with some episodes leaning more into that than just goofy madness like regular show did. Regular Show really saved most of its straight up horror content for terror tales, here horror bits can crop up as much as fucking wacky bits. I mean a logan’s run parody where a man dies is paired up with a low speed train chase with a con arist that ends with her driving into a thermortor factory while choking her fake son. The show can ping pong on tone, but it does work.  But yeah that’s why there’s less to talk about: it’s not bad stuff, it’s super spooky including the end bit where their told they died, it’s just mostly the two of them running around a nightmare, that unsuprisngly turns out not to be real and was just the attraction, before a really touching climax when the two finally find each other run towards each other and realize just how horrifed they were at the thought of loosing one another. it’s really damn touching and romantic, and leads to another climax when the two start kissing before getting it on despite the horror house working telling them they have others coming. I’ts a good plot, I just don’t have a ton to anlyaize about it. it’s just really good and really good horror stuff with a satsifying and sweet ending.  On to our main event, Bridgette heads out to her date and TRIES lying to alex for his own sake.. but Alex not only easily guessed she was on a date in the first place but... isn’t bothered at all. He even offers to wing man while sining the firends theme song and clapping at the wrong time. Because he’s alex even when he’s being sweet and a good friend and ex, he can’t help but be just a BIT off.  Bridget goes to meet Ron.. and finds he’s sewn to his ex Joy... like literally sewn or conjoined as they put it. Bridgette freaks the fuck out but is talked by ron into continuing, partly because their getting it undone and partly because Bridgette herself admits Ron looked past her baggage.. even if his is larger, she can at least try to. Also Ron is voiced by Chris Parnell who, with archer delayed event hough i’m watching it again and having stopped wtching rick and morty, I dearly missed. Glad to have you back dude. I’m also unsuprised he’s in this as the man is in everything. He’s a fucking workhorse. 

Anyways Alex happily agrees, has his own brief freakout because bridget didn’t tell him about the conjoined twins thing despite being a room away, but quickly rebounds and.. actually hits it off with Joy. even better than Bridgette is with ron who she soon realizes won’t shut the hell up about hiking. Soon Bridgette.. is jealous. Both because Alex is moving on way easier and found someone way quicker, Joyce shares his weird taste in viking erotica, and because she may still have some feelings left. We saw a bit of that in “Robot Tutor”: Bridgette got jealous real quick when alex saw someone elsed espite them being there mostly as sex pals, and admitted there was still some unresolved stuff there they hadnt gotten past on both sides.  They hit the club and things continue to degrade, with Bridgette even more jealous because Alex never took her dancing. And being that bridg is a musician and loves clubbing and what not, i’ts pretty understandable to be frustrated with her ex talking about how it took someone else to get him to do the worm.. also Alex doing the worm is a sheeer delight. When the cojoined ex couple leave, with Ron once again bringing up climbing machu pichu because apparently it’s in chris parnells contract he can never play an actually likeable romantic intrest, Bridget tries to bail but Alex wants to stay since it’s not his fault his date is going well and her’s isn’t.  Bridgette makes the mistake of saying “If you like joy so much why don’t you just conjoin with her”.. and Alex being alex says “why dont’ I and we end up at conjoin, the place Ron and Joy got bonded in the first place. Ever since 1994, you won’t regret this. Actual signs up there and they are wonderful. Bridgette, still jealous even ifs he can’t stand ron offers to be conjoined to him both in a desperate attempt not to losoe alex and to one up him.  However Alex finally calls her out, as while he’s perfeclty happy for her to move on, as this episode showed.. she can’t stand to see him with someone else, and Ron wisley tells her he can’t be attached to someone who isn’t unattached from her ex. When bridgette counters with the oppsitie ron is suprisingly pogniant “We can detach from each other physically but you two can’t detach from each other spirtually”. WHile bridgette quips about him finally saying something intresting, he’s right. She’s not ready and this night clearly proved it and even if she was she was only doing this to show up Alex. Joy likewise breaks things off. a bit more abrubtly since Alex has’nt been nearly as obvious as bridgette.. but alex himself shows he too still has some feelings when he accidentlya dmits to having written an entire section of his memoir about her teeth. Would could be creepy or you know, standard alex ends up really sweet as Bridgette is not only touched by the gesture, but Alex explains why “THeir all the parts that make up your smile” The two share a look, Joy wants what they have and Ron wants to masturbate alone. The end. 

Sadly this isn’t followed up on yet, if at all if there isn’t more episodes next week, as the next ep with the two in it, the finale for today, has the two in seperate plots that only dovetail at the end. But this honestly feels like a posisble arc for the show; Will the two get back together and work past the issues that got them to divorce in the first place or stay divorced and move on? And regular show, with one exception i’ve ranted enough about and will again, was really good at romantic storylines eventually and this could be really intresting for a number of reasons. I’m realy hoping this isn’t just a one off ending, could be but we’ll hopefully see. Either way this episode is really damn good with both plots , while not intersecitng connecting thematically: ONe couple relives a horrifying mirorr version of their first date while a former couple goes on their first real date with other people since the split but finds they might not be as done as they thought. IT’s a good juxtopision and the whole conjoining bit is both horrifying and good Beisdes having my ship at the center i’ts just a damn good time and the best of the season so far (or at all atain the 8 episodes thing is really throwing me off). 

Snailed It: This one should go quicker as its a much simpler ep: Emily has been working way too much and neglecting Candace, including a crypt based board game they’ve been playing for her job because she’s being a doormat. however i’ts not unresonable since said job gives them health insurance which given their lives, they REALLY need. She’s being such a doormat because she’s understandably afraid if she stands up for herself it could risk her job and they’d loose important stuff.  Emily TRIES to juggle things by doing a charity garden/publicity stunt to distract thigns at the school btu the comination of extra work from her boss and the children not actually gardening makes it fail and candace more upset. Emily finds help in the most unlikely of places: A giant talking snail that offers to let her use his magic hat to speed up time and complete the garden in exchange for some of the veggies. He’s also voiced by nice dude and mighty boosh alum noel fielding in what hoenstly feels like a boosh character got out of that universe, if their not the same unvierse which is possible, and snuck into this one.  Emily accepts, and is tempted to use the hat to do more of her job, with the snail calling her a shit parent. Fuck you man, sh’e sa good mom she’s just making mistakes. Emily decides to do it anyway and it works but she soon finds out using the hat outside the garden ages her while the snail decides fuck it and kidnaps candace by aborbing her into his stomach and making her be his legs so he can get dumplings because why not. What follows is a horrifc and tense chase between the two as candace’s life is on the line and the snail has a backup hat and emily time blasting him only makes candace age or deage, horrifyingly becoming a fetus at one point and a teenager later. It’s ar eally tense well done seen that combines the show’s usual insanity with it’s horror side to great effect Meanwhile josh feels useless since his job is less important, and he feels less important as he’s on call and skipping rocks with randy because apparently that’s what he does on call. Randy gets a great moment though, explaning to josh that h’es like the stones their skipping: he’s immoible and seemingly useless most of the time but when it matters he’s there . He’s there rock. Their support.. and naturally with emily slowly dying from her hat, a rare sentence, Josh steps upa nd saves the day via stone skipping, emily throws the hat in and the fundraiser, due to the madness, sucesffuly buired the scandal and Emily finally tells mr salt no.. and he’s really cool about it just telling her to come in a little later. Things are back on track and we’re out.  This wasn’t a bad one, but it both feels less after the prevoius episode and somehwhat simple comaprd other emily centreic episodes. WHile the snail is a great villian and noel fielding,  like rich fulcher before him, fits into this kind of world nicely. Not a bad one, just one sandwitched between two far more interesting episodes. Speaking of which, we’re in the endg ame now. Next time it’s dog days and weird fucking al baby, until very soon later days. 

#close enough #hbo max #jg quintel #first date #snailed it

[monsters-and-mystics]

*rubs hands evilly * Ooooh boy I hope you’re ready. 100 OC Questions, gogogo. Amethyst Dagwood – 92, Dale Dagwood – 63, Cypress Dagwood – 25, Chrysanthemum Dagwood – 9, Audrey Devereux - 1, Esme Devereux – 11.

Ah, my darling @whether-morning-whether-night!! I’m always so happy to see you in my inbox!🥰💕🥰💕

Sorry this took a bit. I actually couldn’t find the original post with the questions, so I hope these are the ones you wanted answered 😅

Aurélie “Audrey” Devereux #1 - “How do they present themselves to others?”

Audrey is very polite and proper in most situations, especially with adults and/or people in power. Ever since discovering she’s a Devereux (and the power her family has) she’s felt like an imposter or like the fairytale could get ripped away from her. That scares her.

So, to combat that fear, she often acts as prim and ladylike as possible. (Some might even call her a kiss-ass.) In reality, Audrey is a very warm, fun-loving person. She just doesn’t feel like she can be that and a Devereux, and she chooses being a Devereux over being herself.

Chrysanthemum “Chris” Dagwood #9 - “Why is their name their name?”

I have in-universe reasons and author reasons for her name.

The in-universe reason is two-fold. Firstly, in my world, magical families traditionally name their children after something part of/found in nature, so naming a kid after a flower is not uncommon. The reason her mom specifically named her “Chrysanthemum” is that they were her mom’s favorite flower (aka Gram’s fav flower) and they have symbolism with love and joy.

My reason as the author is honestly more to do with the symbolism of white chrysanthemums. In some cultures, they are seen as a symbol of loyalty and devoted love, while in others they symbolize adversity and grief (or even death itself). The juxtaposition of the white Chrysanthemum’s symbolism just felt perfect for Chris who is so full of love and grief that it’s almost painful.

Esmerelda “Esme” Devereux #11 - “Do they have a romantic interest?”

Not currently! I’ve been playing around with the idea and trying to figure out who she might be paired best with – or if she’s even interested in romance – but I don’t really know yet! I think I just need to write more of the actual story and see who (if anyone) she gravitates towards. I’m open to ideas, though!

Cypress Dagwood #25 - “If they were given a task to prank someone, who would it be, what would they do, and would their prank work?” 

Dale. He would instantly pick Dale. Cypress wouldn’t have the energy for anything too sophisticated or time-consuming, so he’d do something simple like sneak up behind Dale and blow an air horn or put a fake cockroach in the shower just before he gets in.

It would 100% work as long as Amethyst doesn’t know about it. If Amethyst knows, she might accidentally tip Dale off without meaning to. 

If it works, Dale will scream and everyone will laugh at him. He’ll probably try to hit Cypress to get back at him, then go off about being so abused by this family!! (Eyes will roll. Chris might punch him. Good times all around 🥰)

Dale Dagwood 63 - “Have they ever harmed anyone and regretted it? Verbally or physically?”

Dale’s a pretty fun, laid-back guy, but there is definitely a line for what he’s willing to take. And once that line’s crossed, you’ll find he has as much of a temper as his sisters. Most of the time, he doesn’t regret his actions and rarely sees himself in the wrong. If someone got him mad enough for him to get that nasty, he feels they deserve whatever he did to them.

The only time he might regret it is if it’s one of his sisters. He has way more patience for them than anybody else, but he’s no saint. If they push him too far, he will get mean and say things that hurt. He might feel bad about it or he might think it was something they needed to hear; it depends.

Amethyst Dagwood #92 - “If they were given minutes to live, what would they do? Who would they want to see and say?”

Oh gosh. This depressed child… She’s 100% thought about what she wants to happen when her “inevitable demise” comes. 

In an ideal world, she’d like to be with all the people who matter to her and just stay with them until time ran out — Cypress, Dale, Chris, her parents, and Edward especially. She’d tell them how much she loved them, thank them for everything they’ve done for her, relive favorite memories with them, and just squeeze the life out of all of them. 

