Tumgik
#but I can see a prophecy when I look at it
midnightsslut · 3 days
Text
religion is one of the most prominent recurring themes on the album, and it has been present in some capacity for quite a few records now. taylor previously compared love to religion: her saving grace, her belief system, and a fated divine intervention (false god, cornelia street, and cruel summer are the best examples of this). ‘sacred new beginnings that became my religion’ and ‘we’d still worship this love even if it’s a false god’ are two of the defining statements about her philosophy on the lover album.
taylor doesn’t want to leave all of that behind on ttpd, at least not at the beginning. the first supernatural force she mentions is the spaceship on down bad, which she compares to a skylight of freedom in the epilogue. *something* has finally come to save her from her life of suffering. she doesn’t care if it’s a force of good at first; if anything, she’s just fine being taken away by aliens. she views this man as her destiny. it isn’t until guilty as sin? that taylor starts to ponder the moral implications of what she’s doing. is she guilty as sin for wanting to leave her previous religion and relationship behind? she comes to the conclusion that, even if she rolls the stone away and gets resurrected/redeemed, she cannot avoid the fallout. she is okay with the thought of having to wait, as long as both lovers vow to be together forever, just as she once did with someone else in false god. ‘I choose you and me religiously’ finishes the bridge of the song in a direct callback to cornelia street.
the next mention of religion has murkier imagery. she claims that she does not need the Lord’s help to save this man. she sees the halo that he has, and she can fix him herself. now that she feels free of her prior cage, she isn’t looking for divine intervention anymore. she wants control. she is their route to salvation.
when the relationship falls apart, she retreats back into the position of a believer rather than a divine figure. she compares him to a Holy Ghost who promised to save her and take her to heaven. instead, she is in hell in every sense of the word: she’s down bad and feels guilty for digging up the grave. he was a jehovah’s witness who promised that she could break free of the cage imposed by love without changing her religion altogether; she would’ve just had to switch denominations. she could still have a marriage and kids! she could still have a blue tortured poet! the man was different, but not the dreams they had together. the story of the first part of the album ends here. her faith has been broken, and she has only found any semblance of sanity by refusing to mention these belief systems altogether.
side b/the anthology blends the christian imagery of side a with goddesses, sorcerers, and prophecies. she bargains with these powers to let her have the future she wants (the prophecy). she doesn’t sound like someone believing in salvation. if anything, she feels cursed. she decides that the concept of divinely ordained timing will never work in certain relationships (‘the goddess of timing once found us beguiling / she said she was trying / peter, was she lying?’). this disdain extends onto her perception of other people’s faith (‘bet they never spared a prayer for my soul’). she does position herself as a prophet in cassandra, but even then, she admits that the role has hurt her. perhaps the pain in thank you aimee was meant to be, or perhaps she was just strong enough to build a legacy in spite of it, boulder by boulder. is she a martyr? does she want to be? or did she save herself?
the only real love song on this half of the album makes no mention of fate or any divine forces. it wasn’t meant to be. it’s not a supernatural invisible string or lightning in a bottle. she is just in love.
the album ends with the manuscript, which revisits an old story of a defining, formative heartbreak. as she sings ‘at last, she knew what the agony had been for’ while describing the legacy of her writing, she seems to revert to thinking about the purpose of trauma. the only exception is that, in this case, she is the one who found meaning in her pain by turning it into a manuscript. writing is her belief system now, and she proselytizes by telling her stories and thus giving up the manuscript.
ultimately, her belief in destiny has chewed her up and spat her out. she so desperately clung to her existing belief systems that she was fooled by a conman, which left her feeling cursed. religion is supposed to be with someone even in their darkest moments, but the album explains that taylor often felt abandoned. the only constant in her life was, well, herself. she’ll be okay, but her pen will be her saving grace.
649 notes · View notes
doomedmoth · 9 hours
Text
Not fast, just furious
Pairing : Daniel Ricciardo x Reader
Warnings : use of y/n, smau, unhinged behavior, alcohol and cigarettes consumption, kys joke, suggestive texts, chaotic fluff, grumpy x sunshine, lando getting bullied
Synopsis : During his winter break in Australia, Daniel meets a barmaid with a big heart and a bigger mouth. When she starts following him during the races, fans are a bit unsure of how to deal with her unhinged behavior and total lack of media training. Daniel loves it.
Moth’s prophecy💡: Hi friends ! Pls be kind, it’s my first attempt at a smau and I’m on mobile, so the formatting might be weird. Also sorry if your name is Malva, it was the first one that came to mind lol.
Tumblr media
[Instagram] yourusername just posted a photo
Tumblr media
yourusername Walking in the club like we regulars
Liked by yourbff, melbournemirage and others
view all comments
yourbff leaving the club like an overworked mom
Liked by yourusername
melbournemirage our favorite employee 🤩
Liked by yourusername
yourusername wouldn’t mind a raise then 🤪
user1 gorggggg
yourbrother stop drinking on the job bitch
yourusername get a job before judging me bitch
*****
[Twitter] f1.driv.updates just posted
Tumblr media Tumblr media
*****
[Instagram] yourusername has added a story
Tumblr media
[Instagram] yourusername has added a story
Tumblr media
[Instagram] daniel3.jpg has added a story
Tumblr media
*****
[Messages] Daniel has sent you a text
Tumblr media
*****
[Instagram] wagupdates just posted a photo
Tumblr media
wagupdates New wag alert ?? Daniel Ricciardo has now been seen a few times with an unknown woman around Melbourne and Perth during his winter break. At first thought to be a childhood friend, sources say they met at the bar where the young woman is working, and they have been getting quite cozy 👀 What do you think ??? 📸 via Australian celebrity press
view all comments
danyfanclub she looks cuuuute
user1 anyone got her @ ???
user2 apparently he been hanging out at melbournemirage so maybe she works there ???
malva she looks messsyyyy, doubt it’s gonna last till the season starts…
danyfanclub stay mad
*****
[Instagram] daniel3.jpg just posted a photo
Tumblr media
daniel3.jpg Aussie adventures before going back to vroom vroom
Liked by lando.jpg, yourusername, and others
view all comments
maxverstappen1 honey come home the kids miss you
Liked by daniel3.jpg
user1 what camera do you use ???
wagupdates do we spy the new girl on the 4th and 7th slide ??? 👀
user2 THANK YOU I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE
user3 sneakyyy
danyfanclub can’t wait to see her in the paddock ‼️
landojpg we missed you at karting mate 🥺
daniel3.jpg sorry, too busy drinking cocktails 🤪
*****
[Messages] Your coworker has sent you a text in Charlie’s Angels
Tumblr media Tumblr media
*****
[Instagram] melbournemirage just posted a photo
Tumblr media
melbournemirage Today we mourn the loss of our best bartender, yourusername . She had been with us for a little over a year now, and was the light of Melbourne Mirage, our pride and joy. She always won employee of the month, and not just because she created and awarded the title herself. A gathering in her memory will be held tonight at 9pm, everyone who knew and loved her is free to attend 💔
Liked by daniel3.jpg, yourbrother, and others
view all comments
yourbff LMAOOOOO
yourusername WHY THE FUCK DO YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I’M DEAD I JUST QUITTED ???
melbournemirage sometimes we can still hear her voice… 💔
daniel3.jpg don’t worry I’ll take good care of her 😇
yourcoworker you better 🔪
user4 DANIEL ???
danyfanclub finally we have the @ !!!
