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sirianasims · 3 days

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Chapter 43.5

Idiot.

The voice in my head is persistent. It’s been over two months but it’s not letting up.

I try to focus on the lines, struggling to keep the faint remnants of my Tartosan accent from creeping into Llama Man’s commanding voice. It’s always more difficult just after I’ve been home.

Idiot.

Images from the last year keep flashing by, little details seared into my brain. Her green eyes. Her smile. The delicate birthmarks artfully strewn across her face. I used to insist on kissing each of them goodbye before I left and it always made her laugh.

It was the best sound in the world.

Idiot.

The more recent images are a different story. Her tears. The look of shock and confusion in her eyes. She didn’t understand, of course, and some days I’m not sure I do either. Am I an idiot for leaving her? Or for letting myself fall in love with her in the first place?

Both?

“Alright, Paul, that was good, but let’s do an extra take just to be sure.”

I nod at the sound technician and start over.

“I’ve sent the files off to Mike. Personally, I don’t think he’ll demand another round, the last two takes were flawless.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry for dragging you in for pick-ups again, I’ve been feeling a bit off lately.”

“Hey, it’s a pay check. And I’m going to need it for the move. We want to get settled into the new house before my son’s wedding so we’re already packing.”

“Did you find a job in Henford yet?”

“Not yet, but my wife got an offer. We’ll make it work. My kid is the only family I have left, so if he moves abroad, we follow. And I never liked staying in one place for too long anyway, I get restless.”

“Well, best of luck over there, Charles. The new sound tech will have some big shoes to fill.”

“Thanks, Paul. It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

Charles leaves, and I turn on the coffee machine.

I’ve just finished pouring two mugs when Lee arrives.

“Oh, you must have read my mind, love, I am positively dying for a coffee right now.”

“When are you not?”

Lee settles onto the sofa with a sigh.

“It’s been one of those weeks, deadlines put such a damper on my creativity. But how was Tartosa? Did you have a nice birthday?”

“It was fine. I didn’t feel like making it a huge thing, but my mother had arranged a family dinner at the vineyard.”

“Ah, just an intimate and completely non-threatening gathering with fifteen to twenty people, then.”

I lean back against the counter and take a long sip of the coffee to avoid responding. It’s still too hot, and I grimace as the liquid burns my mouth. Idiot.

Lee isn’t so easily deterred, though.

“So, that’s it? You’re just never going to see her again?”

“Lee, first of all, she blocked me. On my birthday, no less. So I’m going to take that as a big fat hint and respect her wishes. Second, I broke up with her because it was a dead end. She’s not going to settle down for another decade, and when she does, she’s not going to pick some fifty year old relic.”

Lee raises an eyebrow.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Yeah, I said it. Sorry to break it to you, Lee, but you’re old. Ancient. Practically dust.”

“I’m choosing to ignore your hurtful remarks because you’re clearly heartbroken and out of your mind with grief.”

I snort. “Sorry. I’m fine, really, I’m just annoyed at myself.”

“For irrationally breaking up with the love of your life or for stubbornly refusing to reconsider?”

“For being an idiot in general, I guess. I knew it was a bad idea. I even told her as much the first time I met her. But then I just had to go back and talk to her again like a complete dumbass and she practically invited herself back to my hotel. How could I say no to that?”

Lee chuckles. “Oh, but you couldn’t, of course you couldn’t. I mean, she’s not exactly my type, but I can still appreciate the aesthetics, as it were.”

“Right? And that might even have been fine if it never went any further, but I got carried away and kept seeing her even though everyone could tell it was going to end badly. We’re both better off like this, I’ll get over it.”

Lee just looks at me over the rim of his glasses.

“Are you sure? I may be a dusty old relic but as far as I’m aware, the only way you could possibly know that she blocked you is if you spent your birthday trying to look her up.”

“Thanks, detective. It was a moment of weakness, you don’t need to rub it in my face.”

“I’m not trying to rub anything in your face, love, I know it’s not your thing. But you were clearly serious about her if you were planning to bring her to Tartosa. And just because the poor girl understandably got slightly intimidated, you drop her like a newborn giraffe. Why not give her some more time?”

“I didn’t… Lee, it was the sensible thing to do! I just turned forty, I can’t just spend years waiting for her to make up her mind and hope for the best.”

