Tumgik
#things to build that relationship and our perception of it. but as i said in my original tags i am MUCH more interested in the craft of the
godisshook · 1 year
Text
Big Red
Tumblr media
Ethan had been my boyfriend for years, and it seemed as if I were locked in with him, even going as so far as to make life plans. We communicated and understood what each other wanted out of a relationship, we truly meshed. We had been friends since childhood, and when I came out to him, he did as well, and that was history. He would grow to become your classic student-athlete, playing every sport he could, and having tons of extracurriculars. I did band and orchestra, and adored science.
As we got to senior year of high school, I noticed something weird. Ethan would focus on the gym more and more, and he would comment on how "small" he was, comparing himself to everyone else. No matter how much I would reassure him, he always felt small, comparing himself to the biggest in the gym, who were usually grown men. My protests fell on deaf ears, however, and he became hell-bent on becoming bigger.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
When we got into freshman year of college, he would be at his worst when it came to his perception of his body, and that came because of his new frat president, Jaime. He joined Greek life as he felt it was a way to build bonds. The president was the biggest guy in the frat, and would constantly show his dominance over Ethan, calling him a "bitchboy" and "Little Red." I tried to keep his mood up, but it was clear he was at a low.
We were set to go to a Christmas party held by his frat, and as I get dolled up, he comes to pick me up, feeling good and generally optimistic. When we get to the party, the pledges at the gate eye me up, and I glare at them back. As the night goes on, I feel the need to stave off sobriety, so I decided to go to get a white claw from the bar. The frat guy running the bar hands me a drink and points to my left, I immediately notice the president himself walking up to me, and telling me to "come upstairs."
The walk up two flights of stairs was definitely difficult, but as we make it up, I notice a couple of the other brothers and Ethan. The president takes off his shirt and looks over at Ethan. "We don't do hazing, but just know I can always take your bitch!" As he says this, he pulls my head down to his boxers and pulls them down, beckoning me to suck his cock. As I look at Ethan pleadingly, he stares straight at the president, with a look that could kill him dead. I was ashamed after that night, but Ethan continued to reassure me, and said, "It's just how the frat rolls."
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I soon became responsible for building his diet, and because I was planning on becoming an Exercise Science major, he would jokingly call himself my "guinea pig" as I would test diets and exercise methods on him. He got bigger fast, almost too fast. He started lifting more and became obsessed with his body, we barely even talked as he would spend most of his days in the gym.
We got our own apartment off-campus, and I would still try to cook for him, and he would show his appreciation by fucking my brains out. Things were still great, though, and even as he spent most of his days in the gym, he would still make time for me.
Next year, he would become frat president, and Jaime would seemingly disappear, as he would stay a regular member. Ethan was the ultimate jock now, and he would use me whenever he wanted, calling me his "good boy."
Tumblr media Tumblr media
One morning, I saw a new story post from Ethan's account. The guy in the background looks familiar, and as I search for his account, I realize it was the same guy at the party. I swipe up and ask, "Who's the guy taking ur pictures?" Ethan tells me, "I have this bitchboy taking my pictures just to be near my alpha pheromones." A realization hits me as I look closer at the photos, the guy taking the photos was none other than Jaime. Now, the guy who once towered over Ethan was taking his photos.
When I get back to our apartment that night, I see no other than Ethan in the living room, and he tells me to sit down. He explains that the sudden growth he achieved was because he took muscle from the president. As his alpha pheromones strengthened, he took more and more muscle from the frat members, until he became the biggest. Little Red was now Big Red, the most dominant guy in the frat, and the main jock of the school.
Now, he had beckoned me to his feet. I was to worship him now. He would lean back casually into the couch as I sucked on his cock slowly. Climbing up onto his cock filled me with joy, and as I bounce up and down on it, I would moan into the air, even as he would take his massive hands to block my mouth from moaning. He was laser-focused on fucking me, grunting, and pushing my body on his cock. His alpha pheromones flood my body, and I get even wetter.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
He took pride in dominating me, and it felt as if he was letting out his rage at Jaime on me. I knew he wasn't really mad at me, but he certainly fucked like he was. His cock filled my whole completely, and he had to stuff it in as it was so massive. Cum filled my hole as he slammed my ass against his cock with his arms, and his dick would throb in my ass, getting cum deep in me.
I rolled over to the other side, and he hugs against me with just his boxers on. As I try to settle to sleep after he ravaged my hole, I feel a hard throb against my ass. Soon, his cock is peeking through his boxers, and by the time I look back, he's staring at me with hungry eyes, and I get wet once more. Looking at him, I can tell he's in a full rut, and he won't stop until he cums as much as it takes.
His cock slides in and out of me, and my body buckles against it. He puts my body into a full bear hug and rams his cock in and out of me. His hands go over my mouth once again, suppressing my moans. We fuck until cum is all over my body, and I lay near him, as he has finally ravaged me completely.
Tumblr media
I dreamed of him, he was mine, and our memories together just kept expanding. Waking up in his bed, I get a familiar feeling, and look over to see Ethan gone. As I look around, I see him in the bathroom biting at my thong, "Nice thong, I see you went with green, a shame you’re not getting it back." I blush at the comment and use the comforter to cover myself as I get ready, next to Big Red himself.
416 notes · View notes
astrophileous · 6 months
Text
I'm in It for the Money
Part 1 of 4 from The Countdown series.
Tumblr media
The above image does not indicate the reader's physical appearance.
Pairing: Derek Morgan x Female Reader
Synopsis: When Derek is forced to go undercover for a case, he doesn't expect to encounter the past that has haunted him for years.
Word Count: 4400-ish
Warning(s): STRONG NSFW IMPLICATIONS (nothing too graphic but MINORS BE ADVISED), past trauma/abuse, child abuse, undercover life, mention of dead animals, estranged parent-child relationship, discussions about organized crime (including but not limited to narcotics, firearms, human trafficking), mentions/talks of serial killers, cursing and other foul language, smoking (cigarette), implied age gap (undefined) (pls lmk if I miss anything)
Author's Note: another special shout out to @avis-writeshq for beta 🥺💞 I hope you like this one! Pls don't forget to leave a LIKE+COMMENT+REBLOG tyyy ❤️❤️✨️✨️✨️
Criminal Minds Masterlist
Tumblr media
The abandoned factory smelled like piss. It was the first thing Derek reckoned the moment they stepped into the darkened lot. Perhaps it was the meager visibility that caused his other senses to heighten. He swore he could almost hear a dying rat fighting for its last breath deep in the imposing darkness, but he might as well have been hearing the rush of his own blood.
Next to him, Agent Temples lit up a cigarette.
"I must say, until last month, I thought I'd seen all kinds of evil there are," Temples said before taking a long swig. "But a syndicate of serial killers?"
"Evils come in different shapes and sizes." Derek jerked his eyes towards the other man for emphasis. "Believe me."
A cloud of smoke appeared in front of Temples' face before it dissolved into the pitch blackness. "You've seen them all, haven't you?"
Derek didn't warrant him an answer. Instead, he steered the conversation towards the case at hand. "Tell me about your UC."
Temples relented. "She's been under for four. Smart, perceptive, vigilant. She was in the bureau for a short while."
This new piece of information tugged at Derek's intrigue.
"Really?"
"Your loss, our gain." Temples shrugged. "You'll know when you see her."
Derek nodded his head silently.
He stared at the tall windows on the distant wall. The foul odor around him had dwindled since his eyes adjusted to the feeble light from the moon. Either that, or Derek was subconsciously building resistance towards it. He couldn't decide which one was worse.
Agent Temples was flicking the butt of his cigarette when the first roar of an engine echoed in the distance. Derek's instinct kicked in, pushing his body to its full stature the second he saw what looked like a motorcycle light penetrating the window. Soon after the sound of the motorcycle reduced to nothing, Derek saw a silhouette slipping past the gap of the dingy entrance to the factory.
Temples called out to its direction, "You're late, Ghost."
The silhouette sauntered closer in the dark—proving claim to its name—before arising in the light like a doomsday's salvation.
"Patience is a virtue, Jimmy," you said in a tantalizing sneer.
Inside his chest, Derek's heart ceased to function.
From where you stood, your eyes had caught sight of him, too. Derek saw the flicker of recognition in them, maybe a little something more as well, but you schooled your expression faster than a blink of an eye.
"There was urgent business to take care of," you added.
Agent Temples hummed in interest. "Possible lead?"
"Debatable." You shoved your hands inside the pockets of your jacket. A casual gesture to the untrained eye, but the profiler in Derek knew it was an attempt to hide. From him, maybe. "I need more time to confirm."
"You do that. Meanwhile, there's someone you should meet. Agent Morgan, this is Ghost, our UC."
Temples proceeded to say your real name to Derek. As if he didn't already know it. As if the name hadn't haunted him every day and night for nearly the past five years.
"And Ghost, this is—"
"SSA Derek Morgan." For the first time since you walked in, your attention finally meandered his way. Derek burned under your blatant perusal. "Behavioral Analysis Unit. FBI."
Temples' surprise was glaring. "You know each other?"
"We did," Derek spat.
You appeared bemused at Derek's callous display. He, on the other hand, didn't find the whole thing amusing at all.
"We do," you eventually said.
Temples didn't seem to notice the existing tension in the air. If he did, he chose to say nothing. "This is great news! You guys know each other, so you can get everything settled yourselves." By a miraculous coincidence, Temples' phone started to ring. "Now, excuse me for a moment."
You waited until Temples was out of earshot before addressing Derek, "Fancy seeing you here."
"Yeah. I wish I could say the same."
You smiled somewhat sadly at the taste of venom in Derek's voice. The damp and moldy air in the forgotten factory stood no chance against the sting of Derek's cold glare. It was easy for your body to ignore the chill, pretending that Derek's indifference didn't bite through your skin. Your heart, though, was a different story.
"I didn't know it was gonna be you," was what you ended up saying after a full minute of silence. "When Jimmy told me that someone would be coming in, he didn't tell me anything else. I wasn't expecting you."
It was the most sincere string of words you had uttered since showing up in front of him. For a moment, something twitched in his chest, and Derek loathed the fact that you still had that effect on him even after years had passed. But as frustrating as it was, Derek didn't think petty would suit him well as a middle name, so he swallowed the bitter lump and forced his shoulders to relax.
"So, this is where you've been all this time? Living as a ghost?"
Derek's passing jab at your nickname didn't go unnoticed even if you chose to pay no heed to it. "I met Jimmy on a case, back when I was still with the bureau. He offered me the job."
"Is that why you ran?" Derek pretended not to see you flinch. "Or did you go to ATF because you ran?"
"You know I've always wanted to go under."
"As if you couldn't do that in the bureau."
"In the bureau? Yeah, maybe. But do you really think I could've done it back when I still had my old life?"
Derek bit his tongue. There was no mistaking what you meant by that.
Do you really think I could've done it back when I was still with you?
Something was boiling in the pit of Derek's stomach. He recognized it from those few months following your sudden departure from his life. Before tonight, Derek thought the wound you administered had scabbed over with time. But one encounter with you, and now those scars were opening up and bleeding again, all over the place.
"You used to say people who run are cowards."
Your head whipped towards him. In the darkness, Derek could still see the brush of disbelief across your face. He wondered, then, what had you looking so taken off guard. Was it the fact that Derek still remembered something you had said to him many moons ago?
In the end, your response was to avert your gaze from his face.
"Well," you began, "maybe I am one."
Tumblr media
Thunders were feuding inside your chest. They squeezed around your heart like a garrote, making you gasp for air until you forgot how to breathe properly without doing so.
A few seconds later, you finally completed the fifth and final round of your torture.
"Time!" Derek called out as soon as you passed the finish line. "Four seconds faster than your last. Not bad."
Your heart was still galloping at a thousand miles per minute. The voice that rose when you spoke up resembled a choking fish out of water more than anything else.
"Not bad, but not good?"
"I think you can do better."
A sarcastic chuckle rumbled from your chest. "Any faster than that, Derek, and I might die."
"Don't deny your potential before it becomes real. You're so much more capable than you allow yourself to believe." Derek grabbed a bottle of water that he had prepared for you. "Here."
You accepted it with a quick thanks. "I've always hated running. It's something that cowards do."
"That's an extreme notion to have."
"Well, my family had a tendency to do it, and all of them are cowards," you said nonchalantly, a stark contrast to the weight carried by your choice of words. "My mom ran every time my dad beat my brother and I to the brink of death, and Dad ran when the police finally got on his ass about it."
Derek visibly softened after hearing your rancorous confession. "Your mother's still calling?"
The bitter scowl on your face was enough confirmation for him.
The first phone call arrived around four months ago. You had dropped the call as soon as you realized who was on the other end of the line, after which your mother resorted to leaving you an abundance of voice messages instead. All of them were deleted without a listen, and you found yourself blocking every incoming call from an unknown number just for the tiniest bit of chance that it might be from her.
Exactly a month ago, your mother suddenly showed up on your doorstep.
It was already alarming when you realized that she had somehow gotten a hold of your contact information. To then find her in front of your home was worse. You nearly didn't recognize her when you first opened the door; not with her thinner cheeks and sunken eyes. She looked nothing like the woman you remembered from the routine nightmares, but the shadow of terror in her eyes was one you knew quite well.
"It's good to see you," she had said after begging you not to slam the door in her face. "You look great. Healthy."
"Considering the last time you saw me, I was drenched in my own blood, I'd say that's an understatement."
She physically winced at your reply. "I paid your brother a visit before coming down here. Can we go inside?"
"No." You closed the door behind your back, pressing yourself like a royal guard against it. "Whatever you want to say, we can discuss it here."
The woman whom you once called mother darted her eyes everywhere. At last, she settled on pinning her gaze towards a point right beside your ear. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
You scoffed. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"What? No—"
"Do you need money? Is that it?"
A look of offense scampered by your mother's face. "Is a mother not allowed to ever see her child?"
"If I had a mother, then sure, she could see me. You're just a woman who stood by for years while I was bruised and battered every single day of my childhood." Tears had started to stream down her face, but it did nothing for you. It wasn't like she was ever affected by your desperate wails and cries when you were little, anyway. "I never hope to see you here again. If you keep coming, I'll be contacting the police."
You had slammed the door on her face after that, and thankfully, her phone calls and messages promptly stopped, too.
Until last week.
"She's sending text messages this time," you eventually said.
Upon hearing your answer, Derek gestured towards the bleachers behind him. You sighed loudly, albeit still obliging his silent request as you took a seat on the second lowest bench. Almost the entire track field was in your line of sight from where you sat. In the distance, you could see young cadets from the Academy training together. The scene brought a smile to your face. It reminded you of memories from a lifetime ago.
When Derek sat down, he didn't leave any gap between the two of you, pressing your sweaty thigh with his toned one.
"What are you planning to do?" Derek asked.
You opted to chug the rest of your water instead of replying.
"You threatened to report her to the police last time. You can choose to make true of that promise. Maybe it'll force her to stop for good."
"Or?"
"Or—" Derek glanced at you, his eyes sincere and not at all captious as he spoke, "—you can choose to try hearing her out."
Your face contorted into a grimace. "Are those two my only options?"
"Your third option is to do nothing and let her keep stalking you. Possibly until the aliens decide to invade the earth, sending humanity into extinction."
"Hm." You dropped your forehead on Derek's shoulder. "That sounds tempting."
You shut your eyes against the soft material of Derek's T-shirt. The smell of his detergent mixed with Derek's natural musk served as an anchor for the adrift ship of which you were the captain. Derek's presence was always a reprieve in your otherwise bleak life. Derek was comfortable. He was your safe haven.
"I know I have no right to speak about this, but I think it needs to be said," the man added.
You lifted your head to stare into Derek's eyes, the same ones who had crowned you as their sole center at that moment. His hand was warm as it crept towards the nape of your neck.
