#i would like to be able to SEE what’s on my screen fgs

[whumpypepsigal]

“Kaz’s whole body ached with exhaustion. His leg had ceased throbbing and now it just radiated pain.”

#shadowandboneedit #whumpedit #whump #sabedit #shadow and bone #kaz brekker #freddy carter #post fight #wincing #pain #exhaustion #2x03 #my gifs #shadow and bone spoilers #is this blog turning into a kaz fan page? yes… yes it is #thanks to the director for giving us this shot of freddy’s kaz just standing there looking all battered beaten sweating and in pain… #this was a GOOD choice! *heart eyes* #p/s: would like to file a petition to the sab showrunners to film this show using a good light so a scene can be visible to the naked eye #i would like to be able to SEE what’s on my screen fgs

[dailytony]

Thank you for answering my questions :)

I never thought you this was a hate blog, I know *some* Wanda and Bucky can be some of the worst with Tony hate. So I get bring protective, and I’m you and other Tony blogs provide a place for people who just love Tony and how his dynamics.

I just know that even know it can be a testy subject when the characters are talked about together, more than anything I wish we could have got heart to heart scenes with where Tony/Wanda & Tony/Bucky were able to just talk.

Also I loved your descriptions you gave with all the most important people list. :) it made me smile, but when I said kids & flesh and bots I was including everyone from Dum-E,Friday to Nebula,Peter,Harley and his RiRi in a way too)!

Speaking of RiRi, I’m excited and nervous! If I’m being honest I haven’t been the biggest fan of phase 4, I love seeing all the other characters get time to shine but sone of things see more about being being politically correct than making the fans happy.

I’m sure she will do great carrying on Tony’s legacy,Im hoping Iron Heart captures my heart! I just wish we could have seen them interact on screen so it would be more meaningful. I checked out some of their comic scenes and I enjoyed them.

People thought that a lot of Tony fans wanted Harley to be iron lad for weird reasons when really it was because we wanted to be someone who was close to Tony. And Harley deserved something else in the mcu to do, him being at the funeral was bittersweet. I keep hoping him and Peter will meet.

Oh I really love these kind of interactions where I can share my thoughts about the characters with people willing to debate in a healthy and FUN way (sometimes we forget how fun being part of a fandom can be because of all the drama) so I who thank you for your asks 😍✨

Yeah I get it, I just took the opportunity to clarify this for new followers who haven't read my initial posts about it at the top of this page. Sometimes I get asks saying bad things about ships and characters, not out of malice, just being ultra defensive about tony and I privately clarify that this kind of stuff will not be posted here. So as not to repeat it all the time and you guys start saying "what is this bitch trying to prove fgs". I just took this perfect opportunity in the ask you sent me (precisely because it was a positive debate about tony and wanda).

I'm also kind of disappointed with phase IV. Obviously tony, steve and nat are sorely missed but I really wanted to believe that this would - somehow - be alleviated with new characters and interesting possibilities with the Multiverse.

That being said I'm already so done with the Multiverse. 😭 The feeling I have is that it diminishes the achievements and sacrifices of the original line. And I could even forgive that (too) if it was more interesting (like the wonderful Everything Everywhere All at Once) but the way it's been brought into the MCU is so silly…

I don't know if I'm having MCU fatigue right now or if it's just become plain uninteresting. I haven't even seen everything they've released (and I don't intend to). To be honest, the only thing I genuinely enjoyed and have intentions of continuing to follow is MOON KNIGHT and I want to see what they have in store for Black Panther, but with reservations. I'm concerned about introducing Namor, his culture and conflicts with the surface, Riri Williams and her backstory, maybe Dr Doom, Black Panther's new arc and the aftermath of the blip and the loss of T'Challa in Wakanda ALL in one movie. It's a big margin to make everything shallow. I really hope the MCU finds itself again in these new phases. I miss getting excited about it. 😩🤧 Last time I felt was at No Way Home but purely out of nostalgia.

#answered #i'm once again replying with a huge text 😭

[kimnjss]

ruining his shirt | reaction

NAMJOON

Sat around the TV with his friends, even with the amount of sitting space in Taehyung's living room, you were quick to get yourself comfortable in Namjoon's lap. He didn't mind, of course. Wrapped his arms around you and held your body close to his chest as the plot of the movie played out in front of you.

Movie nights were a common occurrence within your friend group. Always held at Taehyung's house because he had the largest television. It was Joon who had started the trend of bringing their girlfriend's along, turning their guys night into something fun for all of you to do together.

Yoongi is coming out of the kitchen, two boxes of pizza in either hand while Hoseok follows behind him with the other two. The lids being pulled back to reveal the cheesy goodness inside. Mouth watering at the sight, you don't hesitate to reach forward. Grabbing out two pieces, one for you and the an snuggled into your back.

Joon is taking the slice with a mumbled, “Thanks,” eyes glued to the screen as an argument builds between the main characters. You're unbelievably comfortable in his arms, cheek pressed against his shoulder.

It's the unexpected slap on the screen that has your body jumping, a small gasp falling from your lips. Namjoon is jumping too, but not for the same reason as you. Your sudden movement had a greasy glob of cheesy sliding from the top of your pizza onto your boyfriend's stomach.

Neither of you move for a full minute, staring at the pepperoni staining his otherwise white shirt. A look of annoyance on his face but it doesn't last long, fading into a soft smile the moment he's acting sight of the apologetic pout forming on your lips.

“I'm sorry, baby.” You're scrambling to get a napkin to clean up your mess, only to be stopped by the gentle palm on your leg. “Don't worry about it, love.” He's taking the napkin from your hand to finish the job, before pressing a few soft kisses to your forehead. “All better,”

His arm is back around your waist, pulling you into his chest. Easily settling back into the relaxed mode he was in before the spill. With you in his arms, his ruined shit was the last thing on his mind.

JIN

Jin was rather spontaneous when it came to your relationship. Hardly ever called you up to plan a date ahead of time, more often than not you were getting a call a few hours before he was showing up at your front door. If you were lucky.

Most days, you loved that about hm. Never knowing when he'd be showing up at your door with his pouty lips claiming how he couldn't stop thinking about you so he just had to rush right over. Never once would you hesitate to invite him in, more excited than the last when you got a chance to hang out with him.

Today was different, though. Not to say you didn't want to see him – you always wanted to see him. But today was one of the extremely rare occasions where he had set up a date with you. Wanted to take you out for lunch after you finished your exams, knowing how hard you've been working the past few weeks.

He had told you about this at the beginning of the week and you should've had it imprinted in your mind, but with everything else you had clouding your mind – your lunch date unfortunately took the back seat.

So imagine your shock when Jin's name is lighting up your phone. A one line message letting you know he's on his way to pick you up. It's in that moment that it's all rushing back and you're springing out of bed to get ready. You're still wearing his shirt that you mindlessly threw on after your shower as you rummage through your makeup bag. Desperate not to look like you've spent the entire morning in bed scrolling through Twitter.

Caution to spills is the  least of your worries as you rush to get pretty. Seokjin's shirt seems to catch everything that misses your face and even more when you're startling at the sound o the doorbell. Only a courtesy because he knows our door code. He's walking in just as you're tying your hair into a proper ponytail.

Eyes rolling playfully at the sight of you only half ready. He's pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head, eyes fining yours in the mirror and dropping to the stains on your shirt. “I was looking for that shirt the other day,”

You're taking the moment to look down at the top, noticing for the first time the mess you've made of it. But when you're catching Jin's gaze, he looks the least bit upset. “I'm sure it'll wash right out,” He's sinking onto your bed with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Don't worry about it,” Long arms stretching over his head before he's laying back on the bed. “It's your shirt now anyway,” Such a simple sentence, one that he probably didn't think too much about. But it has a large smile lifting your cheeks.

YOONGI

Another late night spent in the studio, with you pestering Yoongi to eat something more than the bag of chips that he had opened on his desk. You're met with an eye roll and a huff, his eyes staying focused on the computer screen in front of him.

He didn't even budge when you're were bringing in his favorite meal, announcing it loudly while wafting the delicious scent in his direction. Somehow, you manage to fight your way into his lap. Lifting up a mouthful and holding it out to him. Barely paying attention, but unable to resist is jaw is dropping open and you're pushing the food into his mouth.

The timing is off at one point, he's opening his mouth just a bit too late and you're not looking so the hot noodles are landing on his clean beige top. He's registering the heat on his stomach, brow furrowing before he's looking down at the mess you've made. He's annoyed, you can tell because he was trash at hiding it. Although he didn't want to take it out on you, it didn't take a genius to know that he felt some type of way of you ruining his shirt.

Yoongi doesn't bring it up again, but you saw the look on his face when he had to toss the garment away – not being able to get the stain out. And the way his face lights up when you're surprising him on his day off. A black shopping bag in hand with the bold 'FG' printed on the side. The exact shirt you had ruined days before neatly folded inside.

The corners of his eyes crinkle as his smile grows, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to tug you closer to him. He's pressing a dozen kisses to your forehead, before he's pulling back to pull the shirt he's currently wearing off replacing it with his new one.

Your heart swells when he's thanking you with that gummy smile, leaning down to press his lips to yours.

HOSEOK

Both Jin and Jungkook came rushing into the room covered head to toe in paint. Laughing loudly and pulling your attention from your phone to them. A paintball fight they were having outside is what has them dripping paint on to the living room floor. Only in for a second, so Jungkook can get a drink of water.

“What are you doing?” Had just been re-watching Catfish from season one, trying to waste time until Hoseok was coming back home.

He's inviting you to come to and play with them and you're hopping up with very little hesitation. Rushing to follow the two of them outside, not even thinking to change the clothes you're wearing.

Instead, you're jumping right into playing with them. Running around the yard and laughing as paint splatters onto your legs and arms... and clothes. The free you of end up collapsing with laughter on to the grass, breathing heavily from all the running you've been doing.

Not even the slam of the car door in the driveway has you jolting up, Jimin's voice hitting your ears as he's exiting the car. Taehyung is a few steps behind him and your boyfriend after that. They're walking to see what you're up to.

Urging yourself to stand, you're moving to tackle your boyfriend in a hug but he's stopping you before you can reach him. Eyes dropping to the stained shirt on your body. “Is that my shirt?” It's the first time that you're taking a moment to look down at the shirt that you've got on.

Only now remembering how you had slipped into his white grocery bag top today after your shower. Had planned to change into your own clothes sometime later that day, but never got around to it. And now the white was splattered in rainbow paint.

“Oh, baby. I'm so...” You can tell just from the look on his face that he's not pleased. Can't even blame him for being upset, you had been careless. “It's acrylic paint... it'll come right out,” Jungkook is stepping in, attempting to ease the awkward tension that grows.

It's a stupid thing to be mad about, so arguing isn't on his mind at all. He's simply sighing, running his fingers through his hair before mumbling out, “Just wash it, I guess.” He doesn't say anything else, taking one last look at his stained shirt before leaving to enter the house.

JIMIN

With his lips pressed to your ear, his breathy moans fan over skin. Hidden from the rest of the party goers, he's trying his best to stay quiet. But it's extremely hard with your hand in his pants, stroking him to his end.

Jimin has a tight grip on your hips, desperately trying to keep himself grounded somehow. You had been eyeing him from across the room since he showed up at this party, didn't miss your chance with going up to him. Flirting the best way you knew how until the two of you were dancing unbelievably close on the dance floor.

And as it does, one thing led to another leading up til now. Huddled together in a dark corner with your hand down his pants and his lips on your neck. “Fuck, I'm so close...” His voice has your skin prickling with goosebumps.

The alcohol that cruises through your veins being drown out with the feeling of intoxication you get from being around him. Feeling of him surrounding you with his sweet scent. It's no secret to you, or any of your friends the crush you had on this boy. The obvious flirting that took place between the two of you enough to raise a few eyebrows, but was never surprising.

Jimin's hips seem to mindlessly move with the strokes of your hand. Shuddering when you're running the pad of your thumb over the head of it. It's not long before his hushed moans become desperate whines against your ear. His grip on your hips tightening as the arousal rakes through his body, creating a stiffness in his legs.

He's grunting out your name just moments before he's releasing, with your hand out of the way his cum is staining the bottom of his black shirt with white. Teeth scrape against your skin as he comes down, eyes screwed shut.

You're not pulling your hand from his body until he's completely winded down. Breathing heavily against your skin. His gaze dropping when you're moving your hand from his body, catching sight of the wet marks on his shirt. The sight has his cheeks burning red and you can't hold back from teasing him.

“See the big mess you made?” He's letting out a breathy chuckle, leaning down only to capture your lips with his. Jimin kisses you slowly for a moment, allowing his tongue to twist and push with yours before he's pulling back.

Butterflies rise in your belly at the sight of the sultry grin on his face. Only getting worse with the words that follow. “Should I make a mess of you too, then?”

TAEHYUNG

An impromptu barbecue with Tae and his closest friends is the best way to spend a summer night in your opinion. Night swimming with Yoongi before racing Jungkook to the table with the plan of loading up your plates in mind.

Sandwiched between Taehyung and Namjoon, the three of you hanging on to every word coming out of Hoseok's mouth, the story of Jimin trying ad failing to get some girls attention holding the attention of everyone at the table. Except for Jimin who acts like you're all sitting in silence.

Taehyung has his arm wrapped around your shoulders, holding your body snuggled close into the side. Only releasing you when Jin is coming to the table with a second tray of food. But once he's picked out all he wants to eat, he's pulling you close again.

Days like this were definitely on the top of your list. Being able to be with hi, relax with him made you happy. Your relationship with Taehyung was... interesting to say the least. Not one hundred together, but one thousand percent exclusive. It was like the two of you had this mutual understanding of the lines you shouldn't cross and never even tried to.

From the way he treated and acted around you, it didn't take a lot of thinking to put together the fact that he had feelings for you. And you had feelings for him too, just neither of you have made the move to make things official, so they just stayed the way they were.

Hoseok's story is coming to a close, the conversation shifting on to Jungkook and the plans that he was supposed to keep open tomorrow. You're no longer listening, just simply enjoying yourself in your man's strawberry scented embrace, mentally bouncing from conversation to conversation as you settle in his hold.

So wrapped up i your own thoughts, you're not paying as much attention as you should when you're setting your drink back on the table. The cup set perfectly on the edge that it's teetering the moment you're letting go, toppling over and landing in Taehyung's lap. Dirtying his pretty sky blue top with red fruit juice.

“Oh, shit! I'm sorry!” Scrambling to grab some napkins, but Taehyung is quick to stop to you. Barely jumped when the liquid was sweeping through the fabric. Soft lips stretching into an easy smile as he reaches for the edge of his shirt. In one swift movement, he's pulling it up and over his head. Tossing it away without a second thought.

You're being pulled back into his side immediately after he's refilling your cup. Slipping back into the conversation that he had been in before as if nothing had interrupted him in the first place.

And for some reason, you can't help but smile. Finding yourself relaxing back into his side stupid feelings growing for him. Times ten.

JUNGKOOK

“Kookie,” Jungkook is looking up confused at your sheepish tone, eyebrows furrowed when he sees the way you're standing in the doorway of your shared bedroom. You look like a child on their way to confess to breaking their mom's favorite vase. And in a sense you were.

Your boyfriend was real meticulous when it came to doing the laundry, separated the clothes in three different loads to avoid any bleeding. You, on the other hand didn't really care for the difference. “What happened, baby?” He's sitting up, eyes landing on the balled up shirt you have clutched in your hands.

His favorite gray Carhartt t-shirt blotchy with bleach stains. Extending your hand, you're holding the ruined shirt in his direction. “I tried to do the laundry...” He had been so busy lately, all you wanted you do was take one thing off his plate. “I don't know what went wrong...”

“This is not a white shirt, Yn.” Jungkook is taking the shirt from your hands, spreading it out to fully inspect the damage you've done. His brows creasing and a frustrated pout forming on his lips. “Baby, you can't put bleach..”

Catching sight of the look on his face has a defeated sigh falling from his lips. Setting the shirt aside, Jungkook is lifting his arms to reach for you. Gently pulling you where he sits on the bed.” Lets just have me do the laundry from now on, okay?”

“I just wanted to help... you always do it,” He's shushing you with a soft kiss to the tip of your nose, brushing the hair back on your forehead so he can get a better look at your face. Pushing a smile onto his lips, he's telling you that it's okay – even though you know he's a bit bummed by the fact you've ruined his favorite shirt.

No matter how many times he insists that he doesn't care, you're still ordering the exact shirt that you've ruined. A couple sizes too big, knowing how much he enjoyed clothes that were big on him. He kisses you the moment you're walking through the doors, enclosing you into his warm embrace.

Hidden behind your back is the shirt you bought and his fingers are catching it as his hands roam your body. The soft giggles that leave your lips are breaking the kiss, forcing him to peak at what you have hidden behind your back. “Is that a gift for me?” His brows are lifting with his inquiry, grinning at the nod of your head.

Jungkook is pressing a kiss to your puckered lips, at the same time his arms are snaking around to tug the the shirt from your grasp. Pulling back from your lips with one final kiss, before he's lifting the shirt into his view. “Shut up, baby. You got this for me?”

“I know you were bummed about me ruining the first one,” He's happy about the shirt, of course. Appreciated the fact that you went out and replaced it. But at the height of that, he was happiest that he had you.

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[ohbyunhunn]

Same as my Hiruzen post, just wanna keep this analysis using the feminist (I hope I did it right and my Literature teachers won’t roll their eyes at me lol) (but it’s just for Twitter so wtvr) approach on my Tumblr too. Was posted on July 11 2020:

Ok this has been in my (Twitter) drafts for so long but I wanted to wait till I finish all 500 episodes to post this lol. I love Naruto but God, the writing for its female characters is shit. This is written based only on Naruto and Naruto Shippūden (manga and anime). I think it got better in Boruto but I’ve yet to see it. Anyway

Women are not given the burden of carrying important roles that represent relationships built throughout the series, as if, they are not capable of creating bonds strong enough to drive a character even though it is what Naruto is all about; the importance of bonds between humans. 

Examples of relationships; 

Friends: Naruto-Sasuke, Kakashi-Obito 

Kouhai-senpai: Itachi-Shisui 

Siblings: Itachi-Sasuke 

Student-teacher: Naruto-Jiraiya, Naruto-Iruka, Asuma-Shikamaru 

Patriotism: Itachi-Konoha, Shisui-Konoha 

Lovers to enemies: Hashirama-Madara ( :p )

These relationships as we all know are the basis of the series’ plots and developments. I mean, if not for Naruto’s feelings towards Sasuke, the anime won’t exist... and if not for Sasuke’s feelings towards Itachi, he wouldn’t have abandoned Naruto... and if not for Itachi’s patriotism towards his village, he wouldn’t have killed off the Uchiha clan, which is the reason why Sasuke hated him in the first place. These three related, complementing events are I think crucial instances of what the Naruto universe is built upon. They also are the reason other relationships were able to be expanded (i.e. Itachi-Shisui share the same loyalty and love for Konoha, Naruto became Jiraiya’s apprentice to be able to compete with Sasuke). 

And as u can see, no female characters are involved at all. Only time female characters are seen creating bonds and/or have a role to move the plot is when they are driven by romance (e.g. Hinata-Naruto, Tsunade-Dan, Karin-Sasuke). This paints the idea that women are only concerned of men and romance in the anime?? Even a simple friendship between female characters was almost impossible to be portrayed healthily (i.e. Sakura-Ino are supposedly good friends but they always put down each other). 

The anime itself has agreed that the sole reason a female is present amongst male characters is because they are able to be motivated when a woman is around to be impressed, which will lead them to wanting to improve themselves and become better shinobi. 

When Kakashi asked Hiruzen why were Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura put together in a team, the answer he got was because Sasuke needs someone with the experience of using Sharingan to be there for him when his is activated and in order to be able to control the Kyuubi inside Naruto in case it goes berserk again, Sharingan is needed, which is a sound reason why the two of them are put together. 

And Sakura??? Hiruzen said (omg it still pisses me off), she’s only in Team 7 because that would drive the boys to become stronger because they would want to impress Sakura. Like?? She only exists to be a fucking trophy that could be won is it?? That’s it?? I think this was why at first I was against Sakura and Sasuke’s relationship. IT DIDN’T SEEM TRUE. Yea yea I know there are scenes that have suggested their feelings are mutual but lol let’s be real. Boruto saved it. If not for how they’re presented in Boruto,,, lol. 

Anyway, Kakashi was seen to be on the same page with Hiruzen because he was reminded of how Obito worked hard to catch up to him so that he could impress Rin. The same thing happened to Hiruzen’s team; Jiraiya wanted to beat Orochimaru just to catch Tsunade’s attention. I understand that it is natural for boys (and girls) to improve themselves in order to attract the person they like but to give female characters no role other than to be a trophy?? That’s just dumb and objectifying. 

Sakura got a shit ton of hate ever since Naruto (her character only improved A BIT in Shippūden), and honestly, Idt it’s her fault. Her character writing was so shit that all she ever did was scream Sasuke’s name and when Sasuke is knocked out, she’d call for Naruto. She has a great potential to become a kunoichi of the same level as her teammates but the anime never tried to put the spotlight on her. A lot of times we saw other characters say “wow Sakura has potential” but we never see that being polished on screen. 

If only she was given the chance to take an active role in battles, maybe the anime would’ve appeared better in regards to its treatment towards female characters. The only battle that I remember of with Sakura taking an active part in it??? Her fight with Sasori. Not saying that her role during the war is insignificant but even with that in mind, when Sasuke is present, she could only think of him?? 

And SHE COULD’VE STOPPED MUGEN TSUKUYOMI BY DESTROYING OBITO’s RINNEGAN BUT BECAUSE SHE HESITATED, MADARA MANAGED TO STEAL IT!! 

[ This video has all the Sakura scenes that pissed me off. ]

Why did she hesitate?? She’s a medic nin fgs?? This is what I meant by her writing is shit. The Sakura that I know wouldn’t think twice to do what she needed to. AND to think that just a few moments before, SHE SAVED NARUTO’S LIFE?? BY PUMPING HIS HEART USING HER HAND??? And he survived!! With her aid!! The fact that she managed to pull that off but not destroying Obito’s Rinnegan is just pure bullshit. 

But I’m sort of glad they had the filler episodes where they showed Sakura’s (and Ino’s) growth, how they went thru their training and stuff. It’s not much but thanks for the fillers I guess?? The manga can go suck some balls. 

Another mention of a female character being disregarded as an important ninja would be Konan. Throughout the Naruto vs Akatsuki arc, Konan’s skills and determination have been displayed countless of times. And I’m glad she was given the chance to prove her ability but what rubbed me off the wrong way was Jiraiya’s opinion on her. Every time he spoke of the three orphans he took in, he always mentioned Nagato’s strength and Yahiko’s desire to bring peace in a positive manner. But when it comes to Konan, his only adjective for her was “pretty”. 

Konan is more than just a feminine presence with beauty as her only personality?? She’s a strong-willed person who is able to stand alongside her comrades in fighting for what they believe in. She was willing to sacrifice herself in order to defeat Obito/Madara in a heartbeat!! Jiraiya could’ve said better things about her. 

From this, we can say how biased a male character’s view is on other females?? As if, only men would fight against injustices of the shinobi world but women?? uwu she pretty yes she will grow up to be a beautifoOl woman. 

Kishimoto couldn’t write women very well and he admitted this himself but God, I wish he would’ve tried harder. Not able to write women well is such a shitty excuse for a writer... especially when we know his female characters are capable just as much as their male counterparts. 

Also I try to take this positively but you know how during Naruto’s time, the only medic nins are his female characters? (i.e. Sakura, Ino, Tsunade) I think he meant to portray women as healers and that’s a pure intention but lol it also sort of sends the message that to him, no matter how smart and talented a woman is, they shall not be given the duty to fight!! They should just wait and be ready to receive injured comrades while the boys go fight evil and bring peace!! I wanna give credit to him for making women healers but lol does he deserve it?? 

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

#Naruto #Uzumaki Naruto #Uchiha Sasuke #Haruno Sakura #Hatake Kakashi #Sarutobi Hiruzen #Uchiha Obito #Yamanaka Ino #Konan #Akatsuki #oby brain dump

[dramarising-replacement]

This game isn't fun.

First off, if you enjoy FR for what it currently is: great! I'm so glad you can have fun with it, and don't let the opinions of me, some stranger on DR, make you feel bad for that :) 

Anyways, I joined in 2015 and fell in love with the game for a long time. I never understood those people with dead, empty accounts or those who had went inactive. But now I do. The game just... Isn't fun.

1. Coliseum. Coliseum is the main way to profit in FR. Most of the 'well-off' people in the FR community grind Coli. It's one of the only places you can find rare items, and yet, it is nothing but pain. Coliseum is meant to be fun, and it can be in moderation, but i don't know a single person who genuinely enjoys grinding it. We shouldn't have to strain our wrists performing ultra-repetitive actions of "scratch, scratch, scratch, elim, elim, elim," in order to accumulate wealth and rare items in the game. It's time consuming, boring, has a broken and set meta (magic-using dragons and 90% of the battle stones in the game are worthless), and everyone seems to give it a pass. I see so many forum posts that go "haha, tfw your wrist is broken after grinding coli for an hour!" It's terrible that one of the main/only ways to 'succeed' in the game is to participate in a terrible and broken minigame. 

2. A lot of the main fun to be found in the game is dragons. As a petsite, collecting dragons is the objective. Unfortunately, the main purpose of the game is limited behind lair expansions with huge paywalls. If you don't grind Coli, better be prepared to play Fairgrounds for a hours each day in order to get enough treasure. 

3. Festivals. They're repetitive. Gather or, again, grind the broken Coliseum to find special currency to buy 2 unique items, 1 flight variant standard item, and the damn emblems that have been in there for eternity. There should be more to do on festivals. The only enjoyment I get out of them is user-made events on the forums. People who participate in those are great, but truly, you shouldn't have to pick up all the slack staff leaves when it comes to events. 