*****
[Instagram] yourusername has added a story
Tumblr media
[Instagram] yourusername has added a story
Tumblr media
[Instagram] daniel3.jpg has added a story
Tumblr media
*****
[Instagram] yourusername just posted a photo
Tumblr media
yourusername last month stuff
Liked by danielricciardo, lilymhe and others
view all comments
yourbff damn girl, money suits you well 😍
yourusername right ???
malva wow, gold digger much…
danielricciardo thank you for getting Max to fly us around babe 🥰
maxverstappen1 as if I was not offering after every race…
landonorris why don’t you offer me after every race ???
maxverstappen1 you can walk
landonorris TO SILVERSTONE ???
user1 from barmaid to wag, girl is living the dream life
user2 smoking is not cool girl…
yourusername minding your own fckn business is tho
*****
[Twitter] paddockwags just posted
Tumblr media Tumblr media
[Twitter] yourusername just posted
Tumblr media
*****
[Messages] my sun 🌞 has sent you a text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
*****
[Instagram] daniel3.jpg just posted a photo
Tumblr media
daniel3.jpg Sorry my cat bites, I found her in the streets. She’s a good girl irl.
Liked by yourusername, carmenmmundt and others
view all comments
yourusername don’t reveal my secrets 🙄 (love you)
daniel3.jpg the world has to know ❤️‍🔥 (love you more)
lilymhe I can confirm the good girl part
yourusername I’ll be the best for you 🥵
alex_albon HM EXCUSE ME ???
danyfanclub ppl love to hate on her because she’s not trained like a nepo baby but honestly relatable queen !!
user1 boy is simping so hard
user2 she looks so fun to be around, finally a wag that doesn’t look fake
malva yeah she definitely got the street cat look…
user3 OMG GET A FUCKING LIFE GIRL
danyfanclub being this salty won’t make him like you go get a grip
*****
[Instagram] yourusername has added a story
Tumblr media
user1 replied to your story :
Did you and Daniel break up ???
malva replied to your story :
fucking finally, so looooong
danielricciardo replied to your story :
have fuuuun, I’ll call you when my plane lands 🐶
******
[Instagram] yourusername just posted a photo
Tumblr media
yourusername Back where everything started. I know I sound like a bitch sometimes, but to my love, my sun, my pup, I am so glad I met you 6 months ago. You turned my life around and I can’t wait for more shenanigans with you. You make any place feel like home. I love you. To everyone else, especially those who thought we broke up because I had the audacity to go home two days before him : Fuck you all ❤️
Liked by maxverstappen1, yourbrother and others
view all comments
melbournemirage we were so happy to have you back, even for just a night ! Soon a #speeddating night at the Melbourne Mirage everyone ? 👀
Liked by yourusername
yourusername stop promoting yourself on my account
maxverstappen1 glad to have met you this year bro
yourusername #mates4life
user1 I didn’t know they were so close !!
danielricciardo my love ❤️‍🔥
yourusername my sun 🌞
user2 highway looking pretty good for a nap rn
user3 goooosh they are so cute I’m gonna kms
danyfanclub FROM THE MAIN ACCOUNT TOO ‼️
malva still not buying it
This user has been blocked
yourbrother you did not have to come back so soon
yourusername jeez 🤡 at least pretend to be happy for the gifts you little shit
yourbrother thx I guess
yourusername you’re adopted
landonorris can you bring me back some Tim Tam ? 🥺
danielricciardo no ❤️
yourbff no ❤️
yourusername no and kys ❤️
landonorris damn 🥺
104 notes · View notes
afterglowsainz · 4 hours
Text
the prophecy | max verstappen
summary: you and max can never agree on the same topic of conversation and it might be the thing that breaks you up
warnings: angst, some yelling
word count: 805
the tortured athletes department series
Tumblr media
you love max. you really do. but you hate when he brings up the same topic of conversation that you'll never agree on.
“i’m not moving to monaco.” you say for the million time.
“i’m just saying it would be way easier for us.” he answers unbothered while eating his dinner.
you avoid rolling your eyes at his comment and just decide to ignore him. since you got together, distance has been a complicated issue for you both. with max flying almost the whole year for races and then going home to monaco and you working and living in new york, the two of you only saw each other during breaks and when you could occasionally fly to see him race.
and yes, maybe it would make it easier if one of you just moved, but why did it have to be you? living in new york has been your dream since you were a kid and saw it in the movies, and now that you finally got a job that you enjoy in the city of your dreams, are you really gonna leave it? hell no.
“why don’t you think about it?” he insists.
you drop the fork you were holding on the plate creating an exaggerated noise.
“would you do it for me?” you ask, exhausted. “would you move to new york for me?” he shakes his head and went back to his dinner.
“is not the same.” he says. 
“why don’t you move to new york?” you ask instead. this caught his attention and he finally moved his eyes from the food to you. “what is it to you anyway? you’re traveling the whole time, i on the other hand, actually work here.”
“you can get a job in monaco.” he replies like he always did when the topic came up.
“i don’t want a different job!” you raise your voice. “and i don’t want to move to monaco.” he didn’t said anything, fearing that whatever came out of his mouth would disturb you more than you already were. “if you wouldn’t do it for me, why would i do it for you?”
you regret it the moment you said it, but it was too late now, it was out there. you could recognize the pain in max’s face from miles away and you felt a little guilty that you were relieved when you said it so you didn’t have to hide your thoughts on the topic anymore.
“because that is what people in relationships do, y/n.” he answers, his tone rather harsh. “you sacrifice things for each other.”
“why do i have to be the one to sacrifice things?” you couldn’t stop now that it was out there.
“why are you being so immature about this?” he exhales, a tired expression on his face which only made you angrier.
“i’m not acting “immature” about this.” you attack. “you just ask me to give up my whole life to go live in a complete different continent for you and i said no, period.”
“so what are we supposed to do, y/n?” he raise his voice at you also. “what are we doing here? playing around?” you frown, nodding your head in disbelief. “i love you too much but this long distance thing is killing me.” he admits.
to be fair, you weren’t the biggest fan of long distance either, but there was no other choice. it was either that or broke up, and you definitely didn’t want to break up.
“look, i know it is not perfect but what else can we do?” you ask, even though the answer was right there, it was obvious that neither of you was going to give in.
“this cannot be the thing that breaks us up.” he whispers but you heard him.
“of course we’re not gonna break up, max.” you say. “that seems extreme.” a grimace of sadness appeared on your face.
“well, i’m not sure what else…” he didn’t continue. “i’m not moving to new york.” he says with a serious tone. “and it seems like you’re not moving to monaco. and none of us wants to do long distance.” you kept quiet, trying to wrap your mind around what he was implying, praying that your conclusions were wrong.
“so?” you ask somewhat fearfully.
“so… i don’t know.”
“you want to end things?” you question straightforwardly, not wanting to wander anymore where his mind was.
“i don’t.” he answers. “but can we continue how we are?” his face was of true despair. 
“is it really this serious?” your voice was seconds away from breaking but you didn’t want to look shattered in front of him.
“you tell me.” he says with a lump on his throat.
you couldn’t help but wonder if this was always how it was going to end.
52 notes · View notes
frostwing213 · 2 days
Text
I keep getting a lot of Elain stuff popping up on my dash. Mostly about shipping, and I'm like:
How'd this girl end up in a love triangle????
People are very opiniated too, fighting over and making essays about it. There's Elain/Az and Elain/Lucien (There's also Az and Gwen, but I understand how Az got in a love triangle.)
I'm just, struggling to care. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Elain, I just find her kinda boring. She doesn't do much. She feels like that classic fairytale princess that looks pretty and sad in a tower.