"Take it from someone who lost one of his parents at a very young age. You will end up regretting the things you didn't do a tenfold more than the things you did do." Derek's thumb swept over your eyebrows, smoothing out the creases until you were pliant underneath his touch. "I'm in no way saying that my situation is comparable to yours. I will never understand what you went through with your family. All I know is, I don't want you to wake up one day with any remorse about the past."
Derek's advice was sealed with three gentle kisses: one to your forehead, one to the tip of your nose, and one to your lips. You left one of your own on his jawline for good measure before burrowing yourself further into his side.
"I hate it when you're right," you grumbled.
"That kinda sucks, considering that I'm right all the time."
"Yeah, you are." You hid your smile on his shoulder. "Which is why I really hate you."
Tumblr media
Less than two minutes later, Agent Temples re-emerged from the dark.
"Sorry about that, folks. What'd I miss? Have you two walked through everything?"
"Actually," you began, "we haven't even started yet."
"We got caught up... reminiscing about the past," Derek fabricated smoothly.
Temples didn't seem to detect the lie as he said, "Alright. We can go through it now. Ghost, you wanna start us off?"
You spontaneously stretched to your full height underneath the newfound attention. "I've been planting the seeds for months now. Hopefully, no one gets suspicious whenever Morgan decides to come in."
"What's the story?" Derek asked.
"You're a friend of my brother's. I've known you my whole life," you replied. "I orchestrated a malfunction in one of the orders a few months ago. We've been looking for an explosives expert ever since. That's you."
"And you're sure it's solid?"
"It's a perfect cover considering your time in the bomb squad. Just in case, though, Jimmy will handle your background." Your eyes flitted towards Temples, who nodded in confirmation of your statement. "By the time it's done, you can say goodbye to SSA Derek Morgan from the FBI. It'll look legit."
"Don't worry." Temples patted Derek's shoulder. "You're in the right hands."
"What about you?" Derek asked again.
You tilted your head curiously. "What about me?"
"What's the story you told them? Nothing good about a solid cover if yours isn't just as sturdy."
You squinted your eyes at Derek's strange question. It sounded, somehow, like he was questioning your work for the last four years, as though he only came up with it as an absurd act of retribution for something that could now be declared as history.
Or, perhaps, you were the one being paranoid because of your past mistake.
After all, you still didn't know how to move on from the guilt even to this day.
Before you could come up with an apt answer, Temples suddenly beat you to it, "You don't need to worry about that. Nobody dares to question Ghost. The Big Boss is sweet on her."
"Jimmy."
"The Big Boss?" Derek's glare pierced right through you. "You mean Kreczmar?"
"What can I say? Ghost is an expert when it comes to fraternizing with the enemy."
Temples could be a sleazy bastard sometimes, and right now, you wished you could punch that toothy grin straight off his face.
"Aleksander Kreczmar is an assignment. A means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less."
You didn't understand why your eyes blithered towards Derek as you made that proclamation. The way he was studying you, though, made you feel like a cell under a microscope. A small part of your brain had fleetingly assumed that it might be jealousy, but you pushed the hope away before it could sediment further into a foolish delusion.
"This changes things," Derek said out of the blue. "The fact that you're in a relationship with him—"
"I'm not in a rela—"
"—would never make him approve of me. He's a man with an ego. He's not gonna like his woman bringing in some guy she knew from the past."
The objection died in your throat.
Derek was making a lot of sense.
"You're the profiler," you shot a little too sourly. "What do you suggest, then?"
"Simple." Derek smirked, a picture of smugness and spite as he looked at you. "I'll tell him I'm in it for the money."
Tumblr media
Derek pulled out with a hiss, immediately missing the warmth he had been enfolded in just a few seconds prior. He peeled off the condom before tying it securely, throwing it straight into the garbage can in the corner.
"Why did you decide to join the FBI?"
Your question brought out a laughter deep from Derek's chest. His eyes took in the view of your exposed upper body, mirroring his own state of undress, while your body's other half was covered haphazardly by the flimsy material of Derek's sheets.
If he didn't know any better, Derek would be wondering how you still managed to stay lucid even after the hours the two of you spent on his bed, and a few more hours around various corners of his home. But Derek could read you better than most people by now, and he could distinguish the sign of post-coital bliss glistening over your irises. Underneath the gentle glow of his bedside table lamp, you were a sight for sore eyes.
"Why do you ask the most random questions after sex?"
"Because people are usually more honest after sex."
"And you know this, how?"
"I read it." You slithered into a new position as you responded, flumping on your stomach with your chin pressing on Derek's abs. He looked down at you in wonder. "Your brain gets drowned in oxytocin every time you cum. The love hormone, people call it. Oxytocin promotes the feeling of trust, hence the truth bomb."
"Hm. You sounded like Reid just now."
"Why do you know what Spencer sounds like after sex?"
Derek grabbed a handful of your ass, squeezing until you squealed at him for mercy.
"I think I was always destined to follow in my father's footsteps," Derek replied at last. "I picked law in college 'cause it made sense. Joined Chicago PD 'cause I felt like it was up to me to continue the job my father couldn't finish."
"And the FBI?"
"It was my first experience of staring evil right in the eye," Derek said. "The first time I truly felt scared on the job was back in the bomb squad. I got tired of having my life taunted by a bunch of scrap metals. Joining the bureau gave me the chance to stare directly at the people responsible for these crimes."
"You want to challenge them to their faces," you concluded.
"Exactly. I wanted to put a face on the crimes. When I realized that these people were just a bunch of fucked-up morons and sick-minded souls, going up against them wasn't as frightening anymore."
Derek's gaze roved over the entire ceiling as he spoke. His fingers on your shoulder drew abstract patterns that triggered an expanse of goosebumps on your skin. The alarm clock on the bedside table mocked you from the corner of your eye. Its little hands were swords, threatening you with the knowledge that you had to be up and out of Derek's place in just five short hours.
Your stomach churned at the thought.
"What about you? Why did you join the FBI?"
The question arrived as a welcomed distraction. It provided you with an excuse to push the thought of your inevitable flight to the back of your head.
"Do you want the honest answer or the default answer?"
Derek looked down at you in amusement. "There are two different answers?"
"Yes. Now pick one."
"The honest one."
"Is it cliché if I say it's because of my parents?"
Derek knew your question was more rhetoric than inquisitive, so he settled with squeezing your hip instead of a literal response.
"The worst thing about that part of my life isn't the memories, nor the nightmares. It's not even about the scars. It's the fear." A shiver ran down your entire body. For a second, Derek thought he had set the AC temperature too cold until he realized he hadn't even turned it on yet. "I knew if they placed me in front of my father again, I would crumble like nothing. I didn't want that. Couldn't accept that. So, I trained myself to stop being afraid in the face of atrocities."
As you finished your explanation, Derek couldn't help but think about how similar the two of you were in a lot of ways. His mind went back to a memory from years ago, back when you were still in the Academy, and back to the first time the both of you had ever met.
"What's your greatest fear?" Derek had asked that question in front of the room full of trainees back then.
Shouts of dying, height, and even my mom filled the air. Derek remembered scanning the crowd of faces in the midst of all of those answers before his eyes had fatedly landed on you.
"You." Your surprise was conspicuous as Derek's finger aimed towards you. "What's your greatest fear?"
"Fear."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"No, I meant that's my answer. Fear. Being afraid. That's what I fear the most."
You might not have been the first person he noticed in that gym full of people, but you were definitely the one who managed to stay on his mind.
After all, he had given the same answer when his trainer asked him the same question back during his time at the Academy.
"That was the honest answer," Derek noted after a lengthy silence had passed. "What's the default one?"
"It's the one I tell people," you responded with a brilliant smile thrown his way. Derek tried not to read too much over the implications that you had excluded him from the word people.
"Which is?"
"That I'm in it for the money."
Tumblr media
"Hey." Temples' voice echoed inside the vast space of the factory. "I heard that one before. Didn't you use to say it all the time, Ghost? I didn't think much when you folks said you knew each other, but looks like you know one another quite well."
"I hardly think it's an appropriate time to discuss this, Jimmy."
"Right. My apologies. You have anything else, Ghost?"
Temples' question was a relief for your anxious bones. It gave you the chance to maneuver the conversation towards a more purposeful direction.
"Do you have a working profile for your UnSub?"
Derek studied you for a moment before replying, "We don't have much to work with. All we know is they operate on a network that spans throughout the entire country. It's run by a much smaller group. No greater than ten, most likely fewer than five. We flagged some human trafficking activities we thought could be related to them."
"They contacted me when they found out we have an active op on Kreczmar," Temples explained.
"You do know that we haven't uncovered any conclusive evidence for the trafficking allegations, right?"
During the four years you spent infiltrating Aleksander Kreczmar's empire, you had crawled, climbed, and sprinted your way up to the top. It was arduous work, one that required you to sacrifice a lot of things. Your life was one of them. Your dignity was often another.
For four years, you and your team had succeeded in stopping dozens of narcotics deliveries, along with detaining numerous firearms and explosives before they could fall into the wrong hands. You oversaw most of the trades that went through the eastern coast of Kreczmar's territory, but so far, you had never positively identified a single human trafficking activity connected to Kreczmar's ring.
You knew better than to perceive the lack of evidence as proof of innocence, though. That word didn't fit in any dictionary of a man such as Kreczmar.
"The profile fits," Derek declared. "Kreczmar's routes coincide with the syndicate's hot zones."
"That's a lot of areas to cover, Derek."
"Which is why we start here, at the heart of his operation. Which is why we need you."
That one sentence didn't have any business messing with every neuron in your brain, and you hated the fact that it did. Derek was the only person in the world who possessed that kind of power over you, and you couldn't help wondering if he did it on purpose just for the satisfaction of seeing you wither.
"You're putting a lot of faith in me, Derek."
"I've always had that for you."
The surrounding air seared where it touched your skin. Your tongue stiffened like metal inside your mouth, and beside you, Temples looked as if he was just now noticing the electric field buzzing between you and Derek.
"I need to get going," you rushed out. "People are expecting me."
"Oh? Of course. Thanks for making the time, Ghost," Temples said before bidding you goodbye.
You could barely look Derek in the eye as you offered a lame wave. Your shoes composed a scratchy melody against the ground. As you reached the exit, your eyes caught Derek's from the distance, and suddenly, you were hauled back towards the night that had gnawed at your memories for the past five years.
And just like that night, this time, you were running away from him once again.
Tumblr media
Taglist is open. Leave a comment or send me an ask to be added!
Taglist: @citrusiove @kneelforloki @prentissim @bunbunbl0gs @lubunnii @alluring-andrayav @sammyrenae68
Tumblr media
113 notes · View notes
heavenlythea · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
rambly post about imagination and physical world
lately, i'm really fully feeling how the 3d is just such a small fragment of our lives. thought that keeps swimming in my mind constantly is that things really come into the 3d to die. i don't know where i've heard this, whether it's something Neville said, or whether i just heard it in some yt vid or read it here on tumblr, but i can't shake it off because i really feel it right now.
we are absolutely here to enjoy the physical, i'm not trying to dismiss that. but there is sooo much and i mean sooo much in our inner worlds. when something happens in the 3d it always passes, because that's the nature of it. our daily moments of life are running through our fingers. your can't really live in here because everything gets rebuilt with every nanosecond. and that's not something to be sad about, it's beautiful. it's part of the game of life. but then you have your imagination - the only source of stability because it's the core of your I AM. here you can build a solid foundation and it'll stand eternally. when you choose to live in a place/state in your imagination, you can always live from it, no matter what you're doing physically.
there simply is a level of satisfaction and fulfillment that the physical world can never offer you. when you allow yourself to experience things in your imagination without any conditions, when you bring your I AM into your scenes of enjoyment and love and allow yourself to really feel that you are experiencing it, you'll realize that the physical world has nothing to offer to you in this regard.
i'm sure you all have an item that you really love, a piece of clothing, a tech device, a piece of furniture, whatever. well, even if you love this thing to death, most of the time when you are using it in the 3d you feel neutral about it. only every once in a while you get this wave of fondness for this thing. those are the times when you "activate" (feel) your I AM in the context of this thing. - that means that "having" things in your physical world and in your imagination feels the same. there are only glimpses of the feeling of fulfilment, because you can't meditate your whole existence on owning a pair of shoes or an iphone. and regardless of where you have this thing, feelings are always happening in your inner world. therefore all that the physical world can offer you is neutrality.
in your imagination, you can spend years reliving the same scene and feeling the same feelings from it. you can still hold in your mind the scene of you meeting your partner for the first time, even if you've been married for 50 years already. but you live from this scene daily and it translates into your perception of your partner and into your relationship with them, therefore every day there is still the freshness of your first meeting. but in the physical world, this meeting happened just once. it keeps on living only thanks to the imagination. and the best thing is, that you can live from this scene even before it has happened physically.
like i mentioned before, the physical world is wonderful in its own way. it brings structure to our experience, it brings its own things that don't have a place in imagination - like linear time, when you approach it from the non-structure and non-existence of time in imagination, it's quite a dope thing. you shouldn't stop existing in your 3d. you feel your body for a reason. let's just bear in mind that physical reality and inner reality are inherently different. they both bring different things into our life. there is a certain satisfaction in the repetition, neutrality and structure the 3d brings us. when you stop expecting things from 3d that it cannot offer you, you start to fall in love with its inherent nature and appreciate it for what it is.
i guess my point is, there are things to love about your imagination as well as about your 3d. see them for what they are and then you can love them for what they are.
249 notes · View notes
wenclairfamily · 12 days
Text
Wednesday and Enid's Children: Harmony and Ana Addams in "Dreams Come True"
Tumblr media
A Fanfiction Tale by Yours Truly, with Art by: @annietheartsyartist
Story Summary: Wednesday and Enid's twin daughters: Harmony and Ana have always grown up in a home full of love, affection... and torture rooms and deadly animals. However they've always depended on their two mothers to guide them on their path. But while on a class field trip, both teenage girls finally begin to forge a new path for themselves on their own. For Harmony, she begins to contemplate whether or not she and her girlfriend: Megan are ready to take their romantic relationship to the next level. For Ana... she adopts a cat, and begins a career as a bounty hunter. Pretty much the same thing though, right? ;)
DREAMS COME TRUE
Tumblr media
"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." It is a quote by Edgar Allen Poe shared to me by my mother, which I never forgot. My name is Harmony Addams, and all my life I was raised to be the best at everything I did. My mother: Wednesday Addams most notably always pushed me to be more and more self-sufficient, to be as intelligent as possible, and to never show weakness. While there have been moments in my life where I felt like giving up, I always kept going thanks to the ultimate light in my life - my girlfriend Megan. She's been my long time best friend, my other half, and my everything. Wanting to be her girlfriend was the easiest decision of my life. However... deciding if we were ready to become something much more... that was much more difficult; due to my perception of if I was ready: feeling as visible as a dream within a dream. However... one night... my dreams finally came true, and my perceptions: one with reality. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This tale of love and passion actually begins the last way you'd ever expect...
A giant minitoar like monster that was wearing a large black coat: roared loudly as it walked towards a populated city. Then suddenly from the ground - a giant robot raven, spider, and piranha emerged. The three animal robots then transformed and combined into a giant human shaped robot. In the cockpit of the giant robot was Harmony Addams, along with her sister: Ana, and her girlfriend: Megan. Harmony grinned as she said, "All right Gothic Ranger Megazord. Attack!" The giant robot then began to brawl against the giant minitoar . After many blows were exchanged, the monster pushed the giant robot down to the ground. Then Ana said, "Aw man. We need the Gothic Sword now!" Then the giant robot pulled out a sword and swung it at the minitour monster. The sword then tore away the monster's black coat... revealing it was wearing brown lingerie. A wide eyed and surprised Megan then said, "The monster is wearing lingerie!?" The monster then had an embarrassed look on its' face and tried to turn away. Then a determined Harmony yelled, "Quick! While it's experiencing body shame; attack with full power!"
