#the orchestration is worse for some reason

[ach-sss-no]

someone asked why i loudly asserted that the stewing rabbits bit of lotr is the opposite book vs. movie and i think it is time to move off of the giant reblog chain i'm making

The Premise: Sam, Frodo and Gollum are all doing the opposite of what they are doing in the book in some fashion or another

(first off: in the movie they abandon the stew and don't eat it. the book takes a lot longer with all of this, and they do in fact eat the stew, and I definitely understand the movie couldn't be as expansive with the pacing but it's just. funny to me. they don't eat the stew vs. they do eat the stew, there's your first opposite)

now. THE SCENE: Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

(Small disclaimer/disclosure: I referenced the script instead of a movie clip for this, so there may be some nuance missed in visuals or whatever but I don't think it would be enough of a difference to matter and hopefully you will soon see why not)

Frodo

Starting with him because this is simplest.

In the movie, Frodo is just sitting there minding his own business when Gollum dumps dead rabbits in his lap. (Then he doesn't interact with the ensuing conversation at all)

In the book he's asleep when Gollum brings the rabbits and does not participate in the scene. Okay, so he's awake vs. asleep. Easy.

(Also, book Frodo didn't witness the conflict between the other two characters and had no opportunity to intervene, which creates an interesting 'what could have been', but I am digressing. We are only 10% of the way in. buckle up)

Sam

In the movie, Sam is passive and reacting. Gollum dumps dead rabbits in Mr. Frodo's lap oh no what do I guess we'll cook them

In the book, Sam is active and orchestrating events.

Sam decides of his own accord that he wants to address their dwindling supplies:

Sam had been giving earnest thought to food as they marched. Now that the despair of the impassable Gate was behind him, he did not feel so inclined as his master to take no thought for their livelihood beyond the end of their errand; [in case you forgot. Earlier on Sam was like 'we won't have enough food for the way back' and frodo essentially responds with 'the way back. oh you sweet summer child'] and anyway it seemed wiser to him to save the waybread of the Elves for worse times ahead.

Note: This is all very good reasoning by Mr. Samwise and an excellent example of why he's so necessary to the quest! Yes, staying alive is step one.

But Where to get food? In both movie and book Sam is taking advantage of his resources (dead rabbits acquired via gollum), but in the book he's way more proactive about it:

An idea struck him and he turned to Gollum. Gollum had just begun to sneak off on his own, and he was crawling away on all fours through the fern. 'Hi! Gollum!' said Sam. 'Where are you going? Hunting? Well see here, old noser, you don't like our food, and I'd not be sorry for a change myself. Your new motto's always ready to help. Could you find anything fit for a hungry hobbit? ' 'Yes, perhaps, yes,' said Gollum. 'Sméagol always helps, if they asks-- if they asks nicely.' 'Right!' said Sam. 'I does ask. And if that isn't nice enough, I begs.'

In this point in the book Sam has now:

Decided of his own accord that he has a problem and that he wants to actively solve it

Arrived at a solution to the problem without any outside help or suggestions

Commanded Gollum to go hunt

In the point in the movie Sam has done:

Nothing

I'm not exaggerating. In the movie the scene hasn't started yet.

In both book and movie, rabbits are acquired a little while later. In the book this is a nonevent because Sam requested and expected rabbits. In the movie, the rabbits unexpectedly appear, and Gollum says they are for the hobbits to eat (Sam doesn't even come up with the idea to eat them on his own!)

They are young. They are tender. They are nice. Yes they are! Eat them! Eat them! [He bites and tears into the raw meat.]

GOLLUM SHOWED HIM HOW TO EAT THEM LIKE A MOTHER CAT.

Anyway, in the movie, we just cut to Sam stewing the rabbits after that.

But in the book, Sam isn't done arranging things:

He thought for a bit, while he took out his knife, cleaned and whetted it, and began to dress the rabbits. He was not going to leave Frodo alone asleep even for a few minutes. 'Now, Gollum,' he said, 'I've another job for you. Go and fill these pans with water, and bring 'em back! '

'Sméagol will fetch water, yes,' said Gollum. 'But what does the hobbit want all that water for? He has drunk, he has washed.' 'Never you mind,' said Sam. `If you can't guess, you'll soon find out. And the sooner you fetch the water, the sooner you'll learn. Don't you damage one of my pans, or I'll carve you into mincemeat.'

So now Sam has:

Decided of his own accord that he has a problem and that he wants to actively solve it

Arrived at a solution to the problem without any outside help or suggestions

Commanded Gollum to go hunt

Lovingly watched Frodo sleep

Collected rabbits after they were provided and begun skinning them

Assigned Gollum to fill his cook-pans

Gollum leaves to do this new errand and Sam starts building a cook fire.

He was just stooping over his fire, shielding it and building it up with heavier wood, when Gollum returned, carrying the pans carefully and grumbling to himself. He set the pans down, and then suddenly saw what Sam was doing. He gave a thin hissing shriek, and seemed to be both frightened and angry. 'Ach! Sss -- no!' he cried. 'No! Silly hobbits, foolish, yes foolish! They mustn't do it!' 'Mustn't do what?' asked Sam in surprise. 'Not make the nassty red tongues,' hissed Gollum. `Fire, fire! It's dangerous, yes it is. It burns, it kills. And it will bring enemies, yes it will.'

Sam has just been given a completely sane and rational reason why a fire is a bad idea (they are in a dangerous area and can't risk attention!) (as well as a reason that is less pertinent- it looks like Gollum is afraid of fire, and he may have sensible reasons to be afraid of fire because it is dangerous, but this is not Sam's problem)

Sam addresses the 'it will bring enemies' thing

'I don't think so,' said Sam. `Don't see why it should, if you don't put wet stuff on it and make a smother. But if it does, it does. I'm going to risk it, anyhow. I'm going to stew these coneys.'

And Sam is like, nah.

Now Gollum gets upset that he's 'ruining good meat' by cooking it

Now Sam de-escalates

Now, now! ' said Sam. 'Each to his own fashion. Our bread chokes you, and raw coney chokes me. If you give me a coney, the coney's mine, see, to cook, if I have a mind. And I have. You needn't watch me. Go and catch another and eat it as you fancy -- somewhere private and out o' my sight. Then you won't see the fire, and I shan't see you, and we'll both be the happier. [He still managed to slip in a 'get out of my sight'] I'll see the fire don't smoke, if that's any comfort to you.'

In the movie he just insults the quality of the meat:

SAM What's to ruin? There's hardly any meat on 'em.

...which I suppose is fair in this alternate universe where the rabbits were just dumped in his lap, unwanted.

Then in the movie they skip to the taters conversation, but in the book, there's more!

Back to the book:

Gollum withdrew grumbling, and crawled into the fern. Sam busied himself with his pans. 'What a hobbit needs with coney,' he said to himself, 'is some herbs and roots, especially taters -- not to mention bread. Herbs we can manage, seemingly.' 'Gollum!' he called softly. 'Third time pays for all. I want some herbs.'

Gollum says no.

'Sméagol'll get into real true hot water, when this water boils, if he don't do as he's asked,' growled Sam. 'Sam'll put his head in it, yes precious. And I'd make him look for turnips and carrots, and taters too, if it was the time o' the year. I'll bet there's all sorts of good things running wild in this country. I'd give a lot for half a dozen taters.'

Now Gollum asks what taters are, gets a cryptic answer, and is offered a kind of food he has just expressed he does not want (cooked food) and again ordered to fetch herbs. Gollum declines.

'You couldn't say no to that.' 'Yes, yes we could. Spoiling nice fish, scorching it. Give me fish now, and keep nassty chips!' 'Oh you're hopeless,' said Sam. 'Go to sleep!'

The movie finally has some of the same words in almost the same place:

SAM PO-TAY-TOES! Boil 'em. Mash 'em. Stick 'em in a stew. Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish…. SM�AGOL [i'm not fixing it blah] [Sticks out his tongue in disgust] Pbbbttt!! [so now he's just devolved into making fart noises] SAM Even you couldn't say no to that. [He takes a sip of the stew] SM�AGOL Oh yes we could! Spoil nice fish... [scrambles up close to Sam] Give it to usss rrraw... and wrrriggling! [That line is not in the book. every time i see it quoted i age a year] [Makes sickeningly happy face.] You keep nasty chips. [Hops away] SAM You're hopeless.

The scene here ends in the movie.

In the movie, Sam has:

Watched rabbits be thrown at Frodo

Started cooking them after being all but commanded to eat them

Had some banter with Gollum

Left the scene without eating his stew

Sam is a passive character who is not orchestrating events, but rather reacting to them. A character being passive is not in and of itself a bad thing. I am only pointing it out because it is different from the book and a big change to this specific character (wanted to mention that because some people really don't like passive characters in general, I think they have a place. Frodo is rather passive in this scene but he obviously has a purpose.)

...In the book, Sam stews the rabbits for an hour and then eats the stew with Frodo

Frodo yawned and stretched. 'You should have been resting Sam,' he said. 'And lighting a fire was dangerous in these parts.

Wow! Was it? I feel like someone mentioned that earlier.

'Gollum! ' Sam called and whistled softly. 'Come on! Still time to change your mind. There's some left, if you want to try stewed coney.' There was no answer. 'Oh well, I suppose he's gone off to find something for himself. We'll finish it,' said Sam. [...] We don't see eye to eye, and he's not pleased with Sam, O no precious, not pleased at all.'

Whyever not?

To sum, book!Sam has:

Decided of his own accord that he has a problem and that he wants to actively solve it

Decided he's going to assign Gollum to the problem (This also demonstrates Sam's interpersonal intelligence. He notices what Gollum's capable of and understands intuitively how it can be turned to something industrious and useful) (Sam has made some missteps in other areas which are in the next section)

Commanded Gollum to go hunt

Collected rabbits after they were provided (according to his request), and began skinning them

Watched Frodo sleep

Assigned Gollum to fill his cook-pans, specifically because he does not want to leave Gollum and Frodo alone together, which is sensible

Threatened to carve Gollum into mincemeat, while holding a knife

Watched Frodo sleep and reflected on his poor health

Skinned the rabbits and put them in stew

Been told a cook fire is a bad idea and declined to stop what he's doing. A character being told to stop doing something & continuing with it anyway is another way for that character to show agency.

Asked Gollum to fetch herbs and potatoes (was refused)

Foraged a few herbs himself

Eaten lovely stew (while lamenting that there are no onions in it, and no bowls to put it in ;_;)

Offered Gollum stew long after (hours after) Gollum got angry and left

...all because Sam initially decided he wanted to acquire and cook food, and then took every necessary step to make that happen of his own accord.

Sam is an active character with high agency.

He is also showing more care for Frodo here (watching him while asleep and fretting over his health, lamenting that he somehow made rabbit stew from nothing by using his resources (which do here include another character- people are also resources!) but he can't put it in a nice bowl for mr. frodo- there's just a lot more here, which is natural because prose is a more detail-rich medium. Not all of this would have fit in the movie and I'm not saying it should have.

Even allowing for time, however, I do think there would have been a way to collapse this scene to the needed time requirement and still have Sam in charge of it instead of Gollum.

The scene finally ends on:

Then he noticed a thin spiral of blue-grey, smoke, plain to see as it caught the sunlight, rising from a thicket above him. With a shock he realized that this was the smoke from his little cooking-fire, which he had neglected to put out.

Did anyone foresee this?

Gollum

In the movie, Gollum is foisting a gift on Frodo and forcing social interaction that he doesn't want.

In the book, Gollum wants to go away somewhere so he can eat and is pressed into reluctant manual labor instead

Gollum is a little different from the other two characters in that his personality and motivations are also completely different here. (Where as Sam at least still has the same goals of looking after Frodo and making food.)

The scene is in Sam's POV so what Gollum is thinking and feeling has to be inferred from his actions/words/tone, but he's not exactly subtle.

The movie scene starts off with Gollum turning up with rabbits. He dumps them in Frodo's lap. He makes a spectacle of himself. He starts mauling the corpses.

The book scene starts off with Gollum trying to slip away somewhere to eat in private.

That's another thing. Gollum doesn't demonstratively bite into things Gollum always slips away somewhere to eat in private. Earlier:

It was actually not long before Gollum returned; but he came so quietly that they did not hear him till he stood before them. His fingers and face were soiled with black mud. He was still chewing and slavering. [He didn't bring food back on purpose. He's still chewing because he only has six teeth.] What he was chewing, they did not ask or like to think. 'Worms or beetles or something slimy out of holes,' thought Sam. 'Brr! The nasty creature; the poor wretch! ' Gollum said nothing to them, until he had drunk deeply and washed himself in the stream. Then he came up to them, licking his lips. 'Better now,' he said.