4. Coli again. Dominance, festivals, genes, special items, dragons, succeeding financially in the game--they're all dependent on this broken coliseum system. If you have wrist issues like I do (this sounds stupid but I genuinely can't grind Coliseum because I have a joint disorder in my wrist. Even when I use keyboard controls it hurts), or have a job or school or other commitment, or are simply a sane human being who doesn't want to do repetitive button-pushing like a monkey for hours on end, Coli isn't for you. And therefore, you're barred from training up fodder, from accumulating exterior wealth during festivals, from finding rare items and genes, from being able to buy lair space and other dragon-specific upgrades, etc. Coli is broken and needs to be fixed because all actual-fun features rely on it.

5. Staff. Staff is unresponsive. The suggestions forums never get looked at, and all serious suggestions are deleted. I suggested better, fairer wording on the gem purchasing screen. (Changing "Gem Packages are instantly applied" to "directly applied." I bought gems a while back and it took ~2 days for them to be delivered. Since it said 'instantly,' I thought I made a mistake and bought more gems. They refused to refund me and, despite tons of support on my forum post, deleted it. They said to email the suggestion instead, which I did, but to no response. I spent actual money under the promise of 'instantly' [wanted to buy something from an auction] and although i'd expect maybe 20 minutes of delay, 2 entire days isn't okay.) But anyways, the only suggestions on the suggestions forum that get left up are people's fan-breeds that staff, of course, will never implement because they're community-made. Also, some of the staff members are just plain rude and tyrannical. They regularly delete posts that make them look bad and respond terribly to all criticism, no matter how kindly it's worded. 

6. There's no rarity. In most pet games, there are things to aspire for. Rare breeds, mutations, ultra-rare items, etc. The only items that can be called rare are the sprites, early apparel and Kickstarter stuff, but those are so expensive that it's pretty much impossible to get old sprites and stuff. There needs to be more modern rare items imo. They've gotten better w/ rare eye types and ancient breeds, but there's still very few rarities to aim to collect.

7. Fairgrounds. The games are fun, but everyone tries to choose the highest-paying game as quickly as possible in order to get treasure out of it, instead of playing games leisurely that they actually enjoy. Games are meant to be enjoyed! Staff should make all the games pay generally the same, and maybe add drops specific to each game--for example, special water-themed apparel in the bubble game, or cool electric-y familiars in the shock game. Then, people would have incentive to try out other games and have fun doing so, without making FG another chore like Coli.

8. Flight equality. Some flights are over-represented, like shadow getting basically two shadow-themed holidays. Some flights are under-represented, like Nature not really getting their own breed (wildclaws are plague-based too according to the lore) or Plague being stripped of its gorey, creepy aesthetic. Also, small flights like Earth have unfair dominance advantage, while big flights like shadow have unfair burden in dom. There needs to be greater representation for all flights, and a balanced-out playing field for dom battles.

9. Unfair moderation. Touching on the M from earth thing, what they said was really stupid, unfunny and a tasteless joke. But they're 15. I was an edgy idiot at 15, too. Staff should have more leeway, since many of those who play FR are (no offense) unwise teens and edgy minors. A temporary ban, ability to appeal, or alternate punishment would've made more sense instead of banning a kid for a dumb joke and making all of their customers lose out on the gems they paid real money for, and treasure they spent hours earning. 

10. All of trading post, actually. You've got Roundsy's, with odds so unlikely that you'll probably get struck by lightning before winning. You've got Baldwins, a tedious task where you have to check in every 30 minutes and load their ads to boil down garbage you get from gathering. Crim's, you sell the garbage you get from gathering for a measly 500 each, and at Tomo's, you answer questions you've seen a billion times for very little payoff. At Swipp's, you ask RNG for the one trade you want, and at Pinkerton's, you typically get even more garbage that you'll either hoardsell or melt down at Baldwin's because 95% of the game's items are useless or dirt-cheap. 

11. .......yeah that's it this was long lmao. I'm gonna quit FR for good, I think. Maybe I'll rejoin if they fix coli or add adventure mode like they promised to do years ago. Or if they ever continue the storyline they set up with the water flight that they seemingly are ignoring. Thank you, the FR community, for making everything I've enjoyed about the game. Truthfully, my best and funnest experiences on FR have been on the forums admiring all of your creativity, kindness, and fun events like secret Santa, Trick-or-Treat or Tarot readings. Thank you! :)

#Drama #Coliseum #Rant #Flight Rising #Staff #Dominance #Festival #Confessions #submission

[auburnfamilynews]

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Time to Barn Hard

Here we go... With under 24 hours until the kickoff of Auburn’s 2020 season, the luminaries here at College & Magnolia offer their sage opinions on what Tiger fans will see tomorrow afternoon. Most of us see a close contest destined to give us that all too familiar fall Saturday heartburn but there are a few brave souls who are prepared to barn hard no matter what.

Auburn (-7.5) vs Kentucky (O/U 49.5)

2019 Auburn fans won’t recognize 2020 Auburn. Bo Nix is going to take a huge leap forward. His receivers are healthy for game one. Our fearless leader has finally found someone he trusts enough to manage playcalling duties. The defense will reload with All-Conference (and maybe All-American) talent. A talented (and deep!) group of hard-hitting running backs. Pre-season optimism has overwhelmed pre-game jitters for me. Look for Chad Morris to show off all his weapons Saturday. He has a tendency to put up a lot of points in his first game at a new school. Brace yourselves, Wildcats. Let’s barn hard, yall.

Auburn 48

Kentucky 14

-Josh Dub

I was talking with a friend of my wife’s the other day and she asked how I thought Auburn would do. I was raised by an old school Auburn fan who taught me to sandbag and say that we were just hoping that everyone buckled their chin straps correctly and that they just had fun out there. That was met with my wife telling her, I always do this. I responded by saying that I just lower the bar so that, when they win by 40 in a game I don’t expect, I get the rush of being a kid again and genuinely happy when Auburn wins.

That said! HERE WE GO!

Auburn has got stars everywhere on the outside and in the backfield but a bunch of green horns on the starting line on offense, so IF Chad Morris (or Gus if he is still calling the plays) can use quick screens and....this route called a slant...to hide the fact that the Auburn offensive line will look a lot like the French army circa 1938, then they might buy a few chances for Anders to kick some field goals.

On defense, you don’t lose D Brown and Marlon and get better. You probably don’t maintain the production you had last year on the D-Line. You can get back there, but that takes time and experience. That said, I am a bit more bullish on the defense as a whole. There is a ton of talent to go around on the line and the secondary and the Linebackers may be the best in the conference. Once again, the defense will keep Auburn in every game for the most part. And that new line will be tested against a really well coached, running offense that Kentucky brings to the Plains.

I love what Mark Stoops has been able to build in Lexington, and sort of done what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa State, that team you just don’t want to see cause they are scrappy and will take advantage of your mistakes. On the betting lines, I am staying away from this one with spendy cashy monies but with fakey non-existant moneies, I love the Cats getting a touchdown and a hook because I see this one being in the 3-4 range with Auburn probably winning, just based on history and going with my heart, but I could totally see Kentucky pulling this off as well.

Gimme Auburn over Kentucky 27-24 and the defense had to get a late stop to seal this one away. Nothing like a late missed FG to start that stomach ulcer.

(betting pick: UK and the points, Over at 51)

-Drew Mac

Auburn *should* win this game. Auburn *should* have the talent advantage. But hey, this is 2020. Who knows what havoc Covid will have wrought on install for any given team.

That being said, I trust Bo Nix’s development as a true sophomore. I think this Auburn team, while still going through some growing pains, will finally start to hit on explosive plays with a veteran WR corps. This Kentucky defense is not the one that one 10 games two years ago.

The only way things go sideways is if the retooled defensive line can’t stop the Kentucky ground game, which is an extremely valid concern. The Wildcats have three returning backs who combined for 1,900 yards and 18 TDs while sharing the spotlight with Lynn Bowden Jr last year, and Terry Wilson is no slouch. I think the Auburn linebackers are going to have to earn their keep as best LB group in the SEC here in week 1.

Auburn takes this one with some big plays through the air and a defense that bucks up in the second half. 27-13 Auburn.

-Ryan Sterritt

I’m a huge proponent of playing a patsy in week 1. In a normal season fall camp doesn’t really give a complete picture of how an offensive line communicates in real time, how well the quarterback has his timing down with his receivers, if the tailback has fumbling problems, mike linebacker being able to switch the defensive alignment based on tendencies, etc. etc. But if you can’t play a patsy I’m a huge proponent of playing a top 10 team who will keep you engaged without distractions leading up to kickoff and will tell you so much about where you can go from here. What you don’t want is a trap game in week 1.

Folks what we have here is a trap game in week 1.

We’re 14 points better than Kentucky. I genuinely believe that. Talent wise and coaching we’re at least 2 scores better than this football team at home. And it does not matter one bit thanks to COVID.

I am so concerned over what we’re going to look like out there considering how many guys were held out at various points of our extended fall camp thanks to COVID. Which wouldn’t be as big of a deal in a normal year, even though it would still be a big deal, but OH YEAH WE HAD NO SPRING PRACTICE. So in keeping with my tradition of being absolutely God awful at Barnin’ Hard, this tiger ain’t changing his stripes for this one.

Keys to victory:

- Stop a Kentucky ground attack with a defensive line that is fully capable of plugging the gaps and have your linebackers make plays in space. This will only work if our corners, who will be in a lot of one on one situations, make plays. Jaylin Simpson is the guy that will get picked on, and this is a fine opportunity for the redshirt freshman to get thrown into the deep end to see if he’ll sink or swim in his first meaningful snaps. If he can hold his own, we’re in good shape.

- Establish an intermediate passing attack early in this game. Keep their defense off balance early on the offensive script and allow Bo Nix and an offensive line that will struggle but has a higher ceiling than that of the last 2 seasons gain some confidence early.

- Get the fastest player in all of college football 10 touches/targets for the day. This one may appear in all 10 entries of “Keys to Victory” for our schedule this year. Scheme to get Anthony Schwartz the ball in multiple ways. And then scheme off of it to get other players in positions to be in favorable coverages.

- Rotate your running backs in a way that makes sense instead of giving the “guy with the hot hand” 25 carries. This running back room is deeper and more talented than it has been since the healthy parts of 2016/2017 for Pettway and KJ. Give these guys a chance to punish Kentucky’s defense with fresh legs for 4 quarters. Make them hate playing us.

- Oh, and finally, get some sound sleep and show up alert for an 11 AM kickoff. I don’t need to explain to any of you why this is obviously something we should all worry over.

All in all I think being at home does matter, despite 20,000 people in the stands. Traveling in these uncertain times has to account for something, right?

Auburn 27 Kentucky 21

-Josh Black

If the first few weeks of football are any indication, I’m expecting some low scoring sloppy games on Saturday. And while Auburn’s rivals have essentially “warmup games” to start their season, Auburn will play another ranked opponent in Week 1. That’s JABA right?

Anyways, I’m really excited to see this group of Running Backs led by Captain Shaun Shivers this season. I’m really excited to see Shaun get the opportunity to start and it’ll be interesting to see how many carries he and the rest of the RBs get on Saturday. This is an experienced receiving corps too led by Seth Williams, “Flash” Anthony Schwartz and veteran Eli Stove.

The biggest question to me (other than the offensive line) will be the defensive line as it’s hard replacing Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson. And we can all hope for better O-Line play this season and a more mature Bo Nix as he enters Year 2 as the starting QB.

As I said earlier, I’m thinking this is a low-scoring game and I’m a bit concerned about this one, with the 11AM kick and all but I’ll take Auburn in a close one.

Auburn 17 Kentucky 14

-Will McLaughlin

I firmly believe Auburn has a significant talent advantage at the skill positions in this matchup. Yes the Cats have an athletic QB, a strong stable of backs, intriguing WRs and a surprisingly good secondary but across the board I’ll take Auburn. However, it won’t matter if the Tigers lose the line of scrimmage battle which is way more likely than any of us wanna imagine.

As you have probably read, heard, seen by now, Kentucky has one of the best offensive lines in the country. This isn’t a group made up of 3-star kids with heart. Left tackle Landon Young was a 5-star recruit. Center Drake Jackson was a 4-star ranked as a top 150 player. Future NFLer Darian Kinnard was a 4-star recruit as well. This is both an experienced AND talented front who enjoy physically beating the hell out of their opponents. Everyone in the world knew that a run play was likely coming last fall and it rarely mattered. While I trust Rodney Garner & Kevin Steele to rebuild this front 4 for the Tigers, I am concerned about them being ready to go week 1. Even with Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson last year, Oregon pushed around the Tigers for one half. This UK OL is of the same calibre and it wouldn’t shock me if they came out the gate with similar success.

Then there’s the other side of the ball where the UK return plenty of experience of a solid front 7. However, they were actually pretty porous against the run last fall allowing over 5 yards a carry against SEC competition. The problem is I am not sure if Auburn is ready to take advantage. In most years, when I see a defense susceptible to the run, I expect an AU victory that borders on dominant. I just don’t know if the Tigers though will be ready to go on Saturday.

That’s why Anders Carlson will be the x-factor. I think Auburn’s offense will look disjointed but generate enough explosive plays to get into UK territory consistently. They don’t put the ball in the end zone as much as we would like but Anders knocks through 4 big kicks. The defense rebounds from a rough first quarter to limit the UK offense to only 2 touchdowns on the day. Auburn recovers a late onside kick to escape with a hard won victory.

Auburn 26 Kentucky 20

-AU Nerd

Auburn at 11am.

Auburn in season openers.

Auburn as favorites vs hungry teams.

Yuck. I am finding it hard to Barn as hard...——record scratch—-

(The boys are back in town starts playing)

Just kidding!

The Boys are back!

Guys we are gonna kill em.

Auburn 34- Kats 24

-Son of Crow

Most of the time I have some idea of what to expect. There’s a gut feeling, an inkling, an intuition. Even days when I publicly avow a big win, and we end up losing, I realize that I knew it deep in my soul. This time, I have nothing. I guess that’s what 2020 will do to a man. I can’t pick this game with my heart or my gut, so I have to go with the limited knowledge that we’ve been able to glean from the practice fields. Somehow, Gus has kept it tighter than usual this season. He’s keeping spies, leaks, and COVID out of the fold.

It’s not a big secret that Auburn’s level of talent is superior across the board, but Kentucky might have the mix of experience to go along with its skill to make this a very scary opening contest. We’ve heard that the Wildcats’ lines are both going to be solid, and that gives us a flashback of what the Oregon offense was able to do for about a half last year in Arlington. Auburn can’t afford a slow start on Saturday, because we’ll be breaking in a new offensive line. Now, that might not be the worst thing in the world — our line last year was nothing much to write home about — but they started to get better down the stretch. That said, this year’s group might be more maulers than linemen. Sometimes you just need some dudes being guys up front to push people around. We might have that, thus the run game could come to life with a much more talented group in the backfield. Not to mention, Bo Nix’s sophomore development with a true quarterback coach could be something unparalleled.

Kentucky will give us a fight, but there’s no way I’m picking us to lose this game. It’ll probably be close, and uncomfortably so for a while I’d wager. Still, the home “crowd” and the overall talent win out in the end. I think someone else mentioned Anders Carlson being a weapon in this one, and I agree. I think he hits 3 kicks and Auburn scores 3 touchdowns. Tigers 30-21.

-Jack Condon

In our preseason predictions I pegged this as one of the three games that Auburn could lose, and had it at the top of my list as the one I’m most worried about. That may seem weird, but we really just have no clue how any team, including our own is going to look on Saturday. We’ve all seen how bad some of these other teams already playing have looked, and I guess people think that there’s no way their own team could look that bad, but I’m not so sure. That said, I believe this Auburn team has all the components necessary to be better than last season and thus easily handle a Kentucky team that is, well they’re Kentucky. The new look offense should give an older, more seasoned Bo Nix a chance to throw some higher percentage passes, we have an SEC caliber stable of running backs for the first time in a couple of seasons, and presumably a fully healthy group of receivers. The new-look offensive line doesn’t concern me at all, because, well, I’ve lived through the last two seasons. At this point Kevin Steele and co. have earned my utmost confidence that the defense will pick up right where they left off.

Tigers 37 - Cats 12

-AU Chief

Man alive I wish I wasn’t so worried about this. Kentucky is well coached. They know what they are, and they don’t try to do things outside their comfort zone. Their strengths could cause problems for us. And yet, Auburn has more talent. 2020 is going to be a weird year, but I think having better athletes is going to win out more often than not, because teams are going to have to keep things simple. I like everything I’m hearing out of fall camp. I still don’t know about that line though. I could see a backdoor cover for UK where Auburn has to recover an onside kick to clinch things. I could see a front door cover for Auburn putting the game away late. I’ll stay on the safe side.

Auburn 24

Kentucky 17

(Auburn wins, UK covers; under)

-James Jones

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/9/25/21456468/staff-picks-8-auburn-vs-23-kentucky

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

[lilac-bellfrog]

Slight bit of FG salt under the cut, don’t mind me (I bear no ill will towards fans). just trying to piece together my thoughts on the ship as a whole.

Man, I still just can’t get into FG as a ship. Each week that they interact on screen I just still don’t get it.

It’s not a “rival ship” kind of thing, really. I feel “meh” at worst about most other Qrow ships, and am generally open to plenty of others. And obviously I bear no ill will towards any shippers objectively for their ships (lord knows I’ve been friends with Qro/wins and Taiq/rows and plenty of other folks over the years), unless they prove toxic in regards to it.

And if it ends up being a healthy relationship for Qrow in canon, then I’ll be “okay” I guess. Because I ultimately want Qrow to be happy, and I find it great that he’s making new friends.

But I just... Don’t feel that we really know anything canonically about Clover or the Ace Ops beyond maybe a bit about Marrow, and I think that’s partially what’s putting me off.

For one thing, we know almost nothing about Clover beyond his role in the Ace Ops, his seeming loyalty to James and his cause (assuming it isn’t a front or something), and his semblance. Almost all of the screentime he has had thus far has related either to Qrow (helping raise him up, flirting, however you interpret it), or to his semblance.

We don’t know much about his motivations, short of the bit we’ve seen in his talk with Robyn and a bit in other places. We’ve seen plenty of reasons for Qrow to be intrigued by Clover/his semblance/his life because of it/etc. And it’s clear why, given that Qrow’s entire life has been characterized by the effect his semblance has on himself and the world around him. But the other way around, I feel as though Clover has been a bit of a mystery.

He just... feels a bit too comfortable in his introduction and his characterization. I don’t even know if that makes sense. But I feel like we still don’t know the real Clover. I don’t even mean it in a “he’s gonna turn evil” way (though I’m still not discounting some of the Ace Ops eventually becoming antagonists, as I’m still riding that train of thought unrelated to this as well). We just don’t know much about him yet, period. Which, imo, makes him a somewhat unsatisfactory LI for a character who has had a fairly large presence in the series since Season 3.

And maybe we’ll get these in time, but... Thus far, Clover hasn’t felt much more relevant to me than many other “shoehorned in” romantic interests outside of potentially presenting a mlm option for Qrow. And I think that’s partially what bugs me. If it goes canon this volume, I can feel happy for Qrow, and for the fact that RT has made Qrow of all characters canonically interested in men which would be wonderful. But I haven’t had any reason to get invested yet because thus far, Clover has felt like little more than a “character device” for Qrow, in a way. I want to know more about him as a character before I know more about him as a love interest.

(And looking at fanon, I also don’t like the whole “they balance each other out!” thing, because while I do think they may be able to relate to some degree in the manner of their semblances affecting their lives, it doesn’t seem as though they really balance each other out in canon as it is. And frankly, I don’t really like the whole “Qrow needs someone to balance out this aspect of his life” narrative that pushes either.)

Idk. I am curious about the appeal for some folks, so if someone is into it and wants to enlighten me, I’m def curious. I just... can’t see it right now.

#lilac chatter #salt / #rw/by

[hannahmcne]

It’ll Be Us - Chapter 2

"Ben and I just had the funniest conversation." Jay texted to a group that included Mal, Evie, and Carlos. Mal glanced up from the forms she was filling out for Powhatan Cotillion and glanced at the phone screen, skimming the message as Jay followed up the text with a winking emoji.

"Perchance, was it the same conversation he had with me?" Carlos asked. "That included a date and some plans and Mal's left hand?"

"Wait," Evie commanded. "He did that with you guys too?"

Mal clapped her hand over her mouth as a laugh bubbled up inside her. "No way." She texted. "For real?!"

"He asked for my permission." Jay confided. "And I got to see the ring."

"You got to see the ring?" Evie exploded. "I didn't get to see the ring!"

Carlos sent a string of diamond ring emojis and gifs. His texts were usually littered with stickers and moving pictures, as they had been ever since Ben had introduced him to the world of downloadable add-ins. "I got to see it too." He bragged. "Did you know he's had it ever since our last year at Auradon Prep? It's super fancy too – Mal, you're going to love it."

"Did he tell you guys when?" Mal asked. Several angry emojis from Evie came through. "Like, when he's planning on proposing?"

"We're not supposed to tell you," Carlos explained. "And Evie, the reason you can't see the ring is because that'll ruin the after-proposal freak-out you and Mal will have. It's pretty obvious."

"I want to see the ring!" Evie protested. Several emojis with swearing symbols covering their mouths emitted under her name. Mal let out a laugh.

"The powhatan coronation." Jay texted. Mal's mouth dropped open.

"Jay!" Carlos protested.

"You're not supposed to tell her that!" Evie screeched.

"The Powhatan Cotillion? I'm literally making plans for that right now, as we speak." Mal informed her friends. She glanced sideways at the abandoned papers under her elbow. They suddenly seemed a lot more important than they had thirty seconds ago. Could she literally be helping to plan her own engagement?

But as quickly as the shock sunk in, doubt replaced it. "Ben's going to propose to me on the night they're inducting Ka-Okee into the royal courts? That doesn't seem like him at all. He wouldn't steal the spotlight from her."

"Well, he's going to." Jay insisted. "He told me ALL the plans. Apparently, his parents already approved the idea when he asked them for permission too."

Mal scowled. "How many people is Ben going to ask if it's okay to ask me to marry him before he actually asks ME to marry him? I'm kind of the deal-breaker, here."

"I think he still has to ask his grandfather, the fairy that cursed his dad, all the gods of Olympus, a stone from the Enchanted Lake, all of Auradon, your mother, and the lint from your clothes before he asks you." Evie theorized. Five laughing emojis quickly reassured Mal that Evie was, in fact, joking.

"Oh." Carlos deadpanned. "Has Ben asked Maleficent yet?" Mal's blood ran cold at the question.

"You can't really… communicate with a lizard." Jay pointed out uneasily. "I mean, I guess she could flick her tail and hiss, but she can't really give permission."

Mal swallowed, and typed out: "Yeah, and I don't think Ben is dumb enough to ask someone we all know would say no." Her statement felt like ice water running over their conversation. The chat fell silent for a few seconds. Then Evie tried to pick up the beat again.

"Everything's so much easier for the boys." She proclaimed. "When Carlos proposed to Jane, he asked FG and Jane's dad. No biggie. And Jay had to beat Shang in a sword fight, but still, not much of a problem. But when Doug wanted to propose to me, he had to pick between not asking anyone or trying to find a way to communicate with my mom through the barrier of the Isle and convince her that he's good enough for me. And you know what he picked? Three hours of being screamed at by Cruella, Jafar, and EQ before my mom told him no and he hung up and asked me anyways. And now Ben has to jump through all these hoops because we all know who Mal's mom is, and he has to think of 750,000,000 people as well."

"That swordfight was NOT easy." Jay protested. "I got my leg all slicing up. You know how hard it is to get on one knee when you're covered in an entire half-inch of bandages?"

"You're coming up on fifteen months of engagement." Evie pointed out. "Are you guys going to tie the knot or no?"

"We are," Jay assured her. "She just got a new job though, so we're rearranging dates AGAIN."

Mal picked up her pen and continued scribbling, though she glanced at her phone frequently to catch up on the conversation. Briefly, she opened a text line to Pocahontas and asked: "Does Ka-Okee want chains, key charms, pen toppers, or lip balm party favors?" She felt tempted to follow up the message with: "Jane kinda loves the pen toppers," but knew the joke would only be appreciated by her.

A suspicious message appeared at the top of her phone. "Okay guys, I think we convinced Mal Ben is going to ruin the Cotillion. Now we got to figure out how to get her away from the main party… any ideas?"

"CARLOS WRONG GROUP CHAT!" Evie exclaimed. Several emojis with blue faces and hands slapped to their cheeks in shock or surprise followed.

"OH CRAP" Carlos mourned. A gif of someone slipping on a banana peel with the words 'oops' appeared underneath his message.

"ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION." Jay groaned. "Ugh, Carlos you're telling Ben." A single teary-eyed emoji from Carlos was his only answer.

Mal reentered the group chat, biting her lip to keep from smiling too hard. "I'll just pretend I didn't get that, and we'll call it good." She added a thumbs-up to accentuate her point. No one responded. She got the feeling they were too busy lecturing Carlos in the correct group chat.

The date on the papers read September 30th. It was now September 16th, meaning that in less than two weeks, she could have gone from girlfriend to fiancée, and that was a thought that created a smile she couldn't wipe off her cheeks.

Pocahontas responded: "Pen toppers", which made Mal burst into laughter. As she included the request in the paperwork, her phone buzzed one last time. This time, it was from Ben.

"You still okay to make it to Powhatan Cotillion?" He asked. "I forgot you had a visitation day with your mom that day."

Oh, well that reminder certainly put a damper on her mood. Mal pinched her lips together and let out a breath. "Yeah, I'll be there. Can't wait!" She added a smiling emoji for extra effect.