“I don’t share your fetish for monogamy, but I believe all relationships are like that, you can never be certain. But you’ve always been stubborn so I’ll just give you the usual break-up advice. Get a haircut, hit the gym, put yourself back out there. Will you at least see my stylist?”

“Never. I am not brave enough to let Jessica Clemons near my wardrobe.”

beginning / previous / next

#duchellilegacy #duchellichapters #duchelligen5 #paul romeo #charlie ward #lee thompson #oh hi charlie #bye charlie?#two protagonists? in this economy?#it's more likely than you think

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sashaisready · 1 day

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This Must Be The Place: Chapter 2 -Feet on the ground

Biker!Bucky x Femme Reader

Back at your beloved late grandmother's home to pack up her house, you have a run-in with the town's biker gang 'The Howling Commandos' and find yourself entangled with the metal armed President.

Series Masterlist

No specific warnings in this one (apart from Biker!Bucky of course). Some brief references to grief. Sorry it's on the shorter side, just need to set up our story. Thanks to all who have reblogged/commented, it means a lot!

You sipped your drink as you told Bucky all about granny and moving into her house. He nodded solemnly as he leaned on the bar and listened intently, the depth of his attention surprising you. You didn’t expect him to be so easy to talk to. Behind you, Wanda and Vis were very obviously pretending to be chatting, while clearly eavesdropping on your conversation.

“Oh yeah, she was a nice lady. I’m sorry for your loss,” Bucky told you with sincerity after you’d finish the whole tale. “She was a tough old gal”.

“Uh, thanks,” you replied quietly, not realising until now what an emotional gut punch it still was to talk about her. “And yeah…she was”.

You cleared your throat and changed the subject. You cocked an eyebrow and looked at him curiously.

“So…what’s your deal?”

He grinned, “What’d you mean?”

“You know,” you pointed to his kutte, “all this. You’re one of the top guys, I guess? I’m sorry, I don’t really know the lingo…”

“I’m the President” he smirked and pointed to one of his patches, clearly a little amused by your ignorance.

You peered over at the fabric square. “Mm. So, what, you drive around town on your bikes causing mayhem and throwing darts at women’s butts?”

“Something like that, yeah,” he laughed. “But mostly we’re here, or at the auto shop across town”.

“Busy, busy” you teased. “I’m sure its all legitimate and above board…”

He winked. God, what a dangerous wink. You instinctively knew that wink had ruined lives.

You both exchanged a small smile.

“You’re not afraid of me, huh?” Bucky teased.

“Should I be?” you boldly shot back.

He grinned. “No. But a lot of people are”.

“Well…your aesthetics aren’t super warm and fuzzy”.

“No…guess not”.

You continued to sip your drink as you tried to fight off the nagging voice telling you to back off. God only knows what he gets up to when he’s not at the bar or fixing cars or at whatever other business fronts they had. You didn’t need another dangerous, no-good man in your life…You were only supposed to sort the house out, live quietly for a little while and then leave. Not get embroiled with the locals, and certainly not with the President of a probably criminal motorcycle club…

…and yet…

“So…you working while you’re staying here?” he asked curiously.

“Mm. Maybe. I have some savings. And thankfully the mortgage at my grandmother’s place is paid off, so at least that’s one less thing. But I might get something part time to keep the lights on”.

Bucky smirked and held his arm up to the bar behind you. “Work here”.

You laughed. “What? Yeah, good one…”

“I’m serious. You need extra cash. We apparently need some help here after you tore my poor bartender apart. So why not? Sounds like you have some experience…”

“I do yeah…but…”

“But what?” he asked, a hint of interrogation in his voice.

“Well, I was thinking more like a coffee shop or delivering pamphlets or something. Not working nights with drunks…”

“Oh, but we’re friendly drunks. Plus, the regulars tip well,” he pushed. “You can spend the days working on the house and then do a few evenings here until you move on. It’s perfect”.

You frowned. It was pretty perfect, actually. You thought about protesting, but as you looked back at Bucky’s expression you immediately understood that this was someone who was very used to getting his own way.

“You’re not gonna drop this, are you?” you asked.

“Nope” he responded, popping the ‘p’ and shaking his head.

You sighed, chewing your lip with hesitation.

“Will your club mind? I mean…they don’t know me. All they know is I yelled at one of them”.

“Eh. Everyone yells at Parker”, he shrugged. “You’ll fit right in”.

You frowned, then looked back at him suspiciously.