Off the top of my head, these are things that define her (Without being linked to men, becase I'm not there yet. Plus, a female character should be able to stand on her own without the men in her life)
She gardens and is primiarily associaed with flowers
Pretty
Nice
Weak
She kinda killed the king of Hyburn
Didn't want to be a fae
kinda wishy washy
Achreon sister
Quiet
Her sisters want to protect her
Future seeing powers
And I'm out of ideas. From my point of view, she doesn't have any discernable personality. Her three major defining things when people think of her are: Pretty, flowers, soft.
She doesn't act for herself, she doesn't speak up. She goes with what happens and gets sad when she doesn't like it. (Becoming a fae was traumatic, and I understand her reaction, but I don't really like it. AND I HAVEN'T EVeN TOUCHED ON THE GREYSON[was that the human dude's name???]THING YET!)
So, when the books start, early ACOTAR. Archeron sisters are in the woods. Feyre is the only one doing something to support the family. Who is Elain in this book? Pretty gardener. Delicate. She isn't doing anything. Some can argue Nesta isn't either, and as a Nesta Supremist, I have to say she was willing to get married to someone cruel to make it easier on her family, and although that isn't much, it's still something. What does Elain do in this book? Be pretty. Please, someone give me an example of Elain doing something constructive and I will edit it in. Please.
Moving on. Next book. She... hosts the house along with Nesta. Oh! She's engaged to a fae hating guy (Who i think is named Greyson. I can't remember and I'm currently loaning out my 2nd and 3rd book, so I can't check rn). Uh.... I don't remember if she does anything else until the end, where she is captured and dumped in the caldron. We find out Lucien is her mate. EDIT!: As @devi1sange1 pointed out to me, Elain did stand up to Nesta about using their house as a meeting spot for the queens. She also takes responisblty for how they treated Feyre. 2 points for Elain. I give her those
She shows up more after that, so I'm not doing book by book, but she gets dumped fast by her fianc�� and hangs out in the house of wind, being very sad. I almost wanna describe her as floaty, because she's acting like a ghost, just existing and mourning what is gone. This is a vaild response, and I understand why she responds this way, it just annoys me because she has not shown any autonomy so far. Anything. I think I remember her asking her ex-fiance to take in humans, but that was after being pushed by the inner circle. Uh... she gives a few prophecies, yay that. When the fighting starts, she stays on the sidelines, which I don't blame her for. She kinda kills the king of Hyburn. I think that's all she does in that.
After that. What does she do? Other than hang around??? I DON'T KNOW!
Elain shows no real drive! She exists and sometimes does stuff to push the plot!
Now onto the (possible) romantic interests she has.
Greyson: Uhhhhh, they like each other. She likes her because she's sweet and pretty. I didn't catch anything else between these two. Uh, he dumps her as soon as she's fae and she gets depressed over it
Lucien: Mating bond. She doesn't like him, I get it. He tries to back off. I think Lucien acts responsibly in this situation. Elain is at no fault in this situation either. Mating bonds don't always pair up the most romantic pair, and it doesn't always work out well. Honestly, I never saw much chemistry between these two, and if not for the bond, they likely would have forever ignored each other.
Azriel: (Random, but I searched him up on tumblr because I couldn't remember how to spell his name, and WOW, there's a lot of Azriel x reader. Yall really 'like' him) How, just how did this become such a popular ship? I never even caught this on my read through. Yeah, Az is nice to her, but he's nice to anyone considered friendly. He's just as nice to Feyre and I don't see anyone shipping those two. I just... don't get it. Is it because we want the sisters paired up with the bat boys? Is that it?? I don't understand. I see no chemistry. It's just two people being nice to one another guys.
I think those are the major ones. I don't understand any of them. Lucien and Az are such powerful charters, while Elain is... 'pretty flower girl'.
I don't hate her, but she kinda annoys me with how much crazines she's getting with people shipping her. Wanna know what i think would be great? She ends up with no one romantically. She has friends, just no romantic partner and that is perfectly fine. Lucien will live. If there's nothing between Az and Gwen, then Az will live.
To wrap up, I find Elain to be a pretty boring charter, I just feel indifferent towards her. I love the other two siblings, but I feel like Elaine could have been improved.
Feel free to talk to me about this! Throw out your own opinions! Give me edvince that supports or opposes any of my points! Correct me on stuff and ignore my spelling!
I love a good debate! Give me one! Please.
Interact with me.
Edit!: Thanks for interacting! I swear I'm reading everything! I just didn't expect this to blow up so fast!
Another edit: Thanks yall for interacting! I'm really enjoying reading the responses and what people hope to see coming from Elaine in the future!
43 notes · View notes
melbatron5000 · 12 hours
Text
Murder Board 2.0
Since I've figure a few things out, I need to re-do my Murder Board. New answers, new questions.
What I think I know:
NEIL GAIMAN IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES. Except when he's dropping hints or answering straight out. All of his answers to anything anyone asks about GO are suspect at best. (I cannot blame him or anyone else on the cast or crew -- they spent A LOT of time and energy building this very meticulous puzzle game for us -- why would ANY of them give ANY of it away? That would ruin all the fun!)
Most of the discontinuity of Season 2 can be explained by POV switches between characters. See here and here for more. I think the title/location cards are also probably POV Clues, that needs a closer look.
Crowley gave something to Aziraphale in his mouth when they kissed. It's the fly. Now, what else was in the fly besides Gabriel's memory? RECORDS.
Saraqael and Crowley and by proxy, Aziraphale are all working together. That explains A. the tiny miracle blowing up into a 25 Lazarii miracle. It didn't. They had to cover for something else that did. B. Saraqael showing the archangels the book shop in 2019 in the spy hole. C. Crowley's spy turtle neck and where he went during Aziraphale's Job flashback. D. Why Saraqael helps him see the trial in Heaven. (Oh! Muriel's now in on it, too!)
Crowley's memory is fine, it's a red herring. He is dissing Furfur, he is denying knowing Saraqael even after she gives him a reason to recognize her to hide that they are working together. He tells Jim he doesn't remember why they invented gravity, but that whole scene if from Aziraphale's perspective, so the conversation likely didn't actually go just like that.
Shax is on a mission besides Gabriel -- she's looking for whatever Aziraphale and Crowley are hiding. Gabriel is a side-mission.
The hand-washing comment from Crowley in the Resurrectionists minisode -- he tells DaVinci about helicopters in Good Omens the novel. It's just a thing he can do.
What is up with Maggie? Maggie's freaking Jesus 2.0. She's what Shax is looking for, and who Crowley, Aziraphale, and Saraqael are hiding. Also, where is God? God is busy being Maggie, that's where.
SECRET SONGS??? Why are the songs secret?? I'm losing my mind, what is happening?? I think this is a message that A. Aziraphale and Crowley are okay, and B. We will absolutely be getting part 3 of 1941.
I still think the scenes might be out of order. Is it as simple as watching them in chronological order? Could be.
What still needs answering:
The clocks jumping time still don't make any sense.
The weird hand in the 1941 photo still doesn't make sense.
Aziraphale's chair position being moved still doesn't make sense.
The extras behaving strangely still doesn't make sense.
Crowley's car being in the wrong spot on the road after Shax threatens him still doesn't make any sense.
I'm not sure that the POV switches explains all the weird sounds.
I'm not sure that POV switches explain Crowley's sunglasses going from silver to black.
What did Gabriel need to bring to Aziraphale? I think he put whatever it was in the fly along with his memory.
I still don't know why Aziraphale went to Edinburgh, or why he stopped at the graveyard where Gabriel's statue is.