"What about the Palace open-house for next week?" He asked. "For the anniversary of the formation of Auradon? You have a day with Evie scheduled, but I have it here that you're opening that event?"

Mal let out an audible groan. "Oh, that. Yeah, I remember. I'm not really looking forward to that, though."

"You'll be great," Ben assured her. "Have fun with Evie."

______________________________________________________________

"The carpets are being cleaned today," Belle announced as Mal entered the room for breakfast on the morning of the Open House. "They weren't able to make it last night, so they're going to be doing the main rooms this morning, and the rest of the palace in the afternoon. Is your room good for them to go through?"

"I think so." Mal furrowed her brow as she fixed a bag over her shoulder. "I'll run back up before I leave with Evie for the day." She sat down between Belle and Ben, who leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What time are you getting back tonight?" Adam asked as he poured himself a large glass of orange juice. He glanced at his watch and followed this up with: "Ben, thirty minutes."

"We're leaving at three, so I'll be back around three-thirty, before traffic starts up," Mal sighed. "Plenty of time to get ready before five."

Belle nodded approvingly as Ben finished his breakfast and got up. "I'm off," He sighed, pushing his chair back under the table.

"Already?" Mal frowned. "I just got here."

Ben set his hands on her shoulders. "I'll be here tonight. I'll come to find you when you walk in." He leaned down and kissed her cheek again.

Mal let out a longsuffering sigh as he stood back up. "I'll be the one in purple," She reminded him. "Good luck with work."

"I'll need it," Ben laughed. He disappeared out a side door as Mal started reaching for food. A frown was stuck on her face.

"It'll get better, dear," Belle told her, reaching over to pat her hand with a smile. "Eventually, you'll be able to go with him to some things."

"They told me the separation would get better back when I graduated, and it's only gotten worse," Mal grumbled as she stole a helping of breakfast salad. "And really, all I want to do for the rest of my life is paint, draw, and be with Ben. Is that too much to ask?"

Belle laughed. She glanced cautiously at her watch. The doors opened and Lumiere appeared. "Queen Belle, King Adam, Lady Mal," He greeted, inclining his head to each. "I've come up to inform you that your cleaners for tonight are here and that Evie is waiting for Mal outside."

Mal frowned and pulled out her phone to check the time. "Ugh, she's early," Mal moaned. "I'll have to run down to my room and then head out." She stood up, taking her plate with her.

"Don't worry about the room," Belle rolled her eyes. "You're usually tidy. I'll just have someone glance through it to make sure nothing official or important is lying out before I send them up. Take more food with you, dear, or you'll starve."

Mal frowned as she took a few bagels and some strawberries. "I can run down. Evie will understand."

"Shall I tell the cleaners to start in the ballroom?" Lumiere asked. "I believe we have servants setting up things in there in about two hours."

"Yes, please, Lumiere," Belle nodded. "Have fun, Mal. Don't worry about the room."

"A spa day isn't really my idea of fun," Mal sighed.

"Evie's turn to pick?" Belle smiled. Mal nodded glumly. Belle laughed. "Well, good luck," She told her young protégé before she turned to Lumiere to discuss plans for tonight. Eventually, it'd be Mal's job to delegate maintenance crews, but for now, Belle did it as the unofficial head of household.

Mal hurried out to the circle, where Evie was waiting in her pretty blue convertible car with the off-white leather seats. Mal liked the car a lot, mainly because it wasn't as long as the palace limos and was therefore much easier for her to drive. However, Evie never let her drive it because a.) Mal didn't have her license and b.) Mal didn't exactly have the best track record with cars. She'd stolen and crashed/scratched the palace limos a few too many times for Evie to feel comfortable leaving her dream car unattended anywhere near Mal.

"Do you have it?" Mal asked, giving Evie a hug without so much as a 'hello'.

"Of course," Evie smiled. She led Mal to the passenger side of the car and reached down to lift out a silver dress bag with a hanger sticking out of it. She let down the zipper and Mal let out a laugh.

"You're not even being subtle, E," Mal remarked, leaning onto Evie's shoulder with a bright smile. The dress inside was her signature purple color and was obviously made to flaunt as much as possible. It latched above Mal's left shoulder and left her right one bare and hitched at her knees so there was no chance of her tripping on it. The fabric was soft and silky, and honestly reminded Mal of Evie's blue dress from her cotillion years and years ago.

"Now just imagine," Evie let out a breath and held her finger up as if she were framing a moment in the air. "A week from now, you're wearing this dress, and Ben gets down on one knee and-"

"Evie!" Mal burst into giggles, looking around them carefully. "Shh! You never know when the paparazzi are tailing me." She covered her mouth though, as the wonderful image Evie had just described filled her imagination.

"I can't believe you're getting engaged!" Evie proclaimed, much louder than she'd been whispering. Mal flinched. "Just think, Mal, Queen of Auradon. I honestly can't believe it."

"Honestly, I'm okay to just stop at 'wife of Ben'. The queen title, it can just-" Mal made a waving motion with her hand and then reached forward to drag a hand down her new dress. "It's beautiful, Evie. Thank you so much."

"It's going to be amazing," Evie promised. "Now come on, let's hit the road. When do you have to be back? Six?"

"Five," Mal corrected her. "I have to be there to read the official 'Celebration of Auradon' thing at the opening of the party, and to welcome everyone, and then to talk to people who may or may not secretly hate me for my mother." She let out a sigh and opened the passenger side door. It had been a long time since she'd opened her own car door, she realized. Between Ben and all the palace people and magistrates, she hadn't even been able to take more than a few steps without being on someone's arm. She supposed that would only get worse once she was queen.

As she collapsed into the leather seat, she let her lady-like posture fall a bit so she could slouch into her seat as Evie walked around. "You know," She began, "we might not be able to do girl's days as often anymore. Ben says they're going to track my phone, and, well, you know how he always has guards around him? It'll probably be the same for me."

"Why don't they just give you a knife?" Evie asked, climbing in on her side and shutting the door. "You can protect yourself just fine."

"Well, so can Ben," Mal reminded her best friend. "Remember Ben on the Isle back when we were seventeen? He's more than able to protect himself."

"He got himself captured within thirty seconds of walking away from us," Evie protested with a distasteful sneer. "And don't say those words ever again."

"What words?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The words about the years," Evie whined. She clicked her seatbelt into place. Her fancy embellished sunglasses were kept in a little compartment underneath her radio. She removed them and flicked them open, sliding them onto her face. "It doesn't feel like it was that long ago. You make us sound like our parents. 'Remember when we were ruining lives?'" She mimicked and shuddered.

"Are you afraid of aging?" Mal asked incredulously as Evie put the car into gear.

Evie winced. "Aren't you?" She asked.

Mal shook her head. "Not really. Why are you afraid?"

Evie left one hand on the wheel as they left the circle and began to approach the visitor's center. She rested the other hand on her belly. "I don't know," She whispered. "It all just seems so… real lately. I mean, just a few years ago you were stealing candy from babies and now I'm about to have my own baby myself, and soon they'll have their babies, and their babies will have babies, and one day I'll wake up and I won't even recognize myself."

Mal shrugged as she watched the visitor's center approach lazily. "I'm not afraid," She thought out loud. "I have Ben, and I'm okay to grow old with him. But… children scare me. I mean, we know of people who died on the Isle during birth or pregnancy. I think I'm always going to be scared of the idea of being pregnant and not being able to run or flee from danger."

Evie scoffed. "It looks like we're both afraid of things we can't escape." Mal winced and nodded.

A guard appeared outside the visitor's center, and Mal suddenly remembered she needed her palace pass in order to get out. She cursed and began scrambling through her purse. Evie stopped the car beside the center and showed the guard her driver's license before they both turned to watch Mal scramble through her purse. "Please tell me you didn't leave it up at the palace," Evie deadpanned as Mal began to pull out her phone, her government ID's, her credit cards, everything.

"No, I put it in here before I left," Mal insisted as she continued digging. She sighed irritably. "You know who I am, can't you just let me out?"

"Ah-ha!" The guard laughed. "And lose my job for letting the head of the royal courts out without her permission pass? Not a chance."

Mal grumbled and began shuffling through a different pocket. "Ben's not in meetings for another five minutes; I'm sure he would give me permission to get out." She let out a groan. "I have my pass photographed?" She offered.

"You know why we can't accept that," The guard told her firmly. Mal sighed. Yeah, she knew why it was important that they didn't take a digital copy in case someone was somehow impersonating her, but it was still annoying.

"Mal," Evie grumbled in an extremely terse tone. "You better have that card."

"I have the stupid card," Mal insisted. She picked up her collection of ID's and began shuffling. "I've lived here for, like, two years. I know how the stupid permission passes work."

"Mal," Evie huffed. "You know I can be detained for trying to taking you out if you don't have your pass, right?"

Mal's hand grew a bit sweaty as she shuffled through her cards with a huff. Then the blue pattern stuck out among the yellow of her Auradon Prep cards and her white standard ID's and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled the card out and presented it to the guard. Evie let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness," She whispered.

The guard waved them through. "Have that card ready when you come back," He warned. "You know, in a few years or whatever, you're not going to be able to leave the palace walls without that card and an escort or two."

"Yeah," Mal sighed. "I know."

The guard gave a wave and Evie put the car back into gear. Mal grumbled as she shoved her collection back into her bag. "Why do you carry so many cards?" Evie asked irritably. "You only need your government ID and your pass, maybe a credit card or two."

"Believe me, I used to, and then Ben, Belle, and Adam had this joint freak-out session," Mal explained. "See, they're worried that if I need to show someone my ID, and I pull out my government ID, and then they snatch it out of my hand photograph it or something, and suddenly my main official ID that proves I'm a citizen of Auradon is easily attainable off the internet. So, I carry all these extra ID's in case I need to prove my identity without jeopardizing palace security."

Evie sighed. "Your life is complicated," She grumbled.

"It's about to get more complicated," Mal warned. "Ben was telling me all this stuff… they're going to tag my phone and track me. I know Ben gets lots of his texts skimmed as he sends them, and they'll probably do that to me. And, you know," She gestured at the road behind them to remind Evie of the guard. "I'm not allowed to leave alone by myself anymore. I have to have guards or be with Ben, Belle, or Adam. Anyone else has to be palace approved." She lolled her head on her shoulders to look over at Evie, who had slumped over a bit.

"So, what you're saying, is I won't be able to take you out of the palace in the future," Evie sighed. She pushed her sunglasses up a bit to glance over at Mal mournfully.

"No," Mal shook her head. "Or, well, there's a system. But no, the queen can't just vanish from the palace for a day to hang out with her friends. I can ask Ben what the details would be, but chances are we'd still have to have at least one bodyguard with us. Everything changes once he puts a ring on my hand."

"Well," Evie grumbled. "We'd better make the most of today, then."

"Does that mean we're going laser-tagging or paint-balling after all?" Mal asked hopefully. She knew it was a lost cause though.

"No," Evie shook her head. "We're going to go to the spa and then get our nails done because I don't feel like chasing you around and my fingers are all cramped up after making that for you." She made a gesture to the backseat in reference to the dress. "And by the way, I brought my sketchbook because I have tons of wedding dress ideas."

"Really?" Mal laughed. "I can't wait to see them!"

Evie smiled over at her best friend. "Are you going to put a hat on to hide your hair?" She asked.

Mal leaned her head outside the car and felt the wind race through her locks. She smiled wide. "No," She shook her head. "After all, I won't be able to do this for long. I'm going to enjoy it."

Evie laughed and together the cruised down the road, away from the palace, on one of their last trips together.

______________________________________________________________

They left the spa on time but quickly ran into problems. One, a crash had occurred outside the nail salon Evie loved, meaning they sat in the car for an additional half-hour, casually trying to hide Mal's identity from those around them who were also stopped as law enforcement cleaned up the mess. They must have done a good job because no one from the palace called to ask why the official Lady of the Royal Courts was near a public crash, but people certainly noticed the King's girlfriend's bright purple hair.

Then, the salon itself was packed. Evie's platinum membership could only do so much when the place was stretched on staff for the day. Mal began to tap her fingers anxiously as two o'clock turned to two-thirty, and then to three. Three, as in the time she'd told Belle and Adam she'd be leaving. Evie, however, didn't seem that concerned as she insisted Mal get her nails painted purple with pretty, tiny, white sequins.

They left at three-thirty, which was when Mal had been planning on getting back to the palace. But by that time royals had started to arrive, and traffic had lulled around the palace. Evie drummed her hands on the wheel as they watched the time tick closer to four o'clock. "You'd better text your not-in-laws," She warned Mal.

Mal let out a sound of absolute discouragement and she shuffled around in her purse for her cell phone. Evie craned her neck a little, spotted the palace pass inside, and turned her attention back to the road.

At four-fifteen, they finally reached the visitor's center. Evie presented her license, and they both turned to watch as Mal pulled her ID's out one by one and examined them. "Again?" The guard asked.

"It is here," Mal insisted, wrinkling her nose as she shuffled cards irritably. "Dear God, where could it have fallen?"

The guard pinched his lips together. "Please pull the car over to here," He gestured to a parking lot beside the building. The only other cars parked there were a police car and a maintenance car. A new guard began helping the Royals in the car behind them.

"Oh, my goodness," Evie grumbled as she slid the car into gear. The guard walked them all the way to a parking space.

Mal upended her bag into her lap and began irritably looking through the contents therein. Lip balm, hand sanitizer, spare ID's, credit cards, her registration that she possesses magical powers, official court identification, and documents… but no ID?

Evie put the car in gear and looked over to Mal helplessly. "Ma'am," The guard directed to Evie. "Please step out of the car with your hands behind your head."

Mal's mouth dropped open. "Are you going to arrest her?" She gasped.

"I have to follow protocol," The guard frowned. "Ma'am, please step out of the car."

Evie made a sound in the back of her throat and opened her door. "Should I turn off the car?" She asked.

"Do not touch any of the controls. Keep your hands behind your head please," The guard directed. Evie left the door open as she lifted her hands up. She sent a desperate look to Mal, who was frantically opening pockets.

"Oh my gosh," Mal sighed. "Okay, I have to have some power, right? I'm a lady of the court and-" She watched the guard step towards Evie as he revealed a pair of handcuffs, and flipped out. "Don't touch her!" She commanded, pointing at him. "Don't you dare touch her." She opened the door and began feeling along the floor of the car. "It's here, it's got to be here. Don't you take her anywhere, don't you touch her."

"Mal!" Evie took a hand from behind her head to point to the crevice between seats, where a blue-tinged card lay. Mal slumped in relief as she snatched up the pass and showed it to the guard. He nodded, and Evie slowly returned to her seat in the car. "You are awful at this card thing," Evie sighed.

"I swear it was in here," Mal gasped. "I saw it on the way here, I checked. Oh my gosh." She got back into the car and slumped against the seat.

The guard clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You need to get something to hold all your cards," He told her. Mal nodded to his words without comment. He shooed them away and returned to help check in everyone else. The palace was growing more and more crowded as people arrived.

"Take the royal family entrance," Mal told Evie. "I have my certificate of Court Membership and my official residency card here, so you can park in the royal family's garage and… that should be less crowded." She rubbed her hands against her face and dared a look at the clock. "I have twenty-five minutes to have my hair and makeup done and to get into my dress and get to where I need to be."

"We can do it," Evie assured her. "Here, my extra makeup bag should be under the seat. Hurry and start while I direct us."

Mal reached under the seat and felt the cool clutch of the plastic bag. She pulled it up and found, to her relief, some purple shades of eyeshadow mixed in with the blue and several tubes of eyeliner and mascara. "What about my hair?" Mal asked. "I can't curl it in twenty minutes and still be able to get into my dress."

"We'll braid it," Evie decided. "You know what, I usually have extra accessories in my glove box. Check and see."

Mal obeyed and found, tucked away, a hair adornment with white studs that looked like an assortment of silver leaves, a few bangle bracelets, and a variety of necklaces. She forewent the necklaces but took the hairpiece and the bracelets out. She quickly did her makeup as Evie directed them to the royal's entrance, pausing only to give the guard an assortment of passes and papers before Evie was allowed to descend straight into the heart of the castle.

Jay and Carlos, to Mal's surprise, were waiting for them. "What are you doing here?" Mal gasped as she climbed out of the car, hastily shoving things back into Evie's makeup bag.

"We brought you your dress," Jay announced, holding up a long, white cocktail dress with blue and yellow lace scattered around the bottom like she was supposed to be walking on the sunrise or something. "Belle thought you'd be quick enough to get up in time but we saw the traffic and decided to bring it to you so you could just go straight up to the party."

"Did you get your makeup done?" Carlos asked, squinting at her. "Oh, yeah. See, bro?" He elbowed Jay in the ribs. "I told you Evie would have some stuff."

"I always have some stuff," Evie announced, crossing her arms. "Just like Mal never has her pass ready. I was almost arrested for kidnapping her on the way in."

"Tough crowd," Jay scoffed. "Sounds like an adventure. Unfortunately, you are out of time. Have you been getting any of Ben's messages?"

Mal let out a nervous laugh. She hadn't even heard her phone buzzing. "I'll check them later," She decided, taking her dress from Jay and shoving the makeup bag back under the seat.

"There's a restroom over here," Evie pointed. "Let's get you changed." She steered Mal towards the restroom and shoved open the door. Quickly, the two girls worked together to get Mal changed out of her t-shirt and ripped jeans and into her ball gown. The official one that was actually in the colors of Auradon instead of her signature color for once.

"Faster, faster, faster," She urged Evie under her breath as her friend hid Mal's bra underneath the dress and fixed the angles the skirt flounced out in. She quickly braided Mal's hair back and used the silver hairpiece to hide the hasty work. Then they ran back out to the boys, locked Evie's car, and took the elevator up to the main floors.

Belle, Adam, and Ben were all waiting beside the doors to the ballroom, exchanging nervous looks when the core four came tearing around the corner with red faces. Carlos was still holding Mal's heels, which they'd forgotten about. She was still tennis-shoe clad.

"There you are!" Ben gasped in relief as she reached him. They exchanged a quick hug.

"I'm sorry!" Mal gasped for breath as Carlos realized he still had Mal's shoes balanced around his fingertips and began trying to get her attention. "There was a crash and then the salon was backed up and traffic got crazy before I almost got Evie arrested…" She took her shoes from Carlos and Jay leaned down to help Mal take off her tennis shoes since Evie wasn't exactly the best person to be bending down at the moment.

"You almost got Evie arrested?" Ben repeated with a growing expression of horror. "What happened?"

"Did you lose your card?" Adam asked sternly.

Mal groaned as she put her shoes on the ground and tried to step into them. "Yes, momentarily. But it's fine, I got it." She borrowed Ben and Carlos's shoulders for balance as she wrestled her feet into the evil shoes.

"Well, you look great," Ben laughed as she stabilized herself with several deep breaths. She slumped against the wall, and he handed her a sheet of paper to read off of. At least she hadn't had to memorize everything. She got a cheat sheet. Mal smoothed it over and began to skim as Jay gathered up her tennis shoes and socks with rolled eyes.

"How much longer do we have?" Mal asked as she finished reading.

"You made it with exactly two minutes to spare," Ben told her with a chuckle. "They'll be presenting you, and then us, any second now."

Mal could only groan in response as her friends gave her a couple of quick hugs. "God save me from the beast that is Auradon," She whispered. "Okay, I'm calm."

The doors opened a crack and Lumiere appeared. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. "Come now," He commanded, taking her hand and helping her through. "It's good you're here; they're announcing you now."

And sure enough, down the hall, she could hear Cogsworth pronouncing her name with dramatic detail. "Lady Maleficent 'Mal' Bertha, of the Auradon Royal Courts, representing her home of the Isle of the Lost."

Lumiere guided her to the end of the hallway. Mal took a deep breath and turned the corner into the light. A gigantic stairway that she, personally, liked to slide down the banisters on, opened up into the large ballroom, which was currently filled with hundreds of Kings, Queens, Lords, Ladies, Dukes and Duchesses. Not to mention the servants. She painted what she and Ben referred to as a 'political smile' on her face and took hold of the banister to keep from tripping as she did her best to not resume her Isle strut down to the crowds. As always, her appearance was met with applause and murmurs of approval for her outfit.

She reached the bottom of the staircase where she saw a few familiar faces gathered – Lonnie, Jane, Fairy Godmother, Chad Charming – and carefully lowered into a curtsey before they turned their attention to the top of the stairs

Cogsworth cleared his throat. "The former King and Queen of Auradon, Adam, and Belle, representing the royal palace."

Representing the royal palace was another thing that she was supposed to do as queen. Soon, it'd just be 'Former King Adam and Queen Belle'.

Ben's parents appeared at the top of the staircase and began to descend in a dreamy fashion. They looked out over the crowd some, but not as much as they looked at each other. Mal couldn't wait for the day that was Ben and her.

Belle and Adam went to stand beside Aurora and Phillip and Tiana and Naveen as Cogsworth cleared his throat one last time. "His Majesty, representing the official government of Auradon, King Benjamin!"

She was jealous that they left out his middle name.

Ben appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down over his people with a bright, shy smile. He descended the stairs after everyone, reminding Mal of how he'd looked at her Cotillion, walking down the steps after her. This time, however, Uma wouldn't be interrupting.

Halfway down the steps, he took a microphone from a servant and looked for her at the bottom of the stairs. She picked up her skirts and walked back up to him. They met halfway. He bowed, and she curtseyed, and he pressed the microphone into her hands with a kiss to her cheek. Mal cleared her throat as he went to stand behind his parents.

"Test," She announced as clearly as possible, testing her voice and the mic at the same time. "Lovely, it works. Thank you all for coming tonight. On this evening, September twentieth, we gather to celebrate the formation of Auradon, the unification of kingdoms, and the continuation of peace in the land. It is the twenty-eighth year of peace, or year twenty-eight in the days of Auradon. King Benjamin, our second king, currently resides on the throne, long shall he reign."

The crowd echoed after her, "Long shall he reign." And thus ended Mal's memorized portion of her speech. She opened the paper without looking down and then delivered the redundant section that was heard every year about the beginning of the kingdom – how Adam and Belle had unified everything, and the election had placed ruling power in their hands. It was quick, but not quick enough. Finally, she refolded her paper and began to descend the stairs as the room erupted into applause. When she reached Ben, she tucked her folded speech into his breast pocket, and they looped their arms together.

Evie, Jay, and Carlos, who did not have to be announced, had slipped in unseen during Ben's descent of the stairs. The boys hung around the concessions table as Evie found a chair to sit down in. She was looking a bit ill. Jane and Carlos stood together, hand in hand, while Lonnie and Jay made a competitive game of sticking their tongues out at each other when their partner wasn't looking.

Belle and Adam were able to disappear to go and talk with their old friends, but Ben and Mal stayed near the stairs, backs straight, as guest filtered by, shaking their hands.

"Relax," Ben laughed in between light conversation. "It's over. You did fantastic."

"Ugh," Mal grumbled in return.

"Mal!" A sickeningly familiar cheery tone exclaimed. Mal looked up in surprise as she recognized Audrey, who was standing beside a tall, dark-haired man. She was balancing a small child – a girl – on her hip as she approached Mal with a bright, blinding smile. "Oh, my goodness, I don't think I've seen you for years! That is a beautiful dress."

"Thank you, Audrey," Mal smiled, dipping into a curtsey. "Who is this?" She gestured to Audrey's small family.

"This is my husband, James," Audrey introduced with a smile. "And this is our baby girl Angel." She moved the child as if to show her off to Mal.

Ben took a step forward and took the small girl's hand. "She's beautiful," He told Audrey. "She looks like you in all your old pictures."

Audrey laughed in agreement. Her husband, James, turned around and took two glasses of wine from a servant who was walking through the crowds. Ben watched him as he turned and offered a glass to Audrey, who accepted it.

"How have you been?" Audrey asked Mal, who watched the little girl's eyes train onto Audrey's glass. "I don't see a ring on you yet."

Mal blushed bright red and twisted her hands together. "No, no ring." She shrugged.

"Ben, you need to get on that," Audrey told her old friend with a smile. "She won't wait on you forever."

Audrey's little girl, Angel, started trying to reach for her mom's drink. Audrey swayed the girl's hands out of her reach. "Oh, no, sweetheart," She told the little princess. "Not for you. James, do we have any juice for her?"

James began to reach into a bag that hung around his shoulder as Audrey held the glass away from her. Ben and Mal watched as Angel pouted her lip and continued to reach. "Here," James told Audrey, procuring a sippy cup of juice. He handed it to Angel, but the small child wasn't interested. She dropped it immediately. Audrey leaned down quickly to try and catch it as it fell and missed entirely. Mal watched in slow motion as, while Audrey's posture changed quickly, her wine sloshed out of her glass and flew right at her.

She was suddenly aware that she was very cold as the red wine doused her bodice and rolled off of the fabric, spreading down to her skirts. She gasped as Audrey moaned in horror. "Oh no!" Audrey exclaimed. "I'm so sorry."

"That's okay," Mal gasped. She glanced around and noticed Evie was already standing up to come to her rescue. "I think I might just… go up to change."

Ben grabbed her arm in panic. "Problem," He told her immediately. But before he could say anything else, Evie appeared.

"What happened?" Evie groaned. "Oh, red wine…" She pinched the bridge between her nose in exasperation. "Do you still have your spare gowns up in your closet?" She asked.

"Yes," Mal nodded, still stunned over watching the red ruin her dress. "Let's just… slip out."

"You can't go into your room," Ben interrupted with a pained expression. "We were going to tell you when you showed up… there was a chemical spill when your carpets were being cleaned today. In the closet and over by your desk. They have to let the room air out before they can clean it because the cleaner smell isn't safe. And… a lot of your outfits were ruined."

Mal wilted. "I don't have another dress besides the ones in my room," She moaned, shivering a little as the wine soaked through to her skin and began to make her feel sticky.