Then the giant robot had it's sword get powered up... and then it swung it hard at the minitoar monster; causing it to explode. The monster was instantly destroyed, while it's lingerie exploded into many scraps as well. An impressed looking Ana said, "Wow. Exploding lingerie. Didn't think I'd see that this morning." A smiling Harmony then said, "Great work team!" Then Harmony, Ana, and Megan climbed out of their giant robot. From nearby, Enid ran over to three girls and said, "Wow! You girls saved the city! That was amazing! But... where in the world did you all find the materials to build a giant robot?" Then Harmony and Megan glanced at each other for a second, and then both looked at Enid as they casually said, "Found it."
Tumblr media
Several days later: Harmony, Ana, Megan, and many other Nevermore Academy students were sitting on a bus that was traveling down a long road. As Enid sat near the front of the bus, she smiled while saying, "Okay guys. We should be arriving at our destination soon." A smiling Ana then said, "Oh yeah. Spending the weekend at a five star mountain lodge! I so totally deserve this." Then Megan casually said, "Yeah. I mean after we saved the city from that monster, it was totally nice of the mayor to give our entire class an all-expense paid vacation." Then Ana leaned back in her seat and put on a pair of sunglasses as she casually said, "No. I mean I totally deserve this for just existing. I should be receiving this kind of treatment all of the time because I'm awesome!" Then Harmony raised an eyebrow as she said, "You do realize that me and Megan did all the work putting those robots together, right? You only got up from your chair when it was time to finally use them." Then as Ana continued to lean back, she said, "Hey. I was supervising." Then Harmony squinted her eyes as she said, "You were watching Tik Tok videos the entire time we built that thing." Then Ana in a mater of fact tone said, "Yeah. I was supervising while I was watching Tik Tok videos. Multi-tasking is hard."
Then a Latina teenager who was sitting nearby said, "Well Harmony, you and Megan are the real power team in our book. You both are heroes, you get the best grades of anyone in school, and you were both voted Queen and Queen of the school dance. How do you both do it?" Then Megan smiled as she held Harmony's hand while saying, "Well Emmy... we always lift each other up and support one another. That's part of it anyway. I mean... we've been best friends, and sort of a couple since we were six years old. We've always had each other's back." Then another girl on the bus with dark hair immediately said, "Awww! That's so cute! You too have been together like your whole lives. So, are the two coolest girls in school gonna one day be the coolest brides after they graduate from school?" Suddenly many other teenagers on the bus began to look interested, while Harmony and Megan suddenly began to look nervous. Harmony then cautiously said, "Well Sophia... the future isn't written yet... so lets just wait and see."
Tumblr media
As many teenagers from Nevermore Academy walked into a large mountain lodge building, Enid walked behind them as she loudly said, "Okay everyone. You got an hour to get situated in your rooms before we go on our nature hike. And remember - just because you all each get a room to yourselves, don't use that an excuse to be doing any drugs or alcohol. Miss Wednesday might not be here with us on this trip, but I still have the heightened smell of someone with werewolf DNA, so don't try anything!" Nearby, Harmony was carrying several bags alongside Megan. The two then walked into a bedroom together as Megan said, "Well, here's the room I'm staying in. Thanks for helping me carry all my stuff in Harmony."
Harmony smiled as she said, "No problem. What's with all the stuff you got in these bags though?" An excited Megan then said, "Oh. Mountains are the best place to set up special antennas to try to intercept radio stations from far away. It's something I used to do with my dad a lot when I was little. I know most radio stations are online now; but it's the challenge of intercepting them that's fun. I was planning to mess around with this stuff after the party tonight." Harmony sat down with Megan on her bed as she said, "That sounds cool. I should join you for that after the party is over." Then Megan gently touched Harmony's hand as she slowly said, "Well... if you want... you could spend the whole night with me... and maybe we could have a lot more fun than just listening to the radio." Harmony suddenly looked nervous as she said, "I... um..."
Tumblr media
Then suddenly Ana walked into the room wearing thin armor around most of her body (along with pink and blue highlights on her neck length dark hair) as she said, "What's up peoples. Just a warning. Don't talk to the junior lifeguard working at the indoor pool. I tried chatting with him just now while trying to gather intel on the local mafia gangs, but I think he somehow thought I was flirting with him, and tried to ask me to spend the night with him in his bedroom. I mean… yuck! I'm never having sex till I'm married. Don't need all that drama right now at this stage of my life." A confused Megan then said, "Um… okay. But… why are you wearing armor all over your body?" Then Ana looked at herself for a moment, and then looked at Harmony and Megan as she casually said, "Why not?"
Tumblr media
Later that day, Enid was leading the Nevermore Academy students through the woods as she said, "Okay everyone. The lake should be right up ahead." Soon the group saw a large lake near a waterfall surrounded by many trees. With a big smile, Enid said, "Okay. Make sure you can always see at least two other people from the group wherever you are. Aside from that, spread out and have some fun." Then Ana stood in front of the group (still wearing her armor) as she said, "And if anyone is missing something, or needs to enact retribution against someone who wronged them... just talk to me." A confused looking Enid then said, "Ana, what are you doing?" Then Ana casually said, "Oh, I'm a bounty hunter now. I'm testing it out as a career path. It seems like a cool type of self-employment I could really get into."
Tumblr media
A short time later, many of the Nevermore Academy students were hanging out near the lake and swimming in it. Enid sat under a tree nearby watching the students as she smiled. From nearby, Harmony walked over and sat next to Enid. Harmony made a little sigh, as a concerned Enid said, "What's wrong Harmony? Why aren't you hanging out with Megan?" A slightly worried Harmony then said, "Well... it's because... I'm a little nervous about talking to her. You see... she brought up something with me earlier, and... I'm not sure how to respond." Enid made a little smile as she said, "Well... you and Megan have been close for years now. It can't be that difficult to talk about." Harmony looked down, and then said, "She... she wants us to have sex... and I'm not sure what to say to her." Enid looked surprised for a moment, but then calmly said, "Well... how do you feel?" Harmony then began to fiddle with her fingers as she kept her eyes focused on the ground while saying, "I really love Megan mom. Like... I really, really, really love her. But... the biggest thing I'm worried about is... what if we break up one day? I know it would really hurt inside if it happened... but I think it would hurt a lot more if we broke up after having a sexual relationship. But me and her have known each other a long time... but people do change when they become adults, and... Uuugh! I don't know what to do or even think!"
Enid then looked right at Harmony as she made a little smile while saying, "Well first Harmony... thank you for coming to me with this. I am so proud of you for turning to anyone for help at trying to figure this out, and I am so honored you chose me to be the one you talked to. Now with that being said... don't feel wrong for having conflicted thoughts. Choosing to have sex with anyone is something that shouldn't be taken lightly. It does have a huge impact on your feelings and emotions, and you do need to consider the consequences to your actions and if the timing is right." Harmony then sighed and said, "So... am I about to hear the part now where you tell me I should wait to have sex until I get married?" Enid looked down, sighed, and then said, "I should tell you that, and I'd prefer if you did wait... but if you didn't... know that I would never look down upon you... considering I lost my virginity when I was even younger than you.
Harmony began to have her fingers make lines in the dirt near her feet, while she said, "So... when do you now think is the right time to have sex or get married? Is it when I graduate from high school? Graduate from college? When I get a steady job? When I become a manager of a company? When I become very wealthy?" Then Enid with a look of certainty in her face said, "Harmony... if you're asking me: when is the perfect time in your life to take your relationship to the next level... that day is never going to come. Times will never be 100 percent perfect for you." Then Harmony began to look more nervous as she said, "But... you and mother taught me to always aim to succeed, to never fail, to always be exceptional, to be perfect..." Then Enid interrupted Harmony as she said, "Yes, we always wanted you to aim to succeed and be your best... but no one is perfect." Harmony began to look a bit more nervous as she said, "But... I can't mess things up with Megan. I can't. I mean... we're both the top two students on the Honor Roll, the Queen and Queen of the Raven Dace... we're practically role models to our peers. I feel like if I make any mistake now... especially a mistake in my relationship with my Megan... I'll be ruining my entire reputation, my entire legacy, my entire life, and even hurt others around me."
Enid looked away for a moment... but then looked at Harmony once again while saying, "When your mother and I taught you and your sister how to face adversity while growing up, we weren't just teaching you both how to navigate through problems the world would throw at you... we were also teaching you both how to navigate through problems you would inevitably unintentionally throw at yourselves. Harmony... you're going to make mistakes sometimes... and that's okay. It's all about what you do after those mistakes that matters most. You know... your mother and I didn't let the shame of our past dictate our identities, or our love lives. I mean your mother wasn't able to tell that the first teenage boy she ever kissed was a murderous Hyde... until five seconds after... but still, she didn't let the shame of opening up her heart to the wrong person destroy herself or her self-respect she had. As for me... I was left behind by the first person I first had sex with... but I didn't let that experience destroy my ability to be open to finding someone else. The point I'm trying to make is... you may make a mistake in who you choose to be in a romantic relationship with, you may make a mistake in who you choose to marry, and you may make a mistake in who you choose to have sex with... but you have to be okay with the fact that you might mess up, and try to have a plan for what's going to happen if things do get messed up."
Tumblr media
Harmony sighed again, as she closed her eyes briefly and then said, "So... what do you think I should do?" Enid looked down as she said, "Well... unlike Wednesday and Tyler, or me and my first lover... you and Megan have been together a long time. That means something. But it's up to you two together to decide how slow or fast you take things." Then a worried Harmony said, "What if we take things too fast?" With a calm loving voice, Enid then said, "Then you accept the consequences to whatever you did, and do your best with whatever the situation is. And if that causes some people to look down upon you... that'll be sad... but know that me, your mother, and the rest of our family will continue to support you no matter what." Then Harmony said, "And... what happens if we take things too slow? Is there a point where me and Megan wait too long?"|
Enid looked hesitant for a moment, and then said, "Harmony... a part of me wants to keep you my pure innocent little girl forever. However... you're growing up and changing... and I know you're going to start exploring your feelings, and I know you're going to find a way to explore your sexuality whether I like it or not. Again, a part of me does really want you to delay considering taking your relationship with Megan to the next level for a very long time. However... there's something important I've never told you before, that I've always been uncertain of telling you... but I think you should know." A curious looking Harmony looked right at Enid as she said, "What is it?"
Enid kept her face turned slightly away from Harmony as she said, "Well... shortly before you and your sister were conceived... your mother and I had our first dealings with visitors from another part of the multiverse. Two girls one day appeared through a dimensional rift and literally fell into our lives. One of those two visitors was a girl who was supposed to be a potential daughter I could've had in another universe. She actually looked a lot like you (and also a little bit like your sister too), but there were still some differences. However, the other girl we met... looked just like Megan. She had a different name... but the thing is: that alternate universe daughter I met... the girl who looked a lot like you... she told me that she was in love with her best friend; essentially: Megan's doppelganger... but for her it was too late. She thought she had more time... but in the end, she didn't. Look... I'm not telling you to move fast. I want you to slow down when it comes to how your relationship progresses... but... if you had met that sort of doppelganger of yours, and asked her for advice... I know she would tell that while you shouldn't take things too fast... you shouldn't waste time either... because you never know when you might lose someone."
Harmony took a long deep breath, and then said, "Okay. Thanks mom." Enid nodded her head, and then said, "Any time. But please... be as responsible and safe as possible with any choice you make... and speaking of which... when we get back to the building, I have a bunch of items to give you just in case. I've got water based lubricants, dental dams, lots of sanitary wipes, and birth control pills to give you." A confused Harmony then said, "Wait. Megan is a girl. How is she going to get me pregnant?" Enid rolled her eyes and said, "Hey. I thought the same thing with your mother. And then she surprised me with a rare magical plant she ingested that apparently changed all the rules of human biology without telling me. Trust me. You're gonna wanna play it as safe as possible."
Tumblr media
That evening: Harmony was walking down a hallway in the mountain lodge while wearing a long sleeveless black dress, and had her blonde hair in braids. Suddenly though, Harmony saw Ana (still wearing her armor) carrying a small kitten with brown and white fur down the hallway. Harmony stopped, and looked confused as she said, "Ana... what is that?" Ana then casually said, "Oh. It's a small abandoned kitten I found in the woods while I was trying to do my first bounty hunter job. I waited around trying to see if the kitten had a mother or owner, but no one came. So I've decided to adopt this little guy and name him: Stormageddon the Conqueror. He'll be my apprentice and join me on all of my bounty hunter missions from now on; because if there's anything that binge watching The Mandalorian has taught me: it's that bounty hunters make the perfect care givers. So anyway, I know there's going to be a little dance going on in the party room tonight; but I'm about to head out to... Wait a minute! Hold on Harmony. Your bedroom is on the other side of the building, and you're not walking towards the party room. What are you doing over here?" Harmony began to look more nervous as she said, "Well..."
Ana then giggled as she said, "Oh, I see. You're heading to Megan's room for a fun sleepover." Harmony sighed, and then in a worried voice said, "Look. I don't need you making fun of me. I know you said that it's better if I wait until marriage to..." Then Ana interrupted Harmony and said, "Whoa! I didn't say you should wait till marriage. I said that I should. That's because I'm not sharing my body with anyone until they sign a legal document binding themselves to me; with an addendum that states if they ever cheat on me, or break up with me, or even flirt with someone else online: I get everything. It's part of my master plan to get rich. A lot of guys may be after just one thing, but I'll take advantage of their hormones to get everything. However you don't need that kind of system in place with Megan. You two are perfect for each other. Now if you excuse me; I have to give Stormageddon the Conqueror a bath, before we go on our first secret mission." Ana then walked away with her kitten, while Harmony made a little smile... and then walked over to Megan's bedroom.
Harmony stood wearing her dress as she knocked on the door to Megan's bedroom. Megan then answered the door and immediately paused as she looked at Harmony, just as Harmony paused to look at Megan. Megan's dark hair was currently in it's naturally curly state, and she was wearing red lipstick on her lips, and was also wearing a long sleeveless red dress. Megan then finally broke her pause as she said, "Oh. Hey Harmony." Harmony looked a bit nervous as she said, "Hey Megan. Um... I was hoping to see you at the party, but when you weren't there; I decided to come here and talk to you. Can I come in?" Megan nodded her head, and then Harmony stepped into the bedroom.
As Megan closed the door behind her, Harmony said, "So... I see you got dressed up still." Megan looked nervous as she said, "Yeah. I was intending to go to the party. But... after getting all my make up on... I started to feel nervous about going." Harmony sighed, and then said, "Look Megan. I just want you to know that..." Then Megan interrupted Harmony as she said, "No. Let me speak first. Harmony... I'm sorry that I tried to make you feel pressured to do something with me that you're not ready to. It's just... you mean everything to me. I mean, ever since I gave you that Valentine's Day card in kindergarten and you kissed me on the cheek... I knew you were the one. And as I've gotten older... you're still the only one for me. My feelings for you are just so strong that I just want to give everything I am to you."
Tumblr media
Harmony smiled as she took Megan's hand and looked into her eyes as she said, "Megan... if I've seemed nervous about us taking our relationship to the next level... it's only due to how much I love you. I don't want to make any mistake that could hurt our relationship, and I especially don't want to unintentionally do anything that hurts you. However... I believe that if we make a mistake... we'll find a way to fix things up, or simply grow from what happens together... because our love is strong... which is why... I'm ready to make love with you Megan... right here... and right now." With a look of pure joy on her face: Megan said, "You mean it?" Harmony then took out from her pocket: a corsage with white flowers, and red and pink ribbons. Harmony then attached the corsage to Megan's right wrist, and then nodded her head as she said, "I do."
Harmony and Megan then embraced one another and kissed as they immediately wrapped their arms around one another. As they kissed though, both teenage girls slowly began to move their hands down the other's body... and then up the other's dress. The two both stopped their kiss to look at the other in the eyes. Megan smiled and nodded her head. Harmony smiled and nodded back. Then... Harmony pulled off her black dress, as Megan took off her long red dress. Both teenage girls were now standing in just their underwear while smiling. The two then put their hands behind the backs, as they began to remove their undergarments. The breathing of the young women began to get faster and deeper in anticipation for what was about to happen. Then... both Harmony and Megan were completely naked before one another.