But realistically, she would want to see all of them but choose to stay by herself. She’d probably write a hasty letter telling them how much she loves them and doesn’t want them to be sad, and try to put a positive spin on her death or make jokes about it, cuz that’s how she is. If there was any time left after writing the note, she’d just listen to her favorite songs (especially the sad ones), maybe sing along a bit before she started to cry. She would regret choosing to die alone. 😢 

Thanks for the questions, lovely! 💕😚💕 

Let me know if you have any more! 😉💕

#oc: amethyst dagwood #oc: chris dagwood #oc: dale dagwood #oc: cypress dagwood #oc: esme Devereux #oc: audrey devereux #OCs #twilight ocs #hp ocs #answered #thanks for the ask! #🥰🥰

[stealing-jasons-job]

10 Questions Tag Game

Rules: Answer 10  15 questions, ask 10, and tag 10 people however many people your heart desires to answer them.

Tagged by the amazing @burninghoneyatdusk, @nakey-cats-take-bathsss, and @bookwormforalways, so you guys are getting 15 answers from me. 🥰

I apologize in advance for getting deep on main. lol 

1. Do you believe in soulmates/true love?

I don’t believe in soulmates, but I do believe in true love. 

Is there one person we’re fated to be with forever and ever? No, I don’t think so. As much as I love soulmate AUs and the idea of there being one person you know you’ll click with no matter what... I just don’t think it’s realistic. 

Instead, I think that there are lots of people you’re compatible with. And some people get lucky and meet a person they are compatible with at a time when both of them are ready to commit and build a life together. When that happens, you’re building a relationship and partnership that I believe turns into true love over time. 

2. What’s your happy place?

This is hard because I have a lot of happy places, but I think my number one happy place is my high school’s softball field. I’ve spent hundreds of hours on that field over my lifetime, and I miss it a lot now that I’m grown and moved away from home. Playing softball, being on the pitcher’s mound, was always where I just felt the most myself. I was 100% in my element, surrounded by some of my closest friends I’d known since I was 8 years old when we all played on the same tournament team. Worries about my body, all the bullshit with my dad, friend drama, boy drama, anxieties about the future... none of it could touch me when I was inside the fence of that field practicing or playing. 🥎

3. If you could befriend one fictional character (book/show/movie) who would it be and why?

Part of me wants to say Bellamy Blake because I would marry that man (sorry, Clarke). lol But I think realistically, I’m going to go with Olivia Pope because powerful friends are helpful and she’s a badass I’d like to have in my corner. 

4. Song lyrics that apply to your current mental state/state of your life rn: 

The song Lady Like by Ingrid Andress is my anthem rn. I relate to the entire song so much, but here’s the pre-chorus/chorus: 

“Controversial, so outspoken

I've been told I'm not ladylike

-

But I'm a lady, like whoa

I could bring you to your knees and

Get you kicked out the Garden of Eden

Untamable, unframeable, Mona Lisa, oh

Kiss you like a whiskey fire

Turn around, leave your heart in a riot

Lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash

I'm a lady like that

I'm a lady like that”

5. What’s something that helps you stay positive even when things get hard?

Writing. It’s my passion, and I love crafting stories. It’s a way to escape — create a new world for me to live in or insert myself into a world I wish I could visit. But it’s also a good way to give myself perspective. My stress about work is smaller when I’m writing about characters trying to prevent the apocalypse. The current shit show that is... well, the whole world, is something I feel I can make a positive impact in when I’m writing about characters fighting a government conspiracy. 

6. What’s a memory you wish that you could go back in time to and relive?

This is so random, but one time in high school my group of friends did a big scavenger hunt. Each team made their own list of riddles for the other team to solve and then photograph within the city limits of our small town. After we got done, we went to our high school football field and broke into the press box to screw around with the PA system. Afterward, we just walked around for a while, laid down under the traffic light in the middle of the road (it was like 3 AM at this point on a backroad, so no cars).  It was such a wholesome night. lol Just 7 teenagers screwing around and having fun — not a single care in the world. I was in that weird, flirty stage with one of my guy friends. I had a softball game against our school rival coming up that I was excited for. Life was simple. I’d go back and relive that night in a heartbeat. 

7. If you could talk to your 13 year old self, what would you tell her/advice would you give her?

Being vulnerable isn’t the end of the world, and your worth is not conditional on your strength or usefulness. 

**Potenital TW** 

My dad was verbally and emotionally abusive my entire childhood (still is, I just am better equipped to handle it as an adult that doesn’t live in the same state). I grew up thinking that love was conditional and all vulnerabilities would be exploited for someone else’s gain. That any weakness shown would be used to hurt me. That makes it really hard for me to open up to people (for example, I would not be telling you guys this story if we were sitting in the same room rather than me typing it out on screen — and it’s still giving me anxiety to share), and it makes it really hard for me to form deep attachments and friendships since those typically hinge on sharing parts of yourself and being vulnerable with someone else. 

Maybe it wouldn’t have helped, but maybe if I could go back and tell myself during those formidable years that none of that is true... who knows how things could be different, how I could be different. 

Anyway, sorry about that sob story. Moving on. 

8. What’s your favorite quote of all time? Why?

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Because this logic can be applied to almost everything: Confidence isn’t the absence of insecurity, but rather the understanding that you have worth despite them. Goodness isn’t the absence of badness or darkness, but rather the conscious decision to reject those impulses to be better. Love isn’t to see an absence of flaws or irritation, but to respect and appreciate someone in part because of them. 

Plus, Princess Diaries I and II remain two of my favorite movies, which is where I first heard this quote. 👑

9. What is the quality you value most in a friend?

Being genuine. As mentioned above, the trust and emotional intimacy issues are real with me. lol But if I know you are a genuine person who’s going to shoot me straight and be upfront about what you’re thinking, feeling, etc. then it’s easier for me to let you in. It may take time, but it’ll happen eventually. 

10. If the pandemic magically ended today, how would you spend tomorrow?

On a plane. To somewhere with new people, crowded spaces, restaurants galore. Hong Kong, maybe. Or Tokyo. 🏙️

11. If you could go back in time and live in any era & location, and face no danger, where would you choose?

Vikings. God, I would have thrived in a Nordic society. Women’s rights were paramount, being strong and tough as a woman was celebrated, sword fighting and archery and rowing were important skills, they lived in cold places (I like winter), there’s a possibility I could have trained a dragon. Like, I’d miss some modern technology, but I’d live. lol 

12. What heroine of a movie, book, tv show, story, or history do you relate to most?

Honestly? Clarke Griffin. Bossy + has zero chill + occasionally says somethign v sassy + afraid of being vulnerable + refusal to show any weakness + doesn’t talk about her feelings + in love with Bellamy Blake + rocks the black leather aesthetic + wants to save the world but makes questionable decisions to do so? ✅✅✅

13. Without saying who the person is, what is a question you wish you could ask someone but can’t?

What the actual fuck do you think are you doing? 

(I’d actually like to ask this to two people, and I bet all of you can guess the two people right away lololol) 

14. In one sentence, what are you personally struggling with right now? 

Figuring out where I fit into the world. 

15. What’s a book/article/story that brought you joy/comfort/healing that you wish others would read?

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center. 

It’s a beautiful book that taught me a lot about self-worth, throwing out your life playbook (because it never goes according to plan), and thriving where you’re planted rather than lamenting the fact that you aren’t in a different garden. 

12/10 recommend! (Her other books are also amazing.) 

So I know this has made the rounds, and that everyone I’m about to tag has probably already been tagged, but here goes:  @historyofbellarke | @bellamyfknblake | @angstybleuskies | @fightformidnightx​ | @talistheintrovert​ | @junebugninja​ | @mobi-on-a-mission​ | @queenemori​ | @sassybooks​ | @edgelessness​ | + Anyone else who wants to join! 

My questions for you...

(Stealing some from others because they were good!) 

1. What album/playlist do you listen to when you’re in need of some inspiration/motivation? 

2. If money wasn’t an object, what would you want to do with your life? 

3. What’s your happiest memory? 

4. What’s something that helps you stay positive even when things get hard? 

5. What’s a book/movie/tv show that you turn to when you’re feeling down and need comfort? 

6. Do you believe in soulmates? 

7. If you could be anywhere in the world tomorrow (pretending COVID-19 doesn’t exist), where would you be and why? 

8. How do you define success? 

9. What’s your favorite quote of all time, and why? 

10. If there’s anyone in the world you could spend the day with (fictional, historical, someone you know, anyone at all), who would it be and why? 

#tag games #it's a long one lol #about me #personal #changingthefairy-tale

[pendragaryen]

10 Questions Tag Game

Rules: Answer 10 questions, ask 10, and tag 10 people to answer them.

Tagged by @burninghoneyatdusk , thank you Sam! <3<3<3

1. What’s a memory you wish that you could go back in time to and relive?

Honestly? The Dystopia The1OO-Convention i’ve been back in April 2018. It was... a complete bliss from start to finish. I love our The1OO cast! I really do! I had the time to meet, hug and chat with many of them, to do photo-ops and join them at the saturday night-karaoke party. And this memory is very dear to me. Nothing can destroy it. Not even fandom hate.

2. If you could talk to your 13 year old self, what would you tell her/advice would you give her?

I’d say: “Approximately 8 years from now, you’ll meet that guy you’ll decide to move in with together, to travel a lot with, to share lots of nerdy stuff you both love. And then, another 7 years from that you’ll meet ANOTHER guy and you might FEEL as if you’d met the love of your life, as if you finally know what REAL love is... But... trust me... DON’T DO IT!!! JUST DON’T!!! SPARE YOURSELF THE PAIN, OKAY?!” *curls up into a ball*

3. What’s your favorite quote of all time? Why?

“Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”        ―      J.R.R. Tolkien,            The Lord of the Rings    

It isn’t difficult to guess, why that’s my favourite quote ever. “The Ring” could be replaced by basically every obstacle in your life, everything that causes you pain or let you suffer. Back in 2001 and from that year on, these words really had been a guiding light for me. A spark of hope. They still are. And they never fail to bring me to tears. Never.

4. What is the quality you value most in a friend?

If he/she’s trustworthy. And a good listener.

5. If the pandemic magically ended today, how would you spend tomorrow?

I would buy a ticket for the train and travel to meet my best friend IMMEDIATELY.

6. If you could go back in time and live in any era & location, and face no danger, where would you choose?

Ouf... There are so many countries i’d love to know better. But... out of the countries i already visited (and completely isolated from the question of going back in time) ... i would probably prefer to live in Canada/British Columbia, where my aunt lives (honestly, i’ve hardly ever visited a more beautiful location. The mountains, the ocean, deep forests filled with giant redwoods, beaches... and the most chill metropolis ever: Vancouver). OR... Denmark. I LOVE Denmark. We’ve been there a lot when we were kids. It’s so calm and peaceful there. And there are endless beaches!!! On one side you’ve got the rough Northern Sea with its often very high waves. And on the other side you have the Eastern Sea, much calmer and easy to take a swim in. Mh... I can’t decide.

7. What heroine of a movie, book, tv show, story, or history do you relate to most?

Morgana le fay from the original Arthurian Legends. I’ve been a fan of the Arthurian Legend for AGES now... let me think... since the early 90s probably. And i’ve read TONS of books and novels about it. I know almost every version of her, good or evil, healer or deathly witch. And i can relate to almost every part of her, and if it’s just a little. But the picture of her that had the most impact on me was her characterization in novels such as “The mists of Avalon” or “The road to Avalon”. These definitely shaped my view of her as a strong, independent woman, who suffers a lot - but refuses to give up and stands tall despite loss and angst. I don’t identify myself with that picture of her. I like to see her more as kind of a model. Someone to look up to. Morgaine/Morgan/Morgana le fay taught me a lot throughout all these past years. I owe her...

8. Without saying who the person is, what is a question you wish you could ask someone but can’t?

“Are you happy now, with the life that you’ve chosen? With that wife from the other side of the world and two kids? Is that what you ever wanted? And why didn’t you ask me to marry you, when we were already years into our relationship? Would it have been okay for you IF I had proposed? Probably EVERYTHING would have gone different, if we only... “ But that’s the past. And I’ll never get the chance to ask all these things anyway. It’s gone.