“But…Why are you doing this? You barely know me. I might be a serial killer for all you know…”

He chuckled. “Well, I’ve met a lot of bad guys in my time, Sugar, and trust me, you get pretty good at figuring people out. Plus, I get it, grief is tough, and your grandmother lived here all her life and was a big part of the community. And you’re her family. We do look out for one another here; this is our home after all”.

You blinked in surprise, not expecting that answer. Your sceptical side half believed he just wanted to get in your pants, but he sounded sincere regardless.

You looked over at his group who were laughing and drinking jovially, then across the room at the wide range of clientele. You’d certainly had worked at worse places.

Sighing, you turned back to Bucky. “Well…fine. Let’s do it. But I’m not wearing booty shorts or anything ridiculous for a uniform”.

This coaxed a belly laugh from him. “No…only the male bartenders wear those,” he quipped. “Jeans and tees are fine. Maybe a flannel if you really wanna mix it up”.

You nodded. “Okay, I can do that”.

He smiled back at you sweetly, but a hint of something edgier lay beneath. The way he eyed you made you feel…exposed. Like you were a doe caught in the crosshairs. It wasn’t unpleasant, no, in fact it made your lower belly surge, sending a wave of butterflies through you.

“Welcome aboard, Sugar” he grinned.

You smiled back, once again knowing full well you were treading into dangerous territory...but unable to stop yourself.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #james bucky barnes #this must be the place fic #biker!bucky #motorcycle club au bucky

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everlasting-rainfall · 3 days

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Could you do something involving Kid and Killer for that one piece crossing au please 👀

Separate or poly, whichever you want to do ~

I think that I have just the thing for them and I’m pretty sure that I might be able to handle the two of them being poly, my apologies though in advance if I don’t do them right

But let’s get into it before I potentially start rambling about something! And I hope that this is good! I tried my best!

!-MINORS DO NOT INTERACT AT ALL-!

!-POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS-!

Violence, Murder, Sentient Video Games, Kid being Kid, Stalking, Writing Similar to Old Creepypasta, Obsessiveness, Noncon, Loss of Hope

!-POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS-!

!-MINORS DO NOT INTERACT AT ALL-!

So honestly I can imagine that you’re the next person to wind up with the One Piece Crossing game and let’s say that like how you got your hands on it was that it appeared in a used games store for dirt cheap and you were hoping to get your hands on at least something like Animal Crossing

You returned home and you got comfy before booting up the game, you did the typical stuff of customizing your character and setting the time and all that but eventually it came time to pick your villagers

You hit the random button so many times as you had picked pirates over marines, you hoped to find something that fit your aesthetic but none of them really stood out to you

Shanks and Benn, Luffy and Zoro, Roger and Rayleigh, Omatsuri and Muchigoro, Bear King and Honey Queen, Doflamingo and Crocodile

None of them seemed to fit your type until you pressed random one last time and wound up with not Kid and Killer but two other characters instead, the two of them seemed like they would be pretty alright and match your aesthetic

Like let’s say that your aesthetic is like soft and cute, these two fit it pretty well however when you go to press confirm that these are the villagers you want

Random gets hit one more time by accident and suddenly you don’t know who you’re heading out with until you arrive at the island and dread fills you when you see who you got. Two punk looking guys who look like they don’t at all match your aesthetic

It’s disappointing but it is too late to go back and change it so you’ll just have to make do with these two as you go through the tutorial and figure out how to do things

As you go through the tutorial, you talk to what’s going to be your fellow islanders and find out that although Kid is rather grumpy and makes fun of you for having trouble with certain parts of the game. Killer is at least chill as he does make comments like “You really can’t get it?” before sighing and slightly assisting to get it out of the way

Eventually when your individual homes are set up and the tutorial has ended, you’re free to start having as much fun as you’d like here on this island

You make progress through the game and start trying to customize the island to fit your aesthetic, you start around your home with a very soft almost Sanrio esque aesthetic that just feels pleasant to look at but as you start stretching it out

That’s when trouble arises as you place down an item just a bit too close to what Kid must deem as his territory causing him to rather aggressively and rudely kick it over telling you to not put that kind of shit near his and Killer’s part of the island

These are just characters in a video game so you decide to wait until Kid isn’t around to place it down again only to be stopped this time by Killer who picks it up and gives it right back to your character with a “Don’t…”

It’s getting irritating as all that you want to do is decorate your island so you reload the game when it’s late at night and when the game indicates that the two men are asleep, you decorate and put the game down for the night when you’re done

The next time that you pick up the game… Guess what’s waiting for you in your mailbox? It’s a letter from Kid and Killer with a gift attached! You open it up only to find that it’s an item labeled as “Ruined Object” and the letter simply states “Don’t try that shit again!”

