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#murder wives that keep trying to kill each other can sometimes be so personal
ridiculousblogging · 11 months
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Session 5
Posting my D&D sessions’ notes here so that I can find them again
(start of day 4 in Barovia)
Kas wakes up screaming
he takes exhaustion from his crazy nightmare and also loses some hit points to his nightmare
Weird.
We have a shopping day that wasn't very productive bc frankly everything is way too fucking expensive here and we are poor
Kas identifies the druidic staff that Kaida has
its a staff of healing
but its also cursed and can induce madness
but that suits her
we get picked up for dinner by the Black Carriage
when we arrive, we are given time to change and get cleaned up
we are given fine nobility-level clothing from each of our homes in Azaroc
and they fit our exact tastes and measurements
the people that helped get us cleaned up were Gertruda and Esher
Esher came here from Azaroc as part of an adventuring party that tried to kill Strahd, but when the rest of the party was murdered, Strahd decided to keep this one alive as a servant and consort
Gertruda is Mad Mary's daughter (the woman in the first village that was sobbing and screaming is Mad Mary) who had apparently run away from her mother who kept her locked away for over 22 years, never allowed to go outside
We go to the diner in our finery and enjoy Strahd playing the organ before he joins us at the table
3 of his wives join us
Anastrasya 
Ludmilla- his eldest wife and a researcher of magic
Volenta- his newest wife (before Esher) who comes in wearing an orcish mask
we are served the best of foods and alcohol from our homes
all cooked exactly to our tastes
there is a painting of an Orc from a neighboring tribe that followed my cleric's god, Gromgore, hanging in the dining room with a crest of Gromgore over it
he allegedly died in the Battle of the Mist Marsh from the first campaign we had in Azaroc
Strahd gives us some info to help with our quest
the mist is the same as in Azaroc, but its not "leaking" over
the mist produces monsters by pulling them at random from other mist realms such as Barovia
Barovia and Strahd are/were trying to protect Azaroc from the Dark Masters via a treaty with Strahd and Lord Glaive
dark masters didn't want Azaroc to survive its creation for whatever reason
they were the "powers that be"
they were the ones that ripped Barovia off of its homeworld
they are the ones that made the mist realms
they want Glaive's master that went missing sometime after the battle against the dark masters
Strahd controls the mist here bc he is the link to the land, he IS Barovia, not just a part of it
every mist realm has 1 person as an anchor for the realm as a "Mist Lord" 
Strahd will also help us by letting us leave Barovia via the Vistani and he gave us a little scarab beetle medallion to reach out to come back with info while he also does his own research to help us
he wants info on how he can possibly be able to leave Barovia bc he's been stuck here for over 1000 years
he wants to know the motivations behind our benefactor's research into the Dark Masters and Mist Travel in general
he wants to know if our benefactor has any intentions to invade Barovia
he also wants to know how we managed to break into this realm without his permission bc that's hella dangerous
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sattelite-of-love · 2 years
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tiff x chucky 💋🔪
chucky 1.08
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cappymightwrite · 3 years
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What draws you to incest ?
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*sighs* Ok, here we go. I'm a real card carrying Jonsa now aren't I?
Anon, listen. I know this is an anti question that gets bandied about a lot, aimed at provoking, etc, when we all know no Jonsa is out here being all you know what, it really is the incest, and the incest alone, that draws me in. I mean, come on now. Grow up.
If I was "drawn" to incest I'd be a fan of Cersei x Jaime, Lucrezia x Cesare, hell Oedipus x Jocasta etc... but I haven't displayed any interest in them now, have I? So, huh, it can't be that.
Frankly, it's a derivitive question that is really missing the mark. I'm not "drawn" to it, though yeah, it is an unavoidable element of Jonsa. The real question you should be asking though, is what draws GRRM to it? Because he obviously is drawn to it, specifically what is termed the "incest motif" in academic and literary scholarship. That is a far more worthwhile avenue of thinking and questioning, compared with asking me. Luckily for you though anon, I sort of anticipated getting this kind of question so had something in my drafts on standby...
You really don't have to look far, or that deeply, to be hit over the head by the connection between GRRM's literary influences and the incest motif. I mean, let's start with the big cheese himself, Tolkein:
Tolkein + Quenta Silmarillion
We know for definite that GRRM has been influenced by Tolkein, and in The Silmarillion you notably have a case of unintentional incest in Quenta Silmarillion, where Túrin Turambar, under the power of a curse, unwittingly murders his friend, as well as marries and impregnates his sister, Nienor Níniel, who herself had lost her memory due to an enchantment.
Mr Tolkein, "what draws you to incest?"
Old Norse + Völsunga saga
Tolkein, as a professor of Anglo-Saxon, was hugely influenced by Old English and Old Norse literature. The story of the ring Andvaranaut, told in Völsunga saga, is strongly thought to have been a key influence behind The Lord of the Rings. Also featured within this legendary saga is the relationship between the twins Signy and Sigmund — at one point in the saga, Signy tricks her brother into sleeping with her, which produces a son, Sinfjotli, of pure Völsung blood, raised with the singular purpose of enacting vengence.
Anonymous Norse saga writer, "what draws you to incest?"
Medieval Literature as a whole
A lot is made of how "true" to the storied past ASOIAF is, how reflective it is of medieval society (and earlier), its power structures, its ideals and martial values etc. ASOIAF, however, is not attempting historical accuracy, and should not be read as such. Yet it is clearly drawing from a version of the past, as depicted in medieval romances and pre-Christian mythology for instance, as well as dusty tomes on warfare strategy. As noted by Elizabeth Archibald in her article Incest in Medieval Literature and Society (1989):
Of course the Middle Ages inherited and retold a number of incest stories from the classical world. Through Statius they knew Oedipus, through Ovid they knew the stories of Canace, Byblis, Myrrha and Phaedra. All these stories end more or less tragically: the main characters either die or suffer metamorphosis. Medieval readers also knew the classical tradition of incest as a polemical accusation,* for instance the charges against Caligula and Nero. – p. 2
The word "polemic" is connected to controversy, to debate and dispute, therefore these classical texts were exploring the incest motif in order to create discussion on a controversial topic. In a way, your question of "what draws you to incest?" has a whiff of polemical accusation to it, but as I stated, you're missing the bigger question.
Moving back to the Middle Ages, however, it is interesting that we do see a trend of more incest stories appearing within new narratives between the 11th and 13th centuries, according to Archibald:
The texts I am thinking of include the legend of Judas, which makes him commit patricide and then incest before betraying Christ; the legend of Gregorius, product of sibling incest who marries his own mother, but after years of rigorous penance finally becomes a much respected pope; the legend of St Albanus, product of father-daughter incest, who marries his mother, does penance with both his parents but kills them when they relapse into sin, and after further penance dies a holy man; the exemplary stories about women who sleep with their sons, and bear children (whom they sometimes kill), but refuse to confess until the Virgin intervenes to save them; the legends of the incestuous begetting of Roland by Charlemagne and of Mordred by Arthur; and finally the Incestuous Father romances about calumniated wives, which resemble Chaucer's Man of Law's Tale except that the heroine's adventures begin when she runs away from home to escape her father's unwelcome advances. – p. 2
I mean... that last bit sounds eerily quite close to what we have going on with Petyr Baelish and Sansa Stark. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is that from a medieval and classical standpoint... GRRM is not unique in his exploration of the incest motif, far from it.
Sophocles, Ovid, Hartmann von Aue, Thomas Malory, etc., "what draws you to incest?"
Faulkner + The Sound and the Fury, and more!
Moving on to more modern influences though, when talking about the writing ethos at the heart of his work, GRRM has famously quoted William Faulker:
His mantra has always been William Faulkner’s comment in his Nobel prize acceptance speech, that only the “human heart in conflict with itself… is worth writing about”. [source]
I’ve never read any Faulker, so I did just a quick search on “Faulkner and incest” and I pulled up this article on JSTOR, called Faulkner and the Politics of Incest (1998). Apparently, Faulkner explores the incest motif in at least five novels, therefore it was enough of a distinctive theme in his work to warrant academic analysis. In this journal article, Karl F. Zender notes that:
[...] incest for Faulkner always remains tragic [...] – p. 746
Ah, we can see a bit of running theme here, can't we? But obviously, GRRM (one would hope) doesn’t just appreciate Faulkner’s writing for his extensive exploration of incest. This quote possibly sums up the potential artistic crossover between the two:
Beyond each level of achieved empathy in Faulkner's fiction stands a further level of exclusion and marginalization. – pp. 759–60
To me, the above parallels somewhat GRRM’s own interest in outcasts, in personal struggle (which incest also fits into):
I am attracted to bastards, cripples and broken things as is reflected in the book. Outcasts, second-class citizens for whatever reason. There’s more drama in characters like that, more to struggle with. [source]
Interestingly, however, this essay on Faulkner also connects his interest in the incest motif with the romantic poets, such as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron:
As Peter Thorslev says in an important study of romantic representations of incest, " [p]arent-child incest is universally condemned in Romantic literature...; sibling incest, on the other hand, is invariably made sympathetic, is sometimes exonerated, and, in Byron's and Shelley's works, is definitely idealized.” – p. 741
Faulkner, "what draws you to incest?" ... I mean, that article gives some good explanations, actually.
Lord Byron, Manfred + The Bride of Abydos
Which brings us onto GRRM interest in the Romantics:
I was always intensely Romantic, even when I was too young to understand what that meant. But Romanticism has its dark side, as any Romantic soon discovers... which is where the melancholy comes in, I suppose. I don't know if this is a matter of artistic influences so much as it is of temperament. But there's always been something in a twilight that moves me, and a sunset speaks to me in a way that no sunrise ever has. [source]
I'm already in the process of writing a long meta about the influence of Lord Byron in ASOIAF, specifically examining this quote by GRRM:
The character I’m probably most like in real life is Samwell Tarly. Good old Sam. And the character I’d want to be? Well who wouldn’t want to be Jon Snow — the brooding, Byronic, romantic hero whom all the girls love. Theon [Greyjoy] is the one I’d fear becoming. Theon wants to be Jon Snow, but he can’t do it. He keeps making the wrong decisions. He keeps giving into his own selfish, worst impulses. [source]
Lord Byron, "what draws you to—", oh, um, right. Nevermind.
I'm not going to repeat myself here, but it's worth noting that there is a clear through line between GRRM and the Romantic writers, besides perhaps melancholic "temperament"... and it's incest.
But look, is choosing to explore the incest motif...well, a choice? Yeah, and an uncomfortable one at that, but it’s obvious that that is what GRRM is doing. I think it’s frankly a bit naive of some people to argue that GRRM would never do Jonsa because it’s pseudo-incest and therefore morally repugnant, no ifs, no buts. I’m sorry, as icky as it may be to our modern eyes, GRRM has set the president for it in his writing with the Targaryens and the Lannister twins.
The difference with them is that they knowingly commit incest, basing it in their own sense of exceptionalism, and there are/will be bad consequences — this arguably parallels the medieval narratives in which incest always ends badly, unless some kind of real penance is involved. For Jon and Sansa, however, the Jonsa argument is that they will choose not to commit incest, despite a confused attraction, and then will be rewarded in the narrative through the parentage reveal, a la Byron’s The Bride of Abydos. The Targaryens and Lannisters, in several ways excluding the incest (geez the amount of times I’ve written incest in this post), are foils for the Starks, and in particular, Jon and Sansa. Exploring the incest motif has been on the cards since the very beginning — just look at that infamous "original" outline — regardless of whether we personally consider that an interesting writing choice, or a morally inexcusable one.
Word of advice, or rather, warning... don't think you can catch me out with these kinds of questions. I have access to a university database, so if I feel like procrastinating my real academic work, I can and will pull out highly researched articles to school you, lmao.
But you know, thanks for the ask anyway, I guess.
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youareunbearable · 3 years
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Catch me not having a clue who any of these gods(?) and people are, but still sitting here like, "I ship that pretty one with the gruff one, and that brown haired one with the other(?) gruff one?" without knowing names or what this is except the fanart I see you reblog, because this fandom apparently has lots of nice art
Fam i have no idea what ur talking about or when u sent this im so sorry asfkjhfkjhf but i thiiiinnnkkkk??????? it’s “Heavens Official Blessing” or  Tiān Guān Cì Fú (TGCF for tagging stuff) its originally a chinese gay novel that is soooooooo long by the author  Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX) who wrote 2 (two?????) other novels that I know of that are also gay historical fantasy but i personally havent actually read TGCF???? im just watching the anime and looking at the wiki and reading fanfics so i have a vague idea whats going on but not really???? so i cant really give a good review BUT i LOVE THE CHARACTERS MXTX WRITES SO MUCH AFHAFKFHKFAKF IM SO SORRY IM SHIT WITH TAGGING SO U HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM HYPER FIXATING ON BUT
LISTEN
LISTEN 
LISTEN
Pretty one and the gruff one im THINKING is He Xuan (or Ming Yi/ Ming-Xiong/Ming Bro) for the grumpy one and Shi Qingxuan for the pretty one and both are kinda gender fluid?? (more Shi Qingxuan but they both change their forms to be both women and men which is Iconic and the anime put her in the TRANS FLAG COLOUR instead of her canon white and green which is ICONIC) AND THHEYRE SO TRAGIC AND HOT AND I CRY JUST THINKING ABOUT THEIR STORY LIKE AFHDFKJAFDSGS like i want to kinda read the book just for them, the two super minor characters, but i also read somewhere that their story doesn’t really have a clean ending so im also holding back from just getting Emotionally Hurt because im a cancer and i know it’ll wreck me
I think The Two Gruff Idiots are Feng Xin (dark haired gruff boy) and Mu Qing (brown haired gruff boy) and theyre both martial gods and both knew each other for over 800 years and both tried to take care of Actual Human And Heavenly Disaster Xie Lian, failed, and tried to do it again 800 years later but with stupid glasses with moustaches in hopes that Xie Lian cant figure out that they care about him but OOPS Xie Lian does in fact have the braincell of the three of them fajfafjajf 
Heres the link to watch the anime, there are 11 eps rn but it updates every weekend (I dont actually know when but i watch it on sundays) Make sure u have ur ad block on tho lol there is a manga too and the art style is TO DIE FOR like its GORGEOUS but its roughly at the same pace as the anime so eh
Heres where to read the whole thing online, just a warning its BIG AS FUCK like 244? plus extras I think?? 
I’d also recommend MXTX’s other books!
Mo Dao Zu Shi (or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/ The Untamed/MDZS) is both a Book as well as an Anime (the whole thing is on youtube) , a Live Action which you can watch on Netflix (look up Untamed, also a warning, the plot is a little different from the book and anime cause of uhhh censorship?? also i guess to make it more live drama friendly, my friends an i binged it and really liked it, but some of the fandom doesn’t), a manga which is not finished I think???? idk im not caught up, and a fucking chinese AUDIO DRAMA LIKE BITCH ITS SO WELL DONE but i have to stop listening sometimes cause like there is a difference between watching/reading characters kiss, and then like just hearing them, i get so embarrassed i have to skip the kissing scenes and god forbid i accidentally click on the smutty extras alfjajlfjalfjaljf u can find it on youtube, i linked the one i listen to but i havent finished it and i don’t think it’s all of it, but you can find other episodes/chapters easily
Its about 1 Dumb Yet So Smart gay/bi man (Wei Wuxian) who honestly tries his fucking best, fucks up everything, dies for over a decade, and then is forcefully brought back to life to solve a murder mystery with the guy who has been in Super Gay Love with him since they were teens (Lan Zhan), a bunch of teens Who Are Just Honestly Here For A Good Time And Yet (Lan Juniors, Jin Ling, and Best Boy Ouyang Zizhen ) while badly hiding his real identity from all the people he knows, including his foster brother (Jiang Cheng) who is out for blood and hunting his ass down with a whip and also Lan Zhan who is travelling with him. Also the Killer. There is a killer on the loose and is willing to murder whoever to keep their secrets. Also Nie Huaisang. I adore him and his brother Nie Mingjue, if there is one bitch u gotta remember from this summary it’s this little twink (he and his brother also have a fucking spin off movie from the live action drama THAT I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A ENGLISH SUB VERSION AND ITS BEEN KILLING ME SINCE I STARTED WATCHING THIS SHOW LAST YEAR. GOOGLE GIVE ME MY FAVOURITE TWINK AND HIS BEAR OF A BROTHER HAVING A FUN FAMILY ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!)
My Personal Current Favourite is Scum Villain’s Self Saving System (SVSSS) which is SOOOOOOO FUNNY Like it’s not as popular cause the comic was discontinued, and the anime looks like its from 2005 with the weird 3D animation but its my current comfort media!!! 
Its basically about a spite reading millennial (Shen Yuan) who died after reading a REALLY awful popular cheesy smut harem novel (think like 50 shade series but worse cause the protag had 600 wives) and was forced into the body of a minor but important villain (the protagonist’s teacher, Shen Qingqiu) from the novel who was fated to die with all his limbs cut off and his eyes and tongue plucked out and is told he has to fix the story so its not trash, he reasonably freaks the fuck out and hugs the protagonists (Luo Binghe) thigh so hard he turns him gay without realizing. Sadly, he does have to make sure certain plot points happen, which fucks him over a lot,  and he thinks Luo Binghe still wants to kill him instead of love him cause he has the Emotional Intelligence of a Rock, but its so funny reading about him handling all the awful tropey stuff, like imagine u have to be a character in My Immortal But With Porn?????? without breaking out of character too much?? I wouldn’t be able to handle it ajhakfkfhjfj He also finds out that he’s not the only transmigrator in the novel either, but it doesn’t matter cause theyre both So Fucking Stupid Collectively but everyone would honestly die for the both of them
warning for this story though, the main relationship is a teacher/student relationship, but nothing happens until the student is in his 20s and also kinda not his student anymore cause he’s running hell??? but if that squicks u out i totally understand and offer you to PLEASE still enjoy some of this media, and instead of the BingQiu ship, I offer you the LiuQiu one, where both me and the main character cry over how a beautiful man/fellow immortal lord loves the main character so much that he literally fought every day for 5 years to be by his side and I Think Thats Beautiful and I kinda like this ship more than the main one tbh PLEASE just look at the art for Liu Qingge because i love him so much, he’s like if you took Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng from MDZS and mashed them into one beautiful man the author is trying to tell me is straight but u take one look at him And Tell Me Otherwise
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lovelyirony · 4 years
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for the made up fic title game what about... 'dice la canción que algún te llevarás mi tristeza (entre miles de colores)' which translates to 'the song says that someday you'll take away my sadness (in between a million colours)' 🥤
Tony knows that everyone thinks that soulmates fix everything. He’s seen all the movies of hopeful young women looking at the elegant, painted-on-script on their arms, starry looks pasted on as they sing some bullshit song about waiting for their true love. 