9. In one sentence, what are you personally struggling with right now?

ONE sentence???? Omg... um... I hope my fragile health lets me doing my job until the end of september, when the time of my “observation” finally ends (I was kicked out of my job 3 years ago bc of illnesses and there was a law suit and they decided, that i had to go 3 years without being ill for more than 10 days each year - if i can do that, i can keep my job - and that period of time is ending soon! Fingers crossed!).

10. What’s a book/article/story that brought you joy/comfort/healing that you wish others would read?

Joy: Definitely The Hunger Games trilogy. And Bellarke-fanfiction of course (Especially “Training Wheels” by bettsfic and “Don’t wake me” by grumpybell for example. ;) )

Healing/Comfort: Almost everything written by Nikita Gill. And i’m a sucker for (picture) books about “Hygge” - a danish way of life, coziness and comfort.

My Questions

I’ve already done this last week and here are my questions if you want to participate! https://pendragaryen.tumblr.com/post/623645366859005952/10-questions-tag-game-rules-answer-10-questions

#tagged #burninghoneyatdusk #THANK YOU #10 questions tag game #the 100 #10 questions #me #my edit #about me #just me #text post #the 100 fam #the 100 fandom #the fam #bellarke fam #bellarke fandom #arthurian legend #lord of the rings #lotr #mutuals

[ilytuan]

First Love 「mark」

genre › boyfriend!au |  sickening amounts of fluff 

pairing › reader ︱ boyfriend!mark tuan

word count › 5,493

warning  ›  language | alcohol 

synopsis › a series of throwbacks as you reminisce over the past year you’ve spent with mark, your first love.

Thunderous roars and cheers filled the large space of the club, successfully managing to make a smile bloom on even the grumpiest of party-goers and late working bartenders. They all screamed and rejoiced, because it was a new year now. A chance to rewind and forget about the past year, to start afresh.  

Resolutions would only last a month, while the joy of it being a new year would last even less, approximately a week, before adults would get thrown back into their hectic work schedules and students would be forced to return to school for half a year of myriad studying and cramming for exams. Your relationship with Mark however, would be renewed for another year, and possibly the longest thing you’ve ever kept going. Making resolutions had never been your thing, but you found yourself motivated to keep the relationship steady with Mark, because he was the best thing to happen to you.

As the countdown to midnight started, Mark decided that now was the best time, and there had never been a better time than this, for him to utter the words, “I love you.”

It was the first time he had ever mustered up the courage needed to confess the declaration that was love, despite the many years of prior dating experience he held under his belt compared to you, which was a pitiable zero. There was never anyone he loved despite the multiple relationships he had been in and there never would be, other than you. The words came out in a tumbling mess, whispered and timid and you had squinted your eyes at him, seeing his mouth move but not hearing anything come out of it.

Mark had never been great at expressing his thoughts through words.

He shook his head upon seeing your curious gaze on him, gathering up the most courage he ever had to, more than the courage he needed for his debut showcase or for going up and asking you out on a date, which was a damn lot.

“I love you,” Mark shouted it this time, declaring it proudly and gallantly because he was oh so in love with you. Endorphins released rapidly from his brain upon saying the words and he felt exuberant, like he could say it a thousand times over and mean it even more each time.

The angelic smile which he had grown to love in your time together had magically graced your face, followed by the mellow sound of your joyous laughter at his boyish behaviour that pleasantly surprised you every time, no matter how used to seeing it you were.

“I love you too.”

That was the first time you’ve ever said it to him and likewise with Mark to you. You realised that you truly did love him, and a whole lot at that. He was the one who you had experienced practically all of your firsts with - first kiss, first boyfriend, first date, first time, first confession. Yet, you wouldn’t have wished for it to be any other way or with anyone else. 

Mark was experienced yet he never pressured or coerced you into anything you were unfamiliar and uncomfortable with, never expected anything because it was your first everything and he knew how strange and awkward everything must have felt. He comforted you while letting you explore a whole new world of experiences and happiness, which you would never exchange for the world.

It was past midnight now, and he had planned to say the words right when the countdown had reached zero, but the crowd was being considerably loud and you were busily sipping your Sauvignon Blanc when the clock struck, cheering to the New Year which you hoped would be more prosperous and fun-filled than the last, and wishing for more endless felicity with Mark.

But it didn’t matter because he had said it in the end, and so did you. It was only past by a few minutes anyway; the meaning didn’t change with the amount of time that passed and he felt incredibly pleased at the thought, wishing he could say it to you every day.

Mark’s eyes had stars and glitters in them as he stared at you with an indescribable feeling of fondness, and his heart was set to stone the more he observed you. There was no one else, more beautiful than you and he couldn’t believe that you were all his.

Your entire night of New Year’s eve had consisted of drinking and dancing along with your friends and Mark’s fellow members, who had insisted on joining him on this date but promised to stay out of his way and avoid any cockblocking. He only let them trail along because he thought it would be better than letting them stay cooped up at home on such a marvellous and young night, like they usually tended to do like the coach potatoes they were. Chances only come once in a lifetime, they say, and he wanted them to get a good experience out of their youth. And a small, tender-hearted part of him also wanted to relive and recreate the memories of the previous year.

˞ ˞ ˞ ˞

Mark was busy partying the night away and downing shots of whatever expensive alcohol he could get his hands on, the boys cheering noisily around him because it was their first night out after a busy month, popping bottles of champagne and watching the magical night sky filled with stars and sparks of fireworks outside. 

There was never many chances for them to all go out and have fun like this, and Mark was enjoying it to the fullest. Being an idol had its perks, but its downsides too. Luckily that year, there had been no year-end show he was required to attend so they all made an agreement beforehand to go out in the evening and enjoy the last night of the year together and celebrate their achievements as well as toast to their future.

Mark’s tipsy state and alcohol infused blood allowed his eyes to wander around the intensely packed club after he downed a particularly strong shot of alcohol, meeting your warm brown orbs in the massive crowd and he flashed a daring wink and smirk at you, feeling his head spin with exhilaration and intoxication. You were the first girl to catch his eye.

Flushed cheeks and equally as drunk as him off a French Bordeaux wine that you didn’t know the name of, you were unable to take your eyes off of the insanely attractive and flirty man, for no other guy had ever approached you before and just one look from him made your insides feel like jelly. His hair was slicked up and exposed his forehead, his skin as clear as day, shiny teeth which were polished dazzlingly bright, unbelievable body proportions and the world’s most gorgeous eyes, paired with designer clothes and the finest jewellery that you could only dream of having. He looked recherche and you were intrigued but looked bashful at the most, unsure of how to act.

With such a shy personality, you were reserved and hard to approach for most, but on that fateful night, you were as free as a butterfly thanks to the alcohol and managed to cross paths with Mark, who was equally as awkward and timid as you on any other night. The only difference between the two of you was the of bundle of inexperience that you seemed to carry around with you everywhere and Mark’s collection of impressive experience with girls. Fate had it in store for both of you to meet on that miraculous night, just moments before the countdown to another prosperous year and you were so glad it did.

Stumbling his way over to you with a bottle of Pahlmeyer Merlot in his hand which he loved to drink, nearly tipping its entire content onto your golden dress that was sparkling amidst the yellow strobe lights of the club, Mark was charming and smooth in all of his compliments and speech, flattering you endlessly. Luckily, the dim lights of the club and the alcohol were there for you to blame your bright red cheeks on and he had gone along it with despite the smile that was fighting its way onto his face, charmed by your gentle innocence. Even on the very first day, you were enchanting to him.

Both of you chatted and drank together as the countdown went off into the night and cheers erupted throughout the booming, modern nightclub. It was the first time a guy had ever bought you a drink without trying to drag you out of the club for a night together and it was only a matter of time before Mark would pluck up the courage he needed to ask you out on a date, when it was daylight and you weren’t both heavily intoxicated, giggly and flirty messes.

˞ ˞ ˞ ˞

You were supposedly there at the club to be the designated driver for your small circle of friends, but when each of them had wandered off clinging onto an unfamiliar man’s arms ready to take off for the night and abandoned you, you figured it would be okay for you to let loose a little and have fun. 

Your curious eyes wandered and roamed around and fortuitously landed on Mark, bemused by his ear-splitting laughter that you could hear from a mile away and the way his friends were all in their own world away from the club, harmonious and collectively taking shots together in comfortable brotherhood. You and your friends couldn’t relate.

The memory made a fond smile appear on your face, attracting Mark’s attention but honestly, everything you did made him intrigued because he was entirely whipped for you. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Hmm, I was just thinking about when we first met, and how drunk you were.” You admitted, laughing heartily when Mark fished a silver coin out from his back pocket and held it up to dazzle in the light. He never failed to amuse you.

“God, you remember that?” His eyebrows crinkled, feeling embarrassed. “How were you even attracted to me in that awful state?”

“Clearly there was something wrong with the both of us. Remember how flustered I was when you first kissed me?” Your face contorted from the chagrin of it, remembering how you had immediately pulled away, only to smack your head into Mark’s nose and make it bleed enough to look like a scene straight out of a horror movie.

“You should’ve told me it was your first kiss!” Mark protested, feeling his nose ache just from the mention of the incident. “In my defence, it was impossible not to kiss you in that moment.”

˞ ˞ ˞ ˞

The sun was setting and your head was resting on Mark’s chest as he spooned you, arms wrapping around your frame on the couch to hold the controller comfortably where his fingers were moving relentlessly, tapping buttons rapidly on the device.

“Are you even listening to me?” You asked him incredulously as you craned your head back to get a good look at him. Mark was focusing intently on the tv screen, eyes moving back and forth rapidly to shoot players on the screen and hide on the battle zone and avoid getting killed.

“I am listening babe; you said that a guy barged into your lecture hall really late this morning and sat down with absolutely nothing on him, not even a pen and just listened to the lecture. And then five minutes before the end of class he walked out and said, “I’m not supposed to be here, sorry Professor.” And left with a salute, right? In my opinion, he was probably ditching his class and stumbled to yours.”

Your head cocked to the side, amused by his passive aggressive way of speaking and being surprised that he had actually heard you despite how intently he was concentrating on his game. Mark glanced at you briefly, before turning back to the screen and firing a load of bullets at once in quick succession, groaning after a moment of silence. “You just made me lose the battle.”

“Well, if you were less focused on your game then I wouldn’t be distracting you at all,” you justified, poking your tongue out at him in a cheeky manner.

Mark dropped his remote onto the glass coffee table in front of the coach before pulling you flush into his toned chest, lips centimetres away from yours.

“You want attention?” He whispered, eyes zoning in on your plush pink lips that you applied Chapstick to just mere moments ago.

His lips crashed into yours as a show of compliance and what you assumed to be a sweet and endearing gesture, but it was your first kiss and you panicked like a teenage girl, pulling away abruptly when his eyes were still sealed shut and he was just about to get serious.

Your eyes were blown wide and you were pulling away from him far enough to sit up and straddle his waist, but his head had been slightly tilted down to comfortably kiss you earlier and your head went crashing into his nose, eliciting a pained groan from him as his head went flying back from the force of it.

The next series of words that came tumbling out of your mouth were a combination of apologises, exclamations and, “you’re bleeding, Mark!” And, as if filming a dramatic scene in a TV series, Mark jumped up and held his hand to his nose only to discover that he was indeed, bleeding, and quite heavily too.

It poured out of his nose like a fountain and if not for your concern and remorseful feelings for causing it to happen in the first place, you would have laughed at the image of him springing up from the couch in such a fast manner and dashing to the bathroom, nose dripping as he cursed vehemently.

He rushed to the bathroom, a trail of dark, crimson blood dropping on his way and you ran after him cautiously to avoid stepping and slipping on it. The sheer amount of blood that came gushing out of his nose seemed to be enough to fill a whole donor bag in a hospital, and you felt nauseous the more you saw it, not being a huge fan of blood or anything medical-related.