(Emphasis added.. Imagine you just recruited a serial killer to your D&D-party-in-real-life and he silently turns up covered in mud and won't talk to you. It looks like he's been eating bugs. He won't speak. he won't tell you what he's eating.)

Back to the scene in question: Gollum's leaving. Sam flags him down and asks him to hunt.

'Hi! Gollum!' said Sam. 'Where are you going? Hunting? Well see here, old noser, you don't like our food, and I'd not be sorry for a change myself. Your new motto's always ready to help. Could you find anything fit for a hungry hobbit? '

He asks in an insulting and confrontational way. ('old noser' + 'Your new motto's always ready to help' reeking of suspicion)

To be clear, I'm not criticizing Sam whatsoever for disliking and being suspicious of the known murderer he's traveling with against his will. but the way he talks to Gollum does have consequences.

'Yes, perhaps, yes,' said Gollum. 'Sméagol always helps, if they asks -- if they asks nicely.'

Gollum is reluctant and asks to be treated politely. I don't find this response disproportionate or unreasonable. Consider what would happen if anyone talked to LOTR-era Bilbo Baggins the way Sam just talked to Gollum. The ash would still be falling from the sky.

Anyway Sam's response is to mimic the way he talks.

'Right!' said Sam. 'I does ask. And if that isn't nice enough, I begs.'

Gollum leaves, and is gone a long time. While he's gone, Sam gazes lovingly at Frodo, and - this is not directly relevant but I wanted to note it:

Gollum returned quietly and peered over Sam's shoulder. Looking at Frodo, he shut his eyes and crawled away without a sound. [Seeing that Sam and Frodo are occupied, Gollum slips away without interrupting, which is also a different vibe from 'assaulting Frodo with rabbits while he's just sitting there.'] Sam came to him a moment later and found him chewing something and muttering to himself

Look! There's a character arc happening in the background [but not in the movies] It will reach fruition at Cirith Ungol [in the books]

Anyway, Gollum is chewing on something so he's clearly taken time out to hunt for himself as well (note for context: He's disastrously underweight and has been complaining of hunger).

On the ground beside him lay two small rabbits, which he was beginning to eye greedily. 'Sméagol always helps,' he said. `He has brought rabbits, nice rabbits. But master has gone to sleep, and perhaps Sam wants to sleep. Doesn't want rabbits now? Sméagol tries to help, but he can't catch things all in a minute.'

Gollum has brought rabbits on command, and he's reluctant to hand them over. This is the direct opposite of bringing rabbits of his own accord out of nowhere and forcing them onto somebody.

'Now, Gollum,' he said, 'I've another job for you. Go and fill these pans with water, and bring 'em back! ' 'Sméagol will fetch water, yes,' said Gollum. 'But what does the hobbit want all that water for? He has drunk, he has washed.' 'Never you mind,' said Sam.

That was a reasonable question, asked politely and prefaced by 'yes I'll do it'. There's no call for a 'never you mind' and there's certainly no call for this:

`If you can't guess, you'll soon find out. And the sooner you fetch the water, the sooner you'll learn. Don't you damage one of my pans, or I'll carve you into mincemeat.'

Gollum does the work and is careful with the pans as requested.

He was just stooping over his fire, shielding it and building it up with heavier wood, when Gollum returned, carrying the pans carefully and grumbling to himself.

He set the pans down, and then suddenly saw what Sam was doing.

Gollum discovers that 'Never you mind' meant 'I am going to do something you find dangerous and terrifying' i'm pretty sure this is what he's seeing in his POV

He gave a thin hissing shriek, and seemed to be both frightened and angry. `Ach! Sss -- no!' he cried.

Gollum gets angry.

At this point in the movie, Gollum has:

Dumped rabbits in Frodo's lap

Told him to eat them

Played with the dead animals in front of Frodo

there's a cut to Sam cooking the rabbits- Gollum makes no comment at all on the safety or feasibility of a fire, but gets right up close to it to peer into the cookpot, so he must not be too scared of it.

In the book, Gollum has:

Tried to slip away, presumably to eat, because he's hungry. Or maybe he just wants alone time! Shelob is not in visiting range. He's not being dastardly. Leave him alone

He's been flagged down to do additional work, and interrupted from whatever he wanted to do

Went off somewhere. Caught two rabbits (with his bare hands, I assume??) Also caught at least one other thing, because he's chewing something when he comes back

Came back with rabbits

Left Sam to his tender moment with Frodo and went off for more alone time

Gently floated the idea that perhaps Sam doesn't want these rabbits anymore, surrendered the rabbits when asked

Agreed to another errand that is probably difficult for him to do, after hunting down at least two rabbits Up to this point Gollum has been called 'old noser', had his speech patterns parroted at him in a mocking way, had a polite question refused, and been told he will be 'carved into mincemeat' if he damages the cooking pans (does Gollum even know what a cooking pan is? When was the last time he's seen one? Was he just handed some foreign object and told 'put water in it and don't break it' 'of course! why?' 'stfu') Gollum has a whole long complicated history that would reasonably make him very prone to difficulties with emotional regulation. Severe trauma and centuries of social isolation are involved.

He only just now gets angry, now that he thinks Sam is going to start a forest fire and summon orcs and the first word out of his mouth is a relatively restrained 'Ach!' a word that doesn't even start with an F!

Gollum says fire is harmful and will draw enemy attention. Sam says essentially 'probably not but if it does that's too bad'.

Another bit of context is that Gollum has been presenting himself as the 'wilderness survival guy' and has obvious pride when he's talking about finding his way through the marsh. Sam isn't just being dismissive of Gollum, he's particularly dismissing something Gollum has real knowledge of and takes pride in that has nothing to do with being a corrupted evildoer.

Then Sam says he's going to cook the food.

'Stew the rabbits!' squealed Gollum in dismay. `Spoil beautiful meat Sméagol saved for you, poor hungry Sméagol! What for? What for, silly hobbit? They are young, they are tender, they are nice. Eat them, eat them!' He clawed at the nearest rabbit, already skinned and lying by the fire.

After all of that, we are at 'They are young, they are tender, they are nice. Eat them, eat them!' In the movie, the scene started with this line, apropros of nothing, and it's just. Yelled at Frodo. It's an invitation.

In the book: The same line is a cry of frustration. This isn't a non sequitur, this is a last straw! Gollum is hungry. He's been chronically hungry for a long time. The rabbits are exactly the kind of thing he likes to eat. They must smell amazing to him because now they're skinned. He had to turn them over to Sam after going to the work of hunting them (he didn't have to do this, he could have just not come back, or pretended he didn't find anything- whether or not his motives are pure, and they probably aren't, he's doing what he promised).

In return: Sam told him to do more work, and then started a fire- which Gollum seems to genuinely think is idiotic and puts his own safety at risk because he's stuck with these hobbits for the time being- Sam won't listen to reason and put it out, and to add insult to injury, that meat he insisted on?

HE'S JUST GOING TO RUIN IT

Imagine you were hungry and you brought someone an oreo (also you had to wander around in the woods and find the oreo and then surprise it from behind and break its neck), and that person just! scraped off the cream filling and replaced it with spray cheese! after that person called you a jerk and set a fire in a trash can! Maybe that person loves spray-cheese oreos! Maybe everyone but you loves them! I think you'd still be frustrated! (If you're the person who loves spray cheese oreos, pretend it's something else.)

On my first reading of the book this is where I got that sinking 'I am feeling a mite sympathetic to the horrible murderer that I know is just going to stay evil and die in the end' feeling. Gollum is being dreadfully annoying, but he's been pushed past his ability to self-regulate. It feels like the dynamic of antagonizing someone until they melt down and then criticizing them for melting down (Sam is not intending to do this, and doesn't even seem to notice that's what's happened, but the result is the same.)

Sam smooths things over and lets Gollum leave! until

Until

'Gollum!' he called softly. 'Third time pays for all. I want some herbs.' Gollum's head peeped out of the fern, but his looks were neither helpful nor friendly.

WHYEVER NOT?

'A few bay-leaves, some thyme and sage, will do -- before the water boils,' said Sam. 'No! ' said Gollum. `Sméagol is not pleased. And Sméagol doesn't like smelly leaves. He doesn't eat grasses or roots, no precious, not till he's starving or very sick, poor Sméagol.'

(Gollum was retching at the scent of flowers earlier. He may be annoyingly dramatic but I have no cause to doubt that they really did make him feel ill)

(also, I'm out in the weeds speculating now, but I just noticed Gollum is starting to spout off talking about himself and how he feels after Sam pooh-poohed his fretting about the fire, and it feels like a bid for recognition, did you notice Sam has not been calling him Sméagol? Sam isn't using his real name.)

The response:

'Sméagol'll get into real true hot water, when this water boils, if he don't do as he's asked,' growled Sam.

Gollum is here under duress and is cooperating with a quest that is in every way opposed to his personal interests and survival.

'Sméagol won't go, O no precious, not this time,' hissed Gollum. 'He's frightened, and he's very tired, and this hobbit's not nice, not nice at all. Sméagol won't grub for roots and carrotses and -- taters. What's taters, precious, eh, what's taters?

He hasn't had any rest because he was immediately sent off to hunt. I'll bet he is tired

Gollum is still willing to stop being angry because he saw a shiny new word, let's see how this goes

`Po-ta-toes,' said Sam. 'The Gaffer's delight, and rare good ballast for an empty belly. But you won't find any, so you needn't look. But be good Sméagol and fetch me the herbs, and I'll think better of you

Sam gives a cryptic answer and demands more work. 'I'll think better of you?' Lies! Gollum just did two errands and received nothing but more verbal abuse. Sam did not even thank him. This was where on my first reading I was saying to myself 'oh no Sam is mishandling this really badly and doesn't even notice'

I'll cook you some taters one of these days. I will: fried fish and chips served by S. Gamgee. You couldn't say no to that.' 'Yes, yes we could. Spoiling nice fish, scorching it. Give me fish now, and keep nassty chips! ' 'Oh you're hopeless,' said Sam. 'Go to sleep!'

Gollum doesn't understand what chips are. He just said he doesn't like plants or cooked food. He's tired and hungry and has been ordered around all day. He did everything asked up to now and in return he gets called hopeless.

Sméagol willingly, nonconfrontationally, successfully did two out of the three tasks, and when he refuses a third task after being demeaned and dismissed, he's called hopeless.

So Gollum leaves. That's the end of his involvement in this scene. he didn't hit anyone, bite anyone, or call Sam anything worse than 'not nice', 'silly' and 'foolish' (He does not call Sam a 'stupid fat hobbit', that appears to be a movie invention as well)

In the movies, he threw dead animals at frodo and some of this dialog was said without any of the context. haha funni.

The takeaways from the book version are that Gollum can understand and follow verbal commands and do errands (this is important because Gollum needs to be somewhat sane and lucid in order to satisfyingly be held accountable for his crimes), will cooperate when asked, communicates poorly, has trouble controlling his temper, and may at any time be in physical distress and not show it. (He doesn't give outward signs of fatigue.)

The takeaways from the movie version seem to be that Gollum is hyperactive, doesn't understand facial expressions, and finds cooking to be an alien custom. No one tried to ask him to do anything, so I have no idea whether he can understand requests and do tasks or not. May or may not be lucid.

Can we at least agree that Sam saying 'You're hopeless' after this:

Give it to usss rrraw… and wrrriggling! [Makes sickeningly happy face.]

is a different vibe from Sam saying 'You're hopeless' after hearing this?

'[Sméagol]'s frightened, and he's very tired, and this hobbit's not nice, not nice at all.'

Summary

Why is this scene the opposite?