He’s read books about a man finding the love of his life in a diner, and how much love they both have for each other. It’s hailed as a literary classic and it’s his classmate’s (Timothy’s) favorite book. 
Movies and books. Some of the best tools for hiding realities. 
Here’s another thing that Tony has seen, read into: his parents’ relationship. 
Mama has the words wrapped up her leg, calling her gorgeous and wonderful. 
It’s a lie, of course. No one thinks their words lie, but Tony sees it in the way that her stance always shifts to put pressure on her right leg, the one without the words. 
How even in the summer, she’ll wear long skirts to cover the words, how she carefully skirts around how the “love of her life” is doing in interviews. 
Howard wears long-sleeved shirts, flirts with other women and says that words don’t matter in the face of love. 
The oldest trick in the book, and they fall for it every time. 
But Howard was right about one thing: words don’t matter. 
Tony has his right across his chest, in a script that’s half-print, half-cursive: 
I swear to god, get out of my way or so help me god I’ll kill you. 
Really nice words. Wow. Tony feels so infinitely loved and cherished. 
His mother flinches when she sees his words, flinches at how cruel his soulmate must be. 
Oh, he looks like his father alright...but he’s just like his mother. 
Maria may not have the same words, never in the same tone, but her life turned out as if it was that. 
Wives were an inconvenience to many businessmen, and she was no different. She had known that a week after their honeymoon, Howard’s eyes curious and roaming. 
The kind of curious that she had fallen for, and then quickly realized that curiosity was a dangerous thing for him. Was a dangerous thing for her too. 
But she played the role of adoring wife, and sometimes they were together alone and it wasn’t-it wasn’t too bad. He would smile and she would remember the good times with fondness, and then she would bitterly remember that her soulmate thought she wasn’t enough. 
Tony sees her thoughts. Mama has never been particularly good at hiding her feelings from her son. 
After all, he learned all her tells. Has quite a few of them himself. 
-
But soulmates don’t matter, not to him, and not when he has college to go to. Finally escaping from Howard’s thumb, finally on his own. He got an apartment all to himself, he’s going to learn how to cook and not burn shit, and things will be great. 
No time for thinking about soulmates when you’re busy thinking about if you really need to get more than three pans, and maybe you do? Not sure. 
His neighbors are quiet. They don’t really interact much. They saw him move in, blinked, and Tony waved. Nothing else to say. 
He still hasn’t met the guy who lives on his left. Tony’s heard crashes and brief cursing streaks, and maybe one glass that got dropped, but that’s it. All he knows is chaotic sounds and maybe that his name starts with a “J.” 
It’s just the beginning of October when Tony is juggling his groceries with his hands (refusing to make more than one trip) when someone comes pounding into the hallway, and Tony can’t see over the chip bag he has. 
I swear to god, get out of my way, or so help me god I’ll kill you, comes the phrase. 
Tony blinks. 
“Not if I kill you first, you son of a bitch.” 
The guy gasps. 
“Wait, so this isn’t a serious situation where my soulmate is shitty?” 
“You said something shitty first!” 
The guy looks back, and there is a rather murderous looking frat boy out for blood. 
Tony takes one look at the situation, decides that he’s not going to make this guy fend for himself against a rage-filled boy in dock-shoes and too much hair gel, and pulls him into his apartment. 
The boy goes flying onto the couch, Tony spills a bag of apples, and the frat bro is yelling at the door and pounding on it. 
“What did you even do?” 
“I kind of maybe took his bed and threw it out a window because he was being shitty at a party I went to.” 
“On a scale of one to seven, how shitty?” 
“One to seven? Who are you, who the fuck uses that scale?” 
“Me! I use it! Now rate it.” 
“Um, like a six?” 
“Hm, that is pretty bad.” 
There’s a thump at the door. 
Oh, the frat boy is trying to break his door down. 
Tony goes over. 
“You’re opening the door?” 
“Just...have faith in me.” 
“Not to be like that, dude, but I just met you like two minutes ago and even though we’re soulmates that doesn’t mean I just blindly put everything I have into you.” 
Tony grins. That sounded...perfect. 
“Oh believe me sugar, same thing goes for you. But I have knowledge on my side.” 
The door swings open, and in charges the frat boy, seriously not thinking that the door would open. He runs into the couch, flips himself over, and he’s on the ground. 
Tony leans over him. 
“I have a security deposit on this place that I’d rather keep, you know that? I also just bought ice cream, and it’s going to become soup if you keep bothering us. Now go or I’m going to call security.” 
“And what the fuck are they gonna do?” The frat boy spits. He’s trying to get up, but cannot. What a shame. 
Tony leans in closer. 
“I want you to really look at my face. I’m sure you saw it on the cover of Time as part of the article ‘America’s Most Influential Family’. There’s a lot I could do.” 
His eyes widen, and he scrambles out, near-about running into the wall. 
His soulmate breathes out. 
“Oh man, thank you.” 
“No problem. Always using my status to make things go away, it’s fun.” 
“So like...you said you were America’s most influential what, son?” 
“In a sense. Probably not. But sometimes people know me.” 
“Am I supposed to know you?” 
“Only if you really wanna work at Stark Industries and need a good word put in.” 
“Oh, I’m going to the military. Air Force.” 
“They got lucky with a guy as nice as you. I’m sure they’ll be proud of all the frat boys you run from.” 
“I’m Jim,” he says, holding out his hand for a shake. 
“Not calling you that,” Tony says, shaking his hand. “That is too close to an old man, and you look far from an old man.” 
"That supposed to be a compliment?” 
“Well, I should hope so. I don’t flirt with old men, I flirt with attractive people.” 
“You know, you still haven’t told me your name.” 
“Give me a minute.” 
Tony puts his ice cream in the freezer, coming back. 
“My name is Tony. What’s your last name?” 
“Rhodes, are you gonna use it for weird reasons?” 
“Nickname reasons. I’m thinking Rocky Rhodes.” 
“I’ll kill you.” 
“Not if you want to eat at the best restaurant you’ve ever been to.” 
“If you call me Rocky Rhodes, no promises.” 
“Hmph, fine. What about...Rhodey?” 
“I can always change it later.” 
Tony smirks. 
“Hm, maybe I’ll let you. But I think it’s a good nickname.” 
They both are silent for a moment. 
“You have any more ice cream?” Rhodey asks. “I’d, um, I’d like to get to know you. And I’ll pay for ice cream later.” 
Tony should’ve said no. He’s seen all the failure with his parents, he’s heard all the horror stories, read the words on his skin enough times in the mirror to know that everything could mean nothing and that nothing could mean everything. 
But he smiles. 
“I’ll keep a running tab.” 
It doesn’t end up like Howard and Maria, no matter how many times Tony thinks it will, wonders if he acts like it, if it will all descend into madness and he’ll be right. 
Rhodey is patient and he calls Tony out on his bullshit. They both smile at each other over cups of coffee, evening argument forgotten. 
When Rhodey has to go overseas, he always gets ragged on by his peers because he buys the cheesiest souvenirs. He never tells them who it’s for, and it’s not until Tony adds the absolutely terrible rendition of the Statue of Liberty onto his personal key-chain for his car that they connect the dots and stare at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. 
Tony makes him the most decadent of meals when he’s back, giving neck massages and draping blankets that are so soft they don’t feel real over them at night. 
They come together and it’s like the ways that the actors and actresses smile giddily up at their counterpart, how the authors describe two coming together. Except it’s better. 
Because Rhodey leaves the coffee filter in the machine and forgets to take it out, and Tony nearly always remembers to take it out before it’s a day later and the kitchen smells like old coffee. 
It’s the way that Tony is only a control-freak about the thermostat, and keeps it at seventy-five always. 
“You’re such an old man.” 
“You’re just a weird guy who likes it to be sixty-seven! Who does that?” 
Rhodey grins, kissing his man on the forehead. 
“Me. But I’ll keep it seventy-five. For now.” 
Tony settles back into the couch, pushing his legs over Rhodey’s. He smiles up at him, and it’s...it’s the best feeling Rhodey could hope for. 
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amandaklwrites · 3 years
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TV Series Review: Miss Scarlet and the Duke (2019)
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Genre: Historical Fiction/Murder Mystery/British Period Drama
Rating: 10/10
TV Show Review:
I. LOVE. THIS SHOW.
Pretty much this review will be me talking about everything I love this series, just a warning. I hope you love it too, so you can enjoy my blabbering and gushing!
I will do this review a bit differently, since it’s still relatively new, especially here in the US. I’ll talk about my general thoughts, and then I’ll do a “keep reading” when it goes down into spoilers for each episode.
So, here, for the spoiler-free part of my review:
Let me start out by saying that these characters make the whole damn show. Yes, the mysteries are great and all, but it’s the characters in this series, for me, that drives the whole thing. Eliza Scarlet is a masterful main character, and I love everything about her—from her determination, her willingness to fight the crowd to be what she wants, how she’s willing to admit some issues, that she still relies so heavily on her father after he passed away. Her humor is so incredible, and I think she’s just someone I wish I could be. Her feistiness is so wonderful. And then our Inspector Detective William “the Duke” Wellington is… one of my favorite leading men, fictional of course. I like that he’s overprotective of her (sometimes, to funny extents), that he does his job well and follows a lot of the right paths, that he doesn’t seem surprised by much of anything, and that he’s willing to fight even when he’s falling apart at the seams. And their relationship! They are so clearly in love with each other (probably have since that “chaste kiss” when they were teens…), they bicker like a married couple, and though they annoy the living hell out of each other, they would die for one another. I like that their relationship isn’t perfect and they take note of that in the show, but it feels real. It’s one of the most real relationships I have ever seen.
Moses and Rupert are such important characters and I LOVE their relationship with Eliza, their friendships that seem so different, but they just fit. I can’t go much into detail about either of them, or it will spoil entire plotlines of mysteries, but I will say that I love what the story does with their characters, how it gives them breaths of their own, that they become some of the most dynamic characters in the show with so much to them and that take a life of their own. That they feel real and important and interesting, and I love the representation. That’s all I’ll say about them in the spoiler-free review.
Now, the mysteries, were incredible. They kept me guessing through every episode, and I would have some feelings about things/people, but I wasn’t sure how it would get there. At times, I thought of the truth, but figured that they were going to trick me with it (my grandpa always told me that I have a brain for a detective, if I had some training, so that’s fun!). But still, they were so innovative and different from other mysteries that I had experienced. And I liked that each episode felt a bit different—we had a taste of ghost story feeling, even an intense thriller. They were really, really good mysteries, to me at least. And I do love me some mysteries.
Okay, so the costumes, sets and music. MY GOD. It was all SO BEAUTIFUL! Eliza’s clothes were magnificent and they had POCKETS!!! William was way too sexy in those clothes (can we bring those back??? We can leave out the discrimination that came with the time period, but let’s bring back the clothes at least!). Everyone had gorgeous clothes. And the sets were beautiful—those dirty, Victorian, coal covered streets… I loved it! (My mom says she’s not sure why I’m so in love with the dark atmosphere of the Victorian era, but I am!). The MUSIC. Can they just upload a damn soundtrack already? I need to listen to this music all the time! It sounds different and cool and I’m just so in love with it.
THE HUMOR! My god, I had never seen a murder mystery show set in another time that does humor so well. I love how they travel between scenes to make it funnier, the lines they say to one another. It makes me feel like these actors absolutely had a blast filming this show. They were so on point, and some of the funny scenes made me laugh harder than any comedy movie I’ve seen.
As you can see, I’m obsessed with this show altogether. I love it, and I want to watch it over and over. The vibe, the love stories, the characters, every. single. thing. is my jam. I know they’re planning a second season and I cannot wait for it. Ugh. My god. It’s wonderful.
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So here ends my spoiler-free review. After this, I’m going to talk spoilers. So if you have seen the show and/or want to read the spoiler-y thoughts, please click on the “keep reading.” If not, see you around after your watch the show! It’s well worth it!
Let me start out by explaining more of my thoughts on the relationship between William and Eliza, because I worried that some of what I had said would give away possibly too much. So here’s that part:
The (hilarious) way that William mutters “oh jesus” whenever he finds Eliza waiting in his office, or the fact that Eliza calls herself his wife (or in one instance, something worse, but to save herself) to get what she wants also feels like a sly to personally agitate him. How that he would toss her into jail/into court when she went against things he said she shouldn’t do (though he released her/got her out at some point) never got old and even funnier to me each time. I told my mom, she was like a toddler—he couldn’t keep her in sight, so he had to lock her out. But I liked that she still argued with him despite it. Their back and forth was perfect.
I will say here, that I have seen people’s comments online how they wish that William was more on board with Eliza’s detective dreams and support her 100% much earlier on. And I get that, that he can seem like an ass at times. But honestly, I think he feels more realistic that he’s a little harder about it in the beginning. Trust me, I love this show and the way they play with characters and storylines, and that they are so forward (I mean, Eliza is so forward-thinking and modern, it’s amazing), but to me, if they made EVERYONE, i.e. William especially, it wouldn’t ground me into the time very well. I like that it was more gradual for him, to fully support her. And actually, I think for a man in the Victorian Era, with his position, he supported her as much as he could. Though he fought her on it at times, he eventually gave up trying to stop her. And I do think, in some respect, he was trying to protect her, because he does care for her. He was a man of his time, in his position, and he is changing. Can we at least give him that? Because, in all throughout history, it took a while for things to change. And it was men like William that started to understand, that started to recognize that, that helped make it happen. Plus, Eliza didn’t let him pull shit all the time, and she did fight him on it.
Now, I’m going to comment on each individual episode with my thoughts. I’ve never done this before so yay! Here it goes!
EPISODE ONE: Inheritance
I knew the weird uncle wasn’t the girl’s uncle. I didn’t expect that it was her husband (I should’ve!! We knew he was a cheat and a conartist!!), but I knew it wasn’t her rich uncle. I knew from the moment he came on screen—I remember thinking, this guy looks too young around his eyes. His beard and mustache look fake. So, I was right to an extent.
I can’t be the only one who was horrified to discover what the police did to women who worked as prostitutes or in dance halls—they could be arrested and searched for venereal disease? Seriously??? For men who were so obsessed with wanting their wives to “stay safe” and “be protected,” they sure were fine with flipping the case when it came to women that they would also gladly pay to sleep with? Why don’t they check the male clients who are PAYING for this industry. It was appalling and horrendous, and it made my skin literally crawl as they tried tying Eliza down to the chair.
On the note of that scene, Eliza calling herself William’s favorite whore to save herself is literally one of the funniest (though, darkly) things—especially in the next scene, when you see the two of them sitting in his office in silence and William is mortified, annoyed, and I think amused at the same time.
I loved how Eliza tricked that bastard husband—she set him up, AND she gave him laudanum to make him pass out? This woman knows what’s up!
Instantly from this first episode, I knew I loved this show and these characters. Eliza shows her charm and wit and humor and smarts. She’s skilled and I love her personality so much. Though I can see how she could be aggravating to others. William absolutely adores her. Rupert annoyed me a bit at the beginning, but by the end—when he asked Eliza to not marry him, I knew I would like him. And Moses! A Jamaican man brings in the race question of this dark, old world, but I love that he likes Eliza and finds her interesting. He’s terrifying, but I think he’s a good, decent man, he’s only trapped in this world because no one will let him be anything else. But he’s such a rich, interesting character.
EPISODE TWO: The Woman in Red
This episode brings in the reality of homosexuality in this world. That it has always been there (damn those bastards who think otherwise), but it has been hidden away. That men and women have to fear for their lives, and also marry people they do not want because they want to not be noticed. I loved finding out Rupert was gay—my mom called that one!—and the friendship he develops with Eliza. That he trusts her to tell a secret that could literally have him killed and ruined. And that Eliza doesn’t even blink, that she’s willing to keep his secret to the grave, and I cried when she basically told him that. It’s quite beautiful that Eliza even seemed to be grateful that he trusted her enough to give her that secret.
Which was used in interesting juxtaposition to the gay man, accused of murdering his lover, and his wife. I understand the woman’s hurt, that she loved this man and it turned out he didn’t love her in the same way. But that didn’t mean her willingness to let him die for a crime he didn’t commit was at all good or called for. With Eliza talking her down, to prove that the woman’s husband was innocent, I think proved that though she was hurt beyond reason, she did love that man who was her husband and didn’t want to see her die. It’s really a hard situation, especially during that time, when people were constantly shoved down their throats that homosexuality was bad. Not that I’m giving her a “it’s okay,” but I can understand the pain and confusion she went through. Especially because she pulled through.
Through this whole episode, we thought it was the wife that had murdered the lover (the other man). I was surprised to find out that he had killed himself, cut his own throat (which I had heard wasn’t possible to do—but my grandpa, who had worked as a detective, told me that is a myth people talk about, that it’s really easy to cut your own throat). That was a shock, and it made me so sad. That he was dying because he was unhappy, because he hated what he was, because of damn society telling him so. I actually started crying, because as someone who is bisexual, I would be condemned in this time during for openly being with men and women, though I couldn’t even compare to people who are gay or lesbian, because the situation is not the same. But I could connect, I could understand. And I hated knowing the pain all those people were in, that a man had killed himself because of what he was, and that another man had to live with that. It truly breaks your heart.