Why does Michael do the "nothing's in the box" thing with the matchbox? It's a petty specific action. Someone pointed out that Michael's nails look chewed and terrible, are we meant to stare at the matchbox while something else goes unnoticed? Well, duh. But what?
We most certainly did not get the whole scene where the Metatron is talking to Aziraphale. What else was said?
What did Crowley do during his ALL-NIGHT JAUNT in Heaven? Did he sneak around and steal something? Did he uncover something? Did they hurt him?
What did Aziraphale do with his briefcase that he took to Edinburgh? We see it in the book shop from his POV, and Edinburgh is seen from Crowley's POV, so they both know it exists. And then it's gone.
Why does Gabriel prophecy with God's voice? IS it God's voice? It's a woman, is it Francis McDormand? It's hard to hear.
Why the heck did Maggie and Nina go talk to Crowley while the Metatron was talking to Aziraphale? What they had to say wasn't important enough to leave Nina's shop during a rush, and I definitely don't think they derailed Crowley from what he needed to say to Aziraphale, though it might look at first as if they did. So what was that about?
When Shax stops Aziraphale for a ride, he says, "Oh, I really need to get to --" and then is cut off. He really needs to get to where? It's an easy assumption to think he means the book shop, or London. But is that all he means? Or was he on his way somewhere else? And if it was just the book shop, what does he mean he's late? Late for what?
Crowley can tell "something's wrong," and he doesn't just mean the demons. What?
Why would the Metatron allow Beelzebub and Gabriel to leave, after trying to stop Armageddon 2.0, but come after Crowley and Aziraphale like that? Because of the big miracle? Just because they're higher-ups? Something stinks. Is it because he knows they know where Jesus is?? Fuck.
Why does Crowley say "Oh, God," right before his confession in the final fifteen? To let Aziraphale know that he understands what Aziraphale is saying? That God (or the Voice) is there? Seems possible.
When Crowley leaves Heaven, he tells Saraqael and Muriel to come, too. But in the elevator, Michael and Uriel are there! When the fuck did they show up??
Why does Beelzebub tell Shax to attack the bookstore? Aren't they worried about Gabriel being harmed? And they know Hell is understaffed. Maybe that's why they command it? Because they know Shax won't be able to get the demons?
What about the Masons? It's such a specific thing for the pub owner to bring up, what is the meaning of it? And Maggie has a Mason symbol on her necklace. Did the Masons carve the statue of Gabriel? When did they see him?
The only narration we hear in the entire season is Aziraphale in the Resurrectionist flashback. I believe this is to throw us off the POV character switches all season. But still, why do we only hear him narrate 1 flashback? I think he's reading the diary to himself in the present day. That would explain the end, "And that was the last I was to see of Crowley for some time." He JUST heard the story of the jukebox from Maggie. And Gabriel appearing -- same city that statue is in. Of course he thought of something important from that diary entry! Now, what did he notice?
Is the Book of Life a real threat? We hear two stories about it, that it's real and that its ability to erase beings was something to scare the cherubs with, this is inconclusive. Crowley gets nervous after Beelzebub talks to him, but I think he's pissed that Heaven and Hell have taken an interest in them again, especially since they're trying to hide Maggie!Jesus.
So many promo posters show Aziraphale, Crowley, and Jimbriel together, or symbols of them. Three feathers: two white, one black. Tea cup, cocoa mug, wine glass. The three of them. Not with Beelzebub, not with Muriel, the three of them. And all three of them have been Jesus-coded in some small way. No one else. Those three. What. Why. Are they the sacrifice required to bring about the new world? Why not Beez, then?
Wait. Two Crowleys?? WTF. There are two Crowley puppets in the magic shop, and Crowley doesn't remember Saraqael or Furfur. Is he dissing them, or is that the second Crowley that never did meet either of them? Am I insane? I have no theory here, just some wild speculation that needs a lot more time to simmer. Two actual Crowleys, or two ideas of Crowley? Or something to hurt my head? Why are they in a cave in the opening sequence? The guy who made the opening sequence says they are in the fly that Gabriel stores his memory in. Okay, why? And Crowley lights a match to see. Hm. What else was in that fly that Gabriel didn't take when he got his memory out?
An album on the wall in Maggie's shop says "Rat Keith." This seems to me to be an allusion to The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett. In the book, some men have tied several rats' tails together to create a rat king that keeps the wild rats under control -- except that the rat king has too much power and is doing way more than just that. People die. So who's been given too much power and is now running the show instead of being a puppet? The Metatron, perhaps? Hm . . . Also, Keith is the young boy who plays the part of the Pied Piper for Maurice's scam. He leads all the rats out of town, never mind that the rats can talk and are in on the scam.
Repeating themes:
Beverages of all kinds -- tea for Aziraphale, wine or whiskey for Crowley, cocoa for Jim.
Time -- lots of clocks/mentions of time
Love/partnership/togetherness being stronger than separateness
Memories/forgetting/remembering
Payment -- money comes up in both the Resurrectionists minisode and the Flesh Eating Nazi Zombies minisode, but no one pays for anything in present. There is bartering, but no money.
Rising from the dead -- Job's kids (even though they weren't actually dead), bodies used for science, Nazi zombies, the Second Coming.
Unreliable narrators
Death in general -- but 9a., I'm a dirty pagan, why didn't I make this connection sooner, death always leads to REBIRTH, change, something totally new and 9b. there are tarot cards in the magic shop, and even if you're not a dirty pagan, the Death tarot card means transition, something must die before a new thing can be born. Hmmmm.
Morality and what is "good" and what is right
Recognition and identity
Repeating words and phrases:
Technically
Properly
Isn't it just?
Too late
Funny old world
Not as such
Made for each other
EVERYWHERE
Obviously
Two shakes of a lamb's tail
Hints:
Powell and Pressburg films
The Crow Road
Catch 22
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Terry Pratchett in general
Jane Austin
Book Good Omens
The titles of episodes, minisodes, places, etc. 7a. The Arrival: a book and a movie, though the book seems far more relevant. And lovely. The Clue: a movie. Companion to Owls: a line from a Bible story. I Know Where I'm Going: a movie. The Resurrectionists: two novels, each called The Resurrectionist, singular. Both look unhinged. The Hitchhiker: a Twilight Zone episode. Nazi Zombie Flesheaters: Literally no other reference. ?? Nazi Zombies do appear in a LOT of movies, comics, and video games, usually as a dark joke. The Ball: a video game. Irrelevant? It's a puzzle-based game, so maybe not. Every Day: a song AND a movie. Some themes repeat here: Puzzle games, being re-directed from one's path to find true love, death and being brought back to life in a gruesome and unpleasant way.
39 notes · View notes
wc-confessions · 2 days
Note
I want to preface this confession by saying very big age gaps are a major squick for me in shipping, but I *still* think the Warriors fandom can be a bit. Weird about them?
Like. I see so many things of ppl being like "UGH, [insert ship] is SO problematic bcus it has an ENORMOUS age gap and [older cat in relationship] is a TOTAL CREEP even if they pursued [younger cat in relationship] as an adult!!!"
And then I'm like "Wow rly? Sounds terrible! Just how big is this age gap?"
So I look it up. And then it's like. Twelve moons.