˞ ˞ ˞ ˞

Mark avoided kissing you for a whole month after that, and even when he did start kissing you, he would continuously be reminded of the incident and kiss you with a great deal of wariness, afraid of getting bumped by your head again.

It’s safe to say that he learnt to notify you beforehand if he ever kissed you, but that was over half a year ago and you’d like to think that he’s not worried about the act anymore. For your sake and pride anyway.

He pressed a firm kiss to your cheek, feeling saccharine with the memories of it all and expressing it in the quickest way he could. Jackson, Mark’s team member, bounded over with a half empty bottle of Kweichow Moutai, a strong Chinese liquor that you knew he couldn’t handle well because he’s a lightweight, and said in an obnoxiously loud voice, “are you having fun, y/n? Mark’s boring right? Come dance with me.”

Without being able to protest, you shoot Mark an apologetic look as you get dragged away by Jackson, who is still managing to hold the heavy liquor bottle and not fall all over the place. It was a wonder how he was even walking straight after consuming it, but you nebulously assumed it wasn’t all drunk by him and was shared among other guests and the members because it was insanely strong, and even you couldn’t handle the scent of it. Tradition really runs deep in some people, you suppose.

The dance floor was packed with people, sweat and heat being the most prevalent scent in the tight spaced area and you had to breathe through your mouth a couple of times in order not to gag from the intensity of it.

“Jackson! Slow down a bit or you’ll get sick!” You warned him, watching as he pushed past people to get to the middle of the dance floor, the Moutai still being held admirably in his right hand with his left hand occupied with holding your wrist.

“No I won’t. I’m trying to get the best spot for us to dance!” He exclaimed, a thrill running through his veins like a child opening their gifts on Christmas morning. You turned your head back to glance at Mark who was watching the pair of you fondly. Mark went into a dream-like state as he watched Jackson twirl you around and unceremoniously fall onto his ass in a fit of pure laughter.

It reminded him of your first date together, when Jackson had interrupted the two of you and resulted in Mark not being able to ask you to be his girlfriend for another month, which was during your third official date on Valentine’s Day. 

It took him a great deal of bravery to ask you because not being drunk and under the influence of alcohol made his personality turn a whole 180 degrees, and he had great difficulty conversing naturally with you without making a fool of himself, stumbling and stuttering over all of his words.

“Don’t laugh and help me up!” Jackson whined, leaving his bottle of Moutai on the ground as he reached both his arms up as a gesture for you to hoist him up. You were toppling over with laughter, unable to find the strength you needed to pull him up without falling over yourself.

“You’ll make me fall too! Help yourself up,” you pouted, clutching your stomach that was aching from laughing so much. “This is payback for ruining my first date!”

˞ ˞ ˞ ˞

Serene chatter filled the air down below you, which you hardly hear from where you were, up on the hill that Mark made you trek six kilometres through a forest for. You would say it killed your feet and drained all of your energy, but the view was absolutely breath taking and totally worth the ruination of your heels. 

It was a bad idea to wear them in the first place, but Mark didn’t give you any spoilers whatsoever about where he was taking you out to and you wanted to dress up grandly, hoping that the heels would be enough to jazz up your plain t-shirt and denim jeans.

“Y/n, your shoes-“ Mark had begun upon reaching the hilltop but couldn’t finish his sentence because you shushed him with your cheeks glowering pink, embarrassing by your pathetic attempt to look stylish. He coughed back a chuckle, apologising for not warning you beforehand.

“Do you like wine? Or is soda a better option?” He quipped as he set out a blanket on the damp grass and pulled open the basket you had questioned earlier, to reveal a stash of multiple drinks and snacks, no doubt to sate you during the lengthy film. “Maybe soda, we haven’t met without drinking before.” You tried to joke, but it ended up sounding flat and monotonous, as if you hated the idea of drinking with him.

“Oh God, not in that way. I just, want us to talk without being under the influence, and see what you’re like because I know my personality completely changes when I’m drunk. I’m so sorry if that offended you.”

In all the times Mark could have chosen to laugh, now was not the most appropriate time. His laugh was so vocalised and fortissimo that it had your cheeks blushing a dark shade of red, feeling embarrassed for rambling and making a fool of yourself. But he wasn’t laughing because of how stupid you were, but how adorable he found you.

“Sorry, I can’t help myself. You’re really cute.” He paused to gauge your reaction, continuing when he found only an impassive look. “I just thought it’d help us relax a bit. We’re both awkward and shy and I was worried about how I’d get through the night without being an idiot. But it seems like we’ll be just fine without it now.”

For the first third of the movie, you spent it faced away from Mark, still basking in the aftermath of your humiliation that even Mark seemed to be able to brush off perfectly fine. You could feel his gaze on you multiple times, side-eyeing you with amusement before he gave up when you wouldn’t reciprocate. After that though, you had begun to feel bad about ignoring him when it wasn’t even his fault but yours and tried to initiate a conversation by giving into your growling stomach and asking for him to pass you a delicious looking cupcake.

He passed you a red velvet one, topped with cream cheese and a distasteful red heart cut out of marzipan on the top, giving away the fact that he had bought Valentine themed cupcakes. There was at least another month until the holiday, but that didn’t stop the stores from putting out their seasonal goodies, and even Easter eggs had begun to show up despite Christmas just passing a mere two weeks ago.

You eyed him in amusement, finding it endearing how he had gone to the effort to buy decently decorated cupcakes and not just plain ones. Before you even had a chance to jest at him, he defended himself. “I wasn’t about to buy birthday cupcakes or those plain chocolate ones, okay? How can there not be a single normal cupcake out there.”

You decided not to say anything to that and quietly snigger instead, calling it a truce for your obvious embarrassment about the wine incident earlier. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

You could hardly contain a bubbly laugh from erupting when Mark groaned and rubbed his face in chagrin, “you totally were going to make fun of me. Don’t lie.”

“By the way, can you see the screen well enough from here? Is the film good so far?” Mark wondered. You glanced down at the binoculars you were holding in your hand and looked to his hands only to find they were not holding a pair. You had been selfishly using them for the entire first half of the film, not even considering the fact that Mark wouldn’t have one.  

“I didn’t exactly think this through and only brought one pair of binoculars. So, I can’t see anything and I have no idea what’s been happening in this film to be honest.” Mark admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in thought. You gasped in realisation, feeling penitent as you practically lugged it at him, apologising incoherently and hurriedly.

“Relax, it’s cool. Just so you know, you look pretty under the moonlight.” He concluded, throwing his head back as he took a huge gulp of the wine that you didn’t even notice him open. Your mouth was gaped open in shock at his confession, not knowing how to reply to such a frank statement. Had he been watching you the entire time instead of the movie?

“I know you said you want to get to know me without the alcohol and everything, but all the drinks disappeared and I was really thirsty. And now I’m edging on tipsy.” He reported, noticing the way your eyes were dubiously watching him drink the Chardonnay.

The fact that the drinks had disappeared should’ve been enough of a warning to you that there was someone else other than just the two of you, but you chose to ignore it and interact with Mark instead, deeming it safe for you to talk normally without acting like a headless chicken running around for once. “Are you a fan of wine?”

“I prefer it to other options, yes. Has a nice kick of sweetness and acidity that I like. Though I think all of my friends would way prefer soju or beer.”

“Hmm, I agree. I really like how classy it is compared to beer to alcohol in general.”

Mark hummed in agreement, nodding his head along. You both took turns sharing the binoculars between you to watch the movie. Sometime during the duration of the film, you had grown tired from trekking up the hill and you leaned your head on Mark’s, feeling comfortable and ready to fall asleep any second. The stars were twinkling and the moon was glowing wonderfully, illuminating you and Mark.

Without the binoculars being held to your eyes, you took in Mark’s perfect features. His scent was heavenly too – a mix between something musky and a sophisticated woody aroma that was intense but not overwhelming, and not to forget the obvious aroma of the Acacia Carneros Chardonnay that contained notes of apple and pear along with a spicy fennel and lemongrass scent. It made no sense how it all blended together, but you felt yourself feeling soothed by the fragrance. Or maybe just because it was Mark.

Somewhere along the next few moments, you must have fallen asleep because when you opened your eyes, Mark was trying not to lunge his body forward as he whisper-shouted at a figure in the distance who you couldn’t quite make out. He was shifting around gently, in fear of moving his shoulder and cause your head to drop and he also didn’t want to wake you.

“Jackson, don’t you fucking dare. I’ll kill you-” He whispered, anger seeping through his raged words. The figure, who you assumed was Jackson, started jumping about wildly, pointing somewhere as he stuck something into the ground. A flash of orange was spotted before it disappeared and he ran towards Mark, crashing into him and covering his ears.

Fireworks exploded up into the sky from where Jackson had stuck something into the ground, and you figured it out to be a tube of cheap fireworks that you buy from those street vendors. Definitely not the safest to use. 

A parade of golds, greens, reds, blues and possibly every colour you could think of, rocketed high up, painting the dark sky beautiful flashes of rainbow colours. You no longer felt sleepy as you sat upright and craned your neck back to admire them, marvelling at how beautiful they looked up close.

It was the first time you had ever seen fireworks this close, always choosing to stay indoors on Halloween nights rather than be out in the cold to ignite them.

“Woah, let’s do it again! I could do this all night!” Jackson roared, running back to the same spot and jamming another tube into the ground, feeling exhilarated and delighted like a little child. Mark sighed but was ultimately unable to contain his smile at his friend. Only then did you notice that the spot which was filled with people and cars earlier to watch the movie were gone, and you were the only ones left on the hilltop.

“What are the fireworks for?” You questioned, clinging to Mark’s arm in order to hear him better with the cacophonous blast of the fireworks being so nearby.

“Our 5th anniversary as GOT7.” He replied back, a venerate smile on his face. You kept quiet, not finding it appropriate to comment on something so dear and special to him. Cheers erupted after the fireworks ended and you turned your head to find the source, discovering a group of boys who you believed to be his members. It made sense now, why the drinks had disappeared and how Jackson was magically there when you were woken up.

You chuckled to yourself, wondering how on earth you hadn’t noticed it before. Mark nudged your arm, turning your attention away from the boys and to him. “Sorry for waking you up, Jackson doesn’t listen to me, obviously.”

“It’s alright. That was my first time seeing fireworks up close so it’s cool. They looked unbelievable.” You smiled warmly at him, turning to glance at the boys. “Happy anniversary,” you hollered, laughing when they all bellowed back a chorus of ‘thank you’s’ and I love you’s’.

Mark was shaking his head in amusement, wonder-struck by how the boys always managed to be so loud no matter where they went. He couldn’t exactly complain though, because when he was with them he only added to the chaos. But with you, in this moment, everything felt so intimate and familiar that he was calm and enjoying it.

His mouth opened to speak but closed it without saying anything. You wanted to ask him what he was going to say, but it was dismissed when Jackson came barrelling towards you, a drunken smile playing on his lips as he grasped your hand and gazed at you with bewilderment. 

“Mark wouldn’t stop talking about you and we were all convinced he was lying but wow. You’re really pretty, y/n.” You blushed at the compliment and glanced at Mark who was covering his face sheepishly while trying to swat Jackson away from you.

“Did you like my fireworks? Mark was the one who planned it but then you fell asleep and I was too excited to stop myself. They were cool, right?”

“I loved it.”

“I told you so!” Jackson jeered at Mark, sticking out his tongue playfully and before you knew it, Mark was shooting up and chasing Jackson around the hilltop, both of them hysterical as Mark tried to get his revenge. Everything felt so familiar and jovial that you found yourself wanting to go on more dates with Mark. Wherever they may be, it was bound to be prodigious and exciting.

˞ ˞ ˞ ˞

“Are you having fun?” Mark questioned as soon as you got back to him after dancing deliriously with Jackson. He felt tired just from looking at the way you were jumping and thrashing around, but happy to see you so elated nonetheless.

With a sated expression, you nodded drowsily, “I am.”

“Ready to go home?”

“Just let me stay like this for a while.” You hummed back in response.