William’s response to finding out the dead man was gay was interesting. I thought his comment “in my line of work, nothing surprises you” funny, but also telling. He didn’t act disgusted, he didn’t mistreat the husband when they questioned him afterward. The show didn’t directly say his thoughts on homosexuality, but I got the vibe that he was “whatever” about it. Like he knew it was there, and he wasn’t condemning it publicly. That gives him credit, in my book.
Another great episode that got deep and beautiful.
EPISODE THREE: Deeds Not Words
Is this show just obsessed with getting right down to modern issues that were also faced in this time, but not as strongly discussed? Because I’m all for it! This episode was all about the suffrage movement. But I liked the take they did on it.
Yes, they spoke out about the treatment of women. That men, white men, controlled this whole world. But I also thought it was interesting that they made this main suffragette not the greatest person. It made everything complicated. Like, everything she said to Eliza made sense, and I found myself cheering with her. But she shot a man in cold blood, she was willing to bomb a whole building of men—even though it seems justified because of what their club represents.
I think this episode was discussing the balance. That there can be change, but when you attack the people who you are trying to change, it may not work in your favor. At least, that was the vibe I got. Not to stoop to their levels, to become just as horrible as them. Her ideas and words were great, but her actions were a bit… skeptical.
Eliza and William’s response were interesting as well. Eliza felt a passion for the cause, William thought it a bit extreme. But, to me, by the end of the episode, they had a common understanding, they had reached a comfortable middle. I think, this show was showing that was how change came. People seeing eye to eye, and then it spreading from there. Of course, William has faults, but I think he’s truly trying. Especially with each episode. And the more Eliza and he grow.
EPISODE FOUR: Memento Mori
We got our ghost episode! I wasn’t even expecting it, it was incredible! A ghostly image of a dead wife that had killed herself reappearing in photos? How wild and cool is that idea!
I didn’t know that the Victorians had a thing where they took photos of their dead loved ones, looking like they were alive (y’all, the Victorians were obsessed with death…), but it’s an interesting concept. Maybe even sweet. I get what they were trying to do, even if it did seem morbid. How I feel about it is, if it brings you peace, then go for it (as long as it’s nothing disturbing or harming anyone).
The twist was one I had a hint of but hadn’t expected the whole thing. I knew the daughter had something to do with it (how disturbed is this poor girl??), but I hadn’t expected that the mother had planned this before she killed herself because she knew the woman and her husband were already having an affair. It was interesting and a creepy twist, but I was all for it.
Still, I loved how we had moments of eeriness and the haunting feeling in the house when Eliza stayed over. I felt scared and freaked, and most people that know me know that I do not like horror. But this was the perfect eeriness, which I do love.
That scene from this episode where William screams at the poor telegram young man to give them the message or he’ll break everyone bone in his body and then being like “are you crying?” was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I laughed so hard that I couldn’t breathe. I mean, it’s terrible, but the way it was done was hilarious and amazing.
EPISODE FIVE: Cell 99
This episode was… dark. I liked that it was set in an abandoned prison, and my god, was it creepy as hell. I loved all the shots of William walking through gave me the chills.
This one felt like a thriller to me. How it was filmed, set up, how everything went down. Except for the hilarious scene when they are both so annoyed with each other (Eliza and William, that is) that they both scream in frustration is brilliant. But otherwise, it took a dark tone that made me feel like something was watching my back. Especially as that big, scary guy came walking down the stairs when William and Eliza were trapped, ready to kill them both. I was nearly screaming at the tv in utter horror.
My mom had called it—and I had a feeling—that Eliza’s father had been murdered, not just drinking himself to death and found in the gutter. And there’s a gang now? How interesting!
The masked man was strange, as well as the forger locked away. But he was shot and killed, and it confused me.
I have a strange confession to make: that whole time with William in his dress shirt (without the coat), with his arm covered in blood, was weirdly…. Hot? Please don’t ask me explain. I have weird things to me. But I think it was also hot that though he was hurt and bleeding, he was gearing up to fight that big, scary man to protect himself and Eliza. I like that kind of shit, so much.
This episode was twisted, and it left me with more questions than anything.
EPISODE SIX: The Case of Henry Scarlet
My mom knew William’s boss was in with the gang! I liked that they actually explored the reality of corruptness in the police force (my grandpa had personal experiences himself, and that was why he left), and they laid it all bare. Despite the things that we are learning in this present day, it’s always been there. Which is horrifying and disturbing. That these police who are supposed to protect us are willing to delve into the corrupt world to bring themselves more power and money. Because that’s what it boils down to, doesn’t it? Powerful men wanting more and more.
I liked that William was okay with the truth unfolding, and not fighting it, trying to prove innocence for his boss. To me, it made me feel like that he knew something was up with that man (just beyond not liking him). For his character, it made me think that he was one of those people that was actually good and good at his job, trying to do the right thing. Even if he got distracted and didn’t give Eliza credit where it was due, and fought some things, he was trying to do what he thought was right. He didn’t kill anyone, he didn’t go after anyone specifically. Though him and Moses had some standoffs because he wasn’t sure about the other man, he gave him some thanks and shook his hand. Which is huge for that time period.
I did suspect William’s buddy. I always felt like something was happening with him, and that he would be the perfect bad guy because he knew what was going on at all times. And it was proven right! Though it wasn’t any less terrible, William having to realize that his close friend at Scotland Yard as the bad, bad guy who killed their boss when things were turning ugly.
But Moses to the rescue! I loved that he swooped in, teaming up with Eliza, and taking the guy out! I love Moses so much, he’s one of my other favorites.
And their ending, with a promise of dinner, of love on the horizon was exactly what I needed.
Lasting thoughts:
Besides all the amazing storylines and characters they brought in, besides Eliza and William’s chemistry and relationship, to me, this felt like a story about a daughter and her father. We see flashbacks of Eliza as a child with her father, how he taught her his detective work, when that wasn’t something men did typically in that time, and how she would still talk to him after he had died. That though she had chosen this profession for herself, it was also some way to connect to her father. Something they had shared when she was motherless and only had him, and he gave her these skills and talents, helped her hone in on them. And once he had passed, she fought like hell to keep it, but make it her own. I liked that their relationship wasn’t perfect, but they loved the hell out of each other. She was a grown woman, who believed in herself, but she still turned to him—a ghost, a memory, or whatnot—when she felt at the bottom.
This series is incredible, perfect and just all around so masterful in so many different ways. I knew from the moment I heard about it that I would love it. And it turns out I was right, but even more than I had expected.
Now, I think it’s time for a rewatch.
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Ikemen Sengoku Mafia!AU (Oda Forces)
In case y’all didn’t know I also write for Otome (both Voltage and Cybird)
Oda Nobunaga: the leader
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Absolutely a leader of a yakuza- and a good one at that too
(Assuming this takes place in modern day japan) runs one of the biggest Yakuza factions
On the outside though, he’s a very successful heir to a large, multimillion company (think Eisuke Ichinomiya from KBTBB I mean they’re practically the same person cmon)
Due to his seemingly inconspicuous ‘day job’ and charming personality making him very popular to the public eye, no one suspects him of being involved in any organized crime, so he’s able to operate very smoothly under the radar
Of course, he has spies every where- including in the government and police force so his tracks are very covered
Aims to take political power at some point and have his faction be the dominant faction (eliminating all possible rivals)
His biggest one being his enemy Kenshin Uesugi’s faction, who takes any and every opportunity they can to get under his nerves constantly lmao
Nobunaga and Kenshin have never seen each other face to face (if they did it’d be a blood bath), but still have an unspoken respect for each other as much as they hate each other lmao
The rivalry between their two families has lasted generations- now that it’s their turn, Nobunaga is determined to end it with the last laugh
Nobunaga’s still the same arrogant, cocky bastard he is, but 100x worse (as with modern technology)
Grew up with a very traditional family who were samurais in the past, so he’s had a lot of training in swordsmanship and martial arts
Always keeps a pistol in his jacket pocket and wears a bulletproof vest 90% of the time
(He’s not that good with guns tho)
On his desk there’s probably a little plateful of candies, and his fridge is also stocked with sweet things (it’s a wonder how he doesn’t have diabetes yet)
Also has a pocketful of tiny candies to last him throughout the day (much to Hideyoshi’s dismay)
Also, slicked back hair, suited up Nobunaga with a sleeve tattoo (he’d have to try really hard to keep his sleeve tattoo hidden but still just imagine)
Hideyoshi Toyotomi: the bodyguard
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Hideyoshi is Nobunaga’s most trusted confidant, who also serves as his bodyguard
Wherever Nobunaga goes, Hideyoshi follows suit
More often than not the voice of reason
Always trusts his gut and is always skeptical of new members (or just people in general why won’t you trust me dammit)
He came from a poor family of farmers in the countryside, and when they couldn’t take care of him anymore they abandoned him
He was a thief for a little while, until Nobunaga’s dad took him in and raised him as his own
Hideyoshi deems this a debt he has to pay, and him helping Nobunaga and keeping him straight will repay the family’s kindness
He’s always the one to direct less major missions and cleans up the messes
Frequently in contact with Mistuhide, and he hates the guy (more like annoyed tbh)
He’s basically Nobunaga’s messenger lmao
And mother older brother figure, he frequently stops Nobunaga from rampaging over something insignificant and keeps him from being unhealthy by taking away his candies sometimes
Is better skilled with a gun, and thus carries not one, but two (those like shoulder straps for guns under his suit type of thing)
He goes undercover from time to time, although it’s not his specialty- he’s kind of a jack of all trades kinda guy
He’s really good at sussing out the spies and traitors, because he listens to his gut and it’s almost always right
Will do anything and everything to help Nobunaga succeed, even if it means killing anyone who stands in the way
Date Masamune: the affiliate
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Masamune is actually the leader of another yakuza faction, but since it was so weak at the time he took the opportunity to pair up with Nobunaga
His faction deals more with drugs and weapons, smuggling them over borders and getting them out and in of the country
That being said, most of his deals take place at exclusive bars and clubs- where the richest of the rich gather
He’s a pretty laid-back guy for someone who runs a drug syndicate- he doesn’t really care how things get done as long as they get done somehow
Also pretty goofy- when people first meet him, they’d think that there was no way he was in the yakuza
Even though the sleeve tattoos and the eyepatch probably should’ve been enough for them to know
And the massive amount of jewelry, too- Masamune isn’t shy about his wealth like at all
He’s totally the type to wear those bigass rings, complete with sapphires on them just to show off a little more
He loves to piss off Nobunaga, he loves for it
Ieyasu tells him that it might get him killed (low key a worried bb) but Masamune knows Nobunaga isn’t gonna get rid of him anytime soon; due to the fact that Masamune’s faction gives a shit ton of money
Him and Ieyasu tolerate get along pretty well, although the latter may deny it
Out of all of them, he’s probably the strongest and most skilled combat-wise; he’s adept in martial arts, knives and blades, as well as having an extensive knowledge on firearms and even bombs and how to use them
Honestly, he’s with Nobunaga just for the power boost- ones his faction gets enough power, he’s gonna dip then come back and be like ‘sike u thought’
Masamune has the same aspiration as both Nobunaga and Kenshin, but knows he can’t fight them both at the same time. So why not let the two battle it out then fight the winner?
Akechi Mistuhide: the spy
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Aka the rat
Mistuhide is a double agent working for Nobunaga, on his own terms
He’s a spy within the government’s police force, and nobody has caught him yet
Tells Nobunaga about any upcoming busts and when and where they’re gonna go, who they’re going to investigate and go after, basically all information on cases that may affect him
Very good at hiding his tracks- it’s almost impossible to get this guy
Also very good at swaying his coworkers and even bosses- tells them whether or not to pursue a case or person, acknowledge evidence, and even do something for him
He started out as an assassin for hire before becoming an informant for Nobunaga, which is the foundation for the distrust Hideyoshi has on him
Coupled with the fact that he’s easily a manipulative and cunning bastard, you’ve got someone who is a valuable asset but you can’t help but wonder when he’ll turn his back on you
He’s actually the son of a very rich man who had many wives and concubines; growing up, his father’s other wives would try to kill him using any tactic they could, so he developed quickly some skills that children shouldn’t have learned
He knows when food and drinks are poisoned, when someone is trying to ambush you, and when someone is lying- and this was before any formal training for an assassin
Because of his talent with blades and smaller guns, he’s the one Nobunaga sends out most of the time to kill someone and make it seem like an accident
Teams up with Masamune to annoy Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu (sometimes)
He once went undercover with Hideyoshi- the teasing was unfiltered and hard. Hideyoshi kept yelling at him to please stop, we have a fuckinh mission to do and you making me flustered will not make this any less difficult.
He honestly just lives to see people annoyed/embarrassed lmao
Used to tease Ieyasu a lot before Masamune came and essentially replaced him
Mitsuhide’s reasons for joining Nobunaga’s faction still remains a mystery, and he’d like to keep it that way
Tokugawa Ieyasu: the doctor
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Why is there no yellow
The underground doctor who works for Nobunaga, Ieyasu has plenty of knowledge and experience despite his young age
At first, you’d think he isn’t a doctor at all- he‘s rough, not exactly friendly, and easily irritated; which is exactly what makes him so good at his job
As an underground doctor, Ieyasu’s primary job is to salvage whatever unfortunate soul had been injured at the time- sometimes, it’d be much, much more than one person
He can’t afford to let his emotions get to him and slow him down, so he’s learned to repress his emotions and completely focus on his job instead
Also, he can’t be like a traditional doctor because he’s dealing with criminals here- and with his pretty face, not everyone’s gonna take him seriously if he offers the usual caring doctor attitude
Ieyasu grew up in a wealthy family before being kidnapped and sold in the black market as a child, abused within the system and eventually ended up in an old doctor’s hands
The old doctor would basically take him on as an apprentice and told him all his medical knowledge, urging him to follow in his footsteps before he died
When the doctor did die, Ieyasu continued his medical studies and attended several schools and universities before going off the grid completely
Years later he was found in a back alley market (think the black market from beastars) by non other than Nobunaga, who he saved from some thugs (or at least tried to)
Because of his work as a doctor, he often forgets to really take a rest and goes days without sleeping and living off spicy ramen noodles
It’s gotten so bad at one point that Masamune (who buys the noodles for him regularly) actually confiscated all of them and demanded Ieyasu be given a day off (he can’t have tease him if he’s dead!)
Speaking of Masamune, they met after the ‘eyepatch wearing idiot’ came into his clinic after a particularly grueling gun fight with the police
He’s kind of thankful for Masamune- Ieyasu would still have to deal with Mitsuhide and that guy gets on his nerves the quickest, if Masamune didn’t take his spot lmao
He has a little pet porcupine at home, and he sometimes sticks him in the chest pocket of his doctor’s coat whenever he knows he’s gonna spend days at his clinic
Don’t let his pretty looks fool you; mans learned many combat skills from Masamune including how to absolutely murder people with guns
Ishida Mitsunari: the hacker
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From how sweet and kind he looks he definitely does not look like part of the Yakuza
Like, he looks like he belongs in a classroom teaching kids, not in a computer room hacking government files
Extremely skilled hacker- he can get any information from anywhere and leave no trace
Is the main source of information for Nobunaga
Mitsunari was the son of a college professor, and spent most of his time reading in the school library when his father took him to his lectures
Pretty soon he found himself loving computers and tinkering with them, eventually leading to him hacking some minor websites
Fat forward a couple of years and his curious nature doesn’t stop, leading to him discovering some secret files/tapes of Nobunaga’s faction
He left a clear enough trace that he was easily tracked down and almost killed; however, Nobunaga saw some potential in him and decided to give him a choice between dying or joining them (not much of a choice there buddy)
He joined in his late teens, so he’s never really experienced what life was like (thanks Nobunaga)
Nonetheless, he’s actually pretty terrifying when he’s angry
With his demeanor, you’d think he wouldn’t have a mean bone in his body- wrong
Being in the yakuza at a young age, he’s seen some shit and learned some shit- and he’s even tried some of them
Many people have spited him, thinking he’s a doormat
Mitsunari does not let that fly
People underestimate how much he can ruin their lives through the computer screen- financial ruin, a hard hit to reputations, etc
He rarely if ever does that though, most of the time he’d just brush it off and continue what he’s doing (unless it escalates then you’re fucked lmao Mitsudarki come thru)
Mitsunari’s really good with kids, so often times the higher ups or other members leave their kids or pets with him because even if he is booked for work, he still takes stellar care of them
Gets teased by Mitsuhide often, but doesn’t get what he’s saying most of the time
Is heavily opposed to killing- he’d much rather talk it through with someone or ruin their life rather than taking it
Uggghhhhh this took so long but I love these little shits so it was worth it 😤😤 they’re so pretty wth-
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edenwritessomething · 3 years
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the 3rd and final ask🤩
🌸1001 nights🌸
whitch one of your characters would enjoy resident evil 8 the most? whitch one would hate it? whitch one woild be too scared to play it?
do ya have any characters that ended up bein apart of the alphabet mafia by accident? like accidentaly getting gay vibes, agender vibes, bein enby etc
whitch character would ya consider the most emotionaly intelegent?
do any of your characters deal w trauma? can we know what caused it? how of they deal w it?
whitch character is the shortest? whitch one is teeh tallest? does the "short people evil, tall people chill" thing fit w them?
between whotch characters is this comvo most likely to happen?