Frodo has gone from being asleep but serving as an emotional anchor (both Sam and Gollum look at him and have some kind of emotional revelation, although the latter has his in private and we don't ever know what it is, the cad) to being awake but doing nothing and leaving. (He does go and find Faramir when the scene ends, but at that point, we are moving on to the next scene. so I don't count it.) Frodo has gone from affecting events while asleep to having no effect while awake

Sam has gone from being in charge of what's happening to passively reacting to a chaos gremlin

Gollum has gone from following orders until he can't take it anymore and suffering to being a chaos gremlin who does whatever he wants and seemingly having a good time? he's dancing around

The stew goes from eaten to uneaten

The overall purpose of the original scene appears to have been mainly to establish character and relationship dynamics. The movie scene... is doing the same, I suppose, but it's so brief and stripped of context that it almost feels like an homage more than a real scene, like it's there because they couldn't get away with entirely cutting it. And as every character is behaving contrary to what they used to in one form or another, the overall effect is:

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Ask me about the waterfall scene next

#long post #never ask me about the waterfall scene

[mcbitchtits]

i just watched the beauty and the beast live action and it is so deeply... uncharming. everything is beautiful and it completely sucks

#the character design? cold and stilted. #the cinematography? worse than the animated original #the editing is truly awful for some reason so pacing from beat to beat is a roll of the dice #the voice acting is heartless. there is no chemistry between characters #the cgi is very isolated from the sets or action #the orchestration is worse for some reason #i don't believe a single thing anyone is emoting except kevin kline #and WOW lefou is like 10x more insultingly played than i anticipated #the autotuning on emma watson is also. bad.

[rugessnome]

...dilf Cosinga

#for some reason this does not horrify me #I mean admittedly there is no one that actually qualifies as any sort of -ilf for me #I don't think being a terrible person precludes being ~attractive (even though it detracts for me) #and I don't think we should argue that abuse is worse than orchestrating war crimes and peacetime crimes too #though i mean crimes by objective standard. crimes by law? HE's the Senate! #... also something something for some reason I filed him under ferrety finks with the byproduct #that.... I have committed smut about the character #the ferrety fink being Cosinga not Sidious #is this going to lose me followers?

[iratatin]

so respectfully if you think Thea Muldani or Nicky Hemmick are the biggest offenders/red flags/shittiest people in aftg I need you to take a step back and ask yourself why your top two offenders are two of the only canon characters of color who have minor side roles in a book series about trauma and morally grey characters with a main love interest who, ahem; openly commited murder, orchestrated drugging not only Neil but Matt aswell, almost nerfed Allison, and many other things.

Nicky and Thea definitely did some not okay things, and you don't have to be comfortable with their actions and Im not saying they should be excused, but actively condemning them is fuckin wild and very sus if they're the only ones you're condemning. You can't condemn them and not Condemn Neil or Andrew for any of the just as bad and often worse shit they do in aftg, period. And yet here you guys are condemning them- with flimsy reasoning- so deeply the author of this series barely wants to talk about them. Do Better.

#aftg #all for the game #nora sakavic #the foxhole court #andrew minyard #neil josten #nicky hemmick #thea muldani

[absolute-flaming-trash]

Pairing: Yandere!Chrollo x Reader

SFW

Word Count: 721

Warnings: Kidnapped reader, Captive reader, Forced relationship

Out of all the holiday seasons that came and went during the year, this one was your favourite by far.

Not for the festivities or the brash, obnoxious yet oddly endearing holiday traditions that made their way over from the Western world. Those certainly had their place, yes, but you loved it for an entirely different reason.

The lights.

Colours of every shade, limited only by imagination, were strung up on buildings all across the city - wrapped around the rails of balconies and other anchor points like luminescent vines. Trees that lined the streets were specifically decorated with white and blue, mimicking the ice and snow around them and making the scene seem just that much brighter.

It made it all seem so ethereal. How enchanting such a simple thing could make a night otherwise illuminated only by lights belonging to office buildings and private homes. It was almost enough to make you forget why you had the view you did. Who you shared it with.

You didn’t want to go back inside the hotel room yet. Even with some protection from the balcony, the cold bit at your skin making gooseflesh pepper your skin. Your toes had gone numb ages ago, but you couldn’t yet tear yourself away.

In the distance, someone was playing carols over a loudspeaker. The sound made your lips quirk up ever so slightly and you closed your eyes to take it in for a moment. While classical music was all but ruined for you by this point, there was something about the orchestral version of songs that still managed to make you feel… home. Nostalgia stirring in your chest for something that would never be the same again. A place that never existed anymore.

Such a moment was interrupted by warmth wrapping itself around you from behind, hands encircling your waist and reminding you just how thin your nightgown really was.

Your silent wish that he wouldn’t speak and simply look at the view with you was quickly crushed when you felt his hot breath right next to your ear.

“Twas noontide of summer,” Chrollo began, “and mid-time of night; and stars, in their orbits, shone pale ‘ore the night.”

“Must you always do that?” You asked, cutting his recitation off before he could complete it fully. A beat of silence followed, one long enough that the temptation to reopen your eyes to look at him pulled at your subconscious, but you pushed it back.

You felt one of his hands leave your waist in favor of your arm, the goosebumps disappearing under the warmth of his palm. Part of you wondered if he delighted in the little ways your body betrayed you when it came to him. What he provided.

“Do what, my dear?”

“Make it worse.”

There was another beat of silence as Chrollo’s fingers tightened around your bicep in a light squeeze. You opened your eyes that time, the lights coming back into view, but this time it felt different.

Tainted.

He squeezed your arm again.

“You’re cold. Come back in, there are plenty of blankets for you.”

A frown threatened to tug at your lips, but you hid it well. At least you thought you did. If there was one bright side to being the object of Chrollo’s affection, it was learning the skill of hiding what you truly felt.

Not like it mattered much, anyway.

“Do I have to?”

Another squeeze on your arm. Firmer. Non-negotiable.

“You’ll catch cold.”

A surprising reason, you thought. With how much he lingered and leered, you figured he’d delight in any occasion that would result in you depending upon and relying on him more.

Attempting to think about any other reason as to why he wouldn’t want for something like that only served to give you a headache, so you nodded once - turning your body to face his.

“Excellent.” You could hear the pleasantry in his tone hidden underneath his otherwise deadpan expression. The hand on your arm slid off to reopen the balcony door while the other moved to the small of your back, guiding you back inside.

The warmth from the room that greeted you was ironic in a way. Most defined the winter night air as biting. Harsh, even.

Yet the supposed reprieve of the indoors had never felt less welcoming.

© absolute-flaming-trash 2023. Do not repost, modify, copy, or claim.

#riri writes #Chrollo #Chrollo x Reader #HxH #Hunter x Hunter #Chrollo Lucilfer #Chrollo Lucilfer x Reader #Yandere x Reader #tw yandere #tw kidnapping #tw captivity #tw forced relationship

[david-talks-sw]

These are the only three flaws I will concede, when it comes to the Jedi during the Prequels.

“They got lax/complacent.”

Yeah*. If you listen to the director’s commentary, George Lucas states the scene in AOTC with Jocasta Nu is there to indicate how unprepared the Jedi were before the Sith’s plan. They thought they were secure and ready but they were not and it turns out humble restaurant owners like Dex know things they don't.

*HOWEVER: Who wouldn’t be complacent, in times of peace?

The Sith were thought to be extinct and Dooku was once a Jedi, a revered one at that. Nobody could have suspected he’d betray the Order that raised him and loved him.

Nobody could've suspected that he'd abuse of their trust and delete a system from the Archives using the credentials of his best friend who he'd had assassinated. That's a verrrry specific scenario, and expecting them to be prepared for that is unreasonable.

"They should've sensed something!" Well, by this point in time, everything surrounding the Jedi was tainted by the Dark Side, which clouded everything. So on the one hand, this situation granted Sidious the gift of foresight and allowed them to always be one step ahead, and on the other, it caused the Jedi to be stuck trekking ahead in a fog, unsure of what the next move would be.

“They were politically-inept.”

Yes**. That’s how the Sith ran circles around the Jedi. They figured “there’s only two of us, if we march into the Temple we’ll get slaughtered, but wait, the Jedi serve the Senate and the Senate is run by politicians… what if we become the politicians? Then we can destroy the Jedi and the principles from the inside!”

**HOWEVER: The Jedi were politically-inept by choice.

After all, their function isn’t setting policy but carrying it out. They’re not politicians, they’re diplomats and as such they're not allowed to get involved in the political process.

But if they were... they still wouldn't. Because power corrupts, and if you let the space monks (who already have magical powers) have political power too, then that will lead to a very dark place.

The Jedi knew that if they tried to play politics, they’ll lose because they have neither the ruthlessness nor the status to do it well, so they make it a point of never going anywhere near it.

Unfortunately, that leaves them open to situations where the Senate or Palpatine corner them into doing something they really don’t wanna do.

It's how they were forced to expel Ahsoka, how they lost the favor of the citizens and it's how Dooku, then the Emperor, framed them as power-hungry sorcerers with his propaganda.

“The war made them hypocrites.”

Sure***. The Jedi were meant to be diplomats, not soldiers. By waging war instead of keeping the peace, they’ve compromised on their values.

***HOWEVER: The Jedi know this and they’re not happy about it at all.

Firstly, because they were forced into this situation by the Senate and Palpatine, who drafted them into service.

Secondly, because they know they’re essentially moving ahead blindly and playing right into the Sith Lord’s hand by fighting this war he orchestrated.

But finally, it’s that they know that not joining would’ve been worse. Sticking by their principles would’ve resulted in the enslavement and genocide of many populations. Sometimes, the spirit of the rules must be prioritized over the letter. Either do nothing and be true to your principles, or go against them but save lives.

It’s a bad choice to make, but not as bad as not making one.

It's a bad choice, but it's motivated by a desire to do some good and it did. They saved countless lives (sometimes at the cost of their own) and inspired countless more to form the Rebellion, later on.

So... three flaws.

But they all come with asterisks. There’s a reasonable (sometimes, even admirable) justification for each of them.

I’m pointing these out because a lot of people seem to conflate “the Jedi were flawed” with “the Jedi were at fault” when talking about their own demise. And the answer to that is:

No.

The Jedi were not at fault. Everybody else was.

The Senate was at fault for growing corrupt and self-serving.

Big Corp for their never ending greed.

The Separatists for being so blind and naive as to think Big Corp would tooootally value their principles and absolutely not commit war crimes every chance they get.

The Sith for being the mass-murdering egotistical assholes who started this whole mess.

And the citizens of the galaxy for not taking up arms in the face of blatant injustice.

Sometimes bad people win.

That doesn't always mean the good guys are at fault. Sometimes, the bad guys are just… better at the game. Mostly because they see it as a game, and the good guys don't.

Luckily, 20 years later, most of the above faults were rectified by the Rebellion, which was led by the best of the Senate, and composed of Separatist remnants and brave citizens of the galaxy.

#star wars #jedi order #clone wars #prequel trilogy #pro jedi #in defense of the jedi #long post #sw meta #this came up in a discussion I had on Reddit and I figured I'd share it here too

[daemon-in-my-head]

The more I think about it the worse Durge x Minthara, either romantically or as besties, is rotting my brain. Some of the reasons are as follows;

They've potentially met before, cuz the whole Minthara came to Moonrise before she started smth with Orin and got tadpoled bit. So there's a good chance she's been in Moonrise when Durge was there. Durge may have been the first true soul but nobody said by how long (Orin babe did u tadpole ur sibling and ur gf right after?)

Their mutual quest for vengeance against the orchestrator of their fall; Orin

Literally the same backstory, prestigious valiant killer/high ranking society member who fell due to sheer arrogance. Bonus; Minthara was originally a Cleric/Priestess of Lolth, her MTG Card still claims her to be a cleric. She knows what it's like as a leading figure in an evil cult

Both got fucked over by Bhaal and the Absolute

Both very pragmatic, albeit not in an ethical way

Evil bitches that enjoyed being evil bitches

Both killed an ex lover(?) (Minthy killed one of her exes in Menzoberranzan, Durge killed Gortash)

Both like decorating their homes with corpses of their victims, well Minthara prefers to decorate her gardens

Minthara Nr1 fangirl of the Slayer (sry Gortash)

Minthara had at least 1 pet displacer beast, Durge loves Gnolls and Worgs

Both can ruin Gale completely, one physically and the other one emotionally (savage drow)

Yeah durgestarion is cute, but two people who abandoned their home once and for all finding a new home within one another? Two people shunned by the entire world embracing each other? Two very legitimate monsters that are oddly gentle with one another and who express their love in fucked up ways like poisoning each other to build immunity?

Did I mention she is a fan of Gortash? And she thinks his ways could improve to be more efficient?

Also potential for enemies to lovers depending on who your durge is?

I'm actually not well about this anymore. This is literally Durgetash 2.0 limited tadpole edition.