Harmony suddenly began to look a bit nervous as she said, "Do I look nice?" Megan made a big smile as she said, "Harmony... you are nothing short of perfectly beautiful. Now hold on. Let me put this beautiful corsage on a shelf, so it doesn't get damaged." Megan took off her corsage, and then crawled onto the bed and placed her corsage on a shelf over the bed. As Megan reached up: she kept her left knee on the bed, while putting her right foot on the bed three feet ahead of it. As this occurred, Harmony giggled a bit. Megan turned her head slightly to the right (to look at Harmony) as she smiled while saying, "What?" Harmony sighed as she said, "It's just... right now... you look nothing short of perfectly beautiful as well." Megan made a happy smile as she looked at Harmony.
Tumblr media
Harmony then eventually got onto the bed, and used some wipes she had to clean her lower regions briefly, while Megan watched. Harmony then put one closed fist below her chin, and made a sexy smile; causing Megan's heart rate to increase.  Soon Megan sat on the bed, and then Harmony sat right in front of her. The two just gazed upon the other's nude beauty for a moment... and then wrapped their arms around each other. Then in a private moment only the two young women would ever remember... they began to make love. Within moments, two teenage girls lost their virginity to one another as they began explore and pleasure one another in the deepest and most powerful way possible. What was once two souls, then became one that night.
Then once the night of passion concluded: Megan laid on top of Harmony, with Harmony's arms holding Megan close. As the two began to look at one another, suddenly both Harmony and Megan realized that tears were beginning to escape from their eyes. Megan giggled a bit as she said, "Oh great. Now I'm crying." Then a smiling Harmony said, "Well if you're crying, I'm just gonna cry more." The two teenage girls then simply laid together as they hugged one another very tightly; their chins resting on the others' shoulder. Tears continued to come from their eyes, as Megan said, "You make me so happy Harmony. I love you so much!" Harmony squeezed Megan tight, as she said, "I love you so much too. This is like a dream come true." Harmony then moved her head back a bit to look right at Megan in the eyes as she said, "Soul mates. That's you and me. We're soul mates forever. I love you Megan." A happy and content Megan then said, "I love you too Harmony. Now and forever." Then both teenage girls laid on their sides as they continued to hug one another... and eventually the two lovers fell asleep in the others' arms.
Tumblr media
The next morning, in her room: Enid was getting the last of her clothing on as she was talking on the phone with Wednesday. As Enid held the phone close to her, she heard Wednesday say, "I assume the students have been giving you no trouble on the weekend trip." Enid smiled as she said, "No. They've actually all been great." Then Enid heard Wednesday say, "Excellent. Then my threats I made upon them worked." Then as Enid put her socks and shoes on, she said, "So... how was Melissa's funeral yesterday?" Enid then heard Wednesday slowly say, "The event caused... emotions... to be felt. However for the most part, it was as pleasing as any other funeral. So... have our children been well?" Enid suddenly began to sound a bit nervous as she said, "Oh. Well... Ana is fine. And Harmony is... um... um..." A concerned sounding Wednesday then said, "Enid... what are you not telling me?" Enid sighed, and then said, "It's probably nothing. We'll talk about it when we get home tonight. Anyway, have fun checking in on Wenclair Fashion today. Tell all our old workers that I miss them, will you?" Then Wednesday in a cold voice say, "I won't." Then Wednesday hung up the phone.
Enid then stepped out into the hallway of the lodge she was staying at as she softly said to herself, "Okay Enid. Just calm down. Yes, Harmony had a long talk with you about potentially having sex with her girlfriend yesterday. And then you noticed Harmony leaving the party early last night. But that doesn't mean anything concrete. Despite letting her know that it was her choice, you emphasized several times how important it is to wait. Plus, she still seemed confused and uncertain last time you saw her. I'm sure when I see her this morning, she'll still be her sweet innocent confused little self that definitely did not..."
Tumblr media
Then suddenly Enid's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of old rock music being played on a nearby speaker. Then suddenly Harmony slid into the hallway (with her back to Enid) while wearing just a pink button down shirt, white booty shirts, and socks. Then suddenly Harmony turned around (but didn't notice Enid) and held her phone close to her face (like it was a microphone), and then began to dance around with a giant smile on her face while singing, "Just take those old records off the shelf. I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself. Today's music ain't got the same soul. I like that old time rock and roll." Then Harmony began playing air guitar while she jumped up on a couch in the hallway, as she continued to excitedly sing, "Don't try to take me to a disco. You'll never even get me out on the floor. In ten minutes I'll be late for the door. I like that old time rock and roll." Then Harmony fell down on the couch on her back while shaking her legs as she gleefully sang, "Still like that old time rock and roll. That kind of music just soothes the soul. I reminisce about the days of old; with that old time rock and roll."
As all of this occurred, Enid stood with complete shock and horror on her face. Then after a long moment of her body being frozen, Enid finally opened her mouth and said, "Oh God. You actually did it." Harmony suddenly noticed Enid, and then turned off her music and stood up as she said, "Oh. Mom. Um..." Enid stepped forward as she said, "You don't need to tell me Harmony. I know exactly what the happy morning after your first time face looks like." Harmony with a slightly cautious voice said, "Well..." Enid then interrupted Harmony as she said, "You know what... it was your body, and your choice. You're a responsible mature woman, and I trust you. Just... be safe. Anyway, I need to check on the other students now." Enid then walked away, as Harmony looked a bit nervous.
Suddenly Ana popped out from around a corner as she said, "Dude. You got off easy." Harmony jumped up for a second as she said, "Ah! Ana! Where did you come from?" Ana smirked as she said, "Just happened to be close to turning the corner right when that conversation started. Me and Stormageddon the Conqueror just got back from our mission. Check out his new look!" Then Ana held up her kitten, and showed that it was now wearing a small brown vest and a brown top hat with old style goggles on it. A confused looking Harmony then said, "You turned your new pet into a Steam Punk Kitten?" Then Ana casually said, "How else is he supposed to dress? Anyway, you should enjoy the fact that mom acted so chill about your sleepover with Megan. You're gonna have a real peaceful day... until we get home, and mother finds out you totally banged the first weekend she wasn't around."
Harmony suddenly looked nervous as she said, "Oh no. You don't think... I mean... mom was okay with it. So shouldn't mother be chill about it too?" Ana giggled as she said, "Since when is mother chill about anything!? Anyway, I'm gonna go see mom for a minute and say I'm sick." A confused looking Harmony then said, "Are you sick?" Then Ana (in a matter of fact tone) said, "Nah. I'm just gonna fake it so I can skip the activities she has planned for the class today. Once you all are gone, I am heading over to the nearby city with Stormageddon the Conqueror for our next secret mission." A still confused Harmony then said, "But... how are you gonna fake being sick to mom?" Ana smirked as she said, "Easy. You show off clammy hands. It's very non-specific and an easy symptom to pull off. You fake a stomach cramp; and when you're bent over: moaning and wailing - you lick your palms. It's a little childish and stupid... but then so is any form of high school. I know it seems wrong... but I have to go do my thing Harmony, and just have a day off. Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it." Then Ana walked away, as Harmony just looked confused.
Tumblr media
Wednesday walked into an office where a young man in a t-shirt was sitting. Wednesday looked down at the man, and in a cold voice said, "Hello Mike." The young man: Mike, quickly stood up and said, "Hey Wednesday! Good to have you back!" Mike held out his arms, but Wednesday stepped back while showing great discomfort in her face. Wednesday then went back to having no expression on her face, as she said, "You will address me as Mrs Addams. I may have left my day to day managerial duties when my wife and I departed to begin work at Nevermore Academy. However I am still a majority share holder in this company; so you will address me with the respect that position dictates." Mike nodded his head as he said, "Yeah. Sure. But anyway, I heard you wanna take a tour and check out how the place has been since you left. So follow me, and I'll give you the grand tour."
Mike then led Wednesday into an office space where many workers (in very casual attire) were sitting in front of their computers; while several dogs sat near them. Wednesday then looked very concerned as she said, "Why are there pets with foul odors in this work space?" Mike had a big smile as he said, "Oh. Those aren't pets. They're emotional support animals. They help all our workers feel more at peace while working." Wednesday looked horrified as she said, "Workers aren't supposed to be focused on being at peace while working. They should be be working while working. If the common person feels stressed and undervalued; they can sort out their problems on their own time. In fact... why are so many seats here missing? Where are the other staff?" Then a casual sounding Mike said, "Oh. Well for many of the office staff, we let them work from home now. It lets them work more comfortably and be closer to their families." Then Wednesday with a confused face said, "So in order to improve productivity... you allow workers to be in an environment where they can more easily lounge about without any supervisors around to ensure they're being as efficient as possible... while also putting your workers as close as possible to their family members: the one set of individuals in the world that could be most distracting to them?"
Then a slightly nervous Mike said, "Well... how about we check out the new break room we have. It makes lunch time and coming to work so much more fun for our employees now." Then Mike led Wednesday into a break room, and inside Wednesday saw employees playing at multiple old style arcade game machines that were set up, along with a Ping Pong table and Air Hockey table. Wednesday began to looked mortified as she said, "You've turned this workplace into a play place!?" Mike then casually said, "Just the break room. It creates a fun environment for people to blow off steam, and it builds comradery amongst the staff. We also started a new inner-office social media platform where staff can give uplifting shout-outs to their co-workers, and also share their favorite hobbies with one another." Then Wednesday looked at Mike with anger in her eyes as she said, "Let me get this straight. Employees of the company are encouraged to play games and post on social media while on the clock; all the while they have peers not even present that get to claim they're working all day without any real supervision. How is that beneficial to the growth and efficiency of this company!?"
Mike began to back up looking nervous as he said, "But... we're just creating a positive work environment where people can be themselves." Then Wednesday stepped towards Mike with fury in her eyes as she said, "Yes, I am aware there is this modern belief that everything will be better in the world if we all just: be ourselves. However the problem with the modern workplace environment isn't that people aren't be themselves... rather, it's that they are being themselves. People are selfish, moronic, single minded, and can't stay on task when given the freedom to do things their way. They need the cold, organized, and unrelenting structure of a rigid workplace that forces them to live up to standards higher than their own. So as the majority shareholder of this company: I demand you remove the games, animals, and social media platform from this company at once; and then force everyone to come back to working in the office 40 hours a week. And if you refuse or attempt to have my shares in the company bought out - there is a clause in my contract that allows me to pull my name and endorsements from all advertisements related to any products sold from this business."
A concerned looking Mike then said, "But Mrs Addams...due to the success of your books and the TV series it spawned: that would destroy our business. Please... we've built a work environment that people enjoy now." Then Wednesday looked at Mike with disgust as she said, "People aren't meant to enjoy being at work. They're supposed to be miserable at work. So miserable that they lose any will power to find any other meaning in their pathetic lives beyond working at their jobs, and thus they'll work as hard as possible to get their work done on time so that they don't have to work late at the job they despise. But then due to their misery destroying their self-esteem: they'll lose all will power to do anything enjoyable over the weekend - and thus will be stuck in the cycle of wanting to come back to work, because this is the only pathetic existence they know. That is how you run an efficient workplace. Do I make myself clear!?"
Tumblr media
Near a large waterfall and lake, many teenagers from Nevermore Academy were playing in the water. As one teenage girl stood near the top of the waterfall, Enid called out and said, "Hey Emmy! I said no jumping from up there! The water down below isn't that deep and you could get hurt!" As the girl carefully walked away, Megan slowly walked over to a cooler that was near Enid. Enid then turned to get a drink from the cooler at the same time as Megan. Enid and Megan then both paused for a moment as they glanced at one another... and then Enid slowly said, "Oh, hey Megan." Megan looked a bit nervous as she said, "Hi Ms Enid. Um... I'm just getting a drink." Megan then grabbed a drink from the cooler, and began to walk away: when suddenly Enid said, "Megan, wait. I... I don't want things to be awkward between us." Megan then turned to look at Enid as she slowly said, "Well... I don't want that either."
Then Enid sighed and said, "Look. I know that for you and Harmony - your childhood was long ago. However to me... you were both were just little girls yesterday. As much as you both truly have matured so much... this advancement in your relationship sort of feels sudden to me. However... I know I need to accept you both are becoming real women now. It's just gonna take a little time. Do you understand?" Megan nodded her head and said, "Yeah." Enid smiled, as she said, "Good. But with all that being said... I'm proud that neither of you two has ever lied to me about what you both do together... and thank you choosing to love my daughter completely and unconditionally. She deserves the best... so never stop aiming to be that for her." Megan made a little smile as she said, "I will Ms Enid... and thank you."
Megan then walked over with two drinks in her hands and headed to the other side of the lake where Harmony was sitting. As Megan sat down next to her, Harmony said, "Was my mom being awkward with you?" Megan smiled as she said, "No. She's just a parent trying to be helpful... and honestly... that's more than most people have." Harmony then held Ana's hand, and the two girls kissed one another briefly. As the two looked at the lake, Harmony said, "This has become the most perfect weekend ever." Megan smiled as she said, "Yeah. This lake especially is so peaceful and nice. Too bad Ana is missing out on this. What do you think she's doing right now?" Then Harmony casually said, "Probably just wandering around town with her cat. Since she doesn't want mom to know that she left her room though, I'm sure she's laying low and not doing some big crazy stunt that could get her lots of attention."
Tumblr media
In the middle of a giant parade that had ten thousand people standing around watching: on top of a large float in the middle of the parade was Ana holding a microphone, as she danced around while singing, "Well shake it up baby now!" Then Ana's kitten jumped up next to her and sang, "Meow, meow, meow, meow!" Then Ana happily sang, "Twist and shout!" Then the kitten happily sang, "Meow, meow, meow!" Then Ana continued to dance to her enthusiastic crowd as she sang, "Come on, come on, come, come on, baby, now!" Then Ana's kitten jumped on Ana's shoulder and loudly sang into the microphone: "Meow, meow, meow!" Then Ana grinned as she said, "Come on and work it on out!" Then Ana's kitten jumped up and down as it sang, "Meow, meow, meow!" Then Ana moved around the float and danced some more as she sang, "Well, work it on out!" Then the kitten continued to sing, "Meow, meow, meow!" Then Ana waved her arms around as she sang, "You know you look so good!" Then the kitten swayed it's head back and forth as it sang, "Meow, meow, meow" Then Ana swayed her head back and forth as she sang, "You know you got me goin' now." Then the kitten cutely sang, "Meow, meow, meow!" Then Ana grinned as she said, "Just like I knew you would." Then Ana and her kitten continued to dance around the float, as the ten thousand people watching began to dance with them and cheered loudly.
Tumblr media
In her large room at Nevermore Academy, Enid had a large table set up in the middle of the room with five chairs. As Enid was setting up food at the table, Wednesday walked in. With a big smile, Enid said, "Howdy roomie!" Enid then ran over to Wednesday and instantly kissed her. After a moment of kissing, Wednesday broke her kiss to look at Enid with a straight face as she said, "Enid... being without your presence for 53 hours and 17 minutes straight was like torture... and I'm not referring to the good kind." Enid grinned as she said, "I missed you too." Wednesday and Enid kissed again, as they wrapped their arms tight around each other. However as they did, Wednesday started to pull Enid's shirt off. However, Enid stopped Wednesday and said, "Um... maybe we should stop. The girls said they'd be here right around now, and I don't want to make anything more awkward with them." Wednesday suddenly looked concerned as she said, "More awkward? Enid... what are you not sharing with me!?"