It took a long time to get this item in the game so you decided to talk to them only to find a new option for conversation in the dialogue box when you spoke to Kid called “I have a suggestion” and when you picked it. He told you to be quick

You were then presented with two options one that suggested you halve the island with them and the other being to insult him but considering how he and Killer ruined your object, you could not see that going well for you so you picked the first one

“Finally you’re talking sense… What do you have in mind?”

This brought up the in game map showing the island, Kid gave his suggestion first of very little of the island for you but you gave yours and drew a line down the middle of the game map. He didn’t sound happy but he told you to keep your shit on your side now

You continued the game after that and it seemed like everything was going well, you decorated your side of the island exactly how you wanted and they decorated their side too to fit their own style

When you would wander your island, you would occasionally see them on your side usually just wandering or needing to talk to you about something like “I found *insert object* and it looked like something you might want” or “Have you seen Kid anywhere? I can’t find him…”

These conversations would typically be short and the items that they gave you usually were your aesthetic but customized to be more in their style causing you to usually store it in your home inventory space or just get rid of it altogether

Eventually though you opened the game map one day to see that Kid and Killer had moved in with each other as there was one less house on the map, you went to see what was up thinking maybe one of their houses burnt down but when your character knocked and went in

You almost immediately turned around and left with a face bright red in real life the two of them were currently engaged in some very passionate activities with each other in their home, it was safe enough to say that you had your answer as to what was going on to make them move in together

They entered a relationship with one another and the game made it so that they moved in with each other as a result of it

You really weren’t expecting that sort of graphic scene to be in a game like this but then again, it wasn’t exactly straight up animal crossing so you just tried to forget it until you got a letter telling you to take a picture next time as it’ll last longer…

The game continued on after that with you hopping on for at least an hour everyday to do stuff, a few more villagers even moved in as well. Heat, Wire, and a few other people as well who all choose to live on Kid and Killer’s side of the island

It didn’t bother you though considering they much more fit in with their aesthetic anyways

There were a few days where you didn’t play as you were busy and whenever you returned, the two of them almost seemed slightly curious like “Where were you yesterday?” and “Don’t sleep so much… I’m not gonna wake you up if you do…”

But it was one day however when you and a friend of yours decided to try something as they had a copy of animal crossing and wanted to see if they could visit your island

So you did and your friend’s character was soon running around your island with you, the two of you were having quite a bit of fun as you both played around in every way that you both could think of but that fun started to come to an end when one of your villagers wandered onto your side of the island

It was just Killer at first who came up to you and asked who that guy was when you choose the dialogue option of him being your friend, Killer’s model visibly looked your friend up and down before turning back towards you and telling you to straight up ditch them before ending the conversation

After that, you continued to hang out with your friend but oddly enough you kept running into your villagers. It wasn’t just Kid and Killer who you kept running into either as you even encountered a few of the other villagers

All of whom told you that Kid and Killer were looking for you like “Killer wants to talk to you about something” or “Kid has something for you” but you always just ignored them thinking you could see them later

Eventually though, Kid came out of nowhere and entered a conversation with you while you were in the middle of something. You tried to speed through his dialogue by mashing the button but by the end of the conversation, he looked visibly pissed

Once that was done, you couldn’t get rid of him as he followed you and your friend everywhere like were you and your friend just trying to fish together to catch something? There’s Kid standing right in between the two of you

Honestly he almost seemed to be trying to get your attention too as he would make jokes about the small fish that your friend would pull up but if you pulled up a small one then he would give a gruff “Nice job”

This only ended when your friend finally left and you both agreed to meet up on his island next time due to the actions of your villagers

And when you did, you had a ton of fun but when you had your character return to your island. Almost immediately they were practically swarmed by Kid and Killer who demanded to know where you had been

Then after you selected the dialogue option to tell them, they looked visibly angry like “Didn’t we tell you to ditch that guy? They’re not good for you…” among other things

Eventually you got tired of it and decided to shut the game off while they were speaking as it wasn’t like you were going to lose any progress and besides you needed a break from that shit…

Especially when you hopped on the next day only to find your house that you had worked so hard on looking absolutely trashed