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these asks are literally perfect for them are you spyin on me (ty for the asks btw, and no i won't stop thanking you)
1001 nights
whitch one of your characters would enjoy resident evil 8 the most? whitch one would hate it? whitch one woild be too scared to play it?
haven't played, so i can't really judge. however, i feel like Noah, Morgiana, Sindbad and Shahryar would love it. Shahrazad wouldn't be scared but she wouldn't enjoy it. she might play out of boredom or cus her friends want to, but probably not out of her own accord.
do ya have any characters that ended up bein apart of the alphabet mafia by accident? like accidentaly getting gay vibes, agender vibes, bein enby etc
yup definitely. sindbad is just .... gay. by accident. as in, in the reference material he has a wife. so i basically just resorted to making him pan cus the vibes are still right. also a minor character, Badr, is a trans man. this ... just happened. it's absolutely irrelevant, so it might not even end up being, like, on the page, but he 100% is. other than that, i am certain that most of the characters are pretty bi just because i personally don't know how gender plays into attraction, but that's not a conscious choice lol.
whitch character would ya consider the most emotionaly intelegent?
pleASE. none. at all. they all need therapy. they all have serious problems and don't know how to handle them. to sum it up... morgiana internalizes everything and puts up barricades; shahrazad bottles everything up; noah ignores all of his problems; shahryar acts out in wrath; sindbad jokes about his trauma though it affects him deeply. so ... yeah, these guys aren't role models.
do any of your characters deal w trauma? can we know what caused it? how of they deal w it?
... all. in different forms, though they have a bunch of similarities (no living mums, complicated relationships with dads, if they're alive). i'm just gonna run through them (editing me says 'shit it's long'):
shahryar: (murder tw) if you know anything about Arabian Nights, you know this, but basically his beloved wife cheated on him and now he has trust and anger issues, so 'every day a maid married, and a wife murdered'. basically, he handles the trauma shit-ly. in my WIP, he also has a certain amount of trauma from the actual murdering of his wife, but he also hides that until it's inevitable (for example when he talks in his sleep), but the only people that witness this if at all are the wives that get killed anyway, Shahrazad being the exception. and he also sometimes speaks to the moon which is kinda like his therapy.
morgiana: (oppression tw, death tw) well, for one, she doesn't know who her dad is. she's also a slave and for the first ~20 years of her life her slaveholder (Qasim) treated her and her mother terribly, resulting in the death of her mother so that was traumatic. however Qasim does die (gets killed) and she is passed on to Ali Baba, his brother, who is a better master, but she still lives in oppression. she's also now being forced into a marriage she doesn't want, so all in all a pretty shit life. as for how she handles it, she basically has two personalities at this point. in front of anyone who has authority over her, she's submissive and sweet to avoid punishment. but in reality (and throughout the majority of the book) she is snarky, witty, rude, unsympathetic, which is her way to keep people out since she has trust issues.
noah: (pregnancy tw, death tw) he's not as openly affected from the traumatic experiences as the rest, but he's still gone through a whole lot. the entire reason he was born was so that his mum, a slave, could breastfeed her master's child (Shahrazad) once they were born, so his father never played a role in his life at all. when he was 2 his mum (pregnant again) fell down the stairs, miscarried and bled to death. since then, Shahrazad's mum took over raising him (which is how they became close), but when he was 8-9 she also died. his master, the vizier, ie Shahrazad's dad, had hated Noah all his life because Noah's dad (also dead at this point) stole from the vizier and now there was no one left to protect him, so he went super harsh on him. Noah handles all of this with stride, he hates the vizier but doesn't take anything personally, he never thinks about his two mums and just lives his life–on the outside, but actually he really needs to talk about it to someone, he just doesnt like to think bout it.
shahrazad: (pregnancy tw, death tw, infanticide tw, suicidal thoughts tw) since she was born a girl, her fate was initially to be buried alive. and though her mother stopped her father from killing her last-minute, and she was (obvs) very much too young to remember it, the thought of it is traumatic to her, so there's that. it also causes a somewhat tense relationship with her dad, though he now (?) loves her a lot. she was very close to her mother though, who taught her to read and write and basically everything she knows, but ...... her mum dies when she's 9-10. shahrazad never talks about this trauma because she and her sister lowkey hate each other and the only other person that'd understand her, Noah, doesn't like to talk about her mother's death, so it's all bottled up. she also has ... problematic ideas of romance, and pretty much suicidal tendencies which stem from this trauma.
sindbad: (rape tw, pregnancy tw, suicide tw) ahh, sindbad. my poor, traumatized soul. his trauma starts before he's even born, so let's get into it. his mum was a beggar and lived in the same harbour he lives in now. she spent all her time there, because the marketplace was near and lots of sailors came, so it was a good source of money. one day however, she was r*ped by a sailor whose ship was in the harbour. he left, not knowing (nor caring) that she was now pregnant with his child, who'd be sindbad. she now had another mouth to feed and also her own trauma to deal with. her trauma hindered her from going to certain places where she'd usually get her money, so basically now there's more demand and less supply. as sindbad got older, things got worse because he looked a lot like his father (white skin, blue eyes, straight nose), so he was a trigger to his mother. she never had a motherly instinct concerning him anyway, and now he was triggering to her also, so she basically started hating him, taking less care of him etc. when he was 10, her trauma and guilt concerning him got so bad that she threw herself into the sea of the harbour in front of him. that was all very triggering to sindbad, especially considering that he sees himself as the cause of his mother's suicide. the port, though he depends on it for life, is triggering to him, and this trauma is his drive throughout the book. concerning how he handles the trauma,,,,, terribly. his coping mechanism is joking about it, even if it hurts him. he has no one to talk to and is surrounded by triggers, which doesn't help.
whitch character is the shortest? whitch one is teeh tallest? does the "short people evil, tall people chill" thing fit w them?
Sindbad, my honeybunch, is shortest, but tbf also the youngest. he's 167cm (5'6 i believe). out of the main cast, Noah is the tallest (180cm or 5'10). if you extend the question to all characters, the tallest is Zobeida (187cm or 6'1).... i know you like tall ladies ;) ..... i'm also starting to realize she might look a tad too much like calliope from disney's hercules,,, my childhood crushes are coming through O.o as for part 2, no, not necessarily. noah is pretty chill yeah, but so is Sindbad and very much so. Zobeida is this weird in between. she has a very powerful aura but she also seems very relaxed but then again always on the lookout and ready to kill. so not really, it doesn't actually apply.
between whotch characters is this comvo most likely to happen?
Noah: You're just trying to stall me.
Sindbad: Interesting theory.
Sindbad: Care to discuss?
it wouldn't really happen in canon cus Noah would be far chiller about it all, but it's something Sindbad would say for sure.
okay this was basically way, way longer than i expected, so sorry it took so long, but the questions were too perfect and i love the characters too much lol. thank you so much for the asks, they're always appreciated :D
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aziraphalesangel · 3 years
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Horror Au
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because I really really really want this so I will pad it out and offer a small portion of my sanity and my undying love in return for someone else turning it into an actual fic
1900, the halcyon hotel is built by lawrence hamilton’s eccentric great uncle, a university graduate in architecture and medical science (an odd sounding combination, but consider, he was rich, bored, and had no need for a job due to a hefty inheritance. after completing his architecture degree the then lord hamilton designed his “murder hotel” - he had a morbid curiosity with human biology, particularly in regards to stress responses and all the ways a person can be murdered)
people begin going missing in the hotel, a combination of staff and guests, only a few at first, not quite enough to gain police interest but enough to start rumours. old lord hamilton starts coming up with ways to make it seem like the missing people had simply left; a missing staff member’s resignation letter and notice handed in to their landlady; a foreign couple’s transatlantic ship tickets; keys handed back and a housekeeper swearing up and down that they saw that local family check out of the hotel a week ago. the sinister reputation fades into a story used to tease small children, and gain the curiosity of international travellers.
the trail of skeletons being donated to medical schools across england eventually catches up with the old lord, and he is arrested and hanged for the murder of X amount of people; lawrence’s grandfather inherits the hotel and the family never mentions the founding lord again. if any one asks, it was lawrence’s grandfather who commissioned the building, and the story fades to little more than old wives tales. it is generally considered a myth; lawrence’s great uncle is wiped from family records and eventually appears to have never existed at all. the maze of windowless rooms and hidden passages within the walls are forgotten about entirely.
fast-forward to 1940; lawrence hamilton dies, freddie inherits the hotel. mr d’abbervile arrives, but he never catches toby and adil; however, solidifying his position as part of the hamilton family is deemed necessary in order to secure and pass on information, guarantee his safety, and allow him to meet various contacts. he marries priscilla in may 1941. the twins aren’t sure what it is they don’t like about him, but they always feel somewhat uncomfortable around lucien.
whilst snooping around the hotel, lucien discovers the secret maze; the old lord’s tools and devices, several broken skeletons he never managed to donate (method of death was... too obviously unnatural), and many of the rooms smell like old blood. he passes this on to asper.
the maze becomes a sort of base of operations at first; lucien and asper meet with various contacts there, information is exchanged and its not so different to what they were doing before. and then they discover a double agent. there are weapons of various kinds, old as they are, and either asper or lucien kills the double without thinking too far ahead.
however, the agent has already passed the information on to their superior. so the pair come up with a plan to lure them to the hotel, and they kill them too. they then lay low for a while, but the missing agents are never traced back to the hotel/to them, and so they consider, why spy for information when they can catch allied agents and get the information directly from them and then kill them without being caught?
which they do. with several agents. and eventually lucien finds out that toby got a promotion at the war office, which means that he now has more sensitive information than statistics about supply ships. it’s a risk, because it has the potential to threaten his standing with priscilla and his regard in the hotel. he is largely liked by most people, only mr garland and the twins (and because of this, to an extent adil, emma and joe), don’t like him, though they have been given no reason so far to suspect anything particularly sinister about lucien. until he and asper essentially kidnap toby.
by this point lucien has been around for a few years (let’s say its 1943). there have been several missing agents within england, and while a few were originally suspected to be deserters/traitors who made a run for it, mi5′s attention has been somewhat caught. the disappearance of a lord’s brother, with a relatively minor position (toby obviously doesn’t do field work), is what brings them to the hotel.
whilst this is happening, there are various shenanigans within the hotel in an effort to find toby. adil and emma independently ask joe to find out information; adil teams up with joe who teams up with emma who teams up with freddie to find toby, but joe, who realises why adil is so distressed about toby’s disappearance, can’t tell emma that he’s also working with adil, so while everyone is trying to find toby, no one is really talking to each other. its a very long winded game of telephone, which does occasionally have the expected complications in regards to miscommunication, but mostly only with minor things, or in such a way that one of them misinterprets something which results in them finding a new legitimate lead.
meanwhile toby is tied up somewhere in the hotel with asper, who just lives in the maze at this point. *insert gruesome methods of getting toby to talk here*. sometimes guests could swear they heard screams in the night. the old rumours resurface with a sort of fairytale quality, but adil/joe/emma/freddie all chase it up in the same over complicated way as before, but eventually joe snaps and makes freddie work with him and emma. eventually emma works out that joe is still working with someone else which eventually results in her teaming up with adil too. so eventually the only person not 100% in the loop is freddie, which is mostly fine because freddie does have to keep going back to the RAF base in between all this.
when asper leaves toby alone however, toby could swear he can here familiar voices through the walls. it only takes him a few days to realise he’s still in the hotel
unlike lawrence’s great uncle though, asper and lucien do not remove their victim’s bodies from the hotel. guests and staff alike (particularly housekeeping) begin to complain about an awful smell in parts of the hotel. in at least one room the skirting board and carpet are stained with something that might be blood. this in connection with toby’s disappearance brings mi5 back to the hotel again.
a warrant is issued to search the hotel; toby’s room is trashed (again. priscilla wonders what they think would have changed this time...), the wall with the blood stain and the strange smell is torn down despite some protest - but freddie gives the final permission. meanwhile adil, joe and emma have found one of the external entrances to the maze. with mi5 entering literally through a wall (leaving asper and lucien entirely unprepared) and the others through one of the entrances, asper is trapped inside. he’s apprehended by mi5, while toby is found by adil, joe and emma. the hamiltons and mi5 find adil clinging to toby’s unconscious body while emma and joe attempt to patch him up.
lucien tries to spin a story about how he had nothing to do with anything, but asper sells him out immediately. they both hang. toby wakes up in hospital surrounded by his family and the garlands; emma pulls a stunt to give adil, and later joe, a chance to see toby too for a bit.
there is however, a strong possibility the hotel goes broke after this. a few generations later, one of the hamilton grandkids reopens it as a tourist attraction probably.
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trulycertain · 3 years
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Still on The Defenders. Caught between enjoying the Winter Soldier angst of the Elektra/Matt stuff and being frustrated because this choice, while it is interesting, takes away even more of her agency than s2 did. 
In the comics, Elektra crossed the world, looked everywhere and climbed a damn mountain to train with the Chaste, and she made that choice because she was furious and wanted to right injustice in the world after her father’s death. (...Yeah, does that sound like anyone we know? There’s a reason she’s Matt’s foil.) She wasn’t born as a Black Sky, and she decided to work like hell for it all and study it. When she met with Matt again after college, she wasn’t working for Stick, and it wasn’t her job to cosy up to him - he was a target and an obstacle, and she made the choice that she couldn’t kill him. She chose to relent.
They changed everything else... but consciously chose to keep her death, even if it wasn't Bullseye this time, which they didn't have to. And with the prophecy stuff, and now this... Don't get me wrong, I love angst, but before, she was working for Stick and portrayed as an unstable murderer. Then the Black Sky stuff and the amnesia... It's like they've carefully stripped away any agency she might have had. She's manipulated by both sides and then killed and stolen to be brainwashed?
One of the things I love so dearly about comics!Elektra is that she’s this force of will and stoic whirlwind of death, but she’s also often very understandable. She doesn’t just kill because she can. This is interesting, but it doesn’t feel like Elektra. I have to take this as a very, very AU version. She's closer, to, say... well, actually, it sounds like they took inspiration from a What If? from a few years ago. (One where Matt gets shot trying to rescue her father back in college, and gets resurrected as a thoroughly nasty Hand puppet. Elektra has to be the Chaste agent that kills him.) Her resurrection by the Hand does happen in the canon comics - but Matt gets to her in time before she can be brainwashed and “purifies” her, and stops her being brainwashed. It’s never really explained how... Look, it’s comics, sometimes you have to run with the daft.
I will say that I have been enjoying this sub-plot often on its own merits, though. The fights are great. The whole thing of “What is it?” and that brilliant first fight with them not even recognising each other, and using Matt’s perception and powers to show just how changed she’d been, was brilliant. Him parsing her as “thing”, not “person”... ow.
And the dream sequence with Matt looking after her and being all tender with her, complete with him wearing white which he pretty much never does as a purity/light-side/dreamlike motif... That’s the kind of sequence you only usually get with fridged wives of characters. It’s nice to see the guy presented as the soft moral centre she wants to come home to. That actually is completely true to the comics: Elektra puts Matt on a pedestal and views him as a lot of the things she just can’t be, and he makes a point of being around whenever she needs him, albeit sometimes reluctantly. That's one of the things I really love about their story: the pedestaled “purer-of-heart” moral compass isn't passive or a “good woman” trying to tame a “bad boy”. It's the beaten-up tough as nails dude who always ends up crying over her and spouting painfully idealistic shit about how great people are and gets rose-tinted soft-jumpered flashbacks.
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vagrantblvrd · 4 years
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Lay Your Bones Down (1/1)
Summary: When it comes to soulmates people tend to fall into two camps of thought.
Notes: Prompt fill for the wonderful @ahwuum who has been super patient and supportive. <333!
(Read on AO3)
When it comes to soulmates people tend to fall into two camps of thought.
The ones who go all-out looking for their soulmate. Buy into what Vinewood and other “experts” have to say on the mater. Read all the books on how to recognize the signs or whatever, watch the television specials and pay close attention to their horoscopes and magazines aimed at helping people find them.
Sign up for the websites and download the apps once they become available because it’s a driving force for them, part of their pursuit of happiness and everything.
Sometimes it works, they find their soulmate and live happy fulfilling lives with them.
Other times it doesn’t, and they make themselves miserable looking for a needle in a haystack all their lives and let every other chance for happiness pass them by and it’s. It’s just sad, is what it is.
Then you have the ones like Jeremy who – he’s not going to lie, okay.
He’s curious who his soulmate is. What kind of person they are, if they’d even like each other, get along like a house on fire or hate one another at first sight. (A different way of getting along like a house on fire, and to be honest saying’s always bothered him but that’s a conversation for another day, or something. Whatever.)
He used to think about it a lot more when he was a kid, bright future ahead of him and all these possibilities, right? Smart kid like him? Could have done anything.
And he did.
For a while.
Then one of his buddies got caught up in some trouble of his own making, and stupid idiot Jeremy thought he could help get him out. Only got dragged into the same kind of trouble and into a literal pit facing off against guys twice his size trying to get back out again.
Stopped wondering who his soulmate was when his primary concern was not getting his face beaten in, and then things escalated to the point all of that slipped to the back of his mind.
Soulmates and the criminal life don’t go so well together, puts a crimp in things. (He figured if he did meet his soulmate doing the things he does now, it wouldn’t be a ringing endorsement for either of them.)
So, yeah.
Jeremy pulls himself out of the fighting rings in Boston, but doesn’t do it clean. Has people who’d be glad to put him down, so he decides it would be a good idea to get the hell out while he still can.
Goes from city to city doing what he can to get by. Realizes he’s in a goddamned ridiculous line of work and figures if he can’t beat them he might as well join them (something like that) and goes all-in.
Picks up the Rimmy Tim thing somewhere along the east coast. Browsing through the offerings in a thrift store where he finds these hideous yellow suit pants. Catch his eye, have him cackling like an idiot, but that might be more the painkillers blunting the ache of a stab wound in his shoulder.
Finds a purple suit jacket a few cities over and something about it hits him just right.
It isn’t until he’s somewhere in Texas he spots the cowboy hat. Gas station with a tired looking woman on the register and news on the television talking about something going on in a city named Los Santos.
Jeremy gives her a bright grin, all nice and friendly because he’s just passing through, ma’am, no trouble here. Watches the footage of another gang war in progress play on the television as the woman rings his purchases up.
He’s been seeing more and more about Los Santos the closer he gets, figures it’s a big deal in this part of the country. (Liberty city’s got the east coast locked down for chaos and carnage.)
Gets this little itch going in the palms of his hands because everything he’s seen tells him it would be smarter to stay the hell away from a city like that, but.
Jeremy’s kind of an idiot.
