#the plan was to explain EVERYTHING in one brilliant post

[greatmuldini]

The Iron Harp

We’re all in prison together, Johnny, one way or the other.

Act 1

Outwardly, Joseph O'Conor's play is a simple tale of love and loss in times of war: set in rural Ireland in early April of 1920, the action takes place on the property of an English industrialist whose mansion has been taken over by a contingent of IRA volunteers. Their leader is Michael O'Riordan, a gifted poet-musician in civilian life and conveniently the peace-time manager of the Englishman's estate. Michael has recently been wounded in action; now blind as a result he is no longer on active duty but still responsible for an English prisoner of war. Being a man of his word, Captain John Tregarthen has made no attempt to escape, earning Michael's trust and eventually his friendship. He also earns the friendship and love of Michael’s cousin Molly Kinsella, with whom he spends long days roaming the extensive grounds of his idyllic prison. Dreaming of a future life together, the lovers are oblivious to the feelings of their “best friend” – who ends up sacrificing his love for Molly in what he hopes will be a lasting gesture of selflessness only to find that Fate intervenes, with devastating consequences for them all.

Completing the quartet of characters is the dark and “indistinct” figure of IRA commander Sean Kelly, a dark and "indistinct" figure who emerges from the shadows to immediately assert his authority not only in military matters but - crucially, and disturbingly - in those of the heart as well. Specifically, it is the heart of Michael O’Riordan that Kelly claims to know better than O’Riordan himself. As a flesh-and-blood character Kelly is difficult to pin down: cold and calculating by his own admission, he expresses admiration for Michael's hot-blooded fighting spirit. Michael's own startled response to Kelly entering "like Nemesis himself" is ambiguous at best, and even his description of Kelly as a “good friend” comes on the back of a warning to Johnny that "he won't like you."

When Kelly tells Michael that he has never been wrong and does not know what it means to feel regret, the sense of foreboding is inescapable, yet Michael never seems to give in to the negativity emanating from his old wartime comrade who admonishes him to see his friends “as they really are” and not as “you want to see them.” Ironically, Michael refuses to see an enemy in John Tregarthen, but he is equally stubborn in applying the same criteria of honour, loyalty, and friendship to Sean Kelly, who seems troubled by this flaw in Michael’s character: "you love people too much."

Michael's emotional warmth stands in stark contrast to Kelly's impersonation of infallibility - which Michael seems to accept as a token of his friend's unassailable integrity. He continues to defer to Kelly's judgment when a messenger arrives with bad news from the front: three IRA fighters have been killed in skirmishes with British forces, and reprisals must be carried out. Twisting the metaphorical knife in the very real emotional wound, Kelly as the commanding officer nominates blind Michael to be the impartial instrument of God's justice. Forced to select three victims for execution, Michael all but collapses when one of the chosen names is that of Captain John Tregarthen.

Act 2

After he has persuaded Johnny to flee the country and reunite with Molly back in England, Michael is left alone to guard the now empty house. Blind and unable to defend himself, Michael is powerless against two marauding Black & Tans who break into the property and proceed to taunt and abuse the solitary occupant. It does not take them long to realize their victim is an IRA member rather than a civilian enjoying certain protections. Further violence is prevented only by the surprise return of Captain Tregarthen, armed and in uniform, who holds the attacker at gunpoint until Kelly and his entourage arrive to take the men away. Where any other human being would have expressed relief or gratitude at the discovery that the life of his friend has been saved, Kelly’s reaction is characteristically impassive, betraying, if anything, a degree of irritation at the unforeseen complication that has shown the condemned prisoner – the enemy – to be capable of compassion and self-sacrifice in saving the life of his friend. Human qualities that Kelly explicitly claims not to possess. As if to prove the point, he responds with the formal announcement of Tregarthen’s impending execution.

The order is to be carried out within three days, enough time for Kelly to travel to headquarters - and return with a firing squad. But first he must interrogate the captured Tans. While Kelly is thus occupied, Molly manages to convince the love of her life to take her with him. Johnny only agrees to the plan on the promise that Michael will convince Kelly to rescind the execution. If Johnny and Molly can make their way to Belfast on the early morning goods train, and from there to England, all will be well. Michael knows how to distract the guards, and Molly can bribe the train driver to let Johnny jump aboard. Three loud whistles will give the all-clear. With hopes of future happiness rekindled, Molly and Johnny each rush off to their respective tasks, and Michael is left alone with three empty glasses that he cannot see – a detail that does not escape Kelly’s notice as he re-joins Michael to formally accept his plea for clemency. Which he says he will duly submit to "the general," but in his estimation the chances of success are slim. "For God's sake, don't build up hope," he tells Michael before agonizing – to himself – over how to soften the blow for Michael: by bringing the execution forward and keeping it secret, he is certain he can spare Michael the pain and the guilt of having to witness the event.

Act 3

In the pre-dawn hours of the following day, Michael and Johnny are wide awake and waiting for the sentries to change and the train to whistle. Thinking the house empty and their enemies far away, they pass the time in a dreamlike state of high anxiety, reciting heroic poems and melancholy songs in whispering voices, so as not to miss the stroke of six to mark the end of their nightmare and the beginning of a new life – only to see Kelly standing in the door, with orders for Johnny to be executed at dawn, 24 hours earlier than they were told originally. Michael's world is falling apart, he pleads with Kelly, he begs him to show mercy, but an almost equally distressed Kelly reminds him that "I have never promised you hope." Johnny declines the comfort of a priest or minister and is led away to meet his fate offstage while, also offstage, Molly will be waiting in vain for the love of her life to board a train that will never arrive.

Left on stage for their final confrontation are Michael and his Nemesis, both knowing full well that nothing they can do or say will change what Kelly might term the preordained outcome of their efforts. To Michael's accusation of "trickery" (by which he means Kelly's surprise return before the agreed time), Kelly offers no subterfuge, no defence, and no evasion. Instead, he says, Michael’s agony is self-inflicted: it was, in fact, his own stubborn insistence on hoping against hope that has now led to anguish and pain. The only way for Michael to end all suffering, Kelly explains, is to give up hope. Unless he manages to see past the private pain of the moment and becomes a distant observer, Michael will forever be "tortured by hope."

Here Kelly is borrowing from the Conte Cruel tradition made famous by Edgar Allan Poe but named after a collection of short stories by the French symbolist writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. A useful definition of the genre is that it concerns "any story whose conclusion exploits the cruel aspects of the irony of fate." Not only does Kelly borrow the concept, and the title from Villiers' tale, The Torture of Hope, he even recounts the plot to underline his point:a hapless victim of the Inquisition escapes his prison cell only to stumble into the arms of the Chief Inquisitor. The lesson for Michael is that, like the victim, he keeps on hoping for release only to suffer defeat over and over again. There are no similarities, however, between himself and the sadistic Inquisitor, Kelly says: his mission is to ease Michael'ssuffering, not to prolong it.

We are given no reason to doubt Kelly’s sincerity, but neither can we reconcile the apparent contradiction between his declared intention and putting Michael’s best friend before a firing squad. If Kelly wants to end all suffering, as he says, surely, a good start would be to save Captain Tregarthen’s life? It is the argument that Michael himself is trying to make, by reminding Kelly of his god-like powers. Michael’s understanding of those powers differs fundamentally from Kelly’s own. Michael’s life-affirming principle of hope and Kelly’s seductive all-consuming fatalism are the two opposing philosophies that take centre stage in the final scene – while John Tregarthen dies a largely symbolic death offstage.

Johnny’s death is symbolic in that it is not the tragedy at the heart of the play. Michael O’Riordon is the conventional male protagonist whose existential crisis we are witnessing; Michael is unable to prevent the execution of his best friend; and to make that very point, his best friend must die. Michael’s blindness contributes to this failure in the course of the play but read as a metaphor it turns Michael into “one of us.” His blindness leaves him vulnerable to attack and it echoes our own sense of powerlessness in the face of an overwhelmingly hostile universe. The reverse, however, is also true: being blind, and being a poet, puts Michael in the illustrious company of the Blind Bard, an archetype of Western literature since at least the (mythical) time of Homer: the blind singer/seer whose “inner vision” surpasses that of sighted humanity. His Irish equivalent – and explicit model for Michael - is the (dwarf) Harper of Finn, whose iron-stringed instrument has the power to move its audience to tears. Michael O’Riordon is both vulnerable and endowed with the superpower of emotional insight – fundamentally human qualities that Kelly admires in Michael, and which he admits he does not possess.

Kelly is an abstract concept in human form; even while he is evidently the cause of human suffering, in his denial he appears to be channelling the sadistic Inquisitor. The apparent contradiction is of our own making, though: Kelly is Cruel Fate personified. He represents that which we like to imagine as the source of all our woes - the betrayals, the injustices, the disappointments which inevitably end in what we define as tragedy and what to the rest of the universe, that hostile universe, is of no consequence whatsoever. If we substitute “hostile” with “indifferent,” then Kelly becomes the antithesis to Michael’s humanity – his indifference is as inhuman as the infinite, indifferent universe. Conversely, Michael is not concerned with an infinite universe; his frame of reference is on a human scale, and very finite. Finite. When Kelly challenges Michael to take his place and adopt his abstract, God-like perspective on life, death, and the universe, Michael does reject the responsibility – but also the indifference required for the position. If the promise of a pain-free existence did not convince Michael to abandon hope, Kelly's failure to shame him into admitting defeat is a testament, at the very least, to human perseverance: we will forever be prolonging the agony to delay the inevitable. (1/4)

#Patrick McGoohan #Patrick Macnee #Katharine Blake #Douglas Campbell #played the four characters in #The Iron Harp #on Canadian TV in 1959 #the plan was to explain EVERYTHING in one brilliant post #well the good news is there will be four posts now wahoo #but I'm already posting out of order because I can't decide on the illustration to go with the historical background #as for the play itself #if you have made it this far and you still care #whether the characters are consistent with the general message the author is trying to convey #your powers of perseverance are truly heroic #the problem I think is that the story does not always align with the metaphor #which I still maintain is the human condition #we cannot ever beat death but we carry on regardless #is it just me or does that cryptic cry from #Free for All #obey me and be free #sound like something the evil Inquisitor or Sean Kelly would say #For Fleetstreetpauline #miss you always

[heartfullofleeches]

Good Boy

Male Sub Yan Bully + G.N Reader

"I only need a good boy by my side, and I don't mean someone who'll have me home by eight. I want an obedient pet. Will you be that for me?."

Warnings/Tags: Top/Dom Reader, Anal Sex/Pegging, Cross-dressing, Light Degradation and pet play. Reader's gender is (obviously) never stated, but their parts are referred to as dick for ease.

Anyone with working eyes could see how whipped that boy was for you.

From the day he pushed past you in the hall, a faint spark started his heart stemming from the dismissive glare you back shot his way. That flicker was the match that blew everything into an explosive mess for your attention, igniting any obstacle in its wake. Your fellow peers avoided you for the continued safety of their fingers and social life, and every which way you turned he was there. His physical harassment didn't go beyond shoving you out of his way or snatching pencils and things meant for trash.

You never acted out against him - to his. Never ratted him out or even raised your voice. You hardly talked to him at all and that pissed him even off more. To make matters worse you were cordial in your brief encounters, and even threw off-handed comments his way. Trailing your fingers up his bicep when he forced himself at your table. Saying he looked "nice" with his hair up and out of the way of those pretty eyes. It drove him mad. He knew you knew he was too chicken shit to actually put hands on you and didn't bother wasting your energy to provoke him.

Recently, your dynamic had taken yet another turn. One, uneventful Monday morning, you strolled right up to his locker and patted him on the head as you walked off to class. His knees turned to jelly, and he nearly had a locker door slammed in his face following your hand as it left his soft locks. At lunch that very same day, you sat in his lap and even fed him his food - so long as he rushed through that project for his next class he was intentionally planning to fail. When the grades were sent back and you caught wind of his score, you kissed him on the cheek and ruffled his hair like you did before. His goons spread rumors of the two of you dating, but now everyone believed it with the leash you had around his neck. If he didn't get himself into detention, another pat. Good grades? Two kisses - if he work school appropriate clothing. Your switch from pretending he never existed to dotting on him like you were actual lovers boggled his mind to no end. What made you see him differently?

"This thing is way too damn short. I told you I'm not putting on fucking her bra - that's gross. Where the hell is my phone.. What the fuck?... give it to me. Post that and I will fucking ki-"

Oh - that would explain thing. It would explain a lot actually. All those weeks back, Erin had been asked by a friend to help deliver his sister's clothing to a nearby shelter with a few beers as payment. One of them had the brilliant idea to have a drinking contest with the loser having to try on her clothes. When it was discovered he had been pouring his into the grass, Erin was immediately disqualified and given his dues. They took video and posted it to his private page - forgetting about the person he made follow back. In all honesty, Erin had no problem wearing feminine clothing. It was just that everything that girl had absolutely shit tastes in fashion and not at all to kiss liking.

What he had on now was exactly his style.

Sliding a hand up his outer thigh, you loop two fingers through the heart shaped buckle attached to his garters and thigh highs. The spaghetti straps of his crop top hand loose and torn off his shoulders; neck and chest decorated in dark bruises and teeth marks. Circling your tongue around his puffy nipple, you pull it between your teeth - just to watch him squirm as your lips break contact with his chest; the strip of leather hanging from his thigh crackling against his skin as you retch your fingers free. He whimpers mutely, rubbing the stinging flesh into the mattress to prolong that fading bite. Grabbing his knee causes him to stop immediately, looking up at you with those pretty, pleading eyes through the whispy, dark ginger locks clinging to his sweaty forehead and cheeks. You smirk.

"What a good boy."

It had all been a test. You saw that video, and you had to have him. You knew he could be obedient with the right motivations and there was none better than giving yourself - and a little praise, to him. As usual, Erin was pissed when he found out you were training him like some.. dog, but he couldn't deny the guilty pleasure of you turning him into your bitch in front of the whole school. His cock throbs in his panties as his hazy mind replayed the billionth loop of you calling him yours; the phantom heat of your breath against his ears sending chills. Erin bucks away from the hand placed over the bump in his skirt so you wouldn't notice the pulse, but you certainly had. You close your fingers around his length, stilling him as another gloop of drool rolls past his lips.

"Eager Boy! I would love to help you with this, but.... I only need a good boy by my side, and I don't mean someone who'll have me home by eight."

You drop your lips to his ear, teasing the shell in just the way that made him cry out everytime. His little bated moans were the cutest thing.

" I want an obedient pet - and lover. Will you be that for me, Erin."

His cock ached at the first title; his heart sung at the next. He'd do anything to relieve the tension in both areas. Anything to be yours. Licking his bitten lips, he nods.

"I'll be good...."

You reach up to stroke his cheek. Erin nips at your fingers, rolling the metal ball of his piercing between each. He spits directly in your hand.

"Freak."

His chest rises with a shaky laugh, yet there's nothing but obedience in those eyes. It's a work in progress. You smack the meat of his thigh with your spit covered hand; the sound and force of the saliva hitting his send immeasurable. The e way his mouth falls open as he gasps - you would've thought he came right then and there if his solid erection wasn't in your opposite hand.

"You're lucky I'm nice. Turn over, pretty boy."

Leaning back, you help Erin lift his leg over your head as he turns over onto his stomach. Scooting forward, his ass falls into your lap as he sinks down. You raise the skirt that barely covered much to begin with and slip those lace panties down; pre-ejaculate smeared into its crotch. You wish you hand more time to appreciate his attire or shove those frilly garments down his throat, but as soon as he came through your door it was too your bedroom - and you wanted to hear his sounds nice and clear for your first time together. There would be plenty more nights in the future for you to do whatever your heart desired. Reaching forward, you tap his lips with your finger.

"Spit? Since you've already proven you don't mind getting your drool all over your master."

Erin opens his mouth - letting out a gagged yelp of surprise as your fingers shoot down his throat. He's never been more thankful for the lack of a reflex. Regaining what little composure he hand, Erin swirls his tongue around your fingers and hollows his cheeks as he suckles them as you drag them out his mouth. His head falls into the pillow as you draw your arm back to position; spreading his asscheeks as your lubricated thumb teases his hole. It slips in easier than you imagine and his back muscles go taught.