"Well…" Evie trailed off hesitantly. "There's that one down in the car…" She bit her lip as Mal's expression crumpled.

"You have one down in the car?" Ben asked. A look of relief spread across his face. "That'd be excellent. Evie, can you help her, or should I-"

"I've got it," Evie cut him off, taking Mal's hand. "We'll be right back."

"Evie, you're a lifesaver," Ben told her as he took a half-step back. "Let me know if you need any help. And Mal-" He took her arm and gave her a smile. "I'll cover for you. Don't worry."

As Evie hastily led Mal away, Mal heard Ben start to say: "Thank you, Audrey," Before she was out of earshot and his voice blended in with the rest of the crowd. She sighed bitterly as Evie wove her around a few dozen crowds.

Mal pouted as Evie led her out towards a side exit. People gasped and expressed concern when they saw her heading out with her ruined dress. "It'll be okay," Evie sighed as she led Mal back to the elevators. "I think I might actually be able to get that stain out."

"I don't want to wear the other dress," Mal mumbled with a pouted lip. "That means he won't be seeing it for the first time when he proposes."

"I can make you another if you like?" Evie asked with a sigh. She gave her friend a hug, being careful to avoid the red wine. "It'll be okay."

Down the elevator they went and back into the royal garage. Evie pulled the beautiful dress out of the garment bag and Mal held back a sigh of disappointment as they walked back to the bathroom to change her outfit – again. She hated royal functions.

Evie hung the white gown up with a wince and Mal sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like she was visiting Agrabah, or maybe Olympus with the style of the dress. And she hadn't noticed it before, but a black belt ran across her middle, sitting low on her hips. Evie walked over and set a hand on Mal's shoulder with a sympathetic frown. "It'll still be magical," She promised Mal. "And really, I can make a new dress for the Cotillion next week."

"I'd kind of already set my heart on being in this when he did it," Mal sighed. "But thank you, Evie. It really is beautiful. It'll probably take his breath away."

"Yeah, you will," Evie agreed, not-so-subtly changing the noun in her agreement. She studied Mal, and her lips pinched into a frown. "Your hair and makeup don't match now," She grumbled. "We have to redo it."

"What?" Mal frowned. "No, I'd better just get back up there. Ben's covering for me, remember?"

"He can cover a bit longer." Evie rolled her eyes as she took out the silver hairpiece and began attacking Mal's hair. The braids had made her hair a little curly, even though she hadn't even had them in for that long. Evie flounced out the natural waves and then a smile fell onto her lips. "I'm going to braid your hair like we did for your first date," She told Mal. "Can you crouch down a little?"

"Do we have time?" Mal frowned, stooping a little anyway.

"Ben's covering for us," Evie replied with an eye roll as she gathered up Mal's hair and quickly began braiding. "And I'm Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen. I always have time for fashion."

Mal sighed and leaned her chin onto the countertop as Evie fixed her hair. She had to admit: it was nice to see the hairstyle after so many years. She'd only worn it a few times since that date with Ben.

"Before you escape, let me fix your makeup," Evie commanded, finishing her work and pulling her phone out to check the time. A smirk spread across her face.

"Evie, I really have to go back up," Mal sighed. "I'm supposed to be running this thing, sort of, and-"

"I haven't been able to do your hair and makeup in years," Evie protested, folding her arms as she started texting someone – Mal assumed it was Doug. "Come on, indulge me."

Mal let out a groan as Evie returned the garment bag, now filled with the ruined gown, to the back of her car. She pulled her makeup bag out and sat Mal down in the passenger seat to correct the hastily-done makeup Mal had put on in the car. Mal squirmed and fidgeted as she glanced at the blank electronic clock in Evie's car out of nervous habit.

"This whole day has been a bust," She sighed as Evie finished applying a pink color to her lips. "For the last five hours, we've literally been late to every single thing. I just want to go to sleep and try again tomorrow."

"Oh, cheer up," Evie smiled. "Besides, you've got a whole night of dancing with Ben to get around to." She capped her lip gloss and smiled. "Viola! Hey, you're wearing Ben's ring still, right?"

Mal glanced down at her hands and held up her right one. On her index finger lay the gold ring with the beastly imprint. "Yeah, I don't really ever take it off," She reminded her friend.

"Hmm," Evie frowned. "Gold. Ugh, this dress goes so much better with silver, but I guess gold will have to work." She opened her glovebox and shuffled around before coming up with a thin-chained gold necklace. "Put this on, and then I'll take you up," Evie commanded, putting the silver bracelets and the hairpiece into the glovebox and straightening up with a sigh as she landed her hands on her stomach.

Mal frowned at her friend as she fumbled with the clasp on the necklace. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah," Evie smiled. "It's just that all this running around is making me sick." She moved a hand to her mouth in a fist as if she were going to throw up, and then leaned against the car. "Ugh, I can't wait to go to bed either," She sighed. "When does this thing end?"

"At Midnight," Mal grumbled. "Hey, Auradon's got to celebrate themselves."

"Yeah, no kidding," Evie sighed. She pushed herself back up. "Let's head up."

Mal finished latching the necklace and looked down to examine the pendant. She frowned. It was of a little silver dragon with purple gemstones in its eyes. "Why are you carrying around purple jewelry?" She asked.

Evie blinked softly, as if she hadn't quite understood what Mal had asked, and then responded: "I think I forgot to give that to you. Huh. Oh well." She turned and headed back to the elevators.

Once inside, Evie pushed the button for the main flooring. "Oh, Evie, we actually need to go to the ground level," Mal corrected her, reaching to press the correct button.

Evie batted her hand aside. "Relax, Mal, I've got this." She yawned. She was pressing her hands to her stomach as if she were going to be sick. Mal frowned.

"Evie, there aren't any restrooms on the main floor. If we go to the ground floor then-"

"Mal. I've got this," Evie interrupted.

Mal crinkled her nose. "I can't even enter the ballroom from the main floor," She pointed out. Evie didn't say anything; she only made a hushing motion with her hand as she closed her eyes and leaned against the elevator walls.

The elevator doors opened and Evie, who was starting to look a bit pale, took Mal's wrist and led her out. They hurried through the hallways, tracing the same path they'd run earlier as Mal's lips pinched into an increasingly worried look. They paused outside the door to the entrance hallway, and Evie groaned.

"Is there a trash can, like, anywhere here?" She groaned, squeezing her eyes closed in pain. "Ugh," Evie felt around in her pockets for her phone and squinted at the screen. She let out a pitiful sound in the back of her throat. "Okay," She grumbled and tossed her phone onto the floor. Mal caught a glimpse of a screen full of text messages.

Evie straightened up and opened the doors. Mal immediately freaked out. "Evie, what are you doing? We're not allowed to go down the hallway after the presenting!" She hurried to shut the door, and Evie stopped her with a hand and a downright devilish look.

"Too bad," Evie grumbled. "We're going. Now." She seized Mal's wrist and hauled the stammering girl into the hallway. Mal sputtered and dug in her heels.

"I can't go down the staircase Evie! The entire room – I've already been announced!" Mal hurried to explain as she tried to wrestle her hand back from Evie. Evie whirled around in a moment of intense, spontaneous fury.

"Hush!" She commanded. "I know what I'm doing, Mal, and so help me you are going to walk down this staircase right. Freaking. Now." She released Mal's wrist and shoved her forward. Mal tripped a little and stumbled past the threshold of the hall and onto the staircase. Immediately, the room went silent.

Mal's hands shook as everyone looked up at her. She took in everything again – the large room, the multitudes of people – and it suddenly occurred to her that everyone was smiling.

She looked down to the base of the stairwell. Belle and Adam, Jay and Lonnie, Jane and Carlos, Audrey and her family, everyone was there. Even Doug, though he was missing Evie, who had suddenly vanished from the hallway. The only person beside Evie she could tell was missing was Ben.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and Mal looked up. She met brown eyes, and things somehow made all too much sense. Ben took her hand with a scheming smile and began to lead her down the stairs. He, like she, had changed clothes. He wore a black suit with, strangely, purple embellishments. A small collection of purple flowers was even tucked into his breast pocket.

"You look amazing," He whispered in her ear, guiding her down to about halfway up the stairs.

"You're wearing purple," Mal gasped. She couldn't believe it. The color made his eyes look a little darker, actually.

Down below, Evie reappeared and took a stance beside Doug, who wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. No one in the entire crowd said anything as Ben reached into his suit coat. She heard something click. "You're microphoned?" She asked. Her voice echoed a bit in the room from the speaker system.

"Gotta be heard," Ben chuckled. "Don't forget, we're on TV." He gestured out to the crowd. There were cameras broadcasting the event to Auradon, and people had their cell phones out, filming. Mal's mouth went very dry.

"You… you all set me up!" She gasped, turning to stare at her friends. Audrey had dumped her drink on her, Ben and Jay had sabotaged her wardrobe… Evie had hidden her card in the car to slow them down! She clapped a hand to her mouth in shock.

Ben laughed. "I'm not going to take any more time from the party," He told her. "After all, this has been a long time coming, and I feel like you've had plenty of warning." He took her hands and they turned to face each other. Ben cleared his throat.

"Mal, my idea of Happily Ever After changed forever when we started dating. For years now, all I've wanted in life is you. You're my partner, you're my teammate, you're my friend. And there is no one else I want to be my queen." Ben's voice echoed off the walls of the room and at the mention of the word 'queen', the entire room took a breath. Mal, for her part, couldn't breathe as Ben dropped to one knee in front of her, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the long-coveted black box. He smiled at her as he opened the box with a flourish and tears clouded her eyes.

"I want you if you'll have me. You already know my work is a burden, but you've more than proven you're up to any challenge that comes. Mal, will you marry me, and be Queen of Auradon at my side?"

Mal couldn't breathe, couldn't speak as she nodded over and over and over. She dropped to her knees beside him and threw her arms around his neck. And it was only then she finally found her voice again. "Yes," She gasped, sounding a bit hoarse with emotion. "Yes, yes, I'll marry you."

The entire room exploded into sound. Mal felt Ben fumbling with her left hand, and then something cold and metal slipped onto her finger. She withdrew a little to examine the ring. She was smiling so hard she almost couldn't see straight as she looked down and saw a silver band with a low-set diamond and dozens of pretty purple offset stones. She twisted her hand and examined the back of the ring, and then noticed something inscribed underneath the diamonds. It read: "happily ever after."

Ben got to his feet and helped her up as tears filled her eyes and immediately began to spill down her cheeks. The room was still applauding, people were still screaming in celebration as Ben tucked her arm into his elbow and began leading her down the stairs. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and all their families started up and met her halfway with hugs and calls of celebration. Mal let go on Ben long enough to latch onto Evie and begin sobbing into her friend's shoulder.

Jay eventually pried her off of Evie so he could pick her up and spin her around. "Why so sad?" He asked. "You did it! You said yes!"

Mal hid her face in his shoulder, well-aware her makeup was probably ruined. "I'm just happy," She hiccupped. "I'm really, really happy."

Evie seized Mal's hand, looking irritable. "Let me see the stupid ring!" She demanded crossly. Mal laughed as Evie spread her fingers and let out a squeal when she glimpsed all the sparkly rocks. They threaded their fingers together and let out two identical twin screams of pure excitement.

"That's beautiful!" Audrey cheered as she looked over everyone's shoulders. She smiled sheepishly at Mal. "Sorry about ruining your dress," She apologized.

"Oh!" Mal huffed, balling her fists up. "You all set me up!" She pointed at each of her friends accusingly. "I thought he was going to propose next week!"

"Thanks, guys," Ben laughed, reaching around her to fist-bump everyone one-by-one. "I owe you all big-time."

"Yes," Evie agreed, curling her lip. "We ruined a perfectly good cocktail dress and I almost got arrested."

"You hid my card!" Mal protested, digging her nails into her palms. "And that text thing! You're all dirty, dirty liars!" She pointed at Jay. "You brought my dress down so I couldn't go to my room, and you and Ben sabotaged my room so I had to wear this, and you even made me think it was going to be at Cotillion!"

"You really thought I'd ruin Ka-Okee's night?" Ben laughed. "And your room is fine. Actually, we filled it with surprises. You're welcome."

"Evie stalled me." Mal pointed at her best friend accusingly. "And Carlos-"

"Didn't almost ruin everything," Carlos interrupted with a laugh and a wince. "I orchestrated the traffic jam that almost made you late and helped with the microphones and equipment."

"By the way," Ben paused, opening up his suit coat and switching the microphone off. "Can you help me take all this junk off?" Carlos moved to help him as Doug continued explaining everything in lieu of everyone fawning over Mal.

"Carlos got the guard to slow you down, Belle asked the carpet cleaners to act as if there was a mistake and they were late, and Ben asked Audrey to knock her drink on you. The hardest part was for Evie to get you up on the forbidden staircase without you getting suspicious enough for Ben to not catch you off guard." He put a hand on his wife's shoulder as Evie began to calm down.

Evie slumped into Doug's side with a yawn. "I'm about done. Watching Mal panic about everything for the last few hours has worn me out."

"You feeling bad?" Jane asked, patting Evie's shoulder sympathetically.

"Yeah, she was about to throw up when we were in the hallway," Mal frowned, examining Evie in worry.

"I did on the way down, in the restroom," Evie sighed, resting a hand on her ribcage. "It's time for me to go home."

Ben paused. "Oh, are you pregnant?" He asked. Evie flushed and nodded with a happy smile as Doug took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.

"Let's get you home," Doug whispered in her ear. He inclined his head to the group. "Congratulations, Ben and Mal. I don't know why you waited so long, but I'm glad you finally did it."

Mal glanced down at her hand with a wistful smile. "You had this for seven years?" She asked Ben.

"I've known for a while you were the one," Ben laughed. "I was just waiting for you to realize that." Mal blushed as she took his hand again. He reached up, guided his hand down her jawline, and brought her mouth up to his. Immediately, her friend all exploded into disgusted sounds, though it was clear they were all still very proud of what they'd accomplished. Mal relaxed as she felt the familiar magic tingle her fingertips and light her emotions on fire.

Belle appeared, hurrying up the stairs. "Mal!" She called, drawing her new future daughter-in-law away from her son. She held out her hands. "I want to see the ring!" She demanded. Mal laughed as Evie stepped forward for one last hug before Belle seized Mal's hand and began to examine the ring with intense scrutiny. Doug led Evie away, out the doors, and presumably down to her car. 'It's beautiful!" Belle proclaimed. "Now, when are you getting married? Have you talked about anything yet?"

"Nothing." Ben shook his head. "But I'd be willing to bet Mal wants a winter or spring wedding." He elbowed her with a smile. Mal immediately shook her head.

"No, no Ben," She declined. "I want, like, a tomorrow wedding. Is there any chance we can elope tonight?"

"Evie will murder you," Jay replied immediately with a wide look in his eyes. "She's been planning dresses since she learned your cotillion was getting engaged to being engaged. If she doesn't get the chance to make at least one, she will go ballistic."

"Yeah, let's not anger the pregnant Isle lady," Carlos laughed nervously.

"What do you mean, 'at least one'?" Mal asked with a furrowed brow. "Only one dress is needed, and really, we all know I'd be fine to get married in my jacket and combat boots anyways."

"Auradon might have a thing or two to say about that," Ben rolled his eyes. "The whole 'white wedding' thing is strangely important to everyone. People might revolt."

The group threw their head back and laughed before a sudden crash came from the concessions table. An entire table had collapsed, and the young Duke Alan Tudyk of Weselton was struggling to get up from it. The young man's coattails were covered in the jello pudding he'd landed in as he howled in outrage. He appeared to have been thrown, and it didn't take much deducing to see the source of the commotion. Adam's fists were balled up about ten feet away and he was shaking like the ground as a volcano went off. His face was beet-red and, for a second, Mal could have sworn she was looking at the Beast, and not Ben's dad.

"Adam?" Belle gasped beside Mal as Ben took Mal's hand and squeezed it. Adam didn't hear her as he procured an accusing finger directed in the young Duke Weselton's direction.

"Get out of my house!" Adam bellowed. More people in the room who hadn't been alerted to the disturbance when the table had crashed were staring as Alan struggled to his feet. "I'll not hear your blasphemy again!"

"Mark my words!" The Duke yelled, wiping what looked like the remnants of a slice of cake off of his face and hurling it onto the ballroom floor. "This is it for Auradon!"

People gasped in horror at his words, and Mal straightened up beside Ben, ready to fight. The Duke whirled and pointed an accusing finger straight towards their group – straight at Mal. "As sure as we stand here, she'll be the downfall of the kingdom!" He proclaimed. "We can't trust her!"

Ben stepped in front of Mal as Carlos and Jay both took up defensive stances. Mal was shocked as the Duke hurled another fistful of smashed cake from his shoulder onto the floor. He turned and stormed out of the ballroom, leaving a gigantic mess of frosting and whipped cream behind. People began to murmur as servants appeared and began to take the ruined confections away. Ben held up his hands to gather the attention of the people around him. "Please, everyone, go back to your party." He turned momentarily to squeeze Mal's shoulder and then walked to where the servants were trying to wipe things up. He picked up the platter of destroyed jello and disappeared out the door with it as Mal let out a breath.

Belle left the group to go talk to Adam. Mal watched the two interact briefly, and they headed out the door as Ben reappeared and continued to help with clean-up. Mal looked around at the surrounding guests. While many looked horrified and angry, several stood stone-faced, refusing to meet her eyes. And just like that, she was sixteen again and everyone was angry with her after family day. She could hear Jane's hiss: "he's never gonna make a villain a queen," and could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"Woah, calm down," Carlos told her, setting a hand on her forearm. Mal looked at him, confused, and realized her eyes must have flashed. She averted her gaze and took several deep breaths.

"Mal," Jay whispered. "They're wrong. You're not going to destroy Auradon. They don't know you."

Mal forced a tight smile. "I know," She whispered and looked up to the doors. She slipped past everyone at the base of the stairs and joined the few royals helping the servants clean the food off of the floor. She could feel people's eyes on her as she worked, but she didn't dare let anyone know how the situation had knocked her off-guard. One by one, everyone got up as the mess resolved itself, but Mal wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do when she got up, so she kept pretending she was wiping up excess whipped cream until a hand stopped her.

Ben took the napkins out of her hand and threw them away. He slipped his arm around her waist and cleared his throat. "We were talking about when you wanted the wedding before we were interrupted," He recalled leading her away and into the crowd, inclining his head to anyone who stopped to congratulate them. "Assuming I can't get out of that charity event and subsequent meeting tomorrow, what's your option number two?"

"Do you think all of Auradon will react like that?" Mal asked, glancing over her shoulder to where the Duke of Weselton had landed.

"No," Ben stopped her, turning her to face him with an intense gaze. "No, they won't. The people love you. I love you. The Duke is just a close-minded fool. Don't listen to him. I honestly don't want you to think about him for another second. This night is about us, and he's wrong about you. Don't believe lies, Mal."

Mal swallowed at the tone of his voice. She'd heard him take that tone less than four times in her life. Under Uma's spell at Cotillion… at the Enchanted Lake when they'd almost broken up… no other instances came to mind right away. "I won't," She whispered.

Ben's gaze remained intent on her for another few seconds, and then he leaned in and gave her another kiss, in front of everyone. Despite the scene and the fact that they were probably being filmed somewhere, Mal felt all her worries and upsets heal. True Love's Kiss strikes again, she thought. A smile appeared on her face. "Maybe we should do a winter wedding," She mumbled against Ben's lips. "Or, like, a next-week wedding."

"Ah-ah," Ben tsked. "Cotillion next week. We can't hold an official event of that importance after their celebration. It's not nice. But we could probably do, like December. You could get married in the snow. Evie would have a field day with all the white."

"She would," Mal laughed as he returned his arm to her waistline and she wrapped hers around his. "So, what was with all the hype about Cotillion? You could have just had everyone make me think you were going to propose over dinner out of the blue or something."

"I'm not casual enough for that," Ben laughed. "And the real reason?" He snickered for a half-second and then schooled his emotions. "John Smith was complaining you hadn't finished filing your part of the paperwork."

Mal's mouth dropped open. "Oh my gosh," She covered her mouth as Ben doubled over in laughter. "That's manipulation!" She accused.

"Hey," Ben held up a hand in defense. "It was all done bright and early the morning after you had your text conversation with your friends. Two birds with one stone. You didn't see anything coming and I got you to focus on paperwork."

"You know about those texts?" Mal asked.

Ben snickered again and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I orchestrated them," He told her, tilting the screen so she could look at what he was doing. He opened a message with Carlos, Evie, and Jay and himself – no Mal. Mal skimmed the messages and covered her mouth as she began to laugh.

Jay: "Kay Ben, I just told her abt Cotillion. She's suspicious but I think E and C 'freaking out' helped.

Evie: Yeah, she's sold on this.

Ben: What's she saying now?

Carlos: She's just spectating. She's reading all the messages but isn't saying anything. BTW she was working on Cotillion paperwork when we started texting her.

Ben: I wonder how much longer until it's actually done. She's had it for almost two months. Anyone want to place a bet for less than a day now that we've done this?

Evie: CARLOS YOU TEXTED THAT MESSAGE TO THE WRONG GROUP CHAT

Carlos: OH SHOOT.

Carlos: SHOOYT

Carlos: SHOOT*

Jay: Your an idiot.

Ben: Please tell me you didn't ruin everything.

Ben: Guys?

Ben: What happened?

Evie: Screenshot She said she's gonna pretend she didn't get that.

Ben: I think it's vague enough. She'll probably think we're going to sneak her away from Cotillion. BTW thanks for the heart attack.

Ben: Oh, she has visitation with her mom on that day.

Ben: EVIE you have a day out with her next week on the night of the Castle Party. Okay, I have a plan, and it involves lots of stress for Mal. You guys up to helping me?

Mal shook her head as she skimmed the texts and watched their plans unfold. The most impressive one, to her, was Ben saying: "If Mal doesn't tell you to go straight to the royal garage, ask her if she has the passes for it. She'll probably agree right away and roll with it without getting suspicious." She'd played right into their hands, and she wasn't even a little bit disappointed. "You guys are good," She complimented Ben. "And then none of you broke character, except for Evie when she snapped at me to go out on the staircase."

"I heard that," Ben chuckled. "By the way, I had no idea she was expecting, and I feel kind of bad for how much of our plan revolved around her."

"It would have had to have been her, though," Mal rolled her eyes. "For one, she would have wanted to have the biggest part anyway. And for two, it wasn't like Jay or Carlos could have sewn a 'getting engaged' dress and convinced me it was for next week, and then helped me change and get ready in the car, and everything."

Ben smiled as he looked down at her outfit. "You look amazing," He told her. "I prefer you in purple over Auradon colors."

"I don't look good in yellow," Mal shook her head. "Remember cotillion? And I had my bright purple hair and… yeah." She trailed off as Ben started to laugh and nod.

"Should I wear purple when we get married?" She asked over Ben's laughter. "Or would Auradon have a meltdown?"

"Auradon would have a meltdown," Ben confirmed. "Maybe Evie could put purple hints in your white dress though." He hesitated. "Actually, maybe we could do a double thing."

Mal tilted her head. "Like… two weddings?" She asked slowly.

Ben shrugged. "Maybe," He shrugged. "And you could wear purple or black or green at the private one, and we could have only our friends and no cameras, and heck, we could do that next week or month or whenever. And then Auradon can have their gigantic, ridiculous, over-the-top white wedding afterward."

Mal let out a wistful sigh. "I'm okay with that," She agreed. "I don't feel like my wedding is something I want to share with your kingdom."

"You don't want to share anything with our kingdom," Ben rolled his eyes. "Not your time, not your wedding, not even me."

"True," Mal grumbled. They hit the edge of the ballroom and walked out onto a balcony. A few couples were out, but not many. They walked over to the railing and Mal leaned down over the edge. "And really," She continued, elbowing Ben coyly, "So long as it gets me into your room quicker, I'm good with anything."

Ben hummed and rolled his eyes. "You're deathly afraid of raising the future heir or heiress of the kingdom yet you can't wait to sleep with me," He whispered as he leaned over the balcony with her.

"Well, it's the benefits, see," Mal shrugged. Her throat felt a bit tight as she considered his reasoning.

"There aren't any benefits to kids?" Ben returned with a raised eyebrow. "A little you or a little me, or a little both of us? And you get to watch them grow up and decorate their rooms and-"

"You sound like Evie," Mal cut him off with an eye-roll.

"Strictly speaking, it's good Evie is thinking like that," Ben shrugged. He put his arm around Mal and began to rub her shoulder with his fingertips. "So, when do you want to get married?"

Mal looked out into the night and considered the black, inky sky. A cool breeze drifted through and made goosebumps rise on her arms. She turned and met his gaze. "Tonight," She admitted. "I just want to be your wife already."

Ben smiled and leaned his cheek on her head. "What about after cotillion?" He suggested. "Ka-Okee gets put in next Wednesday, and Thursday I'm packed, but maybe I can move my last thing on Friday, and we can take all your friends out to DunBroch or to Paris for some whiskey or brandy, get our marriage license, have a ceremony or something, and then come home and start getting ready for Auradon's part of the celebration."

"Can we get back after midnight?" Mal asked. One of the rules, whenever Ben, Mal, or any of their friends went out together, was that the Royals had to get back before midnight. This would be a huge security blitz. He might have to add an entire extra meeting to his schedule to organize it, but it would be awesome. Mal hadn't been allowed to stay out till morning hours since she'd lived with Evie.

"You know what," Ben sighed. "That sounds fun. Let's do it. I'll probably die in meetings on Saturday, but-"

"But you're usually dying in meeting anyways," Mal interjected. "People literally drown you with their problems."

"I sense resentment in that statement," Ben laughed. He pressed a kiss to her head. "We won't be able to go anywhere until after we're publicly married, mostly because I need at least a month's warning before I can drop things and go, but we'll go on a honeymoon together after the white wedding."