And, you know.
There are still people out there with a grudge to bear against him and a city as big as Los Santos seems like a good place to get lost in.
Can’t possibly get caught up in anything big enough to make the news like half the things he’s seen so far anyway, right?
========
There are books out there that have a lot to say about the placement of people’s Names. Conflicting information based on what old wives tale the author grew up on, their region of the country.
All of them agree on one thing, though. Names closest to the heart mean you’re bound for a happy match once you find your soulmate, get that happily ever after everyone’s running towards.
Jeremy’s Name is on his back, running along his spine, and the one book he read about Name placements had nothing to say on the matter. Didn’t look further into things because he was afraid of what he’d find.
Awkward placement for him to get a good look at it, but he’d tried when he thought he had a chance to find his soulmate. (When it would have been a good thing.)
Did all sorts of crazy things to get a picture.
Tried taking a picture using the bathroom mirror but he only got parts of it in the frame. Set up a series of mirrors like an idiot and got better pictures out of it he played around in the edit mode to flip it.
Other things like that.
Realized his soulmate has the shittiest handwriting known to man or maybe something was wrong with his eyes because even now he can barely make out what it’s supposed to be.
A signature for sure, the way most of them are.
Starts with a big looping letter and ends in this indecipherable scrawl like whoever they are they either gave up along the way or couldn’t be bothered with the rest.
Sometimes he’ll catch sight of it in a bathroom mirror of whatever shitty motel or apartment he’s staying in, wonder what could have been.
========
Jeremy’s supposed to be watching this hacker.
Keep an eye on him to make sure he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, or keep him safe, his current boss didn’t specify.
Squirrely little bastard, though.
Scrawny.
Looks like a twig with a wild tuft of hair and this nose that got him picked on as a kid. (If the way the rest of the crew treats him is any indication, that never stopped.
Jeremy might feel bad about how the others treat the guy, if he wasn’t such an asshole.
And anyways, it’s his first job in Los Santos. Some dirty little gang that’s been outsourced to do a job for an ally of theirs.
He’s hired muscle here and so low down in the pecking order he might as well not even have a name.
Just Goon #2 or something.
“What kind of name is Rimmy Tim?” the hacker asks out of the blue, not bothering to look up from his work. “Did your parents draw it out of a hat like a raffle?”
The two of them are alone in the warehouse the gang operates out of. It would be real easy to kill him and pretend he didn’t know how it happened.
Just.
So easy.
The thing that stops Jeremy from doing it is that murder is a bit of an overreaction to the annoying bastard. And, he’s being paid to watch the guy so he’d be shooting himself in the foot. Also, it’s clear he’s not thinking about the words coming out of his mouth.
Some idle thought floating around in his head while he focuses on his work and no brain-to-mouth filter.
“Yeah,” Jeremy drawls. “They used this hat to do it to. Gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday to commemorate the occasion. Even gave me a lasso so I could catch my first horse.”
The hacker keeps tap-tap-tapping away on his laptop for a few moments afterward before he processes what Jeremy said.
Slowly lifts his head to squint at Jeremy like he’s sure he’s being fucked with, but also maybe not?
“Wait, what?”
Jeremy smiles and tips his hat at the asshole as he gets up to grab a beer out of the fridge.
========
As much as Jeremy tries not to think about the Name on his back, the rest of the world makes that impossible.
Television shows and movies. Best-sellers at the store. Songs on the radio. Marketing campaigns every-fucking-where and shoved down people’s throats at every turn.
No wonder so many obsess over their Name when they’re made so aware of it every waking moment.
It’s still kind of weird, though, listening to the guys he works with gossiping about them. Doesn’t matter who he’s working for, where he is, there’s always someone like that.
Stone-cold killers and no remorse to them, and they’ll kick back for a poker game and someone will start up a conversation about the Name on their shoulder.
Curling script and little hearts dotting the ‘i’ and wondering what they have to think about their own rough scribble of a name. (Good penmanship isn’t a requirement for their line of work.)
It’s enough to make Jeremy wonder what it is about Los Santos that people like them think about their soulmates like that. Hope they’ll get the chance to meet them even though they’re on the wrong side of the law and the odds of them getting something good out of it are so damn low.
========
Jeremy’s been in Los Santos for about a year, two, before his name gets put out there as someone people might want to watch out for.
Well, one of his names, anyway.
He still gets strange looks when he introduces himself as Rimmy Tim, but considering Los Santos is the kind of city where everyone’s scared of some idiot in a rubber mask calling himself the Vagabond, he figures he's doing alright for himself.
He’s been hired on by a crew that hasn’t tried to fuck him over since they brought him on to be an extra gun for them. (Yet.)
Decent pay that helps with the rent for the place he shares with a couple of idiots he’s fallen in with in Matt and Trevor, and until recently they were playing it smart.
Did nothing to attract the notice of the bigger crews in town, but that’s changed the last few weeks. His boss with his eyes set on moving up in the pecking order which means coming up against those same crews who could squash them flat with barely a thought.
Trevor keeps harping on him to get the fuck out, fake his death if he has to and have Matt gimmick him up a new identity, the whole works, because.
Fuck, because his boss is taking swipes at the Fake AH Crew.
Just about the worst crew to mess with, what with their reputation for not taking kindly to that kind of thing and all.
The crew Jeremy’s working for keeps bringing in new blood because they’re dropping likes flies with every skirmish they get into with the Fakes.
No mercy to the Fakes when one of theirs gets hurt, just this single-minded anger snapping back around on whoever is stupid enough to go after them.
If Jeremy was smarter, he’d listen to Trevor, he would. But Matt’s got these debts and smart as Trevor is he hasn’t been able to find a way to get him out of them other than paying them off. Jeremy does his part to help, which means being the kind of idiot out there tempting fate working for a certified moron with a death wish.
It’s how you say, not great.
Jeremy’s boss knows he wants out, but he also knows Jeremy doesn’t have a lot of say about it, so he keeps giving Jeremy the worst jobs. Sends him out with the other expendables on what amount to suicide missions and no skin off his nose if they don’t come back.
Which is how Jeremy ends up being partnered with some other disgraced bastard in the crew to put a little pressure on a weapons dealer looking to side with the Fakes. Convince him he’d do well to stick with them, but they pick a bad (good?) time to do with, what with the Fake AH crew members they run into there.
Guy in a leather jacket with a snarling wolf’s head on the back, the goddamned Vagabond, and some pretentious asshole with gold-framed sunglasses and stupid hair.
There’s a moment where they all stare at one another in shock, and then at the scumbag weapons dealer has the temerity to hiccup nervously before the shooting starts.
Jeremy’s not sure who fires the first round, but the moment they do it’s a free-for-all. Bad lighting and not the best anything and it’s confusing as hell.
Bullets flying and enough yelling to almost drown out the gunshots.
He hears one of the Fakes yell something about bringing the car around when things get bad. Sees a figure go pelting out a side door like a bat out of hell. The remaining Fakes doubling down to push Jeremy and his partner back, buy time or just put an end to things.
Jeremy drops behind cover, pops off a few shots and watches his partner – stupid asshole, stubborn as hell and just plain dumb – go down without a sound.
Swears under his breath and returns fire, with the realization he can get the hell out of there or die, and he knows which one he prefers. Cuts and runs like a coward, or just someone with a brain who doesn’t need to run the numbers to know he’s facing shitty odds, whichever.
He finds a door that leads to an alley and runs like hell until he hits a side street. Glimpses an ugly little purple car puttering down the street towards him from the corner of his eye and jumps in front of it to get the driver to stop.
Thanks God the idiot didn’t think to lock their door before he’s ripping it open and forcing them into the passenger seat, means to kick them out entirely but the Fakes find them before he can, spilling into the street.
“Fuck it,” Jeremy says, and “sorry, pal, but you’re probably safer in here than out there,” and then his foot is on the gas and they’re zooming out of the alley to...somewhere.
Jeremy doesn’t fucking know, okay.
He’s shot and bleeding and apparently a kidnapper now?
So.
Yeah.
He drives for God knows how long until he hears this quiet little laugh next to him. Incredulous, disbelieving, and -
“I can’t believe you still have the damn cowboy hat.”
Jeremy almost slams on the brakes because that voice.
British accent and infuriating as hell and what are the odds?
But, the part where he’s running from the Fakes and can’t do that – traffic and all – and just, it would be bad if he slammed on the brakes.
Instead he slows down a bit to keep from plowing into the car in front of them as it slows down to make a turn, and then whips around it the moment he can and keeps on going. Waves his gun in the hacker’s direction to shut him up, intimidate him, who knows, and heads to a safehouse he knows.
Only, the gun doesn’t shut the little idiot up, no.
“You’re bleeding,” Jeremy hears, which is not news to him.
He also hears, “That looks nasty,” which, he imagines it would. Bullet plus squishy human flesh and he’s not great at math, but even he can figure that one out.
Also?
“This is going to be so difficult to explain later.”
That makes no sense at all to Jeremy, but then the hacker’s reaching for his arm and Jeremy sends him a sharp look, because maybe don’t fucking do that when he’s got a gun sort of kind of aimed at him?
Takes a chance by taking his eyes off the road and almost swallows his tongue as he goes to tell him to very fucking politely not because -
“Oh, fuck me,” Jeremy mutters, because.
Stupid hair and gold-framed sunglasses, and Jeremy's kidnapped the Fake AH Crew’s Golden Boy by accident.
Accident.
There are people in Los Santos who’d pay an obscene amount of money for someone to do it on purpose and Jeremy did it by accident.
Awesome.
========
The Golden Boy plays it smart, in his own way.
Doesn’t shut up, no, but realizes Jeremy doesn’t appreciate him trying to stop him from bleeding all over the interior of his car (not so much the bleeding part as the potential risks of what he could do to Jeremy instead, so yeah) and keeps his damn hands to himself.
Babbles as Jeremy navigates backstreets and alleys to get to the shitty little safehouse Trevor scouted out for the three of them a few months back. Paranoid as hell, Trevor, and smart enough to know things would go to hell on them sooner or later.
Either Matt’s debts or the mess Jeremy’s trapped in, who the hell knows.
Trevor’s good about planning ahead, and Jeremy trusts him like no one else he’s met in this shithole city. (He trusts Matt, don’t get him wrong on that. But Matt is the same kind of dumb as Jeremy and it’s just. Better to look to Trevor for shit like this.)
Safe enough to hide out here to patch himself up, figure out what to do from there.
He parks the car a few streets over because you can never be too paranoid in this city. Pushes the Golden Boy ahead of him while they keep to the shadows and the gun ins his jacket pocket as incentive to go along with things for now.
No damn idea what he’s going to do with the little idiot, not that it matters because Jeremy’s fucked any way you look at it.
The Fakes will tear the city apart looking for him, and they know where to start looking. His own crew would sell him out in a heartbeat to save their own skins.
The only good part about this, if it can be called that, is that Trevor will figure out something went wrong when Jeremy doesn’t go back to their crappy little apartment and want to know what happened.
(Hell, now might not be a bad time to listen to him about faking his death before the Fakes find him.)
So until then...yeah.
It’s a mess.
Jeremy’s a mess, suit jacket ruined along with the shirt underneath. Something more than a simple graze that turns his stomach and hands nowhere near steady enough to stitch himself up.
“Fuck,” he says, and again a little stronger as he stares at the his wound, still bleeding sluggishly, ”fuck.”
The Golden Boy shifts. Nervous? Anxious? Who knows.
Says, quiet, careful, “I could help?” like he’s not sure how Jeremy will take it after the whole thing in the car with the glaring and everything that followed.
He shrugs when Jeremy looks up at him, pushes his stupid sunglasses up into his stupid hair. Looks tired without them hiding his eyes. Dark bags and under his eyes and this crooked little smile Jeremy doesn’t remember seeing before.
“I’ve done my share of stitching people up.”
There’s something to the way he says it that makes Jeremy believe it. Him. Whatever.
(The Fakes are known for being vicious about protecting their own, hurt one of them and you’re fucked and he’s never thought much about it before, but. There’s got to be a reason for it beyond not looking weak to their enemies, rivals.)
Jeremy’s out of options, knows he’s probably making a mistake here, but that part about being fucked anyway, so.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, and pushes the first-aide kit towards the Golden Boy.
Watches him like a hawk as he picks through the thing making these little tutting noises as he does because Jeremy may or may not have forgotten to restock it after the last time.
Rolls up his sleeves and Jeremy follows the motion without thought. Eyes going to the line of letters he can see just on the Golden Boy’s his inner forearm. Something familiar about them, but then the Golden Boy notices Jeremy staring.
Clears his throat and pulls his sleeve down to hide the Name inked on his skin. They’re a liability in this business, get people killed, and Jeremy pulls his gaze away guiltily.
“Sorry,” he says, because he’s an asshole and a ruthless criminal as these things go, but even he’s not that far gone. Not the kind of monster who’d take advantage of knowing who the Golden Boy’s soulmate is, use that against him. Not like he can say that and expected to be believed, but still. “It’s...sorry.”
He can feel eyes on him, knows the Golden Boy is watching him, judging him, and then there’s a little sigh.
“No worries, love,” he says, striving for bright and cheerful, just this hint of uncertainty, maybe even fear to it. “Not your fault, now is it?”
(Is it?)
Jeremy remains silent, winces as the Golden Boy sighs again before he picks up a washcloth Jeremy scrounged out of a cabinet to clean away the blood. He works quickly and efficiently, murmurs an apology when Jeremy hisses in pain as he plucks out cloth fibers and whatever else have gotten into the wound before he starts on the stitches.
Neat, even things, and a little laugh afterward when he says it might not scar noticeably.
Not a major concern for Jeremy, but still nice to know.
“Thanks,” he says, as the Golden Boy tapes off the bandage covering the stitches. “Just, uh. Thanks.”
Awkward as hell, thanking the guy you’ve kidnapped (accidentally, and he’s never going to get over that) for patching him up, but hey.
That’s Jeremy’s life in a nutshell.
(Or...something.)
He watches the Golden Boy pack the first-aide kit up nice and neat, reach for a stay bit of trash from the supplies he used, sleeve riding up again and this time Jeremy gets a good look at the Name on his arm.
Realizes why it had seemed so familiar from the glimpse he caught, and reacts without thinking.
Grabs the Golden Boy’s wrist with his good hand, painfully aware of the way the Golden Boy freezes like a deer in the headlights because Jeremy’s still got his gun and the whole being kidnapped thing.
Ignores the pain ins his bad arm as he pushes the Golden Boy’s sleeve up to reveal the Name on his inner forearm.
Jeremy’s name.
Knows his signature after years of using it, every upward sweep and downward loop, and his heart drops because this, this is how he meets his soulmate, of course it is.
“Jesus Christ,” Jeremy mutters, releasing the Golden Boy’s wrist, aware of the way he recoils away from him like he’s been burned. Holds his arm close to himself, hiding the Name on his skin from Jeremy, and he feels sick about his reaction.
(How could he? Why would he?)
Probably thinks Jeremy’s like all the other sick fucks in this city who’d pay anything to know whose Name someone has on their skin. Use it against them and do it happily because it gives them power over them, and fucking hell.
“I - “ Jeremy’s voice fails him and he thinks about just whipping his shirt off to show him why, but that’s.
Gonna send a bad message if he can’t explain himself first, and he can feel himself on the verge of laughing like a lunatic because this is not now he saw today going at all.
He looks up to see the Golden Boy watching him. Wary, as Jeremy would expect him to be after watching Jeremy act like the aforementioned lunatic.
“What,” the Golden Boy asks, voice cracking a little. “What was that all about?”
Jeremy stares at him, because he looks scared, sure, but also?
Angry.
Like he’d kill Jeremy rather than let him use his Name as a weapon or a threat against him. Willing to protect the idiot whose name is indelibly inked on his skin with everything he has because that’s what you do for your soulmate if you give even the tiniest of fucks about them. (Even without their unique situation.)
People are so stupid that way, and it’s both the funniest and saddest things about them to Jeremy.
Because.
He’s got a name running along his spine and he may not know a hundred percent what it is, what with the horrible handwriting, but he knows without a doubt it’s this little idiot’s.
Knows it like he knows every other important thing in his life, and this just complicates things even further, doesn’t it?
Rival crews and a carjacking that led to an (accidental) kidnapping. A soulmate that looks like he’s trying to decide the best way to kill him to keep Jeremy from using himself against him, and it’s getting real confusing in Jeremy’s head.
One thing he does know, though. He can’t let his soulmate (Jesus, Trevor will never let him live this down and neither will Matt) think he’s one of those scumbags who’d use his Name against him.
“Rimmy Tim isn’t my real name,” he says, which should be obvious by now because no self-respecting human being would go through life with it as a name and not have it legally changed at some point.
Just, no.
The Golden Boy’s still watching him. Cocks his head at Jeremy’s admission, eyes narrowing as he tries to figure out where Jeremy’s going with this.
“This is...” Jeremy trails off, knows if he just tells him his name is Jeremy it’s not going to come off well, given the current situation, so. “Uh, this is going to seem weird, but bear with me, okay?”
It’s a bit of a risk, what he’s about to do.
Turn his back on someone with every reason to use the opportunity to attack him, kill him, but he can’t think of a better idea. Just. No better idea and sure as hell doesn’t want his soulmate to think he’s in a situation where his Name is something to be used against him, that fear, even if it backfires on Jeremy.
He twists around and pulls his shirt up, hears the Golden Boy’s confused ”What?” and ”Oh, God, what?” and then this sharp inhale followed by silence.
A long, long moment of silence and this shuddery exhale, cool fingers on Jeremy’s back tracing the letters running along his spine.
Quiet laugh, shaky, and, “Bloody hell,” he hears, followed by, “I knew that couldn’t be your real name,” and another laugh that just sounds tired.
Which, yeah.
Jeremy gets that, he does.
He pulls his shirt back down and turns around to find the Golden Boy watching him again, but there’s a thoughtful quality to it this time.
“So,” he says like he still can’t believe it. “You’re my soulmate, are you?”