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #dark urge #durge #bg3 durge #minthara baenre #minthara #minthara bg3

[imaginaryf1shots]

My Girls (|||)

Words count: 3215

Driver!OC X Max Verstappen

Summery: Cecilia Hansson daughter of a Swedish billionaire, a race car driver, with a dream of making it big in Formula 1. However she has a few secrets that may hurt her as women are disliked in the sport.

Series Warnings: cursing, child abandment, absent father, drinking, car accidents, Jos Verstappen, misogyny, Christian horner (tell me if i missed anything)

Masterlist

Previous || Next

Hate for days

Four race weekends later and the hate for the female was ramping up for no reason. It was becoming unsettling for everyone, the drivers, the team and everyone involved. Yes her fanbase was also getting bigger but they were being overshadowed by the haters and they weren’t big enough yet. This week is the Austrian Grand Prix, maybe it was orchestrated but it was one hell of a week. The female has been doing great in all these races, being in the top 10 all the time, even snagging a Pole position in Canada at P3. all this seemed to make the people hate her more if that was even possible, how can this woman do better than Sebastian Vettle they said, he’s a four time world champion, the name calls, the speculations, everything made them tick. Every week Cecilia is racing; she's doing things no female has done before in Formula 1, even if she left today she’d be remembered in the sport, they had the audacity to say it’s because she’d a nepo baby, when half the grid were nepo babies themselves, children of past drivers. 

The one day the female dreaded in her race week is the Media day, she didn't mind the videos she made for Mclaren with Lando, the two becoming closer as the year went on. Decked in Mclaren’s kit once again, she made her way to the entrance. And some asshole just had the audacity to throw something at her, she was standing signing a cap one of her fans was holding when she felt it hit her. She gasped in shock and pain and was in an instant led inside by the security walking with her, she couldn’t even turn around and look before she was whisked inside. She did hear shouting and some type of ruckus behind her, her German wasn’t great but she heard a lot of cursing. She doesn’t even know what was thrown at her, but she felt liquid running down the side of her face, pulling back her hand she saw it red, it wasn’t blood it was some sort of paint or something. The security hadn’t let her stop until she was in Mclaren’s motorhome, Sedil was talking to Toto Wolff of all people when his driver came in with her blonde hair and part of her face red for a split second it did look like blood, bu it was much brighter, around her people were panicking.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” The female was repeating over and over again to no avail, no one was listening to her it seemed.

“What happened?” Sedil asked his(favourite) driver. 

“An asshole threw what I’m guessing is a balloon filled with paint or something at me, but I’m fine.” Pressing the last part as she said looking at her PR manager. 

“That’s not okay.” Toto was the one to say, he’s never seen or heard of a driver getting something thrown at them like this before, they weren't at a play for goodness sake, he hoped Mclaren would handle this and take care of their drivers more. 

“No it’s not, but there's nothing I can do about it now.” The female said, shrugging, all in the love of the sport. “I’m just going to shower and get ready for the day, again.”

Walking off with her head held high, she wasn’t going to slip or crumble even if all she wanted was to do that, she hadn’t left her daughter and family for her to do that. They’ll hold nothing on her, no way. Nothing is getting in her way.

“That’s a special one you got there.” Toto said watching as the female left with people still fretting over her. 

“Yes we do, I’m just afraid it’ll only get worse.” Sedil pushed up his glasses while watching the strong woman on his team. 

“Just make her come in the back door.” 

“That’s not what I'm talking about.”

Later in the day after Cecilia showered(and tried not to break down in the shower), changed into fresh clothes, redid her makeup with the help of the female workers in the team’s makeup, she looked fresh as new. The news already spread and pictures were already floating online, Cecilia talked to her dad and reassured him she's okay and told him to keep it from her daughter. 

Lando was waiting for her in front of her door. “I’m fine.” She said before he could open his mouth. As they walked out together for the small little interviews they had to do together before they were split up, she was thankful no one asked about this morning, whether it was because Lando signalled to their friends not to or because they saw the look on her face she had no idea but she’s thankful nonetheless. 

The group interviews are what she hated the most, she was mostly ignored still but was asked a few questions every now and then. Today she was being interviewed with Lewis, Seb, Pierre and Kimi.

She smiled when she saw the lot, Pierre giving her a longer hug than normal, the female’s love language being physical touch didn’t hate it, Seb also pulled her for a hug. When they walked onto the platform, Cecilia sat in the middle with Seb and Lewis on one side and Pierre and Kimi on the other. For the first 10 minutes or so nothing unusual happened, she was asked a yes or no question and that was it.

“For the older group, since you’ve had the chance to race with Cecilia, what do you think about having a female in the sport?” the man asking, made the Mclaren driver roll her eyes a little, the way he said female it sounded like they were the lowest of the lowest, god’s most despised creation, acting as if his mother was anything but a female. 

“I think she’s a phenomenal driver, regardless of her gender she’s had an amazing start to her rookie season.” Lewis said, praising the girl, he didn’t like what happened today and what continues to happen in the sport, everytime he thinks the world is going in the right direction something like this happens. 

“Going over what Lewis said, I’ve watched her race for years, before she became an F1 driver, and I’ve even told Lewis about her before, racing with her is something I had hoped to do for a while now.” Sebastian said and Lewis nodded with his words, they both looked neutral on the outside fuming on the inside. 

“So her being a female doesn’t bother you?” Tilting her head a little at the question, she isn’t sure she heard him correctly, people seem to be getting bolder today. 

“Why?” Kimi was the one to answer, something he never does, he never answers for someone else. The iceman has a daughter of his own, he dreads the day she comes into a sport or a workplace that is a male dominated and having to go through this shit, he applauds Cecilia’s courage, and he hopes for once the sport can change and adapt. 

“S-sorry?” The man asking the question stuttered, he didn’t quite understand what kimi was asking.

“Why does it matter that she’s a female?” Both Seb and Lewis watched on as Kimi talked, they knew he 100% had this handled, getting Kimi to talk was a hard thing but when he did he had facts and truth only. 

“Just the physicality of the sport and the pressure of it…” 

“Have you seen any signs of her under performing?” Kimi asked, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, Cecilia felt like she was in a tennis match watching as Kimi talked and the other man struggled to respond. She knew her grid mates, the drivers all had her back, but watching it in action is something else. When the man struggled to answer Kimi continued. “She hasn’t, so we can have this conversation when her gender comes into play.”

“Nicely said Kimi.” Seb grinned, happy with the outcome, Cecilia had to bite the tip of her tongue to stop herself from laughing at the scared look the man had on his face.

The questions moved on, people were more aware of their questions now, she and Kimi got little questions for the rest of the conference both unbothered by it. Pierre did bring up how she beat him a lot while they were young, reminiscing about their Karting days.

The next two days she was booed wherever she went, circuit walk, all of free practices, qualifying people were just booing her whenever they saw her, it kept amping up, first it was five people then ten then twenty then forty and so on and so forth.

By race day where she was starting P4 a whole section was booing her, Cecilia looked ahead not giving them any attention. Her team had her back and that’s all she wanted or needed.

She had a tough time for the race, she had to overtake Lewis, Valtteri and Seb for P1, and she planned to do it, she’ll prove everyone wrong and end this debate once and for all. Lap 15 she overtook Valtteri in the DRS zone 1, she was scared he’ll overtake her in Zone 2 but Max was also making a move so that made him the main focus not her, she was able to slip away and close in on the Ferrari ahead of her.

RE(race engineer) You’re now P3, keep the pace until we need to box for now. We suspect Ferrari to box soon as well

Trusting her team’s judgement, she waited until lap 30 where she’s been gaining on Seb before she started losing grip in the tires and had to box, a little earlier than they hoped but she had to box now or she’ll be overtaken. Seb boxed a few laps after her, and that gave her the edge and took his position and as much as she loved the man she wasn’t about to let him take P2 again.

Cecilia Someone tell Seb, I love him but I love view from here. RE *chuckle* will do

At the end of sector 2 beginning of 3 she tried to overtake Lewis at turn 8 but he left her no room; she had to stay back or hit the wall. She watched Lewis closely, she knows this man, she grew up watching him race, she analysed his techniques, surely they’ll help her overtake him. 

Lap 67 the race was slowly coming to an end, under 5 laps left the distance between her and Lewis grew at one point, before she scored the fastest lap and closed the distance in lap 68. Once again at the downhill part of the track she tried to overtake lewis in turn 5, 6, 7, and 8, only managing to overtake him in turn 9, she braked late and went on the inside, getting in the DRS zone she gave it her all and tried to just giver herself as much distance as she could.

RE That’s amazing, just focus on maintaining speed, Hamilton’s tires aren’t helping him. Cecilia He won’t box will he? RE No you’re in lap 69 Cecilia Oh… that’s good i guess

The last three laps had Cecilia feeling like she wasn’t in control of her body, she was focused on winning, she didn’t count the laps, didn't do anything, just asked about the time between her and Lewis and raced. Passing the chequered flag made her want to cry and laugh at the same time.

RE That’s P1 Cecilia P1! Well done! Cecilia OH MY GOD! I DID IT! Thank you, thank you so much. Oh my god, we did it everyone, amazing job. RE You just made history Cecilia

Finishing her cool down lap she drove to the number one stand and got out of the car and ran to Mclaren, the team held the crying girl, of course she had her helmet on, no one was able to see her face.

She went to get weighted, Lewis came up to her as she took off her helmet. The male opened his arms for a hug and she just let him. He patted her back, despite coming in 2nd to her he was beyond happy for her, she deserved it. Seb took Lewis’ place hugging Cecilia so tight before he slightly lifted her off the ground.

“Congratulations, Cece, you deserve it.” Was all Seb managed to say before he was whisked away for his interview. When it was her turn she had thankfully calmed down a little.

“Cecilia, amazing race, amazing performance, congratulations on your first win in Formula one.'' The female presenter had a huge smile on her face.

“Thank you so much.” Cecilia had a matching grin.

“Tell me, how do you feel right now?”

“It feels like a dream, I've dreamt and worked for this moment since my first go kart ride, so it feels a little unreal.” The female said and took out her braid from her suit, feeling it bother her slightly.

“One last question before you go, what do you want to say to everyone watching you right now?” Cecilia chuckled in true Cecilia fashion as she looked at the camera, her ice blue eyes dead as they looked emotionlessly at the camera lens.

“I want to thank those who booed me, you hate me, means you think about me, and because I was in your thoughts I was able to win.” With a tilt to her lips she smiled at the interviewer, thanked her and left. 

Walking into the cool down room, she took the number one hat and looked at it, her first one. Sitting between the two males they watched the screen replaying some parts of the race, they were talking about what happened during the race.

The screen showed the moment Cecilia overtook Lewis, Sebastian was seeing the chase for the first time, in a few seconds she was able to get pole position and pass the current world champion. 

“That was great Cecilia, very daring.” Sebastian complemented her, a moment she will forever hold, she felt beyond proud of herself.

Standing in the middle on the top part of the podium was such a surreal moment, definitely one she won’t ever forget. When the Monaco national anthem played Cecilia felt so proud she hoped her girl was watching her mummy win. Holding her trophy up she kissed it and held it high for photos, she did this, she won this award with her blood sweat and tears(and champagne). This moment is hers so fuck all the haters because she deserved this.

Cecilia opted out from her traditional analysis of the race and she went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the party, all her friends and crew wanted to celebrate her first win. She doesn’t drink much anymore but for once she’d go have a few drinks and dance and let loose. She facetimed her family, her girl was full of shouts relaying what she saw in a comical way, seeing her through the screen she wanted to go home and hug and kiss her little girl. 

For once Cecilia was dressed and felt like herself, she knew there will be photos posted after this night, but she dressed in a dress, did her make-up how she liked and curled her hair. Making it to the club with Lando, they had room next to each other. Walking in they found their friends already there, Pierre and Alex already a couple drinks in. 

“Our winner!” Charles called seeing his female best friend, he threw his arms out and he pulled her in for a hug, they swayed for a moment. “Félicitations, Cece.” (congratulations)

“Thank you.” Pulling back she was pulled into multiple hugs before Pierre handed her a shot that she threw back, making them cheer. In no time everyone was hitting the dance floor, having the time of their lives. Just a group of twenty somethings having fun. 

Charles and Cecilia were dancing when Max made it, he saw the two dancing and laughing. See, times like this it looked like they were dating, but he knows that Charles is in a relationship, and rumours have it Cecilia is single, but you never know. 