You folks realize that's... twelve *moons*, not years, right? This is a one year age gap, not twelve. A one year age gap is *nothing*
One could argue that it is a big age gap, or should be considered one (bcus the canon series doesn't care about age gaps at all lol) by the standards of Warriors society, bcus the commonly accepted average age of becoming a warrior is 12 moons, meaning that the younger cat would be born by the time the older cat would be considered an adult
Which, yeah, does sound a bit weird when you put it into that light. But if that's enough to consider the ship "problematic," you have an extremely limited pool of "good" ships, so limited to the point where it rly wouldn't make sense for the long run of the series
You're telling me that cats' only eligible partners are ones who are born within, like, less than six moons of them, if they wanna consistently stay in the same life stage? What are the odds of a good match happening within that pool? What if the uncommon situation of a cat being the only one in that age range occurs (ex: Birchpaw (Birchfall) in The New Prophecy), are they just supposed to never get a mate no matter how badly they may want to (if they don't want a mate, awesome, and a convenient coincidence, but if they do)? What if all the cats in that range just so happen to be somehow related?
The warrior cats, despite how anthropormorphized they are, still aren't humans, and mature at a different rate than humans, so one being an adult at the same time as one being a young child and then pursuing each other later in life, a year between them (WHEN THEY'RE BOTH CONSENTING ADULTS!!!), has a way different connotation than it does for humans, who would have to have an age gap of over eighteen years (in the US for me, age of consent may be different elsewhere) in order for that to be the case
I get being grossed out by age gaps, I am too, but I genuinely don't feel like an age gap of one year or so is anything to freak out over the way so many ppl do. If that's your limit then there's hardly a ship that's not "creepy" in terms of age gaps. If you're fine with that, whatever, but you might be surprised by what ships you may like that have an age gap of that size
For me, personally, an age gap bigger than roughly three years is when I start feeling squicked (in Warriors shipping specifically), but it varies from ship to ship, and ymmv of course (and of course this only applies if they pursued each other when they were both adults)
But point being I think the Warriors fandom should rethink what's considered a "big" age gap bcus no small amount of the ones I see accused of being that aren't that at all, not by my personal standards at least
.
48 notes · View notes
st4rgzer · 7 hours
Text
Tumblr media
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY
—> spencer reid
coming soon…
Fortnight…
-in which your unlawful affair with fbi agent spencer reid must come to an end, instead, a revelation is made.
The Tortured Poets Department…
-despite your complicated relationship with spencer reid, you need him, and you know he needs you.
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
-in which you dismiss all the warnings from your friends, but who could deny spencer reid when his eyes light up every time he sees you, like a new toy.
Down Bad
-in which passion takes a form of frustration when you can’t have what you want, the object of your adoration being spencer reid.
So Long, London
-a withering relationship you can’t stop from fading which you decide shall come to an end.
But Daddy I Love Him
-your parents worries of you becoming an fbi agent increase when they find out who your heart desires.
Fresh Out The Slammer
-a night in prison bring out a realization about who’s arms you wanted to run into, fresh out the slammer.
Guilty as Sin?
-fantasies in your head start manifesting and interrupting your life, and spencer reid can tell.
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
-your rivalry with dr. spencer reid reaches a near end when he takes it too far (burntout!reader).
I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
-you try and trick yourself into thinking a relationship with spencer reid won’t crash and burn…but what if it doesn’t? (postprison!reid).
‎loml
-you thought it was perfect, everything with spencer reid was new and familiar at the same time. what are you supposed to do when it ends?
I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
-profiler spencer reid can see behind your big bright eyes and witty remarks, yearningto know where your mind goes when you’re alone, when you’re not surrounded by people.
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
-in an unfortunate series of events, spencer reid betrays you. he threw everything away, and for what? you decide to see him one last time.
The Alchemy
-in which the undeniable chemistry between you and spencer doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone.
Clara Bow
-…?
*********
summary pending…
The Black Dog
​​imgonnagetyouback
The Albatross
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
How Did It End?
So High School
I Hate It Here
​​thanK you aIMee
I Look in People's Windows
The Prophecy
Cassandra
Peter
The Bolter
Robin
The Manuscript
a/n: if anyone has any ideas for any of these fics, please share! this is long asf ik but just bare with me. also took “florida!!!” of cause i had no idea what to write for that one
28 notes · View notes
cubeapples · 2 days
Text
the reason i think tomarrymort is a predator-prey relationship is because in reality, if you look at it completely objectively, harry is just an obstacle voldemort has to beat down. he is not an equal enemy. it's really not that deep. put down your pitchforks, let me explain.
obviously, they are enemies in the way that they stand for opposing ideologies. so it is an enemies to lovers dynamic, but it isn't THE enemies to lovers dynamic. they just don't have enough history to be portrayed as arch enemies in my opinion. that title goes to dumbledore.
you have voldemort, who is a terrifying warlord who has brought britain to its knees. he has stricken fear all over the world. people are afraid to say his name. and then you have harry, who is powerful in his own way, he is a decent wizard and is considered voldemort's enemy by a prophecy.
voldemort, in his paranoia and fear, decided to kill this toddler who is considered his enemy and ends up without a body. as you can already tell, there is a maaajor power imbalance here, it's laughable that voldemort lost to a baby. because of this, he has to spend 13 years as a wraith without a body. that is probably one of the most traumatizing things he has probably went through. obviously, when he recovers, he becomes even more irrational. he makes another horcrux, he considers harry as a real threat because he thinks harry's power did that.
we, as the readers know that the last statement is untrue. canonically, it was lily's love that protected harry. not some magical power harry possessed when he was a toddler, but because lily loved him so much that voldemort's soul was split apart again and he was left in agony.
then, harry grows up. he is a bright student. he is good at DADA, he sucks at history, he is powerful enough to cast patronuses. but overall, he is mediocre. we don't see him having a thirst to learn, we don't see him actively seeking out ways to destroy voldemort, we don't see him taking his occlumency lessons seriously. (rightfully, because snape was being an ass) but overall, he doesn't go out of his way to do anything significant. he's just trying to survive. but that doesn't mean he is not brave. when he's put on the spot, he faces voldemort and hardly runs.
but overall, he is not in control of the grand scheme of things. dumbledore is the one orchestrating voldemort's downfall behind the scenes. harry is just a particulary shiny pawn needed to win the chess game, but the queen is still dumbledore. sure, harry is scene forming the da in book 5 and sure, he goes on the hunt in the seventh book, but that is only because voldemort is actively pursuing him. do you see it now?
yes, you could say harry would have graduated and fought against voldemort but... so would everyone else. there is an entire order dedicated to fighting against voldemort, harry isn't special.
harry is only significant to voldemort because of the prophecy, without it, he will always be a no one to voldemort. you can't disagree with this, because if you do, you should be prepared to ship neville with voldemort because he could have been the chosen one, but the prophecy wasn't about him. he fought alongside harry, too. he slit nagini's throat, and yet voldemort barely pays attention to him.
you can say harry isn't prey-material because he fights back. but that is because he's been put on the spot. he has no where to escape at all. harry never instigates any of their fights, they are not on equal footing. they can therefore, never truly be equals opposing each other, simply because harry does not have the expertise to hold his own against voldemort. the prophecy labels them equals, but is this ever truly portrayed? no! voldemort literally has a piece of his soul inside harry, it's like he partially owns harry already. they were never equals to begin with. if jkr truly wanted to portray them as equal enemies, she should have given harry more credit. he is never anywhere near as powerful as tom riddle. she shouldn't have had dumbledore providing all the info, she shouldn't have had harry be a martyr-like figure who has to sacrifice himself to save the world, she shouldn't have made harry win based on pure luck.
the only reason harry won was because of voldemort's irrationality and harry's plot armour.