"Have you fingered yourself before?"

Erin buries his face in the pillow, eyes avoiding your stare. ".... toothbrush."

"Pfft - you whore. I was wondering what happened to that. Guess I don't have to ask who you were thinking about while you did it."

"At least you go your brains if anything ever happens to your face."

Frowning, you yank the hair still trapped in the scrunchie he wore. "Bad dog. Guess you won't need the prep then."

Removing your finger, you lend your cock to his hole. He hooks one arm under the pillow and reaches the other behind him. You take his hand and lock your fingers with his as you slip inside; pinning the limb to his back as you sink in. You pull your knees from under him and plant them in the mattress as you drag your girth out of his tight hole. Erin drops his free hand between his legs, but you quickly add your weight to his arm - immobilizing him.

"Ah-ah, I didn't say you could do that did I?"

Erin grumbles something under his breath, but thankfully you don't hear it. As a reward for staying still you kiss along his back up to the nape of his neck, right below his choker where you plant your teeth as you start off at a gradual pace. His skirt falls pack down a couple times which you lose care of after a while and let drap at your thighs. He keeps his lips separated from the pillow so his heavy breathes are audible - just like he knew you wanted. Such a good boy. Dropping your grasp to his waist, you tug him back with each thrust - virtually bouncing the drooling boy on your cock. His greedy hole and desperate whimpers suck you back in. Pleads he tempts to conceal with his moans ringing longer no matter how exaggerated his sounds become. Like everything when it came to you - he just couldn't keep it in.

"ngh...y/n...please...hah... give more."

"You want more this so soon? Hm, you've been good enough so far."

Yelping as your hips snap against the curve of his ass, Erin rocks his with a stutter - rutting his aching cock into the mattress chasing friction you refuse to provide. Your hand cracks hard against his right cheek and his back arches against your sweaty bare chest as he all but screams into the pillow now forced into snuffing his cries. You grab his jaw and his head pivots back to look up at you.

"So noisy.... It's unsightly of you, Erin. Like you're a different person now you've got a few inches in you. Tell me, are you my good little puppy or some bitch in heat using my dick to get off?"

Tongue petaled around your thumb, Erin cries out beneath its weight. "Mmph.." You lift your finger, smearing his drool into his cheek as you turn his head to face you.

"What was that, boy?"

"y-yours... 'm yours, I promise. I can be both. Please let me be both."

"We'll see about that." Standing on your knees, you yank Erin along with you and lock your arm around his neck to keep him from falling as you drill upwards into him. His cock bobs with each hammer of your hips into his and you have enough mercy to stroke him to completion as his eyes roll back in his head. You mouth more marks into his neck and shoulder blades, scrapping your teeth on the bone. Your name bleeds off his tongue like it's the only he's ever known and right now there couldn't be a truer statement. You suck one more fresh hickey to his neck and work on to his jaw, licking the stray tears that drip down to the corners of his mouth as you crush his windpipe in your hold - darting your tongue past his gasping lips. Erin groans in the blissful heat of the thirsty kiss, cumming into your hand and onto his thighs and your pillow. You rub the sensitive flesh for a few more strokes before letting him fall into his own mess. You join him on the unstained pillow and scoop your arm under his neck. He scoots over, resting his head on your chest - eyelids droopy and body slack. You brush his hair out of his face, pressing a kiss to his clammy temple.

"A quick rest, then it's the showers before bed for you, Mister.. You did amazing for me. Clean?"

You extend your hand; palm glazed with his spend. Erin scoffs, lips twitching into a faint smile.

"You're such a dick."

He sweeps his tongue over the salty fluid and licks it off the ball of your fingers, cringing at the taste, but doing as asked for once.

"True, but I'm your dick now."

He stops - eyes soft and more vulnerable than the entirety of your session. "You... were serious about that?"

"Of course. You're a good boy, Erin - when you want to be. I like you."

His head falls back to your chest, hand finding yours. "i... love you."

-

The next day at school, you walk in together with your wrist in his hand. You'd let him keep his big dog act for just a little longer. Stopping at your longer, Erin spots the one that got away - some little shit that snuck a note in your locker and fled his fury due to the teacher standing in the hall. His right hand tightens into a ball.

"Erin."

The student looks your way, shocked seeing the two of you so close. His shoulders relax as he shoves the fist into his pocket. Thankfully, you didn't have every period together. "See, i wasn't doing nothing."

You peck his cheek with a smile. "Good boy.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere scenarios #yandere insert #yandere blurb #yandere headcanons #male yandere #yandere imagines #yandere oc #sub yandere #yandere bully #yandere smut #top reader

[rxmqnova]

Where Lizzie keeps using Yn's clothes like sweaters, jackets, hoodies...

They are together but keep it private so people or fans didn't know about them. Yn's and Lizzie's fandoms theorized separately about who can be their partners until someone discovered that they matched a few items of clothing and they were searching for more.

They saw that sometimes Lizzie's clothes were bigger. So they started to post photos of Yn and Lizzie wearing the same thing, and Yn saw it and show Lizzie the post so they had an idea, because Yn was the extovert one in the relationship and made a tshirt about a photo of Lizzie and saying something like "yes, i'm dating lizard" or "i'm dating this idiot" or whatever you wanna write hahaha but she didn't say anything to Lizzie so It was a surprise for her when Yn showed her the paparazzi photos and they burst out laughing

Clothes stealer

NO ONE'S POV "Babe? Have you seen my hoodie?" Y/N calls from her and Lizzie's shared bedroom, looking into her closet for what feels like a hundred time.

"Which one?" Lizzie calls back from the bathroom where she's getting ready for the day.

"My favorite, the dark blue one"

Lizzie can't help but smile as she's currently wearing that hoodie. The two practically share all of their clothes. Lizzie absolutely loves stealing her girlfriend's clothes and Y/N doesn't mind at all, she loves seeing her girlfriend in her clothes.

"Nope, haven't seen it" Lizzie lies, not noticing her girlfriend standing at the doorframe and watching her with an amused smile.

"Is that so?" Y/N teases, walking over to Lizzie and wrapping her arms around her from behind. "So you're not wearing it at the moment by any chance?"

"Hm-hm, I definitely do not" Lizzie smiles, turning around in Y/N's arms and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck.

"Mhm. I see" Y/N chuckles, pecking her girlfriend's lips with a sweet kiss. "You know… I found a very interesting article. You haven't told me you're dating Aubrey Plaza"

"What?" Lizzie tilts her head in confusion, making Y/N let out a chuckle.

"I'm just messing with you, but that article really exists. Your fans are trying to find out who's the one you're dating and last week it was Aubrey" Y/N explains.

"Oh, I guess paparazzi took some pictures of us when we went out for lunch last week"

"Mhm. That was last week though, this week you're dating someone else" Y/N teases. "People noticed what a clothes stealer you are, look" She chuckles, showing her girlfriend all those instagram posts where the fans are comparing hers and Lizzie's clothes.

"Oh my god. They see every detail" Lizzie chuckles, looking through all the pictures. "Looks like our little secret isn't so secret anymore" She smiles, wrapping her arms around Y/N's neck and looking deeply into her eyes.

In that moment Y/N gets a brilliant idea…

———

Y/N has everything prepared by now, so now it's time to make her plan come to life. Her idea is basically going out and wearing a shirt with a picture of her girlfriend and words 'Yes, lizard is my girlfriend'.

Y/N's absolutely thrilled about that idea and she can't wait to see Lizzie's reaction. She's more of an extrovert in the relationship and she loves teasing her fans, so this is just the perfect thing to do.

So when she gets ready to go out, obviously with the shirt on, she leaves the house. Lizzie's out filming and won't be back before the evening, so it's the best time to do it now.

Y/N makes her way to the store, at least she gets to buy some groceries to make dinner for her and Lizzie when she gets home.

And then it happens. Just when she walks out of the store with a bag full of groceries, she spots a few people with cameras.

She makes sure to hold the bag far from the shirt, so the print of the shirt could be seen. It takes a few minutes until she gets to her car, ready to drive back home as she's sure the pictures were taken.

And they were, appearing on Instagram only an hour later. Y/N smiles when she scrolls through all the pictures, satisfied with it and excited to show her girlfriend.

———

By the time Lizzie arrives home the dinner is ready to be served. She walks into the kitchen, a smile appearing on her face when she spots Y/N preparing the table for dinner.

"Hello there, beautiful" Lizzie says on which Y/N immediately lifts her eyes and locks them with her girlfriend's, smile forming on her face.

"Well, hello, gorgeous" Y/N says back, walking over to Lizzie and properly greeting her with a kiss.

The dinner goes as usual and the pair talks about each other's days. And just when both are done eating, the time comes and Y/N decides to show her girlfriend the pictures.

"We've talked about going public eventually, right?" Y/N starts, looking into Lizzie's eyes, and receives a nod and a smile. "Well, you know, I thought… why not do it in a cool way? So I just went to the store… like this" And that's when she turns her phone around to Lizzie who truly can't contain her laughter.

"You're such an idiot sometimes" Lizzie chuckles out, taking Y/N's phone and looking more into the pictures.

"I think it was way better than doing it the boring way like everyone else" Y/N says, playing offended and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, but this one's brilliant" Lizzie shows the picture she only just found to Y/N, both of them bursting into laughter at how funny the picture actually looks. "Oh my god, look at your face in this one!"

----------------------

Elizabeth Olsen masterlist

Masterlist

#elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen x female reader #elizabeth olsen x you #elizabeth olsen fanfic #lizzie olsen x you #lizzie olsen x reader #lizzie olsen #lizzie x reader #fanfiction #fanfic

[honeypipin]

The Banker made König Jealous?

Mafia!König who felt terribly sour after seeing the posts you made on instagram at the gala.

The way you looked in your outfit, and the bright smile on your face... yeah, ok so he might have jerked off to the pictures countless times, it was very good material for his imagination, in his defense... but he was so upset he wasn't there with you!

No matter what au he's in, König is our favourite pathetic man, he might try to hide it, but stalking all of your crush's social medias, finding out where they live and constanly fighting over control of the area (and obviously you) will always make him a simp. He just can't help it when it comes to you.

And now he sits in his office, waiting for your arrival, picking at the old scab on his forearm with nothing else to do.

Now he does, you're here!

"Ah, Hallo." He sits up straight, posture no longer henched over his desk, and gestures to the free seat infront of his.

"Hello König, how are you today?"

"Good. How are you?"

"Im ok, thank you. So as we talked last time..."

Now he means no disrespect, but he zones out immediately, so entranced with you, how confidentally you speak about financials, the little smirk that plays on the corner of your mouth when you tell him about an investment plan you are sure is full proof - you're so proud of your abilities, and it doesn't help König's heart with how pretty you are. He could spend hours listening to your sweet voice (and is very desperate to).

A good 10 minutes pass of you explaining your brilliant ideas and König always agreeing to it, since he would let you burn him to the ground if you really wanted. You could tell him that you wanted to feed all of his money to a donkey and he would, just to see a smile on your face. A romantic at heart.

"So? What do you think?"

"Perfekt."

"Really?"

"Always." Always, everything you do is perfect, even in it's imperfect ways, it's always perfect. He is a man who lives to serve, and who else to serve but you? He could wait on you, hand on knee for his life for what matters. Have you ever seen something so awe-inspiring and amazing you physically freeze, jaw-dropped just to take it in? You just stop and this completely new feeling overcomes you, no fear, not even happiness, you're just taking it in.

That's how König felt about you. Well, the first time, but now, he's trying to get himself closer to this absolute paradox. How could you just...be? Like somekind of idol he can't get into the space of, that was exactly it. Like light, he can only watch, watch it dance and play with its beautiful colour, watch it trick him and reveal to him, but can never touch, only feel the ghost of its warmth.

Does he have to let you burn him?

Will he have to feel your love scald his spine? Drip down his body with bloody blisters in its leave? Feel his skin splinter away and his bones into ash under your adoration? Let his wax wings melt into the sea and drown himself in your heat for your heart? He'll do it. He's a man of his word, perhaps not a wise one, but devoted for sure.

"Great. How about we meet up tomorrow to discuss further, your office?"

"Sure."

You weren't going to burn him, not yet. For now, you were going to sear him a little, take a few bites out of his heart, then fucking disintergrate him. And the weirdo would let you do it everytime.

#könig cod #könig mw2 #könig x reader #konig #konig call of duty #konig cod #konig modern warfare #konig mw2 #konig x reader #könig #mafia au #mafia #mafia!au #mafia!könig #banker!reader

[idyllic-affections]

i feel like alhaithams child would like the arts. they’d be smart and intelligent and everything but they’d also love the arts. that’s what got alhaitham to question the sages in the first place, seeing his child’s emerald eyes light up when they are creative (and uncle kaveh giving them tips on art), he has to wonder what is so BAD about art. trying to hid his child’s talent breaks him more than words could ever explain and even though it’s for their safety, he feels like he’s being the worst father in the world. however, the secret meetings with nilou for dance, the art lessons with kaveh, and him sneaking yarns, fabrics, threads, and art supplies are ways for them to explore art until something changes. and if anyone asks him why his clothes have embroidered green on them, he says he bought it from another region even though it breaks his heart to not brag about how talented his child is.

(sorry if this is all over the place, my brain just couldn’t stop thinking about this  scenario)

suffocation.

summary. alhaitham can't understand what the issue with the arts is.

trigger & content warnings. alhaitham feels like a bad dad :((

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. slight angst, reverse comfort. dad!alhaitham & reader, implied kaveh & reader, implied nilou & reader. 0.5k words. they/them pronouns used for reader. this post is an expansion of scholarly lineage.

author's thoughts. teehee.... soft angst for you all, in preparation for the worse things i have planned <3

Alhaitham truly, wholeheartedly has failed to understand what it is about the arts that has the Sages so disturbed.

He really wasn't the type to needlessly question them. In his eyes, it was more trouble than it was worth. Being unnecessarily difficult would only bring trouble to himself and his household. Their stance on the arts didn't affect him, it didn't seem to affect Kaveh all that badly, but [Name]...

It affected his child.

Too young to voice their opinion in a way that was safe and effective like Kaveh did, yet also too old to remain blissfully unaware of how stifling the world truly was. The Sages' stance on anything even remotely creative affected his child very deeply, because they were very aware of it, yet could not do anything to combat it.

And his child—Gods, he swore they were a talent to be beheld. From Kaveh always, always ranting to him about how skilled they were and how they had so much potential to be one of the greatest minds in Sumeru both academically and artistically (Alhaitham can't really tell if Kaveh is exaggerating or not, but he wouldn't put it past his child to be so brilliant), to Nilou gushing to him about how she just adored getting to teach them and how quick they learned... he couldn't help but begin to wonder. To question.

What right did the Sages have to suppress the artistic side of Sumeru?

What right did they have to suppress his child's brilliance? His child's, of all people's. He was appalled at the thought, really. He was offended on their behalf, though he did not let it show.

When his coat went missing, he didn't think much of it. He'd assumed it was Kaveh's doing at first—it wouldn't be the first time the Architect left in a hurry and took the wrong things with him—but his theory was disproven in a few mere hours.

His child soon returned his coat to him with an excited smile.

He was quick to notice the vaguely glimmery shine of green thread, embroidered skillfully along the edges, and—

And his heart broke apart in his chest. He knew he wouldn't be able to boast, to tell his curious coworkers that the embroidery was his child's beautiful work. It would get him in trouble. It would get them in trouble.

What kind of father was he, cruelly hiding his child's talent from the world? What kind of father was he? What kind of father would fail so horribly, as he was now, to uplift his child? Circumstance be damned.

What kind of father was he to be behaving this way?

Somehow, they seemed to read his mind.

"It's not really your fault, baba," they told him. "Anyway, I didn't embroider it for praise. I embroidered it because I thought it would look nice on you."

His coat was gingerly discarded off to the side, and his arms were around his child before they could even process what had happened.