“Maxy!” He didn’t need to look to know who was calling him, the female being the only one who dared keep calling him that to his face all the time, turning to look at her, she looked a little drunk, George handed her another drink as he passed and he watched her take big sips. 

“You’re drunk.” He was amused, he’s sure she’ll never remember this in the morning. 

“And you’re not drunk enough.” She said and tried to give him her drink to get him drunk, Max took it from her hand and took the chance to look at her from up close. She was sweaty but her make-up was intact, to him it looked different, he only ever saw her wearing make-up on media days, now he’s never seen her wear a dress in real life, since the beginning of the season she’d only ever been spotted wearing her team’s kit. Max placed her drink on the table, seeing how drunk everyone is, he made the split decision to try and cut her off, she was stumbling as she walked, and they all had flights out tomorrow afternoon. 

“I don’t get drunk easily.” Max told her, her eyes were unfocused, and she was blinking slowly, definitely tired.

“Bo-ho, a few years ago I would’ve been able to drink and not get drunk, not anymore.” She pouted, the last time she got drunk, or drank anything more than some wine with dinner was the day before she found out she’s pregnant. “Well, I’m gonna go dance.”

Before he could do anything she found Lando and pulled him to dance with her, he seemed more sober so he left them to it, mingling with his friends, he saw some RedBull crew who he talked with and sipped his glass of beer, did he keep Cecilia in his line of sight? Yes he did. Did he stop Pierre and Alex from giving her any more drinks? Yes he did. Did he tell Lando to take her back to the hotel? Yes he did. Also did he help him take her to the car waiting for them outside? Yes he did. Will she remember it? No she probably won’t.

The next day Cecilia woke up to the bright sun streaming through her window, she was on her side and a trash can next to her head. She was still dressed in her dress from last night. She groaned and pulled the cover over her head, she didn't want to wake up. Trying to fall back asleep wasn’t a success when her phone rang and she was informed that she had to leave in under an hour. Sitting up, her blonde hair was all over the place, she remembered almost nothing from the night before, she didn't want to get drunk, but here she is the next day remembering nothing.

“Fuck.”

CeciliaHansson15

Tagged, Mclaren

liked by georgerussell63, charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1, and 1,263,211 others

ceciliahansson15 the journey has been long, but well worth it. This is only the first step. to all the girls out there know you can do it too.

view all 6,782 comments

username1 you go queen

username2 we need more women in the sport

charles_leclerc félicitations cecilia, j'ai toujours cru en toi (Congratulations Cecilia, alwaywas believed in you)

liked by ceciliahansson15

Ceciliahansson15 merci de toujours me soutenir (thank you for always having my back)

Pierregasly mon ami vient de gagner!!! (my friend just won)

liked by ceciliahansson15

username5 just luck, don't let it get to you're head

username6 what the f do you mean luck, did u actully watch the race

username6 and it's your not you're learn how to spell

Next ->

Taglist:

@luciaexcorvus . @vellicora . @tpwkstiles 

#f1 x driver!reader #f1 x reader #max verstappen #max verstappen one shot #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1dr #max verstappen imagine #my girls #max verstappen x reader #f1 scenario #f1 x oc

[deskofninak]

i'll take your chaos and your crooked // Mattheo Riddle x GN!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts, the Ministry forces the Slytherin students to return to Hogwarts and complete their final year as a poor attempt at rehabilitation. Mattheo Riddle is a solitary figure marred my self-loathing. The two do not make a good combination.

Notes: Muggleborn reader, hurt/comfort, suicidal ideation.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal ideation, please seek help. You are precious, you matter, I love you 🩷

Word count: 1090 words

Happy reading! :)

Being Mattheo’s tutor in Potions goes down about as well as you’d accept. It begins with some tense sessions and the boy himself is pretty closed off. But you are not one to be easily deterred and slowly become acquaintances with him, if not friends.

Until one day, Mattheo comes to the tutoring sessions with bruised, bloody knuckles. Apparently, someone had orchestrated a string of Howlers to come at Riddle throughout the day, shouting obscenities and blaming him for his father’s actions. What’s worse, most of the professors had turned a blind eye. The other Slytherins had just held him back from finding out who the perpetrator was. In his blind rage, he’d punched a wall and split the skin over his knuckles. Irascible as he was, he refused to go to the infirmary.

You tried to focus on the lesson but you could tell he was distracted, and you were a little worried about his wound festering. Could bruised knuckles get infected? You’d tried to tentatively ask him what led to this predicament but he’d only gazed darkly at you until you’d sighed and gotten back to the lesson.

You were a Muggleborn and for reasons you couldn’t fathom, you’d never been that scared of Mattheo. Which was quite foolhardy, you were aware. You just had the intuition that Mattheo wasn’t a bad person. He struck you as a very sad, lonely boy scratching out at the world like a feral cat. You tended to do well with animals. But Mattheo wasn’t someone who responded well to displays of affection so you couldn’t exactly reach across the table and pet his curls until he felt sleepy.

So you cared for him in other ways, beginning with tracking down who had orchestrated the Howlers. It turned out to be a fifth-year Gryffindor (no surprises there). You ‘accidentally’ dropped some vials onto his bag in the next Potions lesson, and it had cheerfully burst into flames.

Mattheo had watched you with confusion, and you had sheepishly winked back.

And it kept happening. Every time someone was rude to Mattheo, they found their dorm room flooded, or they’d lost their favourite quill because it had sprouted wings and taken off. Mattheo watched the events unfold with ever-growing bewilderment. You were clearly at the scene of each crime but no one seemed to suspect you. It was frankly a bit annoying, and he confronted you during your next tutoring session.

“Do anything interesting over the weekend?” he asked.

You’d started, taken aback at his desire for conversation after weeks of silent study sessions. “Good. Yeah, normal.”

“Didn’t realise turning a Ravenclaw’s hair turquoise was normal for you,” Mattheo muttered back, just loud enough for you to hear.

You flushed. “Just a bit of harmless fun.”

Mattheo raised an eyebrow at you. You huffed, turning back to the books.

Oh no, he was not done yet. “Why?”

You looked back up at him and feigned a blank look.

This was starting to become tedious. “Why are you pranking the people who are pranking me?”

You seemed to have decided to choose the path of obliviousness. “Who says I’m pranking anyone?”

“Me,” said Mattheo, “I can place you at every crime scene.”

“You don’t have to call it a crime scene,” you muttered. “I just don’t like people messing with my friends.”

Mattheo ignored the way the word friend pressed into his side like barbed wire, and pressed on. “Why do you care? They’re coming at me because I’m the Dark Lord’s son. You’re a Muggleborn. Of all people, you should understand. You should side with them.”

You seemed uncertain now and were frowning at him in a way he’d come to horribly adore over the past few months. “You really think that low of me?”

He blinked and leaned back. No, he didn’t think that low of you. He did, however, think that low of himself. He believed that he deserved every piece of hate tossed his way. He took it in gladly because it was so much better than his ‘friends’ abandoning him and everyone pretending he did not exist, it was better than his own anger deserting him and letting him experience every bit of his loneliness and self-loathing and despair. Merlin, it made him want to end it all sometimes. He’d tried once, standing on top of the Astronomy Tower, but he hadn’t been able to find it in himself to step forward.

“Don’t go,” you said, urgently. He thought for a moment that you’d read his thoughts but then realised he’s gotten up, as if subconsciously heading to the Tower again.

He shook his head at you, almost pityingly. “We’re done here.”

“No, we’re not,” you pressed, getting up, too.

He breathed your name in refusal and pressed his eyes shut. It was too much, it was all too much.

“Don’t do that,” you said. “Don’t call me by my first name like you’re saying goodbye.” He opened his eyes and you were standing in front of him now. “Say my last name like you can’t stand me. Tease me and tell me I’m too serious for my own good. Tell me you hate how long I drag our study sessions. But don’t you dare shut down on me.”

There were tears shining in your eyes, and he realised that maybe you understood more than you’d ever let on. And maybe he was more aware of his own feelings than he’d let on, he thought, as he brought up his hand to brush the tears rushing down your cheeks.

Your lower lip was trembling and, almost without thinking, he reached forward and kissed you, if only to erase the image of your teary eyes from his mind. And then he was drawing you into himself, gripping your waist, lips moving against your own, and your hands cupped his cheeks so gently it shattered and pieced him back together at once, and you were so soft against him, soft as kindness and soft as the possibility of a safe future.

He drew back, and looked at you and your wide-eyed worry for him. There were tears clinging to his lashes.

You whispered again, “Don’t go.” The image of the Astronomy Tower was wiped clean by the image of your tear-stained face. He slowly lowered his head into the crook of your neck, and you gently scooped him into yourself, one hand rubbing soothing circles on his back and the other lightly scratching at his scalp through his curls.

He didn’t go.

xxx

Hope you enjoyed this! If you see a typo or a mistake, let me know. Comments and reblogs are much appreciated. :) - Nina

#harry potter #mattheo riddle #x reader #mattheo riddle x reader #harry potter x reader #mattheo riddle hurt/comfort #x reader hurt/comfort #mattheo riddle x reader hurt/comfort #harry potter fanfic

[saryasy]

Time is a curious thing, more so when you were present at its pitch meeting, and ended up voting no because creating an infinite universe just to put an end date to it was the most idiotic thing you’d heard (and you were there when Sandalphon pitched turning people to salt and won.)

But that has always been a human issue, to the occult, the years are never in short supply. The company is, however. 

They'd have forever, is what Crowley always told himself when the nights were particularly lonely. The same sun rising from the same east, casting the same hues and shadows over the same earth, and Crowley's fingers itched to reach for the only body that understood, only for him to curl them back, trapping them under his head, lest they move out of their own accord.

Time, they had lots of it.

****

At first their meetings were sparse, few and so painfully far in between. Some were accidents, true or orchestrated, some were a saving hand, others were purely work related. Yet, they couldn't stay far for long, like two planets orbiting each other, their magnetic fields clashing them together, the impact sending them farther than ever. The cycle repeating itself over and over, until they learned with time, decades, centuries (who kept count when they had eternity?) how to slide into the other’s path without causing an explosion, how to speak without words, and when to say no when every fiber of their being screamed yes.

Their meetings grew closer, and with them the distance separating them. 

But there was always a weight hanging over their heads, so heavy it almost felt like a third presence standing between them, sucking all the air out of all the rooms they’d ever been in, till it left nothing but stale, cold air, shaking with fear or freezing, who could tell. The weight of a thousand I can’t and I won’t and What if they found out, and a thousand other unspoken promises and unadmitted fears.

So, they made sure to never get too close, to not feed the giant following them wherever they went, like some fucked-up shadow. They made sure to always have a justifiable reason to be around (not that Aziraphale made that difficult,) to know when to pull away, and stay away, no matter how long it took.

They couldn't risk getting found out and having that eternity violently snatched away from them. He might act like it, but Crowley knows he’s not invincible. One wrong move and he, or worse, Aziraphale, could be wiped out from existence, and Crowley would be damned if he let his everburning desire be their undoing. He got used to the heat, anyway, it could sustain him far longer.

So, he counted the days that stretched into years, and bid his time. 

Time, they had lots of it. 

****

Four years. They stepped away from the magnifying glass for a mere four years, before getting thrown right back in it with the arrival of the amnesiac Supreme Archangel. Four years in the face of six thousands, they didn't even see each other for one of them. 

But it was fine, they were going to deal with it, then step away once again, and enjoy their solitude together.

As for this thing between them, growing larger and harder to ignore, well, they had forever to figure it out.

****

Back in his apartment for the first time in years, and sitting in his uncomfortable chair, terrible wine in hand (he blames the wine, not the lack of too familiar company,) Crowley considers for the first time in his entire existence an eternity spent alone.

He closes his eyes, he'll think about it later. Now, however, he is in for a long, long nap. 

Time, he has lots of it, after all. 

#good omens #ineffable husbands #good omens fic #ineffable husbands fic #aziracrow #my writing #well there we are!!! #my first gomens fic!

[daughterofcain-67]

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 (epilogue)

(Beau Arlen x Female Reader)

(masterlist)

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: After the court case was finally over and things are finally returning to normal, the sheriff comes back into your cafe just like normal and with the help of your nosey but well-meaning sister, she helps nudge Beau along to ask you out now that the case is over.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: none, just fluffy Beau x Reader content 💕

Eight Months Later…

This was it.