So you took a break for a good long while and played on your other consoles whenever you got the urge to play something, you even spent time with your friend in real life and the two of you got closer. You didn’t start dating but it could be assumed that you were

When your friend told you that they had something to give you on the game, you booted up your console at the same time that they did only for something that made you scream bloody murder to happen

Almost as if you had suddenly stepped into a horror movie, a large metal hand shot out of the screen and grabbed you in its grasp, your friend tried to pull you out of its grasp as you were pulled in but wound up getting sucked in too

Once you both had crash landed, you saw that you were being held by Kid as he wrapped one arm around you that kept you pressed tightly into him no matter how much you struggled

Your friend was lying on the floor looking dazed and confused, they barely even got a chance to register anything before they were suddenly cut down by Killer and as their blood was splattered across the floor, you found yourself as the center of their attention

“What do you think you were doing cutting us off like that when we were trying to talk to you?”

“We told you to ditch that guy and you brought them over… You mind as well have fucked them right in front of us with how close you two were!”

You of course tried to fight against the two of them with tears in your eyes as they both dragged you home, your island had been completely changed as well by them and the others. It was practically unrecognizable

Your home was no better as it had changed for the worse, the entire thing was completely in their style compared to yours as they dragged you upstairs. They threw you onto what used to be your bed and suddenly you were seeing notifications pop up in front of you

All things saying that while you’ve been asleep, Kid and Killer took over the island as its new leaders and completely got rid of the fact that you halved the island with them. They renamed the island as well and not only that but apparently entered a relationship with you as well

With eyes wide, you read all of them and didn’t quite know what to think but you didn’t have much time to think as you were slammed back onto the bed quite roughly to the point where you were sure you would have a nasty bruise

”If you want to cheat in front of us with someone like that then we’ll just have to remind you of who exactly you belong to…”

And it was after that when your outfit was completely ripped away from your body as they held you down and used your body like it was a sex doll as they made you move into so many positions and made you do so many things

By the very end of it… You were so relieved that it was over as you were covered in sweat, tears, bruises, bites, and a lot of cum…

“Better not try anything like that ever again…”

There was no escape from this game and you were stuck here forever with the two of them, they forced you to dress in a style exactly the same as them and treated you like a toy

They would tell you that they loved you dearly so there was no reason to act like you were trapped in some kind of horrible situation, you just needed to be reminded of who you belonged to is all and they were sure that you would be good now

Over time, they did start to become more kind with you even if just a little bit as Kid did start actually allowing you to leave the house without one of them. It wasn’t like you could go anywhere but they did tell you that these things could be revoked if you acted up

Eventually once you were good enough, Killer even allowed you to have something from your aesthetic and despite the slight bit of comfort that you felt when you held it

You knew that it could be easily taken away from you at a moments notice especially if they ever saw you trying to find a way out of the video game and back to the real world

Really truly… You just needed to accept that you would be here forever… There was no way out with them…

They had taken over your island, they had forcefully started a relationship with you, and they had shown what they were willing to do if you ever misbehaved too much

Plus what would you tell the police about what happened if you ever made it back? Your friend had been pulled into a video game with you and murdered by the characters? Like they would ever believe you

So… You were going to stay here forever and simply hope that maybe one day just one day, you would potentially free

Although you knew you never would be

#minors dni #the rain talks back #yandere #yandere one piece #reader insert #read the trigger warnings #yandere male #Yandere Eustass Kid #Yandere Killer #Yandere Kid Pirates #One Piece Crossing AU

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thisischeri · 3 months

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instagram: cheri.png

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zytes · 8 months

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something’s wrong?

#heheh what a name for a town. borger. brother that is a samdwich!!#I could prob talk about what this means to me but I don’t wanna #actually nvm I just thought of a funny way to describe the feeling:#you have two wolves inside of you. one HATES everything it sees soooo much. the other only sees beauty. you’re jaded.#or something like that #I’m trying to be conscious about only bending man-made structures and objects #unless it just looks extra cool to bend the natural stuff too #not rly a critical commentary. the basic premise is to show you how fucked up these little towns are;#while also communicating how they’re typically found in naturally beautiful places.#weird right? like finding ruins. it’s like these places settled and then worldly-priorities changed and everything fell apart #but you can tell - usually - that somewhere in the history of these small towns someone said:#‘what a fucking sweet view. let’s make camp’#my art #glitch art #aesthetic #art #artwork #webcore #glitchcore #internetcore #abstract #artists on tumblr #photography #abstract art #distortioncore #glitch #weird art #americana #southern gothic #angels