Your head was resting comfortably, nuzzled in Mark’s neck which was warm and shielding. You felt so tired, but everything today had been so perfect and you wouldn’t have had it any other way. Celebrating the New Year with Mark was something you never knew could mean so much to you, but it did.

All the moments you spent with him were the happiness memories you could have ever wished of creating. There wasn’t a single bad memory in existence that you had of Mark, because every second you spent with him was in complete bliss and happiness. Nothing could compare, and nothing ever would to the happiness you felt with him.

There wasn’t a single word to describe how things were with Mark. It was just perfect. He made you feel every bit loved, happy and content with the way things were and whenever you craved more, he would grant it a million times over and never leave you hanging. He showed you new experiences that you never would’ve even dreamed about undergoing, and he became your strength over the short span of a year since that fated day.

Mark supported you and loved you wholeheartedly, and you did too. Before you met him, your life was practically enclosed into a small bubble of school, work, friends and family. Travelling was something you could only fantasise about, but he made it possible. He made everything possible.

He helped you make new friends, even if they were just his dear company staffs and the members. He showed you how to truly live your life because in the end, the world is your oyster. You could do anything you wanted to you felt, after meeting Mark, because he guided you through everything with his own personal experiences, and if he didn’t know what he was doing either, he’d dive in headfirst with you; eager and intrigued every time. He gave you strength to live your life.

You realised, that you truly did love him. With your whole heart and soul, there was no one you would rather experience life with. You wanted to grow old together and find more hobbies and experience new aspects of the world with him, because you loved him.

“I love you,” you whispered into his neck, breath fawning over his neck and making him squirm a little. Your lips pressed a chaste kiss to the skin just under his ear, making his eyes flutter to a  close.

“I love you too,” he whispered back, kissing the top of your head with a gentle touch. Your heart immediately felt at ease and your eyes drifted to a close. There was nowhere else you would rather be.

#mark tuan #got7 #got7creators #kwritersworldnet #thekpopnetwork #mark tuan scenarios #mark tuan fanfic #mark tuan fluff #got7 scenarios #got7 fanfic #got7 fluff #got7 mark #lovelovelove

[monkey-network]

WarioWare: The Series Season 1 Episodes

52 Episodes. Season 2 Coming 20XX

Wario’s Stand: 9-Volt is getting bullied at school and challenges them to a fight against Wario, with Wario on board. However, on the day of the fight, Wario is a no show and 9-Volt has to investigate his disappearance before his bully figures out first.

Fare and Balanced: Dribble and Spitz take in a customer carrying a suspicious package, only to find that the package is a rare volatile fruit that could mean an explosive end to their business. However, the ride becomes difficult when they continuously try to keep things smooth.

The Crygor Effect: Dr. Crygor is working on an impossible question and, after dozing off, wakes up to find that Penny was able to solve it easily. Trying to wrap his brain around this conundrum makes Crygor feel inadequate, which results in the scientist aging faster than he realizes.

Destroy All Boomans: Orbulon gets a special prize in his cereal box, but throws it away when he loses interest. But, the special prize turns out to be a force to be reckoned with and begins to attack Diamond City.

Peace and Love (NOT) in DC: Diamond City is under attack! Buildings are getting decimated, streets are leveling, everyone’s scared for their lives...except for Wario and the gang, who all left together for a bonding vacation. Honestly, the only shocking thing is that Wario’s less conniving than usual.

The Horror?: Ashley witnesses the most shocking thing ever and this somehow puts a smile on her face. Is it out of fear? Is it the joy of discovery? Who knows, but she looks creepier than before and it needs to stop.

Jimmy’s Play: A self proclaimed master of disco challenges Jimmy to a contest. And while Wario wants to bank off this, Jimmy is invested for different reasons.

Spar day: Kat & Ana vs Young Cricket. Is that an unfair match? Better question: Is the city safe from their match?

Day of the Races: 9-Volt and 18-Volt stay up all night to play the latest kart racer but forget that school is tomorrow... today. So in the spirit of getting to school on time, they must use their skills from the game to book it before the bell rings.

Punch Drunk: Wario’s latest scheme involves a drink that nobody likes drinking but continues to drink regardless. However, the secret ingredient gets leaked and the competition gets rough when everyone thinks they can make better.

What Do You See in Him?: A teen celebrity is swooning over Mona but is shocked to hear of her crush on Wario, so he challenges the big guy to see who can win Mona’s affections. Wario isn’t interested, but goes along with it, believing there’s a scamming benefit to be had.

The “Hero” Returns: After the events of WW: Gold, with nothing better to do in Luxeville, Lulu returns to Diamond City to try to protect it from the dangers that lurk. Playing hero proves to be hard when little actually goes on, so she tries to win a competition against a familiar mask wearing vigilante.

I Am The Red Man: Red grows tired of Ashley’s condescending nature and decides to sneak out of the manor. He finds a cult that seemingly worships him, but only because he appears as the spawn, and sacrifice, of a greater evil.

Ana-lytical: Kat is forced to go on a journey of self reflection, which leaves Ana by herself for the day. Feeling the weight of loneliness, she connects with the others to learn about the meaning of life.

Bump the Mike: Dr. Crygor’s trusty karaoke/cleaning robot Mike is sent out to get bread from the store. But the way there proves to be a journey of dramatic, possibly musical, proportions.

Boxers Be Brief: Young Cricket meets a young boxer that’s light on their feet and packs a mean punch, but is ridiculed and harassed because of their stature. Meanwhile Wario becomes a fight promoter and seeks to put Cricket in the ring for a fixed fight.

Volt Jockeys: 9-Volt and 18-Volt get to do the morning announcements for school and try to make the most of it. Though they become too popular too quickly, overshadowing actual school time, and the staff silently try to put an end to it.

The Smell of Greatness: Penny is doing a science fair experiment on the worst smell imaginable. Wario takes this as an challenge and agrees to help her help him become the smelliest being in the universe.

Let’s Be Fronk: When day turns to night, Fronks try to unleash their fright.

Cricket Hops: Cricket and Master Mantis realizes that in order to be better fighters, they have to be able to jump over the largest building in the world without breaking their legs.

Crack to the Future: Wario gets into a motorcycle accident and wakes up to find that he’s been comatose for years and his friends and the city has remarkably improved since his disappearance. With no way of going back, is this the chance for the big guy to change his ways or will he have the skill to revive the status quo?

Hey, A Quick Fix: Orbulon helps Dribble and Spitz spruce up their cab, leading them to become legendary defenders of the universe.

The Tale of Two Jimmys: Jimmy T. and Jimmy P. find themselves in a bind when they get locked in a mall. Meanwhile, Jimmy’s Folks invited Crygor over for dinner and the wait gets awkward.

Active Ashley: Ashley finds that in order for a particular spell to work, she has to do a good deed for the community. Ashley being... Ashley, she turns to Mona for help.

The Smart Safe: There’s a safe designated to open to those with the lowest IQ imaginable. Orbulon wants to open it, but is too smart to outfox the mechanics. So he sets out to find the dumbest being in the universe.

Edible Gold: 5-Volt has a recipe for yellow pepper wings that everyone is craving for, but the recipe calls for a rare kind of gold which puts the greedy treasure hunter Wario in an uneasy position and everyone else in a pressuring mood.

Mona’s Bet: Jimmy and Mona make a silly gamble where if she can hold a job that’s not just part time for half a year, he’ll shave off his whole fro. Mona doesn’t think it’s too much a juggle, until she’s forced to work at her school as well.

The Breath Mints of Unfathomable Energy: Kat & Ana find a box of mints and finds that each one contains a special power. The two find themselves at a loss between abusing this power for themselves or making sure no one gets them, so they share them with the gang.

The Guy Who Shoved Me: A casual citizen relives the day where he goes from hating to falling in love with... Wario? Wait, is that right?

Magic Mike: 13-Amp, rebounding from her defeat to 18-Volt, is trying to get a groove back and Mike is around to help as beatboxer.

Slim Jimmy: Jimmy T. suddenly loses interest in disco and tracks out to other genres, which puts Club Sugar on the edge of closing.

Welp, The World is Gonna End: Penny’s tiny lie to Dr. Crygor causes the jumpstart to the annihilation of the Earth, with Fronk being the only one to save it.

The “Hero” Rises: Lulu thinks that Wario seemingly rules over Diamond City like a tyrant, so does her best to rally the city against him. And while that isn’t and never has been the case, and with nobody really listening to her, WarioWare Inc. decides to be there for her and make her believe Wario’s tyranny can be brought down, especially when the big guy owes them money.

Tales of the Greedy, Pig Faced, Pot Bellied Biker Man: 9-Volt and his classmates make stories about how Wario became the anti hero that he is.

Cab Rats: Rats start a taxi service that puts a competitive edge in Spitz. The duo try to outdo the new company, but their efforts spiral to an evil entity that makes Wario looks tame.

The Adventures of Trash Nebula: A Road Runner style episode containing Orbulon getting chased throughout the galaxy by Spiff Gibbous, cocksure alien hunter.

The Most Evil: Ashley is told that Wario is the “Most Evil Being Alive” and keeps track of him to disprove this, only to find that there might be some truth to it. In seeing this, will Ashley come around to actually look up to him? Probably not.

The Jimmy T Power Hour: Jimmy T. has lost his groove and he’s... okay with that. But who stole his groove, why is calm about it, what might the stray cats of Club Sugar have to do with this story?

Mona Please-a: Working for Mona Pizza, she continuously has to deliver to a customer that always gives a dissatisfied review. The palace begins to falter, and the WarioWare gang, especially Wario, do their best to retaliate against the sudden swarm of negative feedback.

A Rap Happy Slam: 18-Volt is thrown into a rap tourney for money and bragging rights, and asks 18-Amp for help. Although reluctant, she sees the heart 18 puts in his lyrics and tries to put her ego behind her. Emphasis on try.

Super Wario Odyssey: In a quest to find the purest garlic clove for his dinner, Wario has to prove his strength and ability as the food gods try to stop him at every turn.

Ninja Notes: A con artist tries to trick Kat and Ana out of their money by giving them fake ninja teachings, but their zealous nature proves too much for him. Then it turns out his teachings are actually successful, which makes him question his own identity.

Invincicricket: Young Cricket finds that superheroes are the best role models for pure martial arts training, and steps up to be Diamond City’s greatest force of justice, with Master Mantis in tow. Meanwhile, Wario-Man returns and gets a sidekick of his own.

Crygules: Dr. Crygor accidentally becomes a muscular beefcake and finds this to be detrimental to his work. But when women and men find him attractive, he’s at a loss between science and modeling. Meanwhile, Penny learns about the wonders of muscles through exercising.

Knabmus: Christmas Time is here and Ashley is having none of it. There is no tragic backstory to this, she doesn’t find the holiday all that great to celebrate. Wario agrees to this lack of sentiment, which is why the two join forces to steal the Christmas spirit however possible, because they want to.

The Producers: Mona and Dribble accidentally become stage producers and have to get a full house by one month or else lose everything they have. Knowing nothing about musicals, with Mona and Dribble slowly having creative differences, what won’t go wrong?

Falling Down: The WarioWare Gang gets stuck in an elevator, luckily Wario doesn’t take up too much space, and try to escape before they’re at each others throats.

No More Zeroes: Kat & Ana have to study for a test and get an A in order to get advanced training. But on their way to the testing place, they stumble upon a war between rival biker clans.

Accidental Chaos: Ashley brings hell and destruction to Diamond City because she has an accident while trying to perform a spell before the DC masters of witchcraft. And somehow, 5-Volt is the one responsible and capable of fixing this mess.

The “Hero” Survives: Lulu is at loss at what to do with herself. Diamond City is all she asked for in an exciting lifestyle, yet she’s generally homeless with no money to her name. So in addition to the WarioWare gang helping her out, she seeks guidance from a group of hobos and even gets help from an unlikely source.