This was the day that would determine if Andre would be getting off Scott-free or if he would be serving his time behind bars.

You hated that you had to be there as a witness. You hated that you had to describe everything that happened, describe the people who kidnapped you. What was worse was that Andre's lawyers did their best to make you out to be a liar, saying that your judgement may be impaired for whatever their reasons were.

The case seemed to take ages and you couldn't believe it was this long of an ordeal to even get court dates settled.

Now here you were, in the booths with the other families whose lives were ruined by the defendant. But Beau was right there beside you just like he had always been through this mess. He was waiting in anticipation with you, anxious to find out the jury's verdict.

You had just been called back into the court room a few minutes ago since the jurors were apparently done making their decision. When you saw them coming back into the room, you and everyone else in the courtroom stood as a part of courtroom etiquette. Though, you carefully held Beau's hand, which he squeezed a little. He seemed just as nervous as you were, despite his confident exterior.

God it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop after the jurors were all settled in their spots.

"Has the jury reached their verdict?" You heard the voice of the judge say.

"We have, your honor."

"And it's unanimous, correct?"

"Yes, Sir, it is."

Then the clerk walked over to the first juror and was handed the file before making their way back to the judge. When the judge said everyone could be seated, the room went back to being silent as he looked through the paper.

Now it all came down to this, what was on those sheets of paper that the jury handed over. It was like the entire room was holding their breath if they weren't glaring at the defendant.

When the judge said that the defendant would rise and face the jury, the judge handed the sheets back to the court clerk so she could make the final announcements.

"The state of Montana verses Andre Bolkonsky," The clerk began to read.

One by one as each of the charges were called out, Andre was guilty to a certain extent of the law if not completely guilty. He was partially guilty of your kidnapping since he orchestrated it, and of course he was guilty of your assault in the fullest.

When you heard the verdict you couldn’t help but feel this immense weight fall off of your shoulders. Yet a part of you wondered if this was really happening and if this was your reality, or if this was some kind of really good dream that you would have to wake up from just to return to some harsh reality.

“Beau…”

He looked down at you and he had a smile on his face, “It’s real, Y/N. He’s going away for good.”

That reassurance was everything you needed in that moment and you threw your arms around the sheriff, hugging him so tightly.

It was finally over and you could hardly believe it!

Morning Glory Coffee…

You never thought you would be able to come back here again. It felt so surreal to have even been able to open this place up again since your kidnapping. But now you were back in the building, bright and early and it’s been about two weeks since the trial ended.

You and Cadence were both there at the shop to straighten everything up so you can open. You brewed some fresh coffee and baked some goodies before putting them on the display table. That was when a pleasant little surprise came up.

The sound of the bell on the top of the door rang out as the door opened up. When you looked over, you saw Beau Arlen standing there.

“You’re here early.” You grinned at him and you could watch a smile begin to form on his face.

“Well, I did miss having your coffee everyday.” The sheriff said, causing you to roll your eyes, grinning at him.

“Just the coffee huh? Let me guess, the usual?”

“Actually… I think I might go with something different this time around.” Beau said as he walked closer to the counter.

“Something different… well if you still want to go with the bitter kind of taste, there’s the Americano, and some cold brew. Or if you’s like something a little sweeter I can make you a mocha, maybe a frappuccino or something like that.”

“I may go with something a little on the sweeter side.” He said and you hummed a little.

“I think we can go with a caramel macchiato.” You nodded and Beau chuckled.

“Whatever you think I’ll like.” He told you.

Beau watched as you started making the espresso and whatever else you needed to make the drink with some ridiculous name. Aren’t all coffees made the same anyway? He supposed that he wouldn’t know for sure. But he knew that he was glad that you were back.

From the corner of his eye, Beau saw Cadence standing in the corner with a certain sort of look on her face. She glanced at her sister that was busily making Beau a drink before she walked over to the sheriff.

“What are you waiting for? She went through something terrible and you were right there by her side through the trials.” Cadence told him in a whisper so you wouldn’t hear anything.

“What do you mean what am I waiting for?” Beau questioned and Cadence rolled her eyes before she reached over and flicked Beau on the forehead with her middle finger.

“Hey! What was that for?” Beau asked and rubbed his forehead.

“You know exactly what I mean, don’t play dumb.” Cadence said.

“I was an idiot for suggesting that she go and date Andre. And I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. But you know what else? I regret not encouraging her to go out with you more. She’s had feelings for you for such a long time but she’s never made a move because she doesn’t want to distract you from your work.”

Beau lifted a brow slightly. You actually had feelings for him? Then again, before you were taken, you did owe him a date since she rain-checked. Did he actually stand a chance with you?

“Are you sure that she wants to actually date someone right now after everything that’s happened?” Beau asked.

“Beau, she’s had her struggles long before Andre even came around. She just went on that date with Andre to try and move on before the date obviously went wrong.” Cadence said but when she looked over she saw that you were almost done making Beau’s beverage.

“Make a move, like ASAP! I want to be an aunt before I die and I want her to be with the right guy.” She said before she went to the back to go and prep something for the day before some other customers would end up coming in later.

Beau looked over at you and smiled a little to himself. There was a glimmer of hope burning in him and it made him wonder if Cadence was telling the truth about you having feelings for him. How long were they there?

“Hey, is something on your mind?”

Your question seemed to make Beau jump and you were a little worried. Was something wrong? Was there another case that he was stressing over? You wished that he could get even a little bit of a break.

You watched as Beau tucked his bottom lip in between his teeth and he looked as if he wanted to talk to you about something, “Actually, there was something I kind of wanted to ask you about.”

“Um… okay?” You said and handed him the drink.

“Do you remember when I missed movie night and you said that maybe I should make it up to you?” In truth, you almost didn’t remember with everything that happened but when you thought about it, you remembered.

“It’s been a while since that rain check, huh? Literally months and I think you’ve made up for it since then.” You chuckled a little but leaned over the counter, curious as to how this came to his mind.

“Yeah, I know it’s been several months… But maybe we could still go out and find something to do. I insist. So are you free tonight?” He asked you as he leaned over as well.

You bit your lip a little. The same feeling that you had when you wondered if the court case with Andre was over had returned, causing you to wonder if Beau was really asking if you were free or not.

“Um.. y-yeah. I should be free.” You answered.

A certain softness seemed to flicker in those beautiful, forest green eyes of his. It made you feel warm on the inside and you were almost certain that you could kiss him in that moment.

“Great. I’ll come and pick you up after work.” He insisted, you nodded in response before watching him stand up and leave.

As he walked out of the door, you smiled fondly to yourself. You never thought that you could feel this happy again. Granted you couldn’t just pretend that everything that transpired with Andre never happened, but it was easier to move past all of it because of Beau. Things were at least beginning to go back to normal other than the nightmares you had. He was always there to comfort you when you needed him .

“Okay, Y/N.. stop daydreaming and help me stock up some cups and lids and everything. If you want to get off early for your big date with the sheriff, I need a little help making sure everything’s in line while the owner’s away.” Your sister reminded you, causing your cheeks to turn pinkish.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re behind him saying something?”

“Hey, he was already going to do that anyway. He just needed a little push in the right direction. And Sheriff Arlen is a guy we can actually trust this time.”

Five o’clock finally came around which meant that it was time for you to get ready for Beau to pick you up.

You were in the back after you had taken your apron off and you placed it in your little locker. You were looking at the camera on your phone, trying to fix up your hair and freshen up a bit. Cadence was leaning against one of the tables in the back just smiling at you since there weren’t any customers at the moment.

“You know, I don’t think he’s going to be too worried about how your hair looks. He knows you’re a working woman.” She reminded you and you shrugged a little.

“I know.” You sighed, “It’s just that I don’t want to mess this up. After everything that’s happened, he still remembered about missing some movie night? We’ve had plenty of those over the past eight months after he got me back.”

“Sweetie, of course he was going to ask you if you wanted him to actually make up for it. You can be a bit naive when it comes to him, can’t you?” Your sister laughed, making you wonder what about this was so amusing but you didn’t really want to question it.

“I guess I’m just shocked for whatever reason.”

“Well don’t let it shock you. You like him, and he likes you enough to ask you out. So enjoy tonight and see where this goes. You know he’s not going to hurt you and these past several months have only proved that point. You deserve happiness and you deserve to have that happiness with someone that will stop at nothing to make sure you have it. And obviously Beau is that person.”

It surprised you how obvious Cadence made it sound, but you supposed she was right. Maybe you were overthinking about something here and you just needed to relax and enjoy whatever moments that you would have with Beau that night. You were sure Beau needed some time to relax as much as you did, so maybe this really would be good for the both of you.

“Anyway, I still want to look halfway decent instead of going on some kind of, whatever this is, in my uniform shirt.” You said but then you heard the sound of a locker door opening up. When you glanced over and saw Cadence going through her locker.

“You are so lucky that I’m prepared.” Cadence chuckled, “But you need to start packing some little outfits to wear incase this becomes a regular thing with the sheriff.” She smirked and wiggled her brows a bit.

You smiled and rolled your eyes a little but then your sister pulled out two shirts for you to pick from. When you did, she handed the shirt to you.

“Now don’t let him tear it up or anything. I like that shirt.” Cadence smirked and your entire face turned red as you clutched the shirt close to you.

“W-We aren’t gonna do anything like that on the first outing!”

“Oh for the love of- Y/N, it’s a date! Call it a date before I strangle you!”

“Okay, we won’t be doing stuff like that on the first date.” You insisted and the biggest smile appeared on your sister’s face when she heard you call it a date after all.

“Okay, okay. Now go change! He’ll be here any minute.” Cadence practically shoved you out of the back so you could change in the rest room and finish getting ready.

After a few minutes, you had now changed into a more comfortable shirt and it actually fit your figure quite well. You put on a denim jacket over it since that was what you wore to work with the uniform, and you pulled your hair into a side, French braid. You were glad your sister trained you to pack a little tube of mascara and some gloss for spontaneous moments like this. It was simple and you preferred simple anyway.

When you stepped out you saw that Beau was just coming into the cafe and you smiled when you saw him.

“Hey. You’re right on time.” You grinned and he looked over at you. He smiled warmly and you could feel the butterflies in your stomach.

“You look nice. I like that shirt on you.”

“Thanks.. it’s my sister’s.” You admitted and you looked over towards the back to wave goodbye to Cadence, and Beau did the same. She waved back at the two of you before Beau looked down at you.

“You ready to head out?”

“I think so.” You nodded and he offered an arm for you to take. Once you took it he escorted you out of the door and took you to the car.

It was still around the time where it would get darker a little earlier in the day, and Beau ended up taking you to some place for dinner. They had some tables outside and it was a pretty night so that’s where you sat. There were several square tables outside and there were some lights strung out on the patio. Then in one corner, evidently there was a local band playing too.

“You must’ve known they’d be playing when you brought me here.” You said and Beau placed one hand up in the air.

“No clue. Swear that this was a surprise for me too.” He insisted and he pulled out a chair for you so you could sit down. Then he sat across from you.

You gazed at him and saw that he was looking down at the menu. You took the time to observe and admire the way he looked and appreciate the small details. Like the way his freckles showed up a little better with this lighting, or the way his hair was falling in front of his face when he was looking down at the menu.

When a waitress came by you got distracted and you looked up when she was asking you and Beau what you’d like to drink. You just ordered a water while Beau ordered his favorite beer. Then she left to get the drinks for the both of you and that was when you looked over at Beau again, who you caught gazing at you too.

“Thank you… for taking me out tonight.” You said and he grinned.

“No need to thank me. It’s something that I wanted to do.” He said but then he rubbed the back if his neck a little, “Actually it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.”

“Well…” You trailed off and decided to make kind of a bolder move and you placed a hand on his that was on the table, “I’m glad that you did.”

He maneuvered his hand to where he could hold your own and it felt like your hand fit perfectly in his.

“How did everything go today?” You asked him, trying to start some sort of conversation and he smiled a little.

“It was an easier day. Luckily we’ve not had anymore kidnapping cases. We had a few house calls but it was nothing too serious. Just nosey neighbors calling because a radio was too loud or a dog was barking and annoying them. Nothing overly serious.”

“Well… at least it was an easier day.”

“Yeah, although there were some case files that we haven’t had any leads on that ended up going cold. I hate they did.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair but you gave him an empathetic smile.

“Well, some cold cases don’t stay cold forever. Somewhere down the line people slip up and sometimes those cold cases get re-opened.” You reminded him.