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lykegenia · 7 months

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So something has been bugging me for a while now about A and N’s backstories, and while I know not everyone will be as pedantic as me, as someone who loves history and has done a lot of writing, I feel that if you’re going to write a story about vampires and give them a specific time and date of origin, then there should be a certain level of research that goes into making that background authentic. I'm not saying that Mishka didn’t do any research. It just seems that in order to keep the vibe of a happy, mellow fantasy some of the less savoury aspects of A and N’s upbringings have been left out, and it's a shame. To be honest, it feels a bit disingenuous, and it feels like an opportunity got wasted.

Let me explain (long post got long, it's 2am)

Let's take A first, since the problem is simpler here.

A is the child of a Norman lord and an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, born in the first generation after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. A says that these were turbulent times but that their parents had a happy marriage. Which. While I’m sure a lot of unions in that time period made the best of it, I can’t help but feel this description strips away a lot of the context of what was going on at that point in history - and removes some of the complexity about A’s thoughts on love and relationships.

Basically, after he took control of the throne, William the Conqueror stripped many Anglo-Saxon lords of their lands and titles so he could give them to his Norman buddies instead - with the added bonus that it left the Anglo-Saxons without the means to raise armies against him. The sisters, daughters, and widows of the dispossessed Anglo-Saxons were then forced to marry these new Norman lords to legitimise their power, not infrequently after all of their male relatives had been slaughtered. It’s not as if Anglo-Saxon women weren’t used to being used as political chess pieces, but the years after the conquest were brutal. It’s why William had to build so many castles. The point that I’m trying to make is that even if A’s mother was content enough in her daily life, due to the power imbalance between her and her husband, it's very likely she had little choice in the matter. She may have seen a lot of her family killed for political reasons, with the knowledge that – in an age where women had very little protection outside of their paternal household – she might be next if she made too much of a fuss.

It would be fascinating to see what effect that tension has had on A 900 years later, or even to get an acknowledgement of how much times have changed, but we don’t. We don't see how their early years affected them, how they view relationships formed naturally instead of via political contracts. And I really, really wish we did. There is so much potential there.

But A is not the one keeping me up past 2 in the morning. It’s N, and the utter detachment their backstory seems to have from the period in history they lived in as a human. And it all stems from the fact that they came from the English nobility in the late 1600s.

See, the bulk of the problem is that English inheritance law at the time heavily favoured primogeniture, where a man’s wealth would go to his first-born son. Some dispensation was made for widows and other children, but the estates, assets, and most of the money had a very clear destination.

For one thing, this makes it kinda weird that N’s stepfather would have needed an heir before he could inherit, because except in extreme circumstances everything would have gone to him anyway. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the worst part of the problem, it’s just annoying when there are more plausible reasons for him marrying a woman already pregnant with another man’s child (old family friend wanting to save her from disgrace, needed the dowry to pay off gambling debts, there was a longstanding betrothal between them that would have been tricky to get out of, etc.).

No, the bigger problem with N’s backstory vs primogeniture is firstly that at the time the English aristocracy was racist af (still is tbh) and given his pretty obvious mixed-race heritage, no court would have agreed that Nate was a legitimate son (this is for a very special reason that we will be coming back to). I say Nate specifically here because primogeniture requires the eldest legitimate son. Nat wouldn’t have inherited at all, as women in that period passed from the guardianship of their father (or other male blood relative) into that of their husband after marriage, and only gained any kind of independence with widowhood. If N had been an only child, maybe they would have been treated as a special case, but unfortunately Milton exists: the eldest legitimate son who by law will inherit everything.

Now here’s the thing. Your average aristocrat in the 17th century is very obsessed with lineage and keeping the family line unbroken. He would not, therefore, send his legitimate heir to sea to be shot at or drowned before he can carry on the family name – that joy instead goes to any other sons who need their own profession, because again, they will get very little. Nat would have had a dowry, but would never have been expected to make her own living, so I'm going to focuson Nate for this next bit.

