#kudos to him and the cast for the story that was told

[wilwheaton]

What’s the story here?

This was at a con in ... I think it was Texas, at least a decade ago. I got food poisoning at dinner the night before (with my cast, because of course I did) and was up all night throwing up and trying not to die. When I woke up the next morning, I was through the worst of it, and I went to the con.

I was not originally part of this photo-op. A dude who I think is real garbage put it all together, and deliberately kept me out because adding a cast member meant splitting the earnings by one more person, which would reduce his personal total. I think he worked with the rest of the cast, so he'd be getting some percentage of their earnings, as well.

I think it was Marina who looked around, saw I wasn't there, and lost her fucking shit at this dude for excluding me. She and the rest of the cast refused to sit for a single picture until I was included.

I gotta tell you, as bad as my body felt that morning from throwing up all night and nearly shitting myself to death, my spirit and my heart soared when a con person came over to me and told me what was happening.

So I went to the photo-ops, sat next to Dorn, and we started doing pictures with fans. We'd been there for awhile when this couple came up. I remembered them from the huge show we did in Calgary, and one other show. I remember that the man told us she was the biggest Star Trek fan in the world. Then, they sat down and got ready for the picture. She looked at the camera, and he got down on one knee. The way I remember it, I was one of the first of us to realize what was going on, and I reacted as you see in this photo. I was so happy for both of them.

I clearly remember him saying, "I love you as much as you love Star Trek," before he proposed. It was beautiful.

An important bit of context: the dude who initially excluded me was instrumental in making this moment happen for this couple. So while I think that dude is kind of a creep, I will give him kudos and credit for helping this memory form.

[girlonthefireescape]

I finally got to see All of Us Strangers last night, and I went from HUH. OKAY?? to WT actual F over the course of a few hours and am now at a mixture of HUH. OKAY?? and WTF, I think.

I think what it comes down is: This wasn't the tragedy I expected and definitely not the one I wanted??

Like, I went into this knowing the few Harry/Adam scenes you get in gifs sets (I skipped the ones with Adam's parents because that seemed too spoilery! LOL) and the bits you get from official summaries -- like that the parents are dead/ghosts/what have you.

And then I got to the point in the movie at which I thought, well, is everyone a ghost/dead then? And then we got to the ending and that penultimate scene -- after we'd resolved the bit with the parents -- and it was like, surely not? They're surely not actually gonna go there? And then they did, and I didn't even know what to do with that, but it still wasn't unexpected -- not really? The unexpected bit was more the fact that it was actually the thing that happened. And then the gut punch I didn't even think about as an option was the reveal that not only had he been dead the whole time but no, the key moment and turning point was that first meeting, and I now have 6 pages of notes app notes that I wrote down on my journey home from the cinema, so I can discuss this with my friend once she's seen it and to make sense of my thoughts and feelings, and I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with this movie and this ending now! (Side note: Although writing this really helped?? lol)

Kudos to the entire cast, though! I love Andrew Scott's work, anyway, and I thought his performance felt beautifully stripped back and bare and honest. And I was really intrigued by Paul Mescal. I'd seen him (obv) in Normal People (which wasn't really my favourite show) and The Lost Daughter (I'd forgotten he was even in it until recently), but he didn't really stick with me in terms of his performance or the roles I'd seen him in. But this felt so different and like he threw himself so into that character that wasn't even in that many scenes, he really disappeared into the part for me. I also found that character so interesting, especially in retrospect, because while Harry represented a different generation (loved that bit, especially the discussion of queer vs. gay), his purpose in the narrative was also to be there for Adam. And then the bit at the end when we learn that Adam could've been there for him -- but also couldn't be. Or rather, Harry needed someone to be there for him, and he reached out (had the courage or maybe desperation to) and no one reached back.

That bit where Adam told him in the end that he hadn't been ready to or couldn't let him in like, obviously on the metaphorical level. But it also made me think about it at the level of well, this is a drunk stranger standing in front of your door saying weird things, and you're the only two people in the building. Like, is this a threat? Depends on which genre we're in. Which now reminds me of... Was it a tweet or a post on here or general writing advice? The bit where the characters don't know which genre they're in, so they're not necessarily acting in accordance with the genre guidelines. Like, is this a meetcute or is this person going to rob and/or murder you? Anyway...

I haven't really read any of the reviews yet or watched the actors talk about the movie, so I don't now how we all feel about the question of ghosts vs. hallucinations (vs. dreams vs. at some point I thought about whether this was all part the story/script Adam was writing). And I don't know if it actually matters what they were.

I knew there would be tragedy in this because of the few vague reactions I'd seen, but I expected it to be in the relationship with the parents and not the romance. That subversion! (Was it really one?) Although, the tragedy wasn't even necessarily in the romance but in the figure of Harry in the end? Or emotionally, that's where I was, anyway. The way Adam lost his parents but got to 'resolve' his conflict with them while Harry's parents were still alive but he might as well have been a ghost. Also, the bit where he was a ghost to his family but very visible and corporeal to Adam!

I just read a post that mentioned that different people would take different things from this movie, and that's always so interesting. It reminds me of how different people took different things from Poor Things, which I saw only a couple of weeks ago and ended up being really annoyed with.

I didn't cry at the ending. It happened so fast and was so expected but unexpected -- the ominous music in that scene and also in earlier scenes?? I didn't even have time to process this in order to have a reaction. I did tear up at the Christmas scene, though. The relationship between Adam and his parents, especially with his dad, felt really true and honest and recognisable, especially given the 80s context.

I even laughed a few times now that I think about it! And I think the entire theatre had a (maybe relieved) chuckle when Adam and his dad had muddled their way through the stereotype discussion and in the end agreed that no, Adam can indeed not throw for shit.

I think I'll probably need to see this again at some point. I read this article on how Disney (in line with the streamers in general) wants to stop selling physical media and how this might affect a DVD release, and oh, fuck that. Give us the DVD! I want to put this on my shelf!

#all of us strangers #like wtf was this movie?? #I mean it was GOOD but also wtf #spoilers #and musings based on purely my reactions and thoughts since yesterday #the only review I've read was this morning and it wasn't really a review #paul mescal #andrew scott #random personal post #I have a lot of feelings about this and I'm still not entirely sure what they are

[celestiall0tus]

Miraculous Movie Thoughts

So, I think it's been a hot enough minute and the dust has settled that I'm ready to share my thoughts.

Minor spoilers ahead with minimal salt:

Overall, I thought the movie was good. I did call it a masterpiece and I do stand by it in terms of characters (which I'll get to). Nonetheless, the story was decent, pacing felt fine, and I actually felt something. So, kudos, Zag (not you Austruc)

Now, the part of the movie I really loved, the characters.

I loved Nino and Alya. They are amazing besties. And I loved that Nino was a skater too. Really showing his inner turtle.

I genuinely enjoyed Marinette more in this. To me, she felt so real. This could be some mild projecting as I was that freaky outcast girl in high school, but I felt that level of insecurity from her. Seeing her genuine growth into a confident young lady was just so refreshing with the cherry on top being when she told Chloe off, not taking any of her shit. Like, fuck, 👌

Which brings me to Chloe. I honestly liked this version of her. Yeah she's a bitch and a bully, but it has a different feel than the Chloe in show. I haven't placed it yet, but it was nice seeing.

Adrien was a bitch ass white boy and I loved it. Maybe I spend too much time around the same kind of crowd who think they're all that, that they are the funniest, coolest people when they are just a little too sure of themselves, but I loved it. And I did enjoy seeing the discourse with his father and him mourning his mother.

Which, speaking of the father, this was the Gabriel I wanted all along. I honestly loved his character and actually fucking felt his break down when he saw that chat was Adrien. his song was fun and just so energetic. I loved that he didn't pull his punches and fucking cared about Adrien. Also, he had the best line in the whole fucking movie:

I will set the world on fire and lose myself to the flames

Like, hell yeah bitch. That's the type of villain I just love.

We needed more of Nathalie. You can't just tease me like you did with the ending and the few bits of her that we got. If I don't see Mayura in the next movie in all her glory, then the disappointment will be strong.

Plagg was Plagg. He seemed like a cat to me. I know y'all didn't like the fart jokes but I couldn't care less about them. Tikki was slightly unhinged and I loved it.

The biggest gripe I have is the songs. Not to say that Mari's song VA was bad, but it was such a jarring transition each time to it and the voice did not match at all. It made it impossible for me to watch the songs because of it. I did suffer through the love duet, but I didn't like the decision to give her a different singing VA.

Otherwise, it was a solid experience. hawkmoth being unhinged, but sympathetic and giving a damn about his son. Marinette and Adrien feeling real to me (and I say real in the sense of how I approach characters with grounded realistic perspectives). Supporting cast and villains were cool and story was simple. Overall, a really good time.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous movie #miraculous movie spoliers #writing critical #ml critical #thoughts #my thoughts #ml fandom #mlb fandom #miraculous fandom #movie thoughts

[saltandfire-blog]

Lucerys Velaryon x Aemond Targaryen

Salt and Fire

When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in - blood and salt.

Summary: Lucerys Velaryon belongs to both sea and sky. His whole life he has tried to prove his blood runs thick with not just fire but salt, despite the scandalous accusations that have haunted him and his brothers. Aemond Targaryen is nothing but fire, and before their families tore them asunder, his nephew was one of the few people he did not scorch. History books would have you believe the green and black children of House Targaryen grew up enemies, but before eyes and loyalties were slashed, there was once devotion between the two second sons. As boys grow into men, it is easier to repay an injury, because forgiveness is a burden and revenge a pleasure.

Notes: I’m SO sorry this chapter took much longer to put out than expected! Last chapter I put out way too soon, posting it around 4 in the morning, so the next day when I read through it I was horrified to see just how many mistakes there were! So if you read the chapter 10 when it was freshly posted, I strongly encourage to reread lol. I’m sure there’s still stuff array considering I’m a terrible proof reader, but it’s not humiliating at least. So with this, I admit I did take extra time updating to make sure it was ready. Anyone a beta reader out there?

I also did receive a comment last chapter about Jace’s character development, and I wanted to wave frantically and assure them it was coming! And here it is! Lots of brother moments in this chapter that I’m particularly fond of and really enjoyed writing Jace and Luke. Entirely different brother dynamics than Aemond and Aegons that’s for sure. I know I have also focused a lot on Luke and Laenor’s relationship, but I felt like Rhaenyra needed to be paid her dues, especially after that new trailer (!!) so here is my tribute to her character development through this story as well.

The poem Lucerys reads is not actually from Nymeria or the asoiaf universe, but from the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley. It’s a favorite one of mine that I thought could sound easily Dornish. Florys the Fox also isn’t mine and belongs to G.R.R., though I did embellish and added more to the original story that I hope you guys might have found interesting with this back and forth story exchange between Aemond and Luke.

I really tried my best to go back and read over crumbs about Dragonstone from Davos POV chapters and inserts from F&B, so I hope you enjoyed them!

Thank you so much for all your comments, kudos, & bookmarks! I cannot express how thankful I am for every bit of feedback!

Oh, and issa embar zaldrīzes translation is my sea dragon 😊

Chapter Eleven

disenchanted.

Waves lapped at Luke's feet where he sat along the beach of Dragonstone, his boots having been discarded a while ago where he buried his naked feet beneath the sand and sat with a light booklet in his hand. Three rods had been set up, but it was only Luke looking after them. He glanced up from his reading every few paragraphs to check if any lines were being tugged at, but despite them having casted them quite a while ago there was still nothing. Luke determined something must be amiss and debated pulling them back in to the check the bait. Dragonstone's castellan Ser Alfred Broome had told them how harvester and hunter shrimps were common to catch in the warmer waters around the volcanic island, so yesterday their father made a day of rowing out past the dead coral beds that surrounded Dragonstone and set a net to catch the shrimp they meant to use for larger fish today. They were supposed to meet Laenor after they broke their fasts that morning, but his attendant had informed them their father was running rather late. Recalling how he had indulged more than his usual the day before while at dinner, Luke sighed and determined to go on ahead while he waited for his father to compose himself, taking Ser Lorent with him down to the beach to appease his mother. Even though his brother wasn’t usually interested in fishing, Jace had also come to join him, but Luke suspected he had only come as it was something to do on their off day without any lessons and had brought his bow with a small satchel of arrows to practice with on the beach.

He and Jace were still on tentative terms, but they were each other's only company it could sometimes feel like on the island. Their port was not a busy one like it’s neighboring island and lacked a market of any foreign merchants, nor was it teeming with relatives like on High Tide or the Red Keep. It was only them who resided in the previously vacant castle, and the servants on the island mostly came from the fishing village on the eastern side of the island. His mother told them it had not been properly lived in for over a decade, and remarked with a small smirk it's last resident had been her uncle, Prince Daemon who had left King's Landing with his mother’s brother's egg and a paramour. Though that was all before his marriage to Laena, his father interjected in defense of his sister's honor.

Luke found Dragonstone a very peaceful retreat when one warmed up to its gaudy castle and rather enjoyed life away from court with his family. Life was much more relaxed here. They spent the whole first week they came to the island practically living along the surrounding Blackwater. The sands were soft and the beach was long, and Luke taught Joffrey how to jump over waves and to pick his feet up higher as he ran through the water. Despite Jace and their father's complaints, he even enjoyed the smell of smoke and brimstone in the island's salt air that was particularly distinctive on Dragonstone, especially the closer your traveled towards the Dragonmont that emitted the thick grey smoke. Even his mother and father’s drawn faces had softened after a time and begun to relax in their household away from the capital, and before long, he actually heard his mother confess favoring their decision to move more than anyone. After all her refusals, it seemed Rhaenyra felt life was much easier away from the Red Keep as well.

Though while Luke and his mother wondered why they had never left King’s Landing sooner, it was his brother and father who were struggling. Jace had become uncharacteristically quiet even before they had moved here and it seemed even more prominent now. Back in King's Landing, if Luke felt betrayed by what had happened about the incident in the Dragonpit, it seemed his brother felt just as much, if not more so. Aegon's blatant denial of showing them the tunnels had appeared to have struck Jace rather hard, and as the ever dutiful son, whatever relationship he had held with their eldest uncle seemed to dissipate when he agreed with their mother that he was to create distance between her half-brothers. Jace mentioned Aegon apologized not long after the whole affair and tried to steer his brother back into their old antics, but Luke had found his brother lingering in their apartments and spending much more time with their mother and Joffrey than he ever would have before. That had included Ser Harwin especially.