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

#aphelion's drabbles 🌸 #favoniuslibrary #astronetwrk #platonic genshin x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #platonic genshin impact #platonic genshin #platonic genshin impact x reader #alhaitham x reader #platonic alhaitham x reader

[notelcol]

A rivals desire 🌹

Non gender specific rival/lover✨

A little story inspired by the Wanderers ‘about us: rivals’ voiceline. In this story, reader is studying in Vahamuna with the Wanderer and is his only true academic rival. You and he are the only ones able to really challenge each others work. It will, of course, be set in Sumeru post it’s archon quest.

Mildly edited, apologies for mistakes🫶

——-

“So, you're still stewing over our run-ins from before? Huh. Well, what are you going to do about it? Take your time. I'm in no hurry.” The Wanderer scowled at you, referring to the time you helped thwart his plans to become a god.

“For the last time. No!” Your voice became faster and louder as you continued. “Unlike you, I can let things go!” You glared at him.

“If you aren’t out for revenge, then why would you rebuke my paper?!” He leaned closer as he waved your latest paper around. “Why else would you make a point of disputing every paper I submit?” His voice became quiet, full of venom with a touch of vulnerability.

“I rebuked your paper because it was short sighted. Same as all the others.” You told him. “Your takes on history and society are factually correct and full of potential, yes. But, you always fail to see the true story.” You say, slightly distracted by how close you stood to him. “You miss out the heart of everything by only focusing on the tangible parts. True insight comes from mixing the facts with the feelings that follow in their wake.” You explained, eyes flicking to the ground as you finished talking and realised how long you’d been maintaining eye contact.

When he didn’t reply, you returned his gaze again. He seemed to be lost in his mind, you could almost see the churning of waves behind his blue eyes.

“So you’re telling me, that to reach academic greatness I must tap into my emotions to find the heart of things?” He asked incredulously before scoffing. “You realise I don’t have a heart right?” He folded his arms and raised a brow as he spoke. His words made you chuckle.

“The heart just pumps blood around a body. The brain is where all thoughts and feelings lie….surely you have one of those don’t you?” You smirked.

“Yes. Very funny.” He deadpanned. You rolled your eyes.

“Well, if we’re done here?” You gestured to the path you were on your way down before he interrupted your journey.

“Wait!” He grabbed your wrist as you began to turn away. “If you think you know so much, then show me. Show me how to achieve ‘true insight’.”

You deliberated his request for no where near long enough, given the task it would be to get this man to view society in a sympathetic way.

“Fine. Lesson one. Tell me one emotion you are familiar with feeling.” You looked expectantly, assuming he would give you an immediate answer. After mulling it over he opened his mouth..and then closed it again, before finally speaking.

“Desire.”

“Good! That’s good, you can tap into that. Think of something you want and go after it. Study that feeling. Then when you succeed, focus on how you feel when you get whatever it is you want and it will lead you to another emotion to study.“

“This is ridiculous. Talking about feelings to better writing, how warped.” He grumbled.

“You sound like Azar.” You shook your head at him, remembering the former grand sage.

“Don’t compare me to that old fool!” Offence tainted the Wanderer’s words. “I am nothing like that failure. I am better.” His breath fanned your face as he argued with you.

“Then stop acting like him and prove it! I wouldn’t ‘make a point’ of challenging you all the time if I didn’t believe you could be brilliant.” You exclaimed. His eyes darted around your face as he seemed to freeze. You watched him wade through his mind, slowly you could see his soul becoming clearer in the distance. You had lost yourself in his eyes and possibly would have stayed that way for eternity if he hadn’t grabbed your cheeks, shocking you back to reality. He almost looked as confused as you, before pressing his lips to yours.

Your eyes widened as the space between you closed, but when his fingers started stroking your cheek as he kissed you, you couldn’t help but melt. Your hands wrapped around the back of his neck and you let yourself fall into the kiss. You swore you could feel him smile right before he pulled away.

“Peace.” He spoke as he rested his forehead on yours. “The fruition of my desire leads to peace.”

——-

Thank you for reading 🌹

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #genshin fluff #genshin x you #teyvat #x reader #writing #fluff #the wanderer #scaramouche x y/n #genshin scara #scaramouche x you #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x y/n #wanderer x you #genshin wanderer #wanderer #wanderer x reader #the wanderer x reader #Sumeru #Nahida #akedimiya #enemies to lovers #rivals

[skyeslittlecorner]

can you post some photos on chapter five? ive been struggling to get to it and im impatient if ykwim 😭😭

Don't worry anon, I got you covered! Let's break this chapter for three parts - one for story and for one for both H-scenes. There are a lot of things to look forward to~

Warning: HEAVY SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT. In fact, I'll try to shorten the whole thing and focus on plot-relevant facts, so for those who want to go through chapter 5 on their own, come back when you're done! (Or just skip to h-scene, they are marked.)

Ch5 - STORY

First, I would like to warn that my opinion about it may be unpopular. As someone who hadn't paid much attention to Hades before, I fell in love with it after this episode. I adore ch5. A lot of people hate these boys to the core for what they did, and I understand and respect their opinion, but I'm with Hades here. I would love to analyze their behavior in more detail, but we don't have time for that today.

Summarizing this chapter is going to be hard because a lot of things happened. Let's go!

We start by going down a slide sponsored by Leviathan and his Lovecraftian friends (TM). But worry not! It seems we have friends even in the realm of death. Say hello to grandpa!

We talk a little, being in a questionable mood. Well, who wouldn't be? But we have the opportunity to know Solomon better, and I'm getting to understand why all devils love him. By the way, it turns out that we are his last descendant.

Sorry Solomon, you're still a peepaw.

He also advises us not to be afraid of Leviathan and not to be submissive to him, and then in a brilliant way he sends us back to the world of the living. Of course, our beautiful king is delighted.

We take Grandpa's advice to heart and finally stand up to Levi. He's surprised, but he doesn't try to kill us again (for now). We witness him hanging one of his subjects, who dared to ask about an accident from 311 years ago.

Fun fact. Devils must have much stronger spines. Do you know how people used to die by hanging? The first methods involved cutting off oxygen, but later they involved into breaking the cervical spine and this was considered a standard hanging execution. Leviathan must be gentle (how bad it sounds in this context), he could kill instantly with a loop like that.

Back to the point. We find out that we also have a noose around our neck, and Leviathan makes use of it. We're hanging, but we finally begin to meet Leviathan's nobles one by one.

Glasyal plots (and ends up hanging for it), Foras argues with him, along the way we learn that Leviathan needs us in his plan, and, you know, maybe killing us isn't the smartest thing he can do. Only Barbatos realizes that maybe it's a good idea to stop hanging us like wet laundry. He's the only one so openly nice to us.

Remember that.

Another fun fact, our MC is of medium height (~160 cm I guess). Leviathan is 187cm, Foras should be similar. I only noticed this because I myself am 180 cm so they are not so strappingly tall for me.

Foras wants to take us away from Levi and explain everything calmly, but the king does not agree. We learn that the guys know where the seed from the Tree of Knowledge is. We're supposed to go with them, and we have about a 50/50 chance of survival. Also, we have the opportunity to see a very rare phenomenon, a joking Leviathan.

Sweetie.

Colossally shortening the rest, the cavalry arrives! You didn't have to. I haven't had time to fuck them yet.

And this cavalry is very much at odds with the nobles of Hades. Most of the time is them arguing. Fortunately, they didn't kill each other…

...because Barbie decided to kill us.

Barbatos is poisoning us to force Bimet and Valefor to join the plan. While we are unconscious, we have flashes of Leviathan's past, which is too sad to analyze considering that we are about to jump to hot scenes now. Besides, most of us already know what this is about. Experience it for yourself. Really. We also learn that not only angels experimented on children, and a little about Mammon's childhood.

In the end, we learn that in Ch6 we must visit the abandoned laboratory in Tartaros, where the seed from the tree of knowledge should be, because as Solomon's descendants, we may be the only ones who will not be killed by it.

Ch5 - VALEFOR H-SCENE

(I really wanted to post CG from Valefor's scene here, but I don't know if Tumblr will block it.)

TIME FOR DESSERT!

Bimet is the first to realize that we lack devil energy. He wants to take care of it, but Valefor brushes him off, sends him to scout, and overall Bimet is our wingman, what a bro lol

Since we are away from Satan and Gehenna, we cannot summon Minhyeok's room. MC thinks she's outgrown it anyway. So we can count on the next scenes to be more and more creative.

It all starts with us telling Valefor that he reminds us of Mammon. And what a beast it brings out of him.

And he loves it.

...aaand then, someone wants to interrupt. Bimet informs us about this and goes to chase them out. Valefor stands with us at the door to see if anyone else is coming. Yes. Naked. With us. In us.

Fortunately, no one catches us and after the entire session we fall asleep in our knight's arms.

I really would like to do more screenshots, but tumblr is blocked… and there's one more part to come.

Ch5 - LEVIATHAN H-SCENE

At least you look beautiful and the platform won't block you.

And here's what I love the most. It was sick. I'd love to experience it again.

I would love to make a whole post ONLY about this and just leave the screenshots.

We are in Leviathan's office, and he interrogates us when we feel like we are lacking devil energy. We want to go to Bimet, but do you think our jealous king will allow it? Oh no no no. And of course, his hands land on our chin and then our neck. He doesn't like our hickeys.

We start asking him valid questions like "why are you jealous of us if you hate us?" So he silences us with a kiss. A deep, suffocating kiss. This is also how Leviathan discovers that we gain their energy through "intercourse with the devil".

And how can I not fall in love with this idiot.

The conversation that follows gives us some light on his approach to sex and to relationships in general. Which is… sad. It fits him perfectly, but it's sad. And I would also like to analyze this someday, this character is beautiful and how he's written is even more beautiful, especially from writer's point of view. He does not want the admiration of his people or the hatred of angels. The only thing he can believe and consider to be sincere is that someone's dislike. This is something that might actually turn him on.

At first he rules, he asks questions and he hangs us. And he does everything he can to piss us off. He hands us a whip and lowers us down.

Just disliking him isn't enough, and he works diligently to make us hate him. He insults Minhyeok, us, wishes us dead, and the more he sees our anger, the more he gets excited and talks more. He knows that we are connected to Satan and we will know how to release our anger. On him.

He finally got what he wanted. We straddle him and, with the help of Satan's strength, begin to strangle him. Neither you nor he are gentle.

Also, his words (unfortunately, I already have a limit on screenshots). "Do not bite your lips. Bite mine instead." I beg, let me violate him even more.

Compliment from Leviathan, nice. In the end, we fall asleep cuddled up to him, and he has no intention of giving us up to anyone. As in the case of Sitri, he only opens up to us when we are so unconscious that we do not see his softer side.

꧁:･ ✡ ･:꧂

AND THATS ALL! What a ride it was, I hope I was a good guide. One day I will go into the Hades boys in more depth, but for now, let this be a shortcut for everyone who is still struggling with ch5.

#whb #what in hell is bad #whb leviathan #whb foras #whb glasyalabolas #whb barbatos #whb bimet #whb valefor #whb spoiler

[crowleying]

Will get us all killed | m!reader

Date: 29.10.2022

Pairing:  Tommy Shelby x m!reader

Reader’s pronouns: he/him

Words: 3.318

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Characters: m!reader, Tommy Shelby, Polly Gray, Ada Shelby, John Shelby, Arthur Shelby, Esme Shelby

Genre: Romance

Length: Oneshot

Warnings: Mention of injury (nothing descriptive), slightly sexual content (there is an erection mentioned but nothing more), angst with a happy ending

Requested: No

Prompts: No

Summary: Tommy's plan is stupid. It gets John injured and you angry. Your hate for each other gets out of hand.

A/N: English is not my first language, so feel free to correct any mistake, and I would love to know what you think about it. If you like my works, please like and reblog them. REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I posted a List of prompts, so check it out! Let me know if you would like to be tagged in my works.

IF YOU LIKE MY WORKS, PLEASE REBLOG THEM

Masterlist

Ao3

It wasn't that you weren't listening. You were, which is exactly why you were furious. Tommy had called yet another family meeting to explain one of his absurd plans. They usually didn't make any sense, mainly because he kept most things for himself. The others executed blindly everything he asked, which often got them to get shot at, which, okay, fine, probably was partly their fault because they were quite stupid, and you thought that with all the love. You really cared for John and Arthur.  You, however, couldn't help but point out all the plans' flaws. Tommy hated you for that, but it wasn't your fault if his stupid plans weren't foolproof. You were sure Tommy would have kicked you out of the family meetings, and even from the Peaky Blinders if he could, but you had Polly's protection. She had raised you as her son, taking you in when your mother, her best friend, died. You had grown up with the Shelbys, and while you got along with everyone, you just couldn't see Tommy without wanting to punch him. It hadn't always been like that, though. Tommy was the most brilliant of the family, with Ada being a close second, so he wasn't used to having people rival his intelligence before meeting you. At first, you had tried to be his friend, since he seemed to be the one who was more like you, but he had pushed you away, and after a while, you had stopped trying. Instead, you got really close to John and Ada.

When Tommy finished explaining his plan, the others slipped out of the door, glancing your way. You were still leaning with your back against the wall. Your arms were crossed in front of your chest, and you were burning holes into Tommy's face with your gaze. John snorted, amused at your antics, and exchanged a look with Arthur, who chuckled and patted your shoulder.

"I know a few gipsy curses if you need them," Esme whispered passing by on her way to the door. It made you smile, but it didn't last long. It soon disappeared when Tommy's icy eyes met yours.

"Don't kill each other. We need you both," Ada said as she was leaving. Her tone betrayed the fact that she didn't really believe you would ever come close to that.

Polly was the last one to leave. Before closing the door, she looked at you, trying to tell you just with her gaze to go easy on Tommy. You ignored it.

"Close the door, Pol," Tommy said without turning to her or taking his eyes away from you. She did so, leaving the two of you alone.

Tommy raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, mirroring your stance. "So?"

"So you keep underestimating threats and you keep important information to yourself." You pushed away from the wall and took a couple of steps towards the table between you and Tommy. "And this plan won't fucking work because that man knows Arthur. He knows he is your brother," you explained waving your hands around animatedly.

"It will be fine."

"Because you are so fucking brilliant, right?" you spat.

He took a cigarette from his silver case. He stroked it against his plump lips, then placed it between them in that way that irritated you so much. He offered you one too.

You ignored the offering. Instead, you went around the table, stopping mere inches from his face. "If someone gets hurt, I will personally hurt you, Thomas," you said, punctuating the words and poking his firm chest with your finger before storming out. Tommy smiled to himself. He loved riling you up.

As you stepped out of the room, people scrambled around, avoiding your gaze, almost as if they had been eavesdropping on the conversation and didn't want you to notice. You decided you didn't care and went to your office to get back to work. On your way there, Ada approached you.

"What happened?" she asked, walking by your side.

"Your brother is an idiot and will get us all killed, that's what happened." You walked into your office and she followed.

"You are the only one thinking that, you know that, right?"

"Apparently I'm the only one with some fucking sense here." You sat at your desk and took a cigarette from the case you had left there. You placed it between your lips and reached for the matches.

She closed the door behind her and walked up to your desk.

"You are the only one who made the point of his life to go against every word Tommy speaks," she corrected.

You arched your eyebrows and lit your cigarette.

"Not my fault he is a bloody idiot." You released the smoke upwards.

She shook her head smiling. "The day you get over this hate of yours, you'll see what we all see."

"And what is it that you see, Ada?"

She crossed her arms. She had no intention of telling you, clearly. "You two are so similar."

"No, we are not," you replied, with more heat than necessary.

She smiled triumphantly. "We all see through your little act," she sing-songed heading to the door.

You got up hastily.

"What are you talking about? Ada, I'm not done talking with you." Before you could go around your desk, she was already out of the door. "Come back here, Ada!" You had all intentions of following her, but one of the men walked in to show you one of the books.

"Fucking Shelbys," you grumbled, making the man chuckle.

You would deal with Ada later.

Later never came, because Thomas' stupid plan had gone to hell not even half an hour in. The man had recognized Arthur as soon as he had seen him, as you had said, and had opened fire on him and John. A bullet had grazed Arthur's arm. He would be fine. John, however, hadn't been so lucky. Before you could put a bullet in that bastard's head, he had hit John in his left shoulder, too close to his heart for your liking. Now he was laying in a hospital bed. The doctor had said that he would be fine, but you were fuming. Polly and Arthur nervously watched you pace back and forth next to your best friend's bed. They had tried to calm you down, but had stopped after you had yelled at Arthur. You were halfway through Arthur's cigarettes. You had already finished yours, but they hadn't helped calm your nerves.