In Book 3, if you unlock his tragic backstory Nate tells you he joined the Royal Navy after Milton went missing so that he could go look for him. And, well. This is where his backstory as Mishka tells it completely falls apart. For two reasons:

1. Even in the modern day, you can’t ‘just’ join the Navy, and you certainly can’t just jump straight to being a lieutenant – it takes years of training and after a certain age they won’t take you because they won’t be able to mould you easily enough into a useful tool. For most of the Navy's history, the process was even more involved. It wasn’t an office job you could just rock up to and then quit if you felt like it, it was a lifetime commitment. Boys destined to be officers would be sent to sea as early as 12 to learn shipboard life, starting at the bottom and moving up the ranks. These were gained by passing exams and by purchasing a commission – which is why you generally had to come from wealth to be an officer at all. Once you get to lieutenant you're responsible for a lot of people, and might be tasked with commanding any captured ships alongside the daily running of yours - it was not an easy job.

2. Even as a lieutenant (one rank below Captain, with varying levels of seniority) it’s not like you can just go where you want. In the 1720s British colonies already existed in India, the Caribbean, and up the entire eastern seaboard of North America and into Canada, and the Navy was tasked with protecting merchant shipping along these seaways (and one trade in particular that we’ll be getting to, don’t worry). Nate could have ended up practically anywhere in the burgeoning empire. He would not have been able to choose whom he served under, and would not have been able to demand his superior officer go against orders from the admirality to chase down one lone vessel because he thinks another one of the admirals might be a bit dodgy. It could not have happened.

Besides these impracticalities, there’s a far easier way for the child of a wealthy man to get to a specific point on the far side of the globe to look for their lost sibling, which is the route I assume Nat took sine she couldn’t have joined the Navy (yes she could have snuck in but she’s specifically in a dress in the B2 mirror scene so). All they'd have to do would be to charter a ship and tell the captain where to go, which is the plot of Treasure Island. It's quicker, less fuss, with less chance of things going wrong. It's even possible in the age of mercantilism that the Sewells had some merchant vessels among their holdings that could be diverted for the task. Why go through the hassle of joining the Navy and potentially ending up on the wrong side of the world when you can just hire a ship directly?

If Nate does have to be in the Navy (and let’s face it, it’s worth it just for the uniform) then it's far more plausible is that, as the illegitimate son who would not inherit because of racism etc, he got sent to the Navy as a boy and rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant. When he got news of Milton’s disappearance not far from where he was stationed, he begged his captain to go investigate in case whatever happened turned out to be the symptom of a bigger problem. Like pirates.

I like this version better not just because it makes more sense, or because it keeps Nate’s situation re: inheritance closer to Nat’s and therefore makes their stories more equal, but also because it adds a delicious amount of guilt to Nate’s need to find his brother. We know his entire crew died looking for answers, because he was selfish – that’s roughly 100-400 lives lost because of him, and we know that sort of thing eats at him.

So that's one side of the story, but if Milton wasn’t in the Navy, what was he doing on the other side of the Atlantic in the first place? Well, this is where we come to the biggest elephant in the room regarding N’s backstory as a member of the 17th century English aristocracy and potentially as a naval officer: the Atlantic Slave Trade. If you are wealthy in 17th century Britain it's more than likely that your wealth comes either from the trade itself, or from the products made with the labour of enslaved people. If you are wealthy, you want to protect your assets from attack by pirates or foreign powers so you don't become less wealthy, and that is what the Navy is for.

Regardless of N’s own views on slavery at the time – and any subsequent changes in opinion – it’s likely their family owned or had shares in slave plantations in the Americas. As distasteful as it is, it makes far more sense that Milton was on a trip to check the family’s holdings when his ship - specifically a merchant vessel - went missing. From a pirate perspective, a merchant ship would make a much better target than a Navy vessel, being slower, more likely to have valuable cargo, and less likely to have marines or a well-trained broadside.

It's not surprising that Mishka left out the subject of the slave trade given her tendency to skirt around darker subjects and general blindspot for racial politics, but it is nuance that, if it was there, would create a more grounded and coherent backstory for N that doesn’t have quite so many holes. Like with A being the child of an invader and his war bride, we could get some deeper thoughts from N about their place in the world - How do they feel to have grown up so privileged when others who looked like them were regarded as literal property? How did they feel being part of the system that made it happen? Did it inform their compassionate nature? Is it still a source of guilt or someithng they've tried to make up for?

I'm not sure where I was going with all of this. It's late, my sleep pattern is fucked. The tl;dr is that giving the vampires' backstories historical context would make them feel more multifaceted and would give opportunities for character growth that are instead missed because of a desire for a more sanitized version of the past.