"As far as me being queen, does that start after wedding one, or wedding two?" Mal asked.

Ben tossed the idea back and forth. "Technically… you'll be my wife. Which makes you Consort Queen until you're coronated with the official ceremony. So even though you're not immediately the 'Queen' of Auradon, technically your responsibilities change the moment you sign the paper. So… partial queen duties?" He shrugged. "I'll ask dad."

Mal chewed on her lip. "In theory, let's say I take on all the duties of Queen starting Saturday Morning. How does that change your schedule?"

Ben let out a physical sigh of relief. "I can't wait till I get to split responsibilities with you. I've honestly forgotten what free time feels like outside of our dates." He rubbed a hand over his face and thought. "At least half of my day Saturday would be cleared up if you started then. Because then I could move things so they're overlapping, and we can divide and conquer. In essence, my workday goes from sixteen to six, maybe seven or eight hours every day."

"Does that mean I actually get to talk to you now?" Mal asked with a smile.

"Amazing concept, isn't it?" Ben laughed. "What do you want to do? I'm okay to keep holding everything down until you're officially coronated if you want." He drummed his fingers on her bicep in a comforting thrum while he waited for her response.

"Actually, I think I might take over," Mal thought out loud. "That way I get to spend more time with you. Besides, I won't be swamped with Court Duties anymore."

"Well, you will be, but only to a degree since the courts and the monarch are separate. You already know that the king is head of court but when there's a queen she gets a say too. Her say is slightly below the king's but that's just a balance check because she has the power to veto any laws he makes," Ben explained, moving his hands a little as he spoke.

Mal let out a deep breath. "There's so much," She gasped. "How will I ever get it all?"

"I felt like that when I started out too," Ben told her, squeezing her close to his side. "But I had my parents, and you have me. We'll figure it out together. As far as your court duties go, chances are they won't release you until you're officially coronated, but I'm allowed to help if we're married."

"That's new," Mal hummed. "Usually whatever I was doing I was supposed to keep separate from you until it was developed."

"Same with me," Ben laughed. "I get to share laws in-the-making, legal cases, the works. Now it's just that you're not allowed to share what I tell you with your friends."

"The joys of National Security," Mal sighed half-heartedly. She reached for Ben's hand and squeezed her palm against his. "What else do we need to figure out? Who would marry us next week? Where would we go? Where can we find a ring for you?"

"Slow down," Ben chuckled, fiddling with her left hand so he could watch the diamonds sparkle in the dim light on her hand. "I think we have a few heritage rings in the family vaults. I had yours made special, but I could easily wear my grandfather's and get it sized and engraved. We could go anywhere within two hours of the palace and, heck, Dad can marry us since he still holds that power in the law. And if not Dad then I could easily find someone in the palace who's qualified."

Mal watched him move her hand back and forth to see the ring sparkle on her hand with a small smile. "I can't wait," She whispered.

"Me neither," He murmured in her ear. She turned her head to smile up at him and leaned up a little, ready to kiss him.

A door opened down below on the palace grounds, shedding light over all the shrubbery for a quick flash before a thud signified the door had shut again. "I can't believe it!" Someone declared down below. Mal turned away from Ben and leaned down over the balcony as a young man – maybe a duke or a prince – stalked out into the shrubbery with a young woman who had blue-streaked hair followed him.

"Believe what?" She asked in a high, snobbish tone. "Why are you acting like such a baby?"

The young man whirled around and made several angry gestures to the palace behind him. A few of the other couples on the balcony looked down with frowns. "Them, Clara, the royals!" He yelled. Spittle was flying from his mouth. Mal frowned and squinted. The two seemed to be dressed similarly, meaning they were either a couple trying to match or, more likely, two siblings, sent from the same country. The boy continued yelling. "I can't believe the audacity – how dare they?"

"What?" Clara growled, stamping her feet. "It's a perfectly good party we're missing. What's your deal?"

"I can't believe that he'd make a villain a queen!" The boy exploded suddenly, taking off his ties and hurling it to the ground with such force Mal took her hand off the balcony in surprise. "How dare he put the country in jeopardy!"

"Mal?" The girl deadpanned. "That's what you're mad about? Mal?"

"You're not mad?" The boy exclaimed, unbuttoning his suit coat and his sleeves while he turned red, even in the darkness. "He's putting the daughter of the evilest villain ever on the throne of our country, giving her plenty of power to ruin everyone's lives, and not caring that we all might die-"

He started emptying his pockets onto the ground. There were wrappers, a plastic spoon, peanuts and candies, and something greasy wrapped up in a napkin. He ripped off his coat and tossed it onto a shrub as he paced. Mal glanced around them. The other people on the balcony were intently watching the argument down below, and only two were glancing at her cautiously. She assumed most of them hadn't realized it was them standing there due to the night hiding most of their features, like her signature hair. She swallowed and glanced up at Ben, whose lips were pinched into an angry growl and whose eyes were hard with fury. Carefully, she untangled their hands from each other and looked down, examining the ring on her finger as she tried to calm herself down.

"Die," Clara repeated in a deadpan tone. "Doubtful. What, is King Ben just going to up and vanish?"

"No, she'll murder him!" Her brother exclaimed, spinning on his heel and kicking a small shrug, sending a bunch of leaves flying off of the bush. "Him and his family and everyone until it's just her and she's done everything her mom was never able to do! He's a fool, believing her lies and giving her everything she wants. You can't cater to evil, and he's just – walking around – hey Mal, you want this, sure thing. Hey Mal, you want the kingdom, here you go. Hey Mal, should I expose my neck as you raise a knife over my head? Sounds good to me!" The boy shoved his hands deep into his pockets and paced back and forth, practically steaming. "She doesn't deserve any kindness, any celebration, we ought to be summoning the army to stop her before we're all entrapped in her demonic lies and cutting her sinisterly, seductive mouth off. I wouldn't mind seeing her actually punished for her crimes and strung up like-"

"Young man!" Ben finally exploded. The sheer volume was so great that everyone, even Mal, jumped. She almost felt her frame edge into a defensive position before she reminded herself that this was Ben, and Ben wouldn't be hurting her. Her eardrums were ringing. The boy down on the palace grounds stiffened like someone had dumped ice water down his back and turned slowly. Mal dipped her head down, cheeks burning, as people on the balcony backed away from them, leaving her and Ben clearly isolated. Clara squinted up at them, winced, and turned her head away, covering her face in shame as the boy blinked up through the shadows at them. Ben took his arm from around Mal and planted his hands on the railing. He straightened up and glared – really, he glared – down at the young man.

"King Ben," The boy took a breath. His gaze fell on Mal momentarily, and his lip curled in distaste. "I apologize for interrupting your evening," He forced out, sounding like he had just swallowed a pound of rock salt before he tried to open his mouth. "May I congratulate you on your-"

"Save your breath," Ben spat, enunciating every word. He curled his fingers into the balcony railing and then forced his hands to relax. "Your worries are notable, but I assure you we take every precaution for your safety." Ben let out a deep breath and waved his hand. "Leave," He commanded. "Get out of my sight. Georgetown citizens, correct? I'll page ahead to your parents the details of this incident. So help me if I ever see your hide around here, you won't be leaving with perfect teeth. I will take personal pride in disfiguring your mouth for this conversation alone, so don't let me hear another word out of your mouth against my fiancée."

An icy feeling crept down Mal's spine as she listened to Ben's threats. She'd never heard Ben threaten anyone before – she'd never even heard him get angry before, not counting that time at her Cotillion. And sure, she'd heard threats against the royal family. Most notably from last year, when Ben's name had been smeared by the public for the crop failures. And not to mention all the threats she'd heard and had passed on regularly when she lived on the Isle. But she hadn't heard threats like this in a very, very long time, if ever. These threats were precise, striking fear into the hearts of everyone who heard them, and the tone of voice left no one any doubt that Ben would gladly – gladly – carry them out.

The boy coughed a little as he tried to clear his throat. He sounded like he was choking on his tongue as he sheepishly gathered up his jacket and picked most of the trash up off of the ground. He let out a hasty bow before he turned and headed back inside. Mal kept her gaze focused on the ground as the crowd slowly dispersed on the balcony. Her heart thudded against her chest like a hammer beating into her skin. No one said anything to them. Ben's breathing remained heavy and intense beside her. Her fingers trembled from the surprise of his anger and from the cold.

After several minutes of nothing – not touching, no words – Ben put a hand on hers. "I'm sorry for yelling," He murmured quietly.

Mal straightened up and shook her head. "Oh, it's fine. I mean, he wasn't being the nicest, and… I'm not mad."

Ben put his arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps. "Let's not talk about it," He whispered. "Come on, I want to go back inside and make sure he left. Let's find everyone."

They turned and re-entered the ballroom. Music was playing – the DJ had finally started his songs. A large area had cleared for dancing, meaning that a majority of the guests were now wandering through the other areas cleared for guest use – the dining room, the small library, the gardens, basically the lowest floor of the building. Ben and Mal skirted around the dance floor and then clasped their hands together as they began to look for Jay, Lonnie, Carlos, Jane, or Ben's parents. Mal used her free hand to reach into his suit pocket for his phone since hers had probably been taken back up to her room by Doug or one of the servants. The time read 7:20.

"Excuse me," Ben stopped a guard who was patrolling the perimeter of the room. "Can you please see to it that the young prince from King George Town is escorted out? His sister is fine to stay, but he was acting like a disrespectful snot, and I want him to leave early."

"Yes, your majesty," The guard nodded and pulled out a walkie-talkie. He began relaying the instructions he'd just gotten from Ben. As he walked away, Ben slung an arm around Mal's waist and pulled her close to his side.

"Are you hungry?" He whispered in her ear.

"A little," She nodded. Her hands still felt a bit numb from cold.

"Listen," Ben sighed, walking her toward the dining room where additional tables had been laid out. "I'm sorry I yelled. Please, don't think about that boy anymore. What he said… it's just not true."

"I grew up on the Isle, Ben," Mal grumbled. "I know how to take threats." They got in line behind a couple who immediately turned to greet them, thank them for the party, and congratulate them on getting engaged. Ben got Mal a plate of something fancy she didn't know the name of and together they wandered into the library on a hunch. There, they found their group hiding on a collection of sofas near the window, watching guests wander the gardens outside. Ben helped Mal sit down in her dress before he took a seat beside her without a word.

Adam appeared to have calmed down. He was eating the same thing Ben and Mal had just grabbed as Belle skimmed a book beside him. Their hands were intertwined. "I haven't seen you for a while," Belle smiled. "Are you alright?"

Jay craned his head to look at Mal. He was lounging on a window seat. Lonnie had collected cushions off of the couch and was lounging on the floor beside him. He was trailing his fingers through her hair as he studied his surroundings. "You look pale," He told Mal.

Janes and Carlos were sitting on a sofa together. She was leaning back into him with her eyes closed and his arms were latched around her shoulders comfortingly. But at Jay's words, Jane cracked an eye open. "Are you okay?" She asked Mal.

Mal swallowed. "I am," She whispered.

Adam straightened up. "I'm sorry if I scared you, Mal. The Duke of Weselton…" He trailed off, and Ben shook his head.

"No, it's not that, dad," He sighed. "My fault. I lost my cool with this… prepubescent scumbag who was talking about stringing her up in the gardens."

Carlos's face twisted into a vicious sneer and Jay straightened up and cracked his joints. "I hope you set the rules of things clear?" Carlos demanded in a low, threatening tone. Still, he had nothing on Ben's fierce threats. Mal barely batted an eye.

"I did," Ben assured him coolly. "But I snapped, and I know I scared you." He set a hand on her forearm. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Mal waved him off. "I swear, I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting you to yell."

"You yelled?" Jay snorted. "Sheesh, who'd have thought the kitten could roar?"

"Oh, no, Jay," Mal shook her head, and a round of giggles rose up inside her. She began to laugh. "Oh, he snapped!" She clapped her hands together for added effect. Laughing helped the shock of the situation wear off a little. "And everyone around us jumped and you could see the kid's hair standing on end from fifteen feet away." Mal covered her face as she began to laugh spastically. "Everyone backed away. And then he started threatening the kid… holy crap, there are people on the Isle who couldn't have done better." She shook her head in disbelief and directed her attention to Ben. "You," She began with a smile, "are scary." She stabbed her food with her fork and took a bite, still shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't believe it," Lonnie disagreed, shaking her head. "No. Not Ben."

"I was shaking," Mal protested, holding a hand up. "I've never seen him that intense about anything. He was all: 'you're not going to leave with a perfect smile', and 'I will take personal pride in disfiguring your face.'" She dropped off, still shaking her head in disbelief and smirking at Ben, who was looking a bit pink. "We did decide on some things for our wedding," She announced, and then elbowed Ben to signal she wanted him to talk.

Ben cleared his throat. "Mal likes her privacy, so we're going to get married ahead of time and then treat the coronation as her 'official wedding'. That way she doesn't have to wear white, doesn't have to give a speech, and is free to get drunk with her friends."

"That's not what I said," Mal frowned.

"I don't hear you complaining about the idea, though," Ben pointed out. Mal shrugged and subsided.

"When?" Belle asked, glancing over the pages of her book and smiling as if she already knew the answer, though there was no way she coud.

"Tomorrow," Ben claimed. Everyone in the group stared at him as Mal snickered. A smile spread across Ben's face. "Not tomorrow. But we were thinking about Friday. After Powhatan Cotillion. And yes, that's a literal answer."

"Next week?" Belle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "And it's going to be a tiny, minuscule thing. I'm going to clear my day after three, we're all going to go out for some drinks, and pick up our marriage license before we do a small, non-public ceremony. We're thinking it'll be just us in this group, plus Evie and Doug. That's it." He waited for his parent's approval. Belle heaved a heavy sigh and turned to see Adam's response. Ben pinched his lips together. "We want it this way." He added, hoping to head off any concerns.

Adam shrugged. "We always knew their wedding would be a little weird," He reminded Belle, squeezing her hand. "At least they're giving us some warning instead of just running off and doing it. Okay. Need a priest?"

"Yes, please," Ben nodded with a smile.

Carlos and Jane exchanged raised eyebrows. "Are you really okay with the King of Auradon getting married like this?"

"He's not going to be the King of Auradon, he's just going to be Ben," Mal sighed irritably. "If we – if I – have to put up with royal bullcrap for the rest of our lives, then I at least want to have my wedding in peace. And Auradon will get their fake show of wealth later, in December. Everything will be fine."

"Is Auradon going to know this is a thing?" Jay asked as he went back to threading his fingertips through Lonnie's scalp.

"Maybe eventually," Ben shrugged. "But for now, this is just for us. Because we worked hard for this." He took Mal's hand and squeezed it. "It hasn't been easy. We deserve this much."

Mal smiled. "We'll make it work," She promised him. Across the sofas, Carlos let out a little sigh and pulled out his phone. Mal raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Ben… and… Mal… are… getting… married… next… week" Carlos read aloud as his fingers flew across the screen. "Don't… expect… her… to… wear… any… of… your… white… dresses. Might… want… to… start… thinking… black."

"And purple," Jane reminded him.

"And purple," Carlos agreed, adding the statement onto the end of his text. His phone dinged, and a smile spread across his face. "Evie is making death threats through Doug again," He announced to the group.

"How much longer does this last?" Mal sighed as she leaned her head onto Ben's shoulder and began playing with her ring in the light again. Ben pulled out his phone and flashed the time at her. The clock read 7:40 now. Mal watched as he unlocked his phone, went to his calendar, moved a few things around for next week, and then opened a countdown function on his watch. He inclined his head to make sure she was watching as he started a countdown to Friday, three o'clock, next week. She chuckled and let her eyes close.

"She's going to go to sleep," Carlos warned Ben. "She, Jane, and Lonnie. The girls are all tired tonight."

"Add me to that list," Jay yawned. "Lon, you and I need to go home and get some sleep." He pulled her hair back from behind her ears as his fiancée yawned.

"Agreed," Lonnie mumbled. "I'll get up after you." And, expectedly, Jay didn't move, so Lonnie stayed on the floor in her personal cushion palace.

"You guys aren't really going to leave us alone, are you?" Mal grumbled. "Ben and I are supposed to stay up with the party and it literally ends tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," Ben agreed, poking Mal's arm. "We're supposed to stay up with the party. You know, Mal, how can you expect to stay out until two or three a.m. next week if you can't make it to eight tonight?"

"Evie forced me through a spa today and I almost died of stress because of you all," Mal wrinkled her nose. "I have a reason to be tired."

Ben chuckled and set his and her plates aside. "Come on, princess," He invited, standing up. Mal, upon losing her pillow, sat up scowling. He took her hand and pulled her into a standing position. "Let's go dance."

"Why?" Mal whined. "I can't dance."

"Then let's just spin in aimless circles and pretend we're dancing so you can stay awake," Ben laughed.

"We're probably going to head out," Carlos announced. "Classes in the morning." Jane nodded and sat up, swinging her legs off the couch. Jay jolted to attention and got up, and Lonnie, true to her word, followed.

"Bye Mal," Jane bid the purplette. The two shared a brief hug before Lonnie shuffled past with a yawn. Carlos clapped Mal on the back in his hug, and Jay pulled her into a tight embrace. "See you next week," He yawned. "We meeting somewhere, or no?"

"We'll send someone to pick you up," Ben smiled. "Drive safe, guys."

Before they left the library, Ben stopped to give his mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Will you be turning in soon?" He asked.

"Soon," Belle repeated with a nod, setting her book down to wrap her arms around her son. "Good luck with the party. Make sure both you and Mal get to where you need to be – no funny business."

"Does it matter still?" Mal sighed. "No one would know the difference."

Ben rolled his eyes. "I'll make sure of it," He promised his mom. "I love you. See you in the morning."

"Good night," Belle yawned. She picked her book back up and leaned against Adam's shoulder as Ben took Mal's hand and led her back out to the ballroom. It was hard to believe he was all grown up, with a fiancée and his kingdom.

Mal yawned as Ben helped her weave through the crowd towards the floor. He carefully took up her arms and they began spinning with the other couples on the floor.

"Was it worth it?" Ben asked as Mal yawned a little and admired her ring against Ben's suit.

"I can't believe you wore my color," Mal smiled. "You've never looked so good before."

Ben laughed. "So, you're happy?" He asked, which was a silly question since she was always happy with him.

Mal looped her arms around Ben's shoulders and leaned into his chest. She let her eyes drift closed as they kept going, kept spinning. "It's perfect," She whispered. "Everything is perfect."

Ben chuckled. He kept Mal upright as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she was tripping over nothing and yawning constantly. They took a break around 10:30 on the stairs, but that was the end for Mal. She passed out on the fourth step up, with her head on Ben's knee and his arm draped around her. The pretty silver ring caught the light and scattered tiny rainbows on her face as the party continued on around her and she slowly slipped away from reality.

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Lady Mal to Become Queen - Auradon News – September 21, 28

Allow us to introduce the next royal bride: Lady Mal, daughter of Maleficent, the first maiden ever to join the official royal family. Hopefully, you already know of her from the eight years she spent dating King Benjamin, son of Beast and Belle and current ruler of Auradon.

In a history-making event, King Ben proposed to Mal in the beginning hours of the celebration of the formation of Auradon on live television. The palace has not released any details regarding when a royal wedding will take place but given that the couple took so much time just to date, it's likely we could be looking at a repeat of the famed tourney star Jay's relationship with his longtime fiancée. Jay also happens to be a close friend of Lady Mal's, so the chances they follow each other's lead may be higher than we think.

When they're wed, Mal will be the most atypical royal bride in this dispensation. She'll be the first descendant of a villain to be marrying into a royal family, and the daughter of Maleficent, at that. She's also one of the few royals who possess the ability to use magic, just a few steps behind Queen Elsa and Queen Rapunzel. Among other things she holds the title of longest girlfriend among any of the royals, the only royal raised on the Isle of the Lost, the only royal who can shapeshift, the only royal who almost destroyed Auradon and, truthfully, the most controversial royal ever in this dispensation.

Ben and Mal have been dating for eight long years, but after the first six months ended, they retreated into seclusion. Mal was accepted as a Lady of the Court six months after arriving from the Isle and has been working with him side-by-side since; even taking up politics professionally after leaving Auradon Prep to be with him. She rose to be the most powerful person in the court, taking up head responsibility right after the King himself. Most of their relationship is hidden from the public eye, though they can often be photographed on casual dates around Auradon, such as the one a few weeks ago at Auradon Prep. Over the years, people have speculated that he was about to propose several times, but each time the palace assured the public that when the time came, they would let Auradon know. Many people speculated it was because Lady Mal simply wasn't ready to take up the role of queen.

Now Mal, who has apparently decided she's prepared, is set to marry Ben and become the second half of the monarchy. She will have the power to veto laws Ben creates, direct all palace personnel, and to create official declarations alongside her husband.

The couple will live at Beast's palace where Former King Adam and Queen Belle also reside. The King and Queen have not given any official statement regarding their future daughter-in-law, but the elder couple was photographed and filmed during the engagement. It's clear they were aware that the proposal was going to go down, and that they were more than okay with it. As far as Mal's mother is concerned, it's safe to assume that she hasn't been told, as she is still available for viewing at the Auradon Zoology Emporium, where she has been for the last year in lizard form.

Ben and Mal met in the fall of 20 at Auradon Prep after Ben decreed that the second generation of villains would be given a chance to choose good and be integrated with the people in Auradon. Mal was among the first four students who almost destroyed his Coronation before turning Mal's mother into a lizard and publicly choosing good over evil. Ben and Mal, who had begun dating previous to Coronation, stayed together despite many people who doubted such a relationship would last. Things have only intensified over the years as Mal rose in politics and eventually moved into the royal palace to live with him and his family.

Today, it's clear that despite political tribulation, the couple is more in love than ever. We're excited to see everything that will happen over the next few years as King Ben and his new wife continue to make changes in Auradon. Long may they reign.

______________________________________________________________

Animosity after 'Scandalous' Royal Proposal – BG Metropolis – Sept 21, 28

Well folks, it finally happened! King Ben proposed to Lady Mal last night, on the steps of the palace ballroom in front of approximately 2,000 royal attendees. Details about the proposal are still being leaked, but Lady Mal was quoted saying: "You all set me up!" Sounds like someone definitely wasn't expecting her longtime boyfriend to be dropping to one knee that night.

Lady Mal previously opened up the party in a stunning white gown with yellow and blue details, but after an alleged wardrobe malfunction involving a glass of red wine being spilled on her, left the party. King Ben left soon after, reappearing only minutes later in a new outfit with purple detailing. He immediately called the room's attention from the staircase he was about to change Lady Mal's life on and announced that he was about to pop the question – just as soon as Evie, the owner of the popular Evie's Four Hearts and Mal's best friend, finished fixing her outfit. Soon after, Mal appeared on the top of the staircase, looking absolutely bewildered until Ben took her hand and led her down the staircase towards the crowd. He brought out the ring, gave a speech, she said yes, and the rest, at this point, is history.

However, despite the inherent happiness of the two, not everyone was thrilled by the revelation that Maleficent's daughter was about to ascend the throne. Within minutes, there was a commotion as the Duke of Weselton was thrown into a dessert table that had been set up alongside the staircase – the result of Former King Adam losing his infamous temper. Witnesses reported that the Duke was raving about the proposal and the future queen and that he even proclaimed that 'She'll be the downfall of the kingdom' before leaving the scene immediately. Witnesses also report that King Ben reprimanded a young royal who was angrily ranting about Lady Mal on the grounds.

Several other royals and citizens alike have taken alight to social media to express displeasure and worry over Mal's future appointment to the throne. A slow-growing social media presence titled 'Knights for Freedom' have declared their mission: "The throne of Auradon is not for the villains to overrun, and we won't let tyrants like Maleficent's daughter steal away our lives."

No details have been released on a royal wedding. Once Mal is instated as queen, she will have the power to block laws that Ben creates, decree official declarations with her husband, and direct all palace personnel to her bidding. Numerous failsafes exist to keep the monarchy from overthrowing itself, but it will be interesting to see, for the first time, if these systems will be effective in creating the balance of power Auradon so desperately needs. More updates coming soon.

#ben #mal #ben florian #mal bertha #evie grimhilde #jay son of jafar #carlos descendants #carlos de vil #descendants #descendants 2 #descendants 3 #disney descendants #disney #fanfic #proposal #marriage

[avengerofyourheart]

Flour Girl {12} (Bucky x reader AU)

Characters: reader, Bucky.

Summary: Discovering the cute guy you just flirted with is the heir of a rival bakery, you suddenly find yourself running into him all over the city. Can your small boutique bakery compete? And how do you deal with the guy who seems determined to make your life a living hell? Luckily you’re distracted by a secret admirer…But who is he? (Inspired by “You’ve Got Mail”, Enemies to Lovers)

Warnings: none! Mild swearing?

Word Count:  2.2k

A/N: Y’all ready for some FLUFF!?????!? I’m excited. :D Finally Bucky is Bucky and now he can be the perfect cinnamon roll we all know he can be. *swoon* I’d love to know your thoughts on this part, any and all feedback is appreciated! I love you guys. <3

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Repetitive buzzing rudely breached your cozy cocoon of sleep, causing you to stir. Each movement made your muscles ache and head pound. The buzzing was relentless, though, so you finally sat up in bed with a sniffle and threw your legs over the side to stand. Shuffling toward the sound, you were within reaching distance when it went silent. Of course it did.

Exhausted from even walking that short distance, you leaned against the door a moment and closed your eyes to stop your head from spinning when a loud knock from the other side startled you, making you jump.

“Who is it?” you called out in a hoarse, nasally voice as you peered through the peephole.

“It’s Bucky, open up,” a male voice spoke through the door.