WarioWare, The Musical (Part 1): Agreeing that Wario is never gonna change, the gang cuts ties with him and seperate to better their own lives. Wario’s okay with it at first but finds that money isn’t all to his happiness anymore like usual. So, he turns to an old purple cladded friend to help revitalize his life. Also, the characters are gonna try singing in this episode.

WarioWare, The Musical (Part 2): It’s been some time without Wario’s presence, and the gang has all reached a great level of success. Then again, where is success without a wrench to keep things interesting? It’s not that Wario was a great person, but he did mean something to the gang, to their company, overall. What that “thing” is is debatable, let’s not crush the chance for a heart felt reunion. Singing is again involved and Lulu might actually save the day.

#warioware #warioware gold #nintendo #videos games #cartoons #wario #fake episodes #dumb #mona #jimmy t #ashley #dr. crygor #penny crygor #mike #9-volt #18-volt #5-volt #young cricket #dribble and spitz #orbulon #warioware lulu #13-amp #fanfiction #long post #kat and ana

[valkurious69]

My Sweet Sacrifice CH. 6

Okaaaaaaeeeeeey so it’s a chapp. I’m wrtoin tia haff aslep so don blame me if its kinda croozy. I was jus lek DOEET an my brains like cool k cmere fone

--------------- “Hay I’m vex how’s your sex lyfe gurl”

“Wot??” I screech as he pulls me in2 his car. Wed just laft the hot docs palace not evun1 min ago and alrady dis guy was all up in ma groll. Topical. I know what it means whena men asks bout my sexy life.

They wan in.

“It jus lookt like I was interrupin some sorta lovers spat back dere,” he clericfied, starting up his all black chargr w chrome metal detaling sides. The seat wee all black velvet leather and the stealing wheel was all black sude w chains warped a round and connected in the centre by a sliver skull head. Even tho I apprech the goth, I was still sorta salty about bein quest shunned an abdicated by wannab Cry Bby. (AN: SUCKA DICK)

“Pffbt lover squirrel...” I repped, foldn me arms and scootn down in teh set. “f U mean how I was been attacked by her lover than shore. It was a Quirrell.”

“Ey feet offta dash!” He chapped, snappin his fingers and suddenly movin my feet magically 4 me bak to da floor. That got my attendance. Butt ass soon as I opera my mouth, he filed it. “Ah so ur dee otha womun... that explanation it” he mused vexingly.

“Ex plane what? Liek how you can contorts mah boody??” I wasn’t about 2 let dat go so ease lilly. “Oar who u really arr??”

His laugh echolocated thru da car frondly. If I want so mad iwoosa bean aroused. Wit his accent it sounded pretty nice, like a posh cackle. Maybe he was a hot warloxk. Aloe east a sorcererr. Whatevs he was he was def dork.

“I’m surpassed u don kno me,” he chortled after a whale, smiling w his eyes while sterling w one hand, resting an arm on the windoe. “Or at least remembers me. Does is this mean has widdle Tamskn forgot all aboot her fave babeh sitter?”

I grasped loudly.

“Yor MY vex!??” I creamed, jumpin up in ma seat. I hadn seen that guy sense I was jus starting in the valk acadmy!! He locked hlla diff tho, which is why I din reckon eyes him. (AN: sum ppl look soups diff after years laterrre!!11!111? It’s not wired is grown up!!) I laffd in my head at it, he was such a prepp b4!! Used 2 where polos an jeans an no makup. An now...I guess sum ppl do find their tru image l8tr.

Even added an accent an everyfing.

“The 1and only lovie,” he grinned chekilh. “And lucky lil you, u get to refresh ur mammory all over again, cuz guess who’s back in da bay sitting biz for today only!” He winks and fingergummed at me.

I razed an eyebro. “So u R kinaping me.” I wasn’t evn mad anymor honestly. Anything 2 get outta class. “Who sent u? My mom?”

He cukled, voix deeper than ush. An kinda hot, tbh. Maybe I culd make an assception n screw mah bbysister. While I was imagering what kinda things he could occupy my time w, he spoke again. “moar like mumsy’s BfF, the mighy miss morrigan”

Ok w that I turned 2 lock @ hymn.

“Woa whoa woah...” I razored my eyebrows all da way up, hands out in teh backup jest you’re. “U mean 2 tell me that da Moron asked u to kidnape me??”

“Kid nap is such an ugly term,” he mused cryptology, smirkn two himself in da review mirror as he adjusted it. An then his goat tee. “I perfer ta think of eat like... temperately acquired. I beleaf the morrign’s extract words were ‘relive the joys o yer previous employ meant’.... which, no offense to mumsy, I’m not exactly keen about doin”

“Niece 2 sea you wan 2 hang out sooooo bad,” I equipped snidely. “Not extractly hapee myself bout it...” even tho in secret truth I was axtually warmed up 2 him now. Kinda evan exited to catch up some. I mean, he did turn out petty cool n all..

“Well..” he fished, censoring my poutiness. “wot would u rather, I drop u back off at dear ol doctors so you can finish gettin ur eyes clawed out in a catfit, orrrrr...” he snerked knowingly despite my fold armed stare. “Stick wiff me an get an all-expensive paid shopping trip courtesan of the Morgan?”

An dats how we found ourselvs at a nearby Hot Tropic.

“OMF!!!11!11” I squelled, grabbing a thousand peaces an thorin them behind me 4 him 2 catch. “I cant beleaf dey got da new rave line out already!! it want even supposed to be available til next month!!!//!!”

“Yah yah...” he rolled eyes from behind a mountain of sequels and hollagraphic prints. “Butt listen, if ur gonna rally blend in2 that concert so u can catch Dysome.. (AN: She told him in da Carr bout this sick as concert dyson was gonna B @ and her plan 2 catch him while thur. Plus it’s leik her faaaabe alt indie underground band so like. Two birds w 1 Gaston) then u shuld leave this 2 the professional” He jerked a thumb at hisself.

“Woowwwwwwwwwwwwx100” she reptiled, turning on him w hands on hips. “Way 2 assume u can out-dress a girl!” (AN: she’s a FEMMIKNITS, okaaaayyy?? All vaklurers are all bout women over men, got it?) “Weigh two assume u no how 2 dress @ all!” he snerked back, already grubbing some peaces off there hangars. I pooted an gave him my beast glare b4 he thru all my close to the flooer an pushed his picks in2 my surprised arms. “Now git yer a$$ into da changeling room so u can give Ol’ Vexxy a proper shipping montage grrrrrrrrrrrl!” *snap snop*

#welp #i got tired #so this is what u get #wow this has been sitting on my phone for aaaages #whoops #at least i updated #tamzin ran fenrir loki #my sweet sacrifice #chapter 6 #slutty valkyries #vex #lost girl #parody #fae #fantasy #magic #horrible writing #my immortal #this was supposed to be short filler #but noooooo #vex took over my brains #and tamzin keeps deciding to try and fuck anyone that moves #so #here we are #bonus points if you can spot where i changed to second person narrative #and abandoned all hope #AN: SUCKA DICK #snap snop

[eighthmark]

Exactly one year ago today, I was in the middle of my Law & Order: SVU binge  when I watched a Assistant District Attorney from Brooklyn remove his belt in open court, tie it around his neck and proceeded to ask the witness on the stand to pull (hard) on it.

All in efforts to make his case, and win it. Gloriously.

After picking my jaw from off the ground I Facebook messaged my two closest friends, trying my very hardest to downplay my shock and excitement, about the best thing I’ve seen on a television show.

They saw right through me of course, I couldn’t keep the excitement and giggles down for very long.

A quick search on YouTube brought me to the Broadway.com interview, now nicknamed the couch interview, and if I wasn’t completely sold then- I certainly was after that. Did I find the man agonizingly good-looking? Of course- no amount of treasures in this world could ever make me deny that. But that wasn’t the shock factor, in a feeble attempt to describe it I suppose I felt that he oozed this magnetic charisma that left me in such awe within the first few seconds of the video. At the time I couldn’t relate or understand to more than half of the things he was referencing, but I wanted to. I wanted to get what he was saying; to listen and read up about it. When he spoke of the performance he’d want to relive; I got emotional. With no prior knowledge of Company or Leap of Faith (oh, how did I possibly live?) how could I have been so attached?

And yet I was. With the help of YouTube’s “autoplay” and “more suggestions” features… I got myself educated.

It all went, the expression is downhill but I’d much rather use the opposite, uphill from then. Hallelujah (Oh God, hallelujah - has anyone recovered from that yet?), Being Alive, more interviews, articles, and not to mention more episodes with ADA Rafael Barba all led me to a path I knew I was not going to leave anytime soon. His articulation. The passion he distills translates so profoundly- it blew me away. Needless to say, I was beyond intrigued- beyond impressed.

Then I listened to Company.

I wish I could have written a diary entry the day I first listened/watched Sondheim’s 2006 production of Company. If I did, I could properly recall and share the huge wave of emotions that overwhelmed my body. In the most peculiar way, and I do mean peculiar because to this day I am amazed how it came to be, I saw so much of myself in Bobby. Not so much what he was or had gone through, but what he felt. The fear, the doubts, the frustration, the irritable need to just be… loved. The material translated and spoke so vividly to me; I wondered briefly if this might be the most beautiful, touching piece of work I had every listened to. It was.

(Alright, I want to get through this in one piece without becoming a sobbing mess so I’ll just link a post I made a while back that I’m quite fond of.)

All I can say is, Company changed the game. Completely.      

OKAY! *rubs hands together* GOOD AND HAPPY THANGS’ NOW

I share this date, July 15th, with @sherrykinss - who if without, I don’t know where I’d be! My soul sister and PD partner! I think I can be bold enough to say that in this year we’ve learned so much about each other, and about ourselves through the Esparza Journey. The laughs, the after-10 shenanigans, the tears, the mind boggling conversations, our dinners in Coppelia, - I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. I really, really don’t want to bestow that much credit to the man… so I won’t (bahahaha) but I am truly grateful that The Clovers has played a part in bringing us closer than we were before. LOVE YOU, GIRL!

Now I’d love to steer to the unexpected, and most joyous part of the experience.

The Fandom.

Having been a #F4NGIRL4LYFE for as long as I can remember, I can undoubtedly say that this is the fandom I am most fond of.

The utter T A L E N T that I am a recipient of almost everyday honestly makes me want to roll on the ground. Artists, writers (this is a huge umbrella; analysis, fic and everything in between! And YOU THERE, you who writes in the tags? You da’ real MVP), gif-makers, meme creators- holy shi- do you know how amazed I am of you?! Seriously, I want to be more vocal about it instead of just hidin’/creepin’ behind a screen with tears of joy. I promise I’ll try harder because you truly bring me so much happiness. With the exception of a few out of place individuals, (I’m looking at you, anon haters) I can really feel the love support we have for one another - and that’s what it should be 24/7, 365 days of the year; Love and support.

If you made it this far into the post… *hugs* Thank you. This is honestly the most personal I have ever been on this blog. If you’ve read this, you certainly have a better idea about me than a lot of people in my life; use that how you will. I guess I wanted this to be an appreciation post; even though I know for a fact no words will be enough to thank Raúl Esparza for what his work has helped me with this past year, and I expect for years to come.

My love for musical theater has ignited ten-folds because of him. I experienced first hand how truly powerful music was; and was reminded how much it could really heal. He’s inspired me so much it feels surreal and sometimes a little scary, to be honest. Both directly and indirectly; he has “been there” for a lot of personal, even professional matters- but those are stories for another time.

I think it’s luck, you guys- perhaps a little sprinkle of magic that led me here, don’t you think?

Raúl Esparza- thank you.

Thank you for Bobby, for Jon, for Barba, for Jonas, for Chilton, for Philip, for Charley, for Che, for Nevada, for Alfredo, for George; for all the stories you’ve told, and the ones you have yet to tell.

Thank you. For you.