22 notes · View notes
soupclair · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
been doing a lot of pm doodles recently but i think this one specifically is nice enough to post without getting nervous
13 notes · View notes
neixins · 2 months
Text
the sword and shield part of the prophecy is soooo vague that i’ll rotate every possible theory inside my silly little head and then go “or it could be smth else”. absolute net zero conclusions reached but i had fun.
#like. i think hak being the sword is one of if not the most popular theories and i can see it bc well. look at the guy#but it’s the specifics of the wording that give me pause#‘WHEN the four dragons are gathered the sword and shield which will protect the king SHALL AWAKEN’#when hak’s been there from the beginning + there’s also ik-su’s warning that hak will die if yona doesn’t find the dragons#which. there’s definitely ways to interpret him still being the sword (or shield!! that’d also be a neat twist) even with that in mind#but ngl i’m also a sucker for the idea that he’s just. there bc he loves yona. no connection to the prophecy whatsoever.#like both options make sense to me and i can see either one happening#anyway my personal favorite theory rn is that riri is the either the sword or the shield#not saying it’s the most probable option. just the most fun to meeee <3#and ngl it only occurred to me during the latest chapter bc she’s clearly gonna play some kind of role#so it’s not like i have like a mountain of compelling evidence but i do have more than just. a feeling#like she has the sociopolitical standing and the ability (or at least pluckiness) to fill either role right?#and she was introduced and grew as a character only after all four dragons were gathered#which fits with some of the only things we know about the sword and the shield#do u see what i’m getting at?? am i making any sense at all??#it could also ofc be a literal sword and shield which. tbh i think is the most likely but also less fun to speculate about#anyway i also think tae-jun will have a bigger role to play. either as a part of the prophecy or not#but also how might zeno’s recent actions impact the prophecy……. much to think about as always#but that’s enough theorizing for one day! time to grab my iced coffee from the fridge and work on my silly little fic <3#akayona
2 notes · View notes
zukkaoru · 2 years
Text
no one look at me i'm thinking about the parallels between camp half-blood having very few campers who are adults bc most demigods don't make it that long vs. the only non-higher up sorcerers in jjk being younger than thirty bc most sorcerers don't make it that long--
#i can't like. put it into words but it's like#it's about the inevitability of tragedy#how you can see the blood and bones of the past in the Lack#the lack of adult demigods. the lack of older sorcerers. it's the emptiness that gives the warning#and yet. what can you do but continue down the same path?#it's about how the people in charge (the higher ups / the gods) try to cover up the tragedy#no one is allowed to speak about what really happens to demigods and sorcerers#but you can See it#you can see that camp half-blood is sparse and most of the campers are young#you can see that the jujutsu world is in need of more sorcerers and the ones they Do have are young adults / students#it's about how the unspoken is made clear when you really Look#it's about how even when tragedy remains unwritten you can see it in those who are left behind#the difference is percy sees the early deaths most heroes face and says NO that will NOT be me#the difference is percy's mother gave him the name perseus because the original perseus was one of the few heroes who got a happy ending#while itadori accepts his tragic fate. he accepts that he needs to die#his mother gave birth to him specifically so he could be sukuna's vessel - so he could be used#and then so he could die. because itadori was only ever supposed to be temporary - sukuna was always supposed to be that body's#final inhabitant#the difference is percy brings hope when he survives the titan war - survives the prophecy that everyone assumed would kill him#but itadori is not allowed to bring hope. all he can do is die and take sukuna with him#(the difference is pjo isn't a tragedy - it's a twist on myths where the hero doesn't die a painful death#while itadori was born into a tragedy - a story in which there is no room for hope)#haha anyway#hello grace here#also i'm gonna copy the first half of these tags in a reblog bc i can only communicate my thoughts accurately in tag rambling format
42 notes · View notes
eggmeralda · 5 months
Text
I wish I was able to explain the concept of ruth a lot better bc then I could be like "this is a ruth moment" "progressing onto the next stage of the ruth arc" etc and everyone would know what I mean
#having a week+ long feud with various couriers over a missing john leyton compilation album is a certified ruth moment#i can't explain it but tis#she's so hard to explain she's my oc she's a self insert she's a prophecy she's my future self she's me in the present she's a concept she#she's basically a joke me and my sister had of a 31 year old woman who's someone's weird aunt#but she was based on a pic of me when i was 19. and then we were like that's just me in the future#and we'd say random facts about ruth based on vibes#but then so many of them came true??#a few years ago one of us was like ''i can see ruth becoming really invested in coronation street''#and look where i am now. 28 years deep into it#''ruth definitely fancies some early 60s pop singer and buys all his albums and like. her facebook photo is a pic of them together''#and like. I've never met john leyton and currently don't have any albums bc i'm having drama with royal mail atm but other than that?#''ruth has a youtube channel where she reviews and compares biscuits from different supermarkets'' is the most recent prediction#it's too recent that it is nowhere near happening yet but. it's only a matter of time#also ruth used to have two golden retrievers named lily and jasmine. but it's slowly turning into one cocker spaniel named lilyjasmine#but at this point lily and jasmine are not dogs. they are a concept. a way of life. a vibe#two matching salt and pepper containers. two moths that fly into the house. a pair of flip flops. they are all lily and jasmine#anyway#ramble#ruth vibes
0 notes
Text
In 1985, one of the only persons interested in an interview with a “new” writer called Terry Pratchett, after his publication of the Colour of Magic, was one Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman was writing for Space Voyager at the time. "The Colour of Pratchett" was the name given here:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
It ran exactly one page inside the June/July issue of that year. The interview took place in a Chinese restaurant in London.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Here is Neil many years later holding that issue. You can see it here if you want. Warning: extremely emotional video.
Neil arrived wearing a grey homburg hat. “Sort of like the ones Humphrey Bogart wears in movies” he later wrote. (Before saying that in fact he did not look like him, but like someone wearing a grown-up’s hat). Terry Pratchett, photo courtesy of one @neil-gaiman, was in a Lenin-style leather cap and a harlequin-patterned pullover. At this point, Terry was already a hat person, although not that hat.
Terry offered Neil this : "An interview needn't last more than 15 minutes. A good quote for the beginning, a good quote for the end, and the rest you make up back at the office"*. (Terry Pratchett had worked many years in journalism by this point ).
But the meeting went terribly well. The two of them realized they had "the same sort of brains". So well indeed, that in 1985, Neil had shown Terry a file containing 5282 words, exploring a scenario in which Richmal Crompton's William Brown had somehow become the Antichrist. Was a collaboration in the cards as of that moment? Not really. But Terry found in Neil someone to whom he could send disks of work in progress and to whom he could pick up the phone sometimes when he hit a brick in the road of his writing.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Terry loved it and the concept stayed in his mind. A couple of years later, he rang Neil to ask him if he had done any more work on it. Neil had been busy with The Sandman, he had not really given it another thought. Terry said, "Well I know what happens next, so either you sell me the idea or we can write it together". **
And as you know, unless you’ve been living in Alpha Centauri, the rest is history. That was the beginning of what would become William the Antichrist and later would get the name Good Omens:The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. (Title provided by Neil Gaiman and subtitle by Terry Pratchett).
Tumblr media Tumblr media
From the introduction to William the Antichrist: “In the summer of 1987 several odd ideas came together: (..)I found myself imagining a book called William the Antichrist, in which a hapless demon was going to be responsible for swapping the wrong baby over, and the son of the US Ambassador would be completely undemonic, while William Brown would grow up to be the Antichrist, and the demon would need to stop him ending the world. The unfortunate demon, whom I called Crawleigh, because Crawley was a nearby town with an unfortunate name, would have to sort it all out as best he could.