Tommy stormed into the room, Ada hot on his heels. Polly and Arthur stood straighter, ready to intervene. You turned to look at him and quickly killed the cigarette in the ashtray.

"Tommy, what the fuck!" Ada tried to hold him back by his arm, but to no avail.

"What the fuck did you do?" he yelled to your face.

You clenched your fist and before Tommy knew it, you had punched him.

"I tried to save our asses, you fucking cunt!" you snarled through your teeth.

He grabbed the collar of your jacket and you took hold of the front of his shirt.

"You killed that man and fucked up every chance we had. That's what you did," he replied through his teeth.

Arthur and Polly stepped in just as a nurse rushed in, asking you to leave.

"I told you this would happen and you didn't listen because you are oh so fucking clever, and now my best friend is in that bed because of you."

Polly gently put a hand on your shoulder, but you kept glaring at Tommy.

"Alright, boys, you better take this outside."

Her other hand rested on one of Tommy's. He let you go and slowly you did too.

He nodded to the door and turned to leave. You followed him out and didn't register the relief that flooded the room the moment you left.

Tommy walked down the hall, looking for an empty room. He finally found one and pushed the door open to let you in. You spared him a glare as you walked him. He followed and closed the door.

You crossed your arms and turned to look at him, waiting for him to talk. You had said everything you needed to already.

"You know this is a dangerous business and Arthur and John know too. You all know there are risks. You can't go around killing every person I need, no matter how much of a dick they are."

You rolled your eyes and scoffed shaking your head. You pointed the finger at him.

"This is your fault. This wouldn't have happened if you just had listened to me! But you never fucking do. And I'm so tired of your bullshit. I know you never liked me because I am more intelligent than you but, for fucks sake, get over it," you hissed in his face.

He seemed taken aback by your words. When he didn't reply, you rolled your eyes and walked away from him.

"You're wrong."

You scoffed. "Of course."

"No, I mean-"

"I know exactly what you mean. Because you are the one who is always fucking right. The only one with a brain and all that. Isn't that right, Tommy?" You spat out the words like venom.

You heard him cover the distance between you with a few steps, and when you turned back to him, you didn't expect him to be so close.

"It's not what you think it is," he murmured. How could he be so collected when you just wanted to punch him again?

"I know exactly what it is, Thomas!"

"No, you don't."

"Fuck you."

He licked his lips, and you knew he was about to talk again, but you wouldn't let him.

"Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you, Thomas Shelby. Your brother is laying on that bed with a bullet in him and you-"

"They already took it out," he corrected offhandedly.

And you just couldn't help it. You pushed him full force with both hands. He bumped into the wall behind him. You walked up to him and took him by the collar of his jacket.

Instead of pushing you away, Tommy grabbed your hips and pushed them forward, against him. You were confused for a brief moment before you felt his erection pressing against your leg. You looked down to where your bodies met and then up at him.

"Tommy..."

"You're wrong."

Before you could react to his words, he pulled you into a heated kiss. You were paralyzed for a moment before you melted into it. Your body relaxed against his as you kissed him back. His lips were as soft as they looked. You would never admit to anyone that you had wondered how they would feel on yours every time he stroked a cigarette on them or licked them, but you had. It seemed like his lips were a match that had put your stomach on fire. Your desire to punch him had faded away. The kiss you were sharing and your bodies touching was all that mattered. Until the door opened and you pulled away as fast as lightning.

A nurse entered with fresh sheets in her arms and looked at you confused, then she spotted Tommy.

"I'm very sorry, Mr Shelby, I didn't know you were here. I'll leave you alone."

You fixed your suit. "No need to, we were done," you assured, and without waiting for a reply, you passed by her and walked out the door without sparing Thomas a glance. His eyes followed you until you disappeared, and then he cleared his throat and fixed his suit before leaving with a whispered "have a nice day" to the nurse.

When he walked out, you were nowhere to be seen. He went back to John's room, but you weren't there either.

It took him almost two days to realize you were avoiding him. He had been busy fixing the mess, and Polly said you were spending all your time by John's bed, which was to be expected. Except for the fact that when he went to the hospital the evening after the incident, you weren't there. He figured you had gone home to change and rest now that John was awake and his life wasn't at risk anymore.

When you didn't show up for dinner as always, he just thought you were too tired.

That night he fell asleep to the memory of your lips on his and for once his dreams weren't filled with the noise of the shovels but with your voice whispering his name.

The morning after, you weren't at the shop. That was weird, you were always the first to arrive.

By midday, he had been on the receiving end of so many of Ada and Esme's glares, he decided he needed a break.

He visited John, hoping to find you there, but once again you weren't.

He had thought Ada and Esme's looks were because they deemed him to be the cause of John's injury, but he changed his mind later that afternoon when Polly walked into his office like a woman with a mission.

"You two need to talk."

He glanced at her before his eyes went back to the papers he was reading. "I already talked with John."

"It's not John I'm talking about."

That grabbed his attention. "What are you talking about?" he asked, forgetting about the papers for a minute.

"Fix whatever mess you have caused, Thomas." She walked out without waiting for his reply.

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. So you were avoiding him because of what had happened.

He decided not to listen to Polly, so maybe you were right when you said he never listened. He would give you some time. Maybe you just needed to come to terms with what had happened between the two of you.

You didn't come to work the day after, even though all the paperwork that had been on your desk the day before had been done. Tommy wasn't surprised. You were a workaholic just like him. You probably had just moved your office to your house.

Family meetings were weird without you glaring at him, interrupting, huffing and insulting him under your breath. Ada and Esme's looks weren't as fun.

"What are you waiting for, Thomas?" Polly questioned after the others had left the meeting.

"I'll talk to him," he assured.

That same night, he grabbed the dinner Polly had put aside for you and set out to come to visit you.

You had told Polly times and times again that you were fully capable of taking care of yourself and that she didn't need to cook for you, but there was no saying no to Polly Gray. She had been sending you food through Ada or Esme every evening you hadn't shown up for dinner with the family at hers. She hadn't asked anything, but she was Polly Gray. She didn't need to ask. She just knew things and she knew something had happened between you and Tommy.

You weren't surprised when you heard a knock at your door.

"Coming," you yelled as you made your way to the door.

"Finally, I'm star-" you cut yourself off midsentence when you saw Tommy.

"Tommy... What are you doing here?"

He handed you the plate. "Brought you dinner. Thought it was time for us to talk."

You sighed and nodded, inviting him in. He stepped in and you closed the door behind him. You didn't remember him ever visiting you before.

You passed by him and went to the kitchen, followed by him. "You don't mind if I eat while you talk?"

He took off his coat he abandoned on the back of a chair and his cap throwing it on the table before he sat down. "Please."

You sat down on the opposite end of the table with the dish in front of you and started eating.

Tommy took his time to light a cigarette.

"You've been avoiding me."

You didn't say anything. You couldn't really deny that.

"Why?" he asked when you didn't reply.

You scoffed. "What was I supposed to do? I tried to figure out why you would do something like that and came up with nothing. I thought you might have wanted to get me caught but then they-"

"Stop thinking I hate you."

You looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "Why would I? It's not exactly like you ever proved me wrong."

"I kissed you."

"Which you might have done for some ulterior motive. Did you forget I know you, Tommy? You always have some kind of hidden agenda."

He took a long drag from his cigarette, his eyes were fixed on you as if he was analysing you.

"There was no hidden agenda. I've been wanting to kiss you since... forever," he admitted softly.

You snorted. "You hate everything I do. I'm always in your way, have been since we were kids."

Tommy shook his head. "Yeah, I wasn't fond of you when we were kids, but things change." He leaned forward and you looked at him, the food now forgotten. "I don't hate anything you do. On the contrary, I love it. You are the only one who stands his ground with me and speaks up against me and points out all the flaws in my plans because you're not only clever but also very observant. How could I hate it when it's so hot?"

You shook your head, smiling bitterly. "Please. Don't play with me. You've had your fun."

"I'm not playing. I've been waiting for this for ages."

"Why didn't you say anything, then?"

"I had a lot of reasons to believe you didn't like me," he said matter-of-factly, "and you had your reasons not to like me. I just think we should start anew, give each other a chance. Give this a chance."

You couldn't deny it was a good prospect. Peace at last.

"If that's what you want. If you like me too."

You hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. Yeah. I think we can try."

Tommy smiled and got up. He slowly walked around the table. He stopped to kill the cigarette in the ashtray you kept on the table, then continued towards you and stopped in front of you. He put his hands in the pockets of his elegant trousers.

"Are you going to come back to work now?"

You sighed. "Ugh... I mean, the boss is a pain in the ass, but the guy next door is cute," you joked.

He snorted. "Is that a yes?"

You nodded.

"Everything clear?"

"Good. See you tomorrow."

You huffed. "We are gonna die," you mumbled.

"What was that?" Tommy asked lifting his chin, daring you to repeat what you had just said.

"Your plan has more holes than a colander."

"Not again," Ada groaned.

"Okay, we'll leave you to it," John announced. He was the first to leave the room, followed by everyone else while you and Tommy had a staring match.

Polly was the last to leave. She looked at the two of you knowingly.

"Make it quick, boys," she said as she closed the door.

You got closer and sat on the table.

"So?" Tommy asked, walking up to you.

"You are an idiot." Before he could retort, you pulled him into a kiss by his collar.

His hands slipped to your hips and pulled you against his chest. You smiled against his lips.

He pulled away from your lips just a few inches to speak. "You need to stop challenging my authority in front of everyone."

"Nah, It's too much fun."

He pushed you away, making you laugh. He tried to suppress a smile trying to act annoyed, but he couldn't, not when he heard you laughing.

#spettrocoli writes #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x you #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby x male reader #tommy shelby x m!reader #male reader #reader insert #peaky blinders #peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky fucking blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #arthur shelby #john shelby #ada shelby #aunt polly #polly shelby #polly gray #esme shelby #creative writing #writing #writers on tumblr #thomas shelby #thomas shelby x reader #thomas michael shelby

[beauty-and-passion]

Selfishness v. Selflessness: Deceit’s reasons

And then, we finally reached the last episode of Sanders Sides.

Or what was the last official episode, until recently Mr. Sanders finally realized that hey, the Asides are following the main plot, maybe it’s time to consider them official episodes and not Asides.

And so, he changed the titles. If you check FWSA and DWIT now, you will find that their names are not followed by the title “Sanders Asides” anymore, but “Sanders Sides”.

While the infamous plushie episode which angered everyone because it was nothing more than an ad, magically became and Aside episode:

What can I say? Better late than ever, Mr. Sanders. This wouldn’t have happened at all if you planned everything from the start, you know that, right?

Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed: maybe you should also take FWSA and DWIT away from the Sanders Asides playlist. You know, just to keep it organized.

But let’s come back to Selfishness v. Selflessness: this was the first episode I ever wrote about - even if at the time it wasn’t a full analysis, but rather just some random, scattered thoughts. And they weren’t enough, because there is still a lot of stuff to talk about! Hence why, this post was needed.

This post will clarify a couple things I previously talked about, starting from the whole Wroammin thing which (sadly) turned out to be wrong. It can even be considered part of a triptych: THIS is the first part, THIS is the second one and the post you’re reading is the third and final part. Hope you will enjoy it and, as always, if you have anything else to add feel free to do it.

_______________________________

Why did Deceit appear?

[Logan]: -pops up- Eh... Speaking for someone is a disagreeable practice, Patton. If Thomas would rather go to the wedding, then I, the brilliant Logan, think we should hear it straight from the horse's mouth. Thomas, the floor is yours. Wedding or callback?

My gosh, this man isn’t even trying. First, he drops a character lie (“I, the brilliant Logan”) which is the exact same kind of lie he used the first time. Then he uses two idioms in a row. And scolds Patton in the meantime (“Speaking for someone is a disagreeable practice, Patton”).

I suppose he just wanted to appear, but he couldn’t do it without being ✨ dramatique ✨

But now your question could be: why did he appear? Well, as I anticipated in the analysis of CLBG, Mr. Sanders explained in a tweet that Character!Thomas’ relationship with Lee and Mary Lee is as strong as the one with Joan. Once again, a very strong relationship is at risk. And, this time, there’s also an event that might bring a major change in Thomas’ life. Everything basically requested Deceit’s presence.

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The dark sides are all anime tsundere girls

[Deceit]: Virgil's very right. You can't trust me! It's not like I'm trying to look out for you or anything.

[Anxiety]: He thinks he’s so great. Well, he is not! Look, I’m just trying to look out for him. (Taking on ANXIETY)

Okay, jeez, fine, you definitely don’t know each other and you’re definitely not father and son. That’s all a huge coincidence, I surely believe that.

Now I can’t wait to see Orange saying: “it’s not like I’m looking out for you, baka!” to Thomas, then I can close everything and disappear forever 😂

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“He's against Nazis”

[Thomas]: ... Alright, he can stay. [Patton]: Hm? [Roman]: -incredulous laughter- Ah, wait, seriously? [Thomas]: Sounds like he's against Nazis, so... Why not hear him out? You know? [Virgil]: That... cannot be where the bar is!

I just love this part too much and it cracks me up everything. Remember, kids: you can be a snek, but if you’re against nazis, then everything is okay. I can’t wait for the moment Thomas will try to send Remus and Orange away, only for them to reply that, hey, they’re against Nazis too, so they deserve to stay! And Thomas will let them stay.

And then we will reach the lowest bar in the world and everything will be perfect.

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“Social engagement”

[Deceit]: Well, the bar for skipping an important opportunity should be higher than a... social engagement. [Patton]: Come on, a wedding is more than just a social engagement! [Virgil]: He knows that.

Of course he knows that, he bears the name of a god who presides over weddings. Which yes, it’s hilarious and I love it.

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Same area of expertise

[Patton]: What is this wacky talk? I- You don't mean any of this. I'm your morality, I wouldn't be here if you did! [Thomas]: Right, right. Yeah, you're right. I- I don't mean that. [Patton]: And Roman, I thought you fought for honor! Why are you pushing Thomas to be dishonest? 

Deceit knows what Thomas truly wants and it’s to go to the wedding. However, two sentences from Patton were enough to make him understand that:

Patton is the one who is truly in charge

Patton’s ideas are strong enough to influence Thomas

Thomas could change his mind because of them

Roman desperately wants to go to the wedding

Roman could change his mind because of Patton

And so, Deceit intervenes and makes Patton aware of something: sure his presence means Thomas still thinks about his morals… but he’s not the only one here:

[Deceit]: Do you know who else is here? Me! So perhaps, Thomas... isn't so innocent. [Patton]: Well... Nobody's perfect... Except for Thomas! He loves his friends! [Deceit]: You can defend him all you like... But you can't change the facts. Is Thomas an innocent little lamb? Let's let them be the judge of that.

And with this, Deceit:

proved he’s Thomas’ Side and not a random guy. He is a Side, just like all of them and he won’t go anywhere.

brought up the problem that will be solved in POF - i.e. Patton’s view of Thomas as a perfect, innocent boy.

moved the entire problem to a higher, moral level. This isn’t just a “choosing wedding or callback” problem anymore: this is Deceit’s way to prove Thomas’ fallibility and humanity.

And he wants to prove it to Patton. And if Thomas is confused about all of this, Patton is not:

[Thomas]: Um, I'm a little confused as to what this is all about. [Patton]: Basically, Deceit is trying to prove that you care more about yourself than your friends, but don't worry, kiddo, we'll show him.

Again: the supposedly stupid guy immediately understood what Deceit was trying to prove and followed him in his reasoning. Because, in case it wasn’t clear enough, these two work in the same area of expertise.

And if you need another confirmation that these two are a lot more similar than it seems:

[Deceit]: He's clearly manipulating the witness into doing what he thinks is best. Wait a minute. Who was it that was called a Scooby-Doo villain for doing the exact same thing? Oh, yeah! It was me... disguised as Patton. 