Hard to get a bead on how he feels about that, what with the being carjacked and kidnapped at gunpoint thing they have going for them. The way things are a little too Romeo and Juliet for Jeremy’s tastes seeing how well that went for all parties involved in that little disaster.
“Uh, yeah,” Jeremy says, for whatever it’s worth. “I guess I am.”
========
The mirror in the safehouse’s bathroom is dirty as hell, has this crack running straight down the middle of it like the fault lines under Los Santos.
Good enough to get a decent picture of his back at least, have Jeremy frowning at all the scars he’s picked up since the last time he did this. (Five, six years ago? Maybe longer.)
It’s late now, few hours past midnight and the Golden Boy’s sacked out in the bedroom. Tired after a long day and what seems to have been an even longer week for him. Put up a fight because he wasn’t the one with a bullet wound, but Jeremy had overruled him on the basis of 1.) being carjacked, and 2.) being kidnapped after being carjacked.
Not to mention the reason for the carjacking and subsequent kidnapping and just...everything else on top of that they haven’t addressed properly.
More like stared at one another for a long moment trying to process before the Golden Boy yawned, reminding them both of the late hour, and they decided it would be better to pick things back up in the morning.
Sleep on all of it and figure things out then and Jesus if that’s not reason for Jeremy to grab his stuff and get the fuck out. Run off with his tail between his legs before his soulmate tells him thanks for the terrifying day and all, but he just doesn’t see things working out between them – carjackings and kidnappings do not a good relationship make – but do take care.
But he hasn’t, has he. Is creeping around the safehouse being an idiot instead.
Jeremy sighs as he fiddles with the limited photo editor app on his phone, flips the picture he just took so he can read the Name on his back.
Everyone in Los Santos calls him the Golden Boy, sometimes though they refer to him as the Fake AH Crew’s Golden Boy, sometimes he’s Ramsey’s Golden Boy, but his name’s not a secret.
That first letter on Jeremy’s back is definitely a ‘G’, and knowing what he knows now, he can see the rest.
And now that he knows, he’s afraid to say it out loud because there are -
Just.
A lot of unknowns in their future.
Or, not.
At the very least, he knows who his soulmate is now, won’t have to wonder about it anymore, and that. Well, it has to count for something, doesn’t it?
========
“So now what?”
The Golden Boy – no, Gavin – is watching Jeremy closely. Head cocked to the side and so very careful.
Looking at him, Jeremy realizes he never searched him for weapons when they got the safehouse. Wasn’t in the frame of mind to think of it with the chaos of the shootout, pain from his injury and everything that followed. World-changing realizations and all.
Can spot at least one gun on him. A few knives. Who the hell knows what else because rumors say he worked with the Vagabond for a while before the Fakes snatched him up and he’s picked up a few habits of his along the way.
Good news, no immediate rejection regarding the soulmate situation. Bad news, he’s still not indicating how he feels about the fact Jeremy’s his soulmate.
Playing it safe, smart, given the everything else that’s happened or something else, Jeremy doesn’t know.
“What do you mean?” Jeremy asks, because what does that even mean?
Gavin gives him this look, and gestures at himself.
Ego aside, he makes for one hell of a prize.
Any of the Fakes would be to be fair, but the Golden Boy?
Jesus, what stroke of luck to catch him.
Hit the Fakes where it would hurt the most because he’s always been considered untouchable, all these attack dogs keeping him from harm and poster boy for the crew, more so than Ramsey ever was.
Silver-tongued negotiator with an impressive string of successes behind him in the allies the Fakes have won over to their side since they clawed their way to the top.
That whole thing where he’s got a price on his head in the city only the craziest bastards would even think about cashing in on. Catch him and sell him to the highest bidder and live a life of luxury. (Until the Fakes found out who’d managed it and went hunting.)
Jeremy stares at him because 1.), no, and 2.)? Also no.
“How about this,” Jeremy says slowly. “You take that piece of shit car of yours and go back to your crew and I go back to mine and we pretend you did not just suggest what I think you did.”
Because, and Jeremy cannot emphasize this enough, no.
Even if he wasn’t Jeremy’s soulmate the answer would be the same. Jeremy’s an asshole, but he’s got limits. Lines he won’t cross and something like that?
No.
If he did have a personal grudge against the Fakes, well.
Honestly, there are only two things that would be part of that, and they’re both idiots. If something happened to them and the Fakes were involved...
Jeremy can’t say what he’d do then, but he likes to think he wouldn’t sink so low as to do something like that. (You never know what you’d do until you’re in that situation though, do you.)
There’s a long, long moment where they stare at one another, Jeremy’s heart beating double-quick time in his chest because Jesus fucking Christ. Also this sudden, violent urge to throw up because the whole soulmate thing on top of everything and how repugnant the matter of selling him out is with that factoring in?
Yeah.
Gavin laughs, tension seeping out of him as he regards Jeremy.
“Well,” he says, “that’s good to know.”
Like he really thought Jeremy could – would – sell him off like that even without the soulmate thing, Jesus.
“Yeah, sure.” Jeremy scrubs a hand over his face. “You’re welcome?”
Gavin hums, and then Jeremy feels a touch to the back of his hand and looks up to see him watching him.
“I never would have thought,” he says, and laughs like he’s still processing the whole soulmate thing. “I never would have thought you’d be the one.”
There’s...Jeremy swallows because there’s this note of wonder in his voice, the way he’s looking at Jeremy.
“Thought for sure I’d annoyed you past all reason.”
Not...not quite.
Annoying as hell, sure, but there was a part of him that appreciated watching a fellow horrible little bastard at work. Amused as hell at the way Gavin got under the skin of the others they were working with just because he could.
Yeah.
He should have known something was up then, but it was just a job at the time. Jeremy scrabbling to get by and just another job to put money in his pocket and all kinds of excuses that fall flat when he looks back on it.
“Nah,” Jeremy says, and smiles. “I mean, I wouldn’t say past all reason.”
He laughs to soften things, and is rewarded with a quiet laugh and then...it’s not awkward between them, just.
There’s.
“I should contact the others,” Gavin says, reluctant about it. “They’re sure to be worried by now.”
As if they wouldn’t have been the moment they realized something was wrong with a crew known to be as close-knit as theirs.
Trevor and Matt have to be worried about him as well by now, and the two of them can’t just hide away here forever no matter how tempting it is.
Should have gone their own ways the night before everything got complicated on them. Kicked Gavin out of the car somewhere his crew would be sure to pick him up before continuing on to the safehouse, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly.
Too late for that now, though.
“I - “ Jeremy sighs, because there’s no putting things off any longer. They’ve done enough of that as it is. “Yeah, okay.”
========
There’s not much for Jeremy to do as Gavin makes his phone call, but he finds reasons to be out of the room. Give him some privacy.
Wanders around straightening up for the next time someone needs to use the safehouse. Make a list of things he needs to get to restock the first-aide kit. Sends Matt a text letting him know he’s not dead in a ditch somewhere and he’ll tell them everything when he gets back home because he’d rather avoid Trevor’s heavy judgment for the time being.
He laughs when he gets a thumb’s up emoji from Matt, and then a few moments later a succinct Fuck you, man, that’s sure to result from Trevor expressing his disappointment in Matt for not pressing Jeremy for details.
Jeremy makes his way back to the living room just in time to catch the end of the conversation the Gavin’s having with whoever he called. All this exasperation to it and dumb little smile and he just.
Watches him for a long moment since Gavin doesn’t seem to know he’s there yet.
No telling what will happen once they leave the safehouse.
Jeremy’s got to be high on the Fakes’ most wanted list by now, and the smart thing for him to do is stay under the radar until that changes, if it will.
So. Yeah.
Gavin finishes his call and looks up to catch Jeremy’s eye, amused smile playing on his lips so so much for going unnoticed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, just,” Jeremy shrugs. The safehouse isn’t big, not a lot of places for him to putter about while Gavin was on the phone.
Thankfully Gavin seems to understand that because he laughs, and Jeremy.
God.
He’s heard the stories, you know?
From his parents, other people who found their soulmates and had things work out. The way you just. It’s not some magical thing where everything’s suddenly easy, everything nice and clear and simple, but.
There’s a difference.
This thing where you look at your soulmate and you know.
Their smile seems brighter than anyone else’s, fills you with this. Love, warmth, whatever the hell that can help flip a shitty day over into one that’s a little more bearable. Small things that make life better in a million little ways, make you feel less alone in the world.
Not easy, and shit still happens, but it’s not. Not overwhelming anymore, like you know you can make it through a bad day and any others that come after it because someone’s there to help you through them.
Jeremy sits down next to him and reaches for his hand, feels stupidly relieved when Gavin reaches back.
========
In the end, Gavin gets in his Blista and drives back to his crew, and Jeremy watches him until he’s out of view.
Out of the two of them, he’s the one with the target painted on his back, and while Jeremy’s not delighted about letting him go alone, it’s the smart thing to do.
Jeremy’s a nobody compared to him, can find his own way home without worrying about running into trouble, and he does.
Gets an earful from Trevor who’s doing a good job of looking his usual put-together self, but Jeremy knows him too well by now to miss the signs of Trevor in full-on Deeply Concerned mode.
“Trevor,” he says, because goddamn they’re all kind of dumb. “Shut up.”
He drags Trevor into a hug despite his half-hearted protests – he is lecturing, Jeremy, and hugs are illegal you fiend. And then he does the same to Matt who’s off the side nibbling on a breadstick and trying to look bored and disinterested like he’s not just as worried.
“Where the hell were you?” Trevor demands, hands on his hips and ridiculous as ever. “We heard about what what happened, and then you didn’t come home and - “
Jeremy winces at the fear he can hear plain as day in Trevor’s voice even with the dramatics he’s throwing in to cover for it. The dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes from a lack of sleep and just. Everything he can see mirrored in Matt.
“It’s a long story,” Jeremy says, which is the wrong thing to say even if it’s the truth because it sets Trevor off all over again with his own side of things.
Because Matt keeps tabs on Jeremy, on Trevor. Might as well have animal tracking collars on them or gone and microchipped them in their sleep. No way to hide from him even if they wanted to. (A lie, because they’d find ways around it, but what would be the point when he does it to look after them in his own Matt Bragg way?)
And when Jeremy dropped off the radar after the shootout with all the “extra touches” at the safehouse to prevent them from being tracked there...yeah.
“I, uh.” Jeremy doesn’t know how to put this gently, so he just goes for it. “I carjacked the Golden Boy and found out he’s my soulmate?”
There.
Perfect.
Good job all around, well done him.
Jeremy turns on his heel and power walks to the kitchen to grab something strong to drink while Trevor’s brain tries to process that and Matt stops choking on his breadstick.
While he’s there he decides to be civilized and grabs glasses for Trevor and Matt because he gets the feeling they’re going to need them.
========
Trevor can’t actually ground Jeremy, because for one, Jeremy’s a fucking adult? And two, he’s not the boss of him. (Something Jeremy thinks in the safety and privacy of his own mind lest he give Trevor ideas.)
But.
The three of them are in agreement it would be safest for Jeremy if he kept a low profile for the time being, which means he is more or less grounded.
Sits around the apartment pestering Matt while he works on whatever Matt does. Offering unhelpful suggestions until even Matt has enough of his bullshit and kicks him out of his nerd lair so he can work in peace.
Thinks about doing the same to Trevor, but Trevor is by far the smartest one out of them and voted most likely to plot intricate, painful revenge Jeremy will never see coming, so he doesn’t pester him.
Watches a lot of daytime dramas and talk shows instead. Some DIY videos from the internet on his laptop which is great, because he finds this one channel of a guy who helps him expand on his homemade explosives repertoire.
Also?
Picks up a few delicious recipes and other things from people not out to topple governments or just make really, really, questionable life choices involving explosives.
And then one day Trevor comes up to him with a package bearing the logo of a small delivery company.
He looks conflicted, like he’s not sure what he’s doing is a good thing.
“This came for you the other day,” he says, and holds it just out of reach. “I had Matt check it over first, just in case.”
Jeremy sets his game controller aside, because Trevor has a shifty look on his face. Is having a hard time looking Jeremy in the eye.
“Trevor?”
Trevor clears his throat, fidgets in a way that is very, very alarming coming from him.
“I realize I may not have come across as happy for you as I should have,” he says, waving a hand at Jeremy and his everything. “About this whole. Soulmate thing of yours, and I apologize. For that.”
Jeremy cocks his head.
While Trevor’s not wrong, he’s not. Jeremy knows him, okay. Knows Trevor’s glad he found his soulmate, but there was the matter of everything else to deal with too because Jeremy’s a damn idiot who can’t do anything the easy way.
“You really don’t need to - “ Jeremy starts to say, and snaps his mouth shut when Trevor levels him with a look. “But, ah. Thank you?”
Trevor harrumphs, scowl slowly lightening to a rueful smile as he holds the package out to Jeremy.
“Anyway, this came for you the other day and Matt says it’s not going to kill you. Or, it might, but if it does it will be from cancer due to long-term exposure to radiofreqeuncy radiation and not explosives or what have you.” Trevor pauses for a breath. “But as we both know, that won’t happen for decades if there really is a link between cell phone usage and cancer, so, uh. Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”
Jeremy doesn’t know what to say to any of that, so he accepts the package with a simple thanks and scurries off to his room before he catches whatever the hell Trevor has.
(Too late to avoid the insanity, but he already knew that.)
========
There’s a cell phone in the package, but Trevor gave that away with his unsettling warning about the hazards of cell phones or whatever that was.
There’s also a note.
From Gavin.
Awkward and sweet, and Jeremy laughs as he reads if for the third time because he’s an idiot and a sap.
It’s a chance to get to know Gavin better and a burner phone to make that possible.
Side note about this being for the best until Gavin can talk sense into his crew regarding Jeremy and this rambling tangent that has nothing to do with anything, but still makes Jeremy smile.
They’re getting further and further away from the bizarre Romeo and Juliet situation they were in at first, but everything’s still unbelievably stupid and ridiculous in their own way.
Still.
Jeremy sets the note aside and unlocks the phone and brings up the contacts. Stares at the only one saved for a long moment, nerves and whatever else getting the best of him for a moment before he shoves all of that aside and presses the send button before he can think better of it.
========
A month goes by before Trevor deems it safe to let Jeremy out on his own unsupervised, which is just as insulting as it sounds.
To be fair, it’s taken that long for his bullet wound to heal to a point he can take on work again without making things worse, so it works out.
He’s been talking to Gavin every chance he can get, gone from once or twice a week to three to four to every day thy better they got to know one another. Realizing they might be among the lucky ones to find their soulmate and someone they could stand to share the rest of their lives together with.
He’s been itching at the chance to see him in person again, and Gavin feels the same because he texts Jeremy the name of a cafe along with a time and date, and Jeremy -
“Good God man, you can’t wear that abomination on your little lunch date!” Trevor looks personally offended because Jeremy’s dressed in his finest Rimmy Tim ensemble, complete with a new hat to replace the one he lost in the shootout with the Fakes.
All shiny and white because he felt like a change was in order, and also they were out of brown.
Jeremy keeps a straight face by sheer strength of will, something not helped by the thumb’s up Matt’s shooting him over Trevor’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong with it?” Jeremy asks, looking down at himself like he’s looking for a stray piece of lint or wrinkled fabric. A loose button, something along those lines. And, “You don’t like it?”
Trevor makes this...this noise in the back of his throat that somehow conveys frustration, disgust, and barest touch of rage as he throws his hands up.
“You march right back into your room and find something to wear that isn’t both horrendous and garish right now, young man!”
There’s a delicate silence in the moment after his outburst.
And then Jeremy makes the mistake of looking at Matt, and that’s the end of that. The two of them crack up laughing while Trevor heaves this sigh of utmost suffering that comes from having to deal with idiots like them.
========
Jeremy changes into clothes Trevor deems far more reasonable than Jeremy’s Rimmy Tim getup and makes it to the cafe with time to spare.
Follows the hostess out to an outside seating area and can’t help the goofy smile on his face when he spots Gavin waiting for him at one of the tables.
He looks.
Well.
He looks nervous, fussing with this coin he’s rolling over his knuckles in an obvious nervous habit, but he also looks good.
Button-down shirt that makes his eyes stand out. Pressed slacks and dress shoes, hair – still an unruly mess but it’s more artfully messy rather than all-out disastrous. Those ridiculously expensive sunglasses of his hooked into the collar of his shirt and best of all, he looks rested. Like he’s finally managed to get enough sleep, and the smile that crosses his face when he catches sight of Jeremy -
Blinding.
“Jeremy!” he gets to his feet and pulls Jeremy into a hug, and the last of Jeremy’s nervousness vanishes in the face of his clear excitement at seeing him again after so long.
Jeremy closes his eyes and breathes out a sigh of relief as he hugs Gavin, because nerves and this...he doesn’t even know.
Like part of him somehow thought he’d imagined it all from the shootout to the carjacking (Jesus Christ, that’s going to make the story of how they discovered they were soulmates a tricky one to tell people) to the events at the safehouse.
The phone calls that had spilled over from one burner phone to the next until Jeremy had decided the hell with things and started using his own instead. (A risk, sure, of the Fakes finding him to “have a little chat with him” Gavin had warned him about when he told him, but more than worth it.)
Everything.
This ache in his chest at being so close and so far after all these years of wondering. Maybe there is something to the soulmates thing science can’t explain because it feels like Jeremy’s taking his first full breath in far too long.
The world feels a little more real, brighter when he opens his eyes to look at Gavin.
Something.
Gavin laughs again and they untangle themselves, sit down at the table Gavin’s gotten for them and stare at one another like idiots for a moment.
It’s a beautiful day, sunny and bright and the people of Los Santos are making the most of it. Pedestrians out for a walk for the hell of it or out and about on errands or other business talking on their cell phones or enjoying the break in weather from the spate of rain they’ve had the last week.
Dogs barking, birds singing. People laughing.
All of it paints a different picture of the city than Jeremy’s used to seeing and for a moment he can almost pretend it’s any other city.