#personal #to say the least *nervous laughter* #i didn't include this in the post but if you'd like and are comfortable enough to do so please share your Esparza journey #i'd love to know :} #this caught me off guard this morning #i wasn't planning on writing it but here it is #... #there's so much more I want to say #and share #maybe next year :)

[the-desolated-quill]

The Blessing Of Many Fractures - Iron Fist blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Brace yourselves for a bit of a shock, but I actually liked this episode.

And when I say liked, I mean really liked. There’s some stuff in The Blessing Of Many Fractures that’s legitimately good. There’s quite a bit of bad as well (this is Iron Fist after all), but nevertheless it’s a relief to be able to talk about an Iron Fist episode in positive terms for once.

Danny, Colleen and Claire decide to follow Madame Gao to China in the hopes of finding out how she knew Danny’s father and possibly finding a way to defeat the Hand once and for all. I honestly think this is a good idea on the writers’ part. Moving the action out of boring old New York and into a new location like China seems to have given the show a much needed shot in the arm. Granted we don’t see much of China, and the Hand’s warehouses do look suspiciously like New York warehouses with a few Chinese signs plastered here and there, but it’s the thought that counts. It marks the characters newfound determination in their quest to defeat the Hand, specifically Claire who has just about had enough of the Hand and wants to do something about it.

The Blessing Of Many Fractures also gives us something that we haven’t seen throughout this season. Actual character exploration. One scene that really stood out was on the plane when Danny was reliving the painful memories of the plane crash 15 years ago during a spot of turbulence while Claire tries to calm him down. Unlike the annoying flashbacks from the first couple of episodes, this actually explores and addresses Danny’s feelings about his past in a fairly effective way. And to his credit, Finn Jones actually does a pretty good job

There’s also some effort to develop Danny and Colleen’s relationship a bit as they talk about how both have lost parental figures in their childhood. I still don’t buy their romantic feelings for each other. Not even for a second. But at least there’s some effort to actually have the two bond in a believable way.

We also get some actual fighting this time around. Most of it is well done, although somewhat implausible. Why is it that ninjas never use guns in these kinds of shows? When Colleen is running toward that woman, wouldn’t it have been easier just to shoot Colleen? Wouldn’t that be a better way of defending these warehouses other than using a poxy sword. Also later on you see these business men whipping out knives and axes and stuff when they could have just gunned then all down. For some reason TV ninjas seem to value theatricality over actually getting the job done. But I shouldn’t complain really. Considering that Scott Buck seems to be allergic to the idea of any kind of martial arts in a martial arts show, I guess I should make the most of this.

And then along came Lewis Tan. The guy who was also in the running to play Iron Fist until he was rejected in favour of Finn Jones, who won the Marvel execs over with his unique acting talents. Talents like... um... er... Oh come on, there must have been something!

Yeah, watching Lewis Tan as Zhou Chen feels a bit bittersweet. On the one hand he’s really cool to watch, but on the other you are kind of distracted by thoughts of what could have been. Obviously I’m not suggesting that the many problems with Iron Fist would somehow magically be fixed by casting Lewis Tan in the role. I would never suggest such a thing and anyone who does clearly needs a reality check. However just casting an Asian person as opposed to a white person would be enough to fix some of the more glaring racial issues, plus Tan just has so much more personality and charm than Jones does. How long is Zhou Chen on screen for? Two minutes? Maybe three? In such a short space of time, I was completely hooked by his performance. The way he drunkenly staggers around before unleashing all these breathtaking martial arts moves, the way he delivers his sarcastic quips, and the way he constantly mimics and mocks Danny’s fighting style just to get a rise out of him, this is a very entertaining character to watch. I hope to God this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him.

But Zhou Chen isn’t just there to be awesome. His main purpose is to put doubts into Danny, and the audience, as to why he became the Iron Fist. The season has touched on this briefly with the whole abuse thing, but frustratingly never developed it until now. Zhou Chen suggests that Danny isn’t taking the mantle of the Iron Fist seriously, saying that he’s using it to punish rather than protect. It’s very hard to argue with this considering what we already know. Cast your minds back to why Danny took the Iron Fist trials in the first place. It was because he was goaded by those around him saying an outsider couldn’t do it. His motivation was to prove them wrong as opposed to a genuinely altruistic desire to protect and serve the people of K’un L’un. It also explains why he left. He doesn’t really care about K’un L’un. Oh sure he spouts their teachings and beliefs, but that’s only because he was effectively indoctrinated. In truth there does seem to be a hint of resentment toward those that raised him. Training him through violent means and controlling every aspect of his life. Hell, he’s even referred to as a Living Weapon, suggesting he’s a tool to be used rather than an individual in his own right. Why else would he leave if not to escape and find his own path? This also bleeds into the whole moral dilemma about whether or not he should kill people. While we’ve seen this played out before with the likes of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, this puts a slightly different spin on it. He’s not just making moral choices.  He’s choosing between following his duties as the Iron Fist to the letter or making his own independent decisions.

This episode ends somewhat anti-climactically. Danny finds out the poisoned weapons the Hand use are the same ones that killed the pilots and caused the plane to crash 15 years ago.

Wait! So the bad guys are really (gasp) THE BAD GUYS?!

Yeah, not exactly a massive shock, is it? I mean who else could it have been?

One minor nitpick, why couldn't they have ended the episode with Danny smashing the wall and leaving it ambiguous as to whether or not he killed Madame Gao? That would have been an awesome cliffhanger!

As I said, I thought all of this was really good. The best of the season so far (which isn’t surprising considering the shit that came before), but unfortunately this is all undermined by the usual Iron Fist bullshit. China is where all the exciting, interesting stuff is happening, so why the fuck does the show keep insisting on yanking us back to New York? Who gives a fuck about Joy and Ward and who owns Rand fucking Enterprises? I was glad to see the back of them quite frankly. I’ve mentioned in the past that Scott Buck seems to be almost ashamed of the fact that this is a superhero show, and this just proves my point further. Danny’s adventures in China are constantly being interrupted by Joy and Ward’s predicament and it’s really bloody irritated. I don’t care about these characters, this plot doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the Hand as far as I can see, and it’s so unbelievably boring to sit through.

Also Ward is hallucinating now. Because of course he is. At this stage you could tell me he’s an alien from the planet Zog here to steal the world’s supply of cheese to power his electric toothbrush, and I honestly wouldn’t bat an eyelid. It’s become abundantly clear that nobody knows what the fuck to do with this character anymore, and I’m past caring.

If we could just cut out all the boring corporate baggage that’s weighing everything down, then maybe there’s hope for this show after all.

#the blessing of many fractures #iron fist #marvel cinematic universe #netflix #review #spoilers

[calamiticus-blog]

and here’s the second one, which is also so messy and blah i’m so sorry it’s like 2 am and i wanted to get these out so my apologies for typos and general messiness. i added trigger warnings but if i missed anything pls lemme know and message me if you wanna plot with my babes :)

[ TRIGGER WARNINGS: DEATH, DEPRESSION, AND ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE UNDER THE CUT. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION. ]

❝  be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. ❞

LYDIA GRAHAM? No, that’s actually MATILDA YOUNG. About to begin SEVENTH YEAR, this GRYFFINDOR student is sided with THE LIGHTNING INSURGENCY. SHE identifies as CIS FEMALE and is a MUGGLEBORN who is known to be RASH, IMPATIENT, and CALAMITOUS but also PUCKISH, CHARISMATIC, and CONFIDENT. 

general

name: matilda tillie ann young

age: 17

house: gryffindor

student functions: gryffindor keeper

boggart: the ghost of her mother, pale and withered and broken

patronus: wild cat

orientation: pansexual / panromantic

headcanons.

if you want a death sentence, you’ll call her matilda. no one calls her matilda. not even her own father calls her that. he knows better. you can call her tilda, matty, til - whatever. anything but matilda. mostly, she gets called tillie, and that’s how she introduces herself. “tillie young - at ya service,” she’ll say if you ask her for her name. she hasn’t uttered her full name - no one has - not since that day. and she wants it to stay that way. matilda young died the day her mother left this world, leaving behind a totally different person. a ghost of a person. and if you try to resurrect her, ever utter that name, all you’re going to get is a fistful of pain, either to the schnoz or the groin. don’t you dare call her matilda. 

tillie young grew up muggle, completely unaware of the phenomenon that was coursing through her veins. her childhood was fairly simple, though somewhat riddled with hardship. michael and tabitha young were, just that - young. tabitha was just seventeen when she found out she was pregnant, about to have a kid when she was still one herself. her boyfriend (a rather loose term for michael at the time) was just a couple years older, a uni drop out who played drums in a psychobilly band that was honestly not that good at all. the only good song he ever wrote was for a little black haired girl, a spitting image of her raven-haired mother, and the only joy the man ever had. despite her rocky origins, tillie grew up in a loving home with a pair of crazy, and heavily inexperienced, parents who were growing up beside their wild haired daughter. those first few years were bliss, the kid not knowing the troubles lurking beneath the surface of her parents’ wide grins. 

so it was a shock when the leukemia hit. tillie tries not to think about it, because it only ever gets her mad. it was just a reminder that life wasn’t bliss, that it was cruel and unfair and things never really ended with “happily ever after” like those silly children’s books mum would stop and read to her whenever they were out and happened to be near a book store. life was not some fairy tale. she had to learn this the hard way. her memories of her mom range from her being healthy and oh-so-happy to frail and weak. and yet she was always smiling, even through the hardest parts. she was so strong, so committed to making sure her daughter didn’t see the true suffering behind her eyes. tillie hadn’t a clue then what was happening, but looking back all the signs were there. despite their efforts, it didn’t take long for the sickness to take hold, and she remembers being curled up next to her mother, staring up at dark and beady eyes, hearing her father’s muffled weeps against the other side of her neck, barely concealing the slow and dying beat of tabitha young’s heart. she’d stayed there for a couple hours more, until they had to tear her away from the body’s side. she hadn’t even cried until they were out in the hallway and michael was struggling to keep tillie from jumping out of his arms and rushing back into the room where tabitha lay. 

it was shortly after this that life sent another curveball tillie’s way. when her mother left, so did any light in their world. her father resorted to alcohol and medication to numb the pain left from their loss. he was barely a dad now. tillie stopped calling him dad just to make that clear. she spent a lot of time between the homes of relative’s and “in the system” while her father went through phases of sobering up and falling into bad habits. eventually they gave up on both of them, and through a cruel twist of fate tillie stayed with her dad. she may have been the kid, but michael needed someone to take care of him more than he could take care of someone else. so she dealt with it, and soon enough the daughter became the caretaker. it forced her to grow up fast, but the everlasting memory of her mother kept tillie from growing up too fast. she still remained impish and charming and refused to be some stick in the mud grown up. that was dad’s job, even if he wasn’t going to live up to it. but her lifestyle left her with complicated and unnerving feelings, a sort of darkness that would follow her no matter how carefree she attempted to act in the face of all her adversity. 

this darkness took the most intriguing forms. all her life her parents had compared her to a storm. you could always sense just when a hurricane’s about to land, and according to her parents you could always sense when tillie was going through something. every tantrum was accompanied by a disturbance. the echo of her laughter caused things to literally jump. and those big old crocodile tears that leaked whenever she was upset brought on the most peculiar wonders that either tabitha or michael had ever seen. strange coincidences, they’d say, but when tillie was older and able to recognize the peculiarities herself, she couldn’t help but feel there was more to it. after all, things randomly, albeit briefly, levitating around you was no common occurrence. the answer to this quiet question that was plaguing her every night didn’t come until the arrival of a strange and ancient looking woman to her home when she was eleven, accompanied by a letter delivered by owl inviting her to attend hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry. it seemed like out of one of those fairy tales her mum used to read to her, but this was no fairy tale. magic was real, and tillie had some of it herself. 