Jace was not discreet in seeking out whatever attention it was he wanted from Lord Strong, and it had become a problem. So much so, that when Ser Criston was able to mistreat his brother in front of the other knight, it had been enough to provoke a beating so severe it had him disbanded from the City Watch. After returning all three of them back to the Keep, Luke remembered how he had stood in his defense against the Queen before his parents had shown up, and if he hadn't already began to endear himself to Luke, he had earned Luke's admiration after that night. Most of his life he had spent either trying to ignore or hate the man everyone whispered was his true father. Now that he was forced away, he felt unexpectedly dejected to see him go. Enough so that when Ser Harwin implored he should make up with his brother before leaving, he did his best. The two had never been so distant from each other and he could tell Jace was still sour about the slug he had thrown at his shoulder when he tried to pull Luke away from going after Aemond.

Though once the training yard incident happened, it appeared to have been the last straw for his parents.

“Father's not coming,” Jace called out, shooting another arrow into the distance to land in the sand further from his last.

Luke noted he was wearing his new bracers Laenor had made for him out of brand new leather that matched a sheath for the dagger Ser Harwin had given Jace that was now a permanent fixture on his belt these days. Before saying goodbye, Lord Strong had claimed it was a nameday present for Jace since it was approaching, though it did not look newly forged and had three small stones of blue, red, and green imbedded into the hilt. No one commented it seemed a much more sentimental gift than just for his brother's nameday. In fact, his mother had even looked away when Ser Harwin pressed it into Jace's hand, and their father handled it for a few moments before he gave it back to his son, only to gift him a sheath to place it in a few weeks later.

“He's just running late.”

Jace shrugged, loosing another arrow before traipsing off to go collect the rest from the beach.

Surprisingly, it was their father who had been the most publicly upset after the training yard fight. Ser Harwin gave his account of it all and told them how he had felt Ser Criston had handled Jace roughly and had only reacted to slander being thrown at his and their mother's honor. When the Queen called for Ser Harwin to be disbanded from his position, it was Laenor who pushed back rather abrasively about the decision.

“It was Ser Harwin that laid hands on my son, Ser Laenor. And we have already established years ago that Ser Joffrey provoked such an attack on himself when he threatened your own wife.”

“Your Kingsguard is a mad dog!” he exclaimed, angrier than Luke could say he had ever seen him, reminding him that his father was Velaryon but also half dragon. “First he’s shown clemency for killing Ser Joffrey Lonmouth at our wedding, and now he dares lay hands on my son!”

“Disguise it how you wish, I will no longer turn the other way and live beside this man who dishonors my family, your Grace. How much longer will you turn your eyes from the crimes this man continues to commit while in his position? When will consequences finally be sought?”

Viserys, who had been his own witness to it all, faced Luke's father and everyone was silent while the King hesitated to answer Laenor's calls. Though the Queen swept ahead and turned her chin up at the heir of Driftmark's challenge.

“Ser Laenor, have no doubts that I would gladly wish to see the day decency and duty are conducted about this castle, and consequences dulled out indeed.”

There were no words of threat, Luke had thought, but the way his father straightened and his heated breathing quieted, his mouth setting tightly against his teeth as he and Rhaenyra glared at Alicent, it definitely seemed perceived as one. Like the Queen had just drawn steel against them.

#hotd #house of the dragon #fanfiction #house targaryen #aemond targaryen #westeros #aemond targaryen fanfic #lucerys targaryen #aemond x lucerys #lucerys velaryon #lucemond #lucerys velaryon fanart #prince lucerys #aemond targaryen fanfiction #aemond targaryen x lucerys velaryon #archive of our own #a03 fanfic

[sunnyrealist]

Chapter 30: An Expert Guide 

The Sun, the Moon, and All Our Stars

Summary and Details…

Chapter Background and Summary: Kate has just finished another school year as the Hogwarts assistant librarian - finally, it's summer! Sebastian also has a week off of work, and he asked Kate to accompany him on a camping trip to the Scottish Highlands, where he plans to hike into the mountains to explore and seek magical artifacts and treasure in various ruins, caves, and a long-abandoned castle. Kate has never camped before or been on such an adventure, and he's thrilled to share the experience with her. Another recent development: Sebastian purchased a special gift (a beautiful piano) for Kate as a symbol of his intent - he wants their courtship to end in marriage. It turned out that Sebastian was keeping his musical talent a secret; he can play piano even better than Kate can.

Pairing: Aged-up, post-Azkaban Sebastian Sallow x Kate Mayflower (my OC)

Content warnings: In general, this story is rated 18+, so MNDI, but there really are no content warnings for this chapter.

The full chapter is available below the cut; it can also be found on AO3 (link is posted below). Please leave some feedback. A comment, like, or Kudos would be quite motivational.

Chapter 30: An Expert Guide

Sebastian glides slowly, walking through the air to the ground, landing perfectly on his feet. 

Kate does not.

With a thud, she lets out an “oof” and struggles to get up from where she plummeted directly to the ground. Managing to at least support herself on her hands and knees, she almost instantly feels a wave of nausea move through her body.

“Ooh, are you okay?” Sebastian asks, dropping down to his knees next to her. He places his arm over her back.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Kate replies, her voice strained. “Don’t look-”

She attempts to hold it back but cannot. The next moment, she retches. Dizzy, she spits a few times, trying to remove the foul taste from her mouth. 

Sebastian soothingly rubs her back. “It’s okay. It’s okay, sweetheart.”

Kate’s eyes fill with tears. Her face is crimson and hot. “I am so embarrassed. Sorry. I feel like I’ve already ruined our trip. This has to be the worst start ever.”

He kisses Kate’s back, then stands up and walks over to pluck a flower from the ground. Using his wand, he transfigures the yellow flower into a yellow teacup, then casts Aguamenti, filling it with cool water. Kate, now kneeling, looks pale and positively dejected. With a concerned look, he steps back over to her, holding out the cup. Though surprised, she accepts it and begins to sip the water, swirling it around her mouth, then spitting it out. Eventually, the aftertaste of acidic vomit disappears, and she is able to finally drink the rest, letting it soothe her throat.

“Thank you,” Kate says quietly, looking humiliated. Sarcastically, she murmurs, “Who knew that touching a beat up old mitten could cause such a disgusting sight?”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Sebastian tells her with care and consideration. “I know you don’t do well with apparition. You told me that the first night we met. I didn’t even consider that it might happen with a portkey, too.” He places his arm around the small of her back, kneeling next to her. “Take as much time as you need. I don’t want to push you. And our trip is not ruined. It’ll begin when you feel right once more.”

She closes her eyes, trying to calm herself. Taking deep breaths of the fresh, cool air, she inhales and exhales slowly. Her blonde hair flows behind her, picked up by a slight breeze. Birds sing in the distance. Sebastian continues to rub her back softly. Her eyelids slowly begin to open, seeing nothing but green grasses, white and golden wildflowers, rocky mountains standing tall in the distance, and a blue sky peeking out behind a curtain of gray clouds. 

He kisses the top of her head. “Isn’t the view gorgeous? And this is only the start. We’re going to have a wonderful time, sunshine.”

Kate adjusts, sitting on her bum and leaning up against his chest. Sebastian wraps his arms further around her. 

“Do you see - there?” He points to the left of a mountain, to a gently sloping hill. “That’s the direction we’ll head in today. We should eventually reach a forest, and that’s where we can make camp.” He kisses her head again. “How are you feeling now, Kate?”

“Better,” she whispers in response. “It’s beautiful, Sebastian.”

Kate slowly moves to stand up; Sebastian helps her. Once she is steady on her feet, she examines her hands. Having landed so roughly, they’re full of dirt, and one even has a bit of blood on it. Perhaps she had landed on a stick or something sharp? She can’t remember, but the stinging overcomes most of her senses.

“Let me fix that up for you,” Sebastian says, pulling out his wand again. Using Aguamenti again, water trickles onto her palms. She manages to clean them up. Then, he whispers a healing charm, and she watches as the little patches in which she must have scraped her hand disappear.

“Thank you,” she replies, then tries to dust off her mustard-colored pantaloons and the matching brown and green plaid blouse with puffed sleeves. She fishes tan-colored leather gloves from her pocket, pulling them on with care.

Stepping before her, Sebastian holds out his arm, and with a smile, asks, “Shall we begin?” His hair is mussed up a little by the wind, and his freckled cheeks are slightly tinted pink.

Kate almost had to laugh that morning when she saw the clothing he had chosen. It was almost a perfect match to what she wore - a long, green coat over a brown plaid vest, white shirt, and brown trousers. She cannot help but admire how perfectly he looks here in the Highlands, as if he is exactly where he belongs, completely in his element. 

She accepts his arm, and they begin to stroll towards the hill. 

Without an established pathway, Kate has to watch carefully where she steps. Within a few minutes, she stumbles a bit. 

“I hope I don’t slow you down, my moon,” Kate worries aloud. “I’ve only ever gone on easy hikes. This is quite the adventure for me.”

Sebastian shakes his head. “There is no need to rush. I am in no hurry - I’m just happy to be on this adventure with you.” He grins. “The mountain, caves, and castle can wait - we’ll go at whatever pace is comfortable for you, my sweet sun. You’ll get used to the terrain soon. And a couple days from now, when it’s not possible to trek any further on foot, we’ll use our brooms.”

Kate stretches out her arm, running her fingertips along the wildflowers as they walk. “I’m glad I have such an expert guide for my first camping trip.”

Sebastian noisily kicks a little rock in his way, and suddenly, a doe and fawn bound out of their hiding place among the tall grasses. Kate gasps, smiling, and follows them with her eyes until they disappear from view, absolutely mesmerized.

When Kate and Sebastian finally reach the top of the hill, the muscles in her legs are burning.

“Maybe we could take a break for lunch, Seb,” Kate suggests. “I could use a rest.”

“That sounds good. I’m famished,” he agrees.

Sebastian and Kate each pull out a small bag from their pockets, then cast charms to enlarge them. Sebastian fishes through the many compartments of his satchel in search of a blanket on which they can sit and enjoy a picnic. Kate opens her bag, which has turned into a large trunk equipped with an extension charm. She places it on the ground, then steps inside of it, disappearing as she climbs down a ladder. Inside is essentially a tiny cellar. On one side of the room, there is a closet, with clothing folded and organized. Another wall holds various grooming tools and potions, medicines (just in case), and other miscellaneous items that might come in handy. Finally, the third has all kinds of food and beverages, organized perfectly by course.

Kate returns to the Highlands, where Sebastian is laying on the blanket, staring up at the clouds with his hands behind his head. She smiles at him, carrying a basket with items for their picnic. She sits down and organizes it all - apple cider, ham and cheddar sandwiches, fresh strawberries, and sliced cucumbers. 

“This is perfect,” Sebastian tells her with his mouth already full. “Are you certain we have enough food packed for the whole journey?” 

“Yes, Sebastian, I’m positive!” She laughs, recalling how much convincing was necessary to just let her handle the food on their trip. 

“Well, I’m going to really tuck in, then,” he quickly replies, popping a cucumber slice into his mouth.

As hungry as Sebastian is, he makes sure that Kate has her fill before eagerly chowing down on whatever is left. 

“If this was not enough, I have plenty more food in my trunk,” she informs him.

“No, this was just right,” he murmurs before gulping down the rest of the cider in his cup. “Thank you for lunch.”

Sebastian helps Kate clean up and follows her inside her extendable trunk. There’s hardly enough room for the both of them. He looks around in wonder at how organized the tiny space is. 

“You’re quite prepared,” he notes.

“Quite. I always am,” she replies, setting down their now clean plates. 

She turns around carefully to face him, which is quite a task in this space that is really meant for just one person. “But what about you?” she asks, her tone turning flirty. “Are you always prepared?”

Sebastian looks taken aback when Kate’s hands reach around his hips to grip his arse and pull his groin flush against her. He quickly recovers, flashing her a devilish smile. His hands trail from her hips to her abdomen to her ribs, finally settling over her breasts. 

Leaning down to her ear, he rasps, “I may have been taken by surprise here, Miss Mayflower, but I am always up for whatever you are willing to give.”

Pulling her face to his, Sebastian captures her lips hungrily. Kate reciprocates, deepening the kiss. She keens loudly as he lays kisses down her neck and back up again while squeezing her tits. Her hands travel up his back, pulling him closer and closer to her until there is no space between their bodies. His tongue runs along her bottom lip and then enters her mouth. He pushes Kate roughly against the wall, rattling the dishware. Suddenly, a little cup falls, shattering on the floor, completely breaking the spell of arousal.

“Oh!” Kate cries out. “Shit.”

Sebastian pulls back as she examines the cup, giving her as much space as is possible in the tiny storage closet. “Sorry,” he murmurs, breathing heavily. “I’m sure it can be fixed…”

Kate pulls out her wand. “Reparo.”

The shattered pieces of glass lift from the ground and regain the shape of a teacup. She uses her wand to levitate it back to the high shelf where it belongs. 

Her heart rate finally begins to slow back down. “I suppose we should get back to what we were doing… it’s probably time to continue on our travels, right?”

Sebastian nods in reluctant affirmation, coming down from his high. “We still have a long way to go until we reach the forest. We probably won’t arrive there until around dinner time.” 

Kate closes her eyes and sighs. “Then, yes, we should move on.”

Sebastian nods again; she gestures for him to climb the ladder. She follows close behind, silently cursing the teacup.

Kate is relieved to be no longer walking uphill, but there is no forest in sight, which means it will be a long trek. It will be the same scenery for quite some time - tall grasses, wildflowers, and mountains in the distance.

“I have an idea to pass the time,” she said cheerfully. “I want to know everything about you. What better time to ask each other questions?” 

“I’m up for it.”