Almost.
“Uh,” Jeremy says, because pretty as things are right now, Los Santos is certainly not any other city. “Did you know - “
Gavin rolls his eyes, mouth quirking as he leans towards Jeremy. Drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“Ignore them,” he says, gleam of amusement in his eye. “It’ll drive them mental.”
Jeremy raises his eyebrows at that because Gavin knows his crew best, of course, but still.
There’s a car idling at the curb just beyond the patio they’re seated at.
Shiny chrome number and the guy with the wolf on the back of his jacket Jeremy remembers seeing from the shootout behind the wheel.
Glaring at Jeremy.
Another car is parked across the street opposite him. Sleek black number with bright green accents. Too far to make out more than an outline of the driver, but Jeremy’s sure he’s wearing a skull mask. (He’s seen that car on the news too often not to know its owner.)
Not even two tables away from them are a pair of people in the absolute worst disguises Jeremy’s seen outside of a spy parody movie.
Dark sunglasses, fake mustaches and beards, and holes cut out of the newspaper one of them is reading along with oversize trench coats on a beautiful early summer afternoon in sunny Los Santos.
“...Okay?” Jeremy says, because okay.
And...he gets it, he does.
The Fakes are a close-knit crew and he and Gavin didn’t kick off this whole...soulmates thing between them in the traditional way.
At all.
To be honest, there’s a part of him that’s relieved they’re being this overprotective of Gavin. Watching out for him in an admittedly creepy way.
It’s just.
Weird as hell, too.
“Jeremy,” Gavin says, and gives him this look like he knows, but better to go along with it than fight it at this point, which.
Again, yeah, okay.
He can handle dealing with Gavin’s crew if it means he gets to have this...chance with Gavin. (Besides,  he hasn’t even met Trevor or Matt, and God knows they’re going to be as terrible in their own ways, idiots that they are.)
They chat for a bit as they look over the menu, knot of worry and doubt in Jeremy’s chest unraveling as Gavin laughs at Jeremy’s stupid jokes. Smiles at the truly awful ones like he can’t help himself even though they both know how terrible they are.
Jeremy doing the same as Gavin tells him about his recent exploits with the Fakes, little adventures he got up to on his own when he managed to slip away from his minders. (Paranoid after the incident where some inconsiderate bloke carjacked Gavin.)
“Are you ready to order?”
Jeremy freezes.
Looks over to see a man dressed like one of the cafe’s waiters standing next to their table. Impressive mustache and tattoos he can see peeking over the collar of his shirt. More on his hands holding a notepad and pencil and this glint in his eye as he ignores Gavin to stare Jeremy down.
He’s seen the Kingpin on the news. Heard all kinds of wild stories about him, the things he did with the Roosters before coming to Los Santos to start his own crew.
Ruthless.
Merciless.
Only man in all of Los Santos who could get the Vagabond to join a crew and all the other rumors out there making him to be this terrifying figure in his own right, and for good reason.
And now he’s in a waiter’s uniform waiting to take their lunch order and Jeremy has no idea how to proceed, because his brain is having difficulty processing the situation.
Jesus.
He feels a sharp pain on his shin and snaps out of his daze or whatever the hell he’s fallen into to look at Gavin.
Gavin, who just kicked him under the table and is now giving him this look. All remember what I told you, and follow my lead and God’s sakes, Jeremy, don’t let them get to you, they can smell fear.
A lot to convey with a single look, but somehow Gavin pulls it off
“Actually,” Gavin says, looking back at his menu. “I was wondering if there’s any shellfish in the shellfish cioppino? I’m allergic, and it would absolutely ruin my day if I had even the smallest bite.”
That’s a blatant lie. They were just talking about Gavin’s love for shellfish after they got onto the topic of the east coast and Jeremy’s hometown of Boston in particular, but alright.
Jeremy stares at Gavin who lifts his eyes from his menu to wink at Jeremy before gifting their waiter with an arch look.
The Kingpin glares at him.
Takes a deep breath and in a voice that says he’s going to have words with Gavin later, and says, ”Yes, sir. Unfortunately there is shellfish in the shellfish cioppino as the name implies. Perhaps something else on the menu appeals to you?”
“Oh,” Gavin says, crestfallen that his first choice might kill him if he was in fact allergic as he’s claiming to be. “That’s a shame. What about the steamed mussels?”
It goes on like that for a while as Gavin asks about every dish on the menu where shellfish is a key ingredient and several where no seafood is involved at all.
The Kingpin goes from being annoyed to resigned and defeated, staring off into the middle distance as he answers Gavin’s questions.
“Well then,” Gavin says, when he’s done torturing one of the most feared men in Los Santos. “I suppose I’ll have the shellfish cioppino.”
There’s no reaction at first, but when the Kingpin realizes Gavin’s done tormenting him he snaps back to himself. Draws himself up to his full height and scowls down at Gavin as he angrily scribbles down his order to keep up the pretense as their waiter.
Gavin beams at him, hands folded neatly in front of him on the table.
The Kingpin snorts, corner of his mouth twitching before he turns his attention on Jeremy.
“And what would you like to order?”
He’s not glaring at Jeremy now, but it’s close enough to count.
“Hmm,” Jeremy says, mimicking the posh accent Gavin had slipped into. “Are there any mushrooms in your smoked mushroom ravioli? I have this allergy to them.”
No doubt he’ll regret it in the long run, but when he hears Gavin laugh figures it’s another one of those things he can deal with just for that.
========
They go for a walk along the beach after lunch, a nice leisurely stroll.
Sure, they’re being watched by members of Gavin’s crew, but Jeremy barely notices it anymore with Gavin laughing next to him.
“Oh, God, did you see his face?” Gavin’s giggling, all lit up with it, and Jeremy’s heart does that little flippy thing it started doing halfway through lunch with Gavin laughing and smiling and happy. “Geoff will make me pay for it, but his face.”
Gavin won’t be the only one paying for what they did, but that’s a future worry.
Right now it’s the two of them enjoying a nice day and being the horrible little bastards they are.
Amazing.
Their shoulders bump every so often, shifting sand under their feet and wandering along aimlessly as people are wont to do like this. Their hands do too, and after a while it gets to be a problem, so Jeremy has no choice but to tangle his fingers with Gavin to put an end to that.
Heart in his throat as he reaches for his hand, and that flippy sensation in his chest when Gavin slides a look at him, crooked grin on his face as he slides his fingers through Jeremy’s.
========
All good things end, or something like that, and Jeremy and Gavin find their way back up to the street next to the beach.
Gavin leads them to a pretty little thing parked next to the curb. Matte black and low-slung. Looks like it could go from zero to sixty in no time flat and Jeremy would love to see that happen one day.
He laughs when he notices Jeremy admiring it, hint of a blush on his cheeks as he gives it a fond pat on the hood.
“It was in the shop at the time,” he says, and shrugs, a story behind it he’s not telling Jeremy just yet. “That’s why I was driving my Blista.”
Jeremy raises an eyebrow because those stories Gavin told him earlier and his far from spotless driving record. Gavin coughs, gaze sliding away.
They lean against Gavin’s car and watch the waves roll in below them, sun starting to sink towards the horizon. They’ve shed their escort in Gavin’s crew, one by one until it’s just the two of them now.
Jeremy passing a test he wasn’t aware of or them getting bored enough to go off to wreak havoc in another part of the city, who the hell knows.
“We should do this again sometime,” Gavin says, light and casual, like he’s not holding on to Jeremy’s hand as though it’s a lifeline. “I had fun.”
Jeremy could do that. He could. Spend hours with Gavin without keeping an eye on the time.
“Me too,” Jeremy says, and squeezes Gavin’s hand. “I’d like that.”
Gavin ducks his head, and Jeremy laughs because.
Yeah.
The whole soulmate thing isn’t a guarantee you’ll fall in love the moment you meet yours, or that you’ll even like them, but goddamn is it nice when you do. (Amazing.)
After a moment Gavin looks up at him, expression on his face like he’s thinking hard on something, and then he breaths out this sigh. Annoyed at himself for something as he straightens.
“Jeremy,” he says, and he sounds determined. Focused. About to take a risk and intent on following through. “I think I’d like to kiss you.”
Jeremy bites back a laugh because it’s so formal of him. Right and proper and all that. Very British sounding.
“Yeah?” he asks, grinning at the annoyed huff from Gavin. “I think I’d like it if you did.”
Gavin’s eyes narrow because he knows Jeremy’s laughing at him, and try as he might he can’t hide his own amusement at their ridiculousness.
“Jeremy,” Gavin says, because this is no joking matter.
Jeremy tries to wipe the grin off his face, he does, but he can’t with the way Gavin’s looking at him and the way his heart is doing that flippy thing again.
Good thing, then, that Gavin does it for him when he leans in for that kiss of his.
========
Jeremy’s life isn’t all kittens and sunshine now, no.
Matt still has those debts of his that Jeremy and Trevor are helping him with because God knows he’s an idiot and things are getting better on that front.
Los Santos is still the same shithole it’s always been.
He’s still at the top of the Fake AH Crew’s most wanted list, albeit for a very different reason now.
But.
Jeremy’s found his soulmate and while the two of them have to deal with a few more hurdles in their path than most people do, they manage just fine for themselves.
“Gavin - “
Gavin laughs, pecks Jeremy on the cheek to shush him as the lights go down in the movie theater around them.
“Ignore them,” he he whispers, like Ryan and Michael aren’t a few rows behind them making sure Jeremy doesn’t kidnap Gavin (intentionally) under cover of darkness. “They’re just being ridiculous.”
“I - “Jeremy sighs, because Gavin’s got a point. “Okay.”
The Fakes like to show up on their dates from time to time, scowl and glare at Jeremy because they’re just “like that” according to Gavin, but they disappear after a while to let them have time to themselves.
More of a running gag by now than actual threat, even if Ryan still wears the mask half the time.
It’s weird as hell and definitely not the way Jeremy imagined what finding his soulmate would be like back when he used to think about it, but it works for them and that’s the only thing that matters.
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nobodyn01 · 4 years
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Viewpoints of EVERYONE on the 2020 riots
Average People: George Floyd was a normal man like you and me, and he was killed by a man that thought he could get away with murder just because he was a member of the law. We all made sure he got what he deserved, and made an example across the nation that we would not simply let go of what happened and to strike fear into anyone else who would think their power would keep them safe from the consequences of their actions!
Police: this is why we can't put our knees on peoples necks anymore. So if you're trying to arrest someone trying to hurt you whatever you do you must make sure they do not get hurt or die as we are mere servents of the people.
Rich People: a poor person tried to cheat an honest business and got what they deserved.
Chinese Government: an American tried to cheat their own government and got what they deserved. Just like what's coming for you Hong Kong! Gonna make you all disappear, won't even be in history books!
American Government: people think they have the power to try and scare us into rewriting some rules but if we pay some people enough we can get them to fight off the other people for us so we can continue living off their taxes moneys.
Statistics: most of the arrested rioters were black and believed that it was their natural born right to steal to survive. As being born in a free market economy where white males are more frequently hired into high paying jobs often thanks to their connections of friends in high places and rich supervisor daddy's giving them cakewalk jobs they didn't work for.
Religions: God sent us a sign in the form of George Floyd to help us see the errors of our ways and to test our faith in the almighty God! We will forever hold him as a martyr for he died for our sins. We look forward to whatever trials God lays down afore us in the future to further fuck us in the ass because we like it just like fucking all of your children in the ass as we ask you for generous donations to the local charities of us!
Refugees still in Mexico: *looks at smoke and fire over border* guess America wasn't all that better.
Canadians:*looks over border at America on fire* those Americans sure do love their Barbeque eh?
Minimum Wage Worker: we don't get paid enough to care who lives or dies, we don't even really care if one of our Coworkers goes missing, he was still a recovering drug addict but he had it coming anyway. Atleast I make just enough to buy my drugs and alcohol.
ANTIFA and Sovereign Citizens: this is why all governments need to fuck off!!!
Actual Racists: our race is obviously superior and there will not be any world Peace until we have killed off all the other races and the world belongs to a race of one color!
All lives matter people: there's no such thing as minorities! what happens to you is your own fault, I follow the laws like a normal law abiding citizen and I am completely satisfied with my life and privileges, all of you are just opportunists trying to take as much advantage of this thing as you can to do whatever you want and put lives in danger! I don't understand why being black makes you so special.
Disney World: no one died within the walls of Disney Land and no one can prove it and so it has nothing to do with us at all.
Celebrities: Remember we are all in this together! *eats diamond encrusted sandwich surrounded by body guards*
Liberals: George Floyd was an average man that wouldn't have needed to use a fake $20 for food if the oppression of school and job systems didn't make him a victim of poverty and student loans are to blame!
Democrats: Welfare Willy got the Billy.
Republicans(old white conservatives): if the police actually did their job to kill off all the useless people living off our taxes the world would be a better place.
Porn Community: we love black people as we work with them everyday and some of our husbands are black and they are very caring when our fathers were not. They can never be racist since they are already black, sometimes they worry about us and don't want us to work with our fellow black co-workers as they are afraid to lose us but I am my own woman and that's why I'm still going on a date with Daquan tonight and smoke all of his weed.
Feminists: we just gotta wait til all the men kill each other off and then we can move in and steal their girlfriends and wives.
Thanos: I used the people to kill off half the people.
NEWS: THERE IS FIRE EVERYWHERE! EVERYONE IS DYING! EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE! EVERYONE IS SHAKING THEIR ASSES AT EACHOTHER! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!
Jesus Like Being: none of this would be happening if you actually took the time to get to know one another and talk about your life problems and came to an understanding how someone can help you or you help yourself. If you feel afraid to talk to others and feel like you can't trust them and use any social anxiety excuse you have why you shouldn't talk to them, think about how that makes them feel, everyone inside tells themselves "they don't want to pay attention to me, fine ignore me" when really they'd like you to say hello too. Learn more about yourself, learn about the others around you, understand your place, take a step back to look at it all and realize being alive in this world is a privilege and it's all on you to make the most of it without hurting others. That being said with what precious time you have left here don't waste it praying or going to church and following dead end beliefs none of it matters in the end. As a human living in this world you can do whatever you want, believe whatever you want to find yourself. just remember it's natural for us to make societies and instead of fighting this nature we'll have to find a way to work around it til we find peace.
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first-of-her-nxme · 5 years
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Hey it was a nice experience going through your blog! You might have already answered this but can you elaborate on why Jaqen is Rhaegar's son? Or you may put the link if you have already answered. Thanks!
Hey :)
Sure but there is a lot to unpack so I’ll try to give a relatively short answer and if it still leaves you with some questions, please ask :) Btw it is not my idea that Jaqen is Aegon, it’s as old as A Clash of Kings and I first heard it from one of AO3 authors but I don’t know if I can tag her here so I’ll edit if she speaks up :) Edit: I first heard of it from @darkeleni
The first issue I need to explain is how old is Jaqen. Every time we meet him in the story he is wearing a very young face. We know that in Westeros boys as young as 16 are considered adults. In some cases even younger, like Robb Stark when he’s crowned as the King in the North. So a 17 year old can be referred to as a boy or as a man, depending on the person speaking. We first see Jaqen through Arya POV and for her he is very young, the youngest of the prisoners, but still a man grown because he is older than her brothers, even than Robb who is already a king. Gendry who is three years younger is described as “almost a man” while Jaqen calls himself “a man.” We get more information about J’s age in Braavos chapters. Every acolyte gets the same training so it means J’s training was the same as Arya’s. In Braavos Arya is always posing as a girl of her age so it means each of J’s faces points to his actual age. And the face he is wearing in A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons used to belong to the 19 year old acolyte, Pate. So Jaqen was born exactly in the same year Aegon was born. Pate is sometimes called a young man, a youth or a boy. J. was 17 in the first book, almost like Loras who is also called both, a boy and a man. 
The next thing is his face. The answer is in the books, it’s the face Arya sees when she meets him:
He was the youngest of the three, slender, fine-featured, always smiling. His hair was red on one side and white on the other
George Martin explains:
…right from the start I wanted the Targaryens, and by extension the Valyrians from whom they were descended, to be a race apart, with distinctive features that set them apart from the rest of Westeros, and helped explain their obsession with the purity of their blood. To do this, I made a conventional ‘high fantasy’ choice, and gave them silver-gold hair, purple and violet eyes, fine chiseled aristocratic features.
Jaqen is one of the two characters with long, straight, “white” hair like Rhaegar’s hair, the other one is Bloodraven. J’s hair is half red - he either dyes his hair to memorize Elia, like we are told Young Griff does to memorize his mother, or it’s his birthmark that becomes more visible with age like the red mark on Bloodraven’s face.
“Jaqen is as dead as Arry,” he said sadly, “and I have promises to keep. Valar morghulis, Arya Stark.”
Arry is not dead, it’s Arya. Arry had Arya’s face, her body and mind. Arry’s story of being a commoner’s son was as fake as Jaqen’s story of being a commoner from Lorath. They both made the same mistake that betrayed they were noble born: Arya called Roose my lord instead of m’lord and Jaqen called Arya my lady of Stark not m’lady like Gendry. “Arry” derives from Arya’s real name. Jaqen is as Arry - a real person with a fake backstory and a fake name but a Valyrian one, a name that resembles Aegon and Rhaegar ( H’ghar read backwards ) or Vhagar, a dragon name. They are both orphans - A man’s sire is long dead ( J. even speaks like Rhaegar:My royal sire fears your father...) - his parents were killed, Arya’s father was murdered too and her mother is about to die soon.    
I have promises to keep. - I am the prince that was promised.
Valar morghulis, Arya Stark. - All men must die, Arya. All who murdered my family and took what’s mine. GRRM borrowed this line from The Odyssey - there will be killing till the score is paid. The concept of “no one”, a hero who hides his true name comes from The Odyssey too.
Their exchange has been rewritten for the show. Jaqen simply says “Jaqen is dead” without any reference to Arya and Arry. It means that this plot, as well as book Arya plot, is dead and the show is not telling GRRM’s story. J. is one of those characters that died in the show but will never die in the books. 