Squinting at the distorted image, it was indeed the tall brunet with a mop of perfect hair whom had been your nemesis…until recently? In your ill state, you were almost positive last night had been a fever dream and Jimmy—or Bucky—had never showed up to help you with your baking. The idea still seemed absurd. Realizing you hadn’t responded yet, you cleared your throat, or attempted to, followed by a cough.

“Um…what do you want?” you croaked warily.

“I heard you were sick so I thought I’d check up on you,” he replied, his words now muddled.

Peering through the peephole again, you saw that he was eating something. Something familiar…

“What’re you…is that one of my cookies?” you nearly cried out, finally turning the lock and opening the door.

“Yeah,” Bucky said with a smile, popping the last piece of cookie in his mouth and then continuing to speak with his mouth full. “You were right, these Dark Chocolate Pistachio are amazing, especially with the sea salt on top? So good!” He nearly sang the last two words as he nudged past you into the apartment, leaving you standing there in the doorway, confused.

“Uh…okay. Thanks?” you replied as you closed the door and stepped toward him. “So you stopped by the bakery?” you asked, reaching for a tissue in your bathrobe pocket and blowing your nose.

Bucky chewed a few times before swallowing. “Yup. I didn’t see you at the Nest this morning and Clint said you’d be late with delivering, so I finished mine and thought I’d see what was up. Wanda told me you’re sick? Does that mean you’re actually taking a day off?” he asked in surprise while taking a look around your small apartment, which was now littered with tissues and dirty dishes. You hardly had the time to clean lately and now you just didn’t have the energy.

“Unfortunately, yes. No one wants to see this…” you gestured to your current state, “around food. I did the morning baking for the pastry case and extra for at least part of the day. Wanda offered to do the deliveries, which was sweet of her. She’s only done it a few times and it takes her a bit longer, but I was able to do the extra baking and open the shop before she shoved me out the door to ‘rest and heal’,” you told him using air quotes before another coughing fit took over. Covering your mouth with your sleeve, Bucky took a few steps back, but tried to make it look like he wasn’t dodging your germs.

“Well, good for you,” he declared with a lopsided grin. “You have some drugs or something? Orange juice, all that?” Bucky asked as he took the liberty to open your fridge without asking, knowing that all he would see the empty shelves.

“Hey! Get out of there! I…okay, so I haven’t been to the grocery store in a while,” you admitted, suddenly embarrassed. “It’s fine, I’ll go tomorrow. And yes, I have some cold medicine. I’m waiting for it to kick in so I can finally sleep,” you answered, gesturing to the off-brand over-the-counter box of soft gels.

Nosy once again, Bucky picked up the box and looked at the back which resulted in a low whistle from him. “You’ll be waiting a while, then. This expired 6 months ago, I doubt it’ll help any,” he said, tossing the box on the counter.

Face flushed and feeling dizzy, you now felt like even more of a failure at life. You just wanted him out so you could rest. “It’s fine, Bucky, they just might not be quite as effective, now will you please go so I can sleep?” you demanded and opened the door for him with a sweeping gesture of your arms.

“What’re you going to eat? Isn’t it feed a cold, starve a fever? Or is it the other way around…” he trailed off, pulling out his phone.

Exasperated, you let out a sigh. “I have some ramen, so please just—

“Are you allergic to anything?”

“What?” That caught you off guard. “No, I…you think this is an allergic reaction? It’s just a cold!” you shouted, followed by a sneeze.

“Okay, geez,” he muttered, still focused on his phone as he walked out the door and into the hallway.

“Hey, you forgot your—“

“I’ll be back,” he grinned, walking outside and letting the door close behind him before you could respond.

Frozen in place, you tried to make sense of the past few minutes of interaction. What the hell was that about? Did he just say he was coming back? For his pastries? His behavior was getting more bizarre by the minute. Head foggy, you knew it wouldn’t make any more sense until you kicked this bug, so you shut the door and shuffled back to bed.

Hearing your phone ding, you searched your mess of blankets and finally found the hidden device to see a text message on the screen.

B: Hey, there, Franny. :) Did your day improve at all yesterday? I sure hope so.

A smile stretched across your face, despite the headache creeping behind your right eye.

FG: It did, actually. Got some help from an unexpected source. Sick day today, though. :( How’ve you been?

B: I’ve been good. Busy, but in a good way. I’m so  sorry you’re sick! Isn’t that always the way? The stress passes and the body decides to shut down. Hope you’re getting some rest and TLC! Get better soon.

Feeling an ache in your chest, you decided to put your phone away and bury your head in the pillows. Whether the ache was from coughing or the latent heartache from your almost-meeting, you weren’t sure. B still seemed as sweet and kind as ever, which made you all the more curious about why he would stand you up. If he didn’t want to meet you, then why maintain the charade? Head sore from thinking and illness, you closed your eyes and willed yourself to sleep.

Twenty minutes later, the buzzing returned. You rolled over with a groan, annoyed because you had been almost at the edge of sleep. Between a stuffy nose and coughing fits, there was no comfort to be had. Rolling out of bed, you traced your steps to the door and pressed the intercom button.

“What?” you barked.

“Whoa. Hello to you, too,” the familiar voice squawked through the intercom. “I said I’d be back, remember?”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you leaned against the wall and pressed the button again. “Yeah, but you never said why. I’ll toss the pastries out the window for you,” you threatened before stepping away.

“Hey! I want those intact, thank you very much. Buzz me up,” he requested, but your bed was beckoning so you neglected to answer. After a moment of silence, Bucky spoke again in a sing-song voice. “Oh, Y/N…I have some drugs for you….”

Eyes wide, you ran to the intercom. “Shh!!! What if someone heard you? I have to live and work around here, you know. Ugh, fine,” you relented, pressing the release button for the building’s security door. Within 30 seconds, he was knocking on your door and you let him in.

“Could you not mention drugs around my tenants, even if they’re just for a cold? I have a reputation to uphold…what is all this?” you cut yourself short to see the grocery bags in Bucky’s arms.

Bucky had waltzed in and placed the bags on your small kitchen table. “The cure for the common cold,” he replied with a smirk as he unpacked the bags. “Orange juice, non-expired cold medicine, cough syrup, fancy tissues, and soup,” Bucky declared, looking proud of himself.

“Fancy tissues?” you questioned, allowing yourself a small smile at the sweet gesture.

“The kind with the lotion in it? Keeps your nose from getting all red and stuff. Totally worth the money. I hope you like Chicken Noodle, I know it’s a cliche, but it works,” he continued to putter around the kitchen, finding a spoon in a drawer and also grabbing a fork for some reason. Producing a glass from the cupboard, he poured you some orange juice and placed it on the table. “Sit.”

Narrowing your eyes, you stood still in your confusion. “Why are you doing this?”

Heaving a deep sigh, he pulled out the chair for you and gently held you by your shoulders until the back of your knees hit the chair and you sat. “I’m really not the asshole you think I am. At least, not entirely. I do have friends and roommates and a family that seems to tolerate me. I’m sure you don’t believe any of that and I’ve given you plenty of evidence to the contrary, but I really can be a good guy sometimes. Taking 10 minutes out of my day to make sure you don’t die from taking expired meds and that you actually eat something substantial won’t kill me. Now, eat up,” Bucky urged you as he took a seat across from you.

You watched him open the bag of pastries he brought on his first trip and produce a small brown box that he proceeded to open. He stopped his motions then, noticing you still weren’t eating. Bucky set down his own food and stuck a fork in it, then opening the styrofoam container of soup and pushing it toward you. When you still didn’t pick up your spoon, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair, staring you down. The soup actually did smell kinda good.

Finally giving in, you begrudgingly ate a spoonful of soup as a wide smile appeared on the brunet’s handsome face. The warm broth eased your sore throat as you swallowed and you then realized how hungry you really were. Satisfied, Bucky dug into his own food, lifting a forkful of the very cinnamon roll you had made the night before to his lips.

“If you microwave it for 30 seconds, it’s even better,” you muttered to him between bites.

“Oh yeah? Well, I guess you’d be the expert.”” He accepted your suggestion and walked over to the microwave above the stove. As the device dinged and he returned to the table, you opened the box of medicine and swallowed the recommended number of pills with orange juice. “Mmm. Hell yeah,” he groaned after taking a bite of warm cinnamon roll.

You let out a laugh, to both of your surprise. “Glad you’re enjoying the fruits of my labors,” you teased, drinking the broth straight from the container. Only a few noodles remained. You had apparently been hungrier than you thought.

“Better?”

You nodded while swallowing. “Much. Thank you, Bucky,” you told him genuinely, holding his gaze.

Bucky maintained eye contact a moment longer before he placed his palms on the table and stood. “Well, I’ll leave you to rest. Hope you feel better soon. Oh, and you might want to shower,” he mentioned, then seeing the offended expression on your face. “No! I just mean…you look fine, it just helps to freshen up and put on clean clothes, you know. Get rid of the germs,” he yammered on, holding the box with half a cinnamon roll inside.

Crossing arms over your chest, you offered a nod. “I’ll take it into consideration. At least let me pay for the…”

“Nope!” he quickly interrupted and threw the door open. “You’ll have to catch me first,” Bucky said with a wink and then he was gone.

Once again, you were left staring at the closed door, more confused than ever. What was up with him? Was he really just trying to make up for his past behavior? It still felt a little jarring, but you had to admit that you were grateful for the food and medicine. You hadn’t coughed in a short while and your sinuses had cleared a little bit. Sleep might even be possible, you thought as you put the orange juice in the empty fridge.

Crawling back under the covers, you heard another ding from your phone, pulling it out of your bathrobe pocket.

B: Being sick sucks, so here’s a picture of a cute dog. Feel better! :)

Chuckling at the adorable picture and attached message, you remembered to plug in your phone to charge before finally falling into a deep slumber with a smile on your face.

_________________________

Part 13>>  

___________________________________________________

Sooooo????? How freaking adorable was that?? :D Ugh, I know. Bucky is just the sweetest, but still, I don’t blame her for being suspicious! Do you agree? Oh gosh, I totally wish I had someone come forcibly take care of me when I’m ill. ;) How about those texts, though?? B is still just such a cutie. She still hasn’t connected the dots yet, but who would have thought Jimmy the Jerk could be the one sending such lovely messages?? heh. This part was so fun to write, I love their banter. I’d love to know your thoughts, any and all feedback is appreciated! I adore you all. Thank you. 

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#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fluff #bakery au #bucky au #reader x bucky #reader x bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky imagine #marvel fan fic #avenger fan fic #avengers au #baking #bakery #you've got mail

[godess-ofthe-underworld]

See You Again (A Harry Hook x reader story

Alrighty guys new part coming at you! 

Pat 10

Summary: When Hadley, Daughter of the feared ruler of the Underworld Hades, is sent along with her 4 best friends to Auradon Prep she must leave behind a certain pirate who stole her heart.  Will she be able to keep the promise she made to him or will it all go up in flames?

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in Descendants.  Hadley and the plot between her and Harry are mine.

The next afternoon Hadley sat doodling in rg101 not listening to a word Fairy Godmother was saying.  

Towards the end of class, FG called for everyone's attention

“ As you know, this Friday is family day here at Auradon Prep, and seeing as your parents can't be here due to…uh..  distance” she laughed. “ We have arranged for a special treat.” she clapped her hands together and walked backwards towards one of the  two screens at the front of the room.  FG pressed a button and the screen popped to life.  

Maleficent's face was obnoxiously close to the screen trying to figure out the new technology.

“ I don't see anything, nor do I hear.” Maleficent's voice booked through the speakers.

“Kids!” FG waved the five over.

They all stood, sharing glances as they made their way to the front of the classroom.

When Maleficent retreated to her spot back on the couch in between Jafar and Cruella, Hadley noticed an absence of blue fire.  

“Is it.. is it.. can I please see a remote?!” Maleficent yelled.

Evil Queen handed her one from beside her.

As they kept babbling about how the thing wouldn't work, Hadley couldn't help but feel disappointed that she didn't see her father among them. Some hwo they got their screen to turn on.

“Oh Evie!it's Mommy!” EQ waved to Evie “oh look how beautiful. You know what they say, the poison apple don't fall far from the tree.” Evie blushed.

“Don't you mean the weeds?” Maleficent shot back.

“Eww! Who's the old bat!?” Cruella asked pointing to FG.

“This is Fairy Godmother.” Mal said.

“Still doing tricks with eggplants?” Maleficent laughed and the rest followed suit.

“ I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage!” FG defended.

“You really couldn't give Cinderella till 1am?” Maleficent shot again “ What? Did the hamsters have to be back on their little wheels?!”

“They were mice!” FG shot back “ she turned to the five behind her. “They were mice” before leaving the frame she said it again.

“Fairy Godmother?” Hadley asked moving over to where she now stood.

“Yes dear?”

“Where is my father?” Hadley played with the sleeves of her jacket.

“Oh that's right! I'm so sorry dear but your father couldn't make it. Something came up in the Underworld that he had to take care of.” Hadley looked down understanding.

“But, one of your teachers graciously told of of some other people we could call for you”

Fairy Godmother moved around the first screen and towards the second one a few feet away.  Hadley curiously followed.

When Fairy Godmother pressed the button on the keypad of the second screen Hadley's eyes lit up and she let out a small laugh.

Sitting,squished together on a battered old burgundy leather armchair, where two of Hadley's most favorite people.

Harry and CJ where both fighting over the remote to turn their screen.  

“Fork it o’er ya runt!” Harry grunted trying to pull the remote from his younger sisters hand.

“No!I wanna do it! She's my friend too!” She fought back.  For being only 11 she's pretty strong.

“But she was mine first!”

CJ is Harry's youngest sister she's a tall, slender girl with golden brown eyes, tanned skin and dirty blonde hair that is always tied into a heavy ponytail with blue,red and green beans braided in.  CJ wore a red thigh length coat with gold embroidery, much like her father's.  Her white ruffled shirt was tucked into her dark shorts with golden legging underneath.  Her legging were embroidered with maps of Neverland and they were tucked into knee high high-heeled boots.

Harry was absent of his hook, long red coat and hat. His will mop of dark hair flung around and his eyes were lined by thick black liner, making them stand out more than normal against his tanned skin.  He wore his ripped up white undershirt, which exposed parts of his torso from the many training sessions on the ship.    

In the process of them fighting, one of them pressed the right button and their screen turned on.

They both froze when they heard Hadley laughing.

“ Do you two ever stop fighting?” Hadley asked crossing her arms.

Both rushed at the screen, almost falling off the chair.

“Hadley! We miss you” CJ shouted.

“ouch quiet down you. She ain't deaf!”  Harry said rubbing his ear that she'd screamed in.

“I miss you guys too.”

“When are you comin’ home Hadie? We all miss you round here.  Even Uma.”

“ Yeah I seriously doubt that.” Hadley rolled her eyes. “ But there's a big coronation coming up so maybe sometime after that.”

“When?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Saturday. 10am. The whole schools invite so…” Hadley gave a small smile.

“Do we really have to wait that long?” CJ whined.

“ I'm afraid so.”

There was a long pause between the three where they just looked at one another.  

CJ suddenly looked behind Hadley, noticing that everyone else was leaving.

“Looks like you're friends are leaving.” She said pointing towards the back of the room.

Hadley looked behind her her face falling when she realized CJ was right.

“Guess that means I should be going to.” Hadley frowned, turning back around.

Both Harry and CJ's faces fell.

“Are ya sure haddie?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. Got a lot of homework to do.” She winked.

Harry and CJ smiled.

“I'll talk to you guys soon. Hopefully.”

“Ok haddie”

“Bye Hadley!”

“Ouch! Will ye quit screamin’?”

Hadley laughed and waved to the camera.

“Bye guys. Tell your dad I said hi”

“Will do!” CJ smiled sadly.

“Bye.”

“Bye”

Hadley clicked a button on the keypad and the screen went dark. She stared at it for a few moments before returning back to her desk and collecting her things.

“ Thank you Fairy Godmother” Hadley smiled.

“ You're welcome dear.”

When Hadley caught up to the others they were halfway down the hall.

That night the five gathered around the table in Jay and Carlos's room, Mal's sketch of the wand was placed in the center and a map of the coronation hall.

“Ok so we all know what this looks like?” Mal's asked tapping the picture. “ It will be up on the dais under the Beast's spell jar. Then we will be coming in from here, I will be in the very front. You all will be up in the balcony. Carlos?”

“I'll find our limo to break the barrier, then we'll get back on the island with the wand.”

“Perfect. Evie, you will use this to take out the driver” Mal Heald out a blue perfume bottle out to Evie. “ Two spays and he will be out like a light.”

Evei nodded her head. The five looked at each other before leaving the table.

Hadley and Evie noticed Mal looking through on of the pages in her spell book.

“M! You wanna break Ben's love spell?” Evie gasped.

Mal looked up at the two in shock.

“Yeah… you know for after.” Evie sat down next to Mal at the table and Hadley stood behind her and placed an hand on her shoulder.

“I've just been thinking, you know when the Villains finally do invade Auradon and being to loot and kick everyone out of their castles, and imprison their leaders,and destroys all that is good and beautiful… Ben still being in love with me just seems a little extra… cruel.” Mal shrugged Hadley's hand off and bolted from the room before anyone could say anything. Hadley and Evie looked to each other before linking arms and bidding goodnight to the boys.

That night Hadley had a hard time sleeping, she kept tossing and turning, her blue and white hair splayed out over her pillow in all directions.

She sighed looking up at the canopy above her four poster bed. Sitting up, Hadley threw the covers off and grabbed her notebook. She sat down at her window and opened it.

She touched the pencil tip to the paper and let her mind wander.  

Hours later she looked to the alarm clock next to her bed. 4:30am flashed in red numbers across the small screen.  She looked back to the drawing she made.  It was the back view of two small children holding hands.  One, a girl with tall fire like hair, her free hand alight with a swirling fire and dark swirls of smoke billowing at her feet.  The other, a boy in a long oversized coat with a pirate hat, carrying a large hook in his other hand.

Hadley's mind had wandered to the day was left on the isle.

Flashback:

A small girl, maybe five or six, stood on the busy cobblestone streets of the surface world. Her fiery blue hair blew around with he passing people.  She wore a long tattered grey dress that swirled a dark cloud around her bare feet. She rushed to the side as she tried to avoid being stepped on by the passing people.  Tear tracks made their way down her dirty cheeks as she slid down a dark alleyway wall.  She clutched her stuffed dog to her chest and sobbed into her knees.  She was alone and scared.

After running around the Underworld with her father Hades, he sent her up to the surface after she accidentally released a few souls from the River Styx, causing a small zombie problem in Charmington.  Up until that point she was raised mainly by her father's minions, Pain and Panic.  The two tried as best they could to keep the girl out of trouble. Inevitably, she always found a way and everytime she got in trouble, they would too.   

She sat up against the wall and sniffled gazing at the stuffed animal in her hand.

As way to try to keep her out of trouble one day, Pain and Panic suggested to make a stuffed animal with the girl.

After hours of Pain getting poked by the needle and Panic making sure the girl was out of reach of the sharp object, Cerby, the three headed stuffed likeness of the Underworld guard dog was born.  

Down the alleyway at the other end a small boy of seven was lurking.  He wore a long red overcoat and a small black pirates hat that hid most of his dark hair. He held in his left hand a silver hook that was far too big for him.  His bright blue eyes searched high and low for shiny trinkets to swipe.

His ears perked at the sound of crying at the other end of the alley.  Being a curious lad he followed the narrow alley all the way down. His eyes shifted through the darkness, landing on a small hudled form against the wall.  

“Why are ye crying?” He asked.  His accent was thick, something the small girl had never heard before.  

The girl jumped at the sudden sound of his voice.

“ What's it to you?” She snapped wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

The boy raised his arms up.

“ Sorry, jus askin. The names Harry. Harry Hook” He extended a hand.

“Hadley.” She looked up at his hand for a moment then him before taking his hand.

“ well Hadley I ain't never seen ye around here before.”

“I live in the Underworld. At least I did.” She replied sadly.

“The Underworld? What's a lass like yourself doing down there?” He laughed.

Hadleys anger flared as the boy laughed.  Her hair glowed a vibrant blue and her ice colored eyes lit up in the dark alley.

“i happen to be a goddess. I'm Hadley, goddess of the Underworld and of chaos, my father is Hades God of the Underworld.” Hadley yelled.

Harry shrunk back a few steps his blue eyes blown wide as he stared at the ball of fire before him.

“Easy there flame thrower, I didn't mean anythin by it! I was jus askin!”

Haldey calmed enough for her hair and eyes to maintain a low glow.

“Sorry, my dad just left me here.  I have no idea where I am, or where I'm going to go.”

Harry thought for a moment before an idea popped into his head.

“ Why don't ye come with me back to my house?” He asked

“Why would you help me?”she snarked sitting back down against the wall.

“Cause even though I'm a villain kid, I still know when to help someone who needs it.. so what do ya say?” Harry held out his hand again.

Hadley looked up at him for a moment before grabbing his hand and nodding.

“Hey that fire trick sure can come in handy for taking things.” Harry said as they walked out of the alley and into the busy street.

Hadley and Harry walked away laughing as fire erupted from Hadley's hands and hair.

Hadley smiled at the memory looking back out the window towards the Isle.  

(Hadley)

A million thoughts in my head Should I let my heart keep listening? 'Cause up 'til now I've walked the line Nothing lost but something missing I can't decide What's wrong, what's right Which way should I go? If only I knew what my heart was telling me Don't know what I'm feeling Is this just a dream? Ah oh, yeah If only I could read the signs in front of me I could find the way to who I'm meant to be Ah oh, if only If only [2x] Every step, every word With every hour I am falling in To something new, something brave To someone I—I have never been I can't decide What's wrong, what's right Which way should I go? If only I knew what my heart was telling me Don't know what I'm feeling Is this just a dream? Ah oh, yeah If only I could read the signs in front of me I could find the way to who I'm meant to be Ah oh, if only Yeah Am I crazy? Maybe we could happen Yeah Will you still be with me when the magic's all run out? If only I knew what my heart was telling me Don't know what I'm feeling Is this just a dream? Ah oh... If only I could read the signs in front of me I could find the way to who I'm meant to be Ah oh... If only, yeah [3x] If only [3x]

Slowly her eyes shut and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

I can’t believe were already at Part 10!  There are only a few more parts left to this story so stay tuned cause shit is about to go down. ;)  

If you liked this part and want part 11 please like, comment or reblog!  this story is also on my Wattpad (@phelpsphan).  if you would like to be tagged in this series to know when i update it please message me.  Love ya!  

Tag list: @sexyshortie-universe // @haroldhookwriter // @highladyjel

#harry hook x reader #harry hook #daughter of hades #mal jay carlos evie #disney descendants

[starscreamloki]

Ragnarok lost feeling

The other day I read posts about Thor Ragnarok and how people viewed their relationship. Since my brain was a bag of cats at the time of reading, I couldn’t put my feelings into words why I didn’t like TR. But after a good night's rest and some thinking, I can now voice it. It all came down to one word “feelings”. So hear me out...

The first and foremost thing about the movie that put me off was the fact that there were almost no scenes where emotions are being displayed. In Thor, The Avengers and Thor; The Dark World we get to see these characters that go through a lot of emotions and that is what makes them strong in my opinion. It makes them relatable, it makes one care. But in TR we hardly get that, and the only scene where they tried to achieve something like that is when Odin dies, and here again, shoved under the carpet.  A point in the story that is very important for both Thor and Loki and yet the camera is on Thor and Odin all the time and we only get a glimpse from Loki as the scene unfolds. Thor shows no emotion after all, and the emotion we get to see from Loki is put away in brief shots. FGS! You casted Tom Hiddleston, a guy who’s able to parray with big stars as Anthony Hopkins and such and yet they didn’t use that properly.

Tom once said “don’t be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve,” and he basically said he is wearing his heart on his sleeve. Well, so is Loki, and we got to see three movies of that raw emotion and Loki wearing his heart on his sleeve, even though Loki tries to hide it. I, for one, am a person who wears her heart on the outside and no matter how hard you try to hide it, you’ll never succeed in that, and neither did Loki. In a lot of scenes that was very powerful.

Then there is the prison and elevator scene. I think all the tagged people beneath this post have already voiced that properly here, and also in those scenes there is a lack of raw feelings displaying in the characters.

I also like to address some other things that struck me as odd or embarrassing throughout the movie.

First of all, Valkyrie. As she enters the movie I caught myself thinking “oh, she is awesome, this could work out great,” and then she just falls of her ship because she is hammered. Really?! She is a Valkyrie and the problem you give her is a drinking problem?! She is Asgardian, not Midgardian! She is trained and hardened through the years so how would she ever fall for the bottle? Isn’t that a little low for her characteristics? I think her story could’ve been far more interesting if she had been manipulated by the GM because he has captured her sister or another Valkyrie or something.

Then I would like to address the warriors of 3 and Sif. As Hela enters Asgard she just kills them straight out. No epic battle scene, no emotions, just *wham* dead. They are the warriors of 3 and should’ve been able to put some sort of a fight. But all we got is a Hela who just wipes them from the screen. I’m a larper and we have two words who sum up that type of characters: Over Powered (OP).

And how about the scene of the GM frying his cousin? Really? Was this necessary for the movie or plot?

And what about Thor screaming while in that chair and being put through that weird vision? He is a God! He just fought Surtur and has seen the worst of the worst, and a little vision like this makes him screaming like a little girl?! So OOC.

Then there is a little thing that doesn’t add up considering Norse mythology, but that has happened in the other movies as well. Fenris and Hela. In Norse mythology they are both Loki’s children. I think it would’ve been far cooler if Loki could’ve controlled Fenris and even bonded with him. Why is that possible? Because Fenris is an animal. And as studies have shown, animals are able to pick up feelings of humans around them. Fenris has been with Hela for so long, and her problems and emotions, thus Fenris should’ve been able to pick op on Loki’s feelings and the similarity between Hela and Loki.