Kate grins, then looks up at the sky, deciding on her first question. “Hmmmm….I’ll start. Birthday.”

“31st of October,” Sebastian replies. 

“That’s Halloween!” Kate exclaims. “You were born on Halloween?!”

“Yes,” he answers, smiling. “Everyone in my family always thought it was perfect that Anne and I were born on Halloween - the day of mischief. I love that my birthday is celebrated on the day when the barrier between the mundane world and the mysterious is blurred.”

“I like that,” Kate notes. “And you probably remember meeting me on my birthday - May the 19th.”

“I’ll never forget it,” Sebastian affirms, taking her hand in his. “One of the most important days of my life. Really, Kate.” 

She blushes. For a moment, they walk quietly. 

“I suppose it’s my turn. What is your favorite meal?” Sebastian asks.

Kate deliberates in her mind. “It depends what you mean. Dessert is my favorite meal of the day. I love sweets.” She laughs, and he joins in. “I love ice cream, which you know. But outside of dessert, I would say my absolute favorite meal is roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and fresh, soft dinner rolls. You?”

“I love ice cream, too. I mean, who doesn’t?” He grins. “For a meal - probably meat pies. I like savory meat mixed with a buttery, flaky crust.”

“Favorite color?” Kate asks next.

“Dark green,” Sebastian answers without thinking. 

“That suits you. It makes me think of forests and pine trees - and the journey we’re on at this moment! And for me, yellow. It makes me think of happiness.”

“I figured that,” Sebastian replies, squeezing her hand. “Miss Yellow Personified. Now, since you love books and reading so much, what is your favorite genre?”

“Oh! That is a difficult question. I like so many different genres, but I do like fiction. I hope you don’t look down on me for this, but I especially love romantic stories. Tales of adventure are good, too. If a book has both, it’s a winner for me. How about you, Sebastian?”

“I honestly like a number of genres but adventure and mystery most of all. I like to guess the culprit and see if I’m right,” he explains.

“I see! Are you familiar with Sherlock Holmes? He’s a character in muggle literature - a detective. The stories are fascinating,” she tells him excitedly.

“I’ve heard of Sherlock Holmes, but I haven’t read any of the stories. I’m not all that familiar with muggle literature, but I’m interested,” he admits. “I know you’ll teach me a lot about it over time.”

“I’ll procure a copy. Let it be a gift from me to you,” Kate suggests, smiling.

“Sure,” he agrees. A few moments later, he asks, “What do you like to do on a day off of work when it’s raining outside?”

“Hmmm… Sleep in late and not worry at all about the time. Then, I might do some baking. Afterwards, I might read while listening to some music, and then I’d take a long, warm bubble bath before bed.”

“That sounds lovely, and you had better invite me over to join in with you one day. A bubble bath with you sounds like a dream come true, my love,” he says with a wicked smile. 

“You insatiable man!” Kate chides, purposely bumping into him. 

“You aren’t wrong - I am insatiable when it comes to you!” Sebastian laughs. Then, his voice becomes low. “My perfect rainy day… would be one spent in bed with you, sunshine.”

She blushes, but then, she considers it and realizes that she’d want that, too. “I feel the same,” she replies in a quiet voice.

“Of course, I like to read and listen to music, too. You could cook and bake for me while I spend time studying. I’d happily fill my belly with your delicious food.” He smiles. “Any time I spend with you is my favorite. In all seriousness, I think… I think I have been alone for so long that I had forgotten what having a real connection with another person is like. I’m so happy to have met you, Kate. I don’t want to go through life alone anymore.”

“Nor I,” she replies, squeezing his hand. “I love you, Sebastian.”

“I love you, too.”

#hogwarts legacy fanfic #hogwarts legacy sebastian #sebastian sallow x oc #post azkaban sebastian #hufflepuff x slytherin #aged up sebastian sallow #aged up sebastian #hl fanfiction #hogwarts legacy oc #hl oc

[vldkeith]

keithtober🔪🎃💢 week one: texas or japan🇯🇵

shiro wonders if keith might like to reconnect with family someday.

☕️ko-fi | 🔗read on ao3 - please leave a kudos on ao3 if u read this story (even if it's on tumblr!)

--

For the past hour, Keith’s been doing his monthly knife maintenance in the Castleship kitchen—sharpening it, polishing it, that sort of thing. Despite the tediousness, it’s actually a pretty serene exercise, and Keith has discovered throughout the years that he enjoys this time of working methodically almost as much as he enjoys actually using his knife. It clears his mind, resets him a little; that’s why he always does it at the end of the month, so he can get a fresh start going next month.

That might’ve fallen by the wayside at this point, though. Keith estimates based on the knife’s dullness that it’s been a month since he last cleaned it, but he has no idea if it’s actually the end of the month on Earth in any way that matters. He’s been gone too long to keep track of things like that, and there’s no way he’s asking Lance, the only one who is actually keeping track of things like that.

He swipes once more, appreciating the shhhing! sound the action produces, and manages not to stab himself when someone appears suddenly right in front of him and he jumps about a mile high.

“Holy shit,” Keith curses, scrambling to get a hand around the handle of his knife, which just clattered onto the kitchen counter. He looks up quickly, sees a tuft of white hair, large muscles, and skin-tight clothes, and blows a strand of hair out of his face, annoyed. “Don’t sneak up on me when I’m doing this. I’ve told you that, like, a thousand times.”

“Sorry,” Shiro says, not sounding very sorry at all. He cranes his neck forward, examining Keith’s progress on the knife, and nods approvingly. “Glad to see you’re keeping up with this even now, though.”

“I’m not that incapable of routine,” Keith grumbles, though the response lacks bite. Shiro can be an annoying brother-dad, for sure, but an annoying brother-dad is leagues better than no brother-dad, and Keith had gotten too close to the latter to ever truly wish for Shiro’s absence again. Even now, his sudden appearance comforts Keith.

They both stand there for a moment in amicable silence, Shiro’s eyes flitting absently from the tip of Keith’s blade to the handle, before Keith grows tired of not saying anything. Shiro must’ve come for a reason, after all.

“So…?” he prompts, grasping his knife and swinging it deftly back into its sheath at his belt. He looks at Shiro expectantly.

Shiro lets out a half-laugh, amused. “So what?”

“I know you didn’t just come to grade my knife maintenance skills,” Keith responds drily, raising an eyebrow. “So, what is it? Did I fuck something up again? Leave the training robots on?”

A brief expression of sadness falls over Shiro’s face, like he’s actually hurt by the insinuation that he only shows up to berate Keith, and Keith hurries to correct himself.

“It was a joke,” he mutters, casting his eyes down. “Sorry.”

Shiro’s face lights up again, and he chuckles, reaching over to shove Keith lightly on the shoulder. The action still sends Keith stumbling about 5 inches back, though, because Shiro will never know his strength. “It’s okay. Should’ve known you were just being crabby.”

Keith mouths crabby to himself, half-mocking and half-amused, but Shiro breezes past the subject quickly before he has a chance to properly respond.

“You were right, though. I did come here for a reason.”

Immediately, Keith’s guard is up, years of disciplinary action from people who weren’t even Shiro flashing before his eyes and constructing a shield of bricks around him. He trusts Shiro more than that, though, and makes an effort not to let them pile up too high.

He stays silent, waiting for Shiro to get to the point. Eventually, Shiro sighs, raising his human hand to rub the back of his neck. “I’ve just been thinking, recently, and I wanted to know your thoughts on a certain…proposition.”

It’s not like Shiro to be this evasive—he’s not direct in the way someone like Keith is, but he doesn’t tend to waste time on hesitancy and nervousness. Keith regards Shiro suspiciously, his anxiety mounting with every passing second that Shiro doesn’t tell him what he’s getting at. Is everyone okay? Is he going to leave again? Keith’s stomach clenches painfully. He wouldn’t…

“I was wondering what you’d think about going to Japan with me someday.”

The words stop Keith in his tracks, and he’s at a complete, utter loss for a moment. The connection is clear as day—he’s Japanese, Shiro is Japanese, so why not make a joint trip at some point? But the implication of family, of genuine connection, makes Keith feel warm and nauseated at the same time.

“For—For what?” Keith croaks, and curses himself for allowing his voice to sound so vulnerable.

Shiro shrugs, but the motion is cautious, with an eye always trained on Keith for his reaction. “I have family there,” he says, talking slow like he’s choosing his words carefully, “that I’ve been meaning to visit for a while. I’d like you to meet them. And…if you have family there, too, then I’d like to meet them as well. If you’re comfortable with that.”

The mere thought of interacting with his extended family overwhelms Keith so fiercely that he has to stare at his shoes for a moment to get himself back in order, to get the room to stop being wavy and out of focus. He’s not going to think about that right now. “Where is your family in Japan?” he asks instead, forcing the subject away from his own direct relation.

Shiro hums a little, considering the question calmly. “I have some cousins and aunts and uncles in Miyagi, but my grandparents moved to Okinawa when my parents were young.”

“That’s where dad said his family was from,” Keith replies without thinking, so struck by the realization that Shiro has a relationship with the same place Keith’s dad did that he forgets how much he doesn’t want to talk about his own blood family. “Okinawa, I mean. His parents moved there when he was a teenager.”

“Really?” Shiro’s smile is broad, if a little exasperated. He shakes his head. “Well, it makes sense, I guess. With the American military base being there.”

Keith nods, remembering the sardonic, bitter comments his dad would make about the Okinawa military base. He was no nationalist by any means, but Keith had always gotten the impression that he resented the American government for having such a permanent, all-encompassing presence in Japan, of making Okinawa a military base first and a city second in the minds of the rest of the world. Keith, anti-imperialist as he always was, shared the sentiment.

By the knowing look Shiro is giving him, Keith suspects that maybe he feels the same way, too. Bold move from two guys ostensibly still in the U.S. military.

“I would love if we could go back together,” Shiro continues, his face open and earnest in the way only Shiro can be. Keith tries his best not to look away from such a blatant display of familial affection; he’s out of practice with this sort of thing, and it’s not like he was even very good at it before Shiro disappeared, anyway. But having two father figures abruptly taken from him has taught Keith that it does nobody any good to reject others’ attempts to be genuine like this, least of all himself.

He swallows hard. Perhaps he should extend that philosophy to Shiro’s offer, rather than just maintaining eye contact. “I…” he begins, but he’s not sure what to say, doesn’t know how to go about discussing this without shutting down or running away. Maybe he should just express that? “I don’t—I don’t really know what to say. It’s—like, a little scary, thinking about going there. I’ve never had contact with any of my family there. I kind of got the impression maybe they didn’t like dad or approve of him.”

Shiro frowns. “You think? Did he do anything?”

“Besides getting an alien girlfriend?” Keith asks wryly, half-smiling. “Not sure. But it would make sense that he would kind of…pull back from family after dealing with what happened with Krolia.” Keith lets his gaze drop, just this once. “I mean, would you want to bring your half-alien kid who might freak out and go alien berserk at any minute to meet your family?”

“Well, that is kind of what I’m offering to do right now, Keith,” Shiro says pointedly, making Keith turn scarlet.

“Okay,” Keith stammers, looking anywhere but at Shiro, “but that’s—that’s different?”

Shiro gives him a doubtful, amused look, and Keith huffs, folding his arms over his chest protectively.

“…Are you sure you want me meeting your family?” he asks quietly after a moment. Shiro sighs and reaches across the counter to lay a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder.

“They already know about you, you know,” he starts, voice soft but firm, “and they’ve been asking to meet you for a while. They’re thrilled that you’re Japanese, because that’s common ground, but they also understand that you’re important to me. That you’re like my little brother. For that reason alone, they want to know you. Mostly so they can send you otoshidama お年玉.”

A chuckle breezes past Keith’s lips at that, and he finally meets Shiro’s eyes again, allowing the smile to stay on his face. This might be the first time Shiro has told Keith that he sees him as family too, he realizes. Warmth flows through his body, the kind he hasn’t been able to feel in years. “I…guess I’d like that. Mostly for the money.” He mirrors Shiro’s language back at him with a smirk, and Shiro laughs, squeezing his shoulder slightly before letting go.

“Excellent.” Shiro claps his hands together. “First thing we’ll do when we get out of this space hell is buy some tickets to Japan, then. If you and Lance aren’t too busy planning the wedding, of course,” he adds cheekily.

Keith honest-to-god squeaks a noise of surprise, sputtering, “What—What are you talking about, we aren’t even dating, he hates me, you’re fucking insane—” until Shiro silences him with a wave of his hand and a chortle.

“For now,” he says with a knowing smile, before straightening up and stretching out his back. “Anyway, I’m off to get Hunk and Pidge away from the training robots. I think they’re trying to program them to be waiters, and we really don’t need the castle’s bandwidth dealing with something like that.”

He turns to go, and Keith opens his mouth to say goodbye, but he’s cut off when Shiro suddenly pauses right in front of the door and glances back over his shoulder.

“As far as your family goes,” he begins, looking at Keith seriously, “we’ll do that when you’re ready. I won’t push you. But, think about it. It might be good for you.”

Keith takes a deep breath, and nods weakly. “Yeah. I will.”

“Thank you.” Shiro looks satisfied. He presses the button to activate the doors, and they open with a whoosh! “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck,” Keith calls as Shiro leaves, settling his head in his hands and tapping the handle of his knife idly.

It’s weird to have family again. It’ll be even weirder to have extended family, something he’s never experienced before. But it’s worth a try.

And who knows? Maybe someday Keith can build himself a life with a primary characteristic that isn’t isolation. His thoughts wander, only a little lovesick, to Lance, and then to Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, Adam…

It’s possible he’s built that life for himself already. If he gives it a chance.

Now that is something that is totally going to wreck his loner brand image.

☆ ☆ ☆

#klance #klance fanfiction #keithtober2022 #keithtober #broganes #voltron #renfic #WOOO FIRST ONE

[fencer-x]

HAPPY SASAMYUUTAI OPENING DAY!

I've just returned from the very first show, and now you people have to hear me shriek about it! I took copious notes, so sit back, relax, and let's crack open a cold one with these boys. There will of course be spoilers, so if you're waiting for the stream on the 31st to watch the show, then go on, git. Everyone else, behind the cut!