It felt like a story with legs.
Terry took the 5,000 words, and rewrote them, calling me to tell me what he was doing and what he was planning to do. The biggest thing he was going to do, he told me, was split the hapless demon into two characters – a would-be-cool demon in dark glasses (which was, I think, Terry’s way of making fun of me, a never-actually- cool journalist in dark glasses) who had renamed himself Crowley, and a rare-book dealer and angel called Aziraphale, who would embody all the English awkwardness that either of us could conceive.”
William the Antichrist being a direct inspiration of the 1976 film The Omen. If the baby swap had just been a little bit messier and the kid had gone off somewhere else he would have grown up as somebody else. “And then there was a beat and I thought, I should write it, it will be called William the Antichrist” says Neil. ***
“The first draft of Good Omens was a William-book. It was absolutely in every way it could be a William book. It had Violet Elizabeth Bott, it had William and the Outlaws, it had Mr. Brown”.
Over time they realized that they would have more creative freedom if they in their own words filed off the serial numbers. William and the Outlaws becoming Adam and the Them.
But the spirit of Just William was never far away.
The joy for Neil was to construct “perfectly William sentences”. The one when Anathema tells Adam that she has lost the Book, and he tells her that he has written a book about a pirate who became a famous detective and it is 8 pages long… that’s “a William sentence”.
Good Omens was also inspired by a particularly antisemitic moment in The Jew of Malta and John le Carre's spy novels. (Neil’s ask)
“When we finished the book we estimated that the words were 60% Terry’s and 40% mine, and the plot, such as it was, was entirely ours.”
(Here are some slides of mine where I go into some other details concerning the origins of Good Omens).
Tumblr media
*Quote: from Terry Pratchett A Life With Footnotes by Rob Wilkins, but said by Terry of course.
** All the quotes, facts listed here : see above.
***all other quotes by Neil Gaiman from various interviews and asks I’ll link.
3K notes · View notes
triptuckers · 4 months
Text
keep the nightmares away - percy jackson
Request: nope Pairing:  Percy Jackson x reader Summary:  oh nooo what if there's only one bed........ (im a sucker for this trope and WILL use it whenever I can) Warnings:  mentions of wounds, swearing, nightmares Word count:  1.5K A/N:  yall know that audio from the rock "it's about drive it's about power we stay hungry we devour" that's me writing more fics in two days than I have in 6 months. I blame it on my percy jackson hyperfixation. enjoy!
you were so exhausted you could barely keep your eyes open. you'd been sent on another quest and had been chased down by monsters for gods know how many times already.
everyone was tired and just wanted to go to bed. but a prophecy had predicted there would be three demigods and a fourth companion on this quest, so it wasn't easy to leave the monsters behind.
'why did we have to be four?' you say softly as you force yourself to keep on walking. 'it would be way more quiet if there were only three of us.'
percy looks over his shoulder in front of you. 'I don't think quests are ever quiet.' he says with a smile.
'you know what I mean.' you say. 'are we there yet?'
'almost.' says annabeth, who is walking with grover in front of percy, holding the map and leading the way. 'it's just over the ridge.'
'thank the gods.' you mutter.
you know annabeth is going to state the facts rather than make something sound good. and sure enough, when you reach the top of the ridge you can see a dimly lit street in the distance.
you can see the motel you're headed for, a diner, and a gas station with a small store.
you're filled with relief of the thought of finally laying down and resting your feet. you could rewrap your wounds and maybe even take a shower if you're lucky and have the energy for it.
'come on, nearly there.' says percy, reaching out and gently tugging you along by your wrist.
if you weren't so tired you'd be reeling over the fact percy is holding your wrist so gently. but all you can think of is how soft the beds would be.
when you get to the motel you're too tired to speak. you let annabeth do all of the talking.
after a few minutes she returns with two keys.
'these are the only ones they had available.' she says, giving percy one.
'come on.' says percy. 'want me to rewrap your arm?'
you nod. a few hours ago, you got your arm sliced open and had to hastily wrap it. you're not very good at it, as the cut is on the back of your upper arm and you can't see it very well.
'grover and I will check the area quickly and then we can all get some rest.' says annabeth. 'regroup in my room at 8 am tomorrow?'
'sure.' says percy while you and grover nod.
you follow percy as he's searching for the room. eventually he stops and you nearly bump into him.
'sorry.' you mutter.
'it's alright.' says percy as he unlocks the door and lets you enter first.
you stop in the door opening, looking at the room.
'what's wrong?' says percy, looking over your shoulder. 'oh.'
yeah. oh. there's only one bed. not even a sofa.
you enter the room and percy shuts the door behind him. of course there's only one bed. and you're so exhausted. you can tell percy is tired as well. he's just better at hiding it.
'come on, let me take care of your arm.' says percy.
you head into the bathroom while percy rummages around his pack for the medical kit.
'sit on the counter.' he says as he enters the bathroom with the medical kit in his hands.
you do as he instructs and rest the back of your head against the mirror. you close your eyes but open them when percy lightly taps your knee.
'need you awake for this. you can sleep after.' he says softly.
you sigh. 'fine.'
'I know you're exhausted. I'll make it quick.'
'thanks, perce.'
percy ignores the way he feels when you call him that. he wonders if you know you're the only one that ever calls him that.
he washes his hands and then gently unwraps the old bandage around your arm. he carefully cleans the cut and starts on rewrapping it, making sure he's not hurting you.
when he's almost done, he feels a weight on his shoulder. he smiles to himself, letting you doze off on his shoulder. he's nearly done, anyway.
he secures the last bit of the bandage and then nudges you awake.
'sorry.' you say, blinking a few times.
'let's get you to the bed.' says percy, offering his hand so you can hop off the counter. 'you can take the first shift.'
you frown. 'first shift?'
'sleeping in the bed.'
'where will you sleep?'
'on the floor. I'll get the pillows off of the chair.'
you shake your head. 'percy, you're tired as well. you've fought just as much as I have. you'll only make it worse by sleeping on the floor. we can share.' you say.
sharing a bed as friends, that's cool right? not a big deal. at least that's what you tell yourself.
percy studies your face. he probably looks as tired as you do.
'it's big enough for the two of us.' you say, reaching down to take off your boots.
'alright.' says percy.
there's a knock on the door and both you and percy freeze. percy reaches inside of his pocket, ready to take out riptide.
'it's me.' says annabeth on the other side. 'all clear. get some rest.'
'thanks, goodnight annabeth.' says percy, visibly relaxing.
you walk over to the bed and lay down on the left side, leaving enough space for percy.
'if I find you on the floor when I wake up I'll make the rest of the quest even more miserable for you.' you mumble as you close your eyes. 'don't be a gentleman.'
'noted.' says percy with a smile, laying down on the other side of the bed, careful to leave more than enough space between the two of you.
it's cool, this is fine. laying next to you in a bed. nothing that could happen, you're just friends. right?
after a while, he can tell you're asleep by the slow breathing coming from your side of the bed.
he's keeping his distance, even if it means he nearly falls off of the bed. he's mind is spinning in circles about the fact you're laying right next to him.
but eventually, he falls asleep. after all, all four of you were utterly exhausted when you reached the motel earlier in the night.
it feels like way too soon when he's woken up again. he frowns, it's still dark outside. he shifts to get comfortable again. but then he feels something hard poke him in his ribs.