Suddenly, Harmony and Megan walked into the room looking exhausted but happy as Harmony said, "Sorry if we came in a little late. We were a little... uh... busy." Suddenly Wednesday's eyes widened as she looked very carefully at Harmony and Megan. As Wednesday kept her eyes wide, she starred directly and intently at Harmony and Megan while saying, "Flushed faces, larger than normal smiles upon entering, untidy hair, increased sweat that is visible on your skin and yet not your wrinkled clothes..." Then an astonished Enid said, "Really!? Again!?" Then Wednesday looked at Enid with confused wide eyes as she said, "Again!?" Then Enid sighed and said, "Well... Harmony did come and talk to me for advice before it happened. I know you said you always wanted to be part of that conversation if it ever came up, but you were busy with the funeral, so I didn't call you." Harmony now began to look very nervous as she said, "Mother... are you mad at us?" Wednesday then marched over to Harmony and Megan, and glared at them both.
Then as Wednesday kept her piercing eyes focused on the two girls she said, "Did you treat the other well? Did you treat the other like they were the most important individual in your life, and afterwards: found yourself unable to even imagine yourself with another individual for the rest of your life?" Harmony nodded her head as she said "Yeah." Megan nodded her head too and said, "Yes Mrs Addams." Then Wednesday suddenly showed a calmer demeanor as she said, "Very well then. Lets prepare to have dinner then."Then suddenly Ana walked into the room with her kitten on her shoulder as she casually said, "What's up peoples!? Oh hey Harmony. You and Megan weren't killed by mother. Good for you two." Then a concerned looking Enid said, "Okay Ana. Why weren't you on the bus ride home? How did you get back to the Academy? And what have you been doing all day!?" Then Ana casually said, "Stuff. By the way. This kitten on my shoulder is Stormageddon the Conqueror. He's a member of the family now. We're gonna go wash our hands before we eat." Then Ana walked over to the nearby bathroom with her kitten, as a confused looking Enid said, "You know what... everything else is changing around here already... so I'm not gonna question anything anymore." Then as everyone began to sit at the dinner table together, Megan said, "So Mrs Addams, I saw some people roasting marshmallows around a large bonfire outside. The other students said you were the one that set up the bon fire. Where did you get all that wood?" Then Wednesday with a straight face said, "From the broken remains of ping pong and air hockey tables, along with several arcade cabinets... and many absurd dreams."
Tumblr media
Later that evening as the sun set: Wednesday and Enid stood outside their room at Nevermore Academy on the balcony that looked down at the school. As Enid leaned her hands on the balcony railing she said, "You know Wednesday... I'm pretty surprised at how chill you acted when you realized Harmony and Megan are now having sex." Wednesday kept a straight face as she said, "Well if I remained too predictable, then you would all become complacent." Then as Enid looked out at the sky she said, "It's just... you always attempt to prepare for the worst, assume the most negative things in other people, and see so much darkness when you think about the future. In fact the only time you didn't assume anything was going to go wrong in your future was when our kids were going to be born, and when you married me; but that was probably just because you had visions of the future that showed you..." Then suddenly Enid stopped and gasped loudly. Then Enid with excitement, turned her head to look at Wednesday as she said, "You had a vision about Harmony and Megan's future, didn't you!?" Then Wednesday crossed her arms, and kept a straight face as she said, "I believed we both agreed long ago that it would not be best if I reveal any more details of our family's nearly certain destiny." Then Enid tried to calm down as she said, "Okay, okay. You're right. You're probably right."
The two remained silent for a moment... but then Wednesday turned her head to look at the sky as she said, "Try to hold back your tears at their wedding though, as you're going to greatly embarrass yourself. Also: if you offer to babysit our grandchildren any time Harmony and Megan ask, they will take total advantage of you." Then Enid suddenly started to shake and squeal in excitement while saying, "Eeeee! I'm gonna be a grandma! YAY!" Then suddenly, Ana stuck her head out from the nearby window and said, "Hey mom, mother. Me and Stormageddon the Conquer are looking for some peanut butter, a blow torch, and some active plutonium. Know where we can find any of that stuff?" A confused looking Enid then said, "No... and why do you need those things?" Then Ana casually said, "Reasons." Then Ana walked away, as a concerned looking Enid turned towards Wednesday as she said, "Have you had any visions about Ana's future?" Then with a disturbed look, Wednesday said, "Oh... you don't want to know."
THE END
LINKS BELOW TO READ ENTIRE SERIES:
-Download Link to Read All my Past Wenclair Stories in One PDF
-https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14168842/1/The-Passion-of-a-Moment-Enid-and-Wednesday-s-Family-and-Legacy (Web Link for M-rated version of my stories)
-https://archiveofourown.org/works/43420609 (alternate Web Link for M-rated version of my stories)
-https://www.wattpad.com/user/WenclairFamily (Web link for T-rated version of my stories)
22 notes · View notes
transmutationisms · 10 months
Note
sorry if uve gotten this ask before but in ur opinion how do u think shiv’s (and tom’s) ending fits into the general themes/arguments of the show and her characterization? ive seen a lot of split opinions about it
my opinion is that the build-up to shiv's decision in the boardroom was shortchanged in the editing, and the moment is consequently cheapened a bit. but the decision itself is good character writing and shiv and tom's ending is very strong writing in the sense that it accomplishes exactly what the creative team were aiming at. shiv is backed into a corner by the end of this season; in the boardroom, she's finally forced to choose between kendall, who from her perspective has been acting entitled to this position by virtue of birth, and tom, whom she is still married to and has been in a business-romantic relationship with. there are multiple things happening in her head when she finally votes against kendall. the main two imo are reacting against the perception that voting for him would be handing him the power over her that she's always seen as unjust and undeserved, as well as the calculation that kendall has repeatedly used his power to push her out of the highest echelons of the company, whereas with tom she might still have the smallest possible in. so, choosing tom is both shiv trying to stay in the game, and shiv trying to preserve her dignity: for her, nothing would ultimately be more humiliating than admitting defeat against her flop older brother whom she thinks has done nothing to earn this position, not even being a useful suck-up like tom. in the final shot, shiv puts her hand on top of tom's in the car, but doesn't take it: body language that indicates both a partnership and a bit of power-play. she's still in the game, or trying to be.
for tom this is a pretty hollow victory. matsson explicitly plans to use him as essentially a puppet. he also has said that he views waystar as a parts shop, meaning he's going to dismantle much/most of the company, so who even knows how much of an empire tom will still be ruling in 5 years. for matsson, tom is basically just the guy who will be answering to the board for whatever matsson does public-facing. tom has also both ruined and cemented his marriage: shiv has reasons to ally with him (both personal and professional), but will also always see him as the social striver who took over her family's company after she was screwed out of it because of matsson's misogyny.
the show has always been cynical about the possibility of actual structural change. matsson taking over may mean waystar is dismantled, but it also means a consolidation of power for him and gojo. tom getting ceo is basically because he did the best job of sucking up. this is not a show that has ever been interested in radical departure from the status quo; if anything, the underlying philosophy is that very little actually changes because people don't change on a deeper level. those who seek power and wealth will continue to do so, and power and wealth will continue to accrete largely in the hands of those who already have some.
in my communist opinion, what this narrative lacks is the larger frame that is an actually anti-capitalist analysis. to me, what makes it impossible for these people to change or for corporate power to be dismantled is the fact that everything is constrained within a capitalist system, which limits the characters' circumstances and the economic possibilities. this does not mean revolution is impossible; on the contrary, it means revolution is necessary, and is the foundational material change that will allow, among other things, the kind of psychological development that these characters can't access in their (our) universe. i'm not pretending that the show is making this argument explicitly (arguably it does occasionally implicitly), but i also think it has been pretty clearly conveyed since the end of 1x06 that this sort of bleakness is always where the narrative was going to go. there's no escape for these characters as long as capitalism (and resulting patriarchy, ableism, &c) continue to exist; since the writing has never been interested in discussing or exploring those radically alternative possibilities, this ending is tonally exactly what i would expect, and conveys the sense of entrapment that the show has always invoked.
98 notes · View notes
Text
WIP Wednesday - COTWDF 3
Very early draft here since we were just discussing it yesterday. This will eventually be part of the third fic in my call off the whole damn funeral series in which Klaus throws a party as a hostile gesture towards the vampires of *mumbles* city who are getting on his nerves. (Yes, that should be read as "upsetting Caroline.")
Sorry to let you down on the 20k, @purplesigebert, but in my defense, it's not Monday yet.
With further apologies to @marxandangels. I have not done justice to your concept about one of the Incidents being something Caroline did, but I am working on it.
“This is the first time I’ve met Klaus personally,” the man said to his companion. “However, he killed my sire and 17 other vampires in Provence in 1911. I found the bodies. What was left of them.”
Caroline blinked. Hadn’t Klaus been in New Orleans then? She didn’t think he had been back to Europe before World War I.
“He killed a coven I was working with in Denver in October 2010. I’m hoping to ensure that doesn’t happen again,” said the other vampire.
The fuck? Caroline thought. Klaus had definitely been in Mystic Falls then. That was the peak of his hybrid-making bullshit. He made Tyler bite her in October 2010. On her birthday, for fucks sake. Kol was in Colorado stalking Jeremy around that time. They weren’t that hard to tell apart.
Klaus was on the other side of the room making nice with someone or another, so she couldn’t even make significant eye contact. Inconvenient.
“I heard he left a trail of werewolf bodies all over the Appalachians are the same time,” That was the first vampire again, and he wasn’t wrong.  “And killed another dozen witches just a few months later in Virginia.”
That was me! Caroline still thought about that day all these years later. She wasn’t proud of it, but she wasn’t sure that she was comfortable with Klaus getting the blame either. Had he covered that up? She could own her mistakes.
It wasn’t until three days later that she remembered to ask. “Did you tell people you killed the witches to complete the Expression Triangle?”
“Beg pardon, love?” he said. His face told her that he was more surprised than stalling. Yeah, she could have prefaced that with something.
“At the party, I heard some people talking about various Klaus Crimes. A couple of them sounded off to me. Like one I thought was probably Kol and one was definitely me. I can own my own mistakes, Klaus. I don’t need you to cover for me.” She was disappointed when he laughed. Not the correct response, buddy.
“Klaus—” she started. He cut her off before she could build steam on her rant about how laughter was not anymore respectful than “protecting” her from the blame for her actions.
“I’m not laughing at you, sweetheart. I’m going to have to text ‘Lijah. He’ll be so pleased.” He got himself under control after a moment. “Do you remember the Sun and Moon Curse legend?”
“The fake curse you and Elijah made up so that people would help you find the moonstone to break your curse? Yeah,” she said. She had not been impressed at the time but now she could admit that it was impressive. The commitment to the bit was astonishing in its scale.
“Well, this story begins even earlier than that. Eight—no, nine—hundred years or so ago, ‘Lijah and I realized that we need a better way to control our perception in the community, to build power and reputation for ourselves and to simplify relationships. We began spreading rumors attaching credit or blame for various events to one of us. That’s why you hear so little about Kol or Rebekah over the years. Klaus,” and here he pronounced his name in italics, “got the blame for most of the violence and vengeance. Elijah,” italics again, “made all the treaties, brokered all the deals.”
“Wait, so all the shit we heard about you wasn’t even you? How am I just finding this out?!”
“You’d not have believed me earlier on in our relationship,” he said. Fair. He had done all the things she personally blamed him for. “But no, many of the things Klaus is known to have done was the work of another of my siblings. Occasionally even someone outside the family will do something to merit inclusion under the Klaus moniker.”
“I cannot believe I am dating an influencer. What else are you doing for the brand, Klaus?”
13 notes · View notes
kitsunefyuu · 5 months
Note
I think if the author had developed Izuku's perception on his and Bakugo's relationship more then he could've sold me on their friendship.
As it stands now I feel like we get a lot from Bakugo's perspective and never Izuku. I just want him to reflect on what he went through, process it and confront Bakugo about it. After that they can move on from it and grow. The apology scene would've been perfect for Izuku to express his feelings about it all, but Izuku just stood there with his mouth open and said nothing which makes that scene along with their relationship fall flat to me. I wanted an actual conversation between them not just some five second I'm sorry from Bakugo and no response from Izuku.
The gag scenes where Bakugo is yelling his head off angrily and Izuku is like ahhh I'm sorry! does not endear me to their friendship either and it's common for it to be used especially in the OVA's and movie's. I'm not saying you have to completely change Bakugo's entire personality, but make him less RAGHHH at Izuku and Izuku less scared and apologetic when he acts like that.
I want to see what others see in their relationship, I wanted to be amazed by them making eye contact and acting with the same goal in mind like others were with this chapter as according to them it's proof how far they've come. Yet I feel like I'm told how great their development was, but I'm not really shown it. I'm expected to just brush off a lot of things and just accept Bakugo's apology without question and input from Midoriya's side and that is something I cannot do
It's a shame as they both do have some cool moments together, however Bakugo's big moments when he thinks of Izuku don't hit hard for me due to what I've described above. Their dynamic just feels incomplete and I think I would've liked it more of we had more of Izuku reflecting and responding to said apology.
Tumblr media
This is literally the problem. It not a lot of show and a lot of tell also when it does 'Show' it does so with no build up. No change in behavior or well ANYTHING to make these changes mean anything.
Izuku isn't allowed to talk or express his thoughts only Bakugou is allowed. The apology didn't show us ANYTHING about our protagonist it no WONDER people don't like the MC. Horikoshi doesn't seem to care about his MC anymore. He trying to show off every single character but he sacrificing the main character.
I honestly want to like Katsuki Bakugou, I think he could have a great sibling relationship with Izuku. I can see that potential in people who write them well but the series fails to show it. Nothing about the two's interactions feel at all organic. Horikoshi has even CALLED Katsuki abusive and yet suddenly his tune changed when made Katsuki cry.
Like Hori why are you surprised you wrote him????
Let Izuku fight back like he did in the beginning. Let him be playfully bratty back not this push over that lets Bakugou mistreat him. Let them fight! Let Izuku talk or reflect where are his thoughts? Where is the insight?
I haven't heard anything about his thoughts in forever. It doesn't work if it one-sided and it makes me mad how Izuku just expected to accept an apology. Without ever mentioning or even talking about it he never responded...
He doesn't even get any focus on the Izuku and Tomura fight. But Bakugou gets a whole thought and dramatic 'death' that was fixed in a way that I can't suspend my belief. Their relationship doesn't feel earned nor good and I'm just disappointed.
21 notes · View notes
casteliacityramen · 9 months
Text
Munday Lore Post: Threat Assessment - Humanity
Tumblr media
Preface:
I have made it my goal to live amongst them, so my perception is understandably biased. That being said, like my last assessment and the ones before this one, I still wholeheartedly believe that humanity should be inducted into the Order of Arceus.
Description:
Humans are bipedal mammals that exhibit anomalous behaviors, bodily functions, and capabilities. Their genetics are a scrambled mess. The average human holds little to no Aura, Psychic Abilities, or Physical Strengths that would put them on par with even the mildest of pokemon.
Their offspring are even born in extremely vulnerable conditions, as opposed to pokemon who have proper time to incubate into functional sapient beings.
Humanity, as a whole, is fragile and anomalous. It's almost as if their existence was a mistake.
If you asked me last assessment, classifying them as pokemon would be erroneous. However, their bodies have been slowly adapting over the past century. More can access latent aura abilities. More psychics are born. Their tolerances to pain and stress are increasing, as well as their inherent physical strength.
Their lower lifespans and fragile nature is nothing but an obstacle to overcome. Their ability to innovate is unmatched, even in comparison to our artificers. If they have a problem, they will brute force their way to a solution, even if some of the results end in certain death. They've built complex tools and machines; flown, swam, and lived through environments they were never meant to be in; and have bested the odds time and time again. It's as fascinating as it is inspiring.
Assessment:
Humanity's ability to cooperate with each other and other pokemon are unparalleled amongst any other pokemon. Arguably, if life was a competition as to see who can build the most complex societies, humanity would come first "by a country mile," as the Unovans call it. I'd argue that it even puts the Order to shame.