#thank you for coming to my ted talk #the wayhaven chronicles #twc #a du mortain #adam du mortain #ava du mortain #n sewell #nate sewell #nat sewell #it's annoying because it’s such a small tweak in the grand scheme of things #If she didn’t want unfortunate implications she could have made N from a century later when the navy was actively trying to stop slavery #A could have been from a 50 years earlier to tie his whole family’s demise into the subjugation of the english after the battle of hastings #or a century later when the two courts had mostly integrated #mishka made choices #they deserve to be given more substance than mere aesthetics #you can tell it’s late I’m using long words

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litrallytyrus · 8 months

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their dynamic (homosexual relationship) means everything 2 me

#can we talk about them forever please .?? 😇#bc they’ve been in love since the amsterdam episode and barely anybody talks about it ….#luckily i am brave and courageous and i will carry the burden of being the one to shove them down everybody’s throats : )#teehee fr tho #how many times do i have to say they’re in love before the producers of ted lasso get on here and tell me i’m RIGHT!#this was fun to make i should do it again #i love scrolling thru insta and seeing a picture that makes me think of them it’s so FUN!!!#sorry to my followers who don’t care about them . You will .#jan maas #richard montlaur #janchard #jan x richard #ted lasso #also is the last picture clear or am i overthinking it …#it had the caption ‘me and my bf were fighting’ or something but i got rid of it to fit the text message aesthetic #whatever YKU GET IT!!!

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perpetualcynicism · 1 year

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i am so, so tempted to develop a dark magical carnival or circus au with some of the genshin cast… not x reader necessarily, although you can imagine it that way if you want, but rather headcanons and short descriptions about their roles as performers in slightly uncanny acts.

for example, scaramouche is a marionette without a puppeteer; he’s made half of wood and moves jerkily like a puppet on strings, but nobody controls him.

there’s also mona, the illusionist who conjures up images from water and creates reflections and mirrors that make it seem like she’s everywhere and nowhere at once, disappearing from one end of the tent one second and appearing on the other side the next.

or you could go and see xiao’s act as leaps blindfolded across a tightrope, dodging flaming torches and balancing on his staff all the way. he never falls off the tightrope. ever. some say he has bird claws for feet, and hidden wings.

albedo is an option, too, turning caged doves into basilisks into harmless lizards, and even splitting himself into two copies of himself who work and talk and move in unison.

you can see baizhu, the contortionist who moves like a snake and has a forked tongue and slit pupils, whose assistant herself is a little frankenstein, who needs stitching up now and again so she doesn’t fall apart at the seams.

candace is known for hypnotism and psychosis, with a voice like smooth velvet. she sends people to sleep with her blue eye and reads their minds, sometimes even futures, with her gold eye, but never tells anyone just how much she’s seen.

they also have kokomi, the mermaid, who swims in a large, dark tank overgrown with algae, webbed fingers pressing against the glass to stare at passersby. sometimes she does tricks, like a dolphin, and is fed live fish as a reward.

yunjin sings and sends her audience into a trance. nilou is on the silks, twirling through the air like a sycamore seed. itto is a strongman with the horns of a demon, and has been said to ever shatter diamond. klee escapes a little cage before the bomb in there with her detonates. kazuha plays music on leaves and throws them like knives, pinning audience members to a board by the threads of their clothes. barbara mimes, and climbs invisible ladders high into the air. they say her voice was stolen from her.

yae miko organises the events and runs the carnival. yelan makes sure those who visit neither steal nor smuggle; those who do are never seen again. sometimes strange howls can be heard from cyno’s tent in the dark hours before dawn, after all the performances are over.

so come over, buy a ticket! visit the carnival tonight, because you won’t see the likes of it again! (we do not take responsibility for any missing persons or injuries that occur throughout the performances.)

#can you tell that i’m a fan of ‘dark (insert some magical thing)’ aesthetics #fairytales… circuses… carnivals…#i’m basically in love with uncanny fantasy #i have so many ideas for this circus oh my god #genshin impact x reader #scaramouche x reader #mona x reader #xiao x reader #albedo x reader #baizhu x reader #candace x reader #kokomi x reader #and so forth #this is not me abandoning my dark sorcerer au so don’t worry #i’m working on chapter four and it should be done… relatively soon #and this wouldn’t be a continuous series; rather a collection of scenes/descriptions and whatnot about each act and the general carnival

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