"How many people went?"

It's only opening day, so there will be more people at later shows (I was 8th row today, but I'll only be 15th row next Friday), but the theater was filled to about 50% capacity. It should be noted that more people will probably be attending shows that have after-talks with the cast, which this one did not, so it wasn't as 'in-demand'.

Before the actual show started, they had an announcement over the speakers to tell audience members the rules of the theater (normal stuff). This is often done by actors in character for musicals and plays based on anime and such, so this time it was Miyano delivering an announcement from the 'Disciplinary Committee' XDD He was interrupted about halfway through by Sasaki who was mostly there to distract and flirt.

The opening 'credits' where they introduced the cast were hella gorgeous. They overlaid this beautiful moving night-sky-scape over most of the set, and there was a kind of laser light show almost that was really intricately choreographed. I can't wait for the stream so everyone else can see it and hope it comes through. It was kinda breathtaking!

For the play itself, let's get one thing clear: they had to trim a LOT of fat. They shrank nearly 7 volumes down to just 2 hours of time, which is like half the anime. I was worried that was going to result in a rushed product that didn't have any of the heart of the original. However, while I won't say it was PERFECT, and it DID feel a bit rushed, it was still true to the original manga, I thought, and they did a great job of snipping and rearranging and revising scenes to allow a more rapid pace. Kudos to the scriptwriter!

Anyone who's read the manga knows that the first volume has a LOT of flashbacks and isn't really told in chronological order. The scriptwriter wisely said "fuck that" and told the story in order. So we start with the fight scene and then develop Sasaki and Miyano's relationship from there.

Sensei mentioned in the pamphlet interview that they had actually ADDED a few scenes from the manga that didn't make it into the anime, which was shocking to me considering how much they needed to shorten it, but they did indeed add a few scenes--even some ORIGINAL scenes. One of those scenes was a scene of Kuresawa and Miyano talking in the nurse's office after Miyano escorts Kuresawa away from the fight. It's here that Kuresawa mentions the reason for the fight (a scene we don't see until much later in the manga, and even then it's between Kuresawa and Sasaki). It was a nice little addition to help you understand that these two were already friends. The early minutes of the play have a fair bit of Miyano-Kuresawa-and Tashiro bonding scenes that reinforce their friendship for the audience.

Hanzawa is also introduced VERY early; we actually SEE him talking to Miyano a bit before he asks him to deliver the printouts to Hirano in chapter 3.

One way they increased the pace of the action, too, was to actually just…increase the pace of speaking. These boys' mouths were ROCKET SHIPS, and this was particularly amusing when Miyano went on his long and rambling rants XD his word vomit nearly became just that.

One thing that I found a little jarring, though, was the interspersing of monologue and dialogue. In the Live Reading events, we saw the lines that were meant to be in the characters' heads given a bit of echo-y reverb, which worked well. They tried it here too, to much less success IMHO. This was mostly because the lines were going so quickly and the switch between internal/external happening back and forth and back and forth. There were more than a few times I was like o_O before recalling "oh right that was supposed to be said in his head."

In the play, Sasaki reads the manga he first borrows from Miyano on the same day as he receives it, giving his thoughts on the manga he received in the morning later that afternoon. Miyano is shocked, since he EXPLICITLY told Sasaki not to read it in public, but Sasaki assures him he did it on the rooftop, where no one would see. I assume this was a change to avoid having to do scene changes and indications of time passing, and it worked nicely I thought. Sasaki sneaking off to read porn on the school rooftop seems likely XD

There was no Valentine's Day scene and no pocky scene, but we did get the cookies scene and Miyano explaining how he got into BL. And of course the BLEP made it in a-okay, fret not! Ogasawara's introduction was retained as well.

I also don't know HOW it wasn't fixed in rehearsals, since it must have been happening all the time, but these boys were dropping their cell phones left and right when they would bend over and it would slip from their pockets. Sasaki dropped his first and continued on with a scene, and then Miyano in another scene dropped his and it clattered OFF THE STAGE and into the audience and Kuresawa had to jump down into the audience seats to recover it lmao.

Some scenes had to be removed entirely or merged with others to streamline the show, and one of those was…Sports Day. Yes, the entire confession setting was changed lol. This wasn't SO bad actually; Sasaki confesses quietly on the train, Miyano quietly freaks out about it, and then we immediately segue to the next day where they're talking about a new manga (as at Sports Day), and Miyano is reflecting that WHEW they're acting normally and he had nothing to worry about and maybe he mishear--"I'm in love with you, Miyano."

The mask scene where Sasaki watches him sleep as well as the phone call were of course retained and were quite cute.

The next major scene is when Miyano learns he's been volunteered to do the drag pageant, and Hanzawa's laughter is quite creepy here. A+++ job to the actor. When they rope in Kuresawa to play backup to Miyano's entry, Hanzawa tries to get Tashiro to cross-dress as well…and actually wears him down. This leads to a scene that will likely be a daily ad-lib scene, where each show has a different bit of ad-libbing here. Hanzawa brings out a paper bag that he says has an outfit he's sure will look great on Tashiro. The thing is, I think the costume staff put things in there WITHOUT TELLING THE ACTORS WHAT IT IS, so they get surprised by the contents as well. Today, it was a pair of what looked like knock-off Minnie Mouse ears, complete with a bow.

Shortly after this scene, Kuresawa tries on his schoolgirl outfit and makes his appearance as 'Tasuko'. When he swans out on stage, he asks a random audience member in the front row if he looks good. When she inevitably says he does, he apologizes and says he has a girlfriend already.

It's around here that a few scenes get rolled together. There are two separate scenes of Miyano trying on his pageant outfit in the manga: chapter 22 and chapter 23. These are combined into a single scene, with Hanzawa giving the talk to Miyano from Chapter 22 rolling right into him getting called away and Sasaki finding Miyano in Chapter 23, even though in canon these seem to take place on separate days.

We then move into the cultural festival itself. At one point, Tashiro, Miyano, and Kuresawa run around looking at all the booths. Tashiro spots one waaaay in the back, and they squint to read it: "Sasaki and Miyano…is getting…a movie!" XDDD cue clapping from the audience for anyone who managed to miss the announcement before.

At the Badboy Fortune-telling Cafe this time, we actually get Ogasawara in addition to Sasaki and Hirano. Unfortunately for Sasaki, this means he gets chewed out from both sides about not looking rough enough around Miyano. They drag him to the side to do a My Fair Lady (My Bad Boy?) on him in another segment that will probably be ad-libbed daily.

In today's scene, Ogasawara tells Sasaki to deliver a one-liner from a 'badboy with two completely different sides to him' (kind of like the trope of the badboy who adopts a kitten), and Sasaki comes up with: "Yo bitch, can't believe you kept me waitin' for our date, but gosh your makeup looks absolutely divine."

After this, Ogasawara drags Tashiro away for a 'Become a Badboy' experience, which Tashiro is absolutely stoked for XD "Become a badboy in body and soul!"

At the drag pageant, we finally see Miyano all dolled up and…I'm sorry XD;;;; to Miyano's absolute delight I'm sure, he doesn't look ANYTHING like a girl, let alone a beautiful one lmao. They tried! But they failed.

A new scene is added among the four third-years as they reflect on this being their last cultural festival together ;;;;; and then when they decide to go watch the fireworks together…Sasaki of course peaces out to go be with Miyano, much to Ogasawara's irritation, who must be bodily dragged away by wingmen Hirano and Hanzawa.

The fireworks in the fireworks scene were tbh a little underwhelming, because I expected them to do more effects like they had in the opening, but otherwise it was just lovely. They REALLY paid loving homage to sensei's hand fetish. We are being fed well.

One scene I was DELIGHTED to see newly added was…the New Year's extra! Yes, to streamline things and/or give more of the cast time to shine, they switched the movie date for this scene. I definitely didn't mind, as it's a scene we didn't get to see in the anime (and they stuck fairly close to it), and also we got to see more of Miyano's KagiHira brainrot when Hirano showed up with Sasaki rather than his roommate on his arm.

But it wasn't just them showing up…Hanzawa showed up too--WITH HIS BROTHER. Yup, Masaomi is actually in the play for a couple of different scenes with quite a few lines! HANZAWA MASAOMI, WHO WAS NOT EVEN MENTIONED IN THE PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR THIS PLAY, HAD MORE 'SCREENTIME' THAN KAGIURA AKIRA IN THE ENTIRE ANIME. The Kagi-kun erasure is real.

It's during this new year's scene that Miyano realizes his feelings and decides to confess, so we quickly segue into the next bit with all the near-misses of Miyano trying to corner Sasaki and failing. The almost-kiss in the stairwell was done really well and seemed natural. After Sasaki runs away and Miyano reaffirms his own feelings for Sasaki, we even get some shoujo doritos like in the anime. Throwback!

The kiss scene was….something. In a very good way. Of course, the actors weren't actually going to kiss, so if you're hoping for that, get outta here lol. Even without Covid, I doubt they would have had actual lip-locking. You don't usually see that here, even for actual BL plays. So I was wondering how they were going to hide it. They did it really tastefully, angling their bodies so you couldn't see their actual faces but they were clearly still 'kissing'. One thing I REALLY liked, though, was that while in the manga, Miyano keeps his bag on his shoulder when they kiss, here--perhaps because of bodily logistics, maybe it kept sliding off--they have Sasaki take the bag from his shoulder for him when he steps in for a kiss. And he just does it…so slowly…and carefully, peeling it off of Miyano and gently setting it down before cupping his cheek. It got me. That's some good shit right there.

And that, friends, is the "Sasaki and Miyano" stage play! It was a fantastic show, and I can't wait to go again (I'll be back at it Friday!). As a reminder, the final two shows will be livestreamed on the interwebs, so everyone will be able to see it in living color next Sunday Japan time (Saturday 11 PM EST and Sunday 3 AM EST). Details like cost and how to watch haven't been announced yet, but I'll definitely post them here.

Hope this was somewhat coherent!

#sasaki to miyano #sasaki and miyano #sasamyuutai #reports

[i-rosemarie]

Chaos and Order (A perfect balance) - Wanda Maximoff x reader [Part 2 - Meet & Greet]

AO3 Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

If you enjoy the story, please drop by AO3 and give me a kudos.

Words: 10k+

A/N: Have fun reading

“Nothing yet, but hopefully soon.” The door slitted open as a handsome man with cocky attitude walked in. You realized it was Anthony Stark. You didn’t keep up with the superheroes, but you sure knew about rich people. You were one of them, or to be exact, your parents were. It wasn’t a secret that your father and mother were famously known with their weaponry empire in the United Kingdom. Their fames branched out and brought many famous people to come to your doorstep. This man was no exception. He was indeed your parents’ good acquaintance. Stark industry was very famous for its profit and politics, after all. This was nothing hidden.

Also, your remarkable memory told you that you’ve met this man before.

Funny, how life led your paths to cross again after all these years.

You didn’t have to read his mind to know he’s cocky and very, very arrogant. His self-centered façade could easily rival yours if you could say so. It radiated from him. It was his whole energy when one came across him the first time. And it suited him. A well-respected man had a right to wear his crown proudly.

You felt a surge of familiarity from him. However, what took you aback was the pure disgust Wanda was directing at the man. You casted her a look, confused. She just shook her head, refused to say anything in front of him. Oh, if the look could kill, Anthony Stark would be daggered a thousand times by Wanda’s smoky eyes. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, Stark didn’t even care. He strode to you, eyeing you up and down. He narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, Friday, you got her size?” You frowned, didn’t understand to whom he was talking to. Your confusion was cleared when a voice – an android-ish voice, replied politely: “Of course, Mr. Stark. New clothes are on their way. A compartment is ready, and the contract is right here, in case you need it.”

Stark hummed. Clearly pleased with the answers. He shifted his attention back to you, who cocked an eyebrow at him, quizzically. The billionaire raised his chin, looked down at you and then Wanda. If he had any questions to why Wanda was in such close proximity to you, he didn’t ask. Wanda’s thought drifted to you: ‘He is too self-centred that he literally can’t see pass his nose.’

It made you snickered. And it made Stark narrowed his eyes once again.

“While I’m ecstatic to sign two psychics to this team, I can’t say being the source of your funsie mental convo is my thing.” And again, Wanda rolled her eyes. Everything Stark said seemed to get to her nerves. You knew he noticed her behaviours toward him, he just ignored it completely. This man and his nerves. You wondered if he knew what Wanda could do to him if he annoyed her further.

You were about to be a good person and warned him, but he beat you to it and exclaimed aloud with a happy smirk: “Guess who won in the fight for you to stay!?”

You didn’t have to guess. Obviously, the ridiculously righteous man wasn’t here to stop Stark. It meant Stark had already won. You smiled to yourself. Wanda was right. In the battle for a bigger prick, Anthony could easily win over a man in American flag. Also, if you knew anything about CEO and billionaires, they had that weird ability to manipulate everything the way they wanted it to be.

Hell, Stark was no different.

Wanda could hear your thoughts, for she hid her face on your shoulder and laughed. Your hand unconsciously drifted up to hold her there. You watched as Stark’s eyes twitched with a hint of amusement, but he quickly masked it with enthusiasm. If you were just an innocent young adult, you would’ve missed it, but you were trained under HYDRA’s watchful eyes, you knew how to decipher human’s emotions, even when they hid it well. You wondered what was so funny, but you chose not to ask.

“Let me guess, you?” You replied to him, lamely. However, he didn’t look offended. Instead, a glimmer of proud sparked up on his features. He didn’t bother to hide it this time. He grinned: “Obviously.” A smugness could be spotted in his tone. You didn’t dislike it, but Wanda clearly did. Her nose scrunched up. You could feel it on your bare skin. You caressed her hair and Wanda naturally nuzzled your side. Affection crawled all the way to your neck as you flushed slightly. You willed yourself to not let it show but everybody in this room was so observative.

Stark rolled his eyes at you and Wanda. He personally didn’t know why you and Wanda acting so chummy, but he decided to cast it aside, like he did with everything else in his life. You were quite thankful for that. You watched as he pulled out some papers and placed it in front of you, with a simple pen on the side.