Humanity is coming into another renaissance, this time, surrounding culture and cooperation after their previous industrial renaissance. International cooperation is at an all time high, and continuing to rise. This time, I believe that they intend to bring the rest of existence with them on this journey.
Pokemon life, as we know it, is about to become fundamentally different than ever before. Soon, there may even be a time where pokemon can innovate as well as humanity, given that they have the societal structure to no longer worry about basic needs.
It's always been our responsibility, as relfected in The Order's Creed, to guide existence towards enlightenment, but the relationship has been mutual. The Order uses their technology, re-organized multiple times to match their societal structures, and took inspiration from their innovations to create our own.
I believe that Humanity is the overt counterpart to our covert role in history. It's as if they have taken our role as Shepherds, Stewards, Scribes, Artificers, and even Councilors, to guide the world towards peace and enlightenment, and I still stand by this claim after their tumultuous times during and after the Kanto-Johto War. If anything, it's a testament to humanity's inherent cooperative nature that they have only had a full scale conflict every one thousand years.
This will undoubtedly be another contentious decision, but I motion that humanity be inducted into the Order. I believe that humanity will be able to do astronomically more things with Arceus's blessing than we ever can. I ask you all to reconsider your past decisions.
Scribe and Artificer J.
MOTION: DENIED
35 notes · View notes
rainbowsky · 1 year
Note
I used to love you& your blog. But I feel so disappointing today after reading your post on YSL incident. Cbiz & Chinese marketing is not that transparent. His fans are doing right. It will repeat if they stay silent. Goodbye! Hope you can maintain balanced love for our boys. Today you seriously sound unfair to XZ.
This is in reference to a previous post.
If you have been a follower of my blog for any amount of time then you will know that I don't shape or state my opinions to please other people. It would be utterly fake and dishonest to my readers if I were to do that. If you came here to read only things you agree with, then you probably came to the wrong place.
As for this whole issue with YSL, what is unfair to GG is for his fans to continually create petty scandals that make him look bad and threaten his career. When will they get it through their heads that he is a grown man who can take care of himself?
He has repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly implored his fans to behave rationally, stay calm, and let him take care of his own issues, and has said that he doesn't need 'protecting'; he is a grown man who can take care of himself.
IN MY VIEW (which you are totally free to disagree with), no one can credibly claim to be a loyal fan of GG while simultaneously causing disruptions and trending his name under negative topics. While going to war against a brand he's worked hard to build a good relationship with. While creating - as I said in my previous post - more negative public perception about him as a traffic star with disruptive, aggressive fans. Particularly given the openly stated position the government has taken against that type of fan culture.
And all this while people in China are watching loved ones die, and sometimes having to make the unimaginably difficult decision to cremate them in the streets because crematoriums and morgues are overflowing.
2/27 happened at a similarly troubling time for the country, when the earliest covid lockdowns were in place. It was the timing of that scandal that helped make it as serious as it was, because GG became an outlet for people to vent their anger, pain and fear upon. Now is not the time to be trending him over whether a makeup palette was attributed to his name when purchased.
His fans don't seem to GAF about his repeatedly stated wishes, nor about protecting his reputation as an artist or an individual. All they seem to care about is perpetuating their own sense of fandom consumer/traffic clout. They don't look beyond that to see that public perception and his reputation with the powers that be are infinitely more important to his long term survival in the industry, particularly given his age and background.
They keep doing this to him, over and over again. They did this with Ace Troops, they did this with ADLAD and of course 2/27. They are so full of their own sense of righteous superiority that they can't actually see clearly to realize how much they are disrupting his career path and bringing trouble to his door.
They are deluded enough to think this is behavior he thanks them for. Something tells me that is not what he mutters to himself when an issue like this arises.
But don't take my word for it, his own fan club released a statement asking people to stop.
Tumblr media
Fat Shrimp Suggestion Book Tips
I would like to convey to you the current communication situation: the studio has conducted close communication with the business team and the brand as soon as possible. At present, the brand has confirmed the relevant reasons and apologized to the artist and consumers through customer service replies. The follow-up cooperation is also being optimized simultaneously. The shortcomings of the business team in their work have also been identified internally, and adjustments and improvements are being made to address specific issues. Here, I hope that the attention and discussion brought about by this matter can stop here. I also sincerely ask everyone to be vigilant, not to be tempted by any provocative content, not to be provoked by irrelevant or unknown people to participate, not to heat up discussions on any brand or other related content, and to avoid irrelevant disputes caused by divergent interpretations. As always, we will work hard to maintain a good Internet environment.
Here's the thing: there is never any need to go from zero to "BRIGADE AND BOYCOTT!!" every single time something arises that fans are concerned about. There is such thing as trusting GG to handle his own shit. If they'd give GG and his team time to actually address issues on their own, none of this disruption need ever happen.
If his fans really had his best interests at heart, his name would never appear on a negative hotsearch brought about by them. If they had his best interests at heart, they would take care to ensure that his name would never be attached to public disruption and disorder. They should know by now that he will be held accountable for their actions.
And if my stating my perspective on this is too much for you (while you stating your opinion - anonymously - is totally fine), then all I really have to say is,
Tumblr media
Edit: more on why this is a problem.
80 notes · View notes
yuhi-san · 2 months
Text
Observations and subjective perceptions
Chapters: 7/20
Fandom: Trigun Stampede
Rating: Teen up
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Meryl Stryfe & Vash the Stampede, Vash the Stampede & Millions Knives, Meryl Stryfe & Millions Knives, Vash the Stampede & Nicholas D. Wolfwood, background relationships
Characters: Meryl Strife, Vash the Stampede, Millions Knives, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Milly Thompson
Additional Tags: (re)building relationships, Self-Discovery, Friendship, facing uncomfortable truths, learning to compromize, Pre-Relationship, Vash's complicated relationship with food, Meryl's Hazardous driving, Angst and Humor, POV Third Person, POV Alternating, Somewhat Unreliable Narrator, as in Meryl and Knives interprt things very differently, minor characters cameo, lots of 98 easter eggs, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining
Summary: Two years after the destruction of July, Vash finds himself facing his brother once again. Everything was different this time around and in a desperate plea Vash manages to convince Knives to give him ten years to show him the good and kindness in the world. With no real plan and burdens he could never shed, Vash stumbles along his path to prove to Knives that humanity was worth believing in. There are people determined to help him but that comes with its own can of worms.
Showing someone the good sides of life was easier said than done, especially when most of your companions have some kind of violent and horrible history with each other, and plans of their own.
--- A good compromise is if everyone agrees that no one is happy about it.
Chapter Summary:
Everyone tries to adjust to the new normal. Milly and Vash get along swimmingly, Knives has grievances regarding Meryl's driving.
shoutout to @eomma-jpeg because in this chapter i mention the first few things about Milly that were very much inspired by her amazing fic in the meadow
9 notes · View notes
queerxqueen · 2 years
Note
Byler being queerbait - a deliberate dangling of the possibility of a queer relationship to string the audience along with no intention on delivering - doesn't make sense when you consider that most of this potential baiting would be happening in real time (june) between vol1 and vol2 (see: the massive increase in byler shippers). A gap that was never meant to exist bc season 4 was meant to be released as one thing. So idt the duffers deliberately wrote this stuff in with no intention of payoff bc they weren't planning this gap of ambiguity ahead of time and I think that's skewing with our perceptions. I think vol2 will build up byler even more and it will make more sense and feel less "baity" when watched all together as one season
I have a few Q's about queerbaiting in my inbox right now so hopefully this addresses all of them.
HmmMmMM. So.
Is Byler Queerbaiting?
The thing is, it's so impossible to determine whether it's queerbaiting until we actually see the ending. I'm honestly hoping it's really just a slow burn romance that we'll see blossom in Volume 2 but until we see what happens, there's no saying whether it's queerbaiting or not!
We don't know how much Byler will be built up in volume 2. We know that they're going to somehow address Will's feelings, so we are getting a canonically queer character which is great... But we don't know what Mike will do, which is where the real potential for queerbaiting lies, when they've hyped up Byler on social media and queercoded Mike through so many little details.
Even if it's not intentional on the Duffers behalf, even if they intended the season to be released all at once, it can definitely be intentional on Netflix's behalf.
Yes, this season is "unprecedented" in length and the Duffers said something about wanting to get it to us sooner, but there's no way this wasn't in huge part a marketing decision. They wanted to stretch out the release with rising competition in streaming. Whether this marketing decision is queerbaiting depends entirely on what happens next. If Mike rejects Will and ends up with Eleven and that's it? Then fuck yeah. They drew out the wait to appeal to queer people who might have hope based on the clear clues they've laid out. At this point, there have been too many posts about Byler from the cast and Netflix-affiliated accounts, and too much evidence from every season, and I would definitely feel queerbaited.
But if Byler is canon? I respect the hell out of the choice, and it makes total sense from a marketing perspective. They're hooking the homophobic viewers who might have boycotted the season if a queer ending were spoiled for them, getting people to watch the bulk of it, getting people hooked, before making the queer subtext actual text. I've sometimes wondered if the reason the Cali gang isn't in episode 7 is because they made a conscious decision to push the overtly gay shit to the last two episodes.
This is pure speculation, admittedly. But they've straight-baited before and I'd love to see them do it again, and it would make sense to do it this way from a marketing POV if they were doing Byler.
we're in such a schroedinger's cat situation. our ship is either dead or alive. we're either being brutally queerbaited or watching the most epic slow-burn-friends-to-lovers plot twist unfold in real time.
july 1st is so gd far away
thank you for the asks also uwu
180 notes · View notes
itsmaferart · 2 years
Text
Twiyor Parallelism #3.2 ~· Twilight mother Figure
This contains spoilers for the manga.
In my previous post do a couple of analysis of Twilight and Yor individually, detailing individual aspects of their personality and the conflict that raises each character in their background. Now, I want to develop an analysis that will be divided into several parts, about these characters at the point where they are similar and opposite to each other, and how their dynamics develop. I clarify, that this is based on the manga and my own point of view, being my own theories of what it means - but this can change, depending on the course that follows the manga that is in issue. That being said, let's get started!
Now, that I could talk about Twilight's father, I want to explore the other side of parenthood. And I mean his mom
It's not until chapter 35 of the manga, when Twilight after a lousy attempt to seduce his drunken wife, getting kicked to get knocked out. Endo gives us one of the spy's most emotional scenes. Show us the first view of Twilight's past. ~Of course, this memory was much shorter compared to its backstory, but no less significant
Tumblr media
The first thing Twilight tells us is that he doesn't remember his mother's face (and it seems he doesn't remember his father either)
Possibly, he conditioned his own mind to forget these memories as a way to protect himself from pain
Focusing on the past, we are briefly introduced that Twilight's parents' relationship was somewhat conflicting. Most certainly, because Twilight's father used to use very abrupt (violent) methods when communicating with his wife and children. So this possibly led to constant discussions.
Tumblr media
However, if we turn away all bad events. We can see that in the midst of fear and anguish, Twilight always had a shelter, a place where he would always belong. The warm arms of a mother
Perhaps, his relationship with his father was difficult. But the relationship with her mom has been the best Twilight had during his childhood
For many, the relationship with the mother is perhaps the most important we can have. Since it is our first contact with the world, it is the closest thing to defining our perception of love and a home
Tumblr media
The way Twilight defined her mother was "My mother was strong" - (as opposed to his father who I consider strict) Because, the strength of it, it wasn't maybe it wasn't having a brute force ~it sure was a normal woman- But the way she was always for him, cared for his well-being and comforted him in the moments he was afraid because he felt that maybe his world was ending.
Tumblr media
For Twilight the peace of the children (and for him) is the highest priority. But it doesn't matter how many agents exist in the world fighting villains. The love of a family, and in this case, that of a mother are the ones that give meaning to life
I know that losing his friends and losing his father (as far as we know so far) was painful. But losing his mother was the most devastating thing for him.
With his mom by his side, Twilight was not afraid, he had someone by his side, he had love, protection, someone who thought of him unconditionally.
Physically losing his mother was what led him to be totally alone, lost and without any trace of love amid the rubble. Without any love, the only thing that allowed him to survive was hatred.
Tumblr media
For Twilight, a mother figure is one who loves and protects her family, who ensures to preserve the union and even if the situation is one of the most depressing. A mother's love reminds us of the beauty and meaning of life --It is here, when we see the importance of -remembering his own mother
I hope this is not misunderstood, but, the perception of a mother/( father) can help us build a pattern that defines the way we want to build love with a couple and form a family
In the present....
It is impossible to talk about the mother figure and not to talk about Twilight's perception of Yor.
Here we can see, that Twilight understands that the figure of a mother is not reduced to fulfilling a social role, or standards that others impose to define you as "good or not"
A mother is not just the one who cooks or cleans a house, a mother is the one who really cares for her child's well-being. Any effort to cook a delicious dish for a family or clean, are simple duties that are fulfilled in a home and that both parents do as part of a household routine.
That's why Twilight is moved by Yor's efforts to improve. He doesn't care about being the cook, but seeing the love with which Yor strives to be better for Anya and for him is the instinct of a true mother
Not to mention how he manifests that "Yor is strong" and this is the feature that most admires/and what he attracted about her
I know the manga uses Yor's physical strength. Even mocking how Twilight is shocked to see a downed cow or a broken meter. But it is also, one of so many subtle mangaka ways to show that for which he is attracted to Yor ~So no, Becky's not wrong. Twilight is attracted to strong women
Although, the force I mean is not the force a woman has in her fists. But the strength they have to overcome adversity and still be able to continue to calm and protect their family, and especially their children.
Tumblr media
This parallelism was intentional. I'm sure!
Twilight knows the level of sacrifice Yor is willing (or assumes) to reach for having raised her brother. He thinks that Yor might have had to work with his body to be able to keep Yuri (Although, it's not the case, since she's a murderer) - And he knows that this has done the same with Anya. Despite all the dangers Anya has gone through during the Strix mission, she knows that her mother will literally annihilate whoever crosses her path
In addition, Yor always seeks the mutual well-being of both him and Anya. When Loid is irritated to see that Anya does not understand the studies, or seems to be about to argue, Yor always appears with sweet and optimistic comments that calm the hysteria of both.
Even when he feels cornered, believing he's failing in the role of father. She is backing him up, remembering that he is excellent as he is..... And that is why the figure of a mother (Yor's) becomes irreplaceable to the family.
Tumblr media
And also, a way in which his feelings for Yor are manifested
Yeah, Anya feels safe with Yor, but she's not the only one. Do you notice how Twilight often seems to identify and project into Anya. Seeing the feelings of the child who was ever in it?
Well, Twilight also feels safe and secure with Yor. So much to tell her truths about her past, as to tell her something as intimate as her mother's memories.
Tumblr media
Why tell him that he was envious? Why not just tell a lie that reinforces his mask as Loid Forger? - He was able to deflect the subject on Yuri and downplay it, or just say "I've been alone since my wife died" - In both cases, he was sure to deflect the subject.
But he didn't, he preferred to tell her a truth: How alone he has been, or how alone he was… no friends, no family, no one
Why tell Yor about her mom? Yeah, he may need to bolster Yor's confidence for the mission. But telling this truth goes against his role as a spy, it goes against his strict law of not relating to others.
Simply the way Anya feels safe with Yor, Twilight also perceives her as a refuge, a protection where he can feel safe, someone who comforts him.
I feel, that without realizing it Twilight is developing romantic feelings for his false wife, because he sees in Yor the characteristics that for him define a good mother and wife. And in particular, he finds in it the necessary basis that build love (even if he is unable to admit it or does not realize it). Respect, admiration, effort, sincere, selfless affection and above all the ability to communicate
And it's pretty clear, as Anya and Twilight feel lonely when they don't have mother/wife Forger by their side with their cheerful smile encouraging them
Tumblr media
I think the envy that Twilight felt, is because he would have liked to have someone who would have looked after him and protected him as Yoru protected Yuri
~ In other words, he would have liked to have been with his mother always
Tumblr media
I felt sad remembering Twilight's pain. But enjoy the analysis I hope you enjoyed this analysis as much as I did!! :D
.