“Yeah but that doesn’t happen often enough.”

“Cut yourself some slack. I know you hate when cases get cold, but there’s always hope.”

You could hear the little scoff he made and he looked down at the menu again but you gave your hand a gentle squeeze, “You taught me there’s always hope.”

He looked up at you again before you spoke again, “The FBI had been chasing after Andre and his group for a long time. And even if some of those members got caught, they didn’t serve time for long. They thought for sure that they could get away with me and get me out of the country and for a moment, every part of me thought they would be right.”

“But..?”

“But even when I was so close to giving up, I would think about you. How your determination would drive you and I knew somehow you’d find me, even if it would take a while. If you can persevere, then I knew I could too and I needed to figure out how to get out and think of what you would do in some of the situations I was in.” You told him.

Beau listened carefully to what you were saying and he was a little stunned. He had no idea he would be on your mind to help you fight back like that. You were a strong individual and he was so proud of you for taking that risk of screaming out on that phone call. He was proud when you somehow managed to get a phone and call him.

“You know… I think you may be a lot stronger than I am.” He admitted but he carefully intertwined your fingers.

“But you’re right. Those cold cases, I know, will be in the back of my mind and someone will slip up eventually like Andre’s group did.” He said but then he decided to move on.

“What about you? I’m sure your sister’s glad that you’ve been back. How’s your day been?”

“It was a little slow today. But it does get pretty slow on week days since a lot of people are working.” He heard you speak and he grinned a little.

“I suppose that’s fair.” He smiled.

“But I can’t complain. The downtime is nice. I’ve actually been thinking about changing up the interior of the cafe. So the downtime gives me some time to think about some of the interior designs.” You said with a smile, gosh your smile was so adorable to him.

“Well if you ever need any help when the time comes, you know you can always give me a call.” Beau insisted.

“I think I might keep that in mind.” You smirked, then the waitress came back with your drinks and she took both of your orders.

Beau ended up getting a burger and you got some sort of salad.

After a while of conversation and after the both of you had eaten your meals, Beau heard the band start to play some sort of slow song that he didn’t really know by heart, but he saw some couples going up there to dance

Then Beau had an idea and he stood up, which caused you to look up at him.

“What are you doing?” You asked him and he just grinned at you.

“Come on up there with me.” He said and you lifted a brow a little.

“You sure? I might step on your toes a bit.” You chuckled a little and he rolled his eyes playfully.

“Of course I’m sure.” He insisted and he took a hold of your hand and started leading you to the floor where some other people were dancing.

Then, Beau placed a hand on your hip and he could feel one of your hands on his shoulders while the two of you were close together. He lead you to the rhythm of the song that was playing as you danced and he swore this would be one of the moments with you that he would always have in his mind.

You looked so beautiful, with the way your hair framed your face perfectly or the way the lights seemed to shine in your eyes so beautifully. You were perfect in his eyes in every way and he didn’t think he’d be spending a moment like this with you. He supposed he needed to thank your sister for giving him that push.

He could feel your hand move from his shoulder to his cheek. Your touch felt so soft and he leaned into it before he ended up giving you a little twirl as you both danced, your laughter filled his ears when he pulled you back into him. Then he leaned down and kissed the top of your head softly.

“Why don’t we go back to my place? Tonight’s the perfect night to have a little fire or something.” He suggested and you nodded.

“I think that sounds perfect.”

After a while, you realized that the two of you had made it to Beau’s little camper and when he opened the door for you, Beau held out a hand to help you out of the vehicle. When you got out, the two of you went inside of the camper.

“Here, let me help you.” You insisted and you grabbed whatever he needed you to get but that was when the both of you heard some faint tapping on the window.

When the both of you looked out, you saw that it was starting to rain, but then you heard the thunder in the distance.

“I guess the fire pit might have to wait.” Beau said with a chuckle but then you smiled while you gazed at the raindrops, starting to get lost in your own thoughts.

“Y/N? You okay?”

“Hm? Yeah, just thinking about something.” You said and you felt his hand on the small of your back.

“Care to share?”

You carefully leaned into him, feeling his chest on your back, “I was just thinking about that night..."

"The night in the woods?"

"Mhmm," You hummed fondly, "It was raining and you carried me to the car because you realized I wasn't wearing any shoes. I swear I thought my toes were going to fall off because it was so cold." You laughed.

"I was just glad that we got you home." He said.

"I was so tempted to kiss you that night..." Then you swore you could feel his muscles tense a little, but they soon relaxed as you looked up at him.

"You wanted to kiss me that night?" he asked and your cheeks started to heat up a bit as you looked out of the window.

"I-I mean, um... maybe." You said bashfully.

"I guess looking back on it, it would have been some silly little movie moment and I know chick flick moments might not be your thing. Kissing in the rain or something like that is so juvenile..." You rambled on before you suddenly felt Beau take your hand and he started taking you outside.

"Beau? What are you doing?" You laughed.

"Something that I should have done a long time ago." You heard him say but then the two of you went outside and luckily the rain wasn't pouring too hard just yet.

When Beau stopped walking, he stood in front of you and you could feel his soft yet slightly calloused hand touch your cheek.

"Y/N... I've known for a long time now what my feelings were for you... And I should have done something about it long before now." He said and you placed one of your hands on his shoulder again.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I let my job get in the way. Because I thought you wouldn't want to take a chance with me. And because of stupid reasons that don't really matter. But I know that the moment you went missing, I couldn't bare the thought of losing you. Then when the trials happened there was so much going on and I didn't want to complicate anything. So I wanted to wait until the court dates were over and when we knew for sure Andre would be gone for good."

"And what about now? Since all of it is over?" You asked in a slightly hushed tone.

"Now... there's nothing else for me to wait for." He said and he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. Then both of his hands were on your face and he leaned down and kissed you.

The wave of adrenaline rushed through you but then you melted into his touch and closed your eyes. His kiss was so warm and sweet, enough to make you feel light headed as you kissed him back. You could feel the rain hitting you and it was cool in contrast to the closeness between you and Beau.

Your hand went from his shoulder to the back of his neck and he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. This was so worth the wait, and you couldn't dream of a better moment. You fell so hard for this man, and knowing that he felt the same way for you made you feel happier than you've been in such a long time.

When Beau pulled away, your foreheads were pressed against each other. He had taken your breath away and you were trying to remember how to form words.

"I love you, Y/N L/N..."

Those words, even if they came a bit sooner than you expected, were the very words you had wanted to tell him for the longest time.

"I love you too, Beau Arlen."

And from there, you knew that the two of you would spend a lifetime that you had always dreamed of having. You knew that this would be something that not even the best fairy tale could match, and the rest of your life would be spent with the man that meant the world to you.

Your heart was his, and his was yours, forever intertwined and maybe even entangled for eternity.

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this Beau x Reader fanfiction and it was such a joy to write! Thank you to all of you who commented, reblogged, and liked. It's truly appreciated.

Tag List:

@deans-spinster-witch @roseblue373 @chriszgirl92 @nancymcl @fanfic-n-tabulous @globetrotter28

#jensen ackles #sheriff beau arlen #beau arlen ff #beau arlen x yn #big sky beau arlen #jensen ackles beau arlen #beau arlen x female reader #beau arlen x you #beau arlen x reader #beau arlen #jesnen ackles big sky #jensen big sky #big sky fanfiction

[anyasathenaeum]

Hi! How are you? If it's alright with you, may I request a one-shot (or hcs, if you are more of comfortable) Vash x reader (female, if that's okay) where she is Meryl's sister and she is a total sweetheart who always helps Vash?

A/N: Hi Anon! Thanks for your request - I do try to keep the reader gender-neutral, just for inclusivity reasons :) Here are some headcanons for you!

You being Meryl's sibling can go one of two ways - either you're the older sibling, or you're the baby sibling.

If you're the older sibling, you're the one keeping Meryl's hotheaded self from getting herself into worse trouble than she already does, while if you're the baby, well, let's just say trouble happens even MORE

While Meryl can be more emotional and impulsive in her actions, you're known as the more caring and gentle of the two.

Vash meets you shortly after Meryl and Roberto find him outside Jenorah Rock, when you end up in the same town as your sibling purely by coincidence

"Meryl!" You'd exclaim as you noogie your sister affectionately, embarrassing her in front of Vash and Roberto and a handful of townspeople

Your nature would definitely catch Vash's eye and he'd find himself talking to you more than he expected

He definitely sees how you and Meryl are related, though, as you share the same temper and despite Meryl being the more openly-emotional/impulsive one, you have your moments too

There was a moment when Vash interrupted you and Meryl as you squabbled and you both turned to yell "The adults are talking!" at the same second

Vash just burst into laughter at that - you and Meryl were siblings, alright

Vash also sees you taking care of everybody in the group, always ensuring everybody is hydrated, fed, and well-rested as best as possible without a second thought

You also don't hesitate to sacrifice or give away anything you have that somebody else needs more than you do

Vash sees that and has even been on the receiving end of your kindness more than from anybody else in his life, and it melts his heart

"Oh, Vash, are you hungry? Here, have some of my food, I'm not that hungry!"

"Vash, that looks heavy, here, let me help you!"

"Can't sleep, Vash? Me, neither. Are you cold? You can take my sleeping bag and add it to yours if you want extra layers, I'll probably stay awake for a while longer."

Vash seriously hasn't met anybody as giving or as caring as you and to say you have a special place in his heart is an understatement

Vash does end up falling for you somewhere along the line without really realizing it

Meryl ends up being the one to make him realize it out when she says something along the lines of "Can you stop oogling my sibling? I know you're in love with them but seriously, you're making me nauseous."

The blush on Vash's face after Meryl said that matched the colour of his jacket and he spluttered in a futile attempt to argue or dismiss Meryl's statement, but one look from Meryl shut him up real quick

Meryl loves you dearly and sees that Vash makes you happy, but for some reason, you're both blind idiots

Time for ultimate wingwoman Meryl to shine

Locking the two of you in closets by "accident", having you two share rooms on your travels, you name it, Meryl's orchestrating it, even roping in Wolfwood and Roberto into her schemes to get you and Vash together

Meryl eventually sits down with you, maybe after a particularly difficult emotional moment and just talks with you

"I see how happy Vash makes you, (Y/N). I know you're in love with him. You should give this a chance."

When you and Vash finally come to your senses, Meryl is the first to exclaim in relief, "FINALLY!"

Meryl is your and Vash's #1 supporter and always will be, and you know Meryl's gonna hang the "she got you and Vash together" thing over you until you die

Taglist: @mossygalaxy, @ryuukami4, @spacioussoul, @iceoblivious

#anya's athenaeum #trigun stampede #trigun #trigun stampede x reader #trigun x reader #vash the stampede #vash the stampede x reader #vash x reader

[aloneandforsakenbyfateandbyman]

Christiane F. and Lilya 4-Ever are always linked in my mind because they’re both grim, depressing art hoe teen movies about suicidal girls growing up in the asscracks of Europe and spiraling into drugs, prostitution and abuse.

Some hoes stan Mean Girls as the ultimate teen flick but these 2 are for Edgelord bitches who did their makeup like Sasha Grey, read about serial killers, listened to Einstürzende Neubauten and were on Prozac.

Literally imagine being a depressed girl in 80s Berlin at least you could go to a David Bowie concert and do coke. Lilya is worse bc she’s in a Soviet Bloc country living in Novostroika during the era where Putin orchestrated FSB apartment bombings.

But just how they represent the shitty non-glorified reality of being a teen or early 20s or whatever even life after that. When you drunkenly apply lipstick in a McDonald’s bathroom during a night out, or take a long train ride back home after meeting your friends and you’re like wow. I want to kill myself for some reason / I’m suffering from the existential emptiness that comes with being a modern woman in an urban environment.

#lilya 4 ever #christiane f #film

[misstycloud]

Worst date ever

Yandere date x fem reader x obsessive exes

———————————

The grey clouds were casting shadows over the tall city buildings, making them appear a scale darker than they were. Likelihood for rain very was prominent, and people hurried on the street towards their destination, in case they'd get stuck in an oncoming drizzle. The ones inside buildings were lucky not to have such troubles, as they sat safely behind walls. (Y/n) was one one those people, she rested on a comfortable chair inside

Bean n' Jobe's cafe. It was one of the more popular cafes, getting around twice as many visitors a day than an average cafe. The bread and pastries was of amazing quality, the same applies to the drinks; which were mainly coffee based. They did have different juices and smoothies too, but they weren't as popular.