So not only Deceit confirmed Patton isn’t perfect, but they are similar enough, he can do what Patton does and there would be no difference.

These two work in the same field and they’ve been hinting it here all the time, before clearly stating it in POF.

_______________________________

Multiple arms

I forgot about this detail and thought that the multiple arms thing Remus brought up was a metaphor. Well… maybe it wasn’t. Maybe the noodle snek really has six arms.

This goddamn man, he really has one arm for each Side. And he probably uses them to smack the Sides in the head/stop them from doing something stupid. I love him.

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An attempt at maturity

[Thomas]: And that's what you stand for. Truth. [Patton]: But I don't know what's true at this point. I just know what I want to be true. I want to believe you're an honest person... but... Deceit's right! He's here... and that means something. [Thomas]: Are you serious? I- I've been following your lead this whole time. I'm in the dark here, Patton, and I need something to light my way! [Patton]: I'm sorry... b-but... I don't know the way. [Thomas]: I don't want to be a bad person. [Patton]: Okay, then I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're not.

Do you know what is this? This is the moment that led to POF.

Patton was getting Deceit’s message. He was starting to understand Thomas isn’t perfect. He even admitted he didn’t know the answer.

But Thomas was too scared, too afraid of being seen as a bad person. And so, Patton had a choice: to side with Deceit, accept that his morals have been too extreme and guide Thomas by giving him a more mature, multifaceted understanding… or doing POF:

[Patton]: Like I told you before, sometimes... I don't know the way. But... When I told you that, you were so scared. I couldn't bear it. So I said to myself... "Alright, Patton. Thomas needs you. You're responsible for his morality. You can never not have an answer for him." And then I promised you I'd keep fighting. Unfortunately... I learned the hard way that... giving too simple of answers to complicated questions... can do more harm than good.

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Virgil’s interrogation

[Deceit]: -chuckles- Very well. As Thomas' anxiety, do you have any relevant information about his norepinephrine levels in regards to these two conflicting commitments?

I’m pretty sure someone already said something about this hormone back when the episode came out, but I don’t remember - also, I found this very interesting paragraph from Wikipedia I would like to share:

“The general function of norepinephrine is to mobilize the brain and body for action. Norepinephrine release is lowest during sleep, rises during wakefulness, and reaches much higher levels during situations of stress or danger, in the so-called fight-or-flight response. In the brain, norepinephrine increases arousal and alertness, promotes vigilance, enhances formation and retrieval of memory, and focuses attention; it also increases restlessness and anxiety.”

As you can see, Virgil’s two main functions are both involved in this hormone. And norepinephrine has a spike during stressful situations - like, you know, choosing between a callback or a wedding.

But the mention of this particular hormone implies something else. Something very important, that will connect with the second part of this conversation.

Deceit mentioned an incredibly specific hormone and, by doing that, he proved how well he knows Virgil. He doesn’t know just his roles, but even the effects he has on a chemical level. It’s a bit like the difference between knowing your colleague from their job and knowing how many miles they can run on the weekends. It implies a much closer relationship.

Also, since he asked how high the levels of norepinephrine are, that means he knows Virgil is stressed. He knows this situation makes him more anxious and, with his questions, he wants to prove to Virgil (and to everyone else) that he is anxious because he knows what Thomas wants: to skip the wedding and go to the callback.

[Virgil]: I think it's ridiculous that anyone is entertaining any of this. Guys, he's a liar. You literally know him as Deceit. [Deceit]: Glass houses, Virgil. You yourself said that you are not a beacon of truth.

The famous “You literally know him as Deceit” line is a clear reply to Deceit’s question about norepinephrine. It’s Virgil’s way to say that yes, he knows him extremely well too. The others “know him as Deceit”, but he knows Deceit for who he is.

And, okay, now that’s probably me looking too much into things again, but the way Deceit replied by saying that he’s not always right and shaking his finger… it’s almost like a warning. A (maybe unconscious) way to say to Virgil to not reveal more, because he’s not always right.

And to further prove his point, he proceeds with a subtle threat:

[Deceit]: Oh, so you've never been reluctant to share anything with the group, then? [Virgil]: Don't. [Deceit]: What? I just meant your name. [Virgil]: Don't! [Deceit]: Maybe that's why it's so easy for you to recognize me for what I am. Like I said before... it takes a liar to know a liar.

And with that, Deceit proved to Virgil that:

He knows what he’s hiding from the group (i.e. that he was one of the Others)

He knows him extremely well, because he knows Virgil doesn’t want to talk about it yet

He has the upper hand, because if Virgil says something, he can immediately drop his secret and screw Virgil’s position in Thomas’ eyes.

_______________________________

An unexpected help

So, after threatening his son and showing how much of a villain Deceit can be, what does Patton do?

He pushes him to show his soft side, by forcing him to reveal his agenda.

[Patton]: You... always seem to have some... bigger plan. Some... agenda. [Deceit]: Doesn't everyone? [Patton]: Well, not everyone is so secretive... about theirs. [Deceit]: Everything has a purpose, and sometimes fulfilling your purpose requires keeping things close to the chest. [Patton]: Well, you're under oath, which I think means you gotta tell us. Why the courtroom scenario? Why pick a setting where... uh, the truth comes to hang out?

As soon as Patton had the chance to ask him a question, he immediately ignored the wedding/callback thing and went straight to the point. And it makes sense, because the point of their conversation is a bit more important than a single choice.

Patton wants to know what this Side is trying to do. And when Deceit brought the conversation to a higher level by talking about society, Patton brought him back to the main topic: Thomas. What does Deceit want to do with Thomas?

And by forcing him to be a little more honest, Patton helped him. He helped Deceit to drop some of his convoluted plans, to clearly say he cares about Thomas.

[Patton]: Okay... What does any of this have to do with Thomas? [Deceit]: I don't want Thomas to be disadvantaged in a world where you can die for not following the laws made in the name of a lie.

That’s why I always say Patton is incredibly mature. He’s working against Deceit, they are literally against each other in this courtroom scenario… and yet, he helped him. He gave him a chance to show his soft side, to prove he’s not a bad guy. And to tell how useful he can be! A bit like “an inner coach that acts with the intention of self-preservation”, as Patton said in CLBG.

_______________________________

Always and forever on Thomas' side

[Deceit]: Look, the point is, Thomas is an unconscious egoist and this dilemma is actually between something that serves him versus something else that serves him. Between looking and feeling like a good friend and a dream come true. If Thomas wanted to be seen as a good friend more than he wanted the role of a lifetime, well then I'm all for that. But I just don't buy it.

This part is extremely interesting, because Deceit said both choices are something Thomas wants. From one side, there’s personal gratification (Thomas wanting to be a good friend), from the other there’s personal fulfillment (Thomas doing something he loves). They are both selfish wants, in a way. So, if all Deceit cared about were selfish wants, he would have no problem with them. This whole courtroom scenario wouldn’t take place at all.

Be he has a problem because he wants what Thomas wants. And since Thomas is denying his want to do a different thing… well, that required Deceit’s intervention. As he said: if Thomas wanted to go to the wedding, he would’ve accepted that choice. He doesn’t care about Lee’s feelings, just like he didn’t care about Joan’s feelings in CLBG. The only feelings that matter for Deceit are Thomas’.

And only when Thomas finally admits his want, Deceit is satisfied.

[Thomas]: Fine! I want to go to the callback! I was planning on playing Word Crush on my phone during the wedding ceremony to keep my mind off the fact that I'm single. I don't want to go! I'm afraid to go. And on top of that, a dream come true fell into my lap scheduled on the same day. Anyone would want to go to the callback! So, yeah. I tried to force myself to forget about the wedding, and now I want to lie to my friends, so they don't hate me for not supporting them. I'm a liar. I'm a liar.

Deceit put on a whole courtroom, just to force Thomas to be more honest. This alone would be enough to prove he’s not just the embodiment of lies, but I suppose the correlation “snek = liar” was stronger than 200 proofs, so Roman did the wrong thing and made a choice no one wanted.

_______________________________

A mature Side

[Roman]: It's my sworn duty to help Thomas achieve his hopes and dreams. But Thomas wouldn't dream of attaining his hopes through deceitful means. [Deceit]: But that's not true! [Virgil]: And you're a beacon of truth? [Deceit]: Oh, did I say that? I missed the part where I said that.

Please let’s focus on Deceit’s words because they are very, very interesting.

1) Deceit openly admitted his means weren’t deceitful. Just like when he asked Thomas, during the courtroom if he was “the snake come to trick you into sinning, or have you had your mind made up since the moment you received the news about the callback?”. Deceit had no intention of deceiving Thomas, from the first moment he appeared.

2) Deceit is a very mature Side. I talked about it during my POF analysis part 3, when he openly recognized his own mistakes. Here he openly admits what Thomas is having trouble admitting: that he’s not perfect. He never said he was. He never pretended to carry the truth. Even if he’s 100% right here, he still admits he’s flawed. He and Patton are truly the most mature Sides here.

_______________________________

Caring and criminal

During the episode, he said that “fulfilling your purpose requires keeping things close to the chest”. And where did he keep his logo? On his chest. Even better, on his heart. What else does he have to do, to prove how deeply he loves and cares about Thomas? This man is the most caring Side.

[Deceit]: I'm not going anywhere. And there are smarter ways to get people to do what you want, anyway.

Uh, so “smarter ways to get people to do what you want” means “let’s release Remus”?

You know what? That really was a smarter way. With one decision, he introduced Remus, proved he’s harmless and even useful, showed Thomas that ignoring his needs leads to an increment of his intrusive thoughts and confirmed that he was right and Thomas should’ve listened to him.

This man is a criminal and I love him.

_______________________________

Why Logan can’t work in the moral area

[Logan]: It's still difficult to believe that my participation was as restricted as it was. It was Deceit's doing, I'm sure. I would have been a more than worthy foil. Unlike him, I'm skeptical about whether a society could function without some sort of system of laws by which all of its citizens abide.

Oh Logan, you huge nerd. I love you, but this is why you don’t work in Deceit’s and Patton’s same area of expertise.

Deceit’s whole monologue about society wasn’t practical, but moral. He didn’t say “we should surrender to anarchy”, nor presented a point about why rules are bad: he said society is a concept and we all collectively choose to believe this concept was true. He talked about how scary the concept of society is. And he clearly saw it on a moral level, not a practical one.

And yes, we can add this to the list of reasons why Logan was pushed in the back: just imagine if, instead of talking with Patton, the other moral side, who was incredibly quick to get his points and ask him about his agenda, we got Logan: a neutral Side, more interested to practical things than metaphorical/moral ones. Deceit would’ve spent most of the time rephrasing everything and the conversation would’ve been just about this choice, rather than a multilayered conversation about selfishness, selflessness, Thomas’ fallibility, and choices in general.

Deceit needed Patton as interlocutor and he needed to remove the cold, straight logic from a conversation that was mostly about morals and emotions: two areas Logan is not an expert about - as he will admit in POF.

[Logan]: Well, determining what feels right or wrong for you isn't really my area of expertise.

_______________________________

Truly taking care aka the wedding from Lee and Mary Lee’s perspective

[Patton]: Well, here's the thing, kiddo. People hurt all the time. By going to the wedding, you're making sure that two of your friends aren't hurt by the absence of someone they really care about.

Okay, time to put the most cynical part of me here.

Patton’s words are cute and nice and everything… but seriously. Come on.

Just imagine being the bride or the groom: you spent the previous days, weeks and months organizing for this event. Locations, entertainment, ceremony and everything. Then the day comes and you want to be 200% sure everything goes as smoothly as planned. You have people coming to ask you about this or that detail. You have to be sure your dress/make-up is okay, your best men/bridesmaids are okay, the photograph is here, the meal is good, the place is ready, the staff is preparared.

And, when it’s time, you have the ceremony, the people to greet, photos to take, meals, events, dances and so on.

Do you really, REALLY think that Lee and Mary Lee would be so devastated by Thomas’ absence? I’ve never been married, but I really doubt that one missing guest (and not a best man or a bridesmaid or another important guest: just a guest) would have made them feel so devastated. Weddings are huge, stressful events, a ton of things happen and the newlyweds barely have time to eat, let alone feel devastated by a missing guest.

And I would like to repeat that: a guest. Thomas didn’t play any important role. He wasn’t supposed to be Lee’s best man or anything else. He was just a guest.

Do you know what it would’ve happened, if Thomas skipped the wedding? That Lee and Mary Lee would’ve thought “Oh, Thomas didn’t come”, to completely forget about it two seconds later, because someone else would’ve called them to do something else.

And no, going anyway isn’t a question of empathy, but of naiveness - and egoism too. Thomas himself proved it in POF, when he showed his frustration, because he wanted a little more than a “hello”. He literally wanted them to throw him a party, just for coming! Who would ever think the newlyweds would give a damn about them, on such a huge day? No one, except for a very egoistical, naive person: egoistical enough to think they are the only one who matters, naive enough to think the bride and the groom have time to do a party for them. That’s childish, immature and very selfish, not empathetic.

Do you want to know what Character!Thomas could’ve done, if he wanted to show some empathy? Skip the wedding.

Think about it. What would’ve been better? Thomas moping around and not enjoying himself, thus ruining the party for everyone else… or Thomas not appearing at all and letting everyone enjoy the party? Which choice is the most empathetic? Call me a bad person, but I think the second one would’ve been a better way to care about other people’s feelings.

Also because Lee and Mary Lee noticed it:

[Lee]: Really? 'Cause you're sitting alone at the reception.

And, at least to me, that’s way worse than not attending it at all. Thomas was such a buzz kill, he ruined the party for the bridal couple too. That’s literally the most selfish, bad thing he could’ve done. And only because he didn’t want to listen to the snake boy.

This event deserved to leave strong consequences. And POF is proof of how huge the impact was on Thomas’ life and how deeply things will change from now on.

( Support me on Ko-fi )

_______________________________

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#sanders sides #sanders sides theory #rewatch #analysis #thomas sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #ts thomas #ts janus #ts patton #ts logan #ts roman #ts virgil #ts remus #selfishness vs selflessness

[amarias-yandere-blog]

Can i get yandere inazuma character of your choice if that okay? Anyway they confessed and unfortunately s/o is already dating the traveler. Like, HELL no ain't no way they can win. This mf beat ei herself and they think they HAVE a CHANCE?! HELL no!!! Hahahah i love to see their reaction lmaooo

And I oop~ This is quite the interesting request. I'll be doing: Heizou and Ei Enjoy~

Warning: Yandere themes, gaslighting/Manipulation, other uncomfortable themes

Note: Aether and Lumine are not explicitly mentioned. This is very spur of the moment, has not been read over, and will not be edited after posting.

Shikanoin Heizou:

"Y/n... I have feelings for you." The confession from the detective was shocking and flattering, but extremely offensive.

He knew that you were in a relationship! He knew that you were not interested in him in the least.

And yet he had said this to you. Despite the genuine way he had said it, how he'd been careful to make sure you felt safe; you didn't trust him. You were shaking with anger, but also something deeper.

"Y/n? Is everything alright?" Heizou clearly noticed this. Nothing went past him, especially when it came to body langauge, tone of voice, and more. He was a trained detective, and a brilliant one.

But despite that, he could not compare to your sweet Traveler. You took a deep breath, giving a soft smile.

"Heizou, I'm honored, really. But I'm afraid that I don't feel the same way that you do about me." You paused to gather your thoughts, noting how his eyes narrowed at the response. You could not keep the hints of abhorrence from your voice as you continued. "You very well know that I am already in a relationship with the traveler. I'm sorry, but unfortunately, I don't love you as I love them."

Heizou smiled sweetly. He understood, of course. Who wouldn't understand? Well, you had assumed he understood. "Y/n, dearest, do you really think that they love you?" Heizou's question was purely innocent.

"What?" you could not keep the bite out of your voice as you glared at him.

"Come on, Y/n, any caring S/O would ensure that they knew where you were before letting you meet a friend- especially one who is a potential threat to them- before letting you leave. But the Traveler didn't, right?" Heizou asked the question as though he was explaining how to count to a two-year-old. As though you were stupid.