“Welcome to The Avengers, kid.”

Your eyes met his with a challenging look. You told him, without backing down from his stare: “What makes you think I want this?”

Stark didn’t faze: “I’ll tell you the same thing I told your witch over here. It’s either this or arrested by the military. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live as an Avengers than as a prisoner for the government. The choice is yours.”

You tensed up. Your eyes flared with the colour that mixed with red and orange. Bright veins crawled up your face as you felt the murderous rage blazing in your chest. You did nothing. Nothing! Who did these people think they were to even consider arresting you? At that moment, you realized, American government was just as greedy and cruel as HYDRA. They wanted an excuse to have you, to poke at you, to turn you into their war machine.

At that moment, you had an urge to fly out of this building and marched into that damn ridiculous big white house to teach them a bloody lesson. It was boiling in your chest. However, Wanda’s hand crept up to your side, tugged at your hand to draw your attention back to her. Your eyes left the file to look down at her. She rested her chin on your shoulder and shook her head. Her thoughts infiltrated your mind, telling you to calm down.

Her touches and her adorable eyes made you sighed. The power dissipated from your body. You slummed back to the glass wall, glaring at the file with disdain. The silence was awkward, until Stark spoke up again, this time minus the cocky, carefree attitude:

“Look, kiddo, this is the best I can do. Cap wanted you gone. It’s only me and that squeaky speedster over there fought for this. Well, he wasn’t much of a help, presumed ex-terrorist and all. But this is the best I can do. Also, our team could really use some assist with your abilities.”

Stark clearly wasn’t very good with these kinds of situation. You knew he was trying, and he wasn’t the enemy, either. But you were not ready for a team. Hell, you were not even used to a life with people around. Just yesterday, you thought it was your last day. Who knew trying to be the saviour could bring you such troubles? You grimaced at the conditions in these files. Discomfort was visible on your face.

You thought of running. You thought of how easy it was to just blast everything out of your way and go back to the old way of living. But looking at Wanda… Feeling Wanda’s warmth radiating around you, caressing your wounded heart with her tentative touches, you couldn’t do it. You couldn’t leave her if you tried.

So, with a heavy heart, you signed the papers. You signed, knowing you’re giving your freedom away. You signed, understanding that tomorrow, you would have to play the role of a hero while knowing full well that you’re not remotely close to be one. You signed, knowing you were placing millions of innocent lives at risk as you presumably chasing the ‘bad guys’ with your unstable mind.

You knew you were going to regret it later.

But what choice did you have but to sign?

What choice did you have when you could feel Tony’s hope rising and falling in his chest even when he tried his best to show that he didn’t care. What choice did you have when Wanda had asked you to stay? You promised her to stay. You never broke your promise. Never.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, kid.” Stark, no, Tony told you. His voice was sincere. He collected the paperwork from your free hand and sighed deeply for the first time, letting his confident dropped as he stole a quick glance at Wanda, who still had her back turning toward him. A flicker of guilt tainted his brown irises, but he didn’t let it show longer than a second. “Now, Pack up your things. Witchy here can show you your room since it’s right in front of hers.” A sense of humour laced in his tone. “Feel free to thank me later.”

He threw a wink and a shrug before exiting the room, leaving you and Wanda alone once more.

You took a deep breath and saw that Wanda still hadn’t moved an inch from her position on your front. You couldn’t help but teasing her a little: “Getting comfy there, witchy?” She snapped her head back, almost headbutt you in the process and glared at you: “10 minutes with Stark and you have already become unbearable!” She sneered without any true malice. You just mimicked Tony’s shrug and grinned down at her, who now you realized was a good few inches shorter than you.

“So, what can I call you? Miss…?

You leaned your head innocently. She rolled her eyes. “Now wouldn’t you like to know.”

A mischievous smile appeared on your lips: “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll just call you by my name. How does that sound?”

You could never get tired of the way her cheeks turned rosy at your words. Pride surged up in your chest and fluttered all over your ribcages as you felt her fingers fiddled with the blanket that draped over your hip. She grunted to mask her embarrassment: “Oh my God you are such a terrible flirt!”. “Maximoff.” The words got muffled as she mumbled in your skin. You heard, but you couldn’t resist the urge to make her flush more.

“What did you say?” You asked with a faux pure tone. She was annoyed now, but her eyes told a different story when she lifted her head to look at you. She offered her hand in front of you, which you stared at with real confusion this time. She husked: “Hello, my name is Wanda Maximoff. Nice to meet you. If you keep doing this, I will throw you out of the window, for real.”

You breathed out a laugh at her little game and took her hand in yours. Holding it firmly but tenderly, you lifted it up and kissed her hand slowly and deliberately: “Hello, miss Maximoff. The pleasure is all mine.” Your voice dropped an octave to a low and a little seductive, making Wanda shivered slightly. You didn’t notice though. You just wanted to see her smile with her adorable but defiance eyes. “Please spare my life, though. I have made a promise with a pretty witch that I won’t die until she allows me to do so.”

To hide how affected she was with your ridiculous action, Wanda snatched her hand away and slapped you on the side, good naturedly. “You are being ridiculous.” She deadpanned. You shrugged: “You like it.”

She scrunched her nose again: “I did not!” She whacked your side again to wipe the infuriating grin off your lips, but it resulted in a pained groan coming from your mouth. She shot up away from you, eyes wide like saucers. She searched your body frantically, ripping away the blanket in the process. You let out a panic squeak, trying to hide your nakedness from her and every other prying eye that could be outside of this glass box – Pietro’s, to be exact.

She didn’t care, though. Her warm hands glided over your skin, and you closed your eyes, whimpered in embarrassment. You just couldn’t win this game with her.

“Are you hurt? I’m sorry!” She rushed. “God, I forgot you got hurt yesterday!” Her tone indicated that she was mad, not to you, but at herself. You grimaced with a sudden joint that shot up when her fingers pressed too deep in your raw skin. It was the spot where you got sliced by a god damn metal car door as you fell from the city. Wanda had made your pain go away yesterday, but the wound was still there. The coldness and wetness of blood trickling down your side made you frowned.

“Wanda… slow down, luv.” You tried to tell her, but she was too caught up in her own mission to hear you. “Wanda!” You called out, louder this time. She looked up with a guilty face. You reached up to soothe the crinkle that formed on her forehead before guiding her shaky hand to your wound, wordlessly. Your puppy eyes never left hers. She let you guide her, until her fingers touched your blood, and her gaze immediately left you to pay attention to the gapping, torn flesh on your side.

“Oh God…” She muttered. “Oh God…” Feeling her distress, you looked down to see the drape was covered in the redness of your inner body fluid. You sighed. You knew it would heal in no time, for your healing system worked the way you willed it to be. It’s just that you were suppressing your power since yesterday. But Wanda didn’t particularly agree with you. She snatched the blanket out of your grasp again and pressed it on the wound. Her movements were frantic. “Damn you! You should’ve told me!” She murmured angrily, more to herself than to you. You stiffed back a laugh at her antics. She’s so lovely when she’s worried.

“Wanda…” You tried to call her again.

This time, she heard you. She snapped back: “What!?”

You bit your lips and gestured at your cloth less body: “I’m… naked. Do you mind if I have the blanket back…?” She didn’t even look at you when she gave her snarky comeback: “You have your sport bra on! Quit being a baby!”

At that, you shut up, watched with a fondness in your eyes as Wanda waved at her brother, who was lingering like a neglected pet outside. She must have used telepathy again, for he ran so fast that he became a blur, out of the room without hesitation. You wondered where he took off to. However, your curiosity was answered a moment later, as Pietro returned with a very hazy man by his side. You heard the newcomer said under his breath: “Remind me to never travel with a speedster again.”

Pietro just pushed him into the glass box. The man, who was wearing glasses stumbled inside and greeted you wordlessly with a nod. You nodded back, unsure of who he was. Wanda sensed your sudden tense muscles and told you: “This is Doctor Bruce Banner. You might have seen him in Sokovia. He is the big, green one.”

You did indeed saw a hulking green person smashing robots on the floating city, but you still couldn’t put two to two. How come this man became that creature? You haven’t a bastard clue. But you accepted the fact much faster and just shrugged. You’re a monster with magic, he could transform into a cat, and you shouldn’t feel so surprised.

“Hello…” The man said with a small stutter. “Pietro said you need medical attention?” He adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and watched as Wanda took the blanket off your bleeding wound. He frowned. “That looks deep.” Concern coloured his voice. “How long has it been bleeding?”

Wanda replied to him: “Since yesterday. It doesn’t stop. What is going on?”

The man named Bruce got closer, he blinked: “You should take her to my lab. I need to look at this first. Do a full medical examination if we must.”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes: “I’m sorry but I’m very politely declining your offer.” Your answer made Banner frowned. He glanced at the big chunk of missing flesh on your side and grimaced: “I have to say… it’s not up to you at this point. You signed the contract. We are responsible for your health condition.” He shifted in discomfort. “Tony informed me on his way out. He… well, in his words, tell me to ‘drag you to the lab if I must’. It’s a surprise that he actually cares, for once.” The last few words trailed to a mutter.

You sat up fully, letting the magic flooded your body as you did so. You had mastered your ability growing up. You didn’t need any guidance, considered there were voices in your head, combined with everyone else around you, telling you exactly how to horn this force with care. It also helped that you were an empath. Magic to you was natural. It’s a part of you, like an arm, or a leg. Unlike other magic-wielders who had to practice, you didn’t.

You slowly focused your magic to your wound, letting it flow through you and stitched you back. Doctor Banner and Wanda were watching you with keen eyes. They had never seen anything like that before. Not everyday that they could see someone using magic to heal. Cherry red threads weaving themselves with one another, as your hand movements directed, formed the flesh that filled the wound. You finished the process with gritted teeth, as your skin getting stretched with the stitching. After a beat, your body was brand new.

Banner blinked hard. He was fascinated by your doing. What unsettled him was the way your blood, the one that stained the blanket and drape, flew out of the materials, and float back into you. It was like nothing had happened. How it was possible, Bruce didn’t know, but he intended to find out.

“See? Good as new. Now, can I please have a moment for myself? The indecency is giving me trauma.” You gestured again at your naked body. Bruce Banner had decency to be ashamed and averted his eyes, while Wanda just shook her head at you before giving you another stern glare. You involuntarily pouted, knowing she was going to say something you didn’t like. But she always left no room for argument.

“Go to the lab first, then I will show you your room.” Wanda took your hand and gave a gentle tug. She was afraid that you were still hurt even though you were fine. Your look turned defiance at that. You shook your head no, hoping Wanda would drop it. However, she exclaimed in exaggeration: “It’s just a small check-up! You will be fine!”

You didn’t budge, though. Your expression became grumpy. It was the first time you acted your age ever since you got here. No matter how mature you were, no matter how much you had surpassed everyone of your age, you still had a small part in you. A small part that you only kept to yourself. You allowed yourself to be childish once in a while. This time, it accidently showed. You were mortified. But your mind told you: This reaction was caused because you trusted her, and you let yourself relax at that.

“I don’t wanna.” You shook your head again. It might come as a surprise to people, but you really were not a fan of labs in any kinds and sorts. Due to the fact that you had spent most of your teenage life in them, you despite them with a passion. You didn’t need another needle in your arm, or vital devices hooked on your chest.

You hated them. You’re fine. Everybody needed to stop insisting you. You thought Wanda would understand. But when you looked at her, seeing her crossing her arms, you knew she didn’t. Your gaze averted from her. You glared at everything and nothing but her and Banner. Your eyes accidentally met Pietro, who was waddling outside of the glass cell. He seemed to be taken aback. However, seeing the atmosphere inside, he raised an eyebrow and smirked at you.

You immediately regretted saving his life.

Your thought drifted to him, attacking his frail mind with a force, making him wince. ‘What are you on about, speedy boy?’ Pietro got spooked. He took a step back when he heard your voice sneering in his head. His gaze shifted to his sister, who was watching the interaction between him, and you like a hawk. Wanda shook her head at him. She was trying to tell him that she was too, unable of listening to what you were thinking. The older Maximoff focused back to you. You levelled him with a challenging look.

He decided to play your game and thought for you to hear: ‘chicken out? From a health check-up? Didn’t know you’re such a baby.’ On his face spotted an infuriating smirk. You knew he was edging you. He was trying to make you rise and take his bait. But you were not a stupid one, either. You taunted: ‘surely it helps you sleep at night when your arse got saved by a chicken!’

He narrowed his eyes. You thought you were winning. A victorious grin began to stretch in the corner of your lips. But it was before he snapped out of the rage and started doing something. Something that made Wanda giggled adorably and Banner slapped his hands on his face, mumbling: “Oh dear, children!”

He was imitating a bloody chicken!

‘Bawk bawk’

Your fingers twitched. Every fibre of your body was screaming at you to throw a ball of blast in his face. He was trying to help you. You knew that. It’s just… He’s getting to your very vulnerable nerves. Sometimes, your feelings got better of your reasonings. It was never a pretty scene. You were about to remind him how to behave by whooping his arse when a soft hand gripped yours. You snapped your head to your right and saw a pouting Wanda.

The image sent your head into overdrive, and you gaped at her. Your sensitive mind could hear her snicker in her head. Oh, this woman knew just how much effect she had on you. She’s dangerous! But you couldn’t deny how lovely she was when she was pouting. Her green orbs twinkled under the sunlight, and you felt like you were forgetting how to breathe.

She noticed and smirked: “Breathe, detka.”

It broke the trance. You scoffed: “I’m sure what you’re doing helps, love.” The affectionate nickname spewed out of your mouth like venom, but she only took joy in that. It didn’t dampen her happiness one bit. Instead, she rolled her eyes fondly: “No killing my annoying brother. Also, stop being annoying and go to Bruce’s office.” She sensed your hesitation and added: “I promise it will be over in a minute. No needles involved.”

The relief that rolled out of your body made Wanda visibly happy. She knew that you didn’t like being poked at. She was the same. You two shared a very traumatic experience in HYDRA facility. She understood that you didn’t want to relive that moment of your life another time. However, it was necessary for you to do the check-up. She was still worried about your wounds, even when she saw you mended it all by yourself. Better be safe than sorry, she thought.