Then “the pile of rocks”. The character could’ve been far more in my opinion but they covered it up with one liners and bad humor. Yes, it is good there is some sort of leader in that prison, but not with those characteristics. Also his tone of voice didn’t fit the character for me.

And that brings me to the point of humor and one liners in this movie. In the other Thor movies, and The Avengers as well, the movies also have humor. But that humor is dark, lustrous and can be interpreted in many ways. Mostly Loki is the one with that dark sense humor and that is why I love him. But now all he got were one liners which weren’t all that funny. I recently watched all the Thor movies again and when Loki displays this dark humor I find myself smiling every time, but not so in TR. The one liners get boring after hearing them one time. Ugh.

But back to Loki. The savior scene also strikes me as odd. Would the Asgardians really take it from Loki after he has been imposing Odin for 9 years? Of course, they were with their backs against the wall and had nowhere to go, so they had to comply, but the scene would’ve been far stronger if someone had spoken up and challenged Loki’s authority just as happened in The Avengers. If I had been an Asgardian I would’ve spoken up to him and not taking kindly what he had done. I remember watching this scene for the first time. I didn’t want to watch it unfold because it felt embarrassing.

Tom says “I think they are now closer than ever”. Some have already elaborated on that here (also tagged), and I want to add my two cents to that. Yes, Loki and Thor have grown closer, because they HAD to because Loki is running out of options. He is out of realms to flee to. Let’s make a list for that:

Asgard; no longer exists

Midgard; if Loki goes there SHIELD will hunt him down

Realm of the dark elves; nothing but a barren wasteland

Sakaar; as stated in TR loki felt out of favour of the GM and this planet isn’t an option

Thanos; well... No need to elaborate since we’re heading towards IW

Jotunheim; he kinda tried to destroy that and we all know why this is a horrible idea

There are other realms, but the options are getting less and less for Loki. Thus he has to stay with Thor.

To wrap it all up, I just want to say I fear for IW. There will be a lot of characters in that movie and I’m so afraid none of them will get enough screen-time to really get into the depth of those characters. And the second fear is, that if they get enough screen-time, it’ll be covered up (yet again) with bad humor and one liners.

@kaori04, @imnotakangaroo-imabunny​ , @latent-thoughts, @getcreative19, @lokiloveforever, @yume-no-fantasy, @nooo-body, @ladylaufeyson1, @snape-and-other-tricky-subjects

#loki meta #thor meta #thor: ragnarok criticism #loki #no feelings

[gunnygazette-blog]

Wk#6 Game-by-Game

(4) undefeated teams left...soon to be (3)…  While (4) winless teams look to stay that way for another week...or maybe...two could change that...

GAME OF THE WEEK

(4) Wild Weasels (4-0) @ (2) Aud-i-Bulls (4-0)

Why?:  Battle of Undefeateds...in which 5 of their 6 previous match-ups were decided by a TD or less...

Question...who has the longest winning streak against the Quot-a-Bulls?  Anyone?...yep the Waskaly Weasels...  The Donut Boys have won their last regular season meeting 26-19(2020) and were the last team to extend the Horned-ones now 3yr absence from the ‘ship 22-13(2019)…  Against the Horned-ones they have average 22ppg  A Passing offense that relies on the Qbs ability to run has given the Toros fits before...and that is what this is...  But can they do what no offense has done yet….score more than once…  Defensivley they are better then the Chefs…but they have yet to be challenged by a top offense...

The Quot-a-Bulls have been on their “2021 Revenge Tour”...taking out the Chefs two weeks ago...but then stumbled through the Fish last week.  Now they set their sights on the Wiley Weasels and hope to get back to their earlier success when they had 4 game winning streak.   Against the Waskily Weasels they have averaged 29.5ppg and may need that type of score to win this game…but a lil’ bit of a run game would help… Defensively they may be up for this task...they just have to keep the QB uncomfortable...

Prediction:  Waskily Weasels 21-19...

My pick:  Not sure if I agree...offhand I’d say the former champs...but after last week I’m not so certain but still...Meee-Ah-mee by 2...

Game #2

(7)Teddy Bears (3-2) @ (1) Runnin’ Naked (3-0)  

Why?:  Undefeated against the hottest team with losses

In 2019 these two split their match-ups to share the Division Title but Team Florida took the rubber match in the play-offs…  This year, they have already met once...a 28-22 loss that was not only the final loss in their 2-game losing streak but also the start of the Grizzled-ones three game hot streak…

Against the Run Nekkids they have averaged 18ppg...and they may need more than that this week.  Specifically though they need to make sure they don’t give J-ville short fields…  Defensively they have to step up and take away the one WR that burned them for four long Tds...

Nekkid as Jay Bird just sprinted past the Against the Furry Woodland Creatures in Week one...four times actually.  They’ve averaged 18.75ppg against the Teddies and if the Grizzleds didn’t learn to take away the long pass, they’ll go north of that score.  They’ve struggled in the redzone and against better teams and that may be an Achilles heel… Defensively, in their previous meeting, they left a lot of room for improvement.  If they can force negative plays like they did last week...this could be a runaway game…  

Prediction: Undefeated continues 17-14

My pick:  Furry-ones really need this one...but it looks like that win streak is over...

Game #3

(15) Rust Curtains (1-4) @ (8) Stanky Feet (2-1)  

Why?:  Decent First game...

A tight 22-16 game may be a precursor to a fun rematch…  The non-steel curtains have been competitive against teams not from the West side of the Conference…  They have been undefeated when they can get over the scoring hump of 20pts…  This offense is all about the QB...his passing...his running...they have problems protecting the QB and gets inaccurate when on the run…  One of the keys if they are going to win is hold on to the ball and not give up short fields...especially dumb special teams play...  Defensively they have had problems stopping offenses from doing what they do best.  If a team is a running team...they’ll get run on...if they are a passing team...they’ll get passed on…  This week will be the air attack...specifically the middle of the field is where they’ll get hurt...again…  

Stanky Feet will try to rebound after their first loss…  Offensively, they will try to continue with what worked in the first game…so expect more passing down the middle (slants, digs, posts) where they can take advantage of a Safety who is back in a different zip code and LBs that either give the Receivers too much space when their backs are to the QBs, just lost in space, or not recognizing pattern combos…  What they can’t afford is making the game easier for the Pitt-wanna-bes… Turnovers made their first match-up more competitive than it needed to be.  Defensively they need to keep the QB in the pocket but uncomfortable…but I don’t see the ends being instinctive enough to roll back into containment.  And Tackle...Tackle...Tackle...

Prediction:  Toe Fungi 26-17...

My pick:  I think both teams will have success passing in the first half...and running in the second...

Game #4

(12) Reaps (1-2) @ (13) Flat Fish (0-3)  

Why?:  Upset? Last years game was close...will the Phlat Pisces get their first win of the season?...first ever win against the Reaps?

“We’ve neva loss to da Stingrays”...true...but this is 2021…and that 4-game streak is on the block this week.  If last years 8-6 game is any predictor for this year...this should be a close game…and probably low scoring.  The Reaps have had that rhythm of bobbing at the .500 line, so last week when they had a chance to climb onto the plus side of the margin...they tripped over their own feet and are again looking up at that goal.  This week they should be able to run the ball with that lil’ bowling ball…  They’ll need play-action and screens to help slow down the edge rush as their tackles are heavy footed… Defensively they have done a terrible job of tackling...nor do I see that tough physicality they were once known for…  Include losing receivers in the secondary and you can see why they had issues last week...  

No team had a harder opening three games this season (three of the top five rated teams)...or more specifically...no Defense had it harder...with three high powered offenses…  Last week this young team exceeded expectations and held Aud-i-Bulls to a mere two FGs…  But on the flip side...their offense couldn’t buy a score…  One dimensional on offense, they have the right dimension for this game. Defensively...which team do we get this week?  Do we get the team that is staunch at home...or do we the less than stellar version we saw on the other side of alligator alley?  This week will be a good test...  

Prediction: 12-12...

My pick:  My hearts going Reaps...but after last week...I’m waivering…  The Reaps Punt game is sketchy...and that may be the difference...

Game #5

(9) Sparkies (2-2) @ (16) Mee-Ah-mee Raid (0-2)

Why?:  Can the recently hot Sparkies get their first non-forfeit win against the Southern Raid?...or is this an Upset in the making?

Best way describe their previous match-ups?  Not close...all five games that were not forfeits averaged 45.2 pts to 5.2...in the Black Uniforms favor… The Sparkies are going to try to change all that by challenging the edges with options and zone reads.  All those runs are to set up the play-action...question is will they have their starting QB. Defensively their non-consistent...against the run or the pass…but I think the run...or more specifically...the QB running...that will be the difference in this game.    

My pick for most underrated team?...Mee-Ah-Mee Raid…  They have been a solid team but have made a lot of mistakes with the ball…  Whether holding on to the ball...or forcing the ball into coverage down field...they have hurt their own scoring chances…  Defensively the are solid but have lapses at all the wrong times…  This week they get the QB that dashed their Championship Dreams at the end of the game...

Prediction:  Raid snap that losing streak 21-20

My pick:  I’ll say the same...if they protect the ball...

Game #6  

(17) Cow Puppies (0-4) @ (5) Gardens Crew  (3-1)

Why?:  No expectation for this to be competitive

Can you guess which team is the most disappointing so far this season...yep...the toothless Canines…  They can’t run and they are always trying to force the ball on the leftside...eventhough the passes seem to always workout better when they do get around to throwing it on that side of the field… Defensively they are not ready for this passing game…

For the Garden City Crew...they may be glad there name has been shutdown…  There could be Marshalls out lookin’ for them on Sunday...

Prediction:  The losing streak continues...36-8…

My pick:  Bombs away...

Game #7

(11) Sea Ponies (0-3) @ (6) A.R.M.Y. (2-1)  

Why?: Yeah...another non-competitve match-up

Arguably the worst team in the Conference...on the road...across the state...against one of the top 4 teams in the conference…  Not enough excitement here. Sea Ponies will have some shots down field...if the QB can stand in long enough….and that is a big IF…  Defensively they have been a sieve...and that should not change this week…

The Uniformed-ones should be in for a big game this week...run...pass...and Definitely the defense.  Blitzing will put all the pressure on the Ponies...but if for some brain fart happens and they leave the QB some time...he might hurt them down field...  

Prediction:  Losing Streak continues...60-0...

My pick:  Maybe not THAT many points but definitely one-sided

Game #8

(10) Pee-Rats  (1-2) @ (3) Glads (3-0)

Why?:  54-6 loss...at home...are things going to be that much more interesting in a week now on the road for back-to-back games?

Lifetime match-ups...54-6...48-14...44-6...19-0...60-0...54-0...30-2...35-13… Nothing to see here...move along...

Prediction: ...rewind...51-3

My pick:  Glads maybe back at full force at home...but disinterest may keep the game a lil’ closer...but not competitive...

BYE

(14) Duu-vowel Raid (1-3)

[theonyxpath]

Another beautiful Chris Huth illustration from Cavaliers of Mars, this time in crisp, detailed, black and white line-art. Aesthetically, this is a look that our recent projects have tended to move away from in favor of staying current with audience expectations of full color, or at least some color. But it is a style and look I’ve always enjoyed and I was thrilled Rose wanted Cavaliers to embrace this style of art.

It’s also a style that I started with and love working in; pen and ink, mostly with a crowquill pen and some brushwork. As far back as the graphic novel I wrote and drew in grad school (based on a series of adventures in my D&D world), and a style I returned to recently for Nocturnal Media‘s re-push of the “Storypath Cards”. (No relation to our StoryPath System). Which are still coming soon, I hear.

    Lasombra for Prince’s Gambit clan card by Mark Kelly

      To continue the theme of what I’m up to, and you can see what else we’re all up to down in the BLURBS! section, here’s a rundown of the things on my To Do list for this coming week with no explanations provided:

Contact FG

C20 needs bookplate and dice- Q

Remind Q-Workshop *

Guys for Roll20/FG projects

Modify and create 2yr contract

Reply Ben

DE2 BackerKit finish*

Need W20 emails for Dice Roller

Write note for Pentex cover*

Reply Ed

Reply Rand

Start CtL2 KS

Talk Rose’s friend

Talk Eddy- SP rules

Sure would like to see Blade Runner

That’s what I’m starting the week with, and the real start on these items is always after getting this blog done each week.

    Beast Players Guide illustration by Brian LeBlanc

      The good news is that at the end of the week I’m going to attend the Save Against Fear convention in Harrisburg, PA. About 90 minutes away in the center of the state. Long time readers of this blog will no doubt recognize this con, and may even recall I’ve a big supporter since it started.

Why this con? Well, it’s run by the Bodhana Group, a non-profit organization of therapists, and proceeds go towards their efforts to meld their therapeutic techniques with tabletop gaming. This is a smart group of folks, and their mission to help people using RPGs is one that I’m proud that Onyx Path can be a part of.

Time and again, I’ve been told stories by members of our community about how X-game changed their lives. People who were able to confront their fears by first facing them in-character. Who learned how to deal with a social issue by playing through the permutations in-game. Who found a way to better face and understand their own lives through roleplaying sessions.

And people who were able to just generally deal with the real world by spending time in fictional ones. Some of you may have heard these sorts of things too, or even had this kind of experience while playing, yourselves.

The Bodhana Group are taking those general examples I’m giving here as springboards to a well-considered program of healing and therapy that provides tangible assistance to those who need it. They are doing the work to take these projects Onyx Path and other RPG companies create as entertainment and turn them into transformative tools that can intentionally change people’s lives.

Making cool games is very satisfying, and I love doing it, but what they do: that’s what art is all about.

    Giovanni for Prince’s Gambit clan card by Mark Kelly

    So come by to the Save Against Fear con if you are anywhere near the middle of Pennsylvania and lend your support for their great cause. (And if you are, it might just be the only thing to do in the middle of PA.) I’ll be there Saturday and I’ll be on a panel or just walking the show and talking to folks, and I’d love to say hi.

Different Worlds, One Path!

      BLURBS!

ON SALE!

YOUR COVER IS BLOWN! The Demon: The Descent Bundle of Holding  runs until the 23rd – unlocking new books as it runs!  http://ift.tt/ZkIwwy

      KICKSTARTER:

  The Cavaliers of Mars Kickstarter is closing in on 700% funded, with Stretch Goals including an Exclusive T-Shirt, an increased art budget, Postcards from Mars, and we’ve passed the goal that completes an additional book: City of the Towered Tombs, describing the bustling canal city of Vance, from the brooding waters and desperate criminals of the Dredge to the beautiful environs and macabre spectacles of the Hangman’s Garden. Delve into the affairs of colorful nobles and the schemes of the desperate criminals in this look at Mars’ greatest remaining city! If all that sounds interesting to you, here is the link: http://ift.tt/2jF6HdQ

  ON AMAZON:

  We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook store on Amazon! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle. Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies: Vampire: the Masquerade‘s Endless Ages, Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage 2, Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Truth Beyond Paradox, Chronicles of Darkness‘ God Machine Chronicle, Mummy: The Curse‘s Curse of the Blue Nile, and Beast: The Primordial‘s The Primordial Feast!

And now you can get these books in the Barnes and Noble Nook store too!

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology

  And here are six more fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology

  Andand six more more:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

And even more books are going up on Amazon and the Nook store on Wednesday!:

Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages: The Cainite Conspiracies

World of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies

Scarred Lands: The Walled Warren

    We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

http://ift.tt/2w0aaEW

    Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://ift.tt/1pOsnTb

    ON DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

A Land Where Legends Walk

Drawing enthusiastically on Greek mythology, the revised and re-imagined Scarred Lands nonetheless retains its place as a modern fantasy RPG setting. This is a world shaped by gods and monsters, and only the greatest of heroes can expect to be counted among them. The most populous continent of Scarn, Ghelspad, plays host to vast unexplored regions, hides unsolved riddles from ancient cultures, and taunts adventures with the promise of undiscovered riches hidden among the ruins of older civilizations.

Yet the myths of the Scarred Lands are relatively recent events. The effects of the Titanswar still ripple through the world, and the heroines and villains of many of these stories are part of living memory, if not still living.

The Award-Winning Fantasy Setting Returns

Scarred Lands has been a favorite fantasy setting since the release of the Creature Collection for the d20 System in 2000. In subsequent years, over 40 titles were published for Scarred Lands, making it one of the most fully supported fantasy RPG settings ever and the premiere product line of Sword & Sorcery Studios.

Available in both 5th Edition and Pathfinder compatible versions! PDF and PoD formats available this Wednesday!

  Heroes, Villains, and Others in Between! 

This tome is a revision of the original book by the same title, originally published for use with 3rd edition rules for the world’s most popular roleplaying game. In this revised edition of The Wise & the Wicked, all the same characters have returned (and we’ve added some new ones, too!), for use with the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide. 

Champions of Gods and Titans 

The Wise & the Wicked introduces a rogue’s gallery of the Scarred Lands’ movers and shakers, characters who carry out the will of the gods or the fallen titans. These non-player characters can be friends, enemies, or simply convenient resources for the player characters in your game.

Inside, find villains such as King Virduk of Calastia, the Black Dragon, along with his wife, the beautiful (and black-hearted) Queen Geleeda; the Grand Vizier to King Virduk, the wicked warrior-mage Anteas; and the sinister general of Virduk’s northern armies, Archduke Traviak the Steel-Fisted. At the other end of the spectrum, meet the gracious Lady Ariniel, the Swan Knight, champion of Madriel; Kimer the Shatterer, bearer of the Earth Sword of Scarn and tenacious foe of the titanspawn of the north; and King Thain the Just, the Aleking, ruler of Burok Torn. And many others beside!

Here you’ll find a fascinating compendium of characters from the Scarred Lands, but easily transported into campaigns set elsewhere. In addition, find multiple appendices full of new magic items and artifacts, class archetypes and prestige classes, new feats, new creatures and races, and more.

Available in Pathfinder and 5th Edition versions! PDF and PoD formats available this Wednesday!

        From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: God’s Own Country (Geist: The Sin-Eaters New Zealand 1950s). World War II is over and a new age of technology is coming, but a hidden storm threatens to overwhelm both the Maori and the European New Zealanders, flooding the world with the restless dead. The Bound are the last line of defense between a spirit-world gone mad and a sleepy island nation concerned with the advent of rock and roll and mourning their lost soldiers.

On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2kCGjSn

      EX3 Music Suite #1: Fanfare for the Chosen sounds off long and proud on DTRPG! http://ift.tt/2fHws8A

Fanfare for the Chosen includes inspiring soundtrack themes for each of the ten types of Exalted (Solars, Lunars, Sidereals, Dragon Bloodeds, Abyssals, Exigents, Getiminans, Liminals, Infernals, Alchemicals), to set the tone as you encounter these Exalted in your games or are seeking inspiration for new stories.

        From out of the Dreaming, the C20 Jumpstart: Yours To Keep PDF and PoD are now live on DTRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2fmlF3s

There is magic hiding everywhere. You just need to know where to look.

You are a changeling, a faerie soul hiding in a mortal body, fighting the chill of Nightmares and the oppressive weight of Banality with the pure creative power of Glamour. You have lived many lives, but the story of this one? It outshines them all.

In this hidden world, knights in steel and leather clash sword to sword outside the homecoming dance, dragons fly between skyscrapers, and fantastic castles rise from suburban lawns. A world of magic, intrigue, and adventure, and now that your fae side has awakened, it’s your world too.

“Yours to Keep” includes a rules and setting overview, as well as pre-generated characters and a complete introductory scenario for Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition. It’s perfect for jumpstarting a new Changeling chronicle!

    The PDF and PoD versions of C20 are now on DriveThruRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2w4Eq2m

Twenty years ago, White Wolf published Changeling: the Dreaming, the fifth of their promised five game-lines that together comprised the World of Darkness. Seen by some as a lighter, more fantasy-based setting in the modern-day, and by others as the darkest game White Wolf had yet created, players had to face the question of what happens once creativity and magic fades from their world.

This 20th Anniversary Edition of Changeling: the Dreaming returns to that deceptively bright yet terrifying world and both compiles and completes the concepts of the previous two editions. Led by veteran White Wolf and Onyx Path developer “Blackhat” Matt McFarland, our writing team consists of longtime Changeling creators like Ian Lemke, Jackie Cassada, Nicky Rea, and Peter Woodworth, as well as familiar names such as John Snead, Maggie Carrol, Matthew Dawkins, and Krister Michl. One and all are dedicated to making Changeling: the Dreaming Twentieth Anniversary Edition the most playable edition yet – while not losing the wonder, awe, and majesty that Changeling is known for.

A revised and up to date look at the World of Darkness through the eyes of the Kithain – what has happened to the Dreaming in the last 20 years, and what is the state of Glamour and dreams?

Rules for all of the kiths including in 2nd ed, plus fan favorites from other books: selkies, piskies, clurichaun, and both Arcadian and Concordian sidhe.

Rules for the Gallain: The inanimae, the hsien, the Nunnehi, and others!

An overhauled and reimagined system for fae magic, including new Arts and the powerful but dangerous practice of Unleashing!

New full-color beautiful artwork as well as classic Changeling illustrations including remastered full page pieces of the kiths by Tony Diterlizzi.

          Calling all Good Dogs! The Pugmire Core Rulebook PDF is now available on DTRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2wAaAp3

And the actual physical book, screen, and dice, are available to order on the IPR and Studio2 websites!

Studio2: http://ift.tt/2w0aaEW

          Satyr Phil Brucato beckons you once more into the Annex of Mage: The Ascension with this 300 page follow-up to M20. The M20 Book of Secrets is NOW on sale in PDF and PoD versions at DTRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2tKyJtb

More Than Magick

For mages who think they have everything, this trove of treasures expands upon the wealth of material presented throughout Mage: The Ascension’s 20th Anniversary Edition. New Traits, new rules, essays, answers, information… the Secrets are revealed within.

Enter the Annex

Building upon the M20 core rulebook, this Book of Secrets features updated rules and setting material, such as…

An M20 FAQ Genres & Resources

Matters of Focus Justice & Influence

New Abilities, Archetypes, Merits & Flaws

Expanded Rules for Combat, Resonance, Wonders, Computer Systems, and More

This Ascension Continues…

        What dark secrets do the eldest vampires hold? Find out in Thousand Years of Night for Vampire: The Requiem! Advance PDF version available now on DriveThruRPG.com. http://ift.tt/2sV8lZR

You may think that with a multitude of people coming, going, dying and running away, we’d be tired, done, or ready to give up. Instead, I find myself restless, looking for the next thing.  There’s always a next thing, and I for one am not yet ready to die.

– Elder Kincaid, Daeva Crone

This book includes:

• Detailed instructions on creating elder vampires, including how to base chronicles around them

• A look into the lives of elders, how they spend their nights, who they work with, and why including their roles in both their clans and covenants

• New Devotions, Merits, and Rituals for elder vampires

• The kinds of creatures that pose a threat to elder vampires, including Inamorata, Lamia, Sons of Phobos, a new elder conspiracy, and more!

          CONVENTIONS!

I’ll be at Save Against Fear in Harrisburg PA on Saturday, walking the floor and chatting with folks. Might be on a panel or two. See above for my thoughts on this very worthwhile convention. http://ift.tt/2cE742J

  Fast Eddy Webb will be running Pugmire during the online convention Gauntlet Con: http://ift.tt/2sSctbs which runs from Oct. 20 – 22. Here is the sign-up link for the event which will be live-streamed. Currently three of six seats are still open: http://ift.tt/2xt3HaM

  In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. November 2-5: http://ift.tt/2xsOnuzMonica Valentinelli (Hunter: the Vigil 2e, Dark Eras), Manda Collis (Exalted 3e), Scott Holden (Scarred Lands), Matt M McElroy (Operations Manager) and other folks from the OPP crew will be there!

  Also in November, the Onyx Path crew including Rich, Matt, Lisa, Neall, Dixie, and Meghan will be at the first ever PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, November 17-19. http://ift.tt/2kBzmfv

  Planning ahead for 2018, we’re heading back to Midwinter Game Convention in Milwaukee, January 11-14, where we’re going to be bringing a big crew of many of your favorite Onyx Path designers and we’ll be running demos and making some special announcements at the show!  http://midwintergamingconvention.com

  And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

  Redlines

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

  Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Scion: Origin (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  WW Manuscript Approval:

  Editing:

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)

  Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook

Cavaliers of Mars

W20 Changing Ways

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Scion Origins

Ring of Spiragos

Book of Freeholds

DtD Enemy Action

C20 RMCs – Finishes coming.

Changeling: the Lost 2 – ADing. Getting art in for KS a priority.

Trinity Continuum – Splats for core book with Mr Jones

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

Beast PG

Becket’s Jyhad Diary – Adding typo corrections and tweaking some of the textures.

Pugmire/Scarred Lands Community Content

VtR Half Damned 

  Proofing

Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen 

Wraith 20

Prince’s Gambit – Going to WW for approval

M20 Cookbook – With Phil for proofing.

  At Press

Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.

Scarred Land PGs & Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – On a boat to the US. PoDs on sale Wednesday.

VTR: Thousand Years of Night – Files updated and PoD processing.

Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition) – Deluxe Edition cover and Screen in the works.

CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology PDF – getting PDF ready.

Art of Mage – Ordered PoD proofs.

Pugmire Trick, Condition, and Initiative Cards – PoD proofs ordered.

V20DA Jumpstart – PDF going out to backers this week.

  TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Today is the day that some people celebrate a traditional event that may or may not be about a guy who might have been a daring explorer and/or a vile abuser. History marches on, and our understanding changes. Both our personal understanding, and our society’s. To me, that’s this day’s lesson and reason to celebrate: that we can grow and understand more and look behind the simplified lessons learned in our childhoods.