'oof.' he grunts softly, then rolls over to see if you're awake. why would you punch him in the middle of the night?
but when he sees you, he noticed your face is scrunched up in agony and you're mumbling something.
he frowns and watches you move around restlessly, nearly hitting him again.
but his frown disappears soon enough. he knows the feeling all too well.
you're having a nightmare.
a bad one, by the looks of it.
gently, he reaches out and pushes a strand of sweaty hair out of your face, then nudges your shoulder.
'hey, wake up.'
in response, you curl up even more so percy shakes you again, a little harder this time.
you wake up and immediately sit up, eyes wide in panic. your hand is scrambling for you belt, where you keep your knives.
'woah, hey, it's alright you're safe, you're with me.' says percy, holding your shoulders and forcing you to look at him.
his sea-green eyes are familiar and calm you down a little. you're breathing heavily and fully aware of percy holding on to your shoulders. you force yourself to push away from him, creating space between the two of you.
'I'm alright.' you say, closing your eyes and shaking your head slightly. you would not cry over something as stupid as a nightmare.
'want to talk about it?' says percy softly.
'no I'm fine.'
'talking mostly helps me.'
you sigh and start to fidget with your fingers. why does it feel so embarrassing? you're sure lots of demigods have nightmares, given what you go through on a daily basis.
'it was the gods.' you start. 'I'd failed some sort of quest and they let loose their powers on me. camp half-blood got destroyed. I couldn't find annabeth and grover. there was fire everywhere and you... fuck.'
'it's okay.' says percy softly, encouraging you to go on.
'I found you in the rubble of your cabin.' you whisper.
'shit, I'm sorry.'
'it's alright, I'm alright. you're here now.'
'you think you can try going back to sleep again?'
'yeah, I can try.'
the two of you lay down again, this time with a little less space between you.
'percy?' you say, slowly reaching out to him.
'yeah?'
'is it okay if I...?'
wordlessly, percy reaches out and pulls you against him, where you curl up against his side.
'thanks.' you say, feeling yourself relax again.
'I'll keep the nightmares away.' mumbles percy.
you smile to yourself, closing your eyes and letting percy's heartbeat lull you to sleep. you're confident nightmares wouldn't find you again. you're safe now.
A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit/Max
3K notes · View notes
catsvrsdogscatswin · 3 months
Text
Underutilized bit in LOTR, I feel, is how deeply out of his depth Boromir is within the Fellowship.
And by that I don't mean that he's the weakest or the stupidest or any of that, but rather that –against all appearances– he is the sole member of the Fellowship who is a Regular Normal Human, and he would have such a shocker slowly figuring all that out over the course of their journey. I mean:
Age. Legolas and Gimli wouldn't surprise him, since the lifespan of elves and dwarves seems commonly known to be way longer than humans, but Gandalf? The hobbits? None of these ages work as advertised and when he goes down to sit and commiserate with Aragorn about being the only Men in the company and how weird this all must be for them both Aragorn has to cough into his fist and mutter "Eighty-seven." "WHAT?!" (Yes, I know that Gondor keeps records of their Númenórean ancestors and said ancestors' extended lifespans, but consider this: the blood has thinned so much in Gondor that practically nobody lives longer than regular humans nowadays, and Boromir is canonically the jock in a family of scholars. He had to look up what/where Rivendell was after he got Faramir's Prophecy Dream, for god's sake.)
Bilbo. The entire Fellowship except Boromir has a personal relationship with Bilbo, and Boromir has neither seen nor heard of this creature in his life. Everyone else is starting off this quest with significant background knowledge of Bilbo's life and The Hobbit, whether having been told by Bilbo himself or having had family members personally involved at the time it occurred, and Boromir, again, has no clue what they're all on about.
Moria. Dwarves presumably have some built-in sensory adaptions for living underground, elf eye physics are bullshit, hobbits are stated to be far more comfortable/better navigating underground than most races, Gandalf is an Istar, and Aragorn has been hunting and tracking in various ungodly locations for most of his eighty-seven years. This means that, once again, Boromir is the only Normal Person trying to Normally Navigate a mostly-pitch-black cave system while everyone else side-eyes him for bumping into walls all the time.
Elves can sleep with their eyes open. This is admittedly not the most common thing among the Fellowship, but please imagine Boromir, still struggling to understand the fact that he's surrounded by nonhuman beings who have no shared concept of the passing of time, rolling over at 2AM to see Legolas bluescreening contentedly up at the sky, and then everyone acts like he's the weird one when he starts freaking out about it because all of them are used to traveling with/know more about elves than he does.
Even just remembering stuff off the top of my head, Boromir must have had such a weird time adjusting to being the only normal human being among the Fellowship before he, y'know. Died.
(Plus I can totally imagine Merry and Pippin giving him shit for "Well, if you're the only normal one amongst nearly a dozen people, then that's not very 'normal', is it? Maybe Men are the odd ones out and everybody else is normal.")
2K notes · View notes
rockatanskette · 1 year
Text
One of the running themes in "humans are space orcs" circles is the idea that humans will bond with anything. I can think of plenty of stories of humans making friends with wild animals, alligators, predators, creatures that aliens would immediately recognize as too dangerous for contact. But I was reading a story about two orangutans released back into the wild today and there's a certain element to that story I haven't seen so often: humans will bond with animals regardless of whether the bond is reciprocal.
For every story of a human making friends with some unlikely creature, there are dozens of stories of conservation specialists tranquilizing animals, tending to their wounds or illness, and releasing them because they're too dangerous to handle consciously. Stories of tagging birds of prey and timber wolves and Siberian tigers. Fat Bear Week? Any of those bears would rip your face off without hesitation. But they're round and fluffy and intimidating and beautiful and we love them even though they hate us. We make an effort to protect our monsters, because we love our monsters.
Imagine an alien planet that's experiencing ecological degradation. Their flora is dying, and they can't figure out why. And, offhandedly, in a diplomatic mission, an allied planet mentions that humans have successfully reversed similar devastation on Earth. So they reach out and Earth sends some experts to check it out. And what do they suggest? Reintroducing an apex predator that used to be a scourge against alien settlements. The species still exists in other regions of the planet, but it is slowly disappearing outside of its native habitat.
The aliens are askance. They've told bedtime stories to their young of these creatures: how they tear apart their prey, how they've eaten their organs and rip apart their homes. Some suggest that it's a trick—that the humans are trying to prompt them into destroying themselves.
But there are many alien cultures on this planet, with many different stories and some of them agree. The world watches in anticipation as the humans help their predators. They seek them out, these fearless otherworlders, putting them to sleep and tending their wounds. They keep track of the beasts, not to harm them, but to protect them.
At first the doomsayers' prophecy seems to come true. The predators devour prey animals like a feast, like a slaughter to people who have never been so close to the circle of life. But then, slowly, not over months but over years, comes change. The prey no longer eat the leaves and buds of every tree; some are left to bloom and fall. The refuse rots in the dirt, and the floods cease as the soil grows thick with compost and rotted bone, thick enough to hold water. The shapes of rivers change to protect their surroundings from the rain. The pollinators rebound.
Decades later, other cities and nations begin to accept this human myth of "conservation." Champions arise, alien champions, now, who go into the depths of the wilderness and the seas to protect those predators from the apathy of time.
Not all of them make it. This is something else the humans teach. Sometimes the tranquilizers are not enough. Sometimes the timing is wrong. Sometimes accidents happen. And when they do, the aliens look to humans for an answer for why they should protect these creatures who have killed those they love?
"Because they knew the risks," the humans say. "Because they would be the first to speak to save them. Because they taught you to see the beauty in the wild and you must not close your eyes."
So, despite themselves, they don't.
6K notes · View notes