the transition into being a witch was strange, to say the least, but tillie has embraced it fully. since discovering she’s a muggleborn, she’s wanted nothing more than to immerse herself completely in this new and fantastical world that’s been open to her. she took to hogwarts so naturally, it was like she was born with the knowledge of it. and while she isn’t the most studious or intelligent, she’s soaked up the education it’s given her. to know that magic is real and to be steadily mastering it has awakened a joy in tillie she never knew was there. not since her mother died. she found a passion for quidditch, being an exceptional beater. she loves charms and transfiguration, taking glee in transforming rats into goblets and the like. every second spent at that castle is like the first chapter to a brave new adventure. but the true reason she’s taken such a liking to hogwarts is because for the first time in a long time she has a home - and a community that loves her and welcomes her in with warm embrace. michael did little to make her feel love after tabitha’s passing. the friends she’s made at hogwarts and been the opposite. she doesn’t feel lonely anymore, not here. she feels at peace and blissful, like a child again. it’s hard to believe it’s her last year and that it’s all coming to a close. she wishes she could turn back time, back to that first day on the boat, so she could keep reliving these seven years over and over again. 

the war scares her. the prospect of her fairy tale world being ruined by the threat of war unnerves her. tillie doesn’t want ruin to come to the wizarding world. not when it’s been such a joyous escape from the tragedy of her past. she was quick to sign up for the insurgency - desperate to keep this danger from spoiling the beautiful community she’s come to consider her home. she’s eager to fight back, to bring an end to this ridiculous fight once and for all. with blind courage and optimism, she believes that they’ve got what it takes to bring a proper end to this. nevermind that they’re just a group of kids - this is their world. her generation is on the brink of adulthood, and these backward thinking pricks want to ruin their future? hell no. she won’t let this stand. as a muggleborn she feels particularly threatened and it only spurns her on more to stop the death eaters once and for all. behind all that courage and ambition, though, she’s afraid. she’s afraid that she won’t be good enough, that she’ll fail. she’s afraid of dying and leaving her father an even bigger mess than when her mother passed. 

loud and somewhat obnoxious, tillie is incredibly outgoing and isn’t shy when it comes to making friends. she’s rather protective and if she sees anyone being bullied she’s quick to jump to their defense and claim them as a friend. once you’re her friend, you can count on being protected by her. she may not seem like much but she’s tough and foul-mouthed and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty or into a fight or two. growing up on the streets, she learned to fend for herself - and she’s seen her fair share of the big bad guys picking on the defenseless little ones. tillie won’t let that fly, though. as a seventh year, the question of her future has been brought up more than she wants to address. she’ll tell anyone she wants to be a holyhead harpy, and she very well could be, but there’s a lingering though of becoming an auror or working in law enforcement. she wants to protect the little guy, to bring justice to those that do wrong, but she isn’t sure her grades are enough to get her into a training program. so she won’t say it aloud. plus, holyhead harpy sounds so much cooler.  

wanted connections.

friends - like said above, tillie loves to make friends. and she loves to defend said friends. she’s a cross of mom friend and your friendly neighborhood badass - she will probably mom you and tell you to put on a jacket when it’s cold out because “you might get sick” and she’ll baby you and remind you to get enough sleep and eat three balanced meals, but she’ll also punch someone square in the nose for you, and is known to kick a few groins in the name of friendship. she’s already lost the most important person in her life - whenever she gains a new friend, she goes the extra mile to ensure their safety and happiness. and she loves to remind people she cares, because you never know when they won’t be around to hear it anymore. and she doesn’t want the lat words between them to be bad. ( can be multiple people )

exes - she may be a loving shit, but man tillie is not the best at maintaining serious romantic relationships. could be the unconventionality of her parents’ relationship. could be the string of destructive relationships she watched her father endure after tabitha left them. whatever the case, she’s just not good at keeping these things going. often times it’s because she gets scared. they’re getting in too deep. they’re really developing serious feelings about each other. then she gets cold feet. blame it on her self-destructive nature or inability to think decisions through before acting upon them - tillie always breaks things off just when they’re going so well. it’s because she’s used to good things leaving her. she said her goodbyes once and she can’t handle the thought of losing anyone else. with war looming on the horizon, this is getting all the more stressful. so she broke shit off again, because if something happens she can’t live with losing another person she loves more than life itself. better to end it now than see it end through death. ( any gender )

rivals - whether they are rivals on the pitch or elsewhere, tillie cannot stand this one person. they’re always against her, always standing in her way. they don’t see eye to hate. they think lowly of one another. maybe it’s a blood status thing. maybe it’s a gryffindor/slytherin thing. maybe it’s just the fact that tillie thinks she’s a lot better than this person and vice versa. whatever it is, there’s no doubt there’s bad blood between them. perhaps if they looked past their differences the pair could be a dynamic duo, come to actually like one another, but that doesn’t seem likely. tillie hates them with all of her might, and she refuses to see them as a human being. they’re more like the devil incarnate, but whatever. ( any gender )

can’t think of that many more but i’ll take like any connection you can think of so don’t hesitate to message me your ideas!!

[ READ MORE ]

( feel free to message me with plots or connections, even if they aren’t listed on here ! i would be open to everything and anything ! )

#ghostsintro #( m. young ) #( about. matilda ) #i'm sorry i suck at these

[thelastyearinmyforties]

Day 92: The things I read...

I am a reader. I love to read. LOVE. I’ve read two books in the last two weeks and am a third of the way through another, which I started at lunch today. I read fast, and when I get engaged in a story - which is sometimes from page one but many times after a chapter or two - I can hardly stand to put a book down. I stayed up too late the other night finishing one of those books and could easily stay up all night to finish the one I’m reading now. But part of me wants to wait a bit so I can hang out with these characters a bit more. I just love to read! I love to escape into the land the characters inhabit whether that’s the north side of Chicago (in my current book), a dystopian future on an unknown planet, Victorian Europe or the streets of New York City. It’s probably the most relaxing thing I do other than actually going to the spa. 

When I was a kid I was all about Nancy Drew. I read all of them and over the years have been picking up old copies from used bookstores to rebuild my collection. But it wasn’t just about Nancy…I read everything I could get my hands on and for several years read above my grade level. In high school I read fiction, primarily that which was written by Stephen King. I mean he did write a book about me after all. Fine, it wasn’t really about me but at least he spelled my name right. After high school I lost interest in reading, likely because college requires a different kind of reading and I felt like I couldn’t read anything else. When you’re required to read something the joy of it is completely lost. 

Somewhere toward the end of college I picked up a little non-required reading when Field of Dreams came out. After seeing the movie I decided I wanted to read the book, Shoeless Joe, by WP Kinsella. And then I wanted to read other books about baseball, and for a year or so that’s all I read. Then came grad school and well, it was back to a different kind of reading. 

At some point my mind shifted and I only had a desire to read non-fiction, so I read more books about baseball, biographies and autobiographies and that sort of thing. I read semi-regularly but I wouldn’t have called myself a reader, which seems insane now, but you know, life changes and many things change along with it.

After grad school and my year-long internship I started reading a lot of Christian books, many by Chuck Swindoll, designed to inspire and motivate, and I loved them. I know now I was really trying to figure out who I was and where I belonged. I knew I was a Christian but I never felt like I totally fit in. I read books about being single and how that was okay and how I should wait for Mr. Right (still waiting by the way, but that’s a separate blog). I read very little else during this time of my life and while I read a lot I don’t think I would have called myself a reader. I’m a tiny bit embarrassed to tell you that I read the entire Left Behind series. Yes. Every. Single. Book. And I think I even knew they weren’t great as I was reading them but for some reason I didn’t feel like I would be a good Christian if I didn’t read them. Trust me, I know better now. But beyond those books, I was still reading primarily non-fiction, and I might have said I liked to read but I wouldn’t have said I was a reader.

But then came a little series of books about a young wizard with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. I heard about the books but didn’t actually care until then I started seeing the preview for the first movie, and I knew I needed to read the book before it came out. So I bought the paperback and read it on a plane ride to visit my mom. I finished it that night. To be fair, the first book is pretty short. While on vacation I bought books two and three, also in paperback, and I read one while I was there and the other on my way home, finishing it shortly after I got back. And then I had to WAIT. Book four wasn’t out yet and I was dying. I needed it. But here’s the other thing you need to know…I decided that since I started buying the series in paperback that I couldn’t buy the hardcover version. This is still a thing for me with all the books I buy. So I waited for the paperback to come out. I know! It seems insane now. Like I couldn’t check it out from the library or just download a digital version? Maybe digital versions weren’t a thing then. Anyway, the point is, Harry Potter made me a reader again, and I will forever be grateful to JK Rowling for that. I now own all the books in paperback and actually own a hardcover set of the UK versions, which is actually pretty cool.

And then came chick lit and authors like Jane Green and Jennifer Weiner who made me realize that it was okay to be smart and single and that if I was myself the right guy would come along (still waiting!). I found other authors through them, and then…well, then my closest friend on the planet wrote and published her first novel and my world of reading changed dramatically.

First and foremost, reading Tasha’s books (Tasha Alexander…look her up and buy all of her books!) made me realize that I actually like historical fiction and mystery. To be fair, there’s a little romance in them, too, and that certainly doesn’t hurt. I have learned so much about writing and reading and the world of publishing from Tasha, and it’s all made me love reading even more. It’s certainly made me a better writer, and I get giddy every time she sends me an early draft to read. 

Through Tasha I found other genres and other authors - several of whom I now consider good friends. I jump from the cozy mysteries of Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey) to the thrillers of Andrew Grant (Tasha’s husband) to the delightful novels of Renee Rosen and Allie Larkin and Christine Son (now Fickel) and the genius that is Bill Cameron. While Bill’s thriller series was a little extreme for me, his new young adult series is one of my favorites - I need more Joey in my life, sir! And there are more. So many more. And of course I continue to find other authors as I explore bookstores, where I usually get myself in far too much trouble but I don’t even care. They’re books!! I do have an eReader but if given the choice, I will always, always, always choose the physical book. There’s just nothing like the feel of the paper, the way the spine cracks, and the way the cover invites me in.

In the past few years I’ve also Kickstarted a couple of books by new authors and without the magic of the internet I never would have known about them. Had I seen the books in the store I’m not sure I would have read them but after supporting them through the process of making the books, I count them among my favorites: Nick Miller’s Isn’t It Pretty to Think So? and Jack Cheng’s These Days: A Novel. I discovered Nick Miller on tumblr and his book was the first project I ever backed. I love that. 

So yeah…now I read all the time. And it’s primarily fiction but I jump around from genre to genre as I mentioned above. The last two books I read were young adult novels - Paper Boats by Dee Lestari and Flower by Elizabeth Craft. I found both of these randomly while searching for other things. That is quite often how I find some of my favorite reads. The book I’m currently reading, Windfall, is the latest novel from one of my favorite YA authors, Jennifer E Smith. Honestly, since I decided I didn’t actually have to be a young adult to read YA books, it’s become my favorite genre. I still love good chick lit, which most seem to call women’s fiction now - Sarah Pekkanen, Allison Winn Scotch, Alyssa Goodnight, and of course, the wonderful Jane Green, who I will never get enough of. I love cozy mysteries and historical fiction and while I’ve tried to love thrillers the truth is, I really just love Andrew and his are the only ones I read. 

I can’t fully explain why I love YA so much. Maybe it’s the joy of living a youth I didn’t experience. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m almost 50 and I want to relive some of those younger days. Mostly I think it’s just the fact that I love good stories and YA authors write some of the best ones around. Don’t even bother trying to argue that point with me. You will lose. The fact is, I’m young at heart. I tell people all the time that I’m actually 12 so it makes sense that this is my favorite genre. 

This has been a very long post but clearly I’m passionate about this topic. I came by it very naturally. Both of my parents are avid readers - mostly non-fiction for them, and my step parents are readers, too. Between the five of us we probably own 3 million books. That might be a slight exaggeration. Or it might not be.

If you stuck it out this long, thanks! If you just skimmed and got to this part more quickly than others, that’s okay. Now you’ve got more time to read a book. See what I did there? 

So tell me…what do you love to read?

#life #books #reading #nancy drew #stephen king #wp kinsella #jk rowling #harry potter #tasha alexander #jennifer e smith #jane green #laura bradford #bill cameron