"No... they just trust me to take care of myself! Besides, they know you! You wouldn't hurt me, or anyone for that matter!" You found yourself spewing out the words before you could stop yourself. "You're the greatest detective Inazuma has seen!"

"...And yet you don't acknowledge me as such." Heizou sighed, rolling his shoulders. They cracked loudly. "You don't think of me as a threat, and that... was a mistake." Raiden Ei

You shuffled, looking at the woman uncomfortably. "I... I'm honored, Raiden, truly, but..." Before you could finish, the archon cuts you off.

"Ei, please."

"Huh?"

"My name. It is Ei." She explains swiftly. "Please call me Ei." The woman has a wide smile gracing her lips, turning the room a bit more light-hearted. You nod, trying to keep your gulp of nervousness from being too obvious. "Are you thirsty, Y/n?"

"No... I'm fine." You answer.

"Then please, give your answer. I am aware that you have budding relations with the Traveler, but surely...?" Her question is left open-ended.

"Ei..." You take a deep breath to settle your nerves. She hums, eyes closed, as though enjoying the way you said her name. "I am truly honored that you feel that way for me, but I'm afraid that I don't feel the same. I really do love the traveler, and they love me back." You pause, noticing her hand twitch. "We have plans to travel this world together, and eventually other worlds with their sibling. Surely you can understand?"

"..." Ei sighs, shaking her head. "I see." She sits back on her throne, looking colder than ever. "It seems that you have been manipulated into believing that this traveler loves you. I will have to fix that. I am sorry that I had not realized sooner, Little Light." The woman's purple eyes fix back on you, who shrinks back in fear.

"It is fortutous that the Traveler is not with you. If I were to face them in a fight again, I would surely lose, and Inazuma would suffer for it. But if they believed that you chose me willingly, then they will move on to Sumeru, not looking back." She waves her hand gracefully, standing up after. "This, too, is a form of eternity."

____________________

Hey everyone! Sorry for dipping for so long. I can't guarantee that I'm back, though, because unfortunately for a lot of Mobile Players, we're slowly being choked out of room for Genshin updates, and this problem (as well as my own burn out) had caused me to be unable to play for quite a while.

I even missed the opportunity to pull for Cyno because of this. But I am saving up for Kusinali, because archons are amazing, and also she's absolutely adorable. I also got a C1 Albedo! (I only pulled on his banner once, and he came home that ten pull) No Nilou, though, because her kit is very special and I don't have any built dendro characters. (RIP Collei)

Who're you saving/pulling for this next update? Are you planning on building any characters, or saving most of your materials for future characters?

Thanks for all of the follows, everyone! And thank you especially for the ask, @harukisakisblog!

The reason why I did two charas is because I've recently been building and playing Heizou's event (He is illegally fun wtf) and Ei has had my heart ever since I first learned her backstory.

#yandere headcanons #yandere blog #Amaria writes #Heizou x reader #heizou x reader #heizou shikanoin x reader #yandere heizou #ei x reader #raiden ei x reader #raiden ei #gender neutral reader #yandere genshin x reader #Genshin x reader #ask #Thank you #gaslighting #manipulation #potentially triggering #Harukisakis #asks open

[santiagonex]

I can’t sleep. Let’s talk about the four sacred top fives of 2022 as in top 5 gay movies, top 5 gay tv ships (or shows as whole), top 5 short gay movies and for the next one, let’s change it up a little bit and I’ll provide you with top 5 upcoming gay movies (2023) I’m looking forward to and are currently in the process of pre-production, production or post-production.

Top 5 Gay Movies of 2022

5. La Santa Piccola - very different from your usual gay movies, but the scenery is gorgerous and the story made me feel things 4. Badhaai Do - amazing queer representation in Indian Cinema, "gay guy and a lesbian woman enter into holy matrimony to appease their families”... just pure comedy and romance and the friendship is beautiful 3. Fire Island - a classic rom-com, must-see 2. In from the Side - rugby gays, affair, romance... all of that 1. Sublime - since it’s finally available on VoD, I had a chance to watch it this weekend and the soundtrack and story got me... Mi mejor amigo vibes but actually gay

Top 5 Gay Ships/TV Shows of 2022

5. Heartstopper - a classic, it was honestly hard to rate the shows because they’re all equally brilliant in my eyes 4. Heartbreak High - australian Sex Education, obsessed 3. The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself - magic, witches, gays... c’mon 2. Prisma - very important show 1. Patrick/Iván in Élite - they’re literally everything to me, if you get it you get it, if you don’t you don’t, if you know you know and if you don’t know I honestly feel bad for you like I literally cannot explain it, I don’t have the vocabulary to sit here and explain like either you get the vibe or you don’t

Top 5 Gay Shorts of 2022

5. Catalina - a queer man and his two childhood best friends reunite for a weekend camping trip on Catalina Island... could there be sumn more? 4. Too Rough - Nick wakes up next to his boyfriend Charlie and must conceal him from his own homophobic and dysfunctional family... very sad 3. Jean est tombé amoureux - two football players of opposite teams falling in love... mm very good! 2. Swim - two swimmers develop a strong friendship during their weekly sessions, but their relationship is tested outside the pool, when true identities are revealed... this one fawked me up good 1. Hard - Mikey experiences awkwardness and struggles to navigate the uncertainties of his sexuality after his first time with a girl doesn't go as expected, forcing him to confront his feelings of desire for his best friend... this was so much fun to watch

Top 5 Upcoming Gay Movies in 2023

5. The History of Sound - Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor in a gay romance period drama? We’re looking forward to that actually! Anyways, they were supposed to film it this year, but they had busy schedules. Current plan is next year. Also Paul was hanging out with the director last month, so maybe something’s cooking. 4. Glitter & Doom - described as a summer romance musical feature told with the iconic tunes of folk duo Indigo Girls. Film follows a musician who wears charisma as camouflage and a carefree guy about to run away with the circus as they fall in love at first sight. Sounds fun. 3. Nuovo Olimpo - any Ferzan Özpetek fans? Any Manuel from Un professore fans? Well, looks like we won. Period drama set in Italy, following two men who have a chance encounter and then fall deeply in love, and then are torn apart. The film then follows them both over the next decades as they attempt to find each other again. 2. Strangers - yes, another one with Paul Mescal... yes, I’m crazy. And hi Andrew Scott. Directed by Andrew Haigh (Weekend, HBO’s Looking). Word on the street is that their characters will be romantically involved since Mescal's character corresponds to a woman who has a romance with the protagonist (Scott) in the original novel. We will be tuning in. 1. Bonus Track - film set in 2006, follows a small-town boy with dreams of being a gifted musician. When the son of an iconic musical duo enrols at his school, a powerful bond between the boys begins to grow. Based on an original story by Josh O'Connor (yes, him) and Michael Gilbert.

Anyways, that is it. There are a lot of movies that weren’t released THIS year yet, and I’m looking forward to them (Punch, Aristotle and Dante, Spoiler Alert,...). But I would be just repeating myself, so I’m not gonna talk about that.

#lgbtedit #lgbtcinema

[book-of-baba-fett]

Illicit Affairs - Chapter 20

Captain Rex x OC

Previous Chapter

Chapter Summary: After rescuing Echo, the group has to find a way to escape the droid forces on Skako Minor. Talia taps into some abilities that might have more consequences than she realizes.

Chapter Rating: M

Warnings: Angst, canon typical violence, awkward scenarios of two people who used to be in a relationship and are still in love with each other trying to act like they still aren't in love with each other

A/N: Wow, posting chapters two weeks in a ROW? It's been a long time since I've been able to do that. First off; I received some of the best interactions last week so I need to thank you all so much. A weird thing I noticed while formatting - I think this is the only chapter that's 100% Talia's POV? Much love to my beta-reader @galacticgraffiti, who I think is still in emotional recovery from this chapter. Any likes/comments/reblogs are so loved; seriously you all have no idea how much it means to me!

Ao3 Link

Series Masterlist

19 BBY - Skako Minor

         Echo’s plan brought them into the ventilation corridors, tunnels winding so tight the group could only walk two by two. Talia led the group, with Tech shortly behind her holding his scanner, remarking on the system. Talia tuned out much of what they said, still trying to calm her mind. Climbing up the hatch had helped them evade part of the droid forces, but there was sure to be more of a fight coming.

         The tunnels provided a less than preferred method of escape: Balancing across a long pipe leading to another of the city’s buildings; suspended thousands of feet above ground. Crossing here could lead to a ship that could help them escape, or to more droids; Talia felt inclined to suspect the second.

         She stepped onto the pipe last; the wind rustled her hair wildly as it whipped her face. She carefully moved forward, her feet guiding her as she moved one step at a time.

         “Oh, boy, I can’t even look,” Wrecker grumbled from ahead, his voice carrying over the wind. He addressed Tech, just in front of him. “Just keep walking.”

         “That’s fine, but if you fall, don’t take me with you,” Tech responded.

         They were nearing the halfway point when Wrecker spoke up again, this time more panicked, “I don’t know if I can do this!”

         “We’re almost there, Wrecker!” Talia called from behind. It was true, but that distance seemed further and further with every glance; even for a Jedi balancing with no sight of ground beneath her was daunting.

Anakin’s voice broke through the air. 

“Turn around, go back!” he yelled suddenly.

Talia could make out the forms of approaching droids at the other end of the pipe. Cursing, she turned around, just in time to see the way from which they came was already filled with droids as well. She ignited her blade quickly enough to redirect the blasts from the droids; but the confined foot space on the pipe meant the clones were limited with how much they could fire back. Crosshair lost his footing, and slipped off the pipe, but Wrecker dove down to grab him, using his other arm to stop them from falling.

         Talia twirled her saber, reflecting shots, but the limited movement space prevented her from doing more. Even if she knocked the droids back with the Force, how many were waiting in the tunnel? And would the rest of the men be able to safely and quickly retreat?

         “Any brilliant ideas?” Talia shouted over the wind as she blocked another blast.         “I do have a brilliant idea!” Tech responded, pulling his datapad out and quickly typing. ‘When the locals attacked us, I recorded the creatures’ distress call-”

         “He records everything, it’s a hobby.” Hunter explained. Tech didn’t even acknowledge his brother’s interruption.

         “-which allows us to call those flying creatures to us,” Tech finished. He pressed play on his datapad, and a screeching roar rang out, high pitched and grating to the ears. Talia instinctively covered her ears, trying in vain to mute the screeching, but she just succeeded in allowing herself to be distracted.

         Talia yelped in pain as a blaster shot singed her arm, throwing her balance off. She held her saber in one hand; her teeth gritted through the pain as she was able to block some of the blasts as the clones returned fire behind her. She regained her footing as Tech called out, “There is our ride out of here!”

         Specks of black appeared in the clouds below them, racing upwards to the squad. Several shot above them, circling around as Tech’s call still played.

         “Now, how do we get on them?” Anakin asked.

         “How else; we jump!” Tech offered bluntly. If she weren’t in pain still, Talia would have laughed at how thrown off the rest of the team was at Tech’s seemingly, to Talia, obvious reply.

         “Well, if it’s our one way out,” Talia mumbled as she switched her saber off, then leapt off the pipe without hesitating. The wind coursed by her as she fell into the nothingness, using the Force to guide her to the right spot. She closed her eyes and reached out, blood rushing through her ears as she sensed the nearest figure. She slammed onto the back of the keeradak, but the creature didn’t seem to mind; it just continued on it’s course. Behind her she could hear the clones and Anakin making similar impacts while she struggled to find the best way to hold on.

         Red blasts flew in the air around them, and Talia whipped her head around to see the droids had taken flight in pursuit of them. The clones did their best to fire back, but holding onto the keeradaks was complicated enough without the distraction of the droids. Anakin’s voice could be heard over the wind, lamenting over his inability to steer, but the keeradaks seemed to be more than capable of evading the droids, curbing sharply and causing a pair of droids to crash. Talia risked another glance behind, and couldn’t make out any more droids following them; they seemed to be in the clear for now.

It wasn’t a long flight back to the village, and as they circled to land, many of the Poletecs gathered round, leaving a small clearing for the keeradaks to touch down. Anakin stepped off first and approached the leader, who was already addressing him.

“Their leader is impressed we tamed the keeradaks, but he wants to know why we returned here?” Tech translated.

“Tell him we had no choice, tell him…that we wore out our welcome in Purkoll,” Anakin offered much to Talia’s annoyance. Out of all the ways to explain what could be a dangerous situation; that’s how he worded it? Tech relayed Anakin’s words over to the leader, and before he could finish speaking, blaster fire rang out.

The shots hit the ground near where they stood, giving Talia only a moment to lightly Force push a group of Poletecs away from the fire before the clones could aim back at some of the flying droids swooping overhead. The men were quick to react, taking out most of the droids, but one managed to get away.

“Not good. If I know Tambor, he'll come after us,” Anakin groaned as the droid flew away, “...us and the Poletecs, with everything he's got.”

The Poletec leader immediately spoke, his fear and frustration radiating off him as he addressed the group.

“What's he saying, Tech?” Talia asked, but she could already feel everything the leader wanted to portray from his emotions.

“He says that we have broken our word,” Tech translated as the leader continued to speak. “We have brought the war to his village.”

Before Talia could cut in to try and smooth this over, Rex cut in between her, Anakin, and the leader.

“You're right. Tell him he's right, Tech,” Rex ripped off his helmet as he spoke, tucking it under his arm. His voice was strong and commanding, not wavering as he addressed the leader. “Tell him we didn't plan to drag his people into war. But look what the Separatists did to one of our people!”

Anger crept into Rex’s voice at his last sentence as he pointed at Echo, his appearance compared to the other clones drastic. The Poletecs gasped as they saw his weak form, the ports where the wiring had connected to him still visible. Rex didn’t pause, he didn’t relent, he did what Rex did best, which was stand for those he cared about.

“They took away his freedom, his humanity, they tried to turn him into a machine,” Rex continued, addressing the Poletecs with a passion he usually reserved for his own men before battle. Talia regarded him with pride swelling in her chest as Rex stood his ground with Tech translating his speech to the Poletecs. “The Techno Union claims it's neutral, but they have chosen sides. Now your people have to choose.”

The Poletecs murmured amongst themselves, and Talia could sense that Rex’s words moved them.

“Well done, Rex,” Talia said under her breath as the leader began to address his people. Rex’s gaze softened as he was about to reply to her, but he was cut off by Crosshair backing in to them.

“Let’s hope it works,” Crosshair said, “Because I see forces coming, more than we can handle alone.”

The squad divided, doing their parts to prepare for the incoming Separatist forces. There wasn’t enough time for a large-scale evacuation, but Talia helped some of the children and weaker villagers find safe places to hide before taking her position for the upcoming fight. The plan was to set up an ambush for the droid forces, with the warriors among the Poletecs joining the team along the edges of the cliff that surrounded the village. For a small, less technologically advanced people, the Poletecs had many fighters willing to jump to their aid, something Talia was sure was owed to Rex’s influencing speech.

Talia crouched in front of a group of fighters, her saber in her hand as she watched the first specs of droid fighters fly in and land in the settlement. A makeshift bandage was wrapped around her arm that had been hit when they escaped Purkoll, the sting of the burn nagging at her for bacta or anything to soothe it, but she didn’t have time to worry about a small blaster wound when her help was needed. Since the shot was on Talia’s left arm, she just couldn’t separate her blade to dual wield, the wound limiting her more than she would have liked. Her eyes darted to Anakin at the top of a higher peak with Echo and Crosshair; at his signal, they would attack. More droids landed, and they began to patrol the abandoned village, scanners searching the large craters that made up much of the terrain. Anakin motioned with his hand, giving the signal for the attack to begin. A few yards from where Talia crouched, Wrecker pushed a giant boulder off the ledge, and it plummeted downhill, steamrolling over the droids in its path.

A war cry roared from the Poletecs as they rose and dived into the action to defend their home. Talia ignited her blade and leapt off the ledge, flipping to avoid the blaster fire that already filled the air. She swung her blade, taking out a droid in her path before landing with both feet on the ground. She sprinted further into the center of the village, where the heaviest throng of droids gathered. The Poletecs behind her were handling the outliers that missed the original ambush, but many of their own warriors fell as they were outmatched by the blasters. Talia pushed forward, tossing her blade to take out a trio of droids in her way before calling it back to her. The clones were scattered further from her; since they all had heavier fire power than the villagers, they would take out the brunt of the droid forces to spare as many Poletec losses as possible.