#Onyx Path Publishing

[jangsojin]

Fool’s Gold rant time

I still have so many feels over Ultraviolet and Fool’s Gold. It’s so amazingly written and even though Fool’s Gold is barely a week old, I really can’t wait for a part 3 if there is one (praying that there is). I really want Samo to prevail but I’m ok with Namo being how it ends too. I can’t help but keep going over little details in my mind about how it could be Samo. I want to vent it all out but I’ll do it under the cut. 

These are just my personal thoughts but I would love to hear other peoples thoughts on it

So at first Fool’s Gold was just tragic cause Sana loves Momo but Momo is enamored with Nayeon and she has to pretend it’s alright for their friendships sake. But as soon as the lines “Sex is different with Nayeon. It’s better with feelings” happened my heart absolutely broke. I thought how can Momo not have had feelings for Sana at all? Even their first time was just platonic? It’s just so hard to believe that after everything they’ve been through, Momo really only thought of Sana as just a friend.

Then I finally get to the end and “Momo’s forgetting something important.” And that right there was such a turning point for everything I thought about Momo’s feelings throughout the whole story. At first the lines “better with feelings” and “Momo’s forgetting something important” together made no sense. How can Momo have no feelings for Sana even during their first time having sex but still have such this strong hint that she loves Sana but pushed it to the back of her mind the way Sana did?

Then it hits me like a truck. I don’t think the “better with feelings line” was meant to mean it was better cause Momo had feelings for Nayeon and not Sana. I think it meant it was better cause she knew Nayeon had feelings for her and thought that every time with Sana there were no feelings from her and it was just platonic. Everything leading up to Sana dating Eunha is Samo building their love for each but neither being able to express it. Samo’s first time was after Sana and Eunha broke up and at point Momo is still hurt. She probably think that Sana can’t have feelings for her. If she did, why did she chose to be with Eunha over Momo? So to Momo, their first time means something special to her cause she loves Sana but think Sana is treating it as just platonic sex cause their best friends and each other favourite person, so who else would Sana want the first time to be with?

Also the rainbow ice cream moment comes to mind as another way Momo could think Sana has no feelings for her. Momo mentions they aren’t together but Sana makes no mention of wanting to be together only using their closeness mistaken as a “happy misunderstanding” as a way to get free ice cream. It says just then that Momo realizes that “happy misunderstandings” exist and at that point Momo probably thinks that all the love she shows Sana is just a happy misunderstand and Sana thinks it’s just Momo’s way of being friendly with her.

Even though the story says Momo had a crush on Nayeon from the day Samo moved into the dorm, there’s a chance it just a small crush at first. I have a few thoughts about when Momo’s feelings developed fully for Nayeon. It’s either during Sana/Eunha’s relationship that she thinks Sana has no feelings for Momo, possibly after the breakup and every romantic thing Momo does with/for Sana doesn’t lead to them being together, or maybe even before they came to the boarding school, Momo had already resigned herself to being just the best friend. Whichever it might be, here enters Im Nayeon, Momo starts forgetting something important and starts placing her affections in Nayeon. It feels bad that no matter which way I think about it, Nayeon only comes out as a scapegoat for Momo to try and move on from Sana.

I’ve heard that it’s possible that everyone can be happy if Saida happens in a nicely paced way since Sana can realize Dahyun real worth as a person and it would be a lot healthier than Sana’s heavy dependency on Momo through the whole story but Namo is only a healthy seeming relationship up until the last line of “Momo’s forgetting something important.” This signifies that Momo is doing what Sana did and trying to hide her true feelings and being with someone who you care about and cares for you but still loving someone else deep down isn’t very healthy. Obviously if Samo happens then Nayeon will be unhappy cause the person she’s wanted to be with for two years is gone. At this point she only adores her but depending on when/if the breakup happens she could love Momo by then and then she’s in Sana’s shoes of seeing the one she loves with someone else.

If Namo happens, then Sana continues being hurt cause her best friend and love of her life will never be hers. Yea, there’s Cloudy With a Chance of Saida but I’m thinking it’s all just between Nasamo at this point.

But no matter who Momo ends up with, there’s the chance she won’t be happy either. She can definitely have a happy ending too but this is all about the unhappy endings for right now lol. Say she stays with Nayeon but she stops forgetting something important and realizes/remembers she loves Sana. FG!Momo is too nice, she can never hurt someone intentionally. So while she may still have feelings for Nayeon, she knows she loves Sana but can’t bare to leave Nayeon and hurt her, so Momo is just unhappy with Nayeon wishing for a way to be with Sana like she’s always truly wanted.

On the other hand, let’s say Momo does love Sana but can’t realize/remember like Sana did. Nayeon already knows Sana loves Momo cause she heard the conversation between Dahyun and Sana near the end after Sana tries to use Dahyun to make Momo jealous for the second time, but how long until she finds out Momo loves Sana too? Nayeon would definitely figure out way before Momo and at that point Nayeon would take one of two paths. Either she’d realize Momo loves Sana but instead of letting her go, she’d selfishly try to hold onto Momo and try to make her forget her feelings for Sana, or she’s realize it’s only a matter of time before Momo realizes she loves Sana and leaves her, but she’d be hurt over it and seeing how Nayeon taunts Jeongyeon over Bona, we know when Nayeon doesn’t like someone, she’s cruel. Nayeon would start resenting Momo for being with her despite having feelings for someone else, so she’d start becoming mean and hurtful to Momo, pushing her away and eventually into Sana’s arms.

Now Momo is hurt and sad because by the time Nayeon pushes her away, she probably still wouldn’t have realized her feelings for Sana, so Momo has no clue why Nayeon hurt her so much and threw her away. Momo thought they had something real, both of them actually having feelings for one another, so why did this happen? So Momo is together with Sana and happy on some level cause she loves Sana, but inside she’s hurting deep cause the person she adores (possibly even loves as well depending on how far Namo goes) just threw her away. Momo could even end up alone thinking that as well if she doesn’t end up with Sana after that.

There’s always a way for everyone to be happy but unless it’s Saida/Namo in the end, all happy endings won’t come without a lot of heartbreak, Samo happening, and Nayeon having some healing time and finding someone else post screen time. The author has said that Momo and Nayeon do love each other they’re just not in love yet but getting there. There’s still such a big point of Momo loving Sana too the whole time that it’s hard to accept that it will just automatically be Namo.

I don’t know if I’m leaning Samo cause that’s who I objectively think would be together in the end or if I’m a bit soft and just want their happiness from before to continue and flourish into a happy Samo ending cause Sana is my #2 bias and I just want her to be happy. In the end, we won’t truly know until part 3 if/when it comes out.

Also side note, Dahyun deserved so much better than being toyed around by Sana twice. Dahyun just wanted to be there for friend and try and make her happy. At first it was reading her scriptures under the oak tree but Sana tries to use being close with Dahyun as a way to make Momo jealous. Momo doesn’t notice but Sana gets away with it that time. But when Sana tries making Momo jealous again but kissing Dahyun at the party and checking to see if Momo was looking was way too fucked up. Dahyun’s never had anyone honestly interested in her and now she thinks maybe Sana is a little interested and really wants to kiss her so nervous as she is, she goes along with the kiss just to be betrayed and have Sana think she was upset cause of Dahyun’s religion instead of the fucked up reasoning behind Sana’s kiss.

#Twice #fanfics #this is why you don't let me near anything interesting with a cliffhanger #I analyze the hell out of it and rant about it when no one asked lmao #Fool's Gold

[flauntpage]

Easy Peasy – Observations from Sixers 131, Knicks 109

These early games against Eastern Conference basement dwellers are pretty much meaningless when it comes to evaluating the Sixers on a macro scale, because the only thing that matters this season is whether they can beat the Raptors, Celtics, and Bucks in the playoffs.

You’re supposed to breeze past the Knicks at home in December, and the Sixers took care of business with relative ease last night. This allows us to now focus on an uber-important stretch of games that includes Toronto at home, Christmas Day in Boston, then a four-game west coast road trip.

This stretch will be a “barometer” for how good the team really is. It will be a “measuring stick” in terms of how far they’ve come. Maybe it will be a “litmus test” as well. I’d have to go to Thesaurus.com to find another synonymous cliche there.

But yeah, they clobbered the Knicks last night. Here’s what they did well:

Rebounding

New York came into this game averaging 12.1 offensive rebounds a night, which is 5th best in the NBA. Enes Kanter himself was snagging 4.1.

All of that meant absolutely nothing, as the Sixers just pummeled David Fizdale’s team on the glass. They held the Knicks to a season-low four offensive rebounds and limited Kanter to a grand total zero for only the third time this entire season. New York finished with four second chance points last night despite averaging 14.7 this season, so that’s a significant 10-point differential in that category. Brett Brown’s team really limited New York’s ability to get some cheap put backs and keep pace throughout the game.

Brown:

I especially liked the defense in the second half. I thought that our finishing plays with rebounds and trying to find people, I don’t remember many, if any games, where Kanter has ended up with zero offensive rebounds. They’re among the leading teams in the NBA in offensive rebounding, so the defense in the second half, they cut it to three, you know, we took off at about the seven-minute mark of the third, but the rebounding, especially to complement the defense, was pleasing.

You could tell the Sixers were annoyed at allowing the Knicks to cut into that lead. Philly responded with a barrage of dunks and a trio of foul shots coming out of the ensuing timeout, and the lead was extended back to double digits less than two minutes later.

Speaking of Kanter, I tried to pay some attention to the handful of low post matchups he had with Mike Muscala. I think Mike did a decent job against him earlier this season, but a couple of times last night he just didn’t have the size to keep him from bulldozing his way to the rim. Kanter scored eight of his 15 points when matched up against Muscala (2-3 FG and 4 free throws on 30 possessions) and seven of his points against Embiid (3-5 FG and 2 free throws on 28 possessions). I’ve said before that I like Muscala as a second unit stretch five, but I don’t know if he’s got the measurables defensively to outplay a guy like Aron Baynes or Jonas Valanciunas come playoff time.

A good start, however, is playing a combination role in holding a guy like Kanter to zero offensive boards for the first time in 14 games:

That’ll get the job done.

A model of efficiency

Jimmy Butler scored 20 points last night while only taking nine shots. He got to the line 10 times, which is only the second time he’s reached double-digit free throw attempts since coming to Philadelphia in mid-November.

He looked more assertive last night, more active early in the game I think. Sometimes we see him come out in a deferential mindset before he gets more of the ball in his hands.

Butler was asked about his aggression or his mentality in a few different ways last night, and I think this quote probably was the pick of the bunch:

Q: Is there a switch at some point? I assume that when the postseason comes around you’ll want to be aggressive at all times –

Butler: I will be.

Q: So where does that switch happen, is that at the end of the regular season and –

Butler: No no no, don’t do that, don’t talk about (the idea that) I can just turn it on and turn it off. I feel like at times I can, but I think it starts now. I have to get in a rhythm and get used to being aggressive. But I’m telling you, if somebody is making shots, I’m gonna get the ball to him as much as possible. If this guy is making shots (points to Landry Shamet), Joel, JJ – you can be aggressive in more ways than just scoring points. You can be aggressive on the defensive end. I feel like whatever I’m doing out there, I’ve got to help the team win.

That’s all good and well, but we all know that there will come a point when  other guys are not hitting and he’s going to have the ball in his hands in crunch time and iso situations. He’s certainly capable of doing it, and we’ll see how he plays against Toronto and Boston in the next two games.

Ben didn’t think he played well

Ho hum, another triple double for Ben Simmons.

He didn’t like the way he played last night. He took a technical foul out of frustration and felt like he turned the ball over too much:

“I knew after the first half, I knew it was going to change. I think I came out with a different mindset. I was kind of pissed off with the way I was performing and I don’t think I played well at all tonight. If you look at numbers obviously it was a triple-double, but in my head, I didn’t play well tonight. Turning the ball over too much, not being aggressive enough. I think those are the main things.”

Hmm, well that’s always good to hear from a star player, but I think Ben did more than fine last night. He was 5-10 from the floor, which is a bit down in terms of field goal attempts and percentage, but his turnover number (3) was below his season average and any time you snag 10+ assists, it means guys around you are playing well. Just keep feeding ’em, which is what Butler was talking about.

I personally would rather see Ben find ways to be continually effective throughout a game instead of opening with those first quarter bursts and then sort of flatlining a bit. It’s one thing to catch a team off guard with a couple of early buckets, but feeling your way through a game as a point guard comes with time and experience, and the way he led that charge to extend the lead back to 10 points was probably the most significant contribution he made last night.

Simmons does indescribale things to Vonleh pic.twitter.com/rMniWK8BmQ

— The Render (@TheRenderNBA) December 20, 2018

Landry Shamet, a career high 17 points

I like his game and his demeanor. He’s a relatively quiet guy, not a ton to say to the media, which is perfectly fine. He just sort of goes about his business without any of the typical NBA fanfare.

Brown made a good point about Shamet last night. In a world where most rookies are one-and-done 19 year olds, Landry has a few more years of experience under his belt.

Brett:

You know, he’s not a first year college player. I feel like that counts for a lot. He’s older. He acts older. He’s had more experience than, like Kevin Knox for example, who I think is going to be a heck of a player. But you see those rare guys that come out of college who have actually had a college career and an education and have grown up. He used to be a point guard a little bit at Wichita State and I think it’s a perfect storm to giving him a better chance to do some of the things we’re doing in his first year in the NBA.

Yep. It’s very noticeable. The way in which Shamet has quickly found his way into the system is impressive.

Specifically, I think the time he spends with JJ Redick really shows itself in how Landry moves without the ball. Case in point:

He looks like Redick coming off those screens. He really looks like a veteran guy out there at times.

I also really liked that pull up three-pointer he made, the one where he grabbed a loose ball and basically ran it up the floor and stepped into the shot. That’s probably a carryover from his point guard days, because you don’t see a lot of catch and shoot guys who are able to dribble 20+ feet and bury a shot in transition like that.

Landry on his current situation:

I’m just trying to learn as much as I can. I try to improve night in and night out and try to understand that there are going to be highs and lows in this and I continue to just listen to everyone, guys like him [Jimmy Butler] are in my ear; I’m taking the advice as I can and just trying to get better. Jimmy, Ben and Joel and even Coach will get on me for not shooting the ball. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be in this situation as a rookie. It feels good; it makes my job easy.

Believe it or not, Shamet is now the team’s leading three point shooter. Check it out:

Shake and Amir don’t count because they haven’t taken enough threes.

Shamet has been a nice story this year. It’s about time the Sixers got something out of a late first round draft pick.

Other notes:

JJ Redick scored his 10,000th point last night. More on that later today in what we called a “sidebar.”

The Sixers shot 22-25 from the foul line last night for an 88% mark. That’s waaaaay above their season average of 77.5%

T.J. McConnell’s contributions didn’t show up on the stat sheet, but he was a total pest defensively all night long.

3-4 field goal shooting and a quiet, but effective 9 points for Furkan Korkmaz in 17 minutes off the bench. That’s pretty much what you’re looking for from him at this point in his career.

Just 10 turnovers last night, which is tied for the second-best number this season.

The post Easy Peasy – Observations from Sixers 131, Knicks 109 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

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New Post has been published on Attendantdesign

New Post has been published on http://attendantdesign.com/lurken-earns-third-mac-east-player-of-the-week-honor/

Lurken Earns Third MAC East Player of the Week Honor

Lurken added yet every other massive recreation to steer Kent Nation beyond Ohio, 83-77 in beyond regular time, for the biggest win of her collegiate profession.

The high-scoring protect had 10 of her game-excessive 31 points in the extra time period to guide the Golden Flashes into a tie for the first location within the MAC East. Trailing by means of three with beneath minutes left in the greater session, Lurken scored two baskets to put Kent Nation beforehand after which drew a price before connecting on 4 directly free throws as a part of a nine-zero run to shy away from the Bobcats. She introduced three rebounds, three blocks, and steals.

All through the contest honor, Lurker set a MAC unmarried-season record for free throws made. Her 223 conversions from the charity stripe are 10 more than some other Player within the united states has even tried this season and 52 far away from former Drake megastar Lori Bauman’s NCAA Division I record.

Lurker is on tempo to interrupt Kent Nation’s single-season scoring average record and currently ranks sixth inside us of an at 23.2 factors in keeping with the sport. She is the only Department I Participant averaging at least 20.zero points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.zero assists, 1.zero block and 2.zero 3-point area dreams in step with a sport.

Kent Nation will pass for a couple of sweeps against MAC East opponents this week, beginning Wednesday night at Bowling Green. The Flashes return to the M.A.C. Center to host rival Akron on Saturday at 2 p.M.

  A way to Placed Your Name Subsequent to the Time on a Mac

It is easy to position your Name Next to the clock up at the pinnacle right of your Mac’s screen. Apart from the chill component, displaying your Call in the menu bar makes it very smooth to realize whether you are signed in as yourself or as a person else who shares your Mac.

With the aid of default, the consumer Call does not show to the proper of the clock. It is up to you to turn it on. Right here’s the way you do it.

Visit the Apple menu and choose Device Preferences

If the Alternatives inside the proper hand facet of the Login Options are gray it way the panel is locked. You can liberate it Via clicking the lock at the lowest left of the Customers and Businesses choice pane and getting into your person’s password.

you’re almost completed: just test the box Subsequent to “display rapid person switching menu as” after which select an option from the menu to the right. “Full Call” might be your first and remaining Call. “Account Call” might be something shorter, like simply your first Call (or maybe your first and ultimate Name), no areas, decrease case. Whilst you look up on the menu bar you’ll see the impact of your desire.

Menu bar area is valuable, so that you may additionally want to go with the shorter “account Name” or maybe simply the icon.

For a Mac with one person, showing your Name (or the icon) is solely beauty. But for Macs with multiple Users, showing your Call isn’t always only informational (as it suggests who’s logged in), But a time-saver considering clicking on the Name (or the icon) produces a menu of Customers, and You can log into any of them By deciding on them and coming into the right password.

At the same time as you are up there, you might want to customize the date and time show as properly. In case you Visit Apple menu/System Possibilities/Date & Time, and then “Clock,” you may get plenty of Alternatives. I really like to show the day of the week similarly to the date, and the time as a virtual clock. (On menu bars wherein area could be very tight I take advantage of the analog clock, to save space.) I do not propose the flashing time separators as it’s far a consistent distraction and your eyes might be subconsciously attracted to them.

Bonus tip: You can Position your Name to the left of the time By keeping the Command key down, clicking for your Call within the menu bar, and dragging your Name to the vicinity. The trick is you have to hold the Command key down before clicking.

The short Player Performance Rating

Although basketball has been around for almost 125 years, It’s

A game this is nevertheless developing with regards to analytics. Over the past few years, more and more records are being pumped to players and coaches within the shape of superior statistics. Considered one of my favorites is the Participant Efficiency Score (According to) evolved By way of John Hollinger a few years lower back.

Typical, this Rating is designed to boil down all of a Player’s contributions into one quantity. Using detailed components, Hollinger advanced a Gadget that costs each Participant’s statistical overall performance.

The common Rating for Countrywide Basketball Association games is 15.0. NBA superstars frequently have a Rating within the top 20’s. Collegiate and high school rankings could be notably decreased than the NBA, However, I will get into that in a moment.

The formula that Hollinger makes use of is complex, But I accept as true with It’s a highly accurate view of the way a Participant is performing Even as at the floor. Because of this, at some stage in my days as an assistant teach at the collegiate stage, I desired to decide if I could come up with a manner to evaluate a Player’s performance a touch quicker than The use of the components that Hollinger makes use of.

Fortuitously, I was able to discover miles less difficult way to charge gamers. While this technique was less complicated to computer, I discovered it to be exceptionally powerful and accurate whilst it got here to figuring out Participant’s gambling time and predicting who might acquire stop of the yr honors.

The version of the In step with that I frequently used decided which games were extra effective in certain line-ups, in opposition to positive groups, and their Average wonderful contribution to their crew.

In case you’re a teach, you may realize which you acquire a field rating among quarters, or at half time. This was a time that I diligently scribbled down notes to decide the Player’s Consistent with.

  As opposed to The usage of Hollinger’s formula. I simplified it By way of taking a examine the positive contributions that a Player makes together with factors, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks and totaling those things. Every effective contribution counts as one factor toward the Score. So, if a Participant has 15 factors, 7 rebounds, three assists, 1 thieve and 1 block, that could add as much as a total of 27… so far.

I subtract the range of negative things that occur in a sport. So turnovers (TOs), overlooked discipline desires (FGs), ignored three-recommendations (3pts) and overlooked unfastened throws (FTs) all matter as -1. I do no longer depend fouls as negative factors, because fouls may be both appropriate or bad, depending on the state of affairs. So, let’s consider the identical Participant above shot three-10 on FGs, three-5 on FTs, 2-four on 3pts and additionally had three TOs, this would equate to a total of terrible 14 (-7 for FGs, -2 for FTs, -2 for 3pts, -3 for TOs = 14).

Now, keep in mind, this equal Participant had netted 27 advantageous points. But Due to the neglected shots and turnovers, we need to put off 14 of those points, which leaves this Player with an adjusted According to of 13. players who’re inefficient will clearly go through on this Rating.

This brief version of the Per I discovered extraordinarily useful because I may want to do the mathematics for Every Participant At the same time as in the locker room or at the bench. In case you do that Score continuously for at the least a season, You could determine what a median In keeping with would be for your types of games. You may also decide who will in all likelihood be up for an award at the quiet of the season. You could also determine who merits extra playing time.

This is where I found this most useful. If a Participant changed into handiest gambling a few minutes Per recreation But had an excessive Per, I would suggest for greater gambling time for that Participant.

you may assume that an In line with is constantly apparent. It isn’t always, my buddy. On occasion, you’ll be able to see that, in line with the In keeping with, some players are supporting you much greater than they’re hurting you or vice-versa.

This short In keeping with becoming so useful for me throughout my time as an assistant educate, that I required my assistance to utilize it when I have become a head train. We did now not have an abundance of advanced metrics available to us for the duration of my days as an instruct, However, this In line with enabled our group to win a divisional championship.

As with all statistic, it must be taken inside the context of the game. It’s not a tell-all, similar to a box rating isn’t always usually an accurate reflection of the sport. However, this Score can truly be useful.

My hope is that it’s far useful to you as nicely. properly good fortune, train!

The short Participant Performance Rating

Even though basketball has been around for nearly one hundred twenty-five years, It’s a sport this is nevertheless growing when it comes to analytics. Over the past few years, increasingly data is being pumped to gamers and coaches inside the form of superior records. One in every of my favorites is the Player Efficiency Rating (According to) evolved By using John Hollinger some years lower back.

Universal, this Score is designed to boil down all of a Participant’s contributions into one variety. The usage of detailed components, Hollinger evolved a Machine that costs every Player’s statistical performance.

The average Rating for National Basketball Association games is 15.0. NBA superstars often have a Rating in the top 20’s. Collegiate and high college ratings may be substantially lower than the NBA, But I will get into that in a moment.

The system that Hollinger uses is complex, However, I trust It is a notably correct view of how a Player is appearing Even as at the ground. Due to this, at some point of my days as an assistant coach at the collegiate level, I wanted to decide if I should come up with a manner to assess a Participant’s performance a touch quicker than The use of the components that Hollinger makes use of.

Thankfully, I used to be able to locate a far simpler manner to price games. Even as this approach turned into easier to compute, I discovered it to be enormously effective and accurate while it came to figuring out Participant’s playing time and predicting who would receive stop of the yr honors. The model of the In line with that I regularly used determined which players had been more effective in positive line-ups, towards positive teams, and their Standard fine contribution to their crew.

If you’re an instruct, you may realize which you get hold of a field score among quarters, or at half of time. This becomes a time that I diligently scribbled down notes to determine the Participants In step with.

Let me provide an explanation for.

In preference to The usage of Hollinger’s method. I simplified it Through taking a take a look at the superb contributions that a Player makes together with points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks and totaling the one’s matters. Every nice contribution counts as one point closer to the Rating. So, if a Player has 15 factors, 7 rebounds, three assists, 1 scouse borrow and 1 block, that would upload up to a complete of 27… up to now.

I subtract the number of negative things that show up in a sport. So turnovers (TOs), neglected subject goals (FGs), missed three-hints (3pts) and missed loose throws (FTs) all be counted as -1. I do now not count number fouls as terrible points, because fouls may be either appropriate or terrible, depending on the situation. So, shall we embrace the identical Participant above shot 3-10 on FGs, three-5 on FTs, 2-four on 3pts and also had 3 TOs, this would equate to a complete of bad 14 (-7 for FGs, -2 for FTs, -2 for 3pts, -three for TOs = 14).

Now, don’t forget, this equal Participant had netted 27 effective factors. But Due to the ignored photographs and turnovers, we must cast off 14 of these points, which leaves this Participant with an adjusted In step with of thirteen. gamers who are inefficient will truly suffer in this Rating.

This quick version of the According to I discovered extremely beneficial due to the fact I should do the mathematics for Every Player Whilst inside the locker room or on the bench. In case you try this Rating constantly for as a minimum a season, You could determine what a median In keeping with might be on your sorts of players. You could also decide who will possibly be up for an award at the give up of the season. You could additionally determine who merits more gambling time.

This is where I found this most useful. If a Player turned into simplest playing a few minutes Per sport But had an excessive According to, I’d advise for more playing time for that Participant.

you might assume that an In keeping with is always apparent. It is not, my pal. Every now and then, you will be able to see that, in step with the According to, a few gamers are assisting you an awful lot extra than they may be hurting you or vice-versa.

This brief In step with became so useful for me during my time as an assistant train, that I required my assistance to make use of it after I have become a head educate. We did no longer have an abundance of advanced metrics to be had to us at some stage in my days as a educate, However this Consistent with enabled our team to win a divisional championship.

As with every statistic, it must be taken within the context of the game. It’s no longer a tell all, just like a field score isn’t usually an accurate reflection of the game. But, this Rating can sincerely be useful.

My desire is that it’s far useful to you as properly. exact luck, educate!