You still seemed a little bit reluctant. She soothed your arm with a glide of palm. You closed your eyes, dwelling in her warmth on your skin. “I will be there with you, all the way.” She murmured in your forehead before leaving on it a fleeting kiss. You deflated. Your hand dropped on the mattress, and she took it as a win. She pulled you up, not forgetting to cover your body with a blanket. You huffed out, pretended like you’re mad at her. She just smiled knowingly and pushed you lightly on the shoulder, nudging you to the exit.

Your walk to Banner’s office was short, accompanied by the Maximoff twins and a very quiet Bruce Banner. You took him as a shy type. Still, what shy person turned into a green boulder with anger issue? You haven’t a god damn clue.

And true to Wanda’s word, the check-up was quick. Banner scanned you with his advance, high-tech machine. Must be one of Stark’s, you thought to yourself. Your vitals and everything about you showed on the screen. Banner was surprised to see your body scan came out red. It was the heat from the force nested in your body. Not Chaos magic, no. It was something else. You hadn’t known about it yet. But it was something bigger, something weird, something that was all-consuming and kept threatening to overtake your body.

You didn’t mind. You had made peace with it a long time ago. It listened to you. If Chaos magic was your left hand, then it’s the right one. Both of them didn’t try to scream in your head anymore, not after you told an iron grip on them and forced them into submission.

Soon after that, Wanda showed you to your room, which was right in front of her own. Tony wasn’t kidding. He did set you and her up. You grumbled. Not liking the fact that he was playing around, but a part of you still woofed with joy, knowing that you had a familiar face to stay close to.

Wanda was happy. You loved seeing her happy. It also made you wonder: What if you failed to save her brother? What if you let Pietro got blasted into a honeycomb by the gatling gun? Would she still be who she was right now? Your guess was no. At that moment, when she was guiding you to your newly acquired wardrobe, you saw a vision flashed through your eyes. A vision where you weren’t there, and there was Pietro Maximoff, running at his maximum speed, trying to save a man with a bow. You saw him died. You saw the bow guy carried his cold corpse to the aircraft. And you saw Wanda breaking down.

The vision died down and you looked down at your shaking hands. You were petrified by that scene. You didn’t recon that Wanda was also looking at you with concern. It took you a moment to comprehend that she was curling her hand on yours, slowly helped you closed your fist. It helped. She helped. The contact made you sighed. You looked at her. Words on the tip of your tongue, desperately wanted to be let out. You swallowed it, not wanting to sadden her.

You forced out a smile when she took out a set of clothes and gave it to you. You realized they were black. You liked black. Tony must have read your files and saw your style. You appreciated it. Giving Wanda one more reassuring smile, you left her to change clothes. The fabrics felt expensive on your skin. Stark did have a shit load of money. He always opted for the finest.

You quickly changed and met with Wanda. She was lounging on your bed. Her clothes were the same with what she wore in the battlefield. You blushed when your eyes fell on the red bra that was peeking out of her black top. She was wearing a red jacket. You swooned a little, thought to yourself that red was definitely her colour.

You must have stared for a bit too long, for she smirked at you: “My eyes are up here, detka.”

Fuck! You scolded yourself and cleared your throat loudly. It only widened her smile more. Who knew Wanda Maximoff was such a flirt! “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You fidgeted with the sleeve of your jumper, unable to look at her. You missed the mischievous glint in her eyes as she got out of bed and stood in front of you. You let out a gasp. Your instinct was telling you to back the hell off. But you were rooted at your spot, mouth agape as she smoothed the collar of your undershirt with her delicate fingers.

You gulped. This was… uhm… how could you put this?

She leaned back a little to look up at you with a teasing smile: “You were saying?”

You swore! Your misery was this woman’s joy! She was having too much fun!

At that, you blinked a few times to regain a fraction of control over your body and looked down, avoiding the eye-contact in such close proximity: “Don’t you have better things to do rather than babysit me?”

Wanda huffed in amusement: “No, I think I’m right where I am supposed to be.”

You panicked, tried to come up with something else: “Well… Well! Clothes changing!” You couldn’t form a full sentence anymore, not when she was leaning into your personal space and just played with your sleeve like it was her second nature. Wanda wasn’t an affectionate woman; you saw from her past. She wasn’t! Why was she acting like this…?

Little did you know that Wanda was indeed a woman of distrust. She didn’t like human contact if the person wasn’t someone she cared about. But to you, Wanda couldn’t get enough of you. She loved eliciting small reactions from you. She loved being close to you. Her behaviours were partial involuntary. She couldn’t control herself and just let herself gravitating to you. She knew you loved it, too. So, she didn’t feel like stopping.

At your blatant struggle, Wanda let out a small laugh. She then stepped back a little and pat your cheek affectionately. You sighed contently when her skin met yours. She said: “I do need comfier clothes. This is Nat’s jacket. I need to give it back to her.”

Nat? You frowned. Who was Nat? Why did she say that name with such voice?

Wanda, being a mind-reader herself, scoffed at you with a teasing tone: “Natasha. You will meet her soon. We have a meeting to attend, after all.”

You frowned. You didn’t want to go to a meeting. What good of you there? Meeting about what? A million questions popped up in your head. Wanda sensed it and let her hand drifted on your neck, holding you gently. She stared into your eyes. Fascinatingly, you saw a hint of red underneath the hazel green. Chaos magic. It’s lovely, it’s astonishing. You were drawn to her eyes, and nothing seemed to matter at that moment.

She leaned to press her forehead on yours. You noticed, she had to tip-toed to reach your height. It only brought another surge of warmth in your heart. You tilted down. Your hands found their ways to her hips, and she sighed contently. This was something intimate, you had gathered. However, it came so naturally that none of you questioned it. You waited for her to say something. She eventually did:

“It’s just a mission recap, and to introduce you to the team. I bet Steve will have a blast.” She rolled her eyes as his name rolled off her tongue. You wondered, who’s this ‘Steve’. But you guessed you would find out soon. “Don’t worry, I will be there. Piet will be there. And Tony.” She wrinkled her nose. You found it adorable. “Tony will be there, too. So, you won’t feel lonely.”

She giggled. You just threw your head back and she let out an indignant squeal. You rested your chin on her forehead as if to tease her about her height and breathed out dramatically: “Fine, if you insisttttt.”

“Oh yes, I insist. Now, wait. I have to change. Can’t let you get distracted looking at my bra when Steve was lecturing.”

You stumbled back when she playfully pushed you away. You threw your hands up in disbelief: “I. didn’t. look. at. your. Bra! Take it back, Maximoff!”

She walked away, swaying her hips as she did so. She turned her head to let you see her smug smile: “Keep telling yourself that, draga mea’

You gawked at her. The last thought in your head when she slammed the door at you was: ‘Fucking hell… her accent!’ as your heart thundering in your chest.

---

It took Wanda a good fifteen minutes to get ready. You belatedly realized that she had taken a shower. You nervously sniffed yourself, feared that you stink. But Wanda just laughed at you and told you: “You’re fine.” Her nose got close to your ears, and she faked a whiff: “Nothing but a little dirt.” And you grumbled all the way as she led you to the conference room.

Set your foot in, you noticed there were more people than you had imagined. Aside from Tony Stark and the doctor, Bruce Banner, there was Pietro, who sat like he owned the damn building. You also recognized the bow guy, sitting next to the red-head, gorgeous Russian. They were talking quietly, huddled together like they were old friends. Maybe they were. You thought. On the other side of the table, at the head, was a blonde man. He looked jacked, like a jock. He always had that stern look, like he’s going to war. He must be the American Captain guy.

No wonder he and Tony didn’t agree with each other. They were completely different kind of person. As Tony Stark was practically lying on his chair and eating blueberries, the blonde man seemed stoic, like a rock.

You also recognized another blonde man, the one who captured Wanda and flew away with thunder. His features were beautiful, godly, even. But he seemed so goofy. You decided that you liked him. And on his left side was a bronze guy. He’s a pretty specimen to look at, minus the cocky grin. He looked oddly like a bird to you. You wondered, was this man’s superpower was to turn into birds? And close to Tony was a man, who seemed to be in his forties, reading a file that suspiciously similar to your contract. You frowned. You didn’t like those who were curious.

That seemed about it. Wanda urged you with a nudge, and you fully stepped in, drawing the attention of the whole team. They looked at you with different opinions sparking in their eyes. You were used to that. You picked a chair, which was the closest to Wanda and Pietro, and sat down without saying anything.

Of course, Tony was the one who broke the ice and stood up, brushing his blueberries-stained fingers on his trousers as he gestured toward you and the twins: “As you all may know, our team has some new faces!”

The stoic man next to Tony gave him a disapproving glare. But Tony was not Tony Stark if he cared. He completely ignored the man and introduced: “We all know about the wonder twins. Wanda and Pietro. Glad that you came to your senses and fuck Ultron up instead of us.” You noticed, not only Wanda, but also Pietro, rolled their eyes. At that moment, they did look so much like twins.

“But the other gem is this one.” Tony paid no mind to the twins’ reactions. He pointed at you with a blueberry on his hand. “This one, who saved our ass in Sokovia. Miss Y./N Y/L/N.”

You grimaced as he said your full name. You didn’t like it. For a long time, your only memory about your name being called like that was from your parents. It sparked an uncomfortable feeling in you. Wanda seemed to get that you’re in distress, she took your hand under the table and gave it a little squeeze.

You breathed in and nodded at their hellos. You didn’t say anything further. They must have known everything about you by now. No need for further self-introduce.

“Y/N, this is the Avengers. Welcome to the team.” Tony spread out his arms. His tone was laced with pride. He always acted like he didn’t care, but he truly did. He considered them his comrades, his teammates, and something more. You saw it in his eyes, but you couldn’t decipher it until he spoke again: “Welcome to the family.”

You didn’t understand why his words brought tears in your eyes, but you cleared your throat and murmured: “Okay.” You collected yourself and said it louder this time: “Okay.”

And Tony smiled. He really smiled. He looked so proud, like he was doing something right. You returned his, with a trust you didn’t know you were still capable. At that moment, he looked so much like your father, and you trusted him. You trusted his words, that he’s trying his best.

After that warm welcome, you sat there and listened to them talking about the event in Sokovia. Well, you couldn’t say much. You settled there for quite a time, after destroying HYDRA facility. You liked it there, for a minute, that was. Considering you were swallowed by your self-hate at that time to even notice anything else rather than the four walls of your small apartment.

When being asked, you told them what you did. Which was not much. You sat on the rooftop of the building when the city started to float. You said you didn’t really care. When you saw Stark flew out of the city in urgency, your special eyes saw through the earth and concrete. You caught the sight of him trying to get out of the engine and decided to pull him out. It was an irrational decision at best. When you dropped him off, you were on the edge of the city, sight-seeing.

You conveniently left out the part when you were about to jump off.

Then you saw aircrafts. You heard a kid cried. You saw two men running to save the kid. Men who now you knew were Pietro Maximoff and Clint Barton. However, at the same time, you felt the rush of bullets behind you. Your magic acted out just in time to yank Pietro away and shielded Barton. You weren’t fast enough, though. Pietro got shot several times. However, thanked to you, all of the wounds weren’t in critical spots. He did bleed out, though. That’s why you held him until someone came to find him.

You picked up a glass of water and helped yourself. You were not used to talking this much.

“Why didn’t you heal him?” Banner asked. The wonder filled his tone. Your movement stopped mid-air. You frowned at him, didn’t quite understand what he was proposing here. He rephrased the question when he saw the confusion written on your face: “You have immeasurable ability, including healing. Why didn’t you heal him?”

You knew he didn’t mean to pry. He probably didn’t mean to sound like a prick, either. But you still felt offended. “What did you just say to me?” You asked, slowly, as you lifted your head to look at him. The man was uncomfortable, to say the least. Banner shifted in his chair, unable to hold the eye-contact with you. However, Steve Rogers, now you knew his name – the American guy, repeated the question:

“Why didn’t you heal him? Or brought him to medical care on the aircraft? He could have died.” His tone didn’t sound like he was patronizing you, but it did have a sense of mistrust. You didn’t like it. It felt like he was interrogating you. Who did he think he was?

You narrowed your eyes dangerously, making everyone in the room, excluded Wanda, fell into their defend stance. You didn’t see yourself, but they did. They saw your eyes glowed, like Wanda when they first met her. They saw the aura in your palm causing a morph of the oxygen. Wanda remained still in her chair. She didn’t stop you this time, for she herself was feeling equally furious. They didn’t know you like she did. They didn’t see how desperate you were at that moment. It was a wonder that you noticed Pietro and Clint. If you dwelled deeper in your own thoughts, maybe she wouldn’t have had her brother sitting with her here today.

Pietro, who didn’t care about everything, spoke up for the first time: “Let’s not get to that. She saved my life. End of discussion.” His sentences were short and clear, indicating that he didn’t care, or blamed you one bit. However, you didn’t like the way they threw your action back at you.

In a dark moment, you thought about the ‘what-ifs’. What if you just let them die? What if you just jump? What if you didn’t give a flying fuck? You might not be trapped here. You might not have to sit here under everyone’s scrutinizing gaze. But then, the image of a bloody Pietro, or a million pieces of Tony’s flesh made you sick. It made you want to gag. You thought about pushing your chair back and fucked off.

You, again, thought about running.

But it was always Wanda who clung onto you. She tentatively asked for permission to enter your head and you reluctantly gave her. She got in. She pulled you to another reality where it’s just you and her. You opened your eyes and saw a cabin in the wood.

“What is this, luv?” You told Wanda, who appeared next to you and sat down with you on the porch. She gave you a sad smile as her hand crept up on your arm. You were getting use to her touches. It didn’t send you into panic anymore. You learnt to love it. Her hand trailed up to your shoulder and squeezed gently. You closed your eyes and felt her head rested in the crook of your neck.