A few yards from her, Rex stood in front of a group of droids, taking them out one by one with ease. Overhead, more droids landed in the clearing, about to outnumber him. Talia sped up, narrowly dodging shots as she ran. Rex’s blasters were firing rapidly, shooting at the circle of droids around him, but more landed at his back. Talia ran and dropped, skidding towards the grouping behind Rex. She swung her blade and cut the legs off two droids behind him, giving Rex the time to turn and shoot the third as it landed. His helmet turned to her, and Talia thought he was going to say something when his blaster pointed at her.

Rex hit the droid that had landed just behind Talia, his well-aimed shot just to the side of her head. Talia exhaled and raised her blade, preparing for the next group to land. “Thanks.”

“We’re even,” Rex offered, already shooting a droid out of the sky before it could even touch down. He glanced back at Talia and did a double take. “Wait- your arm-“         Talia looked down to see the bandage had fallen off, baring the bright red blaster burn open.

  “Happened on Purkoll; I’ll be fine,” Talia waved him off. Rex cursed, and Talia could feel a lecture coming on, “We have bigger concerns right now. I’m fine.”

Rex shook his head but didn’t argue. They ran to regroup with the batch. Talia twirled her blade, redirecting shots as they came, and Rex stood behind her, aiming around her to take out the droids firing at them.  

The ground shook and a loud impact sounded; a large tri-droid landed in the clearing, looming over them. Its gun pointed into the settlement, and Rex and Talia barely had enough time to jump for cover before it fired.

The blow of the blast tossed Talia, making her slide and roll in the debris. She coughed as she pushed herself up, her body aching from the impact. Rex was rising next to her; he offered his hand to help her and she took it.

They ran for cover as the droid continued to fire into the village, shaking the ground and blinding their village as falling debris caused more dust and smoke to fill the air. The batch and a group of villagers had clustered near them, so they ran to join, seeking cover in a clustered group of buildings. Another impact and thud shook them as another tri-droid landed, and another blocked the canyon that provided the only evacuation from the village. Droid forces surged from beneath its feet, hurtling right towards them. They moved out of their cover, Tech leaving a series of electro-detonators to take out the foot soldiers. The small droids they could easily handle, but the three tri-droids provided a different kind of hurdle.

Anakin seemed to be in the same train of thought as Talia. His voice buzzed over the comm channel, “Talia, Rex; we’ve gotta take care of these walkers. I’ll take one, you two split the others.”

“Don’t worry General, the boys and I can handle this,” Rex replied. Rex signaled behind him, “Hunter, Wrecker – you’re with me.”

“Knew I could count on you, Rex.” Anakin’s voice sounded. “Oh and, Talia? Bet I’ll get rid of mine first.”

Talia rolled her eyes and turned off her comm. She pushed herself out of cover and ran towards the droid looming at the edge of the crater. The large gun pointed in her direction, and she Force-jumped to the side quick enough to avoid being knocked too far from the blast. She rolled behind rubble, peaking out to confirm the droid had moved its aim elsewhere. She sprinted forward again, this time taking out two droids that stood in her path. Poletecs were running around her, making for cover from the tri-droids’ barrage.

Talia tripped as another blast hit too close to her, the impact throwing her off balance. She caught her breath and watched as Anakin sliced off the weapons of his tri-droid, showing off as he jumped from leg to leg of the walker, incapacitating it. Gritting her teeth, Talia sprinted towards her walker again, her blade off so she could run faster. Anakin had the advantage of the high ground, so his method had worked for him, but Talia had another plan of attack.

She planted her feet on the ground and held her arm out, channeling all her energy like she had practiced. She let that coolness seep back out, the simmering frustration that she had bottled up beginning to leak. She thought of Echo’s body coming out of the cryo tank, emaciated and hooked up to the Techno Union’s machines. How they had taken him and turned him into a tool to be used against his brothers, his free will gone. How scared and dazed he was when they let him out. Talia hated them for what they did to him.

         Talia pushed her anger, baring her teeth as the bolts of lightning left her fingertips, firing to the eye of the tri-droid. The droid stuttered, electricity pulsing through it as its legs halted. Talia grunted; she wasn’t giving enough power. She dropped her lightsaber and used her other hand too. Yelling as the power surged through her, Talia channeled every conflicting emotion she’d had as of late into taking out the tri-droid. The droid’s lights went out, and it swayed backwards from the force of Talia’s power. It lost its footing, tilting backwards until it fell, creating a domino reaction as it crashed into the droid Anakin took out behind it, and then into the last walker.

The surge of power ended. As the lightning dissipated, Talia fell to her knees, panting heavily as the three droids crashed into the ground, sending a wave of dust and debris through the air. A cheer roared out from the villagers as the last of the droids fled: the battle was won. Villagers ran over, some offering to help her stand as she clumsily pushed herself up. They babbled what Talia could assume was thanks in their garbled tongue, another group nearby surrounding Anakin in a similar gesture. Their words were muffled to the blood rushing through Talia’s head, exhaustion overtaking her but she had to power through it for a little longer. Through the haze she could make out the clones standing in the distance, clustered around the wreckage of the fallen walkers. Rex’s visor was trained on her, masking any thoughts or emotion his face would be portraying. But Talia could feel something from him that she had never felt before.

Rex was afraid.

“That was a neat trick,” Anakin’s voice interrupted Talia’s thoughts and she stared at him for a moment before she could process his words.

“Guess I know some things you don’t,” Talia replied tightly, forcing a confident smirk through her exhaustion.

Anakin hmphed, but offered a cocky grin, “I still took mine down first.”

Talia shook her head, not having the energy to offer another quip back to Anakin. Now that the fight was done, they could get back to the Havoc Marauder, and finally get Echo off this planet.

It didn’t take them long to depart, just a simple farewell from the leader of the Poletecs as he expressed his gratitude and loyalty to the Republic for their aid. Talia boarded the ship first, and contacted Masters Windu and Kenobi on Anaxes to let them know the mission was a success. The two Jedi seemed surprised. Talia couldn’t blame them for how much the mission was a shot in the dark, but they also expressed their praises to the team for extracting Echo. They let Talia know that a medical team would be waiting for their arrival, and that Echo would be taken in for care as soon as they arrived back on Anaxes: he seemed to be holding up well, but Talia worried for him. 

As the ship ascended through the hazy atmosphere, Talia secluded herself to a back corner of the ship, where she could tend to the wound on her arm. She was digging through their storage when a voice interrupted her. 

“Looking for something?” Hunter asked, a somewhat incredulous grin on his face as he watched her. 

“Sorry, should have asked before I dug around; do you have any medical supplies I could use?” Talia explained quickly, now that her adrenaline was fading, the sting in her arm was getting impossible to ignore. Before Hunter could ask what was wrong, Talia turned so he could see the bright red burn on her arm. He let out a low hiss, and reached into a crate next to the one Talia was searching. 

“That looks painful, but these should do the trick,” Hunter handed her a small medkit. Talia nodded in thanks as she moved to the small table situated in the corner. Hunter hovered for a moment, watching as Talia ripped open the package. “Do you need a hand? That might be tough to wrap up on your own.” 

“I’ve got it,” Talia quickly replied as she peaked into the bag. Hunter paused for a moment, but nodded and didn’t protest before he walked back to the cockpit. Talia grabbed some gauze, disinfectant spray, and some bacta salve that the batch had on hand to patch herself up as quickly as possible. 

She hissed as the cool disinfectant met the burn, her skin burning red in a starburst burn that covered a decent portion of her upper arm; the dusty air and rolling around to avoid more blaster fire probably irritated the wound even more. The angle of the center of the wound was awkward for Talia to reach, and she cursed under her breath as she rubbed against her sensitive skin the wrong spot trying to reach around. 

“Let me help,” a voice cut across her frustrations. Talia glanced up to see Rex setting his helmet on the table. He sat down next to her, removed his gloves and grabbed the disinfectant spray, spraying his hands before he grabbed the bacta tin from Talia. He didn’t give her a chance to try and deny his help, or insist that she was fine. Rex just helped. 

“Thanks,” Talia murmured as Rex spread the bacta on the back of her arm, his grasp soft as he tried not to further irritate the skin. He was tense, guarded. He seemed to be blocking something off, a wall around his mind as he tried to keep his thoughts to himself. Rex’s lips pursed slightly as he removed his hands, waiting for the bacta to drive before he would wrap the bandage. 

“You know I always have a spray on me,” he said. He wasn’t saying this to give her new info, it was a reminder. “You should have asked when we were out there. This kind of wound could easily get worse, you know that.”

“We had more important things to deal with,” Talia retorted with a frown flickering on her lips. She didn’t ask for his help, so she didn’t need a lecture. 

Rex made an annoyed noise, but didn’t press her further, other than adding, “Just go see Kix when we land on Anaxes, alright?”

“Yes, sir,” Talia huffed out sarcastically, earning a frown on Rex’s lips this time. He grabbed the gauze off the table, and unwound it quickly, tearing off the bit he needed to wrap around her arm. Talia could sense a crack in the wall he had built up, frustration and disappointment leaking through with a bitterness. Talia narrowed her eyes as she watched him, as he tried to keep his face masked but she could see right through it. “Just say what’s bothering you.”

If Rex was surprised she was so direct, he didn’t react, but Talia suspected he wasn’t; that he knew she would notice something, and that she wouldn’t be able to hold back on calling it out. 

“You’ve gotten stronger,” Rex said bluntly. “With the lightning. The last time you used it you passed out, and what you did then wasn’t nearly as powerful.”

“I’ve been practicing,” Talia shrugged, only getting a scowl in return from Rex. “What? You saw what it did. Figured if I can use it, I might as well to get us out of tough spots-”

“Maybe you can, but did you think about if you should?” Rex interjected. He met her eyes for the first time, and Talia now felt that not only was their frustration directed at her, but his emotions were fueled by worry.

“Rex, it’s fine,” Talia tried to placate him, “I don’t use it all the time; this is the first time I’ve tried in battle since I’ve been practicing. And I would only ever use it in dire situations.”

“Like trying to one up Anakin?” Rex accused, his eyes darted to the front of the ship to make sure no one was listening, but they all seemed otherwise occupied. Talia gaped at him then shut her mouth, biting her tongue as she tried to think of a response, but Rex cut her off before she could try, “And don’t act like that wasn’t why.”

“I wanted us to win,” she said coolly. 

“At what cost to yourself?” Rex asked, accusation fleeing his voice as he nearly pleaded with her. He exhaled heavily, and fixed her with a serious stare, “I-I thought you said it was something only those who used the Dark Side could accomplish. Why would you put yourself through that?”

“It’s not just Dark Side users, Master Plo has done it before!” But even as Talia offered up the explanation, she knew it wasn’t the same. From her talks with Plo about electric judgment Talia knew that how Plo used the ability differed much from her own channeling. And by the frown on Rex’s face, she knew he saw through the lie. Talia sighed, but still felt defensive as she tried to assure him.

“Look, I’m fine. I’m careful with it. I would have thought out of anyone that you would understand that sometimes any actions are necessary to beat the enemy.” 

Rex’s face set to stone at that, and he darkly responded, “What, because it’s what I was bred for?”

Talia recoiled. It would have been less painful if Rex had slapped her, rather than use those words she had said against him in her own anger. Words she had never meant.

But there was pain in his eyes, behind a coldness she had never seen in him, pain that reminded her how she had hurt the person she cared most about. She opened her mouth to try and explain what she meant, but Rex just tightly tied the gauze around her arm and pushed himself up, grabbing his helmet and gloves back from the table, and turned back to the front of the ship without looking back at her. 

Talia was once again left behind to gather her thoughts after a conversation with Rex, a hollow void in her gut as she found herself stuck. She knew no matter how much she still wanted him, things could never go back to how they were, that Rex had made up his mind and Rex never changed his mind. But she had still hoped that, in some way, Rex and her would be able to move on, that they wouldn’t resent each other forever. But obviously the damage had been done, and Talia doubted Rex would ever see her in a different light again. 

Talia clenched her fists, holding them so tight her nails threatened to pierce the skin of her palms. It was all she could do to ground herself, to not fall apart as Rex stood mere feet away. She unclenched her hands, examining them to see the crescent shaped indents from her nails, but her eyes tracked to her fingertips. Her skin was raised, light white scars tracked like lighting from her fingertips to her first knuckle. They would be barely visible to anyone else, but they stood out to her as she stared at her hands. Maybe Rex had a point, and that she should be more careful with powers she didn’t fully understand and had no guidance with. Still, she was grateful he had not seen the scars forming on her, because she didn’t know if she could handle the way he would have looked at her then.

--

Next Chapter

Taglist (comment/message/fill out the form in my masterlist if you want to be added!)

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#captain rex #captain rex x oc #star wars fanfiction #the clone wars #Captain rex x reader #star wars #captain rex fanfiction #illicit affairs fanfic #ia fanfic #oc fanfiction #original female character #star wars oc #talia riva #tcw fanfiction #the clone wars fanfic #boost #star wars fanfic #clone wars fanfiction

[in-deep]

If you could only pick one piece of Byler evidence to convince someone that Byler is endgame, what would you pick?

First off - I wrote this stream of consciousness style so please be kind aha.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this question and I think it’s simply the fact that if Mike is in fact straight, then what is his character arc?

Let me explain.

A lot of the GA view Mike as a glorified side character - sidelined after S2 to fulfil the role of El’s incompetent boyfriend whilst simultaneously leaving Will (his best friend) behind and treating him like a dick. The GA also view Mike as straight. For many GA viewers, the idea that Mike is gay/bi, let alone in love with Will, seems implausible and were it to happen, it would come out of nowhere.

Which leaves the question of: what is Mike’s character arc?

From this GA perspective, he doesn’t have one. He’s destined to make up with El in S5 and support her independence, and kindly turn Will down and go on with being besties like the supportive guy they remember him being in S1/S2. If anything, his character has regressed from the early seasons into a douchebag - a mouth breather. 

Not to mention that from this perspective, he has no real internal or external trauma to be unpacked. While this is obviously untrue as it has been made clear by the Duffer brothers and even within the show (Mike’s suicide attempt, Wheeler family discussion around his behaviour at school) that he is struggling with depression, that doesn’t seem to play into their predictions on his ending. If anything, many GA viewers don’t really view his character’s conclusion in S5 as something important because to them, (just to repeat my earlier point) he’s just a glorified side character.

Of course, if you watch the show carefully and focus on Mike, you’ll quickly realise that his character is dealing with a lot of the direct pressures of heteronormativity and internalised homophobia:

His family is your classic nuclear family, Nancy talks about the Wheeler family dynamic extensively in a heart-to-heart with Jonathan 

S1 has a lot of homophobia - all of it is about Will, but a lot of it is targeted and directed toward Mike

There are multiple times he is visually shown to come to realisations about his feelings toward El and Will, respectively. Now I won’t analyse those in this post because technically, none of the contents of those realisations have been made clear to the audience, it’s just my own interpretations. I’m sure this will come back in S5, though.

To show Mike’s queerness in S5 is not changing his sexuality, simply just revealing what has been shown to the audience the entire time. Stranger Things is brilliant at show vs. tell. They tell us something, and then show us something entirely different or even something that directly contradicts what we were told. Much of the GA don’t pick up on this (and tbf I don’t really expect them to, it’s intended to be subtle!).

To reveal concretely that Mike is queer and in love with Will would change everything. It would be shocking! The GA would lose their minds - and many people would, at first, struggle to believe it. But upon rewatching the show, it would all make sense. It would turn what many view as an unimportant character into one of the most well thought-out and planned queer stories in media history (definitely an exaggeration but bear with me aha, I’m not normal about these boys).

What people thought to be an incompetent boyfriend and an absolute dick to his best friend for two seasons in a row would turn out to actually be a deeply traumatised boy struggling to remain on the “normal” path (quote from Finn Wolfhard on Mike), within the bounds of heteronormativity. A boy who desperately wants to play DnD and Nintendo with his best friend, but realises that what he feels for him isn’t “normal”. It would reveal so much about Mike and all the things we never got to see from his perspective.