.
What do you think?
You can read the next part here
You can read the previous part here
156 notes · View notes
Text
A Theatrical Performance of An Intimate Moment
A/N: okay, so, this isn’t exactly fanfiction, lol. It’s simply me rambling on about my thoughts on atpoaim. I’ve been seduced by the series and I can’t help myself. I also just wanted to use it as a thinking exercise to reflect on where the band is at, what they’re currently doing artistically, etc. So, I totally understand if you decide to skip reading it. But I would love for this to be an opportunity for those who are interested to share their thoughts as well. It’s basically a bunch of questions I’m wondering about! So come talk to me about it if you’d like cuz I’m a nerd for this kind of thing!
Warnings: hella pretentious. I’m a PhD student in English Literature. Pretentious is my middle name.
The Title: the series title presents us with our first paradox. How can something intimate become theatrical, let alone a performance? Intimacy usually implies authenticity, genuineness, connection. Whereas theatricality is often associated with artifice and drama. The 1975 attempt to bring the two together, but is that even possible? Also, how is labeling this series as a “theatrical performance of an intimate moment,” change our perception of it? Like, is it different from watching a vlog? If Matty had announced this as a “behind the scenes document-series” or a “day in my life” we wouldn’t have the same level of distance and suspicion of what we are seeing on screen as we do now. What’s the purpose of creating that kind of experience for the audience?
The cinematography: the way that it’s filmed does two primary things for me: first, it emphasizes artificiality, I.e. constantly reminds us that this is a curated piece of media, edited in such a way that presents us with only PART of the truth (which, again, creates tension with this idea of ‘intimacy’). Through the black-and-white aesthetic that it’s referencing and using, through the humor, through the way that it’s cut and edited. So, what’s it saying to us? That Matty has to perform a certain version of himself to the cameras? If so, why do it at all? What is this series trying to accomplish?
The Performance: while I think that Matty is, here, building on the themes of BFIAFL, he seems to also be interested in exploring larger questions about art/ identity. We could see this as an extension of the mission of ATVB. His onstage persona shares some similar characteristics with the atpoaim series. He’s exaggerating, performing, pretending to be a version of himself to critique certain aspects of culture, consumption, our relationship with art and entertainment. It’s one thing to do so onstage as part of the gig because it offers us a “frame” to view the music/ concert experience. It’s another thing entirely to extend this into his personal life. What’s he saying about identity? That when get so used to performing a version of yourself to the world, it gets so stuck with you that you can’t quite shake it off even when you are alone? That he is constantly trying to mediate between his “real” self and a version of himself that he strives to be? And, of course, the age-old question: if he’s performing all the damn time, doesn’t that performance, at some point, BECOME the real him?
The Time Line: just a quick note that, in typical post-modernist fashion, the series is non-linear in terms of time. It seemed like the first episode was pre-SNL. And it dropped right before SNL so it made sense. Created this illusion of immediacy. We’re seeing things “in real time” if you will. BUT episode two was kind of vague. We see him watching SNL at on screen, so clearly it’s supposed to be AFTER, right? Except that mirror scene might suggest otherwise. He’s practicing “thinkin’ this through” so it might be that he’s preparing to do SNL? Or it could be a clip from episode 1’s mirror scene that is inserted into episode 2. Meaning, it actually happened BEFORE we got to see it. Of course, he’s picking up on the fan jokes that he said “finkin this frue” on SNL, so he’s reacting to something that happened AFTER. Also, as this anon has pointed out, it’s in the context of wiping the mirror, and perhaps suggesting that he’s perfecting an exterior version of himself/ working out flaws.
The Episodes: the first one seems to be primarily about establishing expectations with the audience while the second one is about undermining/ ruining those expectations. Ep 1 gives us the sense that we are getting a glimpse of what Matty is ‘really like’ behind the scenes as he goes about doing mundane things that we all do in life. We might not all be stopped on the street for selfies, but we all have to perform a certain version of ourselves for the world. Ep. 2 on the other hand, highlights the difference between performance and reality when Matty gets caught up in the celebrity status and does ridiculous things such as hide in a suitcase, etc. the definition of “taking the piss” lmao. Also, I couldn’t help but note the ending of episode 2 where Matty meets with an artist who does the same thing but to a ridiculous extent. They have that debate about “what’s more important? Art or people?” Matty seems to come down firmly on the side of people. Is this his ethos, so to speak? Is this a reaction to the way he’s publicly perceived and criticized? Is this him saying that art has limits? If so, what do these limits mean to him as an artist? And how does the fact that this conversation is, in itself, happening INSIDE a piece of art affect its meaning. Like, is that also a performance? Is the conversation about art also art? What’s he trying to say?
That’s all for now….LET ME KNOW WHAT YALL THINK, IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON ANY OF THIS / HOW YOU INTERPRET THE SERIES!!!
23 notes · View notes
feveredreams · 2 years
Text
c3e23: the power of the DM in D&D, or why we are all Laudna right now
last night's episode of critical role really struck home for me how unique D&D is as a format for media, and how the format of Storyteller and Characters draws the audience even further into a story than other forms of media might. It's really beautiful and fucking amazing if you think about it. The potential as a medium to engage the audience while building a world is just unlike anything else.
The biggest thing is this: the power of a DM to make the audience feel exactly what the characters are feeling. Okay, but isn't that the point of a storyteller, you ask? To connect the audience and the story? Sure! But the format of D&D, especially watching D&D, immerses you into a character's mindset like nothing else. Our implicit trust in the DM as our storyteller means we are susceptible to some pretty cool emotional tricks, as evidenced by the end of this episode.
[spoilers for ep 23 of critical role campaign 3 ahead]
Imogen and Laudna are talking, an emotional conversation about Imogen's recent state of mind and Laudna's concern for her. It revolves around the strange pink rock they'd picked up earlier, a rock that seems to draw Imogen to it with promises of safety and comfort. We, as the audience, are aware that there's something not Quite Right with the rock and its power over Imogen. As Laudna continues to ask about it, Matt interjects: each time she pushes a little further, Laudna feels a pulse of...something, something urging her to look at the rock, to examine it further. This happens three times, each time more insistent.
At first I interpret this urge as some sort of...arcane instinct, perhaps. An expression of Laudna's concern for Imogen's well-being, or some part of Imogen not under the spell of the rock reaching out, seeking escape. As I watched, I was impatient for Laudna to listen to this urge. I wanted her to help Imogen, free her from whatever potentially malicious influence was impairing her judgment.
And then Laudna finally convinced Imogen to hand over the rock. She took it in her hand, and Matt's voice turned into the sinister, cruel drawl of Delilah Briarwood.
Delilah, of course, fucks everything up and breaks the rock, draining it of its power and straining Laudna and Imogen's relationship. Especially after Laudna promises wholeheartedly to not do anything to the rock without asking Imogen, the act is a betrayal. Imogen's quiet, heartbroken, "You lied." is just the cherry on top (I could wax poetic about Laura Bailey's acting in this scene, but this post is already getting long).
Laudna is, understandably, horrified. This is our first time seeing true conflict between her and Delilah, and boy is it juicy. Not only is she realizing that Delilah has more power over her than she thought, but her words from literal minutes earlier are coming back to haunt her: where does she end, and where does Delilah begin? Was it her concern and care for Imogen that compelled her to take the rock, or was that all Delilah? Can she trust her own mind, her own feelings?
The great thing about D&D is that we are right there with her. The essential format of D&D is that you trust the storyteller, because they create the story and all you experience in it. We trust Matt implicitly. That's why I was rooting for Laudna to hurry up and investigate that rock, dammit! That's why after the episode, even Marisha said, "He was telling me to do it!" When Matt describes these pulsing urges to take the rock, it was Matt telling us something Laudna felt. We trust Matt. He guides us through this world! His word is law.
And then it turns out his word wasn't his word at all. It was Delilah fucking Briarwood. We are thinking oh shit, what can we trust? at the same moment Laudna is thinking oh shit, what can I trust? Which thoughts are mine and which are hers? As we are questioning our perception of the world, so is she.
That's the unique power of the DM when there's an audience watching your campaign, and that's also just the fucking genius of Matt Mercer. The function of the DM as both voice of god and voice of everything else just sets up these really potent emotional moments that resonate just as strongly for the audience as they do the characters. As the story unfolds, we are just as immersed as any of the players at the table. And I think that's super neat!
143 notes · View notes
Text
HOTD: Ryan Condal & Sara Hess
I do think the recent interviews from Sara Hess and Ryan Condal were condescending and patronizing, as though fans are unable to understand nuance and complexity and the term “morally grey”... Completely conflating the issue to mask a larger, more legitimate concern. “He’s not Ned Stark or Han Solo” or humans aren’t so “absolute”, when we all understand perfectly human nature. It’s very insulting. The audience understands that he has dark traits, we have literally seen him commit atrocities at various points in the season, however, he does also have the capacity for good, with one of his redeeming qualities over the course of the season being love of family. All season long, viewers have witnessed his devotion and loyalty to family and those he cares most for, and have been told this by writers, directors, and actors... to see the culmination of the argument between him and Rhaenyra was a bit jarring because there had been no prior build up to it based on what was previously established regarding their specific relationship dynamic. Especially coming from episode 8 when Daemon was supportive of Rhaenyra and her children’s claims, backing them every step of the way (even over his own daughters), with nary a hint of envy or jealousy. Defending her name openly in court.  
Completely get that there is a dark side to love, it isn’t always pretty and pure. Sometimes it’s ugly and toxic, particularly when it involves two passionate people... and sometimes emotions become especially heightened when it involves grief and heartbreak. But still, that scene felt very inconsistent with everything we knew and saw up until then. Ryan was the one who said that Daemon especially loved Rhaenyra... and we saw that special connection onscreen. And they have deliverately cut scene that would show a different side: one hugging daughters, another comforting Rhaenyra after she delivers a stillborn, for example. The wording used to describe his character and that moment by Sara and Ryan were just not congruent.
I see the arc they’re trying to take with this. It gives Jaimes Lannister parallel. They want to make him the unlikeable asshole, take him down a dark path before “redeeming” his character, and ingratiating him to the fanbase. The difference is, however, (and perhaps this wasn’t considered), Jaime was part of a reviled family and his primary love interest (Cersei) was highly unlikeable. With Daemon, on the other hand, a great portion of the fandom love Rhaenyra - particularly casual show viewers, who represent most of the audience and haven’t read the source material -, and by default, side with the Blacks which by nature, extends to Daemon as well. We enjoy the relationship dynamic with Rhaenyra, his unwavering support of her. The show asked the audience to heavily invest in the romance. And through that, despite his misdeeds, we saw the good in him as well. In his love for Rhaenyra and Viserys both. Not to say Daemon doesn’t stand on his own as a character, he does 1000%. But it is to recognize also the power of association as well as the natural draw of the anti-hero’s and our fascinations with characters neither wholly good and bad. Perhaps because it comes across as more real and we recognize elements of ourselves in their complexity?
If Jaime was still an asshole, but a Stark or paired with a more well liked love interest from the beginning, would the initial perception of his character have differed? One thing I do find strange though are the scenes they decided to delete from the plot leak. Script leaks mentioned scenes of Daemon comforting Rhaenyra and having the kings guard swear at her birthing. Also, it indicated the beach scene was supposed to perhaps be more extensive? And though there was an argument, it never once mentioned physical violence. Mind you, these scripts came from the same place as the ones from the previous episodes which were always accurate and on point. The minor discrepancies between the episode 10 script leaks and the released version, with the moments of Daemon showing evident care and grief being the only ones removed, is weird. It makes me wonder if their decision to not include them was out of recognition of Daemon’s unexpected popularity and a need to portray him more harshly heading into next season.
48 notes · View notes
house-of-slayterr · 1 year
Text
A Secret Between Lovers is a Death Between Friends:
Hannibal for: @myers-meadow
Tumblr media
France’s POV:
Things had grown close between William and I. It was weird. Things with Meadow and I were simple, easy. Not a single once of effort had to be put into the relationship. But with Will it felt like I was teetering on the edge. Always scared of pushing the poor man away.
Hannibal insisted my fear was normal. Something you felt when you cared for someone. But I wasn’t used to caring. I wasn’t used to opening myself up to be cared for in return. Meadow had broken down my walls, and I desperately wanted to build them back up again. But Hannibal insisted i leave them down. Encouraged me to feel my feelings, no matter how much I despised them.
I paced around outside, debating if I should go in. I mean it was public property, i was allowed to be here. But was I over stepping? No, this was normal, Meadow assured me of such. I brought her lunch to the college every day. I opened the door and made my way to the front desk.
“Umm, I’m looking for Will Graham” i asked the guy stationed at the front.
He gave me an odd look.
“Will?”
“Yes, was I unclear?”
“It’s just-“
“Just what?” I asked, growing impatient.
“Pretty girls like you don’t usually come looking for Will Graham.”
I frowned, looking at my outfit. I suppose I was wearing one of Meadows cardigans today. It had her scent on it, so I did smell quite feminine. I forgot not everyone knew about my gender afflictions. I could feel his eyes undressing me. I scoffed, shifting on my feet.
“Look, just tell me where to find him and I won’t report you to your boss for harassment!” I said.
He looked at me like a grew a second head.
“Office at the end of the hall, second floor. Belongs to Jack Crawford. Can’t miss it.” He said bitterly.
I gave him a fake smile and turned on my heels, eager to get away from him. I opted for the elevator, my legs still wobbly at times. I knew I should bring my cane, but I hated how much attention it brought to me. He was right though, the office door was huge. I knocked on it, and a tall black man opened the door.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“Umm, yes. Sorry if I’m interrupting. I just had something for William.”
He looked down at the container in my hands. And opened the door wider for me to step inside. Will tensed in his chair slightly before relaxing when he saw me.
“What are you doing here?”
“I made too many cookies.” I said simply.
I handed them to him with a small smile. I could feel Jack’s eyes on me. They were nowhere near as predatory as their front desk guy. I shuddered at the thought.
“Agent Crawford, you do know your front desk employee has a habit of harassing women right?” I asked. Not moving my eyes from Will.
“I was not aware no.”
“He’s also liable to accepting bribes, perhaps you should talk to him about that.”
With that, I turned on my heel and left the room. It felt good to know that man would get what was coming to him. I send him a cutesy little wave as I walked out of the precinct. Karma was a bitch. I looked at the time and sighed. Another appointment with Hannibal.
It felt odd though, I knew what I was feeling wasn’t appropriate. Harbouring feelings for my therapist who was dating my best friend. I’m sure he could pick up on it, he was a perceptive man. But he never gave me any indication that he was uncomfortable. It would be unethical if anything came of, but I doubt anything ever would. I mean he was with Meadow, what more could he ever want?
She was perfect. Incredibly smart, visually stunning, attentive and caring. He had all he needed and more with her. So why the fell did I still feel this way? Maybe it was that stupid smile, the rare one I only got to see when he was around her. Or how kind he was in our sessions, never making me feel crazy or like a child. He was the first person I told about my autism. Not even Meadow knew quite yet. I’m sure she had her speculations.
I drove to his office and waited outside until it was 3 on the dot. He opened his door to let his previous patient out.
“Ahh, Mx. Frances, please come in.”
I took my seat across from him. I began fidgeting. Maybe if I voiced my concerns he could do what he does best, and lay them to rest. But I didn’t want to loose all the progress I’d made. I was beginning to feel normal after all the whole traumatic ordeal from nearly a year ago now. Omg, I was a monster, they’d been dating for over half the year and here I was fantasying about things that should never leave my head.
“You seem anxious.” Hannibal brought me out of my head.
I gave him a quizzical look.
“It’s been nearly 10 minutes and you haven’t said a word.”