Somehow, your breathing became in sync with hers after a few heartbeats, and she let out a content sigh. “It’s okay… I’ve got you.” She murmured. Her warm breaths fanned your neck, making you shuddered a little. You knew in your heart, she’d got you. It’s so easy for her to see through you, like how quickly you understood her. In this world, there’s just you and her.

Looked around, you didn’t recognize this place. A marvellous wood, a place of solitude. You felt like coming home, especially with Wanda’s arms around your middle. You forgot that you were actually in the meeting room with the Avengers. In your head, it’s just Wanda.

She whispered, still in your head. Her voice soft as she did so: “This is the first time I try this… I didn’t know I can do it. But when I touched your hand, your magic merged with mine. It got easier to just pick a place and take you there.” With widened eyes, you took a glance at Wanda, who now looked so at peace, like she really loved it here. You didn’t know you were capable of sharing your magic. However, everything with Wanda seemed doable.

“Don’t let them get into your head. I promise they’re just being ridiculous. They are actually good people.” Wanda said, sensing your discomfort as she mentioned the Avengers. “They were the same with Piet and me. Well… Not all of them are a walk in the park. Most of them have trust issue, or daddy issue, or mother issue, or in Stark’s case: both. But they’re decent. Believe me, I’ve witnessed all their fear and pain.”

You pursed your lips: “So that’s why Stark said you’ve fucked them over, huh?”

Wanda let out a breathless laugh when you nuzzled your nose on the crown of her head. She gave a small nod. “Yeah, I was mad at them, you know? It’s reasonable!”

You joined her laugh: “sure thing, witchy.”

She let you sit with her in your imagination dream for a time, then she broke the silence by glancing up at you and asked gently: “Are you feeling better?”

You looked down at your hands. They were no longer glowing. You nodded, slightly unsure. “Yeah… Yeah, I guess…”

She pulled your folded hands on her lap and sat straight, making you faced her affectionate green orbs. In her eyes was a promise, a sincere note that hit you with a sense of calm. She told you, as she held your hands tight: “Lean on me if you ever need to, draga. I’m here.” Your heart stuttered when she placed her free hand on your chest, right above your beating heart. It felt like an explosion of emotions. And you didn’t know how to deal with it. She helped you anyway. “I’m here. I’m with you.”

After that, the vision faded, and you were back at the meeting room again. Your head hung low. You saw Wanda smiled at you, with your hand in hers. Pietro glanced at you both. He didn’t say anything.

Time passed in your head didn’t pass in the reality. The Avengers still had that distrust look on their faces. Only Tony and the Russian – Natasha, didn’t seem to mind. Only that they also looked at you with curiosity and sympathy. You didn’t know about Natasha, but you knew about Stark. You knew his past. He was questioned with everything he did. He was a miserable young man growing up. He lost his parents, just like you. He didn’t make friends easily, just like you.

Anthony Stark was a lonely man.

A lonely man who had to face the world’s hatred and analysing gaze his whole life. Of course, he understood your anger, your frustration toward the team.

You didn’t read his mind to know that Stark didn’t agree with Steve Rogers’ approach. He didn’t say it, but he clearly wasn’t approved. Tony had pinned Steve with a silencing glare after you stumbled in your own world with Wanda. Natasha, for once, stood by him. She too had frowned at Steve, asking him what the hell was wrong with him. She told him to let you be, that you were young, and you didn’t know. That to you, Pietro Maximoff was nothing but a stranger she had saved.

Natasha told Steve to shut it and Tony grinned victoriously.

At that, Rogers shut up, but his eyes were cold. He still held a deep distrust to those who affiliated with HYDRA, especially those with unknown powers like yours. Everyone knew. Steve Rogers stood his ground until he decided otherwise. Captain America was stubborn. It was his greatest, but also the most annoying trait.

You took a deep breath and narrowed your eyes at them, all the while focusing on the feeling of Wanda’s hand around yours. You said slowly, but your voice was strong and threatening. You were challenging them to interfered. None of them did.

“I stop using my power for a long time.” You began. “I don’t like using them. I have my reasons to not overdo it. I wasn’t supposed to be there and helped him. I was close to jump the fuck off the city, mind you.” An ugly sneer stretched your lips. The words you forced out laced with venom. Most of them were taken aback by your statement. Natasha’s frown deepened. Barton and half of the team gawked at you in horror. Steve Rogers looked like he had been slapped across the face. Thor pursed his lips and crooked his head, confused.

You didn’t take too much time to watch their expression. You continued: “I broke my rules and acted on my instinct. I pulled him out and I was mortified that I could accidentally break his bones or turned him to dust.” You scoffed at them. “You would never understand.” You gritted your teeth. “I knew he was not going to fucking die. I knew someone was going to get him. I’m not fucking stupid. I could feel her. I knew she was coming.”

Your statement shook them. They didn’t know you could feel Wanda’s approaching. They didn’t know you what you were feeling. A look of shame edged on their faces but like hell you cared. The shakiness in your hand was subdued by Wanda’s supporting grip. You let out a sigh.

“I have enough knowledge to know that he’s not hit in any critical spots. I scanned him with my own eyes. He was going to be fine. What else do you want from me? Try to use my ability when I was on the verge of blowing up?” The irony in your voice made them grimace. “Yeah, do that. See Pietro dies.”

Your tone was condescending. You had always had a sharp tongue. You could hurt people with your words if you wanted to. But you were not that kind of person. You didn’t want to cause more pain than this world had already did. They just pushed you in all the wrong buttons, that’s all.

You dropped down to your chair, letting Wanda pulled you closer. You felt better now, with her so close to you. You didn’t take a glimpse at her mind, and you knew she wasn’t looking in yours anymore. However, she was still present. Her warmth still lingered on the edge of your head, like she wanted you to know that she’s ready if you ever needed her.

The world always seemed like a constant winter to you suddenly shifted to Spring. You felt it skipping with joy that sparkled up your dying heart. For the first time in a long time, you stopped thinking about your awful deeds. All you thought about was her.

“Lastly, I don’t owe you anything. I don’t have to sit here and let you interrogate me like some filthy criminals. I’m only here because…” You paused. Your eyes searched for Tony, then to Wanda, who was smiling softly at you. Because of her… But you didn’t say it out loud. Instead, you chose to say: “Because I wanted to be here.” You concluded. “I’m being reasonable, so please, for heaven’s sakes, stop testing my patience.”

A tense pause lingered in the room before Thor slammed his cup on the table, startled the bird man and half of the table. “Then it’s done! We defeated Ultron. It’s time to celebrate!”

What a shift of energy. No one was opposed to Thor’s idea. The team scurried away to talk about what kind of party they want to throw. You didn’t mind one bit, not when Wanda still here by your side and resumed her activity, which was playing with your sleeves. You rested your head on her shoulder and let her do what she wanted. Wanda took that as a win. She let her fingers danced up your arms and pressed on your cheeks. She squeezed it playfully and laughed for only the both of you to hear as you squeaked out.

Both of you didn’t notice Pietro and Natasha’s gazes.

The Russian approached Pietro, who was narrowing his eyes at the sight before him. She gestured at the two of you with a lift of her chin: “What’s up with them?” Pietro shook his head. “I don’t know, but it looks like my dearest sister has pick up a stray.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at his antic: “Said that to the woman who saved your ass, very cool, speedster.”

Pietro just shrugged.

He and Natasha were thinking about the same thing.

‘It’s getting interesting in here.’

Both of them grinned as they walked to the bar and left the two of you alone, laughing quietly together.

#wanda x reader #wanda fanfic #The Avengers #wanda maximoff

[cutestkilla]

Unsung Heroes

Behold, three fics from my bookmarks that deserve more love!

Thanks for tagging me @you-remind-me-of-the-babe and @fatalfangirl. I love this game!

It was really hard to narrow this down because I love every single fic in my bookmarks, so I went with three that I haven't seen anyone else rec yet today. All three of these have less than 100 kudos, which is absolutely criminal if you ask me.

rob my grave by @creepyspice (T, complete)

Simon killed Baz during the final battle at Watford, and when the veil opens 20 years later, he gets a visit from Baz's ghost. This fic is short, but it packs such a punch and gives so many details of what's happened to Simon in the past two decades, and in the most poetic way. Told from ghost!Baz's perspective, this fic is beautiful and it expresses both Simon's and Baz's regrets and longing so well. It hurts so good! Lovers of angst and MCD, this fic was made for you.

never before has a boy wanted more by @wetheformidables (T, WIP - but ch 1 really does stand alone)

When you read the summary for this fic, it sounds like it could be an upbeat story about Simon being really into Oliver! the musical. But it's actually a gorgeously rendered and poignant story that starts with a deep dive Simon's life in care before going off and being found by the Mage. Even though this is a WIP, chapter one really stands on its own as a rich and complete story that explores what life before Watford could have been like for Simon and features a cast of original characters from the boys home that I completely fell in love with. The setting is beautiful and the way Simon falls in love with the original cast recording of Oliver! broke my heart in the best way. Like, I literally had tears streaming down my face. A really great fic for those who just love Simon so much and sit around thinking about what it was like for him growing up as an orphan (like I do). Anyway, I'm obsessed with it and it deserves all the eyeballs and all the love.

hold back the tide by @phoxphyre (M, WIP)

A Regency era fic set on the high seas, where former Royal Navy lieutenant Simon Snow has become a pirate (after a mysterious incident of mutiny) and is being pursued by Baz, who has hated Simon since they first met in the Navy, and is now captain of his own ship. Yes, a PIRATE AU! It features amazing, detailed and engaging descriptions of the seafaring side of things (including an incredible naval chase), amazingly tension-filled flashbacks of Simon and Baz's history together in the navy and back on the ton in London, and everything lovers of historical fiction could possibly want in a Snowbaz fic. But wait, that's not all, it also has fantasy seamlessly woven in and one of my favourite Shepard's of all time (pirate!Simpard is in effect). Though it hasn't updated in a while, I know it's being actively worked on, and even if it never updates, the first two chapters are still worth reading because they're so well done.

Tags for everyone above, as well as some more folks I haven't seen tagged in yet: @technetiumai @ivelovedhimthroughworse @ileadacharmedlife and @messofthejess. And of course anyone else who wants to play should share!

#fic rec #tag game #unsung heroes

[twistedtummies2]

Christopher Lee: A Sinister Centenary - Number 24

Welcome to Christopher Lee: A Sinister Centenary! Over the course of May, I will be counting down My Top 31 Favorite Performances by my favorite actor, the late, great Sir Christopher Lee, in honor of his 100th Birthday. Although this fine actor left us a few years ago, his legacy endures, and this countdown is a tribute to said legacy! Today’s Subject, My 24th Favorite Christopher Lee Performance: Blind Pew, from Treasure Island (1990).

Our previous pick, Dr. Wilbur Wonka from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” was an example of a case where Lee had a fairly small part, but made a big impression. This entry is another example of the same. Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel “Treasure Island” has repeatedly been hailed as “The Greatest Adventure Story of All Time” (capital letters included there), and it’s not really a surprise why: it is, without a doubt, the pirate story to end all pirate stories. Aside from perhaps Peter Pan, no other piece of fiction involving pirates has been quite as influential as this book: so many character, plot, and aesthetic tropes for these kinds of tales have come from this one story. For those who don’t know, the book is told from the perspective of a young fellow named Jim Hawkins: the son of an innkeeper who ends up roped into a wild adventure involving mutinous pirates and lost treasure. It’s a fairly simple premise, but the characters and events make it a remarkably memorable and powerful tale. The story has been adapted numerous times to film; perhaps the three most popular versions (and my personal favorites, besides) are the ones produced by Disney. However, beyond the three Disney incarnations – a live-action film from the 1950s, a Muppet movie, and a sci-fi/space fantasy animated reimagining entitled “Treasure Planet” – perhaps the most revered and well-known version of the story put to the screen is the 1990 TV film production, which starred a young Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins, in contrast to a much older Charlton Heston as the infamous Long John Silver. As much as I love all three Disney versions, what I think the 1990 version excels at most is creating a much more gritty, vicious take on the story, just speaking aesthetically. In the book, Jim refers to his adventures as “a nightmare” – the whole ordeal was a scary, traumatizing time for him, not a wild or wacky time for him to cherish. The Disney versions, as you would expect, ignore this fact, but the 1990 movie takes a less romantic spin on things, with much more brutal and graphic visuals that bring a sense of gritty realism to the story: it’s telling that Jim keeps his line about the nightmare at the end of the film, and it’s this more realistic and gruesome spin that has earned the film its kudos over the years. Nowhere is this more nightmarish spin on the classic story more clearly emphasized than with Christopher Lee’s appearance as the tertiary antagonist of the story, Blind Pew. Pew has always been one of the more unsettling characters in the novel, and most incarnations stick to that ideal pretty well (even the Muppet version is a LITTLE creepy). Cloaked in black, his eyes covered by a velvet band, the sightless Pew automatically strikes one as an unnerving figure as he shambles through the fog…but his hapless, pitiful state cause Jim Hawkins to feel sympathy for him, not recognizing the danger till its too late. Pew doesn’t take long to reveal his dangerous side: he’s surprisingly strong and not nearly as helpless as his disabled status would indicate, and manages to scare Captain Billy Bones to death…literally! Having Lee take on this role was a work of genius: though Pew’s time in the story is relatively short, the simple casting choice of this man in this part makes him not only the definitive screen portrayal of the character, but one of the most memorable parts of the whole picture. He has the right elements of cunning, menace, and slimy fiendishness the character requires, but also manages well in Pew’s more vulnerable moments, where his namesake blindness gets the better of him. He sets the tone for the movie, beyond anyone else: this won’t be a fun ride on the high seas, and the road for Jim that lies ahead will be fraught with even worse dangers than the sinister blind beggar…including another deceitful pirate with his own physical inabilities that can lead one astray…but that’s another story. Tomorrow the countdown continues with My Number 23 choice!

#sinister centenary #may special #christopher lee #happy birthday christopher lee #top 31 christopher lee performances #best #favorites #list #countdown #number 24 #movies #tv #literature #treasure island #treasure island 1990 #blind pew

[evita-shelby]

Grace was underwelming in the show , she did terrible things to tommy and his family and her so called " redemption " didnt sit right with me , i saw her death from a mile away in the show amd didnt feel bad , dont understand really how people are die hard fans of her and tommy together the obly difference between him and his whores was that he was in love .