(Y/n) sat further back in the establishment, before her on the table laid a plate of freshly baked goods. Beside it was a cup of coffee. She brought the warm mug to her lips and sipped gently on it. Then she placed it back on the table and glanced over toward the entrance;waiting.

The reason behind her waiting was a blind date, orchestrated by her friend. It had been a while since she dated anyone and her friend thought it was time she got out there again. However, (Y/n) was somewhat apprehensive to the idea.

Because it wasn't like she just wanted to be alone and that's why she stopped seeing people; there was of course a reason behind it. It being the fact that all her exes were crazy, in one way or another. All of them were toxic, possesive and seemed completely obsessed with her. Which was not good, at all.

They consistently wanted her to cut off contact with her family, limit the time she spends with friends and over all just be the only social interaction she has. When it got too much for her, she broke it off with them. She just didn't understand why she had the worst luck ever finding love. After her latest ex, Liam, she chose to take a break on dating and instead focusing on herself.

Now that break finally ended, with the help of her best friend. He'd told her of some guy he knew;a friend's friend. Furthermore that friend was apparently very intrested in meeting her, certain they would hit it off. Despite her previous reluctance, her friend was marvellous at convincing others and there she sat in Bean n' Jobe's, waiting for her anonymous date.

(Y/n) could only pray that he wasn't nuts like the others. An example was Gabriel who she met as a teenager, they dated in high school and everything was great until he began showing concerning traits. He was incredibly clingy, and wished to be right next to her at all times. With her studies in the way and wanting to relax with her friends; it wasn't always possible.

Which Gabriel didn't appreciate at all, he started guilt tripping her and tried to isolate her by spreading rumours around the school. Sadly it didn't work as well as he wanted it to, and he cursed that she had such loyal friends. They helped clear the rumours and things went back to normal after two week.

(Y/n)'s friends told her that Gabriel wasn't a good boyfriend and he was a major red flag. After discussing it she realised how awful he was, and all the signs she ignored before was suddenly staring her in the face. The day she broke up with him, he cried and apologised enough to last him a life time. No matter how much he wailed in anguish, she didn't change her mind. Gabriel made futile attempts to get back together afterwards and he looked worse every time he got rejected. Imagine her surprise when her friends told her Gabriel had changed schools and moved to another city. At least she didn't have to deal with him anymore, she guessed.

Two months after Gabriel had moved away, another boy took his place. His name was Oliver, he and his parents had bought the house Gabriel lived in previously. He was very handsome and intstantly caught everyone's attention. His blonde curly locks and caramel eyes were to die for. Despite being the new eye candy of the school the only one he showed any interest in was (Y/n).

Oliver was the perfect example of a gentlemen. He regularly held the door for her, walked her to class, carried heavy books and constantly showering her in affection. She couldn't lie and say it wasn't a little nice to feel those envious glares pointed at her. I mean, if you had the most sought after person in school wanting only you, wouldn't you feel at least a little smug. Sadly, it appeared Oliver also had his vital flaws. Soon after becoming an official couple, he began showing his true side.

He was too controlling and obsessive, asking where she was all the time, frequently telling her when she could and couldn't hang out with others. Even trying to control what she wore, complaining that she was too pretty and he wouldn't allow other pests to ravish her with their filthy eyes. It wasn't long before that relationship ended too.

Ensuing her latest break-up she once again focused solely on herself and her studies. This time she waited and didn't jump into any new relationships for a while. Thanks to her studying and hard work, (Y/n) got accepted into a good collage. Her family hosted a celebration party for her, inviting all her old and new friends. The collage was great, it was large with a beautiful greenery in the school greenhouse. The grass planes right outside weren't stingy with rose bushes either. Their scent often wafted through the air, bringing an elegant feeling about the place.

During her year as a sophomore, (Y/n) met a guy named Dan, he was on another major so she hadn't seen him around much. If she thought about it, she could recall seeing his image in the corridors but never had she initiated a conversation with him. He was the nice, chill guy and treated her companions well, so she dated him. Until things started going south again. They broke up and he left the school, while they weren't on good terms she hoped it wasn't because of her. She simply didn't want to date him, not ruin his education.

Over the years (Y/n) dated a few more men, but they all had some kind of issues she didn't want to deal with. No way she wanted to be stuck with someone who wouldn't let her have other people in her life, and be forced to rely solely on them. Hell no.

Regaining her senses the young woman looks over to the entrance when the bell jingles as a sign that a customer entered. In the doorway stood a cute guy, his slightly messy hair seemingly sticking to his face like glue. Perhaps he ran all the way there, (Y/n) thought. Right then, green eyes met hers and she saw the man smile at her before approaching. So he was her mystery date. A guy in his mid twenties probably, his dyed hair and dark clothing suggested a minor ‘bad boy’ vibe.

She could already hear her sister calling him ‘emo’ or something along those lines. It was unusual to dress that way for someone older than teenage years, in their city. She however, was intrigued by his distinct style which meant he didn’t care what anyone thought.

When he finally reached his date’s table, he instantly seized her hand and shook it enthusiastically with a clean smile.

“Hey, I’m Leo Chantel!” Despite his outwardly appearance, his happy introduction implied he was a rather bright person.

“Hello, I’m (Y/n). It’s nice to meet you.”

“No, no , the pleasure is all mine.” He said while taking a seat opposite her.

As the pair continued speaking, (Y/n) tried to engage as much as possible and since it had been a while, she wasn’t sure how smooth she was being. She only hoped she didn’t scare him away with awkwardness. But did not appear to be the case at all, for her date was very eager to get to know her. Leo had asked her questions but before she could answer them, he interrupted her and responded them with his own answers. Sometimes they were very accurate to what she prepared to repy.

Like, he inquired about what her favourite food was; then said that his favourite food was (f/f). Then, when she lastly told him, Leo was ecstatic, they have something in common! Thinking it was a bit weird to quiz someone but then interrupting she hesitated, but ultimately choose to ignore it. Except that it happened again. Then a third time and a forth.

‘Okay. What is this guy doing?’ She finally thought, ‘maybe I should bring up another subject?’

“Ehm, my friend said he found you through a mutual friend, Eric, right?” Leo’s expression stilled for a moment before chuckling stiffly, like he wasn’t expecting her to change the flow of the almost one-way conversation.

“Yeah, my bud, Eric.” A short reply was all (Y/n) got. At first she thought he would continue but it didn’t seem to be the case.

She cleared her throat and continued instead.

“I heard he’s developing his own brand, it’s going quite well, too.”

“Yes. His brand.” The purple haired man opposite her who talked her ears off previously, now cut his words short. To not make it anymore awkward she decided to keep going.

“It’s pretty cool, right? To start you own brand and making it successful.”

“Well, actually I think it’s not that great too be honest. His products and choices are obviously flawed.”

Wow, now he was talking down his friend? That wasn’t the kind of guy (Y/n) wished to be with. In that case, it was better to end it right off the bat, rather than try pursue a relation she isn’t interested in. Pretending to check her phone, (Y/n) disguised her intentions as an accident. Or, she tried to but wasn’t sure if Leo actually bought it. He probably didn’t, the accident is a most obvious evasion used by many.

“Sorry, I forgot I had an appointment today!” She looked at him with an apologetic smile.

“Really? Okay, it’s fine, we can just reschedule an-“

“No! I mean, no I sadly don’t think I’ll be free. I have so much to do right now, you know. I’m sorry, you are wonderful but maybe you should see someone who isn’t as busy.”

The young man smiled in compliance and suggested.

“Oh, I see. I was hoping for a second date. But if you’re busy…I don’t want to bother. Perhaps when you’re less unavailable, we can try again?”

“I don’t know, maybe. I just have terribly much work to get done and I don’t know when it will be. But I’ll call you when it happens. Don’t feel bad for seeing other, though. I completely understand.”

Leo chuckled at her rambling and told her he took no offense. He watched as his date left the cafe and turned a corner, out of sight. He enyoyed seeing her so flustered, it was cute. The way she tried to excuse herself and run away from their date. They would meet again. Maybe even sooner than they think. It’s not like she could get rid of him, they were perfect for each other.

He’ll show her what a real persistent man looked like.

——————————-

#yandere oc #yandere #oc #yandere boyfriend #yandere date #date #cafe #toxic #possesive #controlling #obsessive #obsessed #relationships #collage #short story #my oc #oc Leo #oc Dan #oc Gabriel #first date #stalker #fiction #male yandere #x reader #yandere x reader #bad relationships #ex

[wearingaberetinparis]

You've Got A Friend In Me - 1/5

Written for @mppmaraudergirl's Blackevans BFF Week. Part 1/5. Sometimes friendship can be found in the unlikeliest of places, with the people you least expected to befriend...

If there was anything she hated more than she did her sister’s ability to whisper-call her a freak without her parents – being in the same room even – overhearing, it was the sight of the two Gryffindor boys – the banes of her existence – standing just outside McGonagall’s classroom. One’s presence was valid, the other’s aggravating and – she didn’t doubt this for a second – orchestrated so as to maximize her trauma. She was about to serve, after all, her first ever detention and if she knew anything about the two classmates that were waiting for her, it was that they had mastered the skill of gloating, had practically turned it into an art form. “Please don’t make things worse,” one of them - the 15-year-old bespectacled wizard - begged the other. His hand tugged at the curls on top of his head, while he looked at his friend with a degree of most uncharacteristic solemnity. “If I’m to have any chance whatsoever, I –” “Evans!” Sirius Black, wearing a positively shit-eating grin, exclaimed. Potter – for some reason or other, she couldn’t fathom it being out of any sort of embarrassment related to his causing her to get stuck in detention with his best friend – flushed, his mouth pressed into a thin line now. “How lovely to see you! You seem even more foul-tempered than usual, may I add.” Black included the latter as if it was a compliment of the highest order and not the clear insult she knew it to be.

Read on AO3 HERE!

#blackevans bff week #mppmaraudergirl #blackevans #jily #jple #james potter #lily evans #sirius black #blackevans fic #jily fic

[homunculus-argument]

There's this random little story I've had floating around for years that I haven't been able to tie into any bigger piece of writing but love too much to just throw away completely. So I'm sharing it here now for some reason.

There's an empress or queen of some sort, who rules alone and wasn't born into power, but is determined to not die without it. She has a son, and while she isn't cruel or unloving, the queen is the kind of a parent to say "I kept you safe and put a roof over your head, what more could you possibly want" when her children tell her they've felt unloved. She also has a fiercely loyal general, her right hand in military matters who loves her - not as a woman, specifically, but with a bleak understanding that "cold, but not needlessly bloodthirsty" is about as ideal as autocratic monarchs can get. Though he is distant as well, the prince admires him, like lonely children do.

One night when he is about 15, before some larger event, the general shows up to the prince's door with a bottle of liquor, a chuckle and a mutual promise not to tell the queen. So they sit together on the prince's balcony, talking man-to-man and drinking in secret from his mother, like a rough soldier of the general's background would do with his own son. The prince has never been drunk before, but he has never been treated like someone's son, either. By sunrise, the bottle is gone and the general leaves.

After two hours of sleep, the prince is shaken up from bed to attend the event he already forgot about. In the first hangover of his life, "miserable" is an understatement, but excusing himself from it doesn't feel like an option. The clothes prepared for him don't seem to fit right no matter how he tugs at them, and perfume makes him sick. He bravely struggles through the day the best he can, excusing himself to retire for the evening as early as socially acceptable. Nothing more comes of it, he gets trough the day, the queen seemingly never finds out, and the general never drinks with him again.

It's years later when the prince finds out that his mother actually orchestrated this whole thing. For some plot or scheme, she needed a rumour that the prince is deathly ill, and she knew that he can't lie or keep a secret to save his life. But putting a skinny, gangly boy into clothes that hang off his shoulders and sag at the waist, it's hard for a stranger to tell whether a kid like that would have been just in the middle of a growth spurt, or had recently lost a frightening amount of weight. Being pale, shaky, and constantly looking for a place to discreetly throw up while simultaneously reassuring everyone that he's fine, all other details add up to a perfect impression that the sweet prince might not live through another winter.

The scheme, whatever it was, apparently worked, and the queen kept her foothold on the throne, herself in power, and her family safe. And as much as he understands things could have been worse, the prince is aware that his mother formed a plot whose entire success hinged on being perfectly aware of how desperately her son yearned for an adult's attention and validation.