Damn, 10 minutes. I was in this and bad.
“Hannibal.” I began.
“Yes?”
“If I tell you something, do you promise not to judge?”
“Of course. I’m simply here to help.”
“Even if this thing is really bad?”
“Have you hurt anyone?”
“God no!”
“Yourself?”
“No…”
“Then it cannot be that bad, now can it?”
“Perhaps… I think maybe-“
I couldn’t figure out how to say it. I didn’t want to be rude. That was the last thing I wanted. He didn’t dare interrupt me, that was something I appreciated. He never made me feel rushed, letting me gather my thoughts fully before speaking.
“I think I should see a different therapist.”
The words hung out in the air far to long for my liking. He simply leaned back in his seat and thought for a second.
“Is there something wrong with my treatment?”
“No.”
“Have I made you uncomfortable in anyway?” A hint of apology on his tongue.
“Not intentionally no. I think I’ve made myself uncomfortable.” I mumbled the last part.
“If you really wish to leave, i could set you up with one of my collègues. But if you wouldn’t mind, we could finish this session.”
“Of course, your time is rather valuable.”
I gave him a faint smile. I felt awful, now I’ve gone and mucked things up and why? Because I had a pathetic little school girl crush on my therapist? A crush I couldn’t even begin to understand if I wanted to.
“Dr Lecter, am I a terrible friend?” I asked.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because im feeling things I shouldn’t, for people that I shouldn’t…”
He thought for a moment.
“William?”
“That would make things easy, wouldn’t it?” I sighed.
“Then Meadow. You have feelings for her?”
I chuckled. “I love that women more than I love myself. But it’s her heart I’m afraid I’ll break. Dr Lecter, the reason I wish to end out sessions, is because I might have feelings for you. Feelings I don’t wish to feel.”
“Oh.”
Had I really stumped the doctor. That’s a first. There is no way he was unaware of my affections toward him.
“Are you certain?”
“No. Yes? All I know is I feel happy around you. And my thoughts go places.”
“I never figured you the type.”
“Maybe I’m not, maybe I’m just confused.”
“I could help you through this confusion?”
“You would do that? Surly it feels improper?”
“You’ve already indicated you wish to see someone else after this. The least I can do is talk through these feelings you think you have for me. Perhaps not as your therapist, but as a friend.”
“If you’re insisting.”
“I am. If your comfortable, what kind of things do you think about?”
I cleared my throat, shifting awkwardly in my seat. I took a deep breath. It was weird to speak my thoughts out loud.
“I think about the two do you.” I started.
He urged me to continue.
“The things you must do together when I leave the house. Your hands on her skin. How nice it must feel. The way she kisses you.” I paused.
My voice was shaky.
“Interesting.”
I didn’t like that response.
“How so?”
“You don’t seem to be exhibiting an jealousy, yet you think of us together.”
“You’re good together.”
“Do you ever think about us separately?”
“Yes. I think about Meadow all the time. But you’ve begun to cloud my mind more recently. That’s why I feel like a bad friend. I shouldn’t be thinking of my best friends lover in such a way.”
“It doesn’t seem your thoughts are too obscene. Perhaps it is wrong, but it’s certainly not unnatural.”
Oddly the thought was comforting. That perhaps this was against my will. An unconscious vendetta my brain had against me. Perhaps I was simply sick. That must be it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had obscene thoughts.” I admitted.
He chuckled lightly.
“That sounds more like you.” He admitted. “Perhaps you should discuss this with Meadow. If you’re really worried about upsetting her, it’s best she learn of your feeling through you, is it not?”
“I don’t think you understand. I can’t loose her Hannibal. I won’t.”
“And I assure you that’s not the case. Just talk to her.”
“Will you come with me?”
“To tell my girlfriend you’ve been thinking about us kissing?” He asked amused.
“Now you’re just teasing me Doctor.”
“I apologise.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’ve been focused on Meadow. How do you feel about this?” I asked.
“It doesn’t bother me if that’s what you’re asking Frances. Like I said, it’s natural. You wouldn’t be the first patient I’ve had who fell for me.”
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Let people like you?”
“That’s not typically something people have to try at.” He admitted.
“It’s not this difficult for everyone?”
“I’m afraid not. But I will pass your information along to the next therapist.”
I nodded solemnly.
“How do you always know how to make me feel better?” I asked.
“That is, was my job as your therapist. Now it is my job as your friend, if you’ll have me.”
“Of course.” I smiled.
Meadow’s POV:
I was supposed to be having dinner with Hannibal this evening. But it seemed he was running late. I sighed. I pulled out my phone, choosing to pass the time by texting Frances. I hadn’t spoken to them all day. It wasn’t completely odd for them to disappear for a while. They were busy with physical therapy and recovery still. The doctors said they’d probably never be back to normal. But I knew how hard they worked.
“You busy?”
No response. It wasn’t like they read my text yet, but it was a little odd for them to simply not be on their phone.
“I’ve missed you.”
I texted again. Attempting not to sound desperate. We were adults, adult friends don’t hang out everyday. This time my screen lit up, indicating that they read it. But I didn’t see those three little dots. Weird. Something must be up.
“You ok?”
“Fine.”
Blunt. To the point. They were upset. Had I done something? Perhaps they had a bad day. I sighed, throwing my phone down. It was clear I wouldn’t get much more out of them. And they didn’t like it when I pried. Nearly fifteen minuets later there was a knock at the door. I jumped to my feet, that must be Han. I was right when I saw his tall frame in my door way, but there was someone just behind him.
“Frances?” I asked.
They waved sheepishly at me. It wasn’t like them to be shy around me.
“I wasn’t aware you were stopping by.”
“I won’t be here long. I don’t mean to disturb your dinner.”
“Nonsense, please come in. When you didn’t respond to my texts I got a little worried.”
I watched as they scratched the back of their neck nervously. What was up with that? The last time they were this was nervous was the very first time we spoke. Hannibal made himself at home, like he always did. It was pleasant how comfortable he was now. Never asking about little things anymore. So sure and confident in our relationship.
“So what we’re you two up to? I thought your appointment was at 3 Frances.”
“It’s was, but I was still- unsatisfied with our session. I waited until he Finshed with his other patients and we chatted in the way here.” They admitted.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Was it resolved.”
“I believe it will be in time.”
I gave them sincère smile. If they didn’t want to tell me, that was alright. At least they were talking to someone about it.
“What’s you stop by for? Not that I mind?”
I was reheating the food. I knew it wouldn’t be as good as it was nearly an hour ago when I made it. But usually Hannibal sent me a message if he was going to be late.
“Please, my love, let me.” Hannibal offered.
I smiled at him, and he pressed a kiss to my lips. I could feel eyes on us as Frances was watching. Normally they turned away when we started getting all affectionate. I turned my attention to them and they swallowed thickly.
“I have something to discuss with you.”
Normally they weren’t this formal. Everything was making me uneasy.
“Alright. Do you wish to step away?”
“No. Hannibal can be here for this.” They clarified.
I stood across from them at the counter. Giving them my full attention but avoiding eye contact as to not make them uncomfortable.
“So, I decided to stop my session with Hannibal.” They began.
I raised a brow, but tried not to be judgmental. They must have a good reason.
“There’s been a development, and I felt it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t get this off my chest.”
“Frances, I appreciate you trying to spare my feelings, but please just say whatever it is you have to say. You’re worrying me.”
“Imayormaynothavefeelingsforyouandhannibalandidontknowhattodoaboutit.” They blurted out all at once.
I blinked, taken aback.
“One more time… but try breathing this time maybe.”
They took a deep breath.
“I may have discovered I have feelings for you and Hannibal, and as your best friend, I hate myself for it.” They said.
I couldn’t help it, I began to chuckle lightly. And it progressed into a full on laugh. They looked at me confused. Poor thing.
“Is that what you’re worried about? Frances you’re my person, long before Hannibal came around. I’m always going to love you. Besides, I want nothing more than the two do you to get along.”
“I’m confused, you aren’t angry?”
I frowned, coming around the counter, and pausing, waiting for their consent for a hug. Which they reluctantly gave.
“Of course not. Hannibal, what were the two of us just talking about the other night?”
“I believe we were discussing the house.” He added to the discussion.
“Hannibal had asked me to move in with him.” I started.
They looked even more confused.
“But I told him I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving you without a place to crash. You stay at my place more than your own half the time anyways.”
“Meadow and I agreed we’d offer you a place in my home.” Hannibal finished.
They got quiet. They were scary when they were quiet. They shrugged off my touch and I thought for a moment maybe I misread.
“You know about this the whole time and you let me be anxious all day?” Frances asked angrily.
Hannibal gave them a little wink that I didn’t miss. They took a deep breath and shook their head.
“You really don’t mind that I might have a crush on your boyfriend?” They asked once more.
“Who wouldn’t, have you met him? He’s delightful. If anyone were to have feelings for him, I’d want it to be you. Besides, you know I’m know stranger to sharing. We sleep in the same bed all the time.” I laughed.
They huffed. It was cute.
“Besides, it’s good for you to explore your feelings, isn’t that right Hannibal?”
“Correct. It is a healthy form of expression. Suppressing it will only hurt you Frances.”
“This is confusing.” They admitted.
“You’ve never been in a relationship before have you?” I asked.
There was no judgment in my tone.
“Never had time. Was never interested. All I wanted was to dance and now I can’t do that anymore.”
I frowned at their last statement.
“Then we’ll show you. You tell us what you’re comfortable with and we’ll make this work. There nobody more important to me than the two of you.”
A small smile formed on their lips. A genuine, but rare sight.
“You should stay for dinner. I made way too much food anyways.”
Hannibal chuckled. I usually let him cook, but I had my specialties. And since he was working late I wanted to do something nice.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
We moved over to the dinner table and Hannibal set down the trays. He and I sat on both ends of the table with Frances in the middle. They seemed nervous which was understandable. In the time I’ve known them, they didn’t seemed accustomed to any sort of affection, platonic or otherwise. So this must all be pretty jarring. 
I grabbed their hand and squeezed it gently.
“This is just a normal dinner, no need to be nervous.” I reminded.
They didn’t pull away from the touch, which was a good sign. Some days they let me be more affectionate with them, but other days they avoided touch like the plague. I never took it personally, it was just how they were. As we began eating, they relaxed a little, listening in quietly to the conversation. It was nice. New, but nice.
“Are you still going to go to therapy?” I asked suddenly.
I knew they liked to pretend they were fine all the time. But their trauma just in the time I knew them cut deep. There was no way they’d be ok without any sort of assistance.
“Umm yes, Hannibal said he’d transfer me to a collègue. That way nobody is uncomfortable.”
“I talked with Alana. She said she will gladly take over Frances’ therapy.”
“Oh, that’s nice of her. Do you like her?” Frances asked him.
“She is one of my closest colleagues, she does good work.”
Frances smiled at that.
“Brilliant.”
They seemed to relax even more at that. I was glad the tension in the air was melting away. I never wanted their to be any animosity between us.
“Oh, I forgot to mentioned. I visited the precinct earlier. It’s so stuffy in there.” They commented, finally joining the conversion.
“Oh?”
“I made too many cookies and you were busy at the college. Couldn’t risk bringing you any in front of the students. They would have swarmed me.” I chuckled.
They weren’t wrong. College students could be quite ravenous in their hunger. Especially since half of them came to class stoned. They thought I wouldn’t notice. Cookies would have been a hot commodity.
“I gave them to Will. And I met Agent Crawford.” They said.
“And what did you think?” Hannibal asked.
“Of Mr Crawford?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know, he didn’t say anything. Whatever he and Will talked about before I got there had him agitated.”
“Jack, or Will?”
“Both.”
Hannibal chuckled softly.
“I didn’t want to overstay my welcome, so I just dropped off the cookies and left. The other officer there were unsavoury.”
I hummed, taking a sip of my wine.
“Cops can be quite intense.” I offered.
“Yeah, the guy at the front desk was particularly unpleasant.”
“Did he say something to you?” Hannibal asked.
His voice had that low dangerous town he got when he was upset. It wasn’t one I was privy to often, as he normally excused himself when he was in a sour mood.
“He said women like me don’t hang out with men like Will. Then he kept trying to look at my chest. Thank god I was wearing Meadow’s cardigan.” They laughed off.
I set down my cup completely, and turned my attention back to them.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, it’s just some sleazy guy, nothing new.”
“You didn’t mention this earlier.” Hannibal said.
“My mind was a bit preoccupied. Seriously Hannibal, it’s no big deal. Im used to it, men like him used to approach me off stage all the time.”
“That doesn’t make it alright.”
They shrugged. I could tell Hannibal wasn’t going to drop it. He had that look In his eyes he got when he was determined. I knew Frances would want to drop it so I changed the subject. The rest do the diner went off without a hitch.
Frances helped me with the dishes and everything seemed content. Hannibal excused himself to make a phone call. Which wasn’t out of the ordinary. I knew for a while he had begun to have feelings for Frances, and I don’t think tonight could have gone any better. Things were great, and I was more than excited, to see how things would blossom.
Hannibal came up from behind and gave me a hug.
“Are you going to spend the night?” I asked Hopefully.
“No, unfortunately I have a lot of work to do, but we’ll meet yo for breakfast in the morning?”
“Sounds perfect!”
I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he kissed my forehead.
“What about you Frances, are you staying here tonight? We could watch a movie!”
“If it’s Texas Chainsaw then I’m so in!” They said.
This was the first time all night I’d seen them act back to their giddy self. All the nerves from earlier completely gone.
“You two have fun. Sleep well my darling.” Hannibal offered. “And you as well Frances.”
He held out his hand and they gave him theirs. He planted a gentle kiss on the back of their hand, and I swore I’ve never seen their face flush so much, it was adorable. He smiled smuggly at them.
“Will you be joining us for breakfast?”
“If it’s not a bother.”
“You could never be a bother.” I said.
Hannibal pulled me in for a kiss before saying goodbye. Frances starred after him as he left and I chuckled.
“Oh you have it bad.” I joked.
“Shut up!” They playfully pushed me. “Let’s just watch our movie yeah?”
Hannibal’s POV:
Today wasn’t completely unexpected. I’d known about France’s growing affection for me for some time. I was pleasantly surprised that they admitted it though. Perhaps they trusted me more than I thought.
I had brought it to Meadow’s attention a while back. Not wanting to keep anything from her. And when she expressed she found the crush amusing I was relived. It wasn’t like Frances was ugly by any means. They were quite easy on the eyes. They were smart, and talented, and incredibly respectful. Sometimes worrying more about others feelings over their own. Not typically my type, unlike the strong and confident Meadow who was perfect in every way. I couldn’t imagine my life without her anymore, which is why I asked her to move in.
She knew about my killing tendencies. I’m sure revealing what I did with the bodies after wouldn’t be what pushed her away. It just wasn’t time yet. Especially now with this new aspect of our relationship. Frances held so much love and respect for Meadow, it seemed like the easiest next step. I couldn’t deny the aspect of having two lovers was appealing.
But what Frances revealed to me tonight made my blood boil. It sickened me how people assigned female at birth had to deal with this type of harassment so frequently. But it wouldn’t go unpunished. I did have a lot of work to do tonight. And that cop wouldn’t be easy to take down. People would notice his disappearance, so I’d have to have a good alibi. I knew Meadow would have my back. But the question was, would Frances understand?
They were unaware of my habits. But they weren’t stupid. If he went missing right after they told me about him, they would connect the dots, sooner rather than later. I had to have faith that they wouldn’t blow my whole operation out of the water. But for some reason, I did. They never had any I’ll will toward me. And this truly wasn’t something I could just let slide. This man had to die, and he was going to tonight. Before he used his position of power to hurt anyone else.
An: finally the poly relationship has begun! Not Hannibal being a big simp in this chapter, lol. I’m gonna start a vampire Hannibal series soon. Because my special interest is real, and this is one of my oldest ones. I will never shut up about this man!
34 notes · View notes