Yes, Grace felt superfluous to the plot because there was no development after seaon 1 where she was literally just pretending to be someone else, so we only get hints of who she truly was.

I'm gonna say it here and now that my dislike for Grace's character is not about the extramarital sex or anything like that.

In fact the biggest contribution to my dislike of her character comes from how she is written and acted out. (The other part is that her loudest fans here are super into hating Lizzie because she was a sex worker as they perceive sex work as a flaw and something that somehow makes her inferior to Grace)

Moving on, Grace’s character has no real depth like the other women in the main cast.

She suffers no real consequences for her actions in season 1, there is no build up to a relationship with Tommy between season 2 and 3(in fact they act like they are still strangers and not like people who've been together for almsot 3 years) and her character becomes a sexy lamp who's only job was to have a baby and die(very Jane Seymour, which was actually her previous role) because she literally has no other purpose in the story.

We don't see any build up except that she wasn't lying about being pregnant or that her family is composed of right wing assholes who commit war crimes and turn up their nose at new money gangsters and even at Grace for going against society with her life choices.

But it wasn’t supposed to last, in fact a big part of teh story according to Steven Knight is that Tommy isn't supposed to be happy, that the story is Tommy enduring hell. He finds peace at the end, and even then its subjective.

she was just there to provide a kid and make Tommy happy before SK cranked up the angst to 50, Grace’s purpose was to cause Tommy pain. Whether because her presence and ideals clashes with his life outside of her, or because his family rightfully hate her and he himself doesn't trust after 2 years or because she is a manifestation of his guilt that he holds on to at the cost of his sanity and happiness.

Unfortunately, no one told SK you need a lot more development to make it hurt or that you need more than just a handful of scenes to show how somthing without telling.

Like kudos to Grace stans for connecting so much with such a 2d character, i personally need to see more than just a toddler and a marriage to connect and that's probably because the writing wasn't there and Annabelle Wallis is notorious for her lukewarm acting.

#meta

[endversewinchester]

Let's do chapters 6-7

I didn't have time to do this last night immediately after reading, so I'll do it based on my markings. For chapter 6 we meet Genya and she walks Alina through getting ready to meet the royals (love her).

Already Alina is enjoying the benefits of the little palace and being a grisha, which she mentions the regular soldies don't have. Here though she didn't come across as salty, just enjoying herself.

Alina then mentions she's never seen a grisha wearing a white Kefta. It makes sense, as Genya's powers are very unique.

I will have to cringe very heavily at the darkling sending her in to make Alina look good to impress the king, but that's part of a much more complicated discussion.

Genya then shares beauty isn't a big deal among the grisha. It is interesting (and sad) to think that they are all playing dress up just for the royals. In that sense, the Darkling's behavior is less bothersome to me. He is just acclimatizing Alina to their reality, bad as it is.

And finaly we have a very interesting exchange when Genya brings Alina a simple outfit rather than something more fitting with royalty and the rest of the Grisha. When I was watching the show I wondered how likely it was that there were tensions between the king and Sasha before everything went down, and it seems I was right.

Genya then drops the bombshell that Alina has to walk the line so the Darkling isn't accused of treason and harboring her, which is wow. The king allows grisha to serve him as their army and grants them some level of security and luxury, but even he doesn't trust them.

She also asks Alina not to tell anyone she used her powers, as she's not allowed to do so on other grisha. It seems life at the Little Palace isn't as great as Alina thinks it is.

And then after every grisha ever fights over who gets to walk Alina to the king, the darkling shows up and overrules them all (which was like super hot or whatever).

For chapter 7 we discuss the servitude I referenced earlier, which is amazing. The Darkling tells Alina he gifted Genya to the queen, and when she's rightfully horrified he reveals (bitterly) that "we all serve someone." I've had theories since the show aired that he too was abused by the royals, so this line is very meaningful to me.

Then we get a little glimpse at his darkness.

“| hope you don’t expect fairness from me, Alina. It isn’t one of my specialties.

True, if we consider he just told Alina he gifted a person to someone else as a gift. But also true in building up for the reveal down the line.

They get to the palace and Alina questions capitalism how the rich get to live amazing lives while the rest of them struggle. It is a very good tie with the russian references this book has.

And then we have one of my favorite scenes of the show, which I think is really well adapted here. Kudos to the entire netflix cast and crew.

After that, we go meet the queen, and she is a witch very much what you'd expect from a privilleged royal woman. When Alina tells her she's an orphan she almost melts in excitement. To her, it's just a fun, moving story. To Alina, it is her life.

We get out of that, and again do we touch on the topic of servitude. As I already noticed on the other chapter, they are all playing the game in order to survive, but none of them actually like the royals.

Genya laughed, and the Darkling’s lips quirked in what was nearly a smile.

“Welcome to court,” he said.

“I’m not sure | like it.”

“No one does,” he admitted. “But we all make a good show of it.”

To finish this, we have Alina giving Genya a heart attack by refusing to wear the darkling's colors, and then refusing to play by the social rules of The Little Palace. As a darklina, I think that is exactly what draws Sasha to her. The fact she is willing to stand up to him when no one else is brave enough to.

#cami reads #shadow and bone

[getmemymicroscope]

Well, I guess this is it for the DCEU as we know it, and this movie ... well, sorta just fits into pretty much everything else (aside from Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Blue Beetle, and the Snyder cut; also, maybe, Aquaman the first; finally, also from Harley Quinn, though I'm not sure if that fits into this 'DCEU' storyline) in that it ... sorta just happens. Very reminiscent of the recent Flash movie, which makes sense since that was also released upon us after we had already been told that this DCEU was dead. (Also, fuck WB/DC forever for cancelling Batgirl but then still giving us Flash and this instead.)

I mean, I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with this movie (as long as you don't pay attention to the personal lives of the star cast), but on the other hand, the movie just sorta blahly exists.

I mean kudos for completely ignoring the rest of the DCEU (in fact, we may have had more MCU references than DCEU references!) - it's been a while since we've had this sort of 'stand alone' (I know, I know, it's a sequel) movie in a time where sequels and prequels and offshoots and remakes are all the jam. And while this one falls into that 'jam,' it does dissociated from the rest of everything (other than, of course, Aquaman) as much as it can.

But on the other hand - the movie feels like a watered down (ha ha, see what I did there?) Thor: Ragnarok in way too many instances (and maybe even a bit of Thor: Love and Thunder), combined with A Bug's Life or Land of the Lost or Jurassic Park or something like that. And perhaps most concerning, the best parts were probably in the trailer (and this was not an exciting trailer) and I frequently found myself bored (and, no, this is not superhero fatigue, because I do still enjoy most of these movies/shows). I don't know, I know the DCEU is dead and I did just praise them staying away from the rest of the DCEU in this movie - but on the other hand, maybe it is what this movie needed. Some cameos to liven things up. Because bringing back Patrick Wilson, even with the addition of Randall Park, just wasn't enough.

I didn't mind the story too much, though I'm not sure Mantis got much scope as a true villain. By the end, you know that this king dude is going to be reborn, at least for a minute - but the movie had gone on so long that you kinda wish that Aquaman and his brother would've ended the fight before he could be resurrected. I mean, sure, he's immediately killed off to end things, but even those extra couple of minutes probably weren't necessary.

While I know this isn't a MCU film, there was a complete dearth of laughs, but also a distinct lack of the "dark" that the DCEU has been apparently trying to embrace, albeit without much success.

The movie does have a message of 'family' which is pretty nice, and does argue about the concerns of global warming (as if 'death of humanity/destruction of the world' wasn't enough, no we also have to worry about the resurrection of monsters who have been trapped in ice under the seas for eons!), which is great to see - it's just unfortunate that it sorta gets lost amidst a pretty blah film.

WB and DC fucked up the DCEU so bad - all the hate possible to them. Especially that asshat that fucked over the Batgirl movie. May he have an even worse holiday season than he's ever had before, and may it continue on for more than just the holidays. Until he releases the movie we want, in fact - I think that would be fair. Fuck him.

Wonder what they're gonna do with Aquaman now...

#movies #movieblr #gmmm does movies

[sleepyhead-insomnia]

I just finished watching Sh**ting Stars and I really love how my ships from main leads up to the supporting casts ended up with each other. Every one of those couples have their own cute and fluttering scene which I really love. There's also no big conflict happen like someone kill etc etc., it only show problems that celebrities faces in their life like haters, anti celeb fans and all. And there is also this one scene that made me cry, the moment where no matter how much the lead actor hated his mom for abandoning him and chose her job, he still let himself listen to her when he found out that his mom is sick. I found it very wholesome because I believe that no matter what our parents do to us, they are still our parents. I know that chances were only for those who deserve it but in the case of their story, his mom really tried to be there even if her son doesn't know so I think she deserve the chance that he gave her. also, the line "only forget bad memories" (he told his mom that because the condition that she have is that she is losing her memories slowly) really make me cry because even after all the pain he went through because his mom abandoned him, he still chooses to listen and forgive his mom. I cried on that because I suddenly missed my dad. I knew I'm unable to show him how much I love him and my mom, so I'm kinda regretting being an unexpressive person. Belated Happy Fathers Day Abi.❤️ I love you and I will try to make you proud.🥺 Anyway, Kudos to everyone that completes the Sh**ting Stars! I really love how things flows and ended.😊 Into the next!

[nott-gay]

I’ve finished a Crown of Candy and all the adventuring partys for it and I loved it I love this show !!!

I think for every season of d20 I’ve wanted to recommend it to friends, but this season I especially would love to sit down and watch it with my friends, how wonderful

I don’t know what to watch next tho!! There’s only two seasons left to go thru, The Unsleeping City II and Mice and Murder! Thing is I kinda don’t wanna head right into another full campaign so close after the end of the last one, but also Mice & Murder isn’t finished yet :(

Darn darn darn gotta figure this out

#me every 10 minutes: *zoning out to the episode imagining being on the couch with one or two of my friends watching* ... (‘: #dimension 20 #a crown of candy #non cr #I was surprised to find Theo to not be my favorite of the season at first since all of Murph’s characters kind of instantly become my faves #but by the end of it..yeah Theo is up there #it was the siding with Saccharina before the battle that got me #also that tension with Gooey was so fucking fun and funny I love them #Saccharina was my favorite I loved her!!!!!! #SO sad that we didn’t get to see Ally’s second character cuz she sounded cool and hot as hell #but also Liam went so hard and was so badass I had no choice but to stan #Brennan’s Scottish voice became the sound of my internal monologue for a few days because I was listening to so many episodes at a time #everyone did such a brilliant job #kudos to the dm for all the work put into the world #kudos to him and the cast for the story that was told #and of course kudos to the production crew!!! everything looks so amazing!!!

[animechick2015]

The Untamed: Why this is the best book adaptation made in television history

In 2021 I made I did a verrry minor review on the Chinese animation The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and within the review I gave it a solid 4/5. With this being my second Chinese animation I was still very confused with the names of the characters but the action, OSTs, intriguing plot and characters themselves made up for it. When I saw that the series was based on a book by the same author of Heaven’s Official Blessing I hopped on google to find the English translation. I started reading the book in late 2021 but quickly lost interest. It just didn’t have the appeal like the it’s predecessor. Then in January 2022, The Untamed came up as a recommendation on Netflix; another google search later and I realized that it was based on the novel I was currently struggling to read. So me being as curious as a cat I opened Netflix and told myself I’ll just watch one episode to compare it to the beginning of the book and the animation. One episode turned into two, then to four before I knew it I watched 8 episodes in one sitting. I was stunned. Never before had I gotten so caught up in a drama. When I saw that certain events were changed and plot lines were added I decided to pause my binge watching mode and actually complete the novel and I’m glad I did. I still firmly believe that HOB is top tier BL romance but this is definitely 2nd place. The plot, though slow to start was fun, emotional and gripping. But after completing the novel I began to understand that the writers of The Untamed began to flesh out the characters more, they went way more in-depth with the plot of story. After going back to complete the drama this is my take on it:

1. Perfect Casting

Look I didn’t know who these people were but they were perfect! Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo were brilliantly casted to bring these characters to life. Xiao Zhan brought Wei Ying’s playful energy and bright smile to life so effortlessly and portrayed his grief so well that you couldn’t help but break down with him. Wang Yibo, even though he didn���t have much lines as his cast mate he still had the difficult job of portraying Lan Zhan’s emotions through facial expressions and it was so beautifully done that every micro smile was enough to know just how much he loved his Wei Ying.

2. More in-depth look at the background characters

Wen Qing is a queen and I am her loyal follower. Seriously she needs to be praised. I loved that we got to know a more humble side to her. I also loved how we got to see more of Yangli’s relationship with her brothers. I could just feel the pure love.

3. Wen Ning is a rare species and he must be protected at all cost.

Seriously protect this little bean. He is too precious for this world. And also kudos to him for standing up to Jiang Cheng and revealing the truth. My baby forgot his stutter and everything when he was ripping in Jiang Cheng.

4. Jiang Cheng

I loved the way the drama portrayed this character. I hated him in the animation and felt so-so about him in the book but the drama and his actor made him portray his emotions so much better that I understood his frustrations. We could see his conflict and how much he wanted to protect his brother but he also has his sect to think about. When he discovered the truth about Wei Ying my heart shattered. When he returns Chenqing to Wei Ying it made more sense in the drama than the animation as to why he held on to it for so long.

5. The Theme Song

I really hope the composers for this masterpiece won some type of award because honestly they deserve it. Every time the tracked played you felt the love of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan

6. The Villian

I’m just gonna leave this here. I think it’s self explanatory why I love this villain so much

Overall this was an amazing series that has a permanent place in my heart. Honestly, Hollywood should take notes from the writers of this series on to how to properly made a book to tv adaptation. I have such high hopes for HOB live action series. If you haven’t watched this series please give it a chance. And if you already watched it, go watch it again 😋

#the untamed #wang yibo #xiao zhan #netflix series #book to screen #best adaptation #lan zhan #wei wuixan #wei ying