And in terms of my predictions, I’m absolutely a believer in Mike being Vecna’d, and we’ll finally see Mike’s point of view on all of this. Just imagine Vecna taunting him about how he failed to be normal. He failed to do the “right” thing. He’s been in love with Will since before he even realised it.

So yeah. Byler is real. Byler is endgame. And I’m 10000% certain that Mike is going to become an extremely popular character once we get his insight. He’ll also absolutely need a hug once all is said and done. I will be hysterical. 

But at least he’ll have his cleric <3.

A really good video on Mike's internalised homophobia that essentially sparked me to write this post in the first place, and I highly recommend if you haven't seen it yet, was this one (@lesbianmindflayer) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6IOlmBEEgE&t=80s&ab_channel=LesbianMindflayer

But yeah! What would you pick as your one piece of evidence?

#byler #byler analysis #mike wheeler is gay #mike wheeler is bi #mike wheeler is queer #mike wheeler #byler is endgame #byler is real #stranger things 5 #st5 predictions #mike wheeler needs a hug #i will defend mike wheeler as long as i breathe #i love him so much #let him play dnd and nintendo with will pls #just one scene in s5 of them getting to hang out pls #duffer brothers ill do anything

[arcielee]

Yo Kalki here 👋

I absolutely adore your writing - they are soo well-crafted and I love that you have a certain style which is quite rare to find in fan-fiction writings that tends to mimic the style of its own source material. Personally, I too find that extremely hard to capture, and for most of us, we rely on books and TV shows to mimic a narrative style for our own stories.

My ask is regarding the 'writing' and 'editing' stages - so, usually for someone like me whose first language is not English, I tend to plan out a plot and just write the outline (a skeleton of a plot, essentially) without the dialogues. I then go and 'fill in' the rest depending on the style and theme I am hoping to aim there. Honestly, I am still very bad at dialogues and usually rely on existing phrases (from shows or books) to go by. Here, I wanted to ask if you have any advice for making sure that one's writing has a consistent tone and point of view, while still being a cohesive narrative? If it is not too much trouble, could you explain the process you follow when writing and editing your own work? You are under no obligation to answer this question; I understand if it sounds too convoluted.

Also, I was wondering if you write professionally? In addition to fanfiction, I mean. You're truly in a league of your own!! There is another author I greatly enjoy who has their own unique voice in their fanfic writings - @elleinmotion. Their Aemond/OC story is amazing, and one of my favorite WIPs to keep up with.

Hello Kalki 💜 This was so lovely of you to send. I am doing a Read More so I can give you the response you absolutely deserve.

First of all, I just want to say thank you. I pour my heart into every piece I post here or on ao3, and knowing you enjoy reading what I create... my heart is just overflowing.

Also, I was a grinning fool when you said I have a certain style. I just love that. So again, thank you. 💜

For my writing and editing process:

This is cliché, and he is not an influence of mine, but Mark Twain once said it best: to write what you know.

I apply this to my fictional crushes 😂 I research them, study them, pay attention from their mannerisms down to their diction, until I have an understanding [or believe I have an understanding] of them.

Then I daydream dialogues to try and get a feel for how they would react or what they would say in response to my made up scenarios.

For me, daydreaming is probably one of my best tools, but I now make sure I have a pen and pad of paper, a notepad on my phone, so I can write down a conversation that comes to me, whenever inspiration strikes.

Here is some of the random snippets I take down for stories I have posted and stories I am working on. I try to get out everything so it can trigger the memory whenever I sit down to write:

Now, whenever I am struggling with how someone would say something, or if the conversation is stilted, not flowing like I need it to, I will reach out for help, asking my specialist, my beta readers to brainstorm an idea or have them read over whatever monstrosity I wrote.

A writing community is wonderful to have and I have been fortunate to collect these talented souls from the amazing pieces I come across this hellsite. When I reblog, my brain will tuck them away with the thought: "This fic was nifty, they are my Aegon Specialist™."

I have no shame to reach out and see if they would not mind me bothering them with a question about whatever I am struggling to put together. 😂

And whenever I edit, I find that taking a day or two away from a piece, returning to it and reading it out loud is the best way to catch any grammatical mistakes. For example, I read all my stories to my editor, Jaxy:

A beta reader can also be wonderful help, but make sure you let them know what you need when they read it over. And when you find one that is just brilliant, make sure to cherish them, shower them with compliments, get them snacks, etc. They are truly doing the work of the gods [the old, not the new].

For you last question, I do not write professionally. I actually started writing fanfiction around 13 or 14, though I daydreamed about being a published author.

I did do some technical writing and editing for a few years, and then transitioned over to coding, so now I do dev work for an app + their website.

But who knows what's next? Maybe one day I will write a book 😊

#ask arcie #i love my tumblr kindred spirits #i hope you know you can reach out with any questions you may have #i am happy to help any way i can 💜 #i also fucking love brainstorming #but i mostly send the screaming possum gif or the little finger gif a lot #but ideas are sprinkled in-between #i promise #shoutout to my beta readers #let me know what snacks you want #you deserve them

[sazabi-rot]

Aight, so I'm just gonna post a quick excerpt from my Charmuro fic under the cut. I could use some pointers because I feel like I write Amuro really ooc, which pains me greatly. I'm also not the best at writing, so bear with me.

This is also a major au that doesn't make much sense, but whatever, it's a fanfic.

It was a funny thing, how quickly his life had fallen apart.

He wasn't unused to his life being controlled and meticulously planned out without his own wellbeing in mind by others, all for the sake of the 'Greater Good.' The seven years spent in enforced isolation after his performance in the One Year War was proof of that enough. Instead of being applauded for his efforts in defending Earth he was instead hidden away, deemed too powerful and 'dangerous' for contact with the outside world. Too much of a potential threat.

Yet another drafted teenager, being punished in one way or another for his service.

Though even that didn't seem as egregious as what he was now being subjected to.

The arranged marriage to the leader of Neo Zeon was purely political, Bright had explained, looking at Amuro with that same tired sympathy the younger man had grown so accustomed to during their time serving and knowing one another. It spoke a thousand words that were otherwise left unsaid as he broke the news and Amuro didn't have to parse through them all very hard to understand the general idea being communicated.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry something like this is happening again to you. You don't deserve it.

Amuro was sure Bright was sent by the leaders of Londo Bell in an attempt to soften the blow of the announcement, but he didn't much care for any sort of attempted platitudes. That didn't mean however he would take his anger out on Bright.

There was someone else he had in mind who was much more deserving.

Bright let out a long, heavy, sigh and wiped a hand across his face. It was a face that held a permanent sense of exhaustion and belied his true age, war and leadership being thrust upon his shoulders at such a young age that left him looking much older than he actually was. Amuro sometimes had to remind himself that the other man was only a few scarce years older than himself. "I'm sorry, Amuro," Bright finally said, at the end of the formal speech he was sure the Commander had been prepped on. "I tried everything I could to get you out of this. There's just no way."

He didn't respond for a moment, staring down at the half full glass of whiskey cupped between his palms. Bright had told him he had news when he arrived, and the look in his eyes had told Amuro it wouldn't be anything he would be particularly fond of. So, he did what he always did when situations like these arose that he knew could potentially be taxing.

He had poured a drink.

He tipped back the glass and gratefully drank down the amber draught, accustomed by now to the burn. "I suppose it's expected I'd be the one picked by him. Char always did have an odd fascination towards me I felt."

Bright blinked at him, his brows furrowing. "Amuro... Char didn't arrange this. Londo Bell proposed an arranged marriage for peace's sake. They deemed you the best candidate due to you two's... past."

Amuro's eyes widened momentarily and he stiffened, before sinking back into the couch he had been seated on and looking down again into the now empty glass. He glanced towards his liquor cabinet and thought for a moment.

He would need to restock by the time tonight was over.

"Ridiculous," He muttered darkly. "Our 'past?' Which one? The one where we were comrades for a few short weeks? Or the time before, where we nearly killed each other more times than I can remember." He huffed a humorless laugh. "What a brilliant plan."

Bright looked at him closely. "I don't like it anymore than you do. But aside from you, there's no one that knows him anymore. Not in the same way, at least. You may not believe it, but you're the best bet we have. I saw you two aboard the Argama together, at Dakar, and all throughout the One Year War. Some sort of understanding exists between you two."

A white hot flash of anger licked at Amuro's insides at the words coming from the man sitting opposite him. He and Char hardly knew each other. What was a few weeks of tolerating each other in comparison to the years of bitterness and hatred? What did it matter if they had reached an understanding towards the very end of their days aboard the Argama when Char's current policy of eco-terrorism and dictatorial rulership over Neo Zeon went against everything Amuro believed in? Everything they had seemingly promised each other?

No, he was not their best bet. It was more likely he would end up murdering the other man before the first month had passed, and where would their peace treaty be then? In the grave, six feet under along with the lives of countless of innocents.

There was nothing he could do. Nothing he could say to get through to Char anymore. Nothing he wanted to say to him either.

He grit his teeth, hands tightening on his glass.

Bright sighed again, this one just as heavy and resigned as the last. "The ceremony will be held in two weeks time. After that you'll join Char in the Principality of Zeon. You're... encouraged to stay near, for the first year, at least."

Amuro mulled over it silently for a moment before replying tonelessly "So I'm a prisoner again."

That earned him a stern glare, but one without any real malice. "That's not what I said."

"It's what you meant."

He heard Bright stand and felt a large hand land on his shoulder. "Please, Amuro. It won't be like before."

Amuro didn't respond, nor did he look up at Bright.

No. It'll be worse.

At his refusal to respond, at least verbally, Bright huffed. "It's set in stone. There's nothing more to be done."

He heard Bright collect his things and finally lifted his head to watch as the other man shrugged on his coat, hand stilling on the doorknob as he looked over his shoulder at Amruo's still seated figure.

"You're a fighter, always have been. You'll make it through this." He paused before continuing, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Besides, you've kicked his ass before. There's no doubt in my mind if he gets out of line you can do it again."

With a nod and a solemn look in his eyes, Bright turned back towards the door and left, stepping into the chill night air.

Though the door was only open a few seconds at most, Amuro couldn't help feeling like the cold air swept into his house, creeping through the halls and lingering far longer than it should have.

-----

The wedding was arranged for a clear and crisp autumn day, and Amuro wasn't sure if to consider it a small mercy it was allowed to be held on Earth or instead view it as a mockery, that his last day on the planet for the foreseeable future was such a lovely one despite it being what felt like the definitive end of his life.

He refused a tuxedo or elaborate custom suit (both ever so gratefully offered by Londo Bell). He chose his mess dress uniform instead, the absolute closest he was to getting away with wearing his pilot suit which he would have preferred. He hoped he evoked the image of a soldier going off to battle, as opposed to a willing groom.

He doubted anyone else saw it that way, that he had essentially been drafted yet again.

At present he sat waiting in his private chamber for the ceremony to begin, a room that looked far too lavish and gaudy for his taste. In fact the whole venue was, he had surveyed the ornate hall in which his life would be soon sighed away before he has been herded to where he currently was, and found it distasteful. Large, marble walls and floors with golden streaks traversing said stone, tapering up into a domed stained glass ceiling, dozens of polished wood pews facing the alter where he would stand face to face with Char once again.

His stomach turned at the thought, and he swallowed down a lump in his throat.

Char, Casval, Édouard, Quattro.

He wondered who would stand opposite of him at the alter today.

"Amuro?"

He didn't need to turn around to recognize the hesitant voice of Fraw Bow calling out to him from the now open doorway of his chamber. She looked at him with the familiar, pinched expression of worry he was so accustomed to seeing on her face. All their time together growing up had taught him her tells well. He remained staring straight ahead, sitting stiffly with a look of resignation directed at the flowered wallpaper in front of him.

"Amuro, please," she tried again, a note of pleading in her tone this time. The click of her heels could be heard on the floor as she approached him, until he could sense her presence directly behind him. "Please, speak to me."

"There's not much to say, is there?" He replied in an irritated snap before he tempered himself. Fraw Bow was not at fault here. She did not deserve any of his ire just like how Bright did not deserve to be shot for being the messenger. He took a deep inhale before finally shifting in his chair so he could face his longtime friend. "Forgive me, Fraw Bow. I didn't... I didnt mean to lash out at you."

Her face was set in fond yet sad smile as she looked down at him, a slender hand going to run through his curls soothingly. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, exhaling yet again. This time he was considerably more comforted. "I could hardly blame you right now, even if you had meant to," she replied, pulling her hand back. Amuro opened his eyes and caught sight of the gold band on her ring finger and swallowed thickly. The reminder of Hayato and Katz stung at his heart, a burning and searing pain that branded their names on his heavy conscious.

He averted his eyes. Now wasn't the time.

"Still." He said somewhat lamely, unsure of what to say in response. He wasn't used to not being held accountable for his actions, but ever since the marriage was announced everyone who still remained in his life had been treating him like glass. As if this was any worse than the countless other atrocities he had been forced to endure.

it was, it was so much worse, he couldn't stand it and he wanted out, wanted out now

"Now, now," she said softly, hand moving to rest on her hip. "No need for that. You'll- you'll be fine." Her voice wavered only slightly, betraying her true feelings and doubts about the matter. Amuro sighed heavily upon hearing her voice crack but straightened up again in his seat.

"Alright. Alright then, Fraw." He said neutrally, not believing a word either one of them were saying. For the first time he cautioned a glance at the ornate clock situated above the entrance to his dressing room. Five minutes. Five minutes until he needed to leave this enclosed little piece of safety he was situated in.

#fanfiction #help #gundam #mobile suit gundam #amuro ray #char aznable #charmuro #amuchar #bright noa #fraw bow

[lynxindisguise]

hi!!! 13 and 29 for writer asks! i think you are great

hi!! aww thank you!!

13. How much planning do you do before writing?

I'll have a loose idea in my head of how things are going to go down and some important moments that I'm working towards, but a lot of the details and even some major plot points are discovered as I go. It feels more organic to me but can definitely lead to getting stuck.

During the writing process, I sketch everything out like it's a screenplay first, and then I fill in the narration after because that part is hardest for me.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

I've probably shared this before but this is the beginning of the crackfic Remus's Cursed Adventures (in which he fucks the new DADA teacher each year). I liked it in theory more than practice lol.

Remus was a man of many curses. There was the obvious, of course, the large, furry, howling one. And there were all sorts of micro-curses—his knack for killing houseplants, for stepping outside the moment it started to rain, for pushing all pull-doors and pulling all push-doors. And then there was his horrendous taste in men. But this was different. This was boring. “Hello. I’m here for...” he checked his clipboard, “a doxy infestation?” “Remus? R-remus Lupin?” Granted, it started out like a porno, but it was otherwise as about as ordinary and uneventful as a relationship could be. “Er...” He studied the young man’s generically English face, jogging absolutely no memories. “Yes?” “M-my, you l-look...” Remus prepared to explain away the fresh scars on his face, or his premature aging, or his general state of dishevelment, but the man’s bashful smile caught him off guard. “It’s me, Quirinus, f-from school.” “Oh...” Quirinus... Quirinus Quirrell. “Right.” Ravenclaw, a few years below him, used to attend his study group. “Hello.” “What have you been up to?” “Erm...” Scrouging for money, smoking, crying, clawing himself to bits, quitting smoking, not thinking about his dead friends or convicted murderer boyfriend, being awkward in public, smoking again. “I teach Muggle Studies now, at Hogwarts,” Quirinus supplied. “Ah, that’s brilliant.” He forced a smile. “So the doxies...” “Yes, yes, right this way.” It was simple, easy, mind-numbing. They didn’t see much of each other thoroughout the schoolyear, and when they did, it was nothing but afternoon tea and reading by the fire and sex so unimaginative it felt practically straight. When he finally told Quirinus about his condition, he cried about how terribly brave he was, and Remus ended up comforting him. This must be adulthood, he decided: eating vegetables and dating kind, gentle men, and finally silencing the part of himself that craved chaos. And then Quirinus announced that he was planning to take a sabbatical.

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