His identity is revealed in A Clash if Kings, before the Young Griff is even introduced, when Arya blackmails Jaqen to free the northmen. Jaqen doesn’t want to help, she has only one wish left. He asks Arya if it would be enough to kill king Joffrey. She doesn’t say no, but she names him instead:  
“Even if I named the king … ”
“Speak the name, and death will come. On the morrow, at the turn of the moon, a year from this day, it will come. A man does not fly like a bird, but one foot moves and then another and one day a man is there, and a king dies.” He knelt beside her, so they were face-to-face, “A girl whispers if she fears to speak aloud. Whisper it now. Is it Joffrey?”
“It’s Jaqen H'ghar.”
Very clever, Mr. Martin - Joffrey is not a true king, the true king is Jaqen H’ghar. 
J. gives Arya his iron coin - a coin of the faceless men, a symbol of anonymity. But when he gets his dragon egg from Euron and comes to the Citadel to hatch it, he kills Pate with a golden coin - the three-headed dragon with a face of a dead king whom Pate cannot recognize. The king from J’s coin must be a long dead Targ king, that’s why young Pate doesn’t know his face. It’s also a reference to J. - he is the dead king, most people think he was murdered in King’s Landing. 
A man does not fly like a bird - but he will, that’s why he wants a dragon.
And last but not least, how he was saved. Rhaegar did it before he went to war. Rhaegar believed that Aegon was the prince that was promised, he saved him like Jon saved Mance’s baby. His last moments with his wives are described in Jon/Gilly scene in A Dance with Dragons. Varys smuggled the baby out of the Red Keep through the black cells - that’s why we met Jaqen in the black cells in King’s Landing in A Game of Thrones - another motif borrowed from The Odyssey and also The Lord of the Rings - the rightful king is coming home. J. came to Varys because he knew Varys was meant to fulfill his father’s wish, and because Illyrio had dragons’ eggs. Of course by this time Varys made a plan of his own to replace J. with another “Aegon”, the usurper. 
J’s story is also told through symbols: the symbolism of wine, crows ( they are the messengers of gods ), the imagery of dragons and so on. The Ghost of High Heart’s prophecy, Jenny’s song ( the book version ) and My Featherbed refer to Jaqen and Arya too.        
Thank you for the ask :)
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panther-of-shadows · 5 years
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Unpopular Opinion: S12-13 Emily Prentiss deserves way better.
CM's screenwriters are seriously bullying her character. She's no longer in the field; no longer interrogating; no longer thinking, theorizing and profiling as she used to do prior to s7, as she used to as a trained spy, expert profiler and qualified field agent. Her role has been reduced to the mere act of giving orders and leading the team, waiting for the rest of them to give her the solutions to every case, when she should be the first person putting all the pieces together while teasing Reid every now and then since she knows sometimes she can be as good as him at their logical analytic job.
She risks her neck for everyone, always has, but nobody does the same for her.
She did the impossible for getting Reid out of prison at the expense of her own career. She was abducted, severely tortured and (nearly) killed again and what not by Scratch, and not only did she have to free and save herself, she hasn't shown any trauma or PTSS so far (I'm mid s13). Just saying, but Jemily has a clear history of flying across the world to save each other, and this time JJ didn't even blink when Emily went missing -I'm sorry but I don't buy it, CM.
The worst part? NO ONE has had the decency to ask Prentiss "hey, Emily, how are you doing? Are you okay?", so what? I'm forced to assume nobody gives a shit for her well-being?
Prentiss was there for García when she had a strange PTSS resurgence after 10 years of her attempt of murder in S13E05;
has been there for Reid SEVERAL times -don't make me count-;
for JJ another million times -because, ya know, unit chief wives 🖤, besides, she almost blew up saving LaMontagne’s pitiful ass in s7;
for Hotch and Jack as she wouldn’t break and would rather die before betraying him and his son by giving their location to Scratch because she’s loyal as fuck.
for Álvez after he stood still on the roof watching Scratch smash his head against the floor and die -when I’ve always thought this was backwards, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t be him asking HER if she’s doing okay?-
She cared for Walker's family when he died in that suv on duty, and she did so in his funeral, mere hours after having been brutally tortured. What means that even in that position, she was able to support other people, something anyone in the BAU has ever had to do when shit hit the fan for them.
AND NO ONE HAS EVEN ASKED HER IF SHE’S OKAY??!!
Because it is fucking obvious she must not be all right, guys. I really don't know how she's holding herself up together so well (relatively well... she does not joke or laugh anymore), she must be an android at this point because honestly I can't find any other explanation to this lack of common sense. They even stole Sergio from her, one of the few things she's had, a messy black cat to keep her company.
So let's get our facts straight, the last thing she needs is Barnes fucking her up, questioning her for REID's stupid decision of letting himself be caught in a drama and therefore get arrested in Mexico (does his shitty judgment have anything to do with her? Nope, period); throwing Walker's death to her face as she wouldn't feel responsible enough already (*sarcastic voice* yeah, so compassionate); and trying to ruin her because an idiot committed suicide during an investigation (was she the one pulling the trigger? Nope. Did she try to avoid that result? Yes... so what? As if no one has ever done this infamous suicide-by-cops tactic before...)
*sighs deeply*
Emily Prentiss is such a great, clever, effective, tough, funny, sassy character that has been debased to a dead-walking punching bag with no other purpose in life that being cannon fodder. And it's INSULTING to everything she used to stand for years ago.
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Coming Down - Chapter 17 (Sequel to The Other Woman) NeganxOC
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Warnings: Language, Daddy kink, Mentions of attempted rape, Mentions of rape, Angst
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Chapter 17
Negan’s P.O.V
As if I hadn’t had enough shit to deal with lately what with Sherry running away and losing our doctor, it seemed karma was a bitch indeed. Now we’d had one of Ricks lackeys break in and to top it all off I’d found out one of my men was a fucking rapist. Needless to say, I’d put David down there and then. Thankfully I’d intervened before it actually happened, but it made me wonder how many other women he’d forced himself on. Sasha was understandably shaken, and I’d done my best to keep her calm. She’d seemed surprised how quickly I’d gotten rid of David. We weren’t monsters. We were just trying to survive in this world, if that meant taking shit from other people then that’s what we’d keep doing. It had worked out fine until Rick fucking Grimes came along anyway. First Daryl escapes and now Sasha’s breaking in to try and get Eugene back.
Was I losing control? Was I losing my touch? Did people think that they could cross me and not deal with the fucking consequences anymore? Perhaps I needed to give the people a fucking reminder of who they were dealing with. First things first though, I needed to know just how many other women had fallen victim to David. The thought of this happening all right under my fucking nose, in my fucking home, made me furious. The one thing I detested the most in the previous world and this one was rape. Men are not fucking entitled to women’s bodies. I found Roxy in the armoury, taking an inventory. She smiled when she saw me but did a double take. “You okay? You look like your gonna throw someone else in the fucking furnace,” she asked. “I need to ask you a few questions. It's very fucking important you answer these truthfully okay?”
“Okay, whatever it is ask it, your freaking me out.” “Did David ever try anything with you or anyone else that you might know of?” Roxy frowned, “no. I mean he gave me the creeps sometimes, but we didn’t exactly talk much. Why? Whats going on?” I explained the situation to her. Roxy was understandably pissed off as well. “Is Sasha okay? I know she’s supposed to be our prisoner, but we can’t treat her like one in a situation like this.” Roxy asked. “She’s shaken but that’s to be expected.” “And David? You took care of him, right?” “Of course, I fucking did!”
“It’s a good thing you did. If it were up to me…” I had no doubt in my mind that Roxy would have made his death much more public and much more painful. But I’d been so angry in that moment I’d dealt with it there and then. Roxy laced her fingers with mine and squeezed my hand in a comforting manner. “I can go down to Sasha if you want, make her feel a bit more comfortable,” Roxy suggested. “No, you don’t have to do that. I need you to keep an eye on Eugene, make sure he doesn’t have a change of heart.” “That big bumbling baby? He’d be stupid if he did. And with how well he’s settled in with the wives I think we’ll be okay.” “I can’t risk it. I can’t have any more fuck ups around here.”
She smiled softly, squeezing my hand again, “okay daddy, I understand. I’ll keep an eye on him.” I felt myself relax a little, knowing that I had her on my side with this. The one person I could trust with anything, the one person who would do anything I asked. I really was lucky to have her on my side. “Thank you, baby girl,” I spoke. She leaned up and kissed me softly. “In the meantime, I’d recommend putting David’s head on a stick for everyone to see, it’ll act as a reminder that you don’t tolerate shit like that, it also might get a few people to step forward, saves you asking every woman in this place,” Roxy suggested. It was an idea, although I’m sure word had already spread throughout the place. As if I didn’t have enough work to do in the first place now I had to deal with this.
Or maybe I could use the hands and help that I had. Simon never complained about getting his hands dirty. Roxy had gone back to her inventory during this time. “Hey baby girl, one more thing,” I spoke. “Yeah?” “Am I…you know…doing the right fucking thing?” “In regard to David? Yeah.” “And what about with Rick? You know that with Sasha breaking in, one of them is going to have to die for it.” “Right.” “I just don’t know if it will get the message across, I thought it would last time.”
“They get one more chance. I know that people are a resource in this world now but are you sure you can work with people like that? If they don’t listen, then we take it all. We have to protect our own, not worry about another break in or attack from them,” Roxy explained, “but whatever you decide, I’ll still be there with you at the end of the week when all this goes down.” I smiled at the last part. We let each other get back to work. I radioed Simon to deal with the David situation before heading up to one of the lookout points. I needed a place to think things through. I didn’t want to kill anyone else, I didn’t enjoy it but it's what normally kept people in line. I wanted as little casualties as possible, but it seemed Alexandria didn’t care about the body count.
They hadn’t the first time they’d come across us. Murdering a whole outpost in their fucking sleep. They’d murdered my men and taken our weapons, they’d made the first move by attacking us. I’d had no choice but to retaliate violently. If our two groups could have met under different circumstances, then things might be different between us. Perhaps they would have fallen in line like The Kingdom and Hilltop. I needed to regain control over the situation and then maybe I’d be able to negotiate things with Rick. Peacefully this time.
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pinealperspective · 5 years
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A few random quotations, collected from the book "Pulp" by Charles Bukowski
• “I was gifted, am gifted. Sometimes I looked at my hands and realized that I could have been a great pianist or something. But what have my hands done? Scratched my balls, written checks, tied shoes, pushed toilet levers, etc. I have wasted my hands. And my mind.”
• “Man was born to die. What did it mean? Hanging around and waiting. Waiting for the ‘A train.’ Waiting for a pair of big breasts on some August night in a Vegas hotel room. Waiting for the mouse to sing. Waiting for the snake to grow wings. Hanging around.”
• “Hell was what you made it.”
• “Sex was a trap, a snare. It was for animals.”
• “What was wrong with me? Was this dame getting to me? She had intestines like everybody else. She had nostril hairs. She had wax in her ears. What was the big play?”
• “You only live once, right? Well, except for Lazarus. Poor sucker, he had to die twice.”
• “I killed four flies while waiting. Damn, death was everywhere. Man, bird, beast, reptile, rodent, insect, fish didn’t have a chance. The fix was in. I didn’t know what to do about it. I got depressed. You know, I see a box boy at the supermarket, he’s packing my groceries, then I see him sticking himself into his own grave along with the toilet paper, the beer and the chicken breasts.”
• “’You won’t laugh at me like the police did?’
‘Nobody laughs like the police, Mr. Grovers.’”
• “Now all that I can tell you is that there are billions of women on earth, right? Some look all right. Most look pretty good. But every now and then nature pulls a wild trick, she puts together a special woman, an unbelievable woman. I mean, you look and you can’t believe. Everything is perfect undulating movement, quicksilver, snake-like, you see an ankle, you see an elbow, you see a breast, you see a knee, it all melds into a giant, taunting totality, with such beautiful eyes smiling, the mouth turned down a bit, the lips held there as if they were about to burst into laughter over your helplessness. And they know how to dress and their long hair burns the air. Too god-damned much.”
• “Passed the Turf Club. Looked in. Just a bunch of old guys. With money. How did they do it? And how much did you need? And what did it all mean? We all died broke and most of us lived that way. It was a debilitating game. Just to get your shoes on in the morning was a victory.”
• “Something was always after a man. It never relented. No rest, ever.”
• “We waited and waited. All of us. Didn’t the shrink know that waiting was one of the things that drove people crazy? People waited all their lives. They waited to live, they waited to die. They waited in line to buy toilet paper. They waited in line for money. And if they didn’t have any money they waited in longer lines. You waited to go to sleep and then you waited to awaken. You waited to get married and you waited to get divorced. You waited for it to rain, you waited for it to stop. You waited to eat and then you waited to eat again. You waited in a shrink’s office with a bunch of psychos and you wondered if you were one.”
• “Getting out of bed in the morning was the same as facing the blank wall of the Universe.”
• “But trouble and pain were what kept a man alive. Or trying to avoid trouble and pain. It was a full time job. And sometimes even in sleep you couldn’t resist.”
• “The best interpreter of the dream is the dreamer. Keep your money in your pocket. Or bet it on a good horse.”
• “I wasn’t dead yet, just in a state of rapid decay. Who wasn’t? We were all in the same leaky boat, jollying ourselves up.”
• “’You’re a lousy philosopher,’ said Lady Death. ‘For me,’ I told her, ‘I’m perfect.’ ‘People live on their delusions,’ she said. ‘Why not?’ I suggested. ‘What else is there?’. ‘The end of them,’ she said.”
• “Existence was not only absurd, it was plain hard work.”
• “There’s always somebody about to ruin your day, if not your life.”
• “Everybody was screwed. There were no winners. There were only apparent winners. We were all chasing after a lot of nothing. Day after day. Survival seemed the only necessity. That didn’t seem enough. Not with Lady Death waiting.”
• “‘You a pimp?’
‘Oh, no, sir.’
‘You sell drugs?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Wish you did. I need some coke.’
‘I’m a bible salesman, sir.’
‘That’s disgusting!’
‘Just trying to spread the word.’
‘Well, don’t spread that shit around me.’”
• “Well, people got attached. Once you cut the umbilical cord they attached to other things. Sight, sound, sex, money, mirages, mothers, masturbation, murder and Monday morning hangovers.”
• “I should have been a great philosopher, I would have told them how foolish we were, standing around sucking air in and out of our lungs.”
• “Most of the world was mad. And the part that wasn’t mad was angry. And the part that wasn’t mad or angry was just stupid. I had no chance. I had no choice. Just hang on and wait for the end. It was hard work. It was the hardest work imaginable.”
• “Two women meant twice as much trouble as one woman.”
• “Why couldn’t I be just some guy sitting watching a baseball game? Involved in the outcome. Why couldn’t I be a fry cook scrambling eggs and acting detached? Why couldn’t I be a fly on some person’s wrist, crawling along sublimely involved? Why couldn’t I be a rooster in a chicken pen pecking at seed? Why this?”
• “‘We’ve thought it over, it’s just awful. We don’t want to colonize your earth.’
‘What’s too awful, Jeannie?’
‘The earth. Smog, murder, the poisoned air, the poisoned water, the poisoned food, the hatred, the hopelessness, everything. The only beautiful thing about the earth is the animals and now they are being killed off, soon they will be gone except for pet rats and race horses. It’s so sad, no wonder you drink so much.’
‘Yeah, Jeannie. And don’t forget our atomic stockpiles.’
‘Yes, you’ve dug yourself in too deep, it seems.’
‘Yes, we could be gone in two days or we might last another thousand years. We don’t know which and so it’s hard for most people to care about anything.’”
• “All in all, I had pretty much done what I had set out to do in life. I had made some good moves. I wasn’t sleeping on the streets at night. Of course, there were a lot of good people sleeping in the streets. They weren’t fools, they just didn’t fit into the needed machinery of the moment. And those needs kept altering. It was a grim set-up and if you found yourself sleeping in your own bed at night, that alone was a precious victory over the forces. I’d been lucky but some of the moves I’d made had not been entirely without thought. But all in all it was a fairly horrible world and I felt sad, often, for most of the people in it.”
• “Often the best parts of life were when you weren’t doing anything at all, just mulling it over, chewing on it. I mean, say that you figure everything is senseless, then it can’t be quite senseless because you are aware that it’s senseless and your awareness of senselessness almost gives it sense.”
• “Definition of a nice neighborhood: a place you couldn’t afford to live in.”
• “Most men don’t live well at all, they just wear down.”
• “‘But he said he was going to kill you, didn’t you hear him?’
‘He probably didn’t mean it.’
‘You don’t go on ‘probably’ when love and guns are in hand.’”
• “I didn’t turn on the tv, I found that when you felt bad that son-of-a-bitch only made you feel worse. Just one vapid face after another, it was endless. An endless procession of idiots, some of them famous. The comedians weren’t funny and the drama was 4th grade.”
• “My old man had told me, ‘Get into anything where they hand you the money first and then hope to get it back. That’s banking and insurance. Take the real thing and give them a piece of paper for it. Use their money, it will keep coming. Two things drive them: greed and fear. One thing drives you: opportunity.’ Seemed like good advice. Only my father died broke.”
• “Hell, I’d even failed with women. Three wives. Nothing really wrong each time. It all got destroyed by petty bickering. Railing about nothing. Getting pissed-off over anything and everything. Day by day, year by year, grinding. Instead of helping each other you just sliced away, picking at this or that. Goading. Endless goading. It became a cheap contest. And once you got into it, it became habitual. You couldn’t seem to get out. You almost didn’t want to get out. And then you did get out. All the way.”
• “I hung up. I stared at the phone. Deathly damned thing. But you needed it to call 911. You never knew.”
• “Boring damned people. All over the earth. Propagating more boring damned people. What a horror show. The earth swarmed with them.”
• “‘We could get to know each other,’ she said.
‘It wouldn’t pay off, it would only be stupid.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Experience”.
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